Vargeisa Lv 5VIII (HjǪ 10)
Richard L. Harris (ed.) 2017, ‘Hjálmþés saga ok Ǫlvis 10 (Vargeisa/Álfsól, Lausavísur 5)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 502.
Kjóstu ‘Choose’
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kjósa (verb): choose
þræl ‘slave’
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þræll (noun m.; °þrǽls, dat. þrǽli/þrǽl; þrǽlar): slave, servant
af ‘from’
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af (prep.): from
þengils ‘of the prince’
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þengill (noun m.): prince, ruler
liði ‘the followers’
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lið (noun n.; °-s; -): retinue, troop
gefr ‘gives’
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gefa (verb): give
svínum ‘to the swine’
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svín (noun n.; °-s; -): swine, pig
soð ‘swill’
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soð (noun n.): [broth]
Mun ‘will’
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munu (verb): will, must
þér ‘to you’
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þú (pron.; °gen. þín, dat. þér, acc. þik): you
ei ‘not’
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3. ei (adv.): not
maðr ‘A man’
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maðr (noun m.): man, person
duga ‘be of use’
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duga (verb; °dugir; dugði; dugat): help, befit
[5] duga * af mildings hirð: duga eðr nægaz af mildings hirð 109a IIIˣ, duga eðr nægaz af mildings hirð with eðr nægaz crossed out, probably in another hand papp6ˣ, af mildings hirð duga ÍBR5ˣ
* ‘’
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(non-lexical)
[5] duga * af mildings hirð: duga eðr nægaz af mildings hirð 109a IIIˣ, duga eðr nægaz af mildings hirð with eðr nægaz crossed out, probably in another hand papp6ˣ, af mildings hirð duga ÍBR5ˣ
af ‘of’
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af (prep.): from
[5] duga * af mildings hirð: duga eðr nægaz af mildings hirð 109a IIIˣ, duga eðr nægaz af mildings hirð with eðr nægaz crossed out, probably in another hand papp6ˣ, af mildings hirð duga ÍBR5ˣ
mildings ‘the prince’s’
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mildingr (noun m.; °-s): ruler, generous one
[5] duga * af mildings hirð: duga eðr nægaz af mildings hirð 109a IIIˣ, duga eðr nægaz af mildings hirð with eðr nægaz crossed out, probably in another hand papp6ˣ, af mildings hirð duga ÍBR5ˣ
hirð ‘court’
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hirð (noun f.; °-ar; -ir/-ar(FskB 53)): retinue
[5] duga * af mildings hirð: duga eðr nægaz af mildings hirð 109a IIIˣ, duga eðr nægaz af mildings hirð with eðr nægaz crossed out, probably in another hand papp6ˣ, af mildings hirð duga ÍBR5ˣ
ef ‘if’
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3. ef (conj.): if
þér ‘to you’
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þú (pron.; °gen. þín, dat. þér, acc. þik): you
glap ‘as prone to accidental’
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glap (noun n.; °; gen. -a): °utugt, usædelighed < glapvígr (adj.)
notes
[6] glapvígr ‘prone to accidental killing’: An uncommon adj., instanced in poetry only here and in Þorm Lv1/6V (Fbr 8), in both cases describing a bad or disaster-prone fighter. It is related to the uncommon noun glapvíg ‘accidental manslaughter’ (ONP: glapvíg, only found in two versions of one statement in Ldn and the verb glapna ‘grow dim, be spoiled, harmed’ (cf. Fritzner: glapna) and various other compounds, such as glappaskot ‘chance shot, mishap, inadvertent shot’ and ModIcel. glapp ‘misfortune’, glappaskot ‘mistake’. Skj B translates l. 6 as hvis han viser sig for dig at svigte i kamp ‘if he shows himself before you to fail in battle’.
vígr ‘killing’
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vígr (adj.): aggressive, pernicious < glapvígr (adj.)
notes
[6] glapvígr ‘prone to accidental killing’: An uncommon adj., instanced in poetry only here and in Þorm Lv1/6V (Fbr 8), in both cases describing a bad or disaster-prone fighter. It is related to the uncommon noun glapvíg ‘accidental manslaughter’ (ONP: glapvíg, only found in two versions of one statement in Ldn and the verb glapna ‘grow dim, be spoiled, harmed’ (cf. Fritzner: glapna) and various other compounds, such as glappaskot ‘chance shot, mishap, inadvertent shot’ and ModIcel. glapp ‘misfortune’, glappaskot ‘mistake’. Skj B translates l. 6 as hvis han viser sig for dig at svigte i kamp ‘if he shows himself before you to fail in battle’.
geriz ‘he reveals himself’
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1. gera (verb): do, make
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
Vargeisa, the enchanted Princess Álfsól, in a third stanza with prophetic content, advises Hjálmþér to choose the humble swineherd, Hǫrðr, in reality her enchanted brother, Hringr, for his companion. The stanza is again introduced with the formula varð henni nú ljóð á munni ‘now a song came into her mouth’.
The subject-matter of this stanza is covered in a much more verbose way in three verses of Hjálmþérsrímur III, 33-7 (Finnur Jónsson 1905-22, II, 23). — This stanza, like HjǪ 4 and 5, is in ljóðaháttr. It is couched in a proverbial mode, though in fact it conceals the ‘realities’ of the saga’s magical world, in that Vargeisa is well aware that the apparently lowly swineherd is her brother, and a prince. The overt sentiment of the stanza is: ‘choose a humble man as your companion, and then you will not risk the possibility of a higher-class companion turning out a failure as a fighter’. — [5-6]: Both 109a IIIˣ and papp6ˣ have the words eðr nægaz ‘or suffice’ added after duga ‘be of use’, though they were crossed out in papp6ˣ, probably, though not certainly, by a later hand. If eðr nægaz were retained, ll. 5-6 would read mun þér ei maðr duga | eðr nægaz af mildings hirð ‘a man of the prince’s court would not be of use to you or suffice’.
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