Anon Lil 81^VII

Laust aldrigi lát mig, Kristi,
lastavinds í byljakasti;
tyfta mitt og tem sem oftast
tendrað brjóst með líknar vendi,
svá að grátandi fúss að fótum,
faðir skínandi, krjúpa eg þínum
hvert það sinn, er eg kulda kenni
í kostalausu glæpa frosti.

Lát mig aldrigi laust, Kristi, í byljakasti lastavinds; tyfta og tem sem oftast tendrað brjóst mitt með vendi líknar, svá að eg grátandi krjúpa fúss að fótum þínum, skínandi faðir, hvert það sinn, er eg kenni kulda í kostalausu frosti glæpa.

Never let me loose, Christ, in the sudden squall of the wind of vices; chastise and tame as often as possible my burning breast with the rod of mercy, so that, weeping, I may eagerly kneel at your feet, shining father, every time I experience cold in the barren frost of sins.

Mss: Bb(116ra), 99a(16r-v), 622(37), 713(13), Vb(254), 41 8°ˣ(131), 705ˣ(19v-20r), 4892(38r)

Readings: [1] aldrigi: aldri Vb, 4892, ‘aldreii’ 41 8°ˣ;    mig: so 99a, 622, Vb, 41 8°ˣ, 705ˣ, mier Bb, 713, 4892;    Kristi: Kristur 41 8°ˣ    [2] bylja‑: ‘bylgna’ 622    [3] tyfta: ‘tytta’ 713;    mitt: mig 713, 4892    [5] grátandi: grátandi og 99a, 713    [6] krjúpa: krjúpi 622, Vb, 705ˣ, 4892;    þínum: þínu 99a    [7] hvert: í hvert 99a, 705ˣ, 4892;    er: om. 99a, Vb, 41 8°ˣ, 705ˣ, 4892;    kulda: kuldans 99a, Vb, 41 8°ˣ, 4892, kuldan 713, 705ˣ    [8] í: af 4892;    kostalausu: kostalaus 622

Editions: Skj AII, 389, Skj BII, 411, Skald II, 225.

Notes: [1] lát mig aldrigi laust ‘never let me loose’: The poet uses the same idiom in 61/7: cf. and see Note. The l. echoes the phrase ne permittas me separari a te ‘never let me be separated from you’ from the popular prayer Anima Christi, which first appeared at the beginning of C14th and was widely circulated throughout Europe: Pope John XXII attached an indulgence to it in 1327 (Dreves 1898). — [2] í byljakasti ‘in the tossing of winds, sudden squall’: In MIcel., kast can have the meaning ‘a sudden, violent, but short-lasting development in the weather’, as in kuldakast or frostakast (‘cold snap’, Sigfús Blöndal 1920-4: kast I.2). A bylr is a gust of wind or squall (ONP: bylr). This is the only occurrence of the cpd in ON, but cf. the entry byljaköst in Sigfús Blöndal 1920-4. — [3] tyfta ‘chastise’: A MIcel. word not otherwise known in ON. See Westergård-Nielsen 1946, 351. — [4] brjóst ‘breast’: Cf. 2/5 (and Note) and 76/6: brjóst svíðir ‘my breast burns’. — [4] með vendi líknar ‘with the rod of mercy’: Cf. Augustine, Sermo CCCLXVI, De Psalmo XXII: Sive itaque prospereris in Deo, sive tentationum tempestate turberis, totum te in baculum misericordiae Dei projice... ‘Whether you prosper in God, or are tossed in the tempest of temptation, cast yourself entirely under God’s rod of mercy’ (Augustinus Hipponensis, Sermones Dubii, col. 1649). — [5-6] krjúpa eg að fótum þínum ‘I kneel at your feet’: Cf. 79/5 and Note. — [8] frosti ‘frost’: See 73/3 and Note; cf. 78/2.

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
3. Dreves, G. M. 1898. ‘Wer has das Anima Christi verfaßt?’. Stimmen aus Maria Laach 54, 493-504.
4. Sigfús Blöndal. 1920-4. Islandsk-dansk ordbog / Íslensk-dönsk orðabók. Reykjavík, Copenhagen and Kristiania (Oslo): Verslun Þórarins B. Þorlákssonar / Aschehoug.
5. Westergård-Nielsen, Christian. 1946. Låneordene i det 16. Århundredes Trykt Islandske Litteratur. BA 6. Copenhagen: Munksgaard.
6. ONP = Degnbol, Helle et al., eds. 1989-. A Dictionary of Old Norse Prose / Ordbog over det norrøne prosasprog. 1-. Copenhagen: The Arnamagnæan Commission.