Kálf Kátr 2^VII

Orð temi mier, sá er skjöldung skírði
skýja tjalls, og spámenn allir,
prófetar Krists og postular mæstir
pínuð drótt með eldi og sóttum.
Frægar, bið eg, að mier ljái meyjar
mælsku gnótt, þá er efldi dróttinn;
öll sveit styrki eingla stillis
* óðsemjanda drápu að fremja.

Temi mier orð, sá er skírði {skjöldung {tjalls skýja}}, og allir spámenn, prófetar Krists og postular mæstir, drótt pínuð með eldi og sóttum. Bið eg, að frægar meyjar ljái mier gnótt mælsku, þá er dróttinn efldi; styrki öll sveit eingla stillis * óðsemjanda að fremja drápu.

Guide my words, he who baptised {the king {of the tent of the clouds}} [SKY/HEAVEN > = God (= Christ)] and all soothsayers, Christ’s prophets and greatest Apostles, people tormented by fire and illness. I ask that famous maidens lend me an abundance of eloquence, which the Lord strengthened; may the entire host of the ruler’s angels assist the composer of poetry in completing a drápa.

Mss: 713(129), 399a-bˣ(2), 920ˣ(213r), 444ˣ

Readings: [1] Orð temi: ‘Or[...]’ 713, ‘(Orð ge)fi’ 399a‑bˣ, ‘[...] m’ 920ˣ, ‘Orðin?’ written superscript 444ˣ    [3] mæstir: ‘m[...]’ 713, ‘m(estir)’ 399a‑bˣ, ‘m [...]’ 920ˣ, ‘[...] ⸜veitti⸝’ 444ˣ    [6] gnótt þá: ‘[...]a’ 713, ‘(þrótt)’(?) 399a‑bˣ, ‘[...]’ 920ˣ, ‘[...] ⸜gnott?⸝’ 444ˣ    [8] * óðsemjanda drápu: í ótemjandi drápu 713, 444ˣ, í ótem[jandi d]rápu 399a‑bˣ, ‘í ótemjandi [...] drápu drápu’ 920ˣ

Editions: Skj AII, 517, Skj BII, 569, Skald II, 312-13; NN §§1775, 3382A, B, Kahle 1898, 67, 105, Sperber 1911, 43, 78.

Notes: [1] temi ‘guide’: Skj B has tem; it seems more appropriate to have a subj. form to parallel styrki (cf. NN §3382A). — [1-2] sá er skírði skjöldung tjalls skýja ‘he who baptised the king of the tent of the clouds [SKY/HEAVEN > = God (= Christ)]’: John the Baptist, appropriately included among the prophets and Apostles in a story urging conversion and baptism; cf. st. 9/4. — [8] óðsemjanda (acc. sg.) ‘the composer of poetry’: So Skj B. Kock (Skald) has jótemjanda ‘tamer of horses’, but his interpretation seems rather farfetched (see NN §§1775, 3382B).

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. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
5. Sperber, Hans, ed. 1911. Sechs isländische Gedichte legendarischen Inhalts. Uppsala Universitets årsskrift, filosofi, språkvetenskap och historiska vetenskaper 2. Uppsala: Akademische Buchdruckerei Edv. Berling.
6. Kahle, Bernhard, ed. 1898. Isländische geistliche Dichtungen des ausgehenden Mittelalters. Heidelberg: Winter.