Mberf Lv 2^II

The couplet (Mberf Lv 2), which is attributed to Magnús in all prose versions, is preserved in Mberf in Mork (Mork), H, Hr (H-Hr) and in the interpolated mss F, E, J2ˣ and 42ˣ of Hkr. Mork is the main ms.

Villat * flokk várn fylla?
Falsk riddari inn valski?

Villat * fylla flokk várn? Falsk inn valski riddari?

Does he not wish to complete our company? Was the Norman knight hiding?

Mss: Mork(23v) (Mork); H(91r), Hr(62va) (H-Hr); F(59ra), E(34v), J2ˣ(312v), 42ˣ(12v)

Readings: [1] Villat *: Vill hann eigi all    [2] Falsk: ‘faskr’ F, ‘falskr’ 42ˣ

Editions: Skj AI, 432, Skj BI, 402, Skald I, 199, NN §2983; Mork 1867, 148, Mork 1928-32, 324, Andersson and Gade 2000, 303, 486 (Mberf); Fms 7, 57 (Mberf ch. 28); F 1871, 273, E 1916, 122 (Mberf).

Context: Magnús recites the couplet as a comment on the cowardly behaviour of a Norman knight, Giffarðr, who was with him at the battle of Fuxerna, Sweden (c. 1101).

Notes: [All]: For this battle, see also Anon (Mberf) 5 and Eldj Lv 1-2. — [1] villat * ‘does he not wish’: The mss read vill hann eigi ‘does he not wish’ (so also Skj B), but the normalisation (vill with the enclitic negation -at) is necessary to preserve the metre (see NN §2983). — [2] inn valski riddari ‘the Norman knight’: This was likely a Norman knight of the Giffard family (Gilfardus or Giffard) and could have been the one who mutilated Harold Godwineson’s body at the battle of Hastings in 1066 (see Gade 2001). Valskr denotes sby or sth. from Valland ‘northern France, Normandy’ (see Fritzner: valskr; Valland).

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. 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.
7. Gade, Kari Ellen. 2001a. ‘Morkinskinna’s “Giffarðsþáttr”: Literary Fiction or Historical Fact?’. Gripla 11, 181-97.
8. 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.
9. Mork 1928-32 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1928-32. Morkinskinna. SUGNL 53. Copenhagen: Jørgensen.
10. F 1871 = Unger, C. R., ed. 1871. Fríssbók: Codex Frisianus. En samling af norske konge-sagaer. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
11. E 1916 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1916. Eirspennill: AM 47 fol. Nóregs konunga sǫgur: Magnús góði – Hákon gamli. Kristiania (Oslo): Den norske historiske kildeskriftskommission.
12. 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.
13. Internal references
14. (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)
15. (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 24 April 2024)
16. (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 24 April 2024)
17. (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 24 April 2024)
18. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Anonymous Lausavísur, Lausavísur from Magnúss saga berfœtts 5’ 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. 832-3.
19. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Eldjárn, Lausavísur 1’ 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. 406-7.
20. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Magnús berfœttr Óláfsson, Lausavísur 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, p. 386.