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Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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ESk Geisl 8VII

Martin Chase (ed.) 2007, ‘Einarr Skúlason, Geisli 8’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 13-14.

Einarr SkúlasonGeisli
789

Heyrðu ‘listen’

(not checked:)
2. heyra (verb): hear

notes

[1] heyrðu til afreks orða ‘listen to words of great deeds’: Both mss have the suffixed pron. -ðu here. Omitting the pron. (as do Finnur Jónsson and Kock) normalises the syllable count of the l. but spoils the rhyme, which is between heyrð- and orð-. On early cliticisation, of which there are three examples in this st., see ANG §472.

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til ‘to’

(not checked:)
til (prep.): to

notes

[1] heyrðu til afreks orða ‘listen to words of great deeds’: Both mss have the suffixed pron. -ðu here. Omitting the pron. (as do Finnur Jónsson and Kock) normalises the syllable count of the l. but spoils the rhyme, which is between heyrð- and orð-. On early cliticisation, of which there are three examples in this st., see ANG §472.

Close

afreks ‘of great deeds’

(not checked:)
Afrekr (noun m.): great deed

notes

[1] heyrðu til afreks orða ‘listen to words of great deeds’: Both mss have the suffixed pron. -ðu here. Omitting the pron. (as do Finnur Jónsson and Kock) normalises the syllable count of the l. but spoils the rhyme, which is between heyrð- and orð-. On early cliticisation, of which there are three examples in this st., see ANG §472.

Close

orða ‘words’

(not checked:)
orð (noun n.; °-s; -): word

notes

[1] heyrðu til afreks orða ‘listen to words of great deeds’: Both mss have the suffixed pron. -ðu here. Omitting the pron. (as do Finnur Jónsson and Kock) normalises the syllable count of the l. but spoils the rhyme, which is between heyrð- and orð-. On early cliticisation, of which there are three examples in this st., see ANG §472.

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Eysteinn ‘Eysteinn’

(not checked:)
Eysteinn (noun m.): Eysteinn

notes

[2] Eysteinn: Eysteinn Haraldsson was Einarr Skúlason’s principal patron and the commissioner of the poem (cf. st. 71). He was reigning jointly with his brothers Sigurðr and Ingi at the time Geisl was composed: see Introduction.

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konungr ‘King’

(not checked:)
konungr (noun m.; °dat. -i, -s; -ar): king

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Sigurðr ‘Sigurðr’

(not checked:)
Sigurðr (noun m.): Sigurðr

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hygg ‘consider’

(not checked:)
2. hyggja (verb): think, consider

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at ‘’

(not checked:)
4. at (conj.): that

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snøggum ‘the swift’

(not checked:)
1. snøggr (adj.): [swift]

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sterkr ‘strong’

(not checked:)
sterkr (adj.): strong < sóknsterkr (adj.)

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hvé ‘how’

(not checked:)
hvé (pron.): how

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ferk ‘I deliver’

(not checked:)
fara (verb; ferr, fór, fóru, farinn): go, travel

[4] ferk (‘ek fer’): ‘ek fr’ Bb

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verka ‘work’

(not checked:)
verki (noun m.; °-a): deed, work

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óð ‘poetry’

(not checked:)
1. óðr (noun m.): poem

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fyr ‘before’

(not checked:)
fyr (prep.): for, over, because of, etc.

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Inga ‘Ingi’

(not checked:)
Ingi (noun m.): king, Ingi

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yðart ‘your’

(not checked:)
yðvarr (pron.; °f. yður; pl. yðrir): your

[6] yðart (‘yduart’): ‘ydara’ Bb

notes

[6] yðart biðk magnit styðja ‘I ask that your power support [the praise]’: The l. is difficult both metrically and syntactically and the two mss diverge in several respects. Bb’s reading of the final word, styðja ‘support’, is preferred here over Flat’s styrkva, as it does not require emendation, it makes better sense and provides aðalhending with -. Chase 2005, 58 and 132 proposes the emendation styrkna ‘to become strong’ from Flat and reads yðvart biðk magnit styrkna ‘I desire that your power be strengthened’, assuming the scribe may have made the common error of writing u for n and arguing that styrkna is feasible if the l. is read as a parenthesis and mærð is understood to be syntactically parallel with óð ‘poetry’. Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) emends Bb to yðvarrar biðk styðja | mærð, þats miklu varðar, | máttigt hǫfuð áttar ‘I ask the mighty head of your line to strengthen the poem, which is of great importance’, and Kock conflates the two texts: yðvart biðk magn styðja | mærð, þats miklu varðar, | máttig, hǫfuð áttar! ‘I ask that your strength, mighty heads of the nation, support the poem, which is of great importance’ (NN §2052).

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biðk ‘I ask’

(not checked:)
biðja (verb; °biðr; bað, báðu; beðinn (beiþ- Martin¹ 573‡, bỏþ- HákEirsp 661‰, cf. ed. intr. xl)): ask for, order, pray

notes

[6] yðart biðk magnit styðja ‘I ask that your power support [the praise]’: The l. is difficult both metrically and syntactically and the two mss diverge in several respects. Bb’s reading of the final word, styðja ‘support’, is preferred here over Flat’s styrkva, as it does not require emendation, it makes better sense and provides aðalhending with -. Chase 2005, 58 and 132 proposes the emendation styrkna ‘to become strong’ from Flat and reads yðvart biðk magnit styrkna ‘I desire that your power be strengthened’, assuming the scribe may have made the common error of writing u for n and arguing that styrkna is feasible if the l. is read as a parenthesis and mærð is understood to be syntactically parallel with óð ‘poetry’. Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) emends Bb to yðvarrar biðk styðja | mærð, þats miklu varðar, | máttigt hǫfuð áttar ‘I ask the mighty head of your line to strengthen the poem, which is of great importance’, and Kock conflates the two texts: yðvart biðk magn styðja | mærð, þats miklu varðar, | máttig, hǫfuð áttar! ‘I ask that your strength, mighty heads of the nation, support the poem, which is of great importance’ (NN §2052).

Close

styrkva ‘’

(not checked:)
styrkja (verb): strengthen, assist

Close

magnit ‘power’

(not checked:)
magn (noun n.; °-s): strength

[6] magnit: om. Bb

notes

[6] yðart biðk magnit styðja ‘I ask that your power support [the praise]’: The l. is difficult both metrically and syntactically and the two mss diverge in several respects. Bb’s reading of the final word, styðja ‘support’, is preferred here over Flat’s styrkva, as it does not require emendation, it makes better sense and provides aðalhending with -. Chase 2005, 58 and 132 proposes the emendation styrkna ‘to become strong’ from Flat and reads yðvart biðk magnit styrkna ‘I desire that your power be strengthened’, assuming the scribe may have made the common error of writing u for n and arguing that styrkna is feasible if the l. is read as a parenthesis and mærð is understood to be syntactically parallel with óð ‘poetry’. Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) emends Bb to yðvarrar biðk styðja | mærð, þats miklu varðar, | máttigt hǫfuð áttar ‘I ask the mighty head of your line to strengthen the poem, which is of great importance’, and Kock conflates the two texts: yðvart biðk magn styðja | mærð, þats miklu varðar, | máttig, hǫfuð áttar! ‘I ask that your strength, mighty heads of the nation, support the poem, which is of great importance’ (NN §2052).

Close

styrkva ‘’

(not checked:)
styrkja (verb): strengthen, assist

Close

styðja ‘support’

(not checked:)
2. styðja (verb): protect, support

[6] styðja: so Bb, styrkva Flat

notes

[6] yðart biðk magnit styðja ‘I ask that your power support [the praise]’: The l. is difficult both metrically and syntactically and the two mss diverge in several respects. Bb’s reading of the final word, styðja ‘support’, is preferred here over Flat’s styrkva, as it does not require emendation, it makes better sense and provides aðalhending with -. Chase 2005, 58 and 132 proposes the emendation styrkna ‘to become strong’ from Flat and reads yðvart biðk magnit styrkna ‘I desire that your power be strengthened’, assuming the scribe may have made the common error of writing u for n and arguing that styrkna is feasible if the l. is read as a parenthesis and mærð is understood to be syntactically parallel with óð ‘poetry’. Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) emends Bb to yðvarrar biðk styðja | mærð, þats miklu varðar, | máttigt hǫfuð áttar ‘I ask the mighty head of your line to strengthen the poem, which is of great importance’, and Kock conflates the two texts: yðvart biðk magn styðja | mærð, þats miklu varðar, | máttig, hǫfuð áttar! ‘I ask that your strength, mighty heads of the nation, support the poem, which is of great importance’ (NN §2052).

Close

mærð ‘the praise’

(not checked:)
mærð (noun f.): praise

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s ‘is’

(not checked:)
2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am

[7] þás (‘þa er’): þat er Bb

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miklu ‘of great’

(not checked:)
mikill (adj.; °mikinn): great, large

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varðar ‘importance’

(not checked:)
vǫrðr (noun m.): [importance]

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máttig ‘mighty’

(not checked:)
máttigr (adj.; °compar. -ari/-ri, superl. -astr): mighty

[8] máttig: ‘maktugt’ Bb

kennings

máttig hǫfuð áttar.
‘mighty heads of the nation.’
   = Eysteinn, Sigurðr, Ingi

mighty heads of the nation. → Eysteinn, Sigurðr, Ingi

notes

[8]: The pl. form máttig hǫfuð in Flat makes better sense than Bb’s sg. mektugt hǫfuð in the context of an address to three joint monarchs. In Finnur’s reading, ‘mighty head of your line’ could refer either to Eysteinn (which would be rather insulting to Sigurðr and Ingi) or to S. Óláfr.

Close

hǫfuð ‘heads’

(not checked:)
hǫfuð (noun n.; °-s; -): head

kennings

máttig hǫfuð áttar.
‘mighty heads of the nation.’
   = Eysteinn, Sigurðr, Ingi

mighty heads of the nation. → Eysteinn, Sigurðr, Ingi

notes

[8]: The pl. form máttig hǫfuð in Flat makes better sense than Bb’s sg. mektugt hǫfuð in the context of an address to three joint monarchs. In Finnur’s reading, ‘mighty head of your line’ could refer either to Eysteinn (which would be rather insulting to Sigurðr and Ingi) or to S. Óláfr.

Close

áttar ‘of the nation’

(not checked:)
2. átt (noun f.; °; -ir (acc. sg. attvnna AnnaReyk 410⁹)): lineage

kennings

máttig hǫfuð áttar.
‘mighty heads of the nation.’
   = Eysteinn, Sigurðr, Ingi

mighty heads of the nation. → Eysteinn, Sigurðr, Ingi

notes

[8]: The pl. form máttig hǫfuð in Flat makes better sense than Bb’s sg. mektugt hǫfuð in the context of an address to three joint monarchs. In Finnur’s reading, ‘mighty head of your line’ could refer either to Eysteinn (which would be rather insulting to Sigurðr and Ingi) or to S. Óláfr.

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