Anon 732b 2III
Jonathan Grove (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Lausavísur, Lausavísur from AM 732 b 4° 2’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 1251.
text and translation
Pater ert og princeps feiti;
percussor ert svartra pússa;
rex heitir þú lifra ljóssa;
látprúðr ert þú domnus húða.
Praeses ert og lofðungr lýsis;
leðrs kalla þig Caesarem allir;
magister ert maks og leista;
margsvinnr ert þú dux fyr skinnum.
Ert pater og princeps feiti; ert percussor svartra pússa; þú heitir rex ljóssa lifra; þú ert látprúðr domnus húða. Ert praeses og lofðungr lýsis; allir kalla þig Caesarem leðrs; ert magister maks og leista; þú ert margsvinnr dux fyr skinnum.
‘You are a pater (‘father’) and princeps (‘prince’) of fat; you are a percussor (‘smiter’) of black [skin] pouches; you are called rex (‘king’) of shining livers; you are a courteous domnus (‘lord’) of hides. You are a praeses (‘protector’) and ruler of oil; all men call you Caesar (‘emperor’) of leather; you are a magister (‘master’) of grease and [leather] footwear; you are a very wise dux (‘duke’) of skins.’
notes and context
See Anon 732b 1.
Finnur Jónsson (1886a, 194) originally proposed that the stanza mocks a person waterproofing the leather overalls worn by sailors and fishermen (on which see Note to l. 2); in LP he suggests that the stanza might refer equally well to a tanner (LP: húð; leðr; leistr; cf. Jón Helgason 1968, 58). Neither interpretation captures the range of tasks suggested in the poet’s choice of terms. He praises the ‘very wise duke of skins’ (margsvinnr dux fyr skinnum) as if he were a master of more courtly arts, but the determinants in the series of kenning-like constructions that he employs relate to successive stages in the evisceration and flaying of a slaughtered sheep or cow, and the processing of its skin: the stripping from the carcass of fat, offal, and hide (ll. 1-4); tanning of the hide in fish-oil, treatment of the tanned leather with dubbin and the final production of worked leather goods (ll. 5-8). For similar kennings and circumlocutions for people engaged in menial work, see Sigv Austv 7/5I, SnH Lv 1/8II, Anon GnóðÁsm 1/2III, Anon (LaufE) 5 and Án Lv 4VIII (Án 4), Note to [All]. Cf. also the alternative reading of Refr Frag 2III suggested in the Note to l. 2, ad loc.
readings
sources
Text is based on reconstruction from the base text and variant apparatus and may contain alternative spellings and other normalisations not visible in the manuscript text. Transcriptions may not have been checked and should not be cited.
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AM 732 b 4° (732b) — 8v/11 - 8v/13
imagesPater ert og princeps feiti;
ert svartra pússa;
rex heitir þú lifra ljóssa;
látprúðr ert þú domnus húða.
Praeses ert og lofðungr lýsis;
leðrs kalla þig Caesarem allir;
magister ert maks og leista;
margsvinnr ert þú dux fyr skinnum.Pater ertv ok princeps feítte percvssus ertv suartra pussa rex heitir þv lifra liosa | latprvðr ertv dompnus hvða presṣes ertv ok lvfðvnɢr lysis leðrs kalla þik cesa|rem aller magister ertu maks ok leista ma⸌r⸍gsvinnur ertv dux fir skinnvm |
(JG)
editions and texts
Skj: [Anonyme digte og vers XIV], A. 10. Løse vers 2: AII, 463, BII, 496, Skald II, 271, NN §§2983, 3348; Finnur Jónsson 1886a, 188, 193-4, Jón Helgason 1968, 58.
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