Þfagr Sveinn 8^II

Allt of frák, hvé elti
austmenn á veg flausta
Sveinn, þás siklingr annarr,
snarlundaðr, helt undan.
Fengr varð Þrœnda þengils
— þeir léttu skip fleiri —
allr á éli sollnu
Jótlandshafi fljóta.

Allt of frák, hvé snarlundaðr Sveinn elti austmenn á {veg flausta}, þás annarr siklingr helt undan. Allr fengr {þengils Þrœnda} varð fljóta á éli sollnu Jótlandshafi; þeir léttu fleiri skip.

I heard it all, how quick-tempered Sveinn pursued the Norwegians on {the path of ships} [SEA], when the other prince steered away. All the loot {of the lord of the Þrœndir} [NORWEGIAN KING = Haraldr] had to float on the hail-swollen Kattegat; they emptied more ships [of their cargo].

Mss: Mork(9v) (Mork); Flat(198rb) (Flat); H(46r), Hr(33ra) (H-Hr); FskBˣ(72v-73r), FskAˣ(270-271) (Fsk); Kˣ(544v), 39(24ra), F(46ra-b), E(16v), J2ˣ(272r) (Hkr)

Readings: [1] Allt: All FskAˣ;    of frák hvé: frák hvé Hr, frá hitt hví FskBˣ, opt frák hvé FskAˣ    [2] aust‑: austr‑ 39, F, E    [3] þás (‘þa er’): en Kˣ, 39, F, E, J2ˣ;    siklingr: ǫðlingr Flat, ‘siglingr’ Hr;    annarr: undan annarr Hr    [4] snar‑: ǫr‑ Flat    [5] varð: var Flat, FskBˣ    [6] léttu: létu Flat, H, Hr, Kˣ, 39, F, E, J2ˣ    [7] á: í Flat, FskBˣ;    sollnu: sollinn Hr    [8] ‑hafi: om. Flat;    fljóta: ljótu Flat

Editions: Skj AI, 398, Skj BI, 367, Skald I, 183; Mork 1867, 59, Mork 1928-32, 168, Andersson and Gade 2000, 203, 476 (MH); Flat 1860-8, III, 342 (MH); Fms 6, 264 (HSig ch. 52); ÍF 29, 260 (ch. 55); ÍF 28, 117-18 (HSig ch. 35), F 1871, 214, E 1916, 57-8.

Context: Haraldr sailed from Denmark to Norway with Sveinn Úlfsson in hot pursuit. Sveinn gained on Haraldr, and Haraldr threw spoils and captives overboard. When the Danes stopped to retrieve the booty, Haraldr got away.

Notes: [All]: For this ruse, see Note to Grani Har 1/2. — [2] austmenn ‘Norwegians’: Lit. ‘east-men’. In Iceland and the Orkneys, the term austmaðr was used to designate a Norwegian. — [6] léttu (3rd pers. pl. pret. indic.) ‘emptied’: The Hkr mss, Flat, H and Hr all have létu (3rd pers. pl. pret. indic. of láta) ‘lost’ for léttu ‘emptied, lightened’: þeir létu fleiri skip ‘they lost more ships’ (so Skj B; Skald; ÍF 28; ÍF 29). However, the ms. witnesses indicate that this reading is secondary. Furthermore, it is not said that any ships perished during this encounter, and all the prose texts contain the verb létta ‘empty, lighten’: þá bað hann sína menn létta skipin ‘then he [Haraldr] told his men to empty the ships’ (ÍF 28, 117; so also ÍF 29, 259; Mork 1928-32, 167; Flat 1860-8, III, 342; Fms 6, 263). — [8] Jótlandshafi ‘Kattegat’: The sea between Jylland, Denmark, and the western coast of Sweden.

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. 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. 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. Mork 1928-32 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1928-32. Morkinskinna. SUGNL 53. Copenhagen: Jørgensen.
8. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
9. F 1871 = Unger, C. R., ed. 1871. Fríssbók: Codex Frisianus. En samling af norske konge-sagaer. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
10. E 1916 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1916. Eirspennill: AM 47 fol. Nóregs konunga sǫgur: Magnús góði – Hákon gamli. Kristiania (Oslo): Den norske historiske kildeskriftskommission.
11. ÍF 29 = Ágrip af Nóregskonunga sǫgum; Fagrskinna—Nóregs konungatal. Ed. Bjarni Einarsson. 1985.
12. 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.
13. Internal references
14. (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 19 April 2024)
15. (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 19 April 2024)
16. (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 19 April 2024)
17. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Grani skáld, Poem about Haraldr harðráði 1’ 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. 296-7.