Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Sigvatr Þórðarson, Bersǫglisvísur 11’ 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, pp. 22-3.
Hverr eggjar þik hǫggva,
hjaldrgegnir, bú þegna?
Ofrausn es þat jǫfri
innanlands at vinna.
Engr hafði svá ungum
áðr bragningi ráðit;
rán hykk rekkum þínum
— reiðrs herr, konungr — leiðask.
Hverr eggjar þik, {hjaldrgegnir}, hǫggva bú þegna? Es ofrausn jǫfri at vinna þat innanlands. Engr hafði áðr ráðit ungum bragningi svá; hykk rekkum þínum leiðask rán; reiðrs herr, konungr.
Who urges you, {battle-promoter} [WARRIOR], to slay the livestock of your subjects? It is insolence for a prince to do that in his own land. No one had earlier advised a young ruler in such a way; I think your troops are tired of plunder; people are angry, king.
Mss: Kˣ(504v-505r), 39(14vb), E(5v), J2ˣ(245v-246r) (Hkr); Holm2(74r), 972ˣ(585va), 972ˣ(585vb), 325VI(42rb), 321ˣ(283) (ll. 1-6), 73aˣ(216v), 325VII(41v), 325V(89vb), 61(130va), Tóm(161v), Bb(206rb) (ÓH); FskBˣ(54r-v) (Fsk); H(4v), Hr(6rb) (H-Hr); 325XI 3(1r-v), Flat(190ra) (Flat)
Readings: [1] Hverr eggjar: ‘Hwerer eggiar’ 972ˣ(585vb), Hverir eggja Tóm, Bb; þik: ‘þik h[…]’ 325XI 3; hǫggva: ‘[...]’ 325VII [2] hjaldr‑: hjalm‑ 61, hildr‑ Tóm; ‑gegnir: ‑gegn J2ˣ, ‑gegna 325VI, H, Hr, Flat, ‑gegninn 325VII, ‘[…]na’ 325XI 3 [3] Ofrausn: ofraun 39, FskBˣ, um rausn Tóm, ‘ofrosn’ Bb; þat: om. Hr; jǫfri: ‘iofru’ 972ˣ(585vb), ræsi 325XI 3, Flat [4] ‑lands: land 325VII; vinna: ‘[...]a’ 325VII [5] Engr: ǫngr Holm2, 972ˣ(585vb), 325V, 61, Tóm, Bb, H, Hr, angr 325XI 3, Flat; hafði: ‘hæfði’ 325VI [6] bragningi: ‘bragengi’ 972ˣ(585vb), bragning 73aˣ, bragningum Tóm; ráðit: ráða 325VI, 321ˣ [7] rán: rann 61; hykk (‘hygg ec’): ‘hykk ec’ J2ˣ; rekkum: þegnum Bb [8] reiðrs (‘reiðr er’): reiðr 39, 325VII; leiðask: leiðar Tóm, 325XI 3, Flat
Editions: Skj AI, 254, Skj BI, 237, Skald I, 123, NN §1867; ÍF 28, 29 (Mgóð ch. 16), E 1916, 17-18; ÓH 1941, I, 626 (ch. 261); ÍF 29, 213-14 (ch. 48); Fms 6, 42-3 (Mgóð ch. 22), Louis-Jensen 1970b, 149, Flat 1860-8, III, 269, Mork 1928-32, 29, Andersson and Gade 2000, 107, 467 (MH); Jón Skaptason 1983, 148, 294.
Notes: [2] hjaldrgegnir ‘battle-promoter [WARRIOR]’: The variant reading hjaldrgegna (m. acc. pl.) ‘battle-able’ (so 325VI, H, Hr, 325XI 3, Flat) could be taken as an adj. qualifying a cpd búþegna (m. acc. pl.) ‘farmers’ (if the phrase is understood as a cpd rather than bú þegna ‘the livestock of your subjects’), as the object of the verb hǫggva ‘slay’ (l. 1). That reading is possible, but it is clearly an attempt at syntactic simplification. — [2] þegna (m. acc. pl.) ‘of your subjects’: For the different meanings of the word þegn, see Goetting 2006. In this particular case, the word refers to Magnús’s free subjects, the farmers of Norway (but see st. 12/7 below). — [3] ofrausn ‘insolence’: Lit. ‘excess of heroism’ or ‘over-magnificence’. The cpd clearly has negative connotations here, referring to Magnús’s reckless treatment of the Norw. farmers and their properties. For a discussion of the word, see Note to Arn Hardr 12/1.
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