Sigv ErfÓl 10^I

Vítt vas fold und fótum
— friðbann vas þar — mǫnnum;
þá réð í bǫð bráða
brynjat folk at dynja,
þás árliga ærir
alms með bjarta hjalma
— mikill varð á stað Stiklar
stálgustr — ofan þustu.

Vítt vas fold und fótum mǫnnum; friðbann vas þar; þá réð brynjat folk at dynja í bráða bǫð, þás {ærir alms} þustu ofan árliga með bjarta hjalma; varð {mikill stálgustr} á Stiklarstað.

Far and wide the ground was under the feet of men; there was a ban on peace there; then the mail-shirted army roared into violent battle, when {the envoys of the elm-bow} [WARRIORS] rushed down quickly with bright helmets; {a great steel-gust} [BATTLE] came about at Stiklestad.

Mss: Kˣ(468v) (Hkr); Holm2(67v), J2ˣ(225v), 321ˣ(254), 73aˣ(200v), Holm4(63ra), 61(125ra), 325V(80rb), 325VII(38r), Flat(124va), Tóm(155v) (ÓH)

Readings: [1] Vítt: ‘vętt’ 73aˣ, víð Tóm;    vas (‘var’): varð 321ˣ, er 61, Flat, Tóm    [2] frið‑: fjǫr‑ 321ˣ, Holm4;    þar: þat J2ˣ, 321ˣ, Holm4, 61, 325V, 325VII;    mǫnnum: manna J2ˣ    [3] réð: reið 325V;    bráða: breiða J2ˣ, 321ˣ, brakka Tóm    [5] þás (‘þa er’): þar er J2ˣ;    árliga: ǫrliga 321ˣ, árlæga with olm, a blank space and ir above line 325VII;    ærir: ǫrvar 61, ærit Flat    [6] alms: almr 61    [7] mikill: mikit 61, Tóm;    varð: var Holm2;    ‑stað: ‘stat’ Holm2;    Stiklar‑: so J2ˣ, 325VII, Stikla Kˣ, Holm2, 73aˣ, Holm4, 61, 325V, Flat, Tóm    [8] stálgustr: stálgustr er Flat

Editions: Skj AI, 259-60, Skj BI, 241, Skald I, 125; Hkr 1893-1901, II, 488, IV, 167, ÍF 27, 379, Hkr 1991, II, 529 (ÓHHkr ch. 226); ÓH 1941, I, 569 (ch. 224), Flat 1860-8, II, 354; Jón Skaptason 1983, 165, 304.

Context: At the time of the solar eclipse (see st. 15), King Óláfr’s troop attack their opponents so fiercely that they nearly break their formation and many are ready to flee, but the lendir menn ‘landed men’ and their followers stand fast.

Notes: [1] vítt ‘far and wide’: I.e. the field was crowded with warriors. Finnur Jónsson (Hkr 1893-1901, IV) interprets this as referring to the broad valley of Værdal in which Stiklestad lies, as seen by those coming across the mountains, and makes a link to the prose of ÓHHkr chs 202-3 (ÍF 27, 351-3). — [5] árliga ‘quickly’: The adv. could alternatively mean ‘early’ or ‘in the morning’ (so Skj B). — [5-6] ærir alms ‘the envoys of the elm-bow [WARRIORS]’: The only complete surviving Viking Age bow is made of yew (Graham-Campbell 1980, 74, 251; see also st. 23/2 below), but elm and ash may also have been used (Solberg 1993, 719). — [7] Stiklarstað ‘Stiklestad’: Rygh et al. (1897-1936, XV, 122) suggest that this is the original form of the name, though forms without <r> appear from an early stage; see also Note to Þorm Lv 23/3-4. The p. n. is fitted into the metrical lines by mild tmesis, involving reversal of the elements, as also in BjHall Kálffl 5/5; see also Kuhn (1983, 112) and Note to ESk Geisl 17/1, 2^VII . — [8] ofan ‘down’: According to Hkr (ÍF 27, 378), Óláfr’s forces were positioned on a certain small hill (hæð nǫkkur).

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. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. Kuhn, Hans (1899). 1983. Das Dróttkvætt. Heidelberg: Winter.
7. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
8. Hkr 1893-1901 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1893-1901. Heimskringla: Nóregs konunga sǫgur af Snorri Sturluson. 4 vols. SUGNL 23. Copenhagen: Møller.
9. Hkr 1991 = Bergljót S. Kristjánsdóttir et al., eds. 1991. Heimskringla. 3 vols. Reykjavík: Mál og menning.
10. Graham-Campbell, James and Dafydd Kidd. 1980. The Vikings. London: The British Museum and New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
11. 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.
12. Solberg, Bergliot. 1993. ‘Weapons’. In MedS, 718-20.
13. Internal references
14. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Heimskringla’ 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=4> (accessed 26 April 2024)
15. (forthcoming), ‘ Heimskringla, Óláfs saga helga (in Heimskringla)’ 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. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=152> (accessed 26 April 2024)
16. Not published: do not cite (Run^VI)
17. Alison Finlay (ed.) 2012, ‘Bjarni gullbrárskáld Hallbjarnarson, Kálfsflokkr 5’ 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. 885.
18. Martin Chase (ed.) 2007, ‘Einarr Skúlason, Geisli 17’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 21.
19. R. D. Fulk (ed.) 2012, ‘Þormóðr Kolbrúnarskáld, Lausavísur 23’ 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. 838.