Kristsdrápa — Ekúl KristdrIII
Eilífr kúlnasveinnMargaret Clunies Ross 2017, ‘ Eilífr kúlnasveinn, Kristsdrápa’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 130. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1175> (accessed 2 May 2024)
Although no title is provided in any ms. for the four dróttkvætt part-stanzas (Ekúl Kristdr) Skm attributes to Eilífr kúlnasveinn, it is reasonable to assume that they all belong to the same poem, as they are quoted in quick succession there (SnE 1998, I, 77-8) to illustrate kennings for Christ. They are also very similar in style. Their treatment of their subject, use of kennings and general vocabulary has many similarities with Icelandic religious poetry of the second half of the twelfth century. The title of the poem, Kristsdrápa ‘Drápa of Christ’, is conjectural, but reflects the stanzas’ subject matter. It is not known whether the poem was actually a drápa with a refrain (stef); if it was, the couplet cited as st. 4 may have functioned in that capacity. The four stanzas are transmitted in mss R (main ms.), Tˣ, W, U and A. All four part-stanzas were copied by Magnús Ólafsson (most likely from W) as examples of expressions for Christ in the Y version of his Laufás Edda (2368ˣ(107); LaufE 1979, 364-5 and cf. 285), where they are correctly attributed to Eilífr kúlnasveinn (‘kulna sueirn’). The stanzas were also copied in RE 1665(Hh), but neither LaufE nor RE 1665 has any independent value.
References
- Bibliography
- LaufE 1979 = Faulkes, Anthony, ed. 1979. Edda Magnúsar Ólafssonar (Laufás Edda). RSÁM 13. Vol. I of Two Versions of Snorra Edda from the 17th Century. Reykjavík: Stofnun Árna Magnússonar, 1977-9.
- SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
- Internal references
- Margaret Clunies Ross 2017, ‘(Biography of) Eilífr kúlnasveinn’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 130.
- (forthcoming), ‘ Snorri Sturluson, Skáldskaparmál’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=112> (accessed 2 May 2024)
- (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Laufás Edda’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=10928> (accessed 2 May 2024)
Information about a text: poem, sequence of stanzas, or prose work
This page is used for different resources. For groups of stanzas such as poems, you will see the verse text and, where published, the translation of each stanza. These are also links to information about the individual stanzas.
For prose works you will see a list of the stanzas and fragments in that prose work, where relevant, providing links to the individual stanzas.
Where you have access to introduction(s) to the poem or prose work in the database, these will appear in the ‘introduction’ section.
The final section, ‘sources’ is a list of the manuscripts that contain the prose work, as well as manuscripts and prose works linked to stanzas and sections of a text.