Þjóð Haustl 16III/7 — vagna ‘of killer whales’
Þyrmðit Baldrs of barmi
(berg) solgnum þar dolgi
(hristusk bjǫrg ok brustu)
— brann upphiminn — manna.
Mjǫk frák móti hrøkkva
myrkbeins Haka reinar,
þás vígligan, vagna
vátt, sinn bana þátti.
Of barmi Baldrs þyrmðit þar solgnum dolgi manna; berg hristusk ok bjǫrg brustu; upphiminn brann. Frák vátt vagna myrkbeins reinar Haka hrøkkva mjǫk móti, þás þátti vígligan bana sinn.
The brother of Baldr [= Þórr] did not spare there the greedy enemy of men [GIANT = Hrungnir]; rocks were shaken and crags burst apart; the heaven above burnt. I have heard that the knower of killer whales of the dark bone of the land of Haki <sea-king> [SEA > ROCK > GIANTS > GIANT = Hrungnir] moved very violently in opposition, when he recognised his warlike slayer.
readings
[7] vagna (‘vꜹgna’): ‘vaugna’ Tˣ, ‘vogna’ W
notes
[6, 7, 8] vátt vagna myrkbeins reinar Haka ‘the knower of killer whales of the dark bone of the land of Haki <sea-king> [SEA > ROCK > GIANTS > GIANT = Hrungnir]’: There has been considerable debate among scholars about the most plausible arrangement of the elements of this extended giant-kenning. In this kenning, vagna ‘of killer whales’ is strictly speaking redundant, as váttr myrkbeins reinar Haka ‘knower of the dark bone of the land of Haki <sea-king>’ could be understood on its own as a giant-kenning. The interpretation adopted here, originally proposed by Reichardt (1928, 102), follows the word order of the helmingr most closely. Finnur Jónsson (Skj B) offers the slightly more convoluted vátt myrkbeins reinar vagna Haka ‘the knower of the dark bone of the land of the carriages of Haki <sea-king> [SHIPS > SEA > ROCK > GIANT = Hrungnir]’. Vátt lit. ‘witness’, ‘knower’, possibly ‘frequenter’ (l. 8) is the direct object of frák ‘I have heard’ (l. 5). Vagna (or vǫgna, as the spelling of the mss seems to suggest, cf. ANG §81) may either be gen. pl. of vǫgn ‘killer whale, orca’, as understood here (cf. st. 4/5 ving-Rǫgnir vagna ‘the swinging Rǫgnir <= Óðinn> of killer whales [GIANT = Þjazi]’), or gen. pl. of vagn ‘carriage, chariot’. Marold (1983, 171 n. 415) offers a thorough refutation of the readings of Kock (NN §§226, 1813, 2505, 3097A and Skald) and various other scholars.
kennings
- vagna myrkbeins reinar Haka — of killer whales of the dark bone of the land of Haki <sea-king> [GIANTS]
- vátt vagna myrkbeins reinar Haka — the knower of killer whales of the dark bone of the land of Haki <sea-king> [GIANT = Hrungnir]
grammar
case: gen.
number: pl.