Grimnismal: An edition and commentary

Abstract

This thesis offered for the degree of Master of Philosophy is about Grimnismal, an Eddaic mythological poem. Two versions of the text have been prepared from the manuscripts. One is a diplomatic text while facing it is a version based on thirteenth century forms of the language. Variant readings are given in footnotes.The introduction supplies information on the contents and history of the two manuscripts containing this poem, discusses their possible age and provenance, and examines style and metre. Further, problems of possible interpolation are considered, as are the literary aspects of the poem. The plot of Grimnismal is traced through the poem while the various motifs in the prose framework are related to other literary works or to folklore. Finally, the introduction considers the paleography and orthography as well as the vocabulary of the poem while the linguistic relationship of the poem with its prose is examined. The commentary attempts to providex etymologies and explanations of the many proper names in the text and to identify the people, animals and places mentioned therein. References to both the introduction and the commentary and a translation complete the apparatus.