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.
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2. einn (pron.; °decl. cf. einn num.): one, alone
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mega (verb): may, might
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orð (noun n.; °-s; -): word
[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.
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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
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bœn (noun f.; °-ar; -ir): request, prayer
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allr (adj.): all
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kjósandi (noun m.): [chooser]
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2. Valdandi (noun m.): [ruler]
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ráðandi (noun m.; °-a; ráðendr): ruler
[2] ráðanda: valdanda Bb, kjósanda A, W
[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.
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2. inn (art.): the
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ljóss (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): bright
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mjǫk (adv.): very, much
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vel (adv.): well, very
[3] vels (‘vel er’): mjǫk er Bb, A, ‘mi[...]’ W
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fróðr (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): wise
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2. er (conj.): who, which, when
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2. geta (verb): to beget, give birth to, mention, speak of; to think well of, like, love
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greiða (verb): alleviate
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1. guð (noun m.; °***guðrs, guðis, gus): (Christian) God
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þrenning (noun f.; °-ar, dat. -u/-): the Trinity
[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).
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
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kenna (verb): know, teach
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gǫfugr (adj.; °gǫfgan/gǫfugan; compar. gǫfgari/gǫfugri, superl. gǫfgastr/gǫfugstr/gǫfugastr): noble, glorious
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ljós (noun n.; °ljóss; -): light
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2. boða (verb; °-að-): proclaim
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geisli (noun m.): beam of light
[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).
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gunnr (noun f.): battle < gunnǫflugr (adj.)
[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).
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ǫflugr (adj.): mighty, strong < gunnǫflugr (adj.)
[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).
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miskunn (noun f.; °-ar; gen. -a): forgiveness, mercy, grace
[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).
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miskunn (noun f.; °-ar; gen. -a): forgiveness, mercy, grace
[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).
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ágætr (adj.; °compar. ágǽtari/ágǽtri, superl. ágǽtastr/ágǽztr): excellent
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bjóða (verb; °býðr; bauð, buðu; boðinn (buð- Thom¹ 5²n.)): offer, order, invite
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
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ítr (adj.): glorious
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Óláfr (noun m.): Óláfr
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bragr (noun m.; °-ar): poem, poetry
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sól (noun f.; °-ar, dat. -u/-; -ir): sun
[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).
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sól (noun f.; °-ar, dat. -u/-; -ir): sun
[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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