ÞjóðA Har 1II
Diana Whaley (ed.) 2009, ‘Þjóðólfr Arnórsson, Stanzas about Haraldr Sigurðarson’s leiðangr 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. 150-1.
Skeið ‘the warship’
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1. skeið (noun f.; °-ar; -r/-ar/-ir): ship
framm ‘’
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(non-lexical)
at ‘onto’
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3. at (prep.): at, to
flœði ‘the ocean’
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flœðr (noun f.): high tide; ocean
[1] flœði: so F, 570a, H, Hr, ‘floðe’ Kˣ, E, ‘floðe’ or ‘flǫðe’ J2ˣ
fagrt ‘beautiful’
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fagr (adj.; °fagran; compar. fegri, superl. fegrstr): fair, beautiful
sprund ‘lady’
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sprund (noun f.): woman
hrundit ‘propelled’
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1. hrinda (verb): launch, propell
hvar ‘where’
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hvar (adv.): where
liggr ‘lies’
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liggja (verb): lie
fyr ‘off’
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fyr (prep.): for, over, because of, etc.
landi ‘shore’
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land (noun n.; °-s; *-): land
lǫng ‘the long’
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langr (adj.; °compar. lengri, superl. lengstr): long
[4] lǫng: logn 570a
notes
[4] lǫng ‘long’: Poole (1991, 66) notes that the HÍ reading logn has generated the mention of logn ok sólskín ‘calm weather and sunshine’ in the preceding prose.
súð ‘side-planking’
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súð (noun f.; °-ar; gen. -a): planking, ship
dreka ‘dragon-ship’
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dreki (noun m.; °-a; -ar): dragon, dragon-ship
[4] dreka ins (‘drekans’): ‘drekans’ F, J2ˣ, dreka hins E, H, ‘drecka hinn’ 570a, dreka ens Hr
ins ‘of the’
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2. inn (art.): the
[4] dreka ins (‘drekans’): ‘drekans’ F, J2ˣ, dreka hins E, H, ‘drecka hinn’ 570a, dreka ens Hr
prúða ‘splendid’
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prúðr (adj.; °superl. -astr): magnificent, proud
Orms ‘of the serpent’
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ormr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): serpent
notes
[5, 6] frôn fǫx orms glóa ‘the gleaming manes of the serpent [dragon-ship] shine’: The reference must be to gold decoration, but it is uncertain whether it applies to the prow and stern of the ship, or only to the prow. (a) The version adopted above, that of E, H and probably Hr, has pl. fǫx glóa ‘manes glow’, and n. nom. pl. frn (ms. ‘fran’) ‘gleaming’ qualifying fǫx. The fact that frn is also found in F although it does not fit grammatically may add support to this reading, as does the praise of the ship’s pl. svírar ‘necks, stems’ in ll. 7-8. (b) The sg. fax glóar is found in Kˣ and F (J2ˣ has ‘fag gloar’), and in Kˣ and J2ˣ the adj. fráns qualifies orms, hence fax fráns orms glóar ‘the mane of the gleaming serpent glows’. This reading has logic on its side insofar as the ship is conceived as a dragon or serpent, and is adopted by most eds.
notes
[5, 6] frôn fǫx orms glóa ‘the gleaming manes of the serpent [dragon-ship] shine’: The reference must be to gold decoration, but it is uncertain whether it applies to the prow and stern of the ship, or only to the prow. (a) The version adopted above, that of E, H and probably Hr, has pl. fǫx glóa ‘manes glow’, and n. nom. pl. frn (ms. ‘fran’) ‘gleaming’ qualifying fǫx. The fact that frn is also found in F although it does not fit grammatically may add support to this reading, as does the praise of the ship’s pl. svírar ‘necks, stems’ in ll. 7-8. (b) The sg. fax glóar is found in Kˣ and F (J2ˣ has ‘fag gloar’), and in Kˣ and J2ˣ the adj. fráns qualifies orms, hence fax fráns orms glóar ‘the mane of the gleaming serpent glows’. This reading has logic on its side insofar as the ship is conceived as a dragon or serpent, and is adopted by most eds.
fǫx ‘manes’
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fax (noun n.): [manes, mane]
[5] fǫx (‘faux’): so E, H, fax Kˣ, F, ‘fag’ J2ˣ, ‘fargur’ 570a, vox Hr
notes
[5, 6] frôn fǫx orms glóa ‘the gleaming manes of the serpent [dragon-ship] shine’: The reference must be to gold decoration, but it is uncertain whether it applies to the prow and stern of the ship, or only to the prow. (a) The version adopted above, that of E, H and probably Hr, has pl. fǫx glóa ‘manes glow’, and n. nom. pl. frn (ms. ‘fran’) ‘gleaming’ qualifying fǫx. The fact that frn is also found in F although it does not fit grammatically may add support to this reading, as does the praise of the ship’s pl. svírar ‘necks, stems’ in ll. 7-8. (b) The sg. fax glóar is found in Kˣ and F (J2ˣ has ‘fag gloar’), and in Kˣ and J2ˣ the adj. fráns qualifies orms, hence fax fráns orms glóar ‘the mane of the gleaming serpent glows’. This reading has logic on its side insofar as the ship is conceived as a dragon or serpent, and is adopted by most eds.
farmi ‘the cargo’
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farmr (noun m.; °dat. -i; -ar): cargo
frôn ‘The gleaming’
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2. fránn (adj.): bright, shining
[6] frôn (‘fran’): so F, E, H, Hr, fráns Kˣ, J2ˣ, fram 570a
notes
[5, 6] frôn fǫx orms glóa ‘the gleaming manes of the serpent [dragon-ship] shine’: The reference must be to gold decoration, but it is uncertain whether it applies to the prow and stern of the ship, or only to the prow. (a) The version adopted above, that of E, H and probably Hr, has pl. fǫx glóa ‘manes glow’, and n. nom. pl. frn (ms. ‘fran’) ‘gleaming’ qualifying fǫx. The fact that frn is also found in F although it does not fit grammatically may add support to this reading, as does the praise of the ship’s pl. svírar ‘necks, stems’ in ll. 7-8. (b) The sg. fax glóar is found in Kˣ and F (J2ˣ has ‘fag gloar’), and in Kˣ and J2ˣ the adj. fráns qualifies orms, hence fax fráns orms glóar ‘the mane of the gleaming serpent glows’. This reading has logic on its side insofar as the ship is conceived as a dragon or serpent, and is adopted by most eds.
vas ‘was’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
hônum ‘it’
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hann (pron.; °gen. hans, dat. honum; f. hon, gen. hennar, acc. hana): he, she, it, they, them...
bôru ‘bore’
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3. bera (verb; °berr; bar, báru; borinn): bear, carry
búnir ‘the decorated’
[7] búnir svírar: búna svíra 570a
brunnit ‘burnished’
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2. brenna (verb; °brennr/brenn; brann, brunnu; brunninn): (strong, intransitive)
[8] brunnit goll af hlunni: brún veðr at Sigtúnum 570a
goll ‘gold’
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gull (noun n.): gold
[8] brunnit goll af hlunni: brún veðr at Sigtúnum 570a
hlunni ‘the rollers’
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hlunnr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): roller
[8] brunnit goll af hlunni: brún veðr at Sigtúnum 570a
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
I saw the warship, beautiful lady, propelled out of the river onto the ocean; look where the long side-planking of the splendid dragon-ship lies offshore. The gleaming manes of the serpent [dragon-ship] shine out above the cargo, since it was launched from the rollers; the decorated necks bore burnished gold.
In Hkr and H-Hr, Haraldr Sigurðarson builds a new dragon-ship and challenges Sveinn Úlfsson to a battle at the Götaälv (Elfr) to determine who shall rule both of Norway and Denmark. He has the ship launched on Nidelven (the river Nið) and the dragon-heads put in place. HÍ has a long lacuna followed by a passage including the building of the much-admired ship.
On the introductory words to the st. and their possible significance, see Introduction. — [8]: In the 570a text, l. 8 has evidently been replaced by the last l. of Arn Magndr 2.
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