GunnLeif Merl I 10VIII
Russell Poole (ed.) 2017, ‘Breta saga 78 (Gunnlaugr Leifsson, Merlínusspá I 10)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 55.
text and translation
Þat kvað valda verdags hǫtuðr,
at þar undir vas ólítit vatn.
Bauð grund grafa gumna stjóri;
reynisk spaklig spámanns saga.
{Hǫtuðr {verdags}} kvað þat valda, at ólítit vatn vas þar undir. {Stjóri gumna} bauð grafa grund; saga spámanns reynisk spaklig.
‘The hater of the sea-day [GOLD > GENEROUS MAN = Merlin] said the cause was that a not small lake lay underneath. The commander of men [RULER = Vortigern] ordered the ground to be dug up; the prophet’s account turns out to be percipient. ’
notes and context
Cf. DGB 108 (Reeve and Wright 2007, 141.565-9): ‘Tunc ait Merlinus, qui et Ambrosius dicebatur: “Domine mi rex, uoca operarios tuos et iube fodere terram, et inuenies stagnum sub ea quod turrim stare non permittit.” Quod cum factum fuisset, repertum est stagnum sub terra, quod eam instabilem fecerat’ ‘Then Merlinus, who was also called Ambrosius, said, “My lord King, call your workmen and set them digging up the ground; you will find a pool beneath it which prevents the tower from standing.” This was done and a pool was discovered beneath the ground, which made it unstable’ (cf. Reeve and Wright 2007, 140). — [6]: De Vries (1964-7, II, 75 n. 181) compares Gríp 1/6.
sources
Text is based on reconstruction from the base text and variant apparatus and may contain alternative spellings and other normalisations not visible in the manuscript text. Transcriptions may not have been checked and should not be cited.
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AM 544 4° (Hb) — 51r/6 - 51r/7
imagesþat kvað vallda verdax havtvðr at þat vndir var vlitið vatn | Bavð grvnd grafa gvmna stiori · reyniz spaklig spamannz saga ·
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