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skaldic

Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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Note to SnSt Lv 5III

[8] Vǫlundr rómu ‘the Vǫlundr <legendary smith> of strife [WARRIOR = Gautr Jónsson]’: The smith Vǫlundr is the protagonist of Vǫlundarkviða (Vǫl). The name could also be used in poetry as a common noun for ‘smith’, but it is otherwise not attested as the base-word in a kenning (cf. LP: Vǫlundr). It is not immediately clear why Snorri uses this name in a warrior-kenning referring to Gautr Jónsson, but it could well have had negative connotations. According to Vǫl, Vǫlundr, through deceit, killed the two young sons of his captor, King Níðuðr of Sweden, and impregnated Níðuðr’s daughter, Bǫðvildr.

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. Internal references
  4. Not published: do not cite ()

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