Ormr Woman 2^III

Þvít hols hrynbáls
hramma, þats berk framm,
Billings á burar full
bjarkar hefk lagit mark.

Þvít [e]k hef lagit mark {bjarkar {hols hrynbáls hramma}} á {full {burar Billings}}, þats berk framm.

Because I have placed the mark {of the birch {of the hollow ringing fire of hands}} [RING > WOMAN] on {the cup {of the son of Billingr <dwarf>}} [DWARF > POEM], which I deliver.

Mss: R(33r), Tˣ(34v), W(76), U(32r), A(10v), C(4v) (SnE); 2368ˣ(119), 743ˣ(90v) (LaufE)

Readings: [1] hols: hjóls U, hóls A    [2] hramma: ‘hrammam’ C;    þats (‘þaz’): þat U    [3] burar: ‘bv[…]r’ U

Editions: Skj AI, 416, Skj BI, 385, Skald I, 191; SnE 1848-87, I, 412-13, II, 324, 435, 584, III, 74, SnE 1931, 147, SnE 1998, I, 64; LaufE 1979, I, 379.

Context: In Skm (SnE) and LaufE the stanza is quoted to illustrate the use of the base-word bjǫrk ‘birch’ in woman-kennings.

Notes: [3] full burar Billings ‘the cup of the son of Billingr <dwarf> [DWARF > POEM]’: A dwarf named Billingr is mentioned in the Hauksbók text of Vsp 13 (NK 3 n.). A person or being of that name is also mentioned in Hávm 97/1 but cannot be definitely identified as a dwarf (cf. Evans 1986, 58). Faulkes (SnE 1998, II, 448) explains burar Billings ‘of the son of Billingr’ as meaning ‘any dwarf or giant’ in the context of the myth of the mead of poetry, where dwarfs and giants were among the beings to hold possession of the mead at various points. — [4] mark ‘the mark’: In Skj B, Finnur Jónsson takes lagit mark ‘placed the mark’ as meaning that the poet has described the woman in the poem he composes about her (karakterisert hende i det digt ‘described her in that poem’). More specifically, it could be interpreted as hinting that the poem contained an identification of the beloved woman (and if so, presumably via the ofljóst in st. 6/4).

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. Evans, David A. H., ed. 1986. Hávamál. Viking Society Text Series 7. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
6. NK = Neckel, Gustav and Hans Kuhn (1899), eds. 1983. Edda: Die Lieder des Codex Regius nebst verwandten Denkmälern. 2 vols. I: Text. 5th edn. Heidelberg: Winter.
7. SnE 1931 = Snorri Sturluson. 1931. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
8. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
9. Internal references
10. 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].
11. (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 27 April 2024)
12. Not published: do not cite ()
13. Not published: do not cite ()
14. (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 27 April 2024)