Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Sækonunga heiti 4’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 683.
Randvér, Rǫkkvi, Reifnir, Leifnir,
Næfill, Ræfill, Nóri, Lyngvi,
Byrvill, Kílmundr, Beimi, Jórekr,
Ásmundr, Þvinnill, Yngvi, Teiti.
Randvér, Rǫkkvi, Reifnir, Leifnir, Næfill, Ræfill, Nóri, Lyngvi, Byrvill, Kílmundr, Beimi, Jórekr, Ásmundr, Þvinnill, Yngvi, Teiti.
Randvér, Rǫkkvi, Reifnir, Leifnir, Næfill, Ræfill, Nóri, Lyngvi, Byrvill, Kílmundr, Beimi, Jórekr, Ásmundr, Þvinnill, Yngvi, Teiti.
Mss: A(17r), B(8r), 744ˣ(54v), R(42r), Tˣ(43v), C(11r) (SnE)
Readings: [1] Randvér: ‘Ra[…]u[…]’ B, ‘Randuer’ 744ˣ; Rǫkkvi: ‘[…]vi’ B, ‘ro᷎ckui’ 744ˣ, raukni rauknir R, raukneri rauknir C [2] Reifnir: reifr B [4] Lyngvi: ‘ly᷎[…]’ B, ‘lýngvi’ 744ˣ [5] Byrvill: ‘[…]’ B, ‘bjrvill’ 744ˣ, ‘biruill’ C; Kílmundr: ‘kilmun[…]’ B, ‘kilmundr’ 744ˣ, ‘bilmundr’ C [6] Jórekr: ‘joreikr’ B [7] Ásmundr: ‘asmun[…]’ B, ‘asmundr’ 744ˣ, jǫsmundr R, C, ǫsmundr Tˣ; Þvinnill: ‘[…]nill’ B, ‘. . uínnill’ 744ˣ, ‘þumill’ Tˣ [8] Yngvi: ‘ýng[…]e’ B, ‘ýnui’ 744ˣ; Teiti: ok teiti B, om. C
Editions: Skj AI, 653, Skj BI, 658, Skald I, 323; SnE 1848-87, I, 548, II, 469, 552, 614, SnE 1931, 194, SnE 1998, I, 110.
Notes: [All]: In R, as a result of repetition of the second heiti (‘raukni rauknir’; see the next Note), l. 1 is unmetrical. Ms. A is therefore the main ms. for the present stanza, and the order of the mss has been changed accordingly. — [1] Randvér, Rǫkkvi: See Notes to Þul Sea-kings ll. 5, 6. The readings of R and C (‘raukni rauknir’ R; ‘raukneri rauknir’ C) are probably caused by association with raukn n. ‘draught animal, ox’, since raukn occurs frequently as a base-word in kennings for ‘ship’. — [2-3]: Here, as in some other lines of this þula, there is a tendency to place together rhyming names which differ only in their initial sound (see also sts 1/5, 2/3 above). — [2] Reifnir: A variant form of Reimnir, see Note to Þul Sea-kings l. 2. — [2] Leifnir: Perhaps derived from Leifi (see st. 3/8 above; Björn Sigfússon 1934, 134). See also leifnir among the ship-heiti (Þul Skipa 2/8). The name occurs in several kennings and as the first element of the sword-name Leifnisgrand ‘Leifnir’s harm’ (Þul Sverða 2/6), which is a kenning for ‘sword’. — [3] Næfill: One of the sons of Hálfdan gamli ‘the Old’ (Flat 1860-8, I, 25-6). The name means ‘clever, skilled one’ from the adj. næfr ‘skilled’ (cf. Eynæfir, st. 2/1) with the suffix ‑ill, which is frequently found in this group of names. The name is never attested in kennings. See also the dwarf-names Næfr and Næfi (Þul Dverga 2/3). — [3] Ræfill: The name is known (also as Refill) from the fornaldarsögur (cf. Refill son Mæfils sækonúngs ‘Refill son of the sea-king Mævill’ in Þorsteins saga Víkingssonar ch. 8, FSN II, 404; one of the sons of Bjǫrn járnsíða ‘Ironside’, FSN I, 510; Reuillus in Saxo 2005, I, 5, 8, 4, pp. 338-9). It is used in several kennings and is most likely a derivative from ráf n. or ræfr n. ‘roof’, perhaps originally a nickname ‘tall, towering up to the roof’ (Björn Sigfússon 1934, 137). It is unclear whether this name can be connected semantically with ModIcel. ræfill ‘poor fellow’ and refill ‘strip of cloth’ (see ÍO: Ræfill). — [4] Nóri: The weak form of Nórr. Both forms of the name are known from various sources. In the Holm18 version of ÓTOdd, King Nóri is said to be the first settler of Norway (ÓTOdd 1932, 83; hence, Nóregr is interpreted as ‘the way of Nóri’), but another version of the saga and Hversu Nóregr byggðisk (Flat 1860-8, I, 22) have Nórr. In the latter source Nórr is the son of king Þorri and the brother of Górr. Björn Sigfússon (1934, 135-6) argues that the relationship between Nórr and Górr is likely to have been the product of their similar-sounding names and identical meaning (cf. ModIcel. nóri ‘a small bit of something, a little shaver’; for the meaning of Górr, see Note to st. 2/6). None of these names is used in kennings. Nóri is also the name of a dwarf (Vsp 11/6). See also Note to Þul Konunga 2/4. — [4] Lyngvi: Perhaps Lyngvi Hundingsson, known from the legend of Sigurðr Fáfnisbani ‘Slayer of Fáfnir’ (Reg prose (NK 179)), Vǫlsunga saga and Norna-Gests þáttr. Björn Sigfússon (1934, 135) connects Lyngvi with OHG Lungar lit. ‘swift’, but it is more likely to be derived from lyng n. ‘ling, heather’ (dat. sg. lyngvi). The name does not occur in skaldic kennings, but it is used in the rímur (Finnur Jónsson 1926-8: Lyngvi). — [4] Byrvill: The name is attested twice in Saxo, once as the sea-king Biruillus and once as Birwil Pallidus ‘the Pale’ (Saxo 2005, I, 7, 11, 12, pp. 506-7, I, 8, 3, 6, pp. 514-15), a champion who fought at the epic battle of Brávellir. Byrvill may mean ‘coarse, rude one’; cf. New Norw. burul, burvul, byrvel ‘an impudent, rough fellow’ (Björn Sigfússon 1934, 128). In the skaldic corpus, Byrvill occurs once as a determinant in a kenning for ‘ship’ (Anon Pl 35/1VII). — [5] Kílmundr: This name is a hap. leg. According to Björn Sigfússon (1934, 134), the first element may be cognate with MLG kīl ‘wedge’ (cf. ModNorw., ModDan. kile ‘wedge’), hence, ‘one with a wedge’. Finnur Jónsson (1934-5, 296) suggests a connection with kíll m. ‘inlet’. Cf. also Kíli among the dwarf-names in Þul Dverga 6/1. Otherwise Kílmundr may be related to kjǫlr m. ‘keel’ (see ÍO: Kílmund(u)r). The C variant Bilmundr must be a scribal error. — [6] Beimi: See Note to Þul Sea-kings l. 4. — [6] Jórekr: Most likely ‘horse-powerful one’, from jór ‘m. horse’ and ‑rekr (cf. Hárekr, st. 2/6 and the Norwegian farm name Joreksstadir; see Björn Sigfússon 1934, 134). The name is also listed in Þul Bjarnar 1/8, but does not otherwise occur in verse. — [7] Ásmundr: So A (and adopted in Finnur Jónsson 1934-5, 296; Skj B; LP: Ásmundr). According to Finnur (LP) this is the famous legendary king Gnóðar-Ásmundr (see Note to Anon Mhkv 8/5 and Introduction to GnóðÁsm). Björn Sigfússon (1934, 134) adopts the R variant Jǫsmundr (a hap. leg.), which he takes as cognate with the names Jǫsurr and Jǫsurmarr, whose origin is not clear. If there is a connection between the first element of the cpd names Jǫs- and New Norw. jase ‘excitement of mind and body’ or ON ǫs f. ‘bustle of a crowd, tumult’ (cf. the reading Ǫsmundr in Tˣ), Jǫsmundr possibly means ‘one fighting in a tumult’. Neither Ásmundr nor Jǫsmundr are used in skaldic kennings. — [7] Þvinnill: The name occurs in several kennings. It is perhaps originally a nickname from the stem *þvin- ‘pining’ (cf. New Norw. tvinel ‘a poor person checked in growth’, tvina ‘dwindle’, OE þwīnan ‘get less, dwindle’; so Björn Sigfússon 1934, 139). — [8] Yngvi: Yngvi is most likely identical with the mythical ancestor of the Ynglingar (from *Ingwiniʀ ‘friend of Ingr’; cf. OHG Ingwin). See Introduction to Þjóð YtI. It is also the name of several legendary kings and heroes (e.g. Yngvi Alreksson in Ættartölur, Flat 1860-8, I, 26; see also SnE 1998, II, 521 and Note to Þul Konunga 3/4). — [8] Teiti: A pet-name for Teitr (from the adj. teitr ‘glad, cheerful’), which is a frequently used pers. n. (e.g. Teitr Njörvason, a fictitious king in Þorst Vík, FSN II, 404). The name does not occur in skaldic verse.
Use the buttons at the top of the page to navigate between stanzas in a poem.
The text and translation are given here, with buttons to toggle whether the text is shown in the verse order or prose word order. Clicking on indiviudal words gives dictionary links, variant readings, kennings and notes, where relevant.
This is the text of the edition in a similar format to how the edition appears in the printed volumes.
This view is also used for chapters and other text segments. Not all the headings shown are relevant to such sections.