Note to Þul Sverða 2III
[1] stúfr (m.) ‘stump’: Possibly a short sword or a dagger. Stúfr is also recorded as heiti for ‘ox’ and ‘horse’ (Þul Øxna 2/5 and Þul Hesta 1/8) but never used in Old Norse poetry as a term for ‘sword’, ‘ox’ or ‘horse’. According to Finnur Jónsson (1926-8: stúfr), the word appears frequently in the rímur as a horse-heiti. Based on the C variant ‘skofr’, Finnur Jónsson (Skj B, followed by Skald) and Falk (1914b, 60) emend to skúfr, a poetic term for ‘sword’ (see Arn Hardr 3/5II and Note there), which Falk connects with skúfr ‘tassel’ (perhaps referring to a decorated hilt). Although attractive, that emendation goes against all other ms. witnesses and is hardly warranted.
References
- Bibliography
- Skj B = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1912-15b. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. B: Rettet tekst. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Villadsen & Christensen. Rpt. 1973. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger.
- Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
- Finnur Jónsson. 1926-8. Ordbog til de af samfund til udg. af gml. nord. litteratur udgivne Rímur samt til de af Dr. O. Jiriczek udgivne Bósarímur. SUGNL 51. Copenhagen: Jørgensen.
- Falk, Hjalmar. 1914b. Altnordische Waffenkunde. Videnskapsselskapets skrifter, II. Hist.-filos. kl. 1914, 6. Kristiania (Oslo): Dybwad.
- Internal references
- Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Øxna heiti 2’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 887.
- Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Hesta heiti 1’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 935.
- Diana Whaley (ed.) 2009, ‘Arnórr jarlaskáld Þórðarson, Haraldsdrápa 3’ 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. 263-4.