Anon Heil 20VII
Kirsten Wolf (ed.) 2007, ‘Anonymous Poems, Heilagra manna drápa 20’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 886-7.
Börðuz menn, þar Benedict varði
bróður sinn af drengskap góðum;
Knútr var staddr í musteri mætu
mildr og eigi stríða vildi.
Oframmliga Eyvind bifra
innar giekk að kóngi svinnum;
góðan dag rieð gram að bjóða
Menn börðuz, þar Benedict varði bróður sinn af góðum drengskap; mildr Knútr var staddr í mætu musteri og vildi eigi stríða. Eyvind bifra giekk oframmliga innar að svinnum kóngi; rieð að bjóða gram góðan dag...
Men fought, where Benedikt defended his brother with great manliness; gentle Knútr was situated in the magnificent church and did not want to fight. Eyvind bifra forcefully went inside to the wise king; he bade the king a good day...
Mss: 720a VI(2r-v), 399a-bˣ
Readings: [5, 6] Oframmliga Eyvind bifra innar giekk að kóngi svinnum: ‘ofra[...] eyuind bifra geck at k[...]g[...] suinnum’ hardly visible 720a VI, ‘Ofra[...]’ 399a‑bˣ [7] góðan: so 399a‑bˣ, ‘god[...]’ 720a VI; rieð: ‘ræ[...]’ 399a‑bˣ; gram að bjóða: ‘gr[...] bioda’ hardly visible 720a VI, ‘[...]’ 399a‑bˣ
Editions: Skj AII, 515, Skj BII, 567, Skald II, 311, NN §§1763, 1772, 2680B, 2892, 2983, 3378B; Kahle 1898, 95, 113.
Notes: [All]: Sts 20-1 describe the martyrdom of Knútr, King of Denmark (Dan. Knud den Hellige), who was killed in S. Alban’s church, Odense on 10 July 1086, together with his brother Benedikt (Dan. Bendt) and seventeen others. He was canonised in 1101. Although Knútr’s cult was widespread in Denmark (Gad 1961, 151-62; Gad 1963; Kahle 1898, 15), he does not appear to have been especially venerated in Iceland, which makes Heil’s treatment of him somewhat unusual. — [5] oframmliga ‘forcefully’: Suggested by Kock (Skald; NN §1772); Kahle and Skj B suggest ofra náði ‘threatened’. — [5] Eyvind ‘Eyvind’: On this nom. form, see NN §§2680B and 2892. Skj B emends to Eyvindr. Eyvindr bifra is mentioned a number of times in Knýtlinga saga and is there represented, as here, as Knútr’s killer. According to that saga he greeted the king and then drew a sword from under his cloak, running it through his body (ÍF 35, 195). The meaning of the nickname bifra is not certain; it is a f. noun, yet applied only to men, therefore likely to be insulting; it is most likely cognate with the verb bifa(sk), ‘to shake, tremble’, so ‘the shaker, trembler’; see ÍF 35, 140 n. 4; Lind 1920-1: bifra; AEW: bifra; ONP: bifra. — [6] kóngi (m. dat. sg) ‘king’: To Finnur Jónsson (Skj A) the entire word was visible. — [7] góðan (m. acc. sg.) ‘good’: To Finnur Jónsson (Skj A) the entire word was visible in 720a VI.
References
- Bibliography
- Skj A = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1912-15a. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. A: Tekst efter håndskrifterne. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Villadsen & Christensen. Rpt. 1967. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger.
- Skj B = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1912-15b. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. B: Rettet tekst. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Villadsen & Christensen. Rpt. 1973. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger.
- Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
- NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
- AEW = Vries, Jan de. 1962. Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch. 2nd rev. edn. Rpt. 1977. Leiden: Brill.
- Gad, Tue. 1961. Legenden i dansk middelalder. Copenhagen: Dansk videnskabs forlag.
- Gad, Tue. 1963. ‘Knud den Hellige’. KLNM 8, 596-600.
- ONP = Degnbol, Helle et al., eds. 1989-. A Dictionary of Old Norse Prose / Ordbog over det norrøne prosasprog. 1-. Copenhagen: The Arnamagnæan Commission.
- Kahle, Bernhard, ed. 1898. Isländische geistliche Dichtungen des ausgehenden Mittelalters. Heidelberg: Winter.
- Lind, Eric Henrik. 1920-1. Norsk-isländska personbinamn från medeltiden: samlade ock utgivna med forkläringar. Uppsala: Lundequist.
- ÍF 35 = Danakonunga sǫgur. Ed. Bjarni Guðnason. 1982.
- Internal references
- (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Knýtlinga saga’ in Kari Ellen Gade (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 2: From c. 1035 to c. 1300. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 2. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=19> (accessed 3 May 2024)
- Kirsten Wolf 2007, ‘ Anonymous, Heilagra manna drápa’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 872-90. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1016> (accessed 3 May 2024)
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