Kennings: Examples with Origin and Explanations
Primary Meaning / Kenning Translated / Original Kenning / Explanation / Source Language / Exampleaxe / blood-ember / N
battle / spear-din / N / Snorri Sturluson Skaldskaparmal
blood / slaughter-dew / N
blood / battle-sweat / One reference for this kenning comes from the epic poem, Beowulf. As Beowulf is in fierce combat with Grendel's Mother, he makes mention of shedding much battle-sweat. / N / Beowulf
blood / wound-sea / svarraði sárgymir / N / Eyvindr Skáldaspillir Hákonarmál 7).
chieftain or king / breaker of rings / Alludes to a ruler breaking the golden rings upon his arm and using them to reward his followers. / OE / Beowulf
death / sleep of the sword / OE / Beowulf
death / flame-farewelled / Implicitly honourable death / N
fire / bane of wood / grand viðar / ON / Snorri Sturluson Skáldskaparmál 36
wife / girl of the houses / sól húsanna / ON / Snorri Sturluson Skáldskaparmál 36
gold / serpent's lair / Serpents (and dragons) were reputed to lie upon gold in their nests / N / Skáldskaparmál
honour / mind's worth / weorðmyndum / OE / Beowulf
hook / bait-gallows / Ic / Flateyjarbok
kill enemies / Feed the eagle / Killing enemies left food for the eagles / S / Gripsholm Runestone
Odin / Lord of the gallows / See the separate page List of names of Odin for more Odin kennings / N
Odin / Hanged god / Odin hung on the Tree of Knowledge for nine days in order to gain wisdom. / N
poetry / Grímnir's lip-streams / Grímnir is one of the names of Odin / N / Þórsdrápa
raven / swan of blood / ravens ate the dead at battlefields / N
the sea / whale-road / hron-rād / N,OE / Beowulf 10: "In the end each clan on the outlying coasts beyond the whale-road had to yield to him and begin to pay tribute"
the sea / sail road / seġl-rād / OE / Beowulf 1429 b
the sea / whale's way / hwæl-weġ / N,OE / The Seafarer 63 a; Beowulf
serpent / valley-trout / N / Skaldskaparmal
shield / headland of swords / sverða nesi / There is a connection to the word "nesa" meaning subject to public ridicule/failure/shame, i.e. "the failure/shame of swords", not only "where the sword first hits/ headland of swords" Kennings can sometimes be a triple entendre. / N / þorbjörn Hornklofi: Glymdrápa 3
ship / wave-swine / unnsvín / N
ship / sea-steed / gjálfr-marr / N / Hervararkviða 27; Skáldskaparmál
sky / Ymir’s skull / Ymis haus / N / Arnórr jarlaskáld Magnúsdrápa 19
the sun / sky-candle / heofon-candel / OE / Exodus 115 b
the sun / sky's jewel / heofones ġim / OE / The Phoenix 183
the sun / glory of elves / álf röðull / álf röðull (alfrodull), meaning "glory-of-elves" refers both to the chariot of the sun goddess Sól and to the rider (the sun herself). / N / Skírnismál Vafþrúðnismál
sword / blood-worm / N
sword / icicle of blood / N
sword / wound-hoe / ben-grefill / N / Egill Skallagrímsson: Höfuðlausn 8
sword / onion of war / ímun-laukr / Or leek of war / N / Eyvindr Skáldaspillir Lausavísa 8
war / weather of weapons / N / Skaldskaparmal
warrior / feeder of ravens / grennir gunn-más / “feeder of war-gull” = “feeder of raven” = “warrior” Ravens feed on dead bodies left after a battle. / N / Þorbjörn Hornklofi: Glymdrápa
warrior / destroyers of eagle’s hunger / eyðendr arnar hungrs / “destroyers of eagle’s hunger” = “feeders of eagle” = “warrior” Eagles, also, feed on dead bodies left after a battle. / N / Þorbjörn Þakkaskáld: Erlingsdrápa 1
waves / Ægir's daughters / Ægir had nine daughters called billow maidens who were personifications of the waves. / N
wind / breaker of trees / N
wrist / wolf's-joint / úlfliðr / An allusion to Tyr's loss of his hand when fettering the wolf Fenrir / Ic / Gylfaginning
Source abbreviations
· OE - Old English· D - Danish / · G - Germanic
· Ic - Old Icelandic
· N - Norse
· ON - Old Norse / · Nor - Norwegian
· S - Swedish