Note to Eyv Hál 7I
[7] ôttungr Freys ‘the kinsman of Freyr <god> [= Hákon]’: Hákon jarl Grjótgarðsson (see Context above). The identical phrase appears in Þjóð Yt 16/7. A close analogue is ôttung(r) Týs ‘kinsman of Týr’ in st. 10/7, with its counterpart in Þjóð Yt 14/3. Such kennings occur only in these two poems and in Eskál Vell. Similarly restricted in distribution is the theme of the divine ancestry of kings and jarls (Marold 1992, 699; cf. Bagge 2000, 33-6 on Rþ). Presumably the kennings do not imply direct descent from Freyr or Týr (since Óðinn appears as progenitor in st. 1), but they do form part of a programme of implicit comparison with the Yngling kings (see Introduction). It is conceivable that the specific reference to Freyr hints at movement towards the Yngling territory of south-eastern Norway, where toponymic evidence suggests that the cult of Freyr was particularly strong (Brink 2007a, 109).
References
- Bibliography
- Bagge, Sverre. 2000. ‘Old Norse Theories of Society. From Rígsþula to Konungs skuggsiá’. In Schnall et al. 2000, 7-45.
- Marold, Edith. 1992. ‘Die Skaldendichtung als Quelle der Religionsgeschichte’. In Beck et al. 1992, 685-719.
- Brink, Stefan. 2007a. ‘How Uniform Was the Old Norse Religion?’. In Quinn et al. 2007, 105-36.
- Internal references
- Edith Marold with the assistance of Vivian Busch, Jana Krüger, Ann-Dörte Kyas and Katharina Seidel, translated from German by John Foulks 2012, ‘ Einarr skálaglamm Helgason, Vellekla’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 280. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1181> (accessed 5 June 2024)
- Not published: do not cite ()
- Edith Marold (ed.) 2012, ‘Þjóðólfr ór Hvini, Ynglingatal 14’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 31.
- Edith Marold (ed.) 2012, ‘Þjóðólfr ór Hvini, Ynglingatal 16’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 36.