Þul Brynju 1III
Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Brynju 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. 831.
Brynja ‘Mail-shirt’
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1. brynja (noun f.; °-u (dat. brynnoni Gibb 38⁹); -ur): mailcoat
[1] Brynja: ‘[…]rýnía’ B, ‘Brýnía’ 744ˣ
kund ‘intimate friend’
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kund (noun f.): son, intimate friend
hjalmgǫll ‘helmet-clang’
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hjalmgǫll (noun f.): [helmet-clang]
[1] hjalmgǫll: corrected above the line from herkumbl A
notes
[1] hjalmgǫll (f.) ‘helmet-clang’: Not attested elsewhere as a cpd. The first element is hjálmr m. ‘helmet’ and the second a nomen actionis from the strong verbs gjalla, gella ‘cry, resound, make noise’. Kock (NN §§2565C, 2991E) believed that the correct form of this heiti was jalmgǫll ‘uproar-noise’, in which the first element is the poetic word jalmr m. ‘noise, bustle’ (cf. LP: jalmr). See also Note to [All] above.
hrauð ‘covering one’
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1. hrauð (noun f.): [covering one]
[2] hrauð: ‘ok hvø̨ð’ A, ‘ok huo᷎d’ B
notes
[2] hrauð (f.) ‘covering’: Not attested in prose and not found elsewhere as a heiti for ‘mail-shirt’. The word may be related to OE hrēða ‘garment made from goat-skin’ (see AEW: hrauð and Falk 1914b, 174). Hrauð is also recorded in Þul Skipa 3/2 (see Note there).
ok ‘and’
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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
náin ‘near one’
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náin (noun f.): [near one]
[2] náin (‘naín‑’): so B, nati R, Tˣ, C, ‘nán’ A
notes
[2] náin (f.) ‘near one’: So B (and adopted in Skj B and Skald). This must be the f. form of the adj. náinn ‘near, close’ (so LP: náinn). Cf. also Náinn m. among the dwarf-names (Þul Dverga 2/3) and as a heiti for ‘serpent’ (Þul Orma 3/1). This reading, however, is found only in B (and possibly as contracted ‘nán’ in A), while the other mss have ‘nati’ (adopted in SnE 1998; cf. nata f. ‘spear’), an obscure word also listed among the giant-names (see Note to Þul Jǫtna I 6/5). Because neither náin nor nati occur as terms for ‘mail-shirt’ in other sources, it is not clear which of the two variants is preferable.
kǫld ‘cold one’
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kǫld (noun f.): [cold one]
Finnsleif ‘Finnsleif (‘Finnr’s legacy’)’
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finnsleif (noun f.): Finnr’s legacy
[3, 4] Finnsleif …: ‘finn leif’ B
notes
[3] Finnsleif (f.) ‘(“Finnr’s legacy”)’: This is the name of a legendary treasure, the mail-shirt of King Aðils which could not be penetrated by weapons, mentioned in the story of Hrólfr kraki ‘Pole-ladder’ in Skm (SnE 1998, I, 59). Finnsleif is derived either from the name of a dwarf-craftsman Finnr (cf. Vsp 16/4 and Þul Dverga 5/3) or from the ethnic term finnr m. ‘Saami’. In the latter case, the heiti would refer to a Saami magic coat of mail. The heiti Finnsleif is also found in the rímur (Finnur Jónsson 1926-8: finnsleif).
notes
[3] Finnsleif (f.) ‘(“Finnr’s legacy”)’: This is the name of a legendary treasure, the mail-shirt of King Aðils which could not be penetrated by weapons, mentioned in the story of Hrólfr kraki ‘Pole-ladder’ in Skm (SnE 1998, I, 59). Finnsleif is derived either from the name of a dwarf-craftsman Finnr (cf. Vsp 16/4 and Þul Dverga 5/3) or from the ethnic term finnr m. ‘Saami’. In the latter case, the heiti would refer to a Saami magic coat of mail. The heiti Finnsleif is also found in the rímur (Finnur Jónsson 1926-8: finnsleif).
bǫðfara ‘battle-goer’
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bǫðfara (noun f.): [battle-goer]
[5] bǫðfara: so A, ‘bofø̨ra’ R, ‘borofa’ Tˣ, ‘bofæða’ C, blóðfara B
notes
[5] bǫðfara (f.) ‘battle-goer’: So A, and adopted in Skj B and Skald (cf. dynfara ‘noisy-goer’ in Þul Ǫrvar 1/4); B has blóðfara ‘blood-goer’. The readings in other mss are corrupt (‘bofø̨ra’ in R might be a corruption of bǫðfœra f. ‘battle-bringer’; so SnE 1998). None of these names occurs elsewhere.
þýðsýn ‘pleasant-sight’
[5] þýðsýn: þýð sýn Tˣ, C, ‘þyn syn’ A, B
blóð ‘blood’
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blóð (noun n.; °-s): blood < blóðleika (noun f.)
notes
[6] blóðleika (f.) ‘blood-playmate’: A hap. leg. Cf. blóðfara ‘blood-goer’ (see Note to bǫðfara ‘battle-goer’ in l. 5).
leika ‘playmate’
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1. leika (noun f.; °-u): playmate < blóðleika (noun f.)
[6] ‑leika: ‘‑l[…]ka’ B, ‘‑leika’ 744ˣ
notes
[6] blóðleika (f.) ‘blood-playmate’: A hap. leg. Cf. blóðfara ‘blood-goer’ (see Note to bǫðfara ‘battle-goer’ in l. 5).
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
Except for brynja and Finnsleif, the names for ‘mail-shirt’ listed in this þula are not found elsewhere. All the terms are f., and some are sexualised and humanised. — [1-4]: Judging from alliteration in the surrounding text, l. 4 is missing, but none of the mss indicates a lacuna here. Moreover, ll. 1-3 in the mss are unmetrical (l. 1 is hypermetrical, and ll. 2-3 are hypometrical). The LaufE mss (LaufE 1979, 263, 339), which only list (normalised) hjalmgǫll, hrauð, Finnsleif and blóðleika, are of no help, and the additional heiti in RE 1665(Ee) (‘Brandfara’, ‘Thund’) do not fit the alliterative pattern. Kock (Skald; NN §§2565C, 2991E) rearranged the heiti in ll. 1-3 as follows (see also Note to l. 1 below): Kund, brynja, jalmgǫll, | kǫld, hrauð ok náin | Finnsleif. Kock’s emended version still leaves a missing half-line (l. 4) and does not obviate the metrical problems in ll. 1-3.
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