GunnLeif Merl I 82VIII
Russell Poole (ed.) 2017, ‘Breta saga 150 (Gunnlaugr Leifsson, Merlínusspá I 82)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 118.
Falla ‘will fall’
(not checked:)
falla (verb): fall
ór ‘from’
(not checked:)
3. ór (prep.): out of
orða ‘of words’
(not checked:)
orð (noun n.; °-s; -): word
kennings
almærri vǫk orða‘the much-famed gap of words ’
= MOUTH
the much-famed gap of words → MOUTH
almærri ‘the much-famed’
(not checked:)
almærr (adj.): [famed]
kennings
almærri vǫk orða‘the much-famed gap of words ’
= MOUTH
the much-famed gap of words → MOUTH
vǫk ‘gap’
(not checked:)
vǫk (noun f.; °vakar; vakir/vakar): [ice-hole, gap]
kennings
almærri vǫk orða‘the much-famed gap of words ’
= MOUTH
the much-famed gap of words → MOUTH
dynjandi ‘Resounding’
(not checked:)
2. dynjandi (adj./verb p.p.)
dróttar ‘of the entourage’
(not checked:)
1. drótt (noun f.): troop
kennings
stýris dróttar.‘of the ruler of the entourage. ’
= PRINCE
the ruler of the entourage. → PRINCE
stýris ‘of the ruler’
(not checked:)
stýrir (noun m.): ruler, controller
kennings
stýris dróttar.‘of the ruler of the entourage. ’
= PRINCE
the ruler of the entourage. → PRINCE
Þær ‘They’
(not checked:)
hann (pron.; °gen. hans, dat. honum; f. hon, gen. hennar, acc. hana): he, she, it, they, them...
munu ‘will’
(not checked:)
munu (verb): will, must
dǫggva ‘spread dew’
(not checked:)
dǫggva (verb; °-að-): bedew, be sprinkled
dýrar ‘on the beloved’
(not checked:)
dýrr (adj.; °compar. -ri/-ari, superl. -str/-astr): precious
kennings
dýrar jarðir geðs‘on the beloved lands of the mind ’
= HEARTS
on the beloved lands of the mind → HEARTS
notes
[6-7] dýrar jarðir geðs ‘the beloved lands of the mind [HEARTS]’: In Bret 1848-9 and Skj B, the latter followed by Merl 2012, geðs ‘of the mind’ is grouped with gollorheimi ‘in the home of the pericardium’ (Skj B has sjælens hjærteverden ‘heart-world of the soul’), but there it is redundant, whereas it is positively required as a determinant for jarðir ‘lands’, to generate a kenning for a part of the body, as is evident from the parallelism with kverkr ‘throats’ in l. 9. Cf. II 35/6, where gollorhallir ‘halls of the pericardium’, a parallel formation, signifies ‘breasts’.
jarðir ‘lands’
(not checked:)
jǫrð (noun f.; °jarðar, dat. -u; jarðir/jarðar(DN I (1367) 304)): ground, earth
kennings
dýrar jarðir geðs‘on the beloved lands of the mind ’
= HEARTS
on the beloved lands of the mind → HEARTS
notes
[6-7] dýrar jarðir geðs ‘the beloved lands of the mind [HEARTS]’: In Bret 1848-9 and Skj B, the latter followed by Merl 2012, geðs ‘of the mind’ is grouped with gollorheimi ‘in the home of the pericardium’ (Skj B has sjælens hjærteverden ‘heart-world of the soul’), but there it is redundant, whereas it is positively required as a determinant for jarðir ‘lands’, to generate a kenning for a part of the body, as is evident from the parallelism with kverkr ‘throats’ in l. 9. Cf. II 35/6, where gollorhallir ‘halls of the pericardium’, a parallel formation, signifies ‘breasts’.
geðs ‘of the mind’
(not checked:)
geð (noun n.): mind
kennings
dýrar jarðir geðs‘on the beloved lands of the mind ’
= HEARTS
on the beloved lands of the mind → HEARTS
notes
[6-7] dýrar jarðir geðs ‘the beloved lands of the mind [HEARTS]’: In Bret 1848-9 and Skj B, the latter followed by Merl 2012, geðs ‘of the mind’ is grouped with gollorheimi ‘in the home of the pericardium’ (Skj B has sjælens hjærteverden ‘heart-world of the soul’), but there it is redundant, whereas it is positively required as a determinant for jarðir ‘lands’, to generate a kenning for a part of the body, as is evident from the parallelism with kverkr ‘throats’ in l. 9. Cf. II 35/6, where gollorhallir ‘halls of the pericardium’, a parallel formation, signifies ‘breasts’.
í ‘in’
(not checked:)
í (prep.): in, into
glæstum ‘the splendid’
(not checked:)
glæstr (adj./verb p.p.): adorned, shining, splendid
kennings
glæstum gollorheimi‘the splendid home of the pericardium ’
= BREAST
the splendid home of the pericardium → BREAST
gollor ‘of the pericardium’
(not checked:)
gollurr (noun m.): [pericardium] < gollurheimr (noun m.): home of the pericardium
kennings
glæstum gollorheimi‘the splendid home of the pericardium ’
= BREAST
the splendid home of the pericardium → BREAST
notes
[8] gollor- ‘pericardium’: The membrane enclosing the heart (OED: pericardium). Thus the breast can be termed the ‘home of the pericardium’. Attestations of the word are restricted to literary usage. In poetry the word occurs only here and in Þul Hugar ok hjartaIII. The two prose attestations cited by ONP: gollurr are from SnE mss, and occur in discussions of heiti for ‘heart’; in one of these passages gollorr is itself understood as such a heiti (cf. CVC: gollurr; Fritzner, LP, AEW: gollorr; also Guðrún Nordal 2001, 255‑6).
heimi ‘home’
(not checked:)
heimr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i/-; -ar): home, abode; world < gollurheimr (noun m.): home of the pericardium
kennings
glæstum gollorheimi‘the splendid home of the pericardium ’
= BREAST
the splendid home of the pericardium → BREAST
notes
[8] gollor- ‘pericardium’: The membrane enclosing the heart (OED: pericardium). Thus the breast can be termed the ‘home of the pericardium’. Attestations of the word are restricted to literary usage. In poetry the word occurs only here and in Þul Hugar ok hjartaIII. The two prose attestations cited by ONP: gollurr are from SnE mss, and occur in discussions of heiti for ‘heart’; in one of these passages gollorr is itself understood as such a heiti (cf. CVC: gollurr; Fritzner, LP, AEW: gollorr; also Guðrún Nordal 2001, 255‑6).
ok ‘and’
(not checked:)
3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
þurrar ‘on the dry’
(not checked:)
þurr (adj.): dry
kverkr ‘throats’
(not checked:)
kverk (noun f.; °; kverkr/-ar): throat
þjóðar ‘people’
(not checked:)
þjóð (noun f.; °-ar, dat. -/-u; -ir): people
margrar ‘of many a’
(not checked:)
2. margr (adj.; °-an): many
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
Cf. DGB 115 (Reeve and Wright 2007, 151.130-1; cf. Wright 1988, 106, prophecy 26): Ex ore ipsius procedent flumina, quae arentes hominum fauces rigabunt ‘Out of his mouth will issue rivers to moisten the parched throats of men’ (Reeve and Wright 2007, 150). Geoffrey continues his prophecies regarding the ‘boar of commerce’. The source material for sts 81 and 82 is somewhat amplified in Merl, evidently so as to explicate the allegory.
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.