The Prose Edda
Page 11
her mother’s paths.
(The Lay of Vafthrudnir. 47)
‘If you know how to ask questions reaching still further into the future, then I do not know the source of your questions, because I have never heard of anyone who could tell events of the world further into the future. And may you find use in what you have learned.’
54. GANGLERI RETURNS HOME TO TELL THE TALES
Next Gangleri heard loud noises coming at him from all directions. He looked to one side and, when he looked back again, he was standing outside on a level plain, where he saw neither the hall nor the fortress. He left and travelled back home to his kingdom, where he told of the events that he had seen and what he had heard. And after him, people passed these stories down from one to the other.
55. THE EPILOGUE TO GYLFAGINNING1
As for the Æsir, they sat down to discuss and take counsel. They recalled all the stories they had told him [Gangleri]. Then they gave the same names, mentioned above, to people and places there, so that, after much time had passed, people would not doubt that all were one and the same, that is, those Æsir who have been spoken about and the ones who now were assigned the very same names. Someone there was then called by the name Thor, and he was taken to be the old Thor of the Æsir and Thor the Charioteer. To him they attributed the great deeds that Thor or Ector [Hector] accomplished in Troy. Thus people believed that it was the Turks who told stories about Ulixes [Ulysses] and it is they who called him Loki, because the Turks were his worst enemy.
SKALDSKAPARMAL (POETIC DICTION)
The following translation from Skaldskaparmal is divided into two sections. The first, Mythic and Legendary Tales from Skaldskaparmal, contains the major prose stories about the gods and heroes. The second section, Poetic References from Skaldskaparmal, tells how to refer to gods, people and things.
MYTHIC AND LEGENDARY TALES FROM SKALDSKAPARMAL
1
Bragi Tells Ægir Stories of the Gods
A man was named Ægir or Hler. He lived on the island now called Hlesey, and was greatly skilled in magic. He set off on a trip to Asgard. The Æsir knew he was coming and they received him well, but much of what they showed him was fashioned through spells and shape-changings. In the evening when it was time to drink, Odin had swords brought into the hall. These shone so brightly that no other light was used while they sat at the drinking. The Æsir then went to their feast, and the twelve Æsir who were to be judges sat in their high seats. They were named Thor, Njord, Frey, Tyr, Heimdall, Bragi, Vidar, Vali, Ull, Hoenir, Forseti and Loki. The goddesses, who did likewise, were Frigg, Freyja, Gefjun, Idunn, Gerd, Sigyn, Fulla and Nanna. To Ægir it seemed that everything he saw around him was noble. Magnificent shields hung on all the wallboards. Strong mead was served and the drinking was heavy. Next to Ægir sat Bragi.1 They drank together and exchanged stories. Bragi told Ægir about the many things that had happened to the Æsir.
The Theft of Idunn and Her Apples
Bragi began his storytelling by saying that three of the Æsir – Odin, Loki and Hoenir – were once travelling from home and crossed mountains and deserts, where they found little food. When coming down into a valley they saw a herd of oxen and, taking one, they began to cook it. When they thought the meat was ready, they broke open the cooking pit, but found the ox was not cooked. A while later, when for the second time they broke open the cooking pit, the meat was still raw. As they began asking each other what could be the cause, they heard a voice coming from above in an oak tree under which they were standing. The one who was sitting up in the tree said that he was causing the food to remain uncooked in the oven. Looking up they saw an eagle sitting there, and it was not small.
The eagle said, ‘If you are willing to give me my fill of the ox, the pit will cook.’
They agreed to this. Then the eagle glided down from the tree and landed on the pit. The first thing it did was to eat the ox’s two thighs and both of its shoulders. This angered Loki, who picked up a large stick and, swinging with all his might, struck the eagle. Recoiling from the blow the eagle started to fly, but one end of the pole was stuck fast to the eagle’s body, with Loki hanging on to the other end.
The eagle flew so low that Loki’s feet were dragged on the ground, striking stones, gravel and trees, and he thought his arms would be pulled from their sockets. He called out, begging the eagle for mercy, but the bird answered that Loki would not be saved unless he swore an oath that he would find a way to lure Idunn, with her apples [of youth], out of Asgard. When Loki agreed, he was set free and returned to his companions. Nothing else is said to have occurred during that trip before they reached home. At the time agreed upon, Loki tricked Idunn into leaving Asgard and going into the forest with him. He told her that he had found apples that she would find to be of great worth and asked her to bring along her apples so that she might compare them. Just then the giant Thjazi arrived in the shape of an eagle and, seizing Idunn, he flew off with her to his home in Thrymheim.
Idunn’s disappearance badly affected the Æsir, and they soon began to grow old and grey. The Æsir gathered together in an assembly and asked one another the news of Idunn. They realized that she had last been seen leaving Asgard with Loki. Then Loki was seized and brought to the assembly, where he was threatened with torture or death. When he grew frightened, he said he would go into Giant Land to find Idunn if Freyja would lend him her falcon shape.2
Loki Retrieves Idunn from the Giant Thjazi
When Loki got hold of the falcon shape, he flew north into Giant Land. He arrived at Thjazi’s on a day when the giant had rowed out to sea, so Idunn was home alone. Loki changed her into the shape of a nut and, holding her in his claws, flew away as fast as he could. When Thjazi returned home and found Idunn missing, he put on his eagle shape and flew after Loki, the air booming with the sound of the eagle’s flight. When the Æsir saw the falcon flying with the nut and the eagle in pursuit, they went outside to the walls of Asgard, carrying piles of wood shavings. As the falcon flew in over the fortress, it dived down alongside the fortress wall, and at that moment the Æsir set fire to the wood shavings. But the eagle, having just missed the falcon, was unable to stop himself before his feathers caught fire, and he fell from the air. The Æsir who were nearby killed the giant Thjazi inside the gate of Asgard, and this slaying is very famous.
Skadi Seeks Vengeance for Her Father
Now Skadi, daughter of the giant Thjazi, put on her helmet and coat of mail and, taking all her weapons of war, set out for Asgard to avenge her father. But the Æsir offered to reconcile and proposed compensation. First she should choose a husband for herself from among the Æsir, but she might choose only from the feet of the man, seeing nothing else. She saw that the feet of one man were especially beautiful and said ‘I choose that one; few things on Baldr will be ugly.’ But that was Njord3 from Noatun.
Another condition of her settlement was that the Æsir must do something she thought they could not do: make her laugh. Then Loki tied one end of a cord to the beard of a goat and tied the other end around his own testicles. The goat and Loki started pulling back and forth, each squealing loudly until finally Loki fell into Skadi’s lap, and then she laughed. With this, the Æsir concluded their part of the settlement with her.
It is said that Odin, to compensate her further, took Thjazi’s eyes and cast them up into the heavens, where he made from them two stars.
The Inheritance of the Giants
Then Ægir said, ‘Thjazi seems to me to have been exceptionally powerful, but what are his origins?’
Bragi answered, ‘Olvaldi was the name of Thjazi’s father, and if I were to tell you about him, you would find it a remarkable story. He had great wealth in gold, and when he died his sons were to divide the inheritance. In dividing the gold, they measured their shares by each taking the same number of mouthfuls in turn. One of them was Thjazi, the second Idi, and the third was Gang. From this story comes the expression whereby gold is referred to as the mouth count of the
se giants. We conceal this reference to gold in cryptic speech or poetic allusions by referring to it as the speech or the words or the count of these giants.’
Then Ægir said, ‘It seems to me that this story is well hidden in secret lore.’
2
Kvasir and the Mead of Poetry
Ægir continued, ‘What is the origin of the accomplishment you call poetry?’
Bragi replied, ‘It originated when the gods were at war with that people called the Vanir, and the two sides agreed to hold a peace meeting. They reconciled their differences by the following procedure: both sides went to a vat and spat into it. At their parting, the gods, not wanting to lose this mark of the truce, took the spittle and from it they created a man called Kvasir. He was so wise that no one could ask him a question that he could not answer.
‘Kvasir travelled throughout the world, teaching men knowledge. Once he came as a guest to the dwarves Fjalar and Galar. They asked him for a word in private, but instead they killed him, letting his blood flow into two vats called Son and Bodn, and into a kettle named Odrerir. The dwarves blended honey with the blood and from this mixture came the mead that makes whoever drinks it a poet or a scholar. They told the Æsir that Kvasir had choked on his own knowledge because there was no one there learned enough to ask him questions.
‘The dwarves then invited the giant Gilling and his wife to come and visit them. They asked Gilling to row out to sea with them, and while travelling down the coast the dwarves rowed the boat on to some rocks just under the surface, overturning it. Gilling could not swim and was lost, but the dwarves righted their ship and rowed back to land. When they told Gilling’s wife what had happened, she took the news badly and cried loudly. Fjalar asked her if it would lighten her spirits to look out to sea to the spot where Gilling had drowned, and she wanted to do so. Then Fjalar told his brother Galar to climb up over the door and, as she went out, to drop a millstone on to her head. Fjalar said that he was tired of her wailing, so Galar did this.
‘When Suttung, Gilling’s son,1 learned what had happened, he travelled there and seized the dwarves. He ferried them out to sea and stranded them on some rocks that would be covered at high tide. The dwarves begged Suttung for their lives. They offered him the valuable mead as compensation for his father, and that offer became the basis of their agreement. Suttung took the mead home with him. For safekeeping, he put it in the place called Hnitbjorg and set his daughter Gunnlod to watch over it.
‘For this reason we call poetry Kvasir’s blood, the drink or intoxication of the dwarves, or some kind of liquid of Odrerir, Bodn or Son. The mead is also called the ship of the dwarves because it provided the ransom that floated them off the rocks. It is also called Suttung’s mead or Hnitbjorg’s liquid.’
Then Ægir said, ‘It seems to me that calling poetry by these names obscures the truth. But how did the Æsir get Suttung’s mead?’
Odin Seeks the Mead
Bragi replied, ‘The story is that Odin travelled from home and came to a place where nine slaves were cutting hay. He asked if they wanted him to sharpen their scythes. They agreed. Then he took a whetstone from his belt and sharpened the scythes. To them it seemed that the scythes now cut much better, and they wanted to buy the whetstone. Odin set this price on the stone: he asked that whoever wanted to buy it should give what he thought was reasonable. They all said they wanted it and each asked to buy it, but instead he threw it into the air. They all scrambled to catch it with the result that they slit each other’s throats with their scythes.2
‘Odin sought lodgings for the night with the giant named Baugi, Suttung’s brother. Baugi complained that his wealth had decreased, saying that nine of his slaves had been killed and that he had no hope of finding other workmen. But Odin, who went under the name Bolverk, offered to undertake for Baugi the work of nine men. As payment, he asked for a drink of Suttung’s mead. Baugi said that he had no control over the mead, because Suttung wanted it all for himself. Baugi added, however, that he would go with Bolverk to see if together they could get the mead. That summer Bolverk did the work of nine men for Baugi.
‘Towards the beginning of winter, Bolverk asked Baugi for his wages. Then they went together to Suttung’s, where Baugi told his brother of his agreement with Bolverk. But Suttung flatly refused to give away a single drop of the mead. Then Bolverk said to Baugi that they should try a few tricks to see if they could get hold of the mead. Baugi was agreeable, and Bolverk brought out the auger called Rati and told Baugi that, if the auger would drill, he should bore a hole through the mountain. So he did. When Baugi said that he had bored through the mountain, Bolverk blew into the hole made by the auger, but chips came flying back at him. Realizing that Baugi wanted to betray him, Bolverk told Baugi to continue drilling until he had bored through the mountain. Baugi started to bore again, and when Bolverk blew for the second time, the chips flew inward. Then Bolverk changed himself into the shape of a snake and crawled into the auger hole. Baugi struck at him with the auger from behind, but missed him.
‘Bolverk moved forward until he came to the place where Gunnlod was. He lay with her three nights, and she then allowed him three drinks of the mead. With his first drink he emptied Odrerir. With the second, he drained Bodn. His third emptied Son, and now he possessed all the mead. Then, changing himself into the shape of an eagle, he flew away as fast as he could. When Suttung saw the eagle’s flight, he too put on his eagle shape and flew after him.
‘When the Æsir saw Odin flying, they placed their vats in the courtyard, and when Odin entered Asgard he spat the mead into the vats. It was such a close call, with Suttung almost catching him, that he blew some of the mead out of his rear. No one paid attention to this part, and whoever wanted it took it; we call this the bad poets’ portion. Odin gave Suttung’s mead to the Æsir and to those men who know how to make poetry. For this reason we call poetry Odin’s catch, find, drink or gift, as well as the drink of the Æsir.’
3
The Giant Hrungnir
Bragi told Ægir, ‘Once, when Thor had gone into the east to fight trolls, Odin rode Sleipnir into Giant Land and came to the giant called Hrungnir. Hrungnir asked who it was that wore a golden helmet and rode through the sky and over the sea on such a fine horse. Odin said he would wager his head that no horse in Giant Land was its equal. Hrungnir answered that Sleipnir was a good horse but let on that he himself had a horse that took far bigger strides, and “this horse is named Gullfaxi [Golden Mane]”.
‘Losing his temper, Hrungnir jumped on to his horse and raced after Odin, hoping to repay him for his bragging. Odin galloped so fast that he stayed ahead of the giant, always just over a hill. But Hrungnir was in such a giant fury that he had passed through the gate of Asgard before he realized it.
‘When he arrived at the hall doors, the Æsir invited him to drink. Walking into the hall, he demanded the drink. Then Thor’s usual drinking bowls were brought out, and Hrungnir drained them all. When he became drunk, there was no end to his boasting.1 He said he would lift up Valhalla and take it to Giant Land, bury Asgard, and kill all the gods except Freyja and Sif, whom he wanted to take home with him. When Freyja went to serve him, he vowed that he would drink all of the Æsir’s ale.
Thor Duels with Hrungnir
‘When the Æsir grew tired of Hrungnir’s boasting they called on Thor, who quickly entered the hall, his hammer raised in the air. Enraged, he asked who had allowed the cunning giant to drink there. Who had granted Hrungnir permission to be at Valhalla, and why should Freyja be serving him as though he were feasting among the Æsir? Then Hrungnir answered, his eyes showing no friendship for Thor. He said that Odin had invited him to drink and that he was there on Odin’s safe conduct. Thor said Hrungnir would regret that invitation before he left. Hrungnir replied to Thor of the Æsir that there was little renown in killing him weaponless, but Thor would find it a greater test of courage if he dared to fight him on the border at Grjotunagardar [Courtyards of Rocky Fields].
‘Hrungnir now went back the way he had come, galloping as fast as he could until he reached Giant Land. There among the giants his trip became famous, not least because a contest had been arranged between him and Thor. The giants felt that there was much at stake in who would gain the victory, for it seemed to them that they would have little hope against Thor if Hrungnir was killed, since he was their strongest.
‘The giants then fashioned a man from clay at Grjotunagardar. He was nine leagues high and three leagues wide under the arms. They could not find a heart that was suitably large for him until they took one from a mare, but this heart became unsteady as soon as Thor arrived. Hrungnir had a heart that was famous. It was made of hard stone with three sharp-pointed corners just like the carved symbol called Hrungnishjarta [Hrungnir’s Heart]. His head was also made of stone, as was his shield, which was wide and thick. Holding his shield in front of him, he stood waiting at Grjotunagardar for Thor. He had a whetstone for a weapon, and it rested ready on his shoulder. He was not a welcoming sight. Standing terrified at Hrungnir’s side was the clay giant, called Mokkurkalfi. It is said that, on seeing Thor, he wet himself.2