ÚlfrU Húsdr 5III/2 — þikling ‘fat one’
Þjokkvǫxnum kvað þykkja
þikling firin*mikla
hafra njótr at hǫfgum
hætting megindrætti.
Njótr hafra kvað þjokkvǫxnum þikling þykkja firin*mikla hætting at hǫfgum megindrætti.
The user of goats [= Þórr] said that it seemed a very great danger to the heavy-set fat one from the weighty powerful pull.
readings
[2] þikling: þiklings U
notes
[1, 2] þjokkvǫxnum þikling ‘to the heavy-set fat one’: All mss have dat. þjokkvǫxnum þikling, but both Skj B and Skald emend to nom. þjokkvaxinn þiklingr, which they take as the subject of kvezk ‘says’ (so ms. U). SnE 1848-87 and SnE 1998 retain the dat., but neither edn comments on the helmingr’s syntactic structure. The R version is acceptable with the small emendation of njóts to njótr with njótr hafra ‘the user of goats’ as the subject of kvað ‘said’ (l. 1). Then the remainder of the helmingr is indirect speech with an acc. with inf. construction introduced by kvað ‘he said’ (kvað þykkja). An overt acc. form is missing because the verb þykkja is impersonal (þykkir e-m ‘it seems to sby’). By incorporating þjokkvǫxnum þikling ‘heavy-set fat one’ into Þórr’s speech, this expression becomes the god’s insult to the giant.