Merlínússpá

Merlínússpá (Prophecy of Merlin) is an Old Norse-Icelandic verse translation of Prophetiae Merlini in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia regum Britanniae. It is notable for being the only translation of a foreign prose text into poetry in Old Norse-Icelandic literature and for being the earliest Arthurian text to have been translated in medieval Scandinavia.^[1][2] Merlínússpá is preserved in two consecutive parts preserved in the Hauksbók (AM 544 4to) version of Breta sögur. In both Hauksbók and the version of Breta sögur preserved in the manuscript AM 573 4to, the poems are attributed to Gunnlaugr Leifsson.^[3] The poem is omitted in AM 573 4to, with the scribe noting that "many people know that poem".^[3][4] Gunnlaugr Leifsson wrote Merlínússpá around 1200.^[5] It is a close translation of the Prophetiae Merlini but also includes material from the Historia regum Britanniae.^[2]

Merlínússpá is written in fornyrðislag verse form, which is also used in the prophetic poems Völuspá and Völuspá hin skamma.^[6][7] Although it is a close translation of its Latin exemplar, Merlínússpá uses imagery from Old Norse-Icelandic prose, which together with its meter give it "the semblance of an Eddic poem."^[1]

Further reading

• Black, Russel C. (2014). Breta sǫgur from AM 544 4to: an Edition and Translation. University of Washington (Unpublished PhD thesis).
• Eysteinsson, J. S. (1953–1955). "The Relationship of Merlínússpá and Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia". Saga-Book of the Viking Society for Northern Research. 14: 95–112.
• Poole, Russel (2014). "The Sources of Merlínússpá: Gunnlaugr Leifsson's Use of Texts Additional to the De gestis Britonum of Geoffrey of Monmouth". In Chase, Martin (ed.). Eddic, Skaldic, and Beyond: Poetic Variety in Medieval Iceland & Norway. New York: Fordham University Press.

References

1. Gropper, Stefanie (2011). "Breta Sögur and Merlínússpá". In Kalinke, Marianne E. (ed.). The Arthur of the North: The Arthurian Legend in the Norse and Rus' Realms. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. pp. 48–60. ISBN 9781783167876.
2. Kalinke, Marianne E. (2011). "The Introduction of the Arthurian Legend in Scandinavia". In Kalinke, Marianne E. (ed.). The Arthur of the North: The Arthurian Legend in the Norse and Rus' Realms. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. ISBN 9781783167876.
3. Marold, Edith (1993). "Merlínusspá". In Pulsiano, Phillip; Wolf, Kirsten (eds.). Medieval Scandinavia: An encyclopedia. New York: Garland. pp. 412–413. ISBN 0824047877.
4. Kalinke, Marianne (2015). "Arthur, King of Iceland". Scandinavian Studies. 87 (1): 10. doi:10.5406/scanstud.87.1.0008. ISSN 0036-5637. JSTOR 10.5406/scanstud.87.1.0008.
5. Kalinke, Marianne (2015). "Arthur, King of Iceland". Scandinavian Studies. 87 (1): 9. doi:10.5406/scanstud.87.1.0008. ISSN 0036-5637. JSTOR 10.5406/scanstud.87.1.0008.
6. Poole, Russel (2005). "Metre and Metrics". In McTurk, Rory (ed.). A Companion to Old Norse-Icelandic Literature and Culture. Malden, Oxford, Victoria: Blackwell Publishing. pp. 265.
7. Clunies Ross, Margaret (2005). A History of Old Norse Poetry and Poetics. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer. pp. 12. ISBN 9781843842798.