Þhorn Harkv 9^I

‘Freistuðu ins framráða,         es þeim flýja kenndi,
allvalds austmanna,         es býr at Útsteini.
Stóðum Nǫkkva brá stillir,         es honum vas styrjar væni;
hlǫmmun vas á hlífum,         áðr Haklangr felli.

‘Freistuðu {ins framráða allvalds austmanna}, es kenndi þeim flýja, es býr at Útsteini. Stillir brá {stóðum Nǫkkva}, es honum vas væni styrjar; hlǫmmun vas á hlífum, áðr Haklangr felli.

‘They tested {the forward-striving mighty ruler of the Norwegians} [NORWEGIAN KING = Haraldr], who taught them to flee, who resides at Utstein. The ruler set in motion {the stud-horses of Nǫkkvi <sea-king>} [SHIPS] when he expected combat; there was thundering on shields before Haklangr fell.

Mss: Kˣ(62v), F(10vb), J1ˣ(35r), J2ˣ(35v) (Hkr); 51ˣ(4v), FskBˣ(5v), 302ˣ(7v), FskAˣ(16), 52ˣ(7r), 301ˣ(5v) (Fsk); Flat(76vb) (Flat)

Readings: [2] es (‘er’): at FskAˣ, 52ˣ, 301ˣ;    flýja: fylgja F    [3] ‑valds: so F, 51ˣ, FskBˣ, 302ˣ, FskAˣ, 52ˣ, 301ˣ, ‑valdr Kˣ, Flat, ‘‑vast’ J1ˣ, J2ˣ    [4] býr: byrr J1ˣ, J2ˣ;    at: á 51ˣ, FskBˣ, 302ˣ    [5] Stóðum: so 51ˣ, FskBˣ, 302ˣ, FskAˣ, 52ˣ, 301ˣ, stǫðum Kˣ, F, J1ˣ, J2ˣ, stóðu Flat;    Nǫkkva brá: nǫkkvar steindir er Flat    [6] es honum: átti enn Flat;    vas (‘var’): vôru FskAˣ, 52ˣ, 301ˣ, om. Flat;    væni: vænni J1ˣ, J2ˣ, væns FskBˣ, nenni Flat    [7] hlǫmmun: ‘glommon’ 51ˣ, FskBˣ, 302ˣ, ‘hlaumon’ FskAˣ;    hlífum: hlífðum 51ˣ, FskBˣ, 302ˣ, FskAˣ, 52ˣ, lofðum 301ˣ    [8] áðr: áðr en 51ˣ, FskBˣ, 302ˣ, FskAˣ, 52ˣ, 301ˣ

Editions: Skj AI, 26, Skj BI, 23, Skald I, 14-15; Hkr 1777-1826, I, 95, VI, 17, Hkr 1868, 62, Hkr 1893-1901, I, 124, IV, 35, ÍF 26, 116, Hkr 1991, I, 72 (HHárf ch. 18/19), F 1871, 48; Fsk 1902-3, 16-17 (ch. 2), ÍF 29, 68 (ch. 3); Fms 10, 190-1, Fms 12, 225-6, Flat 1860-8, I, 574 (HarHárf); Möbius 1860, 229, Jón Helgason 1946, 143-4, Jón Helgason 1968, 17-18.

Context: As for st. 7.

Notes: [3] austmanna ‘of the Norwegians’: Lit. ‘of East-men’. The context here points to Norwegians, but the term has somewhat fluctuating usage (see Fritzner: austmaðr; Notes to Þhorn Lv 1/8, Þfagr Sveinn 8/2^II). Þjóðólfr ór Hvini uses austrkonungr to refer to the king of Sweden (Þjóð Yt 13/19), and austmǫrk refers to Swedish land in Yt 14/9 (if this reading from J2ˣ is correct); this has been used as an argument against his authorship of Harkv (Sueti 1884, 17). — [4] Útsteini ‘Utstein’: A place north of Stavanger, Rogaland, where Haraldr gained an estate after the battle (cf. ÍF 26, 143). Hence, Haraldr rules in both the east and the west in Norway (Koht 1955, 22) and the references to Utstein here and to Kvinnar in st. 5/2 point to the peripatetic nature of early kingship. On Útsteinn, see further Note to Sigv Erlfl 5/7. — [5] stóðum ‘stud-horses’: I.e. groups of stallion and mares. The mss of Hkr read stǫðum (dat. pl.) ‘places’, which is adopted in most eds, and already in Munch and Unger (1847, 112). Hkr 1991 then tentatively interprets brá stǫðum nǫkkva to mean ‘changed the position of the ships’; cf. Nygaard (1875, 316), ‘launched the ship from the land’. Yet Jón Helgason (1968, 17) remarks that o in the inflectional syllable of ‘stoðom’ (and similar) in the transcripts of Fsk indicates that the root vowel intended in that text is ó not ǫ. Certainly, in any case, the root vowel in the transcripts of Fsk is consistently spelt <o>, in contrast with the Hkr forms. — [5] stillir ‘the ruler’: Fsk 1902-3 and Skj B omit, presumably on metrical grounds. — [8] Haklangr: According to Hkr (ÍF 26, 114), his full name was Þórir haklangr and he was the son of Kjǫtvi (cf. st. 7/4 and Note) and a great berserk. The epithet probably means ‘having a long chin’, though Lind (1920-1, 130-1) takes it to mean ‘tall man with hare-lip or cleft palate’. He may be the same Haklangr mentioned on a C10th rune stone from Lolland (von See 1961b, 110). Storm (1880) would instead identify him with Óláfr, son of Guðrøðr Rǫgnvaldsson, king of Dublin according to Irish sources.

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. 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.
6. 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.
7. Lind, Eric Henrik. 1920-1. Norsk-isländska personbinamn från medeltiden: samlade ock utgivna med forkläringar. Uppsala: Lundequist.
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. ÍF 29 = Ágrip af Nóregskonunga sǫgum; Fagrskinna—Nóregs konungatal. Ed. Bjarni Einarsson. 1985.
14. Munch, P. A. and C. R. Unger, eds. 1847. Oldnorsk læsebog med tilhörende glossarium. Christiania (Oslo): Dahl.
15. Möbius, Theodor. 1860. Edda Sæmundar hins fróða. Mit einem Anhang bisher ungedruckter Gedichte. Leipzig: Hinrichs.
16. See, Klaus von. 1961b. ‘Studien zum Haraldskvæði’. ANF 76, 96-111. Rpt. in von See 1981a, 295-310.
17. Koht, Halvdan. 1955. Harald Hårfagre og rikssamlinga. Oslo: Aschehoug.
18. Jón Helgason, ed. 1968. Skjaldevers. 3rd edn. Copenhagen: Munksgaard.
19. Nygaard, Marius. 1875. Udvalg af den norröne literatur for latin- og realgymnasier. Bergen: Giertsen.
20. Jón Helgason. 1946. ‘Haraldskvæði’. Tímarit Máls og menningar, 131-46.
21. Storm, Gustav. 1880. ‘Om slaget i Hafrsfjord’. HT(N) 2, 313-31.
22. Sueti, Friedrich. 1884. Ueber die auf den König Haraldr Hárfagri bezüglichen Gedichtfragmente in der norwegischen Königschronik Fagrskinna. Leipzig: August Press.
23. Hkr 1777-1826 = Schöning, Gerhard et al., eds. 1777-1826. Heimskringla edr Noregs konunga-sögor. 6 vols. Copenhagen: Stein.
24. Hkr 1868 = Unger, C. R., ed. 1868. Heimskringla eller Norges kongesagaer af Snorre Sturlassøn. Christiania (Oslo): Brøgger & Christie.
25. Internal references
26. (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 26 April 2024)
27. (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 26 April 2024)
28. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Haralds þáttr hárfagra’ 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=137> (accessed 26 April 2024)
29. (forthcoming), ‘ Heimskringla, Haralds saga hárfagra’ 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=140> (accessed 26 April 2024)
30. Edith Marold 2017, ‘(Biography of) Þjóðólfr ór Hvini’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 431.
31. R. D. Fulk 2012, ‘ Þorbjǫrn hornklofi, Haraldskvæði (Hrafnsmál)’ 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. 91. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1436> (accessed 26 April 2024)
32. Judith Jesch (ed.) 2012, ‘Sigvatr Þórðarson, Flokkr about Erlingr Skjálgsson 5’ 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. 636.
33. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Þorleikr fagri, Flokkr about Sveinn Úlfsson 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, p. 320.
34. Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2012, ‘Þorbjǫrn hornklofi, Lausavísa 1’ 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. 117.
35. Edith Marold (ed.) 2012, ‘Þjóðólfr ór Hvini, Ynglingatal 13’ 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. 29.
36. Edith Marold (ed.) 2012, ‘Þjóðólfr ór Hvini, Ynglingatal 14’ 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. 31.