Ótt Hfl 15^I

Eigi hrædduzk ægi;
ér fóruð sæ stóran;
allvaldr of getr aldar
engi nýtri drengi.
Opt varð fars, en forsi
flaust hratt af sér brǫttum,
neytt, áðr Nóreg beittuð,
niðjungr Haralds, miðjan.

Eigi hrædduzk ægi; ér fóruð stóran sæ; {engi allvaldr aldar} of getr nýtri drengi. Fars varð opt neytt, en flaust hratt af sér brǫttum forsi, áðr, {niðjungr Haralds}, beittuð miðjan Nóreg.

You were not afraid of the ocean; you travelled across a great sea; {no mighty ruler of men} [RULER] gains abler warriors. The ship was often tested, and the vessel threw from itself the steep cataract, before, {descendant of Haraldr} [= Óláfr], you beat to the middle of Norway.

Mss: Kˣ(234r) (Hkr); Holm2(8v), J1ˣ(145r), J2ˣ(126r), 73aˣ(24r), 78aˣ(24r), 68(7v), 61(81va), 75c(5v), 325V(10vb), Bb(130ra), Flat(81vb), Tóm(98r) (ÓH)

Readings: [1] hrædduzk: hræddizk 325V, Bb;    ægi: jǫfra 68, ýtar 61    [2] ér: opt J1ˣ, ótt 78aˣ;    fóruð: fór 68    [3] getr: sitr 68;    aldar: aldri 325V, aldir Bb    [5] varð: var all others;    fars: ‘fyrs’ 61    [6] flaust: flaustr Flat, Tóm    [7] neytt: nautt 61, nýtt 325V, nýtr Bb, ‘neyd’ Tóm;    áðr: áðr en Tóm;    beittuð: hittuð J1ˣ, J2ˣ, 73aˣ, 78aˣ, 325V    [8] niðjungr: níðingr Tóm;    Haralds: Nóreg Flat

Editions: Skj AI, 294, Skj BI, 271, Skald I, 139, NN §620; Hkr 1893-1901, II, 36-7, IV, 117, ÍF 27, 35-6 (ÓHHkr ch. 29); ÓH 1941, I, 57 (ch. 29), Flat 1860-8, II, 31.

Context: The stanza follows st. 14 (see Context).

Notes: [4] drengi ‘warriors’: On the important term drengr ‘warrior, worthy or manly man’, see Note to Anon Sveinfl 1/6. — [5] opt ‘often’: This adv. is construed with var(ð) ‘was’ (so also Kock (NN §620) and ÍF 27). Skj B takes it as qualifying hratt ‘threw’. — [5] varð ‘was’: Var (normalised vas) ‘was’, the reading of the ÓH mss, is equally acceptable here. — [7] neytt ‘tested’: An impersonal construction, with gen. fars ‘vessel, ship’. — [7] beittuð ‘you beat’: A technical term, meaning ‘to sail to windward’ (Jesch 2001a, 174). — [8] niðjungr Haralds ‘descendant of Haraldr [= Óláfr]’: The Haraldr alluded to could be either Óláfr’s father Haraldr grenski ‘from Grenland’, or his putative great-great-grandfather Haraldr hárfagri ‘Fair-hair’; see Note to Sigv Knútdr 3/2, 3. — [8] miðjan ‘to the middle’: Snorri (ÍF 27, 36) identifies the destination as the island of Sæla … út frá Staði ‘Selja, off the coast of Stad’ (see Note to Sigv Lv 11/8).

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. Jesch, Judith. 2001a. Ships and Men in the Late Viking Age: The Vocabulary of Runic Inscriptions and Skaldic Verse. Woodbridge: Boydell.
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. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
9. Hkr 1893-1901 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1893-1901. Heimskringla: Nóregs konunga sǫgur af Snorri Sturluson. 4 vols. SUGNL 23. Copenhagen: Møller.
10. Internal references
11. (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 19 April 2024)
12. (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 19 April 2024)
13. Diana Whaley (ed.) 2012, ‘Anonymous Poems, Flokkr about Sveinn Álfífuson 1’ 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. 1029.
14. Matthew Townend (ed.) 2012, ‘Sigvatr Þórðarson, Knútsdrápa 3’ 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. 653.
15. R. D. Fulk (ed.) 2012, ‘Sigvatr Þórðarson, Lausavísur 11’ 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. 712.