Þul Orma 3^III

Níðhǫggr, náinn,         niðr, holdvari,
langbarðr, lýðir,         linnr, heiðbúi,
strykr, steinbúi,         stýrir, Sváfnir,
snákr, scorpion,         sneldingr, naðra.

Níðhǫggr, náinn, niðr, holdvari, langbarðr, lýðir, linnr, heiðbúi, strykr, steinbúi, stýrir, Sváfnir, snákr, scorpion, sneldingr, naðra.

Níðhǫggr, corpse-like one, descendant, flesh-wary one, long-bearded one, lýðir, serpent, heath-dweller, striped one, stone-dweller, ruler, Sváfnir, snake, scorpion, wicked one, viper.

Mss: A(20v), B(9v) (SnE)

Readings: [3] lýðir: so B, ‘lýþę́r’ A    [4] linnr: linni B    [5] strykr steinbúi: om. B    [7] snákr: ‘skakr’ B;    scorpion: skorpio B    [8] sneldingr: snelduðr B

Editions: Skj AI, 685, Skj BI, 675, Skald I, 339; SnE 1848-87, II, 487, 570.

Notes: [All]: With the exception of linnr m. ‘serpent’ (l. 4), snákr m. ‘snake’ (l. 7), naðra f. ‘viper’ (l. 8), Níðhǫggr (l. 1) and Sváfnir (l. 6), the heiti for ‘serpent’ listed in this stanza do not occur with this meaning in other sources. Only linnr, naðra, Níðhǫggr and Sváfnir are included in the list in LaufE. — [1] Níðhǫggr: Lit. ‘wicked-striker’, from níð n. ‘libel, slander’ and the strong verb hǫggva ‘strike, bite’ (cf. hǫggormr ‘viper’; see CVC: höggormr). This is another mythical serpent that gnaws on the root of the ash Yggdrasill (Grí 32/6, 35/6; Gylf, SnE 2005, 17-9). In Vsp, Níðhǫggr is also combined with nái (see the next heiti) as in the present list: Vsp 39/7-8 (NK 9) þar saug Níðhǫggr | nái framgengna ‘there Níðhǫggr sucked corpses of the dead’; Vsp 66/7 (NK 15) Níðhǫggr, nái ‘Níðhǫggr, corpses’. The heiti does not occur in skaldic verse, but it is listed among other orma heiti in Skm (SnE 1998, I, 90) and also found in Þul Sverða 9/8 and Þul Dverga 2/2. — [1] náinn (m.) ‘corpse-like one’: The name could be derived from nár m. ‘corpse, deceased’ (adopted in the present edn), but its exact meaning is uncertain. Alternatively, it may be the same word as the adj. náinn ‘closely related, near kinsman’ (cf. the following heiti, niðr ‘descendant’). As a heiti for ‘serpent’, náinn is not found elsewhere, Náinn is the name of a dwarf (see Þul Dverga 2/3 and Note). Cf. also náin f. as one of the heiti for ‘mail-shirt’ (see Note to Þul Brynju l. 2). — [2] niðr (m.) ‘descendant’: As a heiti for ‘serpent’, the word does not occur elsewhere. See also Note to náinn ‘corpse-like one’ (l. 1 above). — [2] holdvari (m.) ‘flesh-wary one’: Not attested elsewhere and a variant of holdvarinn ‘flesh-wary one’ (st. 2/7). See also Note to náinn ‘corpse-like one’ (l. 1 above). — [3] langbarðr (m.) ‘long-bearded one’: As a heiti for ‘serpent’, the word occurs only in this þula, but it is also found in Þul Óðins 7/6 and Þul Sverða 2/3. It is likely that this word was transferred from a list of Óðinn’s names (see Note to grímr in st. 2/5 above). Another possibility is a semantic derivation ‘sword’ > ‘serpent’, since orma heiti are traditionally used as base-words in kennings for ‘sword’ (cf. other heiti for both ‘sword’ and ‘serpent’, e.g. Níðhǫggr in l. 1 above). — [3] lýðir: ON lýðir m. pl. means ‘people’. As a heiti for ‘serpent’, lýðir is not attested elsewhere, and it is an obscure word which may be related to ModIcel. lúðra ‘creep, crawl’ (for details, see ÍO: lýðir). — [4] heiðbúi (m.) ‘heath-dweller’: Not attested elsewhere as a cpd (from heiðr m. ‘heath’ and búi m. ‘dweller). Cf. Móinn (st. 4/7 below). — [5] strykr (m.) ‘striped one’: Or strýkr (so Skj B; the quantity of the vowel cannot be established). As a heiti for ‘serpent’, the word occurs only here and its form and meaning are uncertain. Strykr could be connected with the weak verb stryka ‘streak, mark with lines’ (adopted in the present edn). Alternatively, it may be related to the strong verb strjúka ‘stroke, rub, wipe’ and mean ‘wiping one’ (cf. Níðhǫggr in l. 1 above). It is also possible that the implied sense of this heiti is ‘swift one’ (cf. ModIcel. strykur ‘speed, storm, flow’; see ÍO: stryk, strykur). — [5] steinbúi (m.) ‘stone-dweller’: A cpd not attested elsewhere; cf. heiðbúi ‘heath-dweller’ (l. 4 above). — [6] Sváfnir: Lit. ‘soother’, from the weak verb svæfa, svefja ‘lull to sleep, soothe’; hence the implied meaning of Sváfnir is perhaps ‘murderer’. This is another mythical serpent that gnaws on the roots of Yggdrasill (cf. Gylf, SnE 2005, 19 and Grí 34/7 (NK 64): Ofnir oc Sváfnir ‘Ofnir and Sváfnir’). Sváfnir is mentioned in the list of orma heiti in Skm (SnE 1998, I, 90) and occurs in gold-kennings in late skaldic verse (LP: Sváfnir 3; see also Þul Óðins 4/3). — [7] scorpion: A foreign word (= Lat. scorpio). In Old Norse this loanword is otherwise unattested, and the native term for ‘scorpion’ is sporðdreki ‘tail-dragon’. — [8] sneldingr (m.) ‘wicked one’: A hap. leg., which has the derivational suffix -uðr in B. According to AEW: sneldingr, this heiti is possibly derived from the adj. sneldr ‘wicked, cruel’. Alternatively, it could be related to snáldr m. ‘snout’, attested in Old Norse prose as a term for a snake’s snout (Konraðs saga ch. 9, Cederschiöld 1884, 70); cf. ÍO: sneldingur).

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skj B = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1912-15b. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. B: Rettet tekst. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Villadsen & Christensen. Rpt. 1973. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger.
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. AEW = Vries, Jan de. 1962. Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch. 2nd rev. edn. Rpt. 1977. Leiden: Brill.
6. 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.
7. CVC = Cleasby, Richard, Gudbrand Vigfusson [Guðbrandur Vigfússon] and W. A. Craigie. 1957. An Icelandic-English Dictionary. 2nd edn. Oxford: Clarendon.
8. NK = Neckel, Gustav and Hans Kuhn (1899), eds. 1983. Edda: Die Lieder des Codex Regius nebst verwandten Denkmälern. 2 vols. I: Text. 5th edn. Heidelberg: Winter.
9. ÍO = Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon. 1989. Íslensk orðsifjabók. Reykjavík: Orðabók Háskólans.
10. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
11. SnE 2005 = Snorri Sturluson. 2005. Edda: Prologue and Gylfaginning. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2nd edn. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
12. Cederschiöld, Gustaf J. Chr., ed. 1884. Fornsögur suðrlanda. Lund: Berling.
13. Internal references
14. (forthcoming), ‘ Snorri Sturluson, Skáldskaparmál’ 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=112> (accessed 25 April 2024)
15. (forthcoming), ‘ Snorri Sturluson, Gylfaginning’ 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=113> (accessed 25 April 2024)
16. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Dverga 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. 695.
17. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Óðins nǫfn 4’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 741.
18. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Óðins nǫfn 7’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 748.
19. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Sverða 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. 791.
20. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Sverða heiti 9’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 806.
21. Not published: do not cite ()
22. Not published: do not cite ()
23. Elena Gurevich 2017, ‘ Anonymous, Brynju heiti’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 831. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=3203> (accessed 25 April 2024)
24. (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 25 April 2024)