''Þrymlur'' is an
Icelandic mythological
Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...
''
rímur
In Icelandic literature, a ''ríma'' (, literally "a rhyme", pl. ''rímur'', ) is an epic poetry, epic poem written in any of the so-called ''rímnahættir'' (, "rímur meters"). They are rhymed, they alliterative verse, alliterate and consist of ...
'' cycle dated to the 15th century. Þrymlur narrates
Thor
Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred g ...
's reclaiming of his hammer
Mjöllnir from the giant
Þrymr
In Norse mythology, Þrymr (''Thrymr'', ''Thrym''; "noise"Rudolf Simek, trans. Angela Hall, ''Dictionary of Northern Mythology'', Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, 1993, repr. 2000, p. 330.John McKinnell, "Myth as Therapy: The Usefulness of ''Þrymskviða ...
, a myth also preserved in the
Eddic poem ''
Þrymskviða
''Þrymskviða'' (Þrym's Poem; the name can be Old Norse orthography, anglicised as ''Thrymskviða'', ''Thrymskvitha'', ''Thrymskvidha'' or ''Thrymskvida'') is one of the best known poems from the ''Poetic Edda''. The Norse mythology, Norse my ...
''. The version in ''Þrymlur'' is believed to be based on that of ''Þrymskviða'', but is in some respects more detailed and has some independent elements.
The cycle consists of three ''rímur'', each in a different verse form. The first is in ''
ferskeytt'', the second in ''
braghent'' and the third in ''
stafhent''. The ''rímur'' are only preserved in one medieval manuscript, ''
Staðarhólsbók''. The beginning of the first ''ríma'' is lost.
Sophus Bugge
Elseus Sophus Bugge (5 January 1833 – 8 July 1907) was a Norwegian philologist and linguist. His scholarly work was directed to the study of runic inscriptions and Norse philology. Bugge is best known for his theories and his work on the runi ...
argued that the Scandinavian ballad ''
Torsvisen'' was originally based on ''Þrymlur'', pointing out some parallels.
Finnur Jónsson
Finnur Jónsson (May 29, 1858 – March 30, 1934) was an Icelandic philologist and Professor of Nordic Philology at the University of Copenhagen. He made extensive contributions to the study of Old Norse literature.
Finnur Jónsson was born a ...
and Björn Karel Þórólfsson regarded this as highly improbable.
[; ]
Editions
* ''Early Icelandic rímur''. (Corpus codicum Islandicorum medii aevi 11). 1938. Ed. Craigie, William A. Copenhagen. ''Facsimile edition''.
* ''Fernir forníslenskir rímnaflokkar''. 1896. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. Copenhagen. ''Edition with
normalized spelling''.
* ''Rímnasafn: Samling af de ældste islandske rimer''. I–II. 1905–1922. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. Copenhagen. ''Diplomatic edition''.
* ''The Bearded Bride: a critical edition of Þrymlur''. 2020. Ed. and trans. Lee Colwill and Haukur Þorgeirsson. London. ''Critical edition with English translation''.
Secondary sources
*
*
*
**
* Jón Þorkelsson (1888). ''Om digtningen på Island i det 15. og 16. århundrede''. København: A. F. Høst.
* Sverrir Tómasson (1996). "Nýsköpun eða endurtekning? Íslensk skáldmennt og Snorra Edda fram til 1609." ''Guðamjöður og arnarleir: Safn ritgerða um eddulist''. Ed. Sverrir Tómasson. Reykjavík:1–64.
* Vésteinn Ólason (1999). "Rímur og miðaldarómantík". ''Heiðin minni''. Eds. Haraldur Bessason and Baldur Hafstað. Reykjavík:221–239.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thrymlur
Rímur