List of kennings

A list of kennings follows.

A key to usage is as follows: AS - Anglo-Saxon N - Norse (generic) Ic - Old Icelandic D - Danish S - Swedish Nor - Norwegian G - Germanic Ce - Celtic X - common across all tongues.

Useful sources and references for further studies of kennings:

Meissner's "Die Kenningar der Skalden" (1921)

Snorri Sturlusson Skáldskaparmál

NB: This is an illustrative list and does not pretend to be comprehensive. Kennings relating to a particular character in the relevant literature are associated with the appropriate article, e.g. the article relating to Odin has a list of kennings with which Odin is associated or by which he is known; only the less obvious ones are given beneath.

Kennings

Kennings	Primary meaning	Secondary/implied/allusive meaning	Source languages	Documents and sources
Aegir's daughters	waves		N
blood-ember	axe		N	Skaldskaparmal
blood-worm	sword		N
breaker of rings	King or chieftain	Alludes to a ruler breaking the golden rings upon his arm and using them to reward his followers.	AS	Beowulf
breaker of trees	wind		N
feeder of ravens	warrior		N
flame-farewelled	death	Implicitly honourable death	N
Freya's tears	gold		N
glory-of-elves	sun: Alfrodull		N	Skirnismal
Hanged god	Odin		N
Hrugnir's slayer	Thor's hammer, Mjollnir		N	Lokasenna
ice	silver		N
Kraki's seed	gold	Can also be used to imply generosity; q.v. Hrolf Kraki	N	Skaldskaparmal
Lord of the gallows	Odin		N
raven harvest	corpse	battle-field corpses	N
serpent's lair	gold	Serpents (and dragons) were reputed to lie upon gold in their nests	N	Skaldskaparmal
slaughter-dew	blood		N
spear-din	battle		N	Skaldskaparmal
steed of the billows	ship		N
taming wand	sword		N	Skirnismal
valley-trout	serpent		N	Skaldskaparmal
weather of weapons	war		N	Skaldskaparmal
whale's way	the sea		N,AS	Beowulf
wolf's father	Loki	an allusion to Loki's fathering of Fenrir	N	Lokasenna
wolf's-joint	wrist	An allusion to Tyr's loss of his hand when fettering the wolf Fenrir	Ic - úlfli›r	Gylfaginning