Tímarit Þjóðræknisfélags Íslendinga - 01.01.1967, Qupperneq 75

Tímarit Þjóðræknisfélags Íslendinga - 01.01.1967, Qupperneq 75
understatement in old english and old icelandic 57 ^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
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