Anon Mdr 9^VII

Skínn með sælu sannri
— sannfriett er það — manna
hjálparván og hreinum
hæst líf guði ið næsta.
Lýtr öll veröld ítri
yfirþjóðkonungs móður;
verð er drottning dýrðar
dæmd til efri sæmdar.

Hjálparván manna og hæst líf skínn með sannri sælu ið næsta hreinum guði; sannfriett er það. Öll veröld lýtr {ítri móður yfirþjóðkonungs}; drottning dýrðar er dæmd verð til efri sæmdar.

Men’s hope of redemption and highest life shines with true bliss beside pure God; that is proved true. The whole world bows down before {the glorious mother of the supreme king <= God>} [= Mary]; the queen of glory is adjudged worthy of the highest honour.

Mss: B(13v), 399a-bˣ

Readings: [4] hæst: so 399a‑bˣ, ‘hes[...]’ B

Editions: Skj AII, 465, Skj BII, 498, Skald II, 272, NN §2672; Konráð Gíslason 1860, 556, Rydberg 1907, 33, 54, Attwood 1996a, 104, 305.

Notes: [5-8]: Cf. 6/1-4. Helmingar on this model, often in praise of Christ or a saint, are very common in Christian skaldic poetry, and may be modelled on the refrains of drápur in praise of secular kings. For more detailed discussion of this point, see Note to Leið 13/5-8. This helmingr represents the first occurrence of the last of Mdr’s three refrains. The helmingr is written out in full and is marked by an obelos in the left-hand margin. This stef is repeated in sts 18 and 27, where it is abbreviated in B (14r, 2; 14r, 19). — [7] drottning dýrðar ‘the queen of glory’: A kenning-like periphrasis for the Virgin Mary, parallel to Lat. rex gloriae ‘king of glory’ (Christ). Cf. 13/5-6 dáðvís drottning seggja ‘deed-wise queen of men’ (or dáðvís drottning paradísar ‘deed-wise queen of Paradise’). For discussion of periphrases for Mary employing the base-word ‘queen’, see Schottmann 1973, 95-6.

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
3. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
4. Attwood, Katrina. 1996a. ‘The Poems of MS AM 757a 4to: An Edition and Contextual Study’. Ph.D. thesis. University of Leeds.
5. Rydberg, Hugo, ed. 1907. ‘Die geistlichen Drápur und Dróttkvættfragmente des Cod. AM 757 4to.’. Ph.D. thesis. University of Lund. Copenhagen: Møller.
6. Schottmann, Hans. 1973. Die isländische Mariendichtung. Untersuchungen zur volkssprachigen Mariendichtung des Mittelalters. Münchner germanistische Beiträge 9. Munich: Fink.
7. Internal references
8. (forthcoming), ‘ Anonymous, Landnámabók’ in Guðrún Nordal (ed.), Poetry on Icelandic History. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 4. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=25> (accessed 23 April 2024)
9. Katrina Attwood (ed.) 2007, ‘Anonymous Poems, Leiðarvísan 13’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 152-3.
10. Katrina Attwood 2007, ‘ Anonymous, Máríudrápa’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 476-514. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1025> (accessed 23 April 2024)