Mágj Lv 3VIII (Mág 3)
Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Máguss saga jarls 3 (Mágus jarl, verses 3)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 601.
Veit ‘know’
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1. vita (verb): know
ek ‘I’
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
í ‘in’
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í (prep.): in, into
öndvegi ‘high-seat’
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ǫndvegi (noun n.)
öðru ‘the second’
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1. annarr (pron.; °f. ǫnnur, n. annat; pl. aðrir): (an)other, second
sitja ‘there sits’
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sitja (verb): sit
er ‘who’
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2. er (conj.): who, which, when
í ‘in’
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í (prep.): in, into
ráðum ‘his plans’
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ráð (noun n.; °-s; -): advice, plan, control, power
reyndr ‘is steeped’
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reyna (verb): test, try, experience
at ‘in’
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3. at (prep.): at, to
illu ‘evil’
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illr (adj.): bad, evil, unwell
Rigar ‘squirming’
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2. riga (verb)
notes
[5] þú rigar ‘you are squirming’: The uncommon verb riga, for which there are four citations in ONP, including this one, seems to have the basic sense ‘move sth. back and forth, lift heavily’ cf. ON reigjast ‘straighten the body, throw back the head’, OE wrīgian ‘strive, move forward’ and the ModEngl. adj. wry ‘distorted, twisted’. There is also an intransitive use, such as we find here (cf. Fritzner: riga, intransitive). LP glosses riga as bevæge sig frem og tilbage, dingle ‘move oneself back and forth, shake’. In spite of this gloss, Skj B translates l. 5 as du er rank nok i sædet ‘you are certainly erect in your seat’, which is contrary to other evidence for the verb’s meaning.
þú ‘You are’
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þú (pron.; °gen. þín, dat. þér, acc. þik): you
notes
[5] þú rigar ‘you are squirming’: The uncommon verb riga, for which there are four citations in ONP, including this one, seems to have the basic sense ‘move sth. back and forth, lift heavily’ cf. ON reigjast ‘straighten the body, throw back the head’, OE wrīgian ‘strive, move forward’ and the ModEngl. adj. wry ‘distorted, twisted’. There is also an intransitive use, such as we find here (cf. Fritzner: riga, intransitive). LP glosses riga as bevæge sig frem og tilbage, dingle ‘move oneself back and forth, shake’. In spite of this gloss, Skj B translates l. 5 as du er rank nok i sædet ‘you are certainly erect in your seat’, which is contrary to other evidence for the verb’s meaning.
í ‘in’
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í (prep.): in, into
[5] í rúmi: so 590aˣ, papp25ˣ, ‘Irumj’ corrected from ‘Irung’ in scribal hand 152, ‘Irun’ 58ˣ
rúmi ‘your seat’
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rúm (noun n.; °-s; -): place
[5] í rúmi: so 590aˣ, papp25ˣ, ‘Irumj’ corrected from ‘Irung’ in scribal hand 152, ‘Irun’ 58ˣ
ragr ‘a scoundrel’
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ragr (adj.; °superl. -astr): [perverted, minded]
notes
[6] ragr ‘a scoundrel’: It is difficult to convey the precise sense of the Old Norse adj. ragr, which connotes sexual perversion (so-called passive homosexuality in men), cowardice and moral turpitude (cf. Meulengracht Sørensen 1983).
ertu ‘you are’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
Ubbi ‘Ubbi’
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Ubbi (noun m.)
notes
[6] Ubbi: Name of the evil counsellor in Mág, who drives the hostile action against the sons of Ámundi and persuades both the emperor (or king) of Saxland and his son Karl to continue the feud. He is eventually killed by being tied to the legs of horses and dragged throughout the country.
þér ‘’
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þú (pron.; °gen. þín, dat. þér, acc. þik): you
[7] þér er: þat er þik 58ˣ, þat er þér papp25ˣ
notes
[7] verst er gefit þér ‘you are worst’: Lit. ‘worst is given to you’.
er ‘in that which’
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2. er (conj.): who, which, when
[7] þér er: þat er þik 58ˣ, þat er þér papp25ˣ
verst ‘worst’
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verri (adj. comp.): worse, worst
notes
[7] verst er gefit þér ‘you are worst’: Lit. ‘worst is given to you’.
gefit ‘are’
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gefa (verb): give
notes
[7] verst er gefit þér ‘you are worst’: Lit. ‘worst is given to you’.
er ‘you’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
[8] er þik: so 58ˣ, papp25ˣ, þat þik 152, þat er þér 590aˣ
notes
[7] verst er gefit þér ‘you are worst’: Lit. ‘worst is given to you’.
þik ‘you’
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þú (pron.; °gen. þín, dat. þér, acc. þik): you
[8] er þik: so 58ˣ, papp25ˣ, þat þik 152, þat er þér 590aˣ
varðar ‘concerns’
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2. varða (verb): defend
mest ‘most’
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meiri (adj. comp.; °meiran; superl. mestr): more, most
[8] mest: so 58ˣ, papp25ˣ, mestu 152, helst 590aˣ
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
Even more laughter follows the second stanza. For a third time the old man walks before everyone in the hall and utters a third stanza in a low voice.
[7-8]: These lines are very similar in sentiment to a passage of the prose text in the longer recension (Mág 1858, 72 with editorial normalisation): ‘ok þú, Ubbi, munt þó verst duga, sem þér er vandast um, ok konungr hefir mest traust á þinni fylgð’ ‘“and you, Ubbi, will yet do your worst, when you are in difficulties, and the king has most trust in your guidance”’, and a similar statement occurs in the shorter recension (Mág 1884, 22).
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