Sigv Berv 13^II

Hverr eggjar þik, harri
heiptarstrangr, at ganga
(opt reynir þú) þínum
(þunn stôl) á bak môlum?
Fastorðr skyli fyrða
fengsæll vesa þengill;
hœfir heit at rjúfa,
hjaldrmǫgnuðr, þér aldri.

Hverr eggjar þik, heiptarstrangr harri, at ganga á bak môlum þínum? Opt reynir þú þunn stôl. Fengsæll þengill fyrða skyli vesa fastorðr; aldri hœfir þér at rjúfa heit, {hjaldrmǫgnuðr}.

Who urges you, vengeful lord, to go back on your promises? Frequently you test slender swords. A prosperous prince of the people must be true to his word; it is never proper for you to break your pledges, {battle-increaser} [WARRIOR].

Mss: Kˣ(504v), 39(14va-b), E(5v), J2ˣ(245v) (Hkr); Holm2(74r), 972ˣ(584va-585va), 972ˣ(585vb), 325VI(42rb), 321ˣ(283), 73aˣ(216v), 325VII(41v) (ll. 1-2), 325V(89vb), 61(130va), Tóm(161r-v), Bb(206rb) (ÓH); FskBˣ(54v) (Fsk); H(4v), Hr(6rb) (H-Hr); 325XI 3(1v), Flat(190ra) (Flat)

Readings: [1] eggjar: ‘korar’ 972ˣ(585vb), ‘eg[...]’ 325VII    [2] heiptar‑: ‘h[...]iptar’ 325VII, heiptar heiptar Tóm;    ganga: ‘[...]’ 325VII    [3] reynir þú: rýðr þegnum H, Hr, 325XI 3, Flat;    þínum: þinna 61, þýðum H, Hr    [4] þunn stôl: þunnsta H;    á: ok 325XI 3, Flat    [5] Fast‑: ‘fæst’ FskBˣ;    ‑orðr: ‑orð Tóm, 325XI 3, Flat;    skyli: skyldi Tóm    [6] feng‑: ‘fegn’ Bb, ‘feig‑’ 325XI 3;    þengill: ‘Thorgill’ 972ˣ(585vb)    [7] heit: heipt Bb, hitt FskBˣ    [8] ‑mǫgnuðr: so 39, E, J2ˣ, Holm2, 972ˣ(584va), 972ˣ(585vb), 321ˣ, 325V, 325XI 3, ‑magnaðr Kˣ, 325VI, FskBˣ, H, Hr, Flat, mǫgnuð 73aˣ, Bb, magn ok 61, magni Tóm, ‘‑mavgnavdr’ 325XI 3;    þér: því E, Tóm, þar 972ˣ(585vb), þeir 321ˣ, om. 325XI 3, Flat

Editions: Skj AI, 254, Skj BI, 237, Skald I, 123, NN §654; ÍF 28, 28-9 (Mgóð ch. 16), E 1916, 17; ÓH 1941, I, 626 (ch. 261); ÍF 29, 214 (ch. 48); Fms 6, 43 (Mgóð ch. 22); Louis-Jensen 1970b, 149, Flat 1860-8, III, 269, Mork 1928-32, 29, Andersson and Gade 2000, 107, 467 (MH); Jón Skaptason 1983, 147, 294.

Notes: [3, 4] opt reynir þú þunn stôl ‘frequently you test slender swords’: The main variant readings opt rýðr þegnum þínum ‘often you redden slender swords for your followers’ (so 325XI 3, Flat), opt rýðr þegnum þýðum ‘often you redden slender swords for your cheerful followers’ (so H, Hr)’ are possible but less preferable from a metrical point of view. The Flat, 325XI 3 variant lacks internal rhyme and, in the H-Hr version, in which þýðum ‘cheerful’ clearly represents an attempt to restore internal rhyme, the first rhyme falls on an unstressed syllable (rýðr ‘redden’) (see also Louis-Jensen 1977, 152-5). The presence of the word þegn ‘follower’ in H, Hr, 325XI 3 and Flat could have been influenced by its occurrence in the two preceding sts and in the following st. — [6] fengsæll ‘prosperous’: Skj B takes this with hjaldrmǫgnuðr ‘battle-increaser’ (i.e. ‘warrior’) in l. 8, which results in a very convoluted w. o. (see NN §654).

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. Fms = Sveinbjörn Egilsson et al., eds. 1825-37. Fornmanna sögur eptir gömlum handritum útgefnar að tilhlutun hins norræna fornfræða fèlags. 12 vols. Copenhagen: Popp.
4. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
5. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
6. Andersson, Theodore M. and Kari Ellen Gade, trans. 2000. Morkinskinna: The Earliest Icelandic Chronicle of the Norwegian Kings (1030-1157). Islandica 51. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press.
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. Louis-Jensen, Jonna. 1977. Kongesagastudier: Kompilationen Hulda-Hrokkinskinna. BA 32. Copenhagen: Reitzel.
10. Mork 1928-32 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1928-32. Morkinskinna. SUGNL 53. Copenhagen: Jørgensen.
11. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
12. E 1916 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1916. Eirspennill: AM 47 fol. Nóregs konunga sǫgur: Magnús góði – Hákon gamli. Kristiania (Oslo): Den norske historiske kildeskriftskommission.
13. ÍF 29 = Ágrip af Nóregskonunga sǫgum; Fagrskinna—Nóregs konungatal. Ed. Bjarni Einarsson. 1985.
14. Jón Skaptason. 1983. ‘Material for an Edition and Translation of the Poems of Sigvat Þórðarson, skáld’. Ph.D. thesis. State University of New York at Stony Brook. DAI 44: 3681A.
15. Louis-Jensen, Jonna. 1970b. ‘Et forlæg til Flateyjarbók? Fragmenterne AM 325 IV ß og XI, 3 4to’. Opuscula 4. BA 30, 141-58. Copenhagen: Munksgaard.
16. Internal references
17. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Hulda-Hrokkinskinna’ 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, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=84> (accessed 19 April 2024)
18. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Magnúss saga góða ok Haralds harðráða’ 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, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=147> (accessed 19 April 2024)