[3] oddviti ‘the spearhead’: This cpd means literally ‘the one who directs (viti) the point (oddr)’ and refers to the position of a leader in the forefront of an army or troop of warriors (LP: oddviti). It is used as a poetic designation for a leader in skaldic poetry from the C10th onwards. Meissner 358-9 regards oddviti as a kenning for a military leader or ruler used as the base-word of other kennings for ‘military leader’ or ‘ruler’.
References
- Bibliography
- 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.
- 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.