in every world?”
{137} All-Wise said:
[20] “Humans call it Wind,
the gods call it Blower,
the holy say ‘Noisemaker,’
giants call it the Screamer,
elves say ‘Noisy Traveler,’
in Hel they call it Stormy.”
Thor said:
[21] “Tell me, All-Wise—
since I think you know
everything about everyone, dwarf—
what do they call it
when the wind stands still
in every world?”
All-Wise said:
[22] “Humans call it Calm,
the gods say ‘Unblowing,’
Vanir say ‘Wind-stop,’
giants say ‘Stop-blowing,’
elves call it Day’s Sleep,
but dwarves say ‘Day’s Feint.’
Thor said:
[23] “Tell me, All-Wise—
since I think you know
everything about everyone, dwarf—
what do they call the sea
that boats are rowed on
in every world?”
All-Wise said:
[24] “Humans call it Ocean,
gods prefer the name Sea,
Vanir call it Restful Harbor,
giants say ‘Eel-home,’
elves call it Oar-place,
the dwarves say ‘Deep, deep sea.’
{138} Thor said:
[25] “Tell me, All-Wise—
since I think you know
everything about everyone, dwarf—
what do they call fire,
which burns before our eyes,
in every world?”
All-Wise said:
[26] “Humans call it Fire,
the Aesir call it Flame,
Vanir call it Warmer,
giants say ‘the Bold One,’
dwarves call it Burner,
‘Mover’ is its name in Hel.”
Thor said:
[27] “Tell me, All-Wise—
since I think you know
everything about everyone, dwarf—
what do they call the woods
that grow before our eyes
in every world?”
All-Wise said:
[28] “Humans call them the Woods,
but gods say ‘Wool of the Plains,’
other men call them Hill-hilts,
giants call them Firewood,
elves say ‘Pretty Leaves,’
the Vanir call them Wands.”
Thor said:
[29] “Tell me, All-Wise—
since I think you know
everything about everyone, dwarf—
what do they call the night,
child of Norvi,
in every world?”
{139} All-Wise said:
[30] “Humans call it Night,
gods say ‘the Darkness,’
the holy gods say ‘the Masked One,’
giants call it the Un-light,
elves say ‘Good to Sleep In,’
dwarves say ‘Queen of Dreams.’”
Thor said:
[31] “Tell me, All-Wise—
since I think you know
everything about everyone, dwarf—
what do they call seed
that is sown in the earth
in every world?”
All-Wise said:
[32] “Humans call it Barley,
gods say ‘Grain,’
Vanir call it Grower,
giants say ‘Good Eating;’
elves call it Things to Make Beer,
in Hel they call it Sunken.”
Thor said:
[33] “Tell me, All-Wise—
since I think you know
everything about everyone, dwarf—
what do they call the ale
that everyone drinks
in every world?”
All-Wise said:
[34] “Humans call it Ale,
the Aesir call it Beer,
the Vanir call it Wine,
giants call it Cleansing Drink,
but in Hel they say ‘Mead’—
the giant sons of Suttung call it Toast.
{140} Thor said:
[35] “I’ve never seen
a single creature
who knew so much old lore!
But I have deceived you, All-Wise,
with a terrible lie:
You’re still up, and it’s dawn, dwarf—
the sun shines in the hall!”
{141} Baldrs draumar (Balder’s Dreams)
Baldrs draumar (“Balder’s Dreams”) does not appear in the Codex Regius manuscript, but it does appear in the manuscript AM 748 I 4to alongside several poems that do occur in the Codex Regius (such as Harbarthsljoth and Hymiskvitha). It is also clearly linked with the Poetic Edda by its form and content. As in Voluspa, Odin awakens a dead witch and asks her for information—in this case, the meaning of the worrisome dreams that his son Balder is having about his own death.
Baldrs draumar
[1] ONCE ALL THE GODS
met for a conference,
all the goddesses
met for a conference,
and the mighty gods
talked about
why Balder was having
bad dreams.
[2] Odin stood up,
that father of gods,
and he saddled
his horse Sleipnir.
Then he rode
down to Hel,
till he saw
the dog of Hel.
[3] The dog
had a bloody chest
and barked a long time
as Odin passed.
Odin rode on,
the stones of the road rattled,
till he came to the high
house of Hel.
{142} [4] Then Odin rode
east of the door to Hel,
and there he found
the grave of a witch,
and then the battle-god
spoke a spell,
till her corpse
was forced to rise, and spoke:
[5] “Who is this man,
unknown to me,
who has brought me back
to loathsome life?
I was buried in snow,
pelted by rain,
drowned in dew,
I was dead a long time.”
Odin said:
[6] “I am the Road-tamer,
son of Corpse-tamer.
Tell me news from Hel,
and I’ll tell you news from above.
Whose arrival are these benches
draped with straw for?
Why is the floor all
covered in gold?”
The witch said:
[7] “The mead is brewed
for Balder’s arrival,
a shield is placed over
the fresh brew.
All the gods
are in suspense.
I was forced to speak,
now I return to silence.”
{143} Odin said:
[8] “Don’t go silent, witch!
I want to ask you more,
till I understand everything,
and I want to know more.
Who will be the killer
of my son Balder?
Who will steal the life
of Odin’s son?”
The witch said:
[9] “Hoth will bear
the long spear that will kill him,
he will be the killer
of your son Balder,
he will steal the life
of Odin’s son.
I was forced to speak,
now I return to silence.”
Odin said:
[10] “Don’t go silent, witch!
I want to ask you more,
till I understand everything,
and I want to know more.
Who will avenge
Hoth’s crime?
Who will put Balder’s killer
on the funeral pyre?”
The witch said:
[11] “In halls to the west
Rind will give birth to your son Vali;
he will avenge Balder
when he is only one night old.
He will neither comb his hair
nor wash his hands
till he puts Balder’s killer
on the funeral pyre.
I was forced to speak,
now I return to silence.”
{144} Odin said:
[12] “Don’t go silent, witch!
I want to ask you more,
till I understand everything,
and I want to know more.
Who are the women
who weep in longing,
who throw their necklaces
up into the sky?”
The witch said:
[13] “You are not Road-tamer,
like I thought you were—
no, you are Odin,
the aged god.”
Odin said:
[14] “You are neither a witch,
nor a wise woman—
no, you are the mother
of three monsters.”
The witch said:
[15] “Ride home, Odin!
Feel triumphant, for now.
But you will come
for a second visit
when Loki breaks free
from his chains,
and Ragnarok
comes to end everything.”
{145} Rigsthula (The Tale of Rig)
Rigsthula (“Rig’s List”), another mythological poem not present in the Codex Regius, tells of the sexual adventures of the god Heimdall (here called Rig), and how he fathered the different classes of human beings, a myth that was well-known enough to be cited in the opening lines of Voluspa (where humans are referred to as “all classes of men,/ you greater and lesser/ children of Heimdall”). Heimdall sleeps first between Ai and Edda, whose names mean “great-grandfather” and “great-grandmother,” respectively, and then in succession with Afi and Amma (“grandfather” and “grandmother”), and Father and Mother (the Old Norse words are virtually identical with the English: fathir and mothir). With the first couple he fathers the slaves or peasants, with the second he fathers the commoners, and with the third he fathers the nobility. The first man and woman of each class then have children of their own, many of them with obviously meaningful names, which I have rendered with an English equivalent where the meaning of the Old Norse name is clear. Finally, in the last haunting stanza of the (incomplete?) poem, the youngest child of the noble family, named King, is encouraged by a crow to wage war on his prosperous neighbors. The values that the elites of Norse society attributed to the three classes of society—low, middle, and high—are clear to be seen in this poem, one of the most sociologically transparent artifacts of its time.
Rigsthula
Men say in old sagas that one of the Aesir, the god named Heimdall, went on a journey along a certain seashore, and soon he came to a farm, where he gave his name as Rig. This poem is about that story.
[1] IT IS SAID THAT
a wise god, Rig,
powerful and aged,
fierce and strong,
walked upon
green roads.
{146} [2] In the middle of the road
he came walking.
He came to a house,
the door was open.
He went in,
a fire burned on the floor,
and a gray-haired couple
sat before it,
named Ai and Edda;
they were an aged pair.
[3] Rig knew how to
give them good counsel.
He sat down
between them,
with the man and the woman
on either side of him.
[4] Then Edda took
a swollen loaf of bread,
heavy and thick,
stuffed with grains,
and she put that, and more,
in the middle of the table.
There was soup in a bowl,
and boiled calf-meat
was set on the table;
that was the best of their delicacies.
[5] Rig rose from his seat
and was ready for sleep;
he knew how to
give them good counsel.
He lay down in bed
between them,
with the man and the woman
on either side of him.
[6] He was there
three nights in a row,
then he went walking
{147} in the middle of the road,
and nine months
soon passed.
[7] Edda had a child.
They splashed him with water,
wrapped him in dark clothes,
and named him Slave.
[8] Slave grew up
and did well for himself.
His hands had
scabby skin,
knobby knuckles,
and fat fingers.
His face was ugly,
he had a bad back,
and a long pair of heels on his feet.
[9] Soon he got a chance
to test his strength.
He made rope,
he made baskets,
all day he carried
firewood home.
[10] Then a woman
came wandering his way,
with scars on her feet,
and sunburnt arms.
She had a hook nose,
and her name was Slavewoman.
[11] She sat down
in the middle of the floor.
And Slave sat down
next to her.
They spoke and they whispered,
Slave and Slavewoman,
they readied a bed
after a hard day’s work.
{148} [12] They had children,
they taught them and loved them.
I think their sons were named
Lumpy and Barn-cleaner,
Noisy and Horsefly,
Sleeper, Stinker,
Midget, Fatboy,
Slow and Gray-hair,
Hunchback and Dangle-leg;
they made fences,
they planted fields,
they raised pigs,
they herded goats,
they shoveled manure.
[13] Their daughters were
Shorty and Fatty,
Fat-calf
and Beak-nose,
Shriek and Slavegirl,
Gossip,
Skinny-hips,
and Bird-legs.
All the families of slaves
are descended from them.
[14] Rig went on
upon his way.
He came to a hall,
the door was open.
He went inside,
a fire burned on the floor.
A couple sat there,
busy with their work.
[15] The man was busy
with wood-carving.
His beard was trimmed,
his hair lay in locks on his forehead,
his shirt was tailored,
he owned a chest of drawers.
{149} [16] His wife sat
and spun her spinning-wheel
with her arms,
she was weaving.
She had a headdress,
she wore a blouse,
she had a lace choker,
and jeweled brooches.
Afi and Amma
were their names.
[17] Rig knew how to
give them good counsel.
He rose from the table,
ready to sleep.
He lay down in bed
between them,
with the man a
nd the woman
on either side of him.
[18] He was there
three nights in a row,
and nine months
soon passed.
[19] Amma had a child.
They splashed him with water
and named him Freeman.
His mother wrapped
her red-haired, ruddy child
in cloth; his eyes were keen.
[20] He grew up,
and did well for himself.
He tamed oxen,
he made a plow,
he built houses
and he built barns,
he made wagons
and drove a plow.
{150} [21] Then they brought him
a housewife with her keys
in goat-skin clothes,
and married her to Freeman.
She was named In-law,
she wore the bridal veil.
That couple lived together,
they exchanged rings,
they shared their sheets,
and made a home.
[22] They had children,
they taught them and loved them.
Their sons were Manful and Fighter,
Brave, Swordsman, and Smith,
Stout, Farmer,
Trimbeard,
Rancher and Husband,
Sharp-Beard and Manly.
[23] And they had daughters
with these names:
Smart, Bride, Swan,
Lady, Dame,
Girl, Noblewoman, Wife,
Shy, and Vivacious.
All the families of free farmers
are descended from them.
[24] Rig went on
upon his way,
he came to a hall,
with the door facing south
and standing open—
there was a ring
for knocking on the door.
[25] He went in, and found
the floor covered with straw.
A husband and wife sat there
and looked in one another’s eyes.
{151} They were named Father and Mother,
they held one another’s hands.
[26] The husband sat
and strung his bow;
he bent its shaft
and made arrows for it.
His wife inspected
the sleeves of her blouse,
stroked the wrinkles out,
smoothed them out.
[27] She adjusted her headdress,
she had a jewel on her chest,
a long dress,
and a blue-colored blouse.
Her face was more beautiful,
her breast was more beautiful,
her neck was more beautiful
than pure snow.
[28] Rig knew how to
give them good counsel.
He sat down
between them,
with the man and the woman
on either side of him.
[29] Then Mother brought out
a fine white
ornamental cloth
and covered the table.
She brought out
thin-sliced bread
made of white wheat
and filled the table.
The Poetic Edda Page 13