Anonymous Poems, Krákumál 18

[2-3] brytja ekki smátt fyr úlfa ‘chop up [helpings] of no small size for wolves’: Lit. ‘chop up [food, especially meat] not finely for wolves’. De Vries (1938, 722 n. 78) lists the phrase as an instance of the influence on Krm of RvHbreiðm Hl 46/6^III, where the phrase brytjar vargi mat ‘cuts food for the wolf’ occurs.

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ekki ‘of no’

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2. ekki (adv.): not

[3] ekki: ei R702ˣ

notes

[2-3] brytja ekki smátt fyr úlfa ‘chop up [helpings] of no small size for wolves’: Lit. ‘chop up [food, especially meat] not finely for wolves’. De Vries (1938, 722 n. 78) lists the phrase as an instance of the influence on Krm of RvHbreiðm Hl 46/6^III, where the phrase brytjar vargi mat ‘cuts food for the wolf’ occurs.

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smátt ‘small size’

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smár (adj.): small

notes

[2-3] brytja ekki smátt fyr úlfa ‘chop up [helpings] of no small size for wolves’: Lit. ‘chop up [food, especially meat] not finely for wolves’. De Vries (1938, 722 n. 78) lists the phrase as an instance of the influence on Krm of RvHbreiðm Hl 46/6^III, where the phrase brytjar vargi mat ‘cuts food for the wolf’ occurs.

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fyr ‘for’

(not checked:)
fyr (prep.): for, over, because of, etc.

notes

[2-3] brytja ekki smátt fyr úlfa ‘chop up [helpings] of no small size for wolves’: Lit. ‘chop up [food, especially meat] not finely for wolves’. De Vries (1938, 722 n. 78) lists the phrase as an instance of the influence on Krm of RvHbreiðm Hl 46/6^III, where the phrase brytjar vargi mat ‘cuts food for the wolf’ occurs.

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úlfa ‘wolves’

(not checked:)
1. ulfr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): wolf

notes

[2-3] brytja ekki smátt fyr úlfa ‘chop up [helpings] of no small size for wolves’: Lit. ‘chop up [food, especially meat] not finely for wolves’. De Vries (1938, 722 n. 78) lists the phrase as an instance of the influence on Krm of RvHbreiðm Hl 46/6^III, where the phrase brytjar vargi mat ‘cuts food for the wolf’ occurs.

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Endils ‘of Endill’

(not checked:)
Endill (noun m.): Endill

[4] Endils: ‘[…] ndils’ 147, ‘Endiltz’ R693ˣ

kennings

haldorða niðja Endils
‘the trusty kinsmen of Endill ’
= SEAFARERS
the trusty kinsmen of Endill → SEAFARERS

notes

[4] niðja Endils ‘kinsmen of Endill <sea-king> [SEAFARERS]’: The emendation to niðja, acc. pl. of niðr ‘kinsman, descendant’, is necessary here (see ANG §§367-8) and adopted by all previous eds other than Rafn (1826), CPB and Krm 1891. Endils is gen. sg. of Endill, a sea-king name (see Þul Sækonunga 2/2^III and Note there; Björn Sigfússon 1934, 128-9).

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niðja ‘kinsmen’

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1. niðr (noun m.; °-s; niðjar/niðir, acc. niði): son, kinsman, relative

[4] niðja: ‘nída’ 1824b, ‘n[...]’ 147, ‘nida’ 6ˣ, ‘nidar’ R702ˣ, LR, R693ˣ

kennings

haldorða niðja Endils
‘the trusty kinsmen of Endill ’
= SEAFARERS
the trusty kinsmen of Endill → SEAFARERS

notes

[4] niðja Endils ‘kinsmen of Endill <sea-king> [SEAFARERS]’: The emendation to niðja, acc. pl. of niðr ‘kinsman, descendant’, is necessary here (see ANG §§367-8) and adopted by all previous eds other than Rafn (1826), CPB and Krm 1891. Endils is gen. sg. of Endill, a sea-king name (see Þul Sækonunga 2/2^III and Note there; Björn Sigfússon 1934, 128-9).

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bröndum ‘with swords’

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brandr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): sword, prow; fire

[4] bröndum: ‘[…](dum)’(?) 147

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Varat ‘it was not’

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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am

[5] Varat: ‘vara(d)[…]’(?) 147

notes

[5] varat ‘was not’: This is another example of the negative suffix -at that early translators of Krm, notably Magnús Ólafsson (in Worm 1636, 215) failed to notice. See Introduction and cf. st. 13, Note to ll. 9-10.

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á ‘On’

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3. á (prep.): on, at

[5] á Víkarskeiði (‘a vikar skeidi’): so R702ˣ, LR, R693ˣ, ‘a vika skerdi’ 1824b, ‘[…]’ 147, ‘a vik a skęde’ 6ˣ

notes

[5] á Víkarskeiði ‘on Víkarskeið’: With the exception of Rafn (1826), who evidently follows ms. 6ˣ, all eds assume a compound p. n. here: (á) Víkaskerði (Pfeiffer 1860; Krm 1891; Wisén 1886-9; Finnur Jónsson 1893b) or Víkaskeiði (CPB; Finnur Jónsson 1905; Skj B; Skald). No previous ed. adopts the spelling Víkarskeiði (which seems to have the support of R702^x, LR and R693ˣ), though Víkarskeið is the spelling used for the entry in LP, where the Krm instance, labelled sagnlokalitet ‘place of legend’, is the sole instance given. However, it is possible that this p. n. could be identified with Wicklow on the east coast of Ireland south of Dublin, for which attested medieval forms are Wickelow, Wykynlo and Wikingelo (see Sommerfelt 1958, 224; cf. Oftedal 1976, 130-1). Oftedal has argued that the p. n. was originally *Víkarló f. ‘the meadow of the bay’, citing the form Wicke-. The majority spelling Wykyn-, Wikinge- would suggest an original *Víkingaló f. ‘the meadow of the Vikings/of the people from Vík’ (so Sommerfelt, ibid.; Flanagan and Flanagan 1994, 125) but this, Oftedal argues, would be inconsistent with Old Norwegian naming practice, in which ló f. ‘meadow’ as a final element normally collocates with a first element referring not to a person or persons, but rather to a feature of the meadow itself or of its location. He therefore explains the forms Wykynlo, Wikingelo as a remodelling resulting from learned speculation. His further claim (Oftedal 1976, 129) that the noun víkingr ‘viking’ ‘can nowhere else be proved to have been used as a Scandinavian place name element’ entails discounting five potential examples from Norway, for which he postulates a pers. n. *Víkingi (alongside attested Víkingr). If Oftedal’s argument may nevertheless be accepted, it may be tentatively suggested that the bay area was known as Vík, while Víkarskeið referred to what is now known as the Murrough, the spit of land separating Broad Lough from the sea just north of Wicklow town. ON skeið n. has a wide range of meanings in place names, usually involving a linear stretch or expanse of land; it can also mean specifically ‘a race course’ (Fritzner: skeið n. 3, cf. SnE 2005, 139; Hovda et al. 1970, 459-62; Whaley 2017). The Murrough, whose name, from Irish muirbheach m., means ‘a level stretch of sandy land along sea-shore, links’ (Ó Dónaill 1977: muirbheach), has been used in modern times, at least, as a recreational area suitable for horse and dog racing (Friends of the Murrough 2011, 7, accessed 14 April 2017). That the Murrough was a scene of Viking activity is shown by a Viking sword-hilt of C9th type found there in the late C19th (Ó Floinn 1998, 29-31). An Irish location for Víkarskeið would be fully compatible with the focus on Britain and Ireland in this part of Krm, though it must be emphasised that the foregoing suggestion is tentative.

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Víkarskeiði ‘Víkarskeið’

(not checked:)
Víkarskeið (noun n.)

[5] á Víkarskeiði (‘a vikar skeidi’): so R702ˣ, LR, R693ˣ, ‘a vika skerdi’ 1824b, ‘[…]’ 147, ‘a vik a skęde’ 6ˣ

notes

[5] á Víkarskeiði ‘on Víkarskeið’: With the exception of Rafn (1826), who evidently follows ms. 6ˣ, all eds assume a compound p. n. here: (á) Víkaskerði (Pfeiffer 1860; Krm 1891; Wisén 1886-9; Finnur Jónsson 1893b) or Víkaskeiði (CPB; Finnur Jónsson 1905; Skj B; Skald). No previous ed. adopts the spelling Víkarskeiði (which seems to have the support of R702^x, LR and R693ˣ), though Víkarskeið is the spelling used for the entry in LP, where the Krm instance, labelled sagnlokalitet ‘place of legend’, is the sole instance given. However, it is possible that this p. n. could be identified with Wicklow on the east coast of Ireland south of Dublin, for which attested medieval forms are Wickelow, Wykynlo and Wikingelo (see Sommerfelt 1958, 224; cf. Oftedal 1976, 130-1). Oftedal has argued that the p. n. was originally *Víkarló f. ‘the meadow of the bay’, citing the form Wicke-. The majority spelling Wykyn-, Wikinge- would suggest an original *Víkingaló f. ‘the meadow of the Vikings/of the people from Vík’ (so Sommerfelt, ibid.; Flanagan and Flanagan 1994, 125) but this, Oftedal argues, would be inconsistent with Old Norwegian naming practice, in which ló f. ‘meadow’ as a final element normally collocates with a first element referring not to a person or persons, but rather to a feature of the meadow itself or of its location. He therefore explains the forms Wykynlo, Wikingelo as a remodelling resulting from learned speculation. His further claim (Oftedal 1976, 129) that the noun víkingr ‘viking’ ‘can nowhere else be proved to have been used as a Scandinavian place name element’ entails discounting five potential examples from Norway, for which he postulates a pers. n. *Víkingi (alongside attested Víkingr). If Oftedal’s argument may nevertheless be accepted, it may be tentatively suggested that the bay area was known as Vík, while Víkarskeið referred to what is now known as the Murrough, the spit of land separating Broad Lough from the sea just north of Wicklow town. ON skeið n. has a wide range of meanings in place names, usually involving a linear stretch or expanse of land; it can also mean specifically ‘a race course’ (Fritzner: skeið n. 3, cf. SnE 2005, 139; Hovda et al. 1970, 459-62; Whaley 2017). The Murrough, whose name, from Irish muirbheach m., means ‘a level stretch of sandy land along sea-shore, links’ (Ó Dónaill 1977: muirbheach), has been used in modern times, at least, as a recreational area suitable for horse and dog racing (Friends of the Murrough 2011, 7, accessed 14 April 2017). That the Murrough was a scene of Viking activity is shown by a Viking sword-hilt of C9th type found there in the late C19th (Ó Floinn 1998, 29-31). An Irish location for Víkarskeið would be fully compatible with the focus on Britain and Ireland in this part of Krm, though it must be emphasised that the foregoing suggestion is tentative.

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sem ‘as if’

(not checked:)
sem (conj.): as, which

[6] sem vín konur bæri: ‘s(em) vin(k)onur (ber)i’(?) 147

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vín ‘wine’

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vín (noun n.; °-s; -): wine

[6] sem vín konur bæri: ‘s(em) vin(k)onur (ber)i’(?) 147

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konur ‘women’

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kona (noun f.; °-u; -ur/-r(KlmA1980 116¹¹), gen. pl. kvenna/kvinna): woman

[6] sem vín konur bæri: ‘s(em) vin(k)onur (ber)i’(?) 147

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bæri ‘were serving’

(not checked:)
3. bera (verb; °berr; bar, báru; borinn): bear, carry

[6] sem vín konur bæri: ‘s(em) vin(k)onur (ber)i’(?) 147

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roðinn ‘emptied’

(not checked:)
1. hrjóða (verb): clear, destroy

[7] roðinn: ‘hrodin’ LR

notes

[7] roðinn ‘emptied’: Or possibly ‘reddened’. From the ms. readings it seems that there is a case here for retaining the r- as opposed to the hr- spelling, cf. the first Note to st. 2/10; this leaves open, however, the question of whether what is meant here is hroðinn ‘emptied’, p. p. of hrjóða ‘empty, clear’, here spelt without the initial <h>, or whether roðinn is here to be taken as p. p. of rjóða ‘redden’, meaning here ‘reddened (with blood)’. Among previous eds Finnur Jónsson (1893b; 1905; Skj B) and Kock (Skald) spell hroðinn, clearly accepting the former alternative, while earlier eds all spell roðinn, Pfeiffer (1860, 300) and Wisén (1886-9, I; cf. 1886-99, II, 235-6) apparently accepting the latter alternative, while Rafn (1826, 133) admits that both alternatives are possible, though gives preference in his translation (1826, 17, rydded ‘cleared’) to the former one. It seems safest to leave both possibilities open. Magnús Ólafsson in LR (Worm 1636), the only one of the ms. sources that has the spelling hroðinn (‘hrodin’), in fact translates it as Lat. rubefactae (f. pl., agreeing with naves ‘ships’), i.e. ‘reddened’.

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var ‘were’

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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am

[7] var Ægis asni: ‘[...]ar ægis as[...]’ 147

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Ægis ‘of Ægir’

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Ægir (noun m.): Ægir, sea

[7] var Ægis asni: ‘[...]ar ægis as[...]’ 147

kennings

ófár asni Ægis
‘not a few asses of Ægir ’
= SHIPS
not a few asses of Ægir → SHIPS

notes

[7-8] ófár asni Ægis ‘not a few asses of Ægir <sea-giant> [SHIPS]’: Lit. ‘un-few ass’ (sg.). The kenning is unusual in substituting an exotic reference to an ass as base-word, instead of the much more common ‘horse’ (cf. Meissner 208). The noun asni ‘ass’ occurs only in one other place in skaldic poetry, in GunnLeif Merl I 87/2. Olsen (1933a) (see Introduction) has argued that the poet’s use of asni here alludes, in combination with messa ‘mass, divine service’ in st. 11/7 and pálmr ‘palm-tree’ in st. 15/10, to Christ’s entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, claiming that the battle mentioned in st. 11/5-7 took place on a Sunday. Such a concatenation of supposed allusions, in the absence of any internal textual support, is very dubious. On the sea-giant Ægir as a personification of the ocean, see Note to st. 2/9.

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asni ‘asses’

(not checked:)
asni (noun m.; °-a; -ar): °ass; of two stars in the constellation Cancer: the Asses)

[7] var Ægis asni: ‘[...]ar ægis as[...]’ 147

kennings

ófár asni Ægis
‘not a few asses of Ægir ’
= SHIPS
not a few asses of Ægir → SHIPS

notes

[7-8] ófár asni Ægis ‘not a few asses of Ægir <sea-giant> [SHIPS]’: Lit. ‘un-few ass’ (sg.). The kenning is unusual in substituting an exotic reference to an ass as base-word, instead of the much more common ‘horse’ (cf. Meissner 208). The noun asni ‘ass’ occurs only in one other place in skaldic poetry, in GunnLeif Merl I 87/2. Olsen (1933a) (see Introduction) has argued that the poet’s use of asni here alludes, in combination with messa ‘mass, divine service’ in st. 11/7 and pálmr ‘palm-tree’ in st. 15/10, to Christ’s entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, claiming that the battle mentioned in st. 11/5-7 took place on a Sunday. Such a concatenation of supposed allusions, in the absence of any internal textual support, is very dubious. On the sea-giant Ægir as a personification of the ocean, see Note to st. 2/9.

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ófár ‘not a few’

(not checked:)
ófár (adj.): not a few

[8] ófár í dyn geira: so 6ˣ, R702ˣ, LR, R693ˣ, ‘ofar j dyn ge[...]a’ 1824b, ‘ofar […] g(eí)ra’(?) 147

kennings

ófár asni Ægis
‘not a few asses of Ægir ’
= SHIPS
not a few asses of Ægir → SHIPS

notes

[7-8] ófár asni Ægis ‘not a few asses of Ægir <sea-giant> [SHIPS]’: Lit. ‘un-few ass’ (sg.). The kenning is unusual in substituting an exotic reference to an ass as base-word, instead of the much more common ‘horse’ (cf. Meissner 208). The noun asni ‘ass’ occurs only in one other place in skaldic poetry, in GunnLeif Merl I 87/2. Olsen (1933a) (see Introduction) has argued that the poet’s use of asni here alludes, in combination with messa ‘mass, divine service’ in st. 11/7 and pálmr ‘palm-tree’ in st. 15/10, to Christ’s entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, claiming that the battle mentioned in st. 11/5-7 took place on a Sunday. Such a concatenation of supposed allusions, in the absence of any internal textual support, is very dubious. On the sea-giant Ægir as a personification of the ocean, see Note to st. 2/9.

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