Íslenzk tunga - 01.01.1965, Page 49

IIJARTA DREPR STALL
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h.l. intelligendum foret diaphragma”). He supports his opinion by
pointing out that in Æschylos’ Prometheus the heart is said to beat
against the diaphragm from fear: “kradía de phóböi phréna laktízei,
cor præ timore præcordia calcitrat, i.e., pellit, verberat, pulsat.” He
also points out that in Old Icelandic we find hrœddr, svá at lijartat
loddi við þjóhnappa, i.e., ‘afraid, so the heart stuck fast to the pos-
teriors’.28
Compared with Thorlacius’ interpretation of the phrase, Egils-
son’s has the advantage of being clear. But it must be considered
very improbable. Yet it must be regarded as a support for this theory
that already in Old High German instances are found of the German
word corresponding to the Icelandic stallr being used to denote parts
of the human body. Dr. M. Höfler has instances of both augstall
(OHG oucstal) and nierstall (found in the 14th century in the form
nierstal),29 and in Middle High German we find hirnstal.30 In this
connection only nierstall is of interest, as it is found in the meaning
‘loins’ (“die Lenden,” “Lumbi”). It would no doubt have been a
great j)Ieasure to Thorlacius to know this. But as I shall show later
on, I think we can in a different way get a much better clue to the
mystery surrounding the origin of the phrase.
Guðbrandur Vigfússon has three different explanations of the
phrase in his dictionary. Under drepa he translates the phrase hjarta
drepr stall as “the heart knocks as it were against a block of stone
frorn fear” and stalldrœpt hjarta is said to mean “a ‘block-beating’
faint heart.”31 On closer consideration, Vigfússon seems to have
come to doubt the correctness of his explanation. At least he does not
stick to it under stallr, as will be mentioned below. His explanation is
very improbable. It is possible, although no instances have been
28 Lcxicun poélicum antiquœ linguœ septentrionalis conscripsit Sveinbjörn
Egilsson (Hafniæ 1860), 771—772.
28 M. Höfler, Dcutsches Krankheitsnamen-Buch (Miinchen 1899), 671; see
also 919.
30M.Lexer, Mittelhochdeutsches Handwörterbuch (Leipzig 18[69]—78),s.v.
31 Cleasby-Vigfússon. An lcelandic-English Dictionary (Oxford 1869), 105.