Anon Mgr 1VII/7 — lágina ‘the log’
Orðin gief þú mjög til mærðar,
minn lausnari, skáldi þínu,
þinnar móður mildi kunnrar,
mála örr, og hjálpa sálu.
Eini sýndir þú Áróns frænda;
aldri brann þó viðrinn kaldi;
lát þú kveikjaz lágina dróttins
leiftra skríns í hjarta mínu.
Lausnari minn, örr mála, gief þú mjög skáldi þínu orðin til mærðar móður þinnar, kunnrar mildi, og hjálpa sálu. Þú sýndir Áróns frænda eini; þó brann viðrinn kaldi aldri; lát þú lágina dróttins leiftra skríns kveikjaz í hjarta mínu.
My redeemer, generous with speech, give abundantly to your poet the words for the praise of your mother, renowned for mercy, and save the soul. You showed the juniper to Aaron’s kinsman [= Moses]; yet the cold bush was never consumed [lit. never burned]; let the log of the lord of lightnings’ shrine [SKY/HEAVEN > = God] be kindled in my heart.
readings
[7] lágina: ‘lo᷎gínn’ 713
notes
[7] lágina (f. acc. sg.) ‘the log’: The ms. reading ‘lo᷎ginn’ can only be rendered as lögin (n. acc. pl.) ‘the laws’ (so Skj B), which makes the l. hypometrical (two short syllables cannot occupy a stressed and an unstressed position in metrical positions 5-6 in liljulag). Furthermore, it is not clear why the poet would want divine laws to inspire his creation. Skald emends to lágina (f. acc. sg.) ‘the log’ (see NN §1665), which is metrically correct and makes sense in the present context (see eini ‘juniper’ and viðr ‘wood’ in ll. 5, 6): the poet asks that an eternal fire of divine inspiration be kindled in his breast. Wrightson supplies loginn ‘the flame’. According to that interpretation, ‘the flame of the lord of lightnings’ shrine’ is a kenning for the Holy Ghost, but loginn (m. nom. sg.) ‘the flame’ is ungrammatical because the acc. inf. construction requires the acc. logann and the l. is still unmetrical.