Sigv Knútdr 3I
Matthew Townend (ed.) 2012, ‘Sigvatr Þórðarson, Knútsdrápa 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. 653.
Knútr ‘Knútr’
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Knútr (noun m.): Knútr
notes
[1]: This line opens the poem’s klofastef ‘split refrain’, which is completed by st. 6/8 and repeats at st. 7/1; st. 6/8 repeats at sts 9/8 and 11/8. The complete refrain reads Knútr vas und himnum | hǫfuðfremstr jǫfurr, i.e. Knútr vas hǫfuðfremstr jǫfurr und himnum ‘Knútr was the most eminent prince under the heavens’.
vas ‘was’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
[1] vas (‘var’): varð 321ˣ, 73aˣ, Flat, er 68, FskBˣ
notes
[1]: This line opens the poem’s klofastef ‘split refrain’, which is completed by st. 6/8 and repeats at st. 7/1; st. 6/8 repeats at sts 9/8 and 11/8. The complete refrain reads Knútr vas und himnum | hǫfuðfremstr jǫfurr, i.e. Knútr vas hǫfuðfremstr jǫfurr und himnum ‘Knútr was the most eminent prince under the heavens’.
notes
[1]: This line opens the poem’s klofastef ‘split refrain’, which is completed by st. 6/8 and repeats at st. 7/1; st. 6/8 repeats at sts 9/8 and 11/8. The complete refrain reads Knútr vas und himnum | hǫfuðfremstr jǫfurr, i.e. Knútr vas hǫfuðfremstr jǫfurr und himnum ‘Knútr was the most eminent prince under the heavens’.
himnum ‘the heavens’
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himinn (noun m.; °himins, dat. himni; himnar): heaven, sky
[1] himnum: ítrum J2ˣ, om. 321ˣ, veg 73aˣ
notes
[1]: This line opens the poem’s klofastef ‘split refrain’, which is completed by st. 6/8 and repeats at st. 7/1; st. 6/8 repeats at sts 9/8 and 11/8. The complete refrain reads Knútr vas und himnum | hǫfuðfremstr jǫfurr, i.e. Knútr vas hǫfuðfremstr jǫfurr und himnum ‘Knútr was the most eminent prince under the heavens’.
Hykk ‘I believe’
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2. hyggja (verb): think, consider
[2] Hykk (‘hygg ec’): hygg 321ˣ, vil ek 73aˣ
ætt ‘the descendant’
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1. ætt (noun f.; °-ar; -ir): family
[2] ætt: rétt 73aˣ, 325VII, Tóm, hætt 68, œztr 61
kennings
ætt Haralds‘the descendant of Haraldr ’
= Óláfr
the descendant of Haraldr → Óláfr
notes
[2, 3] ætt Haralds ‘the descendant of Haraldr [= Óláfr]’: Óláfr is also referred to as the heir or descendant of Haraldr in Sigv Lv 11/2 and Ótt Hfl 15/8. The reference is most likely to be to Óláfr’s father Haraldr grenski ‘from Grenland’, as in the unambiguous sonr Haralds ‘son of Haraldr’ (Þloft Glækv 4/3), though a claim of descent from Haraldr hárfagri is also possible. Cf. also Note to Sigv Ást 2/6.
notes
[2] at frétt ‘according to reports’: Frétt is the f. noun ‘enquiry, intelligence, news, report’.
frétt ‘reports,’
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frétt (noun f.): report
[2] frétt: ‘frætt’ J2ˣ, 321ˣ, 325V, FskBˣ, fæstr 61
notes
[2] at frétt ‘according to reports’: Frétt is the f. noun ‘enquiry, intelligence, news, report’.
Haralds ‘of Haraldr’
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Haraldr (noun m.): Haraldr
[3] Haralds: ‘harr’ J2ˣ, ‘harra lads’ 61, ‘haralldar’ DG8
kennings
ætt Haralds‘the descendant of Haraldr ’
= Óláfr
the descendant of Haraldr → Óláfr
notes
[2, 3] ætt Haralds ‘the descendant of Haraldr [= Óláfr]’: Óláfr is also referred to as the heir or descendant of Haraldr in Sigv Lv 11/2 and Ótt Hfl 15/8. The reference is most likely to be to Óláfr’s father Haraldr grenski ‘from Grenland’, as in the unambiguous sonr Haralds ‘son of Haraldr’ (Þloft Glækv 4/3), though a claim of descent from Haraldr hárfagri is also possible. Cf. also Note to Sigv Ást 2/6.
notes
[3] í her ‘in battle’: (a) Although her most often means ‘army, host, people’, the sense ‘battle’ appears to occur in some compounds: see, e.g., LP: hernenninn ‘battle-eager’, hernuminn ‘captured in battle’. (b) If the sense here is ‘army’, the reference could be either to the courage of Óláfr’s troops or to his own courage among his troops.
her ‘battle’
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herr (noun m.; °-s/-jar, dat. -; -jar, gen. -ja/herra): army, host
[3] her: hét 61
notes
[3] í her ‘in battle’: (a) Although her most often means ‘army, host, people’, the sense ‘battle’ appears to occur in some compounds: see, e.g., LP: hernenninn ‘battle-eager’, hernuminn ‘captured in battle’. (b) If the sense here is ‘army’, the reference could be either to the courage of Óláfr’s troops or to his own courage among his troops.
hug ‘courage’
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hugr (noun m.): mind, thought, courage
[4] hug: dug 321ˣ, full corrected from ‘hug(?)’ 61, ‘[…]’ 61, hygg 325V, hugr Bb, Flat
notes
[4] hug duga ... vel ‘[his] courage served ... well’: Lit. ‘courage to serve well’, duga ‘serve, avail, suffice’ being the inf. in an acc. with inf. construction. (a) Here hug ‘courage’ is taken as acc. sg., with ætt ‘descendant’ as dat. object to duga. (b) Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) takes ætt as acc. sg., which gives Hykk at frétt ætt Haralds duga vel hug i her, rendered loosely Jeg ved af fortælling, at Haralds sön var modig i kamp ‘I know from reports that Haraldr’s son was courageous in battle’. In LP: duga 1 Finnur explains duga here as absolute but construed with dat. hug ‘mind, courage’ .
notes
[4] hug duga ... vel ‘[his] courage served ... well’: Lit. ‘courage to serve well’, duga ‘serve, avail, suffice’ being the inf. in an acc. with inf. construction. (a) Here hug ‘courage’ is taken as acc. sg., with ætt ‘descendant’ as dat. object to duga. (b) Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) takes ætt as acc. sg., which gives Hykk at frétt ætt Haralds duga vel hug i her, rendered loosely Jeg ved af fortælling, at Haralds sön var modig i kamp ‘I know from reports that Haraldr’s son was courageous in battle’. In LP: duga 1 Finnur explains duga here as absolute but construed with dat. hug ‘mind, courage’ .
duga ‘served’
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duga (verb; °dugir; dugði; dugat): help, befit
notes
[4] hug duga ... vel ‘[his] courage served ... well’: Lit. ‘courage to serve well’, duga ‘serve, avail, suffice’ being the inf. in an acc. with inf. construction. (a) Here hug ‘courage’ is taken as acc. sg., with ætt ‘descendant’ as dat. object to duga. (b) Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) takes ætt as acc. sg., which gives Hykk at frétt ætt Haralds duga vel hug i her, rendered loosely Jeg ved af fortælling, at Haralds sön var modig i kamp ‘I know from reports that Haraldr’s son was courageous in battle’. In LP: duga 1 Finnur explains duga here as absolute but construed with dat. hug ‘mind, courage’ .
lýr ‘the pollack’
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lýr (noun m.): pollack, fish < lýrgata (noun f.)
[5] lýr‑: so Holm2, J2ˣ, 321ˣ, 73aˣ, 68, Tóm, lýt Kˣ, lý Holm4, hyrs‑ 61, lýð 325V, lúðr 325VII, lýðr Bb, Flat, lýs FskBˣ, ‘lyrs’ DG8
kennings
lýrgǫtu‘the pollack-path ’
= SEA
the pollack-path → SEA
notes
[5] lýr- ‘pollack-’: Lýrr m. is a type of fish, probably the pollack or pollock (Pollachius pollachius). The commonest reading in the mss is lýr-, implying nom. sg. lýrr (cf. Fritzner: lýrr), and this is retained here. The nom. sg. form lýr (cf. CVC, LP: lýr) underlies the gen. sg. lýs printed in Skj B and Skald and the compounding form lý- in ÍF 27. Both nom. sg. spellings, ‘lyrr’ and ‘lyr’, are found in the ms. texts of Þul Fiska 3/8III.
gǫtu ‘path’
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gata (noun f.): path, road < lýrgata (noun f.)
[5] ‑gǫtu: ‘‑od’ 61, gota 325V, 325VII, Tóm, gauta Bb, Flat
kennings
lýrgǫtu‘the pollack-path ’
= SEA
the pollack-path → SEA
suðr ‘south’
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2. suðr (adv.): south, in the south
ór ‘from’
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3. ór (prep.): out of
Nið ‘Nidelven’
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Nið (noun f.): Nidelven
[6] Nið: so Holm2, J2ˣ, 321ˣ, 73aˣ, 68, Holm4, 61, 325V, 325VII, Bb, Flat, FskBˣ, DG8, niðr Kˣ, om. Tóm
Óláfr ‘Óláfr’
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Óláfr (noun m.): Óláfr
jǫfurr ‘prince’
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jǫfurr (noun m.): ruler, prince
ársæll ‘the season-blessed’
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ársæll (adj.; °-sǽlan; compar. -sǽlli, superl. -sǽlstr): prosperous, season-blessed
[8] ársæll: ‘atsell’ 61, ‘atsæll’ or ‘arsæll’ Flat
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
In ÓH-Hkr, Snorri illustrates his account of how Óláfr Haraldsson and the Swedish king Ǫnundr Óláfsson met up and ravaged Denmark by quoting sts 3-4. Fsk and ÓHLeg quote sts 3-6 as a sequence, after sts 7-8 and with only a brief introduction referring to Óláfr’s journey south.
See Note to st. 1 [All] for the introductory words in ÓH-Hkr. Fsk and ÓHLeg, having already cited sts 7-8, ascribe sts 3-6 to the same poem.
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