Page:Poeticedda00belluoft.djvu/249
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Rigsthula
Soon could he well the warriors shield,Dull the swordblade, and still the seas.
45.[1] Bird-chatter learned he, flames could he lessen,Minds could quiet, and sorrows calm;..............................The might and strength of twice four men.
46.[2] With Rig-Jarl soon the runes he shared,More crafty he was, and greater his wisdom;The right he sought, and soon he won it,Rig to be called, and runes to know.
47.[3] Young Kon rode forth through forest and grove,Shafts let loose, and birds he lured;There spake a crow on a bough that sat:"Why lurest thou, Kon, the birds to come?
- ↑ The manuscript indicates no line as beginning a stanza. Minds: possibly "seas," the word being doubtful. Most editors assume the gap as indicated.
- ↑ The manuscript indicates no line as beginning a stanza. Rig-Jarl: Kon's father; cf. stanza 36.
- ↑ This stanza has often been combined with 48, either as a whole or in part. Crow: birds frequently play the part of mentor in Norse literature; cf., for example, Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I, 5, and Fafnismol, 32.
phrase is "Konr ungr," which could readily be contracted into "Konungr," the regular word meaning "king." The "kon" part is actually not far out, but the second syllable of "konungr" has nothing to do with "ungr" meaning "young." Runes: a long list of just such magic charms, dulling swordblades, quenching flames, and so on, is given in Hovamol, 147-163.
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