Þul Sverða 8^III

Logi ‘Flame’

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2. Logi (noun m.): Logi

notes

[1] logi (m.) ‘flame’: This and the other terms for ‘fire’ listed in this stanza (cf. eldr ‘fire’ and hyrr ‘blaze’ in ll. 2, 7) are regularly used as base-words in sword-kennings (e.g. benlogi ‘wound-flame [SWORD]’, LP: benlogi), but only eldr occurs several times as a heiti for ‘sword’. It is doubtful whether such metaphorical names ought to be considered half-kennings (see Falk 1914b, 49).

ok ‘and’

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

mund ‘hand’

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1. mund (noun f.): hand < mundgjallr (noun m.)

[1] mund‑: so Tˣ, A, B, munn‑ R, mun‑ C

notes

[1] mundgjallr (m.) ‘hand-ringing one’: So Tˣ, A, B. An otherwise unattested cpd from mund f. ‘hand’ and the adj. gjallr ‘clamouring, ringing, resounding’. The R variant munngjallr probably means ‘with a ringing blade’, in which the first element is munnr m. ‘mouth, blade’ (Falk 1914b, 56). Cf. also gjallr ‘clamouring one’ (st. 1/6 above).

gjallr ‘ringing one’

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2. gjallr (adj.): resounding < mundgjallr (noun m.)

notes

[1] mundgjallr (m.) ‘hand-ringing one’: So Tˣ, A, B. An otherwise unattested cpd from mund f. ‘hand’ and the adj. gjallr ‘clamouring, ringing, resounding’. The R variant munngjallr probably means ‘with a ringing blade’, in which the first element is munnr m. ‘mouth, blade’ (Falk 1914b, 56). Cf. also gjallr ‘clamouring one’ (st. 1/6 above).

lang ‘long’

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langr (adj.; °compar. lengri, superl. lengstr): long < langhvass (noun m.)

[2] lang‑: langr A, leggr B

notes

[2] langhvass (m.) ‘long-sharp one’: This cpd, which is not found elsewhere, either means ‘long and sharp’ or, as LP: langhvass suggests, hvis skarphed varer længe ‘whose sharpness lasts long’. Mss A and B have two words instead of a cpd, (normalised) langr, hvass ‘long, sharp’ (A) and leggr, hvass ‘leg, sharp’ (B, 744ˣ; leggr m. ‘leg, bone’ must be a scribal error). None of these words occurs as sword-heiti.

hvass ‘sharp one’

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hvass (adj.; °-an; -ari, -astr): keen, sharp < langhvass (noun m.)

[2] ‑hvass: ‘hu[…]’ B, ‘huass’ 744ˣ

notes

[2] langhvass (m.) ‘long-sharp one’: This cpd, which is not found elsewhere, either means ‘long and sharp’ or, as LP: langhvass suggests, hvis skarphed varer længe ‘whose sharpness lasts long’. Mss A and B have two words instead of a cpd, (normalised) langr, hvass ‘long, sharp’ (A) and leggr, hvass ‘leg, sharp’ (B, 744ˣ; leggr m. ‘leg, bone’ must be a scribal error). None of these words occurs as sword-heiti.

ok ‘and’

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

[2] ok: om. Tˣ

eldr ‘fire’

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eldr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i/-(HómÍsl¹‰(1993) 24v²⁴); -ar): fire

notes

[2] eldr (m.) ‘fire’: See Note to logi ‘flame’ (l. 1 above).

ǫrn ‘eagle’

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1. ǫrn (noun m.; °arnar, dat. erni; ernir, acc. ǫrnu): eagle

notes

[3] ǫrn (m.) ‘eagle’: This word never occurs in poetry as a sword-heiti (cf. Note to nættingr ‘night-bringer’, st. 7/8 above).

ok ‘and’

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

œgir ‘frightener’

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œgir (noun m.): terrifier

[3] œgir: so A, eygir R, C, ‘eugir’ Tˣ, ‘[…]’ B, ‘e᷎gir’ 744ˣ

notes

[3] œgir (m.) ‘frightener’: So A. This is also a heiti for ‘helmet’ (see Note to Þul Hjálms 2/3), but it is not found in poetry as a term for ‘sword’. The R, C variant eygir m., perhaps lit. ‘looker, observer’ from the weak verb eygja ‘see’ (cf. CVC: eygja), does not occur elsewhere.

ok ‘and’

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

naglfari ‘nail-studded one’

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Naglfari (noun m.): nail-studded one

[4] naglfari: nagfari C, ‘n[…]lfare’ B, ‘naglfare’ 744ˣ

notes

[4] naglfari (m.) ‘nail-studded one’: Or ‘rivet-farer(?)’. Probably denoting a sword with a hilt decorated with rows of rivets (cf. OE Nægling, the name of Beowulf’s sword; see Beowulf 2008, 471 and references there). See Falk (1914b, 57) and Bragi Rdr 5/3 (see Note to ll. 3-4 there). Alternatively, Lie (1982, 340-1) takes the second element ‑fari in the sense ‘destroyer’ (cf. Fritzner: fara 13, 14) and interprets this heiti as ‘one who destroys spikes (naglar)’, i.e. ‘knife’. See also Note to Þul Skipa 1/7.

brigðir ‘fickle one’

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brigðir (noun m.): spreader, breaker

[5] brigðir: ‘br[…]ir’ B, ‘bridir’ 744ˣ

notes

[5] brigðir (m.) ‘fickle one’: See Note to st. 5/5.

mǫrnir ‘crusher’

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mǫrnir (noun m.)

notes

[5] mǫrnir (m.) ‘crusher’: Probably an agent noun derived from a weak verb *marunja- ‘crush’, and not found elsewhere as a sword-heiti (see Falk 1914b, 56; cf. also mǫrn ‘troll-woman’).

blær ‘blær’

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2. blær (noun m.): ram

[6] blær: so A, ‘blǫr’ R, ‘blo᷎r’ Tˣ, ‘blorr’ C, ‘ble᷎rr’ B

notes

[6] blær (m.): The origin and meaning of this heiti are unclear. According to Falk (1914b, 47-8), it is derived either from the adj. blár ‘dark, blue’ (cf. blár eggjar ‘dark edges’) or from blær m., a heiti for ‘ram’ (see Þul Hrúts l. 8; cf. MHG blæjen ‘bleat’). The word occurs only in the þulur. The meaning ‘bleater’, i.e. ‘noise-maker’, might be supported by other sword-heiti (cf. gjallr ‘clamouring one’ st. 1/6, galmr ‘clanging one’ st. 2/5, skerkir ‘noise-maker’ st. 2/1), as well as by semantically similar heiti listed in other þulur (see Gurevich 1992c, 40-4).

ok ‘and’

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

skerðir ‘diminisher’

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skerðir (noun m.): diminisher

notes

[6] skerðir (m.) ‘diminisher’: Cf. skerðingr ‘notcher’ (st. 7/2). As a sword-heiti the word is not found elsewhere. Falk (1914b, 59) suggests that the heiti might have been taken from KormǪ Lv 27/7-8^V (Korm 31), where the sword Skǫfnungr (see Note to st. 7/4) is described as skerðir þrafna fetils ‘diminisher of the staff of the baldric’ because it notched the edge of the sword Hvítingr (see st. 7/5).

hyrr ‘blaze’

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hyrr (noun m.): fire

notes

[7] hyrr (m.) ‘blaze’: See Note to logi ‘flame’ (l. 1 above).

ok ‘and’

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

helsingr ‘long-neck’

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helsingr (noun m.)

[7] helsingr: ‘[…]sinngr’ B, ‘helsinngr’ 744ˣ

notes

[7] helsingr (m.) ‘long-neck’: Cf. helsingr ‘barnacle goose’ (Þul Fugla 1/4). The word could be identical with Helsingjar, the people of Hälsingland (ON Helsingjaland) in Sweden, and hence ‘Helsingja-sword’ (OE Hælsingas; AEW: helsingr). Alternatively, it could have been derived directly from hals m. ‘neck’. Falk (1914b, 51) suggests that the heiti might come from a pers. n. or a nickname (cf. Þórir helsingr in Hkr, ÍF 28, 371). As a term for ‘sword’ it is not found elsewhere.

hríðir ‘stormer’

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hríðir (noun m.)

[8] hríðir: hirðir C

notes

[8] hríðir (m.) ‘stormer’: A hap. leg. that can be connected with hríð f. ‘storm, attack’ (cf. SnE 1998, II, 318). The C variant hirðir m. ‘shepherd’ must be a scribal error.

atti ‘inciter’

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atti (noun m.)

notes

[8] atti (m.) ‘inciter’: A hap. leg. Hellquist (1891, 167) explains the word as a derivative of the weak verb etja ‘incite, egg on’ (p. p. attr), while Falk (1914b, 47) believes that it was transferred to a sword from the m. pers. n. Atti.