GunnLeif Merl II 23VIII
Russell Poole (ed.) 2017, ‘Breta saga 23 (Gunnlaugr Leifsson, Merlínusspá II 23)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 156.
Þá ‘Then’
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2. þá (adv.): then
notes
[1] munu ‘will’: Emended in Skald, followed by Merl 2012 and the present edn; Bret 1848-9 and Skj B retain the ms. reading mun ‘will’ (sg.). The sg. form is possible, when a composite subject (including both sg. and pl.) follows, but is less likely here.
ór ‘from ’
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3. ór (prep.): out of
moldu ‘the earth’
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mold (noun f.; °-ar, dat. -u; -ir): earth, soil
mæla ‘speak’
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1. mæla (verb): speak, say
steinar ‘stones’
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steinn (noun m.; °steins; steinar): stone, colour
ok ‘and’
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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
verþjóðar ‘of the sea-people’
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1. verþjóð (noun f.)
vél ‘the machinations’
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1. vél (noun f.; °-ar; -ar/-ir): deceit, trick; device
upp ‘revealed’
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upp (adv.): up
koma ‘be’
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koma (verb; kem, kom/kvam, kominn): come
Ey ‘The island’
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1. ey (noun f.; °-jar, dat. -ju/-; -jar): island
mun ‘will’
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munu (verb): will, must
víðask ‘be widened’
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2. víða (verb)
notes
[5] víðask ‘be widened’: A hap leg. in poetry. Bret 1848-9 notes the rarity of this verb; both the other two attestations are from texts concerned with Bishop Þorlákr (ONP: víða).
en ‘and’
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2. en (conj.): but, and
Valir ‘the French’
skjalfa ‘will tremble’
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1. skjalfa (verb): shake - intrans.
ok ‘and’
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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
notes
[7-8] ok sær sœkja saman fíkjum ‘and the sea will come together greatly’: I.e. ‘the sea will shrink considerably’. These lines seem to refer to the narrowing of the English Channel, as mentioned in DGB’s mare ... breue spacium contrahetur (see Note to [All] above), translated lit. ‘the sea ... will be drawn together in a small space’.
sær ‘the sea’
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sjór (noun m.): sea
notes
[7-8] ok sær sœkja saman fíkjum ‘and the sea will come together greatly’: I.e. ‘the sea will shrink considerably’. These lines seem to refer to the narrowing of the English Channel, as mentioned in DGB’s mare ... breue spacium contrahetur (see Note to [All] above), translated lit. ‘the sea ... will be drawn together in a small space’.
saman ‘together’
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saman (adv.): together
notes
[7-8] ok sær sœkja saman fíkjum ‘and the sea will come together greatly’: I.e. ‘the sea will shrink considerably’. These lines seem to refer to the narrowing of the English Channel, as mentioned in DGB’s mare ... breue spacium contrahetur (see Note to [All] above), translated lit. ‘the sea ... will be drawn together in a small space’.
sœkja ‘will come’
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sœkja (verb): seek, attack
notes
[7-8] ok sær sœkja saman fíkjum ‘and the sea will come together greatly’: I.e. ‘the sea will shrink considerably’. These lines seem to refer to the narrowing of the English Channel, as mentioned in DGB’s mare ... breue spacium contrahetur (see Note to [All] above), translated lit. ‘the sea ... will be drawn together in a small space’.
fíkjum ‘greatly’
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fíkjum (adv.): fiercely
notes
[7-8] ok sær sœkja saman fíkjum ‘and the sea will come together greatly’: I.e. ‘the sea will shrink considerably’. These lines seem to refer to the narrowing of the English Channel, as mentioned in DGB’s mare ... breue spacium contrahetur (see Note to [All] above), translated lit. ‘the sea ... will be drawn together in a small space’.
svát ‘so that’
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svát (conj.): so that, so as
landa ‘the lands’
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land (noun n.; °-s; *-): land
mál ‘speech’
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1. mál (noun n.; °-s; -): speech, matter
of ‘can’
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4. of (particle): (before verb)
heyri ‘be heard’
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2. heyra (verb): hear
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
Cf. DGB 116 (Reeve and Wright 2007, 153.177-81; cf. Wright 1988, 109, prophecy 38): In tempore illo loquentur lapides et mare quo ad Galliam nauigatur infra breue spacium contrahetur. In utraque ripa audietur homo ab homine, et solidum insulae dilatabitur. Reuelabuntur occulta submarinorum, et Gallia prae timore tremebit ‘At that time stones will speak and the sea where one sails to France will become a narrow strait. Men on opposite shores will be within earshot and the island’s surface will grow larger. The secrets of the people beneath the sea will be revealed, and France will tremble in fear’ (cf. Reeve and Wright 2007, 152). Gunnlaugr appears to alter the sequence of ideas in DGB by associating the revelations concerning the submarini ‘people beneath the sea’ with the capacity of stones to speak rather than with the drying up of the English Channel. Through his re-use of the heiti verþjóð, Gunnlaugr clearly identifies Geoffrey’s submarini with the sea-people mentioned in II 12/8; they are presumably the Ruteni ‘Flemings’, who were frequently accused of machinations in respect of both trade and mercenary service.
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