The Poetic Edda
Henry Adams Bellows (translator)
3,671 passages indexed from The Poetic Edda (Henry Adams Bellows (translator)) — Page 16 of 74
License: Public Domain
The Poetic Edda, passage 1505
29. Beer he brought, | he was better in cunning,
Until in her seat | full soon she slept.
The Poetic Edda, passage 3112
Ag′-nar, brother of Geirröth, 85, 86.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2585
32. In the manuscript this stanza is immediately followed by the two
lines which here, following Bugge’s suggestion, appear as stanza 35. In
lines 3–4 Guthrun foretells what will (and actually does) happen if she
is forced to become Atli’s wife. If stanza 35 really belongs here, it
continues the prophesy to the effect that Guthrun will have no rest
till she has avenged her brothers’ death.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1158
2. Sleipnir: Othin’s eight-legged horse, the son of Loki and the
stallion Svathilfari; cf. Lokasenna, 23, and Grimnismol, 44, and notes.
Niflhel: the murky (“nifl”) dwelling of Hel, goddess of the dead. The
hound: Garm; cf. Voluspo, 44.
The Poetic Edda, passage 427
165. This stanza is almost totally obscure. The third and fourth lines
look like interpolations.
The Poetic Edda, passage 320
126. I rede thee, Loddfafnir! | and hear thou my rede,—
Profit thou hast if thou hearest,
Great thy gain if thou learnest:
A shoemaker be, | or a maker of shafts,
For only thy single self;
If the shoe is ill made, | or the shaft prove false,
Then evil of thee men think.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2962
77. The manuscript indicates no gap (lines 1–2), and most editions make
a single line, despite the defective meter: “Thy sons hast thou lost
| as thou never shouldst lose them.” The second part of line 2 is in
the original identical with the second half of line 3 of stanza 80, and
may perhaps have been inserted here by mistake. Skulls: it is possible
that line 3 was borrowed from a poem belonging to the Völund tradition
(cf. Völundarkvitha, 25 and 37), and the idea doubtless came from some
such source, but probably the poet inserted it in a line of his own
composition to give an added touch of horror. The Volsungasaga follows
the Atlamol in including this incident.
The Poetic Edda, passage 424
161. This stanza, according to Müllenhoff, was the original conclusion
of the poem, the phrase “a fifteenth” being inserted only after stanzas
162–165 had crept in. Delling: a seldom mentioned god who married Not
(Night). Their son was Dag (Day). Thjothrörir: not mentioned elsewhere.
Hroptatyr: Othin.
The Poetic Edda, passage 3382
Hoth, slayer of Baldr, 15, 25, 161, 198, 228.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1675
7. The warrior throng | a ruler thought him,
Good times, they said, | mankind should see;
The king himself | from battle-press came,
To give the prince | a leek full proud.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2114
32. “There sits Sigurth, | sprinkled with blood,
And Fafnir’s heart | with fire he cooks;
Wise were the breaker | of rings, I ween,
To eat the life-muscles | all so bright.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 46
A poem in Fornyrthislag is normally entitled -kvitha (Thrymskvitha,
Guthrunarkvitha, etc.), which for convenience I have rendered as “lay,”
while a poem in Ljothahattr is entitled -mol (Grimnismol, Skirnismol,
etc.), which I have rendered as “ballad.” It is difficult to find any
distinction other than metrical between the two terms, although it is
clear that one originally existed.
The Poetic Edda, passage 247
53. A little sand | has a little sea,
And small are the minds of men;
Though all men are not | equal in wisdom,
Yet half-wise only are all.
The Poetic Edda, passage 407
136. This stanza suggests the dangers of too much hospitality. The beam
(bolt) which is ever being raised to admit guests becomes weak thereby.
It needs a ring to help it in keeping the door closed, and without the
ability at times to ward off guests a man becomes the victim of his own
generosity.
The Poetic Edda, passage 852
32. The goats’ mighty ruler | then rose on his knee,
And with all the strength | of a god he struck;
Whole was the fellow’s | helmet-stem,
But shattered the wine-cup | rounded was.
The Poetic Edda, passage 907
8. “A place and a seat | will the gods prepare
No more in their midst for thee;
For the gods know well | what men they wish
To find at their mighty feasts.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 764
44. “I learned it from men, | the men so old,
Who dwell in the hills of home.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 2029
15. “Loud will the sons | of Hunding laugh,
Who low did Eylimi | lay in death,
If the hero sooner | seeks the red
Rings to find | than his father’s vengeance.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 2675
20. Grani’s burden: the treasure won by Sigurth from Fafnir; cf.
Fafnismol, concluding prose. The manuscript marks line 3 as beginning a
new stanza, as also in stanzas 21 and 22.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2056
10. Hreithmar’s daughters do not appear elsewhere. It has been
suggested that originally stanza 10 was followed by one in which
Lofnheith lamented her inability to avenge her father, as she was
married and had no son.
The Poetic Edda, passage 3244
Fri′-aut, daughter of Hildigun, 222, 223.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2631
9. “I came not hither | to help thee thus
Because thou ever | my aid didst earn;
I fulfilled the oath | that of old I swore,
That aid to all | I should ever bring,
(When they shared the wealth | the warriors had).”
The Poetic Edda, passage 186
“Rule he orders, | and rights he fixes,
Laws he ordains | that ever shall live.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 788
12. This stanza is hopelessly confused as to form, but none of the
editorial rearrangements have materially altered the meaning. Doomed to
die: the word “feigr” occurs constantly in the Old Norse poems and
sagas; the idea of an inevitable but unknown fate seems to have been
practically universal throughout the pre-Christian period. On the
concealment of names from enemies, cf. Fafnismol, prose after stanza 1.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1932
9. “First shalt thou, prince, | thy father avenge,
And Eylimi, | their ills requiting;
The hardy sons | of Hunding thou
Soon shalt fell, | and victory find.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 2589
36. The stanza describes the journey to Atli’s home, and sundry
unsuccessful efforts have been made to follow the travellers through
Germany and down the Danube. Foreign women: slaves. Line 5, which the
manuscript marks as beginning a stanza, is probably spurious.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1390
21. “Few from the joy | of their eyes will go forth,
When the sight of their loves they seek;
Full bright are the gates | of the golden hall,
And a home shall I here enjoy.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 20
This precious manuscript, now in the Royal Library in Copenhagen, and
known as the Codex Regius (R2365), has been the basis for all published
editions of the Eddic poems. A few poems of similar character found
elsewhere have subsequently been added to the collection, until now
most editions include, as in this translation, a total of thirty-four.
A shorter manuscript now in the Arnamagnæan collection in Copenhagen
(AM748), contains fragmentary or complete versions of six of the poems
in the Codex Regius, and one other, Baldrs Draumar, not found in that
collection. Four other poems (Rigsthula, Hyndluljoth, Grougaldr and
Fjolsvinnsmol, the last two here combined under the title of
Svipdagsmol), from various manuscripts, so closely resemble in
subject-matter and style the poems in the Codex Regius that they have
been included by most editors in the collection. Finally, Snorri’s Edda
contains one complete poem, the Grottasongr, which many editors have
added to the poetic collection; it is, however, not included in this
translation, as an admirable English version of it is available in Mr.
Brodeur’s rendering of Snorri’s work.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2563
4. Regarding the varying accounts of the manner of Sigurth’s death cf.
Brot, concluding prose and note. Grani: cf. Brot, 7.
The Poetic Edda, passage 434
4. “Safe mayst thou go, | safe come again,
And safe be the way thou wendest!
Father of men, | let thy mind be keen
When speech with the giant thou seekest.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 3379
Hǭr, Othin, 10, 51–53, 60, 103.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1754
31. Sigrun here appears again as a Valkyrie. Ron: Ægir’s wife; cf.
Helgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar, 18 and note. Sea-beast: ship. Gnipalund:
“Crag-Wood.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 2667
12. In the manuscript this stanza follows stanza 9; cf. note on stanzas
10–20. No gap is indicated, but something has presumably been lost.
Grundtvig supplies as a first line: “The maid her evil | days
remembered,” and inserts as a second line line 5 of stanza 9.
The Poetic Edda, passage 3460
Mith″-garths-orm′, a serpent, 17, 21, 23, 24, 122, 139, 145, 146, 170,
196, 230.
The Poetic Edda, passage 668
29. “Rage and longing, | fetters and wrath,
Tears and torment are thine;
Where thou sittest down | my doom is on thee
Of heavy heart
And double dole.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2493
12. “Happy we slept, | one bed we had,
As he my brother | born had been;
Eight were the nights | when neither there
Loving hand | on the other laid.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1840
A hill was made in Helgi’s memory. And when he came to Valhall, then
Othin bade him rule over everything with himself.
The Poetic Edda, passage 3410
Hym′-ling, son of Hjorvarth, 273.
The Poetic Edda, passage 3455
Men′-gloth, beloved of Svipdag, 234–236, 238, 239, 241, 248–251, 350,
388, 441.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1749
26. No gap indicated in the manuscript. Hotun: cf. stanza 8 and note.
The Poetic Edda, passage 806
41. Hatred: so Regius; the other manuscript has, apparently,
“sickness.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 1163
10. In the manuscript lines 1–2 are abbreviated, as also in stanza 12.
The Poetic Edda, passage 640
2. “Ill words do I now | await from thy son,
If I seek to get speech with him,
And answer to win, | for whom the wise one
Is mightily moved.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 2190
16. On the paws of the bear, | and on Bragi’s tongue,
On the wolf’s claws bared, | and the eagle’s beak,
On bloody wings, | and bridge’s end,
On freeing hands | and helping foot-prints.
The Poetic Edda, passage 589
6. Valaskjolf (“the Shelf of the Slain”): Othin’s home, in which is his
watch-tower, Hlithskjolf. Gering identifies this with Valhall, and as
that is mentioned in stanza 8, he believes stanza 6 to be an
interpolation.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1456
44. Goddess of gold: poetic circumlocution for “woman,” here meaning
Sinmora.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2508
Drap Niflunga is based entirely on the poems which follow it in the
collection, with no use of extraneous material. The part of the story
which it summarizes belongs to the semi-historical Burgundian tradition
(cf. introductory note to Gripisspo), in many respects parallel to the
familiar narrative of the Nibelungenlied, and, except in minor details,
showing few essentially Northern additions. Sigurth is scarcely
mentioned, and the outstanding episode is the slaying of Gunnar and
Hogni, following their journey to Atli’s home.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2970
85. The manuscript marks line 3 as beginning a new stanza. The
Volsungasaga makes line 2 part of Atli’s speech.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2361
14. Much he pondered | for many an hour;
Never before | was the wonder known
That a queen should thus | her kingdom leave;
In counsel then | did he Hogni call,
(For him in truest | trust he held.)
The Poetic Edda, passage 1905
Sinfjotli’s history is told in detail in the early chapters of the
Volsungasaga. The twin sister of Sigmund Volsungsson, Signy, had
married Siggeir, who hated his brother-in-law by reason of his desire
to possess a sword which had belonged to Othin and been won by Sigmund.
Having treacherously invited Volsung and his ten sons to visit him,
Siggeir slew Volsung and captured his sons, who were set in the stocks.
Each night a wolf (“some men say that she was Siggeir’s mother”) came
out of the woods and ate up one of the brothers, till on the tenth
night Sigmund alone was left. Then, however, Signy aided him to escape,
and incidentally to kill the wolf. He vowed vengeance on Siggeir, and
Signy, who hated her husband, was determined to help him. Convinced
that Sigmund must have a helper of his own race, Signy changed forms
with a witch, and in this guise sought out Sigmund, who, not knowing
who she was, spent three nights with her. Thereafter she gave birth to
a boy, whom she named Sinfjotli (“The Yellow-Spotted”?), whom she sent
to Sigmund. For a time they lived in the woods, occasionally turning
into wolves (whence perhaps Sinfjotli’s name). When Sinfjotli was full
grown, he and his father came to Siggeir’s house, but were seen and
betrayed by the two young sons of Signy and Siggeir, whereupon
Sinfjotli slew them. Siggeir promptly had Sigmund and Sinfjotli buried
alive, but Signy managed to smuggle Sigmund’s famous sword into the
grave, and with this the father and son dug themselves out. The next
night they burned Siggeir’s house, their enemy dying in the flames, and
Signy, who had at the last refused to leave her husband, from a sense
of somewhat belated loyalty, perishing with him.