Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Øxna 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. 885.
(not checked:)
2. enn (adv.): still, yet, again
[1] Enn skal segja: Ek man skýra A, ‘[…]k mun skýra’ B, Ek mun skýra 744ˣ; Enn: Ek C
(not checked:)
skulu (verb): shall, should, must
[1] Enn skal segja: Ek man skýra A, ‘[…]k mun skýra’ B, Ek mun skýra 744ˣ
(not checked:)
segja (verb): say, tell
[1] Enn skal segja: Ek man skýra A, ‘[…]k mun skýra’ B, Ek mun skýra 744ˣ; segja: telja C
(not checked:)
oxi (noun m.; °-a; yxn/øxn/oxar): ox
[2] øxna heiti: fyrir skata mengi allramligra yxna heiti A, skata mengi allramligra øxna heiti B; øxna: yxna C
(not checked:)
Heiti (noun m.): Heiti
[2] øxna heiti: fyrir skata mengi allramligra yxna heiti A, skata mengi allramligra øxna heiti B
[3] árvakr (m.) ‘alert one’: Or ‘one who is awake early’. This heiti is known from other sources as the mythical name of one of the horses of the Sun (see Þul Hesta 3/4 and Note there). As an ox-heiti the name occurs only in the present þula. The A, B variant árvǫrðr ‘early-guardian’ is not attested elsewhere.
(not checked:)
drjóni (noun m.)
[3] drjóni (m.) ‘bellower’: A hap. leg. This heiti probably means ‘bellower’ (from the same root as OE drēam ‘joy’, OS drōm ‘rejoicing’; so Holthausen 1942, 275; see also AEW: drjóni).
(not checked:)
jǫrmunrekr (noun m.)
[4] jǫrmunrekr: Otherwise the Old Norse name of the Gothic king, Ermanaric the Great (d. 375; see Bragi Rdr 3, Note to [All]). As a heiti for ‘ox’ the word occurs only in the present stanza. The first element in the cpd (jǫrmun-) is an intensifier and the second (-rekr) is either derived from the strong verb reka ‘chase, drive away’ or it is the same as ON rekkr m. ‘man, warrior’ (since the second element in the pers. n. was associated with ‑rekkr ‘man’; see AEW: Jǫrmunr, Jǫrmunrekr). Jǫrmunrekr would then mean either ‘mighty driver’ or ‘mighty warrior’.
[5] simi: An obscure word not found elsewhere. Cf. simir (st. 2/1), simull (st. 2/4) and forsimi (st. 2/6).
(not checked:)
Freyr (noun m.): (a god)
[5] Freyr: As an ox-name Freyr is mentioned only in this list. The heiti could reflect the relations between Freyr as the god of fertility and one of the animals dedicated to him (cf. the stories in Víga-Glúms saga ch. 9, ÍF 9, 34 and Brandkrossa þáttr ch. 1, ÍS III, 2102, in which oxen are sacrificed to Freyr; see Turville-Petre 1964, 168).
(not checked:)
reginn (noun m.): reginn
[5] Reginn: It is impossible to say whether there is any connection between this ox-heiti and the name of the legendary dwarf and smith Reginn. Alternatively, this word could be interpreted as a m. derivative of ON regin n. pl. ‘gods’, hence possibly ‘potent one’. It is more likely, however, that the original heiti was the ox-name Rekinn ‘driven one’ mentioned in Anon Þorgþ II l. 4 (see Note there; see also rekningr ‘driven one’ in l. 7 below), and that this heiti was confused with the name of the smith Reginn, possibly influenced by the next heiti in this stanza, smiðr ‘smith’ (l. 6).
(not checked:)
smiðr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i/-; -ar/-ir, acc. -a/-i/-u): smithy, something crafted
[6] smiðr (m.) ‘smith’: In the present þula, this heiti could perhaps mean ‘maker, creator’. As a name for ‘ox’ the word occurs only in this list, but cf. eikismiðr (st. 2/8 below).
(not checked:)
eyþvari (noun m.)
[6] eyþvari (m.) ‘island-borer’: The first element in eyþvari is either ey f. ‘island’ or the adv. ey ‘always, continually’, and the second is þvari m. ‘gimlet, bit, drill’. The cpd is not found elsewhere.
(not checked:)
Rauðr (noun m.)
[7] Rauðr ok rekningr ‘Rauðr and driven one’: Cf. Rauðs ok … Rekinn in Anon Þorgþ II ll. 3-4 (see Note there). The name Rauðr translates as ‘red one’ (cf. the adj. rauðr ‘red’), and the second heiti, rekningr m. (from the strong verb reka ‘chase, drive away’), is most likely a variant of Rekinn in Anon Þorgþ II (see also Note to Reginn in l. 5 above). None of these heiti for ‘ox’ is known from other sources.
[7] Rauðr ok rekningr ‘Rauðr and driven one’: Cf. Rauðs ok … Rekinn in Anon Þorgþ II ll. 3-4 (see Note there). The name Rauðr translates as ‘red one’ (cf. the adj. rauðr ‘red’), and the second heiti, rekningr m. (from the strong verb reka ‘chase, drive away’), is most likely a variant of Rekinn in Anon Þorgþ II (see also Note to Reginn in l. 5 above). None of these heiti for ‘ox’ is known from other sources.
(not checked:)
rekningr (noun m.; °;-ar): sword, driven one
[7] Rauðr ok rekningr ‘Rauðr and driven one’: Cf. Rauðs ok … Rekinn in Anon Þorgþ II ll. 3-4 (see Note there). The name Rauðr translates as ‘red one’ (cf. the adj. rauðr ‘red’), and the second heiti, rekningr m. (from the strong verb reka ‘chase, drive away’), is most likely a variant of Rekinn in Anon Þorgþ II (see also Note to Reginn in l. 5 above). None of these heiti for ‘ox’ is known from other sources.
(not checked:)
Rǫkkvi (noun m.): Rǫkkvi < røkkvihliðr (noun m.)
[8] røkkvihliðr (m.): A hap. leg. whose meaning is unclear. It is also possible that we are dealing with two names here, røkkvi m. ‘dark one’ and hliðr ‘ox’ (see the latter word in st. 2/5 below).
(not checked:)
hliðr (noun m.): [hliðr] < røkkvihliðr (noun m.)
[8] ‑hliðr: ‑liðr C, A, B
[8] røkkvihliðr (m.): A hap. leg. whose meaning is unclear. It is also possible that we are dealing with two names here, røkkvi m. ‘dark one’ and hliðr ‘ox’ (see the latter word in st. 2/5 below).
[9] viggi (m.): Several interpretations of this hap. leg. have been suggested. It could be related to the strong verb vega ‘fight’ (hence, lit. ‘fighter’). See also AEW: vigg. Faulkes (SnE 1998, II, 428) suggests the meaning ‘wedged’, referring to the shape of a bull’s horns, but he provides no explanation in support of that translation. Cf. also vigg ‘horse’ in Þul Hesta 2/7, as well as Note to Anon Þorgþ I 2/1.
(not checked:)
bautuðr (noun m.)
[9] bautuðr: so B, ‘bꜹrvðr’ R, ‘baurudr’ Tˣ, ‘baurrudr’ C, bautaðr A
[9] bautuðr (m.) ‘striker’: So B (the R, Tˣ, C variants ‘bꜹrvðr’, ‘baurudr’ and ‘baurruðr’ must have been caused by a scribal error at some point in the ms. transmission). Bautuðr is also listed among the heiti for ‘horse’ in mss A and B (see Note to Þul Hesta 3/7), but the word does not occur elsewhere. According to de Vries (AEW: bauta(ða)rsteinn, bautuðr), this was originally an ox-heiti, since an ox strikes with its horns.
[10] stjóri Vingnis ‘Vingnir’s guide’: The name could allude to a lost legend. Alternatively, Vingnir m. and stjóri m. may be two separate heiti (so mss A and B, and adopted in Skj B and Skald). Vingnir is also a giant’s name, as well as a name for Óðinn and Þórr (Þul Jǫtna I 5/8, Þul Óðins 5/8). As to stjóri ‘leader, guide’, Kock (NN §2158B) argues that, despite possible associations with the weak verb stýra ‘steer, guide’, in the present context the word is a weak form of ON stjórr m. ‘steer, young bull’ (cf. OE steor, Goth. stiur, ModGer. Stier ‘bull’).
(not checked:)
stjóri (noun m.; °-a; -ar): steerer
[10] stjóri Vingnis ‘Vingnir’s guide’: The name could allude to a lost legend. Alternatively, Vingnir m. and stjóri m. may be two separate heiti (so mss A and B, and adopted in Skj B and Skald). Vingnir is also a giant’s name, as well as a name for Óðinn and Þórr (Þul Jǫtna I 5/8, Þul Óðins 5/8). As to stjóri ‘leader, guide’, Kock (NN §2158B) argues that, despite possible associations with the weak verb stýra ‘steer, guide’, in the present context the word is a weak form of ON stjórr m. ‘steer, young bull’ (cf. OE steor, Goth. stiur, ModGer. Stier ‘bull’).
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
None of the heiti for ‘oxen’ listed in this stanza is found in poetry and many are not attested elsewhere. — [1-2]: See Introduction above.
Use the buttons at the top of the page to navigate between stanzas in a poem.
The text and translation are given here, with buttons to toggle whether the text is shown in the verse order or prose word order. Clicking on indiviudal words gives dictionary links, variant readings, kennings and notes, where relevant.
This is the text of the edition in a similar format to how the edition appears in the printed volumes.
This view is also used for chapters and other text segments. Not all the headings shown are relevant to such sections.