Sturl Frag 1III
Valgerður Erna Þorvaldsdóttir (ed.) 2017, ‘Sturla Þórðarson, Fragments 1’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 392.
Rísa ‘to rise’
(not checked:)
rísa (verb): rise, raise
tóku ‘began’
(not checked:)
2. taka (verb): take
langir ‘The long’
(not checked:)
langr (adj.; °compar. lengri, superl. lengstr): long
laukar ‘masts’
(not checked:)
laukr (noun m.; °-s; -ar): leek, mast
notes
[1] laukar ‘masts’: Lit. ‘leeks’. The long, thin masts have the same shape as leeks. The phrase laukar tóku rísa ‘masts began to rise’ likely describes the mast on a ship being raised, i.e. brought into vertical position (cf. SnSt Ht 77/5-6).
lindar ‘of the shield’s’
(not checked:)
1. lind (noun f.): linden-shield, linden tree
kennings
álfs lindar‘of the shield’s elf ’
= WARRIOR
the shield’s elf → WARRIOR
notes
[2] lindar ‘of the shield’s’: Lind means ‘linden wood’ or ‘linden tree’. Jesch (2001a, 134) suggests that lind could mean ‘ship’, especially in poetry set in a nautical context, but the word usually denotes a shield or spear made of linden wood (see Note to SnSt Ht 9/2).
álfs ‘elf’
(not checked:)
alfr (noun m.; °; -ar): elf
kennings
álfs lindar‘of the shield’s elf ’
= WARRIOR
the shield’s elf → WARRIOR
við ‘against’
(not checked:)
2. við (prep.): with, against
gymi ‘the sea’
(not checked:)
gymir (noun m.): [sea]
notes
[2] gymi ‘the sea’: This could be taken either as the common noun gymir (m. sg.), which is a heiti for ‘sea’, or as the name Gymir, one of the names for the sea-giant Ægir (for the meaning of that name, see Note to Þul Jǫtna I 1/8). Both make perfect sense in the present context, but the former has been adopted here. Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) assigns the phrase við sjálfan gymi ‘against the sea itself’ to a clause from the no longer extant two lines of the half-stanza. That cannot be ascertained, and the couplet makes syntactic and semantic sense as it stands (see NN §2287).
sjálfan ‘itself’
(not checked:)
sjalfr (adj.): self
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
The couplet is cited among several other stanzas to illustrate kennings for ‘man’ with a mythical base-word, here, álfr lindar ‘the shield’s elf’.
Stanza/chapter/text segment
Use the buttons at the top of the page to navigate between stanzas in a poem.
Information tab
- text: if the stanza has been published, the edited text of the stanza and translation are here; if it hasn't been published an old edition (usually Skj) is given for reference
- sources: a list of the manuscripts or inscriptions containing this stanza, with page and line references and links (eye button) to images where available, and transcription where available
- readings: a list of variant manuscript readings of words in the main text
- editions and texts: a list of editions of the stanza with links to the bibliography; and a list of prose works in which the stanza occurs, allowing you to navigate within the prose context
- notes and context: notes not linked to individual words are given here, along with the account of the prose context for the stanza, where relevant
Interactive tab
The text and translation are given here, with buttons to toggle whether the text is shown in the verse order or prose word order. Clicking on indiviudal words gives dictionary links, variant readings, kennings and notes, where relevant.
Full text tab
This is the text of the edition in a similar format to how the edition appears in the printed volumes.
Chapter/text segment
This view is also used for chapters and other text segments. Not all the headings shown are relevant to such sections.