Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Snorri Sturluson, Háttatal 26’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 1132.
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fúss (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): eager, willing
[1] Fúss: so all others, Fýss R
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brjóta (verb; °brýtr; braut, brutu; brotinn): to break, destroy
[1] brýtr: so all others, ‘b[…]ytr’ R
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fylkir (noun m.): leader
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1. eisa (noun f.; °; -ur): flame, ember
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fen (noun n.; °-s; -): fen
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bregða (verb; °bregðr/brigðr; brá, brugðu; brugðinn/brogðinn): pull, jerk, break; change
[2] hǫnd bregðr á venju ‘the hand moves according to custom’: See GunnHám Lv 13/7-8V (Nj 26) and Gamlkan Has 42/5, 8VII.
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hǫnd (noun f.; °handar, dat. hendi; hendr (hendir StatPáll³ 752¹²)): hand
[2] hǫnd bregðr á venju ‘the hand moves according to custom’: See GunnHám Lv 13/7-8V (Nj 26) and Gamlkan Has 42/5, 8VII.
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3. á (prep.): on, at
[2] hǫnd bregðr á venju ‘the hand moves according to custom’: See GunnHám Lv 13/7-8V (Nj 26) and Gamlkan Has 42/5, 8VII.
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1. venja (noun f.; °-u; -ur): custom, habit
[2] hǫnd bregðr á venju ‘the hand moves according to custom’: See GunnHám Lv 13/7-8V (Nj 26) and Gamlkan Has 42/5, 8VII.
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rán (noun n.; °-s; -): plunder, plundering < ránhegnir (noun m.): [plunder-punisher]
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hegnir (noun m.): punisher < ránhegnir (noun m.): [plunder-punisher]
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gefa (verb): give
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Rín (noun f.): [Rhine]
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rǫf (noun f.): amber
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spyrja (verb; spurði): ask; hear, find out
[4] ætt spyrr at jǫfrum ‘people ask about princes’: The sense must be that people talk about rulers’ generosity, i.e. how well they will reward their men for their service.
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1. ætt (noun f.; °-ar; -ir): family
[4] ætt spyrr at jǫfrum ‘people ask about princes’: The sense must be that people talk about rulers’ generosity, i.e. how well they will reward their men for their service.
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3. at (prep.): at, to
[4] ætt spyrr at jǫfrum ‘people ask about princes’: The sense must be that people talk about rulers’ generosity, i.e. how well they will reward their men for their service.
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jǫfurr (noun m.): ruler, prince
[4] ætt spyrr at jǫfrum ‘people ask about princes’: The sense must be that people talk about rulers’ generosity, i.e. how well they will reward their men for their service.
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mjǫk (adv.): very, much
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2. trúa (verb): to believe (in)
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ræsir (noun m.): ruler
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rekkr (noun m.; °; -ar): man, champion
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raun (noun f.; °-ar; -ir): ordeal, proof, experience
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gjǫf (noun f.): gift
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3. laun (noun n.; °-; -): rewards
[6] launa: so all others, ‘l[…]vna’ R
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ráð (noun n.; °-s; -): advice, plan, control, power
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2. eiga (verb; °á/eigr (præs. pl. 3. pers. eigu/eiga); átti, áttu; átt): own, have
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lofðungr (noun m.; °; -ar): king, leader
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lýðr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -; -ir): one of the people
[8] lengr (comp. adv.) ‘longer’: Meaning that he will rule the people for the foreseeable future (see Konráð Gíslason 1895-7 and SnE 2007, 130). Lengi ‘long’ (Tˣ) is unmetrical.
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vaxa (verb): grow, increase
[8] hverr vex af gengi ‘each gains from his following’: That is, a ruler’s power and reputation will increase according to the loyalty of his men. Cf. the similar proverb in Anon Mhkv 12/7: hverr mætti gǫfgask af gengi ‘each man could gain stature from the company he keeps’.
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2. hverr (pron.): who, whom, each, every
[8] hverr vex af gengi ‘each gains from his following’: That is, a ruler’s power and reputation will increase according to the loyalty of his men. Cf. the similar proverb in Anon Mhkv 12/7: hverr mætti gǫfgask af gengi ‘each man could gain stature from the company he keeps’.
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af (prep.): from
[8] hverr vex af gengi ‘each gains from his following’: That is, a ruler’s power and reputation will increase according to the loyalty of his men. Cf. the similar proverb in Anon Mhkv 12/7: hverr mætti gǫfgask af gengi ‘each man could gain stature from the company he keeps’.
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gengi (noun n.): support, following
[8] hverr vex af gengi ‘each gains from his following’: That is, a ruler’s power and reputation will increase according to the loyalty of his men. Cf. the similar proverb in Anon Mhkv 12/7: hverr mætti gǫfgask af gengi ‘each man could gain stature from the company he keeps’.
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
Fúss brýtr fylkir eisu |
The eager leader breaks fire of the fen [GOLD]; the hand moves according to custom; the plunder-punisher [JUST RULER] gives amber of the Rhine <river> [GOLD]; people ask about princes. The lord trusts the warriors’ experience very much; a gift looks for rewards; the ruler has power over the people longer; each gains from his following.
Snorri calls this variant orðskviðu háttr ‘proverb’s form’. Positions 2-6 in each even line contain an independent clause with a proverb or a gnomic statement.
The headings are xix ‘the nineteenth’ (Tˣ) and orðskviðu háttr (U(47r)). As with st. 13, this syntactic pattern occurs quite often in dróttkvætt stanzas, but it is never systematised as in the present stanza, and proverbs are not common.
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