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skaldic

Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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Sigv Vestv 8I/3 — verðask ‘be forgotten’

Eið láta þú, ýtir,
einn þótt værak seinni,
jarðar, allan verðask,
auðar mildr, an vildak.
Esa fyr mál, þats mála
mann þú lætr hér vanðan;
lǫng þǫrf mun gram gengis
— gestr Knúts vas ek — flestum.

Ýtir jarðar, mildr auðar, láta þú verðask allan eið, þótt værak einn seinni, an vildak. Esa fyr mál, þats þú lætr mann mála vanðan hér; flestum gram mun lǫng þǫrf gengis; ek vas gestr Knúts.

Impeller of land [RULER], generous with wealth, do not let the whole oath be forgotten, though I alone was later than I wished. It is not because of an agreement that you allow a hired soldier to become accustomed here; most kings will have a long-lasting need for a following; I was Knútr’s hired man.

notes

[3] verðask ‘be forgotten’: The m. v. form of verða is not widely attested and one would normally expect some kind of complement, such as in Vsp 45/2 (NK 10) at bǫnom verðaz ‘become each other’s slayers’ or með tjónum verðask ‘be forgotten, be subject to loss’ (CVC: verða C. 2). The proposed translation is therefore contextual and conjectural, though there is some evidence for verðask being used as synonymous with fyrirverðask ‘disappear, come to nothing’ (Fritzner IV: verða; cf. also NN §1934D).

grammar

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