Re: [tied] Re: More Norse terms

From: Brian M. Scott
Message: 35071
Date: 2004-11-11

At 7:52:22 PM on Wednesday, November 10, 2004, A. wrote:

> --- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Joao" <josimo70@...>
> wrote:

>> Bo,lthorn's son is Mimir.

> It would certainly make sense... but could you tell me
> where in the lore this is stated?

I don't think that it is. I've seen it suggested as an
inference from Hávamál 140:

Fimbulljóð níu
nam ek af inum frægja syni
Bölþórs Bestlu föður
ok ek drykk of gat
ins dýra mjaðar,
ausinn Óðreri.

Nine mighty songs
I took from the famous son
of Bolthorr, Bestla's father,
and I got a drink
of the precious mead
poured from Odhrerir.

The normalized ON is from
<http://www.anglo-saxons.net/hwaet/?do=get&type=text&id=Hav&textOnly=true>;
Bugge's non-normalized version is available at
<http://etext.old.no/Bugge/havamal.html>:

Fimbvllióð nío
nam ec af enom fregia syni
Ba/lþorn Bestlo fa/dvr;
oc ec dryc of gat
ens dyra miaðar
a/sinn Oðreri.

(Here <a/> represents the a-with-rising-hook symbol of the
MSS.) Another non-normalized version can be found at
<http://www.hi.is/~haukurth/norse/reader/runatal.html>; the
only significant change is that it has <Baulþors> instead of
<Ba/lþorn>.

There does seem to be some question whether the name is
<Bo,lþorn> or <Bo,lþórr>, since genitives of both appear in
the MSS.; most of my sources take <Bo,lþorn> to be correct.
The first element would seem to be <bo,l> 'bale,
misfortune'; the second would then be <þorn> 'thorn'.

Brian