Jǫk Lv 2^I

Svíða sôr af mœði;
setit hefk opt við betra;
unds á oss, sús sprændi
ótrauð legi rauðum.
Byss mér blóð ór þessi
ben; ték við þrek venjask;
verpr hjalmgǫfugr hilmir
heiðsær á mik reiði.

Sôr svíða af mœði; hefk opt setit við betra; unds á oss, sús sprændi ótrauð rauðum legi. Blóð byss mér ór þessi ben; ték venjask við þrek; hjalmgǫfugr, heiðsær hilmir verpr reiði á mik.

Wounds are burning from exhaustion; I have often sat through better; there is a gash on us [me], which has spurted, unstinting, red liquid. My blood gushes from this wound; I am becoming used to acts of courage; the helmet-noble, revered ruler hurls his anger at me.

Mss: Kˣ(440r) (Hkr); Holm2(60r), 972ˣ(448va), J2ˣ(212v), 321ˣ(227), 73aˣ(184r), 68(59v), 61(118rb-va), 325V(71vb), 325VII(33v), Bb(191va), Flat(120ra), Tóm(148v) (ÓH)

Readings: [1] mœði: móði 972ˣ    [2] hefk (‘hefi ec’): efi ek Holm2;    opt: enn J2ˣ, of 73aˣ    [3] unds á oss sús (‘und er a os su er’): und lét æ sem 325V;    unds (‘und er’): undr er 61;    á: om. J2ˣ, 321ˣ, Flat, (í)(?) 61;    sús (‘su er’): ‘hv(e)’(?) 61, svá at Tóm    [4] ótrauð: ótrauðr 61;    legi: loga 321ˣ;    rauðum: ‘rau[...]’ 61    [5] Byss: ‘by’ J2ˣ;    ór: ‘u[...]’ 61;    þessi: so J2ˣ, 321ˣ, 73aˣ, 325VII, þessu Kˣ, Holm2, 68, hausi 61, 325V, Bb, Flat, Tóm    [6] ben: so J2ˣ, 321ˣ, 73aˣ, 61, 325V, 325VII, Flat, Tóm, beni Kˣ, Holm2, 68, ‘bęni’ or ‘bęin’ Bb;    þrek: om. J2ˣ;    venjask: ‘ventazst’ Flat    [7] ‑gǫfugr: ‘‑gavfr(r)’(?) 325V;    hilmir: hilmi 972ˣ    [8] heið‑: heit‑ J2ˣ, 61

Editions: Skj AI, 314-5, Skj BI, 291, Skald I, 148; Hkr 1893-1901, II, 424, IV, 161, ÍF 27, 332, Hkr 1991, II, 495 (ÓHHkr ch. 182); Fms 5, 29-30, Fms 12, 97, ÓH 1941, I, 504 (ch. 178), Flat 1860-8, II, 317.

Context: A considerable while after the incident attached to Lv 1, Jǫkull is captured in Gotland by Óláfr’s men, and executed in the king’s presence. Jǫkull jerks as the blow is struck, so that it hits his head rather than neck, and hence has a few moments to sit up and compose the stanza before dying of the wound.

Notes: [2] setit við betra ‘sat through better’: The speaker wryly compares his present trauma with past experience. The exact sense of sitja við + acc. is uncertain here, but may be equivalent to sitja + acc. ‘endure, put up with’ (Fritzner: sitja 6).  — [5-6] ór þessi ben ‘from this wound’: The variant ór þessu beni in Kˣ, Holm2 and 68 contains the known n. counterpart to ben f. ‘wound’ (cf. Fritzner: ben f., ben n.). — [8] heiðsær ‘revered’: More literally, ‘regarded with reverence’. The cpd is a hap. leg., though the corresponding f. noun is recorded (see Fritzner, LP: heiðsæi). 

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. 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.
5. 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.
6. Fritzner = Fritzner, Johan. 1883-96. Ordbog over det gamle norske sprog. 3 vols. Kristiania (Oslo): Den norske forlagsforening. 4th edn. Rpt. 1973. Oslo etc.: Universitetsforlaget.
7. ÓH 1941 = Johnsen, Oscar Albert and Jón Helgason, eds. 1941. Saga Óláfs konungs hins helga: Den store saga om Olav den hellige efter pergamenthåndskrift i Kungliga biblioteket i Stockholm nr. 2 4^to med varianter fra andre håndskrifter. 2 vols. Det norske historiske kildeskriftfond skrifter 53. Oslo: Dybwad.
8. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
9. Hkr 1893-1901 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1893-1901. Heimskringla: Nóregs konunga sǫgur af Snorri Sturluson. 4 vols. SUGNL 23. Copenhagen: Møller.
10. Hkr 1991 = Bergljót S. Kristjánsdóttir et al., eds. 1991. Heimskringla. 3 vols. Reykjavík: Mál og menning.
11. Internal references
12. (forthcoming), ‘ Heimskringla, Óláfs saga helga (in Heimskringla)’ 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=152> (accessed 24 April 2024)