Gamlkan Has 18^VII

Ítr, lýstir þú ástar,
élserkjar gramr, merki
láðs við lyptimeiða
linns í hérvist þinni.
Guð, rétt guðdóm yðvarn
(glatask mein af því) hreinan
(hǫlða liðs) at hylja,
hár, manndómi vôrum.

{Ítr gramr {élserkjar}}, þú lýstir merki ástar við {lyptimeiða {láðs linns}} í hérvist þinni. Hár guð, rétt at hylja yðvarn hreinan guðdóm manndómi vôrum; {mein liðs hǫlða} glatask af því.

{Glorious prince {of the storm-shirt}} [SKY/HEAVEN > = God (= Christ)], you showed a sign of your love towards {the lifting-poles {of the land of the serpent}} [GOLD > MEN] in your sojourn here. Exalted God, you decided to cover your pure divinity with our humanity; {the harm of the race of men} [SIN] is destroyed by that.

Mss: B(12v), 399a-bˣ

Readings: [3] við: til 399a‑bˣ    [6] hreinan: hreina B

Editions: Skj AI, 564, Skj BI, 553, Skald I, 268; Sveinbjörn Egilsson 1844, 18-19, Kempff 1867, 6, Nj 1875-8, II, 256, Rydberg 1907, 23, Black 1971, 186, Attwood 1996a, 226.

Notes: [2] élserkjar ‘of the storm-shirt’: Gamli’s choice of serkr (m.) ‘shirt’ as the base-word of this hap. leg. heaven-kenning is particularly appropriate in a st. which concentrates on Christ’s clothing (hylja, l. 7) his godhead in humanity. — [3] láðs við lyptimeiða: Cf. Leið 4/3: láðs fyr lyptimeiðum. The identical man-kenning, lyptimeiðar láðs linns, also occurs in Leið 4/2-3. — [3] við ‘towards’: B’s reading, understanding lyptimeiða as acc. pl. Both Skj B and Skald choose 399a-bˣ’s til, understanding lyptimeiða as gen. pl. — [6] hreinan ‘pure’: Konráð Gíslason (and Eiríkur Jónsson 1875-89, II, 256) suggested emendation to hreinan (acc.), which has been adopted by all eds.

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skj B = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1912-15b. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. B: Rettet tekst. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Villadsen & Christensen. Rpt. 1973. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger.
3. Nj 1875-89 = Konráð Gíslason and Eiríkur Jónsson. 1875-89. Njála: Udgivet efter gamle håndskrifter. Íslendingasögur udgivne efter gamle haandskrifter af Det Kongelige Nordiske Oldskrift-selskab 4. Copenhagen: Thiele.
4. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
5. Attwood, Katrina. 1996a. ‘The Poems of MS AM 757a 4to: An Edition and Contextual Study’. Ph.D. thesis. University of Leeds.
6. Black, Elizabeth L. 1971. ‘Harmsól: an edition’. B. Litt. thesis. University of Oxford.
7. Rydberg, Hugo, ed. 1907. ‘Die geistlichen Drápur und Dróttkvættfragmente des Cod. AM 757 4to.’. Ph.D. thesis. University of Lund. Copenhagen: Møller.
8. Kempff, Hjalmar, ed. 1867. Kaniken Gamles ‘Harmsól’ (Sol i Sorgen): isländskt andligt qväde från medeltiden med öfversättning och förklaringar. Uppsala: Edquist & Berglund.
9. Sveinbjörn Egilsson, ed. 1844. Fjøgur gømul kvæði. Boðsrit til að hlusta á þá opinberu yfirheyrslu í Bessastaða Skóla þann 22-29 mai 1844. Viðeyar Klaustri: prentuð af Helga Helgasyni, á kostnað Bessastaða Skóla. Bessastaðir: Helgi Helgason.
10. Internal references
11. Katrina Attwood (ed.) 2007, ‘Anonymous Poems, Leiðarvísan 4’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 143-4.