2. Format

g. The format is: line number in square brackets, lemma, colon, variant reading(s), siglum/-a of ms(s) containing variant reading(s). ‡ If a verse occurs more than once in a ms., the folio numbers are retained in the Variant Readings, e.g: skildar: so R(37v), ‘skialldir’ R(36r).

‡ h. The lemma is the reading of the main Text as printed above, in the same normalised spelling (though see k. below) including capitalisation. Any emendations should also be italicised in the lemma.

i. If the variant involves a complete line, the whole line is written out as the lemma. This also holds if two consecutive lines have a different reading in a ms. Hence:

[3] rjóðum vér af reiði: [...] 75e4.

[7-8] hvártveggja kannk hyggja harpslátt ok bragþôttu: ‘þo læ. ger. igor. goll. við mer sk.’ H, ‘þo lætr g. i. g. g. við mer skolla’ Hr.

ii. Compounds: Treat the parts of the compound as separate entities and use hyphens if the variants of the two parts of the compound are clearly discernible in the mss. If a variant is written in the ms. as a single word with no internal spacing, the entire word should be given. Use a short hyphen. If the variant is enclosed by ‘’, the hyphen should go inside the single quotation marks. Hence:

[6] -blíðr: -blíðs 73a^x; not: gunnblíðr: gunnblíðs 73a^x.

[2] -draugar: ‘-drugr’ J1^x, ‘-drugar’ J2^x, ‘-drangar’ Bb, FskA^x.

If the elements of a compound are separated by a space in the ms. the hyphen is omitted. E.g. if 73a^x had ‘gunn blids’ it would read:

[6] -blíðr: blíðs 73a^x

iii. Cliticised –k and –s in the lemma: Where the lemma contains a cliticised form introduced for metrical reasons by the editor, this should be given as the lemma, together with the actual ms. form, in quotation marks. This is partly in order that the variants do not look more different from the lemma than they are in reality. E.g.

[4] í hlýtk (‘i hlyt ek’): hlýt í DG8, hlýt í at Hr; ‘i lut’ FskA^x

[5] Vinrs sás (‘vinr er sá er’): so J2^x, E, Holm2, Bb, vin er sá er K^x, vinr er sá 39, vinr em ek, 325VI, 321^x, H, vinr er 73a^x, Hr, vinr sá er 325VII, 325V, 61, Tóm, vinr er Hr, vinr er ek 325XI 3, Flat.

iv. Other normalised forms in the lemma: The same format can be used where the main ms. has an archaised or metrically necessary form that differs significantly from the actual ms. form and from the forms in other mss. E.g.

[2] of (‘um’): of F, 39, af E, vnd H, Hr;

The same format can be used when the ms. spelling is difficult to interpret or especially interesting for some reason, e.g.:

[4] hrævinns (‘hrævinz’): ‘hlokæirs’ Fl

[2] baugnafaðs (‘baugnavaðs’): so A, T^x, ‘baugnafaðrs’ R.

j. The order of variant readings will normally follow that of the list of mss (which is based on the presumed stemma).

k. Variant readings are given in normalised form, but the ms. spelling of variants may be given additionally or instead where the editor considers it valuable, e.g. where the ms. spelling is ambiguous (and hence the normalisation uncertain), or where it is uninterpretable or especially interesting for some reason. Such ms. spellings should be placed in single quotations marks.

i. The following applies regarding punctuation and spelling:

• Abbreviations are silently expanded and not italicised.

• Small capitals are shown as double consonants.

• Spelling is normalised to the presumed date of the verse, e.g. hjǫrr is used in a verse presumed to be C10th or C12th, though the ms. may be C14th and have hjörr.

• Capitalisation: Variant readings should not be capitalised, unless they are in the mss. Hence, e.g. [8] Gǫrðum: garða 73a^x, Holm4, 325V, 61, Bb, garði Tóm.

• Archaic or archaised forms such as es for er or of for um are not introduced in variant readings, nor adjustments for metrical reasons such as contractions, cliticisation or omission of pronouns, unless these are in the mss.

[3] hlaut : hlýtr þú Mork; not: hlýtr Mork.
[3] veit: veit ek Bb not: veitk Bb.
[4] ófár búendr: so F, J1^x, J2^x, 61, ófár en bændr FskB^x, ófár bændr FskA^x, ófáir bændr Bb; not: ófár en búendr FskB^x, ófár búendr FskA^x, ófáir búendr Bb.
[7] ok hausar: at hausum FskA^x, um hausum Hb; not: of hausum Hb.
[4] und: undir FskB^x, um R; not: und FskB^x, of R

ii. Missing text is signalled in the variant apparatus in the following ways:

• Omission of words or phrases in one or more mss should be indicated by, e.g. [7] ok: om. U.

• Deliberate blank space left for text should by indicated by, e.g. [2] fylkir: fylki T, blank space A.

iii. Repetition of text:

• Words written twice in the ms: If the word in question is part of a set of variants on a lemma and written twice in that ms., this should be noted in the apparatus. Otherwise, such a doubling should not be listed, i.e. if it is clearly a scribal error in one ms. and there are no other variants to that lemma. The format is:

[4] und: und und Hb, meðr FskA^x.

• Whole line written twice in the ms., often at the end of a st. as a deliberate echo. This should always be given as a variant, whether or not there are other variants to the same lemma. The format is:

[8] óðlát kona blóði: óðlát kona blóði óðlát kona blóði FskA^x, J2^x, Hb, óðlát kona blóði ok óðlát kona blóði K^x, 39, F, E, ‘óðlát kona blóði oð. ko. b.’ H, ‘óðlát kona blóði oðla. ko. b.’ Hr.

(The following involve mainly unnormalised readings)

iv. Abbreviated lines, words and letters in mss.

• Abbreviated lines should always be included in the variant apparatus. Hence:

[8] sveita Urðr of heitin: ‘s. vr. vm. h.’ Hb

• Abbreviation of single words or phrases in mss should be indicated when there is a possibility of grammatical ambiguity, e.g. ‘.d.’ could = dagr or dag. The suggested format is:

[2] dagr: dags H, ‘.d.’ Hr

• In some cases ambiguity arises from the use of particular abbreviation signs, e.g. þ with a bar through it which in the ms. in question could mean þat or þeim. If the sign can be replicated using Reykholt Times, it should be, e.g:

[3] þeim: þar H, Hr, ‘þ¯’ F

If Reykholt Times does not provide a close enough match, the ambiguity can be expressed by:

[3] þeim: þar H, Hr, ‘þeim’ or ‘þat’ F
[2] grimmr: grimmir H, Hr, ‘grimmr’ or ‘grimmir’ F

There is ambiguity in the last example since the scribe uses the same abbreviation sign for r and for er / ir.

v. Numerals: Where some mss spell out the words while others have numerals such as .xii., this need not be indicated unless the number is part of a variant reading, or the numeral is a variant in itself, e.g:

[4] átta: ‘.viij.’ H, Hr, ‘.vij.’ Flat

References