Bibliotheca Arnamagnæana - 01.06.1999, Page 257

VIII “VinSandin foma”
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vr-, This is a strong argument for West Nordic (Old Norse) origin
later than the shift vr- > r-,
2) Alliteration in vr-. The metrical rules require the restoration of forms
in vr-, without which there is a lack of alliteration. This case is more
ambiguous than the former one. It can be taken as an argument for
West Nordic origin anterior to the shift vr- > r-, but it might also be
an argument for East Nordic origin, in which case it does not give
any clue to the chronology. Neither can it be excluded that a poem of
West Nordic origin posterior to the shift can have used a word in vr-
not belonging to the language of the poet, as a loan from another dia-
lect or language or as an archaism - or rather an archaism supported
by the knowledge of the word-form in other languages, cf. Olåfr
hvltaskåld’s comment. The archaic use is most likely in cases where
the expression may be interpreted as an “Erbzeile”.
3) vr-/r-; that is a mixture of both systems in the same poem. This case
was the object of an interesting exchange of opinions between the
two Danish scholars discussing the matter in the 1860s. Jessen
thought that the mixture would testify to a dating from the period of
transition (lOth century?), if the forms in question were not to be ex-
plained as a loan from older poems or older word-forms adopted in
imitation of older use,14 while Grundtvig maintained that the occur-
rence of an old form (vr-) is a more important testimony in the
question of dating than that of a younger form (/--), since younger
forms are liable to be introduced in the text at any moment of its oral
transmission. Numerous instances of such renewal of language are to
be found in the ballads, Grundtvig said.15
14 “vr, og r for vr, i samme kvad viser nærmest overgangstid (10de årh.?), medmindre
vers er optaget fra ældre digte, eller ældre ordformer er brugt ved vilkårlig efterligning af
ældre brug” (Jessen 1867-69: 252).
15 “Ti dersom vi også fandt [...] det ældre vr og det yngre r (for vr) i samme digt, så turde
heraf ingenlunde udledes, at begge dele vare lige oprindelige i digtet; der vilde da være
storst sandsynlighed for, at den ældre form var den oprindelige i digtet, og dette altså ikke
yngre, end at den kunde være brugt; den yngre form derimod måtte antages for indkom-
men som senere ændring i traditjonen. Dette er noget, hvorpå jeg har haft god anledning til
at blive opmærksom ved sysselsættelse med 12te, 13de, 14de århundredes folkeviser, så-
ledes som de foreligge i 16de og da endnu mere som de fremtræde i 19de århundredes
opskrifter. Sagen er så simpel, at det er mærkeligt, at dr. Jessen kan drage så bagvendte
slutninger” (Grundtvig 1869-70: 69).