Prose Edda - Brodeur Trans.
Skáldskaparmál
That woman whose husband is slain is called War-Widow: Widow is the term for her whose husband has died of sickness. Maid means, first, every woman, and then carlines that are old. Then there are those terms for women which are libellous: one may find them in songs, though they be not in writing. Those women who have one husband in common are called Concubines. A son's wife is termed Daughter-in-law; the husband's mother is called Mother-in-law. A woman may also be called Mother, Grandmother, Great-Grandmother; a Mother is called Dam, Woman is further called Daughter, Bairn, and Child. She is also called Sister, Lady, (1) and Maiden. (1) Woman is also called Bed-Fellow, Speech-Mate, and Secret-Sharer of her husband; and that is an, epithet of possession.
LXIX. "A man's head is termed thus: [thus should it be periphrased: call it Toil or burden of the Neck; Land of the Helm, of the Hood, and of the Brain, of the Hair and Brows, of the Scalp, of Ears, Eyes, and Mouth; Sword of Heimdallr, and it is correct to name any term for sword which one desires; and to periphrase, it in terms of every one of the names of Heimdallr] (2) the Head, in simple terms, is called Skull, Brain, Temple, Crown. The eyes are termed Vision or Glance, and Regard, Swift-Appraising; [they may be so periphrased as to call them Sun or Moon, Shields and Glass or Jewels or Stones of the Eyelids, of the Brows, the Lashes, or the Forehead]. The ears are called Listeners (3) or Hearing; (3) [one should periphrase
1. Dís; jódís: properly = sister. For discussion of these words, see under dís in Cl. Vig., p. 100.
2. This and other passages in brackets are probably spurious.
3. These are the literal meanings; the meanings, in general usage, coincide: both words signify the inner parts of the ear (Cl. Vig.).
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them by Calling them Land, or any earth-name, or Mouth, or Canal, or Vision, or Eyes of Hearing, if the metaphors employed are new-coined. The mouth one should periphrase by calling it Land or House of the Tongue or of the Teeth, of Words or of the Palate, of the Lips, or the like; and if the metaphors used are not traditional, then men may call the mouth Ship, and the lips the Planks, and the tongue Oar or Tiller of the Ship. The teeth are sometimes called Gravel or Rocks of Words, of the Mouth, or of the Tongue. The tongue is often called Sword of Speech or of the Mouth]. The hair which stands on the lips is called Beard, Moustache, or Whiskers. Hair is called Nap; the hair of women is called Tresses. Hair is termed Locks. [One may periphase hair by calling it Forest, or by some tree-name; one may periphrase it in terms of the skull or brain or head; and the beard in terms of chin or cheeks or throat.]
LXX. "The heart is called grain-sheaf; [one should periphrase it by terming it Grain or Stone or Apple or Nut or Ball, or the like, in figures of the breast or of feeling. Moreover, it may be called House or Earth or Mount of Feeling. One should periphrase the breast by calling it House or Garth or Ship of the Heart, of Breath, or of the Liver; Land of Energy, of Feeling, and of Memory]. Feeling is affection and emotion, love, passion, desire, love-longing. [Passion should be periphrased by calling Wind of Troll-Women; also it is correct to name what one soever is desired, and to name giants, periphrasing giantesses as Woman or Mother or Daughter of the Giants.] Feeling is also called mood, liking, eagerness, courage, activity, memory, under-
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standing, temper, humor, good faith. It is also wrath, enmity, mischievousness, grimness, balefulness, grief, sorrow, ill-will, spite falseness, faithlessness, fickleness, light-mindedness, baseness, hasty temper, violence.
LXXI. "The hand and fore-arm may be called hand, arm, paw, palm. Parts of the arm are called elbow, upper arm, wolf's joint, (1) finger, grip, wrist, nail, finger-tip, hand-edge, quick. [One may term the hand Earth of Weapons or of Defensive Armor; and together with shoulder and arm, the hollow of the hand and the wrist, it may be called Earth of Gold Rings, of the Falcon and the Hawk, and of all the equivalents thereof; and in new-coined metaphors, Leg of the Shoulder-Joint, and Force of the Bow. The legs may be called Tree of the Soles, of the Insteps, of the Ankles, or the like; Running Shaft of the Road or of the Way or the Pace; one may call the leg Tree or Post of all these. The legs are periphrased in metaphors of snowshoes, shoes, and breeks.] The parts of the legs are called thigh, knee, calf, lower leg, upper leg, instep, arch, sole, toe; [one many periphrase the leg in terms of all these, calling it Tree, Mast, and Yard thereof; and in metaphors of them all].
LXXII. "Speech is called words, language, eloquence, talk, tale, gibing, controversy, song, spell, recital, idle talk, babbling, din, chatter, squalling, merry noise, wrangling, mocking, quarrelling, wish-wash, boasting, tittle-tattle, nonsense, idiom, vanity, gabbling. It is also termed voice, sound, resonance, articulation, wailing, shriek, dash, crash, alarm, roaring, creaking, swoop, swooping, outburst.
1. This is the wrist-joint.
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LXXIII. "Understanding is called wisdom, counsel, discernment, memory, speculation, intelligence, arithmetic, far sight, (1) craft, word-wit, preëminence. It is called subtlety, wiliness, falsehood, fickleness.
LXXIV. "Expression is of two kinds: that which is called voice, and that which is called manners; manners is also temper. Reiði (2) also has double meaning: reiði (2) is the ill-humor of a man, and reiði (2) is the rigging of a ship or the driving-gear of a horse. Fár also has double meaning: fár (2) signifies wrath, and far (2) signifies a ship.
"Men have made frequent use of such ambiguous expressions as these; and this practice is called punning. [Lith (3) is that part of a man where bones meet; lið is a word for ship; lið means people; when a man renders another assistance, his aid is lið; lið signifies ale. Hlið signifies the gate in a garth; hliðr men call an ox, and hlið signifies a slope. One may make such use of these distinct meanings in skaldship as to make a pun that is hard to interpret, provided one employ other distinctions than those which are indicated by the half-lines which precede. These cases are there, and many others, in which divers things have the same name in common.]"
1. That is, prophecy.
2. These are properly two different words.
3. Lið.
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ABBREVIATIONS
Cl.-Vig. = the Cleasby-Vigfússon Icelandic-English Dictionary, Oxford, 1874.
Cod. Reg. = Codex Regious, one of the manuscripts in which Snorri's Edda is preserved.
Cod. Worm.= Codex Wormianus, another of the manuscripts.
Cod. Upsal. = Codex Upsaliensis, a third manuscript (U).
Yngl. S. = Ynglinga Saga.
Gylfag. = Gylfaginning.
Skálds. = Skáldskaparmál.
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