This poetic device permeates Old Norse poetry and is also found throughout the broader Germanic poetic tradition. Examples include gull ok gersimar (‘gold and treasures’), öl né rekkar (‘neither ale nor warriors’), and boð brjóta né ræsis kvöð rjúfa (‘disobey the command, nor disregard the king’s summons’).

The study is based on a comprehensive corpus of verses preserved in the fornaldarsögur, a saga genre primarily written down in Iceland between the 13th and 15th centuries but believed to trace its origins to older oral traditions. By analyzing over 850 stanzas, the study identifies and classifies syndetic constructions according to their level of complexity and the placement of their elements within the verse structure.

The aim of the investigation is to formulate a unified description of syndetic constructions and develop a new, inclusive model for analyzing and describing their various manifestations, from simple constructions confined to a single line to more complex arrangements spanning two or more lines. The study highlights how these constructions function in poetic composition, their variation, and their role in poetic practice, as well as how they relate to broader traditions within Germanic alliterative poetry.