Kormáks saga
Kormáks saga (
The following stanzas represent some of Kormákr's love poetry. He tells us of the first time he met Steingerðr. Read aloud.
Brunnu beggja kinna | The bright lights of both | Brightly beamed the lights-of- |
bjǫrt ljós á mik drósar, | her cheeks burned onto me | both-her-cheeks upon me— |
oss hlœgir þat eigi, | from the fire-hall's felled wood; | e'er will I recall it— |
eldhúss of við felldan; | no cause of mirth for me in that. | o'er the heaped-up wood-pile; |
enn til ǫkkla svanna | By the threshold I gained a glance | and the instep saw I |
ítrvaxins gatk líta, | at the ankles of this girl | of the shapely woman— |
þrǫ́ muna oss of ævi | of glorious shape; yet while I live | no laughing matter, lo! my |
eldask, hjá þreskeldi. | that longing will never leave me. | longing—by the threshold. |
Brámáni skein brúna | The moon of her eyelash—that valkyrie | Brightly shone the beaming |
brims und ljósum himni | adorned with linen, server of herb-surf— | brow-moons of the goodly |
Hristar hǫrvi glæstrar | shone hawk-sharp upon me | lady linen-dight, how |
haukfránn á mik lauka; | beneath her brows' bright sky; | like a hawk's, upon me; |
en sá geisli sýslir | but that beam from the eyelid-moon | but that beam from forehead's- |
síðan gullmens Fríðar | of the goddess of the golden torque | bright-hued-orbs, I fear me, |
hvarmatungls ok hringa | will later bring trouble to me | of the Eir-of-gold doth |
Hlínar óþurft mína. | and to the ring goddess herself. | ill spell for us later. |
— Einar Ól. Sveinsson's edition | — Rory McTurk's translation | — Lee M. Hollander's adaptation |
References
Other sources
- Einar Ól. Sveinsson (Ed.) (1939). Íslenzk fornrit VIII - Vatnsdœla saga. Reykjavík: Hið íslenzka fornritafélag.
- Hollander, Lee M. (Ed.) (1949). The Sagas of Kormák and The Sworn Brothers. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
- Viðar Hreinsson (Ed.) (1997). The Complete Sagas of Icelanders - Volume I. Reykjavík: Leifur Eiríksson Publishing. ISBN 9979-9293-1-6.
External links
- Full text of the saga in the original language
- Full text and translations at the Icelandic Saga Database
- All of Kormákr's poetry in the original language
- W. G. Collingwood and Jón Stefánsson, The Life and Death of Cormac the Skald, Viking Club Translation Series, 1 ([Ulverston: Holmes, 1902]), available as a pdf at http://vsnrweb-publications.org.uk/Cormac%20the%20Skald.pdf and as text at http://www.worldwideschool.org/library/books/lit/epics/LifeandDeathofCormactheSkald/Chap1.html
- Russell Poole, "Composition Transmission Performance: The First Ten lausavísur in Kormáks saga", Alvíssmál 7 (1997): 37–60.
- Full text of the saga in English at The Medieval and Classical Literature Library