BjRagn Lv 2VIII (Ragn 20)
Rory McTurk (ed.) 2017, ‘Ragnars saga loðbrókar 20 (Bjǫrn Ragnarsson, Lausavísur 2)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 665.
Duga ‘serve’
(not checked:)
duga (verb; °dugir; dugði; dugat): help, befit
hugr ‘Courage’
(not checked:)
hugr (noun m.): mind, thought, courage
ok ‘as’
(not checked:)
3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
hjarta ‘a heart’
(not checked:)
hjarta (noun n.; °-; *-u): heart
[1] hjarta: so 147, Hb, ‘hjata’ 1824b
í ‘in’
(not checked:)
í (prep.): in, into
hug ‘a courage’
(not checked:)
hugr (noun m.): mind, thought, courage < hugsnarr (adj.)
[2] hugsnöru (‘hugh snaurv’): so with ‘hvgh’ corrected from ‘havgh’ 1824b, ‘hug (snauru)’(?) 147, hauksnöru Hb
notes
[2] hugsnöru ‘courage-swift’: In place of this adj. previous eds have without exception adopted the Hb reading hauksnöru ‘hawk-keen’ (attested in RvHbreiðm Hl 11/2III), no doubt with a view to obviating repetition of hug- from l. 1. It may be argued that the repetition is effective, however, partly in reinforcing the idea of courage, and partly in extending the scope for multiple interpretation, in allowing the meaning ‘mind, thought’ for hugr (SnE 2005, 43), as well as the meaning ‘courage’, to be present. The word occurs in later mss of ǪrvOdd Ævdr (Ǫrv 134/1-2), in the meaning ‘keen-minded’, see the second Note to [All] there.
snöru ‘swift’
(not checked:)
snarr (adj.): gallant, bold < hugsnarr (adj.)
[2] hugsnöru (‘hugh snaurv’): so with ‘hvgh’ corrected from ‘havgh’ 1824b, ‘hug (snauru)’(?) 147, hauksnöru Hb
notes
[2] hugsnöru ‘courage-swift’: In place of this adj. previous eds have without exception adopted the Hb reading hauksnöru ‘hawk-keen’ (attested in RvHbreiðm Hl 11/2III), no doubt with a view to obviating repetition of hug- from l. 1. It may be argued that the repetition is effective, however, partly in reinforcing the idea of courage, and partly in extending the scope for multiple interpretation, in allowing the meaning ‘mind, thought’ for hugr (SnE 2005, 43), as well as the meaning ‘courage’, to be present. The word occurs in later mss of ǪrvOdd Ævdr (Ǫrv 134/1-2), in the meaning ‘keen-minded’, see the second Note to [All] there.
brjósti ‘breast’
(not checked:)
brjóst (noun n.; °-s; -): breast, chest
þó at ‘even though’
um ‘about’
(not checked:)
1. um (prep.): about, around
mæli ‘he may speak’
(not checked:)
1. mæla (verb): speak, say
manni ‘a man’
(not checked:)
maðr (noun m.): man, person
innan ‘within’
(not checked:)
innan (prep.): inside, within
rifja ‘the ribs’
(not checked:)
1. rif (noun n.; °-s; -, gen. -ja): rib, reason
[4] rifja: ‘rifi(a)’ 147
er ‘There is’
(not checked:)
2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
[5] Eigi er oss í augum: ‘[…]ss i […]ugum’ 147
oss ‘our’
(not checked:)
vér (pron.; °gen. vár, dat./acc. oss): we, us, our
[5] Eigi er oss í augum: ‘[…]ss i […]ugum’ 147
augum ‘eyes’
(not checked:)
auga (noun n.; °auga; augu/augun, gen. augna): eye
[5] Eigi er oss í augum: ‘[…]ss i […]ugum’ 147
ormr ‘snake’
(not checked:)
ormr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): serpent
né ‘nor’
(not checked:)
né (conj.): nor
bræðr ‘brothers’
[7] bræðr: ‘br[…]dur’ 147
notes
[7] bræðr mínir ‘my brothers’: The reference here is to Bjǫrn’s half-brothers, Eiríkr and Agnarr, the sons of Ragnarr by Þóra and the stjúpsynir ‘stepsons’ of Áslaug referred to in the next line. In reporting the deaths of Eiríkr and Agnarr to her sons by Ragnarr in the prose of Ragn, Áslaug had earlier referred to Fall þeirra Eiriks ok Agnars, bredra ydara, enn stiupsona minna ‘The fall of Eiríkr and Agnarr, your brothers and my stepsons’ (Ragn 1906-8, 143, ll. 3-5); cf. the Notes to 16/1-4 (f) and 18/8 above.
notes
[7] gæddu mik ‘enriched me’: I.e. ‘benefited me, were of value to me’. All previous eds apart from Rafn (FSN), who is followed here, adopt the Hb reading glöddu ‘gladdened’ in place of gæddu ‘enriched, benefited’, but this seems unnecessary: gæddu makes just as good sense, and involves minimal emendation.
mik ‘me’
(not checked:)
ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
notes
[7] gæddu mik ‘enriched me’: I.e. ‘benefited me, were of value to me’. All previous eds apart from Rafn (FSN), who is followed here, adopt the Hb reading glöddu ‘gladdened’ in place of gæddu ‘enriched, benefited’, but this seems unnecessary: gæddu makes just as good sense, and involves minimal emendation.
mínir ‘my’
(not checked:)
minn (pron.; °f. mín, n. mitt): my
notes
[7] bræðr mínir ‘my brothers’: The reference here is to Bjǫrn’s half-brothers, Eiríkr and Agnarr, the sons of Ragnarr by Þóra and the stjúpsynir ‘stepsons’ of Áslaug referred to in the next line. In reporting the deaths of Eiríkr and Agnarr to her sons by Ragnarr in the prose of Ragn, Áslaug had earlier referred to Fall þeirra Eiriks ok Agnars, bredra ydara, enn stiupsona minna ‘The fall of Eiríkr and Agnarr, your brothers and my stepsons’ (Ragn 1906-8, 143, ll. 3-5); cf. the Notes to 16/1-4 (f) and 18/8 above.
man ‘remember’
(not checked:)
1. muna (verb): remember
ek ‘I’
(not checked:)
ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
stjúp ‘step’
(not checked:)
stjúpr (noun m.; °-s): step-son < stjúpsonr (noun m.): step-son
sonu ‘sons’
(not checked:)
sonr (noun m.; °-ar, dat. syni; synir, acc. sonu, syni): son < stjúpsonr (noun m.): step-son
[8] ‑sonu: ‘(sonu)’(?) 147, sunu Hb
þína ‘your’
(not checked:)
þinn (pron.; °f. þín, n. þitt): your
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
Bjǫrn járnsíða implies that reticence need not indicate lack of courage and that he and his brothers other than Sigurðr, while lacking the latter’s snake-like mark in the eye, can nevertheless match his resolve. Referring to his mother’s stepsons as his brothers, he makes it clear that their memory means much to him.
Stanza 19, spoken by Sigurðr, the son born to Áslaug while her other sons were absent at Hvítabær, finally confirms his elder brothers in their resolve to undertake the revenge mission to Sweden, an idea which they, with Ívarr as their spokesman, had initially resisted (Ragn 1906-8, 143-4). Bjǫrn, the first of the three elder brothers to speak after Sigurðr, here justifies his position with a gnomic exposition of heroic doctrine in ll. 1-4, and may even be implying, with his reference to the snake-like quality of Sigurðr’s eyes in ll. 5-6, that while his own eyes and those of the other two brothers do not share that quality, he and they are no lesser heroes than Sigurðr’s namesake, their grandfather Sigurðr Fáfnisbani; on the motif of glittering eyes, see Ragn 8, Notes to [All] and ll. 5-8 (a) above. — [1]: The sg. mun ‘will’ is here doing service for two conjoined subjects, hugr ‘courage’ and hjarta ‘heart’, agreeing in number with the subject closer to it (Barnes 2008, 257-8; cf. Faarlund 2004, 201-2).
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.