Rv Lv 6II
Judith Jesch (ed.) 2009, ‘Rǫgnvaldr jarl Kali Kolsson, Lausavísur 6’ 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. 581-2.
Aldr ‘always’
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aldr (noun m.; °aldrs, dat. aldri; aldrar): life, age
[1] Aldr: so R702ˣ, Aldri Flat
feldu ‘wrapped themselves’
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3. fella (verb): fell, kill
frán ‘of snake’
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1. fránn (noun m.): snake(?) < fránstallr (noun m.)
[2] frán‑: so R702ˣ, fram Flat
kennings
fránstalls;‘of snake-support; ’
= GOLD
snake-support; → GOLD
notes
[2] fránstalls ‘of snake-support [GOLD]’: Previous eds have found the interpretation of this difficult. Orkn 1887 emends the reading of R702ˣ to fránstall, but does not explain the word. Skj B (followed in Orkn 1913-16) emends to faldstall ‘support of the headdress’ i.e. ‘head’ and construes konur feldu faldstall... ‘women wrapped their heads...’ which fits the context, but the echoing of feld- and fald- (with the same semantic range) is neither fortunate nor supported by the mss. Along the same lines, Kock (NN §2062) also considers the simpler emendation to framstall which he imagines could mean ‘forehead’, before rejecting it for an interpretation which keeps fránstalls. He suggests that it refers to a lysande (fornämt) säte ‘shining (distinguished) seat’ and that fránstalls konur are analogous to hásætismenn ‘people who sit in the high seat’, but this sits ill with the connotations of the first element, which is often associated with the shining skin of snakes (LP: fránn, adj.). ÍF 34 (followed by Bibire 1988) keeps the reading of Flat and adopts Sveinbjörn Egilsson’s interpretation (LP 1860: framstall) of it as pars rei anterior ‘the front part of something’ and therefore pars potior et dignior, making the women matronæ honoratiores ‘high-ranking’ (as translated by Bibire). The most likely explanation is that fránstall is a gold-kenning (for fránn as a snake-heiti see SnE 1848-87, II, 458) and that Rǫgnvaldr is contrasting the more usual headgear of fine ladies with the mare’s tail worn by Ragna.
stalls ‘support’
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stallr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): seat, stall, support < fránstallr (noun m.)
kennings
fránstalls;‘of snake-support; ’
= GOLD
snake-support; → GOLD
notes
[2] fránstalls ‘of snake-support [GOLD]’: Previous eds have found the interpretation of this difficult. Orkn 1887 emends the reading of R702ˣ to fránstall, but does not explain the word. Skj B (followed in Orkn 1913-16) emends to faldstall ‘support of the headdress’ i.e. ‘head’ and construes konur feldu faldstall... ‘women wrapped their heads...’ which fits the context, but the echoing of feld- and fald- (with the same semantic range) is neither fortunate nor supported by the mss. Along the same lines, Kock (NN §2062) also considers the simpler emendation to framstall which he imagines could mean ‘forehead’, before rejecting it for an interpretation which keeps fránstalls. He suggests that it refers to a lysande (fornämt) säte ‘shining (distinguished) seat’ and that fránstalls konur are analogous to hásætismenn ‘people who sit in the high seat’, but this sits ill with the connotations of the first element, which is often associated with the shining skin of snakes (LP: fránn, adj.). ÍF 34 (followed by Bibire 1988) keeps the reading of Flat and adopts Sveinbjörn Egilsson’s interpretation (LP 1860: framstall) of it as pars rei anterior ‘the front part of something’ and therefore pars potior et dignior, making the women matronæ honoratiores ‘high-ranking’ (as translated by Bibire). The most likely explanation is that fránstall is a gold-kenning (for fránn as a snake-heiti see SnE 1848-87, II, 458) and that Rǫgnvaldr is contrasting the more usual headgear of fine ladies with the mare’s tail worn by Ragna.
konur ‘women’
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kona (noun f.; °-u; -ur/-r(KlmA1980 116¹¹), gen. pl. kvenna/kvinna): woman
menja ‘of neck-ornaments’
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2. men (noun n.; °; dat. menjum): neck-ring
kennings
myrðir menja‘the murderer of neck-ornaments ’
= GENEROUS MAN = Rǫgnvaldr
the murderer of neck-ornaments → GENEROUS MAN = Rǫgnvaldr
myrðir ‘the murderer’
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myrðir (noun m.): killer
kennings
myrðir menja‘the murderer of neck-ornaments ’
= GENEROUS MAN = Rǫgnvaldr
the murderer of neck-ornaments → GENEROUS MAN = Rǫgnvaldr
mjúkorðr ‘gentle in his speech’
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mjúkorðr (adj.): gentle in speech
[4] mjúkorðr: ‘mik‑o᷎rdz’ R702ˣ
hǫfuð ‘in head’
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hǫfuð (noun n.; °-s; -): head < hǫfuðdúkr (noun m.)
dúkum ‘dresses’
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dúkr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i/-; -ar/-ir(DN IV (1348) 263²⁹)): dress, cloth < hǫfuðdúkr (noun m.)
Nú ‘Now’
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nú (adv.): now
tér ‘’
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tjá (verb): to put in order, prepare
Hlǫkk ‘the Hlǫkk’
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2. Hlǫkk (noun f.): Hlǫkk
kennings
Hlǫkk haukstrindar‘the Hlǫkk of the hawk-land ’
= WOMAN = Ragna
the hawk-land → ARM
the Hlǫkk of the ARM → WOMAN = Ragna
of ‘around’
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3. of (prep.): around, from; too
hnakka ‘neck’
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hnakki (noun m.; °-a): neck
hauk ‘of the hawk’
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1. haukr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i/-; -ar): hawk < haukstrind (noun f.)
[6] hauk‑: so R702ˣ, hodd‑ Flat
kennings
Hlǫkk haukstrindar‘the Hlǫkk of the hawk-land ’
= WOMAN = Ragna
the hawk-land → ARM
the Hlǫkk of the ARM → WOMAN = Ragna
notes
[6] haukstrindar ‘of the hawk-land’: While hoddstrind is a possible woman-kenning, meaning ‘treasure-ground’, Flat’s gen. sg. form hoddstrindar cannot be construed with Hlǫkk as required by the sense of the st.
hauk ‘of the hawk’
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1. haukr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i/-; -ar): hawk < haukstrind (noun f.)
[6] hauk‑: so R702ˣ, hodd‑ Flat
kennings
Hlǫkk haukstrindar‘the Hlǫkk of the hawk-land ’
= WOMAN = Ragna
the hawk-land → ARM
the Hlǫkk of the ARM → WOMAN = Ragna
notes
[6] haukstrindar ‘of the hawk-land’: While hoddstrind is a possible woman-kenning, meaning ‘treasure-ground’, Flat’s gen. sg. form hoddstrindar cannot be construed with Hlǫkk as required by the sense of the st.
strindar ‘land’
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strind (noun f.): land < haukstrind (noun f.)
kennings
Hlǫkk haukstrindar‘the Hlǫkk of the hawk-land ’
= WOMAN = Ragna
the hawk-land → ARM
the Hlǫkk of the ARM → WOMAN = Ragna
notes
[6] haukstrindar ‘of the hawk-land’: While hoddstrind is a possible woman-kenning, meaning ‘treasure-ground’, Flat’s gen. sg. form hoddstrindar cannot be construed with Hlǫkk as required by the sense of the st.
strindar ‘land’
(not checked:)
strind (noun f.): land < haukstrind (noun f.)
kennings
Hlǫkk haukstrindar‘the Hlǫkk of the hawk-land ’
= WOMAN = Ragna
the hawk-land → ARM
the Hlǫkk of the ARM → WOMAN = Ragna
notes
[6] haukstrindar ‘of the hawk-land’: While hoddstrind is a possible woman-kenning, meaning ‘treasure-ground’, Flat’s gen. sg. form hoddstrindar cannot be construed with Hlǫkk as required by the sense of the st.
binda ‘ties’
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binda (verb; °bindr; batt/bant(cf. [$332$]), bundu; bundinn): bind, tie
skrýðisk ‘got dressed up’
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2. skrýða (verb): adorn, clothe
brúðr ‘the lady’
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brúðr (noun f.; °brúðar, dat. & acc. brúði; brúðir): woman, bride
við ‘for’
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2. við (prep.): with, against
bræði ‘the feeder’
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bræðir (noun m.): feeder
kennings
bræði bengagls.‘the feeder of the wound-gosling.’
= WARRIOR = Rǫgnvaldr
the wound-gosling. → RAVEN/EAGLE
the feeder of the RAVEN/EAGLE → WARRIOR = Rǫgnvaldr
ben ‘of the wound’
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1. ben (noun f.; °-jar, dat. -; -jar , gen. -a(var. EiðKrC 402¹³: AM 77 4° D)): wound < bengagl (noun n.)
kennings
bræði bengagls.‘the feeder of the wound-gosling.’
= WARRIOR = Rǫgnvaldr
the wound-gosling. → RAVEN/EAGLE
the feeder of the RAVEN/EAGLE → WARRIOR = Rǫgnvaldr
ben ‘of the wound’
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1. ben (noun f.; °-jar, dat. -; -jar , gen. -a(var. EiðKrC 402¹³: AM 77 4° D)): wound < bengagl (noun n.)
kennings
bræði bengagls.‘the feeder of the wound-gosling.’
= WARRIOR = Rǫgnvaldr
the wound-gosling. → RAVEN/EAGLE
the feeder of the RAVEN/EAGLE → WARRIOR = Rǫgnvaldr
gagls ‘gosling’
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gagl (noun n.): gosling < bengagl (noun n.)
kennings
bræði bengagls.‘the feeder of the wound-gosling.’
= WARRIOR = Rǫgnvaldr
the wound-gosling. → RAVEN/EAGLE
the feeder of the RAVEN/EAGLE → WARRIOR = Rǫgnvaldr
gagls ‘gosling’
(not checked:)
gagl (noun n.): gosling < bengagl (noun n.)
kennings
bræði bengagls.‘the feeder of the wound-gosling.’
= WARRIOR = Rǫgnvaldr
the wound-gosling. → RAVEN/EAGLE
the feeder of the RAVEN/EAGLE → WARRIOR = Rǫgnvaldr
merar ‘a mare’s’
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merr (noun f.; °merar/marar(DN I (1356) 276¹); merar/marar(Gulᴵ 75²⁰)): mare
notes
[8] tagli merar ‘a mare’s tail’: It is not clear who is insulting whom here. Rǫgnvaldr accuses Ragna of wearing a mare’s tail around her neck and the association of women and mares (particularly their hindquarters) implies a strong sexuality (cf. ÍF 28, 155 and ÍF 29, 269). At the same time, it is conceivable that Rǫgnvaldr thinks Ragna is impugning his masculinity by presenting him with a token from a female animal. The saga-author may have seen it this way, as Ragna goes on to claim that the horsehair is in fact from a stallion, as if she were asserting her own ability to behave like a man. And indeed she gets what she wants, though only after she has covered herself in a more conventional silk headdress. See also Clunies Ross 1992a.
tagli ‘tail’
(not checked:)
tagl (noun n.; °; *-): [tail]
notes
[8] tagli merar ‘a mare’s tail’: It is not clear who is insulting whom here. Rǫgnvaldr accuses Ragna of wearing a mare’s tail around her neck and the association of women and mares (particularly their hindquarters) implies a strong sexuality (cf. ÍF 28, 155 and ÍF 29, 269). At the same time, it is conceivable that Rǫgnvaldr thinks Ragna is impugning his masculinity by presenting him with a token from a female animal. The saga-author may have seen it this way, as Ragna goes on to claim that the horsehair is in fact from a stallion, as if she were asserting her own ability to behave like a man. And indeed she gets what she wants, though only after she has covered herself in a more conventional silk headdress. See also Clunies Ross 1992a.
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
|
Aldr hefk frétt, þats feldu |
I have always understood that all women wrapped themselves in headdresses of snake-support [GOLD]; the murderer of neck-ornaments [GENEROUS MAN = Rǫgnvaldr] will not be gentle in his speech. Now the Hlǫkk <valkyrie> of the hawk-land [ARM > WOMAN = Ragna] ties a mare’s tail around her neck; the lady got dressed up for the feeder of the wound-gosling [RAVEN/EAGLE > WARRIOR = Rǫgnvaldr].
After Hallr Þórarinsson’s unsuccessful attempt to join Rǫgnvaldr’s court (cf. Hbreiðm Lv), his hostess Ragna goes to see the jarl, wearing some kind of headdress made of red horsehair; the st. is Rǫgnvaldr’s response to her appearance.
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