ÞSjár Frag 4III/4 — spýtir ‘spits out’
Svát ór fitjar fjǫtri
flóðs ásynja, blóði
— raust bifask rǫmm — en systra,
rýtr, eymylvir spýtir.
Svát ásynja flóðs rýtr ór fjǫtri fitjar, en eymylvir spýtir blóði systra; rǫmm raust bifask.
So that the goddess of the sea [= Rán] wails from the fetter of the meadow [SEA], and the island-grinder [MAELSTROM] spits out the sisters’ blood [WATER]; the strong voice trembles.
readings
[4] spýtir: ‘snijtir’ 742ˣ, ‘snýtir’ 1116ˣ, ‘hnyter’ 1496ˣ
notes
[4] spýtir ‘spits out’: This emendation follows most earlier eds (Bugge 1886, 336 retains the reading of 742ˣ, 1116ˣ). Although the expression snýta blóði ‘snort blood’ (i.e. ‘get a bloody nose’) is common, it hardly makes sense in the present context, and spýtr ‘spits out’ could at some point have been confused graphemically with snýtr ‘snorts’. The reading of 1496ˣ, ‘hnyter’, cannot be construed as an Old Norse word and must be a scribal error.