GunnLeif Merl II 38VIII
Russell Poole (ed.) 2017, ‘Breta saga 38 (Gunnlaugr Leifsson, Merlínusspá II 38)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 168.
En ‘And’
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2. en (conj.): but, and
galti ‘the boar’
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galti (noun m.): boar
gengr ‘will go’
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2. ganga (verb; geng, gekk, gengu, genginn): walk, go
[2] gengr: ‘egiar’(?) apparently corrected from gengr during the process of refreshing Hb
notes
[2] gengr ‘will go’: The refreshed reading in Hb has previously been taken as ‘eggiar’ (Hb 1892-6, 275; read as eggjar by Bret 1848-9 and Merl 2012) or emended variously to girnisk (Skj B) and getr (NN §2163F; Skald). But as refreshed the ms. seems to read ‘egiar’, with minuscule <g> and a contraction mark running above the three letters ‘egi’, rather than ‘eggiar’. On this basis, emendation to (or more precisely restoration of) gengr is proposed in the present edn. The word gengr written with a mark of contraction above the second <g> is seen in the ms. text of II 25/8 and II 31/6. This solution is more economical than those of Skj B and Skald and gives good sense in context, corresponding to DGB’s adibit ‘will approach’, as contrasted with eggjar, which Bret 1848-9 is obliged to translate freely as önsker ‘wishes’, not otherwise an attested meaning of the verb (ONP: eggja ‘sharpen, urge on, goad, incite’); Merl 2012 presupposes an otherwise undocumented intransitive use of eggja.
at ‘to’
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5. at (nota): to (with infinitive)
reyna ‘test’
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reyna (verb): test, try, experience
blæss ‘will blow’
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2. blása (verb; °blǽss; blés, blésu; blásinn): blow
hann ‘he’
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hann (pron.; °gen. hans, dat. honum; f. hon, gen. hennar, acc. hana): he, she, it, they, them...
notes
[3] hann ‘he’: Omitted in Skald.
í ‘in’
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í (prep.): in, into
andlit ‘the face’
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andlit (noun n.; °-s): face
ok ‘and’
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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
í ‘’
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í (prep.): in, into
augu ‘eyes’
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auga (noun n.; °auga; augu/augun, gen. augna): eye
gram ‘ruler’
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1. gramr (noun m.): ruler
En ‘But’
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2. en (conj.): but, and
refr ‘the fox’
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refr (noun m.; °-s; -ar): fox
við ‘there’
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2. við (prep.): with, against
ræðr ‘will attack’
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ráða (verb): advise, rule, interpret, decide
á ‘’
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3. á (prep.): on, at
galta ‘the boar’
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galti (noun m.): boar
fær ‘will take’
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fara (verb; ferr, fór, fóru, farinn): go, travel
hann ‘he’
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hann (pron.; °gen. hans, dat. honum; f. hon, gen. hennar, acc. hana): he, she, it, they, them...
af ‘from’
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af (prep.): from
hánum ‘him’
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hann (pron.; °gen. hans, dat. honum; f. hon, gen. hennar, acc. hana): he, she, it, they, them...
fót ‘foot’
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1. fótr (noun m.): foot, leg
inn ‘the’
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2. inn (art.): the
vinstra ‘left’
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vinstri (adj. comp.)
hlust ‘ear’
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hlust (noun f.; °-ar; -ir): [ears]
ina ‘the’
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2. inn (art.): the
hœgri ‘right’
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hœgri (adj. comp.): higher, highest
notes
[10] ok ‘and’: Emended in Bret 1848-9, followed by subsequent eds, from ms. firi (refreshed).
hryggjar ‘of the back’
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1. hryggr (noun m.; °-jar/-s(cogn.), dat. -; -ir): back; ridge
[10] hryggjar: ‘hrydiar’ Hb
kennings
nes hryggjar.‘the headland of the back. ’
= TAIL
the headland of the back. → TAIL
notes
[10] hryggjar ‘of the back’: Emended in Bret 1848-9, followed by subsequent eds, from ms. ‘hrydiar’ (refreshed). — [10] nes hryggjar ‘the headland of the back [TAIL]’: This unusual kenning is clarified in II 40/7.
hryggjar ‘of the back’
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1. hryggr (noun m.; °-jar/-s(cogn.), dat. -; -ir): back; ridge
[10] hryggjar: ‘hrydiar’ Hb
kennings
nes hryggjar.‘the headland of the back. ’
= TAIL
the headland of the back. → TAIL
notes
[10] hryggjar ‘of the back’: Emended in Bret 1848-9, followed by subsequent eds, from ms. ‘hrydiar’ (refreshed). — [10] nes hryggjar ‘the headland of the back [TAIL]’: This unusual kenning is clarified in II 40/7.
nes ‘the headland’
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nes (noun n.; °-s; -, gen. -ja): headland
kennings
nes hryggjar.‘the headland of the back. ’
= TAIL
the headland of the back. → TAIL
notes
[10] nes hryggjar ‘the headland of the back [TAIL]’: This unusual kenning is clarified in II 40/7.
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
Cf. DGB 116 (Reeve and Wright 2007, 155.193-6; cf. Wright 1988, 109, prophecy 42): Mox adibit ipse cadauer et dum superstabit anhelabit in oculos eius et faciem. At ipsa, non oblita præteriti doli, mordebit sinistrum pedem ipsius totumque ex corpore euellet. Saltu quoque facto, eripiet ei dexteram aurem et caudam ‘It will at once approach the fox’s body and, standing over it, will breathe into its eyes and face. But the fox, not forgetting its old cunning, will bite the boar’s left foot and tear it from its body. Then, leaping up, it will bite off its right ear and tail’ (cf. Reeve and Wright 2007, 154).
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