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skaldic

Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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SnH Lv 9II

Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Sneglu-Halli, Lausavísur 9’ 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, p. 330.

Sneglu-HalliLausavísur
8910

Þjón ‘slave’

(not checked:)
þjónn (noun m.; °þjóns, dat. þjón/þjóni; þjónar): servant

notes

[1] gerik þann þjón at sveini ‘I make that slave [my] boy’: The most common meaning of sveinn is ‘boy’ or ‘young male person’ (see Fritzner: sveinn 1-2), and þjónn and sveinn could mean both ‘slave’ and ‘servant’ (see Fritzner sveinn 4-5; þjónn). Skj B translates this sentence loosely as Ham gör jeg til tjæner ‘I make him a servant’, whereas Kock (NN §§2526, 3396R) suggests that sveinn here stands for matsveinn ‘cook’ (‘this servant I make a cook’). See also Gulaþingslǫg §300 (NGL I, 98) and NGL V: matgerðarmaðr; matsveinn; sveinn; þjónn. Neither interpretation captures the full derogatory force of Halli’s couplet.

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gerik ‘I make’

(not checked:)
1. gera (verb): do, make

notes

[1] gerik þann þjón at sveini ‘I make that slave [my] boy’: The most common meaning of sveinn is ‘boy’ or ‘young male person’ (see Fritzner: sveinn 1-2), and þjónn and sveinn could mean both ‘slave’ and ‘servant’ (see Fritzner sveinn 4-5; þjónn). Skj B translates this sentence loosely as Ham gör jeg til tjæner ‘I make him a servant’, whereas Kock (NN §§2526, 3396R) suggests that sveinn here stands for matsveinn ‘cook’ (‘this servant I make a cook’). See also Gulaþingslǫg §300 (NGL I, 98) and NGL V: matgerðarmaðr; matsveinn; sveinn; þjónn. Neither interpretation captures the full derogatory force of Halli’s couplet.

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þann ‘that’

(not checked:)
1. sá (pron.; °gen. þess, dat. þeim, acc. þann; f. sú, gen. þeirrar, acc. þá; n. þat, dat. því; pl. m. þeir, f. þǽ---): that (one), those

notes

[1] gerik þann þjón at sveini ‘I make that slave [my] boy’: The most common meaning of sveinn is ‘boy’ or ‘young male person’ (see Fritzner: sveinn 1-2), and þjónn and sveinn could mean both ‘slave’ and ‘servant’ (see Fritzner sveinn 4-5; þjónn). Skj B translates this sentence loosely as Ham gör jeg til tjæner ‘I make him a servant’, whereas Kock (NN §§2526, 3396R) suggests that sveinn here stands for matsveinn ‘cook’ (‘this servant I make a cook’). See also Gulaþingslǫg §300 (NGL I, 98) and NGL V: matgerðarmaðr; matsveinn; sveinn; þjónn. Neither interpretation captures the full derogatory force of Halli’s couplet.

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at ‘’

(not checked:)
3. at (prep.): at, to

notes

[1] gerik þann þjón at sveini ‘I make that slave [my] boy’: The most common meaning of sveinn is ‘boy’ or ‘young male person’ (see Fritzner: sveinn 1-2), and þjónn and sveinn could mean both ‘slave’ and ‘servant’ (see Fritzner sveinn 4-5; þjónn). Skj B translates this sentence loosely as Ham gör jeg til tjæner ‘I make him a servant’, whereas Kock (NN §§2526, 3396R) suggests that sveinn here stands for matsveinn ‘cook’ (‘this servant I make a cook’). See also Gulaþingslǫg §300 (NGL I, 98) and NGL V: matgerðarmaðr; matsveinn; sveinn; þjónn. Neither interpretation captures the full derogatory force of Halli’s couplet.

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sveini ‘boy’

(not checked:)
sveinn (noun m.; °sveins; sveinar): boy, servant, attendant

notes

[1] gerik þann þjón at sveini ‘I make that slave [my] boy’: The most common meaning of sveinn is ‘boy’ or ‘young male person’ (see Fritzner: sveinn 1-2), and þjónn and sveinn could mean both ‘slave’ and ‘servant’ (see Fritzner sveinn 4-5; þjónn). Skj B translates this sentence loosely as Ham gör jeg til tjæner ‘I make him a servant’, whereas Kock (NN §§2526, 3396R) suggests that sveinn here stands for matsveinn ‘cook’ (‘this servant I make a cook’). See also Gulaþingslǫg §300 (NGL I, 98) and NGL V: matgerðarmaðr; matsveinn; sveinn; þjónn. Neither interpretation captures the full derogatory force of Halli’s couplet.

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Þjóðolf ‘Þjóðólfr’

(not checked:)
Þjóðolfr (noun m.): [Þjóðólfr]

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lætk ‘I let’

(not checked:)
láta (verb): let, have sth done

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mat ‘food’

(not checked:)
matr (noun m.; °-ar, dat. -i/-; -ir): food

[2] mat: om. 563aˣ

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sjóða ‘cook’

(not checked:)
sjóða (verb): cook

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Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses

On a voyage to Trondheim, Halli becomes seasick and his companion, the poet Þjóðólfr Arnórsson, is left to do the chores. Halli replies with this couplet to a taunting lv. by Þjóðólfr (ÞjóðA Lv 8).

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