Sigv Lv 24I
R. D. Fulk (ed.) 2012, ‘Sigvatr Þórðarson, Lausavísur 24’ 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. 729.
Hô ‘The high’
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3. hár (adj.; °-van; compar. hǽrri, superl. hǽstr): high
notes
[1] hô : hlæja: On the hending without consonant rhyme, see Note to Sigv Austv 6/5. The line resembles Anon Liðs 5/1.
mér ‘to me’
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
hlæja ‘to laugh’
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hlæja (verb): laugh
notes
[1] hô : hlæja: On the hending without consonant rhyme, see Note to Sigv Austv 6/5. The line resembles Anon Liðs 5/1.
of ‘over’
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3. of (prep.): around, from; too
Nóreg ‘Norway’
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Noregr (noun m.): Norway
allan ‘all’
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allr (adj.): all
fyrr ‘once’
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fyrr (adv.): before, sooner
notes
[3] vask fyrr kenndr á knǫrrum ‘I was once recognized on ships’: This line seems to be a claim on the skald’s part that he was a recognized and valued retainer of the king. Alternatively, the import could be a plaintive ‘I sail no longer’. Konráð Gíslason (1892, 191) suggested that this responds to the question, ‘Do you know all of Norway?’ and implies ‘I have sailed so much on the seas about Norway that I know very well what this country looks like, seen from the sea’ (similarly Flo 1902, 110).
vask ‘I was’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
notes
[3] vask fyrr kenndr á knǫrrum ‘I was once recognized on ships’: This line seems to be a claim on the skald’s part that he was a recognized and valued retainer of the king. Alternatively, the import could be a plaintive ‘I sail no longer’. Konráð Gíslason (1892, 191) suggested that this responds to the question, ‘Do you know all of Norway?’ and implies ‘I have sailed so much on the seas about Norway that I know very well what this country looks like, seen from the sea’ (similarly Flo 1902, 110).
kenndr ‘recognized’
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kenna (verb): know, teach
notes
[3] vask fyrr kenndr á knǫrrum ‘I was once recognized on ships’: This line seems to be a claim on the skald’s part that he was a recognized and valued retainer of the king. Alternatively, the import could be a plaintive ‘I sail no longer’. Konráð Gíslason (1892, 191) suggested that this responds to the question, ‘Do you know all of Norway?’ and implies ‘I have sailed so much on the seas about Norway that I know very well what this country looks like, seen from the sea’ (similarly Flo 1902, 110).
á ‘on’
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3. á (prep.): on, at
notes
[3] vask fyrr kenndr á knǫrrum ‘I was once recognized on ships’: This line seems to be a claim on the skald’s part that he was a recognized and valued retainer of the king. Alternatively, the import could be a plaintive ‘I sail no longer’. Konráð Gíslason (1892, 191) suggested that this responds to the question, ‘Do you know all of Norway?’ and implies ‘I have sailed so much on the seas about Norway that I know very well what this country looks like, seen from the sea’ (similarly Flo 1902, 110).
knǫrrum ‘ships’
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knǫrr (noun m.; °knarrar, dat. knerri; knerrir, acc. knǫrru/knerri): (a kind of) ship
[3] knǫrrum: knerri F
notes
[3] vask fyrr kenndr á knǫrrum ‘I was once recognized on ships’: This line seems to be a claim on the skald’s part that he was a recognized and valued retainer of the king. Alternatively, the import could be a plaintive ‘I sail no longer’. Konráð Gíslason (1892, 191) suggested that this responds to the question, ‘Do you know all of Norway?’ and implies ‘I have sailed so much on the seas about Norway that I know very well what this country looks like, seen from the sea’ (similarly Flo 1902, 110).
klif ‘cliffs’
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klif (noun n.; °-s; -): cliff
meðan ‘while’
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meðan (conj.): while
lifði ‘was alive’
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lifa (verb): live
Nú ‘Now’
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nú (adv.): now
mér ‘to me’
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
miklu ‘much’
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mikill (adj.; °mikinn): great, large
mitt ‘my’
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minn (pron.; °f. mín, n. mitt): my
stríð ‘affliction’
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2. stríð (noun n.; °-s; -): affliction
es ‘is’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
[6] es svá (‘er sva’): vera F, er þat J2ˣ, E, 761bˣ
jǫfurs ‘of the ruler’
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jǫfurr (noun m.): ruler, prince
varðk ‘I have lost’
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1. verða (verb): become, be
[7] varðk alla (‘varð ec alla’): kann ek illa F
notes
[7] varðk ‘I have lost’: Such is the usual meaning of verða with an acc. object (as in Lv 20/6). Finnur (Skj B, similarly Hallberg 1975, 163) here assigns the opposite meaning, ‘I gained’; see LP: verða 10, criticised by Kock (NN §1934C) but defended by Turville-Petre (1976, 86-7, with references).
óblíðari ‘less agreeable’
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óblíðr (adj.): unpleasant
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
Sigvatr is ill content at home (see Context to Lv 23). One day he goes out and speaks this stanza.
The attribution of the poet’s feelings to the natural environment (the ‘pathetic fallacy’) is notable: see Guðrún Nordal et al. (1992-2006, I, 220).
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