Eil Þdr 8^III

Harð ‘the hard’

(not checked:)
harðr (adj.; °comp. -ari; superl. -astr): hard, harsh < harðvaxinn (adj./verb p.p.)

kennings

notes

[1-2] harðvaxnar herðar hallands ‘the hard-grown shoulders of the sloping-land [MOUNTAIN > ROCKS]’: This rock-kenning follows the pattern ‘bones of the earth’, i.e. the ‘shoulders’ are shoulder bones. There are two possible interpretations of halland: (a) as a cpd consisting of the adj. hallr ‘sloping’ and land ‘land’ or (b) as a cpd consisting of hallr ‘stone’ and land ‘land’. Both interpretations yield a kenning for ‘mountain’. Since halland is the determinant in a kenning for ‘stone, rocks’, it is preferable to choose option (a) i.e. halland ‘sloping-land’. The interpretation as ‘stone-land’ would duplicate the referent ‘stone’ in the kenning (‘the hard shoulders of the stone-land [MOUNTAIN > ROCKS]’) which ought to be avoided according to the rules of kenning formation (cf. hallvǫllr st. 15/2 and Note there).

vaxnar ‘grown’

(not checked:)
vaxa (verb): grow, increase < harðvaxinn (adj./verb p.p.)

kennings

notes

[1-2] harðvaxnar herðar hallands ‘the hard-grown shoulders of the sloping-land [MOUNTAIN > ROCKS]’: This rock-kenning follows the pattern ‘bones of the earth’, i.e. the ‘shoulders’ are shoulder bones. There are two possible interpretations of halland: (a) as a cpd consisting of the adj. hallr ‘sloping’ and land ‘land’ or (b) as a cpd consisting of hallr ‘stone’ and land ‘land’. Both interpretations yield a kenning for ‘mountain’. Since halland is the determinant in a kenning for ‘stone, rocks’, it is preferable to choose option (a) i.e. halland ‘sloping-land’. The interpretation as ‘stone-land’ would duplicate the referent ‘stone’ in the kenning (‘the hard shoulders of the stone-land [MOUNTAIN > ROCKS]’) which ought to be avoided according to the rules of kenning formation (cf. hallvǫllr st. 15/2 and Note there).

leit ‘saw’

(not checked:)
líta (verb): look, see; appear

[1] leit: sér R, lét Tˣ, W

notes

[1] leit ‘saw’: The mss give the two variants sér ‘saw’ and lét ‘let’. This edn follows Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) who emends ‘let’ (Tˣ, W) to leit ‘he saw’. Although lét ‘let’ could be a possible choice (NN §449 and Reichardt 1948, 352), two arguments speak against this. First of all, lét would mean either that Þórr accepted the stones falling around him or that he caused them to fall. Neither interpretation is convincing because the next clause states that he did not know what to do in this situation. Secondly, the next helmingr uses the exact same verb (lét). Sér ‘he sees’ (R) (so Sveinbjörn Egilsson 1851, 8; Finnur Jónsson 1900b, 384) is also problematic because all other verbs in the stanza are in the pret. tense. The emendation leit results in a verb for ‘see, realise’ in the pret. form.

herðar ‘shoulders’

(not checked:)
herðr (noun f.; °-ar(Thom² 447¹³); -ar): shoulder

[1] herðar: herðir all

kennings

notes

[1] herðar ‘the shoulders’: The emendation (so Finnur Jónsson 1900b, 384; Skj B; NN §449; Reichardt 1948, 352) is necessary because herðr ‘shoulder’, a f. jō-stem, has the ending ‑ar in acc. pl. Faulkes (SnE 1998, II, 307) tries to avoid emendation by combining herðir ‘the hardener, promoter’ with hallands, which he interprets as ‘whetstone-land’ (ibid., 300), a kenning for ‘sword’. Herðir hallands ‘the sword-impeller’ would then be a warrior-kenning for Þórr. However, hallr is not attested in the meaning ‘whetstone’, which is always called hein. As a consequence, Faulkes (ibid., 302) is forced to interpret harðvaxnar as a noun, ‘mightily grown, swollen’, designating the rivers. — [1-2] harðvaxnar herðar hallands ‘the hard-grown shoulders of the sloping-land [MOUNTAIN > ROCKS]’: This rock-kenning follows the pattern ‘bones of the earth’, i.e. the ‘shoulders’ are shoulder bones. There are two possible interpretations of halland: (a) as a cpd consisting of the adj. hallr ‘sloping’ and land ‘land’ or (b) as a cpd consisting of hallr ‘stone’ and land ‘land’. Both interpretations yield a kenning for ‘mountain’. Since halland is the determinant in a kenning for ‘stone, rocks’, it is preferable to choose option (a) i.e. halland ‘sloping-land’. The interpretation as ‘stone-land’ would duplicate the referent ‘stone’ in the kenning (‘the hard shoulders of the stone-land [MOUNTAIN > ROCKS]’) which ought to be avoided according to the rules of kenning formation (cf. hallvǫllr st. 15/2 and Note there).

herðar ‘shoulders’

(not checked:)
herðr (noun f.; °-ar(Thom² 447¹³); -ar): shoulder

[1] herðar: herðir all

kennings

notes

[1] herðar ‘the shoulders’: The emendation (so Finnur Jónsson 1900b, 384; Skj B; NN §449; Reichardt 1948, 352) is necessary because herðr ‘shoulder’, a f. jō-stem, has the ending ‑ar in acc. pl. Faulkes (SnE 1998, II, 307) tries to avoid emendation by combining herðir ‘the hardener, promoter’ with hallands, which he interprets as ‘whetstone-land’ (ibid., 300), a kenning for ‘sword’. Herðir hallands ‘the sword-impeller’ would then be a warrior-kenning for Þórr. However, hallr is not attested in the meaning ‘whetstone’, which is always called hein. As a consequence, Faulkes (ibid., 302) is forced to interpret harðvaxnar as a noun, ‘mightily grown, swollen’, designating the rivers. — [1-2] harðvaxnar herðar hallands ‘the hard-grown shoulders of the sloping-land [MOUNTAIN > ROCKS]’: This rock-kenning follows the pattern ‘bones of the earth’, i.e. the ‘shoulders’ are shoulder bones. There are two possible interpretations of halland: (a) as a cpd consisting of the adj. hallr ‘sloping’ and land ‘land’ or (b) as a cpd consisting of hallr ‘stone’ and land ‘land’. Both interpretations yield a kenning for ‘mountain’. Since halland is the determinant in a kenning for ‘stone, rocks’, it is preferable to choose option (a) i.e. halland ‘sloping-land’. The interpretation as ‘stone-land’ would duplicate the referent ‘stone’ in the kenning (‘the hard shoulders of the stone-land [MOUNTAIN > ROCKS]’) which ought to be avoided according to the rules of kenning formation (cf. hallvǫllr st. 15/2 and Note there).

hal ‘of the sloping’

(not checked:)
3. hallr (adj.): tilting, awry < halland (noun m.): sloping land

kennings

notes

[1-2] harðvaxnar herðar hallands ‘the hard-grown shoulders of the sloping-land [MOUNTAIN > ROCKS]’: This rock-kenning follows the pattern ‘bones of the earth’, i.e. the ‘shoulders’ are shoulder bones. There are two possible interpretations of halland: (a) as a cpd consisting of the adj. hallr ‘sloping’ and land ‘land’ or (b) as a cpd consisting of hallr ‘stone’ and land ‘land’. Both interpretations yield a kenning for ‘mountain’. Since halland is the determinant in a kenning for ‘stone, rocks’, it is preferable to choose option (a) i.e. halland ‘sloping-land’. The interpretation as ‘stone-land’ would duplicate the referent ‘stone’ in the kenning (‘the hard shoulders of the stone-land [MOUNTAIN > ROCKS]’) which ought to be avoided according to the rules of kenning formation (cf. hallvǫllr st. 15/2 and Note there).

hal ‘of the sloping’

(not checked:)
3. hallr (adj.): tilting, awry < halland (noun m.): sloping land

kennings

notes

[1-2] harðvaxnar herðar hallands ‘the hard-grown shoulders of the sloping-land [MOUNTAIN > ROCKS]’: This rock-kenning follows the pattern ‘bones of the earth’, i.e. the ‘shoulders’ are shoulder bones. There are two possible interpretations of halland: (a) as a cpd consisting of the adj. hallr ‘sloping’ and land ‘land’ or (b) as a cpd consisting of hallr ‘stone’ and land ‘land’. Both interpretations yield a kenning for ‘mountain’. Since halland is the determinant in a kenning for ‘stone, rocks’, it is preferable to choose option (a) i.e. halland ‘sloping-land’. The interpretation as ‘stone-land’ would duplicate the referent ‘stone’ in the kenning (‘the hard shoulders of the stone-land [MOUNTAIN > ROCKS]’) which ought to be avoided according to the rules of kenning formation (cf. hallvǫllr st. 15/2 and Note there).

lands ‘land’

(not checked:)
land (noun n.; °-s; *-): land < halland (noun m.): sloping land

kennings

notes

[1-2] harðvaxnar herðar hallands ‘the hard-grown shoulders of the sloping-land [MOUNTAIN > ROCKS]’: This rock-kenning follows the pattern ‘bones of the earth’, i.e. the ‘shoulders’ are shoulder bones. There are two possible interpretations of halland: (a) as a cpd consisting of the adj. hallr ‘sloping’ and land ‘land’ or (b) as a cpd consisting of hallr ‘stone’ and land ‘land’. Both interpretations yield a kenning for ‘mountain’. Since halland is the determinant in a kenning for ‘stone, rocks’, it is preferable to choose option (a) i.e. halland ‘sloping-land’. The interpretation as ‘stone-land’ would duplicate the referent ‘stone’ in the kenning (‘the hard shoulders of the stone-land [MOUNTAIN > ROCKS]’) which ought to be avoided according to the rules of kenning formation (cf. hallvǫllr st. 15/2 and Note there).

lands ‘land’

(not checked:)
land (noun n.; °-s; *-): land < halland (noun m.): sloping land

kennings

notes

[1-2] harðvaxnar herðar hallands ‘the hard-grown shoulders of the sloping-land [MOUNTAIN > ROCKS]’: This rock-kenning follows the pattern ‘bones of the earth’, i.e. the ‘shoulders’ are shoulder bones. There are two possible interpretations of halland: (a) as a cpd consisting of the adj. hallr ‘sloping’ and land ‘land’ or (b) as a cpd consisting of hallr ‘stone’ and land ‘land’. Both interpretations yield a kenning for ‘mountain’. Since halland is the determinant in a kenning for ‘stone, rocks’, it is preferable to choose option (a) i.e. halland ‘sloping-land’. The interpretation as ‘stone-land’ would duplicate the referent ‘stone’ in the kenning (‘the hard shoulders of the stone-land [MOUNTAIN > ROCKS]’) which ought to be avoided according to the rules of kenning formation (cf. hallvǫllr st. 15/2 and Note there).

of ‘around’

(not checked:)
3. of (prep.): around, from; too

sik ‘him’

(not checked:)
sik (pron.; °gen. sín, dat. sér): (refl. pron.)

[2] sik: corrected from ‘sæ’ R

falla ‘fall’

(not checked:)
falla (verb): fall

gatat ‘could not find’

(not checked:)
2. geta (verb): to beget, give birth to, mention, speak of; to think well of, like, love

[3] gatat: so Tˣ, W, ‘gatar’ R

notes

[3, 4] gatat … rôð ‘could not find … a course of action’: I.e. he could not avoid the falling rocks. For rôð ‘solution’, see LP: ráð 4.

maðr ‘the man’

(not checked:)
maðr (noun m.): man, person

notes

[3] maðr ‘the man’: Because Þdr characteristically portrays Þórr and his companion as warriors and refers to them with man-kennings (see Introduction above), maðr here probably means Þórr. This makes conjectures that depart from the mss unnecessary, such as mar ‘sea’ (Sveinbjörn Egilsson 1851, 8; Finnur Jónsson 1900b, 384-5; Skj B) and meir ‘more’ (NN §449).

njótr ‘The user’

(not checked:)
njótr (noun m.): user, enjoyer

kennings

notes

[3, 4] njótr njarðgjarðar ‘the user of the strength-belt [= Þórr]’: This Þórr-kenning must be understood in relation to the prose of Skm (SnE 1998, I, 24-5), according to which Loki was prevailed upon to make Þórr enter the land of giants without his hammer or belt. Gríðr, a giantess and mother of Óðinn’s son Víðarr, lends him a belt of strength (megingjǫrð) along with iron gloves and a staff. The tmesis njarð-gjarðar is unavoidable here. Mohr (1940, 220-1) suggested the cpd njarðrôð, which he took to mean ‘useful assistance’: gatat njarðrôð gjarðar ‘he had no useful assistance from the belt’. This leaves njótr without a determinant, however. The first element of the cpd, njarð-, is not attested as a simplex, but the cpd njarðláss ‘strong, unbreakable lock’ (LP) confirms that it means ‘power, strength’. Like the name of the god Njǫrðr, njarð- ‘strength’ may derive from Gmc *nerþ- (cf. also the name of the goddess Nerthus; see Tacitus, Germania 1967, 441, 450-1), which is related to OIr. nert- ‘strength’ (AEW: Njǫrðr).

in ‘’

(not checked:)
2. inn (art.): the

neytri ‘a useful’

(not checked:)
neytr (adj.): [a useful]

[3] neytri: ‘næyti’ W

njarð ‘of the strength’

(not checked:)
njarð- ((prefix)): [strength]

kennings

notes

[3, 4] njótr njarðgjarðar ‘the user of the strength-belt [= Þórr]’: This Þórr-kenning must be understood in relation to the prose of Skm (SnE 1998, I, 24-5), according to which Loki was prevailed upon to make Þórr enter the land of giants without his hammer or belt. Gríðr, a giantess and mother of Óðinn’s son Víðarr, lends him a belt of strength (megingjǫrð) along with iron gloves and a staff. The tmesis njarð-gjarðar is unavoidable here. Mohr (1940, 220-1) suggested the cpd njarðrôð, which he took to mean ‘useful assistance’: gatat njarðrôð gjarðar ‘he had no useful assistance from the belt’. This leaves njótr without a determinant, however. The first element of the cpd, njarð-, is not attested as a simplex, but the cpd njarðláss ‘strong, unbreakable lock’ (LP) confirms that it means ‘power, strength’. Like the name of the god Njǫrðr, njarð- ‘strength’ may derive from Gmc *nerþ- (cf. also the name of the goddess Nerthus; see Tacitus, Germania 1967, 441, 450-1), which is related to OIr. nert- ‘strength’ (AEW: Njǫrðr).

rôð ‘solution’

(not checked:)
ráð (noun n.; °-s; -): advice, plan, control, power

notes

[3, 4] gatat … rôð ‘could not find … a course of action’: I.e. he could not avoid the falling rocks. For rôð ‘solution’, see LP: ráð 4.

fyr ‘for’

(not checked:)
fyr (prep.): for, over, because of, etc.

sér ‘himself’

(not checked:)
sik (pron.; °gen. sín, dat. sér): (refl. pron.)

gjarðar ‘belt’

(not checked:)
gjǫrð (noun f.): girdle

kennings

notes

[3, 4] njótr njarðgjarðar ‘the user of the strength-belt [= Þórr]’: This Þórr-kenning must be understood in relation to the prose of Skm (SnE 1998, I, 24-5), according to which Loki was prevailed upon to make Þórr enter the land of giants without his hammer or belt. Gríðr, a giantess and mother of Óðinn’s son Víðarr, lends him a belt of strength (megingjǫrð) along with iron gloves and a staff. The tmesis njarð-gjarðar is unavoidable here. Mohr (1940, 220-1) suggested the cpd njarðrôð, which he took to mean ‘useful assistance’: gatat njarðrôð gjarðar ‘he had no useful assistance from the belt’. This leaves njótr without a determinant, however. The first element of the cpd, njarð-, is not attested as a simplex, but the cpd njarðláss ‘strong, unbreakable lock’ (LP) confirms that it means ‘power, strength’. Like the name of the god Njǫrðr, njarð- ‘strength’ may derive from Gmc *nerþ- (cf. also the name of the goddess Nerthus; see Tacitus, Germania 1967, 441, 450-1), which is related to OIr. nert- ‘strength’ (AEW: Njǫrðr).

Þverrir ‘The diminisher’

(not checked:)
þverrir (noun m.): diminisher

[5] Þverrir: ‘þueriur’ Tˣ

kennings

lét ‘said that’

(not checked:)
láta (verb): let, have sth done

[5] lét: so Tˣ, W, lætr R

nema ‘unless’

(not checked:)
2. nema (conj.): unless

þyrri ‘receded’

(not checked:)
1. þverra (verb): diminish

Þorns ‘of Þorn’

(not checked:)
2. Þorn (noun m.): Þorn

[6] Þorns: ‘þoms’ R, Tˣ, Þórs W

kennings

notes

[6] Þorns ‘of Þorn <giant>’: The variant reading ‘þors’ (W) could be construed as the gen. Þórs ‘of Þórr’, but it does not make sense here. The reading ‘þōs’ (R, Tˣ) could, along with the reading ‘þoms’ in R in st. 2/4, be interpreted as the gen. Þoms of an unattested giant-name Þomr (Genzmer 1934, 70). Emendation to Þorns is preferable, however, because that giant-name is attested in sts 2/4 (ms. Tˣ) and 14/2 (see Note to st. 2/4).

Þorns ‘of Þorn’

(not checked:)
2. Þorn (noun m.): Þorn

[6] Þorns: ‘þoms’ R, Tˣ, Þórs W

kennings

notes

[6] Þorns ‘of Þorn <giant>’: The variant reading ‘þors’ (W) could be construed as the gen. Þórs ‘of Þórr’, but it does not make sense here. The reading ‘þōs’ (R, Tˣ) could, along with the reading ‘þoms’ in R in st. 2/4, be interpreted as the gen. Þoms of an unattested giant-name Þomr (Genzmer 1934, 70). Emendation to Þorns is preferable, however, because that giant-name is attested in sts 2/4 (ms. Tˣ) and 14/2 (see Note to st. 2/4).

barna ‘of the children’

(not checked:)
barn (noun n.; °-s; bǫrn/barn(JKr 345³), dat. bǫrnum/barnum): child

kennings

barna ‘of the children’

(not checked:)
barn (noun n.; °-s; bǫrn/barn(JKr 345³), dat. bǫrnum/barnum): child

kennings

sér ‘his’

(not checked:)
sik (pron.; °gen. sín, dat. sér): (refl. pron.)

Mǫrnar ‘of Mǫrn’

(not checked:)
Mǫrn (noun f.): Mǫrn

kennings

notes

[6] Mǫrnar ‘of Mǫrn <female mythical being>’: It is not necessary to emend the mss’ ‘mꜹrnar’ (R), ‘maurnar’ (Tˣ, W) to Marnar (so Skj B), since a and ǫ form aðalhending in the C10th. A gen. *Marnar is not attested (cf. Heusler 1903, 36, who rejects emending Mǫrnar to Marnar ). Mǫrn as a river-name (cf. Þul Á 3/3; Hfr Lv 3/3^V; Bjhít Lv 19/6^V; Ólsv Hákdr 1/1) is perhaps derived either from the name of the Marne, a tributary of the Seine in France, or from rivers of this name in Telemark and Agder in Norway (Clunies Ross 1978b, 302 n. 41). It is also rather common as the name of a giantess (see Þjóð Haustl 6/4 and 12/8, LP: 2. mǫrn and Note to ll. 6-7 above). — [6-7] snerriblóð Mǫrnar ‘the rushing blood of Mǫrn <female mythical being> [RIVER]’: It is clear from the context of the stanza that snerriblóð Mǫrnar must refer to the river Þórr wades across. Because Mǫrn is attested both as a river-name and as the name of a giantess (see Note to l. 6), Clunies Ross (1978b, 302 n. 41; 1981, 373) arrives at a compromise that the present edn adopts as well. She explains the duality river/giantess by assuming that Þdr maintains ‘a delicate modulation between the attribution of anthropomorphic qualities to the river itself and clear statements that one or more giantesses had been responsible for causing the stream to become turbulent’ (Clunies Ross 1981, 373). She further attributes this to an early Scandinavian thought pattern ‘which conceived rivers as essentially female features of the landscape and thus described them in terms of human female effluvia’ (ibid.). Hence, Mǫrn could be a river as well as the blood of a mythical being. Aside from the possible explanation as menstrual blood (Kiil 1956, 118; see also st. 5/4 with an interpretation different from Kiil’s), blood can also flow within the body, however, as the kenning type ‘blood of the earth [RIVER]’ (Meissner 99-100) shows. The duality between river and the blood of a mythical being is illustrated by a stanza by Þórðr Særeksson (ÞSjár Frag 4/2, 3, 4), which alludes to stormy seas as follows: en eymylvir spýtir blóði systra ‘and the island-grinder [MAELSTROM] spits out the sisters’ blood [WATER]’. These sisters are the waves, daughters of the sea-giant Ægir, and their blood is ‘water’. Ægir’s daughters exhibit precisely the same duality between a natural phenomenon (waves) and a mythical being (see Introduction above). All Indo-European peoples had river deities, i.e. rivers they regarded as deities and worshipped as such (Maringer 1974). Ganges (Indian), Achelous (Greek), Tiberius (Roman) and Rhenos (Celtic) were among the names associated with these dual entities. The river Marne is another example; its name derives from Matrona (Pokorny 1959, 701).

Mǫrnar ‘of Mǫrn’

(not checked:)
Mǫrn (noun f.): Mǫrn

kennings

notes

[6] Mǫrnar ‘of Mǫrn <female mythical being>’: It is not necessary to emend the mss’ ‘mꜹrnar’ (R), ‘maurnar’ (Tˣ, W) to Marnar (so Skj B), since a and ǫ form aðalhending in the C10th. A gen. *Marnar is not attested (cf. Heusler 1903, 36, who rejects emending Mǫrnar to Marnar ). Mǫrn as a river-name (cf. Þul Á 3/3; Hfr Lv 3/3^V; Bjhít Lv 19/6^V; Ólsv Hákdr 1/1) is perhaps derived either from the name of the Marne, a tributary of the Seine in France, or from rivers of this name in Telemark and Agder in Norway (Clunies Ross 1978b, 302 n. 41). It is also rather common as the name of a giantess (see Þjóð Haustl 6/4 and 12/8, LP: 2. mǫrn and Note to ll. 6-7 above). — [6-7] snerriblóð Mǫrnar ‘the rushing blood of Mǫrn <female mythical being> [RIVER]’: It is clear from the context of the stanza that snerriblóð Mǫrnar must refer to the river Þórr wades across. Because Mǫrn is attested both as a river-name and as the name of a giantess (see Note to l. 6), Clunies Ross (1978b, 302 n. 41; 1981, 373) arrives at a compromise that the present edn adopts as well. She explains the duality river/giantess by assuming that Þdr maintains ‘a delicate modulation between the attribution of anthropomorphic qualities to the river itself and clear statements that one or more giantesses had been responsible for causing the stream to become turbulent’ (Clunies Ross 1981, 373). She further attributes this to an early Scandinavian thought pattern ‘which conceived rivers as essentially female features of the landscape and thus described them in terms of human female effluvia’ (ibid.). Hence, Mǫrn could be a river as well as the blood of a mythical being. Aside from the possible explanation as menstrual blood (Kiil 1956, 118; see also st. 5/4 with an interpretation different from Kiil’s), blood can also flow within the body, however, as the kenning type ‘blood of the earth [RIVER]’ (Meissner 99-100) shows. The duality between river and the blood of a mythical being is illustrated by a stanza by Þórðr Særeksson (ÞSjár Frag 4/2, 3, 4), which alludes to stormy seas as follows: en eymylvir spýtir blóði systra ‘and the island-grinder [MAELSTROM] spits out the sisters’ blood [WATER]’. These sisters are the waves, daughters of the sea-giant Ægir, and their blood is ‘water’. Ægir’s daughters exhibit precisely the same duality between a natural phenomenon (waves) and a mythical being (see Introduction above). All Indo-European peoples had river deities, i.e. rivers they regarded as deities and worshipped as such (Maringer 1974). Ganges (Indian), Achelous (Greek), Tiberius (Roman) and Rhenos (Celtic) were among the names associated with these dual entities. The river Marne is another example; its name derives from Matrona (Pokorny 1959, 701).

snerri ‘the rushing’

(not checked:)
snerri- ((prefix)): [rushing] < snerriblóð (noun n.)

[7] snerri‑: ‘snæri’ W

kennings

notes

[6-7] snerriblóð Mǫrnar ‘the rushing blood of Mǫrn <female mythical being> [RIVER]’: It is clear from the context of the stanza that snerriblóð Mǫrnar must refer to the river Þórr wades across. Because Mǫrn is attested both as a river-name and as the name of a giantess (see Note to l. 6), Clunies Ross (1978b, 302 n. 41; 1981, 373) arrives at a compromise that the present edn adopts as well. She explains the duality river/giantess by assuming that Þdr maintains ‘a delicate modulation between the attribution of anthropomorphic qualities to the river itself and clear statements that one or more giantesses had been responsible for causing the stream to become turbulent’ (Clunies Ross 1981, 373). She further attributes this to an early Scandinavian thought pattern ‘which conceived rivers as essentially female features of the landscape and thus described them in terms of human female effluvia’ (ibid.). Hence, Mǫrn could be a river as well as the blood of a mythical being. Aside from the possible explanation as menstrual blood (Kiil 1956, 118; see also st. 5/4 with an interpretation different from Kiil’s), blood can also flow within the body, however, as the kenning type ‘blood of the earth [RIVER]’ (Meissner 99-100) shows. The duality between river and the blood of a mythical being is illustrated by a stanza by Þórðr Særeksson (ÞSjár Frag 4/2, 3, 4), which alludes to stormy seas as follows: en eymylvir spýtir blóði systra ‘and the island-grinder [MAELSTROM] spits out the sisters’ blood [WATER]’. These sisters are the waves, daughters of the sea-giant Ægir, and their blood is ‘water’. Ægir’s daughters exhibit precisely the same duality between a natural phenomenon (waves) and a mythical being (see Introduction above). All Indo-European peoples had river deities, i.e. rivers they regarded as deities and worshipped as such (Maringer 1974). Ganges (Indian), Achelous (Greek), Tiberius (Roman) and Rhenos (Celtic) were among the names associated with these dual entities. The river Marne is another example; its name derives from Matrona (Pokorny 1959, 701).

blóð ‘blood’

(not checked:)
blóð (noun n.; °-s): blood < snerriblóð (noun n.)

kennings

notes

[6-7] snerriblóð Mǫrnar ‘the rushing blood of Mǫrn <female mythical being> [RIVER]’: It is clear from the context of the stanza that snerriblóð Mǫrnar must refer to the river Þórr wades across. Because Mǫrn is attested both as a river-name and as the name of a giantess (see Note to l. 6), Clunies Ross (1978b, 302 n. 41; 1981, 373) arrives at a compromise that the present edn adopts as well. She explains the duality river/giantess by assuming that Þdr maintains ‘a delicate modulation between the attribution of anthropomorphic qualities to the river itself and clear statements that one or more giantesses had been responsible for causing the stream to become turbulent’ (Clunies Ross 1981, 373). She further attributes this to an early Scandinavian thought pattern ‘which conceived rivers as essentially female features of the landscape and thus described them in terms of human female effluvia’ (ibid.). Hence, Mǫrn could be a river as well as the blood of a mythical being. Aside from the possible explanation as menstrual blood (Kiil 1956, 118; see also st. 5/4 with an interpretation different from Kiil’s), blood can also flow within the body, however, as the kenning type ‘blood of the earth [RIVER]’ (Meissner 99-100) shows. The duality between river and the blood of a mythical being is illustrated by a stanza by Þórðr Særeksson (ÞSjár Frag 4/2, 3, 4), which alludes to stormy seas as follows: en eymylvir spýtir blóði systra ‘and the island-grinder [MAELSTROM] spits out the sisters’ blood [WATER]’. These sisters are the waves, daughters of the sea-giant Ægir, and their blood is ‘water’. Ægir’s daughters exhibit precisely the same duality between a natural phenomenon (waves) and a mythical being (see Introduction above). All Indo-European peoples had river deities, i.e. rivers they regarded as deities and worshipped as such (Maringer 1974). Ganges (Indian), Achelous (Greek), Tiberius (Roman) and Rhenos (Celtic) were among the names associated with these dual entities. The river Marne is another example; its name derives from Matrona (Pokorny 1959, 701).

til ‘to’

(not checked:)
til (prep.): to

notes

[7-8] til svíra salþaks ‘to the neck of the roof of the earth [SKY]’: Salþaks lit. ‘of the hall-roof’. Here the world is conceived as a building as in Vsp 4/5-8 (NK 1): sól scein sunnan | á salar steina, | þá var grund gróin | grœnom lauki ‘the sun shone from the south on the stones of the hall (i.e. the earth), then the ground was grown with green leek’ (cf. Kiil 1956, 118; Davidson 1983, 598; see also Note to Rv Lv 34/1). On the sky conceptualised as a roof, cf. Meissner 104. Svíra cannot be connected with megin ‘strength’ (l. 8) (Sveinbjörn Egilsson 1851, 8) or Þorns (l. 6) (Finnur Jónsson 1900b, 384; Skj B), because either construction would leave the dangling prep. til ‘to’ and divide l. 7 into three parts (see NN §450; Reichardt 1948, 353). Svíra is difficult to interpret; in the phrase til svíra salþaks ‘to the neck of the roof of the earth’, it can perhaps be explained in light of the fact that buildings could be thought of as living beings; cf. house-kennings whose base-words are names for animals (Meissner 430). It may also have to do with the idea of the cosmos as a living being; cf. the explanation in the Prologue to SnE (SnE 2005, 1-2) of how people came to believe in an earth goddess.

svíra ‘the neck’

(not checked:)
svíri (noun m.; °-a; -ar): neck

notes

[7-8] til svíra salþaks ‘to the neck of the roof of the earth [SKY]’: Salþaks lit. ‘of the hall-roof’. Here the world is conceived as a building as in Vsp 4/5-8 (NK 1): sól scein sunnan | á salar steina, | þá var grund gróin | grœnom lauki ‘the sun shone from the south on the stones of the hall (i.e. the earth), then the ground was grown with green leek’ (cf. Kiil 1956, 118; Davidson 1983, 598; see also Note to Rv Lv 34/1). On the sky conceptualised as a roof, cf. Meissner 104. Svíra cannot be connected with megin ‘strength’ (l. 8) (Sveinbjörn Egilsson 1851, 8) or Þorns (l. 6) (Finnur Jónsson 1900b, 384; Skj B), because either construction would leave the dangling prep. til ‘to’ and divide l. 7 into three parts (see NN §450; Reichardt 1948, 353). Svíra is difficult to interpret; in the phrase til svíra salþaks ‘to the neck of the roof of the earth’, it can perhaps be explained in light of the fact that buildings could be thought of as living beings; cf. house-kennings whose base-words are names for animals (Meissner 430). It may also have to do with the idea of the cosmos as a living being; cf. the explanation in the Prologue to SnE (SnE 2005, 1-2) of how people came to believe in an earth goddess.

sal ‘of the earth’

(not checked:)
1. salr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -; dat. sǫlum): hall < salþak (noun n.)

kennings

notes

[7-8] til svíra salþaks ‘to the neck of the roof of the earth [SKY]’: Salþaks lit. ‘of the hall-roof’. Here the world is conceived as a building as in Vsp 4/5-8 (NK 1): sól scein sunnan | á salar steina, | þá var grund gróin | grœnom lauki ‘the sun shone from the south on the stones of the hall (i.e. the earth), then the ground was grown with green leek’ (cf. Kiil 1956, 118; Davidson 1983, 598; see also Note to Rv Lv 34/1). On the sky conceptualised as a roof, cf. Meissner 104. Svíra cannot be connected with megin ‘strength’ (l. 8) (Sveinbjörn Egilsson 1851, 8) or Þorns (l. 6) (Finnur Jónsson 1900b, 384; Skj B), because either construction would leave the dangling prep. til ‘to’ and divide l. 7 into three parts (see NN §450; Reichardt 1948, 353). Svíra is difficult to interpret; in the phrase til svíra salþaks ‘to the neck of the roof of the earth’, it can perhaps be explained in light of the fact that buildings could be thought of as living beings; cf. house-kennings whose base-words are names for animals (Meissner 430). It may also have to do with the idea of the cosmos as a living being; cf. the explanation in the Prologue to SnE (SnE 2005, 1-2) of how people came to believe in an earth goddess.

þaks ‘of the roof’

(not checked:)
þak (noun n.; °-s; *-): [roof, thatch] < salþak (noun n.)

kennings

notes

[7-8] til svíra salþaks ‘to the neck of the roof of the earth [SKY]’: Salþaks lit. ‘of the hall-roof’. Here the world is conceived as a building as in Vsp 4/5-8 (NK 1): sól scein sunnan | á salar steina, | þá var grund gróin | grœnom lauki ‘the sun shone from the south on the stones of the hall (i.e. the earth), then the ground was grown with green leek’ (cf. Kiil 1956, 118; Davidson 1983, 598; see also Note to Rv Lv 34/1). On the sky conceptualised as a roof, cf. Meissner 104. Svíra cannot be connected with megin ‘strength’ (l. 8) (Sveinbjörn Egilsson 1851, 8) or Þorns (l. 6) (Finnur Jónsson 1900b, 384; Skj B), because either construction would leave the dangling prep. til ‘to’ and divide l. 7 into three parts (see NN §450; Reichardt 1948, 353). Svíra is difficult to interpret; in the phrase til svíra salþaks ‘to the neck of the roof of the earth’, it can perhaps be explained in light of the fact that buildings could be thought of as living beings; cf. house-kennings whose base-words are names for animals (Meissner 430). It may also have to do with the idea of the cosmos as a living being; cf. the explanation in the Prologue to SnE (SnE 2005, 1-2) of how people came to believe in an earth goddess.

megin ‘strength’

(not checked:)
1. megin (noun n.; °-s, dat. magni/megni/megin(HirðB 398¹⁹); -): might, strength; very

vaxa ‘would grow’

(not checked:)
vaxa (verb): grow, increase