Note to Anon Krm 20VIII
[3-4]: Whereas in l. 9 below, the word ekkja ‘widow’ probably means little more than ‘woman’, its use here with reference to a widow’s ‘close friends’ (málvinir), i.e. ‘speech-friends, lovers’, following the reference to ‘the young knight of a maiden’ (drengr meyjar) in l. 2, is probably intended to give the impression that warriors both young and old are in question. The kennings drengr meyjar ‘the young knight of a maiden’ and má́lvinr ekkju ‘close friend of a widow’ are two of the three cases, listed by Meissner 351, as unique in skaldic poetry, of kennings meaning ‘lover’ being used where warrior-kennings would be expected. The third is ástvinr meyja ‘dear friend of maidens [LOVER]’, at st. 23/7 below; see Note there.