Note to GunnLeif Merl I 78^VIII

[5-8]: The syntax and meaning of these lines could be interpreted in at least two different ways. Previous eds have inserted explanatory phrases to clarify their understanding of the lines. Bret 1848-9 inserts an explanatory phrase: indtil Konger i London begravne stige op af Jorden og aabenbares ‘until kings buried in London rise up from the earth and show themselves’. Similarly Skj B (indtil konger begravede i London viser sig for folk, (stegne) op af jorden ‘until kings buried in London reveal themselves to men, (risen) up from the earth’) and Merl 2012. But the phrases ‘rise up’, ‘risen up’ have no counterpart in Gunnlaugr and are not strictly necessary for sense. The present edn adopts the view that grafnir ór grundu ‘disinterred from the ground’ (l. 7) is a phrase qualifying landrekar ‘kings’ (l. 5) and further specified by the adverbial phrase í Lundúnum ‘in London’ (l. 6), while the statement vitrask gumnum ‘are revealed to men’ (l. 8) translates Geoffrey’s Lat. propalabuntur ‘are revealed’. Another possible interpretation rearranges the syntax of ll. 5-8 as unz landrekar grafnir í Lundúnum vitrask gumnum ór grundu ‘until kings buried in London reveal themselves to men from the ground’. This has the disadvantage of requiring the phrase grafnir ór grundu to be split, and it is further from the sense of Geoffrey’s Latin text.

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skj B = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1912-15b. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. B: Rettet tekst. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Villadsen & Christensen. Rpt. 1973. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger.
3. Bret 1848-9 = Jón Sigurðsson. 1848-9. ‘Trójumanna saga ok Breta sögur, efter Hauksbók, med dansk Oversættelse’. ÅNOH 1848, 3-215; 1849, 3-145.
4. Merl 2012 = Horst, Simone, ed. 2012. Merlínússpá. Merlins Prophezeiung. Munich: Herbert Utz Verlag.