Anon Lil 43VII
Martin Chase (ed.) 2007, ‘Anonymous Poems, Lilja 43’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 613-14.
Mier ‘to me’
(not checked:)
ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
sem ‘that’
(not checked:)
sem (conj.): as, which
[1] sem: so 99a, 705ˣ, hann Bb, 622, Vb, 41 8°ˣ, það 713, 4892
miklu ‘much’
(not checked:)
mikill (adj.; °mikinn): great, large
æðri ‘’
hærra ‘higher’
(not checked:)
hœgri (adj. comp.): higher, highest
[1] hærra: æðri Bb, hærri 622, Vb, 41 8°ˣ, 705ˣ
mætur ‘dear’
(not checked:)
mætr (adj.; °compar. -ri/-ari, superl. -astr): honoured, respected
[2] mætur: hjá mætum 99a, 713, 705ˣ, 4892, og mætari Vb, 41 8°ˣ
guði ‘to God’
(not checked:)
1. guð (noun m.; °***guðrs, guðis, gus): (Christian) God
[2] guði: so 99a, 713, 705ˣ, 4892, ‘gerdí’ Bb, guð 622, om. Vb, 41 8°ˣ
hann ‘this’
(not checked:)
hann (pron.; °gen. hans, dat. honum; f. hon, gen. hennar, acc. hana): he, she, it, they, them...
[2] hann: so 99a, 705ˣ, ef hann Bb, enn 622, Vb, 41 8°ˣ, er 713, enn á 4892
notes
[2] hann Ádám ‘this Adam (= Adam)’: This reading of the l. reflects Páll Hallsson’s 1656 translation (‘Mig siunes at Adam var langt ypperliger’ ‘it seems to me that Adam was much higher’, Holm papp 23 folˣ, 7r) and has been adopted by eds (except Kock) since Finnur Jónsson’s 1774 edn (1772-8, II). The formula hann + proper name became common in later Icel. and Norw.: see Sigfús Blöndal 1920-4: hann II.1.a-b. Kock dislikes the ‘irregular rhythm’ of this reading and emends to Mér virðiz, sem miklu hærra | mætum guði er Ádám sæti | áðr ek … ‘it seems to me, that Adam sat much higher before the good God, before I …’ (NN §1523). JH finds this a poor solution: er is superfluous, and it is necessary to understand hærra mætum guði as an ordinary dat. with a comp., meaning ‘higher than’. He suggests considering emendation of hærri to næra ‘near’ or næri ‘nearer’.
Ádám ‘Adam’
(not checked:)
Adam (noun m.): Adam
notes
[2] hann Ádám ‘this Adam (= Adam)’: This reading of the l. reflects Páll Hallsson’s 1656 translation (‘Mig siunes at Adam var langt ypperliger’ ‘it seems to me that Adam was much higher’, Holm papp 23 folˣ, 7r) and has been adopted by eds (except Kock) since Finnur Jónsson’s 1774 edn (1772-8, II). The formula hann + proper name became common in later Icel. and Norw.: see Sigfús Blöndal 1920-4: hann II.1.a-b. Kock dislikes the ‘irregular rhythm’ of this reading and emends to Mér virðiz, sem miklu hærra | mætum guði er Ádám sæti | áðr ek … ‘it seems to me, that Adam sat much higher before the good God, before I …’ (NN §1523). JH finds this a poor solution: er is superfluous, and it is necessary to understand hærra mætum guði as an ordinary dat. with a comp., meaning ‘higher than’. He suggests considering emendation of hærri to næra ‘near’ or næri ‘nearer’.
sæti ‘sat’
(not checked:)
sitja (verb): sit
sveik ‘betrayed’
(not checked:)
svíkja (verb): betray, deceive
þau ‘the two of them’
Évun ‘Eve’
(not checked:)
Eva (noun f.): [Eve, Eva]
[3] Évun (‘euann’): Évu 99a, Vb, 41 8°ˣ, 705ˣ, 4892, Évam 622, 713
bæði ‘’
(not checked:)
báðir (pron.; °gen. beggja (báðra), nom./acc. n. bǽði): both
urðu ‘’
(not checked:)
1. verða (verb): become, be
æru ‘of honour’
(not checked:)
1. æra (noun f.; °-u): honour < ærusnauðr (adj.)
[4] ærusnauð: urðu snauð Vb, 41 8°ˣ
snauð ‘bereft’
(not checked:)
snauðr (adj.): bereft, poor < ærusnauðr (adj.)
[4] ærusnauð: urðu snauð Vb, 41 8°ˣ
písl ‘’
(not checked:)
písl (noun f.; °-ar; -ir/-ar(Maurit 650²²)): torture
myrkr ‘darkness’
(not checked:)
1. myrkr (noun n.; °myrkrs/myrks; -): darkness
[4] myrkr: písl Vb, 41 8°ˣ, 4892
og ‘and’
(not checked:)
3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
dauða ‘death’
(not checked:)
dauði (noun m.; °-a; -ar): death
Satt ‘true’
(not checked:)
2. sannr (adj.; °-an; compar. -ari, superl. -astr): true
er ‘It is’
(not checked:)
2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
að ‘that’
(not checked:)
4. at (conj.): that
fæstir ‘very few’
(not checked:)
3. fár (adj.; °compar. fǽrri/fárri(Mág² 11), superl. fǽstr): few
[5] fæstir: fæzt er 713
sjá ‘watch out’
(not checked:)
2. sjá (verb): see
við ‘for’
(not checked:)
2. við (prep.): with, against
prettum ‘deceit’
(not checked:)
prettr (noun m.; °dat. -; -ir/-ar, acc. -u/-i/-a): fraud, deceit
svá ‘likewise’
(not checked:)
svá (adv.): so, thus
mun ‘it will go’
(not checked:)
munu (verb): will, must
enn ‘’
(not checked:)
2. enn (adv.): still, yet, again
vin ‘’
(not checked:)
vinr (noun m.; °-ar, dat. -/(-i OsvReyk 92.17); -ir): friend
Jésúm ‘Jesus’
(not checked:)
Jésús (noun m.): Jesus
þenna ‘this’
(not checked:)
1. sjá (pron.; °gen. þessa dat. þessum/þeima, acc. þenna; f. sjá/þessi; n. þetta, dat. þessu/þvísa; pl. þessir): this
[6] þenna: þennan 713, Vb, 41 8°ˣ
því ‘therefore’
(not checked:)
því (adv.): therefore, because
treystumz ‘trust’
(not checked:)
treysta (verb): trust, believe in
[7] treystumz: treysti 99a, 713, 705ˣ, 4892
eg ‘I’
(not checked:)
ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
[7] eg: eg mier 99a, 713, 705ˣ, 4892
framt ‘boldly’
(not checked:)
framt (adv.): boldly, impertinently
að ‘that’
(not checked:)
4. at (conj.): that
freista ‘tempt’
(not checked:)
freista (verb): attempt, tempt
forðum ‘in the past’
(not checked:)
forðum (adv.): formerly, once
hefir ‘have’
(not checked:)
hafa (verb): have
[8] hefir: hefi 99a, 622, 713, 4892, hef Vb, 41 8°ˣ, 705ˣ
eg ‘I’
(not checked:)
ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
slæg ‘to be wily’
(not checked:)
2. slœgr (adj.): skilful < slœgvitr (adj.)
[8] slægvitr: slægur Vb, 41 8°ˣ, 4892
vitr ‘of mind’
(not checked:)
vitr (adj.): wise < slœgvitr (adj.)
[8] slægvitr: slægur Vb, 41 8°ˣ, 4892
vorðið ‘shown myself’
(not checked:)
1. verða (verb): become, be
[8] vorðið: orðið Vb, 41 8°ˣ, 705ˣ, 4892
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
‘It seems to me that this Adam, dear to God, sat much higher, before I betrayed the two of them, him and Eve bereft of honour, in darkness and death. It is true that very few watch out for deceit; it will go likewise for this Jesus; therefore I trust that I can tempt boldly; in the past I have shown myself to be wily of mind.’
Stanza/chapter/text segment
Use the buttons at the top of the page to navigate between stanzas in a poem.
Information tab
- text: if the stanza has been published, the edited text of the stanza and translation are here; if it hasn't been published an old edition (usually Skj) is given for reference
- sources: a list of the manuscripts or inscriptions containing this stanza, with page and line references and links (eye button) to images where available, and transcription where available
- readings: a list of variant manuscript readings of words in the main text
- editions and texts: a list of editions of the stanza with links to the bibliography; and a list of prose works in which the stanza occurs, allowing you to navigate within the prose context
- notes and context: notes not linked to individual words are given here, along with the account of the prose context for the stanza, where relevant
Interactive tab
The text and translation are given here, with buttons to toggle whether the text is shown in the verse order or prose word order. Clicking on indiviudal words gives dictionary links, variant readings, kennings and notes, where relevant.
Full text tab
This is the text of the edition in a similar format to how the edition appears in the printed volumes.
Chapter/text segment
This view is also used for chapters and other text segments. Not all the headings shown are relevant to such sections.