Þul Skipa 2^III

Byrðingr, búza,         barðkaldr ok hreinn,
bakki, hǫmlungr,         hélugbarði,
rǫst, bátr ok regg,         rǫð, Hringhornir,
lung, kjóll, langskip,         leifnir, karfi.

Byrðingr, búza, barðkaldr ok hreinn, bakki, hǫmlungr, hélugbarði, rǫst, bátr ok regg, rǫð, Hringhornir, lung, kjóll, langskip, leifnir, karfi.

Freighter, merchant-ship, prow-cold one and reindeer, ferry, oar-strapped one, rimy-prowed one, rǫst, boat and regg, rǫð, Hringhornir, long-boat, barge, longship, leifnir, carvel.

Mss: R(43v), Tˣ(45v), C(13r), A(19v), B(9r), 744ˣ(76r) (SnE)

Readings: [1] Byrðingr: ‘B[…]gr’ B, ‘Býrdingr’ 744ˣ    [2] hreinn: ‘[…]’ C    [3] bakki: haki Tˣ, ‘[…]ci’ C;    hǫmlungr: ‘humlunngr’ B    [4] hélug‑: ‘helung‑’ C    [6] rǫð: ‘ród’ B;    ‑hornir: ‘‑ornir’ C, A, ‘‑orn[…]’ B, ‘‑ornir’ 744ˣ    [7] lung: lyng C;    ‑skip: ‘‑sk[…]’ C    [8] leifnir: ‘[…]’ C;    karfi: so B, ‘karpi’ R, Tˣ, ‘karbi’ C, barði A

Editions: Skj AI, 672, Skj BI, 668, Skald I, 332; SnE 1848-87, I, 581-2, II, 481, 564, 624, SnE 1931, 208, SnE 1998, I, 127-8.       

Notes: [1] byrðingr, búza (m., f.) ‘freighter, merchant-ship’: Both terms denote large merchant-ships. While the first is an indigenous Old Norse word (cf. borð and byrði ‘ship’s side’), the second is a loanword (< MLG būtze, būse < MLat. buza, bucia ‘ship for transporting cargo’; AEW: búza, bússa). Neither ship-heiti occurs in skaldic verse, but both terms are found in the rímur (Finnur Jónsson 1926-8: byrðingr; búza). See Falk (1912, 110-12). It is possible that Skuldelev 3, a fourteen-metre long coastal trader with a carrying capacity of 4-5 tons, was a byrðingr (Crumlin-Pedersen 2010, 110). — [2] barðkaldr (m.) ‘prow-cold one’: This ship-heiti, which is not attested elsewhere, may be a proper name (cf. SnE 1998, II, 447) whose first element is barð m. ‘ship prow’ (cf. hélugbarði ‘rimy-prowed one’ in l. 4 below and barði ‘beaked one’ in st. 3/3). For barð ‘prow’, see Falk (1912, 36) and Jesch (2001a, 148-50). — [2] hreinn ‘reindeer’: As a poetic term for ‘ship’ the word is attested only in this þula, but Hreinn could be a proper name here, since Hreinninn is the name of a ship in Mork (ÍF 24, 198), Hkr (ÍF 28, 313) and Sv (ÍF 30, 132). Alternatively, it may have been included in this þula because hreinn can serve as the base-word in kennings for ‘ship’ (Falk 1912, 87; cf. vigg ‘steed’ in st. 4/5 below). In LP: hreinn 2, this heiti is connected with the adj. hreinn ‘clean, bright’. — [3] bakki (m.) ‘ferry’: Possibly a small flat-bottomed boat for transportation, most likely a loanword from MLG back ‘vat’ < Lat. bacca ‘vessel’. Other than in the present stanza, the word occurs in Old Norse only as the first element of the cpd bakkastokkar m. pl. ‘berth in which a ship is built’ (CVC: bakka-stokkar; Falk 1912, 87). — [3] hǫmlungr (m.) ‘oar-strapped one’: A hap. leg. derived from hamla f. ‘rowlock, oar-loop’ (st. 8/2 below); hence ‘oar-strapped’ or ‘one having rowlocks’ (see SnE 1998, II, 327; cf. hǫmlumaðr m. ‘rower, oarsman’). The heiti may be connected with the Shetland word skot-/skuthomlin (-humlin) ‘five-oared boat’ or ‘poorly constructed boat’ (Jakobsen 1908-21, 756-7; AEW: hǫmlungr). Cf. hemlir ‘rowlock-strapped one’ in st. 3/3 below. — [4] hélugbarði (m.) ‘rimy-prowed one’: From the adj. hélugr ‘hoary’ and barð n. ‘prow’ (see barðkaldr ‘prow-cold one’ in l. 2 above). As a term for ‘ship’ this heiti occurs only in this þula, but it is the name of a horse ridden by a ghost in a dream stanza (Anon (Nj) 1/2^V (Nj 42)). The phrase hélug bǫrð ‘rime-spread prows, frosted prows’ also occurs in Arn Hryn 11/4^II and Mark Eirdr 14/4^II. — [5] rǫst (f.): The origin of this heiti is unclear. It is probably not derived from the weak verb rasa ‘rush’ (cf. ÍO: röst, rǫst 3, but see AEW: rǫst 3: die eilende ‘hurrying one’). As a term for ‘ship’ the word occurs only in this þula, but rǫst f. ‘current in the sea, maelstrom’ is used as a determinant in kennings for ‘ship’ (LP: rǫst 2), and the heiti may have resulted from a misinterpretation of a ship-kenning. — [5] regg (n.): The word is known only from poetry (LP: regg) and its origin and exact meaning are unknown. It may perhaps be connected with New Norw. raga, ragga ‘move slowly, rock’ (cf. AEW: regg; for other explanations, see ÍO: regg). — [6] rǫð (f.): As a heiti for ‘ship’ the word occurs only in this þula and its origin is obscure. ON rǫð means ‘series, row’ and it is not clear how that word can be construed as a term for ‘ship’. — [6] Hringhornir (m.): Lit. ‘one with a curled (or spiral) horn’, most likely referring to a ring or spiral prow ornament (cf. the Oseberg ship). Hringhorni is the name of Baldr’s ship in Gylf (SnE 2005, 46). Cf. hringr m. ‘ring’ (st. 3/1 below) and OE hringedstefna, a ship in Beowulf (ll. 32, 1132, 1897), which has the same meaning as the Old Norse word. — [7] lung (n.) ‘long-boat’: A poetic term for ‘ship’, which is a loanword from OIr. long < Lat. navis longa (Bugge 1875, 228; Falk 1912, 89; Jesch 2001a, 123). The term is first attested in Bragi Frag 4/2. — [7] kjóll (m.) ‘barge’: This is the term for a large vessel and the word is used mostly in poetry. According to Falk (1912, 88-9), kjóll may be a loanword from OE (cēol ‘ship’); for other suggested explanations see ÍO: kjóll 1. See also Jesch (2001a, 136). — [7] langskip (n.) ‘longship’: A term for various types of warships, attested only in West Norse sources (and with a parallel in OE langscip ‘longship’; see Falk 1912, 101-2). Falk (1912, 101) suggests that langskip could be a loan translation from Lat. navis longa ‘long ship’ (see lung ‘long-boat’ in l. 7 above). The word is common in prose, but not frequently found in verse (Jesch 2001a, 123). Hedeby 1 and Roskilde 6 are examples of longships. The estimated original length of the latter is around 36 metres, and it could possibly have had as many as 78 oars (39 pairs). This ship would have exceeded the size of Ormr inn langi (‘the Long Serpent’), Óláfr Tryggvason’s famous warship (manning 68 oars). See Crumlin-Pedersen (2010, 88). — [8] leifnir (m.): Perhaps a proper name. As a heiti for ‘ship’ the word is not found elsewhere, but Leifnir is the name of a sea-king (Þul Sækonunga 4/2). The word may be derived from -leif ‘inheritance’ or from the weak verb leifa ‘leave, relinquish’ (ÍO: Leifnir). — [8] karfi (m.) ‘carvel’: A light ship, possibly used only in coastal waters and not ocean-going, although the exact nature of this ship is still disputed. See Note to Egill Lv 24/8^V (Eg 31), Falk (1912, 93-5, 98-9) and Jesch (2001a, 135). For ModEngl. carvel, see OED: carvel, n.

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. CVC = Cleasby, Richard, Gudbrand Vigfusson [Guðbrandur Vigfússon] and W. A. Craigie. 1957. An Icelandic-English Dictionary. 2nd edn. Oxford: Clarendon.
7. Jesch, Judith. 2001a. Ships and Men in the Late Viking Age: The Vocabulary of Runic Inscriptions and Skaldic Verse. Woodbridge: Boydell.
8. Falk, Hjalmar. 1912. Altnordisches Seewesen. Wörter und Sachen 4. Heidelberg: Winter.
9. 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.
10. OED = Murray, J. A. H. et al., eds. 1884-1928. The Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford: Clarendon. 2nd edn 1989. Simpson, J. A. and E. S. C. Weiner, eds. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
11. ÍO = Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon. 1989. Íslensk orðsifjabók. Reykjavík: Orðabók Háskólans.
12. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
13. Bugge, Sophus. 1875. ‘Biskop Bjarne Kolbeinssøn og Snorres Edda’. ÅNOH, 209-46.
14. SnE 1931 = Snorri Sturluson. 1931. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
15. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
16. ÍF 30 = Sverris saga. Ed. Þorleifur Hauksson. 2007.
17. SnE 2005 = Snorri Sturluson. 2005. Edda: Prologue and Gylfaginning. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2nd edn. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
18. Jakobsen, Jakob. 1908-21. Etymologisk ordbog over det norrøne sprog på Shetland. Copenhagen: V. Prior.
19. ÍF 23-4 = Morkinskinna. Ed. Ármann Jakobsson and Þórður Ingi Guðjónsson. 2009.
20. Crumlin-Pedersen, Ole. 2010. Archaeology and the Sea in Scandinavia and Britain: A Personal Account. Maritime Culture of the North 3. Roskilde: Viking Ship Museum.
21. Internal references
22. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Sverris saga’ in Kari Ellen Gade (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 2: From c. 1035 to c. 1300. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 2. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=2> (accessed 25 April 2024)
23. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Heimskringla’ in Kari Ellen Gade (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 2: From c. 1035 to c. 1300. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 2. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=4> (accessed 25 April 2024)
24. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Morkinskinna’ in Kari Ellen Gade (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 2: From c. 1035 to c. 1300. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 2. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=87> (accessed 25 April 2024)
25. (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)
26. Diana Whaley 2012, ‘(Biography of) Óláfr Tryggvason’ 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. 383.
27. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Sækonunga 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. 683.
28. R. D. Fulk (ed.) 2022, ‘Njáls saga 42 (Anonymous Lausavísur, Lausavísur from Njáls saga 1)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross, Kari Ellen Gade and Tarrin Wills (eds), Poetry in Sagas of Icelanders. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 5. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 1277.
29. Diana Whaley (ed.) 2009, ‘Arnórr jarlaskáld Þórðarson, Hrynhenda, Magnússdrápa 11’ in Kari Ellen Gade (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 2: From c. 1035 to c. 1300. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 2. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 196-7.
30. Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Bragi inn gamli Boddason, Fragments 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. 59.
31. Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2022, ‘Egils saga Skalla-Grímssonar 31 (Egill Skallagrímsson, Lausavísur 24)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross, Kari Ellen Gade and Tarrin Wills (eds), Poetry in Sagas of Icelanders. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 5. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 227.
32. Jayne Carroll (ed.) 2009, ‘Markús Skeggjason, Eiríksdrápa 14’ in Kari Ellen Gade (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 2: From c. 1035 to c. 1300. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 2. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 445.
33. Not published: do not cite ()