Þul Ása I 1^III

Burir ‘sons’

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burr (noun m.; °; -ir): son

[1] Burir: ‘[…]vrir’ B, ‘Bvrír’ 744ˣ

ro ‘are’

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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am

[1] ro: eru R, C

Óðins ‘Óðinn’s’

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Óðinn (noun m.): Óðinn

[1] Óðins: ‘oden[…]’ B, ‘oðens’ 744ˣ

Baldr ‘Baldr’

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Baldr (noun m.): [Baldr, Baldur]

[2] Baldr ok: ‘ba[…]’ B, ‘balldr ok’ 744ˣ

notes

[2] Baldr: A god, Óðinn’s son, whose name is possibly related to OE bealdor ‘lord’ (AEW: Baldr; for a discussion of this name and the god, see Liberman 2004). The myth of Baldr’s death is known from eddic poems (cf. Bdr, Vsp 31-3, 62/4-7, Hyndl 29-30/1, etc.) and also from Gylf (SnE 2005, 45-8) and Saxo (Saxo 2005, I, 3, 2, 3-3, 7, pp. 190-203). See also Note to Anon Eirm 3/5^I.

ok ‘and’

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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also

[2] Baldr ok: ‘ba[…]’ B, ‘balldr ok’ 744ˣ

Meili ‘Meili’

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Meili (noun m.): Meili

[2] Meili: ‘meli’ C

notes

[2] Meili: The origin of this name is unclear (ÍO: Meili). Meili is mentioned several times as a brother of Þórr (see Hárb 9/5 and Þjóð Haustl 14/7 blóða Meila ‘Meili’s brother [= Þórr]’; see also Meili in Haustl 4/2).

Víðarr ‘Víðarr’

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Víðarr (noun m.): Víðarr

[3] Víðarr: ‘vid[…]’ B, ‘vidarr’ 744ˣ

notes

[3] Víðarr: The name may mean ‘one who rules over a large country’ (from the adj. víðr ‘wide’). The quantity of the vowel [i:] is secured by metre (Vafþr 53/3, Grí 17/3, Lok 10/1). In Gylf (SnE 2005, 26), Víðarr is characterised as hinn þǫgli Áss ‘the silent god’; it is also said that he is almost equal in strength to Þórr and supports the gods when there is danger. According to Vsp 55, Víðarr will avenge his father and kill the wolf Fenrir at Ragnarǫk ‘the Doom of the gods’ (cf. also Vafþr 51/1-3, 53/1-3, Grí 17 and Lok 10/1-3). Along with Váli, he is one of the gods who will survive Ragnarǫk (Vafþr 51). Skm (SnE 1998, I, 19) enumerates the poetic circumlocutions alluding to the main functions of Víðarr in Old Norse myth, and recommends that one refer to this god as eigandi jár<n>skós ‘possessor of the iron shoe’. This refers to Víðarr’s iron shoe which he wedged in the mouth of Fenrir at Ragnarǫk (see Gylf, SnE 2005, 50-1).

ok ‘and’

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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also

Nepr ‘Nepr’

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Nepr (noun m.): Nepr

[3] Nepr: ‘nefirr’ B, ‘nefr’ C

notes

[3] Nepr: Here the name of a son of Óðinn. Nepr (variant readings Nefr in C and Nefirr in B) is not known from other sources, however, unless he is identical with Nepr, father of Nanna, Baldr’s wife (see Þul Ásynja 2/1). In Gylf (SnE 2005, 26, 46), Nanna is twice called Nepsdóttir ‘Daughter of Nepr’, but in that case Nepr can hardly be an offspring of Óðinn (see also Gade 2006, 271).

Váli ‘Váli’

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Váli (noun m.): Váli

[4] Váli: ‘voli’ R, Tˣ

notes

[4] Váli: A son of Óðinn and Rindr (see Þul Ásynja 2/2), born to avenge Baldr (Bdr 11/1-4, Hyndl 29/5-8). In Skm (SnE 1998, I, 19), Váli is called hefni-Ás Baldr<s> ‘Baldr’s avenging god’, dólg Haðar ok bana hans ‘enemy of Hǫðr and his slayer’ (see Hǫðr, l. 10 below). Váli is also one of the gods who will survive Ragnarǫk (see Vafþr 51/1-3 and Gylf, SnE 2005, 53, where his name is mentioned along with Víðarr, l. 3 above). See also the next name. In Gylf (SnE 2005, 49), Váli is the name of a son of Loki (see SnE 1998, II, 515-16).

Áli ‘Áli’

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Áli (noun m.): Áli

[4] Áli: ‘a[…]’ B, ‘alí’ 744ˣ, ‘ǫli’ R, ‘oli’ Tˣ

notes

[4] Áli: Áli is not mentioned as a god in the Poetic Edda. In Gylf (SnE 2005, 26) he is said to be identical with Váli (see the previous name), while in Skm (SnE 1998, I, 6) he is identified as the Trojan hero Elenus (Helenus) and apparently the same person as Víðarr. As was the case with Váli, Áli is also the name of a son of Loki (Skm, SnE 1998, I, 20, 168 n.). Otherwise Áli is the name of a sea-king in Þul Sækonunga 1/2 (see Note there).

Þórr ‘Þórr’

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Þórr (noun m.): Thor; giant, ogre, monster

[5] Þórr: ‘[…]rr’ B, ‘þorr’ 744ˣ

notes

[5] Þórr: The thunder god, earlier Þunarr ‘thunder’ (cf. OE Þunor, OHG Donar; AEW: Þórr). — [5] Þórr ok Hildolfr ‘Þórr and Hildólfr’: Kock (NN §2565A; Skald) argues that the correct order of these names must be Hildolfr ok Þórr so as to avoid having a non-alliterating noun in the first lift (he rearranges the names in l. 7 in a similar way and for the same reason). As the name of a son of Óðinn, Hildólfr (lit. ‘battle-wolf’) is not attested elsewhere, but in Hárb 8/1 this is the owner of the boat in which Óðinn, disguised as the ferryman Hárbarðr, refuses to take Þórr across a fjord.

Þórr ‘Þórr’

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Þórr (noun m.): Thor; giant, ogre, monster

[5] Þórr: ‘[…]rr’ B, ‘þorr’ 744ˣ

notes

[5] Þórr: The thunder god, earlier Þunarr ‘thunder’ (cf. OE Þunor, OHG Donar; AEW: Þórr). — [5] Þórr ok Hildolfr ‘Þórr and Hildólfr’: Kock (NN §2565A; Skald) argues that the correct order of these names must be Hildolfr ok Þórr so as to avoid having a non-alliterating noun in the first lift (he rearranges the names in l. 7 in a similar way and for the same reason). As the name of a son of Óðinn, Hildólfr (lit. ‘battle-wolf’) is not attested elsewhere, but in Hárb 8/1 this is the owner of the boat in which Óðinn, disguised as the ferryman Hárbarðr, refuses to take Þórr across a fjord.

ok ‘and’

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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also

[5] ok: om. Tˣ

notes

[5] Þórr ok Hildolfr ‘Þórr and Hildólfr’: Kock (NN §2565A; Skald) argues that the correct order of these names must be Hildolfr ok Þórr so as to avoid having a non-alliterating noun in the first lift (he rearranges the names in l. 7 in a similar way and for the same reason). As the name of a son of Óðinn, Hildólfr (lit. ‘battle-wolf’) is not attested elsewhere, but in Hárb 8/1 this is the owner of the boat in which Óðinn, disguised as the ferryman Hárbarðr, refuses to take Þórr across a fjord.

Hildolfr ‘Hildólfr’

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Hildolfr (noun m.): [Hildólfr]

[5] Hildolfr: ‘hilldol[…]’ B, ‘hilldolfr’ 744ˣ

notes

[5] Þórr ok Hildolfr ‘Þórr and Hildólfr’: Kock (NN §2565A; Skald) argues that the correct order of these names must be Hildolfr ok Þórr so as to avoid having a non-alliterating noun in the first lift (he rearranges the names in l. 7 in a similar way and for the same reason). As the name of a son of Óðinn, Hildólfr (lit. ‘battle-wolf’) is not attested elsewhere, but in Hárb 8/1 this is the owner of the boat in which Óðinn, disguised as the ferryman Hárbarðr, refuses to take Þórr across a fjord.

Hermóðr ‘Hermóðr’

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Hermóðr (noun m.): Hermóðr, War-weary

notes

[6] Hermóðr: A son of Óðinn whose name translates as ‘war-spirit’ (from her- ‘war’ and the noun móðr m. ‘spirit, wrath, passion’). In Gylf (SnE 2005, 46) he is called Hermóðr inn hvati, sveinn Óðins ‘Hermóðr the Bold, Óðinn’s boy’. After Baldr’s death, Hermóðr acted as the messenger of the gods who rode Óðinn’s horse Sleipnir to the realm of death in an attempt to ransom his brother and bring him home to Ásgarðr. In Eyv Hák 14^I Hermóðr and Bragi are sent to welcome King Hákon Haraldsson to Valhǫll. Hermóðr is the name of a legendary hero in Hyndl 2/5; cf. also Heremóð in the Prologue to SnE (2005, 5) and OE Heremōd, the name of a king of the Danes in Beowulf (ll. 901, 1709). See also Note to Anon Mhkv 9/3.

Sigi ‘Sigi’

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Sigi (noun m.): Sigi

[6] Sigi: so R, Tˣ, C, siggi A, B

notes

[6] Sigi: Or Siggi. Diminutive of Sigmundr, Sigurðr (cf. siklingr ‘ruler’ and Note to Þul Konunga 3/1). According to the Prologue to SnE (SnE 2005, 5), Sigi is Óðinn’s third son and the ancestor of the Vǫlsungar whose story is told in Vǫlsunga saga (Vǫls 1965, 1-2). This name is not attested in poetic sources.

Skjǫldr ‘Skjǫldr’

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skjǫldr (noun m.; °skjaldar/skildar, dat. skildi; skildir, acc. skjǫldu): shield

[7] Skjǫldr: ‘[…]io᷎lldr’ B, ‘skio᷎lldr’ 744ˣ

notes

[7] Skjǫldr: Óðinn’s son, the divine ancestor of the Skjǫldungar, the Danish royal dynasty (cf. Hkr, ÍF 26, 15, SnE 1998, I, 51, 103, SnE 2005, 6, Þul Konunga 3/3 and the genealogy in ÍF 35, 14). In the Prologue to SnE (SnE 2005, 5), Scialdun = Skjǫldr (skjǫldr ‘shield’) is the name of the son of Heremóðr (l. 6).

Yngvi ‘Yngvi’

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Yngvi (noun m.): Yngvi, prince < Yngvifreyr (noun m.)

[7] Yngvi‑Freyr: so R, Tˣ, C, ‘ok ø̨lldnír’ A, ok ǫlnir B

notes

[7] Yngvi-Freyr: Or Yngvifreyr. This is one of the variant forms of Freyr’s name (cf. Hkr, ÍF 26, 4, 24-5, Introduction to Þjóð Yt^I and Þjóð Haustl 10/6). In the present stanza this god is mentioned among Óðinn’s sons, but according to Snorri in Yng (ch. 10, ÍF 26, 24-5), Yngvi-Freyr (= Freyr) was the son of Njǫrðr. Hence he did not belong to the family of the Æsir, but was one of the Vanir, another family of Old Norse gods. In two of the mss this name is replaced by Ǫldnir (A) and Ǫlnir (B). See also Note to Þul Dverga 4/4.

Freyr ‘Freyr’

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Freyr (noun m.): (a god) < Yngvifreyr (noun m.)

[7] Yngvi‑Freyr: so R, Tˣ, C, ‘ok ø̨lldnír’ A, ok ǫlnir B

notes

[7] Yngvi-Freyr: Or Yngvifreyr. This is one of the variant forms of Freyr’s name (cf. Hkr, ÍF 26, 4, 24-5, Introduction to Þjóð Yt^I and Þjóð Haustl 10/6). In the present stanza this god is mentioned among Óðinn’s sons, but according to Snorri in Yng (ch. 10, ÍF 26, 24-5), Yngvi-Freyr (= Freyr) was the son of Njǫrðr. Hence he did not belong to the family of the Æsir, but was one of the Vanir, another family of Old Norse gods. In two of the mss this name is replaced by Ǫldnir (A) and Ǫlnir (B). See also Note to Þul Dverga 4/4.

ok ‘and’

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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also

[8] ok: om. Tˣ

Ítreksjóð ‘Ítrekr’s offspring’

notes

[8] Ítreksjóð ‘Ítrekr’s offspring’: From Ítrekr (< *ítr-rekr ‘glorious king’ (AEW: ítr); cf. the adj. ítr ‘glorious, excellent’) and jóð n. ‘offspring, newborn child’. Ítrekr is probably one of Óðinn’s names (Falk 1924, 20), although that name is recorded neither in Þul Óðins nor in the list of Óðinn-heiti in Grí 46-54. The name is given in a response to a query posed in Gestumbl Heiðr 32^VIII (Heiðr 79) in Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks (Heiðr, FSN I, 473), and here Ítrekr is one of the kings participating in a board game (hnefatafl; see Beck 1978a, 454-5).

Heim ‘Heim’

notes

[9] Heimdallr: Son of Óðinn, and a great and ‘holy’ (heilagr) god, called hvíti Áss ‘the white god’, according to Snorri (Gylf, SnE 2005, 25; cf. Þry 15/1-2). According to the poem Heimdalargaldr, which Snorri quotes in Gylf (loc. cit.), Heimdallr was born from nine maidens, all sisters, but no other mythological source aside from this þula and Skm (SnE 1998, I, 19) mentions his father (see Clunies Ross 1994b, 174). He is the watchman of the gods and sits at the edge of heaven near the bridge Bifrǫst, i.e. the quaking path, the rainbow. Cf. the element heimr m. ‘world’ in his name, whose sense as a whole is controversial (it is not clear whether the last element is ‑dallr or ‑dalr; ÍO: Heimdall(u)r, Heimdal(u)r). At the beginning of Ragnarǫk, Heimdallr will blow his horn and awaken the gods. He will then have a battle with Loki, which neither will survive (cf. Vsp 27/1-4, 46, Grí 13, SnE 2005, 25-6 and SnE 1998, I, 19). In Vsp 1/4 (NK 1) humans are addressed as megir Heimdallar ‘sons of Heimdallr’ (see also the prose introduction to the eddic poem Rígsþula, NK 280, and Turville-Petre 1964, 147-55, as well as ÚlfrU Húsdr 8 and Notes to Þul Hrúts ll. 6, 8). The reading ‘Heimballdr’ in C is apparently caused by confusion with the name of another god, Baldr (l. 2).

dallr ‘dallr’

[9] ‑dallr: ‑baldr C

notes

[9] Heimdallr: Son of Óðinn, and a great and ‘holy’ (heilagr) god, called hvíti Áss ‘the white god’, according to Snorri (Gylf, SnE 2005, 25; cf. Þry 15/1-2). According to the poem Heimdalargaldr, which Snorri quotes in Gylf (loc. cit.), Heimdallr was born from nine maidens, all sisters, but no other mythological source aside from this þula and Skm (SnE 1998, I, 19) mentions his father (see Clunies Ross 1994b, 174). He is the watchman of the gods and sits at the edge of heaven near the bridge Bifrǫst, i.e. the quaking path, the rainbow. Cf. the element heimr m. ‘world’ in his name, whose sense as a whole is controversial (it is not clear whether the last element is ‑dallr or ‑dalr; ÍO: Heimdall(u)r, Heimdal(u)r). At the beginning of Ragnarǫk, Heimdallr will blow his horn and awaken the gods. He will then have a battle with Loki, which neither will survive (cf. Vsp 27/1-4, 46, Grí 13, SnE 2005, 25-6 and SnE 1998, I, 19). In Vsp 1/4 (NK 1) humans are addressed as megir Heimdallar ‘sons of Heimdallr’ (see also the prose introduction to the eddic poem Rígsþula, NK 280, and Turville-Petre 1964, 147-55, as well as ÚlfrU Húsdr 8 and Notes to Þul Hrúts ll. 6, 8). The reading ‘Heimballdr’ in C is apparently caused by confusion with the name of another god, Baldr (l. 2).

Sæmingr ‘Sæmingr’

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Sæmingr (noun m.): Sæmingr

notes

[9] Sæmingr: A son of Óðinn and Skaði, according to Ynglinga saga (Hkr, ÍF 26, 21). The Prologue to SnE (SnE 2005, 6) states that Sæmingr was appointed by Óðinn, his father, to rule Norway, and he was the ancestor of the jarls of Hlaðir. In the Prologue to Hkr (ÍF 26, 4), however, Sæmingr is the son of Yngvi-Freyr, and according to Snorri (loc. cit.), the information about the latter relationship was provided by Eyv Hál^I: Sæmingr er þar nefndr sonr Yngvifreys ‘There Sæmingr is said to be the son of Yngvifreyr’. That information is contradicted by Eyv Hál 2^I, which Snorri cites in Ynglinga saga (Hkr, ÍF 26, 21) to show that Óðinn was the father of Sæmingr.

Hǫðr ‘Hǫðr’

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Hǫðr (noun m.): Hǫðr

[10] Hǫðr ok Bragi: ‘hau[…] ok br[…]’ B, ‘haudr ok bragi’ 744ˣ

notes

[10] Hǫðr: The blind god, Baldr’s slayer (cf. Vsp 32, 62/5-7, Bdr 9), whose name may be related to ON hǫð f. ‘battle’. See also Note to l. 2 above, Liberman (2004) and Gade (2006).

ok ‘and’

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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also

[10] Hǫðr ok Bragi: ‘hau[…] ok br[…]’ B, ‘haudr ok bragi’ 744ˣ

Bragi ‘Bragi’

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Bragi (noun m.; °; bragnar): Bragi

[10] Hǫðr ok Bragi: ‘hau[…] ok br[…]’ B, ‘haudr ok bragi’ 744ˣ

notes

[10] Bragi: The Old Norse god of poetry whose name coincides with that of the first historical Norwegian skald, Bragi Boddason, with whom this god was probably identified. In Gylf (SnE 2005, 25) Bragi is characterised as a wise god especially renowned for his eloquence and poetic ability, and it is said that the word bragr m. ‘poetry’ derives from his name (af honum er bragr kallaðr skáldskapr ‘from him bragr is called poetry’). It is more likely, however, that the name Bragi is derived from bragr (ÍO: Bragi; for another interpretation see S-G I, 209-10). Cf. Grí 44/7, Sigrdr 16/2 and Lok 8, 11-16. On the relationship between god and skald, see Lindow (2006). In Skm (SnE 1998, I, 1-5, 13-4, 19-20, 24), Bragi is the narrator who talks about the language of poetry and relates the myth of its origin. See also Anon Eirm 4^I and Note to Hermóðr in l. 6 above.