Þul Dverga 2^III

Grímr, Nár, Niði,         Níðhǫggr, Dvalinn,
Náinn, Næfr, Nefi,         Nífengr ok Dolgr,
Nýráðr ok Nýr,         Norðri ok Suðri,
Skáværr, Skáfiðr,         Skirvir, Virvir.

Grímr, Nár, Niði, Níðhǫggr, Dvalinn, Náinn, Næfr, Nefi, Nífengr ok Dolgr, Nýráðr ok Nýr, Norðri ok Suðri, Skáværr, Skáfiðr, Skirvir, Virvir.

Grímr, Nár, Niði, Níðhǫggr, Dvalinn, Náinn, Næfr, Nefi, Nífengr and Dólgr, Nýráðr and Nýr, Norðri and Suðri, Skáværr, Skáfiðr, Skirvir, Virvir.

Mss: A(17v), B(8r), 744ˣ(55r) (SnE)

Readings: [1] Grímr Nár: ‘[…]rnarr’ B, ‘. . . r narr’ 744ˣ    [2] Níðhǫggr: ‘niðø̨ttr’ A, ‘[…]ho᷎ggr’ B, ‘nidho᷎ggr’ 744ˣ;    Dvalinn: ‘du[…]’ B, ‘dualínn’ 744ˣ    [3] Náinn: ‘[…]ínn’ B, ‘naínn’ 744ˣ    [5] Nýráðr: ‘ny[…]adr’ B, ‘nýiadr’ 744ˣ;    Nýr: ‘[…]’ B, nýr 744ˣ    [6] Norðri ok: ‘[…]’ B, ‘nordri ok’ 744ˣ;    Suðri: ‘[…]re’ B, ‘sudre’ 744ˣ    [8] Skirvir Virvir: ‘sk[…]ir v[…]er’ B, ‘skirfir vírfir’ 744ˣ

Editions: Skj AI, 680, Skj BI, 672, Skald I, 336, NN §3138; SnE 1848-87, II, 469, 552.

Notes: [1] Grímr, Nár, Niði: To avoid a non-alliterating noun in the first lift, Kock reorders the heiti as Nár, Grímr, Niði (Skald; NN §3138). — [1] Grímr: Lit. ‘mask’ or ‘masked one’, from gríma f. ‘mask, helmet’. As a dwarf’s name this word is not attested elsewhere, but it is also a name for Óðinn and a heiti for ‘serpent’ and ‘goat’, respectively (see Þul Óðins 3/1, Þul Orma 2/5 and Þul Hafrs 1/6). — [1] Nár: The name means ‘corpse, dead person’. The heiti is given in this form in A, in the LaufE mss and in Vsp 12/5. — [1] Niði: The name is also known from Vsp 11/1, and it is most likely derived from nið n. ‘waning moon’ (Gould 1929, 952: ‘the one associated with the dark of the moon’). See also Nýi in st. 1/6 above. — [2] Níðhǫggr: So 744ˣ (B is only partly legible: ‘[…]ho᷎ggr’; the name is omitted in the LaufE mss). Ms. A has ‘niðø̨ttr’, which cannot be construed to make any sense. Níðhǫggr has been adopted in Skj B and Skald. Gould (1929, 952) explains Níðhǫggr as ‘hatefully striking one’, from níð n. ‘contumely, libel’ and the strong verb hǫggva ‘strike, hew’. A dwarf of this name is not mentioned elsewhere, but Níðhǫggr is known from eddic poetry as a mythical serpent (see Þul Orma 3/1, Note) and is also mentioned as such in Gylf (SnE 2005, 17). It is a heiti for ‘sword’ in Þul Sverða 9/8. — [2] Dvalinn: This name may mean ‘torpid one’ (cf. the verbs dvala, dvelja ‘delay’, New Norw. dvalen ‘lazy, sleepy’, ModNorw. dvale ‘stupor, state of hibernation’; Gould 1929, 944). According to Vsp 14/2 and Hávm 143/3, Dvalinn was the leader or the ruler of the dwarfs, while in Fáfn 13/6 he is the father of some norns. The name is also mentioned in the list of dwarfs in Vsp 11/4 and in Gylf (SnE 2005, 16, 18). In Alv 16/3 (NK 126) it is said that the dwarfs call the sun leica Dvalins ‘Dvalinn’s plaything/playmate’ (see also Þul Sólar l. 8), which may allude to a myth similar to the story told in Alv 35 where the first sunbeams turn a dwarf into stone. However, the pers. n. in the poetic circumlocution leika Dvalins may well be just a term for ‘dwarf’ in general, since the name Dvalinn occurs frequently in skaldic kennings. Dvalinn is also known from Anon Kálfv 1/2 (see Note there) and from Sǫrla þáttr (Flat 1860-8, I, 275); in both cases the name most likely refers to other legendary persons. Dvalinn is otherwise a mythic stag in Grí 33/4. See Note to Dvalarr in Þul Hjartar l. 4. — [3] Náinn: This name may mean ‘corpse-like one, dead person’ (from nár m. ‘corpse’; Motz 1973, 115) or ‘relative’ (from the adj. náinn ‘closely related’; see Gould 1929, 951 for both meanings). The name is known from Vsp 11 (NK 3, n.) as a variant reading in Hb (Hb 1892-6, 188-9): Nár oc Náinn, | Nípingr, Dáinn. See also this heiti in Þul Orma 3/1. — [3] Næfr: The name can be translated as ‘clever, skilled one’ (CVC: næfr; Gould 1929, 952). It is not attested in other sources. — [3] Nefi: Nefi m. means ‘relative, nephew, cognate kinsman’ (Gould 1929, 952), and the name occurs only here. — [4] Nífengr: So all mss. A hap. leg. According to Gould (1929, 952), this is probably an error for Nípingr, one of the dwarfs listed in Vsp 11 (as a variant reading in Hb 1892-6, 188-9, see Note to l. 3 above; cf. ModIcel. nípingur ‘a pinch on the nose’, New Norw. nypa ‘to pinch’). According to Sijmons and Gering (S-G I, 13), the name may be related to OE genīpan ‘become dark’. For alternative explanations, see Gutenbrunner (1955, 67) and Motz (1973, 115). — [4] Dolgr: Lit. ‘enemy’ (m.). As a name for a dwarf attested only here. — [5] Nýráðr ok Nýr: Lit. ‘ingenious one and new one’ (cf. the adjectives nýráðligr ‘unexpected, surprising, newfangled, strange’ and nýr ‘new’; Gould 1929, 952). This pair of dwarf-names is also listed in Vsp 12/5. Nýr is given only in the Hb version (Hb 1892-6, 189: Nýr oc Nýráðr), while Codex Regius has Nár, but none of these names is attested in other sources than Vsp and the present þula. — [6] Suðri: Lit. ‘southerly one’ or ‘one in the South’, from suðr ‘south’ (Gould 1929, 953). This is one of the dwarfs who hold up the sky. See Gylf (SnE 2005, 16) and Vsp 11/2 (NK 3): Norðri oc Suðri (see also Note to st. 1/8 above). Unlike most of the names in the present þula, this dwarf-name occurs in skaldic verse (LP: Suðri). — [7] Skáværr: Attested only here and in LaufE. Gould (1929, 953) suggests the translation ‘good-natured one’ (from the adjectives skár ‘good’ and værr ‘comfortable’), but he admits that Skáværr may also mean ‘one who is wry, distorted, slanting’ (from skár ‘slanting, crooked’; cf. the next name). — [7] Skáfiðr: Most likely ‘a crooked Saami’ (cf. the adj. skár ‘slanting, crooked’ and fiðr, finnr ‘Saami’; see ÍO: Skáfið(u)r). The name is also recorded in Vsp 15/6 and Gylf (SnE 2005, 16). However, Gould (1929, 953) argues that the second part of this name ought to be interpreted as ‑viðr from viðr m. ‘board, slat, rung, tree’, hence lit. ‘slanting board’. His reason for doing so is evidently that there are other cpd dwarf-names in this þula with a similar second element, cf. Blindviðr, Miðviðr (st. 1/3, 5), Viðr (st. 4/4). The LaufE mss have Skapid(u)r, in which an original <f> must have been misread as <p>. — [8] Skirvir, Virvir: So A and papp10ˣ, whereas the second name is rendered as Vivir in 2368ˣ and 743ˣ. Cf. Vsp 15/5 (NK 4) Scirvir, Virvir and Skirpir, Virpir in Gylf (SnE 2005, 16). Ms. B is now damaged (‘sk[…]ir v[…]ir’), but 744ˣ indicates that the B reading is likely to have been Skirfir Virfir (which are the forms adopted in Skj B and Skald). The first name probably means ‘stump one’ or ‘short one’ (cf. New Norw. skirvel, skjervel ‘stump, cut off’; see ÍO: skirfir). According to Gould (1929, 953), the word refers to a skilful artisan, a ‘joiner who makes herring-bone panelling’ (cf. New Norw. skjerva ‘to make herring-bone panelling’). As to the second name, Gould (1929, 955) explains it as ‘dyer’ (cognate with OFris. verver ‘dyer’; see also Note to Virfill in Þul Sækonunga 5/1 and Þul Hesta 4/8). Virvir may also be derived from *werfia- ‘turn’ and interpreted as ‘crafty, cunning one’ (see ÍO: Virfir). None of these names occurs in other sources.

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. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
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. 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.
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. Hb 1892-6 = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1892-6. Hauksbók udgiven efter de Arnamagnæanske håndskrifter no. 371, 544 og 675, 4° samt forskellige papirshåndskrifter. Copenhagen: Det kongelige nordiske oldskrift-selskab.
12. SnE 2005 = Snorri Sturluson. 2005. Edda: Prologue and Gylfaginning. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2nd edn. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
13. S-G = Gering, Hugo. 1927-31. Kommentar zu den Liedern der Edda. Nach dem Tode des Verfassers herausgegeben von B. Sijmons. I: Götterlieder. II: Heldenlieder. Halle: Buchhandlung des Waisenhauses.
14. Gould, Chester N. 1929. ‘Dwarf-names: A Study in Old Icelandic Religion’. PMLA 44, 938-67.
15. Gutenbrunner, Siegfried. 1955a. ‘Eddastudien I. Über die Zwerge in der Völuspa Str. 9-13’. ANF 70, 61-75.
16. Motz, Lotte. 1973. ‘New Thoughts on Dwarf-Names in Old Icelandic’. FS 7, 100-17.
17. Internal references
18. 2017, ‘ Anonymous, Sǫrla þáttr’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 785. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=41> (accessed 24 April 2024)
19. (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 24 April 2024)
20. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Kálfsvísa 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. 664.
21. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Sækonunga heiti 5’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 685.
22. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Hafrs 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. 893.
23. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Óðins nǫfn 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. 739.
24. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Sverða heiti 9’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 806.
25. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Orma 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. 929.
26. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Orma 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. 931.
27. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Hesta heiti 4’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 939.
28. Not published: do not cite ()
29. Not published: do not cite ()
30. Not published: do not cite ()
31. Not published: do not cite ()
32. Not published: do not cite ()
33. Elena Gurevich 2017, ‘ Anonymous, Hjartar 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. 898. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=3214> (accessed 24 April 2024)
34. 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 24 April 2024)
35. (forthcoming), ‘ Unattributed, Laufás Edda’ 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=10928> (accessed 24 April 2024)