Valgerður Erna Þorvaldsdóttir (ed.) 2007, ‘Anonymous Poems, Brúðkaupsvísur 10’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 536.
Síðan var fest, fljóð
— færri þótti betr — mær
með auði ilrjóð
ara, því að göfugt var.
Drótt fekk að boði brátt,
— beimum óx gleði þeim —
skata því að skýr snót,
skilið, hugði gott til.
Mær var síðan fest {ilrjóð ara} með auði; færri þótti betr, því að fljóð var göfugt. Drótt fekk brátt skilið að boði; þeim beimum óx gleði, því að skýr snót skata hugði gott til.
A maiden was then betrothed {to the footsole-reddener of the eagle} [WARRIOR] with wealth; few [lit. fewer] were thought better, for the woman was noble. People soon parted at the feast; good cheer increased for those men, because the bright woman of the man was well pleased with this.
Mss: 721(14v), 1032ˣ(101v), 399a-bˣ(4), 2166ˣ(4-5)
Readings: [2] þótti: so 2166ˣ, þóttu 721, 1032ˣ, 399a‑bˣ; betr: ‘[...]etr’ 721
Editions: ÍM II, 131.
Notes: [2-3]: The text seems to be corrupt here, though its sense is recoverable. — [2] færri þótti betr ‘few [lit. fewer] were thought better’: This could also, with a slight change in sense, mean ‘few thought it better’. — [4] göfugt (adj. n.) ‘noble’: Jón Helgason emended to göfugr (adj. m.), suggesting göfug (adj. f.) might be better, göfug mær ‘noble maiden’, but if the mss’ reading göfugt is taken with fljóð (n. sg.). ‘woman’, no emendation is needed. — [5, 8] drótt fekk ... skilið ‘people ... parted’: An alternative interpretation would be ‘people ... got to know [the news]’ at the feast, hence the increase in good cheer. — [7] snót ‘woman’: Jón Helgason emended to sveit ‘company’; skýr sveit skata hugði gott til ‘the bright company of men were well pleased with this’. The reading of the mss snót ‘woman’ is retained here, thus shifting the focus to the young woman, rather than the merry company of men, offering a unique view into the mind of the jilted girl, the only time we hear about her feelings in the poem.
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