ÞKolb Eirdr 9^I

Veitk, fyr Erling útan
ár at hersar vôru
(lofak fasta Tý) flestir
(farlands) vinir jarla.
Enn ept víg frá Veigu
— velk orð at styr — norðan
land eða lengra stundu
lagðisk suðr til Agða.

Veitk, at flestir hersar, fyr útan Erling, vôru ár vinir jarla; lofak {Tý {fasta {farlands}}}. Enn ept víg lagðisk land norðan frá Veigu suðr til Agða eða stundu lengra; velk orð at styr.

I know that most hersar, other than Erlingr, were previously friends of the jarls; I praise {the Týr <god> {of the fire {of the vessel-land}}} [SEA > GOLD > MAN = Eiríkr]. And after the battle the land was subjected from Vega in the north south as far as Agder or somewhat further; I choose words about the battle.

Mss: Kˣ(217v), F(37ra), J1ˣ(135r-v), J2ˣ(118r), 325XI 2 i(1va) (Hkr); 61(70ra-b), 53(66vb), 54(68rb), 325VIII 2 g(2rb), Bb(103vb), Flat(71rb) (ÓT); FskBˣ(39v) (ll. 1-4), FskBˣ(38r) (ll. 5-8), FskAˣ(150) (ll. 1-4), FskAˣ(146) (ll. 5-8) (Fsk); R(37r), Tˣ(38v), A(13r), C(6r) (SnE, ll. 5-8)

Readings: [1] Veitk (‘veit ec’): veit 325XI 2 i    [3] lofak (‘lofa ec’): lofa 61, 53, 54, 325VIII 2 g, Bb, Flat, FskAˣ(150);    fasta: om. Bb;    Tý: om. Flat;    flestir: flestar FskBˣ(39v)    [4] jarla: jarli 325XI 2 i, FskBˣ(39v)    [5] ept: ef F, 325XI 2 i, oft 54, 325VIII 2 g, Bb;    víg: vígs A;    frá: þat er Flat, þau FskAˣ(146), fram R, Tˣ;    Veigu: Veigi 61, 53, 54, 325VIII 2 g, Flat, vegi Bb, vôguð FskAˣ(146), veigum C    [6] velk (‘vel ec’): vel 325XI 2 i, vant er FskBˣ(38r), FskAˣ(146), R, Tˣ, A, C;    at: om. FskBˣ(38r), of FskAˣ(146);    styr: staf Flat, gram FskBˣ(38r), FskAˣ(146)    [7] land: lands F, FskBˣ(38r);    eða: æ J2ˣ, ok 54, 325VIII 2 g, Bb, eðr Flat;    lengra: lengri 54, 325VIII 2 g, Bb, Flat;    stundu: stundum 325XI 2 i    [8] lagðisk: lagði F, 325XI 2 i, lagðir A

Editions: Skj AI, 215, Skj BI, 204, Skald I, 107; Hkr 1893-1901, I, 458, IV, 104, ÍF 26, 371, Hkr 1991, I, 252 (ÓTHkr ch. 113), F 1871, 167; ÓT 1958-2000, II, 300 (ch. 260), Flat 1860-8, I, 533; Fsk 1902-3, 134, 138 (chs 23, 24), ÍF 29, 163, 166 (chs 25, 26); SnE 1848-87, I, 474, II, 448, 593, SnE 1931, 167, SnE 1998, I, 86, 209.

Context: After the battle of Svǫlðr, Norway is divided betweeen Eiríkr jarl, King Sveinn tjúguskegg ‘Fork-beard’ of Denmark, and King Óláfr sœnski ‘the Swede’. Hkr and ÓT cite this and st. 10. Fsk cites st. 9/5-8, forming a stanza with st. 10/5-8, at this point, then cites st. 9/1-4 as an isolated helmingr in a later account of Eiríkr jarl’s raiding activities and his rule in Norway. In SnE (Skm), the second helmingr is cited in a section on terms for ‘earth’, here land.

Notes: [All]: On the configuration of helmingar in Hkr and Fsk, see Context above and Introduction. — [1] Erling ‘Erlingr’: Erlingr Skjálgsson, Óláfr Tryggvason’s brother-in-law; see Sigv Erl, Sigv Erlfl and Introductions to these. — [5] Veigu ‘Vega’: An island in Hålogaland, northern Norway. The (nom. sg.) form Veig also occurs: see Þul Islands 1/6^III. — [6] velk orð at styr ‘I choose words about the battle’: (a) This, the reading of all Hkr and ÓT mss except for Flat, is also adopted in ÍF 26 and Hkr 1991. (b) Vants orð at styr ‘careful is [my] word about the battle’ in the SnE mss and vants orð of gram ‘careful is [my] word about the ruler’ in Fsk are both possible alternative intercalaries. (c) Finnur Jónsson (Hkr 1893-1901; Skj B) and Kock (Skald) take velk orð ‘I choose words’ as the intercalary, and read und gram norðan, as a slightly emended version of FskAˣ’s of (‘um’) gram norðan, which they construe with the main clause to give en ept víg lagðisk land und gram norðan frá Veigu … ‘and after the battle the land was placed under the ruler from Vega in the north…’. Und gram provides a suitable completion for lagðisk ‘was placed, subdued’, but emendation is not justified here. — [7] stundu ‘somewhat’: Stund f. normally refers to a period of time, but can designate a short distance (Fritzner: stund 5). Finnur Jónsson in Skj B and LP: stund takes stundu rather as an intensifier, ‘considerably’.

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. SnE 1848-87 = Snorri Sturluson. 1848-87. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar: Edda Snorronis Sturlaei. Ed. Jón Sigurðsson et al. 3 vols. Copenhagen: Legatum Arnamagnaeanum. Rpt. Osnabrück: Zeller, 1966.
4. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 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. 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. 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. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
9. Hkr 1893-1901 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1893-1901. Heimskringla: Nóregs konunga sǫgur af Snorri Sturluson. 4 vols. SUGNL 23. Copenhagen: Møller.
10. Hkr 1991 = Bergljót S. Kristjánsdóttir et al., eds. 1991. Heimskringla. 3 vols. Reykjavík: Mál og menning.
11. F 1871 = Unger, C. R., ed. 1871. Fríssbók: Codex Frisianus. En samling af norske konge-sagaer. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
12. Fsk 1902-3 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1902-3. Fagrskinna: Nóregs kononga tal. SUGNL 30. Copenhagen: Møller.
13. SnE 1931 = Snorri Sturluson. 1931. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
14. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
15. ÍF 29 = Ágrip af Nóregskonunga sǫgum; Fagrskinna—Nóregs konungatal. Ed. Bjarni Einarsson. 1985.
16. ÓT 1958-2000 = Ólafur Halldórsson, ed. 1958-2000. Saga Óláfs Tryggvasonar en mesta. 3 vols. EA A 1-3. Copenhagen: Munksgaard (Reitzel).
17. Internal references
18. Edith Marold 2017, ‘Snorra Edda (Prologue, Gylfaginning, Skáldskaparmál)’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols [check printed volume for citation].
19. (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 20 April 2024)
20. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Fagrskinna’ 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=56> (accessed 20 April 2024)
21. (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 20 April 2024)
22. (forthcoming), ‘ Snorri Sturluson, Skáldskaparmál’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=112> (accessed 20 April 2024)
23. 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.
24. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Heiti for islands 1’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 994.
25. Judith Jesch 2012, ‘ Sigvatr Þórðarson, Poem about Erlingr Skjálgsson’ 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. 628. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1354> (accessed 20 April 2024)
26. Judith Jesch 2012, ‘ Sigvatr Þórðarson, Flokkr about Erlingr Skjálgsson’ 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. 629. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1355> (accessed 20 April 2024)