Brúðr, áttu bezta kveðju,
blíð, skyldasta víða,
— kristnir menn það kunna —
konungs aldar, með valdi.
Orð, þau er harðla heilug
heyraz, þier í eyra
sendi guð til grundar
Gabriél að mæla.
Blíð brúðr konungs aldar, áttu skyldasta bezta kveðju, víða með valdi; kristnir menn kunna það. Guð sendi Gabriél til grundar að mæla orð þau í eyra þier, er heyraz harðla heilug.
Gentle bride of the king of men [= God (= Christ) > = Mary], you have most right to the best greeting, far and wide in accordance with your power; Christian men know that. God sent Gabriel to earth to speak in your ear those words which sound very holy.
[1, 4] brúðr konungs aldar ‘bride of the king of men [= God (= Christ) > = Mary]’: On the widespread use of the figure of Mary as ‘Bride of Christ’, see Warner 2000, 121-33 and, for skaldic poetry, Schottmann 1973, 95-8. The locus classicus is the antiphon Assumpta est Maria in cœlum ‘Mary is taken up into the heavens’, for the Feast of the Assumption, which draws heavily on the bridal imagery of the S. of S.
case: gen.
number: sg.