Gripla - 20.12.2018, Side 150

GRIPLA150
2.4. Summary
Given that the two major explanations of the word aldrnari discussed
above – ‘fire’ or askr Yggdrasils – are at odds with each other, the matter
seems to have reached an impasse. Most scholars assume that aldrnari
means ‘fire’. this hypothesis is taken for granted in the principal com-
mentaries, dictionaries, and translations. other scholars have proposed
different accounts, and the most common alternative meaning suggested is
askr Yggdrasils. this idea, which goes back to the 19th century, has gained
in popularity in recent decades, and is embraced, for example, in the new
edition by Jónas Kristjánsson and Vésteinn Ólason. neither hypothesis,
however, is based on assumptions that are as solid as one might wish. Both
have in common that aldrnari is assumed to mean ‘nourisher of life’, either
as ‘fire’ or as askr Yggdrasils. the main counterargument against the former
view is that fire otherwise appears as a destructive force in this poem,
whereas here it would be the one who maintains life.38 In addition, the
arguments brought forth by Jónas and Vésteinn also undermine the fire
hypothesis. on the other hand, among the problems facing the claim that
aldrnari refers to askr Yggdrasils is the fact, emphasized by Dronke, that
such an interpretation would involve conflicting images of the end of the
world tree in Völuspá.
Rather than trying to enumerate further arguments for or against ex-
isting proposals, it is advisable to approach the word aldrnari with a fresh
mind, exploring other leads, in particular comparable forms in related lan-
guages. In this regard it is worth considering the analogues in old English,
which have long been known but have so far not received the scrutiny they
deserve.39 It will emerge from the discussion that the scholars who cited the
old English words in connection with the old Icelandic one were on the
right track, although they seem not to have been aware of the significance of
the parallel forms in the two languages, or at least only to a certain degree.
Based on these premises, I propose a new account. a crucial point of the
analysis is that while the first part of the compound contains aldr ‘age, life’,
as is universally agreed, the second part, -nari, is not derived from the verb
næra ‘nourish’ in old Icelandic but is akin to forms found outside of north
Germanic, related to old English nerian and Gothic nasjan ‘save’.
38 Hallberg, “Världsträdet och världsbranden,” 155, and “Elements of Imagery,” 63.
39 See especially, Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon, Íslensk orðsifjabók, 659.