ÞjóðA Magnfl 9II
Diana Whaley (ed.) 2009, ‘Þjóðólfr Arnórsson, Magnússflokkr 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, pp. 74-5.
Skotit ‘were shot’
(not checked:)
skjóta (verb): shoot
skepti ‘shafted’
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skefti (noun n.; °-s): [shafted] < skeftifletta (noun f.)
[1] skeptiflettum: flettiskeftum J2ˣ
notes
[1] skeptiflettum ‘shafted javelins’: This word, unique to this context, seems to be equivalent to flettiskepta (the reading of J2ˣ), and to refer to throwing-weapons with shafts (skepti n. ‘shaft’), but their exact nature is disputed. The shaft may be cloven (flett sundur, ÍF 27, 379 n. 1), with the barbed head or some other attachment set in, as seemingly envisaged in Fritzner: flettiskepta and LP: skeptifletta, and in ÍF 27, 379 n. 1. Falk suggested that the head may anciently have been of stone (flint, 1914, 76-7), and cf. AEW: fletta, which derives fletta from Proto-Scandinavian *flinta-. CVC on the other hand prints skeptiflétta and associates the second element with the verb flétta ‘braid’ and flétta f. ‘braid, string’, suggesting ‘a kind of shaft with a cord’.
flettum ‘javelins’
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flet (noun n.): platform, floor < skeftifletta (noun f.)
[1] skeptiflettum: flettiskeftum J2ˣ
notes
[1] skeptiflettum ‘shafted javelins’: This word, unique to this context, seems to be equivalent to flettiskepta (the reading of J2ˣ), and to refer to throwing-weapons with shafts (skepti n. ‘shaft’), but their exact nature is disputed. The shaft may be cloven (flett sundur, ÍF 27, 379 n. 1), with the barbed head or some other attachment set in, as seemingly envisaged in Fritzner: flettiskepta and LP: skeptifletta, and in ÍF 27, 379 n. 1. Falk suggested that the head may anciently have been of stone (flint, 1914, 76-7), and cf. AEW: fletta, which derives fletta from Proto-Scandinavian *flinta-. CVC on the other hand prints skeptiflétta and associates the second element with the verb flétta ‘braid’ and flétta f. ‘braid, string’, suggesting ‘a kind of shaft with a cord’.
skjótt ‘swiftly’
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2. skjótr (adj.): quick(ly)
ok ‘and’
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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
brôð ‘meat’
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1. bráð (noun f.): meat
fekk ‘got’
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2. fá (verb; °fǽr; fekk, fengu; fenginn): get, receive
hrafn ‘the raven’
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hrafn (noun m.; °hrafns; dat. hrafni; hrafnar): raven
hôðum ‘we joined’
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2. heyja (verb): fight, wage (battle)
notes
[3] hôðum ‘we joined’: This is textually unproblematic, except that there is no other reference in the poem to Þjóðólfr’s presence at this battle, and frák ‘I have learned’ (l. 1) might be taken to imply that he was not present. Perhaps the thought is of ‘us, our side’; cf. st. 12/5.
hjaldr ‘battle’
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1. hjaldr (noun m.): battle
á ‘onto’
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3. á (prep.): on, at
breiða ‘broad’
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breiðr (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): broad, wide
[4] breiða skjǫldu: breiðum skjaldi H, Hr
skjǫldu ‘shields’
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skjǫldr (noun m.; °skjaldar/skildar, dat. skildi; skildir, acc. skjǫldu): shield
[4] breiða skjǫldu: breiðum skjaldi H, Hr
Neyttu ‘use’
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neyta (verb): use, enjoy
mest ‘best’
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meiri (adj. comp.; °meiran; superl. mestr): more, most
[5] mest: mjǫg F, næst Hr
sem ‘’
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sem (conj.): as, which
môttu ‘they could’
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mega (verb): may, might
menn ‘Men’
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maðr (noun m.): man, person
at ‘in’
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3. at (prep.): at, to
kennings
sennu vápna,‘the slander-match of weapons, ’
= BATTLE
the slander-match of weapons, → BATTLE
kennings
sennu vápna,‘the slander-match of weapons, ’
= BATTLE
the slander-match of weapons, → BATTLE
baugs ‘of the ring’
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baugr (noun m.; °dat. -i/-; -ar): ring
kennings
bǫrvar baugs‘trees of the ring ’
= MEN
trees of the ring → MEN
notes
[7, 8] bǫrvar baugs ‘trees of the ring [MEN]’: Baugr probably refers to arm- or neck-rings, which commonly qualify words referring to trees in order to form man-kennings. Baugr can also refer to rings painted on shields, and hence shields themselves, which would be fitting in this military context, but the examples of this are late according to LP. Bǫrr ‘tree’ may refer specifically to conifers, but this is not certain (ONP).
en ‘and’
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2. en (conj.): but, and
barðir ‘beaten down’
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2. berja (verb; °barði; barðr/bariðr/barinn): fight
lôgu ‘lay’
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liggja (verb): lie
bǫrvar ‘trees’
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bǫrr (noun m.): tree
kennings
bǫrvar baugs‘trees of the ring ’
= MEN
trees of the ring → MEN
notes
[7, 8] bǫrvar baugs ‘trees of the ring [MEN]’: Baugr probably refers to arm- or neck-rings, which commonly qualify words referring to trees in order to form man-kennings. Baugr can also refer to rings painted on shields, and hence shields themselves, which would be fitting in this military context, but the examples of this are late according to LP. Bǫrr ‘tree’ may refer specifically to conifers, but this is not certain (ONP).
grjóts ‘of stones’
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grjót (noun n.): rock, stone
ok ‘and’
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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
ǫrva ‘arrows’
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ǫr (noun f.; °dat. -/-u; ǫrvar/ǫrar): arrow
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
In the battle of Århus (Áróss), only the men in the stems (prow and stern) can fight by contact, while those further aft use axes, spears, stones and (from aft of the sail) arrows.
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