Abstract
This study inspects the mental processes underpinning the use of imagery in the kennings of five skaldic poems: Vellekla, Hákonardrápa, Øxarflokkr, Íslendingadrápa, and Ævikviða Grettis Ásmundarsonar. It is argued that the unique combination of conventionalised semantic formulae and catachrestic conceptual contrast engaged recipients on multiple levels. This affected their comprehension of the verses themselves, their memorisation and recall of stanzas, and their understanding of the words and concepts involved. In this process, cognitive poetic theories of text worlds and wordplay are re-evaluated, and future avenues of investigation are suggested regarding how kennings' exceptional use of language could enrich cognitive theory as a field.