ÞjóðA Sex 10^II

Vatn lézt, vísi, slitna,
víðkunnr, of skǫr þunnri,
(dýr klufu flóð) þars fóruð
(flaust) í Danmǫrk austan.
Bauð hǫlf við sik síðan
sonr Ôleifs þér (hôla
frændr, hykk, at þar fyndisk
fegnir) lǫnd ok þegna.

Lézt vatn slitna, víðkunnr vísi, of þunnri skǫr, þars fóruð í Danmǫrk austan; dýr flaust klufu flóð. Síðan bauð {sonr Ôleifs} þér hǫlf lǫnd ok þegna við sik; hykk, at frændr fyndisk þar hôla fegnir.

You caused the water to be parted, wide-famed leader, around the thin planking, as you travelled from the east into Denmark; the splendid ships clove the flood. Then {Óláfr’s son} [= Magnús] offered you half the lands and retainers with himself; I think that the kinsmen met there most joyfully.

Mss: Kˣ(534v-535r), 39(21vb), F(44rb), E(13v), J2ˣ(265v) (Hkr); H(30r), Hr(22ra) (H-Hr)

Readings: [1] Vatn: ‘Vam’ E;    vísi: vísir E, H, Hr    [2] ‑kunnr: ‑kuðr E;    of (‘um’): of 39, F, af E, und H, Hr;    þunnri: þinni 39, ‘þynnri’ or ‘þunnri’ F, þuðri E    [3] klufu: klifu H, Hr;    flóð: fljóð 39    [4] flaust: flaustr Hr;    í: ór H, Hr    [7] frændr: frænd Hr;    þar: þat E;    fyndisk: ‘fvnndoz’ F    [8] fegnir lǫnd ok þegna: om. F

Editions: Skj AI, 371, Skj BI, 341, Skald I, 172; Hkr 1893-1901, III, 106-7, IV, 215-6, ÍF 28, 97-8, Hkr 1991, 620 (HSig ch. 22), F 1871, 205, E 1916, 47; Fms 6, 180-1 (HSig ch. 19), Fms 12, 146-7.

Context: Having been offered joint rule of Norway by Magnús Óláfsson, and having eluded an assassination attempt by his former ally Sveinn Úlfsson, Haraldr hastens to a joyful reunion with Magnús.

Notes: [All]: For the meeting of the royal kinsmen, see also ÞjóðA Frag 1 and Bǫlv Hardr 7. — [2] of þunnri skǫr ‘around the thin planking’: The ms. readings suggest of ‘around’ as the most likely starting point, but the H-Hr reading und ‘under’ also makes good sense, and is adopted by Finnur Jónsson in Hkr 1893-1901 and Skj B. The exact nature of the image depends on the meaning of skǫr, which strictly refers to the joining of strakes but hence could refer to the planking or, pars pro toto, to the whole ship (Jesch 2001a, 177, 140; Hkr 1893-1901, IV on pars pro toto). Depending on the exact reference of skǫr, þunnri here could mean either ‘thin’ or ‘narrow’.

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. Jesch, Judith. 2001a. Ships and Men in the Late Viking Age: The Vocabulary of Runic Inscriptions and Skaldic Verse. Woodbridge: Boydell.
6. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
7. Hkr 1893-1901 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1893-1901. Heimskringla: Nóregs konunga sǫgur af Snorri Sturluson. 4 vols. SUGNL 23. Copenhagen: Møller.
8. Hkr 1991 = Bergljót S. Kristjánsdóttir et al., eds. 1991. Heimskringla. 3 vols. Reykjavík: Mál og menning.
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. Internal references
12. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Hulda-Hrokkinskinna’ 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=84> (accessed 26 April 2024)
13. (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 26 April 2024)
14. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Bǫlverkr Arnórsson, Drápa about Haraldr harðráði 7’ 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. 292.
15. Diana Whaley (ed.) 2009, ‘Þjóðólfr Arnórsson, Fragments 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, p. 159.