Gamlkan Has 55^VII

Brigðr es heimr, sás hugðak,
— hann døkkvir sið manna —
… verðr lýðr á láði
lastauðigr, vinfastan.
Eykr, sás eigi rœkir
orð þín, friðar tínir,
hjǫrva þollr, en hylli
hans leitar, sér vansa.

Heimr, sás hugðak vinfastan, es brigðr; hann døkkvir sið manna; lýðr á láði … verðr lastauðigr. {Þollr hjǫrva}, sás eigi rœkir orð þín en leitar hylli hans, eykr sér vansa, {tínir friðar}.

The world, which I thought steadfast as a friend, is fickle; it darkens men’s behaviour; people on earth … become rich in sin. {The fir-tree of swords} [WARRIOR], who does not heed your words but seeks its [the world’s] favour, increases his own shame, {gatherer of peace} [= God].

Mss: B(13r), 399a-bˣ

Readings: [2] manna: so 399a‑bˣ, ‘[...]’ B    [3] …: ‘[...]’ all;    verðr: ‘[...]dr’ B, ‘[...]erdr’ 399a‑bˣ, BRydberg, ‘[...]erdr’ BFJ    [4] vinfastan: so 399a‑bˣ, ‘vinfast[...]’ B

Editions: Skj AI, 570, Skj BI, 562, Skald I, 273; Sveinbjörn Egilsson 1844, 30-1, Kempff 1867, 16-17, Rydberg 1907, 29-30, Black 1971, 277, Attwood 1996a, 235.

Notes: [3] … verðr lýðr á láði: Sveinbjörn Egilsson (1844, 30 n. 68) reconstructs the first word of the l. as opt ‘often’, giving the second cl. lýðr á láði opt verðr lastauðigr ‘people on earth often become rich in sin’. This suggestion is adopted by Skj B, Skald and Black. — [6] orð þín, friðar tínir ‘your words, gatherer of peace [= God]’: This l. recalls the account of the Passion of Christ in sts 23 and 24. The God-kenning, tínir friðar ‘gatherer of peace’, may be a deliberate echo of tínir bauga ‘gatherer of rings’, which characterises the penitent thief in 23/6. The diction and content also parallel the description of God’s promises, which offer the thief hope in 24/8 þín heit, veitir friðar ‘your promises, giver of peace’.

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. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 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. Black, Elizabeth L. 1971. ‘Harmsól: an edition’. B. Litt. thesis. University of Oxford.
6. Rydberg, Hugo, ed. 1907. ‘Die geistlichen Drápur und Dróttkvættfragmente des Cod. AM 757 4to.’. Ph.D. thesis. University of Lund. Copenhagen: Møller.
7. Kempff, Hjalmar, ed. 1867. Kaniken Gamles ‘Harmsól’ (Sol i Sorgen): isländskt andligt qväde från medeltiden med öfversättning och förklaringar. Uppsala: Edquist & Berglund.
8. Sveinbjörn Egilsson, ed. 1844. Fjøgur gømul kvæði. Boðsrit til að hlusta á þá opinberu yfirheyrslu í Bessastaða Skóla þann 22-29 mai 1844. Viðeyar Klaustri: prentuð af Helga Helgasyni, á kostnað Bessastaða Skóla. Bessastaðir: Helgi Helgason.