Note to Keth Lv 20^VIII (Ket 36)

[1] Dragvendill: According to Ket ch. 3, Ketill hœngr acquired the sword Dragvendill, along with three arrows, after he had killed the Saami leader Gusi (FSGJ 2, 164). This name appears as the name of a sword in a lausavísa attributed to Egill Skallagrímsson (Egill Lv 35/2^V (Eg 64)). According to Eg (ch. 61, ÍF 2, 195), Egill’s friend Arinbjǫrn gave him the sword, and in the M (Möðruvallabók) version of the saga its provenance is named: Þórólfr Skallagrímsson gave it to Arinbjǫrn, and was himself given it by his father Skallagrímr, who in turn received it from his own brother Þórólfr. Þórólfr got it from Grímr loðinkinni, Ketill hœngr’s son, and it is stated that Ketill had used it in single combats. It is further stated that Dragvendill was the sharpest of all swords. Ironically, the first half-stanza of the lausavísa attributed to Egill resembles this stanza in that there as well Dragvendill is said not to ‘bite’ as it should, because Atli the Short had dulled its blades by magic (ch. 65, ÍF 2, 209-10).  This sword name is recorded in two variants, dragvendill, as here and in some mss of Eg, and dragvandill, as in the M-text of Eg and Þul Sverða 1/4^III. On the etymology of the name, see Note to Þul Sverða 1/4^III.

References

1. Bibliography
2. ÍF 2 = Egils saga Skalla-Grímssonar. Ed. Sigurður Nordal. 1933.
3. FSGJ = Guðni Jónsson, ed. 1954. Fornaldar sögur norðurlanda. 4 vols. [Reykjavík]: Íslendingasagnaútgáfan.
4. Internal references
5. 2022, ‘ Anonymous, Egils saga Skalla-Grímssonar’ 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, pp. 162-389. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=14> (accessed 19 April 2024)
6. Not published: do not cite (Egill^V)
7. 2017, ‘ Anonymous, Ketils saga hœngs’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 548. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=71> (accessed 19 April 2024)
8. Not published: do not cite (Gríml^VIII)
9. Not published: do not cite (Keth^VIII)
10. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Sverða heiti 1’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 790.
11. Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2022, ‘Egils saga Skalla-Grímssonar 64 (Egill Skallagrímsson, Lausavísur 35)’ 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. 279.