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Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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Sigv Berv 6II

Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Sigvatr Þórðarson, Bersǫglisvísur 6’ 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. 17-18.

Sigvatr ÞórðarsonBersǫglisvísur
567

Rétt hykk kjósa knôttu
karlfolk ok svá jarla,
af þvít eignum lofða
Ôláfar frið gôfu.
Haralds arfi lét haldask
hvardyggr ok sonr Tryggva
lǫg, þaus lýðar þôgu,
laukjǫfn, af þeim nǫfnum.

Hykk karlfolk ok svá jarla knôttu kjósa rétt, af þvít Ôláfar gôfu eignum lofða frið. {Hvardyggr arfi Haralds} ok {sonr Tryggva} lét haldask laukjǫfn lǫg, þaus lýðar þôgu af þeim nǫfnum.

I think that both farmers and jarls knew how to choose rightly, because [the two] Óláfrs brought protection to people’s properties. {The very reliable heir of Haraldr} [= Óláfr Haraldsson] and {the son of Tryggvi} [= Óláfr Tryggvason] let the just laws be upheld, which men received from those namesakes.

Mss: Kˣ(504v), 39(14va), E(5v), J2ˣ(245v) (Hkr); Holm2(74r), 972ˣ(584va), 972ˣ(584vb-585vb), 325VI(42rb), 321ˣ(282), 73aˣ(216r), 325VII(41v), 325V(89va), 61(130rb), Tóm(161r) (ÓH); H(4r), Hr(6ra) (H-Hr); Flat(190ra) (Flat)

Readings: [2] karl‑: karls E, Tóm, ‘kalls‑’ 325VII, 61;    ‑folk: ‑flokk Holm2, 972ˣ(584vb), 325VII;    jarla: jarlar E, J2ˣ, Holm2, 972ˣ(584va), 972ˣ(584vb), 325VII, 325V, 61, Tóm    [3] þvít (‘þvi at’): því er Holm2, 972ˣ(584va), 972ˣ(584vb), 321ˣ;    lofða: lofðar E, 972ˣ(584va), hǫfðu 61, Tóm    [4] Ôláfar: Óláfr J2ˣ, ‘Alafe’ 972ˣ(584va), ‘Olafer’ 972ˣ(584vb), ‘olafr’ 325V, Tóm, ‘olafe’ Flat;    frið: grið Tóm;    gôfu: ‘gafe’ 325VII, gfut 325V    [5] arfi: om. 325VI, arfa 61;    haldask: halda Holm2, 972ˣ(584vb), 325VI, 321ˣ, 73aˣ, 325VII, 325V, 61, Tóm, H, Hr, Flat    [6] hvar‑: hǫgg‑ 61, ‘hugg‑’ Tóm, hvarf‑ Flat;    sonr: son 39, E, J2ˣ, Holm2, 972ˣ(584va), 972ˣ(584vb), 73aˣ, Hr, Flat, ‘[...]’ 325VII, svá 325V, 61, Tóm    [7] þaus (‘þau er’): þau 39, Flat;    lýðar: lýðir 325VI, 321ˣ, 73aˣ, 325V, 61, Tóm, Hr, Flat;    þôgu: hǫfðu 39, om. Holm2, 972ˣ(584vb)    [8] lauk‑: ‘laug‑’ 321ˣ, ‘log’ Flat;    af: om. 972ˣ(584vb), at H, Hr, ok af Flat

Editions: Skj AI, 252, Skj BI, 235-6, Skald I, 122, NN §1864; ÍF 28, 27-8 (Mgóð ch. 16), E 1916, 17; ÓH 1941, I, 625 (ch. 621); Fms 6, 40 (Mgóð ch. 22); Flat 1860-8, III, 268, Mork 1928-32, 27, Andersson and Gade 2000, 105, 467 (MH); Jón Skaptason 1983, 142, 289.

Notes: [1-4]: The implied sense of this helmingr is that the people who elected the two Óláfrs king knew what they were doing, whereas it could now appear doubtful whether it had been a wise move to bring Magnús back from Russia. — [4] Ôláfar ‘[the two] Óláfrs’: Óláfr Tryggvason (d. 1000) and Óláfr Haraldsson (d. 1030), the first two Norw. missionary kings. — [5] lét (3rd pers. sg. pret. indic.) ‘let’: The verb is in the sg. but has a pl. subject. See NS §70. — [5] haldask ‘be upheld’: The m. v. of the verb is preferable, although the variant halda ‘endure’ is also possible. — [7] lýðar ‘men’: Lýðr is a m. i-stem, but could take an -ar ending in the nom. pl. (see ANG §387.1). — [7, 8] laukjǫfn lǫg ‘the just laws’: Laukjǫfn lit. ‘straight as a leek’, i.e. ‘fair, just’ (hap. leg.). Skj B takes this adj. with the last cl. The legislation of Óláfr Tryggvason is mentioned by Oddr Snorrason, on the authority of Sæmundr inn fróði (see ÓTOdd 1932, 114, ch. 36). Óláfr Haraldsson, Magnús’s father, is said to have revised the laws of Hákon inn góði (see st. 5 above) and to have promulgated a Christian law code on the advice of Bishop Grímkell and other clerics (ÍF 27, 73).

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. ANG = Noreen, Adolf. 1923. Altnordische Grammatik I: Altisländische und altnorwegische Grammatik (Laut- und Flexionslehre) unter Berücksichtigung des Urnordischen. 4th edn. Halle: Niemeyer. 1st edn. 1884. 5th unrev. edn. 1970. Tübingen: Niemeyer.
  8. 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.
  9. NS = Nygaard, Marius. 1906. Norrøn syntax. Kristiania (Oslo): Aschehoug. Rpt. 1966.
  10. 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 4to med varianter fra andre håndskrifter. 2 vols. Det norske historiske kildeskriftfond skrifter 53. Oslo: Dybwad.
  11. ÓTOdd 1932 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1932. Saga Óláfs Tryggvasonar af Oddr Snorrason munk. Copenhagen: Gad.
  12. Mork 1928-32 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1928-32. Morkinskinna. SUGNL 53. Copenhagen: Jørgensen.
  13. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
  14. E 1916 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1916. Eirspennill: AM 47 fol. Nóregs konunga sǫgur: Magnús góði – Hákon gamli. Kristiania (Oslo): Den norske historiske kildeskriftskommission.
  15. 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.
  16. Internal references
  17. Diana Whaley 2012, ‘(Biography of) Óláfr Tryggvason’ 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. 383.
  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 26 April 2024)
  19. Diana Whaley 2012, ‘(Biography of) Oddr Snorrason’ 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. 890.
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