Þul Manna 3^III

Ǫld ok ærir         ok afarmenni,
liðar ok lofðar,         lýðr ok sagnir,
ljóðr, oflátar,         ljónar ok ferðir,
mildingr, mæringr,         mannbaldr, spekingr.

Ǫld ok ærir ok afarmenni, liðar ok lofðar, lýðr ok sagnir, ljóðr, oflátar, ljónar ok ferðir, mildingr, mæringr, mannbaldr, spekingr.

Men and messengers and overpowering ones, troopers and praised ones, people and crews, community, show-offs, arbitrators and expeditions, munificent one, illustrious one, prince of men, sage.

Mss: R(42v), Tˣ(44v), C(11v), A(18r), B(8v), 744ˣ(64r-v) (SnE)

Readings: [1] ok ærir: om. Tˣ, ‘ok e᷎r[…]’ B, ‘ok e᷎rir’ 744ˣ    [2] ok: om. Tˣ;    afarmenni: ‘afar […]’ B, ‘afarmenne’ 744ˣ    [3] ok: om. Tˣ    [4] ok: om. Tˣ;    sagnir: sǫgnir Tˣ    [5] oflátar: so Tˣ, C, A, aflátar R, ‘ofla[…]’ B, ‘oflat . .’ 744ˣ    [6] ljónar: ‘[…]’ B, ‘líonar’ 744ˣ;    ok: om. Tˣ, ‘[…]’ B, ok 744ˣ    [7] mildingr: mildingr ok C, A, ‘[…]lldinngr’ B, ‘milldinngr’ 744ˣ    [8] spekingr: ‘[…] k[…]gr’ B, ok spekingr 744ˣ

Editions: Skj AI, 660, Skj BI, 662, Skald I, 326; SnE 1848-87, I, 559, II, 474, 558, 617-18, SnE 1931, 199, SnE 1998, I, 116.

Notes: [All]: All the terms listed in this stanza are also found in the corresponding catalogue of manna heiti in Skm (SnE 1998, I, 105-7). — [1] ærir ‘messengers’: An old pl. (later árar) of ôrr or árr m. The form ærir is not otherwise attested in prose, but it is found frequently in poetry. According to Skm (SnE 1998, I, 106), ærir eru ellifu ‘envoys are eleven’. — [3] lofðar ‘praised ones’: A poetic term (pl.) for ‘men, heroes’ (cf. Skm, SnE 1998, I, 105: Lofðar heita ok menn í skáldskap ‘In poetry, men are also called lofðar’). The word is related to Lofði (from lof n. ‘praise’), the name of a mythical king, a son of Hálfdan gamli ‘the Old’ in Skm (SnE 1998, I, 103). Cf. Þjóð Yt 21/11^I and lofðungr ‘prince, noble man’ in Þul Konunga 2/5. — [6] ljónar ‘arbitrators’: In Skm (SnE 1998, I, 106), the word is explained as ‘arbitrators’: Ljónar heita þeir menn er ganga um sættir manna ‘Those men who bring about settlement of people’s disputes are called ljónar’. The heiti is frequently used in poetry in the general sense ‘men’. The etymology of the word is obscure. Bugge (1885, 218) derives it from *ljóðnar (from ljóðr m. ‘people’). For other suggested etymologies, see AEW: ljónar. — [6] ferðir ‘expeditions’: Ferð f. sg. and ferðir pl. are very common in poetry with the sense ‘troop(s)’. — [7] mildingr, mæringr ‘munificent one, illustrious one’: Here the compiler for the first time turns from the pl. forms and terms with collective meaning to heiti for ‘man’ proper. Skj B (and Skald) emends mildingr to snillingr ‘valiant one’ against all ms. witnesses. Both heiti are listed in the same order in Skm (SnE 1998, I, 106: mildingr, mæringr), however, and they are given in close proximity in Þul Konunga 2/3, 4 (mæringr, hilmir, mildingr) as well. For snillingr, see st. 1/7. — [8] mannbaldr ‘prince of men’: For this word (‘a true hero’), see Note to SnSt Ht 36/6.

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. SnE 1931 = Snorri Sturluson. 1931. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
7. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
8. Bugge, Sophus. 1885. ‘Blandede sproghistoriske bidrag’. ANF 2, 207-53.
9. Internal references
10. (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 26 April 2024)
11. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Konunga 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. 689.
12. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2017, ‘Snorri Sturluson, Háttatal 36’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 1143.
13. Edith Marold (ed.) 2012, ‘Þjóðólfr ór Hvini, Ynglingatal 21’ 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. 46.