Rv Lv 4II
Judith Jesch (ed.) 2009, ‘Rǫgnvaldr jarl Kali Kolsson, Lausavísur 4’ 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, pp. 579-80.
text and translation
Sextán hefik sénar
senn ok topp í enni
jarðar elli firrðar
ormvangs saman ganga.
Þat bôrum vér vitni,
vestr at hér sé flestar
— sjá liggr út við élum
ey — kollóttar meyjar.
Hefik sénar sextán senn, firrðar {elli {jarðar {ormvangs}}}, ok topp í enni, ganga saman. Vér bôrum þat vitni, at hér vestr sé flestar meyjar kollóttar; sjá ey liggr út við élum.
‘I have seen sixteen [women] all at once, denuded of the old age of the ground of the serpent-field [GOLD > WOMAN > BEARD], and [they had] a fringe on their forehead, walking together. We bore witness to the fact that, here in the west, most maidens are bald; that island lies out in the direction of storms.’
notes and context
Rǫgnvaldr is on the island of Westray in Orkney during his campaign to claim his inheritance. While attending church on Sunday, he sees sixteen persons who are slyppir ok kollóttir ‘unarmed and bald’. His astonished men discuss who they could be.
According to the chronology of Orkn this took place in April 1136 (Taylor 1938, 252), but Taylor (1938, 386) suggests that the episode is in fact another version of an incident in ch. 77 which also describes the sight of fifteen or sixteen men led by a bishop with a distinctive tonsure and which took place at Christmas in 1138. The st. is probably placed here because it seems to refer to Westray (Vestrey), but it has no obvious connection with either the preceding or the following events which are indeed located in Westray.
readings
- [1] hefik (‘hefe ek’): so R702ˣ, ‘hefir ek’ Flat
- [3] elli: so R702ˣ, eldi Flat
- [5] bôrum: ‘baru’ R702ˣ
- [7] élum: ‘elon’ Flat, ‘elu’ R702ˣ
sources
Text is based on reconstruction from the base text and variant apparatus and may contain alternative spellings and other normalisations not visible in the manuscript text. Transcriptions may not have been checked and should not be cited.
-
GKS 1005 fol (Flat) — 137va/58 - 137va/60
imagesSextán †hefir ek† sénar
senn ok topp í enni
jarðar eldi firrðar
ormvangs saman ganga.
Þat bôrum vér vitni,
vestr at hér sé flestar
— sjá liggr út við †elon†
ey — kollóttar meyjar.Sextan hefir ek senar senn ok topp i enne iardar ellde firdar orm | vangs saman ganga. þat bꜳrum ver vitni vestr at her see flestar sia liɢɢr vt | vid elon ey kollottar meyiar.
(JJ)
-
UppsUB R 702x (R702x) — 41v/7 - 41v/10
imagesSextán †hefe ek† sénar
senn ok topp í enni
jarðar elli firrðar
ormvangs saman ganga.
Þat †baru† vér vitni,
vestr at hér sé flestar
— sjá liggr út við †elu†
ey — kollóttar meyjar.sextan hefe ek senar senn ok topp i enni | jardar elli firdar, o⸌rm⸍vangs saman ganga | þat baru vier witni vestur at her se flestar | ,sia liggr vt vid elu ey, kollottar meyar.
(JJ)
-
AM 761 b 4°x (761bx) — 281r/1 - 281r/8
images
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