ESk Geisl 19VII
Martin Chase (ed.) 2007, ‘Einarr Skúlason, Geisli 19’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 22-3.
bjartr ‘The bright’
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bjartr (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): bright
þás ‘when’
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2. þá (adv.): then
beiðir ‘the desirer’
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beiðir (noun m.): demander
kennings
beiðir baugskjalda‘the desirer of ring-shields ’
= WARRIOR
the desirer of ring-shields → WARRIOR
baugskjalda ‘of ring-shields’
(not checked:)
1. baugskjǫldr (noun m.)
[2] baugskjalda: baugs skjaldar Bb
kennings
beiðir baugskjalda‘the desirer of ring-shields ’
= WARRIOR
the desirer of ring-shields → WARRIOR
lauk ‘ended’
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1. lúka (verb): end, close
aldri ‘his life’
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aldr (noun m.; °aldrs, dat. aldri; aldrar): life, age
sýndi ‘showed’
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sýna (verb): show, seem
sal ‘of the hall’
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1. salr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -; dat. sǫlum): hall < salvǫrðr (noun m.)
kennings
grundar salvǫrðr‘hall-guardian of earth’
= God
the hall of earth → SKY/HEAVEN
the guardian of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
notes
[3] salvǫrðr grundar ‘hall-guardian of earth’: The image of God as guardian occurs frequently in OE poetry, and after Arnórr Þórðarson introduced it in Arn Magndr 10/6II and Arn Hardr 17/3II it became popular with Christian skalds (see Meissner, 376).
sal ‘of the hall’
(not checked:)
1. salr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -; dat. sǫlum): hall < salvǫrðr (noun m.)
kennings
grundar salvǫrðr‘hall-guardian of earth’
= God
the hall of earth → SKY/HEAVEN
the guardian of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
notes
[3] salvǫrðr grundar ‘hall-guardian of earth’: The image of God as guardian occurs frequently in OE poetry, and after Arnórr Þórðarson introduced it in Arn Magndr 10/6II and Arn Hardr 17/3II it became popular with Christian skalds (see Meissner, 376).
vǫrðr ‘the guardian’
(not checked:)
vǫrðr (noun m.; °varðar, dat. verði/vǫrð; verðir, acc. vǫrðu): guardian, defender < salvǫrðr (noun m.)
kennings
grundar salvǫrðr‘hall-guardian of earth’
= God
the hall of earth → SKY/HEAVEN
the guardian of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
notes
[3] salvǫrðr grundar ‘hall-guardian of earth’: The image of God as guardian occurs frequently in OE poetry, and after Arnórr Þórðarson introduced it in Arn Magndr 10/6II and Arn Hardr 17/3II it became popular with Christian skalds (see Meissner, 376).
grundar ‘of earth’
(not checked:)
grund (noun f.): earth, land
kennings
grundar salvǫrðr‘hall-guardian of earth’
= God
the hall of earth → SKY/HEAVEN
the guardian of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
notes
[3] salvǫrðr grundar ‘hall-guardian of earth’: The image of God as guardian occurs frequently in OE poetry, and after Arnórr Þórðarson introduced it in Arn Magndr 10/6II and Arn Hardr 17/3II it became popular with Christian skalds (see Meissner, 376).
grundar ‘of earth’
(not checked:)
grund (noun f.): earth, land
kennings
grundar salvǫrðr‘hall-guardian of earth’
= God
the hall of earth → SKY/HEAVEN
the guardian of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
notes
[3] salvǫrðr grundar ‘hall-guardian of earth’: The image of God as guardian occurs frequently in OE poetry, and after Arnórr Þórðarson introduced it in Arn Magndr 10/6II and Arn Hardr 17/3II it became popular with Christian skalds (see Meissner, 376).
sín ‘his’
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3. sinn (pron.; °f. sín, n. sitt): (refl. poss. pron.)
tôkn ‘signs’
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tákn (noun n.; °-s; -): token
rǫðull ‘sun’
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rǫðull (noun m.; °dat. rǫðli): heavenly body
skína ‘to shine’
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skína (verb): shine
Fyrr ‘previously’
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fyrr (adv.): before, sooner
vas ‘happened’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
hitt ‘It’
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2. inn (art.): the
er ‘’
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2. er (conj.): who, which, when
harra ‘of the lord’
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1. harri (noun m.; °-a): lord
kennings
harra hauðrtjalda;‘of the lord of earth-tents; ’
= God
earth-tents; → SKY/HEAVEN
the lord of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
hauðr ‘of earth’
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hauðr (noun n.): earth, ground < hauðrtjald (noun n.)
kennings
harra hauðrtjalda;‘of the lord of earth-tents; ’
= God
earth-tents; → SKY/HEAVEN
the lord of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
hauðr ‘of earth’
(not checked:)
hauðr (noun n.): earth, ground < hauðrtjald (noun n.)
kennings
harra hauðrtjalda;‘of the lord of earth-tents; ’
= God
earth-tents; → SKY/HEAVEN
the lord of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
tjalda ‘tents’
(not checked:)
tjald (noun n.; °-s; *-): tent, awning < hauðrtjald (noun n.)
kennings
harra hauðrtjalda;‘of the lord of earth-tents; ’
= God
earth-tents; → SKY/HEAVEN
the lord of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
tjalda ‘tents’
(not checked:)
tjald (noun n.; °-s; *-): tent, awning < hauðrtjald (noun n.)
kennings
harra hauðrtjalda;‘of the lord of earth-tents; ’
= God
earth-tents; → SKY/HEAVEN
the lord of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
bar ‘’
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3. bera (verb; °berr; bar, báru; borinn): bear, carry
brá ‘ceased’
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bregða (verb; °bregðr/brigðr; brá, brugðu; brugðinn/brogðinn): pull, jerk, break; change
[6] brá: so Bb, bar Flat
aldri ‘’
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aldri (adv.): never
hept ‘’
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hefja (verb): lift, start
nýtask ‘are of use’
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nýta (verb): enjoy, use
mér ‘to me’
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
mætu ‘fortunate’
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mætr (adj.; °compar. -ri/-ari, superl. -astr): honoured, respected
mál ‘speech’
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1. mál (noun n.; °-s; -): speech, matter < máltól (noun n.)
kennings
máltól‘speech-tools ’
= ORGANS OF SPEECH
speech-tools → ORGANS OF SPEECH
tól ‘tools’
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tól (noun n.; °; -): [tools, with tools] < máltól (noun n.)
kennings
máltól‘speech-tools ’
= ORGANS OF SPEECH
speech-tools → ORGANS OF SPEECH
sólar ‘of the sun’
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sól (noun f.; °-ar, dat. -u/-; -ir): sun
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
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Náðit bjartr, þás beiðir |
The bright sun was unable to shine when the desirer of ring-shields [WARRIOR] ended his life; the guardian of the hall of earth [(lit. ‘hall-guardian of earth’) SKY/HEAVEN > = God] showed his signs. It happened previously that the excellently fortunate shining of the sun ceased through the death of the lord of earth-tents [SKY/HEAVEN > = God (= Christ)]; speech-tools [ORGANS OF SPEECH] are of use to me.
[1-4]: The first helmingr is reminiscent of the Legendary Saga of St. Óláfr (ÓHLeg 1982, 196): Nu let Olafr konongr þar lif sitt. Þar varð sva mikil ogn, at solen fal gæisla sinn oc gerði myrct, – en aðr var fagrt veðr – æftir þui sem þa var, er sialfr skaparenn for af verolldenne. Syndi Guð þa mikla ogn ‘Now king Óláfr gave up his life there. There was such great terror there that the sun concealed its rays and it grew dark – but it had been fine weather before – just as it did when the Creator himself departed from the world. God showed great terror then.’ — [5-8]: These ll. seem to be corrupt in both mss and there have been various suggested readings, all of which involve some emendation. The general sense of the passage is clear: it is a reference to the eclipse of the sun that is said to have occurred at Christ’s Crucifixion. In an aside the poet also mentions his ‘speech-tools’. In the cl. beginning at harra hauðrtjalda, the verb brá (3rd pers. sg. pret.) must be used impersonally, as skini ‘shining’ (taking Bb’s reading) is dat. But it is difficult then to understand the case of dauða (harra hauðrtjalda) unless it is dat. instr., viz. ‘through or by the death of the lord of earth-tents’. Thus the sense of this part of the helmingr must be ‘that the shining of the sun ceased through the death of the lord of earth-tents [SKY/HEAVEN > = Christ]’. This then leaves unexplained the first and last words of l. 7. Skj B construes these two elements as part of a cpd adj. happmætr ‘bringing good fortune’, qualifying skini, whose two elements are separated by tmesis, as does Chase 2005, 69 and 141. Kock (Skald and NN §933) adopts Bb’s reading hept and construes it with the intercalary hept máltól nýtask mér, translating tungans band jag nu kan lossa ‘I can now undo the tongue’s binding’, properly ‘fettered speech-tools are [now] of use to me’.
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