|
Víðblindi
Víðblindi or Viðblindi ("Very blind") is a jötunn in Norse mythology. Attestations The skald Hallar-Steinn uses the kenning "Viðblindi's boar" () for whale in a stanza quoted by Snorri Sturluson in his '' Skáldskaparmál''. Snorri explains it as follows: :Here the whale is called Boar of Viðblindi; this Viðblindi was a giant who drew whales out of the sea like fishes. : ::—''Skáldskaparmál'' (XLVI)Brodeur's translation A similar kenning for whale, "Víðblindi's pig" ( non, Víðblinda svín), can be found in an anonymous stanza from the 13th century preserved in ''Laufás-Edda Laufás-Edda (''Edda Magnúsar Ólafssonar'') is a 17th-century redaction of the Snorra Edda, which survives in numerous Icelandic manuscripts. History Laufás Edda was compiled by the Icelandic priest and poet Magnús Ólafsson (c.1573–1636) on ...''. Víðblindi is also listed among the in the '' þulur''. Interpretation and discussion Rudolf Simek noted that the only known for fish ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jötunn
A (also jotun; in the normalised scholarly spelling of Old Norse, ; ; plural / ) or, in Old English, (plural ) is a type of supernatural being in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, they are often contrasted with gods (Æsir and Vanir) and other non-human figures, such as dwarfs and elves, although the groupings are not always mutually exclusive. The entities themselves are referred to by several other terms, including , (or ) and if male and or if female. The typically dwell across boundaries from the gods and humans in lands such as . The are frequently attested throughout the Old Norse record, with also featuring in the Old English epic poem ''Beowulf''. The usage of the terms is dynamic, with an overall trend that the beings become portrayed as less impressive and more negative as Christianity becomes more influential. Although the term "giant" is sometimes used to gloss the word "" and its apparent synonyms in some translations and academic texts, are not ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Norse Mythology
Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The northernmost extension of Germanic mythology and stemming from Proto-Germanic folklore, Norse mythology consists of tales of various deities, beings, and heroes derived from numerous sources from both before and after the pagan period, including medieval manuscripts, archaeological representations, and folk tradition. The source texts mention numerous gods such as the thunder-god Thor, the raven-flanked god Odin, the goddess Freyja, and numerous other deities. Most of the surviving mythology centers on the plights of the gods and their interaction with several other beings, such as humanity and the jötnar, beings who may be friends, lovers, foes, or family members of the gods. The cosmos in Norse mythology consists of Nine Worl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skald
A skald, or skáld (Old Norse: , later ; , meaning "poet"), is one of the often named poets who composed skaldic poetry, one of the two kinds of Old Norse poetry, the other being Eddic poetry, which is anonymous. Skaldic poems were traditionally composed on one occasion, sometimes extempore, and include both extended works and single verses ('' lausavísur''). They are characteristically more ornate in form and diction than eddic poems, employing many kennings and heiti, more interlacing of sentence elements, and the complex ''dróttkvætt'' metre. More than 5,500 skaldic verses have survived, preserved in more than 700 manuscripts, including in several sagas and in Snorri Sturluson's ''Prose Edda'', a handbook of skaldic composition that led to a revival of the art. Many of these verses are fragments of originally longer works, and the authorship of many is unknown. The earliest known skald from whom verses survive is Bragi Boddason, known as Bragi the Old, a Norwegian skald of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hallar-Steinn
Hallar-Steinn (Old Norse: ; Modern Icelandic: ) was an Icelandic poet active around the year 1200. He is best known for the poem ''Rekstefja'', preserved in Bergsbók and ''Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta''. A few other disjoint verses by him are also known, quoted in ''Skáldskaparmál'', '' Laufás-Edda'' and the Third Grammatical Treatise. ''Rekstefja'' (O.N.: ; M.I.: ) traces the career of King Óláfr Tryggvason from his upbringing in Russia to his fall at Svöldr. It consists of 35 ''dróttkvætt'' verses. The poem's name derives from its refrain (Old Norse ''stef'') which consists of three lines divided between three contiguous verses. The poem proclaims itself to be the third ''drápa'' on Óláfr Tryggvason, referring to two earlier ones by Hallfreðr vandræðaskáld and the unknown Bjarni. The poem is technically accomplished and makes use of complex combinations of kennings. It is influenced by the works of Arnórr jarlaskáld and Einarr Skúlason and has many similari ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kenning
A kenning ( Icelandic: ) is a figure of speech in the type of circumlocution, a compound that employs figurative language in place of a more concrete single-word noun. Kennings are strongly associated with Old Norse-Icelandic and Old English poetry. They continued to be a feature of Icelandic poetry (including ''rímur'') for centuries, together with the closely related heiti. A kenning has two parts: a base-word (also known as a head-word) and a determinant. For example, the base-word of the kenning "íss rauðra randa" ('icicle of red shields' WORD Einarr Skúlason: ''Øxarflokkr'' 9) is ''íss'' ('ice, icicle') and the determinant is ''rǫnd'' ('rim, shield-rim, shield'). The thing, person, place or being to which the kenning refers is known as its referent (in this case a sword). Although kennings are sometimes hyphenated in English translation, Old Norse poetry did not require kennings to be in normal word order, nor do the parts of the kenning need to be side-by-side. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Snorri Sturluson
Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of the ''Prose Edda'', which is a major source for what is today known as Norse mythology, and ''Heimskringla'', a history of the Norwegian kings that begins with legendary material in ''Ynglinga saga'' and moves through to early medieval Scandinavian history. For stylistic and methodological reasons, Snorri is often taken to be the author of ''Egil's saga''. He was assassinated in 1241 by men claiming to be agents of the King of Norway. Biography Early life Snorri Sturluson was born in (commonly transliterated as Hvamm or Hvammr) as a member of the wealthy and powerful Sturlungar clan of the Icelandic Commonwealth, in AD 1179. His parents were ''Sturla Þórðarson the Elder'' of ''Hvammur'' and his second wife, ''Guðný Böðvarsdóttir''. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skáldskaparmál
''Skáldskaparmál'' (Old Norse: 'The Language of Poetry'; c. 50,000 words; ; ) is the second part of the ''Prose Edda''. The section consists of a dialogue between Ægir, the divine personification of the sea, and Bragi, the god of poetry, in which both Norse mythology and discourse on the nature of poetry are intertwined. The origin of a number of ''kennings'' is given; then Bragi delivers a systematic list of ''kennings'' for various people, places and things. He then goes on to discuss poetic language in some detail, in particular ''heiti'', the concept of poetical words which are non-periphrastic (like ''steed'' for ''horse''), and again systematises these. This in a way forms an early form of poetic thesaurus. References Bibliography * Further reading * Anthony Faulkes"The sources of ''Skáldskaparmál'': Snorri’s intellectual background" in: Alois Wolf (ed.), ''Snorri Sturluson'', Volume 51 of ScriptOralia, Gunter Narr Verlag (1993), 59–76. External ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Laufás-Edda
Laufás-Edda (''Edda Magnúsar Ólafssonar'') is a 17th-century redaction of the Snorra Edda, which survives in numerous Icelandic manuscripts. History Laufás Edda was compiled by the Icelandic priest and poet Magnús Ólafsson (c.1573–1636) on the request of the Icelandic scholar and antiquarian Arngrímur Jónsson. Magnús began his work at Auðkúla in 1607 after he had been dismissed from his office as parish minister, and completed his new redaction during the winter of 1608–09. Magnús would later serve as the priest at Laufás parish in Northern Iceland and as a consequence his version of the Edda is usually referred to as the Laufás-Edda. The purpose of his efforts was to make a systematic and encyclopedic version of Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda. Laufás-Edda is a rearranged redaction of the Snorra Edda. The myths in ''Gylfaginning'' are presented as a series of examples (''dæmisögur'') and the kennings of ''Skáldskaparmál'' are organized alphabetically by subje ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rudolf Simek
Rudolf Simek (born 21 February 1954) is an Austrian philologist and religious studies scholar who is Professor and Chair of Ancient German studies, German and Scandinavian studies, Nordic Studies at the University of Bonn. Simek specializes in Germanic studies, and is the author of several notable works on Germanic paganism, Germanic religion and Germanic mythology, mythology (including Old Norse religion and Norse mythology, mythology), Germanic peoples, Vikings, Old Norse literature, and the culture of Medieval Europe. Biography Since 1995, Simek has been Professor and Chair of Ancient German and Nordic Studies at the University of Bonn. Simek was appointed Professor of Comparative Religion at the University of Tromsø in 1999, and Professor of Old Nordic Studies at the University of Sydney in 2000. Simek has held a number of visiting professorships, having had long research stays at the universities of Reykjavík University, Reykjavik, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Lo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hymir
Hymir (Old Norse: ) is a jötunn in Norse mythology, and the owner of a brewing-cauldron fetched by the thunder god Thor for Ægir, who wants to hold a feast for the Æsir (gods). In ''Hymiskviða'', Hymir is portrayed as the father of Týr, but in ''Skáldskaparmál'', Odin is Týr's father. Name The etymology of the Old Norse name ''Hymir'' remains unclear. It is perhaps related to the Norwegian ''humen'' ('limp, weary') or ''humre'' ('whinny'; compare with MHG ''hummen'' 'hum'). Andy Orchard has proposed the translation 'creeper'. ''Hymir'' is often used in kennings as a modifier for ''jötnarr''. Attestations ''Hymiskviða'' and ''Gylfaginning'' ''Hymiskviða'' recounts how Thor and Týr obtain the cauldron from Hymir. His skull is unusually hard, and Thor breaks a cup by throwing it at Hymir's head. ''Hymiskviða'' also recounts Thor's fishing for Jörmungandr, the Midgard serpent. Thor goes fishing with Hymir, using the head of Hymir's best ox for bait, and catches ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hymiskviða
''Hymiskviða'' (Old Norse: 'The lay of Hymir'; anglicized as ''Hymiskvitha'', ''Hymiskvidha'' or ''Hymiskvida'') is a poem collected in the ''Poetic Edda''. The poem appears to have been first written down in the late 12th century.''Norse Mythology A-Z'' Summary The Æsir consult their augury twigs and decide, since Ægir owns a lot of kettles for making beer, that he should be their host frequently. Ægir has to reluctantly agree, but as this will be a lot of work, he makes a condition (that he hopes they won't be able to meet) that they bring a kettle large enough for him to make beer for all of them at once. That presents a problem, until Týr remembers a particularly large kettle in the possession of his father Hymir. So the Æsir set off. Eventually they find Hymir's place, where Þórr (Thor) eats so much that Hymir and his guests have no alternative but to go fishing. The poem then tells the story of how Þórr almost caught the Jörmungandr, which is also recounted in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
