Sigv Austv 4I
R. D. Fulk (ed.) 2012, ‘Sigvatr Þórðarson, Austrfararvísur 4’ 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. 589.
reið ‘’
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1. ríða (verb): ride
ræð ‘’
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2. rœða (verb): utter, speak
Réð ‘resolved’
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ráða (verb): advise, rule, interpret, decide
[1] Réð: reið 972ˣ(177va), ræð J2ˣ, 325VII
k ‘I’
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
til ‘for’
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til (prep.): to
Hofs ‘Hof’
notes
[1] Hofs ‘Hof’: The status of this is uncertain. (a) Snorri plainly regards Hof as a proper name (see Context above). Hof is common as a simplex p. n. (as well as prefixed by names of heathen gods), and there are various possible identifications. Some have identified the place with Stora Hov, 23 kilometres south-west of Skara, while if Sigvatr came from Sognefjorden, the reference could be to Hov, on the north-eastern shore of Randsfjorden in Norway (so, tentatively, Edqvist 1943, 65), and if he passed to the east of Lake Vänern, the reference would be to Hova, on the southern shore of Skagern, in Sweden (so Patzig 1930b, 90). Toll (1924, 551-2), supposing Sigvatr set out from Trondheimsfjorden, locates a Hov in the parish of Sødorp in Nordre Fron, Gudbrandsdalen, in Norway, and he presents evidence that the area remained heathen until a late date. (Locating Hof in Norway would have consequences for the interpretation of st. 14: see Note to [All].) (b) Others read hofs, a common noun referring to a heathen temple or cult site (e.g. Noreen 1922a, 75, followed by Jón Skaptason 1983, 85; Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson, ÍF 27, 137 n., though he capitalizes the word in the text; cf. Beckman 1923, 330-1). The Christian Sigvatr might have been expected to avoid such a site (so Finnur Jónsson 1932, 12; see also de Vries 1932-3, 169-70), though there is evidence for farms used for blót ‘ritual sacrifice’ (Lidén 1993, 639) as well as for specifically religious buildings (Kaliff 2007).
at ‘to’
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5. at (nota): to (with infinitive)
hœfa ‘aim’
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2. hœfa (verb): hit, suit, befit
hurðum ‘’
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hurð (noun f.; °-ar, dat. -u/-; -ir): door
hurð ‘the door’
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hurð (noun f.; °-ar, dat. -u/-; -ir): door
[2] hurð vas (‘hurð var’): hurðum J2ˣ
vas ‘was’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
[2] hurð vas (‘hurð var’): hurðum J2ˣ
aptr ‘barred’
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aptr (adv.; °compar. -ar): back
en ‘but’
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2. en (conj.): but, and
[2] en: so R686ˣ, 972ˣ(177va), 325VI, 75a, 73aˣ, 68, 61, Holm4, 75c, 325VII, Flat, Tóm, Kˣ, Bb, om. Holm2, J2ˣ
notes
[2, 4] en spurðumk fyrir útan ‘but I made enquiries from outside’: Hellberg (1981a, 5-6) remarks that the clause could follow logically from either of the first two clauses in the stanza. Note that fyrir is to be construed with spurðumk, hence ‘I made enquiries’: see Skj B; NN §2472; ÍF 27.
spurða ‘’
spurðumk ‘I made enquiries’
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spyrja (verb; spurði): ask; hear, find out
[2] spurðumk: spurða Flat
notes
[2, 4] en spurðumk fyrir útan ‘but I made enquiries from outside’: Hellberg (1981a, 5-6) remarks that the clause could follow logically from either of the first two clauses in the stanza. Note that fyrir is to be construed with spurðumk, hence ‘I made enquiries’: see Skj B; NN §2472; ÍF 27.
inn ‘in’
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1. inn (adv.): in, inside
sett ‘’
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setja (verb): place, set, establish
settak ‘I stuck’
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setja (verb): place, set, establish
[3] settak (‘setta ec’): setja ek R686ˣ, sett ek 325VI
nef ‘nose’
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nef (noun n.; °-s; -, gen. -ja): nose, beak
neinnínn ‘’
neinnin ‘’
min ‘’
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minn (pron.; °f. mín, n. mitt): my
mininn ‘’
neníum ‘’
nætinn ‘’
nefinn ‘’
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nefi (noun m.; °-a): nephew
nenní ‘’
nenninn ‘resolute’
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nenninn (adj.): vigorous
[3] nenninn: ‘mininn’ R686ˣ, ‘min neinnin’ 972ˣ(177va), ‘nætinn’ 75a, nefinn 68, ‘nenní’ Flat, ‘neníum’ Tóm, ‘neinnínn’ Bb
niðr ‘my down’
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3. niðr (adv.): down < niðrlútr (adj.)
notes
[4] niðrlútt ‘down-bent’: It is difficult to determine the precise implication of the word, though it is reminiscent of niðrbjúgt (nef) ‘down-curved (nose)’ in Rþ 10/5 (NK 281) and Stefnir Lv 1/3 (see also Note ad loc.). (a) Here niðrlútt is regarded as qualifying nef ‘nose’ in l. 3. It could be a straightforward description of Sigvatr’s nose, or it could mean that he stoops to pry. For a somewhat similar construction, with an ironic adj. applied to a bodily feature, cf. Sigv Lv 13/3-4 hilmis haus ófalan ‘the not-for-sale skull of the ruler’. (b) Noreen (1923, 37) sees niðrlútt as an adverbial n.; so also seemingly ÍF 27, where Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson speculates that the door was low, and Sigvatr poked his nose into the opening above it. (c) Finnur Jónsson (Skj B), Kock (Skald) and some others (including Fms) adopt the reading niðrlútr from 325VI and construe it with spurðumk ‘I enquired’ in l. 2. Jón Skaptason (1983, 85) reads niðrlútr and renders it ‘downcast’.
hlut ‘’
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hlutr (noun m.; °-ar, dat. -i/-; -ir, acc. -i/-u): part, thing
lút ‘’
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lútr (adj.; °compar. -ari): bent, bowed
mjǫk ‘’
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mjǫk (adv.): very, much
lút ‘’
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lútr (adj.; °compar. -ari): bent, bowed
lútt ‘bent’
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lútr (adj.; °compar. -ari): bent, bowed < niðrlútr (adj.)
[4] ‑lútt: ‑lút J2ˣ, 73aˣ, ‘l(ú)tr’(?) 325VI, mjǫk lút 325VII, hlut Bb
notes
[4] niðrlútt ‘down-bent’: It is difficult to determine the precise implication of the word, though it is reminiscent of niðrbjúgt (nef) ‘down-curved (nose)’ in Rþ 10/5 (NK 281) and Stefnir Lv 1/3 (see also Note ad loc.). (a) Here niðrlútt is regarded as qualifying nef ‘nose’ in l. 3. It could be a straightforward description of Sigvatr’s nose, or it could mean that he stoops to pry. For a somewhat similar construction, with an ironic adj. applied to a bodily feature, cf. Sigv Lv 13/3-4 hilmis haus ófalan ‘the not-for-sale skull of the ruler’. (b) Noreen (1923, 37) sees niðrlútt as an adverbial n.; so also seemingly ÍF 27, where Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson speculates that the door was low, and Sigvatr poked his nose into the opening above it. (c) Finnur Jónsson (Skj B), Kock (Skald) and some others (including Fms) adopt the reading niðrlútr from 325VI and construe it with spurðumk ‘I enquired’ in l. 2. Jón Skaptason (1983, 85) reads niðrlútr and renders it ‘downcast’.
fyrir ‘from’
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fyrir (prep.): for, before, because of
notes
[2, 4] en spurðumk fyrir útan ‘but I made enquiries from outside’: Hellberg (1981a, 5-6) remarks that the clause could follow logically from either of the first two clauses in the stanza. Note that fyrir is to be construed with spurðumk, hence ‘I made enquiries’: see Skj B; NN §2472; ÍF 27.
útan ‘outside’
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útan (prep.): outside, without
notes
[2, 4] en spurðumk fyrir útan ‘but I made enquiries from outside’: Hellberg (1981a, 5-6) remarks that the clause could follow logically from either of the first two clauses in the stanza. Note that fyrir is to be construed with spurðumk, hence ‘I made enquiries’: see Skj B; NN §2472; ÍF 27.
Orð ‘response’
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orð (noun n.; °-s; -): word
gatk ‘I got’
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2. geta (verb): to beget, give birth to, mention, speak of; to think well of, like, love
fest ‘’
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3. fár (adj.; °compar. fǽrri/fárri(Mág² 11), superl. fǽstr): few
flest ‘’
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fleiri (adj. comp.; °superl. flestr): more, most
fyrst ‘’
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fyrstr (num. ordinal): first
faust ‘’
fýst ‘’
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fýst (noun f.): [urgently, desire]
fæst ‘very little’
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3. fár (adj.; °compar. fǽrri/fárri(Mág² 11), superl. fǽstr): few
[5] fæst: fest 972ˣ(177va), ‘faust’ 325VI, 68, flest 75a, 73aˣ, fyrst 61, 75c, Tóm, Bb, fæst apparently corrected from ‘fꜹst’ 325VII, fýst Flat
em ‘’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
en ‘’
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2. en (conj.): but, and
at ‘’
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3. at (prep.): at, to
af ‘from’
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af (prep.): from
[5] af: so 325VI, 68, Holm4, 75c, 325VII, Tóm, Kˣ, Bb, en Holm2, 972ˣ(177va), J2ˣ, 75a, 73aˣ, em R686ˣ, at 61, Flat
fyrstum ‘’
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1. fyrri (adj. comp.; °superl. fyrstr): first
flǫgð ‘the ogresses’
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flagð (noun n.): troll-woman
baðk ‘I bade’
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biðja (verb; °biðr; bað, báðu; beðinn (beiþ- Martin¹ 573, bỏþ- HákEirsp 661, cf. ed. intr. xl)): ask for, order, pray
[6] baðk (‘bað ek’): bað Bb
en ‘but’
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2. en (conj.): but, and
þau ‘they’
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hann (pron.; °gen. hans, dat. honum; f. hon, gen. hennar, acc. hana): he, she, it, they, them...
[6] þau: so 972ˣ(177va), 325VI, 75a, 73aˣ, 68, 61, Holm4, 75c, 325VII, Flat, Tóm, Kˣ, om. Holm2, R686ˣ, J2ˣ, Bb
þǫgðu ‘’
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þegja (verb): be silent
sǫgðu ‘said’
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segja (verb): say, tell
[6] sǫgðu: so 75c, Flat, Tóm, Kˣ, þǫgðu Holm2, R686ˣ, 972ˣ(177va), J2ˣ, 75a, 73aˣ, 68, 61, Holm4, 325VII, Bb, sǫgðu corrected from ‘þǫgðu’ 325VI
notes
[6] sǫgðu ‘said’: The reading þǫgðu ‘were silent’ of Holm2 and others was apparently inspired by Orð gatk fæst af fyrðum ‘I got very little response from the people’ in l. 5 (Jón Helgason 1968, 46).
hneiktust ‘’
hneykðusk ‘’
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2. hneykja (verb)
hnekkðust ‘’
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hnekkja (verb): drive off, reject
hnekkðumk ‘drove me off’
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hnekkja (verb): drive off, reject
[7] hnekkðumk: hneykðusk R686ˣ, ‘hneiktust’ 972ˣ(177va), hnekkðust 75a, 73aˣ, 61, Flat, Tóm
heiðnir ‘the heathen’
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heiðinn (adj.): heathen
rekka ‘’
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rekkr (noun m.; °; -ar): man, champion
heilagt ‘holy’
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heilagr (adj.; °helgan; compar. -ari, superl. -astr): holy, sacred
notes
[8] heilagt ‘[it was] holy’: The meaning, as in Snorri’s prose, could be that the place was holy (so E. Noreen 1923, 30; de Vries 1932-3, 170; Jón Skaptason 1983, 85), or else that this was a holy day (so Ternström 1871; Skj B).
við ‘with’
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2. við (prep.): with, against
þau ‘them’
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hann (pron.; °gen. hans, dat. honum; f. hon, gen. hennar, acc. hana): he, she, it, they, them...
deila ‘bandy words’
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2. deila (verb; °-ld-): share out, deal
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The travellers make their way through Gautland (Västergötland) and in the evening reach a farm named Hof, where they are refused entry because it is deemed a holy place. They depart, and Sigvatr speaks this stanza.
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