Full text of "The poetic Edda"

•^'*'" ./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 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