Þul Sverða 5III
Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Sverða heiti 5’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 798.
Hvati ‘Quick one’
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hvati (noun m.): °hastværk
notes
[1] hvati (m.) ‘quick one’: Cf. the adj. hvatr ‘quick’, hvati m. ‘haste, hurry’, and the weak verb hvata ‘hasten’. Hvati occurs once as the base-word in a man-kenning (Egill Hfl 19/3V (Eg 52)), but it is not attested as a heiti for ‘sword’.
hǫfuðhvessingr ‘head-sharpener’
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hǫfuðhvessingr (noun m.)
[1] hǫfuðhvessingr: so all others, ‘h[…]ssingr’ R
notes
[1] hǫfuðhvessingr (m.) ‘head-sharpener’: Not otherwise attested as a cpd. The first part, hǫfuð-, is most likely an intensifying element (cf. Falk 1914b, 53), the second element is from the weak verb hvessa ‘sharpen’; hence ‘mighty sharpener’.
hausamølvir ‘crusher of skulls’
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hausamølvir (noun m.)
[2] hausamølvir: so Tˣ, A, B, hausamǫlnir R
notes
[2] hausamølvir (m.) ‘crusher of skulls’: So Tˣ, A, B. An otherwise unattested cpd from hauss m. ‘skull’ (hausa- gen. pl.) and the weak verb mølva ‘shiver, break’ (ModIcel. mölva ‘shatter, crush’), which in Old Norse occurs only in poetry (cf. Goth. gamalwjan ‘crush’; AEW: mølva). The R variant ‑mǫlnir may be a scribal error for ‑molnir from the weak verb molna ‘crumble’, hence ‘-grinder(?)’ (so SnE 1998, II, 303).
hræva ‘ of corpses’
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hræ (noun n.; °; -): corpse, carrion < hrævagautr (noun m.)
[3] hræva‑Gautr: ‘hre᷎fag[…]r’ B, ‘þre᷎fagautr’ 744ˣ
notes
[3] hræva-Gautr ‘Gautr of corpses’: Either a sword from Götaland (ON Gautland) (so Falk 1914b, 52), or possibly connected with Gautr, a name for Óðinn (see Þul Óðins 1/6; cf. also SnE 1998, II, 321). The first element of the cpd (hræva) is gen. pl. of hræ n. ‘corpse’. The cpd is not found elsewhere.
Gautr ‘Gautr’
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2. Gautr (noun m.): Gautr, Óðinn < hrævagautr (noun m.)
[3] hræva‑Gautr: ‘hre᷎fag[…]r’ B, ‘þre᷎fagautr’ 744ˣ
notes
[3] hræva-Gautr ‘Gautr of corpses’: Either a sword from Götaland (ON Gautland) (so Falk 1914b, 52), or possibly connected with Gautr, a name for Óðinn (see Þul Óðins 1/6; cf. also SnE 1998, II, 321). The first element of the cpd (hræva) is gen. pl. of hræ n. ‘corpse’. The cpd is not found elsewhere.
her ‘war’
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herr (noun m.; °-s/-jar, dat. -; -jar, gen. -ja/herra): army, host < herbrái (noun m.)
notes
[3] herbrái (m.) ‘war-shining one’: From her- ‘host-, war-’ and the weak verb brá, brjá ‘flicker’ (cf. also herberi ‘war-striker’, st. 2/7). The cpd is not found elsewhere.
brái ‘shining one’
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brái (noun m.) < herbrái (noun m.)
[3] ‑brái: ‘‑bra[…]’ B, ‘‑brae’ 744ˣ
notes
[3] herbrái (m.) ‘war-shining one’: From her- ‘host-, war-’ and the weak verb brá, brjá ‘flicker’ (cf. also herberi ‘war-striker’, st. 2/7). The cpd is not found elsewhere.
ok ‘and’
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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
hold ‘flesh’
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hold (noun n.; °-s; -): flesh < holdmímir (noun m.)
notes
[4] hold-Mímir ‘flesh-Mímir’: An otherwise unattested cpd from hold n. ‘flesh’ and Mímir, the name of a wise giant, the keeper of the well of wisdom in Old Norse myth (see Þul Jǫtna I 1/3, but cf. Mímungr, st. 6/1). Falk (1914b, 52; cf. also SnE 1998, II, 315) interprets this word as a kenning for ‘sword’ (‘flesh-giant’ or ‘flesh-fiend’), but there is no such kenning-pattern. The C variant hodd-Mímir ‘hoard-Mímir’ is probably caused by confusion with the pers. n. Hoddmimir, ‑mímir, Vafþr 45/3 (NK 53).
Mímir ‘Mímir’
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Mímir (noun m.): [mímir, Mímr] < holdmímir (noun m.)
notes
[4] hold-Mímir ‘flesh-Mímir’: An otherwise unattested cpd from hold n. ‘flesh’ and Mímir, the name of a wise giant, the keeper of the well of wisdom in Old Norse myth (see Þul Jǫtna I 1/3, but cf. Mímungr, st. 6/1). Falk (1914b, 52; cf. also SnE 1998, II, 315) interprets this word as a kenning for ‘sword’ (‘flesh-giant’ or ‘flesh-fiend’), but there is no such kenning-pattern. The C variant hodd-Mímir ‘hoard-Mímir’ is probably caused by confusion with the pers. n. Hoddmimir, ‑mímir, Vafþr 45/3 (NK 53).
brigðir ‘fickle one’
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brigðir (noun m.): spreader, breaker
notes
[5] brigðir (m.) ‘fickle one’: According to Falk (1914b, 48), the word is not an agent noun from the strong verb brigða (= bregða ‘brandish (a sword)’) but more likely related to the adj. brigðr ‘faithless, unsafe’ (see also brigð n. ‘change’ and huglognir ‘clinch-failer’, l. 6). It could also be an agent noun from the weak verb brigða ‘recover sth. by lawful procedure, make void, revoke, recant’. The word occurs twice in this list (see also st. 8/5), but it is not found elsewhere in Old Norse poetry. It is attested in the later rímur (Finnur Jónsson 1926-8: brigðir).
notes
[6] Brimir: Lit. ‘flickerer’. A poetic term for ‘sword’, originally a proper name. In Sigrdr 14/2, Brimir is the name of Óðinn’s sword, and in Grí 44 (ms. A; NK 66) it is praised as the best of swords. The heiti is probably related to brimi m. ‘fire’; alternatively, it could be identical with a giant’s name (see LP: 2. Brimir; Falk 1914b, 48; SnE 1998, II, 450).
huglognir ‘clinch-failer’
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huglognir (noun m.)
[6] huglognir: ‘huðlognir’ Tˣ, ‘hv́ðlognir’ A, ‘hudlau[…]nir’ B, ‘hudlaugnir’ 744ˣ
notes
[6] huglognir (m.) ‘clinch-failer’: A cpd not found elsewhere, whose first element is most likely *hugr (cf. hugró ‘clinch-plate’, st. 12/3), a metal clinch on a sword’s hilt. The second element must be an agent noun from a weak verb *logna derived from the p. p. loginn of the strong verb ljúga ‘lie’. Huglognir would then be a sword whose upper clinch was easily broken off (so Falk 1914b, 53; cf. ljúgfengr ‘fail-striking one’, st. 10/5). The Tˣ, A and B variant húðlognir m. means ‘skin-failer’ (so also the LaufE mss).
notes
[7] skyggðir (m.) ‘polished one’: From skyggðr ‘bright, polished’ (p. p. of the weak verb skyggja ‘polish’) and not attested elsewhere.
skreyfir ‘heaper’
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skreyfir (noun m.)
[7] skreyfir: ‘skreivir’ R, ‘screuuir’ Tˣ, ‘skryvir’ A, ‘skrýd‑’ B
notes
[7] skreyfir (m.) ‘heaper’: A hap. leg. The spelling varies in the mss: ‘skreivir’ R, ‘screuuir’ Tˣ, ‘skræuir’ C, ‘skryfir’ A, ‘skríd-’ B (the LaufE mss have ‘skrÿver’ (papp10ˣ), ‘skryuer’ (2368ˣ) and ‘skryver’ (743ˣ)). Cf. ModIcel. skreyfa, New Norw. skrøyva ‘to heap high’. The term may denote a sword that piles up a heap of corpses (Falk 1914b, 59).
skarðr ‘notched one’
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2. skarðr (adj.): hacked, notched one
[8] skarðr: skarði A, ‑skarði ok B
notes
[8] skarðr (m.) ‘notched one’: This substantivised adj. is not attested elsewhere in Old Norse poetry as a heiti for ‘sword’, but it is found in the rímur (Finnur Jónsson 1926-8: skarðr). See neðanskarðr ‘end-notched one’ (st. 1/6), skerðir ‘diminisher’ (st. 8/6) and skerðingr ‘notcher’ (st. 7/2). The A, B variant skarði (so also the LaufE mss) is the name of the sword of one of the Baglar chieftains, Andres Símonarson, in Hák (Flat 1860-8, III, 27).
grindlogi ‘gate-flame’
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grindlogi (noun m.): gate-flame
notes
[8] grindlogi ‘gate-flame’: See st. 3/7.
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
The arrangement of heiti in ll. 1-6 of this stanza in ms. C(12r) differs from that in the other mss and cannot be construed to make any sense metrically. Ms. C has therefore not been considered in the variant apparatus above (relevant readings are discussed in the Notes below). The C variant reads as follows: ‘Herbraí ok hoddmímir bensígr brígdír brumr huatí haufuts spesíngr hausa míoluer hræuagautr huglognir skygder skræuir skardr grindlogi’.
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