Þul Óðins 3^III

Grímr, Gapþrosnir,         Gangráðr, Svipall,
Glapsviðr, Gǫndlir         ok Gangleri,
Herteitr, Hárbarðr         ok Hroptatýr,
Geiguðr, Gǫllnir         ok Geirlǫðnir.

Grímr, Gapþrosnir, Gangráðr, Svipall, Glapsviðr, Gǫndlir ok Gangleri, Herteitr, Hárbarðr ok Hroptatýr, Geiguðr, Gǫllnir ok Geirlǫðnir.

Grímr, Gapþrosnir, Gangráðr, Svipall, Glapsviðr, Gǫndlir and Gangleri, Herteitr, Hárbarðr and Hroptatýr, Geiguðr, Gǫllnir and Geirlǫðnir.

Mss: A(18r), B(8r), 744ˣ(60r) (SnE)

Readings: [3] Gǫndlir: ‘ganglær’ A, ‘go᷎n[…]er’ B, ‘ge᷎ngler’ 744ˣ    [7] Gǫllnir: ‘galldnir’ B

Editions: Skj AI, 681, Skj BI, 672-3, Skald I, 337; SnE 1848-87, II, 472, 555.

Notes: [1] Grímr: Lit. ‘masked one’. The name is usually assumed by a stranger to conceal his identity, and it characterises Óðinn as a shape-changing god (Falk 1924, 14; cf. also Grímnir, st. 1/7). Grímr is the first name in the list of Óðinn-names in Grí 46/1, and the name appears again in the pair Grímr oc Grímnir ‘Grímr and Grímnir’ in Grí 47/6 (NK 67). It is also listed twice in the present þula (see st. 7/7). Grímr is also recorded as heiti for ‘goat’, ‘serpent’ and ‘dwarf’ (Þul Hafrs 1/6, Þul Orma 2/5 and Þul Dverga 2/1; see Notes there). — [1] Gapþrosnir: An obscure heiti. Falk (1924, 11) believes that this name describes Óðinn as an enchanter or seiðmaðr ‘sorcerer’ and that its original form was *Gap-þrosknir, in which the second element is derived from the m. noun þroski ‘maturity, manhood’ or from the adj. þroskr ‘vigorous, mature’ (cf. Þrór in st. 8/4 below). According to him, the first element is related to ModIcel. gapi ‘magic sign’; cf. such magic signs as gapaldur ‘magic sign’, angurgapi ‘grief-sign’ (to cause loss of cattle), veðurgapi ‘wind-sign’ (to evoke a storm). However, since gapþrosnir is also mentioned among pejorative terms for ‘man’ in SnE (SnE 1848-87, II, 496; cf. CVC: gap-þrosnir = gapi ‘a rash, reckless man’), Finnur Jónsson (LP: Gapþrosnir) surmises that Óðinn’s name may be the same word, although he admits that the meaning of the second element ‑þrosnir is unclear (perhaps from þrusk n. ‘noise’). Alternatively, ÍO: gapþrosnir connects the second element with ModIcel. þrusa ‘prattle’ or with ON þrasa ‘talk big, make a bold show’ (cf. CVC: þrasa), although it is difficult to explain the vowel in the latter case. As an Óðinn-heiti the word does not occur elsewhere. — [2] Gangráðr: The name means ‘walk-enjoying one’. Evidently it is identical with Óðinn’s name in Vafþr 8/1, 9/1, 11/1, etc., which also has the variant Gagnráðr ‘gain-adviser’ or ‘victory-giver’ (Konráð Gíslason 1870, 135-8). Although the Gagn-variant, which is also recorded in Gylf (SnE 2005, 10, 74), is hardly suitable in the context of Vafþr 8/1 since the first element of the name (Gang-) seems to be intended to agree with the content of the stanza (see Falk 1924, 11), NK 46-7 adopts Gagn- passim: Gagnráðr ec heiti; | nú emc af gǫngu kominn | … hefi ec lengi farit ‘Gagnráðr is my name, now I have come from the journey … I have travelled long’. The name alludes to Óðinn’s many travels (cf. also Óðinn’s name Vegtamr, lit. ‘Way-accustomed one’ in Bdr 6/1, 13/1). — [2] Svipall: Perhaps this name emphasises Óðinn’s shape-changing (cf. the adj. svipall, svipull ‘shifty, changeable’; Falk 1924, 28). But it is also possible that this Óðinn-name is connected with Svipul (cf. the weak verb svipa ‘be in a hurry, move swiftly’), the name of a valkyrie (Þul Valkyrja 2/2) and a heiti for ‘battle’ (Þul Orrostu 1/7). The name is also found in Grí 47/1 and Gylf (SnE 2005, 21). — [3] Glapsviðr: Perhaps ‘one swift to seduce’. The first element is related to the weak verb glepja ‘beguile, confuse, confound’ and the second is the adj. svinnr/sviðr ‘swift, quick’ (so Falk 1924, 14). Cf. Vsp 39/5-6 (NK 9): oc þannz annars glepr | eyrarúno ‘and the one who seduces another’s trusted wife’ and Hárb 18, 30. Otherwise the name is attested only in Grí 47/7 and in the rímur (Finnur Jónsson 1926-8: Glapsviðr). — [3] Gǫndlir: So Grí 49/10 and Skj B, possibly also ms. B of the present stanza where the name is partially illegible (‘go᷎n[…]er’), although the 744ˣ variant ‘ge᷎ngler’ suggests an original B reading closer to that of A. The LaufE mss have ‘Gondler’, which can be normalised as either Gǫndlir or Gondlir. The Óðinn-name Gǫnlir is attested in the rímur (Finnur Jónsson 1926-8: gǫnlir). Gangler (so A) is evidently caused by a confusion with the next name, Gangleri. Gǫndlir is either derived from Gǫndul, the name of a valkyrie (Þul Valkyrja 2/1; see also Svipall in l. 2 above) or from gǫndull = gandr m. ‘rod (or staff) used by sorcerers’ (i.e. seiðstafr) or ‘magic object on which valkyries rode in the air’ (Falk 1924, 14). Perhaps the name originally meant ‘magician’. — [4] Gangleri: Lit. ‘walk-weary one’, from the strong verb ganga ‘walk’ or the f. noun ganga ‘walking’ plus the depreciating suffix ‑leri (see AEW: ‑leri; løra). According to Falk (1924, 11), the actual meaning of the name is ‘poor walker’ (cf. gǫngumaðr ‘vagrant’; see CVC: ganga), hence it possibly denotes a beggar. In Gylf, Gangleri is the name that King Gylfi assumes when visiting Ásgarðr. As an Óðinn-name the heiti is also mentioned in Grí 46/2 and Gylf (SnE 2005, 21), where it is given in the variant form Ganglari (but also Gangleri and Gangari; see SnE 2005, 21, 74). — [5] Herteitr: Lit. ‘war-glad one’ from her- ‘war’ or herr m. ‘army, troop’ (cf. also the Óðinn-names Herfǫðr, Hertýr) and the adj. teitr ‘glad, cheerful’. Cf. also herteitir himna ‘gladdener of the host of the heavens’, a kenning for ‘Christ’ in Kolb Jónv 5/1, 2^VII (Falk 1924, 17). Otherwise the name is attested only in Grí 47/3. — [5] Hárbarðr: Lit. ‘hoary-bearded one’ (from the adj. hárr ‘hoary, grey’ and a m. derivation of barð n. ‘beard’), Óðinn’s name in Hárb. According to Grí 49/10, Hárbarðr was the name the gods used for Óðinn. Cf. also Hárr (st. 2/8). The name occurs in skaldic verse. — [6] Hroptatýr: See Hroptr (st. 2/7), and also the other pair of Óðinn-names, Gautr (st. 1/6) and Gautatýr (Eyv Hák 1/2^I; see Note there). The second element ‑týr ‘god’ occurs in a number of Óðinn names, e.g. Farmatýr (st. 2/4) and Veratýr (st. 8/7). See Note to st. 1/7 above. Hroptatýr is found in Hávm 160/6, Grí 54/5 and in skaldic poetry. — [7] Geiguðr: This agent noun does not occur elsewhere, except as the second element of Fjallgeiguðr (see st. 2/8 above). See also Geigaðr, the name of one of King Hugleikr’s champions in Yng (ch. 22, ÍF 26, 43) (= Gegathus in Saxo 2005, I, 6, 5, 11-12, pp. 384-7). According to Falk (1924, 12), this name may allude to the myth of Óðinn hanging on the ash Yggdrasill and thus would mean ‘dangling one’; cf. Váfuðr (st. 5/7). Like the latter name, geiguðr is also a heiti for ‘wind’ (see also the variant reading of gneggjuðr ‘neigher’, Þul Veðra 2/5). In LP: Geiguðr, the name is interpreted as ‘wanderer’ (cf. CVC: geiga ‘take a wrong turn, rove at random, stray’); see also Gangleri (l. 4 above). — [7] Gǫllnir: Lit. ‘clanging one’. See Gǫllorr (st. 1/7). The Óðinn-name Golnir is attested in the rímur (Finnur Jónsson 1926-8: Golnir). — [8] Geirlǫðnir: The name can be translated as ‘spear-inviting one’, from *geirlǫð f. ‘spear-invitation’ (ÍO: geir-). See Vsp 24/1-4 (NK 6): Fleygði Óðinn | oc í fólc um scaut, | þat var enn fólcvíg | fyrst í heimi ‘Óðinn flung and shot into the troops, that was still the first war in the world’. It is possible, however, that this Óðinn-heiti was derived from the no longer extant name of a valkyrie called Geirlǫð (Falk 1924, 12-13; cf. the f. pers. n. Gunnlǫð). As is the case with certain other Óðinn-names, Geirlǫðnir is also a heiti for ‘hawk’ (Þul Hauks 1/6), which is attested only in the þulur.

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skj B = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1912-15b. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. B: Rettet tekst. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Villadsen & Christensen. Rpt. 1973. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger.
3. SnE 1848-87 = Snorri Sturluson. 1848-87. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar: Edda Snorronis Sturlaei. Ed. Jón Sigurðsson et al. 3 vols. Copenhagen: Legatum Arnamagnaeanum. Rpt. Osnabrück: Zeller, 1966.
4. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
5. AEW = Vries, Jan de. 1962. Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch. 2nd rev. edn. Rpt. 1977. Leiden: Brill.
6. LP = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1931. Lexicon poeticum antiquæ linguæ septentrionalis: Ordbog over det norsk-islandske skjaldesprog oprindelig forfattet af Sveinbjörn Egilsson. 2nd edn. Copenhagen: Møller.
7. CVC = Cleasby, Richard, Gudbrand Vigfusson [Guðbrandur Vigfússon] and W. A. Craigie. 1957. An Icelandic-English Dictionary. 2nd edn. Oxford: Clarendon.
8. Finnur Jónsson. 1926-8. Ordbog til de af samfund til udg. af gml. nord. litteratur udgivne Rímur samt til de af Dr. O. Jiriczek udgivne Bósarímur. SUGNL 51. Copenhagen: Jørgensen.
9. NK = Neckel, Gustav and Hans Kuhn (1899), eds. 1983. Edda: Die Lieder des Codex Regius nebst verwandten Denkmälern. 2 vols. I: Text. 5th edn. Heidelberg: Winter.
10. ÍO = Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon. 1989. Íslensk orðsifjabók. Reykjavík: Orðabók Háskólans.
11. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
12. Saxo 2005 = Friis-Jensen, Karsten, ed. 2005. Saxo Grammaticus: Gesta Danorum / Danmarkshistorien. Trans. Peter Zeeberg. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Det danske sprog- og litteraturselskab & Gads forlag.
13. SnE 2005 = Snorri Sturluson. 2005. Edda: Prologue and Gylfaginning. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2nd edn. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
14. Falk, Hjalmar. 1924. Odensheite. Skrifter utg. av Videnskapsselskapet i Kristiania. II. Hist.-filos. kl. 1924, 10. Kristiania (Oslo): Dybwad.
15. Konráð Gíslason. 1870. ‘Tillægsbermærkninger om -ríðr’. ÅNOH, 120-38.
16. Internal references
17. Edith Marold 2017, ‘Snorra Edda (Prologue, Gylfaginning, Skáldskaparmál)’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols [check printed volume for citation].
18. 2017, ‘ Anonymous, Gautreks saga’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 241. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=9> (accessed 26 April 2024)
19. (forthcoming), ‘ Snorri Sturluson, Gylfaginning’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=113> (accessed 26 April 2024)
20. (forthcoming), ‘ Heimskringla, Ynglinga saga’ in Kari Ellen Gade (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 2: From c. 1035 to c. 1300. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 2. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=158> (accessed 26 April 2024)
21. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Heiti valkyrja 2’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 970.
22. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Hafrs heiti 1’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 893.
23. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Dverga heiti 2’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 695.
24. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Orrostu heiti 1’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 786.
25. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Veðra heiti 2’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 919.
26. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Orma heiti 2’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 929.
27. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Hauks heiti 1’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 941.
28. Not published: do not cite ()
29. Not published: do not cite ()
30. Not published: do not cite ()
31. Not published: do not cite ()
32. R. D. Fulk (ed.) 2012, ‘Eyvindr skáldaspillir Finnsson, Hákonarmál 1’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 174.
33. Not published: do not cite ()
34. Not published: do not cite ()
35. Beatrice La Farge (ed.) 2007, ‘Kolbeinn Tumason, Jónsvísur 5’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 226-7.
36. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Laufás Edda’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=10928> (accessed 26 April 2024)