Note to Þul Konunga 3III
[3] skjǫldungr (m.) ‘descendant of Skjǫldr’: As a common noun this is a poetic word for ‘ruler’. In Norse tradition the Skjǫldungar were the kings of Denmark, the descendants of Skjǫldr, a son of Óðinn (cf. Hkr, ÍF 26, 15; ÍF 35, 14; SnE 1998, I, 103). See also OE Scyld and Scyldingas/Scildingas (Beowulf 2008, 471). The name Skjǫldr must be derived from the common noun skjǫldr m. ‘shield’. It has been suggested that the word could have originated in the sense ‘shield-carrier’ (so LP: skjǫldungr), although that is uncertain (skjǫldungr is not an agent noun). See also hilmir ‘helmet-provider’ (st. 2/3).
References
- Bibliography
- 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.
- ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
- ÍF 35 = Danakonunga sǫgur. Ed. Bjarni Guðnason. 1982.
- Beowulf 2008 = Fulk, Robert D., Robert E. Bjork and John D. Niles, eds. 2008. Klaeber’s Beowulf and the Fight at Finnsburg. 4th rev. edn of Beowulf and the Fight at Finnsburg, ed. Fr. Klaeber. Toronto, Buffalo and London: University of Toronto Press.
- SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
- Internal references
- (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Heimskringla’ 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, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=4> (accessed 24 April 2024)