The Poetic Edda
Henry Adams Bellows (translator)
3,671 passages indexed from The Poetic Edda (Henry Adams Bellows (translator)) — Page 20 of 74
License: Public Domain
The Poetic Edda, passage 974
9. There exists no account of any incident in which Othin and Loki thus
swore blood-brotherhood, but they were so often allied in enterprises
that the idea is wholly reasonable. The common process of “mingling
blood” was carried out quite literally, and the promise of which Loki
speaks is characteristic of those which, in the sagas, often
accompanied the ceremony; cf. Brot af Sigurtharkvithu, 18 and note.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2247
The course of the Volsungasaga’s story from the Sigrdrifumol to the
Brot is, briefly, as follows. After leaving the Valkyrie, Sigurth comes
to the dwelling of Heimir, Brynhild’s brother-in-law, where he meets
Brynhild and they swear oaths of fidelity anew (the Volsungasaga is no
more lucid with regard to the Brynhild-Sigrdrifa confusion than was the
annotator of the poems). Then the scene shifts to the home of the
Gjukungs. Guthrun, Gjuki’s daughter, has a terrifying dream, and visits
Brynhild to have it explained, which the latter does by foretelling
pretty much everything that is going to happen; this episode was
presumably the subject of a separate poem in the lost section of the
manuscript. Guthrun returns home, and Sigurth soon arrives, to be made
enthusiastically welcome. Grimhild, mother of Gunnar and Guthrun, gives
him a magic draught which makes him forget all about Brynhild, and
shortly thereafter he marries Guthrun.
The Poetic Edda, passage 322
128. I rede thee, Loddfafnir! | and hear thou my rede,—
Profit thou hast if thou hearest,
Great thy gain if thou learnest:
In evil never | joy shalt thou know,
But glad the good shall make thee.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2421
5. This stanza may refer, as Gering thinks, merely to the fact that
Brynhild lived happy and unsuspecting as Gunnar’s wife until the fatal
quarrel with Guthrun (cf. Gripisspo, 45 and note) revealed to her the
deceit whereby she had been won, or it may refer to the version of the
story which appears in stanzas 32–39, wherein Brynhild lived happily
with Atli, her brother, until he was attacked by Gunnar and Sigurth,
and was compelled to give his sister to Gunnar, winning her consent
thereto by representing Gunnar as Sigurth, her chosen hero (cf.
Guthrunarkvitha I, 24 and note). The manuscript marks line 4 as the
beginning of a new stanza, and many editors combine it with stanza 6.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1269
1. “Maiden, awake! | wake thee, my friend,
My sister Hyndla, | in thy hollow cave!
Already comes darkness, | and ride must we
To Valhall to seek | the sacred hall.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2408
61. “Slowly I speak,— | but for my sake
Her life, methinks, | she shall not lose;
She shall wander over | the tossing waves,
To where Jonak rules | his father’s realm.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2597
The material for the poem evidently came from North Germany, but there
is little indication that the poet was working on the basis of a
narrative legend already fully formed. The story of the wife accused of
faithlessness who proves her innocence by the test of boiling water had
long been current in Germany, as elsewhere, and had attached itself to
various women of legendary fame, but not except in this poem, so far as
we can judge, to Guthrun (Kriemhild). The introduction of Thjothrek
(Theoderich, Dietrich, Thithrek) is another indication of relative
lateness, for the legends of Theoderich do not appear to have reached
the North materially before the year 1000. On the anachronism of
bringing Thjothrek to Atli’s court cf. Guthrunarkvitha II, introductory
prose, note, in which the development of the Theoderich tradition in
its relation to that of Atli is briefly outlined.
The Poetic Edda, passage 3479
Nifl′-heim, the world of the dead, 3, 94.
The Poetic Edda, passage 914
14. “Now were I without | as I am within,
And here in Ægir’s hall,
Thine head would I bear | in mine hands away,
And pay thee the price of thy lies.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 336
142. Then began I to thrive, | and wisdom to get,
I grew and well I was;
Each word led me on | to another word,
Each deed to another deed.
The Poetic Edda, passage 410
139. With this stanza begins the most confusing part of the Hovamol:
the group of eight stanzas leading up to the Ljothatal, or list of
charms. Certain paper manuscripts have before this stanza a title:
“Othin’s Tale of the Runes.” Apparently stanzas 139, 140 and 142 are
fragments of an account of how Othin obtained the runes; 141 is
erroneously inserted from some version of the magic mead story (cf.
stanzas 104–110); and stanzas 143, 144, 145, and 146 are from
miscellaneous sources, all, however, dealing with the general subject
of runes. With stanza 147 a clearly continuous passage begins once
more. The windy tree: the ash Yggdrasil (literally “the Horse of
Othin,” so called because of this story), on which Othin, in order to
win the magic runes, hanged himself as an offering to himself, and
wounded himself with his own spear. Lines 5 and 6 have presumably been
borrowed from Svipdagsmol, 30.
The Poetic Edda, passage 3530
Sif, Thor’s wife, 88, 101, 134, 140, 143, 148, 151, 157, 168, 180, 184.
The Poetic Edda, passage 3129
Ang′-eyj-a, mother of Heimdall, 229.
The Poetic Edda, passage 3043
12. From the courtyard they fared, | and fury they breathed;
The youths swiftly went | o’er the mountain wet,
On their Hunnish steeds, | death’s vengeance to have.
The Poetic Edda, passage 164
46. Regius combines the first three lines of this stanza with lines 3,
2, and 1 of stanza 47 as a single stanza. Line 4, not found in Regius,
is introduced from the Hauksbok version, where it follows line 2 of
stanza 47. The sons of Mim: the spirits of the water. On Mim (or Mimir)
cf. stanza 27 and note. Gjallarhorn: the “Shrieking Horn” with which
Heimdall, the watchman of the gods, calls them to the last battle.
The Poetic Edda, passage 306
112. I rede thee, Loddfafnir! | and hear thou my rede,—
Profit thou hast if thou hearest,
Great thy gain if thou learnest:
Rise not at night, | save if news thou seekest,
Or fain to the outhouse wouldst fare.
The Poetic Edda, passage 801
30. Othin’s adventures of this sort were too numerous to make it
possible to identify this particular person. By stealth: so the
Arnamagnæan Codex; Regius, followed by several editors, has “long
meeting with her.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 1110
29. “Answer me, Alvis! | thou knowest all,
Dwarf, of the doom of men:
What call they the night, | the daughter of Nor,
In each and every world?”
The Poetic Edda, passage 1544
23. No gap indicated in the manuscript. Some editors assume it, as
here; some group the lines with lines 3–4 of stanza 22, and some with
lines 1–2 of stanza 24.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1121
5. Hero: ironically spoken; Alvis takes Thor for a tramp, the god’s
uncouth appearance often leading to such mistakes; cf. Harbarthsljoth,
6. Line 4 is a trifle uncertain; some editors alter the wording to read
“What worthless woman bore thee?”
The Poetic Edda, passage 1539
18. In the manuscript lines 2–3 stand before line 1; many editors have
made the transposition here indicated. Some editors reject line 3 as
spurious. Sævarstath: “Sea-Stead.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 2413
66. “Besides the Hunnish | hero there
Slaves shall burn, | full bravely decked,
Two at his head | and two at his feet,
A brace of hounds | and a pair of hawks,
For so shall all | be seemly done.
The Poetic Edda, passage 633
53. Ygg: Othin (“The Terrible”). The maids: the three Norns.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1429
59. “Fling back the gates! | make the gateway wide!
Here mayst thou Svipdag see!
Hence get thee to find | if gladness soon
Mengloth to me will give.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 2162
The so-called Sigrdrifumol, which immediately follows the Fafnismol in
the Codex Regius without any indication of a break, and without
separate title, is unquestionably the most chaotic of all the poems in
the Eddic collection. The end of it has been entirely lost, for the
fifth folio of eight sheets is missing from Regius, the gap coming
after the first line of stanza 29 of this poem. That stanza has been
completed, and eight more have been added, from much later paper
manuscripts, but even so the conclusion of the poem is in obscurity.
The Poetic Edda, passage 3492
Norn″-a-gests-thāttr′, the Story of Nornagest, 336, 356, 364, 369, 442,
444, 445.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1035
14. Then Heimdall spake, | whitest of the gods,
Like the Wanes he knew | the future well:
“Bind we on Thor | the bridal veil,
Let him bear the mighty | Brisings’ necklace;
The Poetic Edda, passage 1763
40. This stanza may be an interpolation in the dialogue passage.
Allfather: Othin. We have no information regarding Gothmund’s career,
but it looks as though Sinfjotli were drawing solely on his imagination
for his taunts, whereas Gothmund’s insults have a basis in Sinfjotli’s
previous life.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1541
20. The editions vary radically in combining the lines of this stanza
with those of stanzas 19 and 21, particularly as the manuscript
indicates the third line as the beginning of a stanza. The meaning,
however, remains unchanged.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1658
33. Perhaps this is the remnant of two stanzas, or perhaps two lines
(probably the ones in parenthesis) have been interpolated. The isle:
duels were commonly fought on islands, probably to guard against
treacherous interference, whence the usual name for a duel was
“isle-going.” A duel was generally fought three days after the
challenge. Reckoning the lapse of time by nights instead of days was a
common practice throughout the German and Scandinavian peoples.
The Poetic Edda, passage 3357
Hlē′-bjorg, a mountain, 319, 320.
The Poetic Edda, passage 3209
Ern′-a, wife of Jarl, 213, 214.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1503
27. Bothvild then | of her ring did boast,
. . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . | “The ring I have broken,
I dare not say it | save to thee.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 655
16. “Bid the man come in, | and drink good mead
Here within our hall;
Though this I fear, | that there without
My brother’s slayer stands.
The Poetic Edda, passage 926
26. “Be silent, Frigg! | thou art Fjorgyn’s wife,
But ever lustful in love;
For Vili and Ve, | thou wife of Vithrir,
Both in thy bosom have lain.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 2376
29. In a swoon she sank | when Sigurth died;
So hard she smote | her hands together
That all the cups | in the cupboard rang,
And loud in the courtyard | cried the geese.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1432
62. “Whence camest thou hither? | how camest thou here?
What name do thy kinsmen call thee?
Thy race and thy name | as a sign must I know,
That thy bride I am destined to be.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 3075
13. In the manuscript these two lines follow stanza 16; some editors
insert them in place of lines 2–3 of stanza 11. The manuscript
indicates no gap. The man so wise: Erp, here represented as a son of
Jonak but not of Guthrun, and hence a half-brother of Hamther and
Sorli. There is nothing further to indicate whether or not he was born
out of wedlock, as intimated in stanza 16. Some editors assign line 3
to Hamther, and some to Sorli.
The Poetic Edda, passage 3578
Styr′-kleif-ar, a battlefield, 319, 320.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1492
King Nithuth gave to his daughter Bothvild the gold ring that he had
taken from the bast rope in Völund’s house, and he himself wore the
sword that Völund had had. The queen spake:
The Poetic Edda, passage 2523
7. His head bowed Gunnar, | but Hogni told
The news full sore | of Sigurth slain:
“Hewed to death | at our hands he lies,
Gotthorm’s slayer, | given to wolves.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1198
24. Sons they had, | they lived and were happy:
Hal and Dreng, | Holth, Thegn and Smith,
Breith and Bondi, | Bundinskeggi,
Bui and Boddi, | Brattskegg and Segg.
The Poetic Edda, passage 392
“Few are so good | that false they are never
To cheat the mind of a man.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 1522
1. The manuscript indicates line 3 as the beginning of a stanza; two
lines may have been lost before or after lines 1–2, and two more, or
even six, with the additional stanza describing the theft of the
swan-garments, after line 4. Myrkwood: a stock name for a magic, dark
forest; cf. Lokasenna, 42.
The Poetic Edda, passage 750
30. “Eastward I was, | and spake with a certain one,
I played with the linen-white maid, | and met her by stealth;
I gladdened the gold-decked one, | and she granted me joy.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 2274
18. “Thou hast, Gunnar, | the deed forgot,
When blood in your footprints | both ye mingled;
All to him | hast repaid with ill
Who fain had made thee | the foremost of kings.
The Poetic Edda, passage 556
28. Vino is one, | Vegsvin another,
And Thjothnuma a third;
Nyt and Not, | Non and Hron,
Slith and Hrith, | Sylg and Ylg,
Vith and Von, | Vond and Strond,
Gjol and Leipt, | that go among men,
And hence they fall to Hel.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2811
23. “The hounds are running, | loud their barking is heard,
Oft hounds’ clamor follows | the flying of spears.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 1733
7. The king: Sigmund, who gives his son a symbol of the lands which he
bestows on him. Regarding the leek, cf. Voluspo, 4; Guthrunarkvitha I,
17, and Sigrdrifumol, 7.
The Poetic Edda, passage 445
15. “Speak forth now, Gagnrath, | if there from the floor
Thou wouldst thy wisdom make known:
What name has the river | that ’twixt the realms
Of the gods and the giants goes?”