THIS IS A PRIVATE COMMUNICATION, WHICH HAS NOT BEEN
POSTED ON THE NORSE_COURSE LIST.

>From: Daniel Bray <dbray@...>
>To: norse_course@yahoogroups.com

>I recommend Carolyne Larrington's recent translation of the Poetic Edda
>(Oxford World Classics Series: 1997?) - it is the most accurate I've
>seen yet.

I first thought you were joking, since you seem to have some
ability to read Old Icelandic texts. However, I think you are
actually serious, so I thought you might be interested in the
below document. If you're not, just throw it away.

INFORMAL NOTES ON LARRINGTON'S ERRORS IN V�LUSP�.
-------------------------------------------------
NB: This is a private communication, and should
not be forwarded or re-published without the
original sender's permission.
-------------------------------------------------

Below, I have compiled what seem to me to be the most
important errors in Larrington's translation of the
first poem of the Codex Regious, V�lusp�, aka The
Seeress's Prophecy.

Some of the errors are pretty inexcusable, but others
may well be seen as irrelevant. However, it is my
opinion that NONE of these errors is irrelevant to
someone who intends to study this poem in depth.

It must also be noted that NONE of these errors should
be necessary in a translation by a person with Ms
Larrington's presumed academic qualificatons. V�lusp�
is the most studied, and written about, poem in the
Eddic corpus, and numerous detailed commentaries are
available in many languages. Also, most of the lines
incorrectly translated by Ms Larrington have been
better translated (or better understood) by previous
translators. I have usually used Dronke's translation
as a comparison, as it is easily the most accurate one
available today. I therefore want to point out that
even though Dronke's translation was published after
Larrington's, it is, in fact, older, and it is a known
fact that Larrington had access to it in manuscript as
she was working on her own translation, as is apparent
from the "Acknowledgements" (p. ix). For those who do
not know, it perhaps needs to be stated here that
Dronke was Larrington's teacher at Oxford University,
and taught her Old Norse.

I want to make it absolutely clear that my treatment
of the errors in Larrington's translation of V�lusp�
is firmly based on the review by Edward Pettit and
John Porter, in Saga-Book 25.1 (1998). I have expanded
their two-page treatment extensively, and added many
observations, but without their original work the labour
involved would have been far too time-consuming for me
to attempt.

I also want to make it VERY clear, that Larrington's
translation still contains various errors, which are
too minor to mention here. It must also be mentioned
that Larrington's errors of "style" are just as numerous
as her errors in grammar and syntax. Such errors can only
be corrected with a completely new translation.

V�LUSP� -----------------------------------------------

1:5-6
----------------------
VILDU at ek Valf��r Father of the Slain, you
VEL fyr telja wished that I should declare

"Wished" is wrong. If singular, VILDU can not be past
tense. VEL ("well") is omitted. Dronke: "You wish me,
Father of the Slain, well to narrate." The implication is:
"You wish me to narrate in a pleasing/proper manner".
The loose syntax could also be interpreted to indicate a
question: "Do you, ��inn, wish me to narrate...?"
[It should be noted that the form VILDU can be past tense,
but then it would have to be 3p plural: "They wanted me
to ..."]

2:1-4
----------------------
Ek man j�tna I, born of giants,
�R UM BORNA remember very early
�� er FOR�UM mik those who nurtured
f�dda h�f�u. me then.

This is terrible, and reveals that CL is extremely ignorant
of the basic syntax of Icelandic. The literal meaning is:
"I remember early-born giants, those who long ago reared me".
Thus Dronke: "I remember giants born early in time, who long
ago had reared me".

4:1-2
----------------------
��R Burs synir First the sons of Bur
BJ��UM um yp�u brought up the earth

"��r" means "before", not "first", and refers back to stanza
3. "Bj��um" is dative plural, properly "lands". Dronke has:
"Before Burr's sons lifted up seashores".

4:3-4
----------------------
�eir er Mi�gar� the glorious ones who
M�RAN sk�pu shaped the world between

The meaning is "they who created renowned/famous/glorious
Midgard". The adjective "m�ran (acc)" doesn't qualify "�eir"
(nom), but "Mi�gar� (acc)", as Dronke knows: "they who
moulded glorious Mi�gar�r".

4:5-6
----------------------
S�l skein sunnan the sun shone from the south
� SALAR STEINA on the hall of stones

This means literally: "The sun shone from the south upon
the hall's stones (the stones of the hall)" (NOT "the hall
of stones"!). CL's translation suggests that she is utterly
ignorant of the grammar and syntax of Icelandic. Cp. Dronke:
"Sun shone from the south on the stones of that mansion",
where she correctly reads "salr" as "Midgard".

5:1-2
----------------------
S�L varp sunnan From the south, Sun,
sinni M�NA companion of the moon

If the sun is personified here, then surely the moon should
be as well (and capitalized). In order to be consistent, we
must either have "Sun, companion of Moon", or "the sun,
companion of the moon".

5:5-8
----------------------
S�l �at n� vissi Sun did not know
hvar h�n SALI �tti, where her hall might be,
stj�rnur �at n� vissu the stars did not know
hvar ��r STA�I �ttu where their place might be

As usual, Larrington confuses singular and plural forms of
nouns. This should be "halls", and "places". Dronke has
"mansions" and "stations" - which neatly catches the
astronomical/astrological flavour of the passage.

7:1-2
----------------------
Hittusk �sir The �sir met
� I�AVELLI on Idavoll Plain

cp. 60:1-2
Finnask �sir The �sir meet
� I�AVELLI on Idavoll

This is inconsistent. The place-name should be identical
in both instances. "Plain" is superflous, as it is a
translation of 'v�llr'. If used, it should properly be
Ida Plain, not Idavoll Plain.

7:3-4
----------------------
�eir er H�RG ok HOF they built altars
h�timbru�u and high temples

The word translated as "altars" is singular, not plural.
Dronke also makes this mistake. [The word translated as
"temples" can be either singular or plural, but it should
probably be taken as singular. The gods build ONE altar,
ONE temple, the "prototypes" of all other altars and
temples.] Also, 'high' belongs with both nouns, as Dronke
realizes: "towering altars and temples".

Stanzas 9 - 10
----------------------

Both Larrington and Dronke have failed to keep up with
recent scholarship here. Modern Icelandic scholars have
shown that these stanzas should properly be understood as:

Then all the gods ascended
the thrones of fate,
the most holy gods,
and deliberated upon this:
who of the dwarves
should create mankind
from the blood of Brimir
and the limbs (bones) of Bl�inn.

There M�tsognir had become
the most esteemed
of all the dwarves,
but Durinn the second.
They fashioned many
human figures,
these dwarves, from earth,
as Durinn commanded.

This passage has got nothing to do with the creation of
dwarves, but THE CREATION OF MEN BY DWARVES. When evil
enters creation in the form of three ogresses (whose
identity will not be discussed here), the gods react by
having their master-smiths, the Dwarves, create mankind,
or rather MATERIAL HUMAN BODIES (which receive their divine
spiritual gifts in stanzas 17-18). The true meaning of
stanzas 9-10, and their direct continuation in stanzas
17-18, has been obscured by the extraneous interpolation
of stanzas 11-16 ("Dwarf-List"), which is all too obviously
a late scribal addition.

It is of interest to note, that as early as 1968, Auden
and Taylor hit the nail on the head in their translation:

The high Gods
gathered in council
in their hall of judgement:
WHO OF THE DWARVES
SHOULD MOULD MAN
by master craft
from Brimir's blood
and Blain's limbs?

Stanzas 11-16 (Dvergatal "Dwarf-List")
----------------------

Not that it matters, but Larrington's treatment of the
Dwarf-names is ludicrous. She translates some of them,
but leaves others intact. One might perhaps expect her
to translate names with obvious meanings, and leave the
obscure names untranslated, but no! FR�GR "famous one"
is left untranslated, while L�NI is "Sea-pool", which is
by no means certain.

Since I firmly believe that the "Dwarf-list" does not
form a part of the original V�lusp�, and rather belongs
with the NAFNA�ULUR appended to various manuscripts of
Snorri's Prose Edda, I can't be bothered to comment on
Larrington's numerous errors and inconsistencies here.

19:6-8
----------------------
��rs � DALA falla. which fall in the valley,
Stendr � yfir GR�NN ever green, it stands over
Ur�arbrunni. the well of fate.

Should be "valleys". Larrington constantly does this.
How can you trust a translator that can't differentiate
between singular and plural?

The word translated as "ever" modifies "stands", not
"green". The correct meaning is:

It stands forever,
green, over Ur�r's well.

"Well of fate" is an interpretation, not a translation.
You can not call Ur�arbrunnr thus, unless you also
translate the name Ur�r as "Fate" consistently.

20:1-2
----------------------
�a�an koma MEYJAR From there come three girls,
MARGS VITANDI knowing a great deal

This sounds extrardinary silly. Referring to the three
norns as "girls knowing a great deal" is pathetic when
compared with the original. Cp. Dronke's

From there come maidens
deep in knowledge

20:11
----------------------
alda B�RNUM the sons of men

is wrong - the text says "children of men". Somebody
said that this translation was friendlier to women than
previous ones. Not here, at least.

22:3-4
----------------------
V�LU velsp� the seer with pleasant prophecies,
VITTI hon GANDA she charmed them with spells

It seems strange to translate V�LU as "seer" here,
considering that the poem's name (V�LUSP�) is translated
as "The SeerESS's Prophecy".

"She charmed them with spells" is an impossible reading of
a disputed line, which most likely means "she empowered
magic wands". Dronke's "she conjured spirits" is also dubious.

24:1-2
----------------------
Fleyg�i ��inn Odin shot a spear,
ok � folk um skaut hurled it over the host

��inn does not throw his spear "over" the host, but "at" it,
or "into" it. It should also be noted that the original does
not mention the spear at all. Cp. Dronke:

Odin flung,
and shot into the host

24:7
----------------------
kn�ttu vanir V�GSP� the Vanir, indomitable

The word V�GSP� cannot possibly mean "indomitable". It isn't
even an adjective, but a noun (in the dative) meaning
"war-charm", a type of magic used in battle. Dronke renders
correctly, if awkwardly:

Vanir were - by a war charm -
live and kicking on the plain.

25:5-6
----------------------
hverr hef�i lopt ALT who had mixed the air
l�vi blandit with wickedness

The word ALT "all" is left out. Cp. the word VEL "well" in
stanza 1. Even if we supplied the missing word, the translation
leaves much to be desired. Dronke's translation is much more
accurate and effective: "who had laced all he air with ruin".

26:5
----------------------
� GENGUSK ei�ar the oaths broke apart

Is "the oaths broke apart" normal English? Isn't the
thought better expressed by a simpler "oaths were broken"?

27:5-7
----------------------
� s�r hon ausask she sees, pouring down,
AURGUM FORSI the muddy torrent
af VE�I Valf��rs. from the wager of Father of the Slain.

"She sees, pouring down, the muddy torrent" is too
inexact. The phrase means "she sees a river pouring
in a muddy torrent". AURGUM FORSI is a dative.

"Wager" is, I believe, an incorrect word. There is no betting
going on here. "Pledge" would be more to the point. Dronke has
"forfeit". ��inn has basically "pawned" his eye to M�mir.

29:4
----------------------
ok sp�GANDA and a rod of divination

This should be plural - "rods".

29:5-6
----------------------
s� hon v�tt ok um v�tt she saw widely, widely
of ver�ld hverja into all the worlds

is too inaccurate and too weak. Dronke, as usual, gets it right:
"she saw far, and far beyond - over every world".

30:1-2
----------------------
S� hon valkyrjur She saw valkyries
v�tt um KOMNAR coming from far and wide

The participle KOMNAR doesn't mean "coming", it means
"having come".

30:5-6
----------------------
Skuld helt skildi, Skuld held one shield,
en Sk�gul �NNUR Sk�gul another

This is certainly one of the most embarrassing errors I have
ever seen! A first-year student should be able to figure out
the grammar here - the lines man literally:

Skuld held a shield,
and Sk�gul (was) the second one

implying that Skuld is the first one. �NNUR (feminine,
nominative) cannot possibly refer to SKILDI (masculine,
dative). Dronke manages this rather neatly:

Skuld bore a shield,
and Sk�gul was with her

32:1-8
----------------------
Var� af �eim mei�i, From that plant
er M�R s�ndisk, which seemed so lovely
harmflaug h�ttlig, came a dangerous, harmful dart,
H��r NAM skj�ta. Hod began to shoot.
Baldrs br��ir var Baldr's brother was
of borinn SNEMMA, born very quickly ;
s� NAM, ��ins sonr, Odin's son began fighting
einn�ttr vega. at one night old.

"Which seemed so lovely" - there is no "so" here, and
the adjective is mistranslated. It means "small, slender"
i.e. innocent-looking.

"Hod began to shoot" should be simply "H��r shot".
"Odin's son began fighting" should be "��inn's son slew".

The auxillary verb NAM, translated as "began" here, is
quite meaningless. NAM SKJ�TA is equivalent to SKAUT
"shot" - NAM VEGA is equivalent to V� = "slew". Dronke
makes the same mistake - an easy one to make for the
non-native - but at least *she* should know better.

"Was born very quickly" !! Very funny! - the correct
meaning is "was born early" or "soon". He was born
prematurely, not fast!

35:3-4
----------------------
l�gjarns l�ki that evil-loving form
Loka ��ekkjan Loki she recognized

The word ��EKKJAN is translated as "recognized", which
is a ridiculous mistake. The whole phrase for Loki
here is (in the nominative) [HAPTR] ��EKKR L�KI L�GJARNS
LOKA, literally "[a captive] similar to the likeness of
the malignant Loki", i.e. Loki himself. A typical
example of poetic paraphrasis. Dronke, in her commentary,
obviously construes the sentence correctly, but this
isn't quite apparent from her translation: "a captive
... in the shape of malignant Loki, unmistakable". That
final "unmistakable" an over-translation.

36:2-4
----------------------
um EITRdala from poison valleys
s�xum ok sver�um, a river of knives and swords,
SL��R heitir s�. Cutting it is called.

"from poison valleys" is wrong on all counts. UM means
"through", not "from". EITR can, to be sure, mean poison,
but here it refers to temperature: Dronke's "venom-cold"
is more to the point and perfectly catches the double
meaning of the Icelandic EITR.

"A river of knives and swords". Better would be: "a
river with knives and swords" (Dronke). The former
would be expressed with a genitive, but we have a
dative here. There is a considerable difference in
the image achieved.

The name SL��UR does not mean "Cutting". It means
"Terrible, Savage", but there is also a possible play on
words here, as SL��R also means "scabbard", and in the
kenning-system the scabbard could be called "the sword's
path".

38:5
----------------------
FELLU eitrdropar drops of poison fall

We have past tense here: "fell".

38:7
----------------------
S� er undinn salr the hall is woven

Should rather be "THAT hall is woven".

39:5-6
----------------------
ok �anns annars glepr and those who seduced the close
eyrar�nu. confidantes of other men.

No less than four errors!! Plural for singular three times,
and past for present once. This should be "the one who
seduces the close confidante of another", although I'm not
very happy with "confidante". Dronke is better: "the one
who seduces another's close-trusted wife".

39:7-9
----------------------
�ar SAUG Ni�h�ggr There Nidhogg sucks
N�I framgengna, the bodies of the dead -
SLEIT vargr VERA. a wolf tears the corpses of men

"Bodies of the dead" should be "corpses of the dead".
VERA simply means men, not "corpses of men".

"sucks" should be "sucked".
"tears" should be "tore".

How on earth did this woman manage to squeeze out a
doctorate in Old Icelandic studies at Oxford University?

40:1
----------------------
Austr sat in aldna In the east sat an old woman

Wrong. The article should be definite, "the", which makes
it clear that this is not just any old woman, but one well
known to the audience. And it really doesn't say "the old
woman" either, but "the old one" (feminine). The impact of
the original is totally different, as Dronke tries to catch
in her:

"In the east she sat, the old one ..."

40:8
----------------------
� trolls hami. in monstrous form.

No! Rather, "in the shape of a troll", or even "in the skin
of a giant". Dronke has "in troll's skin".

41:1-6
----------------------
Fyllisk fj�rvi The corpses of
feigra manna, doomed men fall,
r��r ragna sj�t the gods' dwellings are reddened
rau�um dreyra. with crimson blood ;
Sv�rt ver�a s�lskin sunshine becomes black
of sumur eptir the next summer

This stanza is terribly mangled, and surely the worst of
the lot. There is only a vague correspondence between the
words, but the general syntax is totally off. It is quite
obvious that the translator simply has no idea of how the
syntax works here:

"The corpses of doomed men fall" is utterly wrong. The
lines literally mean:

"He (the wolf) sates himself on the
life-blood of men doomed to die".

"The gods' dwellings are reddened" is not much better.
The subject of the sentence is still the wolf, and the
meaning is:

"HE red-paints the gods' homes".

OF SUMUR EPTIR does not mean "the next summer". SUMUR is
plural, and the phrase means "in the summers that follow",
as Dronke correctly has it.

42:1
----------------------
sat �AR � haugi He sat on the mound

The word �AR "there" is omitted. This "there" is important,
it refers back to stanza 40 - "there" equals "in the
Ironwood".

42:5,7
----------------------
g�l UM H�NUM A rooster crowed
...
fagrrau�r HANI that bright-red cockerel

The words UM H�NUM are omitted. As in the next stanza
(where UM is mistranslated as "for"), they mean "above him".

Note that HANI is translated as "rooster" AND "cockerel".
This is unnecessary, since the word only occurs once in the
stanza. Cp. also next stanza.

43:1
----------------------
G�l UM �sum crowed for the �sir

should be "crowed above the �sir". See previous stanza.

In 43:7, HANI is translated as "cock". Cp. previous
stanza, where the same word was "rooster" and "cockerel".
Inexcusable from an academic translator. As Pettit/Porter
note, this obscures the parallelism.

44:3
----------------------
FESTR mun slitna the rope will break

"Rope" is wrong - should be "fetter, bond".
[Cp. stanzas 49 and 58.]

In 44:7-8 the rare word SIGT�VAR is translated as
"fighting gods" - the word is also found in
stanzas 49 and 58, where it is translated as
"victorious gods" and "victory-gods". This is
ridiculous, especially because the word in question
is a very interesting (and puzzling) word indeed,
for reasons that do not belong here. Also, the phrase
is oviously formulaic, and therefore should always be
translated the same.

45:3-4
----------------------
munu SYSTRUNGAR brother and sister will
SIFJUM spilla violate the bond of kinship

"Systrungar" are "sisters' sons", not "brother and sister".
Larrington seems to see incest here, there is none. "Bond
of kinship" should be either "bonds of kinship" (plural),
or, simply "kinship".

45:5
----------------------
Hart er � heimi hard it is in the world,
h�rd�mr mikill there is much adultery

"Hard it is in the world" is admittedly a literal translation,
but the meaning is not quite the same. I'm at a loss to provide
a good translation here at the drop of a hat. Dronke's "it is
harsh in the world" is better, but doesn't do it for me.

"Much adultery" is extremely weak for H�RD�MR MIKILL. As usual,
Dronke hits the spot: "whoredom rife".

45:5
----------------------
LEIKA M�ms synir The sons of Mim are at play
en mj�tu�r KYNDISK and fate catches fire
at inu GALLA at the ancient
Gjallarhorni Gjallar-horn

"Are at play" - better would be "sport", "cavort". I think
Larrington has crossed over to Modern Icelandic here.

"Fate catches fire" (!!) - does this carry any meaning for the
English speaker? P/P suggest "fate is kindled" - which sounds
sensible. Dronke has "fate's measure is lit" which is interesting.

"At the ancient Gjallar-horn" - I really think this needs to be
"at the sound of the ancient G." for the meaning to be readily
apparent. And a mere quibble: GALLR does not mean "ancient", it
means "loud-sounding", "clear-ringing".

47:1-8
----------------------
Skelfr Yggdrasils Yggdrasill shudders,
ASKR standandi, the tree standing upright,
ymr it aldna tr� the ancient tree groans
en j�tunn LOSNAR. and the giant is loose ;
Hr��ask allir all are terrified
� HELVEGUM, on the roads to hell,
��r Surtar �ann before Surt's kin
SEFI of gleypir. swallows it up.

"The tree" - the original has ASKR "Ash".

"The giant is loose" - more correctly: "the giant breaks loose"
or "the giant slips free".

"Surt's kin" is rather ambiguous - better to be exact and say
"Surt's kinsman".

"Roads to hell" - not really. HELVEGIR is simply equivalent to
HEL, the Realm of Hel. VEGIR "roads" isn't literal here, no more
than in "Norway".

[It wasn't really my intention to comment on Larrington's NOTES
here, but this one can't be avoided. She says: "What is swallowed
is unclear - perhaps the road to hell". - Wow.

What is swallowed is referred to as �ANN "that one, him" - it is
masculine, singular. The stanza has HELVEGUM (plural) "hell-roads"
which makes it impossible for �ANN to be grammatically related
to HELVEGUM. QED.

What is swallowed, being masculine and singular, must be either the
GIANT or the ASH (if we refuse to accept emendations to the stanza).
The tree seems likelier, but the matter is far too complex to treat
here. A good overview of the problems, and attempts to solve them,
can be found in Sig. Nordal's edition of V�lusp� (which has been
translated, and should be found in good libraries).

48:3,5-7
----------------------
GN�R allr j�tunheimr. All Giantland groans.
... ...
STYNJA dvergar The dwarfs howl
fyr steindurum, before their rocky doors,
veggbergs V�SIR. the princes of the mountain wall.

"All Giantland groans" - not really. The verb used here (GN�R)
means "roar, resound". Dronke's "Giant Realm is aroar" is fine.

"The dwarfs howl" - I beg your pardon! STYNJA does not mean
"howl" - it means "groan".

"Princes of the mountain wall" - V�SIR does not mean "princes",
and isn't even a noun here. It is an adjective in the plural,
meaning "wise", "knowing well", "familiar with". Dronke: "well
knowing their immuring rock" (which sounds enigmatic, but then
so does the original).

49:1
----------------------
Geyr N� Garmr mj�k Garm bays loudly

The important N� ("now") is omitted. Small words are important
too, and can make a lot of difference, especially in poetry!

In 49:8 SIGT�VAR is translated as "victorious gods" - see above,
notes to stanza 44.

50:1
----------------------
en ari HLAKKAR, the eagle shrieks in anticipation,
sl�tr N�I neff�lr pale-beaked he tears the corpse

"Shrieks in anticipation" as a translation of HLAKKAR is simply
wrong, the verb simply means "screams (as a bird)". CL is
probably thinking of the Modern Icelandic expression HLAKKA TIL
"look forward to" - but no such meaning can be attached to the
Old Icelandic poetic language of V�lusp�, I'm afraid. There is
an element of joy implied, even exultation, but definitely not
"anticipation".

"Pale-beaked he tears the corpse" - once more the translator is
unable to decide whether words are in the singular or plural - a
better translation would be: "pale-beaked he rips CORPSES apart".
Wouldn't "the corpse" imply a certain, specific corpse? There is
no such thing here.

51:1
----------------------
um L�G l��ir over the waves

More correctly: "over the ocean".

51:5-6
----------------------
Fara f�fls megir There are monstrous brood
me� freka allir with all the raveners

This is simply awful! The sentence means:

"All the sons of the giant travel with the wolf".

Typically, this translator has no sense of number and
case. She thinks "freka" is a plural word, and that
"allir" belongs with it. It is singular, and "allir"
belongs with "megir". A first-year student in Icelandic
could easily fail his exams just by committing a few
similar blunders.

52:3-6
----------------------
sk�nn af sver�i the sun of the slaughter-gods
s�l VALT�VA. glances from his sword ;
Grj�tbj�rg GNATA, the rocky cliffs crack open
en g�fr RATA. and the troll-women are abroad

"The sun of the slaughter-gods glances from his sword" is
extremely dubious. First, VALT�VAR are not "Slaughter-gods",
but rather "Gods of the Slain" (a totally different concept).
Second, the genitive VALT�VA is wrongly construed with "sun",
rather than "sword". The correct meaning is:

"The sun shines from the sword of the gods", i.e. the sword
of the gods gleams like the sun, or reflects the sun. This is,
incidentally, the sword that originally belonged to Freyr
(thus "sword of the gods"), and then passed into the hands of
giants.

"The rocky cliffs crack open". Not so. GNATA means "crash",
"collide".

"Troll-women are abroad". Nope. RATA means "stumble". There's
nothing special about troll-women being abroad, they are so
most of the time. But here they "stumble" because of the
earthquake, which causes great cliffs to tumble from mountains,
and crash into each other.

53:7-8
----------------------
�� MUN Friggjar then the beloved
falla angan. of Frigg must fall.

There's no "must" in the original, it is simple future tense:
"will fall". The same error is found in stanzas 55 and 56.

54:4-5
----------------------
at VALD�RI. against the Beast of Slaughter ;
... megi HVE�RUNGS of Loki's kinsman ...

"Beast of Slaughter" - VALD�R is not a proper name, and the
meaning is more properly and simply "carrion-beast" (beast
that eats the slain).

"Loki's kinsman" should read "Hve�rung's son". An academic
translator should not take such liberties, especially with
such a debated name as HVE�RUNGR.

STANZA 55
----------------------
[It is sloppy of Larrington not to mention that this stanza
is only found in the Hauksb�k manuscript, where it replaces
stanza 54 (in the Codex Regius).]

G�nn LOPT YFIR In the air gapes
lindi jar�ar, the Earth-Girdler,
gapa �GS kjaptar the terrible jaws of the serpent
orms � H��UM. yawn above ;
MUN ��ins son Odin's son must
ormi m�ta meet the serpent,
vargs AT DAU�A (the kin of Vidar
V��ars ni�ja. is the death of the wolf).

"In the air" - incorrect, better as: "across the sky".

"The Earth-Girdler" - this is not a proper name, but a kenning:
"girdle of the earth". There is no need to capitalize.

"The terrible jaws of the serpent" - �GS (singular) is mistakenly
construed with KJAPTAR (plural), instead of ORMS (singular). The
correct meaning is, of course, "the jaws of the terrible serpent".

"Above" translates � H��UM - which is too weak. "In the heights"
or "on high" would be closer to the original.

"Odin's son MUST meet the serpent" - see 53 above. There is no
MUST here, it is simple future tense ("will meet"). [I wonder
if Larrington had been reading that awful book by Bauschatz,
where he claims that Old Icelandic had no future tense? I wouldn't
be surprised.]

"(the kin of Vidar is the death of the wolf)". This translation is
simply not possible. The textual problems are too complicated to be
treated here (sorry - but it would take *pages*). The definitive
treatment is found in J�n Helgason's critical edition (pp. 44-46).
J�n was the first man to read this stanza, using ultra-violet light
to inspect a seriously damaged portion of the Hauksb�k manuscript of
V�lusp� (in the sixties). The second half of the stanza does not
make sense as it stands in the manuscript, but J�n suggested a simple,
and very reasonable, emendation (generally accepted) which would give
the following meaning (I translate the whole stanza, for clarity):

The earth's belt = the Midgard-worm
yawns across the sky,
the jaws of the ghastly worm
gape in the heavens;
the son of ��inn = ��rr
shall meet the worm's venom
after the death
of Vi�arr's kinsmen. = i.e. the other gods

Now compare this to Larrington's travesty.

56:2,6-8,10
----------------------
m�gr HL��YNJAR son of Earth
... ...
MI�GAR�S v�urr, the defender of earth strikes ;
munu halir allir all men must
HEIMST�� ry�ja, leave their homesteads
... ...
Fj�rgynjar BURR Fiorgyn's child takes,

"Son of Earth" - the text says "son of Hl��yn".
"Defender of earth" - the text has "defender of Midgard".

It needs hardly be stated that it is extremely confusing
for the reader to have two different terms translated as
EARTH in such close proximity (one the giantess J�R�, mother
of Thor, the other MI�GAR�R, Midgard, the dwelling of men).
Interestingly, Larrington then translates FJ�RGYNJAR BURR
as "Fiorgyn's child" in line 10 (where we have now learned
to expect "Earth's child"), but even this is wrong - BURR
means SON, not CHILD!

"All men MUST leave" - see 53 and 55 above. There is no MUST
here, simply a future tense: "will leave". (The Bauschatz
fallacy again?)

"Leave", although not strictly incorrect, seems rather tame
for RY�JA, a very forceful, almost violent, verb. "Abandon",
or even "flee", would be better.

"Their homesteads" is wrong. Firstly, the word is in the
singular. Secondly, "homestead/worldstead" here simply means
"Midgard", the earthly dwelling of men.

58:1,4
----------------------
Geyr N� Garmr mj�k Garm bays loudly
...
en FREKI renna. and the ravener run free.

N� ("now") is again omitted. See # 49. And if I haven't said
so before, "ravener" should simply be "wolf" (or "Freki").

In 58:8 SIGT�VAR is translated as "victory-gods" - the word
has been translated in two different ways previously, see
notes to stanzas 44 ("fighting gods") and 49 ("victorious
gods")

59:3,5
----------------------
J�R� �r �gi Earth from the ocean
... ...
Falla FORSAR the waterfall plunges

"Earth from the ocean" - the capitalization is wrong.
This is simply "earth", not "Earth" the goddess J�r�.

"Waterfall" should be plural. Same old error.

60:7
----------------------
ok � FimbulT�S of the Mighty One.

"Mighty One" - the original has FIMBULT�R "Mighty GOD".
And "fimbul" would probably be better translated with
a stronger term.

62:1-3,7,6
----------------------
Munu �S�NIR Without sowing
akrar vaxa, the fields will grow,
B�LS mun alls batna, all ills will be healed,
... ...
vel VALT�VAR the gods of slaughter
HROPTS SIGTOPTIR in the sage's palaces

"Without sowing the fields" - I agree with P/P that
"unsown fields" is a better choice and an exact translation.

"All ills will be healed" - B�LS is singular, as Dronke
knows: "all harm will be healed".

"The gods of slaughter" - again! This irritating translation
of VALT�VAR (see above 52) totally mistranslates the word, and
reveals the ignorance of the translator.

"In the sage's palaces" !!! - I have no idea how Larrington
manages to read the text in this manner. The text has HROPTS
SIGTOPTIR "Odin's battle-ruins". Dronke misreads "sigtoptir"
as "walls of triumph", but this is not SIGR "victory", but
SIG "battle".

63:3-5
----------------------
ok burir byggja and the sons of two brothers
br��ra TVEGGJA will inhabit
vindheim V��AN. widely, the windy world.

"The sons of two brothers" - there should be a NOTE here,
pointing out that the text could just as well be interpreted
as "the sons of Tveggi's brothers", Tveggi being a certified
name of ��inn (whose brothers are mentioned in stanza 18).

"Widely, the windy world" is meaningless and wrong, and the
text means: "wide wind-world". VINDHEIMR "wind-world" is a
simple kenning for "sky, heaven".

64:5-8
----------------------
�ar skulu dyggvar there the noble
dr�ttir byggja lords will live
ok um aldrdaga and spend their
yn�is nj�ta. days in pleasure.

"Noble lords" - ouch! DYGGVAR DR�TTIR simply means "good men",
(see Nordal's commentary).

"And spend their days in pleasure" - OK UM ALDRDAGA YNDIS NJ�TA
really means "and experience bliss through eternity".

STANZA 65
--------------------

This stanza is not in the Regius manuscript, and is only found
in the Hauksb�k. The enthusiatic student simply *must* read
Nordal's commentary on this stanza - it is **BASIC**.

Larringon's translation of REGIND�MR as "judgement-place of the
gods" is extremely dubious, and, not to mince words, impossible.
"Divine rule" is the most likely meaning here, as Nordal
established. �lafur Briem has also pointed out that the word is
almost certainly formed as a parallel to KONUNGD�MR "kingship",

=== END ================================






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