Anon Leið 41^VII

Haldi oss frá eldi
eilífr skapa deilir
Kristr styrkr ok myrkrum
menn, es heim líðr þenna,
svát ǫll í frið fullan
farim heim, es skilr beima
alls stýrandi, órum
óttalaus með dróttni.

{Eilífr deilir skapa}, styrkr Kristr, haldi oss menn frá eldi ok myrkrum, es líðr þenna heim, svát farim ǫll heim í fullan frið, óttalaus með órum dróttni, es {stýrandi alls} skilr beima.

May {the eternal ruler of fates} [= God (= Christ)], powerful Christ, keep us men from fire and darkness, when this world passes away, so that we may all go home into complete peace, fearlessly with our Lord, when {the steerer of all} [= God] divides men.

Mss: B(11r), 399a-bˣ

Readings: [7] stýrandi: stýranda B, 399a‑bˣ

Editions: Skj AI, 625-6, Skj BI, 632, Skald I, 307, NN §1270; Sveinbjörn Egilsson 1844, 69, Rydberg 1907, 10, Attwood 1996a, 70, 181.

Notes: [3] styrkr ‘strong, powerful’: The ms. reading has been retained here, although it disturbs the alliteration, which requires a word beginning with <m>. Sveinbjörn Egilsson, acknowledging Jón Sigurðsson’s suggestion (in a n. to 444(2)ˣ), and Kock (NN §1270) independently suggested that the word should be merkir, 3rd pers. sg. pres. indic. of merkja in the sense ‘to set a value on’. They take Kristr ‘Christ’ (l. 3) to be the subject and menn the object in an intercalary cl. Kristr merkir menn ‘Christ values men’. Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) omits the word altogether, marking the space with dots. — [4, 6] heim ‘[this] world, place of abode’, heim (adv.) ‘home, homewards’: The poet plays on the similarity between these two words and the disparity between the first, which refers to the temporal world, and the second, which holds out the prospect of heavenly bliss. — [5] ǫll ‘all’: The poet’s use of the n. pl. form of the adj. allows for the possibility that women as well as men may go to heaven. — [7] stýrandi alls ‘steerer of all [= God]’: Sveinbjörn Egilsson’s correction (note to 444(2)ˣ) is adopted by all subsequent eds. Cf. the kenning stýrandi hallar heims ‘steerer of the hall of the world [SKY/HEAVEN > = God]’ in 21/3-4. Alls stýrandi is used in Mark Eirdr 29/2^II.

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. 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.
8. Internal references
9. Jayne Carroll (ed.) 2009, ‘Markús Skeggjason, Eiríksdrápa 29’ 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, pp. 458-9.