Ormr Frag 1^III

Ræðk þenna mǫg manni
…
…
Vindsvals unað blindum.

Ræðk blindum manni unað {þenna mǫg Vindsvals} …

I devise pleasure for a blind man {this son of Vindsvalr <giant>} [= Vetr (vetr ‘winter’)] …

Mss: R(26v), Tˣ(27v), W(58), U(30r), B(5v) (SnE)

Readings: [1] Ræðk (‘Ræð ec’): réð ek all others;    þenna: þennan Tˣ;    manni: ‘mana’ Tˣ, manna W    [4] unað: ‘[…]at’ W;    blindum: ‘b[…]vm’ W

Editions: Skj AI, 416, Skj BI, 386, Skald I, 191; SnE 1848-87, I, 332-3, II, 318, 531, III, 55, SnE 1931, 119, SnE 1998, I, 39.

Context: In Skm (SnE) the stanza is cited among several to illustrate kennings for ‘winter’.

Notes: [All]: These two lines must represent, from the evidence of alliteration and syntax, the first and final lines of a helmingr. They could form part of the introduction (upphaf) to an extended poem, explaining its purpose, in which case the pres. tense of the verb ráða (ræðk ‘I devise’) may be equivalent to future: ‘I will devise’ (cf. SnE 1998, II, 372). If, on the other hand, we read the pret. réðk with the other mss against R, the two lines could belong in a conclusion. — [1, 4] mǫg Vindsvals ‘son of Vindsvalr <giant> [= Vetr (vetr ‘winter’)]’: This type of ofljóst kenning for ‘winter’ is not attested elsewhere, the favoured type being ‘death of the snake’ (Meissner 109); but perhaps a poet named Ormr ‘Serpent’ had reason to avoid the latter. The mythical figure Vindsvalr ‘Wind-cool One’ is mentioned among the names of giants in Þul Jǫtna I 5/3. In Vafþr 27/1-2 and Gylf (SnE 2005, 21) he is stated to be father of Vetr ‘Winter’. — [1, 4] blindum manni ‘for a blind man’: Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) conjectures that this is a reference to the poet himself, but it might preferably be taken as referring to the patron or recipient whom the poet seeks to entertain during the winter. — [4] unað (n.) ‘pleasure’: Attestations of this word in the poetic corpus are restricted to poems of the late C12th and later; in both poetry and prose the contexts are predominantly religious and learned (CVC, Fritzner, ONP: unað).

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. 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. CVC = Cleasby, Richard, Gudbrand Vigfusson [Guðbrandur Vigfússon] and W. A. Craigie. 1957. An Icelandic-English Dictionary. 2nd edn. Oxford: Clarendon.
7. Fritzner = Fritzner, Johan. 1883-96. Ordbog over det gamle norske sprog. 3 vols. Kristiania (Oslo): Den norske forlagsforening. 4th edn. Rpt. 1973. Oslo etc.: Universitetsforlaget.
8. ONP = Degnbol, Helle et al., eds. 1989-. A Dictionary of Old Norse Prose / Ordbog over det norrøne prosasprog. 1-. Copenhagen: The Arnamagnæan Commission.
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. Edith Marold 2017, ‘Snorra Edda (Prologue, Gylfaginning, Skáldskaparmál)’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols [check printed volume for citation].
14. (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 26 April 2024)
15. (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 26 April 2024)
16. Not published: do not cite ()