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Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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Anon Mhkv 17III

Roberta Frank (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Poems, Málsháttakvæði 17’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 1231.

Anonymous PoemsMálsháttakvæði
161718

Varla ‘hardly’

(not checked:)
varla (adv.): hardly

[1] Varla: ‘V[...]rl[...]’ R, Varla RFJ

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sýnisk ‘seems’

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sýna (verb): show, seem

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alt ‘All’

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allr (adj.): all

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sem ‘as’

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sem (conj.): as, which

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*ýtum ‘men’

(not checked:)
ýtr (noun m.): man; launcher

[2] *ýtum: ‘sytvm’ R

notes

[2] *ýtum ‘to those men’: The scribal error that supplied ‘sytvm’ with s- as hǫfuðstafr may have been encouraged by the two words beginning with s- in the previous line; emendation by Jón Sigurðsson.

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er ‘’

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

notes

[2] er drer bægir ‘afflicted by eye-disease’: Lit. ‘whom eye-disease hinders’. Drer ‘cataract, eye-ailment’ is a terminus technicus, attested in poetry only here (see Konráð Gíslason 1895-7, II, 140-1; Møller-Christensen 1976, 642-3; AEW: drør). For bægja e-m ‘distress, hinder sby’, see ONP: bægja 2. Wisén (1886-9, I) could make no sense of the line and replaced it with eigi brýtr gæfumaðr gler ‘a lucky man does not break glass’.

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bægir ‘afflicted’

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2. bægja (verb; °-gð-): contend

[2] bægir drer: ‘bæg[...]er’ R, ‘bægir drers’ RFJ, ‘bægir drer?’ RJS

notes

[2] er drer bægir ‘afflicted by eye-disease’: Lit. ‘whom eye-disease hinders’. Drer ‘cataract, eye-ailment’ is a terminus technicus, attested in poetry only here (see Konráð Gíslason 1895-7, II, 140-1; Møller-Christensen 1976, 642-3; AEW: drør). For bægja e-m ‘distress, hinder sby’, see ONP: bægja 2. Wisén (1886-9, I) could make no sense of the line and replaced it with eigi brýtr gæfumaðr gler ‘a lucky man does not break glass’.

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drer ‘by eye-disease’

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drør (noun n.): [by eye-disease]

[2] bægir drer: ‘bæg[...]er’ R, ‘bægir drers’ RFJ, ‘bægir drer?’ RJS

notes

[2] er drer bægir ‘afflicted by eye-disease’: Lit. ‘whom eye-disease hinders’. Drer ‘cataract, eye-ailment’ is a terminus technicus, attested in poetry only here (see Konráð Gíslason 1895-7, II, 140-1; Møller-Christensen 1976, 642-3; AEW: drør). For bægja e-m ‘distress, hinder sby’, see ONP: bægja 2. Wisén (1886-9, I) could make no sense of the line and replaced it with eigi brýtr gæfumaðr gler ‘a lucky man does not break glass’.

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eigi ‘not’

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3. eigi (adv.): not

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at ‘’

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3. at (prep.): at, to

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er ‘is there’

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

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í ‘in’

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í (prep.): in, into

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fundit ‘come to light’

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2. finna (verb): find, meet

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mun ‘that shall’

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munu (verb): will, must

[4] mun þat er reynt er lengr: ‘[…]g[…]’ R, ‘mvn […] er reynt er lengr’ RFJ

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þat ‘’

(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

[4] mun þat er reynt er lengr: ‘[…]g[…]’ R, ‘mvn […] er reynt er lengr’ RFJ

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er ‘which’

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2. er (conj.): who, which, when

[4] mun þat er reynt er lengr: ‘[…]g[…]’ R, ‘mvn […] er reynt er lengr’ RFJ

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reynt ‘inquired into’

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reyna (verb): test, try, experience

[4] mun þat er reynt er lengr: ‘[…]g[…]’ R, ‘mvn […] er reynt er lengr’ RFJ

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er ‘is’

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

[4] mun þat er reynt er lengr: ‘[…]g[…]’ R, ‘mvn […] er reynt er lengr’ RFJ

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lengr ‘the longer’

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lengr (adv.): for a long time

[4] mun þat er reynt er lengr: ‘[…]g[…]’ R, ‘mvn […] er reynt er lengr’ RFJ

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Ekki ‘n’t’

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2. ekki (adv.): not

[5, 6, 7, 8] Ekki var þat forðum farald Finnan gat þó œrðan Harald hánum þótti sólbjǫrt slíks dœmi verðr mǫrgum nú: ‘[...]’ R

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var ‘was’

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

[5, 6, 7, 8] Ekki var þat forðum farald Finnan gat þó œrðan Harald hánum þótti sólbjǫrt slíks dœmi verðr mǫrgum nú: ‘[...]’ R

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þat ‘It’

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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

[5, 6, 7, 8] Ekki var þat forðum farald Finnan gat þó œrðan Harald hánum þótti sólbjǫrt slíks dœmi verðr mǫrgum nú: ‘[...]’ R

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forðum ‘in the old days’

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forðum (adv.): formerly, once

[5, 6, 7, 8] Ekki var þat forðum farald Finnan gat þó œrðan Harald hánum þótti sólbjǫrt slíks dœmi verðr mǫrgum nú: ‘[...]’ R

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farald ‘a malady’

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farald (noun n.): malady

[5, 6, 7, 8] Ekki var þat forðum farald Finnan gat þó œrðan Harald hánum þótti sólbjǫrt slíks dœmi verðr mǫrgum nú: ‘[...]’ R

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Finnan ‘the Saami girl’

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Finnr (noun m.): Saami (person)

[5, 6, 7, 8] Ekki var þat forðum farald Finnan gat þó œrðan Harald hánum þótti sólbjǫrt slíks dœmi verðr mǫrgum nú: ‘[...]’ R

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gat ‘drove’

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2. geta (verb): to beget, give birth to, mention, speak of; to think well of, like, love

[5, 6, 7, 8] Ekki var þat forðum farald Finnan gat þó œrðan Harald hánum þótti sólbjǫrt slíks dœmi verðr mǫrgum nú: ‘[...]’ R

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þó ‘still’

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þó (adv.): though

[5, 6, 7, 8] Ekki var þat forðum farald Finnan gat þó œrðan Harald hánum þótti sólbjǫrt slíks dœmi verðr mǫrgum nú: ‘[...]’ R

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œrðan ‘out of his mind’

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œra (verb): out of one’s mind

[5, 6, 7, 8] Ekki var þat forðum farald Finnan gat þó œrðan Harald hánum þótti sólbjǫrt slíks dœmi verðr mǫrgum nú: ‘[...]’ R

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Harald ‘Haraldr’

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Haraldr (noun m.): Haraldr

[5, 6, 7, 8] Ekki var þat forðum farald Finnan gat þó œrðan Harald hánum þótti sólbjǫrt slíks dœmi verðr mǫrgum nú: ‘[...]’ R

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hánum ‘to him’

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hann (pron.; °gen. hans, dat. honum; f. hon, gen. hennar, acc. hana): he, she, it, they, them...

[5, 6, 7, 8] Ekki var þat forðum farald Finnan gat þó œrðan Harald hánum þótti sólbjǫrt slíks dœmi verðr mǫrgum nú: ‘[...]’ R

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þótti ‘seemed’

(not checked:)
2. þykkja (verb): seem, think

[5, 6, 7, 8] Ekki var þat forðum farald Finnan gat þó œrðan Harald hánum þótti sólbjǫrt slíks dœmi verðr mǫrgum nú: ‘[...]’ R

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sólbjǫrt ‘bright as the sun’

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sólbjartr (adj.): sun-bright

[5, 6, 7, 8] Ekki var þat forðum farald Finnan gat þó œrðan Harald hánum þótti sólbjǫrt slíks dœmi verðr mǫrgum nú: ‘[...]’ R

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‘she’

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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

[5, 6, 7, 8] Ekki var þat forðum farald Finnan gat þó œrðan Harald hánum þótti sólbjǫrt slíks dœmi verðr mǫrgum nú: ‘[...]’ R

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slíks ‘of such’

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2. slíkr (adj.): such

[5, 6, 7, 8] Ekki var þat forðum farald Finnan gat þó œrðan Harald hánum þótti sólbjǫrt slíks dœmi verðr mǫrgum nú: ‘[...]’ R

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dœmi ‘instances’

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dœmi (noun n.; °-s; -): judgement, example

[5, 6, 7, 8] Ekki var þat forðum farald Finnan gat þó œrðan Harald hánum þótti sólbjǫrt slíks dœmi verðr mǫrgum nú: ‘[...]’ R

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verðr ‘happen’

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1. verða (verb): become, be

[5, 6, 7, 8] Ekki var þat forðum farald Finnan gat þó œrðan Harald hánum þótti sólbjǫrt slíks dœmi verðr mǫrgum nú: ‘[...]’ R

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mǫrgum ‘to many’

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2. margr (adj.; °-an): many

[5, 6, 7, 8] Ekki var þat forðum farald Finnan gat þó œrðan Harald hánum þótti sólbjǫrt slíks dœmi verðr mǫrgum nú: ‘[...]’ R

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‘now’

(not checked:)
nú (adv.): now

[5, 6, 7, 8] Ekki var þat forðum farald Finnan gat þó œrðan Harald hánum þótti sólbjǫrt slíks dœmi verðr mǫrgum nú: ‘[...]’ R

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

[1-2]: One of the few run-on couplets in Mhkv. — [4]: A favourite proverb in Grettis saga and other sagas: Fleira veit sá, er fleira reynir ‘He learns more who investigates more’ (Gr ch. 14, ÍF 7, 38); Þá veit þat, er reynt er ‘That will be shown when it has been tested’, i.e. ‘that remains to be seen’ (Gr ch. 40, ÍF 7, 136). See also Ísl. Málsh.: reyna. — [4]: The reading here is based on the transcripts of RFJ and RJS, who confirm all the words except for þat.  — [5-8]: The refrain has been supplied from st. 11/5-8.

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