Árstíðir - Heyr himna smiður

Icelandic hymn from the early 13th century. By the end of the century, the nation had converted from mostly pagan to mostly Catholic.

Heyr himna smiðr
hvers skáldit biðr;
komi mjúk til mín
miskunnin þín.
Því heitk á þik
þú hefr skaptan mik;
ek em þrællinn þinn,
þú est dróttinn minn.

Goð, heitk á þik
at græðir mik;
minzk mildingr mín,
mest þurfum þín;
ryð þú rǫðla gramr,
ríklyndr ok framr,
hǫlds hverri sorg
ór hjarta borg.

Gæt, mildingr, mín
mest þurfum þín
helzt hverja stund
á hǫlða grund;
sett, meyjar mǫgr,
málsefni fǫgr,
ǫll es hjǫ́lp af þér
í hjarta mér.

Hear, Smith of the Heavens,
what the poet asks.
May softly come unto me
Thy mercy.
So I call on Thee,
for Thou hast created me.
I am Thy slave,
Thou art my Lord.

God, I call on Thee
to heal me.
Remember me, Mild One,^*
Most we need Thee.
Drive out, O King of Suns,
generous and great,
every human sorrow
from the fortress of the heart.

Watch over me, Mild One,
Most we need Thee,
truly every moment
in the world of men.
Send us, Son of the Virgin,
good causes,
all aid is from Thee,
in my heart.

This hymn was composed by Kolbeinn Tumason, one of the most powerful chieftains in the Iceland of his time. He helped his wife's uncle (or cousin), his house priest, Guðmundur Arason, to be elected bishop of Hólar, hoping, through him, to increase his power and influence in the north part of the island. Guðmundur, often nicknamed "the good", was generous with the Church's holdings and a community of the poor gathered around him in Hólar. I wonder whether this provoked envy and avarice in Kolbeinn, when he saw Guðmundur giving to the poor instead of to himself, his friend and benefactor. They came into conflict when Kolbeinn accused a priest of owing him money and had him exiled. Guðmundur took the priest into his household in an attempt to preserve the sole right of the Church to judge her clergy. In 1209, Kolbeinn led a group of men to Víðines, near Hólar, to carry out a sentence against another priest. There they fought with followers of the bishop and there the chieftain was fatally injured by a blow to his head with a large rock after which his troops dispersed. Despite the circumstances of his death, Kolbeinn was a believing Christian. Before passing away, he composed this classic Icelandic hymn.

^* Or mild king. This is a pun on the word mildingur.

Sources: 1,2,3,4,5