Framarr Lv 3VIII (Ket 38)
Beatrice La Farge (ed.) 2017, ‘Ketils saga hœngs 38 (Framarr víkingakonungr, Lausavísur 3)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 593.
Skelfr ‘is trembling’
(not checked:)
1. skjalfa (verb): shake - intrans.
skegg ‘the beard’
(not checked:)
skegg (noun n.; °-s; -): beard
á ‘on’
(not checked:)
3. á (prep.): on, at
karli ‘the fellow’
(not checked:)
karl (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): (old) man
skeika ‘go askew’
(not checked:)
skeika (verb)
vápn ‘weapons’
(not checked:)
vápn (noun n.; °-s; -): weapon
gömlum ‘old man’
(not checked:)
gamall (adj.; °gamlan; compar. & superl. ellri adj.): old
frýr ‘blames’
(not checked:)
2. frýja (verb): reproach, complain
hann ‘he’
(not checked:)
hann (pron.; °gen. hans, dat. honum; f. hon, gen. hennar, acc. hana): he, she, it, they, them...
hjör ‘sword’
(not checked:)
hjǫrr (noun m.): sword
hvössum ‘his sharp’
(not checked:)
hvass (adj.; °-an; -ari, -astr): keen, sharp
hræðiz ‘is afraid’
(not checked:)
3. hræða (verb): fear, be afraid
faðir ‘the father’
(not checked:)
faðir (noun m.): father
kennings
faðir meyjar‘the father of the maiden ’
= Ketill
the father of the maiden → Ketill
meyjar ‘of the maiden’
(not checked:)
mær (noun f.; °meyjar, dat. meyju; meyjar): maiden
kennings
faðir meyjar‘the father of the maiden ’
= Ketill
the father of the maiden → Ketill
Brýnduz ‘were whetted’
(not checked:)
brýna (verb; °-nd-): sharpen, whet
ben ‘The wound’
(not checked:)
1. ben (noun f.; °-jar, dat. -; -jar , gen. -a(var. EiðKrC 402¹³: AM 77 4° D)): wound < benteinn (noun m.): [wound-twigs]
kennings
Benteinar‘The wound-twigs ’
= SWORDS
The wound-twigs → SWORDS
notes
[5] benteinar ‘the wound-twigs [SWORDS]’: The sword-kenning benteinn is attested only in poetry here but occurs as the name of a man in Ív Sig 25/7II.
teinar ‘twigs’
(not checked:)
teinn (noun m.; °dat. teini; teinar): twig, rod < benteinn (noun m.): [wound-twigs]
kennings
Benteinar‘The wound-twigs ’
= SWORDS
The wound-twigs → SWORDS
notes
[5] benteinar ‘the wound-twigs [SWORDS]’: The sword-kenning benteinn is attested only in poetry here but occurs as the name of a man in Ív Sig 25/7II.
svá ‘so’
(not checked:)
svá (adv.): so, thus
t ‘that’
(not checked:)
4. at (conj.): that
bíta ‘to bite’
(not checked:)
bíta (verb; °bítr; beit, bitu; bitinn): bite
notes
[6] máttu ‘they were able’: Ms. 343a has the reading mátti, which is 3rd pers. sg. pret. indic. of the verb mega ‘be able’. Since the subject of the sentence is the pl. benteinar ‘wound-twigs [SWORDS]’, eds either adopt the reading máttu (3rd pers. pl. pret. indic.) found in 471 and in 340ˣ (so Skj B and this edn) or emend mátti to the pret. subj. mætti ‘should have been able’ (Edd. Min.; Skald). Kock (NN §3289) adduces the pret. subj. dygði in the following long-line in support of an emendation to a subj. However, according to Nygaard (NS §§293-5) verb forms in the indic. are usual in dependent clauses introduced by svá at/svát, unless the main clause contains a negation, a question, an exhortation or a word meaning ‘worthy’ or ‘suitable’.
hölða ‘warriors’
(not checked:)
hǫlðr (noun m.; °-s; -ar): man
[7] hölða hugprúða: hölðum hugprúðum 471
hugprúða ‘courage-proud’
(not checked:)
hugprúðr (adj.): proud
[7] hölða hugprúða: hölðum hugprúðum 471
ef ‘if’
(not checked:)
3. ef (conj.): if
þér ‘’
(not checked:)
þú (pron.; °gen. þín, dat. þér, acc. þik): you
hugr ‘courage’
(not checked:)
hugr (noun m.): mind, thought, courage
dygði ‘had stood you in good stead’
(not checked:)
duga (verb; °dugir; dugði; dugat): help, befit
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
Framarr mocks Ketill’s futile attempts to wound him. In the saga this stanza is introduced by the words: Framarr kvað vísu ‘Framarr spoke a stanza’.
This stanza contains echoes of Ket 15, in which Ketill comments on the course of the battle against the first unwanted suitor (Áli Uppdalakappi) for the hand of his daughter: Ketill says there (l. 4) that the beard of his opponent is ‘coloured (with blood)’ and that his opponent is afraid: biðill meyjar hræðiz ‘the girl’s suitor is afraid’ (l. 8). — [5-8]: Several mss including 342ˣ omit ll. 5-6 and read: frýr hann hjör hvassan; | hræðiz nú faðir meyjar | at høggva hugprúðan, | því honum hugr ei dugir ‘he blames his sharp sword (acc.); the father of the maiden is now afraid to strike the courage-proud [man], because his courage does not support him’.
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.