Anon Bjark 4III/8 — dúni ‘feather-bed’
Gramr inn gjǫflasti gœddi hirð sína
Fenju forverki, Fáfnis miðgarði,
Glasis glóbarri, Grana fagrbyrði,
Draupnis dýrsveita, dúni Grafvitnis.
Inn gjǫflasti gramr gœddi hirð sína forverki Fenju, miðgarði Fáfnis, glóbarri Glasis, fagrbyrði Grana, dýrsveita Draupnis, dúni Grafvitnis.
The most munificent prince enriched his retinue with Fenja’s <giantess’s> toil [GOLD], Fáfnir’s <dragon’s> land [GOLD], Glasir’s <grove’s> glowing foliage [GOLD], Grani’s <horse’s> fair burden [GOLD], Draupnir’s <mythical ring’s> precious sweat [GOLD], Grafvitnir’s <snake’s> feather-bed [GOLD].
readings
[8] dúni: ‘[…]’ B, ‘dune’ 744ˣ
notes
[8] dúni Grafvitnis ‘Grafvitnir’s <snake’s> feather-bed [GOLD]’: Grafvitnir ‘grave-wolf’ (AEW: grafa) is a snake-heiti; cf. SnE 1998, I, 90, Grí 34/5 and Þul Orma 2/1 (see Note there). A very similar kenning, beð Grafvitnis ‘Grafvitnir’s bed’, is in ESk Øxfl 6/4. According to a notion common in both Old English and Old Norse poetry, serpents and dragons were in the habit of lying on hoards of gold, often concealed in mounds (cf. Beowulf ll. 2231b-2310 and Beowulf 2008, 238-9), hence in a large group of gold-kennings gold could be termed the bed or lair of a snake; cf. Meissner 237-41. Fáfnir’s legendary gold (see l. 4 above) served as a paradigmatic example of this thought-pattern.
kennings
- dúni Grafvitnis. — Grafvitnir’s <snake’s> feather-bed. [GOLD]
grammar
case: dat.