Steinn Nizv 5^II

Undrs, ef eigi reyndu
ǫrmóts viðir gǫrva
— bǫrðumk vér ok vǫrðum
víða grund — of síðir,
hvárt hugfylldir halda
— hrafn fekk gnótt í óttu
nás fyr Nizar ósi —
Norðmenn Harald þorðu.

Undrs, ef {viðir {ǫrmóts}} reyndu eigi gǫrva of síðir—vér bǫrðumk ok vǫrðum víða grund—, hvárt hugfylldir Norðmenn þorðu halda Harald; hrafn fekk gnótt nás í óttu fyr Nizar ósi.

It is a marvel if {the trees {of the arrow-meeting}} [BATTLE > WARRIORS] finally did not experience fully—we fought and defended the wide land—, whether the courage-filled Norwegians dared to protect Haraldr; the raven got plenty of carrion at dawn before the mouth of the Nissan.

Mss: FskBˣ(75r-v), FskAˣ(279) (Fsk); Mork(13r) (Mork); Flat(200va) (Flat); H(56v), Hr(41rb) (H-Hr)

Readings: [1] Undrs ef (‘Vndr er ef’): Undr var er Flat;    reyndu: fundu Mork, Flat, kenndu H, Hr    [2] ‑móts: ‑njóts Hr;    viðir: vinir Hr    [3] bǫrðumk: bǫrðusk Flat;    ok vǫrðum: so FskAˣ, ok vǫrðumk FskBˣ, þeir er vǫrðu Mork, H, þá er vǫrðum Flat, þeir vǫrðu Hr    [4] síðir: ‘siði’ H    [5] hvárt: hvar Mork, Flat, þá er H, Hr;    hugfylldir halda: herskildi seldu Mork, herskildi heldu Flat, H, Hr    [6] hrafn: hrafns Mork;    fekk: om. Hr;    gnótt: ‘nog’ Flat    [7] Nizar: Niðar Flat    [8] þorðu: forðum Mork, Flat, H, fóru Hr

Editions: Skj AI, 408, Skj BI, 377-8, Skald I, 188, NN §§887, 1145; ÍF 29, 267 (ch. 57); Mork 1867, 79, Mork 1928-32, 211, Andersson and Gade 2000, 229-30, 478 (MH); Flat III, 1860-8, 363 (MH); Fms 6, 317 (HSig ch. 78).

Context: The Norwegians stood densely around Haraldr and fought bravely.

Notes: [All]: Kock (NN §1145) argues that the Mork version is secondary, because hvar herskildi heldu lit. ‘where with the war-shield protected’ (l. 5) echoes st. 7/7 below (þeirs herskildi heldu ‘those who held the war-shield’). However, because that st. is only transmitted in Knýtl, it is difficult to see how it could have found its way into Mork (see Fidjestøl 1982, 59-60). — [All]: Mork, Flat, H and Hr offer a different version of the st., which can be rendered as follows (with Mork as the main ms.):

Undrs, ef eigi fundu ǫrmóts viðir gǫrva, — bǫrðumk vér — þeirs vǫrðu víða grund, of síðir,

hvar herskildi heldu — hrafn fekk gnótt í óttu nás fyr Nizar ósi — Norðmenn Haraldr forðum.

Prose order: Undrs, ef viðir ǫrmóts, þeirs vǫrðu víða grund, fundu eigi gǫrva of síðir—vér bǫrðumk—, hvar Norðmenn heldu Harald herskildi forðum; hrafn fekk gnótt nás í óttu fyr Nizar ósi. Translation: It is a marvel if the trees of the arrow-meeting [WARRIORS], who defended the wide land, finally did not learn fully—we fought—, where the Norwegians protected Haraldr with the war-shield in olden times; the raven got plenty of carrion at dawn before the mouth of the Nissan. — [5] halda ‘protect’: For this meaning of halda (with the acc.), see Fritzner: halda 19. For a discussion of the st., see Fidjestøl 1982, 59-60.

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. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
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. Fidjestøl, Bjarne. 1982. Det norrøne fyrstediktet. Universitet i Bergen Nordisk institutts skriftserie 11. Øvre Ervik: Alvheim & Eide.
7. Fritzner = Fritzner, Johan. 1883-96. Ordbog over det gamle norske sprog. 3 vols. Kristiania (Oslo): Den norske forlagsforening. 4th edn. Rpt. 1973. Oslo etc.: Universitetsforlaget.
8. Mork 1928-32 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1928-32. Morkinskinna. SUGNL 53. Copenhagen: Jørgensen.
9. ÍF 29 = Ágrip af Nóregskonunga sǫgum; Fagrskinna—Nóregs konungatal. Ed. Bjarni Einarsson. 1985.
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, Knýtlinga 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=19> (accessed 27 April 2024)
13. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Flateyjarbók’ 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=44> (accessed 27 April 2024)
14. (forthcoming), ‘ Heimskringla, Haralds saga Sigurðssonar’ 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=142> (accessed 27 April 2024)
15. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Magnúss saga góða ok Haralds harðráða’ 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=147> (accessed 27 April 2024)