Anon Líkn 3VII
George S. Tate (ed.) 2007, ‘Anonymous Poems, Líknarbraut 3’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 232-3.
Hneig ‘incline’
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hníga (verb): sink, fall
er ‘who’
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2. er (conj.): who, which, when
veitir ‘grant’
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2. veita (verb): grant, give
vægðir ‘mercies’
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vægð (noun f.; °-ar; -ir): mercy
víg ‘to the battle’
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víg (noun n.; °-s; -): battle < vígrunnr (noun m.): [battle-tree]
kennings
vígrunni,‘to the battle-bush, ’
= WARRIOR
to the battle-bush, → WARRIOR
runni ‘bush’
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runnr (noun m.; °dat. -i/-; -ar): bush, tree < vígrunnr (noun m.): [battle-tree]
kennings
vígrunni,‘to the battle-bush, ’
= WARRIOR
to the battle-bush, → WARRIOR
miskunnar ‘of mercy’
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miskunn (noun f.; °-ar; gen. -a): forgiveness, mercy, grace
notes
[2] miskunnar ‘of mercy’: Apo koinu; the gen. can go either with vægðir ‘mercies’ (so Skj B) or heyrn ‘hearing’, or even guð ‘God’. Analogues to the first, a tautology, are found in the OIcel. Nativity homily lícn miscuɴar ‘grace of mercy’ (HómÍsl 1993, 23v; HómÍsl 1872, 48) and in liturgical Lat. (clementia misericordiae ‘mercy of compassion’, Manz 1941, 112, no. 165). The second (heyrn), favoured by Rydberg 1907, 47, is also echoed in the liturgy (aures clementiae, aures misericordiae ‘ears of mercy, compassion’, Manz 1941, 80-1, nos 91-2) and in the late medieval Icel. Rósa 1/3-4 (probably influenced by Líkn): hneig þu þitt enn helgi drottenn | heyrenda myskunnar eyra ‘Holy Lord, incline your listening ear of mercy’ (ÍM I.2, 6).
hreina ‘pure’
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2. hreinn (adj.; °compar. hreinari/hreinni, superl. hreinastr/hreinstr): pure
hugðu ‘loving’
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hugða (noun f.; °-u): thought < hugðubœn (noun f.)
notes
[3] hugðubænum ‘loving prayers’: Lit. ‘prayers of love, sincerity’. Skj B (followed by Skald) emends hugðu unnecessarily to hugðum (from adj. hugaðr ‘minded, disposed, righteous’), assuming perhaps a missing nasal stroke. Sveinbjörn Egilsson 1844, 36 and Rydberg 1907, 47 follow B. LP (1860) translates hugðu bænir as preces sincerae ‘sincere prayers’; cf. CVC: hugð, hugða ‘love, interest, affection’; hugðumaðr ‘intimate friend’. Hugða also occurs with a slightly different sense in 41/7.
bænum ‘prayers’
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bœn (noun f.; °-ar; -ir): request, prayer < hugðubœn (noun f.)
notes
[3] hugðubænum ‘loving prayers’: Lit. ‘prayers of love, sincerity’. Skj B (followed by Skald) emends hugðu unnecessarily to hugðum (from adj. hugaðr ‘minded, disposed, righteous’), assuming perhaps a missing nasal stroke. Sveinbjörn Egilsson 1844, 36 and Rydberg 1907, 47 follow B. LP (1860) translates hugðu bænir as preces sincerae ‘sincere prayers’; cf. CVC: hugð, hugða ‘love, interest, affection’; hugðumaðr ‘intimate friend’. Hugða also occurs with a slightly different sense in 41/7.
heyrn ‘ear’
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heyrn (noun f.; °-ar; gen. -a): [ear, hearing]
þína ‘your’
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þinn (pron.; °f. þín, n. þitt): your
guð ‘God’
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1. guð (noun m.; °***guðrs, guðis, gus): (Christian) God
mínum ‘to my’
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minn (pron.; °f. mín, n. mitt): my
allr ‘completely’
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allr (adj.): all
týnumz ‘lost’
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týna (verb): lose, destroy
ek ‘I’
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
ella ‘otherwise’
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ella (adv.): otherwise
ítr ‘glorious’
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ítr (adj.): glorious
sem ‘as’
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sem (conj.): as, which
þú ‘you’
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þú (pron.; °gen. þín, dat. þér, acc. þik): you
mátt ‘can’
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mega (verb): may, might
líta ‘see’
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líta (verb): look, see; appear
guð ‘God’
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1. guð (noun m.; °***guðrs, guðis, gus): (Christian) God
nema ‘unless’
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2. nema (conj.): unless
gæzku ‘grace’
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gœzka (noun f.): goodness
saðrar ‘of true’
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2. saðr (adj.): [true]
gipt ‘gift’
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gift (noun f.): gift
þín ‘your’
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þinn (pron.; °f. þín, n. þitt): your
yfir ‘’
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yfir (prep.): over
mér ‘me’
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ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
skíni ‘shine’
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skína (verb): shine
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
The movement of the st., in which guð ‘God’ and the idea of mercy or grace appear in each helmingr, is from the aural image heyrn ‘hearing’ (l. 4) of the first half-st. to the visual líta ‘see’ (l. 6), skíni ‘shine’ (l. 8) of the second. Following upon the ‘tongue’s offences’ in the previous st., it is as if sound now resolves in quietude. The final word skíni ‘shine’ anticipates the light imagery of the next st., in which the verb skína is repeated (4/2).
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