Eyv Hál 2I/1 — skjald ‘The shield’
Þann skjaldblœtr
skattfœri gat
Ása niðr
við járnviðju,
þás þau mær
í manheimum
skatna vinr
ok Skaði byggðu,
sævar beins,
ok sunu marga
ǫndurdís
við Óðni gat.
Skjaldblœtr niðr Ása gat þann skattfœri við járnviðju, þás þau mær, vinr skatna ok Skaði, byggðu í sævar beins manheimum ok ǫndurdís gat marga sunu við Óðni.
The shield-worshipped kinsman of the Æsir <gods> [= Óðinn] begat that tribute-bringer [JARL = Sæmingr] with the female from Járnviðr, when those renowned ones, the friend of warriors [= Óðinn] and Skaði [giantess], lived in the lands of the maiden of the bone of the sea [(lit. ‘maiden-lands of the bone of the sea’) ROCK > GIANTESS > = Jǫtunheimar ‘Giant-lands’], and the ski-goddess [= Skaði] bore many sons with Óðinn.
readings
[1] skjald‑: skald‑ F
notes
[1] skjaldblœtr ‘shield-worshipped’: The element -blœtr appears to be etymologically related to blót, blóta ‘sacrifice, worship’; on its morphology, see Hkr 1893-1901, IV. The description ‘shield-worshipped’ may allude to a practice of incantation by warriors from under their shields as a prelude to battle (Hávm 156; possibly also Egill Lv 30V (Eg 59)); Tacitus reports a similar practice among Germanic warriors as a form of divination before battle (Björn Magnússon Ólsen 1902, 196-8; Anderson 1938, 1, 3, 1; Mattingly 1970, 103; Marold 2001b, 96 and n. 38). Another explanation of skjaldblœtr might be that shields were sacrificed to Óðinn, although clear archaeological or literary evidence for such a practice in the Viking Age is lacking. The reading of F, skaldblœtr ‘worshipped by skalds’, is preferred by Finnur Jónsson (Hkr 1893-1901; Skj B) but is probably a lectio facilior (Björn Magnússon Ólsen 1902, 196).
kennings
- Skjaldblœtr niðr Ása — The shield-worshipped kinsman of the Æsir <gods> [= Óðinn]