Anon Lil 60VII/7 — bjúgi ‘coiled’
En í andláti Jésú sæta
oss var flutt, að gægz á krossinn
fjandinn hafi og friett að syndum,
færaglöggr, ef nökkur væri.
Hlægir mig, að hier mun teygjaz
hans forvitni honum til vansa;
eigi mun nú ormr hinn bjúgi
agn svelgjandi á króki fagna.
En í andláti sæta Jésú, var oss flutt, að færaglöggr fjandinn hafi gægz á krossinn og friett að syndum, ef nökkur væri. Mig hlægir, að hier mun forvitni hans teygjaz honum til vansa; nú mun hinn bjúgi ormr, svelgjandi agn, eigi fagna á króki.
And at the death of sweet Jesus, we were told that the opportunistic fiend has kept an eye on the Cross and asked about sins, whether there were any. I am delighted that here his curiosity would lead him to disgrace; now the coiled serpent, swallowing the bait, will not rejoice on the hook.
readings
[7] bjúgi: bljúgi 705ˣ
notes
[7] bjúgi ‘coiled, twisted’: The adj. seems appropriate in conjunction with the serpent-form Lucifer has taken on and especially given the association with the world-encircling Miðgarðsormr suggested by Niðrst. But it is not used elsewhere in either poetry or prose to describe a serpent. It tends to mean either ‘crooked, bent’ in reference to an object (e.g. a fish hook), or ‘bowed down, crippled’ in reference to a person who is sick or injured. The word occurs again in the phrase bjúgi brandrinn ódygðar ‘the recoiling sword of faithlessness’ 66/7. The connotations may be the same here: Lucifer’s plan has backfired and he becomes the victim of his own scheming.