Þulur

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Þulur (Old Norse, singular þula , German “word series”) are memory series or word lists of poetic paraphrases ( synonyms ) in the form of the adjectival Heiti , which served as an aid through the first oral transmission of poetological knowledge. In the Þulur, name material is taken from the corpus of place names ( toponyms ) and from mythical contexts. This literary technique is found primarily in the poems of the Lieder Edda .

genus

The Þulur include sayings, series of memos, the extensive synonym lists in the Snorra- Edda (especially Skáldskaparmál ), poetic synonyms for proper names ( heiti ) or mythological proper names or place names, and in general mythological or cosmogonic knowledge. The Þulur pass this knowledge on in a strictly formalized language. They use mnemonic aids such as alliteration , rhythm and group formation. Such memorial stanzas are incorporated into the Eddic poems Grímnismál , Alvíssmál and Rigsthula or in the dwarf directory of the Völuspá . The canonically processed content in the Þulur has its roots in the oldest poetry, and where this is lost, numerous archaic words and formulas are only preserved in the ulur.

Sit in the ritual

The origin of such a genre certainly goes back to the ritual instruction of Þulr (Old Norse þulr ). Nordic studies refer to this religious functionary as a ritual orator; he is a practitioner of ritual speech and as such is responsible for carrying out cult and ritual . The Eddic poems and Icelandic sagas contain episodes that recall the former function of the Þuls. If one takes the corresponding Edda stanzas in Grímnismál and Hávamál seriously, this touches the context of the magical sphere of Odin (Old Norse Óðinn ), who subjected himself to the initiations in which this instruction may have taken place.

literature