Þul Orrostu 1III/3 — Gǫll ‘Gǫll’
Þau eru heiti: hjaldr ok rimma,
Gǫll, Geirahǫð ok Geirþriful,
róg ok róma, Randgríðr ok storð,
Svipul ok snerra, sig, folk, jara.
Þau eru heiti: hjaldr ok rimma, Gǫll, Geirahǫð ok Geirþriful, róg ok róma, Randgríðr ok storð, Svipul ok snerra, sig, folk, jara.
These are the heiti: din and fray, Gǫll, Geirahǫð and Geirþriful, strife and clash, Randgríðr and tumult, Svipul and fight, battle, war, attack.
readings
[3] Gǫll: gjǫll A, ‘[…]’ B, ‘gio᷎ll’ 744ˣ
notes
[3] Gǫll, Geirahǫð: These are names of valkyries; cf. Gǫll ok Geirahǫð in Gylf (SnE 2005, 50; see also Grí 36/6 (NK 64 n.)). Gǫll is also listed in Þul Valkyrja 1/5, but the word is never used as a heiti for ‘battle’. The only recorded meaning of gǫll f. in skaldic poetry is ‘shriek’ or ‘clang’; thus it is commonly used as a base-word in kennings for ‘battle’ (cf. LP: gǫll). Mss A and B (744ˣ) have the variant reading gjǫll f. ‘din’ (so also the LaufE mss), which is found in poetry as a heiti for ‘battle’. The heiti Geirahǫð, lit. ‘spear-fight’, is not found elsewhere except as a pers. n., but the second element (‑hǫð) is a poetic term for ‘battle’. Ms. B has the variant geira hríð ‘spears’ storm’, which is a kenning for ‘battle’ (see hríð ‘storm’ in st. 2/7). Because the LaufE mss have (normalised) hǫð, hríð is probably an innovation in B (lectio facilior).