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skaldic

Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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Ólhv Hryn 10II/8 — tungur ‘tongues’

Hallgeislat rauð hvatt í Ósló
hildar tungl með skata mildum
(ræstir þrungu jǫfrar œstum)
járnfaldit lið (saman hjaldri).
Brǫndum skýfðusk blóðgar randir;
bleikir fellu menn at velli;
hlífarlauss vá gramr með gæfu;
gyltar sungu hjalta tungur.

Járnfaldit lið rauð hvatt hallgeislat tungl hildar í Ósló með mildum skata; ræstir jǫfrar þrungu saman œstum hjaldri. Blóðgar randir skýfðusk brǫndum; bleikir menn fellu at velli; gramr vá hlífarlauss með gæfu; gyltar tungur hjalta sungu.

The iron-helmed retinue bravely reddened brilliant-coloured moons of battle [SHIELDS] in Oslo with the generous lord; the princes, incited, caused a fierce battle. Bloody shields were cut in two with swords; pale men fell to the field; the king fought successfully without a shield; gilded tongues of hilts [SWORDS] sang.

notes

[8] gyltar tungur hjalta ‘gilded tongues of hilts [SWORDS]’: Cf. Kári Lv 3/5-6V hátungur hjalta ‘long tongues of hilts’ i.e. ‘swords’. The present kenning for ‘sword’, which contains the base-word ‘tongue’, is an artful reversal of the more common practice of referring to the tongue with the base-word ‘sword’ (see Guðrún Nordal 2001, 252). The latter is described in Skm (SnE 1998, I, 108): tunga er opt kǫlluð sverð máls eða munns ‘the tongue is often called sword of speech or mouth’.

kennings

grammar

case: nom.
number: pl.

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