Keth Lv 1VIII (Ket 2)
Beatrice La Farge (ed.) 2017, ‘Ketils saga hœngs 2 (Ketill hœngr, Lausavísur 1)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 552.
Hér ‘here’
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hér (adv.): here
mun ‘will’
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munu (verb): will, must
ek ‘I’
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
þiggja ‘accept’
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þiggja (verb): receive, get
hygg ‘think’
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2. hyggja (verb): think, consider
notes
[2-4] ek hygg, at fjölkyngi Finns valdi feiknaveðri ‘I think that a Saami’s wizardry caused the baleful weather’: Magical powers are ascribed to Saami (Finnar) in many Old Norse texts (cf. Nesheim 1970, 7-14). Ketill has sailed to the north when the storm arises which blows him to the north of Finnmark. His surmise about the origin of the storm is thus a logical one in the context of the saga (ch. 3).
ek ‘I’
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
notes
[2-4] ek hygg, at fjölkyngi Finns valdi feiknaveðri ‘I think that a Saami’s wizardry caused the baleful weather’: Magical powers are ascribed to Saami (Finnar) in many Old Norse texts (cf. Nesheim 1970, 7-14). Ketill has sailed to the north when the storm arises which blows him to the north of Finnmark. His surmise about the origin of the storm is thus a logical one in the context of the saga (ch. 3).
at ‘that’
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4. at (conj.): that
notes
[2-4] ek hygg, at fjölkyngi Finns valdi feiknaveðri ‘I think that a Saami’s wizardry caused the baleful weather’: Magical powers are ascribed to Saami (Finnar) in many Old Norse texts (cf. Nesheim 1970, 7-14). Ketill has sailed to the north when the storm arises which blows him to the north of Finnmark. His surmise about the origin of the storm is thus a logical one in the context of the saga (ch. 3).
valdi ‘caused’
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valda (verb): cause
notes
[2-4] ek hygg, at fjölkyngi Finns valdi feiknaveðri ‘I think that a Saami’s wizardry caused the baleful weather’: Magical powers are ascribed to Saami (Finnar) in many Old Norse texts (cf. Nesheim 1970, 7-14). Ketill has sailed to the north when the storm arises which blows him to the north of Finnmark. His surmise about the origin of the storm is thus a logical one in the context of the saga (ch. 3).
Finns ‘a Saami’s’
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Finnr (noun m.): Saami (person)
notes
[2-4] ek hygg, at fjölkyngi Finns valdi feiknaveðri ‘I think that a Saami’s wizardry caused the baleful weather’: Magical powers are ascribed to Saami (Finnar) in many Old Norse texts (cf. Nesheim 1970, 7-14). Ketill has sailed to the north when the storm arises which blows him to the north of Finnmark. His surmise about the origin of the storm is thus a logical one in the context of the saga (ch. 3).
fjöl ‘wizardry’
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fjǫl- ((prefix)): very- < fjǫlkynngi (noun f.)
notes
[2-4] ek hygg, at fjölkyngi Finns valdi feiknaveðri ‘I think that a Saami’s wizardry caused the baleful weather’: Magical powers are ascribed to Saami (Finnar) in many Old Norse texts (cf. Nesheim 1970, 7-14). Ketill has sailed to the north when the storm arises which blows him to the north of Finnmark. His surmise about the origin of the storm is thus a logical one in the context of the saga (ch. 3).
kyngi ‘’
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kynngi (noun f.): °trolddomskunst, trylleri, magi < fjǫlkynngi (noun f.)
notes
[2-4] ek hygg, at fjölkyngi Finns valdi feiknaveðri ‘I think that a Saami’s wizardry caused the baleful weather’: Magical powers are ascribed to Saami (Finnar) in many Old Norse texts (cf. Nesheim 1970, 7-14). Ketill has sailed to the north when the storm arises which blows him to the north of Finnmark. His surmise about the origin of the storm is thus a logical one in the context of the saga (ch. 3).
feikna ‘baleful’
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2. feikn (adj.): terrible < feiknaveðr (noun n.)
notes
[2-4] ek hygg, at fjölkyngi Finns valdi feiknaveðri ‘I think that a Saami’s wizardry caused the baleful weather’: Magical powers are ascribed to Saami (Finnar) in many Old Norse texts (cf. Nesheim 1970, 7-14). Ketill has sailed to the north when the storm arises which blows him to the north of Finnmark. His surmise about the origin of the storm is thus a logical one in the context of the saga (ch. 3).
veðri ‘weather’
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2. veðr (noun n.; °-s; -): weather, wind, storm < feiknaveðr (noun n.)
notes
[2-4] ek hygg, at fjölkyngi Finns valdi feiknaveðri ‘I think that a Saami’s wizardry caused the baleful weather’: Magical powers are ascribed to Saami (Finnar) in many Old Norse texts (cf. Nesheim 1970, 7-14). Ketill has sailed to the north when the storm arises which blows him to the north of Finnmark. His surmise about the origin of the storm is thus a logical one in the context of the saga (ch. 3).
ok ‘and’
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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
í ‘’
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í (prep.): in, into
allan ‘the whole’
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allr (adj.): all
dag ‘day’
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dagr (noun m.; °-s, dat. degi/dag/dagi(Thom¹ 332¹n.); -ar): day
einn ‘alone’
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2. einn (pron.; °decl. cf. einn num.): one, alone
jós ‘baled’
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2. ausa (verb; °eyss; jós, jósu/jusu; ausinn): sprinkle, bail
ek ‘I’
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
við ‘in competition with’
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2. við (prep.): with, against
þrjá ‘three’
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þrír (num. cardinal): three
hvalr ‘a whale’
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hvalr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i/-; -ir/-ar): whale
notes
[7] hvalr kyrði sjá ‘a whale calmed the sea’: Chapter 3 of the saga relates that the whale which protects Ketill’s boat against the fury of the storm appears to him to have the eyes of a human being. The implication is that the benevolent whale is in fact a shape-shifting magician. The motif of a benevolent whale is the reversal of a motif found in other fornaldarsögur, where a shape-shifter assumes the form of a whale to attack the ship of the hero; cf. GHr chs 2, 16 (FSGJ 3, 167, 238-9); Korm ch. 18 (ÍF 8, 265-6). In Frið ch. 3 a whale ridden by giantesses attacks the ships of the hero (FSGJ 3, 87-8).
kyrði ‘calmed’
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2. kyrra (verb): [calmed]
notes
[7] hvalr kyrði sjá ‘a whale calmed the sea’: Chapter 3 of the saga relates that the whale which protects Ketill’s boat against the fury of the storm appears to him to have the eyes of a human being. The implication is that the benevolent whale is in fact a shape-shifting magician. The motif of a benevolent whale is the reversal of a motif found in other fornaldarsögur, where a shape-shifter assumes the form of a whale to attack the ship of the hero; cf. GHr chs 2, 16 (FSGJ 3, 167, 238-9); Korm ch. 18 (ÍF 8, 265-6). In Frið ch. 3 a whale ridden by giantesses attacks the ships of the hero (FSGJ 3, 87-8).
notes
[7] sjá ‘the sea’: Ms. 471’s reading haf ‘sea, ocean’ is also possible and was adopted by Edd. Min on the grounds that it gave a better reading from the viewpoint of alliteration. However, the rhyme between þrjá and sjá favours the reading of 343a. — [7] hvalr kyrði sjá ‘a whale calmed the sea’: Chapter 3 of the saga relates that the whale which protects Ketill’s boat against the fury of the storm appears to him to have the eyes of a human being. The implication is that the benevolent whale is in fact a shape-shifting magician. The motif of a benevolent whale is the reversal of a motif found in other fornaldarsögur, where a shape-shifter assumes the form of a whale to attack the ship of the hero; cf. GHr chs 2, 16 (FSGJ 3, 167, 238-9); Korm ch. 18 (ÍF 8, 265-6). In Frið ch. 3 a whale ridden by giantesses attacks the ships of the hero (FSGJ 3, 87-8).
notes
[7] sjá ‘the sea’: Ms. 471’s reading haf ‘sea, ocean’ is also possible and was adopted by Edd. Min on the grounds that it gave a better reading from the viewpoint of alliteration. However, the rhyme between þrjá and sjá favours the reading of 343a. — [7] hvalr kyrði sjá ‘a whale calmed the sea’: Chapter 3 of the saga relates that the whale which protects Ketill’s boat against the fury of the storm appears to him to have the eyes of a human being. The implication is that the benevolent whale is in fact a shape-shifting magician. The motif of a benevolent whale is the reversal of a motif found in other fornaldarsögur, where a shape-shifter assumes the form of a whale to attack the ship of the hero; cf. GHr chs 2, 16 (FSGJ 3, 167, 238-9); Korm ch. 18 (ÍF 8, 265-6). In Frið ch. 3 a whale ridden by giantesses attacks the ships of the hero (FSGJ 3, 87-8).
notes
[8] hér ‘here’: The 343a reading hús ‘house, lodging’ makes independent sense, but the 471 reading hér is preferable since Ketill’s response looks like a deliberate repetition of l. 1, and it is adopted by most eds. Repeated pairs of similar lines (hér munk sitja and kyrr munk sitja respectively) occur at the beginnings and ends of Bjhít Lv 4V (BjH 5) and Bjhít Lv 11V (BjH 15).
mun ‘will’
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munu (verb): will, must
ek ‘I’
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
þiggja ‘accept’
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þiggja (verb): receive, get
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
This stanza is Ketill’s reply to Brúni’s invitation of hospitality. It is introduced by the words: Ketill kvað vísu ‘Ketill spoke a stanza’. Ketill alludes to the mysterious storm which threatened his ship in northern Finnmark and to the equally mysterious whale which protected him from it, an episode which precedes the meeting with Brúni (Ket ch. 3, FSGJ 2, 158-60).
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