2. In the East the old one lives: It is not clear to whom ‘the old one’ (in aldna) refers. In the prose preceding the verse she is called the old ogress or giantess (in gamla gýgr) and seems to be a creature from the oldest times. Possibly she refers to Angrboda, the mother of Fenrir (see chapter 34).
14. ASGARD AND THE ORIGIN OF THE DWARVES
1. the middle of the stronghold: The text uses the word borg, which in this context could mean a fortress or a town. The idea seems to be an extensive stronghold and a town within.
2. goddesses: Here the goddesses are called gyðjur (female gods); elsewhere they are often referred to as ásynjur (female Æsir).
3. the women… from Giant Land: This line corresponds to stanza 8 of The Sibyl’s Prophecy, which speaks of the coming of three giant maidens from Giant Land. Who these women are is unclear.
4. from the waves of blood: The text uses the word brim, meaning surf. In The Sibyl’s Prophecy, Brimir is the name for a giant, possibly Ymir. If the verse is referring to a giant, then the line possibly reads: ‘from Ymir’S blood’.
5. live in the ground: The text uses the word mold, meaning the ground, soil or earth. These dwarves live in holes in the earth, that is, in some form of underground houses, perhaps caves.
6. The Sibyl’s Prophecy: The lists of the dwarves differ significantly between the Prose Edda and The Sibyl’s Prophecy.
15. THE ASH YGGDRASIL, THE NORNS AND THE THREE WELLS
1. drinks… from the Gjallarhorn: The god Heimdall also has a horn or trumpet named Gjallarhorn. They may be the same. See chapter 27.
2. Urd… Verdandi… and Skuld: Urd (Urðr) and Verdandi (Verðandi) are names derived from the verb verða, meaning ‘to become’. They may also be related to the helping verb ‘must’. The name Skuld is problematic, with numerous possibilities. It may derive from the verbal form skal, which corresponds to the English ‘shall’, conveying the idea of necessity or responsibility, i.e., something in the future that cannot be avoided. Skuld may also mean ‘obligation’, ‘debt’, ‘fault’ or ‘blame’. Together the names of these norns imply ‘to become’, ‘to have to’ and ‘to be absolutely required to’, and may also signify ‘past’, ‘present’ and ‘future’.
16. THE CREATURES OF THE ASH TREE YGGDRASIL
1. devouring the tree’s foliage: This line has often been mistranslated, leading to the wrong assumption that the World Tree was a conifer. The text uses the words bíta barr. Bíta means to bite, rip with the teeth, or eat. Barr means the foliage of a tree, whether leaf or pine needle, although frequently it refers to just pine needles. Together, bíta barr means to eat the foliage off a tree, words suitable for both an ash tree and a pine.
20. ODIN THE ALL-FATHER
1. one of the Æsir called Loki: In other places Loki is not considered a member of the Æsir.
2. Hapta-God: Hapta-God (Haptaguð) can mean God of fetters, hence a connection with prisoners. But it could also be ‘he who employs fetters’ and/or perhaps even ‘he who loosens fetters’. Höpt can also mean gods, with the possibility that Haptaguð refers to ‘foremost of the gods’. Further, as a noun hapt might mean godly powers. The name could thus mean the god of gods or the ‘god who restricts men with his divine laws’.
3. Helblindi… Sann, Svipal: Helblindi could be a scribal error for Herblindi (Blinder of Armies). Sann and Svipal mean truthful and changing (shifting). Some of the pairs of names in this verse contain similar contrasts.
4. Truly: The expression pat veit trúa mín means something like ‘truly’ or ‘by my faith’. The expression is not found in the earliest Icelandic texts but becomes common in thirteenth-century romance sagas, many of which derive from French stories translated into Old Norse.
21. THOR
1. five hundred and forty living spaces: The usual meaning of the word gólf is floor. Here the word most probably refers to divisions in a longhouse building, such as the living spaces set off from each other by pillars holding up the roof. The term ‘hundred’ probably stood for 120, as was customary (the medieval ‘long hundred’ was based on the number twelve). Thus the figure of 540 would be larger if the author is using the long hundred.
22. BALDR
1. One plant… Baldr’S brow: The Icelandic plant Baldrs brá is Matricaria maritima.
23. NJORD AND SKADI
1. three nights at Noatun: The Codex Regius says ‘nine winters… and another nine’, but the other three main manuscripts, Codex Upsaliensis, Codex Wormianus and Codex Trajectinus, say ‘nine nights… and another three’.
24. FREY AND FREYJA
1. She is easily approachable… pray to her: This clause is somewhat unusual in Old Icelandic. A second translation might be: ‘She most successfully fulfils the desires of people who pray to her.’
2. from her name… title of honour… ladies: Fróva, later frú, meaning lady, appears to be a loan word from Low German.
25. TYR
1. Tyr: Related to Latin deus and Greek Zeus, the name Tyr may derive from postulated Old Germanic tiwaz, meaning ‘god’.In The Lay of Sigurdrifa Tyr is the name of a rune that brings victory.
26. BRAGI
1. wooden box: Eski means a wooden box made of ash and generally used for carrying personal possessions. In chapter 35, the goddess Fulla is said to carry Frigg’s eski.
27. HEIMDALL
1. Heimdall’S Chant: Heimdall’s Chant no longer exists; see Appendix 3 for more details.
28. HOD
1. work… will long be remembered: See chapter 49.
29. VIDAR
1. thick shoe: At Ragnarok, Vidar uses his special shoe to kill the Wolf; see chapter 51.
31. ULL
1. Ull… good person to pray to: Although not an important figure in the surviving mythology, Ull is often mentioned in skaldic verse, and his cult was widespread throughout the north.
34. LOKI’S MONSTROUS CHILDREN
1. the Midgard Serpent:(Miðgarðsormr) Also referred to by the name Jormungand (Jörmungandr).
35. GODDESSES
1. Brisingamen: Several figures, including giants and Heimdall, possessed Brisingamen at different times.
36. VALKYRIES AND GODDESSES
1. Valkyries: ‘Valkyrie’ derives from two words, the noun valr, the slain on the battlefield, and the verb kjósa, ‘to choose’. The compound means ‘chooser of the slain’ and the Old Norse valkyrja (plural valkyrjur) is cognate with Old English wælcyrge.
37. THE TALE OF FREY AND THE GIANTESS GERD
1. the place called Barey: In some manuscripts Barey is spelled Barrey. The word has several possible meanings, which has stirred controversy. If a compound, the second part of the word, ey, probably means island. One possibility for the first part of the word, Barr, is evergreen tree; hence Barey would mean wooded or conifer island, perhaps even a forest. Barr could also mean barley and, if so, the meaning could be connected with fertility worship. The god of fertility consummating his longing and marriage in a barley field with a young woman who meets him there has cultic possibilities. In The Lay of Skirnir, the place is called Barri, which seems to be a windless or quiet grove. Barey might refer to the Hebridean island Barra, lying off the western coast of Scotland. Barra was occupied by Norsemen and is mentioned in Icelandic writings, including Grettir’S Saga.
2. half this holding time: The term used is hálf hýnótt. The hýnótt was a waiting period preceding a wedding. The phrase seems to mean half of such a waiting or holding time. Already Frey knows he can barely make it past three nights.
39. THE DRINK OF THE EINHERJAR AND WHAT FLOWS FROM VALHALLA
1. famous tree, Lerad: The Lay of Grimnir mentions the tree Lerad or Laerad, which seems to be the same as Yggdrasil.
2. all… satisfy their thirst: The word fulldrukkinn (fully drunk) is an ironic usage. It could mean either drink to their satisfaction or become drunk.
40. THE DOORS OF VALHALLA
1. Five hundred doors: If the counting is in long hundreds of 120, whi
ch is probable, then five hundred doors would be six hundred.
41. THE DAILY BATTLE AT VALHALLA
1. The slain they select: This line could have several meanings, among them the following: they determine ahead of time who is to be slain, or they choose from among the slain those who should be taken back to Valhalla.
2. Habrok of hawks: Habrok is the hawk of King Hrolf. In The Saga of King Hrolf Kraki, Habrok fights for his lord.
42. THE MASTER BUILDER FROM GIANT LAND AND THE BIRTH OF SLEIPNIR
1. Thor… hammering on trolls: The verb used is berja, meaning to strike, to beat, with the idea of hammering on something. The medieval author is humorously playing on words. Rather than fighting with trolls, which requires the verb berjast (the ‘-st’ ending changing the meaning of the verb to indicate that two or more people are fighting among themselves), Thor, alone, is hammering on the trolls.
2. Od’s maid: The verses refer to Freyja by the word mær, which means maiden or virgin, as well as wife or beloved.
44. THOR AND LOKI BEGIN THEIR JOURNEY TO GIANT LAND
1. so many examples… Thor is the mightiest: The idea seems to be that even when Thor loses, as he does to Utgarda-Loki, it is because of deception and not through a lack of might.
45. THOR ENCOUNTERS SKRYMIR IN THE FOREST
1. Thor was too startled… with the hammer: This story about Thor is filled with humour. The wording gives the impression that Thor, who was something of a bungler, rather than being frightened, which is a possible translation, was surprised and startled, having acted before taking the time to think out the best course of action.
2. Skrymir: Different meanings have been proposed for the name Skrymir (Skrýmir), among them braggart and big fellow.
3. dragged away my glove: Another example of medieval Icelandic humour. The words and the image of dragging away a glove give the impression of the work of a child or small animal like a puppy.
4. some leaves or twigs: The word used is tros. It means rubbish, including leaves or twigs from a tree gathered and used for fuel.
47. UTGARDA-LOKI REVEALS THAT THOR WAS DECEIVED
1. iron wire: Grésjarn is some kind of iron fastening, perhaps magical. Grés is probably a loan word from Old Irish, where it meant deception and trickery.
48. THOR AND THE GIANT HYMIR GO FISHING
1. Even those… know that Thor made amends: The myth of Thor fishing for the great serpent that encircles the earth is ancient. It is the subject of the eddic poem The Lay of Hymir (Hymiskviða), and is mentioned in several ninth-and tenth-century skaldic poems, including Ragnarsdrapa and Husdrapa. Thor’S fishing expedition is also represented on four Viking Age pictorial stones from Altuna (early eleventh century), Hørdum (eighth to eleventh century), Ardre VIII (eighth century) and Gosforth (tenth century).
2. neither weaker nor less firm: An ironic understatement that does not translate well into English.
49. THE DEATH OF BALDR AND HERMOD’S RIDE TO HEL
1. ruin for the Æsir: Odin, who sees into the future, is apparently thinking of the coming of Ragnarok.
2. log rollers underneath the keel: When a ship was hauled up on the shore, logs were placed as rollers under the keel.
3. the gold ring Draupnir: Magical rings such as Draupnir had creative powers and play significant roles in Norse myth and legend. Skaldskaparmal, The Saga of the Volsungs and the Sigurd poems in the Poetic Edda speak of a magical ring called Andvaranaut (Andvari’S Gift). In his retelling of the tale of Baldr’S death, the medieval Danish writer Saxo Grammaticus also refers to a gold ring that made wealth for its owner.
4. the Gjoll Bridge: The boundary separating the world of the living from the world of the dead.
5. all things in the world, alive or dead: Alive or dead (kykr ok dauðr) means things possessed of the quickening of life, as opposed to objects that are dead, that is, inanimate. This has a similar meaning to the biblical phrase the quick and the dead.
6. Thokk will weep… Let Hel hold what she has: This verse, which is not known elsewhere, may come from a lost poem about Baldr’s death.
51. THE HIGH ONE REVEALS THE EVENTS OF RAGNAROK
1. the collapse of kinship: Sifjaslit means the breaking of kinship bonds, but there is also the connotation of incest.
2. a hundred leagues in each direction: If the figure referred to here is the long hundred, then the resulting size of the field is 120 leagues in each direction.
3. the hound Garm… Gnipahellir: Garm is mentioned in The Lay of Grimnir and in The Sibyl’s Prophecy. Baldr’s Dreams speaks of a hound in Hel, which might not be Garm. Hellir in the name Gnipahellir means cave. The whole word could be translated as a jutting or overhanging cave, and Gnipahellir is perhaps an entrance to Hel. Garm could be another name for Fenrir.
4. the giant breaks free: The giant who breaks free could be the Fenriswolf, the hound Garm or Loki. All were bound, and all will break free at Ragnarok.
5. Nidfol rips apart corpses: If a proper noun, Nidfol (darkly pale) is perhaps the same as Nidhogg, who rips apart corpses at Hvergelmir (chapter 52). Possibly the reference is to Hraesvelg.
6. There with the Wolf: The line uses the name Freki, which means a wolf, perhaps also with the connotation of greedy, hence greedy wolf. Freki can be a name for Fenrir and the reference is probably to him.
7. Surt comes… the sky splits apart: The same verse is found at the end of chapter 4.
8. Steps back… son of Earth: The first part of this stanza, containing the words nepr at naðri, is unclear. The great son of Earth is Thor. Earth, Thor’S mother, was also named Hlodyn and the verse uses the kenning ‘the son of Hlodyn’. The line foretells Thor’S death from the serpent’S poison.
9. the fire rages: The term used is aldrnari, meaning nourisher of life, that is, fire. The line is perhaps ironic, as fire is destroying rather than nourishing.
52. AFTER RAGNAROK
1. the hall called Brimir: In The Sibyl’s Prophecy Brimir is not the hall, but the name of the giant that owns the hall. The name Sindri, a few lines later, is the name of a dwarf.
2. Nastrandir [Corpse Strands]: The Old Norse word nár had two meanings. It meant corpse, that is, an actual dead body, but the word also had the more general meaning of a deceased person. With the second, more general meaning in mind, the Corpse Strands, that is, the beaches of the dead, might be another realm of the dead. Strand is plural in the prose and singular in the verse immediately following.
3. walls woven from branches: The text reads sem vandahús (like a wattle house), a building whose walls are made from poles and thin branches covered with mud. Here the wattle is live snakes.
53. THE HIGH ONE DESCRIBES THE REBIRTH OF THE WORLD
1. Vingnir’s: Vingnir here most probably refers to Thor, who elsewhere is called Vingnir’S foster son. Vingnir is also one of Odin’S names as well as the name of a giant.
2. Hoddmimir’s Holt: It is not clear who Hoddmimir is; hodd can be a hoard, but also has the meaning of holy place, temple or sanctuary where precious things are hoarded. ‘Hoddmimir’ could be translated as Hoard Mimir. The word holt means woods, but could be a tree. Hence Hoddmimir’S Holt (the wood or tree of Mimir) is perhaps Yggdrasil, the World Tree.
55. THE EPILOGUE TO GYLFAGINNING
1. Epilogue to Gylfaginning: Because this short concluding paragraph is so different from the main body of Gylfaginning in style, subject matter, sentence structure and word choice, scholars have often treated it as an epilogue added by a later scribe.
SKALDSKAPARMAL (POETIC DICTION)
1
Bragi Tells Ægir Stories of The Gods
1. Ægir… Bragi: Both Ægir and Bragi have their own histories. Ægir is either a giant or a god of the sea. The Edda calls Bragi a god, but he may originally have been Bragi Boddason the Old, a famous ninth-century court poet perhaps elevated to the rank of a god.
2. her falcon shape: This object, a falcon skin or cloak (valshamr), gave the possessor the ability t
o change shape into a falcon.
3. I choose… Njord: She meant to choose Baldr, assuming that his feet would be the most beautiful. Instead she chose Njord, the god of the sea, because his feet were clean. The story of their marriage is told in Gylfaginning, chapter 23.
2 Kvasir and the Mead of Poetry
1. Suttung, Gilling’S son: Although some manuscripts call Suttung the son of Gilling’s brother (bróðurson), that is, his nephew, son makes more sense.
2. they slit each other’s throats… scythes: Rather than fighting among themselves, which is a possibility, the wording gives the impression that these workers, probably giants, were so clumsy that they ended up killing each other as they jostled about.
The Prose Edda Page 20