Bibliotheca Arnamagnæana - 01.06.1999, Page 314

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Part Two
XII Foreign matter poems
Introduction
Kuhn’s “Fremdstofflieder” hypothesis has already been dealt with in its
historical context (pp. 153-57 above); here we are concemed with the
validity of his argument. First and foremost we will examine the basis
for his statistical inferences, but also try to evaluate his more general
argument.
“Foreign matter poems” which are viewed as a subcategory of the
greater class “Eddie poems in fornyrdislag”, are defined in terms of
their subject matter.1 Included in this group are as the following poems
from Codex Regius: Vglundarkvida, Gripisspå, Reginsmål, Fdfnismål,
Sigrdnfumål, Brot af Sigurdarkvidu, Gudrunarkvida I, Sigurdarkvida in
skamma, Helreid Brynhildar, Gudrunarkvida II, Gudrunarkvida III, Od-
drunargråtr, Atlakvida, Atlamål, Gudrunarhvgt, Hamdismål and, in ad-
dition, the following poems preserved in other manuscripts: Hlgdskvida
(Hunnenschlachtlied), Hildibrandskvida (Hildibrands Sterbelied), frag-
ments in Vglsunga saga, and fragments in Heidreks saga. The group
thus consists of 20 poems and fragments comprising about 2200 long
lines in all.2
The complementary group, “domestic” poems in fornyrdislag, con-
sists of 6 poems preserved in Codex Regius: VQluspå, Hymiskvida,
Prymskvida, Helgakvida Hundingsbana I, Helgakvida HjQrvardssonar,
Helgakvida Hundingsbana II, 5 poems from other sources included in
Kuhn’s Edda edition (1962): Baldrs draumar, Rigspula, Hyndluljod,
GrottasQngr, fragments in Snorri’s Edda (in all 545 long lines), further
1 Kuhn 1933: 36-37 = 1969: 46. Cf. p. 155 n. 74 above.
2 In four cases, Reginsmål, Fdfnismål, Sigrdnfumål and Hamdismål, we are dealing with
parts of poems, as verses in Ijodahåttr are left out.