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skaldic

Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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Hundk Lv 7VIII (HjǪ 40)/4 — færða ‘sent’

Æ ertu illr gestum,         opt hefir þú hölða,
þá er mik hafa heim sóttan,         til heljar færða.
Gakk á bekk annan,         garpr meinhugaðr,
hnyttr inn harðleiti;         harðr er á borð annat.

Ertu æ illr gestum, þú hefir opt færða hölða til heljar, þá er hafa sóttan mik heim. Gakk á annan bekk, meinhugaðr garpr, inn harðleiti hnyttr; harðr er á annat borð.

You are always ill-disposed to guests, you have often sent men to Hel, those who have visited me at home. Go to the other bench, malevolent fighter, hard-faced gnome; otherwise you will have a hard choice.

readings

[4] færða: fært ÍBR5ˣ

notes

[4] færða ... til heljar ‘sent ... to Hel’: That is, caused to be killed. The phrase was probably empty of mythological content by the time this stanza was composed, but the phrasing is still reminiscent of the Old Norse concept that the dead travelled the road to the underworld presided over by Loki’s daughter Hel; see Bjbp Jóms 34/4I helfarar ‘the way to hell’ and Note.

grammar

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