Þul Eyja 6^III

Fjón, Fjǫlbyrja,         Fríkn ok Senja,
Selund ok Dímun,         Sæla, Þumla,
Úsna, Sjóland,         Askrǫð ok Síld,
Ála, Borgund,         Erri, Torgar.

Fjón, Fjǫlbyrja, Fríkn ok Senja, Selund ok Dímun, Sæla, Þumla, Úsna, Sjóland, Askrǫð ok Síld, Ála, Borgund, Erri, Torgar.

Fyn, Fjǫlbyrja, Fríkn and Senja, Sjælland and Dímun, Selja, Þumla, Usedom, Sjælland, Askrova and Silda, Ála, Borgund, Ærø, Torget.

Mss: A(21v) (SnE)

Editions: Skj AI, 690, Skj BI, 679, Skald I, 343; SnE 1848-87, II, 492.

Notes: [All]: The place names outside Norway listed in this stanza are Fyn (Fjón l. 1), Sjælland (Selund, Sjóland ll. 3, 5) and Ærø (Erri l. 8) in Denmark, one of the Faroe Islands, Dímun (or Dímon l. 3), either Stóra or Lítla Dímun, and Úsna (l. 5), perhaps Usedom in Pomerania. — [1] Fjón ‘Fyn’: See Note to [All] above. — [1] Fjǫlbyrja: Lit. ‘(a place of) many sailing winds’. Possibly present-day Fjelbergøy (cf. Sandnes and Stemshaug 1990, 108; Heggstad et al. 2008: Fjǫlbyrja) on the south side of Klosterfjorden near Stord in Sunnhordland. If so, the name, which in Old Norse had the meaning ‘(a place of) many sailing winds’, has been reinterpreted in such a way that the second element ‑byrr ‘sailing wind’ is taken in the meaning ‑berg  ‘mountain’. — [2] Fríkn: Or Frikn (so Skj B). This island has not been identified. Perhaps earlier Frøkø in Nordmøre (so Munch 1846, 91; cf. Frøkasund in Saxo 2005, I, 6, 4, 4, pp. 372-3). — [2] Senja: A large island south of Tromsø in Troms, northern Norway (see also Note to Þul Islands l. 6 and ESk Lv 15/4). — [3] Selund ‘Sjælland’: I.e. Zealand, mentioned again in l. 5 as Sjóland (see Note to [All] above). In skaldic verse the name occurs only in its old form Selund. — [3] Dímun: See Note to [All] above. — [4] Sæla ‘Selja’: The same as Selja (see Note to st. 2/1). The name is also given in the form Sæla in Óláfs saga helga (ÓHHkr ch. 29, ÍF 27, 36). According to the saga account, this was an island located út frá Staði ‘off the promontory of Stad’, where Óláfr Haraldsson first put ashore when he returned to Norway. Because the literal meaning of this name is ‘luck’, the king believed it was a good omen. — [4] Þumla: This island has not been identified (Munch 1846, 91). — [5] Úsna ‘Usedom’: Or Usna. Presumably Usedom (Uznam) in Pomerania (Munch 1846, 91), located in the Baltic Sea. — [5] Sjóland ‘Sjælland’: See Selund (l. 3 above). — [6] Askrǫð ‘Askrova’: Located in Sunnfjord, western Norway. — [6] Síld ‘Silda’: There are two islands of this name, one located southwest of Selja (see l. 4) near Vågsøy in Sogn og Fjordane, another east of Loppa in Lopphavet, Finnmark, northern Norway. — [7] Ála: Perhaps one of the small islands near Ålesund, west of Borgund (see the next name). — [7] Borgund: Located near Ålesund in Sunnmøre, western Norway. See also Note to Þul Islands l. 8. — [8] Erri ‘Ærø’: A small island south of Fyn in Denmark (see Note to [All] above). See also Ív Sig 19/4^II. — [8] Torgar ‘Torget’: See Note to Þul Islands l. 8.

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. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
6. 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.
7. Sandnes, Jørn and Ola Stemshaug. 1990. Norsk stadnamnleksikon. 3rd edn. Oslo: Det norske samlaget.
8. Munch, P. A. 1846. ‘Geographiske bemærkninger, knyttede til et hidtil uudgivet stykke af den yngre Edda’. ÅNOH, 81-96; 365-7.
9. Internal references
10. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Óláfs saga helga’ 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. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=53> (accessed 24 April 2024)
11. (forthcoming), ‘ Heimskringla, Óláfs saga helga (in Heimskringla)’ 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. . <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=152> (accessed 24 April 2024)
12. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Einarr Skúlason, Lausavísur 15’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 179.
13. Elena Gurevich 2017, ‘ Anonymous, Heiti for islands’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 994. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=2987> (accessed 24 April 2024)
14. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Ívarr Ingimundarson, Sigurðarbálkr 19’ 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. 513.