Þul Skipa 3^III

Hringr, Gnóð, freki,         hrǫð, móðrói,
hemlir, barði         ok hylbauti,
ugla, leðja         ok askvitull,
kœna, ketla,         kati, reið ok Skalpr.

Hringr, Gnóð, freki, hrǫð, móðrói, hemlir, barði ok hylbauti, ugla, leðja ok askvitull, kœna, ketla, kati, reið ok Skalpr.

Ring, Gnóð, greedy one, swift one, fierce-rower, rowlock-strapped one, beaked one and depth-beater, ugla, lighter and askvitull, dinghy, ketla, kati, vehicle and Skálpr.

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

Readings: [2] hrǫð: so A, B, hrauð R, Tˣ, C;    móðrói: ‘modþroi’ C    [4] ok: om. Tˣ;    hylbauti: ‘hy᷎l[…]uti’ B, ‘hýlbaute’ 744ˣ    [5] ugla: ugla ok C    [6] ok: om. Tˣ;    askvitull (‘ask vitvll’): ‘askvitill’ A    [7] kœna: so Tˣ, A, B, kona R, ‘kiatla’ C;    ketla: ‘ko᷎tla’ Tˣ, ‘kiana’ C, ‘kø᷎tla’ A, ‘kotla’ B    [8] ok: om. Tˣ

Editions: Skj AI, 672-3, Skj BI, 668, Skald I, 332, NN §847B; SnE 1848-87, I, 582, II, 481, 565, 624, SnE 1931, 208, SnE 1998, I, 128. 

Notes: [1] hringr (m.) ‘ring’: Perhaps ‘one with a curled or spiral stem’ (Falk 1912, 38; SnE 1998, II, 319). Cf. Hringaskúta lit. ‘rings’ ship’ in Sturlunga saga (Stu 1946, II, 27) and the mythical name Hringhorni(r) in st. 2/6 above (see Note there). The nautical term is known only from the þulur, where hringr is also a heiti for ‘sword’ (Þul Sverða 7/7) and ‘serpent’ (Þul Orma 2/7). — [1] Gnóð: Or Gnoð (the length of the vowel ([o] or [o:]) cannot be determined; see LP: Gnóð). Lit. ‘rustling’, referring to the sound a ship makes when sailing. Cf. gnauð ‘rustling noise, murmur’ and the verb gnyðja ‘mutter, grumble’ (AEW: Gnoð). Alternatively, the word could be derived from the verb gnadda ‘murmur’ (ÍO: gnoð). Gnóð is the name of a legendary ship whose owner, Gnóðar-Ásmundr, appears in various fornaldarsögur (e.g. Egils saga einhenda, FSN III, 367, Gríms saga loðinkinna ch. 2, FSN II, 153, etc.), but gnóð/gnoð is also a poetic word for ‘ship’ in general. See Introduction to Anon GnóðÁsm, Anon Mhkv 8/5, Eskál Vell 5/4^I and Note to Sigv Knútdr 5/5^I. — [1] freki (m.) ‘greedy one’: Or ‘bold one’ (so SnE 1998, II, 279). As a term for ‘ship’, the word occurs only in the present þula and may originally have been a proper name. Freki is one of Óðinn’s wolves in Old Norse myth, and in the þulur freki is also listed among the heiti for ‘wolf’ (Þul Vargs 1/5) and ‘fire’ (Þul Elds 3/1). — [2] hrǫð (f.) ‘swift one’: So A, B. The heiti is known only from this þula and could be a f. form of the adj. hraðr ‘swift’. The R, Tˣ C redaction has hrauð, which, according to Kock (NN §847B), may be derived from Gmc *hreuþ- : hrauþ- ‘cover’ (see hrauð ‘mail-shirt’, Þul Brynju l. 2). Alternatively, it could be related to the strong verb hrjóða ‘strip, clear, disable’, possibly denoting a ship in naval battle (hence ‘plunderer’; cf. ÍO: hrauð 2). — [2] móðrói (m.) ‘fierce-rower’: The meaning of this cpd, which is not attested elsewhere, is uncertain. The first element may be related to móðr ‘wrath’ (in compounds móð- ‘fierce’; see CVC: móðr) or to the adj. móðr ‘weary, exhausted’. The second element is most likely an agent noun derived from the strong verb róa ‘row’. Alternatively, the heiti could mean ‘one rowing in mist or in muddy water’ (if the first element is from móða f. ‘muddy water, mist’; see ÍO: móðrói, móðþrói). — [3] hemlir (m.) ‘rowlock-strapped one’: A term not attested elsewhere (see SnE 1998, II, 307) and derived from hamla ‘rowlock, oar-loop’ (st. 8/2). Cf. hǫmlungr ‘oar-strapped one’ (st. 2/3 above). — [3] barði (m.) ‘beaked one’: The word may refer to a ship whose stem (barð) was strengthened for ramming (cf. OE barda ‘beaked ship’). So Falk (1912, 37-8) and SnE 1998, II, 239, but see Jesch (2001a, 159). In the present list barði may have been included as a proper name, cf. Barði (or Járnbarði), the warship owned by Eiríkr jarl Hákonarson (Hkr, ÍF 26, 359-61, 364; Jómsvíkinga saga ch. 31, Jvs 1962, 35). See also Note to Hók Eirfl 3/5^I and hélugbarði ‘rimy-prowed’ (st. 2/4 above). — [4] hylbauti (m.) ‘depth-beater’: The first element of this heiti, which occurs only here, is hylr m. ‘deep pool’ and the second is related to the verb bauta ‘beat’. — [5] ugla (f.): As a heiti for ‘ship’ the word occurs only in the present list. It could be the same word as ugla ‘owl’, but that connection is uncertain and would be difficult to explain, unless, as some other heiti in this þula, ugla was the proper name of a ship (cf. Trani ‘Crane’, the name of one of King Óláfr Tryggvason’s warships). According to ÍO: ug(g)la 3, the heiti is related to uggla ‘hook’ and denotes a part of a ship (i.e. the fastening or batten on a ship; so SnE 1998, II, 416), but the single consonant in ugla (so all ms.) is difficult to explain. — [5] leðja (f.) ‘lighter’: The term occurs only in this þula and could be a loanword from Old Slavonic ladii ‘barge’ (see also Note to st. 4/3 below). ModEngl. lighter is a large open boat used in loading and unloading ships (OED: lighter, n.¹.), but it is not certain what type of ship ON leðja denoted. — [6] askvitull (m.): The first element of this cpd, which is not found elsewhere, is from askr ‘ash’ (see askr ‘ash-ship’ in st. 1/4 above), but the second element is obscure and its exact meaning cannot be ascertained. — [7] kœna (f.) ‘dinghy’: In Old Norse, the name occurs only in this þula, but Kœna is attested as a C12th nickname (see Þskakk Erldr 3/3^II). ModIcel. kæna is a small boat with a single oarsman (cf. ON kani ‘vessel, basin’, ODan., MLG kane ‘small boat’). See Falk 1912, 89, Faulkes (1987, 162) and SnE 1998, II, 340. — [7] ketla (f.): This is a term for a small boat. The word is usually explained as a diminutive of kati (l. 8 below), perhaps influenced by ketill ‘kettle’ (Falk 1912, 88; AEW: ketla; Faulkes 1987, 162; SnE 1998, II, 335). — [8] kati (m.): A kind of small boat (cf. ModEngl. cat, an old name for a coal and timber vessel on the northeast coast of England (OED: cat, n.².) and ketla l. 7 above). See ModIcel. kati ‘small wooden trough’and LG kat ‘small slender vessel’ (AEW, Fritzner: kati; Falk 1912, 88). — [8] reið (f.) ‘vehicle’: In prose, reið means ‘chariot, wagon’, and it is attested in poetry as a base-word in kennings for ‘ship’ (LP: 1. reið 1-2). See also Falk (1912, 86-7). — [8] Skalpr: Lit. ‘hollowed out’ or ‘vaulted’ (SnE 1998, II, 506; AEW: skalpr). This is the name of a ship owned by Hallvarðr af Sástǫðum in Sv (ch. 159, ÍF 30, 243). Cf. also the ship Gestaskálprinn in Bǫgl (chs 11, 16, Bǫgl 1988, II, 64, 98). Otherwise the word is found only as a term for ‘scabbard’.

References

1. Bibliography
2. FSN = Rafn, Carl Christian, ed. 1829-30. Fornaldar sögur nordrlanda. 3 vols. Copenhagen: Popp.
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. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
6. AEW = Vries, Jan de. 1962. Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch. 2nd rev. edn. Rpt. 1977. Leiden: Brill.
7. 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.
8. CVC = Cleasby, Richard, Gudbrand Vigfusson [Guðbrandur Vigfússon] and W. A. Craigie. 1957. An Icelandic-English Dictionary. 2nd edn. Oxford: Clarendon.
9. Jesch, Judith. 2001a. Ships and Men in the Late Viking Age: The Vocabulary of Runic Inscriptions and Skaldic Verse. Woodbridge: Boydell.
10. Falk, Hjalmar. 1912. Altnordisches Seewesen. Wörter und Sachen 4. Heidelberg: Winter.
11. Faulkes, Anthony, trans. 1987. Snorri Sturluson. Edda. Everyman’s Library. London and Rutland, Vermont: J. M. Dent & Sons and Charles E. Tuttle Co., Inc. Rpt. with new chronology and synopsis 2005.
12. Fritzner = Fritzner, Johan. 1883-96. Ordbog over det gamle norske sprog. 3 vols. Kristiania (Oslo): Den norske forlagsforening. 4th edn. Rpt. 1973. Oslo etc.: Universitetsforlaget.
13. 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.
14. ÍO = Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon. 1989. Íslensk orðsifjabók. Reykjavík: Orðabók Háskólans.
15. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
16. Bǫgl 1988 = Magerøy, Hallvard, ed. 1988. Soga om Birkibeinar og Baglar: Boglunga sǫgur. Norsk historisk kjeldeskrift-institutt norrøne tekster 5. Oslo: Solum forlag and Kjeldeskriftfondet.
17. SnE 1931 = Snorri Sturluson. 1931. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
18. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
19. ÍF 30 = Sverris saga. Ed. Þorleifur Hauksson. 2007.
20. Jvs 1962 = Blake, N. F., ed. and trans. 1962. The Saga of the Jomsvikings. London etc.: Nelson.
21. Stu 1946 = Jón Jóhannesson, Magnús Finnbogason and Kristján Eldjárn, eds. 1946. Sturlunga saga. 2 vols. Reykjavík: Sturlungaútgáfan.
22. Internal references
23. (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 23 April 2024)
24. (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 23 April 2024)
25. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Jómsvíkinga saga’ 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. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=51> (accessed 23 April 2024)
26. 2017, ‘ Anonymous, Gríms saga loðinkinna’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 288. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=76> (accessed 23 April 2024)
27. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Sturlunga saga’ in Guðrún Nordal (ed.), Poetry on Icelandic History. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 4. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=88> (accessed 23 April 2024)
28. 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.
29. Roberta Frank (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Poems, Málsháttakvæði 8’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 1222.
30. Margaret Clunies Ross 2017, ‘ Anonymous, Gnóðar-Ásmundar drápa’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 626. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1011> (accessed 23 April 2024)
31. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Vargs 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. 903.
32. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Sverða heiti 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. 802.
33. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Elds heiti 3’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 924.
34. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Orma 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. 929.
35. Edith Marold (ed.) 2012, ‘Einarr skálaglamm Helgason, Vellekla 5’ 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. 289.
36. 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 23 April 2024)
37. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2012, ‘Halldórr ókristni, Eiríksflokkr 3’ 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. 475.
38. Matthew Townend (ed.) 2012, ‘Sigvatr Þórðarson, Knútsdrápa 5’ 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. 656.
39. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Þorbjǫrn skakkaskáld, Erlingsdrápa 3’ 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. 635.