Anon Lil 56VII
Martin Chase (ed.) 2007, ‘Anonymous Poems, Lilja 56’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 626-7.
griet ‘wept’
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2. gráta (verb): weep
hun ‘she’
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hann (pron.; °gen. hans, dat. honum; f. hon, gen. hennar, acc. hana): he, she, it, they, them...
sárra ‘of grievous’
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sárr (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): sore, painful; wounded
[1] sárra: sárran 622
súta ‘sorrows’
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1. sút (noun f.; °-ar; -ir): sorrow
notes
[1] súta ‘sorrow’: Skj B’s sáta is a misprint (JH).
nist ‘pierced’
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2. nista (verb): pierce, nail
bringu ‘breast’
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bringa (noun f.; °-u): [breast, hearts]
sitt ‘her’
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3. sinn (pron.; °f. sín, n. sitt): (refl. poss. pron.)
[3] sitt: er sitt 705ˣ
ein ‘only’
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2. einn (pron.; °decl. cf. einn num.): one, alone < einberni (noun n.): °only child
bernið ‘begotten child’
sjálfan ‘himself’
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sjalfr (adj.): self
drottin ‘the Lord’
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dróttinn (noun m.; °dróttins, dat. dróttni (drottini [$1049$]); dróttnar): lord, master
sá ‘saw’
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2. sjá (verb): see
hun ‘she’
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hann (pron.; °gen. hans, dat. honum; f. hon, gen. hennar, acc. hana): he, she, it, they, them...
hanganda ‘hanging’
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1. hanga (verb): hang
[4] hanganda: hangandi 99a, Vb, 41 8°ˣ, 705ˣ, 4892
á ‘on’
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3. á (prep.): on, at
nöglum ‘nails’
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nagl (noun m.; °dat. -i; negl): nail
stangaz ‘being pierced’
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stanga (verb): pierce
Armar ‘The arms’
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2. armr (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): wretched
[5] Armar: í arma 622
sviddu ‘burned’
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1. svíða (verb): cause pain, burn
[5] sviddu: ‘suidu’ 99a, 713, Vb, 41 8°ˣ, 705ˣ, 4892, rendu 622
notes
[5] sviddu ‘burned’: The verb svíða is normally strong (past sveið), but the rhyme scheme in this l. requires the weak pret. form in -dd-.
brýndum ‘the sharpened’
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brýna (verb; °-nd-): sharpen, whet
broddum ‘points’
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broddr (noun m.; °dat. -i; -ar): point of spear or arrow
[5] broddum: bjóðar 4892
brjóst ‘the breast’
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brjóst (noun n.; °-s; -): breast, chest
[6] brjóst: brjóstið 622, 713, Vb, 41 8°ˣ, 4892
notes
[6] brjóst ‘breast’: I.e. the poet’s breast or mind: cf. 2/5 and Note.
er ‘is’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
[6] er: var 99a, 705ˣ, om. 622, 713, Vb, 4892
með ‘in’
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með (prep.): with
[6] mætt með: mæðr Vb; með: so 622, Vb, 41 8°ˣ, af Bb, í 99a
hætti ‘way’
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1. háttr (noun m.; °-ar, dat. hætti; hættir, acc. háttu): behaviour, measure, verse-form
bæði ‘both’
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báðir (pron.; °gen. beggja (báðra), nom./acc. n. bǽði): both
sonr ‘son’
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sonr (noun m.; °-ar, dat. syni; synir, acc. sonu, syni): son
og ‘and’
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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
móðir ‘mother’
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móðir (noun f.): mother
sann ‘the truly’
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2. sannr (adj.; °-an; compar. -ari, superl. -astr): true < sannheilagr (adj.)
notes
[8] sannheilög ‘truly holy’: The word can be either n. pl., referring to both mother and son, or f. sg., referring only to the mother. The presence of the word bæði ‘both’ (l. 7) suggests the former interpretation is preferable.
heilög ‘holy’
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heilagr (adj.; °helgan; compar. -ari, superl. -astr): holy, sacred < sannheilagr (adj.)
notes
[8] sannheilög ‘truly holy’: The word can be either n. pl., referring to both mother and son, or f. sg., referring only to the mother. The presence of the word bæði ‘both’ (l. 7) suggests the former interpretation is preferable.
græðing ‘the salvation’
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grœðing (noun f.): salvation, healing
manna ‘of men’
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maðr (noun m.): man, person
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
Nevertheless she now wept, pierced in breast and back by a sword of grievous sorrows; her only begotten child, the Lord himself, she saw hanging, being pierced on nails. The arms burned from the sharpened points; the breast is enervated in this way; the truly holy son and mother are both wounded for the salvation of men.
[1-2]: An allusion to Simeon’s prophecy to Mary (Luke II.35): et tuam ipsius animam pertransiet gladius ut revelentur ex multis cordibus cogitationes ‘and thy own soul a sword shall pierce, that, out of many hearts thoughts may be revealed’, echoed in the popular sequence Stabat Mater Dolorosa: Cuius animam gementem / Contristantem et dolentem / Pertransivit gladius ‘whose groaning soul, sorrowing and weeping, a sword pierced’ (AH 54, 312). — [5-8]: The third cl. of this sentence draws together the first two: The son suffers the pain of crucifixion; the mother, as Simeon predicted, the pain of beholding it. Cf. the Meditaciones Vite Christi: Et hec omnia dicuntur et fiunt presente mestissima matre sua: cuius compassio multum augmentat filii passionem et e conuerso. Ipsa cum filio pendebat in cruce; et pocius elegisset mori cum ipso quam amplius uiuere ... Viri fratres, rogo uos propter Deum altissimum, ne me amplius uexare uelitis in dilectissimo filio meo ‘And all these things are said and done in the presence of his most sorrowful mother, whose own suffering greatly increased her son’s suffering, as his did hers.Virtually she was hanging on the cross with her son ... [Mary says] “Fellow men, I beg you in the name of the most high God, not to torment me any longer in the person of my most beloved son”’ (Stallings-Taney 1997, 272-3, 277; Taney 2000, 254, 257).
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