Ekúl Kristdr 2^III

Hirð lýtr himna dýrðar
hrein Máríu sveini;
môtt viðr mildingr dróttar
— maðrs hann ok goð — sannan.

{Hrein hirð dýrðar himna} lýtr {sveini Máríu}; {mildingr dróttar} viðr sannan môtt; hann [e]s maðr ok goð.

{The pure retinue of the glory of the heavens} [ANGELS] bows {to the son of Mary} [= Christ]; {the prince of the host} [= God (= Christ)] achieves true power; he is man and God.

Mss: R(35v), Tˣ(37r), W(80-81), U(34v), A(12r) (SnE)

Readings: [2] hrein: hreinn W, U    [3] viðr: vinnr W, A, verr U;    mildingr: so U, A, milding R, Tˣ, W    [4] goð: so all others, goð ok R

Editions: Skj AI, 572, Skj BI, 565, Skald I, 274, NN §§1214, 2112B, 2990K; SnE 1848-87, I, 448-9, II, 334, 445, III, 90, SnE 1931, 159, SnE 1998, I, 77.

Context: This helmingr follows immediately upon st. 1, with the introductory words Máríu sonr, enn sem Eilífr kvað ‘Son of Mary, as Eilífr said further’.

Notes: [All]: The scene represented here may be one of Christ in Majesty; once again, the poet may have been thinking of a visual image. There is a very skilful and surely deliberate variation on much of the vocabulary of st. 1 here with the repetition of lýtr (1/1, 2/1), dýrð/dýrðar (1/3, 2/1), sannr/sannan (1/3, 2/4) and hreinni/hrein (1/4, 2/2). — [1-2] hrein hirð dýrðar himna ‘the pure retinue of the glory of the heavens [ANGELS]’: The phrase dýrðar himna ‘of the glory of the heavens’ is not interpreted as a kenning here, but simply as a periphrasis for heaven, as in Anon Lil 14/2^VII, 34/7^VII and 68/8^VII. Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) links dýrðar with môtt (l. 3), but this produces a strained syntax which also violates the couplet structure repeated from st. 1. Kock (NN §§2112B, 2990K) points out parallels to dýrðar himna ‘of the glory of the heavens’ in Anon Lil^VII (see above) and draws attention to the angel-kenning drótt dýrðar ‘the company of glory’ in Gamlkan Has 36/1-2^VII. — [3] viðr ‘achieves’: Older form of the 3rd pers. sg. pres. indic. vinnr (so W, A) of vinna ‘perform, work, achieve, accomplish’. Ms. U reads verr ‘defends, protects’, which is less good a meaning in this context.

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skj B = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1912-15b. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. B: Rettet tekst. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Villadsen & Christensen. Rpt. 1973. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger.
3. SnE 1848-87 = Snorri Sturluson. 1848-87. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar: Edda Snorronis Sturlaei. Ed. Jón Sigurðsson et al. 3 vols. Copenhagen: Legatum Arnamagnaeanum. Rpt. Osnabrück: Zeller, 1966.
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. SnE 1931 = Snorri Sturluson. 1931. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
7. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
8. Internal references
9. Martin Chase 2007, ‘ Anonymous, Lilja’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 544-677. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1185> (accessed 16 April 2024)
10. Martin Chase (ed.) 2007, ‘Anonymous Poems, Lilja 14’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 579.
11. Katrina Attwood (ed.) 2007, ‘Gamli kanóki, Harmsól 36’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 104-5.