GunnLeif Merl I 60^VIII

Verðr ‘will be’

(not checked:)
1. verða (verb): become, be

af ‘because’

(not checked:)
af (prep.): from

slíku ‘of such’

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2. slíkr (adj.): such

sverð ‘of the sword’

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sverð (noun n.; °-s; -): sword < sverðél (noun n.): [a sword-storm]

kennings

notes

[2] hǫtuðr sverðéls ‘the hater of the sword-storm [BATTLE > HOLY MAN]’: This phrase, as it stands in the ms., is most straightforwardly explained as a kenning meaning literally somebody who hates warfare, and this might seem appropriate for an evidently saintly king (LP: hǫtuðr, cf. Merl 2012). In l. 6, however, the same person is described as þingdjarfr ‘bold in encounters’, which would normally mean bellicose encounters, and that might be regarded as indicating an interpretation of the kenning in l. 2 as ‘warrior’ (so Bret 1848-9 and Skj B). Saintly kings such as Oswald, referred to earlier in the poem (I 33/5-6), are not necessarily averse to battle – indeed Oswald is described as a leader in warfare. It is true that the adj. þingdjarfr appears in a somewhat similar context in I 37/3 (see Note there) and can be explained in both instances as an ornamental epithet without close reference to the immediate situation. But another possibility, broached in LP: hǫtuðr, is that the reading hǫtuðr is a simple error for hvǫtuðr ‘whetter’, a heiti that occurs once elsewhere in Merl (I 94/11); Meissner 321 appears to incline to this solution and it is adopted in Skald. A similar difficulty arises in Anon Pl 29/3^VII.

sverð ‘of the sword’

(not checked:)
sverð (noun n.; °-s; -): sword < sverðél (noun n.): [a sword-storm]

kennings

notes

[2] hǫtuðr sverðéls ‘the hater of the sword-storm [BATTLE > HOLY MAN]’: This phrase, as it stands in the ms., is most straightforwardly explained as a kenning meaning literally somebody who hates warfare, and this might seem appropriate for an evidently saintly king (LP: hǫtuðr, cf. Merl 2012). In l. 6, however, the same person is described as þingdjarfr ‘bold in encounters’, which would normally mean bellicose encounters, and that might be regarded as indicating an interpretation of the kenning in l. 2 as ‘warrior’ (so Bret 1848-9 and Skj B). Saintly kings such as Oswald, referred to earlier in the poem (I 33/5-6), are not necessarily averse to battle – indeed Oswald is described as a leader in warfare. It is true that the adj. þingdjarfr appears in a somewhat similar context in I 37/3 (see Note there) and can be explained in both instances as an ornamental epithet without close reference to the immediate situation. But another possibility, broached in LP: hǫtuðr, is that the reading hǫtuðr is a simple error for hvǫtuðr ‘whetter’, a heiti that occurs once elsewhere in Merl (I 94/11); Meissner 321 appears to incline to this solution and it is adopted in Skald. A similar difficulty arises in Anon Pl 29/3^VII.

éls ‘storm’

(not checked:)
él (noun n.; °; dat. -um): storm < sverðél (noun n.): [a sword-storm]

kennings

notes

[2] hǫtuðr sverðéls ‘the hater of the sword-storm [BATTLE > HOLY MAN]’: This phrase, as it stands in the ms., is most straightforwardly explained as a kenning meaning literally somebody who hates warfare, and this might seem appropriate for an evidently saintly king (LP: hǫtuðr, cf. Merl 2012). In l. 6, however, the same person is described as þingdjarfr ‘bold in encounters’, which would normally mean bellicose encounters, and that might be regarded as indicating an interpretation of the kenning in l. 2 as ‘warrior’ (so Bret 1848-9 and Skj B). Saintly kings such as Oswald, referred to earlier in the poem (I 33/5-6), are not necessarily averse to battle – indeed Oswald is described as a leader in warfare. It is true that the adj. þingdjarfr appears in a somewhat similar context in I 37/3 (see Note there) and can be explained in both instances as an ornamental epithet without close reference to the immediate situation. But another possibility, broached in LP: hǫtuðr, is that the reading hǫtuðr is a simple error for hvǫtuðr ‘whetter’, a heiti that occurs once elsewhere in Merl (I 94/11); Meissner 321 appears to incline to this solution and it is adopted in Skald. A similar difficulty arises in Anon Pl 29/3^VII.

éls ‘storm’

(not checked:)
él (noun n.; °; dat. -um): storm < sverðél (noun n.): [a sword-storm]

kennings

notes

[2] hǫtuðr sverðéls ‘the hater of the sword-storm [BATTLE > HOLY MAN]’: This phrase, as it stands in the ms., is most straightforwardly explained as a kenning meaning literally somebody who hates warfare, and this might seem appropriate for an evidently saintly king (LP: hǫtuðr, cf. Merl 2012). In l. 6, however, the same person is described as þingdjarfr ‘bold in encounters’, which would normally mean bellicose encounters, and that might be regarded as indicating an interpretation of the kenning in l. 2 as ‘warrior’ (so Bret 1848-9 and Skj B). Saintly kings such as Oswald, referred to earlier in the poem (I 33/5-6), are not necessarily averse to battle – indeed Oswald is described as a leader in warfare. It is true that the adj. þingdjarfr appears in a somewhat similar context in I 37/3 (see Note there) and can be explained in both instances as an ornamental epithet without close reference to the immediate situation. But another possibility, broached in LP: hǫtuðr, is that the reading hǫtuðr is a simple error for hvǫtuðr ‘whetter’, a heiti that occurs once elsewhere in Merl (I 94/11); Meissner 321 appears to incline to this solution and it is adopted in Skald. A similar difficulty arises in Anon Pl 29/3^VII.

hǫtuðr ‘The hater’

(not checked:)
hǫtuðr (noun m.): hater

kennings

notes

[2] hǫtuðr sverðéls ‘the hater of the sword-storm [BATTLE > HOLY MAN]’: This phrase, as it stands in the ms., is most straightforwardly explained as a kenning meaning literally somebody who hates warfare, and this might seem appropriate for an evidently saintly king (LP: hǫtuðr, cf. Merl 2012). In l. 6, however, the same person is described as þingdjarfr ‘bold in encounters’, which would normally mean bellicose encounters, and that might be regarded as indicating an interpretation of the kenning in l. 2 as ‘warrior’ (so Bret 1848-9 and Skj B). Saintly kings such as Oswald, referred to earlier in the poem (I 33/5-6), are not necessarily averse to battle – indeed Oswald is described as a leader in warfare. It is true that the adj. þingdjarfr appears in a somewhat similar context in I 37/3 (see Note there) and can be explained in both instances as an ornamental epithet without close reference to the immediate situation. But another possibility, broached in LP: hǫtuðr, is that the reading hǫtuðr is a simple error for hvǫtuðr ‘whetter’, a heiti that occurs once elsewhere in Merl (I 94/11); Meissner 321 appears to incline to this solution and it is adopted in Skald. A similar difficulty arises in Anon Pl 29/3^VII.

himna ‘of the heavens’

(not checked:)
himinn (noun m.; °himins, dat. himni; himnar): heaven, sky

kennings

himna ‘of the heavens’

(not checked:)
himinn (noun m.; °himins, dat. himni; himnar): heaven, sky

kennings

ferðar ‘of the host’

(not checked:)
ferð (noun f.; °-ar; -ir/-arMork 196¹²)): host, journey

kennings

ferðar ‘of the host’

(not checked:)
ferð (noun f.; °-ar; -ir/-arMork 196¹²)): host, journey

kennings

hugþekkr ‘dear’

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hugþekkr (adj.): beloved

grami ‘to {the lord’

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1. gramr (noun m.): ruler

kennings

Ok ‘And’

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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also

at ‘after’

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3. at (prep.): at, to

notes

[5] at líf þetta ‘after this life’: The use of at appears irregular. Gunnlaugr may have taken Geoffrey’s inde ‘for this’ in the sense ‘thenceforward’, as is assumed in Skj B, but attestations of at in the sense of ‘after’ are not precisely parallel, as they involve constructions of the type at jǫfur dauðan ‘after the lord’s death’, lit. ‘at/with the lord dead’, at gram fallinn ‘after the king’s fall’, lit. ‘at/with the king fallen’: see ONP: at II. B. Possibly Gunnlaugr’s usage mingles this sense of at with at with the dat. in the sense of ‘because of’: see ONP: at I D 12.

þetta ‘this’

(not checked:)
1. sjá (pron.; °gen. þessa dat. þessum/þeima, acc. þenna; f. sjá/þessi; n. þetta, dat. þessu/þvísa; pl. þessir): this

notes

[5] at líf þetta ‘after this life’: The use of at appears irregular. Gunnlaugr may have taken Geoffrey’s inde ‘for this’ in the sense ‘thenceforward’, as is assumed in Skj B, but attestations of at in the sense of ‘after’ are not precisely parallel, as they involve constructions of the type at jǫfur dauðan ‘after the lord’s death’, lit. ‘at/with the lord dead’, at gram fallinn ‘after the king’s fall’, lit. ‘at/with the king fallen’: see ONP: at II. B. Possibly Gunnlaugr’s usage mingles this sense of at with at with the dat. in the sense of ‘because of’: see ONP: at I D 12.

líf ‘life’

(not checked:)
líf (noun n.; °-s; -): life

notes

[5] at líf þetta ‘after this life’: The use of at appears irregular. Gunnlaugr may have taken Geoffrey’s inde ‘for this’ in the sense ‘thenceforward’, as is assumed in Skj B, but attestations of at in the sense of ‘after’ are not precisely parallel, as they involve constructions of the type at jǫfur dauðan ‘after the lord’s death’, lit. ‘at/with the lord dead’, at gram fallinn ‘after the king’s fall’, lit. ‘at/with the king fallen’: see ONP: at II. B. Possibly Gunnlaugr’s usage mingles this sense of at with at with the dat. in the sense of ‘because of’: see ONP: at I D 12.

þingdjarfr ‘bold in encounters’

(not checked:)
þingdjarfr (adj.)

konungr ‘the king’

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konungr (noun m.; °dat. -i, -s; -ar): king

taliðr ‘counted’

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telja (verb): tell, count

es ‘will be’

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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am

tyggja ‘of the lord’

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tyggi (noun m.): prince, sovereign

[7] tyggja: ‘tigia’ Hb

kennings

notes

[7] tyggja ‘lord’: Normalised in Bret 1848-9 (followed by subsequent eds) from ms. ‘tigia’ (not refreshed), with spelling tiggja in Bret 1848‑9 and Merl 2012.

tungls ‘of the moon’

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tungl (noun n.; °-s; -): moon, heavenly body

kennings

með ‘with’

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með (prep.): with

englum ‘the angels’

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1. engill (noun m.; °engils; englar): angel