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Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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Anon Mhkv 1^III

Roberta Frank (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Poems, Málsháttakvæði 1’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 1216.

Anonymous Poems Málsháttakvæði

… ‘…’

(not checked:)
(non-lexical)

þegir ‘is silent’

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þegja (verb): be silent

[1] þegir: ‘[...]eg[...]’ R, ‘þeger’ RFJ, þegir RJS

notes

[1] þegir ‘is silent’: Only the second and third letters are now visible; both Finnur Jónsson and Jón Sigurðsson report an initial <þ>. A call for silence traditionally opened a formal poem: see en lið þagni ‘and let the people keep silent’ (Anon Leið 2/8^VII), vilk, at gegn lið þagni ‘I desire that the honest people keep silence’ (Anon Leið 5/3^VII). Both RvHbreiðm Hl 43/10-12 and SnSt Ht 85/5-6 rhyme þegja ‘be silent’ with segja ‘say’, as here. Bjbp Jóms 1/5-8^I inverts this tradition (‘I will bring forth the beer of Yggr <= Óðinn> [POEM] before people, although no well-born men may listen to me’).

dylja ‘be denied’

(not checked:)
dylja (verb; °dulði; dulðr/duliðr/dulinn (præs. sg. 3. pers. dyll Hirð 401²³, etc., dyl FrostKrᴵ 152¹⁹, etc.)): conceal

má ‘can’

(not checked:)
mega (verb): may, might

þess ‘what’

(not checked:)
1. sá (pron.; °gen. þess, dat. þeim, acc. þann; f. sú, gen. þeirrar, acc. þá; n. þat, dat. því; pl. m. þeir, f. þǽ---): that (one), those

er ‘’

(not checked:)
2. er (conj.): who, which, when

einn ‘any one’

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2. einn (pron.; °decl. cf. einn num.): one, alone

hverr ‘person’

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2. hverr (pron.): who, whom, each, every

[2] hverr: ‘hv[...]r’ R, ‘hve[...]r’ RFJ, hverr RJS

segir ‘says’

(not checked:)
segja (verb): say, tell

[2] segir: ‘[...]g[...]’ R, ‘seg[...]’ RFJ, segir RJS

… ‘…’

(not checked:)
(non-lexical)

… ‘’

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(non-lexical)

eitt ‘only’

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2. einn (pron.; °decl. cf. einn num.): one, alone

bregzk ‘deceives’

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bregða (verb; °bregðr/brigðr; brá, brugðu; brugðinn/brogðinn): pull, jerk, break; change

hóti ‘somewhat’

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2. hót (noun n.; °; -): a bit

síðr ‘less’

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2. síðr (adv.): less, hardly

Fœra ‘to bring’

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2. fœra (verb): bring

ætlum ‘We [I] intend’

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ætla (verb): intend, mean, think

notes

[5] ætlum ‘we [I] intend’: For 1st pers. pl. verb with sg. meaning, see st. 29/6; with pl. meaning, sts 6/2, 14/4, 15/3, 19/2, 26/4.

forn ‘ancient’

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forn (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): ancient, old

orð ‘sayings’

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orð (noun n.; °-s; -): word

saman ‘together’

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saman (adv.): together

[5] saman: ‘sam[...]’ R, RFJ, saman RJS

flestir ‘most people’

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fleiri (adj. comp.; °superl. flestr): more, most

[6] flestir henda at nøkkvi gaman: ‘[...]gama[...]’ R, ‘[...]da at navkq[...] gama[...]’ RFJ, ‘fl[...]da at navkq[...]gama[...]’ RJS

henda ‘take’

(not checked:)
henda (verb): catch, seize

[6] flestir henda at nøkkvi gaman: ‘[...]gama[...]’ R, ‘[...]da at navkq[...] gama[...]’ RFJ, ‘fl[...]da at navkq[...]gama[...]’ RJS

at ‘in’

(not checked:)
3. at (prep.): at, to

[6] flestir henda at nøkkvi gaman: ‘[...]gama[...]’ R, ‘[...]da at navkq[...] gama[...]’ RFJ, ‘fl[...]da at navkq[...]gama[...]’ RJS

nøkkvi ‘something’

(not checked:)
nøkkurr (pron.): some, a certain

[6] flestir henda at nøkkvi gaman: ‘[...]gama[...]’ R, ‘[...]da at navkq[...] gama[...]’ RFJ, ‘fl[...]da at navkq[...]gama[...]’ RJS

gaman ‘pleasure’

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gaman (noun n.): joy, pleasure

[6] flestir henda at nøkkvi gaman: ‘[...]gama[...]’ R, ‘[...]da at navkq[...] gama[...]’ RFJ, ‘fl[...]da at navkq[...]gama[...]’ RJS

gleði ‘good cheer’

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gleði (noun f.): joy

minnar ‘my’

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minn (pron.; °f. mín, n. mitt): my

veit ‘shows’

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2. veita (verb): grant, give

geipun ‘nonsense’

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geipun (noun f.): [nonsense]

sjá ‘this’

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1. sjá (pron.; °gen. þessa dat. þessum/þeima, acc. þenna; f. sjá/þessi; n. þetta, dat. þessu/þvísa; pl. þessir): this

griplur ‘pickings’

(not checked:)
1. gripla (noun f.; °; -ur): [pickings]

notes

[8] griplur ‘pickings’: Pl. of gripla; see Fritzner: gripla. The term appears elsewhere in Old Norse only in Elucidarius (Eluc 1989, 43), where the name Adam is analysed as an acronym: þat er sem griplur hendi til nafns Adams ‘that is as if one gathers up elements of the name Adam’.

er ‘it is’

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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am

sem ‘as if’

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sem (conj.): as, which

hendi ‘one gathers’

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hǫnd (noun f.; °handar, dat. hendi; hendr (hendir StatPáll³ 752¹²)): hand

þá ‘then’

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2. þá (adv.): then

Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses

verse
prose

[2]: Cf. Grettis saga (Gr ch. 46, ÍF 7, 146): en jafnan er hálfsǫgð saga, ef einn segir ‘one man tells only half a tale’; Flóres saga ok Blankiflúr (Flór ch. 22, Kölbing 1896, 71): er ok ósagt frá ef einn segir ‘it is [as if] untold if only one tells it’. — [6]: The emendations in this line, first proposed by Jón Sigurðsson, have been followed by subsequent eds. Möbius (1874, 25) compares the Icelandic proverb: hverr kveður sér gaman ‘each decides his own joy’. The verb henda ‘seize, catch’ occurs three more times in Mhkv (sts 1/8, 10/6, 11/4), as if prominent in the poet’s mind as he searched for hendingarorð ‘rhyme-words’.

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