Kirsten Wolf (ed.) 2007, ‘Kálfr Hallsson, Kátrínardrápa 19’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 943-4.
Kátrín sagðiz kóngi heitin
kraftafull, þeim er alt gott skafti;
öllum neitti ófnis palla
orðum fylkis heilög skorða.
Reiðir skipaði geima glóða
græðara heims að fletta klæðum
fyrðum sínum fast að berja
falda strönd og kvelja í böndum.
Kraftafull sagðiz Kátrín heitin kóngi, þeim er alt gott skafti; {heilög skorða {palla ófnis}} neitti öllum orðum fylkis. {Reiðir {glóða geima}} skipaði fyrðum sínum að fletta {strönd falda {græðara heims}} klæðum, að berja fast og kvelja í böndum.
Full of strength Catherine said that she was betrothed to that king who created all good things; {the holy prop {of the benches of the serpent}} [GOLD > WOMAN] said no to all the words of the king. {The spreader {of red-hot embers of the sea}} [GOLD > GENEROUS MAN] commanded his men to strip {the beach of the headdress {of the Saviour of the world}} [= God (= Christ) > HOLY WOMAN] of her clothes, beat her hard, and torture her in fetters.
Mss: 713(131), 399a-bˣ(11), 920ˣ(215r)
Readings: [5] Reiðir: Reiðr 713, 399a‑bˣ, ‘Reidir’ corrected from ‘Reidur’ 920ˣ [8] böndum: so 399a‑bˣ, 920ˣ, ‘bon[...]um’ 713
Editions: Skj AII, 520, Skj BII, 574, Skald II, 316, Kahle 1898, 71, 107, Sperber 1911, 80.
Notes: [All]: Catherine’s long speeches of reproach and attempted instruction to Maxentius in the prose text (Unger 1877, I, 408-9; Wolf 2003, 130-1) are reduced to essentials here (barring the kennings), but ll. 5-8 follow the prose closely (Unger 1877, I, 409; Wolf 2003, 131): Ok fyrir þa søk let hann færa hana af klæðum ok beria lengi ‘And for that reason he had her stripped of her clothes and beaten for a long time’. — [3, 4] heilög skorða ... palla ófnis ‘the holy prop of the benches of the serpent [GOLD > WOMAN]’: ‘The benches of the serpent’ is a somewhat strained kenning for gold, on the model of ‘lair of the serpent’ etc.
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