Anon Líkn 28VII
George S. Tate (ed.) 2007, ‘Anonymous Poems, Líknarbraut 28’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 258-9.
Heim ‘home’
(not checked:)
heim (adv.): home, back
laðar ‘invites’
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laða (verb): invite
hvern ‘each’
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2. hverr (pron.): who, whom, each, every
dómi ‘the Judgement’
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dómr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): judgement; court; -dom, -ness (suffix)
himins ‘heaven’s’
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himinn (noun m.; °himins, dat. himni; himnar): heaven, sky
fyrða ‘men’
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2. fyrðr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -): man
dýrðar ‘glory’
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dýrð (noun f.; °-ar/-a(NoDipl(1279) 44²); -ir): glory
gipt ‘grace’
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gift (noun f.): gift
þrýtrat ‘will not fail’
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þrjóta (verb; str. 2; þrýtr, þraut, þrutu, þrotinn): end, fail
þá ‘then’
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2. þá (adv.): then
gætir ‘The guardian’
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gætir (noun m.): guardian
kennings
Gætir glyggranns‘The guardian of the storm-house ’
= God
the storm-house → SKY/HEAVEN
The guardian of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
glygg ‘of the storm’
(not checked:)
glygg (noun n.; °-s; -): storm < glyggrann (noun n.): storm-house
[4] glyggranns: so 399a‑bˣ, ‘g[...]ýggrannz’ B
kennings
Gætir glyggranns‘The guardian of the storm-house ’
= God
the storm-house → SKY/HEAVEN
The guardian of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
glygg ‘of the storm’
(not checked:)
glygg (noun n.; °-s; -): storm < glyggrann (noun n.): storm-house
[4] glyggranns: so 399a‑bˣ, ‘g[...]ýggrannz’ B
kennings
Gætir glyggranns‘The guardian of the storm-house ’
= God
the storm-house → SKY/HEAVEN
The guardian of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
ranns ‘house’
(not checked:)
rann (noun n.): house, hall < glyggrann (noun n.): storm-house
[4] glyggranns: so 399a‑bˣ, ‘g[...]ýggrannz’ B
kennings
Gætir glyggranns‘The guardian of the storm-house ’
= God
the storm-house → SKY/HEAVEN
The guardian of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
ranns ‘house’
(not checked:)
rann (noun n.): house, hall < glyggrann (noun n.): storm-house
[4] glyggranns: so 399a‑bˣ, ‘g[...]ýggrannz’ B
kennings
Gætir glyggranns‘The guardian of the storm-house ’
= God
the storm-house → SKY/HEAVEN
The guardian of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
með ‘with’
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með (prep.): with
sér ‘him’
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sik (pron.; °gen. sín, dat. sér): (refl. pron.)
dyggra ‘of the faithful’
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dyggr (adj.; °dyggvan/dyggan; compar. -vari/-ari/-ri, superl. -vastr/-astr/-str): trustworthy
en ‘but’
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2. en (conj.): but, and
veg ‘the inglorious’
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2. vegr (noun m.; °-s/-ar, dat. -): honour < veglauss (adj.)
notes
[5] veglausum (m. dat. sg.) ‘inglorious’: Possibly also ‘pathless, lacking the way’, appropriate given the poem’s emphasis on ‘way’: vegr (sometimes, as here, ambiguously ‘glory’ or ‘path’) and braut ‘way’, as in the title; i.e. those found to be without glory or honour are those who have abandoned ‘the way of grace’ (see Note to 51/4).
lausum ‘’
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lauss (adj.; °compar. lausari): loose, free, without < veglauss (adj.)
notes
[5] veglausum (m. dat. sg.) ‘inglorious’: Possibly also ‘pathless, lacking the way’, appropriate given the poem’s emphasis on ‘way’: vegr (sometimes, as here, ambiguously ‘glory’ or ‘path’) and braut ‘way’, as in the title; i.e. those found to be without glory or honour are those who have abandoned ‘the way of grace’ (see Note to 51/4).
vísar ‘consigns’
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2. vísa (verb): show
vándum ‘wicked’
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vándr (adj.): wicked
[6] vándum lýð: ‘vo᷎nnd[...]ýd’ B, ‘vo᷎nndụṃ ḷýð’ 399a‑bˣ
notes
[6] vándum lýð ‘wicked host’: Restoration based upon 399a-bˣ; initial vowel (<o᷎> in B) adjusted for rhyme and sense by all eds.
lýð ‘host’
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lýðr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -; -ir): one of the people
[6] vándum lýð: ‘vo᷎nnd[...]ýd’ B, ‘vo᷎nndụṃ ḷýð’ 399a‑bˣ
notes
[6] vándum lýð ‘wicked host’: Restoration based upon 399a-bˣ; initial vowel (<o᷎> in B) adjusted for rhyme and sense by all eds.
til ‘to’
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til (prep.): to
fjánda ‘devils’
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fjándi (noun m.; °-a; fjándr/fjándar/fjándir): enemy, devil
birti ‘of the radiant’
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2. birta (verb; °-rt-): reveal < birtirann (noun n.)
kennings
valdr birtiranns byrjar‘the ruler of the radiant house of the wind ’
= God
the radiant house of the wind → SKY/HEAVEN
the ruler of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
birti ‘of the radiant’
(not checked:)
2. birta (verb; °-rt-): reveal < birtirann (noun n.)
kennings
valdr birtiranns byrjar‘the ruler of the radiant house of the wind ’
= God
the radiant house of the wind → SKY/HEAVEN
the ruler of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
ranns ‘house’
(not checked:)
rann (noun n.): house, hall < birtirann (noun n.)
kennings
valdr birtiranns byrjar‘the ruler of the radiant house of the wind ’
= God
the radiant house of the wind → SKY/HEAVEN
the ruler of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
ranns ‘house’
(not checked:)
rann (noun n.): house, hall < birtirann (noun n.)
kennings
valdr birtiranns byrjar‘the ruler of the radiant house of the wind ’
= God
the radiant house of the wind → SKY/HEAVEN
the ruler of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
at ‘to’
(not checked:)
5. at (nota): to (with infinitive)
brenna ‘burn’
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3. brenna (verb; (weak, transitive)): to burn (weak, intr.)
byrjar ‘of the wind’
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byrr (noun m.; °-jar/-s; -ir, acc. -i/-u(SigrVal 188¹³)): favourable wind
kennings
valdr birtiranns byrjar‘the ruler of the radiant house of the wind ’
= God
the radiant house of the wind → SKY/HEAVEN
the ruler of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
byrjar ‘of the wind’
(not checked:)
byrr (noun m.; °-jar/-s; -ir, acc. -i/-u(SigrVal 188¹³)): favourable wind
kennings
valdr birtiranns byrjar‘the ruler of the radiant house of the wind ’
= God
the radiant house of the wind → SKY/HEAVEN
the ruler of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
valdr ‘the ruler’
(not checked:)
valdr (noun m.): ruler
kennings
valdr birtiranns byrjar‘the ruler of the radiant house of the wind ’
= God
the radiant house of the wind → SKY/HEAVEN
the ruler of the SKY/HEAVEN → God
of ‘for’
(not checked:)
3. of (prep.): around, from; too
aldir ‘ever’
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ǫld (noun f.; °; aldir): people, age
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
|
Heim laðar hvern frá dómi |
The guardian of the storm-house [SKY/HEAVEN > = God (= Christ)] invites each of the faithful men home with him from the Judgement to heaven’s glory; grace will not fail then; but the ruler of the radiant house of the wind [SKY/HEAVEN > = God (= Christ)] consigns the inglorious, wicked host to devils to burn forever.
The st.’s two heaven-kennings, each in a tvíkennt kenning for God and both employing rann ‘house’ as base-word, are somewhat in tension with their contexts. In the first helmingr, which deals with Christ’s mercy, glygg ‘gale, storm’ is the determinant; in the second, whose subject is the damnation of the wicked, byrr ‘favourable wind, breeze’ is used. One might expect these near synonyms to be inverted, forming a better match with the gentler gætir ‘guardian’ of the first helmingr and more forceful valdr ‘ruler’ of the second. As they stand, the two heaven-kennings seem ironic in their relative positions, unless they are meant, in conjunction with the contrastive words for ‘king’, to show potential wrath (‘gale’) at the moment of mercy, and mercy (‘gentle wind’) at the moment of wrath. — On the division of the multitudes at the Last Judgement, see Has 36-9 and the Icel. homily on All Saints (HómÍsl 1993, 21v; HómÍsl 1872, 45); the fullest ON account, based largely on Matt. XXV.32-46, is the ONorw. homily on Doomsday (HómNo, 168-71).
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