Note to Þjóð Haustl 9III
[6, 7] girðiþjófr Brísings ‘the girdle-thief of Brísingr [= Loki]’: Loki is here said to be the thief of a certain Brísingr’s girdle. In other contexts, e.g. Þry 13/6, 15/8; Gylf (SnE 2005, 29); Skm (SnE 1998, I, 19, 20, 30); Sǫrla þáttr in Flat (Flat 1860-8, I, 275-6), the pers. n. is pl. Brísinga[r] and the object is referred to as a men ‘necklace, neck-ring’. Brísingr or the Brísingar are otherwise unknown but cf. Brōsinga mene (Beowulf l. 1199) and Note in Beowulf 2008, 193-4. This precious object is said to have been the possession of the goddess Freyja. Sǫrla describes how it was made for Freyja by some dwarfs and stolen from her while she was asleep by Loki in the form of a fly. Some eds (e.g. Skj B) amplify this kenning by adding goða (l. 6), viz. girðiþjófr goða Brísings ‘the girdle-thief of the gods of Brísingr’, but this introduces even greater uncertainty; who are Brísingr’s gods? In this edn, goða is construed with dísi ‘the lady of the gods’ as a kenning for Iðunn.
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.
- Flat 1860-8 = Gudbrand Vigfusson [Guðbrandur Vigfússon] and C. R. Unger, eds. 1860-8. Flateyjarbók. En samling af norske konge-sagaer med indskudte mindre fortællinger om begivenheder i og udenfor Norge samt annaler. 3 vols. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
- Beowulf 2008 = Fulk, Robert D., Robert E. Bjork and John D. Niles, eds. 2008. Klaeber’s Beowulf and the Fight at Finnsburg. 4th rev. edn of Beowulf and the Fight at Finnsburg, ed. Fr. Klaeber. Toronto, Buffalo and London: University of Toronto Press.
- SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
- SnE 2005 = Snorri Sturluson. 2005. Edda: Prologue and Gylfaginning. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2nd edn. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
- Internal references
- 2017, ‘ Anonymous, Sǫrla þáttr’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 785. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=41> (accessed 6 May 2024)
- (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Flateyjarbók’ 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. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=44> (accessed 6 May 2024)
- (forthcoming), ‘ Snorri Sturluson, Skáldskaparmál’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=112> (accessed 6 May 2024)
- (forthcoming), ‘ Snorri Sturluson, Gylfaginning’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=113> (accessed 6 May 2024)
- Not published: do not cite ()
- Not published: do not cite ()