Gamlkan Has 19^VII

Þú vast, mæztr, frá meyju,
— mikil dýrð es þat fyrðum —
hauðrs, í heim með lýðum,
hildingr, borinn mildri.
Sæll bart óstyrkð alla,
ágætr, ok meinlæti,
skrýðir skýja slóðar
skríns, á líkam þínum.

{Mæztr hildingr hauðrs}, þú vast borinn í heim með lýðum frá mildri meyju; þat es mikil dýrð fyrðum. {Ágætr skrýðir {skríns slóðar skýja}}, bart sæll alla óstyrkð ok meinlæti á líkam þínum.

{Most precious prince of the earth} [= God (= Christ)], you were born into the world amongst men of a gentle maiden; that is a great honour to mankind. {Glorious adorner {of the shrine of the path of the clouds}} [HEAVEN > = God (= Christ)], you gladly bore all weaknesses and sufferings on your body.

Mss: B(12v), 399a-bˣ

Readings: [4] mildri: mildi B    [7] skýja: so all others, ‘sk[...]ia’ B    [7, 8] slóðar skríns: ‘s[...]’ B, ‘slóðar ṣḳrins’(?) 399a‑bˣ, ‘sl(odar skrins)’(?) BRydberg, ‘sl(oð)ar s(k)rins’(?) BFJ

Editions: Skj AI, 565, Skj BI, 553, Skald I, 268, NN §2926; Sveinbjörn Egilsson 1844, 19, Kempff 1867, 6, Rydberg 1907, 23, Black 1971, 188, Attwood 1996a, 226.

Notes: [1-4]: Cf. the account of the Nativity in Leið 23/3-4: mæztr frá meyju betri | mildingr [lét] berask hingað ‘the most praiseworthy prince [allowed] himself to be born here of the best maiden’. — [4] mildri (f. dat. sg) ‘gentle’: If the adj. qualifies meyju (l. 1), the ms. reading must be emended (so Skj B, Skald and NN §2926). Sveinbjörn Egilsson (note to 444ˣ transcript), followed by Kempff, construes Mæztr hildingr mildi, þú vast borinn frá meyju í heim með lýðum ‘Most honoured king of gentleness, you were born of a maiden into the world with men’. — [7-8] skrýðir skríns slóðar skýja ‘adorner of the shrine of the path of the clouds [HEAVEN > = God (= Christ)]’: A similar sun-kenning occurs in Leið 32/5-6 [skjǫlðungr] skríns skýja ‘[king] of the shrine of the clouds’. Although skrín skýja ‘shrine of the clouds’ is popular in later poetry, it does not seem to occur earlier than here (see LP: skrín).

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. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
4. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
5. LP = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1931. Lexicon poeticum antiquæ linguæ septentrionalis: Ordbog over det norsk-islandske skjaldesprog oprindelig forfattet af Sveinbjörn Egilsson. 2nd edn. Copenhagen: Møller.
6. Attwood, Katrina. 1996a. ‘The Poems of MS AM 757a 4to: An Edition and Contextual Study’. Ph.D. thesis. University of Leeds.
7. Black, Elizabeth L. 1971. ‘Harmsól: an edition’. B. Litt. thesis. University of Oxford.
8. Rydberg, Hugo, ed. 1907. ‘Die geistlichen Drápur und Dróttkvættfragmente des Cod. AM 757 4to.’. Ph.D. thesis. University of Lund. Copenhagen: Møller.
9. ÍM = Jón Helgason, ed. 1936-8. Íslenzk miðaldarkvæði: Islandske digte fra senmiddelalderen. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Munksgaard.
10. Kempff, Hjalmar, ed. 1867. Kaniken Gamles ‘Harmsól’ (Sol i Sorgen): isländskt andligt qväde från medeltiden med öfversättning och förklaringar. Uppsala: Edquist & Berglund.
11. 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.
12. Internal references
13. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Codex Frisianus’ in Kari Ellen Gade (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 2: From c. 1035 to c. 1300. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 2. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=22> (accessed 19 April 2024)
15. Katrina Attwood (ed.) 2007, ‘Anonymous Poems, Leiðarvísan 23’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 161-2.
16. Katrina Attwood (ed.) 2007, ‘Anonymous Poems, Leiðarvísan 32’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 169.
17. George S. Tate (ed.) 2007, ‘Anonymous Poems, Líknarbraut 12’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 243-4.
18. Katrina Attwood 2007, ‘ Anonymous, Leiðarvísan’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 137-78. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1022> (accessed 19 April 2024)
19. Katrina Attwood 2007, ‘ Gamli kanóki, Harmsól’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 70-132. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1196> (accessed 19 April 2024)
20. Martin Chase (ed.) 2007, ‘Anonymous Poems, Lilja 24’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 590-1.