Ólhv Frag 3III
Tarrin Wills (ed.) 2017, ‘Óláfr hvítaskáld Þórðarson, Fragments 3’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 304.
Hermenn ‘warriors’
(not checked:)
hermaðr (noun m.): warrior
notes
[All]: As Óláfr states, there is ambiguity here as to which of the two accusative participants is the object of vinna (an example of amphibolia); hence the couplet could be interpreted as Gátum hermenn vinna hugstinnan gram hinnig ‘We [I] have found out that the warriors defeated the single-minded lord there’. Kock (NN §2551) proposes an elaborate reinterpretation of the couplet based on emending gátum/getu to gátu (3rd pers. pl. pret. indic.), but in removing the ambiguity altogether it disregards Óláfr’s interpretation.
notes
[All]: As Óláfr states, there is ambiguity here as to which of the two accusative participants is the object of vinna (an example of amphibolia); hence the couplet could be interpreted as Gátum hermenn vinna hugstinnan gram hinnig ‘We [I] have found out that the warriors defeated the single-minded lord there’. Kock (NN §2551) proposes an elaborate reinterpretation of the couplet based on emending gátum/getu to gátu (3rd pers. pl. pret. indic.), but in removing the ambiguity altogether it disregards Óláfr’s interpretation.
hinnig ‘there’
(not checked:)
hinnig (adv.): here, hence
notes
[All]: As Óláfr states, there is ambiguity here as to which of the two accusative participants is the object of vinna (an example of amphibolia); hence the couplet could be interpreted as Gátum hermenn vinna hugstinnan gram hinnig ‘We [I] have found out that the warriors defeated the single-minded lord there’. Kock (NN §2551) proposes an elaborate reinterpretation of the couplet based on emending gátum/getu to gátu (3rd pers. pl. pret. indic.), but in removing the ambiguity altogether it disregards Óláfr’s interpretation.
hugstinnan ‘the single-minded’
(not checked:)
hugstinnr (adj.): fierce-hearted
notes
[All]: As Óláfr states, there is ambiguity here as to which of the two accusative participants is the object of vinna (an example of amphibolia); hence the couplet could be interpreted as Gátum hermenn vinna hugstinnan gram hinnig ‘We [I] have found out that the warriors defeated the single-minded lord there’. Kock (NN §2551) proposes an elaborate reinterpretation of the couplet based on emending gátum/getu to gátu (3rd pers. pl. pret. indic.), but in removing the ambiguity altogether it disregards Óláfr’s interpretation.
gram ‘lord’
(not checked:)
1. gramr (noun m.): ruler
notes
[All]: As Óláfr states, there is ambiguity here as to which of the two accusative participants is the object of vinna (an example of amphibolia); hence the couplet could be interpreted as Gátum hermenn vinna hugstinnan gram hinnig ‘We [I] have found out that the warriors defeated the single-minded lord there’. Kock (NN §2551) proposes an elaborate reinterpretation of the couplet based on emending gátum/getu to gátu (3rd pers. pl. pret. indic.), but in removing the ambiguity altogether it disregards Óláfr’s interpretation.
vinna ‘defeated’
(not checked:)
2. vinna (verb): perform, work
notes
[All]: As Óláfr states, there is ambiguity here as to which of the two accusative participants is the object of vinna (an example of amphibolia); hence the couplet could be interpreted as Gátum hermenn vinna hugstinnan gram hinnig ‘We [I] have found out that the warriors defeated the single-minded lord there’. Kock (NN §2551) proposes an elaborate reinterpretation of the couplet based on emending gátum/getu to gátu (3rd pers. pl. pret. indic.), but in removing the ambiguity altogether it disregards Óláfr’s interpretation.
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
Cited as an example of amphibolia (‘amphibologia’) or ambiguity of diction (see Notes below).
The metre is dunhent ‘echoing-rhymed’ (cf. SnSt Ht 24). — The corresponding example in Donatus (Keil 1855-80, IV, 395) is audio secutorem retiarium superasse ‘I hear the secutor defeated the retiarius’ (secutor and retiarius are types of gladiator). Finnur Jónsson (TGT 1927, 59 n.) speculates on whether the couplet was composed by Óláfr, and the similarities between the two examples indicate strongly that the Old Norse was modelled on the Latin. — [1]: The line is unmetrical, because metrical position 3 is filled by a long rather than by a short syllable.
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.