Anon (Ragn) 4^VIII (Ragn 34)

Hafs ‘of the sea’

(not checked:)
haf (noun n.; °-s; *-): sea

kennings

notes

[1] hesta hafs ‘of the horses of the sea [SHIPS]’: If hestr hafnar ‘horse of the harbour’ in Ragn 33/7 is accepted as a kenning for ‘ship’, it is arguable that the speaker of Ragn 34 is here outdoing the speaker of that stanza with a kenning that develops the idea of a ship further. A hestr hafnar might be thought of as a ship that seldom or never leaves the harbour, in contrast to a hestr hafs ‘horse of the sea’ which braves the challenges of the open sea.

létum ‘made’

(not checked:)
láta (verb): let, have sth done

vér ‘We’

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

hesta ‘of the horses’

(not checked:)
hestr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): horse, stallion

kennings

notes

[1] hesta hafs ‘of the horses of the sea [SHIPS]’: If hestr hafnar ‘horse of the harbour’ in Ragn 33/7 is accepted as a kenning for ‘ship’, it is arguable that the speaker of Ragn 34 is here outdoing the speaker of that stanza with a kenning that develops the idea of a ship further. A hestr hafnar might be thought of as a ship that seldom or never leaves the harbour, in contrast to a hestr hafs ‘horse of the sea’ which braves the challenges of the open sea.

hlýr ‘prows’

(not checked:)
2. hlýr (noun n.; °-s; -): cheek, bow

notes

[2] stinn hlýr ‘the sturdy prows’: Olsen (Ragn 1906-8) notes that hlýr n. can mean ‘cheek’ as well as the ‘side (of a prow)’ (cf. Jesch 2001a, 147), thus sustaining in the present instance the idea of the ship as an animate being. The eds of CPB are exceptional among previous eds in taking the <a> following stinn in the ms. not as a prep. but as the m. acc. pl. ending of a cpd adj. hlýrstinnr ‘strong-prowed’, and seeing it as agreeing here (hlýrstinna) with hesta in the previous line. This further involves taking renna ‘speed through’ (so CPB) as transitive rather than intransitive (with brim as its direct object), used in the same way as ganga ‘traverse’ in Ragn 5/7 (cf. NS §96).

stinn ‘the sturdy’

(not checked:)
stinnr (adj.): stiff, firm

notes

[2] stinn hlýr ‘the sturdy prows’: Olsen (Ragn 1906-8) notes that hlýr n. can mean ‘cheek’ as well as the ‘side (of a prow)’ (cf. Jesch 2001a, 147), thus sustaining in the present instance the idea of the ship as an animate being. The eds of CPB are exceptional among previous eds in taking the <a> following stinn in the ms. not as a prep. but as the m. acc. pl. ending of a cpd adj. hlýrstinnr ‘strong-prowed’, and seeing it as agreeing here (hlýrstinna) with hesta in the previous line. This further involves taking renna ‘speed through’ (so CPB) as transitive rather than intransitive (with brim as its direct object), used in the same way as ganga ‘traverse’ in Ragn 5/7 (cf. NS §96).

á ‘on’

(not checked:)
3. á (prep.): on, at

brim ‘the surf’

(not checked:)
brim (noun n.): surf

renna ‘advance’

(not checked:)
2. renna (verb): run (strong)

notes

[2] renna ‘advance’: The use here of the inf. form renna as opposed to the older rinna (see LP: rinna), ‘advance (upon)’, which would provide aðalhending in an even line, is mentioned as an example of a young form by Finnur Jónsson (LH II, 142), who takes it as transitive (with á as adverbial? Cf. his text in Skj BII, 260, and NS §96 (b)), but presumably as a strong verb.

meðan ‘while’

(not checked:)
meðan (conj.): while

á ‘onto’

(not checked:)
3. á (prep.): on, at

bjartar ‘bright’

(not checked:)
bjartr (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): bright

brynjur ‘corslets’

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

blóði ‘blood’

(not checked:)
blóð (noun n.; °-s): blood

notes

[4] blóði dreif ‘blood … sprayed’: The verb dreif, 3rd pers. sg. pret. of drífa ‘drive, cause to move’ is impersonal with its object blóði in the dat.

dreif ‘sprayed’

(not checked:)
2. drífa (verb; °drífr; dreif, drifu; drifinn): drive, rush

notes

[4] blóði dreif ‘blood … sprayed’: The verb dreif, 3rd pers. sg. pret. of drífa ‘drive, cause to move’ is impersonal with its object blóði in the dat.

um ‘at’

(not checked:)
1. um (prep.): about, around

notes

[4] um síðir ‘at last’: The ms. form ‘siþirrr’ seems clear here, so that there is no need to emend to um/of síður ‘over the sides (of the ship)’, as all previous eds have done.

síðir ‘last’

(not checked:)
1. síð (noun f.; °; -ir): um síðir: in the end

notes

[4] um síðir ‘at last’: The ms. form ‘siþirrr’ seems clear here, so that there is no need to emend to um/of síður ‘over the sides (of the ship)’, as all previous eds have done.

Ylgr ‘she-wolf’

(not checked:)
ylgr (noun f.; °acc. -i): she-wolf

gein ‘gaped’

(not checked:)
1. gína (verb): gape

aldri ‘never’

(not checked:)
aldri (adv.): never

notes

[5] aldri ‘never’: The ms. reading can be retained, as here and by Örnólfur Thorsson (Ragn 1985), provided that the mönnum ‘men’ are assumed to be of the speaker’s party: they have not been overcome. Kock (NN §1466) proposes emending aldri to öldur-, thus obtaining in l. 5 the cpd noun öldurmönnum ‘noblemen’. Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) more radically emends aldri to arnar and ‘eyragrat’ to eyddisk gráðr, hence ‘the greed of the eagle was destroyed (i.e. the eagle was sated)’.

mönnum ‘men’

(not checked:)
maðr (noun m.): man, person

eyra ‘The grey’

(not checked:)
eyra (noun n.; °eyra; eyru/eyrun, gen. eyrna): ear < eyragránn (adj.): grey-eared

notes

[6] eyragrán ‘grey-eared’: Lit. ‘ear-grey’. The present ed. follows Kock (NN §1466) in adopting this emended form (ms. ‘eyra grat’), agreeing with ylgr f. nom. sg. ‘she-wolf’ in l. 5. For Finnur Jónsson’s solution, see Note to l. 5. Ms. ‘grat’ could be taken, as by Örnólfur Thorsson (Ragn 1985), as grátt, n. acc. sg. of the adj. grár ‘grey’, used adverbially in the sense of ‘grimly, cruelly’ (cf. LP: grár 2, and cf. ModIcel. grátt gaman ‘malicious delight’).

grán ‘eared’

(not checked:)
gránn (adj.): grey < eyragránn (adj.): grey-eared

[6] ‑grán: ‘grat’ 1824b

notes

[6] eyragrán ‘grey-eared’: Lit. ‘ear-grey’. The present ed. follows Kock (NN §1466) in adopting this emended form (ms. ‘eyra grat’), agreeing with ylgr f. nom. sg. ‘she-wolf’ in l. 5. For Finnur Jónsson’s solution, see Note to l. 5. Ms. ‘grat’ could be taken, as by Örnólfur Thorsson (Ragn 1985), as grátt, n. acc. sg. of the adj. grár ‘grey’, used adverbially in the sense of ‘grimly, cruelly’ (cf. LP: grár 2, and cf. ModIcel. grátt gaman ‘malicious delight’).

of ‘over’

(not checked:)
3. of (prep.): around, from; too

svíra ‘necks’

(not checked:)
svíri (noun m.; °-a; -ar): neck

harð ‘hard’

(not checked:)
harðr (adj.; °comp. -ari; superl. -astr): hard, harsh < harðmeldr (noun m.): [grist-pellets]

kennings

notes

[7] heiða harðmeldri Hveðnu ‘the gleaming hard flour of Hveðna <giantess> [GOLD]’: An allusion to the myth of the mill of Fróði; see SnE 1998, I, 51-8, cf. SnE 2007, 21 (SnSt Ht 43^III). The present ed. follows Kock (NN §1467 and Skald) in retaining the ms. readings and assuming that -meldri is an acceptable acc. pl. form of meldr ‘flour, meal’. The fact that meldr is recorded elsewhere with gen. sg. ‑rar as well as ‑rs would suggest that an acc. pl. meldri (characteristic of i-stems) or meldra (characteristic of ‑a stems, and also mentioned by Kock) would both be possible, though pl. forms of meldr do not appear to be recorded (Fritzner, ONP: meldr; cf. ANG §358. 2). Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) avoids the problem by emending to m. acc. sg. heiðan harðmeldr (hveðnu), and treating hveðna as a common noun meaning ‘giantess’, cf. the next Note.

meldri ‘flour’

(not checked:)
meldr (noun m.): flour < harðmeldr (noun m.): [grist-pellets]

kennings

notes

[7] heiða harðmeldri Hveðnu ‘the gleaming hard flour of Hveðna <giantess> [GOLD]’: An allusion to the myth of the mill of Fróði; see SnE 1998, I, 51-8, cf. SnE 2007, 21 (SnSt Ht 43^III). The present ed. follows Kock (NN §1467 and Skald) in retaining the ms. readings and assuming that -meldri is an acceptable acc. pl. form of meldr ‘flour, meal’. The fact that meldr is recorded elsewhere with gen. sg. ‑rar as well as ‑rs would suggest that an acc. pl. meldri (characteristic of i-stems) or meldra (characteristic of ‑a stems, and also mentioned by Kock) would both be possible, though pl. forms of meldr do not appear to be recorded (Fritzner, ONP: meldr; cf. ANG §358. 2). Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) avoids the problem by emending to m. acc. sg. heiðan harðmeldr (hveðnu), and treating hveðna as a common noun meaning ‘giantess’, cf. the next Note.

fám ‘obtain’

(not checked:)
2. fá (verb; °fǽr; fekk, fengu; fenginn): get, receive

vér ‘we’

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

heiða ‘the gleaming’

(not checked:)
4. heiðr (adj.): bright

kennings

notes

[7] heiða harðmeldri Hveðnu ‘the gleaming hard flour of Hveðna <giantess> [GOLD]’: An allusion to the myth of the mill of Fróði; see SnE 1998, I, 51-8, cf. SnE 2007, 21 (SnSt Ht 43^III). The present ed. follows Kock (NN §1467 and Skald) in retaining the ms. readings and assuming that -meldri is an acceptable acc. pl. form of meldr ‘flour, meal’. The fact that meldr is recorded elsewhere with gen. sg. ‑rar as well as ‑rs would suggest that an acc. pl. meldri (characteristic of i-stems) or meldra (characteristic of ‑a stems, and also mentioned by Kock) would both be possible, though pl. forms of meldr do not appear to be recorded (Fritzner, ONP: meldr; cf. ANG §358. 2). Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) avoids the problem by emending to m. acc. sg. heiðan harðmeldr (hveðnu), and treating hveðna as a common noun meaning ‘giantess’, cf. the next Note.

Hveðnu ‘of Hveðna’

(not checked:)
Hveðna (noun f.): Hveðna

kennings

notes

[7] heiða harðmeldri Hveðnu ‘the gleaming hard flour of Hveðna <giantess> [GOLD]’: An allusion to the myth of the mill of Fróði; see SnE 1998, I, 51-8, cf. SnE 2007, 21 (SnSt Ht 43^III). The present ed. follows Kock (NN §1467 and Skald) in retaining the ms. readings and assuming that -meldri is an acceptable acc. pl. form of meldr ‘flour, meal’. The fact that meldr is recorded elsewhere with gen. sg. ‑rar as well as ‑rs would suggest that an acc. pl. meldri (characteristic of i-stems) or meldra (characteristic of ‑a stems, and also mentioned by Kock) would both be possible, though pl. forms of meldr do not appear to be recorded (Fritzner, ONP: meldr; cf. ANG §358. 2). Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) avoids the problem by emending to m. acc. sg. heiðan harðmeldr (hveðnu), and treating hveðna as a common noun meaning ‘giantess’, cf. the next Note. — [8] Hveðnu ‘Hveðna <giantess>’: On Hveðna as a giantess name, see under Hveðra in SnE 1998, II, 481. There seems to have been a variation between Hveðna (as here and in Hyndl 32/1) and Hveðra (Bragi Rdr 11/2^III, Þul Trollkvenna 2/7^III and Note).

Hveðnu ‘of Hveðna’

(not checked:)
Hveðna (noun f.): Hveðna

kennings

notes

[7] heiða harðmeldri Hveðnu ‘the gleaming hard flour of Hveðna <giantess> [GOLD]’: An allusion to the myth of the mill of Fróði; see SnE 1998, I, 51-8, cf. SnE 2007, 21 (SnSt Ht 43^III). The present ed. follows Kock (NN §1467 and Skald) in retaining the ms. readings and assuming that -meldri is an acceptable acc. pl. form of meldr ‘flour, meal’. The fact that meldr is recorded elsewhere with gen. sg. ‑rar as well as ‑rs would suggest that an acc. pl. meldri (characteristic of i-stems) or meldra (characteristic of ‑a stems, and also mentioned by Kock) would both be possible, though pl. forms of meldr do not appear to be recorded (Fritzner, ONP: meldr; cf. ANG §358. 2). Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) avoids the problem by emending to m. acc. sg. heiðan harðmeldr (hveðnu), and treating hveðna as a common noun meaning ‘giantess’, cf. the next Note. — [8] Hveðnu ‘Hveðna <giantess>’: On Hveðna as a giantess name, see under Hveðra in SnE 1998, II, 481. There seems to have been a variation between Hveðna (as here and in Hyndl 32/1) and Hveðra (Bragi Rdr 11/2^III, Þul Trollkvenna 2/7^III and Note).

blóði ‘with blood’

(not checked:)
blóð (noun n.; °-s): blood

roðna ‘reddened’

(not checked:)
rjóða (verb): to redden