Refr Giz 3^III

Þér eigum vér veigar,
Valgautr, salar brautar
Fals, hrannvala, fannar,
framr valdr, ramar gjalda.

Valgautr, vér eigum gjalda þér {ramar veigar {salar {Fals {brautar fannar}}}}, {framr valdr {hrannvala}}.

Valgautr <= Óðinn = Gizurr>, we have to repay you {for the powerful drinks {of the hall {of the Falr <dwarf> {of the path of the snow-drift}}}} [MOUNTAINS > GIANT = Suttungr > CAVE > POETRY], {outstanding owner {of wave-horses}} [SHIPS > SEAFARER].

Mss: R(21r), Tˣ(21v), W(45), U(26v), B(4r) (SnE); 2368ˣ(81), 743ˣ(64v) (LaufE)

Readings: [1] Þér: ‘[…]r’ U;    veigar: ‘veigir’ B    [2] ‑gautr: ‘ge᷎tr’ B    [3] Fals: fars U;    ‑vala: so Tˣ, W, 743ˣ, ‑valar R, B, ‑mara U, ‑sala 2368ˣ    [4] valdr: so Tˣ, W, U, 2368ˣ, 743ˣ, valdi R, valr B;    ramar: so Tˣ, W, B, tamr R, rammar U, 2368ˣ, ramra 743ˣ

Editions: Skj AI, 319, Skj BI, 295, Skald I, 150; SnE 1848-87, I, 240-1, II, 304, 519, III, 7, SnE 1931, 90, SnE 1998, I, 9-10; LaufE 1979, 331.

Context: The stanza is cited in SnE and LaufE among stanzas illustrating names for Óðinn.

Notes: [All]: The metrical arrangement of the stanza is highly intricate: each line contains a double aðalhending, a technique Snorri refers to as alhent ‘completely rhymed’ in Ht (SnE 2007, 21; see Introduction above). — [All]: The interpretation of the stanza offered here, which treats the Óðinn-heiti Valgautr as an onomastic play on the name Gizurr (see Note to l. 2 below) rather than as an invocation to Óðinn, places the stanza unambiguously alongside the other two stanzas from the poem about Gizurr. This differs from earlier interpretations, which regard the Óðinn-heiti merely as a form of address and consider the stanza to be an early lausavísa (Kreutzer 1977, 190-1), or treat it as separate from the other Gizurr stanzas (Guðmundur Þorláksson 1882, 101). Previous eds (Skj B; Skald; Faulkes in SnE 1998, II, 515) view the stanza as a kind of prayer of gratitude to Óðinn for the gift of poetic art. According to that interpretation, which follows the readings offered in ms. R, Óðinn is apostrophised in an extended, complicated kenning: framr Valgautr, tamr valdi salar brautar fannar hrannvala ‘outstanding Valgautr <= Óðinn>, accustomed to the rule of the hall of the path of the snowdrift of wave-horses [SHIPS > WAVES > SEA > SKY/HEAVEN]’. That kenning poses several difficulties. First of all, it is highly unusual for Óðinn, a heathen god, to be referred to as the ruler of heaven. This might be explained as a syncretistic blending of the heathen god with the Christian one, commonly praised as ‘God in heaven’, but the kenning pattern ‘hall of the sea’ for ‘sky/heaven’ is not attested elsewhere, unlike sky/heaven-kennings of the common type ‘house of the earth/mountains’ (see Meissner 104). Moreover, tamr ‘accustomed’ does not otherwise occur in constructions with the dat. (here, valdi n. dat. sg. ‘rule, power’); rather, it is either construed with the gen. or with the prepositions við or at in the sense ‘to’ (LP: tamr). Because the problematic readings valdi and tamr are found in ms. R only, the present edn has adopted the readings of the majority of the mss, valdr (so Tˣ, W, U; ms. B has valr) and ramar (so Tˣ, W, U, B). The rationale behind that choice is explained in the Notes below. — [1, 2, 3, 4] ramar veigar salar Fals brautar fannar ‘for the powerful drinks of the hall of the Falr <dwarf> of the path of the snow-drift [MOUNTAINS > GIANT = Suttungr > CAVE > POETRY]’: This kenning, though complex, is constructed logically. Poetry is referred to periphrastically as the drink of the cave of the giant, which is an allusion to the Suttungr myth. The giant Suttungr kept the stolen mead of poetry in a cave, from where Óðinn then purloined it (SnE 1998, I, 3-5). It is somewhat problematic, however, that the giant is called ‘the Falr <dwarf> of the mountains’, and Falr is otherwise attested only once as a dwarf-name (see Note to l. 3). Giants are commonly referred to as ‘dwellers of the mountains’, and a great variety of ethnic names, names for gods, trolls etc. serve as base-words in these kennings (Meissner 257-8). In the present stanza, the dwarf-name appears to have been used as the base-word in a giant-kenning, which is uncommon. The kenning’s unusual word order could have been caused by the difficulties posed by the alhent metre (Kuhn 1983, 305-6). — [2] Valgautr: Lit. ‘Gautr of the fallen’. This is a heiti for Óðinn that is also listed in the þulur (see Þul Óðins 8/8 and Note there). It is not a kenning, because Gautr alone denotes Óðinn (Falk 1924, 11; LP: Gautr). Valgautr in this stanza has previously been interpreted as an invocation to Óðinn, and the stanza as a prayer of gratitude for the gift of poetry (see Note to [All] above). According to the present interpretation, the recipient of the stanza is addressed both as Valgautr and as valdr hrannvala ‘owner of the wave-horses [SHIPS > SEAFARER]’. The second kenning is a regular kenning for ‘seafarer’, however, and has nothing to do with Óðinn. Valgautr, as a heiti for Óðinn, must be a variant of another Óðinn-heiti, namely Gizurr (see Þul Óðins 1/5). That the pers. n. Gizurr was associated with Óðinn is shown by the play on ‘Óðinn’ (= Gizurr) and ‘Gautr’ (= Gizurr) in a lausavísa by Sturla Þórðarson (Sturl Lv 4/4, 8^IV) referring to the trouble-making Gizurr jarl Þorvaldsson. Sturla’s stanza also establishes that, if a particular pers. n. was identical to an Óðinn-heiti, it could be replaced by another heiti for Óðinn. The use of ‘Óðinn’ and ‘Gautr’ for the pers. n. Gizurr in Sturla’s lausavísa is polemical, and the stanza portrays Gizurr jarl as a deceitful traitor. Nothing of this sort could be intended in Refr’s poem; rather, Refr calls Gizurr by one of Óðinn’s names because to him, Gizurr played the role of Óðinn: he brought the mead of poetry to the poet and taught him how to compose poems. Hence this stanza, like the previous two stanzas of the poem, highlights the religious views of Refr, who composed his works during the decades following Iceland’s conversion to Christianity (see his Biography above). They show that Óðinn must have been of central importance to him as a skald, which makes it highly unlikely that Refr had adopted the new faith. — [3] Fals ‘of the Falr <dwarf>’: The dwarf-name Falr is attested only here and in Gylf (SnE 2005, 17), which contains a catalogue of dwarf-names taken from Vsp 10-16. The comparable place in the eddic poem (Vsp 16/3) does not give Falr, but Fjalarr, however. The dwarf called Fjalarr plays a decisive role in creating the mead of poetry (cf. Skm, SnE 1998, I, 3). The name’s gen. form Fjalars would be acceptable in l. 3 of Refr’s stanza; perhaps it was replaced by Fals to avoid an awkward resolution in metrical position 1 and to maintain the strict rhyme scheme, which requires a double aðalhending in each line. — [4] ramar ‘powerful’: For the variants ramar (nom. ramr) and rammar (nom. rammr), see Note to Ív Sig 17/4^II. The former is required by the metre (two short syllables in metrical positions 3-4), and it also provides the correct aðalhending (with framr) in this line.

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skj B = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1912-15b. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. B: Rettet tekst. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Villadsen & Christensen. Rpt. 1973. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger.
3. SnE 1848-87 = Snorri Sturluson. 1848-87. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar: Edda Snorronis Sturlaei. Ed. Jón Sigurðsson et al. 3 vols. Copenhagen: Legatum Arnamagnaeanum. Rpt. Osnabrück: Zeller, 1966.
4. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
5. LaufE 1979 = Faulkes, Anthony, ed. 1979. Edda Magnúsar Ólafssonar (Laufás Edda). RSÁM 13. Vol. I of Two Versions of Snorra Edda from the 17th Century. Reykjavík: Stofnun Árna Magnússonar, 1977-9.
6. Meissner = Meissner, Rudolf. 1921. Die Kenningar der Skalden: Ein Beitrag zur skaldischen Poetik. Rheinische Beiträge und Hülfsbücher zur germanischen Philologie und Volkskunde 1. Bonn and Leipzig: Schroeder. Rpt. 1984. Hildesheim etc.: Olms.
7. LP = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1931. Lexicon poeticum antiquæ linguæ septentrionalis: Ordbog over det norsk-islandske skjaldesprog oprindelig forfattet af Sveinbjörn Egilsson. 2nd edn. Copenhagen: Møller.
8. Kreutzer, Gert. 1977. Die Dichtungslehre der Skalden: Poetologische Terminologie und Autorenkommentare als Grundlage einer Gattungspoetik. 2nd edn. Hochschulschriften: Literaturwissenschaft 1. Meisenheim am Glan: Hain.
9. Kuhn, Hans (1899). 1983. Das Dróttkvætt. Heidelberg: Winter.
10. SnE 1931 = Snorri Sturluson. 1931. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
11. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
12. SnE 2005 = Snorri Sturluson. 2005. Edda: Prologue and Gylfaginning. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2nd edn. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
13. Falk, Hjalmar. 1924. Odensheite. Skrifter utg. av Videnskapsselskapet i Kristiania. II. Hist.-filos. kl. 1924, 10. Kristiania (Oslo): Dybwad.
14. SnE 2007 = Snorri Sturluson. 2007. Edda: Háttatal. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2nd edn. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
15. Guðmundur Þorláksson. 1882. Udsigt over de norsk-islandske skjalde fra 9de til 14de århundrede. SUGNL 8. Copenhagen: Møller.
16. Internal references
17. Edith Marold 2017, ‘Snorra Edda (Prologue, Gylfaginning, Skáldskaparmál)’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols [check printed volume for citation].
18. 2017, ‘ Anonymous, Gautreks saga’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 241. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=9> (accessed 3 May 2024)
19. (forthcoming), ‘ Snorri Sturluson, Skáldskaparmál’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=112> (accessed 3 May 2024)
20. (forthcoming), ‘ Snorri Sturluson, Gylfaginning’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=113> (accessed 3 May 2024)
21. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Háttatal’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=165> (accessed 3 May 2024)
22. Kari Ellen Gade 2017, ‘(Biography of) Sturla Þórðarson’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 392.
23. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Óðins nǫfn 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. 732.
24. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Óðins nǫfn 8’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 751.
25. Not published: do not cite ()
26. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Ívarr Ingimundarson, Sigurðarbálkr 17’ in Kari Ellen Gade (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 2: From c. 1035 to c. 1300. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 2. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 512.
27. Not published: do not cite (Sturl Lv 4^IV)
28. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Laufás Edda’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=10928> (accessed 3 May 2024)