Anon Nkt 31^II

Þá bar raun,
at ræsir vas
Kristi kærr,
um konung helgan.
Stendr í Krists
kirkju miðri
heilagt skrín
of Haralds arfa.

Þá bar raun um helgan konung, at ræsir vas kærr Kristi. Í miðri Kristskirkju stendr heilagt skrín of {arfa Haralds}.

Then there was true testimony concerning the holy king, that the ruler was dear to Christ. In the middle of Kristkirken a holy shrine stands over {Haraldr’s heir} [= Óláfr].

Mss: Flat(144va)

Editions: Skj AI, 583, Skj BI, 581, Skald I, 282; Flat 1860-8, II, 523.

Notes: [All]: Kristkirken (Kristkirkja, Christ’s Church) in Trondheim, which housed the shrine of S. Óláfr, was erected by Óláfr kyrri Haraldsson, Óláfr’s nephew and namesake. The church was originally dedicated to the Holy Trinity (see Theodoricus, MHN 58; ÍF 28, 208). For the fate of Óláfr’s body after it was disinterred, see ÓHHkr (ÍF 27, 403-5). — [1] raun ‘true testimony’: For the earliest accounts of the miracles of S. Óláfr, see Acta Sancti Olavi regis et martyris (MHN 125-44) and Einarr Skúlason’s poem Geisli (ESk Geisl^VII). See also Þórarinn loftunga’s Glælognskviða (Þloft Glækv^I). — [7] heilagt skrín ‘a holy shrine’: This particular shrine was commissioned by Óláfr’s son, Magnús inn góði. Snorri, who must have seen the shrine when he visited Norway, gives the following description (ÍF 28, 20): Magnús konungr lét gera skrín ok búa gulli ok silfri ok setja steinum. En skrín þat var svá gǫrt bæði at mikilleik ok at ǫðrum vexti sem líkkista, en svalir undir niðri, en yfir uppi vétt vaxit sem ræfr ok þar af upp hǫfuð ok burst. Eru á véttinu lamar á bak, en hespur fyrir ok þar læst með lukli ‘King Magnús had a shrine made and had it adorned with gold and silver and encrusted with precious stones. And that shrine was made like a coffin, both in terms of size and shape. There were porticos on the lower part and on top there was a lid in the shape of a roof and dragon-heads rising up from it and a ridge. On the lid there are hinges in the back and hasps in the front and there it is locked with a key’. The shrine, which contained the coffin of S. Óláfr, was destroyed during the Reformation. See also Sigv ErfÓl 24^I.

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
3. 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.
4. MHN = Storm, Gustav, ed. 1880. Monumenta historica Norvegiæ: Latinske kildeskrifter til Norges historie i middelalderen. Kristiania (Oslo): Brøgger. Rpt. 1973. Oslo: Aas & Wahl.
5. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
6. Theodoricus = Theodrici monachi historia de antiquitate regum Norwagiensium. In MHN 1-68.
7. Internal references
8. Kari Ellen Gade 2017, ‘(Biography of) Einarr Skúlason’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 140.
9. (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)
10. 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.
11. Martin Chase 2007, ‘ Einarr Skúlason, Geisli’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 5-65. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1144> (accessed 26 April 2024)
12. Matthew Townend 2012, ‘ Þórarinn loftunga, Glælognskviða’ 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. 863. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1452> (accessed 26 April 2024)
13. Judith Jesch (ed.) 2012, ‘Sigvatr Þórðarson, Erfidrápa Óláfs helga 24’ 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. 693.