Refr Ferðv 2^III

Fœrir ‘leads’

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2. fœra (verb): bring

[1] Fœrir: Fœrisk R(38r), Tˣ(39v), A, C

bjǫrn ‘the bear’

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bjǫrn (noun m.; °bjarnar, dat. birni; birnir, acc. bjǫrnu): bear, Bjǫrn

kennings

þars ‘where’

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þars (conj.): where

notes

[1-2] þars bára brestr ‘where the wave breaks’: This must refer to the offshore shallows where waves break and ships are in the greatest danger.

bára ‘the wave’

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1. bára (noun f.; °-u; -ur): wave

notes

[1-2] þars bára brestr ‘where the wave breaks’: This must refer to the offshore shallows where waves break and ships are in the greatest danger.

brestr ‘breaks’

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1. bresta (verb; °brestr; brast, brustu; brostinn): burst, split

[2] brestr: brest W, 2368ˣ, 743ˣ

notes

[1-2] þars bára brestr ‘where the wave breaks’: This must refer to the offshore shallows where waves break and ships are in the greatest danger.

undinna ‘of twisted’

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undinn (adj./verb p.p.): twisted

[2] undinna: ‘vndinan’ Tˣ(27r), ‘vndina’ U

kennings

festa ‘moorings’

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festr (noun f.; °dat. & acc. -i; -ar/-ir): mooring, betrothal

kennings

opt ‘often’

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opt (adv.): often

í ‘into’

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í (prep.): in, into

[3] í: og 2368ˣ, 743ˣ

notes

[3] í kjapta ægis ‘into the jaws of the sea’: The sea is not depicted as a personified divine force in human shape here, but rather as a ravenous monster. The word ægir could also be the pers. n. Ægir, but there is otherwise no evidence that he was thought of as a monster that devours ships and men.

ægis ‘of the sea’

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2. ægir (noun m.): ocean, sea

notes

[3] í kjapta ægis ‘into the jaws of the sea’: The sea is not depicted as a personified divine force in human shape here, but rather as a ravenous monster. The word ægir could also be the pers. n. Ægir, but there is otherwise no evidence that he was thought of as a monster that devours ships and men.

kjapta ‘the jaws’

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kjaftr (noun m.): cheek, mouth

[3] kjapta: so all others, ‘kiopta’ R(26v)

notes

[3] í kjapta ægis ‘into the jaws of the sea’: The sea is not depicted as a personified divine force in human shape here, but rather as a ravenous monster. The word ægir could also be the pers. n. Ægir, but there is otherwise no evidence that he was thought of as a monster that devours ships and men.

úr ‘The spray’

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úr (noun n.): drizzle, spray, sea < úrsvalr (adj.)

[4] úr‑: so Tˣ(39v), U, A, út‑ R(26v), R(38r), Tˣ(27r), W, B, C, 2368ˣ, 743ˣ

kennings

notes

[4] úrsvǫl vǫlva Gymis ‘the spray-cold vǫlva <seeress> of Gymir <sea-giant> [= Rán]’: Rán is a sea-goddess and the wife of Ægir, the sea-god or sea-giant (Skm, SnE 1998, I, 36, 41, 95). She seems to personify the destructive power of the sea, as becomes clear in this stanza and above all in the eddic Helgi poems (HHund I 29-30; HHj 18) and in Egill St 7/1-2^V (Eg 78). She is said to possess a net with which she fishes for everyone who drowns (see Note to SnH Lv 6/3^II). In prose sources such as Eyrbyggja saga (Eb ch. 54, ÍF 4, 148) there are indications of a notion of a realm of the dead in which those who drown are received by Rán. On Rán, see also Note to Þul Ásynja 2/7. On the motif of the sea as a malevolent, threatening female being, see Clunies Ross (1998a, 166-7). The kenning vǫlva Gymis is formed according to the normal pattern ‘woman of …’ but is unusual in its choice of the base-word vǫlva ‘seeress’. Vǫlva must have negative connotations here, as in a few other instances in eddic and skaldic sources (see Kommentar IV, 292 and LP: vǫlva). The choice of base-word underscores the threatening character of the sea-goddess.

svǫl ‘cold’

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svalr (adj.): cool < úrsvalr (adj.)

kennings

notes

[4] úrsvǫl vǫlva Gymis ‘the spray-cold vǫlva <seeress> of Gymir <sea-giant> [= Rán]’: Rán is a sea-goddess and the wife of Ægir, the sea-god or sea-giant (Skm, SnE 1998, I, 36, 41, 95). She seems to personify the destructive power of the sea, as becomes clear in this stanza and above all in the eddic Helgi poems (HHund I 29-30; HHj 18) and in Egill St 7/1-2^V (Eg 78). She is said to possess a net with which she fishes for everyone who drowns (see Note to SnH Lv 6/3^II). In prose sources such as Eyrbyggja saga (Eb ch. 54, ÍF 4, 148) there are indications of a notion of a realm of the dead in which those who drown are received by Rán. On Rán, see also Note to Þul Ásynja 2/7. On the motif of the sea as a malevolent, threatening female being, see Clunies Ross (1998a, 166-7). The kenning vǫlva Gymis is formed according to the normal pattern ‘woman of …’ but is unusual in its choice of the base-word vǫlva ‘seeress’. Vǫlva must have negative connotations here, as in a few other instances in eddic and skaldic sources (see Kommentar IV, 292 and LP: vǫlva). The choice of base-word underscores the threatening character of the sea-goddess.

Gymis ‘of Gymir’

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2. Gymir (noun m.): Gymir

[4] Gymis: ýmis U

kennings

notes

[4] úrsvǫl vǫlva Gymis ‘the spray-cold vǫlva <seeress> of Gymir <sea-giant> [= Rán]’: Rán is a sea-goddess and the wife of Ægir, the sea-god or sea-giant (Skm, SnE 1998, I, 36, 41, 95). She seems to personify the destructive power of the sea, as becomes clear in this stanza and above all in the eddic Helgi poems (HHund I 29-30; HHj 18) and in Egill St 7/1-2^V (Eg 78). She is said to possess a net with which she fishes for everyone who drowns (see Note to SnH Lv 6/3^II). In prose sources such as Eyrbyggja saga (Eb ch. 54, ÍF 4, 148) there are indications of a notion of a realm of the dead in which those who drown are received by Rán. On Rán, see also Note to Þul Ásynja 2/7. On the motif of the sea as a malevolent, threatening female being, see Clunies Ross (1998a, 166-7). The kenning vǫlva Gymis is formed according to the normal pattern ‘woman of …’ but is unusual in its choice of the base-word vǫlva ‘seeress’. Vǫlva must have negative connotations here, as in a few other instances in eddic and skaldic sources (see Kommentar IV, 292 and LP: vǫlva). The choice of base-word underscores the threatening character of the sea-goddess.

vǫlva ‘vǫlva’

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vǫlva (noun f.; °vǫlu/vǫlvu; vǫlur/vǫlvur): seeress

kennings

notes

[4] úrsvǫl vǫlva Gymis ‘the spray-cold vǫlva <seeress> of Gymir <sea-giant> [= Rán]’: Rán is a sea-goddess and the wife of Ægir, the sea-god or sea-giant (Skm, SnE 1998, I, 36, 41, 95). She seems to personify the destructive power of the sea, as becomes clear in this stanza and above all in the eddic Helgi poems (HHund I 29-30; HHj 18) and in Egill St 7/1-2^V (Eg 78). She is said to possess a net with which she fishes for everyone who drowns (see Note to SnH Lv 6/3^II). In prose sources such as Eyrbyggja saga (Eb ch. 54, ÍF 4, 148) there are indications of a notion of a realm of the dead in which those who drown are received by Rán. On Rán, see also Note to Þul Ásynja 2/7. On the motif of the sea as a malevolent, threatening female being, see Clunies Ross (1998a, 166-7). The kenning vǫlva Gymis is formed according to the normal pattern ‘woman of …’ but is unusual in its choice of the base-word vǫlva ‘seeress’. Vǫlva must have negative connotations here, as in a few other instances in eddic and skaldic sources (see Kommentar IV, 292 and LP: vǫlva). The choice of base-word underscores the threatening character of the sea-goddess.