Anon Lil 2VII/7 — steflig ‘with refrains’
Æski eg þín hin mikla miskunn
— mier veitiz, ef eg eftir leita
klökkum hug — því að inniz ekki
annað gott, en af þier til, drottinn.
Hreinsa brjóst og leið með listum
líflig orð í stuðla skorðum
steflig gjörð, að vísan verði
vunnin yðr af þessum munni.
Eg æski hin mikla miskunn þín — veitiz mier, ef eg leita eftir klökkum hug — því að ekki inniz annað gott til, en af þier, drottinn. Hreinsa brjóst og leið með listum, líflig orð í skorðum stuðla, steflig gjörð, að vísan verði vunnin yðr af þessum munni.
I ask for your great mercy — may it be granted to me, if I seek with a humble spirit — because there cannot be talk of anything good other than from you, Lord. Cleanse my heart and lead with artistry lively words, within the supports of the stuðlar, a belt with refrains, so that a poem comes about, uttered for you from this mouth.
readings
[7] steflig: stefnlig 99a, 622, 713, Vb, 41 8°ˣ, 705ˣ
notes
[7]: It is not uncommon in skaldic poetry that part of a subordinate cl. be positioned before a conj. (here, að) (JH). — [7] steflig ‘stef-ly, with refrains’: The reading of Bb alone. The adj. occurs again at 51/4. The only other instance of the adj. is Árni Gd 24/5IV. The other mss have stefnlig, glossed in LP as som styrer i en bestemt og god retning ‘which steers in a certain and good direction’, understanding stefnlig vísa to mean ‘a good poem’. In this sense, adopted by both Skj B and Skald, the adj. would be hap. leg. in poetry. The more common meaning of stefnligr is ‘appropriate, suitable’ (cf. Fritzner: stefnliga, adv.; Heggstad, Hødnebø and Simensen 1997: stefnligr).