ESk Lv 13III
Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Einarr Skúlason, Lausavísur 13’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 176.
Máni ‘The moon’
(not checked:)
máni (noun m.; °-a): moon
skínn ‘shines’
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skína (verb): shine
af ‘from’
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af (prep.): from
kennings
mœni hofs moldar‘the roof-ridge of the temple of the ground ’
= ZENITH
the temple of the ground → SKY
the roof-ridge of the SKY → ZENITH
notes
[1] mœni (m. dat. sg.) ‘the roof-ridge’: Mœðu (f. dat. sg.) ‘weariness’ (so all mss) makes little sense in the context, and the line lacks internal rhyme. The present reading, which restores the rhyme, was first suggested by Sveinbjörn Egilsson (SnE 1848-87, II, 242), and it has been adopted by all subsequent eds.
moldar ‘of the ground’
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mold (noun f.; °-ar, dat. -u; -ir): earth, soil
kennings
mœni hofs moldar‘the roof-ridge of the temple of the ground ’
= ZENITH
the temple of the ground → SKY
the roof-ridge of the SKY → ZENITH
moldar ‘of the ground’
(not checked:)
mold (noun f.; °-ar, dat. -u; -ir): earth, soil
kennings
mœni hofs moldar‘the roof-ridge of the temple of the ground ’
= ZENITH
the temple of the ground → SKY
the roof-ridge of the SKY → ZENITH
hofs ‘of the temple’
(not checked:)
1. hóf (noun n.; °-s; -): court, temple
kennings
mœni hofs moldar‘the roof-ridge of the temple of the ground ’
= ZENITH
the temple of the ground → SKY
the roof-ridge of the SKY → ZENITH
hofs ‘of the temple’
(not checked:)
1. hóf (noun n.; °-s; -): court, temple
kennings
mœni hofs moldar‘the roof-ridge of the temple of the ground ’
= ZENITH
the temple of the ground → SKY
the roof-ridge of the SKY → ZENITH
of ‘throughout’
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3. of (prep.): around, from; too
foldir ‘the countries’
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fold (noun f.): land
alla ‘all’
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allr (adj.): all
stund ‘the time’
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stund (noun f.; °-ar, dat. -u/-; -ir): time, hour
meðan ‘while’
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meðan (conj.): while
endisk ‘endures’
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1. enda (verb; °-að-): end, last
ævi ‘the life’
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ævi (noun f.; °-/-ar): life
lands ‘of land’
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land (noun n.; °-s; *-): land
ok ‘and’
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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
sævar ‘sea’
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sjór (noun m.): sea
Veitk ‘I know that’
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1. vita (verb): know
félaga ‘companion’
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félagi (noun m.; °-a; -ar): companion
notes
[5] fljótum félaga ‘its swift companion’: The identity of this swift companion is debated. Björn Magnússon Ólsen (FoGT 1884, 292) construed fljótum félaga fróns ‘the swift companion of the earth’, i.e. ‘the moon’, and took prýði (m. acc. sg.) ‘adorner’ (l. 6) as a half-kenning for ‘sun’. Finnur Jónsson (LP: félagi) interpreted fljótum félaga ‘swift companion’ as ‘earth’ and prýði (m. acc. sg.) fróns ‘adorner of the earth’ as ‘moon’. Kock (NN §2343) correctly pointed out that it makes little sense to regard the earth as the moon’s ‘swift companion’. He accordingly emended to fljótan félaga (m. acc. sg.) and took prýði as the f. dat. sg. ‘adornment’ to reverse the imagery: ‘I know that the swift companion (i.e. the moon) serves the adornment of the earth (i.e. the sun) well’. That emendation goes against the ms. witnesses and is unnecessary. The idea that the orbit of the moon is faster than that of the sun is in perfect accordance with ancient and medieval cosmological treatises and with the phenomenon called saltus lunae ‘the moon’s leap’, and Einarr must have been familiar with this concept (see Clunies Ross and Gade 2012, 205-6).
fljótum ‘its swift’
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2. fljótr (adj.): quick
notes
[5] fljótum félaga ‘its swift companion’: The identity of this swift companion is debated. Björn Magnússon Ólsen (FoGT 1884, 292) construed fljótum félaga fróns ‘the swift companion of the earth’, i.e. ‘the moon’, and took prýði (m. acc. sg.) ‘adorner’ (l. 6) as a half-kenning for ‘sun’. Finnur Jónsson (LP: félagi) interpreted fljótum félaga ‘swift companion’ as ‘earth’ and prýði (m. acc. sg.) fróns ‘adorner of the earth’ as ‘moon’. Kock (NN §2343) correctly pointed out that it makes little sense to regard the earth as the moon’s ‘swift companion’. He accordingly emended to fljótan félaga (m. acc. sg.) and took prýði as the f. dat. sg. ‘adornment’ to reverse the imagery: ‘I know that the swift companion (i.e. the moon) serves the adornment of the earth (i.e. the sun) well’. That emendation goes against the ms. witnesses and is unnecessary. The idea that the orbit of the moon is faster than that of the sun is in perfect accordance with ancient and medieval cosmological treatises and with the phenomenon called saltus lunae ‘the moon’s leap’, and Einarr must have been familiar with this concept (see Clunies Ross and Gade 2012, 205-6).
fróns ‘of the earth’
(not checked:)
2. frón (noun n.): earth, land
kennings
prýði fróns‘the adorner of the earth ’
= SUN
the adorner of the earth → SUN
notes
[6] prýði fróns ‘the adorner of the earth [SUN]’: Because the stanza is given in the section of LaufE illustrating kennings for ‘sun’, this is taken as a kenning for ‘sun’ here, and the base-word is the agent noun prýðir ‘adorner’ (see Note to SnSt Ht 27/7). See also the previous Note.
prýði ‘the adorner’
(not checked:)
prýðir (noun m.): adorner
kennings
prýði fróns‘the adorner of the earth ’
= SUN
the adorner of the earth → SUN
notes
[6] prýði fróns ‘the adorner of the earth [SUN]’: Because the stanza is given in the section of LaufE illustrating kennings for ‘sun’, this is taken as a kenning for ‘sun’ here, and the base-word is the agent noun prýðir ‘adorner’ (see Note to SnSt Ht 27/7). See also the previous Note.
vel ‘well’
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vel (adv.): well, very
þjóna ‘serves’
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þjóna (verb): serve
eigi ‘do not’
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3. eigi (adv.): not
ýtar ‘people’
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ýtr (noun m.): man; launcher
auðit ‘has been allotted’
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auðinn (adj.; °compar. auðnari): fated, decreed
lífs ‘neither life’
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líf (noun n.; °-s; -): life
né ‘nor’
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né (conj.): nor
dauða ‘death’
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dauði (noun m.; °-a; -ar): death
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
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Máni skínn af mœni |
The moon shines from the roof-ridge of the temple of the ground [SKY > ZENITH] throughout the countries all the time while the life of land and sea endures. I know that the adorner of the earth [SUN] serves its swift companion well; people do not know that one has been allotted neither life nor death.
In FoGT the stanza illustrates the rhetorical device homopatia (SnE 1848-87, II, 240, 242): tveir lutir eru svâ bunnir ok samþykkir, at þat megi segjast annarr gjöra sem annarr gjörir ‘two things are joined together and agree in such a way that it may be said that one does what the other does’. In this particular case, the moon takes on the office of the sun (SnE 1848-87, II, 242): Hèr er túnglinu kent embætti sólarinnar, at skína jafnliga á jörðina, fyrir því er þat hefvir ekki ljós af sèr, heldr af sólinni, ok er dökt þeim megin, sem frá henni horfir, en albjart þat er at henni horfir ‘Here the office of the sun is attributed to the moon, always to shine on the earth, because it does not have light from itself but from the sun, and it is dark on the side that turns away from it [the sun], but completely bright where it turns towards it’. In LaufE the stanza is given in the same context under the heading figura in the section on kennings for ‘sun’, and the surrounding prose is roughly the same as in W.
For a more detailed discussion of this stanza and its indebtedness to medieval works on cosmology, see Clunies Ross and Gade (2012). — [7-8]: The last clause in the stanza must refer to the fact that the moon gives off no light on its own but takes its light from the sun (see Context above). This is also an idea that is widely discussed in ancient and medieval writings on cosmology (see Clunies Ross and Gade 2012, 206).
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