Heil - vertu, - drottning - dýrðar,-
dagsbrún - ljós* ins fagra
heims …
…
sálna fjöld og sæla,
synda líkn og …
…
… konungs jöfra.
Heil vertu, drottning dýrðar, ljós* dagsbrún ins fagra heims …, fjöld og sæla sálna, líkn synda og … konungs jöfra.
Hail to you, queen of glory, shining daybreak of the beautiful world …, multitude and bliss of souls, salve of sins and … of the king of princes [= God (= Christ)].
[2] ins: ‘e[...]’ B, ‘eṇ’ 399a‑bˣ, ‘en(s)’(?) BRydberg
[2-3] ljós* dagsbrún ins fagra heims ‘shining daybreak of the beautiful world’: This striking epithet for the Virgin Mary is one of many comparing her to sources of light, often heavenly bodies (cf. Schottmann 1973, 34-46). However, as Schottmann also remarks (1973, 36-7) the characterisation of Mary as dagsbrún, that is, the first streak of daylight between the end of night and the beginning of morning, has a special Christian significance, because it symbolises her role as the dawn before the coming of the true light, Jesus Christ, before whom the night of spiritual darkness will disappear.
Pronouns and determiners: Definite article
The definite article is normally suffixed to nouns, except in some cases where it is used with an adjective. If the noun form ends in a vowel, the 'i' in the article is dropped. If the noun form ends in 'um', the 'm' and 'i' are both dropped. E.g. hesta (acc. pl.) > hestana (acc. pl. definite); hestum (dat. pl.) > hestunum (dat. pl. definite)
masc. | fem. | neut. | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
sing. | N A G D | inn inn ins inum | in ina innar inni | it it ins inu |
pl. | N A G D | inir ina inna inum | inar inar inna inum | in in inna inum |