Anon Mdr 16^VII

Viðir Fenris og flæðar
fyrri merkja spyrja
†mier í hyggju harri
hátt faðmandi sátta†,
þvíað, fylling ins fulla
friðar, af þínum iðrum
sýndir, geisla grundar,
guð og mann borinn sannan.

Og {viðir {flæðar Fenris}} spyrja fyrri merkja †mier í hyggju harri hátt faðmandi sátta†, þvíað fylling ins fulla friðar {grundar geisla}, sýndir sannan guð og mann, borinn af iðrum þínum.

And {trees {of the river of Fenrir <wolf>}} [BLOOD > WARRIORS] ask about former signs †…†, because, fulfilment of the absolute peace {of the land of sun-beams} [SKY/HEAVEN], you revealed true God and man, born of your womb.

Mss: B(13v), 399a-bˣ

Readings: [1] Viðir: so 399a‑bˣ, ‘Vid[...]’ B    [3] hyggju: so 399a‑bˣ, ‘h[...]giu’ B    [5] fulla: so 399a‑bˣ, ‘f[...]lla’ B    [6] af: so 399a‑bˣ, ‘[...]f’ B    [8] guð og: ‘[...]d [...]’ B, ‘[...] ok’ 399a‑bˣ, ‘[...]d ok’ BRydberg, BFJ

Editions: Skj AII, 467, Skj BII, 500, Skald II, 273, NN §§1641, 2997; Rydberg 1907, 35, 55, Attwood 1996a, 106, 306.

Notes: [1-4]: The interpretation of these ll, as they stand in B, is problematic, and eds have resorted to various emendations to make sense of them. In this edn, ll. 3-4 have been regarded as corrupt to the point of being unemendable and incomprehensible. It is possible, however, that ll. 1-4 refer to the Annunciation. — [1] viðir flæðar Fenris ‘trees of the river of Fenrir [BLOOD > WARRIORS]’: The interpretation of flæð Fenris ‘river of Fenrir’ as ‘blood’ is supported by the blood-kenning Fenris brunnr ‘Fenrir’s spring’ in two mss of Bjhit Lv 19/3-4^V (see Skj AI, 304). Man-kennings on the ‘tree of blood’ model are not attested elsewhere in the corpus. Kock (NN §1641) follows Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) in interpolating bliks gen. sg. ‘of the gleam’ and deleting ms. ‘og’, creating the man-kenning, viðir bliks flæðar Fenris ‘trees of the gleam of the river of Fenrir [BLOOD > SWORD > WARRIORS]’. This, however, has no ms. justification. — [2-4]: The first word of l. 2, abbreviated in B, has been read as fyrri adj. ‘former, earlier’ (so Skj B, Skald and here) or as the prep. fyrir (so Rydberg), construed with mier (l. 3). Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) offers the following paraphrase of ll. 1-2: man spörger om tidligere tegn ‘people enquire about earlier signs’ but does not attempt an interpretation of ll. 3-4. Kock (NN §1641), partly anticipated by Rydberg emends l. 3 to meir á hyggju hári and paraphrases: Bärare av guldets strålglans / söka tidigare tecken / och omfatta sedan högvist / sättet for försoningen ‘Carriers of gold’s radiance seek earlier signs and thus embrace, with high certainty, the manner of the agreement’. — [7] geisla ‘of sun-beams’: Finnur Jónsson (Skj B), followed by Kock (Skald), emends to geisli nom. taking geisli grundar ‘sunbeam of the earth’ as an epithet for Mary. He translates du, jordens stråle, viste den fuldkomne freds fylde ‘you, earth’s sunbeam, showed the fulfilment of absolute peace’. Finnur’s emendation is unnecessary, since, as Schottmann points out (1973, 43 n. 29), grund geisla ‘land of sunbeams’ makes for a perfectly acceptable heaven-kenning, which also occurs in Líkn 30/7-8 and EGils Guðv 10/3^IV.

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skj A = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1912-15a. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. A: Tekst efter håndskrifterne. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Villadsen & Christensen. Rpt. 1967. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger.
3. Skj B = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1912-15b. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. B: Rettet tekst. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Villadsen & Christensen. Rpt. 1973. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger.
4. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
5. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
6. Attwood, Katrina. 1996a. ‘The Poems of MS AM 757a 4to: An Edition and Contextual Study’. Ph.D. thesis. University of Leeds.
7. Rydberg, Hugo, ed. 1907. ‘Die geistlichen Drápur und Dróttkvættfragmente des Cod. AM 757 4to.’. Ph.D. thesis. University of Lund. Copenhagen: Møller.
8. Internal references
9. George S. Tate (ed.) 2007, ‘Anonymous Poems, Líknarbraut 30’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 260-1.
10. Not published: do not cite (EGils Guðv 10^IV)