the raven

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(-s, -ar), m. raven.

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often spelt hramn, m. [A. S. hræfn; Engl. raven; Germ. rabe; Dan. ravn, etc.; cp. Lat. corvus, Gr. κόραξ]:—a raven, Nj. 119, Grág. ii. 346, Fms. i. 131, Hkr. iii. 11, Stj. 59, Orkn. 28, 38: allit., bíða hunds ok hrafns, Fms. viii. 210: in the sayings, sjaldsénir hvítir hrafnar, white ravens are not seen every day, of a strange appearance; þá er hart þegar einn hrafninn kroppar augun úr öðrum, it is too bad when one raven picks another’s eyes out; Guð borgar fyrir hrafninn, God pays for the raven, perhaps referring to 1 Kings xvii. and Job xxxviii. 41. The raven was a favourite with the Scandinavians, as a bird of augury and of sagacity, víða flýgr hrafn yfir grund, the raven is a far traveller; cp. the wise ravens Huginn and Muninn, the messengers of Odin, Gm., Edda; whence Odin is called hrafn-blætr, m. raven worshipper (Hallfred), and hrafn-áss, m. (Haustl.); hrafna-dróttinn or hrafna-goð, hrafn-stýrandi, a, m. lord or god of ravens; hrafn-freistaðr, m. raven friend, Húsd., Edda 126; cp. also the interesting story of the ravens of Flóki, Landn. 28 (v. l.),—hann fékk at blóti miklu ok blótaði hrafna þrjá, þá er honum skyldu leið vísa. A raven was the traditional war standard of the Danish and Norse vikings and chiefs, see Orkn. ch. 11, Nj. ch. 158, Þorst. Síðu H. ch. 2, as also the A. S. Chroniclers, e. g. the Saxon Chronicle, Asser, A. D. 878, etc. The croaking of ravens was an omen, Fagrsk. ch. 48, Sturl. 9. ch. 19, cp. Háv. 47: when heard in front of a house it betokens death, Landn. 2. ch. 33, Maurer Volksagen 170, 171: the ravens are said to hold a parliament, hrafna-þing; and metaph. a disorderly assembly was called by that name, see Ísl. Þjóðs. i. 616–621. A black horse is called Hrafn, Edda. In popular lore the raven is called krummi, q. v. Botan., hrafna-blaka and hrafna-klukka, u, f. cardamine pratensis, the ladies’ smock or cuckoo-flower, Hjalt. Pr. names of men, Hrafn, Hrafn-kell; of women, Hrefna, Hrafn-hildr: local names, Hrafna-björg, Hrafna-gjá, Hrafna-gil (whence Hrafn-gilingr, a man from H.), Hrafn-hólar, Hrafn-ista (whence Hrafnistu-menn, an old family), etc., Landn.: in poetry a warrior is styled hrafn-fæðir, -gæðir, -gælir, -greddir, -þarfr, = feeder of ravens, etc.: the blood is hrafn-vín, Lex. Poët.: a coward is hrafna-sveltir, m. raven-starver, Bs. i.

s, m., pl. ir: [the etymology of this word has been much contested; some—upon the authority of Snorri, hans menn fóru ‘brynjulausir,’ Hkr. i. 11—derive it from ‘berr’ ( bare) and ‘serkr’ [cp. sark, Scot. for shirt]; but this etymology is inadmissible, because ‘serkr’ is a subst. not an adj.: others derive it from ‘berr’ (Germ. bär = ursus), which is greatly to be preferred, for in olden ages athletes and champions used to wear hides of bears, wolves, and reindeer (as skins of lions in the south), hence the names Bjálfi, Bjarnhéðinn, Úlfhéðinn, (héðinn, pellis,)—‘pellibus aut parvis rhenonum tegimentis utuntur,’ Caes. Bell. Gall. vi. 22: even the old poets understood the name so, as may be seen in the poem of Hornklofi (beginning of 10th century), a dialogue between a Valkyrja and a raven, where the Valkyrja says, at berserkja reiðu vil ek þik spyrja, to which the raven replies, Úlfhéðnar heita, they are called Wolfcoats, cp. the Vd. ch. 9; þeir berserkir er Úlfhéðnar vóru kallaðir, þeir höfðu vargstakka ( coats of wild beasts) fyrir brynjur, Fs. 17]:—a ‘bear-sark,’ ‘bear-coat,’ i. e. a wild warrior or champion of the heathen age; twelve berserkers are mentioned as the chief followers of several kings of antiquity, e. g. of the Dan. king Rolf Krake, Edda 82; a Swed. king, Gautr. S. Fas. iii. 36; king Adils, Hrólf. Kr. S. ch. 16 sqq.; Harald Hárfagri, Eg. ch. 9, Grett. ch. 2, Vd. l. c. (Hornklofi, v. above); the twelve sons of Arngrim, Hervar. S. ch. 3–5, Hdl. 22, 23; the two berserkers sent as a present by king Eric at Upsala to earl Hakon of Norway, and by him presented to an Icel. nobleman, Eb. ch. 25. In battle the berserkers were subject to fits of frenzy, called berserks-gangr (furor bersercicus, cp. the phrase, ganga berserksgang), when they howled like wild beasts, foamed at the mouth and gnawed the iron rim of their shields; during these fits they were, according to popular belief, proof against steel and fire, and made great havoc in the ranks of the enemy; but when the fever abated they were weak and tame. A graphical description of the ‘furor bersercicus’ is found in the Sagas, Yngl. S. ch. 6, Hervar. S. l. c., Eg. ch. 27, 67, Grett. ch. 42, Eb. ch. 25, Nj. ch. 104, Kristni S. ch. 2, 8 (Vd. ch. 46); cp. also a passage in the poem of Hornklofi | grenjuðu berserkir, | guðr var þeim á sinnum, | emjaðu Úlfhéðnar | ok ísarn gniiðu—which lines recall to the mind Roman descriptions of the Cimbric war-cry. In the Icel. Jus Eccles. the berserksgangr, as connected with the heathen age, is liable to the lesser outlawry, K. Þ. K. 78; it is mentioned as a sort of possession in Vd. ch. 37, and as healed by a vow to God. In the Dropl. S. Major (in MS.) it is medically described as a disease (v. the whole extract in the essay ‘De furore Bersercico,’ Kristni S. old Ed. in cake); but this Saga is modern, probably of the first part of the 17th century. The description of these champions has a rather mythical character. A somewhat different sort of berserker is also recorded in Norway as existing in gangs of professional bullies, roaming about from house to house, challenging husbandmen to ‘holmgang’ ( duel), extorting ransom (leysa sik af hólmi), and, in case of victory, carrying off wives, sisters, or daughters; but in most cases the damsel is happily rescued by some travelling Icelander, who fights and kills the berserker. The most curious passages are Glúm, ch. 4, 6, Gísl. ch. 1 (cp. Sir Edm. Head’s and Mr. Dasent’s remarks in the prefaces), Grett. ch. 21, 42, Eg. ch. 67, Flóam. S. ch. 15, 17; according to Grett. ch. 21, these banditti were made outlaws by earl Eric, A. D. 1012. It is worth noticing that no berserker is described as a native of Icel.; the historians are anxious to state that those who appeared in Icel. (Nj., Eb., Kr. S. l. c.) were born Norse (or Swedes), and they were looked upon with fear and execration. That men of the heathen age were taken with fits of the ‘furor athleticus’ is recorded in the case of Thorir in the Vd., the old Kveldulf in Eg., and proved by the fact that the law set a penalty upon it. Berserkr now and then occurs as a nickname, Glúm. 378. The author of the Yngl. S. attributes the berserksgangr to Odin and his followers, but this is a sheer misinterpretation, or perhaps the whole passage is a rude paraphrase of Hm. 149 sqq. In the old Hbl. 37 berserkr and giant are used synonymously. The berserkers are the representatives of mere brute force, and it therefore sounds almost blasphemous, when the Norse Barl. S. speaks of Guðs berserkr (a ‘bear-coat’ or champion of God), (Jesus Kristr gleymdi eigi hólmgöngu sins berserks), 54, 197. With the introduction of Christianity this championship disappeared altogether.

(gen. más, pl. mávar), m. seamew; ben-, gunnmár, raven (poet.).

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m., gen. más, dat. mávi or máfi, pl. mávar; in mod. usage sounded in nom. erroneously máfr, gen. máfs; [A. S. meaw; Engl. mew; Germ. möve; Dan. maage]:—a sea-mew, gull (larus), Edda (Gl.), freq. in mod. usage; see also Lex. Poët., where the word freq. occurs; hvít-máfr, the common gull; grá-máfr, the grey gull, larus glaucus: in poetry the sea is máva-röst; má-grund, má-ferill, má-skeið, the land, road of the sea-mews, Lex. Poët.: crows are ben-már, blóð-már; the raven is Yggjar-már, Odin’s mew, and so on.

II. as a pr. name, Landn.: in local names, Máfa-hlíð, whence Máf-hlíðingar, the men of M.; Máfhlíðinga-vísur, the verses of the men of M., Edda (Ht.): más-ungi (proncd. máfs-ungi); also má-skari (q. v.)

(að), v.

1) to cry, scream (of the eagle);

2) to rejoice;

hlakka yfir e-u, to exult over a thing.

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að, [qs. hlag-ka from hlæja], to cry, scream, of the eagle, Vsp. 50, freq. in mod. usage, cp. Landn. 162, where it is used in verse improperly of a raven, for the eagle screams (hlakkar), the raven croaks (krunkar):—metaph., the phrase, h. yfir e-u, to exult over a thing, as an eagle over its prey, Th. 5; ok hlökkuðu nú mjök yfir þessu, Grett. 128; h. yfir sigri, Mar., Al. 178; þú mátt ekki hrína upp yfir þig, það er synd at hlakka yfir vegnum mönnum, Od. xx. 412; hlakka til e-s, one screams with joy at or in prospect of a thing (of children, young people); eg hlakka til að sjá hana, eg hlakka til að fara; cp. börnin hlakka þá ok huggask, Bs. ii. 135; því hjartað mitt er helmingað, | hlakka eg til að finna það, Bb. 3. 17.

(gen. verðar), m. meal (fá árliga verðar); cf. dagverðr, náttverðr.

1) worth, with gen. (meira þykki mér verð vinátta þin); svá þótti honum mikils um vert, he took it so much to heart; mikils verðr, much worth;

2) worthy, deserving; v. e-s, worthy of (þótti þér hann ekki drápunnar verðr?).

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m., gen. verðar; older form virðr, Grág. ii. 92, Hm. 31: [cp. Ulf. wairdus = ξένος; Germ. wirth; the word remains in Dan. nadver, Swed. natt-värd, = the Lord’s Supper]:—a meal, prop. a portion of food, Hým. 16; fá árliga verðar, Hm. 32; sá er um verði ( during a meal) glissir, 30; enn vari gestr er til verðar kemr, 4, 7; hrósa árligum verðinum, Hbl. 4; hverr bóandi er skyldr at gefa þriggja nátta verð hjóna sinna, K. Þ. K.; gefa einn karlmanns-verð fátækum manni, Dipl. ii. 14; þann inn helga verð, the holy meal, 625. 196; ef deildr er verðrinn, Bjarn. 27; ef hann er vís-vitandi at verði eðr at virði við hann, Grág. ii. 92; en at virði vrekask, Hm. 31; nátt-verðr, dag-verðr (dögurðr), máls-verðr, búðar-vörðr (qs. búðar-verðr); úlfs verðr, hrafns verðr, wolf’s, raven’s meal, i. e. prey, Lex. Poët.; sleipnis verðr, ‘horse’s meal,’ i. e. hay, Ýt.; verð-gjafi hrafns, or verð-bjóðr, the raven’s meal-giver, i. e. a warrior, Lex. Poët.

adj. [Ulf. wairþs = ἱκανός; A. S. weorð; Engl. worth; Germ. werth; Dan. værd]:—worth, with gen., Grág. i. 362; meira þykki mér verð vinátta þín, Nj. 74; hitt þykki mér meira vert, er hann tók Dyflinnar-ferð á sik, Fms. vi. 98; smá-sveini, sem yðr mun þvkkja lítils verðr hjá yðr, vii. 158; mikils verðr, much worth, Ld. 18; svá þótti honum mikils um vert, he took it so much to heart, Orkn. 286; mikils verðr, lítils verðr, einskis verðr, etc., passim; ú-verðr, unworthy.

2. worthy; þá þykkja þeir Guði ljúfir ok verðir. loved of God, and worthy, Hom. 159: deserving, þú værir þess verðust kvenna, Skv. 3. 32; ek em ekki at þér gjafa verðr, Bjarn. 55; launa þér sem þú ert verðr, Eg. 239; minni verða launin en vert væri, Nj. 10; sem vert er, Fms. i. 85; þess væri vert, at …, it would be right, Nj. 73; verðr til e-s, worthy of, Stj. 496.

(gen. fótar, dat. fœti, pl. fœtr), m.

1) foot, foot and leg;

spretta (støkkva) á fœtr, to start to one’s feet;

vera á fótum, to be out of bed, be up;

skjóta fótum undir sik, taka til fóta, to take to one’s heels;

eiga fótum fjör at launa, to save one’s life by running away;

hlaupa sem fœtr toga, to run as fast as feet can carry;

kominn af fótum fram, off one’s feet, decrepit;

hverr á fœtr öðrum, one after the other;

2) foot (as a measure).

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m., gen. fótar, dat. fæti; pl. fætr, gen. fóta, dat. fótum; in mod. conversation and even in writing the acc. pl. is used as fem., thus ‘allar fætr,’ not ‘alla fætr,’ and with the article ‘fætrnar,’ which form was already used by poets of the 17th century, Pass. 33. 4, Snót 156: [Goth. fôtus; A. S. fôt; Engl. foot; Germ. fuss; Swed. fot; Dan. fod; Gr. πόδ-, Lat. pĕd-, with a short vowel; but with a long vowel in all Teutonic languages; fit, q. v., also seems to be a kindred word]

I. a foot; and as in some other languages either the foot only or the foot and leg. Icel. distinguish between various animals, and use fótr ( foot) of men, horses, cattle, sheep, etc.; hrammr ( paw) of beasts of prey, as bears, lions; löpp (also paw) of cats, dogs, mice; klær ( claws) of birds of prey, as the raven, eagle; hreifi ( fins) of a seal: Edda 110, Fms. i. 182, xi. 145, Anecd. 6, Nj. 219, 264, Landn. 180: the allit. phrase, fótr ok lit (q. v.); þá var uppi f. og fit, i. e. all ( men and beast) were about or all was bustle; standa báðum fótum, einum fæti, öllum fótum, to stand ( rest) on both … feet, Fms. viii. 41, Gísl. 46; spretta (stökkva) á fætr, to start to one’s feet, Eg. 495; vera á fótum, to be a-foot, to be out of bed, Fms. vi. 201, x. 147, Glúm. 368, Eg. 586; vera snemma á fótum, to be early a-foot, Valla L. 223: metaph. to be alive, Ld. 230; fara á fætr, to rise; skjóta (kasta) fótum undir sik, to take to his heels, Fms. viii. 358, Þórð. 43 new Ed.; hlaupa sem fætr toga, to run as fast as feet can go, Gísl. 61. Fas. i. 434; taka til fóta, to take to one’s heels, Grett. 101, Bs. i. 804; eiga fótum fjör at launa, to owe one’s life to the feet, i. e. to run for one’s life, O. H. L. 8; leggja land undir fót, to take a long stride, Bs. ii. 124, Fkv. ii. 2: phrases denoting the delight of getting on shore, hafa land undir fæti, to feel the ground wider one’s feet, ‘O quam securum, quamque jucundum in solo,’ fastr er á foldu fótr, Profectio in Terr. Sanct. 159; falla til fóta e-m, to fall at another’s feet, 623. 27.

2. phrases, kominn af fotum fram, off one’s feet, bedridden, Fms. xi. 155, Fb. i. 201; þótt ek bera þaðan hvárigan fót heilan þá skal ek þó fara, Fs. 9; hverr á fætr öðrum, one on the heels of another, Eg. 132; Hákon drepr yðr á fætr oss, H. slays you on your feet, Fms. x. 386; miklu er fyrir fætr þér kastað, many things are cast before thy feet, many obstacles, Korm. 176.

β. metaph. phrases, standa á mörgum fótum, to rest on many feet, have many resources; stóð á mörgum fótum fjárarli Skallagríms, Eg. 137, Fms. xi. 423; standa á tré-fótum, to stand on wooden legs, be in a tottering state: það er enginn fótr fyrir því, ‘it has not a foot to stand on,’ i. e. is not true: tún-fótr, the outskirt of a home-field, metaphor from a skin stretched out.

II. a measure, Al. 163, Karl. 438, 481, 509, 525. Ísl. ii. 402, Landn. 335, Fs. 26; fet is more usual.

COMPDS: fótaafl, fótabrík, fótaburðr, fótabúnaðr, fótaferð, fótaferðartími, fótafesti, fótafjöl, fótagangr, fótagrýta, fótahlutr, fótakefli, fótaklæði, fótalæti, fótarbragð, fótarmein, fótarsár, fótarverkr, fótasaurr, fótaskinn, fótaskortr, fótaspyrning, fótastapp, fótastokkr, fótaþil, fótaþváttr.

(gen. -s or -ar), m.

1) longitudinal beam; sledge-runner (þá reif hann meiðinn undan sleðanum); fig., standa á önderverðan meið með e-m, to stand in the forefront as a champion, to support one; mjök þótti mönnum á einn meið hallast með heim, it went all on one side with them;

2) pole, log; telgja meið til rifjar, to cut a log into a loom-beam;

3) tree (hrafn sat á hám meiði);

4) gallows-tree (veit ek, at ek hekk vindga meiði á).

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m., gen. meiðar, Gm. 34 (Bugge), but else meiðs, dat. meiði; [ meid or mei, Ivar Aasen; Swed. mede; perh. derived from meiða, of a lopped and barked tree]:— a pole or longitudinal beam, esp. the two long beams in a sledge, also called sleð-meiðr; þá reif hann meiðinn undan sleðanum, … en Arnkell laust af sér með meiðnum, … hann laust sleðmeiðnum í mót honum, … en meiðrinn kom á garðinn, … en sleðmeiðrinn brotnaði í fjötrar-raufinni, Eb. 190: the phrases, standa á öndverðan meið með e-m, to stand foremost on the meið, to stand at the upcurving of the sledge-bearers, i. e. to stand in the forefront as a champion, Bs. i. 141; cp. ‘staa paa meiom,’ and ‘meia-hals’ = the rising of the meid, Ivar Aasen; mjök þótti mönnum á einn meið hallask með þeim, it went all on one side (metaphor from a sledge capsizing), Bjarn. 59; váð-meiðr, a pole to hang clothes on for drying; nú skulu þér hér reisa við ána váðmeið, ok er konum hægt til þváttar at hreinsa stórföt … þat hygg ek at við þann meið festi hann ykkr upp, Glúm. 390, 391, Rd. 296; cp. váð-áss, Hrafn. 20.

2. poët. a pole; telgja meið til rifjar, to shape a pole for a loom, to make a weaver’s loom, Rm. 15: of the mistletoe, af þeim meiði er mer (i. e. mær = mjór) sýndisk, Vsp.: of the gallows’ tree, Hðm. 18, Ht. (Yngl. S. ch. 26); and of the tree Yggdrasil, Gm. 34, Hm. 139, prob. from the notion of its being the gallows of Odin: so also the raven ‘á meiði’ in Bkv. 11 seems to mean the gallows, cp. Germ. galgen-vogel; in Hkv. 1. 5. it is perh. = váðmeiðr. The word can never be used of a living tree. In poetical circumlocutions of a man, vápna meiðr, passim, see Lex. Poët.

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(að), v.

1) to call, shout, cry (kallaði konungr ok bað létta af);

2) to call, summon by a call, send for (um kveldit kallaði konungr Áslák);

3) to say (sumir menn kalla, at eigi sé sakleysi í);

at kalla, so to say, nominally;

sáttir at kalla, nominally reconciled;

4) kalla sér e-t, to claim for oneself (konungr kallaði sér allar Orkneyjar);

5) to call, name (Mörðr hét maðr, er kallaðr var gígja);

6) refl., kallast, to say of oneself;

konungr kallaðist hann reynt hafa at góðum dreng, the king said that he had found him a good and brave fellow;

7) with preps.:

kalla at e-m, to call to one;

kalla á e-n, to call to one (Flosi gekk þá at durum ok kallaði á Njál); to call on, invoke (kallaði hann á guð ok hinn helga Ólaf);

kalla á e-t, to lay claim to (Snækollr kallaði á bú nökkur þar í eyjunum);

kalla eptir, to protest;

kalla e-n eptir e-m, to call or name after;

kalla til e-s, to call to, invoke (kalla til guðs); to lay claim to, to claim, demand (Snorri kallaði þá til brynju sinnar);

kalla til e-s við e-n, í hendr e-m, to claim a thing from one.

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að, with neg. suff., pres. kalliga, I call not, Gkv. 3. 8; kallar-a, Akv. 37; [an A. S. ceallian occurs once in the poem Byrnoth, and hilde-calla in Exodus, but in both instances the word is Danish; the word however occurs in O. H. G. challon, mid. H. G. kalle, but only in the sense to talk loud, and it is lost in mod. Germ.]:—to call, cry, shout; hver er sá karl karla er kallar um váginn? Hbl. 2; kallaði konungr ok bað létta af, Eg. 92; þá kölluðu allir ok mæltu, 623. 26; bónda-múgrinn æpti ok kallaði, Fms. i. 21; kalla hátt, Sturl. ii. 203; ek em rödd kallanda í eyðimörk, φϊνη βοωντος εν τη ερήμω, 625. 90; kalla kaldri röddu, Akv. 2: of the raven’s cry, hrafn hátt kallaði, Bkv. 11; hann kallaði þegar, bað þá eigi flýja, Fms. viii. 142; Þórir kallaði út á skipit, Ó. H. 136; þá lét hann kalla skip frá skipi, 182; þá kallaði Erlingr ok hét á lið sitt, id.

2. to call, send for; síðan lét konungr kalla bændr, ok sagði at hann vill eiga tal við þá, Ó. H. 109; gékk hann til húsþings síns ok lét þangat kalla menn Svía-kouungs, 45; um kveldit kallaði konungr Áslák, Fms. vii. 161; konungr lét kalla til sín þá bræðr, Eg. 73: eccl., til þess er Guð kallaði hann af heiminum, Fms. ix. 383.

II. to say, call; þat kalla menn at …, people say that …, Fms. x. 277; Svíþjóð ena miklu kalla sumir eigi minni en …, Hkr. 5; at blótmenn kalla eigi, at …, Fagrsk. 18; en ef lands-dróttinn kallar svá, at …, N. G. L. i. 249; þér kallit guð ykkarn margar jartegnir göra, O. H. L. 108; kalla ek betra spurt en úviss at vera, Sks.; sumir menn kalla at eigi sé sakleysi í, þótt …, Ld. 64; þótt þeir kalli fé þetta með sínum föngum, 76.

2. at kalla, so to say, nominally, not really; sáttir at kalla, nominally on good terms, Fms. vii. 246; ok vóru þá sáttir at kalla, Ó. H. 112, Gullþ. 66; létu sér líka þessa tilskipan at kalla, Ísl. ii. 355; þóat menn væri skírðir ok Kristnir at kalla, Eb. 274; Helgi var Kristinn at kalla ( Christian by name) ok þó blandinn mjök í trúnni, Fms. i. 251; greri yfir at kalla, Fs. 67; menn héldusk at kalla, ok gengu á land, Fb. ii. 73; þóat þeir hefði líf at kalla, Stj. 436.

3. to assert; skal þess at bíða, ok kalla hann rjúfa sætt á yðr, Nj. 102; eru synir þínir heima? þat má kalla, segir hón, Fær. 264.

III. with prepp.; kalla á, to call on; hann kallaði á Karla, Ó. H. 136; Höskuldr kallar á hana, farðú hingat til min! segir hann, Nj. 2: to call on, invoke, þá kallaði hann á Guð ok hinn helga Ólaf konung, Ó. H. 242; kallaði hann þá til fulltings ser á Bárð, Bárð. 16. 13 new Ed.: to lay claim to, Snækollr kallaði á bú nokkur þar í eyjunum, Fms. ix. 423:—kalla eptir, to protest; en Kolbeinn kallar eptir ok vill eigi biskups dóm, Sturl. ii. 4:—kalla til e-s, to lay claim to (til-kall, a claim), to claim, demand; þótti nú sem dælst mundi til at kalla, Eg. 264, Fms. ix. 327; þessar eignir er hann kallaði áðr til, x. 414; kallaði hón til alls þess er aðrir áttu í nánd, Nj. 18; hann kallaði til fjár í hendr þeim, Ld. 300: to invoke, Bárð. 173:—kalla aptr, to recall, revoke, N. G. L. iii. 150, H. E. i. 477.

IV. to claim for oneself; kalla sér e-t; konungr kallaði sér allar Orkneyjar, Fms. i. 201; ok kallaði sér þá landit allt, vii. 180; at jarl kalli sér þat, Fs. 132; ef menn skil á, ok kallar annarr sér, en annarr almenning …, hann er jörð þá kallar sér, Gþl. 451; kallaði Grímr hersir konungi allan arf hans, Landn. 213.

V. to call, name; kölluðu Karl, Rm. 18; skal þar kirkju kalla er hann vill, K. Þ. K. 42; köllum karl inn skegglausa, Nj. 67; Mörðr hét maðr er kallaðr var gigja, 1; Einarr er þá var kallaðr Skjaldmeyjar-Einar, Fms. xi. 127; þessir menn vóru kallaðir skírðir, baptized nominally, called Christians, Ísl. ii. 399; Þórr sá er kallaðr er Ása-Þórr, Edda: ok má þat kalla hátta-fall, Skálda 210; þeir taka hann ok kalla njósnar-mann, Sturl. ii. 247; ef maðr kallar annan mann tröllriðu, N. G. L. ii. 326. VI. reflex, to call, tell, say of oneself; kallask sumir hafa látið fé, Ó. H. 58; hón talði upp harma sína þá er hón kallaðisk hafa fengit af Ólafi konungi, 191; konungr kallaðisk hann reynt hafa at góðum dreng, Ld. 60, Geisli 2.

2. recipr., kallask á, to shout to one another; er okkr þá alhægt at kallask á fyrir tíðindum, Fas. ii. 65, Skálda 210.

3. pass. (rare), to be called; speki hans kallask sonr hans, Eluc. 4; er at réttu má kallask postuli Norðmanna, Fms. x. 371; þat er kallat, it is said, 656 C. 1; ok vísar svá til í sögu Bjarnar, at þeir kallaðisk jafnir at íþróttum, Grett. 133, cp. Bjarn. 38,—þeir lögðusk ofan eptir ánni, ok vóru ‘kallaðir’ jafnsterkir menn.

m. an oath-brother, confederate, Fms. ix. 294, Bær. 16: metaph., arnar e., the oath-brother of the eagle, the raven Fagrsk 4 (in a verse).

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(-ða, -ðr), v. to move, stir, with acc.;

refl., hreyfast, to put oneself in motion, stir.

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ð, [Ivar Aasen royva], to stir, with acc., (but in mod. usage, with acc. of a person, and dat. of a thing); nú varðar eigi þótt sá seyðr rjúki er þeir hafa hreyft, Fms. vi. 105; engi knút fékk hann leyst ok engi álar-endann hreyft, Edda 28.

II. reflex. to put oneself into motion, stir, Mag. 93: of a bird (= beina flug), rœyfðisk inn hösfjaðri, Fagrsk. (Hornklofi), of the raven, to shake his feathers, cp. Fms. x. 130 (in a verse); hann hreyfðisk at fljúga, Konr.; feldr nokkurr liggr þar—mér þykkir sem hræfisk (i. e. hrœyfisk) stundum er ek lít til, Fas. ii. 167.

2. metaph., hefsk upp ok hreyfisk í farsælligum hlutum, Stj. 376.

III. this word, which in old writers is of rare occurrence and limited in sense, has in mod. usage become one of the general terms for to move, stir, and is usually, though erroneously, spelt with ei, hreifa; hreifa við e-u, to touch on a thing; hreifa sig, to stir the limbs; hann hreifir sig ekki, he does not stir:—also with dat., h. e-u máli, to move, bring forward a case; hann hreifði því ekki, he did not even mention it; hvar sem ófriðr hreifir sér, Pass. 21. 13.

adj. blue-black, epithet of the raven, Landn. (in a verse).

a, m., poët name of the raven, bold of mood, Lex. Poët.

adj. dark-skinned, of dark hue, Edda (Ht.), of the raven.

n. onomatop. the raven’s cry; knúk! krúnk! Snót (1866) 141.

f. gladsomeness, cheerfulness.

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f. gladsomeness, joy, cheerfulness; mæla teiti, Gh. 2; opt var í túni teiti meiri, Gkv. 1. 22; ek verð at hefja þessa teiti, Fms. vii. 119; hitt er ölsiðr meiri, at menn göri sér gaman, ok fám oss ölteiti nökkura, id.; leik ok teiti. play and joy, vii. (in a verse): poët., hugins teiti, the raven’s cheer, Geisli. teiti-mál, n. pl. words of good cheer, Kormak.

m. the wise raven of Odin.

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m. the wise raven of Odin, Gm., Edda.

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n. pl. Yule, a great midwinter feast in the heathen time, afterwards applied to Christmas.

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n. pl., in rhymes, gólig, Jóla, Ó. H. (in a verse); [A. S. geôl, sometimes used of the whole month of December, whereas December is also called æra geola = fore Yule, and January æftera geola = after Yule; the plur. in Icel. perhaps refers to this double month. The origin and etymology of the word Yule is much contested, and has been treated at length by Grimm (Gesch. der Deutschen Sprache), who tries to make out a relation between the Lat. Jūlus or Jūlius and the Teut. Yule, the one being a midsummer month, the other a midwinter month; like former etymologists, he also derives the word from hjól, a wheel, as referring to the sun’s wheeling round at midwinter and midsummer time. The resemblance of the words is striking, as also the old northern celebration of the midsummer feast Jónsvaka (see below), which was in fact a kind of midsummer Yule.]

B. Yule, a great feast in the heathen time, afterwards applied to Christmas (as still in North. E.) In Icel. popular usage Yule-eve is a kind of landmark by which the year is reckoned, so that a man is as many years old as he has passed Yule nights, hafa lifað (so and so) margar Jóla-nætr; for the year counts from Yule night, whence the phrase, vera ílla or vel á ár kominn, to become well or ill in the year; thus a person born shortly before Yule is ‘ílla á ár kominn,’ for at next Yule he will be reckoned one year old, whereas one born just after it is ‘vel á ár kominn.’ The heathen Yule lasted thirteen days, whence are derived the names Þrettándi, the thirteenth = Epiphany, i. e. the 6th of January, as also the Engl. ‘Twelfth-night;’ it is however probable that the heathen feast was held a little later than the Christian (see hökunótt). The heathen Yule was a great merry-making, and tales of ghosts, ogres, and satyrs were attached to it, esp. the Jóla-sveinar or ‘Yule-lads,’ a kind of goblins or monster satyrs, thirteen in number, one to each day of the feast, sons of the kidnapping hag Grýla (q. v.), whose names were used to frighten children with, see Ísl. Þjóðs. i. 219, 220. As the night lengthens and the day shortens, the ghosts gain strength, and reach their highest at Yule time, see Grett. ch. 34–37, 67–70, Eb. ch. 34, Flóam. S. ch. 22. The day next before Yule is called atfanga-dagr (q. v.) Jóla, when stores were provided and fresh ale brewed, Jóla-öl. Passages in the Sagas referring to Yule are numerous, e.g. Hervar. S. ch. 4, Hálfd. S. Svarta ch. 8, Har. S. Hárf. ch. 16 (in a verse), Hák. S. Góða ch. 12, 15, 19, Ó. H. ch. 151, Eb. ch. 31, Landn. 3. ch. 15 (in the Hb.), Bjarn. 51 sqq., Sturl. iii. 127. As for Yule games cp. the Norse and Danish Jule-buk, Jola-geit (Ivar Aasen) = a Yule goat, Dan. Jule-leg = a Yule game.

II. in poetry a feast (generally); hugins jól, a raven’s feast, Fms. vi. 255 (in a verse), cp. Bjarn. 36.

COMPDS: Jólaaptan, Jólabál, Jólaboð, Jólabók, Jóladagr, Jóladrykkja, Jólafasta, Jólafriðr, Jólaföstubók, Jólaföstutíð, Jólagjöf, Jólagrið, Jólahald, Jólahelgi, Jólahöll, Jólakveld, Jólales, Jólamorgin, Jólanótt, Jólaskrá, Jólasveinar, Jólatíð, Jólatíðir, Jólatíðabók, Jólatungl, Jólaveizla, Jólavist, Jólaöl.

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(gen. pl. eggja), n. egg.

(gen. -jar, dat. -ju; pl. -jar), f. edge; eyða (verja) oddi ok eggju, by force of arms, with might and main.

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n. [A. S. äg; Engl. egg; Swed. ägg; Dan. æg; Germ. ei], an egg, Eg. 152, Grág. ii. 346; arnar-e., æðar-e., álptar-e., hrafns-e., dúfu-e., kriu-e., etc., an eagle’s egg, eider duck’s, swan’s, raven’s, dove’s, etc.; also, höggorms egg, a snake’s egg: eggja-hvíta, f. the white of an egg: eggja-rauða, f. or eggja-blómi, m. the yolk; verpa eggjum, to lay eggs; liggja á eggjum, to sit on eggs, brood; koma, skríða ór eggi, of the young, to come out of the egg, Fagrsk. 4 (in a verse): an egg is glænýtt fresh, stropað half-hatched, ungað hatched; vind-egg, a wind-egg, addled egg; fúl-egg, a rotten egg; vera lostinn fúlu eggi, proverb of a sad and sulky looking fellow that looks as if one had pelted him with rotten eggs, Gísl. 39 (in a verse); fullt hús matar og finnast hvergi dyrnar á, a riddle describing an egg; but fullt hús drykkjar og finnast hvergi dyrnar á, the berry: eggja-fata, f. a bucket in which to gather eggs: eggja-kaka, f. an ‘egg-cake,’ omelet: eggja-leit, f. a gathering of eggs, etc.

f., gen. sing. and nom. pl. eggjar, old dat. eggju, mod. egg; [Lat. acies; A. S. ecg; Engl. edge; Hel. eggja; O. H. G. ecka, Germ. ecke, is the same word, although altered in sense; Swed. ägg; Dan. æg]:—an edge, Eg. 181, 183, Nj. 136: the phrase, með oddi ok eggju, with point and edge, i. e. by force of arms, with might and main, Ó. H. ch. 33, Grág. ii. 13, Nj. 149, 625. 34; oddr ok egg, ‘cut and thrust,’ Hom. 33; drepa í egg, to blunt: as the old swords of the Scandinavians were double-edged (only the sax had a single edge), egg is freq. used in pl.; takattu á eggjum, eitr er í báðum, touch not the edges, poison is in both of them, Fas. i. 522 (in a verse); the phrase, deyfa eggjar, vide deyfa: the sword is in poetry called eggjum-skarpr, m. with sharp edges; and the blade, tongue of the hilt, Lex. Poët.; sverðs-eggjar, sword edges; knífs-egg, öxar-egg, the edge of a knife, axe.

2. metaph., fjalls-egg, the ridge of a mountain, Hkr. ii. 44; reisa á egg, to set ( a stone) on its edge, opp. to the flat side, Edda 40: eggja-broddr, m. an edged spike, Fms. x. 355.

1) bristle, bristles; draga burst ór nefi em, to draw a bristle out of one’s nose, to cheat one;

2) gablehead or ridge of a house.

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I. [A. S. byrst, Germ. borste; Swed. bösta], a bristle, Hb. (1865) 22; but also of a hog’s back and bristles, Edda 70; cp. Gullin-bursti, Gold-bristle, the mythical hog of the god Frey; Fas. i. 532 (of the sónargöltr, the sacred hog); Fms. v. 165: the phrase, draga bust ór nefi e-m, to draw a bristle out of one’s nose, to cheat, gull one, Ölk. 36, does not occur anywhere else that we know of; the Engl. say, ‘to lead one by the nose,’ in much the same sense.

II. metaph. the gable of a house (hús-burst), Hkr. iii. 14 (of a shrine), Mar. 106, Konr. 57; og gogginn á bustinni brýnir (of a raven sitting on the top of a house and whetting his bill), Sig. Breiðfjörð.

COMPDS: burstakollr, burstarhár.

(gen. hrannar, pl. hrannir), f. wave; dat. pl., hrönnum, in heaps (drepr hann hirðmenn konungs niðr hrönnum).

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f., gen. hrannar, pl. hrannir, a wave, esp. used in poetry, Stor. 6, Hkv. 1. 26, passim: a ship is called hrann-blakkr, -valr, the steed, hawk of the wave, (also hranna elgr, hranna hrafn, the elk, raven of the wave); gold is called hrann-blik, -eldr, wave-fire, Lex. Poët.: hrann-garðr, m. a wall of waves, id.

II. in prose, old and esp. mod., hrannir, f. pl. the heaps or swathes of seaweed and shells along the beach; hræs hrannir, heaps of slain, Edda (Ht.)

2. dat. pl. hrönnum, adverb. in heaps, Lat. catervatim, = unnvörpum, drepr hann hirðmenn konungs hrönnum niðr, Fas. i. 105.

III. one of the northern Nereids was called Hrönn, Edda.