Note to Glúmr Gráf 4^I

[8] gollvarpaða* ‘of gold-throwers [GENEROUS MEN]’: (a) This edn tentatively follows Konráð Gíslason (1866b, 190-4) and Finnur Jónsson (Skj B; LP: gollvǫrpuðr) in interpreting gollvǫrpuðr as a kenning for a generous man, ‘one who throws, distributes gold’ (cf. Meissner 323), and construing it, with emendation of ‑varpaðar to gen. pl. ‑varpaða, as part of the phrase ferðir gollvarpaða ‘troops of gold-distributors’. The ‑ar in the mss could perhaps have arisen by anticipation of the following snarpar. (b) Kock (NN §257) disputes this interpretation on the grounds that a victorious king would be described as a generous ‘gold-distributor’, but hardly his victims, and avoids emendation by interpreting gollvarpaðar as a f. acc. pl. adj., lit. ‘gold-thrown’, describing the ferðir ‘troops’ to whom gold is distributed. This solution is adopted in ÍF 26 (where snarpar ‘keen’ is also taken to modify ferðir). However, emendation seems preferable since the concept of ‘throwing’, i.e. distributing gold is so firmly associated with the kenning type of the generous man, while it is doubtful whether a term for ‘thrown’ could mean ‘endowed with’ or ‘having received’ in a cpd adj.

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skj B = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1912-15b. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. B: Rettet tekst. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Villadsen & Christensen. Rpt. 1973. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger.
3. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
4. Meissner = Meissner, Rudolf. 1921. Die Kenningar der Skalden: Ein Beitrag zur skaldischen Poetik. Rheinische Beiträge und Hülfsbücher zur germanischen Philologie und Volkskunde 1. Bonn and Leipzig: Schroeder. Rpt. 1984. Hildesheim etc.: Olms.
5. LP = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1931. Lexicon poeticum antiquæ linguæ septentrionalis: Ordbog over det norsk-islandske skjaldesprog oprindelig forfattet af Sveinbjörn Egilsson. 2nd edn. Copenhagen: Møller.
6. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
7. Konráð Gíslason. 1866b. ‘Strøbemærkninger til oldnordiske digte’. ÅNOH, 188-97.