Hástigi Lv 1^VIII (HjǪ 39)

Hefir þú         fyrr ór sæti
mér eigi boðit         upp at standa;
feigð mun vándslig         vísa granda.
Hanga skyldu hinir         við inn hæsta gálga;
þeir munu þik svíkja;         þat segi ek fyrir gerla.

Þú hefir eigi fyrr boðit mér at standa upp ór sæti; vándslig feigð mun granda vísa. Hinir skyldu hanga við inn hæsta gálga; þeir munu svíkja þik; ek segi þat gerla fyrir.

You have not previously ordered me to get up from my seat; a bad fate will harm the ruler. Those men should hang from the highest gallows; they will deceive you; I prophesy that clearly.

Mss: 109a IIIˣ(274r), papp6ˣ(54r), ÍBR5ˣ(96) (HjǪ)

Readings: [1] þú: so papp6ˣ, ÍBR5ˣ, þú sagði hann 109a IIIˣ    [3] eigi: so papp6ˣ, ÍBR5ˣ, ei 109a IIIˣ    [5] feigð: so ÍBR5ˣ, enn feigð 109a IIIˣ, enn feigð with fyrir ókunnum added above the line in another hand papp6ˣ;    vándslig: so papp6ˣ, ÍBR5ˣ, ‘vondlig’ 109a IIIˣ    [6] vísa: vísir 109a IIIˣ, papp6ˣ, fylki ÍBR5ˣ    [8] við: á ÍBR5ˣ;    hæsta: so papp6ˣ, ‘hasta’ 109a IIIˣ, ‘hædsta’ ÍBR5ˣ

Editions: Skj AII, 340, Skj BII, 361-2, Skald II, 195, NN §3299; HjǪ 1720, 52, FSN 3, 496, FSGJ 4, 221-2, HjǪ 1970, 42, 96-7, 158.

Context: Hástigi objects to being moved for the guests, remarking that they look deceptive and Hundingi should have them killed.

Notes: [All]: This stanza is irregular in that it has ten rather than the eight lines normal for fornyrðislag. It is in a mixture of irregular fornyrðislag and málaháttr. Line 1, which is augmented in 109a IIIˣ by sagði hann ‘he said’, is too short, and previous eds have added and/or subtracted various words to fill out or reduce this and the following two or three lines, Skj B opting for Hefr þú fyrr mér eigi | boðit upp at standa ‘you have not previously ordered me to stand up’. Skald has the variation Bauzt fyrr mér eigi | upp at standa ‘You did not order me to stand up previously’ (cf. NN §3299). FSGJ adds fylkir ‘prince’ to l. 1, while FSN, following HjǪ 1720, runs ll. 1 and 2 together and adds papp6ˣ’s additional text as l. 4: Hefir þú fyrr úr sæti | mér eigi boðit | upp at standa | fyrir ókunnum ‘You have not previously ordered me from my seat to stand up before unknown men’. — [6] vísa ‘the ruler’: Both 109a IIIˣ and papp6ˣ have vísir (nom. sg.), which requires emendation to vísa (dat. sg.) after granda ‘harm, injure’. ÍBR5ˣ has fylki ‘the ruler’ (dat. sg.) and this reading is possibly preferable to the other mss’, as it is in the right case and alliterates on <f> with feigð (l.5).

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. FSN = Rafn, Carl Christian, ed. 1829-30. Fornaldar sögur nordrlanda. 3 vols. Copenhagen: Popp.
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. FSGJ = Guðni Jónsson, ed. 1954. Fornaldar sögur norðurlanda. 4 vols. [Reykjavík]: Íslendingasagnaútgáfan.
7. HjǪ 1720 = Peringskiöld, Johann, ed. 1720. Hialmters och Olvers saga, Handlande om trenne Konungar i Manahem eller Sverige, Inge, Hialmter, och Inge, samt Olver Jarl och om theras uthresor til Grekeland och Arabien. Stockholm: Horn.
8. HjǪ 1970 = Harris, Richard L., ed. 1970. ‘Hjálmþérs saga: A Scientific Edition’. Ph.D. thesis. University of Iowa.