Sael, llama_nom
obviously I'm not so well advanced in my studies, of this fascinating subject, I missed this, but thankfully you have pointed it out, and I guess that it is perhaps the humour of the writer, making us to smile, the sagas were after all in many cases meant to be stories for entertainment, like the poems and the singing
Patricia -
thank you
 
----- Original Message -----
From: llama_nom
Sent: Wednesday, December 01, 2004 8:33 PM
Subject: [norse_course] engu játum vér öðru en þessu er vér höfum áðr ætlat



Hello all,

I wonder if anyone can tell me why Auðun "goes plural" here?  In Old
Norse, as in English, I think it's normal for a king to talk of
himself as "we", and Auðun very wisely addresses Harald with
respectful 2nd person plural pronouns (yðru, þér), but is it unusual
for someone non-royal to call themselves "we" in front of a king?

I was just wondering if this was intended to add to the humour of an
already quite fun scene, that poor little Auðun very respectfully
and innocently talks back to the king, as if his own decisions carry
as much weight as whatever the great Harald might decide--and the
fact that the king good humouredly ignores the affront, or is rather
amused by it himself.

Llama Nom





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