Anon Bjark 5III/8 — Iðja ‘of Iði’
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].
notes
[8] glysmôlum Iðja ‘the shining speeches of Iði <giant> [GOLD]’: This gold-kenning belongs to the type that depends on a mytheme related in Skm (SnE 1998, I, 3). It concerns a giant named Ǫlvaldi who owned a great deal of gold. When he died, his riches had to be distributed equally between his three sons, Þjazi, Iði and Gangr. They ensured a fair distribution of their inheritance by each taking exactly equal numbers of mouthfuls of gold, hence gold can be called the mouthful, voice or speech of giants or of one of these three giants (Meissner 227-8). This kenning type is first attested in an early poem, Bragi Frag 6/2-3; another example is at st. 6/3 below.
kennings
- glysmôlum Iðja. — the shining speeches of Iði <giant>. [GOLD]