Ótt Hfl 17I
Matthew Townend (ed.) 2012, ‘Óttarr svarti, Hǫfuðlausn 17’ 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. 762.
kennings
Lýtandi branda folds ifla,‘Harmer of the flames of the land of the hawk, ’
= GENEROUS MAN = Óláfr
the land of the hawk, → HAND
the flames of the HAND → GOLD
Harmer of the GOLD → GENEROUS MAN = Óláfr
hefr ‘you have’
(not checked:)
hafa (verb): have
ljótu ‘with ill’
(not checked:)
ljótr (adj.): ugly
[1] ljótu: ljótum 61, ljótan Holm4, Flat, Tóm, ‘[...]tan’ 325VII
notes
[1] ljótu (n. dat. sg.) ‘with ill’: The strong adj. ljótr ‘ugly, bad’, used substantivally.
rôðǫndum ‘the rulers’
(not checked:)
ráðandi (noun m.; °-a; ráðendr): ruler
[2] rôðǫndum: ráðandi J2ˣ, ‘ræðendvm’ 75a
branda ‘of the flames’
(not checked:)
brandr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): sword, prow; fire
kennings
Lýtandi branda folds ifla,‘Harmer of the flames of the land of the hawk, ’
= GENEROUS MAN = Óláfr
the land of the hawk, → HAND
the flames of the HAND → GOLD
Harmer of the GOLD → GENEROUS MAN = Óláfr
branda ‘of the flames’
(not checked:)
brandr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): sword, prow; fire
kennings
Lýtandi branda folds ifla,‘Harmer of the flames of the land of the hawk, ’
= GENEROUS MAN = Óláfr
the land of the hawk, → HAND
the flames of the HAND → GOLD
Harmer of the GOLD → GENEROUS MAN = Óláfr
umbstillingar ‘their plottings’
(not checked:)
umstilling (noun f.): [their plottings]
notes
[3] umbstillingar ‘plottings’: All mss read um-, but this is a younger form, and all eds print older umb- (see CVC: um; Finnur Jónsson 1901, 122).
allar ‘for all’
(not checked:)
allr (adj.): all
ifla ‘of the hawk’
(not checked:)
ifli (noun m.): hawk
kennings
Lýtandi branda folds ifla,‘Harmer of the flames of the land of the hawk, ’
= GENEROUS MAN = Óláfr
the land of the hawk, → HAND
the flames of the HAND → GOLD
Harmer of the GOLD → GENEROUS MAN = Óláfr
notes
[4] ifla ‘of the hawk’: This could either be gen. sg. of ifli m. or gen. pl. of ifill m., both meaning ‘hawk’. The former is preferred here, as kennings of this type more frequently have a sg. determinant than a pl.
ifla ‘of the hawk’
(not checked:)
ifli (noun m.): hawk
kennings
Lýtandi branda folds ifla,‘Harmer of the flames of the land of the hawk, ’
= GENEROUS MAN = Óláfr
the land of the hawk, → HAND
the flames of the HAND → GOLD
Harmer of the GOLD → GENEROUS MAN = Óláfr
notes
[4] ifla ‘of the hawk’: This could either be gen. sg. of ifli m. or gen. pl. of ifill m., both meaning ‘hawk’. The former is preferred here, as kennings of this type more frequently have a sg. determinant than a pl.
ifla ‘of the hawk’
(not checked:)
ifli (noun m.): hawk
kennings
Lýtandi branda folds ifla,‘Harmer of the flames of the land of the hawk, ’
= GENEROUS MAN = Óláfr
the land of the hawk, → HAND
the flames of the HAND → GOLD
Harmer of the GOLD → GENEROUS MAN = Óláfr
notes
[4] ifla ‘of the hawk’: This could either be gen. sg. of ifli m. or gen. pl. of ifill m., both meaning ‘hawk’. The former is preferred here, as kennings of this type more frequently have a sg. determinant than a pl.
kennings
Lýtandi branda folds ifla,‘Harmer of the flames of the land of the hawk, ’
= GENEROUS MAN = Óláfr
the land of the hawk, → HAND
the flames of the HAND → GOLD
Harmer of the GOLD → GENEROUS MAN = Óláfr
notes
[4] folds ‘of the land’: A problematic reading, though most mss (including the best ones) have it, since fold ‘land’ is f., with foldar as its usual gen. sg. (a) ÍF 27 suggests simply that folds is an irregular gen. sg. for foldar, of a type paralleled by some other f. nouns, though normally in compounds (e.g. hjálpsmaðr for usual hjálparmaðr ‘helper’: see CVC: hjálps-maðr); this solution is followed here since it respects the dominant ms. form. (b) Kock (NN §730; Skald) emends to foldar, even though this requires the deletion of the expletive particle of, in order to retain the requisite six syllables in the line. (c) Finnur Jónsson in Skj B adopts the reading fold, found in the relatively unauthoritative mss 325VII, Flat, and Tóm, and suggests that it combines with branda to form a cpd fold-branda ‘land-flames (of the hawk) [ARM > GOLD]’ whose elements are separated by a kind of reverse tmesis. However, as Kock notes, Finnur in LP is inconsistent, suggesting ifla fold-branda under lýta, but brandr ifla foldar under 1. brandr .
kennings
Lýtandi branda folds ifla,‘Harmer of the flames of the land of the hawk, ’
= GENEROUS MAN = Óláfr
the land of the hawk, → HAND
the flames of the HAND → GOLD
Harmer of the GOLD → GENEROUS MAN = Óláfr
notes
[4] folds ‘of the land’: A problematic reading, though most mss (including the best ones) have it, since fold ‘land’ is f., with foldar as its usual gen. sg. (a) ÍF 27 suggests simply that folds is an irregular gen. sg. for foldar, of a type paralleled by some other f. nouns, though normally in compounds (e.g. hjálpsmaðr for usual hjálparmaðr ‘helper’: see CVC: hjálps-maðr); this solution is followed here since it respects the dominant ms. form. (b) Kock (NN §730; Skald) emends to foldar, even though this requires the deletion of the expletive particle of, in order to retain the requisite six syllables in the line. (c) Finnur Jónsson in Skj B adopts the reading fold, found in the relatively unauthoritative mss 325VII, Flat, and Tóm, and suggests that it combines with branda to form a cpd fold-branda ‘land-flames (of the hawk) [ARM > GOLD]’ whose elements are separated by a kind of reverse tmesis. However, as Kock notes, Finnur in LP is inconsistent, suggesting ifla fold-branda under lýta, but brandr ifla foldar under 1. brandr .
kennings
Lýtandi branda folds ifla,‘Harmer of the flames of the land of the hawk, ’
= GENEROUS MAN = Óláfr
the land of the hawk, → HAND
the flames of the HAND → GOLD
Harmer of the GOLD → GENEROUS MAN = Óláfr
notes
[4] folds ‘of the land’: A problematic reading, though most mss (including the best ones) have it, since fold ‘land’ is f., with foldar as its usual gen. sg. (a) ÍF 27 suggests simply that folds is an irregular gen. sg. for foldar, of a type paralleled by some other f. nouns, though normally in compounds (e.g. hjálpsmaðr for usual hjálparmaðr ‘helper’: see CVC: hjálps-maðr); this solution is followed here since it respects the dominant ms. form. (b) Kock (NN §730; Skald) emends to foldar, even though this requires the deletion of the expletive particle of, in order to retain the requisite six syllables in the line. (c) Finnur Jónsson in Skj B adopts the reading fold, found in the relatively unauthoritative mss 325VII, Flat, and Tóm, and suggests that it combines with branda to form a cpd fold-branda ‘land-flames (of the hawk) [ARM > GOLD]’ whose elements are separated by a kind of reverse tmesis. However, as Kock notes, Finnur in LP is inconsistent, suggesting ifla fold-branda under lýta, but brandr ifla foldar under 1. brandr .
of ‘’
(not checked:)
4. of (particle): (before verb)
goldit ‘paid’
(not checked:)
1. gjalda (verb): pay, repay
Hafa ‘receive’
(not checked:)
hafa (verb): have
lézt ‘you let’
(not checked:)
láta (verb): let, have sth done
heiðska ‘the Hedmark’
(not checked:)
heiðskr (adj.): [Hedmark]
[5] heiðska: so Holm2, J2ˣ, 75a, heimska Kˣ, 325V, 68, Flat, Tóm, ‘hoska’ Bb, heiðskra 61, heinska Holm4, 325VII
notes
[5] heiðska ‘Hedmark’: An adj. referring to the people of Hedmark (ON Heiðmǫrk) and recorded only here. A form deriving from heiðskr or heizkr (cf. the first element of Heiðmǫrk) is indicated by the readings of Holm2 (‘heizca’), J2x (‘hæiðzka’), 61 (‘heiðskra’) and 75a (‘hæizka’), and this is retained here. The meaning ‘from Hedmark’ is elsewhere expressed by the adjectives heinverskr (CVC: Heinverskr; LP: heinverskr) and heiðneskr (CVC, also with the sense ‘heathen’).
jǫfra ‘princes’
(not checked:)
jǫfurr (noun m.): ruler, prince
her ‘Army’
(not checked:)
herr (noun m.; °-s/-jar, dat. -; -jar, gen. -ja/herra): army, host < herskorðandi (noun m.): [Army-supporter]
kennings
Herskorðandi,‘Army-supporter, ’
= RULER
Army-supporter, → RULER
skorðandi ‘supporter’
(not checked:)
skorðandi (noun m.): supporter < herskorðandi (noun m.): [Army-supporter]
kennings
Herskorðandi,‘Army-supporter, ’
= RULER
Army-supporter, → RULER
forðum ‘previously’
(not checked:)
forðum (adv.): formerly, once
notes
[6] forðum ‘previously’: Skj B (followed here) takes this adv. to qualify sættu ‘planned’ (inf. sæta), whereas Kock (NN §2780 anm., followed by ÍF 27) suggests it modifies lézt (hafa) ‘you let (receive)’. Forðum also occurs in st. 19/3, where it clearly applies to the period before Óláfr conquered the five princes.
mundangs ‘an appropriate’
(not checked:)
mundang (noun n.; °-s; gen. -a): appropriate
notes
[7] mundangs laun ‘an appropriate payment’: Lit. ‘a payment of appropriateness’. Mundang n. is ‘the tongue of the balance, balance, moderation, the mean’, hence ‘what is appropriate’.
notes
[7] mundangs laun ‘an appropriate payment’: Lit. ‘a payment of appropriateness’. Mundang n. is ‘the tongue of the balance, balance, moderation, the mean’, hence ‘what is appropriate’.
þás ‘who’
(not checked:)
þás (conj.): when
mætr ‘excellent’
(not checked:)
mætr (adj.; °compar. -ri/-ari, superl. -astr): honoured, respected
gramr ‘ruler’
(not checked:)
1. gramr (noun m.): ruler
við ‘against’
(not checked:)
2. við (prep.): with, against
þik ‘you’
(not checked:)
þú (pron.; °gen. þín, dat. þér, acc. þik): you
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
Five kings of Upplǫnd (Opplandene) plot to rise up against Óláfr, but their plan is uncovered and they and their followers are banished or mutilated, though peace is made with some. Stanzas 17-19 are cited in a block without prose interruption.
The Bb text for sts 17-20 belongs to the Hkr redaction, being copied from a ms. akin to K (ÓH 1941, II, 1116), while the greater part of Bb belongs to the ÓH redaction. — According to Hkr and ÓH, a great deal occurred between the events of st. 16 and those of st. 17: Óláfr was acknowledged as king of Norway, and defeated Sveinn jarl Hákonarson at the battle of Nesjar, fought on Palm Sunday 1016. There is no evidence that Óttarr’s poem ever treated of these subjects; rather, its narrative now moves forward to Óláfr’s defeat of five kings of Uppland, perhaps in c. 1018. On sts 17-19, see Introduction.
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