Steinn Úlffl 1^II

Hét á oss, þás úti,
Ulfr, hákesjur skulfu,
— róðr vas greiddr á grœði —
grams stallari alla.
Vel bað skip með skylja
skeljeggjaðr framm leggja
sitt, en seggir jôttu,
snjalls landreka spjalli.

Ulfr, stallari grams, hét á oss alla, þás {hákesjur} skulfu úti; róðr vas greiddr á grœði. Skeljeggjaðr spjalli snjalls landreka bað leggja skip sitt vel framm með skylja, en seggir jôttu.

Úlfr, the king’s marshal, called on us all when {oarport-spears} [OARS] trembled out at sea; the rowing was accelerated on the ocean. The keen-minded confidant of the brave land-ruler commanded that his ship should advance briskly alongside the lord, and the men concurred.

Mss: Kˣ(560r), F(48vb), E(21r), J2ˣ(282v) (Hkr); FskBˣ(75r), FskAˣ(278) (Fsk); Mork(12v-13r) (Mork); Flat(200rb) (Flat); H(56r), Hr(40vb) (H-Hr); 570a(24v)

Readings: [1] þás (‘þa er’): þar er FskBˣ, om. Flat, er 570a;    úti: ítri Flat, ýtti 570a    [2] há‑: þá er Flat    [6] skeljeggjaðr: skeleggjaðr Kˣ, F, J2ˣ, FskBˣ, Mork, Flat, H, Hr, 570a, skeleggjar E, ‘skalæggiaðr’ FskAˣ;    leggja: ‘leggiadr’ Flat    [7] jôttu: ttu E, ‘lotto’ FskAˣ    [8] snjalls: snjallr Flat;    spjalli: spjalla E, FskBˣ, FskAˣ

Editions: Skj AI, 409, Skj BI, 378, Skald I, 188, NN §1146; ÍF 28, 147 (HSig ch. 61), F 1871, 228, E 1916, 74; ÍF 29, 266 (ch. 57); Mork 1867, 78, Mork 1928-32, 209, Andersson and Gade 2000, 228, 477 (MH); Flat 1860-8, III, 362 (MH); Fms 6, 314-15 (HSig ch. 77); HÍ 1873, 254, HÍ 1952, 27 (HÍ).

Context: Úlfr’s ship advanced alongside the ship of King Haraldr harðráði at the battle of the Nissan.

Notes: [1] þás úti ‘when out at sea’: Skj B connects this with l. 3: róðr vas greiddr úti á grœði ‘the rowing was accelerated out on the ocean’ (so also ÍF 29). That interpretation creates a convoluted w. o. (see NN §1146), and the adverb úti in itself means ‘out at sea’ (see Fritzner: úti 2; Steinn Óldr 9/1). — [2] hákesjur ‘oarport-spears [OARS]’: For this interpretation, see Perkins 1986-9a, 114 and Jesch 2001a, 154. The cpd could also be taken to mean ‘tall spears’ (so earlier eds), but the present interpretation fits the context better. For kesja ‘spear’, see Falk 1914, 78-80. — [6] skeljeggjaðr ‘keen-minded’: The restoration of the older form of this word is necessary because the metre requires a long first syllable (see Kuhn 1937, 59-60). — [8] snjalls landreka ‘of the brave land-ruler’: I.e. of Haraldr.

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. Fms = Sveinbjörn Egilsson et al., eds. 1825-37. Fornmanna sögur eptir gömlum handritum útgefnar að tilhlutun hins norræna fornfræða fèlags. 12 vols. Copenhagen: Popp.
4. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
5. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
6. 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.
7. Jesch, Judith. 2001a. Ships and Men in the Late Viking Age: The Vocabulary of Runic Inscriptions and Skaldic Verse. Woodbridge: Boydell.
8. Falk, Hjalmar, ed. 1914a. Sólarljóð. Videnskapsselskapets skrifter II. Hist.-filos. kl. 7. 2 vols. Kristiania (Oslo): Dybwad.
9. 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.
10. 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.
11. Mork 1928-32 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1928-32. Morkinskinna. SUGNL 53. Copenhagen: Jørgensen.
12. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
13. F 1871 = Unger, C. R., ed. 1871. Fríssbók: Codex Frisianus. En samling af norske konge-sagaer. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
14. E 1916 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1916. Eirspennill: AM 47 fol. Nóregs konunga sǫgur: Magnús góði – Hákon gamli. Kristiania (Oslo): Den norske historiske kildeskriftskommission.
15. HÍ 1873 = Gustav Storm, ed. 1873. Snorre Sturlassöns historieskrivning, en kritisk undersögelse, 236-60. Copenhagen: Luno.
16. HÍ 1952 = Jón Helgason and Jakob Benediktsson, eds. 1952. Hákonar saga Ívarssonar. SUGNL 62. Copenhagen: Jørgensen.
17. ÍF 29 = Ágrip af Nóregskonunga sǫgum; Fagrskinna—Nóregs konungatal. Ed. Bjarni Einarsson. 1985.
18. Kuhn, Hans (1899). 1937. ‘Zum Vers- und Satzbau der Skalden’. ZDA 74, 49-63. Rpt. in Kuhn (1899) 1969-78, I, 468-84.
19. 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.
20. Perkins, Richard. 1986-9a. ‘Steigar-Þórir’s Couplet and Steinn Herdísarson II: Notes and Queries’. SBVS 22, 109-15.
21. Internal references
22. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Hákonar saga Ívarssonar’ 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=141> (accessed 27 April 2024)
23. (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)
24. (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)
25. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Steinn Herdísarson, Óláfsdrápa 9’ 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. 375-6.