Ótt Hfl 14I
Matthew Townend (ed.) 2012, ‘Óttarr svarti, Hǫfuðlausn 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. 759.
Val ‘of the slain’
(not checked:)
1. valr (noun m.; °dat. -i; -ir): corpse, the slain < valfasti (noun m.)
[1] Val‑: ‘Yas‑’ 68, ‘Iall‑’ Tóm
kennings
Valfasta veðr‘weather-brisk of the slain-fire’
= BATTLE
the fire of the slain, → SWORD
the weather of the SWORD → BATTLE
Val ‘of the slain’
(not checked:)
1. valr (noun m.; °dat. -i; -ir): corpse, the slain < valfasti (noun m.)
[1] Val‑: ‘Yas‑’ 68, ‘Iall‑’ Tóm
kennings
Valfasta veðr‘weather-brisk of the slain-fire’
= BATTLE
the fire of the slain, → SWORD
the weather of the SWORD → BATTLE
fasta ‘of the fire’
(not checked:)
fasti (noun m.; °; -ar): flame, fire < valfasti (noun m.)
kennings
Valfasta veðr‘weather-brisk of the slain-fire’
= BATTLE
the fire of the slain, → SWORD
the weather of the SWORD → BATTLE
fasta ‘of the fire’
(not checked:)
fasti (noun m.; °; -ar): flame, fire < valfasti (noun m.)
kennings
Valfasta veðr‘weather-brisk of the slain-fire’
= BATTLE
the fire of the slain, → SWORD
the weather of the SWORD → BATTLE
bjótt ‘you prepared’
[1] bjótt: bjó Flat, Tóm
vestan ‘from the west’
(not checked:)
vestan (prep.): from the west
veðr ‘the weather’
(not checked:)
2. veðr (noun n.; °-s; -): weather, wind, storm < veðrǫrr (adj.)
kennings
Valfasta veðr‘weather-brisk of the slain-fire’
= BATTLE
the fire of the slain, → SWORD
the weather of the SWORD → BATTLE
ǫrr ‘Brisk in’
(not checked:)
ǫrr (adj.): generous, brave < veðrǫrr (adj.)
tváa ‘two’
(not checked:)
tveir (num. cardinal): two
knǫrru ‘cargo-ships’
(not checked:)
knǫrr (noun m.; °knarrar, dat. knerri; knerrir, acc. knǫrru/knerri): (a kind of) ship
notes
[2] knǫrru ‘cargo-ships’: On the meaning of knǫrr see Jesch (2001a, 128-32). As Jesch notes, the tradition that Óláfr returned to Norway with two merchant ships is also found in most of the prose sources, Latin as well as vernacular (ibid., 130 n. 15; McDougall and McDougall 1998, 76 n. 122).
hafið ‘have’
(not checked:)
hafa (verb): have
[3] hafið ér í: var ǫrt við 73aˣ, 78aˣ; hafið: hafi Holm2, 75c, hafir 68, 61, ‘hafui’ Flat
ér ‘you’
(not checked:)
ér (pron.; °gen. yðvar/yðar, dat./acc. yðr): you
[3] hafið ér í: var ǫrt við 73aˣ, 78aˣ
í ‘into’
(not checked:)
í (prep.): in, into
[3] hafið ér í: var ǫrt við 73aˣ, 78aˣ; í ótta: sótta Flat
opt ‘often’
(not checked:)
opt (adv.): often
skjǫldunga ‘of kings’
(not checked:)
skjǫldungr (noun m.): king
kennings
þopti skjǫldunga,‘benchmate of kings, ’
= RULER
benchmate of kings, → RULER
notes
[4] þopti skjǫldunga ‘benchmate of kings [RULER]’: Skald and ÍF 27 divide the helmingr into couplets, as here. Skj B takes the ruler-kenning as an apostrophe belonging with bjótt ‘you prepared’ (l. 1), and thus regards the helmingr as consisting of a main clause in ll. 1-2 and part of l. 4, with an intercalary clause in between.
þopti ‘benchmate’
(not checked:)
þofti (noun m.): companions, benchmate
[4] þopti: þoptum 73aˣ, 78aˣ, þoptu 68, 61
kennings
þopti skjǫldunga,‘benchmate of kings, ’
= RULER
benchmate of kings, → RULER
notes
[4] þopti skjǫldunga ‘benchmate of kings [RULER]’: Skald and ÍF 27 divide the helmingr into couplets, as here. Skj B takes the ruler-kenning as an apostrophe belonging with bjótt ‘you prepared’ (l. 1), and thus regards the helmingr as consisting of a main clause in ll. 1-2 and part of l. 4, with an intercalary clause in between.
Næði ‘would have been able’
(not checked:)
1. ná (verb): reach, get, manage
[5] Næði: æði 78aˣ, náði 68, 61, 75c, 325V, Flat, Tóm
straumr ‘current’
(not checked:)
straumr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i/-; -ar): stream, current
ef ‘if’
(not checked:)
3. ef (conj.): if
strangr ‘The strong’
(not checked:)
strangr (adj.): strong
kaup ‘the merchant’
(not checked:)
kaup (noun n.; °-s; -): reward, purchase < kaupskip (noun n.)
[6] kaup‑: her‑ 325V
skipum ‘ships’
(not checked:)
skip (noun n.; °-s; -): ship < kaupskip (noun n.)
innan ‘on’
(not checked:)
innan (prep.): inside, within
borðs ‘board’
(not checked:)
borð (noun n.; °-s; -): side, plank, board; table
notes
[7] á unnum ‘on the waves’: The mss show fluctuation between á unnum ‘on the waves’ and of unnir ‘over the waves’. Skj B prints of unnir, even though his base text, Kx, has á unnum.
notes
[7] á unnum ‘on the waves’: The mss show fluctuation between á unnum ‘on the waves’ and of unnir ‘over the waves’. Skj B prints of unnir, even though his base text, Kx, has á unnum.
erringar ‘in vigour’
(not checked:)
erring (noun f.): courage, vigour
lið ‘a crew’
(not checked:)
lið (noun n.; °-s; -): retinue, troop
verra ‘poorer’
(not checked:)
verri (adj. comp.): worse, worst
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
|
Valfasta, bjótt vestan, |
Brisk in the weather of the fire of the slain [(lit. ‘weather-brisk of the slain-fire’) SWORD > BATTLE], you prepared two cargo-ships from the west; benchmate of kings [RULER], you have often ventured into danger. The strong current would have been able to trouble the merchant-ships on the waves if a crew poorer in vigour had stood on board.
Óláfr returns to Norway from England. His two ships survive a dangerous storm through the excellence of the men and the king’s luck.
Stanza/chapter/text segment
Use the buttons at the top of the page to navigate between stanzas in a poem.
Information tab
- text: if the stanza has been published, the edited text of the stanza and translation are here; if it hasn't been published an old edition (usually Skj) is given for reference
- sources: a list of the manuscripts or inscriptions containing this stanza, with page and line references and links (eye button) to images where available, and transcription where available
- readings: a list of variant manuscript readings of words in the main text
- editions and texts: a list of editions of the stanza with links to the bibliography; and a list of prose works in which the stanza occurs, allowing you to navigate within the prose context
- notes and context: notes not linked to individual words are given here, along with the account of the prose context for the stanza, where relevant
Interactive tab
The text and translation are given here, with buttons to toggle whether the text is shown in the verse order or prose word order. Clicking on indiviudal words gives dictionary links, variant readings, kennings and notes, where relevant.
Full text tab
This is the text of the edition in a similar format to how the edition appears in the printed volumes.
Chapter/text segment
This view is also used for chapters and other text segments. Not all the headings shown are relevant to such sections.