Þul Sverða 3^III

Lotti ‘Lotti’

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lotti (noun m.)

[1] Lotti: ljóti C, B

notes

[1] lotti (m.): A hap. leg. The meaning of this heiti is obscure. Falk (1914b, 55) connects the word with OIr. lott ‘destruction’, while Hellquist (1891, 167) derives it from *lutaðan, ON lúta ‘bow down, give way’, cf. lota f. ‘continuous effort’. Mss B and C have (normalised) ljóti m. ‘ugly one’, which must represent independent attempts by the scribes to make sense of the word in their exemplars. The LaufE mss have ‘loti’ (papp10ˣ, 743ˣ) and ‘lote’ (2368ˣ).

hrǫnduðr ‘thruster’

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hrǫnduðr (noun m.): [distributor]

[1] hrǫnduðr: ‘hraundridr’ Tˣ, hrunduðr C

notes

[1] hrǫnduðr (m.) ‘thruster’: An agent noun derived from an iterative weak verb *hranda ‘thrust, shove sth. repeatedly’ (from the strong verb hrinda ‘thrust, push, shove, throw’). Cf. hrunduðr in C and hrǫnduðr m. ‘distributor’, the base-word in a man-kenning: Ótt Lv 1/2^I hrǫnduðr alinbranda ‘the distributor of arm-flames [GOLD > GENEROUS MAN = Óláfr]’ (see also SnE 1998, II, 321 and Falk 1914b, 52-3). As a sword-heiti, the word is found only in the present þula.

lǫgðir ‘stabber’

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lǫgðir (noun m.): sword

[2] lǫgðir: ‘lø̨gbær’ A

notes

[2] lǫgðir (m.) ‘stabber’: A poetic term for ‘sword’ (most likely from the noun lag n. ‘thrust, stab’; so Falk 1914b, 55 and SnE 1998, II, 350). Cf. Løgthi, the name of Oli’s sword in Saxo (Saxo 2005, I, 7, 11, 10, pp. 504-5). Alternatively, Sturtevant (1940-1, 262) derives lǫgðir from *lagu (> lǫg-) ‘water, fluid’; hence ‘one that makes blood flow’.

mækir ‘blade’

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mækir (noun m.): sword

mǫnduðr ‘aimer’

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mǫnduðr (noun m.)

[3] mǫnduðr: ‘maududr’ Tˣ, munduðr C, ‘mø̨ðuðr’ A, ‘mo᷎d[…]dr’ B, ‘mo᷎d . . dr’ 744ˣ

notes

[3] mǫnduðr (m.) ‘aimer’: Not attested elsewhere. According to Falk (1914b, 56), the word is an agent noun (originally munduðr) derived from the weak verb munda ‘aim, point with a weapon’ (hence mund- in ms. C could be an older form). ÍO: mǫnduðr argues that the <ǫ> in mǫnduðr was caused by influence from mǫndull m. ‘handle’.

mundriði ‘hand-swinger’

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mundriði (noun m.): [sword]

notes

[3] mundriði (m.) ‘hand-swinger’: This heiti is formed from mund f. ‘hand’ and the strong verb ríða ‘swing’ (cf. LP: mundriði: som spiller i hånden ‘which plays in the hand’; AEW: mundriði). Alternatively, Falk (1914b, 56), maintains that the sword-heiti originally was a term for a part of a sword, mundriðr or mundriði (see st. 12/5 below), synonymous with hepti n. ‘the haft of a short sword (sax)’ (hence lit. ‘one equipped with a saxhepti’). Mundriði is also the name of a part of a shield (LP: mundriði), and hence the word appears in shield-kennings. It is used in the rímur as a poetic word for ‘shield’ (Finnur Jónsson 1926-8: mundriði)

ok ‘and’

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

[4] ok: ‘[…]’ B, ok 744ˣ

Mistilteinn ‘Mistilteinn’

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mistilteinn (noun m.)

[4] Mistilteinn: ‘mis[…]ilteinn’ B, mistilteinn 744ˣ

notes

[4] Mistilteinn: Lit. ‘mistletoe’. The sword of Sæmingr Arngrímsson in Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks (FSN I, 416), also owned by several other heroes of the fornaldarsögur. The name must have been taken from the myth of Baldr, who was slain by a twig of mistletoe (cf. Vsp 31-3; Gylf, SnE 2005, 45-8). Mistilteinn is not used elsewhere as a heiti for ‘sword’.

malmr ‘metal’

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malmr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): metal

[5] malmr þrór: ‘malr þrór’ C, malmþórr B

þrór ‘thriver’

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þrór (noun m.): thriver, Þrór

[5] malmr þrór: ‘malr þrór’ C, malmþórr B

notes

[5] þrór (m.) ‘thriver’: Cf. the weak verb þróask ‘thrive, grow’. This word is also found as names for Óðinn and a dwarf (Þul Óðins 8/4, Þul Dverga 4/5) and as a heiti for ‘boar’ (Þul Galtar l. 7), but þrór does not occur elsewhere as a heiti for ‘dwarf’, ‘boar’ or ‘sword’. According to Falk (1914b, 64), the sword-heiti is possibly derived from the boar-heiti and could mean ‘wild boar’ (perhaps originally a proper name). The cpd (normalised) malm-Þórr ‘metal-Þórr’ in B is a lectio facilior (the LaufE mss have (normalised) malmr and þrór).

ok ‘and’

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

marr ‘striker’

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3. marr (noun m.)

[5] marr: már C

notes

[5] marr (m.) ‘striker’: Not attested elsewhere as a heiti for ‘sword’ and probably related to the weak verb merja ‘crush’ and mǫrnir ‘crusher’ (see st. 8/5; so AEW: marr 3) or homonymous with marr m. ‘horse, steed’ (if so, perhaps originally a proper name; see Falk 1914b, 55).

ok ‘and’

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

[6] ok miðfáinn: miðfari Tˣ

miðfáinn ‘one decorated in the middle’

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miðfáinn (noun m.)

[6] ok miðfáinn: miðfari Tˣ

notes

[6] miðfáinn (m.) ‘one decorated in the middle’: An otherwise unattested cpd from miðr m. ‘middle’ and the p. p. of the verb fá ‘decorate’, probably referring to a pattern-welded blade. The Tˣ variant miðfari m. ‘mid-goer’ has no support in the other ms. witnesses.

Fetbreiðr ‘Fetbreiðr’

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fetbreiðr (noun m.): °(om sværd

notes

[7] Fetbreiðr: Lit. ‘track-broad one’ (tentatively interpreted in SnE 1998, II, 457 as ‘which leaves broad tracks’). This is the name of Þórálfr Skólmsson’s sword in Hákonar saga góða (Hkr, ÍF 26, 187; see also ÞSjár Þórdr^I). The word is not otherwise attested as a sword-heiti.

grindlogi ‘gate-flame’

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grindlogi (noun m.): gate-flame

[7] grindlogi: so Tˣ, A, B, ‘g\r/inndlagi’ R, ‘garinn lagi’ C

notes

[7] grindlogi (m.) ‘gate-flame’: This heiti, which appears twice in the present þula (see st. 5/8), is not attested in other sources as a heiti for ‘sword’. It seems to have resulted from a misinterpretation of the sword-kenning Gǫndlar grindlogi ‘flame of Gǫndul’s <valkyrie’s> gate [(lit. ‘Gǫndul’s gate-flame’) SHIELD > SWORD]’ VGl Lv 4/5^V (Glúm 4) (see Gǫndul, Þul Valkyrja 2/1).

ok ‘and’

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

[8] ok: om. Tˣ, C

Fjǫr ‘Fjǫr’

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fjǫr (noun n.): life < fjǫrsváfnir (noun m.)

notes

[8] Fjǫrsváfnir: So C. Lit. ‘life-quencher’, from fjǫr n. ‘life’ and an agent noun from the weak verb svæfa ‘lull to sleep’ (with a ‑nir ending), hence metaphorically ‘to kill’; cf. also SnE 1998, II, 274. See also sváfnir ‘serpent’ (Þul Orma 3/6) and sœfir ‘sword’ (SnSt Ht 54/5).  In Nj (ch. 130, ÍF 12, 334), Fjǫrsváfnir is the name of Kári Sǫlmundarson’s sword, but the word is not found in poetry other than in the present þula. The reading of the other mss, fjǫrsoðnir (from the weak verb soðna ‘become sodden, cooked’), is difficult to make sense of in this context (see LP: fjǫrsváfnir).

sváfnir ‘sváfnir’

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sváfnir (noun m.): °(heiti; for orm/slange) < fjǫrsváfnir (noun m.)

[8] ‑sváfnir: so C, ‑soðnir all others

notes

[8] Fjǫrsváfnir: So C. Lit. ‘life-quencher’, from fjǫr n. ‘life’ and an agent noun from the weak verb svæfa ‘lull to sleep’ (with a ‑nir ending), hence metaphorically ‘to kill’; cf. also SnE 1998, II, 274. See also sváfnir ‘serpent’ (Þul Orma 3/6) and sœfir ‘sword’ (SnSt Ht 54/5).  In Nj (ch. 130, ÍF 12, 334), Fjǫrsváfnir is the name of Kári Sǫlmundarson’s sword, but the word is not found in poetry other than in the present þula. The reading of the other mss, fjǫrsoðnir (from the weak verb soðna ‘become sodden, cooked’), is difficult to make sense of in this context (see LP: fjǫrsváfnir).