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skaldic

Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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Þul Konunga 3III/2 — ræsir ‘impeller’

Sinjórr, siklingr,         sjóli, ræsir,
skjǫldungr, skilfingr,         skyli ok yngvi,
ynglingr, ylfingr;         eru nú talið
hǫfuðskjǫldunga         heiti nǫkkur.

Sinjórr, siklingr, sjóli, ræsir, skjǫldungr, skilfingr, skyli ok yngvi, ynglingr, ylfingr; nú eru nǫkkur heiti hǫfuðskjǫldunga talið.

Seigneur, prince, chieftain, impeller, descendant of Skjǫldr, descendant of Skelfir, protector and yngvi, descendant of Yngvi, one of the Ylfingar; now some names of the highest rulers have been enumerated.

notes

[2] ræsir (m.) ‘impeller’: A poetic word for ‘ruler’, and the name of one of the sons of Hálfdan gamli (see Introduction above). Falk (1889c, 258) argues that ræsir is a loanword from OE ræswa ‘leader’, but it is more likely to be an agent noun from the weak verb ræsa ‘set in motion’ (so AEW: ræsir; Björn Magnússon Ólsen 1923, 105-6). If so, it must be identical with the word ræsir which frequently occurs as a base-word in kennings for ‘man’ or ‘warrior’, where it is used in its literal sense (‘one who sets in motion, impeller’).

grammar

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