Þorm Lv 18^I

Brennum ǫll fyr innan
inni, þaus vér finnum,
(land tegask herr með hjǫrvi)
Hverbjǫrg (fyr gram verja).
Ýs (hafi allra húsa
Innþrœndir kol sinna)
angr skal kveykt í klungri,
(kǫld) ef ek má valda.

Brennum ǫll inni fyr innan Hverbjǫrg, þaus vér finnum; herr tegask verja land fyr gram með hjǫrvi. Innþrœndir hafi kǫld kol allra húsa sinna; {angr ýs} skal kveykt í klungri, ef ek má valda.

Let’s burn all the dwellings inside Hverbjǫrg that we find; the people show themselves ready to defend the land against the king with the sword. Let the Innþrœndir have the cold coals of all their houses; {the sorrow of the yew} [FIRE] shall be ignited in the thorns, if I can have my way.

Mss: Holm2(64r), 972ˣ(489va), J2ˣ(218v), 321ˣ(244), 73aˣ(193v), 68(63v), Holm4(59ra), 61(122ra), 325V(77va), 325VII(35r), Bb(195ra), Flat(122va), Tóm(152v) (ÓH); Kˣ(455v) (Hkr); DG8(99v) (ÓHLeg); Hb(88v), 142ˣ(102), 566aˣ(26v), 141ˣ(50r), papp4ˣ(128r) (Fbr); 761bˣ(536r-v marg)

Readings: [1] Brennum: ‘S rænnum’ DG8;    ǫll: alls 325V    [2] inni: so Holm4, 325V, Bb, Tóm, papp4ˣ, 761bˣmarg, inney Holm2, 972ˣ, J2ˣ, 321ˣ, 68, 325VII, Kˣ, DG8, 142ˣ, 566aˣ, 141ˣ, innin 73aˣ, Flat, Hb, innan ey 61;    þaus (‘þꜹ er’): þau at 61;    vér: om. 972ˣ    [3] land: so 73aˣ, 68, Holm4, 61, 325VII, Bb, Flat, Tóm, Kˣ, Hb, 142ˣ, 566aˣ, 141ˣ, papp4ˣ, lǫnd Holm2, 972ˣ, J2ˣ, 321ˣ, 325V, DG8;    tegask: tregask 972ˣ, skulum Flat, skal Hb, 142ˣ, 566aˣ, 141ˣ, papp4ˣ, 761bˣmarg;    herr: her 972ˣ, Bb, hver Flat, heim 142ˣ, 566aˣ, 141ˣ, hér papp4ˣ;    hjǫrvi: fjǫrvi Bb    [4] Hver‑: Her‑ 972ˣ, 321ˣ, 73aˣ, 68, 61, Bb, Flat, Tóm, ‘hun’ papp4ˣ;    ‑bjǫrg: ‑djǫrf 68, ‑borg 61, Bb, Tóm, 142ˣ, 566aˣ, bær 141ˣ, ‘‑bjorg’ and ‘‑borg’ 761bˣmarg;    fyr: ‑um 68, Flat, papp4ˣ;    gram: ‘garam’ Bb, grams Flat, svá papp4ˣ;    verja: ‘v[…]’ 325VII, vera Kˣ    [5] Ýs: ‘Uss’ 972ˣ, ýss 325V, Flat, papp4ˣ, ‘hyss’ DG8;    hafi: hafa 972ˣ, taki 73aˣ, 68, Hb, 142ˣ, 566aˣ, papp4ˣ, ‘[…]afi’ 325VII, taka 141ˣ, hafir 761bˣmarg;    allra: so all others, allir Holm2;    húsa: so 972ˣ, J2ˣ, 73aˣ, 68, Holm4, 61, 325V, 325VII, Bb, Flat, Tóm, Kˣ, Hb, 142ˣ, 566aˣ, 141ˣ, papp4ˣ, om. Holm2, ‘—’ DG8, ‘husu’ 761bˣmarg    [6] ‑þrœndir: ‑þrændr 972ˣ, Flat;    kol sinna: kvǫl finna Bb, ‘kolsvinna’ 141ˣ    [7] skal: mun 972ˣ, 73aˣ, 61, Bb, Flat, Tóm, Hb, 142ˣ, 566aˣ, 141ˣ, skulu 325V;    kveykt: ‘kveik’ or ‘kveck’ 61, ‘kvekt’ 325V    [8] kǫld: kald 972ˣ, Flat, ‘kuld’ Tóm, kǫll Kˣ;    ef: er DG8;    valda: ‘gvallda’ corrected from ‘giallda’ Bb, ráða Tóm

Editions: Skj AI, 286, Skj BI, 264, Skald I, 136; Fms 5, 54-5, Fms 12, 97-8, ÓH 1941, I, 540 (ch. 201), Flat 1860-8, II, 339; Hkr 1777-1826, II, 343, VI, 107, 12, 97-8, Hkr 1868, 474 (ÓHHkr ch. 217), Hkr 1893-1901, I, 457, IV, 162, ÍF 27, 356, Hkr 1991, II, 512 (ÓHHkr ch. 205); ÓHLeg 1849, 67, 118, ÓHLeg 1922, 81, ÓHLeg 1982, 186-7; Hb 1892-6, 411-12, Fbr 1852, 108, Fbr 1925-7, 206, ÍF 6, 260-1 (ch. 24), Loth 1960a, xl, xlix, 153 (ch. 17), ÍS II, 840 (ch. 24); Finnur Jónsson 1932-3, 70-2.

Context: In ÓH and Hkr, when the king faces an army of farmers from Veradalr (Verdalen), Finnr Árnason advises that they burn the farmers’ houses in order to get them to break ranks and desert. Þormóðr then recites the stanza. In ÓHLeg and Fbr, the king asks Þormóðr his opinion, and he responds with this stanza.

Notes: [All]: This is the first of the stanzas dealing with events related to the battle of Stiklastaðir (Stiklestad), which took place on 29 July 1030 near Verdalsøra, about 70 kilometres north-east of Trondheim. For the battle and other skaldic poetry associated with it, see the entry on Óláfr Haraldsson in ‘Ruler biographies’ in Introduction to this volume. — [1, 4] fyr innan Hverbjǫrg ‘inside Hverbjǫrg’: The prepositional phrase could alternatively modify finnum ‘find’ (l. 2). See further Note to l. 4, Hverbjǫrg. — [2] inni ‘dwellings’: ÍF 6 reads innin ‘the houses’ with 73aˣ, Flat and Hb, but Þormóðr is not otherwise known to use the postpositive article. The variant Inney presumably refers to Inderøya in Nord-Trøndelag (Hb 1892-6, 411 n. 1), and it is adopted in ÍF 27. Gaertner (1907, 340-1), on the basis of a reconstructed *Innir in reference to the inhabitants of a portion of Verdalen, would read Brennum ǫll lǫnd fyr innan Inni ‘Let’s burn all the lands as far as the Innir’. This desperate remedy appears to be motivated by the far remove of Hverbjǫrg from fyr innan. The present interpretation was first proposed by Sveinbjörn Egilsson (SHI V, 59 n.). — [3] tegask ‘show themselves ready’: So (with minor variations) read the mss of the sagas of Óláfr helgi, and the reading is adopted in Fbr 1852, 108, Skj B and Skald (see also Finnur Jónsson 1912, 44), while the Fbr mss read skal ‘shall/intends to’. Tegask, being the lectio difficilior, would appear to be the more original reading. It may be, however, that the two are oral variants. — [4] Hverbjǫrg ‘Hverbjǫrg’: (a) If indeed this is a p. n. (and the elements would be rare in Norway), the site is now unidentifiable, though presumably it was in Verdalen (ON Veradalr) near Stiklestad. (b) Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson (ÍF 27) instead took hverbjǫrg as ‘kettle-crag’, a kenning for ‘house’. (c) The variant herbjǫrg (so Fms 12, 97; LP (1860)) would give ‘army crags’ and herborg (so Fms 5, 55) ‘army strongholds'. — [5] hafi ‘let ... have’: Hafi is also adopted in Skj B and Skald. The variant taki ‘let ... take’ is also possible, though it has less strong ms. support and is slightly less idiomatic. — [6] Innþrœndir: The people of Inntrøndelag, the north-easternmost region of the Trondheim district. Zimmerling (1997), discussing this stanza, argues that the portrayal of these people ‘as prototypical public enemies’ is developed in later prose narratives but is not part of skaldic tradition. — [8] ef ek má valda ‘if I can have my way’: Previous eds have generally construed this, as here, with the second of the two clauses in the second helmingr, though it seems to make little sense for the poet to say so emphatically that he wishes to burn down thorns, and Finnur Jónsson (1932-3, 72) later changed his mind and took the ef-clause with the taki-clause. Possibly klungri ‘thorns’ had some specific sense more related to settlements, such as ‘enclosure’, or else a figurative sense relating to the throng of hostile farmers and the problem they present. Such a reading might be supported by the proverbial ring of skal ‘shall’ in l. 7.

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. Fms = Sveinbjörn Egilsson et al., eds. 1825-37. Fornmanna sögur eptir gömlum handritum útgefnar að tilhlutun hins norræna fornfræða fèlags. 12 vols. Copenhagen: Popp.
4. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
5. LP (1860) = Sveinbjörn Egilsson, ed. 1860. Lexicon poeticum antiquæ linguæ septentrionalis. Copenhagen: Societas Regia antiquariorum septentrionalium.
6. 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.
7. ÓH 1941 = Johnsen, Oscar Albert and Jón Helgason, eds. 1941. Saga Óláfs konungs hins helga: Den store saga om Olav den hellige efter pergamenthåndskrift i Kungliga biblioteket i Stockholm nr. 2 4^to med varianter fra andre håndskrifter. 2 vols. Det norske historiske kildeskriftfond skrifter 53. Oslo: Dybwad.
8. ÓHLeg 1982 = Heinrichs, Anne et al., eds and trans. 1982. Olafs saga hins helga: Die ‘Legendarische Saga’ über Olaf den Heiligen (Hs. Delagard. saml. nr. 8^II). Heidelberg: Winter.
9. ÍF 6 = Vestfirðinga sǫgur. Ed. Björn K. Þórólfsson and Guðni Jónsson. 1943.
10. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
11. Hkr 1893-1901 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1893-1901. Heimskringla: Nóregs konunga sǫgur af Snorri Sturluson. 4 vols. SUGNL 23. Copenhagen: Møller.
12. Hkr 1991 = Bergljót S. Kristjánsdóttir et al., eds. 1991. Heimskringla. 3 vols. Reykjavík: Mál og menning.
13. Hb 1892-6 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1892-6. Hauksbók udgiven efter de Arnamagnæanske håndskrifter no. 371, 544 og 675, 4° samt forskellige papirshåndskrifter. Copenhagen: Det kongelige nordiske oldskrift-selskab.
14. ÓHLeg 1922 = Johnsen, Oscar Albert, ed. 1922. Olafs saga hins helga efter pergamenthåndskrift i Uppsala Universitetsbibliotek, Delagardieske samling nr. 8^II. Det norske historiske kildeskriftfond skrifter 47. Kristiania (Oslo): Dybwad.
15. SHI = Sveinbjörn Egilsson, ed. 1828-46. Scripta historica islandorum de rebus gestis veterum borealium, latine reddita et apparatu critico instructa, curante Societate regia antiquariorum septentrionalium. 12 vols. Copenhagen: Popp etc. and London: John & Arthur Arch.
16. Finnur Jónsson. 1912. ‘Sagaernes lausavísur’. ÅNOH, 1-57.
17. Gaertner, K. H. 1907. ‘Zur Fóstbrœðra saga. I. Teil: Die vísur’. BGDSL 32, 299-446.
18. Loth, Agnete, ed. 1960a. Membrana regia deperdita. EA A 5. Copenhagen: Munksgaard.
19. Fbr 1925-7 = Björn K. Þórólfsson, ed. 1925-7. Fóstbrœðra saga. Copenhagen: Jørgensen.
20. Finnur Jónsson. 1932-3. ‘Þórmóðr Kolbrúnarskald’. APS 7, 31-82.
21. Fbr 1852 = Konráð Gíslason, ed. 1852. Fóstbrœðra saga. Copenhagen: Berling.
22. Zimmerling, Anton. 1997. ‘Brennum öll fyr innan: The Stiklastaðir Tradition in Verse and in Prose’. In Sagas and the Norwegian Experience / Sagaene og Noreg. Preprints. 10th International Saga Conference. Trondheim: NTNU Noregs teknisk-naturvitskaplege universitet. Senter for Middelalderstudien, Trondheim, 693-700.
23. Hkr 1777-1826 = Schöning, Gerhard et al., eds. 1777-1826. Heimskringla edr Noregs konunga-sögor. 6 vols. Copenhagen: Stein.
24. Hkr 1868 = Unger, C. R., ed. 1868. Heimskringla eller Norges kongesagaer af Snorre Sturlassøn. Christiania (Oslo): Brøgger & Christie.
25. ÓHLeg 1849 = Keyser, R. and C. R. Unger. eds. 1849. Olafs saga hins helga: En kort saga om kong Olaf den Hellige fra anden halvdeel af det tolfte aarhundrede. Efter et gammelt pergaments-haandskrift i Universitets-bibliotheket i Upsala. Christiania (Oslo): Feilberg & Landmark.
26. ÍS = Bragi Halldórsson et al., eds. 1987. Íslendinga sögur og þættir. 3 vols. Reykjavík: Svart á hvítu.
27. Internal references
28. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Heimskringla’ 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=4> (accessed 24 April 2024)
29. (forthcoming), ‘ Anonymous, Fóstbrœðra saga’ in Margaret Clunies Ross, Kari Ellen Gade and Tarrin Wills (eds), Poetry in Sagas of Icelanders. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 5. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=7> (accessed 24 April 2024)
30. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Óláfs saga helga (Legendary)’ 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=31> (accessed 24 April 2024)
31. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Óláfs saga helga’ 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=53> (accessed 24 April 2024)
32. (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 24 April 2024)