Anon Lil 73VII
Martin Chase (ed.) 2007, ‘Anonymous Poems, Lilja 73’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 645-6.
Reknir ‘driven’
(not checked:)
2. reka (verb): drive, force
brott ‘away’
(not checked:)
2. burt (adv.): away
í ‘to’
(not checked:)
í (prep.): in, into
dauðans ‘of death’
(not checked:)
dauði (noun m.; °-a; -ar): death
[1] dauðans: dauða 713, dauðan 4892
drukknan ‘the drowning’
(not checked:)
drukkna (verb; °-að-): to (be) drown(ed)
[1] drukknan: dökkvan 4892
drepnir ‘Slain’
(not checked:)
drepa (verb; °drepr; drap, drápu; drepinn): kill, strike
menn ‘men’
(not checked:)
maðr (noun m.): man, person
þar ‘there’
(not checked:)
þar (adv.): there
skulu ‘must’
(not checked:)
skulu (verb): shall, should, must
brenna ‘burn’
(not checked:)
2. brenna (verb; °brennr/brenn; brann, brunnu; brunninn): (strong, intransitive)
gnísta ‘gnash’
(not checked:)
gnísta (verb): [gnash]
tennr ‘their teeth’
(not checked:)
tǫnn (noun f.; °tannar; tenn/tennr/tennar): tooth
[3] tennr: tenn 622, Vb, 4892, tónn 41 8°ˣ
í ‘in’
(not checked:)
í (prep.): in, into
og ‘and’
(not checked:)
3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
frosti ‘frost’
(not checked:)
frost (noun n.): frost
notes
[3] frosti ‘in frost’: Has 39 and Anon Sól 18 also envision hell as a cold place. Elsewhere in Lil the image is used in connection with greed (78/2) and as a metaphor for sin’s consequences (81/8).
fjandr ‘devils’
(not checked:)
fjándi (noun m.; °-a; fjándr/fjándar/fjándir): enemy, devil
[4] fjandr: ‘fjandar’ Vb, 41 8°ˣ
í ‘in’
(not checked:)
í (prep.): in, into
um ‘around’
(not checked:)
2. um (particle): (particle)
búka ‘their bodies’
(not checked:)
búkr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i/-; -ar): body
[4] búka: salir 713, 4892
notes
[4] búka ‘bodies’: According to traditional doctrine, souls are reunited with their resurrected bodies at the Last Judgement, and the punishments of hell are thus corporal as well as spiritual.
standa ‘stand’
(not checked:)
standa (verb): stand
Brigsli ‘scoffing’
(not checked:)
brigzli (noun n.; °-s; -): [scoffing]
[5] Brigsli: brixl Vb, 41 8°ˣ, 4892
og ‘and’
(not checked:)
3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
hróp ‘hooting’
(not checked:)
hróp (noun n.; °-s): [hooting]
gjörvum ‘their committed’
(not checked:)
1. gera (verb): do, make
glæpum ‘sins’
(not checked:)
glœpr (noun m.): sin, misdeed
grimmlig ‘hideous’
(not checked:)
grimmligr (adj.): terrible, fierce
[6] grimmlig: er grimmlig Vb, 41 8°ˣ
sótt ‘grief’
(not checked:)
sótt (noun f.; °-ar; -ir): illness
notes
[6] sótt ‘sorrow’: See Note to 40/5.
í ‘in’
(not checked:)
í (prep.): in, into
myrkri ‘darkness’
(not checked:)
1. myrkr (noun n.; °myrkrs/myrks; -): darkness
[6] myrkri: myrkr 622, 713, 4892
og ‘and’
(not checked:)
3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
ótta ‘terror’
(not checked:)
ótti (noun m.; °-a): fear
er ‘there is’
(not checked:)
2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
ván ‘hope’
(not checked:)
ván (noun f.; °-ar, dat. -/-u; -ir): hope, expectation
á ‘’
(not checked:)
3. á (prep.): on, at
öðru ‘other’
(not checked:)
1. annarr (pron.; °f. ǫnnur, n. annat; pl. aðrir): (an)other, second
pínu ‘torment’
(not checked:)
1. pína (noun f.; °-u; -ur): torment
eilíf ‘eternal’
(not checked:)
eilífr (adj.): eternal
nauð ‘distress’
(not checked:)
neyð (noun f.; °dat. -): need, distress
en ‘and’
(not checked:)
2. en (conj.): but, and
kvikr ‘alive’
(not checked:)
kvikr (adj.; °-van/-an): alive
notes
[8] kvikr er dauðinn ‘death is alive’: The phrase echoes a famous sentence from the Moralia in Job of Gregory the Great, quoted in numerous medieval descriptions of hell: Fit ergo miseris mors sine morte, finis sine fine, defectus sine defectu, quia et mors uiuit et finis semper incipit, et deficere defectus nescit ‘For those wretched men there will be death without death, an end without end, a decline without cease, because death lives, and the end is always beginning, and the decline knows no cessation’ (Adriaen 1979, 528 [9.66]).
er ‘is’
(not checked:)
2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
notes
[8] kvikr er dauðinn ‘death is alive’: The phrase echoes a famous sentence from the Moralia in Job of Gregory the Great, quoted in numerous medieval descriptions of hell: Fit ergo miseris mors sine morte, finis sine fine, defectus sine defectu, quia et mors uiuit et finis semper incipit, et deficere defectus nescit ‘For those wretched men there will be death without death, an end without end, a decline without cease, because death lives, and the end is always beginning, and the decline knows no cessation’ (Adriaen 1979, 528 [9.66]).
dauðinn ‘death’
(not checked:)
dauði (noun m.; °-a; -ar): death
[8] dauðinn: dauði 622, Vb, 41 8°ˣ, 4892, ‘d[...]i’ 713
notes
[8] kvikr er dauðinn ‘death is alive’: The phrase echoes a famous sentence from the Moralia in Job of Gregory the Great, quoted in numerous medieval descriptions of hell: Fit ergo miseris mors sine morte, finis sine fine, defectus sine defectu, quia et mors uiuit et finis semper incipit, et deficere defectus nescit ‘For those wretched men there will be death without death, an end without end, a decline without cease, because death lives, and the end is always beginning, and the decline knows no cessation’ (Adriaen 1979, 528 [9.66]).
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
Slain men, who there must burn, driven away to the drowning of death, gnash their teeth in foulness and frost; devils stand in a ring around their bodies. There is scoffing and hooting at their committed sins, hideous grief in darkness and terror; there is no hope of anything other than torment, eternal distress, and death is alive.
The st. has many overtones of the description of the traditional nine torments of hell in the ON Eluc: j þeim stad ero .ix. hofvd pisler. En fẏsta er svo akafligvr elldr. at eigi mvnde slokna þott j felli avll votn og sior. Sa elldr brenner og lẏser eigi. og þeim mvn heitare en vor elldr. sem sia se likneske skrifad epter hinvm. Avnnvr er frost svo mikid. at elldligt fiall mvndi verda at svelli ef þangat felle. Vm þessar písler er ritad. þar er gratvr og gnotrvn tanna. þviat reẏkvr af elldi giorer grat a[v.][-]na. En frost tanna gnotrvn. Þridía kvol erv hrædiliger ormar og drekar [o...][-]leger j sẏn og j roddv. þeir er svo lifa j ellde sem fiskar j vatne. Fiorda kvol er leidiligvr davn. Fimta grimlegr bardage. Setta mẏrkvr þat er þreifa ma vm. sem ritad er. Mẏrkra iord og meina. þar er bẏgger margr híte og eilif hræsla. siovnda er sẏnda skemd. þviat þar man ecke liott verk leẏnast. Atta er hræsla ogvrligrar sẏnar diofla og dreka. þeirra er blasa elldi og brennv steine. og vesalig heẏrn grasz og diofla hlatvrs. Nivn[-]da kvol er elldlig bond er þravnga ollvm lidvm ‘In this (sic) place there are nine main torments. The first is such extreme fire that it could not be extinguished even if all lakes and the ocean would cover it. That fire burns but does not shine, and it will be to the same extent hotter than regular fire as fire is hotter than a picture painted of it. The second is frost, so great that a mountain of fire would turn into ice if it covered it. About this torment is written: There is weeping and gnashing of teeth, because the smoke of the fire makes the “eyes” weep and the frost makes the teeth gnash. The third torment is terrible snakes and dragons, “horrible” in appearance and in voice, which live in fire just as fish live in water. The fourth torment is repulsive stench. The fifth is fierce battle. The sixth is darkness that can be touched, as is written: The earth of darkness and disease where much heat lives and eternal fear [Job X.22]. The seventh is the disgrace of sin, because no ugly deed can be hidden there. The eighth is fear of the dreadful sight of devils and dragons which spew fire and brimstone, and the miserable noise of weeping and the laughter of devils. The ninth torment is fiery fetters which bind all members’ (Eluc 1992, 80, 81). — [7-8]: Cf. Has 38/7-8: ey grœtir þar ýta | uggr, en vætki huggar ‘fear grieves men there perpetually and nothing affords comfort’.
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.