Þul Hvala 1III
Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Hvala 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. 858.
Hafrhvalr ‘Buck-whale’
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hafrhvalr (noun m.): [Buck-whale]
[1] Hafrhvalr geirhvalr: ‘[…]afrhu[…] g[…]r […]lr’ B, ‘Hafrhualr geirhualr’ 744ˣ
notes
[1] hafrhvalr (m.) ‘buck-whale’: A cpd from hafr m. ‘buck, billy-goat’ and hvalr m. ‘whale’, thus ‘male whale’ (so Nordgaard 1920, 110), and not attested elsewhere. Cf. ModIcel. höfrungur ‘dolphin’ (Delphinus delphis), which is not attested earlier than the C16th (ÍO: höfrungur).
geirhvalr ‘minke whale’
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geirhvalr (noun m.): [minke whale]
[1] Hafrhvalr geirhvalr: ‘[…]afrhu[…] g[…]r […]lr’ B, ‘Hafrhualr geirhualr’ 744ˣ
notes
[1] geirhvalr (m.) ‘minke whale’: Lit. ‘spear-whale’. This species of whale is mentioned in Kgs (Holm-Olsen 1983, 15), where it is said to have spots (ON fleckar), hence, most likely a minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata). Alternatively, geirhvalr may be the same as geirreyðr ‘sei whale’ (see Nordgaard 1920, 109).
hafgufa ‘sea-fumer’
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hafgufa (noun f.): [sea-fumer]
[2] hafgufa: ‘h[…]fa’ B, hafgufa 744ˣ
notes
[2] hafgufa (f.) ‘sea-fumer’: This is the name of a legendary sea-monster described in Kgs (Holm-Olsen 1983, 17) as a fish of incredible size that looks more like an island than a fish (see also Larson 1917, 125; Ǫrvar-Odds saga, ch. 21, FSN II, 249). The second element of the cpd (-gufa ‘fume, steam’) refers to the foul vapour emitted by the creature (see Fritzner: hafgufa and the discussion there). Nordgaard (1920, 113-15) argues that there could be true accounts of some kind of ray, a giant manta or ‘sea-devil’, behind the fantastic image of this sea-monster (cf. ModDan. sjødjevle ‘sea-devils’ and djevlerokker ‘devil-skates’).
hnísa ‘porpoise’
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1. hnísa (noun f.; °-u; -ur): [porpoise]
[3] hnísa: ‘hnysa’ Tˣ, ‘h[…]isa’ B, ‘hnisa’ 744ˣ
haf ‘haf’
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haf (noun n.; °-s; *-): sea < hafstrambr (noun m.)
notes
[3] hafstrambr (m.): Lit. ‘one that swells in the sea’. Another fabulous sea-monster described in some detail in Kgs (Holm-Olsen 1983, 27). According to Nordgaard (1920, 115), some features of this creature, which is said to live in the Greenland Sea, resemble those of a hooded seal (Cystophora cristata). For the meaning of the second element (-strambr), see ModIcel. strembinn ‘heavy’, Faeroese stremba ‘stretch out’, New Norw. stremben ‘swollen’ (ÍO: strambur; stremba, strembinn).
strambr ‘strambr’
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strambr (noun m.): [strambr] < hafstrambr (noun m.)
[3] ‑strambr: ‘‑stramb[…]’ B, ‑strambr 744ˣ
notes
[3] hafstrambr (m.): Lit. ‘one that swells in the sea’. Another fabulous sea-monster described in some detail in Kgs (Holm-Olsen 1983, 27). According to Nordgaard (1920, 115), some features of this creature, which is said to live in the Greenland Sea, resemble those of a hooded seal (Cystophora cristata). For the meaning of the second element (-strambr), see ModIcel. strembinn ‘heavy’, Faeroese stremba ‘stretch out’, New Norw. stremben ‘swollen’ (ÍO: strambur; stremba, strembinn).
ok ‘and’
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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
hnýðingar ‘long-finned pilot whales’
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hnýðingr (noun m.; °; -ar): long-finned pilot whale
notes
[4] hnýðingar (m. pl.) ‘long-finned pilot whales’: Globicephala melas (ModIcel. grindhvalur, ModNorw. grindhval; Nordgaard 1920, 107). A species of dolphin mentioned in Kgs (Holm-Olsen 1983, 15).
reyðr ‘rorqual’
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reyðr (noun f.; °; -ar): whale, rorqual
notes
[5] reyðr (m.) ‘rorqual’: A common term for species belonging to the families Balaeneoptera and Megaptera (cf. Kgs, Holm-Olsen 1983, 17, 167). In Þul Fiska 2/2, reyðr is ‘char’ (see also the discussion in Notes to Steinn Óldr 11/7II and Sturl Hrafn 7/8II).
reyðar ‘rorqual’
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reyðr (noun f.; °; -ar): whale, rorqual < reyðarkalfr (noun m.)
[5] reyðar‑: ‘r[…]dar‑’ B, ‘reýdar‑’ 744ˣ
kalfr ‘calf’
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kalfr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): calf < reyðarkalfr (noun m.)
rauð ‘red’
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rauðr (adj.; °compar. -ari): red < rauðkembingr (noun m.)
notes
[6] rauðkembingr (m.) ‘red-crest’: The heiti is formed from the adj. rauðr ‘red’ and kambr m. ‘crest, comb’. In Kgs (Holm-Olsen 1983, 16) this is the name of a fabulous fierce sea-monster, possibly a kind of sea lion (Otaria stelleri) or sea bear (Otaria ursina) (Nordgaard 1920, 112-3).
kembingr ‘crest’
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kembingr (noun m.): [crest] < rauðkembingr (noun m.)
[6] ‑kembingr: ‘‑ke[…]bingr’ B, ‑kembingr 744ˣ
notes
[6] rauðkembingr (m.) ‘red-crest’: The heiti is formed from the adj. rauðr ‘red’ and kambr m. ‘crest, comb’. In Kgs (Holm-Olsen 1983, 16) this is the name of a fabulous fierce sea-monster, possibly a kind of sea lion (Otaria stelleri) or sea bear (Otaria ursina) (Nordgaard 1920, 112-3).
búrungr ‘sperm whale’
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búrungr (noun m.): [sperm whale]
[7] búrungr: so Tˣ, ‘bvnvngr’ R, ‘bunnungr ok’ C, ‘brvvngr’ A, ‘bruunngr’ B
notes
[7] búrungr (m.) ‘sperm whale’: So Tˣ. A hap. leg. Búrungr is probably the same as búrhvalr (see Kgs, Holm-Olsen 1983, 148), which is usually identified as a sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus), though Nordgaard (1920, 109-10) argues that the word may refer to a humpback whale (Megaptera novaen angliae). Neither the Rˣ variant ‘bvnvngr’ nor the other variants of this word found in C, A and B (see Readings above) can be interpreted to make any sense (cf. SnE 1998, I, 229).
rostungr ‘walrus’
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rostungr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -; -ar): [walrus]
notes
[7] rostungr (m.) ‘walrus’: Odobaenus rosmarus. See also hrosshvalr lit. ‘horse-whale’ in st. 2/7 below and Kgs (Holm-Olsen 1983, 29).
blæjuhvalr ‘nordcaper’
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blæjuhvalr (noun m.): [nordcaper]
notes
[8] blæjuhvalr (m.) ‘nordcaper’: Lit. ‘covered whale’. This species is not mentioned in Kgs. Blæjuhvalr may denote a nordcaper or right whale (Balaena glacialis; cf. SnE 1998, II, 247). Alternatively, it may be the same as stökkull, a fabulous whale that hunts for seafarers (so Sigfús Blöndal 1920-4, I, 91; stökkull is also a bottlenose dolphin).
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