Sigv Erlfl 3^I

Ǫll vas Erlings fallin
— ungr fyr norðan Tungur
skeið vann skjǫldungr auða —
skipsókn við þrǫm Bóknar.
Einn stóð sonr á sínu
snarr Skjalgs vinum fjarri
í lyptingu lengi
lætrauðr skipi auðu.

Ǫll skipsókn Erlings vas fallin við þrǫm Bóknar; ungr skjǫldungr vann skeið auða fyr norðan Tungur. {Snarr, lætrauðr sonr Skjalgs} stóð lengi einn, fjarri vinum, í lyptingu á auðu skipi sínu.

All of Erlingr’s ship-crew had fallen by the coast of Bokn; the young ruler [Óláfr] cleared [lit. made empty] the warship to the north of Tunge. {The bold, deceit-shunning son of Skjálgr} [= Erlingr] stood long alone, far from friends, in the after-deck of his empty ship.

Mss: Kˣ(431v) (Hkr); Holm2(57v), J2ˣ(208r), 321ˣ(217), 73aˣ(178v), 68(57r), Holm4(55va), 61(116rb), 325V(68va), 325VII(31v), Bb(189ra), Flat(119ra), Tóm(146v) (ÓH); DG8(94r) (ÓHLeg); FskBˣ(49r), FskAˣ(182-183) (Fsk)

Readings: [1] fallin: falli 321ˣ    [2] ungr: ungs J2ˣ, 73aˣ, Holm4, 61, 325V, 325VII, Bb, Flat, Tóm, ungi 321ˣ, ‘yngs’ FskAˣ;    Tungur: tungu Holm2, 321ˣ    [3] skjǫldungr: ǫðlingr 68;    auða: rauða FskAˣ    [4] skip‑: skips 321ˣ, 73aˣ;    ‑sókn: ‑sǫgn Holm2, J2ˣ, Tóm, ‑hǫfn 321ˣ, 73aˣ, sǫng Flat;    þrǫm: þrym 325VII;    Bóknar: ‘bycner’ Holm2, ‘buknar’ J2ˣ, 321ˣ, 73aˣ, DG8, botnar 325VII, ‘bocknar’ Bb, FskAˣ    [5] sonr: stór 73aˣ, ‘s(n)or’(?) FskAˣ;    á: at Flat;    sínu: sinni 68    [6] Skjalgs: ‘scialg(r)’(?) Holm2    [7] í: om. 325V    [8] læ‑: ‘la’ Bb, ‘let’ FskAˣ;    skipi: á skipi Flat;    auðu: ǫðru Tóm

Editions: Skj AI, 244, Skj BI, 229, Skald I, 119; Hkr 1893-1901, II, 404-5, IV, 155, ÍF 27, 315, Hkr 1991, II, 483 (ÓHHkr ch. 176); ÓH 1941, I, 482 (ch. 172), Flat 1860-8, II, 309; ÓHLeg 1922, 65, ÓHLeg 1982, 154; Fsk 1902-3, 175 (ch. 28), ÍF 29, 194 (ch. 33); Jón Skaptason 1983, 115, 262.

Context: In ÓH-Hkr and Fsk, Erlingr’s ship is surrounded and everyone on board killed except Erlingr, who stands tall in the after-deck of his ship. ÓHLeg describes similar events but also anticipates Erlingr’s capture. This stanza, Sigv Erl and st. 8 are then cited, with only minimal introductions in between, then further narrative follows.

Notes: [1-4]: The helmingr is stælt ‘intercalated, inlaid’, with the two middle lines forming an independent clause; cf. SnSt Ht 12^III and Context, and cf. Note to st. 2/1-4 above. — [2-3]: The word order is unusual, with parts of the subject and object, as well as a prepositional phrase, preceding the finite verb, but parallels are to be found in intercalary clauses in Ill Har 2/2-3^II and SnSt Ht 12/2-3, 6-7^III. — [2, 4] fyr norðan Tungur; við þrǫm Bóknar ‘to the north of Tunge; by the coast of Bokn’: On Tunge, see Note to st. 2/4. Today, Bokn is the name of two islands on the north side of Boknafjorden; the larger of these, Vestre Bokn, lies north of Tunge. — [6] Skjalgs ‘of Skjálgr’: Erlingr’s father Þórólfr bore the nickname Skjálgr ‘the Squinting’, which also functions as if a forename; cf. also st. 4/4 and Note. — [7] lyptingu ‘the after-deck’: Often translated ‘poop(-deck)’, this appears to be a raised part of the deck in the after-stem of a ship, possibly enclosed in some way for extra protection, and the rightful place of the expedition leader. Certainly, Snorri (ÍF 27, 315) imagined Erlingr defending himself from a position in a rúm mikit ... í lyptingunni ‘large space (or seat?) in the lypting’ which is high up and inaccessible to his attackers except by arrows or spears. There is, however, little archaeological evidence for its appearance (see Jesch 2001a, 153, and Note to Arn Hryn 10/1^II).

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
3. Jesch, Judith. 2001a. Ships and Men in the Late Viking Age: The Vocabulary of Runic Inscriptions and Skaldic Verse. Woodbridge: Boydell.
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. 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.
7. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
8. Hkr 1893-1901 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1893-1901. Heimskringla: Nóregs konunga sǫgur af Snorri Sturluson. 4 vols. SUGNL 23. Copenhagen: Møller.
9. Hkr 1991 = Bergljót S. Kristjánsdóttir et al., eds. 1991. Heimskringla. 3 vols. Reykjavík: Mál og menning.
10. Fsk 1902-3 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1902-3. Fagrskinna: Nóregs kononga tal. SUGNL 30. Copenhagen: Møller.
11. ÍF 29 = Ágrip af Nóregskonunga sǫgum; Fagrskinna—Nóregs konungatal. Ed. Bjarni Einarsson. 1985.
12. Jón Skaptason. 1983. ‘Material for an Edition and Translation of the Poems of Sigvat Þórðarson, skáld’. Ph.D. thesis. State University of New York at Stony Brook. DAI 44: 3681A.
13. 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.
14. Internal references
15. (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)
16. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Fagrskinna’ 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=56> (accessed 24 April 2024)
17. (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)
18. Judith Jesch 2012, ‘ Sigvatr Þórðarson, Poem about Erlingr Skjálgsson’ 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. 628. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1354> (accessed 24 April 2024)
19. Diana Whaley (ed.) 2009, ‘Arnórr jarlaskáld Þórðarson, Hrynhenda, Magnússdrápa 10’ 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. 195-6.
20. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Illugi bryndœlaskáld, Poem about Haraldr harðráði 2’ 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. 283-4.
21. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Snorri Sturluson, Háttatal 12’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 1116.