Note to Þjóð Yt 9^I

[7] dís Loga ‘the sister of Logi [= Skjǫlf]’: The phrase dís Loga is problematic and highly contentious, as neither dís nor loga can be certainly defined. All agree that it must be a female being, but not all agree on whether dís Loga is identical to the Skjǫlf of l. 3. Snorri in Yng and numerous scholars following him take dís as ‘sister’, and hence understand Logi as Skjǫlf’s brother. The sense ‘sister’ is tentatively assumed here, though it is rare at best, and dís normally refers to a range of female figures, human and supernatural, either as a heiti or the base-word of a kenning (see LP: dís and Note to st. 7/5-6). How scholars interpret dís Loga therefore depends chiefly on their understanding of Logi/logi. A Logi is mentioned as a son of the king of Finnland and Kvenland in Orkn ch. 1 (ÍF 34, 3), and (with different detail) in the Þáttr Hversu Norégr byggðisk in Flat (1860-8, I, 21) and the Yng context to this stanza, though it is uncertain whether Yt’s Logi is connected with these figures. Other interpretations rest on suggested connections with logi ‘fire, flame’, lóg ‘use, using up, rations’, or an unattested *log ‘marriage’, but none is wholly convincing.

References

1. Bibliography
2. 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.
3. ÍF 34 = Orkneyinga saga. Ed. Finnbogi Guðmundsson. 1965.
4. Internal references
5. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Flateyjarbók’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=44> (accessed 27 April 2024)
6. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Orkneyinga 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=47> (accessed 27 April 2024)
7. (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 27 April 2024)
8. Edith Marold with the assistance of Vivian Busch, Jana Krüger, Ann-Dörte Kyas and Katharina Seidel, translated from German by John Foulks 2012, ‘ Þjóðólfr ór Hvini, Ynglingatal’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 3. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1440> (accessed 27 April 2024)