Sigv Frag 1III/4 — eigi ‘not’
Þat frák víg á vatni
verðung jǫfurs gerðu,
nadda él en, nýla,
næst telk eigi in smæstu.
Frák verðung jǫfurs gerðu nýla þat víg á vatni, en telk næst eigi in smæstu él nadda.
I heard the prince’s retinue recently fought that battle on the water, and next I will recount not the smallest storms of barbs [BATTLES].
readings
[4] eigi in (‘æigi hin’): so W, engin R, eigin Tˣ, ‘ong en’ U
notes
[4] eigi in ‘not the’: (a) This seems likely to be the starting point for the various ms. readings. It yields the phrase eigi in smæstu ‘not the smallest’, hence by litotes, ‘far from minor’, i.e. ‘major (battles)’. See also Note to ll. 3-4. Elision is assumed in eigi (i)n to avoid a superfluous syllable. (b) Faulkes prints engin (SnE 1998, I, 80) but points out (ibid., 204) that the form engin would not be expected before the C14th, and Finnur Jónsson (LP: 2. engi) states that engin here must certainly be read as engi en (= engi in) ‘none the’, ‘not the’. This also seems possible. Again, elision of engi (i)n must be assumed, and elision is presumably intended in Skj B’s eng en.
kennings
- eigi in smæstu él nadda. — not the smallest storms of barbs. [BATTLES]