Anon (ÓTHkr) 1I
Diana Whaley (ed.) 2012, ‘Anonymous Lausavísur, Lausavísa from Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar in Heimskringla 1’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 1073.
Þás ‘When’
(not checked:)
þás (conj.): when
sparn ‘kicked’
(not checked:)
sperna (verb): kick
[1] sparn á mó Maurnis: ‘mórn ámo mꜹ́rnis’ F, ‘sparn amo mꜹrnir’ J1ˣ, ‘sparnama mꜹrnar’ 291
á ‘against’
(not checked:)
3. á (prep.): on, at
[1] sparn á mó Maurnis: ‘mórn ámo mꜹ́rnis’ F, ‘sparn amo mꜹrnir’ J1ˣ, ‘sparnama mꜹrnar’ 291
mó ‘the heath’
(not checked:)
1. mór (noun m.; °; -ar): moor, heath
[1] sparn á mó Maurnis: ‘mórn ámo mꜹ́rnis’ F, ‘sparn amo mꜹrnir’ J1ˣ, ‘sparnama mꜹrnar’ 291
kennings
mó Maurnis‘the heath of Maurnir ’
= ?
the heath of Maurnir → ?
notes
[1] mó Maurnis ‘the heath of Maurnir [?]’: This is a tantalizing phrase, in which Maurnis (‘mꜹrnis’ Kˣ, F, ‘mꜹrnir’ J1ˣ, ‘mꜹrnar’ 291) is elusive and mó could be acc. sg. either of mór m. ‘heath, moor’ or of the horse-name Mór m. (LP: 2. Mór). (a) Given the general context of níð and the sexual insult in ll. 5-8, the most credible explanation is ‘mare’s rump’ (merarlend), suggested by Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson (ÍF 26). He assumes a connection with Mǫrnir/Maurnir, who is invoked in Anon (Vǫlsa) 4-12 in the formula þiggi Maurnir þetta blæti ‘may Maurnir receive this offering’, as the horse phallus Vǫlsi is passed round. Maurnir therefore seems in Vǫlsa to be a deity, probably phallic (see further Note to Anon Vǫls 4/5). Bjarni also cites the opinion of Olsen (1917, II, 656) that mǫrnir is a (horse-)phallus. The use of topographical terms (here mór ‘heath’) to refer to the female genitals is paralleled: see Clunies Ross (1973b, 85, n. 32). (b) Emendation to Mǫrnar or Marnar (f. gen. sg.) ‘of Mǫrn’ was proposed by Sveinbjörn Egilsson (SHI 11, 35-6) and adopted by Konráð Gíslason and Eiríkur Jónsson (Nj 1875-8, II, 228-9) and Skj B. Mǫrn is a river-name, for which identification with the Marne has been suggested (Hkr 1893-1901, IV; LP: Mǫrn), and it would provide a reference to water, forming a ship-kenning with mó(r) ‘steed’. This would work well in context, yet the mss agree on a root vowel spelt <ꜹ>, not <a>, and corruption of so natural a kenning would be hard to explain. Further, the sense of sparn would need to be ‘travelled’, though it normally means ‘kick, press hard with the feet’ (see Fritzner: sperna). (c) Kock (NN §526) largely agrees with (b), but takes mó as m. acc. sg. ‘heath, moor’, hence ‘heath of the water’, presumably ‘sea’.
Maurnis ‘of Maurnir’
(not checked:)
Maurnir (noun m.): Maurnir
[1] sparn á mó Maurnis: ‘mórn ámo mꜹ́rnis’ F, ‘sparn amo mꜹrnir’ J1ˣ, ‘sparnama mꜹrnar’ 291
kennings
mó Maurnis‘the heath of Maurnir ’
= ?
the heath of Maurnir → ?
notes
[1] mó Maurnis ‘the heath of Maurnir [?]’: This is a tantalizing phrase, in which Maurnis (‘mꜹrnis’ Kˣ, F, ‘mꜹrnir’ J1ˣ, ‘mꜹrnar’ 291) is elusive and mó could be acc. sg. either of mór m. ‘heath, moor’ or of the horse-name Mór m. (LP: 2. Mór). (a) Given the general context of níð and the sexual insult in ll. 5-8, the most credible explanation is ‘mare’s rump’ (merarlend), suggested by Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson (ÍF 26). He assumes a connection with Mǫrnir/Maurnir, who is invoked in Anon (Vǫlsa) 4-12 in the formula þiggi Maurnir þetta blæti ‘may Maurnir receive this offering’, as the horse phallus Vǫlsi is passed round. Maurnir therefore seems in Vǫlsa to be a deity, probably phallic (see further Note to Anon Vǫls 4/5). Bjarni also cites the opinion of Olsen (1917, II, 656) that mǫrnir is a (horse-)phallus. The use of topographical terms (here mór ‘heath’) to refer to the female genitals is paralleled: see Clunies Ross (1973b, 85, n. 32). (b) Emendation to Mǫrnar or Marnar (f. gen. sg.) ‘of Mǫrn’ was proposed by Sveinbjörn Egilsson (SHI 11, 35-6) and adopted by Konráð Gíslason and Eiríkur Jónsson (Nj 1875-8, II, 228-9) and Skj B. Mǫrn is a river-name, for which identification with the Marne has been suggested (Hkr 1893-1901, IV; LP: Mǫrn), and it would provide a reference to water, forming a ship-kenning with mó(r) ‘steed’. This would work well in context, yet the mss agree on a root vowel spelt <ꜹ>, not <a>, and corruption of so natural a kenning would be hard to explain. Further, the sense of sparn would need to be ‘travelled’, though it normally means ‘kick, press hard with the feet’ (see Fritzner: sperna). (c) Kock (NN §526) largely agrees with (b), but takes mó as m. acc. sg. ‘heath, moor’, hence ‘heath of the water’, presumably ‘sea’.
morðkunnr ‘the battle-famed’
(not checked:)
morðkunnr (adj.): [battle-famed]
[2] morðkunnr: ‘marghunnr’ J1ˣ, morðkunn 291
notes
[2, 3] morðkunnr; myrðir Vinða ‘battle-famed; the killer of the Wends [DANISH KING = Haraldr]’: The praise may be ironic, jibing at the Danes’ failure to overcome the Wends (Hkr 1893-1901, IV; Almqvist 1965-74, I, 182-4).
Haraldr ‘Haraldr’
(not checked:)
Haraldr (noun m.): Haraldr
sunnan ‘from the south’
(not checked:)
sunnan (adv.): (from the) south
vas ‘was’
(not checked:)
2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
[3] vas þá (‘var þa’): so J1ˣ, 291, varð þá Kˣ, varðat F
kennings
myrðir Vinða‘the killer of the Wends ’
= DANISH KING = Haraldr
the killer of the Wends → DANISH KING = Haraldr
notes
[2, 3] morðkunnr; myrðir Vinða ‘battle-famed; the killer of the Wends [DANISH KING = Haraldr]’: The praise may be ironic, jibing at the Danes’ failure to overcome the Wends (Hkr 1893-1901, IV; Almqvist 1965-74, I, 182-4).
kennings
myrðir Vinða‘the killer of the Wends ’
= DANISH KING = Haraldr
the killer of the Wends → DANISH KING = Haraldr
notes
[2, 3] morðkunnr; myrðir Vinða ‘battle-famed; the killer of the Wends [DANISH KING = Haraldr]’: The praise may be ironic, jibing at the Danes’ failure to overcome the Wends (Hkr 1893-1901, IV; Almqvist 1965-74, I, 182-4).
vax ‘wax’
(not checked:)
vax (noun n.; °-): [wax]
eitt ‘nothing but’
(not checked:)
2. einn (pron.; °decl. cf. einn num.): one, alone
í ‘in’
(not checked:)
í (prep.): in, into
ham ‘the form of’
(not checked:)
hamr (noun m.; °dat. -; dat. *-um): skin, shape, form
en ‘and’
(not checked:)
2. en (conj.): but, and
berg ‘of the rock’
(not checked:)
berg (noun n.; °-s; -): rock, cliff < bergsalr (noun m.)
[5] berg‑: ber‑ 291
kennings
bǫndum bergsalar‘the deities of the rock-hall ’
= GIANTS
the deities of the rock-hall → GIANTS
salar ‘hall’
(not checked:)
1. salr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -; dat. sǫlum): hall < bergsalr (noun m.)
[5] ‑salar: salr J1ˣ, ‑stofu 291
kennings
bǫndum bergsalar‘the deities of the rock-hall ’
= GIANTS
the deities of the rock-hall → GIANTS
Birgir ‘Birgir’
(not checked:)
Birgir (noun m.): Birgir
bǫndum ‘the deities’
(not checked:)
band (noun n.; °-s; *-): band, bond
kennings
bǫndum bergsalar‘the deities of the rock-hall ’
= GIANTS
the deities of the rock-hall → GIANTS
rækr ‘deserving to be driven out by’
(not checked:)
rækr (adj.; °-jan; compar. -ari, superl. -jastr/-astr): deserving to be driven out
[6] rækr: rekr 291
í ‘in’
(not checked:)
í (prep.): in, into
landi ‘the land’
(not checked:)
land (noun n.; °-s; *-): land
þat ‘that’
[7] þat: so F, J1ˣ, 291, ‘þa⸜t⸝’ Kˣ
sá ‘saw’
(not checked:)
2. sjá (verb): see
ǫld ‘people’
(not checked:)
ǫld (noun f.; °; aldir): people, age
[7] ǫld í jǫldu: ǫld í ǫldu F, ǫldu J1ˣ, ǫld jǫldu 291
jǫldu ‘a mare’
(not checked:)
jalda (noun f.): [a mare]
[7] ǫld í jǫldu: ǫld í ǫldu F, ǫldu J1ˣ, ǫld jǫldu 291
fyrir ‘in front’
(not checked:)
fyrir (prep.): for, before, because of
líki ‘the shape of’
(not checked:)
1. lík (noun n.; °-s; -): body, shape
[8] líki: so F, J1ˣ, 291, ríki Kˣ
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
|
Þás sparn á mó Maurnis |
When the battle-famed Haraldr kicked against the heath of Maurnir [?] from the south in the form of a stallion, the killer of the Wends [DANISH KING = Haraldr] was then nothing but wax; and the powerless Birgir, deserving to be driven out by the deities of the rock-hall [GIANTS] in the land, [was] in front in the shape of a mare; people saw that.
In Hkr, the Icelanders have passed a law that each person should compose a níðvísa against the Danish king Haraldr Gormsson after an Icelandic vessel shipwrecked in Denmark has been seized under supervision of the king’s steward Birgir. Haraldr, having ravaged parts of Norway, plans to turn his fleet against Iceland to avenge the níð composed against him and his steward. Following the quotation comes the famous episode of the landvættir/landvéttir ‘guardian spirits of the land’, in which a sorcerer sent by Haraldr to reconnoitre Iceland in the shape of a whale is repelled from the shores by fabulous beings. The Danish invasion is called off as a consequence. Jvs refers more briefly to the níð and lacks the landvættir episode.
Stanza/chapter/text segment
Use the buttons at the top of the page to navigate between stanzas in a poem.
Information tab
- text: if the stanza has been published, the edited text of the stanza and translation are here; if it hasn't been published an old edition (usually Skj) is given for reference
- sources: a list of the manuscripts or inscriptions containing this stanza, with page and line references and links (eye button) to images where available, and transcription where available
- readings: a list of variant manuscript readings of words in the main text
- editions and texts: a list of editions of the stanza with links to the bibliography; and a list of prose works in which the stanza occurs, allowing you to navigate within the prose context
- notes and context: notes not linked to individual words are given here, along with the account of the prose context for the stanza, where relevant
Interactive tab
The text and translation are given here, with buttons to toggle whether the text is shown in the verse order or prose word order. Clicking on indiviudal words gives dictionary links, variant readings, kennings and notes, where relevant.
Full text tab
This is the text of the edition in a similar format to how the edition appears in the printed volumes.
Chapter/text segment
This view is also used for chapters and other text segments. Not all the headings shown are relevant to such sections.