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skaldic

Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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Note to SnSt Ht 50III

[3, 4] hof hugtúns ‘the temples of the mind-meadow [BREAST > HEADS]’: This kenning has been taken by earlier eds to mean ‘chests’ (see LP: hugtún). However, hugtún in itself means ‘breast’ (see LP: hugtún and GSúrs Lv 9/4V (Gísl 12)), and its hof ‘temple’ must be the building that is erected on top of it, i.e. ‘head’ or ‘heads’ (hof is n. acc. sg./pl.). The W, U variant haf would yield a kenning haf hugtúns ‘ocean of the breast’, which is not immediately clear, but might possibly be a kenning for ‘blood’.

References

  1. Bibliography
  2. LP = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1931. Lexicon poeticum antiquæ linguæ septentrionalis: Ordbog over det norsk-islandske skjaldesprog oprindelig forfattet af Sveinbjörn Egilsson. 2nd edn. Copenhagen: Møller.
  3. Internal references
  4. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2022, ‘Gísla saga Súrssonar 12 (Gísli Súrsson, Lausavísur 9)’ 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, p. 567.

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