Anon Lil 41VII
Martin Chase (ed.) 2007, ‘Anonymous Poems, Lilja 41’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 611-12.
Föður ‘father’s’
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faðir (noun m.): father < fǫðurætt (noun f.)
notes
[1] trúig fá munu hitta föðurætt hans ‘I believe few will encounter his father’s kin’: The conj. að needs to be understood at the beginning of the subordinate cl. The statement here is typical skaldic understatement: ‘his father’ is the ineffable God.
ætt ‘kin’
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1. ætt (noun f.; °-ar; -ir): family < fǫðurætt (noun f.)
notes
[1] trúig fá munu hitta föðurætt hans ‘I believe few will encounter his father’s kin’: The conj. að needs to be understood at the beginning of the subordinate cl. The statement here is typical skaldic understatement: ‘his father’ is the ineffable God.
hans ‘his’
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hann (pron.; °gen. hans, dat. honum; f. hon, gen. hennar, acc. hana): he, she, it, they, them...
notes
[1] trúig fá munu hitta föðurætt hans ‘I believe few will encounter his father’s kin’: The conj. að needs to be understood at the beginning of the subordinate cl. The statement here is typical skaldic understatement: ‘his father’ is the ineffable God.
trúig ‘I believe’
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2. trúa (verb): to believe (in)
[1] trúig (‘true ek’): ‘tru ec’ 99a, 713, Vb, 4892
notes
[1] trúig fá munu hitta föðurætt hans ‘I believe few will encounter his father’s kin’: The conj. að needs to be understood at the beginning of the subordinate cl. The statement here is typical skaldic understatement: ‘his father’ is the ineffable God.
fá ‘few’
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3. fár (adj.; °compar. fǽrri/fárri(Mág² 11), superl. fǽstr): few
[1] fá: fáir 99a, 622, 713, Vb, 41 8°ˣ, 705ˣ, 4892
notes
[1] trúig fá munu hitta föðurætt hans ‘I believe few will encounter his father’s kin’: The conj. að needs to be understood at the beginning of the subordinate cl. The statement here is typical skaldic understatement: ‘his father’ is the ineffable God.
menn ‘’
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maðr (noun m.): man, person
notes
[1] trúig fá munu hitta föðurætt hans ‘I believe few will encounter his father’s kin’: The conj. að needs to be understood at the beginning of the subordinate cl. The statement here is typical skaldic understatement: ‘his father’ is the ineffable God.
hitta ‘encounter’
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hitta (verb): meet, encounter
notes
[1] trúig fá munu hitta föðurætt hans ‘I believe few will encounter his father’s kin’: The conj. að needs to be understood at the beginning of the subordinate cl. The statement here is typical skaldic understatement: ‘his father’ is the ineffable God.
móðernið ‘the maternal side’
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móðerni (noun n.; °-s/-): [maternal side]
hier ‘here’
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hér (adv.): here
með ‘among’
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með (prep.): with
þjóðum ‘people’
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þjóð (noun f.; °-ar, dat. -/-u; -ir): people
er ‘is’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
atferðin ‘the manner’
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atferð (noun f.; °-ar; -ir): behaviour
Jésú ‘of Jesus’’
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Jésús (noun m.): Jesus
[3] Jésú: so 622, 4892, Jésús Bb, 99a, 713, Vb, 41 8°ˣ, 705ˣ
burðar ‘birth’
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burðr (noun m.; °-ar, dat. -/-i; -ir): birth
undarlig ‘wondrous’
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undarligr (adj.): wondrous, wonderful
[4] undarlig: undarligt Vb, 41 8°ˣ
svá ‘so’
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svá (adv.): so, thus
skil ‘comprehend’
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1. skilja (verb): separate, understand
eg ‘I’
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
valla ‘’
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varla (adv.): hardly
Ekki ‘no’
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2. ekki (adv.): not
notes
[5] ekki er mier þokki á þessum ‘I take no pleasure in this one’: Cf. LP: þokki 2 behag ‘pleasure, satisfaction’ and the idioms e-t ert mér vel í þokka ‘it seems good to me’, and leggja þokka á/til ‘to think well of, lend assent to’.
er ‘take’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
notes
[5] ekki er mier þokki á þessum ‘I take no pleasure in this one’: Cf. LP: þokki 2 behag ‘pleasure, satisfaction’ and the idioms e-t ert mér vel í þokka ‘it seems good to me’, and leggja þokka á/til ‘to think well of, lend assent to’.
mier ‘I’
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
notes
[5] ekki er mier þokki á þessum ‘I take no pleasure in this one’: Cf. LP: þokki 2 behag ‘pleasure, satisfaction’ and the idioms e-t ert mér vel í þokka ‘it seems good to me’, and leggja þokka á/til ‘to think well of, lend assent to’.
á ‘in’
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3. á (prep.): on, at
notes
[5] ekki er mier þokki á þessum ‘I take no pleasure in this one’: Cf. LP: þokki 2 behag ‘pleasure, satisfaction’ and the idioms e-t ert mér vel í þokka ‘it seems good to me’, and leggja þokka á/til ‘to think well of, lend assent to’.
þessum ‘this one’
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1. sjá (pron.; °gen. þessa dat. þessum/þeima, acc. þenna; f. sjá/þessi; n. þetta, dat. þessu/þvísa; pl. þessir): this
notes
[5] ekki er mier þokki á þessum ‘I take no pleasure in this one’: Cf. LP: þokki 2 behag ‘pleasure, satisfaction’ and the idioms e-t ert mér vel í þokka ‘it seems good to me’, and leggja þokka á/til ‘to think well of, lend assent to’.
þokki ‘pleasure’
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þokki (noun m.; °-a): [favour, pleasure]
notes
[5] ekki er mier þokki á þessum ‘I take no pleasure in this one’: Cf. LP: þokki 2 behag ‘pleasure, satisfaction’ and the idioms e-t ert mér vel í þokka ‘it seems good to me’, and leggja þokka á/til ‘to think well of, lend assent to’.
þannveg ‘’
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þannig (adv.): thus, there, that way
þannin ‘thus’
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þannig (adv.): thus, there, that way
[6] þannin: þannveg 99a, 622, 713, Vb, 41 8°ˣ, 705ˣ, 4892
notes
[6] þannin ferr þeim unga manni ‘thus it turns out for the young man’: Þeim unga manni is the reading of the majority mss and is likely original; Bb has þannin ferr þat unga manni, which is difficult grammatically, as fara e-m is usually impersonal, so one needs a dat. of interest. The weak form of the adj. unga is rare without a demonstrative (see NS §50 d).
fyrir ‘’
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fyrir (prep.): for, before, because of
ferr ‘it turns out’
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fara (verb; ferr, fór, fóru, farinn): go, travel
[6] ferr: fyrir 41 8°ˣ
notes
[6] þannin ferr þeim unga manni ‘thus it turns out for the young man’: Þeim unga manni is the reading of the majority mss and is likely original; Bb has þannin ferr þat unga manni, which is difficult grammatically, as fara e-m is usually impersonal, so one needs a dat. of interest. The weak form of the adj. unga is rare without a demonstrative (see NS §50 d).
þeim ‘for the’
[6] þeim: so 99a, 622, 713, 41 8°ˣ, 705ˣ, 4892, það Bb
notes
[6] þannin ferr þeim unga manni ‘thus it turns out for the young man’: Þeim unga manni is the reading of the majority mss and is likely original; Bb has þannin ferr þat unga manni, which is difficult grammatically, as fara e-m is usually impersonal, so one needs a dat. of interest. The weak form of the adj. unga is rare without a demonstrative (see NS §50 d).
unga ‘young’
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ungr (adj.): young
notes
[6] þannin ferr þeim unga manni ‘thus it turns out for the young man’: Þeim unga manni is the reading of the majority mss and is likely original; Bb has þannin ferr þat unga manni, which is difficult grammatically, as fara e-m is usually impersonal, so one needs a dat. of interest. The weak form of the adj. unga is rare without a demonstrative (see NS §50 d).
manni ‘man’
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maðr (noun m.): man, person
notes
[6] þannin ferr þeim unga manni ‘thus it turns out for the young man’: Þeim unga manni is the reading of the majority mss and is likely original; Bb has þannin ferr þat unga manni, which is difficult grammatically, as fara e-m is usually impersonal, so one needs a dat. of interest. The weak form of the adj. unga is rare without a demonstrative (see NS §50 d).
aldri ‘never’
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aldri (adv.): never
var ‘was’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
á ‘on’
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3. á (prep.): on, at
foldu ‘earth’
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fold (noun f.): land
fæddur ‘born’
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2. fœða (verb): to feed, give food to, bring up, bear, give birth to
maðr ‘man’
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maðr (noun m.): man, person
er ‘’
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2. er (conj.): who, which, when
[8] er: om. 99a, 622, 713, Vb, 41 8°ˣ, 705ˣ, 4892
eg ‘I’
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
næsta ‘much’
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2. næsta (adv.): almost
notes
[8] næsta ‘[so] much’: According to Kock, næst used after a negation (here aldri ‘never’) means ‘in the least’ (NN §2831C), but there is little evidence to support him. Cf. LP: næri, næstr; with verbs, the meaning is ‘very, much’ and (JH) i høj grad ‘to a great extent’. The MIcel. eds of Guðbrandur Jónsson (1951, 167) and Gunnar Finnbogason (1988, 54) gloss sem ég hræddist mjög ‘whom I feared greatly’.
hræddumz ‘feared’
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3. hræða (verb): fear, be afraid
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
‘I believe few will encounter his father’s kin; the maternal side is found here among people; nevertheless, the manner of Jesus’ birth is so wondrous, that I scarcely comprehend it. I take no pleasure in this one; thus it turns out for the young man; never before was that man born on earth whom I feared [so] much.
[1-2]: Cf. Note on st. 39 and Mar 1871, 186: Auðsynt er þat, at sv sem hann fęddi er senniliga hans moðir, enn þat er þvi oskilianlict, hverr hans er faðir, se ek bvrðinn, enn hvarki fę ek skilit fęðing ne getnat ‘It is clear that she who gave birth to him is truly his mother, but it is impossible to know who his father is: I see the birth, but I cannot understand either the birth or the conception’. — [4]: The rhyme is between -arl- (undarlig) and varl- (JH). — [5-8]: Cf. Mar 1871, 187.
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