Hildr Lv 1I/1 — nafna ‘namesake’
Hafnið Nefju nafna;
nú rekið gand ór landi
horskan hǫlða barma;
hví bellið því, stillir?
Illts við ulf at ylfask
Yggs valbríkar slíkan;
muna við hilmis hjarðir
hœgr, ef renn til skógar.
Hafnið nafna Nefju; nú rekið gand, horskan barma hǫlða, ór landi; hví bellið því, stillir? Illts at ylfask við slíkan ulf Yggs valbríkar; muna hœgr við hjarðir hilmis, ef renn til skógar.
You renounce Nefja’s namesake [= Hrólfr]; now you banish the wolf, the wise brother of freeholders, from the land; why do you risk that, lord? It is dangerous to threaten such a wolvish enemy of the Yggr <= Óðinn> of the slain-plank [SHIELD > WARRIOR (= Haraldr)]; he will not be gentle with the ruler’s herds if he runs to the forest.
readings
[1] nafna: nafni R686ˣ, 321ˣ, 78aˣ, 68, 61, Bb, Flat, nefna Tóm
notes
[1] nafna Nefju ‘Nefja’s namesake [= Hrólfr]’: Nefja ‘Nose’ was the nickname of Hildr’s father, Hrólfr, and her son was named after his grandfather. The name Hrólfr originally meant ‘glory-wolf’ (*Hrōþuwolfaʀ > *Hrōðwolfʀ > Hrólfr; see ANG §228 Anm.). It is unclear whether the original meaning of the name would still have been discernible at the time when the stanza was composed, but it certainly would have been in keeping with the ‘wolf-outlaw’ imagery in this stanza. For ‘wolf’ = ‘outlaw’ in Germanic literature, see Jacoby (1974).
kennings
- nafna Nefju; — Nefja’s namesake; [= Hrólfr]
grammar
case: dat.