Anon Lil 22VII
Martin Chase (ed.) 2007, ‘Anonymous Poems, Lilja 22’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 588-9.
líf ‘Life’
(not checked:)
líf (noun n.; °-s; -): life
það ‘that’
[1] það: því 720a VIII, 622
notes
[1] það er varð, er mátti ‘that which came into being when it had to’: Eiríkur Magnússon’s glossary (1870, 115) suggests ‘a life which came when it might, i.e. in fit season’. Another possible translation is ‘that which became what it had to become’. Skj B and Skald choose to read the third er of l. 1 as ok ‘and’ (so 99a, 713, 705ˣ and 4892), producing the cl. þat er varð ok mátti ‘[life] which was and could be [given]’. Skj B translates Det liv er givet, som måtte og kunde gives ‘That life is given, which had to be and could be given’.
er ‘which’
(not checked:)
2. er (conj.): who, which, when
[1] er: om. 720a VIII, 99a, 622, og Vb, 41 8°ˣ
notes
[1] það er varð, er mátti ‘that which came into being when it had to’: Eiríkur Magnússon’s glossary (1870, 115) suggests ‘a life which came when it might, i.e. in fit season’. Another possible translation is ‘that which became what it had to become’. Skj B and Skald choose to read the third er of l. 1 as ok ‘and’ (so 99a, 713, 705ˣ and 4892), producing the cl. þat er varð ok mátti ‘[life] which was and could be [given]’. Skj B translates Det liv er givet, som måtte og kunde gives ‘That life is given, which had to be and could be given’.
vanðið ‘’
notes
[1] það er varð, er mátti ‘that which came into being when it had to’: Eiríkur Magnússon’s glossary (1870, 115) suggests ‘a life which came when it might, i.e. in fit season’. Another possible translation is ‘that which became what it had to become’. Skj B and Skald choose to read the third er of l. 1 as ok ‘and’ (so 99a, 713, 705ˣ and 4892), producing the cl. þat er varð ok mátti ‘[life] which was and could be [given]’. Skj B translates Det liv er givet, som måtte og kunde gives ‘That life is given, which had to be and could be given’.
er ‘when’
(not checked:)
2. er (conj.): who, which, when
[1] er: om. 720a VIII, Vb, 41 8°ˣ, og 99a, 713, 705ˣ, 4892, það 622
notes
[1] það er varð, er mátti ‘that which came into being when it had to’: Eiríkur Magnússon’s glossary (1870, 115) suggests ‘a life which came when it might, i.e. in fit season’. Another possible translation is ‘that which became what it had to become’. Skj B and Skald choose to read the third er of l. 1 as ok ‘and’ (so 99a, 713, 705ˣ and 4892), producing the cl. þat er varð ok mátti ‘[life] which was and could be [given]’. Skj B translates Det liv er givet, som måtte og kunde gives ‘That life is given, which had to be and could be given’.
mátti ‘it had to’
(not checked:)
mega (verb): may, might
notes
[1] það er varð, er mátti ‘that which came into being when it had to’: Eiríkur Magnússon’s glossary (1870, 115) suggests ‘a life which came when it might, i.e. in fit season’. Another possible translation is ‘that which became what it had to become’. Skj B and Skald choose to read the third er of l. 1 as ok ‘and’ (so 99a, 713, 705ˣ and 4892), producing the cl. þat er varð ok mátti ‘[life] which was and could be [given]’. Skj B translates Det liv er givet, som måtte og kunde gives ‘That life is given, which had to be and could be given’.
eitt ‘’
(not checked:)
2. einn (pron.; °decl. cf. einn num.): one, alone
líf ‘life’
(not checked:)
líf (noun n.; °-s; -): life
Ádám ‘Adam’
(not checked:)
Adam (noun m.): Adam
neitti ‘refused’
(not checked:)
1. neita (verb): refuse
miskunn ‘mercy’
(not checked:)
miskunn (noun f.; °-ar; gen. -a): forgiveness, mercy, grace
settum ‘the appointed’
(not checked:)
setja (verb): place, set, establish
tíma ‘time’
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tíma (verb): [time]
sendiz ‘was sent’
(not checked:)
senda (verb): send
fram ‘forth’
(not checked:)
fram (adv.): out, forth, forwards, away
af ‘from’
(not checked:)
af (prep.): from
Ádáms ‘’
(not checked:)
Adam (noun m.): Adam
guð ‘of the God’
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1. guð (noun m.; °***guðrs, guðis, gus): (Christian) God < guðdómr (noun m.): God’s dominion
[4] guðdóms: Ádáms 720a VIII
dóms ‘head’
(not checked:)
dómr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): judgement; court; -dom, -ness (suffix) < guðdómr (noun m.): God’s dominion
[4] guðdóms: Ádáms 720a VIII
lendum ‘’
(not checked:)
lendr (adj.): landed
hendi ‘the hand’
(not checked:)
hǫnd (noun f.; °handar, dat. hendi; hendr (hendir StatPáll³ 752¹²)): hand
[4] hendi: lendum 720a VIII
ljós ‘light’
(not checked:)
ljós (noun n.; °ljóss; -): light
í ‘into’
(not checked:)
í (prep.): in, into
heim ‘the world’
(not checked:)
heimr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i/-; -ar): home, abode; world
[5] heim: heiminn Vb, 41 8°ˣ, 4892
kæmi ‘might come’
(not checked:)
koma (verb; kem, kom/kvam, kominn): come
lifandi ‘living’
(not checked:)
lifandi (noun m.; °; lifendr): living
[6] lifandi: lifanda(?) 720a VIII, 705ˣ
notes
[6] víst lifandi ‘truly living’: The majority of mss have lifandi, which can be construed as f. acc. pl. pres. part. agreeing with andir ‘souls’. Skj B and Skald adopt the minority reading lifanda, which must then be understood as a repetition of the same word in l. 5, qualifying ljós ‘light’. The Lil poet is fond of elegantly varied repetition, as in ll. 1-2 of this st. and 23/5-6.
víst ‘truly’
(not checked:)
1. víss (adj.): wise, certain(ly)
notes
[6] víst lifandi ‘truly living’: The majority of mss have lifandi, which can be construed as f. acc. pl. pres. part. agreeing with andir ‘souls’. Skj B and Skald adopt the minority reading lifanda, which must then be understood as a repetition of the same word in l. 5, qualifying ljós ‘light’. The Lil poet is fond of elegantly varied repetition, as in ll. 1-2 of this st. and 23/5-6.
og ‘and’
(not checked:)
3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
[6] og: það er 99a, 622, 705ˣ, það Vb, 41 8°ˣ, enn 4892
kvaldar ‘tormented’
(not checked:)
kvelja (verb): torment, torture
andir ‘souls’
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2. ǫnd (noun f.; °andar, dat. ǫnd/ǫndu; andir): soul, breath
tak ‘’
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2. taka (verb): take
tæki ‘it would take’
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2. taka (verb): take
[7] tæki: so Vb, 41 8°ˣ, 4892, tak Bb, tæki í 720a VIII, 99a, 622, 713
brott ‘’
(not checked:)
2. burt (adv.): away
djöfla ‘the devils’’
(not checked:)
djǫfull (noun m.; °djǫfuls, dat. djǫfli; djǫflar/djaflar): devil
dýrð ‘the glory’
(not checked:)
dýrð (noun f.; °-ar/-a(NoDipl(1279) 44²); -ir): glory
himnanna ‘’
(not checked:)
himinn (noun m.; °himins, dat. himni; himnar): heaven, sky
einglanna ‘of angels’
(not checked:)
1. engill (noun m.; °engils; englar): angel
[8] einglanna: himnanna 720a VIII, 622
slíku ‘such [a thing]’
(not checked:)
2. slíkr (adj.): such
stýrði ‘controlled’
(not checked:)
stýra (verb): steer, control
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
Life is given, that which came into being when it had to; life is given, that which Adam refused; that mercy was sent forth at the appointed time from the hand of the Godhead, so that a living light might come into the world; it would take away truly living and tormented souls from the devils’ pit; the glory of angels controlled such [a thing].
The order of sts 22 and 23 is reversed in Bb. — [8]: A reference to the archangels Gabriel, who brought the message of salvation to the world at the Annunciation, and Michael, who in visual representations of the Last Judgement traditionally assists Christ by weighing souls in a balance (see e.g. Gad 1966, 616-20).
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