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Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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Sigv Lv 13I

R. D. Fulk (ed.) 2012, ‘Sigvatr Þórðarson, Lausavísur 13’ 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. 715.

Sigvatr ÞórðarsonLausavísur
121314

þar ‘there’

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þar (adv.): there

[1] þar: þann 321ˣ

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þengils ‘of the prince’

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þengill (noun m.): prince, ruler

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býðr ‘offering’

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bjóða (verb; °býðr; bauð, buðu; boðinn (buð- Thom¹ 5²n.)): offer, order, invite

[2] býðr: ferr 321ˣ, ‘frir’ 73aˣ, ‘byndr’ Tóm

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opt ‘repeatedly’

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opt (adv.): often

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með ‘with’

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með (prep.): with

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sjóða ‘purses’

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sjóðr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i/-; -ar): purse

[2] sjóða: ‘sioð(a)’(?) Bb

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fyr ‘for’

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fyr (prep.): for, over, because of, etc.

[3] fyr: við 68, Tóm

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hilmis ‘of the ruler [Óláfr]’

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hilmir (noun m.): prince, protector

[3] hilmis: hilmi 68

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ófalan ‘the not-for-sale’

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ófalr (adj.): not-for-sale, precious

[4] ófalan: of aldinn 61, of allan 75c, Bb, ófallan 325V, ófallinn Flat

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lausa ‘open’

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lauss (adj.; °compar. lausari): loose, free, without

[4] lausa: lausan Bb, Flat

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Sitt ‘his lot’

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3. sinn (pron.; °f. sín, n. sitt): (refl. poss. pron.)

[5] Sitt: sik 321ˣ, 73aˣ, 325V, Flat

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veit ‘knows’

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1. vita (verb): know

[5] veit: veitt Bb, Tóm

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hverr ‘Everyone’

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2. hverr (pron.): who, whom, each, every

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ef ‘if’

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3. ef (conj.): if

[5] ef: er 321ˣ, 73aˣ, Tóm, of 61, Bb, Flat

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harra ‘lord’

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1. harri (noun m.; °-a): lord

[5] harra: hara 972ˣ, Tóm, herra 68

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selr ‘he sells’

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4. selja (verb): hand over, sell, give

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við ‘for’

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2. við (prep.): with, against

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golli ‘gold’

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gull (noun n.): gold

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vert ‘deserving’

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3. verðr (adj.): worth, worthy

[7] vert: verk 68, 325V, ‘verz’ Bb

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es ‘that is’

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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am

[7] es (‘er’): eru 68, om. Tóm

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slíks ‘of such’

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2. slíkr (adj.): such

[7] slíks í: slíkt í 972ˣ, Kˣ, slík í 325V

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í ‘’

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í (prep.): in, into

[7] slíks í: slíkt í 972ˣ, Kˣ, slík í 325V

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svǫrtu ‘black’

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svartr (adj.): black

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sinn ‘his’

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3. sinn (pron.; °f. sín, n. sitt): (refl. poss. pron.)

[8] sinn: sín 75c, Tóm

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hel ‘Hell’

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1. hel (noun f.; °-jar, dat. -ju): death, Hel, hell < helvíti (noun n.): hell

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[8] helvíti ‘Hell’: The word, lit. ‘punishment in Hell’, appears in clearly Christian contexts (including Hfr Lv 28/8V), whereas hel can also denote the pre-Christian abode of the dead and the goddess who presides over it (see LP: 1. hel, Hel and SnE 2005, 9, 27). The theme of the punishment of treachery continues in Lv 14.

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víti ‘’

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víti (noun n.; °-s; -): punishment < helvíti (noun n.): hell

[8] ‑víti: ‑vítis Flat

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[8] helvíti ‘Hell’: The word, lit. ‘punishment in Hell’, appears in clearly Christian contexts (including Hfr Lv 28/8V), whereas hel can also denote the pre-Christian abode of the dead and the goddess who presides over it (see LP: 1. hel, Hel and SnE 2005, 9, 27). The theme of the punishment of treachery continues in Lv 14.

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innan ‘within’

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innan (prep.): inside, within

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Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses

King Knútr sends his emissaries throughout Norway to distribute money to those who will support him and resist King Óláfr. Some who accept the money do so openly, but most keep it a secret. King Óláfr hears all about this, and Sigvatr composes this stanza and the next.

For Lv 13-15, the text in J2ˣ belongs to the Hkr redaction; see Introduction. — [5-8]: (a) The overall analysis of clauses shown above is also that of most previous eds, including Skj B. However, it assumes a convoluted word order, and there is disagreement as to the status of sitt in l. 5 and sinn in l. 8. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson (ÍF 27; so also Hkr 1991) takes sinn to be a n. noun meaning ‘company, fellowship’, a usage that is unattested but supported by the sense of the closely related sinni. He would have this qualified by sitt, enabling him to interpret the first clause to mean ‘Everyone knows his company to be (i.e. has an assigned place) in Hell’. Jón Skaptason (1983, 198) approves this interpretation, but he suggests the meaning ‘lot’ for sitt, taking sinn with harra, as also in the present edn. Kock (NN §1119) earlier gave a similar interpretation, but he took sinn to mean ‘journey’ (with the same etymological problem), rendering the sense ‘Everyone knows that his wandering will be in (i.e. that he will go to) Hell’. (b) A further possibility is to read Hverr innan í svǫrtu helvíti veit sitt, ef selr hollan harra sinn við golli; vert es slíks ‘Everyone within black Hell understands his own circumstances, if he sells his gracious lord for gold; that is deserving of such’. The general sense is then ‘Everyone in Hell knows why he is there, i.e. what his sins have been’. Then vert in l. 7 agrees with sitt, giving the intercalary clause the sense ‘His circumstances/sins are worthy of such punishment’.

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