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Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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Þul Dverga 5III

Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Dverga heiti 5’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 701.

Anonymous ÞulurDverga heiti
456

Fáinn ‘Fáinn’

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Fáinn (noun m.)

notes

[1] Fáinn: The name means either ‘shining one’ (Gould 1929, 945) or ‘painted one’ (Motz 1973, 114), from the weak verb ‘paint, colour, brighten’. A dwarf of this name is not known from other sources.

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Fár* ‘Fár*’

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Fár (noun m.): Fár

[1] Fár*: ‘fárr’ A, B

notes

[1] Fár*: The mss have ‘fáʀr’ (A) and ‘farr’ (B; 744ˣ has ‘fare’, which shows that Jón Ólafsson was uncertain about the transcription of the last letter), but the correct reading is most likely Fár ‘shining, coloured’ (so Skj B; Skald; Gould 1929, 946). Cf. Fáinn (ÍO: fár 3) above, as well as the semantically similar names Mjǫklituðr (st. 1/2 above) and Litr (st. 6/2 below). This heiti does not occur elsewhere.

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Fíli ‘Fíli’

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Fíli (noun m.)

[1] Fíli: ‘fil[…]’ B, ‘fili’ 744ˣ

notes

[1] Fíli: Other than in this þula, the name is recorded in Vsp 13/1 and Gylf (SnE 2005, 16; spelled Fili). The meaning of this word is uncertain and the quantity of the root vowel ([i] or [i:]) cannot be established with certainty. ÍO: Fíli derives it from the strong verb fela ‘hide’ (either ‘hiding one’ or ‘one who conceals sth.’), but that explanation is doubtful because it cannot account for the [i:]. According to Gould (1929, 946), the name could mean ‘file’ or ‘filer’, i.e. a smith with a file (related to ModNorw., ModSwed., ModDan. fil, a loan word from Old Frisian or Middle Low German). This explanation is doubtful as well, because the Old Norse word for ‘file’ was þél f. If the vowel is short (Fili), the word could be a m. formation from the weak f. noun fila ‘board, plank’.

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Fjǫlsviðr ‘Fjǫlsviðr’

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Fjǫlsvinnr (noun m.)

[2] Fjǫlsviðr: ‘[…]dr’ B, ‘fio᷎lsuidr’ 744ˣ

notes

[2] Fjǫlsviðr: Lit. ‘very wise one’ (from the prefix fjǫl- ‘much, manifold’ and the adj. sviðr, svinnr ‘wise’). As a dwarf-name, Fjǫlsviðr occurs only in this stanza, but it is a name for Óðinn and the name of a giant (see Note to Þul Óðins 2/5).

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Glóinn ‘Glóinn’

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Glóinn (noun m.)

notes

[2] Glóinn: The name can be translated as ‘glowing one’ (from the weak verb glóa ‘glow’; Gould 1929, 948). It is given in this form in the Hb version of Vsp 15/4 (NK 4; Hb 1892-6, 189) and in Gylf (SnE 2005, 16), whereas Codex Regius has Glói. See also hornglóinn ‘horn-glowing one’ (Þul Hrúts l. 3).

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Fiðr ‘Fiðr’

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2. Finnr (noun m.): Finnr, Fiðr

notes

[3] Fiðr: Or Finnr (so Vsp 16/4 (NK 4); Fiðr in Gylf, SnE 2005, 17), perhaps ‘magician’ = Finnr ‘Saami’ (Gould 1929, 946; cf. Dagfinnr in st. 3/5 above). Finnur Jónsson (Skj B, followed by Skald) emends to Fríðr m. ‘fair, handsome one’ against all ms. witnesses. The name appears in skaldic kennings (LP: Finnr, Fiðr).

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Hár ‘Hár’

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Hár (noun m.): Hárr, the High One

[3] Hár: ‘[…]dr’ B, ‘harr’ 744ˣ

notes

[3] Hár: This name means ‘high one’, which is an odd name for a dwarf. A dwarf of this name, which is otherwise known as an Óðinn-heiti, is also mentioned in Vsp 15/3 (spelled Hárr ‘grey, old, hoary one’ in Gylf, SnE 2005, 16, which might be the correct form of the heiti). For other possible interpretations, see Note to Þul Óðins 2/8.

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Farli ‘Farli’

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Farli (noun m.)

notes

[3] Farli: A hap. leg. The name may mean ‘faring one’ (Gould 1929, 946) or ‘traveller’ (Motz 1973, 114), from the strong verb fara ‘travel’ (cf. fǫrull ‘travelling’, ‘rambling, strolling about’).

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Frosti ‘Frosti’

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frosti (noun m.; °-a)

notes

[4] Frosti: Either ‘cold one’ or ‘frost’, from frost n. ‘frost’. The name is recorded in Vsp 16/3 and in Gylf (SnE 2005, 17). In Ǫrvar-Odds saga, Frosti is the name of a legendary person, and in Fundinn Noregr (Flat 1860-8, I, 219) Frosti is the grandson of Fornjótr and the father of Snær inn gamli ‘the Old’.

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ok ‘and’

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

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Tigvi ‘Tigvi’

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Tigvi (noun m.): Tigvi

[4] Tigvi: ‘tigvæ’ A, ‘tiurgr’ B

notes

[4] Tigvi: So Skj B and Skald. Or Tigvæ(?) (Gould 1929, 954). The metre requires a long-stemmed disyllabic form. This is a hap. leg. of unclear form and origin. The mss have the following variants: ‘tigvæ’ (A), ‘tiurgr’ (B, but the word is difficult to read), ‘tiurgr’ (744ˣ), Tigur (papp10ˣ, 2368ˣ, 743ˣ). 

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Hannarr ‘Hannarr’

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Hannarr (noun m.)

[5] Hannarr: so B, ‘hannerr’ A

notes

[5] Hannarr: So B and the LaufE mss (Hanar). The word may be the same as the adj. hannarr ‘skilled’ (so Gould 1929, 948), although in Vsp 13/4 (NK 3) the name occurs as Hánarr or Hanarr. Motz’s (1973, 114) suggestion that it may be connected with hani m. ‘rooster’ and mean ‘chanter’, is untenable because the metre requires a long root syllable (Hán- or Hann-).

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Forvé ‘Forvé’

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forvé (noun n.)

[5] Forvé: ‘f[…]’ B, ‘fío᷎rfe’ 744ˣ

notes

[5] Forvé: So A. Ms. B is damaged (‘f[…]’) and 744ˣ has ‘fío᷎rfi’, normalised Fjǫrvi (cf. the legendary person Fjǫrvi, variant reading in ms. papp11ˣ, in StarkSt Vík 2/5VIII (Gautr 10)). The form forvé is, however, supported by the LaufE mss, which have Forni (papp10ˣ, 743ˣ) and Fórne (2368ˣ), which appears to be a lectio facilior of the A variant (a scribe mistook <v> for <n>). As a dwarf-name, Forvé is not attested elsewhere. Finnur Jónsson gives the reading Fǫrvi in Skj B (followed by Kock in Skald) but Forvé(i) in LP: Forve, which is explained as tempelødelægger ‘destroyer of a sanctuary’ or beboer af et forvé, vanhelligt sted ‘inhabitant of a forvé, a profane place’. This interpretation follows Bugge (1885, 211-12), who derived the word from for-vé, where the second element is n. ‘sanctuary’ and the first part is the negative prefix for- (forvé ‘unhallowed place’). The word occurs with this meaning in a Norwegian legal code, Magnús Hákonarson’s Landslǫg (IX, §2, NGL II, 169 n. 12; see also the discussion of the word in NGL V, 204, and CVC: forve).

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Heptifíli ‘Heptifíli’

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Heftifíli (noun m.)

[6] Heptifíli: ‘hæptisíli’ A, ‘[…]eptifilí’ B, ‘hepti filí’ 744ˣ

notes

[6] Heptifíli: So 744ˣ. Ms. B has ‘[…]ptifili’ and the LaufE mss Heptipili, in which the second <p> must be a misreading of an original <f>, as is the long <s> in the A variant ‘hæptisili’. For Heptifíli, cf. Fíli above and hepti n. ‘haft, handle’. The meaning of the name is unclear; possibly of one who uses a file with a handle, according to Gould (1929, 948), but that is unlikely (see Note to l. 1 above). In this form the name is also attested in Gylf (SnE 2005, 16), while Vsp 13/3 (NK 3) instead of a cpd gives two names, Hepti, Víli (Hefti Fíli in Hb 1892-6, 189).

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Heri ‘Heri’

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3. Heri (noun m.): Heri

[7] Heri Hǫgstari: ‘h[…]ri h[…]gst[…]’ B, ‘herí hagstare’ 744ˣ

notes

[7] Heri: Motz (1973, 114) argues that the name might be related to herr m. ‘army, troops’ and hence possibly represents a dwarf as a warrior (‘fighter’). Cf. also einherjar (sg. einheri), Óðinn’s warriors in Valhǫll. A dwarf of the name Heri is not mentioned elsewhere.

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Hǫgstari ‘Hǫgstari’

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Hǫgstari (noun m.)

[7] Heri Hǫgstari: ‘h[…]ri h[…]gst[…]’ B, ‘herí hagstare’ 744ˣ

notes

[7] Hǫgstari: So A. Ms. B is damaged (‘h[…]gst[…]’) and 744ˣ has ‘hagstare’. The LaufE mss have Hogstari, which supports the A reading. Hǫgstari is a hap. leg. The name may be interpreted as ‘one stubborn with blows’ (Hǫg- for hǫgg n. ‘blow’ and the adj. starr ‘stiff, firm’). If the first element is Hug- rather than Hǫg- (so Gylf, SnE 2005, 16 and adopted in Skj B and Skald), the word would mean ‘bold one’ (cf. hugr m. ‘mind’; for both possibilities, see Gould 1929, 949). The dwarf-name Haugspori ‘mound-stepper’ in Vsp 15/3 may be a variant of Hǫgstari.

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ok ‘and’

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

[8] ok Hornbori: ‘[…] horn […]’ B, ‘ok hornbore’ 744ˣ

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Hornbori ‘Hornbori’

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Hornbori (noun m.)

[8] ok Hornbori: ‘[…] horn […]’ B, ‘ok hornbore’ 744ˣ

notes

[8] Hornbori: Gould (1929, 949) interprets the name as ‘horn-borer’, i.e. one who bores horn (from horn n. ‘horn’ and the weak verb bora ‘bore’; cf. ModIcel. bor ‘auger, gimlet, drill’), whereas Sahlgren (1935, 49-55) and Motz (1973, 114) believe that it means ‘carrier of the horn’ (the second element from the strong verb bera ‘carry’; cf. OE hornbora ‘horn-bearer, trumpeter’). This dwarf-name is also recorded in Vsp 13/5, while Hb 1892-6, 189 gives ‘Fornbogi’.

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[1]: None of the three names in this line is included in the list in LaufE.

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