[3] -skýflir ‘destroyer’: This sense is assumed on the basis of an etymology from skýfa ‘shove’ (cf. Meissner 289; Note to Rv Lv 14/7II). An alternative possibility is that it may derive from a distinct verb skyfla ‘to plunder, rob’ which is frequent in OEN (Fritzner: skyflir; AEW: -skyflt; cf. Meissner 301; ÍF 26), though not directly attested in OWN. The short vowel would be supported by the ModIcel. form -skylm- cited in LP: skýflir. The notion of the active pursuit of treasure would be paralleled in kennings with base-words such as beiðir or sœkir, both ‘pursuer’ (Meissner 290, 305).
References
- Bibliography
- Meissner = Meissner, Rudolf. 1921. Die Kenningar der Skalden: Ein Beitrag zur skaldischen Poetik. Rheinische Beiträge und Hülfsbücher zur germanischen Philologie und Volkskunde 1. Bonn and Leipzig: Schroeder. Rpt. 1984. Hildesheim etc.: Olms.
- AEW = Vries, Jan de. 1962. Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch. 2nd rev. edn. Rpt. 1977. Leiden: Brill.
- 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.
- Fritzner = Fritzner, Johan. 1883-96. Ordbog over det gamle norske sprog. 3 vols. Kristiania (Oslo): Den norske forlagsforening. 4th edn. Rpt. 1973. Oslo etc.: Universitetsforlaget.
- ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
- Internal references
- Judith Jesch (ed.) 2009, ‘Rǫgnvaldr jarl Kali Kolsson, Lausavísur 14’ in Kari Ellen Gade (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 2: From c. 1035 to c. 1300. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 2. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 591-2.