Þul Hauks 1III/1 — hamðir ‘hamðir’
Haukr, hamðir, harmr, Hábrók, tregi,
heiðir, heimþér, hrímnir, kǫglingr,
ginnarr, gamðir ok geirlǫðnir,
gǫllungr, ginnungr ok gaglhati.
Haukr, hamðir, harmr, Hábrók, tregi, heiðir, heimþér, hrímnir, kǫglingr, ginnarr, gamðir ok geirlǫðnir, gǫllungr, ginnungr ok gaglhati.
Hawk, hamðir, sorrow, Hábrók, grief, heath-dweller, heimþér, noise-maker, tracking one, deceiver, amusing one and spear-inviter, screamer, impostor and goose-hater.
notes
[1] hamðir (m.): The meaning of this heiti is uncertain. It is perhaps derived from hamr m. ‘skin’ (so AEW: Hamðir; cf. CVC: hamr ‘esp. the skin of birds flayed off with feathers and wings’) and ‑þér (cf. runic þewaʀ ‘servant’) used as a second element in personal names (cf. the legendary hero Hamðir < Hamþér). This explanation is problematic, however, because ‘genuine’ names with ‑þér as a second element are usually old, and it is doubtful whether the word retained its original meaning in later, made-up words (see AEW: þér 3). Heimþér and gamðir ‘amusing one’ (ll. 3, 5 below) have the same second element. Alternatively, Falk (1925a, 239) suggests that this hawk-heiti could have been derived from a mythical pers. n., based on beliefs in the Norse gods’ abilities to shape-change (e.g. valshamr ‘falcon shape’ owned by Frigg and Freyja; Skm, SnE 1998, I, 2, 24, 30). Another possibility is that the word was related to the weak verb hemja ‘restrain’ and meant ‘tamed one’ (for details, see ÍO: hamðir). As a heiti for ‘hawk’ the word does not occur elsewhere.