Lexicon of Kennings from Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages (Kenning Lexicon)

• Applicants: Dr. Jana Krüger; Professorin Dr. Edith Marold
• Subject Area: European and American Literary and Cultural Studies
• Term: from 2018 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 397702513

With the new edition of skaldic poetry by the international project Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages (SkP) the kenning lexicon by Rudolf Meissner from 1921 has become obsolete. It was based on the previous standard edition, Skjaldedigtning by Finnur Jónsson (1912-1915) which does not satisfy modern editing standards: The new edition follows the texts of the manuscripts with as few changes as possible and takes into account the intra- and extratextual context in order to interpret the kennings. For these reasons the kenning lexicon by Meissner has in many cases lost its reference. The aim of the project Lexicon of Kennings from Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages (Kenning Lexicon) is therefore to establish a new kenning lexicon, in the form of a database, which categorises kennings and their parts according to a uniform typology, groups them by date and allows for a great variety of queries. The database is meant to form the foundation for further research regarding the function of kennings in various contexts and facilitates access to skaldic poetry in general.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants