GunnLeif Merl II 4VIII
Russell Poole (ed.) 2017, ‘Breta saga 4 (Gunnlaugr Leifsson, Merlínusspá II 4)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 138.
Ljós ‘clear’
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ljóss (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): bright
mun ‘will’
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munu (verb): will, must
lýðum ‘to men’
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lýðr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -; -ir): one of the people
notes
[2] ljóðbók ‘song-book’: Emended in this edn from ms. ljóðborg ‘city of song’ (refreshed). Such a cpd would normally be construed as a kenning meaning ‘mouth, chest’ and similar, but the sense required by context is ‘poem’, as posited in Bret 1848-9 and Skj B. Gunnlaugr refers elsewhere to the parts of this poem as bók (I 95/2, II 63/3) or bœkr, the latter collocated with adj. bjartar ‘bright’ (I 96/3-4), corresponding to ljós ‘clear’ here. Cf. ljóðabók ‘book of lays’ (CVC, ONP: ljóðabók). Possibly Latin titles such as Herbert of Bosham’s well-known Liber melorum ‘Book of songs/harmonies’, written shortly after 1186 (cf. Smalley 1973, 79), suggested this expression.
vesa ‘be’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
þó ‘yet’
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þó (adv.): though
s ‘is’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
í ‘by means’
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í (prep.): in, into
frœði ‘of wisdom’
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2. frœði (noun n.): knowledge
flest ‘most’
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fleiri (adj. comp.; °superl. flestr): more, most
at ‘to be’
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5. at (nota): to (with infinitive)
ráða ‘interpreted’
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ráða (verb): advise, rule, interpret, decide
þats ‘that’
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þats (conj.): that, which
fyrir ‘ago’
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fyrir (prep.): for, before, because of
notes
[5, 6] fyrir ǫldum ‘ages ago’: This interpretation follows Skj B. Kock, followed by Merl 2012, objects to the complicated word order and instead proposes, with parallels from West Germanic poetry, that ǫldum and brezkri þjóðu (l. 6) should be read as in apposition (NN §93): vad fursten forutsagt för människorna, för det bretonska folket ‘what the leader prophesied before men, before the British people’. But Gunnlaugr occasionally uses complex word orders (cf. I 13/5-10, I 54/9-12, I 63/5-8), whereas the typically West Germanic style of variation imputed to him by Kock is nowhere unmistakably exemplified.
jǫfurr ‘the leader’
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jǫfurr (noun m.): ruler, prince
notes
[5] jǫfurr ‘the leader’: There is nothing in DGB to justify reference to Merlin as jǫfurr, a heiti whose attestations relate specifically to leaders and rulers (LP: jǫfurr), but possibly the use of this heiti reflects influence from Geoffrey’s later Vita Merlini, which narrates the life of Merlin Caledonius (also known as Silvestris) (Poole 2014, 23-4). Crick (2011, 70-1) comments that often medieval commentators failed to discriminate between Merlin Caledonius and Merlin Ambrosius, and Merlinian prophecy circulated without precise attribution. For a probable instance of this confusion see Curley (1982, 220); Gunnlaugr might have drawn upon such a commentary. For references to Merlin Caledonius as king see Clarke’s edn of Vita Merlini (1973, 52-3).
ǫldum ‘ages’
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ǫld (noun f.; °; aldir): people, age
notes
[5, 6] fyrir ǫldum ‘ages ago’: This interpretation follows Skj B. Kock, followed by Merl 2012, objects to the complicated word order and instead proposes, with parallels from West Germanic poetry, that ǫldum and brezkri þjóðu (l. 6) should be read as in apposition (NN §93): vad fursten forutsagt för människorna, för det bretonska folket ‘what the leader prophesied before men, before the British people’. But Gunnlaugr occasionally uses complex word orders (cf. I 13/5-10, I 54/9-12, I 63/5-8), whereas the typically West Germanic style of variation imputed to him by Kock is nowhere unmistakably exemplified.
sagði ‘imparted’
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segja (verb): say, tell
brezkri ‘the British’
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brezkr (adj.): British
þjóðu ‘people’
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þjóð (noun f.; °-ar, dat. -/-u; -ir): people
nú ‘now’
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nú (adv.): now
skal ‘shall’
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skulu (verb): shall, should, must
notes
[8] skal ‘shall’: The verb is impersonal. Emendation to skalk ‘I shall’, with Merl 2012, is unnecessary.
brag ‘the poem’
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bragr (noun m.; °-ar): poem, poetry
kveða ‘be recited’
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kveða (verb; kveð, kvað, kveðinn): (str.) say, recite, sing
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Here Gunnlaugr concludes his introduction.
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