VSt Erf 2^III

Mank, þats jǫrð við orða
endr myrk-Danar sendi
grœnnar grǫfnum munni
gein Hlóðynjar beina.

Mank, þats jǫrð gein endr grǫfnum munni við {sendi {orða {myrk-Danar {beina grœnnar Hlóðynjar}}}}.

I recall when the earth formerly gaped with a dug mouth at {the distributor {of the words {of the dark-Dane {of the bones of green Hlóðyn <earth>}}}} [ROCKS > GIANT > GOLD > GENEROUS MAN].

Mss: R(37r), Tˣ(38v), A(13r), C(6r-v) (SnE)

Readings: [1] jǫrð: orð A    [2] myrk‑: mar C;    sendi: sendu R, A, senda Tˣ, C

Editions: Skj AI, 99, Skj BI, 93, Skald I, 54, NN §342; SnE 1848-87, I, 474-5, II, 449, 593, III, 98, SnE 1931, 168, SnE 1998, I, 86.

Context: This helmingr is cited in SnE (Skm) to illustrate the use of Hlóðyn (or Hlǫðyn) as a heiti for ‘earth, land’.

Notes: [All]: In accordance with its character as a lament, the helmingr must be Vǫlu-Steinn’s recollection of his son’s burial. However, the man-kenning it uses to denote the son could apply to any male person (see Konráð Gíslason 1874, 28). — [1, 3-4] jǫrð gein … grǫfnum munni ‘the earth … gaped with a dug mouth’: This phrase is a metaphorical expression for the open grave about to receive the body. The earth is compared to a monster that has opened (gein) its mouth (munni) to devour its victim, the deceased. — [1, 2-3, 4] sendi orða myrk-Danar beina grœnnar Hlóðynjar ‘the distributor of the words of the dark-Dane of the bones of green Hlóðyn <earth> [MOUNTAINS > GIANT > GOLD > GENEROUS MAN]’: This lengthy kenning is based on the still unexplained kenning pattern ‘words of the giant’ for ‘gold’ (cf. Meissner 227), for which Snorri Sturluson in Skm (SnE 1998, I, 3) offers an otherwise unknown story about three sons of a giant who divide up their inheritance and carry away their shares of gold in their mouths (see Note to Anon Bjark 5/8). The kenning’s base-word Danar ‘of the Dane’ conforms to the giant-kenning pattern ‘people (or one of a people) of the stones’ (cf. Marold 1990a, 109-11). Myrk-Danar ‘of the dark-Dane’ is taken as a cpd here, since there is no convincing motivation for tmesis, as Skj B assumes, of myrk- (l. 2) and -beina (l. 4); cf. NN §342. Konráð Gíslason (1874, 28) combines myrk ‘dark’ and jǫrð ‘earth’, which, though itself a fitting collocation, results in a tripartite l. 2. — [2] sendi ‘the distributor’: This emendation (first made by Konráð Gíslason 1874, 28-9) is required to form a complete man-kenning in which a gold-kenning functions as determinant. Konráð Gíslason (ibid.) reasons that the text must have been misunderstood during the process of transmission. — [4] Hlóðynjar ‘Hlóðyn <earth>’: Hlóðyn (or Hlǫðyn) is a name for Jǫrð, mother of Þórr and consort of Óðinn (LP: Hlǫðyn), and occurs as a heiti for ‘earth’ in Þul Jarðar 1/2 (see Note there) and Vsp 56/2. As in Eskál Vell 26/3^I, Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) conjectured Hlǫðvinjar for metrical reasons, but this is not supported by any ms. and can be avoided by using the form Hlóðyn.

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. 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.
8. SnE 1931 = Snorri Sturluson. 1931. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
9. SnE 1998 = Snorri Sturluson. 1998. Edda: Skáldskaparmál. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 2 vols. University College London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
10. Marold, Edith. 1990a. ‘Skaldendichtung und Mythologie’. In Pàroli 1990, 107-30.
11. Konráð Gíslason. 1874. Om navnet Ýmir. Det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskabs skrifter, ser. 5. Historisk og filosofisk afdeling IV, 11. Copenhagen: Luno.
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. Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Poems, Bjarkamál in fornu 5’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 502.
15. (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 25 April 2024)
17. Elena Gurevich (ed.) 2017, ‘Anonymous Þulur, Jarðar 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. 878.
18. Edith Marold (ed.) 2012, ‘Einarr skálaglamm Helgason, Vellekla 26’ 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. 315.
19. Not published: do not cite ()