Gripla - 20.12.2011, Page 77

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The rainbow allegory in the Rímbegla version reveals a more substantial
consistency with our sermon fragment, in that it is basically the same text
with very few occasional variant forms and only one evident mistake on
the part of the scribe, who first left out the last sentence of the second
section (cf. § 26) and then copied it at the very end of the text (cf. § 27).23
Here are the three relevant sections (§§ 25–27) of part III, chapter VII of
Rymbegla according to Stephanus Björnsen’s 1780 edition, followed by my
English translation. Textual variant forms and changes of place are under-
lined for the reader’s convenience.
[Rymbegla, III. Historiski Partur, VII. Cap. ‘Um regnboga’, 336] 25.
§. I Regnboga eru þryr liter, vatns og brennesteinsloga og ellds. Þad
minner oſs á ad ottaſt þrefallda reide Guds, þá er kemur yfer heim-
en; Vatn kom í Noa flode, brennesteins logie kom yfer Sodomam og
Gomorram, Elldur mun koma yfer allan heim fyrer domsdag. 26.
§. Þeſser enu ſömu liter í regnboga merkia þrefallda fyrergefning
ſyndanna. Ein er í Skyrn, onnur er í Idran ſynda, þridia er í lyfláte
fyrer Guds ſaker, Vatnslitur merker fyrergefning ſynda íSkyrn, þvi
filger blydleiki mikell og eingi Torvellda. Brennesteins logie merker
Ydran ſynda, þvi fylger beiſkleikur mikell. 27. §. Og þeſsa þrefallda
reidi Guðs táknar Regnbogie. hann var ei ſien fyrer Noa flod, ſydan
er hann ſyndur í minning fyrerheits þeſs er Gud hiet Noa ad ey
ſkyllde optar flod koma þad er heim kefde, ſvo ſem á hanns dögum
hefde vorded, Elldslitur merker fyrergefning ſynda í lyfláte, fyrer
Guds ſaker, þar filger Ogn mikel og biartleikur mikell.
[Rymbegla, Part III, Ch. 7: ‘About the Rainbow’] § 25. In the
rainbow there are three colours: of water and of sulphur-flame and
of fire. This reminds us to fear the threefold wrath of God, which
comes upon the world. Water came in Noah’s flood; sulphur-flame
came upon Sodom and Gomorrah; fire will come over the whole
world before Judgement Day. § 26. These same colours in the
rainbow signify the threefold forgiveness of sins: one is in baptism,
the second is in repentance of sins, the third is in losing one’s life
23 Such misplacement is found in both AM 730, 4to, pp. 81–82, and AM 731, 4to, f. 19r. In
this last case, the scribal error is clearly marked by a reference cross, inserted in the line by
the same hand and then repeated before the last sentence.
THE RAINBOW ALLEGORY