ÞjóðA Sex 1^II

Hvasst frák Haugi it næsta
hlífél á gram drífa,
en Bolgara brennir
brœðr sínum vel tœði.
Skilðisk hann, ok hulði
hjalmsetr gamall vetra
tyggi tolf ok þriggja,
trauðr við Ôleif dauðan.

Frák {hlífél} drífa hvasst á gram it næsta Haugi, en {brennir Bolgara} tœði brœðr sínum vel. Hann skilðisk trauðr við dauðan Ôleif, ok tyggi tolf ok þriggja vetra gamall hulði {hjalmsetr}.

I learned that {a shield-storm} [BATTLE] drove sharp against the ruler next to Haug, and {the burner of Bulgars} [= Haraldr] supported his brother well. He parted, reluctant, from the dead Óláfr, and the prince twelve and three years [lit. winters] old concealed his {helmet-stand} [HEAD].

Mss: Kˣ(521r), 39(18va), F(41vb), E(10r), J2ˣ(257r) (Hkr); Holm2(69r), 972ˣ(537va), 321ˣ(260), 73aˣ(203v), Holm4(64va), 325VII(39r) (ll. 1-2), 325V(82rb), 61(126rb), Bb(199v), Tóm(156v) (ÓH); FskAˣ(189) (Fsk, ll. 1-4); H(20v), Hr(15vb) (H-Hr)

Readings: [1] Haugi: hauki J2ˣ, 325VII, hugi 325V, ‘hoggui’ 61;    it: om. 61    [2] drífa: ‘d.’ 325VII, ‘dr[…]’ Hr    [3] Bolgara: ‘bolgera’ 61;    brennir: bræðir 321ˣ    [4] brœðr: bróður H    [5] Skilðisk: skildi 325V;    ok hulði: ‘med huldu’ 321ˣ    [6] hjalm‑: hjal‑ Holm2;    ‑setr: ‑setrs F, E, J2ˣ, 321ˣ, Holm4, 325V, 61, Bb, Tóm, Hr;    gamall: gamals Tóm;    vetra: ‘vettra’ F    [7] tolf (‘xij’): ‘.xiij.’ 39;    þriggja: ‘.iii.’ 39, Holm4, ‘þriggri’ Hr    [8] trauðr: ‘trouðr’ FskAˣ

Editions: Skj AI, 369, Skj BI, 339, Skald I, 171; Hkr 1893-1901, III, 74, IV, 208, ÍF 28, 68, Hkr 1991, 601 (HSig ch. 1), F 1871, 192, E 1916, 33; ÓH 1941, I, 580 (ch. 232); Fsk 1902-3, 181 (ch. 28), ÍF 29, 199-200 (ch. 34); Fms 6, 129 (HSig ch. 1), Fms 12, 102.

Context: The fifteen-year-old Haraldr Sigurðarson fights for his half-brother Óláfr Haraldsson at Stiklestad (Stiklastaðir, 1030). It is explained either at this point or later that he is wounded but escapes. The st. is cited as an integral part of the account of the battle in Fsk and ÓH but within the first ch. of HSig in Hkr and H-Hr.

Notes: [All]: The poem is named in the introduction to the st.: A þat qveþr Þioðolfr scalld i drapv þeirri er hann orti vm Haralld konung er cǫllvð er Sexstefia ‘Þjóðólfr the skald mentions this in the drápa that he composed about King Haraldr, which is called Sexstefja (‘Six-Refrains’)’ (ÓH version). Omitted from the ms. list above is 73a, since at this point it is copied from 325V. — [All]: For Haraldr’s involvement in this battle, see also Hharð Gamv 1 and Hharð Lv 1, 2a-b. — [1] hvasst ‘sharp’: As a n. nom./acc. sg. adj., this could qualify hlífél ‘a shield-storm [BATTLE]’ (l. 2), or be used adverbially, qualifying the inf. drífa ‘drove’, lit. ‘drive’ (l. 2). The emphatic placing, first and at a distance from hlífél, produces an adverbial effect either way, rather as the placing of trauðr ‘reluctant’ (l. 8) at a distance from hann ‘he’ (l. 5) does. — [1] Haugi ‘Haug’: Dat. sg. of Haugr, modern Haug, the name of a farm in Verdalen (Veradalr), near the battle-site of Stiklestad (Stiklastaðir). The p. n. means ‘(place at) the mound, hill’. — [2] gram ‘the ruler’: Either Haraldr Sigurðarson (so Finnur Jónsson in Hkr 1893-1901, IV and see following Note), or perhaps more likely Óláfr. — [3] brennir Bolgara ‘the burner of Bulgars [= Haraldr]’: An anticipatory reference to Haraldr’s campaigns in the service of the Byzantine emperor. The Bulgars, associated in the C11th with the Albigensian heresy, would have been perceived (like the pagan Wends) as suitable targets of a Christian monarch. Frank (1978, 124) suggests the nickname of Emperor Basil II Bulgaroctonus (‘Slaughterer of Bulgars’, 976-1025) as a possible model for the kenning. — [4] brœðr sínum ‘his brother’: Haraldr and Óláfr had the same mother, Ásta Guðbrandsdóttir. — [5-6] hulði hjalmsetr ‘concealed his helmet-stand [HEAD]’: Cf. the idiom fara hulðu hǫfði, lit. ‘go with concealed head’, i.e. ‘go secretly, escape under-cover’, though in Anon (MH) the gesture seems to represent grief at the death of Magnús góði, and such a meaning would be appropriate here. That the variant reading gen. sg. hjalmsetrs appears in so large a range of mss is difficult to explain.

References

1. Bibliography
2. Fms = Sveinbjörn Egilsson et al., eds. 1825-37. Fornmanna sögur eptir gömlum handritum útgefnar að tilhlutun hins norræna fornfræða fèlags. 12 vols. Copenhagen: Popp.
3. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
4. Frank, Roberta. 1978. Old Norse Court Poetry: The Dróttkvætt Stanza. Islandica 42. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press.
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. Hkr 1991 = Bergljót S. Kristjánsdóttir et al., eds. 1991. Heimskringla. 3 vols. Reykjavík: Mál og menning.
9. F 1871 = Unger, C. R., ed. 1871. Fríssbók: Codex Frisianus. En samling af norske konge-sagaer. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
10. Fsk 1902-3 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1902-3. Fagrskinna: Nóregs kononga tal. SUGNL 30. Copenhagen: Møller.
11. E 1916 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1916. Eirspennill: AM 47 fol. Nóregs konunga sǫgur: Magnús góði – Hákon gamli. Kristiania (Oslo): Den norske historiske kildeskriftskommission.
12. ÍF 29 = Ágrip af Nóregskonunga sǫgum; Fagrskinna—Nóregs konungatal. Ed. Bjarni Einarsson. 1985.
13. Internal references
14. (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 24 April 2024)
15. (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 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), ‘ Unattributed, Hulda-Hrokkinskinna’ 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=84> (accessed 24 April 2024)
18. (forthcoming), ‘ Heimskringla, Haralds saga Sigurðssonar’ 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=142> (accessed 24 April 2024)
19. Kari Ellen Gade 2009, ‘ Anonymous, Lausavísa from Magnúss saga góða ok Haralds harðráða’ 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. 813-14. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=3086> (accessed 24 April 2024)
20. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Haraldr harðráði Sigurðarson, Lausavísur 1’ 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. 42-3.
21. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Haraldr harðráði Sigurðarson, Gamanvísur 1’ 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. 36.