Ólhv Lv 1^II

The st. (Ólhv Lv 1) appears in Hák and is transmitted in F.

Nús, þats flaust ór festum
flýtr hertoga ins nýta;
né fákr á ver víka
veðrsollit kom betri.

Nús, þats flaust ins nýta hertoga flýtr ór festum; né kom betri {fákr víka} á veðrsollit ver.

Now the ship of the capable duke dashes from its moorings; a better {horse of bays} [SHIP] has not ventured on the storm-swollen sea.

Mss: F(106rb) (Hák)

Readings: [4] betri: betra F

Editions: Skj AII, 98, Skj BII, 109, Skald II, 58; F 1871, 492.

Context: In 1239 King Hákon Hákonarson sent word to Skúli Bárðarson to meet him in Bergen without his liegemen. Against the king’s orders, Skúli set out from Trøndelag to Bergen in the summer with twenty ships and a large force of armed men.

Notes: [1] nús, þats ‘now’: Lit. ‘now it is that’. Cf. Eskál Vell 2/1^I, Sigv Austv 11/5^I and Note to Ill Har 1/1. — [1-2] flaust ... flýtr ór festum ‘the ship ... dashes from its moorings’: Cf. Sturl Hrafn 15/7-8 flaust ... ór frónlæstum festum ‘ships ... from the land-secured moorings’. — [2] flýtr ‘dashes’: Used intransitively (see Fritzner: flýta 2). — [2] ins nýta hertoga ‘of the capable duke’: I.e. Skúli Bárðarson, who was the first Norwegian to bear the title hertogi ‘duke’. See Notes to Ólhv Hryn 5/8 and Sturl Hákkv 23/8. — [4]: The l. lacks internal rhyme. The emendation vetrsollit ‘winter-swollen’ from veðrsollit ‘storm-swollen’ (so F) would restore the internal rhyme (vetrsollit : betri) but makes no sense in the present context (the ship set sail in the summertime, and, moreover, it is difficult to reconcile the ship’s swift movement with the icy condition of the sea that ‘winter-swollen’ might imply). Veðrsollit ‘storm-swollen’ is preferable with regard to context, and the poet uses a similar image of winds causing the sea to swell in Ólhv Hryn 9/5. — [4] betri (comp. adj., m. nom. sg.) ‘better’: Betra (n. nom. sg., or oblique sg.; so F) ‘better’ has been emended to betri in order to agree with fákr (m. nom. sg.) ‘horse’ (l. 3). This emendation is in keeping with previous eds.

References

1. Bibliography
2. 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.
3. F 1871 = Unger, C. R., ed. 1871. Fríssbók: Codex Frisianus. En samling af norske konge-sagaer. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
4. Internal references
5. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar’ 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=33> (accessed 24 April 2024)
6. Edith Marold (ed.) 2012, ‘Einarr skálaglamm Helgason, Vellekla 2’ 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. 284.
7. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Illugi bryndœlaskáld, Poem about Haraldr harðráði 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. 282-3.
8. Lauren Goetting (ed.) 2009, ‘Óláfr hvítaskáld Þórðarson, Hrynhenda 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. 662-3.
9. Lauren Goetting (ed.) 2009, ‘Óláfr hvítaskáld Þórðarson, Hrynhenda 9’ 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. 666.
10. Lauren Goetting (ed.) 2009, ‘Óláfr hvítaskáld Þórðarson, 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. 670-1.
11. R. D. Fulk (ed.) 2012, ‘Sigvatr Þórðarson, Austrfararvísur 11’ 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. 599.
12. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Sturla Þórðarson, Hákonarkviða 23’ 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. 716-17.
13. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Sturla Þórðarson, Hrafnsmál 15’ 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. 740.