Sigv Lv 22^I

Geng ek of þvert frá þengils
(þróask ekki mér) rekka,
emk sem bast (í brjósti)
bleikr, verðungar leiki.
Minnumk ek, hvar manna
minn dróttinn lék sinna
opt á óðalstoptum
orðsæll ok vér forðum.

Ek geng of þvert frá leiki verðungar {þengils rekka}; ekki þróask í brjósti mér; emk bleikr sem bast. Ek minnumk, hvar orðsæll dróttinn minn ok vér lék opt forðum á óðalstoptum manna sinna.

I walk away from the game of the bodyguard {of the prince of warriors} [RULER = Sveinn/Magnús]; sobbing sorrows grow in my breast; I am pale as bast. I recall where my praise-blessed lord [Óláfr] and we [I] played often in the past at the ancestral homesteads of his people.

Mss: Kˣ(499r-v), 39(13rb), F(38ra), J2ˣ(242r), E(4r-v) (Hkr); Flat(129va), Tóm(162v), 73aˣ(223v), 71ˣ(195v-196r), 76aˣ(245r) (ÓH)

Readings: [1] Geng: gekk Tóm    [2] mér: mér enn Tóm    [3] emk (‘em ek’): so F, J2ˣ, E, Tóm, því em ek Kˣ, er ek 39, 73aˣ, 71ˣ, 76aˣ    [4] verðungar: vex þyngð af Tóm    [5] Minnumk: munda Tóm, ‘minnunst’ 76aˣ;    ek: om. 73aˣ, 71ˣ, 76aˣ;    hvar: hins hvé Flat, 73aˣ, 71ˣ, 76aˣ, hinn hvé Tóm    [6] lék: lét Flat, 73aˣ, 71ˣ, 76aˣ;    sinna: sínum J2ˣ, Tóm, 76aˣ, sínu E, sinnum Flat, 73aˣ, 71ˣ    [7] óðals‑: óðal 39, F, aðal‑ Tóm;    ‑toptum: toptir 73aˣ, 71ˣ, 76aˣ    [8] ‑sæll: ‑sælstr Flat, 73aˣ, 71ˣ, 76aˣ, ‘sælltt’ Tóm;    ok: er Flat, Tóm;    vér: var J2ˣ, E, Flat, Tóm

Editions: Skj AI, 272-3, Skj BI, 252, Skald I, 130; Hkr 1777-1826, III, 12, VI, 125, Hkr 1868, 521 (MGóð ch. 9), Hkr 1893-1901, III, 18, IV, 183, ÍF 28, 16, Hkr 1991, II, 566 (MGóð ch. 8), F 1871, 173, E 1916, 12; Fms 5, 208, Fms 12, 110-11, Flat 1860-8, II, 393-4, ÓH 1941, II, 832, 839; Konráð Gíslason 1892, 41, 188, Jón Skaptason 1983 , 206, 326.

Context:

According to Hkr, Sigvatr reaches Kaupangr (Trondheim), where he meets the new ruler, King Sveinn Álfífuson/Knútsson. The king invites him to join his court, because Sigvatr had been with his father in Denmark. Sigvatr says he would like to go home to his farmstead. One day while walking in the street he sees the king’s men at their games, and he delivers this stanza. The interpolated versions of ÓH say that Sigvatr was with King Magnús Óláfsson (after Sveinn’s departure from Norway), and he continually grieved for Óláfr, as it says in this stanza.

Notes: [1, 2] þengils rekka ‘of the prince of warriors [RULER = Sveinn/Magnús]’: (a) This is taken here, as by most eds, as a kenning. It refers to King Sveinn judging by Hkr but to Magnús according to the interpolated ÓH texts (see Context). (b) Rekka could alternatively depend on verðungar ‘of the bodyguard’ in l. 4 rather than þengils ‘of the prince’ in l. 1, and in fact Konráð Gíslason (1892, 188; see also Nj 1875-8, II, 368) forms a cpd verðungar-rekka. — [3] bast ‘bast’: The pale-coloured inner bark of a tree, often birch. — [6] lék ‘played’: A sg. verb with coordinate subject; cf. Note to Lv 18/2.  — [7] opt ‘often’: Konráð Gíslason (1892, 188) remarks that the word (ofst in his note) more naturally modifies lék ‘played’ in l. 6 than minnumk ‘I remember’ in l. 5.

References

1. Bibliography
2. Fms = Sveinbjörn Egilsson et al., eds. 1825-37. Fornmanna sögur eptir gömlum handritum útgefnar að tilhlutun hins norræna fornfræða fèlags. 12 vols. Copenhagen: Popp.
3. Nj 1875-89 = Konráð Gíslason and Eiríkur Jónsson. 1875-89. Njála: Udgivet efter gamle håndskrifter. Íslendingasögur udgivne efter gamle haandskrifter af Det Kongelige Nordiske Oldskrift-selskab 4. Copenhagen: Thiele.
4. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
5. Flat 1860-8 = Gudbrand Vigfusson [Guðbrandur Vigfússon] and C. R. Unger, eds. 1860-8. Flateyjarbók. En samling af norske konge-sagaer med indskudte mindre fortællinger om begivenheder i og udenfor Norge samt annaler. 3 vols. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
6. ÓH 1941 = Johnsen, Oscar Albert and Jón Helgason, eds. 1941. Saga Óláfs konungs hins helga: Den store saga om Olav den hellige efter pergamenthåndskrift i Kungliga biblioteket i Stockholm nr. 2 4^to med varianter fra andre håndskrifter. 2 vols. Det norske historiske kildeskriftfond skrifter 53. Oslo: Dybwad.
7. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
8. Hkr 1893-1901 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1893-1901. Heimskringla: Nóregs konunga sǫgur af Snorri Sturluson. 4 vols. SUGNL 23. Copenhagen: Møller.
9. Hkr 1991 = Bergljót S. Kristjánsdóttir et al., eds. 1991. Heimskringla. 3 vols. Reykjavík: Mál og menning.
10. F 1871 = Unger, C. R., ed. 1871. Fríssbók: Codex Frisianus. En samling af norske konge-sagaer. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
11. E 1916 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1916. Eirspennill: AM 47 fol. Nóregs konunga sǫgur: Magnús góði – Hákon gamli. Kristiania (Oslo): Den norske historiske kildeskriftskommission.
12. Jón Skaptason. 1983. ‘Material for an Edition and Translation of the Poems of Sigvat Þórðarson, skáld’. Ph.D. thesis. State University of New York at Stony Brook. DAI 44: 3681A.
13. Konráð Gíslason, ed. 1892a. Udvalg af oldnordiske skjaldekvad, med anmærkninger. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
14. Hkr 1777-1826 = Schöning, Gerhard et al., eds. 1777-1826. Heimskringla edr Noregs konunga-sögor. 6 vols. Copenhagen: Stein.
15. Hkr 1868 = Unger, C. R., ed. 1868. Heimskringla eller Norges kongesagaer af Snorre Sturlassøn. Christiania (Oslo): Brøgger & Christie.
16. Internal references
17. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Heimskringla’ in Kari Ellen Gade (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 2: From c. 1035 to c. 1300. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 2. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=4> (accessed 26 April 2024)
18. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Óláfs saga helga’ 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. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=53> (accessed 26 April 2024)
19. (forthcoming), ‘ Heimskringla, Magnúss saga ins góða’ in Kari Ellen Gade (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 2: From c. 1035 to c. 1300. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 2. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=116> (accessed 26 April 2024)