The Poetic Edda on Old Norse

The > Volume I > Notes

• attestation: The word 'feigr' (doomed to die) occurs constantly in Old Norse poetry, reflecting a universal pre-Christian belief in inevitable but unknown fate.

  "the word "feigr" occurs constantly in the Old Norse poems and sagas; the idea of an inevitable but unknown fate seems to have been practically universal throughout the pre-Christian period."

The > part in a few of the Eddic poems. > Notes

• attestation: The proverb 'there must be fire where there is smoke' appears in the wolf metaphor and elsewhere in Old Norse

  "Wolf, etc.: the phrase is nearly equivalent to "there must be fire where there is smoke." The proverb appears elsewhere in Old Norse."

The > part in a few of the Eddic poems. > Pronouncing Index Of Proper Names

• attestation: In Old Norse pronunciation, G is always hard as in 'get', J is pronounced as Y in 'young', and S is always hard as in 'so'

  "G is always hard, as in "get," never soft, as in "gem;" following "n" it has the same sound as in "sing.""

• attestation: Long (doubled) consonants in Old Norse should be pronounced as in Italian, with both elements distinctly sounded

  "The long (doubled) consonants should be pronounced as in Italian, both elements being distinctly sounded; e.g., "Am-ma.""