Anon Leið 23VII
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.
Dag ‘The day’
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dagr (noun m.; °-s, dat. degi/dag/dagi(Thom¹ 332¹n.); -ar): day < dagmærir (noun m.)
notes
[1] dagmærir ‘the day-glorifier’: Skj B emends -mærir, the reading of 624 (B has ‘-męriʀr’), to mærri* and takes this as the fem. dat. sg. comp. form of mærr ‘glorious, great’. He regards this as parallel with beztri ‘best’ (l. 3) qualifying meyju ‘maiden’ (l. 3) and construes mæztr mildingr dýrðar lét berask hingat fyr óttu tíð dróttins dag frá mærri, beztri meyju ‘the most praiseworthy prince of glory allowed himself to be born here before dawn on the Lord’s day from the most glorious, best maiden’. Kock (NN §1264) objects to Finnur’s w.o. and reinstates B’s reading, commenting that the kenning-like expression ‘day-glorifier’ is appropriate in the context of a poem seeking to show how God allowed all great and remarkable things to happen on Sundays in order to endow that day with holiness and lustre. Sveinbjörn Egilsson (1844, 63 n. 11) emended to dagmærar, f. gen. sg. of dagmærr, hap. leg., which he regarded as a heiti for ‘heaven’ (LP (1860): dagmærr), construing it with mildingr dýrrar (retaining B’s reading for the second word) to give the God-kenning mildingr dýrrar dagmærar glossed as rex almi cæli ‘king of the bountiful heaven’.
mærir ‘-glorifier’
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mæra (verb): praise < dagmærir (noun m.)
[1] ‑mærir: so 624, ‘męriʀr’ B
notes
[1] dagmærir ‘the day-glorifier’: Skj B emends -mærir, the reading of 624 (B has ‘-męriʀr’), to mærri* and takes this as the fem. dat. sg. comp. form of mærr ‘glorious, great’. He regards this as parallel with beztri ‘best’ (l. 3) qualifying meyju ‘maiden’ (l. 3) and construes mæztr mildingr dýrðar lét berask hingat fyr óttu tíð dróttins dag frá mærri, beztri meyju ‘the most praiseworthy prince of glory allowed himself to be born here before dawn on the Lord’s day from the most glorious, best maiden’. Kock (NN §1264) objects to Finnur’s w.o. and reinstates B’s reading, commenting that the kenning-like expression ‘day-glorifier’ is appropriate in the context of a poem seeking to show how God allowed all great and remarkable things to happen on Sundays in order to endow that day with holiness and lustre. Sveinbjörn Egilsson (1844, 63 n. 11) emended to dagmærar, f. gen. sg. of dagmærr, hap. leg., which he regarded as a heiti for ‘heaven’ (LP (1860): dagmærr), construing it with mildingr dýrrar (retaining B’s reading for the second word) to give the God-kenning mildingr dýrrar dagmærar glossed as rex almi cæli ‘king of the bountiful heaven’.
lét ‘allowed’
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láta (verb): let, have sth done
dýrðar ‘of glory’
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dýrð (noun f.; °-ar/-a(NoDipl(1279) 44²); -ir): glory
[1] dýrðar: so 624, ‘dyrrar’ B
kennings
mæztr mildingr dýrðar,‘the most praiseworthy prince of glory, ’
= God
the most praiseworthy prince of glory, → God
dróttins ‘at the Lord’s’
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dróttinn (noun m.; °dróttins, dat. dróttni (drottini [$1049$]); dróttnar): lord, master
tíð ‘time’
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1. tíð (noun f.; °-ar; -ir): time
fyr ‘before’
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fyr (prep.): for, over, because of, etc.
óttu ‘dawn’
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1. ótta (noun f.; °-u): dawn
mæztr ‘the most praiseworthy’
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2. mærr (adj.): famous
kennings
mæztr mildingr dýrðar,‘the most praiseworthy prince of glory, ’
= God
the most praiseworthy prince of glory, → God
notes
[3] mæztr frá meyju: Cf. Has 19/1: Þú vast mæztr frá meyju. This st. is also concerned with the birth of Christ.
frá ‘from’
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frá (prep.): from
notes
[3] mæztr frá meyju: Cf. Has 19/1: Þú vast mæztr frá meyju. This st. is also concerned with the birth of Christ.
meyju ‘maiden’
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mær (noun f.; °meyjar, dat. meyju; meyjar): maiden
notes
[3] mæztr frá meyju: Cf. Has 19/1: Þú vast mæztr frá meyju. This st. is also concerned with the birth of Christ.
beztri ‘the best’
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betri (adj. comp.; °superl. beztr/baztr; pos. góðr adj.): better, best
[3] beztri: so 624, 399a‑bˣ, ‘bezt[...]’ B
mildingr ‘prince’
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mildingr (noun m.; °-s): ruler, generous one
kennings
mæztr mildingr dýrðar,‘the most praiseworthy prince of glory, ’
= God
the most praiseworthy prince of glory, → God
berask ‘himself to be born’
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3. bera (verb; °berr; bar, báru; borinn): bear, carry
hingat ‘here’
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hingat (adv.): (to) here
Því ‘Therefore’
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því (adv.): therefore, because
s ‘is’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
rétt ‘right’
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3. réttr (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): right, straight, direct
at ‘that’
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4. at (conj.): that
dag ‘the day’
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dagr (noun m.; °-s, dat. degi/dag/dagi(Thom¹ 332¹n.); -ar): day
dróttins ‘Lord’
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dróttinn (noun m.; °dróttins, dat. dróttni (drottini [$1049$]); dróttnar): lord, master
dáð ‘of the deed’
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dáð (noun f.; °; -ir): feat, deed < dáðsnjallr (adj.)
snjalls ‘eager’
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snjallr (adj.): quick, resourceful, bold < dáðsnjallr (adj.)
hǫfuð ‘chief’
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hǫfuð (noun n.; °-s; -): head
gerðisk ‘was prepared’
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1. gera (verb): do, make
fǫgnuðr ‘welcome’
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fǫgnuðr (noun m.; °fagnaðar; fagnaðir): joy
fyrðum ‘for men’
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2. fyrðr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -): man
fríðr ‘fair’
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fríðr (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): beautiful, fair
annarra ‘of other’
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1. annarr (pron.; °f. ǫnnur, n. annat; pl. aðrir): (an)other, second
tíða ‘times’
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1. tíð (noun f.; °-ar; -ir): time
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
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.
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