•^'*'" ./y5<fc
To George Lyman Kittredge
SCANDINAVIAN CLASSICS
VOLUMES XXI AND XXII
THE POETIC EDDA
ESTABUSHED BY
NIELS POXn.SON
Pr
^■>
DEC 2 I 1965 I
iC^^s/TycfW**?^
1033014
THIS VOLUME IS ENDOWED IN PART BY CHARLES S. PETERSON
OF CHfCAno
The poetic Edda
Translated from the Icelandic with an
introduction and notes by Henry Adams
Bellows
New York; The American-Scandinavian
Foundation, 1923
CONTENTS*
General Introduction xi
Lays of the Gods
Voluspo I
Hovamol 28
Vafthruthnismol 68
Grimnismol 84
Skirnismol 107
Harbarthsljoth 121
Hymiskvitha 138
Lokasenna 151
Thrymskvitha 174
Alvissmol 183
Baldrs Draumar 195
Rigsthula 201
Hyndluljoth 217
Svipdagsmol 234
Lays of the Heroes
Volundarkvitha 252
Helgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar 269
Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I 290
Helgakvitha Hundingsbana H 309
Fra Dautha Sinfjotla 332
Gripisspo 337
Reginsmol 356
• For the phonetic spellings of the proper names see the Pronouncins
Index.
Contents — Continued
Fafnismol 370
Sigrdrifumol 386
Brot af Sigurtharlcvithu 402
Guthrunarkvitha I 411
Sigurtharkvitha en Skamma 420
Helreith Brynhildar 442
Drap Niflunga 447
Guthrunarkvitha II, en Forna 450
Guthrunarkvitha III 465
Oddrunargratr 469
Atlakvitha en Gronlenzka 480
Atlamol en Gronlenzku 499
Guthrunarhvot 53^
Hamthesmol 545
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The General Introduction mentions many of
the scholars to whose work this translation owes
a special debt. Particular reference, however,
should here be made to the late William Henry
Schofield, Professor of Comparative Literature in
, Harvard University and President of The Amer-
ican-Scandinavian Foundation, under whose guid-
ance this translation was begun; to Henry God-
dard Leach, for many years Secretary of The
American-Scandinavian Foundation, and to Wil-
liam Witherle Lawrence, Professor of English in
Columbia University and Chairman of the
Foundation's Committee on Publications, for their
assistance with the manuscript and the proofs ; and
to Hanna Astrup Larsen, the Foundation's lit-
erary secretary, for her efficient management of
the complex details of publication.
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
THERE is scarcely any literary work of great im-
portance which has been less readily available for
the general reader, or even for the serious student of
literature, than the Poetic Edda. Translations have been
far from numerous, and only in Germany has the complete
work of translation been done in the full light of recent
scholarship. In English the only versions were long the
conspicuously inadequate one made by Thorpe, and pub-
hshed about half a century ago, and the unsatisfactory
prose translations in Vigfusson and Powell's Corpus Poeti-
cum Boreale, reprinted in the Norrcena collection. An
excellent translation of the poems dealing with the gods,
in verse and with critical and explanatory notes, made by
Olive Bray, was, however, published by the Viking Club of
London in 1908. In French there exist only partial trans-
lations, chief among them being those made by Bergmann
many years ago. Among the seven or eight German ver-
sions, those by the Brothers Grimm and by Karl Simrock,
which had considerable historical importance because of
their influence on nineteenth century German literature
and art, and particularly on the work of Richard Wagner,
have been largely superseded by Hugo Gering's admirable
translation, published in 1892, and by the recent two-
volume rendering by Genzmer, with excellent notes by
Andreas Heusler, 19 14- 1920. There are competent trans-
lations in both Norwegian and Swedish. The lack of any
complete and adequately annotated English rendering in
metrical form, based on a critical text, and profiting by
the cumulative labors of such scholars as Mogk, Vigfusson,
[xi]
Introduction
Finnur Jonsson, Grundtvig, Bugge, Gislason, Hildebrand,
Liining, Sweet, Niedner, Ettmiiller, Miillenhoff, Edzardi,
B. M. Olsen, Sievers, Sijmons, Detter, Heinzel, Falk,
Neckel, Heusler, and Gering, has kept this extraordinary
work practically out of the reach of those who have had
neither time nor inclination to master the intricacies of the
original Old Norse.
On the importance of the material contained in the
Poetic Edda it is here needless to dwell at any length. We
have inherited the Germanic traditions in our very speech,
and the Poetic Edda is the original storehouse of Germanic
mythology. It is, indeed, in many ways the greatest literary
monument preserved to us out of the antiquity of the kin-
dred races which we call Germanic. Moreover, it has a
literary value altogether apart from its historical signifi-
cance. The mythological poems include, in the Voluspo, one
of the vastest conceptions of the creation and ultimate de-
struction of the world ever crystallized in literary form ; in
parts of the Hovamol, a collection of wise counsels that
can bear comparison with most of the Biblical Book of
Proverbs; in the Lokasenna, a comedy none the less full
of vivid characterization because its humor is often broad ;
and in the Thrymskvitha, one of the finest ballads in the
world. The hero poems give us, in its oldest and most vivid
extant form, the story of Sigurth, Brynhild, and Atli, the
Norse parallel to the German Nibelungenlied. The Poetic
Edda is not only of great interest to the student of antiq-
uity ; it is a collection including some of the most remark-
able poems which have been preserved to us from the
period before the pen and the printing-press replaced the
poet-singer and oral tradition. It is above all else the de-
[xii]
Introduction
sire to make better known the dramatic force, the vivid and
often tremendous imagery, and the superb conceptions em-
bodied in these poems which has called forth the present
translation.
WHAT IS THE POETIC EDDA?
Even if the poems of the so-called Edda were not so sig-
nificant and intrinsically so valuable, the long series of
scholarly struggles which have been going on over them
for the better part of three centuries would in itself give
them a peculiar interest. Their history is strangely mys-
terious. We do not know who composed them, or when
or where they were composed; we are by no means sure
who collected them or when he did so ; finally, we are not
absolutely certain as to what an "Edda" is, and the best
guess at the meaning of the word renders its application to
this collection of poems more or less misleading.
A brief review of the chief facts in the history of the
Poetic Edda will explain why this uncertainty has per-
sisted. Preserved in various manuscripts of the thirteenth
and early fourteenth centuries is a prose work consisting
of a very extensive collection of mythological stories, an
explanation of the important figures and tropes of Norse
poetic diction, — the poetry of the Icelandic and Norwegian
ikalds was appallingly complex in this respect, — and a treat-
ise on metrics. This work, clearly a handbook for poets,
was commonly known as the "Edda" of Snorri Sturluson,
for at the head of the copy of it in the Uppsalabok, a man-
uscript written presumably some fifty or sixty years after
Snorri's death, which was in 1241, we find: "This book is
called Edda, which Snorri Sturluson composed." This
work, well known as the Prose Edda, Snorri's Edda or the
[ xiii ]
Introduction
Younger Edda, has recently been made available to readers
of English in the admirable translation by Arthur G.
Brodeur, published by the American-Scandinavian Foun-
dation in 19 16.
Icelandic tradition, however, persisted in ascribing either
this Edda or one resembling it to Snorri's much earlier
compatriot, Saemund the Wise (1056-1 133). When, early
in the seventeenth century, the learned Arngrimur Jonsson
proved to everyone's satisfaction that Snorri and nobody
else must have been responsible for the work in question,
the next thing to determine was what, if anything, Saemund
had done of the same kind. The nature of Snorri's book
gave a clue. In the mythological stories related a number
of poems were quoted, and as these and other poems were
to all appearances Snorri's chief sources of information, it
was assumed that Saemund must have written or compiled
a verse Edda — whatever an "Edda" might be — on which
Snorri's work was largely based.
So matters stood when, in 1643, Brynjolfur Sveinsson,
Bishop of Skalholt, discovered a manuscript, clearly written
as early as 1300, containing twenty-nine poems, complete
or fragmentary, and some of them with the very lines and
stanzas used by Snorri. Great was the joy of the scholars,
for here, of course, must be at least a part of the long-sought
Edda of Saemund the Wise. Thus the good bishop promptly
labeled his find, and as Sasmund's Edda, the Elder Edda
or the Poetic Edda it has been known to this day.
This precious manuscript, now in the Royal Library in
Copenhagen, and known as the Codex Regius (R2365),
has been the basis for all published editions of the Eddie
poems. A few poems of similar character found elsewhere
[xiv]
Introduction
have subsequently been added to the collection, until now
most editions include, as in this translation, a total of
thirty-four. A shorter manuscript now in the Arnamagnsean
collection in Copenhagen (AM748), contains fragmen-
tary or complete versions of six of the poems in the Codex
Regius, and one other, Baldrs Draumar, not found in that
collection. Four other poems {Rigsthula, Hyndluljothj
Grougaldr and Fjolsvinnsmol, the last two here combined
under the title of Svipdagsmol) , from various manuscripts,
so closely resemble in subject-matter and style the poems
in the Codex Regius that they have been included by most
editors in the collection. Finally, Snorri's Edda contains
one complete poem, the Grottasongr, which many editors
have added to the poetic collection; it is, however, not
included in this translation, as an admirable English ver-
sion of it is available in Mr. Brodeur's rendering of Snorri's
work.
From all this it is evident that the Poetic Edda, as we
now know it, is no definite and plainly limited work, but
rather a more or less haphazard collection of separate
poems, dealing either with Norse mythology or with hero-
cycles unrelated to the traditional history of greater Scan-
dinavia or Iceland. How many other similar poems, now
lost, may have existed in such collections as were current
in Iceland in the later twelfth and thirteenth centuries we
cannot know, though it is evident that some poems of this
type are missing. We can say only that thirty-four poems
have been preserved, twenty-nine of them in a single manu-
script collection, which differ considerably in subject-mat-
ter and style from all the rest of extant Old Norse poetry,
and these we group together as the Poetic Edda.
[xv]
Introduction
But what does the word "Edda" mean? Various guesses
have been made. An early assumption was that the word
somehow meant "Poetics," which fitted Snorri's treatise
to a nicety, but which, in addition to the lack of philologi-
cal evidence to support this interpretation, could by no
stretch of scholarly subtlety be made appropriate to the
collection of poems. Jacob Grimm ingeniously identified
the word with the word "edda" used in one of the poems,
the Rigsthula, where, rather conjecturally, it means
"great-grandmother." The word exists in this sense no-
where else in Norse literature, and Grimm's suggestion of
"Tales of a Grandmother," though at one time it found
wide acceptance, was grotesquely inappropriate to either
the prose or the verse work.
At last Eirikr Magnusson hit on what appears the likeli-
est solution of the puzzle : that "Edda" is simply the gen-
itive form of the proper name "Oddi." Oddi was a settle-
ment in the southwest of Iceland, certainly the home of
Snorri Sturluson for many years, and, traditionally at
least, also the home of Sasmund the Wise. That Snorri's
work should have been called "The Book of Oddi" is al-
together reasonable, for such a method of naming books
was common — witness the "Book of the Flat Island" and
other early manuscripts. That Saemund may also have
written or compiled another "Oddi-Book" is perfectly
possible, and that tradition should have said he did so is
entirely natural.
It is, however, an open question whether or not Saemund
had anything to do with making the collection, or any part
of it, now known as the Poetic Edda, for of course the
seventeenth-century assignment of the work to him is neg-
[ xvi ]
Introduction
ligible. We can say only that he may have made some such
compilation, for he was a diligent student of Icelandic tra-
dition and history, and was famed throughout the North
for his learning. But otherwise no trace of his works sur-
vives, and as he was educated in Paris, it is probable that
he wrote" rather in Latin than in the vernacular.
All that is reasonably certain is that by the middle or
last of the twelfth century there existed in Iceland one or
more written collections of Old Norse mythological and
heroic poems, that the Codex Regius, a copy made a hun-
dred years or so later, represents at least a considerable
part of one of these, and that the collection of thirty-four
poems which we now know as the Poetic or Elder Edda is
practically all that has come down to us of Old Norse
poetry of this type. Anything more is largely guesswork,
and both the name of the compiler and the meaning of the
title "Edda" are conjectural.
THE ORIGIN OF THE EDDIC POEMS
There is even less agreement about the birthplace,
authorship and date of the Eddie poems themselves than
about the nature of the existing collection. Clearly the
poems were the work of many different men, living in
different periods ; clearly, too, most of them existed in oral
tradition for generations before they were first committed
to writing. In general the mythological poems are strongly
heathen in character, and as Christianity became generally
accepted throughout Norway and Iceland early in the elev-
enth century, it is altogether likely that most of the poems
dealing with the Norse gods antedate the year looo. On
the other hand, Hoffory, Finnur Jonsson and others have
shown pretty conclusively from linguistic evidence that
[ xvii ]
Introduction
these poems cannot have assumed anything like their pres-
ent form before the ninth century. As for the poems be-
longing to the hero cycles, one or two of them appear to
be as late as iioo, but most of them clearly belong to the
hundred years following 950. It is a fairly safe guess that
the years between 900 and 1050 saw the majority of the
Eddie poems put into shape, but it must be remembered
that many changes took place during the long subsequent
period of oral transmission, and also that many of the
legends, both mythological and heroic, on which the poems
were based, certainly existed in Norway, and quite pos-
sibly in verse form, long before the year 900. In consider-
ing such poems it is essential to forget the present mode
of composition, whereby a poet at once fixes his thought
and his style by means of writing, and to remember that for
at least two centuries, and possibly much longer, the cor-
rect transmission of many of the Eddie poems depended
solely on accurate hearing and retentive memory.
As to the origin of the legends on which the poems are
based, the whole question, at least so far as the stories of
the gods are concerned, is much too complex for discus-
sion here. How much of the actual narrative material of
the mythological lays is properly to be called Scandinav-
ian is a matter for students of comparative mythology to
guess at. The tales underlying the heroic lays are clearly of
foreign origin : the Helgi story comes from Denmark, and
that of Volund from Germany, as also the great mass of
traditions centering around Sigurth (Siegfried), Brynhild,
the sons of Gjuki, Atli (Attila) , and Jormunrek (Ermana-
rich). The introductory notes to the various poems deal
with the more important of these questions of origin.
[xviii]
Introduction
Of the men who composed these poems, — "wrote" is
obviously the wrong word, — we know absolutely nothing,
save that some of them must have been literary artists with
a high degree of conscious skill.* The Eddie poems are
"folk-poetry," — whatever that may be, — only in the sense
that some of them strongly reflect racial feelings and be-
liefs; they are anything but crude or primitive in work-
manship, and they show that not only the poets themselves,
but also many of their hearers, must have made a careful
study of the art of poetry.
Where the poems were composed is almost equally un-
certain. The claims of Norway have been extensively ad-
vanced, but the great literary activity of Iceland after the
settlement of the island by Norwegian emigrants late in
the ninth century makes the theory of an Icelandic source
for most of the poems plausible. The two Atli lays, with
what authority we do not know, bear in the Codex Regius
the superscription "the Greenland poem," and internal
evidence indicates that this statement is correct. Certainly
in one poem, the Rigsthula, and probably in several others,
there are marks of Celtic influence. During a considerable
part of the ninth and tenth centuries, Scandinavians were
active in Ireland and in most of the western islands in-
habited by branches of the Celtic race. Some scholars claim
nearly all the Eddie poems for these "Western Isles," in
sharp distinction from Iceland; their arguments are com-
mented on in the introductory note to the Rigsthula. How-
ever, as Iceland early came to be the true center of this
Scandinavian island world, it may be said that most of the
evidence concerning the birthplace of the Eddie poems in
anything like their present form points in that. direction.
[xix]
Introduction
and certainly it was in Iceland that they were chiefly pre-
served.
THE EDDA AND OLD NORSE LITERATURE
Within the proper limits of an introduction it would
be impossible to give any adequate summary of the history
and literature with which the Eddie poems are indissolubly
connected, but a mere mention of a few of the salient facts
may be of some service to those who are unfamiliar with
the subject. Old Norse literature covers approximately
the period between 850 and 1300. During the first part of
that period occurred the great wanderings of the Scandi-
navian peoples, and particularly the Norwegians. A con-
venient date to remember is that of the sea-fight of Hafrs-
fjord, 872, when Harald the Fair-Haired broke the power
of the independent Norwegian nobles, and made himself
overlord of nearly all the country. Many of the defeated
nobles fled overseas, where inviting refuges had been
found for them by earlier wanderers and plunder-seeking
raiders. This was the time of the inroads of the dreaded
Northmen in France, and in 885 Hrolf Gangr (Rollo)
laid siege to Paris itself. Many Norwegians went to Ire-
land, where their compatriots had already built Dublin,
and where they remained in control of most of the island
till Brian Boru shattered their power at the battle of
Clontarf in 1014.
Of all the migrations, however, the most important
were those to Iceland. Here grew up an active civilization,
fostered by absolute independence and by remoteness from
the wars which wracked Norway, yet kept from degener-
ating into provincialism by the roving life of the people,
which brought them constantly in contact with the culture
[xx]
Introduction
of the South. Christianity, introduced throughout the
Norse world about the year icxx), brought with it the sta-
bility of learning, and the Icelanders became not only the
makers but also the students and recorders of history.
The years between 875 and iioo were the great spon-
taneous period of oral literature. Most of the military and
political leaders were also poets, and they composed a mass
of lyric poetry concerning the authorship of which we know
a good deal, and much of which has been preserved. Narra-
tive prose also flourished, for the Icelander had a passion
for story-telling and story-hearing. After iioo came the
day of the writers. These sagamen collected the material
that for generations had passed from mouth to mouth,
and gave it permanent form in writing. The greatest bulk
of what we now have of Old Norse literature, — and the
published part of it makes a formidable library, — originated
thus in the earlier period before the introduction of writing,
and was put into final shape by the scholars, most of them
Icelanders, of the hundred years following 1 150.
After 1250 came a rapid and tragic decline. Iceland lost
its independence, becoming a Norwegian province. Later
Norway too fell under alien rule, a Swede ascending the
Norwegian throne in 1320. Pestilence and famine laid
waste the whole North; volcanic disturbances worked
havoc in Iceland. Literature did not quite die, but it fell
upon evil days; for the vigorous native narratives and
heroic poems of the older period were substituted trans-
lations of French romances. The poets wrote mostly dog-
gerel; the prose writers were devoid of national or racial
inspiration.
The mass of literature thus collected and written down
[xxi]
Introduction
largely between 1 150 and 1250 may be roughly divided into
four groups. The greatest in volume is made up of the
sagas : narratives mainly in prose, ranging all the way from
authentic history of the Norwegian kings and the early
Icelandic settlements to fairy-tales. Embodied in the sagas
is found the material composing the second group: the
skaldic poetry, a vast collection of songs of praise, triumph,
love, lamentation, and so on, almost uniformly character-
ized by an appalling complexity of figurative language.
There is no absolute line to be drawn between the poetry
of the skalds and the poems of the Edda, which we may
call the third group; but in addition to the remarkable
artificiality of style which marks the skaldic poetry, and
which is seldom found in the poems of the Edda, the skalds
dealt almost exclusively with their own emotions, whereas
the Eddie poems are quite impersonal. Finally, there is
the fourth group, made up of didactic works, religious and
legal treatises, and so on, studies which originated chiefly
in the later period of learned activity.
PRESERVATION OF THE EDDIC POEMS
Most of the poems of the Poetic Edda have unquestion-
ably reached us in rather bad shape. During the long pe-
riod of oral transmission they suffered all sorts of inter-
polations, omissions and changes, and some of them, as
they now stand, are a bewildering hodge-podge of little-
related fragments. To some extent the diligent twelfth
century compiler to whom we owe the Codex Regius —
Saemund or another — was himself doubtless responsible for
the patchwork process, often supplemented by narrative
prose notes of his own ; but in the days before written rec-
ords existed, it was easy to lose stanzas and longer pas-
[xxii ]
Introduction
cages from their context, and equally easy to interpolate
them where they did not by any means belong. Some few
of the poems, however, appear to be virtually complete
and unified as we now have them.
Under such circumstances it is clear that the establish-
ment of a satisfactory text is a matter of the utmost diffi-
culty. As the basis for this translation I have used the text
prepared by Karl Hildebrand (1876) and revised by Hugo
Gtring (1904). Textual emendation has, however, been
so extensive in every edition of the Edda, and has depended
so much on the theories of the editor, that I have also made
extensive use of many other editions, notably those by
Finnur Jonsson, Neckel, Sijmons, and Detter and Heinzel,
together with numerous commentaries. The condition of
the text in both the principal codices is such that no great
reliance can be placed on the accuracy of the copyists, and
frequently two editions will differ fundamentally as to
their readings of a given passage or even of an entire poem.
For this reason, and because guesswork necessarily plays
so large a part in any edition or translation of the Eddie
poems, I have risked overloading the pages with textual
notes in order to show, as nearly as possible, the exact state
of the original together with all the more significant emen-
dations. I have done this particularly in the case of trans-
positions, many of which appear absolutely necessary, and
in the indication of passages which appear to be interpola-
tions.
THE VERSE-FORMS OF THE EDDIC POEMS
The many problems connected with the verse-forms
found in the Eddie poems have been analyzed in great de-
tail by Sievers, Neckel, and others. The three verse-forms
[ xxiii ]
Introduction
sxempHfied in the poems need only a brief comment here,
however, in order to make clear the method used in this
translation. All of these forms group the lines normally
in four-line stanzas. In the so-called Fomyrthislag ("Old
Verse"), for convenience sometimes referred to in the
notes as four-four measure, these lines have all the same
itructure, each line being sharply divided by a caesural pause
into two half-lines, and each half-line having two accented
syllables and two (sometimes three) unaccented ones.
The two half-lines forming a complete line are bound
together by the alliteration, or more properly initial-rhyme,
of three (or two) of the accented syllables. The following
is an example of the Fomyrthislag stanza, the accented
syllables being in italics :
Vreipr vas Ving\>6TX, es vakna\ii
ok sins hamzTS of sakna\ii ;
skegg nam hrista, skgr nam dy]a.,
rej) Jarp2Lr burr umb at preifzsV.
In the second form, the Ljothahattr ("Song Measure"),
the first and third line of each stanza are as just described,
but the second and fourth are shorter, have no caesural
pause, have three accented syllables, and regularly two
initial-rhymed accented syllables, for which reason I have
occasionally referred to Ljothahattr as four-three meas-
ure. The following is an example:
Ar skal ma sas dinars vUl
fe e^a fjgr hafz ;
ligg]dSid.\ ulfr sjaldan Ider of getr
ne i-o/andi majtr sigr.
In the third and least commonly used form, the Mala-
hattr ("Speech Measure"), a younger verse-form than
[xxiv]
Introduction
either of the other two, each line of the four-line stanza is
divided into two half-lines by a csesural pause, each half-
line having two accented syllables and three (sometimes
four) unaccented ones; the initial rhyme is as in the For-
nyrthislag. The following is an example:
Horsk vas Awffreyja, huff\>i at mannviti,
lag heyrjji or/a, hvat a laun mdeltu;
\>a. vas vant vitri, vildi \)e\m hjalpa.:
skyldu of sde sigla., en sjglf ne kvamskzt.
A poem in Fornyrthislag is normally entitled -kvitha
(Thrymskvitha, Guthrunarkvitha, etc.). which for con-
venience I have rendered as "lay," while a poem in
Ljothahattr is entitled -mol {Grimnismol, Skirnismol,
etc.). which I have rendered as "ballad." It is difficult to
find any distinction other than metrical between the two
terms, although it is clear that one originally existed.
Variations frequently appear in all three kinds of verse,
and these I have attempted to indicate through the rhythm
of the translation. In order to preserve so far as possible
the effect of the Eddie verse, I have adhered, in making
the English version, to certain of the fundamental rules
governing the Norse line and stanza formations. The
number of lines to each stanza conforms to what seems the
best guess as to the original, and I have consistently re-
tained the number of accented syllables. In translating
from a highly inflected language into one depending largely
on the use of subsidiary words, it has, however, been nec-
essary to employ considerable freedom as to the number of
unaccented syllables in a line. The initial-rhyme is gener-
ally confined to two accented syllables in each line. As in
the original, all initial vowels are allowed to rhyme inter-
[ XXV ]
Introduction
changeably, but I have disregarded the rule which lets
certain groups of consonants rhyme only with themsei 's
{e.g., I have allowed initial s or st to rhyme with sk or
si). In general, I have sought to preserve the effect of the
original form whenever possible without an undue sacrifice
of accuracy. For purposes of comparison, the translations
of the three stanzas just given are here included :
Fornyrthislag:
IVUd was VingXhox when he awoke.
And when his mighty hammer he missed;
He shook his beard, his hair was bristling,
To groping set the son of Jorth.
Ljothahattr:
He must early go forth who fain the blood
Or the goods of another would get;
The wolf that lies idle shall win little meat.
Or the sleeping man snccess.
Malahattr :
Wise was the woman, she fain would use w'wdom,
She saw well what meant all they said in x^cret;
From her heart it was hid how /ie//> she might
render,
The sea they should sail, while herself she should ^o
not.
PROPER NAMES
The forms in which the proper names appear in this
translation will undoubtedly perplex and annoy those who
have become accustomed to one or another of the current
methods of anglicising old Norse names. The nominative
ending -r it has seemed best to omit after consonants,
although it has been retained after vowels; in Baldr the
[xxvi]
Introduction
final -r is a part of the stem and is of course retained. I
h^t/c rendered the Norse t by "th" throughout, instead of
spasmodically by "d," as in many texts: e. ff., Othin in-
stead of Odin. For the Norse 0 I have used its equiva-
lent, "6," e. g., Volund ; for the 9 I have used "o" and not
"a," e. g., Voluspo, not Valuspa or Voluspa. To avoid
confusion with accents the long vowel marks of the Ice-
landic are consistently omitted, as likewise in modern
Icelandic proper names. The index at the end of the book
indicates the pronunciation in each case.
CONCLUSION
That this translation may be of some value to those who
can read the poems of the Edda in the original language I
earnestly hope. Still more do I wish that it may lead a
few who hitherto have given little thought to the Old
Norse language and literature to master the tongue for
themselves. But far above either of these I place the hope
that this English version may give to some, who have
known little of the ancient traditions of what is after all
their own race, a clearer insight into the glories of that
extraordinary past, and that I may through this medium
be able to bring to others a small part of the delight which
I myself have found in the poems of the Poetic Edda.
[ xxvii ]
THE POETIC EDDA
VOLUME I
LAYS OF THE GODS
VOLUSPO
The Wise-Woman's Prophecy
Introductory Note
At the beginning of the collection in the Codex Regius stands
the Voluspo, the most famous and important, as it is likewise
the most debated, of all the Eddie poems. Another version of it
is found in a huge miscellaneous compilation of about the year
1300, the Hauksbok, and many stanzas are included in the Prose
Edda of Snorri Sturluson. The order of the stanzas in the
Hauksbok version differs materially from that in the Codex
Regius, and in the published editions many experiments have
been attempted in further rearrangements. On the whole, how-
ever, and allowing for certain interpolations, the order of the
stanzas in the Codex Regius seems more logical than any of
the wholesale "improvements" which have been undertaken.
The general plan of the Voluspo is fairly clear. Othin, chief
of the gods, always conscious of impending disaster and eager
for knowledge, calls on a certain "Volva," or wise-woman, pre-
sumably bidding her rise from the grave. She first tells him of
the past, of the creation of the world, the beginning of years,
the origin of the dwarfs (at this point there is a clearly inter-
polated catalogue of dwarfs* names, stanzas io-i6), of the first
man and woman, of the world-ash Yggdrasil, and of the first
war, between the gods and the Vanir, or, in Anglicized form, the
Wanes. Then, in stanzas 27-29, as a further proof of her
wisdom, she discloses some of Othin's own secrets and the de-
tails of his search for knowledge. Rewarded by Othin for what
she has thus far told (stanza 30), she then turns to the real
prophesy, the disclosure of the final destruction of the gods.
This final battle, in which fire and flood overwhelm heaven and
earth as the gods fight with their enemies, is the great fact in Norse
mythology; the phrase describing it, ragna rok, "the fate of the
gods," has become familiar, by confusion with the word rbkkr,
"twilight," in the German Goiter ddmmerung. The wise-woman
tells of the Valkyries who bring the slain warriors to support
Othin and the other gods in the battle, of the slaying of Baldr,
best and fairest of the gods, through the wiles of Loki, of the
enemies of the gods, of the summons to battle on both sides, and
of the mighty struggle, till Othin is slain, and "fire leaps high
[1]
Poetic Edda
about heaven itself" (stanzas 31-58). But this is not all. A
new and beautiful world is to rise on the ruins of the old;
Baldr comes back, and "fields unsowed bear ripened fruit"
(stanzas 59-66).
This final passage, in particular, has caused wide differences
of opinion as to the date and character of the poem. That the
poet was heathen and not Christian seems almost beyond dis-
pute; there is an intensity and vividness in almost every stanza
which no archaizing Christian could possibly have achieved.
On the other hand, the evidences of Christian influence are
sufficiently striking to outweigh the arguments of Finnur Jonsson,
Mullenhoff and others who maintain that the Voluspo is purely
a product of heathendom. The roving Norsemen of the tenth
century, very few of whom had as yet accepted Christianity,
were nevertheless in close contact with Celtic races which had
already been converted, and in many ways the Celtic influence
was strongly felt. It seems likely, then, that the Voluspo was the
work of a poet living chiefly in Iceland, though possibly in the
"Western Isles," in the middle of the tenth century, a vigorous
believer in the old gods, and yet with an imagination active
enough to be touched by the vague tales of a different religion
emanating from his neighbor Celts.
How much the poem was altered during the two hundred
years between its composition and its first being committed to
writing is largely a matter of guesswork, but, allowing for such
an obvious interpolation as the catalogue of dwarfs, and for
occasional lesser errors, it seems quite needless to assume such
great changes as many editors do. The poem was certainly not
composed to tell a story with which its early hearers were quite
familiar; the lack of continuity which baffles modern readers
presumably did not trouble them in the least. It is, in effect, a
series of gigantic pictures, put into words with a directness and
sureness which bespeak the poet of genius. It is only after the
reader, with the help of the many notes, has familiarized him-
self with the names and incidents involved that he can begin to
understand the effect which this magnificent poem must have
produced on those who not only understood but believed it
[2]
Voluspo
1. Hearing I ask from the holy races,
From Heimdall's sons, both high and low;
Thou wilt, Valfather, that well I relate
Old tales I remember of men long ago.
2. I remember yet the giants of yore,
Who gave me bread in the days gone by ;
Nine worlds I knew, the nine in the tree
With mighty roots beneath the mold.
1. A few editors, following Bugge, in an effort to clarify
the poem, place stanzas 22, 28 and 30 before stanzas 1-20, but
the arrangement in both manuscripts, followed here, seems
logical. In stanza i the Volva, or wise-woman, called upon by
Othin, answers him and demands a hearing. Evidently she be-
longs to the race of the giants (cf. stanza 2), and thus speaks to
Othin unwillingly, being compelled to do so by his magic power.
Holy: omitted in Regius; the phrase "holy races" probably means
little more than mankind in general. Heimdall: the watchman
of the gods; cf. stanza 46 and note. Why mankind should be
referred to as Heimdall's sons is uncertain, and the phrase has
caused much perplexity. Heimdall seems to have had various at-
tributes, and in the Rtgsthula, wherein a certain Rig appears
as the ancestor of the three great classes of men, a fourteenth
century annotator identifies Rig with Heimdall, on what au-
thority we do not know, for the Rig of the poem seems much
more like Othin (cf. Rtgsthula, introductory prose and note).
Valfather ("Father of the Slain") : Othin, chief of the gods, so
called because the slain warriors were brought to him at Val-
hall ("Hall of the Slain") by the Valkyries ("Choosers of the
Slain").
2. Nine worlds: the worlds of the gods (Asgarth), of the
Wanes (Vanaheim, cf. stanza 21 and note), of the elves (Alf-
heim), of men (Mithgarth), of the giants (Jotunheim), of fire
(Muspellsheim, cf. stanza 47 and note), of the dark elves
(Svartalfaheim), of the dead (Niflheim), and presumably of
the dwarfs (perhaps Nithavellir, cf. stanza 37 and note, but
the ninth world is uncertain). The tree: the world-ash Yggdrasil,
[3]
Poetic Edda
3. Of old was the age when Ymir lived;
Sea nor cool waves nor sand there were ;
Earth had not been, nor heaven above,
But a yawning gap, and grass nowhere.
4. Then Bur's sons lifted the level land,
Mithgarth the mighty there they made;
The sun from the south warmed the stones of
earth.
And green was the ground with growing leeks.
5. The sun, the sister of the moon, from the south
Her right hand cast over heaven's rim;
No knowledge she had where her home should be,
The moon knew not what might was his.
The stars knew not where their stations were.
symbolizing the universe; cf. Grimnismol, 29-35 ^"d notes,
wherein Yggdrasil is described at length.
3. Ymir: the giant out of whose body the gods made the
•world; cf. Vafthruthnismol, 21. In this stanza as quoted in
Snorri's Edda the first line runs: "Of old was the age ere
aught there was." Yaivning gap: this phrase, "Ginnunga-gap,"
is sometimes used as a proper name.
4. Bur's sons: Othin, Vili, and Ve. Of Bur we know only that
his wife was Bestla, daughter of Bolthorn; cf. Hovamol, 141.
Vili and Ve are mentioned by name in the Eddie poems only in
Lokasenna, 26. Mithgarth ("Middle Dwelling") ; the world of
men. Leeks: the leek was often used as the symbol of fine
growth (cf. Guthrunarkvitha I, 17), and it was also supposed to
have magic power (cf. Sigrdriftimol, 7).
5. Various editors have regarded this stanza as interpolated;
HoflFory thinks it describes the northern summer night in which
the sun does not set. Lines 3-5 are quoted by Snorri. In the
manuscripts line 4 follows line 5. Regarding the sun and moon
[4]
Voluspo
6. Then sought the gods their assembly-seats,
The holy ones, and council held;
Names then gave they to noon and twilight,
Morning they named, and the waning moon.
Night and evening, the years to number.
7. At Ithavoll met the mighty gods,
Shrines and temples they timbered high;
Forges they set, and they smithied ore,
Tongs they wrought, and tools they fashioned.
8. In their dwellings at peace they played at tables.
Of gold no lack did the gods then know, —
Till thither came up giant-maids three.
Huge of might, out of Jotunheim.
as daughter and son of Mundilferi, cf. Vafthruthnismol, 23 and
note, and Grimnismol, 37 and note.
6. Possibly an interpolation, but there seems no strong reason
for assuming this. Lines 1-2 are identical with lines 1-2 of
stanza 9, and line 2 may have been inserted here from that later
stanza.
7. Ithavoll ("Field of Deeds"?): mentioned only here and
in stanza 60 as the meeting-place of the gods; it appears in no
other connection.
8. Tables: the exact nature of this game, and whether it
more closely resembled chess or checkers, has been made the
subject of a 400-page treatise, Willard Fiske's "Chess in Ice-
land." Giant-maids: perhaps the three great Norns, correspond-
ing to the three fates ; cf . stanza 20 and note. Possibly, however,
something has been lost after this stanza, and the missing
passage, replaced by the catalogue of the dwarfs (stanzas 9-16),
may have explained the "giant-maids" otherwise than as Norns.
In Vafthruthnismol, 49, the Norns (this time "three throngs" in-
stead of simply "three") are spoken of as giant-maidens;
[5]
Poetic Edda
9. Then sought the gods their assembly-seats,
The holy ones, and council held.
To find who should raise the race of dwarfs
Out of Brimir's blood and the legs of Blain.
fo. There was Motsognir the mightiest made
Of all the dwarfs,. ^ and Durin next ;
Many a likeness of men they made,
The dwarfs in the earth, as Durin said.
II. Nyi and Nithi, Northri and Suthri,
Austri and Vestri, Althjof, Dvalin,
Nar and Nain, Niping, Dain,
Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Nori,
An and Onar, Ai, Mjothvitnir.
Fafnismol, 13, indicates the existence of many lesser Norns, be-
longing to various races. Jotunheim : the world of the giants.
9. Here apparently begins the interpolated catalogue of the
dwarfs, running through stanza 16; possibly, however, the in-
terpolated section does not begin before stanza u. Snorri quotes
practically the entire section, the names appearing in a some-
what changed order. Brimir and Blain: nothing is known of
these two giants, and it has been suggested that both are names
for Ymir (cf. stanza 3). Brimir, however, appears in stanza 37
in connection with the home of the dwarfs. Some editors treat
the words as common rather than proper nouns, Brimir meaning
'the bloody moisture" and Blain being of uncertain significance.
10. Very few of the dwarfs named in this and the following
stanzas are mentioned elsewhere. It is not clear why Durin
should have been singled out as authority for the list. The oc-
casional repetitions suggest that not all the stanzas of the cata-
logue came from the same source. Most of the names presumably
had some definite significance, as Northri, Suthri, Austri, and
Vestri ("North," "South," "East," and "West"), Althjof
[6]
Voluspo
12. Vigg and Gandalf, Vindalf, Thrain,
Thekk and Thorin, Thror, Vit and Lit,
Nyr and Nyrath, — now have I told —
Regin and Rathsvith — the list aright.
13. Fili, Kili, Fundin, Nali,
Heptifili, Hannar, Sviur,
Frar, Hombori, Fraeg and Loni,
Aurvang, Jari, Eikinskjaldi.
14. The race of the dwarfs in Dvalin's throng
Down to Lof ar the list must I tell ;
The rocks they left, and through wet lands
They sought a home in the fields of sand.
15. There were Draupnir and Dolgthrasir,
Hor, Haugspori, Hlevang, Gloin,
("Mighty Thief"), Mjothvitnir ("Mead- Wolf"), Gandalf
("Magic Elf"), Vindalf ("Wind Elf"), Rathsvith ("Swift in
Counsel"), Eikinskjaldi ("Oak Shield"), etc., but in many cases
the interpretations are sheer guesswork.
12. The order of the lines in this and the succeeding four
stanzas varies greatly in the manuscripts and editions, and the
names likewise appear in many forms. Regin: probably not
identical with Regin the son of Hreithmar, who plays an im-
portant part in the Reginsmol and Fafnismol, but cf. note on
Reginsmol, introductory prose.
14. Dvalin'. in Hovamol, 144, Dvalin seems to have given
magic runes to the dwarfs, probably accounting for their skill
in craftsmanship, while in Fafnismol, 13, he is mentioned as
the father of some of the lesser Norns. The story that some of
the dwarfs left the rocks and mountains to find a new home on
the sands is mentioned, but unexplained, in Snorri's Edda; of
Lofar we know only that he was descended from these wanderers.
[7]
Poetic Edda
Dori, Ori, Duf, Andvari,
Skirfir, Virfir, Skafith, Ai.
i6. Alf and Yngvi, Eikinskjaldi,
Fjalar and Frosti, Fith and Ginnar;
So for all time shall the tale be known,
The list of all the forbears of Lofar.
17. Then from the throng did three come forth,
From the home of the gods, the mighty and
gracious ;
Two without fate on the land they found,
Ask and Embla, empty of might.
18. Soul they had not, sense they had not,
Heat nor motion, nor goodly hue ;
Soul gave Othin, sense gave Honir,
Heat gave Lothur and goodly hue.
15. Andvari: this dwarf appears prominently in the Regins-
mol, which tells how the god Loki treacherously robbed him of
his wealth ; the curse which he laid on his treasure brought about
the deaths of Sigurth, Gunnar, Atli, and many others.
17. Here the poem resumes its course after the interpolated
section. Probably, however, something has been lost, for there is
no apparent connection between the three giant-maids of stanza
8 and the three gods, Othin, Honir and Lothur, who in stanza 17
go forth to create man and woman. The word "three" in stanzas
8 and 17 very likely confused some early reciter, or perhaps the
compiler himself. Ask and Embla: ash and elm; Snorri gives
them simply as the names of the first man and woman, but says
that the gods made this pair out of trees.
18. Honir: little is known of this god, save that he occasion-
ally appears in the poems in company with Othin and Loki, and
[8]
Voluspo
19. An ash I know, Yggdrasil its name,
With water white is the great tree wet;
Thence come the dews that fall in the dales,
Green by Urth's well does it ever grow.
20. Thence come the maidens mighty in wisdom,
Three from the dwelling down 'neath the tree;
Urth is one named, Verthandi the next, —
On the wood they scored, — and Skuld the third.
Laws they made there, and life allotted
To the sons of men, and set their fates.
that he survives the destruction, assuming in the new age the
gift of prophesy (cf. stanza 63). He was given by the gods as a
hostage to the Wanes after their war, in exchange for Njorth
(cf. stanza 21 and note). Lothur: apparently an older name
for Loki, the treacherous but ingenious son of Laufey, whose
divinity Snorri regards as somewhat doubtful. He was adopted
by Othin, who subsequently had good reason to regret it. Loki
probably represents the blending of two originally distinct
figures, one of them an old fire-god, hence his gift of heat to the
newly created pair.
19. Yggdrasil'. cf. stanza 2 and note, and Grimnismol, 29-35
and notes. Urth ("The Past") : one of the three great Norns.
The world-ash is kept green by being sprinkled with the mar-
velous healing water from her well.
20. The maidens: the three Norns; possibly this stanza
should follow stanza 8. Dwelling: Regius has "sae" (sea) instead
of "sal" (hall, home), and many editors have followed this
reading, although Snorri's prose paraphrase indicates "sal."
Urth, Verthandi and Skuld: "Past," "Present" and "Future."
Wood, etc.: the magic signs (runes) controlling the destinies of
men were cut on pieces of wood. Lines 3-4 are probably inter-
polations from some other account of the Norns.
[9]
Poetic Edda
21. The war I remember, the first in the world,
When the gods with spears had smitten Gollveig,
And in the hall of Hor had burned her, —
Three times burned, and three times born,
Oft and again, yet ever she lives.
22. Heith they named her who sought their home,
The wide-seeing witch, in magic wise;
Minds she bewitched that were moved by her
magic,
To evil women a joy she was.
21. This follows stanza 20 in Regius; in the Hauksbok version
stanzas 25, 26, 27, 40 and 41 come between stanzas 20 and 21.
Editors have attempted all sorts of rearrangements. The 'luar:
the first war was that between the gods and the Wanes. The
cult of the Wanes (Vanir) seems to have originated among the
seafaring folk of the Baltic and the southern shores of the North
Sea, and to have spread thence into Norway in opposition to the
worship of the older gods; hence the "war." Finally the two
types of divinities were worshipped in common; hence the
treaty which ended the war with the exchange of hostages.
Chief among the Wanes were Njorth and his children, Freyr and
Freyja, all of whom became conspicuous among the gods. Be-
yond this we know little of the Wanes, who seem originally to
have been water-deities. / remember: the manuscripts have "she
remembers," but the Volva is apparently still speaking of her
own memories, as in stanza 2. Gollveig ("Gold-Might") : appar-
ently the first of the Wanes to come among the gods, her ill-
treatment being the immediate cause of the war. Miillenhoff
maintains that Gollveig is another name for Freyja. Lines 5-6,
one or both of them probably interpolated, seem to s3'mbolize the
refining of gold by fire. Hot ("The High One") : Othin.
22. Heith ("Shining One"?): a name often applied to wise-
women and prophetesses. The application of this stanza to
Gollveig is far from clear, though the reference may be to the
[10]
Voluspo
23. On the host his spear did Othin hurl,
Then in the world did war first come;
The wall that girdled the gods was broken,
And the field by the warlike Wanes was trodden.
24. Then sought the gods their assembly-seats,
The holy ones, and council held,
Whether the gods should tribute give.
Or to all alike should worship belong.
25. Then sought the gods their assembly-seats.
The holy ones, and council held,
To find who with venom the air had filled.
Or had given Oth's bride to the giants* brood.
magic and destructive power of gold. It is also possible that
the stanza is an interpolation. Bugge maintains that it applies to
the Volva who is reciting the poem, and makes it the opening
stanza, following it with stanzas 28 and 30, and then going on
with stanzas i if. The text of line 2 is obscure, and has been
variously emended.
23. This stanza and stanza 24 have been transposed from the
order in the manuscripts, for the former describes the battle and
the victory of the Wanes, after which the gods took council, de-
bating whether to pay tribute to the victors, or to admit them,
as was finally done, to equal rights of worship.
25. Possibly, as Finn Magnusen long ago suggested, there is
something lost after stanza 24, but it was not the custom of the
Eddie poets to supply transitions which their hearers could
generally be counted on to understand. The story referred to
in stanzas 25-26 (both quoted by Snorri) is that of the rebuild-
ing of Asgarth after its destruction by the Wanes. The gods em-
ployed a giant as builder, who demanded as his reward the sun
and moon, and the goddess Freyja for his wife. The gods, ter-
rified by the rapid progress of the work, forced Loki, who had
advised the bargain, to delay the giant by a trick, so that the
[11]
Poetic Edda
26. In swelling rage then rose up Thor, —
Seldom he sits when he such things hears, —
And the oaths were broken, the words and bonds,
The mighty pledges between them made.
27. I know of the horn of Heimdall, hidden
Under the high-reaching holy tree;
On it there pours from Valfather's pledge
A mighty stream: would you know yet more?
work was not finished in tlie stipulated time (cf. Gritnnismol, 44,
note). The enraged giant then threatened the gods, whereupon
Thor slew him. 0th' s bride: Freyja; of Oth little is known be-
yond the fact that Snorri refers to him as a man who "went
away on long journeys."
26. Thor: the thunder-god, son of Othin and Jorth (Earth) ;
cf . particularly Harbarthsljoth and Thrymskvitha, passim. Oaths,
etc.: the gods, by violating their oaths to the giant who rebuilt
Asgarth, aroused the undying hatred of the giants' race, and
thus the giants were among their enemies in the final battle.
27. Here the Volva turns from her memories of the past to a
statement of some of Othin's own secrets in his eternal search for
knowledge (stanzas 27-29). Bugge puts this stanza after stanza
29. The horn of Heimdall: the Gjallarhorn ("Shrieking Horn"),
with which Heimdall, watchman of the gods, will summon them
to the last battle. Till that time the horn is buried under
Yggdrasil. Valfather's pledge: Othin's eye (the sun?), which
he gave to the water-spirit Mimir (or Mim) in exchange for
the latter's wisdom. It appears here and in stanza 29 as a drink-
ing-vessel, from which Mimir drinks the magic mead, and from
which he pours water on the ash Yggdrasil. Othin's sacrifice of
his eye in order to gain knowledge of his final doom is one
of the series of disasters leading up to the destruction of the
gods. There were several differing versions of the story of
Othin's relations with Mimir; another one, quite incompatible
with this, appears in stanza 47. In the manuscripts / knotu and
/ see appear as "she knows" and "she sees" (cf. note on 21).
[12]
Voluspo
28. Alone I sat when the Old One sought me,
The terror of gods, and gazed in mine eyes :
"What hast thou to ask ? why comest thou hither ?
Othin, I know where thine eye is hidden."
29. I know where Othin's eye is hidden,
Deep in the wide-famed well of Mimir;
Mead from the pledge of Othin each morn
Does Mimir drink: would you know yet more?
30. Necklaces had I and rings from Heerfather,
Wise was my speech and my magic wisdom ;
Widely I saw over all the worlds.
28. The Hauksbok version omits all of stanzas 28-34, stanza
27 being there followed by stanzas 40 and 41. Regius indicates
stanzas 28 and 29 as a single stanza. Bugge puts stanza 28 after
stanza 22, as the second stanza of his reconstructed poem. The
Volva here addresses Othin directly, intimating that, although
he has not told her, she knows why he has come to her, and
what he has already suffered in his search for knowledge re-
garding his doom. Her reiterated "would you know yet more?"
seems to mean: "I have proved my wisdom by telling of the
past and of your own secrets; is it your will that I tell likewise
of the fate in store for you?" The Old One: Othin.
29. The first line, not in either manuscript, is a conjectural
emendation based on Snorri's paraphrase. Bugge puts this stanza
after stanza 20.
30. This is apparently the transitional stanza, in which the
Volva, rewarded by Othin for her knowledge of the past (stanzas
1-29), is induced to proceed with her real prophecy (stanzas
31-66). Some editors turn the stanza into the third person,
making it a narrative link. Bugge, on the other hand, puts it
[13]
Poetic Edda
31. On all sides saw I Valkyries assemble,
Ready to ride to the ranks of the gods;
Skuld bore the shield, and Skogul rode next,
Guth, Hild, Gondul, and Geirskogul.
Of Herjan's maidens the list have ye heard,
Valkyries ready to ride o'er the earth.
32. I saw for Baldr, the bleeding god,
The son of Othin, his destiny set:
after stanza 28 as the third stanza of the poem. No lacuna is
indicated in the manuscripts, and editors have attempted various
emendations. Heer father ("Father of the Host") : Othin.
31. Valkyries: these "Choosers of the Slain" (cf. stanza i,
note) bring the bravest warriors killed in battle to Valhall, in
order to re-enforce the gods for their final struggle. They are
also called "Wish-Maidens," as the fulfillers of Othin's wishes.
The conception of the supernatural warrior-maiden was pre-
sumably brought to Scandinavia in very early times from the
South-Germanic races, and later it was interwoven with the
likewise South-Germanic tradition of the swan-maiden. A third
complication developed when the originally quite human women
of the hero-legends were endowed with the qualities of both
Valkyries and swan-maidens, as in the cases of Brynhild (cf.
Gripisspo, introductory note), Svava (cf. Hetgakvitha Hjor-
varthssonar, prose after stanza 5 and note) and Sigrun (cf.
Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I, 17 and note). The list of names
here given may be an interpolation; a quite different list is
given in Grimnismol, 36. Ranks of the gods: some editors regard
the word thus translated as a specific place name. Herjan
("Leader of Hosts") : Othin. It is worth noting that the name
Hild ("Warrior") is the basis of Bryn-hild ("Warrior in Mail-
Coat").
32. Baldr: The death of Baldr, the son of Othin and Frigg,
was the first of the great disasters to the gods. The story is fully
told by Snorri. Frigg had demanded of all created things, saving
only the mistletoe, which she thought too weak to be worth trou-
[14]
Voluspo
Famous and fair in the lofty fields,
Full grown in strength the mistletoe stood.
33. From the branch which seemed so slender and
fair
Came a harmful shaft that Hoth should hurl ;
But the brother of Baldr was born ere long,
And one night old fought Othin's son.
34. His hands he washed not, his hair he combed not,
Till he bore to the bale-blaze Baldr's foe.
But in Fensalir did Frigg weep sore
For Valhall's need: would you know yet more?
35. One did I see In the wet woods bound,
A lover of ill, and to Loki like ;
bling about, an oath that they would not harm Baldr. Thus it
came to be a sport for the gods to hurl weapons at Baldr, who,
of course, was totally unharmed thereby. Loki, the trouble-maker,
brought the mistletoe to Baldr's blind brother, Hoth, and guided
his hand in hurling the twig. Baldr was slain, and grief came
upon all the gods. Cf. Baldrs Draumar.
33. The lines in this and the following stanza have been
combined in various ways by editors, lacunae having been freely
conjectured, but the manuscript version seems clear enough.
The brother of Baldr: Vali, whom Othin begot expressly to
avenge Baldr's death. The day after his birth he fought and slew
Hoth.
34. Frigg: Othin's wife. Some scholars have regarded her as
a solar myth, calling her the sun-goddess, and pointing out that
her home in Fensalir ("the sea-halls") symbolizes the daily
setting of the sun beneath the ocean horizon.
35. The translation here follows the Regius version. The
Hauksbok has the same final two lines, but in place of the first
[15]
Poetic Edda
By his side does Sigyn sit, nor is glad
To see her mate : would you know yet more ?
36. From the east there pours through poisoned vales
With swords and daggers the river Slith.
37. Northward a hall in Nithavellir
Of gold there rose for Sindri's race;
And in Okolnir another stood,
Where the giant Brimir his beer-hall had.
pair has, "I know that Vali his brother gnawed, / With his
bowels then was Loki bound." Many editors have followed
this version of the whole stanza or have included these two
lines, often marking them as doubtful, with the four from
Regius. After the murder of Baldr, the gods took Loki and bound
him to a rock with the bowels of his son Narfi, who had just
been torn to pieces by Loki's other son, Vali. A serpent was
fastened above Loki's head, and the venom fell upon his face.
Loki's wife, Sigyn, sat by him with a basin to catch the venom,
but whenever the basin was full, and she went away to empty it,
then the venom fell on Loki again, till the earth shook with his
struggles. "And there he lies bound till the end." Cf. Lokasenna,
concluding prose.
36. Stanzas 36-39 describe the homes of the enemies of the
gods: the giants (36), the dwarfs (37), and the dead in the
land of the goddess Hel (38-39). The Hauksbok version omits
stanzas 36 and 37. Regius unites 36 with 37, but most editors
have assumed a lacuna. Slith ("the Fearful") : a river in the
giants' home. The "swords and daggers" may represent the icy
cold.
37. Nithavellir ("the Dark Fields") : a home of the dwarfs.
Perhaps the word should be "Nithafjoll" ("the Dark Crags").
Sindri: the great worker in gold among the dwarfs. Okolnir
[16]
Voluspo
38. A hall I saw, far from the sun,
On Nastrond it stands, and the doors face north ;
Venom drops through the smoke-vent down,
For around the walls do serpents wind.
39. I saw there wading through rivers wild
Treacherous men and murderers too.
And workers of ill with the wives of men ;
There Nithhogg sucked the blood of the slain,
And the wolf tore men; would you know yet
more?
("the Not Cold") : possibly a volcano. Brimir: the giant (pos-
sibly Ymir) out of whose blood, according to stanza 9, the
dwarfs were made; the name here appears to mean simply the
leader of the dwarfs.
38. Stanzas 38 and 39 follow stanza 43 in the Hauksbok ver-
sion. Snorri quotes stanzas 38, 39, 40 and 41, though not consecu-
tively. Nastrond ("Corpse-Strand") : the land of the dead, ruled
by the goddess Hel. Here the wicked undergo tortures. Smoke-
vent: the phrase gives a picture of the Icelandic house, with its
opening in the roof serving instead of a chimney.
39. The stanza is almost certainly in corrupt form. The
third line is presumably an interpolation, and is lacking in most
of the late paper manuscripts. Some editors, hbwever, have
called lines 1-3 the remains of a full stanza, with the fourth
line lacking, and lines 4-5 the remains of another. The stanza
depicts the torments of the two worst classes of criminals known
to Old Norse morality — oath-breakers and murderers. Nithhogg
("the Dread Biter") : the dragon that lies beneath the ash
Yggdrasil and gnaws at its roots, thus sj^mbolizing the destruc-
tive elements in the universe; cf. Grimnismol, 32, 35. The ivolf:
presumably the wolf Fenrir, one of the children of Loki and the
giantess Angrbotha (the others being Mithgarthsorm and the
goddess Hel), who was chained by the gods with the marvelous
chain Gleipnir, fashioned by a dwarf "out of six things: the
L17]
Poetic Edda
40. The giantess old in Ironwood sat,
In the east, and bore the brood of Fenrir ;
Among these one in monster's guise
Was soon to steal the sun from the sky.
41. There feeds he full on the flesh of the dead,
And the home of the gods he reddens with gore ;
Dark grows the sun, and in summer soon
Come mighty storms : would you know yet more ?
42. On a hill there sat, and smote on his harp,
Eggther the joyous, the giants' warder;
Above him the cock in the bird-wood crowed.
Fair and red did Fjalar stand.
noise of a cat's step, the beards of women, the roots of mountains,
the nerves of bears, the breath of fishes, and the spittle of birds."
The chaining of Fenrir cost the god Tyr his right hand; cf.
stanza 44.
40. The Hauksbok version inserts after stanza 39 the refrain-
stanza (44.), and puts stanzas 40 and 41 between 27 and 21.
With this stanza begins the account of the final struggle itself.
The giantess: her name is nowhere stated, and the only other
reference to Ironwood is in Grimnismoi, 39, in this same con-
nection. The children of this giantess and the wolf Fenrir are
the wolves Skoll and Hati, the first of whom steals the sun, the
second the moon. Some scholars naturally see here an eclipse-
myth.
41. In the third line many editors omit the comma after
"sun," and put one after "soon," making the two lines run:
"Dark grows the sun in summer soon, / Mighty storms — "
etc. Either phenomenon in summer would be sufficiently striking.
42. In the Hauksbok version stanzas 42 and 43 stand between
stanzas 44 and 38. Eggther: this giant, who seems to be the
watchman of the giants, as Heimdall is that of the gods and Surt
of the dwellers in the fire-world, is not mentioned elsewhere in
[18]
Voluspo
43. Then to the gods crowed Gollinkambi,
He wakes the heroes in Othin's hall;
And beneath the earth does another crow,
The rust-red bird at the bars of Hel.
44. Now Garm howls loud before Gnipahellir,
The fetters will burst, and the wolf run free ;
Much do I know, and more can see
Of the fate of the gods, the mighty in fight.
45. Brothers shall fight and fell each other,
And sisters' sons shall kinship stain;
the poems. Fjalar, the cock whose crowing wakes the giants for
the final struggle.
43. Gollinkambi ("Gold-Comb") : the cock who wakes the gods
and heroes, as Fjalar does the giants. The rust-red bird: the
name of this bird, who wakes the people of Hel's domain, is
nowhere stated.
44. This is a refrain-stanza. In Regius it appears in full
only at this point, but is repeated in abbreviated form before
stanzas 50 and 59. In the Hauksbok version the full stanza comes
first between stanzas 35 and 42, then, in abbreviated form, it
occurs four times: before stanzas 45, 50, 55, and 59. In the
Hauksbok line 3 runs: "Farther I see and more can say."
Garm: the dog who guards the gates of Hel's kingdom; cf.
Baldrs Draumar, 2 ff, and Grimnismol, 44. Gniparhellir ("the
Cliff-Cave") : the entrance to the world of the dead. The luolf:
Fenrir; cf. stanza 39 and note.
45. From this point on through stanza 57 the poem is quoted
by Snorri, stanza 49 alone being omitted. There has been much
discussion as to the status of stanza 45. Lines 4 and 5 look like
an interpolation. After line 5 the Hauksbok has a line running:
"The world resounds, the witch is flying." Editors have
arranged these seven lines in various ways, with lacunae freely
indicated. Sisters' sons: in all Germanic countries the relations
between uncle and nephew were felt to be particularly close.
[19]
Poetic Edda
Hard is it on earth, with mighty whoredom ;
Axe- time, sword-time, shields are sundered,
Wind-time, wolf-time, ere the world falls;
Nor ever shall men each other spare.
46. Fast move the sons of Mim, and fate
Is heard in the note of the Gjallarhorn ;
Loud blows Heimdall, the horn is aloft.
In fear quake all who on Hel-roads are.
47* Yggdrasil shakes, and shiver on high
The ancient limbs, and the giant is loose ;
To the head of Mim does Othin give heed.
But the kinsman of Surt shall slay him soon.
46. Regius combines the first three lines of this stanza with
lines 3, 2, and i of stanza 47 as a single stanza. Line 4, not found
in Regius, is introduced from the Hauksbok version, where it
follows line 2 of stanza 47. The sons of Mim: the spirits of the
water. On Mim (or Mimir) cf. stanza 27 and note. Gjallarhorn:
the "Shrieking Horn" with which Heimdall, the watchman of
the gods, calls them to the last battle.
47. In Regius lines 3, 2, and i, in that order, follow stanza 46
without separation. Line 4 is not found in Regius, but is intro-
duced from the Hauksbok version. Yggdrasil: cf. stanza 19 and
note, and Grimnismol, 29-35. ^^^ giant: Fenrir. The head of
Mim: various myths were current about Mimir. This stanza
refers to the story that he was sent by the gods with Honir as a
hostage to the Wanes after their war (cf. stanza 21 and note),
and that the Wanes cut off his head and returned it to the gods.
Othin embalmed the head, and by magic gave it the power of
speech, thus making Mimir's noted wisdom always available. Of
course this story does not fit with that underlying the references
to Mimir in stanzas 27 and 29. The kinsman of Surt: the wolf
[20]
Voluspo
48. How fare the gods? how fare the elves?
All Jotunheim groans, the gods are at council ;
Loud roar the dwarfs by the doors of stone,
The masters of the rocks: would you know yet
more?
49. Now Garm howls loud before Gnipahellir,
The fetters will burst, and the wolf run free;
Much do I know, and more can see
Of the fate of the gods, the mighty in fight.
50. From the east comes Hrym with shield held high ;
In giant-wrath does the serpent writhe ;
O'er the waves he twists, and the tawny eagle
Gnaws corpses screaming; Naglfar is loose.
Fenrir, who slays Othin in the final struggle; cf. stanza 53.
Surt is the giant who rules the fire-world, Muspellsheim; cf.
stanza 52.
48. This stanza in Regius follows stanza 51 ; in the Hauksbok
it stands, as here, after 47. Jotunheim: the land of the giants.
49. Identical with stanza 4^. In the manuscripts it Is here
abbreviated.
50. Hrym: the leader of the giants, who comes as the helms-
man of the ship Naglfar (line 4). The serpent: Mithgarthsorra,
one of the children of Loki and Angrbotha (cf. stanza 39, note).
The serpent was cast into the sea, where he completely encircles
the land; cf. especially Hymiskvitha, passim. The eagle: the
giant Hrassvelg, who sits at the edge, of heaven in the form of
an eagle, and makes the winds with his wings; cf. Vafthruthnis-
mol, 37, and Skirnismol, 27. Naglfar: the ship which was made
out of dead men's nails to carry the giants to battle.
[211
Poetic Edda
51. O'er the sea from the north there sails a ship
With the people of Hel, at the helm stands Loki ;
After the wolf do wild men follow,
And with them the brother of Byleist goes.
52. Surt fares from the south with the scourge of
branches,
The sun of the battle-gods shone from his sword ;
The crags are sundered, the giant-women sink,
The dead throng Hel-way, and heaven is cloven.
53. Now comes to Hlin yet another hurt.
When Othin fares to fight with the wolf,
And Beli's fair slayer seeks out Surt,
For there must fall the joy of Frigg.
51. North: a guess; the manuscripts have "east," but there
seems to be a confusion with stanza 50, line i. People of Hel:
the manuscripts have "people of Muspell," but these came over
the bridge Bifrost (the rainbow), which broke beneath them,
whereas the people of Hel came in a ship steered by Loki. The
nvolf: Fenrir. The brother of Byleist: Loki. Of Byleist (or
Byleipt) no more is known.
52. Surt: the ruler of the fire-world. The scourge of branches:
fire. This is one of the relatively rare instances in the Eddie
poems of the type of poetic diction which characterizes the skaldic
verse.
53. Hlin: apparently another name for Frigg, Othin's wife.
After losing her son Baldr, she is fated now to see Othin slain by
the wolf Fenrir. Beli's slayer: the god Freyr, who killed the
giant Beli with his fist;,cf. Skirnismol, 16 and note. On Freyr,
who belonged to the race of the Wanes, and was the brother of
Freyja, see especially Skirnismol, passim. The joy of Frigg:
Othin.
[22]
Voluspo
54. Then comes Sigfather's mighty son,
Vithar, to fight with the foaming wolf ;
In the giant's son does he thrust his sword
Full to the heart : his father is avenged.
55. Hither there comes the son of Hlothyn,
The bright snake gapes to heaven above ;
Against the serpent goes Othin's son.
56. In anger smites the warder of earth, —
Forth from their homes must all men flee ; —
Nine paces fares the son of Fjorgyn,
And, slain by the serpent, fearless he sinks.
54. As quoted by Snorri the first line of this stanza runs:
"Fares Othin's son to fight with the wolf." Sig father ("Father
of Victory") : Othin. His son, Vithar, is the silent god, famed
chiefly for his great shield, and his strength, which is little less
than Thor's. He survives the destruction. The gianfs son: Fenrir.
55. This and the following stanza are clearly in bad shape.
In Regius only lines i and 4 are found, combined with stanza 56
as a single stanza. Line i does not appear in the Hauksbok
version, the stanza there beginning with line 2. Snorri, in quot-
ing these two stanzas, omits 55, 2-4, and 56, 3, making a single
stanza out of 55, i, and 56, 4, 2, 1, in that order. Moreover, the
Hauksbok manuscript at this point is practically illegible. The
lacuna (line 3) is, of course, purely conjectural, and all sorts of
arrangements of the lines have been attempted by editors.
Hlothyn: another name for Jorth ("Earth"), Thor's mother;
his father was Othin. The snake: Mithgarthsorm; cf. stanza 5c
and note. Othin's son: Thor. The fourth line in Regius reads
"against the wolf," but if this line refers to Thor at all, and
not to Vithar, the Hauksbok reading, "serpent," is correct.
56. The ivarder of earth: Thor. The son of Fjorgyn: again
[23]
Poetic Edda
57. The sun turns black, earth sinks in the sea,
The hot stars down from heaven are whirled ;
Fierce grows the steam and the life-feeding flame,
Till fire leaps high about heaven itself.
58. Now Garm howls loud before Gnipahellir,
The fetters will burst, and the wolf run free ;
Much do I know, and more can see
Of the fate of the gods, the mighty in fight.
59. Now do I see the earth anew
Rise all green from the waves again;
The cataracts fall, and the eagle flies.
And fish he catches beneath the cliffs.
60. The gods in Ithavoll meet together.
Of the terrible girdler of earth they talk,
Thor, who, after slaying the serpent, is overcome by his ven-
omous breath, and dies. Fjorgyn appears in both a masculine and
a feminine form. In the masculine it is a name for Othin ; in
the feminine, as here and in Harbarthsljoth, 56, it apparently
refers to Jorth.
57. With this stanza ends the account of the destruction.
58. Again the refrain-stanza (cf. stanza 44 and note), abbre-
viated in both manuscripts, as in the case of stanza 49. It is
probably misplaced here.
59. Here begins the description of the new world which is to
rise out of the wreck of the old one. It is on this passage that
a few critics have sought to base their argument that the poem
is later than the introduction of Christianity [circa 1000), but
this theory has never seemed convincing (cf. introductory note).
60. The third line of this stanza is not found in Regius.
Ithavoll: cf. stanza 7 and note. The girdler of earth: Mith-
[24]
Voluspo
And the mighty past they call to mind,
And the ancient runes of the Ruler of Gods.
6i. In wondrous beauty once again
Shall the golden tables stand mid the grass,
Which the gods had owned in the days of old,
62. Then fields unsowed bear ripened fruit.
All ills grow better, and Baldr comes back;
Baldr and Hoth dwell in Hropt's battle-hall,
And the mighty gods: would you know yet more?
63. Then Honir wins the prophetic wand,
And the sons of the brothers of Tveggi abide
In Vindheim now: would you know yet more?
garthsorm, who, lying in the sea, surrounded the land. The Ruhr
of Gods: Othin. The runes were both magic signs, generally
carved on wood, and sung or spoken charms.
61. The Hauksbok version of the first two lines runs:
"The gods shall find there, wondrous fair,
The golden tables amid the grass."
No lacuna (line 4) is indicated in the manuscripts. Golden tables:
cf. stanza 8 and note.
62. Baldr: cf. stanza 32 and note. Baldr and his brother,
Hoth, who unwittingly slew him at Loki's instigation, return
together, their union being a symbol of the new age of peace.
Hropt: another name for Othin. His "battle-hall" is Valhall.
63. No lacuna (line 2) indicated In the manuscripts. Honir:
cf. stanza 18 and note. In this new age he has the gift of fore-
telling the future. Tveggi ("The Twofold") : another name for
[25]
Poetic Edda
64. More fair than the sun, a hall I see,
Roofed with gold, on Gimle it stands;
There shall the righteous rulers dwell,
And happiness ever there shall they have.
65. There comes on high, all power to hold,
A mighty lord, all lands he rules.
66. From below the dragon dark comes forth,
Nithho^ flying from NithafjoU;
The bodies of men on his wings he bears,
The serpent bright : but now must I sink.
Othin. His brothers are Vili and Ve (cf. Lohasenna, z6, and
note). Little is known of them, and nothing, beyond this refer-
ence, of their sons. Vindheim ("Honae of the Wind") : heaven.
64. This stanza is quoted by Snorri. Gimle: Snorri makes
this the name of the hall itself, while here it appears to refer to
a mountain on which the hall stands. It is the home of the happy,
as opposed to another hall, not here mentioned, for the dead.
Snorri's description of this second hall is based on Voluspo, 38,
which he quotes, and perhaps that stanza properly belongs
after 64.
65. This stanza is not found in Regius, and is probably
spurious. No lacuna is indicated in the Hauksbok version, but
late paper manuscripts add two lines, running:
"Rule he orders, and rights he fixes,
Laws he ordains that ever shall live."
The name of this new ruler is nowhere given, and of course the
suggestion of Christianity is unavoidable. It is not certain, how-
ever, that even this stanza refers to Christianity, and if it does,
it may have been interpolated long after the rest of the poem
was composed.
66. This stanza, which fits so badly with the preceding ones,
[26]
Voluspo
may well have been interpolated. It has been suggested that the
dragon, making a last attempt to rise, is destroyed, this event
marking the end of evil in the world. But in both manuscripts
the final half-line does not refer to the dragon, but, as the gender
shows, to the Volva herself, who sinks into the earth; a sort of
conclusion to the entire prophecy. Presumably the stanza (bar-
ring the last half-line, which was probably intended as the con-
clusion of the poem) belongs somewhere in the description of the
great struggle. Nithhogg: the dragon at the roots of Yggdrasil;
cf. stanza 39 and note. Nithafjoll ("the Dark Crags") ; nowhere
else mentioned. Must I: the manuscripts have "must she."
[27]
HOVAMOL
The Ballad of the High One
Introductory Note
This poem follows the Voluspo in the Codex Regius, but is
preserved in no other manuscript. The first stanza is quoted by
Snorri, and two lines of stanza 84 appear in one of the sagas.
In its present shape it involves the critic of the text in more
puzzles than any other of the Eddie poems. Without going in
detail into the various theories, what happened seems to have
been somewhat as follows. There existed from very early times
a collection of proverbs and wise counsels, which were attributed
to Othin just as the Biblical proverbs were to Solomon. This
collection, which presumably was always elastic in extent, was
known as "The High One's Words," and forms the basis of the
present poem. To it, however, were added other poems and
fragments dealing with wisdom which seemed by their nature
to imply that the speaker was Othin. Thus a catalogue of runes,
or charms, was tacked on, and also a set of proverbs, differing
essentially in form from those comprising the main collection.
Here and there bits of verse more nearly narrative crept in; and
of course the loose structure of the poem made it easy for any
reciter to insert new stanzas almost at will. This curious mis-
cellany is what we now have as the Hovamol.
Five separate elements are pretty clearly recognizable: (1)
the Hovamol proper (stanzas 1-80), a collection of proverbs and
counsels for the conduct of life; (2) the Loddfafnismol (stanzas
111-138), a collection somewhat similar to the first, but specific-
ally addressed to a certain Loddfafnir; (3) the Ljothatal
(stanzas 147-165), a collection of charms; (4) the love-story of
Othin and Billing's daughter (stanzas 96-102), with an intro-
ductory dissertation on the faithlessness of women in general
(stanzas 81-95), which probably crept into the poem first, and
then pulled the story, as an apt illustration, after it; (5) the
story of how Othin got the mead of poetry — the draught which
gave him the gift of tongues — from the maiden Gunnloth
(stanzas 103-110). There is also a brief passage (stanzas 139-
146) telling how Othin won the runes, this passage being a
natural introduction to the Ljothatal, and doubtless brought
into the poem for that reason.
[28]
Hovamol
It is idle to discuss the authorship or date of such a series of
accretions as this. Parts of it are doubtless among the oldest
relics of ancient Germanic poetry; pa^ts of it may have origi-
nated at a relatively late period. Probably, however, most of its
component elements go pretty far back, although we have no way
of telling how or when they first became associated.
It seems all but meaningless to talk about "interpolations" in
a poem which has developed almost solely through the process
of piecing together originally unrelated odds and ends. The
notes, therefore, make only such suggestions as are needed to
keep the main divisions of the poem distinct.
Few gnomic collections in the world's literary history present
sounder wisdom more tersely expressed than the Hovamol. Like
the Book of Proverbs it occasionally rises to lofty heights of
poetry. If it presents the worldly wisdom of a violent race, it
also shows noble ideals of loyalty, truth, and unfaltering courage.
1. Within the gates ere a man shall go,
(Full warily let him watch,)
Full long let him look about him ;
For little he knows where a foe may lurk,
And sit in the seats within.
2. Hail to the giver ! a guest has come ;
Where shall the stranger sit?
Swift shall he be who with swords shall try
The proof of his might to make.
1. This stanza is quoted by Snorri, the second line being
omitted in most of the Prose Edda manuscripts.
2. Probably the first and second lines had originally nothing
to do with the third and fourth, the last two not referring to
host or guest, but to the general danger of backing one's views
with the sword,
[29]
Poetic Edda
3. Fire he needs who with frozen knees
Has come from the cold without;
Food and clothes must the farer have,
The man from the mountains come.
4. Water and towels and welcoming speech
Should he find who comes to the feast;
If renown he would get, and again be greeted,
Wisely and well must he act.
5. Wits must he have who wanders wide.
But all is easy at home;
At the witless man the wise shall wink
When among such men he sits.
6. A man shall not boast of his keenness of mindj
But keep it close in his breast;
To the silent and wise does ill come seldom
When he goes as guest to a house;
(For a faster friend one never finds
Than wisdom tried and true.)
7. The knowing guest who goes to the feast,
In silent attention sits;
With his ears he hears, with his eyes he watches,
Thus wary are wise men all.
6. Lines 5 and 6 appear to have been added to the stanza.
[30]
Hovamol
8. Happy the one who wins for himself
Favor and praises fair;
Less safe by far is the wisdom found
That is hid in another's heart.
9. Happy the man who has while he lives
Wisdom and praise as well,
For evil counsel a man full oft
Has from another's heart.
10. A better burden may no man bear
For wanderings wide than wisdom;
It is better than wealth on unknown ways,
And in grief a refuge it gives.
11. A better burden may no man bear
For wanderings wide than wisdom ;
Worse food for the journey he brings not afield
Than an over-drinking of ale.
12. Less good there lies than most believe
In ale for mortal men;
For the more he drinks the less does man
Of his mind the mastery hold.
12. Some editors have combined this stanza in various ways
with the last two lines of stanza 11, as in the manuscript the
first two lines of the latter are abbreviated, and, if they belong
there at all, are presumably identical with the first two lines of
stanza 10.
[31]
Poetic Edda
13. Over beer the bird of forgetfulness broods,
And steals the minds of men;
With the heron's feathers fettered I lay
And in Gunnloth's house was held.
14. Drunk I was, I was dead-drunk,
When with Fjalar wise I was;
'Tis the best of drinking if back one brings
His wisdom with him home.
15. The son of a king shall be silent and wise,
And bold in battle as well ;
Bravely and gladly a man shall go,
Till the day of his death is come.
16. The sluggard believes he shall live forever.
If the fight he faces not;
But age shall not grant him the gift of peace,
Though spears may spare his life.
17. The fool is agape when he comes to the feast,
He stammers or else is still;
But soon if he gets a drink is it seen
What the mind of the man is like.
13. The heron: the bird of forgetfulness, referred to in line i.
Gunnloth: the daughter of the giant Suttung, from whom Othin
won the mead of poetry. For this episode see stanzas 104-110.
14. Fjalar: apparently another name for Suttung. This
stanza, and probably 13, seem to have been inserted as illus-
trative.
iZ2]
Hovamol
1 8. He alone is aware who has wandered wide,
And far abroad has fared,
How great a mind is guided by him
That wealth of wisdom has.
19. Shun not the mead, but drink in measure;
Speak to the point or be still;
For rudeness none shall rightly blame thee
If soon thy bed thou seekest.
20. The greedy man, if his mind be vague.
Will eat till sick he is ;
The vulgar man, when among the wise.
To scorn by his belly is brought.
2 1 . The herds know well when home they shall fare.
And then from the grass they go;
But the foolish man his belly's measure
Shall never know aright.
22. A paltry man and poor of mind
At all things ever mocks;
For never he knows, what he ought to know,
That he is not free from faults.
23. The witless man is awake all night.
Thinking of many things;
Care-worn he is when the morning comes,
. And his woe is just as it was.
24. The foolish man for friends all those
Who laugh at him will hold;
[33]
Poetic Edda
When among the wise he marks it not
Though hatred of him they speak.
25. The foolish man for friends all those
Who laugh at him will hold ;
But the truth when he comes to the council he
learns,
That few in his favor will speak.
26. An ignorant man thinks that all he knows,
When he sits by himself in a corner;
But never what answer to make he knows,
When others with questions come.
27. A witless man, when he meets with men.
Had best in silence abide ;
For no one shall find that nothing he knows,
If his mouth is not open too much.
(But a man knows not, if nothing he knows,
When his mouth has been open too much. )
28. Wise shall he seem who well can question,
And also answer well ;
Nought is concealed that men may say
Among the sons of men.
29. Often he speaks who never is still
With words that win no faith ;
25. The first two lines are abbreviated in the manuscript, but
are doubtless identical with the first two lines of stanza 24.
27. The last two lines were probably added as a commentary
on lines 3 and 4.
[34]
Hovamol
The babbling tongue, if a bridle it find not,
Oft for itself sings ill.
30. In mockery no one a man shall hold.
Although he fare to the feast ;
Wise seems one oft, if nought he is asked.
And safely he sits dry-skinned.
3 1 . Wise a guest holds it to take to his heels,
When mock of another he makes;
But little he knows who laughs at the feast.
Though he mocks in the midst of his foes.
32. Friendly of mind are many men,
Till feasting they mock at their friends ;
To mankind a bane must it ever be
When guests together strive.
33. Oft should one make an early meal,
Nor fasting come to the feast;
Else he sits and chews as if he would choke,
And little is able to ask.
34. Crooked and far is the road to a foe.
Though his house on the highway be ;
But wide and straight is the way to a friend,
Though far away he fare.
35. Forth shall one go, nor stay as a guest
In a single spot forever;
[35]
Poetic Edda
Love becomes loathing if long one sits
By the hearth in another's home.
36. Better a house, though a hut it be,
A man is master at home ;
A pair of goats and a patched-up roof
Are better far than begging.
37. Better a house, though a hut it be,
A man is master at home ;
His heart is bleeding who needs must beg
When food he fain would have.
38. Away from his arms in the open field
A man should fare not a foot ;
For never he knows when the need for a spear
Shall arise on the distant road.
39. If wealth a man has won for himself.
Let him never suffer in need ;
Oft he saves for a foe what he plans for a friend.
For much goes worse than we wish.
40. None so free with gifts or food have I found
That gladly he took not a gift.
36. The manuscript has "little" in place of "a hut" in line i,
but this involves an error in the initial-rhymes, and the emenda-
tion has been generally accepted.
37. Lines i and 2 are abbreviated in the manuscript, but are
doubtless identical with the first two lines of stanza 36.
39. In the manuscript this stanza follows stanza 40.
[36]
Hovamol
Nor one who so widely scattered his wealth
That of recompense hatred he had.
41. Friends shall gladden each other with arms and
garments,
As each for himself can see;
Gift-givers' friendships are longest found,
If fair their fates may be.
42. To his friend a man a friend shall prove,
And gifts with gifts requite ;
But men shall mocking with mockery answer.
And fraud with falsehood meet.
43. To his friend a man a friend shall prove,
To him and the friend of his friend;
But never a man shall friendship make
With one of his foeman's friends.
44. If a friend thou hast whom thou fully wilt trust,
And good from him wouldst get,
Thy thoughts with his mingle, and gifts shalt
thou make,
And fare to find him oft.
40. The key-word in line 3 is missing in the manuscript, but
editors have agreed in inserting a word meaning "generous."
41. In line 3 the manuscript adds "givers again" to "gift-
givers."
[37]
Poetic Edda
45. If another thou hast whom thou hardly wilt
trust,
Yet good from him wouldst get,
Thou shalt speak him fair, but falsely think,
And fraud with falsehood requite.
46. So is it with him whom thou hardly wilt trust.
And whose mind thou mayst not know ;
Laugh with him mayst thou, but speak not thy
mind,
Like gifts to his shalt thou give.
47. Young was I once, and wandered aloni.
And nought of the road I knew ;
Rich did I feel when a comrade I found.
For man is man's delight.
48. The lives of the brave and noble are best,
Sorrows they seldom feed ;
But the coward fear of all things feels,
And not gladly the niggard gives.
49. My garments once in a field I gave
To a pair of carven poles;
Heroes they seemed when clothes they had.
But the naked man is nought.
50. On the hillside drear the fir-tree dies,
All bootless its needles and bark;
It is like a man whom no one loves, —
Why should his life be long?
[38]
Hovamol
51. Hotter than fire between false friends
Does friendship five days burn ;
When the sixth day comes the fire cools,
And ended is all the love.
52. No great thing needs a man to give,
Oft little will purchase praise;
With half a loaf and a half-filled cup
A friend full fast I made.
53. A little sand has a little sea,
And small are the minds of men ;
Though all men are not equal in wisdom,
Yet half-wise only are all.
54. A measure of wisdom each man shall have,
But never too much let him know;
The fairest lives do those men live
Whose wisdom wide has grown.
55. A measure of wisdom each man shall have.
But never too much let him know;
For the wise man's heart is seldom happy,
If wisdom too great he has won.
56. A measure of wisdom each man shall have,
But never too much let him know ;
55-56. The first pairs of lines are abbreviated in the manu-
script.
[39]
Poetic Edda
Let no man the fate before him see,
For so is he freest from sorrow.
57. A brand from a brand is kindled and burned,
And fire from fire begotten;
And man by his speech is known to men,
And the stupid by their stillness.
58. He must early go forth who fain the blood
Or the goods of another would get ;
The wolf that lies idle shall win little meat,
Or the sleeping man success.
59. He must early go forth whose workers are few,
Himself his work to seek;
Much remains undone for the morning-sleeper.
For the swift is wealth half won.
60. Of seasoned shingles and strips of bark
For the thatch let one know his need.
And how much of wood he must have for a
month,
Or in half a year he will use.
61. Washed and fed to the council fare,
But care not too much for thy clothes ;
Let none be ashamed of his shoes and hose.
Less still of the steed he rides,
(Though poor be the horse he has.)
61. The fifth line is probably a spurious addition.
[40]
Hovamol
62. When the eagle comes to the ancient sea,
He snaps and hangs his head ;
So is a man in the midst of a throng,
Who few to speak for him finds.
63. To question and answer must all be ready
Who wish to be known as wise;
Tell one thy thoughts, but beware of two,-
AU know what is known to three.
64. The man who is prudent a measured use
Of the might he has will make ;
He finds when among the brave he fares
That the boldest he may not be.
65.
Oft for the words that to others one speaks
He will get but an evil gift.
66. Too early to many a meeting I came.
And some too late have I sought ;
The beer was all drunk, or not yet brewed ;
Little the loathed man finds.
62. This stanza follows stanza 63 In the manuscript, but there
are marks therein indicating the transposition.
65. The manuscript indicates no lacuna (lines i and 2). Many
editors have filled out the stanza with two lines from late paper
manuscripts, the passage running:
"A man must be watchful and wary as well.
And fearful of trusting a friend."
[41]
Poetic Edda
67. To their homes men would bid me hither and
yon,
If at meal-time I needed no meat,
Or would hang two hams in my true friend's
house,
Where only one I had eaten.
68. Fire for men is the fairest gift,
And power to see the sun;
Health as well, if a man may have it.
And a life not stained with sin.
69. All wretched is no man, though never so sick;
Some from their sons have joy,
Some win it from kinsmen, and some from their
wealth,
And some from worthy works.
70. It is better to live than to lie a corpse,
The live man catches the cow;
I saw flames rise for the rich man's pyre.
And before his door he lay dead.
7 1 . The lame rides a horse, the handless is herdsman,
The deaf in battle is bold ;
The blind man is better than one that is burned,
No good can come of a corpse.
70. The manuscript has "and a worthy life" in place of "than
to lie a corpse" in line i, but Rask suggested the emendation as
early as 1818, and most editors have followed him.
[42]
Hovamol
72. A son is better, though late he be bom,
And his father to death have fared;
Memory-stones seldom stand by the road
Save when kinsman honors his kin.
73. Two make a battle, the tongue slays the head ;
In each furry coat a fist I look for.
74. He welcomes the night whose fare is enough,
(Short are the yards of a ship,)
Uneasy are autumn nights;
Full oft does the weather change in a week.
And more in a month's time.
75. A man knows not, if nothing he knows.
That gold oft apes begets ;
One man is wealthy and one is poor.
Yet scorn for him none should know.
76. Among Fitjung's sons saw I well-stocked
folds, —
Now bear they the beggar's staff;
73-74. These seven lines are obviously a jumble. The two
lines of stanza 73 not only appear out of place, but the verse-
form is unlike that of the surrounding stanzas. In 74, the second
line is clearly interpolated, and line 1 has little enough connec-
tion with lines 3, 4 and 5. It looks as though some compiler (or
copyist) had inserted here various odds and ends for which he
could find no better place.
75. The word "gold" in line 2 is more or less conjectural,
the manuscript being obscure. The reading in line 4 is also
doubtful.
[43]
Poetic Edda
Wealth is as swift as a winking eye,
Of friends the falsest it is.
77. Cattle die, and kinsmen die,
And so one dies one's self ;
But a noble name will never die,
If good renown one gets.
78. Cattle die, and kinsmen die,
And so one dies one's self;
One thing I know that never dies.
The fame of a dead man's deeds.
79. Certain is that which is sought from runes.
That the gods so great have made,
And the Master-Poet painted ;
of the race of gods :
Silence is safest and best.
80. An unwise man, if a maiden's love
Or wealth he chances to win.
76. In the manuscript this stanza follows 78, the order being:
77> 78, 76, 80, 79, 81. Fitjung ("the Nourisher") : Earth.
79. This stanza is certainly in bad shape, and probably out
of place here. Its reference to runes as magic signs suggests that
it properly belongs in some list of charms like the Ljothatal
(stanzas 147-165). The stanza-form is so irregular as to show
either that something has been lost or that there have been inter-
polations. The manuscript indicates no lacuna ; Gering fills out
the assumed gap as follows:
"Certain is that which is sought from runes,
The runes — ," etc.
[44]
Hovamol
His pride will wax, but his wisdom never,
Straight forward he fares in conceit.
* * *
8i. Give praise to the day at evening, to a woman
on her pyre.
To a weapon which is tried, to a maid at wed-
lock,
To ice when it is crossed, to ale that is drunk.
82. When the gale blows hew wood, in fair wmds
seek the water;
Sport with maidens at dusk, for day's eyes are
many ;
From the ship seek swiftness, from the shield
protection.
Cuts from the sword, from the maiden kisses.
83. By the fire drink ale, over ice go on skates;
Buy a steed that is lean, and a sword when
tarnished.
81. With this stanza the verse-form, as indicated in the trans-
lation, abruptly changes to Malahattr. What has happened seems
to have been something like this. Stanza 80 introduces the idea
of man's love for woman. Consequently some reciter or com-
piler (or possibly even a copyist) took occasion to insert at this
point certain stanzas concerning the ways of women. Thus
stanza 80 would account for the introduction of stanzas 81 and
82, which, in turn, apparently drew stanza 83 in with them.
Stanza 84 suggests the fickleness of women, and is immediately
followed — again with a change of verse-form — by a list of things
equally untrustworthy (stanzas 85-90). Then, after a few more
stanzas on love in the regular measure of the Hovamol (stanzas
91-95), is introduced, by way of illustration, Othin's story of his
[45]
Poetic Edda
The horse at home fatten, the hound in thy
dwelHng.
* * *
84. A man shall trust not the oath of a maid,
Nor the word a woman speaks;
For their hearts on a whirling wheel were fash-
ioned,
And fickle their breasts were formed.
* * *
85. In a breaking bow or a burning flame,
A ravening wolf or a croaking raven.
In a grunting boar, a tree with roots broken,
In billowy seas or a bubbling kettle,
86. In a flying arrow or falling waters,
In ice new formed or the serpent's folds,
In a bride's bed-speech or a broken sword,
In the sport of bears or in sons of kings,
87. In a calf that is sick or a stubborn thrall,
A flattering witch or a foe new slain.
adventure with Billing's daughter (stanzas 96-102). Some such
process of growth, whatever its specific stages may have been,
must be assumed to account for the curious chaos of the whole
passage from stanza 81 to stanza 102.
84. Lines 3 and 4 are quoted in the Fostbrathrasaga,
85. Stanzas 85-88 and 90 are in Fornyrthislag, and clearly
come from a different source from the rest of the Hovamol.
87. The stanza is doubtless incomplete. Some editors add from
a late paper manuscript two lines running:
"In a light, clear sky or a laughing throng,
In the howl of a dog or a harlot's grief."
[46]
Hovamol
88. In a brother's slayer, if thou meet him abroad,
In a half-burned house, in a horse full swift —
One leg is hurt and the horse is useless —
None had ever such faith as to trust in them all.
89. Hope not too surely for early harvest,
Nor trust too soon in thy son ;
The field needs good weather, the son needs
wisdom,
And oft is either denied.
* * *
90. The love of women fickle of will
Is like starting o'er ice with a steed unshod,
A two-year-old restive and little tamed,
Or steering a rudderless ship in a storm,
Or, lame, hunting reindeer on slippery rocks.
» * *
91. Clear now will I speak, for I know them both.
Men false to women are found ;
When fairest we speak, then falsest we think.
Against wisdom we work with deceit.
92. Soft words shall he speak and wealth shall he
offer
Who longs for a maiden's love.
And the beauty praise of the maiden bright;
He wins whose wooing is best.
88. This stanza follows stanza 89 in the manuscript. Many
editors have changed the order, for while stanza 89 is pretty
clearly an interpolation wherever it stands, it seriously inter-
feres with the sense if it breaks in between 87 and 88.
[47]
Poetic Edda
93. Fault for loving let no man find
Ever with any other;
Oft the wise are fettered, where fools go free,
By beauty that breeds desire.
94. Fault with another let no man find
For what touches many a man ;
Wise men oft into witless fools
Are made by mighty love.
95. The head alone knows what dwells near the
heart,
A man knows his mind alone;
No sickness is worse to one who is wise
Than to lack the longed-for joy.
96. This found I myself, when I sat in the reeds,
And long my love awaited ;
As my life the maiden wise I loved,
Yet her I never had.
97. Billing's daughter I found on her bed,
In slumber bright as the sun ;
Empty appeared an earl's estate
Without that form so fair.
96. Here begins the passage (stanzas 96-102) illustrating the
falseness of woman by the story of Othin's unsuccessful love-
affair with Billing's daughter. Of this person we know nothing
beyond what is here told, but the story needs little comment.
[48]
Hovamol
98. "Othin, again at evening come,
If a woman thou wouldst win ;
Evil it were if others than we
Should know of such a sin."
99. Away I hastened, hoping for joy,
And careless of counsel wise;
Well I believed that soon I should win
Measureless joy with the maid.
100. So came I next when night it was,
The warriors all were awake;
With burning lights and waving brands
I learned my luckless way.
lOi. At morning then, when once more I came,
And all were sleeping still,
A dog I found in the fair one's place.
Bound there upon her bed.
102. Many fair maids, if a man but tries them.
False to a lover are found ;
That did I learn when I longed to gain
With wiles the maiden wise;
102. Rask adds at the beginning of this stanza two lines from
a late paper manuscript, running:
"Few are so good that false they are never
To cheat the mind of a man."
He makes these two lines plus lines 1 and 2 a full stanza, and
lines 3, 4, 5, and 6 a second stanza.
[49]
Poetic Edda
Foul scorn was my meed from the crafty maid,
And nought from the woman I won.
» « «
103. Though glad at home, and merry with guests,
A man shall be wary and wise;
The sage and shrewd, wide wisdom seeking,
Must see that his speech be fair;
A fool is he named who nought can say.
For such is the way of the witless.
104. I found the old giant, now back have I fared.
Small gain from silence I got;
Full many a word, my will to get,
I spoke in Suttung's hall.
105. The mouth of Rati made room for my passage,
And space in the stone he gnawed;
103. With this stanza the subject changes abruptly, and ap-
parently the virtues of fair speech, mentioned in the last three
lines, account for the introduction, from what source cannot be
known, of the story of Othin and the mead of song (stanzas
104-110).
104. The giant Suttung ("the old giant") possessed the magic
mead, a draught of which conferred the gift of poetry. Othin,
desiring to obtain it, changed himself into a snake, bored his way
through a mountain into Suttung's home, made love to t^» giant's
daughter, Gunnloth, and by her connivance drank jU^^^ '' the
mead. Then he flew away in the form of an eagle, leavmg Gunn-
loth to her fate. While with Suttung he assumed the name of
Bolverk ("the Evil-Doer").
105. Rati ("the Traveller") : the gimlet with which Othin
bored through the mountain to reach Suttung's home.
[SO]
Hovamol
Above and below the giants' paths lay,
So rashly I risked my head.
1 06. Gunnloth gave on a golden stool
A drink of the marvelous mead ;
A harsh reward did I let her have
For her heroic heart,
And her spirit troubled sore.
107. The well-earned beauty well I enjoyed,
Little the wise man lacks;
So Othrorir now has up been brought
To the midst of the men of earth.
108. Hardly, methinks, would I home have come,
And left the giants' land,
Had not Gunnloth helped me, the maiden good,
Whose arms about me had been.
109. The day that followed, the frost-giants came.
Some word of Hor to win,
(And into the hall of Hor;)
106. Probably either the fourth or the fifth line is a spurious
addition.
107. Othrorir: here the name of the magic mead itself,
wherp'^'^Mn stanza 141 it is the name of the vessel containing it.
Othlil -iJ no intention of bestowing any of the precious mead
upon men, but as he was flying over the earth, hotly pursued by
Suttung, he spilled some of it out of his mouth, and in thi».
way mankind also won the gift of poetry.
109. Hor: Othin ("the High One")- The frost-giants, Sut-
tung's kinsmen, appear not to have suspected Othin of being
[51]
Poetic Edda
Of Bolverk they asked, were he back midst the
gods,
Or had Suttung slain him there?
no. On his ring swore Othin the oath, methinks;
Who now his troth shall trust?
Suttung's betrayal he sought with drink,
And Gunnloth to grief he left.
* * *
III. It is time to chant from the chanter's stool ;
By the wells of Urth I was,
I saw and was silent, I saw and thought,
And heard the speech of Hon
(Of runes heard I words, nor were counsel?
wanting.
At the hall of Hor,
In the hall of Hor;
Such was the speech I heard.)
identical with Bolverk, possibly because the oath referred to in
stanza no was an oath made by Othin to Suttung that there was
no such person as Bolverk among the gods. The giants, of course,
fail to get from Othin the information they seek concerning Bol-
verk, but Othin is keenly conscious of having violated the most
sacred of oaths, that sworn on his ring.
III. With this stanza begins the Loddfafnismol (stanzas iii-
138). Loddfafnir is apparently a wandering singer, who, from
his "chanter's stool," recites the verses which he claims to have
received from Othin. Wells of Urth: cf. Voluspo, 19 and note.
Urth ("the Past") is one of the three Norns. This stanza is
apparently in corrupt form, and editors have tried many experi-
ments with it, both in rejecting lines as spurious and in rear-
ranging the words and punctuation. It looks rather as though the
first four lines formed a complete stanza, and the last four had
[52]
Hovamol
112. I rede thee, Loddfafnir! and hear thou my
rede, —
Profit thou hast if thou hearest,
Great thy gain if thou learnest:
Rise not at night, save if news thou seekest,
Or fain to the outhouse wouldst fare.
113. I rede thee, Loddfafnir! and hear thou my
rede, —
Profit thou hast if thou hearest,
Great thy gain if thou learnest:
Beware of sleep on a witch's bosom,
Nor let her limbs ensnare thee.
114. Such is her might that thou hast no mind
For the council or meeting of men;
Meat thou hatest, joy thou hast not,
And sadly to slumber thou farest.
115. I rede thee, Loddfafnir! and hear thou my
rede, —
Profit thou hast if thou hearest,
Great thy gain if thou learnest:
crept in later. The phrase translated "the speech of Hor" is
"Hova mol," later used as the title for the entire poem.
112. Lines 1-3 are the formula, repeated (abbreviated in the
manuscript) in most of the stanzas, with which Othin prefaces
nis counsels to Loddfafnir, and throughout this section, except r^
stanzas iii and 138, Loddfafnir represents himself as s[\ p|y
quoting Othin's words. The material is closely analogc '^ to that
contained in the first eighty stanzas of the poem. InAsome cases
(e. g., stanzas 117, 119, 121, 126 and 130) the fotmula precedes
a full four-line stanza instead of two (or three) lines.
[53]
Poetic Edda
Seek never to win the wife of another,
Or long for her secret love.
1 1 6. I rede thee, Loddfafnirl and hear thou my
rede, —
Profit thou hast if thou hearest,
Great thy gain if thou learnest:
If o'er mountains or gulfs thou fain wouldst go,
Look well to thy food for the way.
117. I rede thee, Loddfafnir! and hear thou my
rede, —
Profit thou hast if thou hearest,
Great thy gain if thou learnest:
An evil man thou must not let
Bring aught of ill to thee ;
For an evil man will never make
Reward for a worthy thought.
118. I saw a man who was wounded sore
By an evil woman's word;
A lying tongue his death-blow launched,
And no word of truth there was.
119. I rede thee, Loddfafnir! and hear thou my
rede, —
Profit thou hast if thou hearest.
Great thy gain if thou learnest:
If a friend thou hast whom thou fully wilt trust,
'^hen fare to find him oft;
For brambles grow and waving grass
On the rarely trodden road.
[54]
Hovamol
120. I rede thee, Loddfafnir! and hear thou my
rede, —
Profit thou hast if thou hearest,
Great thy gain if thou learnest:
A good man find to hold in friendship,
And give heed to his healing charms.
121. I rede thee, Loddfafnir! and hear thou my
rede, —
Profit thou hast if thou hearest,
Great thy gain if thou learnest:
Be never the first to break vi^ith thy friend
The bond that holds you both;
Care eats the heart if thou canst not speak
To another all thy thought.
122. I rede thee, Loddfafnir! and hear thou my
rede, —
Profit thou hast if thou hearest,
Great thy gain if thou learnest:
Exchange of words v^^ith a witless ape
Thou must not ever make.
123. For never thou mayst from an evil man
A good requital get;
But a good man oft the greatest love
Through words of praise will win thee.
124. Mingled Is love when a man can speak
To another all his thought;
[55]
Poetic Edda
Nought is so bad as false to be,
No friend speaks only fair.
125. I rede thee, Loddfafnir! and hear thou my
rede, —
Profit thou hast if thou hearest,
Great thy gain if thou learnest:
With a worse man speak not three words in
dispute,
111 fares the better oft
When the worse man wields a sword.
126. I rede thee, Loddfafnir! and hear thou my
rede, —
Profit thou hast if thou hearest,
Great thy gain if thou learnest :
A shoemaker be, or a maker of shafts,
For only thy single self ;
If the shoe is ill made, or the shaft prove false,
Then evil of thee men think.
127. I rede thee, Loddfafnir! and hear thou my
rede, —
Profit thou hast if thou hearest,
Great thy gain if thou learnest:
If evil thou knowest, as evil proclaim it.
And make no friendship with foes.
128. I rede thee, Loddfafnir! and hear thou my
rede, —
Profit thou hast if thou hearest,
[563
Hovamol
Great thy gain if thou learnest:
In evil never joy shalt thou know,
But glad the good shall make thee.
129. I rede thee, Loddfafnir! and hear thou my
rede, —
Profit thou hast if thou hearest,
Great thy gain if thou learnest:
Look not up when the battle is on, —
(Like madmen the sons of men become, — )
Lest men bewitch thy wits.
130. I rede thee, Loddfafnir! and hear thou my
rede, —
Profit thou hast if thou hearest,
Great thy gain if thou learnest:
If thou fain wouldst win a woman's love,
And gladness get from her,
Fair be thy promise and well fulfilled ;
None loathes what good he gets.
131. I rede thee, Loddfafnir! and hear thou my
rede, —
Profit thou hast if thou hearest.
Great thy gain if thou learnest:
I bid thee be wary, but be not fearful ;
(Beware most with ale or another's wife.
And third beware lest a thief outwit thee.)
129. Line 5 is apparently interpolated.
131. Lines 5-6 probably were inserted from a different poem.
[57]
Poetic Edda
132. I rede thee, Loddfafnir! and hear thou my
rede, —
Profit thou hast if thou hearest.
Great thy gain if thou leamest:
Scorn or mocking ne'er shalt thou make
Of a guest or a journey-goer.
133. Oft scarcely he knows who sits in the house
What kind is the man who comes;
None so good is found that faults he has not.
Nor so wicked that nought he is worth.
134. I rede thee, Loddfafnir! and hear thou my
rede, —
Profit thou hast if thou hearest,
Great thy gain if thou learnest:
Scorn not ever the gray-haired singer,
Oft do the old speak good ;
(Oft from shrivelled skin come skillful counsels,
Though it hang with the hides.
And flap with the pelts.
And is blown with the bellies.)
133. Many editors reject the last two lines of this stanza as
spurious, putting the first two lines at the end of the preceding
stanza. Others, attaching lines 3 and 4 to stanza 132, insert as
the first two lines of stanza 133 two lines from a late paper
manuscript, running:
"Evil and good do men's sons ever
"Mingled bear in their breasts."
134. Presumably the last four lines have been added to this
stanza, for the parallelism in the last three makes it probable
that they belong together. The wrinkled skin of the old man it
[58]
Hovamol
135. I rede thee, Loddfafnirl and hear thou my
rede, —
Profit thou hast if thou hearest,
Great thy gain if thou learnest:
Curse not thy guest, nor show him thy gate,
Deal well with a man in want.
136. Strong is the beam that raised must be
To give an entrance to all;
Give it a ring, or grim will be
The wish it would work on thee.
137. I rede thee, Loddfafnir! and hear thou my
rede, —
Profit thou hast if thou hearest,
Great thy gain if thou learnest:
When ale thou drinkest, seek might of earth,
(For earth cures drink, and fire cures ills,
The oak cures tightness, the ear cures magic.
Rye cures rupture, the moon cures rage.
Grass cures the scab, and runes the sword-cut;)
The field absorbs the flood.
compared with the dried skins and bellies of animals kept for
various purposes hanging in an Icelandic house.
136. This stanza suggests the dangers of too much hospitality.
The beam (bolt) which is ever being raised to admit guests be-
comes weak thereby. It needs a ring to help it in keeping the door
closed, and without the ability at times to ward off guests a man
becomes the victim of his own generosity.
137. The list of "household remedies" in this stanza is doubt-
less interpolated. Their nature needs no comment here.
[59]
Poetic Edda
138. Now are Hor's words spoken in the hall,
Kind for the kindred of men,
Cursed for the kindred of giants :
Hail to the speaker, and to him who learns !
Profit be his who has them!
Hail to them who hearken!
* * *
139. I ween that I hung on the windy tree,
Hung there for nights full nine;
With the spear I was wounded, and offered I
was
To Othin, myself to myself,
On the tree that none may ever know
What root beneath it runs.
138. In the manuscript this stanza comes at the end of the
entire poem, following stanza 165. Most recent editors have fol-
lowed Miillenhoff in shifting it to this position, as it appears to
conclude the passage introduced by the somewhat similar stanza
III.
139. With this stanza begins the most confusing part of the
Hovamol: the group of eight stanzas leading up to the Ljothatal,
or list of charms. Certain paper manuscripts have before this
stanza a title: "Othin's Tale of the Runes." Apparently stanzas
139, 140 and 142 are fragments of an account of how Othin ob-
tained the runes; 141 is erroneously inserted from some version
of the magic mead story (cf. stanzas 104-110) ; and stanzas 143,
144, 145, and 146 are from miscellaneous sources, all, however,
dealing with the general subject of runes. With stanza 147 a
clearly continuous passage begins once more. The ivindy tree:
the ash Yggdrasil (literally "the Horse of Othin," so called be-
cause of this story), on which Othin, in order to win the magic
runes, hanged himself as an oflFering to himself, and wounded
himself with his own spear. Lines 5 and 6 have presumably been
borrowed from Svipdagsmol, 30.
[60]
Hovamol
140. None made me happy with loaf or horn,
And there below I looked;
I took up the runes, shrieking I took them,
And forthwith back I fell.
141. Nine mighty songs I got from the son
Of Bolthorn, Bestla's father;
And a drink I got of the goodly mead
Poured out from Othrorir.
142. Then began I to thrive, and wisdom to get,
I grew and well I was;
Each word led me on to another word.
Each deed to another deed.
143. Runes shalt thou find, and fateful signs.
That the king of singers colored.
And the mighty gods have made;
141, This stanza, interrupting as it does the account of Othin's
winning the runes, appears to be an interpolation. The meaning
of the stanza is most obscure. Bolthorn was Othin's grandfather,
and Bestla his mother. We do not know the name of the uncle
here mentioned, but it has been suggested that this son of Bol-
thorn was Mimir (cf. Voluspo, 27 and note, and 47 and note).
In any case, the nine magic songs which he learned from his
uncle seem to have enabled him to win the magic mead (cf.
stanzas 104-110). Concerning Othrorir, here used as the name of
the vessel containing the mead, cf. stanza 107 and note.
143. This and the following stanza belong together, and in
many editions appear as a single stanza. They presumably come
from some lost poem on the authorship of the runes. Lines 2 and
3 follow line 4 in the manuscript; the transposition was sug-
gested by Bugge. The king of singers: Othin. The magic signs
(runes) were commonly carved in wood, then colored red,
[61]
Poetic Edda
Full strong the signs, full mighty the signs
That the ruler of gods doth write.
144. Othin for the gods, Dain for the elves.
And Dvalin for the dwarfs,
Alsvith for giants and all mankind,
And some myself I wrote.
145. Knowest how one shall write, knowest how one
shall rede?
Knowest how one shall tint, knowest how one
makes trial?
Knowest how one shall ask, knowest how one
shall offer?
Knowest how one shall send, knowest how one
shall sacrifice?
144. Dain and Dvalin: dwarfs; cf. Voluspo, 14, and note.
Dain, however, may here be one of the elves rather than the
dwarf of that name. The two names also appear together in
Grimnismol, 33, where they are applied to two of the four harts
that nibble at the topmost twigs of Yggdrasil. Alsvith ("the All-
Wise") appears nowhere else as a giant's name. Myself: Othin.
We have no further information concerning the list of those
who wrote the runes for the various races, and these four lines
seem like a confusion of names in the rather hazy mind of some
reciter.
145. This Malahattr stanza appears to be a regular religious
formula, concerned less with the runes which one "writes" and
"tints" (cf. stanza 79) than with the prayers which one "asks"
and the sacrifices which one "offers" and "sends." Its origin is
wholly uncertain, but it is clearly an interpolation here. In the
manuscript the phrase "knowest?" is abbreviated after the first
line.
[62]
Hovamol
146. Better no prayer than too big an offering,
By thy getting measure thy gift ;
Better is none than too big a sacrifice,
So Thund of old wrote ere man's race began,
Where he rose on high when home he came.
* * *
147. The songs I know that king's wives know not,
Nor men that are sons of men;
The first is called help, and help it can bring
thee
In sorrow and pain and sickness.
148. A second I know, that men shall need
Who leechcraft long to use;
146. This stanza as translated here follows the manuscript
reading, except in assuming a gap between lines 3 and 5. In
Vigfusson and Powell's Corpus Poeticum Boreale the first three
lines have somehow been expanded into eight. The last two lines
are almost certainly misplaced; Bugge suggests that they belong
at the end of stanza 144. Thund: another name for Othin. When
home he came: presumably after obtaining the runes as described
in stanzas 139 and 140.
147. With this stanza begins the Ljothatal, or list of charms.
The magic songs themselves are not given, but in each case the
peculiar application of the charm is explained. The passage,
which is certainly approximately complete as far as it goes, runs
to the end of the poem. In the manuscript and in most editions
line 4 falls into two half-lines, running:
"In sickness and pain and every sorrow."
163^
Poetic Edda
149. A third I know, if great is my need
Of fetters to hold my foe ;
Blunt do I make mine enemy's blade,
Nor bites his sword or sta£E.
150. A fourth I know, if men shall fasten
Bonds on my bended legs;
So great is the charm that forth I may go,
The fetters spring from my feet.
Broken the bonds from my hands.
151. A fifth I know, if I see from afar
An arrow fly 'gainst the folk;
It flies not so swift that I stop it not,
If ever my eyes behold it.
152. A sixth I know, if harm one seeks
With a sapling's roots to send me ;
The hero himself who wreaks his hate
Shall taste the ill ere I.
153. A seventh I know, if I see in flames
The hall o'er my comrades' heads ;
It burns not so wide that I will not quench it,
I know that song to sing.
148. Second, etc., appear in the manuscript as Roman numer-
als. The manuscript indicates no gap after line 2.
152. The sending of a root with runes written thereon was
an excellent way of causing death. So died the Icelandic hero
Grettir the Strong.
[64]
Hovamol
154. An eighth I know, that is to all
Of greatest good to learn;
When hatred grows among heroes* sons,
I soon can set it right.
155. A ninth I know, if need there comes
To shelter my ship on the flood;
The wind I calm upon the waves,
And the sea I put to sleep.
156. A tenth I know, what time I see
House-riders flying on high;
So can I work that wildly they go.
Showing their true shapes.
Hence to their own homes.
157. An eleventh I know, if needs I must lead
To the fight my long-loved friends ;
I sing in the shields, and in strength they go
Whole to the field of fight,
Whole from the field of fight,
And whole they come thence home.
158. A twelfth I know, if high on a tree
I see a hanged man swing ;
156. House-riders: witches, who ride by night on the roofs of
houses, generally in the form of wild beasts. Possibly one of the
last two lines is spurious.
157. The last line looks like an unwarranted addition, and
line 4 may likewise be spurious.
158. Lines 4-5 are probably expanded from a single line.
[65]
Poetic Edda
So do I write and color the runes
That forth he fares,
And to me talks.
159. A thirteenth I know, if a thane full young
With water I sprinkle well ;
He shall not fall, though he fares mid the host,
Nor sink beneath the swords.
160. A fourteenth I know, if fain I would name
To men the mighty gods;
All know I well of the gods and elves, —
Few be the fools know this.
161. A fifteenth I know, that before the doors
Of Delling sang Thjothrorir the dwarf;
Might he sang for the gods, and glory for elves,
And wisdom for Hroptatyr wise.
162. A sixteenth I know, if I seek delight
To win from a maiden wise;
The mind I turn of the white-armed maid,
And thus change all her thoughts.
159. The sprinkling of a child with water was an established
custom long before Christianity brought its conception of
baptism.
161. This stanza, according to Mullenhoff, was the original
conclusion of the poem, the phrase "a fifteenth" being inserted
only after stanzas 162-165 had crept in. Delling: a seldom men-
tioned god who married Not (Night). Their son was Dag (Day).
Thjothrorir: not mentioned elsewhere. Hroptatyr: Othin.
[66]
Hovamol
163. A seventeenth I know, so that seldom shall go
A maiden young from me;
164. Long these songs thou shalt, Loddfafnir,
Seek in vain to sing;
Yet good it vv^ere if thou mightest get them,
Well, if thou wouldst them learn,
Help, if thou hadst them.
165. An eighteenth I know, that ne'er will I tell
To maiden or wife of man, —
The best is what none but one's self doth know,
So comes the end of the songs, —
Save only to her in whose arms I lie.
Or who else my sister is.
163. Some editors have combined these two lines with stanza
164. Others have assumed that the gap follows the first half -line,
making "so that — from me" the end of the stanza.
164. This stanza is almost certainly an interpolation, and
seems to have been introduced after the list of charms and the
Loddfafnismol (stanzas 111-138) were combined in a single
poem, for there is no other apparent excuse for the reference to
Loddfafnir at this point. The words "if thou mightest get them"
are a conjectural emendation.
165. This stanza is almost totally obscure. The third and
fourth lines look like interpolations.
VAFTHRUTHNISMOL
The Ballad of Vafthruthnir
Introductory Note
The Fafthruthnismol follows the Hovamol in the Codex
Regius. From stanza 20 on it is also included in the Arna-
magnaan Codex, the first part evidently having appeared on a
leaf now lost. Snorri quotes eight stanzas of it in the Prose Edda,
and in his prose text closely paraphrases many others.
The poem is wholly in dialogue form except for a single
narrative stanza (stanza 5). After a brief introductory discus-
sion between Othin and his wife, Frigg, concerning the reputed
wisdom of the giant Vafthruthnir, Othin, always in quest of
wisdom, seeks out the giant, calling himself Gagnrath. The giant
immediately insists that they shall demonstrate which is the
wiser of the two, and propounds four questions (stanzas 11, 13,
15, and 17), each of which Othin answers. It is then the god's
turn to ask, and he begins with a series of twelve numbered
questions regarding the origins and past history of life. These
Vafthruthnir answers, and Othin asks five more questions,
this time referring to what is to follow the destruction of the
gods, the last one asking the name of his own slayer. Again
Vafthruthnir answers, and Othin finally propounds the unanswer-
able question: "What spake Othin himself in the ears of his son,
ere in the bale-fire he burned?" Vafthruthnir, recognizing his
questioner as Othin himself, admits his inferiority in wisdom,
and so the contest ends.
The whole poem is essentially encyclopaedic in character, and
thus was particularly useful to Snorri in his preparation of the
Prose Edda. The encyclopaedic poem with a slight narrative
outline seems to have been exceedingly popular; the Grimnismol
and the much later Alvissmol represent different phases of the
same type. The Fafthruthnismol and Grimnismol together, in-
deed, constitute a fairly complete dictionary of Norse mythology.
There has been much discussion as to the probable date of the
Fafthruthnismol, but it appears to belong to about the same
period as the Foluspo: in other words, the middle of the tenth
century. While there may be a few interpolated passages in the
poem as we now have it, it is clearly a united whole, and evi-
dently in relatively good condition.
[68]
Vafthruthnismol
Othin spake:
1. "Counsel me, Frigg, for I long to fare,
And Vafthruthnir fain would find ;
In wisdom old with the giant wise
Myself would I seek to match."
Frigg spake:
2. "Heerfather here at home would I keep,
Where the gods together dwell;
Amid all the giants an equal in might
To Vafthruthnir know I none."
Othin spake:
3. "Much have I fared, much have I found,
Much have I got from the gods ;
And fain would I know how Vafthruthnir now
Lives in his lofty hall."
Frigg spake:
4. "Safe mayst thou go, safe come again,
And safe be the way thou wendest!
Father of men, let thy mind be keen
When speech with the giant thou seekest."
5. The wisdom then of the giant wise
I. The phrases "Othin spake," "Frigg spake," etc., appear
in abbreviated form in both manuscripts. Frigg: Othin's wife;
of. Voluspo, 34 and note. Vafthruthnir ("the Mighty in Rid-
dles") : nothing is known of this giant beyond what is told in this
poem.
3. Heerfather ("Father of the Host") : Othin.
5. This single narrative stanza is presumably a later interpo<
[69]
Poetic Edda
Forth did he fare to try;
He found the hall of the father of Im,
And in forthwith went Ygg.
Othin spake:
"Vafthruthnir, hail! to thy hall am I come,
For thyself I fain would see ;
And first would I ask if wise thou art,
Or, giant, all wisdom hast won."
Vafthruthnir spake:
"Who is the man that speaks to me,
Here in my lofty hall ?
Forth from our dwelling thou never shalt fare.
Unless wiser than I thou art."
Othin spake:
"Gagnrath they call me, and thirsty I come
From a journey hard to thy hall;
Welcome I look for, for long have I fared.
And gentle greeting, giant."
Vafthruthnir spake:
"Why standest thou there on the floor whilst thou
speakest ?
A seat shalt thou have in my hall ;
lation. Im: the name appears to be corrupt, but we know nothing
of any son of Vafthruthnir. Ygg ("the Terrible") ; Othin.
8. Gagnrath ("the Gain-Counsellor") : Othin on his travels
always assumes a name other than his own.
[70]
Vafthruthnismol
Then soon shall we know whose knowledge is
more,
The guest's or the sage's gray."
Othin spake:
10. "If a poor man reaches the home of the rich,
Let him wisely speak or be still ;
For to him who speaks with the hard of heart
Will chattering ever work ill."
Vafthruthnir spake:
11. "Speak forth now, Gagnrath, if there from the
floor
Thou wouldst thy wisdom make known:
What name has the steed that each mom anew
The day for mankind doth draw?"
Othin spake:
12. "Skinfaxi is he, the steed who for men
The glittering day doth draw;
The best of horses to heroes he seems,
And brightly his mane doth burn."
Vafthruthnir spake:
13. "Speak forth now, Gagnrath, if there from the
floor
10. This stanza sounds very much like many of those in the
first part of the Hovamol, and may have been introduced here
from some such source.
12. Skinfaxi: "Shining-Mane."
[71]
Poetic Edda
Thou wouldst thy wisdom make known :
What name has the steed that from East anew
Brings night for the noble gods?"
Othin spake:
14. "Hrimfaxi name they the steed that anew
Brings night for the noble gods;
Each morning foam from his bit there falls,
And thence come the dews in the dales."
Vafthruthnir spake:
15. "Speak forth now, Gagnrath, if there from the
floor
Thou wouldst thy wisdom make known:
What name has the river that 'twixt the realms
Of the gods and the giants goes?"
Othin spake:
16. "Ifing is the river that 'twixt the realms
Of the gods and the giants goes ;
For all time ever open it flows,
No ice on the river there is."
Vafthruthnir spake:
17. "Speak forth now, Gagnrath, if there from the
floor
13. Here, and in general throughout the poem, the two-line
introductory formulae are abbreviated in the manuscripts.
14. Hrimfaxi: "Frosty-Mane."
16. Ifing: there is no other reference to this river, which
never freezes, so that the giants cannot cross it.
[72]
Vafthruthnismol
Thou wouldst thy wisdom make known:
What name has the field where in fight shall meet
Surt and the gracious gods?"
Othin spake:
1 8. "Vigrith is the field where in fight shall meet
Surt and the gracious gods;
A hundred miles each way does it measure,
And so are its boundaries set."
Vafthruthnir spake:
19. "Wise art thou, guest ! To my bench shalt thou go,
In our seats let us speak together ;
Here in the hall our heads, O guest,
Shall we wager our wisdom upon."
Othin spake:
20. "First answer me well, if thy wisdom avails.
And thou knowest it, Vafthruthnir, now:
In earliest time whence came the earth.
Or the sky, thou giant sage ?"
17. Surt: the ruler of the fire-world (Muspcllsheim), who
comes to attack the gods in the last battle; cf. Voluspo, 52.
18. Vigrith: "the Field of Battle." Snorri quotes this stanza.
A hundred miles: a general phrase for a vast distance.
19. With this stanza Vafthruthnir, sufficiently impressed with
his guest's wisdom to invite hira to share his own seat, resigns
the questioning to Othin.
20. The fragmentary version of this poem in the Arita-
magnaan Codex begins in the middle of the first line of this
stanza.
17Z}
Poetic Edda
Vafthruthnir spake:
21. "Out of Ymir's flesh was fashioned the earth,
And the mountains were made of his bones ;
The sky from the frost-cold giant's skull,
And the ocean out of his blood."
Othin spake:
22. "Next answer me well, if thy wisdom avails.
And thou knowest it, Vafthruthnir, now:
Whence came the moon, o'er the world of men
That fares, and the flaming sun ?"
Vafthruthnir spake:
23. "Mundilferi is he who begat the moon,
And fathered the flaming sun;
The round of heaven each day they run,
To tell the time for men."
Othin spake:
24. "Third answer me well, if wise thou art called,
If thou knowest it, Vafthruthnir, now:
Whence came the day, o'er mankind that fares.
Or night with the narrowing moon?"
21. Ymir: the giant out of whose body the gods made the
world ; cf . Voluspo, 3 and note.
22. In this and in Othin's following questions, both manu-
scripts replace the words "next," "third," "fourth," etc., by
Roman numerals.
23. Mundilferi ("the Turner"?): known only as the father
of Mani (the Moon) and Sol (the Sun). Note that, curiously
[74]
Vafthruthnismol
Vafthruthnir spake:
25. "The father of day is Delling called,
And the night was begotten by Nor;
Full moon and old by the gods were fashioned,
To tell the time for men."
Othin spake:
26. "Fourth answer me well, if wise thou art called.
If thou knowest it, Vafthruthnir, now:
Whence did winter come, or the summer warm,
First with the gracious gods?"
Vafthruthnir spake:
27. "Vindsval he was who was winter's father.
And Svosuth summer begat;"
enough, Mani is the boy and Sol the girl. According to Snorri,
Sol drove the horses of the sun, and Mani those of the moon,
for the gods, indignant that they should have been given such
imposing names, took them from their father to perform these
tasks. Cf. Grimnismol, 37.
25. Delling ("the Dayspring"? Probably another form of
the name, Dogling, meaning "Son of the Dew" is more correct) :
the husband of Not (Night) ; their son was Dag (Day) ; cf.
Hovamol, 161. Nor: Snorri calls the father of Night Norvi or
Narfi, and puts him among the giants. Lines 3-4: cf. Voluspo, 6.
27. Neither the Regius nor the Arnamagneean Codex indi-
cates a lacuna. Most editors have filled out the stanza with two
lines from late paper manuscripts: "And both of these shall
ever be, / Till the gods to destruction go." Bugge ingeniously para-
phrases Snorri's prose: "Vindsval's father was Vosuth called,
/ And rough is all his race." Vindsval: "the Wind-Cold," also
called Vindljoni, "the Wind-Man." Svosuth: "the Gentle."
[75]
Poetic Edda
Othin spake:
28. "Fifth answer me well, if wise thou art called,
If thou knowest it, Vafthruthnir, now:
What giant first was fashioned of old,
And the eldest of Ymir's kin ?"
Vafthruthnir spake:
29. "Winters unmeasured ere earth was made
Was the birth of Bergelmir ;
Thruthgelmir's son was the giant strong,
And Aurgelmir's grandson of old."
Othin spake:
30. "Sixth answer me well, if wise thou art called,
If thou knowest it, Vafthruthnir, now:
Whence did Aurgelmir come with the giants' kin,
Long since, thou giant sage?"
Vafthruthnir spake:
31. "Down from Elivagar did venom drop.
And waxed till a giant it was;
28. Ymir's kin: the giants.
29. Bergelmir: when the gods slew Ymir in order to make the
world out of his body, so much blood flowed from him that all
the frost-giants were drowned except Bergelmir and his wife,
who escaped in a boat; of. stanza 35. Of Thruthgelmir ("the
Mightily Burning") we know nothing, but Aurgelmir was the
frost-giants' name for Ymir himself. Thus Ymir was the first
of the giants, and so Othin's question is answered.
31. Snorri quotes this stanza, and the last two lines are taken
from his version, as both of the manuscripts omit them. Elivagar
("Stormy Waves") : Mogk suggests that this river may have
been the Milky Way. At any rate, the venom carried in its waters
[76]
Vafthruthnismol
And thence arose our giants' race,
And thus so fierce are we found."
Othin spake:
32. "Seventh answer me well, if wise thou art called,
If thou knowest it, Vaf thruthnir, now :
How begat he children, the giant grim,
Who never a giantess knew?"
Vaf thruthnir spake:
33. "They say 'neath the arms of the giant of ice
Grew man-child and maid together;
And foot with foot did the wise one fashion
A son that six heads bore."
Othin spake:
34. "Eighth answer me well, if wise thou art called,
If thou knowest it, Vaf thruthnir, now :
What farthest back dost thou bear in mind ?
For wide is thy wisdom, giant!"
froze into ice-banks over Ginnunga-gap (the "yawning gap" re-
ferred to in Voluspo, 3), and then dripped down to make the
giant Yrair.
33. Snorri gives, without materially elaborating on it, the
same account of how Ymir's son and daughter were born under
his left arm, and how his feet together created a son. That
this offspring should have had six heads is nothing out of the
ordinary, for various giants had more than the normal number,
and Hymir's mother is credited with a little matter of nine hun-
dred heads; cf. Hymiskvitha, 8. Of the career of Ymir's six-
headed son we know nothing; he may have been the Thruthgel-
mir of stanza 29.
Poetic Edda
Vafthruthnir spake:
35. "Winters unmeasured ere earth was made
Was the birth of Bergelmir;
This first knew I well, when the giant wise
In a boat of old was borne."
Othin spake:
36. "Ninth answer me well, if wise thou art called,
If thou knowest it, Vafthruthnir, now:
Whence comes the wind that fares o'er the waves
Yet never itself is seen?"
Vafthruthnir spake:
37. "In an eagle's guise at the end of heaven
Hraesvelg sits, they say;
And from his wings does the wind come forth
To move o'er the world of men."
Othin spake:
38. "Tenth answer me now, if thou knowest all
The fate that is fixed for the gods:
35. Snorri quotes this stanza. Bergelmir: on him and his boat
cf. stanza 29 and note.
37. Snorri quotes this stanza. Hrasvelg ("the Corpse-Eater") :
on this giant in eagle's form cf. Voluspo, 50, and Skirnismol, 27.
38. With this stanza the question-formula changes, and
Othin's questions from this point on concern more or less directly
the great final struggle. Line 4 is presumably spurious. Njorth:
on Njorth and the Wanes, who gave him as a hostage to the
gods at the end of their war, cf. Voluspo, 21 and note.
[78]
Vafthruthnismol
Whence came up Njorth to the kin of the gods, —
(Rich in temples and shrines he rules, — )
Though of gods he was never begot?"
Vafthruthnir spake:
39. "In the home of the Wanes did the wise ones
create him,
And gave him as pledge to the gods;
At the fall of the world shall he fare once more
Home to the Wanes so wise."
Othin spake:
40. "Eleventh answer me well,
What men in home
Each day to fight go forth ?"
Vafthruthnir spake:
41. "The heroes all in Othin's hall
Each day to fight go forth;
40. In both manuscripts, apparently through the carelessness
of some older copyist, stanzas 40 and 41 are run together: "Elev-
enth answer me well, what men in the home mightily battle each
day? They fell each other, and fare from the fight all healed
full soon to sit." Luckily Snorri quotes stanza 41 in full, and
the translation is from his version. Stanza 40 should probably run
something like this: "Eleventh answer me well, if thou knowest
all / The fate that is fixed for the gods: / What men are
they who in Othin's home / Each day to fight go forth?"
41. The heroes: those brought to Valhall by the Valkyries.
After the day's fighting they are healed of their wounds and all
feast together.
[79]
Poetic Edda
They fell each other, and fare from the fight
All healed full soon to sit."
Othin spake:
42. "Twelfth answer me now how all thou knowest
Of the fate that is fixed for the gods ;
Of the runes of the gods and the giants' race
The truth indeed dost thou tell,
(And wide is thy wisdom, giant!)"
Vafthruthnir spake:
43. "Of the runes of the gods and the giants' race
The truth indeed can I tell,
(For to every world have I won;)
To nine worlds came I, to Niflhel beneath,
The home where dead men dwell."
Othin spake:
44. "Much have I fared, much have I found.
Much have I got of the gods:
What shall live of mankind when at last there
comes
The mighty winter to men?"
Vafthruthnir spake:
45. "In Hoddmimir's wood shall hide themselves
Lif and Lifthrasir then;
43. Nine ivorlds: cf. Voluspo, 2. Niflhel: "Dark-Hell."
44. The mighty ivinter: Before the final destruction three
winters follow one another with no intervening summers.
45. Snorri quotes this stanza. Hoddmimir's ivood: probably
[80]
Vafthruthnismol
The morning dews for meat shall they have,
Such food shall men then find."
Othin spake:
46. "Much have I fared, much have I found,
Much have I got of the gods:
Whence comes the sun to the smooth sky back,
When Fenrir has snatched it forth ?"
Vafthruthnir spake:
47. "A daughter bright Alfrothul bears
Ere Fenrir snatches her forth ;
Her mother's paths shall the maiden tread
When the gods to death have gone."
Othin spake:
48. "Much have I fared, much have I found.
Much have I got of the gods:
What maidens are they, so wise of mind.
That forth o'er the sea shall fare ?"
this is the ash-tree Yggdrasil, which is sometimes referred to as
"Mimir's Tree," because Mirair waters it from his well; cf.
Voluspo, 27 and note, and Svipdagsmol, 30 and note. Hoddmimir
is presumably another name for Mimir. L'tf ("Life") and
Lifthrasir ("Sturdy of Life"?) : nothing further is known of this
pair, from whom the new race of men is to spring.
46. Fenrir: there appears to be a confusion between the wolf
Fenrir (cf. Voluspo, 39 and note) and his son, the wolf Skoll,
who steals the sun (cf. Voluspo, 40 and note).
47. Snorri quotes this stanza. Alfrothul ("the Elf-Beam") :
the sun.
[81]
Poetic Edda
Vafthruthnir spake:
49. "O'er Mogthrasir's hill shall the maidens pass,
And three are their throngs that come ;
They all shall protect the dwellers on earth,
Though they come of the giants' kin."
Othin spake:
50. "Much have I fared, much have I found.
Much have I got of the gods:
Who then shall rule the realm of the gods,
When the fires of Surt have sunk ?"
Vafthruthnir spake:
51. "In the gods' home Vithar and Vali shall dwell,
When the fires of Surt have sunk ;
Mothi and Magni shall Mjollnir have
When Vingnir falls in fight."
Othin spake:
52. "Much have I fared, much have I found.
Much have I got of the gods :
49. Mogthrasir ("Desiring Sons") : not mentioned elsewhere
in the Eddie poenas, or by Snorri. The maidens: apparently
Norns, like the "giant-maids" in Voluspo, 8. These Norns, how-
ever, are kindly to men.
50. Surt: cf. Voluspo, 52 and note.
51. Vithar: a son of Othin, who slays the wolf Fenrir; cf.
Voluspo, 54 and note. Vali: the son whom Othin begot to avenge
Baldr's death; cf. Voluspo, 33 and note. Mothi ("Wrath") and
Magni ("Might") : the sons of the god Thor, who after his
death inherit his famous hammer, Mjollnir. Concerning this
hammer cf. especially Thrymskvitha, passim. Vingnir ("the
[82]
Vafthruthnismol
What shall bring the doom of death to Othin,
When the gods to destruction go ?"
Vafthruthnir spake:
53. "The wolf shall fell the father of men,
And this shall Vithar avenge ;
The terrible jaws shall he tear apart,
And so the wolf shall he slay."
Othin spake:
54. "Much have I fared, much have I found,
Much have I got from the gods :
What spake Othin himself in the ears of his son.
Ere in the bale-fire he burned ?"
Vafthruthnir spake:
55. "No man can tell what in olden time
Thou spak'st in the ears of thy son ;
With fated mouth the fall of the gods
And mine olden tales have I told ;
With Othin in knowledge now have I striven,
And ever the wiser thou art."
Hurler") : Thor. Concerning his death cf. Voluspo, 56. This
stanza is quoted by Snorri.
53. The ivolf: Fenrir; cf. Voluspo, 53 and 54.
54. His son: Baldr. Bugge changes lines 3-4 to run: "What
did Othin speak in the ear of Baldr, / When to the bale-fire
they bore him?" For Baldr's death cf. Voluspo, 32 and note. The
question is, of course, unanswerable save by Othin himself, and so
the giant at last recognizes his guest.
55. Fated: in stanza 19 Vafthruthnir was rash enough to
wager his head against his guest's on the outcome of the contest
of wisdom, so he knows that his defeat means his death.
[83]
GRIMNISMOL
The Ballad of Grimnir
Introductory Note
The Grimnismol follows the Vafthruthnismol in the Codex
Regius and is also found complete in the Arnamagnaan Codex,
where also it follows the Vafthruthnismol. Snorri quotes over
twenty of its stanzas.
Like the preceding poem, the Grimnismol is largely encyclo-
pedic in nature, and consists chiefly of proper names, the last
forty-seven stanzas containing no less than two hundred and
twenty-five of these. It is not, however, in dialogue form. As
Miillenhoff pointed out, there is underneath the catalogue of
mythological names a consecutive and thoroughly dramatic story.
Othin, concealed under the name of Grimnir, is through an error
tortured by King Geirroth. Bound between two blazing fires, he
begins to display his wisdom for the benefit of the king's little son,
Agnar, who has been kind to him. Gradually he works up to the
great final moment, when he declares his true name, or rather
names, to the terrified Geirroth, and the latter falls on his sword
and is killed.
For much of this story we do not have to depend on guess-
work, for in both manuscripts the poem itself is preceded by a
prose narrative of considerable length, and concluded by a brief
prose statement of the manner of Geirroth's death. These prose
notes, of which there are many in the Eddie manuscripts, are of
considerable interest to the student of early literary forms. Pre-
sumably they were written by the compiler to whom we owe the
Eddie collection, who felt that the poems needed such annotation
in order to be clear. Linguistic evidence shows that they were
written in the twelfth or thirteenth century, for they preserve
none of the older word-forms which help us to date many of the
poems two or three hundred years earlier.
Without discussing in detail the problems suggested by these
prose passages, it is worth noting, first, that the Eddie poems
contain relatively few stanzas of truly narrative verse; and
second, that all of them are based on narratives which must
have been more or less familiar to the hearers of the poems.
In other words, the poems seldom aimed to tell stories, although
most of them followed a narrative sequence of ideas. The stories
[84]
Grimnismol
themselves appear to have lived in oral prose tradition, just as
in the case of the sagas ; and the prose notes of the manuscripts,
in so far as they contain material not simply drawn from the
poems themselves, are relics of this tradition. The early Norse
poets rarely conceived verse as a suitable means for direct story-
telling, and in some of the poems even the simplest action is told
in prose "links" between dialogue stanzas.
The applications of this fact, which has been too often over-
looked, are almost limitless, for it suggests a still unwritten
chapter in the history of ballad poetry and the so-called "pop-
ular" epic. It implies that narrative among early peoples may
frequently have had a period of prose existence before it was made
into verse, and thus puts, for example, a long series of transi-
tional stages before such a poem as the Iliad. In any case, the
prose notes accompanying the Eddie poems prove that in addition
to the poems themselves there existed in the twelfth century a
considerable amount of narrative tradition, presumably in prose
form, on which these notes were based by the compiler.
Interpolations in such a poem as the Grimnismol could have
been made easily enough, and many stanzas have undoubtedly
crept in from other poems, but the beginning and end of the
poem are clearly marked, and presumably it has come down to
us with the same essential outline it had when it was composed,
probably in the first half of the tenth century.
King Hrauthung had two sons: one was called Agnar,
and the other Geirroth. Agnar was ten winters old, and
Geirroth eight. Once they both rowed in a boat with their
fishing-gear to catch little fish; and the wind drove them
out into the sea. In the darkness of the night they were
wrecked on the shore; and going up, they found a poor
peasant, with whom they stayed through the winter. The
housewife took care of Agnar, and the peasant cared for
Prose. The texts of the two manuscripts differ in many minor
details. Hrauthung : this mythical king is not mentioned else-
where. Geirroth: the manuscripts spell his name in various ways
[85]
Poetic Edda
Geirroth, and taught him wisdom. In the spring the
peasant gave him a boat ; and when the couple led them to
the shore, the peasant spoke secretly with Geirroth. They
had a fair wind, and came to their father's landing-place.
Geirroth was forward in the boat; he leaped up on land,
but pushed out the boat and said, "Go thou now where
evil may have thee!" The boat drifted out to sea. Geir-
roth, however, went up to the house, and was well re-
ceived, but his father was dead. Then Geirroth was made
king, and became a renowned man.
Othin and Frigg sat in Hlithskjolf and looked over all
the worlds. Othin said: "Seest thou Agnar, thy foster-
ling, how he begets children with a giantess in the cave?
But Geirroth, my fosterling, is a king, and now rules over
his land." Frigg said: "He is so miserly that he tortures
his guests if he thinks that too many of them come to him."
Othin replied that this was the greatest of lies; and they
made a wager about this matter. Frigg sent her maid-
servant, Fulla, to Geirroth. She bade the king beware
lest a magician who was come thither to his land should
bewitch him, and told this sign concerning him, that no
dog was so fierce as to leap at him. Now it was a very
great slander that King Geirroth was not hospitable; but
nevertheless he had them take the man whom the dogs
would not attack. He wore a dark-blue mantle and called
himself Grimnir, but said no more about himself, though
Frigg: Othin's wife. She and Othin nearly always disagreed in
some such way as the one outlined in this story. Hlithskjolf
("Gate-Shelf") : Othin's watch-tower in heaven, whence he can
overlook all the nine worlds; cf. Skirnismol, introductory prose.
Grimnir: "the Hooded One."
[863
Grimnismol
he was questioned. The king had him tortured to make
him speak, and set him between two fires, and he sat there
eight nights. King Geirroth had a son ten winters old,
and called Agnar after his father's brother. Agnar went
to Grimnir, and gave him a full horn to drink from, and
said that the king did ill in letting him be tormented with-
out cause. Grimnir drank from the horn; the fire had
come so near that the mantle burned on Grimnir's back.
He spake :
1. Hot art thou, fire! too fierce by far ;
Get ye now gone, ye flames!
The mantle is burnt, though I bear it aloft,
And the fire scorches the fur.
2. 'Twixt the fires now eight nights have I sat.
And no man brought meat to me.
Save Agnar alone, and alone shall rule
Geirroth's son o'er the Goths.
3. Hail to thee, Agnar! for hailed thou art
By the voice of Veratyr ;
2. In the original lines 2 and 4 are both too long for the
meter, and thus the true form of the stanza is doubtful. For
line 4 both manuscripts have "the land of the Goths" instead of
simply "the Goths." The word "Goths" apparently was applied
indiscriminately to any South-Germanic people, including the
Burgundians as well as the actual Goths, and thus here has no
specific application; cf. Gripisspo, 35 and note.
[87]
Poetic Edda
For a single drink shalt thou never receive
A greater gift as reward.
4. The land is holy that lies hard by
The gods and the elves together;
And Thor shall ever in Thruthheim dw^ell,
Till the gods to destruction go.
5. Ydalir call they the place vi^here Ull
A hall for himself hath set ;
And Alfheim the gods to Freyr once gave
As a tooth-gift in ancient times.
6. A third home is there, with silver thatched
By the hands of the gracious gods:
Valaskjolf is it, in days of old
Set by a god for himself.
7. Sokkvabekk is the fourth, where cool waves flow.
3. Veratyr ("Lord of Men") : Othin. The "gift" which Agnar
receives is Othin's mythological lore.
4. Thruthheim ("the Place of Might") : the place where
Thor, the strongest of the gods, has his hall, Bilskirnir, described
in stanza 24.
5. Ydalir ("Yew-Dales") : the home of Ull, the archer among
the gods, a son of Thor's wife, Sif, by-- another marriage. The
wood of the yew-tree was used for bows in the North just as it
was long afterwards in England. Alfheim: the home of the
elves. Freyr: cf. Skirnismol, introductory prose and note. Tooth-
gift: the custom of making a present to a child when it cuts its
first tooth is, according to Vigfusson, still in vogue in Iceland.
6. Valaskjolf ("the Shelf of the Slain") : Othin's home, in
which is his watch-tower, HIithskjolf. Gering identifies this with
Valhall, and as that is mentioned in stanza 8, he believes stanza
6 to be an interpolation.
[88]
Grimnismol
And amid their murmur it stands;
There dailj' do Othin and Saga drink
In gladness from cups of gold.
8. The fifth is Glathsheim, and gold-bright there
Stands Valhall stretching wide;
And there does Othin each day choose
The men who have fallen in fight.
9. Easy is it to know for him who to Othin
Comes and beholds the hall ;
Its rafters are spears, with shields is it roofed,
On its benches are breastplates strewn.
10. Easy is it to know for him who to Othin
Comes and beholds the hall ;
There hangs a wolf by the western door,
And o'er it an eagle hovers.
11. The sixth is Thryniheim, where Thjazi dwelt,
The giant of marvelous might;
7. Sokkvabekk ("the Sinking Stream") : of this spot and of
Saga, who is said to live there, little is known. Saga may be an
hypostasis of Frigg, but Snorri calls her a distinct goddess, and
the name suggests some relation to history or story-telling.
8. Glathsheim ("the Place of Joy") : Othin's home, the greatest
and most beautiful hall in the world. Valhall ("Hall of the
Slain") : of. Voluspo, 31 and note. Valhall is not only the hall
whither the slain heroes are brought by the Valkyries, but also
a favorite home of Othin.
10. The opening formula is abbreviated in both manuscripts.
A luolf: probably the wolf and the eagle were carved figures
above the door.
[89]
Poetic Edda
Now Skathi abides, the god's fair bride,
In the home that her father had.
12. The seventh is Breithablik ; Baldr has there
For himself a dwelling set,
In the land I know that lies so fair,
And from evil fate is free.
13. Himinbjorg is the eighth, and Heimdall there
O'er men holds sway, it is said ;
In his well-built house does the warder of heaven
The good mead gladly drink.
14. The ninth is Folkvang, where Freyja decrees
11. Thrymheim ("the Home of Clamor") : on this mountain
the giant Thjazi built his home. The god, or rather Wane,
Njorth (cf. Voluspo, 21, note) married Thjazi's daughter,
Skathi. She wished to live in her father's hall among the moun-
tains, while Njorth loved his home, Noatun, by the sea. They
agreed to compromise by spending nine nights at Thrymheim
and then three at Noatun, but neither could endure the surround-
ings of the other's home, so Skathi returned to Thrymheim, while
Njorth stayed at Noatun. Snorri quotes stanzas 11-15.
12. Breithablik ("Wide-Shining") : the house in heaven, free
from everything unclean, in which Baldr (cf. Voluspo, 32, note),
the fairest and best of the gods, lived.
13. Himinbjorg ("Heaven's Cliffs") : the dwelling at the end
of the bridge Bifrost (the rainbow), where Heimdall (cf.
Voluspo, 27) keeps watch against the coming of the giants. In
this stanza the two functions of Heimdall — as father of man-
kind (cf. Voluspo, I and note, and Rigsthula, introductory prose
and note) and as warder of the gods — seem both to be men-
tioned, but the second line in the manuscripts is apparently in
bad shape, and in the editions is more or less conjectural.
14. Folkvang ("Field of the Folk") : here is situated Freyja's
[90]
Grimnismol
Who shall have seats in the hall;
The half of the dead each day does she choose,
And half does Othin have.
15. The tenth is Glitnir; its pillars are gold,
And its roof v^^ith silver is set ;
There most of his days does Forseti dwell,
And sets all strife at end.
16. The eleventh is Noatun; there has Njorth
For himself a dwelling set ;
The sinless ruler of men there sits
In his temple timbered high.
1 7. Filled with growing trees and high-standing grass
Is Vithi, Vithar's land ;
hall, Sessrymnir ("Rich in Seats"). Freyja, the sister of Freyr,
is the fairest of the goddesses, and the most kindly disposed to
mankind, especially to lovers. Half of the dead: Mogk has made
it clear that Freyja represents a confusion between two originally
distinct divinities: the wife of Othin (Frigg) and the northern
goddess of love. This passage appears to have in mind her
attributes as Othin's wife. Snorri has this same confusion, but
there is no reason why the Freyja who was Freyr's sister should
share the slain with Othin.
15. Glitnir ("the Shining") : the home of Forseti, a god of
whom we know nothing beyond what Snorri tells us: "Forseti is
the son of Baldr and Nanna, daughter of Nep. All those who
come to him with hard cases to settle go away satisfied; he is
the best judge among gods and men."
16. Noatun ("Ships'-Haven") : the home of Njorth, who calms
the waves; cf. stanza ix and Voluspo, 21.
17. Vithi: this land is not mentioned elsewhere. Vithar
avenged his father, Othin, by slaying the wolf Fenrir.
[91]
Poetic Edda
But there did the son from his steed leap down,
When his father he fain would avenge.
1 8. In Eldhrimnir Andhrimnir cooks
Saehrimnir's seething flesh, —
The best of food, but few men know
On what fare the warriors feast.
19. Freki and Geri does Heerfather feed,
The far-famed fighter of old :
But on wine alone does the weapon-decked god,
Othin, forever live.
20. O'er Mithgarth Hugin and Munin both
Each day set forth to fly ;
For Hugin I fear lest he come not home,
But for Munin my care is more.
18. Stanzas 18-20 appear also in Snorri's Edda. Very possibly
they are an interpolation here. Eldhrimnir ("Sooty with Fire") :
the great kettle in Valhall, wherein the gods' cook, Andhrimnir
("The Sooty-Faced") daily cooks the flesh of the boar Sahrimnir
("The Blackened"). His flesh suffices for all the heroes there
gathered, and each evening he becomes whole again, to be cooked
the next morning.
19. Freki ("The Greedy") and Geri ("The Ravenous") : the
two wolves who sit by Othin's side at the feast, and to whom
he gives all the food set before him, since wine is food and
drink alike for him. Heerfather: Othin.
2a Mithgarth ("The Middle Home") : the earth, Hugin
("Thought") and Munin ("Memory") : the two ravens who sit
on Othin's shoulders, and fly forth daily to bring him news of
the world.
[92]
Grimnismol
21. Loud roars Thund, and Thjothvitnir's fish
Joyously fares in the flood;
Hard does it seem to the host of the slain
To wade the torrent wild.
22. There Valgrind stands, the sacred gate,
And behind are the holy doors;
Old is the gate, but few there are
Who can tell how it tightly is locked.
23. Five hundred doors and forty there are,
I ween, in Valhall's walls;
Eight hundred fighters through one door fare
When to war with the wolf they go.
24. Five hundred rooms and forty there are
I ween, in Bilskirnir built;
21. Thund ("The Swollen" or "The Roaring") : the river
surrounding Valhall. Thjothvitnir's fish: presumably the sun,
which was caught by the wolf SkoU (of. Voluspo, 40), Thjoth-
vitnir meaning "the mighty wolf." Such a phrase, characteristic
of all Skaldic poetry, is rather rare in the Edda. The last two
lines refer to the attack on Valhall by the people of Hel; cf.
Voluspo, 51.
22. Valgrind ("The Death-Gate") : the outer gate of Valhall ;
cf. Sigurtharkvitha en skamma, 68 and note.
23. This and the following stanza stand in reversed order in
Regius. Snorri quotes stanza 23 as a proof of the vast size of
Valhall. The last two lines refer to the final battle with Fenrir
and the other enemies.
24. This stanza is almost certainly an interpolation, brought
in through a confusion of the first two lines with those of stanza
23. Its description of Thor's house, Bilskirnir (cf. stanza 4 and
[93]
Poetic Edda
Of all the homes whose roofs I beheld,
My son's the greatest meseemed.
25. Heithrun is the goat who stands by Heerfather's
hall,
And the branches of Laerath she bites ;
The pitcher she fills with the fair, clear mead,
Ne'er fails the foaming drink.
26. Eikthyrnir is the hart who stands by Heerfather's
hall
And the branches of Laerath he bites ;
From his horns a stream into Hvergelmir drops,
Thence all the rivers run.
note) has nothing to do with that of Valhall. Snorri quotes the
stanza in his account of Thor.
25. The first line in the original is, as indicated in the trans-
lation, too long, and various attempts to amend it have been
made. Heithrun: the she-goat who lives on the twigs of the tree
Larath (presumably the ash Yggdrasil), and daily gives mead
which, like the boar's flesh, suffices for all the heroes in Valhall.
In Snorri's Edda Gangleri foolishly asks whether the heroes
drink water, whereto Har replies, "Do you imagine that Othin
invites kings and earls and other noble men, and then gives
them water to drink?"
26. Eikthyrnir ("The Oak-Thorned," i.e., with antlers,
"thorns," like an oak) : this animal presumably represents the
clouds. The first line, like that of stanza 25, is too long in the
original. Larath: cf. stanza 25, note. Hvergelmir: according to
Snorri, this spring, "the Cauldron-Roaring," was in the midst
of Niflheim, the world of darkness and the dead, beneath the
third root of the ash Yggdrasil. Snorri gives a list of the rivers
flowing thence nearly identical with the one in the poem.
[94]
Grimnismol
27. Sith and Vith, Saekin and iEkin,
Svol and Fimbulthul, Gunnthro and Fjorm,
Rin and Rinnandi,
Gipul and Gopul, Gomul and Geirvimul,
That flow through the fields of the gods ;
Thyn and Vin, Thol and Hoi,
Groth and Gunnthorin.
28. Vino is one, Vegsvin another.
And Thjothnuma a third;
Nyt and Not, Non and Hron,
Slith and Hrith, Sylg and Ylg,
Vith and Von, Vond and Strond,
Gjol and Leipt, that go among men.
And hence they fall to Hel.
27. The entire passage from stanza 27 through stanza 35 is
confused. The whole thing may well be an interpolation. Bugge
calls stanzas 27-30 an interpolation, and editors who have ac-
cepted the passage as a whole have rejected various lines. The
spelling of the names of the rivers varies greatly in the manu-
scripts and editions. It is needless here to point out the many
attempted emendations of this list. For a passage presenting
similar problems, cf. Voluspo, 10-16. Snorri virtually quotes
stanzas 27-28 in his prose, though not consecutively. The name
Rin, in line 3, is identical with that for the River Rhine which
appears frequently in the hero poems, but the similarity is doubt-
less purely accidental.
28. Slith may possibly be the same river as that mentioned In
Voluspo, 36, as flowing through the giants' land. Leipt: in Hel-
gakvitha Hundingsbana II, 29, this river is mentioned as one
by which a solemn oath is sworn, and Gering points the parallel
to the significance of the Styx among the Greeks. The other
rivers here named are not mentioned elsewhere in the poems.
, [ 95 ]
Poetic Edda
29. Kormt and Ormt and the Kerlaugs twain
Shall Thor each day wade through,
(When dooms to give he forth shall go
To the ash-tree Yggdrasil;)
For heaven's bridge burns all in flame,
And the sacred waters seethe.
30. Glath and Gyllir, Gler and Skeithbrimir,
Silfrintopp and Sinir,
Gisl and Falhofnir, Golltopp and Lettfeti,
On these steeds the gods shall go
When dooms to give each day they ride
To the ash-tree Yggdrasil.
29. This stanza looks as though it originally had had nothing
to do with the two preceding it. Snorri quotes it in his descrip-
tion of the three roots of Yggdrasil, and the three springs be-
neath them. "The third root of the ash stands in heaven and
beneath this root is a spring which is very holy, and is called
Urth's well." (Cf. Voluspo, 19) "There the gods have their
judgment-seat, and thither they ride each day over Bifrost,
which is also called the Gods' Bridge." Thor has to go on foot
in the last days of the destruction, when the bridge is burning.
Another interpretation, however, is that when Thor leaves the
heavens (i.e., when a thunder-storm is over) the rainbow-bridge
becomes hot in the sun. Nothing more is known of the rivers
named in this stanza. Lines 3-4 are almost certainly interpolated
from stanza 3a
30. This stanza, again possibly an interpolation, is closely
paraphrased by Snorri following the passage quoted in the
previous note. Glath ("Joyous") : identified in the Skaldskaparmal
with Skinfaxi, the horse of day; cf. Vafthruthnismol, 12. Gyllir:
"Golden." Gler: "Shining." Skeithbrimir: "Swift-Going." Sil-
frintopp: "Silver-Topped." Sinir: "Sinewy." Gisl: the mean-
ing is doubtful ; Gering suggests "Gleaming." Falhofnir:
[96]
Grimnismol
31. Three roots there are that three ways run
'Neath the ash-tree Yggdrasil ;
'Neath the first lives Hel, 'neath the second the
frost-giants,
'Neath the last are the lands of men.
32. Ratatosk is the squirrel who there shall run
On the ash-tree Yggdrasil;
From above the words of the eagle he bears,
And tells them to Nithhogg beneath.
33. Four harts there are, that the highest twigs
"Hollow-Hoofed." Golltopp ("Gold-Topped") : this horse be-
longed to Heimdall (cf. Voluspo, i and 46). It is noteworthy
that gold was one of the attributes of Heimdall's belongings,
and, because his teeth were of gold, he was also called Gullin-
tanni ("Gold-Toothed"). Lettfeti: "Light-Feet." Othin's eight-
footed horse, Sleipnir, is not mentioned in this list.
31. The first of these roots is the one referred to in stanza 26;
the second in stanza 29 (cf. notes). Of the third root there is
nothing noteworthy recorded. After this stanza it is more than
possible that one has been lost, paraphrased in the prose of
Snorri's Edda thus: "An eagle sits in the branches of the ash-
tree, and he is very wise; and between his eyes sits the hawk
who is called Vethrfolnir."
32. Ratatosk ("The Swift-Tusked") : concerning this squirrel,
the Prose Edda has to add only that he runs up and down the
tree conveying the abusive language of the eagle (see note on
stanza 31) and the dragon Nithhogg (cf. Voluspo, 39 and note)
to each other. The hypothesis that Ratatosk "represents the
undying hatred between the sustaining and the destroying
elements — the gods and the giants," seems a trifle far-fetched.
33. Stanzas 33-34 may well be interpolated, and are cer-
tainly in bad shape in the Mss. Bugge points out that they are
probably of later origin than those surrounding them. Snorri
[97]
Poetic Edda
Nibble with necks bent back;
Dain and Dvalin,
Duneyr and Dyrathror.
34. More serpents there are beneath the ash
Than an unwise ape would think ;
Goin and Moin, Grafvitnir's sons,
Grabak and Grafvolluth,
Ofnir and Svafnir shall ever, methinks.
Gnaw at the twigs of the tree.
35- Yggdrasil's ash great evil suffers.
Far more than men do know;
closely paraphrases stanza 33, but without elaboration, and
nothing further is known of the four harts. It may be guessed,
however, that they are a late multiplication of the single hart
mentioned in stanza 26, just as the list of dragons in stanza 34
seems to have been expanded out of Nithhogg, the only authentic
dragon under the root of the ash. Highest tivigs: a guess; the
Mss. words are baffling. Something has apparently been lost
from lines 3-4, but there is no clue as to its nature.
34. Cf. note on previous stanza. Nothing further is known of
any of the serpents here listed, and the meanings of many of the
names are conjectural. Snorri quotes this stanza. Editors have
altered it in various ways in an attempt to regularize the meter.
Goin and Main: meaning obscure. Grafvitnir: "The Gnawing
Wolf." Grahak: "Gray-Back." Grafvolluth: "The Field-
Gnawer." Ofnir and Svafnir ("The Bewilderer" and "The
Sleep-Bringer") : it is noteworthy that in stanza 54 Othin gives
himself these two names.
35. Snorri quotes this stanza, which concludes the passage,
beginning with stanza 25, describing Yggdrasil. If we assume
that stanzas 27-34 are later interpolations — possibly excepting
32 — this section of the poem reads clearly enough.
[98]
Grimnismol
The hart bites its top, its trunk is rotting,
And Nithhogg gnaws beneath.
36. Hrist and Mist bring the horn at my will,
Skeggjold and Skogul;
Hild and Thruth, Hlok and Herfjotur,
Gol and Geironul,
Randgrith and Rathgrith and Reginleif
Beer to the warriors bring.
37. Arvak and Alsvith up shall drag
Weary the weight of the sun ;
But an iron cool have the kindly gods
Of yore set under their yokes.
36. Snorri quotes this list of the Valkyries, concerning whono
ci, Voluspo, 31 and note, where a different list of names is given.
Hrist: "Shaker." Mist: "Mist." Skeggjold: "Ax-Time." Skogul:
"Raging" (?). Hild: "Warrior." Thruth: "Might." Hlok:
"Shrieking." Herfjotur: "Host-Fetter." Gol: "Screaming."
Geironul: "Spear-Bearer." Randgrith: "Shield-Bearer." Rath-
grith: Gering guesses "Plan-Destroyer." Reginleif: "Gods'-Kin."
Manuscripts and editions vary greatly in the spelling of these
names, and hence in their significance.
37. Miillenhoff suspects stanzas 37-41 to have been inter-
polated, and Edzardi thinks they may have come from the
Vafthruthnismol. Snorri closely paraphrases stanzas 37-39, and
quotes 40-41. Arvak ("Early Waker") and Alsvith ("All-
Swift") : the horses of the sun, named also in Sigrdrifumol, 15.
According to Snorri: "There was a man called Mundilfari, who
had two children; they were so fair and lovely that he called his
son Mani and his daughter Sol. The gods were angry at this
presumption, and took the children and set them up in heaven ;
and they bade Sol drive the horses that drew the car of the sun
[99]
Poetic Edda
38. In front of the sun does Svalin stand,
The shield for the shining god ;
Mountains and sea would be set in flames
If it fell from before the sun.
39. SkoU is the wolf that to Ironwood
Follows the glittering god,
And the son of Hrothvitnir, Hati, awaits
The burning bride of heaven.
40. Out of Ymir's flesh was fashioned the earth,
And the ocean out of his blood ;
Of his bones the hills, of his hair the trees.
Of his skull the heavens high.
which the gods had made to light the world from the sparks
which flew out of Muspellsheim. The horses were called Alsvith
and Arvak, and under their yokes the gods set two bellows jto
cool them, and in some songs these are called 'the cold iron.' "
38. Svalin ("The Cooling") : the only other reference to this
shield is in Sigrdrtfumol, 15.
39. Skoll and Hati: the wolves that devour respectively the
sun and moon. The latter is the son of Hrothvitnir ("The
Mighty Wolf," i. e. Fenrir) ; cf. Voluspo, 40, and Vafthruth-
nismol, 46-47, in which Fenrir appears as the thief. Ironivood:
a conjectural emendation of ah obscure phrase; cf. Voluspo, 40.
40. This and the following stanza are quoted by Snorri. They
seem to have come from a different source from the others of this
poem; Edzardi suggests an older version of the Vafthruthnismol.
This stanza is closely parallel to Vafthruthnismol, 21, which see,
as also Voluspo, 3. Snorri, following this account, has a few de-
tails to add. The stones were made out of Ymir's teeth and such
of his bones as were broken. Mithgarth was a mountain-wall
made out of Ymir's eyebrows, and set around the earth because
of the enmity of the giants.
[100]
Grimnismol
41. Mithgarth the gods from his eyebrows made,
And set for the sons of men ;
And out of his brain the baleful clouds
They made to move on high.
42. His the favor of UU and of all the gods
Who first in the flames will reach ;
For the house can be seen by the sons of the
gods
If the kettle aside were cast.
43. In days of old did Ivaldi's sons
Skithblathnir fashion fair,
The best of ships for the bright god Freyr,
The noble son of Njorth.
42. With this stanza Othin gets back to his immediate situa-
tion, bound as he is between two fires. He calls down a blessing
on the man who will reach into the fire and pull aside the great
kettle which, in Icelandic houses, hung directly under the smoke-
vent in the roof, and thus kept any one above from looking down
into the interior. On Ull, the archer-god, cf. stanza 5 and note.
He is specified here apparently for no better reason than that his
name fits the initial-rhyme.
43. This and the following stanza are certainly interpolated,
for they have nothing to do with the context, and stanza 45 con-
tinues the dramatic conclusion of the poem begun in stanza 42.
This stanza is quoted by Snorri. Ivaldi ("The Mighty") : he is
known only as the father of the craftsmen-dwarfs who made not
only the ship Skithblathnir, but also Othin's spear Gungnir, and
the golden hair for Thor's wife, Sif, after Loki had maliciously
cut her own hair off. Skithblathnir: this ship ("Wooden-Bladed")
always had a fair wind, whenever the sail was set; it could be
folded up at will and put in the pocket. Freyr: concerning him
and his father, see Voluspo, 21, note, and Skirnismol, introductory
prose and note.
[101]
Poetic Edda
44. The best of trees must Yggdrasil be,
Skithblathnir best of boats;
Of all the gods is Othin the greatest,
And Sleipnir the best of steeds;
Bilrost of bridges, Bragi of skalds,
Hobrok of hawks, and Garm of hounds.
45. To the race of the gods my face have I raised,
And the wished-for aid have I waked ;
For to all the gods has the message gone
That sit in iEgir's seats.
That drink within JEgh's doors.
44. Snorri quotes this stanza. Like stanza 43 an almost certain
interpolation, it was probably drawn in by the reference to
Skithblathnir in the stanza interpolated earlier. It is presumably
in faulty condition. One Ms. has after the fifth line half of a
sixth, — "Brimir of swords." Yggdrasil: cf. stanzas 25-35. Skith'
blathnir: cf. stanza 43, note. Sleipnir: Othin's eight-legged horse,
one of Loki's numerous progeny, borne by him to the stallion
Svathilfari. This stallion belonged to the giant who built a
fortress for the gods, and came so near to finishing it, with
Svathilfari's aid, as to make the gods fear he would win his
promised reward — Freyja and the sun and moon. To delay the
work, Loki turned himself into a mare, whereupon the stallion
ran away, and the giant failed to complete his task within the
stipulated time. Bilrost: probably another form of Bifrost
(which Snorri has in his version of the stanza), on which cf.
stanza 29. Bragi: the god of poetry. He is one of the later figures
among the gods, and is mentioned only three times in the poems
of the Edda. In Snorri's Edda, however, he is of great importance.
His wife is Ithun, goddess of youth. Perhaps the Norwegian skald
Bragi Boddason, the oldest recorded skaldic poet, had been tra-
ditionally apotheosized as early as the tenth century. Hobrok:
nothing further is known of him. Garm: cf. Foluspo, 44.
45. With this stanza the narrative current of the poem is
resumed. JEgir: the sea-god; cf. Lokasenna, introductory prose.
[102]
Grimnismol
46. Grim is my name, Gangleri am I,
Herjan and Hjalmberi,
Thekk and Thrithi, Thuth and Uth,
Helblindi and Hor;
47. Sath and Svipal and Sanngetal,
Herteit and Hnikar,
Bileyg, Baleyg, Bolverk, Fjolnir,
Grim and Grimnir, Glapsvith, Fjolsvlth.
48. Sithhott, Sithskegg, Sigfather, Hnikuth,
46. Concerning the condition of stanzas 46-50, quoted by
Snorri, nothing definite can be said. Lines and entire stanzas of
this "catalogue" sort undoubtedly came and went with great
freedom all through the period of oral transmission. Many of the
names are not mentioned elsewhere, and often their significance
is sheer guesswork. As in nearly every episode Othin appeared
in disguise, the number of his names was necessarily almost
limitless. Grim: "The Hooded." Gangleri : "The Wanderer."
Herjan: "The Ruler." Hjalmberi: "The Helmet-Bearer." Thekk:
"The Much-Loved." Thrithi: "The Third" (in Snorri's Edda the
stories are all told in the form of answers to questions, the
speakers being Har, Jafnhar and Thrithi. Just what this tri-
partite form of Othin signifies has been the source of endless
debate. Probably this line is late enough to betray the somewhat
muddled influence of early Christianity.) Thuth and Uth: both
names defy guesswork. Helblindi: "Hel-Blinder" (two manu-
scripts have if fr*/iw</z— "Host-Blinder"). Hor: "The High One."
47. Sath: "The Truthful." Svipal: "The Changing." Sannge-
tal: "The Truth-Teller." Herteit: "Glad of the Host." Hnikar:
"The Overthrower." Bileyg: "The Shifty-Eyed." Baleyg: "The
Flaming-Eyed." Bolverk: "Doer of 111" (cf. Hovamol, 104 and
note). Fjolnir: "The Many-Shaped." Grimnir: "The Hooded."
Glapsvith: "Swift in Deceit." Fjolsvith: "Wide of Wisdom."
48. Sithhott: "With Broad Hat." Sithskegg: "Long-Bearded."
[103]
Poetic Edda
Allfather, Valfather, Atrith, Farmatyr:
A single name have I never had
Since first among men I fared.
49. Grimnir they call me in Geirroth's hall,
With Asmund Jalk am I ;
Kjalar I was vv^hen I went in a sledge,
At the council Thror am I called,
As Vithur I fare to the fight;
Oski, Biflindi, Jafnhor and Omi,
Gondlir and Harbarth midst gods.
50. I deceived the giant Sokkmimir old
As Svithur and Svithrir of yore;
Of Mithvitnir's son the slayer I was
When the famed one found his doom.
Sigfather: "Father of Victory." Hnikuth: "Overthrower." Val-
father: "Father of the Slain." Atrith: "The Rider." Farmatyr:
"Helper of Cargoes" (i. e., god of sailors).
49. Nothing is known of Asmund, of Othin's appearance as
Jalk, or of the occasion when he "went in a sledge" as Kjalar
("Ruler of Keels"?). Thror and Vithur are also of uncertain
meaning. Oski: "God of Wishes." Biflindi: the manuscripts vary
widely in the form of this name. Jafnhor: "Equally High" (cf.
note on stanza 46). Omi: "The Shouter." Gondlir: "Wand-
Bearer." Harbarth: "Graybeard" (cf. Harbarthsljoth, introduc-
tion).
50. Nothing further is known of the episode here mentioned.
Sokkmimir is presumably Mithvitnir's son. Snorri quotes the
names Svithur and Svithrir, but omits all the remainder of the
stanza.
[104]
Grimnismol
51. Drunk art thou, Geirroth, too much didst thou
drink,
Much hast thou lost, for help no more
From me or my heroes thou hast.
52. Small heed didst thou take to all that I told,
And false were the words of thy friends;
For now the sword of my friend I see.
That waits all wet with blood.
53. Thy sword-pierced body shall Ygg have soon,
For thy life is ended at last;
The maids are hostile; now Othin behold!
Now come to me if thou canst !
54. Now am I Othin, Ygg was I once,
Ere that did they call me Thund ;
Vak and Skilfing, Vofuth and Hroptatyr,
Gaut and Jalk midst the gods ;
Ofnir and Svafnir, and all, methinks,
Are names for none but me.
51. Again the poem returns to the direct action, Othin address-
ing the terrified Geirroth. The manuscripts show no lacuna. Some
editors supply a second line from paper manuscripts: "Greatly by
me art beguiled."
53. 11 gg: Othin ("The Terrible"). The maids: the three
Norns.
54. Possibly out of place, and probably more or less corrupt.
T/iund: "The Thunderer." Fak: "The Wakeful." Skilfing: "The
Shaker." Vofuth: "The Wanderer." Hroptatyr: "Crier of the
Gods." Gaut: "Father." Ofnir and Svafnir: cf. stanza 34.
[105]
Poetic Edda
King Geirroth sat and had his sword on his knee, half
drawn from its sheath. But when he heard that Othin
was come thither, then he rose up and sought to take
Othin from the fire. The sword slipped from his hand,
and fell with the hilt down. The king stumbled and fell
forward, and the sword pierced him through, and slew
him. Then Othin vanished, but Agnar long ruled there
as king.
[106]
SKIRNISMOL
The Ballad of Skirnir
Introductory Note
The Skirnismol is found complete in the Codex Regius, and
through stanza 27 in the Arnamagnaan Codex. Snorri quotes the
concluding stanza. In Regius the poem is entitled "For Scirnis"
("Skirnir's Journey").
The Skirnismol differs sharply from the poems preceding it,
in that it has a distinctly ballad quality. As a matter of fact, how-
ever, its verse is altogether dialogue, the narrative being supplied
in the prose "links," concerning which cf. introductory note to the
Grimnismol. The dramatic effectiveness and vivid characteriza-
tion of the poem seem to connect it with the Thrymskvitha, and
the two may possibly have been put into their present form by the
same man. Bugge's guess that the Skirnismol was the work of
the author of the Lokasenna is also possible, though it has less to
support it.
Critics have generally agreed in dating the poem as we now
have it as early as the first half of the tenth century ; Finnur
Jonsson puts it as early as 900, and claims it, as usual, for Nor-
way. Doubtless it was current in Norway, in one form or another,
before the first Icelandic settlements, but his argument that the
thistle (stanza 31) is not an Icelandic plant has little weight, for
such curse-formulas must have traveled freely from place to
place. In view of the evidence pointing to a western origin for
many or all of the Eddie poems, Jonsson's reiterated "Digtet er
sikkert norsk og ikke islandsk" is somewhat exasperating.
Wherever the Skirnismol was composed, it has been preserved in
exceptionally good condition, and seems to be practically devoid
of interpolations or lacunae.
Freyr, the son of Njorth, had sat one day in Hlithskjolf,
and looked over all the worlds. He looked into Jotun-
heim, and saw there a fair maiden, as she went from her
father's house to her bower. Forthwith he felt a mighty
[107]
Poetic Edda
love-sickness. Skirnir was the name of Freyr's servant;
Njorth bade him ask speech of Freyr. He said :
1. "Go now, Skirnir! and seek to gain
Speech from my son ;
And answer to win, for whom the wise one
Is mightily moved."
Skirnir spake:
2. "Ill words do I now await from thy son,
If I seek to get speech with him,
And answer to win, for whom the wise one
Is mightily moved."
Prose. Freyr: concerning his father, Njorth, and the race of
the Wanes in general, cf. Voluspo, 21 and note. Snorri thus de-
scribes Njorth's family: "Njorth begat two children in Noatun;
the son was named Freyr, and the daughter Freyja; they were
fair of aspect and mighty. Freyr is the noblest of the gods; he
rules over rain and sunshine, and therewith the fruitfulness of
the earth; it is well to call upon him for plenty and welfare, for
he rules over wealth for mankind. Freyja is the noblest of the
goddesses. When she rides to the fight, she has one-half of the
slain, and Othin has half. When she goes on a journey, she
drives her two cats, and sits in a cart. Love-songs please her
well, and it is good to call on her in love-matters." Hl'tthskjolf:
Othin's watch-tower; cf. Grimnismol, introductory prose. He
said: both manuscripts have "Then Skathi said:" (Skathi was
Njorth's wife), but Bugge's emendation, based on Snorri's ver-
sion, is doubtless correct.
I. My son: both manuscripts, and many editors, have "our
son," which, of course, goes with the introduction of Skathi in
the prose. As the stanza is clearly addressed to Skirnir, the change
of pronouns seems justified. The same confusion occurs in stanza
2, where Skirnir in the manuscripts is made ta-.speak of Freyr as
[108]
Skirnismol
Skirnir spake:
3. "Speak prithee, Freyr, foremost of the gods,
For now I fain would know;
Why sittest thou here in the wide halls,
Days long, my prince, alone?"
Freyr spake:
4. "How shall I tell thee, thou hero young.
Of all my grief so great ?
Though every day the elfbeam dawns.
It lights my longing never."
Skirnir spake:
5. "Thy longings, methinks, are not so large
That thou mayst not tell them to me;
Since in days of yore we were young together.
We two might each other trust."
Freyr spake:
6. "From Gymir's house I beheld go forth
A maiden dear to me;
Her arms glittered, and from their gleam
Shone all the sea and sky.
"your son" (plural). The plural pronoun in the original involves
a metrical error, which is corrected by the emendation.
4. Elfbeam: the sun, so called because its rays were fatal to
elves and dwarfs; cf. Al<v'tssmol, 35.
6. Gymir: a mountain-giant, husband of Aurbotha, and
father of Gerth, fairest among women. This is all Snorri tells of
him in his paraphrase of the story.
7. Snorri's paraphrase of the poem is sufficiently close so that
his addition of another sentence to Freyr's speech makes it prob-
[109]
Poetic Edda
"To me more dear than in da)'s of old
Was ever maiden to man;
But no one of gods or elves will grant
That we both together should be."
Skirnir spake:
"Then give me the horse that goes through the
dark
And magic flickering flames;
And the sword as well that fights of itself
Against the giants grim."
Freyr spake:
"The horse will I give thee that goes through the
dark
And magic flickering flames,
And the sword as well that will fight of itself
If a worthy hero wields it."
able that a stanza has dropped out between 7 and 8. This has
been tentatively reconstructed, thus: "Hither to me shalt thou
bring the maid, / And home shalt thou lead her here, / If her
father wills it or wills it not, / And good reward shalt thou
get." Finn Magnusen detected the probable omission of a stanza
here as early as 1821.
8. The sivord: Freyr's gift of his sword to Skirnir eventually
proves fatal, for at the last battle, when Freyr is attacked by Beli,
whom he kills bare-handed, and later when the fire-demon, Surt,
slays him in turn, he is weaponless; cf. Voluspo, 53 and note.
Against the giants grim: the condition of this line makes it seem
like an error in copying, and it is possible that it should be iden-
tical with the fourth line of the next stanza.
[110]
Skirnismol
Skirnir spake to the horse:
10. "Dark is it without, and I deem it time
To fare through the wild fells,
(To fare through the giants' fastness;)
We shall both come back, or us both together
The terrible giant will take."
Skirnir rode into Jotunheim to Gymir's house. There
were fierce dogs bound before the gate of the fence which
was around Gerth's hall. He rode to where a herdsman
sat on a hill, and said :
11. "Tell me, herdsman, sitting on the hill.
And watching all the ways,
How may I win a word with the maid
Past the hounds of Gymir here ?"
The herdsman spake:
12. "Art thou doomed to die or already dead,
Thou horseman that ridest hither?
Barred from speech shalt thou ever be
With Gymir's daughter good."
Skirnir spake:
13. "Boldness is better than plaints can be
For him whose feet must fare ;
10. Some editors reject line 3 as spurious.
12. Line 2 is in neither nnianuscript, and no gap is indicated.
I have followed Grundtvig's conjectural emendation.
13. This stanza is almost exactly like many in the first part of
[111]
Poetic Edda
To a destined day has mine age been doomed,
And my life's span thereto laid."
Gerth spake:
14. "What noise is that which now so loud
I hear within our house?
The ground shakes, and the home of Gymir
Around me trembles too."
The Serving-Maid spake:
1 5. "One stands without who has leapt from his steed,
And lets his horse loose to graze ;"
Gerth spake:
16. "Bid the man come in, and drink good mead
Here within our hall ;
Though this I fear, that there without
My brother's slayer stands.
the Hovamol, and may well have been a separate proverb. After
this stanza the scene shifts to the interior of the house.
15. No gap indicated in either manuscript. Bugge and Niedner
have attempted emendations, while Hildebrand suggests that the
last two lines of stanza 14 are spurious, 14, 1-2, and 15 thus
forming a single stanza, which seems doubtful.
16. Brother's slayer: perhaps the brother is Beli, slain by
Freyr; the only other references are in Voluspo, 53, and in
Snorri's paraphrase of the Skirnismol, which merely says that
Freyr's gift of his sword to Skirnir "was the reason why he was
weaponless when he met Beli, and he killed him bare-handed."
Skirnir himself seems never to have killed anybody.
[112]
Skirnismol
17. "Art thou of the elves or the offspring of gods,
Or of the wise Wanes?
How camst thou alone through the leaping flame
Thus to behold our home?"
Skirnir spake:
18. "I am not of the elves, nor the offspring of gods,
Nor of the wise Wanes;
Though I came alone through the leaping flame
Thus to behold thy home.
19. "Eleven apples, all of gold,
Here will I give thee, Gerth,
To buy thy troth that Freyr shall be
Deemed to be dearest to you."
Gerth spake:
20. "I will not take at any man's wish
These eleven apples ever;
Nor shall Freyr and I one dwelling find
So long as we two live."
Skirnir spake:
21. "Then do I bring thee the ring that was burned
17. fFise Wanes: cf. Voluspo, 21 and note.
18. The Arnamagnaan Codex omits this stanza.
19. Apples: the apple was the symbol of fruitfulness, and also
of eternal youth. According to Snorri, the goddess Ithun had
charge of the apples which the gods ate whenever they felt them-
selves growing old.
[113]
Poetic Edda
Of old with Othin's son ;
From it do eight of like weight fall
On every ninth night."
Gerth spake:
22. "The ring I wish not, though burned it was
Of old with Othin's son ;
In Gymir's home is no lack of gold
In the wealth my father wields."
Skirnir spake:
23. "Seest thou, maiden, this keen, bright sword
That I hold here in my hand?
Thy head from thy neck shall I straightway hew,
If thou wilt not do my will."
Gerth spake:
24. 'Tor no man's sake will I ever suflFer
To be thus moved by might ;
But gladly, methinks, will Gymir seek
To fight if he finds thee here."
Skirnir spake:
25. "Seest thou, maiden, this keen, bright sword
That I hold here in my hand ?
21. Ring: the ring Draupnir ("Dropper") was made by the
dwarfs for Othin, who laid it on Baldr's pyre when the latter's
corpse was burned (cf. Voluspo, 32 and note, and Baldrs Drau-
mar). Baldr, however, sent the ring back to Othin from hell. How
Freyr obtained it is nowhere stated. Andvari's ring (Andvara-
naut) had a similar power of creating gold ; cf. Reainsmol, prose
[114]
Skirnismol
Before its blade the old giant bends, —
Thy father is doomed to die.
26. "I strike thee, maid, with my magic staff,
To tame thee to work my will;
There shalt thou go where never again
The sons of men shall see thee.
27. "On the eagle's hill shalt thou ever sit.
And gaze on the gates of Hel ;
More loathsome to thee than the light-hued snake
To men, shall thy meat become.
28. 'Tearful to see, if thou comest forth,
Hrimnir will stand and stare,
(Men will marvel at thee;)
after stanza 4 and note. Lines 3 and 4 of this stanza, and the first
two of stanza 22, are missing in the Arnamagnaan Codex.
25. The first two lines are abbreviated in both manuscripts.
26. With this stanza, bribes and threats having failed, Skirnir
begins a curse which, by the power of his magic staff, is to fall
on Gerth if she refuses Freyr.
27. Eagle's hill: the hill at the end of heaven, and conse-
quently overlooking hell, where the giant Hraesvelg sits "in an
eagle's guise," and makes the winds with his wings; cf. Vaf-
thruthnismol, 37, also Voluspo, 50. The second line is faulty in
both manuscripts ; Hildebrand's emendation corrects the error,
but omits an effective touch ; the manuscript line may be rendered
"And look and hanker for hell." The Arnamagnaan Codex breaks
off with the fourth line of this stanza.
28. Hrimnir: a frost-giant, mentioned elsewhere only in
Hyndluljoth, 33. Line 3 is probably spurious. Watchman of the
gods: Heimdall; cf. Voluspo, ^6.
[115]
Poetic Edda
More famed shalt thou grow than the watchman
of the gods!
Peer forth, then, from thy prison.
29. "Rage and longing, fetters and wrath,
Tears and torment are thine;
Where thou sittest down my doom is on thee
Of heavy heart
And double dole.
30. "In the giants* home shall vile things harm thee
Each day with evil deeds ;
Grief shalt thou get instead of gladness,
And sorrow to suffer with tears.
31. "With three-headed giants thou shalt dwell ever.
Or never know a husband ;
( Let longing grip thee, let wasting waste thee, — )
29. Three nouns of doubtful meaning, which I have rendered
rage, longing, and heart respectively, make the precise force of
this stanza obscure. Niedner and Sijmons mark the entire stanza
as interpolated, and Jonsson rejects line 5.
30. In Regius and in nearly all the editions the first two lines
of this stanza are followed by lines 3-5 of stanza 35. I have
followed Niedner, Sijmons, and Gering. The two words here
translated vile things are obscure; Gering renders the phrase
simply "Kobolde."
31. The confusion noted as to the preceding stanza, and a
metrical error in the third line, have led to various rearrange-
ments and emendations; line 3 certainly looks like an interpola-
tion. Three-headed giants: concerning giants with numerous
heads, cf. Vafthruthnismol, 33, and Hymiskvitha, 8.
[116]
Skirnismol
Be like to the thistle that in the loft
Was cast and there was crushed.
32. "I go to the wood, and to the wet forest,
To win a magic wand;
I won a magic wand.
S3. "Othin grows angry, angered is the best of the
gods,
Freyr shall be thy foe,
Most evil maid, who the magic wrath
Of gods hast got for thyself.
34. "Give heed, frost-rulers, hear it, giants,
Sons of Suttung,
And gods, ye too.
How I forbid and how I ban
The meeting of men with the maid,
(The joy of men with the maid.)
32. No gap indicated in the manuscript; Niedner makes the
line here given as 4 the first half of line 3, and fills out the
stanza thus: "with which I will tame j'ou, / Maid, to work my
will." The whole stanza seems to be either interpolated or out of
place; it would fit better after stanza 25.
33. Jonsson marks this stanza as interpolated. The word
translated most evil is another case of guesswork.
34. Most editors reject line 3 as spurious, and some also reject
line 6. Lines 2 and 3 may have been expanded out of a single line
running approximately "Ye gods and Suttung's sons." Suttung:
concerning this giant cf. Hovamol. 104 and note.
[117]
Poetic Edda
35. "Hrimgrimnir is he, the giant who shall have thee
In the depth by the doors of Hel;
To the frost-giants' halls each day shalt thou
fare,
Crawling and craving in vain,
(Crawling and having no hope.)
36. "Base wretches there by the root of the tree
Will hold for thee horns of filth ;
A fairer drink shalt thou never find,
Maid, to meet thy wish,
(Maid, to meet my wish.)
37. "I write thee a charm and three runes therewith.
Longing and madness and lust;
But what I have writ I may yet unwrite
If I find a need therefor."
35. Most editors combine lines 1-2 with stanza 36 (either
with the first two lines thereof or the whole stanza), as lines
3-5 stand in the manuscript after line 2 of stanza 30. Hrimgrim-
nir ("The Frost-Shrouded") : a giant not elsewhere mentioned.
Line 5, as a repetition of line 4, is probably a later addition.
36. iFor the combination of this stanza with the preceding one,
cf. note on stanza 35. The scribe clearly did not consider that the
stanza began with line i, as the first word thereof in the manu-
script does not begin with a capital letter and has no period
before it. The first word of line 3, however, is so marked. Line 5
may well be spurious.
37. Again the scribe seems to have been uncertain as to the
stanza divisions. This time the first line is preceded by a period,
but begins with a small letter. Many editors have made line 2
[118]
Skirnismol
Gerth spake:
38. "Find welcome rather, and with it take
The frost-cup filled with mead;
Though I did not believe that I should so love
Ever one of the Wanes."
Skirnir spake:
39. "My tidings all must I truly learn
Ere homeward hence I ride :
How soon thou wilt with the mighty son
Of Njorth a meeting make."
Gerth spake:
40. "Barri there is, which we both know well,
A forest fair and still;
And nine nights hence to the son of Njorth
Will Gerth there grant delight."
Then Skirnir rode home. Freyr stood without, and
spoke to him, and asked for tidings:
41. "Tell me, Skirnir, ere thou take off the saddle,
Or farest forward a step :
What hast thou done in the giants' dwelling
To make glad thee or me ?"
into two half-lines. A charm: literally, the rune Thurs (J)) ; the
runic letters all had magic attributes; cf. Sigrdrifumol, 6-7 and
notes.
40. Barri: "The Leafy."
[119]
Poetic Edda
Skirnir spake:
42. "Barri there is, which we both know well,
A forest fair and still ;
And nine nights hence to the son of Njorth
Will Gerth there grant delight."
Freyr spake:
43. "Long is one night, longer are two;
How then shall I bear three?
Often to me has a month seemed less
Than now half a night of desire."
42. Abbreviated to initial letters in the manuscript.
43. The superscription is lacking in Regius. Snorri quotes this
one stanza in his prose paraphrase, Gylfag'tnning, chapter 37.
The two versions are substantially the same, except that Snorri
makes the 6rst line read, "Long is one night, long is the
second."
[120]
HARBARTHSLJOTH
The Poem of Harbarth
Introductory Note
The Harbarthsljoth is found complete in the Codex Regius,
where it follows the Skirnismol, and from the fourth line of
Stan a 19 to the end of the poem in the Arnamagnaan Codex, of
which it occupies the first page and a half.
The poem differs sharply from those which precede it in the
Codex Regius, both in metrical form and in spirit. It is, indeed,
the most nearly formless of all the Eddie poems. The normal
metre is the Malahattr (cf. Introduction, where an example is
given). The name of this verse-form means "in the manner of
conversation," and the Harbarthsljoth's verse fully justifies the
term. The Atli poems exemplify the conventional use of Mala-
hattr, but in the Harbarthsljoth the form is used with extraor-
dinary freedom, and other metrical forms are frequently employed.
A few of the speeches of which the poem is composed cannot be
twisted into any known Old Norse metre, and appear to be
simply prose.
How far this confusion is due to interpolations and faulty
transmission of the original poem is uncertain. Finnur Jonsson
has attempted a wholesale purification of the poem, but his arbi-
trary condemnation of words, lines, and entire stanzas as spuri-
ous is quite unjustified by any positive evidence. I have accepted
Mogk's theory that the author was "a first-rate psychologist, but
a poor poet," and have translated the poem as it stands in the
manuscripts. I have preserved the metrical confusion of the
original by keeping throughout so far as possible to the metres
found in the poem ; if the rhythm of the translation is often hard
to catch, the difficulty is no less with the original Norse.
The poem is simply a contest of abuse, such as the early
Norwegian and Icelander delighted in, the opposing figures
being Thor and Othin, the latter appearing in the disguise of
the ferryman Harbarth. Such billingsgate lent itself readily to
changes, interpolations and omissions, and it is little wonder
that the poem is chaotic. It consists mainly of boasting and of
references, often luckily obscure, to disreputable events in the
life of one or the other of the disputants. Some editors have
sought to read a complex symbolism into it, particularly by rep-
[ 121 ]
Poetic Edda
resenting it as a contest between the noble or warrior class
(Othin) and the peasant (Thor). But it seems a pity to take such
a vigorous piece of broad farce too seriously.
Verse-form, substance, and certain linguistic peculiarities,
notably the suffixed articles, point to a relatively late date
(eleventh century) for the poem in its present form. Probably it
had its origin in the early days, but its colloquial nature and its
vulgarity made it readily susceptible to changes.
Owing to the chaotic state of the text, and the fact that none
of the editors or commentators have succeeded in improving it
much, I have not in this case attempted to give all the important
emendations and suggestions. The stanza-divisions are largely
arbitrary.
Thor was on his way back from a journey in the East,
and came to a sound ; on the other side of the sound was a
ferryman with a boat. Thor called out :
I. "Who is the fellow yonder, on the farther shore
of the sound?"
Prose. Harbarth ("Gray-Beard") : Othin. On the nature of
the prose notes found in the manuscripts, cf. Grimnismol, intro-
duction. Thor: the journeys of the thunder-god were almost as
numerous as those of Othin ; cf . Thrymskv'ttha and Hymis-
kvitha. Like the Robin Hood of the British ballads, Thor was often
temporarily worsted, but always managed to come out ahead
in the end. His "Journey in the East" is presumably the famous
episode, related in full by Snorri, in the course of which he en-
countered the giant Skrymir, and in the house of Utgartha-
Loki lifted the cat which turned out to be Mithgarthsorm. The
Hymiskvitha relates a further incident of this journey.
[122]
Harbarthsljoth
The ferryman spake:
2. "What kind of a peasant is yon, that calls o'er
the bay?"
Thor spake:
3. "Ferry me over the sound ; I will feed thee there-
for in the morning;
A basket I have on my back, and food therein,
none better;
At leisure I ate, ere the house I left.
Of herrings and porridge, so plenty I had."
The ferryman spake:
4. "Of thy morning feats art thou proud, but the
future thou knovi^est not w^holly ;
Doleful thine home-coming is: thy mother, me-
thinks, is dead."
Thor spake:
5. "Novi^ hast thou said what to each must seem
The mightiest grief, that my mother is dead."
2. The superscriptions to the speeches are badly confused in
the manuscripts, but editors have agreed fairly well as to
where they belong.
3. From the fact that in Regius line 3 begins with a capital
letter, it is possible that lines 3-4 constitute the ferryman's reply,
with something lost before stanza 4.
4. Thy mother: Jorth (Earth).
5. Some editors assume a lacuna after this stanza.
6. Three good divellings: this has been generally assumed to
mean three separate establishments, but it may refer simply to
[123]
Poetic Edda
The ferryman spake:
6. "Three good dwellings, methinks, thou hast not ;
Barefoot thou standest, and wearest a beggar's
dress;
Not even hose dost thou have."
Thor spake:
7. "Steer thou hither the boat ; the landing here shall
I show thee ;
But whose the craft that thou keepest on the
shore?"
The ferryman spake:
8. "Hildolf is he who bade me have it,
A hero wise ; his home is at Rathsey's sound.
He bade me no robbers to steer, nor stealers of
steeds,
But worthy men, and those whom well do I know.
Say now thy name, if over the sound thou wilt
fare."
Thor spake:
9. "My name indeed shall I tell, though in danger
I am.
the three parts of a single farm, the dwelling proper, the cattle-
barn and the storehouse; i.e., Thor is not even a respectable
peasant.
8. Hildolf ("slaughtering wolf") : not elsewhere mentioned
in the Edda. Rathsey ("Isle of Counsel") : likewise not mentioned
elsewhere.
9. In danger: Thor is "sekr," i.e., without the protection of
any law, so long as he is in the territory of his enemies, the
[124]
Harbarthsljoth
And all my race; I am Othin's son,
Meili's brother, and Magni's father,
The strong one of the gods; with Thor now
speech canst thou get.
And now would I know what name thou hast."
The ferryman spake:
10. "Harbarth am I, and seldom I hide my name."
Thor spake:
11. "Why shouldst thou hide thy name, if quarrel
thou hast not ?"
Harbarth spake:
12. "And though I had a quarrel, from such as thou
art
Yet none the less my life would I guard.
Unless I be doomed to die."
giants. Meili: a practically unknown son of Othin, mentioned
here only in the Edda. Magni: son of Thor and the giantess
Jarnsaxa ; after Thor's fight with Hrungnir (cf. stanza 14, note)
Magni, though but three days old, was the only one of the gods
strong enough to lift the dead giant's foot from Thor's neck.
After rescuing his father, Magni said to him: "There would
have been little trouble, father, had I but come sooner; I think
I should have sent this giant to hell with my fist if I had met
him first." Magni and his brother, Mothi, inherit Thor's hammer.
12. This stanza is hopelessly confused as to form, but none
of the editorial rearrangements have materially altered the
meaning. Doomed to die: the word "feigr" occurs constantly in
the Old Norse poems and sagas; the idea of an inevitable but
unknown fate seems to have been practically universal through-
out the pre-Christian period. On the concealment of names from
enemies, cf. Fafnismol, prose after stanza i.
[125]
Poetic Edda
Thor spake:
13. "Great trouble, methinks, would it be to come to
thee,
To wade the waters across, and wet my middle;
Weakling, well shall I pay thy mocking words,
If across the sound I come."
Harbarth spake:
14. "Here shall I stand and await thee here ;
Thou hast found since Hrungnir died no fiercer
man."
Thor spake:
15. "Fain art thou to tell how with Hrungnir I
fought,
The haughty giant, whose head of stone was
made;
And yet I felled him, and stretched him before me.
What, Harbarth, didst thou the while?"
13. This stanza, like the preceding one, is peculiarly chaotic
in the manuscript, and has been variously emended.
14. Hrungnir: this giant rashly wagered his head that his
horse, Gullfaxi, was swifter than Othin's Sleipnir. In the race,
which Hrungnir lost, he managed to dash uninvited into the
home of the gods, where he became very drunk. Thor ejected
him, and accepted his challenge to a duel. Hrungnir, terrified,
had a helper made for him in the form of a dummy giant nine
miles high and three miles broad. Hrungnir himself had a three-
homed heart of stone and a head of stone; his shield was of
stone and his weapon was a grindstone. But Thjalfi, Thor's
servant, told him the god would attack him out of the ground,
wherefore Hrungnir laid down his shield and stood on it. The
hammer Mjollnir shattered both the grindstone and Hrungnir's
[126]
Harbarthsljoth
Harbarth spake:
1 6. "Five full winters with Fjolvar was I,
And dwelt in the isle that is Algron called ;
There could we fight, and fell the slain,
Much could we seek, and maids could master."
Thor spake:
17. "How won ye success with your women?"
Harbarth spake:
18. "Lively women we had, if they wise for us were;
Wise were the women we had, if they kind for
us were;
For ropes of sand they would seek to wind.
And the bottom to dig from the deepest dale.
Wiser than all in counsel I was,
And there I slept by the sisters seven.
And joy full great did I get from each.
What, Thor, didst thou the while?"
head, but part of the grindstone knocked Thor down, and the
giant fell with his foot on Thor's neck (cf. note on stanza 9).
Meanwhile Thjalfi dispatched the dummy giant without trouble.
16. Fjolvar: not elsewhere mentioned in the poems; perhaps
the father of the "seven sisters" referred to in stanza 18. Algron
"The All-Green": not mentioned elsewhere in the Edda.
17. Thor is always eager for stories of this sort; cf. stanzas
31 and 33.
i8. Lines 1-2 are obscure, but apparently Harbarth means
that the women were wise to give in to him cheerfully, resistance
to his power being as impossible as (lines 3-4) making ropes of
sand or digging the bottoms out of the valleys. Nothing further is
known of these unlucky "seven sisters."
[127]
Poetic Edda
Thor spake:
19. "Thjazi I felled, the giant fierce,
And I hurled the eyes of Alvaldi's son
To the heavens hot above ;
Of my deeds the mightiest marks are these.
That all men since can see.
What, Harbarth, didst thou the while?"
Harbarth spake:
20. "Much love-craft I wrought with them who ride
by night,
When I stole them by stealth from their husbands;
A giant hard was Hlebarth, methinks:
His wand he gave me as gift.
And I stole his wits away."
19. Thjazi: this giant, by a trick, secured possession of the
goddess Ithun and her apples (of. Skirnismol, 19, note), and
carried her off into Jotunheim. Loki, through whose fault she
had been betrayed, was sent after her by the gods. He went in
Freyja's "hawk's-dress" (of. Thrymskvitha, 3), turned Ithun
into a nut, and flew back with her. Thjazi, in the shape of an
eagle, gave chase. But the gods kindled a fire which burnt the
eagle's wings, and then they killed him. Snorri's prose version
does not attribute this feat particularly to Thor. Thjazi's daugh-
ter was Skathi, whom the gods permitted to marry Njorth as a
recompense for her father's death. Alvaldi: of him we know
only that he was the father of Thjazi, Ithi and Gang, who
divided his wealth, each taking a mouthful of gold. The name
is variously spelled. It is not known which stars were called
"Thjazi's Eyes." In the middle of line 4 begins the fragmentary
version of the poem found in the Arnamagnaan Codex.
20. Riders by night: witches, who were supposed to ride on
vrolves in the dark. Nothing further is known of this adventure.
[128]
Harbarthsljoth
Thor spake:
21. "Thou didst repay good gifts with evil mind."
Harbarth spake:
22. "The oak must have what it shaves from another ;
In such things each for himself.
What, Thor, didst thou the while?"
Thor spake:
23. "Eastward I fared, of the giants I felled
Their ill- working women who went to the moun-
tain;
And large were the giants' throng if all were
alive ;
No men would there be in Mithgarth more.
What, Harbarth, didst thou the while ?"
Harbarth spake:
24. "In Valland I was, and wars I raised,
Princes I angered, and peace brought never;
The noble who fall in the fight hath Othin,
And Thor hath the race of the thralls."
22. The oak, etc.: this proverb is found elsewhere (e.g.,
Grettissaga) in approximately the same words. Its force is much
like our "to the victor belong the spoils."
23. Thor killed no women of the giants' race on the "journey
to the East" so fully described by Snorri, his great giant-killing
adventure being the one narrated in the Thrymskvitha.
24. Valland: this mythical place ("Land of Slaughter") is
elsewhere mentioned, but not further characterised; cf. prose
introduction to Vblundarkvitha, and Helreith Brynhildar, 2. On
the bringing of slain heroes to Othin, cf. Voluspo, 31 and note,
[129]
Poetic Edda
Thor spake:
25. "Unequal gifts of men wouldst thou give to the
gods,
If might too much thou shouldst have."
Harbarth spake:
26. "Thor has might enough, but never a heart;
For cowardly fear in a glove wast thou fain to
crawl,
And there forgot thou wast Thor;
Afraid there thou wast, thy fear was such,
To fart or sneeze lest Fjalar should hear."
Thor spake:
27. "Thou womanish Harbarth, to hell would I smite
thee straight.
Could mine arm reach over the sound."
and, for a somewhat diflFerent version, Grimnismol, 14. Nowhere
else is it indicated that Thor has an asylum for dead peasants.
26. The reference here is to one of the most familiar episodes
in Thor's eastward journey. He and his companions came to a
house in the forest, and went in to spend the night. Being dis-
turbed by an earthquake and a terrific noise, they all crawled
into a smaller room opening from the main one. In the morning,
however, they discovered that the earthquake had been oc-
casioned by the giant Skrymir's lying down near them, and the
noise by his snoring. The house in which they had taken refuge
was his glove, the smaller room being the thumb. Skrymir was
in fact Utgartha-Loki himself. That he is in this stanza called
Fjalar (the name occurs also in Hovamol, 14) is probably due to
a confusion of the names by which Utgartha-Loki went. Loki
taunts Thor with this adventure in Lokasenna, 60 and 62, line 3
of this stanza being perhaps interpolated from Lokasenna, 60, 4.
[130]
Harbarthsljoth
Harbarth spake:
28. "Wherefore reach over the sound, since strife we
have none?
What, Thor, didst thou do then?"
Thor spake:
29. "Eastw^ard I was, and the river I guarded well,
Where the sons of Svarang sought me there ;
Stones did they hurl ; small joy did they have of
winning ;
Before me there to ask for peace did they fare.
What, Harbarth, didst thou the while?"
Harbarth spake:
30. "Eastward I was, and spake with a certain one,
I played with the linen-white maid, and met her
by stealth ;
I gladdened the gold-decked one, and she granted
me joy."
Thor spake:
31. "Full fair was thy woman-finding."
29. The river: probably Ifing, which flows between the land
of the gods and that of the giants; cf. Vafthruthnismol, 16.
Sons of Svarang: presumably the giants; Svarang is not else-
where mentioned in the poems, nor is there any other account of
Thor's defense of the passage.
30. Othin's adventures of this sort were too numerous to make
it possible to identify this particular person. By stealth: so the
Arnamagnaan Codex; Regius, followed by several editors, has
"long meeting with her."
[131]
Poetic Edda
Harbarth spake:
32. "Thy help did I need then, Thor, to hold the
white maid fast."
Thor spake:
33. "Gladly, had I been there, my help to thee had
been given."
Harbarth spake:
34. "I might have trusted thee then, didst thou not
betray thy troth."
Thor spake:
35. "No heel-biter am I, in truth, like an old leather
shoe in spring."
Harbarth spake:
36. "What, Thor, didst thou the while?"
Thor spake:
37. "In Hlesey the brides of the Berserkers slew I;
Most evil they were, and all they betrayed."
35. Heel-biter: this effective parallel to our "back-biter" is
not found elsewhere in Old Norse.
Zj. Hlesey: "the Island of the Sea-God" (Hler = ^gir),
identified with the Danish island Laso, in the Kattegat. It appears
again, much out of place, in Oddrunargratr, 28. Berserkers:
originally men who could turn themselves into bears, hence the
name, "bear-shirts"; cf. the werewolf or loupgarou. Later the
name was applied to men who at times became seized with a
madness for bloodshed; cf. Hyndluljoth, 23 and note. The
women here mentioned are obviously of the earlier type.
[132]
Harbarthsljoth
Harbarth spake:
38. "Shame didst thou win, that women thou slewest,
Thor."
Thor spake:
39. "She-wolves they were like, and women but little;
My ship, which well I had trimmed, did they
shake ;
With clubs of iron they threatened, and Thjalfi
they drove off.
What, Harbarth, didst thou the while?"
Harbarth spake:
40. "In the host I was
The banners to raise,
that hither fared,
and the spear to redden."
Thor spake:
41. "Wilt thou now say
to bring us?"
that hatred thou soughtest
Harbarth spake:
42. "A ring for thy hand
As the judge decides
shall make all right for thee,
who sets us two at peace."
39. Thjalfi: Thor's servant; cf. note on stanza 14.
40. To what expedition this refers is unknown, but appar-
ently Othin speaks of himself as allied to the foes of the gods.
41. Hatred: so Regius; the other manuscript has, apparently,
"sickness."
42. Just what Othin means, or why his words should so
have enraged Thor, is not evident, though he may imply that
Thor is open to bribery. Perhaps a passage has dropped out
before stanza 43.
[133]
Poetic Edda
Thor spake:
43. "Where foundest thou so foul and scornful a
speech ?
More foul a speech I never before have heard."
Harbarth spake:
44. "I learned it from men, the men so old,
Who dwell in the hills of home."
Thor spake:
45. "A name full good to heaps of stones thou givest
When thou callest them hills of home."
Harbarth spake:
46. "Of such things speak I so."
Thor spake:
47. "Ill for thee comes thy keenness of tongue,
If the water I choose to wade ;
Louder, I ween, than a wolf thou cryest,
If a blow of my hammer thou hast."
Harbarth spake:
48. "Sif has a lover at home, and him shouldst thou
meet;
More fitting it were on him to put forth thy
strength."
44. Othin refers to the dead, from whom he seeks informa-
tion through his magic power.
48. Sif: Thor's wife, the lover being presumably Loki ; cf .
Lokasenna, 54.
[134]
Harbarthsljoth
Thor spake:
49. "Thy tongue still makes thee say what seems most
ill to me,
Thou witless man ! Thou liest, I ween."
Harbarth spake:
50. "Truth do I speak, but slow on thy way thou art ;
Far hadst thou gone if now in the boat thou hadst
fared."
Thor spake:
51. "Thou womanish Harbarth ! here hast thou held
me too long."
Harbarth spake:
52. "I thought not ever that Asathor would be hin-
dered
By a ferryman thus from faring."
Thor spake:
53. "One counsel I bring thee now: row hither thy
boat;
No more of scoffing; set Magni's father across."
Harbarth spake:
54. "From the sound go hence ; the passage thou hast
not."
52. Asathor: Thor goes by various names in the poems: e.g.,
Vingthor, Vingnir, Hlorrithi. Asathor means "Thor of the Gods."
53. Magni: Thor's son; cf. stanza 9 and note.
[135]
Poetic Edda
Thor spake :
55. "The way now show me, since thou takest me not
o'er the water."
Harbarth spake:
56. "To refuse it is little, to fare it is long ;
A while to the stock, and a while to the stone ;
Then the road to thy left, till Verland thou reach-
est;
And there shall Fjorgyn her son Thor find,
And the road of her children she shows him to
Othin's realm."
Thor spake:
57. "May I come so far in a day?"
Harbarth spake:
58. "With toil and trouble perchance,
While the sun still shines, or so I think."
Thor spake:
59. "Short now shall be our speech, for thou speakest
in mockery only ;
56. Line 2: the phrases mean simply "a long way" ; cf. "over
stock and stone." Verland: the "Land of Men" to which Thor
must come from the land of the giants. The Arnamagnaan Codex
has "Valland" (cf. stanza 24 and note), but this is obviously an
error. Fjorgyn: a feminine form of the same name, which be-
longs to Othin (cf. Voluspo, 56 and note) ; here it evidently
means Jorth (Earth), Thor's mother. The road: the rainbow
bridge, Bifrost; cf. Grimnismol, 29 and note.
58. Line 2: so Regius; the other manuscript has "ere sunrise."
[136]
Harbarthsljoth
The passage thou gavest me not I shall pay thee
if ever we meet."
Harbarth spake:
60. "Get hence where every evil thing shall have thee !"
60. The Arnamagnaan Codex clearly indicates Harbarth as
the speaker of this line, but Regius has no superscription, and
begins the line with a small letter not preceded by a period,
thereby assigning it to Thor.
[137]
HYMISKVITHA
The Lay of Hymir
Introductory Note
The Hymiskvitha is found complete in both manuscripts; in
Regius it follows the Harbarthsljoth, while in the Arnamag-
naan Codex it comes after the Grimnismol. Snorri does not quote
it, although he tells the main story involved.
The poem is a distinctly inferior piece of work, obviously
based on various narrative fragments, awkwardly pieced to-
gether. Some critics, Jessen and Edzardi for instance, have main-
tained that the compiler had before him three distinct poems,
which he simply put together; others, like Finnur Jonsson and
Mogk, think that the author made a new poem of his own on the
basis of earlier poems, now lost. It seems probable that he took
a lot of odds and ends of material concerning Thor, whether in
prose or in verse, and worked them together in a perfunctory
way, without much caring how well they fitted. His chief aim
was probably to impress the credulous imaginations of hearers
greedy for wonders.
The poem is almost certainly one of the latest of those deal-
ing with the gods, though Finnur Jonsson, in order to support his
theory of a Norwegian origin, has to date it relatively early.
If, as seems probable, it was produced in Iceland, the chances
are that it was composed in the first half of the eleventh century.
Jessen, rather recklessly, goes so far as to put it two hundred
years later. In any case, it belongs to a period of literary de-
cadence,— the great days of Eddie poetry would never have per-
mitted the nine hundred headed person found in Hymir's home —
and to one in which the usual forms of diction in mythological
poetry had yielded somewhat to the verbal subtleties of skaldic
verse. *
While the skaldic poetry properly falls outside the limits of
this book, it is necessary here to say a word about it. There is
preserved, in the sagas and elsewhere, a very considerable body
of lyric poetry, the authorship of each poem being nearly always
definitely stated, whether correctly or otherwise. This type of
poetry is marked by an extraordinary complexity of diction,
with a peculiarly difficult vocabulary of its own. It was to ex-
plain some of the "kennings" which composed this special
[138]
Hymiskvitha
vocabulary that Snorri wrote one of the sections of the Prose
Edda. As an illustration, in a single stanza of one poem in the
Egilssaga, a sword is called "the halo of the helnn," "the wound-
hoe," "the blood-snake" (possibly; no one is sure what the
compound word means) and "the ice of the girdle," while men
appear in the same stanza as "Othin's ash-trees," and battle is
spoken of as "the iron game." One of the eight lines has defied
translation completely.
Skaldic diction made relatively few inroads into the earlier
Eddie poems, but in the Hymiskvitha these circumlocutions are
fairly numerous. This sets the poem somewhat apart from the
rest of the mythological collection. Only the vigor of the two
main stories — Thor's expedition after Hymir's kettle and the
fishing trip in which he caught Mithgarthsorm — saves it from
complete mediocrity.
I. Of old the gods made feast together,
And drink they sought ere sated they were ;
Twigs they shook, and blood they tried:
Rich fare in i^^gir's hall they found.
I. Tiviffs: Vigfusson comments at some length on "the rite
practised in the heathen age of inquiring into the future by
dipping bunches of chips or twigs into the blood (of sacrifices)
and shaking them." But the two operations may have been
separate, the twigs being simply "divining-rods" marked with
runes. In either case, the gods were seeking information by
magic as to where they could find plenty to drink, ^gir: a giant
who is also the god of the sea; little is known of him outside
of what is told here and in the introductory prose to the Loka-
senna, though Snorri has a brief account of him, giving his home
as Hlesey (Laso, cf. Harbarthsljoth, 37). Grimnismol, 45, has a
reference to this same feast.
[139]
Poetic Edda
2. The mountain-dweller sat merry as boyhood,
But soon like a blinded man he seemed ;
The son of Ygg gazed in his eyes :
'Tor the gods a feast shalt thou forthwith get."
3. The word-wielder toil for the giant worked,
And so revenge on the gods he sought ;
He bade Sif's mate the kettle bring:
"Therein for ye all much ale shall I brew."
4. The far-famed ones could find it not,
And the holy gods could get it nowhere ;
Till in truthful wise did Tyr speak forth.
And helpful counsel to Hlorrithi gave.
5. "There dwells to the east of Elivagar
Hymir the wise at the end of heaven ;
A kettle my father fierce doth own,
A mighty vessel a mile in depth."
2. Mountain-diueller: the giant (^^gir). Line 2: the principal
word in the original has defied interpretation, and any trans-
lation of the line must be largely guesswork. Ygg: Othin; his
son is Thor. Some editors assume a gap after this stanza.
3. Word-'wielder: Thor. The giant: Mg\T. Sif: Thor's wife;
cf. Harbarthsljoth, 48. The kettle: ^^gir's kettle is possibly the
sea itself.
4. Tyr: the god of battle; his two great achievements were
thrusting his hand into the mouth of the wolf Fenrir so that the
gods might bind him, whereby he lost his hand (cf. Foluspo, 39,
note), and his fight with the hound Garm in the last battle, in
which they kill each other. Hlorrithi: Thor.
5. Elivagar ("Stormy Waves"): possibly the Milky Way;
[140]
Hymiskvitha
Thor spake:
6. "May we win, dost thou think, this whirler of
water?"
Tyr spake:
"Aye, friend, we can, if cunning we are."
7. Forward that day with speed they fared,
From Asgarth came they to Egil's home ;
The goats with horns bedecked he guarded ;
Then they sped to the hall where Hymir dwelt.
8. The youth found his grandam, that greatly he
loathed,
cf. Vafthruthnismol, 31, note. Hymir: this giant figures only in
this episode. It is not clear why Tyr, who is elsewhere spoken
of as a son of Othin, should here call Hymir his father. Finnur
Jonsson, in an attempt to get round this difficulty, deliberately
changed the word "father" to "grandfather," but this does not
help greatly.
6. Neither manuscript has any superscriptions, but most edi-
tors have supplied them as above. From this point through stanza
n the editors have varied considerably in grouping the lines into
stanzas. The manuscripts indicate the third lines of stanzas 7, 8,
9, and 10 as beginning stanzas, but this makes more complica-
tions than the present arrangement. It is possible that, as Sijmons
suggests, two lines have been lost after stanza 6.
7. Egil: possibly, though by no means certainly, the father
of Thor's servant, Thjalfi, for, according to Snorri, Thor's first
stop on this journey was at the house of a peasant whose chil-
dren, Thjalfi and Roskva, he took into his service; cf. stanza
38, note. The Arnamagnaan Codex has "i^gir" instead of "Egil,"
but, aside from the fact that Thor had just left ^gir's house, the
sea-god can hardly have been spoken of as a goat-herd.
8. The youth: Tyr, whose extraordinary grandmother is
Hymir's mother. We know nothing further of her, or of the other,
[141]
Poetic Edda
And full nine hundred heads she had ;
But the other fair with gold came forth,
And the bright-browed one brought beer to her
son.
9. "Kinsman of giants, beneath the kettle
Will I set ye both, ye heroes bold ;
For many a time my dear-loved mate
To guests is wrathful and grim of mind."
10. Late to his home the misshapen Hymir,
The giant harsh, from his hunting came ;
The icicles rattled as in he came.
For the fellow's chin-forest frozen was.
11. "Hail to thee, Hymir! good thoughts mayst thou
have;
Here has thy son to thine hall now come;
(For him have we waited, his way was long;)
And with him fares the foeman of Hroth,
The friend of mankind, and Veur they call him.
who is Hymir's wife and Tyr's mother. It may be guessed, how-
ever, that she belonged rather to the race of the gods than to
that of the giants.
II. Two or three editors give this stanza a superscription
("The concubine spake," "The daughter spake"). Line 3 is com-
monly regarded as spurious. The foeman of Hroth: of course
this means Thor, but nothing is known of any enemy of his by this
name. Several editors have sought to make a single word mean-
ing "the famous enemy" out of the phrase. Concerning Thor as
the friend of man, particularly of the peasant class, cf. introduc-
tion to Harbarthsljoth. Veur: another name, of uncertain mean-
ing, for Thor.
[142]
Hymiskvitha
12. "See where under the gable they sit !
Behind the beam do they hide themselves."
The beam at the glance of the giant broke,
And the mighty pillar in pieces fell.
13. Eight fell from the ledge, and one alone,
The hard-hammered kettle, of all was whole ;
Forth came they then, and his foes he sought,
The giant old, and held with his eyes.
14. Much sorrow his heart foretold when he saw
The giantess' foeman come forth on the floor;
Then of the steers did they bring in three;
Their flesh to boil did the giant bid.
15. By a head was each the shorter hewed,
And the beasts to the fire straight they bore ;
The husband of Sif , ere to sleep he went,
Alone two oxen of Hymir's ate.
16. To the comrade hoary of Hrungnir then
Did Hlorrithi's meal full mighty seem;
"Next time at eve we three must eat
The food we have s the hunting's spoil."
13. Eight: the giant's glance, besides breaking the beam,
knocks down all the kettles with such violence that all but the
one under which Thor and Tyr are hiding are broken.
14. Hymir's wrath does not permit him to ignore the duties
of a host to his guests, always strongly insisted on.
15. Thor's appetite figures elsewhere; cf. Thrymskvitha, 24.
16. The comrade of Hrungnir: Hymir, presumably simply
because both are giants ; cf. Harbarthsljoth, 14 and note.
[ 143 ]
Poetic Edda
17.
Fain to row on the sea was Veur, he said,
If the giant bold would give him bait.
Hymir spake:
18. "Go to the herd, if thou hast it in mind,
Thou slayer of giants, thy bait to seek;
For there thou soon mayst find, methinks.
Bait from the oxen easy to get."
19. Swift to the wood the hero went.
Till before him an ox all black he found ;
From the beast the slayer of giants broke
The fortress high of his double horns.
Hymir spake:
20. "Thy works, methinks, are worse by far.
17. The manuscripts indicate no lacuna, and many editors
unite stanza 17 with lines i and 2 of i8. Sijmons and Gering
assume a gap after these two lines, but it seems more probable
that the missing passage, if any, belonged before them, supplying
the connection with the previous stanza.
18. The manuscripts have no superscription. Many editors
combine lines 3 and 4 with lines i and 2 of stanza 19. In Snorri's
extended paraphrase of the story, Hymir declines to go fishing
with Thor on the ground that the latter is too small a person to
be worth bothering about. "You would freeze," he says, "if you
stayed out in mid-ocean as long as I generally do." Bait (line
4) : the word literally means "chaff," hence any small bits; Hymir
means that Thor should collect dung for bait.
19. Many editors combine lines 3 and 4 with stanza 20. Fort-
ress, etc.: the ox's head; cf. introductory note concerning the
diction of this poem. Several editors assume a lacuna after stanza
19, but this seems unnecessary.
[144]
Hymiskvitha
Thou steerer of ships, than when still thou sit-
test."
21. The lord of the goats bade the ape-begotten
Farther to steer the steed of the rollers ;
But the giant said that his will, forsooth,
Longer to row was little enough.
22. Two whales on his hook did the mighty Hymir
Soon pull up on a single cast;
In the stern the kinsman of Othin sat.
And Veur with cunning his cast prepared.
23. The warder of men, the worm's destroyer.
Fixed on his hook the head of the ox;
There gaped at the bait the foe of the gods.
The girdler of all the earth beneath.
20. The manuscripts have no superscription. Steerer of ships:
probably merely a reference to Thor's intention to go fishing.
The lacuna after stanza 20 is assumed by most editors.
21. Lord of the goats: Thor, because of his goat-drawn char-
iot. Ape-begotten: Hymir; the word "api," rare until relatively
late times in its literal sense, is fairly common with the meaning
of "fool." Giants were generally assumed to be stupid. Steed of
the rollers: a ship, because boats were pulled up on shore by
means of rollers.
23. Warder of men: Thor; cf. stanza 11. Worm's destroyer:
likewise Thor, who in the last battle slays, and is slain by, Mith-
garthsorm; cf. Voluspo, 56. The foe of the gods: Mithgarths-
orm, who lies in the sea, and surrounds the whole earth.
[145]
Poetic Edda
24. The venomous serpent swif dy up
To the boat did Thor, the bold one, pull ;
With his hammer the loathly hill of the hair
Of the brother of Fenrir he smote from above.
25. The monsters roared, and the rocks resounded,
And all the earth so old was shaken ;
Then sank the fish in the sea forthwith.
26.
Joyless as back they rowed was the giant ;
Speechless did Hymir sit at the oars,
With the rudder he sought a second wind.
Hymir spake:
27. "The half of our toil wilt thou have with me.
24. Hill of the hair: head, — a thoroughly characteristic skal-
dlc phrase. Brother of Fenrir: Mithgarthsorra was, like the
wolf Fenrir and the goddess Hel, born to Loki and the giantess
Angrbotha (cf. Voluspo, 39 and note), and I have translated
this line accordingly; but the word used in the text has been
guessed as meaning almost anything from "comrade" to "enemy."
25. No gap is indicated in the manuscripts, but that a line or
more has been lost is highly probable. In Snorri's version, Thor
pulls so hard on the line that he drives both his feet through the
flooring of the boat, and stands on bottom. When he pulls the
serpent up, Hymir cuts the line with his bait-knife, which ex-
plains the serpent's escape. Thor, in a rage, knocks Hymir over-
board with his hammer, and then wades ashore. The lines of
stanzas 25 and 26 have been variously grouped.
26. No gap is indicated in the manuscripts, but line 2 begins
with a small letter. A second ivind: another direction, i. e., he put
about for the shore.
[146]
Hymiskvitha
And now make fast our goat of the flood ;
Or home wilt thou bear the whales to the house,
Across the gorge of the wooded glen ?"
28. Hlorrithi stood and the stem he gripped,
And the sea-horse with water awash he lifted ;
Oars and bailer and all he bore
With the surf-swine home to the giant's house.
29. His might the giant again would match,
For stubborn he was, with the strength of Thor;
None truly strong, though stoutly he rowed,
Would he call save one who could break the cup.
30. Hlorrithi then, when the cup he held.
Struck with the glass the pillars of stone ;
As he sat the posts in pieces he shattered.
Yet the glass to Hymir whole they brought.
31. But the loved one fair of the giant found
A counsel true, and told her thought :
27. No superscription in the manuscripts. In its place Bugge
supplies a line — "These words spake Hymir, the giant wise."
The manuscripts reverse the order of lines 2 and 3, and in both
of them line 4 stands after stanza 28. Goat of the flood: boat.
28. Sea-horse: boat. Surf-stmne: the whales.
29. Snorri says nothing of this episode of Hyrair's cup. The
glass which cannot be broken appears in the folklore of various
races.
31. The loved one: Hymir's wife and Tyr's mother; cf. stanza
8 and note. The idea that a giant's skull is harder than stone or
anything else is characteristic of the later Norse folk-stories, and
[ 147 ]
Poetic Edda
"Smite the skull of Hymir, heavy with food,
For harder it is than ever was glass."
32. The goats' mighty ruler then rose on his knee,
And with all the strength of a god he struck ;
Whole was the fellow's helmet-stem,
But shattered the wine-cup rounded was.
Hyfnir spake:
33. "Fair is the treasure that from me is gone,
Since now the cup on my knees lies shattered ;"
So spake the giant: "No more can I say
In days to be, 'Thou art brewed, mine ale.'
34. "Enough shall it be if out ye can bring
Forth from our house the kettle here."
Tyr then twice to move it tried.
But before him the kettle twice stood fast.
35. The father of Mothi the rim seized firm.
And before it stood on the floor below ;
Up on his head Sif's husband raised it,
And about his heels the handles clattered.
in one of the so-called "mythical sagas" we find a giant actually
named Hard-Skull.
32. Helmet-stem: head.
33. The manuscripts have no superscription. Line 4 in the
manuscripts is somewhat obscure, and Bugge, followed by some
editors, suggests a reading which may be rendered (beginning
with the second half of line 3) : "No more can I speak / Ever
again as I spoke of old."
35. The father of Mothi and Sif's husband: Thor.
[148]
Hymiskvitha
36. Not long had they fared, ere backwards looked
The son of Othin, once more to sec;
From their caves in the east beheld he coming
With Hymir the throng of the many-headed.
37. He stood and cast from his back the kettle,
And Mjollnir, the lover of murder, he wielded;
So all the whales of the waste he slew.
38. Not long had they fared ere one there lay
Of Hlorrithi's goats half-dead on the ground ;
In his leg the pole-horse there was lame ;
The deed the evil Loki had done.
36. The many-headed: The giants, although rarely desig-
nated as a race in this way, sometimes had two or more heads;
cf. stanza 8, Skirnismol, 31 and Vafthruthnismol, 33. Hymir's
mother is, however, the only many-headed giant actually to ap-
pear in the action of the poems, and it is safe to assume that the
tradition as a whole belongs to the period of Norse folk-tales of
the mdrchen order.
37. No gap is indicated in the manuscripts. Some editors put
the missing line as 2, some as 3, and some, leaving the present
three lines together, add a fourth, and metrically incorrect, one
from late paper manuscripts: "Who with Hymir followed
after." Whales of the ivaste: giants.
38. According to Snorri, when Thor set out with Loki (not
Tyr) for the giants' land, he stopped first at a peasant's house
(cf. stanza 7 and note). There he proceeded to cook his own
goats for supper. The peasant's son, Thjalfi, eager to get at the
marrow, split one of the leg-bones with his knife. The next morn-
ing, when Thor was ready to proceed with his journey, he called
the goats to life again, but one of them proved irretrievably
lame. His wrath led the peasant to give him both his children as
[ 149 ]
Poetic Edda
39. But ye all have heard, — for of them who have
The tales of the gods, who better can tell? —
What prize he won from the wilderness-dweller,
Who both his children gave him to boot.
40. The mighty one came to the council of gods,
And the kettle he had that Hymir's was ;
So gladly their ale the gods could drink
In iEgir's hall at the autumn-time.
servants (cf. stanza 39). Snorri does not Indicate that Loki was
in any way to blame.
39. This deliberate introduction of the story-teller is exceed-
ingly rare in the older poetry.
40. The translation of the last two lines is mostly guess-
work, as the word rendered "gods" is uncertain, and the one
rendered "at the autumn-time" is quite obscure.
[150]
LOKASENNA
Loki's Wrangling
Introductory Nots
The Lokasenna is found only in Regius, where it follows the
Hymiskvitha; Snorri quotes four lines of it, grouped together as
a single stanza.
The poem is one of the most vigorous of the entire collection,
and seems to have been preserved in exceptionally good condi-
tion. The exchange or contest of insults was dear to the Norse
heart, and the Lokasen/ia consists chiefly of Loki's taunts to the
assembled gods and goddesses, and their largely ineffectual at-
tempts to talk back to him. The author was evidently well versed
in mythological lore, and the poem is full of references to inci-
dents not elsewhere recorded. As to its date and origin there is
the usual dispute, but the latter part of the tenth century and
Iceland seem the best guesses.
The prose notes are long and of unusual interest. The intro-
ductory one links the poem closely to the Hymiskvitha, much as
the Reginsmol, Fafnismol and Sigrdrifumol are linked together;
the others fill in the narrative gaps in the dialogue — ^very like
stage directions, — and provide a conclusion by relating Loki's
punishment, which, presumably, is here connected with the wrong
incident. It is likely that often when the poem was recited during
the two centuries or so before it was committed to writing, the
speaker inserted some such explanatory comments, and the com-
piler of the collection followed this example by adding such ex-
planations as he thought necessary. The Lokasenna is certainly
much older than the Hymiskvitha, the connection between them
being purely one of subject-matter; and the twelfth-century com-
piler evidently knew a good deal less about mythology than the
author whose work he was annotating.
^gir, who was also called Gymir, had prepared ale for
the gods, after he had got the mighty kettle, as now has
been told. To this feast came Othin and Frigg, his wife,
Thor came not, as he was on a journey in the East. Sif,
[151]
Poetic Edda
Thor's wife, was there, and Bragi with Ithun, his wife.
Tyr, who had but one hand, was there; the wolf Fenrir
had bitten off his other hand when they had bound him.
There were Njorth and Skathi his wife, Freyr and Freyja,
and Vithar, the son of Othin. Loki was there, and Freyr's
Prose. yEgir: the sea-god; Snorri gives Hler as another of
his names, but he is not elsewhere called Gymir, which is the
name of the giant, Gerth's father, in the Skirnismol. On ^gir
cf. Grimnismol, 45, and Hymishvitha, i. Frigg: though Othin's
wife is often mentioned, she plays only a minor part in the Eddie
poems; cf. Voluspo, 34, Vafthruthnismol, i, and Grimnismol, in-
troductory prose. Thor: the compiler is apparently a trifle con-
fused as to Thor's movements; the "journey in the East" here
mentioned cannot be the one described in the Hymiskvitha, nor
yet the one narrated by Snorri, as Loki was with Thor through-
out that expedition. He probably means no more than that Thor
was off killing giants. Sif: concerning Thor's wife the chief
incident is that Loki cut off her hair, and, at the command of the
wrathful Thor, was compelled to have the dwarfs fashion her
a new supply of hair out of gold; cf. Harbarthsljoth, 48. Bragi:
the god of poetry; cf. Grimnismol, 44 and note. Ithun: the god-
dess of youth; cf. note on Skirnismol, 19. Ithun is not mentioned
by name in any other of the Eddie poems, but Snorri tells in
detail how the giant Thjazi stole her and her apples, explaining
the reference in Harbarthsljoth, 19 (q. v.). Tyr: the god of bat-
tle; cf. Hymiskvitha, 4, and (concerning his dealings with the
wolf Fenrir) Voluspo, 39, note. Njorth: the chief of the Wanes,
and father of Freyr and Freyja; cf. (concerning the whole fam-
ily) Skirnismol, introductory prose and note, also Voluspo, 21
and note. Skathi: Njorth's wife was the daughter of the giant
Thjazi; cf. Harbarthsljoth, 19, note, and Grimnismol, 11. Vithar:
the silent god, the son of Othin who avenged his father by slaying
the wolf Fenrir; cf. Voluspo, 54, Vafthruthnismol, 51, and Grim-
nismol, 17. Loki: the mischief-making fire-god; in addition to the
many references to his career in the Lokasenna, cf. particularly
Voluspo, 32 and 35, and notes. Byggvir and Bey la: not men-
tioned elsewhere in the poems; Freyr's conspicuous servant is
Skirnir, hero of the Skirnismol. Fimafeng ("The Swift Handler")
[152]
Lokasenna
servants Byggvir and Beyla. Many were there of the gods
and elves.
i^gir had two serving-men, Fimafeng and Eldir. Glit-
tering gold they had in place of firelight ; the ale came in
of itself; and great was the peace. The guests praised
much the ability of i^gir's serving-men. Loki might not
endure that, and he slew Fimafeng. Then the gods shook
their shields and howled at Loki and drove him away to
the forest, and thereafter set to drinking again. Loki
turned back, and outside he met Eldir. Loki spoke to him :
1. "Speak now, Eldir, for not one step
Farther shalt thou fare;
What ale-talk here do they have within,
The sons of the glorious gods?"
Eldir spake :
2. "Of their weapons they talk, and their might in
war.
The sons of the glorious gods ;
From the gods and elves who are gathered here
No friend in words shalt thou find."
Loki spake:
3. "In shall I go into i^gir's hall,
For the feast I fain would see;
and Eldir ("The Man of the Fire") : mentioned only in connec-
tion with this incident. Glittering gold: ^gir's use of gold to
light his hall, which was often thought of as under the sea, was
responsible for the phrase "flame of the flood," and sundry kin-
dred phrases, meaning "gold."
[ 153 ]
Poetic Edda
Bale and hatred I bring to the gods,
And their mead with venom I mix."
Eldir spake :
4. "If in thou goest to iiEgir's hall,
And fain the feast wouldst see,
And with slander and spite wouldst sprinkle the
gods,
Think well lest they wipe it on thee,"
Loki spake:
5. "Bethink thee, Eldir, if thou and I
Shall strive with spiteful speech ;
Richer I grow in ready words
If thou speakest too much to me."
Then Loki went into the hall, but when they who were
there saw who had entered, they were all silent.
Loki spake:
6. "Thirsty I come into this thine hall,
I, Lopt, from a journey long.
To ask of the gods that one should give
Fair mead for a drink to me.
7. "Why sit ye silent, swollen with pride,
Ye gods, and no answer give ?
6. Lopt: like Lothur (cf. Voluspo, 18) another name for Loki;
cf. Hyndluljoth, 43, and Svipdagsmol, 42.
7. In the manuscript this stanza begins with a small letter,
and Heinzel unites it with stanza 6.
[154]
Lokasenna
At your feast a place and a seat prepare me,
Or bid me forth to fare."
Braffi spake:
8. "A place and a seat will the gods prepare
No more in their midst for thee ;
For the gods know well what men they wish
To find at their mighty feasts,"
Loki spake:
9. "Remember, Othin, in olden days
That we both our blood have mixed ;
Then didst thou promise no ale to pour,
Unless it were brought for us both."
Othin spake:
10. "Stand forth then, Vithar, and let the wolf's
father
Find a seat at our feast ;
8. Braffi: cf. note on introductory prose. Why Loki taunts him
with cowardice (stanzas n-13-15) is not clear, for poetry, of
which Bragi was the patron, was generally associated in the
Norse mind with peculiar valor, and most of the skaldic poets
were likewise noted fighters.
9. There exists no account of any incident in which Othin and
Loki thus swore blood-brotherhood, but they were so often allied
in enterprises that the idea is wholly reasonable. The common
process of "mingling blood" was carried out quite literally, and
the promise of which Loki speaks is characteristic of those which,
in the sagas, often accompanied the ceremony; cf. Brot af Sigur-
tharkvithu, 18 and note.
10. In stanzas 10-31 the manuscript has nothing to indicate the
identity of the several speakers, but these are uniformly clear
[155]
Poetic Edda
Lest evil should Loki speak aloud
Here within ^gir's hall."
Then Vithar arose and poured drink for Loki ; but be-
fore he drank he spoke to the gods :
11. "Hail to you, gods! ye goddesses, hail!
Hail to the holy throng!
Save for the god vi^ho yonder sits,
Bragi there on the bench."
Bragi spake:
12. "A horse and a sword from my hoard will I give,
And a ring gives Bragi to boot,
That hatred thou makst not among the gods ;
So rouse not the great ones to wrath."
Loki spake:
13. "In horses and rings thou shalt never be rich,
Bragi, but both shalt thou lack;
Of the gods and elves here together met
Least brave in battle art thou,
(And shyest thou art of the shot.)"
Bragi spake:
14. "Now were I without as I am within,
enough through the context. Vithar: cf. note on introductory
prose. The ivolf's father: Loki ; cf. Voluspo, 39 and note.
13. Sijmons makes one line of lines 4-5 by cutting out a part
of each; Finnur Jonsson rejects 5 as spurious.
14. The text of line 4 is somewhat obscure, and has been
[156]
Lokasenna
And here in i^gir's hall,
Thine head would I bear in mine hands away,
And pay thee the price of thy lies."
Loki spake:
15. "In thy seat art thou bold, not so are thy deeds,
Bragi, adorner of benches!
Go out and fight if angered thou feelest.
No hero such forethought has."
Ithun spake:
16. "Well, prithee, Bragi, his kinship weigh.
Since chosen as wish-son he was ;
And speak not to Loki such words of spite
Here within iEgir's hall."
Loki spake:
17. "Be silent, Ithun ! thou art, I say.
variously emended, one often adopted suggestion making the
line read, "Little is that for thy lies."
15. Adorner of benches: this epithet presumably implies that
Bragi is not only slothful, but also effeminate, for a very similar
word, "pride of the benches," means a bride.
16. Ithun: Bragi's wife; cf. note on introductory prose. The
goddesses who, finding that their husbands are getting the worst
of it, take up the cudgels with Loki, all find themselves con-
fronted with undeniable facts in their own careers; cf. stanzas
26 (Frigg), 52 (Skathi) and 54 (Sif). Gefjun and Freyja are
silenced in similar fashion. fVish-son: adopted son; Loki was the
son of the giant Farbauti and the giantess Laufey, and hence was
not of the race of the gods, but had been virtually adopted by
Othin, who subsequently had good reason to regret it.
[157]
Poetic Edda
Of women most lustful in love,
Since thou thy washed-bright arms didst wind
About thy brother's slayer."
Ithun spake:
1 8. "To Loki I speak not with spiteful words
Here within iEgir's hall ;
And Bragi I calm, who is hot with beer,
For I wish not that fierce they should fight."
Gefjun spake:
19. "Why, ye gods twain, with bitter tongues
Raise hate among us here?
Loki is famed for his mockery foul.
And the dwellers in heaven he hates."
Loki spake :
20. "Be silent, Gefjun! for now shall I say
Who led thee to evil life ;
The boy so fair gave a necklace bright,
And about him thy leg was laid."
17. We do not even know who Ithun's brother was, much less
who slew him.
19. Gefjun: a goddess, not elsewhere mentioned in the poems,
who, according to Snorri, was served by the women who died
maidens. Beyond this nothing is known of her. Lines 3-4 in the
manuscript are puzzling, and have been freely emended.
20. Nothing is known of the incident here mentioned. There is
a good deal of confusion as to various of the gods and goddesses,
and it has been suggested that Gefjun is really Frigg under an-
other name, with a little of Freyja — whose attributes were fre-
quently confused with Frigg' s — thrown in. Certainly Othin's
[158]
Lokasenna
Othin spake:
21. "Mad art thou, Loki, and little of wit,
The wrath of Gefjun to rouse ;
For the fate that is set for all she sees,
Even as I, methinks."
Loki spake:
22. "Be silent, Othin! not justly thou settest
The fate of the fight among men ;
Oft gavst thou to him who deserved not the gift,
To the baser, the battle's prize."
Othin spake:
23. "Though I gave to him who deserved not the gift,
To the baser, the battle's prize ;
Winters eight wast thou under the earth,
Milking the cows as a maid,
(Ay, and babes didst thou bear;
Unmanly thy soul must seem.)"
answer (stanza 21, lines 3-4) fits Frigg perfectly, for she shared
his knowledge of the future, whereas it has no relation to any-
thing known of Gefjun. As for the necklace (line 3), it may be
the Brisings' necklace, which appears in the Thrymskvitha as
Freyja's, but which, in some mythological writings, is assigned
to Frigg.
21. Snorri quotes line i ; cf. note on stanza 29.
23. There is no other reference to Loki's having spent eight
years underground, or to his cow-milking. On one occasion,
however, he did bear offspring. A giant had undertaken to build
the gods a fortress, his reward being Freyja and the sun and
moon, provided the work was done by a given time. His sole
helper was his horse, Svathilfari. The work being nearly done,
and the gods fearing to lose Freyja and the sun and moon, Loki
[159]
Poetic Edda
Loki spake :
24. "They say that with spells in Samsey once
Like witches with charms didst thou work;
And in witch's guise among men didst thou go ;
Unmanly thy soul must seem."
Frigg spake:
25. "Of the deeds ye two of old have done
Ye should make no speech among men ;
Whate'er ye have done in days gone by,
Old tales should ne'er be told."
Loki spake:
26. "Be silent, Frigg! thou art Fjorgyn's wife,
But ever lustful in love;
For Vili and Ve, thou wife of Vithrir,
Both in thy bosom have lain."
turned himself into a mare, and so effectually distracted Svathil-
fari from his task that shortly afterwards Loki gave birth to
Othin's eight-legged horse, Sleipnir. In such contests of abuse a
man was not infrequently taunted with having borne children;
of. Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I, 39-45. One or two of the last
three lines may be spurious.
24. Samsey: perhaps the Danish island of Samso. Othin was
the god of magic, but there is no other reference to his ever
having disguised himself as a witch.
25. Frigg: Othin's wife; of. note to introductory prose.
26. Fjorgyn: Othin; cf. Foluspo, 56 and note. Vili and Ve:
Othin's brothers, who appear merely as, with Othin, the sons of
Bur and Bestla; cf. Voluspo, 4. The Ynglingasaga says that,
during one of Othin's protracted absences, his two brothers took
Frigg as their mistress. Vithrir: another name for Othin.
[ 160 ]
Lokasenna
Frigg spake:
27. "If a son like Baldr were by me now,
Here within ^gir's hall,
From the sons of the gods thou shouldst go not
forth
Till thy fierceness in fight were tried."
Loki spake:
28. "Thou wilt then, Yugg, that further I tell
Of the ill that now I know ;
Mine is the blame that Baldr no more
Thou seest ride home to the hall."
Freyja spake:
29. "Mad art thou, Loki, that known thou makest
The wrong and shame thou hast wrought;
The fate of all does Frigg know well,
Though herself she says it not."
Loki spake:
30. "Be silent, Freyja ! for fully I know thee,
Sinless thou art not thyself;
27. On the death of Baldr, slain through Loki's cunning by
the blind Hoth, cf. Voluspo, 32 and note.
29. Freyja: daughter of Njorth and sister of Freyr; cf. note
on introductory prose. Snorri, in speaking of Frigg's knowledge
of the future, makes a stanza out of Lokasenna, 21, i; 47, 2; 29,
3-4, thus: "Mad art thou, Loki, and little of wit, / Why,
Loki, leavst thou this not? / The fate of all does Frigg knoTf
well, / Though herself she says it not."
30. According to Snorri, Freyja was a model of fidelity to
her husband, 0th.
[161]
Poetic Edda
Of the gods and elves who are gathered here,
Each one as thy lover has lain."
Freyja spake:
31. "False is thy tongue, and soon shalt thou find
That it sings thee an evil song ;
The gods are wroth, and the goddesses all.
And in grief shalt thou homeward go."
Loki spake:
32. "Be silent, Freyja! thou foulest witch,
And steeped full sore in sin ;
In the arms of thy brother the bright gods caught
thee
When Freyja her wind set free."
Njorth spake:
33. "Small ill does it work though a woman may have
A lord or a lover or both ;
But a wonder it is that this womanish god
Comes hither, though babes he has borne."
32. Before each of stanzas 32-42 the manuscript indicates the
speaker, through the initial letter of the name written in the
margin. Thy brother: Freyr; there is no other indication that
such a relation existed between these two, but they themselves
were the product of such a union; cf. stanza 36 and note.
33. Njorth: father of Freyr and Freyja, and given by the
Wanes as a hostage, in exchange for Honir, at the close of the
first war; cf. Voluspo, 21 and note, also Skirnismol, introductory
prose and note. Babes: cf. stanza 23 and note. Bugge suggests
that this clause may have been a late insertion.
[162]
Lokasenna
Loki spake:
34. "Be silent, Njorth; thou wast eastward sent,
To the gods as a hostage given;
And the daughters of Hymir their privy had
When use did they make of thy mouth."
Njorth spake:
35. "Great was my gain, though long was I gone,
To the gods as a hostage given;
The son did I have whom no man hates.
And foremost of gods is found."
Loki spake:
36. "Give heed now, Njorth, nor boast too high,
No longer I hold it hid ;
With thy sister hadst thou so fair a son.
Thus hadst thou no worse a hope."
Tyr spake :
37. "Of the heroes brave is Freyr the best
Here in the home of the gods ;
34. Daughters of Hymir: we have no clue to who these were,
though Hymir is doubtless the frost-giant of the Hymiskvitha
(q.v.). Loki's point is that Njorth is not a god, but the product
of an inferior race (the Wanes).
35. The son: Freyr.
36. Thy sister: the Ynglingasaga supports this story of Njorth's
having had two children by his sister before he came among the
gods. Snorri, on the other hand, specifically says that Freyr and
Freyja were born after Njorth came to the gods.
37. Tyr: the god of battle; cf. notes on Hymiskvitha, 4, and
Voluspo, 39. Freyr; concerning his noble qualities cf. Skirnismol,
introductory prose and note.
[163]
Poetic Edda
He harms not maids nor the wives of men,
And the bound from their fetters he frees."
Loki spake:
38. "Be silent, Tyr! for between two men
Friendship thou ne'er couldst fashion ;
Fain would I tell how Fenrir once
Thy right hand rent from thee."
Tyr spake :
39. "My hand do I lack, but Hrothvitnir thou.
And the loss brings longing to both ;
111 fares the wolf who shall ever await
In fetters the fall of the gods."
Loki spake:
40. "Be silent, Tyr! for a son with me
Thy wife once chanced to win ;
Not a penny, methinks, wast thou paid for the
wrong,
Nor wast righted an inch, poor wretch."
Freyr spake:
41. "By the mouth of the river the wolf remains
38. Snorri mentions Tyr's incompetence as a peacemaker.
Fenrir: the wolf, Loki's son; cf. Voluspo, 39.
39. Hrothvitnir ("The Mighty Wolf") : Fenrir, who awaits
in chains the final battle and death at the hands of Vithar. The
manuscript has a metrical error in line 3, which has led to vari-
ous emendations, all with much the same meaning.
40. Thy nvife: there is no other reference to Tyr's wife, nor
do we know who was the son in question.
[164]
Lokasenna
Till the gods to destruction go ;
Thou too shalt soon, if thy tongue is not stilled,
Be fettered, thou forger of ill."
Loki spake:
42. "The daughter of Gymir with gold didst thou
buy,
And sold thy sword to boot ;
But when Muspell's sons through Myrkwood
ride.
Thou shalt weaponless wait, poor wretch."
Byggvir spake:
43. "Had I birth so famous as Ingunar-Freyr,
And sat in so lofty a seat.
41. The mouth of the river: according to Snorri, the chained
Fenrir "roars horribly, and the slaver runs from his mouth, and
makes the river called Vam; he lies there till the doom of the
gods." Freyr's threat is actually carried out; cf. concluding prose.
42. The daughter of Gymir: Gerth, heroine of the Skirnismol,
which gives the details of Freyr's loss of his sword. Muspell's
sons: the name Muspell is not used elsewhere in the poems;
Snorri uses it frequently, but only in this same phrase, "Muspell's
sons." They are the dwellers in the fire-world, Muspellsheim, led
by Surt against the gods in the last battle; cf. Voluspo, 47 and 52
and notes. Myrkwood: here the dark forest bounding the fire-
world; in the Atlakvitha (stanza 3) the name is used of an-
other boundary forest.
43. Byggvir: one of Freyr's two servants; cf. introductory
prose. Ingunar-Freyr: the name is not used elsewhere in the
poems, or by Snorri ; it may be the genitive of a woman's name,
Ingun, the unknown sister of Njorth who was Freyr's mother
(cf. stanza 36), or a corruption of the name Ingw, used for Freyr
(Fro) in old German mythology.
[165]
Poetic Edda
I would crush to marrow this croaker of ill,
And beat all his body to bits."
Loki spake:
44. "What little creature goes crawling there,
Snuffling and snapping about ?
At Freyr's ears ever wilt thou be found,
Or muttering hard at the mill."
Byggvir spake :
45- "Byggvir my name, and nimble am I,
As gods and men do grant;
And here am I proud that the children of Hropt
Together all drink ale."
Loki spake:
46. "Be silent, Byggvir! thou never couldst set
Their shares of the meat for men ;
Hid in straw on the floor, they found thee not
When heroes were fain to fight."
Heimdall spake:
47. "Drunk art thou, Loki, and mad are thy deeds.
Why, Loki, leavst thou this not?
44.. Beginning with this stanza, the names of the speakers are
lacking in the manuscript. The mill: i.e., at slaves' tasks.
45. Nothing further is known of either Byggvir's swiftness or
his cowardice. Hropt: Othin.
47. Heimdall: besides being the watchman of the gods (cf.
Voluspo, 27), he appears also as the god of light (cf. Thryms-
kvitha, 14), and possibly also as a complex cultural deity in the
[166]
Lokasenna
For drink beyond measure will lead all men
No thought of their tongues to take."
Loki spake:
48. "Be silent, Heimdall ! in days long since
Was an evil fate for thee fixed ;
With back held stiff must thou ever stand,
As warder of heaven to watch."
Skathi spake:
49. "Light art thou, Loki, but longer thou mayst not
In freedom flourish thy tail ;
On the rocks the gods bind thee with bowels torn
Forth from thy frost-cold son."
Loki spake:
50. "Though on rocks the gods bind me with bowels
torn
Forth from my frost-cold son,
Rigsthula. He was a son of Othin, born of nine sisters; cf.
Hyndluljoth, 37-40. In the last battle he and Loki slay one an-
other. Line 2 is quoted by Snorri; cf. stanza 29, note.
49. Skathi: the wife of Njorth, and daughter of the giant
Thjazi, concerning whose death cf. Harbarthsljoth, 19, note.
Bowels, etc. : according to the prose note at the end of the Loka-
senna, the gods bound Loki with the bowels of his son Vali, and
changed his other son, Narfi, into a wolf. Snorri turns the story
about, Vali being the wolf, who tears his brother to pieces, the
gods then using Narfi's intestines to bind Loki. Narfi — and pre-
sumably Vali — were the sons of Loki and his wife, Sigyn. They
appear only in this episode, though Narfi (or Nari) is named by
Snorri in his list of Loki's children. Cf. concluding prose, and
note.
[167]
Poetic Edda
I was first and last at the deadly fight
There where Thjazi we caught."
Skat hi spake:
51. "Wert thou first and last at the deadly fight
There where Thjazi was caught,
From my dwellings and fields shall ever come
forth
A counsel cold for thee."
Loki spake:
52. "More lightly thou spakest with Laufey's son,
When thou badst me come to thy bed ;
Such things must be known if now we two
Shall seek our sins to tell."
Then Sif came forward and poured mead for Loki in a
crystal cup, and said :
53. "Hail to thee, Loki, and take thou here
The crystal cup of old mead ;
For me at least, alone of the gods.
Blameless thou knowest to be."
52. Laufey's son: Loki; not much is known of his parents be-
yond their names. His father was the giant Farbauti, his mother
Laufey, sometimes called Nal. There is an elaborate but far-
fetched hypothesis explaining these three on the basis of a
nature-myth. There is no other reference to such a relation be-
tween Skathi and Loki as he here suggests.
53. Sif: Thor's wife; cf. Harbarthsljoth, 48, where her infi-
delity is again mentioned. The manuscript omits the proper name
[168]
Lokasenna
He took the horn, and drank therefrom :
54. "Alone thou wert if truly thou wouldst
All men so shyly shun ;
' But one do I know full well, methinks.
Who had thee from Hlorrithi's arms, —
(Loki the crafty in lies,)"
Bey la spake:
55. "The mountains shake, and surely I think
From his home comes Hlorrithi now;
He will silence the man who is slandering here
Together both gods and men."
Loki spake:
56. "Be silent, Beyla! thou art Byggvir's wife,
And deep art thou steeped in sin;
A greater shame to the gods came ne'er,
Befouled thou art with thy filth."
Then came Thor forth, and spake :
57. "Unmanly one, cease, or the mighty hammer,
MjoUnir, shall close thy mouth;
from the preceding prose, and a few editors have, obviously in
error, attributed the speech to Beyla.
54. Hlorrithi: Thor. Line 5 is probably spurious.
55. Beyla: Freyr's servant, wife of Byggvir; cf. introductory
prose and note.
57. MjoUnir: concerning Thor's famous hammer see particu-
larly Thrymsk<vitha, i and note. Shoulder-cliff: head ; concerning
[169]
Poetic Edda
Thy shoulder-cliff shall I cleave from thy neck,
And so shall thy life be lost."
Loki spake :
58. "Lo, in has come the son of Earth :
Why threaten so loudly, Thor ?
Less fierce thou shalt go to fight with the wolf
When he swallows Sigfather up."
Thor spake:
59. "Unmanly one, cease, or the mighty hammer,
Mjollnir, shall close thy mouth;
I shall hurl thee up and out in the East,
Where men shall see thee no more."
Loki spake:
60. "That thou hast fared on the East-road forth
To men shouldst thou say no more;
the use of such diction in the Edda, of. introductory note to
Hymiskvitha. The manuscript indicates line 3 as the beginning
of a stanza, but this is apparently a scribal error.
58. Son of Earth: Thor, son of Othin and Jorth (Earth). The
manuscript omits the word "son," but all editors have agreed in
supplying it. The ivolf: Fenrir, Loki's son, who slays Othin
{Si fff other: "Father of Victory") in the final battle. Thor, accord-
ing to Snorri and to the Voluspo, 56, fights with Mithgarthsorm
and not with Fenrir, who is killed by Vithar.
59. Lines 1-2 are abbreviated in the manuscript, as also in
stanzas 61 and 63.
60. Loki's taunt that Thor hid in the thumb of Skrymir's
glove is similar to that of Othin, Harbarthsljoih, 26, in the note
to which the story is outlined. Line 4 is identical with line 3 of
Harbarthsljoih, 26.
[170]
Lokasenna
In the thumb of a glove didst thou hide, thou
great one,
And there forgot thou wast Thor."
Thor spake:
61. "Unmanly one, cease, or the mighty hammer,
Mjollnir, shall close thy mouth ;
My right hand shall smite thee with Hrungnir's
slayer,
Till all thy bones are broken."
Loki spake:
62. "A long time still do I think to live,
Though thou threatenest thus with thy hammer ;
Rough seemed the straps of Skrymir's wallet,
When thy meat thou mightest not get,
(And faint from hunger didst feel.)"
Thor spake:
63. "Unmanly one, cease, or the mighty hammer,
Mjollnir, shall close thy mouth ;
6i. Hrungnir's slayer: the hammer; the story of how Thor
slew this stone-headed giant is indicated in Harbarthsljoth, 14-15,
and outlined in the note to stanza 14 of that poem.
62. On the day following the adventure of the glove, Thor,
Loki and Thor's servants proceed on their way in company with
Skrymir, who puts all their food in his wallet. At evening
Skryrair goes to sleep, and Thor tries to get at the food, but
cannot loosen the straps of the wallet. In a rage he smites
Skrymir three times on the head with his hammer, but the giant
— who, it subsequently appears, deftly dodges the blows — ^is
totally undisturbed. Line 5 may well be spurious.
[171]
Poetic Edda
The slayer of Hrungnir shall send thee to hell,
And down to the gate of death."
Loki spake:
64. "I have said to the gods and the sons of the gods
The things that whetted my thoughts ;
But before thee alone do I now go forth,
For thou fightest well, I ween.
65. "Ale hast thou brewed, but, iEgir, now
Such feasts shalt thou make no more ;
O'er all that thou hast which is here within
Shall play the flickering flames,
(And thy back shall be burnt with fire.)"
And after that Loki hid himself in Franang's waterfall
in the guise of a salmon, and there the gods took him. He
was bound with the bowels of his son Vali, but his son
Narfi was changed to a wolf. Skathi took a poison-snake
and fastened it up over Loki's face, and the poison dropped
thereon. Sigyn, Loki's wife, sat there and held a shell
under the poison, but when the shell was full she bore
away the poison, and meanwhile the poison dropped on
Loki. Then he struggled so hard that the whole earth
shook therewith ; and now that is called an earthquake.
65. The fiames: the fire that consumes the world on the last
day; cf. Voluspo, 57. Line 5 may be spurious.
Prose: Snorri tells the same story, with minor differences, but
makes it the consequence of Loki's part in the slaying of Baldr,
which undoubtedly represents the correct tradition. The compiler
of the poems either was confused or thought the incident was
[172]
Lokasenna
useful as Indicating what finally happened to Loki. Possibly he
did not mean to imply that Loki's fate was brought upon him by
his abuse of the gods, but simply tried to round out the story.
Franang: "Gleaming Water." Vali and Narfi: cf. stanza 49 and
note. Sigyn: cf. Voluspo, 35, the only other place where she is
mentioned in the poems. Snorri omits the naive note about earth-
quakes, his narrative ending with the words, "And there he lies
till the destruction of the gods."
[173]
THRYMSKVITHA
The Lay of Thrym
Introductory Note
The T hrymskvitha is found only in the Codex Regius, where
it follows the Lokasenna. Snorri does not quote from it, nor,
rather oddly, does the story occur in the Prose Edda.
Artistically the Thrymskv'ttha is one of the best, as it is, next
to the Voluspo, the most famous, of the entire collection. It has,
indeed, been called "the finest ballad in the world," and not
without some reason. Its swift, vigorous action, the sharpness of
its characterization and the humor of the central situation com-
bine to make it one of the most vivid short narrative poems ever
composed. Of course we know nothing specific of its author, but
there can be no question that he was a poet of extraordinary
ability. The poem assumed its present form, most critics agree,
somewhere about 900, and thus it is one of the oldest in the col-
lection. It has been suggested, on the basis of stylistic similarity,
that its author may also have composed the Skirnismol, and
possibly Baldrs Draumar. There is also some resemblance be-
tween the T hrymskvitha and the Lokasenna (note, in this con-
nection, Bugge's suggestion that the Skirnismol and the Loka-
senna may have been by the same man), and it is not impossible
that all four poems have a single authorship.
The Thrymskvitha has been preserved in excellent condition,
without any serious gaps or interpolations. In striking contrast to
many of the poems, it contains no prose narrative links, the story
being told in narrative verse — a rare phenomenon in the poems
of the Edda.
I, Wild was Vingthor when he awoke.
And when his mighty hammer he missed;
I. Vingthor ("Thor the Hurler") : another name for Thor,
equivalent to Vingnir {Vafthruthnismol, 51). Concerning Thor
and his hammer, Mjollnir, cf. Hymiskvitha, Lokasenna, and
Harbarthsljoth, passim. Jorth: Earth, Thor's mother, Othin being
his father.
L 174 J
Thrymskvitha
He shook his beard, his hair was bristling,
As the son of Jorth about him sought.
2. Hear now the speech that first he spake :
"Harken, Loki, and heed my words,
Nowhere on earth is it known to man,
Nor in heaven above : our hammer is stolen."
3. To the dwelling fair of Freyja went they.
Hear now the speech that first he spake :
"Wilt thou, Freyja, thy feather-dress lend me,
That so my hammer I may seek?"
Freyja spake :
4. "Thine should it be though of silver bright,
And I would give it though 'twere of gold."
Then Loki flew, and the feather-dress whirred,
Till he left behind him the home of the gods.
And reached at last the realm of the giants.
2. Loki: cf. Lokasenna, passim.
3. Freyja: Njorth's daughter, and sister of Freyr; cf. Loka-
senna, introductory prose and note, also Skirnismol, introductory
prose. Freyja's house was Sessrymnir ("Rich in Seats") built in
Folkvang ("Field of the Folk") ; cf. Grimnismol, 14. Feather'
dress: this flying equipment of Freyja's is also used in the story
of Thjazi, wherein Loki again borrows the "hawk's dress" of
Freyja, this time to rescue Ithun; cf. Harbarthsljoth, 19 and note.
4. The manuscript and most editions have lines 1-2 in inverse
order. Several editors assume a lacuna before line i, making a
stanza out of the two conjectural lines (Bugge actually supplies
them) and lines 1-2 of stanza 4. Thus they either make a sep-
arate stanza out of lines 3-5 or unite them in a six-line stanza
with 5. The manuscript punctuation and capitalization — ^not
[175]
Poetic Edda
5. Thrym sat on a mound, the giants' master,
Leashes of gold he laid for his dogs,
And stroked and smoothed the manes of his steeds.
Thrym spake:
6. "How fare the gods, how fare the elves?
Why comst thou alone to the giants' land ?"
Loki spake:
"111 fare the gods, ill fare the elves!
Hast thou hidden Hlorrithi's hammer?"
Thrym spake:
7. "I have hidden Hlorrithi's hammer.
Eight miles down deep in the earth ;
And back again shall no man bring it
If Freyja I win not to be my wife."
8. Then Loki flew, and the feather-dress whirred.
Till he left behind him the home of the giants,
And reached at last the realm of the gods.
There in the courtyard Thor he met:
Hear now the speech that first he spake :
wholly trustworthy guides — indicate the stanza divisions as in
this translation.
5. Thrym: a frost-giant. Gering declares that this story of the
theft of Thor's hammer symbolizes the fact that thunderstorms
rarely occur in winter.
6. Line i: cf. Voluspo, 48, i. The manuscript does not indi-
cate Loki as the speaker of lines 3-4. Hlorrithi: Thor.
7. No superscription in the manuscript. Vigfusson made up
[176]
Thrymskvitha
9. "Hast thou found tidings as well as trouble?
Thy news in the air shalt thou utter now ;
Oft doth the sitter his story forget,
And lies he speaks who lays himself down."
Loki spake:
10. "Trouble I have, and tidings as well:
Thrym, king of the giants, keeps thy hammer,
And back again shall no man bring it
If Freyja he wins not to be his wife."
11. Freyja the fair then went they to find ;
Hear now the speech that first he spake:
"Bind on, Freyja, the bridal veil,
For we two must haste to the giants* home."
12. Wrathful was Freyja, and fiercely she snorted.
And the dwelling great of the gods was shaken,
And burst was the mighty Brisings' necklace:
"Most lustful indeed should I look to all
If I journeyed with thee to the giants' home."
and inserted lines like "Then spake Loki the son of Laufey"
whenever he thought they would be useful.
9. The manuscript marks line 2, instead of line i, as the
beginning of a stanza, which has caused editors some confusion
in grouping the lines of stanzas 8 and 9.
10. No superscription in the manuscript.
12. Many editors have rejected either line 2 or line 3. Vig-
fusson inserts one of his own lines before line 4. Brisings' neck-
lace: a marvelous necklace fashioned by the dwarfs, here called
Brisings (i.e., "Twiners") ; cf. Lokasenna, 20 and note.
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Poetic Edda
13. Then were the gods together met,
And the goddesses came and council held,
And the far-famed ones a plan would find.
How they might Hlorrithi's hammer win.
14. Then Heimdall spake, whitest of the gods,
Like the Wanes he knew the future well:
"Bind we on Thor the bridal veil,
Let him bear the mighty Brisings' necklace ;
15. "Keys around him let there rattle,
And down to his knees hang woman's dress;
With gems full broad upon his breast,
And a pretty cap to crown his head."
16. Then Thor the mighty his answer made :
"Me would the gods unmanly call
If I let bind the bridal veil."
17. Then Loki spake, the son of Laufey:
"Be silent, Thor, and speak not thus;
13. Lines 1-3 are identical with Baldrs Draumar, i, 1-3.
14. Heimdall: the phrase "whitest of the gods" suggests that
Heimdall was the god of light as well as being the watchman.
His wisdom was probably connected with his sleepless watching
over all the worlds; cf. Lokasenna, 47 and note. On the Wanes
of. Voluspo, 21 and note. They are not elsewhere spoken of as
peculiarly gifted with knowledge of future events.
16. Possibly a line has been lost from this stanza.
17. Laufey: Loki's mother, cf. Lokasenna, 52 and note.
[178]
Thrymskvitha
Else will the giants in Asgarth dwell
If thy hammer is brought not home to thee."
1 8. Then bound they on Thor the bridal veil,
And next the mighty Brisings' necklace.
19. Keys around him let they rattle,
And down to his knees hung woman's dress ;
With gems full broad upon his breast,
And a pretty cap to crown his head.
20. Then Loki spake, the son of Laufey :
"As thy maid-servant thither I go with thee ;
We two shall haste to the giants' home."
21. Then home the goats to the hall were driven,
They wrenched at the halters, swift were they to
run;
The mountains burst, earth burned with fire,
And Othin's son sought Jotunheim.
22. Then loud spake Thrym, the giants' leader:
"Bestir ye, giants, put straw on the benches ;
18-19. The manuscript abbreviates all six lines, giving only
the initial letters of the words. The stanza division is thus arbi-
trary; some editors have made one stanza of the six lines, others
have combined the last two lines of stanza 19 with stanza 20.
It is possible that a couple of lines have been lost
21. Goats: Thor's wagon was always drawn by goats; cf.
Hymiskvitha, 38 and note. Jotunheim: the world of the giants.
22. Njortk: cf. Foluspo, 21, and Grimnismol, 11 and 16. Noatun
[179 J
Poetic Edda
Now Freyja they bring to be my bride,
The daughter of Njorth out of Noatun.
23. "Gold-horned cattle go to my stables,
Jet-black oxen, the giant's joy ;
Many my gems, and many my jewels,
Freyja alone did I lack, methinks."
24. Early it was to evening come.
And forth was borne the beer for the giants;
Thor alone ate an ox, and eight salmon.
All the dainties as well that were set for the
women ;
And drank Sif's mate three tuns of mead.
25. Then loud spake Thrym, the giants' leader :
"Who ever saw bride more keenly bite?
I ne'er saw bride with a broader bite.
Nor a maiden who drank more mead than this!"
26. Hard by there sat the serving-maid wise,
So well she answered the giant's words :
"From food has Freyja eight nights fasted,
So hot was her longing for Jotunheim."
("Ships'-Haven") : Njorth's home, where his wife, Skathi, found
it impossible to stay; cf. Grimnismol, 11 and note.
24. Grundtvig thinks this is all that is left of two stanzas
describing Thor's supper. Some editors reject line 4. In line 3
the manuscript has "he," the reference being, of course, to Thor,
on whose appetite cf. Hymiskvitha, 15. Sif: Thor's wife; cf.
Lokasenna, note to introductory prose and stanza 53.
[ 180 ]
Thrymskvitha
27. Thrym looked 'neath the veil, for he longed to
kiss,
But back he leaped the length of the hall :
"Why are so fearful the eyes of Freyja?
Fire, methinks, from her eyes bums forth."
28. Hard by there sat the serving-maid wise,
So well she answered the giant's words :
"No sleep has Freyja for eight nights found,
So hot was her longing for Jotunheim."
29. Soon came the giant's luckless sister.
Who feared not to ask the bridal fee :
"From thy hands the rings of red gold take.
If thou wouldst win my willing love,
(My willing love and welcome glad.)"
30. Then loud spake Thrym, the giants* leader:
"Bring in the hammer to hallow the bride;
On the maiden's knees let Mjollnir lie.
That us both the hand of Vor may bless."
27. For clearness I have inserted ThrsTn's name in place of
the pronoun of the original. Fire: the noun is lacking in the manu-
script; most editors have inserted it, however, following a late
paper manuscript.
28. In the manuscript the whole stanza is abbreviated to ini-
tial letters, except for "sleep," "Freyja," and "found."
29. Luckless: so the manuscript, but many editors have
altered the word "arma" to "aldna," meaning "old," to corre-
spond with line i of stanza 32. Line 5 may well be spurious.
30. Hallow: just what this means is not clear, but there are
[181]
Poetic Edda
31. The heart in the breast of Hlorrithi laughed
When the hard-souled one his hammer beheld ;
First Thrym, the king of the giants, he killed,
Then all the folk of the giants he felled.
32. The giant's sister old he slew,
She who had begged the bridal fee ;
A stroke she got in the shilling's stead,
And for many rings the might of the hammer.
33. And so his hammer got Othin's son.
references to other kinds of consecration, though not of a bride,
with the "sign of the hammer." According to Vigfusson, "the
hammer was the holy sign with the heathens, answering to the
cross of the Christians." In Snorri's story of Thor's resuscitation
of his cooked goat (cf. Hymiskvitha, 38, note) the god "hallows"
the goat with his hammer. One of the oldest runic signs, sup-
posed to have magic power, was named Thor's-hammer. Vor:
the goddess of vows, particularly between men and women;
Snorri lists a number of little-known goddesses similar to Vor,
all of them apparently little more than names for Frigg.
33. Some editors reject this line, which, from a dramatic stand-
point, is certainly a pity. In the manuscript it begins with a
capital letter, like the opening of a new stanza.
[182]
ALVISSMOL
The Ballad of Alvis
Introductory Note
No better summary of the Alvissmol can be given than
Gering's statement that "it is a versified chapter from the skaldic
Poetics." The narrative skeleton, contained solely in stanzas 1-8
and in 35, is of the slightest; the dwarf Alvis, desirous of marry-
ing Thor's daughter, is compelled by the god to answer a number
of questions to test his knowledge. That all his answers are quite
satisfactory makes no difference whatever to the outcome. The
questions and answers differ radically from those of the Vaf-
thruthnismol. Instead of being essentially mythological, they all
concern synonyms. Thor asks what the earth, the sky, the moon,
and so on, are called " in each of all the worlds," but there is no
apparent significance in the fact that the gods call the earth one
thing and the giants call it another; the answers are simply
strings of poetic circumlocutions, or "kennings." Concerning the
use of these "kennings" in skaldic poetry, cf. introductory note to
the Hymiskvitha.
Mogk is presumably right in dating the poem as late as the
twelfth century, assigning it to the period of "the Icelandic
renaissance of skaldic poetry." It appears to have been the work
of a man skilled in poetic construction, — Thor's questions, for
instance, are neatly balanced in pairs, — and fully familiar with
the intricacies of skaldic diction, but distinctly weak in his myth-
ology. In other words, it is learned rather than spontaneous
poetry. Finnur Jonsson's attempt to make it a tenth century Nor-
wegian poem baffles logic. Vigfusson is pretty sure the poem
shows marked traces of Celtic influence, which is by no means
incompatible with Mogk's theory (cf. introductory note to the
Rigsthula) .
The poem is found only in Regius, where it follows the
T hrymskvitha. Snorri quotes stanzas 20 and 30, the manuscripts
of the Prose Edda giving the name of the poem as Alvissmol,
Alsvinnsmol or Olvismol. It is apparently in excellent condition,
without serious errors of transmission, although interpolations or
omissions in such a poem might have been made so easily as to
defy detection.
The translation of the many synonyms presents, of course,
[183]
Poetic Edda
unusual difficulties, particularly as many of the Norse words can
be properly rendered in English only by more or less extended
phrases. I have kept to the original meanings as closely as I
could without utterly destroying the metrical structure.
Alvis spake:
1. "Now shall the bride my benches adorn,
And homeward haste forthwith ;
Eager for wedlock to all shall I seem,
Nor at home shall they rob me of rest."
Thor spake:
2. "What, pray, art thou? Why so pale round the
nose?
By the dead hast thou lain of late?
To a giant like dost thou look, methinks;
Thou wast not born for the bride."
A his spake:
3. "Alvis am I, and under the earth
My home 'neath the rocks I have;
1. Alvis ("All-Knowing") : a dwarf, not elsewhere men-
tioned. The manuscript nowhere indicates the speakers' namef .
The bride in question is Thor's daughter; Thruth ("Might") is
the only daughter of his whose name is recorded, and she does
not appear elsewhere in the poems. Her mother was Sif, Thor's
wife, whereas the god's sons were born of a giantess. Benches:
cf. Lokasenna, 15 and note.
2. The dwarfs, living beyond the reach of the sun, which was
fatal to them (cf. stanzas 16 and 35), were necessarily pale. Line
3 is, of course, ironical.
3. fVagon-guider: Thor, who travels habitually on his goat-
drawn wagon. Bugge changes "Vagna vers" to "Vapna verl)s,"
[184]
Alvissmol
With the wagon-guider a word do I seek ;
Let the gods their bond not break."
Thor spake:
4. "Break it shall I, for over the bride
Her father has foremost right;
At home was I not when the promise thou hadst,
And I give her alone of the gods."
Alvis spake:
5. "What hero claims such right to hold
O'er the bride that shines so bright?
Not many will know thee, thou wandering man !
Who was bought with rings to bear thee?"
Thor spake:
6. "Vingthor, the wanderer wide, am I,
And I am Sithgrani's son ;
Against my will shalt thou get the maid,
And win the marriage word."
rendering the line "I am come to seek the cost of the weapons."
In either case, Alvis does not as yet recognize Thor.
4. Apparently the gods promised Thor's daughter in marriage
to Alvis during her father's absence, perhaps as a reward for
some craftsmanship of his (cf. Bugge's suggestion as to stanza
3). The text of line 4 is most uncertain.
5. Hero: ironically spoken; Alvis takes Thor for a tramp, the
god's uncouth appearance often leading to such mistakes; cf.
Harbarthsljoth, 6. Line 4 is a trifle uncertain ; some editors alter
the wording to read "What worthless woman bore thee?"
6. Vingthor ("Thor the Hurler") : cf. Thrymskvitha, i. Sith-
grani ("Long-Beard") : Othin.
[185]
Poetic Edda
A his spake:
"Thy good-will now shall I quickly get,
And win the marriage word;
I long to have, and I would not lack.
This snow-white maid for mine."
Thor spake:
8. "The love of the maid I may not keep thee
From winning, thou guest so wise,
If of every world thou canst tell me all
That now I wish to know.
9. "Answer me, Alvis! thou knowest all.
Dwarf, of the doom of men:
What call they the earth, that lies before all,
In each and every world?"
Alvis spake:
10. " 'Earth' to men, Tield' to the gods it is,
'The Ways' is it called by the Wanes;
8. Every world: concerning the nine worlds, of. Voluspo, 2
and note. Many editors follow this stanza with one spoken by
Alvis, found in late paper manuscripts, as follows: "Ask then,
Vingthor, since eager thou art / The lore of the dwarf to
learn; / Oft have I fared in the nine worlds all, / And wide
is my wisdom of each."
10. Men, etc.: nothing could more clearly indicate the author's
mythological inaccuracy than his confusion of the inhabitants of
the nine worlds. Men (dwellers in Mithgarth) appear in each
of Alvis's thirteen answers; so do the gods (Asgarth) and the
giants (Jotunheim). The elves (Alfheim) appear in eleven
[186]
Alvissmol
'Ever Green' by the giants, 'The Grower' by
elves,
'The Moist' by the holy ones high."
Thor spake:
11. "Answer me, Alvis! thou knowest all,
Dwarf, of the doom of men:
What call they the heaven, beheld of the high
one,
In each and every world?"
Alvis spake:
12. " 'Heaven' men call it, 'The Height' the gods,
The Wanes 'The Weaver of Winds';
Giants 'The Up-World,' elves 'The Fair-Roof,'
The dwarfs 'The Dripping Hall.' "
answers, the Wanes (Vanaheim) in nine, and the dwarfs (who
occupied no special world, unless one identifies them with the
dark elves of Svartalfaheim) in seven. The dwellers "in hell"
appear in six stanzas; the phrase probably refers to the world
of the dead, though Mogk thinks it may mean the dwarfs. In
stanzas where the gods are already listed appear names else-
where applied only to them, — "holy ones," "sons of the gods"
and "high ones," — as if these names meant beings of a separate
race. "Men" appears twice in the same stanza, and so do the
giants, if one assumes that they are "the sons of Suttung." Alto-
gether it is useless to pay much attention to the mythology of
Alvis's replies.
II. Lines i, 2, and 4 of Thor's questions are regularly abbre-
viated in the manuscript. Beheld, etc.: the word in the manu-
script is almost certainly an error, and all kinds of guesses
have been made to rectify it. All that can be said is that it means
"beheld of" or "known to" somebody.
[187]
Poetic Edda
Thor spake:
13. "Answer me, Alvis! thou knowest all,
Dwarf, of the doom of men:
What call they the moon, that men behold,
In each and every world?"
Alvis spake:
14. "'Moon' with men, 'Flame' the gods among,
'The Wheel' in the house of hell;
'The Goer' the giants, 'The Gleamer' the
dwarfs.
The elves 'The Teller of Time.' "
Thor spake:
15. "Answer me, Alvis! thou knowest all,
Dwarf, of the doom of men :
What call they the sun, that all men see,
In each and every world?"
Alvis spake:
16. "Men call it 'Sun,' gods 'Orb of the Sun,'
'The Deceiver of Dvalin' the dwarfs;
The giants 'The Ever-Bright,' elves 'Fair
Wheel,'
'All-Glowing' the sons of the gods."
14. Flame: a doubtful word; Vigfusson suggests that it prop-
erly means a "mock sun." Wheel: the manuscript adds the adjec-
tive "whirling," to the destruction of the metre; of. Hovamol,
84, 3.
16. Deceiver of Dvalin: Dvalin was one of the foremost
dwarfs; of. Voluspo, 14, Fafnismol, 13, and Hovamol, 144. The
[ 188 ]
Alvissmol
Thor spake:
17. "Answer me, Alvis! thou knowest all,
Dwarf, of the doom of men:
What call they the clouds, that keep the rains,
In each and every world?"
Alvis spake:
1 8. " 'Clouds' men name them, *Rain-Hope' gods
call them.
The Wanes call them 'Kites of the Wind';
'Water-Hope' giants, 'Weather-Might' elves,
'The Helmet of Secrets' in hell."
Thor spake:
19. "Answer me, Alvis! thou knowest all,
Dwarf, of the doom of men :
What call they the wind, that widest fares,
In each and every world ?"
Alvis spake:
20. " 'Wind' do men call it, the gods 'The Waverer,'
'The Neigher' the holy ones high ;
sun "deceives" him because, like the other dwarfs living under-
ground, he cannot live in its light, and always fears lest sunrise
may catch him unaware. The sun's rays have power to turn the
dwarfs into stone, and the giantess Hrimgerth meets a similar
fate (cf. Helgakvitha Hjorvarths sonar, 30). Alvis suffers in
the same way; cf. stanza 35.
20. Snorri quotes this stanza in the Skaldskaparmal. tVa-
verer: the word is uncertain, the Prose Edda manuscripts giving
it in various forms. Blustering Blast: two Prose Edda manu-
scripts give a totally different word, meaning "The Pounder."
[ 189 ]
Poetic Edda
'The Wailer' the giants, 'Roaring Wender' the
elves,
In hell 'The Blustering Blast.' "
Thor spake:
21. "Answer me, Alvis! thou knowest all,
Dwarf, of the doom of men:
What call they the calm, that quiet lies,
In each and every world ?"
Alvis spake:
22. " 'Calm' men call it, 'The Quiet' the gods.
The Wanes 'The Hush of the Winds' ;
'The Sultry' the giants, elves 'Day's Stillness,'
The dwarfs 'The Shelter of Day.' "
Thor spake:
23. "Answer me, Alvis! thou knowest all.
Dwarf, of the doom of men:
What call they the sea, whereon men sail.
In each and every world?"
Alvis spake:
24. " 'Sea' men call it, gods 'The Smooth-Lying,'
'The Wave' is it called by the Wanes;
22. Hush, etc.: the manuscript, by inserting an additional
letter, makes the word practically identical with that translated
"Kite" in stanza 18. Most editors have agreed as to the
emendation.
24. Drink-Stuff: Gering translates the word thus; I doubt it,
but can suggest nothing better.
[190]
Alvissmol
'Eel-Home' the giants, 'Drink-Stuff' the elves,
For the dwarfs its name is 'The Deep.* "
Thor spake:
25. "Answer me, Alvis! thou knowest all,
Dwarf, of the doom of men:
What call they the fire, that flames for men,
In each of all the worlds?"
Alvis spake:
26. " 'Fire' men call it, and 'Flame' the gods,
By the Wanes is it 'Wildfire' called;
'The Biter' by giants, 'The Burner' by dwarfs,
'The Swift' in the house of hell."
Thor spake:
27. "Answer me, Alvis! thou knowest all,
Dwarf, of the doom of men:
What call they the wood, that grows for man-
kind,
In each and every world?"
Alvis spake:
28. "Men call it 'The Wood,* gods 'The Mane of
the Field,'
26. Wildfire: the word may mean any one of various things,
including "Wave," which is not unliicely.
28. In hell: the word simply means "men," and it is only a
guess, though a generally accepted one, that here it refers to the
dead.
[191 J
Poetic Edda
'Seaweed of Hills' in hell;
'Flame-Food' the giants, 'Fair-Limbed' the elves,
'The Wand' is it called by the Wanes."
Thor spake:
29. "Answer me, Alvis! thou knowest all,
Dwarf, of the doom of men:
What call they the night, the daughter of Nor,
In each and every world?"
Alvis spake:
30. " 'Night' men call it, 'Darkness' gods name it,
'The Hood' the holy ones high ;
The giants 'The Lightless,* the elves 'Sleep's
Joy,'
The dwarfs 'The Weaver of Dreams.* "
Thor spake:
31. "Answer me, Alvis! thou knowest all.
Dwarf, of the doom of men :
What call they the seed, that is sown by men.
In each and every world?"
29. Nor: presumably the giant whom Snorri calls Norvi or
Narfi, father of Not (Night) and grandfather of Dag (Day).
Cf. V afthruthnismol , 25.
30. Snorri quotes this stanza in the Skaldskaparmal. The
various Prose Edda m'anuscripts diifer considerably in naming
the gods, the giants, etc. Lightless: some manuscripts have "The
Unsorrowing."
32. Grain: the two words translated "grain" and "corn"
apparently both meant primarily barley, and thence grain io
[ 192 ]
Alvissmol
Alvis spake:
32. "Men call it 'Grain,' and 'Corn' the gods,
'Growth' in the world of the Wanes;
'The Eaten' by giants, 'Drink-Stuff' by elves,
In hell 'The Slender Stem.' "
Thor spake:
33. "Answer me, Alvis! thou knowest all,
Dwarf, of the doom of men:
What call they the ale, that is quaffed of men.
In each and every world?"
Alvis spake:
34. " 'Ale' among men, 'Beer' the gods among.
In the world of the Wanes 'The Foaming' ;
'Bright Draught' with giants, 'Mead' with
dwellers in hell,
'The Feast-Draught' with Suttung's sons."
Thor spake:
35. "In a single breast I never have seen
More wealth of wisdom old ;
general, the first being the commoner term of the two. Drink-
Stuff: the word is identical with the one used, and commented
on, in stanza 24, and again I have followed Gering's interpre-
tation for want of a better one. If his guess is correct, the ref-
erence here is evidently to grain as the material from which beer
and other drinks are brewed.
34. Suttung's sons: these ought to be the giants, but the giants
are specifically mentioned in line 3. The phrase "Suttung's sons"
occurs in Skirnismol, 34, clearly meaning the giants. Concerning
Suttung as the possessor of the mead of poetry, cf. Hovamol, 104.
[ 193 ]
Poetic Edda
But with treacherous wiles must I now betray
thee:
The day has caught thee, dwarf!
( Now the sun shines here in the hall. ) "
35. Concerning the inability of the dwarfs to endure sunlight,
which turns them into stone, cf. stanza 16 and note. Line 5 may
be spurious.
[194]
BALDRS DRAUMAR
Baldrs Dreams
Introductory Note
Baldrs Draumar is found only in the Arnamagnaan Codex,
where it follows the Harbarthsljoth fragment. It is preserved in
various late paper manuscripts, with the title Vegtamskvitha
(The Lay of Vegtam), vfhich has been used by some editors.
The poem, which contains but fourteen stanzas, has appar-
ently been preserved in excellent condition. Its subject-matter and
style link it closely with the Voluspo, Four of the five lines of
stanza ii appear, almost without change, in the Voluspo, 32-33,
and the entire poem is simply an elaboration of the episode out-
lined in those and the preceding stanzas. It has been suggested
that Baldrs Draumar and the Voluspo may have been by the
same author. There is also enough similarity in style between
Baldrs Draumar and the Thrymskvitha (note especially the
opening stanza) to give color to Vigfusson's guess that these two
poems had a common authorship. In any case, Baldrs Draumar
presumably assumed its present form not later than the first half
of the tenth century.
Whether the Volva (wise-woman) of the poem is identical
with the speaker in the Voluspo is purely a matter for conjecture.
Nothing definitely opposes such a supposition. As in the longer
poem she foretells the fall of the gods, so in this case she
prophesies the first incident of that fall, the death of Baldr.
Here she is called up from the dead by Othin, anxious to know
the meaning of Baldr's evil dreams; in the Voluspo it is likewise
intimated that the Volva has risen from the grave.
The poem, like most of the others in the collection, is essen-
tially dramatic rather than narrative, summarizing a story which
was doubtless familiar to every one who heard tkfi poem, recited.
I. Once were the gods together met,
And the goddesses came and council held,
I. Lines 1-3 are identical with Thrymskvitha, 13, 1-3. Baldr:
concerning this best and noblest of the gods, the son of Othin and
[195]
Poetic Edda
And the far-famed ones the truth would find,
Why baleful dreams to Baldr had come.
2. Then Othin rose, the enchanter old,
And the saddle he laid on Sleipnir's back;
Thence rode he down to Niflhel deep,
And the hound he met that came from hell.
3. Bloody he was on his breast before,
At the father of magic he howled from afar;
Forward rode Othin, the earth resounded
Till the house so high of Hel he reached.
4. Then Othin rode to the eastern door,
There, he knew well, was the wise- woman's
grave ;
Magic he spoke and mighty charms,
Till spell-bound she rose, and in death she spoke :
Frigg, who comes again among the survivors after the final
battle, cf. Voluspo, 32 and 62, and notes. He is almost never men-
tioned anywhere except in connection with the story of his death,
though Snorri has one short passage praising his virtue and
beauty. After stanza i two old editions, and one later one, insert
four stanzas from late paper manuscripts.
2. Sleipnir: Othin's eight-legged horse, the son of Loki and
the stallion Svathilfari; cf. Lokasenna, 23, and Grimnismol, 44,
and notes. Niflhel: the murky ("nifl") dwelling of Hel, goddess
of the dead. The hound: Garm; cf. Voluspo, 44.
3. Father of magic: Othin appears constantly as the god of
magic. Hel: offspring of Loki and the giantess Angrbotha, as
were the wolf Fenrir and Mithgarthsorm. She ruled the world of
the unhappy dead, either those who had led evil lives or, accord-
ing to another tradition, those who had not died in battle. The
[196]
Baldrs Draumar
"What is the man, to me unknown,
That has made me travel the troublous road ?
I was snowed on with snow, and smitten with
rain,
And drenched with dew ; long was I dead."
Othin spake:
"Vegtam my name, I am Valtam's son;
Speak thou of hell, for of heaven I know :
For whom are the benches bright with rings,
And the platforms gay bedecked with gold ?"
The Wise-Woman spake:
"Here for Baldr the mead is brewed,
The shining drink, and a shield lies o'er it;
But their hope is gone from the mighty gods.
Unwilling I spake, and now would be still."
manuscript marks line 3 as the beginning of a stanza, and thus
the editions vary in their grouping of the lines of this and the
succeeding stanzas.
6. The manuscript has no superscriptions indicating the
speakers. Vegtam ("The Wanderer") : Othin, as usual, con-
ceals his identity, calling himself the son of Valtam ("The
Fighter"). In this instance he has unusual need to do so, for as
the wise-woman belongs apparently to the race of the giants,
she would be unwilling to answer a god's questions. Heaven:
the word used includes all the upper worlds, in contrast to hell.
Benches, etc. : the adornment of the benches and raised platforms,
or elevated parts of the house, was a regular part of the prep-
aration for a feast of welcome. The text of the two last lines is
somewhat uncertain.
7. Grundtvig, followed by Edzardi. thinks a line has been
lost between lines 3 and 4.
[197 J
Poetic Edda
Othin spake:
"Wise-woman, cease not! I seek from thee
All to know that I fain would ask:
Who shall the bane of Baldr become,
And steal the life from Othin's son?"
The Wise-Woman spake:
9. "Hoth thither bears the far-famed branch,
He shall the bane of Baldr become,
And steal the life from Othin's son.
Unwilling I spake, and now would be still."
Othin spake:
10. "Wise-woman, cease not! I seek fiom thee
All to know that I fain would ask:
Who shall vengeance win for the evil work,
Or bring to the flames the slayer of Baldr?"
The Wise-Woman spake:
11. "Rind bears Vali in Vestrsalir,
And one night old fights Othin's son;
9. Concerning the blind Hoth, who, at Loki's instigation, cast
the fatal mistletoe at Baldr, cf. Voluspo, 32-33 and notes. In the
manuscript the last line is abbreviated, as also in stanza 11.
10. In the manuscript lines 1-2 are abbreviated, as also in
stanza 12.
11. Rind: mentioned by Snorri as one of the goddesses. Con-
cerning her son Vali, begotten by Othin for the express purpose
of avenging Baldr's death, and his slaying of Hoth the day after
his birth, cf. Voluspo, 33-34, where the lines of this stanza appear
practically verbatim. Vestrsalir ("The Western Hall") : not else-
where mentioned in the poems.
[1981
Baldrs Draumar
His hands he shall wash not, his hair he shall
comb not,
Till the slayer of Baldr he brings to the flames.
Unwilling I spake, and now would be still."
Othin spake:
12. "Wise-woman, cease not! I seek from thee
All to know that I fain would ask:
What maidens are they who then shall weep.
And toss to the sky the yards of the sails?"
The Wise-Woman spake:
13- "Vegtam thou art not, as erstwhile I thought;
Othin thou art, the enchanter old."
Othin spake:
"No wise- woman art thou, nor wisdom hast;
Of giants three the mother art thou."
The Wise-Woman spake:
14. "Home ride, Othin, be ever proud;
For no one of men shall seek me more
12. The manuscript marks the third line as the beginning of
a stanza; something may have been lost. Lines 3-4 are thoroughly
obscure. According to Bugge the maidens who are to weep for
Baldr are the daughters of the sea-god ^gir, the waves, whose
grief will be so tempestuous that they will toss the ships up to
the very sky. "Yards of the sails" is a doubtfully accurate ren-
dering; the two words, at any rate in later Norse nautical speech,
meant respectively the "tack" and the "sheet" of the square sail.
13. Possibly two separate stanzas. Enchanter: the meaning of
the original word is most uncertain.
[199]
Poetic Edda
Till Loki wanders loose from his bonds,
And to the last strife the destroyers come."
14. Concerning Loki's escape and his relation to the destruc-
tion of the gods, cf. Voluspo, 35 and 51, and notes. While the
wise-woman probably means only that she will never speak
again till the end of the world, it has been suggested, and is cer-
tainly possible, that she intends to give Loki her counsel, thus
revenging herself on Othin.
[200]
RIGSTHULA
The Song of Rig
Introductory Note
The Rigsthula is found in neither of the principal codices.
The only manuscript containing it is the so-called Codex Wor-
manius, a manuscript of Snorri's Prose Edda. The poem appears
on the last sheet of this manuscript, which unluckily is incom-
plete, and thus the end of the poem is lacking. In the Codex
Wormanius itself the poem has no title, but a fragmentary parch-
ment included with it calls the poem the Rigsthula. Some late
paper manuscripts give it the title of Rigsmol.
The Rigsthula is essentially unlike anything else which editors
have agreed to include in the so-called Edda. It is a definitely
cultural poem, explaining, on a mythological basis, the origin of
the different castes of early society: the thralls, the peasants, and
the warriors. From the warriors, finally, springs one who is
destined to become a king, and thus the whole poem is a song in
praise of the royal estate. This fact in itself would suffice to indi-
cate that the Rigsthula was not composed in Iceland, where for
centuries kings were regarded with profound disapproval.
Not only does the Rigsthula praise royalty, but it has many
of the earmarks of a poem composed in praise of a particular
king. The manuscript breaks off at a most exasperating point,
just as the connection between the mythical "Young Kon" (Konr
ungr, konungr, "king"; but cf. stanza 44, note) and the monarch
in question is about to be established. Owing to the character of
the Norse settlements in Iceland, Ireland, and the western islands
generally, search for a specific king leads back to either Norway
or Denmark; despite the arguments advanced by Edzardi, Vig-
fusson, Powell, and others, it seems most improbable that such a
poem should have been produced elsewhere than on the Conti-
nent, the region where Scandinavian royalty most flourished.
Finnur Jonsson's claim for Norway, with Harald the Fair-Haired
as the probable king in question, is much less impressive than
Mogk's ingenious demonstration that the poem was in all prob-
ability composed in Denmark, in honor of either Gorm the Old
or Harald Blue-Tooth. His proof is based chiefly on the evi-
dence provided by stanza 49, and is summarized in the note to
that stanza.
[201]
Poetic Edda
The poet, however, was certainly not a Dane, but probably a
wandering Norse singer, who may have had a dozen homes,
and who clearly had spent much time in some part of the western
island world chiefly inhabited by Celts. The extent of Celtic influ-
ence on the Eddie poems in general is a matter of sharp dispute.
Powell, for example, claims almost all the poems for the "West-
ern Isles," and attributes nearly all their good qualities to Celtic
influence. Without here attempting to enter into the details of
the argument, it may be said that the weight of authoritative
opinion, while clearly recognizing the marks of Celtic influence
in the poems, is against this view; contact between the roving
Norsemen of Norway and Iceland and the Celts of Ireland and
the "Western Isles," and particularly the Orkneys, was so ex-
tensive as to make the presumption of an actual Celtic home for
the poems seem quite unnecessary.
In the case of the Rigsthula the poet unquestionably had not
only picked up bits of the Celtic speech (the name Rig itself is
almost certainly of Celtic origin, and there are various other
Celtic words employed), but also had caught something of the
Celtic literary spirit. This explains the cultural nature of the
poem, quite foreign to Norse poetry in general. On the other
hand, the style as a whole is vigorously Norse, and thus the
explanation that the poem was composed by an itinerant Norse
poet who had lived for some time in the Celtic islands, and
who was on a visit to the court of a Danish king, fits the ascer-
tainable facts exceedingly well. As Christianity was introduced
into Denmark around 960, the Rigsthula is not likely to have
been composed much after that date, and probably belongs to the
first half of the tenth century. Gorm the Old died about the year
935, and was succeeded by Harald Blue-Tooth, who died about
985.
The fourteenth (or late thirteenth) century annotator identi*
fies Rig with Heimdall, but there is nothing in the poem itself,
and very little anywhere else, to warrant this, and it seems
likely that the poet had Othin, and not Heimdall, in mind, his
purpose being to trace the origin of the royal estate to the chief
of the gods. The evidence bearing on this identification is briefly
summed up in the note on the introductory prose passage, but
the question involves complex and baffling problems in mythology,
and from very early times the status of Heimdall was unquet*
tionably confusing to the Norse mind.
[202]
Rigsthula
They tell in old stories that one of the gods, whose name
was Heimdall, went on his way along a certain seashore,
and came to a dwelling, where he called himself Rig.
According to these stories is the following poem :
I. Men say there went by ways so green
Of old the god, the aged and wise,
Mighty and strong did Rig go striding.
Prose. It would be interesting to know how much the anno-
tator meant by the phrase old stories. Was he familiar with the
tradition in forms other than that of the poem? If so, his intro-
ductory note was scanty, for, outside of identifying Rig as Heim-
dall, he provides no information not found in the poem. Prob-
ably he meant simply to refer to the poem itself as a relic of
antiquity, and the identification of Rig as Heimdall may well
have been an attempt at constructive criticism of his own. The
note was presumably written somewhere about 1300, or even
later, and there is no reason for crediting the annotator with
any considerable knowledge of mythology. There is little to
favor the identification of Rig with Heimdall, the watchman of
the gods, beyond a few rather vague passages in the other poems.
Thus in Voluspo, i, the Volva asks hearing "from Heimdall's
sons both high and low"; in Grimnismol, 13, there is a very
doubtful line which may mean that Heimdall "o'er men holds
sway, it is said," and in "the Short Voluspo" {Hyndluljoth, 40)
he is called "the kinsman of men." On the other hand, every-
thing in the Rigsthula, including the phrase "the aged and wise"
in stanza i, and the references to runes in stanzas 36, 44, and 46,
fits Othin exceedingly well. It seems probable that the annotator
was wrong, and that Rig is Othin, and not Heimdall. Rig: almost
certainly based on the Old Irish word for "king," "ri" or "rig."
I. No gap is indicated, but editors have generally assumed
one. Some editors, however, add line i of stanza 2 to stanza i.
[203]
Poetic Edda
2. Forward he went on the midmost way,
He came to a dwelling, a door on its posts;
In did he fare, on the floor was a fire.
Two hoary ones by the hearth there sat,
Ai and Edda, in olden dress.
3. Rig knew well wise words to speak,
Soon in the midst of the room he sat,
And on either side the others were.
4. A loaf of bread did Edda bring.
Heavy and thick and swollen with husks;
Forth on the table she set the fare.
And broth for the meal in a bowl there was.
(Calf's flesh boiled was the best of the dainties.)
5. Rig knew well wise words to speak,
Thence did he rise, made ready to sleep ;
Soon in the bed himself did he lay,
And on either side the others were.
2. Most editions make line 5 a part of the stanza, as here,
but some indicate it as the sole remnant of one or more stanzas
descriptive of Ai and Edda, just as Afi and Amraa, Fathir and
Mothir, are later described. Ai and Edda: Great-Grandfather
and Great-Grandmother; the latter name was responsible for
Jakob Grimm's famous guess at the meaning of the word "Edda"
as applied to the whole collection (cf. Introduction).
3. A line may have been lost from this stanza.
4. Line 5 has generally been rejected as spurious.
5. The manuscript has lines 1-2 in inverse order, bat marks
the word "Rig" as the beginning of a stanza.
[204]
Rigsthula
6. Thus was he there for three nights long,
Then forward he went on the midmost way,
And so nine months were soon passed by.
7. A son bore Edda, with water they sprinkled him,
With a cloth his hair so black they covered;
Thraell they named him,
8. The skin was wrinkled and rough on his hands,
Knotted his knuckles,
Thick his fingers, and ugly his face,
Twisted his back, and big his heels.
9. He began to grow, and to gain in strength.
Soon of his might good use he made ;
6. The manuscript does not indicate that these lines form a
separate stanza, and as only one line and a fragment of another
are left of stanza 7, the editions have grouped the lines in all
sorts of ways, with, of course, various conjectures as to where
lines may have been lost.
7. After line i the manuscript has only four words: "cloth,"
"black," "named," and "Thraell." No gap is anywhere indicated.
Editors have pieced out the passage in various ways. Water, etc. :
concerning the custom of sprinkling water on children, which
long antedated the introduction of Christianity, cf. Hovamol, 159
and note. Black: dark hair, among the blond Scandinavians, was
the mark of a foreigner, hence of a slave. Thrall: Thrall or
Slave.
8. In the manuscript line i of stanza 9 stands before stanza
8, neither line being capitalized as the beginning of a stanza. I
have followed Bugge's rearrangement. The manuscript indicates
no gap in line 2, but nearly all editors have assumed one,
Grundtvig supplying "and rough his nails."
9. The manuscript marks line 2 as the beginning of a stanza.
[205]
Poetic Edda
With bast he bound, and burdens carried,
Home bore faggots the whole day long.
10. One came to their home, crooked her legs,
Stained were her feet, and sunburned her arms,
Flat was her nose; hername was Thir.
11. Soon in the midst of the room she sat,
By her side there sat the son of the house ;
They whispered both, and the bed made ready,
Thraell and Thir, till the day was through.
12. Children they had, they lived and were happy,
Fjosnir and Klur they were called, methinks,
Hreim and Kleggi, Kefsir, Fulnir,
Drumb, Digraldi, Drott and Leggjaldi,
Lut and Hosvir ; the house they cared for,
Ground they dunged, and swine they guarded,
Goats they tended, and turf they dug.
lo. A line may well have dropped out, but the manuscript is
too uncertain as to the stanza-divisions to make any guess safe.
Crooked: the word in the original is obscure. Stained: literally,
"water was on her soles." Thir: "Serving-Woman."
12. There is some confusion as to the arrangement of the
lines and division into stanzas of i2 and 13. The names mean:
Fjosnir, "Cattle-Man"; Klur, "The Coarse"; Hreim, "The
Shouter"; Kleggi, "The Horse-Fly" ; Kefsir, "Concubine-Keeper" ;
Fulnir, "The Stinking"; Drumb, "The Log"; Digraldi, "The
Fat"; Drott, "The Sluggard"; Leggjaldi, "The Big-Legged";
Lut, "The Bent" ; Hosvir, "The Grey."
[206]
Rigsthula
13. Daughters had they, Drumba and Kumba,
Okkvinkalfa, Arinnefja,
Ysja and Ambott, Eikintjasna,
Totrughypja and Tronubeina;
And thence has risen the race of thralk.
14. Forward went Rig, his road was straight,
To a hall he came, and a door there hung;
In did he fare, on the floor was a fire:
Ail and Amma owned the house.
15. There sat the twain, and worked at their tasks:
The man hewed wood for the weaver's beam ;
His beard was trimmed, o'er his brow a curl,
His clothes fitted close ; in the comer a chest.
16. The woman sat and the distafi wielded,
At the weaving with arms outstretched she
worked ;
On her head was a band, on her breast a smock;
On her shoulders a kerchief with clasps there was.
13. The names mean: Drumba, "The Log"; Kumba, "The
Stumpy"; Okkvinkalfa, "Fat-Legged"; Arinnefja, "Homely-
Nosed"; Ysja, "The Noisy"; Ambott, "The Servant"; Eikin-
tjasna, "The Oaken Peg" ( ?) ; Totrughypja, "Clothed in Rags";
Tronubeina, "Crane-Legged."
14. In the manuscript line 4 stands after line 4 of stanza 16,
but several editors have rearranged the lines, as here. Afi and
Amma: Grandfather and Grandmother.
15. There is considerable confusion among the editors as to
where this stanza begins and ends.
16. The manuscript marks line 3 as the beginning of a stanza.
[207]
Poetic Edda
17. Rig knew well wise words to speak,
Soon in the midst of the room he sat,
And on either side the others were.
1 8. Then took Amma
The vessels full with the fare she set,
Calf's flesh boiled was the best of the dainties.
19. Rig knew well wise words to speak,
He rose from the board, made ready to sleep;
Soon in the bed himself did he lay.
And on either side the others were.
20. Thus was he there for three nights long,
Then forward he went on the midmost way.
And so nine months were soon passed by.
21. A son bore Amma, with water they sprinkled him,
Karl they named him; in a cloth she wrapped
him.
He was ruddy of face, and flashing his eyes.
17. The manuscript jumps from stanza 17, line i, to stanza
19, line 2. Bugge points out that the copyist's eye was presumably
led astray by the fact that 17, i, and 19, i, were identical. Lines
2-3 of 17 are supplied from stanzas 3 and 29.
18. I have followed Bugge's conjectural construction of the
missing stanza, taking lines 2 and 3 from stanzas 31 and 4.
i9.The manuscript marks line 2 as the beginning of a stanza.
20. The manuscript omits line 2, supplied by analogy with
stanza 6.
[208]
Rigsthula
22. He began to grow, and to gain in strength,
Oxen he ruled, and plows made ready.
Mouses he built, and barns he fashioned,
Carts he made, and the plow he managed.
23. Home did they bring the bride for Karl,
In goatskins clad, and keys she bore;
Snor was her name, 'neath the veil she sat ;
A home they made ready, and rings exchanged,
The bed they decked, and a dwelling made.
24. Sons they had, they lived and were happy:
Hal and Dreng, Holth, Thegn and Smith,
Breith and Bondi, Bundinskeggi,
Bui and Boddi, Brattskegg and Segg.
21. Most editors assume a lacuna, after either line 2 or line
3. Sijmons assumes, on the analogy of stanza 8, that a complete
stanza describing Karl ("Yeoman") has been lost between
stanzas 21 and 22.
22. No line indicated in the manuscript as beginning a stanza.
Cart: the word in the original, "kartr," is one of the clear signs
of the Celtic influence noted in the introduction.
23. Bring: the word literally means "drove in a wagon" — a
mark of the bride's social status. Snor: "Daughter-in-Law."
Bugge, followed by several editors, maintains that line 4 was
wrongly interpolated here from a missing stanza describing the
marriage of Kon.
24. No line indicated in the manuscript as beginning a stanza.
The names mean: Hal, "Man"; Dreng, "The Strong"; Holth,
"The Holder of Land"; Thegn, "Freeman"; Smith, "Craftsman";
Breith, "The Broad-Shouldered"; Bondi, "Yeoman"; Bundin-
skeggi, "With Beard Bound" (i.e., not allowed to hang un-
kempt) ; Bui, "Dwelling-Owner"; Boddi, "Farm-Holder"; Bratt-
skegg, "With Beard Carried High" ; Segg, "Man."
[ 209 ]
Poetic Edda
25. Daughters they had, and their names are here :
Snot, Bruth, Svanni, Svarri, Sprakki,
Fljoth, Sprund and Vif, Feima, Ristil:
And thence has risen the yeomen's race.
26. Thence went Rig, his road was straight,
A hall he saw, the doors faced south;
The portal stood wide, on the posts was a ring,
Then in he fared ; the floor was strewn.
27. Within two gazed in each other's eyes,
Fathir and Mothir, and played with their fingers ;
There sat the house-lord, wound strings for the
bow,
Shafts he fashioned, and bows he shaped.
28. The lady sat, at her arms she looked.
She smoothed the cloth, and fitted the sleeves;
Gay was her cap, on her breast were clasps.
Broad was her train, of blue was her gown.
25. No line indicated in the manuscript as beginning a stanza.
The names mean: Snot, "Worthy Woman"; Bruth, "Bride";
Svanni, "The Slender"; Svarri, "The Proud"; Sprakki, "The
Fair"; Fljoth, "Woman" (?); Sprund, "The Proud"; Vif,
"Wife" ; Feima, "The Bashful" ; Ristil, "The Graceful."
26. Many editors make a stanza out of line 4 and lines 1-2 of
the following stanza. Streixm: with fresh straw in preparation
for a feast; of. Thrymskvitha, 22.
27. Fathir and Mothir: Father and Mother. Perhaps lines 3-4
should form a stanza with 28, 1-2.
28. Bugge thinks lines 5-6, like 23, 4, got in here from the
lost stanzas describing Kon's bride and his marriage.
[210]
Rigsthula
Her brows were bright, her breast was shining,
Whiter her neck than new-fallen snow.
29. Rig knew well wise words to speak,
Soon in the midst of the room he sat,
And on either side the others were.
30. Then Mothir brought a broidered cloth,
Of linen bright, and the board she covered;
And then she took the loaves so thin.
And laid them, white from the wheat, on the
cloth.
31. Then forth she brought the vessels full.
With silver covered, and set before them.
Meat all browned, and well-cooked birds;
In the pitcher was wine, of plate were the cups,
So drank they and talked till the day was gone.
32. Rig knew well wise words to speak.
Soon did he rise, made ready to sleep;
So in the bed himself did he lay,
And on either side the others were.
31. The manuscript of lines 1-3 is obviously defective, as
there are too many words for two lines, and not enough for the
full three. The meaning, however, is clearly very much as indi-
cated in the translation. Gering's emendation, which I have fol-
lowed, consists simply in shifting "set before them" from the
first line to the second — where the manuscript has no verb, — and
supplying the verb "brought" in line i. The various editions
contain all sorts of suggestions.
32. The manuscript begins both line i and line 2 with a cap-
[211]
Poetic Edda
33. Thus was he there for three nights long,
Then forward he went on the midmost way,
And so nine months were soon passed by.
34. A son had Mothir, in silk they wrapped him.
With water they sprinkled him, Jarl he was;
Blond was his hair, and bright his cheeks,
Grim as a snake's were his glowing eyes.
35. To grow in the house did Jarl begin.
Shields he brandished, and bow-strings wound,
Bows he shot, and shafts he fashioned,
Arrows he loosened, and lances wielded,
Horses he rode, and hounds unleashed,
Swords he handled, and sounds he swam.
36. Straight from the grove came striding Rig,
Rig came striding, and runes he taught him ;
By his name he called him, as son he claimed him,
ital preceded by a period, which has led to all sorts of strange
stanza-combinations and guesses at lost lines in the various edi-
tions. The confusion includes stanza 33, wherein no line is
marked in the manuscript as beginning a stanza.
34. Jarl: "Nobly-Born."
35. Various lines have been regarded as interpolations, 3 and
6 being most often thus rejected.
36. Lines i, 2, and 5 all begin with capitals preceded by
periods, a fact which, taken in conjunction with the obviously de-
fective state of the following stanza, has led to all sorts of con-
jectural emendations. The exact significance of Rig's giving his
own name to Jarl (cf. stanza 46), and thus recognizing him,
potentially at least, as a king, depends on the conditions under
[212]
37.
Rigsthula
And bade him hold his heritage wide,
His heritage wide, the ancient homes.
Forward he rode through the forest dark,
O'er the frosty crags, till a hall he found.
38. His spear he shook, his shield he brandished,
His horse he spurred, with his sword he hewed;
Wars he raised, and reddened the field.
Warriors slew he, and land he won.
39. Eighteen halls ere long did he hold,
Wealth did he get, and gave to all.
Stones and jewels and slim-flanked steeds,
Rings he offered, and arm-rings shared.
40. His messengers went by the ways so wet.
And came to the hall where Hersir dwelt ;
His daughter was fair and slender-fingered,
Erna the wise the maiden was.
which the poem was composed (cf. Introductory Note). The
whole stanza, particularly the reference to the teaching of magic
(runes), fits Othin far better than Heimdall.
37. Something- — one or two lines, or a longer passage — has
clearly been lost, describing the beginning of Jarl's journey. Yet
many editors, relying on the manuscript punctuation, make 37
and 3$ into a single stanza.
39. The manuscript marks both lines i and 2 as beginning
stanzas.
40. Hersir: "Lord"; the hersir was, in the early days before
the establishment of a kingdom in Norway, the local chief, and
[213]
Poetic Edda
41. Her hand they sought, and home they brought
her,
Wedded to Jarl the veil she wore ;
Together they dwelt, their joy was great,
Children they had, and happy they lived.
42. Bur was the eldest, and Barn the next,
Joth and Athal, Arfi, Mog,
Nith and Svein, soon they began —
Sun and Nithjung — to play and swim ;
Kund was one, and the youngest Kon.
43. Soon grew up the sons of Jarl,
Beasts they tamed, and bucklers rounded,
Shafts they fashioned, and spears they shook.
44. But Kon the Young learned runes to use,
Runes everlasting, the runes of life;
hence the highest recognized authority. During and after the
time of Harald the Fair-Haired the name lost something of its
distinction, the hersir coming to take rank below the jarl.
Erna: "The Capable."
42. The names mean: Bur, "Son"; Barn, "Child"; Joth,
"Child"; Athal, "Offspring"; Arfi, "Heir"; Mog, "Son"; Nith,
"Descendant" ; Svein, "Boy" ; Sun, "Son" ; Nithjung, "Descend-
ant"; Kund, "Kinsman"; Kon, "Son" (of noble birth). Concern-
ing the use made of this last name, see note on stanza 44. It is
curious that there is no list of the daughters of Jarl and Erna,
and accordingly Vigf usson inserts here the names listed in stanza
25. Grundtvig rearranges the lines of stanzas 42 and 43.
44. The manuscript indicates no line as beginning a stanza.
Kon the Young: a remarkable bit of fanciful etymology; the
[214]
Rigsthula
Soon could he well the warriors shield,
Dull the swordblade, and still the seas.
45. Bird-chatter learned he, flames could he lessen,
Minds could quiet, and sorrows calm ;
The might and strength of twice four men.
46. With Rig-Jarl soon the runes he shared,
More crafty he was, and greater his wisdom ;
The right he sought, and soon he won it,
Rig to be called, and runes to know.
47. Young Kon rode forth through forest and grove,
Shafts let loose, and birds he lured ;
There spake a crow on a bough that sat :
"Why lurest thou, Kon, the birds to come?
phrase is 'Konr ungr," which could readily be contracted into
"Konungr," the regular word meaning "king." The "kon" part
is actually not far out, but the second syllable of "konungr" has
nothing to do with "ungr" meaning "young." Runes: a long list
of just such magic charms, dulling swordblades, quenching
flames, and so on, is given in Hovamol, 147-163.
45. The manuscript indicates no line as beginning a stanza.
Minds: possibly "seas," the word being doubtful. Most editors
assume the gap as indicated.
46. The manuscript indicates no line as beginning a stanza.
Rig-Jarl: Kon's father; cf. stanza 36.
47. This stanza has often been combined with 48, either as a
whole or in part. Crow: birds frequently play the part of
mentor in Norse literature; cf., for example, Helgakvitha
Hundingsbana I, 5, and Fafnismol, 32.
[215]
Poetic Edda
48. " 'Twere better forth on thy steed to fare,
and the host to slay.
49. "The halls of Dan and Danp are noble,
Greater their wealth than thou hast gained ;
Good are they at guiding the keel,
Trying of weapons, and giving of wounds.
48. This fragment is not indicated as a separate stanza in the
manuscript. Perhaps half a line has disappeared, or, as seems
more likely, the gap includes two lines and a half. Sijmons
actually constructs these lines, largely on the basis of stanzas
35 and 38. Bugge fills in the half-line lacuna as indicated above
with "The sword to wield."
49. Dan and Danp: These names are largely responsible for
the theory that the Rigsthula was composed in Denmark.
According to the Latin epitome of the Skjoldungasaga by
Arngrimur Jonsson, "Rig (Rigus) was a man not the least among
the great ones of his time. He married the daughter of a certain
Danp, lord of Danpsted, whose name was Dana ; and later,
having won the royal title for his province, left as his heir his
son by Dana, called Dan or Danum, all of whose subjects were
called Danes." This may or may not be conclusive, and it is a
great pity that the manuscript breaks off abruptly at this stanza.
[216]
HYNDLULJOTH
The Poem of Hyndla
Introductory Note
The Hyndluljoth is found in neither of the great manuscripts
of the Poetic Edda, but is included in the so-called Flateyjarbok
(Book of the Flat Island), an enormous compilation made some-
where about 1400. The lateness of this manuscript would of
itself be enough to cast a doubt upon the condition in which the
poem has been preserved, and there can be no question that
what we have of it is in very poor shape. It is, in fact, two sep-
arate poems, or parts of them, clumsily put together. The longer
one, the Poem of Hyndla proper, is chiefly a collection of names,
not strictly mythological but belonging to the semi-historical
hero-sagas of Norse tradition. The wise-woman, Hyndla, being
asked by Freyja to trace the ancestry of her favorite, Ottar, for
the purpose of deciding a wager, gives a complex genealogy
including many of the heroes who appear in the popular sagas
handed down from days long before the Icelandic settlements.
The poet was learned, but without enthusiasm; it is not likely
that he composed the Hyndluljoth much before the twelfth cen-
tury, though the material of which it is compounded must have
been very much older. Although the genealogies are essentially
continental, the poem seems rather like a product of the archaeo-
logical period of Iceland.
Inserted bodily in the Hyndluljoth proper is a fragment of
fifty-one lines, taken from a poem of which, by a curious chance,
we know the name. Snorri quotes one stanza of it, calling it "the
short Voluspo." The fragment preserved gives, of course, no indi-
cation of the length of the original poem, but it shows that it was
a late and very inferior imitation of the great Voluspo. Like the
Hyndluljoth proper, it apparently comes from the twelfth cen-
tury; but there is nothing whatever to indicate that the two poems
were the work of the same man, or were ever connected in any
way until some blundering copyist mixed them up. Certainly the
connection did not exist in the middle of the thirteenth century,
when Snorri quoted "the short Voluspo."
Neither poem is of any great value, either as mythology or as
poetry. The author of "the short Voluspo" seems, indeed, to have
been more or less confused as to his facts ; and both poets were
[217]
Poetic Edda
too late to feel anything of the enthusiasm of the earlier school.
The names of Hyndla's heroes, of course, suggest an unlimited
number of stories, but as most of these have no direct relation to
the poems of the Edda, I have limited the notes to a mere record
of who the persons mentioned were, and the saga>groups in
which they appeared.
Freyja spake :
1. "Maiden, awake! wake thee, my friend,
My sister Hyndla, in thy hollow cave!
Already comes darkness, and ride must we
To Valhall to seek the sacred hall.
2. "The favor of Heerfather seek we to find,
To his followers gold he gladly gives;
To Hermoth gave he helm and mail-coat,
And to Sigmund he gave a sword as gift.
1. Freyja: The names of the speakers do not appear in the
manuscripts. On Freyja cf. Voluspo, 21 and note; Skirnismot, in-
troductory prose and note; Lokasenna, introductory prose and
note. As stanzas 9-10 show, Ottar has made a wager of his entire
inheritance with Angantyr regarding the relative loftiness of
their ancestry, and by rich offerings (Hyndla hints at less com-
mendable methods) has induced Freyja to assist him in estab-
lishing his genealogy. Freyja, having turned Ottar for purposes
of disguise into a boar, calls on the giantess Hyndla ("She-Dog")
to aid her. Hyndla does not appear elsewhere in the poems.
2. Heerfather: Othin; cf. Voluspo, 30. Hermoth: mentioned
in the Prose Edda as a son of Othin who is sent to Hel to ask
for the return of the slain Baldr. Sigmund: according to the
Volsungasaga Sigmund was the son of Volsung, and hence
Othin's great-great-grandson (note that Wagner eliminates all
the intervening generations by the simple expedient of using
[218]
f Hyndluljoth
3. "Triumph to some, and treasure to others,
To many wisdom and skill in words.
Fair winds to the sailor, to the singer his art.
And a manly heart to many a hero.
4. "Thor shall I honor, and this shall I ask,
That his favor true mayst thou ever find;
Though little the brides of the giants he loves.
"From the stall now one
And along with my boar
For slow my boar goes
And I would not weary
of thy wolves lead forth,
shalt thou let him run;
on the road of the gods,
my worthy steed."
Hyndla spake:
6. "Falsely thou askest me, Freyja, to go.
For so in the glance of thine eyes I see ;
Volsung's name as one of Othin's many appellations). Sigmund
alone was able to draw from the tree the sword which a mys-
terious stranger (Othin, of course) had thrust into it (compare
the first act of Wagner's Die Walkure).
3. Sijmons suggests that this stanza may be an interpolation.
4. No lacuna after line 2 is indicated in the manuscript. Edi-
tors have attempted various experiments in rearranging this and
the following stanza.
5. Some editors, following Simrock, assign this whole stanza
to Hyndla; others assign to her lines 3-4. Giving the entire stanza
to Freyja makes better sense than any other arrangement, but is
dependent on changing the manuscript's "thy" in line 3 to "my,"
as suggested by Bugge. The boar on which Freyja rides ("my
worthy steed") is, of course, Ottar.
6. Hyndla detects Ottar, and accuses Freyja of having her
[219]
Poetic Edda
On the way of the slain thy lover goes with thee,
Ottar the young, the son of Instein."
Freyja spake:
7. "Wild dreams, methinks, are thine when thou
sayest
My lover is with me on the way of the slain ;
There shines the boar with bristles of gold,
Hildisvini, he who was made
By Dain and Nabbi, the cunning dwarfs.
8. "Now let us down from our saddles leap.
And talk of the race of the heroes twain;
The men who were born of the gods above,
9. "A wager have made in the foreign metal
Ottar the young and Angantyr ;
lover with her. Unless Ottar is identical with 0th (cf. Voluspo,
25 and note), which seems most unlikely, there is no other ref-
erence to this love aflFair. The ivay of the slain: the road to
Valhall.
7. Various experiments have been made in condensing the
stanza into four lines, or in combining it with stanza 8. Hildi-
svini ("Battle-Swine") : perhaps Freyja refers to the boar with
golden bristles given, according to Snorri, to her brother Freyr
by the dwarfs. Dain: a dwarf; cf. Voluspo, 11. Nabbi: a dwarf
nowhere else mentioned.
8. The first line is obviously corrupt in the manuscript, and
uas been variously emended. The general assumption is that in
the interval between stanzas 7 and 8 Freyja and Hyndla have
arrived at Valhall. No lacuna is indicated in the manuscript.
9. Foreign metal: gold. The word valr, meaning "foreign,"
[220]
Hyndluljoth
We must guard, for the hero young to have,
His father's wealth, the fruits of his race.
10. "For me a shrine of stones he made, —
And now to glass the rock has grown; —
Oft with the blood of beasts was it red;
In the goddesses ever did Ottar trust.
11. "Tell to me now the ancient names.
And the races of all that were born of old :
Who are of the Skjoldungs, who of the Skilfings,
Who of the Othlings, who of the Ylfings,
Who are the free-born, who are the high-bom,
The noblest of men that in Mithgarth dwell?"
and akin to "Welsh," is interesting in this connection, and some
editors interpret it frankly as "Celtic," i.e., Irish.
10. To glass: i.e., the constant fires on the altar have fused
the stone into glass. Glass beads, etc., were of very early use,
though the use of glass for windows probably did not begin in
Iceland much before 1200.
11. Possibly two stanzas, or perhaps one with interpolations.
The manuscript omits the first half of line 4, here filled out from
stanza 16, line 2. Skjoldungs: the descendants of Skjold, a myth-
ical king who was Othin's son and the ancestor of the Danish
kings; cf. Snorri's Edda, Skaldskaparmal, 43. Skilfings: mentioned
by Snorri as descendants of King Skelfir, a mythical ruler in "the
East." In Grimnismol, 54, the name Skilfing appears as one of
Othin's many appellations. Othlings: Snorri derives this race from
Authi, the son of Half dan the Old (cf. stanza 14). Ylfings: some
editors have changed this to "Ynglings," as in stanza 16, referring
to the descendants of Yng or Yngvi, another son of Halfdan, but
the reference may be to the same mythical family to which Helgi
Hundingsbane belonged (cf. Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I, 5).
[221]
Poetic Edda
Hyndla spake:
12. "Thou art, Ottar, the son of Instein,
And Instein the son of Alf the Old,
Alf of Ulf, Ulf of Safari,
And Sasfari's father was Svan the Red.
13. "Thy mother, bright with bracelets fair,
Hight, methinks, the priestess Hledis;
Frothi her father, and Friaut her mother; —
Her race of the mightiest men must seem.
14. "Of old the noblest of all was Ali,
Before him Halfdan, foremost of Skjoldungs ;
Famed were the battles the hero fought,
To the corners of heaven his deeds were carried.
15. "Strengthened by Eymund, the strongest of men,
Sigtrygg he slew with the ice-cold sword;
His bride was Almveig, the best of women,
And eighteen boys did Almveig bear him.
12. Instein: mentioned in the Halfssaga as one of the war-
riors of King Half of Horthaland (the so-called Halfsrekkar).
The others mentioned in this stanza appear in one of the later
mythical accounts of the settlement of Norway.
14. Stanzas 14-16 are clearly interpolated, as Friaut (stanza
13, line 3) is the daughter of Hildigun (stanza 17, line i).
Halfdan the Old, a mythical king of Denmark, called by Snorri
"the most famous of all kings," of whom it was foretold that
"for three hundred years there should be no woman and no man
in his line who was not of great repute." After the slaying of
Sigtrygg he married Almveig (or Alvig), daughter of King
Eymund of Holmgarth (i.e., Russia), who bore him eighteen
[ 222 ]
Hyndluljoth
1 6. "Hence come the Skjoldungs, hence the Skilfings,
Hence the Othlings, hence the Ynglings,
Hence come the free-born, hence the high-born,
The noblest of men that in Mithgarth dwell:
And all are thy kinsmen, Ottar, thou fool!
1 7. "Hildigun then her mother hight,
The daughter of Svava and Saekonung;
And all are thy kinsmen, Ottar, thou fool!
It is much to know, — wilt thou hear yet more?
18. "The mate of Dag was a mother of heroes,
Thora, who bore him the bravest of fighters,
Frathmar and Gyrth and the Frekis twain,
Am and Jofurmar, Alf the Old ;
It is much to know, — wilt thou hear yet more?
19. "Her husband was Ketil, the heir of Klypp,
He was of thy mother the mother's-father;
sons, nine at one birth. These nine were all slain, but the other
nine were traditionally the ancestors of the most famous families
in Northern hero lore.
16. Compare stanza 11. All or part of this stanza may be
interpolated.
17. Hildigun (or Hildiguth) : with this the poem returns to
Ottar's direct ancestry, Hildigun being Friaut's mother. Line 4.:
cf. the refrain-line in the Voluspo (stanzas 27, 29, etc.).
18. Another interpolation, as Ketil (stanza 19, line i) is the
husband of Hildigun (stanza 17). Dag: one of Halfdan's sons,
and ancestor of the iDoglings. Line 5 may be a late addition.
19. Ketil: the semi-mythical Ketil Hortha-Kari, from whom
various Icelandic families traced their descent. Hoalf: probably
King Half of Horthaland, hero of the Halfssaga, and son of
Hjorleif and Hild (cf. stanza 12. note).
[ 223 ]
Poetic Edda
Before the days of Kari was Frothi,
And horn of Hild was Hoalf then.
20. "Next was Nanna, daughter of Nokkvi,
Thy father's kinsman her son became;
Old is the line, and longer still,
And all are thy kinsmen, Ottar, thou fool!
21. "Isolf and Osolf, the sons of Olmoth,
Whose wife was Skurhild, the daughter of Skek-
kil,
Count them among the heroes mighty,
And all are thy kinsmen, Ottar, thou fool !
22. "Gunnar the Bulwark, Grim the Hardy,
Thorir the Iron-shield, Ulf the Gaper,
Brodd and Horvir both did I know;
In the household they were of Hrolf the Old.
20. Nanna: the manuscript has "Manna." Of Nanna and her
father, Nokkvi, we know nothing, but apparently Nanna's son
married a sister of Instein, Ottar's father.
21. Olmoth: one of the sons of Ketil Hortha-Kari. Line 4:
here, and generally hereafter when it appears in the poena, this
refrain-line is abbreviated in the manuscript to the word "all."
22. An isolated stanza, which some editors place after stanza
24, others combining lines 1-2 with the fragmentary stanza 23.
In the manuscript lines 3-4 stand after stanza 24, where they fail
to connect clearly with anything. Hrolf the Old: probably King
Hrolf Gautreksson of Gautland, in the saga relating to whom
{Fornaldar sogur III, 57 ff.) appear the names of Thorir the
Iton-shield and Grim Thorkelsson.
[224]
Hyndluljoth
23. "Hervarth, Hjorvarth, Hrani, Angantyr,
Bui and Brami, Barri and Reifnir,
Tind and Tyrfing, the Haddings twain, —
And all are thy kinsmen, Ottar, thou fool!
24. "Eastward in Bolm were boin of old
The sons of Arngrim and Eyfura;
With berserk-tumult and baleful deed
Like fire o'er land and sea they fared, —
And all are thy kinsmen, Ottar, thou fool!
25. "The sons of Jormunrek all of yore
To the gods in death were as offerings given ;
23. Stanzas 23 and 24 name the twelve Berserkers, the sons of
Arngrim and Eyfura, the story of whom is told in the Hervarar-
saga and the Orvar-Oddssaga. Saxo Grammaticus tells of the
battle between them and Hjalmar and Orvar-Odd. Line i does
not appear in the manuscript, but is added from the list of names
given in the sagas. The Berserkers were wild warriors, distin-
guished above all by the fits of frenzy to which they were subject
in battle; during these fits they howled like wild beasts, foamed
at the mouth, and gnawed the iron rims of their shields. At such
times they were proof against steel or fire, but when the fever
abated they were weak. The etymology of the word berserk is
disputed ; probably, however, it means "bear-shirt."
24- The manuscript omits the first half of line i, here supplied
from the Orvar-Oddssaga. Bolm: probably the island of Bolmso,
in the Swedish province of Smaland. In the manuscript and in
most editions stanza 24 is followed by lines 3-4 of stanza 22.
Some editors reject line 5 as spurious.
25. In the manuscript line i stands after line 4 of stanza 29.
Probably a stanza enumerating Jormunrek's sons has been lost.
Many editors combine lines 3-4 of stanza 22 and lines 2-4 of
[225]
Poetic Edda
He was kinsman of Sigurth, — hear well what 1
say,—
The foe of hosts, and Fafnir's slayer.
26.. "From Volsung's seed ,was the hero sprung,
And Hjordis was born of Pirauthung's race,
And Eylimi from the Othlings came, —
And all are thy kinsmen, Ottar, thou fool!
27. "Gunnar and Hogni, the heirs of Gjuki,
And Guthrun as well, who their sister was;
But Gotthorm was not of Gjuki's race,
Although the brother of both he was:
And all are thy kinsmen, Ottar, thou fool!
stanza 25 into one stanza. Jormunrek: the historical Ermanarich,
king of the Goths, who died about 376. According to Norse tra-
dition, in which Jormunrek played a large part, he slew his own
sons (cf. Guthrunarhvot and Hamthesmol). In the saga Jormun-
rek married Sigurth's daughter, Svanhild. Stanzas 25-27 con-
nect Ottar's descent with the whole Volsung-Sigurth-Jormunrek-
Gjuki genealogy. The story of Sigurth is the basis for most of
the heroic poems of the Edda, of the famous Volsungasaga, and,
in Germany, of the Nibelungenlied. On his battle with the dragon
Fafnir cf. Fafnismol.
26. Volsung: Sigurth's grandfather and Othin's great-grand-
son. Hjordis: daughter of King Eylimi, wife of Sigmund and
mother of Sigurth. Othlings: cf. stanza 11.
27. Gunnar, Hogni, and Guthrun: the three children of the
Burgundian king Gjuki and his wife Grimhild (Kriemhild) ;
Guthrun was Sigurth's wife. Gotthorm, the third brother, who
killed Sigurth at Brynhild's behest, was Grimhild's son, and thus
a step-son of Gjuki. These four play an important part in the
heroic cycle of Eddie poems. Cf. Gripisspo, introductory note.
[226]
Hyndluljoth
28. "Of Hvethna's sons was Haki the best,
And Hjorvarth the father of Hvethna was;
29. "Harald Battle-tooth of Auth was born,
Hrorek the Ring-giver her husband was;
Auth the Deep-minded was Ivar's daughter,
But Rathbarth the father of Randver was:
And all are thy kinsmen, Ottar, thou fool!"
Fragment of "The Short Voluspo"
30. Eleven in number the gods were known,
When Baldr o'er the hill of death was bowed ;
And this to avenge was Vali swift.
When his brother's slayer soon he slew.
28. In the manuscript and in many editions these two lines
stand between stanzas 33 and 34. The change here made follows
Bugge. The manuscript indicates no gap between stanzas 27 and
29. Hvethna: wife of King Half dan of Denmark.
29. The manuscript and many editions include line i of stanza
25 after line 4 of stanza 29. The story of Harald Battle-tooth is
told in detail by Saxo Grammaticus. Harald's father was Hrorek,
king of Denmark; his mother was Auth, daughter of Ivar, king
of Sweden. After Ivar had treacherously detroyed Hrorek, Auth
fled with Harald to Russia, where she married King Rathbarth.
Harald's warlike career in Norway, and his death on the Bra-
valla-field at the hands of his nephew, Sigurth Ring, son of
Randver and grandson of Rathbarth and Auth, were favorite
saga themes.
30. At this point begins the fragmentary and interpolated
"short Voluspo" identified by Snorri. The manuscript gives no
indication of the break in the poem's continuity. Eleven: there
[227]
Poetic Edda
31. The father of Baldr was the heir of Bur,
32. Freyr's wife was Gerth, the daughter of Gymir,
Of the giants' brood, and Aurbotha bore her;
To these as well was Thjazi kin,
The dark-loving giant; his daughter was Skathi.
33. Much have I told thee, and further will tell ;
There is much that I know; — wilt thou hear
yet more?
34. Heith and Hrossthjof, the children of Hrimnir.
are various references to the "twelve" gods (including Baldr) ;
Snorri {Gylfaginning, 20-33) lists the following twelve in addi-
tion to Othin: Thor, Baldr, Njorth, Freyr, Tyr, Bragi, Heimdall,
Hoth, Vithar, Vali, Ull and Forseti; he adds Loki as of doubtful
divinity. Baldr and Vali: cf. Voluspo, 32-33.
31. The fragmentary stanzas 31-34 have been regrouped in
various ways, and with many conjectures as to omissions, none
of which are indicated in the manuscript. The order here is as
in the manuscript, except that lines 1-2 of stanza 28 have been
transposed from after line 2 of stanza 33. Bur's heir: Othin; cf.
Voluspo, 4,
32. Freyr, Gerth, Gymir: cf. Skirnismol. Aurbotha: a giantess,
mother of Gerth. Thjazi and Skathi: cf. Lokasenna, 49, and Har-
barthsljoth, 19.
33. Cf. Voluspo, 44 and 27.
Z^. Heith ("Witch") and Hrossthjof ("Horse-thief"): the
only other reference to the giant Hrimnir {Skirnismol, 28) makes
no mention of his children.
[228]
Hyndluljoth
35. The sybils arose from Vitholf's race,
From Vilmeith all the seers are,
And the workers of charms are Svarthof thi's chil-
dren,
And from Ymir sprang the giants all.
36. Much have I told thee, and further will tell;
There is much that I know; — wilt thou hear
yet more?
37. One there was born in the bygone days,
Of the race of the gods, and great was his might;
Nine giant women, at the world's edge,
Once bore the man so mighty in arms.
38. Gjolp there bore him, Greip there bore him,
Eistla bore him, and Eyrgjafa,
Ulfrun bore him, and Angeyja,
Imth and Atla, and Jarnsaxa.
35. This stanza is quoted by Snorri {Gylfaginning, 5). Of
Vitholf ("Forest Wolf"), yilmeith ("Wish-Tree") and Svart-
hoftlii ("Black Head") nothing further is icnown. Ymir: cf.
Voluspo, 3.
37. According to Snorri {Gylfaginning, 27) Heimdall was
the son of Othin and of nine sisters. As Heimdall was the watch-
man of the gods, this has given rise to much "solar myth" dis-
cussion. The names of his nine giantess mothers are frequently
said to denote attributes of the sea.
38. The names of Heimdall's mothers may be rendered
"Yelper," "Griper," "Foamer," "Sand-Strewer," "She-Wolf,"
"Sorrow-Whelmer," "Dusk," "Fury," and "Iron-Sword."
[ 229 ]
Poetic Edda
39. Strong was he made with the strength of earth,
With the ice-cold sea, and the blood of swine.
40. One there was bom, the best of all,
And strong was he made with the strength of
earth ;
The proudest is called the kinsman of men
Of the rulers all throughout the world.
41. Much have I told thee, and further will tell;
There is much that I know; — wilt thou hear
yet more?
42. The wolf did Loki with Angrbotha win.
And Sleipnir bore he to Svathilfari ;
The worst of marvels seemed the one
That sprang from the brother of Byleist then.
39. It has been suggested that these lines were interpolated
fronn Guthrunark<vitha II, 22. Some editors add the refrain of
stanza 36. Sivine's blood: to Heimdall's strength drawn from
earth and sea was added that derived from sacrifice.
40. In the manuscript this stanza stands after stanza 44. Re-
garding Heimdall's kinship to the three great classes of men, of.
Rigsthula, introductory note, wherein the apparent confusion of
his attributes with those of Othin is discussed.
42. Probably a lacuna before this stanza. Regarding the wolf
Fenrir, born of Loki and the giantess Angrbotha, cf. Voluspo,
39 and note. Sleipnir: Othin's eight-legged horse, born of the
stallion Svathilfari and of Loki in the guise of a mare (cf.
Grimnismol, 44). The worst: doubtless referring to Mithgarths-
orm, another child of Loki. The brother of Byleist: Loki; cf.
Voluspo, 51.
[ 230 ]
Hyndluljoth
43. A heart ate Loki, — in the embers it lay,
And half-cooked found he the woman's heart; —
With child from the woman Lopt soon was,
And thence among men came the monsters all.
44. The sea, storm-driven, seeks heaven itself.
O'er the earth it flows, the air grows sterile ;
Then follow the snows and the furious winds,
For the gods are doomed, and the end is death.
45. Then comes another, a greater than all.
Though never I dare his name to speak ;
Few are they now that farther can see
Than the moment when Othin shall meet the
wolf.
* * »
Freyja spake:
46. "To my boar now bring the memory-beer,
So that all thy words, that well thou hast spoken,
43. Nothing further is known of the myth here referred to,
wherein Loki (Lopt) eats the cooked heart of a woman and thus
himself gives birth to a monster. The reference is not likely to be
to the serpent, as, according to Snorri {Gylfaginning, 34), the
wolf, the serpent, and Hel were all the children of Loki and
Angrbotha.
44. Probably an omission, perhaps of considerable length,
before this stanza. For the description of the destruction of the
world, cf. Voluspo, 57.
45. Cf. Voluspo, 65, where the possible reference to Chris-
tianity is noted. With this stanza the fragmentary "short Voluspo"
ends, and the dialogue between Freyja and Hyndla continues.
46. Freyja now admits the identity of her boar as Ottar, who
[231]
Poetic Edda
The third mom hence he may hold in mind,
When their races Ottar and Angantyr tell."
Hyndla spake:
47. "Hence shalt thou fare, for fain would I sleep,
From me thou gettest few favors good ;
My noble one, out in the night thou leapest
As Heithrun goes the goats among.
48. "To Oth didst thou run, who loved thee ever,
And many under thy apron have crawled;
My noble one, out in the night thou leapest.
As Heithrun goes the goats among."
Freyja spake:
49. "Around the giantess flames shall I raise,
So that forth unburned thou mayst not fare."
with the help of the "memory-beer" is to recall the entire gene-
alogy he has just heard, and thus win his wager with Angantyr.
47. Heithrun: the she-goat that stands by Valhall (cf. Grim-
nismol, 25), the name being here used simply of she-goats in
general, in caustic comment on Freyja's morals. Of these Loki
entertained a similar view; cf. Lokasenna, 30.
48. Oth: cf. stanza 6 and note, and Voluspo, 25 and note.
Lines 3-4, abbreviated in the manuscript, are very likely repeated
here by mistake.
49. The manuscript repeats once again lines 3-4 of stanza 47
as the last two lines of this stanza. It seems probable that two
lines have been lost, to the effect that Freyja will burn the
giantess alive "If swiftly now thou dost not seek, / And
hither bring the memory-beer."
[232]
Hyndluljoth
Hyndla spake:
50. "Flames I see burning, the earth is on fire,
And each for his life the price must lose;
Bring then to Ottar the draught of beer,
Of venom full for an evil fate."
Freyja spake :
51. "Thine evil words shall work no ill,
Though, giantess, bitter thy baleful threats;
A drink full fair shall Ottar find,
If of all the gods the favor I get."
[233]
SVIPDAGSMOL
The Ballad of Svipdag
Introductory Note
The two poems, Grougaldr ( Groa's Spell) and Fjolsvinnsmol
(the Ballad of Fjolsvith), which many editors have, very wisely,
united under the single title of Svipdag smol, are found only in
paper manuscripts, none of them antedating the seventeenth cen-
tury. Everything points to a relatively late origin for the poems:
their extensive use of "kennings" or poetical circumlocutions, their
romantic spirit, quite foreign to the character of the unquestion-
ably older poems, the absence of any reference to them in the
earlier documents, the frequent errors in mythology, and, finally,
the fact that the poems appear to have been preserved in unusu-
ally good condition. Whether or not a connecting link of narra-
tive verse joining the two parts has been lost is an open question;
on the whole it seems likely that the story was sufficiently well
known so that the reciter of the poem (or poems) merely filled
in the gap with a brief prose summary in pretty much his
own words. The general relationship between dialogue and
narrative in the Eddie poems is discussed in the introductory
note to the Grimnismol, in connection with the use of prose
links.
The love story of Svipdag and Mengloth is not referred to
elsewhere in the Poetic Edda, nor does Snorri mention it; how-
ever, Groa, who here appears as Svipdag's mother, is spoken of
by Snorri as a wise woman, the wife of Orvandil, who helps
Thor with her magic charms. On the other hand, the essence of
the story, the hero's winning of a bride ringed about by flames,
is strongly suggestive of parts of the Sigurth-Brynhild traditions.
Whether or not it is to be regarded as a nature or solar myth
depends entirely on one's view of the whole "solar myth" school
of criticism, not so highly esteemed today as formerly; such an
interpretation is certainly not necessary to explain what is, under
any circumstances, a very charming romance told, in the main,
with dramatic effectiveness.
In later years the story of Svipdag and Mengloth became pop-
ular throughout the North, and was made the subject of many
Danish and Swedish as well as Norwegian ballads. These have
greatly assisted in the reconstruction of the outlines of the narra-
tive surrounding the dialogue poems here given.
[234]
Svipdagsmol
I. GROUGALDR
Groa's Spell
Svipdag spake :
1. "Wake thee, Groa! wake, mother good!
At the doors of the dead I call thee;
Thy son, bethink thee, thou badst to seek
Thy help at the hill of death."
Groa spake:
2. "What evil vexes mine only son.
What baleful fate hast thou found,
That thou callest thy mother, who lies in the
mould,
And the world of the living has left?"
Svipdag spake:
3. "The woman false whom my father embraced
Has brought me a baleful game;
For she bade me go forth where none may fare,
And Mengloth the maid to seek."
Groa spake:
4. "Long is the way, long must thou wander,
But long is love as well ;
Thou mayst find, perchance, what thou fain
wouldst have.
If the fates their favor will give."
1. Svipdag ("Swift Day") : the names of the speakers are
lacking in the manuscripts.
3. The iwoman: Svipdag's stepmother, who is responsible for
[235]
Poetic Edda
Svipdag spake:
5. "Charms full good then chant to me, mother,
And seek thy son to guard;
For death do I fear on the way I shall fare,
And in years am I young, methinks."
Groa spake:
6. "Then first I will chant thee the charm oft-tried,
That Rani taught to Rind ;
From the shoulder whate'er mislikes thee shake.
For helper thyself shalt thou have.
7. "Then next I will chant thee, if needs thou must
travel,
And wander a purposeless way:
The bolts of Urth shall on every side
Be thy guards on the road thou goest.
8. "Then third I will chant thee, if threatening
streams
The danger of death shall bring:
his search for Mengloth ("Necklace-Glad"). This name has sug-
gested that Mengloth is really Frigg, possessor of the famous
Brisings' necklace, or else Freyja (cf. Lokasenna, 20, note).
6. For this catalogue of charms (stanzas 6-14) cf. the Ljotha-
tal {Hovamol, 147-165). Rani and Rind: the manuscripts have
these words in inverse relation; I have followed Neckel's emen-
dation. Rind was the giantess who became the mother of Vali,
Othin's son, the one-night-old avenger of Baldr (cf. Voluspo,
33-34, and Baldrs Draumar, 11 and note). Rani is presumably
Othin, who, according to a skaldic poem, won Rind by magic.
7. Urth: one of the three Norns, or Fates; cf. Voluspo, 20.
[236]
Svipdagsmol
Yet to Hel shall turn both Horn and Ruth,
And before thee the waters shall fail.
9. "Then fourth I will chant thee, if come thy foes
On the gallows-way against thee:
Into thine hands shall their hearts be given,
And peace shall the warriors wish.
10. "Then fifth I will chant thee, if fetters perchance
Shall bind thy bending limbs:
O'er thy thighs do I chant a loosening-charm,
And the lock is burst from the limbs,
And the fetters fall from the feet.
11. "Then sixth I will chant thee, if storms on the sea
Have might unknown to man :
Yet never shall wind or wave do harm,
And calm is the course of thy boat.
12. "Then seventh I chant thee, if frost shall seek
To kill thee on lofty crags:
The fatal cold shall not grip thy flesh.
And whole thy body shall be.
8. Horn and Ruth: these two rivers, here used merely to sym-
bolize all dangerous streams, are not included in the catalogue
of rivers given in Grimnismol, 27-29, for which reason some
editors have changed the names to Hron and Hrith.
to. This stanza is a close parallel to Hovamol, 150, and the
fifth line may well be an interpolation from line 4 of that stanza.
[ 237 ]
Poetic Edda
13. "Then eighth will I chant thee, if ever by night
Thou shalt wander on murky ways :
Yet never the curse of a Christian woman
From the dead shall do thee harm.
14. "Then ninth will I chant thee, if needs thou must
strive
With a warlike giant in words:
Thy heart good store of wit shall have,
And thy mouth of words full wise.
15. "Now fare on the way where danger waits,
Let evils not lessen thy love!
I have stood at the door of the earth-fixed stones,
The while I chanted thee charms.
16. "Bear hence, my son, what thy mother hath said,
And let it live in thy breast;
Thine ever shall be the best of fortune.
So long as my words shall last."
13. A dead Christian ivoman: this passage has distressed
many editors, who have sought to emend the text so as to make
it mean simply "a dead witch." The fact seems to be, however,
that this particular charm was composed at a time when Chris-
tians were regarded by all conservative pagans as emissaries of
darkness. A dead woman's curse would naturally be more potent,
whether she was Christian or otherwise, than a living one's.
Presumably this charm is much older than the poem in which it
here stands.
16. At this point Groa's song ends, and Svipdag, thus fortified,
goes to seek Mengloth. All the link that is needed between the
poems is approximately this: "Then Svipdag searched long for
[238]
Svipdagsmol
II. FJOLSVINNSMOL
The Lay of Fjolsvith
17. Before the house he beheld one coming
To the home of the giants high.
Svipdag spake:
"What giant is here, in front of the house,
And around him fires are flaming?"
Fjolsvith spake:
1 8. "What seekest thou here ? for what is thy search ?
What, friendless one, fain wouldst thou know?
By the ways so wet must thou wander hence,
For, weakling, no home hast thou here."
Svipdag spake:
19. "What giant is here, in front of the house,
To the wayfarer welcome denying?"
Mengloth, and at last he came to a great house set all about
with flames. And before the house there was a giant."
17. Most editors have here begun a new series of stanza
numbers, but if the Grougaldr and the Fjolsvinnsmol are to be
considered as a single poem, it seems more reasonable to continue
the stanza numbers consecutively. Bugge thinks a stanza has
been lost before 17, including Fjolsvith's name, so that the "he"
in line i might have something to refer to. However, just such a
prose link as I have suggested in the note on stanza 16 would
serve the purpose. Editors have suggested various rearrange-
ments in the lines of stanzas 17-19. The substance, however, is
clear enough. The giant Fjolsvith ("Much-Wise"), the warder
of the house in which Mengloth dwells, sees Svipdag coming and
stops him with the customary threats. The assignment of the
[239]
Poetic Edda
Fjolsvith spake:
"Greeting full fair thou never shalt find,
So hence shalt thou get thee home.
20. "Fjolsvith am I, and wise am I found,
But miserly am I with meat;
Thou never shalt enter within the house, —
Go forth like a wolf on thy way !"
Svipdag spake:
21. "Few from the joy of their eyes will go forth,
When the sight of their loves they seek ;
Full bright are the gates of the golden hall,
And a home shall I here enjoy."
Fjolsvith spake:
22. "Tell me now, fellow, what father thou hast,
And the kindred of whom thou camst."
Svipdag spake:
"Vindkald am I, and Varkald's son,
And Fjolkald his father was.
23. "Now answer me, Fjolsvith, the question I ask,
For now the truth would I know :
speeches in stanzas 17-20, in the absence of any indications in
the manuscripts, is more or less guesswork.
22. Vindkald ("Wind-Cold"), Varkald ("Cold of Early
Spring") and Fjolkald ("Much Cold") : Svipdag apparently
seeks to persuade Fjolsvith that he belongs to the frost giants.
[240]
Svipdagsmol
Who is it that holds and has for his own
The rule of the hall so rich?"
Fjolsvith spake:
24. "Mengloth is she, her mother bore her
To the son of Svafrthorin;
She is it that holds and has for her own
The rule of the hall so rich."
Svipdag spake:
25. "Now answer me, Fjolsvith, the question I ask,
For now the truth would I know :
What call they the gate? for among the gods
Ne'er saw man so grim a sight."
Fjolsvith spake:
26. "Thrymgjol they call it ; 'twas made by the three,
The sons of Solblindi ;
And fast as a fetter the farer it holds,
Whoever shall hft the latch."
Svipdag spake:
27. "Now answer me, Fjolsvith, the question I ask,
For now the truth would I know :
24. Svafrthorin: who he was, or what his name means, or
who his son was, are all unknown.
26. Thrymgjol ("Loud-Clanging") : this gate, like the gate of
the dead, shuts so fast as to trap those who attempt to use it (cf.
Sigurtharkvitha en skamma, 68 and note). It was made by the
dwarfs, sons of Solblindi ("Sun-Blinded"), the traditional crafts-
men, who could not endure the light of day.
[ 241 ]
Poetic Edda
What call they the house ? for no man beheld
'Mongst the gods so grim a sight."
Fjolsvith spake:
28. "Gastropnir is it, of old I made it
From the limbs of Leirbrimir;
I braced it so strongly that fast it shall stand
So long as the world shall last."
Svipdag spake'.
29. "Now answer me, Fjolsvith, the question I ask,
For now the truth would I know :
What call they the tree that casts abroad
Its limbs o'er every land?"
Fjolsvith spake:
30. "Mimameith its name, and no man knows
What root beneath it runs;
And few can guess what shall fell the tree.
For fire nor iron shall fell it."
Svipdag spake:
31. "Now answer me, Fjolsvith, the question I ask,
For now the truth would I know:
28. Gastropnir: "Guest-Crusher." Leirbrimir's ("Clay-
Giant's") limbs: a poetic circumlocution for "clay"; cf. the de-
scription of the making of earth from the body of the giant Ymir,
Vafthruthnismol, 21.
30. Mimameith ("Mimir's Tree") : the ash Yggdrasil, that
overshadows the whole world. The well of Mimir was situated
at its base; cf. Voluspo, 27-29.
[242]
Svipdagsmol
What grows from the seed of the tree so great,
That fire nor iron shall fell ?"
Fjolsvith spake:
32. "Women, sick with child, shall seek
Its fruit to the flames to bear ;
Then out shall come what within was hid.
And so is it mighty with men."
Svipdag spake:
33. "Now answer me, Fjolsvith, the question I ask,
For now the truth would I know:
What cock is he on the highest bough.
That glitters all with gold ?"
Fjolsvith spake:
34. "Vithofnir his name, and now he shines
Like lightning on Mimameith's limbs ;
And great is the trouble with which he grieves
Both Surt and Sinmora."
32. Gering suggests that two stanzas have been lost between
stanzas 15 and 16, but the giant's answer fits the question quite
well enough. The fruit of Yggdrasil, when cooked, is here
assumed to have the power of assuring safe childbirth,
34. Vithofnir ("Tree-Snake") : apparently identical with
either the cock Gollinkambi (cf. Voluspo, 43) or Fjalar (cf.
Voluspo, 42), the former of which wakes the gods to battle, and
the latter the giants. Surt: the giant mentioned in Voluspo, 52,
as ruler of the fire-world; here used to represent the giants in
general, who are constantly in terror of the cock's eternal watch-
fulness. Sinmora: presumably Surt's wife, the giantess who pos-
sesses the weapon by which alone the cock Vithofnir may be slain.
[ 243 ]
Poetic Edda
Svipdag spake:
35. "Now answer me, Fjolsvith, the question I ask,
For now the truth would I know :
What call they the hounds, that before the house
So fierce and angry are?"
Fjolsvith spake:
36. "Gif call they one, and Geri the other,
If now the truth thou wouldst know;
Great they are, and their might will grow,
Till the gods to death are doomed."
Svipdag spake:
37. "Now answer me, Fjolsvith, the question I ask.
For now the truth would I know :
May no man hope the house to enter.
While the hungry hounds are sleeping?"
Fjolsvith spake:
38. "Together they sleep not, for so was it fixed
When the guard to them was given;
One sleeps by night, the next by day,
So no man may enter ever."
Svipdag spake:
39. "Now answer me, Fjolsvith, the question I ask,
For now the truth would I know:
35. The last two lines have been variously emended.
36. Gif and Geri: both names signify "Greedy." The first
part of line 3 is conjectural; the manuscripts indicate the word
"eleven," which clearly fails to make sense.
[244]
Svipdagsmol
Is there no meat that men may give them,
And leap within while they eat?"
Fjolsvith spake:
40. "Two wing-joints there be in Vithofnir's body,
If now the truth thou wouldst know;
That alone is the meat that men may give them,
And leap within while they eat."
Svipdag spake:
41. "Now answer me, Fjolsvith, the question I ask.
For now the truth would I know :
What weapon can send Vithofnir to seek
The house of Hel below?"
Fjolsvith spake:
42. "Lasvatein is there, that Lopt with runes
Once made by the doors of death ;
In Laegjarn's chest by Sinmora lies it,
And nine locks fasten it firm."
Svipdag spake:
43. "Now answer me, Fjolsvith, the question I ask.
For now the truth would I know :
May a man come thence who thither goes,
And tries the sword to take ?"
42. Lavrtein ("Wounding Wand") : the manuscripts differ as
to the form of this name. The suggestion that the reference is to
the mistletoe with which Baldr was killed seems hardly reason-
able. Lopi: Loki. Lagjarn ("Lover of 111") : Loki ; cf. Voluspo, 35,
[245]
Poetic Edda
Fjolsvith spake:
44. "Thence may he come who thither goes,
And tries the sword to take,
If with him he carries what few can win.
To give to the goddess of gold."
Svtpdag spake:
45. "Now answer me, Fjolsvith, the question I ask,
For now the truth would I know :
What treasure is there that men may take
To rejoice the giantess pale?"
Fjolsvith spake:
46. "The sickle bright in thy wallet bear.
Mid Vithofnir's feathers found ;
To Sinmora give it, and then shall she grant
That the weapon by thee be won."
Svtpdag spake:
47. "Now answer me, Fjolsvith, the question I ask,
For now the truth would I know :
What call they the hall, encompassed here
With flickering magic flames?"
where the term appears as an adjective applied to Loki. This is
Falk's emendation for the manuscripts' "Saegjarn," meaning "Sea
Lover." Sinmora: cf. stanza 34.
44 Goddess of gold: poetic circumlocution for "woman,"
here meaning Sinmora.
46. Sickle: i.e., tail feather. With this the circle of impossi-
bilities is completed. To get past the dogs, they must be fed with
the wing-joints of the cock Vithofnir; the cock can be killed only
[246]
Svipdagsmol
Fjolsvith spake:
48. "Lyr is it called, and long it shall
On the tip of a spear-point tremble ;
Of the noble house mankind has heard,
But more has it never known."
Svipdag spake:
49. "Now answer me, Fjolsvith, the question I ask.
For now the truth would I know :
What one of the gods has made so great
The hall I behold within?"
Fjolsvith spake:
50. "Uni and Iri, Bari and Jari,
Var and Vegdrasil,
Dori and Ori, Delling, and there
Was Loki, the fear of the folk."
with the sword in Sinraora's possession, and Sinmora will give up
the sword only in return for the tail feather of the cock.
48. Lyr ("Heat-Holding") : just what the spear-point refer-
ence means is not altogether clear. Presumably it refers to the
way in which the glowing brightness of the lofty hall makes it
seem to quiver and turn in the air, but the tradition, never
baffled by physical laws, may have actually balanced the whole
building on a single point to add to the difficulties of entrance.
50. Loki, the one god named, was the builder of the hall, with
the aid of the nine dwarfs. Jari, Dori, and Ori appear in the
Voluspo catalogue of the dwarfs (stanzas 13 and 15) ; Delling
appears in Hovamol, 161, and Vafthrut finis mol, 25, in the latter
case, however, the name quite possibly referring to some one
else. The other dwarfs' names do not appear elsewhere. The
manuscripts differ as to the forms of many of these names.
[247]
Poetic Edda
Svipdag spake:
51. "Now answer me, Fjolsvith, the question I ask,
For now the truth would I know :
What call they the mountain on which the maid
Is lying so lovely to see?"
Fjolsvith spake:
52. "Lyfjaberg is it, and long shall it be
A joy to the sick and the sore;
For well shall grow each woman who climbs it,
Though sick full long she has lain."
Svipdag spake:
53. "Now answer me, Fjolsvith, the question I ask,
For now the truth would I know :
What maidens are they that at Mengloth's knees
Are sitting so gladly together?"
Fjolsvith spake: •
54. "Hlif is one named, HHfthrasa another,
Thjothvara call they the third;
52. Lyfjaberg ("Hill of Healing") : the manuscripts vary as
to this name; I have followed Bugge's suggestion. This stanza
implies that Mengloth is a goddess of healing, and hence, per-
haps, an hypostasis of Frigg, as already intimated by her name
(cf. stanza 3, note) . In stanza 54 Eir appears as one of Mengloth's
handmaidens, and Eir, according to Snorri {Gylfaginning, 35)
is herself the Norse Hygeia. Compare this stanza with stanza 32.
54. The manuscripts and editions show many variations in
these names. They may be approximately rendered thus: Helper,
Help-Breather, Folk-Guardian, Shining, White, Blithe, Peaceful,
Kindly (?), and Gold-Giver.
[248]
Svipdagsmol
Bjort and Bleik, BUth and Frith,
Eir and Aurbotha."
Svipdag spake:
55. "Now answer me, Fjolsvith, the question I ask,
For now the truth would I know :
Aid bring they to all who offerings give,
If need be found therefor?"
Fjolsvith spake:
56. "Soon aid they all who offerings give
On the holy altars high ;
And if danger they see for the sons of men,
Then each from ill do they guard."
Svipdag spake:
57. "Now answer me, Fjolsvith, the question I ask,
For now the truth would I know :
Lives there the man who in Mengloth's arms
So fair may seek to sleep ?"
Fjolsvith spake:
58. "No man there is who in Mengloth's arms
So fair may seek to sleep.
Save Svipdag alone, for the sun-bright maid
Is destined his bride to be."
55. One of the manuscripts omits stanzas 55 and 56.
56. The first line is based on a conjectural emendation.
[249]
Poetic Edda
Svipdag spake:
59. "Fling back the gates! make the gateway wide!
Here mayst thou Svipdag see!
Hence get thee to find if gladness soon
Mengloth to me will give."
Fjolsvith spake:
6a "Hearken, Mengloth, a man is come ;
Go thou the guest to see !
The hounds are fawning, the house bursts
open, —
Svipdag, methinks, is there."
Mengloth spake:
61. "On the gallows high shall hungry ravens
Soon thine eyes pluck out,
If thou liest in saying that here at last
The hero is come to my hall.
62. "Whence camest thou hither? how camest thou
here?
What name do thy kinsmen call thee?
Thy race and thy name as a sign must I know,
That thy bride I am destined to be."
Svipdag spake:
63. "Svipdag am I, and Solbjart's son;
Thence came I by wind-cold ways;
63. Solbjart ("Sun-Bright") : not elsewhere mentioned. The
ivords of Urth: i.e., the decrees of fate; cf. stanza 7.
[250 J
Svipdagsmol
With the words of Urth shall no man war,
Though unearned her gifts be given."
Mengloth spake:
64. "Welcome thou art, for long have I waited ;
The welcoming kiss shalt thou win !
For two who love is the longed-for meeting
The greatest gladness of all.
65. "Long have I sat on Lyfjaberg here.
Awaiting thee day by day ;
And now I have what I ever hoped,
For here thou art come to my hall.
66. "Alike we yearned ; I longed for thee,
And thou for my love hast longed ;
But now henceforth together we know
Our lives to the end we shall live."
65. Lyfjaberg cf. stanza 52 and note.
[251]
THE POETIC EDDA
VOLUME II
LAYS OF THE HEROES
VOLUNDARKVITHA
The Lay of Volund
Introductory Note
Between the T hrymskvitha and the 4lvissmol in the Codex
Regius stands the Volundark'vitha. It was also included in the
Arnamagrteean Codex, but unluckily it begins at the very end of
the fragment which has been preserved, and thus only a few
lines of the opening prose remain. This is doubly regrettable
because the text in Regius is unquestionably in very bad shape,
and the other manuscript would doubtless have been of great
assistance in the reconstruction of the poem.
There has been a vast amount written regarding the Weland
tradition as a whole, discussing particularly the relations between
the Volundarkvitha and the Weland passage in Dear's Lament.
There can be little question that the story camp tn the North
from Saxon regions, along with many of the other early hero
■ lales. Ih sfflnza i6 the Rhine is specifically mentioned as the
home of treasure; and the presence of thp st"'-y in AntTlft-^^n'?!]
poetry probably as early as the first_£art of-tbieL-cighth century
proves beyond a doubt that thej£g£lld^cannot have been_ajiative_
2rodUCI~Pf%:andmavia. In one forni oranother, TioweverT^tHe
legend of the smitn persisted for centuries throughout all the
Teutonic lands, and the name of Wayland Smith is familiar to
all readers of Walter Scott, and even of Rudyard Kipling's tales
of England.
In what form this story reached the North is uncertain. Sun-
dry striking parallels between the diction of the^EMltndark'vitha
and that of the Weland passage in Dear's Lament make it dis-
tinctly probable that a iiaxon song on this subject had found its
way to Scandinavia or Iceland. But the prose introduction to the
poem mentions the "old sagas" in which Volund was celebrated,
and in the Thithrekssaga we have definite evidence of the exist-
ence of such prose narrative in the form of the Velentssaga
(Velent, Volund, Weland, and Wayland all being, of course,
identical), which gives a long story for which the Volundarkvitha
can have supplied relatively little, if any, of the material. It is
, probable, then, that Weland stories were current in both prose
land verse in Scandinavia as early as the latter part of the ninth
1 century.
[252]
Volundarkvitha
Once let a figure become popular in oral tradition, and the
number and variety of the incidents connected with his name
will increase very rapidly. Doubtless there were scores of Weland
stories current in the eighth, ninth, and tenth centuries, many
of them with very little if any traditional authority. The main
one, however, the story of the laming of the smith by King v
Nithuth (or by some other enemy) and of Weland's terrible
revenge, forms the basis of the Volundark'vitha. To this, by way
of introduction, has been added the storv of Volund and the v^
swan-maiden, who, to make things" even more complex7l5 likewise
said to be a Valkyrie, Some critics maintain that these two sections
were originally two distinct poems^jperely strung together by th^
compiler with the help of narrative prose links; but the poem 1/
as a whole has a kind of dramatic unity which suggests rather
that an early poet — for linguistically the poem belongs among ^
the oldest of the Eddie collection — used two._distinct .legends,
whether in prose or verse, as the basis for the composition of a
new and homogeneous poem.
y\\p gwrjp-maiden story appears, of course, in many places
quite distinct from the WeFand tradition, and, in another form,
became one of the most popular of German folk tales. Like
the story of Weland, however, if is of German rather than
_Jirnr»'^'"''"'''M nr'ri'"» ^"d the identification of the swan-maiaens
as Valkyries, which may havetalcen plgC6 before tTTTT legend
reached the North, may, on the other hand, have been simply
^" "ttfmpt *•" ''"nnprt sniithfrn tradifinn vyith figuring yygll known
in_jinrtl\ern mythology.
The V'6lundark'vitlid"i% full of prose narrative links, including
an introduction. The nature of such prose links has already
been discussed in the introductory note to the Grimnismol ; the
Volundark'vitha is a striking illustration of the way in which the
funrtinn nf fViP parlipf Eddic verse was limited chiefly to dialogue
or description^ the narrative outline bemg provided, if al all; iiT"
prose. This prose was put in by each reciter according to hisj
fancy and knowledge, and his estimate of his hearers' need for !
such explanations; some of it, as in this instance, eventually'
found its way into the written record.
The manuscript of the Volundarkvitha is in such bad shape,
and the conjectural emendations have been so numerous, that
in the notes I have attempted to record only the most important
of them.
[253]
Poetic Edda
There was a king in Sweden named Nithuth. He had
two sons and one daughter; her name was Bothvild.
There were three brothers, sons of a king of the Finns:
one was called Slagfith, another Egil, the third Volund.
They went on snowshoes and hunted wild beasts. They
came into Ulfdalir and there they built themselves a house ;
there was a lake there which is called Ulfsjar. Early one
morning they found on the shore of the lake three women,
who were spinning flax. Near them were their swan-
garments, for they were Valkyries. Two of them were
daughters of King Hlothver, Hlathguth the Swan-White
and Hervor the All-Wise, and the third was Olrun,
daughter of Kjar from Valland. These did they bring
Prose. Nithuth ("Bitter Hater") : here identified as a king of
Sweden, is in the poem (stanzas 9, 15 and 32) called lord of the
Njars, which may refer to the people of the Swedish district of
Nerike. In any case, the scene of the story has moved from
Saxon lands into the Northeast. The first and last sentences of
the introduction refer to the second part of the poem; the rest of
it concerns the swan-maidens episode. Bothvild ("Warlike
Maid") : Volund's victim in the latter part of the poem. King of
the Finns: this notion, clearly later than the poem, which calls
Volund an elf, may perhaps be ascribed to the annotator who
composed the prose introduction. The Finns, meaning the dwell-
ers in Lapland, were generally credited with magic powers.
Egil appears in the Thithrekssaga as Volund's brother, but Slag-
fith is not elsewhere mentioned. Ulfdalir ("Wolf-Dale"), Ulfsjar
("Wolf-Sea"), Valland ("Slaughter-Land") : mythical places
without historical identification. Valkyries: cf. Voluspo, 31 and
note; there is nothing in the poem to identify the three swan-
maidens as Valkyries except one obscure word in line 2 of stanza
I and again in line 5 of stanza 5, which may mean, as Gering
translates it, "helmed," or else "fair and wise." I suspect that
the annotator, anxious to give the Saxon legend as much northern
local color as possible, was mistaken in his mythology, and that
[254]
Volundarkvitha
home to their hall with them. Egil took Olrun, and Slag-
fith Swan-White, and Volund All-Wise. There they
dwelt seven winters ; but then they flew away to find bat-
tles, and came back no more. Then Egil set forth on his
snowshoes to follow Olrun, and Slagfith followed Swan-
White, but Volund stayed in Ulfdalir. He was a most
skillful man, as men know from old tales. King Nithuth
had him taken by force, as the poem here tells.
I. Maids from the south through Myrkwood flew.
Fair and young, their fate to follow;
On the shore of the sea to rest them they sat,
The maids of the south, and flax they spun.
the poet never conceived of his swan-maidens as Valkyries at all.
However, this identification of swan-maidens with Valkyries was
not uncommon; cf. Helre'tth Brynhildar, 7. The three maidens'
names, Hlathguth, Hervor, and Olrun, do not appear in the lists
of Valkyries. King Hloth'ver: this name suggests the southern
origin of the story, as it is the northern form of Ludwig; the
name appears again in Guthrunarkzitha II, 26, and that of Kjar
is found in Atlakvitha, 7, both of these poems being based on
German stories. It is worth noting that the composer of this intro-
ductory note seems to have had little or no information beyond
what was actually contained in the poem as it has come down to
us; he refers to the "old stories" about Volund, but either he was
unfamiliar with them in detail or else he thought it needless to
make use of them. His note simply puts in clear and connected
form what the verse tells somewhat obscurely; his only addi-
tions are making Nithuth a king of Sweden and Volund's father
a king of the Finns, supplying the name Ulfsjar for the lake,
identifying the swan-maidens as Valkyries, and giving Kjar a
home in Valland.
I. The manuscript indicates line 3 as the beginning of a
stanza; two lines may have been lost before or after lines 1-2,
[255]
Poetic Edda
2.
Hlathguth and Hervor, Hlothver's children,
And Olrun the Wise Kjar's daughter was.
3-
One in her arms took Egil then
To her bosom white, the woman rair.
4. Swan-White second, — swan-feathers she wore,
And her arms the third of the sisters threw
Next round Volund's neck so white.
5. There did they sit for seven winters,
In the eighth at last came their longing again,
(And in the ninth did need divide them).
The maidens yearned for the murky wood,
The fair young maids, their fate to follow.
and two more, or even six, with the additional stanza describing
the theft of the swan-garments, after line 4. Myrkivood: a stock
name for a magic, dark forest; cf. Lokasenna, 42.
2. In the manuscript these two lines stand after stanza 16;
editors have tried to fit them into various places, but the prose
indicates that they belong here, with a gap assumed.
3. In the manuscript these two lines follow stanza i, with no
gap indicated, and the first line marked as the beginning of a
stanza. Many editors have combined them with stanza 4.
4. No lacuna indicated in the manuscript; one editor fills the
stanza out with a second line running: "Then to her breast
Slagfith embraced."
5. Line 3 looks like an interpolation, but line 5, identical with
line 2 of stanza i, may be the superfluous one.
[256 J
Volundarkvitha
6. Volund home from his hunting came,
From a weary way, the weather-wise bowman,
Slagfith and Egil the hall found empty.
Out and in went they, everywhere seeking.
7. East fared Egil after Olrun,
And Slagfith south to seek for Swan-White;
Volund alone In Ulfdalir lay,
8. Red gold he fashioned with fairest gems.
And rings he strung on ropes of bast ;
So for his wife he waited long.
If the fair one home might come to him.
9. This Nithuth learned, the lord of the Njars,
That Volund alone in Ulfdalir lay;
6. The phrase "Volund home from a weary way" is an emen-
dation of Bugge's, accepted by many editors. Some of those who
do not include it reject line 4, and combine the remainder of the
stanza with all or part of stanza 7.
7. The manuscript marks the second, and not the first, line as
the beginning of a stanza. Some editors combine lines 2-3 with all
or part of stanza 8. No gap is indicated in the manuscript, but
many editors have assumed one, some of them accepting Bugge's
suggested "Till back the maiden bright should come."
8. No line in this stanza is indicated in the manuscript as be-
ginning a new stanza ; editors have tried all sorts of experiments
in regrouping the lines into stanzas with those of stanzas 7 and
9. In line 3 the word long is sheer guesswork, as the line in the
manuscript contains a metrical error.
9. Some editors combine the first two lines with parts of
stanza 8, and the last two with the first half of stanza lo. Njars:
[257]
Poetic Edda
By night went his men, their mail-coats were
studded,
Their shields in the waning moonlight shone.
10. From their saddles the gable wall they sought,
And in they went at the end of the hall;
Rings they saw there on ropes of bast.
Seven hundred the hero had.
11. Of? they took them, but all they left
Save one alone which they bore away.
12. Volund home from his hunting came.
From a weary way, the weather-wise bowman;
A brown bear's flesh would he roast with fire ;
Soon the wood so dry was burning well,
(The wind-dried wood that Volund's was).
there has been much, and inconclusive, discussion as to what this
name means; probably it applies to a semi-mythical people some-
where vaguely in "the East."
lo. Some editors combine lines 3-4 with the fragmentary
stanza 11.
n. No gap indicated in the manuscript; some editors combine
these lines with lines 3-4 of stanza 10, while others combine them
with the first two lines of stanza 12. The one ring which Nithuth's
men steal is given to Bothvild, and proves the cause of her
undoing.
12. The manuscript indicates line 3, and not line i, as the be-
ginning of a stanza, which has given rise to a large amount of
conjectural rearrangement. Line 2 of the original is identical
with the phrase added by Bugge in stanza 6. Line 5 may be
[258]
Volundarkvitha
13. On the bearskin he rested, and counted the rings,
The master of elves, but one he missed ;
That Hlothver's daughter had it he thought,
And the all-wise maid had come once more.
14. So long he sat that he fell asleep.
His waking empty of gladness was;
Heavy chains he saw on his hands,
And fetters bound his feet together.
Volund spake:
15. "What men are they who thus have laid
Ropes of bast to bind me now ?"
Then Nithuth called, the lord of the Njars:
"How gottest thou, Volund, greatest of elves,
These treasures of ours in Ulfdalir?"
Volund spake:
16. "The gold was not on Grani's way,
spurious, or lines 4-5 may have been expanded out of a single
line running "The wind-dried wood for Volund burned well."
13. Elves: the poem here identifies Volund as belonging to
the race of the elves. Hlothver's daughter: Hervor; many editors
treat the adjective "all-wise" here as a proper name.
15. In this poem the manuscript indicates the speakers. Some
editors make lines 1-2 into a separate stanza, linking lines 3-5
(or 4-5) with stanza 16. Line 3 is very possibly spurious, a mere
expansion of "Nithuth spake." Nithuth, of course, has come with
his men to capture Volund, and now charges him with having
stolen his treasure.
16. The manuscript definitely assigns this stanza to Volund,
but many editors give the first two lines to Nithuth. In the manu-
[259]
Poetic Edda
Far, methinks, is our realm from the hills of the
Rhine ;
I mind me that treasures more we had
When happy together at home we were."
17. Without stood the wife of Nithuth wise,
And in she came from the end of the hall ;
On the floor she stood, and softly spoke:
"Not kind does he look who comes from the
wood."
King Nithuth gave to his daughter Bothvild the gold
ring that he had taken from the bast rope in Volund's
script stanza 16 is followed by the two lines of stanza 2, and
many editions make of lines 3-4 of stanza 16 and stanza z a
single speech by Volund. Grant's <way: Grani was Sigurth's
horse, on which he rode to slay Fafnir and win Andvari's hoard ;
this and the reference to the Rhine as the home of wealth betray
the southern source of the story. If lines 1-2 belong to Volund,
they mean that Nithuth got his wealth in the Rhine country, and
that Volund's hoard has nothing to do with it; if the speak'er is
Nithuth, they mean that Volund presumably has not killed a
dragon, and that he is far from the wealth of the Rhine, so that
he must have stolen his treasure from Nithuth himself.
17. Line i is lacking in the manuscript, lines 2-4 following
immediately after the two lines here given as stanza 2. Line i,
borrowed from line i of stanza 32, is placed here by many edi-
tors, following Bugge's suggestion. Certainly it is Nithuth's wife
who utters line 4. Who comes from the wood: Volund, noted as a
hunter. Gering assumes that with the entrance of Nithuth's wife
the scene has changed from Volund's house to Nithuth's, but I
cannot see that this is necessary.
Prose. The annotator inserted this note rather clumsily in the
midst of the speech of Nithuth's wife.
[260]
Volundarkvitha
house, and he himself wore the sword that Volund had
had. The queen spake:
1 8. "The glow of his eyes is like gleaming snakes,
His teeth he gnashes if now is shown
The sword, or Bothvild's ring he sees;
Let them straightway cut his sinews of strength,
And set him then in Saevarstath."
So was it done: the sinews in his knee-joints were cut,
and he was set in an island which was near the mainland,
and was called Saevarstath. There he smithied for the
king all kinds of precious things. No man dared to go
to him, save only the king himself, Volund spake:
19. "At Nithuth's girdle gleams the sword
That I sharpened keen with cunningest craft,
(And hardened the steel with highest skill;)
The bright blade far forever is borne,
(Nor back shall I see it borne to my smithy;)
Now Bothvild gets the golden ring
(That was once my bride's, — ne'er well shall it
be.)"
18. In the manuscript lines 2-3 stand before line i ; many
editors have made the transposition here indicated. Some editors
reject line 3 as spurious. Savarstath: "Sea-Stead."
19. This stanza is obviously In bad shape. Vigfusson makes
two stanzas of it by adding a first line: "Then did Volund
speak, sagest of elves." Editors have rejected various lines,
and some have regrouped the last lines with the first two of
[261]
Poetic Edda
20. He sat, nor slept, and smote with his hanuner,
Fast for Nithuth wonders he fashioned ;
Two boys did go in his door to gaze,
Nithuth's sons, into Saevarstath.
2 1 . They came to the chest, and they craved the keys,
The evil was open when in they looked;
To the boys it seemed that gems they saw,
Gold in plenty and precious stones.
Volund spake:
22. "Come ye alone, the next day come.
Gold to you both shall then be given ;
Tell not the maids or the men of the hall.
To no one say that me you have sought."
stanza 20. The elimination of the passages in parenthesis pro-
duces a four-line stanza which is metrically correct, but it has
little more than guesswork to support it.
20. The editions vary radically in combining the lines of this
stanza with those of stanzas 19 and 2t, particularly as the manu-
script indicates the third line as the beginning of a stanza. The
meaning, however, remains unchanged.
21. Several editions make one stanza out of lines 3-4 of stanza
20 and lines 1-2 of stanza 21, and another out of the next four
lines. The evil nvas open: i.e., the gold in the chest was destined
to be their undoing.
22. The manuscript indicates line 3 as the beginning of a
stanza, and several editors have adopted this grouping. In the
Thithrekssaga Volund sends the boys away with instructions not
to come back until just after a fall of snow, and then to approach
his dwelling walking backward. The boys do this, and when,
after he has killed them, Volund is questioned regarding them,
he points to the tracks in the snow as evidence that they had left
his house.
[262]
Volundarkvitha
23.
Early did brother to brother call :
"Swift let us go the rings to see."
24. They came to the chest, and they craved the keys,
The evil was open when in they looked ;
He smote off their heads, and their feet he hid
Under the sooty straps of the bellows.
25. Their skulls, once hid by their hair, he took,
Set them in silver and sent them to Nithuth ;
Gems full fair from their eyes he fashioned,
To Nithuth's wife so wise he gave them.
26. And from the teeth of the twain he wrought
A brooch for the breast, to Bothvild he sent it;
27. Bothvild then of her ring did boast,
23. No gap indicated in the manuscript. Some editors assume
it, as here ; some group the lines with lines 3-4 of stanza 22, and
some with lines 1-2 of stanza 24.
24. Some editions begin a new stanza with line 3.
25. The manuscript indicates line 3 as the beginning of a
stanza, and many editors have adopted this grouping.
26. These two lines have been grouped in various ways, either
with lines 3-4 of stanza 25 or with the fragmentary stanza 27.
No gap is indicated in the manuscript, but the loss of something
is so obvious that practically all editors have noted it, although
they have diflFered as to the number of lines lost.
2J. No gap indicated in the manuscript; the line and a half
[263]
Poetic Edda
"The ring I have broken,
I dare not say it save to thee."
Volund spake:
28. "I shall weld the break in the gold so well
That fairer than ever thy father shall find it,
And better much thy mother shall think it,
And thou no worse than ever it was."
29. Beer he brought, he was better in cunning.
Until in her seat full soon she slept.
Volund spake:
"Now vengeance I have for all my hurts,
Save one alone, on the evil woman."
30.
Quoth Volund: "Would that well were the
sinews
Maimed in my feet by Nithuth's men."
might be filled out (partly with the aid of late paper manu-
scripts) thus: "But soon it broke, and swiftly to Volund / She
bore it and said — "
29. The manuscript does not name Volund as the speaker
before line 3 ; Vigfusson again inserts his convenient line, "Then
Volund spake, sagest of elves." A few editions combine lines
3-4 with the two lines of stanza 30.
30. No gap indicated in the manuscript; some editors com-
bine the two lines with lines 3-4 of stanza 29, and many with
the three lines of stanza 31.
[264]
Volundarkvitha
31. Laughing Volund rose aloft,
Weeping Bothvild went from the isle,
For her lover's flight and her father's wrath.
32. Without stood the wife of Nithuth wise,
And in she came from the end of the hall ;
But he by the wall in weariness sat :
"Wakest thou, Nithuth, lord of the Njars?"
Nithuth spake:
33. "Always I wake, and ever joyless,
Little I sleep since my sons were slain;
Cold is my head, cold was thy counsel,
One thing, with Volund to speak, I wish.
34-
31. Something has probably been lost before this stanza, ex-
plaining how Volund made himself wings, as otherwise, owing
to his lameness, he could not leave the island. The Thithrekssaga
tells the story of how Volund's brother, Egil, shot birds and gave
him the feathers, out of which he made a feather-garment. This
break in the narrative illustrates the lack of knowledge appar-
ently possessed by the compiler who was responsible for the
prose notes ; had he known the story told in the Thithrekssaga, it
is hardly conceivable that he would have failed to indicate the
necessary connecting link at this point. Some editors reject line 3
as spurious. The manuscript does not indicate any lacuna.
32. The manuscript indicates line 4 as the beginning of a
stanza, and many editors have followed this arrangement.
33. The manuscript does not name the speaker. It indicates
line 3 as the beginning of a new stanza. Vigfusson adds before
line I, "Then spake Nithuth, lord of the Njars."
34. No gap indicated in the manuscript, but it seems clear
[265]
Poetic Edda
"Answer me, Volund, greatest of elves,
What happed with my boys that hale once were ?"
Volund spake:
35. "First shalt thou all the oaths now swear,
By the rail of ship, and the rim of shield,
By the shoulder of steed, and the edge of sword,
That to Volund's wife thou wilt work no ill.
Nor yet my bride to her death wilt bring.
Though a wife I should have that well thou
knowest.
And a child I should have within thy hall.
36. "Seek the smithy that thou didst set.
Thou shalt find the bellows sprinkled with blood ;
I smote off the heads of both thy sons.
And their feet 'neath the sooty straps I hid,
37. "Their skulls, once hid by their hair, I took,
Set them in silver and sent them to Nithuth;
that something has been lost. Some editors combine these two
lines with lines 3-4 of stanza 33. Volund is now flying over
Nithuth's hall.
35. The manuscript does not name the speaker; Vigfusson
again makes two full stanzas with the line, "Then did Volund
speak, sagest of elves." Some editors begin a new stanza with
line 4, while others reject as interpolations lines 2-3 or 5-7.
Volund's twife: the reference is to Bothvild, as Volund wishes to
have his vengeance fall more heavily on her father than on her.
36. Lines 3-4 are nearly identical with lines 3-4 of stanza 24.
37. Identical, except for the pronouns, with stanza 25.
[266]
Volundarkvitha
Gems full fair from their eyes I fashioned,
To Nithuth's wife so wise I gave them.
38. "And from the teeth of the twain I wrought
A brooch for the breast, to Bothvild I gave it ;
Now big with child does Bothvild go.
The only daughter ye two had ever."
Nit hut h spake:
39. "Never spakest thou word that worse could hurt
me,
Nor that made me, Volund, more bitter for ven-
geance ;
There is no man so high from thy horse to take
thee,
Or so doughty an archer as down to shoot thee,
While high in the clouds thy course thou takest."
40. Laughing Volund rose aloft.
But left in sadness Nithuth sat.
38. Lines 1-2: cf. stanza 26.
39. The manuscript does not name the speaker. Either line 4
or line 5 may be an interpolation; two editions reject lines 3-5,
combining lines 1-2 with stanza 40. In the Thithrekssaga Nithuth
actually compels Egil, Volund's brother, to shoot at Volund. The
latter has concealed a bladder full of blood under his left arm,
and when his brother's arrow pierces this, Nithuth assumes that
his enemy has been killed. This episode likewise appears among
the scenes from Volund's career rudely carved on an ancient
casket of ivory, bearing an Anglo-Saxon inscription in runic let-
ters, which has been preserved.
40. Line 1: cf. stanza 31. The manuscript indicates no lacuna.
1267]
Poetic Edda
41. Then spake Nithuth, lord of the Njars:
"Rise up, Thakkrath, best of my thralls,
Bid Bothvild come, the bright-browed maid,
Bedecked so fair, with her father to speak."
42.
"Is it true, Bothvild, that which was told me ;
Once in the isle with Volund wert thou?"
Bothvild spake:
43. "True is it, Nithuth, that which was told thee,
Once in the isle with Volund was I,
An hour of lust, alas it should be!
Nought was my might with such a man,
Nor from his strength could I save myself."
41. The first line is a conjectural addition. Thakkrath is prob-
ably the northern form of the Middle High German name
Dancrat.
42. The manuscript indicates no gap, but indicates line 3 as
the beginning of a stanza ; Vigfusson's added "Then Nithuth
spake, lord of the Njars" seems plausible enough.
43. The manuscript does not name the speaker. Different
editors have rejected one or another of the last three lines, and
as the manuscript indicates line 4 as the beginning of a new
stanza, the loss of two or three lines has likewise been suggested.
According to the Thithrekssaga, the son of Volund and Bothvild
was Vithga, or Witege, one of the heroes of Dietrich of Bern.
[268]
HELGAKVITHA
HJORVARTHSSONAR
The Lay of Helgi the Son of Hjorvarth
Introductory Note
The three Helgi lays, all found in the Codex Regius, have
been the subjects of a vast amount of discussion, in spite of
which many of the facts regarding them are still very far from
settled. It is, indeed, scarcely possible to make any unqualified
statement regarding these three poems for which a flat contra-
diction cannot be found in the writings of some scholar of
distinction. The origin of the Helgi tradition, its connection
with that of Sigurth^ the authorship, date and home of the
poems, the degree to vvhich they have been altered from their
original forms, the status of the composer of the copious prose
notes: these and many other allied questions have been and
probably always will be matters of dispute among students of
the Edda's history.
Without attempting to enter into the discussion in detail,
certain theories should be noted. Helgi appears originally to
have been a Danish popular hero, the son of King Halfdan.
Saxo Grammaticus has a good deal to say about him in that
capacity, and it has been pointed out that many of the place
names in the Helgi lays can be pretty clearly identified with
parts of Denmark and neighboring stretches of the Baltic. The
Danish Helgi, according to Saxo, was famed as the conqueror
of Hunding and Hothbrodd, the latter as the result of a naval
expedition at the head of a considerable fleet.
From Denmark the story appears to have spread northward
into Norway and westward into the Norse settlements among
the islands. Not many of its original features remained, and new
ones were added here and there, particularly with regard to
Helgi's love affair with Sigrun. The victories over Hunding
and Hothbrodd, however, were generally retained, and out of
material relating to these two fights, and to the Helgi-Sigrun
story, were fashioned the two lays of Helgi Hundingsbane.
How the Helgi legend became involved with that of the
Volsungs is an open question. Both stories travelled from the
South, and presumably about the same time, so it is not unnatural
[269]
Poetic Edda
that some confusion should have arisen. At no tinoe, however,
was the connection particularly close so far as the actual
episodes of the two stories were concerned. In the two lays of
Helgi Hundingsbane the relationship is established only by the
statement that Helgi was the son of Sigmund and Borghild;
Sigurth is not mentioned, and in the lay of Helgi the son of
Hjorvarth there is no connection at all. On the other hand,
Helgi does not appear in any of the Eddie poems dealing
directly with the Volsung stories, although in one passage of
doubtful authenticity (cf. Reginsmol, introductory note) his
traditional enemy, Hunding, does, represented by his sons. In
the Volsungasaga the story of Helgi, including the fights with
Hunding and Hothbrodd and the love affair with Sigrun, is
told in chapters 8 and 9 without otherwise affecting the course
of the narrative. Here, as in the Helgi lays, Helgi is the son
of Sigmund Volsungsson and Borghild; Sigurth, on the other
hand, is the son of Sigmund and Hjordis, the latter being the
daughter of King Eylimi. Still another son, who complicates
both stories somewhat, is Sinfjotii, son of Sigmund and his
own sister, Signy. Sinfjotii appears in both of the Helgi Hund-
ingsbane lays and in the Volsungasaga, but not in any of the
Eddie poems belonging to the Volsung cycle (cf. Fra Dautha
Sinfjotla and note).
There is a certain amount of resemblance between the story
of Helgi and Sigrun and that of Sigurth and Brynhild, particu-
larly as the annotator responsible for the prose notes insists
that Sigrun was a Valkyrie. Whether this resemblance was the
cause of bringing the two stories together, or whether the
identification of Helgi as Sigmund's son resulted in alterations
of the love story in the Helgi poems, cannot be determined.
The first of the three Helgi poems, the lay of Helgi the son
of Hjorvarth, is a somewhat distant cousin of the other two.
The Helgi in question is apparently the same traditional figure,
and he leads a naval expedition, but he is not the son of
Sigmund, there is no connection with the Volsung cycle, and his
wife is Svava, not Sigrun. At the same time, the points of
general resemblance with the two Helgi Hundingsbane lays
are such as to indicate a common origin, provided one goes
far enough back. The annotator brings the stories together by
the naive expedient of having Helgi "born again," and not once
only, but twice.
[270]
Helgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar
The first Helgi lay is manifestly in bad shape, and includes
at least two distinct poems, diflFerentiated not only by subject-
matter but by metrical form. Although the question is debatable,
the longer of these poems (stanzas i-ii and 31-43) seems in
turn to have been compounded out of fragments of two or more
Helgi poems. The first five stanzas are a dialogue between a
bird and Atli, one of Hjorvarth's followers, concerning the
winning of Sigrlin, who is destined to be Hjorvarth's wife and
Helgi's mother. Stanzas 6-1 1 are a dialogue between Helgi and
a Valkyrie (the accompanying prose so calls her, and identifies
her as Svava, but there is nothing in the verse to prove this).
Stanzas 12-30 form a fairly consecutive unit, in which Atli, on
guard over Helgi's ship, has a vigorous argument with a giantess,
Hrimgerth, whence this section has sometimes been called the
Hrimgertharmol {Lay of Hrimgerth). The last section, stanzas
31-43, is again fairly consecutive, and tells of the death of
Helgi following the rash oath of his brother, Hethin, to win
Svava for himself.
Parts I, n, and IV may all have come from the same poem
or they may not; it is quite impossible to tell surely. All of them
are generally dated by commentators not later than the first
half of the tenth century, whereas the Hrimgertharmol (section
HI) is placed considerably later. When and by whom these
fragments were pieced together is another vexed question, and
this involves a consideration of the prose notes and links, of
which the Helgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar has a larger amount
than any other poem in the Edda. These prose links contain
practically all the narrative, the verse being almost exclusively
dialogue. Whoever composed them seems to have been con-
sciously trying to bring his chaotic verse material into some
semblance of unity, but he did his work pretty clumsily, with
manifest blunders and contradictions. Bugge has advanced the
theory that these prose passages are to be regarded as an
original and necessary part of the work, but this hardly squares
with the evidence.
It seems probable, rather, that as the Helgi tradition spread
from its native Denmark through the Norse regions of the North
and West, and became gradually interwoven, although not in
essentials, with the other great hero cycle from the South, that
of the Volsungs, a considerable number of poems dealing with
Helgi were composed, at different times and in different places,
[271]
Poetic Edda
reflecting varied forms of the story. Many generations after-
wards, when Iceland's literary period had arrived, some zealous
scribe committed to writing such poems or fragments of poems
as he knew, piecing them together and annotating them on the
basis of information which had reached him through other
channels. The prose notes to Helgakvitha Hundingsbana II
frankly admit this patchwork process: a section of four stanzas
(13-16) is introduced with the phrase, "as is said in the Old
Volsung Lay"; the final prose note cites an incident "told in
the Karuljoth {Lay of Kara)" and a two-line speech is quoted
"as it was written before in the Helgakvitha."
The whole problem of the origin, character and home of the
Helgi poems has been discussed in great detail by Bugge in his
Helge-D'tgtene i den yEldre Edda, Deres Hjem og Forbindelser,
which, as translated by W. H. Schofield under the title The
Home of the Eddie Poems, is available for readers of English.
This study is exceedingly valuable, if not in all respects con-
vincing. The whole matter is so complex and so important in
the history of Old Norse literature, and any intelligent reading
of the Helgi poems is so dependent on an understanding of
the conditions under which they have come down to us, that
I have here discussed the question more extensively than the
scope of a mere introductory note to a single poem would
warrant.
(I)
OF HJORVARTH AND SIGRLIN
Hjorvarth was the name of a king, who had four wives:
one was called Alfhild, and their son was named Hethin ;
the second was called Saereith, and their son was named
Humlung; the third was called Sinrjoth, and their son was
Prose: In the manuscript the sub-title, "Of Hjorvarth and
Sigrlin," stands as the title for the whole poem, though it clearly
applies only to the first five stanzas. Most editions employ the
title here given. Hjorvarth: the name is a not uncommon one;
[272]
Helgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar
named Hymling. King Hjorvarth had made a great vow
to have as wife whatsoever woman he knew was fairest.
He learned that King Svafnir had a daughter fairer than
all others, whose name was Sigrlin. Ithmund was the
name of one of his jarls; he had a son called Atli, who
went to woo Sigrlin on behalf of the king. He dwelt
the winter long with King Svafnir. There was a jarl
called Franmar, Sigrhn's foster-father; his daughter was
named Alof. The jarl told him that the maiden's hand
was denied, and Atli went home. Atli, the jarl's son,
stood one day in a certain wood ; a bird sat in the branches
up over him, and it had heard that his men called Hjor-
varth's wives the fairest of women. The bird twittered,
and Atli hearkened to what it spoke. It said :
there are two men of that name mentioned in the mythical-
heroic genealogies of the Hyndluljoth (stanzas 23 and 28), and
Hjorvarth appears in Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I (stanza 14)
and II (prose after stanza 12) as a son of Hunding. This
particular Hjorvarth is called by the annotator, but not directly
so in the verse, a king of Norway. The name means "Sword-
Guardian." Four wives: polygamy, while very infrequent,
appears occasionally in the Norse sagas. Alfhild: "Elf-Warrior."
Hethin: "Fur-Clothed" (?). Sareith: "Sea-Rider." Sinrjoth:
"Ever-Red." The fourdi wife, not here named, may be Sigrlin.
It has been suggested that Saereith and Sinrjoth may be northern
and southern forms of the same name, as also Humlung and
Hymling, their sons. Svafnir: the annotator calls him king of
Svavaland, apparently a place on the mainland which could be
reached from Norway either by land or by sea. Sigrlin: "The
Conquering Serpent." Atli: Norse form of the Gothic Attila
(Etzel). Alof: perhaps a feminine form of Olaf. A bird:
compare the counsel given by the birds to Sigurth after the
slaying of Fafnir {Fafnismol, stanzas 32-38). This is one of the
many curious resemblances between the Helgi and the Sigurth
stories.
[ 273 ]
Poetic Edda
1. "Sawest thou Sigrlin, Svafnir's daughter,
The fairest maid in her home-land found?
Though Hjorvath's wives by men are held
Goodly to see in Glasir's wood."
Atli spake:
2. "Now with Atli, Ithmund's son.
Wilt thou say more, thou bird so wise ?"
The bird spake:
"I may if the prince an offering makes.
And I have what I will from the house of the
king."
Jtli spake:
3. "Choose not Hjorvarth, nor sons of his,
Nor the wives so fair of the famous chief;
Ask not the brides that the prince's are;
Fair let us deal in friendly wise."
The bird spake:
4. "A fane will I ask, and altars many,
Gold-horned cattle the prince shall give me,
If Sigrlin yet shall sleep in his arms.
Or free of will the hero shall follow."
I. Glasir's zuood: Snorri in the Skaldskaparmal quotes a half
stanza to the effect that "Glasir stands with golden leaves
before Othin's hall," and calls it "the fairest wood among gods
and men." The phrase as used here seems to mean little.
4. The bird's demands would indicate that it is in reality one
of the gods. Gold-horned cattle: cf. Thrymskvitha, 23. There
[274]
Helgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar
This was before Atli went on his journey; but when
he came home, and the king asked his tidings, he said :
5. "Trouble we had, but tidings none.
Our horses failed in the mountains high,
The waters of Saemorn we needs must wade ;
Svafnir's daughter, with rings bedecked,
She whom we sought, was still denied us."
The king bade that they should go another time, and
he went with them himself. But when they came up on
the mountain, they saw Svavaland burning and mighty
dust-clouds from many steeds. The king rode from the
mountain forward into the land, and made a night's stay
hard by a stream. Atli kept watch and went over the
stream ; he found there a house. A great bird sat on the
housetop to guard it, but he was asleep. Atli hurled his
spear at the bird and slew it, and in the house he found
Sigrlin the king's daughter and Alof the jarl's daughter,
and he brought them both thence with him. Jarl Franmar
had changed himself into the likeness of an eagle, and
guarded them from the enemy host by magic. Hrothmar
was the name of a king, a wooer of Sigrlin; he slew the
are other references to gilding the horns of cattle, particularly
for sacrificial purposes.
Prose. The annotator contradicts himself here, as he had
already stated that Atli was on his way home.
5. Possibly the remains of two stanzas, or perhaps a line has
been added. Seemorn: this river is nowhere else mentioned.
Prose. Sigrlin and Alof, protected by the latter's father,
Franmar, have fled before the ravaging army of Sigrlin's rejected
[275]
Poetic Edda
king of Svavaland and had plundered and burned his
land. King Hjorvarth took Sigrlin, and Atli took Alof.
(11)
Hjorvarth and Sigrlin had a son, mighty and of noble
stature; he was a silent man, and no name stuck fast to
him. He sat on a hill, and saw nine Valkyries riding;
one of them was the fairest of all. She spake :
6. "Late wilt thou, Helgi, have hoard of rings,
Thou battle-tree fierce, or of shining fields, —
The eagle screams soon, — if never thou speakest.
Though, hero, hard thy heart may cry."
Helgi spake:
7. "What gift shall I have with Helgi's name.
Glorious maid, for the giving is thine ?
suitor, Hrothmar. The beginning of a new section (II) is indi-
cated in the manuscript only by the unusually large capital letter
with which "Hjorvarth" begins. No name, etc.: this probably
means that Helgi had always been so silent that he would answer
to no name, with the result that he had none. Valkyries: cf.
Voluspo, 31 and note. The annotator insists here and in the
prose after stanza 9 that Svava was a Valkyrie, but there is
nothing in the verse to prove it, or, indeed, to identify the
Svava of the last section of the poem with the person who gave
Helgi his name. In the Volsungasaga Sigmund himself names
his son Helgi, and gives him a sword, following Helgakvitha
Hundingsbana I.
6. Battle-tree: poetic phrase for "warrior." Shining fields:
the words in the manuscript may form a proper name, Rothuls-
voll, having this meaning.
7. Gift: not only was it customary to give gifts with the naming
[276]
Helgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar
All thy words shall I think on well,
But I want them not if I win not thee."
The Valkyrie spake:
8. "Swords I know lying in Sigarsholm,
Fifty there are save only four;
One there is that is best of all,
The shield-destroyer, with gold it shines.
9. "In the hilt is fame, in the haft is courage,
In the point is fear, for its owner's foes;
On the blade there lies a blood-flecked snake.
And a serpent's tail round the flat is twisted."
Eylimi was the name of a king, whose daughter was
Svava; she was a Valkyrie, and rode air and sea. She
gave Helgi this name, and shielded him oft thereafter in
battle. Helgi spake:
10. "Hjorvarth, king, unwholesome thy counsels.
Though famed thou art in leading the folk.
of a child, but the practice frequently obtained when a permanent
epithet was added to the name of an adult.
8. Sigarsholm ("Isle of Sigar") : a place not identified, but
probably related to the Sigarsvoll where Helgi was slain
(stanza 35).
9. The sword is carved with magic runes and with snakes.
Fame: the original word is uncertain.
Prose. Eylimi: this name is another link with the Sigurth
story, as it is likewise the name of the father of Sigurth's mother,
Hjordis.
10. With this stanza begins a new episode, that of Helgi's
[277]
Poetic Edda
Letting fire the homes of heroes eat,
Who evil deed had never done thee.
11. "Yet Hrothmar still the hoard doth hold,
The wealth that once our kinsmen w^ielded ;
Full seldom care the king disturbs,
Heir to dead men he deems himself."
Hjorvarth answered that he would give Helgi a fol-
lowing if he fain would avenge his mother's father. Then
Helgi got the sword that Svava had told him of. So
he went, and Atli with him, and they slew Hrothmar,
and they did many great deeds.
(HI)
He slew the giant Hati, whom he found sitting on a
certain mountain. Helgi and Atli lay with their ships
in Hatafjord. Atli kept watch during the first part of
the night. Hrimgerth, Hati's daughter, spake;
12. "Who are the heroes in Hatafjord?
The ships are covered with shields ;
victory over King Hrothmar, who had killed his mother's father
(cf. prose after stanza 5). It has been suggested, in consequence,
that stanzas lo-ii may be a separate fragment. The verse tells
nothing of the battle, merely giving Helgi's reproaches to his
father for having left Svafnir's death and the burning of
Svavaland unavenged.
Prose. The manuscript does not indicate any break, but the
episode which forms the basis of the Hrimgertharmol (stanzas
12-30) clearly begins with the slaying of the giant Hati ("The
Hateful"). Hatafjord: "Hati's Fjord." Hrimgerth: "Frost-
Shrouded" (?).
[278]
Helgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar
Bravely ye look, and little ye fear,
The name of the king would I know."
Atli spake:
13. "Helgi his name, • and never thou mayst
Harm to the hero bring;
With iron is fitted the prince's fleet,
Nor can witches work us ill."
Hrimgerth spake:
14. "Who now, thou mighty man, art thou?
By what name art thou known to men ?
He trusts thee well, the prince who wills
That thou stand at the stem of his ship."
Atli spake:
15. "Atli am I, and ill shalt thou find me,
Great hate for witches I have;
Oft have I been in the dripping bows,
And to dusk-riders death have brought.
16. "Corpse-hungry giantess, how art thou called ?
Say, witch, who thy father was!
13. Iron: the keels of Norse ships were sometimes fitted with
iron "shoes" at bow and stern, but it is not certain that this
practice much antedated the year 1000, and thus this line has
raised some question as to the antiquity of this stanza, if not of
the entire Hrimgertharmol, which may have been composed as
late as the eleventh century.
15. The manuscript does not indicate the speaker. The pun
on "Atli" and "atall" (meaning "ill") is untranslatable.
[ 279 ]
Poetic Edda
Nine miles deeper down mayst thou sink,
And a tree grow tall on thy bosom."
Hrimgerth spake:
17. "Hrimgerth am I, my father was Hati,
Of giants the most in might ;
Many a woman he won from her home,
Ere Helgi hewed him down."
Atli spake:
18. "Witch, in front of the ship thou wast,
And lay before the fjord ;
To Ron wouldst have given the ruler's men,
If a spear had not stuck in thy flesh."
Hrimgerth spake:
19. "Dull art thou, Atli, thou dreamest, methinks,
The lids lie over thine eyes;
By the leader's ships my mother lay,
Hlothvarth's sons on the sea I slew.
17. The manuscript does not indicate the speaker.
18. From this point to the end the manuscript does not indicate
the speakers. Ron: wife of the sea-god .^^gir, who draws drown-
ing men into the sea with her net. There is no other reference to
the wounding of Hrimgerth.
19. Apparently both Hrimgerth and her mother, Hati's wife,
had sought to destroy Helgi's ships, and had actually killed some
of his companions, the sons of ' Hlothvarth, concerning whom
nothing more is known. Many editors assume that a stanza
containing a speech by Atli has been lost after stanza 19.
[280]
Helgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar
20. "Thou wouldst neigh, AtH, but gelded thou art,
See, Hrimgerth hoists her tail;
In thy hinder end is thy heart, methinks,
Though thy speech is a stallion's cry."
Atlispake:
21. "A stallion I seem if thou seekest to try me.
And I leap to land from the sea;
I shall smite thee to bits, if so I will,
And heavy sinks Hrimgerth *s tail."
Hrimgerth spake:
22. "Go ashore then, Atli, if sure of thy might.
Let us come to Varin's cove;
Straight shall thy rounded ribs be made
If thou comest within my claws."
Atli spake:
23. "I will not go till the warriors wake,
Again their chief to guard ;
I should wonder not, foul witch, if up
From beneath our keel thou shouldst come."
Hrimgerth spake:
24. "Awake now, Helgi, and Hrimgerth requite,
That Hati to death thou didst hew;
20. Apparently Hrimgerth has assumed the form of a mare.
22. Varin's cove: the name of Varin appears twice in place
names in Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I (stanzas 27 and 39).
The sagas mention a mythical King Varin who lived at Skoru-
strond in Rogaland (Norway).
[281]
Poetic Edda
If a single night she can sleep by the prince,
Then requited are all her ills."
Helgi spake:
25. " 'Tis Lothin shall have thee, — thou'rt loath-
some to men, —
His home in Tholley he has;
Of the wild-dwellers worst is the giant wise,
He is meet as a mate for thee."
Hrimgerth spake:
26. "More thou lovest her who scanned the harbor.
Last night among the men;
(The gold-decked maid bore magic, methinks.
When the land from the sea she sought,
And fast she kept your fleet;)
She alone is to blame that I may not bring
Death to the monarch's men."
Helgi spake :
27. "Hrimgerth, mark, if thy hurts I requite,
Tell now the truth to the king;
25. Of the giant Lothin ("The Shaggy") and his home in
Tholley ("Pine Island") nothing is known. Cf. Skirnismol, 35.
26. Something is clearly wrong with this stanza, and the
manuscript indicates line 6 as the beginning of a new one.
Perhaps a line (between lines 4 and 5) has been lost, or perhaps
the lines in parenthesis are interpolations. Hrimgerth here refers
to Svava, or to the protectress with whom the annotator has
identified her, as having saved Helgi and his ships from the
vengeance of the giantesses. In the original line i includes Helgi's
name, which makes it metrically incorrect.
[282]
Helgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar
Was there one who the ships of the warrior
warded,
Or did many together go?"
Hrimgerth spake:
28. "Thrice nine there were, but one rode first,
A helmed maid white of hue;
Their horses quivered, there came from their
manes
Dew in the dales so deep,
(Hail on the woods so high,
Thence men their harvest have,
But ill was the sight I saw.)"
Atli spake:
29. "Look eastward, Hrimgerth, for Helgi has struck
thee
Down with the runes of death ;
Safe in harbor floats the prince's fleet.
And safe are the monarch's men."
Helgi spake:
30. "It is day, Hrimgerth, for Atli held thee
Till now thy life thou must lose ;
28. Again something is clearly wrong, and the last three lines
look like interpolations, though some editors have tried to recon-
struct two full stanzas. The passage suggests the identification
of the Valkyries with the clouds.
29. Some editions give this speech to Helgi. Eastivard: Atli
and Helgi have held Hrimgerth in talk till sunrise, and the
sun's rays turn her into stone. But dwarfs rather than giants
were the victims of sunlight; cf. Alvissmol, stanzas 16 and 35.
[283]
Poetic Edda
As a harbor mark men shall mock at thee,
Where in stone thou shalt ever stand."
(IV)
King Helgi was a mighty warrior. He came to King
Eylimi and sought the hand of his daughter, Svava. Then
Helgi and Svava exchanged vows, and greatly they loved
each other. Svava was at home with her father, while
Helgi was in the field; Svava was still a Valkyrie as
before.
Hethin was at home with his father. King Hjorvarth,
in Norway. Hethin was coming home alone from the
forest one Yule-eve, and found a troll-woman; she rode
30. Most editions give this stanza to Atli. With this the
Hrimgertharmol ends, and after the next prose passage the
meter reverts to that of the earlier sections.
Prose. The manuscript does not indicate a new section of
the poem. Eylimi: cf. note on prose after stanza 9. Valkyrie:
here, as before, the annotator has apparently nothing but his
own imagination on which to base his statement. Svava in the
ensuing stanzas certainly does not behave like a Valkyrie.
Norivay: the annotator doubtless based this statement on the
reference to Norway in line 2 of stanza 31. Yule-eve: the Yule
feast, marking the new year, was a great event in the heathen
North. It was a time of feasting and merrymaking, vows
("New Year's resolutions"), ghosts and witches; the spirits had
their greatest power on Yule-eve. The king's toast: vows made
at the passing of the king's cup at the Yule feast were particu-
larly sacred. Sacred boar: a boar consecrated to Freyr, an
integral part of the Yule rites. Hethin's vow, which is, of
course, the vengeance of the troll-woman, is too sacred to be
broken, but he immediately realizes the horror of his oath.
[284]
Helgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar
on a wolf, and had snakes in place of a bridle. She asked
Hethin for his company. "Nay," said he. She said,
"Thou shalt pay for this at the king's toast." That even-
ing the great vows were taken; the sacred boar was
brought in, the men laid their hands thereon, and took
their vows at the king's toast. Hethin vowed that he
would have Svava, Eylimi's daughter, the beloved of his
brother Helgi; then such great grief seized him that he
went forth on wild paths southward over the land, and
found Helgi, his brother. Helgi said :
31. "Welcome, Hethin! what hast thou to tell
Of tidings new that from Norway come ?
Wherefore didst leave thy land, O prince,
And fared alone to find us here ?"
Hethin spake:
32. "A deed more evil I have done
Than, brother mine, thou e'er canst mend;
For I have chosen the child of the king.
Thy bride, for mine at the monarch's toast."
31. From Norivay: Bugge uses this phrase as evidence that
the poem was composed in one of the Icelandic settlements of the
western islands, but as the annotator himself seems to have
thought that Hethin came to Helgi by land ("on wild paths
southward"), this argument does not appear to have much
weight.
32. The second line is conjectural; a line has clearly been
lost from this stanza, and various emendations have been sug-
gested.
[285]
Poetic Edda
Helgi spake:
33. "Grieve not, Hethin, for true shall hold
The words we both by the beer have sworn ;
To the isle a warrior wills that I go,
(There shall I come the third night hence;)
And doubtful must be my coming back,
(So may all be well, if fate so wills.)"
Hethin spake:
34. "Thou saidst once, Helgi, that Hethin was
A friend full good, and gifts didst give him;
More seemly it were thy sword to redden,
Than friendship thus to thy foe to give."
Helgi spoke thus because he foresaw his death, for his
following-spirits had met Hethin when he saw the woman
riding on the wolf. Alf was the name of a king, the son
of Hrothmar, who had marked out a battle-place with
33. Perhaps this is the remnant of two stanzas, or perhaps
two lines (probably the ones in parenthesis) have been interpo-
lated. The isle: duels were commonly fought on islands, probably
to guard against treacherous interference, whence the usual name
for a duel was "isle-going." A duel was generally fought three
days after the challenge. Reckoning the lapse of time by nights
instead of days was a common practice throughout the German
and Scandinavian peoples.
Prose. Some editors place all or part of this prose passage
after stanza 35. Follo'wing-spirits : the "fylgja" was a female
guardian spirit whose appearance generally betokened death.
The belief was common throughout the North, and has come
down to recent times in Scottish and Irish folk-lore. Individuals
and sometimes whole families had these following-spirits, but
it was most unusual for a person to have more than one of them.
Alf: son of the Hrothmar who killed Helgi's grandfather, and
[ 286 ]
Helgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar
Helgi at SigarsvoU after a stay of three nights. Then
Helgi spake:
35. "On a wolf there rode, when dusk it was,
A woman who fain would have him follow ;
Well she knew that now would fall
Sigrlin's son at SigarsvoU."
There was a great battle, and there Helgi got a mor-
tal wound.
36. Sigar riding did Helgi send
To seek out Eylimi's only daughter:
"Bid her swiftly ready to be,
If her lover alive she would find."
Sigar spake:
37. "Hither now has Helgi sent me,
With thee, Svava, thyself to speak ;
The hero said he fain would see thee
Ere life the nobly born should leave."
Svava spake:
38. "What chanced with Helgi, Hjorvarth's son?
Hard to me is harm now come ;
If the sea smote him, or sword bit him,
111 shall I bring to all his foes."
who was in turn later killed by Helgi. SigarsvoU ("Sigar's
Field"): cf. stanza 8 and note; the Sigar in question may be
the man who appears as Helgi's messenger in stanzas 36-39.
36. Sigar ("The Victorious") : cf. the foregoing note.
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Poetic Edda
Sigar spake:
39. "In the morn he fell at Frekastein,
The king who was noblest beneath the sun ;
Alf has the joy of victory all,
Though need therefor is never his."
Helgi spake:
40. "Hail to thee, Svava! thy sorrow rule.
Our meeting last in life is this ;
Hard the wounds of the hero bleed,
And close to my heart the sword has come.
41. "I bid thee, Svava, — weep not, bride, —
If thou wilt hearken to these my words.
The bed for Hethin have thou ready,
And yield thy love to the hero young."
Svava spake:
42. "A vow I had in my dear-loved home,
When Helgi sought with rings to have me.
That not of my will, if the warrior died.
Would I fold in my arms a man unfamed."
Hethin spake:
43. "Kiss me, Svava, I come not back,
39. Frekastein ("Wolf-Crag") : the name appears several
times in the Helgi lays applied to battlefields; cf. Helgakvitha
Hundingsbana I, 46 and 55, and II, 18 and 24. Need: i. e., Alf
deserves no credit for the victory, which was due to the troU-
womaa's magic.
[288]
Helgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar
Rogheim to see, or Rothulsfjoll,
Till vengeance I have for the son of Hjorvarth,
The king vi^ho was noblest beneath the sun."
Of Helgi and Svava it is said that they were bom again.
41. One or two editors ascribe this stanza to Hethin.
43. A few editions make the extraordinary blunder of ascrib-
ing this speech to the dying Helgi. The point, of course, is that
Hethin will satisfy Svava's vow by becoming famous as the
slayer of Alf. Rogheim ("Home of Battle") and Rothulsfjoll
("Sun-Mountain"): nowhere else mentioned; Hethin means
simply that he will not come back to Svava till he has won fame.
Prose. Regarding this extraordinary bit see the prose note at
the end of Helgakvitha Hundingsbana II. Gering thinks the
reborn Helgi Hjorvarthsson was Helgi Hundingsbane, while
Svava, according to the annotator himself, became Sigrun. The
point seems to be simply that there were so many Helgi stories
current, and the hero died in so many irreconcilable ways, that
tradition had to have him born over again, not once only but
several times, to accommodate his many deaths, and to avoid
splitting him up into several Helgis. Needless to say, the poems
themselves know nothing of this rebirth, and we owe the sugges-
tion entirely to the annotator, who probably got it from current
tradition.
[289]
HELGAKVITHA HUNDINGSBANA I
The First Lay of Helgi Hundingsbane
Introductory Note
The general subject of the Helgi lays is considered in the
introduction to Helgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar, and it is needless
here to repeat the statements there made. The first lay of Helgi
Hundingsbane is unquestionably one of the latest of the Eddie
poems, and was composed probably not earlier than the second
quarter of the eleventh century. It presents several unusual
characteristics. For one thing, it is among the few essentially
narrative poems in the whole collection, telling a consecutive
story in verse, and, except for the abusive dialogue between
Sinfjotli and Gothmund, which clearly was based on another
and older poem, it does so with relatively little use of dialogue.
It is, in fact, a ballad, and in the main an exceedingly vigorous
one. The annotator, who added his prose narrative notes so
freely in the other Helgi poems, here found nothing to do. The
available evidence indicates that narrative verse was a relatively
late development in Old Norse poetry, and it is significant that
most of the poems which consist chiefly, not of dialogue, but of
narrative stanzas, such as the first Helgi Hundingsbane lay and
the two Atli lays, can safely be dated, on the basis of other
■^ evidence, after the year looo.
The first Helgi Hundingsbane lay is again differentiated
from most of the Eddie poems by the character of its language.
It is full of those verbal intricacies which were the delight of
the Norse skalds, and which made Snorri's dictionary of poetic
phrases an absolute necessity. Many of these I have paraphrased
in the translation; some I have simplified or wholly avoided.
A single line will serve to indicate the character of this form
of complex diction (stanza 56, line 4) : "And the horse of the
giantess raven's-food had." This means simply that wolves
(giantesses habitually rode on wolves) ate the bodies of the dead.
Except for its intricacies of diction, and the possible loss
of a stanza here and there, the poem is comparatively simple.
The story belongs in all its essentials to the Helgi tradition,
with the Volsung cycle brought in only to the extent of making
Helgi the son of Sigmund, and in the introduction of Sinfjotli,
son of Sigmund and his sister Signy, in a passage which has
[290]
Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I
little or nothing to do with the course of the narrative, and
which looks like an expansion of a passage from some older
poem, perhaps from the "old Volsung la)r" to which the annotator
of the second Helgi Hundingsbane lay refers (prose after stanza
12). There are many proper names, some of which betray
the confusion caused by the blending of the two sets of traditions ;
for example, Helgi appears indiscriminately as an Ylfing
(which presumably he was before the Volsung story became
involved) and as a Volsung. Granmar and his sons are called
Hniflungs (Nibelungen) in stanza 50, though they seem to have
had no connection with this race. The place names have aroused
much debate as to the localization of the action, but while some
of them probably reflect actual places, there is so much geo-
graphical confusion, and such a profusion of names which are
almost certainly mythical, that it is hard to believe that the poet
had any definite locations in mind.
1. In olden days, when eagles screamed.
And holy streams from heaven's crags fell,
Was Helgi then, the hero-hearted",
Borghild's son, in Bralund bom.
2. 'Twas night in the dwelling, and Norns there
came.
Who shaped the life of the lofty one ;
They bade him most famed of fighters all
And best of princes ever to be.
1. The manuscript contains the superscription: "Here begins
the lay of Helgi Hundingbane and h. (Hothbrodd ?) The lay
of the Volsungs." Eagles, etc.; the screaming of eagles and water
pouring from heaven were portents of the birth of a hero.
Borghild: Sigmund's first wife; Bralund was her home, not
Sigmund's.
2. Norns: cf. Voluspo, 20 and note. Here it is the Norns who
[291]
Poetic Edda
3. Mightily wove they the web of fate,
While Bralund's towns were trembling all;
And there the golden threads they wove,
And in the moon's hall fast they made them.
4. East and west the ends they hid,
In the middle the hero should have his land ;
And Neri's kinswoman northward cast
A chain, and bade it firm ever to be.
5. Once sorrow had the Ylfings' son,
And grief the bride who the loved one had borne.
Quoth raven to raven, on treetop resting,
Seeking for food, "There is something I know.
preside over Helgi's early destiny, and not a Valkyrie, as in
Helgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar.
3. Line 2 Is largely guesswork, the manuscript being obscure.
Moon's hall: the sky.
4. East, etc.: the Norns give Helgi fame in the East, West,
and North; in the North his renown is particularly to endure.
This suggests that the poet was aware of the spread of the
Helgi story over many lands. Neri's kinsiuoman: evidently one
of the Norns, but nothing further is known of Neri, and the
word may not be a proper name at all.
5. The manuscript indicates no gap, but it looks as though
something had been lost after line 2. Ylfings' son: Sigmund is
evidently meant, though calling him an Ylfing (cf. Hyndluljoth,
u and note) is a manifest error. Helgi, in the tradition as it
came from Denmark, was undoubtedly an Ylfing, and the poet,
in order to combine the two legends, has to treat the Ylfings and
Volsungs as if they were the same family.
[292]
Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I
6. "In mail-coat stands the son of Sigmund,
A half-day old ; now day is here ;
His eyes flash sharp as the heroes' are,
He is friend of the wolves ; full glad are we."
7. The warrior throng a ruler thought him,
Good times, they said, mankind should see ;
The king himself from battle-press came,
To give the prince a leek full proud.
8. Helgi he named him, and Hringstathir gave him,
SolfjoU, Snaefjoll, and Sigarsvoll,
Hringstoth, Hotun, and Himinvangar,
And a blood-snake bedecked to Sinf jotli's brother.
6. Sigmund: the chief link between the Helgi and Sigurth
stories. He was the son of Volsung, great-grandson of Othin.
His children by his first wife, Borghild, were Helgi and Hamund
(belonging to the Helgi cycle) ; his son by his second wife,
Hjordis, was Sigurth. An incestuous connection with his sister,
Signy (cf. Wagner's Siegmund and Sieglinde) resulted in the
birth of Sinfjotli (cf. Fra Dautha Sinfjotla and note).
7. The king: Sigmund, who gives his son a symbol of the
lands which he bestows on him. Regarding the leek, cf. Voluspo,
4; Guthrunark'vitha I, 17, and Sigrdrifumol, 7.
8. Hringstathir ("Ring-Stead") : quite possibly the historical
Ringsted, long a possession of the Danish kings, and thus a relic
of the old Helgi tradition. Hringstoth may be another form of the
same name. SolfjoU ("Sun-Mountain") and Snafjoll ("Snow-
Mountain") are fictitious names. Regarding Sigarsvoll cf. Hel-
gakvitha Hjorvarthssonar, stanzas 8 and 35. Saxo mentions a
Danish king named Sigar, and the frequency with which the name
appears in the Helgi poems may be taken as a reminiscence of
Denmark. Hotun ("High Place") : possibly the village of Tune in
Seeland. Himinvangar ("Heaven's Field") : an imaginary place.
Blood-snake: a sword. Sinfjotli: cf. note on stanza 6.
[293]
Poetic Edda
9. Mighty he grew in the midst of his friends,
The fair-born elm, in fortune's glow;
To his comrades gold he gladly gave,
, The hero spared not the blood-flecked hoard.
10. Short time for war the chieftain waited.
When fifteen winters old he was ;
Hunding he slew, the hardy wight
Who long had ruled o'er lands and men.
11. Of Sigmund's son then next they sought
Hoard and rings, the sons of Hunding;
They bade the prince requital pay
For booty stolen and father slain.
12. The prince let not their prayers avail,
Nor gold for their dead did the kinsmen get ;
Waiting, he said, was a mighty storm
Of lances gray and Othin's grimness.
13. The warriors forth to the battle went,
The field they chose at Logaf joll ;
9. Elm: a not uncommon word for "man." Blood-flecked: i.e.,
won in battle.
10. Fifteen: until early in the eleventh century a Norwegian
or Icelandic boy became "of age" at twelve, and Maurer cites
this passage as added proof of the poem's lateness. Hunding:
the annotator (introductory prose to Helgakvitha Hundingsbana
II) calls him king of Hundland, which shows no great origi-
nality. Saxo mentions a Hunding who was a Saxon king ruling
in Jutland, probably the origin of Helgi's traditional foe.
12. Storm, etc.: war.
13. Logaf joll ("Flame-Mountain") : a mythical name. Frothi:
[294]
Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I
Frothi's peace midst foes they broke,
Through the isle went hungrily Vithrir's hounds.
14. The king then sat, when he had slain
Eyjolf and Alf, 'neath the eagle-stone;
Hjorvarth and Hovarth, Hunding's sons,
The kin of the spear-wielder, all had he killed.
15. Then glittered light from Logafjoll,
And from the light the flashes leaped;
16.
High under helms on heaven's field ;
Their byrnies all with blood were red.
And from their spears the sparks flew forth.
a traditional king of Denmark, whose peaceful reign was so
famous that "Frothi's peace" became a by-word for peace of
any kind. Vithrir's hounds: wolves; Vithrir is Othin, and his
hounds are the wolves Freki and Geri.
14. In this poem Helgi kills all the sons of Hunding, but in
the poems of the Sigurth cycle, and the prose notes attached
thereto, Sigmund and his father-in-law, Eylimi, are killed by
Hunding's sons, on whom Sigurth subsequently takes vengeance
(cf. Fra Dautha Sinfjotla and Reg'insmol) .
15. No gap indicated in the manuscript, but almost certainly
something has been lost mentioning more specifically the coming
of the Valkyries. The lightning which accompanies them suggests
again their identification with the clouds (cf. Helgakvitha Hjor-
varthssonar, 28).
16. Some editions fill out the first line: "He saw there mighty
maidens riding." The manuscript indicates line 4 as the begin-
ning of a new stanza.
r 295 1
Poetic Edda
17. Early then in wolf-wood asked
The mighty king of the southern maid,
If with the hero home would she
Come that night ; the weapons clashed.
18. Down from her horse sprang Hogni's daugh-
ter,—
The shields were still, — and spake to the hero :
"Other tasks are ours, methinks.
Than drinking beer with the breaker of rings.
19. "My father has pledged his daughter fair
As bride to Granmar's son so grim ;
But, Helgi, I once Hothbrodd called
As fine a king as the son of a cat.
17. Wolf-wood: dark forest; the original word is not alto-
gether clear. Southern: this variety of Valkyrie, like the swan-
maidens of the Vblundarkvitha, was clearly regarded as of
southern (i.e., German) origin. Here again there is a confusion
of traditions; the Valkyries of the Foluspo were as essentially
Norse as any part of the older mythology. I doubt if a poet much
earlier than the author of the first Helgi Hundingsbane lay
would have made his Sigrun, daughter of Hogni, a Valkyrie.
It is to be noted that the same complication appears in the
Sigurth story, where the undoubted Valkyrie, Brynhild-Sigrdrifa
(the latter name is really only an epithet) is hopelessly mixed
up with the quite human Brynhild, daughter of Buthli.
18. Breaker of rings: generous prince, because the breaking
of rings was the customary form of distributing gold.
19. Granmar: the annotator gives an account of him and his
family in the prose following stanza 12 of Helgakvitha Hund-
ingsbana II.
20. No gap indicated in the manuscript; some editors combine
the stanza with the fragmentary stanza 21, and others fill in
with "And home will carry Hogni's daughter."
[296]
Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I
20. "Yet the hero will come a few nights hence,
Unless thou dost bid him the battle-ground seek,
Or takest the maid from the warrior mighty."
Helgi spake:
21. "Fear him not, though Isung he felled,
First must our courage keen be tried.
Before unwilling thou fare with the knave ;
Weapons will clash, if to death I come not."
22. Messengers sent the mighty one then,
By land and by sea, a host to seek,
Store of wealth of the water's gleam,
And men to summon, and sons of men.
23. "Bid them straightway seek the ships,
And off Brandey ready to be!"
There the chief waited till thither were come
Men by hundreds from Hethinsey.
21. The manuscript has only lines i and 4 with the word
"first" of line 2, and does not indicate Helgi as the speaker.
The Volsungasaga, which follows this poem pretty closely, ex-
pands Helgi's speech, and lines 2-3 are conjectural versifications
of the saga's prose. Isung: nothing is known of him beyond the
fact, here indicated, that Hothbrodd killed him.
22. Water's gleam: gold.
23. Brandey ("Brand-Isle") : not mentioned elsewhere. Heth-
insey ("Hethin's Isle"): possibly the island of Hiddensee, east
of Riigen.
[297]
Poetic Edda
24. Soon off Stafnsnes stood the ships,
Fair they glided and gay with gold ;
Then Helgi spake to Hjorleif asking:
"Hast thou counted the gallant host?"
25. The young king answered the other then:
"Long were it to tell from Tronueyr
The long-stemmed ships with warriors laden
That corile from without into Orvasund.
26
"There are hundreds twelve of trusty men,
But in Hotun lies the host of the king.
Greater by half ; I have hope of battle."
27. The ship's-tents soon the chieftain struck,
And waked the throng of warriors all;
24. Stafnsnes ("Steersman's Cape") : an unidentifiable prom-
ontory. Fair: a guess, as the adjective in the manuscript is
obscure. Hjorleif does not appear elsewhere, and seems to be
simply one of Helgi's lieutenants.
25. Tronueyr: "Crane-Strand." Long-stemmed: literally
"long-headed," as the high, curving stem of a Norse ship was
often carved to represent a head and neck. Orvasund: almost cer-
tainly the Danish Oresund, off Seeland. Such bits of geography
as this followed Helgi persistently.
26. No gap indicated in the manuscript. Hotun: of. stanza 8
and note.
27. Line 3 seems to have been interpolated from line 4 of
Helgakvitha Hundingsbana II, 42. Ship's-tents: the awnings
spread over the deck to shelter the crews from sun and rain when
the ships were at anchor. Varinsfjord: cf. Helgakvitha Hjor-
varthssonar, 22 and note.
[298]
Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I
(The heroes the red of dawn beheld;)
And on the masts the gallant men
Made fast the sails in Varinsfjord.
28. There was beat of oars and clash of iron,
Shield smote shield as the ships'-folk rowed ;
Swiftly went the warrior-laden
Fleet of the ruler forth from the land.
29. So did it sound, when together the sisters
Of Kolga struck with the keels full long,
As if cliffs were broken with beating surf.
30. Helgi bade higher hoist the sails,
Nor did the ships'-folk shun the waves,
Though dreadfully did iEgir's daughters
Seek the steeds of the sea to sink.
31. But from above did Sigrun brave
Aid the men and all their faring;
28. The manuscript indicates line 3 as the beginning of a
new stanza, and some editions follow this arrangement, making
lines 1-2 a separate stanza.
29. The manuscript indicates no gap, and some editions com-
bine the stanza with lines 3-4 of stanza 28. Sisters of Kolga:
the waves, Kolga ("The Gold") being one of the daughters of
the sea-god, ^gir. As the Volsungasaga says, "Now there was
a great storm."
30. Helgi demonstrates his courage, whatever one may think
of his seamanship. JEgir's daughters: the waves; cf. stanza 29
and note.
[299]
Poetic Edda
Mightily came from the claws of Ron
The leader's sea-beast off Gnipalund.
32. At evening there in Unavagar
Floated the fleet bedecked full fair;
But they who saw from Svarin's hill,
Bitter at heart the host beheld.
SS. Then Gothmund asked, goodly of birth, ,
"Who is the monarch who guides the host,
And to the land the warriors leads?"
34. Sinfjotli answered, and up on an oar
Raised a shield all red with golden rim;
31. Sigrun here appears again as a Valkyrie. Ron: ^gir's
wife; cf. Helgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar, 18 and note. Sea-beast:
ship. Gnipalund: "Crag-Wood."
32. Unavagar: "Friendly Waves." Svarin's hill: the hill
where Granmar had his dwelling.
33. Here begins the long dialogue between Gothmund, one
of Granmar's sons, and Sinfjotli, Helgi's half-brother. Two
lines (stanza 33, lines 3-4) are quoted by the annotator in the
prose note following stanza 16 of the second Helgi Hundings-
bane lay, and the dialogue, in much abbreviated form, together
with Helgi's admonition to Sinfjotli to cease talking, is closely
paralleled in stanzas 22-27 of t^^^ poem. It has been suggested
that this whole passage (stanzas 33-48) is an interpolation, per-
haps from "the Old Volsung lay." This may be, but it seems
more probable that the poet used an older poem simply as the
basis for this passage, borrowing a little but making up a great
deal more. The manuscript indicates no gap in stanza 33.
34. Sinfjotli: cf. note on stanza 6. Red: raising a red shield
was the signal for war.
[ 300 ]
Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I
A sea-sentry was he, skilled to speak,
And in words with princes well to strive.
35. "Say tonight when you feed the swine,
And send your bitches to seek their swill,
That out of the East have the Ylfings come,
Greedy for battle, to Gnipalund.
36. "There will Hothbrodd Helgi find.
In the midst of the fleet, and flight he scorns ;
Often has he the eagles gorged,
Whilst thou at the quern wert slave-girls kissing."
Gothmund spake:
37. "Hero, the ancient sayings heed,
And bring not lies to the nobly born.
38. "Thou hast eaten the entrails of wolves,
And of thy brothers the slayer been ;
Oft wounds to suck thy cold mouth sought.
And loathed in rocky dens didst lurk."
35. Ylfings: cf. stanza 5 and note.
36. Quern: turning the hand mill was, throughout antiquity,
the task of slaves.
37. The manuscript does not name the speakers in this
dialogue. No gap indicated in the manuscript, and editors have
attempted various combinations of stanzas 37 and 38.
38. Wolves: the Volsungasaga tells that Sigmund and Sinf-
jotli lived in the woods for a time as werewolves. Brothers:
[301]
Poetic Edda
Sinfjotli spake:
39. "A witch in Varin's isle thou wast,
A woman false, and lies didst fashion;
Of the mail-clad heroes thou wouldst have
No other, thou saidst, save Sinfjotli only.
40. "A Valkyrie wast thou, loathly witch.
Evil and base, in Allfather's home;
The warriors all must ever fight.
Woman subtle, for sake of thee.
41.
Nine did we in Sogunes
Of wolf-cubs have ; I their father was."
Sinfjotli killed the two sons of his mother, Signy, and her hus-
band, Siggeir, as part of the vengeance wreaked on Siggeir
for the treacherous murder of Sigmund's father, Volsung, and
nine of his brothers (cf. Fra Dautha Sinfjotla and note). The
manuscript marks line 3 as the beginning of a new stanza.
39. Varin's isle: cf. stanza 27 and note, and Helgakvitha
Hjorvarthssonar, 22. Reproaching a man with having been a
woman and borne children was not uncommon.
40. This stanza may be an interpolation in the dialogue
passage. Allfather: Othin. We have no information regarding
Gothmund's career, but it looks as though Sinfjotli were drawing
solely on his imagination for his taunts, whereas Gothmund's
insults have a basis in Sinfjotli's previous life.
41. No gap indicated in the manuscript; some editors com-
bine the two lines with stanza 40, some regard them as the first
instead of the last lines of a separate stanza, and some assume
the lacuna here indicated. Sogunes ("Saga's Cape") : of the god-
dess Saga little is known ; cf. Grimnismol, 7.
[302]
Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I
Gothmund spake:
42. "Thou didst not father Fenrir's- wolves,
Though older thou art than all I know ;
For they gelded thee in Gnipalund,
The giant-women at Thorsnes once.
43. "Under houses the stepson of Siggeir lay,
Fain of the wolf's cry out in the woods ;
Evil came then all to thy hands,
When thy brothers' breasts thou didst redden,
Fame didst thou win for foulest deeds.
44. "In BravoU wast thou Grani's bride.
Golden-bitted and ready to gallop;
I rode thee many a mile, and down
Didst sink, thou giantess, under the saddle."
Sinfjotli spake:
45. "A brainless fellow didst seem to be,
When once for Gollnir goats didst milk,
42. Fenrir's-ijjolves : wolves in general. Thorsnes: "Thor's
Cape."
43. The phrase "under houses," which follows the manuscript,
may be an error for "in wolf-caves." Line 3 (or 4) may be an
interpolation. The manuscript indicates line 5 as the beginning
of a new stanza. Siggeir: cf. stanza 38, note.
44. Several editions assign this stanza to Sinfjotli instead of
to Gothmund. BravoU ("Field of the Brow") : not elsewhere men-
tioned in the poems. Grani: Sigurth's horse (cf. Volundarkvitha,
16 and note) ; Gothmund means that Sinfjotli had turned into a
mare, after the fashion of Loki (cf. Grimnismol, 44, note). The
meaning of line 4 in the original is uncertain.
45. A few editions give this stanza to Gothmund. Gollnir:
[303]
Poetic Edda
And another time when as Imth's daughter
In rags thou wentest; wilt longer wrangle?"
Gothmund spake:
46. "Sooner would I at Frekastein
Feed the ravens with flesh of thine
Than send your bitches to seek their swill,
Or feed the swine ; may the fiends take you !"
Helgi spake:
47. "Better, Sinfjotli, thee 'twould beseem
Battle to give and eagles to gladden.
Than vain and empty words to utter,
Though ring-breakers oft in speech do wrangle.
48. "Good I find not the sons of Granmar,
But for heroes 'tis seemly the truth to speak ;
At Moinsheimar proved the men
That hearts for the wielding of swords they had."
49. Mightily then they made to run
Sviputh and Sveggjuth to Solheimar;
possibly a giant. Imth: nothing is known of him or his daughter.
46. A few editions give this stanza to Sinfjotli. Frekastein:
cf. Helgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar, 39 and note. A stanza may
have been lost after stanza 46, parallel to stanza 25 of the second
Helgi Hundingsbane lay.
47. Ring'breakers : cf. stanza 18 and note.
48. Moinsheimar: a battlefield of which nothing is known,
where, however, the sons of Granmar appear to have fought
bravely.
49. Here the scene shifts to the shore among Hothbrodd's fol-
[304]
Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I
(By dewy dales and chasms dark,
Mist's horse shook where the men went by;)
The king they found at his courtyard gate,
And told him the foeman fierce was come.
50. Forth stood Hothbrodd, helmed for battle,
Watched the riding of his warriors;
"Why are the Hniflungs white with fear?"
Gothmund spake:
51. "Swift keels lie hard by the land,
(Mast-ring harts and mighty yards,
Wealth of shields and well-planed oars ; )
The king's fair host, the Ylfings haughty;
Fifteen bands to land have fared.
But out in Sogn are seven thousand.
lowers. Sviputh and Sveggjuth ("Swift" and "Lithe") : horses'
names. Mist's horse: the Valkyrie's name is the same as the Eng-
lish word "mist," and the "horse" on which the mist rides is the
earth. The two lines in parenthesis may be interpolated, or line 5
may begin a new stanza, as the manuscript indicates.
50. No gap indicated in the manuscript. Hniflungs: of. intro-
ductory note.
51. Lines 2-3 may be interpolated, or a new stanza may begin,
as the manuscript indicates, with line 5. Many editors combine
lines 5-6 with all or part of stanza 52. Possibly Gothmund is not
the speaker. Mast-ring harts: ships, so called from the ring at-
taching the yard to the mast. Ylfings: cf. stanza 5 and note. Sogn:
this name, which actually belongs in western Norway, seems to
have been used here with no particular significance.
52. The manuscript indicates line 3 as beginning a new
stanza ; some editors combine lines 3-4 with all or part of stanza
[305]
Poetic Edda
52. "At anchor lying off Gnipalund
Are fire-beasts black, all fitted with gold;
There wait most of the foeman's men,
Nor will Helgi long the battle delay."
Hothbrodd spake:
53. "Bid the horses run to the Reginthing,
Melnir and Mylnir to Myrkwood now,
(And Sporvitnir to Sparinsheith;)
Let no man seek henceforth to sit
Who the flame of wounds knows well to wield.
54. "Summon Hogni, the sons of Hring,
Atli and Yngvi and Alf the Old ;
Glad they are of battle ever ;
Against the Volsungs let us go."
53, while others assume the loss of two lines following line 4.
Fire-beasts: dragons, i.e., ships. The Norse ships of war, as dis-
tinguished from merchant vessels, were often called dragons
because of their shape and the carving of their stems.
53. The manuscript does not indicate the speaker, and a few
editors assume the loss of one or two lines embodying the phrase
"Hothbrodd spake." In the manuscript line 3, which many editors
have suspected of being spurious, stands before line 2. Possibly
lines 4-5 are the remains of a separate stanza. Reginthing ("The
Great Council"): apparently the council-place for the whole -
country, as distinct from the local council, or "herathsthing."
Melnir ("Bit-Bearer"), Mylnir ("The Biter") and Spornvitnir
("Spur- Wolf") : horses' names. Myrkivood: a not uncommon
name for a dark forest; cf. Lokasenna, 42, and Atlakvitha, 3.
Sparinsheith ("Sparin's Heath") : nothing more is known of
Sparin or his heath. Flame of wounds: sword.
54. Hogni: the father of Sigrun; cf. Helgakvitha Hundings-
[306]
Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I
55. Swift as a storm there smote together
The flashing blades at Frekastein ;
Ever was Helgi, Hunding's slayer,
First in the throng where warriors fought;
(Fierce in battle, slow to fly.
Hard the heart of the hero was.)
56. From heaven there came the maidens helmed, —
The weapon-clang grew, — who watched o'er the
king;
Spake Sigrun fair, — the wound-givers flew,
And the horse of the giantess raven's-food had : —
57. "Hail to thee, hero! full happy with men,
Offspring of Yngvi, shalt ever live.
For thou the fearless foe hast slain
Who to many the dread of death had brought. ^
bana II, 18. Of Hring and his sons nothing further is known.
Volsungs: here for the first time the poet gives Helgi and
Sinfjotli the family name to which, as sons of Sigmund Vol-
sungsson, they are entitled.
55. The manuscript indicates line 5 as the beginning of a new
stanza, but many editors have rejected lines 5-6 as spurious, while
others regard them as the first half of a stanza the last two lines
of which have been lost.
56. Wound-givers: probably this means "Valkyries," but there
is considerable doubt as to the original word. Horse, etc.: i.e., the
wolf (because giantesses customarily had wolves for their steeds)
ate corpses (the food of birds of prey).
57. Yngvi: one of the sons of Halfdan the Old, and traditional
ancestor of the Ynglings, with whom the Ylfings seem to have
been confused (cf. Hynduljoth, 11 and note). The confusion be-
tween the Ylfings (or Ynglings) and Volsungs was carried far
[ 307 ]
Poetic Edda
58. "Warrior, well for thyself hast won
Red rings bright and the noble bride;
Both now, warrior, thine shall be,
Hogni's daughter and Hringstathir,
Wealth and triumph ; the battle wanes."
enough so that SIgurth himself is once called a descendant of
Yngvi {Reginsmol, 14). Gering identifies the name of Yngvi with
the god Freyr, but the Volsungs certainly claimed descent from
Othin, not Freyr, and there is nothing to indicate that Helgi in
the Danish tradition was supposed to be descended from Freyr,
whereas his descent from Yngvi Halfdansson fits well with the
rest of his story. However, cf. Sigurtharkvitha en skamma, 24 and
note.
58. This entire stanza may be an interpolation; nearly every
edition has a different way of dealing with it. Hringstathir: as
this place had been given to Helgi by his father (cf. stanza 8
and note), the poet has apparently made a mistake in naming it
here as a conquest from Granmar's sons, unless, indeed, they
had previously captured it from Helgi, which seems unlikely.
[308]
HELGAKVITHA HUNDINGSBANA II
The Second Lay of Helgi Hundingsbane
Introductory Note
As the general nature of the Helgi tradition has been consid-
ered in the introductory note to Helgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar,
it is necessary here to discuss only the characteristics of this
particular poem. The second Helgi Hundingsbane lay is in most
respects the exact opposite of the first one: it is in no sense con-
secutive; it is not a narrative poem, and all or most of it gives
evidence of relatively early composition, its origin probably going
well back into the tenth century.
It is frankly nothing but a piece of, in the main, very clumsy
patchwork, made up of eight distinct fragments, pieced together
awkwardly by the annotator with copious prose notes. One of
these fragments (stanzas 13-16) is specifically identified as
coming from "the old Volsung lay." What was that poem, and
how much more of the extant Helgi-lay compilation was taken
from it, and did the annotator know more of it than he included
in his patchwork? Conclusive answers to these questions have
baffled scholarship, and probably always will do so. My own
guess is that the annotator knew little or nothing more than he
wrote down ; having got the first Helgi Hundingsbane lay, which
was obviously in fairly good shape, out of the way, he proceeded
to assemble all the odds and ends of verse about Helgi which he
could get hold of, putting them together on the basis of the nar-
rative told in the first Helgi lay and of such stories as his knowl-
edge of prose sagas may have yielded.
Section I (stanzas 1-4) deals with an early adventure of
Helgi's, in which he narrowly escapes capture when he ventures
into Hunding's home in disguise. Section II (stanzas 5-12) is a
dialogue between Helgi and Sigrun at their first meeting. Sec-
tion III (stanzas 13-16, the "old Volsung lay" group) is another
dialogue between Helgi and Sigrun when she invokes his aid to
save her from Hothbrodd. Section IV (stanzas 17-21), which
may well be from the same poem as Section III, is made up of
speeches by Helgi and Sigrun after the battle in which Hothbrodd
is killed; stanza 21, however, is certainly an interpolation from
another poem, as it is in a different meter. Section V (stanzas
22-27) ^s the dispute between Sinfjotli and Gothmund,, evidently
[309]
Poetic Edda
in an older form than the one included in the first Helgl Hun-
dingsbane lay. Section VI (stanzas 28-37) gives Dag's speech to
his sister, Sigrun, telling of Helgi's death, her curse on her
brother and her lament for her slain husband. Section VII
(stanza 38) is the remnant of a dispute between Helgi and
Hunding, here inserted absurdly out of place. Section VIII
(stanzas 39-50) deals with the return of the dead Helgi and
Sigrun's visit to him in the burial hill.
Sljmons maintains that sections I and II are fragments of the
Kara lay mentioned by the annotator in his concluding prose
note, and that sections IV, VI, and VIII are from a lost Helgi-
Sigrun poem, while Section III comes, of course, from the "old
Volsung lay." This seems as good a guess as any other, conclu-
sive proof being quite out of the question.
Were it not for sections VI and VIII the poem would be little
more than a battle-ground for scholars, but those two sections
are in many ways as fine as anything in Old Norse poetry.
Sigrun's curse of her brother for the slaying of Helgi and her
lament for her dead husband, and the extraordinary vividness
of the final scene in the burial hill, have a quality which fully
offsets the baffling confusion of the rest of the poem.
King Sigmund, the son of Volsung, had as wife Borg-
hild, from Bralund. They named their son Helgi, after
Helgi Hjorvarthsson; Hagal was Helgi's foster-father.
Hunding was the name of a powerful king, and Hund-
land is named from him. He was a mighty warrior, and
had many sons with him on his campaigns. There was
enmity and strife between these two, King Hunding and
Prose. In the manuscript the poem is headed "Of the Vol-
sungs," but most editions give it the title used here. Sigmund: cf.
Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I, 6 and note, which also mentions
Volsung. Borghild and Bralund: cf. Helgakviiha Hundingsbana
I, I and note. Helgi: the annotator's explanation that the child
[310]
Helgakvitha Hundingsbana II
King Sigmund, and each slew the other's kinsmen. King
Sigmund and his family were called Volsungs and Ylfings.
Helgi went as a spy to the home of King Hunding in
disguise. Haeming, a son of King Hunding's, was at
home. When Helgi went forth, then he met a young
herdsman, and said:
I. "Say to Haeming that Helgi knows
Whom the heroes in armor hid ;
A gray wolf had they within their hall.
Whom King Hunding Hamal thought."
Hamal was the name of Hagal's son. King Hunding
was named after Helgi Hjorvarthsson is a naive way of getting
around the difficulties created by the two sets of Helgi stories.
He might equally well have said that the new Helgi was the old
one born again, as he accounts for Sigrun in this way ("she was
Svava reborn"). Hagal: not elsewhere mentioned; it was a
common custom to have boys brought up by foster-parents. Hun-
ding and Hundland: cf. Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I, lo and
note. Volsungs and Ylfings: regarding this confusion of family
names ci. Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I, 5 and note. Haming: his
name does not appear in the list of Hunding's sons. It is quite
possible that these opening stanzas (1-4) do not refer to Hunding
at all.
I. Helgi appears to have stayed with Hunding under the
name of Hamal, but now, thinking himself safe, he sends word
of who he really is. Hunding: it has been suggested that the
compiler may have inserted this name to fit what he thought the
story ought to be, in place of Haeming, or even Hadding, If
stanzas 1-4 are a fragment of the Karuljoth {Lay of Kara), this
latter suggestion is quite reasonable, for in that poem, which we
do not possess, but which supplied material for the compilers of
the Hromundar saga Greipssonar, Helgi appears as Helgi Had-
dingjaskati (cf. final prose note). Nothing beyond this one name
connects stanzas 1-4 with Hunding.
[311]
Poetic Edda
sent men to Hagal to seek Helgi, and Helgl could not
save himself in any other way, so he put on the clothes
of a bond-woman and set to work at the mill. They
sought Helgi but found him not.
2. Then Blind spake out, the evil-minded:
"Of Hagal's bond-woman bright are the eyes;
Yon comes not of churls who stands at the quern ;
The millstones break, the boards are shattered.
3. "The hero has a doom full hard,
That barley now he needs must grind ;
Better befits his hand to feel
The hilt of the sword than the millstone's handle."
Hagal answered and said:
4. "Small is the wonder if boards are splintered ;
By a monarch's daughter the mill is turned;
Prose. Hagal: Helgi's foster-father, who naturally protects
him.
2. The manuscript indicates line 2 as the beginning of the
stanza, the copyist evidently regarding line i as prose. This has
caused various rearrangements in the different editions. Blind:
leader of the band sent to capture Helgi.
3. The manuscript marks line 3 as the beginning of a stanza.
Barley: the word literally means "foreign grain," and would
afford an interesting study to students of early commerce.
4. Possibly two stanzas with one line lost, or perhaps the lines
in parenthesis are spurious; each editor has his own guess.
Sigar and Hogni: it seems unlikely that Hagal refers to the
Hogni who was Sigrun's father, for this part of the story has
nothing whatever to do with Sigrun. As Hagal is, of course, de-
[312]
Helgakvitha Hurldingsbana II
Once through clouds she was wont to ride,
And battles fought like fighting men,
(Till Helgi a captive held her fast ;
Sister she is of Sigar and Hogni,
Thus bright are the eyes of the Ylfings' maid.) '
Helgi escaped and went to a fighting ship. He slew
King Hunding, and thenceforth was called Helgi Hund-
ingsbane.
(11)
He lay with his host in Brunavagar, and they had there
a strand-slaughtering, and ate the flesh raw. Hogni was
the name of a king. His daughter was Sigrun; she was
a Valkyrie and rode air and water ; she was Svava reborn.
Sigrun rode to Helgi's ship and said:
5. "Who rules the ship by the shore so steep?
Where is the home ye warriors have ?
Why do ye bide in Brunavagar,
Or what the way that ye wish to try?"
liberately lying, it is useless to test any part of his speech for
accuracy.
Prose. No division indicated in the manuscript. Brunavagar
("Bruni's Sea") : mentioned only in this section. Strand-slaughter-
ing: a killing on the shore of cattle stolen in a raid. Hogni and
Sigrun: cf. Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I, i-j and note; the anno-
tator's notion of Sigrun as the reincarnated Svava (cf. Helga-
kvitha Hjorvarthssonar, concluding prose note) represents a
naive form of scholarship. There is nothing in stanzas 5-12
which clearly identifies Sigrun as a Valkyrie, or which, except
for the last line of stanza 12, identifies the speaker as Sigrun.
Some editors, therefore, call her simply "the Valkyrie," while
[313]
Poetic Edda
Helgi spake:
"Hamal's the ship by the shore so steep,
Our home in Hlesey do we have ;
For fair wind bide we in Brunavagar,
Eastward the way that we wish to try."
Sigrun spake:
"Where hast thou, warrior, battle wakened,
Or gorged the birds of the sisters of Guth ?
Why is thy bymie spattered with blood,
Why helmed dost feast on food uncooked?"
Helgi spake:
"Latest of all, the Ylfings' son
On the western sea, if know thou wilt.
Captured bears in Bragalund,
And fed the eagles with edge of sword.
Now is it shown why our shirts are bloody.
And little our food with fire is cooked."
Vigfusson, -who thinks this section is also a remnant of the Karu-
Ijoth, calls her Kara.
6. The manuscript does not indicate the speakers. Hamal:
Helgi's assumption of this name seems to link this section
(stanzas 5-12) with stanza i. Hlesey ("Island of Hler" — i.e.,
.^gir, the sea-god) : generally identified as the Danish island of
Laso; cf. Harbarthsljoth, 37 and note.
7. Guth: a Valkyrie (cf. Voluspo, 31) ; the birds of her sisters
are the kites and ravens.
8. The manuscript indicates line 5 as the beginning of a new
stanza; some editors reject lines 1-2, while others make lines 5-6
into a fragmentary stanza. Ylfings: cf. introductory prose and
note. Bragalund ("Bragi's Wood") : a mythical place. Bears:
presumably Berserkers, regarding whom cf. Hyndluljoth, 23.
[314]
Helgakvitha Hundingsbana II
Sigrun spake:
9. "Of battle thou tellest, and there was bent
Hunding the king before Helgi down;
There was carnage when thou didst avenge thy
kin,
And blood flowed fast on the blade of the sword."
Helgi spake:
10. "How didst thou know that now our kin,
Maiden wise, we have well avenged?
Many there are of the sons of the mighty
Who share alike our lofty race."
Sigrun spake:
11. "Not far was I from the lord of the folk,
Yester morn, when the monarch was slain ;
Though crafty the son of Sigmund, methinks.
When he speaks of the fight in slaughter-runes.
12. "On the long-ship once I saw thee well.
When in the blood-stained bow thou wast,
10. Helgi's meaning in lines 3-4 is that, although he has al-
ready declared himself an Ylfing (stanza 8, line i), there are
many heroes of that race, and he does not understand how Sigrun
knows him to be Helgi.
11. Slaughter-runes : equivocal or deceptive speech regarding
the battle. The word "rune" had the meaning of "magic" or
"mystery^' long before it was applied to the signs or characters
with which it was later identified.
12. Some editors reject line 3, others line 5. The manuscript
omits Helgi's name in line 5, thereby destroying both the sense
and the meter. Vigfusson, following his Karuljoth theory (cf.
[315]
Poetic Edda
(And round thee icy waves were raging;)
Now would the hero hide from me,
But to Hogni's daughter is Helgi known."
(HI)
Granmar was the name of a mighty king, who dwelt
at Svarin's hill. He had many sons; one was named
Hothbrodd, another Gothmund, a third Starkath. Hoth-
brodd was in a kings' meeting, and he won the promise of
having Sigrun, Hogni's daughter, for his wife. But when
she heard this, she rode with the Valkyries over air and
sea to seek Helgi. Helgi was then at Logafjoll, and had
fought with Hunding's sons ; there he killed Alf and
Eyolf, Hjorvarth and Hervarth. He was all weary with
battle, and sat under the eagle-stone. There Sigrun found
him, and ran to throw her arms about his neck, and kissed
him, and told him her tidings, as is set forth in the old
Volsung lay :
13. Sigrun the joyful chieftain sought,
Forthwith Helgi's hand she took;
note on prose following stanza 4), changes Hogni to Half dan,
father of Kara.
Prose. The manuscript indicates no division. Most of this
prose passage is evidently based on Helgakvitha Hundingsbana
I ; the only new features are the introduction of Starkath as a
third son of Granmar, which is clearly an error based on a mis-
understanding of stanza 19, and the reference to the kings' meet-
ing, based on stanza 15. Kings' meetings, or councils, were by no
means unusual ; the North in early days was prolific in kings.
For the remaining names, cf. Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I:
[316]
Helgakvitha Hundingsbana II
She greeted the hero helmed and kissed him,
The warrior's heart to the woman turned.
14. From her heart the daughter of Hogni spake,
Dear was Helgi, she said, to her;
"Long with all my heart I loved
Sigmund's son ere ever I saw him.
15. ''At the meeting to Hothbrodd mated I was,
But another hero I fain would have ;
Though, king, the wrath of my kin I fear,
Since I broke my father's fairest wish."
Helgi spake:
1 6. "Fear not ever Hogni's anger,
Nor yet thy kinsmen's cruel wrath ;
Maiden, thou with me shalt live.
Thy kindred, fair one, I shall not fear."
Granmar, stanza 19; Hothbrodd, stanza 19; Gothmund, stanza
33; Svarin's hill, stanza 32; Logafjoll, stanza 13; Alf, Eyjolf,
Hjorvarth and Hervartk, stanza 14. The old Volsung lay: cf.
Introductory Note.
13. Some editions combine lines 3-4, or line 4, with part of
stanza 14.
14. The lines of stanzas 14 and 15 are here rearranged In
accordance with Bugge's emendation; in the manuscript they
stand as follows: lines 3-4 of stanza 14; stanza 15; lines 1-2 of
stanza 14. This confusion has given rise to various editorial
conjectures.
Prose. The manuscript indicates no division. Here again, the
annotator has drawn practically all his information from Helga-
[317]
Poetic Edda
(IV)
Helgi then assembled a great sea-host and went to
Frekastein. On the sea he met a perilous storm; light-
ning flashed overhead and the bolts struck the ship. They
saw in the air that nine Valkyries were riding, and recog-
nized Sigrun among them. Then the storm abated, and
they came safe and sound to land. Granmar's sons sat
on a certain mountain as the ships sailed toward the land.
Gothmund leaped on a horse and rode for news to a
promontory near the harbor; the Volsungs were even
then lowering their sails. Then Gothmund said, as is
written before in the Helgi lay:
"Who is the king who captains the fleet.
And to the land the warriors leads ?"
Sinfjotli, Sigmund's son, answered him, and that too
is written.
Gothmund rode home with his tidings of the host;
kvitha Hundingsbana I, which he specifically mentions and even
quotes. The only new features are the names of Hogni's sons,
Bragi and Dag. Bragi is mentioned in stanza i8, though it is not
there stated that he is Hogni's son. Dag, who figures largely in
stanzas 28-34, is a puzzle, for the verse never names him, and it
is an open question where the annotator got his name. Freka-
stein: cf. Helgakvii/ia Hjorvarthssonar, 39 and note. As is lurit-
ten: the two lines are quoted, with a change of two words, from
Helgak'vitha Hundingsbana I, 33. Sinfjotli: cf. Helgakvitha
Hundingsbana I, 6 and note, and stanzas 33-48, in which the
whole dialogue is given. Loyalty: apparently the annotator got
this bit of information out of stanza 29, in which Sigrun refers to
the oaths which her brother had sworn to Helgi.
[318]
Helgakvitha Hundingsbana II
then Granmar's sons summoned an army. Many kings
came there; there were Hogni, Sigrun's father, and his
sons Bragi and Dag. There was a great battle, and all
Granmar's sons were slain and all their allies; only Dag,
Hogni's son, was spared, and he swore loyalty to the
Volsungs. Sigrun went among the dead and found Hoth-
brodd at the coming of death. She said:
17. "Never shall Sigrun from SevafjoU,
Hothbrodd king, be held in thine arms;
Granmar's sons full cold have grown,
And the giant-steeds gray on corpses gorge."
Then she sought out Helgi, and was full of joy He said :
18. "Maid, not fair is all thy fortune.
The Norns I blame that this should be ;
This morn there fell at Frekastein
Bragi and Hogni beneath my hand.
19. "At Hlebjorg fell the sons of Hrollaug,
Starkath the king at Styrkleifar;
17. SevafjoU ("Wet Mountain") : mentioned only in this
poem. Giant-steeds: wolves, the usual steeds of giantesses; cf.
Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I, 56.
18. Maid: the word thus rendered is the same doubtful one
which appears in Volundarkvitha, i and 5, and which may mean
specifically a Valkyrie (Gering translates it "helmed" or "he-
roic") or simply "wise." Cf. Volundarkvitha, note on introduc-
tory prose. Norns: cf. Voluspo, 20 and note. In stanza 33 Dag
similarly lays the blame for the murder he has committed on
Othin. Bragi: probably Sigrun's brother.
19. This stanza looks like an interpolation, and there is little
[319]
Poetic Edda
Fighters more noble saw I never,
The body fought when the head had fallen.
20. "On the ground full low the slain are lying,
Most are there of the men of thy race ;
Nought hast thou won, for thy fate it was
Brave men to bring to the battle-field."
Then Sigrun wept. Helgi said:
21, "Grieve not, Sigrun, the battle is gained,
The fighter can shun not his fate."
Sigrun spake:
"To life would I call them who slaughtered lie,
If safe on thy breast I might be."
or nothing to connect it with the slaying of Granmar's sons. In
the manuscript line 2, indicated as the beginning of a stanza,
precedes line x. Hlebjorg ("Sea-Mountain") and Styrkleifar
("Battle-Cliffs") : place names not elsewhere mentioned. Of
Hrollaug's sons nothing further is known. Starkath: this name
gives a hint of the origin of this stanza, for Saxo Grammaticus
tells of the slaying of the Swedish hero Starkath ("The Strong")
the son of Storverk, and describes how his severed head bit the
ground in anger (cf. line 4). In all probability this stanza is
from an entirely different poem, dealing with the Starkath story,
and the annotator's attempt to identify the Swedish hero as a
third son of Granmar is quite without foundation.
21. The difference of meter would of itself be enough to indi-
cate that this stanza comes from an entirely different poem. A
few editions assign the whole stanza to Helgi, but lines 3-4 are
almost certainly Sigrun's, and the manuscript begins line 3 with a
large capital letter following a period.
[320]
Helgakvitha Hundingsbana II
(V)
This Gothmund the son of Granmar spoke :
22. "What hero great is guiding the ships?
A golden flag on the stem he flies ;
I find not peace in the van of your faring,
And round the fighters is battle-light red."
Sinfjotli spake:
23. "Here may Hothbrodd Helgi find,
The hater of flight, in the midst of the fleet ;
The home of all thy race he has.
And over the realm of the fishes he rules."
22. With this stanza begins the dispute between Gothmund
and Sinfjotli which, together with Helgi's rebuke to his half-
brother, appears at much greater length in Helgakvitha Hun-
dingsbana I, 33-48. It is introduced here manifestly in the wrong
place. The version here given is almost certainly the older of the
two, but the resemblance is so striking, and in some cases (nota-
bly in Helgi's rebuke) the stanzas are so nearly identical, that it
seems probable that the composer of the first Helgi Hundingsbane
lay borrowed directly from the poem of which the present dia-
logue is a fragment. Flag: the banner ("gunnfani," cf. "gon-
falon") here serves as the signal for war instead of the red
shield mentioned in Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I, 34. Battle-
light: perhaps the "northern lights."
23. Lines 3-4 are obscure, and in the manuscript show signs
of error. Helgi had not at this time, so far as we know, conquered
any of Hothbrodd's land. The realm of the fishes, in line 4, pre-
sumably means the sea, but the word here translated "fishes" is
obscure, and many editors treat it as a proper name, "the realm
of the Fjorsungs," but without further suggestion as to who or
what the Fjorsungs are.
[321]
Poetic Edda
Gothmund spake:
24. "First shall swords at Frekastein
Prove our worth in place of words ;
Time is it, Hothbrodd, vengeance to have,
If in battle worsted once we were."
Sinfjotli spake:
25. "Better, Gothmund, to tend the goats,
And climb the rocks of the mountain cliffs ;
A hazel switch to hold in thy hand
More seemly were than the hilt of a sword."
Helgi spake:
26. "Better, Sinfjotli, thee 'twould beseem
Battles to give, and eagles to gladden.
Than vain and empty speech to utter,
Though warriors oft with words do strive.
27. "Good I find not the sons of Granmar,
But for heroes 'tis seemly the truth to speak;
At Moinsheimar proved the men
That hearts for the wielding of swords they had,
(And ever brave the warriors are.)"
24. The word here translated sivords 5s a conjectural emenda-
tion ; the manuscript implies merely an invitation to continue the
quarrel at Frekastein. Hothbrodd: apparently he is here consid-
ered as present during the dispute; some editors, in defiance of
the meter, have emended the line to mean "Time is it for Hoth-
brodd vengeance to have."
26-27. Cf. Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I, 47-48, which are
nearly identical. Stanza 27 in the manuscript is abbreviated to
the first letters of the words, except for line 5, which does not
appear in the other poem, and which looks like an interpolation.
[Z22]
Helgakvitha Hundingsbana II
(VI)
Helgi took Sigrun to wife, and they had sons. Helgi
did not reach old age. Dag, the son of Hogni, offered sac-
rifice to Othin to be avenged for his father's death ; Othin
gave Dag his spear. Dag found Helgi, his brother-in-
law, at a place which is called Fjoturlund. He thrust
the spear through Helgi's body. Then Helgi fell, and
Dag rode to SevafjoU and told Sigrun the tidings:
28. "Sad am I, sister, sorrow to tell thee,
Woe to my kin unwilling I worked ;
In the morn there fell at Fjoturlund
The noblest prince the world has known,
(And his heel he set on the heroes' necks.)"
Sigrun spake:
29. "Now may every oath thee bite
That with Helgi sworn thou hast,
By the water bright of Leipt,
And the ice-cold stone of Uth.
Prose. Here begins a new section of the poem, dealing with
Helgi's death at the hands of Dag, Sigrun's brother. The note is
based wholly on stanzas 28-34, except for the introduction of
Dag's name (cf. note on prose following stanza 16), and the
reference to Othin's spear, the weapon which made victory cer-
tain, and which the annotator brought in doubtless on the strength
of Dag's statement that Othin was responsible for Helgi's death
(stanza 33). Fjoturlund ("Fetter-Wood"): mentioned only here
and in stanza 28.
28. Line 5 looks like an interpolation.
29. Leipt: this river is mentioned in Grimnismol, 28. Uth: a
[323]
Poetic Edda
30. "The ship shall sail not in which thou sailest,
Though a favoring wind shall follow after;
The horse shall run not whereon thou ridest,
Though fain thou art thy foe to flee.
31-
"The sword shall bite not which thou bearest,
Till thy head itself it sings about.
32. "Vengeance were mine for Helgi's murder,
Wert thou a wolf in the woods without,
Possessing nought and knowing no joy,
Having no food save corpses to feed on."
Dag spake:
33. "Mad art thou, sister, and wild of mind,
Such a curse on thy brother to cast ;
Othin is ruler of every ill,
Who sunders kin with runes of spite.
34. "Thy brother rings so red will give thee,
AH Vandilsvc and Vigdalir;
daughter of the sea-god JEgir; regarding her sacred stone we
know nothing. According to the annotator, Dag's life had been
spared because he swore loyalty to Helgi.
31. No gap indicated in the manuscript, but most editors have
assumed that either the first or the last two lines have been lost.
Bugge adds a line: "The shield shall not help thee which
diou holdest."
34. Vandilive ("Vandil's Shrine) : who Vandil was we do not
[324]
Helgakvitha Hundingsbana II
Take half my land to pay the hann.
Ring-decked maid, and as meed for thy sons.*
Siffrun spake:
35. "I shall sit not happy at SevafjoU,
Early or late, my life to love,
If the li^t cannot show, in the leader's band,
Vigblser bearing him back to his home,
(The golden-bitted; I shall greet him never.)
36. "Such the fear that Helgi's foes
Ever felt, and all their kin.
As makes the goats with terror mad
Run from the wolf among the rocks.
37. "Helgi rose above heroes all
Like the lofty ash above lowly thorns.
Or the noble stag, with dew be^rinkled,
Bearing his head above all beasts,
(And his horns gleam bright to heaven itself.)'*
A hill was made in Helgi's memory. And when he
know; this and Vigdalir ("B«ttle-D*le") «re purely m3rthica!
places.
35. Line 5 may be spurious. FifH^tr ("Battle-Breather") :
Helgi's horse.
37. Line 5 (or possibly line 4) may be spurious. Cf. Gmtk-
minurivithm I, ty, and GutkruMMrhniAm II, a.
Pfse. Fmikmilt etc: there is no indication as to where the
annotator got diis notion of Helgi's sharing Othin's rule. It is
[325]
Poetic Edda
came to Valhall, then Othin bade him rule over every-
thing with himself.
(VII)
Helgi said :
38. "Thou shalt, Hunding, of every hero
Wash the feet, and kindle the fire,
Tie up dogs, and tend the horses.
And feed the swine ere to sleep thou goest."
(VIII)
One of Sigrun's maidens went one evening to Helgi's
hill, and saw that Helgi rode to the hill with many men.
The maiden said :
39. "Is this a dream that methinks I see.
Or the doom of the gods, that dead men ride,
most unlikely that such an idea ever found place in any of the
Helgi poems, or at least in the earlier ones; probably it was a
late development of the tradition in a period when Othin was no
longer taken seriously.
38. This stanza apparently comes from an otherwise lost
passage containing a contest of words between Helgi and Hun-
ding; indeed the name of Hunding may have been substituted
for another one beginning with "H," and the stanza originally
have had no connection with Helgi at all. The annotator inserts it
here through an obvious misunderstanding, taking it to be Helgi's
application of the power conferred on him by Othin.
39. Here begins the final section (stanzas 39-50), wherein
Sigrun visits the dead Helgi in his burial hill. Doom of the gods:
the phrase "ragna rok" has been rather unfortunately Anglicized
into the work "ragnarok" (the Norse term is not a proper name),
[326]
Helgakvitha Hundingsbana II
And hither spurring urge your steeds,
Or is home-coming now to the heroes granted?"
Helgi spake:
40. "No dream is this that thou thinkest to see,
Nor the end of the world, though us thou behold-
est.
And hither spurring we urge our steeds.
Nor is home-coming now to the heroes granted."
The maiden went home and said to Sigrun :
41. "Go forth, Sigrun, from Sevafjoll,
If fain the lord of the folk wouldst find ;
(The hill is open, Helgi is come;)
The sword-tracks bleed ; the monarch bade
That thou his wounds shouldst now make well."
Sigrun went in the hill to Helgi, and said :
42. "Now am I glad of our meeting together.
As Othin's hawks, so eager for prey.
When slaughter and flesh all warm they scent.
Or dew-wet see the red of day.
and r'ok, "doom," has been confused with rokkr, "darkness," and
so translated "dusk of the Gods," or "Gotterdammerung."
40. In the manuscript most of this stanza is abbreviated to
the first letters of the words.
41. Line 3 (or possibly line 2) may be spurious. Sivord-tracks:
wounds. One edition places stanza 48 after stanza 41, and an-
other does the same with stanza 50.
[327]
Poetic Edda
43. "First will I kiss the lifeless king,
Ere off the bloody byrnie thou cast ;
With frost thy hair is heavy, Helgi,
And damp thou art with the dew of death ;
(Ice-cold hands has Hogni's kinsman,
What, prince, can I to bring thee ease?)"
Helgi spake:
44. "Thou alone, Sigrun of Sevafjoll,
Art cause that Helgi with dew is heavy;
Gold-decked maid, thy tears are grievous,
(Sun-bright south-maid, ere thou sleepest;)
Each falls like blood on the hero's breast,
(Burned-out, cold, and crushed with care.)
45. "Well shall we drink a noble draught.
Though love and lands are lost to me ;
No man a song of sorrow shall sing.
Though bleeding wounds are on my breast ;
43. Possibly lines 5-6 are spurious, or part of a stanza the
rest of which has been lost. It has also been suggested that two
lines may have been lost after line 2, making a new stanza of
lines 3-6. Kinsman: literally "son-in-law."
44. Lines 4 and 6 have been marked by various editors as
probably spurious. Others regard lines 1-2 as the beginning of a
stanza the rest of which has been lost, or combine lines 5-6 with
lines 5-6 of stanza 45 to make a new stanza. South-maid: cf.
Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I, 17 and note.
45. Both lines 3-4 and lines 5-6 have been suspected by editors
of being interpolated, and the loss of two lines has also been
suggested. Brides: the plural here is perplexing. Gering insists
that only Sigrun is meant, and translates the word as singular,
but both "brides" and "loves" are uncompromisingly plural in
[328]
Helgakvitha Hundingsbana II
Now in the hill our brides we hold,
The heroes' loves, by their husbands dead."
Sigrun made ready a bed in the hill.
46. "Here a bed I have made for thee, Helgi,
To rest thee from care, thou kin of the Ylfings ;
I will make thee sink to sleep in my arms.
As once I lay with the living king."
Helgi spake:
\']. "Now do I say that in Sevafjoll
Aught may happen, early or late.
Since thou sleepest clasped in a corpse's arms.
So fair in the hill, the daughter of Hogni !
( Living thou comest, a daughter of kings. )
48. "Now must I ride the reddened ways.
And my bay steed set to tread the sky ;
Westward I go to wind-helm's bridges.
Ere Salgofnir wakes the warrior throng."
Then Helgi and his followers rode on their way, and
the text. Were the men of Helgi's ghostly following likewise vis-
ited by their wives? The annotator may have thought so, for in
the prose he mentions the "women" returning to the house, al-
though, of course, this may refer simply to Sigrun and the maid.
47. Line 5 (or possibly line 4) may be interpolated.
48. Wind-helm: the sky; the bridge is Bifrost, the rainbow
(cf. Grimnismol, 29). Salgofnir ("Hall-Crower") : the cock Gol-
linkambi who awakes the gods and warriors for the last battle.
[ 329 ]
Poetic Edda
the women went home to the dwelling. Another evening
Sigrun bade the maiden keep watch at the hill. And at
sunset when Sigrun came to the hill she said :
49. "Now were he come, if come he might,
Sigmund's son, from Othin's seat ;
Hope grows dim of the hero's return
When eagles sit on the ash-tree boughs,
And men are seeking the meeting of dreams."
The Maiden said:
50. "Mad thou wouldst seem alone to seek,
Daughter of heroes, the house of the dead ;
For mightier now at night are all
The ghosts of the dead than when day is bright."
Sigrun was early dead of sorrow and grief. It was
believed in olden times that people were born again, but
that is now called old wives' folly. Of Helgi and Sigrun
it is said that they were born again; he became Helgi
Haddingjaskati, and she Kara the daughter of Halfdan,
as is told in the Lay of Kara, and she was a Valkyrie.
49. Many editors assign this speech to the maid. Line 5 (or 4)
may be spurious. Meeting of dreams ("Dream-Thing") : sleep.
Prose. The attitude of the annotator is clearly revealed by
his contempt for those who put any faith in such "old wives'
folly" as the idea that men and women could be reborn. As in the
case of Helgi Hjorvarthsson, the theory of the hero's rebirth
seems to have developed in order to upite around a single Helgi
[330]
Helgakvitha Hundingsbana II
the various stories in which the hero is slain. The Lay of Kara
(Karuljoth) is lost, although, as has been pointed out, parts of
the Helgakvitha Hundingsbana H may be remnants of it, but we
find the main outlines of the story in the Hromundar saga
Greipssonar, whose compilers appear to have known the Karu-
ljoth. In the saga Helgi Haddingjaskati (Helgi the Haddings'-
Hero) is protected by the Valkyrie Kara, who flies over him in
the form of a swan (note once more the Valkyrie swan-maiden
confusion) ; but in his fight with Hromund he swings his sword
so high that he accidentally gives Kara a mortal wound, where-
upon Hromund cuts off his head. As this makes the third recorded
death of Helgi (once at the hands of Alf, once at those of Dag,
and finally in the fight with Hromund), the phenomenon of his
rebirth is not surprising. The points of resemblance in all the
Helgi stories, including the one told in the lost Karuljoth, are
sufficiently striking so that it is impossible not to see in them a
common origin, and not to believe that Helgi the son of Hjor-
varth, Helgi the son of Sigmund and Helgi the Haddings'-Hero
(not to mention various other Helgis who probably figured in
songs and stories now lost) were all originally the same Helgi
who appears in the early traditions of Denmark.
[331]
FRA DAUTHA SINFJOTLA
Of Sinfjotlis Death
Introductory Note
It has been pointed out that the Helgi tradition, coming origi-
nally from Denmark, was early associated with that of the
Volsungs, which was of German, or rather of Frankish, origin
(cf. Introductory Note to Helgakvhha Hjorvarthssonar). The
connecting links between these two sets of stories were few in
number, the main point being the identification of Helgi as a
son of Sigmund Volsungsson. Another son of Sigmund, however,
appears in the Helgi poems, though not in any of the poems deal-
ing with the Volsung cycle proper. This is Sinfjotli, whose sole
function in the extant Helgi lays is to have a wordy dispute with
Gothmund Granmarsson.
Sinfjotli's history is told in detail in the early chapters of the
Volsung as ag a. The twin sister of Sigmund Volsungsson, Signy,
had married Siggeir, who hated his brother-in-law by reason of
his desire to possess a sword which had belonged to Othin and
been won by Sigmund. Having treacherously invited Volsung
and his ten sons to visit him, Siggeir slew Volsung and cap-
tured his sons, who were set in the stocks. Each night a wolf
("some men say that she was Siggeir's mother") came out of the
woods and ate up one of the brothers, till on the tenth night
Sigmund alone was left. Then, however, Signy aided him to
escape, and incidentally to kill the wolf. He vowed vengeance on
Siggeir, and Signy, who hated her husband, was determined to
help him. Convinced that Sigmund must have a helper of his
own race, Signy changed forms with a witch, and in this guise
sought out Sigmund, who, not knowing who she was, spent three
nights with her. Thereafter she gave birth to a boy, whom she
named Sinfjotli ("The Yellow-Spotted"?), whom she sent to
Sigmund. For a time they lived in the woods, occasionally turning
into wolves (whence perhaps Sinfjotli's name). When Sinfjotli
was full grown, he and his father came to Siggeir's house, but
were seen and betrayed by the two young sons of Signy and Sig-
geir, whereupon Sinfjotli slew them. Siggeir promptly had Sig-
mund and Sinfjotli buried alive, but Signy managed to smuggle
Sigmund's famous sword into the grave, and with this the father
and son dug themselves out. The next night they burned Siggeir's
Fra Dautha Sinfjotla
house, their enemy dying in the flames, and Signy, who had at
the last refused to leave her husband, from a sense of somewhat
belated loyalty, perishing with him.
Was this story, which the Volsungasaga relates in considerable
detail, the basis of an old poem which has been lost? Almost
certainly it was, although, as I have pointed out, many if not
most of the old stories appear to have been handed down rather
in prose than in verse, for the Volsungasaga quotes two lines of
verse regarding the escape from the grave. At any rate, Sinfjotli
early became a part of the Volsung tradition, which, in turn,
formed the basis for no less than fifteen poems generally included
in the Eddie collection. Of this tradition we may recognize three
distinct parts: the Volsung-Sigmund-Sinfjotli story; the Helgi
story, and the Sigurth story, the last of these three being by far
the most extensive, and suggesting an almost limitless amount of
further subdivision. With the Volsung-Sigmund-Sinfjotli story
the Sigurth legend is connected only by the fact that Sigurth
appears as Sigmund's son by his last wife, Hjordis; with the
Helgi legend it is not connected directly at all. Aside from the
fact that Helgi appears as Sigmund's son by his first wife, Borg-
hild, the only link between the Volsung story proper and that of
Helgi is the appearance of Sinfjotli in two of the Helgi poems.
Originally it is altogether probable that the three stories, or
sets of stories, were entirely distinct, and that Sigurth (the
familiar Siegfried) had little or nothing more to do with the
Volsungs of northern mythological-heroic tradition than he had
with Helgi.
The annotator or compiler of the collection of poems preserved
in the Codex Regius, having finished with the Helgi lays, had
before him the task of setting down the fifteen complete or frag-
mentary poems dealing with the Sigurth story. Before doing
this, however, he felt it incumbent on him to dispose of both
Sigmund and Sinfjotli, the sole links with the two other sets
of stories. He apparently knew of no poem or poems concerning
the deaths of these two; perhaps there were none, though this is
unlikely. Certainly the story of how Sinfjotli and Sigmund died
was current in oral prose tradition, and this story the compiler set
forth in the short prose passage entitled Of Sinfjotti's Death
which, in Regius, immediately follows the second lay of Helgi
Hundingsbane. The relation of this passage to the prose of the
Reginsmol is discussed in the introductory note to that poem.
Poetic Edda
Sigmund, the son of Volsung, was a king in the land of
the Franks; Sinfjotli was his eldest son, the second was
Helgi, and the third Hamund. Borghild, Sigmund's wife,
had a brother who was named . Sinfjotli, her stepson,
and both wooed the same woman, wherefore Sinfjotli
slew him. And when he came home, Borghild bade him
depart, but Sigmund offered her atonement-money, and
this she had to accept. At the funeral feast Borghild
brought in ale; she took poison, a great horn full, and
brought it to Sinfjotli. But when he looked into the horn,
he saw that it was poison, and said to Sigmund: "Muddy
is the drink. Father!" Sigmund took the horn and drank
therefrom. It is said that Sigmund was so hardy that
poison might not harm him, either outside or in, but all
his sons could withstand poison only without on their skin.
Borghild bore another horn to Sinfjotli and bade him
drink, and all happened as before. And yet a third time
she brought him a horn, and spoke therewith scornful
Prose. Regarding Sigmund, Sinfjotli, and Volsung see Intro-
ductory Note. The Franks: although the Sigurth story had
reached the North as early as the sixth or seventh century, it
never lost all the marks of its Prankish origin. Helgi and
Hamund: sons of Sigmund and Borghild; Helgi is, of course
Helgi Hundingsbane; of Hamund nothing further is recorded.
Borghild: the manuscript leaves a blank for the name of her
brother; evidently the compiler hoped some day to discover it
and write it in, but never did. A fev? editions insert wholly
unauthorized names from late paper manuscripts, such as Hroar,
Gunnar, or Borgar. In the Volsungasaga Borghild bids Sinfjotli
drink "if he has the courage of a Volsung." Sigmund gives his
advice because "the king was very drunk, and that was why he
spoke thus." Gering, on the other hand, gives Sigmund credit
for having believed that the draught would deposit its poisonous
L334]
Fra Dautha Sinfjotla
words of him if he should not drink from it. He spoke as
before with Sigmund. The latter said: "Let it trickle
through your beard, Son!" Sinfjotli drank, and straight-
way was dead. Sigmund bore him a long way in his arms,
and came to a narrow and long fjord, and there was a
little boat and a man in it. He offered to take Sigmund
across the fjord. But when Sigmund had borne the corpse
out into the boat, then the craft was full. The man told
Sigmund to go round the inner end of the fjord. Then the
man pushed the boat off, and disappeared.
King Sigmund dwelt long in Denmark in Borghild's
kingdom after he had married her. Thereafter Sigmund
went south into the land of the Franks, to the kingdom
which he had there. There he married Hjordis, the daugh-
ter of King EyHmi ; their son was Sigurth. King Sigmund
fell in a battle with the sons of Hunding, and Hjordis
then married Alf the son of King Hjalprek. There Sigurth
grew up in his boyhood. Sigmund and all his sons were
far above all other men in might and stature and courage
and every kind of ability. Sigurth, however, was the fore-
most of all, and all men call him in the old tales the
noblest of mankind and the mightiest leader.
contents in Sinfjotli's beard, and thus do him no harm. Boat:
the man who thus carries off the dead Sinfjotli in his boat is pre-
sumably Othin. Denmark: Borghild belongs to the Danish Helgi
part of the story. The Franks: with this the Danish and Norse
stories of Helgi and Sinfjotli come to an end, and the Frankish
story of Sigurth begins. Sigmund's two kingdoms are an echo
of the blended traditions. Hjordis: just where this name came
from is not clear, for in the German story Siegfried's mother
is Sigelint, but the name of the father of Hjordis, Eylimi, gives
a clew, for Eylimi is the father of Svava, wife of Helgi Hjor-
[335 J
Poetic Edda
varthsson. Doubtless the two men are not identical, but it
seems likely that both Eylimi and Hjordis were introduced into
the Sigmund-Sigurth story, the latter replacing Sigelint, from
some version of the Helgi tradition. Hunding: in the Helgi lays
the sons of Hunding are all killed, but they reappear here and
in two of the poems {Gripisspo, 9, and Reginsmol, 15), and the
Volsungasaga names Lyngvi as the son of Hunding who, as the
rejected lover of Hjordis, kills Sigmund and his father-in-law,
Eylimi, as well. The episode of Hunding and his sons belongs
entirely to the Danish (Helgi) part of the story; the German
legend knows nothing of it, and permits the elderly Sigmund to
outlive his son. There was doubtless a poem on this battle, for
the Volsungasaga quotes two lines spoken by the dying Sigmund
to Hjordis before he tells her to give the pieces of his broken
sword to their unborn son. Alf: after the battle, according to the
Volsungasaga, Lyngvi Hundingsson tried to capture Hjordis, but
she was rescued by the sea-rover Alf, son of King Hjalprek of
Denmark, who subsequently married her. Here is another trace
of the Danish Helgi tradition. The Nornageststhattr briefly tells
the same story.
[336]
GRIPISSPO
Gripir's Prophecy
Introductory Note
The Gripisspo immediately follows the prose Fra Dautha
Sinfjotla in the Codex Regius, and is contained in no other early
manuscript. It is unquestionably one of the latest of the poems
in the Eddie collection; most critics agree in calling it the latest
of all, dating it not much before the year 1200. Its author (for
in this instance the word may be correctly used) was not only
familiar with the other poems of the Sigurth cycle, but seems to
have had actual written copies of them before him; it has, indeed,
been suggested, and not without plausibility, that the Gripisspo
may have been written by the very man who compiled and anno-
tated the collection of poems preserved in the Codex Regius.
In form the poem is a dialogue between the youthful Sigurth
and his uncle, Gripir, but in substance it is a condensed outline
of Sigurth's whole career as told piecemeal in the older poems.
The writer was sufficiently skillful in the handling of verse, but
he was utterly without inspiration ; his characters are devoid of
vitality, and their speeches are full of conventional phrases,
with little force or incisiveness. At the same time, the poem is of
considerable interest as giving, in brief form, a summary of the
story of Sigurth as it existed in Iceland (for the Gripisspo is
almost certainly Icelandic) in the latter half of the twelfth
century.
It is not desirable here to go in detail into the immensely
complex question of the origin, growth, and spread of the story of
Sigurth (Siegfried). The volume of critical literature on the
subject is enormous, and although some of the more patently
absurd theories have been eliminated, there are still wide diver-
gencies of opinion regarding many important points. At the same
time, a brief review of the chief facts is necessary in order to
promote a clearer understanding of the poems which follow, and
which make up more than a third of the Eddie collection.
That the story of Sigurth reached the North from Germany,
having previously developed among the Franks of the Rhine
country, is now universally recognized. How and when it spread
from northwestern Germany into Scandinavia are less certainly
known. It spread, indeed, in every direction, so that traces of it
m7^ ,
Poetic Edda
are found wherever Prankish influence was extensively felt; but
it was clearly better known and more popular in Norway, and in
the settlements established by Norwegians, than anywhere else.
We have historical proof that there was considerable contact,
commercial and otherwise, between the Franks of northwestern
Germany and the Norwegians (but not the Swedes or the Danes)
throughout the period from 600 to 800; coins of Charlemagne
have been found in Norway, and there is other evidence show-
ing a fairly extensive interchange of ideas as well as of goods.
Presumably, then, the story of the Prankish hero found its way
into Norway in the seventh century. While, at this stage of its
development, it may conceivably have included a certain amount
of verse, it is altogether probable that the story as it came into
Norway in the seventh century was told largely in prose, and
that, even after the poets had got hold of it, the legend continued
to live among the people in the form of oral prose saga.
The complete lack of contemporary material makes it impos-
sible for us to speak with certainty regarding the character and
content of the Sigurth legend as it existed in the Rhine country
in the seventh century. It is, however, important to remember
the often overlooked fact that any popular traditional hero be-
came a magnet for originally unrelated stories of every kind. It
must also be remembered that in the early Middle Ages there
existed no such distinction between fiction and history as we now
make; a saga, for instance, might be anything from the most
meticulously accurate history to the wildest of fairy tales, and a
single saga might (and sometimes did) combine both elements.
This was equally true of the Prankish traditions, and the two
principles just stated account for most of the puzzling phenomena
in the growth of the Sigurth story.
Of the origin of Sigurth himself we know absolutely nothing.
No historical analogy can be made to fit in the slightest degree.
If one believes in the possibility of resolving hero stories into
nature myths, he may be explained in that fashion, but such a
solution is not necessary. The fact remains that from very early
days Sigurth (Sifrit) was a great traditional hero among the
Pranks. The tales of his strength and valor, of his winning of a
great treasure, of his wooing a more or less supernatural bride,
and of his death at the hands of his kinsmen, probably were early
features of this legend.
The next step was the blending of this story with one which
[338]
Gripisspo
had a clear basis in history. In the year 437 the Burgundians,
under their king, Gundicarius (so the Latin histories call him),
were practically annihilated by the Huns. The story of this great
battle soon became one of the foremost of Rhineland traditions;
and though Attila was presumably not present in person, he was
quite naturally introduced as the famous ruler of the invading
hordes. The dramatic story of Attila's death in the year 453 was
likewise added to the tradition, and during the sixth century the
chain was completed by linking together the stories of Sigurth
and those of the Burgundian slaughter. Gundicarius becomes the
Gunther of the Nibelungenlied and the Gunnar of the Eddie
poems; Attila becomes Etzel and Atli. A still further develop-
ment came through the addition of another, and totally unrelated,
set of historical traditions based on the career of Ermanarich,
king of the Goths, who died about the year 376. Ermanarich
figures largely in many stories unconnected with the Sigurth
cycle, but, with the zeal of the medieval story-tellers for con-
necting their heroes, he was introduced as the husband of SI-
gurth's daughter, Svanhild, herself originally part of a separate
narrative group, and as Jormunrek he plays a considerable part
in a few of the Eddie poems.
Such, briefly, appears to have been the development of the
legend before it came into Norway. Here it underwent many
changes, though the clear marks of its southern origin were
never obliterated. The names were given Scandinavian forms,
and in some cases were completely changed (e.g., Kriemhild
becomes Guthrun). New figures, mostly of secondary impor-
tance, were introduced, and a large amount of purely Northern
local color was added. Above all, the earlier part of the story
was linked with Northern mythology in a way which seems to
have had no counterpart among the southern Germanic peoples.
The Volsungs become direct descendants of Othin; the gods are
closely concerned with Fafnir's treasure, and so on. Above all,
the Norse story-tellers and poets changed the figure of Brynhild.
In making her a Valkyrie, sleeping on the flame-girt rock, they
were never conipletely successful, as she persisted in remaining,
to a considerable extent, the entirely human daughter of Buthli
whom Sigurth woos for Gunnar. This confusion, intensified by
a mixing of names (cf. Sigrdrifumol, introductory note), and
much resembling that which existed in the parallel cases of
Svava and Sigrun in the Helgi tradition, created difficulties
[339]
Poetic Edda
which the Norse poets and story-tellers were never able to smooth
out, and which have perplexed commentators ever since.
Those who read the Sigurth poems in the Edda, or the story
told in the Volsungasaga, expecting to find a critically accurate
biography of the hero, will, of course, be disappointed. If, how-
ever, they will constantly keep in mind the general manner in
which the legend grew, its accretions ranging all the way from
the Danube to Iceland, they will find that most of the difficulties
are simply the natural results of conflicting traditions. Just as
the Danish Helgi had to be "reborn" twice in order to enable
three different men to kill him, so the story of Sigurth, as told in
the Eddie poems, involves here and there inconsistencies explica-
ble only when the historical development of the story is taken
into consideration.
Gripir was the name of Eylimi's son, the brother of
Hjordis; he ruled over lands and was of all men the
wisest and most forward-seeing. Sigurth once was rid-
ing alone and came to Gripir's hall. Sigurth was easy
to recognize; he found out in front of the hall a man
whose name was Geitir. Then Sigurth questioned him
and asked:
I. "tVho is it has this dweUing here,
Or what do men call the people's king?"
Prose. The manuscript gives the poem no title. Gripir: this
uncle of Sigurth's was probably a pure invention of the poet's.
The Volsungasaga mentions him, but presumably only because
of his appearance here. On Eylimi and Hjordis see Fra Dautha
Sinfjotla and note. Geitir, the serving-man, is likewise apparently
an invention of the poet's.
I. The manuscript does not indicate the speakers anywhere
in the poem. Some editors have made separate stanzas out of the
two-line speeches in stanzas i, 3 and 6.
[ 340 ]
Gripisspo
Geitir spake:
"Gripir the name of the chieftain good
Who holds the folk and the firm-ruled land."
Sigurth spake:
2. "Is the king all-knowing now within,
Will the monarch come with me to speak?
A man unknown his counsel needs,
And Gripir fain I soon would find."
Geitir spake :
3. "The ruler glad of Geitir will ask
Who seeks with Gripir speech to have."
Sigurth spake:
"Sigurth am I, and Sigmund's son,
And Hjordis the name of the hero's mother."
4. Then Geitir went and to Gripir spake:
"A stranger comes and stands without ;
Lofty he is to look upon.
And, prince, thyself he fain would see."
5. From the hall the ruler of heroes went,
3. Sigurth: a few editions use in the verse the older form of
this name, "Sigvorth," though the manuscript here keeps to the
form used in this translation. The Old High German "Sigifrid"
("Peace-Bringer through Victory") became the Norse "Sigvorth"
("Victory-Guarder"), this, in turn, becoming "Sigurth."
4. Bugge thinks a stanza has been lost after stanza 4, in which
Geitir tells Gripir who Sigurth is.
[341]
Poetic Edda
And greeted well the warrior come:
"Sigurth, welcome long since had been thine ;
Now, Geitir, shalt thou Grani take."
6. Then of many things they talked,
When thus the men so wise had met.
Sigurth spake:
"To me, if thou knowest, my mother's brother,
Say what hfe will Sigurth's be."
Griptr spake :
7. "Of men thou shalt be on earth the mightiest,
And higher famed than all the heroes;
Free of gold-giving, slow to flee,
Noble to see, and sage in speech."
Sigurth spake:
8. "Monarch wise, now more I ask;
To Sigurth say, if thou thinkest to see,
What first will chance of my fortune fair,
When hence I go from out thy home?"
Gripir spake :
9. "First shalt thou, prince, thy father avenge.
And Eylimi, their ills requiting;
5. Grani: Sigurth's horse. According to the Volsungasaga his
father was Sleipnir, Othin's eight-legged horse, and Othin him-
self gave him to Sigurth. The introductory note to the Reginsmol
tells a different story.
9. Thy father: on the death of Sigmund and Eylimi at the
hands of Hunding's sons see Fra Dautha Sinfjotla and note.
[342]
Gripisspo
The hardy sons of Hunding thou
Soon shalt fell, and victory find."
Sigurth spake:
10. "Noble king, my kinsman, say
Thy meaning true, for our minds we speak:
For Sigurth mighty deeds dost see.
The highest beneath the heavens all ?"
Gripir spake :
11. "The fiery dragon alone thou shalt fight
That greedy lies at Gnitaheith;
Thou shalt be of Regin and Fafnir both
The slayer ; truth doth Gripir tell thee."
Sigurth spake:
12. "Rich shall I be if battles I win
With such as these, as now thou sayest ;
Forward look, and further tell:
What the life that I shall lead ?"
Gripir spake :
13. "Fafnir's den thou then shalt find.
And all his treasure fair shalt take;
II. The dragon: Fafnir, brother of the dwarf Regin, who
turns himself into a dragon to guard Andvari's hoard ; cf.
Reginsmol and Fafnismol. Gnitaheith: a relic of the German
tradition; it has been identified as lying south of Paderborn.
13. Gjuki: the Norse form of the name Gibeche ("The
Giver"). Gjuki is the father of Gunnar, Hogni, and Guthrun,
the family which reflects most directly the Burgundian part of
[343]
Poetic Edda
Gold shalt heap on Grani's back,
And, proved in fight, to Gjuki fare."
Sigurth spake:
14. "To the warrior now in words so wise,
Monarch noble, more shalt tell;
I am Gjuki's guest, and thence I go:
What the life that I shall lead?"
Gripir spake :
15. "On the rocks there sleeps the ruler's daughter,
Fair in armor, since Helgi fell;
Thou shalt cut with keen-edged sword,
And cleave the byrnie with Fafnir's killer."
the tradition (cf. Introductory Note). The statement that Sigurth
is to go direct from the slaying of Fafnir to Gjuki's hall in-
volves one of the confusions resulting from the dual personality
of Brynhild. In the older (and the original South Germanic)
story, Sigurth becomes a guest of the Gjukungs before he has
ever heard of Brynhild, and first sees her when, having changed
forms with Gunnar, he goes to woo her for the latter. In an-
other version he finds Brynhild before he visits the Gjukungs,
only to forget her as the result of the magic draught adminis-
tered by Guthrun's mother. Both these versions are represented
in the poems of which the author of the Gripisspo made use, and
he tried, rather clumsily, to combine them, by having Sigurth go
to Gjuki's house, then find the unnamed Valkyrie, and then return
to Gjuki, the false wooing following this second visit.
15. Basing his story on the Sigrdrifumol, the poet here tells of
Sigurth's finding of the Valkyrie, whom he does not identify
with Brynhild, daughter of Buthli (stanza 27), at all. His error
in this respect is not surprising, in view of Brynhild's dual iden-
tity (cf. Introductory Note, and Fafnismol, 44 and note).
[344]
Gripisspo
Sigurth spake:
1 6. "The mail-coat is broken, the maiden speaks,
The woman who from sleep has wakened;
What says the maid to Sigurth then
That happy fate to the hero brings?"
Gripir spake :
17. "Runes to the warrior will she tell,
All that men may ever seek, /__
And teach thee to speak in all men's tongues,
And life with health; thou'rt happy, king!"
Sigurth spake:
18. "Now is it ended, the knowledge is won,
And ready I am forth thence to ride;
Forward look and further tell:
What the life that I shall lead ?"
Gripir spake:
19. "Then to Heimir's home thou comest,
And glad shalt be the guest of the king ;
G~
Helgi: according to Helreith Brynhildar (stanza 8), with which
the author of the Gripisspo was almost certainly familiar,
the hero for whose death Brynhild was punished was named
Hjalmgunnar. Is Helgi here identical with Hjalmgunnar, or
did the author make a mistake? Finnur Jonsson thinks the author
regarded Sigurth's Valkyrie as a fourth incarnation of Svava-
Sigrun-Kara, and wrote Helgi's name in deliberately. Many
ieditors, following Bugge, have tried to reconstruct line 2 so as
to get rid of Helgi's name.
19. Heimir: the Volsungasaga says that Heimir was the hus-
band of Brynhild's sister, Bekkhild. Brynhild's family connections
[345]
Poetic Edda
Ended, Sigurth,
No further aught
is all I see,
of Gripir ask."
Sigurth spake:
20. "Sorrow brings me the word thou sayest,
For, monarch, forward further thou seest ;
Sad the grief for Sigurth thou knowest,
Yet nought to me, Gripir, known wilt make."
Gripir spake :
21. "Before me lay
All of thy youth
Not rightly can I
in clearest light
for mine eyes to see ;
wise be called.
Nor forward-seeing; my wisdom is fled."
Sigurth spake:
22. "No man, Gripir,
Who sees the future
Hide thou nought.
And base the deeds
on earth I know
as far as thou;
though hard it be,
that I shall do."
2'.
Gripir spake:
'With baseness never
thy life is burdened,
involve a queer mixture of northern and southern legend. Heimir
and Bekkhild are purely of northern invention ; neither of them
is mentioned in any of the earlier poems, though Brynhild speaks
of her "foster-father" in Helreith Brynhtldar. In the older Norse
poems Brynhild is a sister of Atli (Attila), a relationship wholly
foreign to the southern stories, and the father of this strangely
assorted pair is Buthli, who in the Nibelungenlied is apparently
Etzel's grandfather. Add to this her role of Valkyrie, and it is
small wonder that the annotator himself was puzzled.
[346]
Gripisspo
Hero noble, hold that sure;
Lofty as long as the world shall live,
Battle-bringer, thy name shall be."
Sigurth spake:
24. "Nought could seem worse, but now must part
The prince and Sigurth, since so it is ;
My road I ask, — the future lies open, —
Mighty one, speak, my mother's brother."
Gripir spake:
25. "Now to Sigurth all shall I say.
For to this the warrior bends my will;
Thou knowest well that I will not lie, —
A day there is when thy death is doomed."
Sigurth spake:
26. "No scorn I know for the noble king,
But counsel good from Gripir I seek;
Well will I know, though evil awaits.
What Sigurth may before him see."
Gripir spake :
27. "A maid in Heimir's home there dwells,
Brynhild her name to men is known,
Daughter of Buthli, the doughty king,
And Heimir fosters the fearless maid."
27. Brynhild ("Armed Warrior") : on her and her family see
Introductory Note and note to stanza 19.
[347]
Poetic Edda
Sigurth spake:
28. "What is it to me, though the maiden be
So fair, and of Heimir the fosterling is?
Gripir, truth to me shalt tell,
For all of fate before me thou seest."
Gripir spake:
29. "Of many a joy the maiden robs thee,
Fair to see, whom Heimir fosters;
Sleep thou shalt find not, feuds thou shalt end
not.
Nor seek out men, if the maid thou seest not."
Sigurth spake:
30. "What may be had for Sigurth's healing?
Say now, Gripir, if see thou canst ;
May I buy the maid with the marriage-price,
The daughter fair of the chieftain famed?"
Gripir spake:
31. "Ye twain shall all the oaths then swear
That bind full fast; few shall ye keep;
One night when Gjuki's guest thou hast been,
Will Heimir's fosterling fade from thy mind."
Sigurth spake:
32. "What sayst thou, Gripir? give me the truth,
Does fickleness hide in the hero's heart?
Can it be that troth I break with the maid,
With her I believed I loved so dear?"
[348]
Gripisspo
Gripir spake:
33. "Tricked by another, prince, thou art,
And the price of Grimhild's wiles thou must pay;
Fain of thee for the fair-haired maid.
Her daughter, she is, and she drags thee down."
Sigurth spake:
34. "Might I with Gunnar kinship make,
And Guthrun win to be my wife,
Well the hero wedded would be.
If my treacherous deed would trouble me not."
Gripir spake:
35. "Wholly Grimhild thy heart deceives.
She will bid thee go and Brynhild woo
For Gunnar's wife, the lord of the Goths;
And the prince's mother thy promise shall win."
33. Most editions have no comma after line 3, and change
the meaning to "Fain of thee the fair-haired one / For her
daughter is." Grimhild: in the northern form of the story Kriem-
hild, Gunther's sister and Siegfried's wife, becomes Grimhild,
mother of Gunnar and Guthrun, the latter taking Kriemhild's
place. The Volsungasaga tells how Grimhild gave Sigurth a
magic draught which made him utterly forget Brynhild. Edzardi
thinks two stanzas have been lost after stanza 33, their remains
appearing in stanza 37.
35. In the Volsungasaga Grimhild merely advises Gunnar to
seek Brynhild for his wife, and to have Sigurth ride with him.
Goths: the historical Gunnar (Gundicarius, cf. Introductory
Note) was not a Goth, but a Burgundian, but the word "Goth"
was applied in the North without much discrimination to the
southern Germanic peoples.
[349]
Poetic Edda
Sigurth spake:
36. "Evil waits me, well I see it,
And gone is Sigurth's wisdom good,
If I shall woo for another to win
The maiden fair that so fondly I loved."
Gripir spake:
37. "Ye three shall all the oaths then take,
Gunnar and Hogni, and, hero, thou;
Your forms ye shall change, as forth ye fare,
Gunnar and thou ; for Gripir lies not."
Sigurth spake:
38. "How meanest thou? Why make we the change
Of shape and form as forth we fare ?
There must follow another falsehood
Grim in all ways; speak on, Gripir!"
37. In the Ntbelungenlied Siegfried merely makes himself in-
visible in order to lend Gunther his strength for the feats which
must be performed in order to win the redoubtable bride. In the
northern version Sigurth and Gunnar change forms, "as Grim-
hild had taught them how to do." The VoUungasaga tells how
Sigurth and Gunnar came to Heimir, who told them that to win
Brynhild one must ride through the ring of fire which surrounded
her hall (cf. the hall of Mengloth in Svipdagsmol) . Gunnar
tries it, but his horse balks; then he mounts Grani, but Grani
will not stir for him. So they change forms, and Sigurth rides
Grani through the flames. Oaths: the blood-brotherhood sworn
by Sigurth, Gunnar, and Hogni makes it impossible for the
brothers to kill him themselves, but they finally get around the
difficulty by inducing their half-brother, Gotthorra (cf. Hynd-
iuljoth, 27 and note) to do it.
[ 350 ]
Gripisspo
Gripir spake:
39. "The form of Gunnar and shape thou gettest,
But mind and voice thine own remain ;
The hand of the fosterling noble of Heimir
Now dost thou win, and none can prevent."
Sigurth spake:
40. "Most evil it seems, and men will say
Base is Sigurth that so he did;
Not of my will shall I cheat with wiles
The heroes' maiden whom noblest I hold."
Gripir spake:
41. "Thou dwellest, leader lofty of men,
With the maid as if thy mother she were;
Lofty as long as the world shall live,
Ruler of men, thy name shall remain."
39. The last half of line 4 is obscure, and the reading is
conjectural.
41. Something is clearly wrong with stanzas 41-43. In the
manuscript the order is 41, 43, 42, which brings two of Gripir's
answers together, followed by two of Sigurth's questions. Some
editors have arranged the stanzas as in this translation, while
others have interchanged 41 and 43. In any case, Sigurth in
stanza 42 asks about the "three nights" which Gripir has never
mentioned. I suspect that lines 3-4 of stanza 41, which are prac-
tically identical with lines 3-4 of stanza 23, got in here by mis-
take, replacing two lines which may have run thus: "With thy
sword between, three nights thou sleepest / With her thou
winnest for Gunnar's wife." The subsequent poems tell how
Sigurth laid his sword Gram between himself and Brynhild.
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Poetic Edda
Sigurth spake:
42. "Shall Gunnar have a goodly wife,
Famed among men, — speak forth now, Gripir!
Although at my side three nights she slept,
The warrior's bride ? Such ne'er has been."
Gripir spake:
43. "The marriage draught will be drunk for both,
For Sigurth and Gunnar, in Gjuki's hall;
Your forms ye change, when home ye fare.
But the mind of each to himself remains."
Sigurth spake:
44. "Shall the kinship new thereafter come
To good among us ? Tell me, Gripir !
To Gunnar joy shall it later give,
Or happiness send for me myself?"
Gripir spake:
45. "Thine oaths remembering, silent thou art.
And dwellest with Guthrun in wedlock good ;
But Brynhild shall deem she is badly mated.
And wiles she seeks, herself to avenge."
43. The simultaneous weddings of Sigurth and Gunnar form
a memorable feature of the German tradition as it appears in
the Nibelungenlied, but in the Volsungasaga Sigurth marries
Guthrun before he sets off with Gunnar to win Brynhild.
45. According to the Volsungasaga, Sigurth remembers his
oaths to Brynhild almost immediately after his return to Gunnar's
house. Brynhild, on the other hand, knows nothing until the
[352]
Gripisspo
Sigurth spake:
46. "What may for the bride requital be,
The wife we won with subtle wiles?
From me she has the oaths I made,
And kept not long; they gladdened her little."
Gripir spake:
47. "To Gunnar soon his bride will say
That ill didst thou thine oath fulfill,
When the goodly king, the son of Gjuki,
With all his heart the hero trusted."
Sigurth spake:
48. "What sayst thou, Gripir? give me the truth!
Am I guilty so as now is said,
famous quarrel between herself and Guthrun at the bath (an-
other reminiscence of the German story), when she taunts
Guthrun with Sigurth's inferiority to Gunnar, and Guthrun re-
torts with the statement that it was Sigurth, and not Gunnar,
who rode through the flames.
47, Brynhild tells Gunnar that Sigurth really possessed her
during the three nights when he slept by her in Gunnar's form,
thus violating his oath. Here again there is a confusion of two
traditions. If Sigurth did not meet Brynhild until after his oath
to Gunnar (cf. note on stanza 13), Brynhild's charge is entirely
false, as she herself admits in Helreith Brynhildar. On the other
hand, according to the version in which Sigurth finds Brynhild
before he meets Gjuki's sons, their union was not only com-
pleted, but she had by him a daughter, Aslaug, whom she leaves
in Heimir's charge before going to become Gunnar's wife. This
is the Volsungasaga version, and thus the statement Brynhild
makes to Gunnar, as a result of which Sigurth is slain, is quite
true.
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Or lies does the far-famed queen put forth
Of me and herself? Yet further speak."
Gripir spake:
49. "In wrath and grief full little good
The noble bride shall work thee now;
No shame thou gavest the goodly one,
Though the monarch's wife with wiles didst
cheat."
Sigurth spake:
50. "Shall Gunnar the wise to the woman's words,
And Gotthorm and Hogni, then give heed?
Shall Gjuki's sons, now tell me, Gripir,
Redden their blades with their kinsman's blood?"
Gripir spake:
51. "Heavy it lies on Guthrun's heart.
When her brothers all shall bring thee death ;
Never again shall she happiness know,
The woman so fair; 'tis Grimhild's work."
Sigurth spake:
52. "Now fare thee well! our fates we shun not;
And well has Gripir answered my wish ;
More of joy to me wouldst tell
Of mv life to come if so thou couldst."
50. Gotthorm: Gunnar's half-brother, and slayer of Sigurth.
52. The manuscript has stanzas 52 and 53 in inverse order.
[354]
Gripisspo
Gripir spake:
53. "Ever remember, ruler of men,
That fortune lies in the hero's life;
A nobler man shall never live
Beneath the sun than Sigurth shall seem."
1355 J
REGINSMOL
The Ballad of Regin
Introductory Note
The Reginsmol immediately follows the Gripisspo in the
Codex Regius, and in addition stanzas i, 2, 6, and 18 are quoted
in the Volsungasaga, and stanzas 13-26 in the Nornageststhattr.
In no instance is the title of the poem stated, and in Regius there
stands before the introductory prose, very faintly written, what
appears to be "Of Sigurth." As a result, various titles have been
affixed to it, the two most often used being "the Ballad of
Regin" and "the First Lay of Sigurth Fafnisbane."
As a matter of fact, it is by no means clear that the compiler
of the Eddie collection regarded this or either of the two fol-
lowing poems, the Fafnismol and the Sigrdrifumol, as separate
and distinct poems at all. There are no specific titles given, and
the prose notes link the three poems in a fairly consecutive
whole. Furthermore, the prose passage introducing the Reginsmol
connects directly with Fra Dautha Sinfjotla, and only the inser-
tion of the Gripisspo at this point, which may well have been
done by some stupid copyist, breaks the continuity of the story.
For convenience I have here followed the usual plan of
dividing this material into distinct parts, or poems, but I greatly
doubt if this division is logically sound. The compiler seems,
rather, to have undertaken to set down the story of Sigurth in
consecutive form, making use of all the verse with which he was
familiar, and which, by any stretch of the imagination, could be
made to fit, filling up the gaps with prose narrative notes based
on the living oral tradition.
This view is supported by the fact that not one of the three
poems in question, and least of all the Reginsmol, can possibly
be regarded as a unit. For one thing, each of them includes both
types of stanza commonly used in the Eddie poems, and this,
notwithstanding the efforts of Grundtvig and MuUenhoflF to
prove the contrary, is almost if not quite conclusive proof that
each poem consists of material taken from more than one source.
Furthermore, there is nowhere continuity within the verse itself
for more than a very few stanzas. An analysis of the Reginsmol
shows that stanzas 1-4, 6-10, and 12, all in Ljothahattr stanza
form, seem to belong together as fragments of a poem dealing with
[356]
Reginsmol
Loki's (not Andvari's) curse on the gold taken by the gods from
Andvari and paid to Hrelthmar, together with Hreithmar's death
at the hands of his son, Fafnir, as the first result of this curse.
Stanza 5, in Fornyrthislag, is a curse on the gold, here ascribed
to Andvari, but the only proper name in the stanza, Gust, is
quite unidentifiable, and the stanza may originally have had to
do with a totally different story. Stanza 11, likewise in Fornyrthis-
lag, is merely a father's demand that his daughter rear a family
to avenge his death; there is nothing in it to link it necessarily
with the dying Hreithmar. Stanzas 13-18, all in Fornyrthislag,
give Regin's welcome to Sigurth (stanzas 13-14), Sigurth's an-
nouncement that he will avenge his father's death on the sons of
Hunding before he seeks any treasure (stanza 15), and a dia-
logue between a certain Hnikar, who is really Othin, and Regin,
as the latter and Sigurth are on the point of being shipwrecked.
This section (stanzas 13-18) bears a striking resemblance to the
Helgi lays, and may well have come originally from that cycle.
Next follows a passage in Ljothahattr form (stanzas 19-22 and
24-25) in which Hnikar-Othin gives some general advice as to
lucky omens and good conduct in battle ; the entire passage might
equally well stand in the Hovamol, and I suspect that it origi-
nally came from just such a collection of wise saws. Inserted in
this passage is stanza 23, in Fornyrthislag, likewise on the con-
duct of battle, with a bit of tactical advice included. The "poem"
ends with a single stanza, in Fornyrthislag, simply stating that
the bloody fight is over and that Sigurth fought well — a state-
ment equally applicable to any part of the hero's career.
Finnur Jonsson has divided the Reginsmol into two poems, or
rather into two sets of fragments, but this, as the foregoing analy-
sis has indicated, does not appear to go nearly far enough. It
accords much better with the facts to assume that the compiler
of the collection represented by the Codex Regius, having set out
to tell the story of Sigurth, took his verse fragments pretty much
wherever he happened to find them. In this connection, it should
be remembered that in the fluid state of oral tradition poems,
fragments, and stanzas passed readily and frequently from one
story to another. Tradition, never critical, doubtless connected
with the Sigurth story much verse that never originated there.
If the entire passage beginning with the prose Fra Dautha
Sinfjotla, and, except for the Gripisspo, including the Reginsmol,
Fafnismol, and Sigrdrifumol, be regarded as a highly uncritical
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Poetic Edda
piece of compilation, rendered consecutive by the compiler's
prose narrative, its difficulties are largely smoothed away; any
other way of looking at it results in utterly inconclusive attempts
to reconstruct poems some of which quite possibly never existed.
The twenty-six stanzas and accompanying prose notes in-
cluded under the heading of Reginsmol belong almost wholly to
the northern part of the Sigurth legend; the mythological fea-
tures have no counterpart in the southern stories, and only here
and there is there any betrayal of the tradition's Prankish home.
The story of Andvari, Loki, and Hreithmar is purely Norse, as
is the concluding section containing Othin's counsels. If we
assume that the passage dealing with the victory over Hunding's
sons belongs to the Helgi cycle (cf. introductory notes to Helga-
kvitha Hjorvarthssonar and Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I), there
is very little left to reflect the Sigurth tradition proper.
Regarding the general development of the story of Sigurth
in the North, see the introductory note to the Gripisspo.
Sigurth went to Hjalprek's stud and chose for himself
a horse, who thereafter was called Grani. At that time
Regin, the son of Hreithmar, was come to Hjalprek's
home; he was more ingenious than all other men, and a
dwarf in stature ; he was wise, fierce and skilled in magic.
Regin undertook Sigurth's bringing up and teaching, and
loved him much. He told Sigurth of his forefathers,
and also of this: that once Othin and Honir and Loki had
come to Andvari's waterfall, and in the fall were many
fish. Andvari was a dwarf, who had dwelt long in the
waterfall in the shape of a pike, and there he got his food.
"Otr was the name of a brother of ours," said Regin,
"who often went into the fall in the shape of an otter; he
had caught a salmon, and sat on the high bank eating it
with his eyes shut. Loki threw a stone at him and killed
him ; the gods thought they had had great good luck, and
[358 J
Reginsmol
stripped the skin off the otter. That same evening they
sought a night's lodging at Hreithmar's house, and showed
their booty. Then we seized them, and told them, as
ransom for their lives, to fill the otter skin with gold, and
completely cover it outside as well with red gold. Then
they sent Loki to get the gold; he went to Ron and got
her net, and went then to Andvari's fall and cast the net
in front of the pike, and the pike leaped into the net."
Then Loki said:
I. "What is the fish that runs in the flood,
And itself from ill cannot save?
If thy head thou wouldst from hell redeem,
Find me the water's flame."
Prose. Hjalprek: father of Alf, Sigurth's step-father; cf. Fra
Dautha Sinfjotla, and note. Grani: cf. Gripisspo, 5 and note.
Regin ("Counsel-Giver") : undoubtedly he goes back to the smith
of the German story; in the Thithrekssaga version he is called
Mimir, while Regin is there the name of the dragon (here
Regin's brother, Fafnir). The Voluspo (stanza 12) names a
Regin among the dwarfs, and the name may have assisted in
making Regin a dwarf here. Hreithmar: nothing is known of him
outside of this story. Othin, Honir and Loki: these same three
gods appear in company in Voluspo, 17-18. Andvari's fall:
according to Snorri, who tells this entire story in the Skaldskap-
armal, Andvari's fall was in the world of the dark elves, while
the one where Loki killed the otter was not; here, however, the
two are considered identical. With his eyes shut: according to
Snorri, Otr ate with his eyes shut because be was so greedy that
he could not bear to see the food before him diminishing. Ron:
wife of the sea-god ^gir, who draws down drowning men with
her net; cf. Helgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar, 18 and note. Snorri
says that Loki caught the pike with his hands.
I. Snorri quotes this stanza. Water's flame: gold, so called
because ^gir, the sea-god, was wont to light his hall with gold.
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Poetic Edda
Andvari spake:
2. "Andvari am I, and Oin my father,
In many a fall have I fared;
An evil Norn in olden days
Doomed me in waters to dwell."
Loki spake:
3. "Andvari, say, if thou seekest still
To live in the land of men,
What payment is set for the sons of men
Who war with lying words?"
Andvari spake:
4. "A mighty payment the men must make
Who in Vathgelmir's waters wade;
On a long road lead the lying words
That one to another utters."
Loki saw all the gold that Andvari had. But when
2. Snorri quotes this stanza. The name of the speaker is not
given in the manuscripts. Oin: nothing further is known of
Andvari's father. Norn: cf. Voluspo, 20.
3. Stanzas 3-4 may well be fragments of some other poem.
Certainly Loki's question does not fit the situation, and the
passage looks like an extract from some such poem as Vafthruth-
nismol. In Regius the phrase "Loki spake" stands in the middle
of line I.
4. The manuscript does not name the speaker. Vathgelmir
("Raging to Wade") : a river not elsewhere mentioned, but cf.
Voluspo, 39.
Prose. Snorri says Andvari's ring had the power to create
new gold. In this it resembled Baldr's ring, Draupnir; cf.
Skirnismol, 21 and note.
[360]
Reginsmol
he had brought forth all the gold, he held back one ring,
and Loki took this from him. The dwarf went into his
rocky hole and said :
5. "Now shall the gold that Gust once had
Bring their death to brothers twain,
And evil be for heroes eight ;
Joy of my wealth shall no man win."
The gods gave Hreithmar the gold, and filled up the
otter-skin, and stood it on its feet. Then the gods had to
heap up gold and hide it. And when that was done,
Hreithmar came forward and saw a single whisker, and
bade them cover it. Then Othin brought out the ring
Andvaranaut and covered the hair. Then Loki said :
6. "The gold is given, and great the price
Thou hast my head to save;
5. This stanza apparently comes from a different source
from stanzas 1-4 (or 1-2 if 3-4 are interpolated) and 6-10; cf.
Introductory Note. In the Volsungasaga Andvari lays his curse
particularly on the ring. Gust: possibly a name for Andvari
himself, or for an earlier possessor of the treasure. Brothers
tivain: Fafnir and Regin. Heroes eight: the word "eight" may
easily have been substituted for something like "all" to make
the stanza fit the case; the "eight" in question are presumably
Sigurth, Gotthorm, Gunnar, Hogni, Atli, Erp, Sorli and Hamther,
all of whom are slain in the course of the story. But the stanza
may originally not have referred to Andvari's treasure at all.
Prose. Andvaranaut: "Andvari's Gem."
6. Snorri quotes this stanza, introducing it, as here, with
"Then Loki said" in the prose. Regius omits this phrase, but
inserts "said Loki" in line i.
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Poetic Edda
But fortune thy sons shall find not there,
The bane of ye both it is."
Hreithmar spake:
7. "Gifts ye gave, but ye gave not kindly,
Gave not with hearts that were whole ;
Your lives ere this should ye all have lost,
If sooner this fate I had seen."
Loki spake:
8. "Worse is this that methinks I see,
For a maid shall kinsmen clash;
Heroes unborn thereby shall be,
I deem, to hatred doomed."
Hreithmar spake:
9. "The gold so red shall I rule, methinks,
So long as I shall live;
Nought of fear for thy threats I feel.
So get ye hence to your homes."
Fafnir and Regin asked Hreithmar for a share of the
wealth that was paid for the slaying of their brother, Otr.
This he refused, and Fafnir thrust his sword through the
8. The word translated "maid" in line 2 is obscure, and
"gold" may be meant. Apparently, however, the reference is
to the fight between Sigurth and the sons of Gjuki over Brynhild.
The manuscript does not name the speaker, and many editions
assign this stanza to Hreithmar.
9. The manuscript includes "said Hreithmar" (abbreviated)
in the middle of line 1, and some editors have followed this.
[362]
Reginsmol
body of his father, Hreithmar, while he was sleeping.
Hreithmar called to his daughters:
10. "Lyngheith and Lofnheith, fled is my life,
And mighty now is my need!"
Lyngheith spake:
"Though a sister loses her father, seldom
Revenge on her brother she brings."
Hreithmar spake:
11. "A daughter, woman with wolf's heart, bear.
If thou hast no son with the hero brave;
If one weds the maid, for the need is mighty.
Their son for thy hurt may vengeance seek."
Then Hreithmar died, and Fafnir took all the gold.
Thereupon Regin asked to have his inheritance from his
father, but Fafnir refused this. Then Regin asked counsel
10. Hreithmar's daughters do not appear elsewhere. It has
been suggested that originally stanza lo was followed by one
in which Lofnheith lamented her inability to avenge her father,
as she was married and had no son.
11. Apparently an interpolation (cf. Introductory Note).
Vigfusson tries to reconstruct lines 2 and 4 to fit the Ljothahattr
rhythm, but without much success. Hreithmar urges his daughter,
as she has no sons, to bear a daughter who, in turn, will have
a son to avenge his great-grandfather. Grundtvig worked out
an ingenious theory to fit this stanza, making Sigurth's grand-
father, Eylimi, the husband of Lyngheith's daughter, but there
is absolutely no evidence to support this. The stanza may have
nothing to do with Hreithmar.
[363]
Poetic Edda
of Lyngheith, his sister, how he should win his inherit-
ance. She said:
12. "In friendly wise the wealth shalt thou ask
Of thy brother, and better will ;
Not seemly is it to seek with the sword
Fafnir's treasure to take."
All these happenings did Regin tell to Sigurth.
One day, when he came to Regin's house, he was
gladly welcomed. Regin said :
13. "Hither the son of Sigmund is come,
The hero eager, here to our hall;
His courage is more than an ancient man's,
And battle I hope from the hardy wolf.
14. "Here shall I foster the fearless prince.
Now Yngvi's heir to us is come;
The noblest hero beneath the sun.
The threads of his fate all lands enfold."
13. This and the following stanza may be out of place here,
really belonging, together with their introductory prose sentence,
in the opening prose passage, following the first sentence describ-
ing Regin. Certainly they seem to relate to Regin's first meeting
with Sigurth. Stanzas 13-26, interspersed with prose, are quoted
in the Nornageststhattr. Stanzas 13-18 may be the remnants of
a lost poem belonging to the Helgi cycle (cf. Introductory Note).
Hardy <wolf: warrior, i. e., Sigurth.
14. Yngvi's heir: Yngvi was one of the sons of the Danish
king Halfdan the Old, and traditionally an ancestor of Helgi
(cf. Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I, 57 and note). Calling Sigurth
[364]
Reginsmol
Sigurth was there continually with Regin, who said
to Sigurth that Fafnir lay at Gnitaheith, and was in
the shape of a dragon. He had a fear-helm, of which
all living creatures were terrified. Regin made Sigurth
the sword which was called Gram; it was so sharp that
when he thrust it down into the Rhine, and let a strand
of wool drift against it with the stream, it cleft the strand
asunder as if it were water. With this sword Sigurth
cleft asunder Regin's anvil. After that Regin egged
Sigurth on to slay Fafnir, but he said:
15. "Loud will the sons of Hunding laugh,
Who low did Eylimi lay in death.
If the hero sooner seeks the red
Rings to find than his father's vengeance."
King Hjalprek gave Sigurth a fleet for the avenging
a descendant of Yngvi is, of course, absurd, and the use of this
phrase is one of the many reasons for believing that stanzas
13-18 belonged originally to the Helgi cycle. The threads, etc.:
another link with Helgi; cf. Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I, 3-4.
As Helgi was likewise regarded as a son of Sigmund, stanzas
13-14 would fit him just as well as Sigurth.
Prose. Gnitaheith: cf. Gripisspo, 11 and note. Fear-helm: the
word "sgis-hjalmr," which occurs both here and in Fafnismol,
suggests an extraordinarily interesting, and still disputed, ques-
tion of etymology. Gram: according to the Volsungasaga Regin
forged this sword from the fragments of the sword given by
Othin to Sigmund (cf. Fra Dautha Sinfjotla and note).
15. Regarding the sons of Hunding and Eylimi, father of
Sigurth's mother, all of whom belong to the Helgi tradition, cf.
Fra Dautha Sinfjotla and note.
Prose. The fleet, and the subsequent storm, are also reminis-
[ 365 ]
Poetic Edda
of his father. They ran into a great storm, and were o£E
a certain headland. A man stood on the mountain, and
said :
1 6. "Who yonder rides
O'er towering waves
The sail-horses all
Nor can the sea-steeds
on Rsevil's steeds,
and waters wild ?
with sweat are dripping,
the gale withstand."
Re gin answered:
17. "On the sea-trees here
The storm wind drives us
The waves crash down
And the roller-steeds sink ;
are Sigurth and I,
on to our death;
on the forward deck,
who seeks our names ?"
The Man spake:
"Hnikar I was when Volsung once
Gladdened the ravens and battle gave;
Call me the Man from the Mountain now,
Feng or Fjolnir; with you will I fare."
cent of the Helgi cycle ; of. Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I, 29-31,
and //, prose after stanza 16. A man: Othin.
16. Ravil's steeds (Raevil was a sea-king, possibly the
grandson of Ragnar Lothbrok mentioned in the Hervararsaga),
sail-horses and sea-steeds all mean "ships."
17. Sea-trees and roller-steeds (the latter because ships were
pulled up on shore by means of rollers) both mean "ships."
18. The Volsungasaga quotes this stanza. Hnikar and
Fjolnir: Othin gives himself both these names in Grimnismol,
47; Feng ("The Seizer") does not appear elsewhere. According
to the Volsungasaga, no one knew Othin's name when he came
to Volsung's house and left the sword there for Sigmund.
[366]
Reginsmol
They sailed to the land, and the man went on board
the ship, and the storm subsided. Sigurth spake:
19. "Hnikar, say, for thou seest the fate
That to gods and men is given;
What sign is fairest for him who fights,
And best for the swinging of swords?"
Hnikar spake :
20. "Many the signs, if men but knew,
That are good for the swinging of swords;
It is well, methinks, if the warrior meets
A raven black on his road.
21. "Another it is if out thou art come,
And art ready forth to fare,
To behold on the path before thy house
Two fighters greedy of fame.
22. "Third it is well if a howling wolf
Thou hearest under the ash ;
And fortune comes if thy foe thou seest
Ere thee the hero beholds.
23. "A man shall fight not when he must face
The moon's bright sister setting late ;
19. This and the following stanzas are strongly suggestive
of the Hovamol, and probably came originally from some such
collection.
23. This stanza is clearly an interpolation, drawn in by the
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Poetic Edda
Win he shall who well can see,
And wedge-like forms his men for the fray.
24. "Foul is the sign if thy foot shall stumble
As thou goest forth to fight ;
Goddesses baneful at both thy sides
Will that wounds thou shalt get.
25. "Combed and washed shall the wise man go,
And a meal at morn shall take;
For unknown it is where at eve he may be ;
It is ill thy luck to lose."
Sigurth had a great battle with Lyngvi, the son of
common-sense advice, as distinct from omens, given in the last
lines of stanza 22. Moon's sister: the sun; cf. Vafthruthnismol,
23 and note. Wedge-like: the wedge formation (prescribed anew
in 1920 for the United States Army under certain circumstances)
was said to have been invented by Othin himself, and taught by
him only to the most favored warriors.
24. Goddesses: Norse mythology included an almost limitless
number of minor deities, the female ones, both kind and unkind,
being generally classed among the lesser Norns.
25. This stanza almost certainly had nothing originally to
do with the others in this passage ; it may have been taken from
a longer version of the Hovamol itself.
Prose. Lyngvi: the son of Hunding who killed Sigmund in
jealousy of his marriage with Hjordis; cf. Fra Dautha Sinfjotla
and note. The Volsungasaga names one brother who was with
Lyngvi in the battle, Hjorvarth, and Sigurth kills him as readily
as if he had not already been killed long before by Helgi. But,
as has been seen, it was nothing for a man to be killed in two or
three different ways.
[368]
Reginsmol
Hunding, and his brothers ; there Lyngvi fell, and his two
brothers with him. After the battle Regin said:
26. "Now the bloody eagle with biting sword
Is carved on the back of Sigmund's killer;
Few were more fierce in fight than his son,
Who reddened the earth and gladdened the
ravens."
Sigurth went home to Hjalprek's house; thereupon
Regin egged him on to fight with Fafnir.
26. Bloody eagle, etc.: the Nornageststhattr describes the man-
ner in which the captured Lyngvi was put to death. "Regin
advised that they should carve the bloody eagle on his back. So
Regin took his sword and cleft Lyngvi's back so that he severed
his back from his ribs, and then drew out his lungs. So died
Lyngvi with great courage."
Prose. In Regius there is no break of any kind between this
prose passage and the prose introduction to the Fafnismol (cf.
Introductory Note).
[369]
FAFNISMOL
The Ballad of Fafnir
Introductory Note
The so-called Fafnismol, contained in full in the Codex
Regius, where it immediately follows the Reginsmol without any
indication of a break, is quoted by Snorri in the Gylfaginning
(stanza 13) and the Skaldskaparmal (stanzas 32 and 33), and
stanzas 6, 3, and 4 appear in the Sverrissaga. Although the
Volsungasaga does not actually quote any of the stanzas, it gives
a very close prose parallel to the whole poem in chapters 18
and 19.
The general character of the Fafnismol, and its probable rela-
tion to the Reginsmol and the Sigrdrifumol, have been discussed
in the introductory note to the Reginsmol. While it is far more
nearly a unit than the Reginsmol, it shows many of the same
characteristics. It has the same mixture of stanza forms, although
in this case only nine stanzas (32-33, 35-36 and 40-44) vary
from the normal Ljothahattr measure. It shows, though to a much
less marked extent, the same tendency to introduce passages from
extraneous sources, such as the question-and-answer passage in
stanzas 11-15. At the same time, in this instance it is quite clear
that one distinct poem, including probably stanzas i-io, 16-23,
25-31, and 34-39, underlay the compilation which we here have.
This may, perhaps, have been a long poem (not, however, the
"Long" Sigurth Lay ; see introductory note to Brot af Sigtirth-
arkvithu) dealing with the Regin-Fafnir-Sigurth-Brynhild story,
and including, besides most of the Fafnismol, stanzas 1-4 and
6-11 of the Reginsmol and part of the so-called Sigrdrifumol,
together with much that has been lost. The original poem may,
on the other hand, have confined itself to the Fafnir episode.
In any case, and while the extant Fafnismol can be spoken
of as a distinct poem far more justly than the Reginsmol, there
is still no indication that the compiler regarded it as a poem by
itself. His prose notes run on without a break, and the verses
simply cover a dramatic episode in Sigurth's early life. The
fact that the work of compilation has been done more intel-
ligently than in the case of the Reginsmol seems to have resulted
chiefly from the compiler's having been familiar with longer
consecutive verse passages dealing with the Fafnir episode.
[ 370 ]
Fafnismol
The Reginsmol is little more than a clumsy mosaic, but in the
Fafnismol it is possible to distinguish between the main substance
of the poem and the interpolations.
Here, as in the Reginsmol, there is very little that bespeaks
the German origin of the Sigurth story. Sigurth's winning of
the treasure is in itself undoubtedly a part of the earlier southern
legend, but the manner in which he does it is thoroughly Norse.
Moreover, the concluding section, which points toward the finding
of the sleeping Brynhild, relates entirely to the northern Valky-
rie, the warrior-maiden punished by Othin, and not at all to
the southern Brynhild the daughter of Buthli. The Fafnismol is,
however, sharply distinguished from the Reginsmol by showing
no clear traces of the Helgi tradition, although a part of the
bird song (stanzas 40-44, in Fornyrthislag form, as distinct from
the body of the poem) sounds suspiciously like the bird passage
in the beginning of the Helgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar. Regarding
the general relations of the various sets of traditions in shaping
the story of Sigurth, see the introductory note to Gripisspo.
The Fafnismol, together with a part of the Sigrdrifumol, has
indirectly become the best known of all the Eddie poems, for
the reason that Wagner used it, with remarkably little change
of outline, as tlie basis for his "Siegfried."
Sigurth and Regin went up to the Gnitaheith, and
found there the track that Fafnir made when he crawled
to water. Then Sigurth made a great trench across the
path, and took his place therein. When Fafnir crawled
from his gold, he blew out venom, and it ran down from
above on Sigurth's head. But when Fafnir crawled over
the trench, then Sigurth thrust his sword into his body
Prose. The prose follows the concluding prose passage of the
Reginsmol without any interruption; the heading "Of Fafnir's
Death" is written in the manuscript very faintly just before
stanza i. Gnitaheith: cf. Gripisspo, 11 and note. Fafnir: Regin's
brother: cf. Reginsmol, prose after stanza 14. Venom: in the Vol'
[371]
Poetic Edda
to the heart. Fafnir writhed and struck out with his
head and tail. Sigurth leaped from the trench, and each
looked at the other. Fafnir said:
1. "Youth, oh, youth! of whom then, youth, art
thou bom ?
Say whose son thou art.
Who in Fafnir's blood thy bright blade red-
dened.
And struck thy sword to my heart."
Sigurth concealed his name because it was believed in
olden times that the word of a dying man might have
great power if he cursed his foe by his name. He said:
2. "The Noble Hart my name, and I go
A motherless man abroad;
Father I had not, as others have,
And lonely ever I live."
sungasaga it was the blood, and not the venom, that poured down
on Sigurth's head. Sigurth was much worried about this danger,
and before he dug the trench asked Regin what would happen
if the dragon's blood overcame him. Regin thereupon taunted
him with cowardice (Sigurth refers to this taunt in stanza 30,
but the stanza embodying it has disappeared). After Sigurth
had dug his trench, an old man (Othin, of course) appeared
and advised him to dig other trenches to carry oflE the blood,
which he did, thereby escaping harm.
I. The first line in the original, as here, is unusually long
but dramatically very effective on that account.
3. The names of the speakers do not appear in the manu-
script, though they seem originally to have been indicated in the
[372]
Fafnismol
Fafnir spake:
3. "If father thou hadst not, as others have,
By what wonder wast thou born ?
(Though thy name on the day of my death thou
hidest,
Thou knowest now thou dost He.)"
Sigurth spake:
4. "My race, methinks, is unknown to thee,
And so am I myself;
Sigurth my name, and Sigmund's son,
Who smote thee thus with the sword."
Fafnir spake:
5. "Who drove thee on? why wert thou driven
My life to make me lose?
A father brave had the bright-eyed youth,
For bold in boyhood thou art."
Sigurth spake:
6. "My heart did drive me, my hand fulfilled.
And my shining sword so sharp ;
Few are keen when old age comes,
Who timid in boyhood be."
margin for stanzas 3-30. The last two lines of stanza 3 are
missing in the manuscript, with no gap indicated, but the Vol-
sungasaga prose paraphrase indicates that something was omitted,
and the lines here given are conjecturally reconstructed from this
paraphrase.
4. The manuscript marks line 3 as the beginning of a stanza.
5. Line 4, utterly obscure in the manuscript, is guesswork
[373 J
Poetic Edda
Fafnir spake:
7. "If thou mightest grow thy friends among,
One might see thee fiercely fight ;
But bound thou art, and in battle taken,
And to fear are prisoners prone."
Sigurth spake:
8. "Thou blamest me, Fafnir, that I see from afar
The wealth that my father's was ;
Not bound am I, though in battle taken,
Thou hast found that free I live."
Fafnir spake:
9. "In all I say dost thou hatred see,
Yet truth alone do I tell;
The sounding gold, the glow-red wealth.
And the rings thy bane shall be."
Sigurth spake:
10. "Some one the hoard shall ever hold,
Till the destined day shall come ;
For a time there is when every man
Shall journey hence to hell."
Fafnir spake :
11. "The fate of the Norns before the headland
7. Fafnir here refers to the fact that Hjordis, mother of the
still unborn Sigurth, was captured by Alf after Sigmund's death;
cf. Fra Dautha Sinfjotla, note.
II. Stanzas 11-15 are probably interpolated, and come from
[3741
Fafnismol
Thou findest, and doom of a fool;
In the water shalt drown if thou row 'gainst the
wind,
All danger is near to death."
Sigurth spake:
12. "Tell me then, Fafnir, for wise thou art famed,
And much thou knowest now:
Who are the Norns who are helpful in need,
And the babe from the mother bring?"
Fafnir spake:
13. "Of manj^ births the Norns must be,
Nor one in race they were ;
Some to gods, others to elves are kin,
And Dvalin's daughters some."
Sigurth spake:
14. "Tell me then, Fafnir, for wise thou art famed,
And much thou knowest now:
a poem similar to Vafthruthnismol. The headland: Fafnir is
apparently quoting proverbs; this one seems to mean that disaster
("the fate of the Norns") awaits when one rounds the first
headland (i. e., at the beginning of life's voyage, in youth). The
third line is a commentary on obstinate rashness. The Vol-
sungasaga paraphrases stanzas 11-15 throughout.
12. Norns: cf. stanza 13 and note. Sigurth has no possible
interest in knowing what Norns are helpful in childbirth, but
interpolations were seldom logical.
13. Snorri quotes this stanza. There were minor Norns, or
fates, in addition to the three great Norns, regarding whom cf.
Voluspo, 20. Dvalin: chief of the dwarfs; cf. Voluspo, 14.
[375]
Poetic Edda
How call they the isle where all the gods
And Surt shall sword-sweat mingle?"
Fafnir spake:
15. "Oskopnir is it, where all the gods
Shall seek the play of swords;
Bilrost breaks when they cross the bridge,
And the steeds shall swim in the flood.
16. "The fear-helm I wore to af right mankind,
While guarding my gold I lay;
Mightier seemed I than any man.
For a fiercer never I found."
Sigurth spake:
17. "The fear-helm surely no man shields
When he faces a valiant foe ;
Oft one finds, when the foe he meets.
That he is not the bravest of all."
Fafnir spake :
18. "Venom I breathed when bright I lay
By the hoard my father had ;
14. Surt: ruler of the fire world; the reference is to the last
great battle. Sivord-siveat : blood.
15. Oskopnir ("Not-Made") : apparently another name for
Vigrith, which is named in Vafthruthnismol, i8, as the final
battle-ground. Bilrost (or Bifrost) : the rainbow bridge which
breaks beneath Surt's followers; cf. Grimnismol, 29 and note.
16. With this stanza Fafnir returns to the situation. Fear-
helm: regarding the "aegis-hjalmr" cf. Reginsmol, prose after
stanza 14 and note.
[376]
Fafnismol
(There was none so mighty as dared to meet me,
And weapons nor wiles I feared.)"
Sigurth spake:
19. "Glittering worm, thy hissing was great,
And hard didst show thy heart ;
But hatred more have the sons of men
For him who owns the helm."
Fafnir spake:
20. "I counsel thee, Sigurth, heed my speech.
And ride thou homeward hence ;
The sounding gold, the glow-red wealth,
And the rings thy bane shall be."
Sigurth spake:
21. "Thy counsel is given, but go I shall
To the gold in the heather hidden ;
And, Fafnir, thou with death dost fight,
Lying where Hel shall have thee."
Fafnir spake:
22. "Regin betrayed me, and thee will betray.
Us both to death will he bring ;
18. Lines 3-4 do not appear in the manuscript, and no gap
is indicated; they are here conjecturally paraphrased from the
prose passage in the Volsungasaga.
20. It has been suggested that this stanza is spurious, and
that stanza 21 ought to follow stanza 22. Lines 3-4, abbreviated
in the manuscript, are identical with lines 3-4 of stanza 9. The
Volsungasaga paraphrase in place of these two lines makes
Poetic Edda
His life, methinks, must Fafnir lose,
For the mightier man wast thou."
Regin had gone to a distance while Sigurth fought
Fafnir, and came back while Sigurth was wiping the
blood from his sword. Regin said :
23. "Hail to thee, Sigurth! Thou victory hast,
And Fafnir in fight hast slain;
Of all the men who tread the earth.
Most fearless art thou, methinks."
Sigurth spake:
24. "Unknown it is, when all are together,
(The sons of the glorious gods,)
Who bravest born shall seem ;
Some are valiant who redden no sword
In the blood of a foeman's breast."
Regin spake :
25. "Glad art thou, Sigurth, of battle gained,
As Gram with grass thou cleansest;
My brother fierce in fight hast slain.
And somewhat I did myself."
Fafnir say: "For it often happens that he who gets a deadly
wound yet avenges himself." It is quite likely that two stanzas
have been lost.
22. The Volsungasaga places its paraphrase of this stanza
between those of stanzas 15 and 16.
24. Line 2 is probably spurious, but it is a phrase typical of
such poems as Grimnismol or Vafthruthnismol.
25. Gram: Sigurth's sword; cf. Reginsmol, prose after 14.
I 378 1
Fafnismol
Sigurth spake:
26. "Afar didst thou go while Fafnir reddened
With his blood my blade so keen;
With the might of the dragon my strength I
matched,
While thou in the heather didst hide."
Regin spake :
27. "Longer wouldst thou in the heather have let
Yon hoary giant hide,
Had the weapon availed not that once I forged.
The keen-edged blade thou didst bear."
Sigurth spake:
28. "Better is heart than a mighty blade
For him who shall fiercely fight;
The brave man well shall fight and win,
Though dull his blade may be.
29. "Brave men better than cowards be,
When the clash of battle comes;
And better the glad than the gloomy man
Shall face what before him lies.
30. "Thy rede it was that I should ride
26. In the manuscript stanzas 26-29 stand after stanza 31,
which fails to make clear sense; they are here rearranged in
accordance with the Volsungasaga paraphrase.
28-29. Almost certainly interpolated from some such poem as
the Hovamol. Even the faithful Volsungasaga fails to para-
phrase stanza 29.
[379]
Poetic Edda
Hither o'er mountains high ;
The glittering worm would have wealth and life
If thou hadst not mocked at my might."
Then Regin went up to Fafnir and cut out his heart
with his sword, that was named Rithil, and then he drank
blood from the wounds. Regin said :
31. "Sit now, Sigurth, for sleep will I,
Hold Fafnir's heart to the fire;
For all his heart shall eaten be,
Since deep of blood I have drunk."
Sigurth took Fafnir's heart and cooked it on a spit.
When he thought that it was fully cooked, and the blood
foamed out of the heart, then he tried it with his finger
to see whether it was fully cooked. He burned his finger,
and put it in his mouth. But when Fafnir's heart's-blood
came on his tongue, he understood the speech of birds.
He heard nut-hatches chattering in the thickets. A nut-
hatch said:
32. "There sits Sigurth, sprinkled with blood,
And Fafnir's heart with fire he cooks;
30. Something has evidently been lost before this stanza.
Sigurth clearly refers to Regin's reproach when he was digging
the trench (cf. note on introductory prose), but the poem does
not give such a passage.
Prose. Rithil ("Swift-Moving") : Snorri calls the sword Refil
("Serpent").
32. That the birds' stanzas come from more than one source
[380]
Fafnismol
Wise were the breaker of rings, I ween,
To eat the life-muscles all so bright."
A second spake:
33. "There Regin lies, and plans he lays
The youth to betray who trusts him well ;
Lying words with wiles will he speak.
Till his brother the maker of mischief avenges."
A third spake:
34. "Less by a head let the chatterer hoary
Go from here to hell;
Then all of the wealth he alone can wield,
The gold that Fafnir guarded."
A fourth spake:
35. "Wise would he seem if so he would heed
The counsel good we sisters give ;
is fairly apparent, but whether from two or from three or more
is uncertain. It is also far from clear how many birds are
speaking. The manuscript numbers II, III, and IV in the margin
with numerals; the Volsungasaga makes a different bird speak
each time. There are almost as many guesses as there are
editions. I suspect that in the original poem there was one bird,
speaking stanzas 34 and 37. Stanza 38 is little more than a
repetition of stanza 34, and may well have been a later
addition. As for the stanzas in Fornyrthislag (32-33 and 35-36),
they apparently come from another poem, in which several
birds speak (cf. "we sisters" in stanza 35). This may be the
same poem from which stanzas 40-44 were taken, as well as
some of the Fornyrthislag stanzas in the SigrdrifumoU
34. Some editions turn this speech from the third person into
the second, but the manuscript is clear enough.
[ 381 ]
Poetic Edda
Thought he would give, and the ravens gladden,
There is ever a wolf where his ears I spy."
A fifth spake:
36. "Less wise must be the tree of battle
Than to me would seem the leader of men,
If forth he lets one brother fare,
When he of the other the slayer is."
A sixth spake:
37. "Most foolish he seems if he shall spare
His foe, the bane of the folk ;
There Regin lies, who hath wronged him so,
Yet falsehood knows he not."
A seventh spake:
38. "Let the head from the frost-cold giant be hewed,
And let him of rings be robbed ;
Then all the wealth which Fafnir's was
Shall belong to thee alone." .
Siffurth spake:
39. "Not so rich a fate shall Regin have
35. fVolf, etc.: the phrase is nearly equivalent to "there
must be fire where there is smoke." The proverb appears else-
where in Old Norse.
36. Tree of battle: warrior.
37. Here, as in stanza 34, some editions turn the speech from
the third person into the second.
38. Giant: Regin was certainly not a frost-giant, and the
whole stanza looks like some copyist's blundering reproduction
of stanza 34.
[382]
Fafnismol
As the tale of my death to tell ;
For soon the brothers both shall die,
And hence to hell shall go."
Sigurth hewed off Regin's head, and then he ate Faf-
nir's heart, and drank the blood of both Regin and Fafnir.
Then Sigurth heard what the nut-hatch said :
40. "Bind, Sigurth, the golden rings together,
Not kingly is it aught to fear;
I know a maid, there is none so fair,
Rich in gold, if thou mightest get her.
41. "Green the paths that to G Juki lead,
40. Neither the manuscript nor any of the editions suggest
the existence of more than one bird in stanzas 40-44. It seems
to me, however, that there are not only two birds, but two distinct
stories. Stanzas 40-41 apply solely to Guthrun, and suggest that
Sigurth will go straight to Gunnar's hall. Stanzas 42-44, on the
other hand, apply solely to Brynhild, and indicate that Sigurth
will find her before he visits the Gjukungs. The confusion which
existed between these two versions of the story, and which
involved a fundamental difference in the final working out of
Brynhild's revenge, is commented on in the note on Gripisspo,
13. In the present passage it is possible that two birds are
speaking, each reflecting one version of the story; it seems even
more likely that one speech or the other (40-41 or 42-44) reflects
the original form of the narrative, the other having been added,
either later or from another poem. In the Volsungasaga the
whole passage is condensed into a few words by one bird:
"Wiser were it if he should then ride up on Hindarfjoll, where
Brynhild sleeps, and there would he get much wisdom." The
Guthrun-bird does not appear at all.
41. Gjuki: father of Gunnar and Guthrun: cf. Gripisspo, 13
and note.
[383]
Poetic Edda
And his fate the waj^ to the wanderer shows;
The doughty king a daughter has,
That thou as a bride mayst, Sigurth, buy."
Another spake:
42. "A hall stands high on Hindarfjoll,
All with flame is it ringed without;
Warriors wise did make it once
Out of the flaming light of the flood.
43. "On the mountain sleeps a battle-maid,
And about her plays the bane of the wood ;
Ygg with the thorn hath smitten her thus,
For she felled the fighter he fain would save.
44. "There mayst thou behold the maiden helmed.
Who forth on Vingskomir rode from the fight;
The victory-bringer her sleep shall break not,
Thou heroes' son, so the Norns have set."
42. Hindarfjoll: "Mountain of the Hind." Light of the flood:
gold ; cf. Reginsmol, i and note.
43. Battle-maid: Brynhild, here clearly defined as a Valkyrie.
Bane of the nvood: fire. Ygg: Othin; cf. Grimnismol, 53. The
thorn: a prose note in Sigrdrifumol calls it "sleep-thorn." The
fighter: the story of the reason for Brynhild's punishment is told
in the prose following stanza 4 of Sigrdrifumol.
44. Vingskomir: Brynhild's horse, not elsewhere mentioned.
Victory-bringer: the word thus translated is in the original
"sigrdrifa." The compiler of the collection, not being familiar
with this word, assumed that it was a proper name, and in the
prose following stanza 4 of the Sigrdrifumol he specifically
states that this was the Valkyrie's name. Editors, until recently,
[ 384 ]
Fafnismol
Sigurth rode along Fafnir's trail to his lair, and found
it open. The gate-posts were of iron, and the gates; of
iron, too, were all the beams in the house, which was dug
down into the earth. There Sigurth found a mighty
store of gold, and he filled two chests full thereof; he
took the fear-helm and a golden mail-coat and the sword
Hrotti, and many other precious things, and loaded Grani
with them, but the horse would not go forward until
Sigurth mounted on his back.
have followed him in this error, failing to recognize that
"sigrdrifa" was simply an epithet for Brynhild. It is from this
blunder that the so-called Sigrdrifumol takes its name. Bryn-
hild's dual personality as a Valkyrie and as the daughter of
Buthli has made plenty of trouble, but the addition of a second
Valkyrie in the person of the supposed "Sigrdrifa" has made
still more.
Prose. There is no break in the manuscript between the end
of this prose passage and the beginning of the one introducing
the Sigrdrifumol: some editors include the entire prose passage
with one poem or the other. Hrotti: "Thruster."
[385]
SIGRDRIFUMOL
The Ballad of The Victory-Bringer
Introductory Note
The so-called Sigrdrifumol, which immediately follows the
FafiAsmol in the Codex Regius without any indication of a break,
and without separate title, is unquestionably the most chaotic of
all the poems in the Eddie collection. The end of it has been
entirely lost, for the fifth folio of eight sheets is missing from
Regius, the gap coming after the first line of stanza 29 of this
poem. That stanza has been completed, and eight more have
been added, from much later paper manuscripts, but even so the
conclusion of the poem is in obscurity.
Properly speaking, however, the strange conglomeration of
stanzas which the compiler of the collection has left for us, and
which, in much the same general form, seems to have lain
before the authors of the Volsungasaga, in which eighteen of
its stanzas are quoted, is not a poem at all. Even its customary
title is an absurd error. The mistake made by the annotator in
thinking that the epithet "sigrdrifa," rightly applied to Brynhild
as a "bringer of victory," was a proper name has already been
explained and commented on (note on Fafnismol, 44). Even if
the collection of stanzas were in any real sense a poem, which
it emphatically is not, it is certainly not the "Ballad of Sigrdrifa"
which it is commonly called. "Ballad of Brynhild" would be
a sufficiently suitable title, and I have here brought the estab-
lished name "Sigrdrifumol" into accord with this by translating
the epithet instead of treating it as a proper name.
Even apart from the title, however, the Sigrdrifumol has
little claim to be regarded as a distinct poem, nor is there any
indication that the compiler did so regard it. Handicapped as
we are by the loss of the concluding section, and of the material
which followed it on those missing pages, we can yet see that
the process which began with the prose Fra Dautha Sinfjotla,
and which, interrupted by the insertion of the Gripisspo, went on
through the Reginsmol and the Fafnismol, continued through as
much of the Sigrdrifumol as is left to us. In other words, the
compiler told the story of Sigurth in mixed prose and verse,
using whatever verse he could find without much questioning as
to its origin, and filling in the gaps with his own prose. Fra
[386]
Sigrdrifumol
Dautha Sinfjotla, Reginsmol, Fajnismol, and Sigrdrifumol are
essentially a coherent unit, but one of the compiler's making only;
they represent neither one poem nor three distinct poems, and
the divisions and titles which have been almost universally
adopted by editors are both arbitrary and misleading.
The Sigrdrifumol section as we now have it is an extraor-
dinary piece of patchwork. It is most unlikely that the com-
piler himself brought all these fragments together for the first
time; little by little, through a process of accretion and also,
unluckily, through one of elimination, the material grew into its
present shape. Certainly the basis of it is a poem dealing with
the finding of Brynhild by Sigurth, but of this original poem
only five stanzas (2-4 and 20-21) can be identified with any
degree of confidence. To these five stanzas should probably,
however, be added some, if not all, of the passage (stanzas
6-12) in which Brynhild teaches Sigurth the magic runes. These
stanzas of rune-lore attracted sundry similar passages from
other sources, including stanza 5, in which a magic draught
is administered (not necessarily by Brynhild or to Sigurth),
the curious rune-chant in stanzas 15-17, and stanzas 13-14 and
18-19. Beginning with stanza 22, and running to the end of the
fragment (stanza 37), is a set of numbered counsels closely
resembling the Loddfafnismol {Hovamol, stanzas in-138),
which manifestly has nothing whatever to do with Brynhild.
Even in this passage there are probably interpolations (stanzas
25, 27, 30, 34, and 36). Finally, and bespeaking the existence at
some earlier time of another Sigurth-Brynhild poem, is stanza
I, sharply distinguished by its metrical form from stanzas 2-4
and 20-21. Many critics argue that stanzas 6-10 of Helreith
Brynildar belonged originally to the same poem as stanza i of
the Sigrdrifumol.
The Sigrdrifumol, then, must be regarded simply as a col-
lection of fragments, most of them originally having no relation
to the main subject. All of the story, the dialogue and the
characterization are embodied in stanzas 1-4 and 20-21 and in
the prose notes accompanying the first four stanzas; all of the
rest might equally well (or better) be transferred to the
Hovamol, where its character entitles it to a place. Yet stanzas
2-4 are as fine as anything in Old Norse poetry, and it is out of
the scanty material of these three stanzas that Wagner con-
structed much of the third act of "Siegfried."
[387]
Poetic Edda
The Sigrdrifumol represents almost exclusively the contribu-
tions of the North to the Sigurth tradition (cf. introductory note
to the Gripisspo). Brynhild, here disguised by the annotator as
^ "Sigrdrifa," appears simply as a battle-maid and supernatural
/ dispenser of wisdom; there is no trace of the daughter of Buthli
and the rival of Guthrun. There is, however, so little of the
"poem" which can definitely be assigned to the Sigurth cycle
that it is impossible to trace back any of the underlying narrative
substance.
The nature and condition of the material have made editorial
conjectures and emendations very numerous, and as most of the
guesses are neither conclusive nor particularly important, only
a few of thenr are mentioned in the notes.
Sigurth rode up on Hindarfjoll and turned southward
toward the land of the Franks. On the mountain he
saw a great light, as if fire were burning, and the glow
reached up to heaven. And when he came thither, there
stood a tower of shields, and above it was a baftner.
Sigurth went into the shield-tower, and saw that a man
lay there sleeping with all his war-weapons. First he
took the helm from his head, and then he saw that it
was a woman. The mail-coat was as fast as if it had
grown to the flesh. Then he cut the mail-coat from the
Prose. The introductory prose follows without break the
prose concluding the Fafnismol, the point of division being
arbitrary and not agreed upon by all editors. Hindarfjoll: cf.
Fafnismol, 42 and note. Franks: this does not necessarily mean
that Sigurth was on his way to the Gjukungs' home, for Sigmund
had a kingdom in the land of the Franks (cf. Fra Dautha Sinf-
jotla). Shields: the annotator probably drew the notion of the
shield-tower from the reference in Helreith Brynhildar, 9. The
flame-girt tower was not uncommon; cf. Mengloth's hall in
Svipdagsmol.
[388]
Sigrdrifumol
head-opening downward, and out to both the arm-holes.
Then he took the mail-coat from her, and she awoke, and
sat up and saw Sigurth, and said :
1. "What bit through the byrnie? how was broken
my sleep?
Who made me free of the fetters pale?"
He answered:
"Sigmund's son, with Sigurth's sword,
That late with flesh hath fed the ravens."
Sigurth sat beside her and asked her name. She took a
horn full of mead and gave him a memory-draught.
2. "Hail, day! Hail, sons of day!
And night and her daughter now !
Look on us here with loving eyes,
That waiting we victory win.
1. This stanza, and the two lines included in the prose after
stanza 4, and possibly stanza 5 as well, evidently come from a
different poem from stanzas 2-4. Lines 3-4 in the original are
obscure, though the general meaning is clear.
Prose (after stanza i). In the manuscript stanza 4 stands
before this prose note and stanzas 2-3. The best arrangement
of the stanzas seems to be the one here given, following Mullen-
hoff's suggestion, but the prose note is out of place anywhere.
The first sentence of it ought to follow stanza 4 and immediately
precede the next prose note ; the second sentence ought to precede
stanza 5.
2. Sons of day: the spirits of light. The daughter of night
(Not), according t© Snorri, was Jorth (Earth).
[389]
Poetic Edda
3. "Hail to the gods! Ye goddesses, hail,
And all the generous earth!
Give to us wisdom and goodly speech,
And healing hands, life-long.
4. "Long did I sleep, my slumber was long,
And long are the griefs of life ;
Othin decreed that I could not break
The heavy spells of sleep."
Her name was Sigrdrifa, and she was a Valkyrie. She
said that two kings fought in battle; one was called
Hjalmgunnar, an old man but a mighty warrior, and
Othin had promised him the victory, and
The other was Agnar, brother of Autha,
None he found who fain would shield him.
Sigrdrifa slew Hjalmgunnar in the battle, and Othin
pricked her with the sleep-thorn in punishment for this,
and said that she should never thereafter win victory in
battle, but that she should be wedded. "And I said to
him that I had made a vow in my turn, that I would
Prose (after stanza 4). Sigrdrifa: on the error whereby this
epithet, "victory-bringer," became a proper name cf, Fafnismol,
44 and note. Hjalmgunnar: in Helreith Brynhildar (stanza 8)
he is called a king of the Goths, which means little; of him and
his adversary, Agnar, we know nothing beyond what is told
here. The two lines quoted apparently come from the same poem
as stanza i ; the two first lines of the stanza have been recon-
structed from the prose thus: "Hjalmgunnar was one, the
hoary king, / And triumph to him had Heerfather prom-
ised." A few editions insert in this prose passage stanzas
7-10 of Helreith Brynhildar, which may or may not have be-
longed originally to this poem.
[390]
Sigrdrifumol
never marry a man who knew the meaning of fear."
Sigurth answered and asked her to teach him wisdom, if
she knew of what took place in all the worlds. Sigrdrifa
said:
5. "Beer I bring thee, tree of battle,
Mingled of strength and mighty fame;
Charms it holds and healing signs,
Spells full good, and gladness-runes."
6. Winning-runes learn, if thou longest to win,
And the runes on thy sword-hilt write ;
Some on the furrow, and some on the flat,
And twice shalt thou call on Tyr.
7. Ale-runes learn, that with lies the wife
Of another betray not thy trust;
5. This stanza is perhaps, but by no means surely, from the
same poem as stanza 1. Tree of battle: warrior. Runes: the
earliest runes were not letters, but simply signs supposed to pos-
sess magic power; out of them developed the "runic alphabet."
6. Stanzas 6-12 give a list of runes which probably had no
original connection with the Brynhild-Sigurth story. Tyr: the
sword-god (cf. Hymiskvitha, 4 and note) ; "tyr" is also the name
of a rune which became "T."
7. Regius gives only lines 1-6; lines 7-8 are added from Vol-
sungasaga. Lies, etc.: a guest on his arrival received a draught
of ale from the hands of his host's wife, and it was to prevent
this draught from bewitching him that the runes were recom-
mended. Need: the word "nauth," meaning "need," is also the
name of the rune which became "N." Leek: leeks were long sup-
posed to have the power of counteracting poison or witchcraft.
[391]
Poetic Edda
On the horn thou shalt write, and the backs of thy
hands,
And Need shalt mark on thy nails.
Thou shalt bless the draught, and danger escape,
And cast a leek in the cup;
(For so I know thou never shalt see
Thy mead with evil mixed.)
8. Birth-runes learn, if help thou wilt lend,
The babe from the mother to bring ;
On thy palms shalt write them, and round thy
joints,
And ask the fates to aid.
9. Wave-runes learn, if well thou wouldst shelter
The sail-steeds out on the sea ;
On the stem shalt thou write, and the steering-
blade.
And burn them into the oars;
Though high be the breakers, and black the
waves.
Thou shalt safe the harbor seek.
10. Branch-runes learn, if a healer wouldst be.
And cure for wounds wouldst work ;
9. Sail-steeds: ships.
10. Branch'runes: runes cut in the bark of trees. Such runes
were believed to transfer sickness from the invalid to the tree.
Some editors, however, have changed "limrunar" ("branch-
runes") to "lifrunar" ("life-runes").
[392]
Sigrdrifumol
On the bark shalt thou write, and on trees that be
With boughs to the eastward bent.
1 1. Speech-runes learn, that none may seek
To answer harm with hate ;
Well he winds and weaves them all,
And sets them side by side,
At the judgment-place, when justice there
The folk shall fairly win.
12. Thought-runes learn, if all shall think
Thou art keenest minded of men.
¥l! ¥^ ^ ^ * *
13. Them Hropt arranged, and them he wrote,
And them in thought he made,
11. Lines 3-6 look like an accidental addition, replacing two
lines now lost. They mean, apparently, that the man who inter-
weaves his speech with "speech-runes" when he pleads his case
at the "Thing," or popular tribunal, will not unduly enrage his
adversary in the argument of the case.
12. Here the list of runes breaks oflF, though the manuscript
indicates no gap, and three short passages of a different type,
though all dealing with runes, follow.
13. Stanzas 13-14 appear to have come from a passage re-
garding Othin's getting of the runes similar to Hovamol, 139-146.
Editors have tried various combinations of the lines in stanzas
12-14. Hropt: Othin; cf. Voluspo, 62. The draught, etc.: appar-
ently the reference is to the head of Mim, from which Othin de-
rived his wisdom in magic (cf. Voluspo, 47 and note) ; Heith-
draupnir ("Light-Dropper") and Hoddrofnir ("Treasure-
Opener") seem to be names for Mim.
[393]
Poetic Edda
Out of the draught that down had dropped
From the head of Heithdraupnir,
And the horn of Hoddrofnir.
14. On the mountain he stood with Brimir's sword,
On his head the helm he bore ;
Then first the head of Mim spoke forth,
And words of truth it told.
15. He bade write on the shield before the shining
goddess,
On Arvak's ear, and on Alsvith's hoof,
On the wheel of the car of Hrungnir's killer,
On Sleipnir's teeth, and the straps of the sledge.
16. On the paws of the bear, and on Bragi's tongue.
14. This stanza is clearly in bad shape ; perhaps, as the manu-
script indicates, a new stanza, of which most has been lost,
should begin with line 3. Brimir: a giant (cf. Voluspo, 9 and
37) ; why Othin should have his sword is unknown.
15. Stanzas 15-17 constitute a wholly distinct rune-chant.
Line 1 is unusually long in the original, as here. Shield: the
shield Svalin ("Cooling") that stands in front of the sun; cf.
Grimnismol, 38. Arvak ("Early Waker") and Alsvith ("All-
Swift") : the horses that draw the sun's car; cf. Grimnismol, 37.
Hrungnir: the slayer of the giant Hrungnir was Thor (cf. Har-
barthsljoth, 14 and note), but the line is in bad shape; the name
may not be Hrungnir, and "killer" is a conjectural addition.
Sleipnir: Othin's eight-legged horse; cf. Grimnismol, 44 and
note. Sledge: perhaps the one mentioned in Grimnismol, 49.
16. Bragi: the god of poetry; cf. Grimnismol, 44 and note.
[394]
Sigrdrifumol
On the wolf's claws bared, and the eagle's beak,
On bloody wings, and bridge's end,
On freeing hands and helping foot-prints.
17. On glass and on gold, and on goodly charms,
In wine and in beer, and on well-loved seats.
On Gungnir's point, and on Grani's breast,
On the nails of Noms, and the night-owl's beak.
18. Shaved off were the runes that of old were
written.
And mixed with the holy mead,
And sent on ways so wide ;
So the gods had them, so the elves got them,
And some for the Wanes so wise,
And some for mortal men.
19. Beech-runes are there, birth-runes are there,
And all the runes of ale.
17. Charms: the wearing of amulets was very common.
Gungnir: Othin's spear, made by the dwarfs, which he occasion-
ally lent to heroes to whom he granted victory. Grant: Sigurth's
horse; the Volsungasaga has "giantesses'."
18. Stanzas 18-19, which editors have freely rearranged, ap-
parently come from another source than any of the rest. Shaved
off: the runes were shaved off by Othin from the wood on which
they were carved, and the shavings bearing them were put into
the magic mead. Wanes: cf. Voluspo, 21, note.
19. Lines 3, 6, and 7 look like spurious additions, but the
whole stanza is chaotic. Beech-runes: runes carved on beech-
trees.
[395]
Poetic Edda
And the magic runes of might;
Who knows them rightly and reads them true,
Has them himself to help;
Ever they aid,
Till the gods are gone.
Brynhild spake:
20. "Now shalt thou choose, for the choice is given,
Thou tree of the biting blade ;
Speech or silence, 'tis thine to say.
Our evil is destined all."
Sigurth spake:
21. "I shall not flee, though my fate be near,
I was bom not a coward to be ;
20. Stanzas 20-21 are all that remains of the dialogue be-
tween Brynhild and Sigurth from the poem to which stanzas 2-4
belong; cf. Introductory Note. In the intervening lost stanzas
Brynhild has evidently warned Sigurth of the perils that will
follow if he swears loyalty to her ; hence the choice to which she
here refers. Tree, etc.: warrior. The manuscript does not indi-
cate the speaker of either this or the following stanza; the Vol-
sungasaga names Sigurth before stanza 21.
21. It is quite possible that the original poem concluded with
two stanzas after this, paraphrased thus in the Volsungasaga:
"Sigurth said: 'Nowhere is to be found any one wiser than thou,
and this I swear, that I shall have thee for mine, and that thou
art after my heart's desire.' She answered: 'I would rather have
thee though I might choose among all men.' And this they bound
between them with oaths." Stanzas 22-37, which the Volsunga-
saga paraphrases, may have been introduced at a relatively
early time, but can hardly have formed part of the original poem.
[396]
Sigrdrifumol
Thy loving word for mine will I win,
As long as I shall live."
22. Then first I rede thee, that free of guilt
Toward kinsmen ever thou art;
No vengeance have, though they work thee harm,
Reward after death thou shalt win.
23. Then second I rede thee, to swear no oath
If true thou knowest it not;
Bitter the fate of the breaker of troth.
And poor is the wolf of his word.
24. Then third I rede thee, that thou at the Thing
Shalt fight not in words with fools;
For the man unwise a worser word
Than he thinks doth utter oft.
25. Ill it is if silent thou art,
A coward born men call thee,
And truth mayhap they tell;
22. With this stanza begins the list of numbered counsels,
closely resembling the Loddfafnismol {Hovamol, 111-138), here
attributed to Brynhild. That the section originally had anything
to do with Brynhild is more than improbable.
23. fTolf of his word: oath-destroyer, oath-breaker.
25. This chaotic and obscure jumble of lines has been unsuc-
cessfully "improved" by various editors. It is clearly an inter-
polation, meaning, in substance: "It is dangerous to keep silent
too long, as men may think you a coward ; but if any one taunts
[397]
Poetic Edda
Seldom safe is fame,
Unless wide renown be won ;
On the day thereafter send him to death,
Let him pay the price of his lies.
26. Then fourth I rede thee, if thou shalt find
A wily witch on thy road,
It is better to go than her guest to be,
Though night enfold thee fast.
27. Eyes that see need the sons of men
Who fight in battle fierce;
Oft witches evil sit by the way,
Who blade and courage blunt.
28. Then fifth I rede thee, though maidens fair
Thou seest on benches sitting,
Let the silver of kinship not rob thee of sleep,
And the kissing of women beware.
29. Then sixth I rede thee, if men shall wrangle.
And ale-talk rise to wrath,
No words with a drunken warrior have.
For wine steals many men's wits.
you falsely because of your silence, do not argue with him, but
the next morning kill him as proof that he is a liar."
27. Probably another interpolation.
28. Silver of kinship: the passage is doubtful, but apparently
it means the "marriage-price" for which a bride was "bought."
29. Line i comes at the end of the thirty-second leaf of Regius,
and whatever further was contained in that manuscript has van-
[398]
Sigrdrifumol
30. Brawls and ale full oft have been
An ill to many a man,
Death for some, and sorrow for some;
Full many the woes of men.
31. Then seventh I rede thee, if battle thou seekest
With a foe that is full of might ;
It is better to fight than to burn alive
In the hall of the hero rich.
32. Then eighth I rede thee, that evil thou shun,
And beware of lying words;
Take not a maid, nor the wife of a man,
Nor lure them on to lust.
33. Then ninth I rede thee: burial render
If thou findest a fallen corpse,
Of sickness dead, or dead in the sea,
Or dead of weapons' wounds.
34. A bath shalt thou give them who corpses be,
ished with the lost eight-leaf folio (cf. Introductory Note). The
rest of stanza 29, and stanzas 30-37, are added from later paper
manuscripts, which were undoubtedly copied from an old parch-
ment, though probably not from the complete Regius. The Vol-
sungasaga paraphrases these additional stanzas.
30. Probably an interpolation.
31. The meaning is that it is better to go forth to battle than
to stay at home and be burned to death. Many a Norse warrior
met his death in this latter way; the burning of the house in the
Njalssaga is the most famous instance.
34. Probably an interpolation.
[ 399 ]
Poetic Edda
And hands and head shalt wash ;
Wipe them and comb, ere they go in the coffin,
And pray that they sleep in peace.
35. Then tenth I rede thee, that never thou trust
The word of the race of wolves,
(If his brother thou broughtest to death,
Or his father thou didst fell;)
Often a wolf in a son there is,
Though gold he gladly takes.
36. Battle and hate and harm, methinks,
Full seldom fall asleep ;
Wits and weapons the warrior needs
If boldest of men he would be.
37. Then eleventh I rede thee, that wrath thou shun.
And treachery false with thy friends;
Not long the leader's hfe shall be.
For great are the foes he faces.
35. Lines 3-4 are probably interpolated. Race of nvohes:
family of a slain foe.
36. Probably an interpolation.
37. Lines 3-4 may well have come from the old Sigurth-
Brynhild poem, like stanzas 2-4 and 20-21, being inserted here,
where they do not fit particularly well, in place of the two lines
with which the eleventh counsel originally ended. Perhaps they
formed part of the stanza of warning which evidently preceded
Brynhild's speech in stanza 20. In the Volsungasaga they are
paraphrased at the end of Brynhild's long speech of advice
(stanzas 20-37), 3"^ are immediately followed by the prose
passage given in the note on stanza 21. It seems likely, therefore,
[400]
Sigrdrifumol
that the paper manuscripts have preserved all of the so-called
Sigrdrifumol which was contained in the lost section of Regius,
with the possible exception of these two concluding stanzas, and
these may very well have been given only in the form of a prose
note, though it is practically certain that at one time they existed
in verse form.
[401]
BROT AF SIGURTHARKVITHU
Fragment of a Sigurth Lay
Introductory Note
The gap of eight leaves in the Codex Regius (cf. introductory
note to the Sigrdrifumol) is followed by a passage of twenty
stanzas which is evidently the end of a longer poem, the greater
part of it having been contained in the lost section of the manu-
script. There is here little question of such a compilation as
made up the so-called Reginsmol, Fafnismol, and Sigrdrifumol;
the extant fragment shows every sign of being part of a poem
which, as it stood in the manuscript, was a complete and definite
unit. The end is clearly marked; the following poem, Guthrunar-
kvii/ia I, carries a specific heading in the manuscript, so that
there is no uncertainty as to where the fragment closes.
It seems altogether likely that the twenty stanzas thus remain-
ing are the end of a poem entitled Sigurtharkvitha (Lay of
Sigurth), and, more specifically, the "Long" Lay of Sigurth. The
extant and complete Sigurth lay, a relatively late work, is re-
ferred to by the annotator as the "Short" Lay of Sigurth, which,
of course, presupposes the existence of a longer poem with the
same title. As the "short" lay is one of the longest poems in the
whole collection (seventy stanzas), it follows that the other one
must have been considerably more extensive in order to have
been thus distinguished by its length. It may be guessed, then,
that not less than eighty or a hundred stanzas, and possibly
more, of the "Long" Lay of Sigurth have been lost with the
missing pages of Regius.
The narrative, from the point at which the so-called Sigrdrif-
umol breaks off to that at which the Brot takes it up, is given
with considerable detail in the Volsungasaga. In this prose nar-
rative four stanzas are quoted, and one of them is specifically
introduced with the phrase: "as is told in the Lay of Sigurth." It
is possible, but most unlikely, that the entire passage paraphrases
this poem alone; such an assumption would give the Lay of
Sigurth not less than two hundred and fifty stanzas (allowing
about fifteen stanzas to each of the missing pages), and more-
over there are inconsistencies in the Volsungasaga narrative sug-
gesting that different and more or less conflicting poems were
used as sources. The chances are that the "Long" Lay of Sigurth
[402]
Brot af Sigurtharkvithu
filled approximately the latter half of the lost section of the
manuscript, the first half including poems of which the only
trace is to be found in the Volsungasaga prose paraphrase and
in two of the stanzas therein quoted.
The course of the Volsungasaga' s story from the Sigrdrifumol
to the Brot is, briefly, as follows. After leaving the Valkyrie,
Sigurth comes to the dwelling of Heimir, Brynhild's brother-in-
law, where he meets Brynhild and they swear oaths of fidelity
anew (the Volsungasaga is no more lucid with regard to the
Brynhild-Sigrdrifa confusion than was the annotator of the
poems). Then the scene shifts to the home of the Gjukungs.
Guthrun, Gjuki's daughter, has a terrifying dream, and visits
Brynhild to have it explained, which the latter does by foretelling
pretty much everything that is going to happen ; this episode was
presumably the subject of a separate poem in the lost section of
the manuscript. Guthrun returns home, and Sigurth soon arrives,
to be made enthusiastically welcome. Grimhild, mother of Gun-
nar and Guthrun, gives him a magic draught which makes him
forget all about Brynhild, and shortly thereafter he marries
Guthrun.
Then follows the episode of the winning of Brynhild for
Gunnar (cf. Gripisspo, 37 and note). This was certainly the sub-
ject of a poem, possibly of the first part of the "Long" Lay of
Sigurth, although it seems more likely that the episode was dealt
with in a separate poem. The Volsungasaga quotes two stanzas
describing Sigurth's triumphant passing through the flames after
Gunnar has failed and the two have changed forms. They run
thus:
The fire raged, the earth was rocked.
The flames leaped high to heaven itself;
Few were the hardy heroes would dare
To ride or leap the raging flames.
Sigurth urged GranI then with his sword,
The fire slackened before the hero,
The flames sank low for the greedy of fame,
The armor flashed that Regin had fashioned.
After Sigurth has spent three nights with Brynhild, laying his
sword between them (cf. Gripisspo, 41 and note), he and Gunnar
return home, while Brynhild goes to the dwelling of her brother-
in-law, Heimir, and makes ready for her marriage with Gunnar,
[403]
Poetic Edda
directing Heimir to care for her daughter by Sigurth, Aslaug.
The wedding takes place, to be followed soon after by the quar-
rel between Guthrun and Brynhild, in which the former betrays
the fact that it was Sigurth, and not Gunnar, who rode through
the flames. Brynhild speaks with contempt of Guthrun and her
whole family, and the following stanza, which presumably be-
longs to the same Sigurth lay as the Brot, is quoted at this point:
Sigurth the dragon slew, and that
Will men recall while the world remains;
But little boldness thy brother had
To ride or leap the raging flames.
Gunnar and Sigurth alike try to appease the angry Brynhild,
but in vain. After Sigurth has talked with her, his leaving her
hall is described in the following stanza, introduced by the spe-
cific phrase : "as is said in the Lay of Sigurth" :
Forth went Sigurth, and speech he sought not,
The friend of heroes, his head bowed down ;
Such was his grief that asunder burst
His mail-coat all of iron wrought.
Brynhild then tells Gunnar that she had given herself wholly
to Sigurth before she had become Gunnar's wife (the confusion
between the two stories is commented on in the note to Gripisspo,
47), and Gunnar discusses plans of vengance with his brother,
Hogni. It is at this point that the action of the Brot begins.
Beginning with this poem, and thence to the end of the cycle,
the German features of the narrative predominate (cf. introduc-
tory note to Gripisspo).
Hogni spake:
I. "(What evil deed has Sigurth) done,
That the hero's life thou fain wouldst have ?"
I. The fragment begins with the last words of line i (prob-
ably line 3 of the stanza). A few editors ascribe this speech to
Gunnar and the next to Brynhild ; one reconstruction of lines 1-2
on this probably false assumption runs: "Why art thou, Bryn-
[404]
Brot af Sigurtharkvithu
Gunnar spake:
2. "Sigurth oaths to me hath sworn,
Oaths hath sworn, and all hath broken;
He betrayed me there where truest all
His oaths, methinks, he ought to have kept."
Hogni spake:
3. "Thy heart hath Brynhild whetted to hate,
Evil to work and harm to win ;
She grudges the honor that Guthrun has,
And that joy of herself thou still dost have."
4. They cooked a wolf, they cut up a snake.
They gave to Gotthorm the greedy one's flesh,
Before the men, to murder minded,
Laid their hands on the hero bold.
5. Slain was Sigurth south of the Rhine;
From a limb a raven called full loud :
hild, daughter of Buthli, / Scheming ill with evil counsel ?"
Hogni (German Hagene) : brother of Gunnar and Guthrun.
2. A few editors ascribe this speech to Brynhild. Gunnar, if
the stanza is his, has believed Brynhild's statement regarding
Sigurth's disloyalty to his blood-brother.
4. The Volsungasaga quotes a somewhat different version of
this stanza, in which the snake is called "wood-fish" and the
third line adds "beer and many things." Eating snakes and the
flesh of beasts of prey was commonly supposed to induce ferocity.
Gotthorm: Grimhild's son, half-brother to Gunnar. He it is who,
not having sworn brotherhood with Sigurth, does the killing.
5. In the manuscript this stanza stands between stanzas it
and 12; most editions have made the change here indicated.
[405]
Poetic Edda
"Your blood shall redden Atli's blade,
And your oaths shall bind you both in chains."
6. Without stood Guthrun, Gjuki's daughter,
Hear now the speech that first she spake :
"Where is Sigurth now, the noble king,
That my kinsmen riding before him come?"
7. Only this did Hogni answer:
"Sigurth we with our swords have slain;
The gray horse mourns by his master dead."
8. Then Brynhild spake, the daughter of Buthli :
"Well shall ye joy in weapons and lands;
Sigurth alone of all had been lord,
If a little longer his life had been.
9. "Right were it not that so he should rule
O'er Gjuki's wealth and the race of the Goths;
South of the Rhine: the definite localization of the action shows
how clearly all this part of the story was recognized in the
North as of German origin. Atli (Attila; cf. introductory note to
Grip'tsspo) : the Northern version of the story makes him Bryn-
hild's brother. His marriage with Guthrun, and his slaying of
her brothers, are told in the Atli poems. Regarding the manner
of Sigurth's death cf. concluding prose passage and note. Stanza
13 indicates that after stanza 5 a stanza containing the words of
an eagle has been lost.
7. One line of this stanza, but it is not clear which, seems to
have been lost. The gray horse: Grani.
8. Some editions set stanzas 8 and 9 after stanza 11; Sijmons
marks them as spurious. Buthli: cf. Gripisspo, 19, note.
9. Goths: a generic term for any German race; cf. Gripisspo,
[406]
Brot af Sigurtharkvithu
Five are the sons for ruling the folk,
And greedy of fight, that he hath fathered."
10. Then Brynhild laughed — and the building
echoed —
Only once, with all her heart ;
"Long shall ye joy in lands and men,
Now ye have slain the hero noble."
11. Then Guthrun spake, the daughter of Gjuki:
"Much thou speakest in evil speech;
Accursed be Gunnar, Sigurth's killer.
Vengeance shall come for his cruel heart."
12. Early came evening, and ale was drunk,
And among them long and loud they talked;
They slumbered all when their beds they sought,
But Gunnar alone was long awake.
13. His feet were tossing, he talked to himself.
And the slayer of hosts began to heed
What the twain from the tree had told him then.
The raven and eagle, as home they rode.
35 and note. Five sons: according to the Volsungasaga Sigurth
had only one son, named Sigmund, who was killed at Brynhild's
behest. Sigurtharkvitha en skamma and Guthrtinarkvitha II like-
wise mention only one son. The daughter of Sigurth and Guthrun,
Svanhild, marries Jormunrek (Ermanarich).
12. The manuscript marks line 4 as the beginning of a new
stanza, and a few editions combine it with stanza 13.
13. Slayer of hosts: warrior (Gunnar). Raven and eagle: cf.
note on stanza 5.
[407]
Poetic Edda
14. Brynhild awoke, the daughter of Buthli,
The warrior's daughter, ere dawn of day :
"Love me or hate me, the harm is done,
And my grief cries out, or else I die."
15. Silent were all who heard her speak.
And nought of the heart of the queen they knew.
Who wept such tears the thing to tell
That laughing once of the men she had won.
Brynhild spake:
16. "Gunnar, I dreamed a dream full grim:
In the hall were corpses ; cold was my bed ;
And, ruler, thou didst joyless ride.
With fetters bound in the foemen's throng.
17.
Utterly now your Niflung race
All shall die ; your oaths ye have broken.
16. Mogk regards stanzas 16 and 17 as interpolated, but on
not very satisfactory grounds. On the death of Gunnar cf. Drap
Nifiunga.
17. No gap is indicated in the manuscript, and some editions
attach these two lines to stanza 16. Niflungs: this name (German
Nibelungen), meaning "sons of the mist," seems to have belonged
originally to the race of supernatural beings to which the treas-
ure belonged in the German version. It was subsequently ex-
tended to include the Gjukungs and their Burgundians. This
question, of minor importance in the Norse poems, has evoked
an enormous amount of learned discussion in connection with
the Nibelungenlied.
[408]
Brot af Sigurtharkvithu
1 8. "Thou hast, Gunnar, the deed forgot,
When blood in your footprints both ye mingled ;
All to him hast repaid with ill
Who fain had made thee the foremost of kings.
19. "Well did he prove, when proud he rode
To win me then thy wife to be,
How true the host-slayer ever had held
The oaths he had made with the monarch young.
20. "The wound-staff then, all wound with gold.
The hero let between us lie;
With fire the edge was forged full keen.
And with drops of venom the blade was damp."
Here it is told in this poem about the death of Sigurth,
and the story goes here that they slew him out of doors,
but some say that they slew him in the house, on his bed
18. Footprints: the actual mingling of blood in one another's
footprints was a part of the ceremony of swearing blood-brother-
hood, the oath which Gunnar and Sigurth had taken. The fourth
line refers to the fact that Sigurth had won many battles for
Gunnar.
20. Regarding the sword episode cf. Gripisspo, 41 and note.
Wound-staff: sword.
Prose. This prose passage has in the manuscript, written in
red, the phrase "Of Sigurth's Death" as a heading; there is no
break between it and the prose introducing Guthrunarkvitha I,
the heading for that poem coming just before stanza 1. This
note is of special interest as an eflFort at real criticism. The anno-
tator, troubled by the two versions of the story of Sigurth's death,
feels it incumbent on him not only to point the fact out, but to
cite the authority of "German men" for the form which appears
[409]
Poetic Edda
while he was sleeping. But German men say that they
killed him out of doors in the forest; and so it is told in
the old Guthrun lay, that Sigurth and Gjuki's sons had
ridden to the council-place, and that he was slain there.
But in this they are all agreed, that they deceived him in
his trust of them, and fell upon him when he was lying
down and unprepared.
in this poem. The ahernative version, wherein Sigurth is slain
in bed, appears in Sigurtharkvitha en skamma, Guthrunarfivot,
and Hamthesmol, and also in the Volsungasaga, which tells how
Gotthorm tried twice to kill Sigurth but was terrified by the
brightness of his eyes, and succeeded only after the hero had
fallen asleep. That the annotator was correct in citing German
authority for the slaying of Sigurth in the forest is shown by the
Nibelungenlied and the Thithrekssaga. The "old" Guthrun lay is
unquestionably Guthrunarkvitha II,
[410]
GUTHRUNARKVITHA I
The First Lay of Guthrun
Introductory Note
The First Lay of Guthrun, entitled in the Codex Regius
simply Guthrunarhvitha, immediately follows the remaining
fragment of the "long" Sigurth lay in that manuscript. Unlike
the poems dealing with the earlier part of the Sigurth cycle, the
so-called Reginsmol, Fafnismol, and Sigrdrifumol, it is a clear
and distinct unit, apparently complete and with few and minor
interpolations. It is also one of the finest poems in the entire
collection, with an extraordinary emotional intensity and dra-
matic force. None of its stanzas are quoted elsewhere, and It is
altogether probable that the compilers of the Volsungasaga were
unfamiliar with It, for they do not mention the sister and daugh-
ter of Gjuki who appear in this poem, or Herborg, "queen of
the Huns" (stanza 6).
The lament of Guthrun (Kriemhild) is almost certainly
among the oldest parts of the story. The lament was one of the
earliest forms of poetry to develop among the Germanic peoples,
and I suspect, though the matter is not susceptible of proof, that
the lament of Sigurth's wife had assumed lyric form as early as
the seventh century, and reached the North in that shape rather
than in prose tradition (cf. Guthrunarhvitha II, introductory
note). We find traces of it in the seventeenth Aventiure of the
Nibelungenlied, and In the poems of the Edda it dominates every
appearance of Guthrun. The two first Guthrun lays (I and II)
are both laments, one for Sigurth's death and the other including
both that and the lament over the slaying of her brothers; the
lament theme is apparent in the third Guthrun lay and in the
Guthrunarhvot.
In their present forms the second Guthrun lay is undoubtedly
older than the first; In the prose following the Brot the annotator
refers to the "old" Guthrun lay in terms which can apply only to
the second one in the collection. The shorter and "first" lay,
therefore, can scarcely have been composed much before the year
looo, and may be somewhat later. The poet appears to have
known and made use of the older lament; stanza 17, for example,
is a close parallel to stanza 2 of the earlier poem; but whatever
material he used he fitted into a definite poetic scheme of his
[411]
Poetic Edda
own. And while this particular poem is, as critics have generally
agreed, one of the latest of the collection, it probably represents
one of the earliest parts of the entire Sigurth cycle to take on
verse form.
Guthrunarkvitha I, so far as the narrative underlying it is
concerned, shows very little northern addition to the basic Ger-
man tradition. Brynhild appears only as Guthrun's enemy and
the cause of Sigurth's death; the three women who attempt to
comfort Guthrun, though unknown to the southern stories, seem
to have been rather distinct creations of the poet's than traditional
additions to the legend. Regarding the relations of the various
elements in the Sigurth cycle, cf. introductory note to Gripisspo.
Guthrun sat by the dead Sigurth ; she did not weep as
other women, but her heart was near to bursting with
grief. The men and women came to her to console her,
but that was not easy to do. It is told of men that
Guthrun had eaten of Fafnir's heart, and that she under-
stood the speech of birds. This is a poem about Guthrun.
I. Then did Guthrun think to die,
When she by Sigurth sorrowing sat;
Tears she had not, nor wrung her hands,
Nor ever wailed, as other women.
Prose. The prose follows the concluding prose of the Brot
without indication of a break, the heading standing immediately
before stanza i. Fafnir's heart: this bit of information is here
quite without point, and it is nowhere else stated that Guthrun
understood the speech of birds. In the Volsungasaga it is stated
that Sigurth gave Guthrun some of Fafnir's heart to eat, "and
thereafter she was much grimmer than before, and wiser."
I. This stanza seems to be based on Guthrunarkvitha II,
11-12.
[412]
Guthrunarkvitha I
2. To her the warriors wise there came,
Longing her heavy woe to lighten ;
Grieving could not Guthrun weep,
So sad her heart, it seemed, would break.
3. Then the wives of the warriors came,
Gold-adorned, and Guthrun sought;
Each one then of her own grief spoke,
The bitterest pain she had ever borne.
4. Then spake Gjaflaug, Gjuki's sister:
"Most joyless of all on earth am I;
Husbands five were from me taken,
(Two daughters then, and sisters three,)
Brothers eight, yet I have lived."
5. Grieving could not Guthrun weep.
Such grief she had for her husband dead,
And so grim her heart by the hero's body.
6. Then Herborg spake, the queen of the Huns:
4. Gjaflaug: nothing further is known of this aunt of Guth-
run, or of the many relatives whom she has lost. Very likely she
is an invention of the poet's, for it seems improbable that other-
wise all further trace of her should have been lost. Line 4 has
been marked by many editors as spurious.
5. Some editors assume the loss of a line, after either line 1
or line 3. I prefer to believe that here and in stanza 10 the poet
knew exactly what he was doing, and that both stanzas are
correct.
6. Herborg: neither she nor her sorrows are elsewhere men-
[413]
Poetic Edda
"I have a greater grief to tell;
My seven sons in the southern land,
And my husband, fell in fight all eight.
(Father and mother and brothers four
Amid the waves the wind once smote,
And the seas crashed through the sides of the
ship.)
7. "The bodies all with my own hands then
I decked for the grave, and the dead I buried ;
A half-year brought me this to bear;
And no one came to comfort me.
8. "Then bound I was, and taken in war,
A sorrow yet in the same half-year;
They bade me deck and bind the shoes
Of the wife of the monarch every mom.
9. "In jealous rage her wrath she spake,
And beat me oft with heavy blows;
tioned, nor is it clear what a "queen of the Huns" is doing in
Gunnar's home, but the word "Hun" has little definiteness of
meaning in the poems, and is frequently applied to Sigurth him-
self (cf. note on stanza 24). Herborg appears from stanza 11 to
have been the foster-mother of Gollrond, Guthrun's sister. Lines
5-7 may be interpolations, or may form a separate stanza.
7. Lines i and 2 stand in reversed order in the manuscript; I
have followed Gering's conjectural transposition.
9. Herborg implies that the queen's jealousy was not alto-
gether misplaced.
[414]
Guthrunarkvitha I
Never a better lord I knew,
And never a woman worse I found."
10. Grieving could not Guthrun weep,
Such grief she had for her husband dead,
And so grim her heart by the hero's body.
11. Then spake Gollrond, Gjuki's daughter:
"Thy wisdom finds not, my foster-mother,
The way to comfort the wife so young."
She bade them uncover the warrior's corpse.
12. The shroud she lifted from Sigurth, laying
His well-loved head on the knees of his wife :
"Look on thy loved one, and lay thy lips
To his as if yet the hero lived."
13. Once alone did Guthrun look;
His hair all clotted with blood beheld,
The blinded eyes that once shone bright,
The hero's breast that the blade had pierced.
14. Then Guthrun bent, on her pillow bowed,
10. Cf. stanza 5 and note. The manuscript abbreviates to
first letters.
11. Gollrond: not elsewhere mentioned. Line 4 looks like an
interpolation replacing a line previously lost.
12. The manuscript indicates line 3 as the beginning of a
s.anza, and some editors have attempted to follow this arrange-
ment.
14. Many editors assume the loss of a line from this stanza.
[415]
Poetic Edda
Her hair was loosened, her cheek was hot,
And the tears like raindrops downwasd ran.
15. Then Guthrun, daughter of Gjuki, wept,
And through her tresses flowed the tears;
And from the court came the cry of geese.
The birds so fair of the hero's bride.
16. Then Gollrond spake, the daughter of Gjuki;
"Never a greater love I knew
Than yours among all men on earth ;
Nowhere wast happy, at home or abroad,
Sister mine, with Sigurth away."
Guthrun spake:
17. "So was my Sigurth o'er Gjuki's sons
As the spear-leek grown above the grass,
Or the jewel bright borne on the band,
The precious stone that princes wear.
18. "To the leader of men I loftier seemed
And higher than all of Herjan's maids;
15. The word here translated "tresses" is sheer guesswork.
The detail of the geese is taken from Sigurtharkvitha en skamma,
29, line 3 here being identical with line 4 of that stanza.
16. Line i, abbreviated in the manuscript, very likely
should be simply "Gollrond spake."
17. Cf. Guthrunarkvitha II, 2. The manuscript does not name
the speaker, and some editions have a first line, "Then Guthrun
spake, the daughter of Gjuki."
18. Herjan: Othin; his maids are the Valkyries; cf. Voluspo,
31, where the same phrase is used.
[416]
Guthrunarkvitha I
As little now as the leaf I am
On the willow hanging; my hero is dead.
19. "In his seat, in his bed, I see no more
My heart's true friend ; the fault is theirs,
The sons of Gjuki, for all my grief,
That so their sister sorely weeps.
20. "So shall your land its people lose
As ye have kept your oaths of yore ;
Gunnar, no joy the gold shall give thee,
(The rings shall soon thy slayers be,)
Who swarest oaths with Sigurth once.
21. "In the court was greater gladness then
The day my Sigurth Grani saddled,
And went forth Brynhild's hand to win,
That woman ill, in an evil hour."
22. Then Brynhild spake, the daughter of Buthli:
"May the witch now husband and children want
Who, Guthrun, loosed thy tears at last,
And with magic today hath made thee speak."
20. Line 4 looks like an interpolation (cf. Fafnismol, 9, line
4), but some editors instead have queried line 5. How Guthrun's
curse is fulfilled is told in the subsequent poems. That desire for
Sigurth's treasure (the gold cursed by Andvari and Loki) was
one of the motives for his murder is indicated in S'tgurtharkvitha
en skamma (stanza 16), and was clearly a part of the German
tradition, as it appears in the Nibelungenlied.
21. Cf. Gripisspo, 35 and note.
22. Line i is abbreviated in the manuscript.
[417]
Poetic Edda
23. Then Gollrond, daughter of Gjuki, spake:
"Speak not such words, thou hated woman;
Bane of the noble thou e'er hast been,
(Borne thou art on an evil wave,
Sorrow hast brought to seven kings,)
And many a woman hast loveless made."
24. Then Brynhild, daughter of Buthli, spake:
"Atli is guilty of all the sorrow,
(Son of Buthli and brother of mine,)
When we saw in the hall of the Hunnish race
The flame of the snake's bed flash round the
hero ;
(For the journey since full sore have I paid,
And ever I seek the sight to forget.)"
23. Editors are agreed that this stanza shows interpolations,
but differ as to the lines to reject. Line 4 (literally "every wave
of ill-doing drives thee") is substantially a proverb, and line 5,
with its apparently meaningless reference to "seven" kings, may
easily have come from some other source.
24. The stanza is obviously in bad shape; perhaps it repre-
sents two separate stanzas, or perhaps three of the lines are later
additions. Atli: Brynhild here blames her brother, following
the frequent custom of transferring the responsibility for a
murder (cf. Helgakvitha Hundingsbana II, 33), because he com-
pelled her to marry Gunnar against her will, an idea which the
poet seems to have gained from Sigurtharkvitha en skamma,
32-39. These stanzas represent an entirely different version of
the story, wherein Atli, attacked by Gunnar and Sigurth, buys
them off by giving Gunnar his sister, Brynhild, as wife. He
seems to have induced the latter to marry Gunnar by falsely
telling her that Gunnar was Sigurth (a rationalistic explanation
of the interchange of forms described in the Volsungasaga and
Gripisspo, 37-39). In the present stanza Atli is made to do this
out of desire for Sigurth's treasure. Hunnish race: this may be
[418]
Guthrunarkvitha I
25. By the pillars she stood, and gathered her
strength,
From the eyes of Brynhild, Buthli's daughter,
Fire there burned, and venom she breathed,
When the wounds she saw on Sigurth then.
Guthrun went thence away to a forest in the waste,
and journeyed all the way to Denmark, and was there
seven half-years with Thora, daughter of Hokon. Bryn-
hild would not live after Sigurth. She had eight of her
thralls slain and five serving-women. Then she killed her-
self with a sword, as is told in the Short Lay of Sigurth.
merely an error (neither Gunnar nor Sigurth could properly
have been connected in any way with Atli and his Huns), based
on Sigurtharkvitha en skamma, wherein Sigurth appears more
than once as the "Hunnish king." The North was very much in
the dark as to the differences between Germans, Burgundians,
Franks, Goths, and Huns, and used the words without much
discrimination. On the other hand, it may refer to Sigurth's ap-
pearance when, adorned with gold, he came with Gunnar to
besiege Atli, in the alternative version of the story just cited (cf.
Sigurtharkmtha en skamma, 36). Flame of the snake's bed: gold,
so called because serpents and dragons were the traditional
guardians of treasure, on which they lay.
Prose. The manuscript has "Gunnar" in place of "Guthrun,"
but this is an obvious mistake; the entire prose passage is based
on Guthrunarkvitha II, 14. The Volsungasaga likewise merely
paraphrases Guthrunarkvitha II, and nothing further is known
of Thora or her father, Hokon, though many inconclusive at-
tempts have been made to identify the latter. Brynhild: the story
of her death is told in great detail in the latter part of Sigurthar-
kvitha en skamma.
[419]
SIGURTHARKVITHA EN SKAMMA
The Short Lay of Sigurth
Introductory Note
Guthrunarkvitha I is immediately followed in the Codex
Regius by a long poem which in the manuscript bears the heading
"Sigurtharkvitha," but which is clearly referred to in the prose
link between it and Guthrunarkvitha I as the "short" Lay of
Sigurth. The discrepancy between this reference and the obvious
length of the poem has led to many conjectures, but the explana-
tion seems to be that the "long" Sigurth lay, of which the Brot is
presumably a part, was materially longer even than this poem.
The efforts to reduce the "short" Sigurth lay to dimensions which
would justify the appellation in comparison with other poems in
the collection, either by separating it into two poems or by the
rejection of many stanzas as interpolations, have been utterly
inconclusive.
Although there are probably several interpolated passages,
and indications of omissions are not lacking, the poem as we
now have it seems to be a distinct and coherent unit. From the
narrative point of view it leaves a sood deal to be desired, for
the reason that the poet's object was by no means to tell a story,
with which his hearers were quite familiar, but to use the narra-
tive simply as the background for vivid and powerful characteri-
zation. The lyric element, as Mogk points out, overshadows the
epic throughout, and the fact that there are frequent confusions
of narrative tradition does not trouble the poet at all.
The material on which the poem was based seems to have
existed in both prose and verse form; the poet was almost cer-
tainly familiar with some of the other poems in the Eddie collec-
tion, with poems which have since been lost, and with the
narrative prose traditions which never fully assumed verse
form. The fact that he seems to have known and used the
Oddrunargratr, which can hardly have been composed before
1050, and that in any case he introduces the figure of Oddrun,
a relatively late addition to the story, dates the poem as late as
the end of the eleventh century, or even the first half of the
twelfth. There has been much discussion as to where it was com-
posed, the debate centering chiefly on the reference to glaciers
(stanza 8). There is something to be said in favor of Greenland
[420]
Sigurtharkvitha en Skamma
as the original home of the poem (cf. introductory note to
Atlakvitha), but the arguments for Iceland are even stronger;
Norway in this case is practically out of the question.
The narrative features of the poem are based on the German
rather than the Norse elements of the story (cf. introductory
note to Gripisspo), but the poet has taken whatever material he
wanted without much discrimination as to its source. By the year
iioo the story of Sigurth, with its allied legends, existed through-
out the North in many and varied forms, and the poem shows
traces of variants of the main story which do not appear
elsewherci
I. Of old did Sigurth Gjuki seek,
The Volsung young, in battles victor;
Well he trusted the brothers twain,
With mighty oaths among them sworn.
2 A maid they gave him, and jewels many,
Guthrun the young, the daughter of Gjuki ;
They drank and spake full many a day,
Sigurth the young and Gjuki's sons.
3. Thereafter went they Brynhild to woo,
And so with them did Sigurth ride,
I. Gjuki: father of the brothers tivain, Gunnar and Hogni,
and of Guthrun. In this version of the story Sigurth goes straight
to the home of the Gjukungs after his victory over the dragon
Fafnir, without meeting Brynhild on the way (cf. Gripisspo, 13
and note). Volsung: Sigurth's grandfather was Volsung; cf. Fra
Dautha Sinfjotla and note. Oaths: regarding the blood-brother-
hood sworn by Sigurth, Gunnar, and Hogni cf. Brot, 18 and note.
3. Brynhild: on the winning of Brynhild by Sigurth in Gun-
nar's shape cf. Gripisspo, 37 and note. The poet here omits de-
[421]
Poetic Edda
The Volsung young, in batde valiant, —
Himself would have had her if all he had seen.
The southern hero his naked sword,
Fair-flashing, let between them lie;
(Nor would he come the maid to kiss;)
The Hunnish king in his arms ne'er held
The maiden he gave to Gjuki's sons.
Ill she had known not in all her life.
And nought of the sorrows of men she knew ;
Blame she had not, nor dreamed she should bear
it,
But cruel the fates that among them came.
tails, and In stanzas 32-39 appears a quite diflFerent tradition
regarding the winning of Brynhild, which I suspect he had in
mind throughout the poem.
4. Southern hero: Sigurth, whose Prankish origin is seldom
wholly lost sight of in the Norse versions of the story. On the
episode of the sword cf. Gripisspo, 41 and note. Line 3 may well
be an interpolation; both lines 4 and 5 have also been ques-
tioned, and some editions combine line 5 with lines 1-3 of stanza
5. Hunnish king: Sigurth, who was, of course, not a king of the
Huns, but was occasionally so called in the later poems owing
to the lack of ethnological distinction made by the Norse poets
(cf. Guthrunarkvitha I, 24 and note).
5. This stanza may refer, as Gering thinks, merely to the fact
that Brynhild lived happy and unsuspecting as Gunnar's wife
until the fatal quarrel with Guthrun (cf. Gripisspo, 45 and note)
revealed to her the deceit whereby she had been won, or it may
refer to the version of the story which appears in stanzas 32-39,
wherein Brynhild lived happily with Atli, her brother, until he
was attacked by Gunnar and Sigurth, and was compelled to give
his sister to Gunnar, «vinning her consent thereto by representing
[422]
Sigurtharkvitha en Skamma
6. By herself at the end of day she sat,
And in open words her heart she uttered :
"I shall Sigurth have, the hero young.
E'en though within my arms he die.
7. "The word I have spoken; soon shall I rue it,
His wife is Guthrun, and Gunnar's am I ;
111 Norns set for me long desire."
8. Oft did she go with grieving heart
On the glacier's ice at even-tide,
When Guthrun then to her bed was gone.
And the bedclothes Sigurth about her laid.
9. " (Now Gjuki's child to her lover goes,)
Gunnar as Sigurth, her chosen hero (cf. Guthrunarkvttha I, 24
and note). The manuscript marks line 4 as the beginning of a
new stanza, and many editors combine it with stanza 6.
6. Brynhild has now discovered the deceit that has been prac-
tised on her. That she had loved Sigurth from the outset (cf.
stanza 40) fits well with the version of the story wherein Sigurth
meets her before he comes to Gunnar's home (the version not
used in this poem), or the one outlined in the note on stanza 5,
but does not accord with the story of Sigurth's first meeting
Brynhild in Gunnar's form — an added reason for believing that
the poet in stanzas 5-6 had in mind the story represented by
stanzas 32-39. The hero: the manuscript originally had the
phrase thus, then corrected it to "though I die," and finally
crossed out the correction. Many editions have "I."
7. Perhaps a line is missing after line 3.
8. Glacier: a bit of Icelandic (or Greenland) local color.
9. Line z does not appear in the manuscript, and Is based on
[423]
Poetic Edda
And the Hunnish king with his wife is happy;
Joyless I am and mateless ever,
Till cries from my heavy heart burst forth."
10. In her wrath to battle she roused herself:
"Gunnar, now thou needs must lose
Lands of mine and me myself,
No joy shall I have with the hero ever.
11. "Back shall I fare where first I dwelt,
Among the kin that come of my race.
To wait there, sleeping my life away.
If Sigurth's death thou shalt not dare,
(And best of heroes thou shalt not be.)
12. "The son shall fare with his father hence.
And let not long the wolf-cub live;
Lighter to pay is the vengeance-price
After the deed if the son is dead."
13. Sad was Gunnar, and bowed with grief.
Deep in thought the whole day through;
a conjecture by Bugge. Some editions add line 2 to stanza 8.
The manuscript indicates line 3 as the beginning of a stanza,
and some editors assume a gap of two lines after line 4. Hunnish
king: cf. stanza 4.
10. Lands: Brynhild's wealth again points to the story repre-
sented by stanzas 32-39; elsewhere she is not spoken of as
bringing wealth to Gunnar.
XI. Line 5, or perhaps line 3, may be interpolated.
12. The son: the three-year-old son of Sigurth and Guthrun,
Sigmund, who was killed at Brynhild's behest.
[424]
Sigurtharkvitha en Skamma
Yet from his heart it was ever hid
What deed most fitting he should find,
(Or what thing best for him should be,
Or if he should seek the Volsung to slay.
For with mighty longing Sigurth he loved.)
14. Much he pondered for many an hour;
Never before was the wonder known
That a queen should thus her kingdom leave ;
In counsel then did he Hogni call,
(For him in truest trust he held.)
15. "More than all to me is Brynhild,
Buthli's child, the best of women ;
My very life would I sooner lose
Than yield the love of yonder maid.
i6. "Wilt thou the hero for wealth betray?
13. This stanza has been the subject of many conjectural
emendations. Some editions assume a gap after line 2, and make
a separate stanza of lines 3-7 ; others mark lines 5-7 as spurious.
The stanza seems to have been expanded by repetition. Grief
(line i) : the manuscript has "wrath," involving a metrical error.
14. Bugge and Gering transfer lines 4-5 to the beginning of
stanza 16, on the basis of the Volsungasaga paraphrase, and
assume a gap of one line after line 3. Line 5, which is in the
nature of a stereotyped clause, may well be interpolated.
15. After "Buthli" in line 2 the manuscript has "my brother,"
apparently a scribal error. In line 4 the manuscript has "wealth"
instead of "love," apparently with stanza 10 in mind, but the
Volsungasaga paraphrase has "love," and many editors have
suspected an error.
16. Cf. note on stanza 14. After thus adding lines 4-5 of
[425]
Poetic Edda
'Twere good to have the gold of the Rhine,
And all the hoard in peace to hold,
And waiting fortune thus to win."
1 7. Few the words of Hogni were :
"Us it beseems not so to do,
To cleave with swords the oaths we swore,
The oaths we swore and all our vows.
18. "We know no mightier men on earth
The while we four o'er the folk hold sway.
And while the Hunnish hero lives,
Nor higher kinship the world doth hold.
19. "If sons we five shall soon beget.
Great, methinks, our race shall grow;
stanza 14 at the beginning of stanza 16, Gering marks line 4 as
probably spurious; others reject both lines 3 and 4 as mere repe-
titions. Rhine: the Rhine, the sands of which traditionally con-
tained gold, was apparently the original home of the treasure
of the Nibelungs, converted in the North to Andvari's treasure
(cf. Reginsmol, 1-9). That greed for Sigurth's wealth was one
of the motives for his slaying is indicated likewise in Gnthrun-
arkvitha I, 20, and in the German versions of the story.
18. We four: if line 1 of stanza 19 is spurious, or the refer-
ence therein to "five" is a blunder, as may well be the case, then
the "four" are Sigurth and the three brothers, Gunnar, Hogni,
and Gotthorm. But it may be that the poet had in mind a tradi-
tion which, as in the Thithrekssaga, gave Gjuki a fourth son, in
which case the "four" refers only to the four Gjukungs. Hunnish
hero: Sigurth; cf. stanza 4 and note. Some editions put line 4
between lines i and 2. Some add lines 1-2 of stanza 19 to stanza
18, marking them as spurious.
19. We five: see note on preceding stanza. Some editors mark
[426]
Sigurtharkvitha en Skamma
Well I see whence lead the ways;
Too bitter far is Brynhild's hate."
Gunnar spake :
20. "Gotthorm to wrath we needs must rouse,
Our younger brother, in rashness blind;
He entered not in the oaths we swore.
The oaths we swore and all our vows."
21. It was easy to rouse the reckless one.
The sword in the heart of Sigurth stood.
22. In vengeance the hero rose in the hall.
And 'hurled his sword at the slayer bold;
lines 1-2 as spurious, and either assume a gap of two lines after
line 4 or combine lines 3-4 with stanza 20. Whence lead tlie
nvays: a proverbial expression signifying "whence the trouble
comes."
20. The manuscript does not name the speaker, Gotthorm
(the name is variously spelt) : half-brother of Gunnar and Hogni
(cf. Hyndluljoth, 27 and note, and Brot, 4 and note). The name
is the northern form of Gundomar; a prince of this name is
mentioned in the Lex Burgundionum, apparently as a brother
of Gundahari (Gundicarius), In the Nibelungenlied the third
brother is called Gemot.
21. No gap is indicated in the manuscript, and many editors
combine stanza 21 with stanza 22, but it seems likely that not
only two lines, but one or more stanzas in addition, have been
lost; cf. Brot, 4, and also the detailed account of the slaying of
Sigurth in the Volsungasaga, wherein, as here, Sigurth is killed
in his bed (cf. stanza 24) and not in the forest.
22. Some editions combine lines 3-4 with stanza 23. Gram:
[427 3
Poetic Edda
At Gotthorm flew the glittering steel
Of Gram full hard from the hand of the king.
23. The foeman cleft asunder fell,
Forward hands and head did sink,
And legs and feet did backward fall.
24. Guthrun soft in her bed had slept.
Safe from care at Sigurth's side;
She woke to find her joy had fled.
In the blood of the friend of Freyr she lay.
25. So hard she smote her hands together
That the hero rose up, iron-hearted:
"Weep not, Guthrun, grievous tears,
Bride so young, for thy brothers live.
26. "Too young, methinks, is my son as yet,
He cannot flee from the home of his foes;
Sigurth's sword (cf. Reginsmol, prose after stanza 14) ; the word
here, however, may not be a proper name, but may mean "the
hero."
23. A line may well have been lost from this stanza.
24. Freyr: if the phrase "the friend of Freyr" means any-
thing more than "king" (cf. Rigsthula, 46 etc.), which I doubt,
it has reference to the late tradition that Freyr, and not Othin,
was the ancestor of the Volsungs (cf. Helgakvitha Hundingsbana
I, 57 and note).
25. MiillenhoflF thinks this stanza, or at any rate lines 1-2, a
later addition based on stanza 29.
26. My son: Sigmund; cf. stanza 12 and note, and also Brot,
9 and note.
[428]
Sigurtharkvitha en Skamma
Fearful and deadly the plan they found,
The counsel new that now they have heeded.
27. "No son will ride, though seven thou hast,
To the Thing as the son of their sister rides;
Well I see who the ill has worked,
On Brynhild alone lies the blame for alL
28. "Above all men the maiden loved me,
Yet false to Gunnar I ne'er was found ;
I kept the oaths and the kinship I swore ;
Of his queen the lover none may call me.
29. In a swoon she sank when Sigurth died ;
So hard she smote her hands together
That all the cups in the cupboard rang,
And loud in the courtyard cried the geese.
30. Then Brynhild, daughter of Buthli, laughed,
Only once, with all her heart,
When as she lay full loud she heard
The grievous wail of Gjuki's daughter.
27. Sigurth means that although Guthrun may have seven
sons by a later marriage, none of them will equal Sigmund, "son
of their (i.e., Gunnar's and Hogni's) sister." Thing: council.
28. Sigurth's protestation of guiltlessness fits perfectly with
the story of his relations with Brynhild used in this poem, but
not, of course, with the alternative version, used in the Gripisspo
and elsewhere, wherein Sigurth meets Brynhild before he woos
her for Gunnar, and they have a daughter, Aslaug. ^f
29. Cf. Guthrunarkvitha I, 15.
30. Cf. Brot, 10.
[429]
Poetic Edda
31. Then Gunnar, monarch of men, spake forth:
"Thou dost not laugh, thou lover of hate.
In gladness there, or for aught of good;
Why has thy face so white a hue,
Mother of ill? Foredoomed thou art.
32. "A worthier woman wouldst thou have been
If before thine eyes we had Atli slain ;
If thy brother's bleeding body hadst seen
And the bloody wounds that thou shouldst bind."
Brynhild spake:
^;i. "None mock thee, Gunnar! thou hast mightily
fought.
But thy hatred little doth Atli heed ;
Longer than thou, methinks, shall he live.
And greater in might shall he ever remain.
31. Line i may well be a mere expansion of "Gunnar spake."
The manuscript marks line 4 as the beginning of a new stanza,
and some editions combine lines 4-5 with stanza 32.
32. This stanza, which all editors have accepted as an inte-
gral part of the poem, apparently refers to the same story repre-
sented by stanzas 37-39, which most editors have (I believe
mistakenly) marked as interpolated. As is pointed out in the
notes on stanzas 3, 5, 6 and 10, the poet throughout seems to have
accepted the version of the story wherein Gunnar and Sigurth
besiege Atli, and are bought off by the gift of Atli's sister,
Brynhild, to Gunnar as wife, her consent being won by Atli's
representation that Gunnar is Sigurth (cf. also Guthrunarkvitha
I, 24 and note).
33. The manuscript does not name the speaker, and some edi-
tions add a first line: "Then Brynhild, daughter of Buthli,
spake."
[430]
Sigurtharkvitha en Skamma
34. "To thee I say, and thyself thou knowest,
That all these ills thou didst early shape;
No bonds I knew, nor sorrow bore,
And wealth I had in my brother's home.
35. "Never a husband sought I to have,
Before the Gjukungs fared to our land;
Three were the kings on steeds that came, —
Need of their journey never there was.
36. "To the hero great my troth I gave
Who gold-decked sat on Grani's back ;
Not like to thine was the light of his eyes,
(Nor like in form and face are ye,)
Though kingly both ye seemed to be.
37. "And so to me did Atli say
That share in our wealth I should not have.
34. Cf. stanza 5.
35. Three kings: Gunnar, Hogni, and Sigurth.
36. Some editions place this stanza after stanza 39, on the
theory that stanzas 37-39 are interpolated. Line 4, as virtually a
repetition of line 3, has generally been marked as spurious. In
this version of the winning of Brynhild it appears that Atli
pointed out Sigurth as Gunnar, and Brynhild promptly fell in
love with the hero whom, as he rode on Grant and was decked
with some of the spoils taken from Fafnir, she recognized as the
dragon's slayer. Thus no change of form between Sigurth and
Gunnar was necessary. The oath to marry Gunnar had to be
carried out even after Brynhild had discovered the deception.
37. Most editors mark stanzas 37-39 as interpolated, but cf.
note on stanza 32. Stanza 37 has been variously emended. Lines
4 and 6 look like interpolated repetitions, but many editors make
[431]
Poetic Edda
Of gold or lands, if my hand I gave not ;
(More evil yet, the wealth I should yield,)
The gold that he in my childhood gave me,
(The wealth from him in my youth I had.)
38. "Oft in my mind I pondered much
If still I should fight, and warriors fell.
Brave in my byrnie, my brother defying;
That would wide in the world be known.
And sorrow for many a man would make.
39. "But the bond at last I let be made.
For more the hoard I longed to have,
The rings that the son of Sigmund won ;
No other's treasure e'er I sought.
40. "One alone of all I loved.
Nor changing heart I ever had;
All in the end shall Atli know,
two stanzas, following the manuscript in beginning a new stanza
with line 4. After line i Grundtvig adds: "Son of Buthli, and
brother of mine." After line 6 Bugge adds: "Not thou was it,
Gunnar, who Grani rode, / Though thou my brother with
rings didst buy." Regarding Brynhild's wealth cf. stanza 10 and
note.
38. Brynhild here again appears as a Valkyrie. The manu-
script marks line 4 as the beginning of a new stanza. Any one of
the last three lines may be spurious.
39. Some editions combine this stanza with lines 4-5 of stanza
38, with lines 1-2 of stanza 40, or with the whole of stanza 40.
The bond: Brynhild thought she was marrying Sigurth, owner of
the treasure, whereas she was being tricked into marrying
Gunnar.
[432]
Sigurtharkvitha en Skamma
When he hears I have gone
hence."
on the death-road
41. "Never a wife
Yet to another
of fickle will
man should yield.
So vengence for all my ills shall come."
42. Up rose Gunnar,
And flung his arms
And all who came,
Sought to hold her
the people's ruler,
round her neck so fair ;
of every kind,
with all their hearts.
43. But back she cast all those who came,
Nor from the long road let them hold her;
41. At this point there seem to be several omissions. Bryn-
hild's statement in lines i-2 seems to refer to the episode, not
here mentioned but told in detail in the Volsungasaga, of
Sigurth's effott to repair the wrong that has been done her by
himself giving up Guthrun in her favor, an oflFer which she
refuses. The lacuna here suggested, which is not indicated in
the manuscript, may be simply a single line (line i) or a stanza
or more. After line 2 there is almost certainly a gap of at least
one stanza, and possibly more, in which Br)rnhild states her
determination to die.
42. Hardly any two editions agree as to the arrangement of
the lines in stanzas 42-44. I have followed the manuscript ex-
cept in transposing line 4 of stanza 43 to this position from the
place it holds in the manuscript after line 4 of stanza 44. All
the other arrangements involve the rejection of two or more
lines as spurious and the assumption of various gaps. Gering and
Sijmons both arrange the lines thus: 42, 1-2; two-line gap; 43, 3
[433]
Poetic Edda
In counsel then did he Hogni call:
"Of wisdom now full great is our need.
44. "Let the warriors here in the hall come forth,
Thine and mine, for the need is mighty,
If haply the queen from death they may hold,
Till her fearful thoughts with time shall fade."
45. (Few the words of Hogni were:)
"From the long road now shall ye hold her not.
That born again she may never be!
Foul she came from her mother forth.
And born she was for wicked deeds,
(Sorrow to many a man to bring.)"
46. From the speaker gloomily Gunnar turned,
For the jewel-bearer her gems was dividing;
(marked probably spurious) ; 44, 1-4; 43-4 (marked probably
spurious) ; 42, 3-4; 43, 1-2.
43. Cf. note on preceding stanza.
44. Cf . note on stanza 42.
45. Perhaps the remains of two stanzas; the manuscript
marks line 4 as the beginning of a new stanza, and after line 4
an added line has been suggested: "She was ever known for
evil thoughts." On the other hand, line i, identical with line 1 of
stanza 17, may well be a mere expansion of "Hogni spake," and
line 6 may have been introduced, with a slight variation, from
line 5 of stanza 38. Born again: this looks like a trace of Chris-
tian influence (the poem was composed well after the coming of
Christianity to Iceland) in the assumption that if Brynhild killed
herself she could not be "born again" (cf. concluding prose to
Helgakvitha Hundingsbana II).
46. The manuscript marks line 3 as beginning a stanza ; some
[434]
Sigurtharkvitha en Skamma
On all her wealth her eyes were gazing,
On the bond-women slain and the slaughtered
slaves.
47. Her byrnie of gold she donned, and grim
Was her heart ere the point of her sword had
pierced it;
On the pillow at last her head she laid,
And, wounded, her plan she pondered o'er.
48. "Hither I will that my women come
Who gold are fain from me to get;
Necklaces fashioned fair to each
Shall I give, and cloth, and garments bright."
49. Silent were all as so she spake.
And all together answer made:
"Slain are enough; we seek to live,
Not thus thy women shall honor win."
editions treat lines 1-2 as a separate stanza, and combine lines
3-4 with lines 1-2 of stanza 47. Jena el-hearer (literally "land of
jewels") : woman, here Brynhild. Bond-<vuomen, etc.: in stanza 69
we learn that five female slaves and eight serfs were killed to be
burned on the funeral pyre, and thus to follow Sigurth in death.
47. The manuscript marks line 3, and not line i, as beginning
a stanza, and some editions treat lines 3-4 as a separate stanza,
or combine them with stanza 48.
48. Brynhild means, as stanzas 49-51 show, that those of her
women who wish to win rewards must be ready to follow her in
death. The word translated "women" in line i is conjectural, but
the general meaning is clear enough.
49. In place of "as so she spake" in line I the manuscript has
[435]
Poetic Edda
50. Long the woman, linen-decked, pondered, —
— ^Young she was, — and weighed her words:
"For my sake now shall none unwilling
Or loath to die her life lay down.
51. "But little of gems to gleam on your limbs
Ye then shall find when forth ye fare
To follow me, or of Menja's wealth.
52. "Sit now, Gunnar ! for I shall speak
Of thy bride so fair and so fain to die;
Thy ship in harbor home thou hast not.
Although my life I now have lost.
53. "Thou shalt Guthrun requite more quick than
thou thinkest,
Though sadly mourns the maiden wise
Who dwells with the king, o'er her husband
dead.
"of their plans they thought," which involves a metrical error.
51. No gap indicated in the manuscript; many editions place
it between lines 3 and 4. Menja's wealth: gold; the story of the
mill Grotti, whereby the giantesses Menja and Fenja ground
gold for King Frothi, is told in the Grottasongr.
52. With this stanza begins Brynhild's prophesy of what is to
befall Gunnar, Guthrun, Atli, and the many others involved in
their fate. Line 3 is a proverbial expression meaning simply
"your troubles are not at an end."
53. No gap is indicated in the manuscript; one suggestion
for line 2 runs: "Grimhild shall make her to laugh once
[436]
Sigurtharkvitha en Skamma
54. "A maid shall then the mother bear;
Brighter far than the fairest day
Svanhild shall be, or the beams of the sun.
55. "Guthrun a noble husband thou givest,
Yet to many a warrior woe will she bring,
Not happily wedded she holds herself;
Her shall Atli hither seek,
(Buthli's son, and brother of mine.)
56. "Well I remember how me ye treated
When ye betrayed me with treacherous wiles ;
Lost was my joy as long as I lived.
more." Gering suggests a loss of three lines, and joins lines 3-4
with stanza 54.
54. Probably a line has been lost from this stanza. Grundtvig
adds as a new first line: "Her shalt thou find in the hall of
Half." Some editions query line 3 as possibly spurious. Svanhild:
the figure of Svanhild is exceedingly old. The name means
"Swan-Maiden-Warrior," applying to just such mixtures of
swan-maiden and Valkyrie as appear in the Volundarkvitha.
Originally part of a separate tradition, Svanhild appears first
to have been incorporated in the Jormunrek (Ermanarich) story
as the unhappy wife of that monarch, and much later to have
been identified as the daughter of Sigurth and Guthrun, thus
linking the two sets of legends.
55. Line 2 in the original is almost totally obscure. Line 4
should very possibly precede line 2, while line 5 looks like an
unwarranted addition.
56. This stanza probably ought to follow stanza 52, as it
refers solely to the winning of Brynhild by Gunnar and Sigurth.
Mullenhoff regards stanzas 53-55 as interpolated. The manu-
script indicates no gap after line 3.
[ 437 ]
Poetic Edda
57. "Oddrun as wife thou fain wouldst win,
But Atli this from thee withholds;
Yet in secret tryst ye twain shall love;
She shall hold thee dear, as I had done
If kindly fate to us had fallen.
58. "Ill to thee shall Atli bring,
When he casts thee down in the den of snakes.
59. "But soon thereafter Atli too
His life, methinks, as thou shalt lose,
(His fortune lose and the lives of his sons;)
Him shall Guthrun, grim of heart.
With the biting blade in his bed destroy.
60. "It would better beseem thy sister fair
57. Stanzas 57-58 seem to be the remains of two stanzas, but
the Volsungasaga paraphrase follows closely the form here
given. Line 3 may well be spurious; line 5 has likewise been
questioned. Oddrun: this sister of Atli and Brynhild, known
mainly through the Oddrunargratr, is a purely northern addi-
tion to the cycle, and apparently one of a relatively late date.
She figures solely by reason of her love affair with Gunnar.
58. Possibly two lines have been lost; many editions combine
the two remaining lines with lines 1-3 of stanza 59. Concerning
the manner of Gunnar's death cf. Drap N'tflunga.
59. Line 3 may well be spurious, as it is largely repetition.
The manuscript has "sofa" ("sleep") in place of "sona" ("sons"),
but the Volsungasaga paraphrase says clearly "sons." The slay-
ing of Atli by Guthrun in revenge for his killing of her brothers
is told in the two Atli lays. The manuscript marks line 4 as the
beginning of a new stanza, and some editions make a separate
stanza out of lines 4-5, or else combine them with stanza 60.
60. To follow in death: this phrase is not in Regius, but is
[438]
Sigurtharkvitha en Skamma
To follow her husband first in death,
If counsel good to her were given,
Or a heart akin to mine she had.
6i. "Slowly I speak, — but for my sake
Her life, methinks, she shall not lose;
She shall wander over the tossing waves.
To where Jonak rules his father's realm.
62. "Sons to him she soon shall bear,
Heirs therewith of Jonak's wealth;
But Svanhild far away is sent,
The child she bore to Sigurth brave.
63. "Bikki's word her death shall be,
For dreadful the wrath of Jormunrek;
So slain is all of Sigurth's race.
And greater the woe of Guthrun grows.
included in late paper manuscripts, and has been added in most
editions.
61. Jonak: this king, known only through the Hamthesmol
and the stories which, like this one, are based thereon, is another
purely northern addition to the legend. The name is apparently
of Slavic origin. He appears solely as Guthrun's third husband
and the father of Hamther, Sorli, and Erp (cf. introductory
prose to Gutlirunarhvot) .
62. Svanhild: cf. stanza 54 and note.
63. Bikki: Svanhild is married to the aged Jormunrek
(Ermanarich), but Eikki, one of his followers, suggests that she
is unduly intimate with Jormunrek's son, Randver. Thereupon
Jormunrek has Randver hanged, and Svanhild torn to pieces by
wild horses. Ermanarich's cruelty and his barbarous slaying of
his wife and son were familiar traditions long before they be-
[439]
Poetic Edda
64. "Yet one boon I beg of thee,
The last of boons in ray life it is:
Let the pyre be built so broad in the field
That room for us all will ample be,
(For us who slain with Sigurth are.)
65. "With shields and carpets cover the pyre,
Shrouds full fair, and fallen slaves,
And besides the Hunnish hero bum me.
66. "Besides the Hunnish hero there
Slaves shall burn, full bravely decked,
Two at his head and two at his feet,
A brace of hounds and a pair of hawks.
For so shall all be seemly done.
67. "Let between us lie once more
came in any way connected with the Sigurth cycle (cf. introduc-
tory note to Gripisspo).
64. Line 5 is very probably spurious.
65. The manuscript indicates no gap; a suggested addition
runs "Gold let there be, and jewels bright." Fallen slaves:
cf. stanzas 66 and 69. Hunnish hero: cf. stanza 4 and note.
66. In place of lines 3-4 the manuscript has one line "Two at
his head, and a pair of hawks"; the addition is made from
the Volsungasaga paraphrase. The burning or burying of slaves
or beasts to accompany their masters in death was a general
custom in the North. The number of slaves indicated in this
stanza does not tally with the one given in stanza 69, wherefore
Vigfusson rejects most of this stanza.
[440]
Sigurtharkvitha en Skamma
The steel so keen, as so it lay
When both within one bed we were,
And wedded mates by men were called.
68. "The door of the hall shall strike not the heel
Of the hero fair with flashing rings,
If hence my following goes with him;
Not mean our faring forth shall be.
69. "Bond-women five shall follow him,
And eight of my thralls, well-born are they,
Children with me, and mine they were
As gifts that Buthli his daughter gave.
70. "Much have I told thee, and more would say
If fate more space for speech had given;
My voice grows weak, my wounds are swelling;
Truth I have said, and so I die."
67. Cf. Gripisspo, 41 and note. After line 1 the manuscript
adds the phrase "bright, ring-decked," referring to the sword,
but it is metrically impossible, and many editions omit it.
68. The door: The gate of Hel's domain, like that of Men-
gloth's house (cf. Svipdagsmol, 26 and note), closes so fast as to
catch any one attempting to pass through. Apparently the poet
here assumes that the gate of Valhall does likewise, but that it
will be kept open for Sigurth's retinue.
69. Cf. stanza 66.
[441]
HELREITH BRYNHILDAR
Brynhild's Hell-Ride
Introductory Note
The little Helreith Brynhildar immediately follows the
"short" Sigurth lay in the Codex Regius, being linked to it by
the brief prose note; the heading, "Brynhild's Ride on Hel-
Way," stands just before the first stanza. The entire poem, with
the exception of stanza 6, is likewise quoted in the Nornagests-
thattr. Outside of one stanza (No. ii), which is a fairly obvious
interpolation, the poem possesses an extraordinary degree of
dramatic unity, and, certain pedantic commentators notwith-
standing, it is one of the most vivid and powerful in the whole
collection. None the less, it has been extensively argued that parts
of it belonged originally to the so-called Sigrdrifumol. That it
stands in close relation to this poem is evident enough, but it is
difficult to believe that such a masterpiece of dramatic poetry
was ever the result of mere compilation. It seems more reason-
able to regard the Helreith, with the exception of stanza ii and
allowing for the loss of two lines from stanza 6, as a complete
and carefully constructed unit, based undoubtedly on older
poems, but none the less an artistic creation in itself.
The poem is generally dated as late as the eleventh century,
and the concluding stanza betrays Christian influence almost
unmistakably. It shows the confusion of traditions manifest in
all the later poems; for example, Brynhild is here not only a
Valkyrie but also a swan-maiden. Only three stanzas have any
reference to the Guthrun-Gunnar part of the story; otherwise
the poem is concerned solely with the episode of Sigurth's finding
the sleeping Valkyrie. Late as it is, therefore, it is essentially a
Norse creation, involving very few of the details of the German
cycle (cf. introductory oote to Gripisspo)*
After the death of Brynhild there were made two
bale-fires, the one for Sigurth, and that burned first, and
on the other was Brynhild burned, and she was on a
[442]
Helreith Brynhildar
wagon which was covered with a rich cloth. Thus it is
told, that Brynhild went in the wagon on Hel-way, and
passed by a house where dwelt a certain giantess. The
giantess spake:
1. "Thou shalt not further forward fare,
My dwelling ribbed with rocks across;
More seemly it were at thy weaving to stay,
Than another's husband here to follow.
2. "What wouldst thou have from Valland here,
Fickle of heart, in this my house?
Gold-goddess, now, if thou wouldst know.
Heroes' blood from thy hands hast washed."
Brynhild spake:
3. "Chide me not, woman from rocky walls,
Though to battle once I was wont to go;
Better than thou I shall seem to be.
When men us two shall truly know."
The giantess spake:
4. "Thou wast, Brynhild, Buthli's daughter,
Prose. The prose follows the last stanza of S'lgurtharkmtha en
skamma without break. Tivo bale-fires: this contradicts the state-
ment made in the concluding stanzas of Sigurtharkv'ttha en
skamma, that Sigurth and Brynhild were burned on the same
pyre ; there is no evidence that the annotator here had anything
but his own mistaken imagination to go on.
2. Valland: this name ("Land of Slaughter") is used else-
where of mythical places; cf. Harbarthsljoth, 24, and prose
introduction to Volundarkvitha ; it may here not be a proper
name at all. Gold-goddess: poetic circumlocution for "woman."
[443]
Poetic Edda
For the worst of evils bom in the world ;
To death thou hast given Gjuki's children,
And laid their lofty house full low."
Brynhild spake:
5. "Truth from the wagon here I tell thee,
Witless one, if know thou wilt
How the heirs of Gjuki gave me to be
Joyless ever, a breaker of oaths.
6. "Hild the helmed in Hlymdalir
They named me of old, all they who knew me.
"The monarch bold the swan-robes bore
Of the sisters eight beneath an oak;
6. In Regius these two lines stand after stanza 7, but most
editions place them as here. They are not quoted in the Norna-
geststhattr. Presumably two lines, and perhaps more, have been
lost. It has frequently been argued that all or part of the passage
from stanza 6 through stanza xo (6-10, 7-10 or 8-10) comes
originally from the so-called Sigrdrifumol, where it would un-
doubtedly fit exceedingly well. Hild: a Valkyrie name meaning
"Fighter" (cf. Voluspo, 31). In such compound names as Bryn-
hild ("Fighter in Armor") the first element was occasionally
omitted. Hlymdalir ("Tumult-Dale") : a mythical name, merely
signifying the place of battle as the home of Valkyries.
7. Regarding the identification of swan-maidens with Valky-
ries, and the manner in which men could get them in their power
by stealing their swan-garments, cf. Volundarkvitha, introductory
prose and note, where the same thing happens. The monarch:
perhaps Agnar, brother of Autha, mentioned in Sigrdrifumol
(prose and quoted verse following stanza 4) as the warrior for
[444]
Helreith Brynhildar
Twelve winters I was, if know thou wilt,
When oaths I yielded the king so young.
8. "Next I let the leader of Goths,
Hjalmgunnar the old, go down to hell,
And victory brought to Autha's brother ;
For this was Othin's anger mighty.
9. "He beset me with shields in Skatalund,
Red and white, their rims o'erlapped ;
He bade that my sleep should broken be
By him who fear had nowhere found.
10. "He let round my hall, that southward looked,
The branches' foe high-leaping burn;.
Across it he bade the hero come
Who brought me the gold that Fafnir guarded.
11. "On Grani rode the giver of gold,
whose sake Brynhild defied Othin in slaying Hjalmgunnar.
Eight: the Nornageststhattr manuscripts have "sisters of Atli"
instead of "sisters eight."
8. Hjalmgunnar: regarding this king of the Goths (the
phrase means little) and his battle with Agnar, brother of Autha,
cf. Sigrdrifumol, prose after stanza 4. One Nornageststhattr
manuscript has "brother of the giantess" in place of "leader of
Goths."
9. Cf. Sigrdrifumol, prose introduction. Skatalund ("War-
riors' Grove"): a mythical name; elsewhere the place where
Brynhild lay is called Hindarfjoll.
10. Branches' foe: fire. Regarding the treasure cf. Fafnismol.
11. This stanza is presumably an interpolation, reflecting a
different version of the story, wherein Sigurth meets Brynhild at
the home of her brother-in-law and foster-father, Heimir (cf.
[445]
Poetic Edda
Where my foster-father ruled his folk ;
Best of all he seemed to be,
The prince of the Danes, when the people met.
12. "Happy we slept, one bed we had,
As he my brother bom had been ;
Eight were the nights when neither there
Loving hand on the other laid.
13. "Yet Guthrun reproached me, Gjuki's daughter,
That I in Sigurth's arms had slept;
Then did I hear what I would were hid,
That they had betrayed me in taking a mate.
14. "Ever with grief and all too long
Are men and women born in the world ;
But yet we shall live our lives together,
Sigurth and I. Sink down. Giantess I"
Grtpisspo, 19 and 27). Grant: Sigurth's horse. Danes: nowhere
else does Sigurth appear in this capacity. Perhaps this is a
curious relic of the Helgi tradition.
12. Eight nights: elsewhere (cf. Gripisspo, 42) the time is
stated as three nights, not eight. There is a confusion of tradi-
tions here, as in Gripisspo. In the version of the story wherein
Sigurth met Brynhild before he encountered the Gjukungs,
Sigurth was bouhd by no oaths, and the union was completed;
it is only in the alternative version that the episode of the
sword laid between the two occurs.
14. The idea apparently conveyed in the concluding lines,
that Sigurth and Brynhild will be together in some future life, is
utterly out of keeping with the Norse pagan traditions, and the
whole stanza indicates the influence of Christianity.
[446]
DRAP NIFLUNGA
The Slaying of The Nifiungs
Introductory Note
It has been already pointed out (introductory note to Regins-
mol) that the compiler of the Eddie collection had clearly under-
taken to formulate a coherent narrative of the entire Sigurth
cycle, piecing together the various poems by means of prose
narrative links. To some extent these links were based on tradi-
tions existing outside of the lays themselves, but in the main
the material was gathered from the contents of the poems. The
short prose passage entitled Drap Nifiunga, which in the Codex
Regius immediately follows the Helreith Brynhildar, is just such
a narrative link, and scarcely deserves a special heading, but as
nearly all editions separate it from the preceding and following
poems, I have followed their example.
With Sigurth and Brynhild both dead, the story turns to the
slaying of the sons of Gjuki by Atli, Guthrun's second husband,
and to a few subsequent incidents, mostly late incorporations
from other narrative cycles, including the tragic death of Svan-
hild, daughter of Sigurth and Guthrun and wife of Jormunrek
(Ermanarich), and the exploits of Hamther, son of Guthrun
and her third husband, Jonak. These stories are told, or outlined,
in the two Atli lays, the second and third Guthrun lays, the
Oddrunargratr, the Guthrunarhvot, and the Hamthesmol. Had
the compiler seen fit to put the Atli lays immediately after the
Helreith Brynhildar, he would have needed only a very brief
transitional note to make the course of the story clear, but as
the second Guthrun lay, the next poem in the collection, is a
lament following the death of Guthrun's brothers, some sort of
a narrative bridge was manifestly needed.
Drap Niflunga is based entirely on the poemM which follow
it in the collection, with no use of extraneous material. The
part of the story which it summarizes belongs to the semi-
historical Burgundian tradition (cf. introductory note to
Gripisspo), in many respects parallel to the familiar narrative
of the Nibelungenlied, and, except in minor details, showing few
essentially Northern additions. Sigurth is scarcely mentioned,
and the outstanding episode is the slaying of Gunnar and
Hogni, following their journey to Atli's home.
[447]
Poetic Edda
Gunnar and Hogni then took all the gold that Fafnii
had had. There was strife between the Gjukungs and
Atli, for he held the Gjukungs guilty of Brynhild's death.
It was agreed that they should give him Guthrun as
wife, and they gave her a draught of forgetfulness to
drink before she would consent to be wedded to Atli.
The sons of Atli were Erp and Eitil, and Svanhild was
the daughter of Sigurth and Guthrun. King Atli invited
Gunnar and Hogni to come to him, and sent as mes-
senger Vingi or Knefroth. Guthrun was aware of treach-
ery, and sent with him a message in runes that they
should not come, and as a token she sent to Hogni the
ring Andvaranaut and tied a wolf's hair in it. Gunnar
had sought Oddrun, Atli's sister, for his wife, but had her
not; then he married Glaumvor, and Hogni's wife was
Prose. NifluTtffs: regarding the mistaken application of this
name to the sons of Gjuki, who were Burgundians, cf. Brot, 17
and note. Draught of forgetfulness: according to the Volsun-
gasaga Grimhild, Guthrun's mother, administered this, just aa
she did the similar draught which made Sigurth forget Brynhild.
Erp and Eitil: Guthrun kills her two sons by Atli as part of
her revenge; the annotator here explains her act further by
saying that Guthrun asked her sons to intercede with their
father in favor of Guthrun's brothers, but that they refused, a
detail which he appears to have invented, as it is found nowhere
else. Svanhild: cf. Sigurtharkvitha en skamma, 54 and note.
yingi or Knefroth: Atlakvitha (stanza i) calls the messenger
Knefroth; Atlamol (stanza 4) speaks of two messengers, but
names only one of them, Vingi. The annotator has here tried,
unsuccessfully, to combine the two accounts. Andvaranaut: re-
garding the origin of Andvari's ring cf. Reginsmol, prose after
stanzas 4 and 5 and notes; Sigurth gave the ring to Guthrun.
Here again the annotator is combining two stories; in Atlakvitha
(stanza 8) Guthrun sends a ring (not Andvaranaut) with a
wolf's hair; in Atlamol (stanza 4) she sends a message written
[448]
Drap Niflunga
Kostbera; their sons were Solar and Snasvar and Gjuki.
And when the Gjukungs came to AtH, then Guthrun be-
sought her sons to plead for the lives of both the Gjukungs,
but they would not do it. Hogni's heart was cut out,
and Gunnar was cast into the serpent's den. He smote on
the harp and put the serpents to sleep, but an adder stung
him in the liver.
in runes. The messenger obscures these runes, and Kostbera,
Hogni's wife, who attempts to decipher them, is not clear as
to their meaning, though she suspects danger. Oddrun: cf.
Sigurtharkvitha en skamma, 57 and note. Glaumvor: almost
nothing is told of Gunnar's second wife, though she appears
frequently in the Atlamol. Kostbera (or Bera), Hogni's wife,
is known only as skilled in runes. Her brother was Orkning.
The sons of Hogni and Kostbera, according to the Atlamol
(stanza 28), were Solar and Snavar; the third son, Gjuki,
named after his grandfather, seems to be an invention of the
annotator's. Adder: according to Oddrunargratr (stanza 30)
Atli's mother assumed this form in order to complete her son's
vengeancet
[449]
GUTHRUNARKVITHA II, EN FORNA
The Second, or Old, Lay of Guthrun
Introductory Note
It has already been pointed out (introductory note to Guth-
runarkvitha I) that the tradition of Guthrun's lament was
known wherever the Sigurth story existed, and that this lament
was probably one of the earliest parts of the legend to assume
verse form. Whether it reached the North as verse cannot, of
course, be determined, but it is at least possible that this was
the case, and in any event it is clear that by the tenth and
eleventh centuries there were a number of Norse poems with
Guthrun's lament as the central theme. Two of these are in-
cluded in the Eddie collection, the second one being unquestion-
ably much the older. It is evidently the poem referred to by
the annotator in the prose note following the Brot as "the old
Guthrun lay," and its character and state of preservation have
combined to lead most commentators to date it as early as the
first half of the tenth century, whereas Guthrunarkvitha I
belongs a hundred years later.
The poem has evidently been preserved in rather bad shape,
with a number of serious omissions and some interpolations, but
in just this form it lay before the compilers of the Volsungasaga,
who paraphrased it faithfully, and quoted five of its stanzas.
The interpolations are on the whole unimportant; the omissions,
while they obscure the sense of certain passages, do not destroy
the essential continuity of the poem, in which Guthrun reviews
her sorrows from the death of Sigurth through the slaying of
her brothers to Atli's dreams foretelling the death of their
sons. It is, indeed, the only Norse poem of the Sigurth cycle
antedating the year looo which has come down to us in anything
approaching complete form; the Reginsmol, Fafnismol, and
Sigrdrifumol are all collections of fragments, only a short bit
of the "long" Sigurth lay remains, and the others — Grip'isspo,
Guthrunarkvitha I and ///, Sigurtharkvitha en skamma, Helreith
Brynh'tldar, Oddrunargratr, Guthrunarhvot, Hamthesmol, and
the two Atli lays — are all generally dated from the eleventh and
even the twelfth centuries.
An added reason for believing that Guthrunarkvitha II
traces its origin back to a lament which reached the North
[450]
Guthrunarkvitha II
from Germany in verse form is the absence of most of the
characteristic Norse additions to the narrative, except in minor
details. Sigurth is slain in the forest, as "German men say" (cf.
Brot, concluding prose) ; the urging of Guthrun by her mother
and brothers to become Atli's wife, the slaying of the Gjukungs
(here only intimated, for at that point something seems to have
been lost), and Guthrun's prospective revenge on Atli, all
belong directly to the German tradition (cf. introductory note
to Gripisspo).
In the Codex Regius the poem is entitled simply Guthrunar-
kvitha; the numeral has been added in nearly all editions to
distinguish this poem from the other two Guthrun lays, and
the phrase "the old" is borrowed from the annotator's com-
ment in the prose note at the end of the Brot.
King Thjothrek was with Atli, and had lost most of
his men. Thjothrek and Guthrun lamented their griefs
together. She spoke to him, saying:
I. A maid of maids my mother bore me,
Bright in my bower, my brothers I loved,
Till Gjuki dowered me with gold,
Dowered with gold, and to Sigurth gave me.
Prose. Thjothrek: the famous Theoderich, king of the Ostro-
goths, who became renowned in German story as Dietrich von
Bern. The German tradition early accepted the anachronism
of bringing together Attila (Etzel, Atli), who died in 453, and
Theoderich, who was born about 455, and adding thereto
Ermanarich (Jormunrek), king of the Goths, who died about
376. Ermanarich, in German tradition, replaced Theoderich's
actual enemy, Odovakar, and it was in battle with Jormunrek
(i. e., Odovakar) that Thjothrek is here said to have lost most
of his men. The annotator found the material for this note in
Guthrunarkvitha III, in which Guthrun is accused of having
Thjothrek as her lover. At the time when Guthrunarkvitha II
[451]
Poetic Edda
2. So Sigurth rose o'er Gjuki's sons
As the leek grows green above the grass,
Or the stag o'er all the beasts doth stand,
Or as glow-red gold above silver gray.
3. Till my brothers let me no longer have
The best of heroes my husband to be ;
Sleep they could not, or quarrels settle,
Till Sigurth they at last had slain.
4. From the Thing ran Grani with thundering feet.
But thence did Sigurth himself come never ;
Covered with sweat was the saddle-bearer,
Wont the warrior's weight to bear.
5. Weeping I sought with Grani to speak.
With tear- wet cheeks for the tale I asked;
The head of Grani was bowed to the grass,
The steed knew well his master was slain.
6. Long I waited and pondered well
Ere ever the king for tidings I asked.
was composed (early tenth century) it is probable that the
story of Theoderich had not reached the North at all, and the
annotator is consequently wrong in giving the poem its setting.
2. Cf. Guthrunarkvitha I, 17.
4. Regarding the varying accounts of the manner of Sigurth's
death cf. Brot, concluding prose and note. Grani: cf. Brot, 7.
6. No gap indicated in the manuscript. Some editions com-
bine these two lines with either stanza 5 or stanza 7.
1452]
Guthrunarkvitha II
7. His head bowed Gunnar, but Hogni told
The news full sore of Sigurth slain :
"Hewed to death at our hands he lies,
Gotthorm's slayer, given to wolves.
8. "On the southern road thou shalt Sigurth see.
Where hear thou canst the ravens cry ;
The eagles cry as food they crave,
And about thy husband wolves are howling."
9. "Why dost thou, Hogni, such a horror
Let me hear, all joyless left?
Ravens yet thy heart shall rend
In a land that never thou hast known."
10. Few the words of Hogni were.
Bitter his heart from heavy sorrow:
"Greater, Guthrun, thy grief shall be
If the ravens so my heart shall rend."
1 1 . From him who spake I turned me soon,
In the woods to find what the wolves had left;
Tears I had not, nor wrung my hands.
7. Gotthorm: from this it appears that in both versions of
the death of Sigurth the mortally wounded hero killed his
murderer, the younger brother of Gunnar and Hogni. The story
of how Gotthorm was slain after killing Sigurth in his bed is
told in Sigurtharkvitha en skamma, 22-23, ^"d in the Volsung-
asaga.
II. On lines 3-4 cf. Guthrunarkvitha I, i. Line 5 is probably
spurious.
[453]
Poetic Edda
Nor wailing went, as other women,
(When by Sigurth slain I sat).
12. Never so black had seemed the night
As when in sorrow by Sigurth I sat ;
The wolves ....
13- . .
Best of all methought 'twould be
If I my life could only lose,
Or like to birch-wood burned might be.
14. From the mountain forth five days I fared,
Till Hoalf's hall so high I saw;
12. Many editions make one stanza of stanzas 12 and 13,
reconstructing line 3 ; the manuscript shows no gap. Bugge fills
out the stanza thus: "The wolves were howling on all the
ways, / The eagles cried as their food they craved."
13. Cf. note on preceding stanza. Grundtvig suggests as a
first line: "Long did I bide, my brothers awaiting." Many
editors reject line 4.
14. The manuscript marks line 3 as beginning a stanza, and
many editions combine lines 3-4 with lines i-2 of stanza 15.
Hoalf (or Half) : Gering thinks this Danish king may be
identical with Alf, son of King Hjalprek, and second husband
of Hjordis, Sigurth's mother (cf. Fra Dautha Sinfjotla and
note), but the name was a common one. Thora and Hokon have
not been identified (cf. Guthrunarkvitha I, concluding prose,
which is clearly based on this stanza). A Thora appears in
Hyndluljoth, 18, as the wife of Dag, one of the sons of Halfdan
the Old, the most famous of Denmark's mythical kings, and
one of her sons is Alf (Hoalf?).
[454]
Guthrunarkvitha II
Seven half-years with Thora I stayed,
Hokon's daughter, in Denmark then.
15. With gold she broidered, to bring me joy,
Southern halls and Danish swans;
On the tapestry wove we warrior's deeds.
And the hero's thanes on our handiwork;
(Flashing shields and fighters armed.
Sword-throng, helm-throng, the host of the
king).
16. Sigmund's ship by the land was sailing,
Golden the figure-head, gay the beaks;
On board we wove the warriors faring,
Sigar and Siggeir, south to Fjon.
17. Then Grimhild asked, the Gothic queen.
Whether willingly would I
15. The manuscript marks line 3 as the beginning of a
stanza. Some editors combine lines 5-6 with lines 1-2 of stanza
16, while others mark them as interpolated.
16. Some editions combine lines 3-4 with stanza 17. Sigmund:
Sigurth's father, who here appears as a sea-rover in Guthrun's
tapestry. Sigar: named in Fornaldar sogur 11, 10, as the father
of Siggeir, the latter being the husband of Sigmund's twin
sister, Signy (cf. Fra Dautha Sinfjotla). Fjon: this name,
referring to the Danish island of Fiinen, is taken from the
Volsungasaga paraphrase as better fitting the Danish setting of
the stanza than the name in Regius, which is "Fife" (Scotland),
17. No gap is indicated in the manuscript, and most editions
combine these two lines either with lines 3-4 of stanza 16, with
lines 1-2 of stanza 18, or with the whole of stanza 18. Line 2
[455]
Poetic Edda
1 8. Her needlework cast she aside, and called
Her sons to ask, with stern resolve,
Who amends to their sister would make for her
son,
Or the wife requite for her husband killed.
19. Ready was Gunnar gold to give.
Amends for my hurt, and Hogni too ;
Then would she know who now would go,
The horse to saddle, the wagon to harness,
(The horse to ride, the hawk to fly,
And shafts from bows of yew to shoot).
20. (Valdar, king of the Danes, was come.
With Jarizleif, Eymoth, and Jarizskar).
has been filled out in various ways. The Volsungasaga para-
phrase indicates that these two lines are the remains of a full
stanza, the prose passage running: "Now Guthrun was some-
what comforted of her sorrows. Then Grimhild learned where
Guthrun was now dwelling." The first two lines may be the
ones missing. Gothic: the term "Goth" was used in the North
without much discrimination to apply to all south-Germanic
peoples. In Gripisspo, 35, Gunnar, Grimhild's son, appears as
"lord of the Goths."
18. The manuscript marks line 3 as the beginning of a
stanza. Grimhild is eager to have amends made to Guthrun for
the slaying of Sigurth and their son, Sigmund, because Atli has
threatened war if he cannot have Guthrun for his wife.
19. Lines 5-6 are almost certainly interpolations, made by a
scribe with a very vague understanding of the meaning of the
stanza, which refers simply to the journey of the Gjukungs to
bring their sister home from Denmark.
20. Lines 1-2 are probably interpolated, though the Volsung-
asaga includes the names. Some one apparently attempted to
[456]
Guthrunarkvitha II
In like princes came they all,
The long-beard men, with mantles red,
Short their mail-coats, mighty their helms,
Swords at their belts, and brown their hair.
21. Each to give me gifts was fain.
Gifts to give, and goodly speech,
Comfort so for my sorrows great
To bring they tried, but I trusted them not.
22. A draught did Grimhild give me to drink.
Bitter and cold; I forgot my cares;
supply the names of Atli's messengers, the "long-beard men"
of line 4, who have come to ask for Guthrun's hand. Some
commentators assume, as the Volsungasaga does, that these mes-
sengers went with the Gjukungs to Denmark in search of
Guthrun, but it seems more likely that a transitional stanza has
dropped out after stanza 19, and that Guthrun received Atli's
emissaries in her brothers' home. Long-beards: the word may
actually mean Langobards or Lombards, but, if it does, it is
presumably without any specific significance here. Certainly the
names in the interpolated two lines do not fit either Lombards
or Huns, for Valdar is identified as a Dane, and Jarizleif and
Jarizskar are apparently Slavic. The manuscript indicates line
5 as beginning a new stanza.
21. Each: the reference is presumably to Gunnar and Hogni,
and perhaps also Grimhild. I suspect that this stanza belongs
before stanza 20.
22. Stanzas 22-25 describe the draught of forgetfulness which
Grimhild gives Guthrun, just as she gave one to Sigurth (in
one version of the story) to make him forget Brynhild. The
draught does not seem to work despite Guthrun's statement in
stanza 25 (cf. stanza 30), for which reason Vigfusson, not
unwisely, places stanzas 22-25 after stanza 34. Blood of swne:
cf. Hyndluljoth, 39 and note.
[457]
Poetic Edda
For mingled therein was magic earth,
Ice-cold sea, and the blood of swine.
23. In the cup were runes of every kind,
Written and reddened, I could not read them;
A heather-fish from the Haddings' land,
An ear uncut, and the entrails of beasts.
24. Much evil was brewed within the beer,
Blossoms of trees, and acorns burned.
Dew of the hearth, and holy entrails,
The liver of swine, — all grief to allay.
25. Then I forgot, when the draught they gave me,
There in the hall, my husband's slaying;
On their knees the kings all three did kneel.
Ere she herself to speak began:
23. The Volsungasaga quotes stanzas 23-24. Heather-fish: a
snake. Haddings' land: the world of the dead, so called because,
according to Saxo Grammaticus, the Danish king Hadingus once
visited it. It is possible that the comma should follow "heather-
fish," making the "ear uncut" (of grain) come from the world
of the dead.
24. Deio of the hearth: soot.
25. In the manuscript, and in some editions, the first line is
in the third person plural : "Then they forgot, when the
draught they had drunk." The second line in the original is
manifestly in bad shape, and has been variously emended. /
forgot: this emendation is doubtful, in view of stanza 30, but
cf. note to stanza 22. The kings all three: probably Atli's emis-
saries, though the interpolated lines of stanza 20 name four
of them. I suspect that line 4 is wrong, and should read: "Ere
he himself (Atli) to speak began." Certainly stanzas 26-27
[458]
Guthrunarkvitha II
26. "Guthrun, gold to thee I give,
The wealth that once thy father's was,
Rings to have, and Hlothver's halls,
And the hangings all that the monarch had.
27. "Hunnish women, skilled in weaving,
Who gold make fair to give thee joy.
And the wealth of Buthli thine shall be,
Gold-decked one, as Atli's wife."
Guthrun spake:
28. "A husband now I will not have.
Nor wife of Brynhild's brother be;
It beseems me not with Buthli's son
Happy to be, and heirs to bear."
fit Atli much better than they do Grimhlld, and there is nothing
unreasonable in Atli's having come in person, along with his
tributary kings, to seek Guthrun's hand. However, the "three
kings" may not be Atli's followers at all, but Gunnar, Hogni,
and the unnamed third brother possibly referred to in Sigurth-
arkvitha en skamma, 18.
26. Thy father's: So the manuscript, in which case the refer-
ence is obviously to Gjuki. But some editions omit the "thy,"
and if Atli, and not Grimhild, is speaking (cf. note on stanza
25), the reference may be, as in line 3 of stanza 27, to the wealth
of Atli's father, Buthli. Hlothver: the northern form of the
Prankish name Chlodowech (Ludwig), but who this Hlothver
was, beyond the fact that he was evidently a Prankish king, is
uncertain. If Atli is speaking, he is presumably a Prankish
ruler whose land Atli and his Huns have conquered.
27. Cf. note on stanza 25 as to the probable speaker.
28. In stanzas 28-32 the dialogue, in alternate stanzas, is
clearly between Guthrun and her mother, Grimhild, though the
manuscript does not indicate the speakers.
[459]
Poetic Edda
Grimhild spake:
29. "Seek not on men to avenge thy sorrows,
Though the blame at first with us hath been ;
Happy shalt be as if both still lived,
Sigurth and Sigmund, if sons thou bearest."
Guthrun spake:
30. "Grimhild, I may not
Nor hold forth hopes
Since once the raven
gladness find,
to heroes now,
and ravening wolf
Sigurth's heart's-blood hungrily lapped."
Grimhild spake:
31. "Noblest of birth
I have found for thee,
Him shalt thou have
Or husbandless be
is the ruler now
and foremost of all ;
while life thou hast,
if him thou wilt choose not.
Guthrun spake:
32. "Seek not so eagerly me to send
To be a bride of yon baneful race;
On Gunnar first his wrath shall fall.
And the heart will he tear from Hogni's breast."
29. Sigmund: son of Sigurth and Guthrun, killed at Bryn-
hild's behest.
30. This stanza presents a strong argument for transposing
the description of the draught of forgetfulness (stanzas 22-24
and lines 1-2 of stanza 25) to follow stanza 33. Raven, etc.: the
original is somewhat obscure, and the line may refer simply to
the "corpse-eating raven."
32. In the manuscript this stanza is immediately followed by
the two lines which here, following Bugge's suggestion, appear
[4601
Guthrunarkvitha II
33. Weeping Grimhild
That fate full sore
(And mighty woe
"Lands I give thee,
(Vinbjorg is thine,
Have them forever.
heard the words
for her sons foretold,
for them should work;)
with all that live there,
and Valbjorg too,)
but hear me, daughter."
34. So must I do as the kings besought,
And against my will for my kinsmen wed ;
Ne'er with my husband joy I had.
And my sons by my brothers' fate were saved not.
35.
I could not rest
The warrior bold.
till of life I had robbed
the maker of battles.
36. Soon on horseback each hero was,
as stanza 35. In lines 3-4 Guthrun foretells what will (and
actually does) happen if she is forced to become Atli's wife.
If stanza 35 really belongs here, it continues the prophesy to
the effect that Guthrun will have no rest till she has avenged
her brothers' death.
33. Very likely the remains of two stanzas; the manuscript
marks line 4 as beginning a new stanza. On the other hand,
lines 3 and 5 may be interpolations. Vinb']org and Valbjorg:
apparently imaginary place-names.
34. The kings: presumably Gunnar and Hogni. My sons:
regarding Guthrun's slaying of her two sons by Atli, Erp and
Eitil, of. Drap Niftunga, note.
35. In the manuscript this stanza follows stanza 32. The
loss of two lines, to the effect that "111 was that marriage for
my brothers, and ill for Atli himself," and the transposition of
the remaining two lines to this point, are indicated in a number
of editions. The warrior, etc.: Atli, whom Guthrun kills.
[461]
Poetic Edda
And the foreign women in wagons faring;
A week through lands so cold we went,
And a second week the waves we smote,
(And a third through lands that water lacked).
37. The warders now on the lofty walls
Opened the gates, and in we rode.
38. Atli woke me, for ever I seemed
Of bitterness full for my brothers* death.
J tit spake:
39. "Now from sleep the Noms have waked me
With visions of terror, — to thee will I tell them ;
Methought thou, Guthrun, Gjuki's daughter,
With poisoned blade didst pierce my body."
36. The stanza describes the journey to Atll's home, and
sundry unsuccessful efforts have been made to follow the
travellers through Germany and down the Danube. Foreign
luotnen: slaves. Line 5, which the manuscript marks as be-
ginning a stanza, is probably spurious.
37. After these two lines there appears to be a considerable
gap, the lost stanzas giving Guthrun's story of the slaying of
her brothers. It is possible that stanzas 38-45 came originally
from another poem, dealing with Atli's dream, and were here
substituted for the original conclusion of Guthrun's lament.
Many editions combine stanzas 37 and 38, or combine stanza
38 (the manuscript marks line i as beginning a stanza) with
lines 1-2 of stanza 39.
39. The manuscript indicates line 3 as the beginning of a
stanza. The manuscript and most editions do not indicate the
speakers in this and the following stanzas.
[462]
Guthrunarkvitha II
Guthrun spake:
40. "Fire a dream of steel shall follovv?
And willful pride one of woman's wrath;
A baneful sore I shall burn from thee,
And tend and heal thee, though hated thou art."
Atli spake:
41. "Of plants I dreamed, in the garden drooping,
That fain would I have full high to grow ;
Plucked by the roots, and red with blood,
They brought them hither, and bade me eat.
42. "I dreamed my hawks from my hand had flown,
Eager for food, to an evil house ;
I dreamed their hearts with honey I ate,
Soaked in blood, and heavy my sorrow.
43. "Hounds I dreamed from my hand I loosed,
Loud in hunger and pain they howled;
Their flesh methought was eagles' food,
And their bodies now I needs must eat."
Guthrun spake:
44. "Men shall soon of sacrifice speak.
40. Guthrun, somewhat obscurely, interprets Atli's first dream
(stanza 39) to mean that she will cure him of an abscess by
cauterizing it. Her interpretation is, of course, intended merely
to blind him to her purpose.
41. In stanzas 41-43 Atli's dreams forecast the death of his
two sons, whose flesh Guthrun gives him to eat (cf. Atlakvitha,
39, and Atlamol, 78).
44. This stanza is evidently Guthrun's intentionally cryptic
[463]
Poetic Edda
And off the heads of beasts shall hew ;
Die they shall ere day has dawned,
A few nights hence, and the folk shall have
them."
Atli spake:
45. "On my bed I sank, nor slumber sought,
Weary with woe, — full well I remember."
interpretation of Atli's dreams, but the meaning of tlie original
is more than doubtful. The word here rendered "sacrifice" may
mean "sea-catch," and the one rendered "beasts" may mean
"whales." None of the attempted emendations have rendered
the stanza really intelligible, but it appears to mean that Atli
will soon make a sacrifice of beasts at night, and give their
bodies to the people. Guthrun of course has in mind the slaying
of his two sons.
45. With these two lines the poem abruptly ends; some
editors assign the speech to Atli (I think rightly), others to
Guthrun. Ettmiiller combines the lines with stanza 38. Whether
stanzas 38-45 originally belonged to Guthrun's lament, or were
interpolated here in place of the lost conclusion of that poem
from another one dealing with Atli's dreams (cf. note on stanza
37), it is clear that the end has been lost.
[464]
GUTHRUNARKVITHA III
The Third Lay of Guthrun
Introductory Note
The short Guthrunarkvitha III, entitled .n the manuscript
simply Guthrunarkvitha, but so numbered in most editions to
distinguish it from the first and second Guthrun lays, appears
only in the Codex Regius. It is neither quoted nor paraphrased
in the Volsungasaga, the compilers of which appear not to have
known the story with which it deals. The poem as we have it
is evidently complete and free from serious interpolations. It
can safely be dated from the first half of the eleventh century,
for the ordeal by boiling water, with which it is chiefly con-
cerned, was first introduced into Norway by St. Olaf, who died
in 1030, and the poem speaks of it in stanza 7 as still of foreign
origin.
The material for the poem evidently came from North Ger-
many, but there is little indication that the poet was working
on the basis of a narrative legend already fully formed. The
story of the wife accused of faithlessness who proves her
innocence by the test of boiling water had long been current in
Germany, as elsewhere, and had attached itself to various
women of legendary fame, but not except in this poem, so far
as we can judge, to Guthrun (Kriemhild). The introduction of
Thjothrek (Theoderich, Dietrich, Thithrek) is another indica-
tion of relative lateness, for the legends of Theoderich do not
appear to have reached the North materially before the year
1000. On the anachronism of bringing Thjothrek to Atli's court
cf. Guthrunarkvitha II, introductory prose, note, in which the
development of the Theoderich tradition in its relation to that
of Atli is briefly outlined.
Guthrunarkvitha III is, then, little more than a dramatic
German story made into a narrative lay by a Norse poet, with
the names of Guthrun, Atli, Thjothrek, and Herkja incorporated
for the sake of greater effectiveness. Its story probably nowhere
formed a part of the living tradition of Sigurth and Atli, but
the poem has so little distinctively Norse coloring that it may
possibly have been based on a story or even a poem which its
composer heard in Germany or from the lips of a German
narrator.
[4651
Poetic Edda
Herkja was the name of a serving-woman of Atli's;
she had been his concubine. She told Atli that she had
seen Thjothrek and Guthrun both together. Atli was
greatly angered thereby. Then Guthrun said:
1. "What thy sorrow, Atli, Buthli's son?
Is thy heart heavy-laden? Why laughest thou
never ?
It would better befit the warrior far
To speak with men, and me to look on."
Atli spake:
2. "It troubles me, Guthrun, Gjuki's daughter.
What Herkja here in the hall hath told me.
That thou in the bed with Thjothrek liest,
Beneath the linen in lovers' guise."
Guthrun spake:
3. "This shall I with oaths now swear.
Swear by the sacred stone so white.
That nought was there with Thjothmar's son
That man or woman may not know.
Prose. The annotator derived all the material for this note
from the poem itself, except for the reference to Herkja as
Atli's former concubine. Herkja: the historical Kreka and the
Helche of the Nibelungenl'ted, who there appears as Etzel's
(Attila's) first wife. Thjothrek: cf. Introductory Note.
2. The manuscript omits the names of the speakers through-
out.
3. Holy stone: just what this refers to is uncertain; it may
be identical with the "ice-cold stone of Uth" mentioned in an
oath in Helgakvitha Hundingsbana H, 29. Thjothmar's son: the
manuscript has simply "Thjothmar." Some editions change it as
[466]
Guthrunarkvitha III
4. "Nor ever once did my arms embrace
The hero brave, the leader of hosts ;
In another manner our meeting was,
When our sorrows we in secret told.
5. "With thirty warriors Thjothrelc came,
Nor of all his men doth one remain ;
Thou hast murdered my brothers and mail-clad
men,
Thou hast murdered all the men of my race.
6. "Gunnar comes not, Hogni I greet not,
No longer I see my brothers loved;
My sorrow would Hogni avenge with the sword,
Now myself for my woes I shall payment win.
7. "Summon Saxi, the southrons' king.
For he the boiling kettle can hallow."
here, some assume that Thjothmar is another name or an error
for Thjothrek, and Finnur Jonsson not only retains Thjothmar
here but changes Thjothrek to Thjothmar in stanza 5 to conform
to it.
5. Regarding the death of Thjothrek's men cf. Guthrunar-
kvitha II, introductory prose, note. It was on these stanzas of
Guthrunarkvitha III that the annotator based his introduction
to Guthrunarkvitha II. The manuscript repeats the "thirty" in
line 2, in defiance of metrical requirements.
6. In the manuscript this stanza follows stanza 7; many
editions have made the transposition.
7. Who Saxi may be is not clear, but the stanza clearly points
to the time when the ordeal by boiling water was still regarded
as a foreign institution, and when a southern king (i. e., a
Christian frcfm some earlier-converted region) was necessary
[467]
Poetic Edda
Seven hundred there were in the hall,
Ere the queen her hand in the kettle thrust.
8. To the bottom she reached with hand so bright,
And forth she brought the flashing stones:
"Behold, ye warriors, well am I cleared
Of sin by the kettle's sacred boiling."
9. Then Atli's heart in happiness laughed,
When Guthrun's hand unhurt he saw;
"Now Herkja shall come the kettle to try,
She who grief for Guthrun planned."
10. Ne'er saw man sight more sad than this,
How burned were the hands of Herkja then;
In a bog so foul the maid they flung,
And so was Guthrun's grief requited.
to consecrate the kettle used in the test. The ordeal by boiling
water followed closely the introduction of Christianity, which
took place around the year 1000. Some editions make two stanzas
out of stanza 7, and Miillenhoff contends that lines 1-2 do not
constitute part of Guthrun's speech.
10. The word "requited" in line 4 is omitted in the manu-
script, but it is clear that some such word was intended. The
punishment of casting a culprit into a bog to be drowned was
particularly reserved for women, and is not infrequently men-
tioned in the sagas.
[468]
ODDRUNARGRATR
The Lament of Oddrun
Introductory Note
The Oddrunargratr follows Guthrunarkvitha III in the
Codex Regius; it is not quoted or mentioned elsewhere, except
that the composer of the "short" Sigurth lay seems to have been
familiar with it. The Volsungasaga says nothing of the story
on which it is based, and mentions Oddrun only once, in the
course of its paraphrase of Brynhild's prophecy from the "short"
Sigurth lay. That the poem comes from the eleventh century is
generally agreed; prior to the year looo there is no trace of
the figure of Oddrun, Atli's sister, and yet the Oddrunargratr
is almost certainly older than the "short" Sigurth lay, so that
the last half of the eleventh century seems to be a fairly safe
guess.
Where or how the figure of Oddrun entered the Sigurth-Atli
cycle is uncertain. She does not appear in any of the extant
German versions, and i* is generally assumed that she was a
creation of the North, though the poet refers to "old tales"
concerning her. She does not directly affect the course of the
story at all, though the poet has used effectively the episode of
Gunnar's death, with the implication that Atli's vengeance on
Gunnar and Hogni was due, at least in part, to his discovery
of Gunnar's love affair with Oddrun. The material which forms
the background of Oddrun's story belongs wholly to the German
part of the legend (cf. introductory note to Gripisspo), and is
paralleled with considerable closeness in the Nibelungenlied;
only Oddrun herself and the subsidiary figures of Borgny and
Vilmund are Northern additions. The geography, on the other
hand, is so utterly chaotic as to indicate that the original locali-
zation of the Atli story had lost all trace of significance by the
time this poem was composed.
In the manuscript the poem, or rather the brief introductory
prose note, bears the heading "Of Borgny and Oddrun," but
nearly all editions, following late paper manuscripts, have
given the poem the title it bears here. Outside of a few appar-
ently defective stanzas, and some confusing transpositions, the
poem has clearly been preserved in good condition, and the
beginning and end are definitely marked.
[469]
Poetic Edda
Heithrek was the name of a king, whose daughter was
called Borgny. Vilmund was the name of the man who
was her lover. She could not give birth to a child until
Oddrun, Atli's sister, had come to her; Oddrun had been
beloved of Gunnar, son of Gjuki. About this story is the
following poem.
1. I have heard it told in olden tales
How a maiden came to Morningland;
No one of all on earth above
To Heithrek's daughter help could give.
2. This Oddrun learned, the sister of Atli,
That sore the maiden's sickness was;
The bit-bearer forth from his stall she brought,
And the saddle laid on the steed so black.
3. She let the horse go o'er the level ground.
Till she reached the hall that loftily rose,
Prose. Nothing further is known of Heithrek, Borgny or
Vilmund. The annotator has added the name of Borgny's father,
but otherwise his material comes from the poem itself. Oddrun,
sister of Atli and Brynhild, here appears as proficient in birth-
runes (cf. Sigrdrifumol, 8). Regarding her love for Gunnar,
Guthrun's brother, and husband of her sister, Brynhild, cf.
Sigurthark'vitha en skamma, 57 and note.
1. Olden tales: this may be merely a stock phrase, or it may
really mean that the poet found his story in oral prose tradition.
Morningland: the poem's geography is utterly obscure. "Morn-
ingland" is apparently identical with "Hunland" (stanza 4),
and yet Oddrun is herself sister of the king of the Huns. Vig-
fusson tries to make "Mornaland" into "Morva land" and explain
it as Moravia. Probably it means little more than a country lying
vaguely in the East. With stanza 28 the confusion grows worse.
[4701
Oddrunargratr
(And in she went from the end of the hall;)
From the weary steed the saddle she took;
Hear now the speech that first she spake :
"What news on earth, .......
Or what has happened in Hunland now?"
A serving-maid spake :
"Here Borgny lies in bitter pain,
Thy friend, and, Oddrun, thy help would find."
Oddrun spake:
"Who worked this woe for the woman thus,
Or why so sudden is Borgny sick ?"
The serving-maid spake:
"Vilmund is he, the heroes' friend,
Who wrapped the woman in bedclothes warm,
(For winters five, yet her father knew not)."
Then no more they spake, methinks;
She went at the knees of the woman to sit ;
3. Line 3 (cf. Volundarkvitha, 17) or line 5 (cf. Thryms-
kvii/ia, 2), both quoted from older poems, is probably spurious;
the manuscript marks line 3 as the beginning of a new stanza.
4. Line i in the original appears to have lost its second
half. In line 2 the word rendered "has happened" is doubtful.
The manuscript does not indicate the speaker of lines 3-4, and
a few editors assign them to Borgny herself.
5. The manuscript does not indicate the speakers. For the
ivoman: conjectural; the manuscript has instead: "What warrior
now hath worked this woe?" The manuscript indicates line 3
as beginning a new stanza. Line 5, apparently modeled on line
4 of stanza 13, is probably spurious.
[ 471 ]
Poetic Edda
With magic Oddrun and mightily Oddrun
Chanted for Borgny potent charms.
7. At last were born a boy and girl,
Son and daughter of Hogni's slayer;
Then speech the woman so weak began,
Nor said she aught ere this she spake :
8. "So may the holy ones thee help,
Frigg and Freyja and favoring gods,
As thou hast saved me from sorrow now."
Oddrun spake:
9. "I came not hither to help thee thus
Because thou ever my aid didst earn;
I fulfilled the oath that of old I swore.
That aid to all I should ever bring,
(When they shared the wealth the warriors
had)."
6. Charms: cf. Sigrdrifumol, 8.
7. Hogni's slayer: obviously Vilmund, but unless he was the
one of Atli's followers who actually cut out Hogni's heart (cf.
Drap Niflunga), there is nothing else to connect him with Hogni's
death. Sijmons emends the line to read "Born of the sister of
Hogni's slayer."
8. Regarding Frigg as a goddess of healing cf. Svipdagsmol,
52, note. Regarding Freyja as the friend of lovers cf. Grimnis-
mol, 14, note. A line is very possibly missing from this stanza.
9. The manuscript does not name the speaker. In line 2 the
word rendered "earn" is omitted in the manuscript, but nearly
all editions have supplied it. Line 5 is clearly either interpolated
or out of place. It may be all that is left of a stanza which
stood between stanzas 15 and 16, or it may belong in stanza la.
[472]
Oddrunargratr
Borgny spake:
10. "Wild art thou, Oddrun, and witless now,
That so in hatred to me thou speakest ;
I followed thee where thou didst fare,
As we had been born of brothers twain."
Oddrun spake:
11. "I remember the evil one eve thou spakest,
When a draught I gave to Gunnar then ;
Thou didst say that never such a deed
By maid was done save by me alone."
12. Then the sorrowing woman sat her down
To tell the grief of her troubles great.
I0-20. In the manuscript the order is as follows: 12; 13; 14;
15, 3-4; 10; 11; 16; 17; 18; 19, 1-2; IS, 1-2; 19, 3-4; 20. The
changes made here, following several of the editions, are: (a)
the transposition of stanzas 10-11, which are clearly dialogue,
out of the body of the lament to a position just before it; (b)
the transposition of lines 1-2 of stanza 15 to their present position
from the middle of stanza 19.
10. The manuscript does not name the speaker; cf. note on
stanzas 10-20.
11. The manuscript does not name the speaker; cf. note on
stanzas 10-20. The word rendered "evil" in line 1 is a con-
jectural addition. Apparently Borgny was present at Atli's court
while the love affair between Oddrun and Gunnar was in
progress, and criticised Oddrun for her part in it. A draught,
etc.: apparently in reference to a secret meeting of the lovers.
12. In the manuscript this stanza follows stanza 9; cf. note
on stanzas 10-20. No gap is indicated, but something has pre-
sumably been lost. Grundtvig supplies as a first line: "The maid
her evil days remembered," and inserts as a second line
line 5 of stanza 9.
[473]
Poetic Edda
13. "Happy I grew in the hero's hall
As the warriors wished, and they loved me well;
Glad I was of my father's gifts,
For winters five, while my father lived.
14. "These were the words the weary king,
Ere he died, spake last of all:
He bade me with red gold dowered to be,
And to Grimhild's son in the South be wedded.
15. "But Brynhild the helm he bade to wear,
A wish-maid bright he said she should be ;
For a nobler maid would never be born
On earth, he said, if death should spare her.
16. "At her weaving Brynhild sat in her bower,
Lands and folk alike she had;
13. The manuscript indicates line 3 as the beginning of a
new stanza; many editions combine lines 1-2 with stanza iz and
lines 3-4 with lines 1-2 of stanza 14. The hero: Buthli, father
of Oddrun, Atli, and Brynhild.
14. The manuscript indicates line 3, but not line i, as the
beginning of a new stanza ; some editions combine lines 3-4 with
lines 3-4 of stanza 15. Making Buthli plan the marriage of
Oddrun and Gunnar may be a sheer invention of the poet, or
may point to an otherwise lost version of the legend.
15. Lines 1-2 have here been transposed from the middle of
stanza 19; cf. note on stanzas 10-20. IVish-maid: a Valkyrie,
so called because the Valkyries fullfilled Othin's wish in choosing
the slain heroes for Valhall. The reference to Brynhild as a
Valkyrie by no means fits with the version of the story used in
stanzas 16-17, and the poet seems to have attempted to combine
the two contradictory traditions; cf. Fafnismol, note on stanza
44. In the manuscript stanzas 10- 11 follow line 4 of stanza 15.
[474]
Oddrunargratr
The earth and heaven high resounded
When Fafnir's slayer the city saw.
17. "Then battle was fought with the foreign swords,
And the city was broken that Brynhild had ;
Not long thereafter, but all too soon,
Their evil wiles full well she knew.
18. "Woeful for this her vengeance was,
As so we learned to our sorrow all;
In every land shall all men hear
How herself at Sigurth's side she slew.
19. "Love to Gunnar then I gave,
To the breaker of rings, as Brynhild might;
To Atli rings so red they offered.
And mighty gifts to my brother would give.
16. In stanzas 16-17 the underlying story seems to be the
one used in Sigurtharkvitha en skamma (particularly stanzas
32-39), and referred to in Guthrunarkvitha I, 24, wherein
Gunnar and Sigurth lay siege to Atli's city (it here appears as
Brynhild's) and are bought off only by Atli's giving Brynhild
to Gunnar as wife, winning her consent thereto by falsely repre-
senting to her that Gunnar is Sigurth. This version is, of course,
utterly at variance with the one in which Sigurth wins Brynhild
for Gunnar by riding through the ring of flames, and is probably
more closely akin to the early German traditions. In the Nibelun-
genlied Brynhild appears as a queen ruling over lands and
peoples. Fafnir's slayer: Sigurth.
17. Cf. note on preceding stanza.
18. Cf. Sigurtharkvitha en skamma, stanzas 64-70.
19. In the manuscript lines 1-2 of stanza 15 follow line 2,
resulting in various conjectural combinations. The manuscript
marks line 3 as beginning a new stanza. Rings, etc.: possibly, as
[475]
Poetic Edda
20. "Fifteen dwellings fain would he give
For me, and the burden that Grani bore ;
But Atli said he would never receive
Marriage gold from Gjuki's son.
21. "Yet could we not our love o'ercome,
And my head I laid on the hero's shoulder;
Many there were of kinsmen mine
Who said that together us they had seen.
22. "Atli said that never I
Would evil plan, or ill deed do;
But none may this of another think,
Or surely speak, when love is shared.
23. "Soon his men did Atli send.
In the murky wood on me to spy;
Thither they came where they should not come,
Where beneath one cover close we lay.
24. "To the warriors ruddy rings we offered,
That nought to Atli e'er they should say ;
Gering maintains, payment offered by Gunnar and Hogni for
Brynhild's death, but more probably, as in stanza 20, Gunnar's
proffered "marriage gold" for the hand of Oddrun.
20. Grani's burden: the treasure won by Sigurth from Fafnir;
cf. Fafnismol, concluding prose. The manuscript marks line 3 as
beginning a new stanza, as also in stanzas 21 and 22.
23. Murky wood: the forest which divided Atli's realm from
that of the Gjukungs is in Atlakvitha, 3, called Myrkwood.
This hardly accords with the extraordinary geography of stanzas
28-29, or '""ith the journey described in Guthrunarkvitha II, 36.
[476]
Oddrunargratr
But swiftly home they hastened thence,
And eager all to Atli told.
25. "But close from Guthrun kept they hid
What first of all she ought to have known.
26. "Great was the clatter of gilded hoofs
When Gjuki's sons through the gateway rode;
The heart they hewed from Hogni then,
And the other they cast in the serpents' cave.
27. "The hero wise on his harp then smote,
For help from me in his heart yet hoped
The high-born king, might come to him.
24. In the manuscript lines 3 and 4 stand in reversed order.
25. No gap is indicated in the manuscript; some editors
assume the loss not onlj' of two lines, but of an additional
stanza. Evidently Guthrun has already become Atli's wife.
26. If a stanza has been lost after stanza 25, it may well
have told of Atli's treacherous invitation to the Gjukungs to
visit him; cf. Drap Niflunga, which likewise tells of the slaying
of Hogni and Gunnar {the other).
27. In the manuscript these three lines follow line 2 of stanza
28. No gap is indicated in the manuscript. In the Volsungasaga
Guthrun gives her brother the harp, with which he puts the
serpents to sleep. The episode is undoubtedly related to the
famous thirtieth Aventiure of the Nibelungenlied, in which
Volker plays the followers of Gunther to sleep before the final
battle.
[477]
Poetic Edda
28. "Alone was I gone to Geirmund then,
The draught to mix and ready to make ;
Sudden I heard from HIesey clear
How in sorrow the strings of the harp resounded.
29. "I bade the serving-maids ready to be,
For I longed the hero's life to save ;
Across the sound the boats we sailed,
Till we saw the whole of Atli's home.
30. "Then crawling the evil woman came,
Atli's mother — may she ever rot!
28. In the manuscript the three lines of stanza 27 follow line
2, and line 3 is marked as beginning a new stanza. Geirmund:
nothing further is known of him, but he seems to be an ally
or retainer of Atli, or possibly his brother. HIesey: the poet's
geography is here in very bad shape. HIesey is (or may be)
the Danish island of Laso, in the Kattegat (cf. Harbarthsljoth,
37 and note), and thither he has suddenly transported not only
Gunnar's death-place but Atli's whole dwelling (cf. stanza 29),
despite his previous references to the ride to Hunland (stanzas
3-4) and the "murky wood" (stanza 23). Geirmund's home,
where Oddrun has gone, is separated from HIesey and Atli's
dwelling by a sound (stanza 29). However, geographical accu-
racy is seldom to be looked for in heroic epic poetry.
29. Many editions combine this stanza with lines 3-4 of stanza
28. The sound: cf. note on stanza 28.
30. The manuscript marks line 3 as beginning a new stanza.
Atli's mother: the Volsungasaga does not follow this version;
Gunnar puts all the serpents but one to sleep with his harp
playing, "but a mighty and evil adder crawled to him and drove
his fangs into him till they reached his heart, and so he died."
It is possible that "Atli" is a scribal error for a word meaning
"of serpents."
[478]
Oddrunargratr
And hard she bit to Gunnar's heart,
So I could not help the hero brave.
31. "Oft have I wondered how^ after this,
Serpents'-bed goddess! I still might live.
For M^ell I loved the vi^arrior brave,
The giver of sw^ords, as my very self.
32. "Thou didst see and listen, the w^hile I said
The mighty grief that was mine and theirs;
Each man lives as his longing wills, —
Oddrun's lament is ended now."
31. Serpents'-bed goddess: woman (i, e., Borgny) ; "goddess
of gold" was a frequent term for a woman, and gold was often
called the "serpents' bed" (cf. Guthrunarkvitha I, 24 and note).
32. Some editions make line 4 a statement of the poet's, and
not part of Oddrun's speech.
[479j
V
ATLAKVITHA EN GRONLENZKA
The Greenland Lay of Atli
Introductory Note
There are two Atli poems in the Codex Regius, the Ailakvitha
{Lay of Atli) and the Atlamol (Ballad of Atli). The poems
are not preserved or quoted in any other old manuscript, but
they were extensively used by the compilers of the Vohung-
asaga. In the manuscript superscription to each of these poems
appears the word "Greenland," which has given rise to a large
amount of argument. The scribe was by no means infallible,
and in this case his statement proves no more than that in the
period round 1300 there was a tradition that these two poems
originated in the Greenland settlement.
The two Atli poems deal with substantially the same
material: the visit of the sons of Gjuki to Atli's court, their
deaths, and the subsequent revenge of their sister, Guthrun,
Atli's wife, on her husband. The shorter of the two, the Atla-
hvitha, tells the story with little elaboration; the Atlamol, with
about the same narrative basis, adds many details, some of them
apparently of the poet's invention, and with a romantic, not to
say sentimental, quality quite lacking in the Atlakvitha. Both
poems are sharply distinguished from the rest of the collection
by their metrical form, which is the Malahattr (used irregularly
also in the Harbarthsljoth), employed consistently and smoothly
in the Atlamol, and with a considerable mixture of what appear
to be Fornyrthislag lines (cf. Introduction) in the Atlakvitha.
It is altogether probable that both poems belong to the elev-
enth century, the shorter Atlakvitha being generally dated from
the first quarter thereof, and the longer Atlamol some fifty years
or more later. In each case the poet was apparently a Christian ;
in the Atlamol (stanza 82) Guthrun expresses her readiness to
die and "go into another light," and in the Atlakvitha there is
frequent use of mythological names (e.g., Valhall, Hlithskjolf)
with an evident lack of understanding of their relation to the
older gods. These facts fit the theory of a Greenland origin ex-
ceedingly well, for the Greenland settlement grew rapidly after
the first explorations of Eirik the Red, which were in 982-985, and
its most flourishing period was in the eleventh century. The
internal evidence, particularly in the case of the Atlamol, points
[480]
Atlakvitha
likewise to an origin remote from Iceland, Norway, and the
"Western Isles"; and the two poems are sufficiently alike so that,
despite the efforts of Finnur Jonsson and others to separate them,
assigning one to Greenland and the other to Norway or else-
where, it seems probable that the manuscript statement is correct
in both instances, and that the two Atli poems did actually
originate in Greenland. An interesting account of this Greenland
settlement is given in William Hovgaard's Voyages of the Norse-
men to America, published by the American-Scandinavian Foun-
dation in 1914, and an extraordinarily vivid picture of the suf-
ferings of the early settlers appears in Maurice Hewlett's
Thorgils, taken from the Floamannasaga.
From the standpoint of narrative material there is little that
is distinctively Norse in either the Atlakvitha or the Atlamol.
The story is the one outlined in the prose Drap Niflunga (largely
based on these two poems), representing almost exclusively the
southern blending of the Attila and Burgundian legends (cf.
introductory note to Gripisspo). In the Atlakvitha, indeed, the
word "Burgundians" is actually used. Brynhild is not mentioned
in either poem; Sigurth's name appears but once, in the Atlamol.
Thus the material goes directly back to its South-Germanic
origins, with little of the Northern making-over which resulted
in such extensive changes in most parts of the Sigurth story. The
general atmosphere, on the other hand, particularly in the
Atlamol, is essentially Norse.
As has been said, the Atlakvitha is metrically in a chaotic
state, the normal Malahattr lines being frequently interspersed
with lines and even stanzas which apparently are of the older
Fornyrthislag type. How much of this confusion is due to faulty
transmission is uncertain, but it has been suggested that the com-
poser of the Atlakvitha made over in Malahattr an older Atli
poem in Fornyrthislag, and this suggestion has much to recom-
mend it. That he worked on the basis of an older poem is,
indeed, almost certain, for in oral prose tradition a far larger
number of distinctively Norse traits would unquestionably have
crept in than are found in the material of the Atlakvitha. As for
the Atlamol, here again the poet seems to have used an older
poem as his basis, possibly the Atlakvitha itself, although in that
case he must have had other material as well, for there are
frequent divergences in such matters as proper names.
The translation of the Atlakvitha is rendered peculiarly diffi-
[481]
Poetic Edda
cult by the irregularity of the metre, by the evident faultiness of
the transmission, and above all by the exceptionally large number
of words found nowhere else in Old Norse, involving much
guesswork as to their meanings. The notes do not attempt to
indicate all the varying suggestions made by editors and com-
mentators as to the reconstruction of defective stanzas and the
probable meanings of obscure passages; in cases which are
purely or largely guesswork the notes merely point out the uncer-
tainty without cataloguing the proposed solutions.
Guthrun, Gjuki's daughter, avenged her brothers, as
has become well known. She slew first Atli's sons, and
thereafter she slew Atli, and burned the hall with his
whole company. Concerning this was the following
poem made:
I. Atli sent of old to Gunnar
A keen-witted rider, Knef roth did men call him ;
To Gjuki's home came he and to Gunnar's dwell-
ing,
With benches round the hearth, and to the beer
so sweet.
Prose. On the marriage of Guthrun to Atli at the instigation
of her brothers, Gunnar and Hogni, and on the slaying of Atli
and his two sons, Erp and Eitll, cf. Drap Niflunga and note.
I. Line i apparently is in Fornyrthislag. Knef roth (the name
is spelt in various ways, and its meaning is uncertain) : in the
Atlamol (stanza 4) there are two messengers, one named Vingi
and the other unnamed ; the annotator combines the two versions
in the Drap Niflunga. Benches, etc.: the adjective rendered
"round the hearth," which etymologically it ought to mean, is
made obscure by its application to "helmets" in stanzas 3 and 17.
I482J
Atlakvitha
2. Then the followers, hiding their falseness, all
drank
Their wine in the war-hall, of the Huns* wrath
wary;
And Knefroth spake loudly, his words were
crafty,
The hero from the south, on the high bench sit-
ting:
3. "Now Atli has sent me his errand to ride.
On my bit-champing steed through Myrkwood
the secret,
To bid you, Gunnar, to his benches to come,
With helms round the hearth, and Atli's home
seek.
4. "Shields shall ye choose there, and shafts made
of ash-wood.
Gold-adorned helmets, and slaves out of Hun-
land,
2. Falseness: i.e., Gunnar's followers concealed their fear
and hatred of the Huns at the feast; but the word may mean
"fear of treachery." War-hall: the word used is "Valhall," the
name of Othin's hall of slain warriors.
3. Myrkivood the secret (the adjective is literally "unknown") :
the forest which divided Atli's realm from that of the Gjukungs;
cf. Oddrunargratr, 23 and note. Around the hearth: the adjective
is the same one which is applied to "benches" in stanza i (cf.
note) ; it may be an error here, or it may possibly have the force
of "of your followers," i.e., Gunnar is to arm Ihe men of his
household (those who are round his hearth) for the journey.
4. Slaves, etc.: some editions have "swords in plenty." Scar-
let: the word apparently means "slaughter-red," "blood-red," but
it may mean something entirely different.
[483]
Poetic Edda
Silver-gilt saddle-cloths, shirts of bright scarlet,
With lances and spears too, and bit-champing
steeds.
5. "The field shall be given you of wide Gnita-
heith,
With loud-ringing lances, and stems gold-o'er-
laid,
Treasures full huge, and the home of Danp,
And the mighty forest that Myrkwood is called."
6. His head turned Gunnar, and to Hogni he said :
"What thy counsel, young hero, when such things
we hear?
No gold do I know on Gnitaheith lying
So fair that other its equal we have not.
7. "We have seven halls, each of swords is full.
5. Gnitaheith: here the dragon Fafnir had his lair (cf.
Gripisspo, 11). Sigurth doubtless owned it after Fafnir's death,
and the Gjukungs after they had killed Sigurth. Possibly they
had given it to Atli in recompense for the death of his sister,
Brynhild, and he now offered to restore it to them, or — as seems
more likely — the poet was not very clear about its ownership
himself. Stems: i.e., the gilded stems of ships, carved like dragons,
— an evident northern touch, if the word is correct, which is by
no means certain. Danp: this name was early applied to a myth-
ical Danish king (cf. Rigsthula, 49 and note), but it may have
been fabricated by error out of the word "Danparstajjir" (the
phrase here used is "staj^i Danpar"), used in the Hervararsaga
of a field of battle between the Goths and the Huns, and quite
possibly referring to the region of the Dnieper. The name seems
to have clung *o the Atli tradition long after it had lost all defi-
nite significance. Myrkwood: cf. note on stanza 3.
[484]
Atlakvitha
(And all of gold is the hilt of each;)
My steed is the swiftest, my sword is sharpest,
My bows adorn benches, my byrnies are golden,
My helm is the brightest that came from Kjar's
hall,
(Mine own is better than all the Huns' treas-
ure.)"
Hogni spake :
8. "What seeks she to say, that she sends us a ring,
Woven with a wolf's hair? methinks it gives
warning ;
In the red ring a hair of the heath-dweller
found I,
Wolf-like shall our road be if we ride on this
journey."
9. Not eager were his comrades, nor the men of his
kin.
7. The stanza is clearly in bad shape; the manuscript indi-
cates line 5 as beginning a new stanza. In line 5 the manuscript
has "and shield" after "helm." Kjar: Gering ingeniously identifies
this Kjar with Kjar the father of Olrun, mentioned in the
Volundarkvitha, introductory prose and stanza 2, on the basis
of a genealogy in the Flateyjarbok, in which Authi, the grand-
father of Kjar (by no means certainly the same man) and
Buthli, father of Atli, are mentioned as making a raiding voyage
together. This identification, however, rests on slight evidence.
8. The manuscript does not name the speaker. One editor
gives the first sentence to Gunnar. She, etc.: Guthrun, seeking to
warn her brothers of Atli's treachery, sends them a ring with a
wolf's hair as a sign of danger; in the Atlamol (stanza 4) she
sends a message written in runes; cf. Drap Niflunga. Heath-
diveller: wolf.
[485]
Poetic Edda
The wise nor the wary, nor the warriors bold.
But Gunnar spake forth as befitted a king,
Noble in the beer-hall, and bitter his scorn :
10. "Stand forth now, Fjornir! and hither on the
floor
The beakers all golden shalt thou bring to the
warriors.
II. "The wolves then shall rule the wealth of the
Niflungs,
Wolves aged and grey-hued, if Gunnar is lost,
And black-coated bears with rending teeth bite,
And make glad the dogs, if Gunnar returns not."
9. In line i the manuscript has "His comrades did not urge
Gunnar," but the name, involving a metrical error, seems to
have been inserted through a scribal blunder.
10. The manuscript indicates no lacuna, but probably two
lines have dropped out, for the Volsungasaga paraphrase runs:
"Give us to drink in great cups, for it may well be that this
shall be our last feast." Fjornir: Gunnar's cup-bearer.
11. Bugge thinks this stanza is spoken by Gunnar's terrified
followers; Grundtvig assigns it to Hogni. Apparently, however,
Gunnar means that if he and his men are not valiant enough to
make the journey and return safely, it matters little what may
happen to them. Niflungs: regarding the application of this name
to Gunnar's Burgundians cf. Brot, 17 and note. Bears: these
"black" bears have been used as arguments against the Green-
land origin of the poem. And make glad the dogs: i.e., by giving
them corpses to eat, but the phrase in the original is more than
doubtful.
[486]
Atlakvitha
12. A following gallant fared forth with the ruler,
Yet they wept as their home with the hero they
left;
And the little heir of Hogni called loudly :
"Go safe now, ye wise ones, wherever ye will!"
13. Then let the bold heroes their bit-champing
horses
On the mountains gallop, and through Myrk-
wood the secret;
All Hunland was shaken where the hard-souled
ones rode,
On the whip-fearers fared they through fields
that were green.
14. Then they saw Atli's halls, and his watch-towers
high,
12. Some editions in line 2 read "home of the Niflungs" in-
stead of "their home," and others "home of the Huns," the manu-
script reading being "home of the men." Heir: the Atlamol
(stanza 28) names two sons of Hogni, Snaevar and Solar, both
of whom make the journey with their father and are killed. The
Volsungasaga, combining the two versions, says that Snasvar and
Solar went with their father, and implies that it was a third and
still younger son who said: "Farewell, and have a good time"
(thus literally).
13. Myrkivood: cf. stanza 3 and note; the journey is here
made by land, whereas in the Atlamol it is made partly by boat;
cf. Atlamol, 34 and note. JV hip-fearers: horses, but there is some
uncertainty as to the word.
14. In line 1 the manuscript has "land" instead of "halls,"
which involves a metrical error. Watch-toivers: the word used is
identical with the name of Othin's watch-tower, Hlithskjolf (cf.
Grimnismol, introductory prose). Buthli: the manuscript has
"Bikki," which has. led some editors to transfer this stanza to
*[487]
Poetic Edda
On the walls so lofty stood the warriors of
Buthli;
The hall of the southrons with seats was sur-
rounded,
With targets bound and shields full bright.
15. Mid weapons and lances did Atli his wine
In the war-hall drink, without were his watch-
men.
For Gunnar they waited, if forth he should go,
With their ringing spears they would fight with
the ruler.
16. This their sister saw, as soon as her brothers
Had entered the hall, — little ale had she drunk:
"Betrayed art thou, Gunnar! what guard hast
thou, hero,
'Gainst the plots of the Huns ? from the hall flee
swiftly !
17. "Brother, 'twere far better to have come in
byrnie,
With thy household helmed, to see Atli's home,
the Hamthesmol, placing it between stanzas 16 and 17; it seems
more likely, however, that "Bikki" was a scribal error for
"Buthli." Regarding Bikki of. Sigurtharkvitha en skamma, 63 and
note. Line 4 is apparently in Fornyrthislag.
15. Line 1 in the manuscript is apparently incorrectly copied,
and some editions omit "Mid weapons and lances" and assume a
gap in either line i or line 3.
17. This may be the remains of two stanzas; the manuscript
marks line 5 as beginning a new stanza. Editorial conjectures are
[488]
Atlakvitha
And to sit in the saddle all day 'neath the sun,
(That the sword-norns might weep for the
death-pale warriors,
And the Hunnish shield-maids might shun not
the sword,)
And send Atli himself to the den of the snakes;
( Now the den of the snakes for thee is destined. ) "
Gunnar spake:
1 8.
"Too late is it, sister, to summon the Niflungs,
Long is it to come to the throng of our comrades.
The heroes gallant, from the hills of the Rhine."
19. Then Gunnar they seized, and they set him in
chains,
numerous and varied. Household: the phrase is the same "helms
round the hearth" commented on in stanza 3. Some editions insert
a conjectural line after line 3. Sivord-norns, etc.: the line is ex-
ceedingly obscure, and the phrase rendered "sword-norns" may
mean "corpse-norns." Apparently it refers to the warrior-women
of the Huns, the "shield-maids" of line 5 and of stanza 45.
Roman writers refer to the warrior-women among the early
Germanic tribes, and the tradition, closely allied to that of the
Valkyries, attached itself readily to the ferocious Huns. Den of
snakes: concerning the manner of Gunnar's death cf. Drap
Niflunga.
18. The manuscript indicates no lacuna and does not name
the speaker; perhaps a line similar to line 1 of stanza 24 (or 26)
should be inserted here. Rhine: Gunnar's Burgundian home is
here clearly localized. After this stanza it is probable that a
passage describing the battle has been lost.
19. These two lines, apparently the remains of a full stanza,
[489]
Poetic Edda
The Burgundians' king, and fast they bound him.
20. Hogni slew seven with sword so keen,
And an eighth he flung in the fire hot ;
A hero should fight with his foemen thus,
As Hogni strove in Gunnar's behalf.
21.
The leader they asked if his life he fain
With gold would buy, the king of the Goths.
Gunnar spake:
22. "First the heart of Hogni shall ye lay in my
hands.
may belong after stanza 20. Burgundians' king: the phrase may
mean "Burgundians' men," i.e., they bound all the Burgundians
who were left alive after the battle. This is the only place in
the poems in which the name "Burgundian" appears; that the
poet had no very clear conception of its meaning is indicated by
the fact that in stanza 21 he calls Gunnar "king of the Goths."
20. Apparently a Fornyrthislag stanza, though most editions
have attempted to expand the lines into Malahattr. The exploits
of Hogni (Hagene), with the names of many of his victims, are
told in the Nibelungenlied. The fire: in the Nibelungenlied
Kriemhild has the hall set on fire, and the Burgundians fight
amid the flames. Line 4 is clearly defective, and some editors
regard the name "Gunnar" as all that is left of the first two
lines of stanza 21.
21. Again apparently the remains of a Fornyrthislag stanza.
Editors have attempted various combinations of the lines. Gold:
presumably Sigurth's treasure.
22. The manuscript does not indicate the speaker; perhaps
a first line similar to line i of stanza 24 should appear here.
Some editors, however, assume that a line is missing after line 3.
[4901
23-
Atlakvitha
All bloody from the breast of the bold one cut
With keen-biting sword, from the son of the
king."
They cut out the heart from the breast of Hjalli,
On a platter they bore it, and brought it to
Gunnar.
24. Then Gunnar spake forth, the lord of the folk:
"Here have I the heart of HjaUi the craven,
Unlike to the heart of Hogni the valiant,
For it trembles still as it stands on the platter;
Twice more did it tremble in the breast of the
man."
25. Then Hogni laughed when they cut out the heart
Of the living helm-hammerer; tears he had not.
On a platter they bore it, and brought it to
Gunnar.
Gunnar demands proof that Hogni is dead because, as stanza 28
shows, he is unwilling to die himself until he is assured that the
secret of the treasure will perish with him. He did not, of course,
intend that the heart should be cut from the living Hogni.
23. Most editions assume a gap (lines 1-2, 2-3 or 3-4). Hjalli:
Atli's cook, killed to deceive Gunnar, as Atli hoped to wring the
secret of the hoard from Hogni if Gunnar remained silent. In
the Atlamol (stanzas 59-60) Atli's men prepare to kill Hjalli,
but he is spared at Hogni's intercession.
25. Helm-hammerer (literally "helmet-smith") : warrior, i.e.,
Hogni. No gap indicated in the manuscript.
[491]
Poetic Edda
26. Then Gunnar spake forth, the spear of the
Niflungs:
"Here have I the heart of Hogni the valiant,
Unlike to the heart of Hjalli the craven.
Little it trembles as it lies on the platter.
Still less did it tremble when it lay in his breast.
27. "So distant, Atli, from all men's eyes,
Shalt thou be as thou from the gold.
28. "To no one save me is the secret known
Of the Niflungs' hoard, now Hogni is dead ;
Of old there were two, while we twain were
alive,
Now is none but I, for I only am living.
29. "The swift Rhine shall hold the strife-gold of
heroes.
That once was the gods', the wealth of the
Niflungs,
26. Line 1 may belong elsewhere (stanzas 18 or 22).
27. Apparently the remains of two Fornyrthislag lines; the
manuscript combines them with lines 1-2 of stanza 28. Gunnar
foretells Atli's speedy death.
28. Apparently in Fornyrthislag. The manuscript indicates
line 3 as the beginning of a stanza, and many editions combine
lines 3-4 with stanza 29. This stanza explains Gunnar's demand
for Hogni's heart in stanza 22.
29. The manuscript marks line 3, and not line i, as the begin-
ning of a stanza. Rhine, etc.: the stanza shows the blending of
[492]
Atlakvitha
In the depths of the waters the death-rings shall
glitter,
And not shine on the hands of the Hunnish men."
Atli spake:
30. "Ye shall bring the wagon, for now is he bound."
31. On the long-maned Glaum rode Atli the great,
About him were warriors
But Guthrun, akin to the gods of slaughter,
Yielded not to her tears in the hall of tumult.
three different traditions with regard to the treasure: the German
tradition of the gold of the Rhine (cf. Volundarkvitha, 16, and
Sigurtharkvitha en skamma, 16), the tradition, likewise German,
of the hoard of the Nibelungen (Niflungs), early blended with
the first one, and finally the northern tradition of the theft of
Andvari's treasure by Othin, Honir, and Loki (cf. Reginsmol,
1-9).
30. Apparently all that is left of a full stanza. The manu-
script does not name Atli as the speaker, and Grundtvig inserts:
"Then Atli called, the king of the Huns," as a first line. Some
editors combine this line with the two lines of stanza 33, Wagon:
in Brot, 16, Gunnar is led to his death in the serpents' den on
horseback, not in a wagon.
31. The stanza in the original is hopelessly confused. Glaum:
this horse of Atli's is mentioned by name elsewhere. Long-maned:
uncertain. The manuscript indicates no gap, but something has
evidently been lost. Gods of slaughter: perhaps the phrase,
usually applied to Othin and the other gods, is here used simply
to mean "heroes," i.e., Atli, Gunnar, and Hogni. Line 4 suggests
Guthrun's tearlessness after Sigurth's death (cf. Guthrunarkvitha
n. II).
[493]
Poetic Edda
Guthrun spake:
32. "It shall go with thee, Atli, as with Gunnar thou
heldest
The oaths ofttimes sworn, and of old made firm.
By the sun in the south, by Sigtyr's mountain,
By the horse of the rest-bed, and the ring of Ull."
33. Then the champer of bits drew the chieftain great.
The gold-guarder, down to the place of death.
34. By the warriors' host was the living hero
Cast in the den where crawling about
Within were serpents, but soon did Gunnar
With his hand in wrath on the harp-strings
smite ;
32. The manuscript does not indicate the speaker. Sigtyr
("Victory-God"): Othin ; what particular mountain (if any) is
meant is unknown. Horse of the rest-bed: probably this means
"bedpost," i.e., the support of the marriage-bed. Ull: the archer-
god, cf. Grimnismol, 5 and note. Nothing is known of his ring.
33. Apparently the remains of a Fornyrthislag stanza. Some
editors combine the two lines with the line here indicated as
stanza 30. Champer of bits: horse. The manuscript indicates no
gap-
34. Six Fornyrthislag lines which editors have tried to recon-
struct in all sorts of ways. The manuscript marks line 5 as the
beginning of a new stanza. Regarding the serpents' den, Gunnar's
harp-playing, and the manner of his death, cf. Drop Niflunga
and Oddruftargratr, 27-30, and notes. In Atlamol, 62, Gunnar
plays the harp with his feet, his hands being bound, and some
editors change hand in line 4 to "foot." Lines 5-6 may be inter-
polated, or, as Bugge maintains, lines 1-4 may have been
expanded out of two lines.
[494]
Atlakvitha
The strings resounded, — so shall a hero,
A ring-breaker, gold from his enemies guard.
35. Then Atli rode on his earth-treading steed,
Seeking his home, from the slaughter-place;
There was clatter of hoofs of the steeds in the
court,
And the clashing of arms as they came from the
field.
36. Out then came Guthrun to meeting with Atli,
With a golden beaker as gift to the monarch :
"Thou mayst eat now, chieftain, within thy
dwelhng,
Blithely with Guthrun young beasts fresh
slaughtered."
37. The wine-heavy ale-cups of Atli resounded.
When there in the hall the Hunnish youths clam-
ored.
And the warriors bearded, the brave ones, entered.
35. The manuscript marks line 3 as beginning a new stanza.
Two (possibly three) of the lines appear to be in Fornyrthislag.
Field: so the manuscript, involving a metrical error; many
editions have "wood."
36. Young beasts: Guthrun means Atli's sons, Erp and Eitil,
but of course he thinks she refers to newly slaughtered beasts;
of. Guthrunarkvitha II, 41-45.
37. Youths: a conjectural addition. T/ie braie ones is also
conjectural, the manuscript having "each." No gap indicated in
the manuscript; some editions insert as line 3 or line 4 a slightly
altered version of line 2 of stanza 45.
[495]
Poetic Edda
38. Then in came the shining one,
and drink she bore them;
Unwilling and bitter brought she food to the
warrior,
Till in scorn to the white-faced Atli did she
speak :
39. "Thou giver of swords, of thy sons the hearts
All heavy with blood in honey thou hast eaten;
Thou shalt stomach, thou hero, the flesh of the
slain,
To eat at thy feast, and to send to thy followers.
40. "Thou shalt never call to thy knees again
Erp or Eitil, when merry with ale;
Thou shalt never see in their seats again
The sharers of gold their lances shaping,
(Clipping the manes or minding their steeds.)"
41. There was clamor on the benches, and the cry
of men,
38. No gap indicated in the manuscript, but the two fragments
cannot be fitted together as one line. The shining one: Guthrun.
39. Giver of swords: generous prince, i.e., Atli. Honey: cf.
Guthrunarkvitha II, 42. To send to thy folloivers: literally, "to
send from thy high seat."
40. Apparently a Fornyrthislag stanza. Merry iviih ale: pre-
sumably this refers to Atli, but the manuscript reading makes it
apply to the two boys. Sharers of gold: princes. Line 5 is either
interpolated or all that is left of a separate stanza.
41. The text of the whole stanza has required a considerable
amount of emendation. Lines 3-5 may have been expanded out of
two lines, or line 5 may be an interpolation, possibly from stanza
[496]
Atlakvitha
The clashing of weapons, and weeping of the
Huns,
Save for Guthrun only, she wept not ever
For her bear-fierce brothers, or the boys so dear,
So young and so unhappy, whom with Atli she
had.
42. Gold did she scatter, the swan-white one,
And rings of red gold to the followers gave she ;
The fate she let grow, and the shining wealth go.
Nor spared she the treasure of the temple itself.
43. Unwise then was Atli, he had drunk to wildness.
No weapon did he have, and of Guthrun bewared
not;
Oft their play was better when both in gladness
Each other embraced among princes all.
44. With her sword she gave blood for the bed to
drink,
12 of the Guthrunarhvot. Weapons: the word literally means
"good-weaving," and may refer to silken garments, but this
hardly fits the noun here rendered "clashing." JVept not: cf,
stanza 31 and note.
42. Line i appears to be in Fornyrthislag. Guthrun distributes
Atli's treasures among his followers apparently to prevent their
wrath at the slaying of Erp and Eitil from turning against her ;
Atli, as stanza 43 shows, is too drunk to realize or prevent what
she is doing.
43. The second half of line 4 is apparently an error, but none
of the editorial suggestions have improved it.
44. Guthrun allows the dogs and the house-thralls, who had
no part in Gunnar's death, to escape before she burns the dwell-
[497]
Poetic Edda
With her death-dealing hand, and the hounds she
loosed,
The thralls she awakened, and a firebrand threw
In the door of the hall ; so vengeance she had.
45. To the flames she gave all who yet were within,
And from Myrkheim had come from the murder
of Gunnar;
The timbers old fell, the temple was in flames.
The dwelling of the Buthlungs, and the shield-
maids burned.
They were slain in the house, in the hot flames
they sank.
46. Now the tale is all told, nor in later time
Will a woman in byrnie avenge so her brothers ;
The fair one to three of the kings of the folk
Brought the doom of death ere herself she died.
Still more is told in the Greenland ballad of AtH.
ing with all who are left therein. In Atlamol, stanzas 83-84, Atli
is slain by a son of Hogni (Hniflung?) with Guthrun's help.
45. Some editions transfer line 2 to stanza 37; others reject
line 3 as interpolated. Myrkheim ("Dark-Home"): probably
identical with Myrkwood; cf. stanza 3. Temple: probably both
here and in stanza 42 the word means little more than the place
where Atli's treasures were kept; the poet was by no means
literal in his use of terms connected with the heathen religion,
Buthlungs: sons of Buthli, i.e., Atli and his family. Shield-maids:
cf. stanza 17 and note.
46. The entire stanza is very likely a later addition. Three
kings: Atli and his two sons, Erp and Eitil.
[498]
ATLAMOL EN GRONLENZKU
The Greenland Ballad of Atli
Introductory Note
Many of the chief facts regarding the Atlamol, which follows
the Atlakvitha in the Codex Regius, are outlined in the intro-
ductory note to the earlier Atli lay. That the superscription in
the manuscript is correct, and that the poem was actually com-
posed in Greenland, is generally accepted; the specific reference
to polar bears (stanza 17), and the general color of the entire
poem make this origin exceedingly likely. Most critics, again,
agree in dating the poem nearer iioo than 1050. As to its state
of preservation there is some dispute, but, barring one or two
possible gaps of some importance, and the usual number of
passages in which the interpolation or omission of one or two
lines may be suspected, the Atlamol has clearly come down to us
in fairly good shape.
Throughout the poem the epic quality of the story itself is
overshadowed by the romantically sentimental tendencies of the
poet, and by his desire to adapt the narrative to the understand-
ing of his fellow-Greenlanders. The substance of the poem is
the same as that of the Atlakvitha; it tells of Atli's message to
the sons of Gjuki, their journey to Atli's home, the slaying of
Hogni and Gunnar, Guthrun's bitterness over the death of her
brothers, and her bloody revenge on Atli. Thus in its bare out-
line the Atlamol represents simply the Prankish blending of the
legends of the slaughter of the Burgundians and the death of
Attila (cf. Gripisspo, introductory note). But here the resem-
blance ends. The poet has added characters, apparently of his
own creation, for the sake of episodes which would appeal to
both the men and the women of the Greenland settlement. Sea
voyages take the place of journeys by land; Atli is reproached,
not for cowardice in battle, but for weakness at the Thing or
great council. The additions made by the poet are responsible
for the Atlamol's being the longest of all the heroic poems in
the Eddie collection, and they give it a kind of emotional vivid-
ness, but it has little of the compressed intensity of the older
poems. Its greatest interest lies in its demonstration of the manner
in which a story brought to the North from the South Germanic
lands could be adapted to the understanding and tastes of its
[ 499 ]
Poetic Edda
eleventh century hearers without any material change of the
basic narrative.
In what form or forms the story of the Gjukungs and Atli
reached the Greenland poet cannot be determined, but it seems
likely that he was familiar with older poems on the subject, and
possibly with the Atlakvitha itself. That the details which are
peculiar to the Atlamol, such as the figures of Kostbera and
Glaumvor, existed in earlier tradition seems doubtful, but the
son of Hogni, who aids Guthrun in the slaying of Atli, appears,
though under another name, in other late versions of the story,
and it is impossible to say just how much the poet relied on his
own imagination and how far he found suggestions and hints
in the prose or verse stories of Atli with which he was familiar.
The poem is in Malahattr (cf. Introduction) throughout, the
verse being far more regular than in the Atlakvitha. The com-
pilers of the Volsungasaga evidently knew it in very much the
form in which we now have it, for in the main it is paraphrased
with great fidelity.
1. There are many who know how of old did men
In counsel gather; little good did they get;
In secret they plotted, it was sore for them later,
And for Gjuki's sons, whose trust they deceived.
2. Fate grew for the princes, to death they were
given ;
111 counsel was Atli's, though keenness he had ;
1. Men: Atli and his advisers, with whom he planned the
death of the sons of Gjuki, Gunnar and Hogni. The poet's ref-
erence to the story as well known explains the abruptness of
his introduction, without the mention of Atli's name, and his
reference to Guthrun in stanza 3 simply as "the woman"
("husfreyja," goddess of the house).
2. Princes: Atli, Gunnar, and Hogni. Buliuark: Atli's slaying
[500]
Atlamol
He felled his staunch bulwark, his own sorrow
fashioned,
Soon a message he sent that his kinsmen should
seek him.
3. Wise was the woman, she fain would use wisdom,
She saw well what meant all they said in secret;
From her heart it was hid how help she might
render,
The sea they should sail, while herself she should
go not.
4. Runes did she fashion, but false Vingi made them,
The speeder of hatred, ere to give them he sought ;
Then soon fared the warriors whom Atli had
sent,
And to Limafjord came, to the home of the kings.
5. They were kindly with ale, and fires they kindled.
of his wife's brothers, who were ready to support and defend
him in his greatness, was the cause of his own death.
3. The ivoman: Guthrun, concerning whose marriage to Atli
cf. Guthrunarkvitha II, The sea: a late and essentially Green-
land variation of the geography of the Atli story. Even the
Atlakmtha, perhaps half a century earlier, separates Atli's land
from that of the Gjukungs only by a forest.
4. Runes: on the two versions of Guthrun's warning, and
also on the name of the messenger (here Vingi), cf. Drap
Niflunga and note. Limafjord: probably the Limfjord of north-
ern Jutland, an important point in the wars of the eleventh
century. The name was derived from "Eylimafjpr])," i.e.,
Eylimi's fjord. The poet may really have thought that the king-
dom of the Burgundians was in Jutland, or he may simply have
taken a well-known name for the sake of vividness.
[501]
Poetic Edda
They thought not of craft from the guests who
had come ;
The gifts did they take that the noble one gave
them,
On the pillars they hung them, no fear did they
harbor.
6. Forth did Kostbera, wife of Hogni, then come.
Full kindly she was, and she welcomed them
both;
And glad too was Glaumvor, the wife of Gunnar,
She knew well to care for the needs of the guests.
7. Then Hogni they asked if more eager he were,
Full clear was the guile, if on guard they had
been;
Then Gunnar made promise, if Hogni would go,
And Hogni made answer as the other counseled.
8. Then the famed ones brought mead, and fair was
the feast.
5. Some editors assume a gap after this stanza.
6. Some editions place this stanza between stanzas 7 and 8.
Kostbera ("The Giver of Food") and Glaumvor ("The
Merry") : presumably creations of the poet. Both: Atli's two
emissaries, Vingi and the one here unnamed (Knefroth ?).
7. It is altogether probable that a stanza has been lost be-
tween stanzas 6 and 7, in which Gunnar is first invited, and
replies doubtfully. Made promise: many editions emend the text
to read "promised the journey." The text of line 4 is obscure;
the manuscript reads "nitti" ("refused"), which many editors
have changed to "hlitti," which means exactly the opposite.
8. No gap is indicated in the manuscript; Bugge adds (line
[502]
Atlamol
Full many were the horns, till the men had drunk
deep ;
Then the mates made ready their beds for rest-
ing.
9. Wise was Kostbera, and cunning in rune-craft,
The letters would she read by the light of the fire ;
But full quickly her tongue to her palate clave,
So strange did they seem that their meaning she
saw not.
10. Full soon then his bed came Hogni to seek.
The clear-souled one dreamed, and her dream
she kept not,
To the warrior the wise one spake when she
wakened :
II. "Thou wouldst go hence, Hogni, but heed my
counsel, —
3) : ''Then the warriors rose, and to slumber made ready."
The manuscript indicates line 4 as beginning a new stanza, and
some editions make a separate stanza out of lines 1-2. Others
suggest the loss of a line after line 4.
9. The manuscript does not indicate line i as the beginning
of a stanza ; cf . note on stanza 8.
10. Some editions combine this stanza with lines i-2 of stanza
II. The manuscript indicates no gap. Grundtvig adds (line 2) :
"But sleep to the woman so wise came little."
11. Some editions make a separate stanza out of lines 1-2, or
combine them with stanza 10, and combine lines 3-4 with stanza
[503]
Poetic Edda
Known to few are the runes, — and put off thy
faring;
I have read now the runes that thy sister wrote,
And this time the bright one did not bid thee to
come.
12. "Full much do I wonder, nor well can I see,
Why the woman wise so wildly hath written;
But to me it seems that the meaning beneath
Is that both shall be slain if soon ye shall go.
But one rune she missed, or else others have
marred it."
Hogni spake:
13. "All women are fearful; not so do I feel,
111 I seek not to find till I soon must avenge it;
The king now will give us the glow-ruddy gold ;
I never shall fear, though of dangers I know."
Kostbera spake:
14. "In danger ye fare, if forth ye go thither.
12 (either lines 1-4 or 1-2). The manuscript marks line 3 as
beginning a new stanza.
12. Line 5 may be spurious, or else all that is left of a lost
stanza. The manuscript marks it as the beginning of a new
stanza, which, as the text stands, is clearly impossible.
13. The manuscript, followed by some editions, has "Hogni
spake" in the middle of line i. ///.' the manuscript and many edi-
tions have "this." The king: Atli.
14. The manuscript does not indicate the speakers in this dia*
logue between Kostbera and Hogni (stanzas 14-19). Two linei
tray possibly have been lost after line 2, filling out stanza 14 and
[504]
Atlamol
No welcoming friendly this time shall ye find ;
For I dreamed now, Hogni, and nought will I
hide,
Full evil thy faring, if rightly I fear.
15. "Thy bed-covering saw I in the flames burning,
And the fire burst high through the walls of my
home."
Hogni spake:
"Yon garment of linen lies little of worth,
It will soon be burned, so thou sawest the bed-
cover."
Kostbera spake:
16. "A bear saw I enter, the pillars he broke.
And he brandished his claws so that craven we
were ;
With his mouth seized he many, and nought was
our might.
And loud was the tumult, not little it was."
making stanza 15 (then consisting of lines 3-4 of stanza 14 and
lines 1-2 of stanza 15) the account of Kostbera's first dream.
The manuscript marks line 3 as beginning a new stanza. In
any case, the lost lines cannot materially have altered the
meaning.
15. Saiv I: the manuscript here, as also in stanzas 16, 18, 21,
22, and 24, has "methought," which involves a metrical error.
Some editors regard lines 3-4 as the remains of a four-line
stanza. Regarding Kostbera's warning dreams, and Hogni's
matter-of-fact interpretations of them, cf. Guthrunarkvitha II,
39-44-
16. The meaning of the first half of line 3 in the original is
obscure.
[505]
Poetic Edda
Hogni spake:
17. "Now a storm is brewing, and wild it grows
swiftly,
A dream of an ice-bear means a gale from the
east."
Kostbera spake:
18. "An eagle I saw flying from the end through the
house,
Our fate must be bad, for with blood he sprin-
kled us;
From the evil I fear that 'twas Atli's spirit."
Hogni spake:
19. "They will slaughter soon, and so blood do we
see,
Oft oxen it means when of eagles one dreams ;
17. Two lines may have been lost after line 2, but the Vol-
sungasaga paraphrase gives no clue. Ice-bear: polar bears, com-
mon in Greenland, are very rarely found in Iceland, and never
in Norway, a fact which substantiates the manuscript's reference
to Greenland as the home of the poem.
18. The manuscript indicates no gap, but most editors assume
the loss of a line after line i or 2; Grundtvig adds, after line i:
"Black were his feathers, with blood was he covered." Atli's
spirit: the poet's folk-lore seems here a bit weak. Presumably he
means such a female following-spirit ("fylgja") as appears in
Helgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar, prose following stanza 34 (cf.
note thereon), but the word he uses, "hamr" (masculine) means
"skin," "shape." He may, however, imply that Atli had assumed
the shape of an eagle for this occasion.
19. The manuscript indicates line 4 as beginning a new
stanza.
[506]
Atlamol
True is Atli's heart, whatever thou dreamest."
Then silent they were, and nought further they
said.
20. The high-born ones wakened, and like speech
they had,
Then did Glaumvor tell how in terror she
dreamed.
Gunnar two roads they should go.
Glaumvor spake:
21. "A gallows saw I ready, thou didst go to thy
hanging.
Thy flesh serpents ate, and yet living I found
thee ;
The gods' doom descended; now say what it
boded."
22. "A sword drawn bloody from thy garments I
saw, —
20. The manuscript indicates no gap, but none of the many
attempted emendations have made sense out of the words as
they stand. The proper location for the missing words is sheer
guesswork. T<wo roads: probably the meaning is that their way
(i.e., their success) would be doubtful.
21. The manuscript does not indicate the speakers in this
dialogue (stanzas 21-26). No gap is indicated after line 2. Most
editors assume the loss of two lines or of a full stanza after
[507]
Poetic Edda
Such a dream is hard to a husband to tell, —
A spear stood, methought, through thy body
thrust,
And at head and feet the wolves were howHng."
Gunnar spake:
23. "The hounds are running, loud their barking is
heard,
Oft hounds' clamor follows the flying of spears."
Glaumvor spake:
24. "A river the length of the hall saw I run,
Full swiftly it roared, o'er the benches it swept;
O'er the feet did it break of ye brothers twain,
The water would yield not; some meaning there
was."
25. "I dreamed that by night came dead women
hither,
stanza 21 giving Gunnar's interpretation of Glaumvor's dream,
but the Volsungasaga gives no clue, as it does not mention this
first dream at all. Grundtvig suggests as Gunnar's answer:
"Banners are gleaming, since of gallows didst dream, / And
wealth it must mean that thou serpents didst watch." Gods'
doom: an odd, and apparently mistaken, use of the phrase
"ragna rok" (cf. Voluspo, introductory note).
23. Perhaps two lines have been lost after line 2. Possibly
the concluding phrase of line 2 should be "bloody spears," as in
the Volsungasaga paraphrase.
24. Again Gunnar's interpretation is missing, and most editors
either assume a gap or construct two Malahattr lines out of the
Volsungasaga prose paraphrase, which runs: "The grain shall
[508]
Atlamol
Sad were their garments, and thee were they
seeking ;
They bade thee come swiftly forth to their
benches,
And nothing, methinks, could the Norns avail
thee."
Gunnar spake:
26. "Too late is thy speaking, for so is it settled ;
From the faring I turn not, the going is fixed,
Though likely it is that our lives shall be short."
27. Then bright shone the morning, the men all were
ready.
They said, and yet each would the other hold
back ;
Five were the warriors, and their followers all
But twice as many, — their minds knew not
wisdom.
28. Snaevar and Solar, they were sons of Hogni,
Orkning was he called who came with the others,
flow, since thou hast dreamed of rivers, and when we go to the
fields, often the chaff rises above our feet."
25. The meaning of line 4 is uncertain, but apparently it
refers to the guardian spirits or lesser Norns (of. Fafnismol,
12-13 and notes).
26. Possibly a line has been lost from this stanza.
27. Five: Gunnar, Hogni, and the three mentioned in
stanza 2S.
28. Perhaps a line has been lost before line i ; Grundtvig
supplies: "Gunnar and Hogni, the heirs twain of Gjuki."
Snavar (the manuscript here has "Snevar"), Solar and Orkning
[509]
Poetic Edda
Blithe was the shield-tree, the brother of
Kostbera ;
The fair-decked ones followed, till the fjord di-
vided them,
Full hard did they plead, but the others would
hear not.
29. Then did Glaumvor speak forth, the wife of
Gunnar,
To Vingi she said that which wise to her seemed :
"I know not if well thou requitest our welcome,
Full ill was thy coming if evil shall follow."
30. Then did Vingi swear, and full glib was his
speech,
"May giants now take me if lies I have told ye,
And the gallows if hostile thought did I have."
31. Then did Bera speak forth, and fair was her
thought,
appear only in this poem and in the prose narratives based on it.
Lines 2-3 may have been expanded out of one line, or possibly
line 3 is spurious. The manuscript indicates line 4 as beginning
a new stanza, and many editions make a separate stanza out of
lines 4-5, many of them assuming the loss of two lines. Shield-
tree: warrior (Orkning), here identified as Kostbera's brother.
Fair-decked ones: women, i.e., Glaumvor and Kostbera. Fjord:
perhaps specifically the Limafjord mentioned in stanza 4.
30. The manuscript indicates no gap, Grundtvig inserts (line
2) : "The evil was clear when his words he uttered."
31. Bera: Kostbera; the first element in compound feminine
[510]
Atlamol
"May ye sail now happy, and victory have,
To fare as I bid ye, may nought your vi^ay bar."
32. Then Hognl made answer, — dear held he his
kin, —
"Take courage, ye wise ones, whatsoever may
come ;
Though many may speak, yet is evil oft mighty,
And words avail little to lead one homeward."
33. They tenderly looked till each turned on his way,
Then with changing fate were their farings
divided.
34. Full stoutly they rowed, and the keel clove
asunder,
Their backs strained at the oars, and their strength
was fierce;
proper names was not Infrequently omitted ; cf. Hild for Brynhild
{Helreith Brynhildar, 6). The manuscript indicates no gap;
Grundtvig inserts (line 2) : "And clear was her cry to her
kinsmen dear."
32. Hogni's method of cheering his wife and sister-in-law is
somewhat unusual, for the meaning of lines 3-4 is that good
wishes and blessings are of little use in warding off danger.
33. Perhaps two lines have been lost after line 2; Grundtvig
supplies: "Then weeping did Glaumvor go to her rest-bed,
/ And sadly did Bera her spinning wheel seek."
34. Keel, etc.: in the Nibelungenlied, and presumably in the
older German tradition, Hagene breaks his oar steering the Burt
gundians across the Danube (stanza 1564), and, after all have
landed, splinters the boat (stanza 1581) in order that there may
be no retreating. The poet here seems to have confused the story,
[Sill
Poetic Edda
The oar-loops were burst, the thole-pins were
broken,
Nor the ship made they fast ere from her they
fared.
35. Not long was it after — the end must I tell —
That the home they beheld that Buthli once had ;
Loud the gates resounded when Hogni smote
them ;
Vingi spake then a word that were better unsaid :
36. "Go ye far from the house, for false is its en-
trance.
Soon shall I burn you, ye are swiftly smitten;
I bade ye come fairly, but falseness was under.
Now bide ye afar while your gallows I fashion."
37. Then Hogni made answer, his heart yielded little.
connecting the breaking of the ship's keel with the violence of
the rowing, but echoing the older legend in the last line, wherein
the ship is allowed to drift away after the travellers have landed.
Oar-loops: the thongs by which the oars in a Norse boat were
made fast to the thole-pins, the combination taking the place of
the modern oarlock.
35. The manuscript indicates line 4 as beginning a new
stanza, and many editions combine it with stanza 36, some of
them assuming the loss of a line from stanza 35. In the Vol-
sungasaga paraphrase the second half of line 4 is made a part
of Vingi's speech: "Better had ye left this undone."
36. Cf. note on preceding stanza; the manuscript does not
indicate line i as beginning a stanza. Line 3 may be spurious.
37. In the Volsungasaga paraphrase the second half of line i
and the first half of line 2 are included in Hogni's speech.
[512]
Atlamol
And nought did he fear that his fate held in
store :
"Seek not to affright us, thou shalt seldom suc-
ceed ;
If thy words are more, then the worse grows thy
fate."
38. Then Vingi did they smite, and they sent him to
hell,
With their axes they clove him while the death-
rattle came.
39. Atli summoned his men, in mail-coats they
hastened,
All ready they came, and between was the court-
yard.
40. Then came they to words, and full wrathful they
were:
38. Possibly two lines have been lost after line 2.
39. It is probable that a considerable passage has teen lost
between stanzas 39 and 40, for the Vol sun gas ag a paraphrase in-
cludes a dialogue at this point. The manuscript indicates no gap,
and most editions combine stanzas 39 and 40 as a single stanza.
The prose passage, indicating the substance of what, if any-
thing, is lost, runs as follows: " 'Be welcome among us, and give
me that store of gold which is ours by right, the gold that Sigurth
had, and that now belongs to Guthrun.' Gunnar said: 'Never
shalt thou get that gold, and men of might shalt thou find here,
ere we give up our lives, if it is battle thou dost offer us; in
truth it seems that thou hast prepared this feast in kingly fashion,
[513]
Poetic Edda
"Long since did we plan how soon we might slay
you."
Hogni spake:
41. "Little it matters if long ye have planned it;
For unarmed do ye wait, and one have we felled,
We smote him to hell, of your host was he once."
42. Then wild was their anger when all heard his
words ;
Their fingers were swift on their bowstrings to
seize.
Full sharply they shot, by their shields were they
guarded.
43. In the house came the word how the heroes with-
out
and with little grudging toward eagle and wolf.' " The demand
for the treasure likewise appears in the Nibelungenlied.
40. These two lines, which most editions combine with stanza
39, may be the first or last two of a four-line stanza. The Vol-
sungasaga gives Atli's speech very much as it appears here.
41. The manuscript does not indicate the speaker; Grundtvig
adds as a first line: "Then Hogni laughed loud where the slain
Vingi lay." Many editors assume the loss of a line somewhere
in the stanza. Unarmed: Hogni does not see Atli's armed fol-
lowers, who are on the other side of the courtyard (stanza 39).
One: Vingi.
42. Most editors assume the loss of one line, after either line
1 or line 3.
43. The manuscript reading of lines 1-2, involving a metrical
error, is: "In the house came the word of the warring
without, / Loud in front of the hall they heard a thrall
shouting." Some editors assume a gap of two lines after line
[514]
Atlamol
Fought in front of the hall; they heard a thrall
tell it;
Grim then was Guthrun, the grief when she
heard,
With necklaces fair, and she flung them all from
her,
(The silver she hurled so the rings burst asunder. )
44. Then out did she go, she flung open the doors,
All fearless she went, and the guests did she
welcome ;
To the Niflungs she went — her last greeting it
was, —
In her speech truth was clear, and much would
she speak.
45, "For your safety I sought that at home ye should
stay ;
None escapes his fate, so ye hither must fare."
Full wisely she spake, if yet peace they might win.
2, the missing passage giving the words of the thrall. The
manuscript marks line 3 as the beginning of a stanza, and many
editions make a separate stanza of lines 3-5, some of them
assuming the loss of a line after line 3. With the stanza as here
given, line 5 may well be spurious.
44. Niflungs: regarding the application of this term to the
Burgundians cf. Atlakvitha, 11, and Brot, 17, and notes. The
manuscript here spells the name with an initial N, as elsewhere,
but in stanza 83 the son of Hogni appears with the name
"Hniflung." In consequence, some editors change the form in
this stanza to "Hniflungs," while others omit the initial H in
both cases. I have followed the manuscript, though admittedly
its spelling is illogical.
[515]
Poetic Edda
But to nought would they hearken, and "No"
said they all.
46. Then the high-born one saw that hard was their
battle,
In fierceness of heart she flung off her mantle ;
Her naked sword grasped she her kin's lives to
guard.
Not gentle her hands in the hewing of battle.
47. Then the daughter of Gjuki two warriors smote
down,
Atli's brother she slew, and forth then they bore
him ;
( So fiercely she fought that his feet she clove off ; )
Another she smote so that never he stood,
To hell did she send him, — her hands trembled
never.
46. The warlike deeds of Guthrun represent an odd trans-
formation of the German tradition. Kriemhild, although she
did no actual fighting in the Nibelungenlied, was famed from
early times for her cruelty and fierceness of heart, and this seems
to have inspired the poet of the Atlamol to make his Guthrun
into a warrior outdoing Brynhild herself. Kriemhild's ferocity,
of course, was directed against Gunther and especially Hagene,
for whose slaying she rather than Etzel was responsible; here,
on the other hand, Guthrun's is devoted to the defense of her
brothers.
47. Line 3 is very likely an interpolation. The manuscript
marks line 4 as the beginning of a new stanza, and some editions
make a separate stanza of lines 4-5. Atli's brother: doubtless a
reminiscence of the early tradition represented in the Nibelung'
enlied by the slaying of Etzel's brother, Bloedelin (the historical
Bleda), by Dancwart.
[516]
Atlamol
48. Full wide was the fame of the battle they fought,
'Twas the greatest of deeds of the sons of Gjuki;
Men say that the Niflungs, while themselves they
were living,
With their swords fought mightily, mail-coats
they sundered,
And helms did they hew, as their hearts were
fearless.
49. All the morning they fought until midday shone,
(All the dusk as well and the dawning of day,)
When the battle was ended, the field flowed with
blood ;
Ere they fell, eighteen of their foemen were slain.
By the two sons of Bera and her brother as well.
50. Then the warrior spake, and wild was his anger :
"This is evil to see, and thy doing is all;
48. Line 3 may well be spurious, for it implies that Gunnar
and Hogni were killed in battle, whereas they were taken
prisoners. Some editors, in an effort to smooth out the incon-
sistency, change "themselves" in this line to "sound." Line 5
has also been questioned as possibly interpolated. Niflungs:
on the spelling of this name in the manuscript and the various
editions cf. note on stanza 44..
49. Line 2 is probably an interpolation, and the original
apparently lacks a word. There is some obscurity as to the exact
meaning of lines 4-5. The tivo sons of Bera: Snasvar and Solar;
her brother is Orkning; cf. stanza 28.
50. The ivarrior: Atli. Thirty: perhaps an echo of the
"thirty warriors" of Thjothrek (cf. Guthrunarkvitha III, 5).
Subtracting the eighteen killed by Snaevar, Solar and Orkning
(stanza 49), and Vingi, killed by the whole company (stanza
[517]
Poetic Edda
Once we were thirty, we thanes keen for battle,
Now eleven are left, and great is our lack.
51. "There were five of us brothers when Buthli we
lost.
Now Hel has the half, and two smitten lie here ;
A great kinship had I, — the truth may I hide
not, —
From a wife bringing slaughter small joy could I
win.
52. We lay seldom together since to me thou wast
given.
Now my kin all are gone, of my gold am I
robbed ;
Nay, and worst, thou didst send my sister to hell."
38), we have eleven left, as Atli says, but this does not allow
much for the exploits of Gunnar and Hogni, who, by this
reckoning, seem to have killed nobody. The explanation probably
is that lines 4-5 of stanza 49 are in bad shape.
51. Five brothers: the Volsungasaga speaks of four (not
five) sons of Buthli, but names only Atli. Regarding the death
of the first two brothers cf. stanza 91 and note. The manuscript
marks line 3 as beginning a stanza, and many editions combine
lines 3-4 with stanza 52. Some insert lines 2-3 of stanza 52 ahead
of lines 3-4 of stanza 51.
52. Possibly a line has been lost from this stanza. The manu-
script marks line 3 as beginning a new stanza, which is impos-
sible unless something has been lost. Gold: the meaning of this
half line is somewhat doubtful, but apparently Atli refers to
Sigurth's treasure, which should have been his as Brynhild's
brother. Sister: Brynhild; regarding Guthrun's indirect
responsibility for Brynhild's death cf. Gripisspo, 45 and note.
[518]
Atlamol
53.
Guthrun spake:
"Hear me now, Atli ! the first evil was thine ;
My mother didst thou take, and for gold didst
murder her,
My sister's daughter thou didst starve in a prison.
A jest does it seem that thy sorrow thou tellest.
And good do I find it that grief to thee comes."
54.
Atli spake:
"Go now, ye warriors,
grief
Of the woman so fair.
So fierce be thy warring
I would gladly behold
and make greater the
for fain would I see it ;
that Guthrun shall weep,
her happiness lost.
55. "Seize ye now Hogni, and with knives shall ye
hew him.
His heart shall ye cut out, this haste ye to do ;
And grim-hearted Gunnar shall ye bind on the
gallows.
53. The manuscript does not name the speaker. The Volsung-
asaga gives the speech, in somewhat altered form, to Hogni:
"Why speakest thou so? Thou wast the first to break peace;
thou didst take my kinswoman and starved her in a prison,
and murdered her and took her weahh; that was not kinglike;
and laughable does it seem to me that thou talkest of thy sorrow,
and good shall I find it that all goes ill with thee." This presum-
ably represents the correct form of the stanza, for nowhere else
is it intimated that Atli killed Guthrun's mother, Grimhild, nor
is the niece elsewhere mentioned. Some editions make a separate
stanza of lines 4-5, Grundtvig adding a line after line 3 and
two more after line 5. Other editors are doubtful about the
authenticity of either line 3 or line 5.
54. The manuscript docs not indicate the speaker.
[519]
Poetic Edda
Swift shall ye do it, to serpents now cast him."
Hogni spake:
56. "Do now as thou wilt, for glad I await it,
Brave shalt thou find me, I have faced worse
before ;
We held thee at bay while whole we were fight-
ing,
Now with wounds are we spent, so thy will canst
thou work."
57. Then did Beiti speak, he was Atli's steward:
"Let us seize now Hjalli, and Hogni spare we!
Let us fell the sluggard, he is fit for death,
He has lived too long, and lazy men call him."
58. Afraid was the pot-watcher, he fled here and yon,
And crazed with his terror he climbed in the
corners :
56. The text of the first half of line 3 is somewhat uncertain,
but the general meaning of it is clear enough.
57. Beiti: not elsewhere mentioned. The Atlakvitha version
of this episode (stanzas 23-25) does not mention Beiti, and in
the Volsungasaga the advice to cut out Hjalli's heart instead of
Hogni's is given by an unnamed "counsellor of Atli." In the
Atlakvitha Hjalli is actually killed; the Volsungasaga combines
the two versions by having Hjalli first let off at Hogni's inter-
cession and then seized a second time and killed, thus intro-
ducing the Atlakvitha episode of the quaking heart (stanza 24).
The text of the first half of line 3 is obscure, and there arc
many and widely varying suggestions as to the word here
rendered "sluggard."
58. Some editions mark line 5 as probably interpolated,
[520]
Atlamol
"111 for me is this fighting, if I pay for your
fierceness,
And sad is the day —to die leaving my swine
And all the fair victuals that of old did I have."
59. They seized Buthli's cook, and they came veith
the knife,
The frightened thrall howled ere the edge did
he feel;
He was willing, he cried, to dung well the court-
yard.
Do the basest of work, if spare him they would ;
Full happy were Hjalli if his life he might have.
60. Then fain was Hogni — there are few would do
thus —
To beg for the slave that safe hence he should go ;
"I would find it far better this knife-play to feel.
Why must we all hark to this howling longer?"
61. Then the brave one they seized; to the warriors
bold
No chance was there left to delay his fate longer ;
Loud did Hogni laugh, all the sons of day heard
him,
59. Cook: the original word is doubtful. The Volsungasaga
does not paraphrase lines 3-5 ; the passage may be a later addi-
tion, and line 5 is almost certainly so.
61. It is probable that a stanza describing the casting of
Gunnar into the serpents' den has been lost after this stanza.
Sons of day: the phrase means no more than "men."
[521 J
Poetic Edda
So valiant he was that well he could suffer.
62. A harp Gunnar seized, with his toes he smote it;
So well did he strike that the women all wept,
And the men, when clear they heard it, lamented ;
Full noble was his song, the rafters burst asunder.
63. Then the heroes died ere the day was yet come ;
Their fame did they leave ever lofty to live.
64. Full mighty seemed Atli as o'er them he stood.
The wise one he blamed, and his words re-
proached her:
"It is morning, Guthrun ; now thy dear ones dost
miss.
But the blame is part thine that thus it has
chanced."
62. Regarding Gunnar's harp-playing, and his death, cf.
Oddrunargratr, 27-30 and notes, and Atlakvitha, 34. Toes (lit-
erally "sole-twigs") : the Volsungasaga explains that Gunnar's
hands were bound. Rafters: thus literally, and probably cor-
rectly; Gering has an ingenious but unlikely theory that the
word means "harp."
63. There is some doubt as to the exact meaning of line 2.
After this line two lines may have been lost; Grundtvig adds:
"Few braver shall ever be found on the earth, / Or
loftier men in the world ever live."
64. Wise one: Guthrun. The manuscript marks line 3 as
beginning a new stanza.
[522]
Atlamol
Guthrun spake:
65. "Thou art joyous, Atli, for of evil thou tellest,
But sorrow is thine if thou mightest all see ;
Thy heritage heavy here can I tell thee,
Sorrow never thou losest unless I shall die."
Atli spake:
66. "Not free of guilt am I ; a way shall I find
That is better by far, — oft the fairest we
shunned ; —
With slaves I console thee, with gems fair to see,
And with silver snow-white, as thyself thou shalt
choose."
Guthrun spake:
67. "No hope shall this give thee, thy gifts I shall
take not,
Requital I spurned when my sorrows were
smaller ;
Once grim did I seem, but now greater my
grimness.
There was nought seemed too hard while Hogni
was living.
65. The manuscript does not indicate the speaker.
66. The manuscript does not name the speaker. The negative
in the first half of line i is uncertain, and most editions make
the clause read "Of this guilt I can free myself." The fairest,
etc.: i. e., I have often failed to do the wise thing.
67. The manuscript does not indicate the speaker. Requital,
etc.: it is not clear just to what Guthrun refers; perhaps she is
thinking of Sigurth's death, or possibly the poet had in mind
his reference to the slaying of her mother in stanza 53.
[523]
Poetic Edda
68. "Our childhood did we have in a single house,
We played many a game, in the grove did we
grow;
Then did Grimhild give us gold and necklaces;
Thou shalt ne'er make amends for my brother's
murder.
Nor ever shalt win me to think it was well.
69. "But the fierceness of men rules the fate of women,
The tree-top bows low if bereft of its leaves,
The tree bends over if the roots are cleft
under it;
Now mayest thou, Atli, o*er all things here rule,"
70. Full heedless the warrior was that he trusted her,
So clear was her guile if on guard he had been;
But crafty was Guthrun, with cunning she spake,
Her glance she made pleasant, with two shields
she played.
68. Line 5 is very probably a later addition, though some
editors question line 3 instead.
69. Guthrun suddenly changes her tone in order to make Atli
believe that she is submissive to his will, and thus to gain time
for her vengeance. Line 2 in the original is thoroughly obscure;
it runs literally: "On the knee goes the fist if the twigs are
taken off." Perhaps the word meaning "fist" may also have
meant "tree-top," as Gering suggests, or perhaps the line is
an illogical blending of the ideas contained in lines i and 3.
70. The manuscript indicates line 3 as the beginning of a
new stanza. Tivo shields, etc.: i. e., Guthrun concealed her hos-
tility (symbolized by a red shield, cf. Helgakvitha Hundings-
bana I, 34) by a show of friendliness (a white shield).
[ 524 ]
Atlamol
7 1 . The beer then she brought for her brothers' death-
feast,
And a feast Atli made for his followers dead ;
No more did they speak, the mead was made
ready,
Soon the men were gathered with mighty uproar.
72. Thus bitterly planned she, and Buthli's race
threatened,
And terrible vengeance on her husband would
take;
The little ones called she, on a block she laid
them ;
Afraid were the proud ones, but their tears did
not fall ;
To their mother's arms went they, and asked
what she would.
Guthrun spake:
73. "Nay, ask me no more! You both shall I murder,
71. Many editions make a separate stanza of lines 1-2, some
of them suggesting the loss of two lines, and combine lines
3-4 with lines 1-2 of stanza 72. The manuscript marks both
lines I and 3 as beginning stanzas.
72. The manuscript marks line 3 as beginning a new stanza;
some editions make a separate stanza of lines 3-5, while others
combine them with lines 1-2 of stanza 73. Line 2 in the original
is clearly defective, the verb being omitted. The meaning of
line 3 is uncertain; the Volsungasaga paraphrase has: "At
evening she took the sons of King Atli (Erp and Eitil) where
they were playing with a block of wood." Probably the text of
the line as we have it is faulty. Lines 4-5 may possibly have
been expanded out of a single line, or line 5 may be spurious.
[525]
Poetic Edda
For long have I wished your lives to steal from
you.
The boys spake:
"Slay thy boys as thou wilt, for no one may
bar it,
Short the angry one's peace if all thou shalt do."
74. Then the grim one slew both of the brothers
young.
Full hard was her deed when their heads she
smote off;
Fain was Atli to know whither now they were
gone,
The boys from their sport, for nowhere he spied
them.
Guthrun spake:
75. "My fate shall I seek, all to Atli saying,
The daughter of Grimhild the deed from thee
hides not;
No joy thou hast, Atli, if all thou shalt hear,
Great sorrow didst wake when my brothers thou
slewest.
73. The manuscript does not name the speakers. It indi-
cates line 3 as beginning a new stanza, in which it is followed
by many editions. The Volsungasaga paraphrases line 4 thus:
"But it is shameful for thee to do this." Either the text of the
line has been changed or the Volsungasaga compilers misunder-
stood it. The angry one: Atli.
74. The manuscript indicates line 3 as beginning a new
stanza.
75. The manuscript does not name the speaker.
[526]
Atlamol
76. "I have seldom slept since the hour they were
slain,
Baleful were my threats, now I bid thee recall
them;
Thou didst say it was morning, — too well I
remember, —
Now is evening come, and this question thou
askest.
77. "Now both of thy sons thou hast lost . . .
as thou never shouldst do;
The skulls of thy boys thou as beer-cups didst
have,
And the draught that I made thee was mixed with
their blood.
78. "I cut out their hearts,
I came to thee with them,
them;
Alone didst thou eat them.
on a spit I cooked them,
and calf's flesh I called
nor any didst leave.
76. Morning: Guthrun refers to Atli's taunt in stanza 64.
77. The manuscript indicates no gap (lines 1-2), and most
editions make a single line, despite the defective meter: "Thy
sons hast thou lost as thou never shouldst lose them." The
second part of line 2 is in the original identical with the second
half of line 3 of stanza 80, and may perhaps have been inserted
here by mistake. Skulls: it is possible that line 3 was borrowed
from a poem belonging to the Volund tradition (cf. Volundar'
kv'ttha, 25 and 37), and the idea doubtless came from some such
source, but probably the poet inserted it in a line of his own
composition to give an added touch of horror. The Volsungasaga
follows the Atlamol in including this incident.
[527]
Poetic Edda
Thou didst greedily bite, and thy teeth were busy.
79. "Of thy sons now thou knowest ; few suffer more
sorrow ;
My guilt have I told, fame it jiever shall give
me."
A tit spake:
80. "Grim wast thou, Guthrun, in so grievous a deed,
My draught with the blood of thy boys to mingle;
Thou hast slain thine own kin, most ill it be-
seemed thee.
And little for me twixt my sorrows thou leavest."
Guthrun spake:
81. "Still more would I seek to slay thee thyself,
Enough ill comes seldom to such as thou art ;
Thou didst folly of old, such that no one shall
find
78. Some editions add lines 3-4 to stanza 79 ; Finnur Jonsson
marks them as probably spurious.
79. Perhaps these two lines should form part of stanza 78,
or perhaps they, rather than lines 3-4 of stanza 78, are a later
addition. A gap of two lines after line i has also been con-
jectured.
80. The manuscript does not indicate the speaker.
81. The manuscript does not indicate the speaker. Lines 1-2
may be the remains of a separate stanza; Grundtvig adds: "Thou
wast foolish, Atli, when wise thou didst feel, / Ever the
whole of thy race did I hate." The Volsungasaga para-
phrase, however, indicates no gap. Many editions make a
separate stanza of lines 3-6, which, in the Volsungasaga, are
paraphrased as a speech of Atli's. Lines 5-6 may be spurious.
[528]
Atlamol
In the whole world of men a match for such
madness.
Now this that of late we learned hast thou added,
Great evil hast grasped, and thine own death-
feast made."
Atli spake:
82. "With fire shall they bum thee, and first shall
they stone thee.
So then hast thou earned what thou ever hast
sought for."
Guthrun spake:
"Such woes for thyself shalt thou say in the morn-
ing,
From a finer death I to another light fare."
83. Together they sat and full grim were their
thoughts,
Unfriendly their words, and no joy either found;
In Hniflung grew hatred, great plans did he
have.
To Guthrun his anger against Atli was told.
82. The manuscript docs not indicate the speakers. Many
editions make two separate stanzas of the four lines. Another
light: a fairly clear indication of the influence of Christianity;
cf. Introductory Note.
83. The manuscript marks line 3 as the beginning of a new
stanza. Hniflung: the Volsungasaga says that "Hogni had a son
who was called Hniflung," but the name appears to be nothing
more than the familiar "Niflung" applied in general to the sons
of Gjuki and their people. On the spelling cf. note on stanza 44.
[529]
Poetic Edda
84. To her heart came ever the fate of Hogni,
She told him 'twere well if he vengeance should
win;
So was Atli slain,— 'twas not slow to await, —
Hogni's son slew him, and Guthrun herself.
85. Then the warrior spake, as from slumber he
wakened.
Soon he knew for his wounds would the bandage
do nought:
"Now the truth shalt thou say: who has slain
Buthli's son?
Full sore am I smitten, nor hope can I see."
Guthrun spake:
86. "Ne'er her deed from thee hides the daughter of
Grimhild,
This son of Hogni appears in later versions of the story. In the
Thithrekssaga he is called Aldrian. and is begotten by Hogni
the night before his death. Aldrian grows up and finally shuts
Attila in a cave where he starves to death. The poet here has
incorporated the idea, which finds no parallel in the Atlakvitha,
without troubling himself to straighten out the chronology.
84. Line 4 may be in Fornyrthislag, and from another poem.
85. The manuscript marks line 3 as beginning a new stanza.
The Vohungasaga makes line 2 part of Atli's speech.
86. The manuscript does not name the speakers. It marks line
4 as the beginning of a new stanza, and many editions follow
this arrangement, in most cases making a stanza of lines 4-5
and line 1 of stanza 87. However, line i may well have been
interpolated here from stanza 75. Grundtvig adds after line 3 :
"His father he avenged, and his kinsmen fully." Some
editors assume the loss of one or two lines after line 5.
[530]
Atlamol
I own to the guilt that is ending thy life,
And the son of Hogni ; 'tis so thy wounds bleed."
Atli spake:
"To murder hast thou fared, though foul it must
seem;
111 thy friend to betray who trusted thee well.
87. "Not glad went I hence thy hand to seek,
Guthrun,
In thy widowhood famed, but haughty men found
thee ;
My belief did not lie, as now we have learned;
I brought thee home hither, and a host of men
with us.
88. "Most noble was all when of old we journeyed,
Great honor did we have of heroes full worthy;
Of cattle had we plenty, and greatly we pros-
pered.
Mighty was our wealth, and many received it.
89. "To the famed one as bride-gift I gave jewels
fair, V
87. The manuscript marks line 2 as beginning a new stanza,
and some editions make a stanza out of lines 2-4 and line i of
stanza 88.
88- The manuscript marks line 2 as the beginning of a stanza,
and many editions make a stanza out of lines 2-4, or combine
them with stanza 89. Some question the genuineness of line 4.
89. Many editions assume a gap of one line after line 3;
[531]
Poetic Edda
I gave thirty slaves, and handmaidens seven ;
There was honor in such gifts, yet the silver was
greater.
90. "But all to thee was as if nought it were worth,
While the land lay before thee that Buthli had
left me ;
Thou in secret didst work so the treasure I won
not;
My mother full oft to sit weeping didst make,
No wedded joy found I in fullness of heart."
Guthrun spake:
91. "Thou liest now, Atli, though little I heed it;
Grundtvig adds: "Bit-champing horses and wheel-wagons
bright." Line 4 may be spurious. Greater: i. e., the silver which
Atli gave Guthrun was of greater value even than the honor of
receiving such royal gifts. Line 4 may be spurious.
90. Some editions mark line 3 as spurious or defective. The
manuscript marks line 4 as the beginning of a new stanza. The
land, etc.: there is much obscurity as to the significance of this
line. Some editors omit or question "me," in which case Atli is
apparently reproaching Guthrun for having incited him to fight
with his brothers to win for himself the whole of Buthli's land.
In stanza 91 Guthrun denies that she was to blame for Atli's
quarrels with his brothers. The Volsungasaga reading supports
this interpretation. The historical Attila did actually have his
brother, Bleda, killed in order to have the sole rule. The
treasure: Sigurth's hoard, which Atli claimed as the brother of
Brynhild and husband of Guthrun, Sigurth's widow, but which
Gunnar and Hogni kept for themselves, with, as Atli here
charges, Guthrun's connivance. My mother: the only other
reference to Atli's mother is in Oddrunargratr, 30, wherein she
appears as the adder who stings Gunnar to death, and in the
prose passages based on that stanza.
[532]
Atlamol
If I seldom was kindly, full cruel wast thou;
Ye brothers fought young, quarrels brought you
to battle.
And half went to hell of the sons of thy house.
And all was destroyed that should e'er have done
good.
92. "My two brothers and I were bold in our
thoughts.
From the land we went forth, with Sigurth we
fared ;
Full swiftly we sailed, each one steering his ship.
So our fate sought we e'er till we came to the
East.
93. "First the king did we slay, and the land we
seized,
91. The manuscript does not indicate the speaker. It marks
both lines 4 and 5 as beginning new stanzas, but line 5 is pre-
sumably an interpolation. The text of the second half of line
2 is obscure, and many emendations have been suggested. Ye
brothers: cf. note on stanza 90. Half: i. e., two of Atli's brothers
were killed, the other two dying in the battle with Gunnar and
Hogni; cf. stanza 51.
92. From the land: this maritime expedition of Guthrun and
her two brothers, Gunnar and Hogni (the poet seems to know
nothing of her half-brother, Gotthorm), with Sigurth seems to
have been a pure invention of the poet's, inserted for the benefit
of his Greenland hearers. Nothing further is reported concern-
ing it.
93. The forest: i. e., men who were outlawed in the con-
quered land were restored to their rights — another purely Norse
touch.
J533]_
Poetic Edda
The princes did us service, for such was their
fear ;
From the forest we called them we fain would
have guiltless,
And rich made we many who of all were bereft.
94. "Slain was the Hun-king, soon happiness van-
ished.
In her grief the widow so young sat weeping;
Yet worse seemed the sorrow to seek Atli's
house,
A hero was my husband, and hard was his loss.
95. "From the Thing thou camst never, for thus have
we heard,
Having won in thy quarrels, or warriors smitten ;
Full yielding thou wast, never firm was thy will,
In silence didst suffer, "
Atli spake:
96. "Thou liest now, Guthrun, but little of good
94. Hun-king: Sigurth, though most illogically so called; cf.
Sigurtharkmtha en skamma, 4 and note. The Volsungasaga
paraphrase of line 2 is so remote as to be puzzling: "It was
little to bear the name of widow." Perhaps, however, the word
"not" fell out between "was" and "little."
95. Thing, etc.: here the poet makes Atli into a typical Norse
land-owner, going to the "Thing," or general law council, to
settle his disputes. Even the compilers of the Volsungasaga could
not accept this, and in their paraphrase changed "Thing" to
"battle." The text of the second half of line 2 is uncertain. The
manuscript leaves a blank to indicate the gap in line 4; Grund-
tvig adds: "as beseems not a king."
[534]
Atlamol
Will it bring to either, for all have we lost ;
But, Guthrun, yet once be thou kindly of will.
For the honor of both, when forth I am borne."
Guthrun spake:
97. "A ship will I buy, and a bright-hued coffin,
I will wax well the shroud to wind round thy
body.
For all will I care as if dear were we ever."
98. Then did Atli die, and his heirs' grief doubled;
The high-born one did as to him she had
promised ;
Then sought Guthrun the wise to go to her death,
But for days did she wait, and 'twas long ere she
died.
99. Full happy shall he be who such offspring has.
Or children so gallant, as Gjuki begot;
Forever shall live, and in lands far and wide,
Their valor heroic wherever men hear it.
97. The manuscript does not indicate the speaker. Many
editors assume a gap either before or after line i. A ship: the
burial of Norse chiefs in ships was of frequent occurrence, but
the Greenland poet's application of the custom to Atli is some-
what grotesque.
98. Heirs, etc.: merely a stock phrase, here quite meaningless,
as Atli's heirs had all been killed. Long: cf. Guthrunarhvot,
introductory prose.
[535]
GUTHRUNARHVOT
Guthruns Inciting
Introductory Note
The two concluding poems in the Codex Regius, the Guthruri'
arhvot {Guthrun's Inciting) and the Hamthesmol {The Ballad
of Hamther), belong to a narrative cycle connected with those of
Sigurth, the Burgundians, and Atli (cf. Gripisspo, introductory
note) by only the slenderest of threads. Of the three early his-
torical kings who gradually assumed a dominant place in Ger-
manic legend, Ermanarich, king of the East Goths in the middle
of the fourth century, was actually the least important, even
though Jordanes, the sixth century author of De Rebus Getecis,
compared him to Alexander the Great. Memories of his cruelty
and of his tragic death, however, persisted along with the real
glories of Theoderich, a century and a half later, and of the
conquests of Attila, whose lifetime approximately bridged the
gap between Ermanarich's death and Theoderich's birth.
Chief among the popular tales of Ermanarich's cruelty was
one concerning the death of a certain Sunilda or Sanielh, whom,
according to Jordanes, he caused to be torn asunder by wild
horses because of her husband's treachery. Her brothers, Sarus
and Ammius, seeking to avenge her, wounded but failed to kill
Ermanarich. In this story is the root of the two Norse poems
included in the Codex Regius. Sunilda easily became the wife as
well as the victim of the tyrant, and, by the process of legend-
blending so frequently observed, the story was connected with
the more famous one of the Nibelungs by making her the daugh-
ter of Sigurth and Guthrun. To account for her brothers, a third
husband had to be found for Guthrun; the Sarus and Ammius of
Jordanes are obviously the Sorli and Hamther, sons of Guthrun
and Jonak, of the Norse poems. The blending of the Sigurth and
Ermanarich legends probably, though not certainly, took place
before the story reached the North, in other words before the end
of the eighth century.
Regarding the exact status of the Guthrunarhvot and the
Hamthesmol there has been a great deal of discussion. That they
are closely related is obvious; indeed the first parts of the two
poems are nearly identical in content and occasiortally so in actual
diction. The annotator, in his concluding prose note, refers to
[536]
Guthrunarhvot
the second poem as the "old" ballad of Hamther, wherefore it
has been assumed by some critics that the composer of the Guth-
runarhvot used the Hamthesmol, approximately as it now stands,
as the source of part of his material. The extant Hamthesmol,
however, is almost certainly a patchwork; part of it is in For-
nyrthislag (cf. Introduction), including most of the stanzas
paralleled in the Guthrunarhvot, and likewise the stanza fol-
lowed directly by the reference to the "old" ballad, while the
rest is in Malahattr. The most reasonable theory, therefore, is
that there existed an old ballad of Hamther, all in Fornyrthislag,
from which the composer of the Guthrunarhvot borrowed a few
stanzas as the introduction for his poem, and which the composer
of the extant, or "new," Hamthesmol likewise used, though far
more clumsily.
The title "Guthrunarhvot," which appears in the Codex
Regius, really applies only to stanzas i-8, all presumably bor-
rowed from the "old" ballad of Hamther. The rest of the poem
is simply another Guthrun lament, following the tradition ex-
emplified by the first and second Guthrun lays; it is possible,
indeed, that it is made up of fragments of two separate laments,
one (stanzas 9-18) involving the story of Svanhild's death, and
the other (stanzas 19-21) coming from an otherwise lost version
of the story in which Guthrun closely follows Sigurth and Bryn-
hild in death. In any event the present title is really a misnomer;
the poet, who presumably was an eleventh century Icelander,
used the episode of Guthrun's inciting her sons to vengeance for
the slaying of Svanhild simply as an introduction to his main
subject, the last lament of the unhappy queen.
The text of the poem in Regius is by no means in good shape,
and editorial emendations have been many and varied, particu-
larly in interchanging lines between the Guthrunarhvot and the
Hamthesmol. The Volsungasaga paraphrases the poem with such
fidelity as to prove that it lay before the compilers of the saga
approximately in its present form.
Guthrun went forth to the sea after she had slain AtH.
She went out into the sea and fain would drown herself,
but she could not sink. The waves bore her across the
[537]
Poetic Edda
fjord to the land of King Jonak; he took her as wife;
their sons were Sorli and Erp and Hamther. There was
brought up Svanhild, Sigurth's daughter; she was mar-
ried to the mighty Jormunrek. With him was Bikki, who
counselled that Randver, the king's son, should have her.
This Bikki told to the king. The king had Randver
hanged, and Svanhild trodden to death under horses* feet.
And when Guthrun learned this, she spake with her sons.
Prose. In the manuscript the prose is headed "Of Guthrun,"
the title "Guthrunarhvot" preceding stanza i. The prose intro-
duction is used both by Snorri {Skaldskaparmal, chapter 42) and
in the Volsungasaga. It. would be interesting to know on what
the annotator based this note, for neither Bikki nor Randver is
mentioned by name in either the Guthrunarhvot or the Hamthes-
mol. On the prose notes in general, cf. Reginsmol, introductory
note. Guthrun: on the slaying of Atli by his wife, Guthrun,
Sigurth's widow, cf. Atlamol, 83-86 and notes. Jonak: a Northern
addition to the legend, introduced to account for Svanhild's half-
brothers; the name is apparently of Slavic origin. Sorli, Erp,
and Hamther: Sorli and Hamther arc the Sarus and Ammius of
the Jordanes story (cf. introductory note). The Volsungasaga
follows this note in making Erp likewise a son of Guthrun, but
in the Hamthesmol he is a son of Jonak by another wife. Svan-
hild: cf. Sigurtharkvitha en skamma, 54 and note. Jormunrek
(Ermanarich) : cf. introductory note. Bikki: the Sifka or Sibicho
of the Gothic legends of Ermanarich, whose evil counsel always
brings trouble. Randver: in the Volsungasaga Jormunrek sends
his son Randver with Bikki to seek Svanhild's hand. On the voyage
home Bikki says to Randver: "It were right for you to have so
fair a wife, and not such an old man." Randver was much
pleased with this advice, "and he spake to her with gladness, and
she to him." Thus the story becomes near of kin to those of
Tristan and Iseult and Paolo and Franccsca. According to the
Volsungasaga, Bikki told Ermanarich that a guilty love existed
between his son and his young wife, and presumably the anno-
tator here meant as much by his vague "this."
[538]
Guthrunarhvot
1. A word-strife I learned, most woeful of all,
A speech from the fullness of sorrow spoken,
When fierce of heart her sons to the fight
Did Guthrun whet with words full grim.
2. "Why sit ye idle, why sleep out your lives,
Why grieve ye not in gladness to speak?
Since Jormunrek your sister young
Beneath the hoofs of horses hath trodden,
(White and black on the battle- way.
Gray, road-wonted, the steeds of the Goths.)
3. "Not like are ye to Gunnar of yore.
Nor have ye hearts such as Hogni's was;
Vengeance for her ye soon would have
If brave ye were as my brothers of old.
Or hard your hearts as the Hunnish kings'."
4. Then Hamther spake, the high of heart :
"Little the deed of Hogni didst love,
1. The poet's introduction of himself in this stanza is a fairly
certain indication of the relative lateness of the poenn.
2. Idle: a guess ; a word is obviously missing in the original.
The manuscript marks line 5 as beginning a new stanza, and
lines 5-6 may well have been inserted from another part of the
"old" Hamthesmol (cf. Hamthesmol, 3).
3. Gunnar and Hogni: cf. Drap Niftunga. Line 5 may be in-
terpolated. Hunnish: here used, as often, merely as a generic
term for all South Germanic peoples; the reference is to the
Burgundian Gunnar and Hogni.
4. Hamther: some editions spell the name "Hamthir." Sigurth,
etc.: cf. Sigurtharkvitha en skamma, 21-24, and Brot, concluding
prose. This stanza has been subjected to many conjectural re-
[539]
Poetic Edda
When Sigurth they wakened from his sleep;
Thy bed-covers white were red with blood
Of thy husband, drenched with gore from his
heart.
5. "Bloody revenge didst have for thy brothers,
Evil and sore, when thy sons didst slay;
Else yet might we all on Jormunrek
Together our sister's slaying avenge.
6. "...
The gear of the Hunnish kings now give us!
Thou hast whetted us so to the battle of swords.'*
7. Laughing did Guthrun go to her chamber,
The helms of the kings from the cupboards she
took.
And mail-coats broad, to her sons she bore them;
On their horses' backs the heroes leaped.
8. Then Hamther spake, the high of heart:
arrangements, some editors adding two or three lines from the
Hamthesmol.
5. Bloody: a guess; a word in the original is clearly missing,
and the same is true of all in line 3. Thy sons: i.e., by killing her
sons Erp and Eitil (cf. Atlamol, 72-74) Guthrun deprived Ham-
ther, Sorli, and the second Erp of valuable allies in avenging
Svanhild's death.
6. The manuscript indicates no gap, but most editors assume
the loss of one, tv?o or even more lines before the two here given.
7. The manuscript indicates line 4 as beginning a new stanza.
8. Line i, identical with line i of stanza 4, may be interpo-
[540]
Guthrunarhvot
"Homeward no more his mother to see
Comes the spear-god, fallen mid Gothic folk;
One death-draught thou for us all shalt drink,
For Svanhild then and thy sons as well."
9. Weeping Guthrun, Gjuki's daughter,
Went sadly before the gate to sit,
And with tear-stained cheeks to tell the tale
Of her mighty griefs, so many in kind.
10. "Three home-fires knew I, three hearths I knew,
Home was I brought by husbands three;
But Sigurth only of all was dear,
He whom my brothers brought to his death.
11. "A greater sorrow I saw not nor knew,
Yet more it seemed I must suffer yet
When the princes great to Atli gave me.
12. "The brave boys I summoned to secret speech;
For my woes requital I might not win
Till off the heads of the Hniflungs I hewed.
lated here. Spear-god: warrior, i.e., Hamther himself. With this
stanza the introductory hvot ("inciting") ends, and stanza 9
introduces the lament which forms the real body of the poem.
11. Line i in the original is of uncertain meaning. Many
editors assume the loss of a line after line i, and some completely
reconstruct line i on the basis of a hypothetical second line.
Princes: Gunnar and Hogni.
12. Some editors assume the loss of one line, or more, before
line I. Hniflungs: Erp and Eitil, the sons of Guthrun and Atli.
On the application of the name Niflung (or, as later spelt,
[ 541 ]
Poetic Edda
13. "To the sea I went, my heart full sore
For the Norns, whose wrath I would now escape ;
But the lofty billows bore me undrowned,
Till to land I came, so I longer must live.
14. "Then to the bed — of old was it better! —
Of a King of the folk a third time I came ;
Boys I bore his heirs to be.
Heirs so young, the sons of Jonak.
15. "But round Svanhild handmaidens sat,
She was dearest ever of all my children;
So did Svanhild seem in my hall
As the ray of the sun is fair to see.
16. "Gold I gave her and garments bright.
Ere I let her go to the Gothic folk ;
Of my heavy woes the hardest it was
When Svanhild's tresses fair were trodden
In the mire by hoofs of horses wild.
17. "The sorest it was when Sigurth mine
Hniflung) to the descendants of Gjuki, Guthrun's father, cf.
Brot, 17, note.
13. Norns: the fates; cf. Voluspo, 8 and note.
14. The manuscript omits the first half of line 4.
16. Some editors assume a gap of two lines after line 2, and
make a separate stanza of lines 3-5; Gering adds a sixth line of
his own coining, while Grundtvig inserts one between lines 3 and
4. The manuscript indicates line 5 as beginning a new stanza.
17. The manuscript does not indicate line i as beginning a
stanza (cf. note on stanza 16). Stanzas 17 and 18 are very likely
[542]
Guthrunarhvot
On his couch, of victory robbed, they killed;
And grimmest of all when to Gunnar's heart
There crept the bright-hued crawling snakes.
1 8. "And keenest of all when they cut the heart
From the living breast of the king so brave;
Many woes I remember,
19. "Bridle, Sigurth, thy steed so black,
Hither let run thy swift-faring horse;
Here there sits not son or daughter
Who yet to Guthrun gifts shall give.
later interpolations, although the compilers of the Volsungasaga
knew them as they stand here. The whole passage depends on
the shades of difference in the meanings of the various superla-
tives: harpastr, "hardest"; sdrastr, "sorest"; grimmastr, "grim-
mest," and hvassastr, "keenest." Snakes: cf. Drap Niflunga.
18. The king: Hogni; cf. Atlakvitha, 25. The manuscript
marks line 3 as beginning a new stanza. Most editors agree
that there is a more or less extensive gap after stanza 18, and
some of them contend that the original ending of the poem is
lost, stanzas 19-21 coming from a different poem, probably a
lament closely following Sigurth's death.
19. The manuscript does not indicate line i as beginning a
stanza, and it immediately follows the fragmentary line 3 of
stanza 18. The resemblance between stanzas 19-21 and stanzas
64-69 of Sigurtharkvitha en skamma suggests that, in some other-
wise lost version of the story, Guthrun, like Brynhild, sought to
die soon after Sigurth's death. Thy steed: Guthrun's appeal to
the dead Sigurth to ride back to earth to meet her is reminiscent
of the episode related in Helgakvitha Hundingsbana II, 39-48.
The promise mentioned in stanza 20 is spoken of elsewhere only
in the Volsungasaga paraphrase of this passage.
[543]
Poetic Edda
20. "Remember, Sigurth, what once we said,
When together both on the bed we sat,
That mightily thou to me wouldst come
From hell and I from earth to thee.
21. "Pile ye up, jarls, the pyre of oak,
Make it the highest a hero e'er had;
Let the fire burn my grief-filled breast,
My sore-pressed heart, till my sorrows melt."
22. May nobles all less sorrow know,
And less the woes of women become,
Since the tale of this lament is told.
21. Perhaps something has been lost between stanzas 20 and
21, or possibly stanza 21, while belonging originally to the same
poem as stanzas 19 and 20, did not directly follow them. Sore-
pressed: a guess; a word seems to have been omitted in the
original.
22. Words of the poet's, like stanza i, and perhaps consti-
tuting a later addition. Many editors assume the loss of a line
after line 3. The meaning, of course, is that the poet hopes the
story of Guthrun's woes will make all other troubles seem light
by comparison.
[544]
HAMTHESMOL
The Ballad of Hamther
Introductory Note
The Hamthesmol, the concluding poem in the Codex Regius,
is on the whole the wprst preserved of all the poems in the col-
lection. The origin of the story, the relation of the Hamthesmol
to the Guthrunarhvot, and of both poems to the hypothetical
"old" Hamthesmol, are outlined in the introductory note to the
Guthrunarhvot. The Hamthesmol as we have it is certainly not
the "old" poem of that name; indeed it is so pronounced a patch-
work that it can hardly be regarded as a coherent poem at all.
Some of the stanzas are in Fornyrthislag, some are in Malahattr,
one (stanza 29) appears to be in Ljothahattr, and in many cases
the words can be adapted to any known metrical form only by
liberal emendation. That any one should have deliberately com-
posed such a poem seems quite incredible, and it is far more
likely that some eleventh century narrator constructed a poem
about the death of Hamther and Sorli by piecing together various
fragments, and possibly adding a number of Malahattr stanzas
of his own.
It has been argued, and with apparently sound logic, that our
extant Hamthesmol originated in Greenland, along with the
Atlamol. In any case, it can hardly have been put together before
the latter part of the eleventh century, although the "old" Ham-
thesmol undoubtedly long antedates this period. Many editors
have attempted to pick out the parts of the extant poem which
were borrowed from this older lay, but the condition of the
text is such that it is by no means clear even what stanzas are
in Fornyrthislag and what in Malahattr. Many editors, likewise,
indicate gaps and omissions, but it seems doubtful whether the
extant Hamthesmol ever had a really consecutive quality, its
component fragments having apparently been strung together
with little regard for continuity. The notes indicate some of the
more important editorial suggestions, but make no attempt to
cover all of them, and the metrical form of the translation is
often based on mere guesswork as to the character of the original
lines and stanzas. Despite the chaotic state of the text, how-
ever, the underlying narrative is reasonably clear, and the story
can be followed with no great difficulty.
[545]
Poetic Edda
1. Great the evils once that grew,
With the dawning sad of the sorrow of elves ;
In early morn awake for men
The evils that grief to each shall bring.
2. Not now, nor yet of yesterday was it,
Long the time that since hath lapsed,
So that little there is that is half as old,
Since Guthrun, daughter of Gjuki, whetted
Her sons so young to Svanhild's vengeance.
3. "The sister ye had was Svanhild called.
And her did Jormunrek trample with horses.
White and black on the battle-way,
Gray, road-wonted, the steeds of the Goths.
4. "Little the kings of the folk are ye like.
For now ye are living alone of my race.
1. This stanza looks like a later interpolation from a totally
unrelated source. Sorrow of elves: the sun; cf. Alvissmol, 16 and
note.
2. Some editors regard lines i-a as interpolated, while others
question line 3. Guthrun, etc.: regarding the marriage of Jonak
and Guthrun (daughter of Gjuki, sister of Gunnar and Hogni,
and widow first of Sigurth and then of Atli), and the sons of
this marriage, Hamther and Sorli (but not Erp), cf. Guthrunar-
hvot, introductory prose and note.
3. Svanhild and Jormunrek: regarding the manner in which
Jormunrek (Ermanarich) married Svanhild, daughter of Sigurth
and Guthrun, and afterwards had her trodden to death by horses,
cf. Guthrunarhvot, introductory note. Lines 3-4 are identical
with lines 5-6 of Guthrunarhvot, 2.
4. These two lines may be all that is left of a four-line stanza.
[546 ]
Hamthesmol
5. "Lonely am I as the forest aspen,
Of kindred bare as the fir of its boughs,
My joys are all lost as the leaves of the tree
When the scather of twigs from the warm day
turns."
6. Then Hamther spake forth, the high of heart :
"Small praise didst thou, Guthrun, to Hogni's
deed give
When they wakened thy Sigurth from out of his
sleep.
Thou didst sit on the bed while his slayers
laughed.
7. "Thy bed-covers white with blood were red
From his wounds, and with gore of thy husband
were wet;
The manuscript and many editions combine them with stanza 5,
while a few place them after stanza 5 as a separate stanza, re-
versing the order of the two lines. Kings of the folk: Guthrun's
brothers, Gunnar and Hogni, slain by Atli.
5. Cf. note on stanza 4; the manuscript does not indicate line
I as beginning a stanza. Scather of tivigs: poetic circumlocution
for the wind (cf. Skaldskaparmal, chapter 27), though some
editors think the phrase here means the sun. Some editors assume
a more or less extensive gap between stanzas 5 and 6.
6. Lines 1-3 are nearly identical with lines 1-3 of Guthrunar-
hvot, 4. On the death of Sigurth cf. Sigurtharkvitha en skamma,
21-24, and Brot, concluding prose. The word thy in line 3 is
omitted in the original.
7. Lines 1-2 are nearly identical with lines 4-5 of Guthrunar-
hvot, 4. The manuscript, followed by many editions, indicates
line 3 and not line i as beginning a stanza.
[547]
Poetic Edda
So Sigurth was slain, by his corpse didst thou sit,
And of gladness didst think not: 'twas Gunnar's
doing,
8. "Thou wouldst strike at Atli by the slaying of
Erp
And the killing of Eitil; thine own grief was
worse;
So should each one wield the wound-biting sword
That another it slays but smites not himself."
9. Then did Sorli speak out, for wise was he ever:
"With my mother I never a quarrel will make;
Full little in speaking methinks ye both lack ;
What askest thou, Guthrun, that will give thee
no tears?
10. "For thy brothers dost weep, and thy boys so
sweet.
Thy kinsmen in birth on the battlefield slain;
Now, Guthrun, as well for us both shalt thou
weep.
We sit doomed on our steeds, and far hence shall
we die."
8. Some editors regard this stanza as interpolated. Erp and
Eitil: regarding Guthrun's slaying of her sons by Atli, cf. Atla-
mol, 72-75. The Erp here referred to is not to be confused with
the Erp, son of Jonak, who appears in stanza 13. The whole of
stanza 8 is in doubtful shape, and many emendations have been
suggested.
10. Some editors assign this speech to Hamther. Brothers:
Gunnar and Hogni. Boys: Erp and Eitil.
[548]
Hamthesmol
1 1. Then the fame-glad one — on the steps she was —
The slender-fingered, spake with her son:
"Ye shall danger have if counsel ye heed not;
By two heroes alone shall two hundred of Goths
Be bound or be slain in the lofty-walled burg."
12. From the courtyard they fared, and fury they
breathed ;
The youths swiftly went o'er the mountain wet,
On their Hunnish steeds, death's vengeance to
have.
13. On the way they found the man so wise;
11. In the manuscript this stanza follows stanza 21, and
some editors take the word here rendered "fame-glad one"
(hr6J)rgl9l)) to be a proper name (Jormunrek's mother or his
concubine). The Volsungasaga, however, indicates that Guthrun
at this point "had so fashioned their war-gear that iron would
not bite into it, and she bade them to have nought to do with
stones or other heavy things, and told them that it would be ill
for them if they did not do as she said." The substance of this
counsel may well have been conveyed in a passage lost after
line 3, though the manuscript indicates no gap. It is by being
stoned that Hamther and Sorli are killed (stanza 26). On the
other hand, the second part of line 3 may possibly mean "if
silent ye are not," in which case the advice relates to Ham-
ther's speech to Jormunrek and Sorli's reproach to him thereupon
(stanzas 25 and 27). Steps: the word in the original is doubtful.
Line 3 is thoroughly obscure. Some editors make a separate stanza
of lines 3-5, while others question line 5.
12. Many editors assume the loss of a line after line i. In
several editions lines 2-3 are placed after line 2 of stanza 18.
Hunnish: the word meant little more than "German"; cf.
Guthrunarhvot, 3 and note.
[549]
Poetic Edda
"What help from the weakling brown may we
have?"
14. So answered them their half-brother then:
"So well may I my kinsmen aid
As help one foot from the other has."
15. "How may a foot its fellow aid,
Or a flesh-grown hand another help ?"
16. Then Erp spake forth, his words were few,
As haughty he sat on his horse's back:
13. In the manuscript these two lines follow stanza i6; some
editors insert them in place of lines 2-3 of stanza 11. The manu-
script indicates no gap. The man so tvise: Erp, here represented
as a son of Jonak but not of Guthrun, and hence a half-brother
of Hamther and Sorli. There is nothing further to indicate
whether or not he was born out of wedlock, as intimated in
stanza 16. Some editors assign line 3 to Hamther, and some to
Sorli.
14. The stanza is obviously defective. Many editors add Erp's
name in line i, and insert between lines 2 and 3 a line based on
stanza 15 and the Volsungasaga paraphrase: "As a flesh-
grown hand another helps." In the Volsungasaga, after Erp's
death, Hamther stumbles and saves himself from falling with his
hand, whereupon he says: "Erp spake truly; I had fallen had I
not braced myself with my hand." Soon thereafter Sorli has a
like experience, one foot slipping but the other saving him from
a fall. "Then they said that they had done ill to Erp, their
brother."
15. Many editions attach these two lines to stanza 14, while
a few assume the loss of two lines.
16. In the manuscript this stanza stands between stanzas I2
and 13. Some editors make line 4 a part of Erp's speech.
[550]
Hamthesmol
"To the timid 'tis ill the way to tell."
A bastard they the bold one called.
17. From their sheaths they drew their shining
swords,
Their blades, to the giantess joy to give;
By a third they lessened the might that was
theirs,
The fighter young to earth they felled.
18. Their cloaks they shook, their swords they
sheathed.
The high-born men wrapped their mantles close.
19. On their road they fared and an ill way found,
And their sister's son on a tree they saw.
On the wind-cold wolf-tree west of the hall,
And cranes'-bait crawled; none would care to
linger.
17. The manuscript does not indicate line i as beginning a
stanza. The giantess: presumably the reference is to Hel, god-
dess of the dead, but the phrase is doubtful.
i8. In the manuscript these two lines are followed by stanza
19 with no indication of a break. Some editions insert here lines
2-3 of stanza 12, while others assume the loss of two or more
lines.
19. Cf. note on stanza 18. /// ijuay: very likely the road lead-
ing through the gate of Jormunrek's town at which Svanhild was
trampled to death. Sister's son: many editors change the text to
read "stepson," for the reference is certainly to Randver, son of
Jormunrek, hanged by his father on Bikki's advice (cf. Guth-
runarhvot, introductory note). Wolf-tree: the gallows, the wolf
being symbolical of outlaws. Cranes'-bait: presumably either
snakes or worms, but the passage is doubtful.
[551]
Poetic Edda
20. In the hall was din, the men drank deep,
And the horses' hoofs could no one hear,
Till the warrior hardy sounded his horn.
21. Men came and the tale to Jormunrek told
How warriors helmed without they beheld:
"Take counsel wise, for brave ones are come,
Of mighty men thou the sister didst murder."
22. Then Jormunrek laughed, his hand laid on his
beard,
His arms, for with wine he was warlike, he called
for;
He shook his brown locks, on his white shield
he looked,
And raised high the cup of gold in his hand.
23. "Happy, methinks, were I to behold
Hamther and Sorli here in my hall ;
20. Many editors assume the loss of a line after line s- The
ivarrior: presumably a warder or watchman, but the reference
may be to Hamther himself.
21. The word here rendered men (line i) is missing in the
original, involving a metrical error, and various words have
been suggested.
22. Line 2 in the original is thoroughly obscure ; some editors
directly reverse the meaning here indicated by giving the line a
negative force, while others completely alter the phrase rendered
"his arms he called for" into one meaning "he stroked his cheeks."
23. Gjuki's heirs: the original has "the well-born of Gjuki,"
and some editors have changed the proper name to Guthrun, but
the phrase apparently refers to Hamther and Sorli as Gjuki's
grandsons. In the manuscript this stanza is followed by stanza 11,
[552]
Hamthesmol
The men would I bind with strings of bows,
And Gjuki's heirs on the gallows hang."
24. In the hall was clamor, the cups were shattered.
Men stood in blood from the breasts of the Goths.
25. Then did Hamther speak forth, the haughty of
heart:
"Thou soughtest, Jormunrek, us to see,
Sons of one mother seeking thy dwelling;
Thou seest thy hands, thy feet thou beholdest,
Jormunrek, flung in the fire so hot."
26. Then roared the king, of the race of the gods,
Bold in his armor, as roars a bear:
"Stone ye the men that steel will bite not,
Sword nor spear, the sons of Jonak."
and such editors as have retained this arrangement have had to
resort to varied and complex explanations to account for it.
24. Editors have made various efforts to reconstruct a four-
line stanza out of these two lines, in some cases with the help of
lines borrowed from the puzzling stanza 11 (cf. note on stanza
23). Line 2 in the original is doubtful.
25. Some editors mark line i as an interpolation. The manu-
script marks line 4 as beginning a new stanza. As in the story
told by Jordanes, Hamther and Sorli succeed in wounding Jor-
munrek (here they cut off his hands and feet), but do not kill
him.
26. The manuscript marks line 3, and not line i, as beginning
a stanza. Of the race of the gods: the reference here is appar-
ently to Jormunrek, but in the Volsungasaga the advice to kill
Hamther and Sorli with stones, since iron will not wound them
(cf. note on stanza 11), comes from Othin, who enters the hall
as ao old man with one eye.
[553]
Poetic Edda
Sorli spake:
27. "Ill didst win, brother, when the bag thou didst
open.
Oft from that bag came baleful counsel;
Heart hast thou, Hamther, if knowledge thou
hadst !
A man without wisdom is lacking in much."
Hamther spake:
28. "His head were now oflE if Erp were living,
The brother so keen whom we killed on our road,
The warrior noble, — 'twas the Norns that drove
me
The hero to slay who in fight should be holy.
29. "In fashion of wolves it befits us not
Amongst ourselves to strive.
27. In the manuscript this stanza is introduced by the same
line as stanza 25: "Then did Hamther speak forth, the
haughty of heart," but the speaker in this case must be Sorli and
not Hamther. Some editors, however, give lines 1-2 to Hamther
and lines 3-4 to Sorli. Bag: i.e., Hamther's mouth; cf. note on
stanza 11. The manuscript indicates line 3 as beginning a new
stanza.
28. Most editors regard stanzas 28-30 as a speech by Hamther,
but the manuscript does not indicate the speaker, and some
editors assign one or two of the stanzas to Sorli. Lines 1-2 are
quoted in the Volsungasaga. The manuscript does not indicate
line I as beginning a stanza. Erp: Hamther means that while the
two brothers had succeeded only in wounding Jormunrek, Erp,
if he had been with them, would have killed him. Lines 3-4 may
be a later interpolation. Norns: the fates; the word used in the
original means the goddesses of ill fortune.
[554]
Hamthesmol
Like the hounds of the Norns, that nourished
were
In greed mid wastes so grim.
30. "We have greatly fought, o'er the Goths do we
stand
By our blades laid low, like eagles on branches;
Great our fame though we die today or tomor-
row;
None outlives the night when the Norns have
spoken."
31. Then Sorli beside the gable sank.
And Hamther fell at the back of the house.
This is called the old ballad of Hamther.
29. This is almost certainly an interpolated Ljothahattr
stanza, though some editors have tried to expand it into the For-
nyrthislag form. Hounds of the Norns: wolves.
30. Some editors assume a gap after this stanza.
31. Apparently a fragment of a stanza from the "old" Ham-
thesmol to which the annotator's concluding prose note refers.
Some editors assume the loss of two lines after line 2.
Prose. Regarding the "old" Hamthesmol, of. Guthrunarhvot,
introductory note.
[555]
PRONOUNCING INDEX OF PROPER
NAMES
Introductory Note
The pronunciations indicated in the following index are
in many cases, at best, mere approximations, and in some
cases the pronunciation of the Old Norse is itself more or
less conjectural. For the sake of clarity it has seemed
advisable to keep the number of phonetic symbols as small
as possible, even though the result is occasional failure to
distinguish between closely related sounds. In every in-
stance the object has been to provide the reader with a
clearly comprehensible and approximately correct pronun-
ciation, for which reason, particularly in such matters as
division of syllables, etymology has frequently been disre-
garded for the sake of phonetic clearness. For exapiple,
when a root syllable ends in a long (double) consonant,
the division has arbitrarily been made so as to indicate the
sounding of both elements (e. g., Am-ma, not Amm-a).
As many proper names occur in the notes but not in the
text, and as frequently the more important incidents con-
nected with the names are outlined in notes which would
not be indicated by textual references alone, the page num-
bers include all appearances of proper names in the notes
as well as in the text.
The following general rules govern the application of
the phonetic symbols used in the index, and also indicate
the approximate pronunciation of the unmarked vowels
and consonants.
Vowels. The vowels are pronounced approximately as
follows :
a - as in "alone" o - as in "on"
a - as in "father" 6 - as in "old"
e - as in "men" 6 - as in German "offnen"
e-as a in "fate" o-as in German "schon"
i-as in "is" 9 -as aiv in "law"
i - as in "machine" u - as ou in "would"
[557]
PRONOUNCING INDEX— Continued
u-as ou in "wound" ei-as ey in "they"
V - as i in "is" \ Both with a ey - as in "thejr"
- • ii[ )) >• slight sound ■' • it ^t
y-as ee m "free ^ of German u au-as ou in "our
ae - as e in "men" ai - as i in "fine"
ffi - as a in "fate"
No attempt has been made to differentiate between the
short open "o" and the short closed "o," which for speakers
of English closely resemble one another.
Consonants. The consonants are pronounced approxi-
mately as in English, with the following special points to
be noted :
G is always hard, as in "get," never soft, as in "gem ;"
following "n" it has the same sound as in "sing."
/ is pronounced as y in "young."
Th following a vowel is soft, as in "with ;" at the begin-
ning of a word or following a consonant it is hard, as in
"thin."
The long (doubled) consonants should be pronounced as
in Italian, both elements beirig distinctly sounded; e. g.,
"Am-ma."
S is always hard, as in "so," "this," never soft, as in "as."
H enters into combinations with various following con-
sonants; with "v" the sound is approximately that of wh
in "what" ; with "1," "r" and "n" it produces sounds which
have no exact English equivalents, but which can be ap-
proximated by pronouncing the consonants with a marked
initial breathing.
Accents. The accented syllable in each name is indi-
cated by the acute accent (')• I" many names, however,
and particularly in compounds, there is both a primary and
a secondary accent, and where this is the case the primary
stress is indicated by a double acute accent ('') and the
secondary one by a single acute accent (')• To avoid
possible confusion with the long vowel marks used in Old
Norse texts, the accents are placed, not over the vowels, but
after the accented syllables.
[ 558 1
PRONOUNCING INDEX
^g'-ir, the sea-god, 102, 132,
139-141, 150-154, 156-158, 161,
172, 199, 280, 299, 300, 314,
324. 359-
yEk'-in, a river, 95.
Af'-i, Grandfather, 204, 207.
Ag'-nar, a ivarrior, 390, 444,
445-
Ag'-nar, brother of Geirroth,
8s, 86.
Ag'-nar, son of Geirroth, 84,
87, 88, 106.
Ai, a divarf, 6, 8.
Ai, Great-Grandfather, 204.
Alf, a divarf, 8.
Alf, husband of Hjordis, 335,
336, 359. 374. 454-
Alf, slayer of Helgi, 286, 288,
289, 331.
Alf, son of Dag, zzz, 454.
Alf, son of Hring, 306.
Alf, son of Hunding, 295, 316,
317.
Alf, son of Ulf, 222.
Alf'-heim, home of the elves,
3, 88, 186.
Alf'-hild, zvife of Hjorvarth,
272, 273.
Alf'-roth-ul, the sun, 81.
Al'-gron, an island, 127.
Al'-i, a ivarrior, 222.
Alm'-veig, wife of Halfdan,
222.
A'-lof, daughter of Franmar,
273, 27s, 276-
Al'-svith, a giant, 62.
Al'-svith, a horse, 99, 100, 394.
Al'-thjof, a divarf, 6.
Al'-vald-i, -a giant, 128.
Al'-vis, a d^varf, 183-193.
Ar'-viss-mjl, the Ballad of Al-
vis, 68, 109, 183-194, 252, 283,
. 546.
Am, son of Dag, 223.
Am'-bott, daughter of Thrall,
207.
Am'-ma, Grandmother, 204,
207, 208.
An, a dwarf, 6.
And'-hrira-nir, a cook, 92.
And"-var-a-naut', a ring, 114,
361, 448.
And'-var-i, a divarf, 8, 114,
260, 343, 357-361, 417, 426,
448, 493.
An'-gan-tyr, a berserker, 225.
An'-gan-tyr, a ivarrior, 2i8.
220, 232.
Ang'-eyj-a, mother of Heim-
dall, 229.
Angr'-both-a, a giantess, 17, 21,
146, 196, 230, 231.
Arf'-i, son of Jarl, 214.
Ar"-in-nef'-ja, daughter of
Thrall, 207.
Arn'-grim, father of the ber-
serkers, 225.
[559]
Index
Ar'-vak, a. horse, 99, 100, 394.
As"-a-thor', Thor, 135.
As'-ga.th, home of the gods, 3.
11, 12, 141, 179, 186.
Ask, Ash, 8.
As'-Iaug, daughter of Brynhild,
.353, 404,429-
As'-mund, a giant (f), 104.
Ath'-al, son of Jar I, 214.
At'-la, mother of Heimdall, 229.
At"-la-kvith'-a, the Lay of Atli,
165, 255, 306, 421, 448, 463,
476, 480-501, 515, 520, 522,
530, 543-
At"-la-mpr, the Ballad of Atli,
448, 449. 463, 480-482, 485,
487, 491, 494, 498-535, 538,
540, 545, 548.
At'-li, Attila, 8, 121, 290, 339,
346, 361, 406, 418, 419, 422,
430-432, 436-438, 447-451,
456-459, 461-466, 468-470,
472-478, 480-485, 487-489,
491-502, 504, 506, 507, 513,
514, 516-520, 522-538, 541,
546-548.
At'-Ii, son of Hring, 306.
At'-li, son of Ithmund, 271,
273-276, 278-281, 283, 284.
At'-rith, Othin, 104.
Aur'-both-a, a giantess, 109,
228.
Aur'-both-a, Mengloth's hand-
maid, 249.
Aur'-gelm-ir, Ymir, 76.
Aur'-vang, a dwarf, 7.
Austr'-i, a dwarf, 6.
Auth, mother of Harald Battle-
Tooth, 227.
Auth'-a, sister of Agnar, 390,
444, 445-
Auth'-i, son of Halfdan the
Old, 221, 485.
Baldr, a god, i, 2, 14-16, 22, 25,
82, 83, 90, 91, 114, i6i, 172,
195-199, 218, 227, 228, 236,
245, 360.
Baldrs Draumar, B al dr's
Dreams, 15, 19, 114, 174, 178,
195-200, 236.
Bal'-eyg, Othin, 103.
Bar'-i, a dwarf, 247.
Barn, son of Jarl, 214.
Bar'-ri, a berserker, 225.
Bar'-ri, a forest, 119, I20.
Beit'-i, Atli's steward, 520.
Bekk'-hild, sister of Brynhild,
345, 346.
Bel'-i, a giant, 22, no, 112.
Ber'-a, Kostbera, 44% 510, 511,
517-
Ber'-gel-mir, a giant, 76, 78.
Best'-la, Othin's mother, 4, 61,
160.
Beyl'-a, servant of Freyr, 152,
»53, 169.
Bif'-lind-i, Othin, 104.
B if '-rest, the rainbow bridge,
22, 90, 96, 102, 136, 329, 376.
Bi'-fur, a dwarf, 6.
Bik'-ki, follower of Jormunrek,
439, 487, 488, 538, 551.
Bil'-eyg, Othin, 103.
[560]
Index
Bil'-ling, a giant (?), 28, 46, 48.
Bil'-rost, the rainboiu bridge,
102, 376.
Bil'-skirn-ir, Thor's divelling,
88, 93.
Bjort, Mengloth's handmaid,
249.
Blain, Ymir (?). 6.
Bleik, Mengloth's handmaid,
249.
Blind, folloijoer of Hunding,
312.
Blith, Mengloth's handmaid,
249.
Bod'-di, son of Karl, 209.
Bp'-fur, a diuarf, 6.
Bolm, an island, 225.
Bol'-thorn, Othin's grandfa-
ther, 4, 61.
Bol'-verk, Othin, 50, 52, 103.
Bom'-bur, a diuarf, 6.
B6nd'-i, son of Karl, 209.
Borg'-ar, brother of Borg-
hild (f), 334.
Borg'-hild, mother of Helgi,
270, 291, 293, 310, 333-335-
Borg'-ny, daughter of Heithrek,
469-473, 479.
Both'-vild, daughter of Ni-
thuth, 254, 258, 260, 261, 263,
265-268.
Brag'-a-lund, a forest, 314-
Brag'-i, a god, 102, 152, 155-
158, 228, 314, 394.
Brag'-i, brother of Sigrun, 318,
319-
Brag'-i Bod'-da-son, a skald,
102.
Bra'-lund, birthplace of Helgi,
291, 292, 310.
Bram'-i, a berserker, 225.
Brand'-ey, an island, 297.
Bratt'-skegg, son of Karl, 209.
Bra'-voll, a field, 303.
Breith, son of Karl, 209.
Breith'-a-blik, Baldr's home,
90.
Brim'-ir, a giant, 6, 16, 17, 394.
Brim'-ir, a sivord, 102.
Bris'-ings, the divarfs, 159, 177-
179, 236.
Brodd, follotver of Hrolf, 224.
Brot af Sig"-urth-ar-kvith'-u,
Fragment of a Sigurth Lay,
15s, 370. 402-412, 420, 421,
427-429. 448, 450-452, 486,
493, 515, 539, 542, 547-
Brun"-a-vag'-ar, a harbor, 313,
314.
Bruth, daughter of Karl, 210.
Bryn'-hild, luife of Gunnar, 14,
226, 234, 270, 296, 339, 344-
347, 349-353, 362, 370, 371,
383-388, 391, 396, 397, 400,
403-408, 412, 417-419, 421-
425. 427, 429-438, 442-448,
457, 459. 460, 469, 470, 474-
476, 481, 484, 511, 516, 518,
532, 537. 543-
Bu'-i, a berserker, 225.
Bu'-i, son of Karl, 209.
Bund"-in-skeg'-gi, son of Karl,
209.
[561]
Index
Bur, father of Othin, 4, 160,
228.
Bur, son of Jarl, 214.
Buth'-li, father of Atli, 296,
339, 344, 346, 347, 37^, 385.
388, 405, 406, 408, 417-419,
425, 429, 430, 432, 437, 441,
443, 459, 466, 474, 485, 487,
488, 498, 512, 518, 521, 525,
530, 532-
Buth'-lungs, descendants of
Buthli, 498.
Bygg'-vir, Freyr's servant, 152,
^53, 165, 166, 169.
By'-leist (or By'-leipt), brother
of Lokij 22, 230.
Dag, a god (Day), 66, 75, 192.
Dag, brother of Sigrun, 310,
318, 319, 323, 324, 331.
Dag, husband of Thora, 223,
454-
Dain, a dtjuarf, 6, 220.
Dain, a hart, 98.
Dain, an elf, 62.
Dan, a king, 216.
Dan'-a, daughter of Danp, 216.
Danp, a king, 216, 484.
Del'-ling, father of Day, 66, 75,
247.
Digr'-ald-i, son of Thrall, 206.
Dog'-ling, Delling, 75.
Dog'-lings, descendants of Dag,
223.
Dolg'-thras-ir, a divarf, 7.
D6r'-i, a divarf, 8, 247.
Drap Nifi'-ung-a, the Slaying
of the Niflungs, 408, 438, 447-
449, 461, 472, 477, 481, 482,
485, 489, 494, 501, 539, 543.
Draup'-nir, a divarf, 7.
Draup'-nir, a ring, 114, 360.
Dreng, son of Karl, 209.
Drott, son of Thrall, 206.
Drumb, son of Thrall, 206.
Drumb'-a, daughter of Thrall,
207.
Duf, a divarf, 8.
Dun'-eyr, a hart, 98.
Dur'-in, a divarf, 6.
Dval'-in, a divarf, 6, 7, 62, 188,
375-
Dval'-in, a hart, 98.
Dyr'-a-thror, a hart, 98.
Ed'-da, Great-Grandmother,
204, 205.
Egg'-ther, the giants' watch-
man, 18.
Eg'-il, brother of Folund, 254-
257, 26s, 267.
Eg'-il, father of Thjalfi (f),
141.
Eg"-ils-sag'-a, the Saga of
Egil, 139.
Eik"-in-skjald'-i, a divarf, 7, 8.
Eik"-in-tjas'-na, daughter of
Thrall, 207.
Eik'-thyrn-ir, a hart, 94.
Eir, Mengloth's handmaid, 248,
249.
Eist'-la, mother of Heimdall,
229.
Eit'-il, son of Atli, 448, 461.
[562]
Index
482, 495-498, 525. 540, 54i»
548.
Eld'-hrim-nir, a kettle, 92.
Eld'-ir, JEgir's servant, 153,
154.
El"-i-vag'-ar, the Milky
JVay (?), 76, 140.
Emb'-la, Elm, 8.
Ern'-a, ^uife of Jarl, 213, 214.
Erp, son of Atli, 448, 461, 482,
495-498, 525, 540, 541, 548.
Erp, son of Jonak, 361, 439, 538,
540, 546, 548, 550, 554-
Ey'-fur-a, mother of the ber-
serkers, 225.
Eyj'-olf, son of Hunding, 295,
316, 317.
Ey'-lim-i, father of Hjordis,
226, 270, 295, 335, 336, 340,
341, 363, 365.
Ey'-Hm-i, father of Svava, 277,
284, 285, 287, 335.
Ey'-moth, Atli's emissary, 456,
457-
Ey'-mund, king of Holmgarth,
222.
Eyr'-gjaf-a, mother of Heim-
dall, 229.
Faf'-nir, brother of Regin, 226,
260, 273, 339, 345, 357, 3S9»
,3^-365, 369-383, 38s, 412.
4"2i, 431, 445, 448, 475, 476,
484.
Faf'-nls-mpl', the Ballad of
Fafnir, 6, 7, 125, 151, 188,
215, 226, 273, 343, 344, 356,
357, 365, 369-388, 390, 402,
411, 417, 445, 450, 474, 476,
509.
Fal'-hofn-ir, a horse, 96.
Far'-baut-i, father of Loki, 157,
168.
Farm'-a-tyr, Othin, 104.
Fath'-ir, Father, 204, 210.
Feim'-a, daughter of Karl, 210.
Feng, Othin, 366.
Fen'-ja, a giantess, 436.
Fenr'-ir, a wolf, 17-23, 81-83,
91, 93, 100, 140, 146, 152, 164,
165, 170, 196, 303.
Fen'-sal-ir, Frigg's hall, 15.
Fil'-i, a dwarf, 7.
Fim'-a-feng, yEgir's servant,
152, 153-
Fim'-bul-thul, a river, 95.
Fith, a dvjarf, 8.
Fit'-jung, Earth, 43, 44.
Fjal'-ar, a cock, 18, 19, 243.
Fjal'-ar, a divarf, 8. *
Fjal'-ar, Suttung (?), 32.
Fjal'-ar, Utgartha-Loki (f),
130.
Fjol'-kald, Svipdag's grand-
father, 240.
Fjol'-nir, Othin, 103, 366.
Fjol"-svinns-m9l', the Ballad
of Fjolsvith, 234, 239-251.
Fjol'-svith, Mengloth's watch-
man, 234, 239-250.
Fjol'-svith, Othin, 103.
Fjol'-var, a giant (f), 127.
Fjon, an island, 455.
Fjorg'-yn, Jorth, 23, 24, 136.
[563]
Index
Fjorg'-yn, Othin, 24, 160.
Fjorm, a river, 95.
Fjorn'-ir, Gunnar's cupbearer,
486.
Fjors'-ungs, the fishes (?), 321.
Fj6sn'-ir, son of Thrall, 206.
Fjot'-ur-Iund, a forest, 323.
Fljoth, daughter of Karl, 210.
Folk'-vang, Freyja's home, 90,
175-
For'-set-i^ a god, 91, 228.
F6st"-brorth-ra-sag'-a, the Saga
of the Foster-Brothers, 46.
Fra Dauth'-a Sinf'-jotl-a, Of
Sinfjotli's Death, 270, 293,
295, 302, 332-337, 340, 342,
356, 357. 359. 365, 368, 374,
386, 388, 421, 454, 455.
Fraeg, a d<warf, 7.
Fran'-ang, a ivaterfall, 172,
173-
Fjan'-mar, Sigrlin's foster-
father, 273, 275,
Frar, a dwarf, 7.
Frath'-mar, son of Dag, 223.
Frek'-a-stein, a battlefield, 287,
288, 304, 307, 318, 319. 322.
Frek'-i, a ivolf, 92, 295.
Frek'-i, son of Dag, 223.
Frey'-ja, a goddess, 10-12, 22,
90, 91, 102, 108, 128, 152, 157-
159, 161-163, 175-177, 180,
181, 217-220, 231-233, 236,
472.
Freyr, a god, 10, 22, 88, 91,
loi, 107-110, 112-115, 117.
119, 120, 152, 161-166, 169,
175, 220, 228, 284, 308, 428.
Fri'-aut, daughter of Hildigun,
222, 223.
Frigg, a goddess, 14, 15, 22, 68,
29, 86, 89, 91, 151, 152, 157-
161, 182, 196, 236, 248, 472.
Frith, Mengloth's handmaid,
249.
Frost'-i, a dwarf, 8.
Froth'-i, a Danish king, 294,
295. 436-
Froth'-i, father of Hledis, 222.
Froth'-i, father of Kari (?),
224.
Ful'-la, Frigg's handmaid, 86.
Ful'-nir, son of Thrtell, 206.
Fund'-in, a dwarf, 7.
Gagn'-rath, Othin, 68, 70-72.
Gand'-alf, a dwarf, 7.
Gang, brother of Thjazi, 128.
Gang'-ler-i, King Gylfi, 94.
Gang'-ler-i, Othin, 103.
Garm, a hound, 19, 21, 24, 102,
140, 196.
Gast'-ropn-ir, Mengloth's
dwelling, 242.
Gaut, Othin, 105.
Gef -jun, a goddess, 157-159.
Geir'-mund, kinsman of Atli,
478.
Geir'-on-ul, a Valkyrie, 99.
Geir'-roth, a king, 84-87, 104-
106.
Geir'-skog-ul, a Valkyrie, 14.
Geir'-vim-ul, a river, 95.
[564]
Index
Geit'-ir, Gripir's servant, 340-
342.
Ger'-i, a hound, 244.
Ger'-i, a luolf, 92, 295.
Gerth, daughter of Gymir, 109,
111-115, 119, 120, 152, 165,
228.
Gif, a hound, 244.
Gim'-le, a mountain, 26.
Gin'-nar, a d'ivarf, 8.
Gin"-nung-a-gap', Yaivning
Gap, 4, 77.
Gip'-ul, a river, 95.
Gisl, a horse, 96.
Gjaf'-Iaug, Gjuki's sister, 413.
Gjal"-lar-horn', Heimdall's
horn, 12, 20.
Gjol, a river, 95.
Gjolp, mother of Heimdall,
229.
Gjuk'-i, father of Gunnar, 226,
343, 344, 348, 352-354, 362,
383, 403, 406, 407, 410, 411,
413, 415-418, 421-423, 426,
429, 444, 446-448, 451, 452,
459, 462, 466, 470, 476, 477,
480, 482, 499, 500, 509, 516,
517, 529, 535, 541, 542, 546,
552, 553-
Gjuk'-i, son of Hogni, 449.
Gjuk'-ungs, Gjuki's sons, 344,
383, 388, 403, 408, 421, 426,
431, 446, 448, 449, 451, 456,
457, 476, 477, 483, 484, 500,
501.
Glap'-svith, Othin, 103.
Glas'-ir, a forest, 274.
Glath, a horse, 96.
Glaths'-heim, Othin's divelling,
89.
Glaum, Atli's horse, 493.
Glaum'-vor, ivife of Gunnar,
448, 500, 502, 507, 508, 510,
511.
Gleip'-nir, a chain, 17.
Gler, a horse, 96.
Glit'-nir, Forseti's divelling, 91.
Gl5'-in, a dwarf, 7.
Gnip"-a-her-lir, a cave, 19, 21,
24.
Gnip'-a-lund, a forest, 300,
301, 303, 306.
Gnit'-a-heith, Fafnir's moun-
tain, 343, 365, 371, 484-
Go'-in, a serpent, 98.
Gol, a Valkyrie, 99.
Gol"-lin-kamb'-i, a cock, 19,
243, 329-
Goll'-nir, a giant (?), 303.
GoH'-rond, daughter of Gjuki,
414-416, 418.
Goll'-topp, a horse, 96, 97.
Goll'-veig, a Wane, 10.
Gom'-ul, a river, 95.
Gond'-lir, Othin, 104.
Gond'-ul, a Valkyrie, 14.
Gop'-ul, a river, 95.
Gorm (the Old), King of Den-
mark, 201, 202.
Goth'-mund, son of Granmar,
290, 3CX3-305, 309, 316-318,
321, 322, 332.
Got'-thorra, slayer of Sigurth,
[565 J
Index
226, 350, 354, 361, 405, 410,
426-428,453, 533.
Gra'-bak, a serpent, 98.
Graf'-vit-nir, a serpent, 98.
Graf'-vol-luth, a serpent, 98.
Gram, Sigurth's sivord, 351,
365, 378, 427, 428.
Gran'-i, Sigurth's horse, 259,
260, 303, 342, 344, 350, 358,
359. 38s, 395, 403, 406, 417,
431, 432, 445, 446, 452, 476.
Gran'-mar, father of Hoth-
brodd, 291, 296, 300, 304, 308,
316-322, 332.
Greip, mother of Heimdall,
229.
Gret'-tir, a hero, 64.
Gret"-tis-sag'-a, the Saga of
Grettir, 129.
Grim, follower of Hrolf, 224.
Grim, Othin, 103.
Grim'-hild, ^wife of Gjtiki, 226,
349, 350, 354, 403, 405, 436,
448, 455-457, 459-461, 474,
519, 524, 526.
Grim'-nir, Othin, 84, 86, 87,
103, 104.
Grim"-nis-mpl, the Ballad of
Grimnir, 4, 5, 9, 12, 14, 17-
20, 62, 68, 75, 84-108, 122,
130, 136, 138, 139, 152, 17s,
179, 180, 196, 203, 221, 230,
234, 237, 253, 302, 303, 323,
329, 366, 376, 378, 384, 394,
472, 487, 494.
Grip'-ir, Sigurth's uncle, 337,
340-355-
Grip"-is-sp9', Gripir's Proph-
ecy, 14, 87, 226, 336-359, 365,
371, 383, 386, 388, 403, 404,
406, 409, 412, 417, 418, 421,
422, 429, 440-442, 446, 447,
450, 451, 456, 469, 481, 484,
499, 518, 536.
Gro'-a, mother of Svipdag, 234-
236, 238.
Grgth, a river, 95.
Grot"-ta-songr', the Song of
Grotti, 436.
Grot'-ti, a mill, 436.
Gr6"-u-galdr', Groa's Spell,
234-239-
Gull'-fax-i, a horse, 126.
GuH"-in-tan'-ni, Heimdall, 97.
Gung'-nir, a spear, loi, 395.
Gun'-nar, brother of Borg-
hild (?), 334.
Gun'-nar, folloiver of Hrolf,
224.
Gun'-nar, son of Gjuki, 8, 226,
339, 343, 349-354, 361, 383,
403-405, 407-409, 414, 417-
419, 421-424, 426, 427, 429-
434, 436-38, 442, 447-449, 453,
456, 457, 459-46t, 467, 469,
470, 473-479, 482-486, 488-
494, 497-500, 502, 507-509-
513, 517-519, 521, 522, 532,
533, 539, 541, 543, 546-548-
Gunn'-loth, daughter of Sut-
tung, 28, 32, 50-52.
Gunn'-thor-in, a river, 95.
Gunn'-thro, a river, 9?.
[566 J
Index
Gust, Andvari (f),3S7, S^i-
Guth, a Valkyrie, 14, 314.
Guth'-run, nvife of Sigurth, 226,
339, 343, 344, 349, 352-354,
383, 388, 403-407, 410-417,
419, 421-424, 428, 429, 433,
436-439, 442, 446-451, 453,
455-457, 459-466, 468, 470,
477, 480, 482, 485, 493-501,
513, 515, 516, 518, 519, 522-
544, 546-550, 552.
Guth"-run-ar-hvot', Guthrun's
Inciting, 226, 410, 411, 439,
447, 450, 497, 535-547, 549,
551, 555-
Guth"-run-ar-kvith'-a I (en
Fyrst'-a), the First Lay of
Guthrun, 4, 293, 325, 402,
409, 411-420, 422, 423, 426,
429, 430, 450, 452-454, 475,
479-
Guth"-run-ar-kvith'-a II (On'-
nur, en Forn'-a), the Second
(Old) Lay of Guthrun, 230,
255, 325, 407, 410-412, 416,
419, 450-465, 467, 476, 493,
495, 496, 501, 505-
Guth"- run - ar - kvith' - a III
(Thrith'-ja), the Third Lay
of Guthrun, 450, 451, 465-
469, 517-
Gylf"-a-gin'-ning, the Deceiv-
ing of Gylfi, 120, 228, 229,
231, 248, 370.
Gyl'-lir, a horse, 96.
Gym'-ir, Mgir, 151.
[
Gym'-ir, a giant, 109, iii, 112,
114, 165, 228.
Gyrth, son of Dag, 223.
Had'-ding, a Danish king, 311,
458.
Had"- ding -ja - skat'- i, H ad-
dings' -Hero (Helgi), 311,
330, 331.
Had'-dings, berserkers, 225.
Haera'-ing, son of Hunding, 311.
Hag'-al, Helgi's foster-father,
310-312.
Hak'-i, son of Hvethna, zzy.
Hal, son of Karl, 209.
Half, King of Horthaland, 222,
223.
Half-dan, father of Kara, 316,
330.
Half-dan (the Old), a Danish
king, 221-223, 227, 269, 307,
308, 364, 454,
Halfs'-sag-a, the Saga of Half,
222, 223.
Ham'-al, son of Hagal, 311,
3H-
Ham'-ther, son of Jonak, 361,
439, 447, 536-541, 545-550,
552-555-
Ham"-thes-m9r, the Ballad of
Hamther, 226, 410, 439, 447,
450, 488, 536-540, 545-555-
Ha'-mund, son of Sigmund,
293, 334-
Han'-nar, a divarf, 7.
Har, Othin, 94, 103.
567]
Index
Har'-ald (Battle-Tooth), son
of Hrorek, 227.
Har'-ald (Blue-Tooth), King
of Denmark, 201, 202.
Har'-barth, Othin, 104, 121,
122, 125-137.
Har"-barths-ljoth', the Poem of
Harbarth, 12, 24, 104, 121-
140, 142, 143, 152, 167, 168,
170, 171, 174, 175, 185, 195,
228, 314, 394, 443, 478, 480.
Hat'-a-fjord, a fjord, 278.
Hat'-i, a giant, 278, 280, 281.
Hat'-i, a ivolf, 18, 100.
Haug'-spor-i, a divarf, 7.
Heer'-fath-er, Othin, 13, 14, 69,
92, 94, 218, 390.
Heim'-dall, a god, 3, 12, 18, 20,
90, 97, "5, 166, 167, 178, 202,
203, 213, 228-230.
Heim'-ir, Brynhild's foster-fa-
ther, 345-348, 350, 351, 353,
403, 404, 445-
Heith, daughter of Hrimnir,
228.
Heith, Golliveg (?), to.
Heith'-draup-nir, Mimir (f),
393, 394-
Heith'-rek, father of Borgny,
470.
Heith'-run, a goat, 94, 232.
Hel, goddess of the dead, 16,
17, 19, 20, 22, 93, 95, 97, 115,
118, 146, 196, 231, 237, 245,
377, 441-443, 518, 551.
Hel'-blind-i, Othin, 103.
Helg"-a-kvith'-a Hjor"-varths-
son'-ar, the Lay of Helgi the
Son of Hjorvarth, 14, 189,
269-290, 292, 293, 29s, 298,
300, 302, 304, 309, 313, 318,
332, 358, 359, 371, 506.
Helg"-a-kvith'-a Hund"-ings-
ban'-a I (en Fyr'-ri), the
First Lay of Helgi Hundings-
bane, 14, 160, 215, 221, 273,
276, 281, 287, 290-308, 310,
311, 313, 316-319, 321, 322,
328, 358, 364-366, 428, 524.
Helg"-a-kvith'-a Hund"-ings-
ban'-a H (On'-nur), the Sec-
ond Lay of Helgi Hundings-
bane, 95, 272, 288, 289, 294,
296, 298, 306, 309-331, 366,
418, 434, 466, 543-
Helg'-i (Had"-ding-ja-skat'-i),
Helgi the Haddings -Hero,
311, 330, 331.
Helg'-i, Hjalmgunnar (?), 344,
345-
Helg'-i, son of Hjorvarth, 269-
272, 276-289, 310, 311, 330,
331, 335-
Helg'-i, son of Sigmund, 221,
269, 270, 276, 289-301, 304,
306-336, 339, 340, 357, 358,
364-366, 368, 371, 446.
Hel'-reith Bryn'-hild-ar, Bryn-
hild's Hell-Ride, 129, 255,
345, 346, 353, 387, 388, 390,
442-447,450, 5"-
Hept"-i-fir-i, a divarf, 7.
Her'-borg, queen of the Huns,
411,413,414.
[568]
Index
Her'-fjot-ur, a Valkyrie, 99.
Her'-jan, Othin, 14, 103, 416.
Herk'-ja, Atli's servant, 465,
466, 468.
Her'-moth, son of Othin, 218.
Hers'-ir, father of Erna, 213.
Her'-teit, Othin, 103.
Her"-var-ar-sag'-a, the Saga
of Hervor, 366, 484.
Her'-varth, a berserker, 225.
Her'-varth, son of Hunding,
316, 317-
Her'-vor, a sivan-maiden, 254-
256, 259.
Heth'-in, brother of Helgi, 271-
273, 284-286, 288, 289.
Heth'-ins-ey, an island, 297.
Hild, a Valkyrie, 14, 99.
Hild, Brynhild, 444, 511.
Hild, mother of King Half,
223, 224.
Hild'-i-gun, daughter of Sako-
nung, 222, 223.
Hild"-i-svin'-i, a boar, 220.
Hild'-olf, a warrior, 124.
Him'-in-bjorg, Heimdall's
diuelling, 90.
Him"-in-vang'-ar, Heaven'S'
Field, 293.
Hind'-ar-fjoll, Brynhil d's
mountain, 383, 384, 388, 445.
Hjal'-li, Atli's cook, 491, 492,
520, 521.
Hjalm'-ar, a ivarrior, 225.
Hjalm'-ber-i, Othin, 103.
Hjalm'-gun-nar, a Gothic king,
345. 390, 445-
Hjalp'-rek, father of A If, 335,
336, 358, 359, 365, 369, 454-
Hjor'-dis, mother of Sigurth,
226, 270, 277, 293, 333, 335,
336, 340, 341, 368, 374, 454.
Hjor'-leif, father of King Half,
223.
Hjor'-leif, follower of Helgi,
298.
Hjor'-varth, a berserker, 225.
Hjor'-varth, father of Helgi,
269-274, 276-278, 284, 287,
289, 331.
Hjor'-varth, father of Hvethna,
227.
Hjor'-varth, son of Hunding,
273, 29s, 316, 317. 368.
Hlath'-guth, a s<wan- maiden,
254-256.
Hle'-barth, a giant, 128.
Hle'-bjorg, a mountain, 319,
320.
Hle'-dis, mother of Ottar, 222.
Hler, /Egir, 132, 152.
Hles'-ey, an island, 132, 139,
314, 478.
Hle'-vang, a dwarf, 7.
Hlif, Mengloth's handmaid,
248.
Hlif'-thras-a, Mengloth's hand-
maid, 248.
Hlin, Frigg, 22.
Hlith'-skjolf, Othin's seat, 86,
88, 107, io8, 480, 487.
Hlokk, a Valkyrie, 99.
Hl6r'-rith-i, Thor, 135, 140,
[569 J
Index
H3, 147. 149. 169, 176, 178,
182.
nioth'-varth, follower of
Helffi, 280.
Hloth'-ver, a Prankish king,
459-
Hloth'-ver, father of Hervor,
254-256, 259.
Hloth'-yn, Jorth, 23.
Hlym'-dal-ir, Brynhild's home,
444-
Hnifl'-ung, son of Hogni, 498,
515. 529-
Hnifl'-ungs, the people of Gjuki
(Nibelungs), 291, 305.
Hnik'-ar, Othin, 103, 357, 366,
367-
Hnik'-uth, Othin, 103, 104,
Hp'-alf, a Danish king, 437,
454-
Hp'-alf, King Half of Hortha-
land, 223, 224.
Hp'-brok, a hawk, 102.
Hodd'-mim-ir, Mimir, 80.
Hodd'-rof-nir, Mimir (f), 393,
394-
Hog'-ni, brother of Sigar, 312,
313-
Hog'-ni, father of Sigrun, 296,
306, 308, 312, 313, 3i6-3i9»
323, 328, 329.
Hog'-ni, son of Gjuki, 226, 343,
350, 354, 361, 404-406, 421,
425-427, 429, 431, 434, 447-
449. 453, 456, 457, 459-46i,
467, 469, 472, 476, 477. 482,
484-487, 490-93, 498-500, 502-
506, 509, 511, 512, 514, 515,
517-521, 523, 529-533, 539.
541, 543, 546-548.
Hpk'-on, father of Thora, 419,
454, 455-
Hoi, a river, 95.
Holm'-garth, Russia, 222.
Holth, son of Karl, 209.
Hon'-ir, a god, 8, 20, 25, 162,
358, 359, 493.
Hpr, a dwarf, 7.
Hpr, Othin, 10, 51-53, 60, 103.
Horn, a river, 237.
Horn'-bor-i, a dwarf, 7.
Horth'-a-land, Half's kingdom,
222, 223.
H6rv'-ir, follower of Hrolf,
224.
Hos'-vir, son of Thrall, 206.
Hoth, slayer of Baldr, 15, 25,
161, 198, 228.
Hoth'-brodd, son of Granmar,
269, 270, 291, 296, 297, 301,
304-306, 309, 316, 317, 319.
321, 322.
Hp'-tun, Helgi's home, 293, 298.
H9v"-a-m9r, the Ballad of the
High One, 4, 28-68, 71, 75,
112, 117, 130, 188, 193, 205,
215, 236, 237, 247, 357, 367,
368, 379, 387, 393, 397.
Hp'-varth, son of Hunding,
295.
Hrje'-svelg, an eagle, 21, 78,
115.
Hran'-i, a berserker, 22$.
[570]
Index
Hrauth'-ung, ancestor of Hjor-
dis, 226.
Hrauth'-ung, father of Geir-
roth, 85.
Hreim, son of Thrall, 206.
Hreith'-mar, father of Regin, 7,
357-359. 361-363.
Hrim'-fax-i, a horse, 72.
Hrim'-gerth, a giantess, 189,
«7i, 278-283.
Hrim"-gerth-a-m9r, the Ballad
of Hrimgerth, z-ji, 278-284.
Hrim'-grim-nir, a giant, 118.
Hrim'-nir, a giant, 115, 228.
Hring, a ivarrior, 306, 307.
Hring'-stath-ir, Ringsted, 293,
308.
Hring'-stoth, Ringsted (?), 293.
Hrist, a Valkyrie, 99.
Hrith, a river, 95, 237.
Hro'-ar, brother of Borghild
(?). 334.
Hrolf (the Old), King of
Gautland, 224.
Hrol'-laug, a ivarrior, 319, 320.
Hro'-mund, a luarrior, 331.
Hro'-mund-ar Sag'-a Greips'-
son-ar, the Saga of Hromund
Greipsson, 311, 331.
Hron, a river, 95, 237.
Hropt, Othin, 25, 166, 393.
Hropt'-a-tyr, Othin, 66, 105.
Hro'-rek, King of Denmark,
227.
Hross'-thjof, son of Hrimnir,
228.
Hroth, a giant, 142.
Hroth'-mar, lover of Sigrlin,
275, 276, 278, 286.
Hroth'-vit-nir, Fenrir, 100, 164.
Hrot'-ti, a sivord, 385.
Hrung'-nir, a giant, 125, 126,
143, 171, 172, 394-
Hrym, a giant, 21.
Hug'-ib, a raven, 92.
Hum'-lung, son of Hjorvarih,
272, 273.
Hund'-ing, enemy of Sigmund,
269, 270, 273, 294, 295, 307,
309-311, 313, 315, 316, 326,
335, 336, 342, 343, 357, 358,
365, 368, 369.
Hund'-land, Hunding's king-
dom, 294, 310, 311.
Hver'-gel-mir, a spring, 94.
Hveth'-na, mother of Haki, zzj.
Hym'-ir, a giant, 77, 138-150,
163.
Hym"-is-kvith'-a, the Lay of
Hymir, 21, 77, 116, 122, 138-
152, 163, 170, 174, 179, 180,
i8a, 183, 391.
Hym'-ling, son of Hjorvarth,
273-
Hynd'-la, a giantess, 217-220,
222, 231-233.
Hynd"-lu-lj5th', the Poem of
Hyndla, 115, 132, 154, 167,
203, 217-233, 273, 292, 307,
314, 350, 427, 454, 457.
[571]
If'-ing, a river, 72, 131.
Im, son of Vafthruthnir, 70.
Index
Imth, a giant, 304.
Imth, mother of Heimdall, 229.
Ing'-un, sister of Njorth (?),
165.
Ing'-un-ar=Freyr, Freyr, 165.
In'-stein, father of Ottar, 220,
222, 224.
Ir'-i, a d<warf, z/^rj,
Is'-olf, son of Olmoth, 224.
Is'-ung, a ivarrior, 297.
Ith'-a-voll, meeting-place of
the gods, 5, 24.
Ith'-i, brother of Thjazi, 128.
Ith'-mund, follo'U'er of Hjor-
varth, 273, 274.
Ith'-un, a goddess, 102, 113,
128, 152, 157, 158, 175.
I'-vald-i, a dwarf, loi.
I'-var, King of Siveden, 227.
Jafn'-hpr, Othin, 103, 104.
Jalk, Othin, 104, 105.
Jar'-i, a dwarf, 7, 247.
Jar'-iz-leif, Atli's emissary,
456, 457-
Jar'-iz-skar, Atli's emissary,
4S6» 457.
Jarl, son of Rig, 212-215.
Jarn'-sax-a, a giantess, 125.
Jarn'-sax-a, mother of Heim-
dall, 229.
Jof'-ur-mar, son of Dag, 223.
J6n'-ak, father of Hamther,
439. 447. 536, 538, 542. 546,
548. 550. 553-
Jor'-inun-rek, Ermanarich, 225,
««6, 339. 407. 437. 439, 447,
451, 538-540, 546, 549, 551-
554-
Jorth, Earth, 12, 23, 24, 123,
136, 170, 174, 175, 389.
Joth, son of Jarl, 21/^.
Jot'-un-heim, the world of the
giants, 3, 5, 6, 21, 107, iii,
128, 179-181, 186.
Kar'-a, daughter of Half dan,
272, 310, 311, 314, 316, 330,
331, 345-
Kar'-i, ancestor of Ketil, 224.
Karl, son of Rig, 208, 209.
Kai'"-u-lj6th', the Poem of
Kara, 272, 311, 314, 315, 331.
Kef-sir, son of Thrall, 206.
Ker'-laug, a river, 96.
Ket'-il Horth'-a=Kar'-i, hus-
band of Hildigun, 223, 224
Kil'-i, a dwarf, 7.
Kjal'-ar, Othin, 104.
Kjar, father of Olrun, 254-256,
485.
Kleg'-gi, son of Thrall, 206.
Klur, son of Thrall, 206.
Klypp, father of Ketil, 223.
Kne'-froth, Atli's messenger,
448, 482, 483, 502.
Kolg'-a, daughter of ^gir,
299.
Kon, son of Rig, 201, 209, 21a
214, 215.
236, 256, 306.
Kormt, a river, 96.
Kost'-ber-a, wife of Hognt,
449, 500, 502-506, 510.
[572]
Index
Kumb'-a, daughter of Thrall,
207.
Kund, son of Jar I, 214.
LS'-gjarn, Loki, 245.
L»'-rath, Yggdrasil, 94.
Ljev'-a-tein, a siuord, 245.
Lauf'-ey, mother of Loki, 9,
157, 168, 177-179-
Leg'-gjald-i, son of Thrall,
206.
Leipt, a river, 95, 323.
Leir'-brim-ir, Ymir (?), z/^z.
Lett'-fet-i, a horse, 96.
Lif, mother of the neiv race, 80.
Lif'-thras-ir, father of the neiv
race, 80.
Lim'-a-fjord, a fjord, 501, 510.
Lit, a diuarf, 7 .
Lj6th'-a-tal, the List of
Charms, 28, 44, 60, 63, 236.
Lodd'-faf-nir, a singer, 28, 52-
59, 67.
Lodd"-faf-nis-m9r, the Ballad
of Loddfafnir, 28, 67, 387,
397-
Lof'-ar, a dijjarf, 7, 8.
Lofn'-heith, daughter of
Hreithmar, 363.
Log'-a-fjoll, a mountain, 294,
295. 316, 317.
Lok"-a-sen'-na, Loki's Wran-
gling, 4, 16, 26, 102, 107, 130,
134, 139, 151-175, 177, 178,
i8o, 184, 196, 218, 228, 232,
236, 256, 306.
Lok'-i, a god, i, 8, 9, 11, 15-17,
21, 22, 25, loi, 102, 128, 130,
134, 146, 149-173. 175-179.
196, 198, 200, 228, 230-232,
245-247, 303, 357-362, 417,
493-
L6n'-i, a divarf, 7.
Lopt, Loki, 154, 231, 245.
Loth'-in, a giant, ziz.
L6th'-ur, Loki, 8, 9, 154.
Lut, son of Thrall, 206.
Lyf'-ja-berg, a mountain, 248,
251.
Lyng'-heith, daughter of
Hreithmar, 363, 364.
Lyng'-vi, son of Hunding, 336,
368, 369.
Lyr, Mengloth's hall, 247.
Mag'-ni, son of Thor, 82, 125,
135-
Man'-i, Moon, 74, 75, 99.
Meil'-i, brother of Thor, 125.
Meln'-ir, a horse, 306.
Men'-gloth, beloved of Svip-
dag, ZS4.-2S6, 238, 239, 241,
248-251, 350, 388, 441.
Men'-ja, a giantess, 436.
Mim (or Mim'-ir), a ixjater-
spirit, 12, 13, 20, 6i, 81, 242,
393, 394-
Mim'-a-meith, Yggdrasil, 242,
243.
Mim'-ir, brother of Regin, 359.
Mist, a Valkyrie, 99, 305.
[573]
Index
Mith'-garth, the ivorld of men, Myrk'-wood, a forest in Nith-
3, 4, 92, 100, loi, 129, 186,
221, 223.
Mith"-garths-orra', a serpent,
17, 21, 23, 24, 122, 139, 14s,
146, 170, 196, 230.
Mith'-vit-nir, a giant, 104.
Mjoll'-nir, Thor's hammer, 82,
126, 149, 169-171, 174, 181.
Mjoth'-vit-nir, a divarf, 6, 7.
Mog, son of Jarl, 214.
Mog'-thras-ir, a giant (?), 82.
M6'-in, a serpent, 98.
Mo"-ins-heim'-ar, a battlefield,
304, 322.
Morn'-a-land, an eastern coun-
try, 470.
M6th'-i, son of Thor, 82, 148.
M6th'-ir, mother of Jarl, 204,
210-212.
Mot'-sog-nir, a divarf, 6.
Mund"-il-fer'-i, father of Sol,
5. 74. 99-
Mun'-in, a raven, 92.
Mu'-spell, father of the fire-
dive Hers, 22, 165.
Mu'-spells-heim, home of the
fire-divellers, 3, 21, 73, loo.
Myln'-ir, a horse, 306.
Myrk'-heim, Myrkivood (Atli's
land), 498.
Myrk'-wood, a forest in Atli's
land, 476, 483, 484, 487, 498.
Myrk'-wood, a forest in H«th-
brodd's land, 306.
Myrk'-wood, a forest in Mus-
pellsheim, 165.
uth's land, 255, 256.
Nab'-bi, a divarf, 220.
Nagl'-far, a ship, 21.
Nain, a divarf, 6.
Nal, Laufey, 168.
Nal'-i, a divarf, 7.
Nan'-na, daughter of Nokkvi,
224.
Nan'-na, ivife of Baldr, 91.
Nar, a divarf, 6.
Narf'-i, Nor, 75, 192.
Narf'-i, son of Loki, i6, 167,
172, 173.
Na'-strond, Corpse-Strand, 17.
Nep, father of Nanna, 91.
Ner'-i, a giant (?), 292.
Nifl'-heim, the ivorld of the
dead, 3, 94.
Nifl'-hel, land of the dead, 80,
196.
Nifl'-ungs, the people of Gjuki
(Nibelungs), 408, 447, 448,
486, 487, 489, 492, 493, 515,
517, 541-
Nip'-ing, a divarf, 6.
Nith, son of Jarl, 214.
Nith'-a-fjoll, a mountain, 16,
26, 27.
Nith"-a-ver-lir, home of the
divarfs, 3, 16.
Nith'-hogg, a dragon, 17, 26,
27, 97-99.
NIth'-i, a divarf, 6.
Nith'-jung, son of Jarl, 214.
I 5741
Index
Nith'-uth, king of the Njars,
253-255. 257-268.
Njals'-sag-a, the Saga of Njal,
399-
Njars, the people of Nithuth,
254, 257, 259, 265, 268.
Njorth, a Wane, 9, 10, 78, 79,
90, 91, loi, 107, 108, 119, 120,
128, 152, 161-163, 165, 167,
175, 179, i8o, 228.
N6'-a-tun, home of Njorth, 90,
91, 108, 179, 180.
Nokk'-vi, father of Nanna, 224.
Non, a river, 95.
Nor (or Norv'-i), father of
Not, 75, 192.
N6r'-i, a divarf, 6.
Norn"-a-gests-thattr', the Story
of Nornagest, 336, 356, 364,
369, 442, 444, 445.
North'-ri, a divarf, 6.
Not, a river, 95.
Njt, Night, 66, 75, 192, 389.
Ny'-i, a divarf, 6.
Nyr, a dwarf, 7.
Ny'-rath, a divarf, 7.
Nyt, a river, 95.
Odd'-run, sister of Atli, 420,
438, 448, 449, 469-474, 476,
478, 479-
Odd"-run-ar-gratr', the Lament
of Oddrun, 132, 420, 438, 447,
449, 450, 469-479, 483, 494,
522, 532.
Ofn'-ir, a serpent, 98.
Ofn'-ir, Othin, 105.
6'-in, father of Andvari, 360.
Okk"-vin-kalf'-a, daughter of
Thrall, 207.
O'-kol-nir, a volcano (f), 16.
Ol'-moth, father of Isolf, 224.
Ol'-run, a sivan-matden, 254-
. 257, 485-
Om'-i, Othin, 104.
On'-ar, a divarf, 6.
Or'-i, a divarf, 8, 247.
Ork'-ning, brother of Kostbera,
449, 509, 510, 517-
Ormt, a river, 96.
Orv'-and-il, husband of Groa,
234-
Orv'-ar=Odd, a warrior, 225.
Orv'-ar=Odds'-sag-a, the Saga
of Orvar-Odd, 225.
Orv'-a-sund, a bay, 298.
Osk'-i, Othin, 104.
O'-skop-nir, an island, 376.
Os'-olf, son of Olmoth, 224.
0th, husband of Freyja, 11, 12,
161, 220, 232.
Oth'-in, chief of the gods, i, 3,
4, 8-15, 19-26, 28, 32, 45, 48-
53, 60-63, 66, 68-84, 86, 88,
89. 91, 92, 94, 97, 98, loi-
106, 108, 114, 117, 121, 122,
125, 126, 129, 131, 133, 134,
136, 139-141, 145, 149, 151,
152, 155, 157-160, 166, 167,
170, 174, 179, 182, 185, 195-
200, 202, 203, 213, 218, 219,
221, 226, 228-231, 236, 274,
293-295, 302, 308, 319, 323-
327, 330, 332, 335, 339. 342,
[575]
Index
357-359. 361. 365, 366, 371.
372, 384, 390, 393-395, 416,
428, 445, 474, 483, 487, 493,
494, 553-
Oth'-lings, a mythical race, 221,
223, 226.
Oth'-ror-ir, a goblet, 51, 61.
Otr, brother of Regin, 358, 359,
_ 362.
Ot'-tar, a ivarrior, 217-227,
231-233.
Rffiv'-il, a sea-king, 366.
Rag'-nar Loth'-brok, a Danish
king, 366.
Rand'-grith, a Valkyrie, 99.
Rand'-ver, son of Jormunrek,
439, 538, 551.
Rand'-ver, son of Rathbarth,
227.
Ran'-i, Othin, 2^6.
Rat'-a-tosk, a squirrel, 97.
Rath'-barth, a Russian king,
227.
Rath'-grith, a Valkyrie, 99.
Raths'-ey, an island, 124.
Rath'-svith, a divarf, 7.
Rat'-i, a gimlet, 50.
Reg'-in, a divarf, 7, 359.
Reg'-in, son of Hreithmar, 7,
343, 356-359, 361-366, 369-
372, 377-383, 403.
Reg'-in-leif, a Valkyrie, 99.
Reg"-ins-m9r, the Ballad of
Regin, 7, 8, 114, 151, 270, 295,
308, 333, 336, 342, 343, 356-
371, 376, 378, 384, 386, 387,
402, 411, 426, 428, 448, 450,
493, 538.
Reif '-nir, a berserker, 225.
Rig, Heimdall (f), 3, 201-204,
207, 208, 210-212, 215, 216.
Rigs'-thul-a, the Song of Rig,
3, 90, 167, 183, 201-216, 230,
428, 484.
Rin, a river, 95.
Rind, mother of Vali, 198, 236.
Rin'-nand-i, a river, 95.
Rist'-il, daughter of Karl, 210.
Rith'-il, a svjord, 380.
Rog'-a-land, Norway, 281.
Rog'-heim, Home of Battle, 289.
R9n, vjife of JEgir, 280, 300,
359-
Rosk'-va, sister of Thjalfi, 141.
Roth'-uls-fjoll, a mountain, 289.
Roth'-uls-voU, a field, 276.
Ruth, a river, 237.
Sae'-far-i, father of Ulf, 222.
Sje'-hrim-nir, a boar, 92.
Saek'-in, a river, 95.
Sae'-kon-ung, father of Hildi-
gun, 223.
Sae'-morn, a river, 275.
Sae'-reith, ivife of Hjorvarth,
272, 273.
Sffi'-var-stath, an island, 261,
262.
Sag'-a, a goddess, 89, 302.
Sal'-gof-nir, a cock, 329.
Sams'-ey, an island, 160.
Sann'-get-al, Othin, 103.
Sath, Othin, 103.
[576]
Index
Sax'-i, a southern king, 467.
Segg, son of Karl, 209.
Sess'-ryra-nir, Freyja's hall, 91,
175-
Sev'-a-fjoU, S'tgrun's home,
319, 323, 325, 327-329-
SIf, Thor's ivife, 88, loi, 134,
140, 143, 148, 151, 157, 168,
180, 184.
Sig'-ar, a Danish king, 293.
Sig'-ar, brother of Hogni, 312,
313-
Sig'-ar, father of Siggeir, 455.
Sig'-ar, Helgi's messenger, 287,
288.
Sig'-ars-holra, an island, 277.
Sig'-ars-voll, a battlefield, 277,
287, 293.
Sig'-fath-er, Othin, 23, 103, 104,
170.
Sig'-geir, husband of Signy,
302, 303, 332, 455.
Sig'-mund, son of Sigurth, 407,
424, 428, 429, 456, 460.
Sig'-mund, son of Volsung, 218,
219, 226, 270, 276, 290-295,
301, 302, 307, 310, 311, 315,
317, 318, 330-336, 341. 364-
366, 368, 369, 373, 374, 388,
389, 432, 455.
Sig'-ny, sister of Sigmund, 270.
290, 293, 302, 332, 333, 455.
Sigr'-drif-a, Brynhild, 296, 384-
386, 388, 390, 391, 403.
Sigr"-drif-u-m9r, the Ballad of
the Victory-Bringer, 4, 99,
100, 119, 151, 293, 339, 344,
356, 357. 370, 381, 384-403.
411, 442, 444, 445, 450, 470,
472.
Sigr'-lin, luife of Hjorvarth,
271-276, 287.
Sig'-run, ixiife of Helgi, 14, 269,
270, 289, 296, 299, 300, 306,
307, 309-316, 318-320, 323,
325-330, 339, 345-
Sig'-trygg, a king, 222.
Sig'-tyr, Othin, 494.
Sig'-urth, son of Sigmund, 8,
226, 234, 260, 269, 270, 273,
277, 293, 295, 296, 303, 308,
333, 335-359, 361-380, 382-
389, 391, 395, 396, 400, 402-
407. 409-412, 414-433, 435,
437. 439-442. 445-448, 450-
457. 460, 465, 469, 475, 476,
481, 484, 490, 493, 513, 518,
523, 532-534, 536-544, 546-
548.
Sig"-urth-a-kvith'-a en Skam'-
ma, the Short Lay of Sigurth,
93, 241, 308, 407, 410, 416-
441, 443, 448-450, 453, 459,
470, 475, 488, 493, 534, 538,
539, 543, 547-
Sig'-urth Ring, son of Randver,
227.
Sig'-yn, nuife of Loki, 16, 167,
172, 173.
Silf'-rin-topp, a horse, 96.
Sind'-ri, a divarf, i6.
Sin'-fjot-li, son of Sigmund,
270, 290, 293, 300-304, 307,
309, 318, 321, 322, 332-335-
[5^7]
Index
Sin'-ir, a horse, 96.
Sin'-mor-a, a giantess, 243, 245-
247.
Sin'-rjoth, ivife of Hjorvarth,
272) 273.
Sith, a river, 95.
Sith'-gran-i, Othin, 185.
Sith'-hott, Othin, 103.
Sith'-skegg, Othin, 103.
Skaf'-ith, a divarf, 8.
Skald"-skap-ar-mal, the Trea-
tise on Poetics, 189, 192, 221,
274, 359. 370, 538, 547-
Skat'-a-Iund, a forest, 445.
Skath'-i, a goddess, 90, 108,
128, 152, 157, 167, 168, 172,
180, 228.
Skegg'-jold, a Valkyrie, 99.
Skeith'-brim-ir, a horse, 96.
Skek'-kil, father of Skurhild,
224.
Skelf'-ir, a king, 221.
Skilf'-ing, Othin, 105, 221.
Skilf'-ings, descendants of
Skelfir, 221, 223.
Skin'-fax-i, a horse, 71, 96.
Skirf'-ir, a dnvarf, 8.
Skirn'-ir, Freyr's servant, 107-
115, 119, 120, 152.
Skirn"-is-m9r, the Ballad of
Skirnir, 21, 22, 78, 86, 88, 101,
107-121, 126, 149, 152, 162,
163, 165, 174, 175, 193, 2i8,
228, 282, 360.
Skith'-blath-nir, a ship, loi,
102.
Skjold, a Danish king, 221.
Skj6ld"-ung-a-sag'-a, the Saga
of the Skjoldungs, 216.
Skjold'-ungs, descendants of
Skjold, 221-223.
Skog'-ul, a Valkyrie, 14, 99.
Skoll, a wolf, 18, 81, 93, 100.
Skor'-u-strond, home of Varin,
281.
Skrym'-ir, a giant, 122, 130,
170, 171.
Skuld, a Norn, 9.
Skuld, a Valkyrie, 14.
Skur'-hild, daughter of Skek-
kil, 224.
Slag'-fith, brother of Vblund,
254-257.
Sleip'-nir, Othin's horse, 97,
102, 126, 160, 196, 230, 342,
394-
Slith, a river, t6, 95.
Smith, son of Karl, 209.
Snae'-fjoll, a mountain, 293.
Sn»v'-ar, son of Hogni, 449,
487, 509, 517-
Snor, vuife of Karl, 209.
Snot, daughter of Karl, 210.
Sogn, a bay, 305.
Sjg'-u-nes, a cape, 302.
Sokk'-mim-ir, a giant, 104.
S6kk'-va-bekk, Saga's divelling,
88, 89.
Sol, Sun, 74, 75, 79.
Sol'-ar, son of Hogni, 449,
487, 509, 517-
Sol'-bjart, father of Svipdag,
250.
Sol'-bllnd-i, a dwarf, 241.
[578]
Index
Sol'-fjoll, a mountain, 293.
Sol'-heim-ar, Hothbrodd's
home, 304.
Sorl'-i, son of Jonak, 361, 439,
536, 538. S¥>, 545. 546. 548-
550, 552-555.
Spar'-ins-heith, Sfarin's Heath,
306.
Spor'-vit-nir, a horse, 306.
Sprak'-ki, daughter of Karl,
210.
Sprund, daughter of Karl, 210.
Stafns'-nes, a cape, 298.
Stark'-ath, son of Granmar,
316, 319, 320.
Stor'-verk, father o'f Starkath,
320.
Strond, a river, 95.
Styr'-kleif-ar, a battlefield, 319,
320.
Sun, son of Jarl, 214.
Surt, a giant, 18, 20-22, 73, 82,
no, 165, 243, 376.
Suth'-ri, a dwarf, 6.
Sut'-tung, a giant, 32, 50-52,
"7. 187, 193.
Svaf'-nir, a king, 273-275, 278.
Svaf'-nir, a serpent, 98.
Svaf'-nir, Othin, 105.
Svafr'-thor-in, Mengloth's
grandfather, z^i.
Sval'-in, a shield, 100, 394.
Svan, father of Soefari, 222.
Svan'-hild, daughter of Sigurth,
226, 339, 407, 437, 439, 447,
448, 537. 538, 540-542, 546,
55>-
Svan'-ni, daughter of Karl,
210.
Svar'-ang, a giant, 131.
Svar'-in, a hill, 300, 316, 317.
Svar'-ri, daughter of Karl, 210.
Svart"-alf-a-heim', the 'world
of the dark elves, 3, 187.
Svart'-hofth-i, a magician, 229.
Svath"-il-far'-i, a stallion, 102,
159, 160, 196, 230.
Svav'-a, daughter of Eylimi,
14, 270, 271, 276-278, 282,
284, 285, 287-289, 311, 313,
335. 339, 345.
Svav'-a, luife of Sakonung, 223.
Svav'-a-land, Svafnir's coun-
try, 273, 275, 276, 278.
Svegg'-juth, a horse, 304, 305.
Svein, son of Jarl, 214.
Sver"-ris-sag'-a, the Saga of
Sverrir, 370.
Svip'-al, Othin, 103.
Svip'-dag, son of Solbjart, 234-
236, 238-250.
Svip"-dags-m9l', the Ballad of
Svipdag, 60, 81, 154, 234-251,
350, 388, 441, 472.
Svip'-uth, a horse, 304, 305.
Svith'-rir, Othin, 104.
Svith'-ur, Othin, 104.
Svi'-ur, a diuarf, 7.
Svol, a river, 95.
Svps'-uth, father of Summer,
75-
Sylg, a river, 95.
[5791
Index
Thakk'-rath, Nithuth's thrall,
268.
Thegn, son of Karl, 209.
Thekk, a diuarf, 7.
Thekk, Othin, 103.
Thir, ivife of Thrall, 206.
Thith"-reks-sag'-a, the Saga of
Theoderich, 252, 254, 262,
265, 267, 268, 359, 410, 426,
530.
Thjalf'-i, Thor's servant, 126,
127, 133, 141, 149-
Thjaz'-i, a giant, 89, 90, 128,
152, 167, 168, 17s, 228.
Thjoth'-mar, father of Thjoth-
rek, 466, 467.
Thj6th'-num-a, a river, 95.
Thjoth'-rek, Theoderich, 451,
465-467, 517.
Thjoth'-ror-ir, a dwarf, 66.
Thj6th'-var-a, Mengloth's
handmaid, 248.
Thjoth'-vit-nir, Skoll, 93.
Thol, a river, 95.
Tholl'-ey, an island, 282.
Thor, a god, 12, 23, 24, 82, 83,
88, 93i 94, 96, 121-149, 151,
152, 168-171, 174, 176, 178-
180, 182-193, 219, 228, 234,
303, 394-
Thor'-a, daughter of Hokon,
419, 454, 455-
Thor'-a, tvife of Dag, 222, 454.
Thor'-in, a divarf, 7.
Thor'-ir, follower of Hrolf,
224.
Thors'-nes, a cape, 303.
ThrJell, son of Rig, 205, 206.
Thrain, a divarf, 7.
Thrith'-i, Othin, 103.
Thror, a dwarf, 7,
Thror, Othin, 104.
Thruth, a Valkyrie, 99.
Thruth, daughter of Thor, 184.
Thruth'-gel-mir, a giant, 76,
77-
Thruth '-heim, Thor's home, 88.
Thryra, a giant, 174, 176, 177,
179-182.
Thrym'-gjol, a gate, 241.
Thrym'-heim, Thjazi's home,
89, 90. *
Thryms'-kvith-a, the Lay of
Thrym, 12, 82, 107, 122, 128,
129, 143, 159, 166, 169, 174-
183, 185, 195, 210, 252, 274,
471-
Thund, a river, 93.
Thund, Othin, 63, 105.
Thuth, Othin, 103.
Thyn, a river, 95.
Tind, a berserker, 225.
Tot"-rug-hyp'-ja. daughter of
Thrall, 207.
Tron"-u-bein'-a, daughter of
Thrall, 207.
Tron'-u-eyr, Crane-Strand,
298.
Tveg'-gi, Othin, zt,.
Tyr, a god, 18, 140-143, 147-
149, 152, 163, 164, 228, 391.
Tyrf'-ing, a berserker, 225.
[580]
Index
Ulf, folloiver of Hrolf, 224.
Ulf, son of Safari, 222.
Ulf'-dal-ir, Volund's home, 254,
255. 257. 259-
Ulf'-run, mother of Heimdall,
229.
Ulf'-sjar, a lake, 254, 255.
Ull, a god, 88, icxj, 228, 494.
Un"-a-vag'-ar, a harbor, 300.
Un'-i, a divarf, 247.
Urth, a Norn, 9, 52, 96, 236,
250, 251.
Ut'-garth-a=Lok'-i, a giant,
122, 130.
Uth, daughter of ^gir, 323,
466.
Uth, Othin, 103.
Vaf'-thruth-nir, a giant, 68-83.
Vaf"-thruth-nis-m9r, the Bal-
lad of Vafthruthnir, 4, 5, 21,
68-84, 99. 100, 115, 116, 131,
141, 149, 152, 174, 183, 192,
242, 247, 360, 368, 375, 376,
378.
Vak, Othin, 105.
Val'-a-skjolf, Othin's home, 88.
Val'-bjorg, Grimhild's land,
461.
Vald'-ar, a Danish king, 456,
457-
Val'-fath-er, Othin, 3, 12, 104.
Val'-grind, a gate, 93.
Val'-hall, Othin's hall, 3, 14,
15, 25, 79, 88, 89, 92-94, 218,
220, 232, 325, 326, 441, 474,
480, 483.
Val'-i, a god, 15, 82, 198, 227,
228, 236.
Val'-i, son of Loki, 16, 167, 172,
173.
Val'-Iand, Slaughter-Land, 129,
136, 254, 255, 443-
Val'-tam, father of Vegtam,
197.
Vam, a river, 165.
Van'-a-heim, home of the
Wanes, 3, 187.
Vand'-ils-ve, a shrine, 324.
Van'-ir, the Wanes, i, 10.
Var, a dii^arf, 247.
Var'-in, a Norwegian king (f),
281, 302.
Var'-ins-fjord, a bay, 298, 299.
Var'-kald, father of Vindkald,
240.
Vath'-gel-mir, a river, 360.
Ve, brother of Othin, 4, 26,
160.
Veg'-dras-il, a dwarf, 247.
Veg'-svin, a river, 95.
Veg'-tara, Othin, 195, 197, 199.
Veg"-tams-kvith'-a, the Lay of
Vegtam, 195.
Vel"-ents-sag'-a, the Saga of
Velent, 252.
Ver'-a-tyr, Othin, 87, 88.
Ver'-land, Land of Men, 136.
Verth'-and-i, a Norn, 9.
Vestr'-i, a dwarf, 6.
Vestr'-sal-ir, Rind's home, 198.
Vethr'-fol-nir, a hawk, 97.
Ve'-ur, Thor, 142, 144, 145.
Vif, daughter of Karl, 210.
[581]
Index
Vig'-blJer, Helgi's horse, 325.
Vig'-dal-ir, Battle-Dale, 324,
325-
Vigg, a divarf, 7.
Vig'-rith, a field, 73, 376.
Vil'-i, brother of Othin, 4, 26,
160.
Vil'-meith, a diuarf (?), 229.
Vil'-mund, lover of Borgny,
469-472.
Vin, a river, 95.
Vin'-bjorg, Grimhild's land,
461.
Vind'-alf, a divarf, 7.
Vind'-heim, Wind-Home, 25,
26.
Vind'-kald, Svipdag, 240.
Vind'-lj6n-i, Vindsval, 75.
Vind'-sval, father of Winter,
7S-
Ving'-i, Atli's messenger, 448,
482, 501, 502, 510, 512-51+.
517-
Ving'-nir, Thor, 82, 135, 174.
Ving'-skorn-ir, a horse, 384.
Ving'-thor, Thor, 135, 174, 185,
i86.
Vin'-p, a river, 95.
Virf'-ir, a divarf, 8.
Vit, a divarf, 7.
Vith, a river, 95.
Vith'-ar, a god, 23, 82, 83, 91,
152, 15s, 156, 164, 170, 228.
Vith'-ga, son of Volund, 268.
Vith'-i, Fithar's land, 91.
Vith'-of-nir, a cock, 243, 245,
246.
Vith'-olf, a divarf (?), 229.
Vith'-rir, Othin, 160, 295.
Vith'-ur, Othin, 104.
Vpf'-uth, Othin, 105.
Vols'-ung, father of Sigmund,
218, 219, 226, 270, 293, 302,
307, 310, 332-334. 366, 421-
Vols"-ung-a-sag'-a, the Saga of
the Volsungs, 218, 226, 270,
276, 297, 299, 301, 332-334.
336. 340, 342, 345, 349, 350.
352. 353, 356, 361, 365, 366,
368, 370, 371, 373, 375, 377-
379, 381, 383, 386, 391, 395,
39*5, 399, 400, 402, 403, 405,
407, 410-412, 418, 419, 425,
427, 433, 438, 440, 448, 450,
453, 455-458, 465, 469, 477,
478, 480, 486, 487, 500, 506,
508, 512-S14, 518-522, 525-
530, 532, 534, 537, 538, 543,
549. 550, 553, 554.
Vols'-ungs, descendants of
Volsung, 269-272, 290-292,
306-311, 318, 319, 332, 333,
339, 421, 422, 425, 428.
Vol'-und, a smith, 252-262, 264-
268, 527.
Vol"-und-ar-kvith'-a, the Lay
of Volund, 129, 252-268, 296,
303, 319, 437, 443, 444, 47',
485, 493, 527-
Vol"-u-spp', the Wise-Wom-
an's Prophecy, 1-28, 52, 61,
62, 68, 69, 73-75, 77, 78, 80-
83, 89-91, 93, 95-97, 99-102,
[582]
Index
io8, no, II2-II5, 129, 136, Ylf'-ings, a Danish race, 221,
140, 14s, 146, 152, 154, »56, 291, 292, 301, 305, 307, 311,
160-164, i66, 170, 172-174. 313-315, 329.
176, 178, 179, 186, 188, 195, Ylg, a river, 95.
196, 198, 200, 203, 217, 218, Yra'-ir, a giant, 4, 6, 17, 74, 76,
220, 223, 227-232, 236, 242, 77, 100, 229, 242.
243, 245, 247, 254, 276, 291, Yng {or Yng'-vi), son of Half -
293. 296, 314, 319, 359, 360, dan the Old, 221, 307, 308,
375. 393, 394, 4i6, 444, 508, 364, 365.
542. Yng"-Hng-a-sag'-a, the Saga of
Vpn, a river, 95. the Ynglings, 160, 163.
Vond, a river, 95. Yng'-Hngs, descendants of
Vpr, a goddess, 181. Yng, 221, 223, 307.
Yng'-vi, a dwarf, 8.
Y'-dal-ir, Ull's home, 88. Yng'-vi, son of Hring, 306.
Ygg, Othin, 70, 105, 140, 384. Yng'-vi, Yng, 22i, 307, 308,
Ygg'-dras-il, the ivorld-ash, i, 364, 365.
3, 4, 9, 12, 17, 20, 27, 60, 62, Ys'-ja, daughter of Thrall,
81, 94, 96-98, 102, 242, 243. 207.
[583]
Publications of
THE AMERICAN-SCANDINAVIAN
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William Witherle Lawrence^ Professor of English
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John A. Gade^ author of Charles the XII
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An historical play, translated, with an Introduction, by Edwim
BjORKMAN
[ 585 ]
V. The Prose Edda, by Snorri Sturluson
Translated from the old Icelandic, with an Introduction and
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[586]
XV & XVI. The Charles Men, by Verner von
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[ 587 ]
III. The King's Mirror
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[588]
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