HSt Frag 3^III

Svalteigar mun selju
salts Víðblinda galtar
rafkastandi rastar
reyrþvengs muna lengi.

{Víðblinda galtar {salts svalteigar {raf{kastandi}}}} mun lengi muna {selju {rastar {reyrþvengs}}}.

{The thrower {of the amber {of the salty, cool meadow {of the boar of Víðblindi <giant>}}}} [(lit. ‘amber-thrower of the salty, cool meadow of the boar of Víðblindi’) WHALE > SEA > GOLD > GENEROUS MAN] will for a long time remember {the willow {of the path {of the reed-thong}}} [SNAKE > GOLD > WOMAN].

Mss: R(33r), Tˣ(34v), W(76), U(31v), A(10r), C(4v) (SnE); papp10ˣ(48vb) (LaufE); 2368ˣ(119), 743ˣ(90r) (LaufE)

Readings: [1] Sval‑: Sal‑ Tˣ;    mun: man ek A    [2] ‑blinda: ‑blindi U, ‘blinnis’ A    [3] raf‑: rauf‑ U

Editions: Skj AI, 552, Skj BI, 534, Skald I, 260; SnE 1848-87, I, 408-9, II, 323-4, 434, 583, III, 72, SnE 1931, 145, SnE 1998, I, 63; LaufE 1979, 294, 378.

Context: Skm (SnE) and LaufE cite this helmingr to exemplify how, in a woman-kenning, ‘gold’ can serve as the determinant and a woman can be called selja gulls ‘willow of gold’. After the stanza Snorri (SnE 1998, I, 63)  explains that Víðblindi, a giant, angles for whales in the water as though they were fish; hence the whale-kenning gǫltr Víðblinda ‘boar of Víðblindi’. In addition, the base-word of the kenning selja gulls ‘willow of gold’ is explained as a homonym (samheiti), either a woman (selja) who bestows (selr) something (gold), or a tree (selja ‘willow’).

Notes: [1, 3, 4] selju rastar reyrþvengs ‘the willow of the path of the reed-thong [SNAKE > GOLD > WOMAN]’: This kenning is one of the common woman-kennings formed according to the pattern ‘tree of gold’. Despite the explanation of selja immediately following the stanza in Skm (see Context above), the ‘willow’ must have been the original meaning of selja in kennings. Even though women are often called ‘givers of something’ in Old Norse prose literature (e.g. matselja ‘food-giver’; Fritzner: matselja), it would not have been a woman’s role to dispense gold. Tree-names, on the other hand, often appear as base-words in woman-kennings (Meissner 410). — [1, 2-3] Víðblinda galtar salts svalteigar rafkastandi ‘the thrower of the amber of the salty, cool meadow of the boar of Víðblindi <giant> [(lit. ‘amber-thrower of the salty, cool meadow of the boar of Víðblindi’) WHALE > SEA > GOLD > GENEROUS MAN]’: This is an extended kenning, in which the poet refers to himself as ‘generous man’. The basic pattern is ‘thrower of gold’; in this case ‘gold’ is called ‘amber of the sea’, ‘sea’ is referred to as ‘the salty, cool meadow of the whale’, and ‘whale’ is in turn referred to as ‘boar of the giant (Víðblindi)’ (see Note to l. 2 below). The use of ‘amber’ as a base word in the gold-kenning here can be explained by the shining colour of amber (LP: rǫf). In salts svalteigar ‘the salty, cool meadow’, the noun salts is taken as an adjectival gen. The interpretation of the stanza follows Skj B. — [2] Víðblinda galtar ‘of the boar of Víðblindi <giant>’: Víðblindi (or Viðblindi) is attested as a giant’s name in Þul Jǫtna I 5/7. The quantity of the first vowel is uncertain (see Note to l. 7 there). A comparable kenning for ‘whale’ is found in Anon (LaufE) 7/4 svíni Víðblinda ‘the swine of Víðblindi’ (cf. Note to l. 4 there). The kenning is difficult to explain, as the name of this giant is only found here and in the þulur, and the kenning is probably based on a particular mythological episode. Skm’s explanation (SnE 1998, I, 63) is not helpful because it cannot explain the base-word ‘boar’ (see Meissner 116). A possible explanation could be that for giants whales have the same function as boars for men or gods, e.g. as food.

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. Fritzner = Fritzner, Johan. 1883-96. Ordbog over det gamle norske sprog. 3 vols. Kristiania (Oslo): Den norske forlagsforening. 4th edn. Rpt. 1973. Oslo etc.: Universitetsforlaget.
9. SnE 1931 = Snorri Sturluson. 1931. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
10. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
11. Internal references
12. 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].
13. (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 2 May 2024)
14. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Jǫtna heiti I 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. 715.
15. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Lausavísur, Stanzas from Laufás Edda 7’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 644.
16. (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 2 May 2024)