Sigv Lv 24^I

Hô þótti mér hlæja
hǫll of Nóreg allan
— fyrr vask kenndr á knǫrrum —
klif, meðan Ôleifr lifði.
Nú þykki mér miklu
— mitt stríð es svá — hlíðir
— jǫfurs hylli varðk alla —
óblíðari síðan.

Hô, hǫll klif þótti mér hlæja of allan Nóreg, meðan Ôleifr lifði; vask fyrr kenndr á knǫrrum. Nú þykki mér hlíðir miklu óblíðari síðan; svá es stríð mitt; varðk alla hylli jǫfurs.

The high, sloping cliffs seemed to me to laugh over all Norway while Óláfr was alive; I was once recognized on ships. Now the slopes seem to me much less agreeable since; such is my affliction; I have lost all favour of the ruler.

Mss: Kˣ(499v), 39(13va), F(38ra), J2ˣ(242r-v), E(4v) (Hkr); 761bˣ(311r)

Readings: [1] þótti: þóttu J2ˣ, E, 761bˣ    [2] hǫll: ǫll J2ˣ, E, 761bˣ    [3] knǫrrum: knerri F    [4] Ôleifr: ‘Olif’ 39    [5] þykki: þykkja J2ˣ, E, 761bˣ    [6] es svá (‘er sva’): vera F, er þat J2ˣ, E, 761bˣ;    hlíðir: liðir 39, síðan F    [7] hylli: falli F;    varðk alla (‘varð ec alla’): kann ek illa F    [8] síðan: hlíðir F

Editions: Skj AI, 273, Skj BI, 252, Skald I, 130, NN §1934C; Hkr 1777-1826, III, 12, VI, 126, Hkr 1868, 521 (MGóð ch. 9), Hkr 1893-1901, III, 19, IV, 184, ÍF 28, 17, Hkr 1991, II, 566 (MGóð ch. 8), F 1871, 173, E 1916, 12; Konráð Gíslason 1892, 41, 189-91, Jón Skaptason 1983, 208.

Context: Sigvatr is ill content at home (see Context to Lv 23). One day he goes out and speaks this stanza.

Notes: [All]: 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). — [1] hô : hlæja: On the hending without consonant rhyme, see Note to Sigv Austv 6/5. The line resembles Anon Liðs 5/1. — [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). — [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).

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skj B = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1912-15b. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. B: Rettet tekst. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Villadsen & Christensen. Rpt. 1973. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger.
3. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
4. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
5. LP = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1931. Lexicon poeticum antiquæ linguæ septentrionalis: Ordbog over det norsk-islandske skjaldesprog oprindelig forfattet af Sveinbjörn Egilsson. 2nd edn. Copenhagen: Møller.
6. Hallberg, Peter. 1975. Old Icelandic Poetry: Eddic Lay and Skaldic Verse. Trans. Paul Schach and Sonja Lindgrenson. Lincoln and London: University of Nebraska Press.
7. Turville-Petre, Gabriel. 1976. Scaldic Poetry. Oxford: Clarendon.
8. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
9. Hkr 1893-1901 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1893-1901. Heimskringla: Nóregs konunga sǫgur af Snorri Sturluson. 4 vols. SUGNL 23. Copenhagen: Møller.
10. Hkr 1991 = Bergljót S. Kristjánsdóttir et al., eds. 1991. Heimskringla. 3 vols. Reykjavík: Mál og menning.
11. F 1871 = Unger, C. R., ed. 1871. Fríssbók: Codex Frisianus. En samling af norske konge-sagaer. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
12. E 1916 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1916. Eirspennill: AM 47 fol. Nóregs konunga sǫgur: Magnús góði – Hákon gamli. Kristiania (Oslo): Den norske historiske kildeskriftskommission.
13. Flo, Rasmus J., trans. 1902. Gamle skaldar og kvad. Oslo: [n. p.]. First printed 1901 in SoS 7, 145-69, 261-78, 309-26, 389-405, 468-82.
14. 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.
15. Konráð Gíslason, ed. 1892a. Udvalg af oldnordiske skjaldekvad, med anmærkninger. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
16. Hkr 1777-1826 = Schöning, Gerhard et al., eds. 1777-1826. Heimskringla edr Noregs konunga-sögor. 6 vols. Copenhagen: Stein.
17. Hkr 1868 = Unger, C. R., ed. 1868. Heimskringla eller Norges kongesagaer af Snorre Sturlassøn. Christiania (Oslo): Brøgger & Christie.
18. Internal references
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 23 April 2024)
20. Russell Poole (ed.) 2012, ‘Anonymous Poems, Liðsmannaflokkr 5’ 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. 1022.
21. R. D. Fulk (ed.) 2012, ‘Sigvatr Þórðarson, Austrfararvísur 6’ 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. 592.