Ásgr Lv 1III
R. D. Fulk (ed.) 2017, ‘Ásgrímr Jónsson, Lausavísa 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. 12.
Láðs ‘of the land’
(not checked:)
2. láð (noun n.): earth, land
kennings
sœki-Njǫrðu láðs sverða‘from attack-Nirðir of the land of swords ’
= WARRIORS
the land of swords → SHIELD
from attack-Nirðir of the SHIELD → WARRIORS
Láðs ‘of the land’
(not checked:)
2. láð (noun n.): earth, land
kennings
sœki-Njǫrðu láðs sverða‘from attack-Nirðir of the land of swords ’
= WARRIORS
the land of swords → SHIELD
from attack-Nirðir of the SHIELD → WARRIORS
rupla ‘are plundering’
(not checked:)
rupla (verb): [are plundering]
fé ‘riches’
(not checked:)
fé (noun n.; °fjár/féar; -): cattle, money
fríðu ‘splendid’
(not checked:)
fríðr (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): beautiful, fair
fornbauga ‘of ancient rings’
(not checked:)
fornbaugr (noun m.): [ancient rings]
kennings
Fornbauga heslis hyrdraugar‘fire-trees of the hazel-tree of ancient rings’
= MEN
the hazel-tree of ancient rings → ARM
the fire of the ARM → GOLD
Trees of the GOLD → MEN
fornbauga ‘of ancient rings’
(not checked:)
fornbaugr (noun m.): [ancient rings]
kennings
Fornbauga heslis hyrdraugar‘fire-trees of the hazel-tree of ancient rings’
= MEN
the hazel-tree of ancient rings → ARM
the fire of the ARM → GOLD
Trees of the GOLD → MEN
fornbauga ‘of ancient rings’
(not checked:)
fornbaugr (noun m.): [ancient rings]
kennings
Fornbauga heslis hyrdraugar‘fire-trees of the hazel-tree of ancient rings’
= MEN
the hazel-tree of ancient rings → ARM
the fire of the ARM → GOLD
Trees of the GOLD → MEN
kennings
Fornbauga heslis hyrdraugar‘fire-trees of the hazel-tree of ancient rings’
= MEN
the hazel-tree of ancient rings → ARM
the fire of the ARM → GOLD
Trees of the GOLD → MEN
notes
[2] hyrdraugar ‘fire-trees’: The mss all read herdraugar ‘army-trees’, which would be unparalleled as a kenning or part-kenning, whereas hyrdraugar, as part of an inverted man- or warrior-kenning, is comparable to hyrlundr ‘fire-tree’ in Karl Lv 2/2V (Svarfd 10) and Anon Pl 16/3VII (though the latter is not fully legible in the ms.). In addition, there does not seem to be any very convincing way to interpret the kenning containing the word if herdraugar is accepted. The emendation appears to have originated with Skj B, and it is accepted by Kock (Skald).
kennings
Fornbauga heslis hyrdraugar‘fire-trees of the hazel-tree of ancient rings’
= MEN
the hazel-tree of ancient rings → ARM
the fire of the ARM → GOLD
Trees of the GOLD → MEN
notes
[2] hyrdraugar ‘fire-trees’: The mss all read herdraugar ‘army-trees’, which would be unparalleled as a kenning or part-kenning, whereas hyrdraugar, as part of an inverted man- or warrior-kenning, is comparable to hyrlundr ‘fire-tree’ in Karl Lv 2/2V (Svarfd 10) and Anon Pl 16/3VII (though the latter is not fully legible in the ms.). In addition, there does not seem to be any very convincing way to interpret the kenning containing the word if herdraugar is accepted. The emendation appears to have originated with Skj B, and it is accepted by Kock (Skald).
draugar ‘Trees’
(not checked:)
1. draugr (noun m.; °; -ar): tree < hyrdraugr (noun m.)
kennings
Fornbauga heslis hyrdraugar‘fire-trees of the hazel-tree of ancient rings’
= MEN
the hazel-tree of ancient rings → ARM
the fire of the ARM → GOLD
Trees of the GOLD → MEN
notes
[2] hyrdraugar ‘fire-trees’: The mss all read herdraugar ‘army-trees’, which would be unparalleled as a kenning or part-kenning, whereas hyrdraugar, as part of an inverted man- or warrior-kenning, is comparable to hyrlundr ‘fire-tree’ in Karl Lv 2/2V (Svarfd 10) and Anon Pl 16/3VII (though the latter is not fully legible in the ms.). In addition, there does not seem to be any very convincing way to interpret the kenning containing the word if herdraugar is accepted. The emendation appears to have originated with Skj B, and it is accepted by Kock (Skald).
sverða ‘of swords’
(not checked:)
sverð (noun n.; °-s; -): sword
kennings
sœki-Njǫrðu láðs sverða‘from attack-Nirðir of the land of swords ’
= WARRIORS
the land of swords → SHIELD
from attack-Nirðir of the SHIELD → WARRIORS
sverða ‘of swords’
(not checked:)
sverð (noun n.; °-s; -): sword
kennings
sœki-Njǫrðu láðs sverða‘from attack-Nirðir of the land of swords ’
= WARRIORS
the land of swords → SHIELD
from attack-Nirðir of the SHIELD → WARRIORS
sœki ‘from attack’
(not checked:)
sœkja (verb): seek, attack < sœkinjǫrðr (noun m.): attack-Njǫrðir
kennings
sœki-Njǫrðu láðs sverða‘from attack-Nirðir of the land of swords ’
= WARRIORS
the land of swords → SHIELD
from attack-Nirðir of the SHIELD → WARRIORS
Njǫrðu ‘Nirðir’
(not checked:)
Njǫrðr (noun m.): Njǫrðr < sœkinjǫrðr (noun m.): attack-Njǫrðir
kennings
sœki-Njǫrðu láðs sverða‘from attack-Nirðir of the land of swords ’
= WARRIORS
the land of swords → SHIELD
from attack-Nirðir of the SHIELD → WARRIORS
sér ‘than themselves’
(not checked:)
sik (pron.; °gen. sín, dat. sér): (refl. pron.)
veslari ‘poorer’
(not checked:)
vesall (adj.): wretched (w. gen.)
heslis ‘of the hazel-tree’
(not checked:)
hesli (noun n.): hazel-tree
kennings
Fornbauga heslis hyrdraugar‘fire-trees of the hazel-tree of ancient rings’
= MEN
the hazel-tree of ancient rings → ARM
the fire of the ARM → GOLD
Trees of the GOLD → MEN
heslis ‘of the hazel-tree’
(not checked:)
hesli (noun n.): hazel-tree
kennings
Fornbauga heslis hyrdraugar‘fire-trees of the hazel-tree of ancient rings’
= MEN
the hazel-tree of ancient rings → ARM
the fire of the ARM → GOLD
Trees of the GOLD → MEN
heslis ‘of the hazel-tree’
(not checked:)
hesli (noun n.): hazel-tree
kennings
Fornbauga heslis hyrdraugar‘fire-trees of the hazel-tree of ancient rings’
= MEN
the hazel-tree of ancient rings → ARM
the fire of the ARM → GOLD
Trees of the GOLD → MEN
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
The helmingr is cited to illustrate how words for ‘tree’ and similar terms may be used in kennings designating men.
If the compiler understood -draugar ‘trees’ (lit. ‘(tree) trunks’) as the base-word referring to men (and this seems likely, as he offers draugr in the preceding prose as an example of this usage), the helmingr does illustrate the point. Heslis ‘of the hazel-tree’ could be misconstrued as such a base-word (and it is in LaufE), however, though it actually belongs to an (albeit unusual) arm-kenning (see Translation). — Kock (NN §1371) argues that láðs ‘of the land’ (l. 1) should be construed with hyrdraugar fornbauga ‘fire-trees of ancient rings’ (l. 2), yielding the sense ‘trees of the fire of the land of ancient rings [(lit. ‘fire-trees of the land of ancient-rings’) ARM > GOLD > MEN]’. As a consequence, heslis ‘of the hazel-tree’ (l. 4) must be construed with sœki-Njǫrðu sverða ‘attack-Njǫrðs of swords’ (l. 3), but this does not make for a very satisfactory kenning: sœki-Njǫrðu heslis sverða ‘attack-Nirðir of the hazel-tree of swords [WARRIOR > WARRIORS]’.
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