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skaldic

Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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Anon Andr 3VII/7 — prýðir ‘the adorner’

Skært ljós skugglaus birti
skein yfir krossin hreina,
þá er Andréas endi
aldr, með drottins valdi.
Sá hann guð sjálfr í dauða
sier bjóðandi þjóða
prýðir faðminn fríða;
frægð slík himinríkis.

Skært ljós skugglaus birti skein yfir hreina krossin með drottins valdi, þá er Andréas endi aldr. Hann sjálfr prýðir þjóða sá í dauða guð bjóðandi sier fríða faðminn; slík frægð himinríkis.

A clear light, a shadowless brightness, shone over the pure cross through the Lord’s power, when Andrew ended his life. He himself, the adorner of nations [HOLY MAN], saw in death God offering him his fair embrace; such [is] the fame of the heavenly kingdom.

notes

[5, 6, 7] hann sjálfr prýðir þjóða ‘he himself adorner of nations’: Kock (NN §1757) would read sjálfr as an indeclinable form modifying the m. acc. sg. noun guð, i.e. as a late equivalent of guð sjálfan. He would likewise read prýðir þjóða as a kenning for God, rather than Andrew, again interpreting the form as acc., which would require further emendation of prýðir to prýði. Kock suggests, further, that frægð is the direct object of bjóðandi in the cl.: sá hann guð sjálfr bjóðandi frægð slík, a late equivalent of sá hann guð sjálfan bjóðanda frægð slíka. Kock’s arguments are not entirely convincing, since he fails to take account of the clear parallelism with st. 1. The epithet prýðir þjóða ‘adorner of nations’ seems appropriate for Andrew, described in st. 1/4 as bjóðandi frið þjóðum ‘offering peace to nations’ (perhaps specifically ‘heathen nations’) (see Fritzner: þjóð 4), a possible allusion to Andrew’s life as a missionary.

kennings

grammar

case: nom.

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