Anon (TGT) 26III/1 — endum ‘ends’
Band gaf oss með endum
Ilmr lýskála bála.
Ilmr bála lýskála gaf oss band með endum.
The Ilmr <goddess> of the fires of the pollack-hall [SEA > GOLD > WOMAN] gave us [me] a band with ends.
notes
[1] band með endum ‘a band with ends’: LP: band takes this instance literally (as here) and gives the meaning of the phrase as uncertain. Band probably refers to a headband or other item such as a tape or strap on a woman’s clothing (cf. Ólhelg Lv 2/7-8I) and með endum may refer to ornamentation or a buckle at the ends of the band. The item would therefore be a gift from the woman to the poet. In connection with other stanzas mentioning women in TGT, band could be interpreted figuratively as ‘constraint, constraining bond’ (ONP: band 6, although only one citation is sg.) or a bond of marriage or other relationship (ONP: band 8). Kock (NN §1232) explains this expression with reference to Þfagr Sveinn 10/7II and Anon (HSig) 2/1II, in which með endum means ‘from end to end, completely’, therefore ‘a complete band’.