Carolyne Larrington and Peter Robinson (eds) 2007, ‘Anonymous Poems, Sólarljóð 60’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 338-9.
Marga menn sá ek moldar gengna,
þá er eigi máttu þjónustu ná;
heiðnar stjörnur stóðu yfir höfði þeim
fáðar feiknstöfum.
Ek sá marga menn gengna moldar, þá er eigi máttu ná þjónustu; heiðnar stjörnur stóðu yfir höfði þeim, fáðar feiknstöfum.
I saw many men gone into earth, those who had not managed to obtain the sacrament; heathen stars stood over their heads, coloured with terrible staves.
Mss: 166bˣ(47v), papp15ˣ(6r), 738ˣ(82v), 167b 6ˣ(3r), 214ˣ(151v), 1441ˣ(586), 10575ˣ(8v), 2797ˣ(236)
Readings: [1, 2] Marga menn sá ek: Marga menn papp15ˣ, Menn sá ek marga 738ˣ, Margan mann sá ek 167b 6ˣ [4] heiðnar: heiðvar 738ˣ, 167b 6ˣ, 214ˣ; stjörnur: stjörnu 214ˣ [5] stóðu: stóði 10575ˣ
Editions: Skj AI, 637, Skj BI, 645, Skald I, 314; Bugge 1867, 366, Falk 1914, 38, Björn M. Ólsen 1915, 19, Fidjestøl 1979, 68, Njörður Njarðvík 1991, 91, Njörður Njarðvík 1993, 66, 138.
Notes: [3] þjónustu (dat.) ‘the sacrament’: Björn M. Ólsen (1915, 55) thinks that these men are being punished for failing to receive the last rites, but as Njörður Njarðvík (1991, 91) notes, the first exemplum has shown that salvation without the last rites is possible. Njörður Njarðvík follows Paasche (1948, 191-2) and Falk (1914a, 40-1), who suggest that these sinners were excommunicated and were thus refused the sacraments – including the last rites. — [4, 6] heiðnar stjörnur ... fáðar feiknstöfum ‘heathen stars ... coloured with terrible staves’: Most likely a reference to runic staves, as is clearly the case in st. 61/4. Cf. dreyrstöfum ‘with bloody staves’ 40/2 and contrast the hreinar kyndlar ‘pure candles’, helgar bækr ‘holy books’, and himna skript ‘heavenly writing’ of 69/4 and 70/5-6; cf. Tate 1985, 1031-2.
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