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skaldic

Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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ÞjóðA Sex 19II/6 — svinns ‘of the prudent’

Nús of verk, þaus vísi,
vandmælt, svát af standisk,
auðan plóg at eiga
Upplendingum kenndi.
Sér hefr svá langs tírar
svinns, at æ mun vinnask,
þríu missari þessi
þengils hǫfuð fengit.

Nús vandmælt, svát af standisk, of verk, þaus vísi kenndi Upplendingum at eiga auðan plóg. Hǫfuð svinns þengils hefr fengit sér svá langs tírar þessi þríu missari, at æ mun vinnask.

Now it is difficult to speak, so that it is adequate, of the deeds by which the prince taught the Upplendingar to own a barren plough. The head of the prudent lord has won itself such enduring glory these three seasons that it will last for ever.

notes

[6, 8] hǫfuð svinns þengils ‘the head of the prudent lord’: A reference to the monarch, Haraldr. For further examples of hǫfuð standing for the whole person, see LP: hǫfuð 2. Meanwhile, since Haraldr gained a reputation for strategy and cunning, reference to his head, and the adj. svinnr ‘prudent’, are particularly appropriate.

grammar

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