Þul Fugla 1^III

Gammr, grípr, gaukþjórr,         gaukr, sviplækja,
grágás, heimgás,         gagl ok helsingr,
geirfugl, geitungr,         gleða, doðrkvisa,
ari, nagr, arta,         ǫlpt, már ok haukr.

Gammr, grípr, gaukþjórr, gaukr, sviplækja, grágás, heimgás, gagl ok helsingr, geirfugl, geitungr, gleða, doðrkvisa, ari, nagr, arta, ǫlpt, már ok haukr.

Vulture, griffin, wryneck, cuckoo, sviplækja, grey goose, domestic goose, gosling and barnacle goose, great auk, wasp, kite, doðrkvisa, eagle, nagr, teal, swan, seagull and hawk.

Mss: A(21r), B(9v) (ll. 1-4) (SnE)

Readings: [1] grípr: so B, ‘cripr’ A;    gaukþjórr: ‘gaukþrorr’ B

Editions: Skj AI, 687, Skj BI, 677, Skald I, 341; SnE 1848-87, II, 488, 572.

Notes: [All]: Many of the bird-names listed in this stanza are used in poetry (i.e. gammr m. ‘vulture’ l. 1, gaukr m. ‘cuckoo’ l. 2, gagl m. ‘gosling’, helsingr m. ‘barnacle goose’ l. 4, gleða f. ‘kite’ l. 6, ari m. ‘eagle’, nagr l. 7, ǫlpt f. ‘swan’, már m. ‘seagull’, haukr m. ‘hawk’ l. 8). — [1] grípr (m.) ‘griffin’: A legendary creature with a lion’s body, an eagle’s beak and wings (MLat. gryphus). Probably a loanword from MLG grīp ‘griffin’ (AEW: 1. grípr). See also Note to Anon Mhkv 6/2. — [1] gaukþjórr (m.) ‘wryneck’: This is a uniquely attested cpd formed from gaukr m. ‘cuckoo’ (see the next heiti) and þjórr m. ‘bull’. This bird has not been identified with certainty, but Heggstad et al. 2008: gaukþjórr suggests that this is the same as New Norw. gauksjor, the Eurasian wryneck (Iynx torquilla). — [2] sviplækja: This cpd is not attested elsewhere. The second element could be related to New Norw. løkje ‘idler, loafer’ (see ÍO: sviplækja) and the first probably derives from the same root as svipr m. ‘swoop’ and the weak verb svipa ‘swoop, flash’ (of a sudden noiseless motion; see CVC: svipa and compounds with svip-). This bird has not been identified, though CVC: sviplækja argues that it is ‘the brown sandpiper’ (Tringa fusca). Cf. also lækjaduðra ‘water rail’ or ‘redshank’ (Tringa totanus) (see Note to l. 6 below). — [3] heimgás (f.) ‘domestic goose’: Most likely a domestic goose, from heimr m. ‘home’ and gás f. ‘goose’ (cf. ON aligás ‘tame goose’, Hharð Lv 12/7^II). This word is not attested in skaldic poetry, but it occurs in the rímur (Finnur Jónsson 1926-8: heimgás). — [4] helsingr (m.) ‘barnacle goose’: The word is derived from hals m. ‘neck’, because this goose (Branta leucopsis) has a black neck. See also Note to Þul Sverða 8/7. — [5] geirfugl (m.) ‘great auk’: A bird (Pinguinus impennis), now extinct, that could not fly. — [5] geitungr (m.) ‘wasp’: The word is listed among the bird-names because it is used in the same kenning-type for ‘bird of battle’ as terms for ‘birds’ proper (e.g. hrægeitungr ‘carrion-wasp [RAVEN/EAGLE]’, Hókr Eirfl 1/6^I).  — [6] gleða (f.) ‘kite’: The red kite (Milvus milvus), a bird of prey. The word is related to Gmc *glīdan ‘glide, drift’, probably reflecting the bird’s manner of flying. — [6] doðrkvisa: A hap. leg. and an unknown kind of bird. For the first element, doðr- cf. ModIcel. lækjardoðra, lækjaduðra, also a bird-name, which Eggert Ólafsson (Eggert Ólafsson and Bjarni Pálsson 1772, 985) identifies as ‘water rail’ (Rallus aquaticus) or ‘redshank’ (Tringa totanus). The identification of the latter bird is, however, uncertain (Bjarni Sæmundsson 1936, 355). Cf. also doðka (st. 6/1 below). The second element, ‑kvisa, is likely to be related to the weak verb kvisa ‘gossip, whisper’, and it may refer to the twitter of a bird (see ÍO: doðra, doðrkvisa). — [7] nagr (m.): A poetic word probably denoting a bird of prey (cf. ON naga ‘gnaw’; AEW: nagr).  — [7] arta (f.) ‘teal’: The common teal (Anas crecca).

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. CVC = Cleasby, Richard, Gudbrand Vigfusson [Guðbrandur Vigfússon] and W. A. Craigie. 1957. An Icelandic-English Dictionary. 2nd edn. Oxford: Clarendon.
6. Finnur Jónsson. 1926-8. Ordbog til de af samfund til udg. af gml. nord. litteratur udgivne Rímur samt til de af Dr. O. Jiriczek udgivne Bósarímur. SUGNL 51. Copenhagen: Jørgensen.
7. ÍO = Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon. 1989. Íslensk orðsifjabók. Reykjavík: Orðabók Háskólans.
8. Bjarni Sæmundsson. 1936. Fuglarnir. Íslensk dýr III. Reykjavík: Bókaverslun Sigfúsar Eymundssonar.
9. Internal references
10. Roberta Frank (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Poems, Málsháttakvæði 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. 1220.
11. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Sverða heiti 8’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 804.
12. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2009, ‘Haraldr harðráði Sigurðarson, Lausavísur 12’ 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. 53-4.
13. Kari Ellen Gade (ed.) 2012, ‘Halldórr ókristni, Eiríksflokkr 1’ 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. 471.