Anon Krm 29VIII
Rory McTurk (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Poems, Krákumál 29’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 775.
Fýsumz ‘I wish’
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fýsa (verb): desire, encourage
[1] Fýsumz hins at hætta: ‘(f(y)sum[…] (h)ins at h[…]tta)’(?) 147
notes
[1] fýsumz ‘I wish’: This 1st pers. pres. tense form of fýsaz ‘wish, be inclined’ could formally be either sg. or pl. (see ANG §§543, 544: cf. Stefán Karlsson 2004, 30-1), but is surely to be understood as sg. in this instance. — [1] fýsumz hins at hætta ‘I wish to make an end’: Lit. ‘I wish for this, [namely] to make an end’. The demonstrative pron. hins ‘this’, here in the n. gen. sg., is the object of fýsumz ‘I wish’, which here takes the gen. (see LP: fýsa); and hætta ‘cease (doing), leave off’, which would normally be expected to take a dat. object, is here used absolutely (see LP: 1. hætta).
Fýsumz ‘I wish’
(not checked:)
fýsa (verb): desire, encourage
[1] Fýsumz hins at hætta: ‘(f(y)sum[…] (h)ins at h[…]tta)’(?) 147
notes
[1] fýsumz ‘I wish’: This 1st pers. pres. tense form of fýsaz ‘wish, be inclined’ could formally be either sg. or pl. (see ANG §§543, 544: cf. Stefán Karlsson 2004, 30-1), but is surely to be understood as sg. in this instance. — [1] fýsumz hins at hætta ‘I wish to make an end’: Lit. ‘I wish for this, [namely] to make an end’. The demonstrative pron. hins ‘this’, here in the n. gen. sg., is the object of fýsumz ‘I wish’, which here takes the gen. (see LP: fýsa); and hætta ‘cease (doing), leave off’, which would normally be expected to take a dat. object, is here used absolutely (see LP: 1. hætta).
hins ‘an end’
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2. inn (art.): the
[1] Fýsumz hins at hætta: ‘(f(y)sum[…] (h)ins at h[…]tta)’(?) 147
notes
[1] fýsumz hins at hætta ‘I wish to make an end’: Lit. ‘I wish for this, [namely] to make an end’. The demonstrative pron. hins ‘this’, here in the n. gen. sg., is the object of fýsumz ‘I wish’, which here takes the gen. (see LP: fýsa); and hætta ‘cease (doing), leave off’, which would normally be expected to take a dat. object, is here used absolutely (see LP: 1. hætta).
at ‘to’
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5. at (nota): to (with infinitive)
[1] Fýsumz hins at hætta: ‘(f(y)sum[…] (h)ins at h[…]tta)’(?) 147
notes
[1] fýsumz hins at hætta ‘I wish to make an end’: Lit. ‘I wish for this, [namely] to make an end’. The demonstrative pron. hins ‘this’, here in the n. gen. sg., is the object of fýsumz ‘I wish’, which here takes the gen. (see LP: fýsa); and hætta ‘cease (doing), leave off’, which would normally be expected to take a dat. object, is here used absolutely (see LP: 1. hætta).
hætta ‘make’
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3. hætta (verb): desist
[1] Fýsumz hins at hætta: ‘(f(y)sum[…] (h)ins at h[…]tta)’(?) 147
notes
[1] fýsumz hins at hætta ‘I wish to make an end’: Lit. ‘I wish for this, [namely] to make an end’. The demonstrative pron. hins ‘this’, here in the n. gen. sg., is the object of fýsumz ‘I wish’, which here takes the gen. (see LP: fýsa); and hætta ‘cease (doing), leave off’, which would normally be expected to take a dat. object, is here used absolutely (see LP: 1. hætta).
Heim ‘home’
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heim (adv.): home, back
[2] Heim bjóða: ‘(heim (bi)oda)’(?) 147, ‘heimbiode’ LR
bjóða ‘are welcoming’
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bjóða (verb; °býðr; bauð, buðu; boðinn (buð- Thom¹ 5²n.)): offer, order, invite
[2] Heim bjóða: ‘(heim (bi)oda)’(?) 147, ‘heimbiode’ LR
mér ‘me’
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
[2] mér dísir: ‘(mier disir)’(?) 147
notes
[2]: Although the dísir are represented in Old Icelandic prose texts and some poetry (cf. Egill Lv 4V (Eg 8)) as recipients of periodic sacrifices (dísablót) on the part of households of the pre-Christian period, little concrete information about them is forthcoming from poetic sources. The pl. noun dísir (sg. dís ‘woman, lady’) occurs in poetry often in the sense ‘supernatural female beings, goddesses’ (cf. LT: dís 2), and sometimes almost synonymously with valkyrjur ‘valkyries’, which seems to be the case here. Valkyrjur ‘valkyries’, whose name means ‘choosers of the slain’, were Óðinn’s handmaids whose function was to choose warriors slain in battle for admission to Valhǫll (see further SnE 2005, 30; Eyv Hák 1I and Note there).
þær ‘the ones’
[3] þær er: ‘(þ[…]r er)’(?) 147, sem 6ˣ, LR, R693ˣ
er ‘’
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2. er (conj.): who, which, when
[3] þær er: ‘(þ[…]r er)’(?) 147, sem 6ˣ, LR, R693ˣ
notes
[3] frá höllu Herjans ‘from the hall of Herjan <= Óðinn> [= Valhǫll]’: Herjan(n) is listed as one of the names of Óðinn in Þul Óðins 2/5III (see Note to that line), and (by Óðinn himself) in Grí 46/3. Valkyries are referred to as nǫnnur Herjans ‘ladies of Herjan’ in Vsp 30/12 (NK 7). In Guðr I 19/4 (NK 205) the term dís Herjans occurs in the meaning ‘valkyrie’ (see the previous Note), while in Anon (TGT) 12/5III and in HaukrV Ísldr 11/5IV the name occurs in the gen. as the determinant in a helmet-kenning and shield-kenning respectively. The origin of the name is disputed (see Lorenz 1984, 91), but a relationship of some kind with herr ‘host, army’ seems clear, and it is likely that its meaning is ‘leader of a host’. If so, it is an eminently suitable name for Óðinn, given his capacities as god of war and father of gods and men (cf. Turville-Petre 1964, 50-6), and the name Herjafǫðr ‘father of armies’ applied to him in Grí 19/1 (NK 61). AEW, ÍO: Herjann both relate the name to the tradition of Óðinn’s (or Wodan’s) leadership of the Wild Hunt, on which see Simek (1993, 372-3) and Orchard (1997, 182-3) with references.
Herjans ‘of Herjan <= Óðinn’
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2. Herjann (noun m.): Herjann
[3] frá Herjans höllu: ‘(fra herians) ha[…]lu .’(?) 147
kennings
höllu Herjans.‘the hall of Herjan <= Óðinn. ’
= Valhǫll
the hall of Herjan <= Óðinn. → Valhǫll
notes
[3] frá höllu Herjans ‘from the hall of Herjan <= Óðinn> [= Valhǫll]’: Herjan(n) is listed as one of the names of Óðinn in Þul Óðins 2/5III (see Note to that line), and (by Óðinn himself) in Grí 46/3. Valkyries are referred to as nǫnnur Herjans ‘ladies of Herjan’ in Vsp 30/12 (NK 7). In Guðr I 19/4 (NK 205) the term dís Herjans occurs in the meaning ‘valkyrie’ (see the previous Note), while in Anon (TGT) 12/5III and in HaukrV Ísldr 11/5IV the name occurs in the gen. as the determinant in a helmet-kenning and shield-kenning respectively. The origin of the name is disputed (see Lorenz 1984, 91), but a relationship of some kind with herr ‘host, army’ seems clear, and it is likely that its meaning is ‘leader of a host’. If so, it is an eminently suitable name for Óðinn, given his capacities as god of war and father of gods and men (cf. Turville-Petre 1964, 50-6), and the name Herjafǫðr ‘father of armies’ applied to him in Grí 19/1 (NK 61). AEW, ÍO: Herjann both relate the name to the tradition of Óðinn’s (or Wodan’s) leadership of the Wild Hunt, on which see Simek (1993, 372-3) and Orchard (1997, 182-3) with references.
höllu ‘the hall’
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1. hǫll (noun f.; °hallar, dat. -u/-; hallir): hall
[3] frá Herjans höllu: ‘(fra herians) ha[…]lu .’(?) 147
kennings
höllu Herjans.‘the hall of Herjan <= Óðinn. ’
= Valhǫll
the hall of Herjan <= Óðinn. → Valhǫll
notes
[3] frá höllu Herjans ‘from the hall of Herjan <= Óðinn> [= Valhǫll]’: Herjan(n) is listed as one of the names of Óðinn in Þul Óðins 2/5III (see Note to that line), and (by Óðinn himself) in Grí 46/3. Valkyries are referred to as nǫnnur Herjans ‘ladies of Herjan’ in Vsp 30/12 (NK 7). In Guðr I 19/4 (NK 205) the term dís Herjans occurs in the meaning ‘valkyrie’ (see the previous Note), while in Anon (TGT) 12/5III and in HaukrV Ísldr 11/5IV the name occurs in the gen. as the determinant in a helmet-kenning and shield-kenning respectively. The origin of the name is disputed (see Lorenz 1984, 91), but a relationship of some kind with herr ‘host, army’ seems clear, and it is likely that its meaning is ‘leader of a host’. If so, it is an eminently suitable name for Óðinn, given his capacities as god of war and father of gods and men (cf. Turville-Petre 1964, 50-6), and the name Herjafǫðr ‘father of armies’ applied to him in Grí 19/1 (NK 61). AEW, ÍO: Herjann both relate the name to the tradition of Óðinn’s (or Wodan’s) leadership of the Wild Hunt, on which see Simek (1993, 372-3) and Orchard (1997, 182-3) with references.
hefr ‘has’
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hafa (verb): have
Óðinn ‘Óðinn’
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Óðinn (noun m.): Óðinn
mér ‘me’
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
Glaðr ‘gladly’
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2. glaðr (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): cheerful, glad
[5] Glaðr skal ek öl með ásum: ‘[…]’ 147
skal ‘shall’
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skulu (verb): shall, should, must
[5] Glaðr skal ek öl með ásum: ‘[…]’ 147
ek ‘I’
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
[5] Glaðr skal ek öl með ásum: ‘[…]’ 147
ásum ‘the gods’
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2. Áss (noun m.; °áss, dat. ási/ás; ásar): god
[5] Glaðr skal ek öl með ásum: ‘[…]’ 147
notes
[6] í öndvegi ‘in the high seat’: As noted by Heggstad et al. 2008: ǫndvegi, there were two ǫndvegi in the hall of a Norse king or chieftain: an upper one (ǫndvegi hit œðra), in which the host sat, and facing it across the table a lower one (ǫndvegi hit úœðra), which was occupied by the most distinguished of the guests. It is presumably to the latter seat that the speaker is here referring, since the former one would surely be reserved for Óðinn; cf. Note to Ragn 32/6.
öndvegi ‘the high seat’
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ǫndvegi (noun n.)
notes
[6] í öndvegi ‘in the high seat’: As noted by Heggstad et al. 2008: ǫndvegi, there were two ǫndvegi in the hall of a Norse king or chieftain: an upper one (ǫndvegi hit œðra), in which the host sat, and facing it across the table a lower one (ǫndvegi hit úœðra), which was occupied by the most distinguished of the guests. It is presumably to the latter seat that the speaker is here referring, since the former one would surely be reserved for Óðinn; cf. Note to Ragn 32/6.
drekka ‘drink’
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2. drekka (verb; °drekkr; drakk, drukku; drukkinn/drykkinn): drink
lífs ‘of life’
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líf (noun n.; °-s; -): life
[7] lífs eru liðnar: ‘(lifs eru) lidnar’(?) 147
eru ‘are’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
[7] lífs eru liðnar: ‘(lifs eru) lidnar’(?) 147
liðnar ‘past’
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1. líða (verb): move, glide
[7] lífs eru liðnar: ‘(lifs eru) lidnar’(?) 147
vánir ‘hopes’
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ván (noun f.; °-ar, dat. -/-u; -ir): hope, expectation
[7] vánir: ‘(stundir)’(?) 147, stundir 6ˣ, LR, R693ˣ
notes
[7] vánir ‘hopes’: The present ed. follows Finnur Jónsson (1905; Skj B) and Kock (Skald) in preferring this to the reading stundir ‘hours’, adopted by all earlier eds (including Finnur Jónsson 1893b). For vánir lífs ‘hopes of life’, see also GSúrs Lv 33/8V (Gísl 36).
læjandi ‘laughing’
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hlæja (verb): laugh
notes
[8] læjandi ‘laughing’: While the ms. Readings vary between the spellings hlæjandi and læjandi here (cf. the first Note to st. 2/10 above), the rules of alliteration plainly require the latter reading.
skal ‘’ll’
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skulu (verb): shall, should, must
ek ‘I’
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
deyja ‘die’
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1. deyja (verb; °deyr; dó, dó(u); dá(i)nn): die
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
This stanza resembles st. 23 in consisting of only eight lines, but differs from it, as well as from all other stanzas in Krm, in not beginning with a refrain in the first line. While in the case of st. 23 it is conceivable that two lines were lost in the course of the poem’s transmission, this is less likely to be the case here. There is a certain dramatic appropriateness in the absence of the refrain from this, the final stanza of the poem. Up to this point the speaker has been mainly concerned with events of the past, something reinforced by the pret. tense of the refrain Hjuggu vér með hjörvi ‘We hewed with the sword’, and also by the fact that in the penultimate stanza, st. 28, he looks back for the last time on his career in claiming to have taken part in fifty-one battles. Now, however, in the final stanza, his mind is on the future: on the drinking of ale after death in Valhǫll, to which the dísir are inviting him. — [5-6]: The speaker is here anticipating drinking ale (ǫl) with the gods (æsir) in Valhǫll, cf. first Note to st. 25/5 above. As mentioned there, Grí 36, quoted in Gylf (SnE 2005, 30), gives the information that valkyries bring ale (ǫl) to the einherjar in Valhǫll. — [8]: This line shows consonantless skothending, with each of the participating diphthongs <æ> and <ey> being followed by the glide <j> rather than by a consonant (cf. Kahle 1892, 23; Kuhn 1983, 77-8, and cf. the first Note to st. 2/10, above). — [8]: Other examples in Scandinavian tradition of heroes dying laughing are Saxo 2015, I, ii. 7. 19, pp. 134-7 and the Icelandic Bjarkarímur (Finnur Jónsson 1904b, 161), where the death of one Agnerus/Agnarr is described, as discussed in the Introduction, and, most famously, Akv 24 and Am 65, where Hǫgni Gjúkason laughs as he dies at the hands of King Atli. Mention may also be made of the manner of Hálfr Hjǫrleifsson’s death as envisaged in Innsteinn Innkv 17/5-8 (Hálf 37), and of the case in Arngrímur Jónsson’s Rerum Danicarum fragmenta ‘Fragments of Danish history’ (1596) (Jakob Benediktsson 1950-7, I, 341, cf. IV, 233), of Áli inn frœkni ‘the Bold’ who ‘breathed his last while laughing’ (ridens animam efflavit). While the laughter is unmistakably heroic in all these cases, in Akv (though not in Am) it is no doubt also motivated by Hǫgni’s knowledge that after his death and that of his brother Gunnarr the secret of the Niflung hoard’s whereabouts will never be told.
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