Sigv Lv 1I/3 — lyngvi ‘the heather’
Fiskr gengr oss at óskum,
eitrs sem vér hǫfum leitat
lýsu vangs ór lyngvi
leygjar orm at teygja.
Atrennir lét (annars)
ǫngulgripinn hanga
(vel hefr aurriða at egna)
agngalga (mér hagnat).
Fiskr gengr oss at óskum, sem vér hǫfum leitat at teygja orm eitrs leygjar ór lyngvi vangs lýsu. Atrennir agngalga lét ǫngulgripinn hanga; annars hefr hagnat mér vel at egna aurriða.
The fishing goes according to our [my] wishes, in that we have tried to lure the poison-serpent of the sea [FISH] out of the heather of the field of the cod [SEA > SEAWEED]. The caster of the bait-gallows [FISHING LINE > FISHERMAN] let the one grasped by the hook hang; at all events, things have turned out well for me in catching the trout.
readings
[3] lyngvi: so 78aˣ, 61, lyngi Flat, 73aˣ, 71ˣ, 76aˣ
notes
[3] lyngvi vangs lýsu ‘the heather of the field of the cod [SEA > SEAWEED]’: The base-word lyng ‘heather’ suggests some kind of vegetation as the referent, and Meissner 99 suggests seaweed (Tang). Strictly, ‘water-weed’ might be more appropriate since the scene is the inland lake Apavatn, south-west Iceland, judging from the prose context. An alternative is ‘ice’, since ice covers the water as heather does the moor, and Snorri’s prose indicates that Sigvatr was ice fishing, so very possibly he understood the kenning this way. However, other ice-kennings have a term denoting some kind of roof or covering as their base-word (see Meissner 100).
kennings
- lyngvi vangs lýsu. — the heather of the field of the cod. [SEAWEED]
grammar
case: dat.