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Title: The Younger Edda; Also called Snorre's Edda, or The Prose Edda

Author: Snorri Sturluson

Translator: Rasmus Björn Anderson

Release date: July 31, 2006 [eBook #18947]
Most recently updated: August 4, 2024

Language: English

Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/18947

Credits: Produced by Louise Hope, R. Cedron and the Online
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE YOUNGER
EDDA; ALSO CALLED SNORRE'S EDDA, OR THE PROSE EDDA ***

A few paragraph-ending periods (full stops)
have been supplied.
The author omitted vowel modifiers and
diacritics from all names in the body text:
Hakon, Malar, Mjolnir. The footnotes are
generally more linguistically precise.
The name “Svanhild/Swanhild” is spelled
“Swanhild” in the body text, “Svanhild” in
the Vocabulary (all occurrences) and Index.
The spelling “skees” is used consistently.
Translator’s Preface
The Fooling of Gylfe
Brage’s Talk
The Poetical Diction
Notes
Vocabulary
Index

THE YOUNGER EDDA:
ALSO CALLED

SNORRE’S EDDA, OR THE PROSE EDDA.
AN ENGLISH VERSION OF THE FOREWORD; THE FOOLING OF
GYLFE,
THE AFTERWORD; BRAGE’S TALK, THE AFTERWORD
TO BRAGE’S TALK, AND THE IMPORTANT
PASSAGES IN THE POETICAL DICTION
(SKALDSKAPARMAL).

WITH AN

INTRODUCTION, NOTES, VOCABULARY, AND
INDEX.

By RASMUS B. ANDERSON, LL.D.,
FORMERLY PROFESSOR OF THE SCANDINAVIAN LANGUAGES IN THE UNIVERSITY OF
WISCONSIN, EX-U.S. MINISTER TO DENMARK, AUTHOR OF “AMERICA NOT
DISCOVERED BY COLUMBUS,” “NORSE MYTHOLOGY,” “VIKING TALES OF THE
NORTH,” ETC.

Chicago
Scott, Foresman and Company
1901

Copyright, 1879,
By S. C. GRIGGS AND COMPANY.

PRESS OF
THE HENRY O. SHEPARD CO. CHICAGO.

TO

HON. THOS. F. BAYARD,
AMBASSADOR TO THE COURT OF ST. JAMES, IN GRATEFUL
RECOLLECTION OF PLEASANT OFFICIAL
RELATIONS.

PREFACE.

In the beginning, before the heaven and the earth and the sea were created,
the great abyss Ginungagap was without form and void, and the spirit of
Fimbultyr moved upon the face of the deep, until the ice-cold rivers, the
Elivogs, flowing from Niflheim, came in contact with the dazzling flames
from Muspelheim. This was before Chaos.
And Fimbultyr said: Let the melted drops of vapor quicken into life, and the
giant Ymer was born in the midst of Ginungagap. He was not a god, but the
father of all the race of evil giants. This was Chaos.
And Fimbultyr said: Let Ymer be slain and let order be established. And
straightway Odin and his brothers—the bright sons of Bure—gave Ymer a
mortal wound, and from his body made they the universe; from his flesh,
the earth; from his blood, the sea; from his bones, the rocks; from his hair,
the trees; from his skull, the vaulted heavens; from his eye-brows, the
bulwark called Midgard. And the gods formed man and woman in their own
image of two trees, and breathed into them the breath of life. Ask and
Embla became living souls, and they received a garden in Midgard as a
dwelling-place for themselves and their children until the end of time. This
was Cosmos.
The world’s last day approaches. All bonds and fetters that bound the forces
of heaven and earth together are severed, and the powers of good and of
evil are brought together in an internecine feud. Loke advances with the
Fenris-wolf and the Midgard-serpent, his own children, with all the hosts of
the giants, and with Surt, who flings fire and flame over the world. Odin
advances with all the asas and all the blessed einherjes. They meet, contend,
and fall. The wolf swallows Odin, but Vidar, the Silent, sets his foot upon
the monster’s lower jaw, he seizes the other with his hand, and thus rends
him till he dies. Frey encounters Surt, and terrible blows are given ere Frey

falls. Heimdal and Loke fight and kill each other, and so do Tyr and the dog
Garm from the Gnipa Cave. Asa-Thor fells the Midgard-serpent with his
Mjolner, but he retreats only nine paces when he himself falls dead,
suffocated by the serpent’s venom. Then smoke wreathes up around the ash
Ygdrasil, the high flames play against the heavens, the graves of the gods,
of the giants and of men are swallowed up by the sea, and the end has
come. This is Ragnarok, the twilight of the gods.
But the radiant dawn follows the night. The earth, completely green, rises
again from the sea, and where the mews have but just been rocking on
restless waves, rich fields unplowed and unsown, now wave their golden
harvests before the gentle breezes. The asas awake to a new life, Balder is
with them again. Then comes the mighty Fimbultyr, the god who is from
everlasting to everlasting; the god whom the Edda skald dared not name.
The god of gods comes to the asas. He comes to the great judgment and
gathers all the good into Gimle to dwell there forever, and evermore
delights enjoy; but the perjurers and murderers and adulterers he sends to
Nastrand, that terrible hall, to be torn by Nidhug until they are purged from
their wickedness. This is Regeneration.
These are the outlines of the Teutonic religion. Such were the doctrines
established by Odin among our ancestors. Thus do we find it recorded in the
Eddas of Iceland.
The present volume contains all of the Younger Edda that can possibly be of
any importance to English readers. In fact, it gives more than has ever
before been presented in any translation into English, German or any of the
modern Scandinavian tongues.
We would recommend our readers to omit the Forewords and Afterwords
until they have perused the Fooling of Gylfe and Brage’s Speech. The
Forewords and Afterwords, it will readily be seen, are written by a later and
less skillful hand, and we should be sorry to have anyone lay the book aside
and lose the pleasure of reading Snorre’s and Olaf’s charming work,
because he became disgusted with what seemed to him mere silly twaddle.
And yet these Forewords and Afterwords become interesting enough when
taken up in connection with a study of the historical anthropomorphized
Odin. With a view of giving a pretty complete outline of the founder of the

Teutonic race we have in our notes given all the Heimskringla sketch of the
Black Sea Odin. We have done this, not only on account of the material it
furnishes as the groundwork of a Teutonic epic, which we trust the muses
will ere long direct some one to write, but also on account of the vivid
picture it gives of Teutonic life as shaped and controlled by the Odinic faith.
All the poems quoted in the Younger Edda have in this edition been traced
back to their sources in the Elder Edda and elsewhere.
Where the notes seem to the reader insufficient, we must refer him to our
Norse Mythology, where he will, we trust, find much of the additional
information he may desire.
Well aware that our work has many imperfections, and begging our readers
to deal generously with our shortcomings, we send the book out into the
world with the hope that it may aid some young son or daughter of Odin to
find his way to the fountains of Urd and Mimer and to Idun’s rejuvenating
apples. The son must not squander, but husband wisely, what his father has
accumulated. The race must cherish and hold fast and add to the thought
that the past has bequeathed to it. Thus does it grow greater and richer with
each new generation. The past is the mirror that reflects the future.
R. B. ANDERSON.
University of Wisconsin,
Madison, Wis., September, 1879.

CONTENTS.

Preface 5
Introduction 15
Foreword 33

THE FOOLING OF GYLFE.
CHAPTER I.
Gefjun’s Plowing 49
CHAPTER II.
Gylfe’s Journey to Asgard 51
CHAPTER III.
Of the Highest God 54
CHAPTER IV.
The Creation of the World 56
CHAPTER V.
The Creation (continued) 64
CHAPTER VI.
The First Works of the Asas—The Golden Age 69
CHAPTER VII.
On the Wonderful Things in Heaven 72
CHAPTER VIII.
The Asas 79
CHAPTER IX.
Loke and his Offspring 91
CHAPTER X.

The Goddesses (Asynjes) 97
CHAPTER XI.
The Giantess Gerd and Skirner’s Journey 101
CHAPTER XII.
Life in Valhal 104
CHAPTER XIII.
Odin’s Horse and Frey’s Ship 109
CHAPTER XIV.
Thor’s Adventures 113
CHAPTER XV.
The Death of Balder 131
CHAPTER XVI.
Ragnarok 140
CHAPTER XVII.
Regeneration 147
Afterword to the Fooling of Gylfe 151

BRAGE’S TALK
CHAPTER I.
Æger’s Journey to Asgard 152
CHAPTER II.
Idun and her Apples 155
CHAPTER III.
How Njord got Skade to Wife 158
CHAPTER IV.
The Origin of Poetry 160
Afterword to Brage’s Talk 166

EXTRACTS FROM THE POETICAL DICTION.
Thor and Hrungner 169
Thor’s Journey to Geirrod’s 176

Idun 184
Æger’s Feast 187
Loke’s Wager with the Dwarfs 189
The Niflungs and Gjukungs 193
Menja and Fenja 206
The Grottesong 208
Rolf Krake 214
Hogne and Hild 218

NOTES
Enea 221
Herikon 221
The Historical Odin 221
Fornjot and the Settlement of Norway 239
Notes to the Fooling of Gylfe 242
Note on the Niflungs and Gjukungs 266
Note on Menja and Fenja 267
Why the Sea is Salt 268

VOCABULARY 275
INDEX 291

THE YOUNGER EDDA.

INTRODUCTION.
The records of our Teutonic past have hitherto received but slight attention
from the English-speaking branch of the great world-ash Ygdrasil. This
indifference is the more deplorable, since a knowledge of our heroic
forefathers would naturally operate as a most powerful means of keeping
alive among us, and our posterity, that spirit of courage, enterprise and
independence for which the old Teutons were so distinguished.
The religion of our ancestors forms an important chapter in the history of
the childhood of our race, and this fact has induced us to offer the public an
English translation of the Eddas. The purely mythological portion of the
Elder Edda was translated and published by A. S. Cottle, in Bristol, in 1797,
and the whole work was translated by Benjamin Thorpe, and published in
London in 1866. Both these works are now out of print. Of the Younger
Edda we have likewise had two translations into English,—the first by
Dasent in 1842, the second by Blackwell, in his edition of Mallet’s
Northern Antiquities, in 1847. The former has long been out of print, the
latter is a poor imitation of Dasent’s. Both of them are very incomplete.
These four books constitute all the Edda literature we have had in the
English language, excepting, of course, single lays and chapters translated
by Gray, Henderson, W. Taylor, Herbert, Jamieson, Pigott, William and
Mary Howitt, and others.
The Younger Edda (also called Snorre’s Edda, or the Prose Edda), of which
we now have the pleasure of presenting our readers an English version,
contains, as usually published in the original, the following divisions:
1. The Foreword.

2. Gylfaginning (The Fooling of Gylfe).
3. The Afterword to Gylfaginning.
4. Brage’s Speech.
5. The Afterword.
6. Skaldskaparmal (a collection of poetic paraphrases, and denominations in
Skaldic language without paraphrases).
7. Hattatal (an enumeration of metres; a sort of Clavis Metrica).
In some editions there are also found six additional chapters on the
alphabet, grammar, figures of speech, etc.
There are three important parchment manuscripts of the Younger Edda, viz:
1. Codex Regius, the so-called King’s Book. This was presented to the
Royal Library in Copenhagen, by Bishop Brynjulf Sveinsson, in the year
1640, where it is still kept.
2. Codex Wormianus. This is found in the University Library in
Copenhagen, in the Arne Magnæan collection. It takes its name from
Professor Ole Worm [died 1654], to whom it was presented by the learned
Arngrim Jonsson. Christian Worm, the grandson of Ole Worm, and Bishop
of Seeland [died 1737], afterward presented it to Arne Magnusson.
3. Codex Upsaliensis. This is preserved in the Upsala University Library.
Like the other two, it was found in Iceland, where it was given to Jon
Rugmann. Later it fell into the hands of Count Magnus Gabriel de la
Gardie, who in the year 1669 presented it to the Upsala University. Besides
these three chief documents, there exist four fragmentary parchments, and a
large number of paper manuscripts.
The first printed edition of the Younger Edda, in the original, is the
celebrated “Edda Islandorum,” published by Peter Johannes Resen, in
Copenhagen, in the year 1665. It contains a translation into Latin, made
partly by Resen himself, and partly also by Magnus Olafsson, Stephan
Olafsson and Thormod Torfason.
Not until eighty years later, that is in 1746, did the second edition of the
Younger Edda appear in Upsala under the auspices of Johannes Goransson.

This was printed from the Codex Upsaliensis.
In the present century we find a third edition by Rasmus Rask, published in
Stockholm in 1818. This is very complete and critical. The fourth edition
was issued by Sveinbjorn Egilsson, in Reykjavik, 1849; the fifth by the
Arne-Magnæan Commission in Copenhagen, 1852.1 All these five editions
have long been out of print, and in place of them we have a sixth edition by
Thorleif Jonsson (Copenhagen, 1875), and a seventh by Ernst Wilkin
(Paderborn, 1877). Both of these, and especially the latter, are thoroughly
critical and reliable.
Of translations, we must mention in addition to those into English by
Dasent and Blackwell, R. Nyerup’s translation into Danish (Copenhagen,
1808); Karl Simrock’s into German (Stuttgart and Tübingen, 1851); and Fr.
Bergmann’s into French (Paris, 1871). Among the chief authorities to be
consulted in the study of the Younger Edda may be named, in addition to
those already mentioned, Fr. Dietrich, Th. Mobius, Fr. Pfeiffer, Ludw.
Ettmuller, K. Hildebrand, Ludw. Uhland, P. E. Muller, Adolf Holzmann,
Sophus Bugge, P. A. Munch and Rudolph Keyser. For the material in our
introduction and notes, we are chiefly indebted to Simrock, Wilkin and
Keyser. While we have had no opportunity of making original researches,
the published works have been carefully studied, and all we claim for our
work is, that it shall contain the results of the latest and most thorough
investigations by scholars who live nearer the fountains of Urd and Mimer
than do we. Our translations are made from Egilsson’s, Jonsson’s and
Wilkins’ editions of the original. We have not translated any of the Hattatal,
and only the narrative part of Skaldskaparmal, and yet our version contains
more of the Younger Edda than any English, German, French or Danish
translation that has hitherto been published. The parts omitted cannot
possibly be of any interest to any one who cannot read them in the original.
All the paraphrases of the asas and asynjes, of the world, the earth, the sea,
the sun, the wind, fire, summer, man, woman, gold, of war, arms, of a ship,
emperor, king, ruler, etc., are of interest only as they help to explain
passages of Old Norse poems. The same is true of the enumeration of
metres, which contains a number of epithets and metaphors used by the
scalds, illustrated by specimens of their poetry, and also by a poem of
Snorre Sturleson, written in one hundred different metres.

There has been a great deal of learned discussion in regard to the authorship
of the Younger Edda. Readers specially interested in this knotty subject we
must refer to Wilkins’ elaborate treatise, Untersuchungen zur Snorra Edda
(Paderborn, 1878), and to P. E. Muller’s, Die Æchtheit der Asalehre
(Copenhagen, 1811).
Two celebrated names that without doubt are intimately connected with the
work are Snorre Sturleson and Olaf Thordsson Hvitaskald. Both of these are
conspicuous, not only in the literary, but also in the political history of
Iceland.
Snorre Sturleson2 was born in Iceland in the year 1178. Three years old, he
came to the house of the distinguished chief, Jon Loptsson, at Odde, a
grandson of Sæmund the Wise, the reputed collector of the Elder Edda,
where he appears to have remained until Jon Loptsson’s death, in the year
1197. Soon afterward Snorre married into a wealthy family, and in a short
time he became one of the most distinguished leaders in Iceland, He was
several times elected chief magistrate, and no man in the land was his equal
in riches and prominence. He and his two elder brothers, Thord and
Sighvat, who were but little inferior to him in wealth and power, were at
one time well-nigh supreme in Iceland, and Snorre sometimes appeared at
the Althing at Thingvols accompanied by from eight hundred to nine
hundred armed men.
Snorre and his brothers did not only have bitter feuds with other families,
but a deadly hatred also arose between themselves, making their lives a
perpetual warfare. Snorre was shrewd as a politician and magistrate, and
eminent as an orator and skald, but his passions were mean, and many of
his ways were crooked. He was both ambitious and avaricious. He is said to
have been the first Icelander who laid plans to subjugate his fatherland to
Norway, and in this connection is supposed to have expected to become a
jarl under the king of Norway. In this effort he found himself outwitted by
his brother’s son, Sturle Thordsson, and thus he came into hostile relations
with the latter. In this feud Snorre was defeated, but when Sturle shortly
after fell in a battle against his foes, Snorre’s star of hope rose again, and he
began to occupy himself with far-reaching, ambitious plans. He had been
for the first time in Norway during the years 1218-1220, and had been well

received by King Hakon, and especially by Jarl Skule, who was then the
most influential man in the country. In the year 1237 Snorre visited Norway
again, and entered, as it is believed, into treasonable conspiracies with Jarl
Skule. In 1239 he left Norway against the wishes of King Hakon, whom he
owed obedience, and thereby incurred the king’s greatest displeasure. When
King Hakon, in 1240, had crushed Skule’s rebellion and annihilated this
dangerous opponent, it became Snorre’s turn to feel the effects of the king’s
wrath. At the instigation of King Hakon, several chiefs of Iceland united
themselves against Snorre and murdered him at Reykholt, where ruins of
his splendid mansion are still to be seen. This event took place on the 22d of
September, 1241, and Snorre Sturleson was then sixty-three years old.
Snorre was Iceland’s most distinguished skald and sagaman. As a writer of
history he deserves to be compared with Herodotos or Thukydides. His
Heimskringla, embracing an elaborate history of the kings of Norway, is
famous throughout the civilized world, and Emerson calls it the Iliad and
Odyssey of our race. An English translation of this work was published by
Samuel Laing, in London, in 1844. Carlyle’s Early Kings of Norway
(London, 1875) was inspired by the Heimskringla.
Olaf Thordsson, surnamed Hvitaskald,3 to distinguish him from his
contemporary, Olaf Svartaskald,4 was a son of Snorre’s brother. Though not
as prominent and influential as his uncle, he took an active part in all the
troubles of his native island during the first half of the thirteenth century.
He visited Norway in 1236, whence he went to Denmark, where he was a
guest at the court of King Valdemar, and is said to have enjoyed great
esteem. In 1240 we find him again in Norway, where he espoused the cause
of King Hakon against Skule. On his return to Iceland he served four years
as chief magistrate of the island. His death occurred in the year 1259, and
he is numbered among the great skalds of Iceland.
Snorre Sturleson and Olaf Hvitaskald are the two names to whom the
authorship of the Younger Edda has generally been attributed, and the work
is by many, even to this day, called Snorra Edda—that is, Snorre’s Edda. We
do not propose to enter into any elaborate discussion of this complicated
subject, but we will state briefly the reasons given by Keyser and others for
believing that these men had a hand in preparing the Prose Edda. In the first
place, we find that the writer of the grammatical and rhetorical part of the

Younger Edda distinctly mentions Snorre as author of Hattatal (the Clavis
Metrica), and not only of the poem itself, but also of the treatise in prose. In
the second place, the Arne Magnæan parchment manuscript, which dates
back to the close of the thirteenth or beginning of the fourteenth century,
has the following note prefaced to the Skaldskaparmal. “Here ends that part
of the book which Olaf Thordsson put together, and now begins
Skaldskaparmal and the Kenningar, according to that which has been found
in the lays of the chief skalds, and which Snorre afterward suffered to be
brought together.” In the third place, the Upsala manuscript of the Younger
Edda, which is known with certainty to have been written in the beginning
of the fourteenth century, contains this preface, written with the same hand
as the body of the work: “This book hight Edda. Snorre has compiled it in
the manner in which it is arranged: first, in regard to the asas and Ymer,
then Skaldskaparmal and the denominations of many things, and finally that
Hattatal, which Snorre composed about King Hakon and Duke Skule.” In
the fourth place, there is a passage in the so-called Annales Breviores,
supposed to have been written about the year 1400. The passage relates to
the year 1241, and reads thus: “Snorre Sturleson died at Reykholt. He was a
wise and very learned man, a great chief and shrewd. He was the first man
in this land who brought property into the hands of the king (the king of
Norway). He compiled Edda and many other learned historical works and
Icelandic sagas. He was murdered at Reykholt by Jarl Gissur’s men.”
It seems, then, that there is no room for any doubt that these two men have
had a share in the authorship of the Younger Edda. How great a share each
has had is another and more difficult problem to solve. Rudolf Keyser’s
opinion is (and we know no higher authority on the subject), that Snorre is
the author, though not in so strict a sense as we now use the word, of
Gylfaginning, Brage’s Speech, Skaldskaparmal and Hattatal. This part of
the Younger Edda may thus be said to date back to the year 1230, though
the material out of which the mythological system is constructed is of
course much older. We find it in the ancient Vala’s Prophecy, of the Elder
Edda, a poem that breathes in every line the purest asa-faith, and is, without
the least doubt, much older than the introduction of christianity in the north,
or the discovery and settlement of Iceland. It is not improbable that the
religious system of the Odinic religion had assumed a permanent prose

form in the memories of the people long before the time of Snorre, and that
he merely was the means of having it committed to writing almost without
verbal change.
Olaf Thordsson is unmistakably the author of the grammatical and
rhetorical portion of the Younger Edda, and its date can therefore safely be
put at about 1250. The author of the treatise on the alphabet is not known,
but Professor Keyser thinks it must have been written, its first chapter,
about the year 1150, and its second chapter about the year 1200. The
forewords and afterwords are evidently also from another pen. Their author
is unknown, but they are thought to have been written about the year 1300.
To sum up, then, we arrive at this conclusion: The mythological material of
the Younger Edda is as old as the Teutonic race. Parts of it are written by
authors unknown to fame. A small portion is the work of Olaf Thordsson.
The most important portion is written, or perhaps better, compiled, by
Snorre Sturleson, and the whole is finally edited and furnished with
forewords and afterwords, early in the fourteenth century,—according to
Keyser, about 1320-1330.
About the name Edda there has also been much learned discussion. Some
have suggested that it may be a mutilated form of the word Odde, the home
of Sæmund the Wise, who was long supposed to be the compiler of the
Elder Edda. In this connection, it has been argued that possibly Sæmund
had begun the writing of the Younger Edda, too. Others derive the word
from óðr (mind, soul), which in poetical usage also means song, poetry.
Others, again, connect Edda with the Sanscrit word Veda, which is
supposed to mean knowledge. Finally, others adopt the meaning which the
word has where it is actually used in the Elder Edda, and where it means
great-grandmother. Vigfusson adopts this definition, and it is certainly both
scientific and poetical. What can be more beautiful than the idea that our
great ancestress teaches her descendants the sacred traditions, the
concentrated wisdom, of the race? To sum up, then, we say the Younger, or
Prose, or Snorre’s Edda has been produced at different times by various
hands, and the object of its authors has been to produce a manual for the
skalds. In addition to the forewords and afterwords, it contains two books,
one greater (Gylfaginning) and one lesser (Brage’s Speech), giving a
tolerably full account of Norse mythology. Then follows Skaldskaparmal,

wherein is an analysis of the various circumlocutions practiced by the
skalds, all illustrated by copious quotations from the poets. How much of
these three parts is written by Snorre is not certain, but on the other hand,
there is no doubt that he is the author of Hattatal (Clavis Metrica), which
gives an enumeration of metres. To these four treatises are added four
chapters on grammar and rhetoric. The writer of the oldest grammatical
treatise is thought to be one Thorodd Runemaster, who lived in the middle
of the twelfth century; and the third treatise is evidently written by Olaf
Thordsson Hvitaskald, the nephew of Snorre, a scholar who spent some
time at the court of the Danish king, Valdemar the Victorious.
The Younger Edda contains the systematized theogony and cosmogony of
our forefathers, while the Elder Edda presents the Odinic faith in a series of
lays or rhapsodies. The Elder Edda is poetry, while the Younger Edda is
mainly prose. The Younger Edda may in one sense be regarded as the
sequel or commentary of the Elder Edda. Both complement each other, and
both must be studied in connection with the sagas and all the Teutonic
traditions and folk-lore in order to get a comprehensive idea of the asa-faith.
The two Eddas constitute, as it were, the Odinic Bible. The Elder Edda is
the Old Testament, the Younger Edda the New. Like the Old Testament, the
Elder Edda is in poetry. It is prophetic and enigmatical. Like the New
Testament, the Younger Edda is in prose; it is lucid, and gives a clue to the
obscure passages in the Elder Edda. Nay, in many respects do the two
Eddas correspond with the two Testaments of the Christian Bible.
It is a deplorable fact that the religion of our forefathers seems to be but
little cared for in this country. The mythologies of other nations every
student manifests an interest for. He reads with the greatest zeal all the
legends of Rome and Greece, of India and China. He is familiar with every
room in the labyrinth of Crete, while when he is introduced to the shining
halls of Valhal and Gladsheim he gropes his way like a blind man. He does
not know that Idun, with her beautiful apples, might, if applied to, render
even greater services than Ariadne with her wonderful thread. When we
inquire whom Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday and Friday are named
after, and press questions in reference to Tyr, Odin, Thor and Freyja, we get
at best but a wise and knowing look. Are we, then, as a nation, like the
ancient Jews, and do we bend the knee before the gods of foreign nations

and forsake the altars of our own gods? What if we then should suffer the
fate of that unhappy people—be scattered over all the world and lose our
fatherland? In these Eddas our fathers have bequeathed unto us all their
profoundest, all their sublimest, all their best thought. They are the
concentrated result of their greatest intellectual and spiritual effort, and it
behooves us to cherish this treasure and make it the fountain at which the
whole American branch of the Ygdrasil ash may imbibe a united national
sentiment. It is not enough to brush the dust off these gods and goddesses of
our ancestors and put them up on pedestals as ornaments in our museums
and libraries. These coins of the past are not to be laid away in numismatic
collections. The grandson must use what he has inherited from his
grandfather. If the coin is not intelligible, then it will have to be sent to the
mint and stamped anew, in order that it may circulate freely. Our ancestral
deities want a place in our hearts and in our songs.
On the European continent and in England the zeal of the priests in
propagating Christianity was so great that they sought to root out every
trace of the asa-faith. They left but unintelligible fragments of the heathen
religious structure. Our gods and goddesses and heroes were consigned to
oblivion, and all knowledge of the Odinic religion and of the Niblung-story
would have been well nigh totally obliterated had not a more lucky star
hovered over the destinies of Iceland. In this remotest corner of the world
the ancestral spirit was preserved like the glowing embers of Hekla beneath
the snow and ice of the glacier. From the farthest Thule the spirit of our
fathers rises and shines like an aurora over all Teutondom. It was in the year
860 that Iceland was discovered. In 874 the Teutonic spirit fled thither for
refuge from tyranny. Here a government based on the principles of old
Teutonic liberty was established. From here went forth daring vikings, who
discovered Greenland and Vinland, and showed Columbus the way to
America. From here the courts of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, England and
Germany were supplied with skalds to sing their praises. Here was put in
writing the laws and sagas that give us a clue to the form of old Teutonic
institutions. Here was preserved the Old Norse language, and in it a record
of the customs, the institutions and the religion of our fathers. Its literature
does not belong to that island alone,—it belongs to the whole Teutonic race!
Iceland is for the Teutons what Greece and Rome are for the south of

Europe, and she accomplished her mission with no less efficiency and
success. Cato the Elder used to end all his speeches with these words:
“Præterea censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.” In these days, when so
many worship at the shrine of Romanism, we think it perfectly just to adopt
Cato’s sentence in this form: Præterea censeo Romam esse delendam.

FOREWORD.

1. In the beginning Almighty God created heaven and earth, and all things
that belong to them, and last he made two human beings, from whom the
races are descended (Adam and Eve), and their children multiplied and
spread over all the world. But in the course of time men became unequal;
some were good and right-believing, but many more turned them after the
lusts of the world and heeded not God’s laws; and for this reason God
drowned the world in the flood, and all that was quick in the world, except
those who were in the ark with Noah. After the flood of Noah there lived
eight men, who inhabited the world, and from them the races are
descended; and now, as before, they increased and filled the world, and
there were very many men who loved to covet wealth and power, but turned
away from obedience to God, and so much did they do this that they would
not name God. And who could then tell their sons of the wonderful works
of God? So it came to pass that they lost God’s name; and in the wide world
the man was not to be found who could tell of his Maker. But, nevertheless,
God gave them earthly-gifts, wealth and happiness, that should be with
them in the world; he also shared wisdom among them, so that they
understood all earthly things, and all kinds that might be seen in the air and
on the earth. This they thought upon, and wondered at, how it could come
to pass that the earth and the beasts and the birds had the same nature in
some things but still were unlike in manners.
One evidence of this nature was that the earth might be dug into upon high
mountain-peaks and water would spring up there, and it was not necessary
to dig deeper for water there than in deep dales; thus, also, in beasts and
birds it is no farther to the blood in the head than in the feet. Another proof
of this nature is, that every year there grow on the earth grass and flowers,
and the same year it falls and withers; thus, also, on beasts and birds do hair
and feathers grow and fall off each year. The third nature of the earth is, that

when it is opened and dug into, then grass grows on the mould which is
uppermost on the earth. Rocks and stones they explained to correspond to
the teeth and bones of living things. From these things they judged that the
earth must be quick and must have life in some way, and they knew that it
was of a wonderfully great age and of a mighty nature. It nourished all that
was quick and took to itself all that died. On this account they gave it a
name, and numbered their ancestors back to it This they also learned from
their old kinsmen, that when many hundred winters were numbered, the
course of the heavenly bodies was uneven; some had a longer course than
others. From such things they suspected that some one must be the ruler of
the heavenly bodies who could stay their course at his own will, and he
must be strong and mighty; and of him they thought that, if he ruled the
prime elements, he must also have been before the heavenly bodies, and
they saw that, if he ruled the course of the heavenly bodies, he must rule the
sunshine, and the dew of the heavens, and the products of the earth that
follow them; and thus, also, the winds of the air and therewith the storms of
the sea. They knew not where his realm was, but they believed that he ruled
over all things on the earth and in the air, over the heavens and the heavenly
bodies, the seas and the weather. But in order that these things might be
better told and remembered, they gave him the same name with themselves,
and this belief has been changed in many ways, as the peoples have been
separated and the tongues have been divided.
2. In his old age Noah shared the world with his sons: for Ham he intended
the western region, for Japheth the northern region, but for Shem the
southern region, with those parts which will hereafter be marked out in the
division of the earth into three parts. In the time that the sons of these men
were in the world, then increased forthwith the desire for riches and power,
from the fact that they knew many crafts that had not been discovered
before, and each one was exalted with his own handiwork; and so far did
they carry their pride, that the Africans, descended from Ham, harried in
that part of the world which the offspring of Shem, their kinsman,
inhabited. And when they had conquered them, the world seemed to them
too small, and they smithied a tower with tile and stone, which they meant
should reach to heaven, on the plain called Sennar. And when this building
was so far advanced that it extended above the air, and they were no less

eager to continue the work, and when God saw how their pride waxed high,
then he sees that he will have to strike it down in some way. And the same
God, who is almighty, and who might have struck down all their work in
the twinkling of an eye, and made themselves turn into dust, still preferred
to frustrate their purpose by making them realize their own littleness, in that
none of them should understand what the other talked; and thus no one
knew what the other commanded, and one broke what the other wished to
build up, until they came to strife among themselves, and therewith was
frustrated, in the beginning, their purpose of building a tower. And he who
was foremost, hight Zoroaster, he laughed before he wept when he came
into the world; but the master-smiths were seventy-two, and so many
tongues have spread over the world since the giants were dispersed over the
land, and the nations became numerous. In this same place was built the
most famous city, which took its name from the tower, and was called
Babylon. And when the confusion of tongues had taken place, then
increased the names of men and of other things, and this same Zoroaster
had many names; and although he understood that his pride was laid low by
the said building, still he worked his way unto worldly power, and had
himself chosen king over many peoples of the Assyrians. From him arose
the error of idolatry; and when he was worshiped he was called Baal; we
call him Bel; he also had many other names. But as the names increased in
number, so was truth lost; and from this first error every following man
worshiped his head-master, beasts or birds, the air and the heavenly bodies,
and various lifeless things, until the error at length spread over the whole
world; and so carefully did they lose the truth that no one knew his maker,
excepting those men alone who spoke the Hebrew tongue,—that which
flourished before the building of the tower,—and still they did not lose the
bodily endowments that were given them, and therefore they judged of all
things with earthly understanding, for spiritual wisdom was not given unto
them. They deemed that all things were smithied of some one material.
3. The world was divided into three parts, one from the south, westward to
the Mediterranean Sea, which part was called Africa; but the southern
portion of this part is hot and scorched by the sun. The second part, from
the west and to the north and to the sea, is that called Europe, or Enea. The
northern portion of this is cold, so that grass grows not, nor can anyone

dwell there. From the north around the east region, and all to the south, that
is called Asia. In that part of the world is all beauty and pomp, and wealth
of the earth’s products, gold and precious stones. There is also the mid-
world, and as the earth there is fairer and of a better quality than elsewhere,
so are also the people there most richly endowed with all gifts, with wisdom
and strength, with beauty and with all knowledge.
4. Near the middle of the world was built the house and inn, the most
famous that has been made, which was called Troy, in the land which we
call Turkey. This city was built much larger than others, with more skill in
many ways, at great expense, and with such means as were at hand. There
were twelve kingdoms and one over-king, and many lands and nations
belonged to each kingdom; there were in the city twelve chief languages.5
Their chiefs have surpassed all men who have been in the world in all
heroic things. No scholar who has ever told of these things has ever
disputed this fact, and for this reason, that all rulers of the north region trace
their ancestors back thither, and place in the number of the gods all who
were rulers of the city. Especially do they place Priamos himself in the
stead of Odin; nor must that be called wonderful, for Priamos was sprung
from Saturn, him whom the north region for a long time believed to be God
himself.
5. This Saturn grew up in that island in Greece which hight Crete. He was
greater and stronger and fairer than other men. As in other natural
endowments, so he excelled all men in wisdom. He invented many crafts
which had not before been discovered. He was also so great in the art of
magic that he was certain about things that had not yet come to pass. He
found, too, that red thing in the earth from which he smelted gold, and from
such things he soon became very mighty. He also foretold harvests and
many other secret things, and for such, and many other deeds, he was
chosen chief of the island. And when he had ruled it a short time, then there
speedily enough became a great abundance of all things. No money
circulated excepting gold coins, so plentiful was this metal; and though
there was famine in other lands, the crops never failed in Crete, so that
people might seek there all the things which they needed to have. And from
this and many other secret gifts of power that he had, men believed him to
be God, and from him arose another error among the Cretans and

Macedonians like the one before mentioned among the Assyrians and
Chaldeans from Zoroaster. And when Saturn finds how great strength the
people think they have in him, he calls himself God, and says that he rules
heaven and earth and all things.
6. Once he went to Greece in a ship, for there was a king’s daughter on
whom he had set his heart. He won her love in this way, that one day when
she was out with her maid-servants, he took upon himself the likeness of a
bull, and lay before her in the wood, and so fair was he that the hue of gold
was on every hair; and when the king’s daughter saw him she patted his
lips. He sprang up and threw off the bull’s likeness and took her into his
arms and bore her to the ship and took her to Crete. But his wife, Juno,
found this out, so he turned her (the king’s daughter) into the likeness of a
heifer and sent her east to the arms of the great river (that is, of the Nile, to
the Nile country), and let the thrall, who hight Argulos, take care of her. She
was there twelve months before he changed her shape again. Many things
did he do like this, or even more wonderful He had three sons: one hight
Jupiter, another Neptune, the third Pluto. They were all men of the greatest
accomplishments, and Jupiter was by far the greatest; he was a warrior and
won many kingdoms; he was also crafty like his father, and took upon
himself the likeness of many animals, and thus he accomplished many
things which are impossible for mankind; and on account of this, and other
things, he was held in awe by all nations. Therefore Jupiter is put in the
place of Thor, since all evil wights fear him.
7. Saturn had built in Crete seventy-two burgs, and when he thought himself
firmly established in his kingdom, he shared it with his sons, whom he set
up with himself as gods; and to Jupiter he gave the realm of heaven; to
Neptune, the realm of the earth, and to Pluto, hell; and this last seemed to
him the worst to manage, and therefore he gave to him his dog, the one
whom he called Cerberos, to guard hell. This Cerberos, the Greeks say,
Herakles dragged out of hell and upon earth. And although Saturn had given
the realm of heaven to Jupiter, the latter nevertheless desired to possess the
realm of the earth, and so he harried his father’s kingdom, and it is said that
he had him taken and emasculated, and for such great achievements he
declared himself to be god, and the Macedonians say that he had the
members taken and cast into the sea, and therefore they believed for ages

that therefrom had come a woman; her they called Venus, and numbered
among the gods, and she has in all ages since been called goddess of love,
for they believed she was able to turn the hearts of all men and women to
love. When Saturn was emasculated by Jupiter, his son, he fled from the
east out of Crete and west into Italy. There dwelt at that time such people as
did not work, and lived on acorns and grass, and lay in caves or holes in the
earth. And when Saturn came there he changed his name and called himself
Njord, for the reason that he thought that Jupiter, his son, might afterward
seek him out. He was the first there to teach men to plow and plant
vineyards. There the soil was good and fresh, and it soon produced heavy
crops. He was made chief and thus he got possession of all the realms there
and built many burgs.
8. Jupiter, his son, had many sons, from whom races have descended; his
son was Dardanos, his son Herikon, his son Tros, his son Ilos, his son
Laomedon, the father of the chief king Priamos. Priamos had many sons;
one of them was Hektor, who was the most famous of all men in the world
for strength, and stature and accomplishments, and for all manly deeds of a
knightly kind; and it is found written that when the Greeks and all the
strength of the north and east regions fought with the Trojans, they would
never have become victors had not the Greeks invoked the gods; and it is
also stated that no human strength would conquer them unless they were
betrayed by their own men, which afterward was done. And from their fame
men that came after gave themselves titles, and especially was this done by
the Romans, who were the most famous in many things after their days; and
it is said that, when Rome was built, the Romans adapted their customs and
laws as nearly as possible to those of the Trojans, their forefathers. And so
much power accompanied these men for many ages after, that when
Pompey, a Roman chieftain, harried in the east region, Odin fled out of Asia
and hither to the north country, and then he gave to himself and his men
their names, and said that Priamos had hight Odin and his queen Frigg, and
from this the realm afterward took its name and was called Frigia where the
burg stood. And whether Odin said this of himself out of pride, or that it
was wrought by the changing of tongues; nevertheless many wise men have
regarded it a true saying, and for a long time after every man who was a
great chieftain followed his example.

9. A king in Troy hight Munon or Mennon, his wife was a daughter of the
head-king Priamos and hight Troan; they had a son who hight Tror, him we
call Thor. He was fostered in Thrace by the duke, who is called Loricos. But
when he was ten winters old he took his father’s weapons. So fair of face
was he, when he stood by other men, as when ivory is set in oak; his hair
was fairer than gold. When he was twelve winters old he had full strength;
then he lifted from the ground ten bear skins all at once, and then he slew
Loricos, the duke, his foster-father and his wife, Lora or Glora, and took
possession of Thrace; this we call Thrudheim. Then he visited many lands
and knew the countries of the world, and conquered single-handed all the
berserks and all the giants, and one very big dragon and many beasts. In the
north region he found that prophetess who hight Sibyl, whom we call Sif,
and married her. None can tell the genealogy of Sif; she was the fairest of
all women, her hair was like gold. Their son was Loride (Hloride), who was
like his father; his son was Henrede; his son Vingethor (Vingthor); his son
Vingener (Vingner); his son Moda (Mode); his son Magi (Magne); his son
Kesfet; his son Bedvig; his son Atra, whom we call Annan; his son Itrman;
his son Heremod (Hermod); his son Skjaldun, whom we call Skjold; his son
Bjaf, whom we call Bjar; his son Jat; his son Gudolf, his son Fjarlaf, whom
we call Fridleif; he had the son who is called Vodin, whom we call Odin; he
was a famous man for wisdom and all accomplishments. His wife hight
Frigida, whom we call Frigg.
10. Odin had the power of divination, and so had his wife, and from this
knowledge he found out that his name would be held high in the north part
of the world, and honored beyond that of all kings. For this reason he was
eager to begin his journey from Turkey, and he had with him very many
people, young and old, men and women, and he had with him many costly
things. But wherever they fared over the lands great fame was spoken of
them, and they were said to be more like gods than men. And they stopped
not on their journey before they came north into that land which is now
called Saxland; there Odin remained a long time, and subjugated the
country far and wide. There Odin established his three sons as a defense of
the land. One is named Veggdegg; he was a strong king and ruled over East
Saxland. His son was Vitrgils, and his sons were Ritta, the father of
Heingest (Hengist), and Sigar, the father of Svebdegg, whom we call

Svipdag. Another son of Odin hight Beldegg, whom we call Balder; he
possessed the land which now hight Vestfal; his son was Brander, and his
son Frjodigar, whom we call Froda (Frode). His son was Freovit, his son
Yvigg, his son Gevis, whom we call Gave. The third son of Odin is named
Sigge, his son Verer. These forefathers ruled the land which is now called
Frankland, and from them is come the race that is called the Volsungs. From
all of these many and great races are descended.
11. Then Odin continued his journey northward and came into the country
which was called Reidgotaland, and in that land he conquered all that he
desired. He established there his son, who hight Skjold; his son hight
Fridleif; from him is descended the race which hight Skjoldungs; these are
the Dane kings, and that land hight now Jutland, which then was called
Reidgotaland.
12. Thereupon he fared north to what is now called Svithjod (Sweden),
there was the king who is called Gylfe. But when he heard of the coming of
those Asiamen, who were called asas, he went to meet them, and offered
Odin such things in his kingdom as he himself might desire. And such good
luck followed their path, that wherever they stopped in the lands, there were
bountiful crops and good peace; and all believed that they were the cause
thereof. The mighty men of the kingdom saw that they were unlike other
men whom they had seen, both in respect to beauty and understanding. The
land there seemed good to Odin, and he chose there for himself a place for a
burg, which is now called Sigtuna.6 He there established chiefs, like unto
what had formerly existed in Troy; he appointed twelve men in the burg to
be judges of the law of the land, and made all rights to correspond with
what had before been in Troy, and to what the Turks had been accustomed.
13. Thereupon he fared north until he reached the sea, which they thought
surrounded all lands, and there he established his son in the kingdom, which
is now called Norway; he is hight Saming, and the kings of Norway count
their ancestors back to him, and so do the jarls and other mighty men, as it
is stated in the Haleygjatal.7 But Odin had with him that son who is called
Yngve, who was king in Sweden, and from him is descended the families
called Ynglings (Yngvelings). The asas took to themselves wives there
within the land. But some took wives for their sons, and these families

became so numerous that they spread over Saxland, and thence over the
whole north region, and the tongue of these Asiamen became the native
tongue of all these lands. And men think they can understand from the way
in which the names of their forefathers is written, that these names have
belonged to this tongue, and that the asas have brought this tongue hither to
the north, to Norway, to Sweden and to Saxland. But in England are old
names of places and towns which can be seen to have been given in another
tongue than this.

THE FOOLING OF GYLFE.

CHAPTER I.
GEFJUN’S PLOWING.

1. King Gylfe ruled the lands that are now called Svithjod (Sweden). Of
him it is said that he gave to a wayfaring woman, as a reward for the
entertainment she had afforded him by her story-telling, a plow-land in his
realm, as large as four oxen could plow it in a day and a night But this
woman was of the asa-race; her name was Gefjun. She took from the north,
from Jotunheim, four oxen, which were the sons of a giant and her, and set
them before the plow. Then went the plow so hard and deep that it tore up
the land, and the oxen drew it westward into the sea, until it stood still in a
sound. There Gefjun set the land, gave it a name and called it Seeland. And
where the land had been taken away became afterward a sea, which in
Sweden is now called Logrinn (the Lake, the Malar Lake in Sweden). And
in the Malar Lake the bays correspond to the capes in Seeland. Thus Brage,
the old skald:
Gefjun glad
Drew from Gylfe
The excellent land,
Denmark’s increase,
So that it reeked
From the running beasts.
Four heads and eight eyes
Bore the oxen
As they went before the wide
Robbed land of the grassy isle.8

CHAPTER II.
GYLFE’S JOURNEY TO ASGARD.

2. King Gylfe was a wise man and skilled in the black art. He wondered
much that the asa-folk was so mighty in knowledge, that all things went
after their will. He thought to himself whether this could come from their
own nature, or whether the cause must be sought for among the gods whom
they worshiped. He therefore undertook a journey to Asgard. He went
secretly, having assumed the likeness of an old man, and striving thus to
disguise himself. But the asas were wiser, for they see into the future, and,
foreseeing his journey before he came, they received him with an eye-
deceit. So when he came into the burg he saw there a hall so high that he
could hardly look over it. Its roof was thatched with golden shields as with
shingles. Thus says Thjodolf of Hvin, that Valhal was thatched with shields:
Thinking thatchers
Thatched the roof;
The beams of the burg
Beamed with gold.9
In the door of the hall Gylfe saw a man who played with swords so
dexterously that seven were in the air at one time. That man asked him what
his name was. Gylfe answered that his name was Ganglere;10 that he had
come a long way, and that he sought lodgings for the night. He also asked
who owned the burg. The other answered that it belonged to their king: I
will go with you to see him and then you may ask him for his name
yourself. Then the man turned and led the way into the hall. Ganglere
followed, and suddenly the doors closed behind him. There he saw many
rooms and a large number of people, of whom some were playing, others
were drinking, and some were fighting with weapons. He looked around
him, and much of what he saw seemed to him incredible. Then quoth he:
Gates all,
Before in you go,
You must examine well;
For you cannot know

Where enemies sit
In the house before you.11
He saw three high-seats, one above the other, and in each sat a man. He
asked what the names of these chiefs were. He, who had conducted him in,
answered that the one who sat in the lowest high-seat was king, and hight
Har; the one next above him, Jafnhar; but the one who sat on the highest
throne, Thride. Har asked the comer what more his errand was, and added
that food and drink was there at his service, as for all in Har’s hall.
Ganglere answered that he first would like to ask whether there was any
wise man. Answered Har: You will not come out from here hale unless you
are wiser.
And stand now forth
While you ask;
He who answers shall sit.

CHAPTER III.
OF THE HIGHEST GOD.

3. Ganglere then made the following question: Who is the highest and
oldest of all the gods? Made answer Har: Alfather he is called in our tongue,
but in Asgard of old he had twelve names. The first is Alfather, the second
is Herran or Herjan, the third Nikar or Hnikar, the fourth Nikuz or Hnikud,
the fifth Fjolner, the sixth Oske, the seventh Ome, the eighth Biflide or
Biflinde, the ninth Svidar, the tenth Svidrer, the eleventh Vidrer, the twelfth
Jalg or Jalk. Ganglere asks again: Where is this god? What can he do? What
mighty works has he accomplished? Answered Har: He lives from
everlasting to everlasting, rules over all his realm, and governs all things,
great and small. Then remarked Jafnhar: He made heaven and earth, the air
and all things in them. Thride added: What is most important, he made man
and gave him a spirit, which shall live, and never perish, though the body
may turn to dust or burn to ashes. All who live a life of virtue shall dwell
with him in Gimle or Vingolf. The wicked, on the other hand, go to Hel,
and from her to Niflhel, that is, down into the ninth world. Then asked

Ganglere: What was he doing before heaven and earth were made? Har
gave answer: Then was he with the frost-giants.

CHAPTER IV.
THE CREATION OF THE WORLD.

4. Said Ganglere: How came the world into existence, or how did it rise?
What was before? Made answer to him Har: Thus is it said in the Vala’s
Prophecy:
It was Time’s morning,
When there nothing was;
Nor sand, nor sea,
Nor cooling billows.
Earth there was not,
Nor heaven above.
The Ginungagap was,
But grass nowhere.12
Jafnhar remarked: Many ages before the earth was made, Niflheim had
existed, in the midst of which is the well called Hvergelmer, whence flow
the following streams: Svol, Gunnthro, Form, Fimbul, Thul, Slid and Hrid,
Sylg and Ylg, Vid, Leipt and Gjoll, the last of which is nearest the gate of
Hel. Then added Thride: Still there was before a world to the south which
hight Muspelheim. It is light and hot, and so bright and dazzling that no
stranger, who is not a native there, can stand it. Surt is the name of him who
stands on its border guarding it. He has a flaming sword in his hand, and at
the end of the world he will come and harry, conquer all the gods, and burn
up the whole world with fire. Thus it is said in the Vala’s Prophecy:
Surt from the south fares
With blazing flames;
From the sword shines
The sun of the war-god.
Rocks dash together
And witches collapse,

Men go the way to Hel
And the heavens are cleft.13
5. Said Ganglere: What took place before the races came into existence, and
men increased and multiplied? Replied Har, explaining, that as soon as the
streams, that are called the Elivogs, had come so far from their source that
the venomous yeast which flowed with them hardened, as does dross that
runs from the fire, then it turned into ice. And when this ice stopped and
flowed no more, then gathered over it the drizzling rain that arose from the
venom and froze into rime, and one layer of ice was laid upon the other
clear into Ginungagap. Then said Jafnhar: All that part of Ginungagap that
turns toward the north was filled with thick and heavy ice and rime, and
everywhere within were drizzling rains and gusts. But the south part of
Ginungagap was lighted up by the glowing sparks that flew out of
Muspelheim. Added Thride: As cold and all things grim proceeded from
Niflheim, so that which bordered on Muspelheim was hot and bright, and
Ginungagap was as warm and mild as windless air. And when the heated
blasts from Muspelheim met the rime, so that it melted into drops, then, by
the might of him who sent the heat, the drops quickened into life and took
the likeness of a man, who got the name Ymer. But the Frost giants call him
Aurgelmer. Thus it is said in the short Prophecy of the Vala (the Lay of
Hyndla):
All the valas are
From Vidolf descended;
All wizards are
Of Vilmeide’s race;
All enchanters
Are sons of Svarthofde;
All giants have
Come from Ymer.14
And on this point, when Vafthrudner, the giant, was asked by Gangrad:
Whence came Aurgelmer
Originally to the sons
Of the giants?—thou wise giant!15

he said
From the Elivogs
Sprang drops of venom,
And grew till a giant was made.
Thence our race
Are all descended,
Therefore are we all so fierce.16
Then asked Ganglere: How were the races developed from him? Or what
was done so that more men were made? Or do you believe him to be god of
whom you now spake? Made answer Har: By no means do we believe him
to be god; evil was he and all his offspring, them we call frost-giants. It is
said that when he slept he fell into a sweat, and then there grew under his
left arm a man and a woman, and one of his feet begat with the other a son.
From these come the races that are called frost-giants. The old frost-giant
we call Ymer.
6. Then said Ganglere: Where did Ymer dwell, and on what did he live?
Answered Har: The next thing was that when the rime melted into drops,
there was made thereof a cow, which hight Audhumbla. Four milk-streams
ran from her teats, and she fed Ymer. Thereupon asked Ganglere: On what
did the cow subsist? Answered Har: She licked the salt-stones that were
covered with rime, and the first day that she licked the stones there came
out of them in the evening a man’s hair, the second day a man’s head, and
the third day the whole man was there. This man’s name was Bure; he was
fair of face, great and mighty, and he begat a son whose name was Bor. This
Bor married a woman whose name was Bestla, the daughter of the giant
Bolthorn; they had three sons,—the one hight Odin, the other Vile, and the
third Ve. And it is my belief that this Odin and his brothers are the rulers of
heaven and earth. We think that he must be so called. That is the name of
the man whom we know to be the greatest and most famous, and well may
men call him by that name.
7. Ganglere asked: How could these keep peace with Ymer, or who was the
stronger? Then answered Har: The sons of Bor slew the giant Ymer, but
when he fell, there flowed so much blood from his wounds that they
drowned therein the whole race of frost giants; excepting one, who escaped

with his household. Him the giants call Bergelmer. He and his wife went on
board his ark and saved themselves in it. From them are come new races of
frost-giants, as is here said:
Countless winters
Ere the earth was made,
Was born Bergelmer.
This first I call to mind
How that crafty giant
Safe in his ark lay.17
8. Then said Ganglere: What was done then by the sons of Bor, since you
believe that they were gods? Answered Har: About that there is not a little
to be said. They took the body of Ymer, carried it into the midst of
Ginungagap and made of him the earth. Of his blood they made the seas
and lakes; of his flesh the earth was made, but of his bones the rocks; of his
teeth and jaws, and of the bones that were broken, they made stones and
pebbles. Jafnhar remarked: Of the blood that flowed from the wounds, and
was free, they made the ocean; they fastened the earth together and around
it they laid this ocean in a ring without, and it must seem to most men
impossible to cross it. Thride added: They took his skull and made thereof
the sky, and raised it over the earth with four sides. Under each corner they
set a dwarf, and the four dwarfs were called Austre (east), Vestre (West),
Nordre (North), Sudre (South). Then they took glowing sparks, that were
loose and had been cast out from Muspelheim, and placed them in the midst
of the boundless heaven, both above and below, to light up heaven and
earth. They gave resting-places to all fires, and set some in heaven; some
were made to go free under heaven, but they gave them a place and shaped
their course. In old songs it is said that from that time days and years were
reckoned. Thus in the Prophecy of the Vala:
The sun knew not
Where her hall she had;
The moon knew not
What might he had;
The stars knew not
Their resting-places.18

Thus it was before these things were made. Then said Ganglere: Wonderful
tidings are these I now hear; a wondrous great building is this, and deftly
constructed. How was the earth fashioned? Made answer Har: The earth is
round, and without it round about lies the deep ocean, and along the outer
strand of that sea they gave lands for the giant races to dwell in; and against
the attack of restless giants they built a burg within the sea and around the
earth. For this purpose they used the giant Ymer’s eyebrows, and they
called the burg Midgard. They also took his brains and cast them into the
air, and made therefrom the clouds, as is here said:
Of Ymer’s flesh
The earth was made,
And of his sweat the seas;
Rocks of his bones,
Trees of his hair,
And the sky of his skull;
But of his eyebrows
The blithe powers
Made Midgard for the sons of men.
Of his brains
All the melancholy
Clouds were made.19

CHAPTER V.
THE CREATION—(CONTINUED.)

9. Then said Ganglere: Much had been done, it seemed to me, when heaven
and earth were made, when sun and moon were set in their places, and
when days were marked out; but whence came the people who inhabit the
world? Har answered as follows: As Bor’s sons went along the sea-strand,
they found two trees. These trees they took up and made men of them. The
first gave them spirit and life; the second endowed them with reason and
power of motion; and the third gave them form, speech, hearing and
eyesight. They gave them clothes and names; the man they called Ask, and
the woman Embla. From them all mankind is descended, and a dwelling-

place was given them under Midgard. In the next place, the sons of Bor
made for themselves in the middle of the world a burg, which is called
Asgard, and which we call Troy. There dwelt the gods and their race, and
thence were wrought many tidings and adventures, both on earth and in the
sky. In Asgard is a place called Hlidskjalf, and when Odin seated himself
there in the high-seat, he saw over the whole world, and what every man
was doing, and he knew all things that he saw. His wife hight Frigg, and she
was the daughter of Fjorgvin, and from their offspring are descended the
race that we call asas, who inhabited Asgard the old and the realms that lie
about it, and all that race are known to be gods. And for this reason Odin is
called Alfather, that he is the father of all gods and men, and of all things
that were made by him and by his might. Jord (earth) was his daughter and
his wife; with her he begat his first son, and that is Asa-Thor. To him was
given force and strength, whereby he conquers all things quick.
10. Norfe, or Narfe, hight a giant, who dwelt in Jotunheim. He had a
daughter by name Night. She was swarthy and dark like the race she
belonged to. She was first married to a man who hight Naglfare. Their son
was Aud. Afterward she was married to Annar. Jord hight their daughter.
Her last husband was Delling (Daybreak), who was of asa-race. Their son
was Day, who was light and fair after his father. Then took Alfather Night
and her son Day, gave them two horses and two cars, and set them up in
heaven to drive around the earth, each in twelve hours by turns. Night rides
first on the horse which is called Hrimfaxe, and every morning he bedews
the earth with the foam from his bit. The horse on which Day rides is called
Skinfaxe, and with his mane he lights up all the sky and the earth.
11. Then said Ganglere: How does he steer the course of the sun and the
moon? Answered Har: Mundilfare hight the man who had two children.
They were so fair and beautiful that he called his son Moon, and his
daughter, whom he gave in marriage to a man by name Glener, he called
Sun. But the gods became wroth at this arrogance, took both the brother and
the sister, set them up in heaven, and made Sun drive the horses that draw
the car of the sun, which the gods had made to light up the world from
sparks that flew out of Muspelheim. These horses hight Arvak and Alsvid.
Under their withers the gods placed two wind-bags to cool them, but in
some songs it is called ironcold (ísarnkol). Moon guides the course of the

moon, and rules its waxing and waning. He took from the earth two
children, who hight Bil and Hjuke, as they were going from the well called
Byrger, and were carrying on their shoulders the bucket called Sager and
the pole Simul. Their father’s name is Vidfin. These children always
accompany Moon, as can be seen from the earth.
12. Then said Ganglere: Swift fares Sun, almost as if she were afraid, and
she could make no more haste in her course if she feared her destroyer.
Then answered Har: Nor is it wonderful that she speeds with all her might.
Near is he who pursues her, and there is no escape for her but to run before
him. Then asked Ganglere: Who causes her this toil? Answered Har: It is
two wolves. The one hight Skol, he runs after her; she fears him and he will
one day overtake her. The other hight Hate, Hrodvitner’s son; he bounds
before her and wants to catch the moon, and so he will at last.20 Then asked
Ganglere: Whose offspring are these wolves? Said Har; A hag dwells east of
Midgard, in the forest called Jarnved (Ironwood), where reside the witches
called Jarnvidjes. The old hag gives birth to many giant sons, and all in
wolf’s likeness. Thence come these two wolves. It is said that of this wolf-
race one is the mightiest, and is called Moongarm. He is filled with the life-
blood of all dead men. He will devour the moon, and stain the heavens and
all the sky with blood. Thereby the sun will be darkened, the winds will
grow wild, and roar hither and thither, as it is said in the Prophecy of the
Vala:
In the east dwells the old hag,
In the Jarnved forest;
And brings forth there
Fenrer’s offspring.
There comes of them all
One the worst,
The moon’s devourer
In a troll’s disguise.
He is filled with the life-blood
Of men doomed to die;
The seats of the gods
He stains with red gore;

Sunshine grows black
The summer thereafter,
All weather gets fickle.
Know you yet or not?21
13. Then asked Ganglere: What is the path from earth to heaven? Har
answered, laughing: Foolishly do you now ask. Have you not been told that
the gods made a bridge from earth to heaven, which is called Bifrost? You
must have seen it. It may be that you call it the rainbow. It has three colors,
is very strong, and is made with more craft and skill than other structures.
Still, however strong it is, it will break when the sons of Muspel come to
ride over it, and then they will have to swim their horses over great rivers in
order to get on. Then said Ganglere: The gods did not, it seems to me, build
that bridge honestly, if it shall be able to break to pieces, since they could
have done so, had they desired. Then made answer Har: The gods are
worthy of no blame for this structure. Bifrost is indeed a good bridge, but
there is no thing in the world that is able to stand when the sons of Muspel
come to the fight.

CHAPTER VI.
THE FIRST WORKS OF THE ASAS. THE GOLDEN AGE.

14. Then said Ganglere: What did Alfather do when Asgard had been built?
Said Har: In the beginning he appointed rulers in a place in the middle of
the burg which is called Idavold, who were to judge with him the disputes
of men and decide the affairs of the burg. Their first work was to erect a
court, where there were seats for all the twelve, and, besides, a high-seat for
Alfather. That is the best and largest house ever built on earth, and is within
and without like solid gold. This place is called Gladsheim. Then they built
another hall as a home for the goddesses, which also is a very beautiful
mansion, and is called Vingolf. Thereupon they built a forge; made hammer,
tongs, anvil, and with these all other tools. Afterward they worked in iron,
stone and wood, and especially in that metal which is called gold. All their
household wares were of gold. That age was called the golden age, until it
was lost by the coming of those women from Jotunheim. Then the gods set

themselves in their high-seats and held counsel. They remembered how the
dwarfs had quickened in the mould of the earth like maggots in flesh. The
dwarfs had first been created and had quickened in Ymer’s flesh, and were
then maggots; but now, by the decision of the gods, they got the
understanding and likeness of men, but still had to dwell in the earth and in
rocks. Modsogner was one dwarf and Durin another. So it is said in the
Vala’s Prophecy:
Then went all the gods,
The all-holy gods,
On their judgment seats,
And thereon took counsel
Who should the race
Of dwarfs create
From the bloody sea
And from Blain’s bones.
In the likeness of men
Made they many
Dwarfs in the earth,
As Durin said.
And these, says the Vala, are the names of the dwarfs:
Nye, Nide,
Nordre, Sudre,
Austre, Vestre,
Althjof, Dvalin,
Na, Nain,
Niping, Dain,
Bifur, Bafur,
Bombor, Nore,
Ore, Onar,
Oin, Mjodvitner,
Vig, Gandalf,
Vindalf, Thorin,
File, Kile,
Fundin, Vale,

Thro, Throin,
Thek, Lit, Vit,
Ny, Nyrad,
Rek, Radsvid.
But the following are also dwarfs and dwell in the rocks, while the above-
named dwell in the mould:
Draupner, Dolgthvare,
Hor, Hugstare,
Hledjolf, Gloin,
Dore, Ore,
Duf, Andvare,
Hepte, File,
Har, Siar.
But the following come from Svarin’s How to Aurvang on Joruvold, and
from them is sprung Lovar. Their names are:
Skirfer, Virfir,
Skafid, Ae,
Alf, Inge,
Eikinslgalde,
Fal, Froste,
Fid, Ginnar.22

CHAPTER VII.
ON THE WONDERFUL THINGS IN HEAVEN.

15. Then said Ganglere: Where is the chief or most holy place of the gods?
Har answered: That is by the ash Ygdrasil. There the gods meet in council
every day. Said Ganglere: What is said about this place? Answered Jafnhar:
This ash is the best and greatest of all trees; its branches spread over all the
world, and reach up above heaven. Three roots sustain the tree and stand
wide apart; one root is with the asas and another with the frost-giants,
where Ginungagap formerly was; the third reaches into Niflheim; under it is
Hvergelmer, where Nidhug gnaws the root from below. But under the

second root, which extends to the frost-giants, is the well of Mimer,
wherein knowledge and wisdom are concealed. The owner of the well hight
Mimer. He is full of wisdom, for he drinks from the well with the Gjallar-
horn. Alfather once came there and asked for a drink from the well, but he
did not get it before he left one of his eyes as a pledge. So it is said in the
Vala’s Prophecy:
Well know I, Odin,
Where you hid your eye:
In the crystal-clear
Well of Mimer.
Mead drinks Mimer
Every morning
From Valfather’s pledge.
Know you yet or not?23
The third root of the ash is in heaven, and beneath it is the most sacred
fountain of Urd. Here the gods have their doomstead. The asas ride hither
every day over Bifrost, which is also called Asa-bridge. The following are
the names of the horses of the gods: Sleipner is the best one; he belongs to
Odin, and he has eight feet. The second is Glad, the third Gyller, the fourth
Gler, the fifth Skeidbrimer, the sixth Silfertop, the seventh Siner, the eighth
Gisl, the ninth Falhofner, the tenth Gulltop, the eleventh Letfet. Balder’s
horse was burned with him. Thor goes on foot to the doomstead, and wades
the following rivers:
Kormt and Ormt
And the two Kerlaugs;
These shall Thor wade
Every day
When he goes to judge
Near the Ygdrasil ash;
For the Asa-bridge
Burns all ablaze,—
The holy waters roar.24
Then asked Ganglere: Does fire burn over Bifrost? Har answered: The red
which you see in the rainbow is burning fire. The frost-giants and the

mountain-giants would go up to heaven if Bifrost were passable for all who
desired to go there. Many fair places there are in heaven, and they are all
protected by a divine defense. There stands a beautiful hall near the
fountain beneath the ash. Out of it come three maids, whose names are Urd,
Verdande and Skuld. These maids shape the lives of men, and we call them
norns. There are yet more norns, namely those who come to every man
when he is born, to shape his life, and these are known to be of the race of
gods; others, on the other hand, are of the race of elves, and yet others are
of the race of dwarfs. As is here said:
Far asunder, I think,
The norns are born,
They are not of the same race.
Some are of the asas,
Some are of the elves,
Some are daughters of Dvalin.25
Then said Ganglere: If the norns rule the fortunes of men, then they deal
them out exceedingly unevenly. Some live a good life and are rich; some
get neither wealth nor praise. Some have a long, others a short life. Har
answered: Good norns and of good descent shape good lives, and when
some men are weighed down with misfortune, the evil norns are the cause
of it.
16. Then said Ganglere: What other remarkable things are there to be said
about the ash? Har answered: Much is to be said about it. On one of the
boughs of the ash sits an eagle, who knows many things. Between his eyes
sits a hawk that is called Vedfolner. A squirrel, by name Ratatosk, springs
up and down the tree, and carries words of envy between the eagle and
Nidhug. Four stags leap about in the branches of the ash and bite the
leaves.26 Their names are: Dain, Dvalin, Duney and Durathro. In
Hvergelmer with Nidhug are more serpents than tongue can tell. As is here
said:
The ash Ygdrasil
Bears distress
Greater than men know.
Stags bite it above,

At the side it rots,
Nidhug gnaws it below.
And so again it is said:
More serpents lie
’Neath the Ygdrasil ash
Than is thought of
By every foolish ape.
Goin and Moin
(They are sons of Grafvitner),
Grabak and Grafvollud,
Ofner and Svafner
Must for aye, methinks,
Gnaw the roots of that tree.27
Again, it is said that the norns, that dwell in the fountain of Urd, every day
take water from the fountain and take the clay that lies around the fountain
and sprinkle therewith the ash, in order that its branches may not wither or
decay. This water is so holy that all things that are put into the fountain
become as white as the film of an egg-shell As is here said:
An ash I know
Hight Ygdrasil;
A high, holy tree
With white clay sprinkled.
Thence come the dews
That fall in the dales.
Green forever it stands
Over Urd’s fountain.28
The dew which falls on the earth from this tree men call honey-fall, and it is
the food of bees. Two birds are fed in Urd’s fountain; they are called swans,
and they are the parents of the race of swans.
17. Then said Ganglere: Great tidings you are able to tell of the heavens.
Are there other remarkable places than the one by Urd’s fountain?
Answered Har: There are many magnificent dwellings. One is there called
Alfheim. There dwell the folk that are called light-elves; but the dark-elves

dwell down in the earth, and they are unlike the light-elves in appearance,
but much more so in deeds. The light-elves are fairer than the sun to look
upon, but the dark-elves are blacker than pitch. Another place is called
Breidablik, and no place is fairer. There is also a mansion called Glitner, of
which the walls and pillars and posts are of red gold, and the roof is of
silver. Furthermore, there is a dwelling, by name Himinbjorg, which stands
at the end of heaven, where the Bifrost-bridge is united with heaven. And
there is a great dwelling called Valaskjalf, which belongs to Odin. The gods
made it and thatched it with, sheer silver. In this hall is the high-seat, which
is called Hlidskjalf, and when Alfather sits in this seat, he sees over all the
world. In the southern end of the world is the palace, which is the fairest of
all, and brighter than the sun; its name is Gimle. It shall stand when both
heaven and earth shall have passed away. In this hall the good and the
righteous shall dwell through all ages. Thus says the Prophecy of the Vala:
A hall I know, standing
Than the sun fairer,
Than gold better,
Gimle by name.
There shall good
People dwell,
And forever
Delights enjoy.29
Then said Ganglere: Who guards this palace when Surt’s fire burns up
heaven and earth? Har answered: It is said that to the south and above this
heaven is another heaven, which is called Andlang. But there is a third,
which is above these, and is called Vidblain, and in this heaven we believe
this mansion (Gimle) to be situated; but we deem that the light-elves alone
dwell in it now.

CHAPTER VIII.
THE ASAS.

18. Then said Ganglere: Whence comes the wind? It is so strong that it
moves great seas, and fans fires to flame, and yet, strong as it is, it cannot
be seen. Therefore it is wonderfully made. Then answered Har: That I can
tell you well. At the northern end of heaven sits a giant, who hight
Hrasvelg. He is clad in eagles’ plumes, and when he spreads his wings for
flight, the winds arise from under them. Thus is it here said:
Hrasvelg hight he
Who sits at the end of heaven,
A giant in eagle’s disguise.
From his wings, they say,
The wind does come
Over all mankind.30
19. Then said Ganglere: How comes it that summer is so hot, but the winter
so cold? Har answered: A wise man would not ask such a question, for all
are able to tell this; but if you alone have become so stupid that you have
not heard of it, then I would rather forgive you for asking unwisely once
than that you should go any longer in ignorance of what you ought to know.
Svasud is the name of him who is father of summer, and he lives such a life
of enjoyment, that everything that is mild is from him called sweet
(svasligt). But the father of winter has two names, Vindlone and Vindsval.
He is the son of Vasad, and all that race are grim and of icy breath, and
winter is like them.
20. Then asked Ganglere: Which are the asas, in whom men are bound to
believe? Har answered him: Twelve are the divine asas. Jafnhar said: No
less holy are the asynjes (goddesses), nor is their power less. Then added
Thride: Odin is the highest and oldest of the asas. He rules all things, but
the other gods, each according to his might, serve him as children a father.
Frigg is his wife, and she knows the fate of men, although she tells not
thereof, as it is related that Odin himself said to Asa-Loke:
Mad are you, Loke!
And out of your senses;
Why do you not stop?
Fortunes all,

Methinks, Frigg knows,
Though she tells them not herself.31
Odin is called Alfather, for he is the father of all the gods; he is also called
Valfather, for all who fall in fight are his chosen sons. For them he prepares
Valhal and Vingolf, where they are called einherjes (heroes). He is also
called Hangagod, Haptagod, Farmagod; and he gave himself still more
names when he came to King Geirrod:
Grim is my name,
And Ganglare,
Herjan, Hjalmbore,
Thek, Thride,
Thud, Ud,
Helblinde, Har,
Sad, Svipal,
Sangetal,
Herteit, Hnikar,
Bileyg, Baleyg,
Bolverk, Fjolner,
Grimner, Glapsvid, Fjolsvid,
Sidhot, Sidskeg,
Sigfather, Hnikud,
Alfather, Atrid, Farmatyr,
Oske, Ome,
Jafnhar, Biflinde,
Gondler, Harbard,
Svidur, Svidrir,
Jalk, Kjalar, Vidur,
Thro, Yg, Thund,
Vak, Skilfing,
Vafud, Hroptatyr,
Gaut, Veratyr.32
Then said Ganglere: A very great number of names you have given him;
and this I know, forsooth, that he must be a very wise man who is able to
understand and decide what chances are the causes of all these names. Har

answered: Much knowledge is needed to explain it all rightly, but still it is
shortest to tell you that most of these names have been given him for the
reason that, as there are many tongues in the world, so all peoples thought
they ought to turn his name into their tongue, in order that they might be
able to worship him and pray to him each in its own language. Other causes
of these names must be sought in his journeys, which are told of in old
sagas; and you can lay no claim to being called a wise man if you are not
able to tell of these wonderful adventures.
21. Then said Ganglere: What are the names of the other asas? What is their
occupation, and what works have they wrought? Har answered: Thor is the
foremost of them. He is called Asa-Thor, or Oku-Thor.33 He is the strongest
of all gods and men, and rules over the realm which is called Thrudvang.
His hall is called Bilskirner. Therein are five hundred and forty floors, and it
is the largest house that men have made. Thus it is said in Grimner’s Lay:
Five hundred floors
And forty more,
Methinks, has bowed Bilskirner.
Of houses all
That I know roofed
I know my son’s is the largest.34
Thor has two goats, by name Tangnjost and Tangrisner, and a chariot,
wherein he drives. The goats draw the chariot; wherefore he is called Oku-
Thor.35 He possesses three valuable treasures. One of them is the hammer
Mjolner, which the frost-giants and mountain-giants well know when it is
raised; and this is not to be wondered at, for with it he has split many a skull
of their fathers or friends. The second treasure he possesses is Megingjarder
(belt of strength); when he girds himself with it his strength is doubled. His
third treasure that is of so great value is his iron gloves; these he cannot do
without when he lays hold of the hammer’s haft. No one is so wise that he
can tell all his great works; but I can tell you so many tidings of him that it
will grow late before all is told that I know.
22. Thereupon said Ganglere: I wish to ask tidings of more of the asas. Har
gave him answer: Odin’s second son is Balder, and of him good things are
to be told. He is the best, and all praise him. He is so fair of face and so

bright that rays of light issue from him; and there is a plant so white that it
is likened unto Balder’s brow, and it is the whitest of all plants. From this
you can judge of the beauty both of his hair and of his body. He is the
wisest, mildest and most eloquent of all the asas; and such is his nature that
none can alter the judgment he has pronounced. He inhabits the place in
heaven called Breidablik, and there nothing unclean can enter. As is here
said:
Breidablik it is called,
Where Balder has
Built for himself a hall
In the land
Where I know is found
The least of evil.36
23. The third asa is he who is called Njord. He dwells in Noatun, which is
in heaven. He rules the course of the wind and checks the fury of the sea
and of fire. He is invoked by seafarers and by fishermen. He is so rich and
wealthy that he can give broad lands and abundance to those who call on
him for them. He was fostered in Vanaheim, but the vans37 gave him as a
hostage to the gods, and received in his stead as an asa-hostage the god
whose name is Honer. He established peace between the gods and vans.
Njord took to wife Skade, a daughter of the giant Thjasse. She wished to
live where her father had dwelt, that is, on the mountains in Thrymheim;
Njord, on the other hand, preferred to be near the sea. They therefore agreed
to pass nine nights in Thrymheim and three in Noatun. But when Njord
came back from the mountains to Noatun he sang this:
Weary am I of the mountains,
Not long was I there,
Only nine nights.
The howl of the wolves
Methought sounded ill
To the song of the swans.
Skade then sang this:

Sleep I could not
On my sea-strand couch,
For the scream of the sea-fowl.
There wakes me,
As he comes from the sea,
Every morning the mew.
Then went Skade up on the mountain, and dwelt in Thrymheim. She often
goes on skees (snow-shoes), with her bow, and shoots wild beasts. She is
called skee-goddess or skee-dis. Thus it is said:
Thrymheim it is called
Where Thjasse dwelt,
That mightiest giant.
But now dwells Skade,
Pure bride of the gods,
In her father’s old homestead.38
24. Njord, in Noatun, afterward begat two children: a son, by name Frey,
and a daughter, by name Freyja. They were fair of face, and mighty. Frey is
the most famous of the asas. He rules over rain and sunshine, and over the
fruits of the earth. It is good to call on him for harvests and peace. He also
sways the wealth of men. Freyja is the most famous of the goddesses. She
has in heaven a dwelling which is called Folkvang, and when she rides to
the battle, one half of the slain belong to her, and the other half to Odin. As
is here said:
Folkvang it is called,
And there rules Freyja.
For the seats in the hall
Half of the slain
She chooses each day;
The other half is Odin’s.39
Her hall is Sesrynmer, and it is large and beautiful. When she goes abroad,
she drives in a car drawn by two cats. She lends a favorable ear to men who
call upon her, and it is from her name the title has come that women of birth

and wealth are called frur.40 She is fond of love ditties, and it is good to call
on her in love affairs.
25. Then said Ganglere: Of great importance these asas seem to me to be,
and it is not wonderful that you have great power, since you have such
excellent knowledge of the gods, and know to which of them to address
your prayers on each occasion. But what other gods are there? Har
answered: There is yet an asa, whose name is Tyr. He is very daring and
stout-hearted. He sways victory in war, wherefore warriors should call on
him. There is a saw, that he who surpasses others in bravery, and never
yields, is Tyr-strong. He is also so wise, that it is said of anyone who is
specially intelligent, that he is Tyr-learned. A proof of his daring is, that
when the asas induced the wolf Fenrer to let himself be bound with the
chain Gleipner, he would not believe that they would loose him again until
Tyr put his hand in his mouth as a pledge. But when the asas would not
loose the Fenris-wolf, he bit Tyr’s hand off at the place of the wolf’s joint
(the wrist; Icel. úlfliðr41). From that time Tyr is one-handed, and he is now
called a peacemaker among men.
26. Brage is the name of another of the asas. He is famous for his wisdom,
eloquence and flowing speech. He is a master-skald, and from him song-
craft is called brag (poetry), and such men or women as distinguish
themselves by their eloquence are called brag-men42 and brag-women. His
wife is Idun. She keeps in a box those apples of which the gods eat when
they grow old, and then they become young again, and so it will be until
Ragnarok (the twilight of the gods). Then said Ganglere: Of great
importance to the gods it must be, it seems to me, that Idun preserves these
apples with care and honesty. Har answered, and laughed: They ran a great
risk on one occasion, whereof I might tell you more, but you shall first hear
the names of more asas.
27. Heimdal is the name of one. He is also called the white-asa. He is great
and holy; born of nine maidens, all of whom were sisters. He hight also
Hallinskide and Gullintanne, for his teeth were of gold. His horse hight
Gulltop (Gold-top). He dwells in a place called Himinbjorg, near Bifrost.
He is the ward of the gods, and sits at the end of heaven, guarding the
bridge against the mountain-giants. He needs less sleep than a bird; sees an

hundred miles around him, and as well by night as by day. He hears the
grass grow and the wool on the backs of the sheep, and of course all things
that sound louder than these. He has a trumpet called the Gjallarhorn, and
when he blows it it can be heard in all the worlds. The head is called
Heimdal’s sword. Thus it is here said:
Himinbjorg it is called,
Where Heimdal rules
Over his holy halls;
There drinks the ward of the gods
In his delightful dwelling
Glad the good mead.43
And again, in Heimdal’s Song, he says himself:
Son I am of maidens nine,
Born I am of sisters nine.
28. Hoder hight one of the asas, who is blind, but exceedingly strong; and
the gods would wish that this asa never needed to be named, for the work of
his hand will long be kept in memory both by gods and men.
29. Vidar is the name of the silent asa. He has a very thick shoe, and he is
the strongest next after Thor. From him the gods have much help in all hard
tasks.
30. Ale, or Vale, is the son of Odin and Rind. He is daring in combat, and a
good shot.
31. Uller is the name of one, who is a son of Sif, and a step-son of Thor. He
is so good an archer, and so fast on his skees, that no one can contend with
him. He is fair of face, and possesses every quality of a warrior. Men should
invoke him in single combat.
32. Forsete is a son of Balder and Nanna, Nep’s daughter. He has in heaven
the hall which hight Glitner. All who come to him with disputes go away
perfectly reconciled. No better tribunal is to be found among gods and men.
Thus it is here said:
Glitner hight the hall,
On gold pillars standing,

And roofed with silver.
There dwells Forsete
Throughout all time,
And settles all disputes.44

CHAPTER IX.
LOKE AND HIS OFFSPRING.

33. There is yet one who is numbered among the asas, but whom some call
the backbiter of the asas. He is the originator of deceit, and the disgrace of
all gods and men. His name is Loke, or Lopt. His father is the giant
Farbaute, but his mother’s name is Laufey, or Nal. His brothers are Byleist
and Helblinde. Loke is fair and beautiful of face, but evil in disposition, and
very fickle-minded. He surpasses other men in the craft called cunning, and
cheats in all things. He has often brought the asas into great trouble, and
often helped them out again, with his cunning contrivances. His wife hight
Sygin, and their son, Nare, or Narfe.
34. Loke had yet more children. A giantess in Jotunheim, hight Angerboda.
With her he begat three children. The first was the Fenris-wolf; the second,
Jormungand, that is, the Midgard-serpent, and the third, Hel. When the gods
knew that these three children were being fostered in Jotunheim, and were
aware of the prophecies that much woe and misfortune would thence come
to them, and considering that much evil might be looked for from them on
their mother’s side, and still more on their father’s, Alfather sent some of
the gods to take the children and bring them to him. When they came to him
he threw the serpent into the deep sea which surrounds all lands. There
waxed the serpent so that he lies in the midst of the ocean, surrounds all the
earth, and bites his own tail. Hel he cast into Niflheim, and gave her power
over nine worlds,45 that she should appoint abodes to them that are sent to
her, namely, those who die from sickness or old age. She has there a great
mansion, and the walls around it are of strange height, and the gates are
huge. Eljudner is the name of her hall. Her table hight famine; her knife,
starvation. Her man-servant’s name is Ganglate; her maid-servant’s,
Ganglot.46 Her threshold is called stumbling-block; her bed, care; the

precious hangings of her bed, gleaming bale. One-half of her is blue, and
the other half is of the hue of flesh; hence she is easily known. Her looks
are very stern and grim.
35. The wolf was fostered by the asas at home, and Tyr was the only one
who had the courage to go to him and give him food. When the gods saw
how much he grew every day, and all prophecies declared that he was
predestined to become fatal to them, they resolved to make a very strong
fetter, which they called Lading. They brought it to the wolf, and bade him
try his strength on the fetter. The wolf, who did not think it would be too
strong for him, let them do therewith as they pleased. But as soon as he
spurned against it the fetter burst asunder, and he was free from Lading.
Then the asas made another fetter, by one-half stronger, and this they called
Drome. They wanted the wolf to try this also, saying to him that he would
become very famous for his strength, if so strong a chain was not able to
hold him. The wolf thought that this fetter was indeed very strong, but also
that his strength had increased since he broke Lading. He also took into
consideration that it was necessary to expose one’s self to some danger if he
desired to become famous; so he let them put the fetter on him. When the
asas said they were ready, the wolf shook himself, spurned against and
dashed the fetter on the ground, so that the broken pieces flew a long
distance. Thus he broke loose out of Drome. Since then it has been held as a
proverb, “to get loose out of Lading” or “to dash out of Drome,” whenever
anything is extraordinarily hard. The asas now began to fear that they would
not get the wolf bound. So Alfather sent the youth, who is called Skirner,
and is Frey’s messenger, to some dwarfs in Svartalfaheim, and had them
make the fetter which is called Gleipner. It was made of six things: of the
footfall of cats, of the beard of woman, of the roots of the mountain, of the
sinews of the bear, of the breath of the fish, and of the spittle of the birds. If
you have not known this before, you can easily find out that it is true and
that there is no lie about it, since you must have observed that a woman has
no beard, that a cat’s footfall cannot be heard, and that mountains have no
roots; and I know, forsooth, that what I have told you is perfectly true,
although there are some things that you do not understand. Then said
Ganglere: This I must surely understand to be true. I can see these things
which you have taken as proof. But how was the fetter smithied? Answered

Har: That I can well explain to you. It was smooth and soft as a silken
string. How strong and trusty it was you shall now hear. When the fetter
was brought to the asas, they thanked the messenger for doing his errand so
well. Then they went out into the lake called Amsvartner, to the holm
(rocky island) called Lyngve, and called the wolf to go with them. They
showed him the silken band and bade him break it, saying that it was
somewhat stronger than its thinness would lead one to suppose. Then they
handed it from one to the other and tried its strength with their hands, but it
did not break. Still they said the wolf would be able to snap it. The wolf
answered: It seems to me that I will get no fame though I break asunder so
slender a thread as this is. But if it is made with craft and guile, then, little
though it may look, that band will never come on my feet. Then said the
asas that he would easily be able to break a slim silken band, since he had
already burst large iron fetters asunder. But even if you are unable to break
this band, you have nothing to fear from the gods, for we will immediately
loose you again. The wolf answered: If you get me bound so fast that I am
not able to loose myself again, you will skulk away, and it will be long
before I get any help from you, wherefore I am loth to let this band be laid
on me; but in order that you may not accuse me of cowardice, let some one
of you lay his hand in my mouth as a pledge that this is done without deceit.
The one asa looked at the other, and thought there now was a choice of two
evils, and no one would offer his hand, before Tyr held out his right hand
and laid it in the wolf’s mouth. But when the wolf now began to spurn
against it the band grew stiffer, and the more he strained the tighter it got.
They all laughed except Tyr; he lost his hand. When the asas saw that the
wolf was sufficiently well bound, they took the chain which was fixed to
the fetter, and which was called Gelgja, and drew it through a large rock
which is called Gjol, and fastened this rock deep down in the earth. Then
they took a large stone, which is called Tvite, and drove it still deeper into
the ground, and used this stone for a fastening-pin. The wolf opened his
mouth terribly wide, raged and twisted himself with all his might, and
wanted to bite them; but they put a sword in his mouth, in such a manner
that the hilt stood in his lower jaw and the point in the upper, that is his gag.
He howls terribly, and the saliva which runs from his mouth forms a river
called Von. There he will lie until Ragnarok. Then said Ganglere: Very bad
are these children of Loke, but they are strong and mighty. But why did not

the asas kill the wolf when they have evil to expect from him? Har
answered: So great respect have the gods for their holiness and peace-stead,
that they would not stain them with the blood of the wolf, though
prophecies foretell that he must become the bane of Odin.

CHAPTER X.
THE GODDESSES (ASYNJES).

36. Ganglere asked: Which are the goddesses? Har answered: Frigg is the
first; she possesses the right lordly dwelling which is called Fensaler. The
second is Saga, who dwells in Sokvabek, and this is a large dwelling. The
third is Eir, who is the best leech. The fourth is Gefjun, who is a may, and
those who die maids become her hand-maidens. The fifth is Fulla, who is
also a may, she wears her hair flowing and has a golden ribbon about her
head; she carries Frigg’s chest, takes care of her shoes and knows her
secrets. The sixth is Freyja, who is ranked with Frigg. She is wedded to the
man whose name is Oder; their daughter’s name is Hnos, and she is so fair
that all things fair and precious are called, from her name, Hnos. Oder went
far away. Freyja weeps for him, but her tears are red gold. Freyja has many
names, and the reason therefor is that she changed her name among the
various nations to which she came in search of Oder. She is called Mardol,
Horn, Gefn, and Syr. She has the necklace Brising, and she is called
Vanadis. The seventh is Sjofn, who is fond of turning men’s and women’s
hearts to love, and it is from her name that love is called Sjafne. The eighth
is Lofn, who is kind and good to those who call upon her, and she has
permission from Alfather or Frigg to bring together men and women, no
matter what difficulties may stand in the way; therefore “love” is so called
from her name, and also that which is much loved by men. The ninth is Var.
She hears the oaths and troths that men and women plight to each other.
Hence such vows are called vars, and she takes vengeance on those who
break their promises. The tenth is Vor, who is so wise and searching that
nothing can be concealed from her. It is a saying that a woman becomes vor
(ware) of what she becomes wise. The eleventh is Syn, who guards the door
of the hall, and closes it against those who are not to enter. In trials she

guards those suits in which anyone tries to make use of falsehood. Hence is
the saying that “syn is set against it,” when anyone tries to deny ought. The
twelfth is Hlin, who guards those men whom Frigg wants to protect from
any danger. Hence is the saying that he hlins who is forewarned. The
thirteenth is Snotra, who is wise and courtly. After her, men and women
who are wise are called Snotras. The fourteenth is Gna, whom Frigg sends
on her errands into various worlds. She rides upon a horse called
Hofvarpner, that runs through the air and over the sea. Once, when she was
riding, some vans saw her faring through the air. Then said one of them:
What flies there?
What fares there?
What glides in the air?
She answered
I fly not,
Though I fare
And glide through the air
On Hofvarpner,
That Hamskerper,
Begat with Gardrofa.47
From Gna’s name it is said that anything that fares high in the air gnas. Sol
and Bil are numbered among the goddesses, but their nature has already
been described.48
37. There are still others who are to serve in Valhal, bear the drink around,
wait upon the table and pass the ale-horns. Thus they are named in
Grimner’s Lay:
Hrist and Mist
I want my horn to bring to me;
Skeggold and Skogul,
Hild and Thrud,
Hlok and Heifjoter,
Gol and Geirahod,
Randgrid and Radgrid,

And Reginleif;
These bear ale to the einherjes.49
These are called valkyries. Odin sends them to all battles, where they
choose those who are to be slain, and rule over the victory. Gud and Rosta,
and the youngest norn, Skuld, always ride to sway the battle and choose the
slain. Jord, the mother of Thor, and Rind, Vale’s mother, are numbered
among the goddesses.

CHAPTER XI.
THE GIANTESS GERD AND SKIRNER’S JOURNEY.50

38. Gymer hight a man whose wife was Orboda, of the race of the mountain
giants. Their daughter was Gerd, the fairest of all women. One day when
Frey had gone into Hlidskjalf, and was looking out upon all the worlds, he
saw toward the north a hamlet wherein was a large and beautiful house. To
this house went a woman, and when she raised her hands to open the door,
both the sky and the sea glistened therefrom, and she made all the world
bright. As a punishment for his audacity in seating himself in that holy seat,
Frey went away full of grief. When he came home, he neither spake, slept,
nor drank, and no one dared speak to him. Then Njord sent for Skirner,
Frey’s servant, bade him go to Frey and ask him with whom he was so
angry, since he would speak to nobody. Skirner said that he would go,
though he was loth to do so, as it was probable that he would get evil words
in reply. When he came to Frey and asked him why he was so sad that he
would not talk, Frey answered that he had seen a beautiful woman, and for
her sake he had become so filled with grief, that he could not live any
longer if he could not get her. And now you must go, he added, and ask her
hand for me and bring her home to me, whether it be with or without the
consent of her father. I will reward you well for your trouble. Skirner
answered saying that he would go on this errand, but Frey must give him
his sword, that was so excellent that it wielded itself in fight. Frey made no
objection to this and gave him the sword. Skirner went on his journey,
courted Gerd for him, and got the promise of her that she nine nights

thereafter should come to Bar-Isle and there have her wedding with Frey.
When Skirner came back and gave an account of his journey, Frey said:
Long is one night,
Long are two nights,
How can I hold out three?
Oft to me one month
Seemed less
Than this half night of love.51
This is the reason why Frey was unarmed when he fought with Bele, and
slew him with a hart’s horn. Then said Ganglere: It is a great wonder that
such a lord as Frey would give away his sword, when he did not have
another as good. A great loss it was to him when he fought with Bele; and
this I know, forsooth, that he must have repented of that gift. Har answered:
Of no great account was his meeting with Bele. Frey could have slain him
with his hand. But the time will come when he will find himself in a worse
plight for not having his sword, and that will be when the sons of Muspel
sally forth to the fight.

CHAPTER XII.
LIFE IN VALHAL.

39. Then said Ganglere: You say that all men who since the beginning of the
world have fallen in battle have come to Odin in Valhal. What does he have
to give them to eat? It seems to me there must be a great throng of people.
Har answered: It is true, as you remark, that there is a great throng; many
more are yet to come there, and still they will be thought too few when the
wolf52 comes. But however great may be the throng in Valhal, they will get
plenty of flesh of the boar Sahrimner. He is boiled every day and is whole
again in the evening. But as to the question you just asked, it seems to me
there are but few men so wise that they are able to answer it correctly. The
cook’s name is Andhrimner, and the kettle is called Eldhrimner as is here
said:

Andhrimner cooks
In Eldhrimner
Sahrimner.
’Tis the best of flesh.
There are few who know
What the einherjes eat.53
Ganglere asked: Does Odin have the same kind of food as the einherjes?
Har answered: The food that is placed on his table he gives to his two
wolves, which hight Gere and Freke. He needs no food himself. Wine is to
him both food and drink, as is here said:
Gere and Freke
Sates the warfaring,
Famous father of hosts;
But on wine alone
Odin in arms renowned
Forever lives.54
Two ravens sit on Odin’s shoulders, and bring to his ears all that they hear
and see. Their names are Hugin and Munin. At dawn he sends them out to
fly over the whole world, and they come back at breakfast time. Thus he
gets information about many things, and hence he is called Rafnagud
(raven-god). As is here said:
Hugin and Munin
Fly every day
Over the great earth.
I fear for Hugin
That he may not return,
Yet more am I anxious for Munin.55
40. Then asked Ganglere: What do the einherjes have to drink that is
furnished them as bountifully as the food? Or do they drink water? Har
answered: That is a wonderful question. Do you suppose that Alfather
invites kings, jarls, or other great men, and gives them water to drink? This
I know, forsooth, that many a one comes to Valhal who would think he was
paying a big price for his water-drink, if there were no better reception to be

found there,—persons, namely, who have died from wounds and pain. But I
can tell you other tidings. A she-goat, by name Heidrun, stands up in Valhal
and bites the leaves off the branches of that famous tree called Lerad. From
her teats runs so much mead that she fills every day a vessel in the hall from
which the horns are filled, and which is so large that all the einherjes get all
the drink they want out of it. Then said Ganglere: That is a most useful
goat, and a right excellent tree that must be that she feeds upon. Then said
Har: Still more remarkable is the hart Eikthyrner, which stands over Valhal
and bites the branches of the same tree. From his horns fall so many drops
down into Hvergelmer, that thence flow the rivers that are called Sid, Vid,
Sekin, Ekin, Svol, Gunthro, Fjorm, Fimbulthul, Gipul, Gopul, Gomul and
Geirvimul, all of which fall about the abodes of the asas. The following are
also named: Thyn, Vin, Thol, Bol, Grad, Gunthrain, Nyt, Not, Non, Hron,
Vina, Vegsvin, Thjodnuma.
41. Then said Ganglere: That was a wonderful tiding that you now told me.
A mighty house must Valhal be, and a great crowd there must often be at the
door. Then answered Har: Why do you not ask how many doors there are in
Valhal, and how large they are? When you find that out, you will confess
that it would rather be wonderful if everybody could not easily go in and
out. It is also a fact that it is no more difficult to find room within than to
get in. Of this you may hear what the Lay of Grimner says:
Five hundred doors
And forty more,
I trow, there are in Valhal.
Eight hundred einherjes
Go at a time through one door
When they fare to fight with the wolf.56
42. Then said Ganglere: A mighty band of men there is in Valhal, and,
forsooth, I know that Odin is a very great chief, since he commands so
mighty a host. But what is the pastime of the einherjes when they do not
drink? Har answered: Every morning, when they have dressed themselves,
they take their weapons and go out into the court and fight and slay each
other. That is their play. Toward breakfast-time they ride home to Valhal and
sit down to drink. As is here said:

All the einherjes
In Odin’s court
Hew daily each other.
They choose the slain
And ride from the battle-field,
Then sit they in peace together.57
But true it is, as you said, that Odin is a great chief. There are many proofs
of that. Thus it is said in the very words of the asas themselves:
The Ygdrasil ash
Is the foremost of trees,
But Skidbladner of ships,
Odin of asas,
Sleipner of steeds,
Bifrost of bridges,
Brage of Skalds,
Habrok of hows,
But Garm of dogs.58

CHAPTER XIII.
ODIN’S HORSE AND FREY’S SHIP.

43. Ganglere asked: Whose is that horse Sleipner, and what is there to say
about it? Har answered: You have no knowledge of Sleipner, nor do you
know the circumstances attending his birth; but it must seem to you worth
the telling. In the beginning, when the town of the gods was building, when
the gods had established Midgard and made Valhal, there came a certain
builder and offered to make them a burg, in three half years, so excellent
that it should be perfectly safe against the mountain-giants and frost-giants,
even though they should get within Midgard. But he demanded as his
reward, that he should have Freyja, and he wanted the sun and moon
besides. Then the asas came together and held counsel, and the bargain was
made with the builder that he should get what he demanded if he could get
the burg done in one winter; but if on the first day of summer any part of
the burg was unfinished, then the contract should be void. It was also
agreed that no man should help him with the work. When they told him
these terms, he requested that they should allow him to have the help of his
horse, called Svadilfare, and at the suggestion of Loke this was granted him.
On the first day of winter he began to build the burg, but by night he hauled
stone for it with his horse. But it seemed a great wonder to the asas what
great rocks that horse drew, and the horse did one half more of the mighty
task than the builder. The bargain was firmly established with witnesses and
oaths, for the giant did not deem it safe to be among the asas without truce
if Thor should come home, who now was on a journey to the east fighting
trolls. Toward the end of winter the burg was far built, and it was so high
and strong that it could in nowise be taken. When there were three days left
before summer, the work was all completed excepting the burg gate. Then
went the gods to their judgment-seats and held counsel, and asked each
other who could have advised to give Freyja in marriage in Jotunheim, or to
plunge the air and the heavens in darkness by taking away the sun and the
moon and giving them to the giant; and all agreed that this must have been
advised by him who gives the most bad counsels, namely, Loke, son of

Laufey, and they threatened him with a cruel death if he could not contrive
some way of preventing the builder from fulfilling his part of the bargain,
and they proceeded to lay hands on Loke. He in his fright then promised
with an oath that he should so manage that the builder should lose his
wages, let it cost him what it would. And the same evening, when the
builder drove out after stone with his horse Svadilfare, a mare suddenly ran
out of the woods to the horse and began to neigh at him. The steed,
knowing what sort of horse this was, grew excited, burst the reins asunder
and ran after the mare, but she ran from him into the woods. The builder
hurried after them with all his might, and wanted to catch the steed, but
these horses kept running all night, and thus the time was lost, and at dawn
the work had not made the usual progress. When the builder saw that his
work was not going to be completed, he resumed his giant form. When the
asas thus became sure that it was really a mountain-giant that had come
among them, they did not heed their oaths, but called on Thor. He came
straightway, swung his hammer, Mjolner, and paid the workman his wages,
—not with the sun and moon, but rather by preventing him from dwelling
in Jotunheim; and this was easily done with the first blow of the hammer,
which broke his skull into small pieces and sent him down to Niflhel. But
Loke had run such a race with Svadilfare that he some time after bore a
foal. It was gray, and had eight feet, and this is the best horse among gods
and men. Thus it is said in the Vala’s Prophecy:
Then went the gods.
The most holy gods,
Onto their judgment-seats,
And counseled together
Who all the air
With guile had blended
Or to the giant race
Oder’s may had given.
Broken were oaths,
And words and promises,—
All mighty speech
That had passed between them.
Thor alone did this,

Swollen with anger.
Seldom sits he still
When such things he hears.59
44. Then asked Ganglere: What is there to be said of Skidbladner, which
you say is the best of ships? Is there no ship equally good, or equally great?
Made answer Har: Skidbladner is the best of ships, and is made with the
finest workmanship; but Naglfare, which is in Muspel, is the largest. Some
dwarfs, the sons of Ivalde, made Skidbladner and gave it to Frey. It is so
large that all the asas, with their weapons and war-gear, can find room on
board it, and as soon as the sails are hoisted it has fair wind, no matter
whither it is going. When it is not wanted for a voyage, it is made of so
many pieces and with so much skill, that Frey can fold it together like a
napkin and carry it in his pocket.

CHAPTER XIV.
THOR’S ADVENTURES.

Then said Ganglere: A good ship is Skidbladner, but much black art must
have been resorted to ere it was so fashioned. Has Thor never come where
he has found anything so strong and mighty that it has been superior to him
either in strength or in the black art? Har answered: Few men, I know, are
able to tell thereof, but still he has often been in difficult straits. But though
there have been things so mighty and strong that Thor has not been able to
gain the victory, they are such as ought not to be spoken of; for there are
many proofs which all must accept that Thor is the mightiest. Then said
Ganglere: It seems to me that I have now asked about something that no
one can answer. Said Jafnhar: We have heard tell of adventures that seem to
us incredible, but here sits one near who is able to tell true tidings thereof,
and you may believe that he will not lie for the first time now, who never
told a lie before. Then said Ganglere: I will stand here and listen, to see if
any answer is to be had to this question. But if you cannot answer my
question I declare you to be defeated. Then answered Thride: It is evident
that he now is bound to know, though it does not seem proper for us to
speak thereof. The beginning of this adventure is that Oku-Thor went on a

journey with his goats and chariot, and with him went the asa who is called
Loke. In the evening they came to a bonde60 and got there lodgings for the
night. In the evening Thor took his goats and killed them both, whereupon
he had them flayed and borne into a kettle. When the flesh was boiled, Thor
and his companion sat down to supper. Thor invited the bonde, his wife and
their children, a son by name Thjalfe, and a daughter by name Roskva, to
eat with them. Then Thor laid the goat-skins away from the fire-place, and
requested the bonde and his household to cast the bones onto the skins.
Thjalfe, the bonde’s son, had the thigh of one of the goats, which he broke
asunder with his knife, in order to get at the marrow, Thor remained there
over night. In the morning, just before daybreak, he arose, dressed himself,
took the hammer Mjolner, lifted it and hallowed the goat-skins. Then the
goats arose, but one of them limped on one of its hind legs. When Thor saw
this he said that either the bonde or one of his folk had not dealt skillfully
with the goat’s bones, for he noticed that the thigh was broken. It is not
necessary to dwell on this part of the story. All can understand how
frightened the bonde became when he saw that Thor let his brows sink
down over his eyes. When he saw his eyes he thought he must fall down at
the sight of them alone. Thor took hold of the handle of his hammer so hard
that his knuckles grew white. As might be expected, the bonde and all his
household cried aloud and sued for peace, offering him as an atonement all
that they possessed. When he saw their fear, his wrath left him. He was
appeased, and took as a ransom the bonders children, Thjalfe and Roskva.
They became his servants, and have always accompanied him since that
time.
46. He left his goats there and went on his way east into Jotunheim, clear to
the sea, and then he went on across the deep ocean, and went ashore on the
other side, together with Loke and Thjalfe and Roskva. When they had
proceeded a short distance, there stood before them a great wood, through
which they kept going the whole day until dark. Thjalfe, who was of all
men the fleetest of foot, bore Thor’s bag, but the wood was no good place
for provisions. When it had become dark, they sought a place for their night
lodging, and found a very large hall. At the end of it was a door as wide as
the hall. Here they remained through the night. About midnight there was a
great earthquake; the ground trembled beneath them, and the house shook.

Then Thor stood up and called his companions. They looked about them
and found an adjoining room to the right, in the midst of the hall, and there
they went in. Thor seated himself in the door; the others went farther in and
were very much frightened. Thor held his hammer by the handle, ready to
defend himself. Then they heard a great groaning and roaring. When it
began to dawn, Thor went out and saw a man lying not far from him in the
wood. He was very large, lay sleeping, and snored loudly. Then Thor
thought he had found out what noise it was that they had heard in the night.
He girded himself with his Megingjarder, whereby his asa-might increased.
Meanwhile the man woke, and immediately arose. It is said that Thor this
once forbore to strike him with the hammer, and asked him for his name.
He called himself Skrymer; but, said he, I do not need to ask you what your
name is,—I know that you are Asa-Thor. But what have you done with my
glove? He stretched out his hand and picked up his glove. Then Thor saw
that the glove was the hall in which he had spent the night, and that the
adjoining room was the thumb of the glove. Skrymer asked whether they
would accept of his company. Thor said yes. Skrymer took and loosed his
provision-sack and began to eat his breakfast; but Thor and his fellows did
the same in another place. Skrymer proposed that they should lay their store
of provisions together, to which Thor consented. Then Skrymer bound all
their provisions into one bag, laid it on his back, and led the way all the day,
taking gigantic strides. Late in the evening he sought out a place for their
night quarters under a large oak. Then Skrymer said to Thor that he wanted
to lie down to sleep; they might take the provision-sack and make ready
their supper. Then Skrymer fell asleep and snored tremendously. When
Thor took the provision-sack and was to open it, then happened what seems
incredible, but still it must be told,—that he could not get one knot
loosened, nor could he stir a single end of the strings so that it was looser
than before. When he saw that all his efforts were in vain he became wroth,
seized his hammer Mjolner with both his hands, stepped with one foot
forward to where Skrymer was lying and dashed the hammer at his head.
Skrymer awoke and asked whether some leaf had fallen upon his head;
whether they had taken their supper, and were ready to go to sleep. Thor
answered that they were just going to sleep. Then they went under another
oak. But the truth must be told, that there was no fearless sleeping. About
midnight Thor heard that Skrymer was snoring and sleeping so fast that it

thundered in the wood. He arose and went over to him, clutched the
hammer tight and hard, and gave him a blow in the middle of the crown, so
that he knew that the head of the hammer sank deep into his head. But just
then Skrymer awoke and asked: What is that? Did an acorn fall onto my
head? How is it with you, Thor? Thor hastened back, answered that he had
just waked up, and said that it was midnight and still time to sleep. Then
Thor made up his mind that if he could get a chance to give him the third
blow, he should never see him again, and he now lay watching for Skrymer
to sleep fast. Shortly before daybreak he heard that Skrymer had fallen
asleep. So he arose and ran over to him. He clutched the hammer with all
his might and dashed it at his temples, which he saw uppermost. The
hammer sank up to the handle. Skrymer sat up, stroked his temples, and
said: Are there any birds sitting in the tree above me? Methought, as I
awoke, that some moss from the branches fell on my head. What! are you
awake, Thor? It is now time to get up and dress; but you have not far left to
the burg that is called Utgard. I have heard that you have been whispering
among yourselves that I am not small of stature, but you will see greater
men when you come to Utgard. Now I will give you wholesome advice. Do
not brag too much of yourselves, for Utgard-Loke’s thanes will not brook
the boasting of such insignificant little fellows as you are; otherwise turn
back, and that is, in fact, the best thing for you to do. But if you are bound
to continue your journey, then keep straight on eastward; my way lies to the
north, to those mountains that you there see. Skrymer then took the
provision-sack and threw it on his back, and, leaving them, turned into the
wood, and it has not been learned whether the asas wished to meet him
again in health.
47. Thor and his companions went their way and continued their journey
until noon. Then they saw a burg standing on a plain, and it was so high that
they had to bend their necks clear back before they could look over it. They
drew nearer and came to the burg-gate, which was closed. Thor finding
himself unable to open it, and being anxious to get within the burg, they
crept between the bars and so came in. They discovered a large hall and
went to it. Finding the door open they entered, and saw there many men, the
most of whom were immensely large, sitting on two benches. Thereupon
they approached the king, Utgard-Loke, and greeted him. He scarcely

deigned to look at them, smiled scornfully and showed his teeth, saying: It
is late to ask for tidings of a long journey, but if I am not mistaken this
stripling is Oku-Thor, is it not? It may be, however, that you are really
bigger than you look For what feats are you and your companions
prepared? No one can stay with us here, unless he is skilled in some craft or
accomplishment beyond the most of men. Then answered he who came in
last, namely Loke: I know the feat of which I am prepared to give proof,
that there is no one present who can eat his food faster than I. Then said
Utgard-Loke: That is a feat, indeed, if you can keep your word, and you
shall try it immediately. He then summoned from the bench a man by name
Loge, and requested him to come out on the floor and try his strength
against Loke. They took a trough full of meat and set it on the floor,
whereupon Loke seated himself at one end and Loge at the other. Both ate
as fast as they could, and met at the middle of the trough. Loke had eaten all
the flesh off from the bones, but Loge had consumed both the flesh and the
bones, and the trough too. All agreed that Loke had lost the wager. Then
Utgard-Loke asked what game that young man knew? Thjalfe answered that
he would try to run a race with anyone that Utgard-Loke might designate.
Utgard-Loke said this was a good feat, and added that it was to be hoped
that he excelled in swiftness if he expected to win in this game, but he
would soon have the matter decided. He arose and went out. There was an
excellent race-course along the flat plain. Utgard-Loke then summoned a
young man, whose name was Huge, and bade him run a race with Thjalfe.
Then they took the first heat, and Huge was so much ahead that when he
turned at the goal he met Thjalfe. Said Utgard-Loke: You must lay yourself
more forward, Thjalfe, if you want to win the race; but this I confess, that
there has never before come anyone hither who was swifter of foot than
you. Then they took a second heat, and when Huge came to the goal and
turned, there was a long bolt-shot to Thjalfe. Then said Utgard-Loke:
Thjalfe seems to me to run well; still I scarcely think he will win the race,
but this will be proven when they run the third heat. Then they took one
more heat. Huge ran to the goal and turned back, but Thjalfe had not yet
gotten to the middle of the course. Then all said that this game had been
tried sufficiently. Utgard-Loke now asked Thor what feats there were that
he would be willing to exhibit before them, corresponding to the tales that
men tell of his great works. Thor replied that he preferred to compete with

someone in drinking. Utgard-Loke said there would be no objection to this.
He went into the hall, called his cup-bearer, and requested him to take the
sconce-horn that his thanes were wont to drink from. The cup-bearer
immediately brought forward the horn and handed it to Thor. Said Utgard-
Loke: From this horn it is thought to be well drunk if it is emptied in one
draught, some men empty it in two draughts, but there is no drinker so
wretched that he cannot exhaust it in three. Thor looked at the horn and did
not think it was very large, though it seemed pretty long, but he was very
thirsty. He put it to his lips and swallowed with all his might, thinking that
he should not have to bend over the horn a second time. But when his
breath gave out, and he looked into the horn to see how it had gone with his
drinking, it seemed to him difficult to determine whether there was less in it
than before. Then said Utgard-Loke: That is well drunk, still it is not very
much. I could never have believed it, if anyone had told me, that Asa-Thor
could not drink more, but I know you will be able to empty it in a second
draught. Thor did not answer, but set the horn to his lips, thinking that he
would now take a larger draught. He drank as long as he could and drank
deep, as he was wont, but still he could not make the tip of the horn come
up as much as he would like. And when he set the horn away and looked
into it, it seemed to him that he had drunk less than the first time; but the
horn could now be borne without spilling. Then said Utgard-Loke: How
now, Thor! Are you not leaving more for the third draught than befits your
skill? It seems to me that if you are to empty the horn with the third
draught, then this will be the greatest. You will not be deemed so great a
man here among us as the asas call you, if you do not distinguish yourself
more in other feats than you seem to me to have done in this. Then Thor
became wroth, set the horn to his mouth and drank with all his might and
kept on as long as he could, and when he looked into it its contents had
indeed visibly diminished, but he gave back the horn and would not drink
any more. Said Utgard-Loke: It is clear that your might is not so great as we
thought. Would you like to try other games? It is evident that you gained
nothing by the first. Answered Thor: I should like to try other games, but I
should be surprised if such a drink at home among the asas would be called
small. What game will you now offer me? Answered Utgard-Loke: Young
lads here think it nothing but play to lift my cat up from the ground, and I
should never have dared to offer such a thing to Asa-Thor had I not already

seen that you are much less of a man than I thought. Then there sprang forth
on the floor a gray cat, and it was rather large. Thor went over to it, put his
hand under the middle of its body and tried to lift it up, but the cat bent its
back in the same degree as Thor raised his hands; and when he had
stretched them up as far as he was able the cat lifted one foot, and Thor did
not carry the game any further. Then said Utgard-Loke: This game ended as
I expected. The cat is rather large, and Thor is small, and little compared
with the great men that are here with us. Said Thor: Little as you call me, let
anyone who likes come hither and wrestle with me, for now I am wroth.
Answered Utgard-Loke, looking about him on the benches: I do not see
anyone here who would not think it a trifle to wrestle with you. And again
he said: Let me see first! Call hither that old woman, Elle, my foster-
mother, and let Thor wrestle with her if he wants to. She has thrown to the
ground men who have seemed to me no less strong than Thor. Then there
came into the hall an old woman. Utgard-Loke bade her take a wrestle with
Asa-Thor. The tale is not long. The result of the grapple was, that the more
Thor tightened his grasp, the firmer she stood. Then the woman began to
bestir herself, and Thor lost his footing. They had some very hard tussles,
and before long Thor was brought down on one knee. Then Utgard-Loke
stepped forward, bade them cease the wrestling, and added that Thor did not
need to challenge anybody else to wrestle with him in his hall, besides it
was now getting late. He showed Thor and his companions to seats, and
they spent the night there enjoying the best of hospitality.
48. At daybreak the next day Thor and his companions arose, dressed
themselves and were ready to depart. Then came Utgard-Loke and had the
table spread for them, and there was no lack of feasting both in food and in
drink. When they had breakfasted, they immediately departed from the
burg. Utgard-Loke went with them out of the burg, but at parting he spoke
to Thor and asked him how he thought his journey had turned out, or
whether he had ever met a mightier man than himself. Thor answered that
he could not deny that he had been greatly disgraced in this meeting; and
this I know, he added, that you will call me a man of little account, whereat
I am much mortified. Then said Utgard-Loke: Now I will tell you the truth,
since you have come out of the burg, that if I live, and may have my way,
you shall never enter it again; and this I know, forsooth, that you should

never have come into it had I before known that you were so strong, and
that you had come so near bringing us into great misfortune. Know, then,
that I have deceived you with illusions. When I first found you in the woods
I came to meet you, and when you were to loose the provision-sack I had
bound it with iron threads, but you did not find where it was to be untied. In
the next place, you struck me three times with the hammer. The first blow
was the least, and still it was so severe that it would have been my death if
it had hit me. You saw near my burg a mountain cloven at the top into three
square dales, of which one was the deepest,—these were the dints made by
your hammer. The mountain I brought before the blows without your seeing
it. In like manner I deceived you in your contests with my courtiers. In
regard to the first, in which Loke took part, the facts were as follows: He
was very hungry and ate fast; but he whose name was Loge was wildfire,
and he burned the trough no less rapidly than the meat. When Thjalfe ran a
race with him whose name was Huge, that was my thought, and it was
impossible for him to keep pace with its swiftness. When you drank from
the horn, and thought that it diminished so little, then, by my troth, it was a
great wonder, which I never could have deemed possible.. One end of the
horn stood in the sea, but that you did not see. When you come to the sea-
shore you will discover how much the sea has sunk by your drinking; that is
now called the ebb. Furthermore he said: Nor did it seem less wonderful to
me that you lifted up the cat; and, to tell you the truth, all who saw it were
frightened when they saw that you raised one of its feet from the ground,
for it was not such a cat as you thought. It was in reality the Midgard-
serpent, which surrounds all lands. It was scarcely long enough to touch the
earth with its tail and head, and you raised it so high that your hand nearly
reached to heaven. It was also a most astonishing feat when you wrestled
with Elle, for none has ever been, and none shall ever be, that Elle (eld, old
age) will not get the better of him, though he gets to be old enough to abide
her coming. And now the truth is that we must part; and it will be better for
us both that you do not visit me again. I will again defend my burg with
similar or other delusions, so that you will get no power over me. When
Thor heard this tale he seized his hammer and lifted it into the air, but when
he was about to strike he saw Utgard-Loke nowhere; and when he turned
back to the burg and was going to dash that to pieces, he saw a beautiful
and large plain, but no burg. So he turned and went his way back to

Thrudvang. But it is truthfully asserted that he then resolved in his own
mind to seek that meeting with the Midgard-serpent, which afterward took
place. And now I think that no one can tell you truer tidings of this journey
of Thor.
49. Then said Ganglere: A most powerful man is Utgard-Loke, though he
deals much with delusions and sorcery. His power is also proven by the fact
that he had thanes who were so mighty. But has not Thor avenged himself
for this? Made answer Har: It is not unknown, though no wise men tell
thereof, how Thor made amends for the journey that has now been spoken
of. He did not remain long at home, before he busked himself so suddenly
for a new journey, that he took neither chariot, nor goats nor any
companions with him. He went out of Midgard in the guise of a young man,
and came in the evening to a giant by name Hymer.61 Thor tarried there as a
guest through the night. In the morning Hymer arose, dressed himself, and
busked himself to row out upon the sea to fish. Thor also sprang up, got
ready in a hurry and asked Hymer whether he might row out with him.
Hymer answered that he would get but little help from Thor, as he was so
small and young; and he added, you will get cold if I row as far out and
remain as long as I am wont. Thor said that he might row as far from shore
as he pleased, for all that, and it was yet to be seen who would be the first to
ask to row back to land. And Thor grew so wroth at the giant that he came
near letting the hammer ring on his head straightway, but he restrained
himself, for he intended to try his strength elsewhere. He asked Hymer what
they were to have for bait, but Hymer replied that he would have to find his
own bait. Then Thor turned away to where he saw a herd of oxen, that
belonged to Hymer. He took the largest ox, which was called Himinbrjot,
twisted his head off and brought it down to the sea-strand. Hymer had then
shoved the boat off. Thor went on board and seated himself in the stern; he
took two oars and rowed so that Hymer had to confess that the boat sped
fast from his rowing. Hymer plied the oars in the bow, and thus the rowing
soon ended. Then said Hymer that they had come to the place where he was
wont to sit and catch flat-fish, but Thor said he would like to row much
farther out, and so they made another swift pull. Then said Hymer that they
had come so far out that it was dangerous to stay there, for the Midgard-
serpent. Thor said he wished to row a while longer, and so he did; but

Hymer was by no means in a happy mood. Thor took in the oars, got ready
a very strong line, and the hook was neither less nor weaker. When he had
put on the ox-head for bait, he cast it overboard and it sank to the bottom. It
must be admitted that Thor now beguiled the Midgard-serpent not a whit
less than Utgard-Loke mocked him when he was to lift the serpent with his
hand. The Midgard-serpent took the ox-head into his mouth, whereby the
hook entered his palate, but when the serpent perceived this he tugged so
hard that both Thor’s hands were dashed against the gunwale. Now Thor
became angry, assumed his asa-might and spurned so hard that both his feet
went through the boat and he stood on the bottom of the sea. He pulled the
serpent up to the gunwale; and in truth no one has ever seen a more terrible
sight than when Thor whet his eyes on the serpent, and the latter stared at
him and spouted venom. It is said that the giant Hymer changed hue and
grew pale from fear when he saw the serpent and beheld the water flowing
into the boat; but just at the moment when Thor grasped the hammer and
lifted it in the air, the giant fumbled for his fishing-knife and cut off Thor’s
line at the gunwale, whereby the serpent sank back into the sea. Thor threw
the hammer after it, and it is even said that he struck off his head at the
bottom, but I think the truth is that the Midgard-serpent still lives and lies in
the ocean. Thor clenched his fist and gave the giant a box on the ear so that
he fell backward into the sea, and he saw his heels last, but Thor waded
ashore.

CHAPTER XV.
THE DEATH OF BALDER.

50. Then asked Ganglere: Have there happened any other remarkable things
among the asas? A great deed it was, forsooth, that Thor wrought on this
journey. Har answered: Yes, indeed, there are tidings to be told that seemed
of far greater importance to the asas. The beginning of this tale is, that
Balder dreamed dreams great and dangerous to his life. When he told these
dreams to the asas they took counsel together, and it was decided that they
should seek peace for Balder against all kinds of harm. So Frigg exacted an
oath from fire, water, iron and all kinds of metal, stones, earth, trees,

sicknesses, beasts, birds and creeping things, that they should not hurt
Balder. When this was done and made known, it became the pastime of
Balder and the asas that he should stand up at their meetings while some of
them should shoot at him, others should hew at him, while others should
throw stones at him; but no matter what they did, no harm came to him, and
this seemed to all a great honor. When Loke, Laufey’s son, saw this, it
displeased him very much that Balder was not scathed. So he went to Frigg,
in Fensal, having taken on himself the likeness of a woman. Frigg asked
this woman whether she knew what the asas were doing at their meeting.
She answered that all were shooting at Balder, but that he was not scathed
thereby. Then said Frigg: Neither weapon nor tree can hurt Balder, I have
taken an oath from them all. Then asked the woman: Have all things taken
an oath to spare Balder? Frigg answered: West of Valhal there grows a little
shrub that is called the mistletoe, that seemed to me too young to exact an
oath from. Then the woman suddenly disappeared. Loke went and pulled up
the mistletoe and proceeded to the meeting. Hoder stood far to one side in
the ring of men, because he was blind. Loke addressed himself to him, and
asked: Why do you not shoot at Balder? He answered: Because I do not see
where he is, and furthermore I have no weapons. Then said Loke: Do like
the others and show honor to Balder; I will show you where he stands;
shoot at him with this wand. Hoder took the mistletoe and shot at Balder
under the guidance of Loke. The dart pierced him and he fell dead to the
ground. This is the greatest misfortune that has ever happened to gods and
men. When Balder had fallen, the asas were struck speechless with horror,
and their hands failed them to lay hold of the corpse. One looked at the
other, and all were of one mind toward him who had done the deed, but
being assembled in a holy peace-stead, no one could take vengeance. When
the asas at length tried to speak, the wailing so choked their voices that one
could not describe to the other his sorrow. Odin took this misfortune most
to heart, since he best comprehended how great a loss and injury the fall of
Balder was to the asas. When the gods came to their senses, Frigg spoke
and asked who there might be among the asas who desired to win all her
love and good will by riding the way to Hel and trying to find Balder, and
offering Hel a ransom if she would allow Balder to return home again to
Asgard. But he is called Hermod, the Nimble, Odin’s swain, who undertook

this journey. Odin’s steed, Sleipner, was led forth. Hermod mounted him
and galloped away.
51. The asas took the corpse of Balder and brought it to the sea-shore.
Hringhorn was the name of Balder’s ship, and it was the largest of all ships.
The gods wanted to launch it and make Balder’s bale-fire thereon, but they
could not move it. Then they sent to Jotunheim after the giantess whose
name is Hyrrokken. She came riding on a wolf, and had twisted serpents for
reins. When she alighted, Odin appointed four berserks to take care of her
steed, but they were unable to hold him except by throwing him down on
the ground. Hyrrokken went to the prow and launched the ship with one
single push, but the motion was so violent that fire sprang from the
underlaid rollers and all the earth shook. Then Thor became wroth, grasped
his hammer, and would forthwith have crushed her skull, had not all the
gods asked peace for her. Balder’s corpse was borne out on the ship; and
when his wife, Nanna, daughter of Nep, saw this, her heart was broken with
grief and she died. She was borne to the funeral-pile and cast on the fire.
Thor stood by and hallowed the pile with Mjolner. Before his feet ran a
dwarf, whose name is Lit. Him Thor kicked with his foot and dashed him
into the fire, and he, too, was burned. But this funeral-pile was attended by
many kinds of folk. First of all came Odin, accompanied by Frigg and the
valkyries and his ravens. Frey came riding in his chariot drawn by the boar
called Gullinburste or Slidrugtanne. Heimdal rode his steed Gulltop, and
Freyja drove her cats. There was a large number of frost-giants and
mountain-giants. Odin laid on the funeral-pile his gold ring, Draupner,
which had the property of producing, every ninth night, eight gold rings of
equal weight. Balder’s horse, fully caparisoned, was led to his master’s pile.
52. But of Hermod it is to be told that he rode nine nights through deep and
dark valleys, and did not see light until he came to the Gjallar-river and
rode on the Gjallar-bridge, which is thatched with shining gold. Modgud is
the name of the may who guards the bridge. She asked him for his name,
and of what kin he was, saying that the day before there rode five fylkes
(kingdoms, bands) of dead men over the bridge; but she added, it does not
shake less under you alone, and you do not have the hue of dead men. Why
do you ride the way to Hel? He answered: I am to ride to Hel to find Balder.
Have you seen him pass this way? She answered that Balder had ridden

over the Gjallar-bridge; adding: But downward and northward lies the way
to Hel. Then Hermod rode on till he came to Hel’s gate. He alighted from
his horse, drew the girths tighter, remounted him, clapped the spurs into
him, and the horse leaped over the gate with so much force that he never
touched it. Thereupon Hermod proceeded to the hall and alighted from his
steed. He went in, and saw there sitting on the foremost seat his brother
Balder. He tarried there over night. In the morning he asked Hel whether
Balder might ride home with him, and told how great weeping there was
among the asas. But Hel replied that it should now be tried whether Balder
was so much beloved as was said. If all things, said she, both quick and
dead, will weep for him, then he shall go back to the asas, but if anything
refuses to shed tears, then he shall remain with Hel. Hermod arose, and
Balder accompanied him out of the hall. He took the ring Draupner and sent
it as a keepsake to Odin. Nanna sent Frigg a kerchief and other gifts, and to
Fulla she sent a ring. Thereupon Hermod rode back and came to Asgard,
where he reported the tidings he had seen and heard.
53. Then the asas sent messengers over all the world, praying that Balder
might be wept out of Hel’s power. All things did so,—men and beasts, the
earth, stones, trees and all metals, just as you must have seen that these
things weep when they come out of frost and into heat. When the
messengers returned home and had done their errand well, they found a
certain cave wherein sat a giantess (gygr = ogress) whose name was Thok.
They requested her to weep Balder from Hel; but she answered:
Thok will weep
With dry tears
For Balder’s burial;
Neither in life nor in death
Gave he me gladness.
Let Hel keep what she has!
It is generally believed that this Thok was Loke, Laufey’s son, who has
wrought most evil among the asas.
54. Then said Ganglere: A very great wrong did Loke perpetrate; first of all
in causing Balder’s death, and next in standing in the way of his being
loosed from Hel. Did he get no punishment for this misdeed? Har answered:

Yes, he was repaid for this in a way that he will long remember. The gods
became exceedingly wroth, as might be expected. So he ran away and hid
himself in a rock. Here he built a house with four doors, so that he might
keep an outlook on all sides. Oftentimes in the daytime he took on him the
likeness of a salmon and concealed himself in Frananger Force. Then he
thought to himself what stratagems the asas might have recourse to in order
to catch him. Now, as he was sitting in his house, he took flax and yarn and
worked them into meshes, in the manner that nets have since been made;
but a fire was burning before him. Then he saw that the asas were not far
distant. Odin had seen from Hlidskjalf where Loke kept himself. Loke
immediately sprang up, cast the net on the fire and leaped into the river.
When the asas came to the house, he entered first who was wisest of them
all, and whose name was Kvaser; and when he saw in the fire the ashes of
the net that had been burned, he understood that this must be a contrivance
for catching fish, and this he told to the asas. Thereupon they took flax and
made themselves a net after the pattern of that which they saw in the ashes
and which Loke had made. When the net was made, the asas went to the
river and cast it into the force. Thor held one end of the net, and all the
other asas laid hold on the other, thus jointly drawing it along the stream.
Loke went before it and laid himself down between two stones, so that they
drew the net over him, although they perceived that some living thing
touched the meshes. They went up to the force again and cast out the net a
second time. This time they hung a great weight to it, making it so heavy
that nothing could possibly pass under it. Loke swam before the net, but
when he saw that he was near the sea he sprang over the top of the net and
hastened back to the force. When the asas saw whither he went they
proceeded up to the force, dividing themselves into two bands, but Thor
waded in the middle of the stream, and so they dragged the net along to the
sea. Loke saw that he now had only two chances of escape,—either to risk
his life and swim out to sea, or to leap again over the net. He chose the
latter, and made a tremendous leap over the top line of the net. Thor grasped
after him and caught him, but he slipped in his hand so that Thor did not get
a firm hold before he got to the tail, and this is the reason why the salmon
has so slim a tail. Now Loke was taken without truce and was brought to a
cave. The gods took three rocks and set them up on edge, and bored a hole
through each rock. Then they took Loke’s sons, Vale and Nare or Narfe.

Vale they changed into the likeness of a wolf, whereupon he tore his brother
Narfe to pieces, with whose intestines the asas bound Loke over the three
rocks. One stood under his shoulders, another under his loins, and the third
under his hams, and the fetters became iron. Skade took a serpent and
fastened up over him, so that the venom should drop from the serpent into
his face. But Sigyn, his wife, stands by him, and holds a dish under the
venom-drops. Whenever the dish becomes full, she goes and pours away
the venom, and meanwhile the venom drops onto Loke’s face. Then he
twists his body so violently that the whole earth shakes, and this you call
earthquakes. There he will lie bound until Ragnarok.

CHAPTER XVI.
RAGNAROK.

55. Then said Ganglere: What tidings are to be told of Ragnarok? Of this I
have never heard before. Har answered: Great things are to be said thereof.
First, there is a winter called the Fimbul-winter, when snow drives from all
quarters, the frosts are so severe, the winds so keen and piercing, that there
is no joy in the sun. There are three such winters in succession, without any
intervening summer. But before these there are three other winters, during
which great wars rage over all the world. Brothers slay each other for the
sake of gain, and no one spares his father or mother in that manslaughter
and adultery. Thus says the Vala’s Prophecy:
Brothers will fight together
And become each other’s bane;
Sisters’ children
Their sib shall spoil.62
Hard is the world,
Sensual sins grow huge.
There are ax-ages, sword-ages—
Shields are cleft in twain,—
There are wind-ages, wolf-ages,
Ere the world falls dead.63

Then happens what will seem a great miracle, that the wolf64 devours the
sun, and this will seem a great loss. The other wolf will devour the moon,
and this too will cause great mischief. The stars shall be Hurled from
heaven. Then it shall come to pass that the earth and the mountains will
shake so violently that trees will be torn up by the roots, the mountains will
topple down, and all bonds and fetters will be broken and snapped. The
Fenris-wolf gets loose. The sea rushes over the earth, for the Midgard-
serpent writhes in giant rage and seeks to gain the land. The ship that is
called Naglfar also becomes loose. It is made of the nails of dead men;
wherefore it is worth warning that, when a man dies with unpared nails, he
supplies a large amount of materials for the building of this ship, which
both gods and men wish may be finished as late as possible. But in this
flood Naglfar gets afloat. The giant Hrym is its steersman. The Fenris-wolf
advances with wide open mouth; the upper jaw reaches to heaven and the
lower jaw is on the earth. He would open it still wider had he room. Fire
flashes from his eyes and nostrils. The Midgard-serpent vomits forth
venom, defiling all the air and the sea; he is very terrible, and places
himself by the side of the wolf. In the midst of this clash and din the
heavens are rent in twain, and the sons of Muspel come riding through the
opening. Surt rides first, and before him and after him flames burning fire.
He has a very good sword, which shines brighter than the sun. As they ride
over Bifrost it breaks to pieces, as has before been stated. The sons of
Muspel direct their course to the plain which is called Vigrid. Thither repair
also the Fenris-wolf and the Midgard-serpent. To this place have also come
Loke and Hrym, and with him all the frost-giants. In Loke’s company are
all the friends of Hel. The sons of Muspel have there effulgent bands alone
by themselves. The plain Vigrid is one hundred miles (rasts) on each side.
56. While these things are happening, Heimdal stands up, blows with all his
might in the Gjallar-horn and awakens all the gods, who thereupon hold
counsel. Odin rides to Mimer’s well to ask advice of Mimer for himself and
his folk. Then quivers the ash Ygdrasil, and all things in heaven and earth
fear and tremble. The asas and the einherjes arm themselves and speed forth
to the battle-field. Odin rides first; with his golden helmet, resplendent
byrnie, and his spear Gungner, he advances against the Fenris-wolf. Thor
stands by his side, but can give him no assistance, for he has his hands full

in his struggle with the Midgard-serpent. Frey encounters Surt, and heavy
blows are exchanged ere Frey falls. The cause of his death is that he has not
that good sword which he gave to Skirner. Even the dog Garm, that was
bound before the Gnipa-cave, gets loose. He is the greatest plague. He
contends with Tyr, and they kill each other. Thor gets great renown by
slaying the Midgard-serpent, but retreats only nine paces when he falls to
the earth dead, poisoned by the venom that the serpent blows on him. The
wolf swallows Odin, and thus causes his death; but Vidar immediately turns
and rushes at the wolf, placing one foot on his nether jaw. On this foot he
has the shoe for which materials have been gathering through all ages,
namely, the strips of leather which men cut off for the toes and heels of
shoes; wherefore he who wishes to render assistance to the asas must cast
these strips away. With one hand Vidar seizes the upper jaw of the wolf, and
thus rends asunder his mouth. Thus the wolf perishes. Loke fights with
Heimdal, and they kill each other. Thereupon Surt flings fire over the earth
and burns up all the world. Thus it is said in the Vala’s Prophecy:
Loud blows Heimdal
His uplifted horn.
Odin speaks
With Mimer’s head.
The straight-standing ash
Ygdrasil quivers,
The old tree groans,
And the giant gets loose.
How fare the asas?
How fare the elves?
All Jotunheim roars.
The asas hold counsel;
Before their stone-doors
Groan the dwarfs,
The guides of the wedge-rock.
Know you now more or not?
From the east drives Hrym,
Bears his shield before him.

Jormungand welters
In giant rage
And smites the waves.
The eagle screams,
And with pale beak tears corpses,
Naglfar gets loose.
A ship comes from the east,
The hosts of Muspel
Come o’er the main,
And Loke is steersman.
All the fell powers
Are with the wolf;
Along with them
Is Byleist’s brother.65
From the south comes Surt
With blazing fire-brand,—
The sun of the war-god
Shines from his sword.
Mountains dash together,
Giant maids are frightened,
Heroes go the way to Hel,
And heaven is rent in twain.
Then comes to Hlin
Another woe,
When Odin goes
With the wolf to fight,
And Bele’s bright slayer66
To contend with Surt.
There will fall
Frigg’s beloved.
Odin’s son goes
To fight with the wolf,
And Vidar goes on his way
To the wild beast.67

With his hand he thrusts
His sword to the heart
Of the giant’s child,
And avenges his father.
Then goes the famous
Son68 of Hlodyn
To fight with the serpent.
Though about to die,
He fears not the contest;
All men
Abandon their homesteads
When the warder of Midgard
In wrath slays the serpent.
The sun grows dark,
The earth sinks into the sea,
The bright stars
From heaven vanish;
Fire rages,
Heat blazes,
And high flames play
’Gainst heaven itself.69
And again it is said as follows:
Vigrid is the name of the plain
Where in fight shall meet
Surt and the gentle god.
A hundred miles
It is every way.
This field is marked out for them.70

CHAPTER XVII.
REGENERATION.

57. Then asked Ganglere: What happens when heaven and earth and all the
world are consumed in flames, and when all the gods and all the einherjes
and all men are dead? You have already said that all men shall live in some
world through all ages. Har answered: There are many good and many bad
abodes. Best it is to be in Gimle, in heaven. Plenty is there of good drink for
those who deem this a joy in the hall called Brimer. That is also in heaven.
There is also an excellent hall which stands on the Nida mountains. It is
built of red gold, and is called Sindre. In this hall good and well-minded
men shall dwell. Nastrand is a large and terrible hall, and its doors open to
the north. It is built of serpents wattled together, and all the heads of the
serpents turn into the hall and vomit forth venom that flows in streams
along the hall, and in these streams wade perjurers and murderers. So it is
here said:
A hall I know standing
Far from the sun
On the strand of dead bodies.
Drops of venom
Fall through the loop-holes.
Of serpents’ backs
The hall is made.
There shall wade
Through heavy streams
Perjurers
And murderers.
But in Hvergelmer it is worst.
There tortures Nidhug
The bodies of the dead.71
58. Then said Ganglere: Do any gods live then? Is there any earth or
heaven? Har answered: The earth rises again from the sea, and is green and
fair. The fields unsown produce their harvests. Vidar and Vale live. Neither
the sea nor Surfs fire has harmed them, and they dwell on the plains of Ida,
where Asgard was before. Thither come also the sons of Thor, Mode and
Magne, and they have Mjolner. Then come Balder and Hoder from Hel.

They all sit together and talk about the things that happened aforetime,—
about the Midgard-serpent and the Fenris-wolf. They find in the grass those
golden tables which the asas once had. Thus it is said:
Vidar and Vale
Dwell in the house of the gods,
When quenched is the fire of Surt.
Mode and Magne
Vingner’s Mjolner shall have
When the fight is ended.72
In a place called Hodmimer’s-holt73 are concealed two persons during
Surt’s fire, called Lif and Lifthraser. They feed on the morning dew. From
these so numerous a race is descended that they fill the whole world with
people, as is here said:
Lif and Lifthraser
Will lie hid
In Hodmimer’s-holt.
The morning dew
They have for food.
From them are the races descended.74
But what will seem wonderful to you is that the sun has brought forth a
daughter not less fair than herself, and she rides in the heavenly course of
her mother, as is here said:
A daughter
Is born of the sun
Ere Fenrer takes her.
In her mother’s course
When the gods are dead
This maid shall ride.75
And if you now can ask more questions, said Har to Ganglere, I know not
whence that power came to you. I have never heard any one tell further the
fate of the world. Make now the best use you can of what has been told you.
59. Then Ganglere heard a terrible noise on all sides, and when he looked
about him he stood out-doors on a level plain. He saw neither hall nor burg.

He went his way and came back to his kingdom, and told the tidings which
he had seen and heard, and ever since those tidings have been handed down
from man to man.

AFTERWORD
TO THE FOOLING OF GYLFE.

The asas now sat down to talk, and held their counsel, and remembered all
the tales that were told to Gylfe. They gave the very same names that had
been named before to the men and places that were there. This they did for
the reason that, when a long time has elapsed, men should not doubt that
those asas of whom these tales were now told and those to whom the same
names were given were all identical. There was one who is called Thor, and
he is Asa-Thor, the old. He is Oku-Thor, and to him are ascribed the great
deeds done by Hektor in Troy. But men think that the Turks have told of
Ulysses, and have called him Loke, for the Turks were his greatest enemies.

BRAGE’S TALK.

CHAPTER I.
ÆGER’S JOURNEY TO ASGARD.

1. A man by name Æger, or Hler, who dwelt on the island called Hler’s Isle,
was well skilled in the black art. He made a journey to Asgard. But the asas
knew of his coming and gave him a friendly reception; but they also made
use of many sorts of delusions. In the evening, when the feast began, Odin
had swords brought into the hall, and they were so bright that it glistened
from them so that there was no need of any other light while they sat
drinking. Then went the asas to their feast, and the twelve asas who were
appointed judges seated themselves in their high-seats. These are their
names: Thor, Njord, Frey, Tyr, Heimdal, Brage, Vidar, Vale, Uller, Honer,
Forsete, Loke. The asynjes (goddesses) also were with them: Frigg, Freyja,
Gefjun, Idun, Gerd, Sigyn, Fulla, Nanna. Æger thought all that he saw
looked very grand. The panels of the walls were all covered with beautiful
shields. The mead was very strong, and they drank deep. Next to Æger sat
Brage, and they talked much together over their drink. Brage spoke to Æger
of many things that had happened to the asas.

CHAPTER II.
IDUN AND HER APPLES.

2. Brage began his tale by telling how three asas, Odin, Loke and Honer,
went on a journey over mountains and heaths, where they could get nothing
to eat. But when they came down into a valley they saw a herd of cattle.

From this herd they took an ox and went to work to boil it. When they
deemed that it must be boiled enough they uncovered the broth, but it was
not yet done. After a little while they lifted the cover off again, but it was
not yet boiled. They talked among themselves about how this could happen.
Then they heard a voice in the oak above them, and he who sat there said
that he was the cause that the broth did not get boiled. They looked up and
saw an eagle, and it was not a small one. Then said the eagle: If you will
give me my fill of the ox, then the broth will be boiled. They agreed to this.
So he flew down from the tree, seated himself beside the boiling broth, and
immediately snatched up first the two thighs of the ox and then both the
shoulders. This made Loke wroth: he grasped a large pole, raised it with all
his might and dashed it at the body of the eagle. The eagle shook himself
after the blow and flew up. One end of the pole fastened itself to the body
of the eagle, and the other end stuck to Loke’s hands. The eagle flew just
high enough so that Loke’s feet were dragged over stones and rocks and
trees, and it seemed to him that his arms would be torn from his shoulder-
blades. He calls and prays the eagle most earnestly for peace, but the latter
declares that Loke shall never get free unless he will pledge himself to bring
Idun and her apples out of Asgard. When Loke had promised this, he was
set free and went to his companions again; and no more is related of this
journey, except that they returned home. But at the time agreed upon, Loke
coaxed Idun out of Asgard into a forest, saying that he had found apples that
she would think very nice, and he requested her to take with her her own
apples in order to compare them. Then came the giant Thjasse in the guise
of an eagle, seized Idun and flew away with her to his home in Thrymheim.
The asas were ill at ease on account of the disappearance of Idun,—they
became gray-haired and old. They met in council and asked each other who
last had seen Idun. The last that had been seen of her was that she had gone
out of Asgard in company with Loke. Then Loke was seized and brought
into the council, and he was threatened with death or torture. But he became
frightened, and promised to bring Idun back from Jotunheim if Freyja
would lend him the falcon-guise that she had. He got the falcon-guise, flew
north into Jotunheim, and came one day to the giant Thjasse. The giant had
rowed out to sea, and Idun was at home alone. Loke turned her into the
likeness of a nut, held her in his claws and flew with all his might. But
when Thjasse returned home and missed Idun, he took on his eagle-guise,

flew after Loke, gaining on the latter with his eagle wings. When the asas
saw the falcon coming flying with the nut, and how the eagle flew, they
went to the walls of Asgard and brought with them bundles of plane-
shavings. When the falcon flew within the burg, he let himself drop down
beside the burg-wall. Then the asas kindled a fire in the shavings; and the
eagle, being unable to stop himself when he missed the falcon, caught fire
in his feathers, so that he could not fly any farther. The asas were on hand
and slew the giant Thjasse within the gates of Asgard, and that slaughter is
most famous.

CHAPTER III.
HOW NJORD GOT SKADE TO WIFE.

Skade, the daughter of the giant Thjasse, donned her helmet, and byrnie,
and all her war-gear, and betook herself to Asgard to avenge her father’s
death. The asas offered her ransom and atonement; and it was agreed to, in
the first place, that she should choose herself a husband among the asas, but
she was to make her choice by the feet, which was all she was to see of
their persons. She saw one man’s feet that were wonderfully beautiful, and
exclaimed: This one I choose! On Balder there are few blemishes. But it
was Njord, from Noatun. In the second place, it was stipulated that the asas
were to do what she did not deem them capable of, and that was to make
her laugh. Then Loke tied one end of a string fast to the beard of a goat and
the other around his own body, and one pulled this way and the other that,
and both of them shrieked out loud. Then Loke let himself fall on Skade’s
knees, and this made her laugh. It is said that Odin did even more than was
asked, in that he took Thjasse’s eyes and cast them up into heaven, and
made two stars of them. Then said Æger: This Thjasse seems to me to have
been considerable of a man; of what kin was he? Brage answered: His
father’s name was Olvalde, and if I told you of him, you would deem it very
remarkable. He was very rich in gold, and when he died and his sons were
to divide their heritage, they had this way of measuring the gold, that each
should take his mouthful of gold, and they should all take the same number
of mouthfuls. One of them was Thjasse, another Ide, and the third Gang.

But we now have it as a saw among us, that we call gold the mouth-number
of these giants. In runes and songs we wrap the gold up by calling it the
measure, or word, or tale, of these giants. Then said Æger: It seems to me
that it will be well hidden in the runes.

CHAPTER IV.
THE ORIGIN OF POETRY.

3. And again said Æger: Whence originated the art that is called skaldship?
Made answer Brage: The beginning of this was, that the gods had a war
with the people that are called vans. They agreed to hold a meeting for the
purpose of making peace, and settled their dispute in this wise, that they
both went to a jar and spit into it. But at parting the gods, being unwilling to
let this mark of peace perish, shaped it into a man whose name was Kvaser,
and who was so wise that no one could ask him any question that he could
not answer. He traveled much about in the world to teach men wisdom.
Once he came to the home of the dwarfs Fjalar and Galar. They called him
aside, saying they wished to speak with him alone, slew him and let his
blood run into two jars called Son and Bodn, and into a kettle called
Odrarer. They mixed honey with the blood, and thus was produced such
mead that whoever drinks from it becomes a skald and sage. The dwarfs
told the asas that Kvaser had choked in his wisdom, because no one was so
wise that he could ask him enough about learning.
4. Then the dwarfs invited to themselves the giant whose name is Gilling,
and his wife; and when he came they asked him to row out to sea with
them. When they had gotten a short distance from shore, the dwarfs rowed
onto a blind rock and capsized the boat. Gilling, who was unable to swim,
was drowned, but the dwarfs righted the boat again and rowed ashore.
When they told of this mishap to his wife she took it much to heart, and
began to cry aloud. Then Fjalar asked her whether it would not lighten her
sorrow if she could look out upon the sea where her husband had perished,
and she said it would. He then said to his brother Galar that he should go up
over the doorway, and as she passed out he should let a mill-stone drop onto
her head, for he said he was tired of her bawling, Galar did so. When the

giant Suttung, the son of Gilling, found this out he came and seized the
dwarfs, took them out to sea and left them on a rocky island, which was
flooded at high tide. They prayed Suttung to spare their lives, and offered
him in atonement for their father’s blood the precious mead, which he
accepted. Suttung brought the mead home with him, and hid it in a place
called Hnitbjorg. He set his daughter Gunlad to guard it. For these reasons
we call songship Kvaser’s blood; the drink of the dwarfs; the dwarfs’ fill;
some kind of liquor of Odrarer, or Bodn or Son; the ship of the dwarfs
(because this mead ransomed their lives from the rocky isle); the mead of
Suttung, or the liquor of Hnitbjorg.
5. Then remarked Æger: It seems dark to me to call songship by these
names; but how came the asas by Suttung’s mead? Answered Brage: The
saga about this is, that Odin set out from home and came to a place where
nine thralls were mowing hay. He asked them whether they would like to
have him whet their scythes. To this they said yes. Then he took a whet-
stone from his belt and whetted the scythes. They thought their scythes
were much improved, and asked whether the whet-stone was for sale. He
answered that he who would buy it must pay a fair price for it. All said they
were willing to give the sum demanded, and each wanted Odin to sell it to
him. But he threw the whet-stone up in the air, and when all wished to catch
it they scrambled about it in such a manner that each brought his scythe
onto the other’s neck. Odin sought lodgings for the night at the house of the
giant Bauge, who was a brother of Suttung. Bauge complained of what had
happened to his household, saying that his nine thralls had slain each other,
and that he did not know where he should get other workmen. Odin called
himself Bolverk. He offered to undertake the work of the nine men for
Bauge, but asked in payment therefor a drink of Suttung’s mead. Bauge
answered that he had no control over the mead, saying that Suttung was
bound to keep that for himself alone. But he agreed to go with Bolverk and
try whether they could get the mead. During the summer Bolverk did the
work of the nine men for Bauge, but when winter came he asked for his
pay. Then they both went to Suttung. Bauge explained to Suttung his
bargain with Bolverk, but Suttung stoutly refused to give even a drop of the
mead. Bolverk then proposed to Bauge that they should try whether they
could not get at the mead by the aid of some trick, and Bauge agreed to this.

Then Bolverk drew forth the auger which is called Rate, and requested
Bauge to bore a hole through the rock, if the auger was sharp enough. He
did so. Then said Bauge that there was a hole through the rock; but Bolverk
blowed into the hole that the auger had made, and the chips flew back into
his face. Thus he saw that Bauge intended to deceive him, and commanded
him to bore through. Bauge bored again, and when Bolverk blew a second
time the chips flew inward. Now Bolverk changed himself into the likeness
of a serpent and crept into the auger-hole. Bauge thrust after him with the
auger, but missed him. Bolverk went to where Gunlad was, and shared her
couch for three nights. She then promised to give him three draughts from
the mead. With the first draught he emptied Odrarer, in the second Bodn,
and in the third Son, and thus he had all the mead. Then he took on the
guise of an eagle, and flew off as fast as he could. When Suttung saw the
flight of the eagle, he also took on the shape of an eagle and flew after him.
When the asas saw Odin coming, they set their jars out in the yard. When
Odin reached Asgard, he spewed the mead up into the jars. He was,
however, so near being caught by Suttung, that he sent some of the mead
after him backward, and as no care was taken of this, anybody that wished
might have it. This we call the share of poetasters. But Suttung’s mead Odin
gave to the asas and to those men who are able to make verses. Hence we
call songship Odin’s prey, Odin’s find, Odin’s drink, Odin’s gift, and the
drink of the asas.
6. Then said Æger: In how many ways do you vary the poetical expressions,
or how many kinds of poetry are there? Answered Brage: There are two
kinds, and all poetry falls into one or the other of these classes. Æger asks:
Which two? Brage answers: Diction and meter. What diction is used in
poetry? There are three sorts of poetic diction. Which? One is to name
everything by its own name; another is to name it with a pronoun, but the
third sort of diction is called kenning (a poetical periphrasis or descriptive
name); and this sort is so managed that when we name Odin, or Thor or Tyr,
or any other of the asas or elves, we add to their name a reference to some
other asa, or we make mention of some of his works. Then the appellation
belongs to him who corresponds to the whole phrase, and not to him who
was actually named. Thus we speak of Odin as Sigtyr, Hangatyr or

Farmatyr, and such names we call simple appellatives. In the same manner
he is called Reidartyr.

AFTERWORD
TO BRAGE’S TALK.

Now it is to be said to young skalds who are desirous of acquiring the
diction of poetry, or of increasing their store of words with old names, or,
on the other hand, are eager to understand what is obscurely sung, that they
must master this book for their instruction and pastime. These sagas are not
to be so forgotten or disproved as to take away from poetry old periphrases
which great skalds have been pleased with. But christian men should not
believe in heathen gods, nor in the truth of these sagas, otherwise than is
explained in the beginning of this book, where the events are explained
which led men away from the true faith, and where it, in the next place, is
told of the Turks how the men from Asia, who are called asas, falsified the
tales of the things that happened in Troy, in order that the people should
believe them to be gods.
King Priam in Troy was a great chief over all the Turkish host, and his sons
were the most distinguished men in his whole army. That excellent hall,
which the asas called Brime’s Hall, or beer-hall, was King Priam’s palace.
As for the long tale that they tell of Ragnarok, that is the wars of the
Trojans. When it is said that Oku-Thor angled with an ox-head and drew on
board the Midgard-serpent, but that the serpent kept his life and sank back
into the sea, then this is another version of the story that Hektor slew
Volukrontes, a famous hero, in the presence of Achilleus, and so drew the
latter onto him with the head of the slain, which they likened unto the head
of an ox, which Oku-Thor had torn off. When Achilleus was drawn into this
danger, on account of his daring, it was the salvation of his life that he fled
from the fatal blows of Hektor, although he was wounded. It is also said
that Hektor waged the war so mightily, and that his rage was so great when
he caught sight of Achilleus, that nothing was so strong that it could stand
before him. When he missed Achilleus, who had fled, he soothed his wrath
by slaying the champion called Roddros. But the asas say that when Oku-

Thor missed the serpent, he slew the giant Hymer. In Ragnarok the Midgard
serpent came suddenly upon Thor and blew venom onto him, and thus
struck him dead. But the asas could not make up their minds to say that this
had been the fate of Oku-Thor, that anyone stood over him dead, though
this had so happened. They rushed headlong over old sagas more than was
true when they said that the Midgard-serpent there got his death; and they
added this to the story, that Achilleus reaped the fame of Hektor’s death,
though he lay dead on the same battle-field on that account. This was the
work of Elenus and Alexander, and Elenus the asas call Ale. They say that
he avenged his brother, and that he lived when all the gods were dead, and
after the fire was quenched that burned up Asgard and all the possessions of
the gods. Pyrrhos they compared with the Fenris-wolf. He slew Odin, and
Pyrrhos might be called a wolf according to their belief, for he did not spare
the peace-steads, when he slew the king in the temple before the altar of
Thor. The burning of Troy they call the flame of Surt. Mode and Magne, the
sons of Oku-Thor, came to crave the land of Ale or Vidar. He is Æneas. He
came away from Troy, and wrought thereupon great works. It is said that
the sons of Hektor came to Frigialand and established themselves in that
kingdom, but banished Elenus.

EXTRACTS FROM

THE POETICAL DICTION.
(SKALDSKAPARMAL.)76

THOR AND HRUNGNER.
Brage told Æger that Thor had gone eastward to crush trolls. Odin rode on
his horse Sleipner to Jotunheim, and came to the giant whose name is
Hrungner. Then asked Hrungner what man that was who with a golden
helmet rode both through the air and over the sea, and added that he had a

remarkably good horse. Odin said that he would wager his head that so
good a horse could not be found in Jotunheim. Hrungner admitted that it
was indeed an excellent horse, but he had one, called Goldfax, that could
take much longer paces; and in his wrath he immediately sprang upon his
horse and galloped after Odin, intending to pay him for his insolence. Odin
rode so fast that he was a good distance ahead, but Hrungner had worked
himself into such a giant rage that, before he was aware of it, he had come
within the gates of Asgard. When he came to the hall door, the asas invited
him to drink with them. He entered the hall and requested a drink. They
then took the bowls that Thor was accustomed to drink from, and Hrungner
emptied them all. When he became drunk, he gave the freest vent to his
loud boastings. He said he was going to take Valhal and move it to
Jotunheim, demolish Asgard and kill all the gods except Freyja and Sif,
whom he was going to take home with him. When Freyja went forward to
refill the bowls for him, he boasted that he was going to drink up all the ale
of the asas. But when the asas grew weary of his arrogance, they named
Thor’s name. At once Thor was in the hall, swung his hammer in the air,
and, being exceedingly wroth, asked who was to blame that dog-wise giants
were permitted to drink there, who had given Hrungner permission to be in
Valhal, and why Freyja should pour ale for him as she did in the feasts of
the asas. Then answered Hrungner, looking with anything but friendly eyes
at Thor, and said that Odin had invited him to drink, and that he was there
under his protection. Thor replied that he should come to rue that invitation
before he came out. Hrungner again answered that it would be but little
credit to Asa-Thor to kill him, unarmed as he was. It would be a greater
proof of his valor if he dared fight a duel with him at the boundaries of his
territory, at Grjottungard. It was very foolish of me, he said, that I left my
shield and my flint-stone at home; had I my weapons here, you and I would
try a holmgang (duel on a rocky island); but as this is not the case, I declare
you a coward if you kill me unarmed. Thor was by no means the man to
refuse to fight a duel when he was challenged, an honor which never had
been shown him before. Then Hrungner went his way, and hastened with all
his might back to Jotunheim. His journey became famous among the giants,
and the proposed meeting with Thor was much talked of. They regarded it
very important who should gain the victory, and they feared the worst from
Thor if Hrungner should be defeated, for he was the strongest among them.

Thereupon the giants made at Grjottungard a man of clay, who was nine
rasts tall and three rasts broad under the arms, but being unable to find a
heart large enough to be suitable for him, they took the heart from a mare,
but even this fluttered and trembled when Thor came. Hrungner had, as is
well known, a heart of stone, sharp and three-sided; just as the rune has
since been risted that is called Hrungner’s heart. Even his head was of
stone. His shield was of stone, and was broad and thick, and he was holding
this shield before him as he stood at Grjottungard waiting for Thor. His
weapon was a flint-stone, which he swung over his shoulders, and
altogether he presented a most formidable aspect. On one side of him stood
the giant of clay, who was named Mokkerkalfe. He was so exceedingly
terrified, that it is said that he wet himself when he saw Thor. Thor
proceeded to the duel, and Thjalfe was with him. Thjalfe ran forward to
where Hrungner was standing, and said to him: You stand illy guarded,
giant; you hold the shield before you, but Thor has seen you; he goes down
into the earth and will attack you from below. Then Hrungner thrust the
shield under his feet and stood on it, but the flint-stone he seized with both
his hands. The next that he saw were flashes of lightning, and he heard loud
crashings; and then he saw Thor in his asa-might advancing with impetuous
speed, swinging his hammer and hurling it from afar at Hrungner. Hrungner
seized the flint-stone with both his hands and threw it against the hammer.
They met in the air, and the flint-stone broke. One part fell to the earth, and
from it have come the flint-mountains; the other part hit Thor’s head with
such force that he fell forward to the ground. But the hammer Mjolner hit
Hrungner right in the head, and crushed his skull in small pieces. He
himself fell forward over Thor, so that his foot lay upon Thor’s neck.
Meanwhile Thjalfe attacked Mokkerkalfe, who fell with but little honor.
Then Thjalfe went to Thor and was to take Hrungner’s foot off from him,
but he had not the strength to do it. When the asas learned that Thor had
fallen, they all came to take the giant’s foot off, but none of them was able
to move it. Then came Magne, the son of Thor and Jarnsaxa. He was only
three nights of age. He threw Hrungner’s foot off Thor, and said It was a
great mishap, father, that I came so late. I think I could have slain this giant
with my fist, had I met him. Then Thor arose, greeted his son lovingly,
saying that he would become great and powerful; and, added he, I will give
you the horse Goldfax, that belonged to Hrungner. Odin said that Thor did

wrong in giving so fine a horse to the son of a giantess, instead of to his
father. Thor went home to Thrudvang, but the flint-stone still stuck fast in
his head. Then came the vala whose name is Groa, the wife of Orvandel the
Bold. She sang her magic songs over Thor until the flint-stone became
loose. But when Thor perceived this, and was just expecting that the flint-
stone would disappear, he desired to reward Groa for her healing, and make
her heart glad. So he related to her how he had waded from the north over
the Elivogs rivers, and had borne in a basket on his back Orvandel from
Jotunheim; and in evidence of this he told her how that one toe of his had
protruded from the basket and had frozen, wherefore Thor had broken it off
and had cast it up into the sky, and made of it the star which is called
Orvandel’s toe. Finally he added that it would not be long before Orvandel
would come home. But Groa became so glad that she forgot her magic
songs, and so the flint-stone became no looser than it was, and it sticks fast
in Thor’s head yet. For this reason it is forbidden to throw a flint-stone
across the floor, for then the stone in Thor’s head is moved. Out of this saga
Thjodolf of Hvin has made a song:
We have ample evidence
Of the giant-terrifier’s77 journey
To Grjottungard, to the giant Hrungner,
In the midst of encircling flames.
The courage waxed high in Meile’s brother;78
The moon-way trembled
When Jord’s son79 went
To the steel-gloved contest.
The heavens stood all in flames
For Uller’s step-father,80
And the earth rocked.
Svolne’s81 widow82 burst asunder
When the span of goats
Drew the sublime chariot
And its divine master
To the meeting with Hrungner.

Balder’s brother83 did not tremble
Before the greedy fiend of men;
Mountains quaked and rocks broke;
The heavens were wrapped in flames.
Much did the giant
Get frightened, I learn,
When his bane man he saw
Ready to slay him.
Swiftly the gray shield flew
’Neath the heels of the giant.
So the gods willed it,
So willed it the valkyries.
Hrungner the giant,
Eager for slaughter,
Needed not long to wait for blows
From the valiant friend of the hammer.
The slayer84 of Bele’s evil race
Made fall the bear of the loud-roaring mountain;85
On his shield
Bite the dust
Must the giant
Before the sharp-edged hammer,
When the giant-crusher
Stood against the mighty Hrungner,
And the flint-stone
(So hard to break)
Of the friend of the troll-women
Into the skull did whiz
Of Jord’s son,86
And this flinty piece
Fast did stick
In Eindride’s87 blood;
Until Orvandel’s wife,
Magic songs singing,

From the head of Thor
Removed the giant’s
Excellent flint-stone.
All do I know
About that shield-journey.
A shield adorned
With hues most splendid
I received from Thorleif.

THOR’S JOURNEY TO GEIRROD’S.
Then said Æger: Much of a man, it seems to me, was that Hrungner. Has
Thor accomplished any other great deeds in his intercourse with trolls
(giants)? Then answered Brage: It is worth giving a full account of how
Thor made a journey to Geirrodsgard. He had with him neither the hammer
Mjolner, nor his belt of strength, Megingjard, nor his steel gloves; and that
was Loke’s fault,—he was with him. For it had happened to Loke, when he
once flew out to amuse himself in Frigg’s falcon-guise, that he, out of
curiosity, flew into Geirrodsgard, where he saw a large hall. He sat down
and looked in through the window, but Geirrod discovered him, and ordered
the bird to be caught and brought to him. The servant had hard work to
climb up the wall of the hall, so high was it. It amused Loke that it gave the
servant so much trouble to get at him, and he thought it would be time
enough to fly away when he had gotten over the worst. When the latter now
caught at him, Loke spread his wings and spurned with his feet, but these
were fast, and so Loke was caught and brought to the giant. When the latter
saw his eyes he suspected that it was a man. He put questions to him and
bade him answer, but Loke refused to speak. Then Geirrod locked him
down in a chest, and starved him for three months; and when Geirrod
finally took him up again, and asked him to speak, Loke confessed who he
was, and to save his life he swore an oath to Geirrod that he would get Thor
to come to Geirrodsgard without his hammer or his belt of strength.
On his way Thor visited the giantess whose name is Grid. She was the
mother of Vidar the Silent. She told Thor the truth concerning Geirrod, that
he was a dog-wise and dangerous giant; and she lent him her own belt of

strength and steel gloves, and her staff, which is called Gridarvol. Then
went Thor to the river which is called Vimer, and which is the largest of all
rivers. He buckled on the belt of strength and stemmed the wild torrent with
Gridarvol, but Loke held himself fast in Megingjard. When Thor had come
into the middle of the stream, the river waxed so greatly that the waves
dashed over his shoulders. Then quoth Thor:
Wax not Vimer,
Since I intend to wade
To the gards of giants.
Know, if you wax,
Then waxes my asa-might
As high, as the heavens.
Then Thor looked up and saw in a cleft Gjalp, the daughter of Geirrod,
standing on both sides of the stream, and causing its growth. Then took he
up out of the river a huge stone and threw at her, saying: At its source the
stream must be stemmed.88 He was not wont to miss his mark. At the same
time he reached the river bank and got hold of a shrub, and so he got out of
the river. Hence comes the adage that a shrub saved Thor.89 When Thor
came to Geirrod, he and his companion were shown to the guest-room,
where lodgings were given them, but there was but one seat, and on that
Thor sat down. Then he became aware that the seat was raised under him
toward the roof. He put the Gridarvol against the rafters, and pressed
himself down against the seat. Then was heard a great crash, which was
followed by a loud screaming. Under the seat were Geirrod’s daughters,
Gjalp and Greip, and he had broken the backs of both of them. Then quoth
Thor:
Once I employed
My asa-might
In the gards of the giants.
When Gjalp and Greip,
Geirrod’s daughters,
Wanted to lift me to heaven.
Then Geirrod had Thor invited into the hall to the games. Large fires burned
along the whole length of the hall. When Thor came into the hall, and stood

opposite Geirrod, the latter seized with a pair of tongs a red-hot iron wedge
and threw it at Thor. But he caught it with his steel gloves, and lifted it up in
the air. Geirrod sprang behind an iron post to guard himself. But Thor threw
the wedge with so great force that it struck through the post, through
Geirrod, through the wall, and then went out and into the ground. From this
saga, Eilif, son of Gudrun, made the following song, called Thor’s Drapa:
The Midgard-serpent’s father exhorted
Thor, the victor of giants,
To set out from home.
A great liar was Loke.
Not quite confident,
The companion of the war-god
Declared green paths to lie
To the gard of Geirrod.
Thor did not long let Loke
Invite him to the arduous journey.
They were eager to crush
Thorn’s descendants.
When he, who is wont to swing Megingjard,
Once set out from Odin’s home
To visit Ymer’s children in Gandvik,
The giantess Gjalp,
Perjured Geirrod’s daughter,
Sooner got ready magic to use
Than the god of war and Loke.
A song I recite.
Those gods noxious to the giants
Planted their feet
In Endil’s land,
And the men wont to battle
Went forth.
The message of death
Came of the moon-devourer’s women,
When the cunning and wrathful

Conqueror of Loke
Challenged to a contest
The giantess.
And the troll-woman’s disgracer
Waded across the roaring stream,—
Rolling full of drenched snow over its banks.
He who puts giants to flight
Rapidly advanced
O’er the broad watery way,
Where the noisy stream’s
Venom belched forth.
Thor and his companions
Put before him the staff;
Thereon he rested
Whilst over they waded:
Nor sleep did the stones,—
The sonorous staff striking the rapid wave
Made the river-bed ring,—
The mountain-torrent rang with stones.
The wearer of Megingjard
Saw the flood fall
On his hard-waxed shoulders:
He could do no better.
The destroyer of troll-children
Let his neck-strength
Wax heaven high,
Till the mighty stream should diminish.
But the warriors,
The oath-bound protectors of Asgard,—
The experienced vikings,—
Waded fast and the stream sped on.
Thou god of the bow!
The billows
Blown by the mountain-storm

Powerfully rushed
Over Thor’s shoulders.
Thjalfe and his companion,
With their heads above water,
Got over the river,—
To Thor’s belt they clung.
Their strength was tested,—
Geirrod’s daughters made hard the stream
For the iron rod.
Angry fared Thor with the Gridarvol.
Nor did courage fail
Those foes of the giant
In the seething vortex.
Those sworn companions
Regarded a brave heart
Better than gold.
Neither Thor’s nor Thjalfe’s heart
From fear did tremble.
And the war companions—
Weapons despising—
’Mong the giants made havoc,
Until, O woman!
The giant destroyers
The conflict of helmets
With the warlike race
Did commence.
The giants of Iva’s90 capes
Made a rush with Geirrod;
The foes of the cold Svithiod
Took to flight.
Geirrod’s giants
Had to succumb
When the lightning wielder’s91 kinsmen
Closely pursued them.

Wailing was ’mongst the cave-dwellers
When the giants,
With warlike spirit endowed,
Went forward.
There was war.
The slayer of troll-women,
By foes surrounded,
The giant’s hard head hit.
With violent pressure
Were pressed the vast eyes
Of Gjalp and Greip
Against the high roof.
The fire-chariot’s driver
The old backs broke
Of both these maids
For the cave-woman.
The man of the rocky way
But scanty knowledge got;
Nor able were the giants
To enjoy perfect gladness.
Thou man of the bow-string!
The dwarf’s kinsman
An iron beam, in the forge heated,
Threw against Odin’s dear son.
But the battle-hastener,
Freyja’s old friend,
With swift hands caught
In the air the beam
As it flew from the hands
Of the father of Greip,—
His breast with anger swollen
Against Thruda’s92 father.
Geirrod’s hall trembled
When he struck,

With his broad head,
’Gainst the old column of the house-wall.
Uller’s splendid flatterer
Swung the iron beam
Straight ’gainst the head
Of the knavish giant.
The crusher of the hall-wont troll-women
A splendid victory won
Over Glam’s descendants;
With gory hammer fared Thor.
Gridarvol-staff,
Which made disaster
’Mong Geirrod’s companion,
Was not used ’gainst that giant himself.
The much worshiped thunderer,
With all his might, slew
The dwellers in Alfheim
With that little willow-twig,
And no shield
Was able to resist
The strong age-diminisher
Of the mountain-king.

IDUN.
How shall Idun be named? She is called the wife of Brage, the keeper of the
apples; but the apples are called the medicine to bar old age (ellilyf, elixir
vitæ). She is also called the booty of the giant Thjasse, according to what
has before been said concerning how he took her away from the asas. From
this saga Thjodolf, of Hvin, composed the following song in his Haustlong:
How shall the tongue
Pay an ample reward
For the sonorous shield
Which I received from Thorleif,

Foremost ’mong soldiers?
On the splendidly made shield
I see the unsafe journey
Of three gods and Thjasse.
Idun’s robber flew long ago
The asas to meet
In the giant’s old eagle-guise.
The eagle perched
Where the asas bore
Their food to be cooked.
Ye women! The mountain-giant
Was not wont to be timid.
Suspected of malice
Was the giant toward the gods.
Who causes this?
Said the chief of the gods.
The wise-worded giant-eagle
From the old tree began to speak.
The friend of Honer
Was not friendly to him.
The mountain-wolf from Honer
Asked for his fill
From the holy table:
It fell to Honer to blow the fire.
The giant, eager to kill,
Glided down
Where the unsuspecting gods,
Odin, Loke and Honer, were sitting.
The fair lord of the earth
Bade Farbaute’s son
Quickly to share
The ox with the giant;
But the cunning foe of the asas
Thereupon laid

The four parts of the ox
Upon the broad table.
And the huge father of Morn93
Afterward greedily ate
The ox at the tree-root.
That was long ago,
Until the profound
Loke the hard rod laid
’Twixt the shoulders
Of the giant Thjasse.
Then clung with his hands
The husband of Sigyn
To Skade’s foster-son,
In the presence of all the gods.
The pole stuck fast
To Jotunheim’s strong fascinator,
But the hands of Honer’s dear friend
Stuck to the other end.
Flew then with the wise god
The voracious bird of prey
Far away; so the wolf’s father
To pieces must be torn.
Odin’s friend got exhausted.
Heavy grew Lopt.
Odin’s companion
Must sue for peace.
Hymer’s kinsman demanded
That the leader of hosts
The sorrow-healing maid,
Who the asas’ youth-preserving apples keeps,
Should bring to him.
Brisingamen’s thief
Afterward brought Idun
To the gard of the giant.

Sorry were not the giants
After this had taken place,
Since from the south
Idun had come to the giants.
All the race
Of Yngve-Frey, at the Thing,
Grew old and gray,—
Ugly-looking were the gods.
Until the gods found the blood-dog,
Idun’s decoying thrall,
And bound the maid’s deceiver,
You shall, cunning Loke,
Spake Thor, die;
Unless back you lead,
With your tricks, that
Good joy-increasing maid.
Heard have I that thereupon
The friend of Honer flew
In the guise of a falcon
(He often deceived the asas with his cunning);
And the strong fraudulent giant,
The father of Morn,
With the wings of the eagle
Sped after the hawk’s child.
The holy gods soon built a fire—
They shaved off kindlings—
And the giant was scorched.
This is said in memory
Of the dwarf’s heel-bridge.94
A shield adorned with splendid lines
From Thorleif I received.

ÆGER’S FEAST.

How shall gold be named? It may be called fire; the needles of Glaser; Sif’s
hair; Fulla’s head-gear; Freyja’s tears; the chatter, talk or word of the giants;
Draupner’s drop; Draupner’s rain or shower; Freyja’s eyes; the otter-
ransom, or stroke-ransom, of the asas; the seed of Fyrisvold; Holge’s how-
roof; the fire of all waters and of the hand; or the stone, rock or gleam of the
hand.
Why is gold called Æger’s fire? The saga relating to this is, as has before
been told, that Æger made a visit to Asgard, but when he was ready to
return home he invited Odin and all the asas to come and pay him a visit
after the lapse of three months. On this journey went Odin, Njord, Frey, Tyr,
Brage, Vidar, Loke; and also the asynjes, Frigg, Freyja, Gefjun, Skade,
Idun, Sif. Thor was not there, for he had gone eastward to fight trolls. When
the gods had taken their seats, Æger let his servants bring in on the hall
floor bright gold, which shone and lighted up the whole hall like fire, just as
the swords in Valhal are used instead of fire. Then Loke bandied hasty
words with all the gods, and slew Æger’s thrall who was called Fimafeng.
The name of his other thrall is Elder. The name of Æger’s wife is Ran, and
they have nine daughters, as has before been written. At this feast all things
passed around spontaneously, both food and ale and all the utensils needed
for the feasting. Then the asas became aware that Ran had a net in which
she caught all men who perish at sea. Then the saga goes on telling how it
happens that gold is called the fire, or light or brightness of Æger, of Ran,
or of Æger’s daughters; and from these periphrases it is allowed to call gold
the fire of the sea, or of any of the periphrases of the sea, since Æger and
Ran are found in periphrases of the sea; and thus gold is now called the fire
of waters, of rivers, or of all the periphrases of rivers. But these names have
fared like other periphrases. The younger skald has composed poetry after
the pattern of the old skalds, imitating their songs; but afterward they have
expanded the metaphors whenever they thought they could improve upon
what was sung before; and thus the water is the sea, the river is the lakes,
the brook is the river. Hence all the figures that are expanded more than
what has before been found are called new tropes, and all seem good that
contain likelihood and are natural. Thus sang the skald Brage:
From the king I received
The fire of the brook.

This the king gave to me
And a head with song.
Why is gold called the needles or leaves of Glaser? In Asgard, before the
doors of Valhal, stands a grove which is called Glaser, and all its leaves are
of red gold, as is here sung:
Glaser stands
With golden leaves
Before Sigtyr’s halls.
This is the fairest forest among gods and men.

LOKE’S WAGER WITH THE DWARFS.
Why is gold called Sif’s hair? Loke Laufey’s son had once craftily cut all
the hair off Sif; but when Thor found it out he seized Loke, and would have
broken every bone in him, had he not pledged himself with an oath to get
the swarthy elves to make for Sif a hair of gold that should grow like other
hair. Then went Loke to the dwarfs that are called Ivald’s sons, and they
made the hair and Skidbladner, and the spear that Odin owned and is called
Gungner. Thereupon Loke wagered his head with the dwarf, who hight
Brok, that his brother Sindre would not be able to make three other
treasures equally as good as these were. But when they came to the smithy,
Sindre laid a pig-skin in the furnace and requested Brok to blow the
bellows, and not to stop blowing before he (Sindre) had taken out of the
furnace what he had put into it. As soon, however, as Sindre had gone out of
the smithy and Brok was blowing, a fly lighted on his hand and stung him;
but he kept on blowing as before until the smith had taken the work out of
the furnace. That was now a boar, and its bristles were of gold. Thereupon
he laid gold in the furnace, and requested Brok to blow, and not to stop
plying the bellows before he came back. He went out; but then came the fly
and lighted on his neck and stung him still worse; but he continued to work
the bellows until the smith took out of the furnace the gold ring called
Draupner. Then Sindre placed iron in the furnace, and requested Brok to
work the bellows, adding that otherwise all would be worthless. Now the
fly lighted between his eyes and stung his eye-lids, and as the blood ran

down into his eyes so that he could not see, he let go of the bellows just for
a moment and drove the fly away with his hands. Then the smith came back
and said that all that lay in the furnace came near being entirely spoiled.
Thereupon he took a hammer out of the furnace. All these treasures he then
placed in the hands of his brother Brok, and bade him go with Loke to
Asgard to fetch the wager. When Loke and Brok brought forth the treasures,
the gods seated themselves upon their doom-steads. It was agreed to abide
by the decision which should be pronounced by Odin, Thor and Frey. Loke
gave to Odin the spear Gungner, to Thor the hair, which Sif was to have,
and to Frey, Skidbladner; and he described the qualities of all these
treasures, stating that the spear never would miss its mark, that the hair
would grow as soon as it was placed on Sif s head, and that Skidbladner
would always have fair wind as soon as the sails were hoisted, no matter
where its owner desired to go; besides, the ship could be folded together
like a napkin and be carried in his pocket if he desired. Then Brok produced
his treasures. He gave to Odin the ring, saying that every ninth night eight
other rings as heavy as it would drop from it; to Frey he gave the boar,
stating that it would run through the air and over seas, by night or by day,
faster than any horse; and never could it become so dark in the night, or in
the worlds of darkness, but that it would be light where this boar was
present, so bright shone his bristles. Then he gave to Thor the hammer, and
said that he might strike with it as hard as he pleased; no matter what was
before him, the hammer would take no scathe, and wherever he might
throw it he would never lose it; it would never fly so far that it did not
return to his hand; and if he desired, it would become so small that he might
conceal it in his bosom; but it had one fault, which was, that the handle was
rather short. The decision of the gods was, that the hammer was the best of
all these treasures and the greatest protection against the frost-giants, and
they declared that the dwarf had fairly won the wager. Then Loke offered to
ransom his head. The dwarf answered saying there was no hope for him on
that score. Take me, then! said Loke; but when the dwarf was to seize him
Loke was far away, for he had the shoes with which he could run through
the air and over the sea. Then the dwarf requested Thor to seize him, and he
did so. Now the dwarf wanted to cut the head off Loke, but Loke said that
the head was his, but not the neck. Then the dwarf took thread and a knife
and wanted to pierce holes in Loke’s lips, so as to sew his mouth together,

but the knife would not cut. Then said he, it would be better if he had his
brother’s awl, and as soon as he named it the awl was there and it pierced
Loke’s lips. Now Brok sewed Loke’s mouth together, and broke off the
thread at the end of the sewing. The thread with which the mouth of Loke
was sewed together is called Vartare (a strap).

THE NIFLUNGS AND GJUKUNGS.
The following is the reason why gold is called otter-ransom: It is related
that three asas went abroad to learn to know the whole world, Odin, Honer
and Loke. They came to a river, and walked along the river-bank to a force,
and near the force was an otter. The otter had caught a salmon in the force,
and sat eating it with his eyes closed. Loke picked up a stone, threw it at the
otter and hit him in the head. Loke bragged of his chase, for he had secured
an otter and a salmon with one throw. They took the salmon and the otter
with them, and came to a byre, where they entered. But the name of the
bonde who lived there was Hreidmar. He was a mighty man, and
thoroughly skilled in the black art. The asas asked for night-lodgings,
stating that they had plenty of food, and showed the bonde their game. But
when Hreidmar saw the otter he called his sons, Fafner and Regin, and said
that Otter, their brother, was slain, and also told who had done it. Then the
father and the sons attacked the asas, seized them and bound them, and then
said, in reference to the otter, that he was Hreidmar’s son. The asas offered,
as a ransom for their lives, as much money as Hreidmar himself might
demand, and this was agreed to, and confirmed with an oath. Then the otter
was flayed. Hreidmar took the otter-belg and said to them that they should
fill the belg with red gold, and then cover it with the same metal, and when
this was done they should be set free. Thereupon Odin sent Loke to the
home of the swarthy elves, and he came to the dwarf whose name is
Andvare, and who lived as a fish, in the water. Loke caught him in his
hands, and demanded of him, as a ransom for his life, all the gold that he
had in his rock. And when they entered the rock, the dwarf produced all the
gold that he owned, and that was a very large amount. Then the dwarf
concealed in his hand a small gold ring. Loke saw this, and requested him
to hand forth the ring. The dwarf begged him not to take the ring away from

him, for with this ring he could increase his wealth again if he kept it. Loke
said the dwarf should not keep as much as a penny, took the ring from him
and went out. But the dwarf said that that ring should be the bane of every
one who possessed it. Loke replied that he was glad of this, and said that all
should be fulfilled according to his prophecy: he would take care to bring
the curse to the ears of him who was to receive it. He went to Hreidmar and
showed Odin the gold; but when the latter saw the ring, it seemed to him a
fair one, and he took it and put it aside, giving Hreidmar the rest of the gold.
They filled the otter-belg as full as it would hold, and raised it up when it
was full. Then came Odin, and was to cover the belg with gold; and when
this was done, he requested Hreidmar to come and see whether the belg was
sufficiently covered. But Hreidmar looked at it, examined it closely, and
saw a mouth-hair, and demanded that it should be covered, too, otherwise
the agreement would be broken. Then Odin brought forth the ring and
covered with it the mouth-hair, saying that now they had paid the otter-
ransom. But when Odin had taken his spear, and Loke his shoes, so that
they had nothing more to fear, Loke said that the curse that Andvare had
pronounced should be fulfilled, and that the ring and that gold should be the
bane of its possessor; and this curse was afterward fulfilled. This explains
why gold is called the otter-ransom, or forced payment of the asas, or strife-
metal.
What more is there to be told of this gold? Hreidmar accepted the gold as a
ransom for his son, but Fafner and Regin demanded their share of it as a
ransom for their brother. Hreidmar was, however, unwilling to give them as
much as a penny of it. Then the brothers made an agreement to kill their
father for the sake of the gold. When this was done, Regin demanded that
Fafner should give him one half of it. Fafner answered that there was but
little hope that he would share the gold with his brother, since he had
himself slain his father to obtain it; and he commanded Regin to get him
gone, for else the same thing would happen to him as had happened to
Hreidmar. Fafner had taken the sword hight Hrotte, and the helmet which
had belonged to his father, and the latter he had placed on his head. This
was called the Æger’s helmet, and it was a terror to all living to behold it.
Regin had the sword called Refil. With it he fled. But Fafner went to Gnita-

heath (the glittering heath), where he made himself a bed, took on him the
likeness of a serpent (dragon), and lay brooding over the gold.
Regin then went to Thjode, to king Hjalprek, and became his smith. There
he undertook the fostering of Sigurd (Sigfrid), the son of Sigmund, the son
of Volsung and the son of Hjordis, the daughter of Eylime. Sigurd was the
mightiest of all the kings of hosts, in respect to both family and power and
mind. Regin explained to him where Fafner was lying on the gold, and
egged him on to try to get possession thereof. Then Regin made the sword
which is hight Gram (wrath), and which was so sharp that when Sigurd held
it in the flowing stream it cut asunder a tuft of wool which the current
carried down against the sword’s edge. In the next place, Sigurd cut with his
sword Regin’s anvil in twain. Thereupon Sigurd and Regin repaired to
Gnita-heath. Here Sigurd dug a ditch in Fafner’s path and sat down in it; so
when Fafner crept to the water and came directly over this ditch, Sigurd
pierced him with the sword, and this thrust caused his death. Then Regin
came and declared that Sigurd had slain his brother, and demanded of him
as a ransom that he should cut out Fafner’s heart and roast it on the fire; but
Regin kneeled down, drank Fafner’s blood, and laid himself down to sleep.
While Sigurd was roasting the heart, and thought that it must be done, he
touched it with his finger to see how tender it was; but the fat oozed out of
the heart and onto his finger and burnt it, so that he thrust his finger into his
mouth. The heart-blood came in contact with his tongue, which made him
comprehend the speech of birds, and he understood what the eagles said
that were sitting in the trees. One of the birds said:
There sits Sigurd,
Stained with blood.
On the fire is roasting
Fafner’s heart.
Wise seemed to me
The ring-destroyer,
If he the shining
Heart would eat.
Another eagle sang:

There lies Regin,
Contemplating
How to deceive the man
Who trusts him;
Thinks in his wrath
Of false accusations.
The evil smith plots
Revenge ’gainst the brother.95
Then Sigurd went to Regin and slew him, and thereupon he mounted his
horse hight Grane, and rode until he came to Fafner’s bed, took out all the
gold, packed it in two bags and laid it on Grane’s back, then got on himself
and rode away. Now is told the saga according to which gold is called
Fafner’s bed or lair, the metal of Gnita-heath, or Grane’s burden.
Then Sigurd rode on until he found a house on the mountain. In it slept a
woman clad in helmet and coat-of-mail. He drew his sword and cut the
coat-of-mail off from her. Then she awaked and called herself Hild. Her
name was Brynhild, and she was a valkyrie. Thence Sigurd rode on and
came to the king whose name was Gjuke. His wife was called Grimhild,
and their children were Gunnar, Hogne, Gudrun, Gudny; Gothorm was
Gjuke’s step-son. Here Sigurd remained a long time. Then he got the hand
of Gudrun, Gjuke’s daughter, and Gunnar and Hogne entered into a sworn
brotherhood with Sigurd. Afterward Sigurd and the sons of Gjuke went to
Atle, Budle’s son, to ask for his sister, Brynhild, for Gunnar’s wife. She sat
on Hindfell, and her hall was surrounded by the bickering flame called the
Vafurloge, and she had made a solemn promise not to wed any other man
than him who dared to ride through the bickering flame. Then Sigurd and
the Gjukungs (they are also called Niflungs) rode upon the mountain, and
there Gunnar was to ride through the Vafurloge. He had the horse that was
called Gote, but this horse did not dare to run into the flame. So Sigurd and
Gunnar changed form and weapons, for Grane would not take a step under
any other man than Sigurd. Then Sigurd mounted Grane and rode through
the bickering flame. That same evening he held a wedding with Brynhild;
but when they went to bed he drew his sword Gram from the sheath and
placed it between them. In the morning when he had arisen, and had donned
his clothes, he gave to Brynhild, as a bridal gift, the gold ring that Loke had

taken from Andvare, and he received another ring as a memento from her.
Then Sigurd mounted his horse and rode to his companions. He and Gunnar
exchanged forms again and went back to Gjuke with Brynhild. Sigurd had
two children with Gudrun. Their names were Sigmund and Swanhild.
Once it happened that Brynhild and Gudrun went to the water to wash their
hair. When they came to the river Brynhild waded from the river bank into
the stream, and said that she could not bear to have that water in her hair
that ran from Gudrun’s hair, for she had a more high-minded husband. Then
Gudrun followed her into the stream, and said that she was entitled to wash
her hair farther up the stream than Brynhild, for the reason that she had the
husband who was bolder than Gunnar, or any other man in the world; for it
was he who slew Fafner and Regin, and inherited the wealth of both. Then
answered Brynhild: A greater deed it was that Gunnar rode through the
Vafurloge, which Sigurd did not dare to do. Then laughed Gudrun and said:
Do you think it was Gunnar who rode through the bickering flame? Then I
think you shared the bed with him who gave me this gold ring. The gold
ring which you have on your finger, and which you received as a bridal-gift,
is called Andvaranaut (Andvare’s Gift), and I do not think Gunnar got it on
Gnita-heath. Then Brynhild became silent and went home. Thereupon she
egged Gunnar and Hogne to kill Sigurd; but being sworn brothers of Sigurd,
they egged Guthorm, their brother, to slay Sigurd. Guthorm pierced him
with his sword while he was sleeping; but as soon as Sigurd was wounded
he threw his sword, Gram, after Guthorm, so that it cut him in twain
through the middle. There Sigurd fell, and his son, three winters old, by
name Sigmund, whom they also killed. Then Brynhild pierced herself with
the sword and was cremated with Sigurd. But Gunnar and Hogne inherited
Fafner’s gold and the Gift of Andvare, and now ruled the lands.
King Atle, Budle’s son, Brynhild’s brother, then got in marriage Gudrun,
who had been Sigurd’s wife, and they had children. King Atle invited
Gunnar and Hogne to visit him, and they accepted his invitation. But before
they started on their journey they concealed Fafner’s hoard in the Rhine,
and that gold has never since been found. King Atle had gathered together
an army and fought a battle with Gunnar and Hogne, and they were
captured. Atle had the heart cut out of Hogne alive. This was his death.
Gunnar he threw into a den of snakes, but a harp was secretly brought to

him, and he played the harp with his toes (for his hands were fettered), so
that all the snakes fell asleep excepting the adder, which rushed at him and
bit him in the breast, and then thrust its head into the wound and clung to
his liver until he died. Gunnar and Hogne are called Niflungs (Niblungs)
and Gjukungs. Hence gold is called the Niflung treasure or inheritance. A
little later Gudrun slew her two sons and made from their skulls goblets
trimmed with gold, and thereupon the funeral ceremonies took place. At the
feast, Gudrun poured for King Atle in these goblets mead that was mixed
with the blood of the youths. Their hearts she roasted and gave to the king
to eat. When this was done she told him all about it, with many unkind
words. There was no lack of strong mead, so that the most of the people
sitting there fell asleep. On that night she went to the king when he had
fallen asleep, and had with her her son Hogne. They slew him, and thus he
ended his life. Then they set fire to the hall, and with it all the people who
were in it were burned. Then she went to the sea and sprang into the water
to drown herself; but she was carried across the fjord, and came to the land
which belonged to King Jonaker. When he saw her he took her home and
made her his wife. They had three children, whose names were Sorle,
Hamder and Erp. They all had hair as black as ravens, like Gunnar and
Hogne and the other Niflungs.
There was fostered Swanhild, the daughter of Sigurd, and she was the
fairest of all women. That Jormunrek, the rich, found out. He sent his son,
Randver, to ask for her hand for him; and when he came to Jonaker,
Swanhild was delivered to him, so that he might bring her to King
Jormunrek. Then said Bikke that it would be more fitting that Randver
should marry Swanhild, he being young and she too, but Jormunrek being
old. This plan pleased the two young people well. Soon afterward Bikke
informed the king of it, and so King Jormunrek seized his son and had him
brought to the gallows. Then Randver took his hawk, plucked the feathers
off him, and requested that it should be sent to his father, whereupon he was
hanged. But when King Jormunrek saw the hawk, it came to his mind that
as the hawk was flightless and featherless, so his kingdom was without
preservation; for he was old and sonless. Then King Jormunrek riding out
of the woods from the chase with his courtiers, while Queen Swanhild sat
dressing her hair, had the courtiers ride onto her, and she was trampled to

death beneath the feet of the horses. When Gudrun heard of this, she begged
her sons to avenge Swanhild. While they were busking themselves for the
journey, she brought them byrnies and helmets, so strong that iron could not
scathe them. She laid the plan for them, that when they came to King
Jormunrek, they should attack him in the night whilst he was sleeping.
Sorle and Hamder should cut off his hands and feet, and Erp his head. On
the way they asked Erp what assistance they were to get from him, when
they came to King Jormunrek. He answered them that he would give them
such assistance as the hand gives the foot. They said that the feet got no
support from the hands whatsoever. They were angry at their mother,
because she had forced them to undertake this journey with harsh words,
and hence they were going to do that which would displease her most. So
they killed Erp, for she loved him the most. A little later, while Sorle was
walking, he slipped with one foot, and in falling supported himself with his
hands. Then said he: Now the hands helped the foot; better were it now if
Erp were living. When they came to Jormunrek, the king, in the night, while
he was sleeping, they cut off both his hands and his feet. Then he awaked,
called his men and bade them arise. Said Hamder then: The head would
now have been off had Erp lived. The courtiers got up, attacked them, but
could not overcome them with weapons. Then Jormunrek cried to them that
they should stone them to death. This was done, Sorle and Hamder fell, and
thus perished the last descendants of Gjuke.
After King Sigurd lived a daughter hight Aslaug, who was fostered at
Heimer’s in Hlymdaler. From her mighty races are descended. It is said that
Sigmund, the son of Volsung, was so powerful, that he drank venom and
received no harm therefrom. But Sinfjotle, his son, and Sigurd, were so
hard-skinned that no venom coming onto them could harm them. Therefore
the skald Brage has sung as follows:
When the tortuous serpent,
Full of the drink of the Volsungs,96
Hung in coils
On the bait of the giant-slayer,97
Upon these sagas very many skalds have made lays, and from them they
have taken various themes. Brage the Old made the following song about

the fall of Sorle and Hamder in the drapa, which he composed about Ragnar
Lodbrok:
Jormunrek once,
In an evil dream, waked
In that sword-contest
Against the blood-stained kings.
A clashing of arms was heard
In the house of Randver’s father,
When the raven-blue brothers of Erp
The insult avenged.
Sword-dew flowed
Off the bed on the floor.
Bloody hands and feet of the king
One saw cut off.
On his head fell Jormunrek,
Frothing in blood.
On the shield
This is painted.
The king saw
Men so stand
That a ring they made
’Round his house.
Sorle and Hamder
Were both at once,
With slippery stones,
Struck to the ground.
King Jormunrek
Ordered Gjuke’s descendants
Violently to be stoned
When they came to take the life
Of Swanhild’s husband.
All sought to pay
Jonaker’s sons
With blows and wounds.

This fall of men
And sagas many
On the fair shield I see.
Ragnar gave me the shield.

MENJA AND FENJA.
Why is gold called Frode’s meal? The saga giving rise to this is the
following:
Odin had a son by name Skjold, from whom the Skjoldungs are descended.
He had his throne and ruled in the lands that are now called Denmark, but
were then called Gotland. Skjold had a son by name Fridleif, who ruled the
lands after him. Fridleif’s son was Frode. He took the kingdom after his
father, at the time when the Emperor Augustus established peace in all the
earth and Christ was born. But Frode being the mightiest king in the
northlands, this peace was attributed to him by all who spake the Danish
tongue, and the Norsemen called it the peace of Frode. No man injured the
other, even though he might meet, loose or in chains, his father’s or
brother’s bane. There was no thief or robber, so that a gold ring would be a
long time on Jalanger’s heath. King Frode sent messengers to Svithjod, to
the king whose name was Fjolner, and bought there two maid-servants,
whose names were Fenja and Menja. They were large and strong. About
this time were found in Denmark two mill-stones, so large that no one had
the strength to turn them. But the nature belonged to these mill-stones that
they ground whatever was demanded of them by the miller. The name of
this mill was Grotte. But the man to whom King Frode gave the mill was
called Hengekjapt. King Frode had the maid-servants led to the mill, and
requested them to grind for him gold and peace, and Frode’s happiness.
Then he gave them no longer time to rest or sleep than while the cuckoo
was silent or while they sang a song. It is said that they sang the song called
the Grottesong, and before they ended it they ground out a host against
Frode; so that on the same night there came the sea-king, whose name was
Mysing, and slew Frode and took a large amount of booty. Therewith the
Frode-peace ended. Mysing took with him Grotte, and also Fenja and
Menja, and bade them grind salt, and in the middle of the night they asked

Mysing whether he did not have salt enough. He bade them grind more.
They ground only a short time longer before the ship sank. But in the ocean
arose a whirlpool (Maelstrom, mill-stream) in the place where the sea runs
into the mill-eye. Thus the sea became salt.

THE GROTTESONG.
Now are come
To the house of the king
The prescient two,
Fenja and Menja.
There must the mighty
Maidens toil
For King Frode,
Fridleif’s son.
Brought to the mill
Soon they were;
The gray stones
They had to turn.
Nor rest nor peace
He gave to them:
He would hear the maidens
Turn the mill.
They turned the mill,
The prattling stones
The mill ever rattling.
What a noise it made!
Lay the planks!
Lift the stones!98
But he99 bade the maids
Yet more to grind.
They sang and swung
The swift mill-stone,
So that Frode’s folk

Fell asleep.
Then, when she came
To the mill to grind,
With a hard heart
And with loud voice
Did Menja sing:
We grind for Frode
Wealth and happiness,
And gold abundant
On the mill of luck.
Dance on roses!
Sleep on down!
Wake when you please!
That is well ground.
Here shall no one
Hurt the other,
Nor in ambush lie,
Nor seek to kill;
Nor shall any one
With sharp sword hew,
Though bound he should find
His brother’s bane.
They stood in the hall,
Their hands were resting;
Then was it the first
Word that he spoke:
Sleep not longer
Than the cuckoo on the hall,
Or only while
A song I sing:
Frode! you were not
Wary enough,—
You friend of men,—
When maids you bought!

At their strength you looked,
And at their fair faces,
But you asked no questions
About their descent.
Hard was Hrungner
And his father;
Yet was Thjasse
Stronger than they,
And Ide and Orner,
Our friends, and
The mountain-giants’ brothers,
Who fostered us two.
Not would Grotte have come
From the mountain gray,
Nor this hard stone
Out from the earth;
The maids of the mountain-giants
Would not thus be grinding
If we two knew
Nothing of the mill.
Through winters nine
Our strength increased,
While below the sod
We played together.
Great deeds were the maids
Able to perform;
Mountains they
From their places moved.
The stone we rolled
From the giants’ dwelling,
So that all the earth
Did rock and quake.
So we hurled
The rattling stone,

The heavy block,
That men caught it.
In Svithjod’s land
Afterward we
Fire-wise women,
Fared to the battle,
Byrnies we burst,
Shields we cleaved,
Made our way
Through gray-clad hosts.
One chief we slew,
Another we aided,—
To Guthorm the Good
Help we gave.
Ere Knue had fallen
Nor rest we got.
Then bound we were
And taken prisoners.
Such were our deeds
In former days,
That we heroes brave
Were thought to be.
With spears sharp
Heroes we pierced,
So the gore did run
And our swords grew red.
Now we are come
To the house of the king,
No one us pities.
Bond-women are we.
Dirt eats our feet,
Our limbs are cold,
The peace-giver100 we turn.
Hard it is at Frode’s.

The hands shall stop,
The stone shall stand;
Now have I ground
For my part enough.
Yet to the hands
No rest must be given,
’Till Frode thinks
Enough has been ground.
Now hold shall the hands
The lances hard,
The weapons bloody,—
Wake now, Frode!
Wake now, Frode!
If you would listen
To our songs,—
To sayings old.
Fire I see burn
East of the burg,—
The warnews are awake.
That is called warning.
A host hither
Hastily approaches
To burn the king’s
Lofty dwelling.
No longer you will sit
On the throne of Hleidra
And rule o’er red
Rings and the mill.
Now must we grind
With all our might,
No warmth will we get
From the blood of the slain.
Now my father’s daughter
Bravely turns the mill.

The death of many
Men she sees.
Now broke the large
Braces ’neath the mill,—
The iron-bound braces.
Let us yet grind!
Let us yet grind!
Yrsa’s son
Shall on Frode revenge
Halfdan’s death.
He shall Yrsa’s
Offspring be named,
And yet Yrsa’s brother.
Both of us know it.
The mill turned the maidens,—
Their might they tested;
Young they were,
And giantesses wild.
The braces trembled.
Then fell the mill,—
In twain was broken
The heavy stone.
All the old world
Shook and trembled,
But the giant’s maid
Speedily said:
We have turned the mill, Frode!
Now we may stop.
By the mill long enough
The maidens have stood.

ROLF KRAKE.

A king in Denmark hight Rolf Krake, and was the most famous of all kings
of olden times; moreover, he was more mild, brave and condescending than
all other men. A proof of his condescension, which is very often spoken of
in olden stories, was the following: There was a poor little fellow by name
Vog. He once came into King Rolf’s hall while the king was yet a young
man, and of rather delicate growth. Then Vog went before him and looked
up at him. Then said the king: What do you mean to say, my fellow, by
looking so at me? Answered Vog: When I was at home I heard people say
that King Rolf, at Hleidra, was the greatest man in the northlands, but now
sits here in the high-seat a little crow (krake), and it they call their king.
Then made answer the king: You, my fellow, have given me a name, and I
shall henceforth be called Rolf Krake, but it is customary that a gift
accompanies the name. Seeing that you have no gift that you can give me
with the name, or that would be suitable to me, then he who has must give
to the other. Then he took a gold ring off his hand and gave it to the churl.
Then said Vog: You give as the best king of all, and therefore I now pledge
myself to become the bane of him who becomes your bane. Said the king,
laughing: A small thing makes Vog happy.
Another example is told of Rolf Krake’s bravery. In Upsala reigned a king
by name Adils, whose wife was Yrsa, Rolf Krake’s mother. He was engaged
in a war with Norway’s king, Ale. They fought a battle on the ice of the lake
called Wenern. King Adils sent a message to Rolf Krake, his stepson, asking
him to come and help him, and promising to furnish pay for his whole army
during the campaign. Furthermore King Rolf himself should have any three
treasures that he might choose in Sweden. But Rolf Krake could not go to
his assistance, on account of the war which he was then waging against the
Saxons. Still he sent twelve berserks to King Adils. Among them were
Bodvar Bjarke, Hjalte the Valiant, Hvitserk the Keen, Vot, Vidsete, and the
brothers Svipday and Beigud. In that war fell King Ale and a large part of
his army. Then King Adils took from the dead King Ale the helmet called
Hildesvin, and his horse called Rafn. Then the berserks each demanded
three pounds of gold in pay for their service, and also asked for the
treasures which they had chosen for Rolf Krake, and which they now
desired to bring to him. These were the helmet Hildegolt; the byrnie
Finnsleif, which no steel could scathe; and the gold ring called Sviagris,

which had belonged to Adils’ forefathers. But the king refused to surrender
any of these treasures, nor did he give the berserks any pay. The berserks
then returned home, and were much dissatisfied. They reported all to King
Rolf, who straightway busked himself to fare against Upsala; and when he
came with his ships into the river Fyre, he rode against Upsala, and with
him his twelve berserks, all peaceless. Yrsa, his mother, received him and
took him to his lodgings, but not to the king’s hall. Large fires were kindled
for them, and ale was brought them to drink. Then came King Adils’ men in
and bore fuel onto the fireplace, and made a fire so great that it burnt the
clothes of Rolf and his berserks, saying: Is it true that neither fire nor steel
will put Rolf Krake and his berserks to flight? Then Rolf Krake and all his
men sprang up, and he said:
Let us increase the blaze
In Adils’ chambers.
He took his shield and cast it into the fire, and sprang over the fire while the
shield was burning, and cried:
From the fire flees not he
Who over it leaps.
The same did also his men, one after the other, and then they took those
who had put fuel on the fire and cast them into it. Now Yrsa came and
handed Rolf Krake a deer’s horn full of gold, and with it she gave him the
ring Sviagris, and requested them to ride straightway to their army. They
sprang upon their horses and rode away over the Fyrisvold. Then they saw
that King Adils was riding after them with his whole army, all armed, and
was going to slay them. Rolf Krake took gold out of the horn with his right
hand, and scattered it over the whole way. But when the Swedes saw it they
leaped out of their saddles, and each one took as much as he could. King
Adils bade them ride, and he himself rode on with all his might. The name
of his horse was Slungner, the fastest of all horses. When Rolf Krake saw
that King Adils was riding near him, he took the ring Sviagris and threw it
to him, asking him to take it as a gift. King Adils rode to the ring, picked it
up with the end of his spear, and let it slide down to his hand. Then Rolf
Krake turned round and saw that the other was stooping. Said he: Like a

swine I have now bended the foremost of all Swedes. Thus they parted.
Hence gold is called the seed of Krake or of Fyrisvold.

HOGNE AND HILD.
A king by name Hogne had a daughter by name Hild. Her a king, by name
Hedin, son of Hjarrande, made a prisoner of war, while King Hogne had
fared to the trysting of the kings. But when he learned that there had been
harrying in his kingdom, and that his daughter had been taken away, he rode
with his army in search of Hedin, and learned that he had sailed northward
along the coast. When King Hogne came to Norway, he found out that
Hedin had sailed westward into the sea. Then Hogne sailed after him to the
Orkneys. And when he came to the island called Ha, then Hedin was there
before him with his host. Then Hild went to meet her father, and offered
him as a reconciliation from Hedin a necklace; but if he was not willing to
accept this, she said that Hedin was prepared for a battle, and Hogne might
expect no clemency from him. Hogne answered his daughter harshly. When
she returned to Hedin, she told him that Hogne would not be reconciled,
and bade him busk himself for the battle. And so both parties did; they
landed on the island and marshaled their hosts. Then Hedin called to Hogne,
his father-in-law, offering him a reconciliation and much gold as a ransom.
Hogne answered: Too late do you offer to make peace with me, for now I
have drawn the sword Dainsleif, which was smithied by the dwarfs, and
must be the death of a man whenever it is drawn; its blows never miss the
mark, and the wounds made by it never heal. Said Hedin: You boast the
sword, but not the victory. That I call a good sword that is always faithful to
its master. Then they began the battle which is called the Hjadninga-vig (the
slaying of the Hedinians); they fought the whole day, and in the evening the
kings fared back to their ships. But in the night Hild went to the battlefield,
and waked up with sorcery all the dead that had fallen. The next day the
kings went to the battlefield and fought, and so did also all they who had
fallen the day before. Thus the battle continued from day to day; and all
they who fell, and all the swords that lay on the field of battle, and all the
shields, became stone. But as soon as day dawned all the dead arose again
and fought, and all the weapons became new again, and in songs it is said
that the Hjadnings will so continue until Ragnarok.

NOTES.

ENEA.
The Enea mentioned in the Foreword to Gylfe’s Fooling refers to the
settlement of western Europe, where Æneas is said to have founded a city
on the Tiber. Bergmann, however, in his Fascination de Gulfi, page 28,
refers it to the Thracian town Ainos.

HERIKON.
Herikon is undoubtedly a mutilated form for Erichthonios. The genealogy
here given corresponds with the one given in the Iliad, Book 20, 215.

THE HISTORICAL ODIN.
The historical or anthropomorphized Odin, described in the Foreword to the
Fooling of Gylfe, becomes interesting when we compare it with Snorre’s
account of that hero in Heimskringla, and then compare both accounts with
the Roman traditions about Æneas. Of course the whole story is only a
myth; but we should remember that in the minds and hearts of our ancestors
it served every purpose of genuine history. Our fathers accepted it in as
good faith as any Christian ever believed in the gospel of Christ, and so it
had a similar influence in moulding the social, religious, political and
literary life of our ancestors. We become interested in this legend as much
as if it were genuine history, on account of the influence it wielded upon the
minds and hearts of a race destined to act so great a part in the social,
religious and political drama of Europe. We look into this and other

ancestral myths, and see mirrored in them all that we afterward find to be
reliable history of the old Teutons. In the same manner we are interested in
the story told about Romulus and Remus, about Mars and the wolf. This
Roman myth is equally prophetic in reference to the future career of Rome.
The warlike Mars, the rapacity of the wolf, and the fratricide Romulus,
form a mirror in which we see reflected the whole historical development of
the Romans; so that the story of Romulus is a vest-pocket edition of the
history of Rome.
There are many points of resemblance between this old story of Odin and
the account that Virgil gives us of Æneas, the founder of the Latin race; and
it is believed that, while Virgil imitated Homer, he based his poem upon a
legend current among his countrymen. The Greeks in Virgil’s poem are
Pompey and the Romans in our Teutonic story. The Trojans correspond to
Mithridates and his allies. Æneas and Odin are identical. Just as Odin, a
heroic defender of Mithridates, after traversing various unknown countries,
finally reaches the north of Europe, organizes the various Teutonic
kingdoms, settles his sons upon the thrones of Germany, England,
Denmark, Sweden and Norway, and instructs his people to gather strength
and courage, so as eventually to take revenge on the cursed Romans; so
Æneas, one of the most valiant defenders of Troy, after many adventures in
various lands, at length settles in Italy, and becomes the founder of a race
that in course of time is to wreak vengeance upon the Greeks. The prophecy
contained in the Roman legend was fulfilled by Metellus and Mummius, in
the years 147 and 146 before Christ, when the Romans became the
conquerors of Greece. The prophecy contained in our Teutonic legend
foreshadowed with no less unrelenting necessity the downfall of proud
Rome, when the Teutonic commander Odoacer, in the year 476 after Christ,
dethroned, not Romulus, brother of Remus, but Romulus Augustulus, son of
Orestes. Thus history repeats itself. Roman history begins and ends with
Romulus; and we fancy we can see some connection between Od-in and
Od-oacer. “As the twig is bent the tree is inclined.”
It might be interesting to institute a similar comparison between our
Teutonic race-founder Odin and Ulysses, king of Ithaca, but the reader will
have to do this for himself.

In one respect our heroes differ. The fall of Troy and the wanderings of
Ulysses became the theme of two great epic poems among the Greeks. The
wanderings and adventures of Æneas, son of Anchises, were fashioned into
a lordly epic by Virgil for the Romans. But the much-traveled man, the
ἀνὴρ πολύτροπος the weapons and the hero, Odin, who, driven by the
norns, first came to Teutondom and to the Baltic shores, has not yet been
sung. This wonderful expedition of our race-founder, which, by giving a
historic cause to all the later hostilities and conflicts between the Teutons
and the Romans, might, as suggested by Gibbon, supply the noble ground-
work of an epic poem as thrilling as the Æneid of Virgil, has not yet been
woven into a song for our race, and we give our readers this full account of
Odin from the Heimskringla in connection with the Foreword to Gylfe’s
Fooling, with the hope that among our readers there may be found some
descendant of Odin, whose skaldic wings are but just fledged for the flights
he hopes to take, who will take a draught, first from Mimer’s gushing
fountain, then from Suttung’s mead, brought by Odin to Asgard, and
consecrate himself and his talents to this legend with all the ardor of his
soul. For, as William Morris so beautifully says of the Volsung Saga, this is
the great story of the Teutonic race, and should be to us what the tale of
Troy was to the Greeks, and what the tale of Æneas was to the Romans, to
all our race first and afterward, when the evolution of the world has made
the Teutonic race nothing more than a name of what it has been; a story, too,
then, should it be to the races that come after us, no less than the Iliad, and
the Odyssey and the Æneid have been to us.101 We sincerely trust that we
shall see Odin wrought into a Teutonic epic, that will present in grand
outline the contrast between the Roman and the Teuton. And now we are
prepared to give the Heimskringla account of the historical Odin. We have
adopted Samuel Laing’s translation, with a few verbal alterations where
such seemed necessary.
It is said that the earth’s circle (Heimskringla), which the human race
inhabits, is torn across into many bights, so that great seas run into the land
from the out-ocean. Thus it is known that a great sea goes into
Njorvasound,102 and up to the land of Jerusalem. From the same sea a long
sea-bight stretches toward the northeast, and is called the Black Sea, and
divides the three parts of the earth; of which the eastern part is called Asia,

and the western is called by some Europe, by some Enea.103 Northward of
the Black Sea lies Svithjod the Great,104 or the Cold. The Great Svithjod is
reckoned by some not less than the Saracens’ land,105 others compare it to
the Great Blueland.106 The northern part of Svithjod lies uninhabited on
account of frost and cold, as likewise the southern parts of Blueland are
waste from the burning sun. In Svithjod are many great domains, and many
wonderful races of men, and many kinds of languages. There are giants,107
and there are dwarfs,108 and there are also blue men.109 There are wild
beasts and dreadfully large dragons. On the north side of the mountains,
which lie outside of all inhabited lands, runs a river through Svithjod, which
is properly called by the name of Tanais,110 but was formerly called
Tanaquisl or Vanaquisl, and which falls into the ocean at the Black Sea. The
country of the people on the Vanaquisl was called Vanaland or Vanaheim,
and the river separates the three parts of the world, of which the
easternmost is called Asia and the westernmost Europe.
The country east of the Tanaquisl in Asia was called Asaland or Asaheim,
and the chief city in that land was called Asgard.111 In that city was a chief
called Odin, and it was a great place for sacrifice. It was the custom there
that twelve temple-priests112 should both direct the sacrifices and also judge
the people. They were called priests or masters, and all the people served
and obeyed them. Odin was a great and very far-traveled warrior, who
conquered many kingdoms, and so successful was he that in every battle the
victory was on his side. It was the belief of his people that victory belonged
to him in every battle. It was his custom when he sent his men into battle, or
on any expedition, that he first laid his hand upon their heads, and called
down a blessing upon them; and then they believed their undertaking would
be successful. His people also were accustomed, whenever they fell into
danger by land or sea, to call upon his name; and they thought that always
they got comfort and aid by it, for where he was they thought help was near.
Often he went away so long that he passed many seasons on his journeys.
Odin had two brothers, the one hight Ve, the other Vile,113 and they
governed the kingdom when he was absent. It happened once when Odin
had gone to a great distance, and had been so long away that the people of
Asia doubted if he would ever return home, that his two brothers took it

upon themselves to divide his estate; but both of them took his wife Frigg to
themselves. Odin soon after returned home, and took his wife back.
Odin went out with a great army against the Vanaland people; but they were
well prepared, and defended their land, so that victory was changeable, and
they ravaged the lands of each other and did great damage. They tired of
this at last, and, on both sides appointing a meeting for establishing peace,
made a truce and exchanged hostages. The Vanaland people sent their best
men,—Njord the Rich and his son Frey; the people of Asaland sent a man
hight Hœner,114 as he was a stout and very handsome man, and with him
they sent a man of great understanding, called Mimer; and on the other side
the Vanaland people sent the wisest man in their community, who was
called Quaser. Now when Hœner came to Vanaheim he was immediately
made a chief, and Mimer came to him with good counsel on all occasions.
But when Hœner stood in the Things, or other meetings, if Mimer was not
near him, and any difficult matter was laid before him, he always answered
in one way: Now let others give their advice; so that the Vanaland people
got a suspicion that the Asaland people had deceived them in the exchange
of men. They took Mimer, therefore, and beheaded him, and sent his head
to the Asaland people. Odin took the head, smeared it with herbs, so that it
should not rot, and sang incantations over it. Thereby he gave it the power
that it spoke to him, and discovered to him many secrets.115 Odin placed
Njord and Frey as priests of the sacrifices, and they became deities of the
Asaland people. Njord’s daughter, Freyja, was priestess of the sacrifices,
and first taught the Asaland people the magic art, as it was in use and
fashion among the Vanaland people. While Njord was with the Vanaland
people he had taken his own sister in marriage, for that was allowed by their
law; and their children were Frey and Freyja. But among the Asaland
people it was forbidden to come together in so near relationship.116
There goes a great mountain barrier from northeast to southwest, which
divides the Great Svithjod from other kingdoms. South of this mountain
ridge is not far to Turkland, where Odin had great possessions.117 But Odin,
having foreknowledge and magic-sight, knew that his posterity would come
to settle and dwell in the northern half of the world. In those times the
Roman chiefs went wide around the world, subduing to themselves all
people; and on this account many chiefs fled from their domains.118 Odin

set his brothers Vile and Ve over Asgard, and he himself, with all the gods
and a great many other people, wandered out, first westward to Gardarike
(Russia), and then south to Saxland (Germany). He had many sons, and
after having subdued an extensive kingdom in Saxland he set his sons to
defend the country. He himself went northward to the sea, and took up his
abode in an island which is called Odinse (see note below), in Funen. Then
he sent Gefjun across the sound to the north to discover new countries, and
she came to King Gylfe, who gave her a ploughland. Then she went to
Jotunheim and bore four sons to a giant, and transformed them into a yoke
of oxen, and yoked them to a plough and broke out the land into the ocean,
right opposite to Odinse, which was called Seeland, where she afterward
settled and dwelt.119 Skjold, a son of Odin, married her, and they dwelt at
Leidre.120 Where the ploughed land was, is a lake or sea called Laage.121 In
the Swedish land the fjords of Laage correspond to the nesses of Seeland.
Brage the old sings thus of it:
Gefjun glad
Drew from Gylfe
The excellent land,
Denmark’s increase,
So that it reeked
From the running beasts.
Four heads and eight eyes
Bore the oxen,
As they went before the wide
Robbed land of the grassy isle.122
Now when Odin heard that things were in a prosperous condition in the
land to the east beside Gylfe, he went thither, and Gylfe made a peace with
him, for Gylfe thought he had no strength to oppose the people of Asaland.
Odin and Gylfe had many tricks and enchantments against each other; but
the Asaland people had always the superiority. Odin took up his residence at
the Malar lake, at the place now called Sigtun.123 There he erected a large
temple, where there were sacrifices according to the customs of the Asaland
people. He appropriated to himself the whole of that district of country, and
called it Sigtun. To the temple gods he gave also domains. Njord dwelt in

Noatun, Frey in Upsal, Heimdal in Himinbjorg, Thor in Thrudvang, Balder
in Breidablik;124 to all of them he gave good domains.
When Odin of Asaland came to the north, and the gods with him, he began
to exercise and to teach others the arts which the people long afterward
have practiced. Odin was the cleverest of all, and from him all others
learned their magic arts; and he knew them first, and knew many more than
other people. But now, to tell why he is held in such high respect, we must
mention various causes that contributed to it. When sitting among his
friends his countenance was so beautiful and friendly, that the spirits of all
were exhilarated by it; but when he was in war, he appeared fierce and
dreadful. This arose from his being able to change his color and form in any
way he liked. Another cause was, that he conversed so cleverly and
smoothly, that all who heard were persuaded. He spoke everything in
rhyme, such as is now composed, and which we call skald-craft. He and his
temple gods were called song-smiths, for from them came that art of song
into the northern countries. Odin could make his enemies in battle blind or
deaf, or terror-struck, and their weapons so blunt that they could no more
cut than a willow-twig; on the other hand, his men rushed forward without
armor, were as mad as dogs or wolves, bit their shields, and were strong as
bears or wild bulls, and killed people at a blow, and neither fire nor iron told
upon them. These were called berserks.125
Odin could transform his shape; his body would lie as if dead or asleep, but
then he would be in the shape of a fish, or worm, or bird, or beast, and be
off in a twinkling to distant lands upon his own or other peoples’ business.
With words alone he could quench fire, still the ocean in tempest, and turn
the wind to any quarter he pleased. Odin had a ship, which he called
Skidbladner,126 in which he sailed over wide seas, and which he could roll
up like a cloth. Odin carried with him Mimer’s head, which told him all the
news of other countries. Sometimes even he called the dead out of the earth,
or set himself beside the burial-mounds; whence he was called the ghost-
sovereign, and the lord of the mounds. He had two ravens,127 to whom he
had taught the speech of man; and they flew far and wide through the land,
and brought him the news. In all such things he was preëminently wise. He
taught all these arts in runes and songs, which are called incantations, and
therefore the Asaland people are called incantation-smiths. Odin also

understood the art in which the greatest power is lodged, and which he
himself practiced, namely, what is called magic. By means of this he could
know beforehand the predestined fate128 of men, or their not yet completed
lot, and also bring on the death, ill-luck or bad health of people, or take
away the strength or wit from one person and give it to another. But after
such witchcraft followed such weakness and anxiety, that it was not thought
respectable for men to practice it; and therefore the priestesses were brought
up in this art. Odin knew definitely where all missing cattle were concealed
under the earth, and understood the songs by which the earth, the hills, the
stones and mounds were opened to him; and he bound those who dwell in
them by the power of his word, and went in and took what he pleased. From
these arts he became very celebrated. His enemies dreaded him; his friends
put their trust in him, and relied on his power and on himself. He taught the
most of his arts to his priests of the sacrifices, and they came nearest to
himself in all wisdom and witch-knowledge. Many others, however,
occupied themselves much with it; and from that time witchcraft spread far
and wide, and continued long. People sacrificed to Odin, and the twelve
chiefs of Asaland,—called them their gods, and believed in them long after.
From Odin’s name came the name Audun, which people gave to his sons;
and from Thor’s name came Thorer, also Thorarinn; and it was also
sometimes augmented by other additions, as Steinthor, Hafthor, and many
kinds of alterations.
Odin established the same law in his land that had been before in Asaland.
Thus he established by law that all dead men should be burned, and their
property laid with them upon the pile, and the ashes be cast into the sea or
buried in the earth. Thus, said he, everyone will come to Valhal with the
riches he had with him upon the pile; and he would also enjoy whatever he
himself had buried in the earth. For men of consequence a mound should be
raised to their memory, and for all other warriors who had been
distinguished for manhood, a standing stone; which custom remained long
after Odin’s time. Toward winter there should be a blood-sacrifice for a
good year, and in the middle of winter for a good crop; and the third
sacrifice should be in summer, for victory in battle. Over all Svithjod129 the
people paid Odin a scatt, or tax,—so much on each head; but he had to

defend the country from enemy or disturbance, and pay the expense of the
sacrifice-feasts toward winter for a good year.
Njord took a wife hight Skade; but she would not live with him, but married
afterward Odin, and had many sons by him, of whom one was called
Saming, and of this Eyvind Skaldespiller sings thus:
To Asason130 Queen Skade bore
Saming, who dyed his shield in gore,—
The giant queen of rock and snow
Who loves to dwell on earth below,
The iron pine-tree’s daughter she,
Sprung from the rocks that rib the sea,
To Odin bore full many a son,—
Heroes of many a battle won.
To Saming Jarl Hakon the Great reckoned up his pedigree.131 This Svithjod
(Sweden) they call Mannheim, but the great Svithjod they call Godheim,
and of Godheim great wonders and novelties were related.
Odin died in his bed in Sweden; and when he was near his death he made
himself be marked with the point of a spear,132 and said he was going to
Godheim, and would give a welcome there to all his friends, and all brave
warriors should be dedicated to him; and the Swedes believed that he was
gone to the ancient Asgard, and would live there eternally. Then began the
belief in Odin, and the calling upon him. The Swedes believed that he often
showed himself to them before any great battle. To some he gave victory,
others he invited to himself; and they reckoned both of these to be well off
in their fate. Odin was burnt, and at his pile there was great splendor. It was
their faith that the higher the smoke arose in the air, the higher would he be
raised whose pile it was; and the richer he would be the more property that
was consumed with him.
Njord of Noatun was then the sole sovereign of the Swedes; and he
continued the sacrifices, and was called the drot, or sovereign, by the
Swedes, and he received scatt and gifts from them. In his days were peace
and plenty, and such good years in all respects that the Swedes believed
Njord ruled over the growth of seasons and the prosperity of the people. In

his time all the diars, or gods, died, and blood-sacrifices were made for
them. Njord died on a bed of sickness, and before he died made himself be
marked for Odin with the spear-point. The Swedes burned him, and all wept
over his grave-mound.
Frey took the kingdom after Njord, and was called drot by the Swedes, and
they paid taxes to him. He was like his father, fortunate in friends and in
good seasons. Frey built a great temple at Upsala, made it his chief seat, and
gave it all his taxes, his land and goods. Then began the Upsala domains,
which have remained ever since. Then began in his day the Frode-peace;
and then there were good seasons in all the land, which the Swedes ascribed
to Frey, so that he was more worshiped than the other gods, as the people
became much richer in his days by reason of the peace and good seasons.
His wife was called Gerd, daughter of Gymer, and their son was called
Fjolner. Frey was called by another name, Yngve; and this name Yngve was
considered long after in his race as a name of honor, so that his descendants
have since been called Ynglings (i.e. Yngve-lings). Frey fell into a sickness,
and as his illness took the upper hand, his men took the plan of letting few
approach him. In the meantime they raised a great mound, in which they
placed a door with three holes in it. Now when Frey died they bore him
secretly into the mound, but told the Swedes he was alive, and they kept
watch over him for three years. They brought all the taxes into the mound,
and through the one hole they put in the gold, through the other the silver,
and through the third the copper money that was paid. Peace and good
seasons continued.
Freyja alone remained of the gods, and she became on this account so
celebrated that all women of distinction were called by her name, whence
they now have the title Frue (Germ. Frau), so that every woman is called
frue (that is, mistress) over her property, and the wife is called the house-
frue. Freyja continued the blood-sacrifices. Freyja had also many other
names. Her husband was called Oder, and her daughters Hnos and Gersame.
They were so very beautiful that afterward the most precious jewels were
called by their names.
When it became known to the Swedes that Frey was dead, and yet peace
and good seasons continued, they believed that it must be so as long as Frey

remained in Sweden, and therefore they would not burn his remains, but
called him the god of this world, and afterward offered continually blood-
sacrifices to him, principally for peace and good seasons.133

FORNJOT AND THE SETTLEMENT OF NORWAY.
In the asa-faith we find various foreign elements introduced. Thus, for
example, the vans did not originally belong to the Odinic system. As the
Teutons came in contact with other races, the religious ideas of the latter
were frequently adopted in some modified form. Especially do Finnish
elements enter into the asa-system. The Finnish god of thunder was Ukko.
He is supposed to have been confounded with our Thor, whence the latter
got the name Öku-Thor (Ukko-Thor). The vans may be connected with the
Finnish Wainamoinen, and in the same manner a number of Celtic elements
have been mixed with Teutonic mythology. And this is not all. There must
have flourished a religious system in the North before the arrival of Odin
and his apostles. This was probably either Tshudic or Celtic, or a mixture of
the two. The asa-doctrine superseded it, but there still remain traces in some
of the oldest records of the North. Thus we have in the prehistoric sagas of
Iceland an account of the finding of Norway, wherein it is related that
Fornjot,134 in Jotland, which is also called Finland or Quenland, east of the
Gulf of Bothnia, had three sons: Hler, also called Æger, Loge and Kare.135
Of Loge it is related that he was of giant descent, and, being very tall of
stature, he was called Haloge, that is High Loge; and after him the northern
part of Norway is called Halogaland (now Helgeland). He was married to
Glod (a red-hot coal), and had with her two daughters, Eysa and Eimyrja;
both words meaning glowing embers. Haloge had two jarls, Vifil (the one
taking a vif = wife) and Vesete (the one who sits at the ve = the sanctuary,
that is, the dweller by the hearth, the first sanctuary), who courted his
daughters; the former addressing himself to Eimyrja, the latter to Eysa, but
the king refusing to give his consent, they carried them away secretly.
Vesete settled in Borgundarholm (Bornholm), and had a son, Bue (one who
settles on a farm); Vifil sailed further east and settled on the island Vifilsey,
on the coast of Sweden, and had a son, Viking (the pirate).

The third son, Kare, had a numerous offspring. He had one son by name
Jokul (iceberg), another Froste (frost), and Froste’s son was named Sna
(snow). He had a third son, by name Thorri (bare frost), after whom the
mid-winter month, Thorra-month, was called; and his daughters hight Fonn
(packed snow), Drifa (snow-drift), and Mjoll (meal, fine snow). All these
correspond well to Kare’s name, which, as stated, means wind. Thorri had
two sons, Nor and Gor, and a daughter, Goe. The story goes on to tell how
Goe, the sister, was lost, and how the brothers went to search for her, until
they finally found him who had robbed her. He was Hrolf, from the
mountain, a son of the giant Svade, and a grandson of Asa-Thor. They
settled their trouble, and thereupon Hrolf married Goe, and Nor married
Hrolf’s sister, settled in the land and called it after his own name, Norvegr,
that is, Norway. By this story we are reminded of Kadmos, who went to
seek his lost sister Europa. In the Younger Edda the winds are called the
sons of Fornjot, the sea is called the son of Fornjot, and the brother of the
fire and of the winds, and Fornjot is named among the old giants. This
makes it clear that Fornjot and his offspring are not historical persons, but
cosmological impersonations. And additional proof of this is found by an
examination of the beginning of the Saga of Thorstein, Viking’s Son. (See
Viking Tales of the North, pp. 1 and 2).

THE FOOLING OF GYLFE.
CHAPTER I.

This story about the ploughing of Gylfe reminds us of the legend told in the
first book of Virgil’s Æneid, about the founding of Carthage by Dido, who
bought from the Libyan king as much ground as she could cover with a
bull’s hide. Elsewhere it is related that she cut the bull’s hide into narrow
strips and encircled therewith all the ground upon which Carthage was
afterward built. Thus Dido deceived the Libyan king nearly as effectually as
Gefjun deluded King Gylfe. The story is also told by Snorre in
Heimskringla, see p. 231.
The passage in verse, which has given translators so much trouble in a
transposed form, would read as follows: Gefjun glad drew that excellent

land (djúpródul = the deep sun = gold; öðla = udal = property; djúpródul
öðla = the golden property), Denmark’s increase (Seeland), so that it reeked
(steamed) from the running oxen. The oxen bore four heads and eight eyes,
as they went before the wide piece of robbed land of the isle so rich in
grass.
Gefjun is usually interpreted as a goddess of agriculture, and her name is by
some derived from γῆ; and fjon, that is, terræ separatio; others compare it
with the Anglo-Saxon geofon = the sea. The etymology remains very
uncertain.
CHAPTER II.

It is to the delusion or eye-deceit mentioned in this chapter that Snorre
Sturlasson refers in his Heimskringla, in Chapter VI of Ynglinga Saga.
Thjodolf of Hvin was a celebrated skald at the court of Harald Fairhair.
Thinking thatchers, etc. Literally transposed, this passage would read:
Reflecting men let shields (literally Svafner’s, that is Odin’s roof-trees,)
glisten on the back. They were smitten with stones. To let shields glisten on
the back, is said of men who throw their shields on their backs to protect
themselves against those who pursue the flying host.
Har means the High One, Jafnhar the Equally High One, and Thride the
Third One. By these three may be meant the three chief gods of the North:
Odin, Thor and Frey; or they may be simply an expression of the Eddic
trinity. This trinity is represented in a number of ways: by Odin, Vile and Ve
in the creation of the world, and by Odin, Hœner and Loder in the creation
of Ask and Embla, the first human pair. The number three figures
extensively in all mythological systems. In the pre-chaotic state we have
Muspelheim, Niflheim and Ginungagap. Fornjot had three sons: Hler, Loge
and Kare. There are three norns: Urd, Verdande and Skuld. There are three
fountains: Hvergelmer, Urd’s and Mimer’s; etc. (See Norse Mythology, pp.
183, 195, 196.)
Har being Odin, Har’s Hall will be Valhal. You will not come out from this
hall unless you are wiser. In the lay of Vafthrudner, of the Elder Edda, we
have a similar challenge, where Vafthrudner says to Odin:

Out will you not come
From our halls
Unless I find you to be wiser (than I am).
CHAPTER III.

This chapter gives twelve names of Odin. In the Eddas and in the skaldic
lays he has in all nearly two hundred names. His most common name is
Odin (in Anglo-Saxon and in Old High German Wodan), and this is thought
by many to be of the same origin as our word god. The other Old Norse
word for god, tivi, is identical in root with Lat. divus; Sansk. dwas; Gr. Διός
(Ζεύς); and this is again connected with Tyr, the Tivisco in the Germania of
Tacitus. (See Max Müller’s Lectures on the Science of Language, 2d series,
p. 425). Paulus Diakonus states that Wodan, or Gwodan, was worshiped by
all branches of the Teutons. Odin has also been sought and found in the
Scythian Zalmoxis, in the Indian Buddha, in the Celtic Budd, and in the
Mexican Votan. Zalmoxis, derived from the Gr. Ζαλμός,A helmet, reminds
us of Odin as the helmet-bearer (Grimm, Gesch. der Deutschen Sprache).
According to Humboldt, a race in Guatemala, Mexico, claim to be
descended from Votan (Vues des Cordillères, 1817, I, 208). This suggests
the question whether Odin’s name may not have been brought to America
by the Norse discoverers in the 10th and 11th centuries, and adopted by
some of the native races. In the Lay of Grimner (Elder Edda) the following
names of Odin are enumerated:
Grim is my name
And Ganglere,
Herjan and Helmet-bearer,
Thekk and Thride,
Thud and Ud,
Helblinde and Har,
Sad and Svipal,
And Sanngetal,
Herteit and Hnikar,
Bileyg and Baleyg,
Bolverk, Fjolner,

Grim and Grimner,
Glapsvid and Fjolsvid,
Sidhot, Sidskeg,
Sigfather, Hnikud,
Alfather, Valfather,
Atrid and Farmatyr.
With one name
Was I never named
When I fared ’mong the peoples.
Grimner they called me
Here at Geirrod’s,
But Jalk at Asmund’s,
And Kjalar the time
When sleds (kjalka) I drew,
And Thror at the Thing,
Vidur on the battle-field,
Oske and Ome,
Jafnhar and Biflinde,
Gondler and Harbard ’mong the gods.
Svidur and Svidre
Hight I at Sokmimer’s,
And fooled the ancient giant
When I alone Midvitne’s,
The mighty son’s,
Bane had become.
Odin I now am called,
Ygg was my name before,
Before that I hight Thund,
Yak and Skilfing,
Vafud and Hroptatyr,
Got and Jalk ’mong the gods,
Ofner and Svafner.
All these names, I trow,
Have to me alone been given.

What the etymology of all these names is, it is not easy to tell. The most of
them are clearly Norse words, and express the various activities of their
owner. It is worthy of notice that it is added when and where Odin bore this
or that name (his name was Grim at Geirrod’s, Jalk at Asmund’s, etc.), and
that the words sometimes indicate a progressive development, as Thund,
then Ygg, and then Odin. First he was a mere sound in the air (Thund), then
he took to thinking (Ygg), and at last he became the inspiring soul of the
universe. Although we are unable to define all these names, they certainly
each have a distinct meaning, and our ancestors certainly understood them
perfectly. Har = the High One; Jafn-har = the Equally High One; Thride =
the Third (Ζεὺς ἄλλος and Τρίτος; Alfather probably contracted from
Aldafather = the Father of the Ages and the Creations; Veratyr = the Lord of
Beings; Rögner = the Ruler (from regin); Got (Gautr, from gjóta, to cast) =
the Creator, Lat. Instillator; Mjotud = the Creator, the word being allied to
Anglo-Saxon meotod, metod, Germ. Messer, and means originally cutter;
but to cut and to make are synonymous. Such names as these have reference
to Odin’s divinity as creator, arranger and ruler of gods and men. Svid and
Fjolsvid = the swift, the wise; Ganglere, Gangrad and Vegtam = the
wanderer, the waywont; Vidrer = the weather-ruler, together with serpent-
names like Ofner, Svafner, etc., refer to Odin’s knowledge, his journeys, the
various shapes he assumes. Permeating all nature, he appears in all its
forms. Names like Sidhot = the slouchy hat; Sidskeg = the long-beard;
Baleyg = the burning-eye; Grimner = the masked; Jalk (Jack) = the youth,
etc., express the various forms in which he was thought to appear,—to his
slouchy hat, his long beard, or his age, etc. Such names as Sanngetal = the
true investigator; Farmatyr = the cargo-god, etc., refer to his various
occupations as inventor, discoverer of runes, protector of trade and
commerce, etc. Finally, all such names as Herfather = father of hosts;
Herjan = the devastator; Sigfather = the father of victory; Sigtyr = god of
victory; Skilfing = producing trembling; Hnikar = the breaker, etc.,
represent Odin as the god of war and victory. Oske = wish, is thus called
because he gratifies our desires. Gimle, as will be seen later, is the abode of
the blessed after Ragnarok. Vingolf (Vin and golf) means friends’ floor, and
is the hall of the goddesses. Hel is the goddess of death, and from her name
our word hell is derived.

Our ancestors divided the universe into nine worlds: the uppermost was
Muspelheim (the world of light); the lowest was Niflheim (the world of
darkness). Compare the Greek word νεφέλη = mist. (See Norse Mythology,
p. 187.)
Ginungagap. Ginn means wide, large, far-reaching, perhaps also void
(compare the Anglo-Saxon gin = gaping, open, spacious; ginian = to gap;
and ginnung = a yawning). Ginungagap thus means the yawning gap or
abyss, and represents empty space. The poets use ginnung in the sense of a
fish and of a hawk, and in geographical saga-fragments it is used as the
name of the Polar Sea.
Hvergelmer. This word is usually explained as a transposition for
Hvergemler, which would then be derived from Hver and gamall (old) = the
old kettle; but Petersen shows that gelmir must be taken from galm, which
is still found in the Jutland dialect, and means a gale (compare Golmstead =
a windy place, and golme = to roar, blow). Gelmer is then the one
producing galm, and Hvergelmer thus means the roaring kettle. The twelve
rivers proceeding from Hvergelmer are called the Elivogs (Élivágar) in the
next chapter. Éli-vágar means, according to Vigfusson, ice-waves. The most
of the names occur in the long list of river names given in the Lay of
Grimner, of the Elder Edda. Svol = the cool; Gunnthro = the battle-trough.
Slid is also mentioned in the Vala’s Prophecy, where it is represented as
being full of mud and swords. Sylg (from svelgja = to swallow) = the
devourer; Ylg (from yla = to roar) = the roaring one; Leipt = the glowing, is
also mentioned in the Lay of Helge Hunding’s Bane, where it is stated that
they swore by it (compare Styx); Gjoll (from gjalla = to glisten and clang)
= the shining, clanging one. The meaning of the other words is not clear, but
they doubtless all, like those explained, express cold, violent motion, etc.
The most noteworthy of these rivers are Leipt and Gjoll. In the Lay of
Grimner they are said to flow nearest to the abode of man, and fall thence
into Hel’s realm. Over Gjoll was the bridge which Hermod, after the death
of Balder, crossed on his way to Hel. It is said to be thatched with shining
gold, and a maid by name Modgud watches it. In the song of Sturle
Thordson, on the death of Skule Jarl, it is said that “the king’s kinsman
went over the Gjoll-bridge.” The farther part of the horizon, which often
appears like a broad bright stream, may have suggested this river.

Surt means the swarthy or black one. Many have regarded him as the
unknown (dark) god, but this is probably an error. But there was some one
in Muspelheim who sent the heat, and gave life to the frozen drops of rime.
The latter, and not Surt, who is a giant, is the eternal god, the mighty one,
whom the skald in the Lay of Hyndla dare not name. It is interesting to
notice that our ancestors divided the evolution of the world into three
distinct periods: (1) a pre-chaotic condition (Niflheim, Muspelheim and
Ginungagap); (2) a chaotic condition (Ymer and the cow Audhumbla);
(3) and finally the three gods, Odin (spirit), Vile (will) and Ve (sanctity),
transformed chaos into cosmos. And away back in this pre-chaotic state of
the world we find this mighty being who sends the heat. It is not definitely
stated, but it can be inferred from other passages, that just as the good
principle existed from everlasting in Muspelheim, so the evil principle
existed co-eternally with it in Hvergelmer in Niflheim. Hvergelmer is the
source out of which all matter first proceeded, and the dragon or devil
Nidhug, who dwells in Hvergelmer, is, in our opinion, the evil principle
who is from eternity. The good principle shall continue forever, but the evil
shall cease to exist after Ragnarok.
Ymer is the noisy one, and his name is derived from ymja = to howl
(compare also the Finnish deity Jumo, after whom the town Umea takes its
name, like Odinse).
Aurgelmer, Thrudgelmer and Bergelmer express the gradual development
from aur (clay) to thrud (that which is compressed), and finally to berg
(rock).
Vidolf, Vilmeide and Svarthofde are mentioned nowhere else in the
mythology.
Bure and Bore mean the bearing and the born; that is, father and son.
Bolthorn means the miserable one, from bol = evil; and Bestla may mean
that which is best. The idea then is that Bor united himself with that which
was best of the miserable material at hand.
That the flood caused by the slaying of Ymer reminds us of Noah and his
ark, and of the Greek flood, needs only to be suggested.

CHAPTER IV.

Ask means an ash-tree, and Embla an elm-tree.
While the etymology of the names in the myths are very obscure, the myths
themselves are clear enough. Similar myths abound in Greek mythology.
The story about Bil and Hjuke is our old English rhyme about Jack and Gill,
who went up the hill to fetch a pail of water.
CHAPTER V.

In reference to the golden age, see Norse Mythology, pp. 182 and 197.
In the appendix to the German so-called Hero-Book we are told that the
dwarfs were first created to cultivate the desert lands and the mountains;
thereupon the giants, to subdue the wild beasts; and finally the heroes, to
assist the dwarfs against the treacherous giants. While the giants are always
hostile to the gods, the dwarfs are usually friendly to them.
Dwarfs. Both giants and dwarfs shun the light. If surprised by the breaking
forth of day, they become changed to stone. In one of the poems of the
Elder Edda (the Alvismál), Thor amuses the dwarf Alvis with various
questions till daylight, and then cooly says to him: With great artifices, I tell
you, you have been deceived; you are surprised here, dwarf, by daylight!
The sun now shines in the hall. In the Helgakvida Atle says to the giantess
Hrimgerd: It is now day, Hrimgerd! But Atle has detained you, to your life’s
perdition. It will appear a laughable harbor-mark, where you stand as a
stone-image.
In the German tales the dwarfs are described as deformed and diminutive,
coarsely clad and of dusky hue: “a little black man,” “a little gray man.”
They are sometimes of the height of a child of four years, sometimes as two
spans high, a thumb high (hence, Tom Thumb). The old Danish ballad of
Eline of Villenwood mentions a troll not bigger than an ant. Dvergmál (the
speech of the dwarfs) is the Old Norse expression for the echo in the
mountains.
In the later popular belief, the dwarfs are generally called the subterraneans,
the brown men in the moor, etc. They make themselves invisible by a hat or
hood. The women spin and weave, the men are smiths. In Norway rock-

crystal is called dwarf-stone. Certain stones are in Denmark called dwarf-
hammers. They borrow things and seek advice from people, and beg aid for
their wives when in labor, all which services they reward. But they also
lame cattle, are thievish, and will carry off damsels. There have been
instances of dwarf females having married and had children with men.
(Thorpe’s Northern Mythology.)
War. It was the first warfare in the world, says the Elder Edda, when they
pierced Gullveig (gold-thirst) through with a spear, and burned her in
Odin’s hall. Thrice they burned her, thrice she was born anew: again and
again, but still she lives. When she comes to a house they call her Heide
(the bright, the welcome), and regard her as a propitious vala or prophetess.
She can tame wolves, understands witchcraft, and delights wicked women.
Hereupon the gods consulted together whether they should punish this
misdeed, or accept a blood-fine, when Odin cast forth a spear among
mankind, and now began war and slaughter in the world. The defenses of
the burgh of the asas was broken down. The vans anticipated war, and
hastened over the field. The valkyries came from afar, ready to ride to the
gods’ people: Skuld with the shield, Skogul, Gunn, Hild, Gondul and Geirr
Skogul. (Quoted by Thorpe.)
CHAPTER VI.

In reference to Ygdrasil, we refer our readers to Norse Mythology, pp. 205-
211, and to Thomas Carlyle’s Heroes and Hero-worship.
A connection between the norns Urd, Verdande and Skuld and the weird
sisters in Shakspeare’s Macbeth has long since been recognized; but new
light has recently been thrown upon the subject by the philosopher Karl
Blind, who has contributed valuable articles on the subject in the German
periodical “Die Gegenwart” and in the “London Academy.” We take the
liberty of reproducing here an abstract of his article in the “Academy”:
* * * * * *
The fact itself of these Witches being simply transfigurations, or later disguises, of the Teutonic
Norns is fully established—as may be seen from Grimm or Simrock. In delineating these hags,
Shakspeare has practically drawn upon old Germanic sources, perhaps upon current folk-lore of his
time.
It has always struck me as noteworthy that in the greater part of the scene between the Weird Sisters,
Macbeth and Banquo, and wherever the Witches come in, Shakspeare uses the staff-rime in a

remarkable manner. Not only does this add powerfully to the archaic impressiveness and awe, but it
also seems to bring the form and figure of the Sisters of Fate more closely within the circle of the
Teutonic idea. I have pointed out this striking use of the alliterative system in Macbeth in an article
on “An old German Poem and a Vedic Hymn,” which appeared in Fraser in June, 1877, and in which
the derivation of the Weird Sisters from the Germanic Norns is mentioned.
The very first scene in the first act of Macbeth opens strongly with the staff-rime:
1st Witch. When shall we three meet again—
In thunder, lightning or in rain?
2d Witch. When the hurly-burly’s done,
When the battle’s lost and won.
3d Witch. That will be ere set of sun.
1st Witch. Where the place?
2d Witch. Upon the heath.
3d Witch. There to meet with Macbeth.
1st Witch. I come, Graymalkin!
All. Paddock calls. Anon.
Fair is foul, and foul is fair.
Hover through the fog and filthy air.
Not less marked is the adoption of the fullest staff-rime—together (as above) with the end-rime—in
the third scene, when the Weird Sisters speak. Again, there is the staff-rime when Banquo addresses
them. Again, the strongest alliteration, combined with the end-rime, runs all through the Witches’
spell-song in Act iv, scene 1. This feature in Shakspeare appears to me to merit closer investigation;
all the more so because a less regular alliteration, but still a marked one, is found in not a few
passages of a number of his plays. Only one further instance of the systematic employment of
alliteration may here be noted in passing. It is in Ariel’s songs in the Tempest, Act i, scene 2. Schlegel
and Tieck evidently did not observe this alliterative peculiarity. Their otherwise excellent translation
does not render it, except so far as the obvious similarity of certain English and German words
involuntarily made them do so. But in the notes to their version of Macbeth the character of the
Weird Sisters is also misunderstood, though Warburton is referred to, who had already suggested
their derivations from the Valkyrs or Norns.
It is an error to say that the Witches in Macbeth “are never called witches” (compare Act i, scene 3:
“‘Give me!’ quoth I. ‘A-roint thee, witch!’ the rump-fed ronyon cries”). However, their designation as
Weird Sisters fully settles the case of their Germanic origin.
This name “Weird” is derived from the Anglo-Saxon Norn Wyrd (Sax. Wurth; O. H. Ger. Wurd;
Norse, Urd), who represents the Past, as her very name shows. Wurd is die Gewordene—the “Has
Been,” or rather the “Has Become,” if one could say so in English.
* * * * * *
In Shakspeare the Witches are three in number—even as in Norse, German, as well as in Keltic and
other mythologies. Urd, properly speaking, is the Past. Skuld is the Future, or “That Which shall Be.”
Verdandi, usually translated as the Present, has an even deeper meaning. Her name is not to be
derived from vera (to be), but from verda (Ger. werden). This verb, which has a mixed meaning of
“to be,” “to become,” or to “grow,” has been lost in English. Verdandi is, therefore, not merely a

representative of present Being, but of the process of Growing, or of Evolution—which gives her
figure a profounder aspect. Indeed, there is generally more significance in mythological tales than
those imagine who look upon them chiefly as a barren play of fancy.
Incidentally it may be remarked that, though Shakspeare’s Weird Sisters are three in number—
corresponding to Urd, Verdandi and Skuld—German and Northern mythology and folk-lore
occasionally speak of twelve or seven of them. In the German tale of Dornröschen, or the Sleeping
Beauty, there are twelve good fays; and a thirteenth, who works the evil spell. Once, in German folk-
lore, we meet with but two Sisters of Fate—one of them called Kann, the other Muss. Perhaps these
are representatives of man’s measure of free will (that which he “can”), and of that which is his
inevitable fate—or, that which he “must” do.
Though the word “Norn” has been lost in England and Germany, it is possibly preserved in a German
folk-lore ditty, which speaks of three Sisters of Fate as “Nuns.” Altogether, German folk-lore is still
full of rimes about three Weird Sisters. They are sometimes called Wild Women, or Wise Women, or
the Measurers (Metten)—namely, of Fate; or, euphemistically, like the Eumenides, the Advisers of
Welfare (Heil-Räthinnen), reminding us of the counsels given to Macbeth in the apparition scene; or
the Quick Judges (Gach-Schepfen). Even as in the Edda, these German fays weave and twist threads
or ropes, and attach them to distant parts, thus fixing the weft of Fate. One of these fays is sometimes
called Held, and described as black, or as half dark half white—like Hel, the Mistress of the Nether
World. That German fay is also called Rachel, clearly a contraction of Rach-Hel, i.e. the
Avengeress Hel.
Now, in Macbeth also the Weird Sisters are described as “black.” The coming up of Hekate with
them in the cave-scene might not unfitly be looked upon as a parallel with the German Held, or
Rach-Hel, and the Norse Hel; these Teutonic deities being originally Goddesses of Nocturnal
Darkness, and of the Nether World, even as Hekate.
In German folk-lore, three Sisters of Fate bear the names of Wilbet, Worbet and Ainbet.
Etymologically these names seem to refer to the well-disposed nature of a fay representing the Past;
to the warring or worrying troubles of the Present; and to the terrors (Ain = Agin) of the Future. All
over southern Germany, from Austria to Alsace and Rhenish Hesse, the three fays are known under
various names besides Wilbet, Worbet, and Ainbet—for instance, as Mechtild, Ottilia, and Gertraud;
as Irmina, Adela, and Chlothildis, and so forth. The fay in the middle of this trio is always a good fay,
a white fay—but blind. Her treasure (the very names of Ottilia and Adela point to a treasure) is
continually being taken from her by the third fay, a dark and evil one, as well as by the first. This
myth has been interpreted as meaning that the Present, being blinded as to its own existence, is
continually being encroached upon, robbed as it were, by the dark Future and the Past. Of this
particular trait there is no vestige in Shakspeare’s Weird Sisters. They, like the Norns, “go hand in
hand.” But there is another point which claims attention Shakspeare’s Witches are bearded. (“You
should be women, and yet your beards forbid me to interpret that you are so.” Act i, scene 3.)
It need scarcely be brought to recollection that a commingling of the female and male character
occurs in the divine and semi-divine figures of various mythological systems—including the Bearded
Venus. Of decisive importance is, however, the fact of a bearded Weird Sister having apparently been
believed in by our heathen German forefathers.
Near Wessobrunn, in Upper Bavaria, where the semi-heathen fragment of a cosmogonic lay, known
as “Wessobrunn Prayer,” was discovered, there has also been found, of late, a rudely-sculptured
three-headed image. It is looked upon as an ancient effigy of the German Norns. The Cloister of the
three Holy Bournes, or Fountains, which stands close by the place of discovery, is supposed to have

been set up on ground that had once served for pagan worship. Probably the later monkish
establishment of the Three Holy Bournes had taken the place of a similarly named heathen sanctuary
where the three Sisters of Fate were once adored. Indeed, the name of all the corresponding fays in
yet current German folk-lore is connected with holy wells. This quite fits in with the three Eddic
Bournes near the great Tree of Existence, at one of which—apparently at the oldest, which is the very
Source of Being—the Norns live, “the maidens that over the Sea of Age travel in deep
foreknowledge,” and of whom it is said that:
They laid the lots, they ruled the life
To the sons of men, their fate foretelling.
Now, curiously enough, the central head of the slab found near Wessobrunn, in the neighborhood of
the Cloister of the Three Holy Bournes, is bearded. This has puzzled our archæologists. Some of
them fancied that what appears to be a beard might after all be the hair of one of the fays or Norns,
tied round the chin. By the light of the description of the Weird Sisters in Shakspeare’s Macbeth we,
however, see at once the true connection.
In every respect, therefore, his “Witches” are an echo from the ancient Germanic creed—an echo,
moreover, coming to us in the oldest Teutonic verse-form; that is, in the staff-rime.
Karl Blind.

Elves. The elves of later times seem a sort of middle thing between the light
and dark elves. They are fair and lively, but also bad and mischievous. In
some parts of Norway the peasants describe them as diminutive naked boys
with hats on. Traces of their dance are sometimes to be seen on the wet
grass, especially on the banks of rivers. Their exhalation is injurious, and is
called alfgust or elfblæst, causing a swelling, which is easily contracted by
too nearly approaching places where they have spat, etc. They have a
predilection for certain spots, but particularly for large trees, which on that
account the owners do not venture to meddle with, but look on them as
something sacred, on which the weal or woe of the place depends. Certain
diseases among their cattle are attributed to the elves, and are, therefore,
called elf-fire or elf-shot. The dark elves are often confounded with the
dwarfs, with whom they, indeed, seem identical, although they are
distinguished in Odin’s Raven’s Song. The Norwegians also make a
distinction between dwarfs and elves, believing the former to live solitary
and in quiet, while the latter love music and dancing. (Faye, p. 48; quoted
by Thorpe.)
The fairies of Scotland are precisely identical with the above. They are
described as a diminutive race of beings of a mixed or rather dubious
nature, capricious in their dispositions and mischievous in their resentment.
They inhabit the interior of green hills, chiefly those of a conical form, in

Gaelic termed Sighan, on which they lead their dances by moonlight;
impressing upon the surface the marks of circles, which sometimes appear
yellow and blasted, sometimes of a deep green hue, and within which it is
dangerous to sleep, or to be found after sunset. Cattle which are suddenly
seized with the cramp, or some similar disorder, are said to be elf-shot.
(Scott’s Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border; quoted by Thorpe.)
Of the Swedish elves, Arndt gives the following sketch: Of giants, of
dwarfs, of the alp, of dragons, that keep watch over treasures, they have the
usual stories; nor are the kindly elves forgotten. How often has my
postillion, when he observed a circular mark in the dewy grass, exclaimed:
See! there the elves have been dancing. These elf-dances play a great part in
the spinning-room. To those who at midnight happen to enter one of these
circles, the elves become visible, and may then play all kinds of pranks with
them; though in general they are little, merry, harmless beings, both male
and female. They often sit in small stones, that are hollowed out in circular
form, and which are called elf-querns or mill-stones. Their voice is said to
be soft like the air. If a loud cry is heard in the forest, it is that of the
Skogsrå (spirit of the wood), which should be answered only by a He! when
it can do no harm. (Reise durch Sweden; quoted by Thorpe.)
The elf-shot was known in England in very remote times, as appears from
the Anglo-Saxon incantation, printed by Grimm in his Deutsche
Mythologie, and in the appendix to Kemble’s Saxons in England: Gif hit
wœre esa gescot oððe hit wœre ylfa gescot; that is, if it were an asa-shot or
an elf-shot. On this subject Grimm says: It is a very old belief that
dangerous arrows were shot by the elves from the air. The thunder-bolt is
also called elf-shot, and in Scotland a hard, sharp, wedge-shaped stone is
known by the name of elf-arrow, elf-flint, elf-bolt, which, it is supposed,
has been sent by the spirits. (Quoted by Thorpe.)
CHAPTER VII.

Our ancestors divided the universe into nine worlds, and these again into
three groups:
1. Over the earth. Muspelheim, Ljosalfaheim and Asaheim.
2. On the earth. Jotunheim, Midgard and Vanheim.

3. Below the earth. Svartalfaheim, Niflheim and Niflhel.
The gods had twelve abodes:
1. Thrudheim. The abode of Thor. His realm is Thrudvang, and his palace is
Bilskirner.
2. Ydaler. Uller’s abode.
3. Valaskjalf. Odin’s hall.
4. Sokvabek. The abode of Saga.
5. Gladsheim, where there are twelve seats for the gods, besides the throne
occupied by Alfather.
6. Thrymheim. Skade’s abode.
7. Breidablik. Balder’s abode.
8. Himminbjorg. Heimdal’s abode.
9. Folkvang. Freyja’s abode.
10. Glitner. Forsete’s abode.
11. Noatun. Njord’s abode.
12. Landvide. Vidar’s abode.
According to the Lay of Grimner, the gods had twelve horses, but the owner
of each horse is not given:
(1) Sleipner (Odin’s), (2) Goldtop (Heimdal’s), (3) Glad, (4) Gyller,
(5) Gler, (6) Skeidbrimer, (7) Silvertop, (8) Siner, (9) Gisl, (10) Falhofner,
(11) Lightfoot, (12) Blodughofdi (Frey’s).
The owners of nine of them are not given, and, moreover, it is stated that
Thor had no horse, but always either went on foot or drove his goats.
The favorite numbers are three, nine and twelve. Monotheism was
recognized in the unknown god, who is from everlasting to everlasting. A
number of trinities were established, and the nine worlds were classified
into three groups. The week had nine days, and originally there were
probably but nine gods, that is, before the vans were united with the asas.

The number nine occurs where Heimdal is said to have nine mothers,
Menglad is said to have nine maid-servants, Æger had nine daughters, etc.
When the vans were united with the asas, the number rose to twelve:
(1) Odin, (2) Thor, (3) Tyr, (4) Balder, (5) Hoder, (6) Heimdal, (7) Hermod,
(8) Njord, (9) Frey, (10) Uller, (11) Vidar, (12) Forsete.
If we add to this list Brage, Vale and Loke, we get fifteen; but the Eddas
everywhere declare that there are twelve gods, who were entitled to divine
worship.
The number of the goddesses is usually given as twenty-six.
CHAPTER VIII.

Loke and his offspring are so fully treated in our Norse Mythology, that we
content ourselves by referring our readers to that work.
CHAPTER IX.

Freyja’s ornament Brising. In the saga of Olaf Tryggvason, there is a rather
awkward story of the manner in which Freyja became possessed of her
ornament. Freyja, it is told, was a mistress of Odin. Not far from the palace
dwelt four dwarfs, whose names were Alfrig, Dvalin, Berling and Grer;
they were skillful smiths. Looking one day into their stony dwelling, Freyja
saw them at work on a beautiful golden necklace, or collar, which she
offered to buy, but which they refused to part with, except on conditions
quite incompatible with the fidelity she owed to Odin, but to which she,
nevertheless, was tempted to accede. Thus the ornament became hers. By
some means this transaction came to the knowledge of Loke, who told it to
Odin. Odin commanded him to get possession of the ornament. This was no
easy task, for no one could enter Freyja’s bower without her consent. He
went away whimpering, but most were glad on seeing him in such
tribulation. When he came to the locked bower, he could nowhere find an
entrance, and, it being cold weather, he began to shiver. He then
transformed himself into a fly and tried every opening, but in vain; there
was nowhere air enough to make him to get through [Loke (fire) requires
air]. At length he found a hole in the roof, but not bigger than the prick of a
needle. Through this he slipt. On his entrance he looked around to see if

anyone were awake, but all were buried in sleep. He peeped in at Freyja’s
bed, and saw that she had the ornament round her neck, but that the lock
was on the side she lay on. He then transformed himself to a flea, placed
himself on Freyja’s cheek, and stung her so that she awoke, but only turned
herself round and slept again. He then laid aside his assumed form,
cautiously took the ornament, unlocked the bower, and took his prize to
Odin. In the morning, on waking, Freyja seeing the door open, without
having been forced, and that her ornament was gone, instantly understood
the whole affair. Having dressed herself, she repaired to Odin’s hall, and
upbraided him with having stolen her ornament, and insisted on its
restoration, which she finally obtained. (Quoted by Thorpe.)
Mention is also made of the Brósinga-men in the Beowulf (verse 2394).
Here it is represented as belonging to Hermanric, but the legend concerning
it has never been found.
CHAPTER X.

This myth about Frey and Gerd is the subject of one of the most fascinating
poems in the Elder Edda, the Journey of Skirner. It is, as Auber Forestier, in
Echoes from Mistland, says, the germ of the Niblung story. Frey is Sigurd
or Sigfrid, and Gerd is Brynhild. The myth is also found in another poem of
the Elder Edda, the Lay of Fjolsvin, in which the god himself—there called
Svipday (the hastener of the day)—undertakes the journey to arouse from
the winter sleep the cold giant nature of the maiden Menglad (the sun-
radiant daughter), who is identical with Freyja (the goddess of spring,
promise, or of love between man and woman, and who can easily be
compared with Gerd). Before the bonds which enchain the maiden can in
either case be broken, Bele (the giant of spring storms, corresponding to the
dragon Fafner in the Niblung story,) must be conquered, and Wafurloge (the
wall of bickering flames that surrounded the castle) must be penetrated. The
fanes symbolize the funeral pyre, for whoever enters the nether world must
scorn the fear of death. (Auber Forestier’s Echoes from Mistland;
Introduction, xliii, xliv.) We also find this story repeated again and again, in
numberless variations, in Teutonic folk-lore; for instance, in The Maiden on
the Glass Mountain, where the glass mountain takes the place of the
bickering flame.

CHAPTER XI.

The tree Lerad (furnishing protection) must be regarded as a branch of
Ygdrasil.
CHAPTER XII.

In Heimskringla Skidbladner is called Odin’s ship. This is correct. All that
belonged to the gods was his also.
CHAPTER XIII.

For a thorough analysis of Thor as a spring god, as the god who dwells in
the clouds, as the god of thunder and lightning, as the god of agriculture, in
short, as the god of culture, we can do no better than to refer our readers to
Der Mythus von Thor, nach Nordischen Quellen, von Ludwig Uhland,
Stuttgart, 1836; and to Handbuch der Deutschen Mythologie, mit
Einschluss der Nordischen, von Karl Simrock, Vierte Auflage, Bonn, 1874.
CHAPTER XIV.

The death of Balder is justly regarded as the most beautiful myth in
Teutonic mythology. It is connected with the Lay of Vegtam in the Elder
Edda. Like so many other myths (Frey and Gerd, The Robbing of Idun, etc.)
the myth symbolizes originally the end of summer and return of spring.
Thus Balder dies every year and goes to Hel. But in the following spring he
returns to the asas, and gladdens all things living and dead with his pure
shining light. Gradually, however, the myth was changed from a symbol of
the departing and returning summer, and applied to the departing and
returning of the world year, and thus the death of Balder prepares the way
for Ragnarok and Regeneration. Balder goes to Hel and does not return to
this world. Thokk refuses to weep for him. His return is promised after
Ragnarok. The next spring does not bring him back, but the rejuvenated
earth. Thus the death of Balder becomes the central thought in the drama of
the fate of the gods and of the world. It is inseparably connected with the
punishment of Loke and the twilight of the gods. The winter following the
death of Balder is not an ordinary winter, but the Fimbul-winter, which is
followed by no summer, but by the destruction of the world. The central
idea in the Odinic religion, the destruction and regeneration of the world,

has taken this beautiful sun-myth of Balder into its service. Balder is then
no more merely the pure holy light of heaven; he symbolizes at the same
time the purity and innocence of the gods; he is changed from a physical to
an ethical myth. He impersonated all that was good and holy in the life of
the gods; and so it came to pass that when the golden age had ceased, when
thirst for gold (Gulveig), when sin and crime had come into the world, he
was too good to live in it. As in Genesis fratricide (Cain and Abel) followed
upon the eating of the forbidden fruit, and the loss of paradise; so, when the
golden age (paradise) had ended among the asas, Loke (the serpent) brought
fratricide (Hoder and Balder) among the gods; themselves and our ancestors
regarded fratricide as the lowest depth of moral depravity. After the death of
Balder
Brothers slay brothers,
Sisters’ children
Shed each other’s blood,
Hard grows the world,
Sensual sin waxes huge.
There are sword-ages, ax-ages—
Shields are cleft in twain,—
Storm-ages, murder-ages,—
Till the world falls dead,
And men no longer spare
Or pity one another.
Upon the whole we may say that a sun-myth first represents the death of the
day at sunset, when the sky is radiant as if dyed in blood. In the flushing
morn light wins its victory again. Then this same myth becomes transferred
to the death and birth of summer. Once more it is lifted into a higher sphere,
while still holding on to its physical interpretation, and is applied to the
world year. Finally, it is clothed with ethical attributes, becomes thoroughly
anthropomorphized, and typifies the good and the evil, the virtues and vices
(light and darkness), in the character and life of gods and of men. Thus we
get four stages in the development of the myth.
CHAPTER XV.

Ragnarok. The word is found written in two ways, Ragnarok and
ragnarökr. Ragna is genitive plural, from the word regin (god), and means
of the gods. Rok means reason, ground, origin, a wonder, sign, marvel. It is
allied to the O.H.G. rahha = sentence, judgment. Ragnarök would then
mean the history of the gods, and applied to the dissolution of the world,
might be translated the last judgment, doomsday, weird of gods and the
world. Rokr means twilight, and Ragnarokr, as the Younger Edda has it,
thus means the twilight of the gods, and the latter is adopted by nearly all
modern writers, although Gudbr. Vigfusson declares that Ragnarok
(doomsday) is no doubt the correct form. And this is also to be said in favor
of doomsday, that Ragnarok does not involve only the twilight, but the
whole night of the gods and the world.

THE NIFLUNGS AND GJUKUNGS.
This chapter of Skaldskaparmal contains much valuable material for a
correct understanding of the Nibelungen-Lied, especially as to the origin of
the Niblung hoard, and the true character of Brynhild. The material given
here, and in the Icelandic Volsunga Saga, has been used by Wm. Morris in
his Sigurd the Volsung and the Fall of the Niblungs. In the Nibelungen-
Lied, as transposed by Auber Forestier, in Echoes from Mist-Land, we have
a perfect gem of literature from the middle high German period, but its
author had lost sight of the divine and mythical origin of the material that
he wove into his poem. It is only by combining the German Nibelungen-
Lied with the mythical materials found in Norseland that our national
Teutonic epic can be restored to us. Wagner has done this for us in his
famous drama; Jordan has done it in his Sigfrid’s saga; Morris has done it in
the work mentioned above; but will not Auber Forestier gather up all the
scattered fragments relating to Sigurd and Brynhild, and weave them
together into a prose narrative, that shall delight the young and the old of
this great land?
We are glad to welcome at this time a new book in the field of Niblung
literature. We refer to Geibel’s Brunhild, translated, with introduction and
notes, by Prof. G. Theo. Dippold, and recently published in Boston.

MENJA AND FENJA.
This is usually called the peace of Frode, which corresponds to the golden
age in the life of the asas. Avarice is the root of crime, and all other evils.
Avarice is at the bottom of all the endless woes of the Niblung story. The
myth explaining why the sea is salt is told in a variety of forms in different
countries. In Germany there are several folk-lore stories and traditions in
regard to it. In Norway, where folk-lore tales are so abundant, we find the
myth about Menja and Fenja recurring in the following form:

WHY THE SEA IS SALT.
Long, long ago there were two brothers, the one was rich and the other was
poor. On Christmas eve the poor one had not a morsel of bread or meat in
his house, and so he went to his brother and asked him for mercy’s sake to
give him something for Christmas. It was not the first time the brother had
had to give him, and he was not very much pleased to see him this time
either.
“If you will do what I ask of you, I will give you a whole ham of pork,”
said he.
The poor man promised immediately, and was very thankful besides.
“There you have it, now go to hell,” said the rich one, and threw the ham
at him.
“What I have promised, I suppose, I must keep,” said the other. He took the
ham and started. He walked and walked the whole day, and at twilight he
came to a place where everything looked so bright and splendid.
“This must be the place,” thought the man with the ham.
Out in the wood-shed stood an old man with a long white beard, cutting
wood for Christmas.
“Good evening,” said the man with the ham.
“Good evening, sir. Where are you going so late?” said the man.
“I am on my way to hell, if I am on the right road,” said the poor man.

“Yes, you have taken the right road; it is here,” said the old man. “Now
when you get in, they will all want to buy your ham, for pork is rare food in
hell; but you must not sell it, unless you get the hand-mill that stands back
of the door for it. When you come out again I will show you how to
regulate it. You will find it useful in more than one respect.”
The man with the ham thanked the old man for this valuable information,
and rapped at the devil’s door.
When he came in it happened as the old man had said. All the devils, both
the large ones and the small ones, crowded around him like ants around a
worm, and the one bid higher than the other for the ham.
“It is true my wife and I were to have it for our Christmas dinner, but,
seeing that you are so eager for it, I suppose I will have to let you have it,”
said the man. “But if I am to sell it, I want that hand-mill that stands behind
the door there for it.”
The devil did not like to spare it, and kept dickering and bantering with the
man, but he insisted, and so the devil had to give him the hand-mill. When
the man came out in the yard he asked the old wood-chopper how he should
regulate the mill; and when he had learned how to do it, he said “thank
you,” and made for home as fast as he could. But still he did not reach
home before twelve o’clock in the night Christmas eve.
“Why, where in the world have you been?” said the woman. “Here I have
been sitting hour after hour waiting and waiting, and I haven’t as much as
two sticks to put on the fire so as to cook the Christmas porridge.”
“Oh, I could not come any sooner. I had several errands to do, and I had a
long way to go too. But now I will show you,” said the man. He set the mill
on the table, and had it first grind light, then a table-cloth, then food and ale
and all sorts of good things for Christmas, and as he commanded the mill
ground. The woman expressed her great astonishment again and again, and
wanted to know where her husband had gotten the mill, but this he would
not tell.
“It makes no difference where I have gotten it; you see the mill is a good
one, and that the water does not freeze,” said the man.

Then he ground food and drink, and all good things, for the whole
Christmas week, and on the third day he invited his friends: he was going to
have a party. When the rich brother saw all the nice and good things at the
party, he became very wroth, for he could not bear to see his brother have
anything.
“Christmas eve he was so needy that he came to me and asked me for
mercy’s sake to give him a little food, and now he gives a feast as though he
were both count and king,” said he to the others.
“But where in hell have you gotten all your riches from?” said he to his
brother.
“Behind the door,” answered he who owned the mill. He did not care to
give any definite account, but later in the evening, when he began to get a
little tipsy, he could not help himself and brought out the mill.
“There you see the one that has given me all the riches,” said he, and then
he let the mill grind both one thing and another. When the brother saw this
he was bound to have the mill, and after a long bantering about it, he finally
was to have it; but he was to pay three hundred dollars for it, and his brother
was to keep it until harvest.
“When I keep it until then, I shall have ground food enough to last many
years,” thought he.
Of course the mill got no chance to grow rusty during the next six months,
and when harvest-time came, the rich brother got it; but the other man had
taken good care not to show him how to regulate it. It was in the evening
that the rich man brought the mill home, and in the morning he bade his
wife go and spread the hay after the mowers,—he would get dinner ready,
he said. Toward dinner he put the mill on the table.
“Grind fish and gruel: Grind both well and fast!” said the man, and the mill
began to grind fish and gruel. It first filled all the dishes and tubs full, and
after that it covered the whole floor with fish and gruel. The man kept
puttering and tinkering, and tried to get the mill to stop; but no matter how
he turned it and fingered at it, the mill kept on, and before long the gruel got
so deep in the room that the man was on the point of drowning. Then he
opened the door to the sitting-room, but before long that room was filled

too, and the man had all he could do to get hold of the door-latch down in
this flood of gruel. When he got the door open he did not remain long in the
room. He ran out as fast as he could, and there was a perfect flood of fish
gruel behind, deluging the yard and his fields.
The wife, who was in the meadow making hay, began to think that it took a
long time to get dinner ready. “Even if husband does not call us, we will
have to go anyway. I suppose he does not know much about making gruel; I
will have to go and help him,” said the woman to the mowers.
They went homeward, but on coming up the hill they met the flood of fish
and gruel and bread, the one mixed up with the other, and the man came
running ahead of the flood.
“Would that each one of you had an hundred stomachs, but have a care that
you do not drown in the gruel flood,” cried the husband. He ran by them as
though the devil had been after him, and hastened down to his brother. He
begged him in the name of everything sacred to come and take the mill
away immediately.
“If it grinds another hour the whole settlement will perish in fish and gruel,”
said he.
But the brother would not take it unless he got three hundred dollars, and
this money had to be paid to him.
Now the poor brother had both money and the mill, and so it did not take
long before he got himself a farm, and a much nicer one than his brother’s.
With his mill he ground out so much gold that he covered his house all over
with sheets of gold. The house stood down by the sea-shore, and it glistened
far out upon the sea. All who sailed past had to go ashore and visit the rich
man in the golden house, and all wanted to see the wonderful mill, for its
fame spread far and wide, and there was none who had not heard speak
of it.
After a long time there came a sea-captain who wished to see the mill. He
asked whether it could grind salt.
“Yes, it can grind salt,” said he who owned the mill; and when the captain
heard this, he was bound to have it, let it cost what it will. For if he had that,

thought he, he would not have to sail far off over dangerous waters after
cargoes of salt. At first the man did not wish to sell it, but the captain teased
and begged and finally the man sold it, and got many thousand dollars for
it. When the captain had gotten the mill on his back, he did not stay there
long, for he was afraid the man might reconsider the bargain and back out
again. He had no time to ask how to regulate it; he went to his ship as fast
as he could, and when he had gotten some distance out upon the sea, he got
his mill out.
“Grind salt both fast and well,” said the captain. The mill began to grind
salt, and that with all its might. When the captain had gotten the ship full he
wanted to stop the mill; but no matter how he worked, and no matter how
he handled it, the mill kept grinding as fast as ever, and the heap of salt kept
growing larger and larger, and at last the ship sank. The mill stands on the
bottom of the sea grinding this very day, and so it comes that the sea is salt.

FOOTNOTES
1. The third volume of this work has not yet appeared.
2. Keyser.
3. White Skald.
4. Black Skald.
5. Dasent translates “hövuðtungur” (chief or head tongues) with
“lords,” which is certainly an error.
6. Near Upsala.
7. A heroic poem, giving the pedigree (tal) of Norse kings.
8. Heimskringla: Ynglinga Saga, ch. v.
9. Heimskringla: Harald Harfager’s Saga, ch. xix.
10. The walker.

11. Elder Edda: Havamal.
12. Elder Edda: The Vala’s Prophecy, 6.
13. Elder Edda: The Vala’s Prophecy, 56.
14. Elder Edda: Hyndla’a Lay, 34.
15. Elder Edda: Vafthrudner’s Lay, 30.
16. Elder Edda: Vafthrudner’s Lay, 31.
17. Elder Edda: Vafthrudner’s Lay, 35.
18. Elder Edda: The Vala’s Prophecy, 8. In Old Norse the sun is
feminine, and the moon masculine. See below, sections 11 and 12.
19. Elder Edda: Grimner’s Lay, 40, 41. Comp. Vafthrudner’s Lay,
21.
20. That wolves follow the sun and moon, is a wide-spread
popular superstition. In Sweden, a parhelion is called Solvarg
(sun-wolf).
21. Elder Edda: The Vala’s Prophecy, 43, 44.
22. Elder Edda: The Vala’s Prophecy, 12, 14-16, 18, 19.
23. Elder Edda: The Vala’s Prophecy, 24.
24. Elder Edda: Grimner’s Lay, 29.
25. Elder Edda: Fafner’s Lay, 13.
26. The Icelandic barr. See Vigfusson, sub voce.
27. Elder Edda: Grimner’s Lay, 35, 34.
28. Elder Edda: The Vala’s Prophecy, 22.
29. Elder Edda: The Vala’s Prophecy, 70.
30. Elder Edda: Vafthrudner’s Lay, 37.
31. Elder Edda. Loke’s Quarrel, 29, 47.
32. Elder Edda: Grimner’s Lay, 46-50.

33. Oku is derived from the Finnish thunder-god, Ukko.
34. Elder Edda: Grimner’s Lay, 24.
35. The author of the Younger Edda is here mistaken. See note on
page 82.
36. Elder Edda: Grimner’s Lay, 12.
37. Compare Vainamoinen, the son of Ukko, in the Finnish epic
Kalevala.
38. Elder Edda: Grimner’s Lay, 11.
39. Elder Edda: Grimner’s Lay, 14.
40. Icel. frú (Ger. frau; Dan. frue), pl. frúr, means a lady. It is
used of the wives of men of rank or title. It is derived from
Freyja.
41. This etymology is, however, erroneous, for the word is
derived from oln or öln, and the true form of the word is ölnliðr =
the ell-joint (wrist); thus we have ölnboge—the elbow; öln = alin
(Gr. ὠδίνη; Lat. ulna; cp. A.-S. el-boga; Eng. elbow) is the arm
from the elbow to the end of the middle finger, hence an ell in
long measure.
42. Compare the Anglo-Saxon brego = princeps, chief.
43. Elder Edda: Grimner’s Lay, 13.
44. Elder Edda: Grimner’s Lay, 15.
45. Possibly this ought to read the ninth world, which would
correspond with what we read on page 72, and in the Vala’s
Prophecy. See also notes. It may be a mistake of the transcriber.
46. Both these words mean sloth.
47. Elder Edda: Grimner’s Lay, 36
48. See page 66.
49. Elder Edda: Grimner’s Lay, 36.

50. This is the Niblung story in a nut-shell.
51. Elder Edda: Skirner’s Journey, 42.
52. The Fenris-wolf in Ragnarok.
53. Elder Edda: Grimner’s Lay, 18.
54. Elder Edda: Grimner’s Lay, 19.
55. Elder Edda: Grimner’s Lay, 20.
56. Elder Edda: Grimner’s Lay, 23.
57. Elder Edda: Vafthrudner’s Lay, 41.
58. Elder Edda: Grimner’s Lay, 44.
59. Elder Edda: The Vala’s Prophecy, 29, 30.
60. Bonde = peasant.
61. Called Ymer in the Younger Edda, but the Elder Edda calls
him Hymer.
62. Commit adultery.
63. Elder Edda: The Vala’s Prophecy, 48, 49.
64. Fenris-wolf.
65. Loke.
66. Frey.
67. The Fenris-wolf.
68. Thor.
69. Elder Edda: The Vala’s Prophecy, 50-52, 54-57, 59, 60, 62,
63.
70. Elder Edda: Vafthrudner’s Lay, 18.
71. Elder Edda: The Vala’s Prophecy, 40, 41.
72. Elder Edda: Vafthrudner’s Lay, 51.
73. Holt = grove.

74. Elder Edda: Vafthrudner’s Lay, 45.
75. Elder Edda: Vafthrudner’s Lay, 47.
76. This part of the Younger Edda corresponds to the Latin Ars
Poetica, and contains the rules and laws of ancient poetry.
77. Thor’s.
78. Thor.
79. Jord’s (= earth’s) son = Thor.
80. Thor.
81. Odin’s.
82. The earth.
83. Thor.
84. Thor.
85. The giant Hrungner.
86. Thor.
87. Thor’s.
88. Icelandic proverb.
89. Icelandic proverb.
90. A river in Jotunheim.
91. Thor’s kinsmen = the asas.
92. Thruda was a daughter of Thor and Sif.
93. A troll-woman.
94. Shield.
95. Elder Edda: the Lay of Fafner, 32, 33.
96. The drink of the Volsungs = venom; the tortuous venom-
serpent = the Midgard-serpent.
97. Thor.

98. These words are spoken by the maidens while they put the
mill together.
99. Frode.
100. The mill.
101. Quoted from memory.
102. Njorvasound, the Straits of Gibraltar; so called from the first
Norseman who sailed through them. His name was Njorve. See
Ann. for nordisk Oldkyndighed, Vol. I, p. 58.
103. See note, page 221.
104. Svithjod the Great, or the Cold, is the ancient Sarmatia and
Scythia Magna, and formed the great part of the present European
Russia. In the mythological sagas it is also called Godheim; that
is, the home of Odin and the other gods. Svithjod the Less is
Sweden proper, and is called Mannheim; that is, the home of the
kings, the descendants of the gods.
105. The Saracens’ land (Serkland) means North Africa and
Spain, and the Saracen countries in Asia; that is, Persia, Assyria,
etc.
106. Blueland, the country of the blacks in Africa, the country
south of Serkland, the modern Ethiopia.
107. Tartareans.
108. Kalmuks.
109. Mongolians.
110. The Tanais is the present Don river, which empties into the
Sea of Asov.
111. Asgard is supposed, by those who look for historical fact in
mythological tales, to be the present Assor; others, that it is
Chasgar in the Caucasian ridge, called by Strabo Aspargum the
Asburg, or castle of the asas. We still have in the Norse tongue the
word Aas, meaning a ridge of high land. The word asas is not

derived from Asia, as Snorre supposed. It is the O.H. Ger. ans;
Anglo-Sax. os = a hero. The word also means a pillar; and in this
latter sense the gods are the pillars of the universe. Connected
with the word is undoubtedly Aas, a mountain-ridge, as supporter
of the skies; and this reminds us of Atlas, as bearer of the world.
112. The temple-priests performed the functions of priest and
judge, and their office continued hereditary throughout the
heathen period of Norse history.
113. See Norse Mythology, page 174.
114. See Brage’s Talk, p. 160; and Norse Mythology, pp. 247 and
342.
115. In the Vala’s Prophecy of the Elder Edda it is said that Odin
talks with the head of Mimer before the coming of Ragnarok. See
Norse Mythology, p. 421.
116. This shows that the vans must have belonged to the
mythological system of some older race that, like the ancient
Romans (Liber and Libera), recognized the propriety of marriage
between brothers and sisters, at least among their gods. Such
marriages were not allowed among our Odinic ancestors. Hence
we see that when Njord, Frey and Freyja were admitted to
Asgard, they entered into new marriage relations. Njord married
Skade, Frey married Gerd, and Freyja married Oder. Our
ancestors were never savages!
117. Turkland was usually supposed to mean Moldau and
Wallachia. Some, who regard the great mountain barrier as being
the Ural Mountains, think Turkland is Turkistan in Asia. Asia
Minor is also frequently styled Turkland.
118. Ancient Norse writers connect this event with Mithridates
and Pompey the Great. They tell how Odin was a heroic prince
who, with his twelve peers or apostles, dwelt in the Black Sea
region. He became straightened for room, and so led the asas out
of Asia into eastern Europe. Then they go on to tell how the
Roman empire had arrived at its highest point of power, and saw

all the then known world—the orbis terrarum—subject to its
laws, when an unforeseen event raised up enemies against it from
the very heart of the forests of Scythia, and on the banks of the
Don river. The leader was Mithridates the Great, against whom
the Romans waged three wars, and the Romans looked upon him
as the most formidable enemy the empire had ever had to contend
with. Cicero delivered his famous oration, Pro lege Manilia, and
succeeded in getting Pompey appointed commander of the third
war against Mithridates. The latter, by flying, had drawn Pompey
after him into the wilds of Scythia. Here the king of Pontus
sought refuge and new means of vengeance. He hoped to arm
against the ambition of Rome all his neighboring nations whose
liberties she threatened. He was successful at first, but all those
Scythian peoples, ill-united as allies, ill-armed as soldiers, and
still worse disciplined, were at length forced to yield to the genius
of the great general Pompey. And here traditions tell us that Odin
and the other asas were among the allies of Mithridates. Odin had
been one of the gallant defenders of Troy, and at the same time,
with Æneas and Anchises, he had taken flight out of the burning
and falling city. Now he was obliged to withdraw a second time
by flight, but this time it was not from the Greeks, but from the
Romans, whom he had offended by assisting Mithridates. He was
now compelled to go and seek, in lands unknown to his enemies,
that safety which he could no longer find in the Scythian forests.
He then proceeded to the north of Europe, and laid the
foundations of the Teutonic nations. As fast as he subdued the
countries in the west and north of Europe he gave them to one or
another of his sons to govern. Thus it comes to pass that so many
sovereign families throughout Teutondom are said to be
descended from Odin. Hengist and Horsa, the chiefs of those
Saxons who conquered Britain in the fifth century, counted Odin
in the number of their ancestors. The traditions go on to tell how
he conquered Denmark, founded Odinse (Odinsve = Odin’s
Sanctuary; comp. ve with the German Wei in Weinacht), and gave
the kingdom to his son Skjold (shield); how he conquered
Sweden, founded the Sigtuna temple, and gave the country to his

son Yngve; how finally Norway had to submit to him, and be
ruled by a third son of Odin, Saming.
It has been seriously contended,—and it would form an important
element in an epic based on the historical Odin,—that a desire of
being revenged on the Romans was one of the ruling principles of
Odin’s whole conduct. Driven by those foes of universal liberty
from his former home in the east, his resentment was the more
violent, since the Teutons thought it a sacred duty to revenge all
injuries, especially those offered to kinsmen or country. Odin had
no other view in traversing so many distant lands, and in
establishing with so much zeal his doctrines of valor, than to
arouse all Teutonic nations, and unite them against so formidable
and odious a race as the Romans. And we, who live in the light of
the nineteenth century, and with the records before us, can read
the history of the convulsions of Europe during the decline of the
Roman empire; we can understand how that leaven, which Odin
left in the bosoms of the believers in the asa-faith, first fermented
a long time in secret; but we can also see how in the fullness of
time, the signal given, the descendants of Odin fell like a swarm
of locusts upon this unhappy empire, and, after giving it many
terrible shocks, eventually overturned it, thus completely
avenging the insult offered so many centuries before by Pompey
to their founder Odin. We can understand how it became possible
for “those vast multitudes, which the populous north poured from
her frozen loins, to pass the Rhine and the Danube, and come like
a deluge on the south, and spread beneath Gibraltar and the
Libyan sands;” how it were possible, we say, for them so largely
to remodel and invigorate a considerable part of Europe, nay, how
they could succeed in overrunning and overturning “the rich but
rotten, the mighty but marrowless, the disciplined but diseased,
Roman empire; that gigantic and heartless and merciless
usurpation of soulless materialism and abject superstition of
universal despotism, of systemized and relentless plunder, and of
depravity deep as hell.” In connection with this subject we would
refer our readers to Mallet’s Northern Antiquities, pp. 79-83,

where substantially the same account is given; to Norse
Mythology, pp. 232-236; to George Stephen’s Runic Monuments,
Vol. I; and to Charles Kingsley’s The Roman and the Teuton.
119. Compare this version of the myth with the one given in the
first chapter of The Fooling of Gylfe. Many explain the myth to
mean the breaking through of the Baltic between Sweden and
Denmark.
120. Leidre or Leire, at the end of Isefjord, in the county of
Lithraborg, is considered the oldest royal seat in Denmark.
121. Laage is a general name for lakes and rivers. It here stands
for Lake Malar, in Sweden.
122. The grassy isle is Seeland.
123. Sigtun. Sige, Ger. Sieg, (comp. Sigfrid,) means victory, and
is one of Odin’s names; tun means an inclosure, and is the same
word as our modern English town. Thus Sigtun would, in modern
English, be called Odinstown; like our Johnstown, Williamstown,
etc.
124. Noatun, Thrudvang, Breidablik and Himinbjorg are purely
mythological names, and for their significance the reader is
referred to The Fooling of Gylfe. Snorre follows the lay of
Grimner in the Elder Edda.
125. Berserk. The etymology of this word has been much
contested. Some, upon the authority of Snorre in the above quoted
passage, derive it from berr (bare) and serkr (comp. sark, Scotch
for shirt); but this etymology is inadmissible, because serkr is a
substantive, not an adjective. Others derive it from berr (Germ.
Bär = ursus), which is greatly to be preferred, for in olden ages
athletes and champions used to wear hides of bears, wolves and
reindeer (as skins of lions in the south), hence the names Bjalfe,
Bjarnhedinn, Ulfhedinn (hedinn, pellis),—“pellibus aut parvis
rhenonum tegimentis utuntur.” Cæsar, Bell. Gall. VI, 22. Even the
old poets understood the name so, as may be seen in the poem of
Hornklofi (beginning of the 10th century), a dialogue between a

valkyrie and a raven, where the valkyrie says at berserkja reiðu
vil ek þik spyrja, to which the raven replies, Ulfhednar heita, they
are called wolf coats. In battle the berserks were subject to fits of
frenzy, called berserksgangr (furor bersercicus), when they
howled like wild beasts, foamed at the mouth, and gnawed the
iron rim of their shields. During these fits they were, according to
a popular belief, proof against steel and fire, and made great
havoc in the ranks of the enemy. But when the fever abated they
were weak and tame. Vigfusson Cleasby’s Icelandic-English
Dictionary, sub voce.
126. In the mythology this ship belongs to Frey, having been
made for him by the dwarfs.
127. Hugin and Munin.
128. The old Norse word is órlög, which is plural, (from ör = Ger.
ur, and lög, laws,) and means the primal law, fate, weird, doom;
the Greek μοῖρα. The idea of predestination was a salient feature
in the Odinic religion. The word örlog, O.H.G. urlac, M.H.G.
urlone, Dutch orlog, had special reference to a man’s fate in war.
Hence Orlogschiffe in German means a naval fleet. The Danish
orlog means warfare at sea.
129. Svithjod, which here means Sweden, is derived from Odin’s
name, Svidr and thjod = folk, people. Svithjod thus means Odin’s
people, and the country takes its name from the people.
130. Odin.
131. Norway was given to Saming by Odin.
132. He gave himself nine wounds in the form of the head of a
spear, or Thor’s hammer; that is, he marked himself with the sign
of the cross, an ancient heathen custom.
133. Here ends Snorre’s account of the asas in Heimskringla. The
reader will, of course, compare the account here given of Odin,
Njord, Frey, Freyja, etc., with the purely mythological description
of them in the Younger Edda, and with that in Norse Mythology.

Upon the whole, Snorre has striven to accommodate his sketch to
the Eddas, while he has had to clothe mythical beings with the
characteristics of human kings. Like Saxo-Grammaticus, Snorre
has striven to show that the deities, which we now recognize as
personified forces and phenomena of nature, were extraordinary
and enterprising persons, who formerly ruled in the North, and
inaugurated the customs, government and religion of Norway,
Sweden, Denmark, Germany, England, and the other Teutonic
lands.
134. The word fornjot can be explained in two ways: either as for-
njot = the first enjoyer, possessor; or as forn-jot, the ancient giant.
He would then correspond to Ymer.
135. Notice this trinity: Hler is the sea (comp. the Welsh word llyr
= sea); Loge is fire (comp. the Welsh llwg), he reminds us both by
his name and his nature of Loke; Kare is the wind.
A. Transcriber’s Footnote: Zalmoxis or Salmoxis was a
Thracian deity. The word Ζαλμός is defined by Liddell and
Scott—a dictionary available to the author—as Thracian for
“a skin”.

VOCABULARY.

Adils. A king who reigned in Upsala.
Ae. A dwarf.
Æger. The god presiding over the stormy sea.
Alf. A dwarf.
Alfather. A name of Odin.

Alfheim. The home of the elves.
Alfrig. A dwarf.
Alsvid. One of the horses of the sun.
Althjof. A dwarf.
Alvis. A dwarf.
Amsvartner. The name of the lake in which the island was situated where
the wolf Fenrer was chained.
Andhrimner. The cook in Valhal.
Andlang. The second heaven.
Andvare. A dwarf.
Andvare-naut. The ring in the Niblung story.
Angerboda. A giantess; mother of the Fenris-wolf.
Annar. Husband of Night and father of Jord.
Arvak. The name of one of the horses of the sun.
Asaheim. The home of the asas.
Asaland. The land of the asas.
Asas. The Teutonic gods.
Asa-thor. A common name for Thor.
Asgard. The residence of the gods.
Ask. The name of the first man created by Odin, Honer and Loder.
Aslaug. Daughter of Sigurd and Brynhild.
Asmund. A man visited by Odin.
Asynjes. The Teutonic goddesses.
Atle. Gudrun’s husband after the death of Sigurd.
Atrid. A name of Odin.
Aud. The son of Night and Naglfare.

Audhumbla. The cow that nourished the giant Ymer.
Audun. A name derived from Odin.
Aurgelmer. A giant; grandfather of Bergelmer; the same as Ymer.
Aurvang. A dwarf.
Austre. A dwarf.

Bafur. A dwarf.
Balder. Son of Odin and Frigg, slain by Hoder.
Baleyg. A name of Odin.
Bar-isle. A cool grove in which Gerd agreed with Skirner to meet Frey.
Bauge. A brother of Suttung. Odin worked for him one summer, in order to
get his help in obtaining Suttung’s mead of poetry.
Beigud. One of Rolf Krake’s berserks.
Bele. A giant, brother of Gerd, slain by Frey.
Bergelmer. A giant; son of Thrudgelmer and grandson of Aurgelmer.
Berling. A dwarf.
Bestla. Wife of Bure and mother of Odin.
Biflide. A name of Odin.
Biflinde. A name of Odin.
Bifrost. The rainbow.
Bifur. A dwarf.
Bikke. A minister of Jormunrek; causes Randver to be hanged, and Svanhild
trodden to death by horses.
Bil. One of the children that accompany Moon.
Bileyg. A name of Odin.
Bilskirner. Thor’s abode.
Blain. A dwarf.

Blodughofde. Frey’s horse.
Bodn. One of the three jars in which the poetic mead is kept.
Bodvar bjarke. One of Rolf Krake’s berserks.
Bol. One of the rivers flowing out of Hvergelmer.
Bolthorn. A giant; father of Bestla, mother of Odin.
Bolverk. A name of Odin.
Bombur. A dwarf.
Bor. Son of Bure; father of Odin.
Brage. A son of Odin; the best of skalds.
Breidablik. The abode of Balder.
Brimer. One of the heavenly halls after Ragnarok.
Brising. Freyja’s necklace.
Brok. A dwarf.
Brynhild. One of the chief heroines in the Niblung story.
Budle. Father of Atle and Brynhild.
Bue. A son of Vesete, who settled in Borgundarholm.
Bure. Grandfather of Odin.
Byleist. A brother of Loke.
Byrger. A well from which Bil and Hjuke were going when they were
taken by Moon.

Dain. A dwarf.
Dain. One of the stags that bite the leaves of Ygdrasil.
Dainsleif. Hogne’s sword.
Day. Son of Delling.
Daybreak. The father of Day.

Delling. Daybreak.
Dolgthvare. A dwarf.
Dore. A dwarf.
Draupner. Odin’s ring.
Drome. One of the fetters with which the Fenris-wolf was chained.
Duf. A dwarf.
Duney. One of the stags that bite the leaves of Ygdrasil.
Durathro. One of the stags that bite the leaves of Ygdrasil.
Durin. A dwarf.
Dvalin. One of the stags that bite the leaves of Ygdrasil.
Dvalin. A dwarf.

Eikinskjalde. A dwarf.
Eikthyrner. A hart that stands over Odin’s hall.
Eilif. Son of Gudrun; a skald.
Eimyrja. One of the daughters of Haloge and Glod.
Eindride. A name of Thor.
Eir. An attendant of Menglod, and the best of all in the healing art.
Ekin. One of the rivers flowing from Hvergelmer.
Elder. A servant of Æger.
Eldhrimner. The kettle in which the boar Sahrimner is cooked in Valhal.
Elivogs. The ice-cold streams that flow out of Niflheim.
Eljudner. Hel’s hall.
Elle. An old woman (old age) with whom Thor wrestled in Jotunheim.
Embla. The first woman created by Odin, Honer and Loder.
Endil. The name of a giant.

Erp. A son of Jonaker, murdered by Sorle and Hamder.
Eylime. The father of Hjordis, mother of Volsung.
Eysa. One of the daughters of Haloge and Glod.

Fafner. Son of Hreidmar, killed by Sigurd.
Fal. A dwarf.
Falhofner. One of the horses of the gods.
Farbaute. The father of Loke.
Farmagod. One of the names of Odin.
Farmatyr. One of the names of Odin.
Fenja. A female slave who ground at Frode’s mill.
Fenris-wolf. The monster wolf, son of Loke.
Fensaler. The abode of Frigg.
Fid. A dwarf.
File. A dwarf.
Fimafeng. Æger’s servant.
Fimbul. One of the streams flowing from Hvergelmer.
Fimbulthul. One of the streams flowing from Hvergelmer.
Fimbul-tyr. The unknown god.
Fimbul-winter. The great and awful winter of three years duration
preceding Ragnarok.
Finnsleif. A byrnie belonging to King Adils, of Upsala.
Fjalar. A dwarf.
Fjolner. A name of Odin.
Fjolsvid. A name of Odin.
Fjorgvin. The mother of Frigg and of Thor.

Fjorm. One of the streams flowing from Hvergelmer.
Folkvang. Freyja’s abode.
Form. One of the streams flowing from Hvergelmer.
Fornjot. The ancient giant; the father of Æger.
Forsete. The peace-maker; son of Balder and Nanna.
Frananger force. The waterfall into which Loke cast himself in the
likeness of a salmon.
Freke. One of Odin’s wolves.
Frey. Son of Njord and husband of Skade.
Freyja. The daughter of Njord and sister of Frey.
Fridleif. A son of Skjold.
Frigg. Wife of Odin and mother of the gods.
Frode. Grandson of Skjold.
Froste. A dwarf.
Fulla. Frigg’s attendant.
Fundin. A dwarf.
Fyre. A river in Sweden.

Gagnrad. A name of Odin.
Galar. A dwarf.
Gandolf. A dwarf.
Gang. A giant.
Ganglare. A name of Odin.
Ganglate. Hel’s man-servant.
Ganglere. A name of Odin.
Ganglot. Hel’s maid-servant.

Gangrad. A name of Odin.
Gardrofa. A horse.
Garm. A dog that barks at Ragnarok.
Gaut. A name of Odin.
Gefjun. A goddess; she is present at Æger’s feast.
Gefn. One of the names of Freyja.
Geirahod. A valkyrie.
Geirrod. A giant visited by Thor.
Geir Skogul. A valkyrie.
Geirvimul. One of the streams flowing from Hvergelmer.
Gelgja. The fetter with which the Fenris-wolf was chained.
Gerd. A beautiful giantess, daughter of Gymer.
Gere. One of Odin’s wolves.
Gersame. One of the daughters of Freyja.
Gilling. Father of Suttung, who possessed the poetic mead.
Gimle. The abode of the righteous after Ragnarok.
Ginnar. A dwarf.
Ginungagap. The premundane abyss.
Gipul. One of the streams flowing from Hvergelmer.
Gisl. One of the horses of the gods.
Gjallar-bridge. The bridge across the river Gjol, near Helheim.
Gjallar-horn. Heimdal’s horn.
Gjallar-river. The river near Helheim.
Gjalp. One of the daughters of Geirrod.
Gjuke. A king in Germany, visited by Sigurd.

Gladsheim. Odin’s dwelling.
Glam. The name of a giant.
Glapsvid. A name of Odin.
Glaser. A grove in Asgard.
Gleipner. The last fetter with which the wolf Fenrer was bound.
Glener. The husband of Sol (sun).
Gler. One of the horses of the gods.
Glitner. Forsete’s hall.
Gloin. A dwarf.
Gna. Frigg’s messenger.
Gnipa-cave. The cave before which the dog Garm barks.
Gnita-heath. Fafner’s abode, where he kept the treasure of the Niblungs.
Goin. A serpent under Ygdrasil.
Gol. A valkyrie.
Goldfax. The giant Hrungner’s horse.
Gomul. One of the streams flowing from Hvergelmer.
Gondler. One of the names of Odin.
Gondul. A valkyrie.
Gopul. One of the streams flowing from Hvergelmer.
Got. A name of Odin.
Gote. Gunnar’s horse.
Gothorm. A son of Gjuke; murders Sigurd, and is slain by him.
Grabak. One of the serpents under Ygdrasil.
Grad. One of the streams flowing from Hvergelmer.
Grafvitner. A serpent under Ygdrasil.

Grafvollud. A serpent under Ygdrasil.
Gram. Sigurd’s sword.
Grane. Sigurd’s horse.
Greip. One of the daughters of Geirrod.
Grid. A giantess visited by Thor.
Gridarvol. Grid’s staff.
Grim. A name of Odin.
Grimhild. Gjuke’s queen.
Grimner. One of the names of Odin.
Grjottungard. The place where Thor fought with Hrungner.
Groa. A giantess, mother of Orvandel.
Grotte. The name of King Frode’s mill.
Gud. A valkyrie.
Gudny. One of the children of Gjuke.
Gudrun. The famous daughter of Gjuke.
Gullinburste. The name of Frey’s boar.
Gullintanne. A name of Heimdal.
Gulltop. Heimdal’s horse.
Gullveig. A personification of gold; she is pierced and burnt.
Gungner. Odin’s spear.
Gunlat. The daughter of the giant Suttung.
Gunn. A valkyrie.
Gunnar. The famous son of Gjuke.
Gunthrain. One of the rivers flowing from Hvergelmer.
Gwodan. An old name for Odin.

Gylfe. A king of Svithjod, who visited Asgard under the name of Ganglere.
Gyller. One of the horses of the gods.
Gymer. Another name of the ocean divinity Æger.

Habrok. A celebrated hero.
Hallinskide. Another name of Heimdal.
Haloge. A giant, son of Fornjot; also called Loge.
Hamder. Son of Jonaker and Gudrun, incited by his mother to avenge his
sister’s death.
Hamskerper. A horse; the sire of Hofvarpner, which was Gna’s horse.
Hangagod. A name of Odin.
Hangatyr. A name of Odin.
Haptagod. A name of Odin.
Har. The High One; applied to Odin.
Harbard. A name assumed by Odin.
Hate. The wolf bounding before the sun, and will at last catch the moon.
Heide. Another name for Gullveig.
Heidrun. A goat that stands over Valhal.
Heimdal. The god of the rainbow.
Heimer. Brynhild’s foster-father.
Hel. The goddess of death; daughter of Loke.
Helblinde. A name of Odin.
Helmet-bearer. A name of Odin.
Hengekjapt. The man to whom King Frode gave his mill.
Hepte. A dwarf.
Heran. A name of Odin.

Herfather. A name of Odin.
Herjan. A name of Odin.
Hermod. The god who rode on Sleipner to Hel, to get Balder back.
Herteit. A name of Odin.
Hild. A valkyrie.
Hildesvin. A helmet, which King Adils took from King Ale.
Himinbjorg. Heimdal’s dwelling.
Hindfell. The place where Brynhild sat in her hall, surrounded by the
Vafurloge.
Hjalmbore. A name of Odin.
Hjalprek. A king in Denmark; collects a fleet for Sigurd.
Hjatle the valiant. One of Rolf Krake’s berserks.
Hjordis. Married to Sigmund, and mother of Sigurd.
Hjuke. One of the children that accompany Moon.
Hledjolf. A dwarf.
Hler. Another name of Æger.
Hlidskjalf. The seat of Odin, whence he looked out over all the world.
Hlin. One of the attendants of Frigg; Frigg herself is sometimes called by
this name.
Hlodyn. Thor’s mother.
Hlok. A valkyrie.
Hloride. A name of Thor.
Hniker. A name of Odin.
Hnikud. A name of Odin.
Hnitbjorg. The place where Suttung hid the poetic mead.
Hnos. Freyja’s daughter.

Hoder. The slayer of Balder; he is blind.
Hodmimer’s-holt. The grove where the two human beings, Lif and
Lifthraser, were preserved during Ragnarok.
Hofvarpner. Gna’s horse.
Hogne. A son of Gjuke.
Honer. One of the three creating gods; with Odin and Loder he creates Ask
and Embla.
Hor. A dwarf.
Horn. A name of Freyja.
Hrasvelg. A giant in an eagle’s plumage, who produces the wind.
Hreidmar. The father of Regin and Fafner.
Hrib. One of the streams flowing from Hvergelmer.
Hrimfaxe. The horse of Night.
Hringhorn. The ship upon which Balder’s body was burned.
Hrist. A valkyrie.
Hrodvitner. A wolf; father of the wolf Hate.
Hron. One of the streams flowing from Hvergelmer.
Hroptatyr. A name of Odin.
Hrotte. Fafner’s sword.
Hrungner. A giant; Thor slew him.
Hrym. A giant, who steers the ship Naglfar at Ragnarok.
Hvergelmer. The fountain in the middle of Niflheim.
Huge. A person (Thought) who ran a race with Thjalfe, in Jotunheim.
Hugist. One of Odin’s ravens.
Hugstore. A dwarf.

Hymer. A giant with whom Thor went fishing when he caught the Midgard-
serpent.
Hyndla. A vala visited by Freyja.
Hyrroken. A giantess who launched the ship on which Balder was burned.

Ida. A plain where the gods first assemble, and where they assemble again
after Ragnarok.
Idavold. The same.
Ide. A giant, son of Olvalde.
Idun. Wife of Brage; she kept the rejuvenating apples.
Ironwood. The abode of giantesses called Jarnveds.
Iva. A river in Jotunheim.
Ivald. The father of the dwarfs that made Sif’s hair, the ship Skidbladner,
and Odin’s spear Gungner.

Jafnhar. A name of Odin.
Jalg. A name of Odin.
Jalk. A name of Odin.
Jarnsaxa. One of Heimdal’s nine giant mothers.
Jarnved. The same as Ironwood.
Jarnvidjes. The giantesses dwelling in Ironwood.
Jord. Wife of Odin, mother of Thor.
Jormungand. The Midgard-serpent.
Jormunrek. King of Goths, marries Svanhild.
Joruvold. The country where Aurvang is situated. Thence come several
dwarfs.
Jotunheim. The home of the giants.

Kerlaugs. The rivers that Thor every day must cross.

Kile. A dwarf.
Kjaler. A name of Odin.
Kormt. A river which Thor every day must cross.
Kvaser. The hostage given by the vans to the asas; his blood, when slain,
was the poetical meed kept by Suttung.

Lading. One of the fetters with which the Fenris-wolf was bound.
Landvide. Vidar’s abode.
Laufey. Loke’s mother.
Leipt. One of the rivers flowing out of Hvergelmer.
Lerad. A tree near Valhal.
Letfet. One of the horses of the gods.
Lif. The two persons preserved in Hodmimer’s-holt during
Lifthraser. Ragnarok.

Lit. A dwarf.
Ljosalfaheim. The home of the light elves.
Loder. One of the three gods who created Ask and Embla.
Lofn. One of the asynjes.
Loge. A giant who tried his strength at eating with Loke in Jotunheim.
Loke. The giant-god of the Norse mythology.
Lopt. Another name for Loke.
Lovar. A dwarf.
Lyngve. The island where the Fenris-wolf was chained.

Magne. A son of Thor.
Mannheim. The home of man; our earth.
Mardol. One of the names of Freyja.

Megingjarder. Thor’s belt.
Meile. A son of Odin.
Menglad. Svipdag’s betrothed.
Menja. A female slave who ground at Frode’s mill.
Midgard. The name of the earth in the mythology.
Midvitne. A giant.
Mimer. The name of the wise giant; keeper of the holy well.
Mist. A valkyrie.
Mjodvitner. A dwarf.
Mjolner. Thorn’s hammer.
Mjotud. A name of Odin.
Mode. One of Thor’s sons.
Modgud. The may who guards the Gjallar-bridge.
Modsogner. A dwarf.
Moin. A serpent under Ygdrasil.
Mokkerkalfe. A clay giant in the myth of Thor and Hrungner.
Moon, brother of sun. Both children of Mundilfare.
Moongarm. A wolf of Loke’s offspring; he devours the moon.
Morn. A troll-woman.
Mundilfare. Father of the sun and moon.
Munin. One of Odin’s ravens.
Muspel. The name of an abode of fire.
Muspelheim. The world of blazing light before the creation.

Na. A dwarf.
Naglfar. A mythical ship made of nail-parings; it appears in Ragnarok.

Nain. A dwarf.
Nal. Mother of Loke.
Nanna. Daughter of Nep; mother of Forsete, and wife of Balder.
Nare. Sod of Loke; also called Narfe.
Narfe. See Nare.
Nastrand. A place of punishment for the wicked after Ragnarok.
Nep. Father of Nanna.
Niblungs. Identical with Gjukungs.
Nida mountains. A place where there is, after Ragnarok, a golden hall for
the race of Sindre (the dwarfs).
Nide. A dwarf.
Nidhug. A serpent in the nether world.
Niflheim. The world of mist before the creation.
Niflungs. Identical with Niblungs.
Night. Daughter of Norfe.
Nikar. A name of Odin.
Nikuz. A name of Odin.
Niping. A dwarf.
Njord. A van; husband of Skade, and father of Frey and Freyja.
Noatun. Njord’s dwelling.
Non. One of the streams flowing from Hvergelmer.
Nor. The man after whom Norway was supposed to have been named.
Nordre. A dwarf.
Norfe. A giant, father of Night.
Norns. The weird sisters.
Not. One of the streams flowing from Hvergelmer.

Ny. A dwarf.
Nye. A dwarf.
Nyrad. A dwarf.

Oder. Freyja’s husband.
Odin. Son of Bor and Bestla; the chief of Teutonic gods.
Odrarer. One of the vessels in which the poetic mead was kept.
Ofner. A serpent under Ygdrasil.
Oin. A dwarf.
Oku-thor. A name of Thor.
Olvalde. A giant; father of Thjasse, Ide and Gang.
Ome. A name of Odin.
Onar. A dwarf.
Orboda. Wife of the giant Gymer.
Ore. A dwarf.
Ormt. One of the rivers that Thor has to cross.
Orner. The name of a giant.
Orvandel. The husband of Groa, the vala who sang magic songs over Thor
after he had fought with Hrungner.
Oske. A name of Odin.
Otter. A son of Hreidmar; in the form of an otter he was killed by Loke.

Quaser. See Kvaser.

Radgrid. A valkyrie.
Radsvid. A dwarf.
Rafnagud. A name of Odin.

Ragnarok. The last day; the dissolution of the gods and the world; the
twilight of the gods.
Ran. The goddess of the sea; wife of Æger.
Randgrid. A valkyrie.
Randver. A son of Jormunrek.
Ratatosk. A squirrel in Ygdrasil.
Rate. An auger used by Odin in obtaining the poetic mead.
Regin. Son of Hreidmar.
Reginleif. A valkyrie.
Reidartyr. A name of Odin.
Rek. A dwarf.
Rind. Mother of Vale.
Rogner. A name of Odin.
Roskva. Thor’s maiden follower.

Sahrimner. The boar on which the gods and heroes in Valhal live.
Sad. A name of Odin.
Saga. The goddess of history.
Sager. The bucket carried by Bil and Hjuke.
Sangetal. A name of Odin.
Sekin. One of the streams flowing from Hvergelmer.
Sessrymner. Freyja’s palace.
Siar. A dwarf.
Sid. A stream flowing from Hvergelmer.
Sidhot. A name of Odin.
Sidskeg. A name of Odin.

Sif. Thor’s wife.
Sigfather. A name of Odin.
Sigfrid. The hero in the Niblung story; the same as Sigurd.
Sigmund. Son of Volsung. Also son of Sigurd and Gudrun.
Sindre. A dwarf.
Sigtyr. A name of Odin.
Sigyn. Loke’s wife.
Sigurd. The hero in the Niblung story; identical with Sigfrid.
Silvertop. One of the horses of the gods.
Simul. The pole on which Bil and Hjuke carried the bucket.
Sinfjotle. Son of Sigmund.
Siner. One of the horses of the gods.
Sjofn. One of the asynjes.
Skade. A giantess; daughter of Thjasse and wife of Njord.
Skeggold. A valkyrie.
Skeidbrimer. One of the horses of the gods.
Skidbladner. Frey’s ship.
Skifid. A dwarf.
Skifir. A dwarf.
Skilfing. A name of Odin.
Skinfaxe. The horse of Day.
Skirner. Frey’s messenger.
Skogul. A valkyrie.
Skol. The wolf that pursues the sun.
Skrymer. The name assumed by Utgard-Loke; a giant.

Skuld. The norn of the future.
Sleipner. Odin’s eight-footed steed.
Slid. One of the streams flowing from Hvergelmer.
Slidrugtanne. Frey’s boar.
Snotra. One of the asynjes.
Sokmimer. A giant slain by Odin.
Sokvabek. A mansion, where Odin and Saga quaff from golden beakers.
Sol. Daughter of Mundilfare.
Son. One of the vessels containing the poetic mead.
Sorle. Son of Jonaker and Gudrun; avenges the death of Svanhild.
Sudre. A dwarf.
Sun. Identical with Sol.
Surt. Guards Muspelheim. A fire-giant in Ragnarok.
Suttung. The giant possessing the poetic mead.
Svade. A giant.
Svadilfare. A horse, the sire of Sleipner.
Svafner. A serpent under Ygdrasil.
Svanhild. Daughter of Sigurd and Gudrun.
Svarin. A dwarf.
Svartalfaheim. The home of the swarthy elves.
Svarthofde. The ancestor of all enchanters.
Svasud. The name of a giant; father of summer.
Sviagris. A ring demanded by the berserks for Rolf Krake.
Svid. A name of Odin.
Svidar. A name of Odin.

Svidr. A name of Odin.
Svidre. A name of Odin.
Svidrir. A name of Odin.
Svidur. A name of Odin.
Svipdag. The betrothed of Menglad.
Svipol. A name of Odin.
Svol. One of the streams flowing from Hvergelmer.
Svolne. A name of Odin.
Sylg. A stream flowing from Hvergelmer.
Syn. A minor goddess.
Syr. A name of Freyja.

Tangnjost.
Thor’s goats.
Tangrisner.
Thek. A dwarf; also a name of Odin.
Thjalfe. The name of Thor’s man-servant.
Thjasse. A giant; the father of Njord’s wife, Skade.
Thjodnuma. One of the streams flowing from Hvergelmer.
Thok. Loke in the disguise of a woman.
Thol. One of the streams flowing from Hvergelmer.
Thor. Son of Odin and Fjorgyn. The god of thunder.
Thorin. A dwarf.
Thorn. A giant.
Thride. A name of Odin.
Thro. A dwarf; also a name of Odin.
Throin. A dwarf.

Thror. A name of Odin.
Thrud. A valkyrie.
Thud. A name of Odin.
Thul. A stream flowing from Hvergelmer.
Thund. A name of Odin.
Thvite. A stone used in chaining the Fenris-wolf.
Thyn. One of the streams flowing from Hvergelmer.
Tyr. The one-armed god of war.

Ud. A name of Odin.
Ukko. The god of thunder in Tshudic mythology.
Ukko-thor. A name for Thor.
Uller. Son of Sif and step-son of Thor.
Urd. The norn of the past.
Utgard. The abode of the giant Utgard-Loke.
Utgard-loke. A giant visited by Thor; identical with Skrymer.

Vafthrudner. A giant visited by Odin.
Vafud. A name of Odin.
Vafurloge. The bickering flame surrounding Brynhild on Hindfell.
Vak. A name of Odin.
Valaskjalf. One of Odin’s dwellings.
Vale. Brother of Balder; kills Hoder.
Valfather. A name of Odin.
Valhal. The hall to which Odin invites those slain in battle.
Vanadis. A name of Freyja.
Vanaheim. The home of the vans.

Var. The goddess of betrothals and marriages.
Vartare. The thread with which the mouth of Loke was sewed together.
Vasad. The grandfather of Winter.
Ve. A brother of Odin. (Odin, Vile and Ve).
Vedfolner. A hawk in Ygdrasil.
Vegsvin. One of the streams flowing from Hvergelmer.
Vegtam. A name of Odin.
Veratyr. A name of Odin.
Verdande. The norn of the present.
Vestre. A dwarf.
Vid. One of the streams flowing from Hvergelmer.
Vidar. Son of Odin and the giantess Grid.
Vidblain. The third heaven.
Vidfin. The father of Bil and Hjuke.
Vidolf. The ancestor of the valas.
Vidrer. A name of Odin.
Vidur. A name of Odin.
Vig. A dwarf.
Vigrid. The field of battle where the gods and the hosts of Surt meet in
Ragnarok.
Vile. Brother of Odin and Ve.
Vilmeide. The ancestor of all wizards.
Vimer. A river that Thor crosses.
Vin. A river that flows from Hvergelmer.
Vina. A river that flows from Hvergelmer.
Vindalf. A dwarf.

Vindlong. One of the names of the father of winter.
Vindsval. One of the names of the father of winter.
Vingner. A name of Thor.
Vingolf. The palace of the asynjes.
Vingthor. A name of Thor.
Virfir. A dwarf.
Vit. A dwarf.
Volsungs. The descendants of Volsung.
Von. A river formed by the saliva running from the mouth of the chained
Fenris-wolf.
Vor. One of the asynjes.

Wodan. A name of Odin.

Ydaler. Uller’s dwelling.
Yg. A name of Odin.
Ygdrasil. The world-embracing ash-tree.
Ylg. One of the streams flowing from Hvergelmer.
Ymer. The huge giant out of whose body the world was created.

INDEX.

Page references in the 5-10 range were left
unlinked, as they do not correspond reliably
to actual citations; pages 5 and 6 do not
exist at all. It is possible that the Preface
was rewritten and repaginated between
1879 (the original date of the book) and
1901 (the date of the printing used as the
basis for this e-text).

A - Annar

Abel, 265. Alfheim, 77, 183.
Academy (London), 252. Alfrig, 261.
Achilleus, 167, 168. Alsace, 255.
Adam, 33. Alsvid, 66.
Adela, 255. Althjof, 70.
Adils, 215, 217. Alvis, 251.
Ae, 71. America, 30, 244.
Æger, 153, 154, 159, 160, 162, Amsvartner, 94.
164, 169, 176-189, 196, 240, Anchises, 223, 229.
260. Andhrimner, 104.
Æneas, 168, 221-224, 229, 242. Andlang, 78.
Africa and Africans, 36, 38, 225. Andvare, 71, 194, 195, 199-201.
Ainbet, 255. Andvarenaut, 200.
Ainos, 221. Angerboda, 91.
Aldafather, 246. Anglo-Saxon, 258.
Ale, 89, 168, 215. Annan, 45.

Alf, 71. Annar, 65.
Alfather, 65, 69, 72, 77, 80, 81, 92,
94, 98, 106, 245, 246, 259.

Argulos - Austria

Argulos, 41. Aslaug, 204.
Ariadne, 29. Asmund, 245, 246.
Ariel, 253. Aspargum, 226.
Ark, 33. Asov, 225.
Arndt, 257, 258. Assor, 229.
Arvak, 66. Asynjes, 97-100.
Asaheim, 226, 259. Assyrians, 37, 40, 225.
Asaland, 226, 234. Atlas, 226.
Asas, 79-90. Atle, 198-202, 251.
Asa-Thor, 241. Atra, 45.
Asburg, 226. Atrid, 81, 245.
Asgard, 6, 7, 51, 54, 64, 65, 69, Aud, 65.
133, 136, 148, 153, 156-158, Audhumbla, 59, 246.
164, 168-176, 181, 189, 191, Audun, 235.
224, 226, 228, 230, 237. Aurgelmer, 58, 250.
Asia, 38, 43, 166, 225-229. Aurvang, 71.
Asiamen, 46, 48. Austre, 61, 70.
Ask, 5, 64, 243, 250. Austria, 255.

B - Bjarnhedinn

Baal, 37. Beowulf, 262.
Babylon, 39. Bergelmer, 60, 250.
Bafur, 70. Bergmann, Fr., 18, 221.
Balder, 6, 7, 8, 46, 83, 84, 89, 131- Berling, 261.
136, 148, 158, 175, 232, 249, Bestla, 60, 250.
259, 260, 264, 265. Biflide, 54.
Baleyg, 81, 245, 247. Biflinde, 54, 81, 245.
Baltic, 223, 231. Bifrost, 68, 73, 74, 77, 88, 108,
Banquo, 253. 142.

Bar, 61, 64, 250. Bifur, 70.
Bar-Isle, 102. Bikke, 202, 203.
Bauge, 162, 163. Bil, 66, 99, 250.
Bavaria, 256. Bileyg, 81, 245.
Bedvig, 45. Bilskirner, 82, 259.
Beigud, 215. Bjaf, 45.
Bel, 37. Bjalfe, 233.
Beldegg, 46. Bjar, 45.
Bele, 102, 103, 145, 175, 262. Bjarnhedinn, 233.

Black Sea - Byrger

Black Sea, 225, 229. Brage, 6, 9, 16, 25, 50, 87, 108,
Blackwell, W. L., 15, 18. 153, 154, 159, 160, 164, 166,
Blain, 70. 169, 184, 187, 189, 205, 231,
Blind, Karl, 252-256. 260.
Blodughofde, 260. Brander, 46.
Blueland, 225, 226. Breidablik, 77, 84, 232, 259.
Bodn, 160-165. Brimer, 147, 166.
Bodvar Bjarke, 215. Brising, 97, 186, 261, 262.
Bol, 106. Britain, 230.
Bolthorn, 60, 250. Brok, 190-192.
Bolverk, 81, 162, 163, 245. Brynhild, 198-201, 262, 267.
Bombur, 70. Budd, 244.
Bor, 50, 61, 64, 250. Buddha, 244.
Borgundarholm, 240. Budle, 198, 201.
Bornholm, 240. Bue, 240.
Bothnia, 240. Bugge, Sophus, 18.
Bure, 5, 60, 250.
Byleist, 91, 144.
Byrger, 66.

C

Cæsar, 233. Chaldeans, 40.
Cain, 265. Chasgar, 226.

Carlyle, Sir Thomas, 22, 252. China, 28.
Carthage, 31, 242. Chlotildis, 255.
Cato, the Elder, 31. Christ, 201, 221, 223.
Caucasian, 226. Cicero, 229.
Celtic, 239, 240, 244. Columbus, 30.
Cerberos, 41. Cottle, A. S., 15.
Crete, 28, 39-42.

D

Dain, 70, 75. Dido, 242.
Dainsleif, 219. Dietrich, Fr., 18.
Dane, 46. Dippold, G. Theo., 267.
Danube, 230. Dolgthvare, 71.
Dardanos, 42. Don, 225, 229.
Dasent, G. W., 15, 16, 18. Dore, 71.
Day, 65, 66. Dornröschen, 254.
Daybreak, 65. Draupner, 71, 134, 136, 187.
Delling, 65. Drome, 93.
Denmark, 50, 206, 207, 214, 222, Duf, 71.
230, 231, 239, 242, 251. Duney, 75.
Durathro, 75.
Durin, 70.
Dvalin, 70, 74, 75, 261.

E

Egilsson, S., 18, 19. Embla, 5, 64, 243, 250.
Eikenskjalde, 71. Emerson, R. W., 22.
Eikthyrner, 106. Endil, 180.
Eilif, 179. Enea, 38, 221, 225.
Eimyrja, 240. England, 30, 48, 222, 232, 239,
Eindride, 175. 250, 258.
Eir, 97. Erichthonios, 221.
Ekin, 106. Erp, 202-205.
Elder, 188. Ethiopia, 225.

Eldhrimner, 104. Ettmüller, Ludw., 18.
Elenus, 168. Europe, 38, 221-230, 241, 254.
Eline, 251. Eve, 33.
Elivogs, 5, 57, 59, 173, 248. Eylime, 196.
Eljudner, 92. Eysa, 240.
Elle, 124, 127. Eyvind Skaldespiller, 236.

F - Fjorm

Fafner, 193-201, 263. Fimafeng, 188.
Fal, 71. Fimbul, 56.
Falhofner, 73, 260. Fimbulthul, 106.
Farbaute, 91, 185. Fimbul-tyr, 5, 6, 8.
Farmagod, 81, 247. Fimbul-winter, 7, 140, 264.
Farmatyr, 81, 165, 245. Finnish, 239, 240, 241, 250.
Faye, A., 257. Finnsleif, 215.
Fenja, 206-208, 267. Fjalar, 160, 161.
Fenris-wolf, 8, 87, 91-96, 104, Fjarlaf, 45.
141, 142, 148, 149, 168. Fjolner, 54, 81, 207, 238, 245.
Fensaler, 97, 132. Fjolsvid, 81, 245, 246.
Fid, 71. Fjorgvin, 65.
File, 71. Fjorm, 106.

Folkvang - Fyrisvold

Folkvang, 86, 259. Fridleif, 45, 46, 206, 218.
Forestier, Auber, 262, 263, 266, Frigialand, 168.
267. Frigg, 6, 7, 43, 45, 65, 80, 94, 97,
Form, 56, 241. 98, 131-136, 145, 153, 176, 187,
Fornjot, 239-243. 227.
Forsete, 89, 90, 153, 259, 260. Frigia, 43.
Frananger Force, 137. Frigida, 45.
Frankland, 46. Frjodiger, 46.
Fraser’s Magazine, 253. Frode, 41, 206-213, 238, 267.
Freke, 105. Froste, 71, 240, 241.
Freovit, 46. Fulla, 97, 136, 153, 187.

Frey, 6, 7, 8, 85, 86, 94, 101-103, Fundin, 71.
109-112, 134, 142, 143, 153, Funen, 231.
187, 191, 192, 227, 228, 237- Fyre, 216.
239, 243, 260, 262, 264. Fyrisvold, 187, 217.
Freyja, 6, 7, 29, 85, 86, 97, 110,
134, 153, 157, 170, 183, 187,
228, 232, 239, 259, 261, 262.

G - Gissur

Gaelic, 257. Geir, 46.
Gagnrad, 247. Geirabod, 99.
Galar, 160, 161. Geirrod, 81, 176-183, 245, 246.
Gandolf, 70. Geir Skogul, 252.
Gandvik, 179. Geirvimul, 106.
Gang, 159. Gelgja, 96.
Ganglare, 81. Gelmer, 248.
Ganglate, 92. Gerd, 101-113, 153, 228, 238, 262,
Ganglere, 245, 246, 247. 265.
Ganglot, 92. Gere, 105, 261.
Gangrad, 58. Germania (of Tacitus), 244.
Gardarike, 230. Germany, 30, 222, 230, 239, 250-
Gardie, de la, 17. 256.
Gardrofa, 99. Gersame, 238.
Garm, 8, 108, 143. Gertraud, 255.
Gaut, 81. Gibraltar, 225, 230.
Gave, 46. Gill, 250.
Gefjun, 49, 50, 97, 153, 187, 231, Gilling, 161.
242. Gimle, 9, 54, 77, 78, 147, 247.
Gefn, 97. Ginnar, 71.
Gegenwart, Die, 252. Ginungagap, 5, 56, 57, 58, 61, 72,
Geibel, Em., 267. 243, 247-249.
Gipul, 106.
Gisl, 73, 260.
Gissur, Jarl, 24.

Gjallar - Goransson

Gjallar-bridge, 135, 249. Gna, 98, 99.
Gjallarhorn, 72, 88, 142. Gnipa-cave, 8, 143.
Gjallar-river, 135. Gnita-heath, 196-200.
Gjalp, 178, 179, 180, 182. God, 33-40, 54.
Gjoll, 56, 96, 248. Godheim, 225, 236.
Gjuke, 199, 204, 206, 266. Goe, 241.
Gjukungs, 193-201. Goin, 75.
Glad, 73, 260. Gol, 99.
Gladsheim, 28, 69, 259. Golden Age, 69-71.
Glam, 183. Goldfax, 169, 176.
Glapsvid, 81, 245. Gomul, 106.
Glaser, 187, 199. Gondler, 81, 245.
Gleipner, 87, 94. Gondul, 252.
Glener, 66. Gopul, 106.
Gler, 73, 260. Gor, 241.
Glitner, 77, 89, 90, 259. Got, 246.
Glod, 240. Gote, 199.
Gloin, 71. Gothorm, 198-211.
Glora, 44. Gotland, 206.
Goransson, J., 18.

Grabak - Gymer

Grabak, 76. Guatemala, 88, 244.
Grad, 106. Gud, 100.
Grafvitner, 75. Gudny, 198.
Grafvollud, 76. Gudolf, 45.
Gram, 199, 200. Gudrun, 179-203.
Grane, 198. Gullinburste, 134.
Grave, 199. Gullintanne, 88.
Gray, 16. Gulltop, 73, 88, 134, 259.
Greece and Greeks, 28, 31, 39-43, Gullveig, 252, 265.
222-229, 250. Gungner, 142, 189-192.

Greenland, 30. Gunlad, 160-165.
Greip, 178-183. Gunn, 252.
Grid, 177. Gunnar, 198-203.
Gridarvol, 177, 181. Gunnthro, 56, 248.
Grim, 81, 245, 246. Gunthrain, 106.
Grimhild, 198. Gwodan, 244.
Grimm (Brothers), 244, 253, 258. Gylfe, 9, 16, 46, 49, 50, 51, 52,
Grimner, 81, 244, 245, 247, 248. 151, 221, 224, 231, 232, 242.
Grjottungard, 171, 174. Gyller, 73, 260.
Groa, 173, 174. Gymer, 101, 103, 238.
Grotte, 207, 210.
Grottesong, 207, 208.

H - Helmet

Ha, 218. Hebrew, 37.
Habrok, 108. Hedin, 218, 219.
Hafthor, 235. Hedinians, 219.
Hakon, 21-24, 236. Heide, 252.
Haleygjatal, 47. Heidrun, 106.
Halfdan, 213. Heimdal, 6, 8, 88, 89, 134, 142,
Hallinskide, 88. 143, 153, 232, 259, 260.
Haloge, 240. Heimer, 204.
Halogeland, 240. Heimskringla, 10, 22, 50, 57, 221,
Ham, 35, 36. 224, 239, 242, 243, 263.
Hamder, 202, 206. Hekate, 255.
Hamskerper, 99. Hektor, 43, 151, 167, 168.
Hangagod, 81. Hel, 6, 7, 55, 56, 57, 91-96, 133,
Hangatyr, 165. 135-137, 142, 144, 148, 248,
Haptagod, 81. 255, 264.
Har, 71, 81, 243-246. Helblinde, 81, 91, 245.
Harald Harfager, 51, 243. Held, 255.
Harbard, 245. Helge Hundings-Bane, 248.
Hate, 67. Helgeland, 240.
Haustlong, 184. Helmet-bearer, 245.

Henderson - Hlymdaler

Henderson, 16. Hild, 99, 198, 218, 219, 252.
Hendride, 44. Hildebrand, Karl, 18.
Hengekjapt, 207. Hildesvin, 215.
Hengist, 46, 229. Himminbjorg, 77, 88, 89, 232,
Hepte, 71. 259.
Herakles, 41. Hindfell, 199.
Heran, 54. Hjaddingavig, 219.
Herbert, 16. Hjalmbore, 81.
Herfather, 247. Hjalprek, 196.
Herfjoter, 99. Hjalte the Valiant, 215.
Herikon, 43, 221. Hjarrande, 218.
Herjan, 54, 81, 245, 247. Hjordis, 196.
Hermanric, 262. Hjuke, 66, 250.
Hermod, 45, 133, 135, 136, 249, Hledjolf, 71.
260. Hleidre, 212, 214.
Hero-book, 250. Hler, 153, 240, 243.
Herodotos, 22. Hlidskjalf, 64, 77, 101, 137.
Herteit, 81, 245. Hlin, 98, 145.
Hesse (Rhenish), 255. Hlodyn, 145.
Hlok, 99.
Hloride, 44.
Hlymdaler, 204.

Hnikar - Hyrrokken

Hnikar, 54, 81, 245, 247. Hrimfaxe, 65.
Hnikud, 54, 81, 245. Hrimgerd, 251.
Hnitbjorg, 161, 162. Hringhorn, 133.
Hnos, 97, 238. Hrist, 99.
Hoder, 7, 89, 132, 148, 260, 265. Hrodvitner, 67.
Hodmimer’s-holt, 149. Hrolf, 241.
Hofvarpner, 99. Hron, 106.
Hogne, 198-218. Hroptatyr, 81, 246.

Holge, 187. Hrotte, 196.
Holzmann, A., 18. Hrungner, 7, 169-176, 210.
Homer, 222. Hrym, 141-144.
Honer, 84, 153, 155, 157, 184-186, Hvergelmer, 56, 72, 75, 106, 148,
193, 227, 243. 243, 248, 249.
Hor, 71. Hvitserk, 215.
Horn, 97. Huge, 121, 126.
Hornklofe, 233. Hugin, 105.
Horsa, 229. Hugstare, 71.
Howitts, the, 16. Humboldt, 244.
Hrasvelg, 79. Hymer, 128-133, 167, 186.
Hreidmar, 193-196. Hyndla, 249.
Hrid, 56. Hyrrokken, 133, 134.

I

Iceland, 240. India, 28, 244.
Ida, 148. Irmina, 255.
Idavold, 69. Ironwood, 57.
Ide, 159. Isefjord, 231.
Idun, 6, 7, 10, 28, 87, 88, 153, 155, Italy, 42, 222.
157, 184-187, 264. Ithaca, 223.
Iliad, 22, 221, 224. Itrman, 45.
Ilos, 43. Iva, 182.
Ivalde, 112, 189.

J

Jack, 247, 250. Johnstown, 232.
Jafnhar, 81, 243, 245, 246. Jokul, 240.
Jalanger, 207. Jonaker, 202, 206.
Jalg, 54. Jonsson (Arngrim), 17.
Jalk, 54, 81, 245-247. Jonsson (Th.), 18, 19.
Jamieson, 16. Jord, 65, 100, 174, 175.
Japhet, 35. Jormungand, 91-96, 144.
Jarnsaxa, 173. Jormunrek, 202-206.

Jarnved, 67. Joruvold, 71.
Jarnvidjes, 67. Jotland, 240.
Jat, 45. Jotunheim, 49, 65, 69, 91, 110,
Jerusalem, 225. 111, 115, 133, 144, 157, 169,
Jews, 29. 176, 185, 187, 231, 259.
Juno, 40, 250.
Jupiter, 41, 42.
Jutland, 46, 247.

K

Kadmos, 241. Keyser (Rud.), 18, 19, 20, 23, 25,
Kalevala, 84. 26.
Kalmuks, 225. Kesfet, 45.
Kann, 254. Kile, 71.
Kare, 240-243. Kingsley (Chas.), 230.
Kemble, 258. Kjalar, 81, 245.
Kerlangs, 73. Knue, 211.
Kormt, 73.
Kvaser, 137, 160-165, 227.

L

Laage, 231. Ljosalfaheim, 259.
Lading, 93. Loder, 243.
Laing (Samuel), 22, 224. Lofn, 98.
Landvide, 259. Loge, 120, 126, 240, 243.
Laomedon, 43. Logrinn, 49.
Latin, 222. Loke, 6-8, 80, 91-96, 109-145,
Laufey, 91, 110, 113, 137. 151, 153, 155-158, 176-187,
Leidre (See Hleidre), 231. 188-199, 240, 260, 261, 264,
Leipt, 56, 248. 265.
Lerad, 106, 263. Lopt, 91, 186.
Letfet, 73, 260. Loptsson (Jon), 20.
Liber, 228. Lora, 44.
Libera, 228. Loricos, 44.

Lif, 149. Loride, 44.
Lifthraser, 149. Lovar, 71.
Lit, 71, 134. Lybia, 230, 242.
Lithraborg, 231. Lyngve, 94.

M - Mithridates

Macbeth, 252-265. Megingjarder, 83, 106, 176, 180.
Macedonians, 39, 40, 42. Meile, 174.
Maelstrom, 208. Menglad, 260, 262.
Magi, 45. Menja, 206-209, 267.
Magne, 45, 48, 149, 168, 173. Menon, 44.
Magnusson (Arne), 17, 18, 23. Metellus, 223.
Malar, 49, 231, 232. Mexican, 244.
Mallet, 16, 230. Midgard, 5, 62, 63, 67, 109, 128,
Manilius, 229. 145, 259.
Mannheim, 225, 236. Midvitne, 245.
Mardol, 97. Mimer, 10, 19, 72, 73, 142, 143,
Mars, 222. 224, 227, 228, 234, 243.
Mechtild, 255. Mist, 99.
Mediterranean Sea, 38. Mithridates, 222, 229.

Mjodvitner - Mysing

Mjodvitner, 70. Morn, 185, 186.
Mjoll, 241. Morris (Wm.), 224, 266.
Mjolner, 6-8, 64, 83, 111-130, 134, Müller (Max), 244.
148, 149, 171, 176. Müller (P. E.), 18, 20.
Mjotud, 246. Mummius, 223.
Möbius (Th.), 18. Munch (P. A.), 18.
Mode, 45, 148, 149, 168. Mundilfare, 66.
Modgud, 135, 249. Munin, 105.
Modsogner, 70. Munon, 44.
Moin, 75. Muspel, 68, 103, 112, 142, 144.
Mokkerkalfe, 171, 173. Muspelheim, 5, 56, 58, 61, 66,
Moldau, 228. 243, 247, 249, 259.

Mongolians, 225. Muss, 254.
Moon, 66. Mysing, 207.
Moongarm, 67.

N

Na, 70. Nikar, 54.
Naglfar, 65, 112, 141, 144. Nikuz, 54.
Nain, 70. Nile, 41.
Nal, 91. Niping, 70.
Nanna, 81, 134, 136, 153. Njord, 6, 42, 84, 85, 101, 153, 158,
Nare, 91, 139. 159, 187, 227, 228, 232, 236,
Narfe, 65, 91, 139. 237, 239, 259, 260.
Nastrand, 9, 147. Njorvasnud, 225.
Nep, 89, 134. Njorve, 225.
Neptune, 41. Noah, 33, 35, 225.
Niblungs, 101, 193, 199, 201, 202, Noatun, 84, 85, 158, 232, 237,
262, 263, 266. 259.
Niblung Story, 30, 266, 267. Non, 106.
Nida Mountains, 147. Nor, 241.
Nide, 70. Nordre, 61, 70.
Nidhug, 9, 72, 75, 148, 249. Norfe, 65.
Niflheim, 5, 56, 58, 72, 92, 243, Norns, 73-78.
247, 249, 259. Norway, 215, 218, 222, 230, 236,
Niflhel, 55, 111, 259. 239, 240, 241, 251, 256, 257.
Niflungs, 193-199, 201, 202, 266. Not, 106.
Night, 65. Ny, 71.
Nye, 70.
Nyrad, 71.
Nyerup (R.), 18.

O

Oder, 97, 112, 228, 238. Olafsson (Magnus), 17.
Odin, 5-10, 29, 39, 43, 45-47, 60, Olafsson (Stephan), 17.
65, 73, 77, 80, 83, 86, 89, 96, Olaf (Thordsson), 9, 20, 22, 23-27.

100, 104-112, 132-134, 137, Olaf (Tryggvason), 261.
142, 143, 145, 153, 155, 157, Olvalde, 159.
158, 160-165, 168-176, 181, Ome, 54, 81, 245.
185, 186, 187, 189-192, 194, Onar, 70.
195, 206, 221, 239, 240, 243- Orboda, 101.
263. Ore, 70, 71.
Odinse, 230, 231, 250. Orestes, 223.
Odinstown, 232. Orkneys, 218.
Odoacer, 223. Ormt, 73.
Odrarer, 160-165. Orner, 210.
Odyssey, 22, 224. Orvandel, 173-175.
Ofner, 76, 245, 247. Oske, 54, 81, 245, 247.
Oin, 70. Otter, 193.
Oku-Thor, 82, 151, 167, 168, 209. Ottilia, 255.

P

Paulus (Diakonos), 244. Poetry (origin of), 161-165.
Persia, 225. Polar Sea, 248.
Petersen (N. M.), 248. Pompey, 43, 222, 229, 230.
Pfeiffer (Fr.), 18. Pontus, 229.
Pigott, 16. Priamos, 39, 43, 44, 166, 167.
Pluto, 49. Pyrrhus, 168.

Q

Quaser (see Kvaser). Quenland, 240.

R

Rachel, 255. Reidartyr, 165.
Radgrid, 99. Reidgotaland, 46.
Redsvid, 71. Rek, 71.
Rafn, 215. Remus, 222, 223.
Rafnagud, 105. Resen (P. J.), 17.
Ragnar, 206. Rhine, 201, 230.

Ragnar (Lodbrok), 205. Rind, 89, 100.
Ragnarok, 8, 88, 96, 104, 139-145, Ritta, 46.
167, 219, 228, 247, 249, 264, Roddros, 167.
266. Rolf Krake, 214-217.
Ran, 188. Rogner, 246.
Randgrid, 99. Rome, 31, 43, 221-230.
Randver, 202-205. Romulus, 222, 223.
Rask (Rasmus), 18. Romulus (Augustulus), 223.
Ratatosk, 75. Roskva, 114, 115.
Rate, 163. Rosta, 100.
Refil, 196. Rugman (Jon), 17.
Regin, 193-200. Russia, 225, 230.
Reginleif, 99.

S - Sinfjotle

Sad, 81, 245. Siar, 71.
Saga, 97, 259. Sibyl, 44.
Sager, 66. Sid, 106.
Sahrimner, 104. Sidhot, 81, 245, 247.
Saming, 47, 230, 236. Sidskeg, 81, 245, 247.
Samund the Wise, 20, 26. Sif, 44, 89, 170, 187, 189-192.
Sangetal, 81, 245, 247. Sigar, 46.
Saracens, 225. Sigfather, 81, 245, 247.
Sarmatia, 225. Sigfrid, 19, 232, 263.
Saturn, 38, 40, 41, 42. Sigge, 46.
Saxland, 45, 48, 230, 231. Sighan, 257.
Saxo-Grammaticus, 239. Sighvat, 20.
Saxons, 215, 229. Sigmund, 196-204.
Schlegel, 253. Sigtuna, 47, 230, 232.
Scotland, 257, 258. Sigtyr, 165, 189, 247.
Scott (Walter), 257, 258. Sigurd, 196-204, 262, 267.
Scythia (Magna), 225, 229, 244. Sigyn, 139, 153, 185.
Seeland, 49, 50, 231, 242. Silvertop, 73, 260.
Sekin, 106. Simrock (K.), 18, 19, 253, 263.
Sennar, 36. Simul, 66.

Serkland, 225. Sindre, 147, 190-192.
Sessrymner, 86. Siner, 73, 260.
Shakspeare, 252-256. Sinfjotle, 204.
Shem, 36.

Sjafne - Snotra

Sjafne, 98. Skogul, 99, 252.
Sjofn, 98. Skol, 67.
Skade, 84, 85, 139, 158, 159, 185, Skrymer, 116-127.
187, 228, 236, 259. Skuld, 74, 100, 243, 252, 256.
Skeggold, 99. Skule (Jarl), 21-24, 249.
Skeidbrimer, 73, 200. Sleeping Beauty, 254.
Skidbladner, 108-113, 189-192, Sleipner, 73, 108-112, 133, 169-
234, 263. 176, 259.
Skifid, 71. Slid, 56, 248.
Skilfing, 81, 246, 247. Slidrugtanne, 134.
Skinfaxe, 66. Sna, 241.
Skirfir, 71. Snorre, 9, 19-27, 221, 226, 233,
Skirner, 94, 101-103, 143, 263. 239, 242, 243.
Skjaldun, 45. Snotra, 98.
Skjold, 45, 46, 206, 230, 231.

Sokmimer - Syr

Sokmimer, 245. Svarin, 71, 259.
Sokvabek, 97, 259. Svartalfaheim, 94.
Sol, 99. Svarthofde, 58, 250.
Solvarg, 67. Svasud, 80.
Son, 164, 165. Sveinsson (Br.), 17.
Sorle, 202-206 Sviagris, 215, 217.
Spain, 225. Svid, 246.
Steinthor, 235. Svidar, 54.
Stephens (Geo.), 230. Svidr, 236.
Strabo, 226. Svidrer, 54, 245.
Sturle (Thordsson), 21, 249. Svidrir, 81.

Styx, 248. Svidur, 245.
Sudre, 61, 70. Svipdag, 46, 215, 262.
Sun, 66. Svipol, 81, 245.
Surt, 8, 57, 78, 142-149, 168, 249. Svithjod, 46, 49, 181, 207, 211,
Suttung, 164, 165. 225, 228, 236.
Svade, 241. Svebdegg, 46.
Svadilfare, 110, 111. Svol, 56, 106, 248.
Svafner, 76, 243, 246, 247. Svolne, 174.
Svanhild, 199-206. Sylg, 56, 248.
Syn, 98.
Syr, 97.

T - Thorstein

Tacitus, 244. Thjodnuma, 106.
Tanais, 225. Thjodolf, 51, 174, 184, 243.
Tanaquisl, 225, 226. Thok, 136, 137, 264.
Tangnjost, 83. Thol, 106.
Tangrisner, 83. Thor, 6, 8, 29, 41, 44, 65, 73, 82,
Tartareans, 225. 83, 89, 100, 109-153, 165-192,
Taylor (W.), 16. 205-243, 251, 259, 260, 263.
Testament (New), 28. Thorarin, 235.
Testament (Old), 28. Thord, 20.
Teutons, 222-224, 229, 230, 239, Thorer, 235.
244, 253, 263, 264. Thorin, 70.
Thek, 71, 81, 245. Thorleif, 176, 184, 187.
Thjalfe, 114, 115, 120, 121, 126, Thorn, 179.
171, 173, 181. Thorodd (Runemaster), 27.
Thjasse, 84, 85, 155-158, 184-187, Thorpe (Benjamin), 15, 252, 257,
210. 259, 262.
Thjode, 196. Thorre, 241.
Thorstein (Viking’s son), 241.

Thrace - Tyr

Thrace, 44, 221. Thvite, 96.

Thride, 81, 243-246. Thyn, 106.
Thro, 71, 81. Tiber, 221.
Throin, 71. Tieck, 250.
Thror, 245. Tivisco, 244.
Thrud, 99. Tom Thumb, 251.
Thruda, 183. Torfason (T.), 17.
Thrudgelmer, 250. Tror, 44.
Thrudheim, 44, 259. Tros, 43.
Thrudvang, 82, 127, 173, 232, Troy, 38, 43, 44, 47, 64, 151, 166,
259. 167, 168, 222-224, 229.
Thrym, 7. Tshudic, 240.
Thrymheim, 84, 85, 156, 259. Turkey, 38, 45, 47, 151, 166.
Thucydides, 22. Turkistan, 228, 229.
Thud, 81, 245. Turkland, 229.
Thul, 56. Tyr, 6, 8, 29, 87, 92, 95, 143, 153,
Thule, 30. 165, 187, 244, 260.
Thund, 81, 246.

U

Ud, 81, 245. Umea, 250.
Uhland (Ludw.), 18, 263. Upsala, 47, 215, 216, 232, 237.
Ukko, 82, 84, 239. Ural Mountains, 229.
Ukko-Thor, 239. Urd, 10, 19, 73, 74, 76, 243, 252-
Ulfhedinn, 233. 256.
Uller, 89, 153, 174, 183, 259, 260. Utgard, 118-127.
Ulysses, 151, 223. Utgard-Loke, 119-130.

V - Vestre

Vafthrudner, 58, 243, 244. Var, 98.
Vafud, 81, 246. Vartare, 192.
Vafurloge, 199, 200. Vasad, 80.
Vag, 214, 215. Ve, 60, 227, 230, 243, 249.
Vainamoinen, 84. Vedas, 253.
Vak, 81, 246. Vedfolner, 75.

Valaskjalf, 77, 80, 259. Veggdegg, 45.
Valdemar (King), 23, 27. Vegsvin, 106.
Vale, 71, 89, 100, 139, 148, 153, Vegtam, 247, 264.
260. Venus, 42, 256.
Valfather, 73, 243. Veratyr, 81, 247.
Valhal, 6, 7, 28, 51, 81, 99, 104- Verdande, 74, 243, 252, 256.
109, 132, 170-176, 188, 235, Verer, 46.
243. Vesete, 240.
Vanadis, 97. Vestfal, 46.
Vanaheim, 226, 227, 259. Vestre, 61.
Vanaland, 226-228.
Vanaquisl, 225-226.

Vid - Votan

Vid, 56, 106. Vindalf, 70.
Vidar, 8, 89, 143, 145, 148, 153, Vindlone, 80.
168, 177, 187, 259, 260. Vindsval, 80.
Vidblain, 78. Vingener, 45, 149.
Vidfin, 66. Vingethor, 44.
Vidolf, 58, 250. Vingolf, 54, 69, 81, 247.
Vidrer, 54, 247. Vinland, 30.
Vidsete, 215. Virfir, 71.
Vidur, 81. Virgil, 222, 223, 242.
Vifil, 240. Vit, 71.
Vifilsey, 240. Vitrgils, 46.
Vig, 70. Vodin, 45.
Vigfusson (G.), 9, 26, 75, 223, Vog, 214, 215.
248, 265. Volsungs, 46, 196-205.
Vigrid, 142, 146. Volsung saga, 224, 266.
Viking, 240. Volukrontes, 167.
Vile, 60, 230, 243, 249, 277. Von, 96.
Villenwood, 251. Vor, 98.
Vilmeide, 58, 250. Vot, 215.
Vimer, 177, 178. Votan, 244.
Vin, 106.

Vina, 106.

W

Wafurloge, 263. Wilbet, 255.
Wainamoinen, 239. Wilkin (E.), 18, 19, 20.
Wallachia, 228. Williamstown, 232.
Warburton, 253. Witches, 253-256.
Weird Sisters, 253-256. Wodan, 244.
Welsh, 240. Worbet, 255.
Wenern, 215. Worm (Chr.), 17.
Wessebrun Prayer, 256. Worm (Ole), 17.

Y

Ydaler, 259. Ynglinga saga, 50, 243.
Yg, 81, 246. Ynglings, 47, 238.
Ygdrasil, 6, 8, 15, 29, 72, 73-78, Yngve, 47, 230, 238.
108, 142, 143, 252, 263. Yngve-Frey, 186.
Ylg, 56, 248. Yrsa, 213-216.
Ymer, 5, 24, 58-63, 70, 128, 179, Yvigg, 46.
240, 249, 250.

Z

Zalmoxis, 244. Zoroaster, 37, 40.
Zeus, 244, 246.

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