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skaldic

Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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Note to Eyv Hál 2I

[1] skjaldblœtr ‘shield-worshipped’: The element -blœtr appears to be etymologically related to blót, blóta ‘sacrifice, worship’; on its morphology, see Hkr 1893-1901, IV. The description ‘shield-worshipped’ may allude to a practice of incantation by warriors from under their shields as a prelude to battle (Hávm 156; possibly also Egill Lv 30V (Eg 59)); Tacitus reports a similar practice among Germanic warriors as a form of divination before battle (Björn Magnússon Ólsen 1902, 196-8; Anderson 1938, 1, 3, 1; Mattingly 1970, 103; Marold 2001b, 96 and n. 38). Another explanation of skjaldblœtr might be that shields were sacrificed to Óðinn, although clear archaeological or literary evidence for such a practice in the Viking Age is lacking. The reading of F, skaldblœtr ‘worshipped by skalds’, is preferred by Finnur Jónsson (Hkr 1893-1901; Skj B) but is probably a lectio facilior (Björn Magnússon Ólsen 1902, 196).

References

  1. Bibliography
  2. Skj B = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1912-15b. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. B: Rettet tekst. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Villadsen & Christensen. Rpt. 1973. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger.
  3. Hkr 1893-1901 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1893-1901. Heimskringla: Nóregs konunga sǫgur af Snorri Sturluson. 4 vols. SUGNL 23. Copenhagen: Møller.
  4. Björn Magnússon Ólsen. 1902. ‘Strøbemærkninger til norske og islandske skjaldedigte’. ANF 18, 195-210.
  5. Anderson, J. G. C., ed. 1938. Cornelii Taciti De origine et situ Germanorum. Oxford: Clarendon.
  6. Marold, Edith. 2001b. ‘The Relationship between Verses and Prose in Bjarnar saga Hítdœlakappa’. In Poole 2001a, 75-124.
  7. Mattingly, H., trans. 1970. Tacitus. The Agricola and the Germania. Rev. edn by S. A. Handford. London: Penguin.
  8. Internal references
  9. Not published: do not cite (RunVI)
  10. Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2022, ‘Egils saga Skalla-Grímssonar 59 (Egill Skallagrímsson, Lausavísur 30)’ 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. 272.
  11. Not published: do not cite ()

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