Anon (Vǫlsa) 13I
Wilhelm Heizmann (ed.) 2012, ‘Anonymous Lausavísur, Lausavísur from Vǫlsa þáttr 13’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 1104.
Hvat ‘What’
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hvat (pron.): what
er ‘is’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
manna ‘man’
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maðr (noun m.): man, person
mér ‘to me’
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
ókunnra ‘unknown’
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ókunnr (adj.): unknown
er ‘who’
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2. er (conj.): who, which, when
hundum ‘to dogs’
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hundr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): hound, dog
gefr ‘gives’
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gefa (verb): give
heilagt ‘the holy’
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heilagr (adj.; °helgan; compar. -ari, superl. -astr): holy, sacred
blæti ‘offering’
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blœti (noun n.): offering
um ‘over’
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1. um (prep.): about, around
hjarra ‘door-hinges’
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hjarri (noun m.; °-a; -ar): [door-hinges]
ok ‘and’
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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
hurðása ‘door-beams’
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hurðáss (noun m.): [door-beams]
vita ‘to see’
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1. vita (verb): know
ef ‘if’
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3. ef (conj.): if
ek ‘I’
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
borgit ‘save’
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1. bjarga (verb; °bergr (biærgr Alk619 77⁹; biargr ÓH619 119¹); barg, burgu; borginn): to save, preserve
fæ ‘can’
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2. fá (verb; °fǽr; fekk, fengu; fenginn): get, receive
blætinu ‘offering’
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blœti (noun n.): offering
notes
[8] blætinu helga ‘the holy offering’: Heusler and Ranisch (Edd. Min.) emend this to blœti helgu, without the article, for metrical reasons.
helga ‘the holy’
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heilagr (adj.; °helgan; compar. -ari, superl. -astr): holy, sacred
notes
[8] blætinu helga ‘the holy offering’: Heusler and Ranisch (Edd. Min.) emend this to blœti helgu, without the article, for metrical reasons.
Legg ‘Put’
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leggja (verb): put, lay
þú ‘’
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þú (pron.; °gen. þín, dat. þér, acc. þik): you
niðr ‘down’
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3. niðr (adv.): down
notes
[9] Lærir: A suggestive proper name, related to lær ‘thigh’; cf. st. 2/8 innan læra ‘between the thighs’. Only the initial ‘l’ is now distinct in Flat, but 292ˣ has ‘Ler’, and the prose has Lærir (Flat(121vb); Flat 1860-8, II, 332). The eds of the stanza in Flat 1860-8 (II, 335) and Skj B read Lerir.
ok ‘and’
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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
lát ‘let’
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láta (verb): let, have sth done
notes
[10] lát mik eigi sjá ‘do not let me see [it]’: Heusler and Ranisch (Edd. Min.) suggest that eigi should be omitted or it should be emended to eiga by leaving out sjá; thus the phrase would read ‘let me see’ or ‘let me have’.
mik ‘me’
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
notes
[10] lát mik eigi sjá ‘do not let me see [it]’: Heusler and Ranisch (Edd. Min.) suggest that eigi should be omitted or it should be emended to eiga by leaving out sjá; thus the phrase would read ‘let me see’ or ‘let me have’.
eigi ‘not’
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3. eigi (adv.): not
notes
[10] lát mik eigi sjá ‘do not let me see [it]’: Heusler and Ranisch (Edd. Min.) suggest that eigi should be omitted or it should be emended to eiga by leaving out sjá; thus the phrase would read ‘let me see’ or ‘let me have’.
sjá ‘see’
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2. sjá (verb): see
notes
[10] lát mik eigi sjá ‘do not let me see [it]’: Heusler and Ranisch (Edd. Min.) suggest that eigi should be omitted or it should be emended to eiga by leaving out sjá; thus the phrase would read ‘let me see’ or ‘let me have’.
ok ‘and’
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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
svelg ‘swallow’
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svelga (verb): [swallow]
eigi ‘not’
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3. eigi (adv.): not
niðr ‘’
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3. niðr (adv.): down
sártíkin ‘wound-bitch’
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sártík (noun f.): [wound-bitch]
notes
[12] rǫg sártíkin ‘perverted wound-bitch’: Sártík f. is a hap. leg., with suffixed def. art -in. The word sár ‘wound, pain’ might refer both to the housewife, who is deeply hurt by seeing Vǫlsi in the dog’s mouth, and to Vǫlsi itself. Rǫg is f. nom. sg. of ragr, a term of extreme abuse normally applied to men to imply cowardice or passive homosexuality.
rǫg ‘perverted’
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ragr (adj.; °superl. -astr): [perverted, minded]
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
Seeing Vǫlsi in the dog’s mouth, the housewife reacts with extreme agitation and speaks a stanza. After this the king throws off his disguise and reveals his identity. He instructs the farmer’s household in the true faith and converts them.
[5-6]: The reference to the housewife demanding to be lifted ‘over door-hinges and onto door-beams’ is reminiscent of part of Ibn Fadlan’s description of a Rus funerary rite (for which, see Smyser 1965, 99; Lunde and Stone 2012, 52; see Price 2002, 168, 217-19 on connections between Ibn Fadlan’s account and Vǫlsa). Here, a slave-girl who is to die and accompany her master to the other world is said to be raised three times in order to see over a type of door frame, which seems to represent the limen between the worlds of the living and the dead. With the help of this particular mantic practice, the housewife in Vǫlsa hopes to be able to save Vǫlsi (Steinsland and Vogt 1981, 103-4; Näsström 2002, 150). In Steinsland’s opinion this pushes the Völsi rite towards a vǫlva (seeress) cult. — [9-12]: The final lines are often separated off as an independent stanza by eds (Skj; Skald; Edd. Min.), producing an eight-line st. 13, as normal though not invariable in the Vǫlsa stanzas.
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