OSnorr Lv 1^I

Nec nominabo;
pene monstrabo:
curuus est deorsum
nasus in apostata,
qui Sueion regem
de terra seduxit
et filium Tryggva
traxit in dolo.

Nec nominabo; pene monstrabo: nasus est curuus deorsum in apostata, qui Sueion regem de terra seduxit et filium Tryggva traxit in dolo.

I will not name [him]; I will almost indicate: the nose is bent downwards on the apostate who enticed King Sveinn from his realm and drew the son of Tryggvi on treacherously.

Mss: 310(80), Holm18(50v) (ÓTOdd)

Readings: [4] in apostata: est de in postata Holm18    [5] Sueion: Svein Holm18

Editions: Skj AI, 154; Fms 10, 342, ÓTOdd 1932, 194, ÍF 25, 308.

Context: See Context to Stefnir Lv 1.

Notes: [All]: The Lat. rel. pron. qui ‘who’ (l. 5) refers back simply to apostata ‘apostate’ (l. 4), so it is possible but not necessary to assume that ll. 2-4 are intercalated, as they must be in the ON stanza (see Note to Stefnir Lv 1 [All]). — [2] pene ‘almost’: Classical Lat. paene. This could mean either ‘almost’ (cf. nær ‘close’ in Stefnir Lv 1/2) or ‘indeed’ (so Gottskálk Þór Jensson 2006, 50, translating it with ModIcel. reyndar). — [4] apostata ‘the apostate’: Sigvaldi jarl Strút-Haraldsson. Andersson (2003, 22) gives evidence that Lat. apostata was used as an equivalent of ON níðingr ‘traitor, despicable person’, and that it was applied to the archetypal traitor Judas (on whom, see Note to Stefnir Lv 1/3-4). Gottskálk Þór Jensson (2006, 51-2) suggests that apostata is appropriate to Sigvaldi as the opponent of Christian kings, especially Óláfr Tryggvason. — [5-6]: Sigvaldi jarl feigns illness in order to lure Sveinn tjúguskegg ‘Fork-beard’ to Jómsborg; see further Note to Stefnir Lv 1/5-6. — [5] Sueion ‘Sveinn’: The name appears in various Latinised spellings in Lat. texts such as Theodoricus and HN, e. g. Sue(i)no, Swe(i)no, acc. sg. Sueinonem (MHN 23, 25, 28, 115, 119). The present form, lacking an Lat. acc. sg. ending, appears more ON than Lat. — [7] Tryggva ‘of Tryggvi’: The gen. sg. inflection is ON, not Lat. — [8] traxit in dolo ‘drew ... on treacherously’: Sigvaldi jarl persuaded Óláfr that there was no threat, causing him to disband his army (see further Note to Stefnir Lv 1/7-8). The phrase at the equivalent point in Stefnir Lv 1/8 is dró á tálar ‘drew into a trap’, but it appears that the two constructions are not identical, since acc. sg. dolum would be expected after in indicating motion, and that in dolo has the sense ‘treacherously, with treachery’ here, as frequently in the Vulgate (so Gottskálk Þór Jensson (2006, 47). As Gottskálk points out, this removes the objection to in dolo raised by Finnur Jónsson (ÓTOdd 1932, ii), and his suspicion that Oddr’s Lat. grammar was less than secure.

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skj A = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1912-15a. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. A: Tekst efter håndskrifterne. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Villadsen & Christensen. Rpt. 1967. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger.
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. Andersson, Theodore M., trans. 2003. The Saga of Olaf Tryggvason: Oddr Snorrason. Islandica 52. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press.
5. ÓTOdd 1932 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1932. Saga Óláfs Tryggvasonar af Oddr Snorrason munk. Copenhagen: Gad.
6. MHN = Storm, Gustav, ed. 1880. Monumenta historica Norvegiæ: Latinske kildeskrifter til Norges historie i middelalderen. Kristiania (Oslo): Brøgger. Rpt. 1973. Oslo: Aas & Wahl.
7. HN = Historia Norwegiæ. In MHN 69-124.
8. Theodoricus = Theodrici monachi historia de antiquitate regum Norwagiensium. In MHN 1-68.
9. ÍF 25 = Færeyinga saga; Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar eptir Odd munk Snorrason. Ed. Ólafur Halldórsson. 2006.
10. Gottskálk Þór Jensson. 2006. ‘“Nær mun ek stefna”: Var Stefnir Þorgilsson drepinn fyrir níðvísu sem samin var á latínu af Oddi munki nálega tveimur öldum síðar?’ In Lesið í hljóði fyrir Kristján Árnason sextugan. Reykjavík: Menningar- og minnungarsjóður Mette Magnussen, 46-53.
11. Internal references
12. Diana Whaley 2012, ‘(Biography of) Óláfr Tryggvason’ 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. 383.
13. Diana Whaley (ed.) 2012, ‘Stefnir Þorgilsson, Lausavísur 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. 448.