What's in a Nonce? Nautical Lexis in Orms Pattr Storolfssonar
2006; University of Illinois Press; Volume: 78; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
2163-8195
Autores Tópico(s)Historical and Archaeological Studies
ResumoTHE PURPOSE of this article is threefold: 1) to explain a technical term that is attested only a single time in Old Norse-Icelandic literature and situate it in the early vocabulary of ships and the sea, 2) to enhance our reading and appreciation of an anecdote built on the topos of the exceptional Icelander at a Norwegian court, and 3) to illustrate the need for, and rewards of, renewed scrutiny of the lexis of medieval material life, the technical vocabulary, in order to contribute to, and be assisted by, advances in other historical disciplines such as archaeology, art history, economic history, and the history of technology. Orms [thorn]attr Storolfssonar (O[thorn]S) is one of the late, less well known tales but nonetheless has the advantage of several modern critical editions and an even more recent English translation among The Complete Sagas of Icelanders, a context in which we are tempted to view the translation as authoritative. Faulkes, among the recent editors, introduces the [thorn]attr as follows: Orms [thorn]attr is carefully fitted into the chronology of the historical events of the late tenth and early eleventh centuries in Norway (it is chiefly for this reason, and because Ormr is made a sort of champion of the dead King Olafr Tryggvason at the court of Jarl Eirekr, that the [thorn]attr was included in the saga of the king in Flateyjarbok), but even so the connection of Ormr with Jarl Eirekr and Einarr Pambarskelfir can hardly have any basis in tact. (O[thorn]S 29-30) (1) Although the collection of incidents that make up the tale are mostly variations on the Strong John kind of anecdote, it is precisely that which brings Ormr to the jarl's court in Lade and which recalls King Olafr that will occupy our attention in the following. While a detailed exploration of the architectonics of the dialogue between Eirikr and Ormr and of the anecdote as a whole will follow below, we may here proceed directly to the key incident. Eirikr's taciturn guest over the winter, Ormr, states at one point that King Olafr's ship, Ormrinn langi, would not have been taken so quickly by Eirikr's forces at the Battle of Svol[eth]r, if he, Ormr, had been among its defenders: Seinna mundi Ormrinn langi unninn hafa vor[eth]it ef ek hef[eth]a [thorn]ar verit me[eth] o[eth]rum koppum konungs (82). When court gossip brings this to the ears of Eirikr, the claim has been inflated to assert that the ship would not have been taken if Ormr had been among the king's other warriors. The jarl decrees that Ormr shall be tested by defending himself, alone on one ship, against the men on fifteen other skei[eth]ir, large warships. Ormr says he will not give up until overcome. The test then follows. Ormr gekk [thorn]a ut ok tok einn berlingsras digran, [thorn]rettan alna langan. Si[eth]an for hann a skip ok let fra landi. Si[eth]an voru menn til feingnir a fimmtan skei[eth]um, ok sottu at Ormi, en svo er sagt at a litilli stundu haf[eth]i Ormr slegit i kaf sjau skei[eth]r, lamit ok brotit. [THORN]a kalla[eth]i jall ok ba[eth] [thorn]a hotta [thorn]essum leik. Var ok svo gert. Var[eth] [thorn]a borgit flestum ollum monnum. (83) Matthew Driscoll translates as follows: Orm went out and took a thick beam, thirteen ells in length. He then went on board the ship and put out to sea. Then men were collected on fifteen ships and they attacked Orm. It is said that in a short time Orm had sunk seven ships, all smashed to pieces and wrecked. Then the earl called to them to stop this game. This was done, and almost all the men were rescued. (O[thorn]S, trans. Driscoll 4-66) Then the jarl has Ormr attacked by sixty men on land but with the same length of timber he is able to hold them off as well. The focus in the following will be on Ormr's impromptu weapon, a thick piece of timber in the neighborhood of twenty feet long (thirteen Norse ells) and thus well beyond the easy manipulation of a lesser man. …
Referência(s)