GunnLeif Merl I 94^VIII

Þau eru ǫnnur ljóð         upp frá þessum;
†alvisk† eigi         auðs berdraugar
— biðk þjóðir þess —         við þenna brag,
þó at ek mynt hafa         mál at hætti,
þeims spár fyrir         spjǫllum rakði
malmþings hvǫtuðr,         í mǫrgum stað.

Þau eru ǫnnur ljóð upp frá þessum; {berdraugar auðs} †alvisk† eigi við þenna brag — biðk þjóðir þess —, þó at ek hafa mynt mál í mǫrgum stað at hætti, þeims {hvǫtuðr {malmþings}} rakði fyrir spár spjǫllum.

There are other songs following on from these; may {bearing logs of wealth} [MEN] not … with this poem — this I ask of people —, although I have formed my sayings in many a place after the style in which {the whetter {of the metal-meeting}} [BATTLE > WARRIOR = Merlin] recited prophecies in speeches.

Mss: Hb(52v) (Bret)

Readings: [4] ber‑: ben Hb

Editions: Skj AII, 35, Skj BII, 43, Skald II, 27, NN §3258F; Bret 1848-9, II, 71-2 (Bret st. 162); Hb 1892-6, 282-3; Merl 2012, 202-3.

Notes: [1-2]: Here Gunnlaugr is referring in anticipation to Merl II (Bret 1848-9, II, 71 n. 8; see Introduction). — [3] †alvisk† ‘…’: Possibly ‘be vexed’ (?). This ms. reading (not refreshed) is obscure, though the general sense is apparent from the context. The reading is tentatively retained in Bret 1848-9 with the gloss laste ‘blame’ and Scheving’s proposed emendation to ylfisk ‘be worried’, i.e. ‘harassed’ (CVC: ylfa), is rejected. In Skj B abbisk ‘become incensed at, vexed with’ is conjectured (cf. CVC, LP, ONP: abbask; Fritzner: abbast), and followed by Merl 2012, and that remains the most plausible solution. Kock’s suggestion ǫlvisk ‘grow drunk’ (NN §3258F) is ruled out by the context. — [4] ber- ‘bearing’: Emended in Skj B, followed by Skald and Merl 2012, from ms. ben (refreshed). A determinant ben ‘wound’ would be difficult to explain in combination with auðs ‘wealth’ (gen.). For a similar confusion of ber-, ben-, cf. LP: berdraugr and Glúmr Lv 1/2^I and Note there. — [4] -draugar ‘logs’: The interpretation of this heiti remains uncertain. Meissner 264-5 cites the interpretation as ‘wood’, therefore ‘tree’, in Orms Eddu-brot (SnE 1848-87, II, 497), but notes that draugr is not attested in this general sense and instead posits, following Neckel (1914), an agentive noun with the meaning ‘one who carries or draws’, from a verb *driuga ‘lead, carry out’, as the base-word for this and similar kennings (but cf. AEW: draugr 2).

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skj B = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1912-15b. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. B: Rettet tekst. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Villadsen & Christensen. Rpt. 1973. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger.
3. SnE 1848-87 = Snorri Sturluson. 1848-87. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar: Edda Snorronis Sturlaei. Ed. Jón Sigurðsson et al. 3 vols. Copenhagen: Legatum Arnamagnaeanum. Rpt. Osnabrück: Zeller, 1966.
4. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
5. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
6. Meissner = Meissner, Rudolf. 1921. Die Kenningar der Skalden: Ein Beitrag zur skaldischen Poetik. Rheinische Beiträge und Hülfsbücher zur germanischen Philologie und Volkskunde 1. Bonn and Leipzig: Schroeder. Rpt. 1984. Hildesheim etc.: Olms.
7. AEW = Vries, Jan de. 1962. Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch. 2nd rev. edn. Rpt. 1977. Leiden: Brill.
8. LP = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1931. Lexicon poeticum antiquæ linguæ septentrionalis: Ordbog over det norsk-islandske skjaldesprog oprindelig forfattet af Sveinbjörn Egilsson. 2nd edn. Copenhagen: Møller.
9. CVC = Cleasby, Richard, Gudbrand Vigfusson [Guðbrandur Vigfússon] and W. A. Craigie. 1957. An Icelandic-English Dictionary. 2nd edn. Oxford: Clarendon.
10. Fritzner = Fritzner, Johan. 1883-96. Ordbog over det gamle norske sprog. 3 vols. Kristiania (Oslo): Den norske forlagsforening. 4th edn. Rpt. 1973. Oslo etc.: Universitetsforlaget.
11. ONP = Degnbol, Helle et al., eds. 1989-. A Dictionary of Old Norse Prose / Ordbog over det norrøne prosasprog. 1-. Copenhagen: The Arnamagnæan Commission.
12. Hb 1892-6 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1892-6. Hauksbók udgiven efter de Arnamagnæanske håndskrifter no. 371, 544 og 675, 4° samt forskellige papirshåndskrifter. Copenhagen: Det kongelige nordiske oldskrift-selskab.
13. Bret 1848-9 = Jón Sigurðsson. 1848-9. ‘Trójumanna saga ok Breta sögur, efter Hauksbók, med dansk Oversættelse’. ÅNOH 1848, 3-215; 1849, 3-145.
14. Merl 2012 = Horst, Simone, ed. 2012. Merlínússpá. Merlins Prophezeiung. Munich: Herbert Utz Verlag.
15. Neckel, Gustav. 1914. ‘Altnordisch draugr in Mannkenningar’. BGDSL 39, 189-200.
16. Internal references
17. 2017, ‘ Unattributed, Breta saga’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 38. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=125> (accessed 16 April 2024)
18. Diana Whaley (ed.) 2012, ‘Glúmr Geirason, Lausavísa 1’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 266.