The Prose Edda
Snorri Sturluson (Rasmus Anderson translation)
1,062 passages indexed from The Prose Edda (Snorri Sturluson (Rasmus Anderson translation)) — Page 19 of 22
License: Public Domain
The Prose Edda, passage 384
Then said Hymer that they had come so far out that it was dangerous to stay there, for the Midgard-serpent. Thor said he wished to row a while longer, and so he did; but Hymer was by no means in a happy mood. Thor took in the oars, got ready a very strong line, and the hook was neither less nor weaker. When he had put on the ox-head for bait, he cast it overboard and it sank to the bottom.
The Prose Edda, passage 154
5. Said Ganglere: What took place before the races came into existence, and men increased and multiplied? Replied Har, explaining, that as soon as the streams, that are called the Elivogs, had come so far from their source that the venomous yeast which flowed with them hardened, as does dross that runs from the fire, then it turned into ice.
The Prose Edda, passage 123
In the north region he found that prophetess who hight Sibyl, whom we call Sif, and married her. None can tell the genealogy of Sif; she was the fairest of all women, her hair was like gold.
The Prose Edda, passage 372
When I first found you in the woods I came to meet you, and when you were to loose the provision-sack I had bound it with iron threads, but you did not find where it was to be untied. In the next place, you struck me three times with the hammer. The first blow was the least, and still it was so severe that it would have been my death if it had hit me.
The Prose Edda, passage 661
The mill turned the maidens,-- Their might they tested; Young they were, And giantesses wild. The braces trembled. Then fell the mill,-- In twain was broken The heavy stone.
The Prose Edda, passage 451
59. Then Ganglere heard a terrible noise on all sides, and when he looked about him he stood out-doors on a level plain. He saw neither hall nor burg. He went his way and came back to his kingdom, and told the tidings which he had seen and heard, and ever since those tidings have been handed down from man to man.
The Prose Edda, passage 455
Next to Æger sat Brage, and they talked much together over their drink. Brage spoke to Æger of many things that had happened to the asas.
The Prose Edda, passage 97
And when the confusion of tongues had taken place, then increased the names of men and of other things, and this same Zoroaster had many names; and although he understood that his pride was laid low by the said building, still he worked his way unto worldly power, and had himself chosen king over many peoples of the Assyrians. From him arose the error of idolatry; and when he was worshiped he was called Baal; we call him Bel; he also had many other names.
The Prose Edda, passage 194
14. Then said Ganglere: What did Alfather do when Asgard had been built? Said Har: In the beginning he appointed rulers in a place in the middle of the burg which is called Idavold, who were to judge with him the disputes of men and decide the affairs of the burg. Their first work was to erect a court, where there were seats for all the twelve, and, besides, a high-seat for Alfather. That is the best and largest house ever built on earth, and is within and without like solid gold.
The Prose Edda, passage 981
The may who guards the Gjallar-bridge. MODSOGNER. A dwarf. MOIN. A serpent under Ygdrasil. MOKKERKALFE. A clay giant in the myth of Thor and Hrungner. MOON, brother of Sun. Both children of Mundilfare. MOONGARM. A wolf of Loke’s offspring; he devours the moon. MORN. A troll-woman. MUNDILFARE. Father of the sun and moon. MUNIN. One of Odin’s ravens. MUSPEL. The name of an abode of fire. MUSPELHEIM. The world of blazing light before the creation.
The Prose Edda, passage 844
The very first scene in the first act of _Macbeth_ opens strongly with the staff-rime:
The Prose Edda, passage 704
[Footnote 104: Svithjod the Great, or the Cold, is the ancient Sarmatia and Scythia Magna, and formed the great part of the present European Russia. In the mythological sagas it is also called Godheim; that is, the home of Odin and the other gods. Svithjod the Less is Sweden proper, and is called Mannheim; that is, the home of the kings, the descendants of the gods.]
The Prose Edda, passage 823
SURT means the swarthy or black one. Many have regarded him as the unknown (dark) god, but this is probably an error. But there was some one in Muspelheim who sent the heat, and gave life to the frozen drops of rime. The latter, and not Surt, who is a giant, is the eternal god, the mighty one, whom the skald in the Lay of Hyndla dare not name.
The Prose Edda, passage 43
Two celebrated names that without doubt are intimately connected with the work are Snorre Sturleson and Olaf Thordsson Hvitaskald. Both of these are conspicuous, not only in the literary, but also in the political history of Iceland.
The Prose Edda, passage 683
Herikon is undoubtedly a mutilated form for Erichthonios. The genealogy here given corresponds with the one given in the Iliad, Book 20, 215.
The Prose Edda, passage 549
The crusher of the hall-wont troll-women A splendid victory won Over Glam’s descendants; With gory hammer fared Thor. Gridarvol-staff, Which made disaster ’Mong Geirrod’s companion, Was not used ’gainst that giant himself.
The Prose Edda, passage 120
And whether Odin said this of himself out of pride, or that it was wrought by the changing of tongues; nevertheless many wise men have regarded it a true saying, and for a long time after every man who was a great chieftain followed his example.
The Prose Edda, passage 397
When the gods came to their senses, Frigg spoke and asked who there might be among the asas who desired to win all her love and good will by riding the way to Hel and trying to find Balder, and offering Hel a ransom if she would allow Balder to return home again to Asgard. But he is called Hermod, the Nimble, Odin’s swain, who undertook this journey. Odin’s steed, Sleipner, was led forth. Hermod mounted him and galloped away.
The Prose Edda, passage 7
The world’s last day approaches. All bonds and fetters that bound the forces of heaven and earth together are severed, and the powers of good and of evil are brought together in an internecine feud. Loke advances with the Fenris-wolf and the Midgard-serpent, his own children, with all the hosts of the giants, and with Surt, who flings fire and flame over the world. Odin advances with all the asas and all the blessed einherjes. They meet, contend, and fall.
The Prose Edda, passage 96
And he who was foremost, hight Zoroaster, he laughed before he wept when he came into the world; but the master-smiths were seventy-two, and so many tongues have spread over the world since the giants were dispersed over the land, and the nations became numerous. In this same place was built the most famous city, which took its name from the tower, and was called Babylon.
The Prose Edda, passage 259
Himinbjorg it is called, Where Heimdal rules Over his holy halls; There drinks the ward of the gods In his delightful dwelling Glad the good mead.[43]
The Prose Edda, passage 718
While Njord was with the Vanaland people he had taken his own sister in marriage, for that was allowed by their law; and their children were Frey and Freyja. But among the Asaland people it was forbidden to come together in so near relationship.[116]
The Prose Edda, passage 87
One evidence of this nature was that the earth might be dug into upon high mountain-peaks and water would spring up there, and it was not necessary to dig deeper for water there than in deep dales; thus, also, in beasts and birds it is no farther to the blood in the head than in the feet.
The Prose Edda, passage 478
He answered that he who would buy it must pay a fair price for it. All said they were willing to give the sum demanded, and each wanted Odin to sell it to him. But he threw the whet-stone up in the air, and when all wished to catch it they scrambled about it in such a manner that each brought his scythe onto the other’s neck. Odin sought lodgings for the night at the house of the giant Bauge, who was a brother of Suttung.
The Prose Edda, passage 609
Then Gudrun followed her into the stream, and said that she was entitled to wash her hair farther up the stream than Brynhild, for the reason that she had the husband who was bolder than Gunnar, or any other man in the world; for it was he who slew Fafner and Regin, and inherited the wealth of both. Then answered Brynhild: A greater deed it was that Gunnar rode through the Vafurloge, which Sigurd did not dare to do.
The Prose Edda, passage 449
A daughter Is born of the sun Ere Fenrer takes her. In her mother’s course When the gods are dead This maid shall ride.[75]
The Prose Edda, passage 795
Thjodolf of Hvin was a celebrated skald at the court of Harald Fairhair.
The Prose Edda, passage 86
This they thought upon, and wondered at, how it could come to pass that the earth and the beasts and the birds had the same nature in some things but still were unlike in manners.
The Prose Edda, passage 886
Loke and his offspring are so fully treated in our Norse Mythology, that we content ourselves by referring our readers to that work.
The Prose Edda, passage 820
Sylg (from _svelgja_ = to swallow) = the devourer; Ylg (from _yla_ = to roar) = the roaring one; Leipt = the glowing, is also mentioned in the Lay of Helge Hunding’s Bane, where it is stated that they swore by it (compare Styx); Gjoll (from _gjalla_ = to glisten and clang) = the shining, clanging one. The meaning of the other words is not clear, but they doubtless all, like those explained, express cold, violent motion, etc. The most noteworthy of these rivers are Leipt and Gjoll.
The Prose Edda, passage 875
If a loud cry is heard in the forest, it is that of the Skogsrå (spirit of the wood), which should be answered only by a _He!_ when it can do no harm. (Reise durch Sweden; quoted by Thorpe.)
The Prose Edda, passage 400
Balder’s corpse was borne out on the ship; and when his wife, Nanna, daughter of Nep, saw this, her heart was broken with grief and she died. She was borne to the funeral-pile and cast on the fire. Thor stood by and hallowed the pile with Mjolner. Before his feet ran a dwarf, whose name is Lit. Him Thor kicked with his foot and dashed him into the fire, and he, too, was burned. But this funeral-pile was attended by many kinds of folk.
The Prose Edda, passage 491
When it is said that Oku-Thor angled with an ox-head and drew on board the Midgard-serpent, but that the serpent kept his life and sank back into the sea, then this is another version of the story that Hektor slew Volukrontes, a famous hero, in the presence of Achilleus, and so drew the latter onto him with the head of the slain, which they likened unto the head of an ox, which Oku-Thor had torn off.
The Prose Edda, passage 440
57. Then asked Ganglere: What happens when heaven and earth and all the world are consumed in flames, and when all the gods and all the einherjes and all men are dead? You have already said that all men shall live in some world through all ages. Har answered: There are many good and many bad abodes. Best it is to be in Gimle, in heaven. Plenty is there of good drink for those who deem this a joy in the hall called Brimer. That is also in heaven.
The Prose Edda, passage 509
But the hammer Mjolner hit Hrungner right in the head, and crushed his skull in small pieces. He himself fell forward over Thor, so that his foot lay upon Thor’s neck. Meanwhile Thjalfe attacked Mokkerkalfe, who fell with but little honor. Then Thjalfe went to Thor and was to take Hrungner’s foot off from him, but he had not the strength to do it. When the asas learned that Thor had fallen, they all came to take the giant’s foot off, but none of them was able to move it.
The Prose Edda, passage 1016
Gungner, 142, 189-192. Gunlad, 160-165. Gunn, 252. Gunnar, 198-203. Gunnthro, 56, 248. Gunthrain, 106. Gwodan, 244. Gylfe, 9, 16, 46, 49, 50, 51, 52, 151, 221, 224, 231, 232, 242. Gyller, 73, 260. Gymer, 101, 103, 238.
The Prose Edda, passage 950
ADILS. A king who reigned in Upsala. AE. A dwarf. ÆGER. The god presiding over the stormy sea. ALF. A dwarf. ALFATHER. A name of Odin. ALFHEIM. The home of the elves. ALFRIG. A dwarf. ALSVID. One of the horses of the sun. ALTHJOF. A dwarf. ALVIS. A dwarf. AMSVARTNER. The name of the lake in which the island was situated where the wolf Fenrer was chained. ANDHRIMNER. The cook in Valhal. ANDLANG. The second heaven. ANDVARE. A dwarf. ANDVARE-NAUT. The ring in the Niblung story. ANGERBODA.
The Prose Edda, passage 710
His people also were accustomed, whenever they fell into danger by land or sea, to call upon his name; and they thought that always they got comfort and aid by it, for where he was they thought help was near. Often he went away so long that he passed many seasons on his journeys.
The Prose Edda, passage 407
53. Then the asas sent messengers over all the world, praying that Balder might be wept out of Hel’s power. All things did so,--men and beasts, the earth, stones, trees and all metals, just as you must have seen that these things weep when they come out of frost and into heat. When the messengers returned home and had done their errand well, they found a certain cave wherein sat a giantess (gygr = ogress) whose name was Thok. They requested her to weep Balder from Hel; but she answered:
The Prose Edda, passage 520
Until Orvandel’s wife, Magic songs singing, From the head of Thor Removed the giant’s Excellent flint-stone. All do I know About that shield-journey. A shield adorned With hues most splendid I received from Thorleif.
The Prose Edda, passage 995
The grandfather of Winter. VE. A brother of Odin. (Odin, Vile and Ve). VEDFOLNER. A hawk in Ygdrasil. VEGSVIN. One of the streams flowing from Hvergelmer. VEGTAM. A name of Odin. VERATYR. A name of Odin. VERDANDE. The norn of the present. VESTRE. A dwarf. VID. One of the streams flowing from Hvergelmer. VIDAR. Son of Odin and the giantess Grid. VIDBLAIN. The third heaven. VIDFIN. The father of Bil and Hjuke. VIDOLF. The ancestor of the valas. VIDRER. A name of Odin. VIDUR. A name of Odin. VIG.
The Prose Edda, passage 1001
Anchises, 223, 229. Andhrimner, 104. Andlang, 78. Andvare, 71, 194, 195, 199-201. Andvarenaut, 200. Angerboda, 91. Anglo-Saxon, 258. Annan, 45. Annar, 65. Argulos, 41. Ariadne, 29. Ariel, 253. Ark, 33. Arndt, 257, 258. Arvak, 66. Asaheim, 226, 259. Asaland, 226, 234. Asas, 79-90. Asa-Thor, 241. Asburg, 226. Asgard, 6, 7, 51, 54, 64, 65, 69, 133, 136, 148, 153, 156-158, 164, 168-176, 181, 189, 191, 224, 226, 228, 230, 237. Asia, 38, 43, 166, 225-229. Asiamen, 46, 48. Ask, 5, 64, 243, 250.
The Prose Edda, passage 624
After King Sigurd lived a daughter hight Aslaug, who was fostered at Heimer’s in Hlymdaler. From her mighty races are descended. It is said that Sigmund, the son of Volsung, was so powerful, that he drank venom and received no harm therefrom. But Sinfjotle, his son, and Sigurd, were so hard-skinned that no venom coming onto them could harm them. Therefore the skald Brage has sung as follows:
The Prose Edda, passage 711
[Footnote 111: Asgard is supposed, by those who look for historical fact in mythological tales, to be the present Assor; others, that it is Chasgar in the Caucasian ridge, called by Strabo Aspargum the Asburg, or castle of the asas. We still have in the Norse tongue the word Aas, meaning a ridge of high land. The word asas is not derived from Asia, as Snorre supposed. It is the O.H. Ger. _ans_; Anglo-Sax. _os_ = a hero. The word also means a pillar; and in this latter sense the gods are the pillars of the universe. Connected with the word is undoubtedly Aas, a mountain-ridge, as supporter of the skies; and this reminds us of _Atlas_, as bearer of the world.]
The Prose Edda, passage 293
37. There are still others who are to serve in Valhal, bear the drink around, wait upon the table and pass the ale-horns. Thus they are named in Grimner’s Lay:
The Prose Edda, passage 907
There are sword-ages, ax-ages-- Shields are cleft in twain,-- Storm-ages, murder-ages,-- Till the world falls dead, And men no longer spare Or pity one another.
The Prose Edda, passage 328
Then went the gods. The most holy gods, Onto their judgment-seats, And counseled together Who all the air With guile had blended Or to the giant race Oder’s may had given. Broken were oaths, And words and promises,-- All mighty speech That had passed between them. Thor alone did this, Swollen with anger. Seldom sits he still When such things he hears.[59]
The Prose Edda, passage 378
And now I think that no one can tell you truer tidings of this journey of Thor.
The Prose Edda, passage 872
The fairies of Scotland are precisely identical with the above. They are described as a diminutive race of beings of a mixed or rather dubious nature, capricious in their dispositions and mischievous in their resentment. They inhabit the interior of green hills, chiefly those of a conical form, in Gaelic termed _Sighan_, on which they lead their dances by moonlight; impressing upon the surface the marks of circles, which sometimes appear yellow and blasted, sometimes of a deep green hue, and within which it is dangerous to sleep, or to be found after sunset. Cattle which are suddenly seized with the cramp, or some similar disorder, are said to be _elf-shot_. (Scott’s Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border; quoted by Thorpe.)
The Prose Edda, passage 302
39. Then said Ganglere: You say that all men who since the beginning of the world have fallen in battle have come to Odin in Valhal. What does he have to give them to eat? It seems to me there must be a great throng of people. Har answered: It is true, as you remark, that there is a great throng; many more are yet to come there, and still they will be thought too few when the wolf[52] comes. But however great may be the throng in Valhal, they will get plenty of flesh of the boar Sahrimner. He is boiled every day and is whole again in the evening. But as to the question you just asked, it seems to me there are but few men so wise that they are able to answer it correctly. The cook’s name is Andhrimner, and the kettle is called Eldhrimner as is here said: