Sigv Nesv 11I
Russell Poole (ed.) 2012, ‘Sigvatr Þórðarson, Nesjavísur 11’ 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. 572.
var ‘’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
Þess ‘this’
[1] Þess: þat var þess Bb
gekk ‘’
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2. ganga (verb; geng, gekk, gengu, genginn): walk, go
getk ‘I declare’
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2. geta (verb): to beget, give birth to, mention, speak of; to think well of, like, love
[1] getk (‘get ec’): gekk ek Holm2
meir ‘moreover’
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meiri (adj. comp.; °meiran; superl. mestr): more, most
[1] meir: ‘me[…]’ R686ˣ, meir added in margin 325VI
missi ‘will be missing’
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2. missa (verb): lose, lack
notes
[1] missi ‘will be missing out on’: ÓH-Hkr appears to have interpreted the pres. subj. form missi as indicating that st. 11 was composed before the full outcome of the battle was known (see Context above). Fsk by contrast states explicitly that all the stanzas it includes belong within Nesv (see Introduction).
morðit ‘’
morð ‘a battle’
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1. morð (noun n.; °-s; -): killing, battle < morðárr (noun m.)
[2] morðôrr: ‘morð[...]’ Holm2, morðit 78aˣ
kennings
harða margr morðôrr,‘very many a battle-envoy, ’
= WARRIOR
very many a battle-envoy, → WARRIOR
ôrr ‘envoy’
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1. árr (noun m.; °dat. ár; ǽrir/árar, acc. áru): messenger < morðárr (noun m.)
[2] morðôrr: ‘morð[...]’ Holm2, morðit 78aˣ
kennings
harða margr morðôrr,‘very many a battle-envoy, ’
= WARRIOR
very many a battle-envoy, → WARRIOR
sás ‘who’
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sás (conj.): the one who
kom ‘’
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koma (verb; kem, kom/kvam, kominn): come
fór ‘travelled’
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fara (verb; ferr, fór, fóru, farinn): go, travel
[2] fór: kom Holm2, R686ˣ, 972ˣ, J1ˣ, J2ˣ, 325VI, 75a, 73aˣ, 78aˣ, Holm4
norðar ‘’
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2. norðr (adv.): north
njorðan ‘’
norðan ‘from the north’
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norðan (adv.): from the north
[2] norðan: norðar Holm2, ‘niorðan’ J1ˣ
harðla ‘’
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harðla (adv.): very, highly, greatly
kennings
harða margr morðôrr,‘very many a battle-envoy, ’
= WARRIOR
very many a battle-envoy, → WARRIOR
magr ‘’
(not checked:)
magr (adj.): lean
kennings
harða margr morðôrr,‘very many a battle-envoy, ’
= WARRIOR
very many a battle-envoy, → WARRIOR
í ‘in’
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í (prep.): in, into
hǫrgum ‘’
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hǫrgr (noun m.; °; -ar): cairn, shrine
hǫrðum ‘hard’
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harðr (adj.; °comp. -ari; superl. -astr): hard, harsh
[3] hǫrðum: hǫrgum R686ˣ
heim ‘his home’
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heim (adv.): home, back < heimkváma (noun f.): [his homecoming]
kvômu ‘coming’
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kváma (noun f.; °-u; -ur): coming < heimkváma (noun f.): [his homecoming]
styr ‘battle’
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styrr (noun m.; °dat. -): battle
þeima ‘that’
[4] þeima: þenna Bb
Sǫkk ‘sank’
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1. søkkva (verb): sink, strong intrans.
af ‘from’
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af (prep.): from
sinði ‘’
sundi ‘’
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sund (noun n.; °-s; -): sound, strait; swimming
syndi ‘’
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sýna (verb): show, seem
sunda ‘of the sounds’
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sund (noun n.; °-s; -): sound, strait; swimming
[5] sunda: so R686ˣ, 972ˣ, J1ˣ, J2ˣ, 325VI, 75a, 73aˣ, 78aˣ, 68, 61, Holm4, 325V, 325VII, Flat, Tóm, syndi Kˣ, Holm2, ‘sinþi’ papp18ˣ, sundi Bb
kennings
blakki sunda‘the dark steed of the sounds ’
= SHIP
the dark steed of the sounds → SHIP
blakk ‘’
(not checked:)
1. blakkr (noun m.): horse
kennings
blakki sunda‘the dark steed of the sounds ’
= SHIP
the dark steed of the sounds → SHIP
sunnum ‘’
notes
[6, 8] mǫrg samknúta sunnu ‘many a one joined with the sun’: The phrase samknúta sunnu, although kenning-like, remains mysterious, and none of the available solutions is wholly satisfactory. (a) Just conceivably, Sigvatr is stigmatising the Trøndelag faction as heathen sun-worshippers (‘adherents of the sun’): on sun-worship in Norway, see Jón Hnefill Aðalsteinsson (1997, 126-9). The tenacity of Trøndelag and contiguous regions in maintaining pre-Christian worship under the Hlaðajarlar was notorious. The f. gender of samknúta would be unusual, and presumably insulting, in reference to warriors. (b) Finnur Jónsson’s tentative ‘knuckle-bone of the sun of the sea [GOLD > MAN (?)]’ (Hkr 1893-1901, IV; Skj B; also ÍF 27), is unconvincing. (c) Hjelmqvist (1913, 7), followed by Kock (NN §622), emends sunnu to sunnan, linking this with the variant reading margr so as to result in mången söderifrå ‘many from the south’; in this analysis the cpd samknúta is used substantively, to mean ‘[ships] bound together’ (1913, 19). This produces good sense but the presumed corruption of sunnan would be difficult to account for.
morgt ‘’
(not checked:)
2. margr (adj.; °-an): many
margr ‘’
(not checked:)
2. margr (adj.; °-an): many
mǫrg ‘Many’
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2. margr (adj.; °-an): many
[6] mǫrg: ‘morgt’ Holm2, margr R686ˣ, J1ˣ, J2ˣ, 325VI, 75a, 73aˣ, 78aˣ, Bb
notes
[6, 8] mǫrg samknúta sunnu ‘many a one joined with the sun’: The phrase samknúta sunnu, although kenning-like, remains mysterious, and none of the available solutions is wholly satisfactory. (a) Just conceivably, Sigvatr is stigmatising the Trøndelag faction as heathen sun-worshippers (‘adherents of the sun’): on sun-worship in Norway, see Jón Hnefill Aðalsteinsson (1997, 126-9). The tenacity of Trøndelag and contiguous regions in maintaining pre-Christian worship under the Hlaðajarlar was notorious. The f. gender of samknúta would be unusual, and presumably insulting, in reference to warriors. (b) Finnur Jónsson’s tentative ‘knuckle-bone of the sun of the sea [GOLD > MAN (?)]’ (Hkr 1893-1901, IV; Skj B; also ÍF 27), is unconvincing. (c) Hjelmqvist (1913, 7), followed by Kock (NN §622), emends sunnu to sunnan, linking this with the variant reading margr so as to result in mången söderifrå ‘many from the south’; in this analysis the cpd samknúta is used substantively, to mean ‘[ships] bound together’ (1913, 19). This produces good sense but the presumed corruption of sunnan would be difficult to account for.
til ‘to’
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til (prep.): to
grunna ‘the bottom’
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1. grunnr (noun m.): bottom, shallows
sartt ‘’
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sárr (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): sore, painful; wounded
satt ‘true’
(not checked:)
2. sannr (adj.; °-an; compar. -ari, superl. -astr): true
[7] satts (‘satt er’): satt var 972ˣ, J1ˣ, J2ˣ, 68, 61, satt 75a, ‘sartt er’ Bb
var ‘’
(not checked:)
2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
s ‘it is’
(not checked:)
2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
[7] satts (‘satt er’): satt var 972ˣ, J1ˣ, J2ˣ, 68, 61, satt 75a, ‘sartt er’ Bb
Sveini ‘Sveinn’
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2. Sveinn (noun m.): Sveinn
máttum ‘’
(not checked:)
mega (verb): may, might
máttu ‘’
(not checked:)
mega (verb): may, might
mœttum ‘met’
(not checked:)
mega (verb): may, might
[7] mœttum: máttum Holm2, R686ˣ, J1ˣ, J2ˣ, 325VI, 75a, 78aˣ, 325V, 325VII, Tóm, máttu Flat
sann ‘’
(not checked:)
2. sannr (adj.; °-an; compar. -ari, superl. -astr): true
samknúta ‘a one joined’
(not checked:)
samknúta (noun f.): [a one joined]
[8] samknúta (‘sám knuta’): ‘sa[…]vta’ Holm2, sann knúta 972ˣ, 325V, 325VII, Flat, Tóm
notes
[6, 8] mǫrg samknúta sunnu ‘many a one joined with the sun’: The phrase samknúta sunnu, although kenning-like, remains mysterious, and none of the available solutions is wholly satisfactory. (a) Just conceivably, Sigvatr is stigmatising the Trøndelag faction as heathen sun-worshippers (‘adherents of the sun’): on sun-worship in Norway, see Jón Hnefill Aðalsteinsson (1997, 126-9). The tenacity of Trøndelag and contiguous regions in maintaining pre-Christian worship under the Hlaðajarlar was notorious. The f. gender of samknúta would be unusual, and presumably insulting, in reference to warriors. (b) Finnur Jónsson’s tentative ‘knuckle-bone of the sun of the sea [GOLD > MAN (?)]’ (Hkr 1893-1901, IV; Skj B; also ÍF 27), is unconvincing. (c) Hjelmqvist (1913, 7), followed by Kock (NN §622), emends sunnu to sunnan, linking this with the variant reading margr so as to result in mången söderifrå ‘many from the south’; in this analysis the cpd samknúta is used substantively, to mean ‘[ships] bound together’ (1913, 19). This produces good sense but the presumed corruption of sunnan would be difficult to account for.
var ‘’
(not checked:)
2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
úti ‘offshore’
(not checked:)
úti (adv.): out, outdoors, out at sea, abroad
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The stanza follows a lengthy account of the battle and its aftermath. Sigvatr is said to have spoken this, and sts 12 and 14, during the battle.
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