Note to Anon Líkn 6VII
[5] s...: Lacuna in B; a minim follows ‘s’, with perhaps the tip of a second (suggesting possible ‘u’). Judging from the space, the missing word is probably monosyllabic but could be disyllabic, in which case the suffixed pron. of látattu ‘let not’ would be dropped. (A suffixed 2nd pers. pron. is otherwise only metrically necessary in 5/1.) Sveinbjörn Egilsson conjectures svík, a nominal form of svíkja ‘to betray’; cf. Rydberg sveik (or sút ‘sorrow, affliction’). Skj B does not try to supply the missing letters, but speculates that the damaged word might mean ‘punishment’. Skald (cf. NN §1388) posits svarf (from svarfa [sverfa?] ‘to bring something out of its proper position’, i.e., here, a wrenching or twisting of the law). This proposal seems reasonable; hence ‘perversion’. As Kock (Skald) observes, the st. juxtaposes the good effects of inspired poetry (in the first helmingr) with the possible evil effects (in the second) if the poet’s prayer for divine help goes unanswered.
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.
- Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
- NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.