Judith Jesch (ed.) 2012, ‘Sigvatr Þórðarson, Erfidrápa Óláfs helga 3’ 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. 668.
Lyngs bar fiskr til fengjar
flugstyggs sonar Tryggva
gjǫlnar golli mǫlnu
— goð vildi svá — roðnar.
Annan lét á unnir
Ôleifr búinn hôla
(lǫgr þó drjúgt) inn digri
(dýrs horn) Visund sporna.
{Fiskr lyngs} {flugstyggs sonar Tryggva} bar gjǫlnar roðnar mǫlnu golli til fengjar; goð vildi svá. Ôleifr inn digri lét annan, búinn hôla, Visund, sporna á unnir; lǫgr þó drjúgt horn dýrs.
{The fish of the heather} [SNAKE (ormr = Ormr inn langi)] {of the flight-shunning son of Tryggvi} [= Óláfr Tryggvason] carried gills reddened with ground gold in pursuit of gain; God wished it so. Óláfr inn digri (‘the Stout’) caused a second [ship], splendidly equipped, Visundr (‘Bison’), to tread on the waves; the sea washed the animal’s horns persistently.
Mss: Kˣ(404r) (Hkr); Holm2(50v), J2ˣ(194r), 321ˣ(179), 73aˣ(156v-157r), 68(48v), Holm4(44vb), 61(111ra), 75c(29v), 325V(56va), 325VII(29v), Bb(180ra), Flat(114va), Tóm(137r) (ÓH)
Readings: [1] Lyngs: lungs 68; bar: var 61; fiskr: ‘fystr’ 325VII, frekr Flat [2] flug‑: flærð‑ 321ˣ, 73aˣ; ‑styggs: ‑styggan 321ˣ, 73aˣ, ‑stígs 325VII, styggr Tóm; sonar: son 321ˣ, 73aˣ [3] gjǫlnar: ‘giolnir’ Holm2, ‘gelnar’ 61, ‘siolnar’ Bb, ‘giolar’ Tóm [4] roðnar: mildan 321ˣ, 73aˣ, mildi 61 [5] Annan: annarr Bb, Flat; á: enn J2ˣ; unnir: unnar 325V [6] hôla: om. 73aˣ [7] lǫgr: langr Bb; þó: þau 75c; drjúgt: drýgt Holm2 [8] Visund: Visundr J2ˣ
Editions: Skj AI, 257, Skj BI, 239, Skald I, 124; Hkr 1893-1901, II, 347, IV, 141, ÍF 27, 267-8, Hkr 1991, II, 447 (ÓHHkr ch. 144); ÓH 1941, I, 422 (ch. 134), Flat 1860-8, II, 275; Jón Skaptason 1983, 158, 302.
Context: King Óláfr sets out on an expedition with a newly-built ship, Visundr.
Notes: [All]: Anon (ÓH), quoted later in the same chapters of ÓH-Hkr, also depicts Óláfr launching his ship Visundr from the north, while another prince sails from the south. — [1] fiskr lyngs ‘the fish of the heather [SNAKE (ormr = Ormr inn langi]’: Óláfr’s magnificent Visundr ‘Bison’ is compared with Ormr inn langi ‘the Long Serpent’, the famous warship in which Óláfr Tryggvason fought his last battle at Svǫlðr; see Note to Hókr Eirfl 3/4. Ormr is frequently mentioned in skaldic poetry, often using word-play as here; see Hfr ErfÓl 10/1 and Note. — [1] til fengjar ‘in pursuit of gain’: The context might suggest ‘into battle’, but fengr m. normally means ‘plunder, booty’ (LP: fengr), so a reference to gaining or raiding seems likely here (cf. the translations í leiðangur ‘on a raiding expedition’ in ÍF 27 and til fangst ‘for plundering, seizing’ in Hkr 1893-1901, IV and Skj B). Óláfr Tryggvason in Hkr (ÍF 26, 344, 348) calls up a fleet and sails Ormr south to Denmark and Vinðland (Wendland) to press his territorial claims. — [3] gjǫlnar ‘gills’: This, the sole occurrence of this rare word in skaldic poetry, extends the ‘fish’ metaphor of l. 1 and may apply to the gilded prow (Jesch 2001a, 147). — [4] goð vildi svá ‘God wished it so’: For references in Sigvatr’s poetry to the Christian deity allowing or approving of the actions of a king, cf. Lv 7/5 and 29/3. What exactly is claimed to be God’s will is unclear, but it could be the splendour and successes of Ormr. Finnur Jónsson (Hkr 1893-1901, IV) suggested instead the battle of Svǫlðr (c. 1000). — [5] annan (m. acc. sg.) ‘a second [ship]’: The adj. is in grammatical concord with fiskr (m. nom. sg.) ‘fish’ or more especially Visund (m. acc. sg.) ‘Bison’, but does not directly qualify either. The translation in ÍF 27 assumes dreka (m. acc. sg.) ‘dragon-ship’ to be understood, while Finnur Jónsson (Hkr 1893-1901, IV) remarks that n. annat [skip] ‘another ship, a second ship’ would have been expected. The variant annarr (m. nom. sg.) would qualify Ôleifr, hence ‘another, a second Óláfr’, which would be apt, but this is the reading of Bb and Flat only. — [7] inn digri ‘(“the Stout”)’: Sigvatr uses this epithet of the king in sts 6/8 and 8/2 and in Lv 12/6. Digri appears widely as Óláfr’s nickname; it was posthumously replaced by helgi ‘the Holy, Saint’. — [8] Visund ‘(“Bison”)’: According to the prose preceding the stanza, Visundr was the greatest of ships and had a gold-adorned bison-head at its prow. The ship was inherited by Óláfr’s son Magnús, and is referred to in several poems; see Note to ÞjóðA Magnfl 4/8II.
Use the buttons at the top of the page to navigate between stanzas in a poem.
The text and translation are given here, with buttons to toggle whether the text is shown in the verse order or prose word order. Clicking on indiviudal words gives dictionary links, variant readings, kennings and notes, where relevant.
This is the text of the edition in a similar format to how the edition appears in the printed volumes.
This view is also used for chapters and other text segments. Not all the headings shown are relevant to such sections.