Þul Orma 4^III

Liðr, japr, bráinn,         linni, stefningr,
snillingr, viðnir,         serfr ok vinduðr,
ráðr, rábia,         reimir, seimir,
Móinn, dalginna         ok Miðgarðsormr.

Liðr, japr, bráinn, linni, stefningr, snillingr, viðnir, serfr ok vinduðr, ráðr, rábia, reimir, seimir, Móinn, dalginna ok Miðgarðsormr.

Serpent, japr, flickering one, reptile, stefningr, swift one, forest-dweller, serfr and coiling one, ráðr, rábia, stringing one, glittering one, Móinn, dale-poisoner and Miðgarðsormr.

Mss: A(20v), B(9v), 744ˣ(86r) (SnE)

Readings: [1] bráinn: varinn B    [2] linni: linnr B    [3] viðnir: við‑ B    [4] serfr: ‘‑ske[…]fr’ B, ‘‑skefr’ 744ˣ    [5] ráðr rábia: ‘vínningr’ B    [6] reimir: rennir B    [7] Móinn: ‘m[…]nn’ B, ‘moínn’ 744ˣ

Editions: Skj AI, 685, Skj BI, 675, Skald I, 340; SnE 1848-87, II, 487, 570.

Notes: [All]: Most of the heiti for ‘serpent’ listed below are not attested elsewhere or otherwise listed only in LaufE: japr (l. 1), stefningr m. (l. 2), serfr and vinduðr ‘coiling one’ (l. 4), ráðr m., rábia lit. ‘frantic one’ (l. 5), reimir m. ‘stringing one’, seimir m. ‘glittering one’ (l. 6) and dalginna f. ‘dale-poisoner’ (l. 7). Others are not attested with the meaning ‘serpent’ in poetry: bráinn m. ‘flickering one’ (l. 1), snillingr m. ‘swift one’, viðnir m. ‘forest-dweller’ (l. 3). — [1] liðr (m.) ‘serpent’: Like linni ‘reptile’ (l. 2), this heiti is a variant of linnr (st. 3/4), a poetic term for ‘serpent’. — [1] japr: A hap. leg. also listed in LaufE (see japra in st. 1/4 above and Note there). — [1] bráinn (m.) ‘flickering one’: Related to the weak verb brjá ‘flicker’. The heiti may allude to a serpent’s eyes (cf. fræningr ‘flashing one’ and fránn ‘gleaming, flashing one’; see Note to st. 1/7 above). It is also given in the list in LaufE and in Þul Hesta 3/6, but not found elsewhere. For the B variant, (normalised) varinn m. ‘wary, cautious, watchful one’, see holdvarinn ‘flesh-wary one’ (st. 2/7). — [2] stefningr (m.): A hap. leg. (also given in LaufE), possibly derived from the adj. stafaðr ‘striped’. Alternatively, the word could be derived from stafr m. ‘staff, stick’ and denote the shape of a serpent rather than its variegated coloration (AEW: stefningr). — [3] snillingr (m.) ‘swift one’: Or ‘valiant one’ (cf. Þul Manna 1/7 and Note there). As a heiti for ‘serpent’, the word occurs only in this þula. — [3] viðnir (m.) ‘forest-dweller’: Derived from viðr m. ‘wood, forest’ and also listed as heiti for ‘wolf’ and ‘hawk’ (Þul Vargs 1/5, Þul Hauks 2/5). None of these heiti is attested in other sources. — [4] serfr: A hap. leg., whose origin is obscure. It is unlikely that ON serfr is related to Lat. serpēns ‘serpent’. The word could be corrupt in A (so AEW: serfr; for other suggested explanations, see ÍO: serfr). In B, the sequence viðnir serfr has been replaced by the cpd viðskerfr, which is also a hap. leg. (cf. skerfr m. ‘share, portion’), but the meaning of that word is obscure as well. Neither variant is given in the corresponding list in LaufE. — [4] vinduðr (m.) ‘coiling one’: See Note to [All]. Related to the strong verb vinda ‘twist, turn’. — [5] ráðr (m.): The word is a hap. leg. and its meaning is uncertain (possibly ‘counsellor, adviser’ from the strong verb ráða ‘advise’). Ráðr occurs in this sense as a second element in Germanic personal names (e.g. Gangráðr, Þul Óðins 3/2). It is also possible that ráðr could mean ‘owner, ruler’ (cf. stýrir ‘ruler’ in st. 3/6 above). De Vries (AEW: ráðr 1) suggests that the word could mean ‘clasping (or embracing) one’ (from Gmc *wrēþan from a root *wer- in the sense ‘surround, embrace’; cf. vinduðr ‘coiling one’ in l. 4). — [5] rábia: Lit. ‘frantic one’. Most likely a foreign word (cf. Lat. rabio ‘be in a fury’) that is otherwise not found in Old Norse. In ms. B, ráðr rábia are replaced by vinningr m. lit. ‘gain, profit’. Vinningr is not attested as a serpent-heiti. None of these variants is recorded in LaufE. — [6] reimir (m.) ‘stringing one’: A hap. leg. related to reim f. ‘lash, thong’ and the weak verb reima ‘fasten on a thong’ (cf. vinduðr ‘coiling one’ in l. 4). The B variant is rennir m. ‘one that causes sth. or sby to run’. Both words make sense and conform to the image of a serpent, but the A variant is preferable because of the rhyme reimir: seimir. Neither variant is listed in LaufE. — [6] seimir (m.) ‘glittering one’: Or perhaps ‘golden thread’. The heiti is a hap. leg. related to seimr m. ‘riches, gold’ (cf. ÍO: seimir). Thus the name could refer either to the skin of a snake or to the function of legendary serpents as guardians of treasure. — [7] Móinn: Lit. ‘heath-dweller’ (from mór ‘moor, heath’ and the characterising adjectival suffix ‑inn). One of the mythical serpents that gnaw on the roots of the ash Yggdrasill (Grí 34/4; Gylf, SnE 2005, 19). Móinn is mentioned among serpent-heiti in Skm (SnE 1998, I, 90) and in the list in LaufE. The name is also found in Þul Hesta 4/1 and as a second element in poetic compounds (e.g. the sword-heiti gest-Móinn in Þul Sverða 9/7 and fík-Móinn in Þul Hjálms 1/4). In skaldic poetry, móinn is used in kennings as a heiti for ‘serpent’ in general. — [7] dalginna (f.) ‘dale-poisoner’: Or ‘‑deceiver’. The second element of this cpd, which is not attested elsewhere, is derived from the weak verb ginna ‘dupe, fool, intoxicate’. The word is one of the few f. heiti in this þula, and it is included in the list in LaufE. — [8] Miðgarðsormr: Also called Jǫrmungandr ‘the Great Monster’. The world serpent of Old Norse myth, which is hidden in the ocean with its coils encircling Miðgarðr, the world inhabited by people (Gylf, SnE 2005, 27, 43-5, 50, 54; Skm, SnE 1998, I, 6, 14, 20). The name does not otherwise occur in poetry, but there are many kennings in poetry whose referent is ‘Miðgarðsormr’.

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. ÍO = Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon. 1989. Íslensk orðsifjabók. Reykjavík: Orðabók Háskólans.
6. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
7. SnE 2005 = Snorri Sturluson. 2005. Edda: Prologue and Gylfaginning. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2nd edn. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
8. Internal references
9. (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 19 April 2024)
10. (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 19 April 2024)
11. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Vargs 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. 903.
12. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Manna 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. 775.
13. 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.
14. 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.
15. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Hesta 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. 937.
16. 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.
17. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Hjálms 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. 828.
18. 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.
19. Not published: do not cite ()
20. (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 19 April 2024)