Anon (Vǫlsa) 6I
Wilhelm Heizmann (ed.) 2012, ‘Anonymous Lausavísur, Lausavísur from Vǫlsa þáttr 6’ 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. 1098.
text and translation
Beri þér beytil fyrir brúðkonur!
Þær skulu vingul væta í aftan.
Þiggi Maurnir þetta blæti!
En þú, dóttir bónda, drag þú at þér Vǫlsa!
Beri þér beytil fyrir brúðkonur! Þær skulu væta vingul í aftan. Þiggi Maurnir þetta blæti! En þú, dóttir bónda, drag þú at þér Vǫlsa!
‘Carry the pintle before the bridesmaids! They shall moisten the dong this evening. May Maurnir receive this offering! But you, farmer’s daughter, you pull Vǫlsi towards you!’
notes and context
The son of the house takes hold of Vǫlsi, brandishes it at his sister, and speaks a stanza which continues in the same obscene tone that he adopted at the beginning of the poem (st. 2).
[1-4]: Cf. Þry 30/3-6: Berið inn hamar, | brúði at vígia, | leggit Miǫllni | í meyiar kné ‘Bring in the hammer to consecrate the bride, put Mjǫlnir in the maiden’s lap’ (NK 115). The hammer is a widespread fertility symbol (Kommentar II, 570), and in this context it is equally as ambiguous as kné (Kommentar II, 571). The two stanzas are connected by references to penis (beytill, hamarr), bride (brúðkona, brúðr), and the female genitals (indirectly: væta ‘moisten’, directly: kné ‘lap’; cf. Fritzner: kné 1).
readings
sources
Text is based on reconstruction from the base text and variant apparatus and may contain alternative spellings and other normalisations not visible in the manuscript text. Transcriptions may not have been checked and should not be cited.
-
GKS 1005 fol (Flat) — 122ra/41 - 122ra/42
imagesBeri þér beytil
fyrir brúðkonur!
Þær skulu vingul
væta í aftan.
þetta blæti!
En þú, dóttir bónda,
drag þú at þér Vǫlsa!Beri þer beytil firir brvdkonur þær skulu vingul væta j ap | tan · þ · m · þetta blæti · en þu dottir bonda drag þu at þer volsa ·
(DW)
-
AM 292 4°x (292x) — 55r/12 - 55r/14
images
editions and texts
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.