Ólhv Hryn 3^II

Þing stofnuðu jǫfrar ungir;
jarl veitti svǫr ræsi snarla;
hersar báru á hilmi dýran
— hjaldrs fýstu þeir — sakar kaldar.
Alt lagði þá frǫmuðr frægða
— fekk sætt af því stillir rekka —
snildar skýrs ok seldi várar
sitt mál í kné lituðs stála.

Ungir jǫfrar stofnuðu þing; hersar báru kaldar sakar á dýran hilmi; þeir fýstu hjaldrs; jarl veitti ræsi snarla svǫr. {Frǫmuðr frægða} lagði þá alt mál sitt í kné {snildar skýrs lituðs stála} ok seldi várar; af því fekk {stillir rekka} sætt.

Young lords called an assembly; hersar brought hostile charges against the worthy ruler; they were eager for battle; the jarl gave the king replies quickly. {The promoter of glorious deeds} [WARRIOR = Skúli] then put his entire case into the hands {of the eloquent reddener of weapons} [WARRIOR = Hákon] and gave pledges; by this {the leader of men} [RULER = Skúli] attained reconciliation.

Mss: E(165r), F(104rb), 42ˣ(141r), 81a(96vb), 304ˣ(304v), 325VIII 5 b(1r), Flat(174va) (Hák)

Readings: [1] Þing stofnuðu: Enn þing stefndu 304ˣ;    jǫfrar ungir: so F, 325VIII 5 b, Flat, jǫfra runnar E, 42ˣ, 81a, 304ˣ    [2] svǫr: svar 81a;    ræsi snarla: ræsis varla 42ˣ, ræsi snjalla 325VIII 5 b    [3] hersar: so F, 42ˣ, 81a, 304ˣ, hersa E, hersir 325VIII 5 b, Flat;    báru: ‘bar þa’ corrected from ‘bꜳ þu’ Flat;    á: af 304ˣ, om. Flat;    dýran: snjallan 42ˣ    [4] sakar: sakir 42ˣ, 304ˣ, Flat    [5] frǫmuðr: ‘fromur’ 81a    [6] sætt af því: sætt af F, ‘svor a þvi’ 42ˣ, af því 81a;    stillir: om. 81a;    rekka: ‘rekta’(?) 304ˣ    [7] snildar skýrs ok seldi várar: seldi af því sendir 81a, snildar skýrs ok síðan seldi 304ˣ;    snildar: so F, 42ˣ, 325VIII 5 b, Flat, ‘sialldar’ E;    skýrs: styrs F, skýrr Flat;    várar: so 325VIII 5 b, ‘vara’ E, vára F, ‘vora’ 42ˣ, varrar Flat    [8] í kné: om. 81a, 325VIII 5 b, konungi written in the left margin Flat;    lituðs: litaðs E, 42ˣ, 81a, 304ˣ, lituðr F, Flat, om. 325VIII 5 b;    stála: om. 325VIII 5 b

Editions: Skj AII, 93-4, Skj BII, 105, Skald II, 56, NN §2279; E 1916, 563, F 1871, 483, Hák 1910-86, 477, Hák 1977-82, 90, Flat 1860-8, III, 108.

Context: Hákon and his followers brought charges against Skúli at an assembly in Bergen, and Skúli defended himself with a long, clever speech. A reconciliation between Hákon and Skúli was effected by the archbishop and bishops in attendance there.

Notes: [All]: See also Anon (Hák) 2. — [3] hersar: This term is used synonymously with lendir menn ‘district chieftains’ in st. 2/6 above to refer to the king’s liegemen. The interchangeability of the terms is mentioned in Skáldskaparmál (SnE 1998, I, 80): ok er þat háttr konunga at setja þar réttara yfir svá mǫrg heruð sem hann gefr vald yfir ok heita þeir hersar eða lendir menn í Danskri tungu ‘and it is the kings’ custom to appoint judicial administrators over as many herǫð as he delegates power over, and these are called hersar or lendir menn in the Scandinavian language’. — [7] snildar skýrs ‘eloquent’: Lit. ‘clear of eloquence’. The adj. skýrs ‘clear’ (m. gen. sg.) agrees with lituðs (m. gen. sg.) ‘reddener’ (l. 8), and so snildar skýrs ‘eloquent’ is taken with lituðs stála ‘reddener of weapons’ i.e. ‘warrior’ (l. 8) to refer to Hákon. The Flat variant skýrr (m. nom. sg.) ‘clear’ agrees with stillir (m. nom. sg.) ‘leader’ (l. 6), thereby associating snildar skýrr ‘eloquent’ with stillir rekka ‘leader of men’ i.e. ‘ruler’ (l. 6) in reference to Skúli. Though it is syntactically simpler and contextually preferable to assign the epithet ‘eloquent’ to Skúli, since he is the one pleading his case, the Flat variant appears to be a lectio facilior. See also NN §2279. — [8] í kné ‘into the hands’: Lit. ‘onto the knees’. — [8] lituðs ‘of the reddener’: Nomen agentis from lita ‘redden, colour’. The emendation is necessary for the warrior-kenning lituðs stála ‘of the reddener of weapons’.

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
3. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
4. 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.
5. F 1871 = Unger, C. R., ed. 1871. Fríssbók: Codex Frisianus. En samling af norske konge-sagaer. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
6. E 1916 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1916. Eirspennill: AM 47 fol. Nóregs konunga sǫgur: Magnús góði – Hákon gamli. Kristiania (Oslo): Den norske historiske kildeskriftskommission.
7. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
8. Hák 1977-82 = Mundt, Marina, ed. 1977. Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar etter Sth. 8 fol., AM 325VIII, 4° og AM 304, 4°. Oslo: Forlagsentralen. Suppl. by James E. Knirk, Rettelser til Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar etter Sth. 8 fol., AM 325VIII, 4° og AM 304, 4°. Norrøne tekster 2. Oslo: Norsk historisk kjeldeskrift-institutt, 1982.
9. Hák 1910-86 = Kjær, Albert and Ludvig Holm-Olsen, eds. 1910-86. Det Arnamagnæanske haandskrift 81a fol. (Skálholtsbók yngsta) indeholdende Sverris saga, Bǫglungasǫgur, Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar. Oslo: Den norske historiske kildeskriftkommission and Kjeldeskriftfondet.
10. Internal references
11. (forthcoming), ‘ Snorri Sturluson, Skáldskaparmál’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=112> (accessed 19 April 2024)
12. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Anonymous Lausavísur, Lausavísur from Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar 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. 849.