The Poetic Edda
Henry Adams Bellows (translator)
3,671 passages indexed from The Poetic Edda (Henry Adams Bellows (translator)) — Page 40 of 74
License: Public Domain
The Poetic Edda, passage 2877
“To murder hast thou fared, | though foul it must seem;
Ill thy friend to betray | who trusted thee well.
The Poetic Edda, passage 824
5. “There dwells to the east | of Elivagar
Hymir the wise | at the end of heaven;
A kettle my father | fierce doth own,
A mighty vessel | a mile in depth.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 2935
48. Line 3 may well be spurious, for it implies that Gunnar and Hogni
were killed in battle, whereas they were taken prisoners. Some editors,
in an effort to smooth out the inconsistency, change “themselves” in
this line to “sound.” Line 5 has also been questioned as possibly
interpolated. Niflungs: on the spelling of this name in the manuscript
and the various editions cf. note on stanza 44.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1877
17. Sevafjoll (“Wet Mountain”): mentioned only in this poem.
Giant-steeds: wolves, the usual steeds of giantesses; cf. Helgakvitha
Hundingsbana I, 56.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2796
9. Wise was Kostbera, | and cunning in rune-craft,
The letters would she read | by the light of the fire;
But full quickly her tongue | to her palate clave,
So strange did they seem | that their meaning she saw not.
The Poetic Edda, passage 314
120. I rede thee, Loddfafnir! | and hear thou my rede,—
Profit thou hast if thou hearest,
Great thy gain if thou learnest:
A good man find | to hold in friendship,
And give heed to his healing charms.
The Poetic Edda, passage 594
12. Breithablik (“Wide-Shining”): the house in heaven, free from
everything unclean, in which Baldr (cf. Voluspo, 32, note), the fairest
and best of the gods, lived.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2471
61. Jonak: this king, known only through the Hamthesmol and the stories
which, like this one, are based thereon, is another purely northern
addition to the legend. The name is apparently of Slavic origin. He
appears solely as Guthrun’s third husband and the father of Hamther,
Sorli, and Erp (cf. introductory prose to Guthrunarhvot).
The Poetic Edda, passage 580
52. Small heed didst thou take | to all that I told,
And false were the words of thy friends;
For now the sword | of my friend I see,
That waits all wet with blood.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2365
18. “We know no mightier | men on earth
The while we four | o’er the folk hold sway,
And while the Hunnish | hero lives,
Nor higher kinship | the world doth hold.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1826
25. “Better, Gothmund, | to tend the goats,
And climb the rocks | of the mountain cliffs;
A hazel switch | to hold in thy hand
More seemly were | than the hilt of a sword.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 2608
9. Then Atli’s heart | in happiness laughed,
When Guthrun’s hand | unhurt he saw;
“Now Herkja shall come | the kettle to try,
She who grief | for Guthrun planned.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 1484
11. Off they took them, | but all they left
Save one alone | which they bore away.
. . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . .
The Poetic Edda, passage 2524
8. “On the southern road | thou shalt Sigurth see,
Where hear thou canst | the ravens cry;
The eagles cry | as food they crave,
And about thy husband | wolves are howling.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 176
58. Again the refrain-stanza (cf. stanza 44 and note), abbreviated in
both manuscripts, as in the case of stanza 49. It is probably misplaced
here.
The Poetic Edda, passage 282
88. In a brother’s slayer, | if thou meet him abroad,
In a half-burned house, | in a horse full swift—
One leg is hurt | and the horse is useless—
None had ever such faith | as to trust in them all.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1493
18. “The glow of his eyes | is like gleaming snakes,
His teeth he gnashes | if now is shown
The sword, or Bothvild’s | ring he sees;
Let them straightway cut | his sinews of strength,
And set him then | in Sævarstath.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 435
5. The wisdom then | of the giant wise
Forth did he fare to try;
He found the hall | of the father of Im,
And in forthwith went Ygg.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2211
37. Then eleventh I rede thee, | that wrath thou shun,
And treachery false with thy friends;
Not long the leader’s | life shall be,
For great are the foes he faces.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1074
28. In the manuscript the whole stanza is abbreviated to initial
letters, except for “sleep,” “Freyja,” and “found.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 3629
Vald′-ar, a Danish king, 456, 457.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2416
69. “Bond-women five | shall follow him,
And eight of my thralls, | well-born are they,
Children with me, | and mine they were
As gifts that Buthli | his daughter gave.
The Poetic Edda, passage 187
The name of this new ruler is nowhere given, and of course the
suggestion of Christianity is unavoidable. It is not certain, however,
that even this stanza refers to Christianity, and if it does, it may
have been interpolated long after the rest of the poem was composed.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2096
17. “The fear-helm surely | no man shields
When he faces a valiant foe;
Oft one finds, | when the foe he meets,
That he is not the bravest of all.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 2176
Her name was Sigrdrifa, and she was a Valkyrie. She said that two kings
fought in battle; one was called Hjalmgunnar, an old man but a mighty
warrior, and Othin had promised him the victory, and
The Poetic Edda, passage 2264
8. Then Brynhild spake, | the daughter of Buthli:
“Well shall ye joy | in weapons and lands;
Sigurth alone | of all had been lord,
If a little longer | his life had been.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2732
40. “Thou shalt never call | to thy knees again
Erp or Eitil, | when merry with ale;
Thou shalt never see | in their seats again
The sharers of gold | their lances shaping,
(Clipping the manes | or minding their steeds.)”
The Poetic Edda, passage 3271
Goll′-rond, daughter of Gjuki, 414–416, 418.
The Poetic Edda, passage 3047
16. Then Erp spake forth, | his words were few,
As haughty he sat | on his horse’s back:
“To the timid ’tis ill | the way to tell.”
A bastard they | the bold one called.
The Poetic Edda, passage 256
62. When the eagle comes | to the ancient sea,
He snaps and hangs his head;
So is a man | in the midst of a throng,
Who few to speak for him finds.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1858
50. “Mad thou wouldst seem | alone to seek,
Daughter of heroes, | the house of the dead;
For mightier now | at night are all
The ghosts of the dead | than when day is bright.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 3652
Ving′-i, Atli’s messenger, 448, 482, 501, 502, 510, 512–514, 517.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1486
13. On the bearskin he rested, | and counted the rings,
The master of elves, | but one he missed;
That Hlothver’s daughter | had it he thought,
And the all-wise maid | had come once more.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2730
38. Then in came the shining one, | . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . | and drink she bore them;
Unwilling and bitter | brought she food to the warrior,
Till in scorn to the white-faced | Atli did she speak:
The Poetic Edda, passage 1741
17. Wolf-wood: dark forest; the original word is not altogether clear.
Southern: this variety of Valkyrie, like the swan-maidens of the
Völundarkvitha, was clearly regarded as of southern (i.e., German)
origin. Here again there is a confusion of traditions; the Valkyries of
the Voluspo were as essentially Norse as any part of the older
mythology. I doubt if a poet much earlier than the author of the first
Helgi Hundingsbane lay would have made his Sigrun, daughter of Hogni, a
Valkyrie. It is to be noted that the same complication appears in the
Sigurth story, where the undoubted Valkyrie, Brynhild-Sigrdrifa (the
latter name is really only an epithet) is hopelessly mixed up with the
quite human Brynhild, daughter of Buthli.
The Poetic Edda, passage 3577
Stor′-verk, father of Starkath, 320.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2324
1. This stanza seems to be based on Guthrunarkvitha II, 11–12.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2222
12. Here the list of runes breaks off, though the manuscript indicates
no gap, and three short passages of a different type, though all
dealing with runes, follow.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2460
49. In place of “as so she spake” in line 1 the manuscript has “of
their plans they thought,” which involves a metrical error.
The Poetic Edda, passage 3593
Svegg′-juth, a horse, 304, 305.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2443
28. Sigurth’s protestation of guiltlessness fits perfectly with the
story of his relations with Brynhild used in this poem, but not, of
course, with the alternative version, used in the Gripisspo and
elsewhere, wherein Sigurth meets Brynhild before he woos her for
Gunnar, and they have a daughter, Aslaug.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2673
18. Cf. Sigurtharkvitha en skamma, stanzas 64–70.
The Poetic Edda, passage 618
36. Snorri quotes this list of the Valkyries, concerning whom cf.
Voluspo, 31 and note, where a different list of names is given. Hrist:
“Shaker.” Mist: “Mist.” Skeggjold: “Ax-Time.” Skogul: “Raging” (?).
Hild: “Warrior.” Thruth: “Might.” Hlokk: “Shrieking.” Herfjotur:
“Host-Fetter.” Gol: “Screaming.” Geironul: “Spear-Bearer.” Randgrith:
“Shield-Bearer.” Rathgrith: Gering guesses “Plan-Destroyer.” Reginleif:
“Gods’-Kin.” Manuscripts and editions vary greatly in the spelling of
these names, and hence in their significance.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1362
47. Heithrun: the she-goat that stands by Valhall (cf. Grimnismol, 25),
the name being here used simply of she-goats in general, in caustic
comment on Freyja’s morals. Of these Loki entertained a similar view;
cf. Lokasenna, 30.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1280
12. “Thou art, Ottar, | the son of Instein,
And Instein the son | of Alf the Old,
Alf of Ulf, | Ulf of Sæfari,
And Sæfari’s father | was Svan the Red.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1009
55. Beyla: Freyr’s servant, wife of Byggvir; cf. introductory prose and
note.
The Poetic Edda, passage 765
45. “A name full good | to heaps of stones thou givest
When thou callest them hills of home.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 516
50. Surt: cf. Voluspo, 52 and note.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2747
8. The manuscript does not name the speaker. One editor gives the first
sentence to Gunnar. She, etc.: Guthrun, seeking to warn her brothers of
Atli’s treachery, sends them a ring with a wolf’s hair as a sign of
danger; in the Atlamol (stanza 4) she sends a message written in runes;
cf. Drap Niflunga. Heath-dweller: wolf.
The Poetic Edda, passage 3183
Buth′-li, father of Atli, 296, 339, 344, 346, 347, 371, 385, 388, 405,
406, 408, 417–419, 425, 429, 430, 432, 437, 441, 443, 459, 466, 474,
485, 487, 488, 498, 512, 518, 521, 525, 530, 532.