Gripla - 20.12.2011, Page 74

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sins: one is in baptism, the second is in repentance of sins, the third
is in losing one’s life for the sake of God. The colour of water sig-
nifies20 the forgiveness of sins in the baptism; great mildness and
no difficulty belong to it. Sulphur-flame signifies the repentance of
sins; great bitterness belongs to it. The colour of fire signifies the
forgiveness of sins in martyrdom for the sake of God; great terror
and great radiance belong to it. This threefold terror (and) wrath
of God betokens the rainbow. It was not seen before Noah’s flood;
since then it is seen in memory of that promise which God made to
Noah, that never again would a flood come to lay the world waste
like the one which had been in his day.
III
Two variant recensions of this same text, which I have both occasionally
referred to, are found in the Hauksbók and in the so-called Rímbegla. Both
versions are very near to our text, but sensible differences also occur,
together with occasional expansions or omissions, which may be useful to
note here. I shall start by taking into account the Hauksbók version, which
I print below from Eiríkur Jónsson’s and Finnur Jónsson’s standard edi-
tion, followed by my English translation, in order to make the comparative
analysis easier. Textual variant forms and additions are underlined for the
reader’s convenience.
[Hauksbók, Heimslýsing ok helgifræði, c. 15: ‘Vm regnboga’, 174–175]
A Regn boga ero þrir lítír. vatnz lítr oc ældz lítr oc brenno steíns
loga litr. þat minnír oss a at ottast þrefallda reiði guðs þa er kemr oc
komet hefir yfir heímenn. Vatn kom i Noa floð. Brennu steins loge
kom yfir Sodomam oc Gomorram. ælldr man ganga yfir allan heím-
enn firir doma dag. þessir hínír somo lítír regnboga iij Merkia þre-
fallda firir gefníng synda. Ein er i skírn heilagre. onnor er i iðran
synda. hín þriðia er liflat þeira er píndír ero firir guðs sacar. vatnz
litr iartegnír fírír gefníng synda i skírn heilagre. þui fylgir bliðleikr
míkill en eí toruelde. Brenno steins loge merkir iðran synda. þui
fylgír beiskleicr mikill. Eldz litr merkír firir gefníng synda i liflate
20 Or, alternatively, “symbolizes” (see preceding note).