Skapti Frag 1^III

Máttr es munka dróttins
mestr; aflar goð flestu;
Kristr skóp ríkr ok reisti
Róms hǫll verǫld alla.

Máttr {dróttins munka} es mestr; goð aflar flestu; ríkr Kristr skóp alla verǫld ok reisti hǫll Róms.

The power {of the lord of monks} [= God] is greatest; God brings everything about; the mighty Christ created the whole world and raised up the hall of Rome.

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

Readings: [4] Róms (‘rvms’): ‘rums’ Tˣ, ‘rvms’ W, ‘roms’ U, A

Editions: Skj AI, 314, Skj BI, 291, Skald I, 148; SnE 1848-87, I, 446-9, II, 333, 445, III, 90, SnE 1931, 158, SnE 1998, I, 77.

Context: The helmingr is cited within a sequence illustrating kennings for Christ.

Notes: [1] dróttins munka ‘of the lord of monks [= God]’: Meissner (Meissner 369) comments that early kennings for God or Christ such as this, konungr Róms ‘king of Rome’ (Eil Frag 1/3, 4) and gramr Jórðánar ‘prince of the Jordan’ (Sigv ErfÓl 28/2^I) register a sense of the strangeness (das fremdartige) of the idea of the Christian god, which however soon phases out. — [3-4] skóp alla verǫld ok reisti hǫll Róms ‘created the whole world and raised up the hall of Rome’: The alternative pairing of verbs and objects, skóp hǫll Róms ok reisti alla verǫld ‘created the hall of Rome and raised up the whole world’, is also possible but is less convincing in terms of meaning and theology. — [4] Róms ‘of Rome’: Clearly a reference to the papal see. Another early reference to papal authority is Sigv Knútdr 10/8^I, where Knútr is described as klúss Pétrúsi ‘close to Peter’. The quality of the vowel in the p. n. is uncertain. The ms. spellings vary between <u/v> and <o> (see Readings above), and the evidence of skaldic rhymes elsewhere is ambivalent. The aðalhending dóma : Rómi (Mark Eirdr 10/2^II) would favour Róm, adopted here, while the skothending Rúms : rómu (Anon Pl 57/5^VII) and perhaps the imperfect aðalhending Rúms : suman (in the tøglag line Sigv Knútr 10/6^II) would favour Rúm.

References

1. Bibliography
2. 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.
3. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
4. Meissner = Meissner, Rudolf. 1921. Die Kenningar der Skalden: Ein Beitrag zur skaldischen Poetik. Rheinische Beiträge und Hülfsbücher zur germanischen Philologie und Volkskunde 1. Bonn and Leipzig: Schroeder. Rpt. 1984. Hildesheim etc.: Olms.
5. SnE 1931 = Snorri Sturluson. 1931. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
6. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
7. Internal references
8. Jonna Louis-Jensen and Tarrin Wills (eds) 2007, ‘Anonymous Poems, Plácitusdrápa 57’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 218.
9. Jana Krüger (ed.) 2017, ‘Eilífr Goðrúnarson, Fragment 1’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 127.
10. Jayne Carroll (ed.) 2009, ‘Markús Skeggjason, Eiríksdrápa 10’ in Kari Ellen Gade (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 2: From c. 1035 to c. 1300. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 2. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 442.
11. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Markús Skeggjason, Poem on Knútr Sveinsson 1’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 292.
12. Judith Jesch (ed.) 2012, ‘Sigvatr Þórðarson, Erfidrápa Óláfs helga 28’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 697.
13. Matthew Townend (ed.) 2012, ‘Sigvatr Þórðarson, Knútsdrápa 10’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 661.