GunnLeif Merl I 97^VIII

Virði engi         þat vitlausu,
þótt hann hoddskǫtum         heiti gæfi
viðar eða vatna         eða veðrs mikils
eða alls konar         orma eða dýra.
Táknar eðli         talðrar skepnu
spjǫrráðanda        spjǫll eða kosti.

Virði engi þat vitlausu, þótt hann gæfi {hoddskǫtum} heiti viðar eða vatna eða veðrs mikils eða alls konar orma eða dýra. Eðli talðrar skepnu táknar spjǫll eða kosti {spjǫrráðanda}.

Let nobody think it nonsense if he gives {treasure-chieftains} [RULERS] the name of a wood or lakes or a great storm or all kinds of serpents or beasts. The nature of the creature described signifies the flaws or strengths {of the wielders of the spear} [WARRIORS].

Mss: Hb(52v) (Bret)

Editions: Skj AII, 35-6, Skj BII, 43-4, Skald II, 27; Bret 1848-9, II, 73 (Bret st. 165); Hb 1892-6, 283; Merl 2012, 205.

Notes: [All]: Here, following up on the preceding stanza, Gunnlaugr succinctly explains Geoffrey’s system of allegory and foreshadows that some members of his audience might find it nonsensical. — [3]: The pron. hann is omitted in Skj B and Skald for metrical reasons. — [3] hoddskǫtum ‘treasure-chieftains [RULERS]’: Attested only here and in II 29/5. — [5] viðar ‘of a wood’: Conceivably the gen. pl. viða ‘of woods/trees’ should be read here, for better match with vatna and because Merl refers to a variety of trees, e.g. oaks and linden‑trees; Bret 1848-9 has ‘tree’ and Skj B, followed by Merl 2012, has ‘trees’, but without emendation. Gunnlaugr may also be referring to woods or forests collectively, with e.g. viðr inn danski ‘Danish wood’ (II 15/6) in mind. — [5] vatna ‘lakes’: It is not clear which prophecies are referred to here, unless Gunnlaugr was thinking of the idealisation of the boar of commerce as a refreshing stream (I 82-3) or of the inundation of the mouths of the Severn (I 89/2-3). — [6]: Cf. the mentions of the landnyrðingr ‘northeast wind’ in I 44/3, I 84/2.

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skj B = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1912-15b. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. B: Rettet tekst. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Villadsen & Christensen. Rpt. 1973. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger.
3. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
4. Hb 1892-6 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1892-6. Hauksbók udgiven efter de Arnamagnæanske håndskrifter no. 371, 544 og 675, 4° samt forskellige papirshåndskrifter. Copenhagen: Det kongelige nordiske oldskrift-selskab.
5. Bret 1848-9 = Jón Sigurðsson. 1848-9. ‘Trójumanna saga ok Breta sögur, efter Hauksbók, med dansk Oversættelse’. ÅNOH 1848, 3-215; 1849, 3-145.
6. Merl 2012 = Horst, Simone, ed. 2012. Merlínússpá. Merlins Prophezeiung. Munich: Herbert Utz Verlag.
7. Internal references
8. 2017, ‘ Unattributed, Breta saga’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 38. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=125> (accessed 17 May 2024)