Eil Þdr 1III/6 — þrumu ‘thunder’
Flugstalla réð felli*
fjǫrnets goða at hvetja
— drjúgr vas Loptr at ljúga —
lǫgseims faðir heiman.
Geðreynir kvað grœnar
Gauts herþrumu brautir
vilgi tryggr til veggjar
viggs Geirrøðar liggja.
Faðir lǫgseims réð at hvetja felli* fjǫrnets goða flugstalla heiman; Loptr vas drjúgr at ljúga. Vilgi tryggr geðreynir Gauts herþrumu kvað grœnar brautir liggja til viggs veggjar Geirrøðar.
The father of the sea-thread [= Miðgarðsormr > = Loki] decided to goad the preparer of the life-net [KILLER] of the gods of precipice-altars [MOUNTAINS > GIANTS > = Þórr] to leave home; Loptr <= Loki> was assidious at lying. The by no means trustworthy mind-tester of the Gautr <= Óðinn> of host-thunder [BATTLE > WARRIOR = Þórr > = Loki] said that green paths lay towards the steed of the wall [HOUSE] of Geirrøðr <giant>.
readings
[6] ‑þrumu: ‘‑þrumi’ Tˣ
notes
[5, 6] geðreynir Gauts herþrumu ‘mind-tester of the Gautr <= Óðinn> of host-thunder [BATTLE > WARRIOR = Þórr > = Loki]’: The context clearly points to Loki as the referent of the kenning. The kenning Gauts herþrumu is a warrior-kenning consisting of a god’s name as the base-word qualified by a battle-kenning (Reichardt 1948, 332-3), but as a determinant to geðreynir ‘mind-tester’ it must refer either to Þórr or to Óðinn. There are several instances where warrior-kennings are used for Þórr and Þjálfi (see Introduction above). Loki is attested as a confidant of both Óðinn and Þórr. Loki is Þórr’s companion in many of the god’s dealing with the giants, e.g. in the stories about Þórr and the giants Þrymr (Þrymskviða), Hrungnir (Haustlǫng) and Útgarðaloki (Gylf, SnE 2005, 37-43). But Loki is also a companion of Óðinn, e.g. in Haustlǫng. In this stanza, two arguments point to Þórr, namely, the context of the stanza that shows Loki talking to Þórr and trying to persuade him, and, secondly, the problem with interpreting Gauts herþrumu as an Óðinn-kenning since the base-word Gautr is an Óðinn-heiti in its own right. Nevertheless, other eds have proposed that this is an Óðinn-kenning (Finnur Jónsson 1900b, 376; Meissner 254 with reservations) or a proper Þórr-kenning (Sveinbjörn Egilsson 1851, 17; Genzmer 1934, 69; Kiil 1956, 95). A rearrangement of the kenning (Davidson 1983, 568-9) to geðreynir Hergauts þrumu ‘temper-tryer of the War-Gautr of thunder (i.e. of the Óðinn of thunder, i.e. of Þórr)’ is not necessary.
kennings
- herþrumu — of host-thunder [BATTLE]
- Gauts herþrumu — of the Gautr <= Óðinn> of host-thunder [WARRIOR = Þórr]
- Vilgi tryggr geðreynir Gauts herþrumu — The by no means trustworthy mind-tester of the Gautr <= Óðinn> of host-thunder [= Loki]
grammar
case: gen.