Keth wrote:
>P.S. in the meantime I did some more reading about Hym 19, and
>I find confirmed that many translators think there is a lacuna
>after the words "horna tveggja". Some translators have then
>gone to Snorri's Edda, where the corresponding prose story
>gives some more details about what happened in the supposed
>lacuna. There you will find it confirmed that Thor was rowing
>with two oars, as I already suggested; he sat in the "austrrúm".
>Hymir was also rowing and sat in the "háls" of the boat.
>I think we could all learn something if we go into the terminology
>here and try to understand what is what. For example, who
>of Thor and Hymir was sitting forward, wnd who was sitting astern?
>Then ask which seat is usually considered "the captain's seat".
>Such answers may be relevant for the correct reading of the stanza.
just a thought here, that since a lacuna seems to exist in the versions
from two manuscripts, this would mean the text was damaged in the sources
from which they were copied. such a source could have been Snorri's
source, or both could have been copies of the same manuscript, or something
similar. the point being, if the manuscript has a lacuna which is not
apparent (i.e. it's a copied lacuna, not damage in the manuscript itself),
that lacuna could just as easily have existed in Snorri's source. if
that's the case, Snorri may just be filling in the story with common
story-telling material (Þór had to get there somehow, rowing is as good a
way as any). since there are plenty of other cases where it appears Snorri
may have misinterpreted his material (the building of Ásgarð's wall; the
origin of óðrrir; the death of Baldr), it's a relelvant question whether
Snorri actually had stanzas that provided this information or if he
elaborated on the lacuna himself.
-Selv
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