Þýskt Gyillinstafróf í þremur íslenskum þýðingum

Abstract

One sub-category of the literary genre known since Greek times as 'acrostics' (in Icelandic 'griplur') is what might be termed, in English, the 'alphabet poem' (in Icelandic 'gyllinistafróf' or 'stafrófssálmur'). Its principal characteristic is that the first letters or words at the beginning of a line, or the first lines in each stanza make up a name, word or sentence. In gyllinistafróf the initial letters of stanzas form the alphabet from A to Z. There is an extant acrostic poem attributed to Hallgrímur Pétursson (1614-1674) and preserved in 21 manuscripts. In some of these manuscrips it is stated that Hallgrímur translated the poem from German and Danish. The present article shows that there was a Danish translation of the poem printed in Danske viser fra Adelsvisebøger og Flyveblade 1530-1630; and this work is traced back to a German original, printed in High German in Greifswalder Gesangbuch 1597 and in small print in Low German in 1612. It is conceivable that Bartholomeus Ringwaldt (1532-1599) was the author of this German poem, though his role may rather have been that of translating the piece into High German. The poem is preserved in a manuscript written in 1588 by Catherine Tirs, a nun in the Niesing nunnery in Miinster. The article notes that Hallgrímur Pétursson is not the only Icelander to have translated the poem; there are three different manuscript translations extant. One of them, in all likelihood the oldest, is by Ólafur Jónsson from Sandar in Dýrafjörður (1560-1627). It is not clear who the author of the third translated version is, but the present writer has identified two manuscripts containing the piece, ÍB 242 8vo and JS 235 8vo. The article examines the three Icelandic translations, comparing them with the German original and the Danish translation. A considerable number of differences are noted between the German and Danish versions. The Danish translator expands the poem by adding new material and his overall treatment lends a lighter tone to the work. In his translation Ólafur Jónsson follows the German original closely, both in content and expression. Hallgrímur Pétursson seems to have worked with both the German original and the Danish translation in front of him, because he borrows material and vocabulary from both, quite apart from the additions of his own which he makes. The unidentified translator seems only to have known the Danish translation and not the German original. There seems to be some link between his translation and that of Hallgrímur, but it is clear that he made use of the Danish translation because he makes use of expressions which are not to be found in Hallgrímur's version. Vices and virtues were among the most popular themes in the Baroque period in Europe. Some post-Reformation wisdom and advice poetry survives in Icelandic and has been little researched. The translations analysed in this article confirm that European poetry of this type was known in Iceland in this period, and that it is likely to have had an influence on the origins of Icelandic versions of the genre.