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Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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Þul Boga 1III

Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Boga 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. 821.

Anonymous ÞulurBoga heiti1

Almr, dalr, bogi,         ýr ok tvíviðr,
sveigr, glær ok þrymr,         sómr, skálgelmir.

Almr, dalr, bogi, ýr ok tvíviðr, sveigr, glær ok þrymr, sómr, skálgelmir.

Elm, hollow, bow, yew and double-wood, bending one, glaring one and noise, seemly one, hollow-clanger.

Mss: R(43r), Tˣ(45r), C(12v), A(19r), B(8v), 744ˣ(70v) (SnE)

Readings: [1] Almr: ‘[…]lmr’ B, Almr 744ˣ;    bogi: dalbogi A    [2] ‑viðr: ‘‑pidr’ Tˣ    [3] sveigr: sveigr ok C;    ok: om. C;    þrymr: þyrnir Tˣ    [4] sómr: om. A, B

Editions: Skj AI, 666, Skj BI, 665, Skald I, 329; SnE 1848-87, I, 571, II, 478, 561, 621, SnE 1931, 203, SnE 1998, I, 122.

Notes: [1] dalr, bogi ‘hollow, bow’: Ms. A reads dalr dalbogi and hence seems to contain a cpd dalbogi lit. ‘hollow-bow’. The etymology of dalr (ON dalr m. ‘dale, hollow, valley’) is debated, as is the relationship of that word to the abstract meaning ‘curve’ (a homonym?). See AEW: dalr 1. Dalr ‘bow’ is attested in kennings (see LP: 2. dalr). — [2] tvíviðr (m.) ‘double-wood’: This heiti for ‘bow’ is found in Eil Þdr 20/5. — [3] sveigr (m.) ‘bending one’: The word is probably derived from a strong verb *svíga ‘bend’ (cf. ModSwed. dialects swīga ‘bend, give way’). See also the weak verb sveigja ‘bend’ and sveigr m. ‘twig, switch’. As a heiti for ‘bow’, the word is not found elsewhere in skaldic poetry, but it is attested in the later rímur (Finnur Jónsson 1926-8: sveigr). — [3] glær (m.) ‘glaring one’: Or, with Falk (1914b, 95), ‘yellowish one’. The word occurs in poetry and prose as a heiti for ‘sea’ (LP: 2. glær; Fritzner: glær) and as the adj. glær ‘transparent, bright’ (LP: 1. glær), but it is not attested elsewhere as a term for ‘bow’. In the þulur, glær is also listed in Þul Hesta 1/1. — [3] þrymr (m.) ‘noise’: The variant þyrnir ‘thorn’ (see Þul Viðar 3/3) must be a scribal error. Þrymr is also the name of a giant (see Þul Jǫtna I 2/7, as well as Þrkv). — [4] sómr (m.) ‘seemly one’: Cf. the weak verbs sœma ‘honour’ and sóma ‘beseem’, as well as the noun sómi m. ‘honour’ and the heiti sómi among the terms for ‘sword’ in Þul Sverða 1/8; see also Note to Eskál Vell 34/2I. Sómr is also the name of a giant (see Þul Jǫtna I 3/7), but that heiti is not otherwise used in poetry. — [4] skálgelmir (m.) ‘hollow-clanger’: Or skalgelmir? Not attested elsewhere as a cpd. The first element of this cpd is most likely derived from skál f. ‘hollow, bowl’ (hence referring to the shape of a bow), while its second element is related to the strong verbs gala, gjalla ‘cry, make noise’ (see Note to Þul Jǫtna I 2/7; cf. gelmingr ‘clamourer’ and galmr ‘clanging one’ among the heiti for ‘sword’ in Þul Sverða 12/1, 2/5). As the second part of compounds, gelmir is frequently used in mythical names (cf. the giants’ names Aurgelmir, Þrúðgelmir and Bergelmir in Þul Jǫtna I 5/5, 2/7, 6/3; Hvergelmir in Grí 26/5, etc.). Alternatively, the first part of this heiti could have been derived from skáli m. ‘hall’ (skálgelmir ‘one that makes noise in the hall’, see SnE 1998, II, 389) or from skal n. ‘noise’ (skalgelmir ‘noise-shouter’?).

References

  1. Bibliography
  2. 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.
  3. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
  4. AEW = Vries, Jan de. 1962. Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch. 2nd rev. edn. Rpt. 1977. Leiden: Brill.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. Fritzner = Fritzner, Johan. 1883-96. Ordbog over det gamle norske sprog. 3 vols. Kristiania (Oslo): Den norske forlagsforening. 4th edn. Rpt. 1973. Oslo etc.: Universitetsforlaget.
  8. Falk, Hjalmar. 1914b. Altnordische Waffenkunde. Videnskapsselskapets skrifter, II. Hist.-filos. kl. 1914, 6. Kristiania (Oslo): Dybwad.
  9. SnE 1931 = Snorri Sturluson. 1931. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
  10. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
  11. Internal references
  12. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Jǫtna heiti I 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. 709.
  13. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Viðar heiti 3’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 883.
  14. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Sverða 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. 790.
  15. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Sverða heiti 12’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 812.
  16. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Hesta 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. 935.
  17. Not published: do not cite ()
  18. Edith Marold (ed.) 2017, ‘Eilífr Goðrúnarson, Þórsdrápa 20’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 119.
  19. Edith Marold (ed.) 2012, ‘Einarr skálaglamm Helgason, Vellekla 34’ 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. 326.
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