Anon Líkn 18VII
George S. Tate (ed.) 2007, ‘Anonymous Poems, Líknarbraut 18’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 248-9.
Guðs ‘of God’
(not checked:)
1. guð (noun m.; °***guðrs, guðis, gus): (Christian) God
kennings
Hýr mær ok móðir guðs‘The mild maiden and mother of God ’
= Mary
The mild maiden and mother of God → Mary
var ‘was’
(not checked:)
2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
mær ‘maiden’
(not checked:)
mær (noun f.; °meyjar, dat. meyju; meyjar): maiden
kennings
Hýr mær ok móðir guðs‘The mild maiden and mother of God ’
= Mary
The mild maiden and mother of God → Mary
notes
[1] mær ok móðir ‘maiden and mother’: This is the first pairing of these alliterative appellatives in ON poetry. The pair appears in the C14th in Lil 3/1, 34/3 (mey), Anon Pét 6, 3/4, and Anon Mv II 22/1-2, later also in Náð 5/1-2, Máría móðirin skæra 1/1-2, Máríublóm 40/1, etc. (ÍM II, 5; II, 48; I.2. 180).
ok ‘and’
(not checked:)
3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
kennings
Hýr mær ok móðir guðs‘The mild maiden and mother of God ’
= Mary
The mild maiden and mother of God → Mary
notes
[1] mær ok móðir ‘maiden and mother’: This is the first pairing of these alliterative appellatives in ON poetry. The pair appears in the C14th in Lil 3/1, 34/3 (mey), Anon Pét 6, 3/4, and Anon Mv II 22/1-2, later also in Náð 5/1-2, Máría móðirin skæra 1/1-2, Máríublóm 40/1, etc. (ÍM II, 5; II, 48; I.2. 180).
móðir ‘mother’
(not checked:)
móðir (noun f.): mother
kennings
Hýr mær ok móðir guðs‘The mild maiden and mother of God ’
= Mary
The mild maiden and mother of God → Mary
notes
[1] mær ok móðir ‘maiden and mother’: This is the first pairing of these alliterative appellatives in ON poetry. The pair appears in the C14th in Lil 3/1, 34/3 (mey), Anon Pét 6, 3/4, and Anon Mv II 22/1-2, later also in Náð 5/1-2, Máría móðirin skæra 1/1-2, Máríublóm 40/1, etc. (ÍM II, 5; II, 48; I.2. 180).
mána ‘of the moon’s’
(not checked:)
máni (noun m.; °-a): moon
[2] mána hauðrs: ‘má[...]hau[...]s’ B, ‘m[...]a hauð̣ṛs’ 399a‑bˣ
kennings
hildings mána hauðrs.‘of the king of the moon’s land. ’
= God
the moon’s land. → SKY/HEAVEN
the king of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
notes
[2] mána hauðrs ‘moon’s land [SKY/HEAVEN]’: Restoration based upon 399a-bˣ (including Jón Sigurðsson’s note ‘likely mánahauðrs’) as well as <ð> for aðalhending. The same kenning recurs (and, as here, hauð- is rhymed with dauð-) in Mgr 30/2 and 34/8, again with reference to Mary’s weeping at Jesus’s death. The alliterative linkage of máni ‘moon’ with Mary (mær ok móðir ‘maiden and mother’ (l. 1)) may evoke the widespread association of Mary with the moon in the patristic period (as the Christmas moon from whose radiance Christ as ‘sun of justice’ proceeds, Rahner 1963, 161-7) and with the growth of Marian devotion in the C12th-13th (see Salzer 1886-93, 377-84). In his Sermon on the Nativity of our Lady, S. Anthony of Padua (early C13th) writes, e.g., that Mary is called the full moon (luna plena) of Eccles. L.6 quia ex omni parte perfecta ‘because she is in every way perfect’ (Costa, Frasson and Luisetto 1979, II, 107-8). Cf. the Speculum Beatae Mariae Virginis of Conrad of Saxony (C13th), long attributed to Bonaventure; commenting on pulchra ut luna ‘fair as the moon’ in Cant. VI.9, he writes: Luna ergo est Maria.... Lunae plenae bene Maria comparata est, quae lumine sapientiae et veritatis a sole aeterno plene illuminata est ‘The moon is therefore Mary.... Well is Mary likened to the full moon, which is fully illuminated by the eternal sun with the light of wisdom and truth’ (VII.1; Martinez 1975, 269-70, cf. 378). Mary is also often identified with the radiant woman standing on the moon (et luna sub pedibus eius) in Rev. XII.1 (see Kirschbaum et al. 1968-76, I, 146-8).
mána ‘of the moon’s’
(not checked:)
máni (noun m.; °-a): moon
[2] mána hauðrs: ‘má[...]hau[...]s’ B, ‘m[...]a hauð̣ṛs’ 399a‑bˣ
kennings
hildings mána hauðrs.‘of the king of the moon’s land. ’
= God
the moon’s land. → SKY/HEAVEN
the king of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
notes
[2] mána hauðrs ‘moon’s land [SKY/HEAVEN]’: Restoration based upon 399a-bˣ (including Jón Sigurðsson’s note ‘likely mánahauðrs’) as well as <ð> for aðalhending. The same kenning recurs (and, as here, hauð- is rhymed with dauð-) in Mgr 30/2 and 34/8, again with reference to Mary’s weeping at Jesus’s death. The alliterative linkage of máni ‘moon’ with Mary (mær ok móðir ‘maiden and mother’ (l. 1)) may evoke the widespread association of Mary with the moon in the patristic period (as the Christmas moon from whose radiance Christ as ‘sun of justice’ proceeds, Rahner 1963, 161-7) and with the growth of Marian devotion in the C12th-13th (see Salzer 1886-93, 377-84). In his Sermon on the Nativity of our Lady, S. Anthony of Padua (early C13th) writes, e.g., that Mary is called the full moon (luna plena) of Eccles. L.6 quia ex omni parte perfecta ‘because she is in every way perfect’ (Costa, Frasson and Luisetto 1979, II, 107-8). Cf. the Speculum Beatae Mariae Virginis of Conrad of Saxony (C13th), long attributed to Bonaventure; commenting on pulchra ut luna ‘fair as the moon’ in Cant. VI.9, he writes: Luna ergo est Maria.... Lunae plenae bene Maria comparata est, quae lumine sapientiae et veritatis a sole aeterno plene illuminata est ‘The moon is therefore Mary.... Well is Mary likened to the full moon, which is fully illuminated by the eternal sun with the light of wisdom and truth’ (VII.1; Martinez 1975, 269-70, cf. 378). Mary is also often identified with the radiant woman standing on the moon (et luna sub pedibus eius) in Rev. XII.1 (see Kirschbaum et al. 1968-76, I, 146-8).
hauðrs ‘land’
(not checked:)
hauðr (noun n.): earth, ground
[2] mána hauðrs: ‘má[...]hau[...]s’ B, ‘m[...]a hauð̣ṛs’ 399a‑bˣ
kennings
hildings mána hauðrs.‘of the king of the moon’s land. ’
= God
the moon’s land. → SKY/HEAVEN
the king of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
notes
[2] mána hauðrs ‘moon’s land [SKY/HEAVEN]’: Restoration based upon 399a-bˣ (including Jón Sigurðsson’s note ‘likely mánahauðrs’) as well as <ð> for aðalhending. The same kenning recurs (and, as here, hauð- is rhymed with dauð-) in Mgr 30/2 and 34/8, again with reference to Mary’s weeping at Jesus’s death. The alliterative linkage of máni ‘moon’ with Mary (mær ok móðir ‘maiden and mother’ (l. 1)) may evoke the widespread association of Mary with the moon in the patristic period (as the Christmas moon from whose radiance Christ as ‘sun of justice’ proceeds, Rahner 1963, 161-7) and with the growth of Marian devotion in the C12th-13th (see Salzer 1886-93, 377-84). In his Sermon on the Nativity of our Lady, S. Anthony of Padua (early C13th) writes, e.g., that Mary is called the full moon (luna plena) of Eccles. L.6 quia ex omni parte perfecta ‘because she is in every way perfect’ (Costa, Frasson and Luisetto 1979, II, 107-8). Cf. the Speculum Beatae Mariae Virginis of Conrad of Saxony (C13th), long attributed to Bonaventure; commenting on pulchra ut luna ‘fair as the moon’ in Cant. VI.9, he writes: Luna ergo est Maria.... Lunae plenae bene Maria comparata est, quae lumine sapientiae et veritatis a sole aeterno plene illuminata est ‘The moon is therefore Mary.... Well is Mary likened to the full moon, which is fully illuminated by the eternal sun with the light of wisdom and truth’ (VII.1; Martinez 1975, 269-70, cf. 378). Mary is also often identified with the radiant woman standing on the moon (et luna sub pedibus eius) in Rev. XII.1 (see Kirschbaum et al. 1968-76, I, 146-8).
hauðrs ‘land’
(not checked:)
hauðr (noun n.): earth, ground
[2] mána hauðrs: ‘má[...]hau[...]s’ B, ‘m[...]a hauð̣ṛs’ 399a‑bˣ
kennings
hildings mána hauðrs.‘of the king of the moon’s land. ’
= God
the moon’s land. → SKY/HEAVEN
the king of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
notes
[2] mána hauðrs ‘moon’s land [SKY/HEAVEN]’: Restoration based upon 399a-bˣ (including Jón Sigurðsson’s note ‘likely mánahauðrs’) as well as <ð> for aðalhending. The same kenning recurs (and, as here, hauð- is rhymed with dauð-) in Mgr 30/2 and 34/8, again with reference to Mary’s weeping at Jesus’s death. The alliterative linkage of máni ‘moon’ with Mary (mær ok móðir ‘maiden and mother’ (l. 1)) may evoke the widespread association of Mary with the moon in the patristic period (as the Christmas moon from whose radiance Christ as ‘sun of justice’ proceeds, Rahner 1963, 161-7) and with the growth of Marian devotion in the C12th-13th (see Salzer 1886-93, 377-84). In his Sermon on the Nativity of our Lady, S. Anthony of Padua (early C13th) writes, e.g., that Mary is called the full moon (luna plena) of Eccles. L.6 quia ex omni parte perfecta ‘because she is in every way perfect’ (Costa, Frasson and Luisetto 1979, II, 107-8). Cf. the Speculum Beatae Mariae Virginis of Conrad of Saxony (C13th), long attributed to Bonaventure; commenting on pulchra ut luna ‘fair as the moon’ in Cant. VI.9, he writes: Luna ergo est Maria.... Lunae plenae bene Maria comparata est, quae lumine sapientiae et veritatis a sole aeterno plene illuminata est ‘The moon is therefore Mary.... Well is Mary likened to the full moon, which is fully illuminated by the eternal sun with the light of wisdom and truth’ (VII.1; Martinez 1975, 269-70, cf. 378). Mary is also often identified with the radiant woman standing on the moon (et luna sub pedibus eius) in Rev. XII.1 (see Kirschbaum et al. 1968-76, I, 146-8).
við ‘at’
(not checked:)
2. við (prep.): with, against
dauða ‘the death’
(not checked:)
dauði (noun m.; °-a; -ar): death
hýr ‘The mild’
(not checked:)
2. hýrr (adj.): cheerful, mild, glad
kennings
Hýr mær ok móðir guðs‘The mild maiden and mother of God ’
= Mary
The mild maiden and mother of God → Mary
notes
[3] hýr ‘mild’: Construing the adj. as predicate and translating it as ‘glad’, Skj B and Skald add the neg. particle ‘-a’ to var ‘was’ (l. 1), i.e., ‘[Mary] was not happy at the death ...’. This is unnecessary if the adj. is considered attributive to mær ‘maid’; and, indeed, adding the particle runs the danger of making l. 1 seem initially to suggest that ‘God’s mother was not a maiden’. The sense ‘mild’ or ‘kindly disposed’ is not uncommon; hýrr can be synonymous with mildr and hlýrr, both of which qualify Mary elsewhere (e.g. Mdr 1/1 and Geisl 32/6-7). This meaning is also found in the OIcel. homily on the Circumcision: bergia oc siá hve hyʀ drótteɴ es ‘taste and see how mild/kind the Lord is’ (HómÍsl 1993, 27v; HómÍsl 1872, 56).
með ‘with’
(not checked:)
með (prep.): with
hjarta ‘heart’
(not checked:)
hjarta (noun n.; °-; *-u): heart
sáru ‘a sore’
(not checked:)
sárr (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): sore, painful; wounded
hildings ‘of the king’
(not checked:)
hildingr (noun m.; °; -ar): king, ruler
kennings
hildings mána hauðrs.‘of the king of the moon’s land. ’
= God
the moon’s land. → SKY/HEAVEN
the king of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
ok ‘and’
(not checked:)
3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
píningar ‘torments’
(not checked:)
píning (noun f.; °-ar, dat. -u; -ar): torment
Víst ‘Certainly’
(not checked:)
1. víss (adj.): wise, certain(ly)
bar ‘bore’
(not checked:)
3. bera (verb; °berr; bar, báru; borinn): bear, carry
víf ‘woman’
(not checked:)
víf (noun n.): woman, wife
it ‘the’
(not checked:)
2. inn (art.): the
hæsta ‘highest’
(not checked:)
hœgri (adj. comp.): higher, highest
vátar ‘wet’
(not checked:)
vátr (adj.): wet
kiðr ‘cheeks’
(not checked:)
kinn (noun f.; °dat. -/-u; kinnr/kiðr): cheek
af ‘from’
(not checked:)
af (prep.): from
gráti ‘weeping’
(not checked:)
grátr (noun m.): weeping, crying
[6] gráti: ‘[...]e’ B, ‘gráte’ 399a‑bˣ
notes
[6] gráti ‘weeping’: Restoration based upon 399a-bˣ and aðalhending (‘át’); there is also in B only space for an abbreviation (‘ra’).
sonr ‘son’
(not checked:)
sonr (noun m.; °-ar, dat. syni; synir, acc. sonu, syni): son
[7] sonr: son B, 399a‑bˣ
þá ‘’
(not checked:)
2. þá (adv.): then
er ‘when’
(not checked:)
2. er (conj.): who, which, when
sárr ‘sore’
(not checked:)
sárr (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): sore, painful; wounded
af ‘from’
(not checked:)
af (prep.): from
benjum ‘wounds’
(not checked:)
1. ben (noun f.; °-jar, dat. -; -jar , gen. -a(var. EiðKrC 402¹³: AM 77 4° D)): wound
sið ‘virtue’
(not checked:)
siðr (noun m.; °-ar, dat. -/-i; -ir, acc. -u): faith, morals < siðnenninn (adj./verb p.p.)
nenninn ‘striving’
(not checked:)
nenninn (adj.): vigorous < siðnenninn (adj./verb p.p.)
dó ‘died’
(not checked:)
1. deyja (verb; °deyr; dó, dó(u); dá(i)nn): die
hennar ‘her’
(not checked:)
hann (pron.; °gen. hans, dat. honum; f. hon, gen. hennar, acc. hana): he, she, it, they, them...
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
Mary standing at the foot of the Cross weeping (stabat mater dolorosa) is a recurrent motif in poetry of the Passion.
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