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skaldic

Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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Vitg Lv 1I

Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2012, ‘Vitgeirr seiðmaðr, Lausavísa 1’ 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. 141.

Vitgeirr seiðmaðrLausavísa1

Þats vô lítil,         at vér síðim
karla bǫrn         ok kerlinga,
es Rǫgnvaldr síðr         réttilbeini
hróðmǫgr Haralds         á Haðalandi.

Þats lítil vô, at vér síðim, bǫrn karla ok kerlinga, es Rǫgnvaldr réttilbeini, hróðmǫgr Haralds, síðr á Haðalandi.

It is [does] little harm that we perform sorcery, children of lowly men and women, when Rǫgnvaldr réttilbeini, Haraldr’s glorious son, performs sorcery in Hadeland.

Mss: (74v), F(13ra), J1ˣ(43r), J2ˣ(42v) (Hkr); 61(2va), 53(2rb), Bb(2vb-3ra), Flat(6rb) (ÓT); Holm2(2r), R686ˣ(2r), 972ˣ(11va), 325VI(2rb), 73aˣ(4r), 78aˣ(2r-v), 68(2r), 61(75vb), 325V(2vb), Tóm(91v) (ÓH)

Readings: [1] Þats (‘Þat er’): so all others, þá er Kˣ;    lítil: lítit J1ˣ, J2ˣ    [2] at: þótt J1ˣ, J2ˣ, Bb, Flat, R686ˣ, 61(75vb);    síðim: seiðim 61(2va), 53, Bb, Flat, 325VI, 73aˣ, 78aˣ, 61(75vb), 325V, seiðum R686ˣ, 972ˣ, Tóm    [3] karla bǫrn: karlbornir menn Tóm    [5] síðr: seiðir 61(2va), 53, Bb, Flat, 972ˣ, 325VI, 73aˣ, 78aˣ, 325V, Tóm, seiðr Holm2, R686ˣ    [7] hróð‑: ‘Hord‑’ R686ˣ, hróðr‑ 73aˣ, 61(75vb), þjóð‑ 325V    [8] Haðalandi: Haðaland 972ˣ

Editions: Skj AI, 33, Skj BI, 29, Skald I, 18; Hkr 1893-1901, I, 150, ÍF 26, 138-9 (HHárf ch. 34), F 1871, 58; ÓT 1958-2000, I, 10 (ch. 4), Flat 1860-8, I, 44; ÓH 1941, I, 9 (ch. 1).

Context: King Haraldr hárfagri ‘Fair-hair’ Hálfdanarson, who has taken a strong dislike to sorcery, sends a message to Vitgeirr in Hǫrðaland (Hordaland) commanding him to cease that practice. The stanza is Vitgeirr’s response to Haraldr’s request.

Notes: [All]: On the practice of seiðr ‘sorcery’, see Strömbäck (1935) and Buchholz (1968). — [All]: In ÓH in Bb(120ra) the stanza is paraphrased as prose: ok quad þat vera litil mvni þott ver seidím born ok kerlíngar. En raugnvalldr seidir rettilbeiní þiodmagr konungs ahadalandi ‘and said it to be of little interest if we perform sorcery, children and lowly women, when Rǫgnvaldr réttilbeini, the king’s mighty son, performs sorcery in Hadeland’. — [2] síðim (1st pers. pl. pres. subj.) ‘perform sorcery’: Both síðim (from síða, first class strong verb) and seiðim (from seiða, weak verb) are possible grammatically and metrically, but the strong verb is preferred here (see Note to l. 5 síðr below). — [3] karla bǫrn ‘children of lowly men’: The line is hypometrical, i.e. in the catalectic metre kviðuháttr rather than in fornyrðislag. — [5] Rǫgnvaldr: The son of Haraldr hárfagri and Snæfríðr (see Ættartal [Genealogy] II.2 in ÍF 28). He was later burned inside his house, along with eighty sorcerers, by his brother, Eiríkr blóðøx ‘Blood-axe’. In the words of Hkr (ÍF 26, 139), ok var þat verk lofat mjǫk ‘and that deed was greatly praised’. — [5] síðr (3rd pers. sg. pres. indic.) ‘performs sorcery’: The weak form (seiðir) creates a hypermetrical odd line (see Note to l. 2 above). — [6] réttilbeini: The meaning of this nickname is unclear. Possibilities include ‘with equally long legs’ (Finnur Jónsson 1907, 221 and LP: réttilbeini); ‘one who stretches his legs’ (LP: réttilbeini); and ‘straight in build’ (ÍF 26, 126 n. 1).

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 4to 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. F 1871 = Unger, C. R., ed. 1871. Fríssbók: Codex Frisianus. En samling af norske konge-sagaer. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
  9. Finnur Jónsson. 1907. ‘Tilnavne i den islandske oldlitteratur’. ÅNOH, 161-381.
  10. ÓT 1958-2000 = Ólafur Halldórsson, ed. 1958-2000. Saga Óláfs Tryggvasonar en mesta. 3 vols. EA A 1-3. Copenhagen: Munksgaard (Reitzel).
  11. Buchholz, Peter. 1968. Schamanistische Züge in der altisländische Überlieferung. Bamberg: Aku Fotodruck und Verlag.
  12. Strömbäck, Dag. 1935. Sejd: Textstudier i nordisk religionshistorie. Nordiska texter och undersökningar 5. Stockholm: Geber. Rpt. 2000, ed. Gertrud Gidlund with introductory remarks by Bo Almqvist. Acta Academiae Regiae Gustavi Adolphi 72. Uppsala: Kungl. Gustav Adolfs Akademien för svensk folkkultur and Gidlunds förlag.
  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 29 March 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 29 March 2024)
  16. (forthcoming), ‘ Heimskringla, Haralds saga hárfagra’ 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=140> (accessed 29 March 2024)
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