ESk Geisl 33VII/4 — konungr ‘The king’
Ǫld hefr opt inn mildi
unnar bliks frá miklum
— Krists mærik lim — leysta
litrauðs konungr nauðum.
Greitt má gumnum létta
guðs ríðari stríðum;
rǫskr þiggr allt, sem œskir,
Óláfr af gram sólar.
Konungr inn mildi litrauðs bliks unnar hefr opt leysta ǫld frá miklum nauðum; mærik lim Krists. Guðs ríðari má greitt létta stríðum gumnum; rǫskr Óláfr þiggr allt, sem œskir, af gram sólar.
The king, generous with the red-coloured light of the wave [GOLD], has often rescued men from great need; I praise the limb of Christ [SAINT = Óláfr]. God’s knight [SAINT = Óláfr] can easily alleviate afflictions for men; brave Óláfr gets all he desires from the king of the sun [= God].
notes
[1, 2, 4] konungr inn mildi litrauðs bliks unnar ‘the king, generous with the red-coloured light of the wave [GOLD]’: The kenning may be understood on several levels. It clearly refers to Óláfr, but the light imagery also recalls Christ, ‘the king of the sun’, whose radiance is associated with the saint. The ‘king’ in this multivalent metaphor can be the mortal Óláfr, generous with gold; the heavenly Óláfr, generous with miracles; or Christ, generous with the grace of his saints. Cederschiöld proposed emending Bb’s ‘aunnar’ (l. 2) to unnar, and this has been followed by all eds.
grammar
Masculine: gen. sing. -s; nom. pl. -ar/-jar
| nom. pl. -ar | nom. pl. -jar | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| sing. | N A G D | hestr hest hests hesti | jǫkull jǫkul jǫkuls jǫkli | jǫtunn jǫtun jǫtuns jǫtni | ketill ketil ketils katli | niðr nið niðs nið |
| pl. | N A G D | hestar hesta hesta hestum | jǫklar jǫkla jǫkla jǫklum | jǫtnar jǫtna jǫtna jǫtnum | katlar katla katla kǫtlum | niðjar niðja niðja niðjum |
| horse | glacier | giant | kettle | kinsman | ||