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skaldic

Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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Anon Pét 30VII/6 — fjanda ‘enemy’

Útan bækr hefir ítra
öll ritninga vitni;
kann því mætr í máta
megnstærir fólk læra.
Breyzku holdi og hetskum
heims stríðandi fjanda
mettaz saðning sætri,
sanndyggr, heilags anda.

Hefir útan bækr öll vitni ítra ritninga; því kann mætr megnstærir læra fólk í máta. Sanndyggr stríðandi breyzku holdi og hetskum fjanda heims mettaz sætri saðning heilags anda.

He knows by heart [lit. without books] all the testimonies of glorious scriptures; therefore the excellent increaser of strength [APOSTLE] can instruct people properly. The truly worthy fighter against the frail flesh and the malignant enemy of the world [= Devil] is sated with the sweet feast of the Holy Spirit.

notes

[5-6]: Ms. ‘Breysku holldi ok heimsku’ lacks skothending; ms. ‘heim strida fianda’ lacks aðalhending. All eds emend ‘strida’ to a form of stríðandi ‘(one) fighting against (something), an opponent’, and assume loss of -s in heims by haplography. Stríðandi, pres. part. governs dat. holdi and fjanda. Kock (NN §1732) objects to Finnur Jónsson’s interpretation (Skj B): bekæmpende verdens skrøbelige kød og djævelens dumhed ‘fighting against the frail flesh of the world and the devil’s stupidity’, and proposes that ms. ‘heīskū’ is a scribal error for ‘hetskū’ (cf. OSwed. hætsker; Dan. hadsk; MLG hetisch ‘spiteful, savage, malignant’). This emendation provides skothending with breyzku (cf. AEW: breyskr from German *brautiska-) although an OIcel. adj. *hetskr is not otherwise attested. (Cf. Notes to rís 28/8; jungum 29/8.)

kennings

grammar

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