Matthew Townend (ed.) 2012, ‘Óttarr svarti, Hǫfuðlausn 18’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 763.
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1. braut (noun f.; °dat. -/-u; -ir): path, way; away
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þreytir (noun m.): destroyer, wager, tester
[1] þreytir: ‘þręter’ Bb, þrautir 68, ‘þreytenn’ Holm4
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brandr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): sword, prow; fire
[2] branda: ‘bran’ 75a
[2] branda ‘of swords’: Brandr means ‘sword’ here but ‘flame’ in st. 17/2. — [2] rjóðr branda ‘reddener of swords [WARRIOR]’: This and þreytir bǫðvar ‘wager of battle’ or ‘contender in battle’ are taken here as parallel apostrophes within the main clause, as also by Kock (NN §§731, 1417D, 1853A; Skald) and ÍF 27. Skj B takes rjóðr branda as part of the intercalary clause.
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brandr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): sword, prow; fire
[2] branda: ‘bran’ 75a
[2] branda ‘of swords’: Brandr means ‘sword’ here but ‘flame’ in st. 17/2. — [2] rjóðr branda ‘reddener of swords [WARRIOR]’: This and þreytir bǫðvar ‘wager of battle’ or ‘contender in battle’ are taken here as parallel apostrophes within the main clause, as also by Kock (NN §§731, 1417D, 1853A; Skald) and ÍF 27. Skj B takes rjóðr branda as part of the intercalary clause.
[2] rjóðr branda ‘reddener of swords [WARRIOR]’: This and þreytir bǫðvar ‘wager of battle’ or ‘contender in battle’ are taken here as parallel apostrophes within the main clause, as also by Kock (NN §§731, 1417D, 1853A; Skald) and ÍF 27. Skj B takes rjóðr branda as part of the intercalary clause.
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meiri (adj. comp.; °meiran; superl. mestr): more, most
[3] meir: om. 75a
[3] meir ‘more’: This appears to be the comp. of adv. mjǫk ‘much, greatly’, qualifying fannsk ‘was in evidence’, rather than of adj. mikill ‘large, great’ qualifying þrekr þinn ‘your courage’, since the adj. would be in the weak form meiri ‘greater’.
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2. finna (verb): find, meet
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2. an (conj.): than
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hann (pron.; °gen. hans, dat. honum; f. hon, gen. hennar, acc. hana): he, she, it, they, them...
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dǫglingr (noun m.; °; -ar): king, ruler
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2. reka (verb): drive, force
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1. støkkva (verb): (str.) leap, spring; scatter
[5] Stǫkk: stóð 68, ‘stæykk’ 325VII
[5, 6] stǫkk ferri þér ‘fled far from you’: The sense of this helmingr is not wholly clear. If each king fled, does this mean that Óláfr subsequently captured the northernmost king and cut out his tongue (ll. 7-8)? In Snorri’s prose, the kings are surrounded and cannot flee; one is subsequently blinded, one has his tongue cut out, and three are sent into exile. Ferri, a variant on fjarri, is indicated here by the aðalhending with hverr.
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sem (conj.): as, which
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4. of (particle): (before verb)
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þú (pron.; °gen. þín, dat. þér, acc. þik): you
[6] þér: þér er J2ˣ, Holm2, 325V, 75a, 73aˣ
[5, 6] stǫkk ferri þér ‘fled far from you’: The sense of this helmingr is not wholly clear. If each king fled, does this mean that Óláfr subsequently captured the northernmost king and cut out his tongue (ll. 7-8)? In Snorri’s prose, the kings are surrounded and cannot flee; one is subsequently blinded, one has his tongue cut out, and three are sent into exile. Ferri, a variant on fjarri, is indicated here by the aðalhending with hverr.
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2. hverr (pron.): who, whom, each, every
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ferri (adv.): far, further
[6] ferri: verri 75a, 73aˣ, fyrri 325VII, firra Tóm
[5, 6] stǫkk ferri þér ‘fled far from you’: The sense of this helmingr is not wholly clear. If each king fled, does this mean that Óláfr subsequently captured the northernmost king and cut out his tongue (ll. 7-8)? In Snorri’s prose, the kings are surrounded and cannot flee; one is subsequently blinded, one has his tongue cut out, and three are sent into exile. Ferri, a variant on fjarri, is indicated here by the aðalhending with hverr.
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hefta (verb): restrain, end
[7] heptuð: heptu J2ˣ, 75a, 325VII, hǫfðut 68
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ér (pron.; °gen. yðvar/yðar, dat./acc. yðr): you
[7] en eptir ‘afterwards’: Skj B takes en as the conj. ‘but, and’, and eptir as the adv. ‘after(wards)’ qualifying sat ‘dwelt’, but this entails the difficulty that the finite verb heptuð ‘you restrain’ precedes the conj. The interpretation here therefore follows Kock (NN §620) in taking eptir as modifying heptuð ‘restrained’ rather than sat, and in taking en(n) eptir as an adverbial phrase ‘still later, afterwards’ (NN §732; Skald). Kock emends en to the adv. enn ‘still, yet’, but en can equally be taken as an unstressed variant of enn (so ÍF 27 and this edn).
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eptir (prep.): after, behind
[7] en eptir ‘afterwards’: Skj B takes en as the conj. ‘but, and’, and eptir as the adv. ‘after(wards)’ qualifying sat ‘dwelt’, but this entails the difficulty that the finite verb heptuð ‘you restrain’ precedes the conj. The interpretation here therefore follows Kock (NN §620) in taking eptir as modifying heptuð ‘restrained’ rather than sat, and in taking en(n) eptir as an adverbial phrase ‘still later, afterwards’ (NN §732; Skald). Kock emends en to the adv. enn ‘still, yet’, but en can equally be taken as an unstressed variant of enn (so ÍF 27 and this edn).
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orð (noun n.; °-s; -): word < 2. orðreyr (noun n.): word-reed
[8] orðreyr: orðsreyr Bb, om. J, orðreyrs 75a
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2. reyr (noun n.): reed < 2. orðreyr (noun n.): word-reed
[8] orðreyr: orðsreyr Bb, om. J, orðreyrs 75a
[8] þess: om. 73aˣ
[8] þess’s sat norðast ‘of the one who dwelt furthest north’: Snorri (ÍF 27, 105) records that Óláfr cut out the tongue of Guðrøðr, king of Guðbrandsdalar (Gudbrandsdalen, Oppland).
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2. er (conj.): who, which, when
[8] þess’s sat norðast ‘of the one who dwelt furthest north’: Snorri (ÍF 27, 105) records that Óláfr cut out the tongue of Guðrøðr, king of Guðbrandsdalar (Gudbrandsdalen, Oppland).
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sitja (verb): sit
[8] þess’s sat norðast ‘of the one who dwelt furthest north’: Snorri (ÍF 27, 105) records that Óláfr cut out the tongue of Guðrøðr, king of Guðbrandsdalar (Gudbrandsdalen, Oppland).
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2. norðr (adv.): north
[8] þess’s sat norðast ‘of the one who dwelt furthest north’: Snorri (ÍF 27, 105) records that Óláfr cut out the tongue of Guðrøðr, king of Guðbrandsdalar (Gudbrandsdalen, Oppland).
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