Ótt Hfl 12^I

Nôðuð ungr at eyða,
ógnteitr jǫfurr, Peitu;
reynduð, ræsir, steinda
rǫnd á Túskalandi.

Ógnteitr jǫfurr, nôðuð ungr at eyða Peitu; ræsir, reynduð steinda rǫnd á Túskalandi.

Battle-glad prince, you were able [when] young to lay waste to Poitou; ruler, you tested the stained shield in Touraine.

Mss: Kˣ(229r); Holm2(7v), J1ˣ(142v), J2ˣ(124r), 325VI(6vb), 73aˣ(21v-22r), 78aˣ(21v), 68(6v), 61(80vb), 75c(4r), 325V(9va), 325VII(2v), Bb(127rb-va), Flat(81rb), Tóm(97r) (ÓH)

Readings: [1] Nôðuð: náðit 61, knôttuð 75c, Flat, Tóm    [2] ‑teitr: ‘titr’ Bb    [3] reynduð: reyndi 325V, 325VII, renndut Bb, reyndit Flat;    steinda: Þrænda 325VII    [4] á Túskalandi: om. 325VI;    á: í Flat, Tóm;    Túska‑: ‘tus þa’ 78aˣ, ‘tyska‑’ 68, Tóm, ‘stulka‑’ 61, ‘toska’ Bb

Editions: Skj AI, 293, Skj BI, 270, Skald I, 139, NN §729; Hkr 1893-1901, II, 26, IV, 113-14, ÍF 27, 25 (ÓHHkr ch. 19); ÓH 1941, I, 50 (ch. 25), Flat 1860-8, II, 27.

Context: Redirected northwards from Spain by a dream presaging his rule over Norway, Óláfr campaigns in Peita (Poitou).

Notes: [All]: Óláfr’s battles in Brittany and Spain are detailed in Sigv Víkv 10-13, quoted in ÓH and Hkr between Hfl 11 and 12, and his return to Leira (the Loire) and burning of a town called Varrandi in Peituland (Poitou) are depicted in Víkv 14, quoted immediately after Hfl 12. Snorri (ÍF 27, 27; ÓH 1941, I, 52) tells that after his battles in Poitou Óláfr remained for a while in Normandy, and this appears to be confirmed by William of Jumièges (van Houts 1992-5, II, 24-9), who records his baptism at the court of Duke Richard II; the tradition passed from William to Theodoricus (McDougall and McDougall 1998, 72 n. 102). — [1-4]: The prose order followed here is that of Kock (NN §729) and ÍF 27. Skj B’s proposed syntax is much more complexly interlaced, with ungr ‘young’ qualifying jǫfurr ‘prince’ and ógnteitr ‘battle-glad’ qualifying ræsir ‘ruler’. However, as Kock points out, the syntax and structure of the opening two lines of this stanza have a parallel in st. 3/1-2. — [3-4] steinda rǫnd ‘the stained shield’: The shield might be stained or coloured with either paint or the blood of enemies. — [4] Túskalandi ‘Touraine’: Unlike Peita, this p. n. is not recorded in the extant stanzas of Sigv Víkv. Apparently the first element is a gen. pl., ‘of the Túskar’, but who the Túskar are is unknown. LP: Túskaland identifies the place with Touraine, and this has generally been accepted, but the philology of the name remains unclear, and indeed, it is possible that the <u> in the first syllable is short not long.

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. 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. 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.
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. 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. McDougall, David and Ian McDougall, trans. 1998. Theodoricus monachus. Historia de antiquitate regum norwagiensium: An Account of the Ancient History of the Norwegian Kings. Viking Society for Northern Research Text Series 11. University College, London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
11. Theodoricus = Theodrici monachi historia de antiquitate regum Norwagiensium. In MHN 1-68.
12. Houts, Elisabeth M. C. van, ed. and trans. 1992-5. The Gesta Normannorum Ducum of William of Jumièges, Orderic Vitalis, and Robert of Torigni. 2 vols. Oxford Medieval Texts. Oxford: Clarendon.
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 16 April 2024)
15. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Óláfs saga helga’ 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=53> (accessed 16 April 2024)
16. (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 16 April 2024)
17. Judith Jesch 2012, ‘ Sigvatr Þórðarson, Víkingarvísur’ 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. 532. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1360> (accessed 16 April 2024)
18. Judith Jesch (ed.) 2012, ‘Sigvatr Þórðarson, Víkingarvísur 10’ 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. 548.
19. Judith Jesch (ed.) 2012, ‘Sigvatr Þórðarson, Víkingarvísur 14’ 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. 553.