Þul Skipa 1III/7 — Naglfari ‘Naglfari’
Nú mun ek skýra of skipa heiti:
ǫrk, árakló, askr, sessrúmnir,
skeið, skúta, skip ok Skíðblaðnir,
nór, Naglfari, nǫkkvi, snekkja.
Nú mun ek skýra of heiti skipa: ǫrk, árakló, askr, sessrúmnir, skeið, skúta, skip ok Skíðblaðnir, nór, Naglfari, nǫkkvi, snekkja.
Now I shall explain the names of ships: ark, oar-claw, ash, roomy-seater, warship, vessel, ship and Skíðblaðnir, nór, Naglfari, rowing boat, warship.
notes
[7] Naglfari: A mythical ship, lit. ‘nail-goer’, also attested as Naglfar in Vsp 50/8 and Gylf (SnE 2005, 36, 50-1). In Gylf (loc. cit.), Nagl- is interpreted as nagl m. ‘nail’ and the ship is said to have been made of dead people’s nails. The first element of the cpd is more likely to have been derived from nagli m. ‘spike’, however, referring to the seam of nails in a ship’s planking (naglar í skipi ‘nails in a ship’ = saumfǫr ‘rivet-row’). Hence, according to Lie (1954), Naglfar(i) was originally a common noun, a ship-heiti of the pars pro toto type similar to saumfǫr ‘rivet-row’ (st. 5/3 below), subsequently reinterpreted as a mythical proper name. Naglfari ‘riveted, decorated with nails or studs’ is also a sword-heiti (Þul Sverða 8/4), as well as the name of Nótt’s husband in Gylf (SnE 2005, 13).