The Poetic Edda
Henry Adams Bellows (translator)
3,671 passages indexed from The Poetic Edda (Henry Adams Bellows (translator)) — Page 26 of 74
License: Public Domain
The Poetic Edda, passage 2229
19. Lines 3, 6, and 7 look like spurious additions, but the whole
stanza is chaotic. Beech-runes: runes carved on beech-trees.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1685
17. Early then | in wolf-wood asked
The mighty king | of the southern maid,
If with the hero | home would she
Come that night; | the weapons clashed.
The Poetic Edda, passage 523
For much of this story we do not have to depend on guesswork, for in
both manuscripts the poem itself is preceded by a prose narrative of
considerable length, and concluded by a brief prose statement of the
manner of Geirröth’s death. These prose notes, of which there are many
in the Eddic manuscripts, are of considerable interest to the student
of early literary forms. Presumably they were written by the compiler
to whom we owe the Eddic collection, who felt that the poems needed
such annotation in order to be clear. Linguistic evidence shows that
they were written in the twelfth or thirteenth century, for they
preserve none of the older word-forms which help us to date many of the
poems two or three hundred years earlier.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1697
29. So did it sound, | when together the sisters
Of Kolga struck | with the keels full long,
As if cliffs were broken | with beating surf,
. . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . .
The Poetic Edda, passage 2463
53. No gap is indicated in the manuscript; one suggestion for line 2
runs: “Grimhild shall make her | to laugh once more.” Gering
suggests a loss of three lines, and joins lines 3–4 with stanza 54.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1567
How the Helgi legend became involved with that of the Volsungs is an
open question. Both stories travelled from the South, and presumably
about the same time, so it is not unnatural that some confusion should
have arisen. At no time, however, was the connection particularly close
so far as the actual episodes of the two stories were concerned. In the
two lays of Helgi Hundingsbane the relationship is established only by
the statement that Helgi was the son of Sigmund and Borghild; Sigurth
is not mentioned, and in the lay of Helgi the son of Hjorvarth there is
no connection at all. On the other hand, Helgi does not appear in any
of the Eddic poems dealing directly with the Volsung stories, although
in one passage of doubtful authenticity (cf. Reginsmol, introductory
note) his traditional enemy, Hunding, does, represented by his sons. In
the Volsungasaga the story of Helgi, including the fights with Hunding
and Hothbrodd and the love affair with Sigrun, is told in chapters 8
and 9 without otherwise affecting the course of the narrative. Here, as
in the Helgi lays, Helgi is the son of Sigmund Volsungsson and
Borghild; Sigurth, on the other hand, is the son of Sigmund and
Hjordis, the latter being the daughter of King Eylimi. Still another
son, who complicates both stories somewhat, is Sinfjotli, son of
Sigmund and his own sister, Signy. Sinfjotli appears in both of the
Helgi Hundingsbane lays and in the Volsungasaga, but not in any of the
Eddic poems belonging to the Volsung cycle (cf. Fra Dautha Sinfjotla
and note).
The Poetic Edda, passage 3635
Val′-tam, father of Vegtam, 197.
The Poetic Edda, passage 3126
And′-var-i, a dwarf, 8, 114, 260, 343, 357–361, 417, 426, 448, 493.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2632
10. “Wild art thou, Oddrun, | and witless now,
That so in hatred | to me thou speakest;
I followed thee | where thou didst fare,
As we had been born | of brothers twain.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 196
2. Hail to the giver! | a guest has come;
Where shall the stranger sit?
Swift shall he be | who with swords shall try
The proof of his might to make.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1825
24. “First shall swords | at Frekastein
Prove our worth | in place of words;
Time is it, Hothbrodd, | vengeance to have,
If in battle worsted | once we were.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 1033
12. Wrathful was Freyja, | and fiercely she snorted,
And the dwelling great | of the gods was shaken,
And burst was the mighty | Brisings’ necklace:
“Most lustful indeed | should I look to all
If I journeyed with thee | to the giants’ home.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 202
8. Happy the one | who wins for himself
Favor and praises fair;
Less safe by far | is the wisdom found
That is hid in another’s heart.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2606
7. “Summon Saxi, | the southrons’ king,
For he the boiling | kettle can hallow.”
Seven hundred | there were in the hall,
Ere the queen her hand | in the kettle thrust.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1943
20. “Sorrow brings me | the word thou sayest,
For, monarch, forward | further thou seest;
Sad the grief | for Sigurth thou knowest,
Yet nought to me, Gripir, | known wilt make.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 2629
7. At last were born | a boy and girl,
Son and daughter | of Hogni’s slayer;
Then speech the woman | so weak began,
Nor said she aught | ere this she spake:
The Poetic Edda, passage 2481
After the death of Brynhild there were made two bale-fires, the one for
Sigurth, and that burned first, and on the other was Brynhild burned,
and she was on a wagon which was covered with a rich cloth. Thus it is
told, that Brynhild went in the wagon on Hel-way, and passed by a house
where dwelt a certain giantess. The giantess spake:
The Poetic Edda, passage 2234
25. This chaotic and obscure jumble of lines has been unsuccessfully
“improved” by various editors. It is clearly an interpolation, meaning,
in substance: “It is dangerous to keep silent too long, as men may
think you a coward; but if any one taunts you falsely because of your
silence, do not argue with him, but the next morning kill him as proof
that he is a liar.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 492
16. Ifing: there is no other reference to this river, which never
freezes, so that the giants cannot cross it.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1584
6. “Late wilt thou, Helgi, | have hoard of rings,
Thou battle-tree fierce, | or of shining fields,—
The eagle screams soon,— | if never thou speakest,
Though, hero, hard | thy heart may cry.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 1822
This Gothmund the son of Granmar spoke:
The Poetic Edda, passage 2700
8. “What seeks she to say, | that she sends us a ring,
Woven with a wolf’s hair? | methinks it gives warning;
In the red ring a hair | of the heath-dweller found I,
Wolf-like shall our road be | if we ride on this journey.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 527
King Hrauthung had two sons: one was called Agnar, and the other
Geirröth. Agnar was ten winters old, and Geirröth eight. Once they both
rowed in a boat with their fishing-gear to catch little fish; and the
wind drove them out into the sea. In the darkness of the night they
were wrecked on the shore; and going up, they found a poor peasant,
with whom they stayed through the winter. The housewife took care of
Agnar, and the peasant cared for Geirröth, and taught him wisdom. In
the spring the peasant gave him a boat; and when the couple led them to
the shore, the peasant spoke secretly with Geirröth. They had a fair
wind, and came to their father’s landing-place. Geirröth was forward in
the boat; he leaped up on land, but pushed out the boat and said, “Go
thou now where evil may have thee!” The boat drifted out to sea.
Geirröth, however, went up to the house, and was well received, but his
father was dead. Then Geirröth was made king, and became a renowned
man.
The Poetic Edda, passage 3621
Ull, a god, 88, 100, 228, 494.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1383
16. “Bear hence, my son, | what thy mother hath said,
And let it live in thy breast;
Thine ever shall be | the best of fortune,
So long as my words shall last.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 966
63. “Unmanly one, cease, | or the mighty hammer,
Mjollnir, shall close thy mouth;
The slayer of Hrungnir | shall send thee to hell,
And down to the gate of death.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 454
24. “Third answer me well, | if wise thou art called,
If thou knowest it, Vafthruthnir, now:
Whence came the day, | o’er mankind that fares,
Or night with the narrowing moon?”
The Poetic Edda, passage 1747
24. Stafnsnes (“Steersman’s Cape”): an unidentifiable promontory. Fair:
a guess, as the adjective in the manuscript is obscure. Hjorleif does
not appear elsewhere, and seems to be simply one of Helgi’s
lieutenants.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1976
53. “Ever remember, | ruler of men,
That fortune lies | in the hero’s life;
A nobler man | shall never live
Beneath the sun | than Sigurth shall seem.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 2218
6. Stanzas 6–12 give a list of runes which probably had no original
connection with the Brynhild-Sigurth story. Tyr: the sword-god (cf.
Hymiskvitha, 4 and note); “tyr” is also the name of a rune which became
“T.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 3116
Alf, son of Hunding, 295, 316, 317.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2397
50. Long the woman, | linen-decked, pondered,—
—Young she was,— | and weighed her words:
“For my sake now | shall none unwilling
Or loath to die | her life lay down.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2498
6. In Regius these two lines stand after stanza 7, but most editions
place them as here. They are not quoted in the Nornageststhattr.
Presumably two lines, and perhaps more, have been lost. It has
frequently been argued that all or part of the passage from stanza 6
through stanza 10 (6–10, 7–10 or 8–10) comes originally from the
so-called Sigrdrifumol, where it would undoubtedly fit exceedingly
well. Hild: a Valkyrie name meaning “Fighter” (cf. Voluspo, 31). In
such compound names as Brynhild (“Fighter in Armor”) the first element
was occasionally omitted. Hlymdalir (“Tumult-Dale”): a mythical name,
merely signifying the place of battle as the home of Valkyries.
The Poetic Edda, passage 3321
Heith, daughter of Hrimnir, 228.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2314
18. “To the leader of men | I loftier seemed
And higher than all | of Herjan’s maids;
As little now | as the leaf I am
On the willow hanging; | my hero is dead.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2519
3. Till my brothers let me | no longer have
The best of heroes | my husband to be;
Sleep they could not, | or quarrels settle,
Till Sigurth they | at last had slain.
The Poetic Edda, passage 481
51. “In the gods’ home Vithar | and Vali shall dwell,
When the fires of Surt have sunk;
Mothi and Magni | shall Mjollnir have
When Vingnir falls in fight.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 2983
The two concluding poems in the Codex Regius, the Guthrunarhvot
(Guthrun’s Inciting) and the Hamthesmol (The Ballad of Hamther), belong
to a narrative cycle connected with those of Sigurth, the Burgundians,
and Atli (cf. Gripisspo, introductory note) by only the slenderest of
threads. Of the three early historical kings who gradually assumed a
dominant place in Germanic legend, Ermanarich, king of the East Goths
in the middle of the fourth century, was actually the least important,
even though Jordanes, the sixth century author of De Rebus Getecis,
compared him to Alexander the Great. Memories of his cruelty and of his
tragic death, however, persisted along with the real glories of
Theoderich, a century and a half later, and of the conquests of Attila,
whose lifetime approximately bridged the gap between Ermanarich’s death
and Theoderich’s birth.
The Poetic Edda, passage 3669
Yng′-lings, descendants of Yng, 221, 223, 307.
The Poetic Edda, passage 330
136. Strong is the beam | that raised must be
To give an entrance to all;
Give it a ring, | or grim will be
The wish it would work on thee.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1705
37. “Hero, the ancient | sayings heed,
And bring not lies | to the nobly born.
. . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . .
The Poetic Edda, passage 1340
22. An isolated stanza, which some editors place after stanza 24,
others combining lines 1–2 with the fragmentary stanza 23. In the
manuscript lines 3–4 stand after stanza 24, where they fail to connect
clearly with anything. Hrolf the Old: probably King Hrolf Gautreksson
of Gautland, in the saga relating to whom (Fornaldar sögur III, 57 ff.)
appear the names of Thorir the Iron-shield and Grim Thorkelsson.
The Poetic Edda, passage 3508
Ōtr, brother of Regin, 358, 359, 362.
The Poetic Edda, passage 3053
22. Then Jormunrek laughed, | his hand laid on his beard,
His arms, for with wine | he was warlike, he called for;
He shook his brown locks, | on his white shield he looked,
And raised high the cup | of gold in his hand.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2986
The title “Guthrunarhvot,” which appears in the Codex Regius, really
applies only to stanzas 1–8, all presumably borrowed from the “old”
ballad of Hamther. The rest of the poem is simply another Guthrun
lament, following the tradition exemplified by the first and second
Guthrun lays; it is possible, indeed, that it is made up of fragments
of two separate laments, one (stanzas 9–18) involving the story of
Svanhild’s death, and the other (stanzas 19–21) coming from an
otherwise lost version of the story in which Guthrun closely follows
Sigurth and Brynhild in death. In any event the present title is really
a misnomer; the poet, who presumably was an eleventh century Icelander,
used the episode of Guthrun’s inciting her sons to vengeance for the
slaying of Svanhild simply as an introduction to his main subject, the
last lament of the unhappy queen.
The Poetic Edda, passage 3139
At′-li, Attila, 8, 121, 290, 339, 346, 361, 406, 418, 419, 422,
430–432, 436–438, 447–451, 456–459, 461–466, 468–470, 472–478, 480–485,
487–489, 491–502, 504, 506, 507, 513, 514, 516–520, 522–538, 541,
546–548.
The Poetic Edda, passage 480
50. “Much have I fared, | much have I found,
Much have I got of the gods:
Who then shall rule | the realm of the gods,
When the fires of Surt have sunk?”
The Poetic Edda, passage 2232
22. With this stanza begins the list of numbered counsels, closely
resembling the Loddfafnismol (Hovamol, 111–138), here attributed to
Brynhild. That the section originally had anything to do with Brynhild
is more than improbable.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2422
6. Brynhild has now discovered the deceit that has been practised on
her. That she had loved Sigurth from the outset (cf. stanza 40) fits
well with the version of the story wherein Sigurth meets her before he
comes to Gunnar’s home (the version not used in this poem), or the one
outlined in the note on stanza 5, but does not accord with the story of
Sigurth’s first meeting Brynhild in Gunnar’s form—an added reason for
believing that the poet in stanzas 5–6 had in mind the story
represented by stanzas 32–39. The hero: the manuscript originally had
the phrase thus, then corrected it to “though I die,” and finally
crossed out the correction. Many editions have “I.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 1620
There was a great battle, and there Helgi got a mortal wound.