Hjálm Lv 5VIII (Ǫrv 15)/6 — lífs ‘of life’
Áttak at fullu fimm tún saman,
en ek því aldri unða ráði.
Nú verð ek liggja lífs andvani,
sverði undaðr, Sámseyju í.
Áttak at fullu fimm tún saman, en ek unða aldri því ráði. Nú verð ek liggja andvani lífs, undaðr sverði, í Sámseyju.
I owned fully five homesteads together, but I never loved that lot [in life]. Now I must lie deprived of life, wounded by a sword, on Samsø.
readings
[6] lífs andvani: lítt megandi 344a, 343a, 471, 173ˣ
notes
[6] andvani lífs ‘deprived of life’: This is the reading of the Heiðr mss, while the Ǫrv mss have lítt megandi ‘with little strength’, lit. ‘being capable of little’. Both phrases are probably formulaic. Lítt megandi occurs in Vsp 17/6 (NK 4; cf. SnE 2005, 13) to refer to the lifeless condition of the first humans, Askr and Embla, who lay, probably as logs, upon the seashore before a trio of deities gave them life. On the other hand lífs andvani has a parallel, together with the following line, in Hildibrandr Lv 6/2-3 (Ásm 6) lífs andvani, | mæki undaðr ‘deprived of life, wounded by a sword’, a similar situation of a hero’s death-song.