Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Lausavísur, Stanzas from Laufás Edda 6’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 643.
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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
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orðvíss (adj.): [word-wise]
[1] orðvísa Ásu ‘the word-wise Æsir <gods>’: Both the adj. and the noun are in the acc. pl. and clearly belong together syntactically, and the noun phrase has been taken here as the object of the verb kvaddi ‘greeted’ (l. 2).
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2. Áss (noun m.; °áss, dat. ási/ás; ásar): god
[1] orðvísa Ásu ‘the word-wise Æsir <gods>’: Both the adj. and the noun are in the acc. pl. and clearly belong together syntactically, and the noun phrase has been taken here as the object of the verb kvaddi ‘greeted’ (l. 2).
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járn (noun n.; °-s; -): iron, weapon < járnrǫdd (noun f.): [iron-voice]
[2] járnraddar ‘of the iron-voice [BATTLE]’: This is a kenning for ‘battle’, but it is not certain that it functions as a determinant for Ásu ‘Æsir’ (l. 1); it could equally well qualify a base-word in the now-lost lines. As a battle-kenning, járnrǫdd ‘iron-voice’ is not found elsewhere.
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járn (noun n.; °-s; -): iron, weapon < járnrǫdd (noun f.): [iron-voice]
[2] járnraddar ‘of the iron-voice [BATTLE]’: This is a kenning for ‘battle’, but it is not certain that it functions as a determinant for Ásu ‘Æsir’ (l. 1); it could equally well qualify a base-word in the now-lost lines. As a battle-kenning, járnrǫdd ‘iron-voice’ is not found elsewhere.
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rǫdd (noun f.; °raddar, dat. -/u; raddir): voice < járnrǫdd (noun f.): [iron-voice]
[2] járnraddar ‘of the iron-voice [BATTLE]’: This is a kenning for ‘battle’, but it is not certain that it functions as a determinant for Ásu ‘Æsir’ (l. 1); it could equally well qualify a base-word in the now-lost lines. As a battle-kenning, járnrǫdd ‘iron-voice’ is not found elsewhere.
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rǫdd (noun f.; °raddar, dat. -/u; raddir): voice < járnrǫdd (noun f.): [iron-voice]
[2] járnraddar ‘of the iron-voice [BATTLE]’: This is a kenning for ‘battle’, but it is not certain that it functions as a determinant for Ásu ‘Æsir’ (l. 1); it could equally well qualify a base-word in the now-lost lines. As a battle-kenning, járnrǫdd ‘iron-voice’ is not found elsewhere.
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svá (adv.): so, thus
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2. kveðja (verb; kvaddi): (dd) request, address, greet
[2] kvaddi ‘greeted’: This is 3rd pers. sg. pret. indic. of the verb kveðja, which could have several meanings (‘address, greet, summon, demand, put an end to’; see LP, Fritzner: kveðja). It cannot be ascertained whether the translation ‘greeted’ (adopted here) is the intended sense of the verb in this couplet.
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The couplet is given as an example of kennings for ‘man’ in which the base-word is Æsir (LaufE 1979, 371): kiender eru menn so, ad kalla Asar sem hier er giortt ‘men are paraphrased in such a way as to call them Æsir, as is done here’.
The couplet is too fragmentary to allow for a definite interpretation, and the present edn only attempts to make syntactic sense of the two lines that have been preserved. There is clearly a play on the words orðvísa ‘word-wise’ (l. 1), járnraddar ‘of the iron-voice’ (l. 2) and kvaddi ‘greeted’ (l. 2), but the interpretation of the couplet given here remains tentative.
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