Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Snorri Sturluson, Lausavísur 7’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 374.
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koma (verb; kem, kom/kvam, kominn): come
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1. inn (adv.): in, inside
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þars (conj.): where
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sitja (verb): sit
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svanni (noun m.): lady, woman
[1-2] svanni, vænstr svanna ‘a woman, the most beautiful of women’: For svanni lit. ‘clever, wise’, see AEW: svanni and Note to Þul Kvenna I 1/1. This is a m. noun; hence vænstr m. nom. sg. ‘the most beautiful’. The <v> in vænstr is no longer visible, but it has been supplied by earlier eds.
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svanni (noun m.): lady, woman
[1-2] svanni, vænstr svanna ‘a woman, the most beautiful of women’: For svanni lit. ‘clever, wise’, see AEW: svanni and Note to Þul Kvenna I 1/1. This is a m. noun; hence vænstr m. nom. sg. ‘the most beautiful’. The <v> in vænstr is no longer visible, but it has been supplied by earlier eds.
[1-2] svanni, vænstr svanna ‘a woman, the most beautiful of women’: For svanni lit. ‘clever, wise’, see AEW: svanni and Note to Þul Kvenna I 1/1. This is a m. noun; hence vænstr m. nom. sg. ‘the most beautiful’. The <v> in vænstr is no longer visible, but it has been supplied by earlier eds.
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í (prep.): in, into
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rann (noun n.): house, hall
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Gerðr (noun f.): Gerðr
[3, 4] sú Gerðr garða raðar svarðar ‘that Gerðr <goddess> of the fences of the ridge of the scalp [HEAD > HEADBANDS > WOMAN]’: Emendation is needed, because garði m. dat. sg. ‘fence, enclosure, yard, house’ (so W) cannot be accommodated syntactically in this clause. The present edn follows Skj B, which is least intrusive in terms of emendation. Kock (NN §2193; Skald) further emends svarðakr m. acc. sg. ‘scalp-field’ to svarðakrs gen. sg. and construes sú Gerðr garða svarðar leysti raðar svarðakrs which can be translated as ‘that Gerðr <goddess> of the houses of the scalp [HEADDRESSES > WOMAN] was loosening her rows of the scalp-field [HAIR > LOCKS OF HAIR]’.
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leysa (verb): release, loosen, redeem
[3, 4] sú Gerðr garða raðar svarðar ‘that Gerðr <goddess> of the fences of the ridge of the scalp [HEAD > HEADBANDS > WOMAN]’: Emendation is needed, because garði m. dat. sg. ‘fence, enclosure, yard, house’ (so W) cannot be accommodated syntactically in this clause. The present edn follows Skj B, which is least intrusive in terms of emendation. Kock (NN §2193; Skald) further emends svarðakr m. acc. sg. ‘scalp-field’ to svarðakrs gen. sg. and construes sú Gerðr garða svarðar leysti raðar svarðakrs which can be translated as ‘that Gerðr <goddess> of the houses of the scalp [HEADDRESSES > WOMAN] was loosening her rows of the scalp-field [HAIR > LOCKS OF HAIR]’.
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svǫrðr (noun m.; °svarðar, dat. sverði; sverðir, acc. svǫrðu): scalp
[3, 4] sú Gerðr garða raðar svarðar ‘that Gerðr <goddess> of the fences of the ridge of the scalp [HEAD > HEADBANDS > WOMAN]’: Emendation is needed, because garði m. dat. sg. ‘fence, enclosure, yard, house’ (so W) cannot be accommodated syntactically in this clause. The present edn follows Skj B, which is least intrusive in terms of emendation. Kock (NN §2193; Skald) further emends svarðakr m. acc. sg. ‘scalp-field’ to svarðakrs gen. sg. and construes sú Gerðr garða svarðar leysti raðar svarðakrs which can be translated as ‘that Gerðr <goddess> of the houses of the scalp [HEADDRESSES > WOMAN] was loosening her rows of the scalp-field [HAIR > LOCKS OF HAIR]’.
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svǫrðr (noun m.; °svarðar, dat. sverði; sverðir, acc. svǫrðu): scalp
[3, 4] sú Gerðr garða raðar svarðar ‘that Gerðr <goddess> of the fences of the ridge of the scalp [HEAD > HEADBANDS > WOMAN]’: Emendation is needed, because garði m. dat. sg. ‘fence, enclosure, yard, house’ (so W) cannot be accommodated syntactically in this clause. The present edn follows Skj B, which is least intrusive in terms of emendation. Kock (NN §2193; Skald) further emends svarðakr m. acc. sg. ‘scalp-field’ to svarðakrs gen. sg. and construes sú Gerðr garða svarðar leysti raðar svarðakrs which can be translated as ‘that Gerðr <goddess> of the houses of the scalp [HEADDRESSES > WOMAN] was loosening her rows of the scalp-field [HAIR > LOCKS OF HAIR]’.
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svǫrðr (noun m.; °svarðar, dat. sverði; sverðir, acc. svǫrðu): scalp
[3, 4] sú Gerðr garða raðar svarðar ‘that Gerðr <goddess> of the fences of the ridge of the scalp [HEAD > HEADBANDS > WOMAN]’: Emendation is needed, because garði m. dat. sg. ‘fence, enclosure, yard, house’ (so W) cannot be accommodated syntactically in this clause. The present edn follows Skj B, which is least intrusive in terms of emendation. Kock (NN §2193; Skald) further emends svarðakr m. acc. sg. ‘scalp-field’ to svarðakrs gen. sg. and construes sú Gerðr garða svarðar leysti raðar svarðakrs which can be translated as ‘that Gerðr <goddess> of the houses of the scalp [HEADDRESSES > WOMAN] was loosening her rows of the scalp-field [HAIR > LOCKS OF HAIR]’.
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svǫrðr (noun m.; °svarðar, dat. sverði; sverðir, acc. svǫrðu): scalp < svarðakr (noun m.)
[4] svarðakr ‘her scalp-field [HAIR]’: The <a> in -akr ‘field’ is obliterated by a hole in the ms. but is reasonably certain since both svǫrð ‘scalp’ and akr ‘field’ are given in the prose that precedes the stanza (so also earlier eds).
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akr (noun m.; °akrs, dat. akri; akrar): field < svarðakr (noun m.)
[4] ‑akr: ‘[…]kr’ W
[4] svarðakr ‘her scalp-field [HAIR]’: The <a> in -akr ‘field’ is obliterated by a hole in the ms. but is reasonably certain since both svǫrð ‘scalp’ and akr ‘field’ are given in the prose that precedes the stanza (so also earlier eds).
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rǫð (noun f.; °; -ir): ridge
[3, 4] sú Gerðr garða raðar svarðar ‘that Gerðr <goddess> of the fences of the ridge of the scalp [HEAD > HEADBANDS > WOMAN]’: Emendation is needed, because garði m. dat. sg. ‘fence, enclosure, yard, house’ (so W) cannot be accommodated syntactically in this clause. The present edn follows Skj B, which is least intrusive in terms of emendation. Kock (NN §2193; Skald) further emends svarðakr m. acc. sg. ‘scalp-field’ to svarðakrs gen. sg. and construes sú Gerðr garða svarðar leysti raðar svarðakrs which can be translated as ‘that Gerðr <goddess> of the houses of the scalp [HEADDRESSES > WOMAN] was loosening her rows of the scalp-field [HAIR > LOCKS OF HAIR]’.
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rǫð (noun f.; °; -ir): ridge
[3, 4] sú Gerðr garða raðar svarðar ‘that Gerðr <goddess> of the fences of the ridge of the scalp [HEAD > HEADBANDS > WOMAN]’: Emendation is needed, because garði m. dat. sg. ‘fence, enclosure, yard, house’ (so W) cannot be accommodated syntactically in this clause. The present edn follows Skj B, which is least intrusive in terms of emendation. Kock (NN §2193; Skald) further emends svarðakr m. acc. sg. ‘scalp-field’ to svarðakrs gen. sg. and construes sú Gerðr garða svarðar leysti raðar svarðakrs which can be translated as ‘that Gerðr <goddess> of the houses of the scalp [HEADDRESSES > WOMAN] was loosening her rows of the scalp-field [HAIR > LOCKS OF HAIR]’.
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rǫð (noun f.; °; -ir): ridge
[3, 4] sú Gerðr garða raðar svarðar ‘that Gerðr <goddess> of the fences of the ridge of the scalp [HEAD > HEADBANDS > WOMAN]’: Emendation is needed, because garði m. dat. sg. ‘fence, enclosure, yard, house’ (so W) cannot be accommodated syntactically in this clause. The present edn follows Skj B, which is least intrusive in terms of emendation. Kock (NN §2193; Skald) further emends svarðakr m. acc. sg. ‘scalp-field’ to svarðakrs gen. sg. and construes sú Gerðr garða svarðar leysti raðar svarðakrs which can be translated as ‘that Gerðr <goddess> of the houses of the scalp [HEADDRESSES > WOMAN] was loosening her rows of the scalp-field [HAIR > LOCKS OF HAIR]’.
[3, 4] sú Gerðr garða raðar svarðar ‘that Gerðr <goddess> of the fences of the ridge of the scalp [HEAD > HEADBANDS > WOMAN]’: Emendation is needed, because garði m. dat. sg. ‘fence, enclosure, yard, house’ (so W) cannot be accommodated syntactically in this clause. The present edn follows Skj B, which is least intrusive in terms of emendation. Kock (NN §2193; Skald) further emends svarðakr m. acc. sg. ‘scalp-field’ to svarðakrs gen. sg. and construes sú Gerðr garða svarðar leysti raðar svarðakrs which can be translated as ‘that Gerðr <goddess> of the houses of the scalp [HEADDRESSES > WOMAN] was loosening her rows of the scalp-field [HAIR > LOCKS OF HAIR]’.
[3, 4] sú Gerðr garða raðar svarðar ‘that Gerðr <goddess> of the fences of the ridge of the scalp [HEAD > HEADBANDS > WOMAN]’: Emendation is needed, because garði m. dat. sg. ‘fence, enclosure, yard, house’ (so W) cannot be accommodated syntactically in this clause. The present edn follows Skj B, which is least intrusive in terms of emendation. Kock (NN §2193; Skald) further emends svarðakr m. acc. sg. ‘scalp-field’ to svarðakrs gen. sg. and construes sú Gerðr garða svarðar leysti raðar svarðakrs which can be translated as ‘that Gerðr <goddess> of the houses of the scalp [HEADDRESSES > WOMAN] was loosening her rows of the scalp-field [HAIR > LOCKS OF HAIR]’.
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
The helmingr illustrates kennings for women’s hair in which the base-words are words for ‘head’, ‘parting of the hair’, ‘cheek’, ‘neck’, ‘scalp’ or ‘forehead’ and the determinants are words for ‘forest’, ‘field’, ‘grass’ or ‘trees’.
The metre is dunhent ‘echoing-rhymed’, which is also attested in RvHbreiðm Hl 65-6 and in SnSt Ht 24 (see Notes there).
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