Note to Þul Dverga 3III
[3] Andvari: Spelled ‘andvarn’ in A and damaged in B (‘anndvar[…]’). The form Andvari is supported by the readings in 744ˣ and the LaufE mss. In the legend of Sigurðr Fáfnisbani, this is the name of a dwarf who swam in a lake in the shape of a pike (Reginsmál; Skm, SnE 1998, I, 45-6). It is also listed among the heiti for fish in Þul Fiska 1/8. ON andvari can be translated as ‘gentle breeze’ or ‘watchfulness, vigilance’ (cf. andi m. ‘breath, breathing, current of air’ and the adj. varr ‘attentive, careful, watchful’). Gould (1929, 941) prefers ‘gentle breeze’ because Gustr ‘gust’ is another name for Andvari in Reg 5/2. Sijmons and Gering (S-G II, 164) explain the name as ‘life-protector’ (from ǫnd f. ‘breath, life’ and the weak verb verja ‘protect’), while de Vries (AEW: andvari 2) believes that it might mean ‘watchful one’. The name does not occur in skaldic verse.
References
- Bibliography
- AEW = Vries, Jan de. 1962. Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch. 2nd rev. edn. Rpt. 1977. Leiden: Brill.
- SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
- S-G = Gering, Hugo. 1927-31. Kommentar zu den Liedern der Edda. Nach dem Tode des Verfassers herausgegeben von B. Sijmons. I: Götterlieder. II: Heldenlieder. Halle: Buchhandlung des Waisenhauses.
- Gould, Chester N. 1929. ‘Dwarf-names: A Study in Old Icelandic Religion’. PMLA 44, 938-67.
- Internal references
- (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 3 June 2024)
- Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Fiska 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. 852.
- Not published: do not cite ()
- (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Laufás Edda’ 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=10928> (accessed 3 June 2024)