Rit (Vísindafélag Íslendinga) - 01.06.1970, Page 394

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The construction in question is common in the Old German-
ic languages in two opposite meanings, positive and negative,
as it were. In the first place, it means ‘endow, provide, supply,
cover (something, someone, with something)’ as in auka konu
barni, ausa svein vatni, leggia hQll gulli, stokkva himin blóði, etc.
In the second place, it means ‘deprive (something, someone,
of something)’ as in næma frœknan Jíqwí, sníða e-n sina magni,
ræna Óðins son aldri, stela margan viti, etc. This reminds one of
the Latin ablativus coþiae et inopiae.
It has been observed that bi- or be- is particularly frequent
as a verbal prefix in these constructions in the Old Germanic
languages (cf. Modéer 1943:62-74; Wilmanns 1896:139-140).
Bearing this in mind it is tempting to regard PN *bi-beran
as the ancestor of bera in all Icelandic examples of bera e-tje-n
e-u, e-r er borinn e-u, etc., such as bera skiþ borði, bera e-n afli,
baugum, bióri, óqIví, magni, ofríki, ofrliði, ráðum, sQkum, etc., and
similarly in vera viti/hyggiandi borinn, of borin verkium, etc.
Vonhof assigned the meaning ‘begaben’ to PN *bi-beran on
similar grounds, but he is not quite right when he says that
parallels are lacking (Vonhof 1905:24). There is one parallel
in the sources of the other Old Germanic languages, viz.,
OE be-beran. Bosworth and Toller’s dictionary gives two
examples (p. 73). In one of them the verb (in the past parti-
ciple) seems to be synonymous with ge-beran. In the other the
verb is used with the accusative and the dative: Gif man
mannan wáþnum bebyreþ ‘if one supply a man with weapons’.
This example is very striking when compared with the
following sentence from Sturlunga saga (Þorgils saga skarða,
Króksfjarðarbók) (1817-20:2.1.250): hann var lítt sár ok sprakk
miök af mœdi ... þvíat hann hafdi borit sik miök vapnum ‘... he had
loaded himself with arms, i.e., wore heavy armour’.6 These
examples also indicate that the meaning ‘bewáltigen' might
have developed from the meaning ‘begaben'.
eThe English translation is taken from Cleasby-Vigfusson 1957:58.'