Sigv Nesv 5I
Russell Poole (ed.) 2012, ‘Sigvatr Þórðarson, Nesjavísur 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. 563.
notes
[1] Teitr: Although teitr could be the adj. ‘glad, cheerful’, it appears to be a pers. n. here, since Sigvatr uses the dual pron. (acc. and dat. okkr ‘us both’) in the stanza rather than the pl. seen consistently elsewhere in the poem. This Teitr is otherwise unknown but on the available onomastic evidence was probably a fellow Icelander (Lind 1905-15: Teitr). The stanza thus apparently addresses not the broader audience of the retinue addressed in st. 1 but instead an individual comrade. Among those who, on the basis of these features, regard st. 5 as a separate lausavísa, are Finnur Jónsson (Skj; LH I, 595) and Petersen (1946, 54-7), and Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson does not count it among the Nesv stanzas (ÍF 27, 61 n.). However, the preservation of the stanza between sts 4 and 7 in ÓH-Hkr, with the same routine introduction, svá segir Sigvatr ‘so says Sigvatr’, favours the present arrangement. Stanza 5 is included in Nesv in CPB (II, 119, 127-9), indeed the eds propose that the entire poem is addressed to Teitr. Fidjestøl also advocates inclusion, noting that Nesv appears to have been loosely-structured throughout (1982, 118; cf. Hellberg 1972, 24; Jesch 2001a, 209). Potential parallels to this incidental address occur in Sigv Vestv 1 and in Arn Magndr 4II (Poole 2005d, 192-5, though contrast Whaley 1998, 119 and Note to Arn Magndr 4/4II).
sák ‘I saw’
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2. sjá (verb): see
ǫrt ‘’
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ǫrr (adj.): generous, brave
okkr ‘of us both’
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vér (pron.; °gen. vár, dat./acc. oss): we, us, our
[1] okkr: ǫrt 325VI, 75a, 73aˣ, 78aˣ
á ‘’
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3. á (prep.): on, at
út ‘’
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út (adv.): out(side)
ítra ‘’
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ítr (adj.): glorious
ítru ‘glorious’
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ítr (adj.): glorious
[1] í ítru: út J1ˣ, ítra J2ˣ, á ítru 325VI, 75a, 73aˣ, 78aˣ
all ‘of the mighty’
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all- ((prefix)): very < allvaldr (noun m.): mighty rulerall- ((prefix)): very < allvaldr (noun m.): mighty rulerall- ((prefix)): very
vals ‘’
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2. val (noun n.): choice
valdr ‘’
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valdr (noun m.): ruler < allvaldr (noun m.): mighty ruler
valds ‘ruler’
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valdr (noun m.): ruler < allvaldr (noun m.): mighty ruler
[2] ‑valds: ‑vals 972ˣ, ‑valdr Bb
liði ‘war-band’
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lið (noun n.; °-s; -): retinue, troop
faldna ‘’
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2. falda (verb): cover, clothe
var ‘’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
þá ‘’
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2. þá (adv.): then
hǫrð ‘’
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harðr (adj.; °comp. -ari; superl. -astr): hard, harsh
hár ‘’
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3. hár (adj.; °-van; compar. hǽrri, superl. hǽstr): high
harðr ‘a hard’
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harðr (adj.; °comp. -ari; superl. -astr): hard, harsh
[3] harðr: hár J1ˣ, J2ˣ, hǫrð 68
kennings
harðr hjǫrdynr‘a hard sword-din ’
= BATTLE
a hard sword-din → BATTLE
of ‘over’
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3. of (prep.): around, from; too
herðar ‘the shoulders’
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herðr (noun f.; °-ar(Thom² 447¹³); -ar): shoulder
hjǫr ‘sword’
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hjǫrr (noun m.): sword < hjǫrdynr (noun m.): [a sword-clash]hjǫrr (noun m.): sword < hjǫrdynr (noun m.): [a sword-clash]
kennings
harðr hjǫrdynr‘a hard sword-din ’
= BATTLE
a hard sword-din → BATTLE
dyns ‘’
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dynr (noun m.; °dat. -; -ir): din < hjǫrdynr (noun m.): [a sword-clash]
dynr ‘din’
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dynr (noun m.; °dat. -; -ir): din < hjǫrdynr (noun m.): [a sword-clash]
[4] ‑dynr: ‑dyns 68, Bb
kennings
harðr hjǫrdynr‘a hard sword-din ’
= BATTLE
a hard sword-din → BATTLE
svalar ‘chill’
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svalr (adj.): cool
brynjur ‘mail-shirts’
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1. brynja (noun f.; °-u (dat. brynnoni Gibb 38⁹); -ur): mailcoat
[4] brynjur: ‘briyn(yir)’(?) Bb
notes
[4] brynjur ‘mail-shirts’: The skald lays emphasis upon his superb military equipment, which indicates the king’s special favour (cf. Graham-Campbell and Batey 1998, 35-6, 67).
ok ‘’
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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
minn ‘’
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minn (pron.; °f. mín, n. mitt): my
at ‘at’
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3. at (prep.): at, to
flug ‘the flight’
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2. flug (noun n.): flight, ?precipice
kennings
flug fleina;‘the flight of barbs; ’
= BATTLE
the flight of barbs; → BATTLE
notes
[5] flug fleina ‘the flight of barbs [BATTLE]’: If a kenning, this is rather a marginal one, since it could also be taken in its restricted literal sense; and normally the base-word of battle-kennings has meanings such as ‘noise, speech, meeting, sport, storm’.
flæma ‘’
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flæma (verb): [drove]
kennings
flug fleina;‘the flight of barbs; ’
= BATTLE
the flight of barbs; → BATTLE
notes
[5] flug fleina ‘the flight of barbs [BATTLE]’: If a kenning, this is rather a marginal one, since it could also be taken in its restricted literal sense; and normally the base-word of battle-kennings has meanings such as ‘noise, speech, meeting, sport, storm’.
falk ‘’
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falkr (noun m.; °dat. -): [falcon]
und ‘under’
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3. und (prep.): under, underneath
hjalm ‘helmet’
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1. hjalmr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): helmet
notes
[6] inn valska hjalm ‘the Frankish helmet’: On the adj. valskr, see Note to Sigv Víkv 6/5. Frankish swords were particularly prized in the Viking Age (Jesch 2001a, 78); perhaps the same applied to metal helmets, at a time when most fighters wore simple leather caps (Graham-Campbell and Batey 1998, 35-6).
inn ‘the’
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2. inn (art.): the
notes
[6] inn valska hjalm ‘the Frankish helmet’: On the adj. valskr, see Note to Sigv Víkv 6/5. Frankish swords were particularly prized in the Viking Age (Jesch 2001a, 78); perhaps the same applied to metal helmets, at a time when most fighters wore simple leather caps (Graham-Campbell and Batey 1998, 35-6).
valska ‘Frankish’
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valskr (adj.): foreign, French
notes
[6] inn valska hjalm ‘the Frankish helmet’: On the adj. valskr, see Note to Sigv Víkv 6/5. Frankish swords were particularly prized in the Viking Age (Jesch 2001a, 78); perhaps the same applied to metal helmets, at a time when most fighters wore simple leather caps (Graham-Campbell and Batey 1998, 35-6).
okkr ‘us both’
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vér (pron.; °gen. vár, dat./acc. oss): we, us, our
ek ‘’
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
vísa ‘’
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2. vísa (verb): show
svá ‘to be thus’
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svá (adv.): so, thus
sessi ‘bench-mate’
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sessi (noun m.; °-a; -ar): bench-mate
svǫrt ‘black’
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svartr (adj.): black
var ‘’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
hjǫr ‘’
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hjǫrr (noun m.): sword
her ‘the army’
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herr (noun m.; °-s/-jar, dat. -; -jar, gen. -ja/herra): army, host
[8] her: hjǫr R686ˣ, J1ˣ, J2ˣ, 75a, 73aˣ, 78aˣ
gǫrvan ‘’
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1. gǫrr (adj.): ample, perfect
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
|
Teitr, sák okkr í ítru |
Teitr, I saw chill mail-shirts fall over the shoulders of us both in the glorious war-band of the mighty ruler; a hard sword-din [BATTLE] was waged. And my black hair hid itself under the Frankish helmet at the flight of barbs [BATTLE]; bench-mate, I knew us both to be thus prepared against the army.
The stanza is introduced after st. 4, with the comment that although Sveinn jarl had a larger force King Óláfr had an elite and excellently equipped band on his ship.
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