Þul Himins I 1^III

Níu eru himnar         á hæð talðir;
veit ek inn nezta,         sá es Vindbláinn,
sá es Heiðornir         ok Hreggmímir;
annarr heitir         Andlangr himinn
— þat máttu skilja —         þriði Víðbláinn;
Víðfeðmi kveðk         vesa inn fjórða,
Hrjóðr — ok Hlýrni         hygg inn sétta —
Gimir, Vetmímir;         get ek nú vesa
átta himna         upp um talða;
Skatyrnir stendr         skýjum efri;
hann es útan         alla heima.

Níu himnar eru talðir á hæð; ek veit inn nezta, sá es Vindbláinn, sá es Heiðornir ok Hreggmímir; annarr heitir Andlangr himinn – máttu skilja þat – þriði Víðbláinn; kveðk Víðfeðmi vesa inn fjórða, Hrjóðr – ok hygg Hlýrni inn sétta – Gimir, Vetmímir; get ek nú vesa átta himna upp um talða; stendr Skatyrnir efri skýjum; hann es útan alla heima.

Nine heavens are counted on high; I know the lowest, it is Vindbláinn, it is Heiðornir and Hreggmímir; the second is called Andlangr himinn – you can understand that – the third [is] Víðbláinn; Víðfeðmir I say is the fourth; Hrjóðr – and Hlýrnir I believe is the sixth – Gimir, Vetmímir; I say that now eight heavens have been counted; Skatyrnir stands above the clouds; it is beyond all the worlds.

Mss: R(44v), Tˣ(46r-v), C(13v), A(20r), B(9v), 744ˣ(82r-v) (SnE)

Readings: [1] Níu eru himnar: so Tˣ, ‘Ni[…]’ R, Níu eru heimar C, A, ‘[…]u eru heimar’ B, ‘Nju eru heimar’ 744ˣ    [2] á hæð: ‘ah[…]’ B, ‘a he᷎ð’ 744ˣ;    talðir: so C, talit all others    [3] ek: ‘[…]’ B, ek 744ˣ;    inn: ‘[…]n’ C    [4] sá es Vindbláinn (‘sa er vindblainn’): ‘[…] bl[…]’ B, ‘sa er viðblaenn’ 744ˣ    [5] sá: so Tˣ, C, corrected from ‘þa’ R, þá A, B;    Heiðornir: so A, 744ˣ, ‘heiðyrnir’ R, heiðþyrnir Tˣ, C, ‘[…]eidornir’ B    [6] Hregg‑: so all others, ‘h[…]‑’ R    [7] annarr heitir: ‘[…]’ B, Annarr 744ˣ    [8] And‑: ‘[…]nd‑’ B, ‘jard‑’ 744ˣ;    himinn: ‘[…]’ C    [9] þat máttu: ‘[…]attu’ C    [11] kveðk (‘qveð ec’): kveða C, ‘kue[…]’ B, ‘kved ek’ 744ˣ    [13] Hrjóðr: ‘[…]riodr’ B, ‘hriodr’ 744ˣ;    Hlýrni: hlýrnir B    [14] hygg inn: hygg ek hinn C, hygg ek enn B;    sétta: ‘sett[…]’ B, ‘setta’ 744ˣ    [15] Gimir: Grímr A, ‘[…]mir’ B, Gimir 744ˣ;    Vetmímir: vetrmímir C, ‘[…]tt[…]ímir’ B, ‘vettmimir’ 744ˣ    [16] get ek nú: ‘gete[…]u’ B, ‘get ek nu’ 744ˣ    [17] átta himna: enn átta himna Tˣ, átta heima C, ‘.viij. himna’ A    [18] upp um talða: ‘[…]pp of[…]’ B, ‘upp of talda’ 744ˣ    [19] Skatyrnir: so Tˣ, A, ‘scattvrnir’ R, ‘skaturnir’ C, ‘s[…]hy᷎nir’ B, ‘skathýnir’ 744ˣ    [20] skýjum: so all others, ‘skyvm’ R;    efri: ‘ef[…]’ B, efri 744ˣ    [21] hann: ‘[…]’ B, hann 744ˣ;    útan: so Tˣ, A, 744ˣ, ‘vttan’ R, útan um C, ‘[…]tan’ B    [22] alla: ‘[…]llra’ B, allra 744ˣ

Editions: Skj AI, 678, Skj BI, 671, Skald I, 335; SnE 1848-87, I, 592-3, II, 485, 568, 627, SnE 1931, 212, SnE 1998, I, 133.

Notes: [1] níu himnar eru ‘nine heavens are’: So ms. Tˣ; mss A, B (744ˣ) and C have níu heimar eru ‘nine worlds are’. This introduction as well as the heading Heima heiti ‘Names for worlds’ in A and B might be due to analogues in eddic poems, cf. Vsp 2/5 (NK 1): Nío man ec heima ‘Nine worlds I remember’; Vafþr 43/5 (NK 53): nío kom ec heima ‘I have come through nine worlds’ (cf. also níu heimum ‘nine worlds’ mentioned in Gylf, SnE 2005, 27). Nine is a traditional number in Old Norse mythology. The mythical concept of a multi-levelled sky is widespread all over the world, but neither the notion of nine heavens nor the majority of names listed in this þula are mentioned in other Old Norse sources. The only parallel is found in Gylf (SnE 2005, 20), although only three heavens are mentioned there, which may reflect influence from the Christian notion of three heavens. The names of two of the heavens given in Gylf (loc. cit.), namely the second and the third, coincide with those listed in the present þula: annarr himinn ‘the second heaven’, Andlangr (‘Outstretched one’), is situated ‘to the south and above this heaven’, i.e. the sky (suðr ok upp þessum himni), and the third, called Víðbláinn (‘Wide-blue one’), is believed to be above the first and the second heaven. Aside from Vindbláinn and Gimir, all heiti recorded in the þula are also listed among nǫfn himins ‘names for heaven’ in Skm (SnE 1998, I, 85), where it is said that not all of these names are found in verse and it is recommended not to use those heiti which are not found in the poetry of the great skalds (hǫfuðskáld), a comment suggesting that the author of Skm was using some written lists of heiti, perhaps these þulur. — [4] Vindbláinn (m.): The name seems to mean ‘wind-blue one’ or ‘wind-dark one’, referring to the stormy sky, which is ‘the lowest’ of all. Falk (1925b, 36), however, argues that the second element of this cpd is the pers. n. Bláinn ‘Black one’, which may be a name for the primeval giant Ymir in Vsp 9/8. — [5] Heiðornir (m.): This is another name for the lowest heaven. The first element of the cpd is heið- ‘bright’, but the form and the meaning of the second part is obscure. The mss of the þula have three variants. (a) The A, B variant -ornir (so also ms. A(14r) of Skm; adopted in the present edn, as well as in Skj B and Skald) is possibly derived from the weak verb orna ‘get warm’; hence ‘one warming itself in brightness’ (cf. ornir ‘one warming itself’, Þul Orma 1/8). (b) Ms. R has -yrnir (cf. Skatyrnir, l. 19). Falk (1925b, 36) suggests that the latter name could have served as a model for Heiðyrnir, which, in his opinion, would denote the bright sky. (c) Mss Tˣ, C have -þyrnir (and this is also the form given in the prose list in Skm in U(36v) (‘heiþ þyrnir’); cf. Heið<þ>yrnir in SnE 1998, I, 133), but ‑þyrnir, a derivative from þorn m. ‘thorn’, is hardly appropriate as an element of the name for ‘sky’. (d) In the list of heaven-heiti in some mss of Skm the heiti is found in the form -þornir (adopted in SnE 1998, I, 85; cf. ‘heið\þ/ornir’ R(37r), ‘heidþor-nir’ Tˣ(38v), ‘heiðþornir’ C(6r); explained as ‘bright-clouded’ in SnE 1998, II, 304). It has been suggested that ‑þornir could have originated from the strong verb þverra (p. p. þorrinn) ‘wane, decrease’ (hence possibly ‘one whose brightness has decreased’, perhaps denoting the cloudy sky) or may be related to the weak verb þorna ‘become dry’ and ModIcel. þyrrinn ‘dry’ (cf. ÍO: heiðornir, heiðyrnir, heiðþyrnir). — [6] Hreggmímir (m.): Lit. ‘storm-Mímir’. This is another name for one of the lowest heavens. The first element of the cpd is hregg n. ‘storm, rain’, and the second element, Mímir, is the name of the wise giant who is the keeper of the well brunnr Mímis ‘Mímir’s well’ in Old Norse myth (see also Vetmímir, l. 15 below). — [8] Andlangr (m.): The second heaven, ‘outstretched one’ or ‘stretching from one end to another’ (substanivised adj.). This name occurs in late Christian poetry (cf. Árni Gd 29/8^IV). According to Falk (1925b, 35), who construes Andlangr with himinn ‘heaven’, Andlangr himinn is a result of the misinterpretation of Andlegr himinn ‘spiritual heaven’ (spirituale coelum), which may go back to the Old Norse Elucidarius (Eluc 1992, 4-5): Annarr andlegr, þar es andlegar scepnor bvggua, þat ero englar ‘The second [heaven is] spiritual, where live the spiritual beings, that are the angels’. See also Note to l. 1 above. — [10] Víðbláinn (m.): The name translates as ‘Wide-blue one’ or ‘Wide-dark one’. Unlike Vindbláinn, the visible ‘earthly’ sky (see l. 4 above), this name of the third heaven is meant to express the notion of a wide-stretching space (cf. the next name in the list). According to Gylf (SnE 2005, 20), the beautiful hall Gimlé, inhabited by ljósálfar (light elves), is located in Víðbláinn. — [11] Víðfeðmi (m.): This name (nom. Víðfeðmir) means ‘wide-stretching one’, ‘wide-spanning one’ or ‘wide-embracing one’ (the adj. víðr ‘wide’ and the agent noun feðmir; cf. CVC: feðma ‘span, encompass with the arms’).  — [13] Hrjóðr (m.): The name is perhaps derived from the strong verb hrjóða ‘cover’ (see Heggstad et al. 2008: hrjóða II) and hence ‘coverer’, or from hrjóða ‘clear’. It could also be derived from hrjóða in the sense ‘stream, flow, scatter’ (e-u hrýðr ‘sth. streams, runs’), and, if so, the name may refer to the sky which sends storms and rain (see ÍO: hrjóð(u)r 2). Since the word also occurs in Þul Sólar l. 3, Falk (1925b, 37) argues that the actual meaning of this name is ‘effulgence’. — [13] Hlýrni (m.): This poetic name (nom. Hlýrnir) for ‘heaven’ is derived from hlýrn n. ‘sun’ or ‘moon’ (see Note to Þul Dœgra l. 1), hence it means ‘adorner of/with celestial bodies’, i.e. the sun and the moon (cf. Kommentar III, 330; AEW: hlýrn). In Alv 12/2 this heiti belongs to the language of the gods. The name occurs in Christian skaldic poetry of the C12th-14th (e.g. Ólsv Kristdr 2/3, Árni Gd 63/3 ^IV, 70/7^IV). — [15] Gimir (m.): Lit. ‘fiery one’, from gim n., a poetic word for ‘fire’ (Þul Elds 1/1). Cf. Gimlé < *gim-hlé ‘fire-shelter’, which in Old Norse myth was the hall, brighter than the sun, at the southernmost end of heaven (cf. Vsp 64 and SnE 2005, 9, 20, 53). The A variant Grímr must be a scribal error. — [15] Vetmímir (m.): This is the name of the eighth heaven. The first element of this heiti, Vet- is obscure. Mss R, A have Vet- as do mss R(37r), Tˣ(38v) of Skm (adopted in SnE 1998, I, 85), while other variants in Skm are ‘vefmimir’ A(14v), ‘vitmimir’ C(6r). (a) Falk (1925b, 38) explains it as a corrupt form of MLat. Pheton for Greek Φαέν, a name for Jupiter. (b) According to de Vries (see AEW: Vetmímir), it is more likely that the correct form is the C variant Vetrmímir ‘winter-Mímir’. The heiti would then refer to the stormy sky during the winter (cf. Hreggmímir, l. 6 above, and vetrímnir ‘winter-fighter’, Þul Himins II l. 4). (c) The first component of the 744ˣ variant ‘vettmimir’ (‘[…]tt[…]ímir’ B) can be normalised as Vétt-, i.e. vétt-, vætt- ‘battle’, which in Old Norse occurs only in poetic compounds. Véttmímir ‘Battle-Mímir’ as a name for ‘heaven’ is, however, difficult to explain. — [19] Skatyrnir (m.): The many variants (see Readings above) indicate that this name was obscure to the scribes. Neither the quality nor the quantity of the second vowel is certain, and, although the majority of the ms. witnesses give the first element as skat-, R has skatt-. Falk (1925b, 38) argues that the heiti is a corrupt form of Lat. Saturnus altered under the influence of ON skati m. ‘towering, lordly man’ (cf. New Norw. skat ‘tree-top’), and he suggests the meaning ‘top-sky’, the ninth heaven. According to Finnur Jónsson (LP: skattýrnir), the second element of the cpd is possibly related to úr n. ‘drizzling rain’, while the origin of its first part (skat(t)-) is unknown. Faulkes (SnE 1998, II, 390) gives the tentative translation ‘rich-wetter’ based on the R variant ‘scattvrnir’ (cf. skattr ‘treasure’), but none of the other mss has skatt- with a geminate ‑tt- as the first element in this name.

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. CVC = Cleasby, Richard, Gudbrand Vigfusson [Guðbrandur Vigfússon] and W. A. Craigie. 1957. An Icelandic-English Dictionary. 2nd edn. Oxford: Clarendon.
8. Eluc 1992 = Firchow, Evelyn S., ed. and trans. 1992. The Old Norse Elucidarius: Original Text and English Translation. Medieval Texts and Translations: Studies in German Literature, Linguistics and Culture. Columbia, SC.: Camden House.
9. 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.
10. ÍO = Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon. 1989. Íslensk orðsifjabók. Reykjavík: Orðabók Háskólans.
11. Kommentar = See, Klaus von et al. 1997-2012. Kommentar zu den Liedern der Edda. 7 vols. Heidelberg: Winter.
12. SnE 1931 = Snorri Sturluson. 1931. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
13. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
14. SnE 2005 = Snorri Sturluson. 2005. Edda: Prologue and Gylfaginning. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2nd edn. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
15. Falk, Hjalmar. 1925b. ‘Himmelsfaerene i vår gamle litteratur’. In [n. a.]. 1925. Heidersskrift til Marius Hægstad fraa vener og læresveinar, 15de juli 1925. Oslo: Norli, 34-8.
16. Internal references
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 7 May 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 7 May 2024)
19. 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.
20. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Orma 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. 928.
21. Not published: do not cite (Árni Gd 29^IV)
22. Not published: do not cite (Árni Gd 63^IV)
23. Not published: do not cite ()
24. Not published: do not cite ()
25. Not published: do not cite ()
26. Elena Gurevich 2017, ‘ Anonymous, Sólar 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. 909. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=3218> (accessed 7 May 2024)
27. Elena Gurevich 2017, ‘ Anonymous, Dœgra 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. 914. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=3231> (accessed 7 May 2024)
28. Elena Gurevich 2017, ‘ Anonymous, Himins heiti II’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 916. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=3232> (accessed 7 May 2024)
29. Edith Marold (ed.) 2017, ‘Óláfr svartaskáld Leggsson, Kristsdrápa 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. 315.