Þul Jǫtna I 2^III

Harðverkr, Hrøkkvir         ok Hástigi,
Hræsvelgr, Herkir         ok Hrímgrímnir,
Hymir ok Hrímþurs,         Hvalr, Þrígeitir,
Þrymr, Þrúðgelmir,         Þistilbarði.

Harðverkr, Hrøkkvir ok Hástigi, Hræsvelgr, Herkir ok Hrímgrímnir, Hymir ok Hrímþurs, Hvalr, Þrígeitir, Þrymr, Þrúðgelmir, Þistilbarði.

Harðverkr, Hrøkkvir and Hástigi, Hræsvelgr, Herkir and Hrímgrímnir, Hymir and Hrímþurs, Hvalr, Þrígeitir, Þrymr, Þrúðgelmir, Þistilbarði.

Mss: R(42r), Tˣ(43v), C(11r), A(17v), B(8r), 744ˣ(56v) (SnE)

Readings: [1] Hrøkkvir: jǫtnar added in the left margin in a later hand R    [2] ok: om. Tˣ;    Hástigi: ‘hast[…]e’ B, ‘hastíge’ 744ˣ    [3] Hræsvelgr: ‘[…]e […]elgr’ B, ‘hre᷎suelgr’ 744ˣ;    Herkir: ‘hriki’ C, ‘h[…]k[…]’ B, herkir 744ˣ    [4] ok: om. Tˣ, ‘[…]’ B, ok 744ˣ;    Hrímgrímnir: hringmímir Tˣ, ‘h[…]mg[…]’ B, ‘hrimgrimnir’ 744ˣ    [5] Hymir: ‘[…]inn’ B, ‘hýrinn’ 744ˣ;    ok: om. Tˣ;    Hrímþurs: ‘hrim[…]’ B, ‘hrim þurss’ 744ˣ    [6] Hvalr: ‘[…] ok’ B, ‘hualr ok’ 744ˣ;    Þrígeitir: þrígeirr B    [8] Þistilbarði: ‘[…]s[…]barde’ B, ‘þistílbarðe’ 744ˣ

Editions: Skj AI, 654, Skj BI, 659, Skald I, 323; SnE 1848-87, I, 549, II, 470, 553, 614-15, SnE 1931, 194, SnE 1998, I, 110-11.

Notes: [1] Harðverkr: Lit. ‘hard-working one’. A hap. leg. (see also Fjǫlverkr, st. 3/3). — [1] Hrøkkvir: A hap. leg. from the strong verb hrøkkva ‘drive back, beat, whip’; hence the meaning of this name is ‘one who beats’ or the like, although Motz (1984, 182) connects it with hrøkkva in the sense ‘wriggle like a snake’. — [2] Hástigi: Lit. ‘high-stepper’ (from the adj. hár ‘high’ and the agent noun stigi ‘stepper’ from the strong verb stíga ‘step, walk’); the name of a giant-like man in Hjálmþés saga (FSN III, 491, 495-7, 501-4). Hástigi is also a heiti for ‘horse’ (Þul Hesta 3/6). — [3] Hræsvelgr: Lit. ‘corpse-swallower’ (from hræ n. ‘corpse, carrion’ and the agent noun svelgr m. ‘swallower’ from the strong verb svelga ‘swallow’). A giant in an eagle’s shape sitting at the northernmost end of heaven (also mentioned in Þul Ara l. 3). When he flies, his wings produce the winds (Vafþr 37/1 and SnE 2005, 20; not mentioned elsewhere). — [3] Herkir: Lit. ‘noise-maker’, from hark n. ‘tumult’. As a giant-name it is mentioned only here, but herkir (as a variant reading of skerkir) is also a heiti for ‘fire’ (see Þul Elds 1/6) and Herkir is the name of a berserk in Gǫngu-Hrólfs saga (ch. 31, FSN III, 326 n. 6). Alternatively, the correct reading may be hriki m. ‘large fellow’ (‘giant’ in Modern Icelandic), but that variant is attested only in C. — [4] Hrímgrímnir: Cf. Hrímþurs in the next line and the giant-names Hrímnir and Grímnir (st. 1/5, 6). The name occurs in Skí 35/1 and is given as a variant reading of Hrísgrisnir ‘wolf’ in Eyv Hál 6/4^I. Dronke (1997, 412) translates Hrímgrímnir as ‘Frost-Óðinn’ since Grímnir ‘masked, helmeted one’ is one of Óðinn’s names. The Tˣ variant Hringmímir ‘ring-Mímir’ is not found elsewhere. — [5] Hymir: The giant who accompanied Þórr when he attempted to catch and kill Miðgarðsormr, the World Serpent (Bragi Þórr; ÚlfrU Húsdr 3-6; Gylf, SnE 2005, 44-5; Hym). The name is used in kennings, but the meaning of the word is not clear. Hellquist (1903, 365) prefers ‘covering one’ from the root *(s)ku- (e.g. ModSwed., ModNorw., ModDan. hud ‘skin’) rather than the widely accepted connection with húm n. ‘dusk’ (for other explanations, see Motz 1987, 306 and AEW: Hymir). — [5] Hrímþurs: A frost-giant (see Note to st. 1/5). In Vafþr 33/2 this is a name for Ymir, but elsewhere in eddic poems hrímþurs is found only as a common noun in the pl. form (hrímþursar ‘frost-giants’; Grí 31/5; Hávm 109/2). — [6] Hvalr: Lit. ‘whale’. As a giant’s name attested only here. It is possible that the name is derived from a kenning for ‘giant’, e.g. hraunhvalr ‘stone-whale’ (Hym 36/5) and gljúfrskeljungr ‘gully-whale [GIANT]’ (Ggnæv Þórr 1/4). — [6] Þrígeitir: Cf. other giant-names, such as Geitir in st. 3/3 (and the name of a sea-king in Þul Sækonunga 1/7) and Eimgeitir in Þul Jǫtna II 1/3. Geitir (from geit f. ‘she-goat’) may mean ‘goat-owner’ or ‘goat-herd’, and the first part þrí- ‘three’ is probably an intensifying element (so Finnur Jónsson 1934-5, 299; cf. Þrívaldi, st. 3/2). The B variant ok Þrígeirr ‘and Þrígeirr’ also makes sense (for the second element, see Geirrøðr, st. 3/1). Neither of these names occurs elsewhere. — [7] Þrymr: Known only from Þrymskviða (but see Introduction) where he is Þórr’s opponent who steals the god’s hammer while he is asleep in order to force the gods to give him Freyja as a bride. The name means ‘noisy one’ (from þrum- in þruma f. ‘clap of thunder’; also cf. þrymr ‘noisy one’ in Þul Boga l. 3 and among the names of sea-kings in Flat 1860-8, I, 22-3). — [7] Þrúðgelmir: According to Vafþr 29, the only Old Norse source where this name is mentioned, this was the son of the primeval giant Ymir. The name means ‘strong noise-maker’. The first element is derived from þrúðr f. ‘strength’ (also the name of Þórr’s daughter), and ‑gelmir ‘noise-maker’ (cf. ModSwed. dialects galma ‘scream’; AEW: galmr) is the second element in the names of three generations of giants, Aurgelmir (st. 5/5), Þrúðgelmir and Bergelmir (st. 6/3), grandfather, father and son. — [8] Þistilbarði: Lit. ‘thistle-bearded one’ (from þistill m. ‘thistle’ and barð n. ‘beard’). The name does not occur elsewhere.

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. 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.
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. SnE 2005 = Snorri Sturluson. 2005. Edda: Prologue and Gylfaginning. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2nd edn. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
10. Dronke, Ursula, ed. and trans. 1997. The Poetic Edda. II: Mythological Poems. Oxford: Clarendon.
11. Hellquist, Elof. 1903. ‘Om Fornjótr’. ANF 19, 134-40.
12. Finnur Jónsson. 1934-5. ‘Þulur: Søkonge- og jættenavneremserne’. APS 9, 289-308.
13. Motz, Lotte. 1984. ‘Gods and Demons of the Wilderness: A Study in Norse Tradition’. ANF 99, 175-87.
14. Motz, Lotte. 1987. ‘Old Icelandic Giants and Their Names’. FS 21, 295-317.
15. Internal references
16. 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 18 April 2024)
17. (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 18 April 2024)
18. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Sækonunga 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. 678.
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, Elds 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. 921.
21. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Hesta 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. 937.
22. Not published: do not cite ()
23. Not published: do not cite ()
24. Not published: do not cite ()
25. Russell Poole (ed.) 2012, ‘Eyvindr skáldaspillir Finnsson, Háleygjatal 6’ 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. 204.
26. Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Gamli gnævaðarskáld, Poem about Þórr 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. 189.
27. Not published: do not cite ()
28. Not published: do not cite ()
29. Margaret Clunies Ross 2017, ‘ Bragi inn gamli Boddason, Þórr’s fishing’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 46. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=3094> (accessed 18 April 2024)
30. 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 18 April 2024)
31. Elena Gurevich 2017, ‘ Anonymous, Ara 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. 949. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=3240> (accessed 18 April 2024)
32. Edith Marold (ed.) 2017, ‘Úlfr Uggason, Húsdrápa 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. 412.