Þul Sverða 9^III

Fellir, fǫlvir,         Fáfnir, raufnir,
ímnir, eimnir,         afspringr, þinurr,
sigðir, snyrtir,         svelgr, skarr ok nár,
Góinn, gest-Móinn         ok gárr, þrimarr, Níðhǫggr.

Fellir, fǫlvir, Fáfnir, raufnir, ímnir, eimnir, afspringr, þinurr, sigðir, snyrtir, svelgr, skarr ok nár, Góinn, gest-Móinn ok gárr, þrimarr, Níðhǫggr.

Feller, pale one, Fáfnir, piercer, battler, flamer, afspringr, fir, scythe, polisher, swallower, cutter and corpse, Góinn, guest-Móinn and rippled one, thunderer, Níðhǫggr.

Mss: R(43r), Tˣ(45r), C(12r), A(18v), B(8v), 744ˣ(68v) (SnE)

Readings: [1] fǫlvir: fǫlnir Tˣ    [3] ímnir: ymir ok C;    eimnir: eimir C    [4] þinurr: ‘pínurr’ B    [5] sigðir: siglir A, B    [6] skarr: skár C, 744ˣ, skar A, ‘ska[…]’ B;    ok: ‘[…]’ B, ok 744ˣ;    nár: so C, A, 744ˣ, narr R, Tˣ, ‘[…]ar’ B    [7] Góinn: om. B;    Móinn: ‘‑mo᷎renn’ B    [8] ok gárr: ‘ok gari’ Tˣ, gár C, ok gramr A, ok gár B;    þrimarr: ‘þrimar’ C, ‘brimarr’ A

Editions: Skj AI, 664, Skj BI, 664, Skald I, 328; SnE 1848-87, I, 567, II, 477, 560, 620, SnE 1931, 202, SnE 1998, I, 120.

Notes: [All]: This stanza contains several names of serpents that are given as heiti for ‘sword’. The reason for this is probably that terms for and names of serpents occur frequently as base-words in sword-kennings (Meissner 153-4) — [1] fǫlvir (m.) ‘pale one’: Fǫlvir is attested only in the present þula. Based on the other heiti in ll. 1-3 of this stanza, we should expect it to have the active meaning ‘pale-maker’ (i.e. ‘killer’; see Note to fylvingr ‘pale-maker’, st. 7/1). The difficulty, however, is that a verb *fǫlva ‘make pale’ (from the adj. fǫlr ‘pale’) does not exist, unless it was created by the þulur compiler and coined especially for this list. According to Falk (1914b, 50), the heiti is a new formation from the adj. fǫlr ‘pale’, a colour that is frequently used to describe weapons (cf. OE fealuhilte sweord ‘the yellow-hilted sword’ in The Battle of Maldon (l. 166; Pope 2001, 20) and fǫlvir oddar ‘pale points’ in HHund I 53/3 (NK 138). The Tˣ variant fǫlnir has a parallel among the hawk-heiti (Veðrfǫlnir lit. ‘one growing pale in the storm’, Þul Hauks 2/4). — [2] Fáfnir: The legendary dragon killed by Sigurðr (see Þul Orma 1/6). Other heiti for ‘sword’ that coincide with the names of mythical or legendary beings in the present stanza are Góinn, gest-Móinn (l. 7) and Níðhǫggr (l. 8). As a sword-heiti the name does not occur elsewhere, and it is not attested as a base-word in sword-kennings. — [2] raufnir (m.) ‘piercer’: From the weak verb raufa ‘pierce’ (cf. SnE 1998, II, 374) and not attested elsewhere. — [3]: The C variant of this line, ymir ok eimir, has no support in the other ms. witnesses (for ymir lit. ‘noise-maker’, see Þul Hauks 2/1; eimir is probably the result of a scribal attempt to maintain the rhyme). — [3] ímnir (m.) ‘battler’: A hap. leg. According to de Vries (AEW: ímnir), ímnir is derived from íma f. ‘battle’ and possibly also from ímun f. ‘battle’. Falk (1914b, 53) suggests a connection with ímun f. ‘battle’. Less plausible is the explanation in LP: ímnir where this word is connected with the adj. ímleitr ‘dusky, grey-coloured’ (of a wolf). — [3] eimnir (m.) ‘flamer’: A hap. leg. According to AEW: eimnir, this heiti is derived from eimi/eimr m. ‘smoke, vapour, fire’. For the metaphoric use of ‘fire’ for ‘sword’, see such similar sword-heiti as logi ‘flame’, eldr ‘fire’, hyrr ‘blaze’ (st. 8/1, 2, 7).  — [4] afspringr (m.): This word is only attested in the sense ‘offspring’, which makes little sense as a heiti for ‘sword’. Faulkes (SnE 1998, II, 232) tentatively suggests a translation ‘one that springs off, rebounds’ from the strong verb springa ‘spring, leap’, but a verb-adv. collocation springa af is not attested. — [4] þinurr (m.) ‘fir’: The name of a type of fir-tree, ModIcel. þinur ‘fir’ (Abies; see Þul Viðar 3/4), metaphorically used of a bow made of the wood of this tree (cf. New Norw. tinar ‘hard area in fir or spruce wood’). According to Falk (1914b, 64), the term could denote a sword’s flexibility and firmness, but it is more likely a base-word in a sword-kenning (Meissner 152). The heiti is not attested in poetry. — [5] sigðir (m.) ‘scythe’: From sigðr m. ‘scythe’. According to Falk (1914b, 58), the heiti either refers to old swords with curved blades or likens a sword to a sharp sickle (cf. sniðill m. ‘pruning-knife’). The A, B variant siglir (lit. ‘decorated’; cf. sigli n. ‘adornment’) could have been caused by snyrtir ‘polisher’ in the next line. — [5] snyrtir (m.) ‘polisher’: See st. 1/7 above. In the context of the present stanza, the word is treated as a common noun rather than as a name of a specific sword. — [6] svelgr (m.) ‘swallower’: An agent noun from the strong verb svelga ‘swallow’. This word is also listed among the heiti for ‘sea’ (see Þul Sjóvar 1/8) but it does not occur elsewhere as a heiti for ‘sword’ or ‘sea’. — [6] skarr (m.) ‘cutter’: An agent noun from the strong verb skera ‘cut’ (AEW: skera) or, less likely, as Falk (1914b, 59) suggests, from skarr m. ‘tumult’ (if so, the lit. meaning of this heiti is ‘noise-maker’). The C, A, B (744ˣ) variant (normalised) skár was likely caused by the form of the next heiti (cf. skár ok nár). Skarr is not found elsewhere as a heiti for ‘sword’. — [6] nár (m.) ‘corpse’: So C, A and B (and adopted in Skj B, Skald and SnE 1998). Mss R and Tˣ have ‘narr’ (‘skarr ok narr’), which cannot be construed as an Old Norse word. It is not clear how ‘corpse’ can be a term for ‘sword’, however, and neither nár or narr occurs as sword-heiti in other sources. Falk (1914b, 56) argues that the correct form is naðr m. ‘adder, snake’. He finds support for that emendation in the sword-name Naðr in Egils saga (Eg, ÍF 2, 136, 141, 204) and in HólmgB Lv 8/1, 4^V (Korm 43) eggjar naðrs ‘edges of the sword’, as well as in the other names of serpents listed in this stanza (see ll. 2, 7-8). — [7] Góinn: The name of a mythical serpent (see Note to Þul Orma 2/2). — [7] gest-Móinn (m.) ‘guest-Móinn’: An otherwise unattested cpd from gestr m. ‘guest, stranger’ (or ‘one of the gestir’, a division of the king’s men) and Móinn, the name of a mythical serpent (see Þul Orma 4/7). Hence the cpd could mean ‘the snake of a king’s man’ (so Falk 1914b, 50). — [8] gárr (m.) ‘rippled one’: A hap. leg. The heiti may be connected with ModIcel. gári ‘streak , ripple, vein’, referring to the incised pattern on a blade, and to the cognate weak verb gára ‘tear to pieces’ (ÍO: gárr). Falk (1914b, 50) argues that the word is the same as gár n. ‘scorn’ (cf. kvǫl ‘torment’, st. 4/4). The A variant, gramr m., is the name of Sigurðr’s sword (see st. 1/5), and must be a lectio facilior. — [8] þrimarr (m.) ‘thunderer’: From þrima f. ‘peal of thunder’ (used in poetry as a term for ‘battle’). Þrimarr is not attested elsewhere. — [8] Níðhǫggr: Lit. ‘wicked-striker’, the name of a mythical serpent (see Note to Þul Orma 3/1; and cf. the names of other serpents in ll. 2 and 7 above). It is likely that the implied meaning of this sword-heiti is ‘serpent’. Alternatively, it could be a characterising heiti (see Gurevich 1992c); if so, the sense is ‘wicked-striker’ (from níð n. ‘libel’ and the strong verb hǫggva ‘strike, bite’). The name is also listed in Þul Dverga 2/2. It is not attested elsewhere as a term for ‘sword’.

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.
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5. Meissner = Meissner, Rudolf. 1921. Die Kenningar der Skalden: Ein Beitrag zur skaldischen Poetik. Rheinische Beiträge und Hülfsbücher zur germanischen Philologie und Volkskunde 1. Bonn and Leipzig: Schroeder. Rpt. 1984. Hildesheim etc.: Olms.
6. AEW = Vries, Jan de. 1962. Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch. 2nd rev. edn. Rpt. 1977. Leiden: Brill.
7. 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.
8. Gurevich, Elena A. 1992c. ‘Þulur in Skáldskaparmál: An Attempt at Skaldic Lexicology’. ANF 107, 35-52.
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. ÍF 2 = Egils saga Skalla-Grímssonar. Ed. Sigurður Nordal. 1933.
12. Falk, Hjalmar. 1914b. Altnordische Waffenkunde. Videnskapsselskapets skrifter, II. Hist.-filos. kl. 1914, 6. Kristiania (Oslo): Dybwad.
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. Pope, John C., ed. 2001. Eight Old English Poems. 3rd rev. edn by Robert D. Fulk. New York and London: Norton & Company.
16. Internal references
17. 2022, ‘ Anonymous, Egils saga Skalla-Grímssonar’ 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. 162-389. <https://skaldic.org/m.php?p=text&i=14> (accessed 19 April 2024)
18. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Dverga 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. 695.
19. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Viðar 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. 883.
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. 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.
22. 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.
23. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Orma 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. 933.
24. 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.
25. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Sjóvar 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. 833.
26. Edith Marold (ed.) 2022, ‘Kormáks saga 43 (Hólmgǫngu-Bersi Véleifsson, Lausavísur 8)’ 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. 1101.