Þul Óðins 2^III

Fjǫlnir ‘Fjǫlnir’

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Fjǫlnir (noun m.): Fjǫlnir

notes

[1] Fjǫlnir: This is the name of one of the Yngling kings, Fjǫlnir, son of Freyr (see Þjóð Yt 1/4^I and Note). Most likely the name was transferred to Óðinn because in Norway Óðinn usurped the place of Yngvi-Freyr as the ancestor of the Ynglingar. The origin of this name is uncertain. (a) Noreen (1892, 198) argues that Fjǫlnir was applied to Óðinn owing to the name’s association with the strong verb fela ‘hide, conceal’ and hence it possibly alludes to the myth of the mead of poetry. (b) Finnur Jónsson (LP: Fjǫlnir) interprets the name as ‘one who takes many shapes’ or ‘one who knows much’ (from fjǫl n. ‘much’). The latter explanation may find support in Reg 18/7 (NK 178), where Óðinn says that he was called Hnikarr when in battle, but now his names are Fengr or Fjǫlnir (Feng eða Fiǫlni); see Fengr in l. 2. (c) Falk (1924, 9) suggests that Fjǫlnir may be a contracted form of Fjǫlsviðr ‘very wise one’. The name is also mentioned in Grí 47/5 and Gylf (SnE 2005, 8, 22) (see Note to Hnikuðr in st. 1/8), and it is common in skaldic kennings.

Dresvarpr ‘Dresvarpr’

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Dresvarpr (noun m.)

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[1] Dresvarpr: A hap. leg. The meaning of this name is uncertain. Falk (1924, 6) suggests that the first part is a noun *dres ‘fervour’ (not attested in Old Norse, but cf. ModDan. dialects dræsel ‘battle’). The second element could be interpreted as ‘thrower’, although the expected nomen agentis derived from the strong verb verpa ‘throw’ is verpr (or verpir). Alternatively, the first part of the cpd has been connected with a verb *drasa ‘prattle’, cf. New Norw. drøsa ‘slander, prattle’. Hence dres- in this heiti could mean ‘slander’ (cf. ÍO: Dresvarp(u)r), and the name would then refer to Óðinn as an instigator of slander (lit. ‘slander-thrower’).

Fengr ‘Fengr’

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fengr (noun m.; °-jar/-s, dat. -/-i): loot

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[2] Fengr: Lit. ‘gain, booty’. The name is listed along with Fjǫlnir in Reg 18/7 (see Note above), but it does not occur elsewhere. It is likely that, in the context of Reg, Fengr means ‘grasp’: Óðinn is a good ‘grasp’ for Sigurðr, because he helps him (Falk 1924, 8). According to Falk (loc. cit.), the name was originally a nomen agentis (from the strong verb fá ‘grasp, get, obtain’), and if so, its meaning would be the same as fang- in the adj. fangsæll ‘booty-blessed’ (cf. SnE 1998, II, 269). Óðinn possibly got this name because he is the one who brings dead warriors to Valhǫll. Fengr is also a heiti for ‘horse’ (Þul Hesta 2/3), but it is not otherwise attested as a horse-name.

Arnhǫfði ‘Arnhǫfði’

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Arnhǫfði (noun m.)

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[2] Arnhǫfði: Lit. ‘eagle-head’ (from ǫrn f. ‘eagle’ and hǫfuð n. ‘head’). This cpd, which is not attested elsewhere, may refer to wooden effigies of the god Óðinn, a so-called stolpegud ‘pole-god’, a pole with an eagle’s head (see Falk 1924, 3). It is also possible that the name alludes to the myth according to which Óðinn, in the shape of an eagle, transported the mead of poetry back to Ásgarðr (see Skm, SnE 1998, I, 4-5).

Fráríðr ‘Fráríðr’

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fráríðr (noun m.)

[3] Fráríðr: ‘[…]aridr’ B, ‘fraridr’ 744ˣ

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[3] Fráríðr: This cpd is not attested elsewhere in skaldic poetry, but it is attested in the rímur (Finnur Jónsson 1926-8: Fráríðr). The first element may be derived from the adj. frár ‘quick, vigorous’. That adj. never occurs in connection with riding (CVC: frár), however, and frá- is more convincingly connected with the adv. frá ‘away’. If so, Fráríðr is an antonym to Atríðr (st. 1/3 above; cf. Falk 1924, 10-11). Thus the name would translate as ‘one who rides away’. Attempts have been made to explain the pair Atríðr-Fráríðr as a reflection of archaic beliefs according to which the god of the dead is coming from and travelling back to the Other World on horseback (e.g. in Bdr 2 (NK 277) Óðinn is said to ride Sleipnir to the realm of Death, Niflheliar til ‘to Niflhel’). Cf. also the kenning for Hel, Gnô glitnis ‘the Gná <goddess> of the Glitnir <horse>’, in Þjóð Yt 7/3^I (see Note there and glitnir in Þul Hesta 1/3) and the Saami god of the dead, Rota, who resembles Óðinn in many respects (see von Unwerth 1911, 79), as well as folk-tales about the helhäst ‘death-horse’ (Turville-Petre 1964, 57). According to Turville-Petre (loc. cit.), close association between horses and death is suggested by archaeological evidence (hundreds of horses have been found buried in graves throughout Scandinavia). See Note to ÚlfrU Húsdr 10/2, 3.

Alfǫðr ‘Alfǫðr’

[3] Alfǫðr: ‘[…]lfo᷎dr’ B, ‘alfo᷎dr’ 744ˣ

notes

[3] Alfǫðr: Lit. ‘All-father’. This name is rare in poetry. Other than in the present stanza, it occurs in the form Alfǫðr in Grí 48/3 (NK 67), but as Alfǫður dat. sg. in HHund I 38/4 (NK 136) and gen. sg. in Arn Þorfdr 1/3^II (both oblique forms presuppose the nom. ‑faðir; on the relations between ‑fǫðr and ‑faðir see Note to st. 1/4). In Gylf, however, where this name is normally spelled Allfǫðr, it is used more often than any other name for Óðinn. There Snorri gives an explanation of Alfǫðr evidently influenced by conceptions of the Christian God (SnE 2005, 13): Ok fyrir því má hann heita Alfǫðr at hann er faðir allra goðanna ok manna ok alls þess er af honum ok hans krapti var fullgert ‘And he can be called All-father because he is father of all gods and men and of all that which was completed by him and his power’. The interpretation of Alfǫðr in SnE reflects a late rationalisation of this cpd name, but its original sense is problematic. Falk (1924, 3) suggests that al(l)- in Al(l)fǫðr may have originated from ald- because the name does not occur in other Old Germanic languages (ModGer. Allvater is probably a late formation coined under the influence of Lat. omnipater ‘father of all’). If Falk is right, Alfǫðr is a variant of Aldafǫðr possibly ‘father of men’ (see st. 1/4 above). De Vries (AEW: Alfǫðr), on the other hand, sees a connection between Alfǫðr and OIr. Oll-athair, a name for the god Dagda, which is doubtful since All- in the Old Norse name is a later form first attested in SnE. For further suggested etymologies, see Strandberg (2008, 102-7).

ok ‘and’

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

Farmatýr ‘Farmatýr’

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farmatýr (noun m.)

[4] Farmatýr: ‘[…]armaty᷎rr’ B, ‘farmatýrr’ 744ˣ

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[4] Farmatýr: Lit. ‘god of cargoes’ (farma is gen. pl. of farmr m. ‘cargo’). In this form the name is also attested in Grí 48/4, but cf. the variant Farmaguð recorded only in Gylf (SnE 2005, 21). Falk (1924, 7-8) suggests that the name refers to Óðinn as a god of trade, although there are no other traces of this function of the god in Old Norse written sources. A number of votive inscriptions dating from the C2nd and C3rd containing the name Mercurius have been found in Western and Lower Germany, and the Lombard historian Paulus Diaconus (C8th) identified Wotan as Mercury (see Turville-Petre 1964, 72-3). It is doubtful, however, whether this evidence is relevant for interpreting a name attested much later and in a distant part of the Germanic world. It seems more plausible that Farmatýr originated from one or even both of the myths behind such kennings as farmr Óðins ‘Óðinn’s burden [MEAD OF POETRY]’ and farmr gálga ‘burden of gallows [= Óðinn]’ (see LP: farmr). For the last element of the cpd, ‑týr, see Note to Eyv Hál 9/5^I and Eyv Hák 1/2^I.

Herjan ‘Herjan’

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1. herjan (noun m.): herjan

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[5] Herjan: Or Herjann, perhaps ‘army-leader’. Either an old Indo-European term for ‘ruler’ (cf. Gk κοίρανος; so Bugge 1896a, 422) or a new name derived from herr m. ‘army, people’. The name is mentioned in Grí 46/3 and appears in other eddic poems, e.g. Vsp 30/10 and Guðr I 19/4. It is also used in skaldic kennings.

Fjǫlsviðr ‘Fjǫlsviðr’

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Fjǫlsvinnr (noun m.)

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[5] Fjǫlsviðr: Lit. ‘very wise one’ (from the intensifying prefix fjǫl- and the adj. svinnr/sviðr ‘wise’); cf. Fjǫlnir in l. 1 above. The name is otherwise attested only in Grí 47/7. Fjǫlsviðr is also the name of a dwarf (see Note to Þul Dverga 5/2) and of the guardian of Menglǫð’s castle in Fjǫlsvinnsmál (Fj).

Hnikarr ‘Hnikarr’

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Hnikarr (noun m.): Hnikarr

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[6] Hnikarr: See Note to Hnikuðr (st. 1/8). Hnikarr is Óðinn’s name in Reg 18-19; it is also mentioned among other Óðinn-heiti in Grí 47/3. Unlike Hnikuðr, the name occurs in skaldic verse. See also Note to Síðhǫttr (st. 4/3).

Forn ‘Forn’

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forn (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): ancient, old < fornǫlvir (noun m.)

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[6] Fornǫlvir: A hap. leg. The B variant ‑olfr appears to be a lectio facilior (LP: Fornǫlvir); the LaufE mss have ‘fornolfner’. The first element of the name, the adj. forn, means ‘old, ancient’ (cf. the Óðinn-name Forni mentioned in Note to st. 1/5 Kjalarr) and the second part, Ǫlvir, may be derived from Ǫlvér (= OHG, OS Alawīh ‘very holy’; cf. Vé, the name of Óðinn’s brother). For other possible explanations, see AEW: Ǫlvér. Along with Óðinn, the name Ǫlvér occurs in an Icelandic magic formula invoking heathen gods (Ølver, Óðenn, Ille; see N. Lindqvist 1921, 64).

ǫlvir ‘ǫlvir’

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Ǫlvir (noun m.): Ǫlvir < fornǫlvir (noun m.)

[6] ‑ǫlvir: ‑olfr B

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[6] Fornǫlvir: A hap. leg. The B variant ‑olfr appears to be a lectio facilior (LP: Fornǫlvir); the LaufE mss have ‘fornolfner’. The first element of the name, the adj. forn, means ‘old, ancient’ (cf. the Óðinn-name Forni mentioned in Note to st. 1/5 Kjalarr) and the second part, Ǫlvir, may be derived from Ǫlvér (= OHG, OS Alawīh ‘very holy’; cf. Vé, the name of Óðinn’s brother). For other possible explanations, see AEW: Ǫlvér. Along with Óðinn, the name Ǫlvér occurs in an Icelandic magic formula invoking heathen gods (Ølver, Óðenn, Ille; see N. Lindqvist 1921, 64).

Hroptr ‘Hroptr’

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Hroptr (noun m.): [Hroptr, Hroptar]

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[7] Hroptr: See also Hroptatýr (st. 3/6). This name, whose origin is uncertain, is attested both in eddic poems (e.g. Vsp 62/6) and in skaldic verse, but it is not recorded in the list in Grí. If the root vowel of the first element is long, Hróptr may be connected with the weak verb hrópa ‘cry’, hence perhaps ‘invoking one’ (Vogt 1925; cf. also OHG hruoft ‘heartrending cry’). Falk (1924, 19) suggests that Hróptr is a contraction of an unattested cpd *hróðhǫpt ‘glorious gods’ (hróðr ‘praise, fame’ and hǫpt n. pl. ‘gods’ with a m. ending -r). If the root vowel is short, which seems more plausible (cf. the internal rhyme Hropts : toptir in  ÞKolb Eirdr 8/2^I; see also Kauffmann 1894, 140, n. 3), the name may be related to Gk κρυπτός ‘hidden’ (perhaps the name of a death-god).

Hjalmberi ‘Hjálmberi’

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Hjalmberi (noun m.)

[7] Hjalmberi: so B, ‘hialm[…]i’ A

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[7] Hjalmberi: Lit. ‘helmet-wearer’ (from hjálmr m. ‘helmet’ and the agent noun beri m. ‘wearer, bearer, carrier’ from the strong verb bera ‘bear, carry wear’). So B and the LaufE mss. Ms. A is now damaged, and the ascender on the <b> and the abbreviation for <er> have been torn off at the top of fol. 18r. The name Hjalmberi reflects Óðinn’s function as a god of war, and it is otherwise recorded only in Grí 46/3.

Hárr ‘Hárr’

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Hárr (noun m.): [Hárr, Hárs]

[8] Hárr (‘hár’): so B, ‘hø̨rr’ A

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[8] Hárr: Lit. ‘grey-haired one’. The name is given in A as ‘hø̨rr’ and as Hár ‘high’ in B and the LaufE mss. The Óðinn-names Hárr ‘Hoary One’ (cf. Hárbarðr ‘Hoary-bearded One’ in st. 3/5 below) and Hár/Hávi ‘High One’ (cf. the names of king Gylfi’s interlocutors, Hár, Jafnhár and Þriði in Gylf) are difficult to distinguish from one another. The nom. forms of these names are only found in the lists of Óðinn-heiti. Hár, the strong form of the adj., occurs in Grí 46/6, but Hávi, the weak form of the same adj., is recorded only in st. 4/1 below. Otherwise the latter name is found in the gen. in Hávm 109/4, 111/10, 164/1 (NK 34, 44): Háva hǫllo í ‘in the hall of the High One’. Von See (1975) especially 112-16) argues that Hár/Hávi ‘High’ cannot be an old name and is likely first to have appeared in the area of heathen-Christian syncretism (in der Zone des heidnisch-christlichen Synkretismus, von See 1975, 112). According to him, the old name is Hárr.

Fjallgeiguðr ‘Fjallgeiguðr’

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fjallgeiguðr (noun m.)

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[8] Fjallgeiguðr: Lit. ‘mountain-wanderer’. A hap. leg. Because Geiguðr = Óðinn (see st. 3/7), the name is most likely a kenning for ‘giant’ of the same type as fjall-Gautr ‘mountain-Óðinn’ and included in this list by mistake (so Falk 1924, 8). But cf. Reg 18/6 (NK 178) where Óðinn calls himself karl af bergi ‘a man from the mountain’.