Russell Poole (ed.) 2017, ‘Breta saga 169 (Gunnlaugr Leifsson, Merlínusspá I 101)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 132.
Frétti fyrðar, þeirs á fold búa
enn at óra ævi liðna,
hvat of her gerisk ok huga leiði.
Beri in nýju spjǫll við spásǫgu;
sé síðan þat, hvé saman falli.
Frétti fyrðar, þeirs búa enn á fold at liðna ævi óra, hvat gerisk of her ok leiði huga. Beri in nýju spjǫll við spásǫgu; sé síðan þat, hvé falli saman.
‘Let men who remain on earth after our lifetime has passed find out what becomes of men and pay heed. Let them compare the new tidings with the prophecy; then let them see how the two coincide. ’
Gunnlaugr’s sentiment here, that the Prophecies would be borne out in the fullness of time, was one shared by people in the medieval and even early modern British Isles, especially in Wales (Taylor 1911, 103‑4). See Introduction on this topic.
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.
Fretti fyrðar þeir er a folld bva en at ora | ævi liðna hvat vm her geriz ok hvgaleiði beri en nyiv spioll við spasogv se siþan þat hve saman falli |
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