GunnLeif Merl I 78VIII
Russell Poole (ed.) 2017, ‘Breta saga 146 (Gunnlaugr Leifsson, Merlínusspá I 78)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 115.
Sjá ‘witness’
(not checked:)
2. sjá (verb): see
rǫk ‘wonders’
(not checked:)
2. rak (noun n.; °; *-): omen, lore
þrennar ‘Three’
(not checked:)
þrennr (adj.): three(fold)
aldir ‘ages’
(not checked:)
ǫld (noun f.; °; aldir): people, age
þó ‘yet’
(not checked:)
þó (adv.): though
es ‘is’
(not checked:)
2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
lýða ‘of men’
(not checked:)
lýðr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -; -ir): one of the people
ráð ‘the conduct’
(not checked:)
ráð (noun n.; °-s; -): advice, plan, control, power
ljótt ‘odious’
(not checked:)
ljótr (adj.): ugly
fyr ‘before’
(not checked:)
fyr (prep.): for, over, because of, etc.
dróttni ‘the Lord’
(not checked:)
dróttinn (noun m.; °dróttins, dat. dróttni (drottini [$1049$]); dróttnar): lord, master
unz ‘until’
(not checked:)
2. unz (conj.): until
landrekar ‘kings’
(not checked:)
landreki (noun m.): land-ruler
Lundúnum ‘London’
(not checked:)
Lundúnir (noun f.): [London]
í ‘in’
(not checked:)
í (prep.): in, into
grafnir ‘disinterred’
(not checked:)
grafa (verb): to dig, earth, bury
notes
[5-8]: The syntax and meaning of these lines could be interpreted in at least two different ways. Previous eds have inserted explanatory phrases to clarify their understanding of the lines. Bret 1848-9 inserts an explanatory phrase: indtil Konger i London begravne stige op af Jorden og aabenbares ‘until kings buried in London rise up from the earth and show themselves’. Similarly Skj B (indtil konger begravede i London viser sig for folk, (stegne) op af jorden ‘until kings buried in London reveal themselves to men, (risen) up from the earth’) and Merl 2012. But the phrases ‘rise up’, ‘risen up’ have no counterpart in Gunnlaugr and are not strictly necessary for sense. The present edn adopts the view that grafnir ór grundu ‘disinterred from the ground’ (l. 7) is a phrase qualifying landrekar ‘kings’ (l. 5) and further specified by the adverbial phrase í Lundúnum ‘in London’ (l. 6), while the statement vitrask gumnum ‘are revealed to men’ (l. 8) translates Geoffrey’s Lat. propalabuntur ‘are revealed’. Another possible interpretation rearranges the syntax of ll. 5-8 as unz landrekar grafnir í Lundúnum vitrask gumnum ór grundu ‘until kings buried in London reveal themselves to men from the ground’. This has the disadvantage of requiring the phrase grafnir ór grundu to be split, and it is further from the sense of Geoffrey’s Latin text.
ór ‘from’
(not checked:)
3. ór (prep.): out of
notes
[5-8]: The syntax and meaning of these lines could be interpreted in at least two different ways. Previous eds have inserted explanatory phrases to clarify their understanding of the lines. Bret 1848-9 inserts an explanatory phrase: indtil Konger i London begravne stige op af Jorden og aabenbares ‘until kings buried in London rise up from the earth and show themselves’. Similarly Skj B (indtil konger begravede i London viser sig for folk, (stegne) op af jorden ‘until kings buried in London reveal themselves to men, (risen) up from the earth’) and Merl 2012. But the phrases ‘rise up’, ‘risen up’ have no counterpart in Gunnlaugr and are not strictly necessary for sense. The present edn adopts the view that grafnir ór grundu ‘disinterred from the ground’ (l. 7) is a phrase qualifying landrekar ‘kings’ (l. 5) and further specified by the adverbial phrase í Lundúnum ‘in London’ (l. 6), while the statement vitrask gumnum ‘are revealed to men’ (l. 8) translates Geoffrey’s Lat. propalabuntur ‘are revealed’. Another possible interpretation rearranges the syntax of ll. 5-8 as unz landrekar grafnir í Lundúnum vitrask gumnum ór grundu ‘until kings buried in London reveal themselves to men from the ground’. This has the disadvantage of requiring the phrase grafnir ór grundu to be split, and it is further from the sense of Geoffrey’s Latin text.
grundu ‘the ground’
(not checked:)
grund (noun f.): earth, land
notes
[5-8]: The syntax and meaning of these lines could be interpreted in at least two different ways. Previous eds have inserted explanatory phrases to clarify their understanding of the lines. Bret 1848-9 inserts an explanatory phrase: indtil Konger i London begravne stige op af Jorden og aabenbares ‘until kings buried in London rise up from the earth and show themselves’. Similarly Skj B (indtil konger begravede i London viser sig for folk, (stegne) op af jorden ‘until kings buried in London reveal themselves to men, (risen) up from the earth’) and Merl 2012. But the phrases ‘rise up’, ‘risen up’ have no counterpart in Gunnlaugr and are not strictly necessary for sense. The present edn adopts the view that grafnir ór grundu ‘disinterred from the ground’ (l. 7) is a phrase qualifying landrekar ‘kings’ (l. 5) and further specified by the adverbial phrase í Lundúnum ‘in London’ (l. 6), while the statement vitrask gumnum ‘are revealed to men’ (l. 8) translates Geoffrey’s Lat. propalabuntur ‘are revealed’. Another possible interpretation rearranges the syntax of ll. 5-8 as unz landrekar grafnir í Lundúnum vitrask gumnum ór grundu ‘until kings buried in London reveal themselves to men from the ground’. This has the disadvantage of requiring the phrase grafnir ór grundu to be split, and it is further from the sense of Geoffrey’s Latin text.
gumnum ‘to men’
(not checked:)
gumi (noun m.; °-a; gumar/gumnar): man
vitrask ‘are revealed’
(not checked:)
2. vitra (verb): appear, reveal
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
Cf. DGB 115 (Reeve and Wright 2007, 151.126-7; cf. Wright 1988, 106, prophecy 24): Omnia haec tria saecula uidebunt donec sepulti reges in urbe Lundoniarum propalabuntur ‘Three generations will witness all this until the kings buried in the city of London are revealed’ (Reeve and Wright 2007, 150). With this motif of exhumation, Geoffrey partially reprises the Cadwallader story told in DGB XI (Reeve and Wright 2007, 278-9).
Stanza/chapter/text segment
Use the buttons at the top of the page to navigate between stanzas in a poem.
Information tab
- text: if the stanza has been published, the edited text of the stanza and translation are here; if it hasn't been published an old edition (usually Skj) is given for reference
- sources: a list of the manuscripts or inscriptions containing this stanza, with page and line references and links (eye button) to images where available, and transcription where available
- readings: a list of variant manuscript readings of words in the main text
- editions and texts: a list of editions of the stanza with links to the bibliography; and a list of prose works in which the stanza occurs, allowing you to navigate within the prose context
- notes and context: notes not linked to individual words are given here, along with the account of the prose context for the stanza, where relevant
Interactive tab
The text and translation are given here, with buttons to toggle whether the text is shown in the verse order or prose word order. Clicking on indiviudal words gives dictionary links, variant readings, kennings and notes, where relevant.
Full text tab
This is the text of the edition in a similar format to how the edition appears in the printed volumes.
Chapter/text segment
This view is also used for chapters and other text segments. Not all the headings shown are relevant to such sections.