[8] naðr ‘serpent’: Naðr (cf. Engl. adder) means ‘snake, serpent’, and was used as a poetic synonym for ships named Ormr ‘Serpent’, as well as for the generic word dreki ‘dragon’, hence ‘dragon-ship, warship’ (see LP: naðr). The use of naðr here and in Arn Hardr to refer to a dragon-ship or warship is therefore not unexpected, especially when qualified by rammsyndan ‘powerfully swimming’ (l. 5).
References
- Bibliography
- 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.
- Internal references
- Diana Whaley 2009, ‘ Arnórr jarlaskáld Þórðarson, Haraldsdrápa’ 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, pp. 260-80. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1099> (accessed 10 May 2024)