Judith Jesch (ed.) 2012, ‘Sigvatr Þórðarson, Erfidrápa Óláfs helga 14’ 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. 681.
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rjóða (verb): to redden
[1-3]: (a) Dreyrugt sverð ‘gory sword’, although the reading of only two mss, is adopted here (as in Skj B, Skald and Jón Skaptason 1983) to provide a subject for the sg. verb rauð. (b) The majority reading dreyrug sverð is retained in ÍF 27 (followed by Hkr 1991), and taken as acc. pl., while rauð is assumed to be impersonal. This leads to the syntactically awkward Rauð rǫnd með hǫndum gumna, dreyrug sverð ‘One reddened the shield, along with the hands of men, (and) gory swords’.
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í (prep.): in, into
[1-3]: (a) Dreyrugt sverð ‘gory sword’, although the reading of only two mss, is adopted here (as in Skj B, Skald and Jón Skaptason 1983) to provide a subject for the sg. verb rauð. (b) The majority reading dreyrug sverð is retained in ÍF 27 (followed by Hkr 1991), and taken as acc. pl., while rauð is assumed to be impersonal. This leads to the syntactically awkward Rauð rǫnd með hǫndum gumna, dreyrug sverð ‘One reddened the shield, along with the hands of men, (and) gory swords’.
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rekkr (noun m.; °; -ar): man, champion
[1-3]: (a) Dreyrugt sverð ‘gory sword’, although the reading of only two mss, is adopted here (as in Skj B, Skald and Jón Skaptason 1983) to provide a subject for the sg. verb rauð. (b) The majority reading dreyrug sverð is retained in ÍF 27 (followed by Hkr 1991), and taken as acc. pl., while rauð is assumed to be impersonal. This leads to the syntactically awkward Rauð rǫnd með hǫndum gumna, dreyrug sverð ‘One reddened the shield, along with the hands of men, (and) gory swords’.
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blóð (noun n.; °-s): blood
[1-3]: (a) Dreyrugt sverð ‘gory sword’, although the reading of only two mss, is adopted here (as in Skj B, Skald and Jón Skaptason 1983) to provide a subject for the sg. verb rauð. (b) The majority reading dreyrug sverð is retained in ÍF 27 (followed by Hkr 1991), and taken as acc. pl., while rauð is assumed to be impersonal. This leads to the syntactically awkward Rauð rǫnd með hǫndum gumna, dreyrug sverð ‘One reddened the shield, along with the hands of men, (and) gory swords’.
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rǫnd (noun f.; °dat. -/-u; rendr/randir): shield, shield-rim
[1-3]: (a) Dreyrugt sverð ‘gory sword’, although the reading of only two mss, is adopted here (as in Skj B, Skald and Jón Skaptason 1983) to provide a subject for the sg. verb rauð. (b) The majority reading dreyrug sverð is retained in ÍF 27 (followed by Hkr 1991), and taken as acc. pl., while rauð is assumed to be impersonal. This leads to the syntactically awkward Rauð rǫnd með hǫndum gumna, dreyrug sverð ‘One reddened the shield, along with the hands of men, (and) gory swords’.
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með (prep.): with
[1-3]: (a) Dreyrugt sverð ‘gory sword’, although the reading of only two mss, is adopted here (as in Skj B, Skald and Jón Skaptason 1983) to provide a subject for the sg. verb rauð. (b) The majority reading dreyrug sverð is retained in ÍF 27 (followed by Hkr 1991), and taken as acc. pl., while rauð is assumed to be impersonal. This leads to the syntactically awkward Rauð rǫnd með hǫndum gumna, dreyrug sverð ‘One reddened the shield, along with the hands of men, (and) gory swords’. — [2] með hǫndum gumna ‘along with the hands of men’: Here (with Kock, NN §§661, 2988C, and ÍF 27), með is taken in the sense ‘together with’. Finnur Jónsson in Skj B suggested a sg. sense for the pl. gumna ‘of men’, hence ‘(sword) in the man’s hands’.
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með (prep.): with
[1-3]: (a) Dreyrugt sverð ‘gory sword’, although the reading of only two mss, is adopted here (as in Skj B, Skald and Jón Skaptason 1983) to provide a subject for the sg. verb rauð. (b) The majority reading dreyrug sverð is retained in ÍF 27 (followed by Hkr 1991), and taken as acc. pl., while rauð is assumed to be impersonal. This leads to the syntactically awkward Rauð rǫnd með hǫndum gumna, dreyrug sverð ‘One reddened the shield, along with the hands of men, (and) gory swords’. — [2] með hǫndum gumna ‘along with the hands of men’: Here (with Kock, NN §§661, 2988C, and ÍF 27), með is taken in the sense ‘together with’. Finnur Jónsson in Skj B suggested a sg. sense for the pl. gumna ‘of men’, hence ‘(sword) in the man’s hands’.
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gumi (noun m.; °-a; gumar/gumnar): man
[1-3]: (a) Dreyrugt sverð ‘gory sword’, although the reading of only two mss, is adopted here (as in Skj B, Skald and Jón Skaptason 1983) to provide a subject for the sg. verb rauð. (b) The majority reading dreyrug sverð is retained in ÍF 27 (followed by Hkr 1991), and taken as acc. pl., while rauð is assumed to be impersonal. This leads to the syntactically awkward Rauð rǫnd með hǫndum gumna, dreyrug sverð ‘One reddened the shield, along with the hands of men, (and) gory swords’. — [2] með hǫndum gumna ‘along with the hands of men’: Here (with Kock, NN §§661, 2988C, and ÍF 27), með is taken in the sense ‘together with’. Finnur Jónsson in Skj B suggested a sg. sense for the pl. gumna ‘of men’, hence ‘(sword) in the man’s hands’.
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gumi (noun m.; °-a; gumar/gumnar): man
[1-3]: (a) Dreyrugt sverð ‘gory sword’, although the reading of only two mss, is adopted here (as in Skj B, Skald and Jón Skaptason 1983) to provide a subject for the sg. verb rauð. (b) The majority reading dreyrug sverð is retained in ÍF 27 (followed by Hkr 1991), and taken as acc. pl., while rauð is assumed to be impersonal. This leads to the syntactically awkward Rauð rǫnd með hǫndum gumna, dreyrug sverð ‘One reddened the shield, along with the hands of men, (and) gory swords’. — [2] með hǫndum gumna ‘along with the hands of men’: Here (with Kock, NN §§661, 2988C, and ÍF 27), með is taken in the sense ‘together with’. Finnur Jónsson in Skj B suggested a sg. sense for the pl. gumna ‘of men’, hence ‘(sword) in the man’s hands’.
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hǫnd (noun f.; °handar, dat. hendi; hendr (hendir StatPáll³ 752¹²)): hand
[1-3]: (a) Dreyrugt sverð ‘gory sword’, although the reading of only two mss, is adopted here (as in Skj B, Skald and Jón Skaptason 1983) to provide a subject for the sg. verb rauð. (b) The majority reading dreyrug sverð is retained in ÍF 27 (followed by Hkr 1991), and taken as acc. pl., while rauð is assumed to be impersonal. This leads to the syntactically awkward Rauð rǫnd með hǫndum gumna, dreyrug sverð ‘One reddened the shield, along with the hands of men, (and) gory swords’. — [2] með hǫndum gumna ‘along with the hands of men’: Here (with Kock, NN §§661, 2988C, and ÍF 27), með is taken in the sense ‘together with’. Finnur Jónsson in Skj B suggested a sg. sense for the pl. gumna ‘of men’, hence ‘(sword) in the man’s hands’.
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hǫnd (noun f.; °handar, dat. hendi; hendr (hendir StatPáll³ 752¹²)): hand
[1-3]: (a) Dreyrugt sverð ‘gory sword’, although the reading of only two mss, is adopted here (as in Skj B, Skald and Jón Skaptason 1983) to provide a subject for the sg. verb rauð. (b) The majority reading dreyrug sverð is retained in ÍF 27 (followed by Hkr 1991), and taken as acc. pl., while rauð is assumed to be impersonal. This leads to the syntactically awkward Rauð rǫnd með hǫndum gumna, dreyrug sverð ‘One reddened the shield, along with the hands of men, (and) gory swords’. — [2] með hǫndum gumna ‘along with the hands of men’: Here (with Kock, NN §§661, 2988C, and ÍF 27), með is taken in the sense ‘together with’. Finnur Jónsson in Skj B suggested a sg. sense for the pl. gumna ‘of men’, hence ‘(sword) in the man’s hands’.
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dreyrugr (adj.; °dreyrgan/dreyrugan; superl. dreyrgastr): bloody
[3] dreyrugt: so 73aˣ, 325VII, dreyrug Kˣ, Holm2, J2ˣ, 321ˣ, Holm4, 61, 325V, Flat, Tóm
[1-3]: (a) Dreyrugt sverð ‘gory sword’, although the reading of only two mss, is adopted here (as in Skj B, Skald and Jón Skaptason 1983) to provide a subject for the sg. verb rauð. (b) The majority reading dreyrug sverð is retained in ÍF 27 (followed by Hkr 1991), and taken as acc. pl., while rauð is assumed to be impersonal. This leads to the syntactically awkward Rauð rǫnd með hǫndum gumna, dreyrug sverð ‘One reddened the shield, along with the hands of men, (and) gory swords’.
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sverð (noun n.; °-s; -): sword
[1-3]: (a) Dreyrugt sverð ‘gory sword’, although the reading of only two mss, is adopted here (as in Skj B, Skald and Jón Skaptason 1983) to provide a subject for the sg. verb rauð. (b) The majority reading dreyrug sverð is retained in ÍF 27 (followed by Hkr 1991), and taken as acc. pl., while rauð is assumed to be impersonal. This leads to the syntactically awkward Rauð rǫnd með hǫndum gumna, dreyrug sverð ‘One reddened the shield, along with the hands of men, (and) gory swords’.
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dýrr (adj.; °compar. -ri/-ari, superl. -str/-astr): precious
[3] dýran: dyggvan 73aˣ, 325V, dýrum 61
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1. drótt (noun f.): troop
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þjóð (noun f.; °-ar, dat. -/-u; -ir): people < þjóðkonungr (noun m.): mighty king
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konungr (noun m.; °dat. -i, -s; -ar): king < þjóðkonungr (noun m.): mighty king
[4] ‑konung: ‑konungr 61, Tóm
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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
[5] Auk: ok Holm2, J2ˣ, 321ˣ, Holm4, 325V, ‘ott’ 61, 325VII, Tóm
[5] auk at ísarnleiki ‘and ... in the iron-play [BATTLE]’: The same phrase is found (only) in Þjóð Haustl 14/5, where the fight is a mythic one between the god Þórr and the giant Hrungnir. Given the further resemblance to Haustl (see Note to ll. 7, 8 below), Sigvatr’s stanza may consciously or unconsciously recall Haustl.
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3. at (prep.): at, to
[5] auk at ísarnleiki ‘and ... in the iron-play [BATTLE]’: The same phrase is found (only) in Þjóð Haustl 14/5, where the fight is a mythic one between the god Þórr and the giant Hrungnir. Given the further resemblance to Haustl (see Note to ll. 7, 8 below), Sigvatr’s stanza may consciously or unconsciously recall Haustl.
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ísarn (noun n.; °; -): iron < ísarnleikr (noun m.)
[5] ísarn‑: so Holm2, jarna‑ Kˣ, J2ˣ, Holm4, 61, 325VII, Flat, Tóm, í sár 325V
[5] auk at ísarnleiki ‘and ... in the iron-play [BATTLE]’: The same phrase is found (only) in Þjóð Haustl 14/5, where the fight is a mythic one between the god Þórr and the giant Hrungnir. Given the further resemblance to Haustl (see Note to ll. 7, 8 below), Sigvatr’s stanza may consciously or unconsciously recall Haustl.
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1. leikr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -/-i; -ar): sport, play < ísarnleikr (noun m.)
[5] auk at ísarnleiki ‘and ... in the iron-play [BATTLE]’: The same phrase is found (only) in Þjóð Haustl 14/5, where the fight is a mythic one between the god Þórr and the giant Hrungnir. Given the further resemblance to Haustl (see Note to ll. 7, 8 below), Sigvatr’s stanza may consciously or unconsciously recall Haustl.
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1. inn (adv.): in, inside < innþrœndr (noun m.): one of the Innþrœndir
[6] Innþrœndum: innþrœndir Flat
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Þrœndr (noun m.; °; þrǿndir/þrǿndr): people from Tröndelag < innþrœndr (noun m.): one of the Innþrœndir
[6] Innþrœndum: innþrœndir Flat
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rœkinn (adj.): capable, cultivating
[7] rœkinn: rekinn var 61, Flat, Tóm
[7] rœkinn ‘capable’: Apart from this instance, the adj. (apparently the p. p. of an unrecorded strong verb) is attested only in various compounds (LP: rœkinn) and the meaning is not entirely clear, though it may be related to the weak verb rœkja ‘to take care’. Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) takes rœkinn with at ísarnleiki ‘in iron-play [BATTLE]’, hence ‘capable in battle’, but the prepositional phrase is more naturally taken with lét finnask ‘caused to be found’ (cf. NN §620).
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í (prep.): in, into
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1. reik (noun f.; °-ar; -r): hair-parting
[7, 8] túnum reikar ‘the homefields of the parting [HEAD]’: The pl. túnum might suggest ‘hair’ as the referent of this kenning, but the context and skaldic parallels (Meissner 127) rather suggest ‘head’. Compare the similar hneigihlíðum hárs ‘inclined slopes of the hair [HEAD]’ in Þjóð Haustl 20/1-2III: in both cases the head is assaulted by a weapon (a whetstone in Haustl) described as rauðr ‘red’. Sigvatr’s kenning continues the preoccupation with hair in recounting Óláfr’s punitive actions against his enemies; cf. st. 4/5, 8, st. 6/2, 3, 4 and Notes.
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rauðr (adj.; °compar. -ari): red < rauðbrúnn (adj.)
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hjǫrr (noun m.): sword
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tún (noun n.; °-s; -): homefield, enclosure
[8] túnum: túni 321ˣ
[7, 8] túnum reikar ‘the homefields of the parting [HEAD]’: The pl. túnum might suggest ‘hair’ as the referent of this kenning, but the context and skaldic parallels (Meissner 127) rather suggest ‘head’. Compare the similar hneigihlíðum hárs ‘inclined slopes of the hair [HEAD]’ in Þjóð Haustl 20/1-2III: in both cases the head is assaulted by a weapon (a whetstone in Haustl) described as rauðr ‘red’. Sigvatr’s kenning continues the preoccupation with hair in recounting Óláfr’s punitive actions against his enemies; cf. st. 4/5, 8, st. 6/2, 3, 4 and Notes.
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
The fighting gets fiercer and the king presses forward in the hand-to-hand fighting.
[5-8]: It is possible to construe the helmingr in two ways, depending on the interpretation of rauð (l. 8). (a) Rauð could form part of a cpd adj. rauðbrúnan (m. acc. sg.) ‘red-brown’ (so Skj B, Skald and this edn), cf. rauðljóss, lit. ‘red-light’, in Hallv Knútdr 4/1III (-brúnn is unlikely to mean ‘sharp’; see Note to Arn Magndr 2/8II). In this case ll. 5-8 constitute a single clause. (b) Rauð could be the pret. verb ‘reddened’, with gramr ‘prince’ as its understood subject (so ÍF 27). However, this interpretation presents difficulties in ll. 6-7, requiring lét ‘caused’ to take a dat. object (Innþrœndum ‘Innþrœndir’) and leaving the role of finnask ‘be found’ unclear.
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