Sturl Hákkv 28II/4 — unna ‘caressed’
Þar gullker
geiga knáttu
inni full
unna greipum,
en inndrótt
allra stríða
heilivágr
til hjarta fell.
Þar inni knáttu full gullker geiga, unna greipum, en heilivágr allra stríða fell inndrótt til hjarta.
Inside there full gold-goblets swung, caressed the hands, and the soothing balm of all torments [WINE/ALE] penetrated the hearts of the retinue.
readings
[4] unna greipum: so F, 81a, 8, Flat, ‘greipa knattum’ E, unnar greipum 42ˣ
notes
[4] unna greipum ‘caressed the hands’: Unna lit. ‘love’ (so F, 81a, 8, Flat) is taken here as an inf. to the auxiliary knáttu lit. ‘knew how to’ (l. 2), and as parallel to geiga (inf.) ‘swing’ (l. 2). The E variant (greipa knáttum ‘we knew how to span’ or knöttum greipa ‘with the knobs of the grips’ i.e. ‘with the fingers’) is unmetrical (greipa provides no alliteration with l. 3). Skj B emends to ýta greipum ‘with people’s hands’ taken as a dat. instr., and Kock (Skald; NN §2289) takes Unna as a f. gen. pl. of the f. pers. n. Unnr ‘Unnr’ (lit. ‘wave’), and as a half-kenning for ‘women’ (‘with the women’s hands’).