Sigv Erlfl 6I
Judith Jesch (ed.) 2012, ‘Sigvatr Þórðarson, Flokkr about Erlingr Skjálgsson 6’ 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. 637.
olli ‘caused’
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valda (verb): cause
[1] Erlingr fell en olli: ‘[…]’ 325XI 2 b; olli: so all others, ‘ǫlli’ Kˣ
allríkr ‘the most powerful’
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allríkr (adj.): very powerful
[2] allríkr: Áslákr 321ˣ, ‘vllrik‑’ Bb
kennings
allríkr konr bragna‘the most powerful son of kings ’
= RULER = Óláfr
the most powerful son of kings → RULER = Óláfr
skapat ‘such a thing’
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2. skapa (verb): form
[2] skapat: skipat Holm2, skipan J2ˣ, 321ˣ, 73aˣ, tapaðr 61, Bb, Flat, Tóm, 325XI 2 b, skapaðr 325V, 325VII
slíku ‘to be brought about’
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2. slíkr (adj.): such
[2] slíku: slíkri J2ˣ, 321ˣ, 73aˣ, slíkum Flat
bíðrat ‘will experience’
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bíða (verb; °bíðr; beið, biðu; beðit): wait, suffer, experience
[3] bíðrat: biðjat 61, bíðra at Flat, ‘b[…]’ 325XI 2 b
notes
[3] betri bíðrat ‘no better man will experience’: Lit. ‘a better man will not experience’.
betri ‘no better man’
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betri (adj. comp.; °superl. beztr/baztr; pos. góðr adj.): better, best
[3] betri: betra J2ˣ, 321ˣ, 73aˣ, 68, 325VII, Tóm, ‘[…]’ 325XI 2 b
notes
[3] betri bíðrat ‘no better man will experience’: Lit. ‘a better man will not experience’.
dauða ‘death’
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dauði (noun m.; °-a; -ar): death
bragna ‘of kings’
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bragnar (noun m.): men, warriors
[4] bragna: bragninga 61, Bb, Flat, ‘bragningra’ Tóm, ‘[…]gning[…]’ 325XI 2 b
kennings
allríkr konr bragna‘the most powerful son of kings ’
= RULER = Óláfr
the most powerful son of kings → RULER = Óláfr
konr ‘son’
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konr (noun m.; °-ar): kind, descendant
[4] konr með: konungr Bb; konr: kon or kom Flat, ‘[…]’ 325XI 2 b
kennings
allríkr konr bragna‘the most powerful son of kings ’
= RULER = Óláfr
the most powerful son of kings → RULER = Óláfr
með ‘by’
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með (prep.): with
[4] konr með: konungr Bb; með: af J2ˣ, om. 61, Flat, Tóm, at 325V, 325VII, ‘[…]’ 325XI 2 b
Mann ‘man’
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maðr (noun m.): man, person
veitk ‘I know’
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1. vita (verb): know
annan ‘other’
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1. annarr (pron.; °f. ǫnnur, n. annat; pl. aðrir): (an)other, second
[5] annan: anna Tóm
allbrátt ‘very early’
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allbráðr (adj.): [very early]
þótt ‘even though’
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þótt (conj.): although
[6] þótt (‘þo at’): at Holm2, 68, Holm4, 325V, 325VII, Bb, Flat, Tóm, 325XI 2 b, þann er J2ˣ, 321ˣ, 73aˣ, af 61
fjǫr ‘life’
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fjǫr (noun n.): life
láti ‘he lost’
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láta (verb): let, have sth done
[6] láti: latti J2ˣ, Tóm, láta 61, látit Flat
notes
[6] láti ‘lost’: Finnur Jónsson (Hkr 1893-1901, II; Skj B) selects the negative form látit ‘did not lose’ from Flat, arguing (Hkr 1893-1901, IV) that the meaning of l. 6 is selv om han lever aldrig så længe, og meget længere end Erling ‘even if he lives ever so long, and much longer than Erlingr’. Apart from the problematic choice of a unique reading from an inferior ms., it is relevant to the interpretation of this that Erlingr was quite old when he died. The implication is surely that even those who die young could not manage to maintain their standing as well as Erlingr managed to do over a much longer period of time (similarly Kock, NN §642).
notes
[7, 8] halda enn fullara ‘maintain his standing’: Lit. ‘assert [himself] more fully’; the interpretation follows LP: halda A. 11. Jón Skaptason (1983) construes allan aldr ‘all his life’ as the object of the verb.
notes
[7] sás ‘who’: The nom. case of the pron. sá (forming sás with enclitic rel. (e)s) is determined by the following rel. clause, a construction that is possible, though rare (NS §260). The acc. case þann er (normalised þanns) agreeing with annan mann ‘another man’ in the preceding clause would be more usual, and is the reading of 61.
aldr ‘life’
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aldr (noun m.; °aldrs, dat. aldri; aldrar): life, age
[8] aldr: aldr kunnara Bb
fullara ‘standing’
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2. fullr (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): full, complete
[8] fullara: prúðliga J2ˣ
notes
[7, 8] halda enn fullara ‘maintain his standing’: Lit. ‘assert [himself] more fully’; the interpretation follows LP: halda A. 11. Jón Skaptason (1983) construes allan aldr ‘all his life’ as the object of the verb.
at ‘’
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5. at (nota): to (with infinitive)
notes
[7, 8] halda enn fullara ‘maintain his standing’: Lit. ‘assert [himself] more fully’; the interpretation follows LP: halda A. 11. Jón Skaptason (1983) construes allan aldr ‘all his life’ as the object of the verb.
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
The defeated Erlingr is killed by Áslákr Fitjaskalli ‘Fitjar-Baldhead’, apparently against the wishes of King Óláfr. His death is greatly mourned by the inhabitants of the region.
[1-4]: Sigvatr here portrays the king as causing (olli) Erlingr’s death through his victory (með gagni), but the extent to which blame is apportioned is unclear. Kock (NN §641) suggests taking með gagni to mean ‘to his advantage’ and construing it with Erlingr fell ‘Erlingr fell’, the advantage to Erlingr in his death being the glory he had won. This would have the effect of deflecting the focus from the king, but seems less plausible in the context. In Snorri’s prose account (ÍF 27, 317-18) Óláfr gives Erlingr a token wound for his treason, but when Áslákr Fitjaskalli intervenes to deal Erlingr his death-blow Óláfr cries out that he has struck Norway out of his hands (see also Note to st. 7/7-8).
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