Anon Bjark 5III/6 — Mardallar ‘of Mardǫll’
Ýtti ǫrr hilmir — aldir við tóku —
Sifjar svarðfestum, svelli dalnauðar,
tregum Otrs gjǫldum, tôrum Mardallar,
eldi Órunar, Iðja glysmôlum.
Ǫrr hilmir ýtti – aldir tóku við – svarðfestum Sifjar, svelli dalnauðar, tregum gjǫldum Otrs, tôrum Mardallar, eldi Órunar, glysmôlum Iðja.
The generous prince distributed – the men received [it] – Sif’s <goddess’s> scalp-cords [HAIR > GOLD], ice of the bow-compulsion [ARM > SILVER], the reluctant payment for Otr [GOLD], the tears of Mardǫll <= Freyja> [GOLD], the fire of Órun <river> [GOLD], the shining speeches of Iði <giant> [GOLD].
readings
[6] Mardallar: ‘marþallar’ U, ‘[…]dallar’ B, mardallar 744ˣ
notes
[6] tôrum Mardallar ‘the tears of Mardǫll <= Freyja> [GOLD]’: Mardǫll is an alternative name for the goddess Freyja (cf. Þul Ásynja 3/1-2 and 6), who is said to have wept tears of gold at the frequent absences of her peripatetic husband Óðr (SnE 2005, 29), possibly an alternative name for the god Óðinn. Gold-kennings of this type (Meissner 227) are not very common in early skaldic poetry (Þhorn Lv 1/2I and Ólhelg Lv 9/6I are the only examples, and the reading of the former is uncertain), but are used no less than four times by Einarr Skúlason in ESk Øxfl (1/1, 4, 2/1, 2, 3, 3/5, 8, 9/4), once (1/1, 4) referring to Freyja as Mardǫll, while SnSt Ht 42/6, 8 has the gold-kenning fagrregn hvarma Mardallar ‘the fair rain of the eyelids [TEARS] of Mardǫll <= Freyja> [GOLD]’. There is also a reference to Mardǫll’s tears in Anon Mhkv 8/3.
kennings
- tôrum Mardallar, — the tears of Mardǫll <= Freyja>, [GOLD]