Sigv Víkv 1I
Judith Jesch (ed.) 2012, ‘Sigvatr Þórðarson, Víkingarvísur 1’ 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. 534.
lang ‘’
(not checked:)
langr (adj.; °compar. lengri, superl. lengstr): long
langt ‘’
(not checked:)
langr (adj.; °compar. lengri, superl. lengstr): long
langar ‘’
(not checked:)
langr (adj.; °compar. lengri, superl. lengstr): long
Langr ‘The long’
(not checked:)
langr (adj.; °compar. lengri, superl. lengstr): long
[1] Langr: langar 78aˣ, langt 68, 61, 325V, Flat, Tóm, lang Bb
kennings
Langr sæmeiðr‘The long sea-tree ’
= SHIP
The long sea-tree → SHIP
notes
[1] langr ‘long’: The adj. frequently collocates with a ship-word (Jesch 2001a, 123-4). The variant reading langt is also possible, if read as the n. sg. form used adverbially, hence bar langt at sundi ‘carried far out to sea’.
bar ‘carried’
(not checked:)
3. bera (verb; °berr; bar, báru; borinn): bear, carry
en ‘’
(not checked:)
2. inn (art.): the
í ‘’
(not checked:)
í (prep.): in, into
inn ‘the’
(not checked:)
2. inn (art.): the
[1] inn unga: en unga R686ˣ, Bb, inn yngva J2ˣ, ‘íunga’ Flat, Tóm
kennings
inn unga kund jǫfra‘the young descendant of princes ’
= Óláfr
the young descendant of princes → Óláfr
yngva ‘’
(not checked:)
Yngvi (noun m.): Yngvi, prince
unga ‘young’
(not checked:)
ungr (adj.): young
[1] inn unga: en unga R686ˣ, Bb, inn yngva J2ˣ, ‘íunga’ Flat, Tóm
kennings
inn unga kund jǫfra‘the young descendant of princes ’
= Óláfr
the young descendant of princes → Óláfr
íorua ‘’
(not checked:)
jǫfurr (noun m.): ruler, prince
jǫfur ‘’
(not checked:)
jǫfurr (noun m.): ruler, prince
jǫfra ‘of princes’
(not checked:)
jǫfurr (noun m.): ruler, prince
[2] jǫfra: jǫfur R686ˣ, ‘íorua’ Flat
kennings
inn unga kund jǫfra‘the young descendant of princes ’
= Óláfr
the young descendant of princes → Óláfr
kund ‘descendant’
(not checked:)
kundr (noun m.): descendant
kennings
inn unga kund jǫfra‘the young descendant of princes ’
= Óláfr
the young descendant of princes → Óláfr
á ‘’
(not checked:)
3. á (prep.): on, at
frá ‘’
(not checked:)
frá (prep.): from
notes
[2] at sundi ‘to sea’: As noted by Kock (NN §39), sund can mean ‘swimming’, ‘water, sea’ or ‘narrow stretch of water’. The latter meaning is most appropriate following the prep. frá, the reading of Holm2 and other ÓH mss of the A class; this is adopted in Fell (1981b) since Holm2 is her main ms.
grundu ‘’
(not checked:)
grund (noun f.): earth, land
sundi ‘sea’
(not checked:)
sund (noun n.; °-s; -): sound, strait; swimming
[2] sundi: grundu 325VI, 73aˣ, 78aˣ
notes
[2] at sundi ‘to sea’: As noted by Kock (NN §39), sund can mean ‘swimming’, ‘water, sea’ or ‘narrow stretch of water’. The latter meaning is most appropriate following the prep. frá, the reading of Holm2 and other ÓH mss of the A class; this is adopted in Fell (1981b) since Holm2 is her main ms.
þjóð ‘the people’
(not checked:)
þjóð (noun f.; °-ar, dat. -/-u; -ir): people
hugði ‘’
(not checked:)
2. hyggja (verb): think, consider
sér ‘then’
(not checked:)
sik (pron.; °gen. sín, dat. sér): (refl. pron.)
síðan ‘’
(not checked:)
síðan (adv.): later, then
sæ ‘sea’
(not checked:)
sjór (noun m.): sea < sæmeiðr (noun m.)sjór (noun m.): sea < sæmóðr (adj.): sea-weary
kennings
Langr sæmeiðr‘The long sea-tree ’
= SHIP
The long sea-tree → SHIP
notes
[4] sæmeiðr ‘sea-tree [SHIP]’: Hofmann (1955, 80) argues that this shows influence from Old English poetry, and makes a similar, though more tentative, claim about st. 3/8 brimskíð ‘surf-ski’. But he overstates the rarity of this type of ship-kenning in Old Norse (cf. Meissner 221-2), and although Sigvatr certainly went to England later in his career, it is more problematic to trace the sources of English influence in this early poem (see also Notes to sts 6/4, 7/7-8, 8/7 below).
móðr ‘’
(not checked:)
móðr (adj.): weary < sæmóðr (adj.): sea-weary
kennings
Langr sæmeiðr‘The long sea-tree ’
= SHIP
The long sea-tree → SHIP
notes
[4] sæmeiðr ‘sea-tree [SHIP]’: Hofmann (1955, 80) argues that this shows influence from Old English poetry, and makes a similar, though more tentative, claim about st. 3/8 brimskíð ‘surf-ski’. But he overstates the rarity of this type of ship-kenning in Old Norse (cf. Meissner 221-2), and although Sigvatr certainly went to England later in his career, it is more problematic to trace the sources of English influence in this early poem (see also Notes to sts 6/4, 7/7-8, 8/7 below).
kóng ‘’
(not checked:)
kóngr (noun m.): king
konung ‘’
(not checked:)
konungr (noun m.; °dat. -i, -s; -ar): king
konungs ‘of the king’
(not checked:)
konungr (noun m.; °dat. -i, -s; -ar): king
[4] konungs: kóng R686ˣ, konung Bb
reiði ‘the wrath’
(not checked:)
2. reiði (noun f.; °-): anger
kannka ‘’
(not checked:)
kunna (verb): know, can, be able
kankaða ‘’
(not checked:)
kunna (verb): know, can, be able
Kannk ‘know’
(not checked:)
kunna (verb): know, can, be able
[5] Kannk (‘kann ec’): kannka ek 68, ‘kankaða ek’ 61
notes
[5] kannk ‘I know’: The metre requires cliticisation here, though the mss write kann ek; the metrical anomaly produced by this has doubtless led to the omission of til, here ‘about’, in several mss.
marks ‘’
(not checked:)
mark (noun n.; °-s; *-): sign
mark ‘’
(not checked:)
mark (noun n.; °-s; *-): sign
enn ‘still’
(not checked:)
2. en (conj.): but, and
notes
[5] enn ‘still’: Finnur Jónsson (Hkr 1893-1901; Skj B) took this to be the adversative conj. en ‘but’ introducing the second clause in the helmingr, although embedded in the first. Kock (NN §611, cf. §224) criticised him for the resulting unnatural syntax, and noted that the ms. evidence favoured the adv. enn ‘still, yet’.
manna ‘people’s’
(not checked:)
maðr (noun m.): man, person
minna ‘’
(not checked:)
1. minna (verb): remind, remember, recall
at ‘’
(not checked:)
3. at (prep.): at, to
fyrst ‘’
(not checked:)
1. fyrri (adj. comp.; °superl. fyrstr): first
fyrsta ‘on the first’
(not checked:)
1. fyrri (adj. comp.; °superl. fyrstr): first
[6] fyrsta: fyrst at Bb
sinni ‘occasion’
(not checked:)
2. sinni (noun n.; °-s;): time, occasion; company, following
herr ‘’
(not checked:)
herr (noun m.; °-s/-jar, dat. -; -jar, gen. -ja/herra): army, host
hann ‘he’
(not checked:)
hann (pron.; °gen. hans, dat. honum; f. hon, gen. hennar, acc. hana): he, she, it, they, them...
[7] hann: sá R686ˣ, herr 325V, Flat
rauðr ‘’
(not checked:)
rauðr (adj.; °compar. -ari): red
austr ‘’
(not checked:)
3. austr (adv.; °compar. -ar, superl. -ast): east, in the east
fyr ‘in’
(not checked:)
fyr (prep.): for, over, because of, etc.
notes
[7] fyr austan ‘in the east’: Fyr austan is normally prepositional, ‘to the east of’, but in the absence of a suitable noun or p. n. to supply an object it appears to be adverbial here.
austan ‘the east’
(not checked:)
austan (adv.): from the east
notes
[7] fyr austan ‘in the east’: Fyr austan is normally prepositional, ‘to the east of’, but in the absence of a suitable noun or p. n. to supply an object it appears to be adverbial here.
ulfs ‘the wolf’s’
(not checked:)
1. ulfr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): wolf
fót ‘foot’
(not checked:)
1. fótr (noun m.): foot, leg
við ‘at’
(not checked:)
2. við (prep.): with, against
sker ‘sker’
(not checked:)
sker (noun n.; °-s; -, gen. -ja): skerry
notes
[8] Sótasker: This appears to be a p. n. accommodated in the stanza by means of mild tmesis, and it is treated as such in the prose sources. It would mean ‘Sóti’s skerry/skerries’, and the naming of the (otherwise unknown) viking leader as Sóti in ÓH-Hkr may be an extrapolation from the p. n. Sigvatr may be using legendary material here to flesh out the details of a battle about which he is reliant on hearsay (cf. ll. 5-6). A viking of this name and a location in the Swedish skerries are mentioned in both the prose and verse of Ǫrvar-Odds saga (see Hjálm Lv 9/4VIII (Ǫrv 19) and ǪrvOdd Ævdr 43/1, 2VIII (Ǫrv 113)), and a viking called Sóti features in Hallfr (ÍF 8, 139-40). Johnsen (1916, 5) suggests that the place was Sotholmen off the coast of Södermanland, Sweden. Holmen ‘the island, islet’ would correspond with sker, and this would fit the description of the site as fyr austan ‘in the east’ (l. 7). A Swedish location would also match the reference to Óláfr’s attacks on nes Svíþjóðar ‘the headlands of Sweden’ in Ótt Hfl 6/4 as well as Snorri’s location of the present battle in Sweden (see Context). ÓHLeg (1982, 40) on the other hand locates Sótasker in Viken, Norway.
Sóta ‘Sóta’
(not checked:)
sóti (noun m.; °-a): steed, Sóti
notes
[8] Sótasker: This appears to be a p. n. accommodated in the stanza by means of mild tmesis, and it is treated as such in the prose sources. It would mean ‘Sóti’s skerry/skerries’, and the naming of the (otherwise unknown) viking leader as Sóti in ÓH-Hkr may be an extrapolation from the p. n. Sigvatr may be using legendary material here to flesh out the details of a battle about which he is reliant on hearsay (cf. ll. 5-6). A viking of this name and a location in the Swedish skerries are mentioned in both the prose and verse of Ǫrvar-Odds saga (see Hjálm Lv 9/4VIII (Ǫrv 19) and ǪrvOdd Ævdr 43/1, 2VIII (Ǫrv 113)), and a viking called Sóti features in Hallfr (ÍF 8, 139-40). Johnsen (1916, 5) suggests that the place was Sotholmen off the coast of Södermanland, Sweden. Holmen ‘the island, islet’ would correspond with sker, and this would fit the description of the site as fyr austan ‘in the east’ (l. 7). A Swedish location would also match the reference to Óláfr’s attacks on nes Svíþjóðar ‘the headlands of Sweden’ in Ótt Hfl 6/4 as well as Snorri’s location of the present battle in Sweden (see Context). ÓHLeg (1982, 40) on the other hand locates Sótasker in Viken, Norway.
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
Óláfr, with a superior force, fights his first battle, defeating vikings led by one Sóti in the skerries off Sweden.
Stanza/chapter/text segment
Use the buttons at the top of the page to navigate between stanzas in a poem.
Information tab
- text: if the stanza has been published, the edited text of the stanza and translation are here; if it hasn't been published an old edition (usually Skj) is given for reference
- sources: a list of the manuscripts or inscriptions containing this stanza, with page and line references and links (eye button) to images where available, and transcription where available
- readings: a list of variant manuscript readings of words in the main text
- editions and texts: a list of editions of the stanza with links to the bibliography; and a list of prose works in which the stanza occurs, allowing you to navigate within the prose context
- notes and context: notes not linked to individual words are given here, along with the account of the prose context for the stanza, where relevant
Interactive tab
The text and translation are given here, with buttons to toggle whether the text is shown in the verse order or prose word order. Clicking on indiviudal words gives dictionary links, variant readings, kennings and notes, where relevant.
Full text tab
This is the text of the edition in a similar format to how the edition appears in the printed volumes.
Chapter/text segment
This view is also used for chapters and other text segments. Not all the headings shown are relevant to such sections.