The Prose Edda
Snorri Sturluson (Rasmus Anderson translation)
1,062 passages indexed from The Prose Edda (Snorri Sturluson (Rasmus Anderson translation)) — Page 20 of 22
License: Public Domain
The Prose Edda, passage 799
Out will you not come From our halls Unless I find you to be wiser (than I am).
The Prose Edda, passage 562
Until the gods found the blood-dog, Idun’s decoying thrall, And bound the maid’s deceiver, You shall, cunning Loke, Spake Thor, die; Unless back you lead, With your tricks, that Good joy-increasing maid.
The Prose Edda, passage 383
Hymer had then shoved the boat off. Thor went on board and seated himself in the stern; he took two oars and rowed so that Hymer had to confess that the boat sped fast from his rowing. Hymer plied the oars in the bow, and thus the rowing soon ended. Then said Hymer that they had come to the place where he was wont to sit and catch flat-fish, but Thor said he would like to row much farther out, and so they made another swift pull.
The Prose Edda, passage 8
The wolf swallows Odin but Vidar, the Silent, sets his foot upon the monster’s lower jaw, he seizes the other with his hand, and thus rends him till he dies. Frey encounters Surt, and terrible blows are given ere Frey falls. Heimdal and Loke fight and kill each other, and so do Tyr and the dog Garm from the Gnipa Cave. Asa-Thor fells the Midgard-serpent with his Mjolner, but he retreats only nine paces when he himself falls dead, suffocated by the serpent’s venom.
The Prose Edda, passage 946
Now the poor brother had both money and the mill, and so it did not take long before he got himself a farm, and a much nicer one than his brother’s. With his mill he ground out so much gold that he covered his house all over with sheets of gold. The house stood down by the sea-shore, and it glistened far out upon the sea. All who sailed past had to go ashore and visit the rich man in the golden house, and all wanted to see the wonderful mill, for its fame spread far and wide, and there was none who had not heard speak of it.
The Prose Edda, passage 670
The berserks then returned home, and were much dissatisfied. They reported all to King Rolf, who straightway busked himself to fare against Upsala; and when he came with his ships into the river Fyre, he rode against Upsala, and with him his twelve berserks, all peaceless. Yrsa, his mother, received him and took him to his lodgings, but not to the king’s hall. Large fires were kindled for them, and ale was brought them to drink.
The Prose Edda, passage 80
Its literature does not belong to that island alone,--it belongs to the whole Teutonic race! Iceland is for the Teutons what Greece and Rome are for the south of Europe, and she accomplished her mission with no less efficiency and success.
The Prose Edda, passage 703
[Transcriber’s Note: The reference is to the first “Note”, on Enea.]
The Prose Edda, passage 163
6. Then said Ganglere: Where did Ymer dwell, and on what did he live? Answered Har: The next thing was that when the rime melted into drops, there was made thereof a cow, which hight Audhumbla. Four milk-streams ran from her teats, and she fed Ymer. Thereupon asked Ganglere: On what did the cow subsist?
The Prose Edda, passage 575
As soon, however, as Sindre had gone out of the smithy and Brok was blowing, a fly lighted on his hand and stung him; but he kept on blowing as before until the smith had taken the work out of the furnace. That was now a boar, and its bristles were of gold. Thereupon he laid gold in the furnace, and requested Brok to blow, and not to stop plying the bellows before he came back.
The Prose Edda, passage 811
Har = the High One; Jafn-har = the Equally High One; Thride = the Third (Ζεὺς ἄλλος and Τρίτος); Alfather probably contracted from _Alda_father = the Father of the Ages and the Creations; Veratyr = the Lord of Beings; Rögner = the Ruler (from regin); Got (Gautr, from _gjóta_, to cast) = the Creator, Lat. Instillator; Mjotud = the Creator, the word being allied to Anglo-Saxon _meotod_, _metod_, Germ. _Messer_, and means originally cutter; but to cut and to make are synonymous.
The Prose Edda, passage 81
Cato the Elder used to end all his speeches with these words: _“Præterea censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.”_ In these days, when so many worship at the shrine of Romanism, we think it perfectly just to adopt Cato’s sentence in this form: _Præterea censeo Romam esse delendam_.
The Prose Edda, passage 783
Thus we have in the prehistoric sagas of Iceland an account of the finding of Norway, wherein it is related that Fornjot,[134] in Jotland, which is also called Finland or Quenland, east of the Gulf of Bothnia, had three sons: Hler, also called Æger, Loge and Kare.[135] Of Loge it is related that he was of giant descent, and, being very tall of stature, he was called Haloge, that is High Loge; and after him the northern part of Norway is called Halogaland (now Helgeland).
The Prose Edda, passage 797
Har means the High One, Jafnhar the Equally High One, and Thride the Third One. By these three may be meant the three chief gods of the North: Odin, Thor and Frey; or they may be simply an expression of the Eddic trinity. This trinity is represented in a number of ways: by Odin, Vile and Ve in the creation of the world, and by Odin, Hœner and Loder in the creation of Ask and Embla, the first human pair. The number three figures extensively in all mythological systems. In the pre-chaotic state we have Muspelheim, Niflheim and Ginungagap. Fornjot had three sons: Hler, Loge and Kare. There are three norns: Urd, Verdande and Skuld. There are three fountains: Hvergelmer, Urd’s and Mimer’s; etc. (See Norse Mythology, pp. 183, 195, 196.)
The Prose Edda, passage 985
ODER. Freyja’s husband. ODIN. Son of Bor and Bestla; the chief of Teutonic gods. ODRARER. One of the vessels in which the poetic mead was kept. OFNER. A serpent under Ygdrasil. OIN. A dwarf. OKU-THOR. A name of Thor. OLVALDE. A giant; father of Thjasse, Ide and Gang. OME. A name of Odin. ONAR. A dwarf. ORBODA. Wife of the giant Gymer. ORE. A dwarf. ORMT. One of the rivers that Thor has to cross. ORNER. The name of a giant. ORVANDEL. The husband of Groa, the vala who sang magic songs over Thor after he had fought with Hrungner. OSKE. A name of Odin. OTTER. A son of Hreidmar; in the form of an otter he was killed by Loke.
The Prose Edda, passage 649
Through winters nine Our strength increased, While below the sod We played together. Great deeds were the maids Able to perform; Mountains they From their places moved.
The Prose Edda, passage 1019
Hermod, 45, 133, 135, 136, 249, 260. Hero-book, 250. Herodotos, 22. Herteit, 81, 245. Hesse (Rhenish), 255. Hild, 99, 198, 218, 219, 252. Hildebrand, Karl, 18. Hildesvin, 215. Himminbjorg, 77, 88, 89, 232, 259. Hindfell, 199. Hjaddingavig, 219. Hjalmbore, 81. Hjalprek, 196. Hjalte the Valiant, 215. Hjarrande, 218. Hjordis, 196. Hjuke, 66, 250. Hledjolf, 71. Hleidre, 212, 214. Hler, 153, 240, 243. Hlidskjalf, 64, 77, 101, 137. Hlin, 98, 145. Hlodyn, 145. Hlok, 99. Hloride, 44. Hlymdaler, 204.
The Prose Edda, passage 510
Then came Magne, the son of Thor and Jarnsaxa. He was only three nights of age. He threw Hrungner’s foot off Thor, and said It was a great mishap, father, that I came so late. I think I could have slain this giant with my fist, had I met him. Then Thor arose, greeted his son lovingly, saying that he would become great and powerful; and, added he, I will give you the horse Goldfax, that belonged to Hrungner.
The Prose Edda, passage 205
Three roots sustain the tree and stand wide apart; one root is with the asas and another with the frost-giants, where Ginungagap formerly was; the third reaches into Niflheim; under it is Hvergelmer, where Nidhug gnaws the root from below. But under the second root, which extends to the frost-giants, is the well of Mimer, wherein knowledge and wisdom are concealed. The owner of the well hight Mimer. He is full of wisdom, for he drinks from the well with the Gjallar-horn.
The Prose Edda, passage 93
In the time that the sons of these men were in the world, then increased forthwith the desire for riches and power, from the fact that they knew many crafts that had not been discovered before, and each one was exalted with his own handiwork; and so far did they carry their pride, that the Africans, descended from Ham, harried in that part of the world which the offspring of Shem, their kinsman, inhabited.
The Prose Edda, passage 611
Thereupon she egged Gunnar and Hogne to kill Sigurd; but being sworn brothers of Sigurd, they egged Guthorm, their brother, to slay Sigurd. Guthorm pierced him with his sword while he was sleeping; but as soon as Sigurd was wounded he threw his sword, Gram, after Guthorm, so that it cut him in twain through the middle. There Sigurd fell, and his son, three winters old, by name Sigmund, whom they also killed. Then Brynhild pierced herself with the sword and was cremated with Sigurd.
The Prose Edda, passage 854
Incidentally it may be remarked that, though Shakspeare’s Weird Sisters are three in number--corresponding to Urd, Verdandi and Skuld--German and Northern mythology and folk-lore occasionally speak of twelve or seven of them. In the German tale of _Dornröschen_, or the Sleeping Beauty, there are twelve good fays; and a thirteenth, who works the evil spell. Once, in German folk-lore, we meet with but two Sisters of Fate--one of them called _Kann_, the other _Muss_. Perhaps these are representatives of man’s measure of free will (that which he “can”), and of that which is his inevitable fate--or, that which he “must” do.
The Prose Edda, passage 636
King Frode sent messengers to Svithjod, to the king whose name was Fjolner, and bought there two maid-servants, whose names were Fenja and Menja. They were large and strong. About this time were found in Denmark two mill-stones, so large that no one had the strength to turn them. But the nature belonged to these mill-stones that they ground whatever was demanded of them by the miller. The name of this mill was Grotte. But the man to whom King Frode gave the mill was called Hengekjapt.
The Prose Edda, passage 1015
Gram, 199, 200. Grane, 198. Grave, 199. Gray, 16. Greece and Greeks, 28, 31, 39-43, 222-229, 250. Greenland, 30. Greip, 178-183. Grid, 177. Gridarvol, 177, 181. Grim, 81, 245, 246. Grimhild, 198. Grimm (Brothers), 244, 253, 258. Grimner, 81, 244, 245, 247, 248. Grjottungard, 171, 174. Groa, 173, 174. Grotte, 207, 210. Grottesong, 207, 208. Guatemala, 88, 244. Gud, 100. Gudny, 198. Gudolf, 45. Gudrun, 179-203. Gullinburste, 134. Gullintanne, 88. Gulltop, 73, 88, 134, 259. Gullveig, 252, 265.
The Prose Edda, passage 665
Then said the king: What do you mean to say, my fellow, by looking so at me? Answered Vog: When I was at home I heard people say that King Rolf, at Hleidra, was the greatest man in the northlands, but now sits here in the high-seat a little crow (krake), and it they call their king. Then made answer the king: You, my fellow, have given me a name, and I shall henceforth be called Rolf Krake, but it is customary that a gift accompanies the name.
The Prose Edda, passage 348
Methought, as I awoke, that some moss from the branches fell on my head. What! are you awake, Thor? It is now time to get up and dress; but you have not far left to the burg that is called Utgard. I have heard that you have been whispering among yourselves that I am not small of stature, but you will see greater men when you come to Utgard. Now I will give you wholesome advice.
The Prose Edda, passage 577
Now the fly lighted between his eyes and stung his eye-lids, and as the blood ran down into his eyes so that he could not see, he let go of the bellows just for a moment and drove the fly away with his hands. Then the smith came back and said that all that lay in the furnace came near being entirely spoiled. Thereupon he took a hammer out of the furnace. All these treasures he then placed in the hands of his brother Brok, and bade him go with Loke to Asgard to fetch the wager.
The Prose Edda, passage 523
It amused Loke that it gave the servant so much trouble to get at him, and he thought it would be time enough to fly away when he had gotten over the worst. When the latter now caught at him, Loke spread his wings and spurned with his feet, but these were fast, and so Loke was caught and brought to the giant. When the latter saw his eyes he suspected that it was a man. He put questions to him and bade him answer, but Loke refused to speak.
The Prose Edda, passage 1000
Abel, 265. Academy (London), 252. Achilleus, 167, 168. Adam, 33. Adela, 255. Adils, 215, 217. Ae, 71. Æger, 153, 154, 159, 160, 162, 164, 169, 176-189, 196, 240, 260. Æneas, 168, 221-224, 229, 242. Africa and Africans, 36, 38, 225. Ainbet, 255. Ainos, 221. Aldafather, 246. Ale, 89, 168, 215. Alf, 71. Alfather, 65, 69, 72, 77, 80, 81, 92, 94, 98, 106, 245, 246, 259. Alfheim, 77, 183. Alfrig, 261. Alsace, 255. Alsvid, 66. Althjof, 70. Alvis, 251. America, 30, 244. Amsvartner, 94.
The Prose Edda, passage 42
There has been a great deal of learned discussion in regard to the authorship of the Younger Edda. Readers specially interested in this knotty subject we must refer to Wilkins’ elaborate treatise, Untersuchungen zur Snorra Edda (Paderborn, 1878), and to P. E. Muller’s, Die Æchtheit der Asalehre (Copenhagen, 1811).
The Prose Edda, passage 619
Soon afterward Bikke informed the king of it, and so King Jormunrek seized his son and had him brought to the gallows. Then Randver took his hawk, plucked the feathers off him, and requested that it should be sent to his father, whereupon he was hanged. But when King Jormunrek saw the hawk, it came to his mind that as the hawk was flightless and featherless, so his kingdom was without preservation; for he was old and sonless.
The Prose Edda, passage 312
41. Then said Ganglere: That was a wonderful tiding that you now told me. A mighty house must Valhal be, and a great crowd there must often be at the door. Then answered Har: Why do you not ask how many doors there are in Valhal, and how large they are? When you find that out, you will confess that it would rather be wonderful if everybody could not easily go in and out. It is also a fact that it is no more difficult to find room within than to get in. Of this you may hear what the Lay of Grimner says:
The Prose Edda, passage 37
[Footnote 1: The third volume of this work has not yet appeared.]
The Prose Edda, passage 771
To some he gave victory, others he invited to himself; and they reckoned both of these to be well off in their fate. Odin was burnt, and at his pile there was great splendor. It was their faith that the higher the smoke arose in the air, the higher would he be raised whose pile it was; and the richer he would be the more property that was consumed with him.
The Prose Edda, passage 12
The present volume contains all of the Younger Edda that can possibly be of any importance to English readers. In fact, it gives more than has ever before been presented in any translation into English, German or any of the modern Scandinavian tongues.
The Prose Edda, passage 473
4. Then the dwarfs invited to themselves the giant whose name is Gilling, and his wife; and when he came they asked him to row out to sea with them. When they had gotten a short distance from shore, the dwarfs rowed onto a blind rock and capsized the boat. Gilling, who was unable to swim, was drowned, but the dwarfs righted the boat again and rowed ashore. When they told of this mishap to his wife she took it much to heart, and began to cry aloud.
The Prose Edda, passage 821
In the Lay of Grimner they are said to flow nearest to the abode of man, and fall thence into Hel’s realm. Over Gjoll was the bridge which Hermod, after the death of Balder, crossed on his way to Hel. It is said to be thatched with shining gold, and a maid by name Modgud watches it.
The Prose Edda, passage 499
Hrungner admitted that it was indeed an excellent horse, but he had one, called Goldfax, that could take much longer paces; and in his wrath he immediately sprang upon his horse and galloped after Odin, intending to pay him for his insolence. Odin rode so fast that he was a good distance ahead, but Hrungner had worked himself into such a giant rage that, before he was aware of it, he had come within the gates of Asgard. When he came to the hall door, the asas invited him to drink with them.
The Prose Edda, passage 31
1. _Codex Regius_, the so-called King’s Book. This was presented to the Royal Library in Copenhagen, by Bishop Brynjulf Sveinsson, in the year 1640, where it is still kept.
The Prose Edda, passage 687
The warlike Mars, the rapacity of the wolf, and the fratricide Romulus, form a mirror in which we see reflected the whole historical development of the Romans; so that the story of Romulus is a vest-pocket edition of the history of Rome.
The Prose Edda, passage 752
Even the old poets understood the name so, as may be seen in the poem of Hornklofi (beginning of the 10th century), a dialogue between a valkyrie and a raven, where the valkyrie says at berserkja reiðu vil ek þik spyrja, to which the raven replies, Ulfhednar heita, _they are called wolf coats_. In battle the berserks were subject to fits of frenzy, called _berserksgangr_ (_furor bersercicus_), when they howled like wild beasts, foamed at the mouth, and gnawed the iron rim of their shields.
The Prose Edda, passage 990
SOL. Daughter of Mundilfare. SON. One of the vessels containing the poetic mead. SORLE. Son of Jonaker and Gudrun; avenges the death of Svanhild. SUDRE. A dwarf. SUN. Identical with Sol. SURT. Guards Muspelheim. A fire-giant in Ragnarok. SUTTUNG. The giant possessing the poetic mead. SVADE. A giant. SVADILFARE. A horse, the sire of Sleipner. SVAFNER. A serpent under Ygdrasil. SVANHILD. Daughter of Sigurd and Gudrun. SVARIN. A dwarf. SVARTALFAHEIM. The home of the swarthy elves. SVARTHOFDE.
The Prose Edda, passage 980
MAGNE. A son of Thor. MANNHEIM. The home of man; our earth. MARDOL. One of the names of Freyja. MEGINGJARDER. Thor’s belt. MEILE. A son of Odin. MENGLAD. Svipdag’s betrothed. MENJA. A female slave who ground at Frode’s mill. MIDGARD. The name of the earth in the mythology. MIDVITNE. A giant. MIMER. The name of the wise giant; keeper of the holy well. MIST. A valkyrie. MJODVITNER. A dwarf. MJOLNER. Thorn’s hammer. MJOTUD. A name of Odin. MODE. One of Thor’s sons. MODGUD.
The Prose Edda, passage 122
When he was twelve winters old he had full strength; then he lifted from the ground ten bear skins all at once, and then he slew Loricos, the duke, his foster-father and his wife, Lora or Glora, and took possession of Thrace; this we call Thrudheim. Then he visited many lands and knew the countries of the world, and conquered single-handed all the berserks and all the giants, and one very big dragon and many beasts.
The Prose Edda, passage 117
Priamos had many sons; one of them was Hektor, who was the most famous of all men in the world for strength, and stature and accomplishments, and for all manly deeds of a knightly kind; and it is found written that when the Greeks and all the strength of the north and east regions fought with the Trojans, they would never have become victors had not the Greeks invoked the gods; and it is also stated that no human strength would conquer them unless they were betrayed by their own men, which afterward was done.
The Prose Edda, passage 595
Regin had the sword called Refil. With it he fled. But Fafner went to Gnita-heath (the glittering heath), where he made himself a bed, took on him the likeness of a serpent (dragon), and lay brooding over the gold.
The Prose Edda, passage 968
A king of Svithjod, who visited Asgard under the name of Ganglere. GYLLER. One of the horses of the gods. GYMER. Another name of the ocean divinity Æger.
The Prose Edda, passage 816
Our ancestors divided the universe into nine worlds: the uppermost was Muspelheim (the world of light); the lowest was Niflheim (the world of darkness). Compare the Greek word νεφέλη = mist. (See Norse Mythology, p. 187.)
The Prose Edda, passage 364
Answered Thor: I should like to try other games, but I should be surprised if such a drink at home among the asas would be called small. What game will you now offer me? Answered Utgard-Loke: Young lads here think it nothing but play to lift my cat up from the ground, and I should never have dared to offer such a thing to Asa-Thor had I not already seen that you are much less of a man than I thought. Then there sprang forth on the floor a gray cat, and it was rather large.
The Prose Edda, passage 970
Another name for Gullveig. HEIDRUN. A goat that stands over Valhal. HEIMDAL. The god of the rainbow. HEIMER. Brynhild’s foster-father. HEL. The goddess of death; daughter of Loke. HELBLINDE. A name of Odin. HELMET-BEARER. A name of Odin. HENGEKJAPT. The man to whom King Frode gave his mill. HEPTE. A dwarf. HERAN. A name of Odin. HERFATHER. A name of Odin. HERJAN. A name of Odin. HERMOD. The god who rode on Sleipner to Hel, to get Balder back. HERTEIT. A name of Odin. HILD. A valkyrie. HILDESVIN.