Anon Brúðv 6VII
Valgerður Erna Þorvaldsdóttir (ed.) 2007, ‘Anonymous Poems, Brúðkaupsvísur 6’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 533-4.
Æstri ‘the highest’
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œðri (adj. comp.): nobler, higher
notes
[1] æstri (sup. adj.) ‘highest’: Jón Helgason (ÍM II, 130n) suggested that this could be a development from hæstri (sup. adj. f. of hár ‘high’), if the poem was old enough to allow the rhyme zt : st; æztri could also be f. acc. sg. sup. of æðri ‘higher’ (œðri comp.; the adj. has no positive degree).
unni ‘loved’
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1. unna (verb): love
meyju ‘Virgin’
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mær (noun f.; °meyjar, dat. meyju; meyjar): maiden
notes
[1] meyju ‘Virgin’: Jón Helgason thought, on metrical grounds, that mey was the original reading, as in hálfhneppt one cannot have a long-stemmed disyllabic word preceding the final monosyllable.
mest ‘most’
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meiri (adj. comp.; °meiran; superl. mestr): more, most
Máríu ‘Mary’
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María (noun f.): Mary
sið ‘The well’
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siðr (noun m.; °-ar, dat. -/-i; -ir, acc. -u): faith, morals < siðknár (adj.)
kennings
Siðknár álmr bóka‘The well-behaved elm-tree of books ’
= MAN
The well-behaved elm-tree of books → MAN
knár ‘behaved’
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knár (adj.; °compar. -ri, superl. -str): [behaved, active] < siðknár (adj.)
kennings
Siðknár álmr bóka‘The well-behaved elm-tree of books ’
= MAN
The well-behaved elm-tree of books → MAN
og ‘and’
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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
mætri ‘to the glorious’
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mætr (adj.; °compar. -ri/-ari, superl. -astr): honoured, respected
sif ‘’
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1. sif (noun f.; °; -jar): °(I) svogerskab, svogerskabsforhold
sig ‘him’
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sik (pron.; °gen. sín, dat. sér): (refl. pron.)
[3] sig: so 2166ˣ, sif 721, 1032ˣ, 399a‑bˣ
snót ‘woman’
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snót (noun f.; °; -ir): woman
sjálfan ‘self’
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sjalfr (adj.): self
gaf ‘gave’
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gefa (verb): give
bóka ‘of books’
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1. bók (noun f.; °bǿkr/bókar; bǿkr): book
kennings
Siðknár álmr bóka‘The well-behaved elm-tree of books ’
= MAN
The well-behaved elm-tree of books → MAN
notes
[4] bóka (f. gen. pl.) ‘books’: Jón Helgason thought that bók was the original reading, on the same metrical grounds as with meyju (l. 1).
álfr ‘’
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alfr (noun m.; °; -ar): elf
kennings
Siðknár álmr bóka‘The well-behaved elm-tree of books ’
= MAN
The well-behaved elm-tree of books → MAN
Húfa ‘of hulls’
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húfr (noun m.; °dat. -i): hull
kennings
Húfa skíð-Baldr‘plank-Baldr of hulls’
= SEAFARER
the plank of hulls → SHIPS
The Baldr of SHIPS → SEAFARER
Húfa ‘of hulls’
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húfr (noun m.; °dat. -i): hull
kennings
Húfa skíð-Baldr‘plank-Baldr of hulls’
= SEAFARER
the plank of hulls → SHIPS
The Baldr of SHIPS → SEAFARER
vandiz ‘was accustomed’
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2. venja (verb): accustom, train
hreint ‘a chaste’
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2. hreinn (adj.; °compar. hreinari/hreinni, superl. hreinastr/hreinstr): pure
líf ‘life’
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líf (noun n.; °-s; -): life
halda ‘to follow’
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halda (verb): hold, keep
vel ‘fully’
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vel (adv.): well, very
skíð ‘of the plank’
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skíð (noun n.; °; -): ski < Skíðbaldr (noun m.)
kennings
Húfa skíð-Baldr‘plank-Baldr of hulls’
= SEAFARER
the plank of hulls → SHIPS
The Baldr of SHIPS → SEAFARER
skíð ‘of the plank’
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skíð (noun n.; °; -): ski < Skíðbaldr (noun m.)
kennings
Húfa skíð-Baldr‘plank-Baldr of hulls’
= SEAFARER
the plank of hulls → SHIPS
The Baldr of SHIPS → SEAFARER
Baldr ‘The Baldr’
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Baldr (noun m.): [Baldr, Baldur] < Skíðbaldr (noun m.)
kennings
Húfa skíð-Baldr‘plank-Baldr of hulls’
= SEAFARER
the plank of hulls → SHIPS
The Baldr of SHIPS → SEAFARER
brúða ‘of brides’
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brúðr (noun f.; °brúðar, dat. & acc. brúði; brúðir): woman, bride
[7] brúða: brúði 721
kennings
blóma brúða‘to the flower of brides.’
= Mary
to the flower of brides. → Mary
notes
[7] brúða ‘of brides’: The mss all have brúði (f. acc. sg.) but if blóma (m. acc. sg. of blómi) ‘flower’ is the base-word, the determinant, brúðr ‘bride’, has to be in gen. pl. brúða. Jón Helgason proposed this emendation.
hiet ‘promised’
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2. heita (verb): be called, promise
brand ‘the sword’
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brandr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): sword, prow; fire < brandrjóðr (noun m.)
kennings
brandrjóðr‘the sword-reddener ’
= WARRIOR
the sword-reddener → WARRIOR
rjóðr ‘reddener’
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1. rjóðr (noun m.): reddener < brandrjóðr (noun m.)
kennings
brandrjóðr‘the sword-reddener ’
= WARRIOR
the sword-reddener → WARRIOR
blóma ‘to the flower’
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blómi (noun m.; °-a; -ar): flower
kennings
blóma brúða‘to the flower of brides.’
= Mary
to the flower of brides. → Mary
með ‘with’
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með (prep.): with
svein ‘virgin’
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sveinn (noun m.; °sveins; sveinar): boy, servant, attendant < sveindómr (noun m.)
dóm ‘ity’
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dómr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): judgement; court; -dom, -ness (suffix) < sveindómr (noun m.)
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
|
Æstri unni meyju mest |
The well-behaved elm-tree of books [MAN] loved most the highest Virgin, Mary, and gave himself to the glorious woman. The Baldr <god> of the plank of hulls [(lit. ‘plank-Baldr of hulls’) SHIPS > SEAFARER] was accustomed to follow fully a chaste life with virginity; the sword-reddener [WARRIOR] promised it to the flower of brides [= Mary].
Sts 6-7, and to a lesser extent st. 5, suggest that the young man may be a klerkr, although this does not appear to affect his marriageability. Schottmann (1973, 355-6) sees this rather mixed representation of the protagonist as a consequence of the poet’s drawing upon more than one version of the miracle story, but it may rather reflect the uncertain status of marriage, and clerical marriage in particular, in Iceland in the later Middle Ages (Auður Magnúsdóttir 2001). The justification for his eventual reneging on his secular marriage in D turns on the fact that he had dedicated himself to Mary in chastity for his whole life before he entered into a betrothal arrangement with an earthly woman, even though he had not declared this to his family (Mar 1871, 120).
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