GunnLeif Merl I 41VIII
Russell Poole (ed.) 2017, ‘Breta saga 109 (Gunnlaugr Leifsson, Merlínusspá I 41)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 77.
Þá ‘Then’
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2. þá (adv.): then
kórónask ‘will be crowned’
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3. kóróna (verb): crown
kapps ‘of belligerence’
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kapp (noun n.; °-s; *-): strength, vigour, courage
hvítdreki ‘the white serpent’
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hvítdreki (noun m.)
ok ‘and’
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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
saxneskir ‘Saxon’
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saxneskr (adj.)
seggir ‘men’
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seggr (noun m.; °; -ir): man
ríkja ‘will rule’
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ríkja (verb): rule
En ‘And’
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2. en (conj.): but, and
eirjǫfurr ‘the copper lord’
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eirjǫfurr (noun m.)
notes
[5] eirjǫfurr ‘the copper lord’: Referring to the effigy of Caduallo mentioned in st. 34.
ofan ‘down’
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ofan (adv.): down
at ‘to’
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5. at (nota): to (with infinitive)
stíga ‘climb’
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stíga (verb): step
verðr ‘has’
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1. verða (verb): become, be
af ‘from’
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af (prep.): from
brǫttum ‘the sheer’
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brattr (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): steep
borgar ‘city’
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borg (noun f.; °-ar, dat. -; -ir): city, stronghold
notes
[8] borgararmi ‘city wall’: Printed separately as borgar armi by all previous eds, but the cpd form borgararmr, referring especially to the outer wall of a fortress or city, is standard (ONP: borgararmr).
armi ‘wall’
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1. armr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): arm
notes
[8] borgararmi ‘city wall’: Printed separately as borgar armi by all previous eds, but the cpd form borgararmr, referring especially to the outer wall of a fortress or city, is standard (ONP: borgararmr).
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Cf. DGB 112 (Reeve and Wright 2007, 147.65; cf. Wright 1988, 103, prophecy 7): Exin coronabitur Germanicus uermis et aeneus princeps humabitur ‘Then the Germanic worm will be crowned, and the prince of bronze buried’ (Reeve and Wright 2007, 146). Gunnlaugr’s elaboration on the passing of the bronze prince raises the question of whether his copy-text contained the variant reading humiliabitur ‘will be humbled’, found in mss O and M, as also in mss a, H and R of the First Variant Version and the commentary by Alain de Flandres (Wille 2015, 129), rather than the standard reading humabitur ‘will be buried’ (Reeve and Wright 2007, 147, Wright 1988, 103). Alain explains the bronze horseman allegorically, as representing the British people (Wille 2015, 129), and Gunnlaugr’s understanding, in speaking of this figure climbing down, may have been similar.
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