Anon Vitn 20VII/6 — vita ‘of the beacon’
Tók Máría mjúkust
mæla vörrum sælum
orð, svá að allir heyrðu
áhlýðandi lýðir:
‘Riett hermir þú hattar
hvert orð, vita skorða;
ósannindum undan
jungkærinn vill færaz.’
Mjúkust Máría tók mæla orð sælum vörrum, svá að allir áhlýðandi lýðir heyrðu: ‘Þú hermir hvert orð riett, skorða vita hattar; jungkærinn vill færaz undan ósannindum.’
Gentlest Mary began to speak words with blessed lips, so that all listening people heard: ‘You repeat each word correctly, prop of the beacon of the hat [GOLD > WOMAN]; the young man wants to escape by means of untruths.’
notes
[5-6] skorða vita hattar ‘prop of the beacon of the hat [GOLD > WOMAN]’: So Sperber and Wrightson. A comparable kenning is unattested. Skj B and Skald emend hattar to handar ‘of the hand’ which is construed as a determinant in a woman-kenning: skorða vita handar ‘the prop of the beacon of the hand [GOLD > WOMAN]’. However, handar ‘of the hand’ leaves the l. without an internal rhyme. Sperber (1911, 72) suggests that vita hattar ‘beacon of the hat’ refers to golden adornment on a hat. Skorða ‘prop’ was a wooden post used to support beached ships. Mar (1871, 302) reads as follows: Þat er minn vitnisbvrðr at þv segir satt hvert orð af þessv efni ‘It is my testimony, that you tell the complete truth [lit. every word true] concerning this matter’.
kennings
- vita hattar; — of the beacon of the hat; [GOLD]
- skorða vita hattar; — prop of the beacon of the hat; [WOMAN]
grammar
case: gen.