Re: Gunnarsslagr - Gunnar's Melody

> Have to take your word on that. (Thinks: Am I the only person in
> Miðgarðr not to have read a single Harry Potter book? There, I've
> admitted it. Thinks 2: Maybe when everyone else goes off them, I´ll
> give it a go...)

Well, Voldemort is this evil snake-loving wizard bloke who's supposed to
be impossible to kill and extremely powerful - yet is thwarted by
schoolchildren every spring. Atli and his cronies managed to off two of
the biggest heroes in the mythos - even if Högni and Gunnarr got in a
couple of last laughs.

> How about `hlær mik'? Would this not mean "mocks me", "laughs at
> me"? I'd have expected `hlœgir mik' "makes me laugh", "makes me
> glad".

Yes, I'd have expected that too. I have no explanation. The two verbs are
sometimes confused in modern Icelandic; I'm not sure about 18th century
Icelandic.

The word is spelled "hlær" in the 1818 edition and that's all I have. An
emendation to "hlœgir" would make the line uncomfortably long.

> But, come to think of it, maybe this is better than the Old
> Norse Online suggestion "man...enough" for `maðr...menskr'. Isn't
> MENSKR more like "human" (i.e. mortal as opposed to supernatural or
> monstrous), rather than "manly"?

It means "manly" or "strong" in Faroese.

Einar skalt tú nevna meg,
væl kann boga spenna,
Tambar eitur mín menski bogi,
ørvar drívur at renna

It's not a "human" bow :) But as far as I know the word never has this
meaning in Icelandic.

> Maðr þóttumk menskr til þessa
> My guess: "I thought that I was a human person till now", "I've
> considered myself human thus far".

I agree.

> Isn't S- D's "Hiding it avails thee not"
> better for `dugira þér at leyna' than the
> Old Norse Online suggestion: "It is not
> fitting for you to hide it"?

Again, I agree. The latter would be a good translation of "sœmira".

> Also `lowe' and `yode' are genuine English words, albeit obsolete
> and obscure, rather than William Morris style archaic-sounding
> neologisms, or Hollander's trick of just inserting Norse words raw
> into the English, with footnotes. That's just cheating, surely?

Well, the old poets weren't averse to a loan-word or two if it helped with
the metre. ;)

Lát auman nú njóta,
Nóregs, ok gef stórum,
mál halt, svá sem sælan,
sínjór, laga þinna.

> Still, Hollander and Morris can both sound great aloud, I reckon.

Hollander sounds a bit stilted to me. Auden had a much better ear for
alliterative verse.

Now the news. Night raids on
Five cities. Fires started.
Pressure applied by pincer movement
In threatening thrust. Third Division
Enlarges beachhead. Lucky charm
Saves sniper. Sabotage hinted
...

Regards,
Haukur