Þul Kvenna I 1^III

Snót ‘Snót’

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snót (noun f.; °; -ir): woman

[1] Snót: Snotr Tˣ, ‘[…]nót’ B, Snót 744ˣ

notes

[1] snót (f.): Skm (SnE 1998, I, 107) provides the following definition of this word: Snótir heita þær, er orðnæfrar eru ‘those who are clever of speech are called snótir’. Although it is possible that Snorri’s explanation of the poetic word influenced the Tˣ variant (snotr ‘wise’), his interpretation is nothing but a learned speculation and the etymology of the heiti is obscure (for details, see AEW, ÍO: snót).

brúðr ‘bride’

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brúðr (noun f.; °brúðar, dat. & acc. brúði; brúðir): woman, bride

[1] brúðr: ‘[…]’ B, ‘bruðr’ 744ˣ

svanni ‘lady’

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svanni (noun m.): lady, woman

[1] svanni: svarri C, ‘[…]nní’ B, ‘suanní’ 744ˣ

notes

[1] svanni (m.) ‘lady’: Lit. ‘clever one’; from the adj. svinnr ‘wise, clever’ (AEW: svanni). This is a poetic term for ‘gentlewoman’; cf. Skm (SnE 1998, I, 107): Sprund ok svanni heita þær konur er mjǫk fara með dramb ok skart ‘Those women who go around with pomp and finery are called sprund and svanni’.

svarri ‘haughty woman’

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svarri (noun m.; °-a): (proud) lady

[2] svarri: svanni C

notes

[2] svarri (m.): Lit. ‘noisy one’ (cf. the weak verb svarra ‘roar, rush’; AEW: svarri). According to Skm (SnE 1998, I, 107), this is a proud, haughty woman: svarri ok svarkr, þær eru mikillátar ‘svarri and svarkr are arrogant women’.

sprakki ‘lively one’

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sprakki (noun m.): woman, lively one

[2] sprakki: ‘s[…]ke’ B, ‘spracke’ 744ˣ

notes

[2] sprakki (m.) ‘lively one’: Cf. ModIcel. sprakkur ‘lively’ (AEW: sprakki). This poetic word is one of the two heiti for ‘woman’ in the present þula that are not mentioned in Skm (the other is man ‘maid’ in l. 7).

fljóð ‘matron’

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fljóð (noun n.): woman

notes

[3] fljóð (f.) ‘matron’: Perhaps lit. ‘quick one’ (see AEW: fljóð). In Skm (SnE 1998, I, 107), this word is explained as follows: Víf ok brúðr ok  fljóð heita þær konur er manni eru gefnar ‘Those women who are given to a husband are called víf and brúðr and fljóð’. The word is used only in poetry.

sprund ‘dame’

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sprund (noun f.): woman

notes

[3] sprund (f.) ‘dame’: The sense of this poetic word is unclear (cf. ÍO: sprund), but it may have the same meaning as sprakki (‘lively one’; see AEW: sprund).

kona ‘woman’

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kona (noun f.; °-u; -ur/-r(KlmA1980 116¹¹), gen. pl. kvenna/kvinna): woman

[3] kona: om. A

feima ‘lass’

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feima (noun f.): lass

notes

[4] feima (f.) ‘lass’: Lit. ‘shy’. The heiti refers to ‘a bashful girl, a young lass’ (so CVC: feima; cf. ModIcel. feiminn ‘timid, modest’; see also Note to Vígf Lv 1/2^I). In Snorri’s words (Skm, SnE 1998, I, 107): Feima er sú kǫlluð er ófrǫm er svá sem ungar meyjar, eða þær konur er ódjarfar eru ‘One who is retiring, such as young girls or those women who are shy, is called feima’. However, the word may be related to OE fæmne ‘maid’ (see AEW: feima). This term is found only in poetry, and only rarely there. Feima is also the name of a giantess in Gríms saga loðinkinna (FSN II, 145-8).

ekkja ‘widow’

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1. ekkja (noun f.; °-u; -ur, gen. ekkna): widow, woman

[4] ekkja: ‘[…]’ B, ‘eckia’ 744ˣ

rýgr ‘mighty woman’

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rýgr (noun f.): housewife

notes

[5] rýgr (m.) ‘mighty woman’: Perhaps lit. ‘shouting one’ (see AEW: rýgr). Just like the following terms, víf ‘wife’ and drós ‘girl’, this is a poetic word for ‘mighty woman’. Cf. Skm (SnE 1998, I, 107): Rýgr heitir sú kona er ríkust er ‘That woman who is the most powerful is called rýgr’. See also Þul Trollkvenna 5/7.

víf ‘wife’

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víf (noun n.): woman, wife

ok ‘and’

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

[5] ok: ok brúðr C

drós ‘girl’

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drós (noun f.; °-ar; -ir): lady

ristill ‘gentlewoman’

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1. ristill (noun m.; °dat. ristli): gentlewoman, plowshare

[6] ristill: ‘ri[…]ll’ B, ristill 744ˣ

notes

[6] ristill (m.) ‘gentlewoman’: Like some other heiti for ‘woman’ in this list (svanni, svarri, sprakki and svarkr) the word is a m. noun. In Skm (SnE 1998, I, 107), ristill is a term for a woman ‘of independent character’ (skǫruglyndr). Other than in this stanza and in Rþ 25/6 the word occurs in Old Norse poetry only twice and only in late poems, the earliest from C14th (see Anon Mey 27/3^VII; see also Kommentar III, 590). The heiti is used quite frequently in the rímur (Finnur Jónsson 1926-8: ristill). The origin of ristill is obscure and several explanations have been suggested: from rist f. ‘instep of the foot’ (AEW: ristill 2); from the strong verb rísta ‘carve’, and thus a female rune carver (so Sturtevant 1952, 1151); from the strong verb rísa ‘rise’ (ÍO: ristill 3).

sæta ‘grass-widow’

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1. sæta (noun f.; °-u; -ur): woman, lady

[6] sæta: ‘hnæita’ A, ‘se᷎t[…]’ B, ‘se᷎ta’ 744ˣ

notes

[6] sæta (f.) ‘grass-widow’: This word is derived from the verb sitja; hence lit. ‘sitting one’. Cf. Skm (SnE 1998, I, 107): Sæta heitir sú kona er búandi hennar er af landi farinn ‘A woman is called sæta when her husband has left the country’. In poetry the word is used as a heiti for ‘woman’ in general. The reading in A ‘hnæita’ may be a scribal error, although the B variant of l. 7 (‘[…]eita[…]n’ B, ‘hneíta . . . . . …an’ 744ˣ) suggests that the word may have been included in the common redaction of A, B. Hneita is also found in the lists in LaufE and RE 1665(Ji) (see LaufE 1979, 291 n., 374).

man ‘maid’

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man (noun n.): girl

[7] man svarkr ok hæll: svarkr drós ok man A, ‘[…]eita[…]n’ B, ‘hneíta . . . . . …an’ 744ˣ

svarkr ‘proud woman’

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svarkr (noun m.): [proud woman]

[7] man svarkr ok hæll: svarkr drós ok man A, ‘[…]eita[…]n’ B, ‘hneíta . . . . . …an’ 744ˣ

notes

[7] svarkr (m.) ‘proud woman’: This term denotes ‘a proud, haughty woman’ (so CVC: svarkr). The word is derived from svarri m. ‘haughty woman’ (AEW: svarkr; see l. 2 above). This is the only term for ‘woman’ listed here that does not occur in extant poetry.

ok ‘and’

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

[7] man svarkr ok hæll: svarkr drós ok man A, ‘[…]eita[…]n’ B, ‘hneíta . . . . . …an’ 744ˣ

hæll ‘widow’

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2. hæll (noun m.; °; hǽlar): [widow]

[7] man svarkr ok hæll: svarkr drós ok man A, ‘[…]eita[…]n’ B, ‘hneíta . . . . . …an’ 744ˣ

notes

[7] hæll (m.) ‘widow’: In poetry this is the word for ‘woman’ in general. In SnE there is a distinction between hæll, ‘a woman whose husband has been slain’ (Skm, SnE 1998, I, 107: hæll er sú kona kǫlluð er búandi hennar er veginn), and ekkja, the term for a woman whose husband has died of an illness (Ekkja heitir sú er búandi hennar varð sóttdauðr). Hæll m. is merely a poetic word and rare, however, whereas ekkja f. is the commonly used term for ‘widow’ in both prose and poetry. According to de Vries (AEW: hæll 3), it is likely that hæll got its poetic meaning ‘widow’ from a skaldic word-play on homonyms, as in Egill Skallagrímsson’s last stanza (Egill Lv 48^V (Eg 132)). Since ekkja is a word for both ‘widow’ and ‘heel’, the meaning ‘widow’ may have been transferred to hæll ‘heel’ in analogy with the former term. See also Note to Anon Stríðk l. 8.

mær ‘maiden’

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mær (noun f.; °meyjar, dat. meyju; meyjar): maiden

notes

[8] mær ok kerling ‘maiden and old woman’: The same combination of heiti is found in Skm (SnE 1998, I, 107): Mær heitir fyrst hver, en kerli<n>gar er gamlar eru ‘Each one is called mær at first, but kerlingar when they are old’. In poetry mær f. can also mean ‘daughter’ and ‘wife’. Kerling f. usually refers to an old woman of low status (cf. karl m. ‘old man, humble man’), and probably for that reason it is rarely used in poetry (but see Vitg Lv 1/3-4^I).

ok ‘and’

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

notes

[8] mær ok kerling ‘maiden and old woman’: The same combination of heiti is found in Skm (SnE 1998, I, 107): Mær heitir fyrst hver, en kerli<n>gar er gamlar eru ‘Each one is called mær at first, but kerlingar when they are old’. In poetry mær f. can also mean ‘daughter’ and ‘wife’. Kerling f. usually refers to an old woman of low status (cf. karl m. ‘old man, humble man’), and probably for that reason it is rarely used in poetry (but see Vitg Lv 1/3-4^I).

kerling ‘old woman’

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kerling (noun f.; °-ar, dat. -u, acc. -u/-; -ar): old woman

notes

[8] mær ok kerling ‘maiden and old woman’: The same combination of heiti is found in Skm (SnE 1998, I, 107): Mær heitir fyrst hver, en kerli<n>gar er gamlar eru ‘Each one is called mær at first, but kerlingar when they are old’. In poetry mær f. can also mean ‘daughter’ and ‘wife’. Kerling f. usually refers to an old woman of low status (cf. karl m. ‘old man, humble man’), and probably for that reason it is rarely used in poetry (but see Vitg Lv 1/3-4^I).