Anon Leið 1VII
Katrina Attwood (ed.) 2007, ‘Anonymous Poems, Leiðarvísan 1’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 141-2.
notes
[1] Þinn: In B, the beginnings of 10r, 39 and 10r, 40 are indented by some 9mm, to allow space for a larger initial to mark the beginning of the poem, which has not been supplied. All previous eds and transcribers have reconstructed this letter as <Þ>.
óð ‘poem’
(not checked:)
1. óðr (noun m.): poem
sem ‘arrange’
(not checked:)
2. semja (verb): befit
notes
[1] sem ek inni ‘I arrange inwardly’: Skj B, followed by Skald, treats both sem and inni as 1st pers. sg. pres. indic. verbs, adding the enclitic pronouns. This requires emendation of ek to ok and inni to innik. They thus read semk ok innik. Finnur Jónsson takes munn ok varrar (l. 4) as the object of semja ‘to arrange, compose’, and þinn óð (l. 1) as the object of inna ‘to perform, relate, tell, achieve’. He construes innik þinn óð … ok semk munn ok varrar ‘I produce your poem ... and arrange [my] mouth and lips’. Kock (NN §1257) argues that this is an example of zeugma, with óð ‘poem’ the object of both verbs and munn ok varrar harðla brátt til hróðrar ‘mouth and lips very eager to praise’ the object of semk. Attwood 1996a retains the ms. reading by treating sem as a conj. meaning ‘just as, as well as’ and ek inni þinn óð ‘I compose your poem’ and sem munn ok varrar ‘just as [I compose my] mouth and lips’ as parallel clauses, with óð and munn ok varrar as the objects of inna in the sense ‘to compose’. The problem with this reading is that inna does not mean ‘to compose’ (as semja does) but ‘to perform, relate’ and thus does not suit both postulated objects. The only other way to keep the ms. reading (and the one adopted here) is to consider sem ek the verb with two objects and regard inni as the adv. ‘inside, indoors’, usually used in a concrete sense, but here meaning ‘inwardly, in my breast’, where poetry resided according to skaldic convention (cf. Meissner, 134-6). Another example of inni used in a metaphorical sense is in Gamlkan Has 7/5.
ek ‘I’
(not checked:)
ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
notes
[1] sem ek inni ‘I arrange inwardly’: Skj B, followed by Skald, treats both sem and inni as 1st pers. sg. pres. indic. verbs, adding the enclitic pronouns. This requires emendation of ek to ok and inni to innik. They thus read semk ok innik. Finnur Jónsson takes munn ok varrar (l. 4) as the object of semja ‘to arrange, compose’, and þinn óð (l. 1) as the object of inna ‘to perform, relate, tell, achieve’. He construes innik þinn óð … ok semk munn ok varrar ‘I produce your poem ... and arrange [my] mouth and lips’. Kock (NN §1257) argues that this is an example of zeugma, with óð ‘poem’ the object of both verbs and munn ok varrar harðla brátt til hróðrar ‘mouth and lips very eager to praise’ the object of semk. Attwood 1996a retains the ms. reading by treating sem as a conj. meaning ‘just as, as well as’ and ek inni þinn óð ‘I compose your poem’ and sem munn ok varrar ‘just as [I compose my] mouth and lips’ as parallel clauses, with óð and munn ok varrar as the objects of inna in the sense ‘to compose’. The problem with this reading is that inna does not mean ‘to compose’ (as semja does) but ‘to perform, relate’ and thus does not suit both postulated objects. The only other way to keep the ms. reading (and the one adopted here) is to consider sem ek the verb with two objects and regard inni as the adv. ‘inside, indoors’, usually used in a concrete sense, but here meaning ‘inwardly, in my breast’, where poetry resided according to skaldic convention (cf. Meissner, 134-6). Another example of inni used in a metaphorical sense is in Gamlkan Has 7/5.
inni ‘inwardly’
(not checked:)
2. inni (adv.): in, inside, indoors
notes
[1] sem ek inni ‘I arrange inwardly’: Skj B, followed by Skald, treats both sem and inni as 1st pers. sg. pres. indic. verbs, adding the enclitic pronouns. This requires emendation of ek to ok and inni to innik. They thus read semk ok innik. Finnur Jónsson takes munn ok varrar (l. 4) as the object of semja ‘to arrange, compose’, and þinn óð (l. 1) as the object of inna ‘to perform, relate, tell, achieve’. He construes innik þinn óð … ok semk munn ok varrar ‘I produce your poem ... and arrange [my] mouth and lips’. Kock (NN §1257) argues that this is an example of zeugma, with óð ‘poem’ the object of both verbs and munn ok varrar harðla brátt til hróðrar ‘mouth and lips very eager to praise’ the object of semk. Attwood 1996a retains the ms. reading by treating sem as a conj. meaning ‘just as, as well as’ and ek inni þinn óð ‘I compose your poem’ and sem munn ok varrar ‘just as [I compose my] mouth and lips’ as parallel clauses, with óð and munn ok varrar as the objects of inna in the sense ‘to compose’. The problem with this reading is that inna does not mean ‘to compose’ (as semja does) but ‘to perform, relate’ and thus does not suit both postulated objects. The only other way to keep the ms. reading (and the one adopted here) is to consider sem ek the verb with two objects and regard inni as the adv. ‘inside, indoors’, usually used in a concrete sense, but here meaning ‘inwardly, in my breast’, where poetry resided according to skaldic convention (cf. Meissner, 134-6). Another example of inni used in a metaphorical sense is in Gamlkan Has 7/5.
all ‘very’
(not checked:)
all- ((prefix)): very < allskjótt (adv.): [very quickly]
skjótt ‘quickly’
(not checked:)
2. skjótr (adj.): quick(ly) < allskjótt (adv.): [very quickly]
salar ‘of the hall’
(not checked:)
1. salr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -; dat. sǫlum): hall
kennings
harri salar fjalla.‘lord of the hall of the mountains. May ’
= God
the hall of the mountains. May → SKY/HEAVEN
lord of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
notes
[2] salar fjalla ‘hall of the mountains [SKY/HEAVEN]’: A common kenning for the sky or heavens; cf. GunnlI Lv 8/2V, Hallv Knútdr 8/2III and Has 30/2.
salar ‘of the hall’
(not checked:)
1. salr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -; dat. sǫlum): hall
kennings
harri salar fjalla.‘lord of the hall of the mountains. May ’
= God
the hall of the mountains. May → SKY/HEAVEN
lord of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
notes
[2] salar fjalla ‘hall of the mountains [SKY/HEAVEN]’: A common kenning for the sky or heavens; cf. GunnlI Lv 8/2V, Hallv Knútdr 8/2III and Has 30/2.
fjalla ‘of the mountains’
(not checked:)
1. fjall (noun n.): mountain
kennings
harri salar fjalla.‘lord of the hall of the mountains. May ’
= God
the hall of the mountains. May → SKY/HEAVEN
lord of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
notes
[2] salar fjalla ‘hall of the mountains [SKY/HEAVEN]’: A common kenning for the sky or heavens; cf. GunnlI Lv 8/2V, Hallv Knútdr 8/2III and Has 30/2.
fjalla ‘of the mountains’
(not checked:)
1. fjall (noun n.): mountain
kennings
harri salar fjalla.‘lord of the hall of the mountains. May ’
= God
the hall of the mountains. May → SKY/HEAVEN
lord of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
notes
[2] salar fjalla ‘hall of the mountains [SKY/HEAVEN]’: A common kenning for the sky or heavens; cf. GunnlI Lv 8/2V, Hallv Knútdr 8/2III and Has 30/2.
harðla ‘very’
(not checked:)
harðla (adv.): very, highly, greatly
brátt ‘briskly’
(not checked:)
bráðr (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): quick(ly)
til ‘for’
(not checked:)
til (prep.): to
hróðrar ‘praise’
(not checked:)
hróðr (noun m.): encomium, praise
harri ‘lord’
(not checked:)
1. harri (noun m.; °-a): lord
kennings
harri salar fjalla.‘lord of the hall of the mountains. May ’
= God
the hall of the mountains. May → SKY/HEAVEN
lord of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
munn ‘mouth’
(not checked:)
munnr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): mouth
ok ‘and’
(not checked:)
3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
varrar ‘lips’
(not checked:)
2. vǫrr (noun f.): lip
Mér ‘me’
(not checked:)
ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
gefi ‘give’
(not checked:)
gefa (verb): give
dǫglingr ‘the king’
(not checked:)
dǫglingr (noun m.; °; -ar): king, ruler
kennings
Dǫglingr dœmistóls ok sólar‘the king of the judgement-seat and of the sun ’
= God
the king of the judgement-seat and of the sun → God
dýra ‘precious’
(not checked:)
dýrr (adj.; °compar. -ri/-ari, superl. -str/-astr): precious
dœmistóls ‘of the judgement-seat’
(not checked:)
dœmistóll (noun m.; °·stóls, dat. ·stóli; ·stólar): judgement seat
kennings
Dǫglingr dœmistóls ok sólar‘the king of the judgement-seat and of the sun ’
= God
the king of the judgement-seat and of the sun → God
ok ‘and’
(not checked:)
3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
kennings
Dǫglingr dœmistóls ok sólar‘the king of the judgement-seat and of the sun ’
= God
the king of the judgement-seat and of the sun → God
sólar ‘of the sun’
(not checked:)
sól (noun f.; °-ar, dat. -u/-; -ir): sun
kennings
Dǫglingr dœmistóls ok sólar‘the king of the judgement-seat and of the sun ’
= God
the king of the judgement-seat and of the sun → God
enn ‘again’
(not checked:)
2. enn (adv.): still, yet, again
notes
[7] enn ‘again’: This adv. suggests that the poet has composed poetry in praise of God before; cf. Anon Mgr 2/8 and Anon Vitn 2/7.
svát ‘so that’
(not checked:)
svát (conj.): so that, so as
ek ‘I’
(not checked:)
ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
mega ‘may’
(not checked:)
mega (verb): may, might
sanna ‘true’
(not checked:)
2. sannr (adj.; °-an; compar. -ari, superl. -astr): true
orð ‘word’
(not checked:)
orð (noun n.; °-s; -): word < orðgnótt (noun f.): wealth of words
gnótt ‘abundance’
(not checked:)
gnótt (noun f.): abundance < orðgnótt (noun f.): wealth of words
lofa ‘praise’
(not checked:)
lofa (verb): praise, permit
dróttin ‘the Lord’
(not checked:)
dróttinn (noun m.; °dróttins, dat. dróttni (drottini [$1049$]); dróttnar): lord, master
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
Sts 1-5 constitute an appeal to God and the other members of the Trinity to help the poet compose his poem, represented as a praise-poem (hróðr, mærðr). Each st. marks a stage in the poet’s progression towards the realisation of his goal. In st. 1 he has barely begun to prepare his mind and the organs of speech for a quick composition; in st. 2 he asks God to give him plenty of words and predicts that his speech-organs will be stirred into action; in st. 3 he begs the Father and Son to straighten out the poem’s form, while asking the Holy Spirit to strengthen the work. St. 4 sees the poet more confident in his abundance of words, and ready to recite his poem before a human audience, while in st. 5 he asks his audience for a formal hearing and announces his subject: advice about Sunday.
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.