Okay, here's a REAL Old Norse literary question
about translation.
I've been staring and staring at the Konungsbok
Eddukvaeda (Codedx Regius) and in the passage commonly referred to as stanza 138
(page 6v), the word 'oðni' is used where translators usually use 'Odin' and
it's driving me crazy.
Here's the sentance:
Ueit ec at ec hecc vinðga meiði a netr allar nío.
geiri vnðaþr oc gefin oðni, sialfr sialfum mer, a
þeim meiþi er mangi veit
huerf han af rótom ren.
So how does 'oðni' turn into Oðinn? Since we know
that Oðinn is less a name than a word used as a proper noun, what is it in the
sentance structure that tells us that it's supposed to be read as the god Oðinn
and not simply a variation of a word like 'oddr' meaning "the furthest tip of a
spear"?
(Happy now, Haukur? I've finally got a meaty
question for you.)
-Laz