Wilhelm Heizmann (ed.) 2017, ‘Bósa saga 4 (Busla, Buslubæn 4)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 31.
Svá skal ek þjarma þér at brjósti,
at hjarta þitt höggormar gnagi,
en eyru þín aldrigi heyri,
ok augu þín úthverf snúiz,
nema þú Bósa björg um veitir
ok honum Herrauð heipt upp gefir.
Ek skal þjarma þér svá at brjósti, at höggormar gnagi hjarta þitt, en eyru þín heyri aldrigi, ok augu þín snúiz úthverf, nema þú um veitir Bósa björg ok gefir honum Herrauð upp heipt.
‘I shall so oppress your breast as though adders are gnawing at your heart, and your ears shall never hear [again], and your eyes shall turn outwards, unless you grant Bósi freedom and forego your hatred towards Herrauðr. ’
The curse in this stanza is directed at the bodily welfare of the king. He will endure not only pains, but he will simultaneously be locked within himself to the extent that his eyes and ears, two vital sensory organs, will cease to function.
Text is based on reconstruction from the base text and variant apparatus and may contain alternative spellings and other normalisations not visible in the manuscript text. Transcriptions may not have been checked and should not be cited.
Svá skal ek þjarma
þat at brjósti,
at hjarta þitt
höggormar gnagi,
en eyru þín
aldrigi heyri,
ok augu þín
úthverf snúiz,
nema þú Bósa
björg um veitir
ok honum Herrauð
heipt upp gefir.
Svá skal þik þjarma
þér at brjósti,
at hjarta þitt
höggormar gnagi,
en eyru þín
aldrigi heyri,
enn augu þín
úthverf snúiz,
nema þú Bögubósa
björg um veitir
ok Herrauð
heipt upp gefir.
Svá skal ek þjarma
þér at brjósti,
at hjarta þitt
höggormar gnagi,
en eyru þín
aldrigi heyri,
ok augu þín
úthverf snúiz,
nema þú †[…] bosa†
björg um veitir
ok Herrauð
heipt upp gefir.
Svá skal ek þjarma
þér at brjósti,
at hjarta þitt
höggormar gnagi,
en eyru þín
aldrigi heyri,
ok augu þín
úthverf snúiz,
nema þú Bósa
björg um veitir
ok Herrauð
heipt upp gefir.
Svá skal þik þjarma
þér at brjósti,
at hjarta þitt
höggormar gnagi,
en eyru þín
aldrigi heyri,
enn augu þín
úthverf snúiz,
nema þú Bósa
björg um veitir
ok Herrauð
heipt upp gefir.
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