Eil Þdr 10III/3 — á ‘on’
unz með ýta sinni
— aflraun vas þat — skaunar
á seilhimin sjóla
sjalflopta kom Þjalfi.
Œddu stáli stríðan
straum Hrekkmímis ekkjur;
stophnísu fór steypir
stríðlundr með vǫl Gríðar.
unz Þjalfi kom sjalflopta á seilhimin sjóla með sinni ýta skaunar; þat vas aflraun. Ekkjur Hrekkmímis œddu straum stríðan stáli; steypir stophnísu fór stríðlundr með vǫl Gríðar.
until Þjálfi came hovering through the air on the strap-sky [SHIELD] of the ruler with the helper of the launchers of the shield [WARRIORS > LEADER = Þórr]; it was a test of strength. The widows of Hrekkmímir <giant> [GIANTESSES] infuriated the stream, harsh against the weapon; the overcomer of the cliff-porpoise [GIANTESS > = Þórr] went stubbornly with the staff of Gríðr <troll-woman>.
readings
[3] á seilhimin sjóla: ‘[…]’ R
notes
[3] á seilhimin sjóla ‘on the strap-sky [SHIELD] of the ruler’: Here, too, Þórr is referred to by a heiti for a mortal ruler (sjóli). The shield-kenning consists of the base-word himinn ‘sky’ and the determinant seil ‘rope, strap’. The shield-kenning sól seilar ‘sun of the strap’ in Tindr Hákdr 4/3I confirms that seil ‘strap’, as a component of a shield, can serve as a determinant. Sjóla m. gen. sg. ‘ruler’ must belong to the prepositional phrase á seilhiminn ‘on the strap-sky’, as positions 2-6 of a Type C odd line normally constitute a syntactic unit (Gade 1995a, 123). The interpretations of Sveinbjörn Egilsson (1851, 8) and Finnur Jónsson (1900b, 387; Skj B) violate this rule by combining seil ‘strap’ (l. 3) with skaunar ‘of the shield’ (l. 2) and integrate himinsjóla ‘of the sky-king’ as a kenning for Þórr in the parenthesis aflraun vas þat himinsjóla ‘this was a test of strength of the sky-king’. Kock (NN §453) noticed the metrical problem this creates: metrical positions 2-4 in such lines are usually occupied by a cpd or a noun phrase (Kuhn 1983, 142; Gade 1995a, 123-8). A cpd like himinsjóla occupying positions 3-6 would thus clearly violate the metre. Moreover, calling Þórr a ‘sky-king’ would be unique and is therefore doubtful (Reichardt 1948, 358; Meissner 253-4). Aside from his connection with thunder, there is no support for Þórr’s role as a ruler of the sky in the surviving myths about Þórr.