Ggnæv Þórr 1^III

Meðan gramr, hinns svik samðit,
snart Bilskirnis, hjarta,
grundar fisk með grandi
gljúfrskeljungs nam rjúfa.

Meðan {gramr Bilskirnis}, hinns samðit svik hjarta, nam rjúfa snart {fisk grundar} með {grandi {gljúfrskeljungs}}.

While {the ruler of Bilskirnir <mythical hall>} [= Þórr], the one who did not plan treachery in his heart, quickly smashed {the fish of the sea-bed} [= Miðgarðsormr] with {the destruction {of the gully-whale}} [GIANT > = Mjǫllnir].

Mss: R(22r), Tˣ(22r), W(47), U(27v) (SnE)

Readings: [1] Meðan: þá er U;    samðit: so U, samði all others    [2] Bilskirnis: bilskirni U    [4] nam: mun U

Editions: Skj AI, 140, Skj BI, 132, Skald I, 73, NN §1893; SnE 1848-87, I, 256-7, II, 309, III 16-17, SnE 1931, 95-6, SnE 1998, I, 16.

Context: The citation comes among a number of others exemplifying kennings for the god Þórr. It is introduced with the words: Svá kvað Gamli ‘So said Gamli’.

Notes: [All]: The helmingr seems to be the second part of a stanza, introduced in R, Tˣ and W by the conj. meðan ‘while’. Ms. U has the introductory þás (þá er) ‘when’, which has been preferred by Skj B and Skald. Gamli describes Þórr’s smashing the World Serpent, Miðgarðsormr, with his hammer, Mjǫllnir, when they fought in the ocean. — [1] samðit ‘did not plan’: Ms. U’s reading, with suffixed neg. particle ‑t, has been preferred (with all other eds) over the majority mss’ samði ‘planned’, on grounds of sense, because the god Þórr had a reputation for guilelessness: in Norse myth, he nowhere plans treachery against the gods’ enemies, but acts on their behalf, usually with physical violence, to control or eradicate them. — [2] Bilskirnis ‘of Bilskirnir <mythic hall>’: Name of Þórr’s hall, according to Grí 24/3 and Gylf (SnE 2005, 22). For possible etymologies, see AEW: Bilskirnir. — [2] hjarta ‘in his heart’: Understood here as an adverbial dat. (so Skj B), but it is possible to construe it, as Kock does (NN §1893), as the subject of the rel. clause hinns hjarta samðit svik ‘whose heart did not plan treachery’. — [4] gljúfrskeljungs ‘of the gully-whale [GIANT]’: The cpd is a hap. leg. but its referent is not in doubt. Gljúfr is a wild ravine or gully through which rivers flow, while skeljungr is a kind of whale, possibly a humpback; the word occurs in Þul Hvala 2/3 and in Konungs skuggsjá (Holm-Olsen 1983, 16). For giant-kennings with base-words meaning ‘whale’, see Meissner 258-9.

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.
4. Skald = Kock, Ernst Albin, ed. 1946-50. Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen. 2 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
5. NN = Kock, Ernst Albin. 1923-44. Notationes Norrœnæ: Anteckningar till Edda och skaldediktning. Lunds Universitets årsskrift new ser. 1. 28 vols. Lund: Gleerup.
6. 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.
7. AEW = Vries, Jan de. 1962. Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch. 2nd rev. edn. Rpt. 1977. Leiden: Brill.
8. Holm-Olsen, Ludvig, ed. 1983. Konungs skuggsiá. 2nd rev. edn. Norrøne tekster 1. Oslo: Norsk historisk kjeldeskrift-institutt.
9. SnE 1931 = Snorri Sturluson. 1931. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
10. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
11. SnE 2005 = Snorri Sturluson. 2005. Edda: Prologue and Gylfaginning. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2nd edn. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
12. Internal references
13. (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 1 May 2024)
14. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Hvala 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. 859.
15. Not published: do not cite ()
16. Not published: do not cite ()