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skaldic

Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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Anon (FoGT) 8III/2 — framir ‘outstanding’

Framan unnu gram gunnar
†grafins seiðs† framir meiðar;
biðu Jótar lið ljótan
lagagangs daga strangra.
Lofag sjaldan hóf haldið;
hataz dygð; *rataz lygðir;
tregs halda vegs valdar
veginn arf megindjarfir.

Meiðar †seiðs grafins†, framir gunnar, unnu framan gram; Jótar biðu ljótan lið lagagangs strangra daga. Lofag sjaldan haldið hóf; dygð hataz; lygðir *rataz; megindjarfir valdar tregs vegs halda veginn arf.

The trees … [GOLD? > MEN], outstanding in battle, overcame the prominent prince; the Jótar experienced an ugly situation of legal proceedings during harsh times. I seldom praise moderation preserved; virtue is destroyed; lies are abroad; the very bold possessors of slow honour [CONTEMPTIBLE MEN] keep hold of the slain [man’s] inheritance.

notes

[1, 2] framir gunnar ‘outstanding in battle’: Lit. ‘of battle’. Understood here as an adjectival phrase qualifying the kenning meiðarseiðs grafins† (see following Note), in which framir ‘outstanding’ qualifies meiðar ‘trees’. This interpretation has been ruled out by most previous eds (with the exception of Sveinbjörn Egilsson) because another form of the same adj. occurs as the first word of l. 1. They have then been forced to emend framir (l. 2). FoGT 1884, Skj B and FoGT 2004 all emend to tamir ‘familiar, ready’, translated as a cpd adj. ‘ready for battle’ with gunnar (l. 1). Kock (Skald) emends to frafir ‘swift’ (pl. of frár). However, the repetition of different forms of the same lexical unit may be explained as a product of the poet’s use of the alhent metre.

grammar

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