Anon Krm 22VIII
Rory McTurk (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Poems, Krákumál 22’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 762.
Hjuggu ‘hewed’
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hǫggva (verb): to strike, put to death, cut, hew
[1] Hjuggu vér með hjörvi: abbrev. as ‘H[…]n. h᷎’ 1824b, (?) abbrev. as ‘H[…] (v’) m(’) h(’)’ 147, Hjuggum vér með hjörvi 6ˣ, LR, R693ˣ, abbrev. as ‘H v m h:’ R702ˣ
vér ‘We’
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vér (pron.; °gen. vár, dat./acc. oss): we, us, our
[1] Hjuggu vér með hjörvi: abbrev. as ‘H[…]n. h᷎’ 1824b, (?) abbrev. as ‘H[…] (v’) m(’) h(’)’ 147, Hjuggum vér með hjörvi 6ˣ, LR, R693ˣ, abbrev. as ‘H v m h:’ R702ˣ
með ‘with’
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með (prep.): with
[1] Hjuggu vér með hjörvi: abbrev. as ‘H[…]n. h᷎’ 1824b, (?) abbrev. as ‘H[…] (v’) m(’) h(’)’ 147, Hjuggum vér með hjörvi 6ˣ, LR, R693ˣ, abbrev. as ‘H v m h:’ R702ˣ
hjörvi ‘the sword’
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hjǫrr (noun m.): sword
[1] Hjuggu vér með hjörvi: abbrev. as ‘H[…]n. h᷎’ 1824b, (?) abbrev. as ‘H[…] (v’) m(’) h(’)’ 147, Hjuggum vér með hjörvi 6ˣ, LR, R693ˣ, abbrev. as ‘H v m h:’ R702ˣ
drengr ‘a fellow’
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drengr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -; -ir, gen. -ja): man, warrior
[2] drengr: so R702ˣ, 6ˣ, LR, R693ˣ, ‘dr[…]ng[…]’ 1824b, ‘dreng’ 147
notes
[2] at feigri ‘any the more likely to die’: On the prep. at used adverbially before a comp. adj. in the sense of ‘any the …, so much the …’, see LP: 1. at D. The adj. feigr ‘fated to die, doomed’ expresses a concept of pre-ordained destiny very common in Germanic heroic poetry.
feigri ‘any the more likely to die’
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feigr (adj.; °compar. -ari/ri): fated to die, fey, dead
[2] feigri: ‘f[...]gri’ 147
notes
[2] at feigri ‘any the more likely to die’: On the prep. at used adverbially before a comp. adj. in the sense of ‘any the …, so much the …’, see LP: 1. at D. The adj. feigr ‘fated to die, doomed’ expresses a concept of pre-ordained destiny very common in Germanic heroic poetry.
at ‘because’
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4. at (conj.): that
hann ‘he’
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hann (pron.; °gen. hans, dat. honum; f. hon, gen. hennar, acc. hana): he, she, it, they, them...
[3] hann: so R702ˣ, 6ˣ, ‘[...]’ 1824b, 147, ‘hun’ LR, ‘han’ R693ˣ
odda ‘of spear-points’
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oddr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): point of weapon
[3] í odda: ‘(j) [...](dda)’(?) 147
kennings
éli odda?‘the shower of spear-points? ’
= BATTLE
the shower of spear-points? → BATTLE
éli ‘the shower’
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él (noun n.; °; dat. -um): storm
[3] éli: so R702ˣ, 6ˣ, LR, R693ˣ, ‘elium’ 1824b, ‘[...]’ 147
kennings
éli odda?‘the shower of spear-points? ’
= BATTLE
the shower of spear-points? → BATTLE
öndurðr ‘in the front line’
[4] öndurðr: so R702ˣ, 6ˣ, LR, R693ˣ, ‘a[...]d[...]dr’ 1824b, ‘[...]’ 147
látinn ‘placed’
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láta (verb): let, have sth done
[4] látinn verði: so R702ˣ, 6ˣ, LR, R693ˣ, ‘[...]erdi’ 1824b, ‘(latinn ver)di’(?) 147
verði ‘is’
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1. verða (verb): become, be
[4] látinn verði: so R702ˣ, 6ˣ, LR, R693ˣ, ‘[...]erdi’ 1824b, ‘(latinn ver)di’(?) 147
Opt ‘often’
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opt (adv.): often
[5] Opt sýtir sá ævi: so all others, ‘vpt [...]t[...]’ 1824b
sýtir ‘regrets’
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sýta (verb): lament
[5] Opt sýtir sá ævi: so all others, ‘vpt [...]t[...]’ 1824b
sá ‘He’
[5] Opt sýtir sá ævi: so all others, ‘vpt [...]t[...]’ 1824b
ævi ‘his life’
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ævi (noun f.; °-/-ar): life
[5] Opt sýtir sá ævi: so all others, ‘vpt [...]t[...]’ 1824b
er ‘who’
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2. er (conj.): who, which, when
aldrigi ‘never’
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aldrigi (adv.): never
nistir ‘feeds’
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3. nista (verb): feed
[6] nistir: ‘nester’ LR, corrected from ‘nester’ R693ˣ
notes
[6, 8] nistir örn ‘feeds the eagle’: This phrasing uses similar vocabulary to ESk Hardr I 1/6II and ESk Geisl 25/6VII, where the warrior-kennings ulfnistandi ‘wolf-feeder’ and nistandi ulfs ‘feeder of the wolf’ occur respectively, cf. de Vries (1964-7, II, 40 n. 68).
ilt ‘a troublesome business’
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illr (adj.): bad, evil, unwell
kveða ‘they say’
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kveða (verb; kveð, kvað, kveðinn): (str.) say, recite, sing
argan ‘a coward’
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2. argr (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): maleficient, wicked, perverted
[7] argan eggja: om. 147
örn ‘the eagle’
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1. ǫrn (noun m.; °arnar, dat. erni; ernir, acc. ǫrnu): eagle
[8] örn: ‘a(u)rn’(?) 147, ‘aurum’ 6ˣ, ‘auru’ LR
notes
[6, 8] nistir örn ‘feeds the eagle’: This phrasing uses similar vocabulary to ESk Hardr I 1/6II and ESk Geisl 25/6VII, where the warrior-kennings ulfnistandi ‘wolf-feeder’ and nistandi ulfs ‘feeder of the wolf’ occur respectively, cf. de Vries (1964-7, II, 40 n. 68). — [8] örn ‘the eagle’: Previous eds prior to Finnur Jónsson (1893b) had adopted the reading ǫrum here, seeing this as the dat. sg. m. of the adj. ǫrr ‘brisk’ and qualifying leiki ‘game’, thus giving the sense ‘to the brisk game of battle’ (see the previous Note), with the dat. presumably implying a sense of motion towards. The present ed. follows Finnur (1893b) and subsequent eds, and Kock (Skald), in adopting here the reading örn acc. ‘the eagle’, taking it as the object of nistir ‘feeds’ in l. 6, with l. 7 taken as an intercalary clause, and seeing the eagle in question as a typical beast of battle.
örn ‘the eagle’
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1. ǫrn (noun m.; °arnar, dat. erni; ernir, acc. ǫrnu): eagle
[8] örn: ‘a(u)rn’(?) 147, ‘aurum’ 6ˣ, ‘auru’ LR
notes
[6, 8] nistir örn ‘feeds the eagle’: This phrasing uses similar vocabulary to ESk Hardr I 1/6II and ESk Geisl 25/6VII, where the warrior-kennings ulfnistandi ‘wolf-feeder’ and nistandi ulfs ‘feeder of the wolf’ occur respectively, cf. de Vries (1964-7, II, 40 n. 68). — [8] örn ‘the eagle’: Previous eds prior to Finnur Jónsson (1893b) had adopted the reading ǫrum here, seeing this as the dat. sg. m. of the adj. ǫrr ‘brisk’ and qualifying leiki ‘game’, thus giving the sense ‘to the brisk game of battle’ (see the previous Note), with the dat. presumably implying a sense of motion towards. The present ed. follows Finnur (1893b) and subsequent eds, and Kock (Skald), in adopting here the reading örn acc. ‘the eagle’, taking it as the object of nistir ‘feeds’ in l. 6, with l. 7 taken as an intercalary clause, and seeing the eagle in question as a typical beast of battle.
at ‘in’
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3. at (prep.): at, to
sverða ‘of swords’
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sverð (noun n.; °-s; -): sword
kennings
leiki sverða,‘the game of swords ’
= BATTLE
the game of swords → BATTLE
leiki ‘the game’
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1. leikr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -/-i; -ar): sport, play
kennings
leiki sverða,‘the game of swords ’
= BATTLE
the game of swords → BATTLE
Hugblauðum ‘of a cowardly man’
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hugblauðr (adj.)
[9] Hugblauðum kemr hvergi: ‘h+’ with ‘hugblaudum kemr huergi’ written at the bottom of the page 147; Hugblauðum: ‘hugblaudum’ with caret between b and a indicating l written above the line R693ˣ
kemr ‘is’
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koma (verb; kem, kom/kvam, kominn): come
[9] Hugblauðum kemr hvergi: ‘h+’ with ‘hugblaudum kemr huergi’ written at the bottom of the page 147
hvergi ‘never’
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1. hvergi (adv.): nowhere
[9] Hugblauðum kemr hvergi: ‘h+’ with ‘hugblaudum kemr huergi’ written at the bottom of the page 147; hvergi: ‘hvorge’ LR, R693ˣ
hjarta ‘The heart’
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hjarta (noun n.; °-; *-u): heart
[10] hjarta: ‘hiar(ta)d’(?) 147, ‘hiarte’ LR
sitt ‘to him’
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3. sinn (pron.; °f. sín, n. sitt): (refl. poss. pron.)
at ‘of’
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4. at (conj.): that
gagni ‘any use’
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1. gagn (noun n.): victory
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
We hewed with the sword. Why should a fellow be any the more likely to die, because he is placed in the front line in the shower of spear-points [BATTLE]? He who never feeds the eagle in the game of swords [BATTLE] often regrets his life; they say it’s a troublesome business egging on a coward. The heart of a cowardly man is never of any use to him.
Ms. 1824b concludes with the first part of l. 5 of st. 22; thereafter R702ˣ is taken as base ms. for this edn. — [2-4]: The sentiment expressed here may at first sight seem at variance with the ready, even cheerful acceptance of death that is so much a characteristic of heroes in the face of death as portrayed in Germanic literature, witness for example st. 29/8 below and the cases of Hǫgni Gjúkason and his brother Gunnarr (the latter another snake-pit victim) in Akv 24-7. The lines may however be read as an ironic exhortation to people of cowardly disposition of the type described in ll. 5-10 of the present stanza, meaning: ‘you are no more likely to die in the front line than in other situations into which the fortunes of war might lead you, so you may as well pluck up your courage and join the fray’. In other words, death is altogether likely in any case, so why not meet that likelihood with courage rather than cowardice? — [3]: The line is unmetrical, with hann being extrametrical, but, if hann were deleted, at is unlikely to be able to carry full stress and there would be three alliterating staves. — [7-8]: Line 7, treated as an intercalary clause by the present ed. and by previous eds from Finnur Jónsson (1893b) onwards (i.e. Finnur Jónsson and Kock), contains an acc. and inf. construction with the subject acc. (qualified by ilt ‘troublesome’) and the inf. vera ‘be’ omitted, meaning literally ‘they declare it (subject acc., omitted) (to be) troublesome (ilt n. acc. sg.) to egg on a coward’. Previous eds, while recognising this construction, had read l. 7 as running on syntactically to l. 8, understanding the two lines to mean: ‘they say it’s a troublesome business egging on a coward to the brisk game of battle’. For the sense ‘brisk’, see Note to l. 8. — [9-10]: The lit. sense of these lines is ‘to a cowardly man his heart is never of any use’.
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