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Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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Þul Sverða 3III

Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Sverða 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. 794.

Anonymous ÞulurSverða heiti
234

Lotti, hrǫnduðr,         lǫgðir, mækir,
mǫnduðr, mundriði         ok Mistilteinn,
malmr, þrór ok marr         ok miðfáinn,
Fetbreiðr, grindlogi         ok Fjǫrsváfnir.

Lotti, hrǫnduðr, lǫgðir, mækir, mǫnduðr, mundriði ok Mistilteinn, malmr, þrór ok marr ok miðfáinn, Fetbreiðr, grindlogi ok Fjǫrsváfnir.

Lotti, thruster, stabber, blade, aimer, hand-swinger and Mistilteinn, metal, thriver and striker and one decorated in the middle, Fetbreiðr, gate-flame and Fjǫrsváfnir.

Mss: R(42v), Tˣ(44v), C(12r), A(18v), B(8v), 744ˣ(67r) (SnE)

Readings: [1] Lotti: ljóti C, B;    hrǫnduðr: ‘hraundridr’ Tˣ, hrunduðr C    [2] lǫgðir: ‘lø̨gbær’ A    [3] mǫnduðr: ‘maududr’ Tˣ, munduðr C, ‘mø̨ðuðr’ A, ‘mo᷎d[…]dr’ B, ‘mo᷎d . . dr’ 744ˣ    [4] ok: ‘[…]’ B, ok 744ˣ;    Mistilteinn: ‘mis[…]ilteinn’ B, mistilteinn 744ˣ    [5] malmr þrór: ‘malr þrór’ C, malmþórr B;    marr: már C    [6] ok miðfáinn: miðfari Tˣ    [7] grindlogi: so Tˣ, A, B, ‘g\r/inndlagi’ R, ‘garinn lagi’ C    [8] ok: om. Tˣ, C;    ‑sváfnir: so C, ‑soðnir all others

Editions: Skj AI, 663, Skj BI, 663, Skald I, 328, SnE 1848-87, I, 564, II, 476, 559, 619, SnE 1931, 201, SnE 1998, I, 119.

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). — [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 1/2I 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. — [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’. — [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’. — [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) — [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’. — [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). — [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). — [6] miðfáinn (m.) ‘one decorated in the middle’: An otherwise unattested cpd from miðr m. ‘middle’ and the p. p. of the verb ‘decorate’, probably referring to a pattern-welded blade. The variant miðfari m. ‘mid-goer’ has no support in the other ms. witnesses. — [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 ÞórdrI). The word is not otherwise attested as a sword-heiti. — [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 4/5V (Glúm 4) (see Gǫndul, Þul Valkyrja 2/1). — [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).

References

  1. Bibliography
  2. FSN = Rafn, Carl Christian, ed. 1829-30. Fornaldar sögur nordrlanda. 3 vols. Copenhagen: Popp.
  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. 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.
  8. ÍO = Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon. 1989. Íslensk orðsifjabók. Reykjavík: Orðabók Háskólans.
  9. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
  10. Falk, Hjalmar. 1914b. Altnordische Waffenkunde. Videnskapsselskapets skrifter, II. Hist.-filos. kl. 1914, 6. Kristiania (Oslo): Dybwad.
  11. SnE 1931 = Snorri Sturluson. 1931. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
  12. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
  13. ÍF 12 = Brennu-Njáls saga. Ed. Einar Ólafur Sveinsson. 1954.
  14. 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.
  15. SnE 2005 = Snorri Sturluson. 2005. Edda: Prologue and Gylfaginning. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2nd edn. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
  16. Hellquist, Elof. 1891. ‘Bidrag till läran om den nordiska nominalbildningen’. ANF 7, 1-62, 142-74.
  17. Sturtevant, Albert Morey. 1940-1. ‘Semantic and Etymological Notes on Old Norse Words Pertaining to War’. SS 16, 257-63.
  18. Internal references
  19. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Heimskringla’ 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=4> (accessed 28 March 2024)
  20. 2017, ‘ Anonymous, Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 367. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=23> (accessed 28 March 2024)
  21. 2022, ‘ Anonymous, Njáls saga’ in Margaret Clunies Ross, Kari Ellen Gade and Tarrin Wills (eds), Poetry in Sagas of Icelanders. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 5. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 1220-1313. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=55> (accessed 28 March 2024)
  22. (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 28 March 2024)
  23. (forthcoming), ‘ Heimskringla, Hákonar saga góða’ 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=130> (accessed 28 March 2024)
  24. Not published: do not cite (KáriV)
  25. 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.
  26. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Dverga heiti 4’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 699.
  27. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Óðins nǫfn 8’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 751.
  28. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Orma 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. 931.
  29. Kari Ellen Gade 2012, ‘ Þórðr Særeksson (Sjáreksson), Þórálfs drápa Skólmssonar’ 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. 236. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1420> (accessed 28 March 2024)
  30. Not published: do not cite ()
  31. Elena Gurevich 2017, ‘ Anonymous, Galtar heiti’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 900. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=3215> (accessed 28 March 2024)
  32. Matthew Townend (ed.) 2012, ‘Óttarr svarti, Lausavísur 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. 784.
  33. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Snorri Sturluson, Háttatal 54’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 1163.
  34. John McKinnell (ed.) 2022, ‘Víga-Glúms saga 4 (Víga-Glúmr Eyjólfsson, Lausavísur 4)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross, Kari Ellen Gade and Tarrin Wills (eds), Poetry in Sagas of Icelanders. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 5. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 1379.
  35. (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 28 March 2024)
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