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skaldic

Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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Sigv Lv 16I

R. D. Fulk (ed.) 2012, ‘Sigvatr Þórðarson, Lausavísur 16’ 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. 719.

Sigvatr ÞórðarsonLausavísur
151617

Út ‘out’

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út (adv.): out(side)

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all ‘The mighty’

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all- ((prefix)): very < allvaldr (noun m.): mighty ruler

kennings

Allvaldr Englands
‘The mighty ruler of England ’
   = Knútr

The mighty ruler of England → Knútr
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valdr ‘ruler’

(not checked:)
valdr (noun m.): ruler < allvaldr (noun m.): mighty ruler

[1] ‑valdr: ‘velldr’ Bb

kennings

Allvaldr Englands
‘The mighty ruler of England ’
   = Knútr

The mighty ruler of England → Knútr
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sveitum ‘the war-bands’

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sveit (noun f.; °-ar; -ir): host, company

[1] sveitum: svǫrtum Tóm

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Englands ‘of England’

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England (noun n.): England

[2] Englands: England 321ˣ

kennings

Allvaldr Englands
‘The mighty ruler of England ’
   = Knútr

The mighty ruler of England → Knútr
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en ‘but’

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2. en (conj.): but, and

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fengum ‘have got’

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2. fá (verb; °fǽr; fekk, fengu; fenginn): get, receive

[2] fengum: fengjum 68

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lítt ‘little’

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lítill (adj.; °lítinn): little

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sék ‘do I see’

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2. sjá (verb): see

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lofðung ‘[our] prince’

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lofðungr (noun m.; °; -ar): king, leader

[3] lofðung: ‘lífðung’ Tóm

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óttask ‘show anxiety’

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2. ótta (verb): fear

[3] óttask: átta 972ˣ

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lið ‘a scarcity’

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lið (noun n.; °-s; -): retinue, troop < liðfæð (noun f.)

notes

[4] liðfæð ok skip smæri ‘a scarcity of men and smaller ships’: Gering (1912, 134-5) would read, in accordance with Bæb, asyndetic lið færa, skip smæri ‘fewer men, smaller ships’, presumably for metrical reasons, but the rhyme of ð and r is licit: see Kuhn (1936b, 137-8); Kuhn (1983, 46, 79); Note to Lv 8/5 (cf. Sievers 1893, §60 Anm. 4, qualified by Kristján Árnason 1991, 99-100, citing this line).

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fæð ‘of men’

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fæð (noun f.): [men, lessness] < liðfæð (noun f.)

[4] ‑fæð ok: so Kˣ, fær ok Holm2, J2ˣ, Holm4, færri ok 972ˣ, færa 321ˣ, Bæb, 73aˣ, ‑færr ok 68

notes

[4] liðfæð ok skip smæri ‘a scarcity of men and smaller ships’: Gering (1912, 134-5) would read, in accordance with Bæb, asyndetic lið færa, skip smæri ‘fewer men, smaller ships’, presumably for metrical reasons, but the rhyme of ð and r is licit: see Kuhn (1936b, 137-8); Kuhn (1983, 46, 79); Note to Lv 8/5 (cf. Sievers 1893, §60 Anm. 4, qualified by Kristján Árnason 1991, 99-100, citing this line).

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ok ‘and’

(not checked:)
3. ok (conj.): and, but; also

[4] ‑fæð ok: so Kˣ, fær ok Holm2, J2ˣ, Holm4, færri ok 972ˣ, færa 321ˣ, Bæb, 73aˣ, ‑færr ok 68

notes

[4] liðfæð ok skip smæri ‘a scarcity of men and smaller ships’: Gering (1912, 134-5) would read, in accordance with Bæb, asyndetic lið færa, skip smæri ‘fewer men, smaller ships’, presumably for metrical reasons, but the rhyme of ð and r is licit: see Kuhn (1936b, 137-8); Kuhn (1983, 46, 79); Note to Lv 8/5 (cf. Sievers 1893, §60 Anm. 4, qualified by Kristján Árnason 1991, 99-100, citing this line).

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skip ‘ships’

(not checked:)
skip (noun n.; °-s; -): ship

notes

[4] liðfæð ok skip smæri ‘a scarcity of men and smaller ships’: Gering (1912, 134-5) would read, in accordance with Bæb, asyndetic lið færa, skip smæri ‘fewer men, smaller ships’, presumably for metrical reasons, but the rhyme of ð and r is licit: see Kuhn (1936b, 137-8); Kuhn (1983, 46, 79); Note to Lv 8/5 (cf. Sievers 1893, §60 Anm. 4, qualified by Kristján Árnason 1991, 99-100, citing this line).

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smæri ‘smaller’

(not checked:)
smár (adj.): small

[4] smæri: ‘smærri’(?) 321ˣ

notes

[4] liðfæð ok skip smæri ‘a scarcity of men and smaller ships’: Gering (1912, 134-5) would read, in accordance with Bæb, asyndetic lið færa, skip smæri ‘fewer men, smaller ships’, presumably for metrical reasons, but the rhyme of ð and r is licit: see Kuhn (1936b, 137-8); Kuhn (1983, 46, 79); Note to Lv 8/5 (cf. Sievers 1893, §60 Anm. 4, qualified by Kristján Árnason 1991, 99-100, citing this line).

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eru ‘are’

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

[5] eru ljót: er sótt 321ˣ

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ljót ‘ugly’

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ljótr (adj.): ugly

[5] eru ljót: er sótt 321ˣ

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ef ‘if’

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3. ef (conj.): if

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láta ‘let’

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láta (verb): let, have sth done

[5] láta: óttask 321ˣ

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lands ‘his country’

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land (noun n.; °-s; *-): land < landsmaðr (noun m.): countryman

[6] lands‑: liðs Bæb, 73aˣ

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menn ‘men’

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maðr (noun m.): man, person < landsmaðr (noun m.): countryman

[6] ‑menn: mann 61

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konung ‘king’

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konungr (noun m.; °dat. -i, -s; -ar): king

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lætr ‘’

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láta (verb): let, have sth done

[7] lætr: letr 73aˣ, svíkr Tóm

notes

[7] lætr einǫrð: Kock (NN §2778) would metathesize the words lætr einǫrð, metri causa, since it is unusual to find the hending in the third position in a line of type E, but there is no warrant for this in the mss. — [7-8] fé lætr ferð firrða einǫrð ‘money deprives people of their constancy’: The sense is clearly that Óláfr has lost support because of bribery, but the syntax is uncertain. (a) The present interpretation follows Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) in regarding as nom. and fir(r)ða as f. acc. sg. p. p. of firra ‘remove’, qualifying ferð ‘company’, hence lit. ‘money makes people removed from constancy’. With a similar interpretation of the syntax, Hellberg (1981a, 16-17) advocates the meaning ‘payment frees people from (fulfilling) obligations’. (b) Alternatively, could be taken as a dat. of cause or means (so ÍF 27, citing NS §111, and Hkr 1991), and firða/fyrða read as the gen. pl. forming a natural unit with ferð, hence ‘company of men’. However, this entails assuming a construction láta e-t e-u ‘abandon sth. for sth.’, which is not paralleled. 

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lætr ‘’

(not checked:)
láta (verb): let, have sth done

[7] lætr: letr 73aˣ, svíkr Tóm

notes

[7] lætr einǫrð: Kock (NN §2778) would metathesize the words lætr einǫrð, metri causa, since it is unusual to find the hending in the third position in a line of type E, but there is no warrant for this in the mss. — [7-8] fé lætr ferð firrða einǫrð ‘money deprives people of their constancy’: The sense is clearly that Óláfr has lost support because of bribery, but the syntax is uncertain. (a) The present interpretation follows Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) in regarding as nom. and fir(r)ða as f. acc. sg. p. p. of firra ‘remove’, qualifying ferð ‘company’, hence lit. ‘money makes people removed from constancy’. With a similar interpretation of the syntax, Hellberg (1981a, 16-17) advocates the meaning ‘payment frees people from (fulfilling) obligations’. (b) Alternatively, could be taken as a dat. of cause or means (so ÍF 27, citing NS §111, and Hkr 1991), and firða/fyrða read as the gen. pl. forming a natural unit with ferð, hence ‘company of men’. However, this entails assuming a construction láta e-t e-u ‘abandon sth. for sth.’, which is not paralleled. 

Close

ein ‘people’

(not checked:)
ein- ((prefix)): only- < einǫrð (noun f.): sincerity

notes

[7] lætr einǫrð: Kock (NN §2778) would metathesize the words lætr einǫrð, metri causa, since it is unusual to find the hending in the third position in a line of type E, but there is no warrant for this in the mss. — [7-8] fé lætr ferð firrða einǫrð ‘money deprives people of their constancy’: The sense is clearly that Óláfr has lost support because of bribery, but the syntax is uncertain. (a) The present interpretation follows Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) in regarding as nom. and fir(r)ða as f. acc. sg. p. p. of firra ‘remove’, qualifying ferð ‘company’, hence lit. ‘money makes people removed from constancy’. With a similar interpretation of the syntax, Hellberg (1981a, 16-17) advocates the meaning ‘payment frees people from (fulfilling) obligations’. (b) Alternatively, could be taken as a dat. of cause or means (so ÍF 27, citing NS §111, and Hkr 1991), and firða/fyrða read as the gen. pl. forming a natural unit with ferð, hence ‘company of men’. However, this entails assuming a construction láta e-t e-u ‘abandon sth. for sth.’, which is not paralleled. 

Close

ein ‘people’

(not checked:)
ein- ((prefix)): only- < einǫrð (noun f.): sincerity

notes

[7] lætr einǫrð: Kock (NN §2778) would metathesize the words lætr einǫrð, metri causa, since it is unusual to find the hending in the third position in a line of type E, but there is no warrant for this in the mss. — [7-8] fé lætr ferð firrða einǫrð ‘money deprives people of their constancy’: The sense is clearly that Óláfr has lost support because of bribery, but the syntax is uncertain. (a) The present interpretation follows Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) in regarding as nom. and fir(r)ða as f. acc. sg. p. p. of firra ‘remove’, qualifying ferð ‘company’, hence lit. ‘money makes people removed from constancy’. With a similar interpretation of the syntax, Hellberg (1981a, 16-17) advocates the meaning ‘payment frees people from (fulfilling) obligations’. (b) Alternatively, could be taken as a dat. of cause or means (so ÍF 27, citing NS §111, and Hkr 1991), and firða/fyrða read as the gen. pl. forming a natural unit with ferð, hence ‘company of men’. However, this entails assuming a construction láta e-t e-u ‘abandon sth. for sth.’, which is not paralleled. 

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ǫrð ‘of their constancy’

(not checked:)
ǫrð (noun f.; °arðar; arðir/arðar): corn, grain < einǫrð (noun f.): sincerity

[7] ‑ǫrð: ‑orði Kˣ

notes

[7] lætr einǫrð: Kock (NN §2778) would metathesize the words lætr einǫrð, metri causa, since it is unusual to find the hending in the third position in a line of type E, but there is no warrant for this in the mss. — [7-8] fé lætr ferð firrða einǫrð ‘money deprives people of their constancy’: The sense is clearly that Óláfr has lost support because of bribery, but the syntax is uncertain. (a) The present interpretation follows Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) in regarding as nom. and fir(r)ða as f. acc. sg. p. p. of firra ‘remove’, qualifying ferð ‘company’, hence lit. ‘money makes people removed from constancy’. With a similar interpretation of the syntax, Hellberg (1981a, 16-17) advocates the meaning ‘payment frees people from (fulfilling) obligations’. (b) Alternatively, could be taken as a dat. of cause or means (so ÍF 27, citing NS §111, and Hkr 1991), and firða/fyrða read as the gen. pl. forming a natural unit with ferð, hence ‘company of men’. However, this entails assuming a construction láta e-t e-u ‘abandon sth. for sth.’, which is not paralleled. 

Close

ǫrð ‘of their constancy’

(not checked:)
ǫrð (noun f.; °arðar; arðir/arðar): corn, grain < einǫrð (noun f.): sincerity

[7] ‑ǫrð: ‑orði Kˣ

notes

[7] lætr einǫrð: Kock (NN §2778) would metathesize the words lætr einǫrð, metri causa, since it is unusual to find the hending in the third position in a line of type E, but there is no warrant for this in the mss. — [7-8] fé lætr ferð firrða einǫrð ‘money deprives people of their constancy’: The sense is clearly that Óláfr has lost support because of bribery, but the syntax is uncertain. (a) The present interpretation follows Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) in regarding as nom. and fir(r)ða as f. acc. sg. p. p. of firra ‘remove’, qualifying ferð ‘company’, hence lit. ‘money makes people removed from constancy’. With a similar interpretation of the syntax, Hellberg (1981a, 16-17) advocates the meaning ‘payment frees people from (fulfilling) obligations’. (b) Alternatively, could be taken as a dat. of cause or means (so ÍF 27, citing NS §111, and Hkr 1991), and firða/fyrða read as the gen. pl. forming a natural unit with ferð, hence ‘company of men’. However, this entails assuming a construction láta e-t e-u ‘abandon sth. for sth.’, which is not paralleled. 

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‘’

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fé (noun n.; °fjár/féar; -): cattle, money

[7] fé: þó þó Tóm

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firrða ‘deprives’

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2. firra (verb): keep (from), remove

[7] firrða: so Bæb, 68, Holm4, 61, Bb, Flat, Tóm, firða Holm2, 972ˣ, Kˣ, finna J2ˣ, 321ˣ, ‘fyrðv’ 325V

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ferð ‘money’

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ferð (noun f.; °-ar; -ir/-arMork 196¹²)): host, journey

[8] ferð: ‘fd’ Bb, ‘þeir pyrir’ Tóm

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þrota ‘short’

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-þrota (adj.): [short] < liðþrota (adj.)

[8] ‑þrota: þroti Bæb, 73aˣ

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verða ‘run’

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1. verða (verb): become, be

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

When it becomes known that King Knútr is gathering an invincible army for the conquest of Norway, it becomes all the more difficult for King Óláfr to build up his forces. His men often discuss this among themselves, and Sigvatr delivers this stanza.

Hellberg (1981a, 11-21) argues that the context is not at all as Snorri says, but that this and the following vísa were composed in Denmark and concern the feudal obligation of vassals to provide troops for King Knútr.

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