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.
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út (adv.): out(side)
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bjóða (verb; °býðr; bauð, buðu; boðinn (buð- Thom¹ 5²n.)): offer, order, invite
[1] býðr: biðr 73aˣ
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all- ((prefix)): very < allvaldr (noun m.): mighty ruler
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valdr (noun m.): ruler < allvaldr (noun m.): mighty ruler
[1] ‑valdr: ‘velldr’ Bb
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sveit (noun f.; °-ar; -ir): host, company
[1] sveitum: svǫrtum Tóm
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2. en (conj.): but, and
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vér (pron.; °gen. vár, dat./acc. oss): we, us, our
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2. fá (verb; °fǽr; fekk, fengu; fenginn): get, receive
[2] fengum: fengjum 68
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lítill (adj.; °lítinn): little
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2. sjá (verb): see
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lofðungr (noun m.; °; -ar): king, leader
[3] lofðung: ‘lífðung’ Tóm
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lið (noun n.; °-s; -): retinue, troop < liðfæð (noun f.)
[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 (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
[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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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
[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 (noun n.; °-s; -): ship
[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).
[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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ráð (noun n.; °-s; -): advice, plan, control, power
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3. ef (conj.): if
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land (noun n.; °-s; *-): land < landsmaðr (noun m.): countryman
[6] lands‑: liðs Bæb, 73aˣ
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maðr (noun m.): man, person < landsmaðr (noun m.): countryman
[6] ‑menn: mann 61
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konungr (noun m.; °dat. -i, -s; -ar): king
[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 fé 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, fé 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.
[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 fé 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, fé 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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ein- ((prefix)): only- < einǫrð (noun f.): sincerity
[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 fé 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, fé 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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ein- ((prefix)): only- < einǫrð (noun f.): sincerity
[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 fé 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, fé 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 (noun f.; °arðar; arðir/arðar): corn, grain < einǫrð (noun f.): sincerity
[7] ‑ǫrð: ‑orði Kˣ
[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 fé 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, fé 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 (noun f.; °arðar; arðir/arðar): corn, grain < einǫrð (noun f.): sincerity
[7] ‑ǫrð: ‑orði Kˣ
[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 fé 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, fé 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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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 (noun f.; °-ar; -ir/-arMork 196¹²)): host, journey
[8] ferð: ‘fd’ Bb, ‘þeir pyrir’ Tóm
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lið (noun n.; °-s; -): retinue, troop < liðþrota (adj.)
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1. verða (verb): become, be
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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