The idea of correctness comes from the combination of ná- and kvæmi, kvæmliga, kvæmr. The exact meaning is—that which comes near to, and which in that sense is precise, exact, to the point.
These three cases exhaust the meanings of the adverbial prefix ná-. I should consider it perilous, and as the abandoning of solid ground under the feet, if we, without evidence from the language tried, as has been done, to give it another hitherto unknown signification.
But none of these meanings can be applied to námæli. In analogy with the words under (1) it can indeed mean "An oration held near by;" but this signification produces no sense in the above passage, the only place where it is found.
In another group of words the prefix ná-is the noun nár. Here belong nábjargir, nábleikr, nágrindr, nágöll, náreid, nástrandir, and other words.
Mæli means a declamation, an oration, an utterance, a reading, or the proclamation of a law. Mæla, mælandi, formælandi, formæli, nymæli, are used in legal language. Formælandi is a defendant in court. Formæli is his speech or plea. Nymæli is a law read or published for the first time.
Mæli can take either a substantive or adjective as prefix. Examples: Gudmæli, fullmæli. Ná from nár can be used as a prefix both to a noun and to an adjective. Examples: nágrindr, nábleikr.
Námæli should accordingly be an oration, a declaration, a proclamation, in regard to nár. From the context we find that námæli is something dangerous, something to look out for. Gunnar is dead and is gone to the lower world, which contains not only happiness but also terrors; but his aged father, who in another strophe of the poem gives to understand that he had adhered faithfully to the religious doctrines of his fathers, is convinced that his son has avoided the dangers implied in námæli, as he had no sinful deed to blame himself for. In the following strophe (20) he expressed his confidence that the deceased had been adopted by Gauta spjalli, a friend of Odin in the lower world, and had landed in the realm of happiness. (In regard to Gauta spjalli see further on. The expression is applicable both to Mimer and Honer).
Námæli must, therefore, mean a declaration (1) that is dangerous; (2) which does not affect a person who has lived a blameless life; (3) which refers to the dead and affects those who have not been vamma varir, on the look-out against blameworthy and criminal deeds.
The passage furnishes additional evidence that the dead in the lower world make their appearance in order to be judged, and it enriches our knowledge of the mythological eschatology with a technical term (námæli) for that judgment which sends sinners to travel through the Na-gates to Nifelhel. The opposite of námæli is ords tirr, that judgment which gives the dead fair renown, and both kinds of judgments are embraced in the phrase domr um daudan. Námæli is a proclamation for náir, just as nágrindr are gates and nástrandir are strands for náir.
71.