Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Lausavísur, Stanzas from Laufás Edda 8’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 645.
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kveða (verb; kveð, kvað, kveðinn): (str.) say, recite, sing
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skulu (verb): shall, should, must
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hróðr (noun m.): encomium, praise
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fyr (prep.): for, over, because of, etc.
[1-2] fyr viðum hræblakks sævar hríðar ‘before the trees of the corpse-dark sea of battle [BLOOD > WARRIORS]’: Warrior-kennings with ‘blood’ as a determinant are rare but not unattested (see Meissner 278). The adj. blakkr ‘dark’ (here: hræblakkr ‘corpse-dark’) is also found elsewhere in circumlocutions for ‘blood’ (e.g. blakkr bjórr ‘dark beer [blood]’, Þorm Lv 22/7-8I). Jón Helgason (1966a) offers an alternative interpretation according to which hræblakkr ‘corpse-steed’ (blakkr is also a heiti for ‘horse’) is taken as a kenning for ‘wolf’, its ‘sea’ (sær) is ‘blood’ and the ‘storm (hríð) of blood’ is ‘battle’. According to that interpretation, viðum hríðar sævar hræblakks would be ‘trees of the storm of the sea of the corpse-steed [WOLF > BLOOD > BATTLE > WARRIORS]’. However, kennings for ‘battle’ with ‘blood’ as a determinant are awkward and very poorly attested (see Meissner 186) and a base-word like ‘storm’ ought to be qualified by a determinant with the sense ‘weapon’, ‘valkyrie’ etc. but not by ‘blood’. A kenning formed according to the pattern hræblakkr ‘corpse-steed [WOLF]’ is otherwise unattested (Meissner 126).
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hríð (noun f.; °-ar; -ir): time, storm
[1-2] fyr viðum hræblakks sævar hríðar ‘before the trees of the corpse-dark sea of battle [BLOOD > WARRIORS]’: Warrior-kennings with ‘blood’ as a determinant are rare but not unattested (see Meissner 278). The adj. blakkr ‘dark’ (here: hræblakkr ‘corpse-dark’) is also found elsewhere in circumlocutions for ‘blood’ (e.g. blakkr bjórr ‘dark beer [blood]’, Þorm Lv 22/7-8I). Jón Helgason (1966a) offers an alternative interpretation according to which hræblakkr ‘corpse-steed’ (blakkr is also a heiti for ‘horse’) is taken as a kenning for ‘wolf’, its ‘sea’ (sær) is ‘blood’ and the ‘storm (hríð) of blood’ is ‘battle’. According to that interpretation, viðum hríðar sævar hræblakks would be ‘trees of the storm of the sea of the corpse-steed [WOLF > BLOOD > BATTLE > WARRIORS]’. However, kennings for ‘battle’ with ‘blood’ as a determinant are awkward and very poorly attested (see Meissner 186) and a base-word like ‘storm’ ought to be qualified by a determinant with the sense ‘weapon’, ‘valkyrie’ etc. but not by ‘blood’. A kenning formed according to the pattern hræblakkr ‘corpse-steed [WOLF]’ is otherwise unattested (Meissner 126).
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hríð (noun f.; °-ar; -ir): time, storm
[1-2] fyr viðum hræblakks sævar hríðar ‘before the trees of the corpse-dark sea of battle [BLOOD > WARRIORS]’: Warrior-kennings with ‘blood’ as a determinant are rare but not unattested (see Meissner 278). The adj. blakkr ‘dark’ (here: hræblakkr ‘corpse-dark’) is also found elsewhere in circumlocutions for ‘blood’ (e.g. blakkr bjórr ‘dark beer [blood]’, Þorm Lv 22/7-8I). Jón Helgason (1966a) offers an alternative interpretation according to which hræblakkr ‘corpse-steed’ (blakkr is also a heiti for ‘horse’) is taken as a kenning for ‘wolf’, its ‘sea’ (sær) is ‘blood’ and the ‘storm (hríð) of blood’ is ‘battle’. According to that interpretation, viðum hríðar sævar hræblakks would be ‘trees of the storm of the sea of the corpse-steed [WOLF > BLOOD > BATTLE > WARRIORS]’. However, kennings for ‘battle’ with ‘blood’ as a determinant are awkward and very poorly attested (see Meissner 186) and a base-word like ‘storm’ ought to be qualified by a determinant with the sense ‘weapon’, ‘valkyrie’ etc. but not by ‘blood’. A kenning formed according to the pattern hræblakkr ‘corpse-steed [WOLF]’ is otherwise unattested (Meissner 126).
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hræblakkr (noun m.): [corpse-dark]
[1-2] fyr viðum hræblakks sævar hríðar ‘before the trees of the corpse-dark sea of battle [BLOOD > WARRIORS]’: Warrior-kennings with ‘blood’ as a determinant are rare but not unattested (see Meissner 278). The adj. blakkr ‘dark’ (here: hræblakkr ‘corpse-dark’) is also found elsewhere in circumlocutions for ‘blood’ (e.g. blakkr bjórr ‘dark beer [blood]’, Þorm Lv 22/7-8I). Jón Helgason (1966a) offers an alternative interpretation according to which hræblakkr ‘corpse-steed’ (blakkr is also a heiti for ‘horse’) is taken as a kenning for ‘wolf’, its ‘sea’ (sær) is ‘blood’ and the ‘storm (hríð) of blood’ is ‘battle’. According to that interpretation, viðum hríðar sævar hræblakks would be ‘trees of the storm of the sea of the corpse-steed [WOLF > BLOOD > BATTLE > WARRIORS]’. However, kennings for ‘battle’ with ‘blood’ as a determinant are awkward and very poorly attested (see Meissner 186) and a base-word like ‘storm’ ought to be qualified by a determinant with the sense ‘weapon’, ‘valkyrie’ etc. but not by ‘blood’. A kenning formed according to the pattern hræblakkr ‘corpse-steed [WOLF]’ is otherwise unattested (Meissner 126).
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hræblakkr (noun m.): [corpse-dark]
[1-2] fyr viðum hræblakks sævar hríðar ‘before the trees of the corpse-dark sea of battle [BLOOD > WARRIORS]’: Warrior-kennings with ‘blood’ as a determinant are rare but not unattested (see Meissner 278). The adj. blakkr ‘dark’ (here: hræblakkr ‘corpse-dark’) is also found elsewhere in circumlocutions for ‘blood’ (e.g. blakkr bjórr ‘dark beer [blood]’, Þorm Lv 22/7-8I). Jón Helgason (1966a) offers an alternative interpretation according to which hræblakkr ‘corpse-steed’ (blakkr is also a heiti for ‘horse’) is taken as a kenning for ‘wolf’, its ‘sea’ (sær) is ‘blood’ and the ‘storm (hríð) of blood’ is ‘battle’. According to that interpretation, viðum hríðar sævar hræblakks would be ‘trees of the storm of the sea of the corpse-steed [WOLF > BLOOD > BATTLE > WARRIORS]’. However, kennings for ‘battle’ with ‘blood’ as a determinant are awkward and very poorly attested (see Meissner 186) and a base-word like ‘storm’ ought to be qualified by a determinant with the sense ‘weapon’, ‘valkyrie’ etc. but not by ‘blood’. A kenning formed according to the pattern hræblakkr ‘corpse-steed [WOLF]’ is otherwise unattested (Meissner 126).
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1. viðr (noun m.; °-ar, dat. -i/-; -ir, acc. -u/-i): wood, tree
[1-2] fyr viðum hræblakks sævar hríðar ‘before the trees of the corpse-dark sea of battle [BLOOD > WARRIORS]’: Warrior-kennings with ‘blood’ as a determinant are rare but not unattested (see Meissner 278). The adj. blakkr ‘dark’ (here: hræblakkr ‘corpse-dark’) is also found elsewhere in circumlocutions for ‘blood’ (e.g. blakkr bjórr ‘dark beer [blood]’, Þorm Lv 22/7-8I). Jón Helgason (1966a) offers an alternative interpretation according to which hræblakkr ‘corpse-steed’ (blakkr is also a heiti for ‘horse’) is taken as a kenning for ‘wolf’, its ‘sea’ (sær) is ‘blood’ and the ‘storm (hríð) of blood’ is ‘battle’. According to that interpretation, viðum hríðar sævar hræblakks would be ‘trees of the storm of the sea of the corpse-steed [WOLF > BLOOD > BATTLE > WARRIORS]’. However, kennings for ‘battle’ with ‘blood’ as a determinant are awkward and very poorly attested (see Meissner 186) and a base-word like ‘storm’ ought to be qualified by a determinant with the sense ‘weapon’, ‘valkyrie’ etc. but not by ‘blood’. A kenning formed according to the pattern hræblakkr ‘corpse-steed [WOLF]’ is otherwise unattested (Meissner 126).
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sjór (noun m.): sea
[1-2] fyr viðum hræblakks sævar hríðar ‘before the trees of the corpse-dark sea of battle [BLOOD > WARRIORS]’: Warrior-kennings with ‘blood’ as a determinant are rare but not unattested (see Meissner 278). The adj. blakkr ‘dark’ (here: hræblakkr ‘corpse-dark’) is also found elsewhere in circumlocutions for ‘blood’ (e.g. blakkr bjórr ‘dark beer [blood]’, Þorm Lv 22/7-8I). Jón Helgason (1966a) offers an alternative interpretation according to which hræblakkr ‘corpse-steed’ (blakkr is also a heiti for ‘horse’) is taken as a kenning for ‘wolf’, its ‘sea’ (sær) is ‘blood’ and the ‘storm (hríð) of blood’ is ‘battle’. According to that interpretation, viðum hríðar sævar hræblakks would be ‘trees of the storm of the sea of the corpse-steed [WOLF > BLOOD > BATTLE > WARRIORS]’. However, kennings for ‘battle’ with ‘blood’ as a determinant are awkward and very poorly attested (see Meissner 186) and a base-word like ‘storm’ ought to be qualified by a determinant with the sense ‘weapon’, ‘valkyrie’ etc. but not by ‘blood’. A kenning formed according to the pattern hræblakkr ‘corpse-steed [WOLF]’ is otherwise unattested (Meissner 126).
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sjór (noun m.): sea
[1-2] fyr viðum hræblakks sævar hríðar ‘before the trees of the corpse-dark sea of battle [BLOOD > WARRIORS]’: Warrior-kennings with ‘blood’ as a determinant are rare but not unattested (see Meissner 278). The adj. blakkr ‘dark’ (here: hræblakkr ‘corpse-dark’) is also found elsewhere in circumlocutions for ‘blood’ (e.g. blakkr bjórr ‘dark beer [blood]’, Þorm Lv 22/7-8I). Jón Helgason (1966a) offers an alternative interpretation according to which hræblakkr ‘corpse-steed’ (blakkr is also a heiti for ‘horse’) is taken as a kenning for ‘wolf’, its ‘sea’ (sær) is ‘blood’ and the ‘storm (hríð) of blood’ is ‘battle’. According to that interpretation, viðum hríðar sævar hræblakks would be ‘trees of the storm of the sea of the corpse-steed [WOLF > BLOOD > BATTLE > WARRIORS]’. However, kennings for ‘battle’ with ‘blood’ as a determinant are awkward and very poorly attested (see Meissner 186) and a base-word like ‘storm’ ought to be qualified by a determinant with the sense ‘weapon’, ‘valkyrie’ etc. but not by ‘blood’. A kenning formed according to the pattern hræblakkr ‘corpse-steed [WOLF]’ is otherwise unattested (Meissner 126).
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drykkr (noun m.; °-jar/-ar(DN II (*1276apogr) 14³)/-s, dat. -/-i; -ir): drink
[3] drykkr Dúrnis ‘the drink of Dúrnir <dwarf> [POETRY]’: The dwarf Dúrnir is otherwise mentioned in Anon Þul Dverga 3/8 and in Þjóð Yt 2/2I (for discussions of this name, see Notes there). Kennings of the type ‘drink of the dwarfs [POETRY]’ originated in the myth about the dwarfs Galarr and Fjalarr brewing the mead of poetry from the blood of Kvasir (see Skm, SnE 1998, I, 3-4; Meissner 428).
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
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Dúrnir (noun m.): Dúrnir
[3] drykkr Dúrnis ‘the drink of Dúrnir <dwarf> [POETRY]’: The dwarf Dúrnir is otherwise mentioned in Anon Þul Dverga 3/8 and in Þjóð Yt 2/2I (for discussions of this name, see Notes there). Kennings of the type ‘drink of the dwarfs [POETRY]’ originated in the myth about the dwarfs Galarr and Fjalarr brewing the mead of poetry from the blood of Kvasir (see Skm, SnE 1998, I, 3-4; Meissner 428).
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døkkr (adj.; °-van; compar. -vari/-ari/-ri, superl. -vastr/-astr): dark
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ljóss (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): bright
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nøkkurr (pron.): some, a certain
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See Introduction above.
[1]: This line contains three internal rhymes (-eð- : -óð- : -íð-). — [3]: The syntactic break after metrical position 4 (Dúrnis) in this odd Type A-line is highly unusual (see Kuhn 1983, 134-7; Gade 1995a, 137-41) and could mean that the half-stanza is quite late.
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