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skaldic

Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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Eyv Hák 15I/6 — séumk ‘fear’

Ræsir þat mælti         — vas frá rómu kominn,
        stóð allr í dreyra drifinn —:
‘illúðigr mjǫk         þykkir oss Óðinn vesa;
        séumk vér hans of hugi.’

Ræsir mælti þat — vas kominn frá rómu, stóð allr drifinn í dreyra —: ‘Óðinn þykkir oss vesa mjǫk illúðigr; séumk vér of hugi hans.’

The ruler [Hákon] said that [this] — he had come from battle, stood all drenched in blood —: ‘Óðinn appears to us [me] to be very hostile; we [I] fear his intentions.’

readings

[6] séumk vér: séum vér , ‘sia var’ F, ‘siam ver’ J1ˣ, J2ˣ, 761bˣ

notes

[6] séumk ‘fear’: (a) The emendation is adopted by several eds, but the reason for Hákon’s wariness in Óðinn’s hall is uncertain. It may be that he is still resentful about events at Fitjar, or specifically about his treatment by Óðinn, who engineers the deaths of his favoured heroes. Alternatively, Paasche (1916, 14) explains Hákon’s wariness in the context of the assertion of Anon Eirm 6 that his enemy Eiríkr was a more desirable guest to Óðinn than other kings. Others have attributed it to the Christian belief attributed to Hákon in Hkr and Fsk (Du Méril 1839, 160 n. 1; Finnur Jónsson 1904-5a, 60; Jón Helgason 1953, 120; Holm-Olsen 1961b; Frank 1984b, 570; Kreutzer 1999b, 89). Indeed, st. 18 can reasonably be perceived as a resolution to the issue of what it is that is troubling Hákon, if this is what sts 16 and 17 allude to. (b) The non-reflexive sjá(u)m (earlier (u)m) of most of the mss is retained with the sense ‘I am concerned about him’ in Hkr 1991 (cf. Möbius 1860; Jón Helgason 1968). Geijer (1816, 56) must have a similar reading in mind when he takes the line to mean ‘Let’s see how he turns out’, and cf. Cederström 1860, 23: Vi ser på hans sinnelag ‘We observe his disposition’.

grammar

Irregular verbs: vera (to be)

indic.subj.
pres.pastpres.past
sing.


pl.
1
2
3
1
2
3
em
ert
er
erum
eruð
eru
var
vart
var
várum
váruð
váru

sér

sém
séð
væra
værir
væri
værim
værið
væri
imperative
past part.
ver, verið
verit
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