1. Erik Noreen, Studier i fornvästnordisk diktning: Andra samlingen, in
Uppsala universitets årsskrift: Filosofi, språkvetenskapoch historiska
vetenskapar, vol. 4 (Uppsala: Akademiska bokhandeln, 1922), pp. 37-63; Bo Almqvist,
Norrön niddiktning, I: Nid mot furstar and Norrön niddiktning, 2:1-2: Nid
mot missionärar: Senmedeltida nidtraditioner, Nordiska texter och
undersökningar, vols. 21 and 23 (Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell, 1965, 1974);
Preben Meulengracht Sørensen, Norrønt nid (Odense: Odense
universitetsforlag, 1980).
2. Vilhjálmur Finsen, Grágás: Konungsbók
([1852], rpt. Odense: Odense universitetsforlag, 1974), pt. 2, pp. 183-85;
Grágás: Staðarhólsbók ([1879], rpt. Odense: Odense
universitetsforlag, 1974), pp. 390-95; Grágás:
page 66
Skálholtsbók m. m. ([1883], rpt.
Odense: Odense universitetsforlag, 1974), pp. 434-35.
3. Vilhjálmur Finsen, Grágás: Konungsbók, pt. 2,
p. 184.
4. All translations from Old Norse are my own.
5. The abbreviations of the names of the skalds and their poems correspond to those
given by Sveinbjörn Egilsson (Lexicon Poeticurn antiquæ linguæ
septentrionalis, 2nd ed., rev. Finnur Jónsson [(1860), rpt. Copenhagen: Atlas, 1966],
pp. xiii-xvi). The text of the poems follows Finnur Jónsson (Den norsk-islandske
skjaldedigtning, 4 vols., vols. lA, 2A: Tekst efter håndskrifterne [Copenhagen:
Gyldendal, 1912-15]; abbreviated in the text as Skj. lA, ZA). For the interpretation of the
poems I have consulted Finnur Jónsson (Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning,
vols. lB, 2B: Rettet tekst [Copenhagen: Gyldendal, 1912-15]; abbreviated in the text as
Skj. lB, 2B) and Ernst Albin Kock (Notations norrœnæ: Anteckningar till
Edda och skaldediktning, in Lunds universitets årsskrift, n.s., pt. 1 [Lund:
Gleerup, 1923-44]; abbreviated in the text as NN), as well as separate commentaries on
the individual stanzas.
6. Cf. Roberta Frank, "Onomastic Play in Kormakr's Verse: The Name Steingerðr,"
Mediaeval Scandinavia, 3 (1970), 1-34.
7. Bjarnar saga hítdœlakappa, in Borgfirðinga
s&ocedil;gur, ed. Sigurður Nordal and Guðni Jónsson, Íslenzk fornrit
(henceforth ÍF), vol. 3 (Reykjavík: Hið íslenzka fornritafélag,
1938), pp. 112-13; Finnur Jónsson, "Tilnavne i den islandske oldlitteratur,"
Aarbøger for nordisk oldkyndighed og historie, 2nd ser., 22 (1907), 190.
8. See Sveinbjörn Egilsson, Lexicon Poeticum, p. 643.
9. Kock's (NN, §750) suggestion "Ullr odds Boðgefnar Loddu" (Ullr of
the point of the river of the valkyrie, that is, Ullr of the point of blood) is unconvincing.
10. Brennu-Njáls saga, ed. Einar Ól. Sveinsson, ÍF, vol.
12 (Reykjavík: Hið íslenzka fornritafélag, 1954), pp. 147,154,160;
Finnur Jónsson, "Tilnavne i den islandske oldlitteratur," p. 224.
11. Despite their shortcomings, Finnur Jónsson's Skj. 1-2B and Kock's
NN are still cited as the standard commentaries on skaldic poetry.
12. See especially Roberta Frank's perspicacious interpretations ("Onomastic Play" and
Old Norse Court Poetry: The Dróttkvætt Stanza, Islandica, vol. 42 [Ithaca:
Cornell Univ. Press, 1978]). See also Margaret Clunies Ross, "Hildr's Ring: A Problem in the
Ragnarsdrápa Strophe 8-10," Mediaeval Scandinavia, 6 (1973), 75-92, and "An
Interpretation of the Myth of Þórr's Encounter with Geirrøðr and
His Daughters," in Specvlvm Norrœnvm: Norse Studies in Memory of Gabriel Turville-Petre, ed. Ursula Dronke et al. (Odense: Odense Univ. Press, 1981), pp. 369-91.
13. In Björn Magnússon (Ólsen, ed., Den tredje og fjærde
grammatiske afhandling i Snorres Edda tilligemed de grammatiske afhandlingers prolog og to
page 67
andre tillæg, Samfund til udgivelse af
gammel nordisk litteratur, vol. 12 (Copenhagen: Fr. G. Knudtzons bogtryckeri, 1884), p. 114.
The obscenity of Egill's kenning was also recognized by Erik Noreen (Studier i
fornvästnordisk diktning, pp. 35-36) and by Kock (NN, §3045). Cf.
Egils saga Skalla-Grímssonar, ed. Sigurður Nordal, ÍF, vol. 2
(Reykjavík: Hið íslenzka fornritafélag, 1933), p. 294.
14. My transcription of this lausavísa follows that of Guðni
Jónsson (Grettis saga Ásmundarsonar, in Grettis saga
Ásmundarsonar, Bandamanna saga, Odds þáttr Ófeigssonar,
ed. Guðni Jónsson, ÍF, vol. 7 [Reykjavík: Hið íslenzka
fornritafé1ag, 1936], pp. 240-41).
15. However, both Finnur Jónsson (Skj. lB, 474) and Kock (ed., Den norsk-isländska skaldediktningen, 2 vols. [Lund: Gleerup, 1946-50], vol. 2, p. 259) preferred
the reading "Hrist hreifa kvista" (Hrist of the twigs of the hand) to "Hrist hrvðju kvista"; cf.
Skj. IA, 443.
16. So Sigurður Nordal (Bjarnar saga, pp. 123-24). See also Walther H.
Vogt, "Die Bjarnar saga hítdœlakappa: Lausavísur, frásegnir, saga,"
Arkiv för nordisk filologi, 37 (1921), 49.
17. Frank, Old Norse Court Poetry, p. 162.
18. See Kock, NN, §743. Finnur Jónsson's construction
"víns skorða" (prop of wine = "woman" [Skj. lB, 277]) requires several
emendations and an artificial word order.
19. Jan de Vries, Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd rev. ed.
(Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1977), p. 499.
20. Frank, "Onomastic Play," pp. 21-23.
21. See also Johann Fritzner, Ordbog over det gamle norske sprog, 4 vols., 4th
ed., ed. Finn Hødnebø ([1896], rpt. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget, 1973), vol. 2, p. 54.
22. The interpretation of the second helmingr is somewhat problematic, but the
main content is clear. See Einar Ól. Sveinsson, Kormáks saga
&Ocedil;gmundarsonar, in Vatnsdœla saga, ed. Einar Ól. Sveinsson,
ÍF, vol. 8 (Reykjavík: Hið íslenzka fornritafélag, 1939), pp.
273-74.
23. In a later article, Finnur Jónsson tentatively emended "garða" to
"Gerði" and used this name as baseword in the woman kenning "Gerðr gaupnelds"
(Gerðr of the fire of the hand) ("Kormákr Ogmundarson," Aarbøger for
nordisk oldkyndighed og historie, 3rd series, 21 [1931], 176).
24. Sveinbjörn Egilsson, Lexicon Poeticum, p. 173.
