ESk Geisl 2VII
Martin Chase (ed.) 2007, ‘Einarr Skúlason, Geisli 2’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 8-9.
þeirar ‘of that’
notes
[1] þeirar [sólar] ‘of that [sun]’: The gen. pron. refers back to sólar (1/8).
s ‘which’
(not checked:)
2. er (conj.): who, which, when
heims ‘of the world’
(not checked:)
heimr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i/-; -ar): home, abode; world
notes
[1-2] heims ... heimi ... heims: In dróttkvætt metre aðalhending is not appropriate in an odd-numbered l., hence Kock’s emendation of l. 1 (Skald) to þeirar húms í heimi. But exceptions were tolerated, and the rhyming pattern here is iðurmælt, one of the special effects explained in Ht (SnE 1999, 22). The repetition of heims/heimi/heims is also an echo of the prologue to the Gospel of John: erat lux vera quae inluminat omnem hominem venientem in mundum / in mundo erat et mundus per ipsum factus est et mundus eum non cognovit ‘That was the true light, which enlighteneth every man that cometh into this world. He was in the world: and the world was made by him: and the world knew him not’ (John I.9-10). The Bb reading bjartr frá bjartri (l. 5) follows a similar pattern and echoes the lumen de lumine ‘light from light’ of the Credo; it is probably a better reading than Flat’s bert ‘clearly’. See NN §2051 for a discussion of the use of identical rhyme in this st. and elsewhere in skaldic poetry.
í ‘in’
(not checked:)
í (prep.): in, into
heimi ‘world’
(not checked:)
heimr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i/-; -ar): home, abode; world
notes
[1-2] heims ... heimi ... heims: In dróttkvætt metre aðalhending is not appropriate in an odd-numbered l., hence Kock’s emendation of l. 1 (Skald) to þeirar húms í heimi. But exceptions were tolerated, and the rhyming pattern here is iðurmælt, one of the special effects explained in Ht (SnE 1999, 22). The repetition of heims/heimi/heims is also an echo of the prologue to the Gospel of John: erat lux vera quae inluminat omnem hominem venientem in mundum / in mundo erat et mundus per ipsum factus est et mundus eum non cognovit ‘That was the true light, which enlighteneth every man that cometh into this world. He was in the world: and the world was made by him: and the world knew him not’ (John I.9-10). The Bb reading bjartr frá bjartri (l. 5) follows a similar pattern and echoes the lumen de lumine ‘light from light’ of the Credo; it is probably a better reading than Flat’s bert ‘clearly’. See NN §2051 for a discussion of the use of identical rhyme in this st. and elsewhere in skaldic poetry.
heims ‘of the world’
(not checked:)
heimr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i/-; -ar): home, abode; world
notes
[1-2] heims ... heimi ... heims: In dróttkvætt metre aðalhending is not appropriate in an odd-numbered l., hence Kock’s emendation of l. 1 (Skald) to þeirar húms í heimi. But exceptions were tolerated, and the rhyming pattern here is iðurmælt, one of the special effects explained in Ht (SnE 1999, 22). The repetition of heims/heimi/heims is also an echo of the prologue to the Gospel of John: erat lux vera quae inluminat omnem hominem venientem in mundum / in mundo erat et mundus per ipsum factus est et mundus eum non cognovit ‘That was the true light, which enlighteneth every man that cometh into this world. He was in the world: and the world was made by him: and the world knew him not’ (John I.9-10). The Bb reading bjartr frá bjartri (l. 5) follows a similar pattern and echoes the lumen de lumine ‘light from light’ of the Credo; it is probably a better reading than Flat’s bert ‘clearly’. See NN §2051 for a discussion of the use of identical rhyme in this st. and elsewhere in skaldic poetry.
myrkrum ‘the darkness’
(not checked:)
1. myrkr (noun n.; °myrkrs/myrks; -): darkness
brá ‘destroyed’
(not checked:)
bregða (verb; °bregðr/brigðr; brá, brugðu; brugðinn/brogðinn): pull, jerk, break; change
ok ‘and’
(not checked:)
3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
ljós ‘the light’
(not checked:)
ljós (noun n.; °ljóss; -): light
meðan ‘while’
(not checked:)
meðan (conj.): while
var ‘was’
(not checked:)
2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
vísi ‘the prince’
(not checked:)
vísi (noun m.; °-a): leader
kennings
vísi veðr-hallar,‘the prince of the wind-hall, ’
= God
the wind-hall, → SKY/HEAVEN
the prince of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
veðr ‘of the wind’
(not checked:)
2. veðr (noun n.; °-s; -): weather, wind, storm < veðrhǫll (noun f.)
kennings
vísi veðr-hallar,‘the prince of the wind-hall, ’
= God
the wind-hall, → SKY/HEAVEN
the prince of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
veðr ‘of the wind’
(not checked:)
2. veðr (noun n.; °-s; -): weather, wind, storm < veðrhǫll (noun f.)
kennings
vísi veðr-hallar,‘the prince of the wind-hall, ’
= God
the wind-hall, → SKY/HEAVEN
the prince of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
kallaðisk ‘he called himself’
(not checked:)
kalla (verb): call
hallar ‘hall’
(not checked:)
1. hǫll (noun f.; °hallar, dat. -u/-; hallir): hall < veðrhǫll (noun f.)
kennings
vísi veðr-hallar,‘the prince of the wind-hall, ’
= God
the wind-hall, → SKY/HEAVEN
the prince of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
hallar ‘hall’
(not checked:)
1. hǫll (noun f.; °hallar, dat. -u/-; hallir): hall < veðrhǫll (noun f.)
kennings
vísi veðr-hallar,‘the prince of the wind-hall, ’
= God
the wind-hall, → SKY/HEAVEN
the prince of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
lét ‘caused himself’
(not checked:)
láta (verb): let, have sth done
bert ‘’
(not checked:)
2. berr (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): bare
bjartr ‘the bright’
(not checked:)
bjartr (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): bright
[5] bjartr: so Bb, bert Flat
frá ‘from’
(not checked:)
frá (prep.): from
notes
[5, 8, 7] frá bjartri stjǫrnu flœðar ‘from the bright star of the sea’: A kenning-like circumloculation for the Virgin Mary, based on the Lat. phrase stella maris ‘star of the sea’, first appearing in the C9th hymn Ave maris stella (AH 51, 140). Although this epithet has the form of a kenning, such imitations of Lat. phrases have not been treated as kennings proper in this edn; for a discussion, see Introduction to this volume.
bjartri ‘the bright’
(not checked:)
bjartr (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): bright
notes
[5, 8, 7] frá bjartri stjǫrnu flœðar ‘from the bright star of the sea’: A kenning-like circumloculation for the Virgin Mary, based on the Lat. phrase stella maris ‘star of the sea’, first appearing in the C9th hymn Ave maris stella (AH 51, 140). Although this epithet has the form of a kenning, such imitations of Lat. phrases have not been treated as kennings proper in this edn; for a discussion, see Introduction to this volume.
berask ‘to be born’
(not checked:)
3. bera (verb; °berr; bar, báru; borinn): bear, carry
mann ‘’
(not checked:)
maðr (noun m.): man, person
und ‘under’
(not checked:)
3. und (prep.): under, underneath
notes
[6] und skýjaðri ‘under the cloud-rim’: Flat’s sky/heaven-kenning is the difficilior lectio but Bb’s und skýranni ‘beneath the cloud-hall [SKY/HEAVEN]’ together with the older nom. sg. form mannr (over Flat’s maðr, cf. ANG §§261 and 278.4b) provides aðalhending and is preferred by both Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) and Kock (Skald). Neither Skj B nor Skald explain how the nom. sg. can be found after lét berask (ll. 5, 6).
ský ‘the cloud’
(not checked:)
ský (noun n.; °-s; -): cloud < skýjaðarr (noun m.)ský (noun n.; °-s; -): cloud < skýrann (noun n.): cloud-hall
[6] skýjaðri: skýranni Bb
kennings
skýjaðri;‘the cloud-rim; ’
= SKY/HEAVEN
the cloud-rim; → SKY/HEAVEN
notes
[6] und skýjaðri ‘under the cloud-rim’: Flat’s sky/heaven-kenning is the difficilior lectio but Bb’s und skýranni ‘beneath the cloud-hall [SKY/HEAVEN]’ together with the older nom. sg. form mannr (over Flat’s maðr, cf. ANG §§261 and 278.4b) provides aðalhending and is preferred by both Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) and Kock (Skald). Neither Skj B nor Skald explain how the nom. sg. can be found after lét berask (ll. 5, 6).
ranni ‘’
(not checked:)
rann (noun n.): house, hall < skýrann (noun n.): cloud-hall
jaðri ‘rim’
(not checked:)
jaðarr (noun m.; °-s, dat. jaðri; jaðrar): edge, border < skýjaðarr (noun m.)
[6] skýjaðri: skýranni Bb
kennings
skýjaðri;‘the cloud-rim; ’
= SKY/HEAVEN
the cloud-rim; → SKY/HEAVEN
notes
[6] und skýjaðri ‘under the cloud-rim’: Flat’s sky/heaven-kenning is the difficilior lectio but Bb’s und skýranni ‘beneath the cloud-hall [SKY/HEAVEN]’ together with the older nom. sg. form mannr (over Flat’s maðr, cf. ANG §§261 and 278.4b) provides aðalhending and is preferred by both Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) and Kock (Skald). Neither Skj B nor Skald explain how the nom. sg. can be found after lét berask (ll. 5, 6).
frægr ‘renowned’
(not checked:)
frægr (adj.; °-jan/-an; compar. -ri, superl. -jastr/-astr/-str): famous, renowned
stóð ‘proceeded’
(not checked:)
standa (verb): stand
af ‘from’
(not checked:)
af (prep.): from
flœðar ‘of the sea’
(not checked:)
flœð (noun f.): flood, sea
notes
[5, 8, 7] frá bjartri stjǫrnu flœðar ‘from the bright star of the sea’: A kenning-like circumloculation for the Virgin Mary, based on the Lat. phrase stella maris ‘star of the sea’, first appearing in the C9th hymn Ave maris stella (AH 51, 140). Although this epithet has the form of a kenning, such imitations of Lat. phrases have not been treated as kennings proper in this edn; for a discussion, see Introduction to this volume.
fǫrnuðr ‘prosperity’
(not checked:)
fǫrnuðr (noun m.; °farnaðar): prosperity
rǫðull ‘sun’
(not checked:)
rǫðull (noun m.; °dat. rǫðli): heavenly body
stjǫrnur ‘’
(not checked:)
stjarna (noun f.; °*-u; *-ur): star
notes
[5, 8, 7] frá bjartri stjǫrnu flœðar ‘from the bright star of the sea’: A kenning-like circumloculation for the Virgin Mary, based on the Lat. phrase stella maris ‘star of the sea’, first appearing in the C9th hymn Ave maris stella (AH 51, 140). Although this epithet has the form of a kenning, such imitations of Lat. phrases have not been treated as kennings proper in this edn; for a discussion, see Introduction to this volume.
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
of that [sun] which destroyed the darkness of the world, and was the prince of the wind-hall [SKY/HEAVEN > = God (= Christ)], while he called himself the light of the world in this world. That man, the bright sun, caused himself to be born from the bright star of the sea under the cloud-rim [SKY/HEAVEN]; renowned prosperity proceeded from that.
Sts 1-2 of Geisl are linked as the first l. of st. 2 is dependent on the final l. of st. 1 (cf. Kuhn 1983, 210-12). — [1-4]: The theologically sophisticated reading of these ll. offered here depends on elaborate word-play, tmesis and syntactic fragmentation. By emending veðr (l. 4) to veðrs, Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) produces the following sense: Þeirar [sólar], es brá heims myrkrum í þeima heimi ok kallaðisk ljós heims, meðan vas vísi veðrs hallar ‘Of that [sun], which made an end of the world’s darkness in this world and is called the world’s light, while he was king of the storm’s hall [SKY/HEAVEN]’.
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