GunnLeif Merl II 15VIII
Russell Poole (ed.) 2017, ‘Breta saga 15 (Gunnlaugr Leifsson, Merlínusspá II 15)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 148.
Þeir ‘they’
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hann (pron.; °gen. hans, dat. honum; f. hon, gen. hennar, acc. hana): he, she, it, they, them...
notes
[1] þeir ‘they’: Presumably the referent is loosely understood as the people of the island (sg.), who are mentioned as wailing in II 13/5-8.
þjótandi ‘Wailing’
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þjótandi (noun f.): °arterie, pulsåre
notes
[2] þrjár ‘three’: Emended from ms. þrír (refreshed), the m. nom. pl. form, in Bret 1848-9, followed by all subsequent eds.
of ‘will stir’
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4. of (particle): (before verb)
hrœra ‘up’
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2. hrœra (verb): move
at ‘to’
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5. at (nota): to (with infinitive)
berjask ‘fight’
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2. berja (verb; °barði; barðr/bariðr/barinn): fight
Bretlands ‘of Britain’
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Bretland (noun n.)
eyjar ‘islands’
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1. ey (noun f.; °-jar, dat. -ju/-; -jar): island
Þá ‘Then’
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2. þá (adv.): then
mun ‘will’
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munu (verb): will, must
vakna ‘awake’
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vakna (verb): wake, awake
viðr ‘wood’
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1. viðr (noun m.; °-ar, dat. -i/-; -ir, acc. -u/-i): wood, tree
notes
[6] inn danski viðr ‘the Danish wood’: Possibly to be identified as the Forest of Dean, located in the western part of Gloucestershire (see CPB I, 156; Poole 1987, 276; Townend 1998, 29-31); cf. Ótt Knútdr 10/8I and Note there. Geoffrey’s reference to this wood may reflect its status as the centre of iron-working to equip military expeditions (Poole 1955, 81-2). The reading danorum ‘of the Danes’ is found in the R ms. of the First Variant Version (Wright 1988, 108), as noted by Merl 2012; cf. the Anglo-Norman decasyllabic rendering (Blacker 2005, 44) les bois de Danemarche ‘the woods of Denmark’. But Gunnlaugr does not appear to be basing himself on R, which contains many erroneous readings not reflected by Merl, or indeed on the First Variant Version in general: see I 39 Note to [All]. He might have found the reading included as a variant in his source ms. (cf. I 41 Note to [All], II 25 Note to [All]) or instead have adapted Lat. daneum or a different variant reading such as danerium independently, perhaps aware of Óttarr svarti’s reference to a locality in England as Danaskógar (Ótt Knútdr 8/8I). For an identification of this locality as the Forest of Dean see CPB I, 156, Poole (1987, 276). For interpretation of Latin place-names on Gunnlaugr’s part, cf. II 9 Note to [All].
inn ‘the’
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2. inn (art.): the
notes
[6] inn danski viðr ‘the Danish wood’: Possibly to be identified as the Forest of Dean, located in the western part of Gloucestershire (see CPB I, 156; Poole 1987, 276; Townend 1998, 29-31); cf. Ótt Knútdr 10/8I and Note there. Geoffrey’s reference to this wood may reflect its status as the centre of iron-working to equip military expeditions (Poole 1955, 81-2). The reading danorum ‘of the Danes’ is found in the R ms. of the First Variant Version (Wright 1988, 108), as noted by Merl 2012; cf. the Anglo-Norman decasyllabic rendering (Blacker 2005, 44) les bois de Danemarche ‘the woods of Denmark’. But Gunnlaugr does not appear to be basing himself on R, which contains many erroneous readings not reflected by Merl, or indeed on the First Variant Version in general: see I 39 Note to [All]. He might have found the reading included as a variant in his source ms. (cf. I 41 Note to [All], II 25 Note to [All]) or instead have adapted Lat. daneum or a different variant reading such as danerium independently, perhaps aware of Óttarr svarti’s reference to a locality in England as Danaskógar (Ótt Knútdr 8/8I). For an identification of this locality as the Forest of Dean see CPB I, 156, Poole (1987, 276). For interpretation of Latin place-names on Gunnlaugr’s part, cf. II 9 Note to [All].
danski ‘Danish’
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danskr (adj.): Danish
notes
[6] inn danski viðr ‘the Danish wood’: Possibly to be identified as the Forest of Dean, located in the western part of Gloucestershire (see CPB I, 156; Poole 1987, 276; Townend 1998, 29-31); cf. Ótt Knútdr 10/8I and Note there. Geoffrey’s reference to this wood may reflect its status as the centre of iron-working to equip military expeditions (Poole 1955, 81-2). The reading danorum ‘of the Danes’ is found in the R ms. of the First Variant Version (Wright 1988, 108), as noted by Merl 2012; cf. the Anglo-Norman decasyllabic rendering (Blacker 2005, 44) les bois de Danemarche ‘the woods of Denmark’. But Gunnlaugr does not appear to be basing himself on R, which contains many erroneous readings not reflected by Merl, or indeed on the First Variant Version in general: see I 39 Note to [All]. He might have found the reading included as a variant in his source ms. (cf. I 41 Note to [All], II 25 Note to [All]) or instead have adapted Lat. daneum or a different variant reading such as danerium independently, perhaps aware of Óttarr svarti’s reference to a locality in England as Danaskógar (Ótt Knútdr 8/8I). For an identification of this locality as the Forest of Dean see CPB I, 156, Poole (1987, 276). For interpretation of Latin place-names on Gunnlaugr’s part, cf. II 9 Note to [All].
ok ‘and’
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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
manns ‘with a man’s’
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maðr (noun m.): man, person
rǫddu ‘voice’
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rǫdd (noun f.; °raddar, dat. -/u; raddir): voice
mæla ‘speak’
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1. mæla (verb): speak, say
sjalfri ‘actual’
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sjalfr (adj.): self
notes
[8] sjalfri ‘actual’: This adj. is translated as saalunde ‘thus’ (referring to the ensuing speech) in Bret 1848-9 and left unaccounted for in Skj B; Merl 2012 translates und selbst mit der Stimme eines Menschen sprechen ‘and itself speak with the voice of a man’. But sjalfri is dat., qualifying rǫddu ‘voice’, and should be construed in the sense of ‘very, actual’ (cf. CVC: sjálfr). Gunnlaugr’s translation thereby emphasises the miraculous nature of the event more than is expressed in the Latin.
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
Cf. DGB 116 (Reeve and Wright 2007, 153.164-6; cf. Wright 1988, 108, prophecies 34 and 35): quae nefando sonitu tres insulas Britanniae commouebunt. Excitabitur Daneum nemus et in humanam uocem erumpens clamabit ‘which stir up Britain’s three islands with their dreadful sound. The Daneian Forest will awaken and shout in a human voice’ (cf. Reeve and Wright 2007, 152). — [3]: Gunnlaugr makes Geoffrey’s implications of ensuing battle explicit.
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