Tímarit Þjóðræknisfélags Íslendinga - 01.01.1967, Page 75

understatement in old english and old icelandic
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^and, at her suggestion, has killed
his own sworn brother Kjartan, her
former suitor, her remark suggests
the intensity of her jealousy and
hatred for the woman Kjartan has
^narried: Mér þykkir mesl veri, ai
Urefna (Kjartan’s wife) mun eigi
9anga hlæjandi ai sænginni í kveld
' “what I appreciate most is that
Hrefna will not go to bed laughing
tonight.” In Njáls Saga Skarpheðin’s
houndless rage is indicated in a
rather similar way. The situation is
that his mother has just revealed
that the men in the family have
heen ridiculed publicly and it is
Predictable that killings in revenge
will ensue. The fierce Skarpheðinn
reacts to his mother’s proddings by
the following remark: Gaman þykk-
tr kerlingunni ai, móðir vorri, al
6rta oss “it amuses the old woman,
°ur mother, to tease us.” Although
his remark sounds mild enough, it is
further reported that “his forehead
Perspired,” and that “red spots ap-
Peared in his cheeks.” There is no
hirect reference to his being angry,
hut the point is nevertheless made
very emphatically.
Stoical readiness for death, per-
h^ps sheer weariness, a n d some
huinor are reflected in an utterance
°f a certain Icelandic warrior in an
account of the Battle of Clontarf.
^hen all other survivors run for
fheir lives, he alone does not bother
f° run and is captured as he casually
ffes his slne-string. Asked by his
Captors why he did not run, he an-
swers: Því at ek tek eigi heim í
Veld, þar sem ek á heima út á
Islandi — “because I will not reach
h°me tonight as my home is in Ice-
fand.”
Jómsvíkinga Saga teems with ex-
amples of understatements uttered
by Vikings, who, true to their heroic
ideal, generally manage to say some-
thing they consider appropriate near
the moment of death. Their remarks
reveal a certain kind of humor and,
as a matter of principle, are directed
away from their own pain. Accord-
ing to the saga, when the victors
are looking over some deserted ships,
after the Battle of Hjörundvágr
where a band of Jómsvíkings has
been defeated by overwhelming
odds, an arrow is shot from one of
the ships through one warrior. One
of the Jómsvíkings, who has lost
both of his feet in the battle, has
done this and then asks: Hverr léi
sveina sígask áðan fyrir skoii mínu?
— “which one of the men just sank
down from my shot?” He dies some-
what discontent because he learns
that he has failed to kill the enemy
leader with his last shot. The saga
tells of how another of the Jóms-
víkings suffers a blow in the battle,
a blow that slices off his lower lip
and chin so that the teeth are seen
flying out of his head. Yet he simply
remarks: Versna mun nú hinni dön-
sku þykkja ai kyssa oss í Borgun-
darhólmi — “it will seem less pleas-
ant for the Danish woman in Born-
holm to kiss me now.”
The foregoing comparison has
clearly revealed that a special devel-
opment, as regards the use of the
device of understatement, has taken
place in Old Icelandic prose style —
beyond what might be presumed to
be a common Germanic tradition.
In Old English the effort achieved
through understatement tends to be
serious but subdued, while in Old