Hróðurskota

Abstract

The MS reading hroðr skotað in a verse in Víga-Glúms saga, ch. 7, has been interpreted (1) as one word (hróðrskotat, which has been regarded as a hapax legomenon) and (2) as two words (hróðr, skotat), belonging to two different clauses In the present article these interpretations are discussed, and it ís shown that both of them can be traced back to the 18th century, (1) to Bjórn Halldórsson's Icelandic dictionary, and (2) to the 1786-edition of Víga-Glúms saga, even if these old interpretations are not referred to by tnodern editors and lexicographers.

The verb hróáursfeofa has, however, been recorded quite recently from three independent sources in NW-Iceland (Vestfirðir) in the meaning 'throw out of order', 'move from the proper place', 'disarrange'. This verb thus seems to have existed in spoken Icelandic from the Sagatime; and the translation by Bjórn Halldórsson (who lived in NWIceland) seems to indicate that he knew the verb not only from Víga-Glúms saga, but also from contemporary speech. Finally, it is suggested that hróðrskotat in the verse might mean something like 'disarranged', which would be more natural in the context and closer to the modern Icelandic meaning than the commonly accepted interpretation ('disgraced', 'disparaged').