Gamlkan Has 34^VII

Vér getk, fátt at fœrim
framm í orða glammi
at dáðgeymis dómi
dýrðargjarns of varnir,
áðr ef eigi réðum
aldar kyns fyr synðir
— heldr reynisk þat hǫlðum
hætt — við gram til sættar.

Getk, at vér fœrim fátt framm of varnir í glammi orða at dómi {dýrðargjarns dáðgeymis}, ef réðum eigi áðr til sættar fyr synðir við {gram {aldarkyns}}; þat reynisk hǫlðum heldr hætt.

I believe that we will advance our defences poorly in a babble of words at the Judgement {of the glory-eager deed-guardian} [= God (= Christ)], if previously we have not made peace for our sins with {the prince {of the race of men}} [MANKIND > = God]; that will prove rather dangerous for men.

Mss: B(13r), 399a-bˣ

Readings: [1] at: so 399a‑bˣ, ‘[...]t’ B    [3] dómi: ‘[...]e’ B, ‘(do)me’(?) 399a‑bˣ    [4] dýrðar‑: dýrð B;    varnir: so 399a‑bˣ, BFJ, ‘[...]’ B, (varnir)(?) BRydberg    [5] áðr ef: ‘[...]r ef’ B, ‘[...]dr ef’ 399a‑bˣ, BRydberg, ‘(e)ndr ef’(?) BFJ;    réðum (‘re᷎dum’): ‘rẹndum’(?) 399a‑bˣ, ‘ræ᷎dum’ BRydberg, rendum BFJ

Editions: Skj AI, 567, Skj BI, 557, Skald I, 270, NN §2926; Sveinbjörn Egilsson 1844, 24, Kempff 1867, 10, Rydberg 1907, 26, Jón Helgason 1935-6, 258, Black 1971, 226, Attwood 1996a, 230.

Notes: [4] dýrðar: It has not been possible to make sense of B’s reading dýrð nom. sg. or acc. sing. of dýrð ‘glory’. Emendation to the gen. sg. dýrðar was suggested by Sveinbjörn Egilsson (1844, 24), and has been adopted by all subsequent eds. — [5] áðr ef eigi réðum: The ms. is very badly worn at this point (fol. 13r, l. 7), and it has been very difficult to read this l. Although in Skj A he reads rendum with certainty, Finnur Jónsson in Skj B follows Kempff in adopting Sveinbjörn Egilsson’s suggestion (1844, 24 n. 25), that the l. should read endr ef eigi vendum. The endr : vendum reconstruction, however, gives an aðalhending, rather than the expected skothending. The final word, ‘re᷎dum’, is legible on ultra-violet photographs, and is confirmed by Rydberg’s transcription. Although the first word is now illegible, apart from the final r, Rydberg read ‘…dr’ with certainty, and believed he saw traces of an initial a (1907, 26 n. 4). Jón Helgason (1935-6, 258) accepts Rydberg’s reading, though he points out that ræðum (dat. pl.) ‘speeches’, which would be the usual interpretion of what appears to be hooked ‘e’, is hardly appropriate in the context. As Jón points out, however, there are several instances where the scribe writes a curved accent which is easily mistaken for a hook. If we take this to be the case here, the l. becomes áðr ef eigi réðum. Although the expression ráða til sætta við e-n ‘to make peace with someone’ is not found elsewhere, Jón Helgason cites ráða til saka við e-n (Fritzner: ráða til 4.) ‘to blame someone’ as a close parallel. The first word of l. 5 has been taken as either endr (so Kempff and Skj B), following a suggestion of Sveinbjörn Egilsson (1844, 24 n. 45), or áðr (so Rydberg, Jón Helgason, Kock, Black, Attwood 1996a and here).

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skj A = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1912-15a. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. A: Tekst efter håndskrifterne. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Villadsen & Christensen. Rpt. 1967. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger.
3. Skj B = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1912-15b. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. B: Rettet tekst. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Villadsen & Christensen. Rpt. 1973. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger.
4. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
5. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
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. Fritzner = Fritzner, Johan. 1883-96. Ordbog over det gamle norske sprog. 3 vols. Kristiania (Oslo): Den norske forlagsforening. 4th edn. Rpt. 1973. Oslo etc.: Universitetsforlaget.
10. Jón Helgason. 1935-6. ‘Til skjaldedigtningen’. APS 10, 250-64.
11. Kempff, Hjalmar, ed. 1867. Kaniken Gamles ‘Harmsól’ (Sol i Sorgen): isländskt andligt qväde från medeltiden med öfversättning och förklaringar. Uppsala: Edquist & Berglund.
12. 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.