Þul Hugar ok hjarta 1^III

Móðr, hjarta, hnegg,         munr, hugr, sefi,
geð, heil, sjafni,         gollorr ok eljun.

Móðr, hjarta, hnegg, munr, hugr, sefi, geð, heil, sjafni, gollorr ok eljun.

Spirit, heart, core, pleasure, thought, mind, mood, brain, love, pericardium and energy.

Mss: A(21r) (SnE)

Editions: Skj AI, 688, Skj BI, 678, Skald I, 342; SnE 1848-87, II, 490.

Notes: [1, 2] móðr; hugr ‘spirit; thought’: Translations provided here can give only a rough idea of the spectrum of meanings implied by these two words, which are the central terms for emotions and heroic behaviour in Old Norse as well as in other Germanic languages (cf. OS mōd, hugi, OE mōd, hyge, OHG muot, hugu). In Old Norse, móðr m. denotes ‘spirit, mind’, ‘excitement, wrath, rage’, ‘bravery, foolhardiness’, ‘moodiness, grief’ (CVC, LP: móðr), and the word appears less frequently than hugr, which prevails in this semantic field. Hugr m. has the senses ‘heart, temper, mood, disposition, desire, wish, feeling, affection’, ‘mind, thought, reason, frame of mind’, ‘courage, valour’ (cf. Gering 1903, 470-2; LP: hugr). On the semantic distinctions between móðr and hugr, see especially Beck (1987; 1988). According to Beck (1987, 995), while móðr predominantly refers to emotional conduct manifested by physical symptoms, hugr denotes an abstract, non-visual entity (eine abstrakte, unanschauliche Größe) and is often the expression of courageous disposition resulting in impulsive brave actions (Beck 1988a, 144-5). — [1] hnegg ‘core’: Spelled ‘negg’ in the ms. (see ANG §290 Anm. 2). In Old Norse, this is a poetic term for ‘heart’ and a rare word; cf. Skm (SnE 1998, I, 108): Hjarta heitir negg ‘The heart is called core’. According to Alexander Jóhannesson (1932, 40-1), hnegg n. is related to ModIcel. hnaggur ‘small rock’ and also connected with hnakki m. ‘nape of the neck, back of the head’. See also Note to Hhárf Snædr 1/1, 2^I. — [2, 3] sefi; sjafni ‘mind; love’: These words are listed among the hugar heiti in Skm (SnE 1998, I, 108): Hugr heitir sefi ok *sjafni ‘Thought is called mind (sefi) and love (sjafni)’. Whereas sefi m. is attested in poetry (LP: 1. sefi), sjafni m. does not occur elsewhere in Old Norse poetry, but it is used in the rímur (Finnur Jónsson 1926-8: sjafni). Sjafni (< *sefnan) and sefi could be etymologically related (so ÍO: sjafni). According to Hesselman (1912, 58), sjafni may be a neologism from Sjǫfn f., the name of a goddess (see Þul Ásynja 2/2 and Note there). The proximity of sefi and sjafni is corroborated by the fact that, as Beck (1988a, 138) states, sefi ‘alternates with hugr in contexts that reflect upon the experience of love and the pain of love’. — [3] heil ‘brain’: This word, which is not attested elsewhere, is most likely a f. derivative from m. heili ‘brain’. — [4] gollorr ‘pericardium’: Gollorr m. is etymologically related to gola f. ‘large intestine, colon’ (see AEW: gola; gollorr). The only other occurrences of this word in poetry is GunnLeif Merl I 82/8^VIII gollorheimi ‘home of the pericardium [BREAST]’ and GunnLeif Merl II 35/6^VIII gollorhallir ‘halls of the pericardium [BREASTS]’ (see Notes there). — [4] eljun ‘energy’: Eljun- (f.) occurs frequently as the first element in cpd adjectives in poetry from the second half of the C12th, beginning with ESk Geisl 11/6^VII, where it occurs in eljunhress ‘energetic [fame]’ (of S. Óláfr’s reputation). See also Gamlkan Has 9/2^VII eljunsterk ‘energy-strong [Lord]’ and Anon Leið 36/3^VII eljunkuðr ‘[God] known for his energy’.

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. 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. ANG = Noreen, Adolf. 1923. Altnordische Grammatik I: Altisländische und altnorwegische Grammatik (Laut- und Flexionslehre) unter Berücksichtigung des Urnordischen. 4th edn. Halle: Niemeyer. 1st edn. 1884. 5th unrev. edn. 1970. Tübingen: Niemeyer.
7. 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.
8. ÍO = Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon. 1989. Íslensk orðsifjabók. Reykjavík: Orðabók Háskólans.
9. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
10. Gering, Hugo. 1903. Vollständiges Wörterbuch zu den Liedern der Edda. Halle: Waisenhaus. Rpt. 1971. Hildesheim: Olms.
11. Beck, Heinrich. 1987. ‘Seelenwörter des Germanischen’. In Bergmann et al. 1987, II, 985-99.
12. Beck, Heinrich. 1988a. ‘Heroic Lay and Heroic Language’. SS 60, 137-46.
13. Hesselman, Bengt. 1912. Västnordiska studier I: Om brytningen. Skrifter utgivna af Kungliga Humanistiska Vetenskaps-Samfundet i Uppsala 14:2. Uppsala: Almqvist & Wiksell.
14. Alexander Jóhannesson. 1932. Die Mediageminata im Isländischen. Sonderdruck aus Árbók Háskóla Íslands 1929-30. Halle (Saale): Niemeyer.
15. Internal references
16. (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 10 May 2024)
17. Katrina Attwood (ed.) 2007, ‘Anonymous Poems, Leiðarvísan 36’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 172.
18. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Ásynja 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. 765.
19. Martin Chase (ed.) 2007, ‘Einarr Skúlason, Geisli 11’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 16-17.
20. Katrina Attwood (ed.) 2007, ‘Gamli kanóki, Harmsól 9’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry on Christian Subjects. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 7. Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 81-2.
21. Russell Poole (ed.) 2017, ‘Breta saga 35 (Gunnlaugr Leifsson, Merlínusspá II 35)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 165.
22. Russell Poole (ed.) 2017, ‘Breta saga 150 (Gunnlaugr Leifsson, Merlínusspá I 82)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 118.
23. Russell Poole (ed.) 2012, ‘Haraldr hárfagri Hálfdanarson, Snæfríðardrápa 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. 68.