Anon Mhkv 5III
Roberta Frank (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Poems, Málsháttakvæði 5’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 1219.
Alllítit ‘very little’
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allítill (adj.): very little, weakling
er ‘It takes’
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2. er (conj.): who, which, when
ungs ‘a young’
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ungr (adj.): young
manns ‘man’
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maðr (noun m.): man, person
gaman ‘to amuse’
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gaman (noun n.): joy, pleasure
einum ‘to one’
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2. einn (pron.; °decl. cf. einn num.): one, alone
þykkir ‘seems’
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2. þykkja (verb): seem, think
daufligt ‘dreary’
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daufligr (adj.): [dreary]
saman ‘alone’
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saman (adv.): together
annars ‘another’s’
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1. annarr (pron.; °f. ǫnnur, n. annat; pl. aðrir): (an)other, second
barn ‘child’
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barn (noun n.; °-s; bǫrn/barn(JKr 345³), dat. bǫrnum/barnum): child
er ‘is’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
sem ‘like’
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sem (conj.): as, which
úlf ‘a wolf’
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1. ulfr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): wolf
at ‘’
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5. at (nota): to (with infinitive)
frjá ‘cherishing’
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2. frjá (verb): [cherishing]
óðfúss ‘desperately’
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óðfúss (adj.): [desperately]
notes
[4] óðfúss ‘desperately’: Lit. ‘wildly eager’. In Old Norse poetry only in Þry 26/7, 28/7 and BjHall Kálffl 8/6I.
myndi ‘would’
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munu (verb): will, must
blindr ‘the blind one’
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blindr (adj.; °compar. -ari): blind
at ‘to’
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5. at (nota): to (with infinitive)
sjá ‘see’
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2. sjá (verb): see
Dýrt ‘precious’
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dýrr (adj.; °compar. -ri/-ari, superl. -str/-astr): precious
láta ‘say’
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láta (verb): let, have sth done
menn ‘People’
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maðr (noun m.): man, person
dróttins ‘a lord’s’
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dróttinn (noun m.; °dróttins, dat. dróttni (drottini [$1049$]); dróttnar): lord, master
orð ‘word’
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orð (noun n.; °-s; -): word
drekarnir ‘dragons’
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dreki (noun m.; °-a; -ar): dragon, dragon-ship
rísa ‘rise up’
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rísa (verb): rise, raise
opt ‘often’
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opt (adv.): often
á ‘on’
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3. á (prep.): on, at
sporð ‘their tail’
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sporðr (noun m.; °-s, dat -i; -ar): [their tail]
ǫðlingr ‘a prince’
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ǫðlingr (noun m.; °; -ar): prince, ruler
skyldi ‘should be’
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skulu (verb): shall, should, must
einkar ‘especially’
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einkar (adv.): extremely
rǫskr ‘brave’
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rǫskr (adj.): brave
œpa ‘croak’
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œpa (verb): cry out
kann ‘can’
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kunna (verb): know, can, be able
í ‘in’
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í (prep.): in, into
mœrum ‘the marshes’
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2. mœrr (noun f.): marsh
frǫskr ‘a frog’
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froskr (noun m.): [a frog]
notes
[8] frǫskr ‘a frog’: (O)Icel. froskr ‘frog’. The word is attested in poetry only here. On Orcadian-Norw. dialectal frǫskr, see LH II, 47-8; on braying frogs in medieval European literature, see Ransom (1986, 69-83). The rhyme of the noble rǫskr ‘brave’, adj. of champions, with homely frǫskr seems comic. On Lat. rana ‘frog’ named from the noise (cf. rancare) it makes in its native paludes ‘swamps’, see Isidore, Etym. 12.6.58.
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
It takes very little to amuse a young man; life seems dreary to one alone; to love another’s child is like cherishing a wolf; desperately would the blind one wish to see. People say a lord’s word is precious; dragons often rise up on their tail; a prince should be especially brave; a frog can croak in the marshes.
Finnur Jónsson (1890a, 266) attempted to illustrate a close contextual fit between the eight proverbs in this stanza and the narrator’s lovesickness. — [1-2]: For related proverbs, see Ísl. Málsh.: gaman, einn. — [5]: This proverb is widely cited in Old Norse texts: cf. Laxdœla saga (Laxd ch. 47, ÍF 5, 147): Dýrt mun mér verða dróttins orð ‘The royal command is worth a lot to me’; Kjalnesinga saga (Kjaln ch. 15, ÍF 14, 35): Dýrt er dróttins orð; Óláfs saga helga (ÓHHkr, ÍF 27, 126): dýrt er dróttins orð; and the allusive use of the saying in Sigv Berv 9/3II dróttins orð til dýrðar ‘the royal command [opens the path] to glory’. — [6]: On a dragon’s strength residing in its tail, see Isidore, Etym. 12.3.4-5.
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