Skjöldr

Old Norse Dictionary - skjöldr

Meaning of Old Norse word "skjöldr" (or skjǫldr) in English.

As defined by the Cleasby & Vigfusson Old Norse to English dictionary:

skjöldr Old Norse word can mean:

skjöldr (skjǫldr): m., gen. skjaldar, dat. skildi; an old dat. in poets skjaldi,—hjaldrs á mínum skjaldi, Eb. 27 new Ed. (in a verse); haldorð í bug skjaldi, Fms. v.. (in a verse); haldir fast ok skjaldi, Kormak: plur. skildir; acc. skjöldu, mod. skildi: [Ulf. skildus = θυρεός, Ephes. v.. 16; Dan. skjold; Swed. sköld; common to all Teut. languages: it is commonly derived from skjól, shelter, although the short root vowel and the final d of skild speak against this: ‘skillingr’ or ‘skildingr’ (a shilling) may be a derivative from ‘skildus,’ from the shape, and from the painted or scratched ‘ring’ on the shields; see below: in fact, an old poet (Bragi) calls the shield ‘the penny of the hall of Odin.’]

skjöldr (skjǫldr): A. A shield, the generic name; the special names are, rönd, rít, baugr, targa, lind; þeir höfðu ekki langa skjöldu, Fas. i. 379; góðan skjöld ok þjökkan á hálsi, Sks. 407; skjöld á hlið, Bjarn. 62, and so in countless instances.

skjöldr (skjǫldr): II. special phrases; halda skildi fyrir e-m (e-n), to hold one’s shield, as a second in a holmganga, Glúm. 332, Korm. 88; or, fyrir e-n, Ísl. ii. 257; era héra at borgnara þótt hæna beri skjöld, Fms. v.i. 116: hafa e-n at skildi, to have another as one’s shield, i. e. seek shelter behind him, Nj. 8; bera efra skjöld, to carry the highest shield, gain the day, Fas. i. 383, Fms. x. 394: þjóna undir þann skjöld, to serve under that shield, that standard, vii. 293; þjóna undir sama skjöld, viii. 109: binda öllum jafnan skjöld, to tie the same shield to all, treat all in one fashion (metaphor from a withy-shield?), Clem. 44: leika tveim skjöldum, to play with two shields, play a double game (metaphor from the red and white shields, see B), Am. 70, Hkr. i. (in a verse): koma í opna skjöldu, to fall into the open (hollow) shield, to attack in flank (from the left), Fms. v.. 408, Stj. 365, Eg. 295, Fb. ii. 123; rennir sá maðr í kirkjugarð, ok sækir þingat skjöld, and seeks protection there, n. G. l. i. 352; múrr ok skjöldr, Mar.

skjöldr (skjǫldr): III. of any shield-formed thing; tólgar-s., a round piece of tallow; also of shield-like spots on cattle or whales: of a white tablet in churches, Vm. 142, 162, 168, Ám. 55, Pm. 17: brjóst-skjöldr, a round brooch.

skjöldr (skjǫldr): IV. a pr. name, Nj., Hkr. (of the son of Odin, the ancestor of the Danish kings); Skjöldungar, Edda; Skjöldr Skánunga goð, Fb. iii. 246.

skjöldr (skjǫldr): COMPDS: skjaldarband, skjaldarbukl, skjaldarfetill, skjaldarjötunn, skjaldarrönd, skjaldarskirfl, skjaldarsporðr.

skjöldr (skjǫldr): B. Remarks on the shield.—A shield was raised as a signal in time of war; a red shield betokened war (rauðr skjöldr, her-skjöldr), a white shield peace (hvítr skjöldr, friðar-skjöldr, a peace-shield); in a battle the red shield was hoisted, Hkv. 1. 33; but, bregða upp friðar skildi, to hoist the (white) shield of peace, was a sign that the battle was to cease; hann lét skjóta upp skildi hvítum, Fagrsk. 6l, Fms. v.i. 23; hence also the phrase, bera herskjöld, or, fara herskildi, to harry, overrun a land with the ‘war shield,’ see frið-skjöldr and her-skjöldr (s. v. herr). War ships were lined from stem to stern with a wall of shields,—skip skarat skjöldum, or skjaldat skip; hann kom í Bjarnar-fjörð með al-skjölduðu skipi, síðan var hann Skjaldar-Björn kallaðr, Landn. 156. The halls of the ancients were hung all round with a row of shields, Gm. 9, Edda 2, Eg. 43, see the curious story in Fas. iii. 42. For the shield-wall in battles see skjald-borg. Ancient sayings; nú er skarð fyrir skildi, now there is a gap for a shield, a breach in the fence, of a heavy loss, such as the death of a person, nú er skarð fyrir skildi, nú er svanrinn nár á Tjörn, Jón Þorl.; höggva skarð í skildi e-s, to cut a notch in one’s shield, inflict a severe blow, Orkn. (in a verse). Shields were furnished with a painted or carved ‘ring’ representing mythological or heroic subjects; these rings are the earliest works of Northern art on record, hence come the names rít, baugr, rönd, of which rít points to scratching (whereas Bragi used ‘fá’ = to paint); rauðum skildi, rönd var ór gulli, Hkv. 1. 33. Such shields were a lordly gift, and gave rise to several ancient poems treating of the subjects carved or painted on the shield, such as the famous Haust-löng by Thjodolf, the Ragnars-kviða by Bragi, the two Beru-drápur (Shield-songs) by Egill; these ‘shield-lays’ were afterwards the sources of the writer of the Edda, but only a few fragments are preserved; (cp. the Greek lay on ‘the shield of Heracles,’ and the lay on Achilles’ shield in the Iliad.)

Orthography: The Cleasby & Vigfusson book used letter ö to represent the original Old Norse vowel ǫ. Therefore, skjöldr may be more accurately written as skjǫldr.

Possible runic inscription in Younger Futhark:ᛋᚴᛁᚢᛚᛏᚱ
Younger Futhark runes were used from 8th to 12th centuries in Scandinavia and their overseas settlements

Abbreviations used:

acc.: accusative.

Dan.: Danish.

dat.: dative.

f.: feminine.

gen.: genitive.

m.: masculine.

mod.: modern.

n.: neuter.

plur.: plural.

Swed.: Swedish.

Teut.: Teutonic.

Ulf.: Ulfilas.

i. e.: id est.

l.: line.

L.: Linnæus.

ch.: chapter.

pr.: proper, properly.

cp.: compare.

s. v.: sub voce.

v.: vide.

Works & Authors cited:

Eb.: Eyrbyggja Saga. (D. II.)

Fms.: Fornmanna Sögur. (E. I.)

Bjarn.: Bjarnar Saga. (D. II.)

Fas.: Fornaldar Sögur. (C. II.)

Sks.: Konungs Skugg-sjá. (H. II.)

Am.: Atla-mál. (A. II.)

Clem.: Clements Saga. (F. III.)

Eg.: Egils Saga. (D. II.)

Fb.: Flateyjar-bók (E. I.)

Glúm.: Víga-Glúms Saga. (D. II.)

Hkr.: Heimskringla. (E. I.)

Korm.: Kormaks Saga. (D. II.)

Mar.: Maríu Saga. (F. III.)

N. G. L.: Norges Gamle Love. (B. II.)

Nj.: Njála. (D. II.)

Stj.: Stjórn. (F. I.)

Ám.: Auðunnar-máldagi. (J. I.)

Pm.: Pétrs-máldagi. (J. I.)

Vm.: Vilkins-máldagi. (J. I.)

Edda: Edda. (C. I.)

Björn: Biörn Halldórsson.

Fagrsk.: Fagrskinna. (K. I.)

Gm.: Grímnis-mál. (A. I.)

Hkv.: Helga-kviða Hundingsbana. (A. II.)

Jón Þorl.: Jón Þorláksson.

Landn.: Landnáma. (D. I.)

Orkn.: Orkneyinga Saga. (E. II.)

➞ See all works cited in the dictionary

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This headword also appears in dictionaries of other languages descending from Old Norse.