Katrina Attwood (ed.) 2007, ‘Anonymous Poems, Leiðarvísan 23’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 161-2.
Dagmærir lét dýrðar
dróttins tíð fyr óttu
mæztr frá meyju beztri
mildingr berask hingat.
Þvís rétt, at dag dróttins
dáðsnjalls hǫfuð kallim
— gerðisk fǫgnuðr fyrðum
fríðr — annarra tíða.
Dagmærir, {mæztr mildingr dýrðar}, lét berask hingat dróttins tíð fyr óttu frá beztri meyju. Þvís rétt, at kallim dag dáðsnjalls dróttins hǫfuð annarra tíða; fríðr fǫgnuðr gerðisk fyrðum.
‘The day-glorifier, the most praiseworthy prince of glory [= God (= Christ)], allowed himself to be born here at the Lord’s time before dawn from the best maiden. Therefore it is right that we should call the day of the deed-eager Lord chief of other times; fair welcome was prepared for men.’
The birth of Christ is described in detail only in Luke II.1-20, though there is also a reference to it in Matt. I.25.
Text is based on reconstruction from the base text and variant apparatus and may contain alternative spellings and other normalisations not visible in the manuscript text. Transcriptions may not have been checked and should not be cited.
Dag†męriʀr† lét †dyrrar†
dróttins tíð fyr óttu
mæztr frá meyju †bezt[...]†
mildingr berask hingat.
Þvís rétt, at dag dróttins
dáðsnjalls hǫfuð kallim
— gerðisk fǫgnuðr fyrðum
fríðr — annarra tíða.
Dagmęriʀr let dýrrar drottins tid fyrer óttu męztr fra me- | ýiu bezt… milldingr beraz hínngad þui er rétt at dag drottins dádsníallz hǫfud kallem gerdíz | fagnadr fýrdum fridr annarra tida.
(TW)
Dagmærir lét dýrðar
dróttins tíð fyr óttu
mæztr frá meyju beztri
mildingr berask hingat.
Þvís rétt, at dag dróttins
dáðsnjalls hǫfuð †kalle†
— gerðisk fǫgnuðr fyrðum
fríðr — annarra tíða.
Dagmærir lét dýrðar
dróttins tíð fyr óttu
mæztr frá meyju beztri
mildingr berask hingat.
Þvís rétt, at dag dróttins
dáðsnjalls hǫfuð kallim
— gerðisk fǫgnuðr fyrðum
fríðr — annarra tíða.
Skj: Anonyme digte og vers [XII], G [2]. Leiðarvísan 23: AI, 622, BI, 627-8, Skald I, 305, NN §1264; Sveinbjörn Egilsson 1844, 63, Rydberg 1907, 7, Attwood 1996a, 65-6, 176.
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