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Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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Anon Óldr 13I

Kate Heslop (ed.) 2012, ‘Anonymous Poems, Óláfs drápa Tryggvasonar 13’ 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. 1045.

Anonymous PoemsÓláfs drápa Tryggvasonar
121314

Vítt stóð ógn af ýti
(íslenzkum her vísi)
orms vallar (bauð allan
aldr goðs lǫgum halda).
Svá lét rœtr, hinns rítar
rjóðendr of vann, góðar,
reyrs, und ráði vôru
réttdœmr konungr settar.

Ógn stóð vítt af {ýti {vallar orms}}; vísi bauð íslenzkum her halda lǫgum goðs allan aldr. Svá lét réttdœmr konungr, hinns of vann {rjóðendr {reyrs rítar}}, góðar rœtr settar und ráði vôru.

Dread emanated far and wide from {the impeller {of the plain of the serpent}} [GOLD > GENEROUS MAN]; the leader ordered the Icelandic people to keep the laws of God for all time. Thus the righteous king, the one who conquered {reddeners {of the reed of the shield}} [SWORD > WARRIORS], let good roots be set under our condition.

Mss: Bb(112vb)

Readings: [5] rœtr: ‘rettr’ Bb    [7] und: ‘vard’ Bb    [8] ‑dœmr: dómr Bb

Editions: Skj AI, 576, Skj BI, 570, Skald I, 276, NN §§1219, 1220, 1938C; Munch and Unger 1847, 122, 141, Gullberg 1875, 15, 31.

Notes: [2] íslenzkum her ‘the Icelandic people’: Herr m. is normally used of a military force but occasionally occurs in phrases denoting the population of a region, adherents of a particular religion, etc., as here (see LP: herr 2; Fritzner: herr 1). This is the first instance in the skaldic corpus of the use of the adj. íslenzkr to denote the population of Iceland collectively; the next occur in the C14th (see LP: íslenzkr). — [3] bauð ‘ordered’: On the placing of the verb, see Introduction. — [5-8]: The f. pl. nom./acc. adjectives góðar ‘good’ and settar ‘set’ (p. p. of setja) lack a corresponding noun. (a) The text above follows Kock’s suggestion (NN §1938C) of lét rœtr settar und ‘let roots be set under’, which has a good skaldic parallel (góð es rót und rôðum slíkum ‘the root under such actions is good’, RKet Lv 1/3, 4IV); the verb rótsetja is also common in prose, especially in Christian contexts (Fritzner: rótsetja). This solution assumes a slightly inexact aðalhending of rétt: settar in l. 8. (b) Skj B emends to konungr lét reist góðar stéttar við ráði óru ‘the king let good foundations be built for our condition’, which is less attractive, though it does provide a correct aðalhending of rétt: stéttar. (c) NN §1220 emends more lightly to réttr konungr lét settan góðan vǫrð ráði óru ‘the just king let a good watch be set over our condition’. — [8] réttdœmr ‘righteous’: The minor emendation of ms. ‑dómr to ‑dœmr supplies an adj. réttdœmr qualifying konungr ‘king’; so also Skj B and Skald.

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. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
  5. 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.
  6. Fritzner = Fritzner, Johan. 1883-96. Ordbog over det gamle norske sprog. 3 vols. Kristiania (Oslo): Den norske forlagsforening. 4th edn. Rpt. 1973. Oslo etc.: Universitetsforlaget.
  7. Munch, P. A. and C. R. Unger, eds. 1847. Oldnorsk læsebog med tilhörende glossarium. Christiania (Oslo): Dahl.
  8. Gullberg, H., ed. 1875. Óláfs drápa Tryggvasonar: fragment ur “Bergsboken”. Lund: Berling.
  9. Internal references
  10. Not published: do not cite (RKet Lv 1IV)
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