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Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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Anon Pét 43VII

David McDougall (ed.) 2007, ‘Anonymous Poems, Pétrsdrápa 43’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 834-5.

Anonymous PoemsPétrsdrápa
424344

Sár ‘the pain’

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2. sár (noun n.; °-s; -): wound < sárfenginn (adj./verb p.p.)

notes

[1] sárfeinginn ‘pain-stricken’: Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) prints sárfengin and takes it with sótt (l. 2): En smærtefuld kummer sårer herrens hyrdes sjæl ‘A painful anguish afflicts the soul of the Lord’s shepherd’. Kock (NN §1745A) retains the ms. reading in -inn and takes sárfeinginn with hug (m. acc. sg.) and this interpretation is also adopted here.

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feinginn ‘stricken’

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2. fá (verb; °fǽr; fekk, fengu; fenginn): get, receive < sárfenginn (adj./verb p.p.)

notes

[1] sárfeinginn ‘pain-stricken’: Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) prints sárfengin and takes it with sótt (l. 2): En smærtefuld kummer sårer herrens hyrdes sjæl ‘A painful anguish afflicts the soul of the Lord’s shepherd’. Kock (NN §1745A) retains the ms. reading in -inn and takes sárfeinginn with hug (m. acc. sg.) and this interpretation is also adopted here.

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hug ‘heart’

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hugr (noun m.): mind, thought, courage

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særir ‘afflicts’

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særa (verb): wound

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sótt ‘Anguish’

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sótt (noun f.; °-ar; -ir): illness

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hjarðreka ‘of the shepherd’

(not checked:)
hjarðreki (noun m.)

kennings

hjarðreka dróttins;
‘of the shepherd of the Lord; ’
   = APOSTLE

the shepherd of the Lord; → APOSTLE
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dróttins ‘of the Lord’

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dróttinn (noun m.; °dróttins, dat. dróttni (drottini [$1049$]); dróttnar): lord, master

kennings

hjarðreka dróttins;
‘of the shepherd of the Lord; ’
   = APOSTLE

the shepherd of the Lord; → APOSTLE
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*eldi ‘it has kindled’

(not checked:)
2. elda (verb; °-ld-): kindle

[3] *eldi: ‘selldi’ 621

notes

[3] *eldi ‘kindled’: Ms. ‘selldi’. Finnur Jónsson attempts to make sense of the ms. reading (Skj B: han gav glædestårer ‘he gave tears of joy’), but is then stumped by the ‘anvil’ image which follows (see Note below). Kock (NN §1745B) assumes dittography of -s s- in ms. ‘drottins selldi’ (ll. 2-3) (for dróttins eldi).

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í ‘through’

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í (prep.): in, into

notes

[3] í gegn ‘through and through’: On í gegn (= í gegnum) in this sense, see Kock, NN §§1745C and 2883A3b; Blöndal: 2 gegn II.

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gegn ‘and through’

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2. gegn (prep.): against

notes

[3] í gegn ‘through and through’: On í gegn (= í gegnum) in this sense, see Kock, NN §§1745C and 2883A3b; Blöndal: 2 gegn II.

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gildan ‘the excellent [man]’

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2. gildr (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): valued at, worth

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gleði ‘of joy’

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gleði (noun f.): joy

kennings

steðja gleði tárkveiktan.
‘anvil of joy [which has been] moved to tears. ’
   = HEART

anvil of joy [which has been] moved to tears. → HEART

notes

[4] steðja gleði tárkveiktan ‘anvil of joy, moved to tears’: Both Kahle (1898, 87, 111) and Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) read gleðitár ‘tears of joy’ as a cpd (cf. LP), but then have difficulty dealing with the words which follow. Finnur substitutes an ellipsis for kveiktan and reads glædestårer for den store ... ambolt ‘tears of joy for the great [=gildan (3)] anvil’, adding her er teksten forvansket ‘here the text is corrupt’. Kahle keeps kveiktan but admits, understandably, that he does not understand the phrase ‘the kindled anvil’. Kock (NN §1745E) is able to make sense of the passage as it stands by assuming a kenning gleði steði ‘anvil of joy, heart’, with which he compares both Egill’s hyggju staðr ‘the place of thought [MIND]’ (Egill St 2/4V) and heart-kennings of the type hugsteinn ‘thought-stone’, geðsteinn ‘mind-stone’ (cf. Meissner, 138; on stone anvils see, e.g. Eg 2003, ch. 30; Þór Magnússon 1971, 268-9). One is tempted to compare the collocation of heart, stone, and anvil at Job XLI.15 cor eius indurabitur quasi lapis et stringetur quasi malleatoris incus (Douay-Rheims: ‘His heart shall be as hard as a stone, and as firm as a smith’s anvil’), though it is impossible to prove any direct connection with this passage. With tárkveiktan ‘moved to tears’, cf. Matt. XXVI.75; Mark XIV.72; Luke XXII.62. Cf. Notes to sts 44/2-3, 45/3 below.

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tár ‘to tears’

(not checked:)
tár (noun n.; °; -): tear < tárkveikja (verb)

kennings

steðja gleði tárkveiktan.
‘anvil of joy [which has been] moved to tears. ’
   = HEART

anvil of joy [which has been] moved to tears. → HEART

notes

[4] steðja gleði tárkveiktan ‘anvil of joy, moved to tears’: Both Kahle (1898, 87, 111) and Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) read gleðitár ‘tears of joy’ as a cpd (cf. LP), but then have difficulty dealing with the words which follow. Finnur substitutes an ellipsis for kveiktan and reads glædestårer for den store ... ambolt ‘tears of joy for the great [=gildan (3)] anvil’, adding her er teksten forvansket ‘here the text is corrupt’. Kahle keeps kveiktan but admits, understandably, that he does not understand the phrase ‘the kindled anvil’. Kock (NN §1745E) is able to make sense of the passage as it stands by assuming a kenning gleði steði ‘anvil of joy, heart’, with which he compares both Egill’s hyggju staðr ‘the place of thought [MIND]’ (Egill St 2/4V) and heart-kennings of the type hugsteinn ‘thought-stone’, geðsteinn ‘mind-stone’ (cf. Meissner, 138; on stone anvils see, e.g. Eg 2003, ch. 30; Þór Magnússon 1971, 268-9). One is tempted to compare the collocation of heart, stone, and anvil at Job XLI.15 cor eius indurabitur quasi lapis et stringetur quasi malleatoris incus (Douay-Rheims: ‘His heart shall be as hard as a stone, and as firm as a smith’s anvil’), though it is impossible to prove any direct connection with this passage. With tárkveiktan ‘moved to tears’, cf. Matt. XXVI.75; Mark XIV.72; Luke XXII.62. Cf. Notes to sts 44/2-3, 45/3 below.

Close

kveiktan ‘moved’

(not checked:)
2. kveikja (verb): kindle < tárkveikja (verb)

kennings

steðja gleði tárkveiktan.
‘anvil of joy [which has been] moved to tears. ’
   = HEART

anvil of joy [which has been] moved to tears. → HEART

notes

[4] steðja gleði tárkveiktan ‘anvil of joy, moved to tears’: Both Kahle (1898, 87, 111) and Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) read gleðitár ‘tears of joy’ as a cpd (cf. LP), but then have difficulty dealing with the words which follow. Finnur substitutes an ellipsis for kveiktan and reads glædestårer for den store ... ambolt ‘tears of joy for the great [=gildan (3)] anvil’, adding her er teksten forvansket ‘here the text is corrupt’. Kahle keeps kveiktan but admits, understandably, that he does not understand the phrase ‘the kindled anvil’. Kock (NN §1745E) is able to make sense of the passage as it stands by assuming a kenning gleði steði ‘anvil of joy, heart’, with which he compares both Egill’s hyggju staðr ‘the place of thought [MIND]’ (Egill St 2/4V) and heart-kennings of the type hugsteinn ‘thought-stone’, geðsteinn ‘mind-stone’ (cf. Meissner, 138; on stone anvils see, e.g. Eg 2003, ch. 30; Þór Magnússon 1971, 268-9). One is tempted to compare the collocation of heart, stone, and anvil at Job XLI.15 cor eius indurabitur quasi lapis et stringetur quasi malleatoris incus (Douay-Rheims: ‘His heart shall be as hard as a stone, and as firm as a smith’s anvil’), though it is impossible to prove any direct connection with this passage. With tárkveiktan ‘moved to tears’, cf. Matt. XXVI.75; Mark XIV.72; Luke XXII.62. Cf. Notes to sts 44/2-3, 45/3 below.

Close

steðja ‘anvil’

(not checked:)
steði (noun m.; °-ja; -jar): anvil

kennings

steðja gleði tárkveiktan.
‘anvil of joy [which has been] moved to tears. ’
   = HEART

anvil of joy [which has been] moved to tears. → HEART

notes

[4] steðja gleði tárkveiktan ‘anvil of joy, moved to tears’: Both Kahle (1898, 87, 111) and Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) read gleðitár ‘tears of joy’ as a cpd (cf. LP), but then have difficulty dealing with the words which follow. Finnur substitutes an ellipsis for kveiktan and reads glædestårer for den store ... ambolt ‘tears of joy for the great [=gildan (3)] anvil’, adding her er teksten forvansket ‘here the text is corrupt’. Kahle keeps kveiktan but admits, understandably, that he does not understand the phrase ‘the kindled anvil’. Kock (NN §1745E) is able to make sense of the passage as it stands by assuming a kenning gleði steði ‘anvil of joy, heart’, with which he compares both Egill’s hyggju staðr ‘the place of thought [MIND]’ (Egill St 2/4V) and heart-kennings of the type hugsteinn ‘thought-stone’, geðsteinn ‘mind-stone’ (cf. Meissner, 138; on stone anvils see, e.g. Eg 2003, ch. 30; Þór Magnússon 1971, 268-9). One is tempted to compare the collocation of heart, stone, and anvil at Job XLI.15 cor eius indurabitur quasi lapis et stringetur quasi malleatoris incus (Douay-Rheims: ‘His heart shall be as hard as a stone, and as firm as a smith’s anvil’), though it is impossible to prove any direct connection with this passage. With tárkveiktan ‘moved to tears’, cf. Matt. XXVI.75; Mark XIV.72; Luke XXII.62. Cf. Notes to sts 44/2-3, 45/3 below.

Close

Ást ‘of love’

(not checked:)
ást (noun f.; °-ar; -ir): love < ástkennir (noun m.)

kennings

ástkennis
‘of the teacher of love ’
   = APOSTLE

the teacher of love → APOSTLE
Close

kennis ‘of the teacher’

(not checked:)
kennir (noun m.): teacher < ástkennir (noun m.)

kennings

ástkennis
‘of the teacher of love ’
   = APOSTLE

the teacher of love → APOSTLE
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innan ‘inwardly’

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innan (prep.): inside, within

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hjart ‘the heart’

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hjarta (noun n.; °-; *-u): heart < hjartrót (noun f.)

[6] hjartrót*um: ‘hiartrotnum’ 621

notes

[6] hjartrót*um ‘heart-roots’: Ms. ‘hiartrotnum’. Cf. st. 38/6 and Note. The usage is presumably a kind of locative dat. ‘in the heart-roots’ and the m.v. stangaz is presumably used in the sense ‘[grief] bores itself inside, pierces’ (cf. LP: stanga).

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rót*um ‘roots’

(not checked:)
1. rót (noun f.; °-ar; rǿtr): root < hjartrót (noun f.)

[6] hjartrót*um: ‘hiartrotnum’ 621

notes

[6] hjartrót*um ‘heart-roots’: Ms. ‘hiartrotnum’. Cf. st. 38/6 and Note. The usage is presumably a kind of locative dat. ‘in the heart-roots’ and the m.v. stangaz is presumably used in the sense ‘[grief] bores itself inside, pierces’ (cf. LP: stanga).

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stangaz ‘pierces’

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stanga (verb): pierce

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meistara ‘master’

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meistari (noun m.; °-a; -ar): master

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‘because’

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4. at (conj.): that

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misti ‘has lost’

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mista (verb): lose

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mætr ‘the worthy’

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mætr (adj.; °compar. -ri/-ari, superl. -astr): honoured, respected

kennings

mætr gætir kinnroða
‘the worthy possessor of shame ’
   = HOLY MAN

the worthy possessor of shame → HOLY MAN
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kinnroða ‘of shame’

(not checked:)
kinnroði (noun m.)

kennings

mætr gætir kinnroða
‘the worthy possessor of shame ’
   = HOLY MAN

the worthy possessor of shame → HOLY MAN
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gætir ‘possessor’

(not checked:)
gætir (noun m.): guardian

kennings

mætr gætir kinnroða
‘the worthy possessor of shame ’
   = HOLY MAN

the worthy possessor of shame → HOLY MAN
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