Anon (Mberf) 6II
Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Anonymous Lausavísur, Lausavísur from Magnúss saga berfœtts 6’ 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, pp. 833-4.
Vegg ‘the sail’
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1. veggr (noun m.; °-jar/-s(Páll²A 257³³), dat. -/-i(kun defin.); -ir): wall
blæss ‘fills’
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2. blása (verb; °blǽss; blés, blésu; blásinn): blow
[1] blæss veðr of: blés vindr undir Hr
veðr ‘The storm-wind’
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2. veðr (noun n.; °-s; -): weather, wind, storm
[1] blæss veðr of: blés vindr undir Hr
tyggja ‘the sovereign’
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tyggi (noun m.): prince, sovereign
viðr ‘the timber’
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1. viðr (noun m.; °-ar, dat. -i/-; -ir, acc. -u/-i): wood, tree
notes
[2] viðr ‘the timber’: Taken here to refer to the planking, in keeping with the other parts of the ship mentioned in the st. (‘rowlock’, ‘ropes’, ‘mast’). Viðr could also be used pars pro toto for ‘ship’ (see LP: viðr 5).
þolir ‘suffers’
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þola (verb): suffer, endure
nauð ‘distress’
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neyð (noun f.; °dat. -): need, distress
í ‘in’
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í (prep.): in, into
lauðri ‘the foam’
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lauðr (noun n.): foam, surf
kennings
læ klungrs‘the destroyer of bramble ’
= WIND
the destroyer of bramble → WIND
notes
[3] læ klungrs ‘the destroyer of bramble [WIND]’: One would expect this to be a kenning for ‘fire’ and it is given as such in LP: læ 2 (but not in LP: klungr). The context shows that it is used here to designate ‘wind’. Kennings formed according to the model ‘the destruction of trees or parts of trees’ usually denote ‘fire’ but they could also, and more rarely, denote ‘wind’ (see Meissner 101).
tekr ‘’
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2. taka (verb): take
klungrs ‘of bramble’
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klungr (noun m.; °klungrs, dat. klungri; klungrar): thorn, bramble
[3] klungrs: klungr Hr, F
kennings
læ klungrs‘the destroyer of bramble ’
= WIND
the destroyer of bramble → WIND
notes
[3] læ klungrs ‘the destroyer of bramble [WIND]’: One would expect this to be a kenning for ‘fire’ and it is given as such in LP: læ 2 (but not in LP: klungr). The context shows that it is used here to designate ‘wind’. Kennings formed according to the model ‘the destruction of trees or parts of trees’ usually denote ‘fire’ but they could also, and more rarely, denote ‘wind’ (see Meissner 101).
at ‘’
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5. at (nota): to (with infinitive)
knýja ‘begins to beat against’
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knýja (verb): press forward, urge, drive
keip ‘the rowlock’
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1. keipr (noun m.; °; -ar): [rowlock]
notes
[4] keip ‘rowlock’: During rowing, the oars rested in the hollow of curved pieces of wood which were inserted into the upper plank of the railing (see Falk 1912, 70; Jesch 2001a, 155).
en ‘and’
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2. en (conj.): but, and
í ‘in’
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í (prep.): in, into
reipum ‘the ropes’
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reip (noun n.; °-s; -): rope
Mjór* ‘The slender’
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mjór (adj.; °mjóvan; comp. mjór(r)i/mjár(r)i, superl. -str/mjóvastr): slender
[5] Mjór*: mjórr Mork, H, Hr, meirr F
notes
[5, 8] mjór* sjautøgr vǫndr (m. nom. sg.) ‘the slender seventy-measure mast’: (a) For this interpretation, see Foote 1978, 65. (b) Sveinbjörn Egilsson (LP 1860: sjötögr) believed that this designated the number of masts in the fleet. However, as Foote (1978, 65) points out, the sg. sjautøgr vǫndr is not ‘seven decades of masts’ but ‘a mast of seven decades’. (c) Skj B and Skald take vǫndr to mean ‘oar’ (‘seventy slender oars’ lit. ‘a slender oar in the measure of seventy’), but vǫndr means ‘mast’ and is not attested in the meaning ‘oar’; see Falk 1912, 56. Furthermore, the st. describes Magnús’s sailing in strong winds, which is incompatible with the ship being propelled by seventy slender oars.
skelfr ‘trembles’
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skelfa (verb): cause to shake
Magnús ‘Magnús’
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2. Magnús (noun m.): Magnús
stýrir ‘steers’
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stýra (verb): steer, control
móð ‘the weary’
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móðr (adj.): weary
skerr ‘cleaves’
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skera (verb): cut
eik ‘oak-ship’
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eik (noun f.; °eikr/eikar; eikr): oak
at ‘’
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3. at (prep.): at, to
flóði ‘the water’
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2. flóð (noun n.): flood
beit ‘boats’
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2. beit (noun n.): ship
slíta ‘lacerate’
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slíta (verb): to tear
sjautøgr ‘seventy-measure’
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sjautugr (num. cardinal): seventy
notes
[5, 8] mjór* sjautøgr vǫndr (m. nom. sg.) ‘the slender seventy-measure mast’: (a) For this interpretation, see Foote 1978, 65. (b) Sveinbjörn Egilsson (LP 1860: sjötögr) believed that this designated the number of masts in the fleet. However, as Foote (1978, 65) points out, the sg. sjautøgr vǫndr is not ‘seven decades of masts’ but ‘a mast of seven decades’. (c) Skj B and Skald take vǫndr to mean ‘oar’ (‘seventy slender oars’ lit. ‘a slender oar in the measure of seventy’), but vǫndr means ‘mast’ and is not attested in the meaning ‘oar’; see Falk 1912, 56. Furthermore, the st. describes Magnús’s sailing in strong winds, which is incompatible with the ship being propelled by seventy slender oars.
vǫndr ‘mast’
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vǫndr (noun m.; °vandar, dat. vendi/vǫnd; vendir, acc. vǫndu/vendi): rod, want, mast
notes
[5, 8] mjór* sjautøgr vǫndr (m. nom. sg.) ‘the slender seventy-measure mast’: (a) For this interpretation, see Foote 1978, 65. (b) Sveinbjörn Egilsson (LP 1860: sjötögr) believed that this designated the number of masts in the fleet. However, as Foote (1978, 65) points out, the sg. sjautøgr vǫndr is not ‘seven decades of masts’ but ‘a mast of seven decades’. (c) Skj B and Skald take vǫndr to mean ‘oar’ (‘seventy slender oars’ lit. ‘a slender oar in the measure of seventy’), but vǫndr means ‘mast’ and is not attested in the meaning ‘oar’; see Falk 1912, 56. Furthermore, the st. describes Magnús’s sailing in strong winds, which is incompatible with the ship being propelled by seventy slender oars.
und ‘beneath’
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3. und (prep.): under, underneath
notes
[8] und rǫndu ‘beneath the shields’: Lit. ‘beneath the shield’. This prepositional phrase could also go with the previous cl.: móð eik skerr at flóði und rǫndu ‘the weary oak-ship cleaves the water beneath the shield’ (ll. 6, 8). ‘The shield’ must refer to the row of shields on the shield-rail of the ship (see Jesch 2001a, 157-8).
rǫndu ‘the shields’
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rǫnd (noun f.; °dat. -/-u; rendr/randir): shield, shield-rim
notes
[8] und rǫndu ‘beneath the shields’: Lit. ‘beneath the shield’. This prepositional phrase could also go with the previous cl.: móð eik skerr at flóði und rǫndu ‘the weary oak-ship cleaves the water beneath the shield’ (ll. 6, 8). ‘The shield’ must refer to the row of shields on the shield-rail of the ship (see Jesch 2001a, 157-8).
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
The storm-wind fills the sail above the sovereign; the timber suffers distress in the foam; the destroyer of bramble [WIND] begins to beat against the rowlock and roars in the ropes. The slender seventy-measure mast trembles; Magnús steers; the weary oak-ship cleaves the water; boats must lacerate the sea beneath the shields.
In Mork and F this and the following st. are given in an unspecific context to illustrate the sailing of Magnús berfœttr. In H-Hr a new prose environment is created from the content of the sts, and they are inserted at the beginning of Magnús’s second campaign to the west in 1102.
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