[gothic-l] Re: Gothic Poetry

[M.]

Hails Albareik!

West Germanic poetry developed long wordy lines with syntactic breaks in the
caesura; North Germanic developed short minimal lines with medium-length
stanzas, abstract kennings and internal rime.
East Germanic had no true own characteristic. We create that, we see what it
allows us to do. This is very interesting. Here it has heavily regularized
alliteration utilizing both main stresses of the first half-line and the
first main stress of the second. this is only strayed from once, in the last
line. interestingly enough, the last line, if 'st' were not required to
alliterate only with itself, could be a cross-alliteration as found
sometimes in the skaldic tradition. The tendency toward few monosyllabic
function-words leans toward earlier poetic styles, though the regular three
line stanzaic form is innovative.

> Gáuts þis *gaizis,     Gutané fruma,
> *draúhtins dáuþis,     digis táwida,
> gódakundis guþ,     gulþeinó*harpjónds.
> 
> Gwódans gudisks,     galgan is fanþ,
> handugóm hulida,     haihs biþé warþ,
> mannané skapjónds,     þó *maidu stal.

*Gwodans seems like a forced alliteration for *Wodans, cf. woþs, wods "mad,
possessed"
*maidu:  *midu = *midus, got. st. M (u) < germ. *meduz
> 
> Teiws táiknjónds,     táujis raíhtins,
> *Ansiwé atta,     áiþé wardja,
> himinis haldand,     hamfs þana wulf band.

raihtins:  raihtis
haldand:   haldands
> 
> *Iggws *wagnis,     ahma fráiwis,
> Fráuja *friþáus,     *famni geigáida,
> þiudanám þiuþeigs,     þeihis briggands.

*famni seems a borrowing from latin to work the alliteration. perhaps a
compound construction beginning with an f- and using mawi(lo) or magaþs?
feha- "pleasant" faha- "glad" fagra "fitting" etc. another way is to
alliterate with "won" instead, using some verb like fahan R3 "get".
> 
> *Þunrs *þraúmaleiks,     þeihvóns sandjónds,
> aúhumists asanó,     *ituné fijands,
> weihands stadis,     þana *waúrm slóh.

Koebler has *þunara, Ma "thunderer, Thor" < germ. þunaraz. But I wonder
whether this shouldn't be *þunar (cf. wair) or *þunars.
if you prefer semi-attested vocabulary, þruþs "power" is found in
Trudhildis, etc. perhaps then "þruþags"?


cheers,
Matþaius


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