Bragi Lv 1bVIII (Hálf 78)
Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Hálfs saga ok Hálfsrekka 78 (Bragi inn gamli Boddason, Lausavísur 1b)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 365.
Tveir ‘two’
eru ‘There are’
[1] eru inni: so Stˣ, 105ˣ, Skˣ, 114ˣ, 437ˣ, 439ˣ, 440ˣ, eru 2845, ‘roo inní’ Mb, ‘roa inne’ Þb106ˣ
inni ‘inside’
[1] eru inni: so Stˣ, 105ˣ, Skˣ, 114ˣ, 437ˣ, 439ˣ, 440ˣ, eru 2845, ‘roo inní’ Mb, ‘roa inne’ Þb106ˣ; inni: om. all others
trúik ‘I trust’
[2] trúik bôðum vel: so all others, ok trúik vel bôðum 2845
bôðum ‘both’
[2] trúik bôðum vel: so all others, ok trúik vel bôðum 2845
vel ‘well’
[2] trúik bôðum vel: so all others, ok trúik vel bôðum 2845
Hámundr ‘Hámundr’
[3] Hámundr ok Geirmundr: Hámir ok Geirmir 114ˣ, 437ˣ
ok ‘and’
[3] Hámundr ok Geirmundr: Hámir ok Geirmir 114ˣ, 437ˣ
Geirmundr ‘Geirmundr’
[3] Hámundr ok Geirmundr: Hámir ok Geirmir 114ˣ, 437ˣ
Hjǫrvi ‘to Hjǫrr’
notes
[4] bornir Hjǫrvi ‘born to Hjǫrr’: There may also be a punning subsidiary sense here, ‘born to the sword’ (hjǫrr ‘sword’), that is, born to belong to the warrior class.
bornir ‘born’
[4] bornir: búnir Mb, Þb106ˣ
notes
[4] bornir Hjǫrvi ‘born to Hjǫrr’: There may also be a punning subsidiary sense here, ‘born to the sword’ (hjǫrr ‘sword’), that is, born to belong to the warrior class.
en ‘but’
Leifr ‘Leifr’
þriði ‘the third’
Loðhattar ‘of Loðhǫttr’
[6] Loðhattar: ‘lo hattar’ Mb
son ‘son’
[6] son: ‘s.’ Mb, sun 105ˣ, sonr 114ˣ, 437ˣ
fœddirat ‘did not give birth’
[7] fœddirat þú (‘fœddir eigi þú’): fœð hann, kona Mb, fœðat þú þann, kona Stˣ, fœð þann, kona 105ˣ, fœðat þu þann kona with ‘eða: “fædd” eigi þann cona’ added in left margin in scribal hand Skˣ, fœðat þú eigi þann kona with ‘eda fæddir ei þann kona’ added in margin in scribal hand Þb106ˣ, fær þrælum þann 114ˣ, 437ˣ, fátt prýðir þann 439ˣ, fátt fríðir þann 440ˣ
notes
[7-8] fœddirat þú þann mǫg, kona ‘you did not give birth to that youth, woman’: The text of 2845 is quite different from that of the other witnesses, which differ considerably among themselves as well, although they all convey a similar message, that Leifr could not have been the child of a royal couple. For a discussion of the other versions, see Bragi Lv 1aIV and Notes.
þú ‘you’
[7] fœddirat þú (‘fœddir eigi þú’): fœð hann, kona Mb, fœðat þú þann, kona Stˣ, fœð þann, kona 105ˣ, fœðat þu þann kona with ‘eða: “fædd” eigi þann cona’ added in left margin in scribal hand Skˣ, fœðat þú eigi þann kona with ‘eda fæddir ei þann kona’ added in margin in scribal hand Þb106ˣ, fær þrælum þann 114ˣ, 437ˣ, fátt prýðir þann 439ˣ, fátt fríðir þann 440ˣ
notes
[7-8] fœddirat þú þann mǫg, kona ‘you did not give birth to that youth, woman’: The text of 2845 is quite different from that of the other witnesses, which differ considerably among themselves as well, although they all convey a similar message, that Leifr could not have been the child of a royal couple. For a discussion of the other versions, see Bragi Lv 1aIV and Notes.
þann ‘to that’
[8] þann mǫg kona: í fjǫrð mun hann verri Mb, fáir munu verri Stˣ, Skˣ, ‘fiordar man hann verri’ 105ˣ, ‘fäer um vere’ with ‘(Landnámabók segir fæd hann kona i fiord mun hann væri.)’ added in scribal hand Þb106ˣ, fár mun in verri 114ˣ, 437ˣ, 439ˣ, 440ˣ
notes
[7-8] fœddirat þú þann mǫg, kona ‘you did not give birth to that youth, woman’: The text of 2845 is quite different from that of the other witnesses, which differ considerably among themselves as well, although they all convey a similar message, that Leifr could not have been the child of a royal couple. For a discussion of the other versions, see Bragi Lv 1aIV and Notes.
mǫg ‘youth’
[8] þann mǫg kona: í fjǫrð mun hann verri Mb, fáir munu verri Stˣ, Skˣ, ‘fiordar man hann verri’ 105ˣ, ‘fäer um vere’ with ‘(Landnámabók segir fæd hann kona i fiord mun hann væri.)’ added in scribal hand Þb106ˣ, fár mun in verri 114ˣ, 437ˣ, 439ˣ, 440ˣ
notes
[7-8] fœddirat þú þann mǫg, kona ‘you did not give birth to that youth, woman’: The text of 2845 is quite different from that of the other witnesses, which differ considerably among themselves as well, although they all convey a similar message, that Leifr could not have been the child of a royal couple. For a discussion of the other versions, see Bragi Lv 1aIV and Notes.
kona ‘woman’
[8] þann mǫg kona: í fjǫrð mun hann verri Mb, fáir munu verri Stˣ, Skˣ, ‘fiordar man hann verri’ 105ˣ, ‘fäer um vere’ with ‘(Landnámabók segir fæd hann kona i fiord mun hann væri.)’ added in scribal hand Þb106ˣ, fár mun in verri 114ˣ, 437ˣ, 439ˣ, 440ˣ
notes
[7-8] fœddirat þú þann mǫg, kona ‘you did not give birth to that youth, woman’: The text of 2845 is quite different from that of the other witnesses, which differ considerably among themselves as well, although they all convey a similar message, that Leifr could not have been the child of a royal couple. For a discussion of the other versions, see Bragi Lv 1aIV and Notes.
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
While her husband is away, the wife of King Hjǫrr, son of Hálfr, has exchanged her dark-skinned twin sons for Leifr, the fair son of a slave-woman. Some time later Bragi, on a visit to the court, sees how the twins dominate the slave’s son who has taken their place as a legitimate heir. Bragi discovers the true identity of the boys and reveals it to the queen, who is forced to confess the twins’ identity to their father. See further Introduction to Lv 1aIV.
The version of this stanza in Hálf differs considerably from that in the mss of Ldn and Stu, not only in ll. 7-8, where the greatest variation occurs across the mss, but in ll. 1-2 as well. For a text of the Mb version, and Notes on this and other witnesses, see Bragi Lv 1aIV. — [1-2]: The first two lines of this stanza in 2845 are clearly unmetrical, while the version of the other mss tveir ró inni, | trúik bôðum vel ‘two are inside, I trust both well’ is superior in sense and regular in metre and has been adopted here. The version of 2845, tveir eru, | ok trúik vel bôðum can be translated ‘there are two, and I trust both well’. — [7] fœddirat ‘[you] did not give birth’: The text has been normalised from the ms. ‘fœddir eigi þú’, which is unmetrical, by substituting the suffixed negative particle ‑at for the negative adv. eigi ‘not’.
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