Íslenskt mál og almenn málfræði - 01.01.1979, Side 193

Jólasveinar komnir í leikinn
173
Tvö síðustu nöfnin vantar í B. í stað þeirra er þulan látin enda á
fjórum samsettum nöfnum. Eitt er Gluggagægir, alþekkt jólasveinanafn
úr Þjóðsögum Jóns Ámasonar. í tveimur nafnanna er síðari nafnliður
-sleikir, sem má segja að sé einkennandi fyrir jólasveinanöfn. Fjórða
nafnið er Bitahœngir, sem Guðmundur Gísli skýrir svo að hann berji
fótastokkinn á eldhúsbitunum. Allir hafa þessir jólasveinar nöfn af iðju
sinni.
í C eru tvö samsett jólasveinanöfn laus við þuluna. Annað er Ket-
krókur, sem er þekkt nafn úr Þjóðsögum Jóns Ámasonar. Hitt er
Lunguslettir eða Lungnaslettir, sem ég hef aðeins heyrt hjá Helgu, og
skýrist það nægilega af lýsingu hennar á hegðun þessa jólasveins.
SUMMARY
At the beginning, Else Enajarvi’s study of Timmermansleken, a game based on a
rhyme consisting of words out of context, is briefly discussed. The oldest known
transcript of this game-rhyme is in a Swedish ms. from about 1600. Enajárvi
interpreted the text as a sequence of derogatory names given to participants in
the game. Her conclusion was that the game probably was of Swedish origin and
not much older than from the beginning of the 16th century. Furthermore, Nor-
wegian and Faroese versions of the game are reviewed.
In the middle section of the article, the term þula is briefly discussed in connec-
tion with sequences of names in older poetry, such as Þorgrímsþula, Allra flagða
þula and Rígsþula. In later sources the word þula refers to a special type of poetry,
not divided into stanzas and simple in form. Some of these þulur are of foreign
origin; they are anonymous and have been transmitted orally. Systematic collec-
tion of þulur began about 1845, but a few /w/ur-transcripts are older. The þulur
are of varying age, and apart from the oldest written records, there are few clues
for dating. Two things can be mentioned, though. One is the spread of the þula
'n different versions over the country. The other is comparison with foreign
Parallels. Sometimes the closest relation seems to be to rhymes from the West-
Scandinavian language area. It is likely that conditions were favourable for oral
transmission between Iceland and Norway up to the close of the Middle Ages.
After the Reformation, Danish influence became dominant in Iceland, making
°ral transmission from Denmark to Iceland more likely.
Sequences of names are common in þulur from later centuries. One example is
œttartala til Óðins (a lineage traced to Odin), a common ending of the þula Heyrði
ég í hamrinum (I heard it from the cliff). A closely related parallel is found in
Norway. Kúaþulan (The cows’ rhyme) is popular in Iceland. It often begins as a
lullaby; then the cows are named individually with intervening remarks. This
rhyme is also found in the Faroes, and a fragment has been recorded in the