Arn Magndr 12II/7 — rýgjar ‘of the troll-woman’
Vítt hefk heyrt at heiti
Helganes, þars elgi
vágs inn víða frægi
vargteitir hrauð marga.
Røkr ǫndurt bað randir
reggbúss saman leggja;
rógskýja helt rýgjar
regni haustnôtt gegnum.
Hefk heyrt, at heiti vítt Helganes, þars inn víða frægi vargteitir hrauð marga elgi vágs. Ǫndurt røkr bað reggbúss leggja saman randir; regni rýgjar rógskýja helt gegnum haustnôtt.
I have heard that it is called broad Helgenæs, where the widely famed wolf-cheerer [WARRIOR] stripped many elks of the wave [SHIPS]. At the beginning of twilight the ship-tree [SEAFARER] called for shields to be set together; the rain of the troll-woman of strife-clouds [SHIELDS > AXE > BATTLE] persisted through the autumn night.
readings
[7] rýgjar: ‘rygia’ R, Tˣ, W, C, 2368ˣ
notes
[7] rýgjar ‘of the troll-woman’: (a) The reading is here taken, as by Bjarni Aðalbjarnarson, as rýgjar, gen. sg. of the f. noun meaning ‘mighty woman, ogress’ (ÍF 28, 56-7 n., following Nj 1875-8, II, 518); it forms part of an axe-kenning (cf. Meissner 148) which in turn is determinant to a battle-kenning. (b) An alternative also proposed by Bjarni is that rýgr, again like other words for ‘troll-woman’ or ‘giantess’ (e.g. gnepja and vígglǫð), might be an axe-heiti in itself. Róg rýgjar ‘strife of the axe’ would then be ‘battle’, rógský rýgjar ‘clouds of battle’ would be ‘shields’ and the regn of shields once more ‘battle’. (c) Skj B reads the minority variant ‘rygia’ as acc. pl. of Rygjar (men of Rogaland), hence bað Rygja leggja saman randir ‘asked the Rygjar to set their shields together’. (d) Kock (NN §822) reads Rygja and construes rógskýja ... Rygja regni ‘the Rogalanders’ battle’.
kennings
- rýgjar rógskýja — of the troll-woman of strife-clouds [AXE]
- regni rýgjar rógskýja — the rain of the troll-woman of strife-clouds [BATTLE]
grammar
case: gen.