Þul Viðar 3III
Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Viðar heiti 3’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 883.
Lind ‘Linden’
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1. lind (noun f.): linden-shield, linden tree
lág ‘log’
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lág (noun f.; °; -ir): log
notes
[1] lág (f.) ‘log’: A fallen tree or windfall.
ok ‘and’
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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
notes
[1] linnr (m.) ‘serpent’: As a heiti for ‘tree’ the word does not occur elsewhere, but it is given in this form in the LaufE mss as well (ms. B has ‘linne’). In poetry, linnr is usually a heiti for ‘serpent’ (Þul Orma 3/4; see also Þul Elds 2/2), and the sense ‘tree’ must be a figurative one, possibly caused by the resemblance of shape (?). Alternatively, the presence of a serpent-heiti in Þul Viðar could be explained by its attraction to the adjacent word in the list, lyng ‘heather’, since the latter is often used in kennings for ‘serpent’. The fact that this line has three alliterating staves (on <l>) may indicate scribal corruption at an early stage in the ms. transmission, however.
lyng ‘heather’
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lyng (noun n.; °dat. -vi/-i; -): heather
skíð ‘firewood’
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skíð (noun n.; °; -): ski
þǫll ‘fir’
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þǫll (noun f.): fir-tree
ok ‘and’
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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
þyrnir ‘bramble’
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þyrnir (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): thorns, bramble
notes
[3, 4] þyrnir; klungr ‘bramble; wild briar’: Both words (m.) are terms for thorny bushes, and it is not certain which exact species of such bushes they denote (ModNorw. klunger can refer both to bramble and to wild briar).
þinurr ‘fir’
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þinurr (noun m.): bow
notes
[4] þinurr (m.) ‘fir’: A tree of the Abies family. Þinurr could also denote a knot or hard area in fir or spruce wood (= ModIcel. þinur, New Norw. tenar, tinar).
storð ‘sapling’
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2. storð (noun f.): young wood, earth
ok ‘and’
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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
klungr ‘wild briar’
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klungr (noun m.; °klungrs, dat. klungri; klungrar): thorn, bramble
notes
[3, 4] þyrnir; klungr ‘bramble; wild briar’: Both words (m.) are terms for thorny bushes, and it is not certain which exact species of such bushes they denote (ModNorw. klunger can refer both to bramble and to wild briar).
mǫsurr ‘burl’
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mǫsurr (noun m.): °ahorn(træ), valbirk
notes
[5] mǫsurr (m.) ‘burl’: This word denotes wood with burls or irregular rings, used for furniture and household items such as bowls (mǫsurbolli) and vessels (mǫsurker) (see AEW: mǫsurr; Fritzner: mösurr). The cpd mǫsurker is also attested in the rímur (Finnur Jónsson 1926-8: mǫsurker).
ok ‘and’
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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
grǫn ‘pines’
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gran (noun n.)
tvenn ‘two’
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tvennr (adj.): two
ok ‘and’
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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
marhrísla ‘mare-twig’
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marhrísla (noun f.)
notes
[6] marhrísla (f.) ‘mare-twig’: A hap. leg. This name has been explained as ‘birch-twigs tangled from being ridden by a mara’ (ÍO: marhrísla; cf. New Norw. marekvist, ModSwed. markvist), formed from mara f. ‘nightmare, ogress’ and hrísla f. ‘twig’ or ‘sprig of a branch’.
ilstri ‘willow’
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ilstri (noun n.)
notes
[7] ilstri (n.) ‘willow’: A hap. leg. in Old Norse, derived from Gmc *elistria (AEW: ilstri; cf. New Norw., ModSwed. dialects ilster ‘grey willow’, Salix cinerea). Morphologically the word is a collective noun, but cf. jǫlstr f. ‘willow’ in the next line.
vínviðr ‘vine’
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vínviðr (noun m.)
notes
[8] jǫlstr (m.) ‘willow’: In this þula the word is spelled (normalised) jóstr (so also the LaufE mss). Cf. ModIcel. jölstur ‘willow’, New Norw. ister, ModSwed. dialects jolster, jälster, juster ‘laurel willow’ (Salix pentandra), from Gmc *elustrō (AEW: jǫlstr). The word does not occur in Old Norse sources other than in the present stanza and in Guðr I 19/5-7 (NK 205): nú em ec svá lítil, | sem lauf sé | opt í iǫlstrom ‘now I am as small as a leaf often is on willows’. See also ilstri ‘willow’ in l. 7 above.
cípressus ‘cípressus’
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cypressus (noun ?)
[8] cípressus: ‘cy᷎pressv[…]’ B, ‘cýpressus’ 744ˣ
notes
[8] cípressus: Like laurus in st. 2/5, this is a foreign word (= Lat. cypressus ‘cypress’; cf. the 744ˣ variant cýpressus). The word is not found in Old Norse, but cypressis tre ‘cypress tree’ is given in the C16th ms. of Nikuláss saga af Tólentínó (Loth 1969-70, II, 165). See also Introduction to Anon Þulur.
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
Of the tree-heiti listed in this stanza, linnr m. ‘serpent’ (l. 1), pera f. ‘pear-tree’ (l. 2), mǫsurr m. ‘burl’ (l. 5), grǫn n. ‘pines’ (l. 5), marhrísla f. lit. ‘mare-twig’ (l. 6), ilstri n. ‘willow’ (l. 7), vínviðr m. ‘vine’ (l. 7) and cípressus (l. 8) do not appear in poetry.
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