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skaldic

Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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Mgóð Lv 2II

Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Magnús inn góði Óláfsson, Lausavísur 2’ in Kari Ellen Gade (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 2: From c. 1035 to c. 1300. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 2. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 6-7.

Magnús inn góði ÓláfssonLausavísur
12

Margr ‘Many a’

(not checked:)
2. margr (adj.; °-an): many

kennings

Margr sverðrjóðr
‘Many a sword-reddener ’
   = WARRIOR

Many a sword-reddener → WARRIOR
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at ‘to cause’

(not checked:)
3. at (prep.): at, to

Close

sorgum ‘sorrow’

(not checked:)
sorg (noun f.; °-ar; -ir): sorrow, affliction

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sverð ‘sword’

(not checked:)
sverð (noun n.; °-s; -): sword < sverðrjóðr (noun m.)

kennings

Margr sverðrjóðr
‘Many a sword-reddener ’
   = WARRIOR

Many a sword-reddener → WARRIOR
Close

rjóðr ‘reddener’

(not checked:)
1. rjóðr (noun m.): reddener < sverðrjóðr (noun m.)

kennings

Margr sverðrjóðr
‘Many a sword-reddener ’
   = WARRIOR

Many a sword-reddener → WARRIOR
Close

alin* ‘born’

(not checked:)
ala (verb; °elr; ól, ólu; alinn): to beget, produce, procreate

[2] alin*: alinn all

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verða ‘was’

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

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uggik ‘I care’

(not checked:)
ugga (verb): to fear, suspect

[3] uggik (‘vggi ec’): ‘uggek’ Flat

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allítt ‘very little’

(not checked:)
alllítt (adv.): very little

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segja ‘’

(not checked:)
segja (verb): say, tell

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seggja ‘for men’s’

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seggr (noun m.; °; -ir): man

[3] seggja: segja Flat

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á ‘’

(not checked:)
3. á (prep.): on, at

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ótta ‘fear’

(not checked:)
2. ótta (verb): fear

[4] ótta: ótt á Hr

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Enn ‘Yet’

(not checked:)
2. enn (adv.): still, yet, again

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ef ‘if’

(not checked:)
3. ef (conj.): if

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einhver ‘a certain’

(not checked:)
einshverr (pron.; °m. dat. ·hverjum, f. dat. ·hverri): a certain

[5] einhver: einhverr Flat, H

kennings

einhver eld-Gefn
‘a certain fire-Gefn ’
   = WOMAN

a certain fire-Gefn → WOMAN
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bannar ‘denies’

(not checked:)
2. banna (verb; °-að-): forbid, refuse

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gef ‘’

Close

giofn ‘’

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Gefn ‘Gefn’

(not checked:)
Gefn (noun f.): Gefn < eldgefn (noun f.)

[6] Gefn: ‘‑giofn’ Flat, ‘‑gef’ H

kennings

einhver eld-Gefn
‘a certain fire-Gefn ’
   = WOMAN

a certain fire-Gefn → WOMAN
Close

svefna ‘sleep’

(not checked:)
svefn (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): sleep

Close

víst ‘certainly’

(not checked:)
1. víss (adj.): wise, certain(ly)

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veldr ‘causes’

(not checked:)
valda (verb): cause

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siklings ‘of the ruler’

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siklingr (noun m.; °; -ar): king, ruler

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systir ‘sister’

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systir (noun f.; °systur; systur): sister

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svinn ‘the sagacious’

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2. svinnr (adj.): wise

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andvǫku ‘unrest’

(not checked:)
1. andvaka (noun f.; °-*u; -*ur): [unrest]

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minni ‘my’

(not checked:)
minn (pron.; °f. mín, n. mitt): my

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Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses

The st., which is attributed to Magnús in all mss, occurs without apparent context. It is inserted at the very end of an episode about a boy who was unable to dream, and it could be that the connection between ‘dreamlessness’ and ‘sleeplessness’ prompted the Mork compiler to include the st. at this point in the narrative.

Poole (1985, 116-18) argues that the attribution of this st. to Magnús inn góði Óláfsson is erroneous. He suggests instead that it was part of a sequence of love sts composed by Magnús berfœttr Óláfsson (Mberf Lv 3-6). In three of these lvv. (Lv 3-5). Magnús professes his love for a woman called Mektildr (Matilda), who, according to the surrounding prose, is the daughter of an emperor (see Mork 1928-32, 330-1). As Poole shows, this woman was most likely Matilda, the daughter of King Malcolm III of Scotland and the sister of King Edgar (r. 1097-1107). In Mberf Lv 3, Magnús berfœttr complains that Matilda denies him fun and pleasure and teaches him ‘to sleep but little’, an imagery in keeping with the that of the present st. It is likely that the compiler of Mork confused Magnús berfœttr Óláfsson and Magnús góði Óláfsson, and attributed Mgóði Lv 2 to the wrong Magnús. The sense of the st. is that, while other men may complain about (and fear) the pain that they experience because of their love for lowborn women, Magnús himself has no worries in that respect; rather, it is his love for the ‘ruler’s’ sister that prevents him from sleeping.

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