Gamlkan Has 30^VII

Ítr lofar engla sveitar
allr herr salar fjalla
víst með vegsemð hæstri
vǫrð* ok menn á jǫrðu.
Ern skóp hauðr ok hlýrni
heims valdr sem kyn beima;
ǫrrs ok ǫllu dýrri
élsetrs konungr betri.

Allr ítr herr sveitar engla ok menn á jǫrðu lofar víst {vǫrð* {salar fjalla}} með hæstri vegsemð. {Ern valdr heims} skóp hauðr ok hlýrni sem {kyn beima}; {ǫrr konungr {élsetrs}} [e]s ǫllu betri ok dýrri.

All the glorious host of the company of angels and men on earth certainly praise {the guardian {of the hall of the mountains}} [SKY/HEAVEN > = God] with the highest honour. {The powerful ruler of the world} [= God] created earth and heaven as well as {the kinsfolk of men} [MANKIND]; {the generous king {of the storm-seat}} [SKY/HEAVEN > = God] is better and more precious than everything.

Mss: B(12v), 399a-bˣ

Readings: [4] vǫrð*: ‘vo᷎rðr’ B    [5-8] abbrev. as ‘Ern skop haudr ok hlýr[…]’ B

Editions: Skj AI, 566, Skj BI, 556, Skald I, 269, NN §2926; Sveinbjörn Egilsson 1844, 22-3, Kempff 1867, 9, Rydberg 1907, 25, Black 1971, 216, Attwood 1996a, 229.

Notes: [1-4]: Kock (NN §2926) follows Jón Helgason (1935-6, 252) in construing allr herr salar fjalla lofar vǫrð sveitar engla ‘all the host of the hall of the mountains [SKY/HEAVEN > ANGELS] praises the guardian of the company of angels [= God]’. This edn follows Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) in taking vǫrðr salar fjalla, which is reminiscent of harri salar fjalla ‘lord of the hall of the mountains’ in Leið 1/2, to be the God-kenning here. The sentiment of this helmingr recalls that of the first stef in Leið, and it seems reasonable to assume some influence here, though it is impossible to say which of the two poems is the senior. — [1] lofar ‘praise’: Lit. ‘praises’. The 444ˣ copyist suggests this normalisation from B’s ‘lofuar’, which has been adopted by all eds. Note that the verb is sg. but the subject pl. (cf. NS §70). — [2] salar fjalla ‘(of the) hall of the mountains [SKY/HEAVEN]’: In addition to Leið 1/2 (see previous Note), the identical heaven-kenning occurs in a lv. in Gunnl (GunnlI Lv 8/2^V [Gunnl 13]) and in a couplet from Hallv Knútdr 8/2^III. — [4] vǫrð* ‘warden, guardian’: Sveinbjörn Egilsson (n. to 444ˣ transcription and 1844, 23) corrects to vǫrð, which has been accepted by all eds. — [5-8] ern skóp … konungr betri: The first l. of the stef is written out. Repetition of the stef (from st. 20) is indicated by a marginal obelos.

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. 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. NS = Nygaard, Marius. 1906. Norrøn syntax. Kristiania (Oslo): Aschehoug. Rpt. 1966.
9. Jón Helgason. 1935-6. ‘Til skjaldedigtningen’. APS 10, 250-64.
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)
14. 2022, ‘ Anonymous, Gunnlaugs saga ormstungu’ in Margaret Clunies Ross, Kari Ellen Gade and Tarrin Wills (eds), Poetry in Sagas of Icelanders. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 5. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 824-865. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=62> (accessed 19 April 2024)
15. Katrina Attwood (ed.) 2007, ‘Anonymous Poems, Leiðarvísan 1’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 141-2.
16. 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)
17. Diana Whaley (ed.) 2022, ‘Gunnlaugs saga ormstungu 13 (Gunnlaugr ormstunga Illugason, Lausavísur 8)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross, Kari Ellen Gade and Tarrin Wills (eds), Poetry in Sagas of Icelanders. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 5. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 846.
18. Matthew Townend (ed.) 2017, ‘Hallvarðr háreksblesi, Knútsdrápa 8’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 239.