Kálf Kátr 12VII
Kirsten Wolf (ed.) 2007, ‘Kálfr Hallsson, Kátrínardrápa 12’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 939.
Einráðið ‘resolved’
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einráða (verb; °præt. part. ·ráðinn): resolve
hefi ‘have’
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hafa (verb): have
eg ‘I’
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
að ‘that’
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4. at (conj.): that
orðum ‘words’
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orð (noun n.; °-s; -): word
þínum ‘your’
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þinn (pron.; °f. þín, n. þitt): your
ekki ‘neither’
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2. ekki (adv.): not
trúi ‘will believe’
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2. trúa (verb): to believe (in)
[2] trúi: so 399a‑bˣ, 920ˣ, trú 713
eg ‘I’
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
nie ‘nor’
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né (conj.): nor
mínir ‘my’
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minn (pron.; °f. mín, n. mitt): my
rekkar ‘men’
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rekkr (noun m.; °; -ar): man, champion
þannig ‘thus’
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þannig (adv.): thus, there, that way
mælti ‘spoke’
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1. mæla (verb): speak, say
hvítra ‘of shining’
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hvítr (adj.; °-an; -ari, -astr): white
kennings
reiðr hristir hvítra hjalta‘the angry shaker of shining hilts ’
= WARRIOR
the angry shaker of shining hilts → WARRIOR
hjalta ‘hilts’
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hjalt (noun n.; °; *-): hilt
kennings
reiðr hristir hvítra hjalta‘the angry shaker of shining hilts ’
= WARRIOR
the angry shaker of shining hilts → WARRIOR
hristir ‘shaker’
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hristir (noun m.): shaker
kennings
reiðr hristir hvítra hjalta‘the angry shaker of shining hilts ’
= WARRIOR
the angry shaker of shining hilts → WARRIOR
reiðr ‘the angry’
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4. reiðr (adj.; °superl. -astr): angry
kennings
reiðr hristir hvítra hjalta‘the angry shaker of shining hilts ’
= WARRIOR
the angry shaker of shining hilts → WARRIOR
við ‘to’
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2. við (prep.): with, against
fljóðið ‘woman’
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fljóð (noun n.): woman
kristið ‘Christian’
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kristinn (adj.; °superl. kristnastr): Christian
Fimm ‘fifty’
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fimm (num. cardinal): five
valdi ‘chose’
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velja (verb): choose
fróðra ‘wise’
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fróðr (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): wise
[5] fróðra hölda: ‘fr[...]’ 713, ‘Fru [...]lda’ 399a‑bˣ, ‘Fr ... da’ 920ˣ
notes
[5] fróðra hölda (gen. pl.) ‘wise men’: Sperber and Kock (Skald; NN §2960) suggest fróðra hölda; Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) suggests Freyju hölda to create the kenning Freyju fannar lófa ‘Freyja of the snowdrift of the palm [SILVER > WOMAN]’. Here eigandi ‘owner’ (l. 7) is construed with fannar lófa ‘of the snowdrift of the palm [of the hand]’ (l. 6) to give a kenning for a man, ‘the snowdrift of the palm’ being silver. Although eigandi is rare in kennings (Meissner, 337), this interpretation is favoured by the fact that the kenning eigendur jötna róms ‘owners of the speech of giants [GOLD > PEOPLE]’ occurs in st. 50/5-6 and is closely matched by ýtar jötna róms ‘launchers of the speech of giants [GOLD > GENEROUS MEN]’ in 40/5-6.
hölda ‘men’
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hǫlðr (noun m.; °-s; -ar): man
[5] fróðra hölda: ‘fr[...]’ 713, ‘Fru [...]lda’ 399a‑bˣ, ‘Fr ... da’ 920ˣ
notes
[5] fróðra hölda (gen. pl.) ‘wise men’: Sperber and Kock (Skald; NN §2960) suggest fróðra hölda; Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) suggests Freyju hölda to create the kenning Freyju fannar lófa ‘Freyja of the snowdrift of the palm [SILVER > WOMAN]’. Here eigandi ‘owner’ (l. 7) is construed with fannar lófa ‘of the snowdrift of the palm [of the hand]’ (l. 6) to give a kenning for a man, ‘the snowdrift of the palm’ being silver. Although eigandi is rare in kennings (Meissner, 337), this interpretation is favoured by the fact that the kenning eigendur jötna róms ‘owners of the speech of giants [GOLD > PEOPLE]’ occurs in st. 50/5-6 and is closely matched by ýtar jötna róms ‘launchers of the speech of giants [GOLD > GENEROUS MEN]’ in 40/5-6.
fannar ‘of the snowdrift’
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fǫnn (noun f.): snow-drift
kennings
Eigandi fannar lófa‘The owner of the snowdrift of the palm ’
= MAN
the snowdrift of the palm → SILVER
The owner of the SILVER → MAN
fannar ‘of the snowdrift’
(not checked:)
fǫnn (noun f.): snow-drift
kennings
Eigandi fannar lófa‘The owner of the snowdrift of the palm ’
= MAN
the snowdrift of the palm → SILVER
The owner of the SILVER → MAN
lófa ‘of the palm’
(not checked:)
lófi (noun m.; °-a; -ar): palm of hand
kennings
Eigandi fannar lófa‘The owner of the snowdrift of the palm ’
= MAN
the snowdrift of the palm → SILVER
The owner of the SILVER → MAN
lófa ‘of the palm’
(not checked:)
lófi (noun m.; °-a; -ar): palm of hand
kennings
Eigandi fannar lófa‘The owner of the snowdrift of the palm ’
= MAN
the snowdrift of the palm → SILVER
The owner of the SILVER → MAN
spekt ‘wisdom’
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spekð (noun f.; °-ar; -ir): wisdom
að ‘to’
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5. at (nota): to (with infinitive)
prófa ‘compete’
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prófa (verb): test, prove
eigandi ‘The owner’
kennings
Eigandi fannar lófa‘The owner of the snowdrift of the palm ’
= MAN
the snowdrift of the palm → SILVER
The owner of the SILVER → MAN
við ‘with’
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2. við (prep.): with, against
ambátt ‘handmaid’
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ambátt (noun f.; °-ar, dat. -u/-; -ir/-ar (ambottor EiðKrA 391²²)): handmaid
kennings
fræga ambátt þeingils … dýrðar eingla.‘the famous handmaid of the king of the glory of angels.’
= HOLY WOMAN
the king of the glory of angels. → God
the famous handmaid of GOD → HOLY WOMAN
fræga ‘the famous’
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frægr (adj.; °-jan/-an; compar. -ri, superl. -jastr/-astr/-str): famous, renowned
kennings
fræga ambátt þeingils … dýrðar eingla.‘the famous handmaid of the king of the glory of angels.’
= HOLY WOMAN
the king of the glory of angels. → God
the famous handmaid of GOD → HOLY WOMAN
eingla ‘of angels’
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1. engill (noun m.; °engils; englar): angel
kennings
fræga ambátt þeingils … dýrðar eingla.‘the famous handmaid of the king of the glory of angels.’
= HOLY WOMAN
the king of the glory of angels. → God
the famous handmaid of GOD → HOLY WOMAN
notes
[8] þeingils dýrðar eingla ‘of the king of the glory of angels’: This is the emendation suggested by Finnur Jónsson (Skj B); Kock (Skald) has þengils háleits dýrðar ‘of the king of sublime glory’. There is at least one word missing in l. 8, and the kenning suggested here (‘of the king of the glory of angels’) may have had either an adj. or an additional noun element.
eingla ‘of angels’
(not checked:)
1. engill (noun m.; °engils; englar): angel
kennings
fræga ambátt þeingils … dýrðar eingla.‘the famous handmaid of the king of the glory of angels.’
= HOLY WOMAN
the king of the glory of angels. → God
the famous handmaid of GOD → HOLY WOMAN
notes
[8] þeingils dýrðar eingla ‘of the king of the glory of angels’: This is the emendation suggested by Finnur Jónsson (Skj B); Kock (Skald) has þengils háleits dýrðar ‘of the king of sublime glory’. There is at least one word missing in l. 8, and the kenning suggested here (‘of the king of the glory of angels’) may have had either an adj. or an additional noun element.
dýrðar ‘of the glory’
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dýrð (noun f.; °-ar/-a(NoDipl(1279) 44²); -ir): glory
[8] dýrðar … þeingils: ‘dyrd[...]ls’ 713, ‘dyrð [...] lds’ 399a‑bˣ, ‘dyrð [...]’ 920ˣ
kennings
fræga ambátt þeingils … dýrðar eingla.‘the famous handmaid of the king of the glory of angels.’
= HOLY WOMAN
the king of the glory of angels. → God
the famous handmaid of GOD → HOLY WOMAN
notes
[8] þeingils dýrðar eingla ‘of the king of the glory of angels’: This is the emendation suggested by Finnur Jónsson (Skj B); Kock (Skald) has þengils háleits dýrðar ‘of the king of sublime glory’. There is at least one word missing in l. 8, and the kenning suggested here (‘of the king of the glory of angels’) may have had either an adj. or an additional noun element.
dýrðar ‘of the glory’
(not checked:)
dýrð (noun f.; °-ar/-a(NoDipl(1279) 44²); -ir): glory
[8] dýrðar … þeingils: ‘dyrd[...]ls’ 713, ‘dyrð [...] lds’ 399a‑bˣ, ‘dyrð [...]’ 920ˣ
kennings
fræga ambátt þeingils … dýrðar eingla.‘the famous handmaid of the king of the glory of angels.’
= HOLY WOMAN
the king of the glory of angels. → God
the famous handmaid of GOD → HOLY WOMAN
notes
[8] þeingils dýrðar eingla ‘of the king of the glory of angels’: This is the emendation suggested by Finnur Jónsson (Skj B); Kock (Skald) has þengils háleits dýrðar ‘of the king of sublime glory’. There is at least one word missing in l. 8, and the kenning suggested here (‘of the king of the glory of angels’) may have had either an adj. or an additional noun element.
… ‘’
(not checked:)
(non-lexical)
[8] dýrðar … þeingils: ‘dyrd[...]ls’ 713, ‘dyrð [...] lds’ 399a‑bˣ, ‘dyrð [...]’ 920ˣ
kennings
fræga ambátt þeingils … dýrðar eingla.‘the famous handmaid of the king of the glory of angels.’
= HOLY WOMAN
the king of the glory of angels. → God
the famous handmaid of GOD → HOLY WOMAN
… ‘’
(not checked:)
(non-lexical)
[8] dýrðar … þeingils: ‘dyrd[...]ls’ 713, ‘dyrð [...] lds’ 399a‑bˣ, ‘dyrð [...]’ 920ˣ
kennings
fræga ambátt þeingils … dýrðar eingla.‘the famous handmaid of the king of the glory of angels.’
= HOLY WOMAN
the king of the glory of angels. → God
the famous handmaid of GOD → HOLY WOMAN
þeingils ‘of the king’
(not checked:)
þengill (noun m.): prince, ruler
[8] dýrðar … þeingils: ‘dyrd[...]ls’ 713, ‘dyrð [...] lds’ 399a‑bˣ, ‘dyrð [...]’ 920ˣ
kennings
fræga ambátt þeingils … dýrðar eingla.‘the famous handmaid of the king of the glory of angels.’
= HOLY WOMAN
the king of the glory of angels. → God
the famous handmaid of GOD → HOLY WOMAN
notes
[8] þeingils dýrðar eingla ‘of the king of the glory of angels’: This is the emendation suggested by Finnur Jónsson (Skj B); Kock (Skald) has þengils háleits dýrðar ‘of the king of sublime glory’. There is at least one word missing in l. 8, and the kenning suggested here (‘of the king of the glory of angels’) may have had either an adj. or an additional noun element.
þeingils ‘of the king’
(not checked:)
þengill (noun m.): prince, ruler
[8] dýrðar … þeingils: ‘dyrd[...]ls’ 713, ‘dyrð [...] lds’ 399a‑bˣ, ‘dyrð [...]’ 920ˣ
kennings
fræga ambátt þeingils … dýrðar eingla.‘the famous handmaid of the king of the glory of angels.’
= HOLY WOMAN
the king of the glory of angels. → God
the famous handmaid of GOD → HOLY WOMAN
notes
[8] þeingils dýrðar eingla ‘of the king of the glory of angels’: This is the emendation suggested by Finnur Jónsson (Skj B); Kock (Skald) has þengils háleits dýrðar ‘of the king of sublime glory’. There is at least one word missing in l. 8, and the kenning suggested here (‘of the king of the glory of angels’) may have had either an adj. or an additional noun element.
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
‘I have resolved that neither I nor my men will believe your words’; thus spoke the angry shaker of shining hilts [WARRIOR] to the Christian woman. The owner of the snowdrift of the palm [SILVER > MAN] chose fifty wise men to compete in wisdom with the famous handmaid of the king of the glory of angels [= God (= Christ) > HOLY WOMAN].
[5-8]: In the prose saga, the emperor orders fifty of his wisest men to debate (at disputa) with Catherine and overcome her with eloquence and the truth of their books (med orðsnilld ok sannleik boka sinna) (Unger 1877, I, 405; cf. Wolf 2003, 128).
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