Anon Brúðv 27VII/7 — hei… ‘The …’
Síðan náði sverðrjóðr
— sveinninn girntiz vera einn —
— skildiz hann við fira fjöld —
fara, þar er auðn var.
Hæstri unni höll Krists
helga sig lagar elgs
hei…, unz önd liet;
endar þar manns sögu kendr.
Sverðrjóðr náði síðan fara, þar er var auðn, hann skildiz við fjöld fira; sveinninn girntiz vera einn. Hei… elgs lagar kendr hæstri höll Krists, unni helga sig, unz önd liet; þar endar manns sögu.
Afterwards the sword-reddener [WARRIOR] managed to go where there was wilderness; he parted from the multitude of men; the youth wanted to be alone. The … of the elk of the sea [SHIP > SEAFARER], belonging to the highest hall of Christ [= Mary], loved to make himself holy, until he gave up life; there the man’s story ends.
readings
[7] hei… unz: ‘heims [...] ok’ 1032ˣ, 399a‑bˣ, ‘heim s[...]ok’ 2166ˣ
notes
[7] hei…: The end of the word is illegible in 721 and the readings of other mss shed little light on what might have been written there originally. It seems clear though, that the illegible word is the base-word of a man-kenning, whose referent is most likely to be [SEAFARER], since the determinant is elgr lagar ‘elk of the sea [SHIP]’. Jón Helgason thought that ‘hei...’ could be a mistake for a word beginning with ‘b’, possibly beitir ‘steerer’ which would fit beautifully with the determinant, but the first letter of the word in 721 is clearly ‘h’ not ‘b’. It is also worth noting that alliteration here requires a word with vocalic onset.
kennings
- Hei… elgs lagar — The … of the elk of the sea, [SEAFARER]