

LOKA

ÞÁTTR

A Faroese Ballad

The Faroe Islands have a rich tradition of native kvæði or ballads. The oldest of these are the heroic narratives. While it was once thought that they were original compositions from Viking-Age oral narratives, it has since been shown that most derive directly from written Icelandic sagas or, less frequently, rímur. Systematic collection of the Faroese kvæði began in the late 18th century. Jens Kristian Svabo collected some 52 ballads during his visit to the islands in 1781-2, and although these were committed to writing and entered into the royal collection, they were not published. A collection gathered by Hans Christian Lyngbye, a Danish pastor and marine biologist, was the first to be published under the title Færuiske Qvæder om Sigurd Fafnersbane og hans Æt ["Faroese Songs of Sigurd Fafnisbane and his sons"] in 1822. Lyngbye, however, spent no more than two months there and did not learn the language, so his transcriptions were phonetic and often idiosyncratic. The first authoritative collection (transcribed in normalized orthography) was compiled by V. U. Hammershaimb (1819–1909) and issued in 1851 as Færöiske Kvæder. Subsequently, the Danish historians Svend Grundtvig and Jørgen Bloch began the process of a complete, standard edition of the ballads, which eventually gave rise to the Føroya kvæði (Corpus carminum Færoensium), published in 8 volumes between 1941 and 2003. A collection of these in Faroese can be found here.



Lokka táttur is the last of the kvæði in Hammershaimb's collection. He also provides a summary of the story. In Lyngbye's edition, Loka Táttur is preceded by Skrujmsli Rujma/Skrymners Riim, which serves as a prequel to the events. It calls the giant "Skrímsli" (Skyrmnir) and specifies that the wager was over a chess game. George Barrow retells the tale as "The Lay of Skrymner the First." A normalized version of the tale by Peter Mathiasen Hentze was published as Skrímsla (Skrímslu kvæði).

Lokka táttur Loki's Tale

V. U. Hammershaimb, Færøiske Kvæder, edited for the Nordiske Litteratur- Samfund, Copenhagen, 1851. Corpus Carminum Fæoensium 13. Translated by Kiyo with the assistance of Anker Eli Petersen). Source]

1. Bóndin og risin leikaðu leik,

risin vann og bóndin veik. Stevi: {Hvat skal mær harpan

undir míni hond,

vil ikki frægur fylgja mær

á onnur lond.



2. "Eg havi lúkað treytir mín',

nú vil eg hava sonin tín. 3. Eg vil hava sonin frá tær,

uttan tú goymir hann fyri mær." 4. Bóndin heitir á sveinir tvá:

"Biðið Óðin fyri meg inngá. 5. "Heitið á Óðin Asakong,

tá man goymslan gerðast long." 6. "Eg vildi, mín Óðin veri til,

vita hvussu goymslan ganga vil." 7. Áður enn teir høvdu hálvtalað orð,

tá var Óðin inn fyri borð. 8. "Hoyr tú Óðin, eg tali til tín,

tú skalt goyma sonin mín." 9. Óðin fór við sveini út,

brúður og bóndi bóru sút, 1. A peasant and a giant [held] a match,

The giant won and the peasant lost. Refrain: {What avails me this harp †1R

That is under my hand,

Will no stalwart man follow me

To another land? 2. "I have fulfilled my [end of the] bargain,

Now I will have your son. 3. I will have the son of yours

You'll not conceal him from me." 4. The peasant said to his lad:

"Bid Odin†4 to step in for me." 5. "Summon now Odin the Asa-king †5

Who can guard him, hid away for long. 6. "I wish Odin wert right here,

And knew where to hide the boy!" 7. Ere he hath said the word,

There stood Odin before the table. 8. "Hark thou Odin, I bid to thee,

Thou shalt hide mine son for me!" 9. Odin fared off with the boy,

The wife and the peasant were woebegone.

10. Óðin biður vaksa brátt,

akurin upp eftir eini nátt. 11. Óðin biður vera svein,

mitt í akri aksið eitt. 12. Mitt í akri aksið eitt,

mitt í aksi, byggkorn eitt. 13. "Ver har í við onga pínu,

tá ið eg kalli, kom til mín! 14. Ver har í við onga sút,

tá ið eg kalli, kom her út. 15. Risin hevur hjarta hart sum horn,

ripar nú fangið fult við korn. 16. Ripar nú korn í fang á sær,

og bitran brand í hendi bar. 17. Og bitran brand í hendi bar,

hann ætlar at høgga sveinin har. 18. Tá var sveini komin til sút,

byggkorn kreyp úr neva út. 19. Tá var sveini komin til pína,

Óðin kallar hann til sín. 10. Odin commanded a field of crop,

To grow tall after scarce one night, 11. Odin commanded the boy become

A single ear among the crop. 12. A single ear among all the crop,

A barley-grain amid one ear. 13. "Lie in there, do not pain,

When I should hail, come to me! 14. Lie in there, don't you fear

When I should hail, come hither out!" 15. The giant †15 has a heart as hard as horn,

He grasps by the armful at the corn. 16. He now grasps the corn in his sight,

Bearing a biting sword in hand 17. And bearing a biting sword in hand

He sets out to mow the boy down. 18. Then was the boy affrighted,

The barley-corn squirmed out of the fist. 19. Then was the boy overcome with pain

Odin hailed unto him.

20. Óðin fór við sveini heim,

bóndi og brúður fagna teim. 21. "Her er ungi alvi tín,

nú er uppi goymslan mín." 22. Bóndin heitir á sveina tvá:

"biðið Hønir fyri meg inngá!" 23. "Eg vildi, mín Hønir veri til,

vita, hvussu goymslan ganga vil." 24. Áður enn teir høvdu hálvtalað orð,

tá var Hønir inn fyri borð. 25. "Hoyr tú Hønir, eg talið til tín,

tú skalt goyma sonin mín!" 26. Hønir fór við sveini út,

brúður og bóndi bóru sút. 27. Hønir gongur á grønari grund,

svanir sjey teir flugu um sund. 28. Fyri eystan flugu svanir tveir,

niður hjá Hønir settust teir. 29. Hønir biður nú vera svein,

mitt í knokki fjøður ein. 20. Odin fared with the boy back home

The peasant and his wife gave them embrace. 21. "Here I have the young son of yours,

Now I am done with hiding him." 22. The peasant said to his boy:

"Bid Hønir†22 to step in for me!" 23. "I wish Hønir wert right here,

And knew where to hide the boy!" 24. Ere he had said the word,

There stood Hønir before the table. 25. "Harken Hønir, I bid to thee

Thou shall hide mine son for me!" 26. Hønir went off with the boy,

The wife and the peasant were woebegone. 27. Hønir went over the green ground,

Seven swans flew across the sound. 28. Eastward flew two swans

They alighted beside Hønir. 29. Hønir commanded now the boy to become

A single feather in the head of the swan.

30. "Ver har í við onga pínu,

tá ið eg kalli, kom til mín! 31. Ver har í við onga sút,

tá ið eg kalli, kom her út!" 32. Skrímslið loypur á grønari grund,

svanir sjey teir flugu um sund. 33. Risin fell tá á sítt knæ,

tann fremsta svanin fekk hann har. 34. Tann fremsta svanin hann av beit

hálsin niður í herðar sleit. 35. Tá var sveini komin til sút,

fjøður smeyg úr kjafti út. 36. Tá var sveini komi til pína,

Hønir kallaði hann til sín. 37. Hønir fór við sveini heim,

brúður og bóndi fagna teim. 38. "Her er ungi alvi tín,

nú er uppi goymsla mín." 39. Bóndin heitir á sveinar tvá:

"biði Lokka fyri meg inngá!" 30. "Lie in there, do not pain,

When I call you, come out to me! 31. Lie in there, don't you fear,

When I call you, come hither out! 32. The monster went over the green ground,

Seven swans flew across the sound. 33. The giant dropt down on his knees

And grabbed the swan at the forefront. 34. He took a bite out of the forefront swan,

Gashing its throat down to the shoulder. 35. Then was the boy turned affright,

A feather slipped out of the giant's clutches. 36. Then was the boy overcome with pain,

Hønir hailed unto him. 37. Hønir fared with the boy back homeward,

The wife and the peasant gave them embrace. 38. "Here I have the young son of yours,

Now I am done hiding him. 39. The peasant said to his lad:

"Bid Lokki step in for me!"

40. "Eg vildi mín Lokki veri til,

vita, hvussu goymslan ganga vil!" 41. Áður enn teir høvdu hálvtalað orð,

tá var Lokki inn fyri borð. 42. "Tú veitst einki av mínari neyð,

skrímslið ætlar mín sonar deyð. 43. Hoyr tú Lokki, eg talið til tín,

tú skalt goyma sonin mín! 44. Goym hann væl, so sum tú kann,

lat ikki skrímslið fáa hann!" 45. "Skal eg goyma sonin tín,

tá mást tú lúka treytir mín'! 46. Tú skalt lata neystið gera,

meðan eg man burtur vera. 47. Víðan glugga sker tú á,

jarnkelvi legg tú har í hjá!" 48. Lokki fór við sveini út,

brúður og bóndi bóru sút. 49. Lokki gongur eftir sandi,

sum skútan fleyt fyri landi. 50. Lokki rør á igsta (ytsta) klakk,

so er í fornum frøði sagt. 51. Lokki hevur ei fleiri orð,

ongul og stein hann varpar fyri borð. 52. Ongur og steinur við grunni vóð,

snarliga hyggin hann flundru dró. 53. Dregur hann eina, dregur hann tvá,

hin triðja, hon var svørt at sjá. 54. Lokki biður nú vera svein,

mitt í rogni kornið eitt. 55. "Ver har í við onga pínu,

tá ið eg kalli, kom til mín! 56. Ver har í við onga sút,

tá ið eg kalli, kom her út!" 57. Lokki rør nú aftur at landi,

risin stendur fyri honum á sandi. 58. Risin mælti so orðum brátt:

"Lokki, hvar hevur tú verið í nátt?" 59. "Lítla man eg hava ró,

flakkað og farið um allan sjó." 40. "I wish Lokki wert right here,

And knew where to hide the boy!" 41. Ere he said the word,

There stood Lokki before the table. 42. "Thou canst but imagine my dire need,

The monster means to have my son dead. 43. Harken, thou Lokki, I bid to thee,

Thou shall hide mine son for me! 44. Hide him so good, as well as you can,

So the lad can never captured be!" 45. "If I am to hide your son,

You must do my bidding! 46. You shall build a boathouse,

While I am gone away. 47. You shall cut out a window wide,

And bar it with an iron rod! 48. Lokki fared off with the boy,

The wife and the peasant were woebegone. 49. Lokki appears over the strand,

With a skiff ashore by the land. 50. Lokki rows out to the remotest fishing banks †50

That was told in the lore of yore. 51. Lokki utters not another word,

He casts the hook and sinker overboard. 52. He casts the hook and sinker overboard

And anon hauls in a halibut(helliflounder). †52 53. He hauls in one, he hauls in two,

The third had a blackish hue. 54. Lokki commands now the boy become,

An egg-grain in the halibut(helliflounder)'s roe. 55. "Lie in there, do not pain,

When I call you, come out to me! 56. Lie in there, don't you fear,

When I call you, come out hither!" 57. Lokki now rows back towards land,

The giant awaiting in the sand. 58. The giant asked him straightaway:

"Lokki, where have you been tonight?" 59. "Little peace had I,

For I sailed and fared all over the sea."



60. Risin oman sín jarnnakka skjýtur,

Lokki rópar, at illa brýtur. 61. Lokki talar so fyri sær:

"risin, lat meg fylgja tær." 62. Risin tók sær stýri í hand,

Lokki rør nú út frá land. 63. Lokki rør við langa leið,

ikki vil jarnnakkin ganga úr stað. 64. Lokki svør við sína trú,

"eg kann betur stýra enn tú." 65. Risin setist til árar at ró,

jarnnakkin fleyg um allan sjó. 66. Risin rør við langan favn,

næstum Lokka aftur í stavn. 67. Risin rør nú á ytsta klakk,

so er í fornum frøði sagt. 68. Risin hevur ei fleiri orð,

ongul og stein hann varpar fyri borð. 69. Ongul og steinur við grunni veður,

snarliga hyggin hann flundru dregur. 60. The giant rushes for the iron skiff,

Lokki shouts: "The waves are bad". 61. Lokki speaks, and here's what he said:

"Giant, let me tag along." 62. The giant took the tiller by the hand

Lokki now rowed away from land. 63. Lokki rows a good long ways,

But the iron skiff doesn't budge a bit, 64. Lokki swears by the truth,

"I can steer one better than you." 65. The giant then takes the oars,

The iron skiff sped over the sea. 66. The giant rows a good long ways,

Nigh did Lokki to the sternpost stay. 67. The giant rows out to the remotest fishing banks,

That was told in the lore of yore. 68. The giant utters not another word,

He casts the hook and sinker overboard 69. He casts the hook and sinker overboard

And anon did catch a halibut(helliflounder)*.

70. Dregur hann eina, dregur hann tvá,

hin triðja hon var svørt at sjá. 71. Lokki svør á sína list:

"risin, gev mær henda fisk." 72. Risin svaraði og segði nei:

"nei, mín Lokki, tú fært hann ei." 73. Hann setti fisk millum kníja á sær,

taldi hvørt korn, í rogni var. 74. Taldi hvørt korn, í rogni var,

hann ætlaði fanga sveinin har. 75. Tá var sveini komin til sút,

kornið leyp úr neva út. 76. Tá var sveini komin til pína,

Lokki kallar hann til sín. 77. "Set teg niður fyri aftan meg,

lat ikki risan síggja teg! 78. Tú mást leypa so lættur á land,

ikki merkja spor í sand!" 79. Risin rør so aftur til land,

beint ímóti hvítan sand. 70. He hauls in one, he hauls in two,

The third was of blackish hue. 71. Lokki swears by his faith,

"Giant, let me have the fish." 72. The giant replies and nay says he,

"No, my Lokki, you shan't have it." 73. He put the fish between his knees,

And counted each egg in the roe. 74. He counted each egg in the roe.

He meant to catch the boy. 75. Then was the boy turned affright,

And an egg leapt out of the hand. 76. Then was the boy overcome with pain,

Lokki hailed unto him 77. "Sit yourself behind me,

Let not the giant see you. 78. You must leap lithely upon the land,

Do not leave a track in the sand!" 79. The giant then rows back to land.

Straight into the white sand.

80. Risin rør at landi tá,

Lokki snýr jarnnakka frá. 81. Risin skjýtur afturstavn á land,

sveinur loypur so lættur á land. 82. Risin sær seg upp á land,

sveinur stendur fyri honum á sand. 83. Sveinur leyp so lættur á land,

ikki merkti spor í sand. 84. Risin leyp so tungur á land,

upp til kníja, niður í sand. 85. Sveinur leyp sum hann kundi best,

leyp ígjøgnum faðirs neyst. 86. Hann leyp ígjøgnum faðirs neyst,

risin eftir við fullgott treyst. 87. Risin stóð í glugga fastur,

jarnkelvið í heysi brast. 88. Lokki var tá ikki seinur,

hjó av risanum annað beinið. 89. Risin heldur at tí gaman,

sárið grøddi snart til saman. 80. The giant rows onto land,

Lokki turns 'round the iron skiff. 81. The giant runs the sternpost aground on land,

The boy leaps lithely upon the land. 82. The giant gave gaze to the land,

There stood the boy on the sand. 83. The boy leapt so lithely on to land,

He left no track upon the sand. 84. The giant leapt heftily on to shore,

Sinking knee-deep in the sand, 85. The boy scurries away as best as he could,

Scurries right through his father's boathouse. 86. He scurries right through his father's boathouse,

The giant, after him in hot pursuit. 87. The giant gets himself stuck in the window,

Smashing his head on the iron bar. 88. Loki then did not bide,

He struck off one of the giant's shins. 89. To giant was rather amused by this,

The wound mended back to whole again.

90. Lokki var tá ikki seinur,

hjó av risanum hitt annað beinið. 91. Hjó av honum, hitt annað bein,

kastaði millum stokk og stein. 92. Sveinur hyggur á við gaman,

hvussu risin leyp bæði sundur og saman. 93. Lokki fór við sveini heim,

brúður og bóndi fagna teim. 94. "Her er ungi alvi tín,

nú er uppi goymslan mín. 95. Eg havi hildið trú fyri vist,

nú hevur risin lívið mist." 90. Loki then did not bide, He struck off giant's other shin. 91. He struck off the giant's other shin.

And tossed in-between, a stick and stone. †91 92. To the boy was rather amused by this,

Watching the giant sundered to pieces altogether. 93. Lokki fared with the boy back homeward,

The wife and the peasant gave them embrace. 94. "Here I have the young son of yours,

Now I am done with hiding him. 95. I've kept my words to you,

Now the giant has lost his life."

Footnotes:

†1R *Refrain: what avails me..— Even though hvat skal literally reads "what shall", it means "to what end," "for what use," or "why".

†5 *Odin— In Faroese Óðin is pronounced "oh·vin", the phonetic representation Ouvin (gen. Ouvans, acc. Ouvan) is used by the early ballad-collector H.C. Lyngbye, and is also recorded by Grimm in his Teutonic Mythology.

†5 *Asa-King,— i.e. the king of the Æsir deities.

†15 *giant— note that it reads Risin in the Hammershaimb version but Skrujmsli [=Skrymsli] in the Lyngbye version.

†5 *Hønir— or Hoenir is another name of Vili. Odin, Vili, and Ve were three brothers responsible for creating the first humans, Ask and Embla (a man and a woman, and their names meaning "ash" and "elm" respectively). I think the Icelandic form is Hœnir ("oe-ligature") even though Hænir ("ae-ligature") is used in most e-texts. The character is mentioned in Völuspá, str. 18. The trio of deities who are summoned in this ballad are also the tree who are travelling together when they slay Otr and are forced to pay the wergeld in the Volsunga saga.

†50 *fishing bank— Faroese klakkur, glossed in the Young-Clewer dictionary as "1) .. pack saddle's .. projecting [end] , 2) protruding or projecting rock, 3) shoal or shallow in the sea, fishing bank; .."But George Borrow (Works vol. 8 p. 214) treated this as "the Klak", presumably a named geographical location.

†52 *halibut—Though the Faroese name of the fish is flundr, this translates to "halibut" (not "flounder"). (cf. Faroese Fisheries Laboratory's polyglot fish name list.) H. A. Guerber, wrote a short story "Skrymsli and the Peasant's Child" based almost entirely on this ballad, and in it he translates the fish as "flounder".

†87 *iron bar — Far. jarnkelvi (OIc. járn- "iron" + kylfa "club"). It was most difficult for me to comprehend what was happening here, until Anker Eli Petersen sent me his rough translation. In str. 47, Loki dictates the farmer to make a window and set an "iron bar" in it. Since the boy is of much smaller stature, he can run through this barred window without problem. But the giant who comes running doesn't quite fit through, and bangs his head so hard that it is "brast" (or broken). It is revealed in the following stanzas that the monster has regenerative powers, and one might surmise that even a smashed head is hardly a lethal blow to it.

†91 A similar charm is used in the Thidrekssaga to prevent a dwarf (or dwarves) from coming back to life.