Sigv ErfÓl 20^I

Áðr vitu eigi meiðar
ógnar skers né hersa
— þjóð réð þengils dauða —
þann styrk búandmanna,
es slíkan gram sóknum
sárelds viðir felldi
— mǫrg lá dýr í dreyra
drótt — , sem Ôleifr þótti.

{Meiðar {skers ógnar}} vitu eigi áðr þann styrk búandmanna né hersa — þjóð réð dauða þengils —, es {viðir {sárelds}} felldi sóknum slíkan gram, sem Ôleifr þótti; mǫrg dýr drótt lá í dreyra.

{The trees {of the skerry of battle}} [SHIELD > WARRIORS] did not previously recognise that strength of the farmers nor of the hersar — the people caused the death of the prince — by which {the trees {of the wound-fire}} [SWORD > WARRIORS] could fell in the onslaught such a ruler as Óláfr was thought to be; many a noble retinue lay [dead] in the gore.

Mss: Kˣ(477v) (Hkr); Holm2(69v), J2ˣ(230r-v), 321ˣ(263-264), 73aˣ(205v), Holm4(65va), 61(127ra), 325V(83rb), 325VII(39v), Bb(200vb), Flat(126ra), Tóm(157v) (ÓH)

Readings: [1] Áðr: ‘[…]ðr’ Tóm;    eigi meiðar: eigi meiðr J2ˣ, þat eigi 73aˣ, 325V    [2] ógnar: ógna 73aˣ;    skers: skorts 321ˣ, setrs 73aˣ, 325V;    hersa: hersar J2ˣ, Flat, þessa 325VII, herða Bb    [4] búand‑: ‘bond’ Flat, búanda Tóm    [5] slíkan: so Holm2, J2ˣ, 321ˣ, 73aˣ, Holm4, 61, 325V, 325VII, Flat, Tóm, slíka Kˣ, slíkar Bb    [6] sár‑: sárir 321ˣ;    viðir: við 321ˣ, viðar Bb, undir Flat;    felldi: felldu J2ˣ, 73aˣ, Holm4, 325V, 325VII, foldu 321ˣ    [8] Ôleifr: Ôleif J2ˣ, Flat;    þótti: sótti 325VII

Editions: Skj AI, 262, Skj BI, 243-4, Skald I, 126; Hkr 1893-1901, II, 505, IV, 173, ÍF 27, 394, Hkr 1991, II, 540 (ÓHHkr ch. 235); ÓH 1941, I, 587 (ch. 235), Flat 1860-8, II, 366; Jón Skaptason 1983, 175, 308.

Context: As for st. 19.

Notes: [3] þjóð réð dauða þengils ‘the people caused the death of the prince’: In st. 14/4, Óláfr was still the þjóðkonungr ‘mighty king’, lit. ‘nation-king’; now he has been felled by the very people he once ruled. — [5] es ‘by which’: (a) Es is taken here as a rel. introducing a clause that appears to elaborate on þann styrk ‘that strength’ (l. 4). (b) It could alternatively be the conj. equivalent to at ‘that’ (LP: at 7). Skj B translates þann styrk ... es felldi as sådan magt ... at (mændene) fældede ‘such power that (the men) felled / could fell ...’. (c) Es could alternatively be the conj. ‘when, since, because’. — [6] felldi ‘could fell’: The subj. form of felldi ‘could fell, might fell’ expresses the fact that the outcome was unexpected.

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. LP = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1931. Lexicon poeticum antiquæ linguæ septentrionalis: Ordbog over det norsk-islandske skjaldesprog oprindelig forfattet af Sveinbjörn Egilsson. 2nd edn. Copenhagen: Møller.
5. 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.
6. 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.
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. 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.
11. Internal references
12. (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 19 April 2024)