Sigv Erlfl 5I
Judith Jesch (ed.) 2012, ‘Sigvatr Þórðarson, Flokkr about Erlingr Skjálgsson 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. 636.
Ǫndurða ‘face to face’
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andorða (adj.; °indecl.): [face to face]
[1] Ǫndurða: ǫndverða 73aˣ, Holm4, 61, 325V, Flat, Tóm, ‘Anverþa’ 325VII
notes
[1, 4] bað ǫrnu klóask ǫndurða ‘said eagles should fight face to face’: Eagles, with ravens and wolves, are ‘beasts of battle’ traditionally alluded to in skaldic verse as consumers of carrion rather than fighters (cf. st. 1/2, 4), but here the image is rather of two opponents of equally high status. For a comparable use of haukr ‘hawk’, see Note to Arn Hryn 3/5II.
bað ‘said’
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biðja (verb; °biðr; bað, báðu; beðinn (beiþ- Martin¹ 573, bỏþ- HákEirsp 661, cf. ed. intr. xl)): ask for, order, pray
notes
[1, 4] bað ǫrnu klóask ǫndurða ‘said eagles should fight face to face’: Eagles, with ravens and wolves, are ‘beasts of battle’ traditionally alluded to in skaldic verse as consumers of carrion rather than fighters (cf. st. 1/2, 4), but here the image is rather of two opponents of equally high status. For a comparable use of haukr ‘hawk’, see Note to Arn Hryn 3/5II.
jarðar ‘the land’
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jǫrð (noun f.; °jarðar, dat. -u; jarðir/jarðar(DN I (1367) 304)): ground, earth
Erlingr ‘Erlingr’
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Erlingr (noun m.): Erlingr
notes
[2] Erlingr: Finnur Jónsson (Hkr 1893-1901, II; Skj B) prints Erlengr, presumably to improve the aðalhending with lengi. This form is not found in any mss, though some of them abbreviate the name, making the vowel uncertain.
vel ‘well’
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vel (adv.): well, very
lengi ‘for a long time’
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lengi (adv.): for a long time
geymði ‘ruled’
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geyma (verb): heed, guard
land ‘his defence’
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land (noun n.; °-s; *-): land < landvǫrn (noun f.): defence of territory
[4] land‑: hand 61
vǫrn ‘of territory’
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vǫrn (noun f.; °varnar; varnir): defence < landvǫrn (noun f.): defence of territory
[4] ‑vǫrn: ‑vǫrðr Bb
notes
[1, 4] bað ǫrnu klóask ǫndurða ‘said eagles should fight face to face’: Eagles, with ravens and wolves, are ‘beasts of battle’ traditionally alluded to in skaldic verse as consumers of carrion rather than fighters (cf. st. 1/2, 4), but here the image is rather of two opponents of equally high status. For a comparable use of haukr ‘hawk’, see Note to Arn Hryn 3/5II.
ǫrnu ‘eagles’
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1. ǫrn (noun m.; °arnar, dat. erni; ernir, acc. ǫrnu): eagle
notes
[1, 4] bað ǫrnu klóask ǫndurða ‘said eagles should fight face to face’: Eagles, with ravens and wolves, are ‘beasts of battle’ traditionally alluded to in skaldic verse as consumers of carrion rather than fighters (cf. st. 1/2, 4), but here the image is rather of two opponents of equally high status. For a comparable use of haukr ‘hawk’, see Note to Arn Hryn 3/5II.
þás ‘when’
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þás (conj.): when
hann ‘he’
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hann (pron.; °gen. hans, dat. honum; f. hon, gen. hennar, acc. hana): he, she, it, they, them...
[5] hann: snjallr corrected from ‘þniallr’ Bb
sig ‘the battle’
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sigr (noun m.; °sigrs/sigrar, dat. sigri; sigrar): victory
[5] sig: sik Holm2, J2ˣ, 73aˣ, 68, Holm4, svik 61, 325V, 325VII, Bb, Flat, Tóm
sǫnnum ‘with true’
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2. sannr (adj.; °-an; compar. -ari, superl. -astr): true
[5] sǫnnum: sǫnnu 61, Bb, Flat, Tóm
vas ‘was’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
búinn ‘ready’
[6, 7] áðr búinn ráða ats: ‘[…]’ Holm4 [6] búinn: munuð 61, numinn Bb, Flat, unninn Tóm
notes
[6-7] búinn ráða ats ‘ready to carry out the attack’: More literally, ‘ready for the actions of attack’. Ráða here is not the verb ‘decide, rule etc.’, which does not normally take a gen. object, but rather the gen. pl. of ráð n. which, in the sense ‘plan, action’ (LP: ráð 2), often appears in the pl. Búinn takes the gen. in this type of phrase.
ráða ‘to carry out’
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ráða (verb): advise, rule, interpret, decide
[6, 7] áðr búinn ráða ats: ‘[…]’ Holm4
notes
[6-7] búinn ráða ats ‘ready to carry out the attack’: More literally, ‘ready for the actions of attack’. Ráða here is not the verb ‘decide, rule etc.’, which does not normally take a gen. object, but rather the gen. pl. of ráð n. which, in the sense ‘plan, action’ (LP: ráð 2), often appears in the pl. Búinn takes the gen. in this type of phrase.
ats ‘the attack’
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1. at (noun n.): [attack, strife]
[6, 7] áðr búinn ráða ats: ‘[…]’ Holm4 [7] ats: snjallr 61, 325V, 325VII, Bb, Flat, Tóm
notes
[6-7] búinn ráða ats ‘ready to carry out the attack’: More literally, ‘ready for the actions of attack’. Ráða here is not the verb ‘decide, rule etc.’, which does not normally take a gen. object, but rather the gen. pl. of ráð n. which, in the sense ‘plan, action’ (LP: ráð 2), often appears in the pl. Búinn takes the gen. in this type of phrase.
við ‘by’
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2. við (prep.): with, against
notes
[7] við Útstein ‘by Utstein’: Útsteinn is also named in BjHall Kálffl 2/4. It is on the island now called Klosterøy, just east of a line between Bokn and Tunge (see Note to st. 3/2-4), and approximately halfway between them. It appears to have been one of the royal farms of Haraldr hárfagri ‘Fair-hair’ (see Þhorn Harkv 9/4 and ÍF 26, 143) and was later the site of an Augustinian monastery.
Útstein ‘Utstein’
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Útsteinn (noun m.): Utsteinen, Utstein
notes
[7] við Útstein ‘by Utstein’: Útsteinn is also named in BjHall Kálffl 2/4. It is on the island now called Klosterøy, just east of a line between Bokn and Tunge (see Note to st. 3/2-4), and approximately halfway between them. It appears to have been one of the royal farms of Haraldr hárfagri ‘Fair-hair’ (see Þhorn Harkv 9/4 and ÍF 26, 143) and was later the site of an Augustinian monastery.
hizi ‘there’
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hizi (adv.): [there]
[7] hizi: hizig 321ˣ, illra 61, 325V, 325VII, Bb, Tóm, illa Flat
notes
[7] hizi ‘there’: The adv., or its variant hizig, occurs in three further contexts where the site of a sea-battle is named (LP: hizig).
Ôleif ‘Óláfr’
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Óláfr (noun m.): Óláfr
[8] Ôleif: Óláfr J2ˣ, 321ˣ, 73aˣ, 61, 325V, 325VII, ‘O.’ Tóm
of ‘addressed’
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4. of (particle): (before verb)
[8] of tók (‘um toc’): ok tók J2ˣ, 73aˣ, 61, Tóm, ‘vm […]’ Holm4, tekit Flat
tók ‘’
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2. taka (verb): take
[8] of tók (‘um toc’): ok tók J2ˣ, 73aˣ, 61, Tóm, ‘vm […]’ Holm4, tekit Flat
notes
[8] of tók ... môlum ‘addressed ... with ... words’: Cf., e.g., Þfagr Sveinn 9/6II es tókusk orðum ‘when they began to exchange words’. Of here is the expletive particle.
môlum ‘words’
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1. mál (noun n.; °-s; -): speech, matter
[8] môlum: ‘malo’ Holm2, ‘[…]’ Holm4
notes
[8] of tók ... môlum ‘addressed ... with ... words’: Cf., e.g., Þfagr Sveinn 9/6II es tókusk orðum ‘when they began to exchange words’. Of here is the expletive particle.
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King Óláfr comes face to face with Erlingr and speaks to him.
[5-8]: (a) Finnur Jónsson (Hkr 1893-1901, IV; Skj B) proposed that this helmingr contained the phrase ráðasǫnnum môlum, separated by tmesis, translating indholdssande ord ‘words with true content’, though ráðasannr does not appear in LP and it is not clear what the first element adds to the meaning. (b) Kock (NN §2475) proposed the interpretation followed here, on the grounds of the common occurrence in skaldic verse of a clause contained within one line and the first, monosyllabic, word of the following line. Sigvatr uses a similar construction in Víkv 6/2-3, 11/3-4, Vestv 6/3-4 and (with a disyllable in the following line) in st. 7/7-8 below.
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