ESk Geisl 1VII
Martin Chase (ed.) 2007, ‘Einarr Skúlason, Geisli 1’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 7.
Eins ‘of one’
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2. einn (pron.; °decl. cf. einn num.): one, alone
má ‘can’
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mega (verb): may, might
orð ‘word’
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orð (noun n.; °-s; -): word
notes
[1] óð ‘poetry’: From the point of view of meaning, orð ‘words’ is as good a reading as óð ‘poetry’, but óð assonates nicely with the syllables containing vowel + <ð> in ll. 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7.
ok ‘and’
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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
bœnir ‘prayers’
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bœn (noun f.; °-ar; -ir): request, prayer
alls ‘of all’
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allr (adj.): all
kennings
ins snjalla ráðanda alls.‘of the eloquent ruler of all. ’
= God
the eloquent ruler of all. → God
kjósanda ‘chooser’
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kjósandi (noun m.): [chooser]
valdanda ‘ruler’
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2. Valdandi (noun m.): [ruler]
ráðanda ‘ruler’
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ráðandi (noun m.; °-a; ráðendr): ruler
[2] ráðanda: valdanda Bb, kjósanda A, W
kennings
ins snjalla ráðanda alls.‘of the eloquent ruler of all. ’
= God
the eloquent ruler of all. → God
notes
[2] ráðanda ‘ruler’: Is preferable to valdanda ‘having the power to control’ and kjósanda ‘choosing, deciding’, which has fatalistic overtones, inappropriate in a Christian context (cf. Vsp 20/10). Ráðanda makes it clear that God is ruling, rather than merely asserting that God is all-powerful, and it is commonly used of God in theological texts.
ins ‘of the’
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2. inn (art.): the
kennings
ins snjalla ráðanda alls.‘of the eloquent ruler of all. ’
= God
the eloquent ruler of all. → God
ljósa ‘’
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ljóss (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): bright
kennings
ins snjalla ráðanda alls.‘of the eloquent ruler of all. ’
= God
the eloquent ruler of all. → God
mjǫk ‘’
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mjǫk (adv.): very, much
vels ‘is indeed’
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vel (adv.): well, very
[3] vels (‘vel er’): mjǫk er Bb, A, ‘mi[...]’ W
fróðr ‘wise’
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fróðr (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): wise
s ‘who’
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2. er (conj.): who, which, when
getr ‘gets’
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2. geta (verb): to beget, give birth to, mention, speak of; to think well of, like, love
greiða ‘’
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greiða (verb): alleviate
guðs ‘God’
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1. guð (noun m.; °***guðrs, guðis, gus): (Christian) God
þrenning ‘The Trinity’
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þrenning (noun f.; °-ar, dat. -u/-): the Trinity
notes
[4] þrenning ‘Trinity’: An appropriate opening, given that the Trondheim cathedral, in which Einarr delivered his drápa, was dedicated to the Holy Trinity (see Louis-Jensen 1977, 148).
mér ‘me’
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
kenna ‘teach’
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kenna (verb): know, teach
Gǫfugt ‘a splendid’
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gǫfugr (adj.; °gǫfgan/gǫfugan; compar. gǫfgari/gǫfugri, superl. gǫfgastr/gǫfugstr/gǫfugastr): noble, glorious
ljós ‘light’
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ljós (noun n.; °ljóss; -): light
boðar ‘proclaims’
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2. boða (verb; °-að-): proclaim
geisli ‘beam’
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geisli (noun m.): beam of light
kennings
Gunnǫflugr geisli sólar miskunnar‘The battle-strong beam of the sun of mercy ’
= Christ/Óláfr
the sun of mercy → God
The battle-strong beam of GOD → Christ/Óláfr
notes
[5, 6, 8] gunnǫflugr geisli sólar miskunnar ‘the battle-strong beam of the sun of mercy’: This kenning has as its referent both Christ and Óláfr. God is the sun and Christ its sunbeam, but the poet also identifies Óláfr with Christ through a process of typology developed in sts 1-6 (see further Chase 2003 and 2005, 21-7 and 124).
gunn ‘The battle’
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gunnr (noun f.): battle < gunnǫflugr (adj.)
kennings
Gunnǫflugr geisli sólar miskunnar‘The battle-strong beam of the sun of mercy ’
= Christ/Óláfr
the sun of mercy → God
The battle-strong beam of GOD → Christ/Óláfr
notes
[5, 6, 8] gunnǫflugr geisli sólar miskunnar ‘the battle-strong beam of the sun of mercy’: This kenning has as its referent both Christ and Óláfr. God is the sun and Christ its sunbeam, but the poet also identifies Óláfr with Christ through a process of typology developed in sts 1-6 (see further Chase 2003 and 2005, 21-7 and 124).
ǫflugr ‘strong’
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ǫflugr (adj.): mighty, strong < gunnǫflugr (adj.)
kennings
Gunnǫflugr geisli sólar miskunnar‘The battle-strong beam of the sun of mercy ’
= Christ/Óláfr
the sun of mercy → God
The battle-strong beam of GOD → Christ/Óláfr
notes
[5, 6, 8] gunnǫflugr geisli sólar miskunnar ‘the battle-strong beam of the sun of mercy’: This kenning has as its referent both Christ and Óláfr. God is the sun and Christ its sunbeam, but the poet also identifies Óláfr with Christ through a process of typology developed in sts 1-6 (see further Chase 2003 and 2005, 21-7 and 124).
miskunnar ‘of mercy’
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miskunn (noun f.; °-ar; gen. -a): forgiveness, mercy, grace
kennings
Gunnǫflugr geisli sólar miskunnar‘The battle-strong beam of the sun of mercy ’
= Christ/Óláfr
the sun of mercy → God
The battle-strong beam of GOD → Christ/Óláfr
notes
[5, 6, 8] gunnǫflugr geisli sólar miskunnar ‘the battle-strong beam of the sun of mercy’: This kenning has as its referent both Christ and Óláfr. God is the sun and Christ its sunbeam, but the poet also identifies Óláfr with Christ through a process of typology developed in sts 1-6 (see further Chase 2003 and 2005, 21-7 and 124).
miskunnar ‘of mercy’
(not checked:)
miskunn (noun f.; °-ar; gen. -a): forgiveness, mercy, grace
kennings
Gunnǫflugr geisli sólar miskunnar‘The battle-strong beam of the sun of mercy ’
= Christ/Óláfr
the sun of mercy → God
The battle-strong beam of GOD → Christ/Óláfr
notes
[5, 6, 8] gunnǫflugr geisli sólar miskunnar ‘the battle-strong beam of the sun of mercy’: This kenning has as its referent both Christ and Óláfr. God is the sun and Christ its sunbeam, but the poet also identifies Óláfr with Christ through a process of typology developed in sts 1-6 (see further Chase 2003 and 2005, 21-7 and 124).
ágætan ‘the excellent’
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ágætr (adj.; °compar. ágǽtari/ágǽtri, superl. ágǽtastr/ágǽztr): excellent
býð ‘offer’
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bjóða (verb; °býðr; bauð, buðu; boðinn (buð- Thom¹ 5²n.)): offer, order, invite
k ‘I’
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
ítrum ‘to glorious’
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ítr (adj.): glorious
Óláfi ‘Óláfr’
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Óláfr (noun m.): Óláfr
brag ‘poem’
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bragr (noun m.; °-ar): poem, poetry
sólar ‘of the sun’
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sól (noun f.; °-ar, dat. -u/-; -ir): sun
kennings
Gunnǫflugr geisli sólar miskunnar‘The battle-strong beam of the sun of mercy ’
= Christ/Óláfr
the sun of mercy → God
The battle-strong beam of GOD → Christ/Óláfr
notes
[5, 6, 8] gunnǫflugr geisli sólar miskunnar ‘the battle-strong beam of the sun of mercy’: This kenning has as its referent both Christ and Óláfr. God is the sun and Christ its sunbeam, but the poet also identifies Óláfr with Christ through a process of typology developed in sts 1-6 (see further Chase 2003 and 2005, 21-7 and 124).
sólar ‘of the sun’
(not checked:)
sól (noun f.; °-ar, dat. -u/-; -ir): sun
kennings
Gunnǫflugr geisli sólar miskunnar‘The battle-strong beam of the sun of mercy ’
= Christ/Óláfr
the sun of mercy → God
The battle-strong beam of GOD → Christ/Óláfr
notes
[5, 6, 8] gunnǫflugr geisli sólar miskunnar ‘the battle-strong beam of the sun of mercy’: This kenning has as its referent both Christ and Óláfr. God is the sun and Christ its sunbeam, but the poet also identifies Óláfr with Christ through a process of typology developed in sts 1-6 (see further Chase 2003 and 2005, 21-7 and 124).
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
Lines 1-4 of st. 1 are cited by Óláfr Þórðarson in TGT (c. 1250) in illustration of the rhetorical figure of parenthesis, which Óláfr defines as ‘the interruption of a sentence by an interpolated clause’ and (referring to Einarr’s st.) ‘here a second clause is interpolated and brought to a conclusion, before the first clause is ended’. He says that this figure always occurs in the verse-type that ‘we’ call stælt ‘inlaid’ or álagsháttr ‘extension form’, both terms Snorri Sturluson employs in Ht (SnE 1999, 10 and 16).
In the reading of sts 1-2 offered here, st. 2 is syntactically in apposition to sólar (gen. sg.) ‘of the sun’ of 1/8, and the two sts (to 2/4) thus constitute a single complex sentence interspersed with intercalary clauses.
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