Þul Óðins 6III/5 — Svǫlnir ‘Svǫlnir’
Sviðurr ok Skollvaldr, Siggautr ok Viðurr,
Sviðrir, Báleygr, Sigðir, Brúni,
Sigmundr, Svǫlnir, Síðskeggr ok Njótr,
Olgr, Biflindi ok Ennibrattr.
Sviðurr ok Skollvaldr, Siggautr ok Viðurr, Sviðrir, Báleygr, Sigðir, Brúni, Sigmundr, Svǫlnir, Síðskeggr ok Njótr, Olgr, Biflindi ok Ennibrattr.
Sviðurr and Skollvaldr, Siggautr and Viðurr, Sviðrir, Báleygr, Sigðir, Brúni, Sigmundr, Svǫlnir, Síðskeggr and Njótr, Ólgr, Biflindi and Ennibrattr.
readings
[5] Svǫlnir: ‘so᷎lner’ B
notes
[5] Svǫlnir: So A, lit. ‘cooler’; cf. the weak verb svala ‘chill, cool’ and the adj. svalr ‘cold’. Ms. B has ‘so᷎lner’, and the LaufE mss (normalised) Solnir or Sólnir. Svǫlnir may be related to Svalinn, otherwise attested as Svǫl, the shield that stands in front of the sun and cools the earth (cf. Grí 38/1; see also Þul Skjaldar 2/5). According to Falk (1924, 29), Svalinn was originally the name of Óðinn’s shield, and Bragi might have hinted at a connection between the two names when he chose the Óðinn-heiti Svǫlnir for his shield-kenning salpenningi Svǫlnis ‘Svǫlnir’s <= Óðinn’s> hall-penny’ (Rdr 12/1-2). If Falk’s explanation is correct, the actual meaning of Svǫlnir may be ‘the god with the shield’, although that interpretation remains speculative. This Óðinn-heiti frequently occurs in skaldic kennings.