Ásbjǫrn, Ævikviða 8

Peter Jorgensen

Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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Ásb Ævkv 8^VIII (OStór 11)

Peter Jorgensen (ed.) 2017, ‘Orms þáttr Stórólfssonar 11 (Ásbjǫrn, Ævikviða 8)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 614.

Ásbjǫrn Ævikviða

7 8 9

notes

[2] alllítt ‘very little’: Litotes for ‘not at all’. Both Skj B and Skald emend to alllítit, with the same meaning, to give a six-syllable dróttkvætt line (without internal rhyme).

vér ‘We’

(not checked:)
vér (pron.; °gen. vár, dat./acc. oss): we, us, our

spörðumz ‘held back’

(not checked:)
2. spara (verb): spare, withhold

[2] spörðumz: ‘spaurduzt’ 2845, ‘spǫrðum’ 554h βˣ

at ‘at’

(not checked:)
3. at (prep.): at, to

sam ‘together’

(not checked:)
samr (adj.; °compar. -ari): same < samtog (noun n.)

[3] sam‑: sem 554h βˣ

kennings

samtogi sverða;
‘the drawing together of swords; ’
= BATTLE
the drawing together of swords; → BATTLE

togi ‘the drawing’

(not checked:)
tog (noun n.; °; dat. -um): leader < samtog (noun n.)

kennings

samtogi sverða;
‘the drawing together of swords; ’
= BATTLE
the drawing together of swords; → BATTLE

sverða ‘of swords’

(not checked:)
sverð (noun n.; °-s; -): sword

kennings

samtogi sverða;
‘the drawing together of swords; ’
= BATTLE
the drawing together of swords; → BATTLE

sjaldan ‘seldom’

(not checked:)
sjaldan (adv.): seldom

ek ‘I’

(not checked:)
ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me

latta ‘hinder’

(not checked:)
letja (verb): deprive

[4] latta: so 2845, ‘lasta’ Flat, latti 554h βˣ

at ‘that’

(not checked:)
4. at (conj.): that

bryn ‘mailcoat’

(not checked:)
1. brynja (noun f.; °-u (dat. brynnoni Gibb 38⁹); -ur): mailcoat < brynpalmr (noun m.)

[5] brynpálmar brýndir: rómu, hjálm ok branda 554h βˣ; bryn‑: ‘brun’ 2845

kennings

brýndir brynpálmar
‘the sharpened mailcoat-palms ’
= SWORDS
the sharpened mailcoat-palms → SWORDS

notes

[5] brynpálmar ‘the mailcoat-palms [SWORDS]’: The cpd is a hap. leg. The kenning belongs to a common type in which swords are referred to by a base-word denoting a long, sharp object (e.g. icicle, stick) and a determinant denoting a piece of armour or a defensive weapon, such as a mailcoat or shield (cf. Meissner 152-3). In skaldic poetry the noun palmr, later pálmr, is used as a simplex and in the literal sense of a palm tree or palm branch, the first recorded examples being in the C12th poems Leið 30/8^VII and Rv Lv 29/4^II, both in Christian contexts. Here, however, and in Anon Krm 15/10 pálmr strenglágar ‘the palm of the bowstring-groove’, an arrow-kenning, pálmr is used in a metaphorical not a literal sense.

pálmar ‘palms’

(not checked:)
palmr (noun m.; °; -ar): palm-tree < brynpalmr (noun m.)

[5] brynpálmar brýndir: rómu, hjálm ok branda 554h βˣ

kennings

brýndir brynpálmar
‘the sharpened mailcoat-palms ’
= SWORDS
the sharpened mailcoat-palms → SWORDS

notes

brýndir ‘the sharpened’

(not checked:)
brýna (verb; °-nd-): sharpen, whet

[5] brynpálmar brýndir: rómu, hjálm ok branda 554h βˣ

kennings

brýndir brynpálmar
‘the sharpened mailcoat-palms ’
= SWORDS
the sharpened mailcoat-palms → SWORDS

biti ‘bite’

(not checked:)
biti (noun m.; °-a; -ar): mouthful, bite

[6] biti: býr 554h βˣ

hvassliga ‘should sharply’

(not checked:)
hvassliga (adv.)

[6] hvassliga: ‘hussliga’ 2845, hvatliga 554h βˣ

seggi ‘warriors’

(not checked:)
seggr (noun m.; °; -ir): man

[6] seggi: ‘seige’ 554h βˣ

þó ‘even so’

(not checked:)
þó (adv.): though

[7] þó: þá 554h βˣ

var ‘was’

(not checked:)
2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am

Ormr ‘Ormr’

(not checked:)
Ormr (noun m.): Ormr

at ‘’

(not checked:)
3. at (prep.): at, to

ímun ‘in battle’

(not checked:)
ímun (noun f.): battle

[7] ímun: ‘́j́mu’ 554h βˣ

æ ‘always’

(not checked:)
2. æ (adv.): always, forever

[8] æ: allra 554h βˣ

oddviti ‘leader’

(not checked:)
oddviti (noun m.): leader

þeira ‘their’

(not checked:)
hann (pron.; °gen. hans, dat. honum; f. hon, gen. hennar, acc. hana): he, she, it, they, them...

Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses

[3]: This line is the same as Egill Lv 41/7^V (Eg 71) as well as Anon Krm 23/3 (Ragn). — [4]: As it stands, this is a fornyrðislag line of five syllables. Skj B emends to sjaldan ek þess latta ‘I seldom held back from this’, while Skald emends to sjaldan ek hjaldrs latta ‘I seldom [i.e. never] held back from battle’ (cf. NN §186), but neither emendation produces a metrical line.

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Ásb Ævkv 8VIII (OStór 11)

Annat ‘It used to be different’

var ‘’

þá ‘when’

er ‘’

inni ‘inside’

Alllítt ‘very little’

notes

vér ‘We’

spörðumz ‘held back’

at ‘at’

sam ‘together’

kennings

togi ‘the drawing’

kennings

sverða ‘of swords’

kennings

sjaldan ‘seldom’

ek ‘I’

latta ‘hinder’

at ‘that’

bryn ‘mailcoat’

kennings

notes

pálmar ‘palms’

kennings

notes

brýndir ‘the sharpened’

kennings

biti ‘bite’

hvassliga ‘should sharply’

seggi ‘warriors’

þó ‘even so’

var ‘was’

Ormr ‘Ormr’

at ‘’

ímun ‘in battle’

æ ‘always’

oddviti ‘leader’

þeira ‘their’

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Ásb Ævkv 8^VIII (OStór 11)