[6] darraðr ‘the banner’: The word may be cognate with OE daroþ ‘spear’ (the meaning assumed by most eds), though the geminate <r> renders that doubtful. The word has also been thought by Falk (1924, 6-7) to mean ‘sword’. Holtsmark (1939) interprets it as a banner which is shaken as a sign for battle to begin, and this interpretation is now widely accepted: see Olsen (1962a, 4-5), Dronke (1969, 49-50) and particularly Poole (1991, 125-31).
References
- Bibliography
- Dronke, Ursula, ed. and trans. 1969. The Poetic Edda. I: Heroic Poems. Oxford: Clarendon.
- Holtsmark, Anne. 1939. ‘Vefr Darraðar’. MM, 74-96.
- Poole, Russell. 1991. Viking Poems on War and Peace: A Study in Skaldic Narrative. Toronto Medieval Texts and Translations 8. Toronto, Buffalo and London: University of Toronto Press.
- Falk, Hjalmar. 1924. Odensheite. Skrifter utg. av Videnskapsselskapet i Kristiania. II. Hist.-filos. kl. 1924, 10. Kristiania (Oslo): Dybwad.
- Olsen, Magnus. 1962a. Edda- og Skaldekvad. Forarbeider til kommentar. VI. Eyvindr Skáldaspillir, Glúmr Geirason, Einarr Skálaglamm. Avhandlingar utgitt av Det Norske Videnskaps-Akademi i Oslo II. Hist.-filos. kl. new ser. 4. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget.