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.
kvað ‘said’
(not checked:)
kveða (verb; kveð, kvað, kveðinn): (str.) say, recite, sing
valda ‘cause’
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valda (verb): cause
ver ‘of the sea’
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1. ver (noun n.; °-s; dat. -jum/-um): sea < verdagr (noun m.)
kennings
Hǫtuðr verdags‘The hater of the sea-day ’
= GENEROUS MAN = Merlin
the sea-day → GOLD
The hater of the GOLD → GENEROUS MAN = Merlin
ver ‘of the sea’
(not checked:)
1. ver (noun n.; °-s; dat. -jum/-um): sea < verdagr (noun m.)
kennings
Hǫtuðr verdags‘The hater of the sea-day ’
= GENEROUS MAN = Merlin
the sea-day → GOLD
The hater of the GOLD → GENEROUS MAN = Merlin
dags ‘day’
(not checked:)
dagr (noun m.; °-s, dat. degi/dag/dagi(Thom¹ 332¹n.); -ar): day < verdagr (noun m.)
kennings
Hǫtuðr verdags‘The hater of the sea-day ’
= GENEROUS MAN = Merlin
the sea-day → GOLD
The hater of the GOLD → GENEROUS MAN = Merlin
dags ‘day’
(not checked:)
dagr (noun m.; °-s, dat. degi/dag/dagi(Thom¹ 332¹n.); -ar): day < verdagr (noun m.)
kennings
Hǫtuðr verdags‘The hater of the sea-day ’
= GENEROUS MAN = Merlin
the sea-day → GOLD
The hater of the GOLD → GENEROUS MAN = Merlin
hǫtuðr ‘The hater’
(not checked:)
hǫtuðr (noun m.): hater
kennings
Hǫtuðr verdags‘The hater of the sea-day ’
= GENEROUS MAN = Merlin
the sea-day → GOLD
The hater of the GOLD → GENEROUS MAN = Merlin
at ‘was that’
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4. at (conj.): that
þar ‘lay’
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þar (adv.): there
undir ‘underneath’
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undir (prep.): under
vas ‘’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
ólítit ‘a not small’
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ólítill (adj.): not small
vatn ‘lake’
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vatn (noun n.; °-s; -*): water, lake
Bauð ‘ordered’
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bjóða (verb; °býðr; bauð, buðu; boðinn (buð- Thom¹ 5²n.)): offer, order, invite
grund ‘the ground’
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grund (noun f.): earth, land
grafa ‘to be dug up’
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grafa (verb): to dig, earth, bury
gumna ‘of men’
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gumi (noun m.; °-a; gumar/gumnar): man
kennings
Stjóri gumna‘The commander of men ’
= RULER = Vortigern
The commander of men → RULER = Vortigern
stjóri ‘The commander’
(not checked:)
stjóri (noun m.; °-a; -ar): steerer
kennings
Stjóri gumna‘The commander of men ’
= RULER = Vortigern
The commander of men → RULER = Vortigern
reynisk ‘turns out’
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reyna (verb): test, try, experience
notes
[7] reynisk ‘turns out’: Pres. historic tense. See Note to I 15/5.
spaklig ‘to be percipient’
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spakligr (adj.): wise
spámanns ‘the prophet’s’
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spámaðr (noun m.): prophet
saga ‘account’
(not checked:)
1. saga (noun f.; °*-u; *-ur): story, saga
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
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.
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