Ótt Hfl 7^I

Gildir, komt at gjaldi
gotneskum her, flotna;
þorðut þér at varða
þjóðlǫnd firar rǫndu.
Rann, en maðr of minna
margr býr of þrek (varga
hungr frák austr) an yngvi,
Eysýslu lið (þeyja).

{Gildir flotna}, komt gotneskum her at gjaldi; firar þorðut at varða þér þjóðlǫnd rǫndu. Lið Eysýslu rann, en margr maðr býr of minna of þrek an yngvi; frák hungr varga þeyja austr.

{Supporter of seafarers} [RULER], you forced the Gotland host to [pay] tribute; the men did not dare to defend the nation’s lands against you with the shield. The people of Saaremaa ran, and many a man possesses less courage than the king; I heard the hunger of the wolves to be diminished in the east.

Mss: Kˣ(222r-v) (Hkr); Holm2(6r), J1ˣ(140r), J2ˣ(120r), 325VI(5vb), 73aˣ(18r), 78aˣ(16v), 68(5r), 61(79rb), 325V(7va), Bb(125vb), Flat(80ra), Tóm(95v) (ÓH)

Readings: [1] Gildir: gildr J1ˣ, J2ˣ, Bb, Flat, Tóm, mildr 325VI, 73aˣ, 78aˣ, gildis 68, 325V;    komt (‘comtu’): ‘komtu gar’ J1ˣ, J2ˣ, komtu gramr 325VI, 73aˣ, 78aˣ;    at: til 325VI, 73aˣ, 78aˣ;    gjaldi: gjalda J1ˣ, J2ˣ, 325VI, 73aˣ, 78aˣ, 325V, Tóm, gildi Bb    [2] gotneskum: gotverskum Flat;    flotna: flótta Flat    [3] þér: þeir Bb, Flat;    varða: verja J1ˣ, J2ˣ, verða 61    [4] þjóð‑: þat Holm2, J1ˣ, J2ˣ, 325VI, 73aˣ, 78aˣ;    ‑lǫnd: land Holm2, J2ˣ, 78aˣ, Tóm, lǫnd or land J1ˣ, 325VI, 73aˣ, 68, 61, Bb;    firar: jǫfurr Holm2, J1ˣ, J2ˣ, 325VI, 73aˣ, 78aˣ, fyrir 68, farar Tóm;    rǫndu: brandi Holm2, J1ˣ, J2ˣ, 325VI, 73aˣ, 78aˣ, 61, rǫndum 325V    [5] maðr: meðr 61    [6] býr: om. Tóm;    of: af Bb;    varga: vargar Tóm    [7] hungr: ungr J1ˣ, J2ˣ;    frák: bratt 325VI, 73aˣ, 78aˣ;    an (‘enn’): so Holm2, J1ˣ, J2ˣ, 325VI, 68, 61, 325V, Bb, Flat, Tóm, hinn Kˣ, 73aˣ, 78aˣ;    yngvi: ungi Holm2, J1ˣ, J2ˣ, 325VI, 73aˣ, 78aˣ, 325V, ‘yngni’ 61, ‘vngvi’ Bb    [8] lið: gekk 325V;    þeyja: þeysa 325VI, 73aˣ, 78aˣ, heyja 68, 325V, deyja 61, þreyja Tóm

Editions: Skj AI, 291, Skj BI, 269, Skald I, 138, NN §§726, 2780; Hkr 1893-1901, II, 10-11, IV, 106-7, ÍF 27, 9 (ÓHHkr ch. 7); ÓH 1941, I, 39 (ch. 22), Flat 1860-8, II, 17 .

Context: Óláfr proceeds to Gotland and prepares to raid there, but the Gotlanders send a delegation with an offer of tribute which is accepted.

Notes: [All]: The attack on Eysýsla (Saaremaa), though not on Gotland, is also commemorated in Sigv Víkv 2. — [3-4]: The A-class mss of ÓH read instead þorðut þér at varða | þat land, jǫfurr, brandi ‘they did not dare to defend that land against you, prince, with the sword’. — [5-8]: The Prose order above follows that of ÍF 27. Skj B takes the clause following en ‘and/but’ to be frák ... ‘I heard ...’ rather than margr maðr ... ‘many a man …’. Kock (NN §726) adopts the reading þeysa ‘to make rush’ for þeyja (and hinn for an), and construes hinn yngvi rann lið Eysýslu þeysa, with a proposed meaning ‘the king went to put the people of Eysýsla to flight’ (but see NN §2780 for second thoughts). One problem with this is that it leaves frák … without an inf. (‘I heard about the wolves’ hunger in the east’), and the construction renna ‘run, go’ + þeysa ‘make rush’ does not convince. — [6] býr of ‘possesses’: See LP: búa 4. — [8] Eysýsla ‘Saaremaa’: Lit. ‘Island-district’. The Estonian island known as Ösel in Swedish.

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. 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.
6. 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.
7. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
8. Hkr 1893-1901 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1893-1901. Heimskringla: Nóregs konunga sǫgur af Snorri Sturluson. 4 vols. SUGNL 23. Copenhagen: Møller.
9. Internal references
10. (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 19 April 2024)
11. (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 19 April 2024)
12. Judith Jesch (ed.) 2012, ‘Sigvatr Þórðarson, Víkingarvísur 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. 536.