Þjóð Yt 14^I

Ok ‘And’

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

lof ‘the famous’

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lof (noun n.; °-s; -): praise, leave, permission < lofsæll (adj.): praise-blessed, glorious

kennings

notes

[1, 3] lofsæll ôttungr Týs ‘the famous descendant of Týr <god> [= Swedish king]’: It is uncertain whether this refers to Týr, the god, or is simply the common noun týr ‘god’. All eds except for Noreen (1912b and Yt 1925) indicate, through capitalisation, that they think it refers to the god Týr. One argument for this might be that such periphrases referring to rulers occur in both Eyv Hál and Yt, e.g. ttungr Freys ‘Freyr’s kinsman’ (Eyv Hál 7/7, Yt 16/7), afspring Freys ‘Freyr’s offspring’ (Yt 10/11) or ttungr Týs ‘Týr’s kinsman’ (Eyv Hál 10/7, Yt 14/3). Baetke (1964, 122) takes Týr as a proper name, but thinks the phrase is just a variation on the device that refers to a ruler as ‘descendant of a god’, and in the light of Ingjaldr being called goðkynningr ‘the one descended from gods’ in Yt 20/7, this may be correct. It may also be possible to understand týs as gen. sg. of the appellative týr ‘god’ (Noreen 1912b; Yt 1925; Sundqvist 2005a, 102). Yet this remains doubtful because kennings referring to a ruler’s divine ancestry, except for goðkynningr, always name an individual god, as in the examples above or, e.g., niðr Yggs ‘descendant of Yggr <= Óðinn>’ (Eskál Vell 19/8).

sæll ‘’

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sæll (adj.): happy, blessed < lofsæll (adj.): praise-blessed, glorious

kennings

notes

[1, 3] lofsæll ôttungr Týs ‘the famous descendant of Týr <god> [= Swedish king]’: It is uncertain whether this refers to Týr, the god, or is simply the common noun týr ‘god’. All eds except for Noreen (1912b and Yt 1925) indicate, through capitalisation, that they think it refers to the god Týr. One argument for this might be that such periphrases referring to rulers occur in both Eyv Hál and Yt, e.g. ttungr Freys ‘Freyr’s kinsman’ (Eyv Hál 7/7, Yt 16/7), afspring Freys ‘Freyr’s offspring’ (Yt 10/11) or ttungr Týs ‘Týr’s kinsman’ (Eyv Hál 10/7, Yt 14/3). Baetke (1964, 122) takes Týr as a proper name, but thinks the phrase is just a variation on the device that refers to a ruler as ‘descendant of a god’, and in the light of Ingjaldr being called goðkynningr ‘the one descended from gods’ in Yt 20/7, this may be correct. It may also be possible to understand týs as gen. sg. of the appellative týr ‘god’ (Noreen 1912b; Yt 1925; Sundqvist 2005a, 102). Yet this remains doubtful because kennings referring to a ruler’s divine ancestry, except for goðkynningr, always name an individual god, as in the examples above or, e.g., niðr Yggs ‘descendant of Yggr <= Óðinn>’ (Eskál Vell 19/8).

ór ‘’

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3. ór (prep.): out of

landi ‘the country’

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land (noun n.; °-s; *-): land

tyrs ‘’

fló ‘fled’

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fljúga (verb): fly

ôttunga ‘’

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1. áttungr (noun m.; °; -ar): kinsman

Týs ‘of Týr’

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Týr (noun m.): Týr

[3] Týs: ‘tyrs’ F

kennings

notes

[1, 3] lofsæll ôttungr Týs ‘the famous descendant of Týr <god> [= Swedish king]’: It is uncertain whether this refers to Týr, the god, or is simply the common noun týr ‘god’. All eds except for Noreen (1912b and Yt 1925) indicate, through capitalisation, that they think it refers to the god Týr. One argument for this might be that such periphrases referring to rulers occur in both Eyv Hál and Yt, e.g. ttungr Freys ‘Freyr’s kinsman’ (Eyv Hál 7/7, Yt 16/7), afspring Freys ‘Freyr’s offspring’ (Yt 10/11) or ttungr Týs ‘Týr’s kinsman’ (Eyv Hál 10/7, Yt 14/3). Baetke (1964, 122) takes Týr as a proper name, but thinks the phrase is just a variation on the device that refers to a ruler as ‘descendant of a god’, and in the light of Ingjaldr being called goðkynningr ‘the one descended from gods’ in Yt 20/7, this may be correct. It may also be possible to understand týs as gen. sg. of the appellative týr ‘god’ (Noreen 1912b; Yt 1925; Sundqvist 2005a, 102). Yet this remains doubtful because kennings referring to a ruler’s divine ancestry, except for goðkynningr, always name an individual god, as in the examples above or, e.g., niðr Yggs ‘descendant of Yggr <= Óðinn>’ (Eskál Vell 19/8).

ôttungr ‘descendant’

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1. áttungr (noun m.; °; -ar): kinsman

[3] ôttungr: ôttunga F

kennings

notes

[1, 3] lofsæll ôttungr Týs ‘the famous descendant of Týr <god> [= Swedish king]’: It is uncertain whether this refers to Týr, the god, or is simply the common noun týr ‘god’. All eds except for Noreen (1912b and Yt 1925) indicate, through capitalisation, that they think it refers to the god Týr. One argument for this might be that such periphrases referring to rulers occur in both Eyv Hál and Yt, e.g. ttungr Freys ‘Freyr’s kinsman’ (Eyv Hál 7/7, Yt 16/7), afspring Freys ‘Freyr’s offspring’ (Yt 10/11) or ttungr Týs ‘Týr’s kinsman’ (Eyv Hál 10/7, Yt 14/3). Baetke (1964, 122) takes Týr as a proper name, but thinks the phrase is just a variation on the device that refers to a ruler as ‘descendant of a god’, and in the light of Ingjaldr being called goðkynningr ‘the one descended from gods’ in Yt 20/7, this may be correct. It may also be possible to understand týs as gen. sg. of the appellative týr ‘god’ (Noreen 1912b; Yt 1925; Sundqvist 2005a, 102). Yet this remains doubtful because kennings referring to a ruler’s divine ancestry, except for goðkynningr, always name an individual god, as in the examples above or, e.g., niðr Yggs ‘descendant of Yggr <= Óðinn>’ (Eskál Vell 19/8).

Tunna ‘of Tunni’

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Tunni (noun m.): Tunni

ríki ‘before the power’

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ríki (noun n.; °-s; -): kingdom, power

flæming ‘’

En ‘And’

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2. en (conj.): but, and

flæmingr ‘the roamer’

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1. flæmingr (noun m.): roamer, chaser

[5] flæmingr: so J2ˣ, R685ˣ, flæming Kˣ, papp18ˣ, 521ˣ, F, 761aˣ

notes

[5] flæmingr ‘the roamer’: (a) ON flæmingr is known from prose in the meaning ‘flight, fleeing’ arising from the verb flæma ‘drive away’ (Fritzner: flæmingr); cf. also ModIcel. flæmingur ‘vagabond’, OE flȳming ‘refugee, fugitive’. The nom. flæmingr is taken here as ‘vagabond, fugitive, roamer’ in apposition to eykr jǫtuns ‘draft animal of the giant [BULL]’, referring to an escaped bull roaming at large, as understood by Snorri (see Context; so also Noreen, Yt 1925). Although a preceding appositive is arguably unusual (Konráð Gíslason 1869, 52; Åkerlund 1939, 95) this interpretation is preferable to others, firstly because flæmingr appears in Kˣ and J2ˣ and must, as a nom., belong with nom. eykr, and secondly in light of the interpretation of trjónu farra, cf. Note to l. 6. (b) Many commentators understand flæmingr as ‘sword’ (originally of Flemish manufacture, Storm 1899, 121). It only occurs here and in the þulur (Þul Sverða 7/2^III), for which, however, this part of Yt may have been the source (Yt 1925). Further, connecting flæmingr ‘sword’ to the following trjónu farra poses difficulties, cf. Note to l. 6.

tónu ‘’

farra ‘of the bull’

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2. farri (noun m.): bull

kennings

notes

[6] trjónu farra ‘its weapon of the bull [HORN]’: This has been the subject of numerous interpretative efforts. (a) In summary, the case for the present interpretation is as follows. Trjóna is etymologically related to ON tré ‘tree, wood’ and can denote a wooden bar or rod (Fritzner: trjóna 2); cf. eintrjánungr ‘log boat (made of one piece of wood)’. The meaning ‘weapon’ is attested in Grott 18/2 (NK 300), hence Hendr scolo hǫndla harðar triónor, vápn valdreyrug ... ‘Hands will handle hard triónor, weapons bloody with battle-slain’ (see S-G II, 461; Kommentar III, 935-6) and possibly in Þjóð Haustl 17/7^III trjóna trolls, which refers to the hammer Mjǫllnir and might be rendered as ‘the weapon of the troll’, i.e. weapon for use against the troll (Marold 1983, 173). Farri is only attested in ON prose in the meaning ‘vagabond, vagrant’ (Fritzner: farri), but Sigfús Blöndal (1920-4: farri) gives an obsolete meaning ‘bull’ along with the figurative meaning ‘vagabond’, and the word has Gmc cognates meaning ‘bull’ or ‘cow’ (see AEW: farri 3). The combination of trjóna ‘wooden rod, weapon’ with farri ‘bull’ yields a pattern of kenning Þjóðólfr uses frequently: ‘weapon of the bull’ to denote ‘horn’. (b) Trjóna may alternatively have the sense ‘snout’ (which is given as the first sense in LP, Fritzner: trjóna), either as a figurative extension of ‘rod’ or through confusion with its derivative trýni (on this see AEW: trjóna, trýni). The word occurs in Gsind Hákdr 2/3, where it seems to refer to a promontory, and in StarkSt Vík 33/4^VIII (Gautr 41), in a list of ugly body parts. Finnur Jónsson (Hkr 1893-1901, IV; LP: trjóna), partly following Konráð Gíslason (1869, 52-3; 1881, 230), takes trjóna farra as ‘snout of the bull’ and flæmingr as the sword-heiti listed in Þul Sverða 7/2^III, hence ‘horn’, but it is questionable whether a bull’s horn could be referred to as the ‘sword of the snout of the bull’. (c) Farri, as the animal that kills Egill, has been interpreted as ‘boar, pig’, e.g. by Schück (1905-10, 105-7, and cf. AEW: farri 4). Schück also notes that in the series of Swedish princes featured in Beowulf, Ongenþēow, the ruler who corresponds to Egill (see Note to l. 14 below), is killed by a man named Eofor, whose name in OE means ‘Boar’ (Beowulf ll. 2486-9, 2961-81; cf. Schück 1905-10, 120; Lindqvist 1936, 301).

trjónu ‘its weapon’

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trjóna (noun f.; °-u; dat. -um): snout, muzzle

[6] trjónu: ‘tono’ 521ˣ

kennings

notes

[6] trjónu farra ‘its weapon of the bull [HORN]’: This has been the subject of numerous interpretative efforts. (a) In summary, the case for the present interpretation is as follows. Trjóna is etymologically related to ON tré ‘tree, wood’ and can denote a wooden bar or rod (Fritzner: trjóna 2); cf. eintrjánungr ‘log boat (made of one piece of wood)’. The meaning ‘weapon’ is attested in Grott 18/2 (NK 300), hence Hendr scolo hǫndla harðar triónor, vápn valdreyrug ... ‘Hands will handle hard triónor, weapons bloody with battle-slain’ (see S-G II, 461; Kommentar III, 935-6) and possibly in Þjóð Haustl 17/7^III trjóna trolls, which refers to the hammer Mjǫllnir and might be rendered as ‘the weapon of the troll’, i.e. weapon for use against the troll (Marold 1983, 173). Farri is only attested in ON prose in the meaning ‘vagabond, vagrant’ (Fritzner: farri), but Sigfús Blöndal (1920-4: farri) gives an obsolete meaning ‘bull’ along with the figurative meaning ‘vagabond’, and the word has Gmc cognates meaning ‘bull’ or ‘cow’ (see AEW: farri 3). The combination of trjóna ‘wooden rod, weapon’ with farri ‘bull’ yields a pattern of kenning Þjóðólfr uses frequently: ‘weapon of the bull’ to denote ‘horn’. (b) Trjóna may alternatively have the sense ‘snout’ (which is given as the first sense in LP, Fritzner: trjóna), either as a figurative extension of ‘rod’ or through confusion with its derivative trýni (on this see AEW: trjóna, trýni). The word occurs in Gsind Hákdr 2/3, where it seems to refer to a promontory, and in StarkSt Vík 33/4^VIII (Gautr 41), in a list of ugly body parts. Finnur Jónsson (Hkr 1893-1901, IV; LP: trjóna), partly following Konráð Gíslason (1869, 52-3; 1881, 230), takes trjóna farra as ‘snout of the bull’ and flæmingr as the sword-heiti listed in Þul Sverða 7/2^III, hence ‘horn’, but it is questionable whether a bull’s horn could be referred to as the ‘sword of the snout of the bull’. (c) Farri, as the animal that kills Egill, has been interpreted as ‘boar, pig’, e.g. by Schück (1905-10, 105-7, and cf. AEW: farri 4). Schück also notes that in the series of Swedish princes featured in Beowulf, Ongenþēow, the ruler who corresponds to Egill (see Note to l. 14 below), is killed by a man named Eofor, whose name in OE means ‘Boar’ (Beowulf ll. 2486-9, 2961-81; cf. Schück 1905-10, 120; Lindqvist 1936, 301).

jǫtuns ‘of the giant’

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jǫtunn (noun m.; °jǫtuns, dat. jǫtni; jǫtnar): giant

kennings

notes

[7] eykr jǫtuns ‘the draught-animal of the giant [BULL]’: Why a bull is associated with a giant is unknown (Meissner 111; LP: eykr). Kock (NN §75) names a few myths associating bulls with giants, e.g. the myth in Bragi Frag 1^III and Gylf (SnE 2005, 7) in which Gefjun turns her sons by a giant into bulls and uses them to dig up a large piece of land from Sweden and drag it into the sea, forming Zealand. A conceivable parallel to the kenning might be Þjóð Haustl 5/2, 4^III hval(r) Várar þrymseilar ‘the whale of the Vár <goddess> of the bowstring [= Skaði <giantess> > OX] ’. But Þjóðólfr’s other bull-kennings are more straightforward: okhreinn ‘yoke-reindeer’ (st. 13/13) or okbjǫrn ‘yoke-bear’ (Þjóð Haustl 6/4^III). From ll. 9-12 the bull appears to be no ordinary animal but perhaps one with supernatural strength that controlled the whole district and was more than a fleeting threat. The lines recall Bragi’s description of Gefjun’s giant bulls (Bragi Frag 1/5-6, 8^III), Øxn bôru átta ennitungl ok fjǫgur haufuð ‘The oxen bore eight forehead-moons [EYES] and four heads’. The expression ‘to bear the head’ could be a metaphor for claiming authority over an area, cf. examples of bera hǫfuð, lit. ‘to bear the head’, in Fritzner: höfuð 1.

eykr ‘the draught-animal’

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eykr (noun m.; °-s/-jar, dat. -; -ir, dat. -jum): draught animal

kennings

notes

[7] eykr jǫtuns ‘the draught-animal of the giant [BULL]’: Why a bull is associated with a giant is unknown (Meissner 111; LP: eykr). Kock (NN §75) names a few myths associating bulls with giants, e.g. the myth in Bragi Frag 1^III and Gylf (SnE 2005, 7) in which Gefjun turns her sons by a giant into bulls and uses them to dig up a large piece of land from Sweden and drag it into the sea, forming Zealand. A conceivable parallel to the kenning might be Þjóð Haustl 5/2, 4^III hval(r) Várar þrymseilar ‘the whale of the Vár <goddess> of the bowstring [= Skaði <giantess> > OX] ’. But Þjóðólfr’s other bull-kennings are more straightforward: okhreinn ‘yoke-reindeer’ (st. 13/13) or okbjǫrn ‘yoke-bear’ (Þjóð Haustl 6/4^III). From ll. 9-12 the bull appears to be no ordinary animal but perhaps one with supernatural strength that controlled the whole district and was more than a fleeting threat. The lines recall Bragi’s description of Gefjun’s giant bulls (Bragi Frag 1/5-6, 8^III), Øxn bôru átta ennitungl ok fjǫgur haufuð ‘The oxen bore eight forehead-moons [EYES] and four heads’. The expression ‘to bear the head’ could be a metaphor for claiming authority over an area, cf. examples of bera hǫfuð, lit. ‘to bear the head’, in Fritzner: höfuð 1.

á ‘upon’

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3. á (prep.): on, at

Agli ‘Egill’

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Egill (noun m.): Egill

rauð ‘reddened’

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rjóða (verb): to redden

sás ‘which’

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sás (conj.): the one who

austr ‘’

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3. austr (adv.; °compar. -ar, superl. -ast): east, in the east

haust ‘’

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haust (noun n.; °-s; -): autumn

of ‘about’

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3. of (prep.): around, from; too

aust ‘the eastern’

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2. austr (noun n.; °-s): the east < austmǫrk (noun f.)

[9] austmǫrk: so J2ˣ, austr Kˣ, papp18ˣ, 521ˣ, haust F, austrmark R685ˣ

notes

[9] austmǫrk ‘the eastern forest’: This, the reading of J2ˣ, is metrically acceptable (Sievers 1893, 117), and is supported by Snorri’s having adapted -mǫrk to á viðum ‘in the forests’ in his narrative (so Yt 1925). Finnur Jónsson (Hkr 1893-1901; Yng 1912; Skj B) and Kock (Skald) opted for Kˣ’s reading austr ‘in the east’.

mǫrk ‘forest’

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2. mǫrk (noun f.; °merkr; merkr): forest < austmǫrk (noun f.)

[9] austmǫrk: so J2ˣ, austr Kˣ, papp18ˣ, 521ˣ, haust F, austrmark R685ˣ

notes

[9] austmǫrk ‘the eastern forest’: This, the reading of J2ˣ, is metrically acceptable (Sievers 1893, 117), and is supported by Snorri’s having adapted -mǫrk to á viðum ‘in the forests’ in his narrative (so Yt 1925). Finnur Jónsson (Hkr 1893-1901; Yng 1912; Skj B) and Kock (Skald) opted for Kˣ’s reading austr ‘in the east’.

áðan ‘before’

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áðan (adv.): before

brotna ‘’

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brjóta (verb; °brýtr; braut, brutu; brotinn): to break, destroy

hafði ‘had’

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hafa (verb): have

brúna ‘of the brows’

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brún (noun f.; °; brýnn/-ir): brows

[11] brúna: brotna J2ˣ, R685ˣ

kennings

notes

[11] hǫrg brúna ‘the cairn of the brows [HEAD]’: Hǫrgr can mean ‘temple’, ‘altar’ or ‘stone mound’ (Fritzner: hǫrgr, though LP: hǫrgr gives only ‘temple’), and it is difficult to decide among these, since the base-word of a head-kenning may denote a building as well as rocks, cliffs or hills (Meissner 127). That the majority is of the latter type favours ‘cairn’ (cf. Hellquist 1903-6, 226).

hǫrg ‘the cairn’

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hǫrgr (noun m.; °; -ar): cairn, shrine

kennings

notes

[11] hǫrg brúna ‘the cairn of the brows [HEAD]’: Hǫrgr can mean ‘temple’, ‘altar’ or ‘stone mound’ (Fritzner: hǫrgr, though LP: hǫrgr gives only ‘temple’), and it is difficult to decide among these, since the base-word of a head-kenning may denote a building as well as rocks, cliffs or hills (Meissner 127). That the majority is of the latter type favours ‘cairn’ (cf. Hellquist 1903-6, 226).

borit ‘’

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3. bera (verb; °berr; bar, báru; borinn): bear, carry

of ‘’

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4. of (particle): (before verb)

borinn ‘borne’

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3. bera (verb; °berr; bar, báru; borinn): bear, carry

[12] borinn: borit 521ˣ

lengi ‘long’

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lengi (adv.): for a long time

En ‘And’

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2. en (conj.): but, and

skíðlauss ‘the sheathless’

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skíðlauss (adj.): [sheathless]

kennings

notes

[13] skíðlauss ‘sheathless’: Here the adj. points up the metaphorical character of the base-word ‘sword’. Unlike a sword, a horn has no sheath, cf. st. 1/7 vindlauss ‘windless’.

Skilfinga ‘of the Skilfingar’

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skilfingr (noun m.): lord, king

kennings

notes

[14] nið Skilfinga ‘of the descendant of the Skilfingar [= Swedish king]’: The Skilfingar are mentioned among the dynasties of heroes and kings in Hyndl 11/6 and 16/2 and in SnE 2005, 103. The sg. skilfingr is attested as a heiti for Óðinn (Þul Óðins 8/5^III), for ‘prince’ (Þul Konunga 3/3^III) and for ‘sword’ (Þul Sverða 7/3^III). In Beowulf the Swedish ruler Ongenþēow is designated gomela Scylfing/Scilfing ‘the old Skilfing’ (Beowulf ll. 2487, 2968, Beowulf 2008, 85, 101), and Ongenþēow is generally agreed to correspond in the genealogy with Egill in Yt, though the difference in their names (and in their deaths) could suggest that Egill was the brother of Ongenþēow (ON Angantýr). The relationship between the Skilfingar and the Ynglingar (a name strikingly absent from Yt) is also highly problematic. Baetke (1964, 134-5) may be right to assume that the Uppsala kings bore the name Skilfingar, but only the Norwegian kings of Vestfold were called Ynglingar.

nið ‘of the descendant’

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1. niðr (noun m.; °-s; niðjar/niðir, acc. niði): son, kinsman, relative

kennings

notes

[14] nið Skilfinga ‘of the descendant of the Skilfingar [= Swedish king]’: The Skilfingar are mentioned among the dynasties of heroes and kings in Hyndl 11/6 and 16/2 and in SnE 2005, 103. The sg. skilfingr is attested as a heiti for Óðinn (Þul Óðins 8/5^III), for ‘prince’ (Þul Konunga 3/3^III) and for ‘sword’ (Þul Sverða 7/3^III). In Beowulf the Swedish ruler Ongenþēow is designated gomela Scylfing/Scilfing ‘the old Skilfing’ (Beowulf ll. 2487, 2968, Beowulf 2008, 85, 101), and Ongenþēow is generally agreed to correspond in the genealogy with Egill in Yt, though the difference in their names (and in their deaths) could suggest that Egill was the brother of Ongenþēow (ON Angantýr). The relationship between the Skilfingar and the Ynglingar (a name strikingly absent from Yt) is also highly problematic. Baetke (1964, 134-5) may be right to assume that the Uppsala kings bore the name Skilfingar, but only the Norwegian kings of Vestfold were called Ynglingar.

hœfis ‘of the bull’

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hœfir (noun m.): heifer?

kennings

hjǫrr ‘sword’

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hjǫrr (noun m.): sword

kennings

til ‘in’

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til (prep.): to

hjarta ‘the heart’

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hjarta (noun n.; °-; *-u): heart

stóð ‘stuck’

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standa (verb): stand