Þul Sækonunga 1^III

Atli, Fróði,         Áli, Glammi,
Beiti, Áti         ok Beimuni,
Auðmundr, Guðmundr,         Atall ok Gestill,
Geitir, Gauti,         Gylfi, Sveiði.

Atli, Fróði, Áli, Glammi, Beiti, Áti ok Beimuni, Auðmundr, Guðmundr, Atall ok Gestill, Geitir, Gauti, Gylfi, Sveiði.

Atli, Fróði, Áli, Glammi, Beiti, Áti and Beimuni, Auðmundr, Guðmundr, Atall and Gestill, Geitir, Gauti, Gylfi, Sveiði.

Mss: R(41v), Tˣ(43v), C(11r), A(17r), B(8r), 744ˣ(53v-54r) (SnE)

Readings: [1] Atli Fróði: ‘[…]tle f[…]de’ B, ‘Atle frode’ 744ˣ    [3] Beiti: so C, A, B, ‘beti’ R, Tˣ;    Áti: ‘atti’ C    [4] Beimuni: ‘[…]eímune’ B, ‘beímune’ 744ˣ    [5] Guðmundr: ‘g[…]d[…]r’ B, ‘gudmundr’ 744ˣ    [8] Gylfi Sveiði: ‘g[…] s[…]de’ B, ‘gylfir sueide’ 744ˣ

Editions: Skj AI, 653, Skj BI, 658, Skald I, 322-3; SnE 1848-87, I, 546, II, 468, 552, 614, SnE 1931, 193, SnE 1998, I, 109.

Notes: [All]: With the exception of Beimuni (l. 4), Auðmundr, Guðmundr (l. 5) and Gauti (l. 7) the names of sea-kings listed in this stanza are all attested in skaldic kennings. — [1] Atli: This name occurs only in one kenning (HaukrV Ísldr 5/2^IV). It is a common pers. n., originally perhaps a nickname derived from the weak form of the adj. atall ‘fierce, savage’ (see Atall, l. 6). Cf. the word-play in HHj 15/1-2 (NK 144): Atli ec heiti, | atall scal ec þér vera ‘My name is Savage, I shall be savage to you’ (here of Atli Iðmundarson). In Old Norse tradition, the name Atli was identified with that of Attila, King of the Huns (d. 453), who appears as Atli Buðlason in Akv and Am. Aside from Atli Buðlason, there are several legendary princes and vikings of this name in eddic poetry and in the fornaldarsögur (e.g. Atli the son of Hringr in HHund I 52/3 and Atli víkingr in Frið ch. 82, FSN II, 82). Hence it is not clear who is meant here. Atli is also a name for Þórr (Þul Þórs l. 1). — [1] Fróði: A common pers. n. derived from the adj. fróðr ‘wise’, with cognates in other Germanic languages (OHG Frodo, Fruoto; OE Froda). Finnur Jónsson (1934-5, 294) identified this sea-king as the legendary Danish king Fróði inn frœkni ‘the Bold’ Friðleifsson (cf. Ættartölur in Flat 1860-8, I, 27 and RvHbreiðm Hl 35 Note to [All]), but there are also other Danish kings and Norwegian chieftains of this name (see Flat 1860-8, I, 25-7, 41-2 and ÍF 35, 14; cf. also Fróði = Frioðigar in SnE 2005, 5 (Prologue); Hyndl 13/5, 19/5, etc.). — [2] Áli: As the name of a sea-king, Áli is frequently used in kennings. Cf. OE Onela, perhaps from *anulan = anu ‘ancestor’ (so Finnur Jónsson 1934-5, 293). Here it probably refers to the legendary king Áli inn upplenzki ‘from Oppland’ mentioned in Anon Kálfv 3/1, but there are also other persons of this name, e.g. Áli inn frœkni ‘the Bold’ Friðleifsson (ÍF 26, 46; RvHbreiðm Hl 33 Note to [All]). Áli is also a diminutive of Áleifr, and Ólafr Tryggvason called himself ‘Áli’ on his viking campaigns in England before he became king of Norway (ÍF 26, 291). — [2] Glammi: See Note to Þul Sea-kings l. 7. — [3] Beiti: As the name of a sea-king, Beiti occurs only once in a kenning for ‘sea’ (see ESk Frag 1/1). In Am 61/1 Beiti is King Atli’s brother, but in the present stanza the name most likely belongs to one of the sons of Górr, a sea-king mentioned in Hversu Nóregr byggðisk (Flat 1860-8, I, 22) along with other ancient chieftains listed in this stanza (Glammi l. 2, Geitir l. 7 and Gylfi l. 8). According to Finnur Jónsson (1934-5, 293), the name is perhaps derived from beit n. ‘ship’ (or it can be the weak form of the adj. beitr ‘biting’). Björn Sigfússon (1934, 127-8) explains it as ‘one who manoeuvers’ (cf. the weak verb beita ‘cruise, tack’). — [3] Áti: Perhaps Áti inn svarti ‘the Black’ mentioned in Úlfrauð Útkv 2/4^VIII (Hálf 42). The name is frequently found in kennings for ‘ship’ and ‘sea’ (LP: Áti 1). It is probably originally a word of the same type as sessi m. ‘benchmate’, máli m. ‘acquaintance’, rúni m. ‘counsellor’, derived from át n. ‘the act of eating, a meal’, and hence perhaps ‘messmate’ (Björn Sigfússon 1934, 127). Alternatively, Áti could be related to the Old High German pers. n. Anzo (AEW: Áti). — [4] Beimuni: See Note to Þul Sea-kings l. 8. — [5] Auðmundr, Guðmundr: Both are Germanic personal names (cf. OHG Audemunde, Otmunt; OE Eadmund, Godmund). The first does not occur elsewhere in Old Norse, but Guðmundr, Goðmundr is a common name. Here perhaps Guðmundr Dalakonungr, the son of Auðleifr mentioned in Hversu Nóregr byggðisk (Flat 1860-8, I, 23), but there are also chieftains of this name in HHund I 32/2 and HHund II 22/1 (Guðmundr). — [6] Atall: An old name of a sea-king attested in many kennings (see Note to l. 1 above). — [6] Gestill: See Note to Þul Sea-kings l. 2. — [7] Geitir: A sea-king, son of Górr and father of Glammi (Flat 1860-8, I, 22; see Note to l. 3 above). According to Björn Sigfússon (1934, 130), the name may be explained as ‘one clothed in goatskin or looking like a goat (geit) as to colour, hair, and beard’. The name is also listed among the heiti for ‘giant’ (Þul Jǫtna I 3/3). For other parallels with Þul Jǫtna, see Hrauðnir (st. 2/8), Hrauðungr (st. 3/1) and Leifi (st. 3/8). — [7] Gauti: Lit. ‘one from Gautland’, i.e. modern Västergötland in western Sweden. Gauti is the weak form of Gautr, and both Gauti and Gautr are also names for Óðinn (see Þul Óðins 1/6). The name is often found in the fornaldarsögur, but it is not used as a name for a sea-king in kennings. — [8] Gylfi: Here a sea-king, the son of Geitir (Flat 1860-8, I, 22; see l. 7 above). The name is frequently used in kennings for ‘sea’ and ‘ship’. Finnur Jónsson (1934-5, 294) connects it with the sea-heiti gjálfr n. ‘swelling waves, surge’, while Björn Sigfússon (1934, 130-1) offers the interpretation ‘he who lives on a raised floor, a chief’ (from gólf n. ‘raised floor’). Cf. the A variant Gylfir in Þul Sea-kings l. 6 (and in ms. 744ˣ of the present stanza). — [8] Sveiði: The name occurs in several kennings for ‘ship’ and ‘sea’. Sveiði may perhaps mean ‘wounder’; cf. the hap. leg. sveiðanda spjót ‘smarting spear’ in Hjǫrleifr Lv 1/6^VIII (Hálf 3), where sveiðandi is the pres. part. of the weak verb sveiða ‘smart’ (Björn Sigfússon 1934, 137). Cf. also Sveið, the name of a valkyrie (see Note to Þul Valkyrja 2/6), and the ox-name sveiðurr in Þjóð Yt 13/9^I. A chieftain of this name is not known from other sources, but the sea-king Svaði Heitason is mentioned in Hversu Nóregr byggðisk (Flat 1860-8, I, 22).

References

1. Bibliography
2. FSN = Rafn, Carl Christian, ed. 1829-30. Fornaldar sögur nordrlanda. 3 vols. Copenhagen: Popp.
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. AEW = Vries, Jan de. 1962. Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch. 2nd rev. edn. Rpt. 1977. Leiden: Brill.
6. LP = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1931. Lexicon poeticum antiquæ linguæ septentrionalis: Ordbog over det norsk-islandske skjaldesprog oprindelig forfattet af Sveinbjörn Egilsson. 2nd edn. Copenhagen: Møller.
7. Flat 1860-8 = Gudbrand Vigfusson [Guðbrandur Vigfússon] and C. R. Unger, eds. 1860-8. Flateyjarbók. En samling af norske konge-sagaer med indskudte mindre fortællinger om begivenheder i og udenfor Norge samt annaler. 3 vols. Christiania (Oslo): Malling.
8. 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.
9. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
10. ÍF 35 = Danakonunga sǫgur. Ed. Bjarni Guðnason. 1982.
11. SnE 1931 = Snorri Sturluson. 1931. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
12. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
13. SnE 2005 = Snorri Sturluson. 2005. Edda: Prologue and Gylfaginning. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2nd edn. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
14. Björn Sigfússon. 1934. ‘Names of Sea-Kings (heiti sækonunga)’. MP 32, 125-42.
15. Finnur Jónsson. 1934-5. ‘Þulur: Søkonge- og jættenavneremserne’. APS 9, 289-308.
16. Internal references
17. 2017, ‘ Anonymous, Friðþjófs saga ins frœkna’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 190. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=8> (accessed 19 April 2024)
18. 2017, ‘ Anonymous, Gautreks saga’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 241. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=9> (accessed 19 April 2024)
19. Elena Gurevich 2017, ‘ Anonymous, Heiti for sea-kings’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 987. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=1045> (accessed 19 April 2024)
20. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Kálfsvísa 3’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 667.
21. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Heiti valkyrja 2’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 970.
22. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Jǫtna heiti I 3’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 710.
23. 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.
24. Not published: do not cite ()
25. Not published: do not cite ()
26. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Einarr Skúlason, Fragments 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. 151.
27. Not published: do not cite ()
28. Not published: do not cite ()
29. Not published: do not cite (HaukrV Ísldr 5^IV)
30. Not published: do not cite ()
31. Elena Gurevich 2017, ‘ Anonymous, Þórs 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. 758. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=3186> (accessed 19 April 2024)
32. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Rǫgnvaldr jarl and Hallr Þórarinsson, Háttalykill 33’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 1042.
33. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Rǫgnvaldr jarl and Hallr Þórarinsson, Háttalykill 35’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 1044.
34. Edith Marold (ed.) 2012, ‘Þjóðólfr ór Hvini, Ynglingatal 13’ in Diana Whaley (ed.), Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 29.
35. Hubert Seelow (ed.) 2017, ‘Hálfs saga ok Hálfsrekka 13 (Anonymous Lausavísur, Lausavísur from Hálfs saga ok Hálfsrekka 3)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 316.
36. Hubert Seelow (ed.) 2017, ‘Hálfs saga ok Hálfsrekka 3 (Hjǫrleifr konungr, Lausavísa 1)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 306.
37. Hubert Seelow (ed.) 2017, ‘Hálfs saga ok Hálfsrekka 42 (Úlfr inn rauði, Útsteinskviða 2)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 338.
38. Not published: do not cite ()