A. Poetic terminology
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(For clarity, recommended terminology is underlined here; it will not, of course, be underlined in normal usage.)
• skaldic not scaldic
• eddic not Eddic or Eddaic
‡ • Drápa, flokkr, kviða and vísa are used for longer skaldic forms, with appropriate Icelandic plurals.
• stanza(s), not strophes, referring to full eight-line units of dróttkvætt, or the equivalent in other metres. When referring to particular stanzas, abbreviate as st., sts, e.g. st. 5, sts 5-8.
• helmingr or half-stanza for a four-line unit; couplet for two lines.
‡ • verse(s) can also be used to refer to an incomplete stanza; a mix of complete stanzas and isolated helmingar or couplets; or a generic term is required; abbreviate numbered verses as v. 5, vv. 5-8.
• line is the six-syllable unit in dróttkvætt or its counterpart in other metres.
‡ • The word kenning is treated as English, pl. kennings, but heiti, sannkenningar, viðkenningar are used, i.e. Icelandic plurals.
• Heiti for specific concepts can be referred to as battle-heiti or heiti for 'battle'; battle-kennings or kennings for 'battle' in discussions of types of kenning.
• The components of kennings are base-word and determinant, e.g. 'stave [base-word] of the sword [determinant] > WARRIOR' or 'sea[determinant]-flame[base-word] > GOLD'. The determinant is in the genitive case or is the first element of a compound. The person or thing denoted by the kenning is the referent, here WARRIOR or GOLD.
Kennings may be:
i) simple, as in the warrior- and gold-kennings above;
ii) tvíkennt 'double kenning', when the determinant is itself a kenning, e.g. 'stave of the icicle of battle, where 'icicle of battle' is SWORD, and 'stave of the sword' is WARRIOR;
iii) rekit 'extended, chased', when a kenning forms the determinant to a further kenning which is determinant to yet another enclosing kenning, e.g. 'stave of the icicle of the tumult of axes', where 'tumult of axes' = BATTLE, 'icicle of the tumult of axes' = SWORD and 'stave of the sword' = WARRIOR.