Anon (Ragn) 1VIII (Ragn 16)
Rory McTurk (ed.) 2017, ‘Ragnars saga loðbrókar 16 (Anonymous Lausavísur, Lausavísur from Ragnars saga loðbrókar 1)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 657.
Þér ‘you’
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þú (pron.; °gen. þín, dat. þér, acc. þik): you
[1] Þér segju vér þína: ‘þier seg(iu) […] (þina)’(?) 147
segju ‘tell’
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segja (verb): say, tell
[1] Þér segju vér þína: ‘þier seg(iu) […] (þina)’(?) 147
vér ‘We’
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vér (pron.; °gen. vár, dat./acc. oss): we, us, our
[1] Þér segju vér þína: ‘þier seg(iu) […] (þina)’(?) 147
þína ‘that your’
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þinn (pron.; °f. þín, n. þitt): your
[1] Þér segju vér þína: ‘þier seg(iu) […] (þina)’(?) 147
þat ‘it’
[2] þat er nauð kona dauða: ‘þat er (n)aud (kon)a daud[…]’(?) 147
er ‘is’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
[2] þat er nauð kona dauða: ‘þat er (n)aud (kon)a daud[…]’(?) 147
nauð ‘a sad task’
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neyð (noun f.; °dat. -): need, distress
[2] þat er nauð kona dauða: ‘þat er (n)aud (kon)a daud[…]’(?) 147
kona ‘woman’
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kona (noun f.; °-u; -ur/-r(KlmA1980 116¹¹), gen. pl. kvenna/kvinna): woman
[2] þat er nauð kona dauða: ‘þat er (n)aud (kon)a daud[…]’(?) 147
dauða ‘are dead’
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2. dauðr (adj.): dead
[2] þat er nauð kona dauða: ‘þat er (n)aud (kon)a daud[…]’(?) 147
Ill ‘hard’
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illr (adj.): bad, evil, unwell
[3] Ill eru einkarmanni: ‘elli eínkar manni’ 1824b, ‘(elli ein)k(ar) manni’(?) 147
eru ‘will be’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
[3] Ill eru einkarmanni: ‘elli eínkar manni’ 1824b, ‘(elli ein)k(ar) manni’(?) 147
einkar ‘for your’
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1. einka (adv.): only < einkarmaðr (noun m.)
[3] Ill eru einkarmanni: ‘elli eínkar manni’ 1824b, ‘(elli ein)k(ar) manni’(?) 147
manni ‘husband’
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maðr (noun m.): man, person < einkarmaðr (noun m.)
[3] Ill eru einkarmanni: ‘elli eínkar manni’ 1824b, ‘(elli ein)k(ar) manni’(?) 147
ørlög ‘The fate’
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ørlag (noun n.): (pl.) primal law, fate
[4] ørlög sona Þóru: ørlög sonum Þóru 1824b, ‘[…](ug s)[…]’(?) 147
sona ‘sons’
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sonr (noun m.; °-ar, dat. syni; synir, acc. sonu, syni): son
[4] ørlög sona Þóru: ørlög sonum Þóru 1824b, ‘[…](ug s)[…]’(?) 147
Þóru ‘of Þóra’s’
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Þóra (noun f.): Þóra
[4] ørlög sona Þóru: ørlög sonum Þóru 1824b, ‘[…](ug s)[…]’(?) 147
Þung ‘heavy’
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þungr (adj.): heavy
spjöll ‘tidings’
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2. spjall (noun n.; °; -*): destruction, loss
vitum ‘We know’
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1. vita (verb): know
önnur ‘’
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1. annarr (pron.; °f. ǫnnur, n. annat; pl. aðrir): (an)other, second
æ ‘of no’
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2. æ (adv.): always, forever
notes
[6] æ nýjari ‘no more recent’: The form æ, most often understood to mean ‘always, ever’, may apparently also occur in the meaning ‘not (at all), never’ (see Vafþr 36/6; cf. CVC: æ II; LT: æ), and should be so understood in this latter sense here, as Kock (NN §3197F) confirms, so that emendation of þung ‘heavy’ in the previous line to the negative pron. as adj. engi ‘no, not any’, is unnecessary (at least if considerations of alliteration are disregarded, see the previous Note).
nýjari ‘more recent’
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nýr (adj.; °nýjan; compar. nýrri, superl. nýjastr): new
notes
[6] æ nýjari ‘no more recent’: The form æ, most often understood to mean ‘always, ever’, may apparently also occur in the meaning ‘not (at all), never’ (see Vafþr 36/6; cf. CVC: æ II; LT: æ), and should be so understood in this latter sense here, as Kock (NN §3197F) confirms, so that emendation of þung ‘heavy’ in the previous line to the negative pron. as adj. engi ‘no, not any’, is unnecessary (at least if considerations of alliteration are disregarded, see the previous Note).
en ‘than’
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2. en (conj.): but, and
nú ‘now’
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nú (adv.): now
notes
[7] nú hefi ek komit fram fögrum ‘now I have told the news aright’: I.e. ‘performed correctly’. The present edn follows CPB, FSN, and Skald in adopting the reading fögrum found in both 1824b and 147. Kock argues convincingly (NN §§11, 1459; cf. Kock 1918, 36-7) for acceptance of fögrum here as an adverbial (instr.) dat. pl., meaning ‘in fair words’ in the sense of ‘properly, correctly’. This involves an understanding of koma fram as intransitive, meaning ‘come forward, perform’. Other eds take it as transitive (‘bring forward, convey’) and supply it by emendation with a dat. object meaning ‘news’: fregnum (Ragn 1891; Ragn 1985); fregnu (Ragn 1906-8, 206-7; Ragn 1944 and 2003); and fréttum (Skj B; FSGJ).
hefi ‘have’
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hafa (verb): have
notes
[7] nú hefi ek komit fram fögrum ‘now I have told the news aright’: I.e. ‘performed correctly’. The present edn follows CPB, FSN, and Skald in adopting the reading fögrum found in both 1824b and 147. Kock argues convincingly (NN §§11, 1459; cf. Kock 1918, 36-7) for acceptance of fögrum here as an adverbial (instr.) dat. pl., meaning ‘in fair words’ in the sense of ‘properly, correctly’. This involves an understanding of koma fram as intransitive, meaning ‘come forward, perform’. Other eds take it as transitive (‘bring forward, convey’) and supply it by emendation with a dat. object meaning ‘news’: fregnum (Ragn 1891; Ragn 1985); fregnu (Ragn 1906-8, 206-7; Ragn 1944 and 2003); and fréttum (Skj B; FSGJ).
ek ‘I’
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
notes
[7] nú hefi ek komit fram fögrum ‘now I have told the news aright’: I.e. ‘performed correctly’. The present edn follows CPB, FSN, and Skald in adopting the reading fögrum found in both 1824b and 147. Kock argues convincingly (NN §§11, 1459; cf. Kock 1918, 36-7) for acceptance of fögrum here as an adverbial (instr.) dat. pl., meaning ‘in fair words’ in the sense of ‘properly, correctly’. This involves an understanding of koma fram as intransitive, meaning ‘come forward, perform’. Other eds take it as transitive (‘bring forward, convey’) and supply it by emendation with a dat. object meaning ‘news’: fregnum (Ragn 1891; Ragn 1985); fregnu (Ragn 1906-8, 206-7; Ragn 1944 and 2003); and fréttum (Skj B; FSGJ).
fram ‘told’
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fram (adv.): out, forth, forwards, away
notes
[7] nú hefi ek komit fram fögrum ‘now I have told the news aright’: I.e. ‘performed correctly’. The present edn follows CPB, FSN, and Skald in adopting the reading fögrum found in both 1824b and 147. Kock argues convincingly (NN §§11, 1459; cf. Kock 1918, 36-7) for acceptance of fögrum here as an adverbial (instr.) dat. pl., meaning ‘in fair words’ in the sense of ‘properly, correctly’. This involves an understanding of koma fram as intransitive, meaning ‘come forward, perform’. Other eds take it as transitive (‘bring forward, convey’) and supply it by emendation with a dat. object meaning ‘news’: fregnum (Ragn 1891; Ragn 1985); fregnu (Ragn 1906-8, 206-7; Ragn 1944 and 2003); and fréttum (Skj B; FSGJ).
komit ‘the news’
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koma (verb; kem, kom/kvam, kominn): come
notes
[7] nú hefi ek komit fram fögrum ‘now I have told the news aright’: I.e. ‘performed correctly’. The present edn follows CPB, FSN, and Skald in adopting the reading fögrum found in both 1824b and 147. Kock argues convincingly (NN §§11, 1459; cf. Kock 1918, 36-7) for acceptance of fögrum here as an adverbial (instr.) dat. pl., meaning ‘in fair words’ in the sense of ‘properly, correctly’. This involves an understanding of koma fram as intransitive, meaning ‘come forward, perform’. Other eds take it as transitive (‘bring forward, convey’) and supply it by emendation with a dat. object meaning ‘news’: fregnum (Ragn 1891; Ragn 1985); fregnu (Ragn 1906-8, 206-7; Ragn 1944 and 2003); and fréttum (Skj B; FSGJ).
fögrum ‘aright’
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fagr (adj.; °fagran; compar. fegri, superl. fegrstr): fair, beautiful
notes
[7] nú hefi ek komit fram fögrum ‘now I have told the news aright’: I.e. ‘performed correctly’. The present edn follows CPB, FSN, and Skald in adopting the reading fögrum found in both 1824b and 147. Kock argues convincingly (NN §§11, 1459; cf. Kock 1918, 36-7) for acceptance of fögrum here as an adverbial (instr.) dat. pl., meaning ‘in fair words’ in the sense of ‘properly, correctly’. This involves an understanding of koma fram as intransitive, meaning ‘come forward, perform’. Other eds take it as transitive (‘bring forward, convey’) and supply it by emendation with a dat. object meaning ‘news’: fregnum (Ragn 1891; Ragn 1985); fregnu (Ragn 1906-8, 206-7; Ragn 1944 and 2003); and fréttum (Skj B; FSGJ).
flaug ‘flew’
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fljúga (verb): fly
örn ‘an eagle’
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1. ǫrn (noun m.; °arnar, dat. erni; ernir, acc. ǫrnu): eagle
of ‘around’
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3. of (prep.): around, from; too
ná ‘body’
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nár (noun m.; °-s; -ir): corpse
dauðan ‘a dead’
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2. dauðr (adj.): dead
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
The messengers’ spokesman reports the deaths of Eiríkr and Agnarr, Ragnarr’s sons by Þóra.
[1-4]: Some emendation of the text of this helmingr is required to give good sense. The present edn keeps the ms. readings in ll. 1-2 and adopts Kock’s readings and emendations of ll. 3-4 (see (d) below). (a) Among previous eds, Valdimar Ásmundarson (Ragn 1891), Olsen (Ragn 1906-8, 206), Finnur Jónsson (Skj B), Eskeland (Ragn 1944), Guðni Jónsson (FSGJ), and Ebel (Ragn 2003) emend the þína of 1824b and 147 to þínum, m. dat. sg. of poss. adj. þinn ‘your’, following this with somewhat varying interpretations, but all seeing it as qualifying (-)manni in l. 3. (b) Olsen takes dauða in l. 2 as m. acc. pl. of dauðr adj. ‘dead’, emends elli in l. 3 to ill eru (n. nom. pl. of illr ‘evil’) ‘evil are …’, takes the f. gen. sg. form einkar, also in l. 3, as adverbial, meaning ‘particularly’ and qualifying ill, and in l. 4 emends 1824b’s sonum to sonu acc. pl. ‘sons’. Thus: ‘We are telling you, woman – it is a sad task – that Þóra’s sons are dead (acc. with inf. construction); especially evil is the fate befalling your husband’. (c) Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) presents the text in much the same way as Olsen, taking einkar however (as in the present edn) with manni as forming the first element in a cpd word einkarmanni ‘husband’, thus dispensing with the idea of einkar as an adverbial intensive. (d) The difficulty with the emendation to þínum, m. dat. sg. in l. 1, is that it entails a syntactic link with einkarmanni in l. 3, thus complicating the syntax and interpretation of the passage. Kock (Skald; cf. NN §1458) retains the ms. reading þína (taking it as m. acc. pl.) in l. 1, but emends kona in l. 2 to koni, acc. pl. of konr m. ‘son, kinsman’, seeing ll. 1-2 as syntactically self-contained, with the meaning ‘We are telling you – it is a sad task – that your kinsmen (þína … koni) are dead’. He follows Olsen and Skj B in retaining the emendation ill eru in l. 3, and Skj B in seeing einkarmanni as a cpd word, but emends to sona gen. pl. in l. 4, thus producing for these lines the meaning: ‘The fate of the sons of Þóra will be painful to (your) husband.’ (e) Örnólfur Thorsson (Ragn 1985) also sees the two halves of the helmingr as syntactically independent, but emends þína in l. 1 to þinna, gen. pl., taking it as substantival and seeing dauða in l. 2 as acc. sg. of dauði m. ‘death’; thus: ‘we are reporting to you … the death of your (people, kinsmen).’ Cf. the Modern Icelandic expression þú og þínir ‘you and yours’. For ll. 3-4 he produces virtually the same text as Kock, but presents einkar and manni as separate words, acknowledging that they may be taken together as meaning ‘husband’. (f) The present ed. envisages no emendation in ll. 1-2, taking þína in l. 1 as m. acc. pl. and (cf. Örnólfur, under (e), above) substantival, i.e. ‘your (kinsmen)’, and the two lines as self-contained syntactically (cf. Kock, under (d), above). It is apparently appropriate for the messenger to treat Áslaug’s stepsons, Eiríkr and Agnarr, as her kinsmen, cf. the Notes to 18/8 and 20/7, below. — [5-6]: Rafn (FSN) follows 1824b here, and so does the present ed. Previous eds apart from those of CPB, Valdimar Ásmundarson (Ragn 1891) and Kock (NN §3285), do not seem to have been troubled by the absence of internal alliteration in l. 5. CPB has œng spiꜵll … ꜵnnor … enn nýjari … ‘no news fresher …’ (sic); Valdimar emends as follows: engi spjöll vitum önnur | enn nýjari ‘we know of no (other) still more recent tidings …’, while Kock, retaining the 1824b reading of l. 6, emends in NN §3285 þung ‘heavy’ to ung ‘young’ in l. 5 and reads æ in l. 6 as ei ‘not’, thus: ‘of young (i.e. recent) tidings we know not of others more recent …’; in Skald, on the other hand, he retains the reading þung and replaces vitum with eigum (‘we have no [other] heavy tidings that are more recent …’), here accepting æ (l. 6) as having negative meaning; see the next Note. Metrical irregularity is sufficiently frequent among the stanzas of Ragn to justify acceptance of 1824b’s text here. — [8]: On the eagle as a bird of battle and its association with Óðinn as a god of war, see Jesch (2002b, 267).
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