Eil Þdr 13III/7 — ættir ‘the group’
Dreif fyr dróttar kneyfi
dolg-Svíþjóðar kolgu
(sótti ferð á flótta)
flesdrótt í vô (nesja),
þás funhristis fasta
(flóðrifs Danir) stóðu
(knôttu) Jólnis ættir
(útvés fyrir lúta),
Flesdrótt dreif í vô fyr kneyfi dróttar kolgu dolg-Svíþjóðar; ferð nesja sótti á flótta, þás Jólnis funhristis ættir stóðu fasta; Danir útvés flóðrifs knôttu lúta fyrir,
The skerry-host [GIANTS] rushed into disaster because of the oppressor of the host of the cold wave of the hostile Sweden [= Gandvík > GIANTS > = Þórr]; the troop of headlands [GIANTS] took to flight, when the group of the shaker of the flame of Jólnir <= Óðinn> [(lit. ‘group of the flame-shaker of Jólnir’) SWORD > WARRIOR > WARRIORS = Þórr and Þjálfi] stood firm; the Danes of the outlying sanctuary of the sea-rib [STONE > COAST > GIANTS] fell before [them],
notes
[5, 7] Jólnis funhristis ættir ‘the group of the shaker of the flame of Jólnir <= Óðinn> [(lit. ‘group of the flame-shaker of Jólnir’) SWORD > WARRIOR > WARRIORS = Þórr and Þjálfi]’: Here again, a kenning for ‘warriors’ is used for Þórr and Þjálfi (see Marold 1990a, 122-8 and Introduction above). The warrior is described as ‘shaker of the sword’ and the sword is called ‘flame of Jólnir <= Óðinn>’. For the emendation funhristis see below. Ætt is not only a term for ‘family, kin’ but is often used as a general term for ‘group’ (LP: ætt 2), and together with the gen. it functions as a paraphrase here (‘the group of the warrior’ are ‘warriors’). That ætt is used in pl. can be explained by the fact that occasionally the pl. of a word is used for the sg. for metrical reasons; here the sg. is ætt, but the cadence requires two syllables (hence ættir rather than ætt). Finnur Jónsson (1900b, 391; Skj B and LP: funristis) and Reichardt (1948, 369) could not explain mss’ ‘funristis’ (R, Tˣ) or ‘funristil’ (W), but Kock (NN §459, followed by Davidson 1983, 620) suggests emendation to funhristis ‘flame-thrower’, which he then combines with fasta ‘of lightning’ to get a Þórr-kenning. As Reichardt (1948, 369) rightly observes, however, fasti and fun are synonyms; hence fasti cannot determine fun.
kennings
- Jólnis funhristis ættir — the group of the shaker of the flame of Jólnir <= Óðinn> [WARRIORS = Þórr and Þjálfi]
grammar
case: nom.
number: pl.