AngH Lv 4VIII (Heiðr 97)/4 — á ‘could’
Manni gef ek hverjum margt at þiggja,
annat æðra, en hann á ráði.
Mey gef ek hverjum manni at þiggja;
men spenni ek hverri meyju at hálsi.
Ek gef hverjum manni margt at þiggja, annat æðra, en hann ráði á. Ek gef hverjum manni mey at þiggja; ek spenni men at hálsi hverri meyju.
I will give much to every man to receive, other, better than he could acquire; I will give a girl to every man to receive, I will clasp a necklace around the neck of each girl.
readings
[4] á ráði: so R715ˣ, ‘a nÿdi’ 203ˣ
notes
[4] ráði á ‘could acquire’: The reading of R715ˣ is not certain (ms. ‘a̋ra̋di’) and the sense otherwise unattested, but deduced by Kock (FF §18, translated anskaffa, skaffa fram, hitta på ‘find, obtain, come upon, acquire’) by comparison with the attested ráða af, avskaffa, jöra slut på ‘do away with, put an end to’. Cf. Fritzner: ráða 24. This reading is adopted by Skald, NK and FSGJ and tentatively adopted here on the ground that it requires less emendation than the alternatives. Jón Helgason (1967, 228), followed by ÍF Edd., suggested árnaði, with similar meaning (‘could gain’). Heiðr 1924 suggests á at ráða, followed by Heiðr 1960, which translates ll. 3-4 ‘nobler than all that he now possesses’. Skj B’s suggestion, áðr nyti ‘enjoyed previously’, is based on 203ˣ but still requires emendation. Edd. Min.’s á kveði ‘could fix, determine’ and Heiðr 1873’s áðr á ‘owns previously’ are conjectural.