ÞjóðA Magn 7II
Diana Whaley (ed.) 2009, ‘Þjóðólfr Arnórsson, Stanzas about Magnús Óláfsson in Danaveldi 7’ 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. 94-6.
Menn ‘Men’
(not checked:)
maðr (noun m.): man, person
eigu ‘have’
(not checked:)
2. eiga (verb; °á/eigr (præs. pl. 3. pers. eigu/eiga); átti, áttu; átt): own, have
þess ‘’
[1] þess: þess at H
minnask ‘to remember’
(not checked:)
1. minna (verb): remind, remember, recall
manna ‘men’
(not checked:)
maðr (noun m.): man, person
notes
[2] manna Sveins ‘of Sveinn’s men’: This is taken here, as by most modern eds, with vef-Gefn ‘the weaving-Gefn <= Freyja> [WOMAN]’ (l. 4). This seems preferable because manna Sveins then defines the otherwise mysterious woman and because vef-Gefn precedes the other alternative, þríar stefnur ‘three encounters’ (l. 4), which gives the also plausible ‘three encounters with Sveinn’s men’ (so Skj B). Fms 12, as part of a somewhat forced interpretation, separates manna from Sveins, taking together Sveins menn ‘Sveinn’s men’ as the subject of eigu at minnask ok kanna ‘have to recall and recognise’ (ll. 1, 2).
Sveins ‘of Sveinn’s’
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2. Sveinn (noun m.): Sveinn
[2] Sveins: ‘sæi[…]t’ 39, seint F, ‘s’ H
notes
[2] manna Sveins ‘of Sveinn’s men’: This is taken here, as by most modern eds, with vef-Gefn ‘the weaving-Gefn <= Freyja> [WOMAN]’ (l. 4). This seems preferable because manna Sveins then defines the otherwise mysterious woman and because vef-Gefn precedes the other alternative, þríar stefnur ‘three encounters’ (l. 4), which gives the also plausible ‘three encounters with Sveinn’s men’ (so Skj B). Fms 12, as part of a somewhat forced interpretation, separates manna from Sveins, taking together Sveins menn ‘Sveinn’s men’ as the subject of eigu at minnask ok kanna ‘have to recall and recognise’ (ll. 1, 2).
kanna ‘get to know’
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3. kanna (verb): know, be able
víga ‘of battles’
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víg (noun n.; °-s; -): battle
kennings
Freyr víga,‘Freyr of battles, ’
= WARRIOR
Freyr of battles, → WARRIOR
notes
[3] Freyr víga ‘Freyr <god> of battles [WARRIOR]’: The pairing of a warrior- or man-kenning with an alliterating woman-kenning vef-Gefn ‘weaving-Gefn’ (l. 4), and their references to the sibling deities Freyr and Freyja, may be deliberate. As an apostrophe to an unidentified man, Freyr víga is unique in this set of Þjóðólfr sts, and is part of the evidence that they do not belong with Þjóðólfr’s Magnfl (see Introduction). The H-Hr reading Freys is favoured by some eds. (a) Finnur Jónsson takes it with menn (l. 1), hence menn Freys víga ‘the warrior’s men’, i.e. Magnús’s men (Hkr 1893-1901 and Skj B), but the syntax is severely dislocated on that reading and the rhyme of Freyr : vr- (or víg- : vg-) is lacking. (b) Kock adopts vgu, the H-Hr variant on vru in l. 3, and takes it with þríar stefnur (l. 4) to read víga Freys sízt vgu þríar stefnur ‘since they fought three warrior’s encounters’ (Skald; NN §867). (c) It could alternatively be taken in apposition to Sveins (l. 2), but this seems unlikely when Sveinn (Úlfsson) is not the focus of the st.
kennings
Freyr víga,‘Freyr of battles, ’
= WARRIOR
Freyr of battles, → WARRIOR
notes
[3] Freyr víga ‘Freyr <god> of battles [WARRIOR]’: The pairing of a warrior- or man-kenning with an alliterating woman-kenning vef-Gefn ‘weaving-Gefn’ (l. 4), and their references to the sibling deities Freyr and Freyja, may be deliberate. As an apostrophe to an unidentified man, Freyr víga is unique in this set of Þjóðólfr sts, and is part of the evidence that they do not belong with Þjóðólfr’s Magnfl (see Introduction). The H-Hr reading Freys is favoured by some eds. (a) Finnur Jónsson takes it with menn (l. 1), hence menn Freys víga ‘the warrior’s men’, i.e. Magnús’s men (Hkr 1893-1901 and Skj B), but the syntax is severely dislocated on that reading and the rhyme of Freyr : vr- (or víg- : vg-) is lacking. (b) Kock adopts vgu, the H-Hr variant on vru in l. 3, and takes it with þríar stefnur (l. 4) to read víga Freys sízt vgu þríar stefnur ‘since they fought three warrior’s encounters’ (Skald; NN §867). (c) It could alternatively be taken in apposition to Sveins (l. 2), but this seems unlikely when Sveinn (Úlfsson) is not the focus of the st.
sízt ‘since’
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2. síðr (adv.): less, hardly
vef ‘the weaving’
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vefr (noun m.; °-jar; -ir): cloth, sail, weaving < vefgefn (noun f.)
[4] vef‑: vé‑ Hr
kennings
vef-Gefn‘the weaving-Gefn ’
= WOMAN
the weaving-Gefn → WOMAN
Gefn ‘Gefn’
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Gefn (noun f.): Gefn < vefgefn (noun f.)
kennings
vef-Gefn‘the weaving-Gefn ’
= WOMAN
the weaving-Gefn → WOMAN
stefnur ‘encounters’
(not checked:)
1. stefna (noun f.; °-u; -ur): encounter, meeting
[4] stefnur: ‘stefn[…]’ 39, stefnu Hr
Vôn ‘prospect’
(not checked:)
ván (noun f.; °-ar, dat. -/-u; -ir): hope, expectation
[5] Vôn (‘van’): ‘[…]an’ H
es ‘There’s’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
[5] es (‘er’): á ek 39, á F, eg or er corrected from ‘eigu’ H
fagrs ‘of a lovely’
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fagr (adj.; °fagran; compar. fegri, superl. fegrstr): fair, beautiful
[5] fagrs: fagrt Hr
notes
[5, 6] fagrs fljóðs ‘of a lovely woman’: (a) There seems little doubt that these two words form a gen. sg. phrase governed by vn ‘prospect, expectation’, though H alone has the correct reading and not the Hkr mss. If indeed this is correct, the st. presents a rare and (if rape is a possibility here) sinister glimpse of the effect of Viking victories on the female members of the vanquished population (cf. Valg Har 9). (b) Hkr 1991, 592-3 prints the Hkr reading fljóð, reading Von er fagrs á Fjóni, fljóð ‘There is prospect of a good thing on Fyn, lady’.
á ‘on’
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3. á (prep.): on, at
Fjóni ‘Fyn’
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Fjón (noun n.): [Fyn]
notes
[5, 6] fagrs fljóðs ‘of a lovely woman’: (a) There seems little doubt that these two words form a gen. sg. phrase governed by vn ‘prospect, expectation’, though H alone has the correct reading and not the Hkr mss. If indeed this is correct, the st. presents a rare and (if rape is a possibility here) sinister glimpse of the effect of Viking victories on the female members of the vanquished population (cf. Valg Har 9). (b) Hkr 1991, 592-3 prints the Hkr reading fljóð, reading Von er fagrs á Fjóni, fljóð ‘There is prospect of a good thing on Fyn, lady’.
dugir ‘it’s good’
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duga (verb; °dugir; dugði; dugat): help, befit
at ‘to’
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5. at (nota): to (with infinitive)
rjóða ‘redden’
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rjóða (verb): to redden
verum ‘let’s take our place’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
með ‘with’
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með (prep.): with
fylkðu ‘the ranked’
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fylkja (verb): marshal
folki ‘troop’
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folk (noun n.): people
framm ‘forward’
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fram (adv.): out, forth, forwards, away
í ‘in’
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í (prep.): in, into
vápna ‘of weapons’
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vápn (noun n.; °-s; -): weapon
kennings
glammi vápna.‘the tumult of weapons.’
= BATTLE
the tumult of weapons. → BATTLE
glammi ‘the tumult’
(not checked:)
glam (noun n.): [a crash]
kennings
glammi vápna.‘the tumult of weapons.’
= BATTLE
the tumult of weapons. → BATTLE
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
|
Menn eigu þess minnask |
Men have to remember, Freyr <god> of battles [WARRIOR], to get to know the weaving-Gefn <= Freyja> [WOMAN] of Sveinn’s men, since there were three encounters. There’s prospect of a lovely woman on Fyn; it’s good to redden weapons; let’s take our place with the ranked troop, forward in the tumult of weapons [BATTLE].
This follows immediately after Magn 6, with no interruption in Hkr and a brief link in H-Hr.
The st. is lacking from E and J2ˣ, so that the y or J grouping of Hkr mss is only represented, indirectly, by H and Hr, which therefore assume unusual importance here.
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