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skaldic

Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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Gamlkan Has 50VII/3 — musteris ‘of the temple’

Nítti einn við ótta
ítr postoli rítar
fróns musteris festi*
forðum þýjar orða.
Enn, þegars iðran sanna
aldrprýðir fekk lýða,
Pétr vann glœp með gráti
grandlauss þvegit vandla.

Einn ítr postoli nítti forðum festi* rítar musteris fróns við ótta orða þýjar. Enn þegars aldrprýðir lýða fekk sanna iðran, vann grandlauss Pétr þvegit vandla glœp með gráti.

One glorious Apostle long ago denied the securer of the shield of the temple of the land [HEAVEN > SUN > = God (= Christ)] for fear of a bondswoman’s words. But, as soon as the adorner of the lives of men [SAINT = Peter] [lit. life-adorner of men] experienced true repentance, the sinless Peter washed his wickedness away completely with weeping.

readings

[3] musteris: so all others, ‘muster(i)[...]’(?) B

notes

[2-3] festi* fróns musteris rítar ‘securer (dat.) of the shield of the temple of the land [HEAVEN > SUN > = God (= Christ)]’: This striking expression appears to be a conflation of two kenning-types found elsewhere in Has. In locutions like rítar ranns éla ‘(of the) shield of the house of storms’ (26/3-4), the sun is characterised as the shield of heaven. The lexical parallels noted above may indicate that Gamli intends his readers/hearers to recall that image here. He superimposes it on the concept of heaven as a shrine or temple, which occurs in skrín skýja ‘shrine of the clouds’ (19/7-8) and skrín skýstalls ‘shrine of the sky-platform’ (29/7-8). Gamli uses the OFr loanword musteri, which derives from Lat. monasterium (AEW: mustari) and is used to designate a Christian or Jewish temple or church, rather than a hof, a heathen temple (CVC: musteri). The word is used of a Christian church in Anon Vitn 15/3 and Anon Mv I 15/2.

kennings

grammar

case: gen.

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