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skaldic

Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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Hbreiðm Lv 1II/6 — mestum ‘very great’

Sendak son þinn, Ragna,
— sǫnn koma môl fyr bragna —
— hans vas hôlig iðja —
hirðvistar mér biðja.
Hafa kvezk hodda rýrir,
hinns mestum veg stýrir,
— neitti grúpans granna —
gnótt vígligri manna.

Sendak son þinn, Ragna, biðja mér hirðvistar; sǫnn môl koma fyr bragna; iðja hans vas hôlig. Rýrir hodda, hinns stýrir mestum veg, kvezk hafa gnótt vígligri manna; neitti granna grúpans.

I sent your son, Ragna, to request residence at court for me; true tales come before men; his attempt was noble. The diminisher of hoards [GENEROUS MAN = Rǫgnvaldr], who possesses very great honour, said that he had plenty of men more warlike; he refused the neighbour of the sausage [= Icelander].

readings

[6] mestum: so R702ˣ, hæstum Flat

notes

[6] mestum ‘very great’: Most eds (all except Orkn 1887, 139-40) adopt the variant mestum. Although hæstum ‘very high, higher’ (so Flat) means virtually the same thing, it results in two alliterating staves in an even l.

grammar

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