Þloft Glækv 5^I

Þar svá hreinn
með heilu liggr
lofsæll gramr
líki sínu,
svát þar kná
sem á kvikum manni
hár ok negl
hônum vaxa.

Lofsæll gramr liggr þar svá hreinn með heilu líki sínu, svát þar hár ok negl kná vaxa hônum, sem á kvikum manni.

The praise-blessed prince lies there so pure, with his body incorrupt, that there hair and nails grow on him, as on a living man.

Mss: Kˣ(487r), 39(11ra) (Hkr); Holm2(71v), 325VI(39vb), 321ˣ(273), 61(128vb), 325V(86rb), 325VII(40r), 325XI 2 n(1r) (ll. 7-8), Bb(203rb), Flat(127va), Tóm(159r) (ÓH)

Readings: [1] svá: so 39, Holm2, 61, Tóm, svá at Kˣ, 325VI, 325V, 325VII, Bb, sá at 321ˣ, er Flat;    hreinn: corrected from heill Kˣ, heill 325VI, hann 61, Flat, Tóm    [2] heilu: ‘heil[…]’ 39;    liggr: ‘[…]igr’ 39    [3] lof‑: líf 321ˣ;    gramr: konungr Bb    [4] sínu: ‘[…]’ 39    [5] svát (‘sua at’): so Holm2, 325VI, 61, 325V, Bb, Tóm, ok Kˣ, 39, om. Flat    [6] á: ‘[…]’ 39;    kvikum: kykum Holm2, 321ˣ    [7] hár: ‘[…]’ 325XI 2 n;    ok: ‘o[…]’ 39    [8] hônum: á hnum Bb;    vaxa: ‘[…]’ 325XI 2 n

Editions: Skj AI, 326, Skj BI, 300-1, Skald I, 153; Hkr 1893-1901, II, 520, IV, 175, ÍF 27, 407 (ÓHHkr ch. 245); ÓH 1941, I, 604 (ch. 245), Flat 1860-8, II, 377; Magerøy 1948, 11, 17, 22-4.

Context: See Context to st. 2 above.

Notes: [All]: The syntax of the stanza as preserved in Kˣ is unique among the extant mss, with svát in l. 1 and ok in l. 5. Holm2 and 61, as well as Tóm (representing the A and C classes of ÓH mss), have svá in l. 1 and svát in l. 5. As this yields much better sense, it is adopted here (as also in Magerøy 1948). The stanza is thus marked in ll. 1 and 5 by a syntactic and lexical correlation that appears pleonastic (þar svá ‘there so’ … svát þar ‘(so) that there’), unless the first þar refers to Óláfr’s shrine and the second to his body. As mentioned in the Note to st. 4 [All], however, the syntax of the end of the previous stanza and the start of this one must remain uncertain, owing to the loss of lines. — [5, 8] kná vaxa ‘grow’: Kná (3rd pers. sg. pres. indic.; inf. kná), like its pl. counterpart kneigu in st. 6/2, appears to be a pleonastic auxiliary here, lacking its fuller sense ‘to be able’. The usage is characteristic of kviðuháttr poetry. The use of a sg. verb form with a cpd subject (here hár ok negl ‘hair and nails’, l. 7) is also not unusual. — [6] á kvikum manni ‘on a living man’: Skj B, Skald, Magerøy and ÍF 27 all omit á ‘on’ here, to achieve a four-syllable line; but the prep. is present in all mss, even though the parallel construction with hnum ‘on him’ indicates that it is unnecessary. — [7-8]: Continuing growth of hair and nails after death is a common sign of sanctity. The continued growth of Óláfr’s hair is recorded also in Sigv ErfÓl 23, which precedes the quotation of Glækv 2-10 in ÓH-Hkr .

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. Magerøy, Hallvard, ed. 1948. Glælognskviða av Toraren Lovtunge. Bidrag til nordisk filologi av stederende ved Universitet i Oslo 12. Oslo: Aschehoug.
9. Internal references
10. (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)
11. (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 26 April 2024)
12. (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 26 April 2024)
13. 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.
14. Matthew Townend (ed.) 2012, ‘Þórarinn loftunga, Glælognskviða 2’ 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. 866.