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Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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GunnLeif Merl I 39^VIII

Russell Poole (ed.) 2017, ‘Breta saga 107 (Gunnlaugr Leifsson, Merlínusspá I 39)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 76.

Gunnlaugr Leifsson Merlínusspá I

Þá ‘Then’

(not checked:)
2. þá (adv.): then

mun ‘will’

(not checked:)
munu (verb): will, must

inn ‘the’

(not checked:)
2. inn (art.): the

kennings

inn hvíti hjarlþvengr
‘the white thong of the earth ’
= SNAKE
the white thong of the earth → SNAKE

hvíti ‘white’

(not checked:)
hvítr (adj.; °-an; -ari, -astr): white

kennings

inn hvíti hjarlþvengr
‘the white thong of the earth ’
= SNAKE
the white thong of the earth → SNAKE

hjarl ‘of the earth’

(not checked:)
hjarl (noun n.): land < hjarlþvengr (noun m.)

kennings

inn hvíti hjarlþvengr
‘the white thong of the earth ’
= SNAKE
the white thong of the earth → SNAKE

þvengr ‘thong’

(not checked:)
þvengr (noun m.; °; -ir): thong < hjarlþvengr (noun m.)

kennings

inn hvíti hjarlþvengr
‘the white thong of the earth ’
= SNAKE
the white thong of the earth → SNAKE

fara ‘travel’

(not checked:)
fara (verb; ferr, fór, fóru, farinn): go, travel

snót ‘to invite’

(not checked:)
snót (noun f.; °; -ir): woman

saxneska ‘the Saxon woman’

(not checked:)
saxneskr (adj.)

snarráðr ‘with swift’

(not checked:)
snarráðr (adj.): swift-counselled, resolute

laða ‘resolution’

(not checked:)
1. lǫð (noun f.): [hospitality]

Ok ‘And’

(not checked:)
3. ok (conj.): and, but; also

með ‘with’

(not checked:)
með (prep.): with

miklum ‘a great’

(not checked:)
mikill (adj.; °mikinn): great, large

mannfjǫlða ‘multitude of men’

(not checked:)
mannfjǫlði (noun m.)

kemr ‘will come’

(not checked:)
koma (verb; kem, kom/kvam, kominn): come

fjarð ‘of fjord’

(not checked:)
fjǫrðr (noun m.): fjord < fjarðbygg (noun n.)

kennings

Skǫgul fjarðbyggs
‘the Skǫgul of fjord-barley ’
= WOMAN
fjord-barley → JEWEL
the Skǫgul of the JEWEL → WOMAN

notes

[7] Skǫgul fjarðbyggs ‘the Skǫgul <valkyrie> of fjord-barley [JEWEL (steinn ‘stone’) > WOMAN]’: The determinant of the first level of this kenning is understood by ofljóst to refer to a jewel or precious stone, given that ‘fjord-barley’ refers metaphorically to a stone standing in the water of a fjord; cf. Meissner 90 for this group of stone-kennings.

fjarð ‘of fjord’

(not checked:)
fjǫrðr (noun m.): fjord < fjarðbygg (noun n.)

kennings

Skǫgul fjarðbyggs
‘the Skǫgul of fjord-barley ’
= WOMAN
fjord-barley → JEWEL
the Skǫgul of the JEWEL → WOMAN

notes

[7] Skǫgul fjarðbyggs ‘the Skǫgul <valkyrie> of fjord-barley [JEWEL (steinn ‘stone’) > WOMAN]’: The determinant of the first level of this kenning is understood by ofljóst to refer to a jewel or precious stone, given that ‘fjord-barley’ refers metaphorically to a stone standing in the water of a fjord; cf. Meissner 90 for this group of stone-kennings.

byggs ‘barley’

(not checked:)
bygg (noun n.; °-s): barley < fjarðbygg (noun n.)

kennings

Skǫgul fjarðbyggs
‘the Skǫgul of fjord-barley ’
= WOMAN
fjord-barley → JEWEL
the Skǫgul of the JEWEL → WOMAN

notes

[7] Skǫgul fjarðbyggs ‘the Skǫgul <valkyrie> of fjord-barley [JEWEL (steinn ‘stone’) > WOMAN]’: The determinant of the first level of this kenning is understood by ofljóst to refer to a jewel or precious stone, given that ‘fjord-barley’ refers metaphorically to a stone standing in the water of a fjord; cf. Meissner 90 for this group of stone-kennings.

byggs ‘barley’

(not checked:)
bygg (noun n.; °-s): barley < fjarðbygg (noun n.)

kennings

Skǫgul fjarðbyggs
‘the Skǫgul of fjord-barley ’
= WOMAN
fjord-barley → JEWEL
the Skǫgul of the JEWEL → WOMAN

notes

[7] Skǫgul fjarðbyggs ‘the Skǫgul <valkyrie> of fjord-barley [JEWEL (steinn ‘stone’) > WOMAN]’: The determinant of the first level of this kenning is understood by ofljóst to refer to a jewel or precious stone, given that ‘fjord-barley’ refers metaphorically to a stone standing in the water of a fjord; cf. Meissner 90 for this group of stone-kennings.

Skǫgul ‘the Skǫgul’

(not checked:)
Skǫgul (noun f.): Skǫgul

kennings

Skǫgul fjarðbyggs
‘the Skǫgul of fjord-barley ’
= WOMAN
fjord-barley → JEWEL
the Skǫgul of the JEWEL → WOMAN

notes

[7] Skǫgul fjarðbyggs ‘the Skǫgul <valkyrie> of fjord-barley [JEWEL (steinn ‘stone’) > WOMAN]’: The determinant of the first level of this kenning is understood by ofljóst to refer to a jewel or precious stone, given that ‘fjord-barley’ refers metaphorically to a stone standing in the water of a fjord; cf. Meissner 90 for this group of stone-kennings.

fold ‘the land’

(not checked:)
fold (noun f.): land

at ‘to’

(not checked:)
5. at (nota): to (with infinitive)

byggja ‘settle’

(not checked:)
2. byggja (verb; °byggir/byggvir; byggði; byggðr): inhabit, dwell; build, found

Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses

Cf. DGB 112 (Reeve and Wright 2007, 147.63; cf. Wright 1985, 75, prophecy 6): Exurget iterum albus draco et filiam Germaniae inuitabit ‘The white dragon will rise again and summon Germany’s daughter’ (Reeve and Wright 2007, 146). The absence of this sentence from the text of the Prophecies in the First Variant Version of DGB (Wright 1988, 103) misled J. S. Eysteinsson (1953-7, 102) into supposing Gunnlaugr derived the motif of the Saxon woman from DGB XI. Geoffrey tells in DGB XI that the Saxons who survived the hardships summoned more immigrants from Germania (Reeve and Wright 2007, 278-9); the filia Germaniae is evidently a representation of these people. By contrast, Gunnlaugr’s rather specific-sounding phrase, snót saxneska, along with the second helmingr, suggests that he interpreted the representation as referring to a specific woman, perhaps prompted by Geoffrey’s account of the key role in the invasion played by Hengest’s daughter Ronwein in DGB VI (Reeve and Wright 2007, 128‑31).

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