Þjóð Yt 20I
Edith Marold (ed.) 2012, ‘Þjóðólfr ór Hvini, Ynglingatal 20’ 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. 44.
Ok ‘And’
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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
Ingjald ‘Ingjaldr’
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Ingjaldr (noun m.): Ingjaldr
notes
[1] Ingjald ‘Ingjaldr’: Ingjaldr, with his nickname inn illráði ‘the Wicked’, is mentioned in the historical works Íslb (ÍF 1, 27) and Þáttr af Upplendinga konungum (Hb 1892-6, 456), as well as in fornaldarsögur such as Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks (FSGJ 2, 67) and Þorsteins saga Víkingssonar (FSGJ 3, 20).
ífjǫrvan ‘alive’
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ífjǫrr (adj.): [alive]
notes
[2] ífjǫrvan ‘alive’: This is the only instance of the adj. ífjǫrr. The prefix í- can convey an intensifying as well as a diminishing sense (Fritzner: í-). Here, however, í in its original sense ‘in’ is compounded with fjǫr ‘life’ to form the adj. í-fjǫrr ‘alive’, much as íendr ‘living, breathing’ (< *in-and-jaz) is a cpd of í- ‘in’ and ǫnd ‘breath’ (Fritzner: íendr).
trað ‘overcame’
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troða (verb): tread
notes
[2] trað ‘overcame’: Lit. ‘trod upon’, anticipating the metaphor of fire striding in ll. 5-8.
reyks ‘of smoke’
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reykr (noun m.; °-s/-jar, dat. -i/-; -ir): smoke
kennings
rausuðr reyks‘the gusher of smoke ’
= FIRE
the gusher of smoke → FIRE
notes
[3] rausuðr reyks ‘the gusher of smoke [FIRE]’: The ms. readings ‘rꜹsuðr’ or ‘rausuðr’ allow of two interpretations: (a) Finnur Jónsson (Hkr 1893-1901; Yng 1912; Skj B; LP: rǫsuðr), Kock (Skald) and ÍF 26 choose rǫsuðr, translated mostly as ‘that which / the one who / he who rolls forward with smoke’. However, the verb rasa, from which rǫsuðr derives, is intransitive, so reyks could not be its gen. object and would have to express an accompanying circumstance instead (Hkr 1893-1901, IV), and rasa ‘stumble, fall’ (Fritzner: rasa) is semantically a poor match for ‘fire’. (b) This difficulty leads Wadstein (1895a, 72-3), followed by others, to adduce the ModNorw. dialectal verb rausa ‘plunge, pour, tip’ to help explain the word. The verb is transitive and results in an interpretation such as ‘that which pours forth smoke’, hence rausuðr ‘gusher’ in the translation above.
rausuðr ‘the gusher’
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rausuðr (noun m.): [gusher]
kennings
rausuðr reyks‘the gusher of smoke ’
= FIRE
the gusher of smoke → FIRE
notes
[3] rausuðr reyks ‘the gusher of smoke [FIRE]’: The ms. readings ‘rꜹsuðr’ or ‘rausuðr’ allow of two interpretations: (a) Finnur Jónsson (Hkr 1893-1901; Yng 1912; Skj B; LP: rǫsuðr), Kock (Skald) and ÍF 26 choose rǫsuðr, translated mostly as ‘that which / the one who / he who rolls forward with smoke’. However, the verb rasa, from which rǫsuðr derives, is intransitive, so reyks could not be its gen. object and would have to express an accompanying circumstance instead (Hkr 1893-1901, IV), and rasa ‘stumble, fall’ (Fritzner: rasa) is semantically a poor match for ‘fire’. (b) This difficulty leads Wadstein (1895a, 72-3), followed by others, to adduce the ModNorw. dialectal verb rausa ‘plunge, pour, tip’ to help explain the word. The verb is transitive and results in an interpretation such as ‘that which pours forth smoke’, hence rausuðr ‘gusher’ in the translation above.
á ‘in’
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3. á (prep.): on, at
reiningi ‘’
notes
[4] Ræningi ‘Ræningr’: An exact match for this p. n. is not found in Sweden. Only inexact correspondences are given: (a) Rällinge on the peninsula Fogdön on Lake Mälaren (S. Lindqvist 1921, 84; Yt 1925); (b) Ræwngæ, attested in a charter from the year 1311 (Storm 1899, 112; Yt 1925); and (c) Rauning in the runic inscription from Aspa, Run Sö Fv1948:289VI; see Sundqvist (2005a, 95 n. 38), who reconstructs a p. n. *Røning in Södermanland on the basis of the names of the Swedish district Rönö and the municipality Runtuna.
þás ‘when’
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þás (conj.): when
hús ‘the house’
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hús (noun n.; °-s; -): house < húsþjófr (noun m.)
kennings
húsþjófr‘the house-thief ’
= FIRE
the house-thief → FIRE
notes
[5] húsþjófr ‘the house-thief [FIRE]’: Cf. st. 4/5-6 meinþjófr markar ‘the harmful thief of the forest [FIRE]’.
þjófr ‘thief’
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þjófr (noun m.; °dat. -i/-; -ar): thief < húsþjófr (noun m.)
kennings
húsþjófr‘the house-thief ’
= FIRE
the house-thief → FIRE
notes
[5] húsþjófr ‘the house-thief [FIRE]’: Cf. st. 4/5-6 meinþjófr markar ‘the harmful thief of the forest [FIRE]’.
hyrja ‘’
notes
[6] leistum hyrjar ‘with soles of fire’: The OIcel. and ModIcel. meaning of leistr is certainly ‘socks’ and is the basis of the translations in ÍF 26 and Hkr 1991. Most interpreters, however, assume a supposedly older meaning ‘foot, track’, cf. Goth. laists, OHG leist, OE lāst ‘track, footstep, trace’ (Konráð Gíslason 1881, 237; Hkr 1893-1901, IV; Skj B). Noreen (1912a, 9; 1912b, 132) and Kock (NN §78) translate this as ‘with white-hot steps’.
listum ‘’
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list (noun f.; °-ar; -ir): skill, art, virtue
leistum ‘with soles’
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leistr (noun m.; °; gen. -a): foot-sole, last
[6] leistum: listum J1ˣ, J2ˣ, R685ˣ
notes
[6] leistum hyrjar ‘with soles of fire’: The OIcel. and ModIcel. meaning of leistr is certainly ‘socks’ and is the basis of the translations in ÍF 26 and Hkr 1991. Most interpreters, however, assume a supposedly older meaning ‘foot, track’, cf. Goth. laists, OHG leist, OE lāst ‘track, footstep, trace’ (Konráð Gíslason 1881, 237; Hkr 1893-1901, IV; Skj B). Noreen (1912a, 9; 1912b, 132) and Kock (NN §78) translate this as ‘with white-hot steps’.
goð ‘of gods’
notes
[7] goðkynning ‘the descendant of gods’: The reading of the J transcripts is adopted here, as by Konráð Gíslason (1881, 238-42) and subsequent eds. It is presumed to derive from an adj. goðkunnr ‘descended from gods’ by means of the common suffix ‑ing, cf. e.g. spekingr ‘wise one’ from spakr ‘wise’. The cpd goðkonungr in the K transcripts appears to be a corruption of this unique word.
kong ‘’
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kóngr (noun m.): king < goð (noun n.): (pagan) god
konung ‘’
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konungr (noun m.; °dat. -i, -s; -ar): king < goðkonungr (noun m.)
kynning ‘the descendant’
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kynning (noun f.; °-ar, dat. -/-u): [descendant] < goðkynningr (noun m.)
[7] ‑kynning: so J1ˣ, J2ˣ, R685ˣ, ‑konung Kˣ, 521ˣ, F, 761aˣ, ‑kong papp18ˣ
notes
[7] goðkynning ‘the descendant of gods’: The reading of the J transcripts is adopted here, as by Konráð Gíslason (1881, 238-42) and subsequent eds. It is presumed to derive from an adj. goðkunnr ‘descended from gods’ by means of the common suffix ‑ing, cf. e.g. spekingr ‘wise one’ from spakr ‘wise’. The cpd goðkonungr in the K transcripts appears to be a corruption of this unique word.
í ‘’
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í (prep.): in, into
gǫgnum ‘through’
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gegnum (prep.): through
stóð ‘’
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standa (verb): stand
Ok ‘And’
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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
yrðr ‘fate’
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urðr (noun m.)
notes
[9] yrðr ‘fate’: The umlauted form yrðr, rather than the more common urðr, is selected here, since it is found in mss J1ˣ, J2ˣ and F, i.e. in both branches of the Hkr stemma, and must be seen as a lectio difficilior. In most translations urðr/yrðr is rendered as ‘death’, but as Kock (FF §51) notes, this is not justified in light of the usage of this word and its cognates in OIcel., OE, OHG and OS.
allri ‘to all’
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allr (adj.): all
þjóðu ‘people’
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þjóð (noun f.; °-ar, dat. -/-u; -ir): people
sanngerr ‘’
sjællgætastr ‘’
sann ‘just’
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2. sannr (adj.; °-an; compar. -ari, superl. -astr): true < sanngǫrr (adj.)
[11] sanngǫrvastr: so J1ˣ, J2ˣ, R685ˣ, ‘siællgætastr’ Kˣ, papp18ˣ, 521ˣ, 761aˣ, sanngerastr F
notes
[11] sanngǫrvastr ‘the most just’: Here too the reading of mss J1ˣ, J2ˣ and F is selected (and so Yt 1925; Åkerlund 1939, 108; Yng 1952, 73). ON sannr means not only ‘true’ but also ‘just, fitting, right’ (Fritzner: sannr adj. 3), hence the cpd sanngǫrr means ‘fairly, justly done’. That Ingjaldr may have been felt to deserve his appalling death is suggested by his nickname illráði ‘the Wicked’, and by the tradition reported in Yng (ÍF 26, 71) that he killed twelve kings in breach of a truce.
gǫrvastr ‘the most’
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1. gǫrr (adj.): ample, perfect < sanngǫrr (adj.)
[11] sanngǫrvastr: so J1ˣ, J2ˣ, R685ˣ, ‘siællgætastr’ Kˣ, papp18ˣ, 521ˣ, 761aˣ, sanngerastr F
notes
[11] sanngǫrvastr ‘the most just’: Here too the reading of mss J1ˣ, J2ˣ and F is selected (and so Yt 1925; Åkerlund 1939, 108; Yng 1952, 73). ON sannr means not only ‘true’ but also ‘just, fitting, right’ (Fritzner: sannr adj. 3), hence the cpd sanngǫrr means ‘fairly, justly done’. That Ingjaldr may have been felt to deserve his appalling death is suggested by his nickname illráði ‘the Wicked’, and by the tradition reported in Yng (ÍF 26, 71) that he killed twelve kings in breach of a truce.
með ‘among’
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með (prep.): with
notes
[12] með Svíum ‘among the Swedes’: Interpreters have disagreed on the syntactic status of this. It has been viewed as (a) a parallel to allri þjóðu ‘to all people’ (NN §3201; FF §51; Åkerlund 1939, 109); (b) a phrase modifying yrðr (Hkr 1893-1901, IV; Skj B); or (c) a phrase modifying sanngǫrvastr ‘the most just’ (ÍF 26). (d) However, in the overall sentence structure yrðr ‘fate’ is the subject required by þótti ‘seemed’, and allri þjóðu ‘to all people’ is the dat. required by it. In this context með Svíum ‘among the Swedes’ is most likely to be an adv. phrase with scope over the whole sentence rather than over any particular part.
Svíum ‘the Swedes’
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Svíar (noun m.): Swedes
notes
[12] með Svíum ‘among the Swedes’: Interpreters have disagreed on the syntactic status of this. It has been viewed as (a) a parallel to allri þjóðu ‘to all people’ (NN §3201; FF §51; Åkerlund 1939, 109); (b) a phrase modifying yrðr (Hkr 1893-1901, IV; Skj B); or (c) a phrase modifying sanngǫrvastr ‘the most just’ (ÍF 26). (d) However, in the overall sentence structure yrðr ‘fate’ is the subject required by þótti ‘seemed’, and allri þjóðu ‘to all people’ is the dat. required by it. In this context með Svíum ‘among the Swedes’ is most likely to be an adv. phrase with scope over the whole sentence rather than over any particular part.
þótti ‘seemed’
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2. þykkja (verb): seem, think
enn ‘’
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4. en (conj.): than
hann ‘he’
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hann (pron.; °gen. hans, dat. honum; f. hon, gen. hennar, acc. hana): he, she, it, they, them...
sjalfr ‘himself’
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sjalfr (adj.): self
sínu ‘his’
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3. sinn (pron.; °f. sín, n. sitt): (refl. poss. pron.)
fjǫrvi ‘life’
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fjǫr (noun n.): life
freknu ‘’
notes
[15] fyrstr ... frœknu ‘the first, valiantly’: Several interpretations have been suggested for this line. (a) Frœknu is taken here as an adverbial use of the n. dat. sg. adj. (so also NN §3202, ÍF 26 and Hkr 1991). (b) Frœknu has been viewed as an attributive adj. qualifying fjǫrvi, hence ‘courageous life’ (Säve 1854, 61; Hkr 1893-1901, IV; Skj B; Yt 1925; NN §1009A Anm.). However, this creates an enjambment from l. 14 to l. 15, leading to a split in l. 15 and thereby to a breach in the style of Yt (Åkerlund 1939, 109-10). (c) Because of this, Wadstein (1895a, 73-4) takes frœknu to be the dat. of an unattested noun frœkna ‘bravery’ and links it to fyrstr, hence ‘first in bravery’. Lindquist (1929, 69), Åkerlund (1939, 109-10) and Wessén (Yng 1952, 73) concur. But such a use of fyrstr is unattested; the word denotes only spatial or temporal sequence (cf. Fritzner: fyrri).
fyrstr ‘the first’
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fyrstr (num. ordinal): first
notes
[15] fyrstr ‘the first’: The meaning of fyrstr is elusive. Säve (1854, 61) and Hkr 1893-1901, IV interpret it as ‘first among the Ynglingar’, Skj B as ‘first among the host’ (cf. Yt 1925) and NN §3202, ÍF 26 and Hkr 1991 as ‘first’ in the sense of ‘voluntarily’. On the connection of fyrstr and frœknu, see the Note to l. 15 (fyrstr ... frœknu). — [15] fyrstr ... frœknu ‘the first, valiantly’: Several interpretations have been suggested for this line. (a) Frœknu is taken here as an adverbial use of the n. dat. sg. adj. (so also NN §3202, ÍF 26 and Hkr 1991). (b) Frœknu has been viewed as an attributive adj. qualifying fjǫrvi, hence ‘courageous life’ (Säve 1854, 61; Hkr 1893-1901, IV; Skj B; Yt 1925; NN §1009A Anm.). However, this creates an enjambment from l. 14 to l. 15, leading to a split in l. 15 and thereby to a breach in the style of Yt (Åkerlund 1939, 109-10). (c) Because of this, Wadstein (1895a, 73-4) takes frœknu to be the dat. of an unattested noun frœkna ‘bravery’ and links it to fyrstr, hence ‘first in bravery’. Lindquist (1929, 69), Åkerlund (1939, 109-10) and Wessén (Yng 1952, 73) concur. But such a use of fyrstr is unattested; the word denotes only spatial or temporal sequence (cf. Fritzner: fyrri).
fyrstr ‘the first’
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fyrstr (num. ordinal): first
notes
[15] fyrstr ‘the first’: The meaning of fyrstr is elusive. Säve (1854, 61) and Hkr 1893-1901, IV interpret it as ‘first among the Ynglingar’, Skj B as ‘first among the host’ (cf. Yt 1925) and NN §3202, ÍF 26 and Hkr 1991 as ‘first’ in the sense of ‘voluntarily’. On the connection of fyrstr and frœknu, see the Note to l. 15 (fyrstr ... frœknu). — [15] fyrstr ... frœknu ‘the first, valiantly’: Several interpretations have been suggested for this line. (a) Frœknu is taken here as an adverbial use of the n. dat. sg. adj. (so also NN §3202, ÍF 26 and Hkr 1991). (b) Frœknu has been viewed as an attributive adj. qualifying fjǫrvi, hence ‘courageous life’ (Säve 1854, 61; Hkr 1893-1901, IV; Skj B; Yt 1925; NN §1009A Anm.). However, this creates an enjambment from l. 14 to l. 15, leading to a split in l. 15 and thereby to a breach in the style of Yt (Åkerlund 1939, 109-10). (c) Because of this, Wadstein (1895a, 73-4) takes frœknu to be the dat. of an unattested noun frœkna ‘bravery’ and links it to fyrstr, hence ‘first in bravery’. Lindquist (1929, 69), Åkerlund (1939, 109-10) and Wessén (Yng 1952, 73) concur. But such a use of fyrstr is unattested; the word denotes only spatial or temporal sequence (cf. Fritzner: fyrri).
of ‘’
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3. of (prep.): around, from; too
fara ‘to end’
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fara (verb; ferr, fór, fóru, farinn): go, travel
villdis ‘’
vildi ‘’
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vilja (verb): want, intend
skyldi ‘should’
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skulu (verb): shall, should, must
[16] skyldi: vildi F, J1ˣ, J2ˣ, ‘uilldis’ R685ˣ
notes
[16] skyldi ‘should’: The J transcripts and F read vildi ‘would, wanted to’, while skyldi appears only in Kˣ. For this reason Noreen (1912b, 132; Yt 1925) and Hkr 1991 select vildi. But the choice of skyldi is justified, because the form occurs repeatedly throughout Yt.
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
Ingjaldr inn illráði ‘the Wicked’, son of Ǫnundr, having won a sizeable kingdom, is threatened by Ívarr inn víðfaðmi ‘the Wide-embracer’, who has invaded Sweden. Because Ingjaldr sees no way to resist him successfully, he decides to commit suicide together with his daughter Ása, also in illráða ‘the Wicked’. They make sure their entourage are completely drunk, then set fire to the hall, killing themselves and everyone inside.
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