KrákÁsl Lv 11^VIII (RagnSon 1) (Kráka/Áslaug)

Sitja ‘sit’

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sitja (verb): sit

veiði ‘Hunting’

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veiði (noun f.) < veiðiviti (noun m.)

kennings

notes

[1-2] veiðivitjar vals ‘hunting-visitors of the slain [RAVENS]’: This hap. leg. cpd is interpreted here to refer to ravens rather than birds of prey in general in view of the sense of the rest of the stanza. The cpd’s first element, veiði- ‘hunting’, is a verbal noun from veiða ‘hunt’, while the second, vitjar ‘visitors’, is a m. nom. pl. agent noun from vitja ‘visit’ (cf. LP: veiðivitja).

vitjar ‘visitors’

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-viti (noun m.) < veiðiviti (noun m.)

kennings

notes

[1-2] veiðivitjar vals ‘hunting-visitors of the slain [RAVENS]’: This hap. leg. cpd is interpreted here to refer to ravens rather than birds of prey in general in view of the sense of the rest of the stanza. The cpd’s first element, veiði- ‘hunting’, is a verbal noun from veiða ‘hunt’, while the second, vitjar ‘visitors’, is a m. nom. pl. agent noun from vitja ‘visit’ (cf. LP: veiðivitja).

vals ‘of the slain’

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1. valr (noun m.; °dat. -i; -ir): corpse, the slain

kennings

notes

[1-2] veiðivitjar vals ‘hunting-visitors of the slain [RAVENS]’: This hap. leg. cpd is interpreted here to refer to ravens rather than birds of prey in general in view of the sense of the rest of the stanza. The cpd’s first element, veiði- ‘hunting’, is a verbal noun from veiða ‘hunt’, while the second, vitjar ‘visitors’, is a m. nom. pl. agent noun from vitja ‘visit’ (cf. LP: veiðivitja).

á ‘on’

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3. á (prep.): on, at

notes

[2] á hálsum borgar ‘on the heights of the fortress’: The basic sense of háls is ‘neck’ (of a human or animal), but it also has the transferred sense of ‘hill, ridge, mountain pass’, describing a feature of the landscape (Fritzner, ONP: hals). Finnur Jónsson appears to have understood the word in the latter sense (på borgens höje ‘on the hills of the fortress’), in Hb 1892-6, as does the present ed.; in Skj B, however, Finnur emends borgar ‘of the fortress, rampart’ (LP: borg) to bragna, gen. of m. pl. bragnar ‘men’, and translates ‘on the necks of men’, evidently understanding the ravens to be perched on the bodies of the slain. Kock (NN §1469A) suggests either ‘fortress’ or ‘mountain’ for borg as its meaning in the present instance. The translation ‘the heights of the fortress’ is adopted here with an admission that this leaves unexplained which fortress (or (fortified) mountain?) is in question. The prose context in RagnSon gives no help on this point.

borgar ‘of the fortress’

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borg (noun f.; °-ar, dat. -; -ir): city, stronghold

notes

[2] á hálsum borgar ‘on the heights of the fortress’: The basic sense of háls is ‘neck’ (of a human or animal), but it also has the transferred sense of ‘hill, ridge, mountain pass’, describing a feature of the landscape (Fritzner, ONP: hals). Finnur Jónsson appears to have understood the word in the latter sense (på borgens höje ‘on the hills of the fortress’), in Hb 1892-6, as does the present ed.; in Skj B, however, Finnur emends borgar ‘of the fortress, rampart’ (LP: borg) to bragna, gen. of m. pl. bragnar ‘men’, and translates ‘on the necks of men’, evidently understanding the ravens to be perched on the bodies of the slain. Kock (NN §1469A) suggests either ‘fortress’ or ‘mountain’ for borg as its meaning in the present instance. The translation ‘the heights of the fortress’ is adopted here with an admission that this leaves unexplained which fortress (or (fortified) mountain?) is in question. The prose context in RagnSon gives no help on this point.

hálsum ‘the heights’

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hals (noun m.; °hals, dat. -i; -ar): neck

notes

[2] á hálsum borgar ‘on the heights of the fortress’: The basic sense of háls is ‘neck’ (of a human or animal), but it also has the transferred sense of ‘hill, ridge, mountain pass’, describing a feature of the landscape (Fritzner, ONP: hals). Finnur Jónsson appears to have understood the word in the latter sense (på borgens höje ‘on the hills of the fortress’), in Hb 1892-6, as does the present ed.; in Skj B, however, Finnur emends borgar ‘of the fortress, rampart’ (LP: borg) to bragna, gen. of m. pl. bragnar ‘men’, and translates ‘on the necks of men’, evidently understanding the ravens to be perched on the bodies of the slain. Kock (NN §1469A) suggests either ‘fortress’ or ‘mountain’ for borg as its meaning in the present instance. The translation ‘the heights of the fortress’ is adopted here with an admission that this leaves unexplained which fortress (or (fortified) mountain?) is in question. The prose context in RagnSon gives no help on this point.

böl ‘a misfortune’

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bǫl (noun n.; °-s, dat. bǫlvi): evil

er ‘it is’

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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am

þat ‘that’

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1. sá (pron.; °gen. þess, dat. þeim, acc. þann; f. sú, gen. þeirrar, acc. þá; n. þat, dat. því; pl. m. þeir, f. þǽ---): that (one), those

er ‘the’

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2. er (conj.): who, which, when

hefr ‘has’

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hafa (verb): have

um ‘’

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2. um (particle): (particle)

notes

[3] um: The expletive particle which, like of in similar contexts, occurs before verbs (especially the p. p., as here), and sometimes nouns or adjectives, in place of a lost prefix, is comparable in the present case to ge- in Modern German.See further Note to Ásm 1/3, 5.

hafnat ‘forsaken’

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1. hafna (verb): abandon, reject

hrafn ‘raven’

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hrafn (noun m.; °hrafns; dat. hrafni; hrafnar): raven

Sigurðar ‘of Sigurðr’

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Sigurðr (noun m.): Sigurðr

notes

[4] Sigurðar ‘of Sigurðr’: The line is unmetrical as it stands, but would become metrical if the older form of the name, Sigvarðar, were restored (cf. Kuhn 1939, 199-203). See Bragi Rdr 2/3-4^III and Note there.

nafni ‘the name’

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nafn (noun n.; °-s; *-): name

Blási ‘whistle’

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2. blása (verb; °blǽss; blés, blésu; blásinn): blow

notes

[5-6] blási … í spán at hánum ‘let … whistle for him’: Lit. ‘Let [birds of prey] blow into wood-shavings towards him’. The expression blása í spán at with dat. is of uncertain meaning, but is clearly idiomatic. Kock (NN §182) and the present ed. accept Finnur Jónsson’s understanding of this (in Skj B and in LP: spônn; cf. Hb 1892-6) as meaning ‘go without, wait in vain for’; Kock quotes (with its German and Dutch equivalents) the Modern English expression ‘whistle for’, understood in the sense of ‘seek or expect in vain’. Old Norse spánn m. has several meanings, including ‘wood-shavings, matchwood, spoon (what is left after the shavings have been removed (?)’ (LP: spônn). There is no need, as Kock (NN §1469B) indicates, to emend this 3rd pers. pres. subj. blási to indic. blása, as do Finnur Jónsson in Hb 1892-6 and Skj B and Guðni Jónsson in FSGJ.

nýti ‘’

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nýta (verb): enjoy, use < nýtinjótr (noun m.)

kennings

notes

[5] nýtinjótar nás ‘the devourers of the dead [RAVENS/EAGLES]’: Lit. ‘great enjoyers of the corpse’. The hap. leg. nýtinjótar is a cpd noun, whose second element is ‑njótar, m. nom. pl., meaning ‘enjoyers, users’ (CVC: njótr) and its cognate first element nýti- (from nýta ‘make use of, enjoy’) is an intensifier (LP: nýtinjótr). It forms the base-word, with nás ‘of the corpse’ as its determinant, in a kenning for birds or beasts of battle, most probably the ravens of ll. 1-2.

njótar ‘the devourers’

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njótr (noun m.): user, enjoyer < nýtinjótr (noun m.)

kennings

notes

[5] nýtinjótar nás ‘the devourers of the dead [RAVENS/EAGLES]’: Lit. ‘great enjoyers of the corpse’. The hap. leg. nýtinjótar is a cpd noun, whose second element is ‑njótar, m. nom. pl., meaning ‘enjoyers, users’ (CVC: njótr) and its cognate first element nýti- (from nýta ‘make use of, enjoy’) is an intensifier (LP: nýtinjótr). It forms the base-word, with nás ‘of the corpse’ as its determinant, in a kenning for birds or beasts of battle, most probably the ravens of ll. 1-2.

nás ‘of the dead’

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nár (noun m.; °-s; -ir): corpse

kennings

notes

[5] nýtinjótar nás ‘the devourers of the dead [RAVENS/EAGLES]’: Lit. ‘great enjoyers of the corpse’. The hap. leg. nýtinjótar is a cpd noun, whose second element is ‑njótar, m. nom. pl., meaning ‘enjoyers, users’ (CVC: njótr) and its cognate first element nýti- (from nýta ‘make use of, enjoy’) is an intensifier (LP: nýtinjótr). It forms the base-word, with nás ‘of the corpse’ as its determinant, in a kenning for birds or beasts of battle, most probably the ravens of ll. 1-2.

í ‘’

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í (prep.): in, into

notes

[5-6] blási … í spán at hánum ‘let … whistle for him’: Lit. ‘Let [birds of prey] blow into wood-shavings towards him’. The expression blása í spán at with dat. is of uncertain meaning, but is clearly idiomatic. Kock (NN §182) and the present ed. accept Finnur Jónsson’s understanding of this (in Skj B and in LP: spônn; cf. Hb 1892-6) as meaning ‘go without, wait in vain for’; Kock quotes (with its German and Dutch equivalents) the Modern English expression ‘whistle for’, understood in the sense of ‘seek or expect in vain’. Old Norse spánn m. has several meanings, including ‘wood-shavings, matchwood, spoon (what is left after the shavings have been removed (?)’ (LP: spônn). There is no need, as Kock (NN §1469B) indicates, to emend this 3rd pers. pres. subj. blási to indic. blása, as do Finnur Jónsson in Hb 1892-6 and Skj B and Guðni Jónsson in FSGJ.

spán ‘’

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spánn (noun m.; °spánar/spáns, dat. spǽni/spáni; spǽnir, acc. spánu/spǽni): bit, chip

notes

[5-6] blási … í spán at hánum ‘let … whistle for him’: Lit. ‘Let [birds of prey] blow into wood-shavings towards him’. The expression blása í spán at with dat. is of uncertain meaning, but is clearly idiomatic. Kock (NN §182) and the present ed. accept Finnur Jónsson’s understanding of this (in Skj B and in LP: spônn; cf. Hb 1892-6) as meaning ‘go without, wait in vain for’; Kock quotes (with its German and Dutch equivalents) the Modern English expression ‘whistle for’, understood in the sense of ‘seek or expect in vain’. Old Norse spánn m. has several meanings, including ‘wood-shavings, matchwood, spoon (what is left after the shavings have been removed (?)’ (LP: spônn). There is no need, as Kock (NN §1469B) indicates, to emend this 3rd pers. pres. subj. blási to indic. blása, as do Finnur Jónsson in Hb 1892-6 and Skj B and Guðni Jónsson in FSGJ.

at ‘for’

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3. at (prep.): at, to

notes

[5-6] blási … í spán at hánum ‘let … whistle for him’: Lit. ‘Let [birds of prey] blow into wood-shavings towards him’. The expression blása í spán at with dat. is of uncertain meaning, but is clearly idiomatic. Kock (NN §182) and the present ed. accept Finnur Jónsson’s understanding of this (in Skj B and in LP: spônn; cf. Hb 1892-6) as meaning ‘go without, wait in vain for’; Kock quotes (with its German and Dutch equivalents) the Modern English expression ‘whistle for’, understood in the sense of ‘seek or expect in vain’. Old Norse spánn m. has several meanings, including ‘wood-shavings, matchwood, spoon (what is left after the shavings have been removed (?)’ (LP: spônn). There is no need, as Kock (NN §1469B) indicates, to emend this 3rd pers. pres. subj. blási to indic. blása, as do Finnur Jónsson in Hb 1892-6 and Skj B and Guðni Jónsson in FSGJ.

hánum ‘him’

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hann (pron.; °gen. hans, dat. honum; f. hon, gen. hennar, acc. hana): he, she, it, they, them...

notes

[5-6] blási … í spán at hánum ‘let … whistle for him’: Lit. ‘Let [birds of prey] blow into wood-shavings towards him’. The expression blása í spán at with dat. is of uncertain meaning, but is clearly idiomatic. Kock (NN §182) and the present ed. accept Finnur Jónsson’s understanding of this (in Skj B and in LP: spônn; cf. Hb 1892-6) as meaning ‘go without, wait in vain for’; Kock quotes (with its German and Dutch equivalents) the Modern English expression ‘whistle for’, understood in the sense of ‘seek or expect in vain’. Old Norse spánn m. has several meanings, including ‘wood-shavings, matchwood, spoon (what is left after the shavings have been removed (?)’ (LP: spônn). There is no need, as Kock (NN §1469B) indicates, to emend this 3rd pers. pres. subj. blási to indic. blása, as do Finnur Jónsson in Hb 1892-6 and Skj B and Guðni Jónsson in FSGJ.

of ‘too’

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2. of (adv.): too, off

snemma ‘early’

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snemma (adv.): early

lét ‘caused’

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láta (verb): let, have sth done

Óðinn ‘Óðinn’

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Óðinn (noun m.): Óðinn

álf ‘the elf’

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alfr (noun m.; °; -ar): elf

kennings

notes

[8] álf valmeyjar ‘the elf of the carnage-maiden [VALKYRIE > WARRIOR]’: The noun álfr m. ‘elf’, is a reasonably common base-word in warrior-kennings (see LP: alfr) in which the determinant (here valmeyjar, gen.) refers to some aspect of battle, as in this instance. Valmey f. ‘carnage-maiden’, clearly refers to a valkyrie, i.e. one of the handmaids of Óðinn whose function was to choose warriors slain in battle for admission to Valhǫll (see SnE 2005, 30; Eyv Hák 1/1^I and Note there). On elves in Old Norse tradition, see Turville-Petre (1964, 230-2), Gunnell (2006), and Hall (2007, 21-53).

val ‘of the carnage’

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1. valr (noun m.; °dat. -i; -ir): corpse, the slain < valmær (noun f.)

kennings

notes

[8] álf valmeyjar ‘the elf of the carnage-maiden [VALKYRIE > WARRIOR]’: The noun álfr m. ‘elf’, is a reasonably common base-word in warrior-kennings (see LP: alfr) in which the determinant (here valmeyjar, gen.) refers to some aspect of battle, as in this instance. Valmey f. ‘carnage-maiden’, clearly refers to a valkyrie, i.e. one of the handmaids of Óðinn whose function was to choose warriors slain in battle for admission to Valhǫll (see SnE 2005, 30; Eyv Hák 1/1^I and Note there). On elves in Old Norse tradition, see Turville-Petre (1964, 230-2), Gunnell (2006), and Hall (2007, 21-53).

val ‘of the carnage’

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1. valr (noun m.; °dat. -i; -ir): corpse, the slain < valmær (noun f.)

kennings

notes

[8] álf valmeyjar ‘the elf of the carnage-maiden [VALKYRIE > WARRIOR]’: The noun álfr m. ‘elf’, is a reasonably common base-word in warrior-kennings (see LP: alfr) in which the determinant (here valmeyjar, gen.) refers to some aspect of battle, as in this instance. Valmey f. ‘carnage-maiden’, clearly refers to a valkyrie, i.e. one of the handmaids of Óðinn whose function was to choose warriors slain in battle for admission to Valhǫll (see SnE 2005, 30; Eyv Hák 1/1^I and Note there). On elves in Old Norse tradition, see Turville-Petre (1964, 230-2), Gunnell (2006), and Hall (2007, 21-53).

meyjar ‘maiden’

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mær (noun f.; °meyjar, dat. meyju; meyjar): maiden < valmær (noun f.)

kennings

notes

[8] álf valmeyjar ‘the elf of the carnage-maiden [VALKYRIE > WARRIOR]’: The noun álfr m. ‘elf’, is a reasonably common base-word in warrior-kennings (see LP: alfr) in which the determinant (here valmeyjar, gen.) refers to some aspect of battle, as in this instance. Valmey f. ‘carnage-maiden’, clearly refers to a valkyrie, i.e. one of the handmaids of Óðinn whose function was to choose warriors slain in battle for admission to Valhǫll (see SnE 2005, 30; Eyv Hák 1/1^I and Note there). On elves in Old Norse tradition, see Turville-Petre (1964, 230-2), Gunnell (2006), and Hall (2007, 21-53).

meyjar ‘maiden’

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mær (noun f.; °meyjar, dat. meyju; meyjar): maiden < valmær (noun f.)

kennings

notes

[8] álf valmeyjar ‘the elf of the carnage-maiden [VALKYRIE > WARRIOR]’: The noun álfr m. ‘elf’, is a reasonably common base-word in warrior-kennings (see LP: alfr) in which the determinant (here valmeyjar, gen.) refers to some aspect of battle, as in this instance. Valmey f. ‘carnage-maiden’, clearly refers to a valkyrie, i.e. one of the handmaids of Óðinn whose function was to choose warriors slain in battle for admission to Valhǫll (see SnE 2005, 30; Eyv Hák 1/1^I and Note there). On elves in Old Norse tradition, see Turville-Petre (1964, 230-2), Gunnell (2006), and Hall (2007, 21-53).

deyja ‘to die’

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1. deyja (verb; °deyr; dó, dó(u); dá(i)nn): die