Tímarit Þjóðræknisfélags Íslendinga - 01.01.1967, Page 69

UNDERSTATEMENT IN OLD ENGLISH AND OLD ICELANDIC
51
soon” by one of the vikings. In the
same poem there is a reference to
a spear þæi sé ió forð gewái / þurh
Sone æþelan Æþelrédes þegen. (that
Went too far through the noble re-
tainer of Ethelred). We perceive a
note of regret in the statement that
^he fatal spear “went too far.” In
another place in the poem we find
a rather cautious report: Gehýrde ic
Past Eadweard ánne slóge / swíðe
n^id his swurde, swenges ne wyrnde.
(I heard that Edward struck one
nhghtily with his sword; (he) did
n°t withhold the blow.) We are told
^hst the speaker “has heard” that
Eadward “did not withhold the
low.” Concerning another eager
'yarrior, in the same poem, we learn
that ió lang hii him þúhie — “it
Seemed too long” until the battle
^night start. Early in the poem it is
stated þæi se eorl nolde yrhðo geþo-
'an — “that the earl would not suf-
er from cowardice.” A few lines
ater we are similarly told þaei se
cniht nolde / wacian æi þám wíge
~~~ that the warrior did not wish to
Weaken in that battle.”
Somewhat similar understate-
?ents occur frequently in the Old
celandic when the ostensibly ob-
Jective narrator relates events of
s°nae significance, pretending on the
SUrface that they are ordinary. Thus
ln Greitis Saga, after a detailed ac-
e°unt of how Grettir has swum a
°ng distance in the cold sea, it is
reported that hann gekk iil boejar
‘ • ok fór í laug, því ai honum var
°rðif nokkui svá — “he took a
nth because he by now felt some-
. c°ld.” As Grettir lies asleep
a ?rWar<^s, the blanket falls off him
a snrvant woman cannot refrain
from laughing and making deroga-
tory remarks about the unheroic size
of his genitalia; it is next reported
that Grettir wakes up soon enough
to hear this and pulls her into the
bed: Griðka oepði hásiofum, en svá
skilðu þau, ai hon frýði eigi á Greiii,
um þai er lauk — “she screamed
loudly, but they parted in such a
way that she challenged him no
further.” Compared with the pas-
sages in Old English quoted earlier,
the adventures of the outlaw related
above are much more striking; the
effect is that of obvious humor.
In Jómsvíkinga Saga, in an ap-
parent reference to declining disci-
pline in a previously monastic viking
settlement, it is reported that women
are now allowed for two or three
nights at a time and the men are
away longer—presumably on viking
raids. This information is followed
by a terse statement: Verða ok
slundum áverkar eða einsiaka víg —
“at times injuries or occasional kill-
ings take place.” Later in Jómsvík-
inga Saga, in an account of a raid
that the Jómsvíkings make on a
town, we are told, concisely as usual,
that they killed many people and
plundered greatly. Immediately
after this, the narrator turns to a
description of how the city dwellers
reacted, merely remarking that þeir
vöknuðu eigi við góðan draum —
“they w e r e not awakened by a
pleasant dream.”
According to Hallfreðar Saga, the
hero, a court poet to the king of
Norway, after accepting Christian-
ity, tends to revert to heathen image-
ry in his verse. Later he marries the
daughter of a pagan chieftain, and
during the time he stays with his