The Poetic Edda
Henry Adams Bellows (translator)
3,671 passages indexed from The Poetic Edda (Henry Adams Bellows (translator)) — Page 38 of 74
License: Public Domain
The Poetic Edda, passage 1072
24. Grundtvig thinks this is all that is left of two stanzas describing
Thor’s supper. Some editors reject line 4. In line 3 the manuscript has
“he,” the reference being, of course, to Thor, on whose appetite cf.
Hymiskvitha, 15. Sif: Thor’s wife; cf. Lokasenna, note to introductory
prose and stanza 53.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1732
6. Sigmund: the chief link between the Helgi and Sigurth stories. He
was the son of Volsung, great-grandson of Othin. His children by his
first wife, Borghild, were Helgi and Hamund (belonging to the Helgi
cycle); his son by his second wife, Hjordis, was Sigurth. An incestuous
connection with his sister, Signy (cf. Wagner’s Siegmund and Sieglinde)
resulted in the birth of Sinfjotli (cf. Fra Dautha Sinfjotla and note).
The Poetic Edda, passage 1260
44. The manuscript indicates no line as beginning a stanza. Kon the
Young: a remarkable bit of fanciful etymology; the phrase is “Konr
ungr,” which could readily be contracted into “Konungr,” the regular
word meaning “king.” The “kon” part is actually not far out, but the
second syllable of “konungr” has nothing to do with “ungr” meaning
“young.” Runes: a long list of just such magic charms, dulling
swordblades, quenching flames, and so on, is given in Hovamol, 147–163.
The Poetic Edda, passage 823
4. The far-famed ones | could find it not,
And the holy gods | could get it nowhere;
Till in truthful wise | did Tyr speak forth,
And helpful counsel | to Hlorrithi gave.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2262
6. Without stood Guthrun, | Gjuki’s daughter,
Hear now the speech | that first she spake:
“Where is Sigurth now, | the noble king,
That my kinsmen riding | before him come?”
The Poetic Edda, passage 3140
At′-li, son of Ithmund, 271, 273–276, 278–281, 283, 284.
The Poetic Edda, passage 73
17. Then from the throng | did three come forth,
From the home of the gods, | the mighty and gracious;
Two without fate | on the land they found,
Ask and Embla, | empty of might.
The Poetic Edda, passage 239
45. If another thou hast | whom thou hardly wilt trust,
Yet good from him wouldst get,
Thou shalt speak him fair, | but falsely think,
And fraud with falsehood requite.
The Poetic Edda, passage 219
25. The foolish man | for friends all those
Who laugh at him will hold;
But the truth when he comes | to the council he learns,
That few in his favor will speak.
The Poetic Edda, passage 708
34. Most editors reject line 3 as spurious, and some also reject line
6. Lines 2 and 3 may have been expanded out of a single line running
approximately “Ye gods and Suttung’s sons.” Suttung: concerning this
giant cf. Hovamol, 104 and note.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1650
25. Of the giant Lothin (“The Shaggy”) and his home in Tholley (“Pine
Island”) nothing is known. Cf. Skirnismol, 35.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1804
12. “On the long-ship once | I saw thee well,
When in the blood-stained | bow thou wast,
(And round thee icy | waves were raging;)
Now would the hero | hide from me,
But to Hogni’s daughter | is Helgi known.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 508
40. In both manuscripts, apparently through the carelessness of some
older copyist, stanzas 40 and 41 are run together: “Eleventh answer me
well, what men in the home mightily battle each day? They fell each
other, and fare from the fight all healed full soon to sit.” Luckily
Snorri quotes stanza 41 in full, and the translation is from his
version. Stanza 40 should probably run something like this: “Eleventh
answer me well, | if thou knowest all / The fate that is fixed for
the gods: / What men are they | who in Othin’s home / Each day to
fight go forth?”
The Poetic Edda, passage 1847
Sigrun went in the hill to Helgi, and said:
The Poetic Edda, passage 2202
28. Then fifth I rede thee, | though maidens fair
Thou seest on benches sitting,
Let the silver of kinship | not rob thee of sleep,
And the kissing of women beware.
The Poetic Edda, passage 691
12. Line 2 is in neither manuscript, and no gap is indicated. I have
followed Grundtvig’s conjectural emendation.
The Poetic Edda, passage 756
36. “What, Thor, didst thou the while?”
The Poetic Edda, passage 2834
46. Then the high-born one saw | that hard was their battle,
In fierceness of heart | she flung off her mantle;
Her naked sword grasped she | her kin’s lives to guard,
Not gentle her hands | in the hewing of battle.
The Poetic Edda, passage 809
48. Sif: Thor’s wife, the lover being presumably Loki; cf. Lokasenna,
54.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1783
As the general nature of the Helgi tradition has been considered in the
introductory note to Helgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar, it is necessary here
to discuss only the characteristics of this particular poem. The second
Helgi Hundingsbane lay is in most respects the exact opposite of the
first one: it is in no sense consecutive; it is not a narrative poem,
and all or most of it gives evidence of relatively early composition,
its origin probably going well back into the tenth century.
The Poetic Edda, passage 795
20. Riders by night: witches, who were supposed to ride on wolves in
the dark. Nothing further is known of this adventure.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1965
42. “Shall Gunnar have | a goodly wife,
Famed among men,— | speak forth now, Gripir!
Although at my side | three nights she slept,
The warrior’s bride? | Such ne’er has been.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 3366
Hloth′-vēr, father of Hervor, 254–256, 259.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2209
35. Then tenth I rede thee, | that never thou trust
The word of the race of wolves,
(If his brother thou broughtest to death,
Or his father thou didst fell;)
Often a wolf | in a son there is,
Though gold he gladly takes.
The Poetic Edda, passage 3206
Eit′-il, son of Atli, 448, 461, 482, 495–498, 525, 540, 541, 548.
The Poetic Edda, passage 3605
Thōr, a god, 12, 23, 24, 82, 83, 88, 93, 94, 96, 121–149, 151, 152,
168–171, 174, 176, 178–180, 182–193, 219, 228, 234, 303, 394.
The Poetic Edda, passage 212
18. He alone is aware | who has wandered wide,
And far abroad has fared,
How great a mind | is guided by him
That wealth of wisdom has.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2937
50. The warrior: Atli. Thirty: perhaps an echo of the “thirty warriors”
of Thjothrek (cf. Guthrunarkvitha III, 5). Subtracting the eighteen
killed by Snævar, Solar and Orkning (stanza 49), and Vingi, killed by
the whole company (stanza 38), we have eleven left, as Atli says, but
this does not allow much for the exploits of Gunnar and Hogni, who, by
this reckoning, seem to have killed nobody. The explanation probably is
that lines 4–5 of stanza 49 are in bad shape.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2525
9. “Why dost thou, Hogni, | such a horror
Let me hear, | all joyless left?
Ravens yet | thy heart shall rend
In a land that never | thou hast known.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 3371
Hǭ′-alf, a Danish king, 437, 454.
The Poetic Edda, passage 8
THIS VOLUME IS ENDOWED IN PART BY CHARLES S. PETERSON OF CHICAGO
The Poetic Edda, passage 2996
8. Then Hamther spake, | the high of heart:
“Homeward no more | his mother to see
Comes the spear-god, fallen | mid Gothic folk;
One death-draught thou | for us all shalt drink,
For Svanhild then | and thy sons as well.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 2267
11. Then Guthrun spake, | the daughter of Gjuki:
“Much thou speakest | in evil speech;
Accursed be Gunnar, | Sigurth’s killer,
Vengeance shall come | for his cruel heart.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 3424
Jōn′-ak, father of Hamther, 439, 447, 536, 538, 542, 546, 548, 550,
553.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1139
The poem, which contains but fourteen stanzas, has apparently been
preserved in excellent condition. Its subject-matter and style link it
closely with the Voluspo. Four of the five lines of stanza 11 appear,
almost without change, in the Voluspo, 32–33, and the entire poem is
simply an elaboration of the episode outlined in those and the
preceding stanzas. It has been suggested that Baldrs Draumar and the
Voluspo may have been by the same author. There is also enough
similarity in style between Baldrs Draumar and the Thrymskvitha (note
especially the opening stanza) to give color to Vigfusson’s guess that
these two poems had a common authorship. In any case, Baldrs Draumar
presumably assumed its present form not later than the first half of
the tenth century.
The Poetic Edda, passage 3008
20. “Remember, Sigurth, | what once we said,
When together both | on the bed we sat,
That mightily thou | to me wouldst come
From hell and I | from earth to thee.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1064
12. Many editors have rejected either line 2 or line 3. Vigfusson
inserts one of his own lines before line 4. Brisings’ necklace: a
marvelous necklace fashioned by the dwarfs, here called Brisings (i.e.,
“Twiners”); cf. Lokasenna, 20 and note.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1951
28. “What is it to me, | though the maiden be
So fair, and of Heimir | the fosterling is?
Gripir, truth | to me shalt tell,
For all of fate | before me thou seest.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 875
18. The manuscripts have no superscription. Many editors combine lines
3 and 4 with lines 1 and 2 of stanza 19. In Snorri’s extended
paraphrase of the story, Hymir declines to go fishing with Thor on the
ground that the latter is too small a person to be worth bothering
about. “You would freeze,” he says, “if you stayed out in mid-ocean as
long as I generally do.” Bait (line 4): the word literally means
“chaff,” hence any small bits; Hymir means that Thor should collect
dung for bait.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1808
15. “At the meeting to Hothbrodd | mated I was,
But another hero | I fain would have;
Though, king, the wrath | of my kin I fear,
Since I broke my father’s | fairest wish.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 818
While the skaldic poetry properly falls outside the limits of this
book, it is necessary here to say a word about it. There is preserved,
in the sagas and elsewhere, a very considerable body of lyric poetry,
the authorship of each poem being nearly always definitely stated,
whether correctly or otherwise. This type of poetry is marked by an
extraordinary complexity of diction, with a peculiarly difficult
vocabulary of its own. It was to explain some of the “kennings” which
composed this special vocabulary that Snorri wrote one of the sections
of the Prose Edda. As an illustration, in a single stanza of one poem
in the Egilssaga, a sword is called “the halo of the helm,” “the
wound-hoe,” “the blood-snake” (possibly; no one is sure what the
compound word means) and “the ice of the girdle,” while men appear in
the same stanza as “Othin’s ash-trees,” and battle is spoken of as “the
iron game.” One of the eight lines has defied translation completely.
The Poetic Edda, passage 3670
Yng′-vi, Yng, 221, 307, 308, 364, 365.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2592
40. Guthrun, somewhat obscurely, interprets Atli’s first dream (stanza
39) to mean that she will cure him of an abscess by cauterizing it. Her
interpretation is, of course, intended merely to blind him to her
purpose.
The Poetic Edda, passage 397
106. Probably either the fourth or the fifth line is a spurious
addition.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2321
25. By the pillars she stood, | and gathered her strength,
From the eyes of Brynhild, | Buthli’s daughter,
Fire there burned, | and venom she breathed,
When the wounds she saw | on Sigurth then.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2836
48. Full wide was the fame | of the battle they fought,
’Twas the greatest of deeds | of the sons of Gjuki;
Men say that the Niflungs, | while themselves they were living,
With their swords fought mightily, | mail-coats they sundered,
And helms did they hew, | as their hearts were fearless.
The Poetic Edda, passage 439
9. “Why standest thou there | on the floor whilst thou
speakest?
A seat shalt thou have in my hall;
Then soon shall we know | whose knowledge is more,
The guest’s or the sage’s gray.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 1349
31. The fragmentary stanzas 31–34 have been regrouped in various ways,
and with many conjectures as to omissions, none of which are indicated
in the manuscript. The order here is as in the manuscript, except that
lines 1–2 of stanza 28 have been transposed from after line 2 of stanza
33. Bur’s heir: Othin; cf. Voluspo, 4.
The Poetic Edda, passage 557
29. Kormt and Ormt | and the Kerlaugs twain
Shall Thor each day wade through,
(When dooms to give | he forth shall go
To the ash-tree Yggdrasil;)
For heaven’s bridge | burns all in flame,
And the sacred waters seethe.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2042
Sigurth had a great battle with Lyngvi, the son of Hunding, and his
brothers; there Lyngvi fell, and his two brothers with him. After the
battle Regin said: