Þfisk Lv 2^II

Heyr á uppreist orða,
ótvínn konungr, mína!
Gaf mér gull it rauða
gramr; vas þat fyr skǫmmu.
Saddir ǫrn, ok eyddir
ǫrum blámanna fjǫrvi;
gall styrfengins stillis
strengr; vas þat fyr lengra.

Ótvínn konungr, heyr á uppreist orða mína! Gramr gaf mér it rauða gull; þat vas fyr skǫmmu. Saddir ǫrn, ok eyddir fjǫrvi blámanna ǫrum; strengr styrfengins stillis gall; þat vas fyr lengra.

Unwavering king, hear the improvement of my poetry! The ruler gave me red gold; that was recently. You satiated the eagle, and destroyed the lives of dark men with arrows; the bowstring of the battle-fit lord resounded; that was longer ago.

Mss: Mork(17r) (Mork); Flat(202ra) (Flat); H(70r), Hr(50vb) (H-Hr)

Readings: [2] ótvínn: ‘ot vín’ Flat, ‘otvín’ H, ‘ottvín’ Hr    [3] Gaf mér gull it rauða: gæddir gull rauðan Flat;    rauða: vafða H    [5] ok: en Flat

Editions: Skj AI, 400, Skj BI, 369, Skald I, 184; Mork 1867, 102, Mork 1928-32, 249, Andersson and Gade 2000, 254, 479-80 (MH); Flat 1860-8, III, 378 (MH); Fms 6, 386 (HSig ch. 108).

Context: As st. 1 above. Haraldr has just given Þorgils a gold ring as a reward for his previous st.

Notes: [1] uppreist ‘the improvement’: The word can mean ‘improvement, restoration, increasing power and honour’ or ‘insurrection’ (see Fritzner: uppreist). Skj B translates uppreist orða as mitt ordelag ‘my wording’. Þorgils has just composed one st. about Haraldr, and he now suggests that he will produce another, even better st. in his honour. See also Note to Mark Eirdr 21/1. — [1] orða ‘of my poetry’: Lit. ‘of the words’. — [2] ótvínn ‘unwavering’: Lit. ‘undivided’. For this word, see Notes to ÞjóðA Magnfl 18/2 and Steinn Óldr 5/2. — [3] it rauða gull ‘red gold’: Lit. ‘the red gold’. It vafða gull ‘the wound gold’ (so H) restores the internal rhyme, but that reading is clearly secondary and must have been inspired by st. 1/6 above. — [5-8]: The second helmingr refers to Haraldr’s exploits in the Varangian army in Byzantium. — [6] blámanna ‘of dark men’: The inhabitants of North Africa. See also Bǫlv Hardr 5/4 and Hskv Útkv 1/7.

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. 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. Mork 1928-32 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1928-32. Morkinskinna. SUGNL 53. Copenhagen: Jørgensen.
9. 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.
10. Internal references
11. (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 24 April 2024)
12. (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 24 April 2024)
13. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Bǫlverkr Arnórsson, Drápa about Haraldr harðráði 5’ 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. 290-1.
14. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Halldórr skvaldri, Útfararkviða 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. 482-3.
15. Jayne Carroll (ed.) 2009, ‘Markús Skeggjason, Eiríksdrápa 21’ 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. 450.
16. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Steinn Herdísarson, Óláfsdrápa 5’ 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. 371-2.
17. Diana Whaley (ed.) 2009, ‘Þjóðólfr Arnórsson, Magnússflokkr 18’ 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. 85-6.