Sigv Berv 14^II

Eitt es mál, þats mæla:
‘minn dróttinn leggr sína
eign á óðǫl þegna’;
ǫfgask búendr gǫfgir.
Rán mun seggr, hinns sína
selr út, í því telja,
flaums at fellidómi
fǫðurleifð konungs greifum.

Eitt es mál, þats mæla: ‘dróttinn minn leggr eign sína á óðǫl þegna’; gǫfgir búendr ǫfgask. Seggr, hinns selr út fǫðurleifð sína greifum konungs at fellidómi flaums, mun telja rán í því.

They all say the same thing: ‘my lord appropriates his subjects’ ancestral properties’; proud farmers revolt. That man, who parcels out his patrimony to the king’s counts according to precipitate rulings, will call that robbery.

Mss: Kˣ(505r), 39(14vb), E(5v), J2ˣ(246r) (Hkr); Holm2(74v), 972ˣ(585va), 972ˣ(585vb), 325VI(42rb), 321ˣ(283), 73aˣ(217r), 325VII(41v), 325V(89vb), 61(130va), Tóm(161v), Bb(206rb-va) (ÓH); H(4v), Hr(6rb) (H-Hr); 325XI 3(1v), Flat(190ra) (Flat)

Readings: [1] es (‘er’): om. 325VII;    þats (‘þat er’): þat at 972ˣ(585va), þat mun æ 325VII, at Tóm, þat H, Hr, þar er Flat    [2] minn: ‘mænni’ 972ˣ(585vb);    leggr: leggi 325VII, lét H, Hr, 325XI 3, Flat;    sína: om. 39    [3] eign: eigna 972ˣ(585vb), einn 61, egg Flat;    óðǫl: óðal 39, E, J2ˣ, Holm2, 972ˣ(585va), 325VI, 73aˣ, 325VII, 325V, 61, H, Hr, 325XI 3, Flat;    þegna: ‘þæg[...]’ 325VII, þínu H, Hr    [4] ǫfgask: ǫflgask 325VI, H, Hr, ‘[...]gaz’ 325VII, om. 61;    búendr: bœndr 39, 325VI, Tóm, Bb, Hr;    gǫfgir: ‘gaufgra’ 972ˣ(585vb), ‘[...]fgir’ 325VII, gǫfga Bb    [5] Rán: raun 325VI, 321ˣ, 73aˣ, 325V, 61, Bb, ‘[...]an’ 325VII, rann Flat;    hinns (‘hinn er’): ef 325VI, 73aˣ, H, Hr, 325XI 3, Flat, er 321ˣ, 61, hinn Tóm    [6] selr: setr 321ˣ;    út í því: ‘oðr[...] þat’ 325VII, ǫðrum í því 61, orð í því Tóm;    telja: dvelja H, Hr, 325XI 3, Flat    [7] flaums: fráns H, Hr, ‘farns’ 325XI 3, fárs Flat;    at: í Bb;    fellidómi: falli í dómi 325VII    [8] fǫðurleifð: fǫðurleifs J2ˣ, fǫðurleif 61, fulleið H, full leið Hr, full leiðir 325XI 3, fulleiðr Flat;    konungs: kóngr 972ˣ(585va), konungr 325XI 3, Flat;    greifum: ‘greiopum’ 321ˣ, ‘g[...]v[...]’ 325VII, reiði H, Hr

Editions: Skj AI, 255-6, Skj BI, 238, Skald I, 123; ÍF 28, 30 (Mgóð ch. 16), E 1916, 18; ÓH 1941, I, 627 (ch. 631); Fms 6, 43-4 (Mgóð ch. 22); Louis-Jensen 1970b, 149, Flat 1860-8, III, 269, Mork 1928-32, 29, Andersson and Gade 2000, 108, 467-8 (MH); Jón Skaptason 1983, 151, 295-6.

Notes: [1] eitt es mál, þats mæla ‘they all say the same thing’: Lit. ‘it’s a single thing that they say’. — [3] óðǫl (n. acc. pl.) ‘ancestral properties’: The variant form óðal is sg. (see ANG §78) and makes less sense in this context. For the institution of óðal, see KLNM 12, 493-503. — [3] þegna (m. gen. pl.) ‘subjects’: For the meaning of this word, see Notes to sts 11/2, 12/7 above. — [4] ǫfgask ‘revolt’: Ǫflgask ‘resist, become strong’ (so 325VI, H, Hr) is possible but secondary and less preferable from the point of view of internal rhyme. — [5-8]: The variant readings in H, Hr, 325XI and Flat are corrupt and do not make sense without significant emendations (see also Louis-Jensen 1977, 153). — [5] rán ‘robbery’: Raun ‘strain, tribulation’ (so 325VI, 321ˣ, 73aˣ, 325V, 61, Bb) is secondary and does not fit the legal context as well as rán. — [7] fellidómi flaums ‘precipitate rulings’: Lit. ‘pronounced judgements of rush’. Refers to Magnús’s high-handed confiscation of the properties of his father’s former enemies without due procedure (see ÍF 28, 25-6). — [8] fǫðurleifð ‘patrimony’: See Ív Sig 22/4. — [8] greifum (m. dat. pl.) ‘counts’: The earliest attested occurrence of this honorific in ON (see LP: greifi; Fritzner: greifi). According to Snorri (SnE 1998, I, 80), greifar (either from OE gerēfa ‘reeve’ or from MLG grāve ‘count’; AEW: greifi) were the Saxon equivalents of Engl. barons and Norw. hersar and district chieftains (lendir menn). Such men were appointed by the king to be in charge of the legal and defensive administration of the districts. Sigvatr’s knowledge of the foreign term must stem from his extensive travels on the Continent and in England. His fondness for loanwords is also reflected in st. 18/4 below.

References

1. Bibliography
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14. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
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18. 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.
19. Internal references
20. (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 25 April 2024)
21. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Ívarr Ingimundarson, Sigurðarbálkr 22’ 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. 514-15.