Note to Þjóð Yt 9^I

[9] við †tꜹr† ‘near …’: Snorri, in Yng, understood †tꜹr† as the p. n. Taur, the site of Agni’s hanging, and this is followed in Hkr 1893-1901; Skj B; ÍF 26; Skald. The assumption was that it referred to the peninsula between Mörköfjord, Mälaren and the Baltic, now called Södertörn. This has been disputed on orthographic grounds (Noreen 1892, 214; Yt 1925; Evans 1981, 92) but defended by Moberg (1951, 26-7) and Dillmann (2000, 45; see below). (b) A very early interpretation understood taur as ‘ring’ (Säve 1854, 23 n. 3; Eggert Ó. Brím 1895, 9; Falk 1914b, 61). Indications favouring this are taurarr ‘ringed’ (Þul Sverða 6/3^III), a word for sword (cf. Yt 1925), and perhaps also taurar ‘treasure’ (KormǪ Lv 47/3^V (Korm 68)). This would give the sense that Agni was hanged with the neck-ring, which is satisfactory in general terms, but the expression ‘with the neck-ring’ seems not to fit the metaphor for ‘hanging’ used in this helmingr, although the use of collars for leading horses is not uncommon. Dillmann (2000, 45) brings further arguments against the ‘neck-ring’ interpretation. He thinks a p. n. tǫr or tør possible, and Elmevik (1986, 14-17) assumes such forms as these as the basis for the Swed. p. n. Södertörn. The balance of probability therefore returns to the p. n. interpretation.

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skj B = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1912-15b. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. B: Rettet tekst. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Villadsen & Christensen. Rpt. 1973. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger.
3. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
4. Evans, David A. H. 1981. ‘King Agni: Myth, History or Legend?’. In Dronke et al. 1981, 89-105.
5. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
6. Hkr 1893-1901 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1893-1901. Heimskringla: Nóregs konunga sǫgur af Snorri Sturluson. 4 vols. SUGNL 23. Copenhagen: Møller.
7. Falk, Hjalmar. 1914b. Altnordische Waffenkunde. Videnskapsselskapets skrifter, II. Hist.-filos. kl. 1914, 6. Kristiania (Oslo): Dybwad.
8. Eggert Ó. Brím. 1895. ‘Bemærkninger angående en del vers i “Noregs konungasögur” (Reykjavík 1892)’. ANF 11, 1-32.
9. Yt 1925 = Noreen, Adolf, ed. 1925. Ynglingatal: Text, översättning och kommentar. Stockholm: Lagerström.
10. Dillmann, François-Xavier. 2000. ‘Ad noen geografiske navn i Heimskringla’. In Sandnes et al. 2000, 43-54.
11. Elmevik, Lennart. 1986. ‘Fornisl. við taur, á austanverðum Taurinum och det svenska ortnamnet Södertörn’. In Naumann 1986, 11-17.
12. Moberg, Lennart. 1951. ‘Långtora’. NoB 39, 22-31.
13. Noreen, Adolf. 1892. ‘Mytiska beståndsdelar i Ynglingatal’. In Uppsalastudier tillegnade Sophus Bugge på hans 60-åra födelsedag den 5 januari 1893. Uppsala: Almqvist & Wiksell, 194-225.
14. Säve, Carl. 1854. Snorre Sturlesons Ynglinga-Saga öfversatt och förklarad. Uppsala: Leffler.
15. Internal references
16. (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)
17. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Sverða 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. 800.
18. Edith Marold (ed.) 2022, ‘Kormáks saga 68 (Kormákr Ǫgmundarson, Lausavísur 47)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross, Kari Ellen Gade and Tarrin Wills (eds), Poetry in Sagas of Icelanders. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 5. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 1149.