Anon (FoGT) 35III
Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Lausavísur, Stanzas from the Fourth Grammatical Treatise 35’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 612.
Píndr ‘Tortured’
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3. pína (verb): torture, torment
reis ‘he rose’
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rísa (verb): rise, raise
upp ‘up’
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upp (adv.): up
með ‘with’
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með (prep.): with
notes
[1-2] með angrleystu herfangi anda ‘with the sorrow-liberated booty of souls’: As FoGT 1884, 287 n. 2 and FoGT 2004, 148 have noted, the first three words of l. 1 píndr reis upp ‘tortured he rose up’ refer to Christ’s Resurrection. The phrase með angrleystu herfangi anda ‘with the sorrow-liberated booty of souls’ alludes to Christ’s release of souls after his Harrowing of Hell.
anda ‘of souls’
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2. ǫnd (noun f.; °andar, dat. ǫnd/ǫndu; andir): soul, breath
notes
[1-2] með angrleystu herfangi anda ‘with the sorrow-liberated booty of souls’: As FoGT 1884, 287 n. 2 and FoGT 2004, 148 have noted, the first three words of l. 1 píndr reis upp ‘tortured he rose up’ refer to Christ’s Resurrection. The phrase með angrleystu herfangi anda ‘with the sorrow-liberated booty of souls’ alludes to Christ’s release of souls after his Harrowing of Hell.
angrleystu ‘the sorrow-liberated’
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angrleystr (adj.): [sorrow-liberated]
notes
[1-2] með angrleystu herfangi anda ‘with the sorrow-liberated booty of souls’: As FoGT 1884, 287 n. 2 and FoGT 2004, 148 have noted, the first three words of l. 1 píndr reis upp ‘tortured he rose up’ refer to Christ’s Resurrection. The phrase með angrleystu herfangi anda ‘with the sorrow-liberated booty of souls’ alludes to Christ’s release of souls after his Harrowing of Hell.
herfangi ‘booty’
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herfang (noun n.): booty
notes
[1-2] með angrleystu herfangi anda ‘with the sorrow-liberated booty of souls’: As FoGT 1884, 287 n. 2 and FoGT 2004, 148 have noted, the first three words of l. 1 píndr reis upp ‘tortured he rose up’ refer to Christ’s Resurrection. The phrase með angrleystu herfangi anda ‘with the sorrow-liberated booty of souls’ alludes to Christ’s release of souls after his Harrowing of Hell.
hlýrna ‘of heavenly bodies’
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hlýrnir (noun m.): heaven, heavenly body
kennings
gramr hlýrna‘the prince of heavenly bodies ’
= God
the prince of heavenly bodies → God
gramr ‘the prince’
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1. gramr (noun m.): ruler
kennings
gramr hlýrna‘the prince of heavenly bodies ’
= God
the prince of heavenly bodies → God
til ‘in’
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til (prep.): to
himna ‘the heavens’
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himinn (noun m.; °himins, dat. himni; himnar): heaven, sky
heim ‘home’
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heim (adv.): home, back
sótti ‘came’
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sœkja (verb): seek, attack
guð ‘God’
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1. guð (noun m.; °***guðrs, guðis, gus): (Christian) God
dróttin* ‘to the Lord’
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dróttinn (noun m.; °dróttins, dat. dróttni (drottini [$1049$]); dróttnar): lord, master
[4] dróttin*: dróttinn W
Sendi ‘sent’
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senda (verb): send
ástaranda ‘the spirit of love’
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ástarandi (noun m.; °-a): [spirit of love]
notes
[5] ástaranda ‘the spirit of love’: The Holy Spirit; the cpd is a hap. leg.
alls ‘of everything’
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allr (adj.): all
kennings
Hirðandi alls‘The carer of everything ’
= God
The carer of everything → God
hirðandi ‘The carer’
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hirðandi (noun m.): [carer]
kennings
Hirðandi alls‘The carer of everything ’
= God
The carer of everything → God
virðum ‘to men’
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virðr (noun m.): man
sá ‘he’
notes
[7-8] sá kemr að dæma drótt dauða á hauðri lífs ‘he will come to judge the host of the dead on the land of life’: This edn follows the interpretation of these lines offered by Kock (NN §3164) as the only one that respects the couplet structure of the stanza and also makes theological sense. There is no doubt that these lines allude to the Last Judgement, in which case ‘on the land of life’ may mean ‘in Paradise’. Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) construed lífs á hauðri (l. 8) with hirðandi alls (l. 6) to produce the sense ‘the guardian of all life on earth’, but this violates the couplet-based syntax of the stanza and is therefore unlikely to be correct. Björn Magnússon Ólsen (FoGT 1884) emended the text by adding ok between dauða and lífs in l. 8 (sá kemr at dæma drótt dauða ok lífs á hauðri ‘he will come to judge the host of death [the dead] and life [the living] on earth’), but this produces an unmetrical line and rather strained syntax, and must also be rejected.
kemr ‘will come’
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koma (verb; kem, kom/kvam, kominn): come
notes
[7-8] sá kemr að dæma drótt dauða á hauðri lífs ‘he will come to judge the host of the dead on the land of life’: This edn follows the interpretation of these lines offered by Kock (NN §3164) as the only one that respects the couplet structure of the stanza and also makes theological sense. There is no doubt that these lines allude to the Last Judgement, in which case ‘on the land of life’ may mean ‘in Paradise’. Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) construed lífs á hauðri (l. 8) with hirðandi alls (l. 6) to produce the sense ‘the guardian of all life on earth’, but this violates the couplet-based syntax of the stanza and is therefore unlikely to be correct. Björn Magnússon Ólsen (FoGT 1884) emended the text by adding ok between dauða and lífs in l. 8 (sá kemr at dæma drótt dauða ok lífs á hauðri ‘he will come to judge the host of death [the dead] and life [the living] on earth’), but this produces an unmetrical line and rather strained syntax, and must also be rejected.
drótt ‘the host’
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1. drótt (noun f.): troop
notes
[7-8] sá kemr að dæma drótt dauða á hauðri lífs ‘he will come to judge the host of the dead on the land of life’: This edn follows the interpretation of these lines offered by Kock (NN §3164) as the only one that respects the couplet structure of the stanza and also makes theological sense. There is no doubt that these lines allude to the Last Judgement, in which case ‘on the land of life’ may mean ‘in Paradise’. Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) construed lífs á hauðri (l. 8) with hirðandi alls (l. 6) to produce the sense ‘the guardian of all life on earth’, but this violates the couplet-based syntax of the stanza and is therefore unlikely to be correct. Björn Magnússon Ólsen (FoGT 1884) emended the text by adding ok between dauða and lífs in l. 8 (sá kemr at dæma drótt dauða ok lífs á hauðri ‘he will come to judge the host of death [the dead] and life [the living] on earth’), but this produces an unmetrical line and rather strained syntax, and must also be rejected.
að ‘to’
(not checked:)
5. at (nota): to (with infinitive)
notes
[7-8] sá kemr að dæma drótt dauða á hauðri lífs ‘he will come to judge the host of the dead on the land of life’: This edn follows the interpretation of these lines offered by Kock (NN §3164) as the only one that respects the couplet structure of the stanza and also makes theological sense. There is no doubt that these lines allude to the Last Judgement, in which case ‘on the land of life’ may mean ‘in Paradise’. Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) construed lífs á hauðri (l. 8) with hirðandi alls (l. 6) to produce the sense ‘the guardian of all life on earth’, but this violates the couplet-based syntax of the stanza and is therefore unlikely to be correct. Björn Magnússon Ólsen (FoGT 1884) emended the text by adding ok between dauða and lífs in l. 8 (sá kemr at dæma drótt dauða ok lífs á hauðri ‘he will come to judge the host of death [the dead] and life [the living] on earth’), but this produces an unmetrical line and rather strained syntax, and must also be rejected.
dæma ‘judge’
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dœma (verb; °-mð-): judge
notes
[7-8] sá kemr að dæma drótt dauða á hauðri lífs ‘he will come to judge the host of the dead on the land of life’: This edn follows the interpretation of these lines offered by Kock (NN §3164) as the only one that respects the couplet structure of the stanza and also makes theological sense. There is no doubt that these lines allude to the Last Judgement, in which case ‘on the land of life’ may mean ‘in Paradise’. Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) construed lífs á hauðri (l. 8) with hirðandi alls (l. 6) to produce the sense ‘the guardian of all life on earth’, but this violates the couplet-based syntax of the stanza and is therefore unlikely to be correct. Björn Magnússon Ólsen (FoGT 1884) emended the text by adding ok between dauða and lífs in l. 8 (sá kemr at dæma drótt dauða ok lífs á hauðri ‘he will come to judge the host of death [the dead] and life [the living] on earth’), but this produces an unmetrical line and rather strained syntax, and must also be rejected.
dauða ‘of the dead’
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dauði (noun m.; °-a; -ar): death
notes
[7-8] sá kemr að dæma drótt dauða á hauðri lífs ‘he will come to judge the host of the dead on the land of life’: This edn follows the interpretation of these lines offered by Kock (NN §3164) as the only one that respects the couplet structure of the stanza and also makes theological sense. There is no doubt that these lines allude to the Last Judgement, in which case ‘on the land of life’ may mean ‘in Paradise’. Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) construed lífs á hauðri (l. 8) with hirðandi alls (l. 6) to produce the sense ‘the guardian of all life on earth’, but this violates the couplet-based syntax of the stanza and is therefore unlikely to be correct. Björn Magnússon Ólsen (FoGT 1884) emended the text by adding ok between dauða and lífs in l. 8 (sá kemr at dæma drótt dauða ok lífs á hauðri ‘he will come to judge the host of death [the dead] and life [the living] on earth’), but this produces an unmetrical line and rather strained syntax, and must also be rejected.
lífs ‘of life’
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líf (noun n.; °-s; -): life
notes
[7-8] sá kemr að dæma drótt dauða á hauðri lífs ‘he will come to judge the host of the dead on the land of life’: This edn follows the interpretation of these lines offered by Kock (NN §3164) as the only one that respects the couplet structure of the stanza and also makes theological sense. There is no doubt that these lines allude to the Last Judgement, in which case ‘on the land of life’ may mean ‘in Paradise’. Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) construed lífs á hauðri (l. 8) with hirðandi alls (l. 6) to produce the sense ‘the guardian of all life on earth’, but this violates the couplet-based syntax of the stanza and is therefore unlikely to be correct. Björn Magnússon Ólsen (FoGT 1884) emended the text by adding ok between dauða and lífs in l. 8 (sá kemr at dæma drótt dauða ok lífs á hauðri ‘he will come to judge the host of death [the dead] and life [the living] on earth’), but this produces an unmetrical line and rather strained syntax, and must also be rejected.
á ‘on’
(not checked:)
3. á (prep.): on, at
notes
[7-8] sá kemr að dæma drótt dauða á hauðri lífs ‘he will come to judge the host of the dead on the land of life’: This edn follows the interpretation of these lines offered by Kock (NN §3164) as the only one that respects the couplet structure of the stanza and also makes theological sense. There is no doubt that these lines allude to the Last Judgement, in which case ‘on the land of life’ may mean ‘in Paradise’. Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) construed lífs á hauðri (l. 8) with hirðandi alls (l. 6) to produce the sense ‘the guardian of all life on earth’, but this violates the couplet-based syntax of the stanza and is therefore unlikely to be correct. Björn Magnússon Ólsen (FoGT 1884) emended the text by adding ok between dauða and lífs in l. 8 (sá kemr at dæma drótt dauða ok lífs á hauðri ‘he will come to judge the host of death [the dead] and life [the living] on earth’), but this produces an unmetrical line and rather strained syntax, and must also be rejected.
hauðri ‘the land’
(not checked:)
hauðr (noun n.): earth, ground
notes
[7-8] sá kemr að dæma drótt dauða á hauðri lífs ‘he will come to judge the host of the dead on the land of life’: This edn follows the interpretation of these lines offered by Kock (NN §3164) as the only one that respects the couplet structure of the stanza and also makes theological sense. There is no doubt that these lines allude to the Last Judgement, in which case ‘on the land of life’ may mean ‘in Paradise’. Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) construed lífs á hauðri (l. 8) with hirðandi alls (l. 6) to produce the sense ‘the guardian of all life on earth’, but this violates the couplet-based syntax of the stanza and is therefore unlikely to be correct. Björn Magnússon Ólsen (FoGT 1884) emended the text by adding ok between dauða and lífs in l. 8 (sá kemr at dæma drótt dauða ok lífs á hauðri ‘he will come to judge the host of death [the dead] and life [the living] on earth’), but this produces an unmetrical line and rather strained syntax, and must also be rejected.
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
Stanza 35 follows st. 34 without any prose introduction. The two stanzas form a diptych and have to be understood together.
After st. 35 the prose text offers the view that sts 34-5 present avarp theologie ‘a summary of the Bible’ in two dróttkvætt stanzas. The same use of fjórðungalok appears in both, as well as a similar disposition of kennings. In st. 35 the poet balances the main events, theologically speaking, of Christ’s life on earth before the crucifixion, the subject of st. 34, with the major events that took place after it. Lines 1-2 allude to Christ’s Harrowing of Hell and his Resurrection, which lifts the burden of sin from mankind; ll. 3-4 celebrate his Ascension to heaven, ll. 5-6 the descent of the Holy Spirit to mankind at Pentecost, while ll. 7-8 are about the Last Judgement. The poet’s boast to have encapsulated avarp theologie in two stanzas is well taken. As both Björn Magnússon Ólsen (FoGT 1884, 143 n.) and Longo (FoGT 2004, 214-15) have pointed out, his model was almost certainly various commentaries on the Doctrinale and the Doctrinale itself (Reichling 1893, 177, ll. 2623-6 and nn.), where oliopomenon is said to be a figure in which a series of important events is expressed in few words, and the example is given of a series of short clauses encapsulating the history of the Trojan war.
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