Skįldskaparmįl

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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. Dķs; jódķs: properly = sister. For discussion of these words, see under dķs
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,
preėminence. 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. Reiši (2) also has double meaning:
reiši (2) is the ill-humor of a man, and reiši (2) is the rigging of a ship or
the driving-gear of a horse. Fįr also has double meaning: fįr (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; liš is a word for ship; liš means people; when a man renders another
assistance, his aid is liš; liš signifies ale. Hliš signifies the gate in a
garth; hlišr men call an ox, and hliš 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. Liš.


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ABBREVIATIONS

Cl.-Vig. = the Cleasby-Vigfśsson 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.

Skįlds. = Skįldskaparmįl.



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