Þjóð Haustl 10III
Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Þjóðólfr ór Hvini, Haustlǫng 10’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 446.
bjartra ‘of the bright’
(not checked:)
bjartr (adj.; °compar. -ari, superl. -astr): bright
[1] bjartra: brattra W
kennings
Byggvendr bjartra borða‘The inhabitants of the bright hillsides ’
= GIANTS
The inhabitants of the bright hillsides → GIANTS
notes
[1-2] byggvendr bjartra borða ‘the inhabitants of the bright hillsides [GIANTS]’: Skj B, LP: borð 5 and Skald emend the mss’ borða to barða, gen. pl. of barð ‘beard, prow of a ship, edge, slope of a hill’ to make sense of a kenning which must, on account of the context, refer to giants, characteristically dwellers in rocks or mountains. Although the first vowel in R is obscured by a blot, all mss are likely to have read borða, and it is possible to keep the mss’ reading, understanding borð in the sense ‘edge, side, slope’ (Fritzner: borð 2; Marold 1983, 165 n. 370). SnE 1998, II, 254 assumes a sense ‘inhabitants of (those who dwell on, stand on) bright shields, giants’. Borð is here understood to mean ‘shield-board’ and a reference is assumed to the myth of the giant Hrungnir, who stood on his stone shield when facing the god Þórr in single combat. However, there is no indication that this property of Hrungnir could be generalised to all giants in the kenning system. Both Skj B and Skald prefer W’s brattra ‘steep’ over R, Tˣ’s bjartra, and that reading is equally good.
borða ‘hillsides’
(not checked:)
borð (noun n.; °-s; -): side, plank, board; table
[1] borða: so all others, ‘b[…]rþa’ R
kennings
Byggvendr bjartra borða‘The inhabitants of the bright hillsides ’
= GIANTS
The inhabitants of the bright hillsides → GIANTS
notes
[1-2] byggvendr bjartra borða ‘the inhabitants of the bright hillsides [GIANTS]’: Skj B, LP: borð 5 and Skald emend the mss’ borða to barða, gen. pl. of barð ‘beard, prow of a ship, edge, slope of a hill’ to make sense of a kenning which must, on account of the context, refer to giants, characteristically dwellers in rocks or mountains. Although the first vowel in R is obscured by a blot, all mss are likely to have read borða, and it is possible to keep the mss’ reading, understanding borð in the sense ‘edge, side, slope’ (Fritzner: borð 2; Marold 1983, 165 n. 370). SnE 1998, II, 254 assumes a sense ‘inhabitants of (those who dwell on, stand on) bright shields, giants’. Borð is here understood to mean ‘shield-board’ and a reference is assumed to the myth of the giant Hrungnir, who stood on his stone shield when facing the god Þórr in single combat. However, there is no indication that this property of Hrungnir could be generalised to all giants in the kenning system. Both Skj B and Skald prefer W’s brattra ‘steep’ over R, Tˣ’s bjartra, and that reading is equally good.
byggvendr ‘The inhabitants’
(not checked:)
byggjandi (noun m.; °-a; byggendr): [inhabitants]
[2] byggvendr: ‘byggendr’ Tˣ, W
kennings
Byggvendr bjartra borða‘The inhabitants of the bright hillsides ’
= GIANTS
The inhabitants of the bright hillsides → GIANTS
notes
[1-2] byggvendr bjartra borða ‘the inhabitants of the bright hillsides [GIANTS]’: Skj B, LP: borð 5 and Skald emend the mss’ borða to barða, gen. pl. of barð ‘beard, prow of a ship, edge, slope of a hill’ to make sense of a kenning which must, on account of the context, refer to giants, characteristically dwellers in rocks or mountains. Although the first vowel in R is obscured by a blot, all mss are likely to have read borða, and it is possible to keep the mss’ reading, understanding borð in the sense ‘edge, side, slope’ (Fritzner: borð 2; Marold 1983, 165 n. 370). SnE 1998, II, 254 assumes a sense ‘inhabitants of (those who dwell on, stand on) bright shields, giants’. Borð is here understood to mean ‘shield-board’ and a reference is assumed to the myth of the giant Hrungnir, who stood on his stone shield when facing the god Þórr in single combat. However, there is no indication that this property of Hrungnir could be generalised to all giants in the kenning system. Both Skj B and Skald prefer W’s brattra ‘steep’ over R, Tˣ’s bjartra, and that reading is equally good.
at ‘after’
(not checked:)
3. at (prep.): at, to
hryggvir ‘sad’
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2. hryggr (adj.; °-van/-jan; compar. -vari/-ari/-ri; superl. -astr): sorrowful, sad
[2] hryggvir: hryggir Tˣ, W
þá ‘then’
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2. þá (adv.): then
vas ‘was’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
Ið ‘Iðunn’
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iða (noun f.; °-u; -ur): [Iðunn, actions] < Iðunnr (noun f.)
notes
[3, 4] Iðunnr ‘Iðunn’: The name of a goddess, wife of Bragi (see also Note to Þul Ásynja I 1/7). The two parts of her name (cf. AEW: Iðunn) are separated by tmesis, tellingly punctuated by the phrase með jǫtnum ‘among the giants’. The second element is given as the later form ‘uðr’ in all mss, though a later scribe has written ‘unnr’ above the line in W. The form in ‑unnr must have been original here, as it provides aðalhending with sunn-.
með ‘among’
(not checked:)
með (prep.): with
jǫtnum ‘the giants’
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jǫtunn (noun m.; °jǫtuns, dat. jǫtni; jǫtnar): giant
unnr ‘’
(not checked:)
2. unnr (noun f.): wave < Iðunnr (noun f.)
[4] unnr: uðr R, Tˣ, uðr with ‘unnr’ written above in a later hand W
notes
[3, 4] Iðunnr ‘Iðunn’: The name of a goddess, wife of Bragi (see also Note to Þul Ásynja I 1/7). The two parts of her name (cf. AEW: Iðunn) are separated by tmesis, tellingly punctuated by the phrase með jǫtnum ‘among the giants’. The second element is given as the later form ‘uðr’ in all mss, though a later scribe has written ‘unnr’ above the line in W. The form in ‑unnr must have been original here, as it provides aðalhending with sunn-.
ný ‘newly’
(not checked:)
nýr (adj.; °nýjan; compar. nýrri, superl. nýjastr): new < nýkominn (adj./verb p.p.)
[4] nýkomin: so W, nýkominn R, Tˣ
komin ‘arrived’
(not checked:)
koma (verb; kem, kom/kvam, kominn): come < nýkominn (adj./verb p.p.)
[4] nýkomin: so W, nýkominn R, Tˣ
sunnan ‘from the south’
(not checked:)
sunnan (adv.): (from the) south
notes
[4] sunnan ‘from the south’: Þjóðólfr imagines Ásgarðr to have been in the south of the mythic world, and Jǫtunheimar probably in the north; cf. Lindow (1994a).
Gerðusk ‘became’
(not checked:)
1. gera (verb): do, make
notes
[5] gerðusk ‘became’: The pl. subject is allar áttir Ingvi-Freys ‘all the kin of Ingvi-Freyr [GODS]’ (ll. 5-6) and the complement gamlar ok hárar ‘old and grey’ (ll. 7, 8). Another possibility is to understand gerðusk at þingi in the sense ‘[all the kin of Ingvi-Freyr, old and grey,] set about/organised an assembly’. As it stands, l. 5 lacks a hending and this prompted Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) to emend to gættusk ‘they paid attention, deliberated’ and Kock (Skald; NN §3039) to emend to mœttusk ‘they met’. There is no ms. support for either emendation.
allar ‘All’
(not checked:)
allr (adj.): all
kennings
Allar áttir Ingvi-Freys‘All the kin of Ingvi-Freyr ’
= GODS
All the kin of Ingvi-Freyr → GODS
áttir ‘the kin’
(not checked:)
1. ætt (noun f.; °-ar; -ir): family
kennings
Allar áttir Ingvi-Freys‘All the kin of Ingvi-Freyr ’
= GODS
All the kin of Ingvi-Freyr → GODS
Ingvi ‘of Ingvi’
(not checked:)
Ingi (noun m.): king, Ingi < Ingifreyr (noun m.)
[6] Ingvi‑ (‘inge’): ‘ing[…]’ W
kennings
Allar áttir Ingvi-Freys‘All the kin of Ingvi-Freyr ’
= GODS
All the kin of Ingvi-Freyr → GODS
notes
[6] Ingvi-Freys ‘of Ingvi-Freyr’: Name for the god Freyr. The various extant forms of the first element derive from the Proto-Scandinavian form *ingwaz (Gmc *Ingwiafraujaz ‘Lord of the Ingvaeones’; cf. AEW: Ingi 1, Yngvi). In Old Norse the presence of ‑w- caused w-umlaut to Yngvi- (ANG §82.4); here, however, Ing- is secured by the internal rhyme with þing- (a very early example of such a change), but ‑v- has been restored (from the mss’ ‘ing’) in line with Old Norse prose sources, where ‑v- is still preserved.
Freys ‘Freyr’
(not checked:)
Freyr (noun m.): (a god) < Ingifreyr (noun m.)
kennings
Allar áttir Ingvi-Freys‘All the kin of Ingvi-Freyr ’
= GODS
All the kin of Ingvi-Freyr → GODS
notes
[6] Ingvi-Freys ‘of Ingvi-Freyr’: Name for the god Freyr. The various extant forms of the first element derive from the Proto-Scandinavian form *ingwaz (Gmc *Ingwiafraujaz ‘Lord of the Ingvaeones’; cf. AEW: Ingi 1, Yngvi). In Old Norse the presence of ‑w- caused w-umlaut to Yngvi- (ANG §82.4); here, however, Ing- is secured by the internal rhyme with þing- (a very early example of such a change), but ‑v- has been restored (from the mss’ ‘ing’) in line with Old Norse prose sources, where ‑v- is still preserved.
þingi ‘the assembly’
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þing (noun n.; °-s; -): meeting, assembly
váru ‘were’
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2. vera (verb): be, is, was, were, are, am
heldr ‘quite’
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heldr (adv.): rather
ok ‘and’
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3. ok (conj.): and, but; also
hárar ‘grey’
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hárr (adj.): grey
ham ‘of form’
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hamr (noun m.; °dat. -; dat. *-um): skin, shape, form < hamljótr (adj.)
ljót ‘ugly’
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ljótr (adj.): ugly < hamljótr (adj.)
regin ‘the divine powers’
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regin (noun n.): divine power
gamlar ‘old’
(not checked:)
gamall (adj.; °gamlan; compar. & superl. ellri adj.): old
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
As for st. 1.
The prose narrative of Skm (SnE 1998, I, 1-2) tells that, after the trio of gods had returned to Ásgarðr, at an appointed time, Loki lured Iðunn into a forest outside Ásgarðr, and there Þjazi, once again in eagle form, snatched her up and abducted her to his home in Þrymheimr. The gods soon began to show signs of the absence of her youth-preserving apples, and became grey and old (hárir ok gamlir, cf. ll. 7, 8). They held an assembly (þing) to discover who had last seen Iðunn. — [5-6, 7, 8]: The main clause in these lines (which is punctuated by an intercalary in ll. 7, 8) is unusually completed in the following stanza, by the unz ‘until’ clause of st. 11/1-4. The punctuation of these two helmingar indicates the continuity of sense between them.
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