Keth Lv 20VIII (Ket 36)
Beatrice La Farge (ed.) 2017, ‘Ketils saga hœngs 36 (Ketill hœngr, Lausavísur 20)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 590.
text and translation
Dregz þú nú, Dragvendill, við krás arnar;
mætir þú meingöldrum; máttir þú eigi bíta.
Mik þess eigi varði, at hrøkkva mundi
eggjar eitrherðar, þótt Óðinn deyfði.
Þú dregz nú, Dragvendill, við {krás arnar}; þú mætir meingöldrum; þú máttir eigi bíta. Mik varði þess eigi, at eitrherðar eggjar mundi hrøkkva, þótt Óðinn deyfði.
‘You are drawn now, Dragvendill <sword>, for the delicacies of the eagle [CORPSES]; you meet harmful spells; you are unable to bite. It did not occur to me that poison-hardened edges would give way, although Óðinn blunted [them].’
notes and context
The single combat now commences. Ketill’s first two strikes at Framarr’s shoulders do not wound him, and Ketill addresses his sword Dragvendill in this and the following stanza. In the saga this stanza is introduced by the words: Ketill kvað vísu ‘Ketill spoke a stanza’.
[1-2]: Since l. 2 contains no word that alliterates with any word in l. 1, some eds have introduced or suggested emendations to provide l. 2 with a word beginning with <d> to alliterate with dregz and Dragvendill. They also differ in their interpretation of the meaning of the lines: Skj B emends to Dregsk nú Dragvendill, | deila krás arnar ‘Fly now, Dragvendill, to strike apart the delicacies of the eagle’; Edd. Min. 84 n. suggests Dregsk þú nú, Dragvendill, | við drífu járna ‘You draw back, Dragvendill, from the storm of swords’, but does not print this in the main text; Skald has Dregsk nú, Dragvendill, | við dagkrás arnar ‘You are drawn now, Dragvendill, for the breakfast [lit. ‘day-delicacy’] of the eagle’ (cf. NN §2397). Kock is surely correct in his interpretation of dregz as a reference to the drawing of the sword Dragvendill from its scabbard, but there is no need to emend the line, which makes perfect sense, despite the lack of an alliterating word in l. 2.
readings
sources
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.
-
AM 343 a 4° (343a) — 57v/21 - 57v/22
images -
AM 471 4° (471) — 56r - 56r
Dregz þú nú, Dragvendill,
images
við krás arnar;
mætir meingöldrum;
máttu eigi bíta.
Mik þess eigi varði,
at hrøkkva mundi
eggjar eitriherðar,
þó Óðinn deyfði. -
AM 340 4°x (340x) — 22/23 - 22/27
imagesdregst þu | nu , draguendell víd kräß Arnar , mæter þu | meingólldrum , mätter þo eý býta , mig þess ey var | de , ad hróckua munde , egg J eýtrum herdum | þoad Odin deýffde.
(VEÞ)
editions and texts
Stanza/chapter/text segment
Use the buttons at the top of the page to navigate between stanzas in a poem.
Information tab
- text: if the stanza has been published, the edited text of the stanza and translation are here; if it hasn't been published an old edition (usually Skj) is given for reference
- sources: a list of the manuscripts or inscriptions containing this stanza, with page and line references and links (eye button) to images where available, and transcription where available
- readings: a list of variant manuscript readings of words in the main text
- editions and texts: a list of editions of the stanza with links to the bibliography; and a list of prose works in which the stanza occurs, allowing you to navigate within the prose context
- notes and context: notes not linked to individual words are given here, along with the account of the prose context for the stanza, where relevant
Interactive tab
The text and translation are given here, with buttons to toggle whether the text is shown in the verse order or prose word order. Clicking on indiviudal words gives dictionary links, variant readings, kennings and notes, where relevant.
Full text tab
This is the text of the edition in a similar format to how the edition appears in the printed volumes.
Chapter/text segment
This view is also used for chapters and other text segments. Not all the headings shown are relevant to such sections.