Anon Mhkv 18III
Roberta Frank (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Poems, Málsháttakvæði 18’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 1232.
Efnum ‘with resources’
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efni (noun n.; °-s; -): material
[1] Efnum: ‘[…]fnvm’ R, ‘Efnvm’ RFJ
þykkir ‘It seems’
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2. þykkja (verb): seem, think
bezt ‘best’
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betri (adj. comp.; °superl. beztr/baztr; pos. góðr adj.): better, best
at ‘to’
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5. at (nota): to (with infinitive)
brǫgðótt ‘cunning’
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brǫgðóttr (adj.; °compar. -ari): [cunning]
reyndisk ‘proved’
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reyna (verb): test, try, experience
gemlu ‘to the year-old ewe’
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gemla (noun f.): [to year-old ewe]
fúa ‘the vixen’
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fúa (noun f.): [vixen]
notes
[2] fúa ‘the vixen’: OIcel. fóa ‘vixen’. The [u:] for usual WN [o:] has been interpreted as an Orcadian feature (Barnes 1998, 13-14).
margar ‘many’
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2. margr (adj.; °-an): many
kunni ‘knew’
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kunna (verb): know, can, be able
hon ‘she’
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hann (pron.; °gen. hans, dat. honum; f. hon, gen. hennar, acc. hana): he, she, it, they, them...
slœgðir ‘tricks’
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slœgð (noun f.; °-ar: -ir): trick, sleight, slyness
sér ‘for herself’
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sik (pron.; °gen. sín, dat. sér): (refl. pron.)
svá ‘so’
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svá (adv.): so, thus
nǫkkvi ‘somewhat’
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2. nǫkkvi (adv.): somewhat, a little
gafsk ‘showed herself’
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gefa (verb): give
Rannveig ‘Rannveig’
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Rannveig (noun f.): Rannveig
notes
[4] Rannveig: The real or fictive name of the speaker’s dark lady.
mér ‘to me’
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
Illa ‘badly’
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1. illa (adv.): badly
hefr ‘comes off’
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hafa (verb): have
er ‘who’
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2. er (conj.): who, which, when
annan ‘another’
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1. annarr (pron.; °f. ǫnnur, n. annat; pl. aðrir): (an)other, second
sýkr ‘betrays’
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svíkja (verb): betray, deceive
notes
[5] sýkr ‘betrays’: This is 3rd pers. sg. pres. indic. (= svíkr) of svíkja ‘betray, deceive’.
eigi ‘not’
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3. eigi (adv.): not
veit ‘known’
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1. vita (verb): know
áðr ‘until’
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áðr (adv.; °//): before
hefndum ‘vengeance’
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hefnd (noun f.; °-ar; -ir): revenge
lýkr ‘ends’
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1. lúka (verb): end, close
bráðfengr ‘quickly won’
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bráðfengr (adj.): [quickly won]
[7] bráðfengr: ‘braðfen[…]’ R, ‘braðfengr’ RFJ
notes
[7] bráðfengr ‘quickly’: An adj. meaning ‘quick off the mark, immediate’, attested in poetry only here.
þykkir ‘seems’
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2. þykkja (verb): seem, think
brullaups ‘of the wedding feast’
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brúðhlaup (noun n.; °-s; -): wedding feast
frami ‘the glory’
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frami (noun m.): success
brigða ‘exceedingly’
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1. brigða (adv.): extremely
notes
[8] brigða ‘exceedingly’: The gen. pl. of the n. noun brigð ‘change’ used as an intensifying adv. (see LP: brigð 3). There may be a playful contradiction between brigð in the sense ‘change’ and inn sami ‘the same’.
lengi ‘long’
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lengi (adv.): for a long time
er ‘is’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
hverr ‘every man’
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2. hverr (pron.): who, whom, each, every
inn ‘the’
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2. inn (art.): the
sami ‘same’
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samr (adj.; °compar. -ari): same
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
It seems best to live with resources; the vixen proved cunning to the year-old ewe; she knew many tricks for herself; so Rannveig somewhat showed herself to me. The one who betrays another comes off badly; the outcome is not known until vengeance ends; the glory of the wedding feast seems quickly won; exceedingly long is every man the same.
[1]: This proverb is no. 27 in ms. AM 604 4° (Kålund 1886, 146; Eirikr Magnússon 1888, 343), an indication perhaps that the C16th compiler of that proverb collection may have read Mhkv. — [3]: Wisén (1886-9, I) removes the pron. hon ‘she’ as unmetrical; eds who preserve the ms. reading attain the correct number of syllables in the line by eliding kunni and hon.
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