Ólhv Hryn 1II/4 — vísa ‘the ruler’s’
Mærir glǫddusk miklu ári
menn; báru þá ávǫxt tvennan
(veglig sýndisk) viðr ok fuglar
(vísa grein) á sumri einu.
Mærir menn glǫddusk miklu ári; viðr ok fuglar báru þá tvennan ávǫxt á einu sumri; grein vísa sýndisk veglig.
Illustrious men were gladdened by the great prosperity; trees and birds then produced offspring twice in one summer; the ruler’s circumstances appeared magnificent.
readings
[4] vísa grein: ‘vísis rein’ 42ˣ
notes
[4] grein vísa ‘the ruler’s circumstances’: A pun is made on grein in its meanings ‘circumstances’ and ‘branch’, the latter of which includes the literal sense ‘branch of a tree’ and the metaphorical sense ‘branch of a family, royal line’ (see Fritzner: grein 2, 4). Grein vísa simultaneously denotes ‘the ruler’s circumstances’ and ‘the ruler’s branch’, i.e. ‘royal line’. On a literal level, grein vísa sýndisk veglig ‘the ruler’s branch appeared magnificent’ (ll. 3, 4) echoes the blossoming trees mentioned in ll. 2, 3, and metaphorically it refers to the royal dynasty from which Hákon descended.