Ótt Hfl 20I
Matthew Townend (ed.) 2012, ‘Óttarr svarti, Hǫfuðlausn 20’ 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. 766.
Gegn ‘Trustworthy one’
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1. gegn (adj.; °compar. -ri, superl. -astr/-str): reliable
eru ‘are’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
[1] eru: er at Bb, erut 73aˣ, Flat, es Tóm
þér ‘to you’
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þú (pron.; °gen. þín, dat. þér, acc. þik): you
þegnum ‘thanes’
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þegn (noun m.; °dat. -/-i; -ar): thane, man, franklin
þjóð ‘kings’
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þjóð (noun f.; °-ar, dat. -/-u; -ir): people < þjóðskjǫldungr (noun m.)
notes
[2] þjóðskjǫldunga ‘of kings of the people’: The cpd is a hap. leg. in ON. Its OE cognate þēodscylding also occurs only once, in Beowulf l. 1019 (Þēod-Scyldingas, Beowulf 2008, 36), where it is an alternative term for the Danes. Here the word seems to be a variant on ON þjóðkonungr, a particular favourite of Sigvatr (see LP: þjóðkonungr), which could mean ‘king of a people’ or (if þjóð is simply an intensifier) ‘mighty king’.
skjǫldunga ‘of the people’
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skjǫldungr (noun m.): king < þjóðskjǫldungr (noun m.)
[2] ‑skjǫldunga: ‘[…]’ 75c, ‘skialldungra’ DG8, skjǫld ungra FskBˣ, Flat
notes
[2] þjóðskjǫldunga ‘of kings of the people’: The cpd is a hap. leg. in ON. Its OE cognate þēodscylding also occurs only once, in Beowulf l. 1019 (Þēod-Scyldingas, Beowulf 2008, 36), where it is an alternative term for the Danes. Here the word seems to be a variant on ON þjóðkonungr, a particular favourite of Sigvatr (see LP: þjóðkonungr), which could mean ‘king of a people’ or (if þjóð is simply an intensifier) ‘mighty king’.
hæft ‘fittingly’
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hæfr (adj.): splendid
[3] hæft: hept Bb, 325VI, FskBˣ, hefr 73aˣ, ‘hopt’ 332ˣ, ‘hæift’ Flat
á ‘onto’
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3. á (prep.): on, at
veldi ‘the power’
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veldi (noun n.): realm
Hjalt ‘the’
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(unknown) < hjaltlendingr (noun m.): Shetlander
[4] Hjalt‑: ‘hiat’ FskBˣ, FskAˣ
notes
[4] Hjaltlendingar ‘the Shetlanders’: The earliest extant reference to Shetland or its inhabitants in ON.
lendingar ‘Shetlanders’
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lendingr (noun m.): landsman < hjaltlendingr (noun m.): Shetlander
[4] ‑lendingar: ‑lendingum Flat
notes
[4] Hjaltlendingar ‘the Shetlanders’: The earliest extant reference to Shetland or its inhabitants in ON.
Engi ‘No’
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2. engi (pron.): no, none
[5] Engi varð á jǫrðu: ‘E[…]’ B, engi varð á jǫrðu 744ˣ; Engi: eigi Bb, Holm2, 325VI, 325VII, Tóm, Flat
varð ‘arose’
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1. verða (verb): become, be
[5] Engi varð á jǫrðu: ‘E[…]’ B, engi varð á jǫrðu 744ˣ; varð: verðr 75a, 73aˣ
á ‘in’
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3. á (prep.): on, at
[5] Engi varð á jǫrðu: ‘E[…]’ B, engi varð á jǫrðu 744ˣ; á: í Tˣ
jǫrðu ‘the land’
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jǫrð (noun f.; °jarðar, dat. -u; jarðir/jarðar(DN I (1367) 304)): ground, earth
[5] Engi varð á jǫrðu: ‘E[…]’ B, engi varð á jǫrðu 744ˣ
ógn ‘battle’
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ógn (noun f.; °-ar; -ir): terror, battle < ógnbráðr (adj.): battle-swift
[6] ógnbráðr áðr þér: ‘[…]’ B, ógnbráðr áðr þér 744ˣ
bráðr ‘bold’
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bráðr (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): quick(ly) < ógnbráðr (adj.): battle-swift
[6] ógnbráðr áðr þér: ‘[…]’ B, ógnbráðr áðr þér 744ˣ; ‑bráðr: ‑djarfr FskAˣ
áðr ‘before’
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áðr (adv.; °//): before
[6] ógnbráðr áðr þér: ‘[…]’ B, ógnbráðr áðr þér 744ˣ; áðr: áðr en 75a, FskAˣ
þér ‘you’
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þú (pron.; °gen. þín, dat. þér, acc. þik): you
[6] ógnbráðr áðr þér: ‘[…]’ B, ógnbráðr áðr þér 744ˣ; þér: om. FskBˣ, þess 332ˣ
nôðum ‘we got’
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1. ná (verb): reach, get, manage
[6] nôðum: nôðuð Bb, 325V, 75a, 73aˣ, DG8, Flat, náði 332ˣ, R, Tˣ, U, náðit C
notes
[6] nôðum ‘we got’: A number of mss read 3rd pers. sg. náði, presumably either with jǫrð ‘land’ as the understood subject (‘before it [the land] got you’) or as an impersonal construction (‘until you were got, until you appeared’: see SnE 1998, II, 361). There is some sense to this reading, since, according to saga accounts, Óttarr was neither Norwegian nor (as ÍF 27 notes) in Óláfr’s retinue at the time of composition of Hfl, so the use of 1st pers. pl. ‘we’ might seem presumptuous. The variant nôðuð in several mss would give áðr þér nôðuð ‘before you attained [this; the lordship]’.
austr ‘east’
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3. austr (adv.; °compar. -ar, superl. -ast): east, in the east
[7] austr: ‘ǫztr’ 332ˣ
notes
[7] austr ‘east’: See Note to l. 5 above. The sense of austr here is probably ‘Norway’, in opposition to the islands in the west (vestan, l. 7). Conceivably, though, it alludes specifically to the origin of Óláfr’s dynasty in Grenland in south-east Norway.
sás ‘who’
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sás (conj.): the one who
eyjum ‘the islands’
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1. ey (noun f.; °-jar, dat. -ju/-; -jar): island
notes
[7] eyjum ‘the islands’: Arguably, eyjar should be capitalised here and treated as a proper name for Orkney (or Orkney and Shetland). See also Óttarr’s use of Eybúar ‘Island-dwellers’ as a term for the inhabitants of Orkney in his Lv 2/4.
ynglingr ‘king’
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2. ynglingr (noun m.; °; -ar): king
[8] ynglingr: unglingr Bb, ǫðlingr 325V, ynglingi 73aˣ, ‘vnlingr’ corrected from ǫðlingr A
þryngvi ‘subjugated’
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þrøngva (verb): press, throng
[8] þryngvi: ‘þrygir’ 325V, ‘þrygþvi’ 325VII, ‘þrœgui’ DG8, ‘þrꝍgðe’ FskBˣ, ‘þry[…]’ B, þryngvi 744ˣ, ‘þryngndi’ C
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In the konungasǫgur, the context is an account of the relations between Óláfr and the Orcadian Rǫgnvaldr jarl Brúsason (in c. 1022), and Óláfr’s overlordship of Orkney and Shetland more generally. In SnE, ll. 5-8 are quoted in exemplification of the king-heiti ynglingr.
Ms. 744ˣ, has been used to supply B readings where necessary; see Note to st. 5 [All]. Ms. 75c is also badly rubbed and barely legible in places. — This stanza has the widest preservation of all the stanzas from the poem. The introductory words in ÓH, Hkr and Orkn attribute it to a drápa composed by Óttarr for King Óláfr. Ms. U attributes ll. 5-8 to Arnórr.
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