Anon Leið 21^VII

Einn es sælstr of sinni
— samir lýðum trú þýðask —
heims stýrandinn hár*i
hallar skepnu allri.
Lúta englar ítrum
óttlaust ok lið dróttni;
einn es siklingr sunnu
setrs hvívetna betri.

{Stýrandinn {hallar heims}} es einn sælstr of allri sinni hár*i skepnu; lýðum samir þýðask trú. Englar ok lið lúta óttlaust ítrum dróttni; {siklingr {setrs sunnu}} es einn betri hvívetna.

{The steerer {of the hall of the world}} [SKY/HEAVEN > = God] is alone most blessed throughout all his exalted creation; it befits people to submit to the faith. Angels and people bow down fearlessly before the glorious Lord; {the king {of the seat of the sun}} [SKY/HEAVEN > = God] is alone better than everything else.

Mss: B(10v), 624(88)

Readings: [3] hár*i: ‘harri’ B, ‘harre’ 624    [5-8] abbrev. as ‘Luta einglar itru.’ B, ‘Luta en’ 624

Editions: Skj AI, 622, Skj BI, 627, Skald I, 305, NN  §2560; Sveinbjörn Egilsson 1844, 63, Rydberg 1907, 7, Attwood 1996a, 65, 176.

Notes: [1] einn ‘alone’: Finnur Jónsson construes einn stýrandi heims hallar which he glosses himlens eneste styrer ‘heaven’s sole steerer’ (Skj B). Kock’s arrangement, adopted here (see NN §2560) takes einn as a predicative adj. ‘alone’. This interpretation is anticipated by Sveinbjörn Egilsson in a marginal note to Jón Sigurðsson’s transcription of the 624 text in 444(2)ˣ. Fritzner: einn cites several examples in which einn or einna is followed by a sup. adj. The same construction, with the comp. form of the adj., is found in the first refrain (13/5-8; 17/5-8; 21/5-8), thus providing parallelism between the two helmingar of this st. — [3-4]: On the similarities between these ll. and 14/5-6, see Notes to st. 14. — [3] stýrandinn ‘the steerer’: Both Skj B and Skald emend to stýrandi, but this is unnecessary. — [5-8]: The second repeat of stef 1, noted by an obleos in the left-hand margin of B’s fol. 10v.

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. Attwood, Katrina. 1996a. ‘The Poems of MS AM 757a 4to: An Edition and Contextual Study’. Ph.D. thesis. University of Leeds.
6. Rydberg, Hugo, ed. 1907. ‘Die geistlichen Drápur und Dróttkvættfragmente des Cod. AM 757 4to.’. Ph.D. thesis. University of Lund. Copenhagen: Møller.
7. Fritzner = Fritzner, Johan. 1883-96. Ordbog over det gamle norske sprog. 3 vols. Kristiania (Oslo): Den norske forlagsforening. 4th edn. Rpt. 1973. Oslo etc.: Universitetsforlaget.
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.