Þloft Glækv 2^I

Nú hefr sér
til sess hagat
þjóðkonungr
í Þrándheimi.
Þar vill æ
ævi sína
bauga brjótr
byggðum ráða.

Nú hefr þjóðkonungr hagat sér til sess í Þrándheimi. Þar vill {brjótr bauga} ráða byggðum æ ævi sína.

Now the great king [= Sveinn] has arranged himself on the throne in Trøndelag. There {the breaker of rings} [GENEROUS MAN] will rule the settlements always throughout his life.

Mss: Kˣ(486v), 39(11ra) (Hkr); Holm2(71v), 325VI(39vb), 321ˣ(273), Holm4(67vb) (ll. 1-4), 61(128vb), 325V(86ra-b), 325VII(40r), Bb(203rb), Flat(127va), Tóm(159r) (ÓH)

Readings: [1] sér: Svein 61    [2] sess: ‘se[…]’ 39, þess Holm2;    hagat: ‘hag[…]’ 325VII, hugat Bb    [4] ‑heimi: ‘[…]’ Holm4    [5] vill: vill hann Bb;    æ: om. 39, ey Holm2, 325VI, 321ˣ, alla 325VII    [6] ævi: ‘[…]fi’ 39;    sína: síðan 325VII    [7] bauga: baug 325V;    brjótr: njótr Bb

Editions: Skj AI, 325, Skj BI, 300, Skald I, 152; Hkr 1893-1901, II, 520, IV, 174, ÍF 27, 406 (ÓHHkr ch. 245); ÓH 1941, I, 603 (ch. 245), Flat 1860-8, II, 377; Magerøy 1948, 11, 16, 19-20.

Context: Following an account in the previous chapter of the translation of Óláfr’s remains into Clemenskirkja, Niðaróss (Clemenskirken, Trondheim), and quotation of Sigv ErfÓl 23, sts 2-10 are quoted as a block in ÓH-Hkr in exemplification of the miracles of the now venerated Óláfr.

Notes: [All]: The introduction in ÓH-Hkr identifies skald and title: Þórarinn loftunga orti um Svein Álfífuson kvæði þat, er Glælognskviða heitir, ok eru þessar vísur þar í ‘Þórarinn loftunga composed about Sveinn Álfífuson that poem which is called Glælognskviða, and these stanzas are in it’. — [1] sér ‘himself’: Note 61’s reading, which identifies Sveinn. Although the poem speaks of Sveinn in both the 2nd and 3rd pers., he is not actually named in any of the extant stanzas. — [3] þjóðkonungr ‘the great king’: Cognate with OE þēodcyning (e.g. Beowulf l. 2 þēodcyninga, Beowulf 2008, 3). As in OE, the first element may mean ‘people’, but could also simply be an intensifying prefix. Þjóðkonungr may seem rather a grand title to apply to the youthful Sveinn, but the phrase Sveinn konungr in Sigv Tryggfl 1/3 and Anon Sveinfl 1/5 confirms that he was indeed recognised as king of Norway, and not simply as regent or governor on behalf of his father Knútr. — [4] í Þrándheimi ‘in Trøndelag’: This is more likely to refer to the region (modern Trøndelag) than to the city (modern Trondheim). For the name in medieval sources, and its relationship with Kaupangr and Niðaróss, see Gade (1998) and Lockertsen (1999). — [5] æ ‘always’: Skj B, Skald and Magerøy all print the related form ey (witnessed by mss including the authoritative Holm2), no doubt to avoid the rhyming clash of æ with the following word ævi.

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. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
4. 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.
5. ÓH 1941 = Johnsen, Oscar Albert and Jón Helgason, eds. 1941. Saga Óláfs konungs hins helga: Den store saga om Olav den hellige efter pergamenthåndskrift i Kungliga biblioteket i Stockholm nr. 2 4^to med varianter fra andre håndskrifter. 2 vols. Det norske historiske kildeskriftfond skrifter 53. Oslo: Dybwad.
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. Beowulf 2008 = Fulk, Robert D., Robert E. Bjork and John D. Niles, eds. 2008. Klaeber’s Beowulf and the Fight at Finnsburg. 4th rev. edn of Beowulf and the Fight at Finnsburg, ed. Fr. Klaeber. Toronto, Buffalo and London: University of Toronto Press.
9. Gade, Kari Ellen. 1998. ‘Kaupangr – Þrándheimr – Niðaróss: On the Dating of the Old Norse Kings’ Sagas’. MM, 41-60.
10. Lockertsen, Roger. 1999. ‘Namnet på Trondheim by i dei eldste kjeldene’. MM, 145-63.
11. Magerøy, Hallvard, ed. 1948. Glælognskviða av Toraren Lovtunge. Bidrag til nordisk filologi av stederende ved Universitet i Oslo 12. Oslo: Aschehoug.
12. Internal references
13. (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 16 April 2024)
14. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Óláfs saga helga’ 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. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=53> (accessed 16 April 2024)
15. (forthcoming), ‘ Heimskringla, Óláfs saga helga (in Heimskringla)’ 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. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=152> (accessed 16 April 2024)
16. Matthew Townend 2012, ‘(Biography of) Þórarinn loftunga’ 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. 848.
17. Diana Whaley (ed.) 2012, ‘Anonymous Poems, Flokkr about Sveinn Álfífuson 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. 1029.
18. Judith Jesch (ed.) 2012, ‘Sigvatr Þórðarson, Erfidrápa Óláfs helga 23’ 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. 692.
19. Judith Jesch (ed.) 2012, ‘Sigvatr Þórðarson, Tryggvaflokkr 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. 644.
20. Not published: do not cite ()