Hharð Lv 12^II

This lv. (Hharð Lv 12) is part of a short anecdote involving Haraldr and a wealthy Norw. farmer (see Context below). The episode is transmitted in Mork (Mork), Flat (Flat) and H-Hr (H, Hr). Mork is the main ms. The metre is a variant of dróttkvætt with irregularities in syllable-count and internal rhymes.

Kennir kyrtil þenna?
Kú átt skjǫldungi gjalda,
ok alvaxinn oxa
átt skjǫldungi gjalda.
Bǫrn ok allt, þats árnar,
átt skjǫldungi gjalda;
svín ok aligás eina
átt skjǫldungi at gjalda.
Margar eru manna vélar:
mosa átt ok skjǫldungi at gjalda.

Kennir þenna kyrtil? Átt gjalda skjǫldungi kú, ok alvaxinn oxa átt gjalda skjǫldungi. Bǫrn ok allt, þats árnar, átt gjalda skjǫldungi; svín ok eina aligás átt at gjalda skjǫldungi. Margar eru vélar manna: mosa átt ok at gjalda skjǫldungi.

Do you recognise this tunic? You must yield a cow to the king, and a full-grown ox you must yield to the king. Your children and all that you acquire, you must yield to the king; a pig and one tame goose you must yield to the king. Many are the deceits of men: moss you must also yield to the king.

Mss: Mork(11r) (Mork); Flat(199va) (Flat); H(62r), Hr(45va) (ll. 1-8) (H-Hr)

Readings: [2] gjalda: at gjalda Flat    [4] skjǫldungi: so Flat, H, Hr, ‘scꜹlldungi’ Mork;    gjalda: at gjalda Flat    [5] Bǫrn ok allt þats árnar: svín ok aligás eina Flat, H, Hr    [6] gjalda: at gjalda Flat    [7] svín ok aligás eina: bǫrn ok allt þat árnar Flat, bǫrn ok allt þats árnar H, Hr    [8] at: om. H, Hr    [10] mosa: mos Flat, H;    ok: om. Flat;    at: om. H

Editions: Skj AI, 360, Skj BI, 331, Skald I, 167, NN §§2445B, 2989B; Mork 1867, 68, Mork 1928-32, 193, Andersson and Gade 2000, 219, 477 (MH); Flat 1860-8, III, 354 (MH); Fms 6, 346-7 (Hsig ch. 95).

Context: Haraldr visits a farmer, Úlfr inn auðgi ‘the Wealthy’, in Opplandene, Norway. He is annoyed at the splendour displayed at the banquet held in his honour and proceeds to tell a story about the dealings between his own grandfather, Hálfdan Sigurðarson, and Úlfr’s grandfather, Álmsteinn, a slave. Because of Álmsteinn’s treacherous behaviour, Hálfdan proclaimed that Álmsteinn, as well as his descendents, should be slaves forever. Upon finishing the story, King Haraldr hands Úlfr a white tunic, the symbol of bondage, and recites this st.

Notes: [7] aligás ‘tame goose’: For the resolution on the first element of this cpd, see Note to Hharð Gamv 2/1. — [9-10]: These ll., which are omitted in Hr, are added by Haraldr as an afterthought (Mork 1928-32, 193): oc þar let konungr fylgia drag þetta ‘and the king supplemented it with this addition’. For the technical term drag ‘addition’, see SnE 1999, 8.

References

1. Bibliography
2. Fms = Sveinbjörn Egilsson et al., eds. 1825-37. Fornmanna sögur eptir gömlum handritum útgefnar að tilhlutun hins norræna fornfræða fèlags. 12 vols. Copenhagen: Popp.
3. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
4. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. Mork 1928-32 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1928-32. Morkinskinna. SUGNL 53. Copenhagen: Jørgensen.
8. SnE 1999 = Snorri Sturluson. 1999. Edda: Háttatal. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. Rpt. with addenda and corrigenda. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
9. 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.
10. Internal references
11. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Flateyjarbók’ 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=44> (accessed 26 April 2024)
12. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Hulda-Hrokkinskinna’ 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=84> (accessed 26 April 2024)
13. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Morkinskinna’ 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=87> (accessed 26 April 2024)
14. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Magnúss saga góða ok Haralds harðráða’ 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=147> (accessed 26 April 2024)
15. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Haraldr harðráði Sigurðarson, Lausavísur 12’ 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, pp. 53-4.
16. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Haraldr harðráði Sigurðarson, Gamanvísur 2’ 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, pp. 36-7.