Anon (FoGT) 23^III

Stanzas 23-7 constitute an ingenious set of stanzas illustrating the rhetorical figure of antitheton, the separation of words constituting a clause within a stanza so that the first words and the last go together and constitute a complete utterance. The chapter begins with the author of FoGT citing two stanzas of SnSt Ht (sts 14 and 12). In Ht 14 the first two words of l. 1 belong with the last word of l. 8, and the FoGT author names the phenomenon using the Icelandic term langlokum ‘with late closures’; Ht 12 illustrates the native practice called stælt ‘inlaid, intercalated’ (cf. SnE 2007, 78, 152) with two intercalated clauses in each helmingr at ll. 2-3 and 6-7. The remaining ever more complex illustrations of antitheton comprise sts 23-7, a virtuoso exercise that seems to have appealed to the author of FoGT, whether or not he was also the composer of the stanzas. Longo (2006a) offers a close analysis of these stanzas from a rhetorical perspective, but he endorses Björn Magnússon Ólsen’s view (FoGT 1884, 275 n. 7) that they exemplify a new rhetorical creation on the Fourth Grammarian’s part. This is unlikely to be the case. Aside from the stanzas cited from Ht, there is one earlier example of the technique illustrated in st. 25 (see Note [All] to that stanza), a fragment by the eleventh-century Icelandic skald Þórðr Sjáreksson (ÞSjár Frag 3), which suggests that it was an established practice of Icelandic poets, though not elsewhere recorded. The metre of st. 23 is hrynhent, while sts 24 and 27 are in a variety of tøglag that is called inn nýi háttr ‘the new verse-form’ in SnSt Ht 73 (SnE 2007, 31), from where the composer of the FoGT stanzas almost certainly borrowed it, and sts 25-6 are in runhent.

Ólafr kunni blóthús brenna,
Bráðan hitti Magnús váða,
Harald frágum vier hjörleiks mildan,
Hans arfi tók nú við starfa,
dróttar vinr fekk helverk hættan.
hníga riett á enskri sliettu.
sóttum píndr, þá er örlög enduz.
ágætt fall sá er hlaut til vallar.

Ólafr, sá er hlaut ágætt fall til vallar, kunni brenna blóthús. Magnús hitti bráðan váða, píndr sóttum, þá er örlög enduz. Vier frágum Harald, mildan {hjörleiks}, hníga riett á enskri sliettu. Arfi hans tók nú við starfa; {vinr dróttar} fekk hættan helverk.

Óláfr, who got a famous fall to the ground [death], burnt sacrificial buildings. Magnús encountered sudden danger, tormented by illness, when his fortunes came to an end. We [I] have heard that Haraldr, generous with {sword-play} [BATTLE], certainly fell on an English field. His heir now took on the business [of government]; {the friend of the people} [RULER = Magnús or Óláfr Haraldsson] contracted a dangerous mortal illness.

Mss: W(115-116) (FoGT)

Readings: [7] örlög enduz: ‘ǫl[…]vz’ W

Editions: Skj AII, 217, Skj BII, 234-5, Skald II, 121; SnE 1848-87, II, 222-3, III, 159, FoGT 1884, 137, 274-5, FoGT 2004, 45-6, 71, 128-3, FoGT 2014, 26-9, 110-11.

Context: Stanza 23 is the third example of antitheton, which the prose text explains contains multiple examples of separated parts of clauses.

Notes: [All]: The theme of each complete sentence in the stanza is the manner of death of one of four kings of Norway, two in battle, the other two from illness. — [All]: As the prose text explains after the citation of st. 23, there are four complete sentences in this stanza. Line 1 is completed by l. 8, l. 2 by l. 7, l. 3 by l. 6, while ll. 4 and 5 go together. This ingenious arrangement of clauses appears not to have a precise precedent in earlier Icelandic treatises on poetics like SnSt Ht or RvHbreiðm Hl. — [1, 8]: This clause is about King Óláfr inn helgi ‘the Saint’ Haraldsson (r. 1015-30) who died at the battle of Stiklestad in Verdalen, Trøndelag, on 29 July 1030. The reference to his burning down blóthús ‘sacrificial buildings’ (l. 1) alludes to his role in combatting heathenism and introducing Christianity to the people of Norway. — [2] Magnús: I.e. Magnús inn góði ‘the Good’ Óláfsson, son of S. Óláfr (r. 1035-47). — [3] Harald ‘Haraldr’: Haraldr harðráði ‘Hard-rule’ Sigurðarson (r. 1046-66). — [4, 5] arfi hans; vinr dróttar ‘his heir; the friend of the people [RULER = Magnús or Óláfr Haraldssynir]’: These expressions may refer to either Magnús or Óláfr kyrri ‘the Quiet’ Haraldsson, and it may be that the latter is the more likely referent as he was the more prominent of the two brothers and ruled Norway from 1067-93, while Magnús ruled briefly on his own in 1066 while Haraldr and Óláfr were in England, and jointly with his brother from 1067-9. He died in 1069 (see Note to l. 5). — [5] hættan helverk ‘a dangerous mortal illness’: Mork identifies the illness from which Magnús Haraldsson died as reformr (ÍF 23, 325), translated by Andersson and Gade (2000, 446 n. 2) as ergotism, a disease caused by eating fungus-affected grain. Óláfr kyrri died of an illness on 22 or 23 September 1093 (see ÍF 24, 16). — [6] riett ‘certainly’: It is also possible to construe riett with vier frágum ‘we have heard’ (l. 3). — [6] á enskri sliettu ‘on an English field’: At the battle of Stamford Bridge, Yorkshire, where Haraldr harðráði was killed on 25 September 1066. — [7] píndr sóttum ‘tormented by illness’: Magnús inn góði ‘the Good’ died of an unspecified feverish illness in Jutland on 25 October 1047 (ÍF 23, 168-71; Andersson and Gade 2000, 181-4). Anon Nkt 34^II also records his death from illness. — [7] þá er örlög enduz ‘when his fortunes came to an end’: There is a large hole in W at this point, so the emendations adopted here are conjectural though supported in the case of enduz by skothending with píndr ‘tormented’. The emendation örlög ‘fate, fortunes, death’ was first suggested by Jón Ólafsson from Grunnavík (cf. FoGT 1884, 274 n. 3) and has been adopted by all eds; the emendation to enduz was first suggested by Björn Magnússon Ólsen (FoGT 1884) and has been adopted by all subsequent eds. — [8]: The line echoes Anon (HSig) 9/3, 4^II, a stanza allegedly spoken by Óláfr inn helgi Haraldsson.

References

1. Bibliography
2. SnE 1848-87 = Snorri Sturluson. 1848-87. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar: Edda Snorronis Sturlaei. Ed. Jón Sigurðsson et al. 3 vols. Copenhagen: Legatum Arnamagnaeanum. Rpt. Osnabrück: Zeller, 1966.
3. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
4. Andersson, Theodore M. and Kari Ellen Gade, trans. 2000. Morkinskinna: The Earliest Icelandic Chronicle of the Norwegian Kings (1030-1157). Islandica 51. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press.
5. FoGT 1884 = Björn Magnússon Ólsen, ed. 1884. Den tredje og fjærde grammatiske afhandling i Snorres Edda tilligemed de grammatiske afhandlingers prolog og to andre tillæg. SUGNL 12. Copenhagen: Knudtzon.
6. FoGT 2004 = Longo, Michele, ed. [2004]. ‘Il Quarto Trattato Grammaticale Islandese: Testo, Traduzione e Commento’. Dottorato di Ricerca in ‘Linguistica Sincronica e Diacronica’ (XV Ciclo). Palermo: Università degli Studi di Palermo, Facoltà di Lettere e Filosofia.
7. SnE 2007 = Snorri Sturluson. 2007. Edda: Háttatal. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2nd edn. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
8. Longo, Michele. 2006a. ‘Un esempio di contaminazione di tradizioni nel quarto trattato grammaticale islandese’. In Bombi et al. 2006, 989-1003.
9. ÍF 23-4 = Morkinskinna. Ed. Ármann Jakobsson and Þórður Ingi Guðjónsson. 2009.
10. FoGT 2014 = Clunies Ross, Margaret and Jonas Wellendorf, eds. 2014. The Fourth Grammatical Treatise. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
11. Internal references
12. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, The Fourth Grammatical Treatise’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=34> (accessed 19 April 2024)
13. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Morkinskinna’ 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=87> (accessed 19 April 2024)
14. Russell Poole 2012, ‘(Biography of) Óláfr inn helgi Haraldsson’ 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. 515.
15. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Háttatal’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=165> (accessed 19 April 2024)
16. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Anonymous Poems, Nóregs konungatal 34’ 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. 783.
17. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Anonymous Lausavísur, Lausavísur from Haralds saga Sigurðarsonar 9’ 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. 822-3.
18. Kari Ellen Gade 2017, ‘ Rǫgnvaldr jarl and Hallr Þórarinsson, Háttalykill’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 1001. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1347> (accessed 19 April 2024)
19. Kari Ellen Gade 2017, ‘ Snorri Sturluson, Háttatal’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 1094. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1376> (accessed 19 April 2024)
20. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Snorri Sturluson, Háttatal 10’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 1115.
21. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Snorri Sturluson, Háttatal 12’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 1116.
22. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Snorri Sturluson, Háttatal 73’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 1184.
23. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Þórðr Særeksson (Sjáreksson), Fragments 3’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 478.