Skammar eru skips rár

Abstract

In this paper the author tries to explain the 74th verse of Hávamál. The first part of it seems to be puzzling and somewhat incoherent. It is especially the proverb: »skammar eru skips rár« (short are the yards of a ship), in the third line, that has caused much pondering, and some scholars mark it as a later addition. A similar proverb is found in the twelfth verse of Málsháttakvæði: »Skips láta menn skammar rár«. In the first section of the paper, the author presents the attempts by different scholars to explain the meaning of the proverb and points out that Guðbrandur Vigfússon, in his dictionary from 1874, had considerable influence, as he defines skips rá as ʻa cabinʼ or ʻa berth of a shipʼ. However, there are no arguments to support this explanation. The author believes that the Norwegian Hjalmar Falk came closer to a more correct explanation in a paper in Maal og Minne (1922) where he states that square sails with a narrow top and short yard played an important safety role when sailing the stormy waters along the coasts of Norway and the Faroe Islands. In the 74th verse of Hávamál the poet speaks of sailing for five days or even a month. That implies sailing across the open ocean, even from Norway to Iceland or Greenland. The author points out that square sails with a narrow top and short yard were common in Iceland, and argues that such sails were seemingly a wellknown safety measure in the windy West Nordic Region, to counteract stormy weather. The proverb simply states: be prepared for the worst. Furthermore, the author also suggests that the word nesti could be short for leiðarnesti or veganesti, referring to common travel gear. Thus, the 74th verse most likely states: »The one who trusts his provisions (travel gear), goes content to sleep as night falls, (but) one should be prepared for the worst. The autumn night is changeable. The weather shifts a lot during five days (i.e., one week according to the old calendar), not to mention a whole month.«