Þul Jarðar 1^III

Jǫrð, fjǫrn, rofa,         eskja ok Hlóðyn,
gyma, Sif, Fjǫrgyn,         grund, hauðr ok rǫnd,
fold, vangr ok Fíf,         frón, hjarl ok barmr,
land, bjǫð, þruma,         láð ok merski.

Jǫrð, fjǫrn, rofa, eskja ok Hlóðyn, gyma, Sif, Fjǫrgyn, grund, hauðr ok rǫnd, fold, vangr ok Fíf, frón, hjarl ok barmr, land, bjǫð, þruma, láð ok merski.

Earth, landscape, furrow, one grown with ash trees and Hlóðyn, one populated with men, Sif, Fjǫrgyn, ground, surface and rim, field, meadow and Fife, country, loam and coast, land, flat land, slope, territory and marsh.

Mss: A(19v), B(9r), 744ˣ(78r), R(44r), Tˣ(46r), C(13r) (SnE)

Readings: [1] Jǫrð: ‘[…]o᷎rd’ B, ‘Jo᷎rd’ 744ˣ;    rofa: ‘rufa’ B, R, Tˣ    [2] ok: om. Tˣ    [4] ok: om. Tˣ;    rǫnd: ‘nnud’ or ‘nuud’ C    [5] ok: om. Tˣ;    Fíf: sif R, om. Tˣ, C    [6] frón: ‘fr[…]’ B, frón 744ˣ;    hjarl: hjarl land C;    ok: om. Tˣ;    barmr: ‘barðmr’ R, ‘badmr’ C    [7] land: om. C;    bjǫð: þjóð C    [8] láð: om. R, Tˣ, C;    merski: ‘mærer’ C

Editions: Skj AI, 674, Skj BI, 669, Skald I, 333, SnE 1848-87, I, 585-6, II, 482, 566, 625, SnE 1931, 209, SnE 1998, I, 130.          

Notes: [All]: Because the heiti láð was omitted in R, l. 8 is unmetrical in that ms. Ms. A is therefore the main ms. for the present stanza, and the order of the mss has been changed accordingly. — [1] fjǫrn (f.) ‘landscape’: The heiti is also listed in Þul Kvenna II 2/2, but it is not otherwise found in poetry. According to AEW: fjǫrn, the word may be derived from Gmc *fernō and related to the strong verb fara ‘go, travel’ or to the adv. fjarri ‘far off’ (hence, lit. ‘one stretching far’). Alternatively, it is possible that fjǫrn was derived from fjǫr ‘life’ (lit. ‘one giving life’ or ‘life-containing’; SnE 1998, II, 274). — [1] rofa (f.) ‘furrow’: The heiti is not found elsewhere. Most likely it is derived from the strong verb rjúfa ‘break, rip up’ (die mit dem pflug aufgebrochene ‘one ripped up with a plough’, AEW: rofa). — [2] eskja (f.) ‘one grown with ash trees’: A hap. leg. from askr m. ‘ash-tree’ (so AEW: eskja). — [2] Hlóðyn: A name for Jǫrð, mother to Þórr and consort to Óðinn (Vsp 56/2; Gylf, SnE 2005, 52 – in the latter the name is rendered as Hlǫðyn). The origin of this name is uncertain. It is possibly the same as Hludana, an Old Germanic (earth?)-deity of the Lower Rhine, named in five inscriptions from the C2nd and C3rd AD. If so, the name could have been a loanword from Old Frisian (see ARG II, 321-2; AEW: Hlóðyn). Alternatively, Hlóðyn is explained as < *hlōþa-winjō, whose first element, hlóð-, might be related to ModNorw. lo ‘unthreshed grain’, ModSwed. dialects lod ‘hay-‘ or ‘cornstack’. The second element, ‑yn, is derived from vin f. ‘meadow’ (see ÍO: Hlóðyn, Hlǫðyn; cf. also Sigyn in Þul Ásynja 2/4 and Note). According to Finnur Jónsson (LP: Hlǫðyn, Skj B, followed by Skald, as well as by SnE 1998, I, 130 and Dronke 1997, 22, 150), the correct form of this name is Hlǫðyn. That reading is not supported by the mss, however, because all have <o> here. That is also the case in Vsp 56/2 (NK 13), and both in the present þula and in Vsp 56/2 the metre requires a long root vowel. See also VSt Erf 2/4 and Eskál Vell 26/3^I. — [3] gyma (f.) ‘one populated with men’: A hap. leg. probably derived from gumi m. ‘man’ (AEW: gyma). According to Finnur Jónsson (LP: gyma), however, this heiti may be related to gymir m. ‘sea’, i.e. another name for the sea-giant Ægir (see Þul Sjóvar 2/6). — [3] Sif: The name of a goddess, Þórr’s wife, whose name means ‘affinity’ (cf. Hárb 48/1, Hym 3/5, 15/5, 34/6, Lok prose, Þry 24/9, Gylf, SnE 2005, 5, 26, Skm, SnE 1998, I, 14, 19-20, 30, 35, etc.). In the þulur, Sif is also mentioned in Þul Kvenna II 1/4, but as a heiti for ‘earth’ her name is not found elsewhere. — [3] Fjǫrgyn: A name for Jǫrð, Þórr’s mother (cf. Vsp 56/10, Hárb 56/7), which sometimes appears in skaldic poetry as a heiti for ‘earth’. Cf. Goth. fairguni, OE fiergin-, fyrgen- ‘mountain’ and the names of thunder-gods among the etymological parallels to this name in other Indo-European languages, such as Old Lithuanian Perkúnas, Old Slavonic Perunu (AEW: fjǫrgyn). — [4] rǫnd (f.) ‘rim’: This is also a shield-heiti and often used as a pars pro toto for ‘shield’, but as a heiti for ‘earth’ the word does not occur elsewhere.  — [5] Fíf ‘Fife’: So mss A and B, omitted in Tˣ, C and given as Sif in R (see l. 3 above). Either a hap. leg. or, more likely (and adopted here), the same as Fíf, i.e. Fife in Scotland (cf. Sigv Lv 12/3^I and Orkn ch. 20, ÍF 34, 51; see also LP: Fíf and SnE 1998, I, 457). — [7] bjǫð (n. pl.) ‘flat land’: This term is found only in poetry, and its origin is obscure. It could be a loanword (< OIr. bioth, bith ‘world’). Alternatively, bjǫð has been interpreted as a genuine Germanic word (from *bhedh ‘dig’). For discussion of this word, see AEW: bjǫð and ÍO: bjöð, bjǫð. See also Vsp 4/2 where the sons of Burr are raising what most commentators take to be the surface of the earth from the sea or primeval waters. — [7] þruma (f.) ‘slope’: Probably the same word as ModIcel. þruma ‘steep slope’. It is also the name of an island in Norway (Þul Eyja 3/8). As a heiti for ‘earth’ the word does not occur elsewhere in poetry. — [8] merski (n.) ‘marsh’: A loanword from MLG merskelant (ModIcel. merskiland). See also OE mersc ‘marsh, swamp’. The word is not otherwise found in skaldic verse. The C variant ‘mærer’ must be a scribal error.

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. 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. 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. ÍO = Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon. 1989. Íslensk orðsifjabók. Reykjavík: Orðabók Háskólans.
9. ÍF 34 = Orkneyinga saga. Ed. Finnbogi Guðmundsson. 1965.
10. SnE 1931 = Snorri Sturluson. 1931. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
11. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
12. SnE 2005 = Snorri Sturluson. 2005. Edda: Prologue and Gylfaginning. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2nd edn. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
13. ARG = Vries, Jan de. 1956-7. Altgermanische Religionsgeschichte. 2 vols. 2nd edn. Berlin: de Gruyter.
14. Dronke, Ursula, ed. and trans. 1997. The Poetic Edda. II: Mythological Poems. Oxford: Clarendon.
15. Internal references
16. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Orkneyinga saga’ 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, p. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=47> (accessed 25 April 2024)
17. (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 25 April 2024)
18. (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 25 April 2024)
19. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Eyja 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. 976.
20. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Ásynja 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. 765.
21. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Sjóvar 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. 835.
22. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Kvenna heiti ókend 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. 960.
23. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Kvenna heiti ókend 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. 961.
24. Not published: do not cite ()
25. Not published: do not cite ()
26. Edith Marold (ed.) 2012, ‘Einarr skálaglamm Helgason, Vellekla 26’ 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. 315.
27. Not published: do not cite ()
28. Not published: do not cite ()
29. Not published: do not cite ()
30. R. D. Fulk (ed.) 2012, ‘Sigvatr Þórðarson, Lausavísur 12’ 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. 714.
31. Edith Marold (ed.) 2017, ‘Vǫlu-Steinn, Ǫgmundardrápa 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. 429.