[3] bǫðljós (n.) ‘war-light’: From bǫð f. a poetic term for ‘battle’, and ljós n. ‘light’ (such compounds are usually kennings for ‘sword’). The C variant, barðljós, is a cpd whose first element is barð n. ‘prow’ (hence lit. ‘prow-light’, a reading adopted in Skj B, Skald and Falk 1914b, 148). Barðljós is a kenning (and not a heiti) for ‘shield’ (cf. such shield-kennings as barðmáni ‘prow-moon’, Hfr ErfÓl 26a/6I, originating in the custom of hanging shields on the railings of ships). Neither term is attested elsewhere as heiti for ‘shield’.
References
- Bibliography
- Skj B = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1912-15b. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. B: Rettet tekst. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Villadsen & Christensen. Rpt. 1973. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger.
- Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
- Falk, Hjalmar. 1914b. Altnordische Waffenkunde. Videnskapsselskapets skrifter, II. Hist.-filos. kl. 1914, 6. Kristiania (Oslo): Dybwad.
- Internal references
- Kate Heslop (ed.) 2012, ‘Hallfreðr vandræðaskáld Óttarsson, Erfidrápa Óláfs Tryggvasonar 26a’ 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. 437.