Gamlkan Has 56VII
Katrina Attwood (ed.) 2007, ‘Gamli kanóki, Harmsól 56’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 123-4.
Tregr ‘reluctant’
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tregr (adj.): slow, reluctant
emk ‘I am’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
ljót ‘ugly’
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ljótr (adj.): ugly
at ‘to’
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5. at (nota): to (with infinitive)
notes
[1, 4] at láta fyr róða ‘to cast to the winds, abandon’: See Note to 53/5-8.
láta ‘abandon’
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láta (verb): let, have sth done
notes
[1, 4] at láta fyr róða ‘to cast to the winds, abandon’: See Note to 53/5-8.
lasta ‘sins’
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last (noun n.; °-): fault, sin, vice < lastaverk (noun n.)
verk ‘’
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verk (noun n.; °-s; -): deed < lastaverk (noun n.)
til ‘too’
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til (prep.): to
fasta ‘completely’
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2. fasta (adv.): complete, firm, firmly
mér ‘my’
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
bragar ‘glimmers’
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braga (verb; °-að-): [glimmers]
[3] bragar: ‘[...]agar’ B, ‘ḅag[...]’ 399a‑bˣ, ‘(b)agaz’(?) BRydberg, ‘hagar’ BFJ
notes
[3] bragar ‘it glimmers’: The beginning of this word is extremely badly worn and affected by misalignment. Traces of an initial tall letter are visible, but cannot be identified with any certainty, and this was so when 399a-bˣ was written, either ‘b’ or ‘h’ being suggested then. Rydberg (1907, 30) suggests bagar (see below). Finnur Jónsson (Skj A and B) reads hagar, which he takes to be the 3rd pers. sg. pres. tense of haga. Various meanings of haga exist, none of which seems entirely appropriate here (see Fritzner: haga), including ‘to manage, organise, arrange, suit’. Finnur construes mér hagar opt fyr augum, which he translates de (lastens gærninger) er ofte fordelagtige for mine öjne ‘they (sinful deeds) are often advantageous in my eyes’ though he indicates that he is uncertain of this interpretation. In LP: haga he suggests that it should be understood as an impersonal construction, and glosses det [onde] viser sig ofte som godt i mine öjne ‘[evil] often reveals itself as good in my eyes’. Kock (NN §174) rejects the notion that the verb is impersonal, preferring to translate den [onde] är ofte behaglig i mina ögon ‘the [evil one] is often pleasant in my eyes’. Sveinbjörn Egilsson (1844, 31 n. 69) anticipates Rydberg’s reading, reconstructing bagar, which he takes to be a formation from bagi ‘difficulty, impediment’. He translates det hindrer mig ‘that hinders me’. Jón Helgason (1935-6, 260-1) picks up on a suggestion made by Sveinbjörn Egilsson in a marginal note in Jón Sigurðsson’s copy of 399a-bˣ (i.e. 444ˣ). He emends to bragar, 1st pers. sg. pres. indic. of braga ‘to glimmer, flicker, flash’, and construes æligs móðs (l. 4) as part of the intercalated cl., which he translates ofte flimrer det for min elendige sjæls øjne ‘it often flickers before the eyes of my wretched soul’. This poetic and elegant interpretation avoids the problems associated with haga, and the necessity of postulating a back-formation bagar, and this emendation is adopted here.
opt ‘often’
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opt (adv.): often
fyr ‘before’
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fyr (prep.): for, over, because of, etc.
augum ‘eyes’
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auga (noun n.; °auga; augu/augun, gen. augna): eye
æligs ‘of a vile’
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æligr (adj.): [a vile, vile]
notes
[4] æligs móðs ‘of a vile soul’: Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) construes this with lastaverk, giving tregr emk at láta til fasts ljót lasta – verk æligs móðs fyr róða ‘I am reluctant to abandon too completely the ugly sins of a vile soul’. This edn follows his interpretation. However, Sveinbjörn Egilsson and Jón Helgason (see previous Note) take the phrase as part of the intercalated cl.
móðs ‘soul’
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1. móðr (noun m.; °dat. -i/-): courage
notes
[4] æligs móðs ‘of a vile soul’: Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) construes this with lastaverk, giving tregr emk at láta til fasts ljót lasta – verk æligs móðs fyr róða ‘I am reluctant to abandon too completely the ugly sins of a vile soul’. This edn follows his interpretation. However, Sveinbjörn Egilsson and Jón Helgason (see previous Note) take the phrase as part of the intercalated cl.
fyr ‘’
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fyr (prep.): for, over, because of, etc.
notes
[1, 4] at láta fyr róða ‘to cast to the winds, abandon’: See Note to 53/5-8.
róða ‘’
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róði (noun m.; °-a): Róði, wind
notes
[1, 4] at láta fyr róða ‘to cast to the winds, abandon’: See Note to 53/5-8.
ák ‘I must’
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2. eiga (verb; °á/eigr (præs. pl. 3. pers. eigu/eiga); átti, áttu; átt): own, have
mér ‘for my’
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
at ‘’
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3. at (prep.): at, to
meira ‘the more’
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meiri (adj. comp.; °meiran; superl. mestr): more, most
marg ‘very’
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2. margr (adj.; °-an): many < margríkr (adj.)
kennings
margríkr jǫfurr líknar ok fleygs œgis foldar.‘very powerful king of mercy and of the swirling helmet of the land.’
= God
the swirling helmet of the land. → SKY/HEAVEN
very powerful king of mercy and of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
ríkr ‘powerful’
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ríkr (adj.): mighty, powerful, rich < margríkr (adj.)
kennings
margríkr jǫfurr líknar ok fleygs œgis foldar.‘very powerful king of mercy and of the swirling helmet of the land.’
= God
the swirling helmet of the land. → SKY/HEAVEN
very powerful king of mercy and of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
jǫfurr ‘king’
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jǫfurr (noun m.): ruler, prince
kennings
margríkr jǫfurr líknar ok fleygs œgis foldar.‘very powerful king of mercy and of the swirling helmet of the land.’
= God
the swirling helmet of the land. → SKY/HEAVEN
very powerful king of mercy and of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
líknar ‘of mercy’
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líkn (noun f.; °-ar; gen. -a): grace, mercy
kennings
margríkr jǫfurr líknar ok fleygs œgis foldar.‘very powerful king of mercy and of the swirling helmet of the land.’
= God
the swirling helmet of the land. → SKY/HEAVEN
very powerful king of mercy and of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
kennings
margríkr jǫfurr líknar ok fleygs œgis foldar.‘very powerful king of mercy and of the swirling helmet of the land.’
= God
the swirling helmet of the land. → SKY/HEAVEN
very powerful king of mercy and of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
kennings
margríkr jǫfurr líknar ok fleygs œgis foldar.‘very powerful king of mercy and of the swirling helmet of the land.’
= God
the swirling helmet of the land. → SKY/HEAVEN
very powerful king of mercy and of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
ok ‘and’
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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
kennings
margríkr jǫfurr líknar ok fleygs œgis foldar.‘very powerful king of mercy and of the swirling helmet of the land.’
= God
the swirling helmet of the land. → SKY/HEAVEN
very powerful king of mercy and of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
foldar ‘of the land’
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fold (noun f.): land
kennings
margríkr jǫfurr líknar ok fleygs œgis foldar.‘very powerful king of mercy and of the swirling helmet of the land.’
= God
the swirling helmet of the land. → SKY/HEAVEN
very powerful king of mercy and of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
foldar ‘of the land’
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fold (noun f.): land
kennings
margríkr jǫfurr líknar ok fleygs œgis foldar.‘very powerful king of mercy and of the swirling helmet of the land.’
= God
the swirling helmet of the land. → SKY/HEAVEN
very powerful king of mercy and of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
œgis ‘helmet’
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œgir (noun m.): terrifier
kennings
margríkr jǫfurr líknar ok fleygs œgis foldar.‘very powerful king of mercy and of the swirling helmet of the land.’
= God
the swirling helmet of the land. → SKY/HEAVEN
very powerful king of mercy and of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
œgis ‘helmet’
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œgir (noun m.): terrifier
kennings
margríkr jǫfurr líknar ok fleygs œgis foldar.‘very powerful king of mercy and of the swirling helmet of the land.’
= God
the swirling helmet of the land. → SKY/HEAVEN
very powerful king of mercy and of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
friðar ‘for peace’
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friðr (noun m.): peace
sjalfan ‘self’
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sjalfr (adj.): self
þik ‘you’
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þú (pron.; °gen. þín, dat. þér, acc. þik): you
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
[5-8]: Several interpretations of the second helmingr have been offered, none entirely satisfactory. Jón Helgason (1935-6, 261) suggests that at meiri should be emended to at meira, which he takes to be adverbial, amplifying ák biðja þik. He reads the God-kenning as having two determinants, jǫfurr líknar ok fleygs foldar ægis, and translates naadens og den rullende himmels konge ‘king of mercy and of the turbulent heaven’. Friðar (l. 8) is taken to be part of the main cl., and the helmingr is construed þess ák at meira biðja þik friðar sjalfan mér, margríkr jǫfurr líknar ok fleygs foldar ægis ‘therefore I must beg you the more for peace for myself, very powerful king of mercy and of the turbulent heaven’. This edn follows Jón’s interpretation. Kock (NN §2935) objects to this interpretation, claiming that God’s attributes of mercy (líkn) and heaven (fleygr foldar ægir) are too disparate to be governed by the same noun (jǫfurr). He (NN §1212) agrees with Finnur Jónsson that friðr ‘peace’, and líkn should be taken together as the object of biðja ‘to beg, pray’, but assumes that they are asyndetic. The conj. ok (l. 7) is thus freed, and Kock reads it in situ, linking fleygs and foldar. He then interprets ægir as a reference to the sea, and takes the complete God-kenning to be jǫfurr foldar ok fleygs ægis ‘king of the earth and the tumultuous sea’. A third interpretation is that of Sveinbjörn Egilsson, which is also followed by Finnur Jónsson and Kempff. Sveinbjörn (1844, 31 n. 70) concurs with Kock in taking both friðr and líkn as the object of biðja, but chooses to link them with the conj. ok. This separates ok from its syntactic environment and cannot be paralleled in the corpus of skaldic poetry.
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