Sjórs Lv 2^II

The following two lvv. (Sjórs Lv 2-3) are recorded in Mork (Mork), H-Hr (H, Hr) and the interpolated mss of Hkr (F, E, J2ˣ, 42ˣ). Mork is the main ms.

Villir vísdóm allan;
veldr því karl í feldi.

Villir allan vísdóm; karl í feldi veldr því.

He confuses all wisdom; the man in the cloak causes that.

Mss: Mork(30r) (Mork); H(108v), Hr(72ra) (H-Hr); F(64va), E(43r), J2ˣ(328r), 42ˣ(25v)

Readings: [1] Villir: Villir hann all    [2] feldi: feldinum all

Editions: Skj AI, 454, Skj BI, 422, Skald I, 209; Mork 1867, 188, Mork 1928-32, 385, Andersson and Gade 2000, 347, 489 (Msona); Fms 7, 152 (Msona ch. 39); F 1871, 299, E 1916, 150 (Msona).

Context: Sigurðr and his retinue are sitting outside a church during vespers, drunk and merry and unable to sing evensong properly. The king sees a man in a short cloak standing by the church, and he recites the following couplet.

Notes: [All]: The man in the cloak (see Context) is Þórarinn stuttfeldr ‘Short-cloak’ (Þstf). See Þstf Lv 1-3. — [1] allan vísdóm ‘all wisdom’: Vísdóm ‘wisdom’ refers to clerical learning here, because Sigurðr and his men are unable to perform evensong. — [2] karl í feldi ‘the man in the cloak’: This could be a veiled reference to Óðinn, who frequently appears in a cloak when in disguise (e.g. in Grí 1 and prose; NK 57) and is often referred to as karl ‘(old) man’ (see Hárb 2, Reg 18/5, NK 78, 178, and LP: karl 2). If so, the sense would be that the devil (or his avatar, the heathen god) causes the men’s drunken inability to perform the Christian ritual.

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. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
4. 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.
5. Andersson, Theodore M. and Kari Ellen Gade, trans. 2000. Morkinskinna: The Earliest Icelandic Chronicle of the Norwegian Kings (1030-1157). Islandica 51. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press.
6. NK = Neckel, Gustav and Hans Kuhn (1899), eds. 1983. Edda: Die Lieder des Codex Regius nebst verwandten Denkmälern. 2 vols. I: Text. 5th edn. Heidelberg: Winter.
7. Mork 1928-32 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1928-32. Morkinskinna. SUGNL 53. Copenhagen: Jørgensen.
8. F 1871 = Unger, C. R., ed. 1871. Fríssbók: Codex Frisianus. En samling af norske konge-sagaer. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
9. E 1916 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1916. Eirspennill: AM 47 fol. Nóregs konunga sǫgur: Magnús góði – Hákon gamli. Kristiania (Oslo): Den norske historiske kildeskriftskommission.
10. Mork 1867 = Unger, C. R., ed. 1867. Morkinskinna: Pergamentsbog fra første halvdel af det trettende aarhundrede. Indeholdende en af de ældste optegnelser af norske kongesagaer. Oslo: Bentzen.
11. Internal references
12. (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 19 April 2024)
13. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Hulda-Hrokkinskinna’ 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=84> (accessed 19 April 2024)
14. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Morkinskinna’ 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=87> (accessed 19 April 2024)
15. (forthcoming), ‘ Heimskringla, Magnússona saga’ 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=149> (accessed 19 April 2024)
16. Kari Ellen Gade 2009, ‘(Biography of) Þórarinn stuttfeldr’ 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, pp. 473-81.
17. Not published: do not cite ()
18. Not published: do not cite ()
19. Not published: do not cite ()
20. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Sigurðr jórsalafari Magnússon, Lausavísur 2’ 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, pp. 467-8.
21. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Þórarinn stuttfeldr, Lausavísur 1’ 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, pp. 479-80.