3. Names and sigla for poems and groups of verses

i. Use the list in Lexicon Poeticum. Since LP most commonly refers to a poem by a number referring to their position in a skald’s œuvre, a great many new sigla have been created. Where LP does not have a siglum for a poem:

a. Where it is necessary to devise sigla for poems, the normal pattern in the case of poems with medieval titles will be:

- first syllable of subject
- abbreviation of type of poem: –dr for drápa, -fl for flokkr, -kv for kvæði or kviða, -v for vísur. Other types (e.g. -mál, -stefja) will not have an abbreviation of the type of poem.

Thus Magnúsdrápa > Magndr, Hákonarflokkr > Hákfl, Knútsdrápa > Knútdr

b. Titles that are not recorded in medieval sources but are traditional are retained, e.g. Heilagra manna drápa > Heil (as in LP). Although the siglum does not indicate that the title is not medieval, it and the full title will be set in quotation marks in headings, indices etc.

c. Where a title as such is not recorded in medieval sources, but there is strong internal evidence suggestive of one, the title may be assumed. E.g. a poem that is clearly (a) a drápa and (b) about Haraldr, should be Haraldsdrápa (siglum Hardr). Again, the siglum and the full title should be set in quotation marks in headings, indices etc. in order to show that the title is not strictly speaking medieval.

ii. Same title, same siglum — the three Eiríksdrápur should all be called Eirdr; the numerous Hákonardrápur are Hákdr.

iii. Different title, different siglum — Hákonarkviða is Hákkv to distinguish it from the Hákonardrápur (both Hák in LP).

iv. Sigla for poems that do not have established titles (either medieval or traditional, as under i. above) should be based on the subject (if identifiable) alone and italicised — so Bragi’s verses about Þórr’s fishing expedition (formerly thought to be part of Rdr) is Bragi Þórr.

v. Where the poem is not about a person, place or event with an Icelandic name, e.g. an unidentified person (‘a woman’) or a general topic (‘gifts’), the siglum will have to be formed from the English title and be presented in italics, so: Ormr Poem about a woman; siglum: Ormr Woman 1-5III.

vi. ‘Frag’ covers everything that isn’t above or a lausavísa. A fragment (Frag) is an isolated verse of 8 lines or less, which appears not to be a lausavísa (oftenest because it doesn't occur in a lausavísa-type narrative context); there is no poem mentioned in a medieval source to which it can be assigned; and there is no other verse it clearly belongs together with. If a skald has more than one such verses, these are collected under the heading ‘Fragments’ and arranged thematically if possible. For example, Skraut-Oddr has two verses, one of which appears to be about a woman and the second of which is unclear in its subject. These would be SkrautO Frag 1^III and SkrautO Frag 2^III.

vii. Frag and Lv are the only ‘poem’ sigla which are not italicised. No plural form is used in sigla — so Bragi Lv 1-3 is the siglum for his first three lausavísur, in contrast to the discursive use of the plural, lvv. (e.g. ‘...as also found in various lvv. of Egill (Egill Lv 1–7)...’

References