Anon (FoGT) 43III/3 — öld ‘to mankind’
Ábiels lofar ævi
ómeinsemi hreina;
öld lofar Ienóch mildan
einkiend siðavendni.
Nóe lofaz öflugs ævi
ágætu hreinlæti;
Siem lofar fært til fremdar
fórnarhald um aldir.
Ómeinsemi lofar hreina ævi Ábiels; siðavendni, einkiend öld, lofar mildan Ienóch. Ævi öflugs Nóe lofaz ágætu hreinlæti; fórnarhald, fært til fremdar, lofar Siem um aldir.
Innocence praises the pure life of Abel; integrity of morals, specific to mankind, praises gentle Enoch. The life of powerful Noah is praised on account of extraordinary purity; the observance of sacrifice, performed in honour [of God], will praise Shem forever.
notes
[3, 4] einkiend öld ‘specific to mankind’: Most eds regard öld as dat. sg. ‘to mankind’, though Kock (NN §2588) argues that it is an adverbial acc. meaning ‘for ever’. SnE 1848-87, II, 247 proposed that einkiend meant ‘well known to [all men]’, translating omnibus hominibus nota (cf. Skj B kendte for menneskene ‘known to mankind’), but it is more likely that einkiendr means ‘specific to, belonging to’ (cf. ONP: 2einkenna 2, p. p. einkenndr and 3 ‘specify as belonging to’), i.e. indicating that human beings alone of living creatures have understanding of morality. Cf. LP: einkendr.