Eskál Lv 1aI/5 — Komkat ‘I have not come’
Gerðak veig of virða
víðis illrar tíðar
(þat vann ek, meðan aðrir)
ǫrr Váfaðar (svôfu).
Komkat þess, þars þótti,
þingsættis, fé betra
— meiðr sparir hodd við hróðri
hverr — en skald it verra.
Illrar tíðar gerðak ǫrr veig Váfaðar of virða víðis; vann ek þat, meðan aðrir svôfu. Komkat þess þingsættis, þars fé þótti betra en skald it verra; hverr meiðr sparir hodd við hróðri.
At an unfortunate time I composed, eager, strong drink of Váfuðr <= Óðinn> [POETRY] about men of the ocean [SEAFARERS]; I did that while others slept. I have not come to that assembly-reconciler [RULER] where money seemed better but the poet worse; each tree [man] withholds treasure from praise poetry.
readings
[5] Komkat þess þars þótti (‘komkaþ ec þes þar er þotte’): ‘katr er þrotz þar er þotti’ Flat, komkat ek þrótt þann er þœtti 510, hykkat ek hodda stǫkkvi M
notes
[5, 6] komkat þess þingsættis ‘I have not come to that assembly-reconciler [RULER]’: For the use of verbs of motion + gen., see NS §141, though the genitives in the examples there denote places through or across which the subject is travelling rather than a person who is being sought. Þingsættis, the reading of 291 and Flat, is tentatively construed here as a kenning for a ruler who reconciles others at the assembly. It is without precedent, however, in the skaldic corpus. Ólafur Halldórsson (Jvs 1969, 215) emended to þingsetrs ‘of the assembly-seat’, which is also unprecedented in poetry and not particularly suitable in context. Lines 5-6 in the A-redaction mss of Jvs are likely to be corrupted. They lack hendingar and their general sense seems obscure; do they mean that Einarr has never come across a ruler who paid more for bad poetry and did not reward good?
grammar
Verbs: Strong Verbs
The stem of the subjunctive pl. is i-mutation of the indicative pl..
lúka ‘shut, end’
| Indicative | Subjunctive | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | Past | Present | Past | ||
| Active voice | |||||
| sing. | 1 2 3 | lýk lýkr lýkr | lauk laukt lauk | lúka lúkir lúki | lyka lykir lyki |
| pl. | 1 2 3 | lúkum lúkið lúka | lukum lukuð luku | lúkim lúkið lúki | lykim lykið lyki |
| infinitive pres. part. past part. | lúka lúkandi lúkinn, lúkin, lúkit | ||||
| Middle voice | |||||
| sing. | 1 2 3 | lýkumk lýksk lýksk | laukumk laukzk lauksk | lúkumk lúkisk lúkisk | lykumk lykisk lykisk |
| pl. | 1 2 3 | lúkumk lúkizk lúkask | lukumk lukuzk lukusk | lúkimk lúkizk lúkisk | lykimk lykizk lykisk |
| infinitive pres. part. past part. | lúkask lúkandisk lúkizk | ||||