Re: Norse ideas of Kingship

At 6:37:01 PM on Sunday, March 6, 2011, Sveinn Fjölnirsson
wrote:

> As far as I can understand, Þengill is a word more
> appropriately used for "princes" or generic nobility, but
> buðlungr and lofðungr are poetic variations. Definitely
> poetic terms. It's hard to tell their precise "literal"
> meaning though. Lofðungr may have something to do with
> "lof" meaning "praise, laud"... a king is a man who is
> praised?

Or possibly something like 'the praiseworthy'.

<Buðlungr> is a patronymic construction from the masculine
name <Buðli>, which is found as the name of the legendary
father of Atli and Brynhildr; a <buðlungr> is, poetically
speaking, a son of Buðli. The name <Buðli> is related to
Old English <bydel> 'beadle, officer of a court' and to
<bjóða> 'to bid'.

Brian