Roman

f. the city of Rome, Eluc. 50, passim; Rómaborgar keisari, höfðingi, lýðr, the Roman emperor, king, people, Eluc. 50, Fms, vii. 86, 99, 221; Rómaborgar lög, kirkja, the Roman law, church, 645. 98, H. E. i 464; Rómaborgar ríki, the Roman empire, Bs. i. 71; but also

(-ar, pl. brœkr), f.

1) one leg of a pair of breeches (ok lét hann leika laust knéit í brókinni);

2) breeches (but the pl. ‘brœkr’ is more common); vera í brókum, to wear breeches; gyrðr í brœkr, with breeches girt over one’s underclothing.

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pl. brækr, [Lat. braca, only in pl.]; this word is of Celtic origin, and identical with the Gaelic braecan = tartan:

I. tartan or party-coloured cloth, from Gaelic breac = versicolor. Roman writers oppose the Celtic ‘braca’ to the Roman ‘toga;’ Gallia Bracata, Tartan Gaul, and Gallia Togata; ‘versicolore sagulo, bracas, tegmen barbarum indutus,’ Tac. Hist. 2, 20, where it exactly answers to the Scot. tartan, the national dress of Celts; a similar sense remains in the Icel. names lang-brók, a surname to a lady because of her tall stature, Nj., Landn.; há-brók, the poët. name of the hawk, from his chequered plumage (?), Gm. 44; loð-brók, the name of the famous mythical Danish king, shaggy coat, though the reason for the name is otherwise given in Ragn. S. ch. I; the name of the Danish flag of war Dannebrog, qs. Dana-brók, pannus Danicus.

II. breeches. Scot. breeks, the sing. denoting one leg; fótinn ok brókina, Eb. 242; ok let hann leika laust knæt í brókinni, Fms. vii. 170: pl. skyrtu gyrða í brækr, Háv. 39, Ld. 136, Stj. 63. Gen. ix. 22, Fbr. 160, Fms. xi. 150, Vápn. 4; leista-brækr, breeches with the socks fixed to them. Eb. l. c.; blárendar ( blue-striped) brækr, Nj. 184; the lesser outlawry might be inflicted by law on a woman wearing breeches, v. the curious passage in Ld. l. c. ch. 35; the passage, berbeinn þú stendr ok hefir brautingja görvi, þatkiþú hafir brækr þínar, bare-legged thou standest, in beggarly attire, without even thy breeches on, Hbl. 6—the poet probably knew the Highland dress; cp. also the story of king Magnús of Norway (died A. D. 1103); hann hafði mjök þá siðu um klæða búnað, sem títt var í Vestrlöndum (viz. Scotland), ok margir hans menn, at þeir gengu berleggjaðir, höfðu stutta kyrtla ok svá yfirhafnir, ok kölluðu margir menn hann Berbein eðr Berfætt, Fms. vii. 63: proverbs, barnið vex, en brókin ekki, the bairn grows, but the breeks not, advice to mothers making the first pair of breeks for a boy, not to make them too tight; þetta verðr aldri barn í brók, this will never be a bairn in breeks, i. e. this will never do.

COMPDS: brókabelti, brókavaðmál, brókarsótt.

a. white (hvítt silfr); h. á hár, white-haired.

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adj. [Ulf. hweits = λευκός; A. S. hwít; Engl. white; Hel. huît; O. H. G. hwîz; Germ. weiss; Swed. hvit; Dan. hvid]:—white; hvít skinn, white fur, 4. 24; h. motr, a white cap, Ld. 188; h. skjöldr, a white shield, Fms. x. 347; hit hvíta feldarins, Fbr. 148; hvítt blóm, white blossom, 4. 24; hvítt hold, white flesh (skin), id.; hvít hönd, a white band, Hallfred; h. háls, a white neck, of a lady, Rm.; h. hestr, a white horse, Fms. ix. 527; hvítr á har, white-haired, vi. 130; h. maðr ( fair of hue) ok vænn í andliti, x. 420; hvítan mann ok huglausan, Ld. 232; hvít mörk, white money, of pure silver, opp. to grátt ( grey) silver, B. K. 95; hvítr matr, white meat, i. e. milk, curds, and the like, opp. to flesh, in the eccl. law, K. Þ. K. 126; hvítr dögurðr, a white day meal, Sighvat; hvíta-matr, id, K. Þ. K. 102; mjall-hvítr, fann-h., snjó-h., drift-h., white as driven snow; al-h., white allover.

B. Eccl. use of the word white:

I. at the introduction of Christianity, neophytes in the week after their baptism used to wear white garments, called hvíta-váðir, f. pl. white weeds, as a symbol of baptism cleansing from sin and being a new birth; a neophyte was called hvít-váðungr, m. a ‘ white-weedling,’ one dressed in white weeds, Niðrst. 111: the Sagas contain many touching episodes of neophytes, esp. such as were baptized in old age, and died whilst in the white weeds; þat er sögn flestra manna at Kjartan hafi þann dag görzt handgenginn Ólafi konungi er hann var færðr ór hvíta-váðum ok þeir Bolli báðir, Ld. ch. 40; síðan hafði konungr þá í boði sínu ok veitti þeim ena virðuligustu veizlu meðan þeir vóru í hvítaváðum, ok lét kenna þeim heilög fræði, Fms. i. 230; Glúmr (Víga-Glúm) var biskupaðr í banasótt af Kol biskupi ok andaðisk í hvítaváðum, Glúm. 397; Bárðr tók sótt litlu síðar enn hann var skírðr ok andaðisk í hvítaváðum, Fms. ii. 153; Ólafr á Haukagili var skírðr ok andaðisk í hvítaváðum, Fs. (Vd.) 77; var Tóki síðan skírðr af hirðbiskupi Ólafs konungs, ok andaðisk í hvítaváðum, Fb. ii. 138; síðan andaðisk Gestr í hvítaváðum, Bárð. (sub fin.) Sweden, but above all Gothland, remained in great part heathen throughout the whole of the 11th century, after the neighbouring countries Denmark and Norway had become Christian, and so we find in Sweden Runic stones referring to Swedes who had died in the white weeds, some abroad and some at home; sem varð dauðr íhvítaváðum í Danmörku, Baut. 435; hann varð dauðr í Danmörku í hvítaváðum, 610; þeir dó í hvítaváðum, 68; sem dó í hvítaváðum, 271; hann varð dauðr í hvítaváðum, 223, 497. Churches when consecrated used to be dressed out with white; var Kjartan at Borg grafinn, þá var kirkja nyvígð ok í hvítaváðum, Ld. 230.

II. the white garments gave rise to new words and phrases amongst the first generation of northern Christians:

1. Hvíta-Kristr, m. ‘ White-Christ,’ was the favourite name of Christ; hafa láti mik heitan Hvíta-Kristr at viti eld, ef…, Sighvat; another poet (Edda 91) uses the word; and in prose, dugi þú mér, Hvíta-Kristr, help thou me, White-Christ! Fs. 101; ok þeir er þann sið hafa taka nafn af þeim Guði er þeir trúa á, ok kallaðr er Hvíta-Kristr ok því heita þeir Kristnir, mér er ok sagt at H. sé svá miskunsamr, at …, Fms. i. 295; en ef ek skal á guð nacquat trúa, hvat er mér þá verra at ek trúa á Hvíta-Krist en á annat guð? Ó. H. 204; Arnljótr svarar, heyrt hefi ek getið Hvíta-Krists, en ekki er mér kunnigt um athöfn hans eða hvar hann ræðr fyrir, 211; en þó trúi ek á Hvíta-Krist, Fb. ii. 137.

2. the great festivals, Yule (see Ld. ch. 40), Easter and Pentecost, but especially the two latter, were the great seasons for christening; in the Roman Catholic church especially Easter, whence in Roman usage the first Sunday after Easter was called Dominica in Albis; but in the northern churches, perhaps owing to the cold weather at Easter time, Pentecost, as the birthday of the church, seems to have been specially appointed for christening and for ordination, see Hungrv. ch. 2, Thom. 318; hence the following week was termed the Holy Week (Helga Vika). Hence; Pentecost derived its name from the white garments, and was called Hvíta-dagar, the White days, i. e. Whitsun-week; frá Páskadegi inum fýrsta skulu vera vikur sjau til Drottins-dags í Hvítadögum; Drottinsdag í Hvítadögum skulu vér halda sem hinn fyrsta Páskadag, K. Þ. K. 102; þváttdag fyrir Hvítadaga = Saturday next before Whitsunday, 126, 128; Páskadag inn fyrsta ok Uppstigningar-dag ok Drottinsdag í Hvítadögum, 112; þá Imbrudaga er um Hvítadaga verða, 120; vóru afteknir tveir dagar í Hvítadögum, Bs. i. 420; um várit á Hvítadögum, Orkn. 438: Hvítadaga-vika, u, f. White-day week = Whitsun-week, K. Þ. K. 126: in sing., þeir kómu at Hvítadegi (= Whitsunday) til Björgynjar, Fms. x. 63, v. 1.: Hvítadaga-helgi, f. the White-day feast, Whitsuntide, Fms. viii. 373, xi. 339, Sturl. iii. 206: Hvítadaga-hríð, a snow storm during the White days, Ann. 1330: Hvít-Drottins-dagr, m. the White Lord’s day, i. e. Whitsunday, the northern Dominica in Albis, Rb. 484, Fms. vii. 156, Bs. i. 62, where it refers to the 20th of May, 1056, on which day Isleif the first bishop of Iceland was consecrated. The name that at last prevailed was Hvíta-sunna, u, f. Whitsun, i. e. White-sun, D. N. ii. 263, 403: Hvítasunni-dagr, m. Whitsuday, Fb. ii. 546, Fms. viii. 63, v. l.: Hvítasunnudags-vika, u, f. Whitsun-week, Fb. ii. 546; Páskaviku, ok Hvítasunnudagsviku, ok þrjár vikur fyrir Jónsvöku, ok svá fyrir Michials-messu, N. G. L. i. 150; hvítasunnudagshátíð, Thom. 318. As the English was the mother-church of that of Norway and Iceland, the Icelandic eccl. phrases are derived from the English language. See Bingham’s Origg. s. vv. White Garments, and Dominica in Albis, where however no reference is given to Icel. writers. In modern Denmark and Norway the old name has been displaced by Pindse, i. e. Pfingsten, derived from the Greek word, whereas in Icel., as in Engl., only the name Hvítasunna is known, ☞ In Denmark the people make a practice of thronging to the woods on Whitsun morning to see the rising of the sun, and returning with green branches in their hands, the trees being just in bud at that season.

C. COMPDS: hvítabjörn, hvítadagar, hvítagnípa, hvítalogn, hvítamatr, Hvítasunna, hvítaváðir, hvítavalr, hvítarmr, hvítbránn, hvítbrúnn, hvítdreki, Hvítdrottinsdagr, hvítfaldaðr, hvítfjaðraðr, hvítflekkóttr, hvítfyrsa, hvítfyssi, hvíthaddaðr, hvíthárr, hvítjarpr, hvítklæddr, hvítmelingar, hvítröndóttr, hvítskeggjaðr, hvítskinn, hvítváðungr.

II. as pr. names, Hvítr, Engl. White, Dan. Hvid, Landn.; esp. as a surname, Hvíti, the White, Óláfr Hvíti, Þorsteinn Hvíti, Landn.: Hvít-beinn, m. White-hone, a nickname, Landn.; as also Hvíta-skáld, Hvíta-ský, Hvíta-leðr, Hvíta-kollr, Landn.: in local names, Hvíta-býr, Whitby; Hvíta-nes, Hvíta-dalr, Landn.; Hvít-á, the White-water, a name of several Icel. rivers flowing from glaciers, Hvítár-vellir, Hvítár-síða, Landn.; Hvítramanna-land, White-men’s-land, old name of the southern part of the present United States, Landn.

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(-s, -ar), m.

1) poet. a highborn, noble man or warrior;

2) earl (in dignity next to the king).

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m., older form earl, [Hel. erl; A. S. eorl; Engl. earl]: this word had a double sense, one old and common to the Saxons as well as the earliest Scandinavians, one later and specifically Norse, which afterwards became English through the Norse and Danish invasion, and was finally established by the Norman Conquest.

A. A gentle, noble man, a warrior, and collect. gentlefolk, as opp. to the churl folk or common people (karlar, búendr); thus the old poem Rígsmál distinguishes three classes, earls, churls, and thralls (jarla-ætt, karla-ætt, þræla-ætt); so also in A. S. eorl and ceorl are almost proverbially opposed; in the old Saxon poem Heliand, ‘erl’ is used about a hundred times = a man. Prof. Munch suggested that the name of the Teutonic people Eruli or Heruli simply represents an appellative ( warriors), which the Roman writers took to be a proper name. In the Scandin. countries this use of jarl is rare and obsolete, but remains in poët. phrases, in old saws, and in law phrases; oddar görva jarli megin, spears make the earl’s might, Mkv.; rudda ek sem jarlar forðum mér til landa, I won me lands like the earls of yore, Glúm, (in a verse): jarls yndi, an earl’s delight = a man’s delight, Hm. 96; jörlum öllum óðal batni, Gh. 21; hlaðit ér, earlar, eikiköstinn, 20; ítrar jarla-brúðir, ‘earl’s-brides,’ ladies, Gkv. 1. 3; alsnotrir jarlar, the gentle earls, 2; eggja ek yðr, jarlar, Am. 54; jarla einbani, ‘earl-slayer’ = ανδροκτόνος, Em., Hkm.; karl-fólk ok jarla, churlfolk and earl folk, Sighvat; eitt mein sækir hvern jarl, every earl (man) has his ill luck, Fb. ii. (in a verse): in the law, jarls jörð, an earl’s estate, is opp. to konungs jörð, a king’s estate, in the phrase, hálfan rétt skal hann taka er hann kömr á jarls jörð, en þá allan ok fullan er hann kömr á konungs jörð, Grág. (Kb.) i. 192, for this is undoubtedly the bearing of this disputed passage; jarlmaðr is opp. to búkarl, Fms. vii. (in a verse); so also karlmaðr (q. v.) in its oldest sense is opp. to jarlmaðr, = churl-man and earl-man; hirð-jarl = hirðmaðr, Fms. xi. 302, v. l.; berg-jarl, poët. a ‘crag-earl’ = a giant, Edda (in a verse); bak-jarl, a ‘back-earl,’ an enemy in one’s rear; of-jarl (q. v.), an ‘over-earl,’ an overbearing man.

B. A chief, as a title, specially Norse and Danish. The Landnáma, which is almost our only source for the political and personal history of Norway before king Harald Fairhair and the settlement of Iceland, records several chiefs of the 8th and 9th centuries who bore an earl’s name as a family dignity; Ívarr Upplendinga-jarl (Upplönd, a Norse county), Asbjörn jarl Skerja-blesi, Eyvindr jarl, 317; Atli jarl Mjóvi af Gaulum (a Norse county), Þorkell Naumdæla-jarl (earl in Naumdale, a Norse county), 281; Grjótgarðr jarl í Sölva (a county), 297: and as a family title, the famous Háleygja-jarlar (the earls of the Norse county Hálogaland, whose pedigree from Odin was drawn out in the old poem Háleygja-tal; Hákon jarl Grjótgarðsson, etc.): so also the Mæra-jarlar, the earls of Mæri (a Norse county), the foremost of whom was Rögnvaldr Mæra-jarl, the forefather of the earls of the Orkneys (Orkneyja-jarlar) and the earls of Rouen (Rúðu-jarlar = the dukes of Normandy).

II. along with the Danish and Norse invasion the name appears in England, Bjartmár jarl in Ireland, Landn.; Hunda-Steinarr, an earl in England, id.; see also the Saxon Chronicle passim, where the very name indicates a Danish or Norse connexion. It is very likely that many of the earls of the Landnáma were sovereign chiefs, differing from kings only in title, for in old poetry a king and an earl were addressed in the same way.

III. about the time of Harald Fairhair all the petty chiefs became liegemen under one king, the earl being in dignity nearest the king, answering to comes in mid. Lat. and graf in Germ. In Scandinavia both name and office became extinct about the 13th century: in Iceland, being a commonwealth, it never took root; see however Gizur jarl (died A. D. 1268) in the Sturlunga.—For references see the Sagas passim, esp. Har. S. Harf. ch. 6.

IV. in eccl. translation the Roman procurator provinciae is often rendered by jarl, e. g. Pílatus jarl, earl Pilate, Ver. 67, Pass. 20. 2.

COMPDS: jarlakappi, jarlaskáld, Jarlasögur, jarlsefni, jarlsmaðr, jarlsníð, jarlsríki, jarlssæti.

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1) mass; syngja messu, to chant the mass;

2) = messudagr( Jóns messa, Ólafs messa).

(að), v. to say the mass.

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u, f. [eccl. Lat. missa], a mass, from the Roman Catholic times; syngja messu, to chant the mass, Bs. i. 21, K. Þ. K. 56, Hom. 137, passim, Nj. 157; messu bók, a mass book, Vm. 17, 68, Pm. 104; messu brefer, a breviary, Dipl. v. 18; messu söngr, chanting the mass, Bs. i. 823, Stj. 238, K. Á. 116, Vm. 108; messu embætti, mass service, divine service, Fms. xi. 429, Bs. i. 823; messu-föt, messu-fata-lindi, see lindi, Fms. iv. 111; messu klæði, messu skrúð or skrúði, the vestments, K. Þ. K. 56, 57, 72, 74, Fms. ii. 177, viii. 197, Bs. i. 63, 429; messu hökull, a cope, Nj. 279, B. K. 52; messu serkr or messu sloppr or stakkr, a surplice, Fms. iii. 168, B. K. 83, Vm. 29, 52; messu stóll, the. mass desk, Mar.; messu djákn, a deacon, clerk, Nj. 272, Vm. 5, Bs. i. 412, 871:—poët., odda messa, vápna messa, the weapon mass, = battle, Lex. Poët.

COMPDS: messufall, messnfært, messuhald, messumál, messuprestr, messusöngsmaðr, messuvín.

B. A mass-day, holiday, also messu-dagr, K. Þ. K. 44, 104, Bs. passim; messu-nátt, a holiday night, N. G. L. i. 343. The chief mass-days, commonly used as dates or epochs in the Sturlunga S., the Biskupa Sögur, and in similar old writers, are

1. of Norse and Icel. saints, Ólafs-messa, St. Olave’s day = the 29th of July and 3rd of August; Magnús-m., St. Magnus’ day of the Orkneys = the 16th of April and 13th of December; Hallvarðs-m., St. Halvard’s day = the 15th of May; Þorláks-m., St. Thorlac’s day of Skalholt = the 20th of July and 23rd of December; Jóns-m. (the bishop of Hólar) = the 3rd of March and 23rd of April; Eldbjargar-m. = the 7th of January.

2. other saints’ days of the Roman Catholic church, Máríu-messa = the 25th of March; Þing-Máríu-m. = the 2nd of July, i. e. ‘Thing Mary’s mass,’ for the alþing was to meet about that time; Máríu-m. (Siðari) = the 8th of September; Kross-m. = the 3rd of May and 14th of September; Lafranz-m. = the 11th of August; Bræðra-m. = the 20th of January; Pétrs-m. = the 22nd of February; Páls-m. = the 25th of January; Pétrs messa ok Páls = the 29th of June; Jakobs-m. = the 25th of July: Kyndil-m. = Candlemas; Allra-Heilagra-m. = All Souls’ day; Mikkjals-m. = Michaelmas day; Tveggja Postula-m. = the 1st of May; Seljumanna-m., the Saints’-day of Selja = the 8th of July (for the interesting record see Fms. i, headed Þáttr Albani ok Sunnifu); Kolumba-m., St. Columba’s day = the 9th of June; Sviftúns-m. = the 3rd of July; Blasius-m. = the 3rd of February; Kolnismeyja-m. = the 21st of October; Thomas-m. = the 21st of December; Egidius-m. = the 1st of September; Tiburtius-m. = the 14th of April; Bótólfs-m. = the 17th of June, etc.

3. Hlaupárs-messa, Leap-year mass = the 24th of February. These and some others are frequent in the Bs. and writers of that kind. The time about the end of June and beginning of July is in Icel. called messur (f. pl.), κατ ἐξ.; fram undir messur, til messna, and the like.

and Rúm-verjar, m. pl. the Romans, Fms. i. 106, Hkr. i. 8, and passim in old and mod. usage; thus, Pistillinn til Rómverja, the Epistle to the Romans, N. T.; Rómverja kirkja, the Roman church, Stj.; Rómverja herr, höfðingi, keisari, konungr, land, riki, veldi, the Roman army, chief, emperor, king;, land, empire, kingdom, Symb. 9, Clem. 26, 42, MS. 673. 51, Stj., Ver. 46, Bær 12, and passim.

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(gen. pl. augna), n.

1) eye;

lúka (bregða) upp augum, bregða augum í sundr, to open (lift up) the eyes;

lúka aptr augum, to shift the eyes;

renna (bregða, leiða) augum til e-s, to turn the eyes to;

leiða e-n augum, to measure one with the eyes;

berja augum í e-t, to take into consideration;

koma augum á e-t, to set eyes on, become aware of;

hafa auga á e-u, t have, keep, an eye upon;

segja e-t í augu upp, to one’s face, right in the face;

unna e-m sem augum í höfði sér, as one’s own eye-balls;

e-m vex e-t í augu, one has scruples about;

náit er nef augum, the nose is neighbor to the eyes;

gløggt er gests augat, a guest’s eye is sharp;

mörg eru dags augu, the day has many eyes;

eigi leyna augu, ef ann kona manni, the eyes cannot hide it if a woman loves a man;

2) hole, aperture in a needle (nálarauga), in a millstone (kvarnarauga) or an axe-head;

3) pit full of water.

* * *

n., gen. pl. augna, [Lat. oculus, a dimin. of an obsolete ocus; Gr. οφθαλμός (Boeot. οκταλμός); Sanskr. aksha: the word is common to Sanskrit with the Slavonic, Greek, Roman, and Teutonic idioms: Goth. augo; Germ, auge; A. S. eâge; Engl. eye; Scot. ee; Swed. öga; Dan. öje, etc. Grimm s. v. suggests a relationship to Lat. acies, acutus, etc. The letter n appears in the plur. of the mod. northern languages; the Swedes say ‘ögon,’ oculi, the Danes ‘öjne;’ with the article ‘ögonen’ and ‘öjnene;’ Old Engl. ‘eyne;’ Scot. ‘een’]

I. an eye. It is used in Icel. in a great many proverbs, e. g. betr sjá augu en auga, ‘two eyes see better than one,’ i. e. it is good to yield to advice: referring to love, unir auga meðan á sér, the eye is pleased whilst it can behold (viz. the object of its affection), Fas. i. 125, cp. Völs. rím. 4. 189; eigi leyna augu, ef ann kona manni, the eyes cannot bide it, if a woman love a man, i. e. they tell their own tale, Ísl. ii. 251. This pretty proverb is an απ. λεγ. l. c. and is now out of use; it is no doubt taken from a poem in a dróttkvætt metre, (old proverbs have alliteration, but neither rhymes nor assonance, rhyming proverbs are of a comparatively late date): medic., eigi er sá heill er í augun verkir, Fbr. 75; sá drepr opt fæti ( slips) er augnanna missir, Bs. i. 742; hætt er einu auganu nema vel fari, he who has only one eye to lose will take care of it (comm.); húsbóndans auga sér bezt, the master’s eye sees best; glögt er gests augat, a guest’s eye is sharp; mörg eru dags augu, the day has many eyes, i. e. what is to be hidden must not be done in broad daylight, Hm. 81; náið er nef augum, the nose is near akin to the eyes (tua res agitur paries quum proximus ardet), Nj. 21; opt verðr slíkt á sæ, kvað selr, var skotinn í auga, this often happens at sea, quoth the seal, when he was shot in the eye, of one who is in a scrape, Fms. viii. 402. In many phrases, at unna ( to love) e-m sem augum í höfði sér, as one’s own eye-balls, Nj. 217; þótti mér slökt it sætasta ljós augna minna, by his death the sweetest light of my eyes was quenched, 187: hvert grætr þú nú Skarphéðinn? eigi er þat segir Skarphéðinn, en hitt er satt at súrnar í augum, the eyes smart from smoke, 200: renna, líta augum, to seek with the eyes, to look upon: it is used in various connections, renna, líta ástaraugum, vánaraugum, vinaraugum, trúaraugum, öfundaraugum, girndarauga, with eyes of love, hope, friendship, faith, envy, desire: mæna a. denotes an upward or praying look; stara, fixed; horfa, attentive; lygna, blundskaka, stupid or slow; blína, glápa, góna, vacant or silly; skima, wandering; hvessa augu, a threatening look; leiða e-n a., to measure one with the eyes; gjóta, or skjóta hornauga, or skjóta a. í skjálg, to throw a side glance of dislike or ill-will; gjóta augum is always in a bad sense; renna, líta mostly in a good sense: gefa e-u auga, oculum adjicere alicui; hafa auga á e-u, to keep an eye on it; segja e-m e-t í augu upp, to one’s face, Orkn. 454; at augum, adverb. with open eyes, Hervar. S. (in a verse), etc. As regards various movements of the eyes; ljúka upp augum, to open the eyes; láta aptr augun, to shut the eyes; draga auga í pung, to draw the eye into a purse, i. e. shut one eye; depla augum, to blink; at drepa titlinga (Germ. äugeln, blinzen), to wink, to kill tits with the suppressed glances of the eye; glóðarauga, a suffusion on the eye, hyposphagma; kýrauga. proptosis; vagl á auga, a beam in the eye; skjálgr, Lat. limus; ský, albugo; tekinn til augnanna, with sunken eyes, etc., Fél. ix. 192; a. bresta, in death: hafa stýrur í augum, to have prickles in the eyes, when the eyes ache for want of sleep: vatna músum, ‘to water mice,’ used esp. of children weeping silently and trying to hide their tears. As to the look or expression of the eyes there are sundry metaph. phrases, e. g. hafa fékróka í augum, to have wrinkles at the corners of the eyes, of a shrewd money getting fellow, Fms. ii. 84, cp. Orkn. 330, 188, where krókauga is a cognom.; kvenna-króka, one insinuating with the fair sex; hafa ægishjalm í augum is a metaphor of one with a piercing, commanding eye, an old mythical term for the magical power of the eye, v. Grimm’s D. Mythol. under Ægishjalmr: vera mjótt á milli augnanna, the distance between the eyes being short, is a popular saying, denoting a close, stingy man, hence mjóeygr means close: e-m vex e-t í augu (now augum), to shrink back from, of a thing waxing and growing before one’s eyes so that one dares not face it. As to the shape, colour, etc. of the eye, vide the adj. ‘eygr’ or ‘eygðr’ in its many compds. Lastly we may mention the belief, that when the water in baptism touches the eyes, the child is thereby in future life prevented from seeing ghosts or goblins, vide the words úfreskr and skygn. No spell can touch the human eye; en er harm sá augu hans (that of Loki in the shape of a bird), þá grunaði hann (the giant) at maðr mundi vera, Edda 60; í bessum birni þykist hón kenna augu Bjarnar konungs sonar, Fas. i. 51, vide Ísl. Þjóðs.

II. meton. and metaph. auga is used in a great many connections:

α. astron.; þjaza augu, the eyes of the giant Thiazi, is a constellation, probably the Dioscuri, Castor and Pollux; the story is told in the Edda 47, cp. Harbarðsljóð 19; (Snorri attributes it to Odin, the poem to Thor.)

β. botan., auga = Lat. gemma, Hjalt. 38; kattarauga, cat’s eye, is the flower forget-me-not.

γ. the spots that form the numbers on dice, Magn. 530.

δ. the hole in a millstone; kvarnarauga, Edda 79, 221, Hkr. i. 121: the opening into which an axe handle is fastened, Sturl. ii. 91: a pit full of water, Fs. 45: nálarauga, a needle’s eye: vindauga, wind’s eye or window (which orig. had no glass in it), A. S. eag-dura (eye-door); also gluggi, q. v.: gleraugu, spectacles.

ε. anatom., the pan of the hip joint, v. augnakarl, Fms. iii. 392: gagnaugu, temples.

ζ. hafsauga, the bottom of the ocean, in the popular phrase, fara út í hafsauga, descendere ad tartara.

η. poët. the sun is called heimsauga, dagsauga, Jónas 119.

COMPDS either with sing. auga or pl. augna; in the latter case mod. usage sometimes drops the connecting vowel a, e. g. augn-dapr, augn-depra, augn-fagr, etc. auga-bragð (augna-), n. the twinkling of an eye, Hm. 77; á einu a., in the twinkling of an eye, Ver. 32, Edda (pref.) 146, Sks. 559, Rb. 568: a glance, look, snart a., Fms. ii. 174; mikit a., v. 335; úfagrligt a., Fs. 43; hafa a. af e-u, to cast a look at, Fbr. 49, Fms. xi. 424: in the phrase, at hafa e-n (or verða) at augabragði, metaph. to make sport of, to mock, deride, gaze at, Stj. 627, 567, Hm. 5, 29. auga-brun, f. the eye-brow. auga-staðr, m. an eye-mark; hafa a. á e-u, to mark with the eye. auga-steinn (augna-), m. the eye-ball, Hkr. iii. 365, Fms. v. 152. augna-bending, f. a warning glance, Pr. 452. augna-blik, n. mod. = augnabragð, s. augna-bólga, u, f. ophthalmia. augna-brá, f. the eye-lid, D. N. i. 216. augna-fagr and aug-fagr, adj. fair-eyed, Fas. ii. 365, Fms. v. 200. augna-fró, f. a plant, eye-bright, euphrasia, also augna-gras, Hjalt. 231. augna-fræ, n. lychnis alpina. augna-gaman, n. a sport, delight for the eyes to gaze at, Ld. 202, Bær. 17, Fsm. 5 (love, sweetheart). augna-gróm, n. (medic.) a spot in the eye; metaph., ekki a., no mere speck, of whatever can easily be seen. augna-hár, n. an eye-lash. augna-hvannr, m. the eye-lid. augna-hvita, u, f. albugo. augna-karl, n. the pan of the hip joint; slíta or slitna or augnaköllunum, Fas. iii. 392. augna-kast, n. a wild glance, Barl. 167. augna-kláði, a, m. psorophthalmi. augna-krókr, n. the corner of the eye. augna-lag, n. a look, Ld. 154. augna-lok, n. ‘eye-covers,’ eye-lids. augna-mein, n. a disease of the eye. augna-mjörkvi, a, m. dimness of the eye, Pr. 471. augna-ráð, n. expression of the eye. augna-skot, n. a look askance, Gþl. 286, Fs. 44 (of cats). augna-slím, n. glaucoma. augna-staðr, m. the socket of the eye, Magn. 532. augna-sveinn, m. a lad leading a blind man, Str. 46. augn-tepra, u, f. hippus. augna-topt, f. the socket of the eye. augna-verkr, m. pain in the eye, Hkr. ii. 257, Bs. i. 451, Pr. 471, Bjarn. 58. augna-vik, n. pl. = augnakrókr. augna-þungi, a, m. heaviness of the eye, Hkr. ii. 257.

n. a bridle, freq. in old vellum MSS. spelt beils, Fs. 128, 62, Fms. x. 86, xi. 256 C; with z, beizl or mod. beizli, Sks. 84, 87 new Ed., N. G. L. ii. 115, Grett. 122, Fms. viii. 52, v. 1., Fas. ii. 508; beisl (wilh s), Karl. 4, Grág. i. 439 (Kb. and Sb.), Stj. 206, Nj. 33, Fms. x. 86, Flov. 26, etc. The word is not to be derived from bíta; this may with certainty be inferred from comparison with the other Teut. idioms, and even in the Roman tongues we find r after the first letter: A. S. bridle and bridels; O. H. G. brittill; Dutch bridel; Engl. bridle; these forms seem to point to the Lat. frenum; the Scandin. idioms seem to have elided the r; Swed. betsel; Dan. bidsel; Icel. beils and beisl or beizl; many words referring to horse taming and racing are not genuine Scandinavian, but of foreign extraction; so is söðull, saddle, derived from A. S. saðol, Lat. sedile.

COMPDS: beislál, beislhringr, beisltamr, beisltaumar.

s, m., pl. ir: [the etymology of this word has been much contested; some—upon the authority of Snorri, hans menn fóru ‘brynjulausir,’ Hkr. i. 11—derive it from ‘berr’ ( bare) and ‘serkr’ [cp. sark, Scot. for shirt]; but this etymology is inadmissible, because ‘serkr’ is a subst. not an adj.: others derive it from ‘berr’ (Germ. bär = ursus), which is greatly to be preferred, for in olden ages athletes and champions used to wear hides of bears, wolves, and reindeer (as skins of lions in the south), hence the names Bjálfi, Bjarnhéðinn, Úlfhéðinn, (héðinn, pellis,)—‘pellibus aut parvis rhenonum tegimentis utuntur,’ Caes. Bell. Gall. vi. 22: even the old poets understood the name so, as may be seen in the poem of Hornklofi (beginning of 10th century), a dialogue between a Valkyrja and a raven, where the Valkyrja says, at berserkja reiðu vil ek þik spyrja, to which the raven replies, Úlfhéðnar heita, they are called Wolfcoats, cp. the Vd. ch. 9; þeir berserkir er Úlfhéðnar vóru kallaðir, þeir höfðu vargstakka ( coats of wild beasts) fyrir brynjur, Fs. 17]:—a ‘bear-sark,’ ‘bear-coat,’ i. e. a wild warrior or champion of the heathen age; twelve berserkers are mentioned as the chief followers of several kings of antiquity, e. g. of the Dan. king Rolf Krake, Edda 82; a Swed. king, Gautr. S. Fas. iii. 36; king Adils, Hrólf. Kr. S. ch. 16 sqq.; Harald Hárfagri, Eg. ch. 9, Grett. ch. 2, Vd. l. c. (Hornklofi, v. above); the twelve sons of Arngrim, Hervar. S. ch. 3–5, Hdl. 22, 23; the two berserkers sent as a present by king Eric at Upsala to earl Hakon of Norway, and by him presented to an Icel. nobleman, Eb. ch. 25. In battle the berserkers were subject to fits of frenzy, called berserks-gangr (furor bersercicus, cp. the phrase, ganga berserksgang), when they howled like wild beasts, foamed at the mouth and gnawed the iron rim of their shields; during these fits they were, according to popular belief, proof against steel and fire, and made great havoc in the ranks of the enemy; but when the fever abated they were weak and tame. A graphical description of the ‘furor bersercicus’ is found in the Sagas, Yngl. S. ch. 6, Hervar. S. l. c., Eg. ch. 27, 67, Grett. ch. 42, Eb. ch. 25, Nj. ch. 104, Kristni S. ch. 2, 8 (Vd. ch. 46); cp. also a passage in the poem of Hornklofi | grenjuðu berserkir, | guðr var þeim á sinnum, | emjaðu Úlfhéðnar | ok ísarn gniiðu—which lines recall to the mind Roman descriptions of the Cimbric war-cry. In the Icel. Jus Eccles. the berserksgangr, as connected with the heathen age, is liable to the lesser outlawry, K. Þ. K. 78; it is mentioned as a sort of possession in Vd. ch. 37, and as healed by a vow to God. In the Dropl. S. Major (in MS.) it is medically described as a disease (v. the whole extract in the essay ‘De furore Bersercico,’ Kristni S. old Ed. in cake); but this Saga is modern, probably of the first part of the 17th century. The description of these champions has a rather mythical character. A somewhat different sort of berserker is also recorded in Norway as existing in gangs of professional bullies, roaming about from house to house, challenging husbandmen to ‘holmgang’ ( duel), extorting ransom (leysa sik af hólmi), and, in case of victory, carrying off wives, sisters, or daughters; but in most cases the damsel is happily rescued by some travelling Icelander, who fights and kills the berserker. The most curious passages are Glúm, ch. 4, 6, Gísl. ch. 1 (cp. Sir Edm. Head’s and Mr. Dasent’s remarks in the prefaces), Grett. ch. 21, 42, Eg. ch. 67, Flóam. S. ch. 15, 17; according to Grett. ch. 21, these banditti were made outlaws by earl Eric, A. D. 1012. It is worth noticing that no berserker is described as a native of Icel.; the historians are anxious to state that those who appeared in Icel. (Nj., Eb., Kr. S. l. c.) were born Norse (or Swedes), and they were looked upon with fear and execration. That men of the heathen age were taken with fits of the ‘furor athleticus’ is recorded in the case of Thorir in the Vd., the old Kveldulf in Eg., and proved by the fact that the law set a penalty upon it. Berserkr now and then occurs as a nickname, Glúm. 378. The author of the Yngl. S. attributes the berserksgangr to Odin and his followers, but this is a sheer misinterpretation, or perhaps the whole passage is a rude paraphrase of Hm. 149 sqq. In the old Hbl. 37 berserkr and giant are used synonymously. The berserkers are the representatives of mere brute force, and it therefore sounds almost blasphemous, when the Norse Barl. S. speaks of Guðs berserkr (a ‘bear-coat’ or champion of God), (Jesus Kristr gleymdi eigi hólmgöngu sins berserks), 54, 197. With the introduction of Christianity this championship disappeared altogether.

m. cutting the hair straight across the brows (as in the later Roman time), Ld. 272.

mod. dans, n. a word of for. origin; [cp. mid. Lat. dansare; Fr. danser; Ital. danzare; Engl. dance; Germ. tanz, tanzen.] This word is certainly not Teutonic, but of Roman or perhaps Breton origin: the Icel. or Scandin. have no genuine word for dancing,—leika means ‘to play’ in general: the word itself (danza, danz, etc.) never occurs in the old Sagas or poetry, though popular amusements of every kind are described there; but about the end of the 11th century, when the Sagas of the bishops (Bs.) begin, we find dance in full use, accompanied by songs which are described as loose and amorous: the classical passage is Jóns S. (A. D. 1106–1121), ch. 13. Bs. i. 165, 166, and cp. Júns S. by Gunnlaug, ch. 24. Bs. i. 237—Leikr sá var kær mönnum áðr en hinn heilagi Jón varð biskup, at kveða skyldi karlmaðr til konu í danz blautlig kvæði ok rægilig; ok kona til karlmanns mansöngs vísur; þenna leik lét hann af taka ok bannaði styrkliga; mansöngs kvæði vildi hann eigi heyra né kveða láta, en þó fékk hann því eigi af komið með öllu. Some have thought that this refers to mythical (Eddic) poetry, but without reason and against the literal sense of the passage; the heathen heroic poems were certainly never used to accompany a dance; their flow and metre are a sufficient proof of that. In the Sturl. (Hist. of the 12th and 13th century) dancing is mentioned over and over again; and danz is used of popular ballads or songs of a satirical character (as those in Percy’s ballads): flimt ( loose song) and danz are synonymous words; the Sturl. has by chance preserved two ditties (one of A. D. 1221, running thus—Loptr liggr í Eyjum, bítr lunda bein | Sæmundr er á heiðum, etr berin ein. Sturl. ii. 62, and one referring to the year 1264—Mínar eru sorgirnar þungar sem blý, Sturl. iii. 317) sufficient to shew the flow and metre, which are exactly the same as those of the mod. ballads, collected in the west of Icel. (Ögr) in the 17th century under the name of Fornkvæði, Old Songs, and now edited by Jon Sigurdsson and Svend Grundtvig. Danz and Fornkvæði are both of the same kind, and also identical with Engl. ballads, Dan. kæmpeviser. There are passages in Sturl. and B.S. referring to this subject — færðu Breiðbælingar Lopt í flimtun ok görðu um hann danza marga, ok margskonar spott annat, Sturl. ii. 57, cp. 62; Danza-Bergr, the nickname of a man (Stud, ii), prob. for composing comic songs; danza-görð, composing comic songs; fylgðar-menn Kolbeins fóru með danza-görð, … en er Brandr varð varr við flimtan þeirra, iii. 80; þá hrökti Þórðr hestinn undir sér, ok kvað danz þenna við raust, 317.

β. a wake, Arna S. ch. 2; in Sturl. i. 23; at the banquet in Reykhólar, 1119, the guests amused themselves by dancing, wrestling, and story-telling; þá var sleginn danz í stofu, ii. 117; í Viðvík var gleði mikil ok gott at vera; þat var einn Drottins dag at þar var danz mikill; kom þar til fjöldi manna; ok ríðr hann í Viðvík til danz, ok var þar at leik; ok dáðu menn mjök danz hans, iii. 258, 259; honum var kostr á boðinn hvat til gamans skyldi hafa, sögur eða danz um kveldit, 281;—the last reference refers to the 21st of January, 1258, which fell on a Sunday (or wake-day): in ballads and tales of the Middle Ages the word is freq.:—note the allit. phrase, dansinn dunar, Ísl. Þóðs. ii. 8: the phrases, stiga danz; ganga í danz; brúðir í danz, dansinn heyra; dans vill hun heyra, Fkv. ii. 7. Many of the burdens to the mod. Icel. ballads are of great beauty, and no doubt many centuries older than the ballads to which they are affixed; they refer to lost love, melancholy, merriment, etc., e. g. Blítt lætur veröldin, fölnar fögr fold | langt er síðan mitt var yndið lagt í mold, i. 74; Út ert þú við æginn blá, eg er hér á Dröngum, | kalla eg löngum, kalla eg til þin löngum; Skín á skildi Sól og sumarið fríða, | dynur í velli er drengir í burtu riða, 110; Ungan leit eg hofmann í fögrum runni, | skal eg í hljóði dilla þeim mér unm; Austan blakar laufið á þann linda, 129; Fagrar heyrða eg raddirnar við Niflunga heim; Fagrt syngr svanrinn um sumarlanga tíð, | þá mun list að leika sér mín liljan fríð, ii. 52: Einum unna eg manninum, á meðan það var, | þó hlaut eg minn harm að bera í leyndum stað, 94; Svanrinn víða. svanurinn syngr viða, 22; Utan eptir firðinum, sigla fagrar fleyr | sá er enginn glaður eptir annan þreyr, 110; Svo er mér illt og angrsamt því veldur þú, | mig langar ekki í lundinn með þá jungfrú, Espol. Ann. 1549. The earliest ballads seem to have been devoted to these subjects only; of the two earliest specimens quoted in the Sturl. (above), one is satirical, the other melancholy; the historical ballads seem to be of later growth: the bishops discountenanced the wakes and dancing (Bs. l. c., Sturl. iii), but in vain: and no more telling proof can be given of the drooping spirits of Icel. in the last century, than that dancing and wakes ceased, after having been a popular amusement for seven hundred years. Eggert Olafsson in his poems still speaks of wakes, as an eyewitness; in the west of Icel. (Vestfirðir) they lasted longer, but even there they died out about the time that Percy’s ballads were published in England. The Fornkvæði or songs are the only Icel. poetry which often dispenses with the law of alliteration, which in other cases is the light and life of Icel. poetry; vide also hofmaðr, viki-vakar, etc. In the 15th century the rímur (metrical paraphrases of romances) were used as an accompaniment to the danz, höldar danza harla snart, ef heyrist vísan mín; hence originates the name man-söngr ( maid-song), minne-sang, which forms the introduction to every ríma or rhapsody; the metre and time of the rímur are exactly those of ballads and well suited for dancing. An Icel. MS. of the 17th century, containing about seventy Icel. Fornkvæði, is in the Brit. Mus. no. 11,177; and another MS., containing about twenty such songs, is in the Bodl. Libr. no. 130.

m. pl. the ‘dumb-bell days,’ i. e. the three days before Easter; hence dymbildaga-vika, u, f. [Swed. dymmel-vecka; Dan. dimmel-uge], Passion week, Bs. i. 71, Fms. x. 72, H. E. i. 491, Sturl. i. 25; during the dymbildagar the bells in Icel. were rung with a wooden tongue called dymbill, m.; a dymbill is often mentioned among the inventories of Icel. churches of the 14th century, e. g. kirkja á dymbil, Vm. 47, 51: it is, however, likely that the word dymbill itself is simply derived from the Engl. dumb-bell, as in the Roman church the bells were dumb or muffled in the Passion week: Björn (Lex.) mentions that in the century before his time people used to strike the time to a dance with the dymbill. It was also an old Icel. custom that the father of a house inflicted a general chastisement on his children and household on Good Friday for the sins of the past year, gently or strongly as they had been obedient or not; hence the popular phrase, líðr að dimbildögum, or koma dymbildagar, = the dimmel-days are nigh, i. e. the day of reckoning will surely come; cp. H. E. iv. 180, 181 (note).

1) service, = þjónosta 1; veita e-m e., to serve one; bindast í e-s e., to enter one’s service; guðligt e., holy service; hefi ek mörg vandræði þolat í þinu e., in your service;

2) the sacrament, eucharist, = þjónosta 3;

3) office (biskupligt e.); bjóða e-m af e., to depose one from office.

* * *

(embuð, Anecd. 38), n. [Germ. amt; Dan. embede; as to the root vide ambátt, p. 19], service, office; bjóða e-m af e., to depose one from office, Bs. i. 550; Guðs e., Hom. 121, 160, Stj. 613. 2 Kings iv. 13; mikit e., hard work, a great task, Hom. 153; veita e-m e., to serve one, Fms. viii. 332, 406; bindask í e-s e., to enter one’s service, Sks. 357; fremja e., to perform a service, Bs. i. 426; Guðligt e., holy service, Fms, ii. 198; heilagt skírnar e., holy baptism, i. 148: officiating at mass, D. N.

2. in mod. use,

α. divine service, answering to ‘mass’ in the Roman church; fyrir, eptir e., before, after service.

β. in a secular sense, [Germ. amt, Dan. embede], a public office.

COMPDS: embættisfærr, embættisgörð, embættislauss, embættismaðr.