[6] Fornǫlvir: A hap. leg. The B variant ‑olfr appears to be a lectio facilior (LP: Fornǫlvir); the LaufE mss have ‘fornolfner’. The first element of the name, the adj. forn, means ‘old, ancient’ (cf. the Óðinn-name Forni mentioned in Note to st. 1/5 Kjalarr) and the second part, Ǫlvir, may be derived from Ǫlvér (= OHG, OS Alawīh ‘very holy’; cf. Vé, the name of Óðinn’s brother). For other possible explanations, see AEW: Ǫlvér. Along with Óðinn, the name Ǫlvér occurs in an Icelandic magic formula invoking heathen gods (Ølver, Óðenn, Ille; see N. Lindqvist 1921, 64).
References
- Bibliography
- 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.
- Lindqvist, Sune. 1921. ‘Ynglingaättens gravskick’. Fv 16, 83-194.
- Internal references
- (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Laufás Edda’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=10928> (accessed 25 April 2024)