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skaldic

Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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Busla Busl 4VIII (Bós 4)

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.

BuslaBuslubæn
345

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.

Mss: 586(14r), 577(53v), 510(11r), 340ˣ(271), 361ˣ(11r) (Bós)

Readings: [1] ek: þik 577, 361ˣ    [2] þér: so 577, 510, 340ˣ, 361ˣ, þat 586    [7] ok: enn 577, 361ˣ    [9] Bósa: Bögubósa 577, ‘[…] bosa’ 510    [11] honum: om. 577, 510, 340ˣ, 361ˣ

Editions: Skj AII, 330-1, Skj BII, 351, Skald II, 189, NN § 793; Bós 1666, 18-19, FSN 3, 203-4, Bós 1893, 16-17, FSGJ 3, 292, Bós 1996, 13; Edd. Min. 124.

Notes: [All]: 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. — [3-4] at höggormar gnagi hjarta þitt ‘as though adders are gnawing at your heart’: In this way King Gunnarr perishes in the snake pit according to the Nordic transmission of the Nibelung tradition (cf. Vǫls ch. 39, Olsen 1906-8, 101 and Oddrgr st. 32). Both Skj B and Skald emend höggormar (nom. pl.) to höggormr (nom. sg.) to make l. 4 metrical (Type A2k).

References

  1. Bibliography
  2. Skj B = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1912-15b. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. B: Rettet tekst. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Villadsen & Christensen. Rpt. 1973. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger.
  3. FSN = Rafn, Carl Christian, ed. 1829-30. Fornaldar sögur nordrlanda. 3 vols. Copenhagen: Popp.
  4. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
  5. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
  6. FSGJ = Guðni Jónsson, ed. 1954. Fornaldar sögur norðurlanda. 4 vols. [Reykjavík]: Íslendingasagnaútgáfan.
  7. Edd. Min. = Heusler, Andreas and Wilhelm Ranisch, eds. 1903. Eddica Minora: Dichtungen eddischer Art aus den Fornaldarsögur und anderen Prosawerken. Dortmund: Ruhfus. Rpt. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft.
  8. Olsen, Magnus, ed. 1906-8. Vǫlsunga saga ok Ragnars saga loðbrókar. SUGNL 36. Copenhagen: Møller.
  9. Vǫls = Vǫlsunga saga.
  10. Bós 1996 = Sverrir Tómasson, ed. 1996. Bósa saga og Herrauðs. Reykjavík: Mál og menning.
  11. Bós 1666 = Verelius, Olaus, ed. 1666. Herrauds och Bosa saga Med en ny vttolkning iämpte Gambla Götskan. Uppsala: Henrich Curio.
  12. Bós 1893 = Jiriczek, Otto L., ed. 1893. Die Bósa-Saga in zwei Fassungen nebst Proben aus den Bósa-Rímur. Strassburg: Karl J. Trübner.
  13. Internal references
  14. Not published: do not cite ()
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