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skaldic

Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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FriðÞ Lv 8VIII (Frið 8)/4 — svana ‘of swans’

Mjök drekkr á mik;         mær mun kløkkva,
ef ek skal søkkva         í svana brekku,
— austr er orðinn         í Elliða —
þó lá blæja         á bliki nökkut.

Drekkr mjök á mik; mær mun kløkkva, ef ek skal søkkva í brekku svana, þó lá blæja nökkut á bliki; austr er orðinn í Elliða.

My ship is taking on a great deal of water; the young woman will sob, if I must sink in the hillside of swans [WAVE], although bed-linen lay ableaching somewhat; baling has taken place on board Elliði.

readings

[4] svana: ‘sauna’ 568ˣ, 27ˣ, 109a IIˣ

notes

[4] í brekku svana ‘in the hillside of swans [WAVE]’: Possibly a sea-kenning, cf. ESk Frag 9/2III strindar svana ‘of the land of swans [SEA]’, but more likely a kenning for a wave, in which the base-word is a term for hill or mountain; cf. SnSt Ht 76/5, 8III hríðfeld fjǫll svana ‘the stormy mountains of swans [WAVES]’ and Ht 83/4III svanfjalla ‘of swan-mountains [WAVES]’, as well as st. 7/6 above.

kennings

grammar

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