Gamlkan Has 29^VII

Katrina Attwood (ed.) 2007, ‘Gamli kanóki, Harmsól 29’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 97-8.

text and translation

notes and context

[1-4]: There have been various attempts to interpret this helmingr. Kempff (1867, 41) follows Sveinbjörn Egilsson (prose arrangement in 444ˣ) in taking vitrar from vitr ‘wise’. They construe this with fylgjandi (l. 3) to give the phrase fylgjandi vitrar ‘wise followers’, which Kempff interprets as a reference to the Apostles, who witnessed the Ascension. Finnur Jónsson appears to take fylgjandi as pres. part. of fylgja ‘to accompany’, adjectival in force, amplifying skrýddr in the expression skrýddr, fylgjandi helgu holdi, which he translates forklaret følgende dit hellige legeme ‘transfigured (or glorified) following your holy body’ (Skj B). As Kock (NN §2111) objects, Finnur’s meaning is elusive. Kock quotes parallels from Líkn and Lil (see following Note) in support of his reading of skrýddr helgu holdi ‘clothed with your holy flesh’ as a logical unit, and construes fylgjandi (which he translated as ‘helping’) as part of the God-kenning fylgjandi dróttinn himins ‘helping lord of heaven’. Black (1971, 213) adopts this arrangement, translating fylgjandi as ‘gracious’, an attempt to characterise the nature of Christ’s ‘help’. For uses of fylgja to mean ‘help, assist, show kindness’, which are by no means unusual, see Fritzner: fylgja. Kock’s interpretation has been followed here, although it and that in Skj B also require emendation to vitrir nom. pl. in l. 2. Jón Helgason (1935-6, 254) suggests that B’s ‘drotte…’ (l. 1) should be reconstructed dróttir nom. pl. of drótt ‘people’, which may be construed with B’s reading vitrar ‘wise’ (l. 2). This has the advantage of avoiding the need to emend in l. 2, but leaves a Christ-kenning, fylgjandi himins, where fylgjandi (pres. part.) has to function as a noun.

readings

• [1] dróttinn: ‘drotte[...]’ B, ‘drotte(nn)’(?) 399a‑bˣ, BRydberg, ‘drotten’ BFJ
• [2] vitrir: vitrar B
• [3] fylgjandi: so 399a‑bˣ, ‘f[...]de’ B
• [4] skrýddr: so 399a‑bˣ, ‘[...]yddr’ B
• [7] ‑geypnandi: ‘‑geyp[...]e’ B, 399a‑bˣ, ‘‑gæyp[...](n)dæ’(?) BRydberg, ‘‑geyp(na)nde’(?) BFJ

sources

Text is based on reconstruction from the base text and variant apparatus and may contain alternative spellings and other normalisations not visible in the manuscript text. Transcriptions may not have been checked and should not be cited.

• AM 757 a 4° (B) — 12v/47 - 12v/49

  Leitt í lopt upp, †drotte[...]†
  — litu gǫrla þat vitrar —
  himins †f[...]de†, helgu
  holdi †[...]yddr†, af foldu.
  Áðr trúir ǫld ok síðan
  aldýran þik stýra,
  skrín†-geyp[...]e†, skepnu,
  skýstalls, sælu allri.

  Leid þu í loppt upp drotte… | lítu gerla þat vitrar himins f…de helgu holldí …ýddr af folldu adr truír ǫlld ok sidan | aldýran þik stýra skringeyp…e skepnu skýstallz sęlu allre.

  (EB)

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• Lbs 444 4°x (444x)

• JS 399 a-b 4°x (399a-bx)

  Leitt í lopt upp, †drotte(nn)†
  — litu gǫrla þat vitrir —
  himins fylgjandi, helgu
  holdi skrýddr, af foldu.
  Áðr trúir ǫld ok síðan
  aldýran þik stýra,
  skrín†-geyp[...]e†, skepnu,
  skýstalls, sælu allri.

editions and texts