[6] Gandalfr: The first part of the name is illegible in B (‘[…] alfr’) but 744ˣ has ‘gannalfr’, which cannot be interpreted. The LaufE mss give Gunnalfr ‘battle-elf’, which is a lectio facilior. Gandalfr means either ‘elf concerned with magic’ (cf. gandr m. ‘stick, magic wand, magic’ and álfr m. ‘elf’) or ‘wolf-elf’, ‘outlaw-elf’ (cf. gandr = vargr ‘wolf, outlaw’), perhaps an evil elf (both possibilities are considered by Gould 1929, 948). As a dwarf-name, Gandalfr otherwise occurs only in Vsp 12/1 and in Gylf (SnE 2005, 16), but it is attested as a pers. n. in Ynglinga saga and Hálfdanar saga svarta (Gandálfr Álfgeirsson, a king in Vingulmǫrk in southern Norway; Hkr, ÍF 26, 81, 84, 94-5).
References
- Bibliography
- ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
- SnE 2005 = Snorri Sturluson. 2005. Edda: Prologue and Gylfaginning. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2nd edn. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
- Gould, Chester N. 1929. ‘Dwarf-names: A Study in Old Icelandic Religion’. PMLA 44, 938-67.
- 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)
- (forthcoming), ‘ Snorri Sturluson, Gylfaginning’ 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=113> (accessed 24 April 2024)
- Not published: do not cite ()
- (forthcoming), ‘ Heimskringla, Ynglinga saga’ 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=158> (accessed 24 April 2024)
- Not published: do not cite ()
- (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 24 April 2024)