Eil Þdr 21III/6 — látrs ‘lair’
Herblótinn vá hneitir
hógbrotningi skógar
undirfjalfrs af alfi
alfheims bliku kalfa,
né liðfǫstum Lista
látrs val-Rygir môttu
aldrminkanda aldar
Ellu steins of bella.
Herblótinn hneitir kalfa undirfjalfrs bliku alfheims vá hógbrotningi skógar af alfi; né môttu Rygir Lista vallátrs of bella liðfǫstum aldrminkanda aldar Ellu steins.
The people-worshipped vanquisher of the calves of the low hiding-place of the gleam of the elf-world [SUN > CAVE > GIANTS > = Þórr] fought vigorously with the handy weapon of the forest; nor could the Rygir of the Lista of the falcon-lair [(lit. ‘falcon-Rygir of the lair of Lista’) ROCK > MOUNTAINS > GIANTS] resist the life-diminisher of the people of the Ælla <Northumbrian king> of the stone [GIANT > GIANTS > = Þórr], support-strong.
readings
[6] látrs: látr all
notes
[5, 6] Rygir Lista vallátrs ‘the Rygir of the Lista of the falcon-lair [(lit. ‘falcon-Rygir of the lair of Lista’) ROCK > MOUNTAINS > GIANTS]’: The edn follows Finnur Jónsson (1900b, 401; Skj B; so also Reichardt 1948, 391). The kenning is a variation of the pattern ‘people of the mountains’ for ‘giants’, where ‘people’ is represented by ‘Rygir’ (people from the district of Rogaland) and ‘mountains’ by the kenning ‘Lista (southernmost part of Norway) of the falcon-lair’. It is unusual to combine two place names in one kenning, but the determinant kenning can be explained by the pattern ‘land of the rocks’, Lista replacing ‘land’. Kock (NN §2254) takes lista as gen. pl. of list ‘art’ and combines it with liðfǫstum; hence ‘powerful by the support of art’. However, list ‘art’ neither suits the character of Þórr nor the fight against the giants. Liðfǫstum ‘support-strong’ can be explained by reference to the situation: Þórr is fighting together with Þjálfi, as the stef (sts 11 and 22) confirms. To achieve a giant-kenning, it is necessary to change the order of the two determinants: látr val-Rygir (‘lair of the falcon-Rygir’) > vallátr(s) Rygir (‘Rygir of the falcon-lair’) (cf. Meissner 44-6) and emend látr (all mss) to látrs.
kennings
- vallátrs — of the falcon-lair [ROCK]
- Lista vallátrs — of the Lista of the falcon-lair [MOUNTAINS]
- Rygir Lista vallátrs — the Rygir of the Lista of the falcon-lair [GIANTS]
grammar
case: gen.