Note to Anon Pét 48^VII

[8] †Mýr lífs fyldur skýrum†: Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) merely notes: den sidste linje er uforståelig ‘the last line is incomprehensible’. Kock objects to bisyllabic fyldur (see Note to st. 4/2) and proposes that lífs is a transcription error for lífi, and skýrum an error for skýru. He takes mýr (a form the authenticity of which is confirmed by both alliteration and internal rhyme) as the MIcel. word meaning ‘immense quantity’ (see Blöndal: mýr), which he suggests is here used as an intensifying prefix in a nonce-cpd mýrlíf: mýrlífi fylldr skýru translated as fylld av klart, oändligt liv ‘filled with clear eternal life’, referring to mildingr l. 7. This unusual use of mýr- as a prefix, however, does not appear to be attested elsewhere. Kahle (1898, 111-12) records a suggestion of Finnur Jónsson’s that mýrlíf may be a cpd meaning ‘earthly life’ if the first element is mýrr ‘swamp’, used in the extended sense ‘land’ (cf. kennings like Fáfnis mýrr ‘Fáfnir’s land’ for ‘gold’, más mýrr ‘the gull’s land’ for ‘sea’). If ms. ‘skyrum’ is an error for skýranns (cf. st. 23/2 sólranns), the l. might perhaps be construed: ‘[Christ] ... filled with the life of the land (mýr-) of the cloud-house [SKY/HEAVEN]’ (i.e. ‘filled with eternal life’): fylla can take either gen. or dat.; cf. Fritzner: fylla. See LP: skýrann (and cf. especially the similarly redundant heaven-kenning skýranna tjaldi (dat.) ‘tent of the cloud-halls’ at Anon Óldr 28/5,8^I).

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skj B = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1912-15b. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. B: Rettet tekst. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Villadsen & Christensen. Rpt. 1973. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger.
3. LP = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1931. Lexicon poeticum antiquæ linguæ septentrionalis: Ordbog over det norsk-islandske skjaldesprog oprindelig forfattet af Sveinbjörn Egilsson. 2nd edn. Copenhagen: Møller.
4. Fritzner = Fritzner, Johan. 1883-96. Ordbog over det gamle norske sprog. 3 vols. Kristiania (Oslo): Den norske forlagsforening. 4th edn. Rpt. 1973. Oslo etc.: Universitetsforlaget.
5. Kahle, Bernhard, ed. 1898. Isländische geistliche Dichtungen des ausgehenden Mittelalters. Heidelberg: Winter.
6. Internal references
7. Kate Heslop (ed.) 2012, ‘Anonymous Poems, Óláfs drápa Tryggvasonar 28’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 1059.