Note to Eil Þdr 8III
[6] Mǫrnar ‘of Mǫrn <female mythical being>’: It is not necessary to emend the mss’ ‘mꜹrnar’ (R), ‘maurnar’ (Tˣ, W) to Marnar (so Skj B), since a and ǫ form aðalhending in the C10th. A gen. *Marnar is not attested (cf. Heusler 1903, 36, who rejects emending Mǫrnar to Marnar ). Mǫrn as a river-name (cf. Þul Á 3/3; Hfr Lv 3/3V; Bjhít Lv 19/6V; Ólsv Hákdr 1/1) is perhaps derived either from the name of the Marne, a tributary of the Seine in France, or from rivers of this name in Telemark and Agder in Norway (Clunies Ross 1978b, 302 n. 41). It is also rather common as the name of a giantess (see Þjóð Haustl 6/4 and 12/8, LP: 2. mǫrn and Note to ll. 6-7 above).
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.
- 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.
- Clunies Ross, Margaret. 1978b. ‘Style and Authorial Presence in Skaldic Mythological Poetry’. SBVS 20, 276-304.
- Heusler, Andreas. 1903. ‘Die Geschichte vom Völsi, eine altnordische Bekehrungsanekdote’. Zeitschrift des Vereins für Volkskunde 13, 24-39. Rpt. in Heusler 1969, 372-87.
- Internal references
- Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Á heiti 3’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 843.
- Alison Finlay (ed.) 2022, ‘Bjarnar saga Hítdœlakappa 29 (Bjǫrn Hítdœlakappi Arngeirsson, Lausavísur 19)’ 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. 101.
- Diana Whaley (ed.) 2022, ‘Hallfreðar saga 4 (Hallfreðr vandræðaskáld Óttarsson, Lausavísur 3)’ 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. 877.
- R. D. Fulk (ed.) 2017, ‘Óláfr svartaskáld Leggsson, Hákonardrápa 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. 312.
- Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Þjóðólfr ór Hvini, Haustlǫng 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. 440.