Mágj Lv 2VIII (Mág 2)
Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Máguss saga jarls 2 (Mágus jarl, verses 2)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 600.
Sé ‘see’
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2. sjá (verb): see
ek ‘I’
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
hvar ‘where’
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hvar (adv.): where
sitja ‘are sitting’
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sitja (verb): sit
[1] sitja: so all others, sitja added above the line 152
Sveinn ‘Sveinn’
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2. Sveinn (noun m.): Sveinn
notes
[2] Sveinn ok Helgi ‘Sveinn and Helgi’: These two men are described as kertisveinar ‘attendants’, lit. ‘candle-boys’ of the king. Although they are members of his household, they are treacherous, and throughout the saga make common cause with Ubbi jarl, acting as his agents provocateurs (see Mág 3/6 and Note below).
ok ‘and’
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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
notes
[2] Sveinn ok Helgi ‘Sveinn and Helgi’: These two men are described as kertisveinar ‘attendants’, lit. ‘candle-boys’ of the king. Although they are members of his household, they are treacherous, and throughout the saga make common cause with Ubbi jarl, acting as his agents provocateurs (see Mág 3/6 and Note below).
Helgi ‘Helgi’
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Helgi (noun m.): Helgi
notes
[2] Sveinn ok Helgi ‘Sveinn and Helgi’: These two men are described as kertisveinar ‘attendants’, lit. ‘candle-boys’ of the king. Although they are members of his household, they are treacherous, and throughout the saga make common cause with Ubbi jarl, acting as his agents provocateurs (see Mág 3/6 and Note below).
þeir ‘they’
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hann (pron.; °gen. hans, dat. honum; f. hon, gen. hennar, acc. hana): he, she, it, they, them...
notes
[3] þeir eru rógberar ‘they are slander-bearers’: The reading of 152. Ms. 590aˣ has þeir er rógbera, which Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) and Skald adopt and understand as þeir er bera róg ‘they who carry slander [between men]’. The cpd rógberi is attested in Old Norse prose; cf. rógbera Ásanna ‘the slander-carrier of the gods’, of Loki (SnE 2005, 26).
notes
[3] þeir eru rógberar ‘they are slander-bearers’: The reading of 152. Ms. 590aˣ has þeir er rógbera, which Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) and Skald adopt and understand as þeir er bera róg ‘they who carry slander [between men]’. The cpd rógberi is attested in Old Norse prose; cf. rógbera Ásanna ‘the slander-carrier of the gods’, of Loki (SnE 2005, 26).
róg ‘slander’
[3] rógberar: róg bera 590aˣ, 58ˣ, papp25ˣ
notes
[3] þeir eru rógberar ‘they are slander-bearers’: The reading of 152. Ms. 590aˣ has þeir er rógbera, which Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) and Skald adopt and understand as þeir er bera róg ‘they who carry slander [between men]’. The cpd rógberi is attested in Old Norse prose; cf. rógbera Ásanna ‘the slander-carrier of the gods’, of Loki (SnE 2005, 26).
berar ‘bearers’
[3] rógberar: róg bera 590aˣ, 58ˣ, papp25ˣ
notes
[3] þeir eru rógberar ‘they are slander-bearers’: The reading of 152. Ms. 590aˣ has þeir er rógbera, which Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) and Skald adopt and understand as þeir er bera róg ‘they who carry slander [between men]’. The cpd rógberi is attested in Old Norse prose; cf. rógbera Ásanna ‘the slander-carrier of the gods’, of Loki (SnE 2005, 26).
rekka ‘men’
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rekkr (noun m.; °; -ar): man, champion
Þikjaz ‘They appear’
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2. þykkja (verb): seem, think
garpar ‘brave fellows’
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garpr (noun m.): champion
í ‘in’
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í (prep.): in, into
gamanmálum ‘joking speech’
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gamanmál (noun n.)
eru ‘they are’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
[7] eru löskvir tveir: so 590aˣ, papp25ˣ, enn eru lostugir 152, ‘ero lomskuir tueir’ 58ˣ
löskvir ‘good-for-nothing’
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lǫskr (adj.): lazy
[7] eru löskvir tveir: so 590aˣ, papp25ˣ, enn eru lostugir 152, ‘ero lomskuir tueir’ 58ˣ
tveir ‘two’
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tveir (num. cardinal): two
[7] eru löskvir tveir: so 590aˣ, papp25ˣ, enn eru lostugir 152, ‘ero lomskuir tueir’ 58ˣ
lymskudrengir ‘men of cunning’
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lymskudrengr (noun m.)
[8] lymskudrengir: so 590aˣ, 58ˣ, ok lymsku drjúgir 152, lymsku drjúgir papp25ˣ
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
The court laughs after the old man’s recital of his first stanza. He repeats his previous behaviour in the hall and then recites a second stanza, again in a low voice.
[1-2]: These lines are similar in wording to part of the sibyl’s prophecy in Hrólf (Hrólf 4/1-2), Sé ek hvar sitja | synir Hálfdanar ‘I see where the sons of Hálfdan sit’. — [7-8]: Ms. 590aˣ’s readings have been preferred here over those of 152, as they provide slightly better sense. In l. 7 ms. 152’s adj. lostugir ‘willing, ready’ (m. nom. pl.) is plausible but perhaps too positive, combining in l. 8 with the variant lymskudrjúgir to give the sense ‘but they are willing and ample in cunning’.
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