The Prose Edda, passage 298

When he came to Frey and asked him why he was so sad that he would not talk, Frey answered that he had seen a beautiful woman, and for her sake he had become so filled with grief, that he could not live any longer if he could not get her. And now you must go, he added, and ask her hand for me and bring her home to me, whether it be with or without the consent of her father. I will reward you well for your trouble.

The Prose Edda, passage 458

So he flew down from the tree, seated himself beside the boiling broth, and immediately snatched up first the two thighs of the ox and then both the shoulders. This made Loke wroth: he grasped a large pole, raised it with all his might and dashed it at the body of the eagle. The eagle shook himself after the blow and flew up. One end of the pole fastened itself to the body of the eagle, and the other end stuck to Loke’s hands.

The Prose Edda, passage 209

Kormt and Ormt And the two Kerlaugs; These shall Thor wade Every day When he goes to judge Near the Ygdrasil ash; For the Asa-bridge Burns all ablaze,-- The holy waters roar.[24]

The Prose Edda, passage 784

He was married to Glod (a red-hot coal), and had with her two daughters, Eysa and Eimyrja; both words meaning glowing embers. Haloge had two jarls, Vifil (the one taking a vif = wife) and Vesete (the one who sits at the ve = the sanctuary, that is, the dweller by the hearth, the first sanctuary), who courted his daughters; the former addressing himself to Eimyrja, the latter to Eysa, but the king refusing to give his consent, they carried them away secretly.

The Prose Edda, passage 922

“Good evening, sir. Where are you going so late?” said the man.

The Prose Edda, passage 779

When it became known to the Swedes that Frey was dead, and yet peace and good seasons continued, they believed that it must be so as long as Frey remained in Sweden, and therefore they would not burn his remains, but called him the god of this world, and afterward offered continually blood-sacrifices to him, principally for peace and good seasons.[133]

The Prose Edda, passage 947

After a long time there came a sea-captain who wished to see the mill. He asked whether it could grind salt.

The Prose Edda, passage 50

In the year 1237 Snorre visited Norway again, and entered, as it is believed, into treasonable conspiracies with Jarl Skule. In 1239 he left Norway against the wishes of King Hakon, whom he owed obedience, and thereby incurred the king’s greatest displeasure. When King Hakon, in 1240, had crushed Skule’s rebellion and annihilated this dangerous opponent, it became Snorre’s turn to feel the effects of the king’s wrath.

The Prose Edda, passage 1020

Hnikar, 54, 81, 245, 247. Hnikud, 54, 81, 245. Hnitbjorg, 161, 162. Hnos, 97, 238. Hoder, 7, 89, 132, 148, 260, 265. Hodmimer’s-holt, 149. Hofvarpner, 99. Hogne, 198-218. Holge, 187. Holzmann, A., 18. Homer, 222. Honer, 84, 153, 155, 157, 184-186, 193, 227, 243. Hor, 71. Horn, 97. Hornklofe, 233. Horsa, 229. Howitts, the, 16. Hrasvelg, 79. Hreidmar, 193-196. Hrid, 56. Hrimfaxe, 65. Hrimgerd, 251. Hringhorn, 133. Hrist, 99. Hrodvitner, 67. Hrolf, 241. Hron, 106. Hroptatyr, 81, 246. Hrotte, 196.

The Prose Edda, passage 148

Ganglere asks again: Where is this god? What can he do? What mighty works has he accomplished? Answered Har: He lives from everlasting to everlasting, rules over all his realm, and governs all things, great and small. Then remarked Jafnhar: He made heaven and earth, the air and all things in them. Thride added: What is most important, he made man and gave him a spirit, which shall live, and never perish, though the body may turn to dust or burn to ashes.

The Prose Edda, passage 102

4. Near the middle of the world was built the house and inn, the most famous that has been made, which was called Troy, in the land which we call Turkey. This city was built much larger than others, with more skill in many ways, at great expense, and with such means as were at hand.

The Prose Edda, passage 1049

The author omitted vowel modifiers and diacritics from all names in the body text: Hakon, Malar, Mjolnir. The footnotes are generally more linguistically precise.

The Prose Edda, passage 646

Frode! you were not Wary enough,-- You friend of men,-- When maids you bought! At their strength you looked, And at their fair faces, But you asked no questions About their descent.

The Prose Edda, passage 340

Thor seated himself in the door; the others went farther in and were very much frightened. Thor held his hammer by the handle, ready to defend himself. Then they heard a great groaning and roaring. When it began to dawn, Thor went out and saw a man lying not far from him in the wood. He was very large, lay sleeping, and snored loudly. Then Thor thought he had found out what noise it was that they had heard in the night. He girded himself with his Megingjarder, whereby his asa-might increased.

The Prose Edda, passage 877

Our ancestors divided the universe into nine worlds, and these again into three groups:

The Prose Edda, passage 237

The second treasure he possesses is Megingjarder (belt of strength); when he girds himself with it his strength is doubled. His third treasure that is of so great value is his iron gloves; these he cannot do without when he lays hold of the hammer’s haft. No one is so wise that he can tell all his great works; but I can tell you so many tidings of him that it will grow late before all is told that I know.

The Prose Edda, passage 138

Gefjun glad Drew from Gylfe The excellent land, Denmark’s increase, So that it reeked From the running beasts. Four heads and eight eyes Bore the oxen As they went before the wide Robbed land of the grassy isle.[8]

The Prose Edda, passage 607

Sigurd had two children with Gudrun. Their names were Sigmund and Swanhild.

The Prose Edda, passage 1051

Ambiguous stanzas in verse: The king saw ... ’Round his house. ... Struck to the ground. ... With blows and wounds. _page break after “his house”; no stanza break in printed text until after “blows and wounds”_

The Prose Edda, passage 652

One chief we slew, Another we aided,-- To Guthorm the Good Help we gave. Ere Knue had fallen Nor rest we got. Then bound we were And taken prisoners.

The Prose Edda, passage 477

5. Then remarked Æger: It seems dark to me to call songship by these names; but how came the asas by Suttung’s mead? Answered Brage: The saga about this is, that Odin set out from home and came to a place where nine thralls were mowing hay. He asked them whether they would like to have him whet their scythes. To this they said yes. Then he took a whet-stone from his belt and whetted the scythes. They thought their scythes were much improved, and asked whether the whet-stone was for sale.

The Prose Edda, passage 648

Not would Grotte have come From the mountain gray, Nor this hard stone Out from the earth; The maids of the mountain-giants Would not thus be grinding If we two knew Nothing of the mill.

The Prose Edda, passage 115

There the soil was good and fresh, and it soon produced heavy crops. He was made chief and thus he got possession of all the realms there and built many burgs.

The Prose Edda, passage 978

KERLAUGS. The rivers that Thor every day must cross. KILE. A dwarf. KJALER. A name of Odin. KORMT. A river which Thor every day must cross. KVASER. The hostage given by the vans to the asas; his blood, when slain, was the poetical meed kept by Suttung.

The Prose Edda, passage 794

It is to the delusion or eye-deceit mentioned in this chapter that Snorre Sturlasson refers in his Heimskringla, in Chapter VI of Ynglinga Saga.

The Prose Edda, passage 693

In one respect our heroes differ. The fall of Troy and the wanderings of Ulysses became the theme of two great epic poems among the Greeks. The wanderings and adventures of Æneas, son of Anchises, were fashioned into a lordly epic by Virgil for the Romans. But the much-traveled man, the ἀνὴρ πολύτροπος, the weapons and the hero, Odin, who, driven by the norns, first came to Teutondom and to the Baltic shores, has not yet been sung.

The Prose Edda, passage 900

The death of Balder is justly regarded as the most beautiful myth in Teutonic mythology. It is connected with the Lay of Vegtam in the Elder Edda. Like so many other myths (Frey and Gerd, The Robbing of Idun, etc.) the myth symbolizes originally the end of summer and return of spring. Thus Balder dies every year and goes to Hel. But in the following spring he returns to the asas, and gladdens all things living and dead with his pure shining light.

The Prose Edda, passage 983

A serpent in the nether world. NIFLHEIM. The world of mist before the creation. NIFLUNGS. Identical with Niblungs. NIGHT. Daughter of Norfe. NIKAR. A name of Odin. NIKUZ. A name of Odin. NIPING. A dwarf. NJORD. A van; husband of Skade, and father of Frey and Freyja. NOATUN. Njord’s dwelling. NON. One of the streams flowing from Hvergelmer. NOR. The man after whom Norway was supposed to have been named. NORDRE. A dwarf. NORFE. A giant, father of Night. NORNS. The weird sisters. NOT.

The Prose Edda, passage 303

Andhrimner cooks In Eldhrimner Sahrimner. ’Tis the best of flesh. There are few who know What the einherjes eat.[53]

The Prose Edda, passage 858

Now, in _Macbeth_ also the Weird Sisters are described as “black.” The coming up of Hekate with them in the cave-scene might not unfitly be looked upon as a parallel with the German Held, or Rach-Hel, and the Norse Hel; these Teutonic deities being originally Goddesses of Nocturnal Darkness, and of the Nether World, even as Hekate.

The Prose Edda, passage 999

Page references in the 5-10 range do not correspond reliably to actual citations; pages 5 and 6 do not exist at all. It is possible that the Preface was rewritten and repaginated between 1879 (the original date of the book) and 1901 (the date of the printing used as the basis for this e-text).]

The Prose Edda, passage 599

While Sigurd was roasting the heart, and thought that it must be done, he touched it with his finger to see how tender it was; but the fat oozed out of the heart and onto his finger and burnt it, so that he thrust his finger into his mouth. The heart-blood came in contact with his tongue, which made him comprehend the speech of birds, and he understood what the eagles said that were sitting in the trees. One of the birds said:

The Prose Edda, passage 758

Odin knew definitely where all missing cattle were concealed under the earth, and understood the songs by which the earth, the hills, the stones and mounds were opened to him; and he bound those who dwell in them by the power of his word, and went in and took what he pleased. From these arts he became very celebrated. His enemies dreaded him; his friends put their trust in him, and relied on his power and on himself.

The Prose Edda, passage 824

It is interesting to notice that our ancestors divided the evolution of the world into three distinct periods: (1) a pre-chaotic condition (Niflheim, Muspelheim and Ginungagap); (2) a chaotic condition (Ymer and the cow Audhumbla); (3) and finally the three gods, Odin (spirit), Vile (will) and Ve (sanctity), transformed chaos into cosmos. And away back in this pre-chaotic state of the world we find this mighty being who sends the heat.

The Prose Edda, passage 180

To him was given force and strength, whereby he conquers all things quick.

The Prose Edda, passage 104

Especially do they place Priamos himself in the stead of Odin; nor must that be called wonderful, for Priamos was sprung from Saturn, him whom the north region for a long time believed to be God himself.

The Prose Edda, passage 556

The fair lord of the earth Bade Farbaute’s son Quickly to share The ox with the giant; But the cunning foe of the asas Thereupon laid The four parts of the ox Upon the broad table.

The Prose Edda, passage 167

Countless winters Ere the earth was made, Was born Bergelmer. This first I call to mind How that crafty giant Safe in his ark lay.[17]

The Prose Edda, passage 361

Thor did not answer, but set the horn to his lips, thinking that he would now take a larger draught. He drank as long as he could and drank deep, as he was wont, but still he could not make the tip of the horn come up as much as he would like. And when he set the horn away and looked into it, it seemed to him that he had drunk less than the first time; but the horn could now be borne without spilling. Then said Utgard-Loke: How now, Thor!

The Prose Edda, passage 956

A well from which Bil and Hjuke were going when they were taken by Moon.

The Prose Edda, passage 969

HABROK. A celebrated hero. HALLINSKIDE. Another name of Heimdal. HALOGE. A giant, son of Fornjot; also called Loge. HAMDER. Son of Jonaker and Gudrun, incited by his mother to avenge his sister’s death. HAMSKERPER. A horse; the sire of Hofvarpner, which was Gna’s horse. HANGAGOD. A name of Odin. HANGATYR. A name of Odin. HAPTAGOD. A name of Odin. HAR. The High One; applied to Odin. HARBARD. A name assumed by Odin. HATE. The wolf bounding before the sun, and will at last catch the moon. HEIDE.

The Prose Edda, passage 72

Like the New Testament, the Younger Edda is in prose; it is lucid, and gives a clue to the obscure passages in the Elder Edda. Nay, in many respects do the two Eddas correspond with the two Testaments of the Christian Bible.

The Prose Edda, passage 545

With violent pressure Were pressed the vast eyes Of Gjalp and Greip Against the high roof. The fire-chariot’s driver The old backs broke Of both these maids For the cave-woman.

The Prose Edda, passage 5

And Fimbultyr said: Let the melted drops of vapor quicken into life, and the giant Ymer was born in the midst of Ginungagap. He was not a god, but the father of all the race of evil giants. This was Chaos.

The Prose Edda, passage 717

Thereby he gave it the power that it spoke to him, and discovered to him many secrets.[115] Odin placed Njord and Frey as priests of the sacrifices, and they became deities of the Asaland people. Njord’s daughter, Freyja, was priestess of the sacrifices, and first taught the Asaland people the magic art, as it was in use and fashion among the Vanaland people.

The Prose Edda, passage 587

Then the father and the sons attacked the asas, seized them and bound them, and then said, in reference to the otter, that he was Hreidmar’s son. The asas offered, as a ransom for their lives, as much money as Hreidmar himself might demand, and this was agreed to, and confirmed with an oath. Then the otter was flayed. Hreidmar took the otter-belg and said to them that they should fill the belg with red gold, and then cover it with the same metal, and when this was done they should be set free.

The Prose Edda, passage 469

Then said Æger: It seems to me that it will be well hidden in the runes.

The Prose Edda, passage 742

[Footnote 121: Laage is a general name for lakes and rivers. It here stands for Lake Malar, in Sweden.]

The Prose Edda, passage 454

Then went the asas to their feast, and the twelve asas who were appointed judges seated themselves in their high-seats. These are their names: Thor, Njord, Frey, Tyr, Heimdal, Brage, Vidar, Vale, Uller, Honer, Forsete, Loke. The asynjes (goddesses) also were with them: Frigg, Freyja, Gefjun, Idun, Gerd, Sigyn, Fulla, Nanna. Æger thought all that he saw looked very grand. The panels of the walls were all covered with beautiful shields. The mead was very strong, and they drank deep.

The Prose Edda, passage 394

Then the woman suddenly disappeared. Loke went and pulled up the mistletoe and proceeded to the meeting. Hoder stood far to one side in the ring of men, because he was blind. Loke addressed himself to him, and asked: Why do you not shoot at Balder? He answered: Because I do not see where he is, and furthermore I have no weapons. Then said Loke: Do like the others and show honor to Balder; I will show you where he stands; shoot at him with this wand.