Hfr ErfÓl 3^I

Geta skal máls, þess’s mæla
menn at vápna sennu
dolga fangs við drengi
dáðǫflgan bǫr kvôðu:
baðat hertryggðar hyggja
hnekkir sína rekka
— þess lifa þjóðar sessa
þróttarorð — á flótta.

Geta skal máls, þess’s menn kvôðu {dáðǫflgan bǫr {fangs dolga}} mæla við drengi at {sennu vápna}: {hnekkir hertryggðar} baðat rekka sína hyggja á flótta; þróttarorð {þess sessa þjóðar} lifa.

One must mention the speech which men reported {the deed-mighty tree {of the tunic of strife}} [MAIL-SHIRT > WARRIOR] addressed to the warriors at {the flyting of weapons} [BATTLE]: {the confounder of the army’s security} [WARRIOR] did not ask his men to think of flight; the forceful words {of this bench-mate of the people} [RULER] live on.

Mss: FskBˣ(37v), FskAˣ(135) (Fsk); Holm18(52r), 310(84) (ÓTOdd); Kˣ(209v-210r), F(35vb), J1ˣ(129v), J2ˣ(113v) (Hkr); 61(67rb), 54(63ra), Bb(98vb), Flat(64ra) (ÓT)

Readings: [1] Geta: gæta 54;    skal: om. Flat;    þess’s (‘þess er’): þess Flat    [2] vápna: orða Bb    [3] fangs: vangs F    [4] ‑ǫflgan: ‘‑aulfgan’ J1ˣ, 54;    bǫr (‘bꜹr’): so F, bur FskBˣ, burr FskAˣ, ‘by’ Holm18, gram 310, Kˣ, J1ˣ, J2ˣ, 61, 54, Bb, Flat    [5] baðat: bað FskAˣ, báðu Flat;    hertryggðar: herr tryggvir FskAˣ, hertryggvan 310, ‘her tygðar’ Kˣ, herdyggvir F, ‘hratt ygþar’ 54, ‘hratt ygdar’ Bb    [6] sína: sinna FskAˣ    [7] lifa: lifir Holm18;    þjóðar: þjóðir Flat;    sessa: hressar 310, hnossa Flat    [8] flótta: sporði Holm18

Editions: Skj AI, 159, Skj BI, 150, Skald I, 82, NN §2448; Fsk 1902-3, 124 (ch. 22), ÍF 29, 152-3 (ch. 24); ÓTOdd 1932, 207, ÍF 25, 322; Hkr 1893-1901, I, 439, IV, 96, ÍF 26, 356, Hkr 1991, I, 241 (ÓTHkr ch. 102), F 1871, 161; SHI 2, 292, ÓT 1958-2000, II, 259-60 (ch. 249), Flat 1860-8, I, 479.

Context: Óláfr’s captains suggest the fleet sail on from Svǫlðr rather than fight against overwhelming odds, but Óláfr declares neither he nor his men will think of fleeing.

Notes: [3-4] bǫr fangs dolga ‘tree of the tunic of strife [MAIL-SHIRT > WARRIOR]’: (a) Bǫr(r) (lit. ‘conifer’) is the base-word of this man-kenning, and dolga is gen. pl. of dolg n. ‘strife, enmity, combat’ (see HHund I 20/3, for the pl. meaning ‘battle, strife’). Gen. pl. of dolgr m. ‘enemy’ is also grammatically possible, but very unlikely since dolgr in kennings is usually the base-word. Fang, usually ‘grasp, hold’, here refers to a garment (Meissner 165; AEW: fang 2). (b) Gram ‘lord’, the alternative to bǫr, found in a single ÓTOdd ms. as well as most Hkr mss and all ÓT mss, would yield dáðǫflgan gram ‘deed-mighty lord’ and drengi fangs dolga. The latter phrase is explained by Kock (NN §2448) as ‘warriors of enemies’ tussle [BATTLE > WARRIORS]’, where dolga is gen. pl. of dolgr m. ‘enemy’ and fang is ‘tussle, grappling, wrestling’, but his battle-kenning lacks solid parallels (the C14th fundr dolga ‘meeting of enemies’, Anon (FoGT) 18/4^III, does not function as a kenning in its context) and drengr ‘warrior’ is unsatisfactory as a base-word of a warrior-kenning, as it is identical to the referent (Meissner 28-9). (c) The latter objection also applies to drengi fangs dolga ‘men of the tunic of strife [MAIL-SHIRT > WARRIORS]’, tentatively suggested in Hkr 1991. Gram is probably a corruption, inserted by a scribe who did not understand the kenning as it stood (ÍF 25; see also ÍF 26). — [5, 6] hnekkir hertryggðar ‘the confounder of the army’s security [WARRIOR]’: Óláfr is here portrayed as one who crushes his enemies’ hubris (Nj 1875-8, II, 388-9). The ms. paradosis for -tryggðar suggests scribal confusion. — [7-8]: Glúmr Gráf 8/3 and BjBp Jóms 41/8 are further examples of the topos of the lasting fame of a king’s or hero’s þróttarorð ‘forceful words’ (lit. ‘words of power, endurance’); see also Jesch (2001a, 217). Þróttarorð is treated as a cpd in this edn on grounds of its recurrence in Gráf and Jóms; it could alternatively be treated as two words (as in Skj B; ÍF 25; ÍF 26).

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. Nj 1875-89 = Konráð Gíslason and Eiríkur Jónsson. 1875-89. Njála: Udgivet efter gamle håndskrifter. Íslendingasögur udgivne efter gamle haandskrifter af Det Kongelige Nordiske Oldskrift-selskab 4. Copenhagen: Thiele.
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. Meissner = Meissner, Rudolf. 1921. Die Kenningar der Skalden: Ein Beitrag zur skaldischen Poetik. Rheinische Beiträge und Hülfsbücher zur germanischen Philologie und Volkskunde 1. Bonn and Leipzig: Schroeder. Rpt. 1984. Hildesheim etc.: Olms.
7. AEW = Vries, Jan de. 1962. Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch. 2nd rev. edn. Rpt. 1977. Leiden: Brill.
8. Jesch, Judith. 2001a. Ships and Men in the Late Viking Age: The Vocabulary of Runic Inscriptions and Skaldic Verse. Woodbridge: Boydell.
9. Flat 1860-8 = Gudbrand Vigfusson [Guðbrandur Vigfússon] and C. R. Unger, eds. 1860-8. Flateyjarbók. En samling af norske konge-sagaer med indskudte mindre fortællinger om begivenheder i og udenfor Norge samt annaler. 3 vols. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
10. ÓTOdd 1932 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1932. Saga Óláfs Tryggvasonar af Oddr Snorrason munk. Copenhagen: Gad.
11. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
12. Hkr 1893-1901 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1893-1901. Heimskringla: Nóregs konunga sǫgur af Snorri Sturluson. 4 vols. SUGNL 23. Copenhagen: Møller.
13. Hkr 1991 = Bergljót S. Kristjánsdóttir et al., eds. 1991. Heimskringla. 3 vols. Reykjavík: Mál og menning.
14. F 1871 = Unger, C. R., ed. 1871. Fríssbók: Codex Frisianus. En samling af norske konge-sagaer. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
15. Fsk 1902-3 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1902-3. Fagrskinna: Nóregs kononga tal. SUGNL 30. Copenhagen: Møller.
16. ÍF 29 = Ágrip af Nóregskonunga sǫgum; Fagrskinna—Nóregs konungatal. Ed. Bjarni Einarsson. 1985.
17. ÓT 1958-2000 = Ólafur Halldórsson, ed. 1958-2000. Saga Óláfs Tryggvasonar en mesta. 3 vols. EA A 1-3. Copenhagen: Munksgaard (Reitzel).
18. SHI = Sveinbjörn Egilsson, ed. 1828-46. Scripta historica islandorum de rebus gestis veterum borealium, latine reddita et apparatu critico instructa, curante Societate regia antiquariorum septentrionalium. 12 vols. Copenhagen: Popp etc. and London: John & Arthur Arch.
19. ÍF 25 = Færeyinga saga; Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar eptir Odd munk Snorrason. Ed. Ólafur Halldórsson. 2006.
20. Internal references
21. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Heimskringla’ 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=4> (accessed 24 April 2024)
22. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=60> (accessed 24 April 2024)
23. (forthcoming), ‘ Oddr Snorrason, Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar by Oddr Snorrason’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=66> (accessed 24 April 2024)
24. Emily Lethbridge 2012, ‘ Bjarni byskup Kolbeinsson, Jómsvíkingadrápa’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 954. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1122> (accessed 24 April 2024)
25. Alison Finlay 2012, ‘ Glúmr Geirason, Gráfeldardrápa’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 245. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1209> (accessed 24 April 2024)
26. Emily Lethbridge (ed.) 2012, ‘Bjarni byskup Kolbeinsson, Jómsvíkingadrápa 41’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 994.
27. Alison Finlay (ed.) 2012, ‘Glúmr Geirason, Gráfeldardrápa 8’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 258.
28. Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Lausavísur, Stanzas from the Fourth Grammatical Treatise 18’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 593.