Þul Sækonunga 5^III

Virfill, Vinnill,         Vandill, Sǫlsi,
Gautrekr ok Húnn,         Gjúki, Buðli,
Hómarr, Hnefi,         Hǫrvi, Sǫrvi.
Sékkat ek fleiri         sækonunga.

Virfill, Vinnill, Vandill, Sǫlsi, Gautrekr ok Húnn, Gjúki, Buðli, Hómarr, Hnefi, Hǫrvi, Sǫrvi. Sékkat ek fleiri sækonunga.

Virfill, Vinnill, Vandill, Sǫlsi, Gautrekr and Húnn, Gjúki, Buðli, Hómarr, Hnefi, Hǫrvi, Sǫrvi. I see no more sea-kings.

Mss: R(42r), Tˣ(43v), C(11r), A(17r), B(8r), 744ˣ(54v) (SnE)

Readings: [1] Vinnill: ‘ok ví[…]ll’ B, ‘ok vínnill’ 744ˣ    [2] Vandill: ‘vand[…]’ B, ‘vanndi . .’ 744ˣ;    Sǫlsi: sǫlvi A, ‘[…]’ B, ‘…’ 744ˣ    [3] Gautrekr: so C, gaurekr R, Tˣ, ‘gavǽr’ A, ‘gauir’ B    [4] Gjúki: Gjúki ok C    [5] Hómarr: ‘hæmarr’ C, ‘h[…]’ B, ‘he . . . .’ 744ˣ;    Hnefi: ‘hemfi’ C, ‘hn[…]fi’ B, ‘hnefi’ 744ˣ    [6] Hǫrvi: so C, ‘hyr[…]’ R, hyrvi Tˣ, hurfi A, ‘hyrrfi’ B;    Sǫrvi: so C, syrvi R, Tˣ, B, ‘surfi’ A    [7] fleiri: ‘[…]’ B, ‘. . . re’ 744ˣ

Editions: Skj AI, 654, Skj BI, 658, Skald I, 323; SnE 1848-87, I, 548, II, 469, 552, 614, SnE 1931, 194, SnE 1998, I, 110.

Notes: [1] Virfill: According to Björn Sigfússon (1934, 138), the name might be interpreted as ‘coloured one, one clothed in coloured clothing’ and as cognate with Virvir ‘dyer’, a dwarf-name (see Note to Þul Dverga 2/8; cf. OFris. verver ‘dyer’). For another possible explanation, see AEW: Virfill and orf. Saxo mentions Huiruillus along with the names of seven other sea-kings (Saxo 2005, I, 7, 11, 12, pp. 506-7). The name occurs in several kennings and it is also listed as a horse-heiti in Þul Hesta 4/8 (see Note there). — [1] Vinnill: According to Finnur Jónsson (1934-5, 291), the name originated from the root in the strong verb vinna ‘work, win’ (perhaps ‘winner’), while Björn Sigfússon (1934, 138) finds parallels in OHG Vinnilo and the ethnic name Vinnili. The name occurs once as a determinant in a kenning for ‘ship’ (Anon Pl 4/4^VII). — [2] Vandill: The name is known from the sagas (e.g. the viking Vandill Snæúlfsson in Nj ch. 29, ÍF 12, 77-8) and as a second element of other proper names (cf. Aurvandill in Skm, SnE 1998, I, 22 and perhaps the sword Dragvandill, Þul Sverða 1/4). Vandill may be cognate with Wandalus, Vandali, the name of a Germanic tribe, cf. Vendill in Denmark (see Björn Sigfússon 1934, 138 and Note to Þul Sverða 1/4). Finnur Jónsson (1934-5, 291) suggests that Vandill is a nickname derived from vǫndr m. ‘wand’. The name is attested in a kenning for ‘sea’ on the Karlevi stone (Run Öl 1^VI), but it does not occur elsewhere in poetry other than in the rímur, where it appears in kennings for ‘sea’ and ‘ship’ (Finnur Jónsson 1926-8: Vandill). Vandill is also listed among the giant-names in Þul Jǫtna II 1/6. — [2] Sǫlsi: See Note to Þul Sea-kings l. 6. — [3] Gautrekr: The name of the legendary king of the Gautar (see RvHbreiðm Hl 55-6 and Note to st. 55 [All]). See also Gauti (st. 1/7). Gautrekr is found only in C, but this is the form of the name that is found in skaldic kennings (Björn Sigfússon 1934, 129; Finnur Jónsson 1934-5, 296). The A, B variants, ‘gavǽr’ (A) and ‘gauir’ (B) have their parallels in Gavir/Gavér (= OE Gewis) in the Prologue to SnE (2005, 5), however, where it is the name of a descendant of Óðinn. Cf. also Geuarus (Saxo 2005, I, 2, 5, 5, pp. 160-1, I, 3, 1, 1-3, 3, 7, pp. 190-203, I, 3, 4, 14, pp. 210-11). — [3] Húnn: According to Finnur Jónsson (1934-5, 290), the name is identical with húnn m. ‘young bear’ or ‘urchin’ (see Þul Bjarnar 2/1) and it may originally have been a nickname. Húnn is the name of several legendary persons (e.g. two of the champions who fought at the battle of Brávellir; see Saxo 2005, I, 8, 2, 7, pp. 512-13, I, 8, 3, 6, pp. 514-15, I, 8, 4, 5, pp. 520-1). As the name of a sea-king, Húnn does not occur in skaldic verse. — [4] Gjúki, Buðli: Gjúki is the Burgundian king (OHG Gibicho) from the legendary family of the Niflungar, the father of Guðrún, Gunnarr and Hǫgni. Buðli is the king of the Huns (OHG Bodilo), father of Atli and Brynhildr, although there are other legendary kings of this name (cf. Flat 1860-8, I, 25). Both names occur in kennings. Like some other heroes listed in this þula none of these legendary figures are explicitly known as ‘sea-kings’ proper (see Introduction above), although the name Buðli occurs once as a base-word in such an environment, in Þfagr Sveinn 3/3^II á slóðir Buðla ‘onto Buðli’s <sea-king’s> trails [SEA]’ (see Note there). — [5] Hómarr: A hap. leg., perhaps related to ModIcel. hvoma ‘to swallow’, hence ‘glutton’ (Björn Sigfússon 1934, 132; AEW: Hómarr). Finnur Jónsson (1934-5, 295-6) suggests that it is possibly a cpd formed from the elements hó-, há- (from the adj. hár ‘high’) and ‑marr (from *māriʀ > mærr ‘famous’; cf. Bjartmarr etc.). — [5] Hnefi: Probably cognate with OE Hnæf, a Danish chieftain (Beowulf ll. 1069, 1114; Widsith l. 29, Krapp and Dobbie 1936, 150). The name is also given in a list of legendary heroes in Hjálm Lv 18/4^VIII (Ǫrv 28) and it may be identical with the name of a sea-king Nef mentioned in Saxo (see Note to l. 1 above), but it is not used in kennings. — [6] Hǫrvi: Cf. Hǫrvir in Hyndl 20/8, 25/2. Perhaps cognate with hǫrr m. ‘flax, linen’ (dat. sg. hǫrvi), which is also a term for ‘bowstring’, and hence the word may be a nickname meaning ‘one clothed in linen’ (Björn Sigfússon 1934, 133) or ‘bowstring’ (Finnur Jónsson 1934-5, 295). Alternatively, it may be taken as the Old Norse equivalent of the Old High German pers. n. Hariwīh (so ÍO: Hörvi). The name does not appear in kennings. — [6] Sǫrvi: Perhaps lit. ‘armed one’, cf. sǫrvar, syrvar pl. ‘warriors’ (see Þul Manna 5/5). In Old Norse, sǫrvi or sørvi n. is a term for a woman’s necklace of precious stones, while Goth. sarwa means ‘weapons’ (cf. also OE sierwan ‘fit out, arm’ < Gmc *sarwjan; AEW: sørvi 1). See also Sǫrli, which may be a diminutive of Sǫrvi (Finnur Jónsson 1934-5, 295). The name occurs once in a kenning (Eskál Vell 22/3^I).

References

1. Bibliography
2. SnE 1848-87 = Snorri Sturluson. 1848-87. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar: Edda Snorronis Sturlaei. Ed. Jón Sigurðsson et al. 3 vols. Copenhagen: Legatum Arnamagnaeanum. Rpt. Osnabrück: Zeller, 1966.
3. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
4. AEW = Vries, Jan de. 1962. Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch. 2nd rev. edn. Rpt. 1977. Leiden: Brill.
5. Finnur Jónsson. 1926-8. Ordbog til de af samfund til udg. af gml. nord. litteratur udgivne Rímur samt til de af Dr. O. Jiriczek udgivne Bósarímur. SUGNL 51. Copenhagen: Jørgensen.
6. 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.
7. ÍO = Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon. 1989. Íslensk orðsifjabók. Reykjavík: Orðabók Háskólans.
8. SnE 1931 = Snorri Sturluson. 1931. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
9. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
10. ÍF 12 = Brennu-Njáls saga. Ed. Einar Ólafur Sveinsson. 1954.
11. Saxo 2005 = Friis-Jensen, Karsten, ed. 2005. Saxo Grammaticus: Gesta Danorum / Danmarkshistorien. Trans. Peter Zeeberg. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Det danske sprog- og litteraturselskab & Gads forlag.
12. Björn Sigfússon. 1934. ‘Names of Sea-Kings (heiti sækonunga)’. MP 32, 125-42.
13. Finnur Jónsson. 1934-5. ‘Þulur: Søkonge- og jættenavneremserne’. APS 9, 289-308.
14. Internal references
15. Edith Marold 2017, ‘Snorra Edda (Prologue, Gylfaginning, Skáldskaparmál)’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols [check printed volume for citation].
16. 2022, ‘ Anonymous, Njáls saga’ in Margaret Clunies Ross, Kari Ellen Gade and Tarrin Wills (eds), Poetry in Sagas of Icelanders. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 5. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 1220-1313. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=55> (accessed 13 May 2024)
17. (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 13 May 2024)
18. Jonna Louis-Jensen and Tarrin Wills (eds) 2007, ‘Anonymous Poems, Plácitusdrápa 4’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 184-5.
19. Elena Gurevich 2017, ‘ Anonymous, Heiti for sea-kings’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 987. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1045> (accessed 13 May 2024)
20. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Jǫtna heiti II 1’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 719.
21. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Dverga heiti 2’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 695.
22. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Manna heiti 5’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 780.
23. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Sverða heiti 1’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 790.
24. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Hesta heiti 4’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 939.
25. Not published: do not cite ()
26. Edith Marold (ed.) 2012, ‘Einarr skálaglamm Helgason, Vellekla 22’ 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. 309.
27. Elena Gurevich 2017, ‘ Anonymous, Bjarnar heiti’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 895. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=3213> (accessed 13 May 2024)
28. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Rǫgnvaldr jarl and Hallr Þórarinsson, Háttalykill 55’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 1063.
29. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Þorleikr fagri, Flokkr about Sveinn Úlfsson 3’ in Kari Ellen Gade (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 2: From c. 1035 to c. 1300. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 2. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 315-16.
30. Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Ǫrvar-Odds saga 28 (Hjálmarr inn hugumstóri, Lausavísur 18)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 842.
31. Not published: do not cite (Run Öl 1^VI)
32. Not published: do not cite ()