Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Sneglu-Halli, Lausavísur 7’ in Kari Ellen Gade (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 2: From c. 1035 to c. 1300. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 2. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 328-9.
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yrkja (verb): compose
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2. einn (pron.; °decl. cf. einn num.): one, alone
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3. of (prep.): around, from; too
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jarl (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): poet, earl
[2] jarl ‘an earl’: The identity of the recipient of Halli’s poem is unclear, but it could have been Harold Godwineson, then earl of Wessex and later king of England. According to Snegl, Halli composed a poem in honour of the king of England (ÍF 9, 290-1). Flat (1860-8, III, 425) gives his name as Harold Godwineson (Haraldr Guðinason), and H supplies Edward (Játvarðr) (Fms 6, 375). Edward the Confessor (r. 1043-65) was king of England at the time when Halli visited England, but he seems an unlikely recipient for Halli’s praise. Edward had been raised in Normandy and would hardly have been able to understand an ON poem recited by an Icel. skald. Moreover, the poem explicitly states that Halli’s poem honoured an earl. For the ON language in Anglo-Saxon England, see Townend 2002.
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þula (noun f.; °-u): list, rigamarole
[2] þulu: A list of poetic synonyms. Halli uses it to refer to a nonsensical poem, and it must have been considered an insult to compose a deficient poem in praise of a ruler.
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1. verða (verb): become, be
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drápa (noun f.; °-u): poem with refrains
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með (prep.): with
[4] með Dǫnum ‘among the Danes’: This sheds an interesting light on Halli’s opinion of the poetic skills of the Danes in the C11th. The sense is that not even Dan. poets could compose a worse poem. We know little about poetic compositions by Danes in the C11th (all skalds who eulogised Dan. rulers and noblemen were Icelanders), and most of the earlier surviving poetry attributed to Danes is characterised by metrical irregularities (see Kuhn 1983, 268-9).
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dan (noun m.; °-s, dat. -): Dane
[4] með Dǫnum ‘among the Danes’: This sheds an interesting light on Halli’s opinion of the poetic skills of the Danes in the C11th. The sense is that not even Dan. poets could compose a worse poem. We know little about poetic compositions by Danes in the C11th (all skalds who eulogised Dan. rulers and noblemen were Icelanders), and most of the earlier surviving poetry attributed to Danes is characterised by metrical irregularities (see Kuhn 1983, 268-9).
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verri (adj. comp.): worse, worst
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fall (noun n.; °-s; *-): fall
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
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fjórtán (num. cardinal): [fourteen]
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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
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fang (noun n.; °-s; *-): grasp, tunic
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tíu (num. cardinal): ten
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opinn (adj.): open, gaping
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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
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ǫndverðr (adj.): early, beginning
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ǫfugr (adj.): backwards
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stígandi (noun m.; °-a): walker, Stígandi
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svá (adv.): so, thus
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skulu (verb): shall, should, must
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yrkja (verb): compose
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sás (conj.): the one who
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1. illa (adv.): badly
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kunna (verb): know, can, be able
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
When Halli returns from England, King Haraldr asks him whether he has composed poetry about other kings while away. Halli replies with the following st.
The metre is fornyrðislag. For a discussion of the metrical terminology in this st., see Gade 1991.
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