Sigv Lv 25I
R. D. Fulk (ed.) 2012, ‘Sigvatr Þórðarson, Lausavísur 25’ 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. 730.
lystir ‘it pleases’
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lysta (verb): desire
mik ‘me’
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
austan ‘from the east’
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austan (adv.): from the east
erut ‘are not’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
spǫrð ‘sparing’
[2] spǫrð: svǫrð F
ór ‘out of’
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3. ór (prep.): out of
Gǫrðum ‘ Russia’
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Garðar (noun m.): Russia
frá ‘about’
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frá (prep.): from
ǫðlingi ‘prince’
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ǫðlingr (noun m.; °; -ar): prince, ruler
ungum ‘the young’
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ungr (adj.): young
opt ‘often’
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opt (adv.): often
notes
[4] opt ‘often’: All eds, including the present one, assume that this depends on byrjuð ‘conveyed’ (or ‘originating’), and this does give simpler word order, though opt could also modify spyrja.
byrjuð ‘conveyed’
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2. byrja (verb; °-að-): begin, begat, please
lof ‘the praises’
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lof (noun n.; °-s; -): praise, leave, permission
spyrja ‘to ask’
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spyrja (verb; spurði): ask; hear, find out
Fréttik ‘I enquire’
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frétta (verb): ask, enquire
notes
[5] fréttik smás ‘I enquire about little’: It is debatable whether the import of this is ‘I ask for very little information’ (so Finnur Jónsson in Skj B) or ‘I enquire about small things’ (so Jón Skaptason 1983). (Note that the clause cannot mean ‘I hear very little’, as we should then expect smátt for smás.) Finnur Jónsson (LH II, 596) takes the sense to be ‘I am informed of the king’s movements, though only small birds of affection fly back and forth between us’.
notes
[5] fréttik smás ‘I enquire about little’: It is debatable whether the import of this is ‘I ask for very little information’ (so Finnur Jónsson in Skj B) or ‘I enquire about small things’ (so Jón Skaptason 1983). (Note that the clause cannot mean ‘I hear very little’, as we should then expect smátt for smás.) Finnur Jónsson (LH II, 596) takes the sense to be ‘I am informed of the king’s movements, though only small birds of affection fly back and forth between us’.
þótt ‘though’
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þótt (conj.): although
smoglir ‘smuggling’
[6] smoglir: ‘smugul er’ Kˣ, F, ‘smogul er’ 39, ‘smagulir’ J2ˣ, ‘smabuler’ E, ‘sma gulir’ 761bˣ
notes
[6] smoglir ‘smuggling’: The adj. is based on the verb smjúga ‘to creep through’ or ‘to penetrate’, and the sense seems to be that messages are furtively conveyed. (ÍF 28 suggests thoughts as an alternative to messages.) No ms. actually reads smoglir, but it is what a conflation of the ms. readings suggests.
ástar ‘of affection’
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ást (noun f.; °-ar; -ir): love
foglar ‘birds’
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fugl (noun m.): bird
þinig ‘hither’
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þannig (adv.): thus, there, that way
[7] þinig: so J2ˣ, E, 761bˣ, þing Kˣ, 39, F
notes
[7, 8] ljúgumk fǫr þinig niðs fylkis ‘I am cheated of the journey hither of the leader’s offspring [RULER = Magnús]’: This is how the eds generally have understood the clause, the sense being, presumably, ‘I wish Magnús would come west’. It is particularly clever how this intercalary breaks up foglar … fljúgi … á miðli ‘birds fly between’ (in reference to exchanged messages).
notes
[7, 8] ljúgumk fǫr þinig niðs fylkis ‘I am cheated of the journey hither of the leader’s offspring [RULER = Magnús]’: This is how the eds generally have understood the clause, the sense being, presumably, ‘I wish Magnús would come west’. It is particularly clever how this intercalary breaks up foglar … fljúgi … á miðli ‘birds fly between’ (in reference to exchanged messages).
notes
[7, 8] ljúgumk fǫr þinig niðs fylkis ‘I am cheated of the journey hither of the leader’s offspring [RULER = Magnús]’: This is how the eds generally have understood the clause, the sense being, presumably, ‘I wish Magnús would come west’. It is particularly clever how this intercalary breaks up foglar … fljúgi … á miðli ‘birds fly between’ (in reference to exchanged messages).
fljúgi ‘fly’
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fljúga (verb): fly
fylkis ‘of the leader’s’
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fylkir (noun m.): leader
[8] fylkis niðs: ‘fyl kisliðs’ 39, fylkis liðs F
kennings
niðs fylkis.‘of the leader’s offspring.’
= RULER = Magnús
the leader’s offspring. → RULER = Magnús
notes
[7, 8] ljúgumk fǫr þinig niðs fylkis ‘I am cheated of the journey hither of the leader’s offspring [RULER = Magnús]’: This is how the eds generally have understood the clause, the sense being, presumably, ‘I wish Magnús would come west’. It is particularly clever how this intercalary breaks up foglar … fljúgi … á miðli ‘birds fly between’ (in reference to exchanged messages).
niðs ‘offspring’
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1. niðr (noun m.; °-s; niðjar/niðir, acc. niði): son, kinsman, relative
[8] fylkis niðs: ‘fyl kisliðs’ 39, fylkis liðs F
kennings
niðs fylkis.‘of the leader’s offspring.’
= RULER = Magnús
the leader’s offspring. → RULER = Magnús
notes
[7, 8] ljúgumk fǫr þinig niðs fylkis ‘I am cheated of the journey hither of the leader’s offspring [RULER = Magnús]’: This is how the eds generally have understood the clause, the sense being, presumably, ‘I wish Magnús would come west’. It is particularly clever how this intercalary breaks up foglar … fljúgi … á miðli ‘birds fly between’ (in reference to exchanged messages).
á ‘’
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3. á (prep.): on, at
miðli ‘between’
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milli (prep.): between
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
Sigvatr travels to Sweden and stays with Queen Ástríðr (who had gone there with King Óláfr when he first lost control of Norway, and had remained there after his return). Whenever he meets merchants coming from Hólmgarðr (Novgorod), he asks what they can tell him about Óláfr’s son Magnús. He says this.
[1-4]: There are alternative ways to analyse the syntax of this helmingr. (a) Finnur Jónsson (Skj B; so Hkr 1991) would have frá ǫðlingi ungum ‘about the young prince’ in l. 3 modify lof ‘praises’ in l. 4 and austan … ór Gǫrðum ‘from the east out of Russia’ in ll. 1, 2 modify spyrja ‘to ask’ in l. 4. (b) Kock (NN §1876; so ÍF 28 and Jón Skaptason 1983, 209) would have both of these phrases modify spyrja ‘ask’ on the ground that lof frá einhverjum ‘praise about someone’ seems unidiomatic to him.
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