Eþver Lv 1I
Diana Whaley (ed.) 2012, ‘Einarr þveræingr Eyjólfsson, Lausavísa 1’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 804.
Trautt ‘reluctant’
(not checked:)
trauðr (adj.): reluctant
notes
[1] erumk trautt ‘I am reluctant’: Lit. ‘it is unwelcome to us’.
erumk ‘I am’
(not checked:)
2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
notes
[1] erumk trautt ‘I am reluctant’: Lit. ‘it is unwelcome to us’.
lausa ‘go’
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lausa (verb): [go]
at ‘to’
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5. at (nota): to (with infinitive)
láta ‘let’
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láta (verb): let, have sth done
leiðs ‘hateful’
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2. leiðr (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): hateful, loathsome
oss ‘to us [me]’
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vér (pron.; °gen. vár, dat./acc. oss): we, us, our
konungs ‘the king’s’
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konungr (noun m.; °dat. -i, -s; -ar): king
[2] konungs: konungsins 61
reiði ‘anger’
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2. reiði (noun f.; °-): anger
gjarn ‘eager’
(not checked:)
gjarn (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): eager
es ‘is’
(not checked:)
2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
gramr ‘the prince is’
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1. gramr (noun m.): ruler
at ‘to’
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5. at (nota): to (with infinitive)
arna ‘travel’
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árna (verb; °-að-): gain, travel
notes
[3] arna ‘to travel’: The verb occurs with both long and short vowel (ANG §127.1), but the aðalhending on gjarn ‘eager’ in Anon Liðs 3/2 favours the short variant there, and possibly here also. This seems to be the weak verb árna/arna ‘travel (as an envoy), wander’, but the juxtaposition of árna Grímsey seems to pun on its commoner homophone, árna ‘gain, achieve’, referring to Óláfr Haraldsson’s territorial ambitions.
Grímsey ‘Grímsey’
(not checked:)
Grímsey (noun f.): Grímsey
notes
[4] Grímsey: Island in the extreme north of Iceland, situated on the Arctic Circle.
notes
[4] of trǫð fleyja ‘over the path of vessels [SEA]’: Ms. und would yield the sense (or rather nonsense) ‘under the sea’, and emendation to um, hence normalised of ‘over’, has been generally accepted.
trǫð ‘the path’
(not checked:)
trǫð (noun f.; °traðar; traðir): path
kennings
trǫð fleyja.‘the path of vessels. ’
= SEA
the path of vessels. → SEA
notes
[4] of trǫð fleyja ‘over the path of vessels [SEA]’: Ms. und would yield the sense (or rather nonsense) ‘under the sea’, and emendation to um, hence normalised of ‘over’, has been generally accepted.
fleyja ‘of vessels’
(not checked:)
2. fley (noun n.; °-s): ship
kennings
trǫð fleyja.‘the path of vessels. ’
= SEA
the path of vessels. → SEA
notes
[4] of trǫð fleyja ‘over the path of vessels [SEA]’: Ms. und would yield the sense (or rather nonsense) ‘under the sea’, and emendation to um, hence normalised of ‘over’, has been generally accepted.
Hǫldum ‘hold’
(not checked:)
hǫlðr (noun m.; °-s; -ar): man
vér ‘Let us’
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vér (pron.; °gen. vár, dat./acc. oss): we, us, our
fyr ‘against’
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fyr (prep.): for, over, because of, etc.
hildar ‘of battle’
(not checked:)
1. hildr (noun f.): battle
kennings
stýri hildar;‘the controller of battle; ’
= WARRIOR
the controller of battle; → WARRIOR
hanns ‘he is’
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hann (pron.; °gen. hans, dat. honum; f. hon, gen. hennar, acc. hana): he, she, it, they, them...
dýrr ‘a splendid’
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dýrr (adj.; °compar. -ri/-ari, superl. -str/-astr): precious
konungr ‘king’
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konungr (noun m.; °dat. -i, -s; -ar): king
stýri ‘the controller’
(not checked:)
stýrir (noun m.): ruler, controller
kennings
stýri hildar;‘the controller of battle; ’
= WARRIOR
the controller of battle; → WARRIOR
holm ‘of the islet’
(not checked:)
holmr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i/-; -ar): island, islet < holmgjǫrð (noun f.)
kennings
nagla holmgjarðar‘the stud of the islet-belt ’
= ISLAND
the islet-belt → SEA
the stud of the SEA → ISLAND
notes
[7, 8] nagla holmgjarðar ‘the stud of the islet-belt [SEA > ISLAND]’: The slight emendation, first proposed by Konráð Gíslason (1892, 94) is contextually necessary, and produces a phrasing so reminiscent of Egill Lv 43/7-8V (Eg 123) eyneglð gjǫrð jarðar ‘island-studded belt of the land [SEA]’ that direct influence seems likely. LP: eyneglðr also points out that nagli ‘nail, stud’ appears in the name of a Norwegian skerry (Rygh et al. 1897-1936, XII, 221).
holm ‘of the islet’
(not checked:)
holmr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i/-; -ar): island, islet < holmgjǫrð (noun f.)
kennings
nagla holmgjarðar‘the stud of the islet-belt ’
= ISLAND
the islet-belt → SEA
the stud of the SEA → ISLAND
notes
[7, 8] nagla holmgjarðar ‘the stud of the islet-belt [SEA > ISLAND]’: The slight emendation, first proposed by Konráð Gíslason (1892, 94) is contextually necessary, and produces a phrasing so reminiscent of Egill Lv 43/7-8V (Eg 123) eyneglð gjǫrð jarðar ‘island-studded belt of the land [SEA]’ that direct influence seems likely. LP: eyneglðr also points out that nagli ‘nail, stud’ appears in the name of a Norwegian skerry (Rygh et al. 1897-1936, XII, 221).
kennings
nagla holmgjarðar‘the stud of the islet-belt ’
= ISLAND
the islet-belt → SEA
the stud of the SEA → ISLAND
notes
[7, 8] nagla holmgjarðar ‘the stud of the islet-belt [SEA > ISLAND]’: The slight emendation, first proposed by Konráð Gíslason (1892, 94) is contextually necessary, and produces a phrasing so reminiscent of Egill Lv 43/7-8V (Eg 123) eyneglð gjǫrð jarðar ‘island-studded belt of the land [SEA]’ that direct influence seems likely. LP: eyneglðr also points out that nagli ‘nail, stud’ appears in the name of a Norwegian skerry (Rygh et al. 1897-1936, XII, 221).
kennings
nagla holmgjarðar‘the stud of the islet-belt ’
= ISLAND
the islet-belt → SEA
the stud of the SEA → ISLAND
notes
[7, 8] nagla holmgjarðar ‘the stud of the islet-belt [SEA > ISLAND]’: The slight emendation, first proposed by Konráð Gíslason (1892, 94) is contextually necessary, and produces a phrasing so reminiscent of Egill Lv 43/7-8V (Eg 123) eyneglð gjǫrð jarðar ‘island-studded belt of the land [SEA]’ that direct influence seems likely. LP: eyneglðr also points out that nagli ‘nail, stud’ appears in the name of a Norwegian skerry (Rygh et al. 1897-1936, XII, 221).
fremsk ‘advances himself’
(not checked:)
fremja (verb): advance, perform
hilmir ‘the ruler’
(not checked:)
hilmir (noun m.): prince, protector
hagli ‘by the hail’
(not checked:)
hagl (noun n.; °-s; dat. *-um): hail
kennings
hagli peitu.‘by the hail of the spear.’
= BATTLE
by the hail of the spear. → BATTLE
kennings
hagli peitu.‘by the hail of the spear.’
= BATTLE
by the hail of the spear. → BATTLE
notes
[8] peitu ‘of the spear’: The kenning requires this form, although the 61 reading is slightly doubtful; Árni Magnússon in 761bˣ transcribed it as pettu. The word may originally have referred to prestige weaponry from Poitou (see Note to Arn Hryn 9/8II).
nagla ‘the stud’
(not checked:)
1. nagli (noun m.; °-a; -ar): [nagel, nail]
kennings
nagla holmgjarðar‘the stud of the islet-belt ’
= ISLAND
the islet-belt → SEA
the stud of the SEA → ISLAND
notes
[7, 8] nagla holmgjarðar ‘the stud of the islet-belt [SEA > ISLAND]’: The slight emendation, first proposed by Konráð Gíslason (1892, 94) is contextually necessary, and produces a phrasing so reminiscent of Egill Lv 43/7-8V (Eg 123) eyneglð gjǫrð jarðar ‘island-studded belt of the land [SEA]’ that direct influence seems likely. LP: eyneglðr also points out that nagli ‘nail, stud’ appears in the name of a Norwegian skerry (Rygh et al. 1897-1936, XII, 221).
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
I am reluctant to let Grímsey go; the king’s anger is hateful to us [me]; the prince is eager to travel over the path of vessels [SEA]. Let us hold the stud of the islet-belt [SEA > ISLAND] against the controller of battle [WARRIOR]; he is a splendid king; the ruler advances himself by the hail of the spear [BATTLE].
In ÓH (1941, I, 326-9) and Hkr (ÍF 27, 215-7), Þórarinn Nefjólfsson at the Icelandic alþingi declaims a message from King Óláfr Haraldsson that he wishes to annex the island of Grímsey in exchange for friendship and unspecified benefits. The men of the Northern quarter are most affected and, swayed in their discussion by Guðmundr Eyjólfsson of Möðruvellir, incline to accept, but then his brother Einarr, in a now-famous speech about Iceland’s past and future freedom, swings opinion against the bid. Only in 61 does he also recite the stanza.
[2]: An aðalhending involving leið ‘hateful’ and reiði ‘anger’ is also the basis for Hfr Lv 9/6V (Hallfr 12) and Stefnir Lv 2/2.
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