2. Other Technical Terms

adynaton, figure of speech by which an impossible or unlikely situation is used for emphasis

anacrusis, an unstressed syllable at the beginning of a verse line

base-word, member of a kenning (see list above) that is modified by a qualifier, called the determinant

catalectic, of a line of poetry, lacking a final syllable in the last foot

chiastic, characterized by chiasmus, a grammatical figure by which the order of words in one of two parallel clauses is inverted in the other

cliticise, to add an enclitic syllable to a word (see enclitic below)

Craigie’s Law, the observation of Sir William Craigie (1900) that even dróttkvætt lines in which metrical positions 1 and 2 are occupied by two stressed syllables cannot tolerate a long-stemmed nomen (noun, adjective, infinitive) in metrical positions 3 or 4

desyllabification, the process whereby syllabic liquids and nasals develop an excrescent vowel, in Icelandic usually involving the addition of [u] before [r]

determinant, qualifier of a base-word in a kenning, consisting either of a noun or name in the genitive or of the first element of a compound

dip, a metrically unstressed syllable

editio princeps, first edition

enclitic, monosyllabic word, usually a particle, verb or pronoun, added as a suffix to another word (see also cliticise and bragarmál in the list above)

enclitic position, post-position (as opposed to proclitic position)

enjambement, the carrying over of a group of syntactically related words from one verse unit (e.g. a half-line) to the next

epenthesis (epenthetic, adj.), a sound, usually a vowel, inserted between two others (see excrescent)

excrescent, a sound, usually a vowel, inserted between two others (see epenthesis)

fit, a part or section of a poem or song, a canto

floruit, the period during which a person ‘flourished’

fornaldarsögur (sg. fornaldarsaga), ‘sagas of ancient time’, a modern term for legendary or heroic sagas, usually set in Scandinavia before the settlement of Iceland

hypermetrical, a poetic line containing more syllables (metrical positions) than is normal for the metre in question

hypometrical, a poetic line containing fewer syllables (metrical positions) than is normal for the metre in question

hysteron proteron, rhetorical figure in which that which should logically come last is mentioned first for purposes of emphasis

Íslendingasögur (sg. Íslendingasaga), ‘sagas of Icelanders’, ‘family sagas’, usually set in Iceland during the first century or so of settlement, concerning the lives of Icelandic families

lectio difficilior, more difficult reading, sometimes preferred to a lectio facilior by editors, on the basis that if corruption occurs it is more likely to replace rare usages by common ones than the reverse

lectio facilior, easier reading; see lectio difficilior

lift, a metrically stressed syllable

litotes, understatement, in which an affirmative is expressed by negating its opposite

long-line, the basic unit of alliterative poetry in the common Germanic verse-form, including Old Norse, consisting of two half-lines, bound in pairs by alliteration on metrically stressed syllables, one or two in the first half-line and one on the first lift (the hǫfuðstafr) of the second

metonomy, the substitution of a word referring to an attribute or adjunct for the whole thing that is meant

neutralisation, a metrical situation in which two short syllables occupy one unstressed metrical position in a line

pars pro toto, ‘part for whole’, a figure of speech in which part of something is used to refer to the whole thing

pleonastic, syllable, word, or phrase that is superfluous

proclitic position, pre-position (as opposed to enclitic position)

prosimetrum, text composed partly in prose, partly in verse

referent, word expressing the unmentioned cognitive meaning value of a kenning, e.g. the referent of the kenning logi fjarðar ‘flame of the fjord’ is ‘gold’

resolution, two short syllables occupying one fully stressed metrical position in a line

riddarasögur (sg. riddarasaga), ‘sagas of knights’, romances either translated from French and other European languages or with indigenous plots

samtíðarsögur (sg. samtíðarsaga), ‘contemporary sagas’, sagas written about events in Iceland during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries

siglum (pl. sigla), abbreviation, usually a combination of alphanumerical symbols, used to designate a specific manuscript and/or the collection in which it is found

stanza, a group of poetic lines, arranged according to a regular scheme; one of a series of such groups, which together make up a poem

stemma (pl. stemmata), a diagram representing a reconstruction of the relationships between the surviving and postulated witnesses to a text

synecdoche, a figure of speech in which a semantically narrower term is substituted for a broader one, or vice versa; it commonly consists of pars pro toto (see above)

terminus ante quem, the latest date at which something could have occurred or might occur (in contrast to a terminus post quem, the earliest date at which something could occur)

tmesis, the separation of a word or compound into two parts, with another word or words between them

References

1. Bibliography
2. Craigie, William A. 1900. ‘On Some Points in Skaldic Metre’. ANF 16, 341-84.