Framarr Lv 4VIII (Ket 41)
Beatrice La Farge (ed.) 2017, ‘Ketils saga hœngs 41 (Framarr víkingakonungr, Lausavísur 4)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 595.
Hugr ‘courage’
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hugr (noun m.): mind, thought, courage
er ‘There is’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
í ‘in’
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í (prep.): in, into
hvass ‘sharp’
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hvass (adj.; °-an; -ari, -astr): keen, sharp
er ‘is’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
Dragvendill ‘Dragvendill’
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dragvendill (noun m.): °of a sword)
beit ‘bit’
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bíta (verb; °bítr; beit, bitu; bitinn): bite
notes
[3-4] hann beit Óðins orð, sem ekki væri ‘he bit Óðinn’s word, as if it were nothing’: This statement could be paraphrased as ‘he (the sword Dragvendill) is stronger than Óðinn’s spells to dull Dragvendill’ (cf. Ket 36). Óðins orð could also refer to the promise of victory that Óðinn gave Framarr in his youth (cf. Ket 32). Ket ch. 5 (FSGJ 2, 173) mentions that Óðinn had stipulated (skapat) that iron could not ‘bite’ (i.e. wound) Framarr.
hann ‘he’
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hann (pron.; °gen. hans, dat. honum; f. hon, gen. hennar, acc. hana): he, she, it, they, them...
notes
[3-4] hann beit Óðins orð, sem ekki væri ‘he bit Óðinn’s word, as if it were nothing’: This statement could be paraphrased as ‘he (the sword Dragvendill) is stronger than Óðinn’s spells to dull Dragvendill’ (cf. Ket 36). Óðins orð could also refer to the promise of victory that Óðinn gave Framarr in his youth (cf. Ket 32). Ket ch. 5 (FSGJ 2, 173) mentions that Óðinn had stipulated (skapat) that iron could not ‘bite’ (i.e. wound) Framarr.
orð ‘word’
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orð (noun n.; °-s; -): word
notes
[3-4] hann beit Óðins orð, sem ekki væri ‘he bit Óðinn’s word, as if it were nothing’: This statement could be paraphrased as ‘he (the sword Dragvendill) is stronger than Óðinn’s spells to dull Dragvendill’ (cf. Ket 36). Óðins orð could also refer to the promise of victory that Óðinn gave Framarr in his youth (cf. Ket 32). Ket ch. 5 (FSGJ 2, 173) mentions that Óðinn had stipulated (skapat) that iron could not ‘bite’ (i.e. wound) Framarr.
Óðins ‘Óðinn’s’
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Óðinn (noun m.): Óðinn
notes
[3-4] hann beit Óðins orð, sem ekki væri ‘he bit Óðinn’s word, as if it were nothing’: This statement could be paraphrased as ‘he (the sword Dragvendill) is stronger than Óðinn’s spells to dull Dragvendill’ (cf. Ket 36). Óðins orð could also refer to the promise of victory that Óðinn gave Framarr in his youth (cf. Ket 32). Ket ch. 5 (FSGJ 2, 173) mentions that Óðinn had stipulated (skapat) that iron could not ‘bite’ (i.e. wound) Framarr.
sem ‘as if’
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sem (conj.): as, which
notes
[3-4] hann beit Óðins orð, sem ekki væri ‘he bit Óðinn’s word, as if it were nothing’: This statement could be paraphrased as ‘he (the sword Dragvendill) is stronger than Óðinn’s spells to dull Dragvendill’ (cf. Ket 36). Óðins orð could also refer to the promise of victory that Óðinn gave Framarr in his youth (cf. Ket 32). Ket ch. 5 (FSGJ 2, 173) mentions that Óðinn had stipulated (skapat) that iron could not ‘bite’ (i.e. wound) Framarr.
ekki ‘nothing’
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2. ekki (adv.): not
notes
[3-4] hann beit Óðins orð, sem ekki væri ‘he bit Óðinn’s word, as if it were nothing’: This statement could be paraphrased as ‘he (the sword Dragvendill) is stronger than Óðinn’s spells to dull Dragvendill’ (cf. Ket 36). Óðins orð could also refer to the promise of victory that Óðinn gave Framarr in his youth (cf. Ket 32). Ket ch. 5 (FSGJ 2, 173) mentions that Óðinn had stipulated (skapat) that iron could not ‘bite’ (i.e. wound) Framarr.
væri ‘it were’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
notes
[3-4] hann beit Óðins orð, sem ekki væri ‘he bit Óðinn’s word, as if it were nothing’: This statement could be paraphrased as ‘he (the sword Dragvendill) is stronger than Óðinn’s spells to dull Dragvendill’ (cf. Ket 36). Óðins orð could also refer to the promise of victory that Óðinn gave Framarr in his youth (cf. Ket 32). Ket ch. 5 (FSGJ 2, 173) mentions that Óðinn had stipulated (skapat) that iron could not ‘bite’ (i.e. wound) Framarr.
Bráz ‘has been deceptive’
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bregða (verb; °bregðr/brigðr; brá, brugðu; brugðinn/brogðinn): pull, jerk, break; change
nú ‘Now’
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nú (adv.): now
Baldrs ‘of Baldr’
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Baldr (noun m.): [Baldr, Baldur]
[5] Baldrs: so 1006ˣ, 173ˣ, 109a IIˣ, Baldr 343a, 471
kennings
faðir Baldrs;‘the father of Baldr ’
= Óðinn
the father of Baldr → Óðinn
notes
[5] faðir Baldrs ‘the father of Baldr <god> [= Óðinn]’: The gen. Baldrs appears in all mss with the exception of 343a and 471 and accords with the syntax.
faðir ‘the father’
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faðir (noun m.): father
kennings
faðir Baldrs;‘the father of Baldr ’
= Óðinn
the father of Baldr → Óðinn
notes
[5] faðir Baldrs ‘the father of Baldr <god> [= Óðinn]’: The gen. Baldrs appears in all mss with the exception of 343a and 471 and accords with the syntax.
brigt ‘uncertain’
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brigðr (adj.): fickle
[6] brigt: ‘beigdt’ possibly corrected to ‘brigdt’ 471
er ‘is’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
at ‘to’
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5. at (nota): to (with infinitive)
trúa ‘put one’s trust’
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2. trúa (verb): to believe (in)
honum ‘in him’
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hann (pron.; °gen. hans, dat. honum; f. hon, gen. hennar, acc. hana): he, she, it, they, them...
njóttu ‘enjoy’
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njóta (verb): enjoy, use
heill ‘safe and sound’
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3. heill (adj.; °heilan; compar. heilli, superl. -astr/-str): healthy, hale, hail
handa ‘your hands’
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hǫnd (noun f.; °handar, dat. hendi; hendr (hendir StatPáll³ 752¹²)): hand
hér ‘here’
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hér (adv.): here
skiljaz ‘part’
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1. skilja (verb): separate, understand
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
Before Ketill strikes at Framarr for the third time he turns the sword so that the second cutting edge of the blade will strike. This time the sword slices Framarr through vertically from the shoulder down to the hip. Before he dies Framarr speaks a last stanza in which he acknowledges Ketill’s courage and Óðinn’s ineffectuality and treachery. In the saga this stanza is introduced by the words: Þá kvað Framarr vísu ‘Then Framarr spoke a stanza’.
This concluding stanza sums up the themes of the preceding ones and allows Framarr to die with gracious words on his lips: Ketill is courageous (cf. Ket 38, Ket 40); Óðinn’s spells cannot dull the blade of Ketill’s sword Dragvendill (cf. Ket 36); Óðinn is not to be trusted (cf. Ket 32, Ket 33). There are also echoes of the wording of Ket 38: hugr (38/8), hvass (38/3). — [5-6]: This long-line contains a play on the etymologically related words bráz (= 3rd pers. sg. pret. of the m. v. bregðaz ‘change, deceive, fail’) and brigt (n. sg. nom. of the adj. brigðr ‘uncertain, fickle, treacherous’). Óðinn’s unreliability or treachery to his supposed ‘favourites’ is a theme in many Old Norse texts. In the Brávalla legend, there is treachery towards Haraldr hilditǫnn ‘War-tooth’ (Fornk ch. 8, ÍF 35, 62-3; Saxo 2015, I, vii. 10. 3, pp. 512-15, I, vii. 10. 6, pp. 516-19, I, vii. 12. 1, pp. 530-3, I, viii. 4. 9, pp. 548-9, and in Vǫls (chs 11-12, Vǫls 1906-8, 27-9), Óðinn causes his favourite, Sigmundr, to fall in battle against the sons of Hundingr.
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