Carolyne Larrington and Peter Robinson (eds) 2007, ‘Anonymous Poems, Sólarljóð 62’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 340.
Menn sá ek þá marga ófegna;
þeir váru villir vega;
þat kaupir sá, er þessa heims
apaz at óheillum.
Ek sá marga ófegna menn þá; þeir váru villir vega; sá kaupir þat, er apaz at óheillum þessa heims.
I saw many unhappy men then; they had gone astray [lit. were erring with regard to ways]; he purchases that [unhappiness], who fools himself into the misfortunes of this world.
Mss: 166bˣ(47v-48r), papp15ˣ(6r), 738ˣ(82v), 167b 6ˣ(3r), 214ˣ(151v), 1441ˣ(586), 10575ˣ(8v-9r), 2797ˣ(236)
Readings: [1] sá ek: so papp15ˣ, 738ˣ, 167b 6ˣ, 214ˣ, 1441ˣ, 10575ˣ, 2797ˣ, ek sá 166bˣ; þá: so 214ˣ, 1441ˣ, þar 166bˣ, papp15ˣ, 738ˣ, 167b 6ˣ, 10575ˣ, 2797ˣ [2] marga: er marga 214ˣ, 1441ˣ, margu 10575ˣ; ófegna: ófegri 738ˣ, ófegri corrected from ‘ofegrgra’ 167b 6ˣ, ófegra 214ˣ, fegna 10575ˣ [3] villir: allir villir papp15ˣ, 2797ˣ; vega: vegar 214ˣ, 10575ˣ [6] apaz: apar papp15ˣ
Editions: Skj AI, 637, Skj BI, 645, Skald I, 314, NN §2147D; Bugge 1867, 367, Falk 1914, 38, Björn M. Ólsen 1915, 19, Fidjestøl 1979, 68, Njörður Njarðvík 1991, 92, Njörður Njarðvík 1993, 68, 139.
Notes: [1] sá ek þá ‘I saw then’: See Note to 61/1. Here also the reading þá has been chosen to preserve stylistic uniformity in preference to 166bˣ’s and other mss’ þar. — [6] óheillum ‘misfortunes’: Being unfortunate is not one of the usual sins, unlike öfund ‘envy’ (st. 61), covetousness (st. 63), theft (st. 64), failure to attend divine service (st. 65), pride (st. 66) and slander (st. 67) which can be paralleled in other visions of Hell, and in sermon exempla. The word produces an unmetrical l., so it is possible that originally a different noun stood in its place. NN §2147D and Skald change the w.o. of the l. to at óheillum apask. Njörður Njarðvík (1991, 92) suggests that worldliness has led these men from the path of righteousness.
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