ÞjóðA Lv 6II
Diana Whaley (ed.) 2009, ‘Þjóðólfr Arnórsson, Lausavísur 6’ in Kari Ellen Gade (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 2: From c. 1035 to c. 1300. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 2. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 171-2.
Sigurðr ‘The Sigurðr’
(not checked:)
Sigurðr (noun m.): Sigurðr
kennings
Sigurðr sleggju‘The Sigurðr of the sledge-hammer ’
= SMITH
The Sigurðr of the sledge-hammer → SMITH
eggjaði ‘incited’
(not checked:)
eggja (verb; °-að-): urge
sleggju ‘of the sledge-hammer’
(not checked:)
sleggja (noun f.; °-u; -ur): hammer, sledge-hammer
kennings
Sigurðr sleggju‘The Sigurðr of the sledge-hammer ’
= SMITH
The Sigurðr of the sledge-hammer → SMITH
snák ‘the snake’
(not checked:)
snákr (noun m.): snake
kennings
snák váligrar brákar,‘the snake of the dangerous tanning tool, ’
= TANNER
the snake of the dangerous tanning tool, → TANNER
váligrar ‘of the dangerous’
(not checked:)
váligr (adj.): dangerous, wicked
kennings
snák váligrar brákar,‘the snake of the dangerous tanning tool, ’
= TANNER
the snake of the dangerous tanning tool, → TANNER
kennings
snák váligrar brákar,‘the snake of the dangerous tanning tool, ’
= TANNER
the snake of the dangerous tanning tool, → TANNER
notes
[2] brákar ‘of the tanning tool’: Gen. sg. of brk f., referring to a tool, probably of horn, used for preparing skins (LP).
en ‘and’
(not checked:)
2. en (conj.): but, and
skaf ‘the scraping’
(not checked:)
skaf (noun n.; °-s): scraping, peeled bark < skafdreki (noun m.)
[3] skaf‑: so H, Hr, skaf‑ or skap‑ Mork, skap‑ Flat, 593b
kennings
skafdreki skinna‘the scraping-dragon of skins ’
= TANNER
the scraping-dragon of skins → TANNER
dreki ‘dragon’
(not checked:)
dreki (noun m.; °-a; -ar): dragon, dragon-ship < skafdreki (noun m.)
kennings
skafdreki skinna‘the scraping-dragon of skins ’
= TANNER
the scraping-dragon of skins → TANNER
kennings
skafdreki skinna‘the scraping-dragon of skins ’
= TANNER
the scraping-dragon of skins → TANNER
skreið ‘slithered’
(not checked:)
skríða (verb): creep, glide
of ‘across’
(not checked:)
3. of (prep.): around, from; too
[4] of: so H, af or of Mork, af Hr, Flat, 593b
notes
[4] of ‘across’: The variant af ‘from’ also has strong support and as the less obvious prep. before an expression meaning ‘ground’ might have some claim to priority as the lectio difficilior.
kennings
heiði leista.‘the heath of feet. ’
= FLOOR
the heath of feet. → FLOOR
notes
[4] leista ‘of feet’: Leistr came to mean ‘sock’ but had the older meaning ‘foot’.
heiði ‘the heath’
(not checked:)
3. heiðr (noun f.; °heiðar, dat./acc heiði; heiðar): heath
kennings
heiði leista.‘the heath of feet. ’
= FLOOR
the heath of feet. → FLOOR
Menn ‘People’
(not checked:)
maðr (noun m.): man, person
[5] Menn sôusk orm: mann sásk orm Mork, menn sásk orm H, mǫnnum leizk ormr Hr, Flat, ‘monnum […] (ormr)’(?) 593b
notes
[5] menn sôusk ‘people were afraid’: The H variant menn is required here, and a minor emendation (or arguably normalisation) of sásk. The variant mǫnnum leizk ormr ‘the reptile seemed to people’ (so Hr, Flat) is also possible, but would be incomplete without a predicate.
sôusk ‘were afraid of’
(not checked:)
2. sjá (verb): see
[5] Menn sôusk orm: mann sásk orm Mork, menn sásk orm H, mǫnnum leizk ormr Hr, Flat, ‘monnum […] (ormr)’(?) 593b
notes
[5] menn sôusk ‘people were afraid’: The H variant menn is required here, and a minor emendation (or arguably normalisation) of sásk. The variant mǫnnum leizk ormr ‘the reptile seemed to people’ (so Hr, Flat) is also possible, but would be incomplete without a predicate.
orm ‘the reptile’
(not checked:)
ormr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -i; -ar): serpent
[5] Menn sôusk orm: mann sásk orm Mork, menn sásk orm H, mǫnnum leizk ormr Hr, Flat, ‘monnum […] (ormr)’(?) 593b
notes
[5, 6] orm búinn kilju ilvegs ‘the reptile clad in the covering of the sole-path [FOOT > SHOE]’: This refers to ‘man, tanner’. The overall phrase is kenning-like (and contains a tvíkennt kenning for ‘shoe’), but since búinn ilvegs kilju is a p. p. and dat. rather than a gen. or part of a cpd it is structurally different from a kenning. Kilju ‘covering’ (gen. sg.) is a rare noun, not to be found in Fritzner, and LP offers only this instance under 2. kilja f. meaning ‘cap, covering’; see also Falk 1919, 192. AEW gives three distinct f. nouns, of which the first and third are marked as poetic: 1. ‘protective covering’ (Schulterbedeckung), 2. ‘conflict’ (Zank, Streit) (cf. the verb kilja ‘dispute’), and 3. ‘nourishment’ (Nahrung). Kock in NN §871 favoured kapputrustad ‘wearing a hood’ for búinn kilju, but in Kock and Meissner 1931, II, 96 (: kilja) and NN §2989C suggests ‘ready for strife’ (stridslystne).
áðr ‘before’
(not checked:)
áðr (adv.; °//): before
il ‘of the sole’
(not checked:)
il (noun f.; °; -jar): footsole < ilvegr (noun m.): [sole-path]
kennings
kilju ilvegs,‘in the covering of the sole-path, ’
= SHOE
the sole-path, → FOOT
in the covering of the FOOT → SHOE
notes
[5, 6] orm búinn kilju ilvegs ‘the reptile clad in the covering of the sole-path [FOOT > SHOE]’: This refers to ‘man, tanner’. The overall phrase is kenning-like (and contains a tvíkennt kenning for ‘shoe’), but since búinn ilvegs kilju is a p. p. and dat. rather than a gen. or part of a cpd it is structurally different from a kenning. Kilju ‘covering’ (gen. sg.) is a rare noun, not to be found in Fritzner, and LP offers only this instance under 2. kilja f. meaning ‘cap, covering’; see also Falk 1919, 192. AEW gives three distinct f. nouns, of which the first and third are marked as poetic: 1. ‘protective covering’ (Schulterbedeckung), 2. ‘conflict’ (Zank, Streit) (cf. the verb kilja ‘dispute’), and 3. ‘nourishment’ (Nahrung). Kock in NN §871 favoured kapputrustad ‘wearing a hood’ for búinn kilju, but in Kock and Meissner 1931, II, 96 (: kilja) and NN §2989C suggests ‘ready for strife’ (stridslystne).
il ‘of the sole’
(not checked:)
il (noun f.; °; -jar): footsole < ilvegr (noun m.): [sole-path]
kennings
kilju ilvegs,‘in the covering of the sole-path, ’
= SHOE
the sole-path, → FOOT
in the covering of the FOOT → SHOE
notes
[5, 6] orm búinn kilju ilvegs ‘the reptile clad in the covering of the sole-path [FOOT > SHOE]’: This refers to ‘man, tanner’. The overall phrase is kenning-like (and contains a tvíkennt kenning for ‘shoe’), but since búinn ilvegs kilju is a p. p. and dat. rather than a gen. or part of a cpd it is structurally different from a kenning. Kilju ‘covering’ (gen. sg.) is a rare noun, not to be found in Fritzner, and LP offers only this instance under 2. kilja f. meaning ‘cap, covering’; see also Falk 1919, 192. AEW gives three distinct f. nouns, of which the first and third are marked as poetic: 1. ‘protective covering’ (Schulterbedeckung), 2. ‘conflict’ (Zank, Streit) (cf. the verb kilja ‘dispute’), and 3. ‘nourishment’ (Nahrung). Kock in NN §871 favoured kapputrustad ‘wearing a hood’ for búinn kilju, but in Kock and Meissner 1931, II, 96 (: kilja) and NN §2989C suggests ‘ready for strife’ (stridslystne).
vegs ‘path’
(not checked:)
1. vegr (noun m.; °-s/-ar, dat. -i/-; -ar/-ir, gen. -a/-na, acc. -a/-i/-u): way, path, side < ilvegr (noun m.): [sole-path]
kennings
kilju ilvegs,‘in the covering of the sole-path, ’
= SHOE
the sole-path, → FOOT
in the covering of the FOOT → SHOE
notes
[5, 6] orm búinn kilju ilvegs ‘the reptile clad in the covering of the sole-path [FOOT > SHOE]’: This refers to ‘man, tanner’. The overall phrase is kenning-like (and contains a tvíkennt kenning for ‘shoe’), but since búinn ilvegs kilju is a p. p. and dat. rather than a gen. or part of a cpd it is structurally different from a kenning. Kilju ‘covering’ (gen. sg.) is a rare noun, not to be found in Fritzner, and LP offers only this instance under 2. kilja f. meaning ‘cap, covering’; see also Falk 1919, 192. AEW gives three distinct f. nouns, of which the first and third are marked as poetic: 1. ‘protective covering’ (Schulterbedeckung), 2. ‘conflict’ (Zank, Streit) (cf. the verb kilja ‘dispute’), and 3. ‘nourishment’ (Nahrung). Kock in NN §871 favoured kapputrustad ‘wearing a hood’ for búinn kilju, but in Kock and Meissner 1931, II, 96 (: kilja) and NN §2989C suggests ‘ready for strife’ (stridslystne).
vegs ‘path’
(not checked:)
1. vegr (noun m.; °-s/-ar, dat. -i/-; -ar/-ir, gen. -a/-na, acc. -a/-i/-u): way, path, side < ilvegr (noun m.): [sole-path]
kennings
kilju ilvegs,‘in the covering of the sole-path, ’
= SHOE
the sole-path, → FOOT
in the covering of the FOOT → SHOE
notes
[5, 6] orm búinn kilju ilvegs ‘the reptile clad in the covering of the sole-path [FOOT > SHOE]’: This refers to ‘man, tanner’. The overall phrase is kenning-like (and contains a tvíkennt kenning for ‘shoe’), but since búinn ilvegs kilju is a p. p. and dat. rather than a gen. or part of a cpd it is structurally different from a kenning. Kilju ‘covering’ (gen. sg.) is a rare noun, not to be found in Fritzner, and LP offers only this instance under 2. kilja f. meaning ‘cap, covering’; see also Falk 1919, 192. AEW gives three distinct f. nouns, of which the first and third are marked as poetic: 1. ‘protective covering’ (Schulterbedeckung), 2. ‘conflict’ (Zank, Streit) (cf. the verb kilja ‘dispute’), and 3. ‘nourishment’ (Nahrung). Kock in NN §871 favoured kapputrustad ‘wearing a hood’ for búinn kilju, but in Kock and Meissner 1931, II, 96 (: kilja) and NN §2989C suggests ‘ready for strife’ (stridslystne).
búinn ‘clad’
[6] búinn: bana 593b
notes
[5, 6] orm búinn kilju ilvegs ‘the reptile clad in the covering of the sole-path [FOOT > SHOE]’: This refers to ‘man, tanner’. The overall phrase is kenning-like (and contains a tvíkennt kenning for ‘shoe’), but since búinn ilvegs kilju is a p. p. and dat. rather than a gen. or part of a cpd it is structurally different from a kenning. Kilju ‘covering’ (gen. sg.) is a rare noun, not to be found in Fritzner, and LP offers only this instance under 2. kilja f. meaning ‘cap, covering’; see also Falk 1919, 192. AEW gives three distinct f. nouns, of which the first and third are marked as poetic: 1. ‘protective covering’ (Schulterbedeckung), 2. ‘conflict’ (Zank, Streit) (cf. the verb kilja ‘dispute’), and 3. ‘nourishment’ (Nahrung). Kock in NN §871 favoured kapputrustad ‘wearing a hood’ for búinn kilju, but in Kock and Meissner 1931, II, 96 (: kilja) and NN §2989C suggests ‘ready for strife’ (stridslystne).
kilju ‘in the covering’
(not checked:)
1. kilja (noun f.): covering
kennings
kilju ilvegs,‘in the covering of the sole-path, ’
= SHOE
the sole-path, → FOOT
in the covering of the FOOT → SHOE
notes
[5, 6] orm búinn kilju ilvegs ‘the reptile clad in the covering of the sole-path [FOOT > SHOE]’: This refers to ‘man, tanner’. The overall phrase is kenning-like (and contains a tvíkennt kenning for ‘shoe’), but since búinn ilvegs kilju is a p. p. and dat. rather than a gen. or part of a cpd it is structurally different from a kenning. Kilju ‘covering’ (gen. sg.) is a rare noun, not to be found in Fritzner, and LP offers only this instance under 2. kilja f. meaning ‘cap, covering’; see also Falk 1919, 192. AEW gives three distinct f. nouns, of which the first and third are marked as poetic: 1. ‘protective covering’ (Schulterbedeckung), 2. ‘conflict’ (Zank, Streit) (cf. the verb kilja ‘dispute’), and 3. ‘nourishment’ (Nahrung). Kock in NN §871 favoured kapputrustad ‘wearing a hood’ for búinn kilju, but in Kock and Meissner 1931, II, 96 (: kilja) and NN §2989C suggests ‘ready for strife’ (stridslystne).
nauta ‘of ox’
(not checked:)
2. naut (noun n.; °; -): cattle < nautaleðr (noun m.)
kennings
naðri nautaleðrs.‘the serpent of ox-leather.’
= TANNER
the serpent of ox-leather. → TANNER
leðrs ‘leather’
(not checked:)
leðr (noun n.; °-s; dat. -um): leather < nautaleðr (noun m.)
[7] ‑leðrs: ‘le(d)us’(?) Hr
kennings
naðri nautaleðrs.‘the serpent of ox-leather.’
= TANNER
the serpent of ox-leather. → TANNER
á ‘’
(not checked:)
3. á (prep.): on, at
naðri ‘the serpent’
(not checked:)
naðr (noun m.): snake
kennings
naðri nautaleðrs.‘the serpent of ox-leather.’
= TANNER
the serpent of ox-leather. → TANNER
neflangr ‘the long-nosed’
(not checked:)
neflangr (adj.): [long-nosed]
kennings
neflangr konungr tangar‘the long-nosed king of tongs ’
= SMITH
the long-nosed king of tongs → SMITH
konungr ‘king’
(not checked:)
konungr (noun m.; °dat. -i, -s; -ar): king
kennings
neflangr konungr tangar‘the long-nosed king of tongs ’
= SMITH
the long-nosed king of tongs → SMITH
tangar ‘of tongs’
(not checked:)
tǫng (noun f.; °tangar, dat. -u/-; tengr/tangir): tongs
kennings
neflangr konungr tangar‘the long-nosed king of tongs ’
= SMITH
the long-nosed king of tongs → SMITH
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
|
Sigurðr eggjaði sleggju |
The Sigurðr of the sledge-hammer [SMITH] incited the snake of the dangerous tanning tool [TANNER], and the scraping-dragon of skins [TANNER] slithered across the heath of feet [FLOOR]. People were afraid of the reptile clad in the covering of the sole-path [FOOT > SHOE], before the long-nosed king of tongs [SMITH] overcame the serpent of ox-leather [TANNER].
In all the sources the st. is cited within the same anecdote as Lv 5 (see Context). This time Þjóðólfr must represent the contending artisans as the hero Sigurðr and his adversary the dragon Fáfnir. After the st., the king calls Þjóðólfr a good skald and there is a general discussion of poetry. In Flat and 593b, the sts and the instructions preceding them are in the reverse order.
The legendary story on which Þjóðólfr plays is told in Fáfn and in SnE (1998, I, 46). The smith is presented as Sigurðr, appropriately since Sigurðr stayed with the smith Reginn and shattered his anvil (prose preceding Reg 15, NK 176-7), and the tanner as the dragon. Still more clearly than in Lv 5, the kennings produce a double narrative: of the human fracas in Norway through the complete kennings and of the Sigurðr legend through their base-words.
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