Anon Mhkv 20III
Roberta Frank (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Poems, Málsháttakvæði 20’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 1234.
text and translation
Ástblindir ’ró seggir svá
sumir, at þykkja mjǫk fás gá;
þannig verðr of mansǫng mælt;
marga hefr þat hyggna tælt.
Ekki var þat forðum farald;
Finnan gat þó œrðan Harald;
hánum þótti sólbjǫrt sú;
slíks dœmi verðr mǫrgum nú.
Sumir seggir ’ró svá ástblindir, at þykkja gá mjǫk fás; þannig verðr mælt of mansǫng; þat hefr tælt marga hyggna. Ekki var þat farald forðum; Finnan gat þó Harald œrðan; hánum þótti sú sólbjǫrt; mǫrgum verðr nú dœmi slíks.
‘Some men are so blinded by love that they seem to heed very little; so it is said about a love-song; it has entrapped many wise men. It wasn’t a malady in the old days; still, the Saami girl drove Haraldr out of his mind; to him she seemed bright as the sun; instances of such happen to many now. ’
notes and context
[1-4]: The opening couplet employs a rare enjambement (one of two in the poem), as if imitative of the speaker’s ‘heedlessness’ and distraction. On such lovesickness, see Anon Sól 10-14VII, especially st. 12/1VII hvárskis þeir gáðu ‘they paid no heed to anything’; the mental confusion of men in love is also described in Hávm 93-7, 114. See also Note to st. 11/5 above. — [5-8]: The words of the refrain are abbreviated in the ms. and the full text is here supplied from st. 11/5-8.
readings
sources
Text is based on reconstruction from the base text and variant apparatus and may contain alternative spellings and other normalisations not visible in the manuscript text. Transcriptions may not have been checked and should not be cited.
-
GKS 2367 4° (R) — 55r/11 - 55r/12
imagesÁstblindir ’ró seggir svá
sumir, at þykkja mjǫk fás gá;
þannig verðr of mansǫng mælt;
marga hefr þat hyggna tælt.
;
;
;
.Astblindir ero seɢir sva svmir at þickia mioc fas ga | þaɴig verþr vm maɴsavng mællt marga hefir þat hyggna tællt : Ecki varþ a. f. f. f. |
(VEÞ)
editions and texts
Skj: Anonyme digte og vers [XIII], A. [1]. Málsháttakvæði 20: AII, 134, BII, 143, Skald II, 76; Möbius 1874, 9, Wisén 1886-9, I, 75.
Stanza/chapter/text segment
Use the buttons at the top of the page to navigate between stanzas in a poem.
Information tab
- text: if the stanza has been published, the edited text of the stanza and translation are here; if it hasn't been published an old edition (usually Skj) is given for reference
- sources: a list of the manuscripts or inscriptions containing this stanza, with page and line references and links (eye button) to images where available, and transcription where available
- readings: a list of variant manuscript readings of words in the main text
- editions and texts: a list of editions of the stanza with links to the bibliography; and a list of prose works in which the stanza occurs, allowing you to navigate within the prose context
- notes and context: notes not linked to individual words are given here, along with the account of the prose context for the stanza, where relevant
Interactive tab
The text and translation are given here, with buttons to toggle whether the text is shown in the verse order or prose word order. Clicking on indiviudal words gives dictionary links, variant readings, kennings and notes, where relevant.
Full text tab
This is the text of the edition in a similar format to how the edition appears in the printed volumes.
Chapter/text segment
This view is also used for chapters and other text segments. Not all the headings shown are relevant to such sections.