[7] á it næsta nes ‘toward the nearest headland’: The skald will begin at the beginning, i.e. with his own lot. Skj B, following Eiríkr Magnússon (1888, 325) and Konráð Gíslason (1895-7, II, 137), emends to til ens næsta ness for the sake of rhyme. The opening of Nóregs konungatal (Anon Nkt 2/1-4II) uses a similar proverb (although in an opposite meaning), comparing rowing out after whales to composing a genealogical poem: róa skal fyrst | fjarri reyði, | koma þó niðr | nær, áðr lúki ‘one must first row far from the whale, yet come down close before it is finished’.
References
- Bibliography
- Skj B = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1912-15b. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. B: Rettet tekst. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Villadsen & Christensen. Rpt. 1973. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger.
- Konráð Gíslason. 1895-7. Efterladte skrifter. 2 vols. I: Forelæsninger over oldnordiske skjaldekvad. II: Forelæsninger og videnskablige afhandlinger. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
- Internal references
- Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Anonymous Poems, Nóregs konungatal 2’ in Kari Ellen Gade (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 2: From c. 1035 to c. 1300. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 2. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 763.