Cite as: Katrina Attwood (ed.) 2007, ‘Anonymous Poems, Gyðingsvísur 8’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 524-5.

Fljótr erað flagðs að veita fáknistanda kristnum auð, þóað allmjög bæði, ættingi gyðinga.

Svör veitti þau sliettrar sólmeiðr skipa leiðar órlausn … ára jóríðanda of …

{Ættingi gyðinga} erað fljótr að veita auð {kristnum {flagðs fák}nistanda} þóað bæði allmjög. {{{Sliettrar leiðar skipa} sól}meiðr} veitti þau svör; … of … órlausn {{ára jó}ríðanda}.

{The kinsman of the Jews} [JEW] is not quick to grant money {to the Christian feeder {of the horse of the trollwoman}} [(lit. ‘horse-feeder of the trollwoman’) WOLF > WARRIOR] though he had asked most earnestly. {The tree {of the sun {of the smooth path of ships}}} [(lit. ‘sun-tree of the smooth path of ships’) SEA > GOLD > MAN] gave those answers; … solution {for the rider {of the horse of oars}} [(lit. ‘horse-rider of oars’) SHIP > SEAFARER].

Mss: B(14v), 399a-bˣ

Readings: [1] Fljótr: so 399a‑bˣ, Fliót B, BFJ, ‘Fliot(s)’(?) BRydberg;    flagðs: ‘fl[...]gs’ B, ‘fl[...]s’ 399a‑bˣ, BFJ, ‘fl(eyg)s’(?) BRydberg;    veita: ‘vei[...]’ B, ‘ve[...]’ 399a‑bˣ, ‘v[...]’ BRydberg, BFJ    [2] fáknistanda: ‘f[...]k[...]stand([...])’(?) B, ‘f(ri)kn(i)standa’(?) 399a‑bˣ, ‘[...]uid[...]istandi’ BRydberg, BFJ    [3] bæði: ‘[...]ed[...]’ B, ‘[...]e᷎di[...]’ 399a‑bˣ, (be)ði(?) BRydberg, ‘[...]’ BFJ    [5] Svör veitti: so 399a‑bˣ, BRydberg, BFJ, ‘suo᷎[...]eiti’ B;    sliettrar: so 399a‑bˣ, BRydberg, BFJ, ‘sle[...]’ B    [6] sólmeiðr: so 399a‑bˣ, ‘sol m[...]dr’ B, ‘solm(eidr)’(?) BRydberg, ‘solme[...]dr’ BFJ    [7] órlausn … ára: ‘ór(laus)[...]a[...]ara’(?) B, ‘órlausn [...](sv)anna’(?) 399a‑bˣ, ‘o᷎r (l)aus(n v)ar s(u) ara’(?) BRydberg, ‘or lausn var [...] ora’ BFJ    [8] jóríðanda of …: ‘íor[...]da of[...]’ B, ‘iomridanda of s[...]’ 399a‑bˣ, ‘io rid(an)da ofsi[...]’(?) BRydberg, ‘iǫ[...]da of [...]’ BFJ

Editions: Skj: [Anonyme digte og vers XIV], [B. 13]. Af et digt om en rig mand, der gav alt sit bort 8: AII, 540, BII, 599, Skald II, 332, NN §3394; Rydberg 1907, 43, 59, Attwood 1996a, 348.

Notes: [All]: B is very badly damaged. In general, the readings of the 399a-bˣ transcript have been adopted, where it is indicated that these are reasonably certain, and Sveinbjörn Egilsson’s reconstructions (made in marginal notes to the copy of the 399a-bˣ transcript in 444ˣ) have also been adopted where these amount to occasional letters. However, this edn has not followed Rydberg in adopting Sveinbjörn’s reconstructions to ítrum sǫrla in l. 7 or síðir in l. 8, since these cannot be substantiated from the remaining text indicated in the 399a-bˣ transcript. — [1, 2] kristnum fáknistanda flagðs ‘to the Christian feeder of the horse of the trollwoman [WOLF > WARRIOR]’: The horse of the trollwoman is a kenning for a wolf, probably a mythic reference to the giantess Hyrrokkin, who attended Baldr’s funeral riding a wolf, with snakes for reins (SnE 1982, 46; cf. DRI, no. 284). This kenning may be a specific reference to the Hyrrokkin example or a more general association between giantesses and wolves; cf. Meissner, 124-5. — [5] þau svör ‘those answers’: These are not attempts to stall the Jew’s deal with the Christian, but a proper statement of his terms. The first condition – that the Christian lay down a pledge – is explained in 9/1-4. — [7-8]: Finnur Jónsson does not translate ll. 7 and 8, paraphrasing the second helmingr sådant svar gav manden … men lån gav han manden tilsidst ‘the man gave such an answer … but in the end he granted the man a loan’ (Skj B). — [7] órlausn ‘solution [to a problem], reply, help, way out’: In tales that turn on money-lending contracts between Jews and Christians, a common motif is that a loophole allows the Christian to renege on the deal (cf. the Shylock narrative in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice), and it is possible that there was a hint of this here.