Note to Þul Á 1III
[8] Ekin (f.): A mythical river that flows from the well Hvergelmir (Grí 27/2; Gylf, SnE 2005, 33). In the mss the name is given either as Ekin or Eikin (so ms. C and the Codex Regius version of Grí 27/2 (NK 62)). Ekin might be a p. p. (f. nom. sg.) of the strong verb aka ‘drive’ in the sense ‘driven’. If so, this name has parallels in other Nordic river-names, e.g. *Aka and Akurda (Hale 1983, 169). See Note to Sœkin (l. 6 above). Eikin may mean ‘unfriendly, warlike, savage’. Cf. the first element in the dwarf-name Eikinskjaldi (Þul Dverga 6/8) and the name of the river Eikjola (in Nordfjord, Norway), which is related to ModNorw. dialects eikja ‘to quarrel, dispute’ (Hale 1983, 169). See also Refr Frag 4/4 and Arngr Gd 56/7IV. Alternatively, Eikin could be connected with eik f. ‘oak’ (Hale loc. cit.). The name does not occur in skaldic verse.
References
- Bibliography
- NK = Neckel, Gustav and Hans Kuhn (1899), eds. 1983. Edda: Die Lieder des Codex Regius nebst verwandten Denkmälern. 2 vols. I: Text. 5th edn. Heidelberg: Winter.
- SnE 2005 = Snorri Sturluson. 2005. Edda: Prologue and Gylfaginning. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2nd edn. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
- Hale, Christopher. 1983. ‘The River Names in Grímnismál 27-29’. In Glendinning et al. 1983, 165-86.
- Internal references
- (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 16 April 2024)
- Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Dverga heiti 6’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 704.
- Not published: do not cite (Arngr Gd 56IV)
- Not published: do not cite ()
- Edith Marold (ed.) 2017, ‘Hofgarða-Refr Gestsson, Fragments 4’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 262.