Gamlkan Has 41VII
Katrina Attwood (ed.) 2007, ‘Gamli kanóki, Harmsól 41’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 108-9.
Kosti ‘try’
(not checked:)
1. kosta (verb): try, strive
hverr ‘every’
(not checked:)
2. hverr (pron.): who, whom, each, every
við ‘with’
(not checked:)
2. við (prep.): with, against
harra ‘the lord’
(not checked:)
1. harri (noun m.; °-a): lord
kennings
harra láðs byrjar;‘the lord of the land of the fair wind; ’
= God
the land of the fair wind; → SKY/HEAVEN
the lord of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
hætt ‘danger’
(not checked:)
hættr (adj.; °compar. -ari/-ri, superl. -astr): dangerous
s ‘is’
(not checked:)
2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
ella ‘otherwise’
(not checked:)
ella (adv.): otherwise
mjǫk ‘great’
(not checked:)
mjǫk (adv.): very, much
sættask ‘to reconcile himself’
(not checked:)
sætta (verb): reconcile, settle
byrjar ‘of the fair wind’
(not checked:)
byrr (noun m.; °-jar/-s; -ir, acc. -i/-u(SigrVal 188¹³)): favourable wind
kennings
harra láðs byrjar;‘the lord of the land of the fair wind; ’
= God
the land of the fair wind; → SKY/HEAVEN
the lord of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
byrjar ‘of the fair wind’
(not checked:)
byrr (noun m.; °-jar/-s; -ir, acc. -i/-u(SigrVal 188¹³)): favourable wind
kennings
harra láðs byrjar;‘the lord of the land of the fair wind; ’
= God
the land of the fair wind; → SKY/HEAVEN
the lord of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
kennings
harra láðs byrjar;‘the lord of the land of the fair wind; ’
= God
the land of the fair wind; → SKY/HEAVEN
the lord of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
kennings
harra láðs byrjar;‘the lord of the land of the fair wind; ’
= God
the land of the fair wind; → SKY/HEAVEN
the lord of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
hvat ‘what’
(not checked:)
hvat (pron.): what
bíðum ‘are we waiting for’
(not checked:)
bíða (verb; °bíðr; beið, biðu; beðit): wait, suffer, experience
blakk ‘’
(not checked:)
1. blakkr (noun m.): horse < blakkvaldr (noun m.)
blik ‘of the gleam’
(not checked:)
blik (noun n.): gleam < blikvaldr (noun m.)
[4] blikvaldr: blakkvaldr B
kennings
blikvaldr tjalda þrimu‘gleam-wielder of the tents of battle’
= WARRIOR
the tents of battle → SHIELDS
the gleam of SHIELDS → SWORD
wielder of the SWORD → WARRIOR
blik ‘of the gleam’
(not checked:)
blik (noun n.): gleam < blikvaldr (noun m.)
[4] blikvaldr: blakkvaldr B
kennings
blikvaldr tjalda þrimu‘gleam-wielder of the tents of battle’
= WARRIOR
the tents of battle → SHIELDS
the gleam of SHIELDS → SWORD
wielder of the SWORD → WARRIOR
valdr ‘wielder’
(not checked:)
valdr (noun m.): ruler < blikvaldr (noun m.)valdr (noun m.): ruler < blakkvaldr (noun m.)
[4] blikvaldr: blakkvaldr B
kennings
blikvaldr tjalda þrimu‘gleam-wielder of the tents of battle’
= WARRIOR
the tents of battle → SHIELDS
the gleam of SHIELDS → SWORD
wielder of the SWORD → WARRIOR
þrimu ‘of battle’
(not checked:)
þrima (noun f.): battle, din
kennings
blikvaldr tjalda þrimu‘gleam-wielder of the tents of battle’
= WARRIOR
the tents of battle → SHIELDS
the gleam of SHIELDS → SWORD
wielder of the SWORD → WARRIOR
þrimu ‘of battle’
(not checked:)
þrima (noun f.): battle, din
kennings
blikvaldr tjalda þrimu‘gleam-wielder of the tents of battle’
= WARRIOR
the tents of battle → SHIELDS
the gleam of SHIELDS → SWORD
wielder of the SWORD → WARRIOR
þrimu ‘of battle’
(not checked:)
þrima (noun f.): battle, din
kennings
blikvaldr tjalda þrimu‘gleam-wielder of the tents of battle’
= WARRIOR
the tents of battle → SHIELDS
the gleam of SHIELDS → SWORD
wielder of the SWORD → WARRIOR
kennings
blikvaldr tjalda þrimu‘gleam-wielder of the tents of battle’
= WARRIOR
the tents of battle → SHIELDS
the gleam of SHIELDS → SWORD
wielder of the SWORD → WARRIOR
kennings
blikvaldr tjalda þrimu‘gleam-wielder of the tents of battle’
= WARRIOR
the tents of battle → SHIELDS
the gleam of SHIELDS → SWORD
wielder of the SWORD → WARRIOR
kennings
blikvaldr tjalda þrimu‘gleam-wielder of the tents of battle’
= WARRIOR
the tents of battle → SHIELDS
the gleam of SHIELDS → SWORD
wielder of the SWORD → WARRIOR
Opt ‘Often’
(not checked:)
opt (adv.): often
verðr ‘will be’
(not checked:)
1. verða (verb): become, be
Ægis ‘of Ægir’
(not checked:)
Ægir (noun m.): Ægir, sea
kennings
viðum leiptra grundar Ægis;‘for the trees of the lightnings of the plain of Ægir; ’
= MEN
the plain of Ægir; → SEA
the lightnings of the SEA → GOLD
for the trees of the GOLD → MEN
notes
[5-6] viðum leiptra grundar Ægis ‘for trees of the lightnings of the plain of Ægir [SEA > GOLD > MEN]’: Cf. 53/5-8, where God is characterised as láðvaldr glóða hróts leiptra ‘land-king of the fires of the roof of lightnings’.
Ægis ‘of Ægir’
(not checked:)
Ægir (noun m.): Ægir, sea
kennings
viðum leiptra grundar Ægis;‘for the trees of the lightnings of the plain of Ægir; ’
= MEN
the plain of Ægir; → SEA
the lightnings of the SEA → GOLD
for the trees of the GOLD → MEN
notes
[5-6] viðum leiptra grundar Ægis ‘for trees of the lightnings of the plain of Ægir [SEA > GOLD > MEN]’: Cf. 53/5-8, where God is characterised as láðvaldr glóða hróts leiptra ‘land-king of the fires of the roof of lightnings’.
Ægis ‘of Ægir’
(not checked:)
Ægir (noun m.): Ægir, sea
kennings
viðum leiptra grundar Ægis;‘for the trees of the lightnings of the plain of Ægir; ’
= MEN
the plain of Ægir; → SEA
the lightnings of the SEA → GOLD
for the trees of the GOLD → MEN
notes
[5-6] viðum leiptra grundar Ægis ‘for trees of the lightnings of the plain of Ægir [SEA > GOLD > MEN]’: Cf. 53/5-8, where God is characterised as láðvaldr glóða hróts leiptra ‘land-king of the fires of the roof of lightnings’.
leiptra ‘of the lightnings’
(not checked:)
1. leiptr (noun m.): [lightnings]
kennings
viðum leiptra grundar Ægis;‘for the trees of the lightnings of the plain of Ægir; ’
= MEN
the plain of Ægir; → SEA
the lightnings of the SEA → GOLD
for the trees of the GOLD → MEN
notes
[5-6] viðum leiptra grundar Ægis ‘for trees of the lightnings of the plain of Ægir [SEA > GOLD > MEN]’: Cf. 53/5-8, where God is characterised as láðvaldr glóða hróts leiptra ‘land-king of the fires of the roof of lightnings’.
leiptra ‘of the lightnings’
(not checked:)
1. leiptr (noun m.): [lightnings]
kennings
viðum leiptra grundar Ægis;‘for the trees of the lightnings of the plain of Ægir; ’
= MEN
the plain of Ægir; → SEA
the lightnings of the SEA → GOLD
for the trees of the GOLD → MEN
notes
[5-6] viðum leiptra grundar Ægis ‘for trees of the lightnings of the plain of Ægir [SEA > GOLD > MEN]’: Cf. 53/5-8, where God is characterised as láðvaldr glóða hróts leiptra ‘land-king of the fires of the roof of lightnings’.
ein ‘one’
(not checked:)
2. einn (pron.; °decl. cf. einn num.): one, alone
stund ‘hour’
(not checked:)
stund (noun f.; °-ar, dat. -u/-; -ir): time, hour
viðum ‘for the trees’
(not checked:)
1. viðr (noun m.; °-ar, dat. -i/-; -ir, acc. -u/-i): wood, tree
kennings
viðum leiptra grundar Ægis;‘for the trees of the lightnings of the plain of Ægir; ’
= MEN
the plain of Ægir; → SEA
the lightnings of the SEA → GOLD
for the trees of the GOLD → MEN
notes
[5-6] viðum leiptra grundar Ægis ‘for trees of the lightnings of the plain of Ægir [SEA > GOLD > MEN]’: Cf. 53/5-8, where God is characterised as láðvaldr glóða hróts leiptra ‘land-king of the fires of the roof of lightnings’.
grundar ‘of the plain’
(not checked:)
grund (noun f.): earth, land
kennings
viðum leiptra grundar Ægis;‘for the trees of the lightnings of the plain of Ægir; ’
= MEN
the plain of Ægir; → SEA
the lightnings of the SEA → GOLD
for the trees of the GOLD → MEN
notes
[5-6] viðum leiptra grundar Ægis ‘for trees of the lightnings of the plain of Ægir [SEA > GOLD > MEN]’: Cf. 53/5-8, where God is characterised as láðvaldr glóða hróts leiptra ‘land-king of the fires of the roof of lightnings’.
grundar ‘of the plain’
(not checked:)
grund (noun f.): earth, land
kennings
viðum leiptra grundar Ægis;‘for the trees of the lightnings of the plain of Ægir; ’
= MEN
the plain of Ægir; → SEA
the lightnings of the SEA → GOLD
for the trees of the GOLD → MEN
notes
[5-6] viðum leiptra grundar Ægis ‘for trees of the lightnings of the plain of Ægir [SEA > GOLD > MEN]’: Cf. 53/5-8, where God is characterised as láðvaldr glóða hróts leiptra ‘land-king of the fires of the roof of lightnings’.
grundar ‘of the plain’
(not checked:)
grund (noun f.): earth, land
kennings
viðum leiptra grundar Ægis;‘for the trees of the lightnings of the plain of Ægir; ’
= MEN
the plain of Ægir; → SEA
the lightnings of the SEA → GOLD
for the trees of the GOLD → MEN
notes
[5-6] viðum leiptra grundar Ægis ‘for trees of the lightnings of the plain of Ægir [SEA > GOLD > MEN]’: Cf. 53/5-8, where God is characterised as láðvaldr glóða hróts leiptra ‘land-king of the fires of the roof of lightnings’.
nauðr ‘it is a necessity’
(not checked:)
neyð (noun f.; °dat. -): need, distress
[7] nauðr: ‘[...]a[...]dr’ B, ‘[...]auðr’ 399a‑bˣ, BRydberg, BFJ
notes
[7] nauðr: B is badly damaged at this point and only ‘…a…dr’ can be read. None of the previous readers of the ms. were able to supply the beginning of the word, though the scribe of the 399a-bˣ transcript read the remainder of the word with confidence as ‘…auðr’. Sveinbjörn Egilsson suggested in a note to Jón Sigurðsson’s copy (444ˣ) that the word might be trauðir m. nom. pl. of trauðr ‘reluctant’, and used the form trauðr in his 1844 edn and in his prose arrangement (preserved in 444ˣ). Kempff and Finnur Jónsson adopted this reconstruction. It is unlikely, however, that the space for the initial letter at the beginning of fol. 13r, l. 21 is sufficient to account for the loss of tr here, and Rydberg (1907, lxxii) and Jón Helgason (1935-6, 259) are agreed that there is space for only one letter before a. Furthermore, as Rydberg (1907, 27 n. 7) notes, in the following l. (fol. 13r, l. 22), the ‘a’ in trauð is abbreviated with the ω-like sign. Rydberg is in no doubt that the traces of the original letter seen by him suggest that nauðr f. ‘need, necessity’ is the correct reading here. He compares the parallel construction in Leið 15/3-4, which reads nauðr er þegnum þýðask þann veg ‘there is a need for men to receive that glory’. Kock adopts this reading (Skald) and it is also adopted here.
erumk ‘for me’
(not checked:)
2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
ǫll ‘all’
(not checked:)
allr (adj.): all
at ‘to’
(not checked:)
5. at (nota): to (with infinitive)
andar ‘of the spirit’
(not checked:)
andi (noun m.; °-a; -ar): spirit, soul
mein ‘injuries’
(not checked:)
mein (noun n.; °-s; -): harm, injury
at ‘too’
(not checked:)
3. at (prep.): at, to
seinum ‘late’
(not checked:)
seinn (adj.; °seinan; compar. seinni, superl. seinstr/seinastr): slow, late
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
|
Kosti hverr við harra |
Let every wielder of the gleam of the tents of battle [(lit. ‘gleam-wielder of the tents of battle’) SHIELDS > SWORD > WARRIOR] try to reconcile himself with the lord of the land of the fair wind [SKY/HEAVEN > = God]; otherwise, there is great danger; what are we waiting for? Often one hour will be too late for the trees of the lightnings of the plain of Ægir <sea-king> [SEA > GOLD > MEN]; it is a necessity for me to blot out all injuries of the spirit.
[1-4]: The ms. reads blakkvaldr þrimu tjaldi (l. 4) and it is clear from the context that this is a man-kenning. Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) assumes the man-kenning here to be blakkvaldr láðs byrjar ‘horse-steerer of the land of the wind [SEA > SHIP > SEAFARER]’. He then emends B’s þrimu to þrumu gen. sg. of þruma ‘thunder’, to form the God-kenning harri þrumu tjalda ‘king of the thunder-tents’. This makes for a rather cumbersome cl.-arrangement in the helmingr. Jón Helgason (1935-6, 258) dismisses Finnur’s interpretation of láðs byrjar ‘[of the] land of the wind’ as a sea-kenning as rather unlikely. Instead, he indicates that one would expect it to mean ‘heaven’, like, for example, byrjar vegr ‘path of the wind’, éla vangr ‘field of the storm’. If this interpretation is correct, láðs byrjar must be construed with harra acc. sg. of harri ‘lord’ (l. 1) to give a straightforward God-kenning in the acc. case. The w.o. is thus simplified considerably. Finnur’s emendation to þruma is unnecessary, since þrimu can be taken as gen. sing. of þrima ‘thunder’, which by a transfer of meaning is often used for ‘battle’ (see LP: þrima). Emendation to tjalda, gen. pl. would give blakkvaldr þrimu tjalda ‘horse-steerer of the tents of battle [SHIELDS > SHIP > SEAFARER]’. Jón Helgason (1935-6, 258) suggests that this kenning’s lack of regularity might be alleviated by a minor emendation to blikvaldr ‘gleam-wielder’. Blikvaldr þrimu tjalds (or tjalda) would provide a straightforward warrior-kenning, ‘wielder of the gleam of the tent(s) of battle [SHIELD(S) > SWORD > WARRIOR]’. Kock (NN §2933) concurs with Jón’s arrangement, and with his interpretation of láðs byrjar. However, he argues that emendation may be unnecessary, since the connection between ships and shields in poetry is so close that a kenning ‘shield’s steed’ for ‘ship’ is not impossible (cf. Black 1971, 243). Although, as Kock suggests, there are a small number of kennings for ‘shield’ which have ‘ship’ as their determinant (see Meissner, 166-9; LP: skip), this is scarcely grounds for arguing that the two entities were interchangeable, or that the poem’s original hearers would have understood blakkr tjalda þrimu ‘horse of the tents of battle’ to mean ‘ship’. There is no comparable kenning in which a shield-heiti is used as the determinant of a ship-kenning. Sword-kennings like blik þrimu tjalda on the ‘light, flame of the shield’ model are extremely common (see Meissner, 150-1; LP: blik), and blik here anticipates the man-kenning viðir leiptra grundar Ægis ‘the trees of the lightnings of the plain of Ægir’ in the second helmingr. Jón Helgason’s emendation has been adopted here. — [2-3]: Kempff, Finnur Jónsson and Kock follow Sveinbjörn Egilsson in taking hvat bíðum (l. 3) as part of the same sentence as hætts ella mjök (l. 2). Finnur translates ellers er det meget uvist hvad vi opnår ‘otherwise what we will receive is most uncertain’ (Skj B). Jón Helgason (1935-6, 259) claims that there is no reason to believe that the two clauses are connected, and suggests that hætts ella mjök should be taken to mean ‘otherwise, there is [or will be] great danger’ while hvat bíðum is construed as a straightforward question ‘what are we waiting for?’ This makes for a more straightforward w.o. than does Sveinbjörn’s arrangement, and makes a strong connection between the helmingar. Besides, as st. 39 makes clear, the poet is unlikely to imply that the fate of those who fail to reconcile themselves with God is in any way uncertain!
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