Anon (FoGT) 34^III

Beraz liet frá mey mætri
mætr foldsala gætir;
umsniðning tók auðnu
einn veitandi hreinnar,
áðr skatna vann vatni
vatnskírn jöfurs batnað;
fastandi bar freistni
friðar kiennari þrenna.

{Mætr gætir {foldsala}} liet beraz frá mætri mey; {einn veitandi hreinnar auðnu} tók umsniðning, áðr vatnskírn {jöfurs skatna} vann batnað vatni; {kiennari friðar} bar fastandi þrenna freistni.

{The excellent keeper {of the earth-halls}} [SKY/HEAVEN > = God (= Christ)] allowed himself to be born from an excellent maiden; {the one granter of pure destiny} [= God (= Christ)] underwent circumcision, before the baptism {of the prince of men} [= God (= Christ)] improved the water; {the teacher of peace} [= God (= Christ)] fasting bore a threefold temptation.

Mss: W(117) (FoGT)

Readings: [3] umsniðning: ‘vmsniðn[…]g’ W    [5] vann: vanr W

Editions: Skj AII, 165, Skj BII, 182, Skald II, 95, NN §1845; SnE 1848-87, II, 232-5, III, 161, FoGT 1884, 143-4, 286, FoGT 2004, 51, 75, 145-7, FoGT 2014, 36-7, 125-6.

Context: This and the following stanza, which form a pair, are quoted to illustrate the figure called onopomenon in FoGT (oliopomenon in the Doctrinale, Reichling 1893, 177, l. 2623), and it is there defined, following the Doctrinale, thus: Onopomenon seger ęðr h(e)fer storar sǫgvr með fám orðum ‘Onopomenon tells or has great stories in few words’.

Notes: [All]: This dróttkvætt stanza uses four couplets (fjórðungalok; for the term, see Introduction to sts 18-20) to illustrate four significant events in the earthly life of Christ, all of which had profound significance for humans, according to Christian theology. The first is his birth from the Virgin Mary, the second his circumcision (cf. Luke II.21), which was held to prefigure his crucifixion (see Anon Lil 35/5^VII and Notes), the third his baptism in the river Jordan by John the Baptist (cf. Anon Lil 37^VII), which foreshadowed the rite of baptism for humans, and the fourth his threefold temptation (cf. Matt. IV.1-11; Luke IV.1-13) by Satan in the wilderness, which presaged the devil’s temptation of mankind (cf. Anon Lil 45^VII). Each couplet contains a kenning for God as Christ. — [2] foldsala ‘of the earth-halls [SKY/HEAVEN]’: Some eds (Skj B; Skald) emend to foldsalar (gen. sg.) and this is admittedly a commoner type of heaven-kenning. However, as the pl. form makes sense, it has been retained here. — [3] umsniðning ‘circumcision’: The <in> abbreviation between the second <n> and final <g> has been torn away in W, but the emendation is unproblematical. The only other instance of this noun in poetry is Anon Lil 35/5^VII. — [5, 6] vann batnað ‘improved’: Lit. ‘gained improvement for’. Ms. W has vanr, an adj. meaning either ‘accustomed’ or ‘lacking’, neither of which makes grammatical sense in this context.

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. SnE 1848-87 = Snorri Sturluson. 1848-87. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar: Edda Snorronis Sturlaei. Ed. Jón Sigurðsson et al. 3 vols. Copenhagen: Legatum Arnamagnaeanum. Rpt. Osnabrück: Zeller, 1966.
4. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
5. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
6. FoGT 1884 = Björn Magnússon Ólsen, ed. 1884. Den tredje og fjærde grammatiske afhandling i Snorres Edda tilligemed de grammatiske afhandlingers prolog og to andre tillæg. SUGNL 12. Copenhagen: Knudtzon.
7. FoGT 2004 = Longo, Michele, ed. [2004]. ‘Il Quarto Trattato Grammaticale Islandese: Testo, Traduzione e Commento’. Dottorato di Ricerca in ‘Linguistica Sincronica e Diacronica’ (XV Ciclo). Palermo: Università degli Studi di Palermo, Facoltà di Lettere e Filosofia.
8. Reichling, Dietrich, ed. 1893. Das Doctrinale des Alexander de Villa-Dei. Monumenta Germaniae paedagogica 12. Berlin: A. Hofmann & Comp. Rpt. 1974. Burt Franklin Research and Source Works Series, Studies in the History of Education 11. New York: Burt Franklin.
9. FoGT 2014 = Clunies Ross, Margaret and Jonas Wellendorf, eds. 2014. The Fourth Grammatical Treatise. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
10. Internal references
11. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, The Fourth Grammatical Treatise’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=34> (accessed 30 April 2024)
12. Martin Chase (ed.) 2007, ‘Anonymous Poems, Lilja 35’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 604-5.
13. Martin Chase (ed.) 2007, ‘Anonymous Poems, Lilja 37’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 606-7.
14. Martin Chase (ed.) 2007, ‘Anonymous Poems, Lilja 45’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 615.