Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Sjóvar heiti 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. 836.
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hefring (noun f.): hefring
[1] Hefring: hefringr Tˣ, ‘Hefrinn[…]’ B, ‘Hefrinng’ 744ˣ
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hvítingr (noun m.; °; -ar): drinking horn
[2] hvítingr: hvíting C, ‘hu[…]gr’ B, ‘huitungr’ 744ˣ
[2] hvítingr (m.) ‘white one’: The word does not occur elsewhere as a heiti for ‘sea’, but it could refer to the white foam forming at the crests of breakers. The C variant hvíting (f. rather than m.) is most likely caused by analogy with the surrounding names of waves, which are f. Hvítingr is also found in Þul Sverða 7/5 and Þul Sækonunga 3/3.
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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
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1. lá (noun f.; °; -r): surf
[3] Rán: Lit. ‘plundering’. The wife of Ægir, also mentioned in Þul Ásynja 2/7 and Þul Kvenna II 3/6.
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kolga (noun f.): breaker, wave
[3] Rán Kolga: so A, B, ‘rankellda’ R, ‘ran kellda’ Tˣ, C
[3] Kolga ‘Kólga’: So A and B; the other mss have kelda ‘spring’ (Rán and kelda are spelled as one word in R: ‘rankellda’). The word kelda is, however, listed in st. 3/7, and Kólga ‘cold one’, the name of Ægir’s daughter, is a more appropriate heiti for ‘sea’ in the present stanza.
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himinn (noun m.; °himins, dat. himni; himnar): heaven, sky < himinglæva (noun f.): himinglæva
[4] Himinglæva: Lit. ‘heaven-bright one’, which perhaps refers to reflections of the sky on the surface of the sea.
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-glæva (noun f.) < himinglæva (noun f.): himinglæva
[4] ‑glæva: ‘‑gl[…]’ B, ‘‑gle᷎fa’ 744ˣ
[4] Himinglæva: Lit. ‘heaven-bright one’, which perhaps refers to reflections of the sky on the surface of the sea.
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Drǫfn (noun f.): wave, Drǫfn
[5] Drǫfn: The foaming sea is called drǫfn ‘turbid one’ (cf. Goth. drobjan, OE drœfen ‘stir up’). Drǫfn is also the name of a Norwegian river (ModNorw. Drammenselva, Þul Á 4/7).
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Uðr (noun m.): Uðr
[5] solmr (m.) ‘sweller’: A hap. leg. The m. gender indicates that, like hvítingr (l. 2), the word is a name for the sea rather than for ‘wave’ (cf. ODan. svolm ‘swelling’; AEW: solmr).
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bylgja (noun f.; °-u; -ur, gen. bylgna): wave
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boði (noun m.; °-a; -ar): messenger, breaker
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blóðigr (adj.; °blóðgan/blóðugan (f. dat. sg. bloðre Gulᴵ 82³⁴)): bloody < Blóðughadda (noun f.): Blóðughadda
[8] Blóðug‑: ‘[…]ðug‑’ B, ‘blodug‑’ 744ˣ
[8] Blóðughadda: This heiti, ‘bloody-haired one’, is a curious name for a wave, but it could perhaps refer to the colour of the sea at sunset (see Note to ESk Frag 17/5).
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hadda (noun f.; °*-u; dat. *-um): [pot-handle] < Blóðughadda (noun f.): Blóðughadda
[8] Blóðughadda: This heiti, ‘bloody-haired one’, is a curious name for a wave, but it could perhaps refer to the colour of the sea at sunset (see Note to ESk Frag 17/5).
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
Most of the sea-heiti listed in this stanza are the names of the daughters of Ægir and Rán, each daughter being the personification of a wave. According to Skm (SnE 1998, I, 95), Ægir and Rán had nine daughters whose names are also known from Þul Waves (see also ESk Frag 17 and Notes there, as well as Gestumbl Heiðr 21VIII (Heiðr 68), Gestumbl Heiðr 24VIII (Heiðr 71)): Himinglæva ‘heaven-bright one’, Dúfa ‘dip’, Blóðughadda ‘bloody-haired one’, Hefring ‘lifting one’, Uðr ‘wave’, Hrǫnn ‘wave’, Bylgja ‘billow’, Drǫfn ‘turbid one’ and Kólga ‘cold one’. However, in the section on kennings (Skm, SnE 1998, I, 36), we find a slightly different list of names, in which Bára ‘bore, tidal wave’ appears instead of Drǫfn; hence Bára is treated as a pers. n. along with other names for waves presented here.
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