Þul Sækonunga 2^III

Gœir, Eynæfir,         Gaupi ok Endill,
Skekkill, Ekkill,         Skefill ok Sǫlvi,
Hálfr ok Hemlir,         Hárekr ok Górr,
Hagbarðr, Haki,         Hrauðnir, Meiti.

Gœir, Eynæfir, Gaupi ok Endill, Skekkill, Ekkill, Skefill ok Sǫlvi, Hálfr ok Hemlir, Hárekr ok Górr, Hagbarðr, Haki, Hrauðnir, Meiti.

Gœir, Eynæfir, Gaupi and Endill, Skekkill, Ekkill, Skefill and Sǫlvi, Hálfr and Hemlir, Hárekr and Górr, Hagbarðr, Haki, Hrauðnir, Meiti.

Mss: R(41v-42r), Tˣ(43v), C(11r), A(17r), B(8r), 744ˣ(54r) (SnE)

Readings: [1] Gœir (‘Gø̨ir’): ‘Goir’ Tˣ, A, B, Geirr C;    Eynæfir: so A, eynefr R, C, ‘eunefir’ Tˣ, eynefir B    [2] Gaupi: om. Tˣ    [3] Skekkill Ekkill: ‘[…]kill[…]’ B, ‘. . . . kill e. . . . l’ 744ˣ    [4] Skefill: skefall Tˣ, ‘skæpill’ A, ‘[…]kefill’ B, ‘skefill’ 744ˣ;    ok: om. Tˣ, A, B    [5] Hálfr: so C, A, B, hǫlfr R, Tˣ;    Hemlir: ‘heimlir’ Tˣ    [6] Hárekr: ‘[…]arekr’ B, ‘h erecr’ 744ˣ;    Górr: so C, 744ˣ, ‘gor’ R, Tˣ, A, ‘[…]rr’ B    [7] Hagbarðr: ‘hagbar[…]r’ B, ‘hagbardr’ 744ˣ;    Haki: so all others, ‘ha[…]i’ R    [8] Hrauðnir Meiti: so all others, ‘hravdn[…]’ R

Editions: Skj AI, 653, Skj BI, 658, Skald I, 323; SnE 1848-87, I, 547, II, 468, 552, 614, SnE 1931, 193, SnE 1998, I, 109.

Notes: [1] Gœir: A hap. leg. and spelled in several different ways in the mss (see Readings above). According to Finnur Jónsson (1934-5, 290), the correct form of the name may be Gæir or Gœir (from the roots gá- or gó-). The meaning of the name is uncertain. Björn Sigfússon (1934, 131) suggests ‘brother of Gói(?)’; cf. gói f., a month from the middle of February to the middle of March, meaning the month of snow, and gœ f. ‘winter-weather’, a weather-heiti (Þul Veðra 2/6) derived from gói. Otherwise perhaps the same as Górr (see l. 6 below). — [1] Eynæfir: So A, rather than Eynefr (R), which is metrically incorrect (yielding a hypometrical line), although Eynefr is attested as a pers. n. in Hálf (cf. Útsteinn Lv 1/7^VIII (Hálf 38)). The first element of the cpd Eynæfir could mean ‘fortunate, clever’ (cf. ey ‘fortune’ < Gmc *auja, in such personal names as Eyjólfr, Eyvindr), and the second is most likely derived from the adj. næfr ‘clever, skilled’ (Björn Sigfússon 1934, 129). Eynæfir occurs in several old kennings (e.g. Bragi Þórr 2/3; also cf. Næfill, st. 4/3), and it is probably the name of a person mentioned in Saxo (Øneuus, Ønef, Onef; Saxo 2005, I, 5, 8, 5-8, pp. 338-41, 7, 11, 12, pp. 506-7). — [2] Gaupi: This name does not occur elsewhere. It may be a nickname derived from gaupa f. ‘lynx’ (Björn Sigfússon 1934, 129), but that cannot be ascertained. — [2] Endill: The name is often used in kennings. It is possibly related to OHG Andala (cf. the giant-name Sámendill ‘dark Endill’, Þul Jǫtna II 1/8), or perhaps from and- ‘opposite’ (thus ‘hostile, adverse’) rather than ‘one at the end’ from endir m. ‘end’ (Björn Sigfússon 1934, 128-9; Finnur Jónsson 1934-5, 291). — [3] Skekkill, Ekkill: See Notes to Þul Sea-kings l. 1. — [4] Skefill: Lit. ‘scraper’; cf. the strong verb skafa ‘scrape, plane’ and the sword-name Skǫfnungr ‘polished one’ (Þul Sverða 7/4). Skefill is attested as a nickname and in the Icelandic farm name Skefilsstaðir, but it is not used in kennings (Björn Sigfússon 1934, 137). — [4] Sǫlvi: Possibly Sǫlvi víkingr, mentioned in Flat 1860-8, I, 23, or some other legendary person (the name is known e.g. from Hálf and Gǫngu-Hrólfs saga). Sǫlvi is the weak form of the adj. sǫlr ‘pale, yellow’ (see also OHG Saluwo). The name does not occur in kennings. — [5] Hálfr: From Proto Nordic *hā(w)ulfʀ (< *haðwulfʀ), lit. ‘battle-wolf (AEW: Hálfr, Hôlfr). This is most likely the famous legendary king Hálfr, the protagonist of Hálf, but there are several legendary persons of this name, e.g. in Guðr II 13/3. — [5] Hemlir: The meaning of this name is either ‘one who pulls backwards’ (perhaps ‘hindering one’, from the weak verb hamla ‘pull backward, back the oars’; so Björn Sigfússon 1934, 132) or ‘oarsman’ (cf. hamla f. ‘oar-loop’, hǫmlumaðr m. ‘oarsman, sailor’; so Finnur Jónsson 1934-5, 292). The name is used as a determinant in a kenning for ‘ship’ in Anon Krm 5/3^VIII. — [6] Hárekr: This is a common pers. n. (= OHG Hohrich; OE Heohric) and the name of several characters in the fornaldarsögur, but it never occurs in kennings. — [6] Górr: Or Gorr. Probably the king mentioned in Hversu Nóregr byggðisk (Flat 1860-8, I, 22), where Górr is said to be the brother of Nórr (see Nóri, st. 4/4) and the son of king Þorri. The meaning of the name is uncertain, and it is not used in kennings. According to Björn Sigfússon (1934, 130), the word may mean ‘little shaver’ (cf. New Norw. gorre, ModSwed. dialects gårre, gurre ‘child’) or be related to gói (so ÍO: Górr; see Gœir in l. 1 above and Note there). — [7] Hagbarðr, Haki: See Notes to Þul Sea-kings ll. 7 and 8. — [8] Hrauðnir: Perhaps lit. ‘destroyer’ (cf. hrauð 3rd pers. sg. pret. indic. of the strong verb hrjóða ‘disable, clear’ – especially of a ship in a naval battle; Björn Sigfússon 1934, 132) or ‘plunderer’ (Motz 1984, 185). Finnur Jónsson (1934-5, 292) interprets the name as a derivative of hrauð f. ‘armour’ or ‘ship’ (cf. Þul Brynju l. 2 and Þul Skipa 3/2). Hrauðnir is also a giant-name (Þul Jǫtna I 1/6), but it never occurs in kennings as the name of a sea-king. — [8] Meiti: See Note to Þul Sea-kings l. 3.

References

1. Bibliography
2. 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.
3. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
4. AEW = Vries, Jan de. 1962. Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch. 2nd rev. edn. Rpt. 1977. Leiden: Brill.
5. 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.
6. ÍO = Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon. 1989. Íslensk orðsifjabók. Reykjavík: Orðabók Háskólans.
7. SnE 1931 = Snorri Sturluson. 1931. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
8. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
9. Saxo 2005 = Friis-Jensen, Karsten, ed. 2005. Saxo Grammaticus: Gesta Danorum / Danmarkshistorien. Trans. Peter Zeeberg. 2 vols. Copenhagen: Det danske sprog- og litteraturselskab & Gads forlag.
10. Björn Sigfússon. 1934. ‘Names of Sea-Kings (heiti sækonunga)’. MP 32, 125-42.
11. Finnur Jónsson. 1934-5. ‘Þulur: Søkonge- og jættenavneremserne’. APS 9, 289-308.
12. Motz, Lotte. 1984. ‘Gods and Demons of the Wilderness: A Study in Norse Tradition’. ANF 99, 175-87.
13. Internal references
14. 2017, ‘ Anonymous, Hálfs saga ok Hálfsrekka’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 303. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=75> (accessed 19 April 2024)
15. 2017, ‘ Anonymous, Gǫngu-Hrólfs saga’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 298. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=89> (accessed 19 April 2024)
16. Rory McTurk (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Poems, Krákumál 5’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 726.
17. 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)
18. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Jǫtna heiti I 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. 707.
19. 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.
20. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Sverða heiti 7’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 802.
21. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Veðra heiti 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. 919.
22. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Skipa heiti 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. 865.
23. Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Bragi inn gamli Boddason, Þórr’s fishing 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. 48.
24. Not published: do not cite ()
25. Elena Gurevich 2017, ‘ Anonymous, Brynju 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. 831. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=3203> (accessed 19 April 2024)
26. Hubert Seelow (ed.) 2017, ‘Hálfs saga ok Hálfsrekka 38 (Útsteinn Gunnlaðarson, Lausavísa 1)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 334.