Sigv Vestv 4I
Judith Jesch (ed.) 2012, ‘Sigvatr Þórðarson, Vestrfararvísur 4’ 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. 621.
Átti ‘was’
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2. eiga (verb; °á/eigr (præs. pl. 3. pers. eigu/eiga); átti, áttu; átt): own, have
jarl ‘jarl’
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jarl (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): poet, earl
at ‘to’
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5. at (nota): to (with infinitive)
sætta ‘reconcile’
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sætta (verb): reconcile, settle
all ‘The most’
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all- ((prefix)): very < allframr (adj.): [most excellent]
framr ‘excellent’
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framr (adj.; °compar. framari/fremri, superl. framastr/fremstr): outstanding, foremost < allframr (adj.): [most excellent]
búendr ‘farmers’
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búandi (noun m.; °-a; búendr (bøendr var. ÓH 47¹²: AM 325 VII 4° 325 VII), dat. búǫndum/búandum/búendum): farmer, resident
[2] búendr: bændr 972ˣ, 61, Tóm, ‘bv̄’ 68
gamla ‘the old’
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gamall (adj.; °gamlan; compar. & superl. ellri adj.): old
enn ‘’
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4. en (conj.): than
þá ‘’
þeir ‘who’
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hann (pron.; °gen. hans, dat. honum; f. hon, gen. hennar, acc. hana): he, she, it, they, them...
[3] þeirs (‘þeir er’): þá er Holm4, Tóm, þat er 325V
notes
[3] þeirs (m. nom. pl.) ‘who’: The acc. pl. variant þás would be grammatically more straightforward, as the pron. refers back to the acc. pl. búendr ‘farmers’. However, the reading of the main ms. is retained since a rel. pron. can take the case appropriate to the rel. clause, although this is rare (NS §260).
s ‘’
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2. er (conj.): who, which, when
[3] þeirs (‘þeir er’): þá er Holm4, Tóm, þat er 325V
notes
[3] þeirs (m. nom. pl.) ‘who’: The acc. pl. variant þás would be grammatically more straightforward, as the pron. refers back to the acc. pl. búendr ‘farmers’. However, the reading of the main ms. is retained since a rel. pron. can take the case appropriate to the rel. clause, although this is rare (NS §260).
optar ‘’
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opt (adv.): often
tóku ‘brought’
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2. taka (verb): take
Ôleif ‘Óláfr’
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Óláfr (noun m.): Óláfr
af ‘’
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af (prep.): from
því ‘that’
[4] því máli: þeim málum Tóm
málum ‘’
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1. mál (noun n.; °-s; -): speech, matter
því ‘’
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því (adv.): therefore, because
Þeir ‘They’
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hann (pron.; °gen. hans, dat. honum; f. hon, gen. hennar, acc. hana): he, she, it, they, them...
[5] Þeir: því 61
hafa ‘have’
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hafa (verb): have
fyrir ‘’
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fyrir (prep.): for, before, because of
enn ‘’
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2. enn (adv.): still, yet, again
færi ‘’
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fœri (noun n.): opportunity; tool, gear
framr ‘’
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framr (adj.; °compar. framari/fremri, superl. framastr/fremstr): outstanding, foremost
framit ‘’
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fremja (verb): advance, perform
fram ‘’
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fram (adv.): out, forth, forwards, away
framt ‘outstanding’
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framr (adj.; °compar. framari/fremri, superl. framastr/fremstr): outstanding, foremost
[6] framts (‘framt er’): framr er Bb, fram er Flat, framt Tóm, framit er Tóm
s ‘is’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
[6] framts (‘framt er’): framr er Bb, fram er Flat, framt Tóm, framit er Tóm
Eireks ‘Eiríkr’s’
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Eiríkr (noun m.): Eiríkr
kennings
kyn Eireks‘Eiríkr’s kin ’
= Hákon
Eiríkr’s kin → Hákon
notes
[6] kyn Eireks ‘Eiríkr’s kin [= Hákon]’: This could be a general laudatory reference to the jarls of Hlaðir but is more likely to be a circumlocution for Eiríkr’s son Hákon, who seems very much to be the focus of this stanza (see LP: kyn 2).
kyn ‘kin’
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1. kyn (noun n.; °-s; -): kin
kennings
kyn Eireks‘Eiríkr’s kin ’
= Hákon
Eiríkr’s kin → Hákon
notes
[6] kyn Eireks ‘Eiríkr’s kin [= Hákon]’: This could be a general laudatory reference to the jarls of Hlaðir but is more likely to be a circumlocution for Eiríkr’s son Hákon, who seems very much to be the focus of this stanza (see LP: kyn 2).
meira ‘to a greater degree’
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meiri (adj. comp.; °meiran; superl. mestr): more, most
hverfðu ‘’
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1. hverfa (verb): turn, disappear
hǫppum ‘’
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happ (noun n.; °-s; *-): fortune, luck
hǫfðu ‘’
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hafa (verb): have
hǫfðum ‘in heads’
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hǫfuð (noun n.; °-s; -): head
[7] hǫfðum: hǫppum 68, hǫfðu 61, Bb, Flat, hverfðu Tóm
kept ‘’
er ‘’
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2. er (conj.): who, which, when
an ‘than’
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2. an (conj.): than
[7] an (‘en’): so Holm2, Holm4, Bb, Flat, enn Kˣ, 321ˣ, 68, 61, Tóm, er 325V
heptir ‘’
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hefta (verb): restrain, end
heiptir ‘the animosities’
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heift (noun f.; °-ar; -ir): hatred, enmity
[7] heiptir: heptir 321ˣ
Hô ‘Há’
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3. hár (adj.; °-van; compar. hǽrri, superl. hǽstr): high < Hákon (noun m.): Hákon
kun ‘kon’
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1. kyn (noun n.; °-s; -): kin < Hákon (noun m.): Hákon
saman ‘to cancel out’
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samr (adj.; °compar. -ari): same
m̄de ‘’
myndi ‘’
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munu (verb): will, must
bundit ‘’
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binda (verb; °bindr; batt/bant(cf. [$332$]), bundu; bundinn): bind, tie
mundi ‘was able’
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munu (verb): will, must
[8] mundi: so 972ˣ, myndi Kˣ, Holm2, 325V, ‘m̄de’ 68, Holm4, bundit Bb, Flat, Tóm
notes
[8] mundi ‘was able’: This form, rather than the majority form myndi, is required to provide the rhyme on -un.
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
The stanza is cited shortly after st. 3, but seemingly not as evidence for the same military expedition; see Introduction to this poem.
The stanza eludes definite interpretation, but is assumed here to refer to animosities between Óláfr and the farmers, which Hákon jarl (in the first helmingr) intended to, or was expected to, resolve, but which (in the second helmingr) have gone too far to be resolved. Thus Sigvatr may be making excuses for his friend Hákon (see Introduction). This appears to be the implication of the stanza, although there is no evidence of such an attempt at reconciliation (as noted in ÍF 27 and Jón Skaptason 1983, 250) or of good relations between Hákon and Óláfr. Nor is it clear what the matter (því máli, l. 4) brought up by the old farmers was, and the second helmingr, which might explain it, is particularly difficult to construe (see Note to ll. 5-8). — [5-8]: On the overall interpretation of this helmingr, see Note to [All] above. Finnur Jónsson (Hkr 1893-1901, IV, 144; LP: kaupa) failed to make full sense of it, and the interpretation presented here develops that of Kock in NN §633 (as do ÍF 27 and Jón Skaptason 1983). The key points in Kock’s interpretation are the following. En(n) in l. 7 is taken as normalised an, hence meira an, lit. ‘more than, to a greater degree than’. Keypt (l. 7), lit. ‘bought, traded, bargained’ (inf. kaupa), belongs with hǫfðum ‘heads’, meaning that the sides indulged in reciprocal killings, and supplies the understood inf. kaupa to complete the auxiliary verb mundi ‘was able’ (l. 8). It is assumed here that þeir ‘they’ refers back to the farmers and Óláfr, and that meira modifies keypt hǫfðum ‘deal in heads’, contrasted with kaupa saman heiptir which means something like ‘cancel out animosities’, based on the idea of ‘exchange’ that is implicit in the verb. Kaupa saman ‘to have dealings, exchange’ is attested in HHj 3/7 (NK 141). Although there are no parallels for it taking an object (here heiptir ‘animosities’) there is a certain similarity with the expression rœkja heiptir manna ‘carry out the animosities of men’ (Þorm Þorgdr 7/3-4V (Fbr 10)). Unlike Kock, both ÍF 27 and Jón Skaptason (1983) take meira with af fári ‘out of rage’ and Jón adds the suggestion that þeir refers back to Hákon and Óláfr, who are both mentioned in the previous helmingr, resulting in his translation ‘They [Hákon and Óláfr] have traded heads [killed each other’s men] with too much violence for Hákon now to bring about reconciliation’.
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