Sigv Erlfl 7^I

Áslákr hefr aukit
(es vǫrðr drepinn Hǫrða)
(fáir skyldu svá) (foldar)
frændsekju (styr vekja).
Ættvígi má eigi
(á líti þeir) níta
— frændr skyli bræði bindask
bornir — (môl in fornu).

Áslákr hefr aukit frændsekju; {vǫrðr {foldar Hǫrða}} es drepinn; fáir skyldu vekja styr svá. Ættvígi má eigi níta; bornir frændr skyli bindask bræði; líti þeir á in fornu môl.

Áslákr has increased crime against kindred; {the guardian {of the land of the Hǫrðar}} [= Hordaland > = Erlingr] has been killed; few should cause conflict in such a way. Kin-killing cannot be denied; those born as kinsmen should refrain from violence; let them look to the old sayings.

Mss: Kˣ(433r) (Hkr); Holm2(58r), 321ˣ(219), 73aˣ(179v), 68(57v), Holm4(55vb), 61(116vb), 75c(39r) (ll. 2-8), 325V(69ra-b), 325VII(32r), Bb(189rb), Flat(119rb), Tóm(146v-147r), 325XI 2 b(1ra) (ÓH)

Readings: [2] es vǫrðr drepinn Hǫrða: ‘[…]þa’ 75c;    es (‘er’): ætt 68, 325V;    vǫrðr: norðr 73aˣ, 61;    drepinn: drepi 325V    [3] fáir skyldu: fá er skild Flat;    foldar: ‘f[…]ldar’ 325XI 2 b    [5] ‑vígi: víga 321ˣ, 73aˣ, ‑vígum 61, 325V, 325VII, Bb, Flat, 325XI 2 b, ‑vígjum 75c, ‑víg Tóm    [6] á líti þeir: um bítask þar 61, 75c, 325V, 325VII, Bb, Flat, Tóm, 325XI 2 b;    líti: lítit 321ˣ, 73aˣ;    þeir: því at 73aˣ;    níta: víta 73aˣ    [7] frændr: ‘frœdr’ 321ˣ, ‘[…]ndr’ 325XI 2 b;    skyli: ‘m(unu)’(?) 61, ‘[…]yli’ 325XI 2 b;    bræði: bæði 321ˣ, bǫls of 73aˣ, om. 68, bræðr Flat    [8] bornir: bornir bænir 68;    fornu: ‘fo[…]nu’ 325XI 2 b

Editions: Skj AI, 246-7, Skj BI, 230, Skald I, 119; Hkr 1893-1901, II, 408, IV, 157, ÍF 27, 318-19, Hkr 1991, II, 485 (ÓHHkr ch. 176); ÓH 1941, I, 486 (ch. 172), Flat 1860-8, II, 311; Jón Skaptason 1983, 119, 265-6.

Context: The stanza’s condemnation of Áslákr’s action is noted.

Notes: [1-4]: The helmingr unusually interweaves three clauses, with the third starting before either of the first two is complete. — [2, 3] vǫrðr foldar Hǫrða ‘the guardian of the land of the Hǫrðar [= Hordaland > = Erlingr]’: According to Snorri (ÍF 27, 192), Erlingr ruled western Norway from Sognefjorden to Lindesnes, an area more extensive than, but including, modern Hordaland. — [4] frændsekju ‘crime against kindred’: Lit. ‘kinsman-guilt’. — [7, 8] bornir frændr ‘those born as kinsmen’: Lit., ‘born kinsmen’. Skjálgr, father of Erlingr, and Áskell, father of Áslákr Fitjaskalli ‘Fitjar-Baldhead’, were paternal cousins. Snorri (ÍF 27, 192-3) relates that the conflict between their sons arose when King Óláfr gave Áslákr some authority in Sunn-Hǫrðaland (Sunnhordaland) to counter Erlingr’s power, though an uneasy truce, apparently to Erlingr’s advantage, was achieved. — [8] in fornu môl ‘the old sayings’: Despite the suggestion of Jón Skaptason (1983) that môl could mean ‘laws’, the sentiments of this stanza are proverbial, rather than legal. Neither frændsekja ‘crime against kindred’ (l. 4) nor ættvígi ‘kin-killing’ (l. 5) appears as a technical term in either the Norwegian or the Icelandic laws.

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
6. Hkr 1893-1901 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1893-1901. Heimskringla: Nóregs konunga sǫgur af Snorri Sturluson. 4 vols. SUGNL 23. Copenhagen: Møller.
7. Hkr 1991 = Bergljót S. Kristjánsdóttir et al., eds. 1991. Heimskringla. 3 vols. Reykjavík: Mál og menning.
8. 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.
9. Internal references
10. (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 24 April 2024)