GunnLeif Merl II 67VIII
Russell Poole (ed.) 2017, ‘Breta saga 67 (Gunnlaugr Leifsson, Merlínusspá II 67)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 188.
text and translation
Biðjum opt bragna stilli
œztan eflð ǫllu hjarta,
at víðfrægr virða stjóri
dœgr ok dag dróttar gæti.
Biðjum opt {stilli bragna}, œztan eflð, ǫllu hjarta, at {víðfrægr stjóri virða} gæti dróttar dœgr ok dag.
‘Let us often pray to the Lord of men [= God], highest power, with all our heart that the widely-renowned governor of men [= God] may watch over his following night and day. ’
notes and context
[3]: The interpretation of this line is not definitively resolved. While collocation of the verb efla in the sense of ‘support, strengthen’ with expressions for ‘God’ and ‘Christ’ is well attested (ONP: efla A1, cf. D5), the form eflð remains obscure. (a) No noun eflð is attested in CVC, Fritzner or ONP and it may represent a neologism designed to meet the demands of the kviðuháttr verse-form. (b) An alternative but less likely explanation is as an otherwise unattested noun derived from efla ‘strengthen’, with the -ð suffix seen also in efnð ‘fulfilment’ (< efna) and hefnð ’revenge’ (< hefna) and parallel to Goth. -ōþu, OHG -ōd. In contrast to Old Norse, where such nouns have acquired f. gender, they remain m. in Gothic and Old High German (Wright 1954, 174). The m. form of the adj. œztan ‘highest’ in Hb might represent a retention of the older gender but is more probably a rationalisation to reflect the conventionally m. gender of guð ‘god’ (originally a neuter). On this basis the ms. reading is tentatively retained here, but emendation to œzta ‘highest’, the f. form of the adj., agreeing with the presumed f. gender of eflð, as advocated by Kock (NN §2567B; Skald), and followed by Merl 2012, is an attractive option. In other respects the interpretation adopted in this edn is that of Kock (NN §2567B; Skald), who, followed by Merl 2012, interprets ll. 3 and 4 together: æzta [sic] eflð, | ǫllu hjarta, translating as människors furste, den högsta styrkan ‘the lord of men, the greatest support’. The line has a possible source in Lat. summa potentia, part of the chant O summa potentia o summa bonitas et laude digna Maria mitis et benigna ‘Oh highest power, oh highest goodness and merciful and beneficent Mary, worthy of praise’ (Sankt Gallen, Stiftsbibliothek, 388, f. 471, sequence 2 (Can 204367i in Lacoste and Koláček [n. d.], accessed 11 July 2015). By contrast, Bret 1848-9, followed by Skj B, appears to construe eflð as a noun in the dat. sg., translating den ypperste om kraft ‘the highest in power’ and ypperste i kraft ‘highest in power’ respectively; LP: eflð treats the ms. reading as corrupt but tentatively proposes ypperst ved sin hjælpende kraft ‘highest in his supporting power’.
sources
Text is based on reconstruction from the base text and variant apparatus and may contain alternative spellings and other normalisations not visible in the manuscript text. Transcriptions may not have been checked and should not be cited.
-
AM 544 4° (Hb) — 50v/24 - 50v/25
imagesBiðívm opt bragna stilli ꝍztan eflð ollv hiarta [...] | viðfrægr virða stiori dꝍgr ok dag drottar giæti
(VEÞ)
editions and texts
Stanza/chapter/text segment
Use the buttons at the top of the page to navigate between stanzas in a poem.
Information tab
- text: if the stanza has been published, the edited text of the stanza and translation are here; if it hasn't been published an old edition (usually Skj) is given for reference
- sources: a list of the manuscripts or inscriptions containing this stanza, with page and line references and links (eye button) to images where available, and transcription where available
- readings: a list of variant manuscript readings of words in the main text
- editions and texts: a list of editions of the stanza with links to the bibliography; and a list of prose works in which the stanza occurs, allowing you to navigate within the prose context
- notes and context: notes not linked to individual words are given here, along with the account of the prose context for the stanza, where relevant
Interactive tab
The text and translation are given here, with buttons to toggle whether the text is shown in the verse order or prose word order. Clicking on indiviudal words gives dictionary links, variant readings, kennings and notes, where relevant.
Full text tab
This is the text of the edition in a similar format to how the edition appears in the printed volumes.
Chapter/text segment
This view is also used for chapters and other text segments. Not all the headings shown are relevant to such sections.