Stefnir Lv 1I
Diana Whaley (ed.) 2012, ‘Stefnir Þorgilsson, Lausavísur 1’ 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. 448.
mun ‘’
(not checked:)
munu (verb): will, must
eigi ‘’
(not checked:)
3. eigi (adv.): not
mun ‘’
(not checked:)
munu (verb): will, must
ei ‘’
(not checked:)
3. ei (adv.): not
máka ‘’
(not checked:)
mega (verb): may, might
Munkat ‘I will not’
(not checked:)
munu (verb): will, must
[1] Munkat: máka Holm18, ei mun 62, eigi mun Flat
nefna ‘name’
(not checked:)
2. nefna (verb): mention, name, call
nerr ‘’
nærr ‘’
(not checked:)
nærr (adv.)
munk ‘I will’
(not checked:)
munu (verb): will, must
stefna ‘aim’
(not checked:)
2. stefna (verb): aim, summon
niðrbjúgt ‘down-curved’
(not checked:)
niðrbjúgr (adj.): [down-curved]
es ‘is’
(not checked:)
2. er (conj.): who, which, when
nef ‘the nose’
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nef (noun n.; °-s; -, gen. -ja): nose, beak
sem ‘’
(not checked:)
sem (conj.): as, which
níðingi ‘the traitor’
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níðingr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i/-; -ar): villian, scoundrel
notes
[4] níðingi ‘the traitor’: The unnamed target of the stanza is Sigvaldi jarl Strút-Haraldsson, one of the leaders of the Jómsvíkingar and present at the famous battle of Hjǫrungavágr (Liavågen), c. 985.
þenn ‘’
þanns ‘the one who’
[5] þanns (‘þann er’): ‘þenn er’ FskAˣ, sá er 61, þeim er 53, 54, Bb, 62, Flat
Svein ‘Sveinn’
(not checked:)
2. Sveinn (noun m.): Sveinn
konung ‘King’
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konungr (noun m.; °dat. -i, -s; -ar): king
sveik ‘tricked’
(not checked:)
svíkja (verb): betray, deceive
ór ‘from’
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3. ór (prep.): out of
landi ‘his realm’
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land (noun n.; °-s; *-): land
en ‘’
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4. en (conj.): than
trygga ‘’
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tryggr (adj.; °tryggan/tryggvan; compar. -ari/-vari; superl. -jastr/-astr): loyal
triggja ‘’
(not checked:)
tryggja (verb)
kennings
son Tryggva‘the son of Tryggvi ’
= Óláfr
the son of Tryggvi → Óláfr
son ‘the son’
(not checked:)
sonr (noun m.; °-ar, dat. syni; synir, acc. sonu, syni): son
kennings
son Tryggva‘the son of Tryggvi ’
= Óláfr
the son of Tryggvi → Óláfr
á ‘into’
(not checked:)
3. á (prep.): on, at
tálar ‘a trap’
(not checked:)
1. tál (noun f.; °-ar; -ar): deceit
notes
[8] tálar ‘a trap’: The noun is f. acc. pl. (nom. sg. tôl ‘deceit’); it frequently occurs in the pl. (see LP: tôl).
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ÓTOdd cites the stanza as part of the long-term build-up to the battle of Svǫlðr, in the context of a meeting in which Óláfr Tryggvason accepts an assurance from Sigvaldi jarl of Jómsborg that there is no plan to ambush him. In Fsk too, the setting is the prelude to the battle of Svǫlðr, but the immediate context is the moment when Óláfr Tryggvason finds his ships hemmed in by those of Sigvaldi jarl. In Kristni and ÓT the stanza is spoken when Stefnir has travelled to Rome and back to Denmark following the loss of his liege Óláfr Tryggvason. ÓT specifies that he comes upon Sigvaldi jarl and on seeing him speaks the stanza. Kristni and ÓT follow the stanza by saying that Sigvaldi thought he recognised an allusion to himself in it and had Stefnir executed (solely for that reason, according to ÓT); Kristni adds, svá hefir Ari enn gamli sagt ‘so Ari the Old has said’. In ÓTOdd (Holm18) the retribution is not immediate; Sigvaldi resolves to trap Stefnir, and this leads into the episode containing Stefnir Lv 2.
For the sea-battle at Svǫlðr (c. 1000) and other skaldic poetry associated with it, see the entry on Óláfr Tryggvason in ‘Ruler biographies’ in Introduction to this volume. — In this reading, acc. sg. þanns ‘the one who’ (l. 5) is object of munkat nefna ‘I will not name’ (l. 1). The dat. sg. variant þeim er (normalised þeims) would have níðingi ‘traitor’ (l. 4) as its antecedent, giving a smoother construction in which ll. 2-4 are not intercalated, and qui in the Lat. version gives the same construction (see Note to OSnorr Lv 1 [All]). The intercalary, however, has the fortunate effect of imitating an aside. — [7-8]: Cf. OSnorr Lv 1/7-8 et filium Tryggva | traxit in dolo ‘and drew the son of Tryggvi on treacherously’ (and see Note). Sigvaldi jarl plots with Óláfr’s Norwegian, Danish and Swedish enemies to persuade Óláfr Tryggvason that no forces are gathering against him; as a result Óláfr disbands his army (ÍF 25, 306-11). He is therefore undermanned when battle comes at Svǫlðr.
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