Anon (Vǫls) 6^VIII (Vǫls 26)

Sumir ‘Some’

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2. sumr (pron.): some

notes

[All]: The first four lines of this stanza are clearly variants on the first four lines of Brot 4, given here in the edn of NK 198 as: Sumir úlf sviðo, | sumir orm sniðo, | sumir Gothormi | af gera deildo ‘Some roasted a wolf, some cut up a snake, some allotted pieces of wolf to Guttormr’. The following four lines of Brot 4 do not correspond to ll. 5-7 of the present stanza, which appears to be incomplete. The present stanza varies the referents ‘wolf’ and ‘snake’, given in Brot as the simplices úlfr and ormr respectively, by forming cpd nouns for the same referents, the first of which is a kenning. This suggests that the stanza in Vǫls may be an expanded variation on Brot 4, composed in skaldic style. The stanza has also undergone modification to skaldic metrical patterns, for the lines are actually in an approximate skaldic munnvǫrp with six metrical positions (ll. 1, 3 are Type C and l. 2 Type B), while l. 4 is hypometrical with suspended resolution in metrical positions 1-2 (similar to odd lines in kviðuháttr). ÍF Edd. II, 324-5 records this stanza in a note.

við ‘wood’

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1. viðr (noun m.; °-ar, dat. -i/-; -ir, acc. -u/-i): wood, tree < viðfiskr (noun m.): [wood fish]

kennings

notes

[1] viðfiska ‘wood fish [SNAKES]’: Hap. leg. but a cpd conforming to a typical pattern of snake-kennings (Meissner 112-14); cf. myrkaurriða markar ‘the dark trout of the forest’, Ill Har 1/3^II, where the reference is to Sigurðr’s killing of Fáfnir.

fiska ‘fish’

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fiskr (noun m.): fish < viðfiskr (noun m.): [wood fish]

kennings

notes

[1] viðfiska ‘wood fish [SNAKES]’: Hap. leg. but a cpd conforming to a typical pattern of snake-kennings (Meissner 112-14); cf. myrkaurriða markar ‘the dark trout of the forest’, Ill Har 1/3^II, where the reference is to Sigurðr’s killing of Fáfnir.

tóku ‘took’

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2. taka (verb): take

sumir ‘some’

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2. sumr (pron.): some

vitnis ‘a wolf’

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2. vitni (noun n.; °-s; -): witness < vitnishræ (noun n.)

notes

[All]: The idea of feeding someone a meal made from poisonous or dangerous creatures in order to incite them to commit dastardly deeds themselves is a common motif of folk literature (cf. Boberg 1966, 73, D1350, D1357. 1 and D1358. 1. 2). — [2, 4] vitnishræ; gerahold ‘a wolf carcass; wolf flesh’: Each of these expressions is treated here as a noun cpd comprising a heiti for a wolf (vitnir, geri) in the gen. case followed by the nouns hræ ‘carrion’ and hold ‘flesh’. Both compounds are hap. leg. Vitnir ‘watcher, aware one’ occurs in eddic poetry only with reference to the wolf Fenrir (cf. Grí 19/1, 23/6, Vafþr 53/6), though there it does not seem to be a proper name; it is also found as a wolf-heiti in skaldic poetry (cf. Arn Magndr 15/5^II). Geri ‘greedy’ is the name of one of Óðinn’s wolves according to Grí 19/1, but it can also be found as a wolf-heiti (cf. ÞjóðA Sex 31/1^II).

vitnis ‘a wolf’

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2. vitni (noun n.; °-s; -): witness < vitnishræ (noun n.)

notes

[All]: The idea of feeding someone a meal made from poisonous or dangerous creatures in order to incite them to commit dastardly deeds themselves is a common motif of folk literature (cf. Boberg 1966, 73, D1350, D1357. 1 and D1358. 1. 2). — [2, 4] vitnishræ; gerahold ‘a wolf carcass; wolf flesh’: Each of these expressions is treated here as a noun cpd comprising a heiti for a wolf (vitnir, geri) in the gen. case followed by the nouns hræ ‘carrion’ and hold ‘flesh’. Both compounds are hap. leg. Vitnir ‘watcher, aware one’ occurs in eddic poetry only with reference to the wolf Fenrir (cf. Grí 19/1, 23/6, Vafþr 53/6), though there it does not seem to be a proper name; it is also found as a wolf-heiti in skaldic poetry (cf. Arn Magndr 15/5^II). Geri ‘greedy’ is the name of one of Óðinn’s wolves according to Grí 19/1, but it can also be found as a wolf-heiti (cf. ÞjóðA Sex 31/1^II).

hræ ‘carcass’

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hræ (noun n.; °; -): corpse, carrion < vitnishræ (noun n.)

notes

[All]: The idea of feeding someone a meal made from poisonous or dangerous creatures in order to incite them to commit dastardly deeds themselves is a common motif of folk literature (cf. Boberg 1966, 73, D1350, D1357. 1 and D1358. 1. 2). — [2, 4] vitnishræ; gerahold ‘a wolf carcass; wolf flesh’: Each of these expressions is treated here as a noun cpd comprising a heiti for a wolf (vitnir, geri) in the gen. case followed by the nouns hræ ‘carrion’ and hold ‘flesh’. Both compounds are hap. leg. Vitnir ‘watcher, aware one’ occurs in eddic poetry only with reference to the wolf Fenrir (cf. Grí 19/1, 23/6, Vafþr 53/6), though there it does not seem to be a proper name; it is also found as a wolf-heiti in skaldic poetry (cf. Arn Magndr 15/5^II). Geri ‘greedy’ is the name of one of Óðinn’s wolves according to Grí 19/1, but it can also be found as a wolf-heiti (cf. ÞjóðA Sex 31/1^II).

hræ ‘carcass’

(not checked:)
hræ (noun n.; °; -): corpse, carrion < vitnishræ (noun n.)

notes

[All]: The idea of feeding someone a meal made from poisonous or dangerous creatures in order to incite them to commit dastardly deeds themselves is a common motif of folk literature (cf. Boberg 1966, 73, D1350, D1357. 1 and D1358. 1. 2). — [2, 4] vitnishræ; gerahold ‘a wolf carcass; wolf flesh’: Each of these expressions is treated here as a noun cpd comprising a heiti for a wolf (vitnir, geri) in the gen. case followed by the nouns hræ ‘carrion’ and hold ‘flesh’. Both compounds are hap. leg. Vitnir ‘watcher, aware one’ occurs in eddic poetry only with reference to the wolf Fenrir (cf. Grí 19/1, 23/6, Vafþr 53/6), though there it does not seem to be a proper name; it is also found as a wolf-heiti in skaldic poetry (cf. Arn Magndr 15/5^II). Geri ‘greedy’ is the name of one of Óðinn’s wolves according to Grí 19/1, but it can also be found as a wolf-heiti (cf. ÞjóðA Sex 31/1^II).

skífðu ‘sliced’

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2. skífa (verb)

sumir ‘some’

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2. sumr (pron.): some

Guttormi ‘Guttormr’

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Guttormr (noun m.)

notes

[3] Guttormi (dat.) ‘Guttormr’: Third son of King Gjúki and brother of Gunnarr and Hǫgni. While Hǫgni is against killing Sigurðr, Guttormr is incited to the deed by Gunnarr with a promise of gold and power and fed a meal of snake and wolf’s flesh.

gáfu ‘gave’

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gefa (verb): give

gera ‘wolf’

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Geri (noun m.): Geri < gerahold (noun n.)

notes

[2, 4] vitnishræ; gerahold ‘a wolf carcass; wolf flesh’: Each of these expressions is treated here as a noun cpd comprising a heiti for a wolf (vitnir, geri) in the gen. case followed by the nouns hræ ‘carrion’ and hold ‘flesh’. Both compounds are hap. leg. Vitnir ‘watcher, aware one’ occurs in eddic poetry only with reference to the wolf Fenrir (cf. Grí 19/1, 23/6, Vafþr 53/6), though there it does not seem to be a proper name; it is also found as a wolf-heiti in skaldic poetry (cf. Arn Magndr 15/5^II). Geri ‘greedy’ is the name of one of Óðinn’s wolves according to Grí 19/1, but it can also be found as a wolf-heiti (cf. ÞjóðA Sex 31/1^II).

hold ‘flesh’

(not checked:)
hold (noun n.; °-s; -): flesh < gerahold (noun n.)

notes

[2, 4] vitnishræ; gerahold ‘a wolf carcass; wolf flesh’: Each of these expressions is treated here as a noun cpd comprising a heiti for a wolf (vitnir, geri) in the gen. case followed by the nouns hræ ‘carrion’ and hold ‘flesh’. Both compounds are hap. leg. Vitnir ‘watcher, aware one’ occurs in eddic poetry only with reference to the wolf Fenrir (cf. Grí 19/1, 23/6, Vafþr 53/6), though there it does not seem to be a proper name; it is also found as a wolf-heiti in skaldic poetry (cf. Arn Magndr 15/5^II). Geri ‘greedy’ is the name of one of Óðinn’s wolves according to Grí 19/1, but it can also be found as a wolf-heiti (cf. ÞjóðA Sex 31/1^II).

við ‘with’

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2. við (prep.): with, against

mungáti ‘small beer’

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2. mungát (noun n.; °-s; -): °hjemmebrygget øl; gæstebud, drikkelag; ?drik

ok ‘and’

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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also

marga ‘many’

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2. margr (adj.; °-an): many

hluti ‘other’

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hlutr (noun m.; °-ar, dat. -i/-; -ir, acc. -i/-u): part, thing

aðra ‘things’

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1. annarr (pron.; °f. ǫnnur, n. annat; pl. aðrir): (an)other, second

í ‘in’

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í (prep.): in, into

notes

[7] í tyfrum ‘in magic potions’: The sense of tyfr, which is a hap. leg., is conjectural. It may be related in sense to ON tívurr, only found in Vsp 31/2, probably in the sense ‘sacrifice’ (cf. OE tīfer, tīber ‘sacrifice’, OHG zebar ‘sacrificial animal’; AEW: tívurr).

tyfrum ‘magic potions’

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2. tyfr (noun n.)

notes

[7] í tyfrum ‘in magic potions’: The sense of tyfr, which is a hap. leg., is conjectural. It may be related in sense to ON tívurr, only found in Vsp 31/2, probably in the sense ‘sacrifice’ (cf. OE tīfer, tīber ‘sacrifice’, OHG zebar ‘sacrificial animal’; AEW: tívurr).