Íslenzk tunga - 01.01.1965, Page 57

HJARTA DREPR STALL
55
sem þeir hæyrðv at hæilagr gvð hafði latið standa stravm
Jordanar oc þvrkað hennar farveg sonvm Jsraels til yfirferð-
ar. þa tok stormiog at stallra hiarta hæiðingia. svo at varla
var lifs andi með þeim af vgg oc otta þeirra þarkvamo.63
Minn herra. £Ígi þarf at stallra hjarta nðckors mannz fyrir þa
skylld at ek þrell þinn man ganga i mot Philistgo þessvm oc
beriaz við hann.64
oc sem hann ser yfir allar herbvðir hæiðingia. þa toc miog
at stalla hiarta hans af akafligvm otta.65
The above quoted passages from Stjórn are based on the codex
AM 228, foh, which is considered to have been written in the first
half of the 14th century. In the last quoted passage this codex has
stalla, but another (AM 227, fol.) has stallra.
That the proper meaning of stallra is ‘to stop’ is supported by the
following definite instance of this meaning:
Enn vegandinn var allr i brottv. þiat meðan þeir stallraðv vti
fyrir dyrvm. þa flyði Aoth fram vm blothvsin.66
This text is based on AM 228, fol. In AM 226, fol., stodu occurs
instead of stallraðv. In Modern Icelandic the verb stallra has changed
to staldra and this change seems to be old.67 Usually ll changes to
[$1], but through metathesis some instances of the change ll > Id
are found, e.g., öllungis > öldungis; Kallaðarnes > Kaldaðarnes.
In Swedish we find corresponding phrases for describing fear:
hjartat stár stilla, hjartat stannar, lijartat börjar stanna, etc.
IV
Before describing my explanation of the phrase hjarta drepr stall
and stating the reasons for my theory, I have two comments to make,
03 Stjorn ... udgivet af C. R. Unger (Christiania 1862), 357.
64 Ibid. 463.
«r> Ibid. 491.
««Ibid. 383—384.
07 Fornmanna sögur III, 178 (based on AM 510, 4to).