ÞjóðA Magnfl 8^II

Lǫgðu ‘clashed’

(not checked:)
leggja (verb): put, lay

grœðis ‘of the ocean’

(not checked:)
grœðir (noun m.): ?healer, ?ocean

[1] grœðis: ‘glæðis’ F, J2ˣ, H, Hr, ‘glǫðez’ E

kennings

notes

[1] glóða grœðis ‘embers of the ocean [GOLD]’: Grœðis is adopted here, as by most eds, despite being attested only in Kˣ (supported by papp18ˣ) and 39, since the majority reading glæðis does not match the known vocabulary and may be influenced by the following glóða. The presumed gold-kenning forms the determinant of a common type of man-kenning with bǫrva ‘trees’ as its base-word, and the cl. arrangement that this entails is more or less unavoidable, unless the complex solution tentatively proposed, and then withdrawn, by Kock is adopted (NN §850, 2265).

grœðis ‘of the ocean’

(not checked:)
grœðir (noun m.): ?healer, ?ocean

[1] grœðis: ‘glæðis’ F, J2ˣ, H, Hr, ‘glǫðez’ E

kennings

notes

[1] glóða grœðis ‘embers of the ocean [GOLD]’: Grœðis is adopted here, as by most eds, despite being attested only in Kˣ (supported by papp18ˣ) and 39, since the majority reading glæðis does not match the known vocabulary and may be influenced by the following glóða. The presumed gold-kenning forms the determinant of a common type of man-kenning with bǫrva ‘trees’ as its base-word, and the cl. arrangement that this entails is more or less unavoidable, unless the complex solution tentatively proposed, and then withdrawn, by Kock is adopted (NN §850, 2265).

glóða ‘of the embers’

(not checked:)
glóð (noun f.): ember

[1] glóða: ‘glǫða’ E, glóðar H, Hr

kennings

notes

[1] glóða grœðis ‘embers of the ocean [GOLD]’: Grœðis is adopted here, as by most eds, despite being attested only in Kˣ (supported by papp18ˣ) and 39, since the majority reading glæðis does not match the known vocabulary and may be influenced by the following glóða. The presumed gold-kenning forms the determinant of a common type of man-kenning with bǫrva ‘trees’ as its base-word, and the cl. arrangement that this entails is more or less unavoidable, unless the complex solution tentatively proposed, and then withdrawn, by Kock is adopted (NN §850, 2265).

glóða ‘of the embers’

(not checked:)
glóð (noun f.): ember

[1] glóða: ‘glǫða’ E, glóðar H, Hr

kennings

notes

[1] glóða grœðis ‘embers of the ocean [GOLD]’: Grœðis is adopted here, as by most eds, despite being attested only in Kˣ (supported by papp18ˣ) and 39, since the majority reading glæðis does not match the known vocabulary and may be influenced by the following glóða. The presumed gold-kenning forms the determinant of a common type of man-kenning with bǫrva ‘trees’ as its base-word, and the cl. arrangement that this entails is more or less unavoidable, unless the complex solution tentatively proposed, and then withdrawn, by Kock is adopted (NN §850, 2265).

gramr ‘The king’

(not checked:)
1. gramr (noun m.): ruler

ok ‘and’

(not checked:)
3. ok (conj.): and, but; also

jarl ‘the jarl’

(not checked:)
jarl (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): poet, earl

fyr ‘’

(not checked:)
fyr (prep.): for, over, because of, etc.

skǫmmu ‘a short time ago’

(not checked:)
skǫmmu (adv.): recently

þar ‘there’

(not checked:)
þar (adv.): there

kom ‘came’

(not checked:)
koma (verb; kem, kom/kvam, kominn): come

bitr ‘biting’

(not checked:)
bitr (adj.; °bitran; superl. bitrastr): sharp, biting

[3] bitr á: bitra 39, F, E, Hr, ‘bittra’ J2ˣ

kennings

notes

[3] bitr á ‘biting ... upon’: Bitra, the reading of most mss, does not provide the prep. needed by the syntax.

á ‘upon’

(not checked:)
3. á (prep.): on, at

[3] bitr á: bitra 39, F, E, Hr, ‘bittra’ J2ˣ

notes

[3] bitr á ‘biting ... upon’: Bitra, the reading of most mss, does not provide the prep. needed by the syntax.

bǫrva ‘the trees’

(not checked:)
bǫrr (noun m.): tree

[3] bǫrva: ‘biorfa’ J2ˣ

kennings

brand ‘sword’

(not checked:)
brandr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): sword, prow; fire < brandleikr (noun m.)

kennings

leikr ‘sport’

(not checked:)
1. leikr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -/-i; -ar): sport, play < brandleikr (noun m.)

[4] ‑leikr: ‑lækr H, lækir Hr

kennings

saman ‘’

(not checked:)
saman (adv.): together

randir ‘shields’

(not checked:)
rǫnd (noun f.; °dat. -/-u; rendr/randir): shield, shield-rim

svát ‘so that’

(not checked:)
svát (conj.): so that, so as

man ‘maiden’

(not checked:)
man (noun n.): girl < manþing (noun n.)

[5] man‑: mann‑ H

kennings

notes

[5, 6] Heðins manþinga serkjar merkjendr ‘stainers of the shirt of the assembly of Heðinn <legendary hero’s> maiden [(lit. ‘of Heðinn’s maiden-assembly’) = Hildr > BATTLE > ARMOUR > WARRIORS]’: (a) The legendary Heðinn, hero of the Hjaðningavíg (‘battle of Heðinn’s men’, SnE 1998, I, 72), took as battle-trophy and wife the valkyrie named Hildr, whose name is also a generic term for ‘valkyrie’ and hence frequently found in battle-kennings. As a common noun hildr is also a term for ‘battle’, and hence there are several kennings for ‘battle’ meaning ‘Heðinn’s maiden’ (LP: Heðinn; Meissner 201-2). This means that þing ‘assembly’ in the present verse is not strictly required in the postulated kenning; however, the redundancy is matched and exceeded in Sturl Þverv l. 2^IV þingmót snótar Heðins ‘assembly-meet of Heðinn’s lady [= Hildr <valkyrie> > BATTLE]’. Thus in Þjóðólfr’s st. Hildr’s þing is ‘battle’, and the serkr ‘shirt’ of battle is armour, and those who ‘stain’ armour (merkjendr) are warriors, who paint it with their enemies’ blood. (b) There are no attractive alternatives to this widely-accepted reading. Serkjar Heðins ‘Heðinn’s shirts’ would itself be a well-formed armour kenning (cf. Hfr ErfÓl 10/4^I, but this would leave especially mannþinga(t) unaccounted for. (c) The variant reading þingat (so 39, F, E, J2ˣ) as the adv. ‘(to) there’ cannot be explained within the helmingr.

man ‘maiden’

(not checked:)
man (noun n.): girl < manþing (noun n.)

[5] man‑: mann‑ H

kennings

notes

[5, 6] Heðins manþinga serkjar merkjendr ‘stainers of the shirt of the assembly of Heðinn <legendary hero’s> maiden [(lit. ‘of Heðinn’s maiden-assembly’) = Hildr > BATTLE > ARMOUR > WARRIORS]’: (a) The legendary Heðinn, hero of the Hjaðningavíg (‘battle of Heðinn’s men’, SnE 1998, I, 72), took as battle-trophy and wife the valkyrie named Hildr, whose name is also a generic term for ‘valkyrie’ and hence frequently found in battle-kennings. As a common noun hildr is also a term for ‘battle’, and hence there are several kennings for ‘battle’ meaning ‘Heðinn’s maiden’ (LP: Heðinn; Meissner 201-2). This means that þing ‘assembly’ in the present verse is not strictly required in the postulated kenning; however, the redundancy is matched and exceeded in Sturl Þverv l. 2^IV þingmót snótar Heðins ‘assembly-meet of Heðinn’s lady [= Hildr <valkyrie> > BATTLE]’. Thus in Þjóðólfr’s st. Hildr’s þing is ‘battle’, and the serkr ‘shirt’ of battle is armour, and those who ‘stain’ armour (merkjendr) are warriors, who paint it with their enemies’ blood. (b) There are no attractive alternatives to this widely-accepted reading. Serkjar Heðins ‘Heðinn’s shirts’ would itself be a well-formed armour kenning (cf. Hfr ErfÓl 10/4^I, but this would leave especially mannþinga(t) unaccounted for. (c) The variant reading þingat (so 39, F, E, J2ˣ) as the adv. ‘(to) there’ cannot be explained within the helmingr.

man ‘maiden’

(not checked:)
man (noun n.): girl < manþing (noun n.)

[5] man‑: mann‑ H

kennings

notes

[5, 6] Heðins manþinga serkjar merkjendr ‘stainers of the shirt of the assembly of Heðinn <legendary hero’s> maiden [(lit. ‘of Heðinn’s maiden-assembly’) = Hildr > BATTLE > ARMOUR > WARRIORS]’: (a) The legendary Heðinn, hero of the Hjaðningavíg (‘battle of Heðinn’s men’, SnE 1998, I, 72), took as battle-trophy and wife the valkyrie named Hildr, whose name is also a generic term for ‘valkyrie’ and hence frequently found in battle-kennings. As a common noun hildr is also a term for ‘battle’, and hence there are several kennings for ‘battle’ meaning ‘Heðinn’s maiden’ (LP: Heðinn; Meissner 201-2). This means that þing ‘assembly’ in the present verse is not strictly required in the postulated kenning; however, the redundancy is matched and exceeded in Sturl Þverv l. 2^IV þingmót snótar Heðins ‘assembly-meet of Heðinn’s lady [= Hildr <valkyrie> > BATTLE]’. Thus in Þjóðólfr’s st. Hildr’s þing is ‘battle’, and the serkr ‘shirt’ of battle is armour, and those who ‘stain’ armour (merkjendr) are warriors, who paint it with their enemies’ blood. (b) There are no attractive alternatives to this widely-accepted reading. Serkjar Heðins ‘Heðinn’s shirts’ would itself be a well-formed armour kenning (cf. Hfr ErfÓl 10/4^I, but this would leave especially mannþinga(t) unaccounted for. (c) The variant reading þingat (so 39, F, E, J2ˣ) as the adv. ‘(to) there’ cannot be explained within the helmingr.

man ‘maiden’

(not checked:)
man (noun n.): girl < manþing (noun n.)

[5] man‑: mann‑ H

kennings

notes

[5, 6] Heðins manþinga serkjar merkjendr ‘stainers of the shirt of the assembly of Heðinn <legendary hero’s> maiden [(lit. ‘of Heðinn’s maiden-assembly’) = Hildr > BATTLE > ARMOUR > WARRIORS]’: (a) The legendary Heðinn, hero of the Hjaðningavíg (‘battle of Heðinn’s men’, SnE 1998, I, 72), took as battle-trophy and wife the valkyrie named Hildr, whose name is also a generic term for ‘valkyrie’ and hence frequently found in battle-kennings. As a common noun hildr is also a term for ‘battle’, and hence there are several kennings for ‘battle’ meaning ‘Heðinn’s maiden’ (LP: Heðinn; Meissner 201-2). This means that þing ‘assembly’ in the present verse is not strictly required in the postulated kenning; however, the redundancy is matched and exceeded in Sturl Þverv l. 2^IV þingmót snótar Heðins ‘assembly-meet of Heðinn’s lady [= Hildr <valkyrie> > BATTLE]’. Thus in Þjóðólfr’s st. Hildr’s þing is ‘battle’, and the serkr ‘shirt’ of battle is armour, and those who ‘stain’ armour (merkjendr) are warriors, who paint it with their enemies’ blood. (b) There are no attractive alternatives to this widely-accepted reading. Serkjar Heðins ‘Heðinn’s shirts’ would itself be a well-formed armour kenning (cf. Hfr ErfÓl 10/4^I, but this would leave especially mannþinga(t) unaccounted for. (c) The variant reading þingat (so 39, F, E, J2ˣ) as the adv. ‘(to) there’ cannot be explained within the helmingr.

þinga ‘of the assembly’

(not checked:)
þing (noun n.; °-s; -): meeting, assembly < manþing (noun n.)

[5] ‑þinga: ‑þingat 39, F, E, J2ˣ, ‑þunga H, Hr

kennings

notes

[5, 6] Heðins manþinga serkjar merkjendr ‘stainers of the shirt of the assembly of Heðinn <legendary hero’s> maiden [(lit. ‘of Heðinn’s maiden-assembly’) = Hildr > BATTLE > ARMOUR > WARRIORS]’: (a) The legendary Heðinn, hero of the Hjaðningavíg (‘battle of Heðinn’s men’, SnE 1998, I, 72), took as battle-trophy and wife the valkyrie named Hildr, whose name is also a generic term for ‘valkyrie’ and hence frequently found in battle-kennings. As a common noun hildr is also a term for ‘battle’, and hence there are several kennings for ‘battle’ meaning ‘Heðinn’s maiden’ (LP: Heðinn; Meissner 201-2). This means that þing ‘assembly’ in the present verse is not strictly required in the postulated kenning; however, the redundancy is matched and exceeded in Sturl Þverv l. 2^IV þingmót snótar Heðins ‘assembly-meet of Heðinn’s lady [= Hildr <valkyrie> > BATTLE]’. Thus in Þjóðólfr’s st. Hildr’s þing is ‘battle’, and the serkr ‘shirt’ of battle is armour, and those who ‘stain’ armour (merkjendr) are warriors, who paint it with their enemies’ blood. (b) There are no attractive alternatives to this widely-accepted reading. Serkjar Heðins ‘Heðinn’s shirts’ would itself be a well-formed armour kenning (cf. Hfr ErfÓl 10/4^I, but this would leave especially mannþinga(t) unaccounted for. (c) The variant reading þingat (so 39, F, E, J2ˣ) as the adv. ‘(to) there’ cannot be explained within the helmingr.

þinga ‘of the assembly’

(not checked:)
þing (noun n.; °-s; -): meeting, assembly < manþing (noun n.)

[5] ‑þinga: ‑þingat 39, F, E, J2ˣ, ‑þunga H, Hr

kennings

notes

[5, 6] Heðins manþinga serkjar merkjendr ‘stainers of the shirt of the assembly of Heðinn <legendary hero’s> maiden [(lit. ‘of Heðinn’s maiden-assembly’) = Hildr > BATTLE > ARMOUR > WARRIORS]’: (a) The legendary Heðinn, hero of the Hjaðningavíg (‘battle of Heðinn’s men’, SnE 1998, I, 72), took as battle-trophy and wife the valkyrie named Hildr, whose name is also a generic term for ‘valkyrie’ and hence frequently found in battle-kennings. As a common noun hildr is also a term for ‘battle’, and hence there are several kennings for ‘battle’ meaning ‘Heðinn’s maiden’ (LP: Heðinn; Meissner 201-2). This means that þing ‘assembly’ in the present verse is not strictly required in the postulated kenning; however, the redundancy is matched and exceeded in Sturl Þverv l. 2^IV þingmót snótar Heðins ‘assembly-meet of Heðinn’s lady [= Hildr <valkyrie> > BATTLE]’. Thus in Þjóðólfr’s st. Hildr’s þing is ‘battle’, and the serkr ‘shirt’ of battle is armour, and those who ‘stain’ armour (merkjendr) are warriors, who paint it with their enemies’ blood. (b) There are no attractive alternatives to this widely-accepted reading. Serkjar Heðins ‘Heðinn’s shirts’ would itself be a well-formed armour kenning (cf. Hfr ErfÓl 10/4^I, but this would leave especially mannþinga(t) unaccounted for. (c) The variant reading þingat (so 39, F, E, J2ˣ) as the adv. ‘(to) there’ cannot be explained within the helmingr.

þinga ‘of the assembly’

(not checked:)
þing (noun n.; °-s; -): meeting, assembly < manþing (noun n.)

[5] ‑þinga: ‑þingat 39, F, E, J2ˣ, ‑þunga H, Hr

kennings

notes

[5, 6] Heðins manþinga serkjar merkjendr ‘stainers of the shirt of the assembly of Heðinn <legendary hero’s> maiden [(lit. ‘of Heðinn’s maiden-assembly’) = Hildr > BATTLE > ARMOUR > WARRIORS]’: (a) The legendary Heðinn, hero of the Hjaðningavíg (‘battle of Heðinn’s men’, SnE 1998, I, 72), took as battle-trophy and wife the valkyrie named Hildr, whose name is also a generic term for ‘valkyrie’ and hence frequently found in battle-kennings. As a common noun hildr is also a term for ‘battle’, and hence there are several kennings for ‘battle’ meaning ‘Heðinn’s maiden’ (LP: Heðinn; Meissner 201-2). This means that þing ‘assembly’ in the present verse is not strictly required in the postulated kenning; however, the redundancy is matched and exceeded in Sturl Þverv l. 2^IV þingmót snótar Heðins ‘assembly-meet of Heðinn’s lady [= Hildr <valkyrie> > BATTLE]’. Thus in Þjóðólfr’s st. Hildr’s þing is ‘battle’, and the serkr ‘shirt’ of battle is armour, and those who ‘stain’ armour (merkjendr) are warriors, who paint it with their enemies’ blood. (b) There are no attractive alternatives to this widely-accepted reading. Serkjar Heðins ‘Heðinn’s shirts’ would itself be a well-formed armour kenning (cf. Hfr ErfÓl 10/4^I, but this would leave especially mannþinga(t) unaccounted for. (c) The variant reading þingat (so 39, F, E, J2ˣ) as the adv. ‘(to) there’ cannot be explained within the helmingr.

munðut ‘did not remember’

(not checked:)
1. muna (verb): remember

merkjendr ‘stainers’

(not checked:)
merkjandi (noun m.): [stainers]

kennings

notes

[5, 6] Heðins manþinga serkjar merkjendr ‘stainers of the shirt of the assembly of Heðinn <legendary hero’s> maiden [(lit. ‘of Heðinn’s maiden-assembly’) = Hildr > BATTLE > ARMOUR > WARRIORS]’: (a) The legendary Heðinn, hero of the Hjaðningavíg (‘battle of Heðinn’s men’, SnE 1998, I, 72), took as battle-trophy and wife the valkyrie named Hildr, whose name is also a generic term for ‘valkyrie’ and hence frequently found in battle-kennings. As a common noun hildr is also a term for ‘battle’, and hence there are several kennings for ‘battle’ meaning ‘Heðinn’s maiden’ (LP: Heðinn; Meissner 201-2). This means that þing ‘assembly’ in the present verse is not strictly required in the postulated kenning; however, the redundancy is matched and exceeded in Sturl Þverv l. 2^IV þingmót snótar Heðins ‘assembly-meet of Heðinn’s lady [= Hildr <valkyrie> > BATTLE]’. Thus in Þjóðólfr’s st. Hildr’s þing is ‘battle’, and the serkr ‘shirt’ of battle is armour, and those who ‘stain’ armour (merkjendr) are warriors, who paint it with their enemies’ blood. (b) There are no attractive alternatives to this widely-accepted reading. Serkjar Heðins ‘Heðinn’s shirts’ would itself be a well-formed armour kenning (cf. Hfr ErfÓl 10/4^I, but this would leave especially mannþinga(t) unaccounted for. (c) The variant reading þingat (so 39, F, E, J2ˣ) as the adv. ‘(to) there’ cannot be explained within the helmingr.

Heðins ‘of Heðinn’s’

(not checked:)
2. Heðinn (noun m.): [Heðinn, champions]

kennings

notes

[5, 6] Heðins manþinga serkjar merkjendr ‘stainers of the shirt of the assembly of Heðinn <legendary hero’s> maiden [(lit. ‘of Heðinn’s maiden-assembly’) = Hildr > BATTLE > ARMOUR > WARRIORS]’: (a) The legendary Heðinn, hero of the Hjaðningavíg (‘battle of Heðinn’s men’, SnE 1998, I, 72), took as battle-trophy and wife the valkyrie named Hildr, whose name is also a generic term for ‘valkyrie’ and hence frequently found in battle-kennings. As a common noun hildr is also a term for ‘battle’, and hence there are several kennings for ‘battle’ meaning ‘Heðinn’s maiden’ (LP: Heðinn; Meissner 201-2). This means that þing ‘assembly’ in the present verse is not strictly required in the postulated kenning; however, the redundancy is matched and exceeded in Sturl Þverv l. 2^IV þingmót snótar Heðins ‘assembly-meet of Heðinn’s lady [= Hildr <valkyrie> > BATTLE]’. Thus in Þjóðólfr’s st. Hildr’s þing is ‘battle’, and the serkr ‘shirt’ of battle is armour, and those who ‘stain’ armour (merkjendr) are warriors, who paint it with their enemies’ blood. (b) There are no attractive alternatives to this widely-accepted reading. Serkjar Heðins ‘Heðinn’s shirts’ would itself be a well-formed armour kenning (cf. Hfr ErfÓl 10/4^I, but this would leave especially mannþinga(t) unaccounted for. (c) The variant reading þingat (so 39, F, E, J2ˣ) as the adv. ‘(to) there’ cannot be explained within the helmingr.

Heðins ‘of Heðinn’s’

(not checked:)
2. Heðinn (noun m.): [Heðinn, champions]

kennings

notes

[5, 6] Heðins manþinga serkjar merkjendr ‘stainers of the shirt of the assembly of Heðinn <legendary hero’s> maiden [(lit. ‘of Heðinn’s maiden-assembly’) = Hildr > BATTLE > ARMOUR > WARRIORS]’: (a) The legendary Heðinn, hero of the Hjaðningavíg (‘battle of Heðinn’s men’, SnE 1998, I, 72), took as battle-trophy and wife the valkyrie named Hildr, whose name is also a generic term for ‘valkyrie’ and hence frequently found in battle-kennings. As a common noun hildr is also a term for ‘battle’, and hence there are several kennings for ‘battle’ meaning ‘Heðinn’s maiden’ (LP: Heðinn; Meissner 201-2). This means that þing ‘assembly’ in the present verse is not strictly required in the postulated kenning; however, the redundancy is matched and exceeded in Sturl Þverv l. 2^IV þingmót snótar Heðins ‘assembly-meet of Heðinn’s lady [= Hildr <valkyrie> > BATTLE]’. Thus in Þjóðólfr’s st. Hildr’s þing is ‘battle’, and the serkr ‘shirt’ of battle is armour, and those who ‘stain’ armour (merkjendr) are warriors, who paint it with their enemies’ blood. (b) There are no attractive alternatives to this widely-accepted reading. Serkjar Heðins ‘Heðinn’s shirts’ would itself be a well-formed armour kenning (cf. Hfr ErfÓl 10/4^I, but this would leave especially mannþinga(t) unaccounted for. (c) The variant reading þingat (so 39, F, E, J2ˣ) as the adv. ‘(to) there’ cannot be explained within the helmingr.

Heðins ‘of Heðinn’s’

(not checked:)
2. Heðinn (noun m.): [Heðinn, champions]

kennings

notes

[5, 6] Heðins manþinga serkjar merkjendr ‘stainers of the shirt of the assembly of Heðinn <legendary hero’s> maiden [(lit. ‘of Heðinn’s maiden-assembly’) = Hildr > BATTLE > ARMOUR > WARRIORS]’: (a) The legendary Heðinn, hero of the Hjaðningavíg (‘battle of Heðinn’s men’, SnE 1998, I, 72), took as battle-trophy and wife the valkyrie named Hildr, whose name is also a generic term for ‘valkyrie’ and hence frequently found in battle-kennings. As a common noun hildr is also a term for ‘battle’, and hence there are several kennings for ‘battle’ meaning ‘Heðinn’s maiden’ (LP: Heðinn; Meissner 201-2). This means that þing ‘assembly’ in the present verse is not strictly required in the postulated kenning; however, the redundancy is matched and exceeded in Sturl Þverv l. 2^IV þingmót snótar Heðins ‘assembly-meet of Heðinn’s lady [= Hildr <valkyrie> > BATTLE]’. Thus in Þjóðólfr’s st. Hildr’s þing is ‘battle’, and the serkr ‘shirt’ of battle is armour, and those who ‘stain’ armour (merkjendr) are warriors, who paint it with their enemies’ blood. (b) There are no attractive alternatives to this widely-accepted reading. Serkjar Heðins ‘Heðinn’s shirts’ would itself be a well-formed armour kenning (cf. Hfr ErfÓl 10/4^I, but this would leave especially mannþinga(t) unaccounted for. (c) The variant reading þingat (so 39, F, E, J2ˣ) as the adv. ‘(to) there’ cannot be explained within the helmingr.

Heðins ‘of Heðinn’s’

(not checked:)
2. Heðinn (noun m.): [Heðinn, champions]

kennings

notes

[5, 6] Heðins manþinga serkjar merkjendr ‘stainers of the shirt of the assembly of Heðinn <legendary hero’s> maiden [(lit. ‘of Heðinn’s maiden-assembly’) = Hildr > BATTLE > ARMOUR > WARRIORS]’: (a) The legendary Heðinn, hero of the Hjaðningavíg (‘battle of Heðinn’s men’, SnE 1998, I, 72), took as battle-trophy and wife the valkyrie named Hildr, whose name is also a generic term for ‘valkyrie’ and hence frequently found in battle-kennings. As a common noun hildr is also a term for ‘battle’, and hence there are several kennings for ‘battle’ meaning ‘Heðinn’s maiden’ (LP: Heðinn; Meissner 201-2). This means that þing ‘assembly’ in the present verse is not strictly required in the postulated kenning; however, the redundancy is matched and exceeded in Sturl Þverv l. 2^IV þingmót snótar Heðins ‘assembly-meet of Heðinn’s lady [= Hildr <valkyrie> > BATTLE]’. Thus in Þjóðólfr’s st. Hildr’s þing is ‘battle’, and the serkr ‘shirt’ of battle is armour, and those who ‘stain’ armour (merkjendr) are warriors, who paint it with their enemies’ blood. (b) There are no attractive alternatives to this widely-accepted reading. Serkjar Heðins ‘Heðinn’s shirts’ would itself be a well-formed armour kenning (cf. Hfr ErfÓl 10/4^I, but this would leave especially mannþinga(t) unaccounted for. (c) The variant reading þingat (so 39, F, E, J2ˣ) as the adv. ‘(to) there’ cannot be explained within the helmingr.

serkjar ‘of the shirt’

(not checked:)
1. serkr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -/-i; -ir): shirt

kennings

notes

[5, 6] Heðins manþinga serkjar merkjendr ‘stainers of the shirt of the assembly of Heðinn <legendary hero’s> maiden [(lit. ‘of Heðinn’s maiden-assembly’) = Hildr > BATTLE > ARMOUR > WARRIORS]’: (a) The legendary Heðinn, hero of the Hjaðningavíg (‘battle of Heðinn’s men’, SnE 1998, I, 72), took as battle-trophy and wife the valkyrie named Hildr, whose name is also a generic term for ‘valkyrie’ and hence frequently found in battle-kennings. As a common noun hildr is also a term for ‘battle’, and hence there are several kennings for ‘battle’ meaning ‘Heðinn’s maiden’ (LP: Heðinn; Meissner 201-2). This means that þing ‘assembly’ in the present verse is not strictly required in the postulated kenning; however, the redundancy is matched and exceeded in Sturl Þverv l. 2^IV þingmót snótar Heðins ‘assembly-meet of Heðinn’s lady [= Hildr <valkyrie> > BATTLE]’. Thus in Þjóðólfr’s st. Hildr’s þing is ‘battle’, and the serkr ‘shirt’ of battle is armour, and those who ‘stain’ armour (merkjendr) are warriors, who paint it with their enemies’ blood. (b) There are no attractive alternatives to this widely-accepted reading. Serkjar Heðins ‘Heðinn’s shirts’ would itself be a well-formed armour kenning (cf. Hfr ErfÓl 10/4^I, but this would leave especially mannþinga(t) unaccounted for. (c) The variant reading þingat (so 39, F, E, J2ˣ) as the adv. ‘(to) there’ cannot be explained within the helmingr.

serkjar ‘of the shirt’

(not checked:)
1. serkr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -/-i; -ir): shirt

kennings

notes

[5, 6] Heðins manþinga serkjar merkjendr ‘stainers of the shirt of the assembly of Heðinn <legendary hero’s> maiden [(lit. ‘of Heðinn’s maiden-assembly’) = Hildr > BATTLE > ARMOUR > WARRIORS]’: (a) The legendary Heðinn, hero of the Hjaðningavíg (‘battle of Heðinn’s men’, SnE 1998, I, 72), took as battle-trophy and wife the valkyrie named Hildr, whose name is also a generic term for ‘valkyrie’ and hence frequently found in battle-kennings. As a common noun hildr is also a term for ‘battle’, and hence there are several kennings for ‘battle’ meaning ‘Heðinn’s maiden’ (LP: Heðinn; Meissner 201-2). This means that þing ‘assembly’ in the present verse is not strictly required in the postulated kenning; however, the redundancy is matched and exceeded in Sturl Þverv l. 2^IV þingmót snótar Heðins ‘assembly-meet of Heðinn’s lady [= Hildr <valkyrie> > BATTLE]’. Thus in Þjóðólfr’s st. Hildr’s þing is ‘battle’, and the serkr ‘shirt’ of battle is armour, and those who ‘stain’ armour (merkjendr) are warriors, who paint it with their enemies’ blood. (b) There are no attractive alternatives to this widely-accepted reading. Serkjar Heðins ‘Heðinn’s shirts’ would itself be a well-formed armour kenning (cf. Hfr ErfÓl 10/4^I, but this would leave especially mannþinga(t) unaccounted for. (c) The variant reading þingat (so 39, F, E, J2ˣ) as the adv. ‘(to) there’ cannot be explained within the helmingr.

herr ‘the army’

(not checked:)
herr (noun m.; °-s/-jar, dat. -; -jar, gen. -ja/herra): army, host

náði ‘got’

(not checked:)
1. ná (verb): reach, get, manage

gný ‘tumult’

(not checked:)
gnýr (noun m.): din, tumult

kennings

gørva ‘to carry out’

(not checked:)
1. gera (verb): do, make

[7] gørva: geira H, Hr

geirs ‘of the spear’

(not checked:)
geirr (noun m.): spear

kennings

orrostu ‘battle’

(not checked:)
orrusta (noun f.; °-u; -ur): battle

[8] orrostu: ‘oʀ̄’ E, orrosta J2ˣ

meiri ‘a greater’

(not checked:)
meiri (adj. comp.; °meiran; superl. mestr): more, most