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skaldic

Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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Note to Eil Þdr 12III

[7] skyld-Breta skytju ‘the kin-Britons of the markswoman [= Skaði] [GIANTS]’: Giant-kennings whose base-words are ethnic names (collected in Marold 1990a, 109-10) are characteristic of Eilífr’s style. Skytja could be a f. noun derived from skyti m. ‘marksman’ (NN §457); hence, the meaning would be ‘markswoman’ and could refer to Skaði, daughter of the giant Þjazi, the giantess who hunts with bow and arrow. Skyld- means ‘related by kinship’ (Fritzner: skyldr 5), and those related to Skaði are giants (Marold 1990a, 110 Anm. 8). This is consistent with Geirrøðr being called ‘terrifier of the bowstring’ and ‘god of the bow’ (sts 16/5 and 20/5). Previous eds have either left skytju untranslated (Sveinbjörn Egilsson 1851, 27; Finnur Jónsson 1900b, 390; Skj B) or resorted to emendation. Kock (NN §457) replaces skyld- with skjald- and translates skjald-Breta skytju as ‘giant’s daughter’ without further comment, while Reichardt (1948, 367) emends skytja to skúta and construes the kenning skyld-Bretar skúta ‘the kin-Britons of the cave’.

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. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
  4. Fritzner = Fritzner, Johan. 1883-96. Ordbog over det gamle norske sprog. 3 vols. Kristiania (Oslo): Den norske forlagsforening. 4th edn. Rpt. 1973. Oslo etc.: Universitetsforlaget.
  5. Marold, Edith. 1990a. ‘Skaldendichtung und Mythologie’. In Pàroli 1990, 107-30.
  6. Finnur Jónsson. 1900b. ‘Þórsdrápa Eilífs Goðrúnarsonar’. Oversigt over det Kgl. Danske videnskabernes selskabs forhandlinger 1900, 369-410.
  7. Reichardt, Konstantin. 1948. ‘Die Thórsdrápa des Eilífr Goðrúnarson: Textinterpretation’. PMLA 63, 329-91.
  8. Sveinbjörn Egilsson. 1851. Tvö brot af Haustlaung og Þórsdrápa. Reykjavík: Prentað á kostnað skólasjóðsins.

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