Ótt Hfl 19^I

Nú ræðr þú fyr þeiri
(þik remmir goð miklu)
fold, es forðum heldu
fimm bragningar (gagni).
Breið eru austr til Eiða
ættlǫnd und þér; Gǫndlar
engr sat elda þrøngvir
áðr at slíku láði.

Nú ræðr þú fyr þeiri fold, es fimm bragningar heldu forðum; goð remmir þik miklu gagni. Breið ættlǫnd eru und þér austr til Eiða; {engr þrøngvir {elda Gǫndlar}} sat áðr at slíku láði.

Now you rule over that land which five princes held previously; God strengthens you with a great victory. Broad ancestral lands lie under you eastwards to Eiðar; {no forcer {of the fires of Gǫndul <valkyrie>}} [SWORDS > WARRIOR] presided over such territory before.

Mss: Kˣ(281v-282r), Bb(146va), J2ˣ(149v), J(2ra) (Hkr); Holm2(20r), 325V(26ra), 75a(12vb), 73aˣ(52r), 68(19r), 61(90rb), Holm4(11va), 325VII(9r), Flat(86vb), Tóm(108r) (ÓH)

Readings: [1] þeiri: ‘þerri’ Bb    [2] remmir: reifir 325V    [5] Breið: breiðr 61;    eru: er Bb, J, Holm2, 68, 61, Flat;    til: við Tóm    [6] ‑lǫnd: land 61, Holm4, land or lǫnd Flat;    und: við 75a;    þér: þik 75a, 68, sik 61, því Flat;    Gǫndlar: ‘gavnlar’ Bb, 325V, randa 61, ‘gaunnlar’ Tóm    [7] engr: ungr Tóm;    þrøngvir: ‘þreinger’ 75a, sløngvir 73aˣ, 61, Holm4, 325VII, þrǫngum 68    [8] at: yfir 75a, 73aˣ;    láði: ráði 325VII

Editions: Skj AI, 295, Skj BI, 272, Skald I, 139; Hkr 1893-1901, II, 131, IV, 129, ÍF 27, 107 (ÓHHkr ch. 75); ÓH 1941, I, 155 (ch. 58), Flat 1860-8, II, 67.

Context: See Context to st. 17 above.

Notes: [All]: This stanza (and st. 18/8) is preserved on one of the surviving leaves of J, the vellum Jöfraskinna. The text in J2ˣ was copied from K and hence also belongs to the Hkr redaction, unlike the remainder of the Hfl stanzas in J2ˣ, which belong to the ÓH redaction. — [2, 4] goð remmir þik miklu gagni ‘God strengthens you with a great victory’: This is the only point in Hfl at which Óláfr’s success is attributed to divine favour, and indeed it is the only clear Christian reference in the poem. — [4] fimm bragningar ‘five princes’: Snorri (ÍF 27, 101-2) identifies the five as King Hrœrekr of Heiðmǫrk (Hedmark) and his brother Hringr, Guðrøðr of Guðbrandsdalar (Gudbrandsdalen, Oppland), and the unnamed kings of Raumaríki (Romerike) and Haðaland (Hadeland). — [5] Eiða ‘Eiðar’: This seems to be gen. pl. of Eið, one of a number of place names based on eið n. ‘isthmus, neck of land’; LP: eið gives Ed as the modern equivalent. For discussion of Eiðar and Eiðaskógr, the forest between Norway and Sweden, see Introduction to Sigv Austv and Note to Austv 8/2. — [6] Gǫndlar ‘of Gǫndul <valkyrie>’: Alternatively, the common noun gǫndul ‘battle’. Although this valkyrie-name is quite common (see LP: Gǫndul), it is subject to a good deal of scribal variation, as here and, e.g., Sigv Nesv 7/2 and HSt Rst 18/3. — [8] láði ‘territory’: Óttarr’s grandiose claim that no-one held such territory before is somewhat incompatible with his designation of the same regions as Óláfr’s ættlǫnd ‘ancestral lands’ (l. 6).

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
7. Hkr 1893-1901 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1893-1901. Heimskringla: Nóregs konunga sǫgur af Snorri Sturluson. 4 vols. SUGNL 23. Copenhagen: Møller.
8. Internal references
9. (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 18 April 2024)
10. (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 18 April 2024)
11. (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 18 April 2024)
12. R. D. Fulk 2012, ‘ Sigvatr Þórðarson, Austrfararvísur’ 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. 578. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1351> (accessed 18 April 2024)
13. Rolf Stavnem (ed.) 2012, ‘Hallar-Steinn, Rekstefja 18’ 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. 918.
14. R. D. Fulk (ed.) 2012, ‘Sigvatr Þórðarson, Austrfararvísur 8’ 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. 594.
15. Russell Poole (ed.) 2012, ‘Sigvatr Þórðarson, Nesjavísur 7’ 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. 566.