Anon (FoGT) 47^III

Hverr fell? Hörða stillir.
Hvar? Þar er karlfólk barðiz.
Hvienær? Hneig að nóni.
Hver* var sök? Öfund vöknuð.
Hverr vá? Kálfr hielt darri.
Hverir bændu slíks? Þrændir.
Hvað nýtr? Heilsa bötnuð.
Hvað sýtir? Fira lýti.

Hverr fell? {Stillir Hörða}. Hvar? Þar er karlfólk barðiz. Hvienær? Hneig að nóni. Hver* var sök? Vöknuð öfund. Hverr vá? Kálfr hielt darri. Hverir bændu slíks? Þrændir. Hvað nýtr? Bötnuð heilsa. Hvað sýtir? Lýti fira.

Who fell? {The ruler of the Hǫrðar} [NORWEGIAN KING = Óláfr Haraldsson]. Where? Where men were fighting. When? He fell at the ninth hour. What was the cause? Awakened ill-will. Who struck? Kálfr held the spear. Who requested such a thing? The Þrœndir. What benefit is there? Health restored. What laments? Men’s sin.

Mss: W(119) (FoGT)

Readings: [4] Hver*: hverr W    [6] bændu: bendu W

Editions: Skj AII, 218-19, Skj BII, 236, Skald II, 122, NN §2983; SnE 1848-87, II, 248-9, FoGT 1884, 151, 296, FoGT 2004, 57-8, 81, 164-5, FoGT 2014, 48-9, 144.

Notes: [All]: The two stanzas, 46 and 47, are closely parallel, thus emphasising the sanctity of S. Óláfr Haraldsson, the subject of st. 47. His death at the battle of Stiklestad is implicitly compared to Christ’s crucifixion, and his opponents to the Jews. The effect of Óláfr’s death is to restore mankind to health and to curb the spread of sin. — [4] vöknuð öfund ‘awakened ill-will’: Probably a reference to the various personal scores that the magnates who opposed Óláfr at Stiklestad wished to settle; possibly directed especially at the motivation of Kálfr Árnason (see following Note), whose stepsons had been killed by Óláfr (ÍF 27, 300-3) — [5] Kálfr: It is generally assumed that this is a reference to Kálfr Árnason, a Norwegian magnate who dealt Óláfr one of his fatal wounds at Stiklestad, although there is some doubt about whether this assailant was Kálfr Árnason or Kálfr Arnfinnsson (ÍF 27, 385 and n. 2). — [6] bændu ‘requested’: From bæna (earlier bœna) ‘request, entreat’. Ms. W reads bendu ‘indicated [by means of a sign]’, from benda (cf. LP: 2. benda). — [8]: Finnur Jónsson is surely right in his gloss to this line in Skj B, that it refers to the expectation that Óláfr’s death and sainthood will make it more difficult for sin to flourish.

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. 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.
4. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
5. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
6. LP = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1931. Lexicon poeticum antiquæ linguæ septentrionalis: Ordbog over det norsk-islandske skjaldesprog oprindelig forfattet af Sveinbjörn Egilsson. 2nd edn. Copenhagen: Møller.
7. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. FoGT 2014 = Clunies Ross, Margaret and Jonas Wellendorf, eds. 2014. The Fourth Grammatical Treatise. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.