Re: A question about Old Icelandic Rune Poem -- Fé

> " Fé er frænda róg
> ok flæðar viti
> ok grafseifs gata."
>
> The usual translation I've come across is:
>
> " Fé is the strife of kinsmen,
> and fire of the flood-tide,
> and the path of the serpent."
>
> My question is: What does "grafseif" exactly mean? Is it really a word for a
> serpent, or is it a kenning? I tried looking it quickly in the kenning-lists
> of skáldskaparmál, without result. If I'm not entirely mistaken, "graf"
> means a grave, and I vaguely recall seeing a translation on the web in which
> "grafseif" would've been translated as grave-something. Unfortunately I
> didn't find the translation anymore. Any help appreciated, thanks!

You are very much on the right track - your problem is that you haven't
got the right text :) As far as I know 'seif' doesn't mean anything.
Try 'grafseiðs' instead. If I tell you that 'seiðr' can mean "fish"
all should become clear.

The relevant manuscript text is as follows:

"F er frænda rog & flædar viti & g[ra]fseids gata Aurum fy<l>ker"

We've also discussed this before on this list. Try the archives
around message 2000:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/norse_course/messages/2008

Kveðja,
Haukur