Anon Heildr 8VII
Katrina Attwood (ed.) 2007, ‘Anonymous Poems, Heilags anda drápa 8’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 458.
Hvert ‘every’
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2. hverr (pron.): who, whom, each, every
[1] Hvert: so 399a‑bˣ, BRydberg, ‘H[...]t’ B, ‘H[...]rt’ BFJ
mein ‘stain’
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mein (noun n.; °-s; -): harm, injury
þváið ‘you wash’
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1. þvá (verb): wash
hirtir ‘chastiser’
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hirtir (noun m.): chastiser
hugar ‘mind’
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hugr (noun m.): mind, thought, courage
notes
[2] sjúks hugar ‘of the sick mind’: This phrase may also be construed with hirtir (l. 1), giving the kenning-like periphrasis hirtir sjúks hugar ‘chastiser of the sick mind’ for the Holy Spirit; cf. 14/2, 3 lundgóðr hirtir böls ‘benevolent chastiser of sin’. This is however, a less preferable reading, as the Holy Spirit (and Christ) are usually represented as healers, not chastisers, of the sick mind.
sjúks ‘of the sick’
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sjúkr (adj.): ill, sick
notes
[2] sjúks hugar ‘of the sick mind’: This phrase may also be construed with hirtir (l. 1), giving the kenning-like periphrasis hirtir sjúks hugar ‘chastiser of the sick mind’ for the Holy Spirit; cf. 14/2, 3 lundgóðr hirtir böls ‘benevolent chastiser of sin’. This is however, a less preferable reading, as the Holy Spirit (and Christ) are usually represented as healers, not chastisers, of the sick mind.
liði ‘help’
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lið (noun n.; °-s; -): retinue, troop
notes
[2] liði mjúku: This edn follows Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) in interpreting this phrase as describing the Spirit’s aid, and is translated ‘with gentle help’. This interpretation relies on taking liði as dat. sg. of lið, n. meaning ‘help, assistance, care’ (Fritzner: lið 2). It is also possible to interpret lið, n. in the sense ‘people, folk’ (Fritzner: lið 1), and to take the phrase as a reference to those cleansed by the Spirit (pace Kock, NN §1407).
mjúku ‘with gentle’
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mjúkr (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): gentle, humble
notes
[2] liði mjúku: This edn follows Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) in interpreting this phrase as describing the Spirit’s aid, and is translated ‘with gentle help’. This interpretation relies on taking liði as dat. sg. of lið, n. meaning ‘help, assistance, care’ (Fritzner: lið 2). It is also possible to interpret lið, n. in the sense ‘people, folk’ (Fritzner: lið 1), and to take the phrase as a reference to those cleansed by the Spirit (pace Kock, NN §1407).
gegn ‘Fitting’
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1. gegn (adj.; °compar. -ri, superl. -astr/-str): reliable
er ‘who’
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2. er (conj.): who, which, when
góðu ‘righteousness’
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góðr (adj.): good
magnar ‘strengthens’
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magna (verb): strengthen, increase
glöðum ‘in the clear’
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2. glaðr (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): cheerful, glad
notes
[4] glöðum ‘clear’: Skj B emends to glæps gen. sg. of glæpr m. ‘sin, wickedness’, construing the kenning as gegn hirtir glæps ‘gentle chastister of sin’. He takes hvert mein sjúks hugar ‘every stain of the sick mind’ as the object of the verb þváið ‘you wash’.
brunni ‘spring’
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brunnr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): spring, well
miskunnar ‘of mercy’
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miskunn (noun f.; °-ar; gen. -a): forgiveness, mercy, grace
Sið ‘in those morally’
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siðr (noun m.; °-ar, dat. -/-i; -ir, acc. -u): faith, morals < siðlátr (adj.): [most virtuous]
látum ‘upright’
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-látr (adj.): -ful < siðlátr (adj.): [most virtuous]
eykr ‘intensifies’
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1. auka (verb; °eykr; jók, jóku/juku): (str. intrans.) increase
sætan ‘sweet’
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sœtr (adj.): sweet
bekkr ‘spring’
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2. bekkr (noun m.; °-jar/-s, dat. -/-i; -ir): spring
er ‘who’
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2. er (conj.): who, which, when
af ‘from it’
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af (prep.): from
drekka ‘drink’
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1. drekka (noun f.; °-u): [drink, banquet]
linar ‘alleviates’
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lina (verb): subside, alleviate
brysti ‘in the breast’
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brysti (noun n.): [in breast]
notes
[7] brysti : þo*sta: The rhyme remains imperfect, but B’s þorsta must be normalised to the late form þo*sta to give a semblance of skothending.
þrá ‘longing’
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2. þrá (noun n.): [longing]
þorsta ‘’
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þorsti (noun m.; °-a; -ar): [thirst]
notes
[7] brysti : þo*sta: The rhyme remains imperfect, but B’s þorsta must be normalised to the late form þo*sta to give a semblance of skothending.
þekkr ‘delightful’
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þekkr (adj.): pleasing
elskugi ‘love’
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elskhugi (noun m.; °-a; dat. -um): love
[8] elskugi: so 399a‑bˣ, BRydberg, BFJ, ‘elsk[...]ge’ B
rekkum ‘men’
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rekkr (noun m.; °; -ar): man, champion
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
[5-8]: There seems to be a curious reversal here of Christ’s promise in John IV.13-14: ei omnis qui bibit ex aqua hac sitiet iterum qui autem biberit ex aqua quam ego dabo ei non sitiet in aeternum sed aqua quam dabo ei fiet in eo fons aquae salientis in vitam aeternam ‘Whosoever drinketh of this water, shall thirst again; but he that shall drink of the water that I will give him, shall not thirst for ever: But the water that I will give him, shall become in him a fountain of water, springing up into life everlasting’.
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