ÚlfrU Húsdr 5^III

Þjokkvǫxnum kvað þykkja
þikling firin*mikla
hafra njótr at hǫfgum
hætting megindrætti.

{Njótr hafra} kvað þjokkvǫxnum þikling þykkja firin*mikla hætting at hǫfgum megindrætti.

{The user of goats} [= Þórr] said that it seemed a very great danger to the heavy-set fat one from the weighty powerful pull.

Mss: R(22r), W(47), U(27v) (SnE)

Readings: [1] kvað: kvezk U    [2] þikling: þiklings U;    firin*‑: ‘firing’ R, ‘faren’ W, fyrir U;    ‑mikla: miklum U    [3] njótr: njóts R, W, ‘mæs’ U;    hǫfgum: so all others, om. R

Editions: Skj AI, 137, Skj BI, 128, Skald I, 71; SnE 1848-87, I, 258-9, II, 309, III, 18, SnE 1931, 96, SnE 1998, I, 16-17.

Context: The helmingr is listed in Skm (SnE) among examples of Þórr-kennings.

Notes: [All]: This stanza is attributed to Úlfr Uggason in ms. U and to Bragi Boddason in mss R, W. Mogk (1880, 324) regards the correct use of hendingar as evidence of Úlfr Uggason’s authorship. — [1, 2] þjokkvǫxnum þikling ‘to the heavy-set fat one’: All mss have dat. þjokkvǫxnum þikling, but both Skj B and Skald emend to nom. þjokkvaxinn þiklingr, which they take as the subject of kvezk ‘says’ (so ms. U). SnE 1848-87 and SnE 1998 retain the dat., but neither edn comments on the helmingr’s syntactic structure. The R version is acceptable with the small emendation of njóts to njótr with njótr hafra ‘the user of goats’ as the subject of kvað ‘said’ (l. 1). Then the remainder of the helmingr is indirect speech with an acc. with inf. construction introduced by kvað ‘he said’ (kvað þykkja). An overt acc. form is missing because the verb þykkja is impersonal (þykkir e-m ‘it seems to sby’). By incorporating þjokkvǫxnum þikling ‘heavy-set fat one’ into Þórr’s speech, this expression becomes the god’s insult to the giant. — [4] megindrætti ‘the powerful pull’: The dat. sg. of megindrôttr refers to Þórr’s attempt to catch Miðgarðsormr by pulling him up from the ocean.

References

1. Bibliography
2. Skj B = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1912-15b. Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. B: Rettet tekst. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Villadsen & Christensen. Rpt. 1973. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger.
3. SnE 1848-87 = Snorri Sturluson. 1848-87. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar: Edda Snorronis Sturlaei. Ed. Jón Sigurðsson et al. 3 vols. Copenhagen: Legatum Arnamagnaeanum. Rpt. Osnabrück: Zeller, 1966.
4. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
5. SnE 1931 = Snorri Sturluson. 1931. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
6. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
7. Mogk, Eugen. 1880. ‘Untersuchungen ueber die Gylfaginning. II: Die Quellen der Gylfaginning und ihr Verhältnis zu den sog. Eddaliedern. Anhang Ulfr Uggason’. BGDSL 7, 203-334.
8. Internal references
9. Edith Marold 2017, ‘Snorra Edda (Prologue, Gylfaginning, Skáldskaparmál)’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols [check printed volume for citation].
10. (forthcoming), ‘ Snorri Sturluson, Skáldskaparmál’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=112> (accessed 26 April 2024)