Þul Ása II 1^III

Enn skal telja         ása heiti:
þar es Yggr ok Þórr         ok Yngvi-Freyr,
Víðarr ok Baldr,         Váli ok Heimdallr;
þá es Týr ok Njǫrðr;         tel ek næst Braga,
Hǫðr, Forseti;         hér es øfstr Loki.

Skal enn telja heiti ása: þar es Yggr ok Þórr ok Yngvi-Freyr, Víðarr ok Baldr, Váli ok Heimdallr; þá es Týr ok Njǫrðr; ek tel næst Braga, Hǫðr, Forseti; hér es Loki øfstr.

I shall further list the names of the gods: there is Yggr <= Óðinn> and Þórr and Yngvi-Freyr, Víðarr and Baldr, Váli and Heimdallr; then there are Týr and Njǫrðr; I list Bragi next, Hǫðr, Forseti; here is Loki last.

Mss: R(42r-v), Tˣ(44r), C(11v), A(18r), B(8v), 744ˣ(62r) (SnE)

Readings: [1] Enn: ‘[…]nn’ C, B, Enn 744ˣ    [3] Yggr: ‘yg[…]r’ B, ‘ýggr’ 744ˣ    [4] ok Yngvi‑Freyr: ‘yngvi fror’ Tˣ    [6] Váli: ‘[…]’ B, ‘valí’ 744ˣ    [7] þá es (‘þa er’): þá A, B    [10] øfstr: næst A, B

Editions: Skj AI, 658, Skj BI, 660-1, Skald I, 325; SnE 1848-87, I, 555-6, II, 473, 556, 616, SnE 1931, 197, SnE 1998, I, 114.

Notes: [3] Yggr: This name for Óðinn (lit. ‘frightening one’) is frequently used as a base-word in kennings for ‘man’. See Þul Óðins 8/8. — [3] Þórr: See Note to Þul Ása I l. 5, and Þul Þórs l. 1. — [4] Yngvi-Freyr: See Note to Þul Ása I l. 7. — [5] Víðarr: See Note to Þul Ása I l. 3. — [5] Baldr: See Note to  Þul Ása I l. 2. — [6] Váli: See Note to Þul Ása I l. 4. — [6] Heimdallr: See Note to Þul Ása I l. 9. — [7] es ‘there are’: Lit. ‘there is’ (sg. verb and a pl. subject; see NS §70). — [7] Týr: A war-god whose name was given to the rune t, which, according to Old Norse beliefs, was the rune of victory (cf. Sigrdr 6; see also Hym 33, Lok 37-40 and Gylf, SnE 2005, 25, 27-9, 50). He is also known as einhendi Áss ‘the one-handed god’ because he put his hand as a pledge into the mouth of the wolf Fenrir when the gods fettered him, and when they refused to release Fenrir, he bit Týr’s hand off (see Skm, SnE 1998, I, 19 and Gylf, SnE 2005, 25). The name of this god was originally the common noun týr m. ‘god’ (< Gmc *tīwaz), and this sense is preserved in such Óðinn-names as Farmatýr or Hroptatýr (see Þul Óðins 2/4, 3/6), and perhaps in some poetic compounds with ‑týr as the second element (see Marold 1992, 711-12 and Note to Eyv Hák 1/2^I). As the name of the god, Týr frequently appears as a base-word in kennings for ‘man’. — [7] Njǫrðr: In the present þula, as in Skm (SnE 1998, I, 1), Njǫrðr is listed among the gods of the Æsir family, although he is one of the Vanir, the family of the deities of fertility (Gylf, SnE 2005, 23). Cf. the name of the Germanic goddess Nerthus, whose cult is described by Tacitus (see ARG I, 467-72, II, 163-5, 203-4). See also Vafþr 38, Grí 16, Lok 33-6, Gylf (SnE 2005, 23-4), Skm (SnE 1998, I, 2-3, 18), as well as Yng (ch. 4, ÍF 26, 12-13). His name is widely used as a base-word in kennings for ‘man’. — [8] Bragi: See Note to Þul Ása I l. 10. — [9] Hǫðr: See also Þul Ása I l. 10, where, as in the present stanza, this name is given next to Bragi (see l. 8 above). In Þul Ása I both names are found only in mss A and B. — [9-10] Forseti; hér es Loki øfstr ‘Forseti; here is Loki last’: In the prose list of the twelve gods in Skm (SnE 1998, I, 1), these two names come last as well. The name of Forseti, a son of Baldr and Nanna (see Þul Ásynja 2/1), does not occur in skaldic poetry, although in Skm (SnE 1998, I, 17), Baldr is called ‘father of Forseti’. In the Poetic Edda this god is mentioned only in Grí 15/4. According to Gylf (SnE 2005, 26), Forseti was known for his ability to arbitrate between those who were engaged in litigation, and he lived in the hall Glitnir, the best place of judgement for gods and men. His name may mean ‘presiding one’ (from the prefix for- ‘before’ and the agent noun seti lit. ‘sitter’ from the strong verb sitja ‘sit’; AEW: Forseti). See also forseti ‘watchful one’ (Þul Hauks 2/5 and Note there). — [10] Loki: The trickster god in Old Norse myth (see ARG II, 255-67). Loki, son of the giant Fárbauti (see Gylf, SnE 2005, 26-7), is reckoned among the gods, possibly because his mother, Laufey, is presumed to belong to the gods’ group (he always goes by his matronymic, Loki Laufeyjarson). The name of this god does not occur in man-kennings, perhaps on account of his reputation as an evil-natured god (cf. Lok, Þry, Reg, Bdr 14, Hyndl 40-1, Gylf, Skm). Loki also goes by the name of Loptr. See also Þjóð Haustl 1-13, ÚlfrU Húsdr 2.

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. NS = Nygaard, Marius. 1906. Norrøn syntax. Kristiania (Oslo): Aschehoug. Rpt. 1966.
6. ÍF 26-8 = Heimskringla. Ed. Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson. 1941-51.
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. Marold, Edith. 1992. ‘Die Skaldendichtung als Quelle der Religionsgeschichte’. In Beck et al. 1992, 685-719.
11. ARG = Vries, Jan de. 1956-7. Altgermanische Religionsgeschichte. 2 vols. 2nd edn. Berlin: de Gruyter.
12. Internal references
13. (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 27 April 2024)
14. (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 27 April 2024)
15. (forthcoming), ‘ Heimskringla, Ynglinga 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=158> (accessed 27 April 2024)
16. 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.
17. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Óðins nǫfn 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. 735.
18. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Óðins nǫfn 8’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 751.
19. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Hauks 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. 943.
20. Not published: do not cite ()
21. Not published: do not cite ()
22. Not published: do not cite ()
23. Not published: do not cite ()
24. Not published: do not cite ()
25. Not published: do not cite ()
26. R. D. Fulk (ed.) 2012, ‘Eyvindr skáldaspillir Finnsson, Hákonarmál 1’ 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. 174.
27. Not published: do not cite ()
28. Not published: do not cite ()
29. Not published: do not cite ()
30. Elena Gurevich 2017, ‘ Anonymous, Þórs 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. 758. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=3186> (accessed 27 April 2024)
31. Elena Gurevich 2017, ‘ Anonymous, Ása heiti I’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 754. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=3187> (accessed 27 April 2024)
32. Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Þjóðólfr ór Hvini, Haustlǫng 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. 432.
33. Edith Marold (ed.) 2017, ‘Úlfr Uggason, Húsdrápa 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. 407.
34. Not published: do not cite ()