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skaldic

Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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Þul Skjaldar 2III/3 — bǫð ‘war’

Gjallr, dǫggskafi         ok gimskýlir,
bǫðljós, grýta         ok bǫðskýlir,
Svalinn ok randi,         saurnir, borði,
skuttingr, barði,         skírr, tvíbyrðingr.

Gjallr, dǫggskafi ok gimskýlir, bǫðljós, grýta ok bǫðskýlir, Svalinn ok randi, saurnir, borði, skuttingr, barði, skírr, tvíbyrðingr.

Clamouring one, dew-scraper and jewel-shelterer, war-light, pot and war-shelterer, Svalinn and edged one, soiled one, boarded one, protector, bordered one, clear one, double-boarded one.

readings

[3] bǫð‑: so A, B, bað‑ R, , barð‑ C

notes

[3] bǫðljós (n.) ‘war-light’: From bǫð f. a poetic term for ‘battle’, and ljós n. ‘light’ (such compounds are usually kennings for ‘sword’). The C variant, barðljós, is a cpd whose first element is barð n. ‘prow’ (hence lit. ‘prow-light’, a reading adopted in Skj B, Skald and Falk 1914b, 148). Barðljós is a kenning (and not a heiti) for ‘shield’ (cf. such shield-kennings as barðmáni ‘prow-moon’, Hfr ErfÓl 26a/6I, originating in the custom of hanging shields on the railings of ships). Neither term is attested elsewhere as heiti for ‘shield’.

grammar

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