The Poetic Edda
Henry Adams Bellows (translator)
3,671 passages indexed from The Poetic Edda (Henry Adams Bellows (translator)) — Page 71 of 74
License: Public Domain
The Poetic Edda, passage 2144
24. Line 2 is probably spurious, but it is a phrase typical of such
poems as Grimnismol or Vafthruthnismol.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2017
9. “The gold so red | shall I rule, methinks,
So long as I shall live;
Nought of fear | for thy threats I feel,
So get ye hence to your homes.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 118
62. Then fields unsowed | bear ripened fruit,
All ills grow better, | and Baldr comes back;
Baldr and Hoth dwell | in Hropt’s battle-hall,
And the mighty gods: | would you know yet more?
The Poetic Edda, passage 1038
17. Then Loki spake, | the son of Laufey:
“Be silent, Thor, | and speak not thus;
Else will the giants | in Asgarth dwell
If thy hammer is brought not | home to thee.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 526
Interpolations in such a poem as the Grimnismol could have been made
easily enough, and many stanzas have undoubtedly crept in from other
poems, but the beginning and end of the poem are clearly marked, and
presumably it has come down to us with the same essential outline it
had when it was composed, probably in the first half of the tenth
century.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2417
70. “Much have I told thee, | and more would say
If fate more space | for speech had given;
My voice grows weak, | my wounds are swelling;
Truth I have said, | and so I die.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 1657
32. The second line is conjectural; a line has clearly been lost from
this stanza, and various emendations have been suggested.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2237
29. Line 1 comes at the end of the thirty-second leaf of Regius, and
whatever further was contained in that manuscript has vanished with the
lost eight-leaf folio (cf. Introductory Note). The rest of stanza 29,
and stanzas 30–37, are added from later paper manuscripts, which were
undoubtedly copied from an old parchment, though probably not from the
complete Regius. The Volsungasaga paraphrases these additional stanzas.
The Poetic Edda, passage 840
20. “Thy works, methinks, | are worse by far,
Thou steerer of ships, | than when still thou sittest.”
. . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . .
The Poetic Edda, passage 3579
Surt, a giant, 18, 20–22, 73, 82, 110, 165, 243, 376.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1499
23. . . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . .
Early did brother | to brother call:
“Swift let us go | the rings to see.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 593
11. Thrymheim (“the Home of Clamor”): on this mountain the giant Thjazi
built his home. The god, or rather Wane, Njorth (cf. Voluspo, 21, note)
married Thjazi’s daughter, Skathi. She wished to live in her father’s
hall among the mountains, while Njorth loved his home, Noatun, by the
sea. They agreed to compromise by spending nine nights at Thrymheim and
then three at Noatun, but neither could endure the surroundings of the
other’s home, so Skathi returned to Thrymheim, while Njorth stayed at
Noatun. Snorri quotes stanzas 11–15.
The Poetic Edda, passage 3417
Ith′-a-voll, meeting-place of the gods, 5, 24.
The Poetic Edda, passage 739
19. “Thjazi I felled, | the giant fierce,
And I hurled the eyes | of Alvaldi’s son
To the heavens hot above;
Of my deeds the mightiest | marks are these,
That all men since can see.
What, Harbarth, didst thou the while?”
The Poetic Edda, passage 1438
3. The woman: Svipdag’s stepmother, who is responsible for his search
for Mengloth (“Necklace-Glad”). This name has suggested that Mengloth
is really Frigg, possessor of the famous Brisings’ necklace, or else
Freyja (cf. Lokasenna, 20, note).
The Poetic Edda, passage 1983
11. The dragon: Fafnir, brother of the dwarf Regin, who turns himself
into a dragon to guard Andvari’s hoard; cf. Reginsmol and Fafnismol.
Gnitaheith: a relic of the German tradition; it has been identified as
lying south of Paderborn.
The Poetic Edda, passage 114
58. Now Garm howls loud | before Gnipahellir,
The fetters will burst, | and the wolf run free;
Much do I know, | and more can see
Of the fate of the gods, | the mighty in fight.
The Poetic Edda, passage 185
65. This stanza is not found in Regius, and is probably spurious. No
lacuna is indicated in the Hauksbok version, but late paper manuscripts
add two lines, running:
The Poetic Edda, passage 1591
Hjorvarth answered that he would give Helgi a following if he fain
would avenge his mother’s father. Then Helgi got the sword that Svava
had told him of. So he went, and Atli with him, and they slew Hrothmar,
and they did many great deeds.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1945
22. “No man, Gripir, | on earth I know
Who sees the future | as far as thou;
Hide thou nought, | though hard it be,
And base the deeds | that I shall do.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 2852
64. Full mighty seemed Atli | as o’er them he stood,
The wise one he blamed, | and his words reproached her:
“It is morning, Guthrun; | now thy dear ones dost miss,
But the blame is part thine | that thus it has chanced.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 570
42. His the favor of Ull | and of all the gods
Who first in the flames will reach;
For the house can be seen | by the sons of the gods
If the kettle aside were cast.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1946
23. “With baseness never | thy life is burdened,
Hero noble, | hold that sure;
Lofty as long | as the world shall live,
Battle-bringer, | thy name shall be.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 474
44. “Much have I fared, | much have I found,
Much have I got of the gods:
What shall live of mankind | when at last there comes
The mighty winter to men?”
The Poetic Edda, passage 991
32. Before each of stanzas 32–42 the manuscript indicates the speaker,
through the initial letter of the name written in the margin. Thy
brother: Freyr; there is no other indication that such a relation
existed between these two, but they themselves were the product of such
a union; cf. stanza 36 and note.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2050
Prose. Snorri says Andvari’s ring had the power to create new gold. In
this it resembled Baldr’s ring, Draupnir; cf. Skirnismol, 21 and note.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1736
10. Fifteen: until early in the eleventh century a Norwegian or
Icelandic boy became “of age” at twelve, and Maurer cites this passage
as added proof of the poem’s lateness. Hunding: the annotator
(introductory prose to Helgakvitha Hundingsbana II) calls him king of
Hundland, which shows no great originality. Saxo mentions a Hunding who
was a Saxon king ruling in Jutland, probably the origin of Helgi’s
traditional foe.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1024
4. “Thine should it be | though of silver bright,
And I would give it | though ’twere of gold.”
Then Loki flew, | and the feather-dress whirred,
Till he left behind him | the home of the gods,
And reached at last | the realm of the giants.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2755
17. This may be the remains of two stanzas; the manuscript marks line 5
as beginning a new stanza. Editorial conjectures are numerous and
varied. Household: the phrase is the same “helms round the hearth”
commented on in stanza 3. Some editions insert a conjectural line after
line 3. Sword-norns, etc.: the line is exceedingly obscure, and the
phrase rendered “sword-norns” may mean “corpse-norns.” Apparently it
refers to the warrior-women of the Huns, the “shield-maids” of line 5
and of stanza 45. Roman writers refer to the warrior-women among the
early Germanic tribes, and the tradition, closely allied to that of the
Valkyries, attached itself readily to the ferocious Huns. Den of
snakes: concerning the manner of Gunnar’s death cf. Drap Niflunga.
The Poetic Edda, passage 518
53. The wolf: Fenrir; cf. Voluspo, 53 and 54.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2728
36. Out then came Guthrun | to meeting with Atli,
With a golden beaker | as gift to the monarch:
“Thou mayst eat now, chieftain, | within thy dwelling,
Blithely with Guthrun | young beasts fresh slaughtered.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 1982
9. Thy father: on the death of Sigmund and Eylimi at the hands of
Hunting’s sons see Fra Dautha Sinfjotla and note.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1179
5. Rig knew well | wise words to speak,
Thence did he rise, | made ready to sleep;
Soon in the bed | himself did he lay,
And on either side | the others were.
The Poetic Edda, passage 417
“In sickness and pain | and every sorrow.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 2518
2. So Sigurth rose | o’er Gjuki’s sons
As the leek grows green | above the grass,
Or the stag o’er all | the beasts doth stand,
Or as glow-red gold | above silver gray.
The Poetic Edda, passage 695
17. Wise Wanes: cf. Voluspo, 21 and note.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2694
2. Then the followers, hiding | their falseness, all drank
Their wine in the war-hall, | of the Huns’ wrath wary;
And Knefröth spake loudly, | his words were crafty,
The hero from the south, | on the high bench sitting:
The Poetic Edda, passage 2939
52. Possibly a line has been lost from this stanza. The manuscript
marks line 3 as beginning a new stanza, which is impossible unless
something has been lost. Gold: the meaning of this half line is
somewhat doubtful, but apparently Atli refers to Sigurth’s treasure,
which should have been his as Brynhild’s brother. Sister: Brynhild;
regarding Guthrun’s indirect responsibility for Brynhild’s death cf.
Gripisspo, 45 and note.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2430
14. Bugge and Gering transfer lines 4–5 to the beginning of stanza 16,
on the basis of the Volsungasaga paraphrase, and assume a gap of one
line after line 3. Line 5, which is in the nature of a stereotyped
clause, may well be interpolated.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1568
There is a certain amount of resemblance between the story of Helgi and
Sigrun and that of Sigurth and Brynhild, particularly as the annotator
responsible for the prose notes insists that Sigrun was a Valkyrie.
Whether this resemblance was the cause of bringing the two stories
together, or whether the identification of Helgi as Sigmund’s son
resulted in alterations of the love story in the Helgi poems, cannot be
determined.
The Poetic Edda, passage 698
21. Ring: the ring Draupnir (“Dropper”) was made by the dwarfs for
Othin, who laid it on Baldr’s pyre when the latter’s corpse was burned
(cf. Voluspo, 32 and note, and Baldrs Draumar). Baldr, however, sent
the ring back to Othin from hell. How Freyr obtained it is nowhere
stated. Andvari’s ring (Andvaranaut) had a similar power of creating
gold; cf. Reginsmol, prose after stanza 4 and note. Lines 3 and 4 of
this stanza, and the first two of stanza 22, are missing in the
Arnamagnæan Codex.
The Poetic Edda, passage 1272
4. “Thor shall I honor, | and this shall I ask,
That his favor true | mayst thou ever find;
. . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . .
Though little the brides | of the giants he loves.
The Poetic Edda, passage 3404
Hum′-lung, son of Hjorvarth, 272, 273.
The Poetic Edda, passage 268
74. He welcomes the night | whose fare is enough.
(Short are the yards of a ship,)
Uneasy are autumn nights;
Full oft does the weather | change in a week,
And more in a month’s time.
The Poetic Edda, passage 606
24. This stanza is almost certainly an interpolation, brought in
through a confusion of the first two lines with those of stanza 23. Its
description of Thor’s house, Bilskirnir (cf. stanza 4 and note) has
nothing to do with that of Valhall. Snorri quotes the stanza in his
account of Thor.
The Poetic Edda, passage 3273
Goth′-mund, son of Granmar, 290, 300–305, 309, 316–318, 321, 322, 332.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2040
24. “Foul is the sign | if thy foot shall stumble
As thou goest forth to fight;
Goddesses baneful | at both thy sides
Will that wounds thou shalt get.
The Poetic Edda, passage 2630
8. “So may the holy | ones thee help,
Frigg and Freyja | and favoring gods,
As thou hast saved me | from sorrow now.”
The Poetic Edda, passage 1879
19. This stanza looks like an interpolation, and there is little or
nothing to connect it with the slaying of Granmar’s sons. In the
manuscript line 2, indicated as the beginning of a stanza, precedes
line 1. Hlebjorg (“Sea-Mountain”) and Styrkleifar (“Battle-Cliffs”):
place names not elsewhere mentioned. Of Hrollaug’s sons nothing further
is known. Starkath: this name gives a hint of the origin of this
stanza, for Saxo Grammaticus tells of the slaying of the Swedish hero
Starkath (“The Strong”) the son of Storverk, and describes how his
severed head bit the ground in anger (cf. line 4). In all probability
this stanza is from an entirely different poem, dealing with the
Starkath story, and the annotator’s attempt to identify the Swedish
hero as a third son of Granmar is quite without foundation.
The Poetic Edda, passage 3267
Gnip″-a-hel′-lir, a cave, 19, 21, 24.