Sigv Lv 1^I

R. D. Fulk (ed.) 2012, ‘Sigvatr Þórðarson, Lausavísur 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. 699.

text and translation

notes and context

As a boy, Sigvatr catches a large and beautiful fish in Apavatn in Iceland. A Norwegian who cooks the fish for him tells him to eat the head first, since that is where the intelligence of every living creature is hidden. Sigvatr does so and then delivers this stanza. Ever afterwards he is a clever person and a good poet.  

The stanza itself does not overtly commemorate anything other than a successful fishing trip, but the tale that supplies its context is of great interest. For conflicting views on its Irish or Norse derivation, see Bugge (1897a) and Lie (1946a), and on the tradition, in Old Icelandic literature, of miraculous origins for a poet’s craft, see Turville-Petre (1972b, 42-3) and ÍF 9, c-ci. See also Clunies Ross (1999a), who emphasises the wonder-tale elements of an initiatory rite of passage and the acquisition of special powers by ingestion of a marvellous substance. For another skaldic stanza attached to an anecdote accounting for a gift of poetry, see Hhal Lv and Introduction to that. — [5-8]: The lines clearly express satisfaction with the catch, but more than one construal is possible. (a) The interpretation adopted here assumes that ǫngulgripinn (l. 6) is a p. p., lit. ‘hook-grasped’, used as a substantive, ‘the one grasped by the hook’, and is the object of lét hanga ‘let hang’ (ll. 5, 6), while aurriða ‘trout’ is the object of egna ‘catch’ (l. 7). (b) The main alternative is to take ǫngulgripinn aurriða together, leaving the normally transitive egna without an explicit object (so Skj B), but this produces an awkward word order and a tripartite l. 7. (c) Jón Skaptason (1983) takes -gripinn to be acc. sg. of gripr ‘costly thing’ plus def. art., and he renders the cpd ‘the hook-trophy’; but use of the def. art. as a suffix would be most unusual if the stanza is to be dated to Sigvatr’s day.

readings

• [1] Fiskr: fisk 78aˣ
• [1] gengr: so 73aˣ, 71ˣ, 76aˣ, 61, gekk Flat, yggr 78aˣ
• [1] oss: ‘oz’ 76aˣ
• [2] eitrs: eitr 73aˣ, 71ˣ, 76aˣ, 61, ‘ettr’ 78aˣ
• [2] vér: við 78aˣ
• [3] vangs: ‘vangs’ or ‘vanger’ 61
• [3] ór: á 76aˣ
• [3] lyngvi: so 78aˣ, 61, lyngi Flat, 73aˣ, 71ˣ, 76aˣ
• [5] Atrennir: atrennis 73aˣ, 71ˣ, 76aˣ, ‘surennis’ 78aˣ, ‘at renis’ 61
• [5] lét: má 61
• [5] annars: so all others, annan Flat
• [6] ǫngul‑: anga 73aˣ, 71ˣ, 76aˣ, 78aˣ
• [6] hanga: fanga 61
• [7] egna: erja 61
• [8] ‑galga: ‘galiga’ 76aˣ, gagli 61
• [8] hagnat: fagnat 78aˣ, 61

sources

Text is based on reconstruction from the base text and variant apparatus and may contain alternative spellings and other normalisations not visible in the manuscript text. Transcriptions may not have been checked and should not be cited.

• GKS 1005 fol (Flat) — 187rb/51 - 187rb/51

  Fiskr gekk oss at óskum,
  eitrs sem vér hǫfum leitat
  lýsu vangs ór lyngi
  leygjar orm at teygja.
  Atrennir lét (annan)
  ǫngulgripinn hanga
  (vel hefr aurriða at egna)
  agngalga (mér hagnat).

  Fiskr geck oss at oskum eítrs sem ver hofum leitad lysu vangs or lyngi leygiar | orm at teyía atrennír let annan aungul gripinn hanga vel hæfir auʀrida | at egna agn gꜳlga mer hagnat .

  (RDF)

  images
Close

• AM 73 a folx (73ax) — 38v/9 - 38v/16

  Fiskr gengr oss at óskum,
  eitr sem vér hǫfum leitat
  lýsu vangs ór lyngi
  leygjar orm at teygja.
  atrennis lét (annars)
  angagripinn hanga
  (vel hefr aurriða at egna)
  agngalga (mér hagnat).

  fiskr gengr oss at óskum | æitr sem vęr ho᷎fum læítat . | lysu vangs or lyngi | læygiar orm at tęygia : | at ʀennis liet annars | anga gripinn hanga . | vel hefir auʀiða at egna | agngꜳlga mer hagnað |

  (RDF)

  images
Close

• AM 71 folx (71x) — 28r/19 - 28r/22

  Fiskr gengr oss at óskum,
  eitr sem vér hǫfum leitat
  lýsu vangs ór lyngi
  leygjar orm at teygja.
  atrennis lét (annars)
  angagripinn hanga
  (vel hefr aurriða at egna)
  agngalga (mér hagnat).

  fiskur gengr oss at oskumm , æitr | sem vęr ho᷎fumm læitat , lysu vangs or lynge , læygiar orm ath tæy | gia , athrennis liet annars , angagripinn hanga , vel hefur aur | rida ath egna . agngꜳlga mer hagnad.

  (RDF)

  images
Close

• AM 76 a folx (76ax) — 38v/24 - 38v/31

  Fiskr gengr †oz† at óskum,
  eitr sem vér hǫfum leitat
  lýsu vangs á lyngi
  leygjar orm at teygja.
  atrennis lét (annars)
  angagripinn hanga
  (vel hefr aurriða at egna)
  agn†galiga† (mér hagnat).

  fiskr gengr oz at oskum | æitr sem ver hofum læitat | lysu vangs ä lyngi | læygar orm at tæigia | atrennis let annars | ꜳngagripinn hanga, | vel hefer ꜹrrida at egna | agngaliga mer hagnat |

  (VEÞ)

  images
Close

• AM 78 a folx (78ax) — 36r/14 - 36r/21

  fisk yggr oss at óskum,
  †ettr† sem við hǫfum leitat
  lýsu vangs ór lyngvi
  leygjar orm at teygja.
  †surennis† lét (annars)
  angagripinn hanga
  (vel hefr aurriða at egna)
  agngalga (mér fagnat).

  Fisk yggr oss at oskum | ettr sem við hofum leitað | lysu vangs or lyngvi | leygiar orm at teygia | surennis let annars | anga gripinn hanga | vel hefir aurriða at egna | agn galga mer fagnat . |

  (RDF)

  images
Close

• AM 61 fol (61) — 83vb/21 - 83vb/23

  Fiskr gengr oss at óskum,
  eitr sem vér hǫfum leitat
  lýsu †vangs† ór lyngvi
  leygjar orm at teygja.
  †at renis† má (annars)
  ǫngulgripinn fanga
  (vel hefr aurriða at erja)
  agngagli (mér fagnat).

  Fiskr gengr oss at oskum . eítr sem uer hofum leitað | lysv vang or lyngui . leygiar orm at teygia . at renis ma aɴars ꜹn | gul gripinn fanga . vel hefir avrriða at ería . agn gagli mer fagnat |

  (RDF)

  images
Close

• AM 761 b 4°x (761bx) — 300r/2 - 300r/9

  Fiskr gengr oss at oskum | eitr sem ver hofum leitat | lysu vangs or lyngvi | leygiar orm at teygia | atrennis ma annars | aungul gripin fanga | vel hefir aurriþa at eria | agngagli mer fagnat . |

  (RDF)

  images
Close

editions and texts