Þfagr Sveinn 1^II

Fúrsendir vann fjǫndum
fjǫrspell í gný hjǫrva
(brôð fekk hrafn fyr Heiða-)
haukstorða (-bœ norðan).
Rôkusk Vinðr, en vákar
vals ginu þar und halsa,
— dauðr lá herr á heiði
hundmargr — fáir undan.

{{{Haukstorða} fúr}sendir}} vann fjǫndum fjǫrspell í {gný hjǫrva}; hrafn fekk brôð fyr norðan Heiðabœ. Fáir Vinðr rôkusk undan, en {vákar vals} ginu þar und halsa; hundmargr herr lá dauðr á heiði.

{The distributor {of the fire {of hawk-lands}}} [(lit. ‘the fire-distributor of hawk-lands’) ARMS > GOLD > GENEROUS MAN] inflicted death on enemies in {the din of swords} [BATTLE]; the raven got meat north of Hedeby. Few Wends got away, and {the buzzard-hawks of the slain} [RAVENS/EAGLES] gaped beneath necks there; a tremendously large host lay dead on the heath.

Mss: JÓ(38), 20dˣ(16r), 873ˣ(16r), 1005ˣ(3r), 19ˣ(1v) (Knýtl)

Readings: [1] Fúr‑: For‑ 873ˣ;    vann: var 20dˣ    [2] hjǫrva: ‘orfa’ 19ˣ    [3] fekk: þekk 20dˣ;    Heiða‑: herða 19ˣ    [5] Vinðr: ‘Vindar’ 19ˣ    [6] ginu: ‘gnyu’ 1005ˣ;    þar: þeir all;    und: um 1005ˣ, 19ˣ

Editions: Skj AI, 396, Skj BI, 365, Skald I, 182; JÓ 1741, 38-9, ÍF 35, 130 (ch. 22).

Context: According to the Knýtl prose, the st. documents the fact that that Sveinn Úlfsson fought alongside Magnús Óláfsson against the Wends in the battle of Lyrskovshede (28 September 1043).

Notes: [All]: No other source mentions that Sveinn participated in the battle of Lyrskovshede. Knýtl (ÍF 34, 130) states: Þat er sǫgn sumra manna, at Sveinn Úlfsson hafi verit í þeiri orrostu með Magnúsi konungi ok sætt þeira heldisk þá enn ‘Some people say that Sveinn Úlfsson was in that battle with King Magnús and that their agreement was still in effect then’. Lyrskovshede is present-day Lürschau, some kilometres north of Schleswig (then part of Denmark). — [2] fjǫrspell ‘death’: Lit. ‘life-destruction’. — [3, 4] fyr norðan Heiðabœ ‘north of Hedeby’: This prepositional phrase could also go with the first cl. (so Skj B; Skald). Hedeby is located in North Schleswig, present-day Germany. — [4] haukstorða ‘of hawk-lands [ARMS]’: Skj B and Skald emend to haukstorðar ‘of the hawk-land’ (i.e. ‘of the arm’). — [6] þar ‘there’: All mss have þeir (m. nom. pl.) ‘those’. Þeir could conceivably qualify vákar vals (ll. 5, 6) (þeir vákar vals ‘those buzzard-hawks of the slain’). That construction is very awkward, however, and the emendation to þar ‘there’ is in keeping with earlier eds. — [6] und ‘beneath’: Previous eds (except JÓ) adopt of (‘um’) ‘above’ (so 1005ˣ, 19ˣ), but that reading is lower on the stemma.

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. ÍF 34 = Orkneyinga saga. Ed. Finnbogi Guðmundsson. 1965.
5. ÍF 35 = Danakonunga sǫgur. Ed. Bjarni Guðnason. 1982.
6. JÓ 1741 = Jón Ólafsson, ed. 1741. Æfi dana-konunga eda Knytlinga saga: Historia Cnutidarum regum Daniæ. Copenhagen: [n. p.].
7. Internal references
8. (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 16 April 2024)