Þul Sækonunga 1^III

Atli ‘Atli’

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Atli (noun m.): Atli

[1] Atli Fróði: ‘[…]tle f[…]de’ B, ‘Atle frode’ 744ˣ

notes

[1] Atli: This name occurs only in one kenning (HaukrV Ísldr 5/2^IV). It is a common pers. n., originally perhaps a nickname derived from the weak form of the adj. atall ‘fierce, savage’ (see Atall, l. 6). Cf. the word-play in HHj 15/1-2 (NK 144): Atli ec heiti, | atall scal ec þér vera ‘My name is Savage, I shall be savage to you’ (here of Atli Iðmundarson). In Old Norse tradition, the name Atli was identified with that of Attila, King of the Huns (d. 453), who appears as Atli Buðlason in Akv and Am. Aside from Atli Buðlason, there are several legendary princes and vikings of this name in eddic poetry and in the fornaldarsögur (e.g. Atli the son of Hringr in HHund I 52/3 and Atli víkingr in Frið ch. 82, FSN II, 82). Hence it is not clear who is meant here. Atli is also a name for Þórr (Þul Þórs l. 1).

Fróði ‘Fróði’

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Fróði (noun m.): Fróði

[1] Atli Fróði: ‘[…]tle f[…]de’ B, ‘Atle frode’ 744ˣ

notes

[1] Fróði: A common pers. n. derived from the adj. fróðr ‘wise’, with cognates in other Germanic languages (OHG Frodo, Fruoto; OE Froda). Finnur Jónsson (1934-5, 294) identified this sea-king as the legendary Danish king Fróði inn frœkni ‘the Bold’ Friðleifsson (cf. Ættartölur in Flat 1860-8, I, 27 and RvHbreiðm Hl 35 Note to [All]), but there are also other Danish kings and Norwegian chieftains of this name (see Flat 1860-8, I, 25-7, 41-2 and ÍF 35, 14; cf. also Fróði = Frioðigar in SnE 2005, 5 (Prologue); Hyndl 13/5, 19/5, etc.).

Áli ‘Áli’

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Áli (noun m.): Áli

notes

[2] Áli: As the name of a sea-king, Áli is frequently used in kennings. Cf. OE Onela, perhaps from *anulan = anu ‘ancestor’ (so Finnur Jónsson 1934-5, 293). Here it probably refers to the legendary king Áli inn upplenzki ‘from Oppland’ mentioned in Anon Kálfv 3/1, but there are also other persons of this name, e.g. Áli inn frœkni ‘the Bold’ Friðleifsson (ÍF 26, 46; RvHbreiðm Hl 33 Note to [All]). Áli is also a diminutive of Áleifr, and Ólafr Tryggvason called himself ‘Áli’ on his viking campaigns in England before he became king of Norway (ÍF 26, 291).

Glammi ‘Glammi’

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2. Glammi (noun m.): Glammi

notes

[2] Glammi: See Note to Þul Sea-kings l. 7.

Beiti ‘Beiti’

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Beiti (noun m.): Beiti

[3] Beiti: so C, A, B, ‘beti’ R, Tˣ

notes

[3] Beiti: As the name of a sea-king, Beiti occurs only once in a kenning for ‘sea’ (see ESk Frag 1/1). In Am 61/1 Beiti is King Atli’s brother, but in the present stanza the name most likely belongs to one of the sons of Górr, a sea-king mentioned in Hversu Nóregr byggðisk (Flat 1860-8, I, 22) along with other ancient chieftains listed in this stanza (Glammi l. 2, Geitir l. 7 and Gylfi l. 8). According to Finnur Jónsson (1934-5, 293), the name is perhaps derived from beit n. ‘ship’ (or it can be the weak form of the adj. beitr ‘biting’). Björn Sigfússon (1934, 127-8) explains it as ‘one who manoeuvers’ (cf. the weak verb beita ‘cruise, tack’).

Áti ‘Áti’

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Áti (noun m.): Áti

[3] Áti: ‘atti’ C

notes

[3] Áti: Perhaps Áti inn svarti ‘the Black’ mentioned in Úlfrauð Útkv 2/4^VIII (Hálf 42). The name is frequently found in kennings for ‘ship’ and ‘sea’ (LP: Áti 1). It is probably originally a word of the same type as sessi m. ‘benchmate’, máli m. ‘acquaintance’, rúni m. ‘counsellor’, derived from át n. ‘the act of eating, a meal’, and hence perhaps ‘messmate’ (Björn Sigfússon 1934, 127). Alternatively, Áti could be related to the Old High German pers. n. Anzo (AEW: Áti).

ok ‘and’

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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also

Beimuni ‘Beimuni’

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(non-lexical)

[4] Beimuni: ‘[…]eímune’ B, ‘beímune’ 744ˣ

notes

[4] Beimuni: See Note to Þul Sea-kings l. 8.

Auðmundr ‘Auðmundr’

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auðmundr (noun m.): auðmundr

notes

[5] Auðmundr, Guðmundr: Both are Germanic personal names (cf. OHG Audemunde, Otmunt; OE Eadmund, Godmund). The first does not occur elsewhere in Old Norse, but Guðmundr, Goðmundr is a common name. Here perhaps Guðmundr Dalakonungr, the son of Auðleifr mentioned in Hversu Nóregr byggðisk (Flat 1860-8, I, 23), but there are also chieftains of this name in HHund I 32/2 and HHund II 22/1 (Guðmundr).

Guðmundr ‘Guðmundr’

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Guðmundr (noun m.): Guðmundr

[5] Guðmundr: ‘g[…]d[…]r’ B, ‘gudmundr’ 744ˣ

notes

[5] Auðmundr, Guðmundr: Both are Germanic personal names (cf. OHG Audemunde, Otmunt; OE Eadmund, Godmund). The first does not occur elsewhere in Old Norse, but Guðmundr, Goðmundr is a common name. Here perhaps Guðmundr Dalakonungr, the son of Auðleifr mentioned in Hversu Nóregr byggðisk (Flat 1860-8, I, 23), but there are also chieftains of this name in HHund I 32/2 and HHund II 22/1 (Guðmundr).

Atall ‘Atall’

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Atall (noun m.): Atall (sea-king)

notes

[6] Atall: An old name of a sea-king attested in many kennings (see Note to l. 1 above).

ok ‘and’

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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also

Gestill ‘Gestill’

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Gestill (noun m.): Gestill

notes

[6] Gestill: See Note to Þul Sea-kings l. 2.

Geitir ‘Geitir’

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Geitir (noun m.): Geitir

notes

[7] Geitir: A sea-king, son of Górr and father of Glammi (Flat 1860-8, I, 22; see Note to l. 3 above). According to Björn Sigfússon (1934, 130), the name may be explained as ‘one clothed in goatskin or looking like a goat (geit) as to colour, hair, and beard’. The name is also listed among the heiti for ‘giant’ (Þul Jǫtna I 3/3). For other parallels with Þul Jǫtna, see Hrauðnir (st. 2/8), Hrauðungr (st. 3/1) and Leifi (st. 3/8).

Gauti ‘Gauti’

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gauti (noun m.): man, Geat

notes

[7] Gauti: Lit. ‘one from Gautland’, i.e. modern Västergötland in western Sweden. Gauti is the weak form of Gautr, and both Gauti and Gautr are also names for Óðinn (see Þul Óðins 1/6). The name is often found in the fornaldarsögur, but it is not used as a name for a sea-king in kennings.

Gylfi ‘Gylfi’

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Gylfi (noun m.): Gylfi

[8] Gylfi Sveiði: ‘g[…] s[…]de’ B, ‘gylfir sueide’ 744ˣ

notes

[8] Gylfi: Here a sea-king, the son of Geitir (Flat 1860-8, I, 22; see l. 7 above). The name is frequently used in kennings for ‘sea’ and ‘ship’. Finnur Jónsson (1934-5, 294) connects it with the sea-heiti gjálfr n. ‘swelling waves, surge’, while Björn Sigfússon (1934, 130-1) offers the interpretation ‘he who lives on a raised floor, a chief’ (from gólf n. ‘raised floor’). Cf. the A variant Gylfir in Þul Sea-kings l. 6 (and in ms. 744ˣ of the present stanza).

Sveiði ‘Sveiði’

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Sveiði (noun m.): Sveiði

[8] Gylfi Sveiði: ‘g[…] s[…]de’ B, ‘gylfir sueide’ 744ˣ

notes

[8] Sveiði: The name occurs in several kennings for ‘ship’ and ‘sea’. Sveiði may perhaps mean ‘wounder’; cf. the hap. leg. sveiðanda spjót ‘smarting spear’ in Hjǫrleifr Lv 1/6^VIII (Hálf 3), where sveiðandi is the pres. part. of the weak verb sveiða ‘smart’ (Björn Sigfússon 1934, 137). Cf. also Sveið, the name of a valkyrie (see Note to Þul Valkyrja 2/6), and the ox-name sveiðurr in Þjóð Yt 13/9^I. A chieftain of this name is not known from other sources, but the sea-king Svaði Heitason is mentioned in Hversu Nóregr byggðisk (Flat 1860-8, I, 22).