Sigv Lv 23^I

Hafa láti mik heitan
Hvíta-Kristr at víti
eld, ef Ôleif vildak
— emk skirr of þat — firrask.
Vatnœrin hefk vitni
— vask til Rúms í haska—
— ǫld leynik því aldri —
annarra þau manna.

Hvíta-Kristr láti mik hafa heitan eld at víti, ef vildak firrask Ôleif; emk skirr of þat. Hefk þau vatnœrin vitni annarra manna; vask í haska til Rúms; aldri leynik ǫld því.

May White-Christ let me have hot fire for punishment if I wanted to abandon Óláfr; I am guiltless about that. I have those abundant-as-water testimonies of other people; I was in peril on the way to Rome; never shall I conceal that from people.

Mss: Holm2(73v), 972ˣ(580va), 325V(88va), 321ˣ(278-279), 73aˣ(214r-v), Holm4(69ra), 61(129vb), 325VI(41va), 325VII(41r), Bb(205rb-va), Flat(126vb), Tóm(160v) (ÓH); Kˣ(499v), 39(13rb-va), F(38ra), J2ˣ(242r), E(4v) (Hkr); A(5v-6r), W(106) (TGT, l. 6)

Readings: [1] heitan: ‘heitann’ 972ˣ, Flat, J2ˣ, heita 61    [2] at: á Bb;    víti: víta 325V    [3] eld ef: ‘el[…]’ 325VI;    Ôleif vildak (‘ek Olaf villda’): so 972ˣ, 321ˣ, 61, 325VII, Bb, Kˣ, ek Óláf vildak Holm2, 325V, Holm4, Flat, Tóm, F, J2ˣ, E, ek Óláf vildi 73aˣ, Óláf vildag 325VI, 39    [4] emk (‘ek em’): er ek 325VI, Flat, ek er 39;    skirr: skýr 321ˣ;    of þat (‘om þat’): so 972ˣ, 73aˣ, 61, 325VI, Flat, Tóm, Kˣ, 39, F, E, at því Holm2, 325V, J2ˣ, E, af því Holm4, 325VII, Bb    [5] Vatn‑: vant Kˣ;    ‑œrin: so 321ˣ, 73aˣ, Holm4, 325VI, Flat, Kˣ, F, J2ˣ, E, œrit Holm2, 972ˣ, 325VII, Bb, œrinn 325V, Tóm, œrins 61, ‘yrin’ 39;    hefk (‘hefi ec’): berrek 61, hœfi 325VII, ‘hofr ek’ 39    [6] vask (‘vasc’): ‘vareker’ 325V, ‘vársk’ Holm4, ‘vask ek’ 61, Flat, W    [7] leynik (‘leyni ec’): leynir 61, leyfi ek Bb, leyni Flat, Tóm, ‘læni ec’ 39    [8] þau: þo 73aˣ, þau with ‘svo’ written above 325VII, því Bb, svá Flat

Editions: Skj AI, 273, Skj BI, 252, Skald I, 130, NN §3133A; Fms 5, 123, Fms 12, 107, ÓH 1853, 236, 301, ÓH 1941, I, 618 (ch. 254), Flat 1860-8, II, 372; Hkr 1777-1826, III, 12, VI, 126, Hkr 1868, 521 (MGóð ch. 9), Hkr 1893-1901, III, 18-19, IV, 183-4, ÍF 28, 17, Hkr 1991, II, 566 (MGóð ch. 8), F 1871, 173, E 1916, 12; SnE 1848-87, II, 138-9, TGT 1884, 39, 73, TGT 1927, 64, 101, TGT 1998, 170-1; Konráð Gíslason 1892, 41, 189, 232, Jón Skaptason 1983, 207, 326.

Context: In ÓH and Hkr, Sigvatr then goes to his farmstead. He hears many people accuse him of deserting King Óláfr (since he was on a pilgrimage to Rome at the time of the battle of Stiklastaðir (Stiklestad); cf. Þorm Lv 20 and Context). He speaks this stanza. In Flat and in 73a (ÓH 1941, II, 830-1), the stanza is a response to the same criticism, but the incident immediately follows when he has returned from Denmark, fleeing in the middle of the night after having been warned that he has been recognized by his poetry (see Lv 27 and Context) and will be captured and killed because of King Knútr’s enmity to the friends of Óláfr. In TGT, l. 6 is quoted in the section on metaplasmus to provide an example of sineresis (vas ek > vask).

Notes: [2] Hvíta-Kristr ‘White-Christ’: The only other skaldic occurrence of this name for Christ is Þdís Saint^III; for other examples, see CVC: hvítr B. II. 1. In medieval Celtic texts, Christ is often called ‘white’, since the words for ‘white’ (Irish bán, Welsh gwyn) also mean ‘holy’, and this may be the origin of the Norse usage. Alternatively, ‘white’ may arise from the wearing of white baptismal garments by converts. — [4] skirr ‘guiltless’: The dictionary form, skírr, mars the aðalhending, and skirr is adopted by most eds (over the objection of Kock, NN §3133A); see ‘Normalisation resulting from linguistic changes’ in General Introduction for discussion of short and long variants. — [5] vatnœrin ‘abundant-as-water’: Seemingly a hap. leg. (LP: vatnœrinn). — [6] haska ‘peril’: A short form of hásk-, indicated by the aðalhending on vask; cf. Note to l. 4 skirr. 

References

1. Bibliography
2. TGT 1884 = Björn Magnússon Ólsen, ed. 1884. Den tredje og fjærde grammatiske afhandling i Snorres Edda tilligemed de grammatiske afhandlingers prolog og to andre tillæg. SUGNL 12. Copenhagen: Knudtzon.
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. SnE 1848-87 = Snorri Sturluson. 1848-87. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar: Edda Snorronis Sturlaei. Ed. Jón Sigurðsson et al. 3 vols. Copenhagen: Legatum Arnamagnaeanum. Rpt. Osnabrück: Zeller, 1966.
5. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
6. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
7. 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.
8. CVC = Cleasby, Richard, Gudbrand Vigfusson [Guðbrandur Vigfússon] and W. A. Craigie. 1957. An Icelandic-English Dictionary. 2nd edn. Oxford: Clarendon.
9. 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.
10. 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.
11. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
12. Hkr 1893-1901 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1893-1901. Heimskringla: Nóregs konunga sǫgur af Snorri Sturluson. 4 vols. SUGNL 23. Copenhagen: Møller.
13. Hkr 1991 = Bergljót S. Kristjánsdóttir et al., eds. 1991. Heimskringla. 3 vols. Reykjavík: Mál og menning.
14. F 1871 = Unger, C. R., ed. 1871. Fríssbók: Codex Frisianus. En samling af norske konge-sagaer. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
15. E 1916 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1916. Eirspennill: AM 47 fol. Nóregs konunga sǫgur: Magnús góði – Hákon gamli. Kristiania (Oslo): Den norske historiske kildeskriftskommission.
16. 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.
17. TGT 1927 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1927b. Óláfr Þórðarson: Málhljóða- og málskrúðsrit. Grammatisk-retorisk afhandling. Det kgl. Danske Videnskabernes Selskab. Historisk-filologiske meddelelser 13, 2. Copenhagen: Høst.
18. TGT 1998 = Krömmelbein, Thomas, ed. and trans. 1998. Dritte grammatische Abhandlung. Studia nordica 3. Oslo: Novus.
19. Konráð Gíslason, ed. 1892a. Udvalg af oldnordiske skjaldekvad, med anmærkninger. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
20. Hkr 1777-1826 = Schöning, Gerhard et al., eds. 1777-1826. Heimskringla edr Noregs konunga-sögor. 6 vols. Copenhagen: Stein.
21. Hkr 1868 = Unger, C. R., ed. 1868. Heimskringla eller Norges kongesagaer af Snorre Sturlassøn. Christiania (Oslo): Brøgger & Christie.
22. ÓH 1853 = Munch, P. A. and C. R. Unger, eds. 1853. Saga Olafs konungs ens helga. Christiania (Oslo): Det kongelige norske Fredriks Universitet.
23. Internal references
24. (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 26 April 2024)
25. (forthcoming), ‘ Óláfr hvítaskáld Þórðarson, The Third Grammatical Treatise’ in Tarrin Wills (ed.), The Third Grammatical Treatise. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=32> (accessed 26 April 2024)
26. (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 26 April 2024)
27. (forthcoming), ‘ Heimskringla, Magnúss saga ins góða’ 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=116> (accessed 26 April 2024)
28. Margaret Clunies Ross 2017, ‘ Þorbjǫrn dísarskáld, Poem about a Saint’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 472. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1428> (accessed 26 April 2024)
29. R. D. Fulk (ed.) 2012, ‘Þormóðr Kolbrúnarskáld, Lausavísur 20’ 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. 833.