GunnLeif Merl I 9VIII
Russell Poole (ed.) 2017, ‘Breta saga 77 (Gunnlaugr Leifsson, Merlínusspá I 9)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 54.
Einn ‘only’
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2. einn (pron.; °decl. cf. einn num.): one, alone
vas ‘was’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
maðr ‘man’
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maðr (noun m.): man, person
es ‘who’
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2. er (conj.): who, which, when
myrkva ‘the obscure’
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2. myrkr (adj.; °-an/-jan/-van; compar. -(v)ari/-ri, superl. -(v)astr): dark, murky
frétt ‘portent’
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frétt (noun f.): report
fyr ‘to’
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fyr (prep.): for, over, because of, etc.
skata ‘king’
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skati (noun m.; °-a; -nar): chieftan, prince
skýrum ‘the wise’
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skýrr (adj.): clear
notes
[3] skýrum ‘wise’: So Bret 1848-9 and Skj B. Kock (NN §3142, followed by Merl 2012) sees it as awkward to attribute wisdom to Vortigern, who has expressed himself baffled by the portent, and proposes that skýrum instead be taken adverbially, meaning ‘clearly’. But the adj. may allude to Vortigern’s reputation for wisdom as he assumes power (cf. DGB VI: Reeve and Wright 2007, 120-1); cf. the similar application of the adj. spǫkum ‘sagacious’ to him in I 11/8.
skynja ‘explain’
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skynja (verb): learn, understand
kunni ‘could’
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kunna (verb): know, can, be able
Hét ‘was called’
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2. heita (verb): be called, promise
yngva ‘of the king’
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Yngvi (noun m.): Yngvi, prince
notes
[5] vinr yngva ‘the friend of the king’: J. S. Eysteinsson (1953-7, 96-7) points out the conventional nature of this phrase, comparing e.g. I 10/2, I 11/8 and I 20/1. Geoffrey’s presentation of Merlin as the son of an incubus (Reeve and Wright 2007, 138-9) troubled some commentators, as in effect associating his prophecy with diabolic powers (Crick 2011, 77); Gunnlaugr may be following their lead by normalising his nature and social status.
vinr ‘The friend’
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vinr (noun m.; °-ar, dat. -/(-i OsvReyk 92.17); -ir): friend
notes
[5] vinr yngva ‘the friend of the king’: J. S. Eysteinsson (1953-7, 96-7) points out the conventional nature of this phrase, comparing e.g. I 10/2, I 11/8 and I 20/1. Geoffrey’s presentation of Merlin as the son of an incubus (Reeve and Wright 2007, 138-9) troubled some commentators, as in effect associating his prophecy with diabolic powers (Crick 2011, 77); Gunnlaugr may be following their lead by normalising his nature and social status.
Ambrósíus ‘Ambrosius’
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Ambrósíus (noun m.)
en ‘but’
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2. en (conj.): but, and
inn ‘’
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2. inn (art.): the
ágæti ‘excellent’
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ágætr (adj.; °compar. ágǽtari/ágǽtri, superl. ágǽtastr/ágǽztr): excellent
ǫðru ‘by another’
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2. annarr (num. ordinal): second, other
nafni ‘name’
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nafn (noun n.; °-s; *-): name
Merlínus ‘Merlin’
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Merlínus (noun m.)
maðr ‘man’
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maðr (noun m.): man, person
kallaðisk ‘was known’
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kalla (verb): call
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
For the source, see Merl I 10 Note to [All]. — [5-8]: Word order follows Bret 1848-9 and Skj B (cf. Merl 2012). Kock (NN §2164) proposes a word order en sá maðr kallaðisk ǫðru nafni inn ágæti Merlínus ‘but that man was called by another name the excellent Merlin’, but the combination sá inn needs no special explanation.
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