Anon Leið 34VII
Katrina Attwood (ed.) 2007, ‘Anonymous Poems, Leiðarvísan 34’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 170-1.
Slœm ‘a conclusion’
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slœmr (noun m.; °dat. -): conclusion
skalk ‘I will’
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skulu (verb): shall, should, must
upp ‘’
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upp (adv.): up
af ‘from’
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af (prep.): from
notes
[1] af aumu ‘from a state of wretchedness’: The adj. aumr means ‘poor, wretched, miserable’ (ONP: aumr, adj., auma, f. the latter only in the expression sjá aumu ‘to feel pity for’), but in this context expresses the poet’s feeling of inadequacy to his task. Sveinbjörn Egilsson (1844, 67 n. 21) suggested that the phrase may refer to the poet’s miserable subject-matter, given that he is to discuss the fates of men at the Last Judgement in st. 35, but this seems unlikely in context.
aumu ‘a state of wretchedness’
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auma (noun f.; °-u; -ur): state of wretchedness
notes
[1] af aumu ‘from a state of wretchedness’: The adj. aumr means ‘poor, wretched, miserable’ (ONP: aumr, adj., auma, f. the latter only in the expression sjá aumu ‘to feel pity for’), but in this context expresses the poet’s feeling of inadequacy to his task. Sveinbjörn Egilsson (1844, 67 n. 21) suggested that the phrase may refer to the poet’s miserable subject-matter, given that he is to discuss the fates of men at the Last Judgement in st. 35, but this seems unlikely in context.
eru ‘are’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
stef ‘the refrains’
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stef (noun n.; °; -): refrain
liðin ‘complete’
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1. líða (verb): move, glide
hefja ‘begin’
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hefja (verb): lift, start
[2] hefja: so 399a‑bˣ, ‘[...]fia’ B, ‘hefur’ 624
mætr ‘glorious’
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mætr (adj.; °compar. -ri/-ari, superl. -astr): honoured, respected
ef ‘if’
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3. ef (conj.): if
mér ‘for me’
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
vil ‘will’
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vilja (verb): want, intend
láta ‘grant’
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láta (verb): let, have sth done
mál ‘eloquence’
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1. mál (noun n.; °-s; -): speech, matter < málfinni (noun f.)
finni ‘’
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1. -finni (noun f.) < málfinni (noun f.)
goð ‘God’
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1. guð (noun m.; °***guðrs, guðis, gus): (Christian) God
vinnask ‘be achieved’
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2. vinna (verb): perform, work
Styrk ‘assist’
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styrkja (verb): strengthen, assist
ávalt ‘always’
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ávallt (adv.): always
til ‘in’
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til (prep.): to
verka ‘poems’
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verki (noun m.; °-a): deed, work
vegs ‘of glory’
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2. vegr (noun m.; °-s/-ar, dat. -): honour
[6] vegs gnóttar (‘vex gnottar’): so 624, ‘vegs[...]ttar’ BRydberg, ‘[...]e[...]s[...]ottar’ B, vegsnóttar 399a‑bˣ
kennings
Dróttinn gnóttar vegs,‘Lord of the abundance of glory, ’
= God
Lord of the abundance of glory, → God
gnóttar ‘of the abundance’
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gnótt (noun f.): abundance
[6] vegs gnóttar (‘vex gnottar’): so 624, ‘vegs[...]ttar’ BRydberg, ‘[...]e[...]s[...]ottar’ B, vegsnóttar 399a‑bˣ
kennings
Dróttinn gnóttar vegs,‘Lord of the abundance of glory, ’
= God
Lord of the abundance of glory, → God
mik ‘me’
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
dróttinn ‘Lord’
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dróttinn (noun m.; °dróttins, dat. dróttni (drottini [$1049$]); dróttnar): lord, master
kennings
Dróttinn gnóttar vegs,‘Lord of the abundance of glory, ’
= God
Lord of the abundance of glory, → God
verð ‘will be’
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1. verða (verb): become, be
k ‘I’
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
at ‘for’
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3. at (prep.): at, to
engu ‘not one’
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2. engi (pron.): no, none
orði ‘word’
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orð (noun n.; °-s; -): word
nema ‘unless’
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2. nema (conj.): unless
goð ‘God’
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1. guð (noun m.; °***guðrs, guðis, gus): (Christian) God
beini ‘helps’
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2. beina (verb; °-nd-): help
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
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Slœm skalk upp af aumu |
I will begin a conclusion from a state of wretchedness, if glorious God will grant that eloquence be achieved for me; the refrains are complete. Lord of the abundance of glory [= God], assist me always in [the composition of] poems; I will be fully sufficient for not one word, unless God helps [me].
St. 34 begins the slœmr or concluding section of the poem, as the poet says. As befits a Christian skald whose inspiration comes from God alone, the Leið poet introduces a modesty topos disclaiming poetic proficiency, unless God helps him. Cf. Mgr 3/5-6 with ll. 7-8.
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