Skúli Svǫlðr 2^III

Fylgðak Frísa dolgi,
(fekk ungr) þars spjǫr sungu,
— nú fiðr ǫld, at eldumk —
(aldrbót) ok Sigvalda,
þás til móts við mœti
malmþings í dyn hjalma
sunnr fyr Svǫlðrar mynni
sárlauk roðinn bôrum.

Fylgðak {dolgi Frísa} ok Sigvalda, þars spjǫr sungu; fekk ungr aldrbót – nú fiðr ǫld at eldumk –, þás bôrum {roðinn sárlauk} í {dyn hjalma} til móts við {mœti {malmþings}} sunnr fyr mynni Svǫlðrar.

I followed {the Frisians’ enemy} [= Eiríkr] and Sigvaldi, where spears sang; I got renown young – now people find I grow old –, when we [I] bore {the reddened wound-leek} [SWORD] into {the din of helmets} [BATTLE] against {the meeter {of the metal-assembly}} [BATTLE > WARRIOR] south before the mouth of Svolder.

Mss: Holm18(52r), 310(85) (ÓTOdd); FskBˣ(38r), FskAˣ(137) (Fsk); Kˣ(211r), F(36ra), J1ˣ(130v), J2ˣ(114r), 325VIII 1(5ra) (Hkr); 61(67va), 53(64ra), 54(63vb), Bb(99rb-va), 325VIII 2 b(1va), Flat(64rb) (ÓT)

Readings: [1] Fylgðak (‘Fylgða ek’): Fylgða er FskBˣ, ‘[…]ek’ 325VIII 1, fylgja ek Bb;    Frísa: ‘frida’ Bb    [2] fekk: so FskBˣ, F, fekk ek Holm18, 310, FskAˣ, Kˣ, J2ˣ, 325VIII 1, 61, 53, 54, 325VIII 2 b, Flat, ‘fekek’ J1ˣ, ‘fesk ek’ Bb;    spjǫr: spǫrr 54, Bb;    sungu: ‘[…]gv’ 325VIII 1    [3] fiðr: finnr FskBˣ, FskAˣ, F, J1ˣ, J2ˣ, 325VIII 1, 61, 53, 54, Bb, 325VIII 2 b, Flat;    ǫld: ‘ald’ Bb;    at: so FskBˣ, FskAˣ, at ek Holm18, 310, Kˣ, F, J1ˣ, J2ˣ, 325VIII 1, 61, 53, 54, Bb, 325VIII 2 b, Flat    [4] ‑bót: so 310, FskBˣ, FskAˣ, Kˣ, F, J2ˣ, 61, 53, 54, Bb, 325VIII 2 b, Flat, ‘bott’ Holm18, J1ˣ, ‘[…]’ 325VIII 1;    ‑valda: ‑valdi 54, Bb, 325VIII 2 b    [5] þás (‘þa er’): þar er Kˣ, F, J1ˣ, J2ˣ, 325VIII 1, 61, 53, Bb, Flat, þar 54, 325VIII 2 b;    til: ‘‑ít’ 325VIII 1;    móts: ‘mæz’ FskBˣ;    við: viðr FskAˣ;    mœti: mætan 61, 53, 54, Bb, 325VIII 2 b, Flat    [6] malm‑: mál‑ Kˣ;    ‑þings: ‘[…]s’ 325VIII 1;    í: ok 325VIII 2 b    [7] sunnr: so 61, 53, 54, Flat, suðr Holm18, 310, FskBˣ, FskAˣ, Kˣ, F, J1ˣ, J2ˣ, 325VIII 1, svinnr 54, Bb, ‘svns’ 325VIII 2 b;    fyr: frá 54, 325VIII 2 b, Flat, frá ek Bb;    Svǫlðrar: ‘suólþar’ J1ˣ, ‘svolðar’ 325VIII 1, ‘sualldrar’ 53;    mynni: munni FskBˣ, J1ˣ, ‘myðe’ FskAˣ, minni Kˣ, 325VIII 1, 53, 54, Bb, 325VIII 2 b, Flat    [8] ‑lauk: ‘[…]’ 325VIII 1, ‘lavk i’ 325VIII 2 b, ‑lauks Flat;    bôrum: bôru 325VIII 2 b, Flat

Editions: Skj AI, 305-6, Skj BI, 283, Skald I, 145, NN §§769, 1158; ÓTOdd 1932, 210, ÓTOdd 2006, xxx; Fsk 1902-3, 126, ÍF 29, 154 (ch. 24); Hkr 1893-1901, I, 442-3, IV, 97, ÍF 26, 358 (ÓTHkr ch. 105); ÓT 1958-2000, II, 264 (ch. 250), Flat 1860-8, I, 482; Konráð Gíslason 1892, 32.

Context: This stanza is cited in the sagas’ description of the battle of Svolder as proof that Sigvaldi jarl Strút-Haraldsson, who seems not to have played a prominent part according to their other sources, was in fact present.

Notes: [1] dolgi Frísa ‘the Frisians’ enemy [= Eiríkr]’: No other ruler in the surviving skaldic corpus is described as an enemy of the Frisians. This kenning is usually presumed to refer to Eiríkr jarl (see his Biography in Introduction to SkP I), son of Hákon jarl inn ríki ‘the Mighty’ and, after his victory at the battle of Svolder, ruler of Norway (as a vassal of the Danish king Knútr inn ríki, son of another of Svolder’s victors, Sveinn tjúguskegg ‘Forkbeard’), although no source associates Eiríkr with campaigns in Frisia (ÓT ch. 90, cited by Finnur Jónsson in Hkr 1893-1901, IV, 97, does not in fact mention Frisia), and some have doubted the association with him (cf. the references in Baetke 1951, 93; Wood 1964, 180).  Baetke (1951, 93-4) argues that the kenning could refer to Eiríkr’s later campaigns in England. According to Hkr (ÓTHkr ch. 105, ÍF 26, 358), Skúli was Eiríkr’s forecastle man during the battle of Svolder; cf. also Egils saga (Eg ch. 87, ÍF 2, 300): Skúli var lengi í víking; hann var stafnbúi Eiríks jarls á Járnbarðanum, þá er Óláfr konungr Tryggvason fell ‘Skúli was for a long time on viking expeditions; he was Eiríkr jarl’s forecastle man on Járnbarðinn ‘Iron-prow’ when King Óláfr Tryggvason fell’. — [4] aldrbót ‘renown’: Lit. ‘life-betterment’, i.e. that which makes the duration of one’s life (aldr in its usual sense of ‘lifespan’) worth living through. The only other skaldic instance of aldrbót (translated as ‘solace, life-reward’) is Anon (TGT) 15/2, where ‘fame’ would fit as well as ‘joy’, the translation of Finnur Jónsson and Meissner (Skj BI, 601 fryd ‘joy’; Meissner 436 Freude ‘joy’). — [4] Sigvalda ‘Sigvaldi’: Sigvaldi Strút-Haraldsson was a Danish jarl from Jómsborg (Wollin) and an ally of Eiríkr jarl and Sveinn tjúguskegg. He accompanied Óláfr Tryggvason on his way to Svolder, but stayed away with his ships during the battle itself (see ÓTHkr chs 99-105, 112, ÍF 26, 350-8, 367; Hók Eirfl^I). — [7] mynni Svǫlðrar ‘the mouth of Svolder’: This phrase, with st. 4/2 the only skaldic mention of the name, suggests Svolder (Svǫlðr) was a river or inlet, rather than an islet as in most prose (and perhaps some other skaldic) sources. The location of this battle site is a classic Streitfrage of Norse historiography. Baetke (1951) reviews the evidence and concludes Svolder was the body of water between Vorpommern and the islands of the southern Baltic, while another body of opinion (e.g. Megaard 1999, 49; Rasmussen 2000), usually associated with the Swedish historian Lauritz Weibull, favours a site in or near the Øresund; Andersen (1977, 104-5) gives an excellent concise summary of the debate.

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. Meissner = Meissner, Rudolf. 1921. Die Kenningar der Skalden: Ein Beitrag zur skaldischen Poetik. Rheinische Beiträge und Hülfsbücher zur germanischen Philologie und Volkskunde 1. Bonn and Leipzig: Schroeder. Rpt. 1984. Hildesheim etc.: Olms.
6. Flat 1860-8 = Gudbrand Vigfusson [Guðbrandur Vigfússon] and C. R. Unger, eds. 1860-8. Flateyjarbók. En samling af norske konge-sagaer med indskudte mindre fortællinger om begivenheder i og udenfor Norge samt annaler. 3 vols. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
7. ÓTOdd 1932 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1932. Saga Óláfs Tryggvasonar af Oddr Snorrason munk. Copenhagen: Gad.
8. ÍF 2 = Egils saga Skalla-Grímssonar. Ed. Sigurður Nordal. 1933.
9. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
10. Hkr 1893-1901 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1893-1901. Heimskringla: Nóregs konunga sǫgur af Snorri Sturluson. 4 vols. SUGNL 23. Copenhagen: Møller.
11. Fsk 1902-3 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1902-3. Fagrskinna: Nóregs kononga tal. SUGNL 30. Copenhagen: Møller.
12. Andersen, Per Sveaas. 1977. Samlingen av Norge og kristningen av landet 800-1130. Handbok i Norges historie 2. Bergen: Universitetsforlaget.
13. ÍF 29 = Ágrip af Nóregskonunga sǫgum; Fagrskinna—Nóregs konungatal. Ed. Bjarni Einarsson. 1985.
14. ÓT 1958-2000 = Ólafur Halldórsson, ed. 1958-2000. Saga Óláfs Tryggvasonar en mesta. 3 vols. EA A 1-3. Copenhagen: Munksgaard (Reitzel).
15. SkP I = Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Ed. Diana Whaley. 2012.
16. Konráð Gíslason, ed. 1892a. Udvalg af oldnordiske skjaldekvad, med anmærkninger. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
17. Megaard, John. 1999. ‘Hvor sto “Slaget i Hjǫrungavágr”? Jomsvikingeberetningens stedsnavn og Sæmundr fróði’. alv 9, 29-54.
18. Baetke, Walter. 1951. Christliches Lehngut in der Sagareligion: Das Svoldr-Problem. Berichte über die Verhandlungen der Sächsischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig, Phil.-Hist. Kl. 98 (6). Berlin: Akademie-Verlag.
19. Wood, Cecil. 1964. ‘Skúli Þorsteinsson’. SS 36, 175-88.
20. Rasmussen, Knud. 2000. ‘Slaget ved Svold/Sejerø år 1000’. Fra Holbæk Amt: Årbog for historisk samfund for Holbæk amt, 69-78.
21. Internal references
22. (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 25 April 2024)
23. 2022, ‘ Anonymous, Egils saga Skalla-Grímssonar’ in Margaret Clunies Ross, Kari Ellen Gade and Tarrin Wills (eds), Poetry in Sagas of Icelanders. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 5. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 162-389. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=14> (accessed 25 April 2024)
24. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta’ 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. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=60> (accessed 25 April 2024)
25. Diana Whaley 2012, ‘(Biography of) Óláfr Tryggvason’ 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. 383.
26. Kari Ellen Gade 2012, ‘ Halldórr ókristni, Eiríksflokkr’ 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. 469. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1267> (accessed 25 April 2024)
27. Tarrin Wills (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Lausavísur, Stanzas from the Third Grammatical Treatise 15’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 547.
28. Not published: do not cite ([Hfr Óldr 1y - for refence only])