Gade, Kari Ellen, et al. (eds.). 2009. Poetry from the Marold, Edith. 1983. Kenningkunst: Ein Beitrag zu Kings’ Sagas 2: From c.1035–c.1300. 2 vols. einer Poetik der Skaidendichtung. Berlin: De Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 2. Gruyter. Turnhout: Brepols. Meissner, Rudolph. 1921. Die Kenningar der Skalden: Goddard, Cliff. 1998. Semantic Analysis. Oxford: Ein Beitrag zur skaldischen Poetik. Bonn, Leipzig: Oxford University Press. Kurt Schroeder. Guðbrandur Vigfússon & Frederick York Powell. Merwe-Scholtz, Herik van der. 1927. The Kenning in 1883. Corpus Poeticum Boreale: The Poetry of the Anglo-Saxon and Old Norse Poetry. Utrecht: N.V. Old Northern Tongue from the Earliest Times to the Dekker & Van de Vegt. Thirteenth Century II: Court Poetry. Oxford: Ney, Agneta, Henrik Williams & Fredrik Charpentier Oxford University Press. Ljungqvist (eds.). 2009. Á austrvega: Saga and Gurevich, Elena. 2002. “Skaldic Variation and East Scandinavia: Preprint Papers of The 14th Evolution of Kenning Patterns”. Skandinavistik 32: International Saga Conference Uppsala, 9th–15th 31–38. August 2009. Gävle: Gävle University Press. Gurevich, Elena. 1992. “Þulur in Skáldskaparmál: An Nordal, Guðrún. 2001. Tools of Literacy: The Role of Attempt at Skaldic Lexicology”. Arkiv för Nordisk Skaldic Verse in Icelandic Textual Culture of the Filologi 103: 35–52. Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries. Toronto: Haukur Þorgeirsson. 2008. “‘Hinn fagri foldar son’: University of Toronto Press. Þáttur úr handrita- og viðtökusögu Snorra-Eddu”. Orton, Peter. 2007. “Spouting Poetry: Cognitive Gripla 19: 159–168. Metaphor and Conceptual Blending in the Old Holland, Gary. 2005. “Kennings, Metaphors, and Norse Myth of the Poetic Mead”. In Constructing Semantic Formulae in Norse dróttkvætt”. Arkiv för Nations, Reconstructing Myth. Ed. Andrew Wawn. Nordisk Filologi 120: 123–147. Making the Middle Ages 9. Turnhout: Brepols. Pp. Jesch, Judith. 2009. “The Sea-Kings of Litla Skálda”. 277–300. In Ney, Williams & Ljungqvist 2009: 443–451 Petruck, Miriam. 1996. “Frame Semantics”. In Krömmelbein, Thomas. 1983. Skaldische Metaphorik: Handbook of Pragmatics. Ed. J. Verschueren, J.-O. Studien zur Funktion der Kenningsprache in Östman, J. Blommaert, & C. Bulcaen. Amsterdam, skaldischen Dichtungen des 9. und 10. Philadelphia: John Benjamins. Pp: 1–13. Jahrhunderts. Kirchzarten: Burg-Verlag. Quinn, Judy. 1994. “Eddu list: The Emergence of Lie, Hallvard. 1952. “Skaldestil-studier”. Maal og Skaldic Pedagogy in Medieval Iceland”. alvíssmál Minne 1952: 1–92 4: 69–92. Lindblad, Gustaf. 1976. “Den rätta läsningen av Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages: Isländska homilieboken”. Scripta Islandica 26: 25– Skaldic Database. 2001–2012. Available at: 45. http://skaldic.arts.usyd.edu.au/db.php?if=default&ta Lindow, John. 1975. “Riddles, Kennings, and the ble=home&view. Complexity of Skaldic Poetry”. Scandinavian Skj = Finnur Jónsson 1912–1915. Studies 47: 311–327. Sullivan, Karen. 2008. “Genre-Dependent Metonymy Lindow, John. 1982. “Narrative and the Nature of in Norse Skaldic Poetry”. Language and Literature Skaldic Poetry”. Arkiv för Nordisk Filologi 97: 94– 17: 21–36. 121. Sveinbjörn Egilsson & Finnur Jónsson. 1931. Lexicon Loescher, Gerhard. 1981. “Raudulfs Þáttr”. Zeitschrift poeticum antiquæ linguæ septentrionalis. 2nd edn. für deutsches Altertum und deutsche Literatur Copenhagen: Møller. 110(4): 253–266. Sverdlov, Ilya. 2003. “Extra Elements in Kennings, or Louis-Jensen, Jonna. 1981. “Vǫndr er Máría mynduð”. Different Ways to Feed the Wolf Single- In Specvlvm Norroenvm: Norse Studies in Memory Wordedly”. Skandinavistik 33(2): 101–113. of Gabriel Turville-Petre. Ed. Ursula Dronke et al. Odense: Odense University Press. Pp. 328–336.
Poetic Formulas in Late Medieval Icelandic Folk Poetry: The Case of Vambarljóð Haukur Þorgeirsson, University of Iceland
A group of alliterative poems recorded from poetic formulas in one such poem, oral tradition in late 17th century Iceland share Vambarljóð. Using a simple comparative textual similarities or poetic formulas with method, I attempt to identify which poems each other and with older poetry in similar share the greatest formulaic affinity with the meters, including poems in the Poetic Edda. poem under study. The article explores the The present article contains a survey of the reason why Vambarljóð shares formulas with
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older poetry and argues in favor of a Vambarljóð and Its Manuscripts continuous oral tradition rather than learned Vambarljóð tells a fairy-tale about a princess borrowings. named Signý. She is cursed by her stepmother and transformed into a cow’s stomach. To The sagnakvæði break the curse she uses magic and cunning to In the second half of the 17th century there force a prince into marrying her. was a new development in the history of The poem is published in Ólafur Icelandic poetry. Starting in the Western Davíðsson’s 1898 collection of folk poetry Fjords, members of the intellectual elite came but the edition is not reliable (Aðalheiður to be interested in collecting folk poetry and Guðmundsdóttir 1997) so I have made a new committing it to writing. The collectors study of the manuscripts. classified the poems they were writing down The manuscripts NKS 1141 fol (=V1) and to as fornkvæði [‘old poems’]. These were JS 405 4 (=V2) are faithful copies of the poems of unknown authorship, circulating in same lost manuscript, referred to by Jón an oral tradition as entertainment for the Helgason as V (Jón Helgason 1960: 39–41). common people. Most of the poems in the The V manuscript was written in 1699–1700. fornkvæði collections are ballads, usually It is not clear whether the scribe of V translated from Scandinavian ballads which recorded Vambarljóð directly from oral are still otherwise extant in some form. Many tradition or whether he followed a written of the ballads must have reached Iceland no source. In the V version, the poem consists of th later than the 15 century and then spent a 62 stanzas. There is a copy of the V1 text of couple of centuries circulating in the oral Vambarljóð in JS 406 4to. tradition (Vésteinn Ólason 1982). The manuscript Thott 489 8vo (=T) The Icelandic ballad collections, however, contains a copy of the first three strophes of also contain poems with no parallel on the Vambarljóð (=T1) and then a full copy of the continent, namely poems in the eddic poem (=T2), consisting of 70 strophes. What fornyrðislag meter. These poems, referred to seems to have happened here is that the scribe as sagnakvæði [‘folktale poems’], share with had access to two versions of the poem. He the ballads proper a certain feminine began to write down one but after three sensibility and taste and seem to have co- strophes he decided that the other version was existed with them in the oral tradition. more suitable for his purposes and started There are only eight1 preserved over. The text he now decided to use as his sagnakvæði, all published in 1898 but little base seems to have been derived from V. But studied since then. In previous articles I have on several occasions he referred back to his examined two sagnakvæði in some detail; first source and took additional strophes and Gullkársljóð and Þóruljóð (Haukur some variants from there, thus producing a Þorgeirsson 2010; 2011). On the basis of hybrid text. metrical and linguistic criteria, I argued that The manuscript NKS 1894 4to (=N) these two poems are relatively early, perhaps preserves a recording of the poem from oral originally composed in the 14th century. This tradition made for Árni Magnússon. The is not to say that the 17th century versions we informant was afgömul kerling, móðir now have are 14th century texts in pristine Guðmundar Bergþórssonar [‘an ancient condition; allowances must be made for woman, the mother of Guðmundur changes in the process of oral transmission. Bergþórsson’] (NKS 1894 4to, p. 154). One striking aspect of the sagnakvæði, Guðmundur Bergþórsson (1657–1705) was a which I have until now not examined in any major rímur poet. His mother appears in the detail, is the prevalence of textual similarities Icelandic census of 1703 under the name or formulas within and between individual Þorbjörg Guðmundsdóttir, born in 1636. poems. As a start to coming to grips with this, According to the scant sources available, she I would like to examine the potential use of was a poor woman and a lover of poetry. Her formulas in one poem, Vambarljóð. son spoke kindly of her in his poetry (Finnur Sigmundsson 1947).
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The recording of the poem in N consists of Formulas and Other Textual Similarities only 27 strophes. It is introduced with a few In what follows I will seek to list instances of sentences in prose and has some rather abrupt textual similarities between verses in transitions compared to the more extensive Vambarljóð and other texts. In cases where recordings in V and T. Nevertheless, it is two poems have a similar choice of words recognizably the same poem. The manuscripts there are, generally speaking, several JS 581 4to and Lbs 202 8vo contain the same possibilities. Some of them are: text and are probably derived from N. 1. The choice of words originated with the According to Jón Þorkelsson (1888: 208), to first poem. The poet who composed the the manuscript JS 398 4 contains a version second poem knew the first poem and of Vambarljóð whose first few verses he cites. borrowed the phrasing from it, whether Those are similar (but not identical) to the consciously or unconsciously. text in T1. Ólafur Davíðsson also lists this 2. The choice of words originated with a poem manuscript as containing a copy of that is now lost. Both the extant poems Vambarljóð. Unfortunately, I have not been borrowed from that lost poem. able to find any trace of the poem here. Nor is 3. The phrasing was in wide circulation but the manuscript listed as containing the poem only the two instances in question happen in the manuscript catalogue (Páll Eggert to be preserved. 4. Two poets coincidentally hit upon the same Ólason 1935–1937: 411). A possible to phrasing. explanation is that Jón got JS 398 4 confused with T and then quoted T1 somewhat Generally speaking, I do not think there are imprecisely. The catalogue does list Lbs 2033 any effective methods available for 4to, a collection of materials belonging to Jón distinguishing between possibilities (1), (2) Þorkelsson, as containing Vambarljóð but the and (3). For my purposes here, I think such a relevant part of the collection is on loan distinction is not necessary and for abroad and I have not been able to access it convenience, I will refer to all non- yet. coincidental textual similarities between two There is another, longer, poem called strophes as poetic formulas. Vambarljóð preserved in Lbs 985 4to and AM I agree with Joseph Harris that 154 8vo (there is a copy of the latter in NKS traditionally: to 1894 4 ). Both manuscripts are defective. Eddic scholarship seems to have This poem tells the same story as the previous overestimated the individual borrowings and one and in the same meter but there are undervalued the force of collective tradition, almost no textual similarities. I regard it as a especially at the level of lexical choice and separate work and will not discuss it further phrasing. (Harris 2008: 211.) here. There are two 18th century rímur cycles A research program that puts its main focus based on this version, one by Þórður Pálsson on supposed borrowings and allusions, as if (ÍB 895 8vo and Lbs 2324 4to) and one by we were working with modern written Helgi Bjarnason (Lbs 985 4to and JS 579 4to). literature, will quickly find itself on tenuous It is not my objective here to date ground. Bernt Øyvind Thorvaldsen (2008) Vambarljóð but it is worth noting that shows this convincingly for the case of linguistically and metrically the poem, as it Þrymskviða. has come down to us, seems less archaic than Oral-formulaic theory offers a either Gullkársljóð or Þóruljóð. As we shall counterbalance to the traditional focus on see, however, it does have a significant borrowings and allusions but I am not number of textual similarities to old poetry. attempting to apply oral theory to the I use the complete text of Vambarljóð in T 2 Icelandic material (for work in that vein see as a basis for my investigation below. Gísli Sigurðsson 1990, for a recent overview Variants from V, N and T are mentioned as 1 of the study of orality in Old Norse verse, see occasions seem to warrant. For convenience, I Frog 2011). The present survey is concerned normalize the spelling but I make no attempt with relationships of verbal elements across to archaize it.
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texts and the relevance of these relationships Kringilnefjukvæði 18.3–4 (Þulur 41): for the composition in and continuities of the þú skalt skunda / til skipa ofan poetic idiom rather than flexibility and [‘you shall hurry down to the ships’] variation of that idiom in the process of Kringilnefjukvæði 19.1–2 (Þulur 41): reproduction by a single performer or as a skunda eg ekki / til skipa ofan historical process of transmission from one [‘I will not hurry down to the ships’] performer to the next.2 Kringilnefjukvæði 22.1–2 (Þulur 42): For my purposes here, I define a formula skundar hún síðan / til skipa ofan operationally as ‘a combination of words [‘then she hurries down to the ships’] found at least twice in texts using a poetic register but not elsewhere’. I sometimes relax Bryngerðarljóð 37.3–4 (Þulur 88): this to require only one identical word if the skundað hefir skjöldungur / til skipa sinna [‘the king has hurried to his ships’] semantic or structural context is otherwise similar. I have thus cast a fairly wide net and Hervararkviða 15.7–8 (Skj BII: 266): included some textual similarities which skynt mær ef mátt / til skipa þinna could be coincidental. My definition would [‘hurry, maiden, if you can, to your ships’] allow many kennings to be included as This formula (previously discussed in Haukur formulas but I will nevertheless consider Þorgeirsson 2010: 320–321) occurs in four of kennings in a separate section. the sagnakvæði and also in two poems in the When searching for formulas in legendary sagas. The word skunda is common Vambarljóð, I read the poem through line by in the rímur but it rarely alliterates with skip line and searched for phrases and individual and the instances which I am aware of do not words in an electronic concordance which I appear to be a part of this formulaic system. have assembled containing most Icelandic The instances are: poetry prior to 1550 and a selection of 5 younger poems. When I found similarities Úlfhams rímur V.21.3 (Rímnasafn II: 158): that seemed interesting I typically followed skunda af hafinu skip svó fríð [‘the ships so fair hurry from the sea’] up the words involved in dictionaries and commentaries. The Dictionary of Old Norse Pontus rímur I.59.3 (Magnús Jónsson et al. 1961: Prose (ONP) and Ritmálssafn Orðabókar 11): Háskólans were particularly useful. I also af skipunum tólf þeir skunda hratt used Google and Google Books, as a quick [‘they hurry quickly from the twelve ships’] way to find possible prose occurrences. Formula M2 Formulas in Multiple Texts Vambarljóð 57.3 (Þulur 52), In what follows, I will list the possible Kötludraumur 44.3 (Þulur 10), formulas that I have been able to find in Bryngerðarljóð 9.2 (Þulur 85), Vambarljóð. We will start with formulas that Bryngerðarljóð 10.2 (Þulur 85), occur in more than two texts; I will label Bryngerðarljóð 57.3 (Þulur 90): those formulas with the prefix M. svinn seima Bil [‘the wise Bil of gold’]
Formula M1 The kenning seima Bil occurs in a strophe in Vambarljóð 67.3–4 (Þulur 54):3 Vǫlsa þáttr (Skj BII: 237) and some 15 times en eg mun skunda / til skipa ofan in the medieval rímur. In three of those fifteen [‘and I will hurry down to the ships’] cases it is combined with the adjective svinnr:
Ǫrvar-Odds saga IX.13.1–2 (Skj BII: 327): Ölvis rímur III.58.3 (Ölvis rímur): Réðum skunda / til skipa ofan svinna seima Bil [‘we hurried down to the ships’] [‘the wise Bil of gold’]
Gullkársljóð 31.3–4 (Þulur 79):4 Konráðs rímur II.52.1 (Wisén 1881: 110): verð eg að skunda / til skipa ofan svinnust seima Bil [‘I must hurry down to the ships’] [‘the wisest Bil of gold’]
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Landrés rímur II.70.3 (Rímnasafn II: 407): [‘Virtuous and wise king, tell in more detail svinnri gef eg það seima Bil than I can ask to Sigurðr, if you seem to [‘I will give it to the wise Bil of gold’] see’]
Although these could be regarded as instances Grípisspá 30.3–4 (Neckel–Kuhn 1983: 168): of the same formula, it should be kept in mind segðu, Grípir, þat, / ef þú siá þicciz that the word svinnur is very common in the [‘Tell this, Grípir, if you seem to see’] rímur and alliterates conveniently with In this case we seem to have three related kennings including the common seima formula systems: element. Instances can be found of: 1. segðu + sjá þykjast (Bryngerðarljóð 60, svinnur + seima þöll Grípisspá 8, 30) svinnur + seima grund 2. svik + sjá þykjast (Vambarljóð 7, svinnur + seima Ná Helgakviða Hundingsbana II 40, 41) svinnur + seima brú 3. hér sit eg hjá þér / og sjá þykjunst svinnur + seima rjóðr (Vambarljóð 7, Bryngerðarljóð 11) svinnur + seima Týr – etc. Vambarljóð 7 instantiates type 2 and 3 In contrast, seima Bil occurs nowhere in the together. The sjá þykjast element can be sagnakvæði apart from the instances listed regarded as a base formula within the system. above and in all five instances the phrase It always occurs in a line with the same svinn seima Bil covers a single verse. This metrical structure (type C in Sievers’ system). seems sufficient to regard it as a formula Mellor makes some more general points rather than coincidence. about the formulaic use of segðu in the Poetic Edda. He concludes that certain peculiarities Formula M3 in the use of segðu phrases in Grípisspá Vambarljóð 7.1–4 (Þulur 47): indicate that “the poet of Grípispá [sic] is a Hér sit eg hjá þér / og sjá þykjunst lesser poet and, perhaps, a poet not working að munir, siklingur, / fyrir svikum verða. within the tradition” (Mellor 2008: 122). This [‘I sit here by you and I seem to see that seems an overly bold conclusion. While its you, king, will be afflicted by deception’] aesthetic merits can of course be debated,
Helgakviða Hundingsbana II 40.1–2 (Neckel– Grípisspá has its share of traditional formulas. Kuhn 1983: 159): A poor poem can still be a traditional poem Hvárt ero þat svic ein, / er ec siá þicciomz ... ? and I am not convinced that Grípisspá is a [‘Is that only a deception, which I seem to poor poem. see?’]
Helgakviða Hundingsbana II 41.1–2 (Neckel– Formula M4 Kuhn 1983: 159): Vambarljóð 34.5–8 (Þulur 50): Era þat svic ein, / er þú siá þicciz spurði á móti / margs fróðlega, [‘It is not only a deception which you seem ‘eða er hér nokkuð / nýtt í fréttum?’ to see’] Vambarljóð 64.5–8 (Þulur 53): Bryngerðarljóð 11.1–2 (Þulur 85): spurði á móti / margs fróðlega, Hér sit eg hjá þér / og sjá þykjunst ‘eða er hér nokkuð / nýtt í fréttum?’ [‘I sit here by you and I seem to see’] [‘He asked many knowledgeable
Bryngerðarljóð 60.5–6 (Þulur 91): questions in turn, “or is there anything new to report?”’] Segðu hið sanna til / því eg sjá þykist [‘Tell the truth about this because I seem to Kötludraumur 32.5–6 (Þulur 9): see’] Hvort er nokkuð / nýtt í fréttum
[‘Is there anything new to report?’] Grípisspá 8.1–4 (Neckel–Kuhn 1983: 165): Segðu, gegn konungr, / gerr, enn ec spyria, Bryngerðarljóð 37.5–6 (Þulur 88): snotr, Sigurði, / ef þú siá þicciz Vera mun nokkuð / nýtt í fréttum [‘There will be something new to report’]
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Formula M5 suspect that Ǫrvar-Odds saga paraphrases a poetic formula similar to the one preserved in Vambarljóð 14.7–8 (Þulur 48): því að mart við þig / mæla eg vildi the two sagnakvæði. [‘because I would like to say many things to you’] Formula M8
Bryngerðarljóð 51.3–4 (Þulur 90): Vambarljóð 5.1–2 (Þulur 46): kvaðst hún mart við þig / mæla vilja Fagurvaxin gekk / við föður að mæla [‘she said that she would like to say many [‘the shapely one went to speak with her things to you’] father’]
Merlínússpá I 41.7–8 (Skj BII: 18): Grípisspá 2.3–4 (Neckel–Kuhn 1983: 164): kvezk mart við svín / mæla vilja mun sá gramr við mic / ganga at mæla? [‘he says that he would like to say many [‘Will that king go to speak with me?’]
things to the pig’] Skírnismál 2.3 (Neckel–Kuhn 1983: 69): ef ec geng at mæla við mǫg Formula M6 [‘if I go to speak with my son’]
Vambarljóð 33.1–2 (Þulur 50): Formula M8 is a borderline case; the Heim kom að hausti / horskur stillir similarity could be coincidental. I include it [‘the wise leader came home in the autumn’] here because ganga at mæla is an unusual Vambarljóð 45.5–6 (Þulur 51): turn of phrase in Icelandic; I have not found it hélt heim þaðan / horskur stillir elsewhere in poetry or prose. Nevertheless, it [‘the wise leader went home from there’] is not flagged as a formula by Thorvaldsen
Gullkársljóð 37.1–2 (Þulur 80): (2006: 224) or the Kommentar (II: 71) and Heim kom að hausti / herjar [v.l. horskur] that may turn out to be correct. stillir [‘the leader of the host [v.l. the wise leader] Formula M9 came home in the autumn’] Vambarljóð 62.3–4 (Þulur 53): Ǫrvar-Odds saga IX.46.1–2 (Skj BII: 333): og þig, mær, / við mundi kaupa Fóru heim þaðan / horskir drengir [‘and buy you, maiden, with a bridal [‘the wise and valiant men went home from payment’] there’] Kringilnefjukvæði 32.3–4 (Þulur 43):
Eg vil meyjuna / mundi kaupa Formula M7 [‘I want to buy the maiden with a bridal Vambarljóð 16.1–4 (Þulur 48): payment’]
Gakk í öndvegi / æðra að sitja, Grípisspá 30.5–6 (Neckel–Kuhn 1983: 168): eig svo við mig / át og drykkju mun ec meyna / mundi kaupa [‘Come to the nobler high-seat and sit down, [‘I will buy the maiden with a bridal then have food and drink with me’] payment’] Þóruljóð 19.5–8 (Haukur Þorgeirsson 2011: 215): Hálfs saga IX.9.5–6 (Skj BII: 288): Gakktu í öndugi / og æðra sæti mey bað hverja / mundi kaupa eigðu ung við mig / át og drykkju [v.l. ‘ung’ [‘He asked that every maiden be bought with a omitted] bridal payment’] [‘Come to the high-seat, and the nobler seat. Have food and drink with me.’] See Kommentar (V: 187) for some notes on this expression. Ǫrvar-Odds saga prose (Boer 1888: 171): Stíg upp, Oddr, í hásætit hjá oss ok eig við oss át ok drykkju! Formula M10 [‘Step up, Oddr, into the high-seat with us and Vambarljóð 6.5–6 (Þulur 47): have food and drink with us’] Mey veit eg öngva / né manns konu
[‘I know of no maiden, nor a man’s wife’] As I suggested on a previous occasion (Haukur Þorgeirsson 2011: 220), one might
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Lokasenna 37.4–5 (Neckel–Kuhn 1983: 104): Breta sögur alliterative prose (ONP: s.v. ‘dǿlska’): mey hann né grœtir / né mannz kono gnægri hafi þér Bretar dul ok dælsku, hól ok [‘he does not bring a maiden to tears, nor a hræsni, heldr en harðleik ok hyggendi man’s wife’] [‘you Britons have more conceit and foolishness, self-flattery and vanity rather Sigrdrífumál 32.4–5 (Neckel–Kuhn 1983: 196): than toughness and wisdom’] mey þú teygiat / né mannz kono [‘do not seduce a maiden, nor a man’s wife’] The Hávamál phrase is not flagged by
Hávamál 163.3 (Neckel–Kuhn 1983: 44): Thorvaldsen (2006: 191) as a formula, mey né mannz kono presumably because of the obscurity of the [‘a maiden nor a man’s wife’] other sources containing it. The alliteration between dælskr and dul seems to make Formula M10 is listed by Thorvaldsen along formula M12 a reasonably clear case. The with some further examples of mær–maðr word dælskr is very rare in Icelandic. collocations (Thorvaldsen 2006: 271). Formula M13 Formula M11 Vambarljóð 2.1–2 (Þulur 46): Vambarljóð 9.7–8 (Þulur 47): Ól sér döglingur / dóttur eina Sit þú, hilmir, heill / með huga glöðum [‘the king begat one daughter’] [‘Sit hail, king, in glad spirits’] Gullkársljóð 2.3–4 (Þulur 76): Vambarljóð 39.7–8 (Þulur 50): þó átti döglingur / dóttur eina Vertu hilmir heill / með huga glöðum [‘yet the king had one daughter’] [‘Be hail, king, in glad spirits’] These two cases may be coincidental. The Hymiskviða 11.1–2 (Neckel–Kuhn 1983: 90): following two occurrences in the rímur are, Ver þú heill, Hymir, / í hugom góðom! however, so similar that a connection seems [‘Be hail, Hymir, in good spirits!’] likely: Runic inscription N B380 from Bergen:6 Heill sé þú / ok í hugum góðum Geðraunir I.11.1–2 (Rímnasafn II: 173): [‘Be hail and in good spirits’] Dögling ól við dúka Fríð / dóttur eina væna [‘the king begat one fine daughter with the Hervarar saga III.20.3–4 (Skj BII: 269): Fríðr of cloth’] nú er hilmis mær / í hugum góðum [‘Now the king’s maiden is in good spirits’] Sigurðar rímur þögla I.28.1–2 (Þorvaldur Sigurðsson 1986: 70): Thorvaldsen (2006: 273) regards the heill– Dögling ól við dúka Gná / dóttur eina ríka hugr collocation as a formula and lists some [‘the king begat one great daughter with the additional examples. Vambarljóð and Gná of cloth’] Hervararkviða suggest hilmir–hugr as another possible formula. Formulas in Two Texts The N manuscript has this alternative We will now look at formulas which occur in version: Vambarljóð and only one other text; I will label those with the prefix T. Sittu heill, kóngur, / með hirð glöðu [‘Sit hail, king, with the glad court’] Formula T1
Formula M12 Vambarljóð 2.5–6 (Þulur 46): hafði hverja / hannyrð numið Vambarljóð 37.1–2 (Þulur 50): [‘she had learned every sort of needlework’] Þið eruð dælskir / og dulberir [‘You are foolish and conceited’] Gullkársljóð 4.7–8 (Þulur 77): og á hvern veg / hannyrð nema Hávamál 57.6 (Neckel–Kuhn 1983: 26): [‘and in every way learn needlework’] enn til dœlscr af dul [‘but too foolish from conceit’]
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Formula T2 Formula T6 Vambarljóð 11.5–8 (Þulur 47): Vambarljóð 67.1–2 (Þulur 54): spurt hef eg alllítt / öðling heilan Það skulu aðrir / ýtar þjóna og mun eg brátt á því / bætur vinna [‘other men will serve’] [‘I have heard that the king is not at all well Gullkársljóð 21.5–6 (Þulur 78): and I will soon improve upon that’] Þér skulu allir / ýtar þjóna Gullkársljóð 51.5–8 (Þulur 82): [‘other men will serve you’] Spurt hef eg Æsu / alllítt heila, mun eg brátt á því / bætr vinna Formula T7 [‘I have heard that Æsa is not at all well, I will soon improve upon that’] Vambarljóð 68.1–2 (Þulur 54): Dreif drengjalið / á dreka gylltan
Formula T3 Bryngerðarljóð 35.1–2 (Þulur 88): Dreif drengjalið / á dreka gylltan Vambarljóð 34.1–4 (Þulur 50): [‘a host of valiant men rushed onto the golden Illt er undrum / eptir að frétta dragon-ship’] og þó er enn verra / að vita af sýnum. [‘It is bad to ask about wonders and yet it is worse still to know beyond doubt’] Formula T8
Vambarljóð 48.1–4 (Þulur 51): Vambarljóð 30.5–8 (Þulur 49): Illt er undrum / eptir að frétta eg skal hvern dag / hjarðar gæta þó enn verra / vita að sýnum en þið sæl megið / sitja heima [‘It is bad to ask about wonders, yet worse [‘I will watch the herd every day but you still to know beyond doubt’] two can sit happy at home’]
Gullkársljóð 66.1–4 (Þulur 83): Bryngerðarljóð 14.5–8 (Þulur 86): Illt er undrum / eptir að frétta Þig bað hann heima / hjarðar gæta þó er enn verra / að vita sýnna en mig ganga / hvert gaman þætti. [‘It is bad to ask about wonders, yet it is [‘He asked you to watch the herd at home worse still to know more clearly’] but me to go where I would enjoy myself’]
Examples of formula T8 share only one Formula T4 identical line but there are clear thematic Vambarljóð 56.3–4 (Þulur 52): similarities. vertu fljóð komið / með fagnaði [‘be welcome, girl, with good cheer’] Formula T9
Gullkársljóð 71.3–4 (Þulur 84): Vambarljóð 1.5–6 (Þulur 46): og þótti fljóð komið / með fagnaði konu átti sér / kynstórrar ættar [‘and felt the girl had come with good cheer’] [‘he had a wife from a noble family’]
Kringilnefjukvæði 1.5–6 (Þulur 39): Formula T5 konu átti hann sér / af kyni góðu Vambarljóð 60.6 (Þulur 53): [‘he had a wife from a good family’]
úr ánauð þegið The textual variants are worth presenting [‘delivered from oppression’] here. The half-stanza has the following form Gullkársljóð 22.4 (Þulur 78): in T1: úr nauðum þegin [‘delivered from distress’] Konu átti sér, / kænn að afli, kappsamur konungur, / af kyni góðu. The resemblance here may seem weak at first [‘That energetic king, keen in might, had a glance, but this use of the word þiggja wife from a good family’]
[normally ‘accept’] is unusual and distinctive. The form in V is as follows: The words ánauð and nauðir share a root morpheme and have a similar meaning. Konu átti hann sér / kynstórrar ættar, kappsamur konungur / kænn að flestu.
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[‘That energetic king, keen in most things, Formula T14 had a wife from a noble family’] Vambarljóð 39.1–2 (Þulur 50): The T2 instance is identical to the one in V Reiður gekk þaðan / rekka drottinn except that the word hann is missing. The Hyndluljóð yngri 23.1–2 (Þulur 67): stanza is not in N, which has a short prose Reiður gekk þaðan / rekka drottinn introduction instead of the first five stanzas of [‘The lord of men walked angry from there’] V and T. Vambarljóð 41.1–2 (Þulur 50): Formula T10 Þá réð að reiðast / rekka drottinn [‘Then the lord of men grew angry’] Vambarljóð 18.5–6 (Þulur 48): ein á skógi Hyndluljóð is one of the sagnakvæði. To distinguish it from the poem of the same Kringilnefjukvæði 6.5–6 (Þulur 39): name preserved in Flateyjarbók I refer to it ein á skógi here as Hyndluljóð yngri [‘the younger [‘alone in the woods’] Hyndluljóð’]. This seems like it might be a common phrase, A stanza in the 17th century Hyndlu rímur but I have not found it anywhere else, in paraphrases Hyndluljóð yngri: poetry or prose. Hyndlu rímur III.40.1 (Steinunn Finnsdóttir 1950: 26): Formula T11 Reiður þaðan rekka drottinn réð burt vitja [‘The lord of men went angry from there’] Vambarljóð 19.3–4 (Þulur 48): að þú fegri ert / fljóði hverju In this case, it seems safe to assume that we [‘that you are fairer than every girl’] have a direct textual borrowing (Bergljót Kringilnefjukvæði 11.7–8 (Þulur 40): Kristjánsdóttir 1996: 214). The rímur are að þú fegri ert / en fljóð önnur clearly based on the fornyrðislag poem and [‘that you are fairer than other girls’] the kenning rekka drottinn is found nowhere else. Formula T12 Vambarljóð 40.2 (Þulur 50): Formula T15 ljótvaxin mær Vambarljóð 23 (Þulur 48): [‘misshapen maiden’] Látum við hvorugt / haldast þetta
Kringilnefjukvæði 12.2 (Þulur 40) sem eg mær við þig / mælti af fólsku velvaxin mær það mun hvorttveggja / haldast verða [‘shapely maiden’] þó með meinum / minn sé aldur. [‘“Neither of us two should make those things endure which I, maiden, spoke to you Formula T13 out of foolishness.” “Both of those things Vambarljóð 59.5–6 (Þulur 53): will have to endure though my life will be a nú mun eldslitnum / öllum linna harsh one.”’] [‘now all the ? will come to an end’] Hyndluljóð yngri 46 (Þulur 69): Kringilnefjukvæði 31.5–6 (Þulur 43): Við skulum þetta / hvorigt haldast láta Nú mun álögum / öllum linna þó eg við meyna / mælt hafi af fólsku. [‘now all the enchantments will come to an Aldrei skal eg það / aptur taka end’] þó með meinum / að minn sé aldur. [‘“We two should make neither of those The Vambarljóð instance also refers to an things endure though I have spoken out of enchantment but the word eldslitnum is foolishness to the maiden.” “I will never obscure. take it back, though my life will be a harsh one.”’]
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Formula T16 Formula T20 Vambarljóð 25.5–8 (Þulur 49): Vambarljóð 13.7–8 (Þulur 47): Ýtum þótti / hann Ásmundur vera þá gaf hún honum / horn fullt mjaðar í fornum sið / frægur snemmindis. [‘then she gave him a horn full of mead’] [‘In the time of the old religion, men thought Sigrdrífumál prose: (Neckel–Kuhn 1983: 189): Ásmundur quickly famous.’] Hon tóc þá horn, fult miaðar, ok gaf hánom Þóruljóð 3.5–8 (Haukur Þorgeirsson 2011: 213): minnisveig. þótti þjóðum / Þorkell vera [‘then she took a horn full of mead and gave í fornum sið / frægur snemmendis him a memory-drink’] [‘In the time of the old religion people thought Þorkell quickly famous.’] It is possible that the Sigrdrífumál prose paraphrases what is originally a metrical text. Here we see the poems making use of The noun phrase horn fullt mjaðar [‘a horn synonyms for alliteration purposes. The full of mead’] forms the metrical A2k pattern. formula accommodates vowel alliteration in The drink in Vambarljóð causes Vambarljóð by using ýtar [‘men’] and forgetfulness while the one in Sigrdrífumál alliteration on ‘þ’ in Þóruljóð by using þjóðir causes remembrance. Drinks affecting [‘people’]. memory also occur in Guðrúnarkviða II 21, Dráp Niflunga, Hyndluljóð 45 and Formula T17 Bryngerðarljóð 34 (cf. Kommentar V: 540– Vambarljóð 5.3–4 (Þulur 46): 541). og um háls grami / hendur lagði [‘and laid her hands around the neck of the Formula T21 king’] Vambarljóð 14.2 (Þulur 47): Sigurðarkviða in skamma 42.3–4 (Neckel–Kuhn kóngur víðrisinn 1983: 214): [‘the king who gained renown from [?]’] oc um háls kono / hendr um lagði Grípisspá 13.8 (Neckel–Kuhn 1983: 166): [‘and laid his hands around the neck of the gramr vígrisinn woman’] [‘the king who gained renown from battle’]
Formula T18 The word víðrisinn (thus in all manuscripts containing the strophe) is of unclear meaning, Vambarljóð 7.7–8 (Þulur 47): occurs nowhere else and appears to be an oral þó má skjöldungur ei / við sköpum vinna [‘yet the king cannot win out against fate’] corruption of vígrisinn. The adjective is not found outside Grípisspá (Kommentar V: 165). Helgakviða Hundingsbana II 29.3 (Neckel–Kuhn The words kóngur [‘king’] and gramr 1983: 155): [‘king’] carry the alliteration in each case. If it vinnat scioldungar scǫpom is correct to regard T21 as some sort of [‘the kings cannot win out against fate’] formula, then the synonym usage is the same Kommentar (IV: 720) cites several parallels to strategy to accommodate alliteration as found the Helgakviða line but none as close as in T16. Vambarljóð. Formula T22 Formula T19 Vambarljóð 1.7 (Þulur 46): Vambarljóð 10.1 (Þulur 47): kappsamr konungr leyfður konungur [‘the energetic king’] [‘the praised king’] Nórgskonunga tal 4.1–2 (Skj BI: 575): Sigurðarbálkr 23.1 (Skj BI: 471): Tók kappsamr / við konungs nafni leyfðr konungr [‘the energetic one took on the name of king’] [‘the praised king’] Nóregskonunga tal 14.1–2 (Skj BI: 577): This resemblance could be coincidental. Réð kappsamr / fyr konungdómi
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[‘the energetic one held the kingship’] Formula T26
Vambarljóð 8.7–8 (Þulur 47): Formula T23 með gulli rauðu / og gersemum Vambarljóð 4 (Þulur 4): [‘with red gold and precious things’] Gekk á hávan / haug Alþrúðar Vǫlundarkviða 21.7–8 (Neckel–Kuhn 1983: 120): morgin hverjan / mætur landreki. at væri gull rautt / oc gorsimar En fyrir hilmi / á margan veg [‘that there was red gold and precious tignarmenn hans / telja fóru. things’] [‘Every morning the worthy ruler of the land went upon the high mound of Alþrúður. But The collocation gull og gersemar [‘gold and the nobles went to recount in many ways precious things’] appears in many poems and before the king.’] also in prose texts (Kommentar III: 209) even
Guðrúnarhvöt 9 (Neckel–Kuhn 1983: 265): up to the present day. The adjective rautt Guðrún grátandi, / Giúca dóttir, [‘red’] is frequently applied to gold gecc hon tregliga / á tái sitia, (Kommentar III: 153). Vambarljóð and oc at telia, / táruchlýra, Vǫlundarkviða are the only texts I have found móðug spioll / á margan veg: where those two expressions occur together. [‘Weeping did Guðrún, Gjúki’s daughter, go Formula T26 could be seen as a more specific to sit sadly on the threshold and with tear- type of the gull og gersemar collocation, or as stained cheeks she recounted her sorrows in a coincidence. many ways:’]
The formula here is telja á margan veg Formulas within Vambarljóð [‘recount in many ways’] but it is worth The last five formulas I will look at are quoting the strophes in full to show the repetitions within Vambarljóð, not found, as thematic similarity of a grief-stricken person far as I can tell, in other poems. I will mark going somewhere to sit. these with the prefix V.
Formula T24 Formula V1 Vambarljóð 63.3–4 (Þulur 53): Vambarljóð 39.5–6 (Þulur 50): mannviti / mestu valt að honum / Vömb óþvegin [‘most good sense’] [‘The unwashed Belly rolled towards him’]
Hávamál 6.9, 10.3, 11.3 (Neckel–Kuhn 1983: 18): Vambarljóð 42.1–2 (Þulur 51): manvit mikit Valt óþvegin / Vömb til nauta [‘much good sense’] [‘The unwashed Belly rolled to the bulls’]
Formula T24 is a borderline case. Vambarljóð 50.1–27 (Þulur 52): Valt að vagni / Vömb óþvegin Formula T25 [‘The unwashed Belly rolled to the carriage’]
Vambarljóð 33.4 (Þulur 50), Vambarljóð 52.1–2 (Þulur 52): Veltist um urðir / Vömb óþvegin Merlínússpá I 56.7–8 (Skj BII: 21), Blómsturvalla rímur IV.80.3 (Jón Eggertsson [‘The unwashed Belly tumbled over the scree’]
1976: 62), The adjective óþvegin [‘unwashed’] (several other rímur): constitues a fixed epithet for the heroine. ýta mengi
[‘a multitude of men’] Formula V2 In Vambarljóð, Merlínússpá and Vambarljóð 8.3–4 (Þulur 47): Blómsturvalla rímur, the context is that of var eigi lofðungs mær / létt um drykkjur drinking. [‘The king’s maiden did not have an easy time drinking’]
Vambarljóð 45.7–8 (Þulur 51): var eigi lofðungi / létt um drykkju 191
[‘The king did not have an easy time Kenning 2 drinking’] Vambarljóð 5.6 (Þulur 47): skatna drottinn Formula V3 Grípisspá 5.2 (Neckel–Kuhn 1983: 165): Vambarljóð 26.5–6 (Þulur 49): scatna dróttinn hún stýrði löndum / og lýði víða [‘She ruled widely over lands and people’] Friðþjófs saga 26.2: skatna dróttinn Vambarljóð 54.5–6 (Þulur 52): stýrðu vel löndum / og lýði víða Einarr Skúlason, Geisli 64.7: [‘Rule well and widely over lands and people’] skatna dróttin [‘lord of men’ = ruler]
Formula V4 Kenning 2 is another distinctive kenning, Vambarljóð 22.1–2 (Þulur 48): found only in a few poems. In this case, one Ef svo ólíklega / um verða mætti of the poems is in dróttkvætt. This kenning is [‘If such an unlikely thing were to happen’] not used in the rímur.
Vambarljóð 47 (Þulur 51): Hvað er svo ólíklegt / orðið um þig Kenning 3 [‘What unlikely thing has happened to you’] Vambarljóð 54.4 (Þulur 52): gumna drottinn Formula V5 Atlakviða 23.2 (Neckel–Kuhn 1983: 244): Vambarljóð 63.7–8 (Þulur 53): gumna dróttinn unz til hallar kom / Hrings að kveldi [‘until he came to the hall of Hringur in the Þórbjǫrn skakkaskáld, Erlingsdrápa 2.1 (Skj BI: evening’] 515): gumna dróttinn Vambarljóð 68.7–8 (Þulur 54): unz til hallar kom / Ásmunds að kveldi Beowulf 1824 (Klaeber 1941: 68; in other Old [‘until he came to the hall of Ásmundur in English poetry, see Whallon 1969: 137): the evening’] gumena dryhten [‘lord of men’ = ruler]
Kennings Kenning 3 is a third distinctive kenning which We now turn to the kennings, which can be I have not found in rímur or other young regarded as a special case of poetic formulas. poetry. Each kenning is not only a formulaic combination of particular words but an Kenning 4 instantiation of a broader system of conventional base words, determinants and rekka drottinn [‘lord of men’ = ruler] referents. For an up-to-date introduction to kennings see Osborne, this volume. On the four examples, see formula T14 above: Kenning 1 Kenning 5 Vambarljóð 44.2 (Þulur 51), Bryngerðarljóð 20.8 (Þulur 86), seima Bil Bryngerðarljóð 23.2 (Þulur 87): [‘Bil of gold’ = woman] bauga deilir On the eight examples and its much wider Oddrúnargrátr 20.3 (Neckel–Kuhn 1983: 237): use, see formula M2 above. bauga deili [‘divider of rings’ = ruler] Kenning 6 Kenning 1 is only found in three poems. The Vambarljóð 2.7 (Þulur 46): kenning element deilir is not used in the auðar Bil (v.l. Lín) rímur. [‘Bil/Lín of wealth’ = woman] 192
Both V1 and V2 have Bil while both T1 and T2 Skógar-Krists rímur I.46 (Sólveig Ebba have Lín. Ólafsdóttir 2006: 23): Both the auðar Bil and auðar Lín variants bauga þilja th [‘the plank of rings’ = woman] are common post-13 century kennings and auðar Bil occurs several times in The word þilja is fairly frequent as a base Gullkársljóð. word in women kennings in the rímur. This usage is also found in a stanza quoted in the Kenning 7 Fourth Grammatical Treatise. Vambarljóð 3.7 (Þulur 46): hlaðsól Results and Interpretation [‘sun of lace’ = woman] It is readily apparent that the greatest textual similarities in Vambarljóð lie with the other Kenning 7 is also found in Hjálmþérs rímur sagnakvæði. Out of the 47 formulas I.38.3, XI.9.2 and in a hálfhneppt stanza in a th (including kennings) which have here been late 16 century manuscript (Yelena Sesselja identified as occurring in Vambarljóð and at Helgadóttir 2007: 76, 154–155). least one other text, there are 27 that occur in other sagnakvæði. In a number of cases, these Kenning 8 are textual similarities which reach across Vambarljóð 21.2 (Þulur 48): multiple verses. The poem with the largest língrundin number of textual affinities to Vambarljóð is [‘the linen ground’ = woman] Gullkársljóð, with 10 shared formulas.
I have not found this exact kenning elsewhere Bryngerðarljóð has 8 shared formulas, though many similar ones can be found (e.g. Kringilnefjukvæði 7 and Kötludraumur, Þóruljóð and Hyndluljóð yngri have 2 shared hlaðgrund, línjörð). The N manuscript has 8 línspöngin [‘the linen spangle’], which is formulas each. found already in the 13th century. The poetic language of Vambarljóð has some connection with that of the rímur, Kenning 9 mostly in the kennings. Here we have identified 6 shared formulas. This is less than Vambarljóð 26.3 (Þulur 49): one might expect considering that both the veiga þöll rímur and the sagnakvæði are late-medieval [‘fir-tree of beverages’ = woman] secular poetry and that the corpus of rímur to Kenning 9 occurs in some six medieval rímur. compare with is vast. Vambarljóð has even Kenning 10 less in common with pre-14th century poetry in dróttkvætt and related meters (‘skaldic’ Vambarljóð 52.6 (Þulur 52): poetry), the list above shows only a couple of herja stillir examples. Guðrúnarkviða III 4.2 (Neckel–Kuhn 1983: 232): There is clearly a tendency for poetic heria stilli formulas to be limited to a particular type of [‘the commander of hosts’ = ruler] poetry. To some extent this is explained by Gullkársljóð 37.2 (Þulur 80): metrical reasons. A formulaic component like herjar stillir “né manns konu” would not fit into the [‘the commander of the host’ = ruler] trochaic rhythm of the rímur. It is also worth keeping in mind that the rímur were largely a Kenning 11 literate enterprise while the sagnakvæði Vambarljóð 69.2 (Þulur 54): existed in oral tradition – this would certainly bauga þilju predict a difference in their use of formulas. The most prominent formulaic part of the Móðars rímur I.32.4 (Jón Helgason 1950: 6): rímur is the system of kennings and, indeed, bauga þilja that is where we encounter commonalities Móðars rímur II.11.2 (Jón Helgason 1950: 10): with the sagnakvæði. Even so, there are bauga þilja perfectly trochaic kennings such as bauga 193
deilir (kenning 1) and skatna drottinn [‘many people know that poem by heart’]) (kenning 2) which are found in the (Jón Sigurðsson 1849: 13; cf. discussion in sagnakvæði but do not occur in the rímur. Jón Helgason 1952: 99). Vambarljóð shares a number of similarities Vambarljóð shares 17 formulas with the with eddic poetry, some vague, some quite Poetic Edda and 10 with other poems in striking. How should these similarities be fornyrðislag and related meters. The only interpreted? Böðvar Guðmundsson (2006: poem that stands out here is Grípisspá, with 5 483) and Óskar Halldórsson (2004: 233–234) shared formulas. As I have previously have hinted that they could be the result of discussed, Grípisspá also has formulas in Renaissance humanism in post-Reformation common with other sagnakvæði (Haukur Iceland. If this were the case, we would have Þorgeirsson 2010; 2011). Grípisspá is learned authors deliberately employing universally considered to be among the archaic expressions known to them from the youngest poems in the Poetic Edda, perhaps Poetic Edda. But this explanation fails to fit the very youngest. This might explain its the facts. comparatively greater affinity to late- It was only in 1643 that the Codex Regius medieval poetry. manuscript of the Poetic Edda came into Bishop Brynjólfur Sveinsson’s posession and Methodological Questions and Future Work thus became known to the Icelandic cultural In the present text, I have sought to show how elite. Vambarljóð is recorded, in more than we might try to establish the relative degree one version, some 60 years later. Its subject is of closeness or relatedness between poems not legendary history or high mythology but a within the same tradition by looking en masse simple fairytale, something the learned men at the formulaic textual elements they have in of 17th century Iceland looked down upon. common. I think the preliminary results show Icelandic Renaissance humanists certainly did some promise and that this is an avenue worth try their hand at writing eddic poetry, but the exploring further. But many questions remain results – the best known of which is open. Hrafnagaldur Óðins – were very different In this Vambarljóð investigation, I have from the sagnakvæði in style, meter, subject, simply counted every instance of possible language and use of formulas (Haukur formulas that I was able to identify and then Þorgeirsson 2010; see also Lassen 2011). One added up the raw numbers for every related would not expect deliberately archaic and poem. But one might try to classify formulas obscure poetry to easily enter the popular depending on how certain or striking or tradition and, indeed, Hrafnagaldur shows no extensive they are. For some purposes, we signs of oral transmission. It also has no will certainly want to distinguish between formulas in common with the sagnakvæði, formulas consisting of, say, one verse from mostly restricting itself to borrowings from those which cover a whole stanza. We may Vǫluspá and the so-called Prose Edda (or also want to distinguish between expressions Snorra Edda). that occur only in two poems and those that Jón Helgason believed that the sagnakvæði occur more widely. And what about formulaic were a continuation of the eddic tradition9 and expressions that also occur in prose? The gull this remains the best explanation for why they og gersemar [‘gold and precious things’] share formulas with the poems of the Codex example (T26) is a case in point. A Regius. The tradition of narrative fornyrðislag collocation that can occur in any sort of poetry retained an oral component long after poetry and also in prose is hardly distinctive the introduction of writing. In one of the two enough to tell us much about stylistic affinity. manuscripts of Breta sǫgur, we find the Another open question is whether it makes information that many people know sense to treat kennings as a part of the wider Merlínússpá (a long poem in fornyrðislag) by array of formulaic expressions or whether heart and this seems to be the reason why the they need any special provisions (cf. K8 scribe felt it to be unnecessary to include it in above). Again, we may wish to distinguish the manuscript (kunna margir menn þat kuæði between kennings which seem confined to a
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few poems or a certain genre (e.g. K1, bauga 8. The numbers add up to more than 27 because of deilir) and those that have a wide and general formulas occurring in multiple sagnakvæði. 9. “Eddadigtningens tradition fortsættes i distribution (e.g. K5, seima Bil). senmiddelalderen ved nogle anonyme digte i Finally, I have not dealt with individual fornyrðislag med tilknytning til eventyr og poetic words but those are certainly an folkesagn” [‘The tradition of eddic poetry continues important part of the poetic diction. To take in the late Middle Ages with some anonymous an example, the word landreki [‘ruler’]10 poems in fornyrðislag connected to fairy tales and folk tales’] (Jón Helgason 1952: 167). occurs three times in Vambarljóð. It does not 10. This word is at the borderline between kenning and occur in prose but is frequent in pre-1400 heiti (cf. Meissner 1921: 353). poetry, whether in dróttkvætt or eddic meters. I have not found it in rímur or in post-1400 Manuscripts religious poetry. Another example is the word AM 154 8vo bölstafir [‘staves of woe’] which is found in NKS 1141 fol Vambarljóð and Sigrdrífumál and not in other NKS 1894 4to sources familiar to me (Kommentar V: 608 JS 398 4to calls it a hapax legomenon). Both of those JS 405 4to examples are part of the archaic poetic JS 406 4to language found in Vambarljóð. JS 579 4to An investigation of this sort will only ever JS 581 4to be as good as its philological groundwork. As Thott 489 8vo a basis for future investigation of the Lbs 985 4to sagnakvæði, a new critical edition of every Lbs 2324 4to poem is a necessity. Such an edition will be a Lbs 202 8vo particularly interesting undertaking for ÍB 895 8vo Kötludraumur, which is preserved in numerous versions independently collected Works Cited from oral tradition (Gísli Sigurðsson 1995). Aðalheiður Guðmundsdóttir. 1997. “(Ó)Traustar To a somewhat lesser extent, the same is true heimildir. Um söfnun og útgáfu þjóðkvæði”. for Snjáskvæði and Kringilnefjukvæði. It Skáldskaparmál 4: 210–226. Bergljót Kristjánsdóttir. 1996. “„Gunnlöð ekki gaf mér remains to be seen whether research on the neitt af geymsludrykknum forðum...“ Um Steinunni fornyrðislag oral tradition as it existed in the Finnsdóttur, Hyndlurímur og Snækóngsrímur”. In th 17 century can throw light on the medieval Guðamjöður og arnarleir. Safn ritgerða um tradition in the same meter. eddulist. Ed. Sverrir Tómasson. Reykjavík: Háskólaútgáfan. Pp. 165–219. Boer, R. C (ed.). 1888. Ǫrvar-Odds saga. Leiden. Notes Böðvar Guðmundsson. 2006. “Nýir siðir og nýir 1. The exact number can be argued over. In this paper, lærdómar. Bókmenntir 1550–1750”. In Íslensk I regard the younger Vambarljóð as a completely bókmenntasaga II. Ed. Vésteinn Ólason. Reykjavík: separate poem, which would arguably bring the Mál og menning. Pp. 381–521. number up to nine. Kötludraumur, also, exists in Finnur Sigmundsson. 1947. “Um Guðmund versions so divergent that a case could be made that Bergþórsson”. In Olgeirs rímur danska. By they constitute different poems. Guðmundur Bergþórsson. Eds. Björn K. Þórólfsson 2. I am indebted to Frog for this formulation. & Finnur Sigmundsson. Reykjavík: Landsbókasafn 3. For the readers’ convenience, I list citations to Íslands. Pp. xi–xxiii. Ólafur Davíðsson’s published edition of Frog. 2011. “Alvíssmál and Orality I”. Arkiv för Vambarljóð, despite basing my work on the nordisk filologi 126: 17–71. manuscripts. Gísli Sigurðsson. 1990. “On the Classification of Eddic 4. When using text from Þulur I have normalized the Heroic Poetry in View of the Oral Theory”. In spelling. Poetry in the Scandinavian Middle Ages. Ed. 5. I have normalized the spelling when referring to Teresa Pàroli. Spoleto: Presso la Sede del Centro rímur texts or other texts published in diplomatic Studi. Pp. 245–255. editions. Gísli Sigurðsson. 1995. “Kötludraumur. Flökkuminni 6. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages: eða þjóðfélagsumræða?” Gripla 9: 189–217. Skaldic Database, available at: http://skaldic.arts. Harris, J. 2008 [1983]. “Eddic Poetry as Oral Poetry: usyd.edu.au/db.php?table=mss&id=15079. The Evidence of Parallel Passages in the Helgi 7. This strophe is only preserved in T2. Poems for Questions of Composition and
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Performance”. In “Speak Useful Words or Say ONP = Ordbog over det norrøne prosasprog. A Nothing”: Old Norse Studies. By J. Harris. Dictionary of Old Norse Prose. Available at: Islandica 53. Ithaca: Cornell University Library. Pp. http://www.onp.hum.ku.dk/. 189–225. Ólafur Davíðsson. 1898. Íslenzkar þulur og þjóðkvæði. Haukur Þorgeirsson. 2010. “Gullkársljóð og Kaupmannahöfn: Hið íslenzka bókmentafélag. Hrafnagaldur: Framlag til sögu fornyrðislags”. Óskar Halldórsson. 2004. “Bókmenntir á lærdómsöld Gripla 21: 299–334. 1550–1770”. In Saga Íslands VII. Ed. Sigurður Haukur Þorgeirsson. 2011. “Þóruljóð og Háu- Líndal. Reykjavík: Hið íslenzka bókmenntafélag, Þóruleikur”. Gripla 22: 211–227. Sögufélag. Pp. 213–316. Jón Eggertsson. 1976. Blómsturvallarímur. Eds. Rímnasafn = Finnur Jónsson (ed.). 1905–1922. Grímur M. Helgason & Hallferður Örn Eiríksson. Rímnasafn. Samling af de ældste islandske rimer I– Rit Rímnafélagsins 11. Reykjavík: Rímnafélagið. II. STUAGNL 35. København: Samfund til Jón Helgason (ed.). 1950. Móðars rímur og Móðars udgivelse af gammel nordisk litteratur. þáttur. Íslenzk rit síðari alda 5. Kaupmannahöfn: Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages. Hið íslenzka fræðafélag. Available at http://skaldic.arts.usyd.edu.au. Jón Helgason. 1952. “Norges og Islands digtning”. Skj = Finnur Jónsson (ed.). 1912–1915. Den norsk- Offprint from Nordisk kultur VIIIB. islandske skjaldedigtning A–B. København, Litteraturhistoria: Norge og Island. Stockholm, Kristiania: Gyldendalske boghandel, Nordisk Oslo, Köpenhamn. forlag. Jón Helgason. 1960. Kvæðabók séra Gissurar Sólveig Ebba Ólafsdóttir. 2006. “Rímur af Skógar- Sveinssonar. Kaupmannahöfn: Hið íslenzka Kristi”. Són 4: 9–31. fræðafélag. Steinunn Finnsdóttir. 1950. Hyndlu rímur og Snækóngs Jón Sigurðsson. 1849. “Trójumanna saga ok Breta rímur. Ed. Bjarni Vilhjálmsson. Rit Rímnafélagsins sögur”. Annaler for nordisk Oldkyndighed og 3. Reykjavík: Rímnafélagið. Historier. Pp. 3–145. Thorvaldsen, Bernt Øyvind. 2006. Svá er sagt í fornum Klaeber, Friedrich. 1941. Beowulf and the Fight at vísindum: Tekstualiseringen av de mytologiske Finnsburg. 3rd edn., with supplement. Boston etc.: eddadikt. Bergen: Senter for middelalderstudier. D. C. Heath. Thorvaldsen, Bernt Øyvind. 2008. “Om Þrymskviða, Kommentar = von See, Klaus, et al. 1997–2006. tekstlån og tradisjon”. Maal og Minne 2008(2): Kommentar zu den Liedern der Edda II–V. 142–166. Heidelberg: Winter. Vésteinn Ólason. 1982. The Traditional Ballads of Lassen, Annette. 2011. Hrafnagaldur Óðins Iceland. Reykjavík: Stofnun Árna Magnússonar. (Forspjallsljóð). London: Viking Society for Whallon, William. 1969. Formula, Character, and Northern Research. Context: Studies in Homeric, Old English, and Old Magnús Jónsson, Pétur Einarsson and Ólafur Testament Poetry. Washington, D.C.: Center for Halldórsson. 1961. Pontus rímur. Rit Hellenic Studies. Rímnafélagsins 10. Ed. Grímur M. Helgason. Wisén, Theodor. 1881. Riddara-rímur. STUAGNL 4. Reykjavík: Rímnafélagið. Köpenhamn: Samfund til udgivelse af gammel Meissner, Rudolf. 1921. Die Kenningar der Skalden: nordisk litteratur. Ein Beitrag zur skaldischen Poetik. Bonn, Leipzig. Yelena Sesselja Helgadóttir. 2007. Lausavísur frá Mellor, Scott A. 2008. Analyzing Ten Poems from The svartadauða til siðaskipta. Reykjavík: Poetic Edda: Oral Formula and Mythic Patterns. Háskólaútgáfan. Lewiston: The Edwin Mellen Press. Þorvaldur Sigurðsson (ed.). 1986. Sigurðar rímur Neckel–Kuhn 1983 = Neckel, Gustav, & Hans Kuhn þögla. Unpublished cand. mag. dissertation, (eds.). 1983. Edda: Die Lieder des Codex Regius University of Iceland. nebst verwandten Denkmälern I: Text. Germanische Þulur = Ólafur Davíðsson 1898. Bibliothek, 4th ser. 5th revised edn. Heidelberg: Carl Ölvis rímur. Unpublished transcript at Stofnun Árna Winter. Magnússonar.
A Method for Analyzing World-Models in Scandinavian Mythology Mathias Nordvig, Aarhus University
This paper discusses how to construct a analyzing the world-models employed in a method for analyzing and interpreting world- certain type of narratives about Scandinavian models1 in Scandinavian mythology2 by gods, which will be called gods’ ourneys. adapting and developing Vladimir Propp’s Gods’ journeys comprise approximately 50% schema for the dramatis personae of folktales of the number of identifiable narratives about found in The Morphology of the Folktale Scandinavian gods in the work called Edda by (1968 [1928]) as a foundational method for Snorri Sturluson (Snorra Edda hereafter), in 196