Aldrnari

Abstract

The word aldrnari is attested once in the old Icelandic corpus, in Völuspá verse 54. It occurs in the form við aldrnara in the Konungsbók manuscript and in the form ok aldrnari in Hauksbók and other manuscripts. the word also appears among the heiti for ‘fire’ in the þulur. Aldrnari is usually taken to mean ‘the one who nourishes life’ as a reference to fire. Others have suggested that the word refers to askr Yggdrasils the ‘tree of life’. Neither explanation is entirely sufficient. Scholars have noted that aldrnari corresponds to a form in Old English that is preserved in tenth-century manuscripts and is thought to denote ‘lifesaver, refuge’ or even ‘the one who saves life’. The Old English noun ealdornere, aldornere is attested onlyin oblique cases (accusative/dative) but would be ealdorneru, *aldorneru in the nominative. This article investigates the Old English and Old Icelandic words more closely and argues that aldrnari in Völuspá is a loanword from Old English. The article also explains how the form was adapted grammatically into Old Icelandic. The article concludes that the word aldrnari is in keeping with Pétur Pétursson’s interpretation of Völuspá in light of Christian visions of the apocalypse.