Þul Þorgþ I 3^III

Blóðughófi hét hestr         ok bera kváðu
        ǫflgan Atriða;
Gísl ok Falhófnir,         Glær ok Skeiðbrimir,
        þar vas ok Gyllis of getit.

Blóðughófi hét hestr ok kváðu bera ǫflgan Atriða; Gísl ok Falhófnir, Glær ok Skeiðbrimir, þar vas ok Gyllis of getit.

There was a horse called Blóðughófi and they said he bore the mighty Atriði; Gísl and Falhófnir, Glær and Skeiðbrimir, Gyllir was also mentioned there.

Mss: R(37v), Tˣ(39r), U(40r), A(14v), C(6v) (SnE); papp10ˣ(42v), 2368ˣ(95), 743ˣ(75r) (LaufE)

Readings: [1] Blóðughófi: ‘bloðþug hofi’ Tˣ, ‘blotoghofi’ U;    hét hestr: om. papp10ˣ;    hét: heitir 2368ˣ, ‘h.’ 743ˣ    [2] ok: er all others;    kváðu: so Tˣ, U, C, papp10ˣ, 2368ˣ, 743ˣ, ‘qoþv’ R, kóðu A    [3] ǫflgan Atriða: ungan at ríða U    [4] Gísl: so Tˣ, A, papp10ˣ, 2368ˣ, 743ˣ, gils R, U, C;    Falhófnir: so Tˣ, 2368ˣ, ‘falliafnir’ R, ‘falofnir’ U, A, ‘faliafnir’ C, Fallopnir papp10ˣ, 743ˣ    [6] Gyllis of getit: so all others, gullinn of getinn R

Editions: Skj AI, 650, Skj BI, 656, Skald I, 321; SnE 1848-87, I, 480-2, II, 351, 458-9, 595, SnE 1931, 170, SnE 1998, I, 89; LaufE 1979, 274, 352, NK 319.

Notes: [1, 3] Blóðughófi; Atriða ‘Blóðughófi; Atriði’: Blóðughófi (lit. ‘one with a bloody hoof’) is also mentioned in Anon Kálfv 1/6 and as Blóðhófr in Þul Hesta 4/5. It is unclear who is the owner of the horse. In Kálfv 1/5 it is said that the person who rides Blóðughófi is bani Belja ‘the slayer of Beli <giant> [= Freyr]’, however here it is Atriði, whose name is possibly a variant of Atríðr, a name for Óðinn (cf. Grí 48/4 and Note to Þul Óðins 1/3). — [2] ok kváðu bera ‘and they said he bore’: In all other mss rendered as es bera kváðu (or kóðu) ‘whom they said bore’ (adopted in Skj B and Skald). — [4] Gísl ok Falhófnir ‘Gísl and Falhófnir’: These names may mean ‘gleaming one’ (cf. geisli m. ‘beam’; see AEW: gísl 3) and either ‘one with pale hoofs’ (from the adj. fǫlr ‘pale’) or, less likely, ‘one with hidden hoofs’ (from the strong verb fela ‘hide’, perhaps a horse with hair-covered hoofs); both possibilities are entertained in AEW: Falhófnir. This line is apparently taken directly from the list of the names of horses owned by the Æsir in Grí 30/4 (NK 63): Gísl oc Falhófnir. The first name also occurs with metathesis as Gils in mss R, U and C (so also Gylf, SnE 2005, 17), but it is given as Gísl in the other mss (and in Þul Hesta 1/4). Neither form appears as a name for a horse in skaldic poetry. — [5] Glær ok Skeiðbrimir ‘Glær and Skeiðbrimir’: Glær (adj.) means ‘bright one’, but the meaning Skeiðbrimir is debated. The first element is from skeið f. ‘race’ and the second, ‑brimir, is also a heiti for ‘sword’ and the name of a giant (see Þul Sverða 5/6 and Note there). Words with the stem brim- could denote ‘surf’ (brim, brimi) or ‘fire’ (brimi), see AEW: brim, brimi 1-2. Hence the name Skeiðbrimir could refer to a horse moving like lightning or like a surging wave across the race track. Alternatively, brimir could be a giant-name (‘the Brimir <giant> of the race track’). Again, the same pair of names is given in Grí 30/2 (NK 63): Glær oc Sceiðbrimir (see Note to l. 4 above). The names of these mythical steeds are recorded in Þul Hesta 1/1, 4 (see also glær ‘glaring one’, Þul Boga l. 3), but neither is used in skaldic poetry. — [6] Gyllis ‘Gyllir’: Like the other horses mentioned above, this one is owned by the Æsir (cf. Grí 30/1), and the name translates as ‘gilder’ (agent noun from the weak verb gylla ‘gild’) or as ‘golden one’ (cf. gull n. ‘gold’; it also occurs as Gullir, Gullinn). It is used in skaldic poetry as a horse-heiti. See also Gyllir (Þul Hesta 1/1) and the giant-name Gyllir (Þul Jǫtna II 1/6).

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. LaufE 1979 = Faulkes, Anthony, ed. 1979. Edda Magnúsar Ólafssonar (Laufás Edda). RSÁM 13. Vol. I of Two Versions of Snorra Edda from the 17th Century. Reykjavík: Stofnun Árna Magnússonar, 1977-9.
6. AEW = Vries, Jan de. 1962. Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch. 2nd rev. edn. Rpt. 1977. Leiden: Brill.
7. NK = Neckel, Gustav and Hans Kuhn (1899), eds. 1983. Edda: Die Lieder des Codex Regius nebst verwandten Denkmälern. 2 vols. I: Text. 5th edn. Heidelberg: Winter.
8. SnE 1931 = Snorri Sturluson. 1931. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
9. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
10. SnE 2005 = Snorri Sturluson. 2005. Edda: Prologue and Gylfaginning. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2nd edn. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
11. Internal references
12. 2022, ‘ Anonymous, Gísla saga Súrssonar’ in Margaret Clunies Ross, Kari Ellen Gade and Tarrin Wills (eds), Poetry in Sagas of Icelanders. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 5. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 549-616. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=37> (accessed 26 April 2024)
13. (forthcoming), ‘ Snorri Sturluson, Gylfaginning’ 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=113> (accessed 26 April 2024)
14. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Kálfsvísa 1’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 664.
15. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Jǫtna heiti II 1’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 719.
16. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Óðins nǫfn 1’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 732.
17. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Sverða heiti 5’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 798.
18. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Hesta heiti 1’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 935.
19. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Hesta heiti 4’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 939.
20. Not published: do not cite ()
21. Elena Gurevich 2017, ‘ Anonymous, Boga heiti’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 821. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=3199> (accessed 26 April 2024)