Ólhelg Lv 9^I

Ár ‘Formerly’

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4. ár (adv.): of yore, previously, early

stóð ‘stood’

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standa (verb): stand

ok ‘’

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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also

eik ‘oak’

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eik (noun f.; °eikr/eikar; eikr): oak

[1] eik: ok Flat

kennings

notes

[1, 2] eik jarladóms ‘oak of the jarldom [WOMAN]’: The status of eik ‘oak’ and the function of the cpd jarladóms ‘of the jarldom’ within the helmingr have proved difficult to pin down. (a) In this edn jarladóms is construed as the determinant in a woman-kenning whose base-word is eik. Such a combination would provide a parallel to the woman-kenning tré bekkjar ‘tree of the bench’ in l. 5 and would belong to a rare kenning pattern where the determinant denotes a social or territorial unit. Examples, referring to men, are Egill St 21/5, 7^V (Eg 92) askr ættar ‘ash-tree of the family’ and kynviðr ‘wood of the kindred’, and Glúmr Gráf 2/5, 6 Freyr foldar ‘Freyr of the land’ (NN §255; cf. ÍF 26, 156). (b) In this and interpretations (c) and (d), eik ‘oak’ is understood as an outright metaphor (‘woman’ as ‘tree’) rather than as the familiar skaldic kenning or corrected metaphor with determinant. Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) emends Hǫrðar in l. 3 to hirðar, thus bringing the words sem hirðar jarladóms vissu ‘as the keepers of the jarldom knew’ together in a syntactic unit, but with jarladóms distant from the rest of the sem-clause. (c) Kock (NN §609) rejected Finnur Jónsson’s emendation and word order and construed l. 2 as a syntactic unit, jarladóms með blómi, which he explained variously as i jarladömets blomstring ‘in the flowering of the jarldom’ and i furstlig fägring ‘in princely beauty’. (d) Frank (1978, 175) suggested construing jarladóms as a gen. of place, ‘in the jarldom’.

in ‘the’

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2. inn (art.): the

kennings

dýra ‘precious’

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dýrr (adj.; °compar. -ri/-ari, superl. -str/-astr): precious

kennings

í ‘’

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í (prep.): in, into

jarla ‘jarl’

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jarl (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): poet, earl < jarladómr (noun m.)

[2] jarla‑: ‘j’ Flat

kennings

notes

[1, 2] eik jarladóms ‘oak of the jarldom [WOMAN]’: The status of eik ‘oak’ and the function of the cpd jarladóms ‘of the jarldom’ within the helmingr have proved difficult to pin down. (a) In this edn jarladóms is construed as the determinant in a woman-kenning whose base-word is eik. Such a combination would provide a parallel to the woman-kenning tré bekkjar ‘tree of the bench’ in l. 5 and would belong to a rare kenning pattern where the determinant denotes a social or territorial unit. Examples, referring to men, are Egill St 21/5, 7^V (Eg 92) askr ættar ‘ash-tree of the family’ and kynviðr ‘wood of the kindred’, and Glúmr Gráf 2/5, 6 Freyr foldar ‘Freyr of the land’ (NN §255; cf. ÍF 26, 156). (b) In this and interpretations (c) and (d), eik ‘oak’ is understood as an outright metaphor (‘woman’ as ‘tree’) rather than as the familiar skaldic kenning or corrected metaphor with determinant. Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) emends Hǫrðar in l. 3 to hirðar, thus bringing the words sem hirðar jarladóms vissu ‘as the keepers of the jarldom knew’ together in a syntactic unit, but with jarladóms distant from the rest of the sem-clause. (c) Kock (NN §609) rejected Finnur Jónsson’s emendation and word order and construed l. 2 as a syntactic unit, jarladóms með blómi, which he explained variously as i jarladömets blomstring ‘in the flowering of the jarldom’ and i furstlig fägring ‘in princely beauty’. (d) Frank (1978, 175) suggested construing jarladóms as a gen. of place, ‘in the jarldom’.

dóms ‘dom’

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dómr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): judgement; court; -dom, -ness (suffix) < jarladómr (noun m.)

kennings

notes

[1, 2] eik jarladóms ‘oak of the jarldom [WOMAN]’: The status of eik ‘oak’ and the function of the cpd jarladóms ‘of the jarldom’ within the helmingr have proved difficult to pin down. (a) In this edn jarladóms is construed as the determinant in a woman-kenning whose base-word is eik. Such a combination would provide a parallel to the woman-kenning tré bekkjar ‘tree of the bench’ in l. 5 and would belong to a rare kenning pattern where the determinant denotes a social or territorial unit. Examples, referring to men, are Egill St 21/5, 7^V (Eg 92) askr ættar ‘ash-tree of the family’ and kynviðr ‘wood of the kindred’, and Glúmr Gráf 2/5, 6 Freyr foldar ‘Freyr of the land’ (NN §255; cf. ÍF 26, 156). (b) In this and interpretations (c) and (d), eik ‘oak’ is understood as an outright metaphor (‘woman’ as ‘tree’) rather than as the familiar skaldic kenning or corrected metaphor with determinant. Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) emends Hǫrðar in l. 3 to hirðar, thus bringing the words sem hirðar jarladóms vissu ‘as the keepers of the jarldom knew’ together in a syntactic unit, but with jarladóms distant from the rest of the sem-clause. (c) Kock (NN §609) rejected Finnur Jónsson’s emendation and word order and construed l. 2 as a syntactic unit, jarladóms með blómi, which he explained variously as i jarladömets blomstring ‘in the flowering of the jarldom’ and i furstlig fägring ‘in princely beauty’. (d) Frank (1978, 175) suggested construing jarladóms as a gen. of place, ‘in the jarldom’.

með ‘with’

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með (prep.): with

blómi ‘blossom’

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blóm (noun n.; °-s; -): flower

harðla ‘intensely’

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harðla (adv.): very, highly, greatly

grœn ‘green’

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2. grœnn (adj.; °superl. grǿnastr/grǿnstr): green

sem ‘as’

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sem (conj.): as, which

notes

[3-4] sem Hǫrðar vissu hvert misseri ‘as the Hǫrðar knew each season’: This identification of a specific regional population within Norway, the people of Hordaland, no doubt indicates the origins of the woman. The phrase hvert misseri ‘each season’ (with necessary minor emendation of hvatt to hvert) could belong either in this intercalated clause or in the main clause.

Hǫrðar ‘the Hǫrðar’

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Hǫrðar (noun m.): the Hǫrðar

notes

[3-4] sem Hǫrðar vissu hvert misseri ‘as the Hǫrðar knew each season’: This identification of a specific regional population within Norway, the people of Hordaland, no doubt indicates the origins of the woman. The phrase hvert misseri ‘each season’ (with necessary minor emendation of hvatt to hvert) could belong either in this intercalated clause or in the main clause.

hvatt ‘’

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hvatr (adj.; °-ari, -an; -astr): keen, brave

hvert ‘each’

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2. hverr (pron.): who, whom, each, every

[4] hvert: hvatt Flat

notes

[3-4] sem Hǫrðar vissu hvert misseri ‘as the Hǫrðar knew each season’: This identification of a specific regional population within Norway, the people of Hordaland, no doubt indicates the origins of the woman. The phrase hvert misseri ‘each season’ (with necessary minor emendation of hvatt to hvert) could belong either in this intercalated clause or in the main clause.

misseri ‘season’

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misseri (noun n.; °-s; -): season

notes

[3-4] sem Hǫrðar vissu hvert misseri ‘as the Hǫrðar knew each season’: This identification of a specific regional population within Norway, the people of Hordaland, no doubt indicates the origins of the woman. The phrase hvert misseri ‘each season’ (with necessary minor emendation of hvatt to hvert) could belong either in this intercalated clause or in the main clause.

vissu ‘knew’

(not checked:)
1. vita (verb): know

notes

[3-4] sem Hǫrðar vissu hvert misseri ‘as the Hǫrðar knew each season’: This identification of a specific regional population within Norway, the people of Hordaland, no doubt indicates the origins of the woman. The phrase hvert misseri ‘each season’ (with necessary minor emendation of hvatt to hvert) could belong either in this intercalated clause or in the main clause.

Nú ‘Now’

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nú (adv.): now

hefr ‘has’

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hafa (verb): have

bekkjar ‘of the bench’

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1. bekkr (noun m.; °-jar/-s, dat. -/-i; -ir): bench

kennings

notes

[5] tré bekkjar ‘the tree of the bench [WOMAN]’: This kenning extends the licence seen in viðr valklifs ‘tree of the falcon-cliff [ARM > WOMAN]’ in Lv 2/5-6 (see Note), in that here the base-word is n., not m. For further discussion see following Note.

tré ‘the tree’

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tré (noun n.; °-s; tré/trjó, gen. trjá, dat. trjóm/trjám): tree

kennings

notes

[5] tré bekkjar ‘the tree of the bench [WOMAN]’: This kenning extends the licence seen in viðr valklifs ‘tree of the falcon-cliff [ARM > WOMAN]’ in Lv 2/5-6 (see Note), in that here the base-word is n., not m. For further discussion see following Note.

bliknat ‘grown pale’

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blikna (verb; °-að-): [grown pale, gleam]

notes

[5-6] bliknat brátt gráti Mardallar ‘grown pale fast with the weeping of Mardǫll <= Freyja> [GOLD]’: Freyja wept tears of gold for her absent husband Óðr, and Mardǫll is among her alternative names (Gylf, SnE 2005, 29). Golden finery is similarly associated with the wearer’s skin gleaming or growing pale (blikna) in SnSt Ht 45/5-6^III, which also has a metaphorical tree, this time in a kenning. Finnur Jonsson in Skj B assumes the following word order here: Nú hefr tré bliknat brátt laufi í Gǫrðum; bekkja lind hefr bundit línu-jǫrð Mardallar gráti ‘Now the tree has rapidly paled as to its foliage in Garðaríki; the woman has bound a gold band round her head’. By separating the images of paleness and gold this solution produces a more direct parallel to Lv 2, but it is unnecessarily complicated, both syntactically and semantically.

brátt ‘fast’

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bráðr (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): quick(ly)

notes

[5-6] bliknat brátt gráti Mardallar ‘grown pale fast with the weeping of Mardǫll <= Freyja> [GOLD]’: Freyja wept tears of gold for her absent husband Óðr, and Mardǫll is among her alternative names (Gylf, SnE 2005, 29). Golden finery is similarly associated with the wearer’s skin gleaming or growing pale (blikna) in SnSt Ht 45/5-6^III, which also has a metaphorical tree, this time in a kenning. Finnur Jonsson in Skj B assumes the following word order here: Nú hefr tré bliknat brátt laufi í Gǫrðum; bekkja lind hefr bundit línu-jǫrð Mardallar gráti ‘Now the tree has rapidly paled as to its foliage in Garðaríki; the woman has bound a gold band round her head’. By separating the images of paleness and gold this solution produces a more direct parallel to Lv 2, but it is unnecessarily complicated, both syntactically and semantically.

Mardallar ‘of Mardǫll’

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Mardǫll (noun f.): Mardǫll

kennings

notes

[5-6] bliknat brátt gráti Mardallar ‘grown pale fast with the weeping of Mardǫll <= Freyja> [GOLD]’: Freyja wept tears of gold for her absent husband Óðr, and Mardǫll is among her alternative names (Gylf, SnE 2005, 29). Golden finery is similarly associated with the wearer’s skin gleaming or growing pale (blikna) in SnSt Ht 45/5-6^III, which also has a metaphorical tree, this time in a kenning. Finnur Jonsson in Skj B assumes the following word order here: Nú hefr tré bliknat brátt laufi í Gǫrðum; bekkja lind hefr bundit línu-jǫrð Mardallar gráti ‘Now the tree has rapidly paled as to its foliage in Garðaríki; the woman has bound a gold band round her head’. By separating the images of paleness and gold this solution produces a more direct parallel to Lv 2, but it is unnecessarily complicated, both syntactically and semantically.

gráti ‘with the weeping’

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grátr (noun m.): weeping, crying

kennings

notes

[5-6] bliknat brátt gráti Mardallar ‘grown pale fast with the weeping of Mardǫll <= Freyja> [GOLD]’: Freyja wept tears of gold for her absent husband Óðr, and Mardǫll is among her alternative names (Gylf, SnE 2005, 29). Golden finery is similarly associated with the wearer’s skin gleaming or growing pale (blikna) in SnSt Ht 45/5-6^III, which also has a metaphorical tree, this time in a kenning. Finnur Jonsson in Skj B assumes the following word order here: Nú hefr tré bliknat brátt laufi í Gǫrðum; bekkja lind hefr bundit línu-jǫrð Mardallar gráti ‘Now the tree has rapidly paled as to its foliage in Garðaríki; the woman has bound a gold band round her head’. By separating the images of paleness and gold this solution produces a more direct parallel to Lv 2, but it is unnecessarily complicated, both syntactically and semantically.

lind ‘the linden-tree’

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1. lind (noun f.): linden-shield, linden tree

kennings

notes

[7, 8] lind línu hefr jǫrð í Gǫrðum ‘the linden-tree of the headband [WOMAN] has land in Russia’: The words línu jǫrð ‘of the headband ... land’ are an adaptation of Sveinbjörn Egilsson’s explanation of ms. ‘limuord’ (LP (1860): lína). (a) Finnur Jónsson in Skj B and Kock in Skald both follow Sveinbjörn in combining the two words to produce ‘land of the linen headdress’, a kenning for ‘head’. Finnur then combines bekkjar ‘bench’ in l. 5 with lind ‘linden-tree’ in l. 7 to give a woman-kenning, leaving tré ‘tree’ as a half-kenning or uncorrected metaphor matching his interpretation of eik ‘oak’ in l. 1. (b) The present edn follows Kock (NN §610) in letting simplicity of word order dictate that bekkjar tré, as adjacent words, should be construed together as a woman-kenning. The noun lind is treated by Kock as a further uncorrected metaphor, but línu is a suitable determinant: words for ‘headdress’ or ‘veil’ are common in woman-kennings (Meissner 416). (c) Accepting this, Frank (1978, 174-6) varies the emendation of ms. ‘limuord’ to obtain línu vǫrðr and interprets ll. 7-8 lind hefr laufi bundit | línu vǫrðr í Gǫrðum ‘the ruler in Russia has bound the linden of the linen headdress [WOMAN] with [gold] leaf’.

hefr ‘has’

(not checked:)
hafa (verb): have

notes

[7, 8] hefr jǫrð ‘has land’: The combination hafa jǫrð interchanges with eiga jǫrð as the standard expression for ‘to own land’ (NGL I, 73, 76, 149). Adopted in this edn is the interpretation that the woman has land in Russia (see Poole 1985a, 124-9). A bride’s acquisition of land as part of the marriage contract was familiar practice; Hkr mentions in its account of Ingigerðr’s marriage that she asked Jaroslav for estates before giving her consent (ÍF 27, 147). Others have taken jǫrð as part of a kenning (see previous Note). — [7, 8] lind línu hefr jǫrð í Gǫrðum ‘the linden-tree of the headband [WOMAN] has land in Russia’: The words línu jǫrð ‘of the headband ... land’ are an adaptation of Sveinbjörn Egilsson’s explanation of ms. ‘limuord’ (LP (1860): lína). (a) Finnur Jónsson in Skj B and Kock in Skald both follow Sveinbjörn in combining the two words to produce ‘land of the linen headdress’, a kenning for ‘head’. Finnur then combines bekkjar ‘bench’ in l. 5 with lind ‘linden-tree’ in l. 7 to give a woman-kenning, leaving tré ‘tree’ as a half-kenning or uncorrected metaphor matching his interpretation of eik ‘oak’ in l. 1. (b) The present edn follows Kock (NN §610) in letting simplicity of word order dictate that bekkjar tré, as adjacent words, should be construed together as a woman-kenning. The noun lind is treated by Kock as a further uncorrected metaphor, but línu is a suitable determinant: words for ‘headdress’ or ‘veil’ are common in woman-kennings (Meissner 416). (c) Accepting this, Frank (1978, 174-6) varies the emendation of ms. ‘limuord’ to obtain línu vǫrðr and interprets ll. 7-8 lind hefr laufi bundit | línu vǫrðr í Gǫrðum ‘the ruler in Russia has bound the linden of the linen headdress [WOMAN] with [gold] leaf’.

hefr ‘has’

(not checked:)
hafa (verb): have

notes

[7, 8] hefr jǫrð ‘has land’: The combination hafa jǫrð interchanges with eiga jǫrð as the standard expression for ‘to own land’ (NGL I, 73, 76, 149). Adopted in this edn is the interpretation that the woman has land in Russia (see Poole 1985a, 124-9). A bride’s acquisition of land as part of the marriage contract was familiar practice; Hkr mentions in its account of Ingigerðr’s marriage that she asked Jaroslav for estates before giving her consent (ÍF 27, 147). Others have taken jǫrð as part of a kenning (see previous Note). — [7, 8] lind línu hefr jǫrð í Gǫrðum ‘the linden-tree of the headband [WOMAN] has land in Russia’: The words línu jǫrð ‘of the headband ... land’ are an adaptation of Sveinbjörn Egilsson’s explanation of ms. ‘limuord’ (LP (1860): lína). (a) Finnur Jónsson in Skj B and Kock in Skald both follow Sveinbjörn in combining the two words to produce ‘land of the linen headdress’, a kenning for ‘head’. Finnur then combines bekkjar ‘bench’ in l. 5 with lind ‘linden-tree’ in l. 7 to give a woman-kenning, leaving tré ‘tree’ as a half-kenning or uncorrected metaphor matching his interpretation of eik ‘oak’ in l. 1. (b) The present edn follows Kock (NN §610) in letting simplicity of word order dictate that bekkjar tré, as adjacent words, should be construed together as a woman-kenning. The noun lind is treated by Kock as a further uncorrected metaphor, but línu is a suitable determinant: words for ‘headdress’ or ‘veil’ are common in woman-kennings (Meissner 416). (c) Accepting this, Frank (1978, 174-6) varies the emendation of ms. ‘limuord’ to obtain línu vǫrðr and interprets ll. 7-8 lind hefr laufi bundit | línu vǫrðr í Gǫrðum ‘the ruler in Russia has bound the linden of the linen headdress [WOMAN] with [gold] leaf’.

laufi ‘with foliage’

(not checked:)
lauf (noun n.; °-s; -): leaf

notes

[7] bundit laufi ‘wreathed with foliage’: This describes tré bekkjar ‘tree of the bench [WOMAN]’, possibly referring to the headdress of leaves worn by the bride (and bridegroom) at an Eastern Orthodox wedding (Poole 1985a, 128). The references to gold in Lv 2/3, including golli merkð ‘distinguished with gold’, could refer to the same wedding.

bundit ‘wreathed’

(not checked:)
binda (verb; °bindr; batt/bant(cf. [$332$]), bundu; bundinn): bind, tie

notes

[7] bundit laufi ‘wreathed with foliage’: This describes tré bekkjar ‘tree of the bench [WOMAN]’, possibly referring to the headdress of leaves worn by the bride (and bridegroom) at an Eastern Orthodox wedding (Poole 1985a, 128). The references to gold in Lv 2/3, including golli merkð ‘distinguished with gold’, could refer to the same wedding.

limu ‘’

(not checked:)
1. lim (noun f.; °; -ar): limb < limuǫrð (noun f.): limb-grain (gold, silver?)

línu ‘of the headdress’

(not checked:)
lín (noun n.): linen; headband

[8] línu jǫrð: ‘limuord’ Flat

kennings

notes

[7, 8] lind línu hefr jǫrð í Gǫrðum ‘the linden-tree of the headband [WOMAN] has land in Russia’: The words línu jǫrð ‘of the headband ... land’ are an adaptation of Sveinbjörn Egilsson’s explanation of ms. ‘limuord’ (LP (1860): lína). (a) Finnur Jónsson in Skj B and Kock in Skald both follow Sveinbjörn in combining the two words to produce ‘land of the linen headdress’, a kenning for ‘head’. Finnur then combines bekkjar ‘bench’ in l. 5 with lind ‘linden-tree’ in l. 7 to give a woman-kenning, leaving tré ‘tree’ as a half-kenning or uncorrected metaphor matching his interpretation of eik ‘oak’ in l. 1. (b) The present edn follows Kock (NN §610) in letting simplicity of word order dictate that bekkjar tré, as adjacent words, should be construed together as a woman-kenning. The noun lind is treated by Kock as a further uncorrected metaphor, but línu is a suitable determinant: words for ‘headdress’ or ‘veil’ are common in woman-kennings (Meissner 416). (c) Accepting this, Frank (1978, 174-6) varies the emendation of ms. ‘limuord’ to obtain línu vǫrðr and interprets ll. 7-8 lind hefr laufi bundit | línu vǫrðr í Gǫrðum ‘the ruler in Russia has bound the linden of the linen headdress [WOMAN] with [gold] leaf’.

ord ‘’

(not checked:)
ǫrð (noun f.; °arðar; arðir/arðar): corn, grain < limuǫrð (noun f.): limb-grain (gold, silver?)

jǫrð ‘land’

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jǫrð (noun f.; °jarðar, dat. -u; jarðir/jarðar(DN I (1367) 304Š)): ground, earth

[8] línu jǫrð: ‘limuord’ Flat

notes

[7, 8] hefr jǫrð ‘has land’: The combination hafa jǫrð interchanges with eiga jǫrð as the standard expression for ‘to own land’ (NGL I, 73, 76, 149). Adopted in this edn is the interpretation that the woman has land in Russia (see Poole 1985a, 124-9). A bride’s acquisition of land as part of the marriage contract was familiar practice; Hkr mentions in its account of Ingigerðr’s marriage that she asked Jaroslav for estates before giving her consent (ÍF 27, 147). Others have taken jǫrð as part of a kenning (see previous Note). — [7, 8] lind línu hefr jǫrð í Gǫrðum ‘the linden-tree of the headband [WOMAN] has land in Russia’: The words línu jǫrð ‘of the headband ... land’ are an adaptation of Sveinbjörn Egilsson’s explanation of ms. ‘limuord’ (LP (1860): lína). (a) Finnur Jónsson in Skj B and Kock in Skald both follow Sveinbjörn in combining the two words to produce ‘land of the linen headdress’, a kenning for ‘head’. Finnur then combines bekkjar ‘bench’ in l. 5 with lind ‘linden-tree’ in l. 7 to give a woman-kenning, leaving tré ‘tree’ as a half-kenning or uncorrected metaphor matching his interpretation of eik ‘oak’ in l. 1. (b) The present edn follows Kock (NN §610) in letting simplicity of word order dictate that bekkjar tré, as adjacent words, should be construed together as a woman-kenning. The noun lind is treated by Kock as a further uncorrected metaphor, but línu is a suitable determinant: words for ‘headdress’ or ‘veil’ are common in woman-kennings (Meissner 416). (c) Accepting this, Frank (1978, 174-6) varies the emendation of ms. ‘limuord’ to obtain línu vǫrðr and interprets ll. 7-8 lind hefr laufi bundit | línu vǫrðr í Gǫrðum ‘the ruler in Russia has bound the linden of the linen headdress [WOMAN] with [gold] leaf’.

jǫrð ‘land’

(not checked:)
jǫrð (noun f.; °jarðar, dat. -u; jarðir/jarðar(DN I (1367) 304Š)): ground, earth

[8] línu jǫrð: ‘limuord’ Flat

notes

[7, 8] hefr jǫrð ‘has land’: The combination hafa jǫrð interchanges with eiga jǫrð as the standard expression for ‘to own land’ (NGL I, 73, 76, 149). Adopted in this edn is the interpretation that the woman has land in Russia (see Poole 1985a, 124-9). A bride’s acquisition of land as part of the marriage contract was familiar practice; Hkr mentions in its account of Ingigerðr’s marriage that she asked Jaroslav for estates before giving her consent (ÍF 27, 147). Others have taken jǫrð as part of a kenning (see previous Note). — [7, 8] lind línu hefr jǫrð í Gǫrðum ‘the linden-tree of the headband [WOMAN] has land in Russia’: The words línu jǫrð ‘of the headband ... land’ are an adaptation of Sveinbjörn Egilsson’s explanation of ms. ‘limuord’ (LP (1860): lína). (a) Finnur Jónsson in Skj B and Kock in Skald both follow Sveinbjörn in combining the two words to produce ‘land of the linen headdress’, a kenning for ‘head’. Finnur then combines bekkjar ‘bench’ in l. 5 with lind ‘linden-tree’ in l. 7 to give a woman-kenning, leaving tré ‘tree’ as a half-kenning or uncorrected metaphor matching his interpretation of eik ‘oak’ in l. 1. (b) The present edn follows Kock (NN §610) in letting simplicity of word order dictate that bekkjar tré, as adjacent words, should be construed together as a woman-kenning. The noun lind is treated by Kock as a further uncorrected metaphor, but línu is a suitable determinant: words for ‘headdress’ or ‘veil’ are common in woman-kennings (Meissner 416). (c) Accepting this, Frank (1978, 174-6) varies the emendation of ms. ‘limuord’ to obtain línu vǫrðr and interprets ll. 7-8 lind hefr laufi bundit | línu vǫrðr í Gǫrðum ‘the ruler in Russia has bound the linden of the linen headdress [WOMAN] with [gold] leaf’.

í ‘in’

(not checked:)
í (prep.): in, into

notes

[7, 8] lind línu hefr jǫrð í Gǫrðum ‘the linden-tree of the headband [WOMAN] has land in Russia’: The words línu jǫrð ‘of the headband ... land’ are an adaptation of Sveinbjörn Egilsson’s explanation of ms. ‘limuord’ (LP (1860): lína). (a) Finnur Jónsson in Skj B and Kock in Skald both follow Sveinbjörn in combining the two words to produce ‘land of the linen headdress’, a kenning for ‘head’. Finnur then combines bekkjar ‘bench’ in l. 5 with lind ‘linden-tree’ in l. 7 to give a woman-kenning, leaving tré ‘tree’ as a half-kenning or uncorrected metaphor matching his interpretation of eik ‘oak’ in l. 1. (b) The present edn follows Kock (NN §610) in letting simplicity of word order dictate that bekkjar tré, as adjacent words, should be construed together as a woman-kenning. The noun lind is treated by Kock as a further uncorrected metaphor, but línu is a suitable determinant: words for ‘headdress’ or ‘veil’ are common in woman-kennings (Meissner 416). (c) Accepting this, Frank (1978, 174-6) varies the emendation of ms. ‘limuord’ to obtain línu vǫrðr and interprets ll. 7-8 lind hefr laufi bundit | línu vǫrðr í Gǫrðum ‘the ruler in Russia has bound the linden of the linen headdress [WOMAN] with [gold] leaf’.

Gǫrðum ‘Russia’

(not checked:)
Garðar (noun m.): Russia

notes

[7, 8] lind línu hefr jǫrð í Gǫrðum ‘the linden-tree of the headband [WOMAN] has land in Russia’: The words línu jǫrð ‘of the headband ... land’ are an adaptation of Sveinbjörn Egilsson’s explanation of ms. ‘limuord’ (LP (1860): lína). (a) Finnur Jónsson in Skj B and Kock in Skald both follow Sveinbjörn in combining the two words to produce ‘land of the linen headdress’, a kenning for ‘head’. Finnur then combines bekkjar ‘bench’ in l. 5 with lind ‘linden-tree’ in l. 7 to give a woman-kenning, leaving tré ‘tree’ as a half-kenning or uncorrected metaphor matching his interpretation of eik ‘oak’ in l. 1. (b) The present edn follows Kock (NN §610) in letting simplicity of word order dictate that bekkjar tré, as adjacent words, should be construed together as a woman-kenning. The noun lind is treated by Kock as a further uncorrected metaphor, but línu is a suitable determinant: words for ‘headdress’ or ‘veil’ are common in woman-kennings (Meissner 416). (c) Accepting this, Frank (1978, 174-6) varies the emendation of ms. ‘limuord’ to obtain línu vǫrðr and interprets ll. 7-8 lind hefr laufi bundit | línu vǫrðr í Gǫrðum ‘the ruler in Russia has bound the linden of the linen headdress [WOMAN] with [gold] leaf’.