Þul Sverða 11^III

Emjar, þremjar         ok Ǫlrøðarnautr,
merki, véttrim         ok missifengr,
ónn ok skafningr,         undirdregningr,
vargr ok Kaldhamarsnautr,         valbǫst ok herðr.

Emjar, þremjar ok Ǫlrøðarnautr, merki, véttrim ok missifengr, ónn ok skafningr, undirdregningr, vargr ok Kaldhamarsnautr, valbǫst ok herðr.

Howls, cutters and Ǫlrøðr’s gift, mark, battle-rim and mis-hitting one, ónn and polished one, under-drawn one, wolf and Kaldhamarr’s gift, sword-hilt panel and shoulder.

Mss: R(43r), Tˣ(45r), C(12r), A(18v), B(8v), 744ˣ(69r) (SnE)

Readings: [1] þremjar: fremjar C    [2] ok: om. Tˣ;    Ǫlrøðarnautr: ǫlrøðanautar C, ‘ø̨lræða nꜹtr’ A    [3] véttrim: so Tˣ, B, vættrim R, C, A    [4] ok: om. Tˣ    [5] ónn: ‘ann’ B;    ok: om. Tˣ    [6] ‑dregningr: so Tˣ, C, ‘‑dregnigr’ R, ‘‑drengingr’ A, ‘‑dregingr’ B    [7] ok: om. all others;    Kaldhamarsnautr: ‘kalldhamarr nautr’ C, ‘kallhamarr ok’ A, ‘kallhamarsnautr’ B    [8] valbǫst: ok valbǫst C, ‘valbæst’ A, valbast B;    ok herðr: herðr C

Editions: Skj AI, 664-5, Skj BI, 664, Skald I, 329; SnE 1848-87, I, 568, II, 477, 560, 620, SnE 1931, 202, SnE 1998, I, 121.

Notes: [1] emjar ‘howls’: A hap. leg. The word is either f. pl. (-ar) or possibly m. sg. (-arr), an agent noun derived from the weak verb emja ‘howl’ (see Falk 1914b, 49). Although the word is listed among names for parts of the sword, it must be rather a sword-heiti invented according to a semantic pattern (‘noise-maker’) widely used in the þulur (cf. such similar names for sword as gellir ‘yeller’ and gjallr ‘clamouring one’  (st. 1/5-6), galmr ‘clanging one’ (st. 2/5), gelmingr ‘clamourer’ (st. 12/1). — [1] þremjar (f. pl.) ‘cutters’: A poetic name for a part of the sword, which probably denotes a double-edged blade (cf. þrǫmr m. ‘edge, rim’, but see Finnur Jónsson 1917, 191). The C variant fremjar is most likely a scribal error (cf. the weak verb fremja ‘further’; but cf. ÍO: fremjar). Þremjar occurs frequently in sword-kennings and sometimes it is possibly used as pars pro toto for ‘sword’ (cf. stormr þremja ‘storm of cutters [BATTLE]’, HSt Rst 21/4^I; see Falk 1914b, 16). — [2] Ǫlrøðarnautr ‘Ǫlrøðr’s gift’: A hap. leg. and the name of a sword received from a person whose name was Ǫlrøðr (= Alfred). The second element of the cpd, ‑nautr m. ‘gift, possession’ is found in many sword-names (cf. Konungsnautr ‘King’s gift’ and Aðalráðsnautr ‘Æthelred’s gift’ in Gunnl chs 7, 12, ÍF 3, 73, 102; Falk 1914b, 57; see also l. 7). An object is called the nautr (nautr also means ‘mate, fellow, giver’) of the person from whom it comes as a gift or is taken as booty. — [3] merki (n.) ‘mark’: Perhaps a smith’s signature on a sword-blade, a decoration or an inscription (see Falk 1914b, 33; cf. also SnE 1998, II, 355). The word is not otherwise attested in poetry as a heiti for ‘sword’. — [3] véttrim (f.) ‘battle-rim’: Or vætt-. The first element is from vétt- ‘battle’ (used only in compounds; cf. the strong verb vega ‘fight’). According to CVC: vætt-rim, it is the term for a ridge that runs along the sword-blade, leaving a hollow in the middle. Falk (1914b, 28-9), however, argues that véttrim is a metal hub on a hilt (cf. Korm ch. 10, ÍF 8, 238 and n. 3; cf. also valbǫst ‘slain-bast’, l. 8). The word is used in sword-kennings. See also Notes to Bkrepp Magndr 10/8^II and Esk Geisl 47/4^VII. — [4] missifengr (m.) ‘mis-hitting one’: A substantivised adj. (missifengr ‘one missing his aim’; see also the adj. misfengr with the same meaning). Although it is recorded among the heiti for parts of the sword, it is probably a sword-heiti (Falk 1914b, 56). Just like the semantically similar sword-heiti ljúgfengr ‘fail-striking one’ (st. 10/5; see Note there), missifengr does not occur elsewhere as a term for ‘sword’. — [5] ónn (m.): An undefined part of a sword. Cf. the man-kenning Tý ónhjalta ‘the Týr of sword-hilts’ in Þorm Lv 16/2^I  (see Note there). According to Falk (1914b, 19), the word is identical with ModSwed. dialectal ån (cf. MHG jān) ‘row of mown grass or reaped grain’ and denotes the decoration on a sword, perhaps the patterning on the sword-blade. See also the Note to Þul Dverga 3/4. — [5] skafningr (m.) ‘polished one’: Probably a sword’s blade (so SnE 1998, II, 388), or maybe a sword-heiti. The word is not attested elsewhere. See also Skǫfnungr (st. 7/4). — [6] undirdregningr (m.) ‘under-drawn one’: A hap. leg. According to Falk (1914b, 62), this cpd is derived from draga undir sik ‘draw under oneself, embezzle’, whereas Finnur Jónsson (1917, 191) interprets it as ‘sharpened’. This word is more likely to be a sword-heiti than a term for a part of the sword. — [7] vargr (m.) ‘wolf’: This is probably a sword-heiti derived from sword-kennings with vargr as a base-word (cf. HSt Frag 6/4 benvargr ‘wound-wolf [SWORD]’). Cf. such similar heiti in this þula as verulfr ‘man-wolf’ (st. 4/3) and vitnir ‘wolf’ (st. 6/7). None of these words occurs as poetic terms for ‘sword’ (see also Falk 1914b, 62). — [7] Kaldhamarsnautr (m.) ‘Kaldhamarr’s gift’: A sword-heiti (see Bjhít Lv 20/6^V (BjH 30), where this word denotes a sword). Finnur Jónsson (LP: Kaldhamarsnautr) takes Kaldhamarr as a pers. n. and argues that the heiti means ‘the gift of Kaldhamarr’, an explanation which is supported by other compounds with ‑nautr as the second element (see Note to l. 2 above, and adopted in Skj B, Skald, SnE 1998 and in the present edn). Bugge (1875, 231) identifies this Kaldhamarr as Kaldamarr (or rather Kaldimarr, changed by analogy with Valdimarr), a champion whom Bjǫrn Hítdœlakappi Arngeirsson defeated at the court of the Russian king Valdimarr (BjH ch. 4, ÍF 3, 120-2). If so, Kaldhamarsnautr (< Kaldamarsnautr) is most likely to be another name for Bjǫrn’s sword Mæringr, previously owned by Kaldimarr (Mæringr is not included in the present list). According to Falk (1914b, 53), the first element of the cpd is derived from the weak verb kaldhamra ‘hammer iron cold’ and hence ‘a product of cold hammering’, which is unlikely given the established pattern of compounds in which a pers. n. is coupled with the noun ‑nautr. — [8] valbǫst (f.) ‘sword-hilt panel’: A poetic term for parts of a sword, probably thin decorative metal plates on sword hilts (see Graham-Campbell 1980, 243-6). The first element is val- ‘the slain’ and the second from bast, a thin metal plate decorating the hilt (so Falk 1914b, 29-31; see also Kommentar V, 555). Cf. Sigrdr 6/3-5 (NK 191): oc rísta [sigrúnar] á hialti hiǫrs, | sumar á véttrimom, | sumar á valbǫstom ‘and carve [runes of victory] on the sword’s hilt, some on the battle-rims, some on the sword-hilt panels’. See also Egill Lv 42/8^V (Eg 122) eld valbasta ‘fire of sword-hilt panels [SWORD]’. — [8] herðr (f.) ‘shoulder’: This is the term for a part of the sword’s hilt created in analogy with (knífs) ǫxl ‘shoulder of a knife’ (i.e. where blade and haft join), since herðr is a synonym of ǫxl (Falk 1914b, 18; SnE 1998, II, 307). The word is not used in poetry as a term for ‘sword’ or for a part of the sword.

References

1. Bibliography
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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. 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.
6. CVC = Cleasby, Richard, Gudbrand Vigfusson [Guðbrandur Vigfússon] and W. A. Craigie. 1957. An Icelandic-English Dictionary. 2nd edn. Oxford: Clarendon.
7. 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.
8. ÍO = Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon. 1989. Íslensk orðsifjabók. Reykjavík: Orðabók Háskólans.
9. Kommentar = See, Klaus von et al. 1997-2012. Kommentar zu den Liedern der Edda. 7 vols. Heidelberg: Winter.
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13. SnE 1931 = Snorri Sturluson. 1931. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
14. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
15. Graham-Campbell, James and Dafydd Kidd. 1980. The Vikings. London: The British Museum and New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
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18. Internal references
19. Not published: do not cite (Bjhít^V)
20. 2022, ‘ Anonymous, Gunnlaugs saga ormstungu’ in Margaret Clunies Ross, Kari Ellen Gade and Tarrin Wills (eds), Poetry in Sagas of Icelanders. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 5. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 824-865. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=62> (accessed 23 April 2024)
21. 2022, ‘ Anonymous, Bjarnar saga Hítdœlakappa’ in Margaret Clunies Ross, Kari Ellen Gade and Tarrin Wills (eds), Poetry in Sagas of Icelanders. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 5. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 60-121. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=72> (accessed 23 April 2024)
22. 2022, ‘ Anonymous, Kormáks saga’ in Margaret Clunies Ross, Kari Ellen Gade and Tarrin Wills (eds), Poetry in Sagas of Icelanders. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 5. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 1031-1181. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=83> (accessed 23 April 2024)
23. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Dverga 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. 697.
24. Alison Finlay (ed.) 2022, ‘Bjarnar saga Hítdœlakappa 30 (Bjǫrn Hítdœlakappi Arngeirsson, Lausavísur 20)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross, Kari Ellen Gade and Tarrin Wills (eds), Poetry in Sagas of Icelanders. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 5. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 103.
25. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Bjǫrn krepphendi, Magnússdrápa 10’ 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, pp. 403-4.
26. Martin Chase (ed.) 2007, ‘Einarr Skúlason, Geisli 47’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 45-6.
27. Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2022, ‘Egils saga Skalla-Grímssonar 122 (Egill Skallagrímsson, Lausavísur 42)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross, Kari Ellen Gade and Tarrin Wills (eds), Poetry in Sagas of Icelanders. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 5. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 367.
28. Not published: do not cite ()
29. Rolf Stavnem (ed.) 2012, ‘Hallar-Steinn, Rekstefja 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. 921.
30. Edith Marold (ed.) 2017, ‘Hallar-Steinn, Fragments 6’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 208.
31. R. D. Fulk (ed.) 2012, ‘Þormóðr Kolbrúnarskáld, Lausavísur 16’ 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. 827.