Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Markús Skeggjason, Lausavísur 1’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 296.
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fjǫrðr (noun m.): fjord < fjarðlinni (noun m.): [fjord-snakes]
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fjǫrðr (noun m.): fjord < fjarðlinni (noun m.): [fjord-snakes]
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linnr (noun m.): snake < fjarðlinni (noun m.): [fjord-snakes]
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linnr (noun m.): snake < fjarðlinni (noun m.): [fjord-snakes]
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vaða (verb): advance, wade
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fǫnn (noun f.): snow-drift
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fastr (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): firm, fast
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vetr (noun m.; °vetrar/vetrs(HómHauksb³ 173²³), dat. vetri; vetr): winter < vetrliði (noun m.): [bear]
[2] vetr‑: so A, corrected from veðr‑ R, veðr‑ Tˣ, W
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liði (noun m.; °-a; -ar): companion < vetrliði (noun m.): [bear]
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2. rǫst (noun f.; °; gen. rasta): current
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hlaupa (verb): leap, run
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3. of (prep.): around, from; too
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1. húnn (noun m.; °; húnar): knob
[3] húna: so W, hvíta R, A, hvítar Tˣ
[3] gnípur húna ‘crags of mastheads [WAVES]’: So W. The reading of Tˣ, hvítar ‘white’, leaves the kenning without a determinant (hvítar gnípur ‘white crags’), and hvíta m. acc. pl. in R, A is ungrammatical because gnípur is f. acc. pl. For húnn ‘masthead’, see Note to Þul Skipa 7/1. Húnn also means ‘bear-cub’ (see Þul Bjarnar l. 9), and the word could have been chosen in keeping with the bear imagery of this stanza (cf. Frank 1978, 49).
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1. gnípa (noun f.): peak
[3] gnípur húna ‘crags of mastheads [WAVES]’: So W. The reading of Tˣ, hvítar ‘white’, leaves the kenning without a determinant (hvítar gnípur ‘white crags’), and hvíta m. acc. pl. in R, A is ungrammatical because gnípur is f. acc. pl. For húnn ‘masthead’, see Note to Þul Skipa 7/1. Húnn also means ‘bear-cub’ (see Þul Bjarnar l. 9), and the word could have been chosen in keeping with the bear imagery of this stanza (cf. Frank 1978, 49).
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hvalr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i/-; -ir/-ar): whale < hvalrann (noun n.): [whale-house]
[4] hvalranns íugtanni: hval þann íugtanni R, hval vígtanni Tˣ, hval íugtanni hranna W, hvallands íugtanni A
[4] hvalranns ‘of the whale-house [SEA]’: The present emendation follows Skj B and Skald. The R reading, þann íugtanni hvals lit. ‘that greedy-toothed one <bear> of the whale’, fails to conform to any known kenning pattern for ‘ship’. The Tˣ variant (hval vígtanni) is hypometrical, and the A variant (hvallands íugtanni) does not contain the required aðalhending. The reading of W (hval íugtanni hranna) is unmetrical with resolution in metrical position 2, and hval m. acc. sg. ‘whale’ cannot be accommodated syntactically. Faulkes (SnE 1998) construes ll. 3-4 as hljóp of *húna ‑gnípur | hvals *rann- íugtanni i.e. íugtanni húna hljóp of ranngnípur hvals ‘the bear of mastheads [SHIP] ran over the peaks of the whale’s house [SEA > WAVES]’, which results in a highly tortuous word order.
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hvalr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i/-; -ir/-ar): whale < hvalrann (noun n.): [whale-house]
[4] hvalranns íugtanni: hval þann íugtanni R, hval vígtanni Tˣ, hval íugtanni hranna W, hvallands íugtanni A
[4] hvalranns ‘of the whale-house [SEA]’: The present emendation follows Skj B and Skald. The R reading, þann íugtanni hvals lit. ‘that greedy-toothed one <bear> of the whale’, fails to conform to any known kenning pattern for ‘ship’. The Tˣ variant (hval vígtanni) is hypometrical, and the A variant (hvallands íugtanni) does not contain the required aðalhending. The reading of W (hval íugtanni hranna) is unmetrical with resolution in metrical position 2, and hval m. acc. sg. ‘whale’ cannot be accommodated syntactically. Faulkes (SnE 1998) construes ll. 3-4 as hljóp of *húna ‑gnípur | hvals *rann- íugtanni i.e. íugtanni húna hljóp of ranngnípur hvals ‘the bear of mastheads [SHIP] ran over the peaks of the whale’s house [SEA > WAVES]’, which results in a highly tortuous word order.
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rann (noun n.): house, hall < hvalrann (noun n.): [whale-house]
[4] hvalranns íugtanni: hval þann íugtanni R, hval vígtanni Tˣ, hval íugtanni hranna W, hvallands íugtanni A
[4] hvalranns ‘of the whale-house [SEA]’: The present emendation follows Skj B and Skald. The R reading, þann íugtanni hvals lit. ‘that greedy-toothed one <bear> of the whale’, fails to conform to any known kenning pattern for ‘ship’. The Tˣ variant (hval vígtanni) is hypometrical, and the A variant (hvallands íugtanni) does not contain the required aðalhending. The reading of W (hval íugtanni hranna) is unmetrical with resolution in metrical position 2, and hval m. acc. sg. ‘whale’ cannot be accommodated syntactically. Faulkes (SnE 1998) construes ll. 3-4 as hljóp of *húna ‑gnípur | hvals *rann- íugtanni i.e. íugtanni húna hljóp of ranngnípur hvals ‘the bear of mastheads [SHIP] ran over the peaks of the whale’s house [SEA > WAVES]’, which results in a highly tortuous word order.
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rann (noun n.): house, hall < hvalrann (noun n.): [whale-house]
[4] hvalranns íugtanni: hval þann íugtanni R, hval vígtanni Tˣ, hval íugtanni hranna W, hvallands íugtanni A
[4] hvalranns ‘of the whale-house [SEA]’: The present emendation follows Skj B and Skald. The R reading, þann íugtanni hvals lit. ‘that greedy-toothed one <bear> of the whale’, fails to conform to any known kenning pattern for ‘ship’. The Tˣ variant (hval vígtanni) is hypometrical, and the A variant (hvallands íugtanni) does not contain the required aðalhending. The reading of W (hval íugtanni hranna) is unmetrical with resolution in metrical position 2, and hval m. acc. sg. ‘whale’ cannot be accommodated syntactically. Faulkes (SnE 1998) construes ll. 3-4 as hljóp of *húna ‑gnípur | hvals *rann- íugtanni i.e. íugtanni húna hljóp of ranngnípur hvals ‘the bear of mastheads [SHIP] ran over the peaks of the whale’s house [SEA > WAVES]’, which results in a highly tortuous word order.
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íugtanni (noun m.): greedy-toothed one
[4] hvalranns íugtanni: hval þann íugtanni R, hval vígtanni Tˣ, hval íugtanni hranna W, hvallands íugtanni A
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bjǫrn (noun m.; °bjarnar, dat. birni; birnir, acc. bjǫrnu): bear, Bjǫrn
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2. ganga (verb; geng, gekk, gengu, genginn): walk, go
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fram (adv.): out, forth, forwards, away
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3. á (prep.): on, at
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forn (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): ancient, old
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2. flóð (noun n.): flood
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haf (noun n.; °-s; *-): sea < hafskíð (noun n.)
[6] hafskíða ‘of ocean-skis [SHIPS]’: This reading is found only in R. Hafskipa ‘of ocean-going ships’ (so all others) is also possible, but looks like a lectio facilior.
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haf (noun n.; °-s; *-): sea < hafskíð (noun n.)
[6] hafskíða ‘of ocean-skis [SHIPS]’: This reading is found only in R. Hafskipa ‘of ocean-going ships’ (so all others) is also possible, but looks like a lectio facilior.
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skíð (noun n.; °; -): ski < hafskíð (noun n.)
[6] ‑skíða: ‑skipa all others
[6] hafskíða ‘of ocean-skis [SHIPS]’: This reading is found only in R. Hafskipa ‘of ocean-going ships’ (so all others) is also possible, but looks like a lectio facilior.
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skíð (noun n.; °; -): ski < hafskíð (noun n.)
[6] ‑skíða: ‑skipa all others
[6] hafskíða ‘of ocean-skis [SHIPS]’: This reading is found only in R. Hafskipa ‘of ocean-going ships’ (so all others) is also possible, but looks like a lectio facilior.
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1. skúr (noun f.; °; -ir): shower < skúrǫrðigr (adj.)
[7] skúr‑: skrúð‑ U
[7] skúrǫrðigr ‘storm-battling’: The sense of the adj. ǫrðigr is ‘standing on end, standing up, tall, steep, upright’, ‘difficult, hard, contrary’, ‘eager, brave’ (see Heggstad et al. 2008: ǫrðigr). In the present context, skúrǫrðigr captures the image of the bucking ship as a bear standing on its hind legs fighting against an enemy, here, skúr ‘shower, storm’.
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ǫrðigr (adj.): battling, mounting < skúrǫrðigr (adj.)
[7] ‑ǫrðigr: ǫrðugr Tˣ
[7] skúrǫrðigr ‘storm-battling’: The sense of the adj. ǫrðigr is ‘standing on end, standing up, tall, steep, upright’, ‘difficult, hard, contrary’, ‘eager, brave’ (see Heggstad et al. 2008: ǫrðigr). In the present context, skúrǫrðigr captures the image of the bucking ship as a bear standing on its hind legs fighting against an enemy, here, skúr ‘shower, storm’.
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brjóta (verb; °brýtr; braut, brutu; brotinn): to break, destroy
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1. skorða (noun f.; °-u; -ur): prop
[7] skorðu ‘of the prop’: One of the wooden posts or props supporting a beached ship.
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sker (noun n.; °-s; -, gen. -ja): skerry
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glymja (verb): resound < glymfjǫturr (noun m.): [resounding fetter]
[8] glym‑: gunn U
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fjǫturr (noun m.): fetter < glymfjǫturr (noun m.): [resounding fetter]
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bersi (noun m.): little bear
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
Fjarðlinna óð fannir |
The winter-survivor <bear> of the maelstrom [SHIP] waded steadily through the snowdrifts of fjord-snakes [FISH > WAVES]; the greedy-toothed one <bear> of the whale-house [SEA > SHIP] leapt across crags of mastheads [WAVES]. The bear of the flood [SHIP] went forward on the old tracks of ocean-skis [SHIPS > WAVES]; the storm-battling little bear of the prop [SHIP] broke the resounding fetter of the skerry [SEA].
The kennings in this stanza are given in Skm among the examples of terms for ‘ship’, and bjǫrn flóðs ‘bear of the flood’ illustrates a metaphor for ‘ship’ in TGT.
The heiti for ‘bear’ in this stanza are given in Þul Bjarnar: vetrliði lit. ‘winter-survivor’ (l. 2), íugtanni lit. ‘greedy-toothed one’ (l. 4) and bersi ‘little bear’ (l. 8). See Þul Bjarnar ll. 1, 10, 11 and Notes there. — For an excellent discussion of the imagery contained in this stanza, see Frank (1978, 46-9).
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