Kálf Kátr 9^VII

‘Segi eg þier, að frá Máríu meyju
mildingr frægur beraz liet hingað;
tel eg, að svá liet tiggi sólar
tírargjarn í Jórdán skíraz.
Sjálfráður á sig tók dauða
* sára písl fyr glæpi vára;
týndr var heimr af tálum fjanda;
treystir fekk hann guðdóms leystan.

‘Eg segi þier, að frægur mildingr liet beraz hingað frá Máríu meyju; eg tel, að {tírargjarn tiggi sólar} liet svá skíraz í Jórdán. Sjálfráður tók á sig dauða, * sára písl fyr glæpi vára; heimr var týndr af tálum fjanda; {treystir guðdóms} fekk hann leystan.

‘I say to you that the famous king let himself be born hither from the Virgin Mary; I tell that {the fame-desirous king of the sun} [= God (= Christ)] then let himself be baptised in the Jordan. At his own choice he took upon himself death, a painful torment for our misdeeds; the world was lost by the deceits of the devil; {the occupier of the Godhead} [= God (= Christ)] managed to release it.

Mss: 713(130), 399a-bˣ(6), 920ˣ(214r)

Readings: [2] hingað: so 399a‑bˣ, ‘h[...]t’ 713, 920ˣ    [4] skíraz: skíra all    [5] á sig tók: ‘t[...] á sig’ 713, ‘tók á sig’ 399a‑bˣ, 920ˣ    [6] * sára: og sára all

Editions: Skj AII, 518, Skj BII, 571, Skald II, 314, NN §§2958B and C, 2959, Kahle 1898, 68, 106, Sperber 1911, 45, 79.

Notes: [5] sjálfráður ‘at his own choice’: Kock (Skald; NN §2958C) emends to Sjálfráðinn; the emendation is unnecessary and not supported by the ms. witnesses. — [6]: As in Sperber, Skj B and Skald, og is omitted, since all even ll. typically begin with a stressed syllable. — [7] var ‘was’: Kock (Skald; NN §2958B) emends to er ‘is’; the emendation is unnecessary and not supported by the ms. witnesses. — [8] hann (m. acc. sg.) ‘it’: Refers to heimr ‘the world’, l. 7.

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.