Kálf Kátr 19VII
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 ‘Catherine’
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Katrín (noun f.): [Catherine]
sagðiz ‘said that she’
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segja (verb): say, tell
kóngi ‘king’
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kóngr (noun m.): king
heitin ‘was betrothed’
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2. heita (verb): be called, promise
krafta ‘of strength’
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1. kraftr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i/- ; -ar): power < kraftafullr (adj.)
full ‘Full’
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2. fullr (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): full, complete < kraftafullr (adj.)
er ‘who’
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2. er (conj.): who, which, when
alt ‘all’
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allr (adj.): all
gott ‘good things’
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góðr (adj.): good
skafti ‘created’
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2. skapa (verb): form
öllum ‘to all’
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allr (adj.): all
neitti ‘said no’
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1. neita (verb): refuse
ófnis ‘of the serpent’
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ófnir (noun m.): [serpent]
kennings
heilög skorða palla ófnis‘the holy prop of the benches of the serpent ’
= WOMAN
the benches of the serpent → GOLD
the holy prop of the GOLD → WOMAN
notes
[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.
ófnis ‘of the serpent’
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ófnir (noun m.): [serpent]
kennings
heilög skorða palla ófnis‘the holy prop of the benches of the serpent ’
= WOMAN
the benches of the serpent → GOLD
the holy prop of the GOLD → WOMAN
notes
[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.
palla ‘of the benches’
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pallr (noun m.; °dat. -i; -ar): bench, step
kennings
heilög skorða palla ófnis‘the holy prop of the benches of the serpent ’
= WOMAN
the benches of the serpent → GOLD
the holy prop of the GOLD → WOMAN
notes
[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.
palla ‘of the benches’
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pallr (noun m.; °dat. -i; -ar): bench, step
kennings
heilög skorða palla ófnis‘the holy prop of the benches of the serpent ’
= WOMAN
the benches of the serpent → GOLD
the holy prop of the GOLD → WOMAN
notes
[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.
orðum ‘words’
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orð (noun n.; °-s; -): word
fylkis ‘of the king’
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fylkir (noun m.): leader
heilög ‘the holy’
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heilagr (adj.; °helgan; compar. -ari, superl. -astr): holy, sacred
kennings
heilög skorða palla ófnis‘the holy prop of the benches of the serpent ’
= WOMAN
the benches of the serpent → GOLD
the holy prop of the GOLD → WOMAN
notes
[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.
skorða ‘prop’
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1. skorða (noun f.; °-u; -ur): prop
kennings
heilög skorða palla ófnis‘the holy prop of the benches of the serpent ’
= WOMAN
the benches of the serpent → GOLD
the holy prop of the GOLD → WOMAN
notes
[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.
Reiðir ‘The spreader’
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1. reiðir (noun m.): [spreader]
[5] Reiðir: Reiðr 713, 399a‑bˣ, ‘Reidir’ corrected from ‘Reidur’ 920ˣ
kennings
Reiðir glóða geima‘The spreader of red-hot embers of the sea ’
= GENEROUS MAN
red-hot embers of the sea → GOLD
The spreader of the GOLD → GENEROUS MAN
skipaði ‘commanded’
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1. skipa (verb): change, place
geima ‘of the sea’
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geimi (noun m.): ocean
kennings
Reiðir glóða geima‘The spreader of red-hot embers of the sea ’
= GENEROUS MAN
red-hot embers of the sea → GOLD
The spreader of the GOLD → GENEROUS MAN
geima ‘of the sea’
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geimi (noun m.): ocean
kennings
Reiðir glóða geima‘The spreader of red-hot embers of the sea ’
= GENEROUS MAN
red-hot embers of the sea → GOLD
The spreader of the GOLD → GENEROUS MAN
glóða ‘of red-hot embers’
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glóð (noun f.): ember
kennings
Reiðir glóða geima‘The spreader of red-hot embers of the sea ’
= GENEROUS MAN
red-hot embers of the sea → GOLD
The spreader of the GOLD → GENEROUS MAN
glóða ‘of red-hot embers’
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glóð (noun f.): ember
kennings
Reiðir glóða geima‘The spreader of red-hot embers of the sea ’
= GENEROUS MAN
red-hot embers of the sea → GOLD
The spreader of the GOLD → GENEROUS MAN
græðara ‘of the Saviour’
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grœðari (noun m.): saviour, healer
kennings
strönd falda græðara heims‘the beach of the headdress of the Saviour of the world ’
= HOLY WOMAN
the Saviour of the world → God
the beach of the headdress of GOD → HOLY WOMAN
græðara ‘of the Saviour’
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grœðari (noun m.): saviour, healer
kennings
strönd falda græðara heims‘the beach of the headdress of the Saviour of the world ’
= HOLY WOMAN
the Saviour of the world → God
the beach of the headdress of GOD → HOLY WOMAN
heims ‘of the world’
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heimr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i/-; -ar): home, abode; world
kennings
strönd falda græðara heims‘the beach of the headdress of the Saviour of the world ’
= HOLY WOMAN
the Saviour of the world → God
the beach of the headdress of GOD → HOLY WOMAN
heims ‘of the world’
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heimr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i/-; -ar): home, abode; world
kennings
strönd falda græðara heims‘the beach of the headdress of the Saviour of the world ’
= HOLY WOMAN
the Saviour of the world → God
the beach of the headdress of GOD → HOLY WOMAN
að ‘to’
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4. at (conj.): that
fletta ‘strip’
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fletta (verb): [stripped, strip]
klæðum ‘clothes’
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klæði (noun n.; °-s; -): clothes
fyrðum ‘men’
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2. fyrðr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -): man
sínum ‘his’
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3. sinn (pron.; °f. sín, n. sitt): (refl. poss. pron.)
fast ‘hard’
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fastr (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): firm, fast
að ‘’
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5. at (nota): to (with infinitive)
berja ‘beat’
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2. berja (verb; °barði; barðr/bariðr/barinn): fight
falda ‘of the headdress’
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faldr (noun m.; °; -ar): headdress
kennings
strönd falda græðara heims‘the beach of the headdress of the Saviour of the world ’
= HOLY WOMAN
the Saviour of the world → God
the beach of the headdress of GOD → HOLY WOMAN
strönd ‘the beach’
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strǫnd (noun f.; °strandar, dat. -u/-; strandir/strendr): beach, shore
kennings
strönd falda græðara heims‘the beach of the headdress of the Saviour of the world ’
= HOLY WOMAN
the Saviour of the world → God
the beach of the headdress of GOD → HOLY WOMAN
og ‘and’
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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
kvelja ‘torture’
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kvelja (verb): torment, torture
í ‘in’
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í (prep.): in, into
böndum ‘fetters’
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band (noun n.; °-s; *-): band, bond
[8] böndum: so 399a‑bˣ, 920ˣ, ‘bon[...]um’ 713
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
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.
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’.
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