Anonymous Poems, Sǫrlastikki 1

Rory McTurk

notes

[2] fyst ‘first’: The prose introducing this stanza states (Flat 1860-8, I, 278): En Sorlli lifðe þeirra skemr ‘But Sǫrli was the shorter-lived of them’, i.e. of himself and Hǫgni. It is not certain, however, that the sup. adv. fy(r)st ‘first’ (as opposed to the comp. adv. fyrr ‘earlier’) necessarily refers here specifically to the first of two, as Finnur Jónsson (Skj B), van Hamel (1935-6, 280), and Barwell (1976, 84) seem to have thought; the meaning could simply be that Sǫrli, or whoever inn forsnjalli ‘the brave one’ may be, was the first of an unspecified number of combatants to fall.

Close

inn ‘the’

(not checked:)
2. inn (art.): the

Close

víglysti ‘battle-eager one’

(not checked:)
víglystr (adj.)

Close

ýgr ‘fearsome’

(not checked:)
2. ýgr (adj.): fierce

Close

í ‘in’

(not checked:)
í (prep.): in, into

notes

[3] í austrvegi ‘in the east’: As Barwell (1976, 128) notes, austrvegr lit. ‘the east way’ refers to the lands of the eastern Baltic and especially the lands reached by the river routes that the vikings followed through Russia. The prose of Sǫrla gives no more specific location than this for Sǫrli’s death in battle.

Close

austrvegi ‘the east’

(not checked:)
austrvegr (noun m.; °dat. -i/-; acc. -a/-u): the East (e.g. the Baltic, Russia), the way east

notes

[3] í austrvegi ‘in the east’: As Barwell (1976, 128) notes, austrvegr lit. ‘the east way’ refers to the lands of the eastern Baltic and especially the lands reached by the river routes that the vikings followed through Russia. The prose of Sǫrla gives no more specific location than this for Sǫrli’s death in battle.

Close

allr ‘lifeless’

(not checked:)
allr (adj.): all

notes

[4] allr ‘lifeless’: As Kock shows (NN §2596), allr ‘all’ here has the meaning of ‘departed, dead, lifeless’. He compares HaukrV Ísldr 9/5, 8^IV, where the phrases varð allr … í fǫr þeiri ‘died on that expedition’ and fell á því þingi ‘fell in that battle’ are closely juxtaposed.

Close

á ‘onto’

(not checked:)
3. á (prep.): on, at

notes

[4] á Helpalla ‘onto Hel’s benches’: The first element of the hap. leg. cpd Helpallr m. ‘Hel’s bench’ is formed from Hel f., the name of the mythical realm of death and of the female divinity presiding over it. The realm is here thought of as a hall with its sides lined with a raised floor forming benches for new arrivals.

Close

Helpalla ‘Hel’s benches’

(not checked:)
helpallr (noun m.)

notes

[4] á Helpalla ‘onto Hel’s benches’: The first element of the hap. leg. cpd Helpallr m. ‘Hel’s bench’ is formed from Hel f., the name of the mythical realm of death and of the female divinity presiding over it. The realm is here thought of as a hall with its sides lined with a raised floor forming benches for new arrivals.

Close

dauðr ‘dead’

(not checked:)
2. dauðr (adj.): dead

Close

um ‘during’

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

notes

[5] um ‘during’: The ms. abbreviation ‘v̄’, construed here as um, has been understood by some eds (Skj, Skald, NN §2596) as a shortened form of varð ‘became, was’. Even Barwell (1976, 129), who reads um, assumes an implicit varð. All these eds take dáðkunnr ‘deed-renowned’ as substantival, and construe varð with dauðr ‘dead’ as varð dauðr ‘was dead, died’.

Close

dal ‘of the valley’

(not checked:)
dalr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -/-i; -ir, acc. -i/-a): valley < dalreyðr (noun f.): [valley-char]

kennings

miskunnir dalreyðar.
‘the mercies of the valley-char. ’
= SUMMER
the valley-char. → SNAKE
the mercies of the SNAKE → SUMMER

notes

[5, 6] miskunnir dalreyðar ‘the mercies of the valley-char [SNAKE > SUMMER]’: This recalls the inverted kenning for summer, fiska dalmiskunn ‘the mercy of valley fishes [(lit. ‘valley-mercy of fishes’) SNAKES > SUMMER]’, in Egill Lv 8/4^V(Eg 12), and the kennings for summer and winter in HǫrðG Lv 7/5-6, 8^V (Harð 14). Summer is a time merciful (favourable) to snakes because they can be active in the warmth; winter is a time of sickness or sorrow for them because hibernation puts them out of action. It is possible that the present kenning and those in Harð are modelled on Egill’s kenning, see the Note to Egill Lv 8/4^V (Eg 12). The cpd dalreyðr also occurs as a snake-kenning in Sturl Hrafn 7/8^II, another poem composed in Haðarlag, and it is possible that the poet of Anon Sǫrl 1 knew this work by Sturla Þórðarson (1214-84). The translation ‘char’ (a fish of the salmon species), rather than ‘whale’ for reyðr both here and in Sturl Hrafn 7/8^II, is discussed in the Note to the latter stanza.

Close

dal ‘of the valley’

(not checked:)
dalr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -/-i; -ir, acc. -i/-a): valley < dalreyðr (noun f.): [valley-char]

kennings

miskunnir dalreyðar.
‘the mercies of the valley-char. ’
= SUMMER
the valley-char. → SNAKE
the mercies of the SNAKE → SUMMER

notes

[5, 6] miskunnir dalreyðar ‘the mercies of the valley-char [SNAKE > SUMMER]’: This recalls the inverted kenning for summer, fiska dalmiskunn ‘the mercy of valley fishes [(lit. ‘valley-mercy of fishes’) SNAKES > SUMMER]’, in Egill Lv 8/4^V(Eg 12), and the kennings for summer and winter in HǫrðG Lv 7/5-6, 8^V (Harð 14). Summer is a time merciful (favourable) to snakes because they can be active in the warmth; winter is a time of sickness or sorrow for them because hibernation puts them out of action. It is possible that the present kenning and those in Harð are modelled on Egill’s kenning, see the Note to Egill Lv 8/4^V (Eg 12). The cpd dalreyðr also occurs as a snake-kenning in Sturl Hrafn 7/8^II, another poem composed in Haðarlag, and it is possible that the poet of Anon Sǫrl 1 knew this work by Sturla Þórðarson (1214-84). The translation ‘char’ (a fish of the salmon species), rather than ‘whale’ for reyðr both here and in Sturl Hrafn 7/8^II, is discussed in the Note to the latter stanza.

Close

reyðar ‘char’

(not checked:)
reyðr (noun f.; °; -ar): whale, rorqual < dalreyðr (noun f.): [valley-char]

kennings

miskunnir dalreyðar.
‘the mercies of the valley-char. ’
= SUMMER
the valley-char. → SNAKE
the mercies of the SNAKE → SUMMER

notes

[5, 6] miskunnir dalreyðar ‘the mercies of the valley-char [SNAKE > SUMMER]’: This recalls the inverted kenning for summer, fiska dalmiskunn ‘the mercy of valley fishes [(lit. ‘valley-mercy of fishes’) SNAKES > SUMMER]’, in Egill Lv 8/4^V(Eg 12), and the kennings for summer and winter in HǫrðG Lv 7/5-6, 8^V (Harð 14). Summer is a time merciful (favourable) to snakes because they can be active in the warmth; winter is a time of sickness or sorrow for them because hibernation puts them out of action. It is possible that the present kenning and those in Harð are modelled on Egill’s kenning, see the Note to Egill Lv 8/4^V (Eg 12). The cpd dalreyðr also occurs as a snake-kenning in Sturl Hrafn 7/8^II, another poem composed in Haðarlag, and it is possible that the poet of Anon Sǫrl 1 knew this work by Sturla Þórðarson (1214-84). The translation ‘char’ (a fish of the salmon species), rather than ‘whale’ for reyðr both here and in Sturl Hrafn 7/8^II, is discussed in the Note to the latter stanza.

Close

reyðar ‘char’

(not checked:)
reyðr (noun f.; °; -ar): whale, rorqual < dalreyðr (noun f.): [valley-char]

kennings

miskunnir dalreyðar.
‘the mercies of the valley-char. ’
= SUMMER
the valley-char. → SNAKE
the mercies of the SNAKE → SUMMER

notes

[5, 6] miskunnir dalreyðar ‘the mercies of the valley-char [SNAKE > SUMMER]’: This recalls the inverted kenning for summer, fiska dalmiskunn ‘the mercy of valley fishes [(lit. ‘valley-mercy of fishes’) SNAKES > SUMMER]’, in Egill Lv 8/4^V(Eg 12), and the kennings for summer and winter in HǫrðG Lv 7/5-6, 8^V (Harð 14). Summer is a time merciful (favourable) to snakes because they can be active in the warmth; winter is a time of sickness or sorrow for them because hibernation puts them out of action. It is possible that the present kenning and those in Harð are modelled on Egill’s kenning, see the Note to Egill Lv 8/4^V (Eg 12). The cpd dalreyðr also occurs as a snake-kenning in Sturl Hrafn 7/8^II, another poem composed in Haðarlag, and it is possible that the poet of Anon Sǫrl 1 knew this work by Sturla Þórðarson (1214-84). The translation ‘char’ (a fish of the salmon species), rather than ‘whale’ for reyðr both here and in Sturl Hrafn 7/8^II, is discussed in the Note to the latter stanza.

Close

dáðkunnr ‘deed-renowned’

(not checked:)
dáðkunnr (adj.)

Close

miskunnir ‘the mercies’

(not checked:)
miskunn (noun f.; °-ar; gen. -a): forgiveness, mercy, grace

kennings

miskunnir dalreyðar.
‘the mercies of the valley-char. ’
= SUMMER
the valley-char. → SNAKE
the mercies of the SNAKE → SUMMER

notes

[5, 6] miskunnir dalreyðar ‘the mercies of the valley-char [SNAKE > SUMMER]’: This recalls the inverted kenning for summer, fiska dalmiskunn ‘the mercy of valley fishes [(lit. ‘valley-mercy of fishes’) SNAKES > SUMMER]’, in Egill Lv 8/4^V(Eg 12), and the kennings for summer and winter in HǫrðG Lv 7/5-6, 8^V (Harð 14). Summer is a time merciful (favourable) to snakes because they can be active in the warmth; winter is a time of sickness or sorrow for them because hibernation puts them out of action. It is possible that the present kenning and those in Harð are modelled on Egill’s kenning, see the Note to Egill Lv 8/4^V (Eg 12). The cpd dalreyðr also occurs as a snake-kenning in Sturl Hrafn 7/8^II, another poem composed in Haðarlag, and it is possible that the poet of Anon Sǫrl 1 knew this work by Sturla Þórðarson (1214-84). The translation ‘char’ (a fish of the salmon species), rather than ‘whale’ for reyðr both here and in Sturl Hrafn 7/8^II, is discussed in the Note to the latter stanza. — [6] miskunnir ‘the mercies’: The ms. reads miskunnar, normalised here to miskunnir, and understood as the acc. pl. of miskunn ‘mercy’. Miskunn is a f. i-stem noun (see ANG §390), in which ‑ar is a variant of the normal nom./acc. pl. form ‑ir (though an archaic and rare one, see ANG §390.4 and the second Note to Arn Hryn 18/3^II). The acc. pl. form is here governed by um ‘during’ in l. 5. Kock (cf. NN §§ 1591, 140) retains ms. miskunnar and takes it as a gen. sg. of time.

Close

miskunnir ‘the mercies’

(not checked:)
miskunn (noun f.; °-ar; gen. -a): forgiveness, mercy, grace

kennings

miskunnir dalreyðar.
‘the mercies of the valley-char. ’
= SUMMER
the valley-char. → SNAKE
the mercies of the SNAKE → SUMMER

notes

[5, 6] miskunnir dalreyðar ‘the mercies of the valley-char [SNAKE > SUMMER]’: This recalls the inverted kenning for summer, fiska dalmiskunn ‘the mercy of valley fishes [(lit. ‘valley-mercy of fishes’) SNAKES > SUMMER]’, in Egill Lv 8/4^V(Eg 12), and the kennings for summer and winter in HǫrðG Lv 7/5-6, 8^V (Harð 14). Summer is a time merciful (favourable) to snakes because they can be active in the warmth; winter is a time of sickness or sorrow for them because hibernation puts them out of action. It is possible that the present kenning and those in Harð are modelled on Egill’s kenning, see the Note to Egill Lv 8/4^V (Eg 12). The cpd dalreyðr also occurs as a snake-kenning in Sturl Hrafn 7/8^II, another poem composed in Haðarlag, and it is possible that the poet of Anon Sǫrl 1 knew this work by Sturla Þórðarson (1214-84). The translation ‘char’ (a fish of the salmon species), rather than ‘whale’ for reyðr both here and in Sturl Hrafn 7/8^II, is discussed in the Note to the latter stanza. — [6] miskunnir ‘the mercies’: The ms. reads miskunnar, normalised here to miskunnir, and understood as the acc. pl. of miskunn ‘mercy’. Miskunn is a f. i-stem noun (see ANG §390), in which ‑ar is a variant of the normal nom./acc. pl. form ‑ir (though an archaic and rare one, see ANG §390.4 and the second Note to Arn Hryn 18/3^II). The acc. pl. form is here governed by um ‘during’ in l. 5. Kock (cf. NN §§ 1591, 140) retains ms. miskunnar and takes it as a gen. sg. of time.