Þul Spjóts 1III
Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Spjóts 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. 816.
spjót ‘spear’
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spjót (noun n.; °-s; -): spear
notes
[1] nǫt (f.) ‘sting’: A hap. leg. See nata ‘stinger’ in l. 5 below.
dǫf ‘dǫf’
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2. dǫf (noun f.): [dǫf]
[2] dǫf lenz: so A, B, ‘davflén’ R, ‘doflen’ Tˣ, ‘daufleinn’ C
notes
[2] dǫf (f.): An obscure word, which is either the name of a type of spear or possibly means ‘shaft’. The word occurs only in Akv 4/7 (NK 240): dafar, darraða (ms. reading darraðr). Dronke (1969, 49-50) translates the line as ‘spears of the pennon’ and argues that darraðr here must be a heiti for ‘pennon’ deriving from an Óðinn-name Darraðr ‘dangling one’ (from darr, a poetic word for ‘spear’, Óðinn’s weapon), while dǫf is a heiti for ‘spear’. According to Falk (1914b, 74), dǫf is identical with ODan. dabe ‘pestle’ (see also ÍO: döf, dǫf 4).
lenz ‘lance’
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lenz (noun f.): [lance]
[2] dǫf lenz: so A, B, ‘davflén’ R, ‘doflen’ Tˣ, ‘daufleinn’ C
notes
[2] lenz (f.) ‘lance’: A loanword (cf. Lat. lancea ‘lance’), most likely a borrowing from Low German (cf. MLG lance, lense ‘lance’; see Falk 1914b, 75 and AEW: lenz). The word otherwise occurs once in the rímur (Finnur Jónsson 1926-8: lenz).
ok ‘and’
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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
vigr ‘rod’
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3. vigr (noun f.): spear
notes
[2] vigr (f.) ‘rod’: A poetic term for ‘spear’ (see LP: vigr). Vigr most likely designated a spear made for throwing, and the original meaning may have been ‘flexible branch’ (Falk 1914b, 73-4).
notes
[3] snata (f.) ‘spike’: A hap. leg. Cf. New Norw. snat ‘point’ (see Falk 1914b, 75).
fleinn ‘barb’
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fleinn (noun m.; °dat. fleini): spear
sváf ‘one causing sleep’
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sváf (noun n.): [one causing sleep]
[3] sváf: ‘suar’ Tˣ, ‘su[…]f’ B, ‘suaf’ 744ˣ
notes
[3] sváf (n.) ‘one causing sleep’: This word is otherwise not attested as a heiti for ‘spear’. It is derived from the strong verb sofa ‘sleep’ (< Gmc *sweban; see also the weak verb sœfa ‘lull to sleep’, i.e. ‘kill’).
sviða ‘burn’
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1. sviða (noun f.; °-u): [burn]
notes
[4] sviða (f.) ‘burn’: From the strong verb svíða ‘singe, burn’ (see also sviða f. ‘burn, hurt or mark due to burning’). According to Falk (1914b, 70-2), originally a rod with a point hardened by fire. The word does not occur in poetry.
hræ ‘corpse’
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hræ (noun n.; °; -): corpse, carrion < hræmæki (noun n.)
notes
[4] hræmæki (n.) ‘corpse-sword’: Compounded from hræ n. ‘carrion’ and mækir m. ‘sword’, and not attested elsewhere as a heiti for ‘spear’.
notes
[4] hræmæki (n.) ‘corpse-sword’: Compounded from hræ n. ‘carrion’ and mækir m. ‘sword’, and not attested elsewhere as a heiti for ‘spear’.
nata ‘stinging one’
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nata (noun f.): [stinging one]
notes
[5] nata (f.) ‘stinging one’: A verbal abstract, otherwise unattested, whose origin is obscure. See also nǫt ‘sting’ in l. 1 above. It is likely that the original sense of the word was ‘nettle’ (cf. New Norw. nata, brennenata ‘stinging-nettle’; see Falk 1914b, 75).
gefja ‘lance’
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gefja (noun f.): [lance]
notes
[6] gefja (f.) ‘lance’: A hap. leg. The heiti is probably a corrupt form of glefja or glafja ‘lance’ (cf. OSwed. glæfia, glavia ‘sword’; ModEngl. glaive (now obsolete)). In Old Norse, the latter word occurs as glaðel in Laxd (ch. 77, ÍF 5, 225 and n. 4), as glafel in Þiðreks saga (ch. 206, Þiðr 1853, 196) and as glafia in Konungs skuggsiá (Holm-Olsen 1983, 167; see also Falk 1914b, 72-3). The word is a borrowing from MLG glevie ‘spear’ < MLat. gladiolus, Lat. gladius ‘spear’ (Höfler 1932, 223) and denotes a foreign weapon.
kesja ‘halberd’
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kesja (noun f.; °-u; -ur): halberd, spear
gaflak ‘javelin’
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gaflak (noun n.): [javelin]
notes
[7] gaflak (n.) ‘javelin’: In Old Norse also gaflok, a term for a light spear and possibly a loanword from OE gafeluc ‘spear, javelin’ (< Welsh gaflach; see Falk 1914b, 72; AEW: gaflak). See also ModEngl. gavelock, now obsolete except in specific historical contexts. The heiti is not attested in Old Norse poetry until late C12th (GunnLeif Merl I 65/6VIII).
frakka ‘Frankish [spear]’
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frakka (noun f.): [Frankish [spear]]
notes
[7] frakka (f.) ‘Frankish [spear]’: Most likely a loanword from OE franca ‘lance, javelin’. It is possible that this term might have been identical with framea in Tacitus’ Germania (ch. 6; see Falk 1914b, 75). Other than in the present þula, the only reliable attestation in Old Norse is found in Rþ 35/8 (NK 285) frǫccor dýia ‘[he began] to shake Frankish spears’. Cf. also the weak m. form frakki in the cpd hræfrakki ‘carrion-spear’ (Þul Sverða 2/8).
Gungnir ‘Gungnir’
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2. Gungnir (noun m.): Gungnir
notes
[8] Gungnir: Lit. ‘swinging one’ (cf. ModSwed. gunga, ModNorw., ModDan. gynge ‘swing’). The name of Óðinn’s spear in Old Norse myth and a heiti for ‘spear’ in skaldic poetry.
peita ‘[spear] from Poitou’
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peita (noun f.): spear
notes
[8] peita (f.) ‘[spear] from Poitou’: Cf. Peita ‘Poitou’, Peituborg ‘Poitiers’ (see Falk 1914b, 75 and Note to RvHbreiðm Hl 18/6). The word denotes a missile weapon (cf. hagli peitu ‘by the hail of the spear [BATTLE]’, Eþver Lv 1/8I).
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