Note to Þjóð Haustl 17^III

[5, 7] frá hǫrðum of rúna trolls trjónu ‘from the hard friend of the troll of the muzzle [= Mjǫllnir > = Þórr]’: The difficulty here comes in identifying the precise nature (kenning-type, meaning) of the kenning for Þórr’s hammer, Mjǫllnir. There is no difficulty in identifying Þórr as the ‘hard friend’ or confidant of the hammer, conceived of as a living, though monstrous being, since he and it are almost inseparable in Old Norse myth (see Note to st. 16/1 on of rúni). Trolls trjónu (l. 7) is another matter, however, though the context of the narrative makes it clear that this phrase must be a kenning for Mjǫllnir. As a kenning base-word, troll ‘troll, monster’ is uncommon, although Þjsk Lv 2/8^V (Svarfd 6) provides a parallel in troll fetils ‘troll of the [sword-]strap [SWORD]’, the determinant being a part of the accoutrements of a sword. On this pattern, trjóna should be a part of a hammer. The noun means ‘muzzle, snout (of an animal)’, so, by metaphorical transfer, it must refer to a part of a Þórr’s hammer which can be thought of as its mouth or muzzle. Viking-Age amulets which represent Þórr’s hammer show an object with short, equal arms and a central ‘head’, which may well be the ‘muzzle’ in question (see Figures 24-7 in Perkins 2001, 120-1).

References

1. Bibliography
2. Perkins, Richard. 2001. Thor the Wind-Raiser and the Eyrarland Image. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
3. Internal references
4. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2022, ‘Svarfdœla saga 6 (Þorleifr jarlsskáld Rauðfeldarson, Lausavísur 2)’ 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. 1350.