The Poetic Edda
Henry Adams Bellows (translator)
3,671 passages indexed from The Poetic Edda (Henry Adams Bellows (translator)) — Page 22 of 74
License: Public Domain
The Poetic Edda, passage 2753
14. In line 1 the manuscript has “land” instead of “halls,” which
involves a metrical error. Watch-towers: the word used is identical
with the name of Othin’s watch-tower, Hlithskjolf (cf. Grimnismol,
introductory prose). Buthli: the manuscript has “Bikki,” which has led
some editors to transfer this stanza to the Hamthesmol, placing it
between stanzas 16 and 17; it seems more likely, however, that “Bikki”
was a scribal error for “Buthli.” Regarding Bikki cf. Sigurtharkvitha
en skamma, 63 and note. Line 4 is apparently in Fornyrthislag.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2799
12. “Full much do I wonder, | nor well can I see,
Why the woman wise | so wildly hath written;
But to me it seems | that the meaning beneath
Is that both shall be slain | if soon ye shall go.
But one rune she missed, | or else others have marred it.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 436
6. “Vafthruthnir, hail! | to thy hall am I come,
For thyself I fain would see;
And first would I ask | if wise thou art,
Or, giant, all wisdom hast won.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 3212
Ey′-fur-a, mother of the berserkers, 225.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2725
33. Then the champer of bits | drew the chieftain great,
The gold-guarder, down | to the place of death.
. . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . .
The Poetic Edda, passage 3229
Fjol″-svinns-mǭl′, the Ballad of Fjolsvith, 234, 239–251.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1317
48. “To Oth didst thou run, | who loved thee ever,
And many under | thy apron have crawled;
My noble one, out | in the night thou leapest,
As Heithrun goes | the goats among.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 2588
35. In the manuscript this stanza follows stanza 32. The loss of two
lines, to the effect that “Ill was that marriage for my brothers, and
ill for Atli himself,” and the transposition of the remaining two lines
to this point, are indicated in a number of editions. The warrior,
etc.: Atli, whom Guthrun kills.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1727
1. The manuscript contains the superscription: “Here begins the lay of
Helgi Hundingsbane and h. (Hothbrodd?) The lay of the Volsungs.”
Eagles, etc.: the screaming of eagles and water pouring from heaven
were portents of the birth of a hero. Borghild: Sigmund’s first wife;
Bralund was her home, not Sigmund’s.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2890
99. Full happy shall he be | who such offspring has,
Or children so gallant, | as Gjuki begot;
Forever shall live, | and in lands far and wide,
Their valor heroic | wherever men hear it.
The Poetic Edda, passage 446
16. “Ifing is the river | that ’twixt the realms
Of the gods and the giants goes;
For all time ever | open it flows,
No ice on the river there is.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 1096
15. “Answer me, Alvis! | thou knowest all,
Dwarf, of the doom of men:
What call they the sun, | that all men see,
In each and every world?”
The Poetic Edda, passage 2621
1. I have heard it told | in olden tales
How a maiden came | to Morningland;
No one of all | on earth above
To Heithrek’s daughter | help could give.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2155
40. Neither the manuscript nor any of the editions suggest the
existence of more than one bird in stanzas 40–44. It seems to me,
however, that there are not only two birds, but two distinct stories.
Stanzas 40–41 apply solely to Guthrun, and suggest that Sigurth will go
straight to Gunnar’s hall. Stanzas 42–44, on the other hand, apply
solely to Brynhild, and indicate that Sigurth will find her before he
visits the Gjukungs. The confusion which existed between these two
versions of the story, and which involved a fundamental difference in
the final working out of Brynhild’s revenge, is commented on in the
note on Gripisspo, 13. In the present passage it is possible that two
birds are speaking, each reflecting one version of the story; it seems
even more likely that one speech or the other (40–41 or 42–44) reflects
the original form of the narrative, the other having been added, either
later or from another poem. In the Volsungasaga the whole passage is
condensed into a few words by one bird: “Wiser were it if he should
then ride up on Hindarfjoll, where Brynhild sleeps, and there would he
get much wisdom.” The Guthrun-bird does not appear at all.
The Poetic Edda, passage 43
Ar skal rísa | sás annars vill
fé eþa fjǫr hafa;
liggjandi ulfr | sjaldan láer of getr
né sofandi maþr sigr.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1504
28. “I shall weld the break | in the gold so well
That fairer than ever | thy father shall find it,
And better much | thy mother shall think it,
And thou no worse | than ever it was.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 1581
5. “Trouble we had, | but tidings none,
Our horses failed | in the mountains high,
The waters of Sæmorn | we needs must wade;
Svafnir’s daughter, | with rings bedecked,
She whom we sought, | was still denied us.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 3547
Sig′-urth Ring, son of Randver, 227.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1281
13. “Thy mother, bright | with bracelets fair,
Hight, methinks, | the priestess Hledis;
Frothi her father, | and Friaut her mother;—
Her race of the mightiest | men must seem.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2351
4. The southern hero | his naked sword,
Fair-flashing, let | between them lie;
(Nor would he come | the maid to kiss;)
The Hunnish king | in his arms ne’er held
The maiden he gave | to Gjuki’s sons.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1299
30. Eleven in number | the gods were known,
When Baldr o’er the hill | of death was bowed;
And this to avenge | was Vali swift,
When his brother’s slayer | soon he slew.
The Poetic Edda, passage 626
45. With this stanza the narrative current of the poem is resumed.
Ægir: the sea-god; cf. Lokasenna, introductory prose.
The Poetic Edda, passage 3531
Sig′-ar, brother of Hogni, 312, 313.
The Poetic Edda, passage 3168
Both′-vild, daughter of Nithuth, 254, 258, 260, 261, 263, 265–268.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1511
34. . . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . .
“Answer me, Völund, | greatest of elves,
What happed with my boys | that hale once were?”
The Poetic Edda, passage 874
17. The manuscripts indicate no lacuna, and many editors unite stanza
17 with lines 1 and 2 of 18. Sijmons and Gering assume a gap after
these two lines, but it seems more probable that the missing passage,
if any, belonged before them, supplying the connection with the
previous stanza.
The Poetic Edda, passage 506
37. Snorri quotes this stanza. Hræsvelg (“the Corpse-Eater”): on this
giant in eagle’s form cf. Voluspo, 50, and Skirnismol, 27.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2760
22. The manuscript does not indicate the speaker; perhaps a first line
similar to line 1 of stanza 24 should appear here. Some editors,
however, assume that a line is missing after line 3. Gunnar demands
proof that Hogni is dead because, as stanza 28 shows, he is unwilling
to die himself until he is assured that the secret of the treasure will
perish with him. He did not, of course, intend that the heart should be
cut from the living Hogni.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2085
6. “My heart did drive me, | my hand fulfilled,
And my shining sword so sharp;
Few are keen | when old age comes,
Who timid in boyhood be.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 1078
No better summary of the Alvissmol can be given than Gering’s statement
that “it is a versified chapter from the skaldic Poetics.” The
narrative skeleton, contained solely in stanzas 1–8 and in 35, is of
the slightest; the dwarf Alvis, desirous of marrying Thor’s daughter,
is compelled by the god to answer a number of questions to test his
knowledge. That all his answers are quite satisfactory makes no
difference whatever to the outcome. The questions and answers differ
radically from those of the Vafthruthnismol. Instead of being
essentially mythological, they all concern synonyms. Thor asks what the
earth, the sky, the moon, and so on, are called “in each of all the
worlds,” but there is no apparent significance in the fact that the
gods call the earth one thing and the giants call it another; the
answers are simply strings of poetic circumlocutions, or “kennings.”
Concerning the use of these “kennings” in skaldic poetry, cf.
introductory note to the Hymiskvitha.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1787
Were it not for sections VI and VIII the poem would be little more than
a battle-ground for scholars, but those two sections are in many ways
as fine as anything in Old Norse poetry. Sigrun’s curse of her brother
for the slaying of Helgi and her lament for her dead husband, and the
extraordinary vividness of the final scene in the burial hill, have a
quality which fully offsets the baffling confusion of the rest of the
poem.
The Poetic Edda, passage 753
33. “Gladly, had I been there, | my help to thee had been
given.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 1261
45. The manuscript indicates no line as beginning a stanza. Minds:
possibly “seas,” the word being doubtful. Most editors assume the gap
as indicated.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2228
18. Stanzas 18–19, which editors have freely rearranged, apparently
come from another source than any of the rest. Shaved off: the runes
were shaved off by Othin from the wood on which they were carved, and
the shavings bearing them were put into the magic mead. Wanes: cf.
Voluspo, 21, note.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1627
42. “A vow I had | in my dear-loved home,
When Helgi sought | with rings to have me,
That not of my will, | if the warrior died,
Would I fold in my arms | a man unfamed.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 1262
46. The manuscript indicates no line as beginning a stanza. Rig-Jarl:
Kon’s father; cf. stanza 36.
The Poetic Edda, passage 720
Thor was on his way back from a journey in the East, and came to a
sound; on the other side of the sound was a ferryman with a boat. Thor
called out:
The Poetic Edda, passage 3036
5. “Lonely am I | as the forest aspen,
Of kindred bare | as the fir of its boughs,
My joys are all lost | as the leaves of the tree
When the scather of twigs | from the warm day turns.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 3105
Th following a vowel is soft, as in “with;” at the beginning of a word
or following a consonant it is hard, as in “thin.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 233
39. If wealth a man | has won for himself,
Let him never suffer in need;
Oft he saves for a foe | what he plans for a friend,
For much goes worse than we wish.
The Poetic Edda, passage 3654
Ving′-thor, Thor, 135, 174, 185, 186.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2929
41. The manuscript does not indicate the speaker; Grundtvig adds as a
first line: “Then Hogni laughed loud | where the slain Vingi lay.”
Many editors assume the loss of a line somewhere in the stanza.
Unarmed: Hogni does not see Atli’s armed followers, who are on the
other side of the courtyard (stanza 39). One: Vingi.
The Poetic Edda, passage 3494
Odd″-rūn-ar-grātr′, the Lament of Oddrun, 132, 420, 438, 447, 449, 450,
469–479, 483, 494, 522, 532.
The Poetic Edda, passage 893
40. The translation of the last two lines is mostly guesswork, as the
word rendered “gods” is uncertain, and the one rendered “at the
autumn-time” is quite obscure.
The Poetic Edda, passage 3188
Dag, brother of Sigrun, 310, 318, 319, 323, 324, 331.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1274
6. “Falsely thou askest me, | Freyja, to go,
For so in the glance | of thine eyes I see;
On the way of the slain | thy lover goes with thee,
Ottar the young, | the son of Instein.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 1601
20. “Thou wouldst neigh, Atli, | but gelded thou art,
See, Hrimgerth hoists her tail;
In thy hinder end | is thy heart, methinks,
Though thy speech is a stallion’s cry.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 770
50. “Truth do I speak, | but slow on thy way thou art;
Far hadst thou gone | if now in the boat thou hadst fared.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 1065
13. Lines 1–3 are identical with Baldrs Draumar, 1, 1–3.
The Poetic Edda, passage 3068
5. Cf. note on stanza 4; the manuscript does not indicate line 1 as
beginning a stanza. Scather of twigs: poetic circumlocution for the
wind (cf. Skaldskaparmal, chapter 27), though some editors think the
phrase here means the sun. Some editors assume a more or less extensive
gap between stanzas 5 and 6.