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skaldic

Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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Þjóð Haustl 13III

Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Þjóðólfr ór Hvini, Haustlǫng 13’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 451.

Þjóðólfr ór HviniHaustlǫng
121314

Hófu ‘began’

(not checked:)
hefja (verb): lift, start

notes

[1-2] skǫpt hófu skjótt brinna, en ginnregin skófu ‘shafts quickly began to burn, which the mighty powers had shaved’: This seems the most likely interpretation of these lines, in accordance with Skm (SnE 1998, I, 2): Þá gengu þeir út undir Ásgarð ok báru þannig byrðar af lokarspánum ‘Then they [the gods] went out below Ásgarðr and carried there loads of wood-shavings’. Kock (Skald and NN §1811) emends skjótt ‘quickly’ (l. 1) to skǫf ‘shavings’ and en (l. 1) to enn and construes skǫf hófu brinnaenn ginnregin skófu skǫpt ‘shavings began to burn – in addition the mighty powers had shaved the shafts’. He had previously (NN §225) proposed that skǫpt ‘shafts’ be taken as the subject of hófu brinna and the object of en ginnregin skófu

Close

skjótt ‘quickly’

(not checked:)
2. skjótr (adj.): quick(ly)

notes

[1-2] skǫpt hófu skjótt brinna, en ginnregin skófu ‘shafts quickly began to burn, which the mighty powers had shaved’: This seems the most likely interpretation of these lines, in accordance with Skm (SnE 1998, I, 2): Þá gengu þeir út undir Ásgarð ok báru þannig byrðar af lokarspánum ‘Then they [the gods] went out below Ásgarðr and carried there loads of wood-shavings’. Kock (Skald and NN §1811) emends skjótt ‘quickly’ (l. 1) to skǫf ‘shavings’ and en (l. 1) to enn and construes skǫf hófu brinnaenn ginnregin skófu skǫpt ‘shavings began to burn – in addition the mighty powers had shaved the shafts’. He had previously (NN §225) proposed that skǫpt ‘shafts’ be taken as the subject of hófu brinna and the object of en ginnregin skófu

Close

en ‘which’

(not checked:)
4. en (conj.): than

notes

[1] en ‘which’: Here a rel. particle, cf. ANG §473 and anm. 1, Fritzner: en, conj. 6c. — [1-2] skǫpt hófu skjótt brinna, en ginnregin skófu ‘shafts quickly began to burn, which the mighty powers had shaved’: This seems the most likely interpretation of these lines, in accordance with Skm (SnE 1998, I, 2): Þá gengu þeir út undir Ásgarð ok báru þannig byrðar af lokarspánum ‘Then they [the gods] went out below Ásgarðr and carried there loads of wood-shavings’. Kock (Skald and NN §1811) emends skjótt ‘quickly’ (l. 1) to skǫf ‘shavings’ and en (l. 1) to enn and construes skǫf hófu brinnaenn ginnregin skófu skǫpt ‘shavings began to burn – in addition the mighty powers had shaved the shafts’. He had previously (NN §225) proposed that skǫpt ‘shafts’ be taken as the subject of hófu brinna and the object of en ginnregin skófu

Close

en ‘which’

(not checked:)
4. en (conj.): than

notes

[1] en ‘which’: Here a rel. particle, cf. ANG §473 and anm. 1, Fritzner: en, conj. 6c. — [1-2] skǫpt hófu skjótt brinna, en ginnregin skófu ‘shafts quickly began to burn, which the mighty powers had shaved’: This seems the most likely interpretation of these lines, in accordance with Skm (SnE 1998, I, 2): Þá gengu þeir út undir Ásgarð ok báru þannig byrðar af lokarspánum ‘Then they [the gods] went out below Ásgarðr and carried there loads of wood-shavings’. Kock (Skald and NN §1811) emends skjótt ‘quickly’ (l. 1) to skǫf ‘shavings’ and en (l. 1) to enn and construes skǫf hófu brinnaenn ginnregin skófu skǫpt ‘shavings began to burn – in addition the mighty powers had shaved the shafts’. He had previously (NN §225) proposed that skǫpt ‘shafts’ be taken as the subject of hófu brinna and the object of en ginnregin skófu

Close

skófu ‘had shaved’

(not checked:)
skafa (verb): plane, smoothe

notes

[1-2] skǫpt hófu skjótt brinna, en ginnregin skófu ‘shafts quickly began to burn, which the mighty powers had shaved’: This seems the most likely interpretation of these lines, in accordance with Skm (SnE 1998, I, 2): Þá gengu þeir út undir Ásgarð ok báru þannig byrðar af lokarspánum ‘Then they [the gods] went out below Ásgarðr and carried there loads of wood-shavings’. Kock (Skald and NN §1811) emends skjótt ‘quickly’ (l. 1) to skǫf ‘shavings’ and en (l. 1) to enn and construes skǫf hófu brinnaenn ginnregin skófu skǫpt ‘shavings began to burn – in addition the mighty powers had shaved the shafts’. He had previously (NN §225) proposed that skǫpt ‘shafts’ be taken as the subject of hófu brinna and the object of en ginnregin skófu

Close

skǫpt ‘Shafts’

(not checked:)
skapt (noun m.; °; *-): °(Fr def. 5 “en af de Stænger hvormed Vævgarnets Traade, Rendingen vexelvis hæves op eller trykkes ned for at Islætten kan indskydes ... Nj 158 (276/16)”; kun belagt i poesi, cf. NjM 455/6); stang, pind, stok; skaft (på

notes

[1-2] skǫpt hófu skjótt brinna, en ginnregin skófu ‘shafts quickly began to burn, which the mighty powers had shaved’: This seems the most likely interpretation of these lines, in accordance with Skm (SnE 1998, I, 2): Þá gengu þeir út undir Ásgarð ok báru þannig byrðar af lokarspánum ‘Then they [the gods] went out below Ásgarðr and carried there loads of wood-shavings’. Kock (Skald and NN §1811) emends skjótt ‘quickly’ (l. 1) to skǫf ‘shavings’ and en (l. 1) to enn and construes skǫf hófu brinnaenn ginnregin skófu skǫpt ‘shavings began to burn – in addition the mighty powers had shaved the shafts’. He had previously (NN §225) proposed that skǫpt ‘shafts’ be taken as the subject of hófu brinna and the object of en ginnregin skófu

Close

ginn ‘the mighty’

(not checked:)
ginn (noun n.): vast, mighty < ginnregin (noun n.)

[2] ginn‑: so Tˣ, ‘gin‑’ R

notes

[1-2] skǫpt hófu skjótt brinna, en ginnregin skófu ‘shafts quickly began to burn, which the mighty powers had shaved’: This seems the most likely interpretation of these lines, in accordance with Skm (SnE 1998, I, 2): Þá gengu þeir út undir Ásgarð ok báru þannig byrðar af lokarspánum ‘Then they [the gods] went out below Ásgarðr and carried there loads of wood-shavings’. Kock (Skald and NN §1811) emends skjótt ‘quickly’ (l. 1) to skǫf ‘shavings’ and en (l. 1) to enn and construes skǫf hófu brinnaenn ginnregin skófu skǫpt ‘shavings began to burn – in addition the mighty powers had shaved the shafts’. He had previously (NN §225) proposed that skǫpt ‘shafts’ be taken as the subject of hófu brinna and the object of en ginnregin skófu

Close

regin ‘powers’

(not checked:)
regin (noun n.): divine power < ginnregin (noun n.)

notes

[1-2] skǫpt hófu skjótt brinna, en ginnregin skófu ‘shafts quickly began to burn, which the mighty powers had shaved’: This seems the most likely interpretation of these lines, in accordance with Skm (SnE 1998, I, 2): Þá gengu þeir út undir Ásgarð ok báru þannig byrðar af lokarspánum ‘Then they [the gods] went out below Ásgarðr and carried there loads of wood-shavings’. Kock (Skald and NN §1811) emends skjótt ‘quickly’ (l. 1) to skǫf ‘shavings’ and en (l. 1) to enn and construes skǫf hófu brinnaenn ginnregin skófu skǫpt ‘shavings began to burn – in addition the mighty powers had shaved the shafts’. He had previously (NN §225) proposed that skǫpt ‘shafts’ be taken as the subject of hófu brinna and the object of en ginnregin skófu

Close

brinna ‘to burn’

(not checked:)
2. brenna (verb; °brennr/brenn; brann, brunnu; brunninn): (strong, intransitive)

notes

[1-2] skǫpt hófu skjótt brinna, en ginnregin skófu ‘shafts quickly began to burn, which the mighty powers had shaved’: This seems the most likely interpretation of these lines, in accordance with Skm (SnE 1998, I, 2): Þá gengu þeir út undir Ásgarð ok báru þannig byrðar af lokarspánum ‘Then they [the gods] went out below Ásgarðr and carried there loads of wood-shavings’. Kock (Skald and NN §1811) emends skjótt ‘quickly’ (l. 1) to skǫf ‘shavings’ and en (l. 1) to enn and construes skǫf hófu brinnaenn ginnregin skófu skǫpt ‘shavings began to burn – in addition the mighty powers had shaved the shafts’. He had previously (NN §225) proposed that skǫpt ‘shafts’ be taken as the subject of hófu brinna and the object of en ginnregin skófu

Close

en ‘and’

(not checked:)
2. en (conj.): but, and

Close

sunr ‘the son’

(not checked:)
sonr (noun m.; °-ar, dat. syni; synir, acc. sonu, syni): son

[3] sunr: son R, Tˣ

kennings

sunr biðils Greipar
‘the son of the wooer of Greip ’
   = Þjazi

the wooer of Greip → GIANT
the son of the GIANT → Þjazi

notes

[3] sunr ‘the son’: The archaic form sunr (rather than sonr) is secured by internal rhyme in st. 14/6 and has been adopted here.

Close

biðils ‘of the wooer’

(not checked:)
biðill (noun m.; °dat. biðli; biðlar): [suitor, wooer]

[3] biðils: so Tˣ, ‘biþiss’ R

kennings

sunr biðils Greipar
‘the son of the wooer of Greip ’
   = Þjazi

the wooer of Greip → GIANT
the son of the GIANT → Þjazi
Close

biðils ‘of the wooer’

(not checked:)
biðill (noun m.; °dat. biðli; biðlar): [suitor, wooer]

[3] biðils: so Tˣ, ‘biþiss’ R

kennings

sunr biðils Greipar
‘the son of the wooer of Greip ’
   = Þjazi

the wooer of Greip → GIANT
the son of the GIANT → Þjazi
Close

sviðnar ‘is scorched’

(not checked:)
sviðna (verb): scorch

[3] sviðnar: so Tˣ, om. R

Close

sveipr ‘a swerve’

(not checked:)
sveipr (noun m.): [sweeper, a swerve]

notes

[4] sveipr varð í fǫr ‘there was a swerve in his course’: An ironic understatement: Þjazi plummeted downwards as his wings caught fire and his course was altered irrevocably. Sveipr signals a sudden change of movement, an abrupt halt (cf. LP: sveipr 1). Þjóðólfr refrains from describing or even alluding to the gods’ killing of Þjazi, though his audience would have known what happened to the giant.

Close

varð ‘there was’

(not checked:)
1. verða (verb): become, be

notes

[4] sveipr varð í fǫr ‘there was a swerve in his course’: An ironic understatement: Þjazi plummeted downwards as his wings caught fire and his course was altered irrevocably. Sveipr signals a sudden change of movement, an abrupt halt (cf. LP: sveipr 1). Þjóðólfr refrains from describing or even alluding to the gods’ killing of Þjazi, though his audience would have known what happened to the giant.

Close

í ‘in’

(not checked:)
í (prep.): in, into

notes

[4] sveipr varð í fǫr ‘there was a swerve in his course’: An ironic understatement: Þjazi plummeted downwards as his wings caught fire and his course was altered irrevocably. Sveipr signals a sudden change of movement, an abrupt halt (cf. LP: sveipr 1). Þjóðólfr refrains from describing or even alluding to the gods’ killing of Þjazi, though his audience would have known what happened to the giant.

Close

fǫr ‘his course’

(not checked:)
fǫr (noun f.): journey, fate; movement

notes

[4] sveipr varð í fǫr ‘there was a swerve in his course’: An ironic understatement: Þjazi plummeted downwards as his wings caught fire and his course was altered irrevocably. Sveipr signals a sudden change of movement, an abrupt halt (cf. LP: sveipr 1). Þjóðólfr refrains from describing or even alluding to the gods’ killing of Þjazi, though his audience would have known what happened to the giant.

Close

Greipar ‘of Greip’

(not checked:)
Greip (noun f.): Greip

kennings

sunr biðils Greipar
‘the son of the wooer of Greip ’
   = Þjazi

the wooer of Greip → GIANT
the son of the GIANT → Þjazi

notes

[4] Greipar ‘of Greip <giantess>’: Name of a giantess, one of the two daughters of the giant Geirrøðr in the myth of how Þórr travels to the latter’s abode, as told in Skm (SnE 1998, I, 24-5) and Eil Þdr, though she is not named in the drápa. The name does not appear in the þulur, but see Hyndl 37/2, where Greip is named as one of Heimdallr’s nine mothers. As a common noun, greip means ‘grip, grasp’, the space between the thumb and the fingers.

Close

Greipar ‘of Greip’

(not checked:)
Greip (noun f.): Greip

kennings

sunr biðils Greipar
‘the son of the wooer of Greip ’
   = Þjazi

the wooer of Greip → GIANT
the son of the GIANT → Þjazi

notes

[4] Greipar ‘of Greip <giantess>’: Name of a giantess, one of the two daughters of the giant Geirrøðr in the myth of how Þórr travels to the latter’s abode, as told in Skm (SnE 1998, I, 24-5) and Eil Þdr, though she is not named in the drápa. The name does not appear in the þulur, but see Hyndl 37/2, where Greip is named as one of Heimdallr’s nine mothers. As a common noun, greip means ‘grip, grasp’, the space between the thumb and the fingers.

Close

Þats ‘That’s’

(not checked:)
2. er (conj.): who, which, when

Close

of ‘’

(not checked:)
4. of (particle): (before verb)

Close

fátt ‘depicted’

(not checked:)
3. fá (verb; °præt. part. fáðr): paint

[5] fátt: so Tˣ, fat R

Close

á ‘on’

(not checked:)
3. á (prep.): on, at

notes

[5-6] á minni iljabrú Finns fjalla ‘on my footsole-bridge of the Finnr <Saami> of the mountains [GIANT = Hrungnir > SHIELD]’: A tvíkent kenning for a shield, which depends on the audience’s knowledge of the myth of Þórr’s single combat with the giant Hrungnir, narrated in sts 14-20 of Haustl. According to Skm (SnE 1998, I, 21; cf. st. 17), it was Þórr’s companion Þjálfi who persuaded Hrungnir to stand on his stone shield, because, he claimed, Þórr was going to attack the giant from underground. For this reason, a shield can be referred to in a kenning as the bridge of this giant’s footsoles; cf. LP: Hrungnir, Bragi Rdr 1/3, 4 and Note. It is possible that Þjóðólfr deliberately introduced this kenning here to foreshadow the subject of the second section of Haustl, which recounts exactly this myth.

Close

fjalla ‘of the mountains’

(not checked:)
1. fjall (noun n.): mountain

kennings

minni iljabrú Finns fjalla.
‘my footsole-bridge of the Finnr of the mountains. ’
   = SHIELD

the Finnr of the mountains. → GIANT = Hrungnir
my footsole-bridge of the GIANTHRUNGNIR → SHIELD

notes

[5-6] á minni iljabrú Finns fjalla ‘on my footsole-bridge of the Finnr <Saami> of the mountains [GIANT = Hrungnir > SHIELD]’: A tvíkent kenning for a shield, which depends on the audience’s knowledge of the myth of Þórr’s single combat with the giant Hrungnir, narrated in sts 14-20 of Haustl. According to Skm (SnE 1998, I, 21; cf. st. 17), it was Þórr’s companion Þjálfi who persuaded Hrungnir to stand on his stone shield, because, he claimed, Þórr was going to attack the giant from underground. For this reason, a shield can be referred to in a kenning as the bridge of this giant’s footsoles; cf. LP: Hrungnir, Bragi Rdr 1/3, 4 and Note. It is possible that Þjóðólfr deliberately introduced this kenning here to foreshadow the subject of the second section of Haustl, which recounts exactly this myth.

Close

fjalla ‘of the mountains’

(not checked:)
1. fjall (noun n.): mountain

kennings

minni iljabrú Finns fjalla.
‘my footsole-bridge of the Finnr of the mountains. ’
   = SHIELD

the Finnr of the mountains. → GIANT = Hrungnir
my footsole-bridge of the GIANTHRUNGNIR → SHIELD

notes

[5-6] á minni iljabrú Finns fjalla ‘on my footsole-bridge of the Finnr <Saami> of the mountains [GIANT = Hrungnir > SHIELD]’: A tvíkent kenning for a shield, which depends on the audience’s knowledge of the myth of Þórr’s single combat with the giant Hrungnir, narrated in sts 14-20 of Haustl. According to Skm (SnE 1998, I, 21; cf. st. 17), it was Þórr’s companion Þjálfi who persuaded Hrungnir to stand on his stone shield, because, he claimed, Þórr was going to attack the giant from underground. For this reason, a shield can be referred to in a kenning as the bridge of this giant’s footsoles; cf. LP: Hrungnir, Bragi Rdr 1/3, 4 and Note. It is possible that Þjóðólfr deliberately introduced this kenning here to foreshadow the subject of the second section of Haustl, which recounts exactly this myth.

Close

Finns ‘of the Finnr’

(not checked:)
Finnr (noun m.): Saami (person)

kennings

minni iljabrú Finns fjalla.
‘my footsole-bridge of the Finnr of the mountains. ’
   = SHIELD

the Finnr of the mountains. → GIANT = Hrungnir
my footsole-bridge of the GIANTHRUNGNIR → SHIELD

notes

[5-6] á minni iljabrú Finns fjalla ‘on my footsole-bridge of the Finnr <Saami> of the mountains [GIANT = Hrungnir > SHIELD]’: A tvíkent kenning for a shield, which depends on the audience’s knowledge of the myth of Þórr’s single combat with the giant Hrungnir, narrated in sts 14-20 of Haustl. According to Skm (SnE 1998, I, 21; cf. st. 17), it was Þórr’s companion Þjálfi who persuaded Hrungnir to stand on his stone shield, because, he claimed, Þórr was going to attack the giant from underground. For this reason, a shield can be referred to in a kenning as the bridge of this giant’s footsoles; cf. LP: Hrungnir, Bragi Rdr 1/3, 4 and Note. It is possible that Þjóðólfr deliberately introduced this kenning here to foreshadow the subject of the second section of Haustl, which recounts exactly this myth.

Close

Finns ‘of the Finnr’

(not checked:)
Finnr (noun m.): Saami (person)

kennings

minni iljabrú Finns fjalla.
‘my footsole-bridge of the Finnr of the mountains. ’
   = SHIELD

the Finnr of the mountains. → GIANT = Hrungnir
my footsole-bridge of the GIANTHRUNGNIR → SHIELD

notes

[5-6] á minni iljabrú Finns fjalla ‘on my footsole-bridge of the Finnr <Saami> of the mountains [GIANT = Hrungnir > SHIELD]’: A tvíkent kenning for a shield, which depends on the audience’s knowledge of the myth of Þórr’s single combat with the giant Hrungnir, narrated in sts 14-20 of Haustl. According to Skm (SnE 1998, I, 21; cf. st. 17), it was Þórr’s companion Þjálfi who persuaded Hrungnir to stand on his stone shield, because, he claimed, Þórr was going to attack the giant from underground. For this reason, a shield can be referred to in a kenning as the bridge of this giant’s footsoles; cf. LP: Hrungnir, Bragi Rdr 1/3, 4 and Note. It is possible that Þjóðólfr deliberately introduced this kenning here to foreshadow the subject of the second section of Haustl, which recounts exactly this myth.

Close

ilja ‘footsole’

(not checked:)
il (noun f.; °; -jar): footsole

kennings

minni iljabrú Finns fjalla.
‘my footsole-bridge of the Finnr of the mountains. ’
   = SHIELD

the Finnr of the mountains. → GIANT = Hrungnir
my footsole-bridge of the GIANTHRUNGNIR → SHIELD

notes

[5-6] á minni iljabrú Finns fjalla ‘on my footsole-bridge of the Finnr <Saami> of the mountains [GIANT = Hrungnir > SHIELD]’: A tvíkent kenning for a shield, which depends on the audience’s knowledge of the myth of Þórr’s single combat with the giant Hrungnir, narrated in sts 14-20 of Haustl. According to Skm (SnE 1998, I, 21; cf. st. 17), it was Þórr’s companion Þjálfi who persuaded Hrungnir to stand on his stone shield, because, he claimed, Þórr was going to attack the giant from underground. For this reason, a shield can be referred to in a kenning as the bridge of this giant’s footsoles; cf. LP: Hrungnir, Bragi Rdr 1/3, 4 and Note. It is possible that Þjóðólfr deliberately introduced this kenning here to foreshadow the subject of the second section of Haustl, which recounts exactly this myth.

Close

brú ‘bridge’

(not checked:)
brú (noun f.; °-ar; brúar/brýr/brúr(Hák81 557ˆ)): bridge, causeway

kennings

minni iljabrú Finns fjalla.
‘my footsole-bridge of the Finnr of the mountains. ’
   = SHIELD

the Finnr of the mountains. → GIANT = Hrungnir
my footsole-bridge of the GIANTHRUNGNIR → SHIELD

notes

[5-6] á minni iljabrú Finns fjalla ‘on my footsole-bridge of the Finnr <Saami> of the mountains [GIANT = Hrungnir > SHIELD]’: A tvíkent kenning for a shield, which depends on the audience’s knowledge of the myth of Þórr’s single combat with the giant Hrungnir, narrated in sts 14-20 of Haustl. According to Skm (SnE 1998, I, 21; cf. st. 17), it was Þórr’s companion Þjálfi who persuaded Hrungnir to stand on his stone shield, because, he claimed, Þórr was going to attack the giant from underground. For this reason, a shield can be referred to in a kenning as the bridge of this giant’s footsoles; cf. LP: Hrungnir, Bragi Rdr 1/3, 4 and Note. It is possible that Þjóðólfr deliberately introduced this kenning here to foreshadow the subject of the second section of Haustl, which recounts exactly this myth.

Close

minni ‘my’

(not checked:)
minn (pron.; °f. mín, n. mitt): my

kennings

minni iljabrú Finns fjalla.
‘my footsole-bridge of the Finnr of the mountains. ’
   = SHIELD

the Finnr of the mountains. → GIANT = Hrungnir
my footsole-bridge of the GIANTHRUNGNIR → SHIELD

notes

[5-6] á minni iljabrú Finns fjalla ‘on my footsole-bridge of the Finnr <Saami> of the mountains [GIANT = Hrungnir > SHIELD]’: A tvíkent kenning for a shield, which depends on the audience’s knowledge of the myth of Þórr’s single combat with the giant Hrungnir, narrated in sts 14-20 of Haustl. According to Skm (SnE 1998, I, 21; cf. st. 17), it was Þórr’s companion Þjálfi who persuaded Hrungnir to stand on his stone shield, because, he claimed, Þórr was going to attack the giant from underground. For this reason, a shield can be referred to in a kenning as the bridge of this giant’s footsoles; cf. LP: Hrungnir, Bragi Rdr 1/3, 4 and Note. It is possible that Þjóðólfr deliberately introduced this kenning here to foreshadow the subject of the second section of Haustl, which recounts exactly this myth.

Close

Baugs ‘of the shield-boss’

(not checked:)
baugr (noun m.; °dat. -i/-; -ar): ring

kennings

bifkleif baugs,
‘the quivering cliff of the shield-boss, ’
   = SHIELD

the quivering cliff of the shield-boss, → SHIELD

notes

[7-8] bifkleif baugs, fáða bifum ‘the quivering cliff of the shield-boss [SHIELD], decorated with moving stories’: There is no doubt that bifkleif baugs ‘the quivering cliff of the shield-boss’ is a shield-kenning (cf. the similarly formed base-word raddkleif ‘voice-cliff’ or naddkleif ‘spear-point-cliff’ of st. 1/4), but the connotation of bifkleif is unclear, and it seems that its first element bif- is picked up and varied in the qualifying phrase bifum fáða (l. 7). The base form of a noun bif- is uncertain (cf. LP: bif; AEW: bifa 1), as is its meaning (Marold 1983, 168 provides a useful summary of previous eds’ suggestions). The word combination with fáða ‘decorated, painted’ suggests that bifum is likely to refer to some aspect of the decoration of the shield Þjóðólfr has received from Þorleifr. The verb bifa, always used in m. v. bifask, with the meaning ‘shake, tremble’, provides our best clue to the meaning of bif, both as a simplex and an element in the cpd bifkleif. Bif- seems likely to denote movement, like shaking or quivering; when applied to a shield decorated with images, it may perhaps indicate that they are so vivid that they seem to move or that they are so affecting, because of their mythic narrative power, that they make their audience tremble with awe. ModIcel. bifur (as in hafa illan bifur á e-m ‘distrust sby, spy on sby’) suggests a similar semantic field, as Holtsmark (1949, 40) pointed out. She also noted that the word bifa occurs in a list of alternative names for speech (mál) in Skm (SnE 1998, I, 109) and might therefore mean something like ‘moving, affecting narrative’. If so, Þjóðólfr’s statement that his shield was bifum fáða may be similar to Bragi’s claim in Rdr 7/4 and 12/4 that he received a shield and fjǫl sagna ‘a multitude of stories’ from his patron Ragnarr.

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þák ‘I received’

(not checked:)
þiggja (verb): receive, get

[7] þák: om. R, þá er Tˣ

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bifum ‘with moving stories’

(not checked:)
bif (noun n.): quivering

[7] bifum: so Tˣ, ‘bi[…]om’ R

notes

[7] bifum ‘with moving stories’: This noun has suspended resolution on the fully stressed lift in metrical position 3, which is highly unusual in dróttkvætt and may indicate a very early date of composition. Such suspended resolutions do occur in poetry composed in kviðuháttr metre (also in Þjóð YtI) but not in dróttkvætt. — [7-8] bifkleif baugs, fáða bifum ‘the quivering cliff of the shield-boss [SHIELD], decorated with moving stories’: There is no doubt that bifkleif baugs ‘the quivering cliff of the shield-boss’ is a shield-kenning (cf. the similarly formed base-word raddkleif ‘voice-cliff’ or naddkleif ‘spear-point-cliff’ of st. 1/4), but the connotation of bifkleif is unclear, and it seems that its first element bif- is picked up and varied in the qualifying phrase bifum fáða (l. 7). The base form of a noun bif- is uncertain (cf. LP: bif; AEW: bifa 1), as is its meaning (Marold 1983, 168 provides a useful summary of previous eds’ suggestions). The word combination with fáða ‘decorated, painted’ suggests that bifum is likely to refer to some aspect of the decoration of the shield Þjóðólfr has received from Þorleifr. The verb bifa, always used in m. v. bifask, with the meaning ‘shake, tremble’, provides our best clue to the meaning of bif, both as a simplex and an element in the cpd bifkleif. Bif- seems likely to denote movement, like shaking or quivering; when applied to a shield decorated with images, it may perhaps indicate that they are so vivid that they seem to move or that they are so affecting, because of their mythic narrative power, that they make their audience tremble with awe. ModIcel. bifur (as in hafa illan bifur á e-m ‘distrust sby, spy on sby’) suggests a similar semantic field, as Holtsmark (1949, 40) pointed out. She also noted that the word bifa occurs in a list of alternative names for speech (mál) in Skm (SnE 1998, I, 109) and might therefore mean something like ‘moving, affecting narrative’. If so, Þjóðólfr’s statement that his shield was bifum fáða may be similar to Bragi’s claim in Rdr 7/4 and 12/4 that he received a shield and fjǫl sagna ‘a multitude of stories’ from his patron Ragnarr.

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bifum ‘with moving stories’

(not checked:)
bif (noun n.): quivering

[7] bifum: so Tˣ, ‘bi[…]om’ R

notes

[7] bifum ‘with moving stories’: This noun has suspended resolution on the fully stressed lift in metrical position 3, which is highly unusual in dróttkvætt and may indicate a very early date of composition. Such suspended resolutions do occur in poetry composed in kviðuháttr metre (also in Þjóð YtI) but not in dróttkvætt. — [7-8] bifkleif baugs, fáða bifum ‘the quivering cliff of the shield-boss [SHIELD], decorated with moving stories’: There is no doubt that bifkleif baugs ‘the quivering cliff of the shield-boss’ is a shield-kenning (cf. the similarly formed base-word raddkleif ‘voice-cliff’ or naddkleif ‘spear-point-cliff’ of st. 1/4), but the connotation of bifkleif is unclear, and it seems that its first element bif- is picked up and varied in the qualifying phrase bifum fáða (l. 7). The base form of a noun bif- is uncertain (cf. LP: bif; AEW: bifa 1), as is its meaning (Marold 1983, 168 provides a useful summary of previous eds’ suggestions). The word combination with fáða ‘decorated, painted’ suggests that bifum is likely to refer to some aspect of the decoration of the shield Þjóðólfr has received from Þorleifr. The verb bifa, always used in m. v. bifask, with the meaning ‘shake, tremble’, provides our best clue to the meaning of bif, both as a simplex and an element in the cpd bifkleif. Bif- seems likely to denote movement, like shaking or quivering; when applied to a shield decorated with images, it may perhaps indicate that they are so vivid that they seem to move or that they are so affecting, because of their mythic narrative power, that they make their audience tremble with awe. ModIcel. bifur (as in hafa illan bifur á e-m ‘distrust sby, spy on sby’) suggests a similar semantic field, as Holtsmark (1949, 40) pointed out. She also noted that the word bifa occurs in a list of alternative names for speech (mál) in Skm (SnE 1998, I, 109) and might therefore mean something like ‘moving, affecting narrative’. If so, Þjóðólfr’s statement that his shield was bifum fáða may be similar to Bragi’s claim in Rdr 7/4 and 12/4 that he received a shield and fjǫl sagna ‘a multitude of stories’ from his patron Ragnarr.

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fáða ‘decorated’

(not checked:)
3. fá (verb; °præt. part. fáðr): paint

notes

[7-8] bifkleif baugs, fáða bifum ‘the quivering cliff of the shield-boss [SHIELD], decorated with moving stories’: There is no doubt that bifkleif baugs ‘the quivering cliff of the shield-boss’ is a shield-kenning (cf. the similarly formed base-word raddkleif ‘voice-cliff’ or naddkleif ‘spear-point-cliff’ of st. 1/4), but the connotation of bifkleif is unclear, and it seems that its first element bif- is picked up and varied in the qualifying phrase bifum fáða (l. 7). The base form of a noun bif- is uncertain (cf. LP: bif; AEW: bifa 1), as is its meaning (Marold 1983, 168 provides a useful summary of previous eds’ suggestions). The word combination with fáða ‘decorated, painted’ suggests that bifum is likely to refer to some aspect of the decoration of the shield Þjóðólfr has received from Þorleifr. The verb bifa, always used in m. v. bifask, with the meaning ‘shake, tremble’, provides our best clue to the meaning of bif, both as a simplex and an element in the cpd bifkleif. Bif- seems likely to denote movement, like shaking or quivering; when applied to a shield decorated with images, it may perhaps indicate that they are so vivid that they seem to move or that they are so affecting, because of their mythic narrative power, that they make their audience tremble with awe. ModIcel. bifur (as in hafa illan bifur á e-m ‘distrust sby, spy on sby’) suggests a similar semantic field, as Holtsmark (1949, 40) pointed out. She also noted that the word bifa occurs in a list of alternative names for speech (mál) in Skm (SnE 1998, I, 109) and might therefore mean something like ‘moving, affecting narrative’. If so, Þjóðólfr’s statement that his shield was bifum fáða may be similar to Bragi’s claim in Rdr 7/4 and 12/4 that he received a shield and fjǫl sagna ‘a multitude of stories’ from his patron Ragnarr.

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bif ‘the quivering’

(not checked:)
2. bifa (verb; °-að-): shudder, tremble < bifkleif (noun f.)

[8] bifkleif: so Tˣ, ‘[…]cleifi’ R

kennings

bifkleif baugs,
‘the quivering cliff of the shield-boss, ’
   = SHIELD

the quivering cliff of the shield-boss, → SHIELD

notes

[7-8] bifkleif baugs, fáða bifum ‘the quivering cliff of the shield-boss [SHIELD], decorated with moving stories’: There is no doubt that bifkleif baugs ‘the quivering cliff of the shield-boss’ is a shield-kenning (cf. the similarly formed base-word raddkleif ‘voice-cliff’ or naddkleif ‘spear-point-cliff’ of st. 1/4), but the connotation of bifkleif is unclear, and it seems that its first element bif- is picked up and varied in the qualifying phrase bifum fáða (l. 7). The base form of a noun bif- is uncertain (cf. LP: bif; AEW: bifa 1), as is its meaning (Marold 1983, 168 provides a useful summary of previous eds’ suggestions). The word combination with fáða ‘decorated, painted’ suggests that bifum is likely to refer to some aspect of the decoration of the shield Þjóðólfr has received from Þorleifr. The verb bifa, always used in m. v. bifask, with the meaning ‘shake, tremble’, provides our best clue to the meaning of bif, both as a simplex and an element in the cpd bifkleif. Bif- seems likely to denote movement, like shaking or quivering; when applied to a shield decorated with images, it may perhaps indicate that they are so vivid that they seem to move or that they are so affecting, because of their mythic narrative power, that they make their audience tremble with awe. ModIcel. bifur (as in hafa illan bifur á e-m ‘distrust sby, spy on sby’) suggests a similar semantic field, as Holtsmark (1949, 40) pointed out. She also noted that the word bifa occurs in a list of alternative names for speech (mál) in Skm (SnE 1998, I, 109) and might therefore mean something like ‘moving, affecting narrative’. If so, Þjóðólfr’s statement that his shield was bifum fáða may be similar to Bragi’s claim in Rdr 7/4 and 12/4 that he received a shield and fjǫl sagna ‘a multitude of stories’ from his patron Ragnarr.

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kleif ‘cliff’

(not checked:)
kleif (noun f.; °; -ar): cliff < bifkleif (noun f.)

[8] bifkleif: so Tˣ, ‘[…]cleifi’ R

kennings

bifkleif baugs,
‘the quivering cliff of the shield-boss, ’
   = SHIELD

the quivering cliff of the shield-boss, → SHIELD

notes

[7-8] bifkleif baugs, fáða bifum ‘the quivering cliff of the shield-boss [SHIELD], decorated with moving stories’: There is no doubt that bifkleif baugs ‘the quivering cliff of the shield-boss’ is a shield-kenning (cf. the similarly formed base-word raddkleif ‘voice-cliff’ or naddkleif ‘spear-point-cliff’ of st. 1/4), but the connotation of bifkleif is unclear, and it seems that its first element bif- is picked up and varied in the qualifying phrase bifum fáða (l. 7). The base form of a noun bif- is uncertain (cf. LP: bif; AEW: bifa 1), as is its meaning (Marold 1983, 168 provides a useful summary of previous eds’ suggestions). The word combination with fáða ‘decorated, painted’ suggests that bifum is likely to refer to some aspect of the decoration of the shield Þjóðólfr has received from Þorleifr. The verb bifa, always used in m. v. bifask, with the meaning ‘shake, tremble’, provides our best clue to the meaning of bif, both as a simplex and an element in the cpd bifkleif. Bif- seems likely to denote movement, like shaking or quivering; when applied to a shield decorated with images, it may perhaps indicate that they are so vivid that they seem to move or that they are so affecting, because of their mythic narrative power, that they make their audience tremble with awe. ModIcel. bifur (as in hafa illan bifur á e-m ‘distrust sby, spy on sby’) suggests a similar semantic field, as Holtsmark (1949, 40) pointed out. She also noted that the word bifa occurs in a list of alternative names for speech (mál) in Skm (SnE 1998, I, 109) and might therefore mean something like ‘moving, affecting narrative’. If so, Þjóðólfr’s statement that his shield was bifum fáða may be similar to Bragi’s claim in Rdr 7/4 and 12/4 that he received a shield and fjǫl sagna ‘a multitude of stories’ from his patron Ragnarr.

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at ‘from’

(not checked:)
3. at (prep.): at, to

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Þórleifi ‘Þorleifr’

(not checked:)
Þórleifr (noun m.): Þorleifr, Thorleifr

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As for st. 1.

The last two lines of this stanza in R are now very faint. Evidently earlier eds (e.g. Finnur Jónsson in Skj A) were able to read more of the text than is now legible. However, the same two lines, which form the drápa’s stef or refrain, are legible on fol. 24r of R, as ll. 7-8 of st. 20, though there are some differences there from what is legible of the text here. This is the last stanza of Haustl to treat the myth of Þjazi’s abduction of Iðunn. The narrative is concluded in the first helmingr, which alludes to the gods’ killing of Þjazi. As the giant, in eagle form, pursued Loki in the form of a falcon, still holding Iðunn in his claws, transformed to a nut, the gods set fire to a pile of wood-shavings, placed just inside the wall of Ásgarðr. Loki let himself drop down low over the wall, and the eagle followed suit but overshot the mark and fell into the fire, scorching his wings. The gods then set upon Þjazi and killed him (SnE 1998, I, 2). — [5-8]: This helmingr indicates that the first section of the drápa is ending; the poet refers in two elaborate kennings to the shield he has received from his patron, Þorleifr (cf. st. 1/4), and indicates that the decorated shield is alive with images of narratives (see Note to ll. 7-8 below), two of which he is recounting. Cf. Bragi Rdr sts 7 and 12.

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