Anon Alpost 8VII
Ian McDougall (ed.) 2007, ‘Anonymous Poems, Allra postula minnisvísur 8’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 863-4.
Kallaz ‘is called’
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kalla (verb): call
kærr ‘The dear’
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kærr (adj.; °superl. kǽrstr/kǽrastr): dear
af ‘by’
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af (prep.): from
öllum ‘all’
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allr (adj.): all
Krists ‘of Christ’
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Kristr (noun m.; °-s/-, dat. -i; -ar): Christ
notes
[2, 5] bróðir Krists ... Jácobus ‘Christ’s brother ... James’: On S. James the Less, see Cross and Livingstone 1983, 723; Kilström 1962a, 530-1; Widding, Bekker-Nielsen and Shook 1963, 314; Foote 1976, 162-3; Cormack 1994, 108, 242. James the Less, son of Alphaeus, is regularly described as ‘Christ’s brother’ (cf. Brev. 4/9; IO 76, 1; AM 660 4° 23v, Foote 1976, 153), following the prime source, Gal. I.19: alium autem apostolorum vidi neminem nisi Iacobum fratrem Domini ‘but other of the Apostles I saw none, saving James the brother of the Lord’; cf. Mark VI.3. The author may recall this detail from scripture, or from the hymn Jacobe iuste sung at the feast of the Apostles Philip and James the Less (1 May; see Ordo Nidr. 337): Jacobe iuste, Jesu frater domini, sit tibi pia super nos compassio ‘James the just, brother of our Lord Jesus, have pity on us’ (AH 51, 122, no. 107, v. 4; CH, 85; DH, 108).
bróðir ‘brother’
notes
[2, 5] bróðir Krists ... Jácobus ‘Christ’s brother ... James’: On S. James the Less, see Cross and Livingstone 1983, 723; Kilström 1962a, 530-1; Widding, Bekker-Nielsen and Shook 1963, 314; Foote 1976, 162-3; Cormack 1994, 108, 242. James the Less, son of Alphaeus, is regularly described as ‘Christ’s brother’ (cf. Brev. 4/9; IO 76, 1; AM 660 4° 23v, Foote 1976, 153), following the prime source, Gal. I.19: alium autem apostolorum vidi neminem nisi Iacobum fratrem Domini ‘but other of the Apostles I saw none, saving James the brother of the Lord’; cf. Mark VI.3. The author may recall this detail from scripture, or from the hymn Jacobe iuste sung at the feast of the Apostles Philip and James the Less (1 May; see Ordo Nidr. 337): Jacobe iuste, Jesu frater domini, sit tibi pia super nos compassio ‘James the just, brother of our Lord Jesus, have pity on us’ (AH 51, 122, no. 107, v. 4; CH, 85; DH, 108).
guðs ‘of God’
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1. guð (noun m.; °***guðrs, guðis, gus): (Christian) God
kennings
móður guðs,‘of the mother of God, ’
= Mary
the mother of God, → Mary
notes
[2, 3, 4] sannr sonr systur móður guðs ‘the true son of the sister of the mother of God’: Cf. IO 76,1: Iacobus Alfei ... sororis matris Domini filius ‘James [son of] Alphaeus ... son of the sister of the mother of the Lord’. The Virgin Mary’s half-sister Mary, wife of Cleophas (John XIX.25), was the mother of James the Less (see Mark XV.40; cf. Cross and Livingstone 1983, 304) – a potential source of confusion, since the mother of James the Great (to whom verse 5 above is dedicated) was also the half-sister of the Virgin Mary (cf. Kilström 1962a, 530). This may support Kock’s reading of sannr (NN §1758, see Note to 1-4 above), if the poet intends to suggest here that James the Less has a greater claim than his namesake to being called ‘God’s mother’s nephew’.
móður ‘of the mother’
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móðir (noun f.): mother
kennings
móður guðs,‘of the mother of God, ’
= Mary
the mother of God, → Mary
notes
[2, 3, 4] sannr sonr systur móður guðs ‘the true son of the sister of the mother of God’: Cf. IO 76,1: Iacobus Alfei ... sororis matris Domini filius ‘James [son of] Alphaeus ... son of the sister of the mother of the Lord’. The Virgin Mary’s half-sister Mary, wife of Cleophas (John XIX.25), was the mother of James the Less (see Mark XV.40; cf. Cross and Livingstone 1983, 304) – a potential source of confusion, since the mother of James the Great (to whom verse 5 above is dedicated) was also the half-sister of the Virgin Mary (cf. Kilström 1962a, 530). This may support Kock’s reading of sannr (NN §1758, see Note to 1-4 above), if the poet intends to suggest here that James the Less has a greater claim than his namesake to being called ‘God’s mother’s nephew’.
systur ‘of the sister’
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systir (noun f.; °systur; systur): sister
notes
[2, 3, 4] sannr sonr systur móður guðs ‘the true son of the sister of the mother of God’: Cf. IO 76,1: Iacobus Alfei ... sororis matris Domini filius ‘James [son of] Alphaeus ... son of the sister of the mother of the Lord’. The Virgin Mary’s half-sister Mary, wife of Cleophas (John XIX.25), was the mother of James the Less (see Mark XV.40; cf. Cross and Livingstone 1983, 304) – a potential source of confusion, since the mother of James the Great (to whom verse 5 above is dedicated) was also the half-sister of the Virgin Mary (cf. Kilström 1962a, 530). This may support Kock’s reading of sannr (NN §1758, see Note to 1-4 above), if the poet intends to suggest here that James the Less has a greater claim than his namesake to being called ‘God’s mother’s nephew’.
sonr ‘son’
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sonr (noun m.; °-ar, dat. syni; synir, acc. sonu, syni): son
notes
[2, 3, 4] sannr sonr systur móður guðs ‘the true son of the sister of the mother of God’: Cf. IO 76,1: Iacobus Alfei ... sororis matris Domini filius ‘James [son of] Alphaeus ... son of the sister of the mother of the Lord’. The Virgin Mary’s half-sister Mary, wife of Cleophas (John XIX.25), was the mother of James the Less (see Mark XV.40; cf. Cross and Livingstone 1983, 304) – a potential source of confusion, since the mother of James the Great (to whom verse 5 above is dedicated) was also the half-sister of the Virgin Mary (cf. Kilström 1962a, 530). This may support Kock’s reading of sannr (NN §1758, see Note to 1-4 above), if the poet intends to suggest here that James the Less has a greater claim than his namesake to being called ‘God’s mother’s nephew’.
inn ‘the’
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2. inn (art.): the
hæsti ‘highest’
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3. hár (adj.; °-van; compar. hǽrri, superl. hǽstr): high
sannr ‘the true’
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2. sannr (adj.; °-an; compar. -ari, superl. -astr): true
notes
[2, 3, 4] sannr sonr systur móður guðs ‘the true son of the sister of the mother of God’: Cf. IO 76,1: Iacobus Alfei ... sororis matris Domini filius ‘James [son of] Alphaeus ... son of the sister of the mother of the Lord’. The Virgin Mary’s half-sister Mary, wife of Cleophas (John XIX.25), was the mother of James the Less (see Mark XV.40; cf. Cross and Livingstone 1983, 304) – a potential source of confusion, since the mother of James the Great (to whom verse 5 above is dedicated) was also the half-sister of the Virgin Mary (cf. Kilström 1962a, 530). This may support Kock’s reading of sannr (NN §1758, see Note to 1-4 above), if the poet intends to suggest here that James the Less has a greater claim than his namesake to being called ‘God’s mother’s nephew’.
í ‘in’
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í (prep.): in, into
drottins ‘of the Lord’
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dróttinn (noun m.; °dróttins, dat. dróttni (drottini [$1049$]); dróttnar): lord, master
ranni ‘the house’
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rann (noun n.): house, hall
Jácobus ‘James’
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Jacobus (noun m.): [James]
notes
[2, 5] bróðir Krists ... Jácobus ‘Christ’s brother ... James’: On S. James the Less, see Cross and Livingstone 1983, 723; Kilström 1962a, 530-1; Widding, Bekker-Nielsen and Shook 1963, 314; Foote 1976, 162-3; Cormack 1994, 108, 242. James the Less, son of Alphaeus, is regularly described as ‘Christ’s brother’ (cf. Brev. 4/9; IO 76, 1; AM 660 4° 23v, Foote 1976, 153), following the prime source, Gal. I.19: alium autem apostolorum vidi neminem nisi Iacobum fratrem Domini ‘but other of the Apostles I saw none, saving James the brother of the Lord’; cf. Mark VI.3. The author may recall this detail from scripture, or from the hymn Jacobe iuste sung at the feast of the Apostles Philip and James the Less (1 May; see Ordo Nidr. 337): Jacobe iuste, Jesu frater domini, sit tibi pia super nos compassio ‘James the just, brother of our Lord Jesus, have pity on us’ (AH 51, 122, no. 107, v. 4; CH, 85; DH, 108).
hefir ‘has’
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hafa (verb): have
aukið ‘performed’
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1. auka (verb; °eykr; jók, jóku/juku): (str. intrans.) increase
notes
[5] aukið ‘performed’: On this sense of the verb, see LP: 2. auka 2.
öll ‘all’
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allr (adj.): all
verk ‘deeds’
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verk (noun n.; °-s; -): deed
og ‘and’
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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
stór ‘great’
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stórr (adj.): large, great < stórmerki (noun n.): great feat
merki ‘feats’
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1. merki (noun n.; °-s: -): banner, sign < stórmerki (noun n.): great feat
verður ‘a worthy’
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3. verðr (adj.): worth, worthy
notes
[4] drottins ‘of the Lord’: Cf. 8/8 and Note. — [7] verður ‘worthy’: Ms. ‘uerdr’. Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) normalises to verður to supply the extra syllable needed in this otherwise light l. Kock (NN §1759) strenuously objects, as he often does elsewhere (cf. Note to Pét 4/2) to substitution of a desyllabified form. He prefers to substitute for the offending verður the synonymous adj. verðugr to gain an extra syllable; cf. Meissner 1930, 232. — [7-8] verður vóttr vegs til dýrðar ‘a worthy witness of the way to glory’: Kock (NN §2887) objects to the translation supplied by Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) : herligheds vidne værdig til hæder ‘witness of glory worthy of honour’, interpreting vegs as gen. sg. of vegr ‘honour’, rather than of vegr ‘way’.
verður ‘a worthy’
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3. verðr (adj.): worth, worthy
notes
[4] drottins ‘of the Lord’: Cf. 8/8 and Note. — [7] verður ‘worthy’: Ms. ‘uerdr’. Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) normalises to verður to supply the extra syllable needed in this otherwise light l. Kock (NN §1759) strenuously objects, as he often does elsewhere (cf. Note to Pét 4/2) to substitution of a desyllabified form. He prefers to substitute for the offending verður the synonymous adj. verðugr to gain an extra syllable; cf. Meissner 1930, 232. — [7-8] verður vóttr vegs til dýrðar ‘a worthy witness of the way to glory’: Kock (NN §2887) objects to the translation supplied by Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) : herligheds vidne værdig til hæder ‘witness of glory worthy of honour’, interpreting vegs as gen. sg. of vegr ‘honour’, rather than of vegr ‘way’.
verður ‘a worthy’
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3. verðr (adj.): worth, worthy
notes
[4] drottins ‘of the Lord’: Cf. 8/8 and Note. — [7] verður ‘worthy’: Ms. ‘uerdr’. Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) normalises to verður to supply the extra syllable needed in this otherwise light l. Kock (NN §1759) strenuously objects, as he often does elsewhere (cf. Note to Pét 4/2) to substitution of a desyllabified form. He prefers to substitute for the offending verður the synonymous adj. verðugr to gain an extra syllable; cf. Meissner 1930, 232. — [7-8] verður vóttr vegs til dýrðar ‘a worthy witness of the way to glory’: Kock (NN §2887) objects to the translation supplied by Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) : herligheds vidne værdig til hæder ‘witness of glory worthy of honour’, interpreting vegs as gen. sg. of vegr ‘honour’, rather than of vegr ‘way’.
vegs ‘of the way’
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1. vegr (noun m.; °-s/-ar, dat. -i/-; -ar/-ir, gen. -a/-na, acc. -a/-i/-u): way, path, side
notes
[7-8] verður vóttr vegs til dýrðar ‘a worthy witness of the way to glory’: Kock (NN §2887) objects to the translation supplied by Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) : herligheds vidne værdig til hæder ‘witness of glory worthy of honour’, interpreting vegs as gen. sg. of vegr ‘honour’, rather than of vegr ‘way’.
til ‘to’
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til (prep.): to
notes
[7-8] verður vóttr vegs til dýrðar ‘a worthy witness of the way to glory’: Kock (NN §2887) objects to the translation supplied by Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) : herligheds vidne værdig til hæder ‘witness of glory worthy of honour’, interpreting vegs as gen. sg. of vegr ‘honour’, rather than of vegr ‘way’.
dýrðar ‘glory’
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dýrð (noun f.; °-ar/-a(NoDipl(1279) 44²); -ir): glory
notes
[7-8] verður vóttr vegs til dýrðar ‘a worthy witness of the way to glory’: Kock (NN §2887) objects to the translation supplied by Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) : herligheds vidne værdig til hæder ‘witness of glory worthy of honour’, interpreting vegs as gen. sg. of vegr ‘honour’, rather than of vegr ‘way’.
vóttr ‘witness’
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váttr (noun m.; °váttar; dat. vátt/vǽtti; váttar/vǽttir, acc. vátta/váttu/vǽtta): witness
notes
[7-8] verður vóttr vegs til dýrðar ‘a worthy witness of the way to glory’: Kock (NN §2887) objects to the translation supplied by Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) : herligheds vidne værdig til hæder ‘witness of glory worthy of honour’, interpreting vegs as gen. sg. of vegr ‘honour’, rather than of vegr ‘way’. — [8] vóttr ... drottins ‘witness ... of the Lord’: Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) marks both vowels as long: <ó> to preserve aðalhending, although at st. 4/2 the late form drottni, with short <o>, is required for aðalhending. (At 1/1, 6/8, 8/4 a form with either <ó> or <o> is possible. The short form has been adopted throughout this edn for consistency, although in 8/8 this produces an irregular rhyme.) Kock (Skald) marks both vowels as short: vottr ... drottins. On variation of forms of dróttinn / drottinn in C14th poetry, see Björn K. Þórólfsson 1925, 6; cf. ANG §127.3.
vóttr ‘witness’
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váttr (noun m.; °váttar; dat. vátt/vǽtti; váttar/vǽttir, acc. vátta/váttu/vǽtta): witness
notes
[7-8] verður vóttr vegs til dýrðar ‘a worthy witness of the way to glory’: Kock (NN §2887) objects to the translation supplied by Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) : herligheds vidne værdig til hæder ‘witness of glory worthy of honour’, interpreting vegs as gen. sg. of vegr ‘honour’, rather than of vegr ‘way’. — [8] vóttr ... drottins ‘witness ... of the Lord’: Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) marks both vowels as long: <ó> to preserve aðalhending, although at st. 4/2 the late form drottni, with short <o>, is required for aðalhending. (At 1/1, 6/8, 8/4 a form with either <ó> or <o> is possible. The short form has been adopted throughout this edn for consistency, although in 8/8 this produces an irregular rhyme.) Kock (Skald) marks both vowels as short: vottr ... drottins. On variation of forms of dróttinn / drottinn in C14th poetry, see Björn K. Þórólfsson 1925, 6; cf. ANG §127.3.
postuli ‘the Apostle’
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postuli (noun m.; °-a; -ar): apostle
drottins ‘of the Lord’
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dróttinn (noun m.; °dróttins, dat. dróttni (drottini [$1049$]); dróttnar): lord, master
notes
[4] drottins ‘of the Lord’: Cf. 8/8 and Note. — [8] vóttr ... drottins ‘witness ... of the Lord’: Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) marks both vowels as long: <ó> to preserve aðalhending, although at st. 4/2 the late form drottni, with short <o>, is required for aðalhending. (At 1/1, 6/8, 8/4 a form with either <ó> or <o> is possible. The short form has been adopted throughout this edn for consistency, although in 8/8 this produces an irregular rhyme.) Kock (Skald) marks both vowels as short: vottr ... drottins. On variation of forms of dróttinn / drottinn in C14th poetry, see Björn K. Þórólfsson 1925, 6; cf. ANG §127.3.
drottins ‘of the Lord’
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dróttinn (noun m.; °dróttins, dat. dróttni (drottini [$1049$]); dróttnar): lord, master
notes
[4] drottins ‘of the Lord’: Cf. 8/8 and Note. — [8] vóttr ... drottins ‘witness ... of the Lord’: Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) marks both vowels as long: <ó> to preserve aðalhending, although at st. 4/2 the late form drottni, with short <o>, is required for aðalhending. (At 1/1, 6/8, 8/4 a form with either <ó> or <o> is possible. The short form has been adopted throughout this edn for consistency, although in 8/8 this produces an irregular rhyme.) Kock (Skald) marks both vowels as short: vottr ... drottins. On variation of forms of dróttinn / drottinn in C14th poetry, see Björn K. Þórólfsson 1925, 6; cf. ANG §127.3.
Drekki ‘drink’
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2. drekka (verb; °drekkr; drakk, drukku; drukkinn/drykkinn): drink
hier ‘here’
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hér (adv.): here
dreingir ‘the lads’
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drengr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -; -ir, gen. -ja): man, warrior
inni ‘in’
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2. inni (adv.): in, inside, indoors
dýrligt ‘a glorious’
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dýrligr (adj.; °compar. -ri, superl. -astr/-(a)st-): glorious, precious
Jácóbs ‘for James’
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Jácób (noun m.): James, Jacob
minni ‘memorial toast’
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1. minni (noun n.; °-s; -): memory
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
The dear brother of Christ is called by all the true son of the sister of the mother of God [= Mary], the highest in the house of the Lord. James has performed all deeds and great feats, the Apostle of the Lord, a worthy witness of the way to glory. Let the lads herein drink a glorious memorial toast for James.
[1-4]: The interpretation here follows Kock (NN §1758), who objects to Finnur Jónsson’s interpretation of these ll. as Kristi broder ... elsket af alle, kaldes den höjeste, sand i herrens bolig ‘Christ’s brother ... loved by all ... is called the highest, true in the house of the Lord’ (Skj B). Kock argues that af öllum must be construed with kallaz: ‘is called by all’, and sannr must modify sonr, so that guðs móður systur sonr ... sannr should be interpreted as ‘God’s mother’s true nephew’ (i.e. ‘nephew in the flesh’).
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