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skaldic

Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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Þhorn Harkv 3I/1 — hrafnar ‘ravens’

‘Hvat es yðr, hrafnar?         Hvaðan eruð ér komnir
með dreyrgu nefi         at degi ǫndverðum?
Hold loðir yðr í klóum;         hræs þefr gengr ór munni;
nær hygg ek yðr í nótt bjoggu,         því es vissuð nái liggja.’

‘Hvat es yðr, hrafnar? Hvaðan eruð ér komnir með dreyrgu nefi at ǫndverðum degi? Hold loðir í klóum yðr; þefr hræs gengr ór munni; hygg ek yðr bjoggu nær í nótt, því es vissuð nái liggja.’

‘What is the matter with you, ravens? From where have you come with gory beaks at break of day? Flesh hangs from your claws; the stench of carrion comes from your mouths; I think you lodged last night near where you knew corpses were lying.’

notes

[1] hrafnar ‘ravens’: Though the next stanza refers to ‘the dark-feathered one’, here the valkyrie addresses more than one raven. The sg. nefi ‘beak’ (l. 3) and munni ‘mouth’ (l. 6) are accordingly translated as plurals here, though the sg. need not be regarded as illogical but rather as a matter of focus.

grammar

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