Kálf Kátr 43VII
Kirsten Wolf (ed.) 2007, ‘Kálfr Hallsson, Kátrínardrápa 43’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 958-9.
Reiðr ‘angry’
gjörðiz ‘became’
þá ‘then’
ræsir ‘king’
skorðu ‘prop’
1. skorða (noun f.; °-u; -ur): prop
[1] skorðu: so 399a‑bˣ, ‘sk[...]u’ 713, ‘sk[...]’ 920ˣ
kennings
skorðu refla;‘the prop of wallhangings; ’
= WOMAN
the prop of wallhangings; → WOMAN
notes
[1] skorðu (f. acc. sg.) ‘prop’: Finnur Jónsson (Skj A) read 713 as ‘sk[…]a’, but the ms. seems to have a ‘u’ here.
refla ‘of wallhangings’
kennings
skorðu refla;‘the prop of wallhangings; ’
= WOMAN
the prop of wallhangings; → WOMAN
beiddi ‘requested’
lýða ‘of his men’
eflir ‘promoter’
kennings
eflir Hildar veðrs‘the promoter of Hildr’s storm ’
= WARRIOR
Hildr’s storm → BATTLE
the promoter of the BATTLE → WARRIOR
Hildar ‘Hildr’s’
kennings
eflir Hildar veðrs‘the promoter of Hildr’s storm ’
= WARRIOR
Hildr’s storm → BATTLE
the promoter of the BATTLE → WARRIOR
Hildar ‘Hildr’s’
kennings
eflir Hildar veðrs‘the promoter of Hildr’s storm ’
= WARRIOR
Hildr’s storm → BATTLE
the promoter of the BATTLE → WARRIOR
veðrs ‘storm’
kennings
eflir Hildar veðrs‘the promoter of Hildr’s storm ’
= WARRIOR
Hildr’s storm → BATTLE
the promoter of the BATTLE → WARRIOR
veðrs ‘storm’
kennings
eflir Hildar veðrs‘the promoter of Hildr’s storm ’
= WARRIOR
Hildr’s storm → BATTLE
the promoter of the BATTLE → WARRIOR
að ‘that’
skyldi ‘should’
himna ‘of the heavens’
kennings
mæta ambátt gætis himna.‘the great handmaid of the guardian of the heavens. ’
= HOLY WOMAN
the guardian of the heavens. → God
the great handmaid of GOD → HOLY WOMAN
himna ‘of the heavens’
kennings
mæta ambátt gætis himna.‘the great handmaid of the guardian of the heavens. ’
= HOLY WOMAN
the guardian of the heavens. → God
the great handmaid of GOD → HOLY WOMAN
gætis ‘of the guardian’
kennings
mæta ambátt gætis himna.‘the great handmaid of the guardian of the heavens. ’
= HOLY WOMAN
the guardian of the heavens. → God
the great handmaid of GOD → HOLY WOMAN
gætis ‘of the guardian’
kennings
mæta ambátt gætis himna.‘the great handmaid of the guardian of the heavens. ’
= HOLY WOMAN
the guardian of the heavens. → God
the great handmaid of GOD → HOLY WOMAN
kennings
mæta ambátt gætis himna.‘the great handmaid of the guardian of the heavens. ’
= HOLY WOMAN
the guardian of the heavens. → God
the great handmaid of GOD → HOLY WOMAN
kennings
mæta ambátt gætis himna.‘the great handmaid of the guardian of the heavens. ’
= HOLY WOMAN
the guardian of the heavens. → God
the great handmaid of GOD → HOLY WOMAN
Blíðust ‘gentlest’
blíðr (adj.; °n. sg. nom. & acc. blítt/blíðt; compar. -ari, superl. -astr): gentle, happy
kennings
Blíðust, björt og skærust, blessuð, dyggust, mæt hyggin, fríð fögr brík pella‘The gentlest, bright and most pure, blessed, most faithful, great intelligent, fair beautiful screen of velvet ’
= WOMAN
The gentlest, bright and most pure, blessed, most faithful, great intelligent, fair beautiful screen of velvet → WOMAN
notes
[5] þá: Kahle proposed the addition of this word, as the l. is one syllable too short.
björt ‘bright’
bjartr (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): bright
[5] þá björt: ‘[...]íort’ 713, björt 399a‑bˣ, ‘[...] (b)jört’ 920ˣ
kennings
Blíðust, björt og skærust, blessuð, dyggust, mæt hyggin, fríð fögr brík pella‘The gentlest, bright and most pure, blessed, most faithful, great intelligent, fair beautiful screen of velvet ’
= WOMAN
The gentlest, bright and most pure, blessed, most faithful, great intelligent, fair beautiful screen of velvet → WOMAN
og ‘and’
kennings
Blíðust, björt og skærust, blessuð, dyggust, mæt hyggin, fríð fögr brík pella‘The gentlest, bright and most pure, blessed, most faithful, great intelligent, fair beautiful screen of velvet ’
= WOMAN
The gentlest, bright and most pure, blessed, most faithful, great intelligent, fair beautiful screen of velvet → WOMAN
skærust ‘most pure’
kennings
Blíðust, björt og skærust, blessuð, dyggust, mæt hyggin, fríð fögr brík pella‘The gentlest, bright and most pure, blessed, most faithful, great intelligent, fair beautiful screen of velvet ’
= WOMAN
The gentlest, bright and most pure, blessed, most faithful, great intelligent, fair beautiful screen of velvet → WOMAN
blessuð ‘blessed’
kennings
Blíðust, björt og skærust, blessuð, dyggust, mæt hyggin, fríð fögr brík pella‘The gentlest, bright and most pure, blessed, most faithful, great intelligent, fair beautiful screen of velvet ’
= WOMAN
The gentlest, bright and most pure, blessed, most faithful, great intelligent, fair beautiful screen of velvet → WOMAN
dyggust ‘most faithful’
dyggr (adj.; °dyggvan/dyggan; compar. -vari/-ari/-ri, superl. -vastr/-astr/-str): trustworthy
[6] dyggust: dygg all
kennings
Blíðust, björt og skærust, blessuð, dyggust, mæt hyggin, fríð fögr brík pella‘The gentlest, bright and most pure, blessed, most faithful, great intelligent, fair beautiful screen of velvet ’
= WOMAN
The gentlest, bright and most pure, blessed, most faithful, great intelligent, fair beautiful screen of velvet → WOMAN
kennings
Blíðust, björt og skærust, blessuð, dyggust, mæt hyggin, fríð fögr brík pella‘The gentlest, bright and most pure, blessed, most faithful, great intelligent, fair beautiful screen of velvet ’
= WOMAN
The gentlest, bright and most pure, blessed, most faithful, great intelligent, fair beautiful screen of velvet → WOMAN
og ‘and’
kennings
Blíðust, björt og skærust, blessuð, dyggust, mæt hyggin, fríð fögr brík pella‘The gentlest, bright and most pure, blessed, most faithful, great intelligent, fair beautiful screen of velvet ’
= WOMAN
The gentlest, bright and most pure, blessed, most faithful, great intelligent, fair beautiful screen of velvet → WOMAN
hyggin ‘intelligent’
kennings
Blíðust, björt og skærust, blessuð, dyggust, mæt hyggin, fríð fögr brík pella‘The gentlest, bright and most pure, blessed, most faithful, great intelligent, fair beautiful screen of velvet ’
= WOMAN
The gentlest, bright and most pure, blessed, most faithful, great intelligent, fair beautiful screen of velvet → WOMAN
kennings
Blíðust, björt og skærust, blessuð, dyggust, mæt hyggin, fríð fögr brík pella‘The gentlest, bright and most pure, blessed, most faithful, great intelligent, fair beautiful screen of velvet ’
= WOMAN
The gentlest, bright and most pure, blessed, most faithful, great intelligent, fair beautiful screen of velvet → WOMAN
og ‘and’
kennings
Blíðust, björt og skærust, blessuð, dyggust, mæt hyggin, fríð fögr brík pella‘The gentlest, bright and most pure, blessed, most faithful, great intelligent, fair beautiful screen of velvet ’
= WOMAN
The gentlest, bright and most pure, blessed, most faithful, great intelligent, fair beautiful screen of velvet → WOMAN
kennings
Blíðust, björt og skærust, blessuð, dyggust, mæt hyggin, fríð fögr brík pella‘The gentlest, bright and most pure, blessed, most faithful, great intelligent, fair beautiful screen of velvet ’
= WOMAN
The gentlest, bright and most pure, blessed, most faithful, great intelligent, fair beautiful screen of velvet → WOMAN
með ‘with’
píslar ‘of martyrdom’
písl (noun f.; °-ar; -ir/-ar(Maurit 650²²)): torture < píslarprýði (noun f.)
[7] píslarprýði: ‘píslar p[...]’ 713, píslarsigri 399a‑bˣ, ‘písla sp[...]’ 920ˣ
notes
[7] píslarprýði ‘[with] the crown of martyrdom’: Finnur Jónsson (Skj A) was able to read the first two letters of the second element of this cpd in 713 as ‘pr’, but only ‘p’ is visible now.
prýði ‘crown’
prýði (noun f.): finery, honour < píslarprýði (noun f.)
[7] píslarprýði: ‘píslar p[...]’ 713, píslarsigri 399a‑bˣ, ‘písla sp[...]’ 920ˣ
notes
[7] píslarprýði ‘[with] the crown of martyrdom’: Finnur Jónsson (Skj A) was able to read the first two letters of the second element of this cpd in 713 as ‘pr’, but only ‘p’ is visible now.
pella ‘of velvet’
kennings
Blíðust, björt og skærust, blessuð, dyggust, mæt hyggin, fríð fögr brík pella‘The gentlest, bright and most pure, blessed, most faithful, great intelligent, fair beautiful screen of velvet ’
= WOMAN
The gentlest, bright and most pure, blessed, most faithful, great intelligent, fair beautiful screen of velvet → WOMAN
brík ‘screen’
kennings
Blíðust, björt og skærust, blessuð, dyggust, mæt hyggin, fríð fögr brík pella‘The gentlest, bright and most pure, blessed, most faithful, great intelligent, fair beautiful screen of velvet ’
= WOMAN
The gentlest, bright and most pure, blessed, most faithful, great intelligent, fair beautiful screen of velvet → WOMAN
til ‘to’
himna ‘of the heavens’
himinn (noun m.; °himins, dat. himni; himnar): heaven, sky < himnaríki (noun n.)
ríkis ‘the kingdom’
ríki (noun n.; °-s; -): kingdom, power < himnaríki (noun n.)
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
The king then became angry with the prop of wallhangings [WOMAN]; the promoter of Hildr’s <valkyrie> storm [BATTLE > WARRIOR] requested of his men that they should slay the great handmaid of the guardian of the heavens [= God > HOLY WOMAN]. The gentlest, bright and most pure, blessed, most faithful, great and intelligent, fair and beautiful screen of velvet [WOMAN] then went with the crown of martyrdom to the kingdom of the heavens.
The poet deals succinctly with Catherine’s martyrdom in sts 43-4, while the prose text allows her a long prayer to Christ, a voice from heaven answering her prayer, and a description of her death indicating that milk flowed from her wounds in place of blood, and concluding with a passage stating that angels transported her body to a mountain þat er Syna heitir ‘which is called Sinai’, where she performs countless miracles (Unger 1877, I, 420-1; Wolf 2003, 140-1).
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