Sigv Lv 23I/2 — Hvíta ‘White’
Hafa láti mik heitan
Hvíta-Kristr at víti
eld, ef Ôleif vildak
— emk skirr of þat — firrask.
Vatnœrin hefk vitni
— vask til Rúms í haska—
— ǫld leynik því aldri —
annarra þau manna.
Hvíta-Kristr láti mik hafa heitan eld at víti, ef vildak firrask Ôleif; emk skirr of þat. Hefk þau vatnœrin vitni annarra manna; vask í haska til Rúms; aldri leynik ǫld því.
May White-Christ let me have hot fire for punishment if I wanted to abandon Óláfr; I am guiltless about that. I have those abundant-as-water testimonies of other people; I was in peril on the way to Rome; never shall I conceal that from people.
notes
[2] Hvíta-Kristr ‘White-Christ’: The only other skaldic occurrence of this name for Christ is Þdís SaintIII; for other examples, see CVC: hvítr B. II. 1. In medieval Celtic texts, Christ is often called ‘white’, since the words for ‘white’ (Irish bán, Welsh gwyn) also mean ‘holy’, and this may be the origin of the Norse usage. Alternatively, ‘white’ may arise from the wearing of white baptismal garments by converts.