Sturl Hrafn 6^II

Fyst tók fjörleystum
fróðr af Nesþjóðum
gjöld inn griðmildi
gætir norðsætra.
Öll var ógnfallin
öld af stórvöldum
hrædd við herklæddan
herði böðgerðar.

Fyst tók {fróðr gætir norðsætra}, inn griðmildi, gjöld af fjörleystum Nesþjóðum. Öll öld var ógnfallin af stórvöldum, hrædd við {herklæddan herði böðgerðar}.

First {the wise protector of the northern settlements} [NORWEGIAN KING = Hákon], the one generous with peace, took payments from the Ness-people who ransomed their lives. All men were terror-struck by the supreme power, afraid of {the war-clad strengthener of battle} [WARRIOR].

Mss: F(122rb), Flat(185rb) (Hák)

Readings: [1] ‑leystum: ‑lestir Flat    [3] gjöld: gjald Flat    [4] norð‑: vegs Flat    [6] af: so Flat, á F;    ‑völdum: so Flat, veldum F

Editions: Skj AII, 120-1, Skj BII, 128, Skald II, 69, NN §§108, 2291; F 1871, 572, Flat 1860-8, III, 220.

Context: Hákon sailed from Shetland to Ronaldsay in Orkney, and in early August he sent men to Caithness in Scotland to exact payments from the people there. In return he promised them peace and protection.

Notes: [1] fyst ‘first’: Earlier fyrst. An early example of assimilation rs > ss (see ANG §272.3). See also Sturl Hákfl 8/3 below. — [1] fjörleystum ‘who ransomed their lives’: Lit. ‘life-ransomed’. Hap. leg. — [2] Nesþjóðum ‘the Ness-people’: I.e. the people of Caithness, Scotland. — [3] gjöld (pl.) ‘payments’: So F. Skj B and Skald adopt gjald (sg.) ‘payment’ (so Flat). — [4] norðsætra ‘of the northern settlements’: Hap. leg. (but see Sveinn Norðdr^III). Cf. hafsætrum ‘in the sea-settlements’ in st. 11/3 below. The northern settlements refer to Hákon’s dominions (Norway, Iceland, Greenland). See also Sturl Hryn 20. — [5-8]: The w. o. of the second helmingr follows that of NN §2291. Skj B construes ǫll ǫld var, hrædd af stórvǫldum, ógnfallin við herklæddan… ‘all people were, frightened by the supreme power, terror-struck by the war-clad…’ . — [5] ógnfallin ‘terror-struck’: Hap. leg. — [6] stórvöldum ‘by the supreme power’: Lit. ‘by the great powers’. Hap. leg. The translation is conjectural. Konráð Gíslason (1895-7, I, 95) suggests den store magt ‘the great power’ and Skj B gives for den store magt (el. ved den store skyld, de selv havde begåt?) ‘by the great power (or by the great offence they themselves had committed?)’. LP: stórvald has megen magt, overmagt ‘much power, superior force’ with the option megen skyld ‘much guilt, blame’, and Kock (NN §108) provides the translation brott ‘crime’. According to the prose texts Hákon gave the people of Caithness the choice between friðr ‘peace’ or afarkostir ‘harsh conditions, retributions’. — [8] böðgerðar ‘of battle’: See LP: bǫðgǫrð. Kock’s attempt (NN §108) to construe the cpd as ‘sword’ is not persuasive.

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. 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.
6. ANG = Noreen, Adolf. 1923. Altnordische Grammatik I: Altisländische und altnorwegische Grammatik (Laut- und Flexionslehre) unter Berücksichtigung des Urnordischen. 4th edn. Halle: Niemeyer. 1st edn. 1884. 5th unrev. edn. 1970. Tübingen: Niemeyer.
7. 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.
8. F 1871 = Unger, C. R., ed. 1871. Fríssbók: Codex Frisianus. En samling af norske konge-sagaer. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
9. Konráð Gíslason. 1895-7. Efterladte skrifter. 2 vols. I: Forelæsninger over oldnordiske skjaldekvad. II: Forelæsninger og videnskablige afhandlinger. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
10. Internal references
11. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Sturla Þórðarson, Hákonarflokkr 8’ 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. 752-3.
12. Valgerður Erna Þorvaldsdóttir (ed.) 2009, ‘Sturla Þórðarson, Hrynhenda 20’ 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. 697.