Skinnhúfa Lv 1VIII (HjǪ 45)
Richard L. Harris (ed.) 2017, ‘Hjálmþés saga ok Ǫlvis 45 (Skinnhúfa/Hildisif, Lausavísa 1)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 537.
Sax ‘a sword’
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2. sax (noun n.; °-; *-): sword, prow
hefir ‘have’
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hafa (verb): have
þú ‘You’
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þú (pron.; °gen. þín, dat. þér, acc. þik): you
Ölvir ‘Ǫlvir’
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Ølvir (noun m.)
slík ‘weapons’
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2. slíkr (adj.): such
eru ‘there are’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
vápn ‘like it’
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vápn (noun n.; °-s; -): weapon
færi ‘few’
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3. fár (adj.; °compar. fǽrri/fárri(Mág² 11), superl. fǽstr): few
notes
[2] færi ‘few’: Lit. ‘fewer’.
bana ‘death’
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bani (noun m.; °-a; -ar): death, killer
notes
[3] veitti Bendli bana ‘it gave death to Bendill <giant>’: The diminutive bendill (from band ‘band, bond’) occurs only here apparently as a giant-name; elsewhere it is found among heiti for ‘seed, grain’ (Þul Sáðs 2/5III and Note), the equivalent of ModIcel. bendill, ModNorw. bendel ‘a band of straw around a sheaf of corn’ (AEW: bendill). ÍBR5ˣ’s belu may recall the name of the giant Beli, whom the god Freyr killed with a hart’s horn (SnE 2005, 31). The giant of HjǪ is not given a name in the prose text.
veitti ‘it gave’
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2. veita (verb): grant, give
[3] veitti: so papp6ˣ, veittir 109a IIIˣ, ÍBR5ˣ
notes
[3] veitti Bendli bana ‘it gave death to Bendill <giant>’: The diminutive bendill (from band ‘band, bond’) occurs only here apparently as a giant-name; elsewhere it is found among heiti for ‘seed, grain’ (Þul Sáðs 2/5III and Note), the equivalent of ModIcel. bendill, ModNorw. bendel ‘a band of straw around a sheaf of corn’ (AEW: bendill). ÍBR5ˣ’s belu may recall the name of the giant Beli, whom the god Freyr killed with a hart’s horn (SnE 2005, 31). The giant of HjǪ is not given a name in the prose text.
Bendli ‘to Bendill <giant>’
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Bendill (noun m.)
[3] Bendli: so papp6ˣ, ‘bedu’ 109a IIIˣ, ‘belu’ ÍBR5ˣ
notes
[3] veitti Bendli bana ‘it gave death to Bendill <giant>’: The diminutive bendill (from band ‘band, bond’) occurs only here apparently as a giant-name; elsewhere it is found among heiti for ‘seed, grain’ (Þul Sáðs 2/5III and Note), the equivalent of ModIcel. bendill, ModNorw. bendel ‘a band of straw around a sheaf of corn’ (AEW: bendill). ÍBR5ˣ’s belu may recall the name of the giant Beli, whom the god Freyr killed with a hart’s horn (SnE 2005, 31). The giant of HjǪ is not given a name in the prose text.
barstu ‘you bore’
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3. bera (verb; °berr; bar, báru; borinn): bear, carry
[4] barstu: so ÍBR5ˣ, bartu 109a IIIˣ, barst papp6ˣ
ór ‘out of’
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3. ór (prep.): out of
helli ‘a cave’
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hellir (noun m.; °-s/hells, dat. -i; -ar, acc. -a/-ra): cave
[4] helli: hellir papp6ˣ
Brá ‘changed’
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bregða (verb; °bregðr/brigðr; brá, brugðu; brugðinn/brogðinn): pull, jerk, break; change
notes
[5-6] ek brá sonum hilmis í líki hana ‘I changed the sons of a king into the bodies of roosters’: This incident occurs much earlier in the saga, when Hjálmþér and Ǫlvir become lost in a storm and find themselves in a cave inhabited by a hostile giant. Skinnhúfa, who is also in the cave, disguises the heroes as roosters and then directs Hjálmþér to kill the giant with his own sword when he is asleep and gives that sword to Ǫlvir.
ek ‘I’
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
notes
[5-6] ek brá sonum hilmis í líki hana ‘I changed the sons of a king into the bodies of roosters’: This incident occurs much earlier in the saga, when Hjálmþér and Ǫlvir become lost in a storm and find themselves in a cave inhabited by a hostile giant. Skinnhúfa, who is also in the cave, disguises the heroes as roosters and then directs Hjálmþér to kill the giant with his own sword when he is asleep and gives that sword to Ǫlvir.
hilmis ‘of a king’
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hilmir (noun m.): prince, protector
notes
[5-6] ek brá sonum hilmis í líki hana ‘I changed the sons of a king into the bodies of roosters’: This incident occurs much earlier in the saga, when Hjálmþér and Ǫlvir become lost in a storm and find themselves in a cave inhabited by a hostile giant. Skinnhúfa, who is also in the cave, disguises the heroes as roosters and then directs Hjálmþér to kill the giant with his own sword when he is asleep and gives that sword to Ǫlvir.
sonum ‘the sons’
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sonr (noun m.; °-ar, dat. syni; synir, acc. sonu, syni): son
notes
[5-6] ek brá sonum hilmis í líki hana ‘I changed the sons of a king into the bodies of roosters’: This incident occurs much earlier in the saga, when Hjálmþér and Ǫlvir become lost in a storm and find themselves in a cave inhabited by a hostile giant. Skinnhúfa, who is also in the cave, disguises the heroes as roosters and then directs Hjálmþér to kill the giant with his own sword when he is asleep and gives that sword to Ǫlvir.
í ‘into’
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í (prep.): in, into
notes
[5-6] ek brá sonum hilmis í líki hana ‘I changed the sons of a king into the bodies of roosters’: This incident occurs much earlier in the saga, when Hjálmþér and Ǫlvir become lost in a storm and find themselves in a cave inhabited by a hostile giant. Skinnhúfa, who is also in the cave, disguises the heroes as roosters and then directs Hjálmþér to kill the giant with his own sword when he is asleep and gives that sword to Ǫlvir.
hana ‘of roosters’
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hani (noun m.; °-a; -ar): rooster
notes
[5-6] ek brá sonum hilmis í líki hana ‘I changed the sons of a king into the bodies of roosters’: This incident occurs much earlier in the saga, when Hjálmþér and Ǫlvir become lost in a storm and find themselves in a cave inhabited by a hostile giant. Skinnhúfa, who is also in the cave, disguises the heroes as roosters and then directs Hjálmþér to kill the giant with his own sword when he is asleep and gives that sword to Ǫlvir.
líki ‘bodies’
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1. lík (noun n.; °-s; -): body, shape
notes
[5-6] ek brá sonum hilmis í líki hana ‘I changed the sons of a king into the bodies of roosters’: This incident occurs much earlier in the saga, when Hjálmþér and Ǫlvir become lost in a storm and find themselves in a cave inhabited by a hostile giant. Skinnhúfa, who is also in the cave, disguises the heroes as roosters and then directs Hjálmþér to kill the giant with his own sword when he is asleep and gives that sword to Ǫlvir.
fjörvi ‘lives’
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fjǫr (noun n.): life
fegri ‘more beautiful’
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fagr (adj.; °fagran; compar. fegri, superl. fegrstr): fair, beautiful
em ‘I’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
ek ‘now’
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
nú ‘am’
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nú (adv.): now
hóti ‘a little’
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2. hót (noun n.; °; -): a bit
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
A young woman, who turns out to be Hildisif Ptólómeusdóttir, reminds Ǫlvir of the episode when, as Skinnhúfa, she helped him obtain her giant captor’s sword, the only weapon that could kill him. She thus makes clear her former, enchanted, identity to him and to the saga audience.
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