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Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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Þul Sverða 6III

Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Sverða heiti 6’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 800.

Anonymous ÞulurSverða heiti
567

Mímungr ok fellir         ok málvitnir,
taurarr, hrævarðr,         trani, vindþvari,
liðnir, Kvernbiti,         ljómi, herðir,
vitnir, yfrir,         veggjalestir.

Mímungr ok fellir ok málvitnir, taurarr, hrævarðr, trani, vindþvari, liðnir, Kvernbiti, ljómi, herðir, vitnir, yfrir, veggjalestir.

Mímungr and feller and ornamented wolf, taurar, corpse-wrapped one, crane, wind-borer, one belonging to an army, Kvernbiti, brightness, hardened one, wolf, overcomer, damager of walls.

Mss: R(43r), Tˣ(44v), C(12r), A(18v), B(8v), 744ˣ(67v-68r) (SnE)

Readings: [1] Mímungr: Mimmungr A;    ok: om. A, B    [2] ok: om. Tˣ;    mál‑: malm‑ B    [3] ‑varðr: ‑vaðr A, B    [4] vind‑: ‘[…]’ B, ‘. . .’ 744ˣ    [5] ‑biti: ‑bítir C, ‑bítr A, ‘‑bit[…]’ B, ‘‑bitr’ 744ˣ    [7] vitnir: om. C;    yfrir: ‘iferr’ C, yfri A, 744ˣ, ‘[…]’ B    [8] veggjalestir: so A, 744ˣ, ‘vægia lęstir’ R, ‘vegia lestir’ Tˣ, ‘veægialestir’ C, ‘[…]ggia […]ir’ B

Editions: Skj AI, 663, Skj BI, 663, Skald I, 328, NN §2565B; SnE 1848-87, I, 566, II, 476, 560, 619-20, SnE 1931, 201, SnE 1998, I, 119-20.

Notes: [1] Mímungr: Lit. ‘descendent of Mímir’. The name of Viðga’s sword in Þiðreks saga (Þiðr 1853, 80, etc.). It is also found in the form Mimmungr (so ms. A and the LaufE mss), which is the name of Virga’s sword in Mágus saga jarls (ch. 39, Mág 1858, 92; cf. OE Mimming, OHG Mīmunc, AEW: Mímungr). Mímungr is a derivation of the name Mími(r)/Mime, the teacher of Velent in English and German legendary tradition (including the Old Norse Þiðreks saga). According to most of these sources, the sword was welded by Velent/Wēland/Wieland. The sword-name was also adopted in Old Norse tradition. In Saxo (Saxo 2005, I, 3, 2, 5-6, pp. 192-3), Mimingus is a forest demon. The word is used as a common noun in Vargeisa Lv 2/7VIII (HjǪ 6). Cf. also hold-Mímir ‘flesh-Mímir’ (st. 5/4 above). — [1] fellir (m.) ‘feller’: An agent noun from the weak verb fella ‘fell, slay’. Listed again in st. 9/1 below. — [2] málvitnir (m.) ‘ornamented wolf’: A kenning whose base-word is vitnir m. ‘wolf’ and the determinant from mál n. ‘ornament, drawing’. For vitnir ‘wolf’, see Þul Vargs 1/2 and vitnir among the sword-heiti (l. 7 below), as well as vargr ‘wolf’ (st. 11/7). Neither vitnir nor vargr otherwise occurs as terms for ‘sword’. The B variant malmvitnir ‘metal-wolf’ is not attested elsewhere, and the LaufE mss, which have (normalised) málvitnir, show that this is a scribal innovation (lectio facilior) in B. — [3] taurarr: A hap. leg. The name might be derived from taur ‘golden necklace, ring’, referring to a ring on the knob of a sword (so Falk 1914b, 27, 61; SnE 1998, II, 413), but the existence of such a word is dubious (see AEW: taurar; taurarr and Note to Þjóð Yt 9/9I). — [3] hrævarðr (m.) ‘corpse-wrapped one’: An otherwise unattested cpd, from hræ n. ‘corpse, carrion’ and p. p. of the weak verb verja ‘clothe, wrap, enclose’ (so Falk 1914b, 52; SnE 1998, II, 321). The variant hrævaðr in mss A and B (and in the LaufE mss) could be interpreted as ‘one who wades through corpses’, from hræ- and ‑vaðr, an agent noun from the strong verb vaða ‘wade’, playing on the metaphor that a sword steps on corpses. — [4] trani (m.) ‘crane’: The heiti may describe a sword with a hilt curved like a crane’s neck (so Falk 1914b, 62) or it could possibly be the proper name of a sword (cf. Trani, King Óláfr Tryggvason’s warship). As a sword-heiti the word does not occur elsewhere. See also trani ‘crane’ (Þul Orma 2/4). — [4] vindþvari (m.) ‘wind-borer’: Not attested elsewhere as a cpd. Most likely the sense of this term is ‘one that pierces the air with strokes’ (cf. Meissner 8). Falk (1914b, 63) suggests that the heiti means either ‘oblique-borer’ (from the adj. vindr ‘oblique, warped’) or ‘Wendish borer’, i.e. a Wendish sword (from Vindr, Vindir ‘Wends’). Cf. also ormþvari ‘serpent-borer’ (st. 2/4, see Note there). — [5] liðnir (m.) ‘one belonging to an army’: A hap. leg. The word is probably related to lið n. ‘host, troop’, although, according to Falk (1914b, 54), the heiti may have been derived from liðr m. ‘joint of the body’, denoting a sword with a crooked hilt, which is not immediately transparent. — [5] Kvernbiti: This is the name of a sword owned by Hákon inn góði ‘the Good’ Haraldsson, which can be translated as ‘millstone-biter’ (from kvern f. ‘handmill’ and the strong verb bíta ‘bite’). In this form it also occurs in Ágrip (ÍF 29, 10, 11), but Kvernbítr (so mss A, B and the LaufE mss) is the form used in Hkr (ÍF 26, 146, 185, 190); both variants are found in Fsk (ÍF 29, 75, 86, 90). The origin of the name is explained as follows in Hkr (ÍF 26, 146): Aðalsteinn konungr gaf Hákoni sverð þatþar hjó Hákon með kvernstein til augans. Þat var síðan kallat Kvernbítr ‘King Æthelstan gave Hákon that sword … with it Hákon split a millstone down to the centre. It was later called Millstone-biter’. The heiti does not occur in poetry (but cf. Leggbiti ‘Leg-biter’ or Leggbítr, st. 2/5 above). — [6] ljómi (m.) ‘brightness’: This is also the name of a dwarf (Þul Dverga 6/4), but ljómi is otherwise not attested as a heiti for ‘sword’ (or ‘dwarf’) except for an unclear instance in the later rímur (Finnur Jónsson 1926-8: ljómi). Falk (1914b, 54) argues that the word might be a half-kenning because it is frequently used as a base-word in sword-kennings (cf. LP: ljómi). Cf. also Sigrljómi ‘Battle-brightness’, the name of Hrólfr kraki’s sword (FSN III, 439, 450). — [6] herðir (m.) ‘hardened one’: From herðr ‘hardened’ (p. p. of the weak verb herða ‘temper (iron)’; see Heggstad et al. 2008: 1. herða and SnE 1998, II, 307). The agent noun herðir ‘hardener, strengthener’ is used as a base-word in man-kennings. — [7] vitnir (m.) ‘wolf’: For a discussion of this word, see Þul Vargs 1/2. — [7] yfrir (m.) ‘overcomer’: A hap. leg. According to Falk (1914b, 64), it is probably related to a verb *yfra (OSwed. yfra sik ‘prosper’, ModSwed. dialects övra sej ‘flourish’; cf. þrór ‘thriver’, st. 3/5, with a similar meaning). Alternatively, this heiti could be interpreted as ‘that which is raised’ (cf. SnE 1998, II, 432). — [8] veggjalestir (m.) ‘damager of walls’: So A and 744ˣ. The heiti, which is not attested elsewhere, is formed from veggr m. ‘wall’ or ‘shield-row along the railing of a ship’ (veggja- gen. pl.) and the weak verb lesta ‘break up, damage’, hence ‘one that breaks up a shield-row on board ship’ (Falk 1914b, 62; SnE 1998, II, 423). The R variant (normalised) vægja- could be construed as ‘wavy damager’ or ‘sword-damager’ (cf. vægir m. ‘wavy one’ and the variant reading vægileiptr, st. 4/1, see Note there).

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. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
  6. Meissner = Meissner, Rudolf. 1921. Die Kenningar der Skalden: Ein Beitrag zur skaldischen Poetik. Rheinische Beiträge und Hülfsbücher zur germanischen Philologie und Volkskunde 1. Bonn and Leipzig: Schroeder. Rpt. 1984. Hildesheim etc.: Olms.
  7. AEW = Vries, Jan de. 1962. Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch. 2nd rev. edn. Rpt. 1977. Leiden: Brill.
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
  11. Falk, Hjalmar. 1914b. Altnordische Waffenkunde. Videnskapsselskapets skrifter, II. Hist.-filos. kl. 1914, 6. Kristiania (Oslo): Dybwad.
  12. SnE 1931 = Snorri Sturluson. 1931. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
  13. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
  14. ÍF 29 = Ágrip af Nóregskonunga sǫgum; Fagrskinna—Nóregs konungatal. Ed. Bjarni Einarsson. 1985.
  15. 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.
  16. Þiðr 1853 = Unger, C. R., ed. 1853. Saga Ðiðriks konungs af Bern. Fortælling om kong Thidrik af Bern og hans kæmper, i norsk bearbeidelse fra det trettende aarhundrede efter tydske kilder. Christiania (Oslo): Werner.
  17. Mág 1858 = Gunnlaugur Þórðarson, ed. 1858. Bragða-Mágus saga með tilheyrendi þáttum. Copenhagen: Páll Sveinsson.
  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. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Fagrskinna’ 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=56> (accessed 28 March 2024)
  21. Diana Whaley 2012, ‘(Biography of) Óláfr Tryggvason’ 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. 383.
  22. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Vargs 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. 903.
  23. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Dverga heiti 6’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 704.
  24. 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.
  25. Edith Marold (ed.) 2012, ‘Þjóðólfr ór Hvini, Ynglingatal 9’ 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. 22.
  26. Richard L. Harris (ed.) 2017, ‘Hjálmþés saga ok Ǫlvis 6 (Vargeisa/Álfsól, Lausavísur 2)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 498.
  27. (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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