Bragi Frag 5III
Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Bragi inn gamli Boddason, Fragments 5’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 61.
Eld ‘fire’
(not checked:)
eldr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i/-(HómÍsl¹(1993) 24v²⁴); -ar): fire
kennings
eld bekks ǫlna‘fire of the bench of mackerels ’
= GOLD
the bench of mackerels → SEA
fire of the SEA → GOLD
of ‘’
(not checked:)
4. of (particle): (before verb)
þák ‘I received’
(not checked:)
þiggja (verb): receive, get
[1] þák: so all others, ‘þac’ corrected from ‘þat’ in scribal hand R
jǫfri ‘the prince’
(not checked:)
jǫfurr (noun m.): ruler, prince
ǫlna ‘of mackerels’
(not checked:)
ǫlunn (noun m.): [fish]
kennings
eld bekks ǫlna‘fire of the bench of mackerels ’
= GOLD
the bench of mackerels → SEA
fire of the SEA → GOLD
notes
[2] bekks ǫlna ‘of the bench of mackerels [SEA]’: In view of the prose context provided in Skm, Snorri seems to have understood bekkr to mean ‘brook’ (Northern Engl. beck, OED: beck, n.1, 1) here (LP: 1. bekkr) rather than ‘bench’ (LP: 2. bekkr), another possible lexical meaning with semantic extension to ‘home’ (cf. SnE 1998, II, 241-2); however, the skaldic corpus and modern scholarly opinion favour ‘bench’ (cf. LP: 2. bekkr; Meissner 96, Sigv Austv 14/8I bekkr hlunns ‘bench of the launcher [SEA]’).
ǫlna ‘of mackerels’
(not checked:)
ǫlunn (noun m.): [fish]
kennings
eld bekks ǫlna‘fire of the bench of mackerels ’
= GOLD
the bench of mackerels → SEA
fire of the SEA → GOLD
notes
[2] bekks ǫlna ‘of the bench of mackerels [SEA]’: In view of the prose context provided in Skm, Snorri seems to have understood bekkr to mean ‘brook’ (Northern Engl. beck, OED: beck, n.1, 1) here (LP: 1. bekkr) rather than ‘bench’ (LP: 2. bekkr), another possible lexical meaning with semantic extension to ‘home’ (cf. SnE 1998, II, 241-2); however, the skaldic corpus and modern scholarly opinion favour ‘bench’ (cf. LP: 2. bekkr; Meissner 96, Sigv Austv 14/8I bekkr hlunns ‘bench of the launcher [SEA]’).
bekks ‘of the bench’
(not checked:)
1. bekkr (noun m.; °-jar/-s, dat. -/-i; -ir): bench
kennings
eld bekks ǫlna‘fire of the bench of mackerels ’
= GOLD
the bench of mackerels → SEA
fire of the SEA → GOLD
notes
[2] bekks ǫlna ‘of the bench of mackerels [SEA]’: In view of the prose context provided in Skm, Snorri seems to have understood bekkr to mean ‘brook’ (Northern Engl. beck, OED: beck, n.1, 1) here (LP: 1. bekkr) rather than ‘bench’ (LP: 2. bekkr), another possible lexical meaning with semantic extension to ‘home’ (cf. SnE 1998, II, 241-2); however, the skaldic corpus and modern scholarly opinion favour ‘bench’ (cf. LP: 2. bekkr; Meissner 96, Sigv Austv 14/8I bekkr hlunns ‘bench of the launcher [SEA]’).
bekks ‘of the bench’
(not checked:)
1. bekkr (noun m.; °-jar/-s, dat. -/-i; -ir): bench
kennings
eld bekks ǫlna‘fire of the bench of mackerels ’
= GOLD
the bench of mackerels → SEA
fire of the SEA → GOLD
notes
[2] bekks ǫlna ‘of the bench of mackerels [SEA]’: In view of the prose context provided in Skm, Snorri seems to have understood bekkr to mean ‘brook’ (Northern Engl. beck, OED: beck, n.1, 1) here (LP: 1. bekkr) rather than ‘bench’ (LP: 2. bekkr), another possible lexical meaning with semantic extension to ‘home’ (cf. SnE 1998, II, 241-2); however, the skaldic corpus and modern scholarly opinion favour ‘bench’ (cf. LP: 2. bekkr; Meissner 96, Sigv Austv 14/8I bekkr hlunns ‘bench of the launcher [SEA]’).
við ‘for’
(not checked:)
2. við (prep.): with, against
drykkju ‘the drink’
(not checked:)
1. drykkja (noun f.; °-ju/-u; -ur): drinking
kennings
drykkju Fjǫlnis fjalla;‘the drink of the Fjǫlnir of the mountains; ’
= POETRY
the Fjǫlnir of the mountains; → GIANT = Suttungr
the drink of the GIANTSUTTUNGR → POETRY
notes
[2, 3] drykkju Fjǫlnis fjalla ‘for the drink of the Fjǫlnir <= Óðinn> of the mountains [GIANT = Suttungr > POETRY]’: The interpretation of this phrase as a poem-kenning follows Kock (NN §221; see also SnE 1998, II, 20, 458), who rejected earlier eds’ emendations of Fjǫlnis to fjǫrnis (< fjǫrnir ‘helmet’) and stillir to stillis and the interpretation of R’s fylli as from fyllr f. ‘fill’ (one’s fill of something), in the sense ‘that which fills a helmet [HEAD]’. So Skj B and LP: 1. fjǫrnir. That emended reading is probably influenced by the statement we find in Eg (ÍF 2, 182) that Bragi once composed a poem for Bjǫrn, king of the Swedes, ok þá þar fyrir hǫfuð sitt ‘and got back his head for that’. Fjǫlnir is a name for Óðinn (Grí 47/5, Reg 18/7, Þul Óðins 2/1 and Note there) and is so understood by Snorri in Gylf (SnE 2005, 8 and 22, quoting Grí 24). Here it seems to form the base-word of a giant-kenning, and presumably refers to Suttungr, the giant who stole the mead of poetry from some dwarfs and immured it in a mountain, Hnitbjǫrg, from where Óðinn obtained it, as Snorri tells in the first part of Skm (SnE 1998, I, 3-5).
gaf ‘gave’
(not checked:)
gefa (verb): give
Fjǫlnis ‘of the Fjǫlnir’
(not checked:)
Fjǫlnir (noun m.): Fjǫlnir
kennings
drykkju Fjǫlnis fjalla;‘the drink of the Fjǫlnir of the mountains; ’
= POETRY
the Fjǫlnir of the mountains; → GIANT = Suttungr
the drink of the GIANTSUTTUNGR → POETRY
notes
[2, 3] drykkju Fjǫlnis fjalla ‘for the drink of the Fjǫlnir <= Óðinn> of the mountains [GIANT = Suttungr > POETRY]’: The interpretation of this phrase as a poem-kenning follows Kock (NN §221; see also SnE 1998, II, 20, 458), who rejected earlier eds’ emendations of Fjǫlnis to fjǫrnis (< fjǫrnir ‘helmet’) and stillir to stillis and the interpretation of R’s fylli as from fyllr f. ‘fill’ (one’s fill of something), in the sense ‘that which fills a helmet [HEAD]’. So Skj B and LP: 1. fjǫrnir. That emended reading is probably influenced by the statement we find in Eg (ÍF 2, 182) that Bragi once composed a poem for Bjǫrn, king of the Swedes, ok þá þar fyrir hǫfuð sitt ‘and got back his head for that’. Fjǫlnir is a name for Óðinn (Grí 47/5, Reg 18/7, Þul Óðins 2/1 and Note there) and is so understood by Snorri in Gylf (SnE 2005, 8 and 22, quoting Grí 24). Here it seems to form the base-word of a giant-kenning, and presumably refers to Suttungr, the giant who stole the mead of poetry from some dwarfs and immured it in a mountain, Hnitbjǫrg, from where Óðinn obtained it, as Snorri tells in the first part of Skm (SnE 1998, I, 3-5).
Fjǫlnis ‘of the Fjǫlnir’
(not checked:)
Fjǫlnir (noun m.): Fjǫlnir
kennings
drykkju Fjǫlnis fjalla;‘the drink of the Fjǫlnir of the mountains; ’
= POETRY
the Fjǫlnir of the mountains; → GIANT = Suttungr
the drink of the GIANTSUTTUNGR → POETRY
notes
[2, 3] drykkju Fjǫlnis fjalla ‘for the drink of the Fjǫlnir <= Óðinn> of the mountains [GIANT = Suttungr > POETRY]’: The interpretation of this phrase as a poem-kenning follows Kock (NN §221; see also SnE 1998, II, 20, 458), who rejected earlier eds’ emendations of Fjǫlnis to fjǫrnis (< fjǫrnir ‘helmet’) and stillir to stillis and the interpretation of R’s fylli as from fyllr f. ‘fill’ (one’s fill of something), in the sense ‘that which fills a helmet [HEAD]’. So Skj B and LP: 1. fjǫrnir. That emended reading is probably influenced by the statement we find in Eg (ÍF 2, 182) that Bragi once composed a poem for Bjǫrn, king of the Swedes, ok þá þar fyrir hǫfuð sitt ‘and got back his head for that’. Fjǫlnir is a name for Óðinn (Grí 47/5, Reg 18/7, Þul Óðins 2/1 and Note there) and is so understood by Snorri in Gylf (SnE 2005, 8 and 22, quoting Grí 24). Here it seems to form the base-word of a giant-kenning, and presumably refers to Suttungr, the giant who stole the mead of poetry from some dwarfs and immured it in a mountain, Hnitbjǫrg, from where Óðinn obtained it, as Snorri tells in the first part of Skm (SnE 1998, I, 3-5).
kennings
drykkju Fjǫlnis fjalla;‘the drink of the Fjǫlnir of the mountains; ’
= POETRY
the Fjǫlnir of the mountains; → GIANT = Suttungr
the drink of the GIANTSUTTUNGR → POETRY
notes
[2, 3] drykkju Fjǫlnis fjalla ‘for the drink of the Fjǫlnir <= Óðinn> of the mountains [GIANT = Suttungr > POETRY]’: The interpretation of this phrase as a poem-kenning follows Kock (NN §221; see also SnE 1998, II, 20, 458), who rejected earlier eds’ emendations of Fjǫlnis to fjǫrnis (< fjǫrnir ‘helmet’) and stillir to stillis and the interpretation of R’s fylli as from fyllr f. ‘fill’ (one’s fill of something), in the sense ‘that which fills a helmet [HEAD]’. So Skj B and LP: 1. fjǫrnir. That emended reading is probably influenced by the statement we find in Eg (ÍF 2, 182) that Bragi once composed a poem for Bjǫrn, king of the Swedes, ok þá þar fyrir hǫfuð sitt ‘and got back his head for that’. Fjǫlnir is a name for Óðinn (Grí 47/5, Reg 18/7, Þul Óðins 2/1 and Note there) and is so understood by Snorri in Gylf (SnE 2005, 8 and 22, quoting Grí 24). Here it seems to form the base-word of a giant-kenning, and presumably refers to Suttungr, the giant who stole the mead of poetry from some dwarfs and immured it in a mountain, Hnitbjǫrg, from where Óðinn obtained it, as Snorri tells in the first part of Skm (SnE 1998, I, 3-5).
kennings
drykkju Fjǫlnis fjalla;‘the drink of the Fjǫlnir of the mountains; ’
= POETRY
the Fjǫlnir of the mountains; → GIANT = Suttungr
the drink of the GIANTSUTTUNGR → POETRY
notes
[2, 3] drykkju Fjǫlnis fjalla ‘for the drink of the Fjǫlnir <= Óðinn> of the mountains [GIANT = Suttungr > POETRY]’: The interpretation of this phrase as a poem-kenning follows Kock (NN §221; see also SnE 1998, II, 20, 458), who rejected earlier eds’ emendations of Fjǫlnis to fjǫrnis (< fjǫrnir ‘helmet’) and stillir to stillis and the interpretation of R’s fylli as from fyllr f. ‘fill’ (one’s fill of something), in the sense ‘that which fills a helmet [HEAD]’. So Skj B and LP: 1. fjǫrnir. That emended reading is probably influenced by the statement we find in Eg (ÍF 2, 182) that Bragi once composed a poem for Bjǫrn, king of the Swedes, ok þá þar fyrir hǫfuð sitt ‘and got back his head for that’. Fjǫlnir is a name for Óðinn (Grí 47/5, Reg 18/7, Þul Óðins 2/1 and Note there) and is so understood by Snorri in Gylf (SnE 2005, 8 and 22, quoting Grí 24). Here it seems to form the base-word of a giant-kenning, and presumably refers to Suttungr, the giant who stole the mead of poetry from some dwarfs and immured it in a mountain, Hnitbjǫrg, from where Óðinn obtained it, as Snorri tells in the first part of Skm (SnE 1998, I, 3-5).
með ‘with’
(not checked:)
með (prep.): with
notes
[4] með fulli ‘with a toast’: That is, with a full cup of ale or mead, understanding dat. sg. of full n. ‘(full) cup, drink, toast’. Both Tˣ and W read fulli here, while R has fylli, allowing some eds to prefer this reading (as mentioned above), assuming it to be from fyllr f. (one’s) ‘fill’, a cupful. The difference in sense is slight. However, R’s fylli may in fact also be intended as fulli, since the scribe sometimes alternates <u/v> and <y> (see SnE 1998, I, liv).
fulli ‘a toast’
(not checked:)
full (noun n.): cup, toast, filled cup
[4] fulli: so all others, ‘fylli’ R
notes
[4] með fulli ‘with a toast’: That is, with a full cup of ale or mead, understanding dat. sg. of full n. ‘(full) cup, drink, toast’. Both Tˣ and W read fulli here, while R has fylli, allowing some eds to prefer this reading (as mentioned above), assuming it to be from fyllr f. (one’s) ‘fill’, a cupful. The difference in sense is slight. However, R’s fylli may in fact also be intended as fulli, since the scribe sometimes alternates <u/v> and <y> (see SnE 1998, I, liv).
mér ‘me’
(not checked:)
ek (pron.; °mín, dat. mér, acc. mik): I, me
stillir ‘the ruler’
(not checked:)
stillir (noun m.): ruler
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
See Introduction above. As mentioned, Frag 5 illustrates Snorri’s account of why gold may be called ‘fire of the sea’ in skaldic poetry. The narrative also serves to explain how skalds can vary the basic terms of the kenning type by extension of the semantic field of either or both the base-word and determinant. Snorri approves of this practice, which he calls here nýgerving (lit. ‘new creation’) as long as it is in accordance with verisimilitude (líkindi) and what is natural (eðli). As it is in the only stanza quoted to illustrate this practice, Bragi’s gold-kenning here (see Notes below) must be interpreted in the light of it. In the prose Snorri claims such semantic extension was a development sanctioned by the chief skalds (hence the appropriateness of his citing Bragi here) and carried further by more recent poets. The stanza is introduced by svá kvað Bragi skáld ‘the poet Bragi said thus’.
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