Gísl Magnkv 19^II

Hol merki blés,        en Huginn gladdisk
fránn, of hǫfði        feðr Sigurðar.
Þann sák fylki        með frama mestum
snǫrpu sverði        til sigrs vega.

Hol merki blés of hǫfði {feðr Sigurðar}, en fránn Huginn gladdisk. Sák þann fylki vega til sigrs snǫrpu sverði með mestum frama.

The billowing banners blew above the head {of Sigurðr’s father} [= Magnús] and gleaming Huginn <raven> rejoiced. I saw that leader fighting for victory with the sharp sword with the greatest glory.

Mss: Mork(24r) (Mork); H(91r), Hr(62vb) (H-Hr); F(59rb)

Readings: [1] Hol: hel H    [3] fránn of: so F, fránum Mork, H, fránu Hr

Editions: Skj AI, 443, Skj BI, 413, Skald I, 204, NN §2534; Mork 1867, 150, Mork 1928-32, 327, Andersson and Gade 2000, 306, 487 (Mberf); Fms 7, 58 (Mberf ch. 28); F 1871, 274 (Mberf).

Context: As sts. 17-19 above.

Notes: [1] blés (3rd pers. sg. pret. indic.) ‘blew’: Used impersonally with hol merki (n. acc. pl.) ‘billowing banners’ as the object. — [2, 3] fránn Huginn ‘gleaming Huginn <raven>’: Huginn was one of Óðinn’s ravens. The adj. fránn ‘gleaming’ describes the raven’s shining black feathers. Fránn can also mean ‘sharp’ in which case it would refer to the raven’s sharp eyes (see LP: fránn 2). — [4] feðr Sigurðar ‘of Sigurðr’s father [= Magnús]’: This is Sigurðr jórsalafari ‘Jerusalem-farer’. For this type of metrical l. in fornyrðislag (suspended resolution in metrical positions 2-3), see Kuhn 1939, 199-215. — [5] þann (m. acc. sg.) ‘that’: Skj B emends to þar ‘there’ against all ms. witnesses (see NN §2634). — [5] sák ‘I saw’: Indicates that Gísl himself had been present during the battle. See also Note to st. 11/1.

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skj B = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1912-15b. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. B: Rettet tekst. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Villadsen & Christensen. Rpt. 1973. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger.
3. Fms = Sveinbjörn Egilsson et al., eds. 1825-37. Fornmanna sögur eptir gömlum handritum útgefnar að tilhlutun hins norræna fornfræða fèlags. 12 vols. Copenhagen: Popp.
4. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
5. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
6. LP = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1931. Lexicon poeticum antiquæ linguæ septentrionalis: Ordbog over det norsk-islandske skjaldesprog oprindelig forfattet af Sveinbjörn Egilsson. 2nd edn. Copenhagen: Møller.
7. Andersson, Theodore M. and Kari Ellen Gade, trans. 2000. Morkinskinna: The Earliest Icelandic Chronicle of the Norwegian Kings (1030-1157). Islandica 51. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press.
8. Mork 1928-32 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1928-32. Morkinskinna. SUGNL 53. Copenhagen: Jørgensen.
9. F 1871 = Unger, C. R., ed. 1871. Fríssbók: Codex Frisianus. En samling af norske konge-sagaer. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
10. Kuhn, Hans (1899). 1939. ‘Westgermanisches in der altnordischen Verskunst’. BGDSL 63, 178-236. Rpt. in Kuhn (1899) 1969-78, I, 485-527.
11. Mork 1867 = Unger, C. R., ed. 1867. Morkinskinna: Pergamentsbog fra første halvdel af det trettende aarhundrede. Indeholdende en af de ældste optegnelser af norske kongesagaer. Oslo: Bentzen.
12. Internal references
13. (forthcoming), ‘ Heimskringla, Magnúss saga berfœtts’ in Kari Ellen Gade (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 2: From c. 1035 to c. 1300. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 2. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=144> (accessed 3 May 2024)