{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_18947/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_18947","id":"gutenberg_18947","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/18947","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Mythology, Norse","Scalds and scaldic poetry"],"text":"THE YOUNGER EDDA:\n\n                  also called\n\n       SNORRE\u2019S EDDA, OR THE PROSE EDDA.\n\n      An English Version of the Foreword;\n     The Fooling of Gylfe, The Afterword;\n Brage\u2019s Talk, The Afterword to Brage\u2019s Talk,\n       and the Important Passages in the\n       Poetical Diction (Skaldskaparmal).\n\n                    with an\n\n  Introduction, Notes, Vocabulary, and Index.\n\n         By RASMUS B. ANDERSON, LL.D.,\n\nFormerly Professor of the Scandinavian Languages\n        in the University of Wisconsin,\n          Ex-U.S. Minister to Denmark,\n Author of \u201cAmerica Not Discovered By Columbus,\u201d\n\u201cNorse Mythology,\u201d \u201cViking Tales Of The North,\u201d etc.\n\n\n                    Chicago\n          Scott, Foresman and Company\n                      1901\n\n\n\n\n               Copyright, 1879,\n          By S. C. Griggs and Company.\n\n\n                    Press of\n           The Henry O. Shepard Co.\n                    Chicago.\n\n\n\n\n                       To\n\n             HON. THOS. F. BAYARD,\n\n     Ambassador to the Court of St. James,\n           in Grateful Recollection\n        of Pleasant Official Relations.\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE.\n\n\nIn the beginning, before the heaven and the earth and the sea were\ncreated, the great abyss Ginungagap was without form and void, and the\nspirit of Fimbultyr moved upon the face of the deep, until the ice-cold\nrivers, the Elivogs, flowing from Niflheim, came in contact with the\ndazzling flames from Muspelheim. This was before Chaos.\n\nAnd Fimbultyr said: Let the melted drops of vapor quicken into life, and\nthe giant Ymer was born in the midst of Ginungagap. He was not a god,\nbut the father of all the race of evil giants. This was Chaos.\n\nAnd Fimbultyr said: Let Ymer be slain and let order be established. And\nstraightway Odin and his brothers--the bright sons of Bure--gave Ymer a\nmortal wound, and from his body made they the universe; from his flesh,\nthe earth; from his blood, the sea; from his bones, the rocks; from\nhis hair, the trees; from his skull, the vaulted heavens; from his\neye-brows, the bulwark called Midgard. And the gods formed man and woman\nin their own image of two trees, and breathed into them the breath of\nlife. Ask and Embla became living souls, and they received a garden in\nMidgard as a dwelling-place for themselves and their children until the\nend of time. This was Cosmos.\n\nThe world\u2019s last day approaches. All bonds and fetters that bound the\nforces of heaven and earth together are severed, and the powers of good\nand of evil are brought together in an internecine feud. Loke advances\nwith the Fenris-wolf and the Midgard-serpent, his own children, with\nall the hosts of the giants, and with Surt, who flings fire and flame\nover the world. Odin advances with all the asas and all the blessed\neinherjes. They meet, contend, and fall. The wolf swallows Odin but\nVidar, the Silent, sets his foot upon the monster\u2019s lower jaw, he\nseizes the other with his hand, and thus rends him till he dies. Frey\nencounters Surt, and terrible blows are given ere Frey falls. Heimdal\nand Loke fight and kill each other, and so do Tyr and the dog Garm from\nthe Gnipa Cave. Asa-Thor fells the Midgard-serpent with his Mjolner, but\nhe retreats only nine paces when he himself falls dead, suffocated by\nthe serpent\u2019s venom. Then smoke wreathes up around the ash Ygdrasil,\nthe high flames play against the heavens, the graves of the gods, of\nthe giants and of men are swallowed up by the sea, and the end has come.\nThis is Ragnarok, the twilight of the gods.\n\nBut the radiant dawn follows the night. The earth, completely green,\nrises again from the sea, and where the mews have but just been rocking\non restless waves, rich fields unplowed and unsown, now wave their\ngolden harvests before the gentle breezes. The asas awake to a new life,\nBalder is with them again. Then comes the mighty Fimbultyr, the god who\nis from everlasting to everlasting; the god whom the Edda skald dared\nnot name. The god of gods comes to the asas. He comes to the great\njudgment and gathers all the good into Gimle to dwell there forever, and\nevermore delights enjoy; but the perjurers and murderers and adulterers\nhe sends to Nastrand, that terrible hall, to be torn by Nidhug until\nthey are purged from their wickedness. This is Regeneration.\n\nThese are the outlines of the Teutonic religion. Such were the doctrines\nestablished by Odin among our ancestors. Thus do we find it recorded in\nthe Eddas of Iceland.\n\nThe present volume contains all of the Younger Edda that can possibly be\nof any importance to English readers. In fact, it gives more than has\never before been presented in any translation into English, German or\nany of the modern Scandinavian tongues.\n\nWe would recommend our readers to omit the Forewords and Afterwords\nuntil they have perused the Fooling of Gylfe and Brage\u2019s Speech. The\nForewords and Afterwords, it will readily be seen, are written by a\nlater and less skillful hand, and we should be sorry to have anyone lay\nthe book aside and lose the pleasure of reading Snorre\u2019s and Olaf\u2019s\ncharming work, because he became disgusted with what seemed to him mere\nsilly twaddle. And yet these Forewords and Afterwords become interesting\nenough when taken up in connection with a study of the historical\nanthropomorphized Odin. With a view of giving a pretty complete outline\nof the founder of the Teutonic race we have in our notes given all the\nHeimskringla sketch of the Black Sea Odin. We have done this, not only\non account of the material it furnishes as the groundwork of a Teutonic\nepic, which we trust the muses will ere long direct some one to write,\nbut also on account of the vivid picture it gives of Teutonic life as\nshaped and controlled by the Odinic faith.\n\nAll the poems quoted in the Younger Edda have in this edition been\ntraced back to their sources in the Elder Edda and elsewhere.\n\nWhere the notes seem to the reader insufficient, we must refer him to\nour Norse Mythology, where he will, we trust, find much of the\nadditional information he may desire.\n\nWell aware that our work has many imperfections, and begging our readers\nto deal generously with our shortcomings, we send the book out into the\nworld with the hope that it may aid some young son or daughter of Odin\nto find his way to the fountains of Urd and Mimer and to Idun\u2019s\nrejuvenating apples. The son must not squander, but husband wisely, what\nhis father has accumulated. The race must cherish and hold fast and add\nto the thought that the past has bequeathed to it. Thus does it grow\ngreater and richer with each new generation. The past is the mirror that\nreflects the future.\n\n  R. B. ANDERSON.\n  University of Wisconsin,\n  Madison, Wis., _September, 1879_.\n\n\n\nCONTENTS.\n\n\nPreface                                          5\n\nIntroduction                                    15\n\nForeword                                        33\n\n\nTHE FOOLING OF GYLFE.\n\nCHAPTER I.\nGefjun\u2019s Plowing                                49\n\nCHAPTER II.\nGylfe\u2019s Journey to Asgard                       51\n\nCHAPTER III.\nOf the Highest God                              54\n\nCHAPTER IV.\nThe Creation of the World                       56\n\nCHAPTER V.\nThe Creation (continued)                        64\n\nCHAPTER VI.\nThe First Works of the Asas--The Golden Age     69\n\nCHAPTER VII.\nOn the Wonderful Things in Heaven               72\n\nCHAPTER VIII.\nThe Asas                                        79\n\nCHAPTER IX.\nLoke and his Offspring                          91\n\nCHAPTER X.\nThe Goddesses (Asynjes)                         97\n\nCHAPTER XI.\nThe Giantess Gerd and Skirner\u2019s Journey        101\n\nCHAPTER XII.\nLife in Valhal                                 104\n\nCHAPTER XIII.\nOdin\u2019s Horse and Frey\u2019s Ship                   109\n\nCHAPTER XIV.\nThor\u2019s Adventures                              113\n\nCHAPTER XV.\nThe Death of Balder                            131\n\nCHAPTER XVI.\nRagnarok                                       140\n\nCHAPTER XVII.\nRegeneration                                   147\n\nAfterword to the Fooling of Gylfe              151\n\n\nBRAGE\u2019S TALK.\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\u00c6ger\u2019s Journey to Asgard                       152\n\nCHAPTER II.\nIdun and her Apples                            155\n\nCHAPTER III.\nHow Njord got Skade to Wife                    158\n\nCHAPTER IV.\nThe Origin of Poetry                           160\n\nAfterword to Brage\u2019s Talk                      166\n\n\nEXTRACTS FROM THE POETICAL DICTION.\n\nThor and Hrungner                              169\nThor\u2019s Journey to Geirrod\u2019s                    176\nIdun                                           184\n\u00c6ger\u2019s Feast                                   187\nLoke\u2019s Wager with the Dwarfs                   189\nThe Niflungs and Gjukungs                      193\nMenja and Fenja                                206\nThe Grottesong                                 208\nRolf Krake                                     214\nHogne and Hild                                 218\n\n\nNOTES.\n\nEnea                                           221\nHerikon                                        221\nThe Historical Odin                            221\nFornjot and the Settlement of Norway           239\nNotes to the Fooling of Gylfe                  242\nNote on the Niflungs and Gjukungs              266\nNote on Menja and Fenja                        267\nWhy the Sea is Salt                            268\n\n\nVOCABULARY                                     275\n\nINDEX                                          291\n\n\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n               THE YOUNGER EDDA.\n\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\nINTRODUCTION.\n\n\nThe records of our Teutonic past have hitherto received but slight\nattention from the English-speaking branch of the great world-ash\nYgdrasil. This indifference is the more deplorable, since a knowledge of\nour heroic forefathers would naturally operate as a most powerful means\nof keeping alive among us, and our posterity, that spirit of courage,\nenterprise and independence for which the old Teutons were so\ndistinguished.\n\nThe religion of our ancestors forms an important chapter in the history\nof the childhood of our race, and this fact has induced us to offer the\npublic an English translation of the Eddas. The purely mythological\nportion of the Elder Edda was translated and published by A. S. Cottle,\nin Bristol, in 1797, and the whole work was translated by Benjamin\nThorpe, and published in London in 1866. Both these works are now out of\nprint. Of the Younger Edda we have likewise had two translations into\nEnglish,--the first by Dasent in 1842, the second by Blackwell, in his\nedition of Mallet\u2019s Northern Antiquities, in 1847. The former has long\nbeen out of print, the latter is a poor imitation of Dasent\u2019s. Both of\nthem are very incomplete. These four books constitute all the Edda\nliterature we have had in the English language, excepting, of course,\nsingle lays and chapters translated by Gray, Henderson, W. Taylor,\nHerbert, Jamieson, Pigott, William and Mary Howitt, and others.\n\nThe Younger Edda (also called Snorre\u2019s Edda, or the Prose Edda), of\nwhich we now have the pleasure of presenting our readers an English\nversion, contains, as usually published in the original, the following\ndivisions:\n\n1. The Foreword.\n\n2. Gylfaginning (The Fooling of Gylfe).\n\n3. The Afterword to Gylfaginning.\n\n4. Brage\u2019s Speech.\n\n5. The Afterword.\n\n6. Skaldskaparmal (a collection of poetic paraphrases, and denominations\nin Skaldic language without paraphrases).\n\n7. Hattatal (an enumeration of metres; a sort of Clavis Metrica).\n\nIn some editions there are also found six additional chapters on the\nalphabet, grammar, figures of speech, etc.\n\nThere are three important parchment manuscripts of the Younger Edda,\nviz:\n\n1. _Codex Regius_, the so-called King\u2019s Book. This was presented to the\nRoyal Library in Copenhagen, by Bishop Brynjulf Sveinsson, in the year\n1640, where it is still kept.\n\n2. _Codex Wormianus_. This is found in the University Library in\nCopenhagen, in the Arne Magn\u00e6an collection. It takes its name from\nProfessor Ole Worm [died 1654], to whom it was presented by the learned\nArngrim Jonsson. Christian Worm, the grandson of Ole Worm, and Bishop of\nSeeland [died 1737], afterward presented it to Arne Magnusson.\n\n3. _Codex Upsaliensis_. This is preserved in the Upsala University\nLibrary. Like the other two, it was found in Iceland, where it was given\nto Jon Rugmann. Later it fell into the hands of Count Magnus Gabriel de\nla Gardie, who in the year 1669 presented it to the Upsala University.\nBesides these three chief documents, there exist four fragmentary\nparchments, and a large number of paper manuscripts.\n\nThe first printed edition of the Younger Edda, in the original, is the\ncelebrated \u201cEdda Islandorum,\u201d published by Peter Johannes Resen, in\nCopenhagen, in the year 1665. It contains a translation into Latin, made\npartly by Resen himself, and partly also by Magnus Olafsson, Stephan\nOlafsson and Thormod Torfason.\n\nNot until eighty years later, that is in 1746, did the second edition of\nthe Younger Edda appear in Upsala under the auspices of Johannes\nGoransson. This was printed from the Codex Upsaliensis.\n\nIn the present century we find a third edition by Rasmus Rask, published\nin Stockholm in 1818. This is very complete and critical. The fourth\nedition was issued by Sveinbjorn Egilsson, in Reykjavik, 1849; the fifth\nby the Arne-Magn\u00e6an Commission in Copenhagen, 1852.[1] All these five\neditions have long been out of print, and in place of them we have a\nsixth edition by Thorleif Jonsson (Copenhagen, 1875), and a seventh by\nErnst Wilkin (Paderborn, 1877). Both of these, and especially the\nlatter, are thoroughly critical and reliable.\n\n    [Footnote 1: The third volume of this work has not yet appeared.]\n\nOf translations, we must mention in addition to those into English by\nDasent and Blackwell, R. Nyerup\u2019s translation into Danish (Copenhagen,\n1808); Karl Simrock\u2019s into German (Stuttgart and T\u00fcbingen, 1851); and\nFr. Bergmann\u2019s into French (Paris, 1871). Among the chief authorities to\nbe consulted in the study of the Younger Edda may be named, in addition\nto those already mentioned, Fr. Dietrich, Th. Mobius, Fr. Pfeiffer,\nLudw. Ettmuller, K. Hildebrand, Ludw. Uhland, P. E. Muller, Adolf\nHolzmann, Sophus Bugge, P. A. Munch and Rudolph Keyser. For the material\nin our introduction and notes, we are chiefly indebted to Simrock,\nWilkin and Keyser. While we have had no opportunity of making original\nresearches, the published works have been carefully studied, and all we\nclaim for our work is, that it shall contain the results of the latest\nand most thorough investigations by scholars who live nearer the\nfountains of Urd and Mimer than do we. Our translations are made from\nEgilsson\u2019s, Jonsson\u2019s and Wilkins\u2019 editions of the original. We have not\ntranslated any of the Hattatal, and only the narrative part of\nSkaldskaparmal, and yet our version contains more of the Younger Edda\nthan any English, German, French or Danish translation that has hitherto\nbeen published. The parts omitted cannot possibly be of any interest to\nany one who cannot read them in the original. All the paraphrases of the\nasas and asynjes, of the world, the earth, the sea, the sun, the wind,\nfire, summer, man, woman, gold, of war, arms, of a ship, emperor, king,\nruler, etc., are of interest only as they help to explain passages of\nOld Norse poems. The same is true of the enumeration of metres, which\ncontains a number of epithets and metaphors used by the scalds,\nillustrated by specimens of their poetry, and also by a poem of Snorre\nSturleson, written in one hundred different metres.\n\nThere has been a great deal of learned discussion in regard to the\nauthorship of the Younger Edda. Readers specially interested in this\nknotty subject we must refer to Wilkins\u2019 elaborate treatise,\nUntersuchungen zur Snorra Edda (Paderborn, 1878), and to P. E. Muller\u2019s,\nDie \u00c6chtheit der Asalehre (Copenhagen, 1811).\n\nTwo celebrated names that without doubt are intimately connected with\nthe work are Snorre Sturleson and Olaf Thordsson Hvitaskald. Both of\nthese are conspicuous, not only in the literary, but also in the\npolitical history of Iceland.\n\n    [Footnote 2: Keyser.]\n\nSnorre Sturleson[2] was born in Iceland in the year 1178. Three years\nold, he came to the house of the distinguished chief, Jon Loptsson, at\nOdde, a grandson of S\u00e6mund the Wise, the reputed collector of the Elder\nEdda, where he appears to have remained until Jon Loptsson\u2019s death, in\nthe year 1197. Soon afterward Snorre married into a wealthy family, and\nin a short time he became one of the most distinguished leaders in\nIceland, He was several times elected chief magistrate, and no man in\nthe land was his equal in riches and prominence. He and his two elder\nbrothers, Thord and Sighvat, who were but little inferior to him in\nwealth and power, were at one time well-nigh supreme in Iceland, and\nSnorre sometimes appeared at the Althing at Thingvols accompanied by\nfrom eight hundred to nine hundred armed men.\n\nSnorre and his brothers did not only have bitter feuds with other\nfamilies, but a deadly hatred also arose between themselves, making\ntheir lives a perpetual warfare. Snorre was shrewd as a politician and\nmagistrate, and eminent as an orator and skald, but his passions were\nmean, and many of his ways were crooked. He was both ambitious and\navaricious. He is said to have been the first Icelander who laid plans\nto subjugate his fatherland to Norway, and in this connection is\nsupposed to have expected to become a jarl under the king of Norway.\nIn this effort he found himself outwitted by his brother\u2019s son, Sturle\nThordsson, and thus he came into hostile relations with the latter. In\nthis feud Snorre was defeated, but when Sturle shortly after fell in a\nbattle against his foes, Snorre\u2019s star of hope rose again, and he began\nto occupy himself with far-reaching, ambitious plans. He had been for\nthe first time in Norway during the years 1218-1220, and had been well\nreceived by King Hakon, and especially by Jarl Skule, who was then the\nmost influential man in the country. In the year 1237 Snorre visited\nNorway again, and entered, as it is believed, into treasonable\nconspiracies with Jarl Skule. In 1239 he left Norway against the wishes\nof King Hakon, whom he owed obedience, and thereby incurred the king\u2019s\ngreatest displeasure. When King Hakon, in 1240, had crushed Skule\u2019s\nrebellion and annihilated this dangerous opponent, it became Snorre\u2019s\nturn to feel the effects of the king\u2019s wrath. At the instigation of King\nHakon, several chiefs of Iceland united themselves against Snorre and\nmurdered him at Reykholt, where ruins of his splendid mansion are still\nto be seen. This event took place on the 22d of September, 1241, and\nSnorre Sturleson was then sixty-three years old. Snorre was Iceland\u2019s\nmost distinguished skald and sagaman. As a writer of history he deserves\nto be compared with Herodotos or Thukydides. His Heimskringla, embracing\nan elaborate history of the kings of Norway, is famous throughout the\ncivilized world, and Emerson calls it the Iliad and Odyssey of our race.\nAn English translation of this work was published by Samuel Laing, in\nLondon, in 1844. Carlyle\u2019s Early Kings of Norway (London, 1875) was\ninspired by the Heimskringla.\n\nOlaf Thordsson, surnamed Hvitaskald,[3] to distinguish him from his\ncontemporary, Olaf Svartaskald,[4] was a son of Snorre\u2019s brother. Though\nnot as prominent and influential as his uncle, he took an active part in\nall the troubles of his native island during the first half of the\nthirteenth century. He visited Norway in 1236, whence he went to\nDenmark, where he was a guest at the court of King Valdemar, and is said\nto have enjoyed great esteem. In 1240 we find him again in Norway, where\nhe espoused the cause of King Hakon against Skule. On his return to\nIceland he served four years as chief magistrate of the island. His\ndeath occurred in the year 1259, and he is numbered among the great\nskalds of Iceland.\n\n    [Footnote 3: White Skald.]\n\n    [Footnote 4: Black Skald.]\n\nSnorre Sturleson and Olaf Hvitaskald are the two names to whom the\nauthorship of the Younger Edda has generally been attributed, and the\nwork is by many, even to this day, called Snorra Edda--that is, Snorre\u2019s\nEdda. We do not propose to enter into any elaborate discussion of this\ncomplicated subject, but we will state briefly the reasons given by\nKeyser and others for believing that these men had a hand in preparing\nthe Prose Edda. In the first place, we find that the writer of the\ngrammatical and rhetorical part of the Younger Edda distinctly mentions\nSnorre as author of Hattatal (the Clavis Metrica), and not only of the\npoem itself, but also of the treatise in prose. In the second place, the\nArne Magn\u00e6an parchment manuscript, which dates back to the close of the\nthirteenth or beginning of the fourteenth century, has the following\nnote prefaced to the Skaldskaparmal. \u201cHere ends that part of the book\nwhich Olaf Thordsson put together, and now begins Skaldskaparmal and the\nKenningar, according to that which has been found in the lays of the\nchief skalds, and which Snorre afterward suffered to be brought\ntogether.\u201d In the third place, the Upsala manuscript of the Younger\nEdda, which is known with certainty to have been written in the\nbeginning of the fourteenth century, contains this preface, written with\nthe same hand as the body of the work: \u201cThis book hight Edda. Snorre has\ncompiled it in the manner in which it is arranged: first, in regard to\nthe asas and Ymer, then Skaldskaparmal and the denominations of many\nthings, and finally that Hattatal, which Snorre composed about King\nHakon and Duke Skule.\u201d In the fourth place, there is a passage in the\nso-called Annales Breviores, supposed to have been written about the\nyear 1400. The passage relates to the year 1241, and reads thus: \u201cSnorre\nSturleson died at Reykholt. He was a wise and very learned man, a great\nchief and shrewd. He was the first man in this land who brought property\ninto the hands of the king (the king of Norway). He compiled Edda and\nmany other learned historical works and Icelandic sagas. He was murdered\nat Reykholt by Jarl Gissur\u2019s men.\u201d\n\nIt seems, then, that there is no room for any doubt that these two men\nhave had a share in the authorship of the Younger Edda. How great a\nshare each has had is another and more difficult problem to solve.\nRudolf Keyser\u2019s opinion is (and we know no higher authority on the\nsubject), that Snorre is the author, though not in so strict a sense as\nwe now use the word, of Gylfaginning, Brage\u2019s Speech, Skaldskaparmal and\nHattatal. This part of the Younger Edda may thus be said to date back to\nthe year 1230, though the material out of which the mythological system\nis constructed is of course much older. We find it in the ancient Vala\u2019s\nProphecy, of the Elder Edda, a poem that breathes in every line the\npurest asa-faith, and is, without the least doubt, much older than the\nintroduction of christianity in the north, or the discovery and\nsettlement of Iceland. It is not improbable that the religious system of\nthe Odinic religion had assumed a permanent prose form in the memories\nof the people long before the time of Snorre, and that he merely was the\nmeans of having it committed to writing almost without verbal change.\n\nOlaf Thordsson is unmistakably the author of the grammatical and\nrhetorical portion of the Younger Edda, and its date can therefore\nsafely be put at about 1250. The author of the treatise on the alphabet\nis not known, but Professor Keyser thinks it must have been written, its\nfirst chapter, about the year 1150, and its second chapter about the\nyear 1200. The forewords and afterwords are evidently also from another\npen. Their author is unknown, but they are thought to have been written\nabout the year 1300. To sum up, then, we arrive at this conclusion: The\nmythological material of the Younger Edda is as old as the Teutonic\nrace. Parts of it are written by authors unknown to fame. A small\nportion is the work of Olaf Thordsson. The most important portion is\nwritten, or perhaps better, compiled, by Snorre Sturleson, and the whole\nis finally edited and furnished with forewords and afterwords, early in\nthe fourteenth century,--according to Keyser, about 1320-1330.\n\nAbout the name Edda there has also been much learned discussion. Some\nhave suggested that it may be a mutilated form of the word Odde, the\nhome of S\u00e6mund the Wise, who was long supposed to be the compiler of the\nElder Edda. In this connection, it has been argued that possibly S\u00e6mund\nhad begun the writing of the Younger Edda, too. Others derive the word\nfrom _\u00f3\u00f0r_ (mind, soul), which in poetical usage also means song,\npoetry. Others, again, connect Edda with the Sanscrit word Veda, which\nis supposed to mean knowledge. Finally, others adopt the meaning which\nthe word has where it is actually used in the Elder Edda, and where it\nmeans great-grandmother. Vigfusson adopts this definition, and it is\ncertainly both scientific and poetical. What can be more beautiful than\nthe idea that our great ancestress teaches her descendants the sacred\ntraditions, the concentrated wisdom, of the race? To sum up, then,\nwe say the Younger, or Prose, or Snorre\u2019s Edda has been produced at\ndifferent times by various hands, and the object of its authors has been\nto produce a manual for the skalds. In addition to the forewords and\nafterwords, it contains two books, one greater (Gylfaginning) and one\nlesser (Brage\u2019s Speech), giving a tolerably full account of Norse\nmythology. Then follows Skaldskaparmal, wherein is an analysis of the\nvarious circumlocutions practiced by the skalds, all illustrated by\ncopious quotations from the poets. How much of these three parts is\nwritten by Snorre is not certain, but on the other hand, there is no\ndoubt that he is the author of Hattatal (Clavis Metrica), which gives an\nenumeration of metres. To these four treatises are added four chapters\non grammar and rhetoric. The writer of the oldest grammatical treatise\nis thought to be one Thorodd Runemaster, who lived in the middle of the\ntwelfth century; and the third treatise is evidently written by Olaf\nThordsson Hvitaskald, the nephew of Snorre, a scholar who spent some\ntime at the court of the Danish king, Valdemar the Victorious.\n\nThe Younger Edda contains the systematized theogony and cosmogony of our\nforefathers, while the Elder Edda presents the Odinic faith in a series\nof lays or rhapsodies. The Elder Edda is poetry, while the Younger Edda\nis mainly prose. The Younger Edda may in one sense be regarded as the\nsequel or commentary of the Elder Edda. Both complement each other, and\nboth must be studied in connection with the sagas and all the Teutonic\ntraditions and folk-lore in order to get a comprehensive idea of the\nasa-faith. The two Eddas constitute, as it were, the Odinic Bible. The\nElder Edda is the Old Testament, the Younger Edda the New. Like the Old\nTestament, the Elder Edda is in poetry. It is prophetic and enigmatical.\nLike the New Testament, the Younger Edda is in prose; it is lucid, and\ngives a clue to the obscure passages in the Elder Edda. Nay, in many\nrespects do the two Eddas correspond with the two Testaments of the\nChristian Bible.\n\nIt is a deplorable fact that the religion of our forefathers seems to be\nbut little cared for in this country. The mythologies of other nations\nevery student manifests an interest for. He reads with the greatest zeal\nall the legends of Rome and Greece, of India and China. He is familiar\nwith every room in the labyrinth of Crete, while when he is introduced\nto the shining halls of Valhal and Gladsheim he gropes his way like a\nblind man. He does not know that Idun, with her beautiful apples, might,\nif applied to, render even greater services than Ariadne with her\nwonderful thread. When we inquire whom Tuesday and Wednesday and\nThursday and Friday are named after, and press questions in reference to\nTyr, Odin, Thor and Freyja, we get at best but a wise and knowing look.\nAre we, then, as a nation, like the ancient Jews, and do we bend the\nknee before the gods of foreign nations and forsake the altars of our\nown gods? What if we then should suffer the fate of that unhappy\npeople--be scattered over all the world and lose our fatherland? In\nthese Eddas our fathers have bequeathed unto us all their profoundest,\nall their sublimest, all their best thought. They are the concentrated\nresult of their greatest intellectual and spiritual effort, and it\nbehooves us to cherish this treasure and make it the fountain at which\nthe whole American branch of the Ygdrasil ash may imbibe a united\nnational sentiment. It is not enough to brush the dust off these gods\nand goddesses of our ancestors and put them up on pedestals as ornaments\nin our museums and libraries. These coins of the past are not to be laid\naway in numismatic collections. The grandson must use what he has\ninherited from his grandfather. If the coin is not intelligible, then it\nwill have to be sent to the mint and stamped anew, in order that it may\ncirculate freely. Our ancestral deities want a place in our hearts and\nin our songs.\n\nOn the European continent and in England the zeal of the priests in\npropagating Christianity was so great that they sought to root out every\ntrace of the asa-faith. They left but unintelligible fragments of the\nheathen religious structure. Our gods and goddesses and heroes were\nconsigned to oblivion, and all knowledge of the Odinic religion and of\nthe Niblung-story would have been well nigh totally obliterated had not\na more lucky star hovered over the destinies of Iceland. In this\nremotest corner of the world the ancestral spirit was preserved like the\nglowing embers of Hekla beneath the snow and ice of the glacier. From\nthe farthest Thule the spirit of our fathers rises and shines like an\naurora over all Teutondom. It was in the year 860 that Iceland was\ndiscovered. In 874 the Teutonic spirit fled thither for refuge from\ntyranny. Here a government based on the principles of old Teutonic\nliberty was established. From here went forth daring vikings, who\ndiscovered Greenland and Vinland, and showed Columbus the way to\nAmerica. From here the courts of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, England and\nGermany were supplied with skalds to sing their praises. Here was put in\nwriting the laws and sagas that give us a clue to the form of old\nTeutonic institutions. Here was preserved the Old Norse language, and in\nit a record of the customs, the institutions and the religion of our\nfathers. Its literature does not belong to that island alone,--it\nbelongs to the whole Teutonic race! Iceland is for the Teutons what\nGreece and Rome are for the south of Europe, and she accomplished her\nmission with no less efficiency and success. Cato the Elder used to end\nall his speeches with these words: _\u201cPr\u00e6terea censeo Carthaginem esse\ndelendam.\u201d_ In these days, when so many worship at the shrine of\nRomanism, we think it perfectly just to adopt Cato\u2019s sentence in this\nform: _Pr\u00e6terea censeo Romam esse delendam_.\n\n\n\n\nFOREWORD.\n\n\n1. In the beginning Almighty God created heaven and earth, and all\nthings that belong to them, and last he made two human beings, from whom\nthe races are descended (Adam and Eve), and their children multiplied\nand spread over all the world. But in the course of time men became\nunequal; some were good and right-believing, but many more turned them\nafter the lusts of the world and heeded not God\u2019s laws; and for this\nreason God drowned the world in the flood, and all that was quick in the\nworld, except those who were in the ark with Noah. After the flood of\nNoah there lived eight men, who inhabited the world, and from them the\nraces are descended; and now, as before, they increased and filled the\nworld, and there were very many men who loved to covet wealth and power,\nbut turned away from obedience to God, and so much did they do this that\nthey would not name God. And who could then tell their sons of the\nwonderful works of God? So it came to pass that they lost God\u2019s name;\nand in the wide world the man was not to be found who could tell of his\nMaker. But, nevertheless, God gave them earthly-gifts, wealth and\nhappiness, that should be with them in the world; he also shared wisdom\namong them, so that they understood all earthly things, and all kinds\nthat might be seen in the air and on the earth. This they thought upon,\nand wondered at, how it could come to pass that the earth and the beasts\nand the birds had the same nature in some things but still were unlike\nin manners.\n\nOne evidence of this nature was that the earth might be dug into upon\nhigh mountain-peaks and water would spring up there, and it was not\nnecessary to dig deeper for water there than in deep dales; thus, also,\nin beasts and birds it is no farther to the blood in the head than in\nthe feet. Another proof of this nature is, that every year there grow on\nthe earth grass and flowers, and the same year it falls and withers;\nthus, also, on beasts and birds do hair and feathers grow and fall off\neach year. The third nature of the earth is, that when it is opened and\ndug into, then grass grows on the mould which is uppermost on the earth.\nRocks and stones they explained to correspond to the teeth and bones of\nliving things. From these things they judged that the earth must be\nquick and must have life in some way, and they knew that it was of a\nwonderfully great age and of a mighty nature. It nourished all that was\nquick and took to itself all that died. On this account they gave it a\nname, and numbered their ancestors back to it This they also learned\nfrom their old kinsmen, that when many hundred winters were numbered,\nthe course of the heavenly bodies was uneven; some had a longer course\nthan others. From such things they suspected that some one must be the\nruler of the heavenly bodies who could stay their course at his own\nwill, and he must be strong and mighty; and of him they thought that, if\nhe ruled the prime elements, he must also have been before the heavenly\nbodies, and they saw that, if he ruled the course of the heavenly\nbodies, he must rule the sunshine, and the dew of the heavens, and the\nproducts of the earth that follow them; and thus, also, the winds of the\nair and therewith the storms of the sea. They knew not where his realm\nwas, but they believed that he ruled over all things on the earth and in\nthe air, over the heavens and the heavenly bodies, the seas and the\nweather. But in order that these things might be better told and\nremembered, they gave him the same name with themselves, and this belief\nhas been changed in many ways, as the peoples have been separated and\nthe tongues have been divided.\n\n2. In his old age Noah shared the world with his sons: for Ham he\nintended the western region, for Japheth the northern region, but for\nShem the southern region, with those parts which will hereafter be\nmarked out in the division of the earth into three parts. In the time\nthat the sons of these men were in the world, then increased forthwith\nthe desire for riches and power, from the fact that they knew many\ncrafts that had not been discovered before, and each one was exalted\nwith his own handiwork; and so far did they carry their pride, that the\nAfricans, descended from Ham, harried in that part of the world which\nthe offspring of Shem, their kinsman, inhabited. And when they had\nconquered them, the world seemed to them too small, and they smithied a\ntower with tile and stone, which they meant should reach to heaven, on\nthe plain called Sennar. And when this building was so far advanced that\nit extended above the air, and they were no less eager to continue the\nwork, and when God saw how their pride waxed high, then he sees that he\nwill have to strike it down in some way. And the same God, who is\nalmighty, and who might have struck down all their work in the twinkling\nof an eye, and made themselves turn into dust, still preferred to\nfrustrate their purpose by making them realize their own littleness, in\nthat none of them should understand what the other talked; and thus no\none knew what the other commanded, and one broke what the other wished\nto build up, until they came to strife among themselves, and therewith\nwas frustrated, in the beginning, their purpose of building a tower. And\nhe who was foremost, hight Zoroaster, he laughed before he wept when he\ncame into the world; but the master-smiths were seventy-two, and so many\ntongues have spread over the world since the giants were dispersed over\nthe land, and the nations became numerous. In this same place was built\nthe most famous city, which took its name from the tower, and was called\nBabylon. And when the confusion of tongues had taken place, then\nincreased the names of men and of other things, and this same Zoroaster\nhad many names; and although he understood that his pride was laid low\nby the said building, still he worked his way unto worldly power, and\nhad himself chosen king over many peoples of the Assyrians. From him\narose the error of idolatry; and when he was worshiped he was called\nBaal; we call him Bel; he also had many other names. But as the names\nincreased in number, so was truth lost; and from this first error every\nfollowing man worshiped his head-master, beasts or birds, the air and\nthe heavenly bodies, and various lifeless things, until the error at\nlength spread over the whole world; and so carefully did they lose the\ntruth that no one knew his maker, excepting those men alone who spoke\nthe Hebrew tongue,--that which flourished before the building of the\ntower,--and still they did not lose the bodily endowments that were\ngiven them, and therefore they judged of all things with earthly\nunderstanding, for spiritual wisdom was not given unto them. They deemed\nthat all things were smithied of some one material.\n\n3. The world was divided into three parts, one from the south, westward\nto the Mediterranean Sea, which part was called Africa; but the southern\nportion of this part is hot and scorched by the sun. The second part,\nfrom the west and to the north and to the sea, is that called Europe, or\nEnea. The northern portion of this is cold, so that grass grows not, nor\ncan anyone dwell there. From the north around the east region, and all\nto the south, that is called Asia. In that part of the world is all\nbeauty and pomp, and wealth of the earth\u2019s products, gold and precious\nstones. There is also the mid-world, and as the earth there is fairer\nand of a better quality than elsewhere, so are also the people there\nmost richly endowed with all gifts, with wisdom and strength, with\nbeauty and with all knowledge.\n\n4. Near the middle of the world was built the house and inn, the most\nfamous that has been made, which was called Troy, in the land which we\ncall Turkey. This city was built much larger than others, with more\nskill in many ways, at great expense, and with such means as were at\nhand. There were twelve kingdoms and one over-king, and many lands and\nnations belonged to each kingdom; there were in the city twelve chief\nlanguages.[5] Their chiefs have surpassed all men who have been in the\nworld in all heroic things. No scholar who has ever told of these things\nhas ever disputed this fact, and for this reason, that all rulers of the\nnorth region trace their ancestors back thither, and place in the number\nof the gods all who were rulers of the city. Especially do they place\nPriamos himself in the stead of Odin; nor must that be called wonderful,\nfor Priamos was sprung from Saturn, him whom the north region for a long\ntime believed to be God himself.\n\n    [Footnote 5: Dasent translates \u201ch\u00f6vu\u00f0tungur\u201d (chief or head\n    tongues) with \u201clords,\u201d which is certainly an error.]\n\n5. This Saturn grew up in that island in Greece which hight Crete. He\nwas greater and stronger and fairer than other men. As in other natural\nendowments, so he excelled all men in wisdom. He invented many crafts\nwhich had not before been discovered. He was also so great in the art of\nmagic that he was certain about things that had not yet come to pass. He\nfound, too, that red thing in the earth from which he smelted gold, and\nfrom such things he soon became very mighty. He also foretold harvests\nand many other secret things, and for such, and many other deeds, he was\nchosen chief of the island. And when he had ruled it a short time, then\nthere speedily enough became a great abundance of all things. No money\ncirculated excepting gold coins, so plentiful was this metal; and though\nthere was famine in other lands, the crops never failed in Crete, so\nthat people might seek there all the things which they needed to have.\nAnd from this and many other secret gifts of power that he had, men\nbelieved him to be God, and from him arose another error among the\nCretans and Macedonians like the one before mentioned among the\nAssyrians and Chaldeans from Zoroaster. And when Saturn finds how great\nstrength the people think they have in him, he calls himself God, and\nsays that he rules heaven and earth and all things.\n\n6. Once he went to Greece in a ship, for there was a king\u2019s daughter on\nwhom he had set his heart. He won her love in this way, that one day\nwhen she was out with her maid-servants, he took upon himself the\nlikeness of a bull, and lay before her in the wood, and so fair was he\nthat the hue of gold was on every hair; and when the king\u2019s daughter saw\nhim she patted his lips. He sprang up and threw off the bull\u2019s likeness\nand took her into his arms and bore her to the ship and took her to\nCrete. But his wife, Juno, found this out, so he turned her (the king\u2019s\ndaughter) into the likeness of a heifer and sent her east to the arms of\nthe great river (that is, of the Nile, to the Nile country), and let the\nthrall, who hight Argulos, take care of her. She was there twelve months\nbefore he changed her shape again. Many things did he do like this,\nor even more wonderful He had three sons: one hight Jupiter, another\nNeptune, the third Pluto. They were all men of the greatest\naccomplishments, and Jupiter was by far the greatest; he was a warrior\nand won many kingdoms; he was also crafty like his father, and took upon\nhimself the likeness of many animals, and thus he accomplished many\nthings which are impossible for mankind; and on account of this, and\nother things, he was held in awe by all nations. Therefore Jupiter is\nput in the place of Thor, since all evil wights fear him.\n\n7. Saturn had built in Crete seventy-two burgs, and when he thought\nhimself firmly established in his kingdom, he shared it with his sons,\nwhom he set up with himself as gods; and to Jupiter he gave the realm of\nheaven; to Neptune, the realm of the earth, and to Pluto, hell; and this\nlast seemed to him the worst to manage, and therefore he gave to him his\ndog, the one whom he called Cerberos, to guard hell. This Cerberos, the\nGreeks say, Herakles dragged out of hell and upon earth. And although\nSaturn had given the realm of heaven to Jupiter, the latter nevertheless\ndesired to possess the realm of the earth, and so he harried his\nfather\u2019s kingdom, and it is said that he had him taken and emasculated,\nand for such great achievements he declared himself to be god, and the\nMacedonians say that he had the members taken and cast into the sea, and\ntherefore they believed for ages that therefrom had come a woman; her\nthey called Venus, and numbered among the gods, and she has in all ages\nsince been called goddess of love, for they believed she was able to\nturn the hearts of all men and women to love. When Saturn was\nemasculated by Jupiter, his son, he fled from the east out of Crete and\nwest into Italy. There dwelt at that time such people as did not work,\nand lived on acorns and grass, and lay in caves or holes in the earth.\nAnd when Saturn came there he changed his name and called himself Njord,\nfor the reason that he thought that Jupiter, his son, might afterward\nseek him out. He was the first there to teach men to plow and plant\nvineyards. There the soil was good and fresh, and it soon produced heavy\ncrops. He was made chief and thus he got possession of all the realms\nthere and built many burgs.\n\n8. Jupiter, his son, had many sons, from whom races have descended; his\nson was Dardanos, his son Herikon, his son Tros, his son Ilos, his son\nLaomedon, the father of the chief king Priamos. Priamos had many sons;\none of them was Hektor, who was the most famous of all men in the world\nfor strength, and stature and accomplishments, and for all manly deeds\nof a knightly kind; and it is found written that when the Greeks and all\nthe strength of the north and east regions fought with the Trojans, they\nwould never have become victors had not the Greeks invoked the gods; and\nit is also stated that no human strength would conquer them unless they\nwere betrayed by their own men, which afterward was done. And from their\nfame men that came after gave themselves titles, and especially was this\ndone by the Romans, who were the most famous in many things after their\ndays; and it is said that, when Rome was built, the Romans adapted their\ncustoms and laws as nearly as possible to those of the Trojans, their\nforefathers. And so much power accompanied these men for many ages\nafter, that when Pompey, a Roman chieftain, harried in the east region,\nOdin fled out of Asia and hither to the north country, and then he gave\nto himself and his men their names, and said that Priamos had hight Odin\nand his queen Frigg, and from this the realm afterward took its name and\nwas called Frigia where the burg stood. And whether Odin said this of\nhimself out of pride, or that it was wrought by the changing of tongues;\nnevertheless many wise men have regarded it a true saying, and for a\nlong time after every man who was a great chieftain followed his\nexample.\n\n9. A king in Troy hight Munon or Mennon, his wife was a daughter of the\nhead-king Priamos and hight Troan; they had a son who hight Tror, him we\ncall Thor. He was fostered in Thrace by the duke, who is called Loricos.\nBut when he was ten winters old he took his father\u2019s weapons. So fair of\nface was he, when he stood by other men, as when ivory is set in oak;\nhis hair was fairer than gold. When he was twelve winters old he had\nfull strength; then he lifted from the ground ten bear skins all at\nonce, and then he slew Loricos, the duke, his foster-father and his\nwife, Lora or Glora, and took possession of Thrace; this we call\nThrudheim. Then he visited many lands and knew the countries of the\nworld, and conquered single-handed all the berserks and all the giants,\nand one very big dragon and many beasts. In the north region he found\nthat prophetess who hight Sibyl, whom we call Sif, and married her. None\ncan tell the genealogy of Sif; she was the fairest of all women, her\nhair was like gold. Their son was Loride (Hloride), who was like his\nfather; his son was Henrede; his son Vingethor (Vingthor); his son\nVingener (Vingner); his son Moda (Mode); his son Magi (Magne); his son\nKesfet; his son Bedvig; his son Atra, whom we call Annan; his son\nItrman; his son Heremod (Hermod); his son Skjaldun, whom we call Skjold;\nhis son Bjaf, whom we call Bjar; his son Jat; his son Gudolf, his son\nFjarlaf, whom we call Fridleif; he had the son who is called Vodin, whom\nwe call Odin; he was a famous man for wisdom and all accomplishments.\nHis wife hight Frigida, whom we call Frigg.\n\n10. Odin had the power of divination, and so had his wife, and from this\nknowledge he found out that his name would be held high in the north\npart of the world, and honored beyond that of all kings. For this reason\nhe was eager to begin his journey from Turkey, and he had with him very\nmany people, young and old, men and women, and he had with him many\ncostly things. But wherever they fared over the lands great fame was\nspoken of them, and they were said to be more like gods than men. And\nthey stopped not on their journey before they came north into that land\nwhich is now called Saxland; there Odin remained a long time, and\nsubjugated the country far and wide. There Odin established his three\nsons as a defense of the land. One is named Veggdegg; he was a strong\nking and ruled over East Saxland. His son was Vitrgils, and his sons\nwere Ritta, the father of Heingest (Hengist), and Sigar, the father of\nSvebdegg, whom we call Svipdag. Another son of Odin hight Beldegg, whom\nwe call Balder; he possessed the land which now hight Vestfal; his son\nwas Brander, and his son Frjodigar, whom we call Froda (Frode). His son\nwas Freovit, his son Yvigg, his son Gevis, whom we call Gave. The third\nson of Odin is named Sigge, his son Verer. These forefathers ruled the\nland which is now called Frankland, and from them is come the race that\nis called the Volsungs. From all of these many and great races are\ndescended.\n\n11. Then Odin continued his journey northward and came into the country\nwhich was called Reidgotaland, and in that land he conquered all that he\ndesired. He established there his son, who hight Skjold; his son hight\nFridleif; from him is descended the race which hight Skjoldungs; these\nare the Dane kings, and that land hight now Jutland, which then was\ncalled Reidgotaland.\n\n12. Thereupon he fared north to what is now called Svithjod (Sweden),\nthere was the king who is called Gylfe. But when he heard of the coming\nof those Asiamen, who were called asas, he went to meet them, and\noffered Odin such things in his kingdom as he himself might desire. And\nsuch good luck followed their path, that wherever they stopped in the\nlands, there were bountiful crops and good peace; and all believed that\nthey were the cause thereof. The mighty men of the kingdom saw that they\nwere unlike other men whom they had seen, both in respect to beauty and\nunderstanding. The land there seemed good to Odin, and he chose there\nfor himself a place for a burg, which is now called Sigtuna.[6] He there\nestablished chiefs, like unto what had formerly existed in Troy; he\nappointed twelve men in the burg to be judges of the law of the land,\nand made all rights to correspond with what had before been in Troy, and\nto what the Turks had been accustomed.\n\n    [Footnote 6: Near Upsala.]\n\n13. Thereupon he fared north until he reached the sea, which they\nthought surrounded all lands, and there he established his son in the\nkingdom, which is now called Norway; he is hight Saming, and the kings\nof Norway count their ancestors back to him, and so do the jarls and\nother mighty men, as it is stated in the Haleygjatal.[7] But Odin had\nwith him that son who is called Yngve, who was king in Sweden, and from\nhim is descended the families called Ynglings (Yngvelings). The asas\ntook to themselves wives there within the land. But some took wives for\ntheir sons, and these families became so numerous that they spread over\nSaxland, and thence over the whole north region, and the tongue of these\nAsiamen became the native tongue of all these lands. And men think they\ncan understand from the way in which the names of their forefathers is\nwritten, that these names have belonged to this tongue, and that the\nasas have brought this tongue hither to the north, to Norway, to Sweden\nand to Saxland. But in England are old names of places and towns which\ncan be seen to have been given in another tongue than this.\n\n    [Footnote 7: A heroic poem, giving the pedigree (tal) of Norse\n    kings.]\n\n\n\n\nTHE FOOLING OF GYLFE.\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\n\nGEFJUN\u2019S PLOWING.\n\n1. King Gylfe ruled the lands that are now called Svithjod (Sweden). Of\nhim it is said that he gave to a wayfaring woman, as a reward for the\nentertainment she had afforded him by her story-telling, a plow-land in\nhis realm, as large as four oxen could plow it in a day and a night But\nthis woman was of the asa-race; her name was Gefjun. She took from the\nnorth, from Jotunheim, four oxen, which were the sons of a giant and\nher, and set them before the plow. Then went the plow so hard and deep\nthat it tore up the land, and the oxen drew it westward into the sea,\nuntil it stood still in a sound. There Gefjun set the land, gave it a\nname and called it Seeland. And where the land had been taken away\nbecame afterward a sea, which in Sweden is now called Logrinn (the Lake,\nthe Malar Lake in Sweden). And in the Malar Lake the bays correspond to\nthe capes in Seeland. Thus Brage, the old skald:\n\n  Gefjun glad\n  Drew from Gylfe\n  The excellent land,\n  Denmark\u2019s increase,\n  So that it reeked\n  From the running beasts.\n  Four heads and eight eyes\n  Bore the oxen\n  As they went before the wide\n  Robbed land of the grassy isle.[8]\n\n    [Footnote 8: Heimskringla: Ynglinga Saga, ch. v.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\nGYLFE\u2019S JOURNEY TO ASGARD.\n\n\n2. King Gylfe was a wise man and skilled in the black art. He wondered\nmuch that the asa-folk was so mighty in knowledge, that all things went\nafter their will. He thought to himself whether this could come from\ntheir own nature, or whether the cause must be sought for among the gods\nwhom they worshiped. He therefore undertook a journey to Asgard. He went\nsecretly, having assumed the likeness of an old man, and striving thus\nto disguise himself. But the asas were wiser, for they see into the\nfuture, and, foreseeing his journey before he came, they received him\nwith an eye-deceit. So when he came into the burg he saw there a hall so\nhigh that he could hardly look over it. Its roof was thatched with\ngolden shields as with shingles. Thus says Thjodolf of Hvin, that Valhal\nwas thatched with shields:\n\n  Thinking thatchers\n  Thatched the roof;\n  The beams of the burg\n  Beamed with gold.[9]\n\n    [Footnote 9: Heimskringla: Harald Harfager\u2019s Saga, ch. xix.]\n\nIn the door of the hall Gylfe saw a man who played with swords so\ndexterously that seven were in the air at one time. That man asked him\nwhat his name was. Gylfe answered that his name was Ganglere;[10] that\nhe had come a long way, and that he sought lodgings for the night. He\nalso asked who owned the burg. The other answered that it belonged to\ntheir king: I will go with you to see him and then you may ask him for\nhis name yourself. Then the man turned and led the way into the hall.\nGanglere followed, and suddenly the doors closed behind him. There he\nsaw many rooms and a large number of people, of whom some were playing,\nothers were drinking, and some were fighting with weapons. He looked\naround him, and much of what he saw seemed to him incredible. Then\nquoth he:\n\n  Gates all,\n  Before in you go,\n  You must examine well;\n  For you cannot know\n  Where enemies sit\n  In the house before you.[11]\n\n    [Footnote 10: The walker.]\n\n    [Footnote 11: Elder Edda: Havamal.]\n\nHe saw three high-seats, one above the other, and in each sat a man. He\nasked what the names of these chiefs were. He, who had conducted him in,\nanswered that the one who sat in the lowest high-seat was king, and\nhight Har; the one next above him, Jafnhar; but the one who sat on the\nhighest throne, Thride. Har asked the comer what more his errand was,\nand added that food and drink was there at his service, as for all in\nHar\u2019s hall. Ganglere answered that he first would like to ask whether\nthere was any wise man. Answered Har: You will not come out from here\nhale unless you are wiser.\n\n  And stand now forth\n  While you ask;\n  He who answers shall sit.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\nOF THE HIGHEST GOD.\n\n\n3. Ganglere then made the following question: Who is the highest and\noldest of all the gods? Made answer Har: Alfather he is called in our\ntongue, but in Asgard of old he had twelve names. The first is Alfather,\nthe second is Herran or Herjan, the third Nikar or Hnikar, the fourth\nNikuz or Hnikud, the fifth Fjolner, the sixth Oske, the seventh Ome, the\neighth Biflide or Biflinde, the ninth Svidar, the tenth Svidrer, the\neleventh Vidrer, the twelfth Jalg or Jalk. Ganglere asks again: Where is\nthis god? What can he do? What mighty works has he accomplished?\nAnswered Har: He lives from everlasting to everlasting, rules over all\nhis realm, and governs all things, great and small. Then remarked\nJafnhar: He made heaven and earth, the air and all things in them.\nThride added: What is most important, he made man and gave him a spirit,\nwhich shall live, and never perish, though the body may turn to dust or\nburn to ashes. All who live a life of virtue shall dwell with him in\nGimle or Vingolf. The wicked, on the other hand, go to Hel, and from her\nto Niflhel, that is, down into the ninth world. Then asked Ganglere:\nWhat was he doing before heaven and earth were made? Har gave answer:\nThen was he with the frost-giants.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\nTHE CREATION OF THE WORLD.\n\n\n4. Said Ganglere: How came the world into existence, or how did it rise?\nWhat was before? Made answer to him Har: Thus is it said in the Vala\u2019s\nProphecy:\n\n  It was Time\u2019s morning,\n  When there nothing was;\n  Nor sand, nor sea,\n  Nor cooling billows.\n  Earth there was not,\n  Nor heaven above.\n  The Ginungagap was,\n  But grass nowhere.[12]\n\n    [Footnote 12: Elder Edda: The Vala\u2019s Prophecy, 6.]\n\nJafnhar remarked: Many ages before the earth was made, Niflheim had\nexisted, in the midst of which is the well called Hvergelmer, whence\nflow the following streams: Svol, Gunnthro, Form, Fimbul, Thul, Slid and\nHrid, Sylg and Ylg, Vid, Leipt and Gjoll, the last of which is nearest\nthe gate of Hel. Then added Thride: Still there was before a world to\nthe south which hight Muspelheim. It is light and hot, and so bright\nand dazzling that no stranger, who is not a native there, can stand it.\nSurt is the name of him who stands on its border guarding it. He has a\nflaming sword in his hand, and at the end of the world he will come and\nharry, conquer all the gods, and burn up the whole world with fire. Thus\nit is said in the Vala\u2019s Prophecy:\n\n  Surt from the south fares\n  With blazing flames;\n  From the sword shines\n  The sun of the war-god.\n  Rocks dash together\n  And witches collapse,\n  Men go the way to Hel\n  And the heavens are cleft.[13]\n\n    [Footnote 13: Elder Edda: The Vala\u2019s Prophecy, 56.]\n\n5. Said Ganglere: What took place before the races came into existence,\nand men increased and multiplied? Replied Har, explaining, that as soon\nas the streams, that are called the Elivogs, had come so far from their\nsource that the venomous yeast which flowed with them hardened, as does\ndross that runs from the fire, then it turned into ice. And when this\nice stopped and flowed no more, then gathered over it the drizzling rain\nthat arose from the venom and froze into rime, and one layer of ice was\nlaid upon the other clear into Ginungagap. Then said Jafnhar: All that\npart of Ginungagap that turns toward the north was filled with thick\nand heavy ice and rime, and everywhere within were drizzling rains and\ngusts. But the south part of Ginungagap was lighted up by the glowing\nsparks that flew out of Muspelheim. Added Thride: As cold and all things\ngrim proceeded from Niflheim, so that which bordered on Muspelheim was\nhot and bright, and Ginungagap was as warm and mild as windless air. And\nwhen the heated blasts from Muspelheim met the rime, so that it melted\ninto drops, then, by the might of him who sent the heat, the drops\nquickened into life and took the likeness of a man, who got the name\nYmer. But the Frost giants call him Aurgelmer. Thus it is said in the\nshort Prophecy of the Vala (the Lay of Hyndla):\n\n  All the valas are\n  From Vidolf descended;\n  All wizards are\n  Of Vilmeide\u2019s race;\n  All enchanters\n  Are sons of Svarthofde;\n  All giants have\n  Come from Ymer.[14]\n\n    [Footnote 14: Elder Edda: Hyndla\u2019a Lay, 34.]\n\nAnd on this point, when Vafthrudner, the giant, was asked by Gangrad:\n\n  Whence came Aurgelmer\n  Originally to the sons\n  Of the giants?--thou wise giant![15]\n\nhe said\n\n  From the Elivogs\n  Sprang drops of venom,\n  And grew till a giant was made.\n  Thence our race\n  Are all descended,\n  Therefore are we all so fierce.[16]\n\n    [Footnote 15: Elder Edda: Vafthrudner\u2019s Lay, 30.]\n\n    [Footnote 16: Elder Edda: Vafthrudner\u2019s Lay, 31.]\n\nThen asked Ganglere: How were the races developed from him? Or what was\ndone so that more men were made? Or do you believe him to be god of whom\nyou now spake? Made answer Har: By no means do we believe him to be god;\nevil was he and all his offspring, them we call frost-giants. It is said\nthat when he slept he fell into a sweat, and then there grew under his\nleft arm a man and a woman, and one of his feet begat with the other a\nson. From these come the races that are called frost-giants. The old\nfrost-giant we call Ymer.\n\n6. Then said Ganglere: Where did Ymer dwell, and on what did he live?\nAnswered Har: The next thing was that when the rime melted into drops,\nthere was made thereof a cow, which hight Audhumbla. Four milk-streams\nran from her teats, and she fed Ymer. Thereupon asked Ganglere: On what\ndid the cow subsist? Answered Har: She licked the salt-stones that were\ncovered with rime, and the first day that she licked the stones there\ncame out of them in the evening a man\u2019s hair, the second day a man\u2019s\nhead, and the third day the whole man was there. This man\u2019s name was\nBure; he was fair of face, great and mighty, and he begat a son whose\nname was Bor. This Bor married a woman whose name was Bestla, the\ndaughter of the giant Bolthorn; they had three sons,--the one hight\nOdin, the other Vile, and the third Ve. And it is my belief that this\nOdin and his brothers are the rulers of heaven and earth. We think that\nhe must be so called. That is the name of the man whom we know to be the\ngreatest and most famous, and well may men call him by that name.\n\n7. Ganglere asked: How could these keep peace with Ymer, or who was the\nstronger? Then answered Har: The sons of Bor slew the giant Ymer, but\nwhen he fell, there flowed so much blood from his wounds that they\ndrowned therein the whole race of frost giants; excepting one, who\nescaped with his household. Him the giants call Bergelmer. He and his\nwife went on board his ark and saved themselves in it. From them are\ncome new races of frost-giants, as is here said:\n\n  Countless winters\n  Ere the earth was made,\n  Was born Bergelmer.\n  This first I call to mind\n  How that crafty giant\n  Safe in his ark lay.[17]\n\n    [Footnote 17: Elder Edda: Vafthrudner\u2019s Lay, 35.]\n\n8. Then said Ganglere: What was done then by the sons of Bor, since you\nbelieve that they were gods? Answered Har: About that there is not a\nlittle to be said. They took the body of Ymer, carried it into the midst\nof Ginungagap and made of him the earth. Of his blood they made the seas\nand lakes; of his flesh the earth was made, but of his bones the rocks;\nof his teeth and jaws, and of the bones that were broken, they made\nstones and pebbles. Jafnhar remarked: Of the blood that flowed from the\nwounds, and was free, they made the ocean; they fastened the earth\ntogether and around it they laid this ocean in a ring without, and it\nmust seem to most men impossible to cross it. Thride added: They took\nhis skull and made thereof the sky, and raised it over the earth with\nfour sides. Under each corner they set a dwarf, and the four dwarfs were\ncalled Austre (east), Vestre (West), Nordre (North), Sudre (South). Then\nthey took glowing sparks, that were loose and had been cast out from\nMuspelheim, and placed them in the midst of the boundless heaven, both\nabove and below, to light up heaven and earth. They gave resting-places\nto all fires, and set some in heaven; some were made to go free under\nheaven, but they gave them a place and shaped their course. In old songs\nit is said that from that time days and years were reckoned. Thus in the\nProphecy of the Vala:\n\n  The sun knew not\n  Where her hall she had;\n  The moon knew not\n  What might he had;\n  The stars knew not\n  Their resting-places.[18]\n\n    [Footnote 18: Elder Edda: The Vala\u2019s Prophecy, 8. In Old Norse the\n    sun is feminine, and the moon masculine. See below, sections 11\n    and 12.]\n\nThus it was before these things were made. Then said Ganglere: Wonderful\ntidings are these I now hear; a wondrous great building is this, and\ndeftly constructed. How was the earth fashioned? Made answer Har: The\nearth is round, and without it round about lies the deep ocean, and\nalong the outer strand of that sea they gave lands for the giant races\nto dwell in; and against the attack of restless giants they built a burg\nwithin the sea and around the earth. For this purpose they used the\ngiant Ymer\u2019s eyebrows, and they called the burg Midgard. They also took\nhis brains and cast them into the air, and made therefrom the clouds,\nas is here said:\n\n  Of Ymer\u2019s flesh\n  The earth was made,\n  And of his sweat the seas;\n  Rocks of his bones,\n  Trees of his hair,\n  And the sky of his skull;\n  But of his eyebrows\n  The blithe powers\n  Made Midgard for the sons of men.\n  Of his brains\n  All the melancholy\n  Clouds were made.[19]\n\n    [Footnote 19: Elder Edda: Grimner\u2019s Lay, 40, 41. Comp.\n    Vafthrudner\u2019s Lay, 21.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\nTHE CREATION--(CONTINUED.)\n\n\n9. Then said Ganglere: Much had been done, it seemed to me, when heaven\nand earth were made, when sun and moon were set in their places, and\nwhen days were marked out; but whence came the people who inhabit the\nworld? Har answered as follows: As Bor\u2019s sons went along the sea-strand,\nthey found two trees. These trees they took up and made men of them. The\nfirst gave them spirit and life; the second endowed them with reason and\npower of motion; and the third gave them form, speech, hearing and\neyesight. They gave them clothes and names; the man they called Ask, and\nthe woman Embla. From them all mankind is descended, and a\ndwelling-place was given them under Midgard. In the next place, the sons\nof Bor made for themselves in the middle of the world a burg, which is\ncalled Asgard, and which we call Troy. There dwelt the gods and their\nrace, and thence were wrought many tidings and adventures, both on earth\nand in the sky. In Asgard is a place called Hlidskjalf, and when Odin\nseated himself there in the high-seat, he saw over the whole world, and\nwhat every man was doing, and he knew all things that he saw. His wife\nhight Frigg, and she was the daughter of Fjorgvin, and from their\noffspring are descended the race that we call asas, who inhabited Asgard\nthe old and the realms that lie about it, and all that race are known to\nbe gods. And for this reason Odin is called Alfather, that he is the\nfather of all gods and men, and of all things that were made by him and\nby his might. Jord (earth) was his daughter and his wife; with her he\nbegat his first son, and that is Asa-Thor. To him was given force and\nstrength, whereby he conquers all things quick.\n\n10. Norfe, or Narfe, hight a giant, who dwelt in Jotunheim. He had a\ndaughter by name Night. She was swarthy and dark like the race she\nbelonged to. She was first married to a man who hight Naglfare. Their\nson was Aud. Afterward she was married to Annar. Jord hight their\ndaughter. Her last husband was Delling (Daybreak), who was of asa-race.\nTheir son was Day, who was light and fair after his father. Then took\nAlfather Night and her son Day, gave them two horses and two cars, and\nset them up in heaven to drive around the earth, each in twelve hours by\nturns. Night rides first on the horse which is called Hrimfaxe, and\nevery morning he bedews the earth with the foam from his bit. The horse\non which Day rides is called Skinfaxe, and with his mane he lights up\nall the sky and the earth.\n\n11. Then said Ganglere: How does he steer the course of the sun and the\nmoon? Answered Har: Mundilfare hight the man who had two children. They\nwere so fair and beautiful that he called his son Moon, and his\ndaughter, whom he gave in marriage to a man by name Glener, he called\nSun. But the gods became wroth at this arrogance, took both the brother\nand the sister, set them up in heaven, and made Sun drive the horses\nthat draw the car of the sun, which the gods had made to light up the\nworld from sparks that flew out of Muspelheim. These horses hight Arvak\nand Alsvid. Under their withers the gods placed two wind-bags to cool\nthem, but in some songs it is called ironcold (\u00edsarnkol). Moon guides\nthe course of the moon, and rules its waxing and waning. He took from\nthe earth two children, who hight Bil and Hjuke, as they were going from\nthe well called Byrger, and were carrying on their shoulders the bucket\ncalled Sager and the pole Simul. Their father\u2019s name is Vidfin. These\nchildren always accompany Moon, as can be seen from the earth.\n\n12. Then said Ganglere: Swift fares Sun, almost as if she were afraid,\nand she could make no more haste in her course if she feared her\ndestroyer. Then answered Har: Nor is it wonderful that she speeds with\nall her might. Near is he who pursues her, and there is no escape for\nher but to run before him. Then asked Ganglere: Who causes her this\ntoil? Answered Har: It is two wolves. The one hight Skol, he runs after\nher; she fears him and he will one day overtake her. The other hight\nHate, Hrodvitner\u2019s son; he bounds before her and wants to catch the\nmoon, and so he will at last.[20] Then asked Ganglere: Whose offspring\nare these wolves? Said Har; A hag dwells east of Midgard, in the forest\ncalled Jarnved (Ironwood), where reside the witches called Jarnvidjes.\nThe old hag gives birth to many giant sons, and all in wolf\u2019s likeness.\nThence come these two wolves. It is said that of this wolf-race one is\nthe mightiest, and is called Moongarm. He is filled with the life-blood\nof all dead men. He will devour the moon, and stain the heavens and all\nthe sky with blood. Thereby the sun will be darkened, the winds will\ngrow wild, and roar hither and thither, as it is said in the Prophecy of\nthe Vala:\n\n  In the east dwells the old hag,\n  In the Jarnved forest;\n  And brings forth there\n  Fenrer\u2019s offspring.\n  There comes of them all\n  One the worst,\n  The moon\u2019s devourer\n  In a troll\u2019s disguise.\n\n  He is filled with the life-blood\n  Of men doomed to die;\n  The seats of the gods\n  He stains with red gore;\n  Sunshine grows black\n  The summer thereafter,\n  All weather gets fickle.\n  Know you yet or not?[21]\n\n    [Footnote 20: That wolves follow the sun and moon, is a\n    wide-spread popular superstition. In Sweden, a parhelion is\n    called Solvarg (sun-wolf).]\n\n    [Footnote 21: Elder Edda: The Vala\u2019s Prophecy, 43, 44.]\n\n13. Then asked Ganglere: What is the path from earth to heaven? Har\nanswered, laughing: Foolishly do you now ask. Have you not been told\nthat the gods made a bridge from earth to heaven, which is called\nBifrost? You must have seen it. It may be that you call it the rainbow.\nIt has three colors, is very strong, and is made with more craft and\nskill than other structures. Still, however strong it is, it will break\nwhen the sons of Muspel come to ride over it, and then they will have to\nswim their horses over great rivers in order to get on. Then said\nGanglere: The gods did not, it seems to me, build that bridge honestly,\nif it shall be able to break to pieces, since they could have done so,\nhad they desired. Then made answer Har: The gods are worthy of no blame\nfor this structure. Bifrost is indeed a good bridge, but there is no\nthing in the world that is able to stand when the sons of Muspel come to\nthe fight.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\nTHE FIRST WORKS OF THE ASAS. THE GOLDEN AGE.\n\n\n14. Then said Ganglere: What did Alfather do when Asgard had been built?\nSaid Har: In the beginning he appointed rulers in a place in the middle\nof the burg which is called Idavold, who were to judge with him the\ndisputes of men and decide the affairs of the burg. Their first work was\nto erect a court, where there were seats for all the twelve, and,\nbesides, a high-seat for Alfather. That is the best and largest house\never built on earth, and is within and without like solid gold. This\nplace is called Gladsheim. Then they built another hall as a home for\nthe goddesses, which also is a very beautiful mansion, and is called\nVingolf. Thereupon they built a forge; made hammer, tongs, anvil, and\nwith these all other tools. Afterward they worked in iron, stone and\nwood, and especially in that metal which is called gold. All their\nhousehold wares were of gold. That age was called the golden age, until\nit was lost by the coming of those women from Jotunheim. Then the gods\nset themselves in their high-seats and held counsel. They remembered how\nthe dwarfs had quickened in the mould of the earth like maggots in\nflesh. The dwarfs had first been created and had quickened in Ymer\u2019s\nflesh, and were then maggots; but now, by the decision of the gods, they\ngot the understanding and likeness of men, but still had to dwell in the\nearth and in rocks. Modsogner was one dwarf and Durin another. So it is\nsaid in the Vala\u2019s Prophecy:\n\n  Then went all the gods,\n  The all-holy gods,\n  On their judgment seats,\n  And thereon took counsel\n  Who should the race\n  Of dwarfs create\n  From the bloody sea\n  And from Blain\u2019s bones.\n  In the likeness of men\n  Made they many\n  Dwarfs in the earth,\n  As Durin said.\n\nAnd these, says the Vala, are the names of the dwarfs:\n\n  Nye, Nide,\n  Nordre, Sudre,\n  Austre, Vestre,\n  Althjof, Dvalin,\n  Na, Nain,\n  Niping, Dain,\n  Bifur, Bafur,\n  Bombor, Nore,\n  Ore, Onar,\n  Oin, Mjodvitner,\n  Vig, Gandalf,\n  Vindalf, Thorin,\n  File, Kile,\n  Fundin, Vale,\n  Thro, Throin,\n  Thek, Lit, Vit,\n  Ny, Nyrad,\n  Rek, Radsvid.\n\nBut the following are also dwarfs and dwell in the rocks, while the\nabove-named dwell in the mould:\n\n  Draupner, Dolgthvare,\n  Hor, Hugstare,\n  Hledjolf, Gloin,\n  Dore, Ore,\n  Duf, Andvare,\n  Hepte, File,\n  Har, Siar.\n\nBut the following come from Svarin\u2019s How to Aurvang on Joruvold, and\nfrom them is sprung Lovar. Their names are:\n\n  Skirfer, Virfir,\n  Skafid, Ae,\n  Alf, Inge,\n  Eikinslgalde,\n  Fal, Froste,\n  Fid, Ginnar.[22]\n\n    [Footnote 22: Elder Edda: The Vala\u2019s Prophecy, 12, 14-16, 18, 19.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII.\n\nON THE WONDERFUL THINGS IN HEAVEN.\n\n\n15. Then said Ganglere: Where is the chief or most holy place of the\ngods? Har answered: That is by the ash Ygdrasil. There the gods meet in\ncouncil every day. Said Ganglere: What is said about this place?\nAnswered Jafnhar: This ash is the best and greatest of all trees; its\nbranches spread over all the world, and reach up above heaven. Three\nroots sustain the tree and stand wide apart; one root is with the asas\nand another with the frost-giants, where Ginungagap formerly was; the\nthird reaches into Niflheim; under it is Hvergelmer, where Nidhug gnaws\nthe root from below. But under the second root, which extends to the\nfrost-giants, is the well of Mimer, wherein knowledge and wisdom are\nconcealed. The owner of the well hight Mimer. He is full of wisdom, for\nhe drinks from the well with the Gjallar-horn. Alfather once came there\nand asked for a drink from the well, but he did not get it before he\nleft one of his eyes as a pledge. So it is said in the Vala\u2019s Prophecy:\n\n  Well know I, Odin,\n  Where you hid your eye:\n  In the crystal-clear\n  Well of Mimer.\n  Mead drinks Mimer\n  Every morning\n  From Valfather\u2019s pledge.\n  Know you yet or not?[23]\n\n    [Footnote 23: Elder Edda: The Vala\u2019s Prophecy, 24.]\n\nThe third root of the ash is in heaven, and beneath it is the most\nsacred fountain of Urd. Here the gods have their doomstead. The asas\nride hither every day over Bifrost, which is also called Asa-bridge. The\nfollowing are the names of the horses of the gods: Sleipner is the best\none; he belongs to Odin, and he has eight feet. The second is Glad, the\nthird Gyller, the fourth Gler, the fifth Skeidbrimer, the sixth\nSilfertop, the seventh Siner, the eighth Gisl, the ninth Falhofner, the\ntenth Gulltop, the eleventh Letfet. Balder\u2019s horse was burned with him.\nThor goes on foot to the doomstead, and wades the following rivers:\n\n  Kormt and Ormt\n  And the two Kerlaugs;\n  These shall Thor wade\n  Every day\n  When he goes to judge\n  Near the Ygdrasil ash;\n  For the Asa-bridge\n  Burns all ablaze,--\n  The holy waters roar.[24]\n\n    [Footnote 24: Elder Edda: Grimner\u2019s Lay, 29.]\n\nThen asked Ganglere: Does fire burn over Bifrost? Har answered: The red\nwhich you see in the rainbow is burning fire. The frost-giants and the\nmountain-giants would go up to heaven if Bifrost were passable for all\nwho desired to go there. Many fair places there are in heaven, and they\nare all protected by a divine defense. There stands a beautiful hall\nnear the fountain beneath the ash. Out of it come three maids, whose\nnames are Urd, Verdande and Skuld. These maids shape the lives of men,\nand we call them norns. There are yet more norns, namely those who come\nto every man when he is born, to shape his life, and these are known to\nbe of the race of gods; others, on the other hand, are of the race of\nelves, and yet others are of the race of dwarfs. As is here said:\n\n  Far asunder, I think,\n  The norns are born,\n  They are not of the same race.\n  Some are of the asas,\n  Some are of the elves,\n  Some are daughters of Dvalin.[25]\n\n    [Footnote 25: Elder Edda: Fafner\u2019s Lay, 13.]\n\nThen said Ganglere: If the norns rule the fortunes of men, then they\ndeal them out exceedingly unevenly. Some live a good life and are rich;\nsome get neither wealth nor praise. Some have a long, others a short\nlife. Har answered: Good norns and of good descent shape good lives, and\nwhen some men are weighed down with misfortune, the evil norns are the\ncause of it.\n\n16. Then said Ganglere: What other remarkable things are there to be\nsaid about the ash? Har answered: Much is to be said about it. On one of\nthe boughs of the ash sits an eagle, who knows many things. Between his\neyes sits a hawk that is called Vedfolner. A squirrel, by name Ratatosk,\nsprings up and down the tree, and carries words of envy between the\neagle and Nidhug. Four stags leap about in the branches of the ash and\nbite the leaves.[26] Their names are: Dain, Dvalin, Duney and Durathro.\nIn Hvergelmer with Nidhug are more serpents than tongue can tell. As is\nhere said:\n\n  The ash Ygdrasil\n  Bears distress\n  Greater than men know.\n  Stags bite it above,\n  At the side it rots,\n  Nidhug gnaws it below.\n\n    [Footnote 26: The Icelandic barr. See Vigfusson, _sub voce_.]\n\nAnd so again it is said:\n\n  More serpents lie\n  \u2019Neath the Ygdrasil ash\n  Than is thought of\n  By every foolish ape.\n  Goin and Moin\n  (They are sons of Grafvitner),\n  Grabak and Grafvollud,\n  Ofner and Svafner\n  Must for aye, methinks,\n  Gnaw the roots of that tree.[27]\n\n    [Footnote 27: Elder Edda: Grimner\u2019s Lay, 35, 34.]\n\nAgain, it is said that the norns, that dwell in the fountain of Urd,\nevery day take water from the fountain and take the clay that lies\naround the fountain and sprinkle therewith the ash, in order that its\nbranches may not wither or decay. This water is so holy that all things\nthat are put into the fountain become as white as the film of an\negg-shell As is here said:\n\n  An ash I know\n  Hight Ygdrasil;\n  A high, holy tree\n  With white clay sprinkled.\n  Thence come the dews\n  That fall in the dales.\n  Green forever it stands\n  Over Urd\u2019s fountain.[28]\n\n    [Footnote 28: Elder Edda: The Vala\u2019s Prophecy, 22.]\n\nThe dew which falls on the earth from this tree men call honey-fall, and\nit is the food of bees. Two birds are fed in Urd\u2019s fountain; they are\ncalled swans, and they are the parents of the race of swans.\n\n17. Then said Ganglere: Great tidings you are able to tell of the\nheavens. Are there other remarkable places than the one by Urd\u2019s\nfountain? Answered Har: There are many magnificent dwellings. One is\nthere called Alfheim. There dwell the folk that are called light-elves;\nbut the dark-elves dwell down in the earth, and they are unlike the\nlight-elves in appearance, but much more so in deeds. The light-elves\nare fairer than the sun to look upon, but the dark-elves are blacker\nthan pitch. Another place is called Breidablik, and no place is fairer.\nThere is also a mansion called Glitner, of which the walls and pillars\nand posts are of red gold, and the roof is of silver. Furthermore, there\nis a dwelling, by name Himinbjorg, which stands at the end of heaven,\nwhere the Bifrost-bridge is united with heaven. And there is a great\ndwelling called Valaskjalf, which belongs to Odin. The gods made it and\nthatched it with, sheer silver. In this hall is the high-seat, which is\ncalled Hlidskjalf, and when Alfather sits in this seat, he sees over all\nthe world. In the southern end of the world is the palace, which is the\nfairest of all, and brighter than the sun; its name is Gimle. It shall\nstand when both heaven and earth shall have passed away. In this hall\nthe good and the righteous shall dwell through all ages. Thus says the\nProphecy of the Vala:\n\n  A hall I know, standing\n  Than the sun fairer,\n  Than gold better,\n  Gimle by name.\n  There shall good\n  People dwell,\n  And forever\n  Delights enjoy.[29]\n\nThen said Ganglere: Who guards this palace when Surt\u2019s fire burns up\nheaven and earth? Har answered: It is said that to the south and above\nthis heaven is another heaven, which is called Andlang. But there is a\nthird, which is above these, and is called Vidblain, and in this heaven\nwe believe this mansion (Gimle) to be situated; but we deem that the\nlight-elves alone dwell in it now.\n\n    [Footnote 29: Elder Edda: The Vala\u2019s Prophecy, 70.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII.\n\nTHE ASAS.\n\n\n18. Then said Ganglere: Whence comes the wind? It is so strong that it\nmoves great seas, and fans fires to flame, and yet, strong as it is,\nit cannot be seen. Therefore it is wonderfully made. Then answered Har:\nThat I can tell you well. At the northern end of heaven sits a giant,\nwho hight Hrasvelg. He is clad in eagles\u2019 plumes, and when he spreads\nhis wings for flight, the winds arise from under them. Thus is it here\nsaid:\n\n  Hrasvelg hight he\n  Who sits at the end of heaven,\n  A giant in eagle\u2019s disguise.\n  From his wings, they say,\n  The wind does come\n  Over all mankind.[30]\n\n    [Footnote 30: Elder Edda: Vafthrudner\u2019s Lay, 37.]\n\n19. Then said Ganglere: How comes it that summer is so hot, but the\nwinter so cold? Har answered: A wise man would not ask such a question,\nfor all are able to tell this; but if you alone have become so stupid\nthat you have not heard of it, then I would rather forgive you for\nasking unwisely once than that you should go any longer in ignorance of\nwhat you ought to know. Svasud is the name of him who is father of\nsummer, and he lives such a life of enjoyment, that everything that is\nmild is from him called sweet (svasligt). But the father of winter has\ntwo names, Vindlone and Vindsval. He is the son of Vasad, and all that\nrace are grim and of icy breath, and winter is like them.\n\n20. Then asked Ganglere: Which are the asas, in whom men are bound to\nbelieve? Har answered him: Twelve are the divine asas. Jafnhar said:\nNo less holy are the asynjes (goddesses), nor is their power less. Then\nadded Thride: Odin is the highest and oldest of the asas. He rules all\nthings, but the other gods, each according to his might, serve him as\nchildren a father. Frigg is his wife, and she knows the fate of men,\nalthough she tells not thereof, as it is related that Odin himself said\nto Asa-Loke:\n\n  Mad are you, Loke!\n  And out of your senses;\n  Why do you not stop?\n  Fortunes all,\n  Methinks, Frigg knows,\n  Though she tells them not herself.[31]\n\n    [Footnote 31: Elder Edda. Loke\u2019s Quarrel, 29, 47.]\n\nOdin is called Alfather, for he is the father of all the gods; he is\nalso called Valfather, for all who fall in fight are his chosen sons.\nFor them he prepares Valhal and Vingolf, where they are called einherjes\n(heroes). He is also called Hangagod, Haptagod, Farmagod; and he gave\nhimself still more names when he came to King Geirrod:\n\n  Grim is my name,\n  And Ganglare,\n  Herjan, Hjalmbore,\n  Thek, Thride,\n  Thud, Ud,\n  Helblinde, Har,\n  Sad, Svipal,\n  Sangetal,\n  Herteit, Hnikar,\n  Bileyg, Baleyg,\n  Bolverk, Fjolner,\n  Grimner, Glapsvid, Fjolsvid,\n  Sidhot, Sidskeg,\n  Sigfather, Hnikud,\n  Alfather, Atrid, Farmatyr,\n  Oske, Ome,\n  Jafnhar, Biflinde,\n  Gondler, Harbard,\n  Svidur, Svidrir,\n  Jalk, Kjalar, Vidur,\n  Thro, Yg, Thund,\n  Vak, Skilfing,\n  Vafud, Hroptatyr,\n  Gaut, Veratyr.[32]\n\n    [Footnote 32: Elder Edda: Grimner\u2019s Lay, 46-50.]\n\nThen said Ganglere: A very great number of names you have given him; and\nthis I know, forsooth, that he must be a very wise man who is able to\nunderstand and decide what chances are the causes of all these names.\nHar answered: Much knowledge is needed to explain it all rightly, but\nstill it is shortest to tell you that most of these names have been\ngiven him for the reason that, as there are many tongues in the world,\nso all peoples thought they ought to turn his name into their tongue, in\norder that they might be able to worship him and pray to him each in its\nown language. Other causes of these names must be sought in his\njourneys, which are told of in old sagas; and you can lay no claim to\nbeing called a wise man if you are not able to tell of these wonderful\nadventures.\n\n21. Then said Ganglere: What are the names of the other asas? What is\ntheir occupation, and what works have they wrought? Har answered: Thor\nis the foremost of them. He is called Asa-Thor, or Oku-Thor.[33] He is\nthe strongest of all gods and men, and rules over the realm which is\ncalled Thrudvang. His hall is called Bilskirner. Therein are five\nhundred and forty floors, and it is the largest house that men have\nmade. Thus it is said in Grimner\u2019s Lay:\n\n  Five hundred floors\n  And forty more,\n  Methinks, has bowed Bilskirner.\n  Of houses all\n  That I know roofed\n  I know my son\u2019s is the largest.[34]\n\n    [Footnote 33: Oku is derived from the Finnish thunder-god, Ukko.]\n\n    [Footnote 34: Elder Edda: Grimner\u2019s Lay, 24.]\n\nThor has two goats, by name Tangnjost and Tangrisner, and a chariot,\nwherein he drives. The goats draw the chariot; wherefore he is called\nOku-Thor.[35] He possesses three valuable treasures. One of them is the\nhammer Mjolner, which the frost-giants and mountain-giants well know\nwhen it is raised; and this is not to be wondered at, for with it he has\nsplit many a skull of their fathers or friends. The second treasure he\npossesses is Megingjarder (belt of strength); when he girds himself with\nit his strength is doubled. His third treasure that is of so great value\nis his iron gloves; these he cannot do without when he lays hold of the\nhammer\u2019s haft. No one is so wise that he can tell all his great works;\nbut I can tell you so many tidings of him that it will grow late before\nall is told that I know.\n\n    [Footnote 35: The author of the Younger Edda is here mistaken. See\n    note on page 82 {Footnote 33}.]\n\n22. Thereupon said Ganglere: I wish to ask tidings of more of the asas.\nHar gave him answer: Odin\u2019s second son is Balder, and of him good things\nare to be told. He is the best, and all praise him. He is so fair of\nface and so bright that rays of light issue from him; and there is a\nplant so white that it is likened unto Balder\u2019s brow, and it is the\nwhitest of all plants. From this you can judge of the beauty both of his\nhair and of his body. He is the wisest, mildest and most eloquent of all\nthe asas; and such is his nature that none can alter the judgment he has\npronounced. He inhabits the place in heaven called Breidablik, and there\nnothing unclean can enter. As is here said:\n\n  Breidablik it is called,\n  Where Balder has\n  Built for himself a hall\n  In the land\n  Where I know is found\n  The least of evil.[36]\n\n    [Footnote 36: Elder Edda: Grimner\u2019s Lay, 12.]\n\n23. The third asa is he who is called Njord. He dwells in Noatun, which\nis in heaven. He rules the course of the wind and checks the fury of the\nsea and of fire. He is invoked by seafarers and by fishermen. He is so\nrich and wealthy that he can give broad lands and abundance to those who\ncall on him for them. He was fostered in Vanaheim, but the vans[37] gave\nhim as a hostage to the gods, and received in his stead as an\nasa-hostage the god whose name is Honer. He established peace between\nthe gods and vans. Njord took to wife Skade, a daughter of the giant\nThjasse. She wished to live where her father had dwelt, that is, on the\nmountains in Thrymheim; Njord, on the other hand, preferred to be near\nthe sea. They therefore agreed to pass nine nights in Thrymheim and\nthree in Noatun. But when Njord came back from the mountains to Noatun\nhe sang this:\n\n    [Footnote 37: Compare Vainamoinen, the son of Ukko, in the Finnish\n    epic Kalevala.]\n\n  Weary am I of the mountains,\n  Not long was I there,\n  Only nine nights.\n  The howl of the wolves\n  Methought sounded ill\n  To the song of the swans.\n\nSkade then sang this:\n\n  Sleep I could not\n  On my sea-strand couch,\n  For the scream of the sea-fowl.\n  _There_ wakes me,\n  As he comes from the sea,\n  Every morning the mew.\n\nThen went Skade up on the mountain, and dwelt in Thrymheim. She often\ngoes on skees (snow-shoes), with her bow, and shoots wild beasts. She is\ncalled skee-goddess or skee-dis. Thus it is said:\n\n  Thrymheim it is called\n  Where Thjasse dwelt,\n  That mightiest giant.\n  But now dwells Skade,\n  Pure bride of the gods,\n  In her father\u2019s old homestead.[38]\n\n    [Footnote 38: Elder Edda: Grimner\u2019s Lay, 11.]\n\n24. Njord, in Noatun, afterward begat two children: a son, by name Frey,\nand a daughter, by name Freyja. They were fair of face, and mighty. Frey\nis the most famous of the asas. He rules over rain and sunshine, and\nover the fruits of the earth. It is good to call on him for harvests and\npeace. He also sways the wealth of men. Freyja is the most famous of the\ngoddesses. She has in heaven a dwelling which is called Folkvang, and\nwhen she rides to the battle, one half of the slain belong to her, and\nthe other half to Odin. As is here said:\n\n  Folkvang it is called,\n  And there rules Freyja.\n  For the seats in the hall\n  Half of the slain\n  She chooses each day;\n  The other half is Odin\u2019s.[39]\n\n    [Footnote 39: Elder Edda: Grimner\u2019s Lay, 14.]\n\nHer hall is Sesrynmer, and it is large and beautiful. When she goes\nabroad, she drives in a car drawn by two cats. She lends a favorable ear\nto men who call upon her, and it is from her name the title has come\nthat women of birth and wealth are called frur.[40] She is fond of love\nditties, and it is good to call on her in love affairs.\n\n    [Footnote 40: Icel. _fr\u00fa_ (Ger. _frau_; Dan. _frue_), pl. _fr\u00far_,\n    means a lady. It is used of the wives of men of rank or title.\n    It is derived from Freyja.]\n\n25. Then said Ganglere: Of great importance these asas seem to me to be,\nand it is not wonderful that you have great power, since you have such\nexcellent knowledge of the gods, and know to which of them to address\nyour prayers on each occasion. But what other gods are there? Har\nanswered: There is yet an asa, whose name is Tyr. He is very daring and\nstout-hearted. He sways victory in war, wherefore warriors should call\non him. There is a saw, that he who surpasses others in bravery, and\nnever yields, is Tyr-strong. He is also so wise, that it is said of\nanyone who is specially intelligent, that he is Tyr-learned. A proof of\nhis daring is, that when the asas induced the wolf Fenrer to let himself\nbe bound with the chain Gleipner, he would not believe that they would\nloose him again until Tyr put his hand in his mouth as a pledge. But\nwhen the asas would not loose the Fenris-wolf, he bit Tyr\u2019s hand off at\nthe place of the wolf\u2019s joint (the wrist; Icel. _\u00falfli\u00f0r_[41]). From\nthat time Tyr is one-handed, and he is now called a peacemaker among\nmen.\n\n    [Footnote 41: This etymology is, however, erroneous, for the word\n    is derived from _oln_ or _\u00f6ln_, and the true form of the word is\n    _\u00f6lnli\u00f0r_ = the ell-joint (wrist); thus we have _\u00f6lnboge_--the\n    elbow; _\u00f6ln_ = _alin_ (Gr. \u1f60\u03b4\u03af\u03bd\u03b7; Lat. _ulna_; cp. A.-S.\n    _el-boga_; Eng. _elbow_) is the arm from the elbow to the end of\n    the middle finger, hence an ell in long measure.]\n\n26. Brage is the name of another of the asas. He is famous for his\nwisdom, eloquence and flowing speech. He is a master-skald, and from him\nsong-craft is called brag (poetry), and such men or women as distinguish\nthemselves by their eloquence are called brag-men[42] and brag-women.\nHis wife is Idun. She keeps in a box those apples of which the gods eat\nwhen they grow old, and then they become young again, and so it will be\nuntil Ragnarok (the twilight of the gods). Then said Ganglere: Of great\nimportance to the gods it must be, it seems to me, that Idun preserves\nthese apples with care and honesty. Har answered, and laughed: They ran\na great risk on one occasion, whereof I might tell you more, but you\nshall first hear the names of more asas.\n\n    [Footnote 42: Compare the Anglo-Saxon _brego_ = princeps, chief.]\n\n27. Heimdal is the name of one. He is also called the white-asa. He is\ngreat and holy; born of nine maidens, all of whom were sisters. He hight\nalso Hallinskide and Gullintanne, for his teeth were of gold. His horse\nhight Gulltop (Gold-top). He dwells in a place called Himinbjorg, near\nBifrost. He is the ward of the gods, and sits at the end of heaven,\nguarding the bridge against the mountain-giants. He needs less sleep\nthan a bird; sees an hundred miles around him, and as well by night as\nby day. He hears the grass grow and the wool on the backs of the sheep,\nand of course all things that sound louder than these. He has a trumpet\ncalled the Gjallarhorn, and when he blows it it can be heard in all the\nworlds. The head is called Heimdal\u2019s sword. Thus it is here said:\n\n  Himinbjorg it is called,\n  Where Heimdal rules\n  Over his holy halls;\n  There drinks the ward of the gods\n  In his delightful dwelling\n  Glad the good mead.[43]\n\n    [Footnote 43: Elder Edda: Grimner\u2019s Lay, 13.]\n\nAnd again, in Heimdal\u2019s Song, he says himself:\n\n  Son I am of maidens nine,\n  Born I am of sisters nine.\n\n28. Hoder hight one of the asas, who is blind, but exceedingly strong;\nand the gods would wish that this asa never needed to be named, for the\nwork of his hand will long be kept in memory both by gods and men.\n\n29. Vidar is the name of the silent asa. He has a very thick shoe, and\nhe is the strongest next after Thor. From him the gods have much help in\nall hard tasks.\n\n30. Ale, or Vale, is the son of Odin and Rind. He is daring in combat,\nand a good shot.\n\n31. Uller is the name of one, who is a son of Sif, and a step-son of\nThor. He is so good an archer, and so fast on his skees, that no one can\ncontend with him. He is fair of face, and possesses every quality of a\nwarrior. Men should invoke him in single combat.\n\n32. Forsete is a son of Balder and Nanna, Nep\u2019s daughter. He has in\nheaven the hall which hight Glitner. All who come to him with disputes\ngo away perfectly reconciled. No better tribunal is to be found among\ngods and men. Thus it is here said:\n\n  Glitner hight the hall,\n  On gold pillars standing,\n  And roofed with silver.\n  There dwells Forsete\n  Throughout all time,\n  And settles all disputes.[44]\n\n    [Footnote 44: Elder Edda: Grimner\u2019s Lay, 15.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX.\n\nLOKE AND HIS OFFSPRING.\n\n\n33. There is yet one who is numbered among the asas, but whom some call\nthe backbiter of the asas. He is the originator of deceit, and the\ndisgrace of all gods and men. His name is Loke, or Lopt. His father is\nthe giant Farbaute, but his mother\u2019s name is Laufey, or Nal. His\nbrothers are Byleist and Helblinde. Loke is fair and beautiful of face,\nbut evil in disposition, and very fickle-minded. He surpasses other men\nin the craft called cunning, and cheats in all things. He has often\nbrought the asas into great trouble, and often helped them out again,\nwith his cunning contrivances. His wife hight Sygin, and their son,\nNare, or Narfe.\n\n34. Loke had yet more children. A giantess in Jotunheim, hight\nAngerboda. With her he begat three children. The first was the\nFenris-wolf; the second, Jormungand, that is, the Midgard-serpent, and\nthe third, Hel. When the gods knew that these three children were being\nfostered in Jotunheim, and were aware of the prophecies that much woe\nand misfortune would thence come to them, and considering that much evil\nmight be looked for from them on their mother\u2019s side, and still more on\ntheir father\u2019s, Alfather sent some of the gods to take the children and\nbring them to him. When they came to him he threw the serpent into the\ndeep sea which surrounds all lands. There waxed the serpent so that he\nlies in the midst of the ocean, surrounds all the earth, and bites his\nown tail. Hel he cast into Niflheim, and gave her power over nine\nworlds,[45] that she should appoint abodes to them that are sent to her,\nnamely, those who die from sickness or old age. She has there a great\nmansion, and the walls around it are of strange height, and the gates\nare huge. Eljudner is the name of her hall. Her table hight famine; her\nknife, starvation. Her man-servant\u2019s name is Ganglate; her\nmaid-servant\u2019s, Ganglot.[46] Her threshold is called stumbling-block;\nher bed, care; the precious hangings of her bed, gleaming bale. One-half\nof her is blue, and the other half is of the hue of flesh; hence she is\neasily known. Her looks are very stern and grim.\n\n    [Footnote 45: Possibly this ought to read the ninth world, which\n    would correspond with what we read on page 72, and in the Vala\u2019s\n    Prophecy. See also notes. It may be a mistake of the transcriber.]\n\n    [Footnote 46: Both these words mean sloth.]\n\n35. The wolf was fostered by the asas at home, and Tyr was the only one\nwho had the courage to go to him and give him food. When the gods saw\nhow much he grew every day, and all prophecies declared that he was\npredestined to become fatal to them, they resolved to make a very strong\nfetter, which they called Lading. They brought it to the wolf, and bade\nhim try his strength on the fetter. The wolf, who did not think it would\nbe too strong for him, let them do therewith as they pleased. But as\nsoon as he spurned against it the fetter burst asunder, and he was free\nfrom Lading. Then the asas made another fetter, by one-half stronger,\nand this they called Drome. They wanted the wolf to try this also,\nsaying to him that he would become very famous for his strength, if so\nstrong a chain was not able to hold him. The wolf thought that this\nfetter was indeed very strong, but also that his strength had increased\nsince he broke Lading. He also took into consideration that it was\nnecessary to expose one\u2019s self to some danger if he desired to become\nfamous; so he let them put the fetter on him. When the asas said they\nwere ready, the wolf shook himself, spurned against and dashed the\nfetter on the ground, so that the broken pieces flew a long distance.\nThus he broke loose out of Drome. Since then it has been held as a\nproverb, \u201cto get loose out of Lading\u201d or \u201cto dash out of Drome,\u201d\nwhenever anything is extraordinarily hard. The asas now began to fear\nthat they would not get the wolf bound. So Alfather sent the youth, who\nis called Skirner, and is Frey\u2019s messenger, to some dwarfs in\nSvartalfaheim, and had them make the fetter which is called Gleipner. It\nwas made of six things: of the footfall of cats, of the beard of woman,\nof the roots of the mountain, of the sinews of the bear, of the breath\nof the fish, and of the spittle of the birds. If you have not known this\nbefore, you can easily find out that it is true and that there is no lie\nabout it, since you must have observed that a woman has no beard, that a\ncat\u2019s footfall cannot be heard, and that mountains have no roots; and I\nknow, forsooth, that what I have told you is perfectly true, although\nthere are some things that you do not understand. Then said Ganglere:\nThis I must surely understand to be true. I can see these things which\nyou have taken as proof. But how was the fetter smithied? Answered Har:\nThat I can well explain to you. It was smooth and soft as a silken\nstring. How strong and trusty it was you shall now hear. When the fetter\nwas brought to the asas, they thanked the messenger for doing his errand\nso well. Then they went out into the lake called Amsvartner, to the holm\n(rocky island) called Lyngve, and called the wolf to go with them. They\nshowed him the silken band and bade him break it, saying that it was\nsomewhat stronger than its thinness would lead one to suppose. Then they\nhanded it from one to the other and tried its strength with their hands,\nbut it did not break. Still they said the wolf would be able to snap it.\nThe wolf answered: It seems to me that I will get no fame though I break\nasunder so slender a thread as this is. But if it is made with craft and\nguile, then, little though it may look, that band will never come on my\nfeet. Then said the asas that he would easily be able to break a slim\nsilken band, since he had already burst large iron fetters asunder. But\neven if you are unable to break this band, you have nothing to fear from\nthe gods, for we will immediately loose you again. The wolf answered: If\nyou get me bound so fast that I am not able to loose myself again, you\nwill skulk away, and it will be long before I get any help from you,\nwherefore I am loth to let this band be laid on me; but in order that\nyou may not accuse me of cowardice, let some one of you lay his hand in\nmy mouth as a pledge that this is done without deceit. The one asa\nlooked at the other, and thought there now was a choice of two evils,\nand no one would offer his hand, before Tyr held out his right hand and\nlaid it in the wolf\u2019s mouth. But when the wolf now began to spurn\nagainst it the band grew stiffer, and the more he strained the tighter\nit got. They all laughed except Tyr; he lost his hand. When the asas saw\nthat the wolf was sufficiently well bound, they took the chain which was\nfixed to the fetter, and which was called Gelgja, and drew it through a\nlarge rock which is called Gjol, and fastened this rock deep down in the\nearth. Then they took a large stone, which is called Tvite, and drove it\nstill deeper into the ground, and used this stone for a fastening-pin.\nThe wolf opened his mouth terribly wide, raged and twisted himself with\nall his might, and wanted to bite them; but they put a sword in his\nmouth, in such a manner that the hilt stood in his lower jaw and the\npoint in the upper, that is his gag. He howls terribly, and the saliva\nwhich runs from his mouth forms a river called Von. There he will lie\nuntil Ragnarok. Then said Ganglere: Very bad are these children of Loke,\nbut they are strong and mighty. But why did not the asas kill the wolf\nwhen they have evil to expect from him? Har answered: So great respect\nhave the gods for their holiness and peace-stead, that they would not\nstain them with the blood of the wolf, though prophecies foretell that\nhe must become the bane of Odin.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X.\n\nTHE GODDESSES (ASYNJES).\n\n\n36. Ganglere asked: Which are the goddesses? Har answered: Frigg is the\nfirst; she possesses the right lordly dwelling which is called Fensaler.\nThe second is Saga, who dwells in Sokvabek, and this is a large\ndwelling. The third is Eir, who is the best leech. The fourth is Gefjun,\nwho is a may, and those who die maids become her hand-maidens. The fifth\nis Fulla, who is also a may, she wears her hair flowing and has a golden\nribbon about her head; she carries Frigg\u2019s chest, takes care of her\nshoes and knows her secrets. The sixth is Freyja, who is ranked with\nFrigg. She is wedded to the man whose name is Oder; their daughter\u2019s\nname is Hnos, and she is so fair that all things fair and precious are\ncalled, from her name, Hnos. Oder went far away. Freyja weeps for him,\nbut her tears are red gold. Freyja has many names, and the reason\ntherefor is that she changed her name among the various nations to which\nshe came in search of Oder. She is called Mardol, Horn, Gefn, and Syr.\nShe has the necklace Brising, and she is called Vanadis. The seventh is\nSjofn, who is fond of turning men\u2019s and women\u2019s hearts to love, and it\nis from her name that love is called Sjafne. The eighth is Lofn, who is\nkind and good to those who call upon her, and she has permission from\nAlfather or Frigg to bring together men and women, no matter what\ndifficulties may stand in the way; therefore \u201clove\u201d is so called from\nher name, and also that which is much loved by men. The ninth is Var.\nShe hears the oaths and troths that men and women plight to each other.\nHence such vows are called vars, and she takes vengeance on those who\nbreak their promises. The tenth is Vor, who is so wise and searching\nthat nothing can be concealed from her. It is a saying that a woman\nbecomes vor (ware) of what she becomes wise. The eleventh is Syn, who\nguards the door of the hall, and closes it against those who are not to\nenter. In trials she guards those suits in which anyone tries to make\nuse of falsehood. Hence is the saying that \u201csyn is set against it,\u201d when\nanyone tries to deny ought. The twelfth is Hlin, who guards those men\nwhom Frigg wants to protect from any danger. Hence is the saying that he\nhlins who is forewarned. The thirteenth is Snotra, who is wise and\ncourtly. After her, men and women who are wise are called Snotras. The\nfourteenth is Gna, whom Frigg sends on her errands into various worlds.\nShe rides upon a horse called Hofvarpner, that runs through the air and\nover the sea. Once, when she was riding, some vans saw her faring\nthrough the air. Then said one of them:\n\n  What flies there?\n  What fares there?\n  What glides in the air?\n\nShe answered\n\n  I fly not,\n  Though I fare\n  And glide through the air\n  On Hofvarpner,\n  That Hamskerper,\n  Begat with Gardrofa.[47]\n\nFrom Gna\u2019s name it is said that anything that fares high in the air\ngnas. Sol and Bil are numbered among the goddesses, but their nature has\nalready been described.[48]\n\n    [Footnote 47: Elder Edda: Grimner\u2019s Lay, 36]\n\n    [Footnote 48: See page 66.]\n\n37. There are still others who are to serve in Valhal, bear the drink\naround, wait upon the table and pass the ale-horns. Thus they are named\nin Grimner\u2019s Lay:\n\n  Hrist and Mist\n  I want my horn to bring to me;\n  Skeggold and Skogul,\n  Hild and Thrud,\n  Hlok and Heifjoter,\n  Gol and Geirahod,\n  Randgrid and Radgrid,\n  And Reginleif;\n  These bear ale to the einherjes.[49]\n\n    [Footnote 49: Elder Edda: Grimner\u2019s Lay, 36.]\n\nThese are called valkyries. Odin sends them to all battles, where they\nchoose those who are to be slain, and rule over the victory. Gud and\nRosta, and the youngest norn, Skuld, always ride to sway the battle and\nchoose the slain. Jord, the mother of Thor, and Rind, Vale\u2019s mother, are\nnumbered among the goddesses.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI.\n\nTHE GIANTESS GERD AND SKIRNER\u2019S JOURNEY.[50]\n\n38. Gymer hight a man whose wife was Orboda, of the race of the mountain\ngiants. Their daughter was Gerd, the fairest of all women. One day when\nFrey had gone into Hlidskjalf, and was looking out upon all the worlds,\nhe saw toward the north a hamlet wherein was a large and beautiful\nhouse. To this house went a woman, and when she raised her hands to open\nthe door, both the sky and the sea glistened therefrom, and she made all\nthe world bright. As a punishment for his audacity in seating himself in\nthat holy seat, Frey went away full of grief. When he came home, he\nneither spake, slept, nor drank, and no one dared speak to him. Then\nNjord sent for Skirner, Frey\u2019s servant, bade him go to Frey and ask him\nwith whom he was so angry, since he would speak to nobody. Skirner said\nthat he would go, though he was loth to do so, as it was probable that\nhe would get evil words in reply. When he came to Frey and asked him why\nhe was so sad that he would not talk, Frey answered that he had seen a\nbeautiful woman, and for her sake he had become so filled with grief,\nthat he could not live any longer if he could not get her. And now you\nmust go, he added, and ask her hand for me and bring her home to me,\nwhether it be with or without the consent of her father. I will reward\nyou well for your trouble. Skirner answered saying that he would go on\nthis errand, but Frey must give him his sword, that was so excellent\nthat it wielded itself in fight. Frey made no objection to this and gave\nhim the sword. Skirner went on his journey, courted Gerd for him, and\ngot the promise of her that she nine nights thereafter should come to\nBar-Isle and there have her wedding with Frey. When Skirner came back\nand gave an account of his journey, Frey said:\n\n  Long is one night,\n  Long are two nights,\n  How can I hold out three?\n  Oft to me one month\n  Seemed less\n  Than this half night of love.[51]\n\n    [Footnote 50: This is the Niblung story in a nut-shell.]\n\n    [Footnote 51: Elder Edda: Skirner\u2019s Journey, 42.]\n\nThis is the reason why Frey was unarmed when he fought with Bele, and\nslew him with a hart\u2019s horn. Then said Ganglere: It is a great wonder\nthat such a lord as Frey would give away his sword, when he did not have\nanother as good. A great loss it was to him when he fought with Bele;\nand this I know, forsooth, that he must have repented of that gift. Har\nanswered: Of no great account was his meeting with Bele. Frey could have\nslain him with his hand. But the time will come when he will find\nhimself in a worse plight for not having his sword, and that will be\nwhen the sons of Muspel sally forth to the fight.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII.\n\nLIFE IN VALHAL.\n\n\n39. Then said Ganglere: You say that all men who since the beginning of\nthe world have fallen in battle have come to Odin in Valhal. What does\nhe have to give them to eat? It seems to me there must be a great throng\nof people. Har answered: It is true, as you remark, that there is a\ngreat throng; many more are yet to come there, and still they will be\nthought too few when the wolf[52] comes. But however great may be the\nthrong in Valhal, they will get plenty of flesh of the boar Sahrimner.\nHe is boiled every day and is whole again in the evening. But as to the\nquestion you just asked, it seems to me there are but few men so wise\nthat they are able to answer it correctly. The cook\u2019s name is\nAndhrimner, and the kettle is called Eldhrimner as is here said:\n\n  Andhrimner cooks\n  In Eldhrimner\n  Sahrimner.\n  \u2019Tis the best of flesh.\n  There are few who know\n  What the einherjes eat.[53]\n\n    [Footnote 52: The Fenris-wolf in Ragnarok.]\n\n    [Footnote 53: Elder Edda: Grimner\u2019s Lay, 18.]\n\nGanglere asked: Does Odin have the same kind of food as the einherjes?\nHar answered: The food that is placed on his table he gives to his two\nwolves, which hight Gere and Freke. He needs no food himself. Wine is to\nhim both food and drink, as is here said:\n\n  Gere and Freke\n  Sates the warfaring,\n  Famous father of hosts;\n  But on wine alone\n  Odin in arms renowned\n  Forever lives.[54]\n\n    [Footnote 54: Elder Edda: Grimner\u2019s Lay, 19.]\n\nTwo ravens sit on Odin\u2019s shoulders, and bring to his ears all that they\nhear and see. Their names are Hugin and Munin. At dawn he sends them out\nto fly over the whole world, and they come back at breakfast time. Thus\nhe gets information about many things, and hence he is called Rafnagud\n(raven-god). As is here said:\n\n  Hugin and Munin\n  Fly every day\n  Over the great earth.\n  I fear for Hugin\n  That he may not return,\n  Yet more am I anxious for Munin.[55]\n\n    [Footnote 55: Elder Edda: Grimner\u2019s Lay, 20.]\n\n40. Then asked Ganglere: What do the einherjes have to drink that is\nfurnished them as bountifully as the food? Or do they drink water? Har\nanswered: That is a wonderful question. Do you suppose that Alfather\ninvites kings, jarls, or other great men, and gives them water to drink?\nThis I know, forsooth, that many a one comes to Valhal who would think\nhe was paying a big price for his water-drink, if there were no better\nreception to be found there,--persons, namely, who have died from wounds\nand pain. But I can tell you other tidings. A she-goat, by name Heidrun,\nstands up in Valhal and bites the leaves off the branches of that famous\ntree called Lerad. From her teats runs so much mead that she fills every\nday a vessel in the hall from which the horns are filled, and which is\nso large that all the einherjes get all the drink they want out of it.\nThen said Ganglere: That is a most useful goat, and a right excellent\ntree that must be that she feeds upon. Then said Har: Still more\nremarkable is the hart Eikthyrner, which stands over Valhal and bites\nthe branches of the same tree. From his horns fall so many drops down\ninto Hvergelmer, that thence flow the rivers that are called Sid, Vid,\nSekin, Ekin, Svol, Gunthro, Fjorm, Fimbulthul, Gipul, Gopul, Gomul and\nGeirvimul, all of which fall about the abodes of the asas. The following\nare also named: Thyn, Vin, Thol, Bol, Grad, Gunthrain, Nyt, Not, Non,\nHron, Vina, Vegsvin, Thjodnuma.\n\n41. Then said Ganglere: That was a wonderful tiding that you now told\nme. A mighty house must Valhal be, and a great crowd there must often be\nat the door. Then answered Har: Why do you not ask how many doors there\nare in Valhal, and how large they are? When you find that out, you will\nconfess that it would rather be wonderful if everybody could not easily\ngo in and out. It is also a fact that it is no more difficult to find\nroom within than to get in. Of this you may hear what the Lay of Grimner\nsays:\n\n  Five hundred doors\n  And forty more,\n  I trow, there are in Valhal.\n  Eight hundred einherjes\n  Go at a time through one door\n  When they fare to fight with the wolf.[56]\n\n    [Footnote 56: Elder Edda: Grimner\u2019s Lay, 23.]\n\n42. Then said Ganglere: A mighty band of men there is in Valhal, and,\nforsooth, I know that Odin is a very great chief, since he commands so\nmighty a host. But what is the pastime of the einherjes when they do not\ndrink? Har answered: Every morning, when they have dressed themselves,\nthey take their weapons and go out into the court and fight and slay\neach other. That is their play. Toward breakfast-time they ride home to\nValhal and sit down to drink. As is here said:\n\n  All the einherjes\n  In Odin\u2019s court\n  Hew daily each other.\n  They choose the slain\n  And ride from the battle-field,\n  Then sit they in peace together.[57]\n\nBut true it is, as you said, that Odin is a great chief. There are many\nproofs of that. Thus it is said in the very words of the asas\nthemselves:\n\n  The Ygdrasil ash\n  Is the foremost of trees,\n  But Skidbladner of ships,\n  Odin of asas,\n  Sleipner of steeds,\n  Bifrost of bridges,\n  Brage of Skalds,\n  Habrok of hows,\n  But Garm of dogs.[58]\n\n    [Footnote 57: Elder Edda: Vafthrudner\u2019s Lay, 41.]\n\n    [Footnote 58: Elder Edda: Grimner\u2019s Lay, 44.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII.\n\nODIN\u2019S HORSE AND FREY\u2019S SHIP.\n\n\n43. Ganglere asked: Whose is that horse Sleipner, and what is there to\nsay about it? Har answered: You have no knowledge of Sleipner, nor do\nyou know the circumstances attending his birth; but it must seem to you\nworth the telling. In the beginning, when the town of the gods was\nbuilding, when the gods had established Midgard and made Valhal, there\ncame a certain builder and offered to make them a burg, in three half\nyears, so excellent that it should be perfectly safe against the\nmountain-giants and frost-giants, even though they should get within\nMidgard. But he demanded as his reward, that he should have Freyja, and\nhe wanted the sun and moon besides. Then the asas came together and held\ncounsel, and the bargain was made with the builder that he should get\nwhat he demanded if he could get the burg done in one winter; but if on\nthe first day of summer any part of the burg was unfinished, then the\ncontract should be void. It was also agreed that no man should help him\nwith the work. When they told him these terms, he requested that they\nshould allow him to have the help of his horse, called Svadilfare, and\nat the suggestion of Loke this was granted him.\n\nOn the first day of winter he began to build the burg, but by night he\nhauled stone for it with his horse. But it seemed a great wonder to the\nasas what great rocks that horse drew, and the horse did one half more\nof the mighty task than the builder. The bargain was firmly established\nwith witnesses and oaths, for the giant did not deem it safe to be among\nthe asas without truce if Thor should come home, who now was on a\njourney to the east fighting trolls. Toward the end of winter the burg\nwas far built, and it was so high and strong that it could in nowise be\ntaken. When there were three days left before summer, the work was all\ncompleted excepting the burg gate. Then went the gods to their\njudgment-seats and held counsel, and asked each other who could have\nadvised to give Freyja in marriage in Jotunheim, or to plunge the air\nand the heavens in darkness by taking away the sun and the moon and\ngiving them to the giant; and all agreed that this must have been\nadvised by him who gives the most bad counsels, namely, Loke, son of\nLaufey, and they threatened him with a cruel death if he could not\ncontrive some way of preventing the builder from fulfilling his part of\nthe bargain, and they proceeded to lay hands on Loke. He in his fright\nthen promised with an oath that he should so manage that the builder\nshould lose his wages, let it cost him what it would. And the same\nevening, when the builder drove out after stone with his horse\nSvadilfare, a mare suddenly ran out of the woods to the horse and began\nto neigh at him. The steed, knowing what sort of horse this was, grew\nexcited, burst the reins asunder and ran after the mare, but she ran\nfrom him into the woods. The builder hurried after them with all his\nmight, and wanted to catch the steed, but these horses kept running all\nnight, and thus the time was lost, and at dawn the work had not made the\nusual progress. When the builder saw that his work was not going to be\ncompleted, he resumed his giant form. When the asas thus became sure\nthat it was really a mountain-giant that had come among them, they did\nnot heed their oaths, but called on Thor. He came straightway, swung his\nhammer, Mjolner, and paid the workman his wages,--not with the sun and\nmoon, but rather by preventing him from dwelling in Jotunheim; and this\nwas easily done with the first blow of the hammer, which broke his skull\ninto small pieces and sent him down to Niflhel. But Loke had run such a\nrace with Svadilfare that he some time after bore a foal. It was gray,\nand had eight feet, and this is the best horse among gods and men. Thus\nit is said in the Vala\u2019s Prophecy:\n\n  Then went the gods.\n  The most holy gods,\n  Onto their judgment-seats,\n  And counseled together\n  Who all the air\n  With guile had blended\n  Or to the giant race\n  Oder\u2019s may had given.\n  Broken were oaths,\n  And words and promises,--\n  All mighty speech\n  That had passed between them.\n  Thor alone did this,\n  Swollen with anger.\n  Seldom sits he still\n  When such things he hears.[59]\n\n44. Then asked Ganglere: What is there to be said of Skidbladner, which\nyou say is the best of ships? Is there no ship equally good, or equally\ngreat? Made answer Har: Skidbladner is the best of ships, and is made\nwith the finest workmanship; but Naglfare, which is in Muspel, is the\nlargest. Some dwarfs, the sons of Ivalde, made Skidbladner and gave it\nto Frey. It is so large that all the asas, with their weapons and\nwar-gear, can find room on board it, and as soon as the sails are\nhoisted it has fair wind, no matter whither it is going. When it is not\nwanted for a voyage, it is made of so many pieces and with so much\nskill, that Frey can fold it together like a napkin and carry it in his\npocket.\n\n    [Footnote 59: Elder Edda: The Vala\u2019s Prophecy, 29, 30.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIV.\n\nTHOR\u2019S ADVENTURES.\n\n\nThen said Ganglere: A good ship is Skidbladner, but much black art must\nhave been resorted to ere it was so fashioned. Has Thor never come where\nhe has found anything so strong and mighty that it has been superior to\nhim either in strength or in the black art? Har answered: Few men, I\nknow, are able to tell thereof, but still he has often been in difficult\nstraits. But though there have been things so mighty and strong that\nThor has not been able to gain the victory, they are such as ought not\nto be spoken of; for there are many proofs which all must accept that\nThor is the mightiest. Then said Ganglere: It seems to me that I have\nnow asked about something that no one can answer. Said Jafnhar: We have\nheard tell of adventures that seem to us incredible, but here sits one\nnear who is able to tell true tidings thereof, and you may believe that\nhe will not lie for the first time now, who never told a lie before.\nThen said Ganglere: I will stand here and listen, to see if any answer\nis to be had to this question. But if you cannot answer my question I\ndeclare you to be defeated. Then answered Thride: It is evident that he\nnow is bound to know, though it does not seem proper for us to speak\nthereof. The beginning of this adventure is that Oku-Thor went on a\njourney with his goats and chariot, and with him went the asa who is\ncalled Loke. In the evening they came to a bonde[60] and got there\nlodgings for the night. In the evening Thor took his goats and killed\nthem both, whereupon he had them flayed and borne into a kettle. When\nthe flesh was boiled, Thor and his companion sat down to supper. Thor\ninvited the bonde, his wife and their children, a son by name Thjalfe,\nand a daughter by name Roskva, to eat with them. Then Thor laid the\ngoat-skins away from the fire-place, and requested the bonde and his\nhousehold to cast the bones onto the skins. Thjalfe, the bonde\u2019s son,\nhad the thigh of one of the goats, which he broke asunder with his\nknife, in order to get at the marrow, Thor remained there over night. In\nthe morning, just before daybreak, he arose, dressed himself, took the\nhammer Mjolner, lifted it and hallowed the goat-skins. Then the goats\narose, but one of them limped on one of its hind legs. When Thor saw\nthis he said that either the bonde or one of his folk had not dealt\nskillfully with the goat\u2019s bones, for he noticed that the thigh was\nbroken. It is not necessary to dwell on this part of the story. All can\nunderstand how frightened the bonde became when he saw that Thor let his\nbrows sink down over his eyes. When he saw his eyes he thought he must\nfall down at the sight of them alone. Thor took hold of the handle of\nhis hammer so hard that his knuckles grew white. As might be expected,\nthe bonde and all his household cried aloud and sued for peace, offering\nhim as an atonement all that they possessed. When he saw their fear, his\nwrath left him. He was appeased, and took as a ransom the bonders\nchildren, Thjalfe and Roskva. They became his servants, and have always\naccompanied him since that time.\n\n    [Footnote 60: Bonde = peasant.]\n\n46. He left his goats there and went on his way east into Jotunheim,\nclear to the sea, and then he went on across the deep ocean, and went\nashore on the other side, together with Loke and Thjalfe and Roskva.\nWhen they had proceeded a short distance, there stood before them a\ngreat wood, through which they kept going the whole day until dark.\nThjalfe, who was of all men the fleetest of foot, bore Thor\u2019s bag, but\nthe wood was no good place for provisions. When it had become dark, they\nsought a place for their night lodging, and found a very large hall. At\nthe end of it was a door as wide as the hall. Here they remained through\nthe night. About midnight there was a great earthquake; the ground\ntrembled beneath them, and the house shook. Then Thor stood up and\ncalled his companions. They looked about them and found an adjoining\nroom to the right, in the midst of the hall, and there they went in.\nThor seated himself in the door; the others went farther in and were\nvery much frightened. Thor held his hammer by the handle, ready to\ndefend himself. Then they heard a great groaning and roaring. When it\nbegan to dawn, Thor went out and saw a man lying not far from him in the\nwood. He was very large, lay sleeping, and snored loudly. Then Thor\nthought he had found out what noise it was that they had heard in the\nnight. He girded himself with his Megingjarder, whereby his asa-might\nincreased. Meanwhile the man woke, and immediately arose. It is said\nthat Thor this once forbore to strike him with the hammer, and asked him\nfor his name. He called himself Skrymer; but, said he, I do not need to\nask you what your name is,--I know that you are Asa-Thor. But what have\nyou done with my glove? He stretched out his hand and picked up his\nglove. Then Thor saw that the glove was the hall in which he had spent\nthe night, and that the adjoining room was the thumb of the glove.\nSkrymer asked whether they would accept of his company. Thor said yes.\nSkrymer took and loosed his provision-sack and began to eat his\nbreakfast; but Thor and his fellows did the same in another place.\nSkrymer proposed that they should lay their store of provisions\ntogether, to which Thor consented. Then Skrymer bound all their\nprovisions into one bag, laid it on his back, and led the way all the\nday, taking gigantic strides. Late in the evening he sought out a place\nfor their night quarters under a large oak. Then Skrymer said to Thor\nthat he wanted to lie down to sleep; they might take the provision-sack\nand make ready their supper. Then Skrymer fell asleep and snored\ntremendously. When Thor took the provision-sack and was to open it, then\nhappened what seems incredible, but still it must be told,--that he\ncould not get one knot loosened, nor could he stir a single end of the\nstrings so that it was looser than before. When he saw that all his\nefforts were in vain he became wroth, seized his hammer Mjolner with\nboth his hands, stepped with one foot forward to where Skrymer was lying\nand dashed the hammer at his head. Skrymer awoke and asked whether some\nleaf had fallen upon his head; whether they had taken their supper, and\nwere ready to go to sleep. Thor answered that they were just going to\nsleep. Then they went under another oak. But the truth must be told,\nthat there was no fearless sleeping. About midnight Thor heard that\nSkrymer was snoring and sleeping so fast that it thundered in the wood.\nHe arose and went over to him, clutched the hammer tight and hard, and\ngave him a blow in the middle of the crown, so that he knew that the\nhead of the hammer sank deep into his head. But just then Skrymer awoke\nand asked: What is that? Did an acorn fall onto my head? How is it with\nyou, Thor? Thor hastened back, answered that he had just waked up, and\nsaid that it was midnight and still time to sleep. Then Thor made up his\nmind that if he could get a chance to give him the third blow, he should\nnever see him again, and he now lay watching for Skrymer to sleep fast.\nShortly before daybreak he heard that Skrymer had fallen asleep. So he\narose and ran over to him. He clutched the hammer with all his might and\ndashed it at his temples, which he saw uppermost. The hammer sank up to\nthe handle. Skrymer sat up, stroked his temples, and said: Are there any\nbirds sitting in the tree above me? Methought, as I awoke, that some\nmoss from the branches fell on my head. What! are you awake, Thor? It is\nnow time to get up and dress; but you have not far left to the burg that\nis called Utgard. I have heard that you have been whispering among\nyourselves that I am not small of stature, but you will see greater men\nwhen you come to Utgard. Now I will give you wholesome advice. Do not\nbrag too much of yourselves, for Utgard-Loke\u2019s thanes will not brook the\nboasting of such insignificant little fellows as you are; otherwise turn\nback, and that is, in fact, the best thing for you to do. But if you are\nbound to continue your journey, then keep straight on eastward; my way\nlies to the north, to those mountains that you there see. Skrymer then\ntook the provision-sack and threw it on his back, and, leaving them,\nturned into the wood, and it has not been learned whether the asas\nwished to meet him again in health.\n\n47. Thor and his companions went their way and continued their journey\nuntil noon. Then they saw a burg standing on a plain, and it was so high\nthat they had to bend their necks clear back before they could look over\nit. They drew nearer and came to the burg-gate, which was closed. Thor\nfinding himself unable to open it, and being anxious to get within the\nburg, they crept between the bars and so came in. They discovered a\nlarge hall and went to it. Finding the door open they entered, and saw\nthere many men, the most of whom were immensely large, sitting on two\nbenches. Thereupon they approached the king, Utgard-Loke, and greeted\nhim. He scarcely deigned to look at them, smiled scornfully and showed\nhis teeth, saying: It is late to ask for tidings of a long journey, but\nif I am not mistaken this stripling is Oku-Thor, is it not? It may be,\nhowever, that you are really bigger than you look For what feats are you\nand your companions prepared? No one can stay with us here, unless he is\nskilled in some craft or accomplishment beyond the most of men. Then\nanswered he who came in last, namely Loke: I know the feat of which I am\nprepared to give proof, that there is no one present who can eat his\nfood faster than I. Then said Utgard-Loke: That is a feat, indeed,\nif you can keep your word, and you shall try it immediately. He then\nsummoned from the bench a man by name Loge, and requested him to come\nout on the floor and try his strength against Loke. They took a trough\nfull of meat and set it on the floor, whereupon Loke seated himself at\none end and Loge at the other. Both ate as fast as they could, and met\nat the middle of the trough. Loke had eaten all the flesh off from the\nbones, but Loge had consumed both the flesh and the bones, and the\ntrough too. All agreed that Loke had lost the wager. Then Utgard-Loke\nasked what game that young man knew? Thjalfe answered that he would try\nto run a race with anyone that Utgard-Loke might designate. Utgard-Loke\nsaid this was a good feat, and added that it was to be hoped that he\nexcelled in swiftness if he expected to win in this game, but he would\nsoon have the matter decided. He arose and went out. There was an\nexcellent race-course along the flat plain. Utgard-Loke then summoned a\nyoung man, whose name was Huge, and bade him run a race with Thjalfe.\nThen they took the first heat, and Huge was so much ahead that when he\nturned at the goal he met Thjalfe. Said Utgard-Loke: You must lay\nyourself more forward, Thjalfe, if you want to win the race; but this I\nconfess, that there has never before come anyone hither who was swifter\nof foot than you. Then they took a second heat, and when Huge came to\nthe goal and turned, there was a long bolt-shot to Thjalfe. Then said\nUtgard-Loke: Thjalfe seems to me to run well; still I scarcely think he\nwill win the race, but this will be proven when they run the third heat.\nThen they took one more heat. Huge ran to the goal and turned back, but\nThjalfe had not yet gotten to the middle of the course. Then all said\nthat this game had been tried sufficiently. Utgard-Loke now asked Thor\nwhat feats there were that he would be willing to exhibit before them,\ncorresponding to the tales that men tell of his great works. Thor\nreplied that he preferred to compete with someone in drinking.\nUtgard-Loke said there would be no objection to this. He went into the\nhall, called his cup-bearer, and requested him to take the sconce-horn\nthat his thanes were wont to drink from. The cup-bearer immediately\nbrought forward the horn and handed it to Thor. Said Utgard-Loke: From\nthis horn it is thought to be well drunk if it is emptied in one\ndraught, some men empty it in two draughts, but there is no drinker so\nwretched that he cannot exhaust it in three. Thor looked at the horn and\ndid not think it was very large, though it seemed pretty long, but he\nwas very thirsty. He put it to his lips and swallowed with all his\nmight, thinking that he should not have to bend over the horn a second\ntime. But when his breath gave out, and he looked into the horn to see\nhow it had gone with his drinking, it seemed to him difficult to\ndetermine whether there was less in it than before. Then said\nUtgard-Loke: That is well drunk, still it is not very much. I could\nnever have believed it, if anyone had told me, that Asa-Thor could not\ndrink more, but I know you will be able to empty it in a second draught.\nThor did not answer, but set the horn to his lips, thinking that he\nwould now take a larger draught. He drank as long as he could and drank\ndeep, as he was wont, but still he could not make the tip of the horn\ncome up as much as he would like. And when he set the horn away and\nlooked into it, it seemed to him that he had drunk less than the first\ntime; but the horn could now be borne without spilling. Then said\nUtgard-Loke: How now, Thor! Are you not leaving more for the third\ndraught than befits your skill? It seems to me that if you are to empty\nthe horn with the third draught, then this will be the greatest. You\nwill not be deemed so great a man here among us as the asas call you, if\nyou do not distinguish yourself more in other feats than you seem to me\nto have done in this. Then Thor became wroth, set the horn to his mouth\nand drank with all his might and kept on as long as he could, and when\nhe looked into it its contents had indeed visibly diminished, but he\ngave back the horn and would not drink any more. Said Utgard-Loke: It is\nclear that your might is not so great as we thought. Would you like to\ntry other games? It is evident that you gained nothing by the first.\nAnswered Thor: I should like to try other games, but I should be\nsurprised if such a drink at home among the asas would be called small.\nWhat game will you now offer me? Answered Utgard-Loke: Young lads here\nthink it nothing but play to lift my cat up from the ground, and I\nshould never have dared to offer such a thing to Asa-Thor had I not\nalready seen that you are much less of a man than I thought. Then there\nsprang forth on the floor a gray cat, and it was rather large. Thor went\nover to it, put his hand under the middle of its body and tried to lift\nit up, but the cat bent its back in the same degree as Thor raised his\nhands; and when he had stretched them up as far as he was able the cat\nlifted one foot, and Thor did not carry the game any further. Then said\nUtgard-Loke: This game ended as I expected. The cat is rather large, and\nThor is small, and little compared with the great men that are here with\nus. Said Thor: Little as you call me, let anyone who likes come hither\nand wrestle with me, for now I am wroth. Answered Utgard-Loke, looking\nabout him on the benches: I do not see anyone here who would not think\nit a trifle to wrestle with you. And again he said: Let me see first!\nCall hither that old woman, Elle, my foster-mother, and let Thor wrestle\nwith her if he wants to. She has thrown to the ground men who have\nseemed to me no less strong than Thor. Then there came into the hall an\nold woman. Utgard-Loke bade her take a wrestle with Asa-Thor. The tale\nis not long. The result of the grapple was, that the more Thor tightened\nhis grasp, the firmer she stood. Then the woman began to bestir herself,\nand Thor lost his footing. They had some very hard tussles, and before\nlong Thor was brought down on one knee. Then Utgard-Loke stepped\nforward, bade them cease the wrestling, and added that Thor did not need\nto challenge anybody else to wrestle with him in his hall, besides it\nwas now getting late. He showed Thor and his companions to seats, and\nthey spent the night there enjoying the best of hospitality.\n\n48. At daybreak the next day Thor and his companions arose, dressed\nthemselves and were ready to depart. Then came Utgard-Loke and had the\ntable spread for them, and there was no lack of feasting both in food\nand in drink. When they had breakfasted, they immediately departed from\nthe burg. Utgard-Loke went with them out of the burg, but at parting he\nspoke to Thor and asked him how he thought his journey had turned out,\nor whether he had ever met a mightier man than himself. Thor answered\nthat he could not deny that he had been greatly disgraced in this\nmeeting; and this I know, he added, that you will call me a man of\nlittle account, whereat I am much mortified. Then said Utgard-Loke: Now\nI will tell you the truth, since you have come out of the burg, that if\nI live, and may have my way, you shall never enter it again; and this I\nknow, forsooth, that you should never have come into it had I before\nknown that you were so strong, and that you had come so near bringing us\ninto great misfortune. Know, then, that I have deceived you with\nillusions. When I first found you in the woods I came to meet you, and\nwhen you were to loose the provision-sack I had bound it with iron\nthreads, but you did not find where it was to be untied. In the next\nplace, you struck me three times with the hammer. The first blow was the\nleast, and still it was so severe that it would have been my death if it\nhad hit me. You saw near my burg a mountain cloven at the top into three\nsquare dales, of which one was the deepest,--these were the dints made\nby your hammer. The mountain I brought before the blows without your\nseeing it. In like manner I deceived you in your contests with my\ncourtiers. In regard to the first, in which Loke took part, the facts\nwere as follows: He was very hungry and ate fast; but he whose name was\nLoge was wildfire, and he burned the trough no less rapidly than the\nmeat. When Thjalfe ran a race with him whose name was Huge, that was my\nthought, and it was impossible for him to keep pace with its swiftness.\nWhen you drank from the horn, and thought that it diminished so little,\nthen, by my troth, it was a great wonder, which I never could have\ndeemed possible.. One end of the horn stood in the sea, but that you did\nnot see. When you come to the sea-shore you will discover how much the\nsea has sunk by your drinking; that is now called the ebb. Furthermore\nhe said: Nor did it seem less wonderful to me that you lifted up the\ncat; and, to tell you the truth, all who saw it were frightened when\nthey saw that you raised one of its feet from the ground, for it was not\nsuch a cat as you thought. It was in reality the Midgard-serpent, which\nsurrounds all lands. It was scarcely long enough to touch the earth with\nits tail and head, and you raised it so high that your hand nearly\nreached to heaven. It was also a most astonishing feat when you wrestled\nwith Elle, for none has ever been, and none shall ever be, that Elle\n(eld, old age) will not get the better of him, though he gets to be old\nenough to abide her coming. And now the truth is that we must part; and\nit will be better for us both that you do not visit me again. I will\nagain defend my burg with similar or other delusions, so that you will\nget no power over me. When Thor heard this tale he seized his hammer and\nlifted it into the air, but when he was about to strike he saw\nUtgard-Loke nowhere; and when he turned back to the burg and was going\nto dash that to pieces, he saw a beautiful and large plain, but no burg.\nSo he turned and went his way back to Thrudvang. But it is truthfully\nasserted that he then resolved in his own mind to seek that meeting with\nthe Midgard-serpent, which afterward took place. And now I think that no\none can tell you truer tidings of this journey of Thor.\n\n49. Then said Ganglere: A most powerful man is Utgard-Loke, though he\ndeals much with delusions and sorcery. His power is also proven by the\nfact that he had thanes who were so mighty. But has not Thor avenged\nhimself for this? Made answer Har: It is not unknown, though no wise men\ntell thereof, how Thor made amends for the journey that has now been\nspoken of. He did not remain long at home, before he busked himself so\nsuddenly for a new journey, that he took neither chariot, nor goats nor\nany companions with him. He went out of Midgard in the guise of a young\nman, and came in the evening to a giant by name Hymer.[61] Thor tarried\nthere as a guest through the night. In the morning Hymer arose, dressed\nhimself, and busked himself to row out upon the sea to fish. Thor also\nsprang up, got ready in a hurry and asked Hymer whether he might row out\nwith him. Hymer answered that he would get but little help from Thor, as\nhe was so small and young; and he added, you will get cold if I row as\nfar out and remain as long as I am wont. Thor said that he might row as\nfar from shore as he pleased, for all that, and it was yet to be seen\nwho would be the first to ask to row back to land. And Thor grew so\nwroth at the giant that he came near letting the hammer ring on his head\nstraightway, but he restrained himself, for he intended to try his\nstrength elsewhere. He asked Hymer what they were to have for bait, but\nHymer replied that he would have to find his own bait. Then Thor turned\naway to where he saw a herd of oxen, that belonged to Hymer. He took the\nlargest ox, which was called Himinbrjot, twisted his head off and\nbrought it down to the sea-strand. Hymer had then shoved the boat off.\nThor went on board and seated himself in the stern; he took two oars and\nrowed so that Hymer had to confess that the boat sped fast from his\nrowing. Hymer plied the oars in the bow, and thus the rowing soon ended.\nThen said Hymer that they had come to the place where he was wont to sit\nand catch flat-fish, but Thor said he would like to row much farther\nout, and so they made another swift pull. Then said Hymer that they had\ncome so far out that it was dangerous to stay there, for the\nMidgard-serpent. Thor said he wished to row a while longer, and so he\ndid; but Hymer was by no means in a happy mood. Thor took in the oars,\ngot ready a very strong line, and the hook was neither less nor weaker.\nWhen he had put on the ox-head for bait, he cast it overboard and it\nsank to the bottom. It must be admitted that Thor now beguiled the\nMidgard-serpent not a whit less than Utgard-Loke mocked him when he was\nto lift the serpent with his hand. The Midgard-serpent took the ox-head\ninto his mouth, whereby the hook entered his palate, but when the\nserpent perceived this he tugged so hard that both Thor\u2019s hands were\ndashed against the gunwale. Now Thor became angry, assumed his asa-might\nand spurned so hard that both his feet went through the boat and he\nstood on the bottom of the sea. He pulled the serpent up to the gunwale;\nand in truth no one has ever seen a more terrible sight than when Thor\nwhet his eyes on the serpent, and the latter stared at him and spouted\nvenom. It is said that the giant Hymer changed hue and grew pale from\nfear when he saw the serpent and beheld the water flowing into the boat;\nbut just at the moment when Thor grasped the hammer and lifted it in the\nair, the giant fumbled for his fishing-knife and cut off Thor\u2019s line at\nthe gunwale, whereby the serpent sank back into the sea. Thor threw the\nhammer after it, and it is even said that he struck off his head at the\nbottom, but I think the truth is that the Midgard-serpent still lives\nand lies in the ocean. Thor clenched his fist and gave the giant a box\non the ear so that he fell backward into the sea, and he saw his heels\nlast, but Thor waded ashore.\n\n    [Footnote 61: Called Ymer in the Younger Edda, but the Elder Edda\n    calls him Hymer.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XV.\n\nTHE DEATH OF BALDER.\n\n\n50. Then asked Ganglere: Have there happened any other remarkable things\namong the asas? A great deed it was, forsooth, that Thor wrought on this\njourney. Har answered: Yes, indeed, there are tidings to be told that\nseemed of far greater importance to the asas. The beginning of this tale\nis, that Balder dreamed dreams great and dangerous to his life. When he\ntold these dreams to the asas they took counsel together, and it was\ndecided that they should seek peace for Balder against all kinds of\nharm. So Frigg exacted an oath from fire, water, iron and all kinds of\nmetal, stones, earth, trees, sicknesses, beasts, birds and creeping\nthings, that they should not hurt Balder. When this was done and made\nknown, it became the pastime of Balder and the asas that he should stand\nup at their meetings while some of them should shoot at him, others\nshould hew at him, while others should throw stones at him; but no\nmatter what they did, no harm came to him, and this seemed to all a\ngreat honor. When Loke, Laufey\u2019s son, saw this, it displeased him very\nmuch that Balder was not scathed. So he went to Frigg, in Fensal, having\ntaken on himself the likeness of a woman. Frigg asked this woman whether\nshe knew what the asas were doing at their meeting. She answered that\nall were shooting at Balder, but that he was not scathed thereby. Then\nsaid Frigg: Neither weapon nor tree can hurt Balder, I have taken an\noath from them all. Then asked the woman: Have all things taken an oath\nto spare Balder? Frigg answered: West of Valhal there grows a little\nshrub that is called the mistletoe, that seemed to me too young to exact\nan oath from. Then the woman suddenly disappeared. Loke went and pulled\nup the mistletoe and proceeded to the meeting. Hoder stood far to one\nside in the ring of men, because he was blind. Loke addressed himself to\nhim, and asked: Why do you not shoot at Balder? He answered: Because I\ndo not see where he is, and furthermore I have no weapons. Then said\nLoke: Do like the others and show honor to Balder; I will show you where\nhe stands; shoot at him with this wand. Hoder took the mistletoe and\nshot at Balder under the guidance of Loke. The dart pierced him and he\nfell dead to the ground. This is the greatest misfortune that has ever\nhappened to gods and men. When Balder had fallen, the asas were struck\nspeechless with horror, and their hands failed them to lay hold of the\ncorpse. One looked at the other, and all were of one mind toward him who\nhad done the deed, but being assembled in a holy peace-stead, no one\ncould take vengeance. When the asas at length tried to speak, the\nwailing so choked their voices that one could not describe to the other\nhis sorrow. Odin took this misfortune most to heart, since he best\ncomprehended how great a loss and injury the fall of Balder was to the\nasas. When the gods came to their senses, Frigg spoke and asked who\nthere might be among the asas who desired to win all her love and good\nwill by riding the way to Hel and trying to find Balder, and offering\nHel a ransom if she would allow Balder to return home again to Asgard.\nBut he is called Hermod, the Nimble, Odin\u2019s swain, who undertook this\njourney. Odin\u2019s steed, Sleipner, was led forth. Hermod mounted him and\ngalloped away.\n\n51. The asas took the corpse of Balder and brought it to the sea-shore.\nHringhorn was the name of Balder\u2019s ship, and it was the largest of all\nships. The gods wanted to launch it and make Balder\u2019s bale-fire thereon,\nbut they could not move it. Then they sent to Jotunheim after the\ngiantess whose name is Hyrrokken. She came riding on a wolf, and had\ntwisted serpents for reins. When she alighted, Odin appointed four\nberserks to take care of her steed, but they were unable to hold him\nexcept by throwing him down on the ground. Hyrrokken went to the prow\nand launched the ship with one single push, but the motion was so\nviolent that fire sprang from the underlaid rollers and all the earth\nshook. Then Thor became wroth, grasped his hammer, and would forthwith\nhave crushed her skull, had not all the gods asked peace for her.\nBalder\u2019s corpse was borne out on the ship; and when his wife, Nanna,\ndaughter of Nep, saw this, her heart was broken with grief and she died.\nShe was borne to the funeral-pile and cast on the fire. Thor stood by\nand hallowed the pile with Mjolner. Before his feet ran a dwarf, whose\nname is Lit. Him Thor kicked with his foot and dashed him into the fire,\nand he, too, was burned. But this funeral-pile was attended by many\nkinds of folk. First of all came Odin, accompanied by Frigg and the\nvalkyries and his ravens. Frey came riding in his chariot drawn by the\nboar called Gullinburste or Slidrugtanne. Heimdal rode his steed\nGulltop, and Freyja drove her cats. There was a large number of\nfrost-giants and mountain-giants. Odin laid on the funeral-pile his gold\nring, Draupner, which had the property of producing, every ninth night,\neight gold rings of equal weight. Balder\u2019s horse, fully caparisoned, was\nled to his master\u2019s pile.\n\n52. But of Hermod it is to be told that he rode nine nights through deep\nand dark valleys, and did not see light until he came to the\nGjallar-river and rode on the Gjallar-bridge, which is thatched with\nshining gold. Modgud is the name of the may who guards the bridge. She\nasked him for his name, and of what kin he was, saying that the day\nbefore there rode five fylkes (kingdoms, bands) of dead men over the\nbridge; but she added, it does not shake less under you alone, and you\ndo not have the hue of dead men. Why do you ride the way to Hel? He\nanswered: I am to ride to Hel to find Balder. Have you seen him pass\nthis way? She answered that Balder had ridden over the Gjallar-bridge;\nadding: But downward and northward lies the way to Hel. Then Hermod rode\non till he came to Hel\u2019s gate. He alighted from his horse, drew the\ngirths tighter, remounted him, clapped the spurs into him, and the horse\nleaped over the gate with so much force that he never touched it.\nThereupon Hermod proceeded to the hall and alighted from his steed. He\nwent in, and saw there sitting on the foremost seat his brother Balder.\nHe tarried there over night. In the morning he asked Hel whether Balder\nmight ride home with him, and told how great weeping there was among the\nasas. But Hel replied that it should now be tried whether Balder was so\nmuch beloved as was said. If all things, said she, both quick and dead,\nwill weep for him, then he shall go back to the asas, but if anything\nrefuses to shed tears, then he shall remain with Hel. Hermod arose, and\nBalder accompanied him out of the hall. He took the ring Draupner and\nsent it as a keepsake to Odin. Nanna sent Frigg a kerchief and other\ngifts, and to Fulla she sent a ring. Thereupon Hermod rode back and came\nto Asgard, where he reported the tidings he had seen and heard.\n\n53. Then the asas sent messengers over all the world, praying that\nBalder might be wept out of Hel\u2019s power. All things did so,--men and\nbeasts, the earth, stones, trees and all metals, just as you must have\nseen that these things weep when they come out of frost and into heat.\nWhen the messengers returned home and had done their errand well, they\nfound a certain cave wherein sat a giantess (gygr = ogress) whose name\nwas Thok. They requested her to weep Balder from Hel; but she answered:\n\n  Thok will weep\n  With dry tears\n  For Balder\u2019s burial;\n  Neither in life nor in death\n  Gave he me gladness.\n  Let Hel keep what she has!\n\nIt is generally believed that this Thok was Loke, Laufey\u2019s son, who has\nwrought most evil among the asas.\n\n54. Then said Ganglere: A very great wrong did Loke perpetrate; first of\nall in causing Balder\u2019s death, and next in standing in the way of his\nbeing loosed from Hel. Did he get no punishment for this misdeed? Har\nanswered: Yes, he was repaid for this in a way that he will long\nremember. The gods became exceedingly wroth, as might be expected. So he\nran away and hid himself in a rock. Here he built a house with four\ndoors, so that he might keep an outlook on all sides. Oftentimes in the\ndaytime he took on him the likeness of a salmon and concealed himself in\nFrananger Force. Then he thought to himself what stratagems the asas\nmight have recourse to in order to catch him. Now, as he was sitting in\nhis house, he took flax and yarn and worked them into meshes, in the\nmanner that nets have since been made; but a fire was burning before\nhim. Then he saw that the asas were not far distant. Odin had seen from\nHlidskjalf where Loke kept himself. Loke immediately sprang up, cast the\nnet on the fire and leaped into the river. When the asas came to the\nhouse, he entered first who was wisest of them all, and whose name was\nKvaser; and when he saw in the fire the ashes of the net that had been\nburned, he understood that this must be a contrivance for catching fish,\nand this he told to the asas. Thereupon they took flax and made\nthemselves a net after the pattern of that which they saw in the ashes\nand which Loke had made. When the net was made, the asas went to the\nriver and cast it into the force. Thor held one end of the net, and all\nthe other asas laid hold on the other, thus jointly drawing it along the\nstream. Loke went before it and laid himself down between two stones,\nso that they drew the net over him, although they perceived that some\nliving thing touched the meshes. They went up to the force again and\ncast out the net a second time. This time they hung a great weight to\nit, making it so heavy that nothing could possibly pass under it. Loke\nswam before the net, but when he saw that he was near the sea he sprang\nover the top of the net and hastened back to the force. When the asas\nsaw whither he went they proceeded up to the force, dividing themselves\ninto two bands, but Thor waded in the middle of the stream, and so they\ndragged the net along to the sea. Loke saw that he now had only two\nchances of escape,--either to risk his life and swim out to sea, or to\nleap again over the net. He chose the latter, and made a tremendous leap\nover the top line of the net. Thor grasped after him and caught him, but\nhe slipped in his hand so that Thor did not get a firm hold before he\ngot to the tail, and this is the reason why the salmon has so slim a\ntail. Now Loke was taken without truce and was brought to a cave. The\ngods took three rocks and set them up on edge, and bored a hole through\neach rock. Then they took Loke\u2019s sons, Vale and Nare or Narfe. Vale they\nchanged into the likeness of a wolf, whereupon he tore his brother Narfe\nto pieces, with whose intestines the asas bound Loke over the three\nrocks. One stood under his shoulders, another under his loins, and the\nthird under his hams, and the fetters became iron. Skade took a serpent\nand fastened up over him, so that the venom should drop from the serpent\ninto his face. But Sigyn, his wife, stands by him, and holds a dish\nunder the venom-drops. Whenever the dish becomes full, she goes and\npours away the venom, and meanwhile the venom drops onto Loke\u2019s face.\nThen he twists his body so violently that the whole earth shakes, and\nthis you call earthquakes. There he will lie bound until Ragnarok.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVI.\n\nRAGNAROK.\n\n\n55. Then said Ganglere: What tidings are to be told of Ragnarok? Of this\nI have never heard before. Har answered: Great things are to be said\nthereof. First, there is a winter called the Fimbul-winter, when snow\ndrives from all quarters, the frosts are so severe, the winds so keen\nand piercing, that there is no joy in the sun. There are three such\nwinters in succession, without any intervening summer. But before these\nthere are three other winters, during which great wars rage over all the\nworld. Brothers slay each other for the sake of gain, and no one spares\nhis father or mother in that manslaughter and adultery. Thus says the\nVala\u2019s Prophecy:\n\n  Brothers will fight together\n  And become each other\u2019s bane;\n  Sisters\u2019 children\n  Their sib shall spoil.[62]\n  Hard is the world,\n  Sensual sins grow huge.\n  There are ax-ages, sword-ages--\n  Shields are cleft in twain,--\n  There are wind-ages, wolf-ages,\n  Ere the world falls dead.[63]\n\n    [Footnote 62: Commit adultery.]\n\n    [Footnote 63: Elder Edda: The Vala\u2019s Prophecy, 48, 49.]\n\nThen happens what will seem a great miracle, that the wolf[64] devours\nthe sun, and this will seem a great loss. The other wolf will devour the\nmoon, and this too will cause great mischief. The stars shall be Hurled\nfrom heaven. Then it shall come to pass that the earth and the mountains\nwill shake so violently that trees will be torn up by the roots, the\nmountains will topple down, and all bonds and fetters will be broken and\nsnapped. The Fenris-wolf gets loose. The sea rushes over the earth, for\nthe Midgard-serpent writhes in giant rage and seeks to gain the land.\nThe ship that is called Naglfar also becomes loose. It is made of the\nnails of dead men; wherefore it is worth warning that, when a man dies\nwith unpared nails, he supplies a large amount of materials for the\nbuilding of this ship, which both gods and men wish may be finished as\nlate as possible. But in this flood Naglfar gets afloat. The giant Hrym\nis its steersman. The Fenris-wolf advances with wide open mouth; the\nupper jaw reaches to heaven and the lower jaw is on the earth. He would\nopen it still wider had he room. Fire flashes from his eyes and\nnostrils. The Midgard-serpent vomits forth venom, defiling all the air\nand the sea; he is very terrible, and places himself by the side of the\nwolf. In the midst of this clash and din the heavens are rent in twain,\nand the sons of Muspel come riding through the opening. Surt rides\nfirst, and before him and after him flames burning fire. He has a very\ngood sword, which shines brighter than the sun. As they ride over\nBifrost it breaks to pieces, as has before been stated. The sons of\nMuspel direct their course to the plain which is called Vigrid. Thither\nrepair also the Fenris-wolf and the Midgard-serpent. To this place have\nalso come Loke and Hrym, and with him all the frost-giants. In Loke\u2019s\ncompany are all the friends of Hel. The sons of Muspel have there\neffulgent bands alone by themselves. The plain Vigrid is one hundred\nmiles (rasts) on each side.\n\n    [Footnote 64: Fenris-wolf.]\n\n56. While these things are happening, Heimdal stands up, blows with all\nhis might in the Gjallar-horn and awakens all the gods, who thereupon\nhold counsel. Odin rides to Mimer\u2019s well to ask advice of Mimer for\nhimself and his folk. Then quivers the ash Ygdrasil, and all things in\nheaven and earth fear and tremble. The asas and the einherjes arm\nthemselves and speed forth to the battle-field. Odin rides first; with\nhis golden helmet, resplendent byrnie, and his spear Gungner, he\nadvances against the Fenris-wolf. Thor stands by his side, but can give\nhim no assistance, for he has his hands full in his struggle with the\nMidgard-serpent. Frey encounters Surt, and heavy blows are exchanged ere\nFrey falls. The cause of his death is that he has not that good sword\nwhich he gave to Skirner. Even the dog Garm, that was bound before the\nGnipa-cave, gets loose. He is the greatest plague. He contends with Tyr,\nand they kill each other. Thor gets great renown by slaying the\nMidgard-serpent, but retreats only nine paces when he falls to the earth\ndead, poisoned by the venom that the serpent blows on him. The wolf\nswallows Odin, and thus causes his death; but Vidar immediately turns\nand rushes at the wolf, placing one foot on his nether jaw. On this foot\nhe has the shoe for which materials have been gathering through all\nages, namely, the strips of leather which men cut off for the toes and\nheels of shoes; wherefore he who wishes to render assistance to the asas\nmust cast these strips away. With one hand Vidar seizes the upper jaw of\nthe wolf, and thus rends asunder his mouth. Thus the wolf perishes. Loke\nfights with Heimdal, and they kill each other. Thereupon Surt flings\nfire over the earth and burns up all the world. Thus it is said in the\nVala\u2019s Prophecy:\n\n  Loud blows Heimdal\n  His uplifted horn.\n  Odin speaks\n  With Mimer\u2019s head.\n  The straight-standing ash\n  Ygdrasil quivers,\n  The old tree groans,\n  And the giant gets loose.\n\n  How fare the asas?\n  How fare the elves?\n  All Jotunheim roars.\n  The asas hold counsel;\n  Before their stone-doors\n  Groan the dwarfs,\n  The guides of the wedge-rock.\n  Know you now more or not?\n\n  From the east drives Hrym,\n  Bears his shield before him.\n  Jormungand welters\n  In giant rage\n  And smites the waves.\n  The eagle screams,\n  And with pale beak tears corpses,\n  Naglfar gets loose.\n\n  A ship comes from the east,\n  The hosts of Muspel\n  Come o\u2019er the main,\n  And Loke is steersman.\n  All the fell powers\n  Are with the wolf;\n  Along with them\n  Is Byleist\u2019s brother.[65]\n\n  From the south comes Surt\n  With blazing fire-brand,--\n  The sun of the war-god\n  Shines from his sword.\n  Mountains dash together,\n  Giant maids are frightened,\n  Heroes go the way to Hel,\n  And heaven is rent in twain.\n\n  Then comes to Hlin\n  Another woe,\n  When Odin goes\n  With the wolf to fight,\n  And Bele\u2019s bright slayer[66]\n  To contend with Surt.\n  There will fall\n  Frigg\u2019s beloved.\n\n  Odin\u2019s son goes\n  To fight with the wolf,\n  And Vidar goes on his way\n  To the wild beast.[67]\n  With his hand he thrusts\n  His sword to the heart\n  Of the giant\u2019s child,\n  And avenges his father.\n\n  Then goes the famous\n  Son[68] of Hlodyn\n  To fight with the serpent.\n  Though about to die,\n  He fears not the contest;\n  All men\n  Abandon their homesteads\n  When the warder of Midgard\n  In wrath slays the serpent.\n\n  The sun grows dark,\n  The earth sinks into the sea,\n  The bright stars\n  From heaven vanish;\n  Fire rages,\n  Heat blazes,\n  And high flames play\n  \u2019Gainst heaven itself.[69]\n\n    [Footnote 65: Loke.]\n\n    [Footnote 66: Frey.]\n\n    [Footnote 67: The Fenris-wolf.]\n\n    [Footnote 68: Thor.]\n\n    [Footnote 69: Elder Edda: The Vala\u2019s Prophecy, 50-52, 54-57, 59,\n    60, 62, 63.]\n\nAnd again it is said as follows:\n\n  Vigrid is the name of the plain\n  Where in fight shall meet\n  Surt and the gentle god.\n  A hundred miles\n  It is every way.\n  This field is marked out for them.[70]\n\n    [Footnote 70: Elder Edda: Vafthrudner\u2019s Lay, 18.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVII.\n\nREGENERATION.\n\n\n57. Then asked Ganglere: What happens when heaven and earth and all the\nworld are consumed in flames, and when all the gods and all the\neinherjes and all men are dead? You have already said that all men shall\nlive in some world through all ages. Har answered: There are many good\nand many bad abodes. Best it is to be in Gimle, in heaven. Plenty is\nthere of good drink for those who deem this a joy in the hall called\nBrimer. That is also in heaven. There is also an excellent hall which\nstands on the Nida mountains. It is built of red gold, and is called\nSindre. In this hall good and well-minded men shall dwell. Nastrand is a\nlarge and terrible hall, and its doors open to the north. It is built of\nserpents wattled together, and all the heads of the serpents turn into\nthe hall and vomit forth venom that flows in streams along the hall, and\nin these streams wade perjurers and murderers. So it is here said:\n\n  A hall I know standing\n  Far from the sun\n  On the strand of dead bodies.\n  Drops of venom\n  Fall through the loop-holes.\n  Of serpents\u2019 backs\n  The hall is made.\n\n  There shall wade\n  Through heavy streams\n  Perjurers\n  And murderers.\n\nBut in Hvergelmer it is worst.\n\n  There tortures Nidhug\n  The bodies of the dead.[71]\n\n    [Footnote 71: Elder Edda: The Vala\u2019s Prophecy, 40, 41.]\n\n58. Then said Ganglere: Do any gods live then? Is there any earth or\nheaven? Har answered: The earth rises again from the sea, and is green\nand fair. The fields unsown produce their harvests. Vidar and Vale live.\nNeither the sea nor Surfs fire has harmed them, and they dwell on the\nplains of Ida, where Asgard was before. Thither come also the sons of\nThor, Mode and Magne, and they have Mjolner. Then come Balder and Hoder\nfrom Hel. They all sit together and talk about the things that happened\naforetime,--about the Midgard-serpent and the Fenris-wolf. They find in\nthe grass those golden tables which the asas once had. Thus it is said:\n\n  Vidar and Vale\n  Dwell in the house of the gods,\n  When quenched is the fire of Surt.\n  Mode and Magne\n  Vingner\u2019s Mjolner shall have\n  When the fight is ended.[72]\n\n    [Footnote 72: Elder Edda: Vafthrudner\u2019s Lay, 51.]\n\nIn a place called Hodmimer\u2019s-holt[73] are concealed two persons during\nSurt\u2019s fire, called Lif and Lifthraser. They feed on the morning dew.\nFrom these so numerous a race is descended that they fill the whole\nworld with people, as is here said:\n\n  Lif and Lifthraser\n  Will lie hid\n  In Hodmimer\u2019s-holt.\n  The morning dew\n  They have for food.\n  From them are the races descended.[74]\n\n    [Footnote 73: Holt = grove.]\n\n    [Footnote 74: Elder Edda: Vafthrudner\u2019s Lay, 45.]\n\nBut what will seem wonderful to you is that the sun has brought forth a\ndaughter not less fair than herself, and she rides in the heavenly\ncourse of her mother, as is here said:\n\n  A daughter\n  Is born of the sun\n  Ere Fenrer takes her.\n  In her mother\u2019s course\n  When the gods are dead\n  This maid shall ride.[75]\n\n    [Footnote 75: Elder Edda: Vafthrudner\u2019s Lay, 47.]\n\nAnd if you now can ask more questions, said Har to Ganglere, I know not\nwhence that power came to you. I have never heard any one tell further\nthe fate of the world. Make now the best use you can of what has been\ntold you.\n\n59. Then Ganglere heard a terrible noise on all sides, and when he\nlooked about him he stood out-doors on a level plain. He saw neither\nhall nor burg. He went his way and came back to his kingdom, and told\nthe tidings which he had seen and heard, and ever since those tidings\nhave been handed down from man to man.\n\n\n\n\nAFTERWORD\n\nTO THE FOOLING OF GYLFE.\n\n\nThe asas now sat down to talk, and held their counsel, and remembered\nall the tales that were told to Gylfe. They gave the very same names\nthat had been named before to the men and places that were there. This\nthey did for the reason that, when a long time has elapsed, men should\nnot doubt that those asas of whom these tales were now told and those to\nwhom the same names were given were all identical. There was one who is\ncalled Thor, and he is Asa-Thor, the old. He is Oku-Thor, and to him are\nascribed the great deeds done by Hektor in Troy. But men think that the\nTurks have told of Ulysses, and have called him Loke, for the Turks were\nhis greatest enemies.\n\n\n\n\nBRAGE\u2019S TALK.\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\n\u00c6GER\u2019S JOURNEY TO ASGARD.\n\n\n1. A man by name \u00c6ger, or Hler, who dwelt on the island called Hler\u2019s\nIsle, was well skilled in the black art. He made a journey to Asgard.\nBut the asas knew of his coming and gave him a friendly reception; but\nthey also made use of many sorts of delusions. In the evening, when the\nfeast began, Odin had swords brought into the hall, and they were so\nbright that it glistened from them so that there was no need of any\nother light while they sat drinking. Then went the asas to their feast,\nand the twelve asas who were appointed judges seated themselves in their\nhigh-seats. These are their names: Thor, Njord, Frey, Tyr, Heimdal,\nBrage, Vidar, Vale, Uller, Honer, Forsete, Loke. The asynjes (goddesses)\nalso were with them: Frigg, Freyja, Gefjun, Idun, Gerd, Sigyn, Fulla,\nNanna. \u00c6ger thought all that he saw looked very grand. The panels of the\nwalls were all covered with beautiful shields. The mead was very strong,\nand they drank deep. Next to \u00c6ger sat Brage, and they talked much\ntogether over their drink. Brage spoke to \u00c6ger of many things that had\nhappened to the asas.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\nIDUN AND HER APPLES.\n\n\n2. Brage began his tale by telling how three asas, Odin, Loke and Honer,\nwent on a journey over mountains and heaths, where they could get\nnothing to eat. But when they came down into a valley they saw a herd of\ncattle. From this herd they took an ox and went to work to boil it. When\nthey deemed that it must be boiled enough they uncovered the broth, but\nit was not yet done. After a little while they lifted the cover off\nagain, but it was not yet boiled. They talked among themselves about how\nthis could happen. Then they heard a voice in the oak above them, and he\nwho sat there said that he was the cause that the broth did not get\nboiled. They looked up and saw an eagle, and it was not a small one.\nThen said the eagle: If you will give me my fill of the ox, then the\nbroth will be boiled. They agreed to this. So he flew down from the\ntree, seated himself beside the boiling broth, and immediately snatched\nup first the two thighs of the ox and then both the shoulders. This made\nLoke wroth: he grasped a large pole, raised it with all his might and\ndashed it at the body of the eagle. The eagle shook himself after the\nblow and flew up. One end of the pole fastened itself to the body of the\neagle, and the other end stuck to Loke\u2019s hands. The eagle flew just high\nenough so that Loke\u2019s feet were dragged over stones and rocks and trees,\nand it seemed to him that his arms would be torn from his\nshoulder-blades. He calls and prays the eagle most earnestly for peace,\nbut the latter declares that Loke shall never get free unless he will\npledge himself to bring Idun and her apples out of Asgard. When Loke had\npromised this, he was set free and went to his companions again; and no\nmore is related of this journey, except that they returned home. But at\nthe time agreed upon, Loke coaxed Idun out of Asgard into a forest,\nsaying that he had found apples that she would think very nice, and he\nrequested her to take with her her own apples in order to compare them.\nThen came the giant Thjasse in the guise of an eagle, seized Idun and\nflew away with her to his home in Thrymheim. The asas were ill at ease\non account of the disappearance of Idun,--they became gray-haired and\nold. They met in council and asked each other who last had seen Idun.\nThe last that had been seen of her was that she had gone out of Asgard\nin company with Loke. Then Loke was seized and brought into the council,\nand he was threatened with death or torture. But he became frightened,\nand promised to bring Idun back from Jotunheim if Freyja would lend him\nthe falcon-guise that she had. He got the falcon-guise, flew north into\nJotunheim, and came one day to the giant Thjasse. The giant had rowed\nout to sea, and Idun was at home alone. Loke turned her into the\nlikeness of a nut, held her in his claws and flew with all his might.\nBut when Thjasse returned home and missed Idun, he took on his\neagle-guise, flew after Loke, gaining on the latter with his eagle\nwings. When the asas saw the falcon coming flying with the nut, and how\nthe eagle flew, they went to the walls of Asgard and brought with them\nbundles of plane-shavings. When the falcon flew within the burg, he let\nhimself drop down beside the burg-wall. Then the asas kindled a fire in\nthe shavings; and the eagle, being unable to stop himself when he missed\nthe falcon, caught fire in his feathers, so that he could not fly any\nfarther. The asas were on hand and slew the giant Thjasse within the\ngates of Asgard, and that slaughter is most famous.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\nHOW NJORD GOT SKADE TO WIFE.\n\n\nSkade, the daughter of the giant Thjasse, donned her helmet, and byrnie,\nand all her war-gear, and betook herself to Asgard to avenge her\nfather\u2019s death. The asas offered her ransom and atonement; and it was\nagreed to, in the first place, that she should choose herself a husband\namong the asas, but she was to make her choice by the feet, which was\nall she was to see of their persons. She saw one man\u2019s feet that were\nwonderfully beautiful, and exclaimed: This one I choose! On Balder there\nare few blemishes. But it was Njord, from Noatun. In the second place,\nit was stipulated that the asas were to do what she did not deem them\ncapable of, and that was to make her laugh. Then Loke tied one end of a\nstring fast to the beard of a goat and the other around his own body,\nand one pulled this way and the other that, and both of them shrieked\nout loud. Then Loke let himself fall on Skade\u2019s knees, and this made her\nlaugh. It is said that Odin did even more than was asked, in that he\ntook Thjasse\u2019s eyes and cast them up into heaven, and made two stars of\nthem. Then said \u00c6ger: This Thjasse seems to me to have been considerable\nof a man; of what kin was he? Brage answered: His father\u2019s name was\nOlvalde, and if I told you of him, you would deem it very remarkable.\nHe was very rich in gold, and when he died and his sons were to divide\ntheir heritage, they had this way of measuring the gold, that each\nshould take his mouthful of gold, and they should all take the same\nnumber of mouthfuls. One of them was Thjasse, another Ide, and the third\nGang. But we now have it as a saw among us, that we call gold the\nmouth-number of these giants. In runes and songs we wrap the gold up by\ncalling it the measure, or word, or tale, of these giants. Then said\n\u00c6ger: It seems to me that it will be well hidden in the runes.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\nTHE ORIGIN OF POETRY.\n\n\n3. And again said \u00c6ger: Whence originated the art that is called\nskaldship? Made answer Brage: The beginning of this was, that the gods\nhad a war with the people that are called vans. They agreed to hold a\nmeeting for the purpose of making peace, and settled their dispute in\nthis wise, that they both went to a jar and spit into it. But at parting\nthe gods, being unwilling to let this mark of peace perish, shaped it\ninto a man whose name was Kvaser, and who was so wise that no one could\nask him any question that he could not answer. He traveled much about in\nthe world to teach men wisdom. Once he came to the home of the dwarfs\nFjalar and Galar. They called him aside, saying they wished to speak\nwith him alone, slew him and let his blood run into two jars called Son\nand Bodn, and into a kettle called Odrarer. They mixed honey with the\nblood, and thus was produced such mead that whoever drinks from it\nbecomes a skald and sage. The dwarfs told the asas that Kvaser had\nchoked in his wisdom, because no one was so wise that he could ask him\nenough about learning.\n\n4. Then the dwarfs invited to themselves the giant whose name is\nGilling, and his wife; and when he came they asked him to row out to sea\nwith them. When they had gotten a short distance from shore, the dwarfs\nrowed onto a blind rock and capsized the boat. Gilling, who was unable\nto swim, was drowned, but the dwarfs righted the boat again and rowed\nashore. When they told of this mishap to his wife she took it much to\nheart, and began to cry aloud. Then Fjalar asked her whether it would\nnot lighten her sorrow if she could look out upon the sea where her\nhusband had perished, and she said it would. He then said to his brother\nGalar that he should go up over the doorway, and as she passed out he\nshould let a mill-stone drop onto her head, for he said he was tired of\nher bawling, Galar did so. When the giant Suttung, the son of Gilling,\nfound this out he came and seized the dwarfs, took them out to sea and\nleft them on a rocky island, which was flooded at high tide. They prayed\nSuttung to spare their lives, and offered him in atonement for their\nfather\u2019s blood the precious mead, which he accepted. Suttung brought the\nmead home with him, and hid it in a place called Hnitbjorg. He set his\ndaughter Gunlad to guard it. For these reasons we call songship Kvaser\u2019s\nblood; the drink of the dwarfs; the dwarfs\u2019 fill; some kind of liquor of\nOdrarer, or Bodn or Son; the ship of the dwarfs (because this mead\nransomed their lives from the rocky isle); the mead of Suttung, or the\nliquor of Hnitbjorg.\n\n5. Then remarked \u00c6ger: It seems dark to me to call songship by these\nnames; but how came the asas by Suttung\u2019s mead? Answered Brage: The saga\nabout this is, that Odin set out from home and came to a place where\nnine thralls were mowing hay. He asked them whether they would like to\nhave him whet their scythes. To this they said yes. Then he took a\nwhet-stone from his belt and whetted the scythes. They thought their\nscythes were much improved, and asked whether the whet-stone was for\nsale. He answered that he who would buy it must pay a fair price for it.\nAll said they were willing to give the sum demanded, and each wanted\nOdin to sell it to him. But he threw the whet-stone up in the air, and\nwhen all wished to catch it they scrambled about it in such a manner\nthat each brought his scythe onto the other\u2019s neck. Odin sought lodgings\nfor the night at the house of the giant Bauge, who was a brother of\nSuttung. Bauge complained of what had happened to his household, saying\nthat his nine thralls had slain each other, and that he did not know\nwhere he should get other workmen. Odin called himself Bolverk. He\noffered to undertake the work of the nine men for Bauge, but asked in\npayment therefor a drink of Suttung\u2019s mead. Bauge answered that he had\nno control over the mead, saying that Suttung was bound to keep that for\nhimself alone. But he agreed to go with Bolverk and try whether they\ncould get the mead. During the summer Bolverk did the work of the nine\nmen for Bauge, but when winter came he asked for his pay. Then they both\nwent to Suttung. Bauge explained to Suttung his bargain with Bolverk,\nbut Suttung stoutly refused to give even a drop of the mead. Bolverk\nthen proposed to Bauge that they should try whether they could not get\nat the mead by the aid of some trick, and Bauge agreed to this. Then\nBolverk drew forth the auger which is called Rate, and requested Bauge\nto bore a hole through the rock, if the auger was sharp enough. He did\nso. Then said Bauge that there was a hole through the rock; but Bolverk\nblowed into the hole that the auger had made, and the chips flew back\ninto his face. Thus he saw that Bauge intended to deceive him, and\ncommanded him to bore through. Bauge bored again, and when Bolverk blew\na second time the chips flew inward. Now Bolverk changed himself into\nthe likeness of a serpent and crept into the auger-hole. Bauge thrust\nafter him with the auger, but missed him. Bolverk went to where Gunlad\nwas, and shared her couch for three nights. She then promised to give\nhim three draughts from the mead. With the first draught he emptied\nOdrarer, in the second Bodn, and in the third Son, and thus he had all\nthe mead. Then he took on the guise of an eagle, and flew off as fast as\nhe could. When Suttung saw the flight of the eagle, he also took on the\nshape of an eagle and flew after him. When the asas saw Odin coming,\nthey set their jars out in the yard. When Odin reached Asgard, he spewed\nthe mead up into the jars. He was, however, so near being caught by\nSuttung, that he sent some of the mead after him backward, and as no\ncare was taken of this, anybody that wished might have it. This we call\nthe share of poetasters. But Suttung\u2019s mead Odin gave to the asas and to\nthose men who are able to make verses. Hence we call songship Odin\u2019s\nprey, Odin\u2019s find, Odin\u2019s drink, Odin\u2019s gift, and the drink of the asas.\n\n6. Then said \u00c6ger: In how many ways do you vary the poetical\nexpressions, or how many kinds of poetry are there? Answered Brage:\nThere are two kinds, and all poetry falls into one or the other of these\nclasses. \u00c6ger asks: Which two? Brage answers: Diction and meter. What\ndiction is used in poetry? There are three sorts of poetic diction.\nWhich? One is to name everything by its own name; another is to name it\nwith a pronoun, but the third sort of diction is called _kenning_ (a\npoetical periphrasis or descriptive name); and this sort is so managed\nthat when we name Odin, or Thor or Tyr, or any other of the asas or\nelves, we add to their name a reference to some other asa, or we make\nmention of some of his works. Then the appellation belongs to him who\ncorresponds to the whole phrase, and not to him who was actually named.\nThus we speak of Odin as Sigtyr, Hangatyr or Farmatyr, and such names we\ncall simple appellatives. In the same manner he is called Reidartyr.\n\n\n\n\nAFTERWORD\n\nTO BRAGE\u2019S TALK.\n\n\nNow it is to be said to young skalds who are desirous of acquiring the\ndiction of poetry, or of increasing their store of words with old names,\nor, on the other hand, are eager to understand what is obscurely sung,\nthat they must master this book for their instruction and pastime. These\nsagas are not to be so forgotten or disproved as to take away from\npoetry old periphrases which great skalds have been pleased with. But\nchristian men should not believe in heathen gods, nor in the truth of\nthese sagas, otherwise than is explained in the beginning of this book,\nwhere the events are explained which led men away from the true faith,\nand where it, in the next place, is told of the Turks how the men from\nAsia, who are called asas, falsified the tales of the things that\nhappened in Troy, in order that the people should believe them to be\ngods.\n\nKing Priam in Troy was a great chief over all the Turkish host, and his\nsons were the most distinguished men in his whole army. That excellent\nhall, which the asas called Brime\u2019s Hall, or beer-hall, was King Priam\u2019s\npalace. As for the long tale that they tell of Ragnarok, that is the\nwars of the Trojans. When it is said that Oku-Thor angled with an\nox-head and drew on board the Midgard-serpent, but that the serpent kept\nhis life and sank back into the sea, then this is another version of the\nstory that Hektor slew Volukrontes, a famous hero, in the presence of\nAchilleus, and so drew the latter onto him with the head of the slain,\nwhich they likened unto the head of an ox, which Oku-Thor had torn off.\nWhen Achilleus was drawn into this danger, on account of his daring,\nit was the salvation of his life that he fled from the fatal blows of\nHektor, although he was wounded. It is also said that Hektor waged the\nwar so mightily, and that his rage was so great when he caught sight of\nAchilleus, that nothing was so strong that it could stand before him.\nWhen he missed Achilleus, who had fled, he soothed his wrath by slaying\nthe champion called Roddros. But the asas say that when Oku-Thor missed\nthe serpent, he slew the giant Hymer. In Ragnarok the Midgard serpent\ncame suddenly upon Thor and blew venom onto him, and thus struck him\ndead. But the asas could not make up their minds to say that this had\nbeen the fate of Oku-Thor, that anyone stood over him dead, though this\nhad so happened. They rushed headlong over old sagas more than was true\nwhen they said that the Midgard-serpent there got his death; and they\nadded this to the story, that Achilleus reaped the fame of Hektor\u2019s\ndeath, though he lay dead on the same battle-field on that account. This\nwas the work of Elenus and Alexander, and Elenus the asas call Ale. They\nsay that he avenged his brother, and that he lived when all the gods\nwere dead, and after the fire was quenched that burned up Asgard and all\nthe possessions of the gods. Pyrrhos they compared with the Fenris-wolf.\nHe slew Odin, and Pyrrhos might be called a wolf according to their\nbelief, for he did not spare the peace-steads, when he slew the king in\nthe temple before the altar of Thor. The burning of Troy they call the\nflame of Surt. Mode and Magne, the sons of Oku-Thor, came to crave the\nland of Ale or Vidar. He is \u00c6neas. He came away from Troy, and wrought\nthereupon great works. It is said that the sons of Hektor came to\nFrigialand and established themselves in that kingdom, but banished\nElenus.\n\n\n\n\nEXTRACTS FROM\n\nTHE POETICAL DICTION.\n\n(SKALDSKAPARMAL.)[76]\n\n    [Footnote 76: This part of the Younger Edda corresponds to the\n    Latin Ars Poetica, and contains the rules and laws of ancient\n    poetry.]\n\n\nTHOR AND HRUNGNER.\n\nBrage told \u00c6ger that Thor had gone eastward to crush trolls. Odin rode\non his horse Sleipner to Jotunheim, and came to the giant whose name is\nHrungner. Then asked Hrungner what man that was who with a golden helmet\nrode both through the air and over the sea, and added that he had a\nremarkably good horse. Odin said that he would wager his head that so\ngood a horse could not be found in Jotunheim. Hrungner admitted that it\nwas indeed an excellent horse, but he had one, called Goldfax, that\ncould take much longer paces; and in his wrath he immediately sprang\nupon his horse and galloped after Odin, intending to pay him for his\ninsolence. Odin rode so fast that he was a good distance ahead, but\nHrungner had worked himself into such a giant rage that, before he was\naware of it, he had come within the gates of Asgard. When he came to the\nhall door, the asas invited him to drink with them. He entered the hall\nand requested a drink. They then took the bowls that Thor was accustomed\nto drink from, and Hrungner emptied them all. When he became drunk, he\ngave the freest vent to his loud boastings. He said he was going to take\nValhal and move it to Jotunheim, demolish Asgard and kill all the gods\nexcept Freyja and Sif, whom he was going to take home with him. When\nFreyja went forward to refill the bowls for him, he boasted that he was\ngoing to drink up all the ale of the asas. But when the asas grew weary\nof his arrogance, they named Thor\u2019s name. At once Thor was in the hall,\nswung his hammer in the air, and, being exceedingly wroth, asked who was\nto blame that dog-wise giants were permitted to drink there, who had\ngiven Hrungner permission to be in Valhal, and why Freyja should pour\nale for him as she did in the feasts of the asas. Then answered\nHrungner, looking with anything but friendly eyes at Thor, and said that\nOdin had invited him to drink, and that he was there under his\nprotection. Thor replied that he should come to rue that invitation\nbefore he came out. Hrungner again answered that it would be but little\ncredit to Asa-Thor to kill him, unarmed as he was. It would be a greater\nproof of his valor if he dared fight a duel with him at the boundaries\nof his territory, at Grjottungard. It was very foolish of me, he said,\nthat I left my shield and my flint-stone at home; had I my weapons here,\nyou and I would try a holmgang (duel on a rocky island); but as this is\nnot the case, I declare you a coward if you kill me unarmed. Thor was by\nno means the man to refuse to fight a duel when he was challenged, an\nhonor which never had been shown him before. Then Hrungner went his way,\nand hastened with all his might back to Jotunheim. His journey became\nfamous among the giants, and the proposed meeting with Thor was much\ntalked of. They regarded it very important who should gain the victory,\nand they feared the worst from Thor if Hrungner should be defeated, for\nhe was the strongest among them. Thereupon the giants made at\nGrjottungard a man of clay, who was nine rasts tall and three rasts\nbroad under the arms, but being unable to find a heart large enough to\nbe suitable for him, they took the heart from a mare, but even this\nfluttered and trembled when Thor came. Hrungner had, as is well known,\na heart of stone, sharp and three-sided; just as the rune has since been\nristed that is called Hrungner\u2019s heart. Even his head was of stone. His\nshield was of stone, and was broad and thick, and he was holding this\nshield before him as he stood at Grjottungard waiting for Thor. His\nweapon was a flint-stone, which he swung over his shoulders, and\naltogether he presented a most formidable aspect. On one side of him\nstood the giant of clay, who was named Mokkerkalfe. He was so\nexceedingly terrified, that it is said that he wet himself when he saw\nThor. Thor proceeded to the duel, and Thjalfe was with him. Thjalfe ran\nforward to where Hrungner was standing, and said to him: You stand illy\nguarded, giant; you hold the shield before you, but Thor has seen you;\nhe goes down into the earth and will attack you from below. Then\nHrungner thrust the shield under his feet and stood on it, but the\nflint-stone he seized with both his hands. The next that he saw were\nflashes of lightning, and he heard loud crashings; and then he saw Thor\nin his asa-might advancing with impetuous speed, swinging his hammer and\nhurling it from afar at Hrungner. Hrungner seized the flint-stone with\nboth his hands and threw it against the hammer. They met in the air, and\nthe flint-stone broke. One part fell to the earth, and from it have come\nthe flint-mountains; the other part hit Thor\u2019s head with such force that\nhe fell forward to the ground. But the hammer Mjolner hit Hrungner right\nin the head, and crushed his skull in small pieces. He himself fell\nforward over Thor, so that his foot lay upon Thor\u2019s neck. Meanwhile\nThjalfe attacked Mokkerkalfe, who fell with but little honor. Then\nThjalfe went to Thor and was to take Hrungner\u2019s foot off from him, but\nhe had not the strength to do it. When the asas learned that Thor had\nfallen, they all came to take the giant\u2019s foot off, but none of them was\nable to move it. Then came Magne, the son of Thor and Jarnsaxa. He was\nonly three nights of age. He threw Hrungner\u2019s foot off Thor, and said It\nwas a great mishap, father, that I came so late. I think I could have\nslain this giant with my fist, had I met him. Then Thor arose, greeted\nhis son lovingly, saying that he would become great and powerful; and,\nadded he, I will give you the horse Goldfax, that belonged to Hrungner.\nOdin said that Thor did wrong in giving so fine a horse to the son of a\ngiantess, instead of to his father. Thor went home to Thrudvang, but the\nflint-stone still stuck fast in his head. Then came the vala whose name\nis Groa, the wife of Orvandel the Bold. She sang her magic songs over\nThor until the flint-stone became loose. But when Thor perceived this,\nand was just expecting that the flint-stone would disappear, he desired\nto reward Groa for her healing, and make her heart glad. So he related\nto her how he had waded from the north over the Elivogs rivers, and had\nborne in a basket on his back Orvandel from Jotunheim; and in evidence\nof this he told her how that one toe of his had protruded from the\nbasket and had frozen, wherefore Thor had broken it off and had cast it\nup into the sky, and made of it the star which is called Orvandel\u2019s toe.\nFinally he added that it would not be long before Orvandel would come\nhome. But Groa became so glad that she forgot her magic songs, and so\nthe flint-stone became no looser than it was, and it sticks fast in\nThor\u2019s head yet. For this reason it is forbidden to throw a flint-stone\nacross the floor, for then the stone in Thor\u2019s head is moved. Out of\nthis saga Thjodolf of Hvin has made a song:\n\n  We have ample evidence\n  Of the giant-terrifier\u2019s[77] journey\n  To Grjottungard, to the giant Hrungner,\n  In the midst of encircling flames.\n  The courage waxed high in Meile\u2019s brother;[78]\n  The moon-way trembled\n  When Jord\u2019s son[79] went\n  To the steel-gloved contest.\n\n  The heavens stood all in flames\n  For Uller\u2019s step-father,[80]\n  And the earth rocked.\n  Svolne\u2019s[81] widow[82] burst asunder\n  When the span of goats\n  Drew the sublime chariot\n  And its divine master\n  To the meeting with Hrungner.\n\n  Balder\u2019s brother[83] did not tremble\n  Before the greedy fiend of men;\n  Mountains quaked and rocks broke;\n  The heavens were wrapped in flames.\n  Much did the giant\n  Get frightened, I learn,\n  When his bane man he saw\n  Ready to slay him.\n\n  Swiftly the gray shield flew\n  \u2019Neath the heels of the giant.\n  So the gods willed it,\n  So willed it the valkyries.\n  Hrungner the giant,\n  Eager for slaughter,\n  Needed not long to wait for blows\n  From the valiant friend of the hammer.\n\n  The slayer[84] of Bele\u2019s evil race\n  Made fall the bear of the loud-roaring mountain;[85]\n  On his shield\n  Bite the dust\n  Must the giant\n  Before the sharp-edged hammer,\n  When the giant-crusher\n  Stood against the mighty Hrungner,\n\n  And the flint-stone\n  (So hard to break)\n  Of the friend of the troll-women\n  Into the skull did whiz\n  Of Jord\u2019s son,[86]\n  And this flinty piece\n  Fast did stick\n  In Eindride\u2019s[87] blood;\n\n  Until Orvandel\u2019s wife,\n  Magic songs singing,\n  From the head of Thor\n  Removed the giant\u2019s\n  Excellent flint-stone.\n  All do I know\n  About that shield-journey.\n  A shield adorned\n  With hues most splendid\n  I received from Thorleif.\n\n    [Footnote 77: Thor\u2019s.]\n\n    [Footnote 78: Thor.]\n\n    [Footnote 79: Jord\u2019s (= earth\u2019s) son = Thor.]\n\n    [Footnote 80: Thor.]\n\n    [Footnote 81: Odin\u2019s.]\n\n    [Footnote 82: The earth.]\n\n    [Footnote 83: Thor.]\n\n    [Footnote 84: Thor.]\n\n    [Footnote 85: The giant Hrungner.]\n\n    [Footnote 86: Thor.]\n\n    [Footnote 87: Thor\u2019s.]\n\n\nTHOR\u2019S JOURNEY TO GEIRROD\u2019S.\n\nThen said \u00c6ger: Much of a man, it seems to me, was that Hrungner. Has\nThor accomplished any other great deeds in his intercourse with trolls\n(giants)? Then answered Brage: It is worth giving a full account of how\nThor made a journey to Geirrodsgard. He had with him neither the hammer\nMjolner, nor his belt of strength, Megingjard, nor his steel gloves; and\nthat was Loke\u2019s fault,--he was with him. For it had happened to Loke,\nwhen he once flew out to amuse himself in Frigg\u2019s falcon-guise, that he,\nout of curiosity, flew into Geirrodsgard, where he saw a large hall. He\nsat down and looked in through the window, but Geirrod discovered him,\nand ordered the bird to be caught and brought to him. The servant had\nhard work to climb up the wall of the hall, so high was it. It amused\nLoke that it gave the servant so much trouble to get at him, and he\nthought it would be time enough to fly away when he had gotten over the\nworst. When the latter now caught at him, Loke spread his wings and\nspurned with his feet, but these were fast, and so Loke was caught and\nbrought to the giant. When the latter saw his eyes he suspected that it\nwas a man. He put questions to him and bade him answer, but Loke refused\nto speak. Then Geirrod locked him down in a chest, and starved him for\nthree months; and when Geirrod finally took him up again, and asked him\nto speak, Loke confessed who he was, and to save his life he swore an\noath to Geirrod that he would get Thor to come to Geirrodsgard without\nhis hammer or his belt of strength.\n\nOn his way Thor visited the giantess whose name is Grid. She was the\nmother of Vidar the Silent. She told Thor the truth concerning Geirrod,\nthat he was a dog-wise and dangerous giant; and she lent him her own\nbelt of strength and steel gloves, and her staff, which is called\nGridarvol. Then went Thor to the river which is called Vimer, and which\nis the largest of all rivers. He buckled on the belt of strength and\nstemmed the wild torrent with Gridarvol, but Loke held himself fast in\nMegingjard. When Thor had come into the middle of the stream, the river\nwaxed so greatly that the waves dashed over his shoulders. Then quoth\nThor:\n\n  Wax not Vimer,\n  Since I intend to wade\n  To the gards of giants.\n  Know, if you wax,\n  Then waxes my asa-might\n  As high, as the heavens.\n\nThen Thor looked up and saw in a cleft Gjalp, the daughter of Geirrod,\nstanding on both sides of the stream, and causing its growth. Then took\nhe up out of the river a huge stone and threw at her, saying: At its\nsource the stream must be stemmed.[88] He was not wont to miss his mark.\nAt the same time he reached the river bank and got hold of a shrub, and\nso he got out of the river. Hence comes the adage that _a shrub saved\nThor_.[89] When Thor came to Geirrod, he and his companion were shown to\nthe guest-room, where lodgings were given them, but there was but one\nseat, and on that Thor sat down. Then he became aware that the seat was\nraised under him toward the roof. He put the Gridarvol against the\nrafters, and pressed himself down against the seat. Then was heard a\ngreat crash, which was followed by a loud screaming. Under the seat were\nGeirrod\u2019s daughters, Gjalp and Greip, and he had broken the backs of\nboth of them. Then quoth Thor:\n\n  Once I employed\n  My asa-might\n  In the gards of the giants.\n  When Gjalp and Greip,\n  Geirrod\u2019s daughters,\n  Wanted to lift me to heaven.\n\n    [Footnote 88: Icelandic proverb.]\n\n    [Footnote 89: Icelandic proverb.]\n\nThen Geirrod had Thor invited into the hall to the games. Large fires\nburned along the whole length of the hall. When Thor came into the hall,\nand stood opposite Geirrod, the latter seized with a pair of tongs a\nred-hot iron wedge and threw it at Thor. But he caught it with his steel\ngloves, and lifted it up in the air. Geirrod sprang behind an iron post\nto guard himself. But Thor threw the wedge with so great force that it\nstruck through the post, through Geirrod, through the wall, and then\nwent out and into the ground. From this saga, Eilif, son of Gudrun, made\nthe following song, called Thor\u2019s Drapa:\n\n  The Midgard-serpent\u2019s father exhorted\n  Thor, the victor of giants,\n  To set out from home.\n  A great liar was Loke.\n  Not quite confident,\n  The companion of the war-god\n  Declared green paths to lie\n  To the gard of Geirrod.\n\n  Thor did not long let Loke\n  Invite him to the arduous journey.\n  They were eager to crush\n  Thorn\u2019s descendants.\n  When he, who is wont to swing Megingjard,\n  Once set out from Odin\u2019s home\n  To visit Ymer\u2019s children in Gandvik,\n\n  The giantess Gjalp,\n  Perjured Geirrod\u2019s daughter,\n  Sooner got ready magic to use\n  Than the god of war and Loke.\n  A song I recite.\n  Those gods noxious to the giants\n  Planted their feet\n  In Endil\u2019s land,\n\n  And the men wont to battle\n  Went forth.\n  The message of death\n  Came of the moon-devourer\u2019s women,\n  When the cunning and wrathful\n  Conqueror of Loke\n  Challenged to a contest\n  The giantess.\n\n  And the troll-woman\u2019s disgracer\n  Waded across the roaring stream,--\n  Rolling full of drenched snow over its banks.\n  He who puts giants to flight\n  Rapidly advanced\n  O\u2019er the broad watery way,\n  Where the noisy stream\u2019s\n  Venom belched forth.\n\n  Thor and his companions\n  Put before him the staff;\n  Thereon he rested\n  Whilst over they waded:\n  Nor sleep did the stones,--\n  The sonorous staff striking the rapid wave\n  Made the river-bed ring,--\n  The mountain-torrent rang with stones.\n\n  The wearer of Megingjard\n  Saw the flood fall\n  On his hard-waxed shoulders:\n  He could do no better.\n  The destroyer of troll-children\n  Let his neck-strength\n  Wax heaven high,\n  Till the mighty stream should diminish.\n\n  But the warriors,\n  The oath-bound protectors of Asgard,--\n  The experienced vikings,--\n  Waded fast and the stream sped on.\n  Thou god of the bow!\n  The billows\n  Blown by the mountain-storm\n  Powerfully rushed\n  Over Thor\u2019s shoulders.\n\n  Thjalfe and his companion,\n  With their heads above water,\n  Got over the river,--\n  To Thor\u2019s belt they clung.\n  Their strength was tested,--\n  Geirrod\u2019s daughters made hard the stream\n  For the iron rod.\n  Angry fared Thor with the Gridarvol.\n\n  Nor did courage fail\n  Those foes of the giant\n  In the seething vortex.\n  Those sworn companions\n  Regarded a brave heart\n  Better than gold.\n  Neither Thor\u2019s nor Thjalfe\u2019s heart\n  From fear did tremble.\n\n  And the war companions--\n  Weapons despising--\n  \u2019Mong the giants made havoc,\n  Until, O woman!\n  The giant destroyers\n  The conflict of helmets\n  With the warlike race\n  Did commence.\n\n  The giants of Iva\u2019s[90] capes\n  Made a rush with Geirrod;\n  The foes of the cold Svithiod\n  Took to flight.\n  Geirrod\u2019s giants\n  Had to succumb\n  When the lightning wielder\u2019s[91] kinsmen\n  Closely pursued them.\n\n  Wailing was \u2019mongst the cave-dwellers\n  When the giants,\n  With warlike spirit endowed,\n  Went forward.\n  There was war.\n  The slayer of troll-women,\n  By foes surrounded,\n  The giant\u2019s hard head hit.\n\n  With violent pressure\n  Were pressed the vast eyes\n  Of Gjalp and Greip\n  Against the high roof.\n  The fire-chariot\u2019s driver\n  The old backs broke\n  Of both these maids\n  For the cave-woman.\n\n  The man of the rocky way\n  But scanty knowledge got;\n  Nor able were the giants\n  To enjoy perfect gladness.\n  Thou man of the bow-string!\n  The dwarf\u2019s kinsman\n  An iron beam, in the forge heated,\n  Threw against Odin\u2019s dear son.\n\n  But the battle-hastener,\n  Freyja\u2019s old friend,\n  With swift hands caught\n  In the air the beam\n  As it flew from the hands\n  Of the father of Greip,--\n  His breast with anger swollen\n  Against Thruda\u2019s[92] father.\n\n  Geirrod\u2019s hall trembled\n  When he struck,\n  With his broad head,\n  \u2019Gainst the old column of the house-wall.\n  Uller\u2019s splendid flatterer\n  Swung the iron beam\n  Straight \u2019gainst the head\n  Of the knavish giant.\n\n  The crusher of the hall-wont troll-women\n  A splendid victory won\n  Over Glam\u2019s descendants;\n  With gory hammer fared Thor.\n  Gridarvol-staff,\n  Which made disaster\n  \u2019Mong Geirrod\u2019s companion,\n  Was not used \u2019gainst that giant himself.\n\n  The much worshiped thunderer,\n  With all his might, slew\n  The dwellers in Alfheim\n  With that little willow-twig,\n  And no shield\n  Was able to resist\n  The strong age-diminisher\n  Of the mountain-king.\n\n    [Footnote 90: A river in Jotunheim.]\n\n    [Footnote 91: Thor\u2019s kinsmen = the asas.]\n\n    [Footnote 92: Thruda was a daughter of Thor and Sif.]\n\n\nIDUN.\n\nHow shall Idun be named? She is called the wife of Brage, the keeper of\nthe apples; but the apples are called the medicine to bar old age\n(ellilyf, elixir vit\u00e6). She is also called the booty of the giant\nThjasse, according to what has before been said concerning how he took\nher away from the asas. From this saga Thjodolf, of Hvin, composed the\nfollowing song in his Haustlong:\n\n  How shall the tongue\n  Pay an ample reward\n  For the sonorous shield\n  Which I received from Thorleif,\n  Foremost \u2019mong soldiers?\n  On the splendidly made shield\n  I see the unsafe journey\n  Of three gods and Thjasse.\n\n  Idun\u2019s robber flew long ago\n  The asas to meet\n  In the giant\u2019s old eagle-guise.\n  The eagle perched\n  Where the asas bore\n  Their food to be cooked.\n  Ye women! The mountain-giant\n  Was not wont to be timid.\n\n  Suspected of malice\n  Was the giant toward the gods.\n  Who causes this?\n  Said the chief of the gods.\n  The wise-worded giant-eagle\n  From the old tree began to speak.\n  The friend of Honer\n  Was not friendly to him.\n\n  The mountain-wolf from Honer\n  Asked for his fill\n  From the holy table:\n  It fell to Honer to blow the fire.\n  The giant, eager to kill,\n  Glided down\n  Where the unsuspecting gods,\n  Odin, Loke and Honer, were sitting.\n\n  The fair lord of the earth\n  Bade Farbaute\u2019s son\n  Quickly to share\n  The ox with the giant;\n  But the cunning foe of the asas\n  Thereupon laid\n  The four parts of the ox\n  Upon the broad table.\n\n  And the huge father of Morn[93]\n  Afterward greedily ate\n  The ox at the tree-root.\n  That was long ago,\n  Until the profound\n  Loke the hard rod laid\n  \u2019Twixt the shoulders\n  Of the giant Thjasse.\n\n  Then clung with his hands\n  The husband of Sigyn\n  To Skade\u2019s foster-son,\n  In the presence of all the gods.\n  The pole stuck fast\n  To Jotunheim\u2019s strong fascinator,\n  But the hands of Honer\u2019s dear friend\n  Stuck to the other end.\n\n  Flew then with the wise god\n  The voracious bird of prey\n  Far away; so the wolf\u2019s father\n  To pieces must be torn.\n  Odin\u2019s friend got exhausted.\n  Heavy grew Lopt.\n  Odin\u2019s companion\n  Must sue for peace.\n\n  Hymer\u2019s kinsman demanded\n  That the leader of hosts\n  The sorrow-healing maid,\n  Who the asas\u2019 youth-preserving apples keeps,\n  Should bring to him.\n  Brisingamen\u2019s thief\n  Afterward brought Idun\n  To the gard of the giant.\n\n  Sorry were not the giants\n  After this had taken place,\n  Since from the south\n  Idun had come to the giants.\n  All the race\n  Of Yngve-Frey, at the Thing,\n  Grew old and gray,--\n  Ugly-looking were the gods.\n\n  Until the gods found the blood-dog,\n  Idun\u2019s decoying thrall,\n  And bound the maid\u2019s deceiver,\n  You shall, cunning Loke,\n  Spake Thor, die;\n  Unless back you lead,\n  With your tricks, that\n  Good joy-increasing maid.\n\n  Heard have I that thereupon\n  The friend of Honer flew\n  In the guise of a falcon\n  (He often deceived the asas with his cunning);\n  And the strong fraudulent giant,\n  The father of Morn,\n  With the wings of the eagle\n  Sped after the hawk\u2019s child.\n\n  The holy gods soon built a fire--\n  They shaved off kindlings--\n  And the giant was scorched.\n  This is said in memory\n  Of the dwarf\u2019s heel-bridge.[94]\n  A shield adorned with splendid lines\n  From Thorleif I received.\n\n    [Footnote 93: A troll-woman.]\n\n    [Footnote 94: Shield.]\n\n\n\u00c6GER\u2019S FEAST.\n\nHow shall gold be named? It may be called fire; the needles of Glaser;\nSif\u2019s hair; Fulla\u2019s head-gear; Freyja\u2019s tears; the chatter, talk or word\nof the giants; Draupner\u2019s drop; Draupner\u2019s rain or shower; Freyja\u2019s\neyes; the otter-ransom, or stroke-ransom, of the asas; the seed of\nFyrisvold; Holge\u2019s how-roof; the fire of all waters and of the hand;\nor the stone, rock or gleam of the hand.\n\nWhy is gold called \u00c6ger\u2019s fire? The saga relating to this is, as has\nbefore been told, that \u00c6ger made a visit to Asgard, but when he was\nready to return home he invited Odin and all the asas to come and pay\nhim a visit after the lapse of three months. On this journey went Odin,\nNjord, Frey, Tyr, Brage, Vidar, Loke; and also the asynjes, Frigg,\nFreyja, Gefjun, Skade, Idun, Sif. Thor was not there, for he had gone\neastward to fight trolls. When the gods had taken their seats, \u00c6ger let\nhis servants bring in on the hall floor bright gold, which shone and\nlighted up the whole hall like fire, just as the swords in Valhal are\nused instead of fire. Then Loke bandied hasty words with all the gods,\nand slew \u00c6ger\u2019s thrall who was called Fimafeng. The name of his other\nthrall is Elder. The name of \u00c6ger\u2019s wife is Ran, and they have nine\ndaughters, as has before been written. At this feast all things passed\naround spontaneously, both food and ale and all the utensils needed for\nthe feasting. Then the asas became aware that Ran had a net in which she\ncaught all men who perish at sea. Then the saga goes on telling how it\nhappens that gold is called the fire, or light or brightness of \u00c6ger, of\nRan, or of \u00c6ger\u2019s daughters; and from these periphrases it is allowed to\ncall gold the fire of the sea, or of any of the periphrases of the sea,\nsince \u00c6ger and Ran are found in periphrases of the sea; and thus gold is\nnow called the fire of waters, of rivers, or of all the periphrases of\nrivers. But these names have fared like other periphrases. The younger\nskald has composed poetry after the pattern of the old skalds, imitating\ntheir songs; but afterward they have expanded the metaphors whenever\nthey thought they could improve upon what was sung before; and thus the\nwater is the sea, the river is the lakes, the brook is the river. Hence\nall the figures that are expanded more than what has before been found\nare called new tropes, and all seem good that contain likelihood and are\nnatural. Thus sang the skald Brage:\n\n  From the king I received\n  The fire of the brook.\n  This the king gave to me\n  And a head with song.\n\nWhy is gold called the needles or leaves of Glaser? In Asgard, before\nthe doors of Valhal, stands a grove which is called Glaser, and all its\nleaves are of red gold, as is here sung:\n\n  Glaser stands\n  With golden leaves\n  Before Sigtyr\u2019s halls.\n\nThis is the fairest forest among gods and men.\n\n\nLOKE\u2019S WAGER WITH THE DWARFS.\n\nWhy is gold called Sif\u2019s hair? Loke Laufey\u2019s son had once craftily cut\nall the hair off Sif; but when Thor found it out he seized Loke, and\nwould have broken every bone in him, had he not pledged himself with an\noath to get the swarthy elves to make for Sif a hair of gold that should\ngrow like other hair. Then went Loke to the dwarfs that are called\nIvald\u2019s sons, and they made the hair and Skidbladner, and the spear that\nOdin owned and is called Gungner. Thereupon Loke wagered his head with\nthe dwarf, who hight Brok, that his brother Sindre would not be able to\nmake three other treasures equally as good as these were. But when they\ncame to the smithy, Sindre laid a pig-skin in the furnace and requested\nBrok to blow the bellows, and not to stop blowing before he (Sindre) had\ntaken out of the furnace what he had put into it. As soon, however, as\nSindre had gone out of the smithy and Brok was blowing, a fly lighted on\nhis hand and stung him; but he kept on blowing as before until the smith\nhad taken the work out of the furnace. That was now a boar, and its\nbristles were of gold. Thereupon he laid gold in the furnace, and\nrequested Brok to blow, and not to stop plying the bellows before he\ncame back. He went out; but then came the fly and lighted on his neck\nand stung him still worse; but he continued to work the bellows until\nthe smith took out of the furnace the gold ring called Draupner. Then\nSindre placed iron in the furnace, and requested Brok to work the\nbellows, adding that otherwise all would be worthless. Now the fly\nlighted between his eyes and stung his eye-lids, and as the blood ran\ndown into his eyes so that he could not see, he let go of the bellows\njust for a moment and drove the fly away with his hands. Then the smith\ncame back and said that all that lay in the furnace came near being\nentirely spoiled. Thereupon he took a hammer out of the furnace. All\nthese treasures he then placed in the hands of his brother Brok, and\nbade him go with Loke to Asgard to fetch the wager. When Loke and Brok\nbrought forth the treasures, the gods seated themselves upon their\ndoom-steads. It was agreed to abide by the decision which should be\npronounced by Odin, Thor and Frey. Loke gave to Odin the spear Gungner,\nto Thor the hair, which Sif was to have, and to Frey, Skidbladner; and\nhe described the qualities of all these treasures, stating that the\nspear never would miss its mark, that the hair would grow as soon as it\nwas placed on Sif s head, and that Skidbladner would always have fair\nwind as soon as the sails were hoisted, no matter where its owner\ndesired to go; besides, the ship could be folded together like a napkin\nand be carried in his pocket if he desired. Then Brok produced his\ntreasures. He gave to Odin the ring, saying that every ninth night eight\nother rings as heavy as it would drop from it; to Frey he gave the boar,\nstating that it would run through the air and over seas, by night or by\nday, faster than any horse; and never could it become so dark in the\nnight, or in the worlds of darkness, but that it would be light where\nthis boar was present, so bright shone his bristles. Then he gave to\nThor the hammer, and said that he might strike with it as hard as he\npleased; no matter what was before him, the hammer would take no scathe,\nand wherever he might throw it he would never lose it; it would never\nfly so far that it did not return to his hand; and if he desired, it\nwould become so small that he might conceal it in his bosom; but it had\none fault, which was, that the handle was rather short. The decision of\nthe gods was, that the hammer was the best of all these treasures and\nthe greatest protection against the frost-giants, and they declared that\nthe dwarf had fairly won the wager. Then Loke offered to ransom his\nhead. The dwarf answered saying there was no hope for him on that score.\nTake me, then! said Loke; but when the dwarf was to seize him Loke was\nfar away, for he had the shoes with which he could run through the air\nand over the sea. Then the dwarf requested Thor to seize him, and he did\nso. Now the dwarf wanted to cut the head off Loke, but Loke said that\nthe head was his, but not the neck. Then the dwarf took thread and a\nknife and wanted to pierce holes in Loke\u2019s lips, so as to sew his mouth\ntogether, but the knife would not cut. Then said he, it would be better\nif he had his brother\u2019s awl, and as soon as he named it the awl was\nthere and it pierced Loke\u2019s lips. Now Brok sewed Loke\u2019s mouth together,\nand broke off the thread at the end of the sewing. The thread with which\nthe mouth of Loke was sewed together is called Vartare (a strap).\n\n\nTHE NIFLUNGS AND GJUKUNGS.\n\nThe following is the reason why gold is called otter-ransom: It is\nrelated that three asas went abroad to learn to know the whole world,\nOdin, Honer and Loke. They came to a river, and walked along the\nriver-bank to a force, and near the force was an otter. The otter had\ncaught a salmon in the force, and sat eating it with his eyes closed.\nLoke picked up a stone, threw it at the otter and hit him in the head.\nLoke bragged of his chase, for he had secured an otter and a salmon with\none throw. They took the salmon and the otter with them, and came to a\nbyre, where they entered. But the name of the bonde who lived there was\nHreidmar. He was a mighty man, and thoroughly skilled in the black art.\nThe asas asked for night-lodgings, stating that they had plenty of food,\nand showed the bonde their game. But when Hreidmar saw the otter he\ncalled his sons, Fafner and Regin, and said that Otter, their brother,\nwas slain, and also told who had done it. Then the father and the sons\nattacked the asas, seized them and bound them, and then said, in\nreference to the otter, that he was Hreidmar\u2019s son. The asas offered,\nas a ransom for their lives, as much money as Hreidmar himself might\ndemand, and this was agreed to, and confirmed with an oath. Then the\notter was flayed. Hreidmar took the otter-belg and said to them that\nthey should fill the belg with red gold, and then cover it with the same\nmetal, and when this was done they should be set free. Thereupon Odin\nsent Loke to the home of the swarthy elves, and he came to the dwarf\nwhose name is Andvare, and who lived as a fish, in the water. Loke\ncaught him in his hands, and demanded of him, as a ransom for his life,\nall the gold that he had in his rock. And when they entered the rock,\nthe dwarf produced all the gold that he owned, and that was a very large\namount. Then the dwarf concealed in his hand a small gold ring. Loke saw\nthis, and requested him to hand forth the ring. The dwarf begged him not\nto take the ring away from him, for with this ring he could increase his\nwealth again if he kept it. Loke said the dwarf should not keep as much\nas a penny, took the ring from him and went out. But the dwarf said that\nthat ring should be the bane of every one who possessed it. Loke replied\nthat he was glad of this, and said that all should be fulfilled\naccording to his prophecy: he would take care to bring the curse to the\nears of him who was to receive it. He went to Hreidmar and showed Odin\nthe gold; but when the latter saw the ring, it seemed to him a fair one,\nand he took it and put it aside, giving Hreidmar the rest of the gold.\nThey filled the otter-belg as full as it would hold, and raised it up\nwhen it was full. Then came Odin, and was to cover the belg with gold;\nand when this was done, he requested Hreidmar to come and see whether\nthe belg was sufficiently covered. But Hreidmar looked at it, examined\nit closely, and saw a mouth-hair, and demanded that it should be\ncovered, too, otherwise the agreement would be broken. Then Odin brought\nforth the ring and covered with it the mouth-hair, saying that now they\nhad paid the otter-ransom. But when Odin had taken his spear, and Loke\nhis shoes, so that they had nothing more to fear, Loke said that the\ncurse that Andvare had pronounced should be fulfilled, and that the ring\nand that gold should be the bane of its possessor; and this curse was\nafterward fulfilled. This explains why gold is called the otter-ransom,\nor forced payment of the asas, or strife-metal.\n\nWhat more is there to be told of this gold? Hreidmar accepted the gold\nas a ransom for his son, but Fafner and Regin demanded their share of it\nas a ransom for their brother. Hreidmar was, however, unwilling to give\nthem as much as a penny of it. Then the brothers made an agreement to\nkill their father for the sake of the gold. When this was done, Regin\ndemanded that Fafner should give him one half of it. Fafner answered\nthat there was but little hope that he would share the gold with his\nbrother, since he had himself slain his father to obtain it; and he\ncommanded Regin to get him gone, for else the same thing would happen to\nhim as had happened to Hreidmar. Fafner had taken the sword hight\nHrotte, and the helmet which had belonged to his father, and the latter\nhe had placed on his head. This was called the \u00c6ger\u2019s helmet, and it was\na terror to all living to behold it. Regin had the sword called Refil.\nWith it he fled. But Fafner went to Gnita-heath (the glittering heath),\nwhere he made himself a bed, took on him the likeness of a serpent\n(dragon), and lay brooding over the gold.\n\nRegin then went to Thjode, to king Hjalprek, and became his smith. There\nhe undertook the fostering of Sigurd (Sigfrid), the son of Sigmund, the\nson of Volsung and the son of Hjordis, the daughter of Eylime. Sigurd\nwas the mightiest of all the kings of hosts, in respect to both family\nand power and mind. Regin explained to him where Fafner was lying on the\ngold, and egged him on to try to get possession thereof. Then Regin made\nthe sword which is hight Gram (wrath), and which was so sharp that when\nSigurd held it in the flowing stream it cut asunder a tuft of wool which\nthe current carried down against the sword\u2019s edge. In the next place,\nSigurd cut with his sword Regin\u2019s anvil in twain. Thereupon Sigurd and\nRegin repaired to Gnita-heath. Here Sigurd dug a ditch in Fafner\u2019s path\nand sat down in it; so when Fafner crept to the water and came directly\nover this ditch, Sigurd pierced him with the sword, and this thrust\ncaused his death. Then Regin came and declared that Sigurd had slain his\nbrother, and demanded of him as a ransom that he should cut out Fafner\u2019s\nheart and roast it on the fire; but Regin kneeled down, drank Fafner\u2019s\nblood, and laid himself down to sleep. While Sigurd was roasting the\nheart, and thought that it must be done, he touched it with his finger\nto see how tender it was; but the fat oozed out of the heart and onto\nhis finger and burnt it, so that he thrust his finger into his mouth.\nThe heart-blood came in contact with his tongue, which made him\ncomprehend the speech of birds, and he understood what the eagles said\nthat were sitting in the trees. One of the birds said:\n\n  There sits Sigurd,\n  Stained with blood.\n  On the fire is roasting\n  Fafner\u2019s heart.\n  Wise seemed to me\n  The ring-destroyer,\n  If he the shining\n  Heart would eat.\n\nAnother eagle sang:\n\n  There lies Regin,\n  Contemplating\n  How to deceive the man\n  Who trusts him;\n  Thinks in his wrath\n  Of false accusations.\n  The evil smith plots\n  Revenge \u2019gainst the brother.[95]\n\n    [Footnote 95: Elder Edda: the Lay of Fafner, 32, 33.]\n\nThen Sigurd went to Regin and slew him, and thereupon he mounted his\nhorse hight Grane, and rode until he came to Fafner\u2019s bed, took out all\nthe gold, packed it in two bags and laid it on Grane\u2019s back, then got on\nhimself and rode away. Now is told the saga according to which gold is\ncalled Fafner\u2019s bed or lair, the metal of Gnita-heath, or Grane\u2019s\nburden.\n\nThen Sigurd rode on until he found a house on the mountain. In it slept\na woman clad in helmet and coat-of-mail. He drew his sword and cut the\ncoat-of-mail off from her. Then she awaked and called herself Hild. Her\nname was Brynhild, and she was a valkyrie. Thence Sigurd rode on and\ncame to the king whose name was Gjuke. His wife was called Grimhild, and\ntheir children were Gunnar, Hogne, Gudrun, Gudny; Gothorm was Gjuke\u2019s\nstep-son. Here Sigurd remained a long time. Then he got the hand of\nGudrun, Gjuke\u2019s daughter, and Gunnar and Hogne entered into a sworn\nbrotherhood with Sigurd. Afterward Sigurd and the sons of Gjuke went to\nAtle, Budle\u2019s son, to ask for his sister, Brynhild, for Gunnar\u2019s wife.\nShe sat on Hindfell, and her hall was surrounded by the bickering flame\ncalled the Vafurloge, and she had made a solemn promise not to wed any\nother man than him who dared to ride through the bickering flame. Then\nSigurd and the Gjukungs (they are also called Niflungs) rode upon the\nmountain, and there Gunnar was to ride through the Vafurloge. He had the\nhorse that was called Gote, but this horse did not dare to run into the\nflame. So Sigurd and Gunnar changed form and weapons, for Grane would\nnot take a step under any other man than Sigurd. Then Sigurd mounted\nGrane and rode through the bickering flame. That same evening he held a\nwedding with Brynhild; but when they went to bed he drew his sword Gram\nfrom the sheath and placed it between them. In the morning when he had\narisen, and had donned his clothes, he gave to Brynhild, as a bridal\ngift, the gold ring that Loke had taken from Andvare, and he received\nanother ring as a memento from her. Then Sigurd mounted his horse and\nrode to his companions. He and Gunnar exchanged forms again and went\nback to Gjuke with Brynhild. Sigurd had two children with Gudrun. Their\nnames were Sigmund and Swanhild.\n\nOnce it happened that Brynhild and Gudrun went to the water to wash\ntheir hair. When they came to the river Brynhild waded from the river\nbank into the stream, and said that she could not bear to have that\nwater in her hair that ran from Gudrun\u2019s hair, for she had a more\nhigh-minded husband. Then Gudrun followed her into the stream, and said\nthat she was entitled to wash her hair farther up the stream than\nBrynhild, for the reason that she had the husband who was bolder than\nGunnar, or any other man in the world; for it was he who slew Fafner and\nRegin, and inherited the wealth of both. Then answered Brynhild: A\ngreater deed it was that Gunnar rode through the Vafurloge, which Sigurd\ndid not dare to do. Then laughed Gudrun and said: Do you think it was\nGunnar who rode through the bickering flame? Then I think you shared the\nbed with him who gave me this gold ring. The gold ring which you have on\nyour finger, and which you received as a bridal-gift, is called\nAndvaranaut (Andvare\u2019s Gift), and I do not think Gunnar got it on\nGnita-heath. Then Brynhild became silent and went home. Thereupon she\negged Gunnar and Hogne to kill Sigurd; but being sworn brothers of\nSigurd, they egged Guthorm, their brother, to slay Sigurd. Guthorm\npierced him with his sword while he was sleeping; but as soon as Sigurd\nwas wounded he threw his sword, Gram, after Guthorm, so that it cut him\nin twain through the middle. There Sigurd fell, and his son, three\nwinters old, by name Sigmund, whom they also killed. Then Brynhild\npierced herself with the sword and was cremated with Sigurd. But Gunnar\nand Hogne inherited Fafner\u2019s gold and the Gift of Andvare, and now ruled\nthe lands.\n\nKing Atle, Budle\u2019s son, Brynhild\u2019s brother, then got in marriage Gudrun,\nwho had been Sigurd\u2019s wife, and they had children. King Atle invited\nGunnar and Hogne to visit him, and they accepted his invitation. But\nbefore they started on their journey they concealed Fafner\u2019s hoard in\nthe Rhine, and that gold has never since been found. King Atle had\ngathered together an army and fought a battle with Gunnar and Hogne, and\nthey were captured. Atle had the heart cut out of Hogne alive. This was\nhis death. Gunnar he threw into a den of snakes, but a harp was secretly\nbrought to him, and he played the harp with his toes (for his hands were\nfettered), so that all the snakes fell asleep excepting the adder, which\nrushed at him and bit him in the breast, and then thrust its head into\nthe wound and clung to his liver until he died. Gunnar and Hogne are\ncalled Niflungs (Niblungs) and Gjukungs. Hence gold is called the\nNiflung treasure or inheritance. A little later Gudrun slew her two sons\nand made from their skulls goblets trimmed with gold, and thereupon the\nfuneral ceremonies took place. At the feast, Gudrun poured for King Atle\nin these goblets mead that was mixed with the blood of the youths. Their\nhearts she roasted and gave to the king to eat. When this was done she\ntold him all about it, with many unkind words. There was no lack of\nstrong mead, so that the most of the people sitting there fell asleep.\nOn that night she went to the king when he had fallen asleep, and had\nwith her her son Hogne. They slew him, and thus he ended his life. Then\nthey set fire to the hall, and with it all the people who were in it\nwere burned. Then she went to the sea and sprang into the water to drown\nherself; but she was carried across the fjord, and came to the land\nwhich belonged to King Jonaker. When he saw her he took her home and\nmade her his wife. They had three children, whose names were Sorle,\nHamder and Erp. They all had hair as black as ravens, like Gunnar and\nHogne and the other Niflungs.\n\nThere was fostered Swanhild, the daughter of Sigurd, and she was the\nfairest of all women. That Jormunrek, the rich, found out. He sent his\nson, Randver, to ask for her hand for him; and when he came to Jonaker,\nSwanhild was delivered to him, so that he might bring her to King\nJormunrek. Then said Bikke that it would be more fitting that Randver\nshould marry Swanhild, he being young and she too, but Jormunrek being\nold. This plan pleased the two young people well. Soon afterward Bikke\ninformed the king of it, and so King Jormunrek seized his son and had\nhim brought to the gallows. Then Randver took his hawk, plucked the\nfeathers off him, and requested that it should be sent to his father,\nwhereupon he was hanged. But when King Jormunrek saw the hawk, it came\nto his mind that as the hawk was flightless and featherless, so his\nkingdom was without preservation; for he was old and sonless. Then King\nJormunrek riding out of the woods from the chase with his courtiers,\nwhile Queen Swanhild sat dressing her hair, had the courtiers ride onto\nher, and she was trampled to death beneath the feet of the horses. When\nGudrun heard of this, she begged her sons to avenge Swanhild. While they\nwere busking themselves for the journey, she brought them byrnies and\nhelmets, so strong that iron could not scathe them. She laid the plan\nfor them, that when they came to King Jormunrek, they should attack him\nin the night whilst he was sleeping. Sorle and Hamder should cut off his\nhands and feet, and Erp his head. On the way they asked Erp what\nassistance they were to get from him, when they came to King Jormunrek.\nHe answered them that he would give them such assistance as the hand\ngives the foot. They said that the feet got no support from the hands\nwhatsoever. They were angry at their mother, because she had forced them\nto undertake this journey with harsh words, and hence they were going to\ndo that which would displease her most. So they killed Erp, for she\nloved him the most. A little later, while Sorle was walking, he slipped\nwith one foot, and in falling supported himself with his hands. Then\nsaid he: Now the hands helped the foot; better were it now if Erp were\nliving. When they came to Jormunrek, the king, in the night, while he\nwas sleeping, they cut off both his hands and his feet. Then he awaked,\ncalled his men and bade them arise. Said Hamder then: The head would now\nhave been off had Erp lived. The courtiers got up, attacked them, but\ncould not overcome them with weapons. Then Jormunrek cried to them that\nthey should stone them to death. This was done, Sorle and Hamder fell,\nand thus perished the last descendants of Gjuke.\n\nAfter King Sigurd lived a daughter hight Aslaug, who was fostered at\nHeimer\u2019s in Hlymdaler. From her mighty races are descended. It is said\nthat Sigmund, the son of Volsung, was so powerful, that he drank venom\nand received no harm therefrom. But Sinfjotle, his son, and Sigurd, were\nso hard-skinned that no venom coming onto them could harm them.\nTherefore the skald Brage has sung as follows:\n\n  When the tortuous serpent,\n  Full of the drink of the Volsungs,[96]\n  Hung in coils\n  On the bait of the giant-slayer,[97]\n\nUpon these sagas very many skalds have made lays, and from them they\nhave taken various themes. Brage the Old made the following song about\nthe fall of Sorle and Hamder in the drapa, which he composed about\nRagnar Lodbrok:\n\n  Jormunrek once,\n  In an evil dream, waked\n  In that sword-contest\n  Against the blood-stained kings.\n  A clashing of arms was heard\n  In the house of Randver\u2019s father,\n  When the raven-blue brothers of Erp\n  The insult avenged.\n\n  Sword-dew flowed\n  Off the bed on the floor.\n  Bloody hands and feet of the king\n  One saw cut off.\n  On his head fell Jormunrek,\n  Frothing in blood.\n  On the shield\n  This is painted.\n\n  The king saw\n  Men so stand\n  That a ring they made\n  \u2019Round his house.\n  Sorle and Hamder\n  Were both at once,\n  With slippery stones,\n  Struck to the ground.\n\n  King Jormunrek\n  Ordered Gjuke\u2019s descendants\n  Violently to be stoned\n  When they came to take the life\n  Of Swanhild\u2019s husband.\n  All sought to pay\n  Jonaker\u2019s sons\n  With blows and wounds.\n\n  This fall of men\n  And sagas many\n  On the fair shield I see.\n  Ragnar gave me the shield.\n\n    [Footnote 96: The drink of the Volsungs = venom; the tortuous\n    venom-serpent = the Midgard-serpent.]\n\n    [Footnote 97: Thor.]\n\n\nMENJA AND FENJA.\n\nWhy is gold called Frode\u2019s meal? The saga giving rise to this is the\nfollowing:\n\nOdin had a son by name Skjold, from whom the Skjoldungs are descended.\nHe had his throne and ruled in the lands that are now called Denmark,\nbut were then called Gotland. Skjold had a son by name Fridleif, who\nruled the lands after him. Fridleif\u2019s son was Frode. He took the kingdom\nafter his father, at the time when the Emperor Augustus established\npeace in all the earth and Christ was born. But Frode being the\nmightiest king in the northlands, this peace was attributed to him by\nall who spake the Danish tongue, and the Norsemen called it the peace of\nFrode. No man injured the other, even though he might meet, loose or in\nchains, his father\u2019s or brother\u2019s bane. There was no thief or robber,\nso that a gold ring would be a long time on Jalanger\u2019s heath. King Frode\nsent messengers to Svithjod, to the king whose name was Fjolner, and\nbought there two maid-servants, whose names were Fenja and Menja. They\nwere large and strong. About this time were found in Denmark two\nmill-stones, so large that no one had the strength to turn them. But the\nnature belonged to these mill-stones that they ground whatever was\ndemanded of them by the miller. The name of this mill was Grotte. But\nthe man to whom King Frode gave the mill was called Hengekjapt. King\nFrode had the maid-servants led to the mill, and requested them to grind\nfor him gold and peace, and Frode\u2019s happiness. Then he gave them no\nlonger time to rest or sleep than while the cuckoo was silent or while\nthey sang a song. It is said that they sang the song called the\nGrottesong, and before they ended it they ground out a host against\nFrode; so that on the same night there came the sea-king, whose name was\nMysing, and slew Frode and took a large amount of booty. Therewith the\nFrode-peace ended. Mysing took with him Grotte, and also Fenja and\nMenja, and bade them grind salt, and in the middle of the night they\nasked Mysing whether he did not have salt enough. He bade them grind\nmore. They ground only a short time longer before the ship sank. But in\nthe ocean arose a whirlpool (Maelstrom, mill-stream) in the place where\nthe sea runs into the mill-eye. Thus the sea became salt.\n\n\nTHE GROTTESONG.\n\n  Now are come\n  To the house of the king\n  The prescient two,\n  Fenja and Menja.\n  There must the mighty\n  Maidens toil\n  For King Frode,\n  Fridleif\u2019s son.\n\n  Brought to the mill\n  Soon they were;\n  The gray stones\n  They had to turn.\n  Nor rest nor peace\n  He gave to them:\n  He would hear the maidens\n  Turn the mill.\n\n  They turned the mill,\n  The prattling stones\n  The mill ever rattling.\n  What a noise it made!\n  Lay the planks!\n  Lift the stones![98]\n  But he[99] bade the maids\n  Yet more to grind.\n\n  They sang and swung\n  The swift mill-stone,\n  So that Frode\u2019s folk\n  Fell asleep.\n  Then, when she came\n  To the mill to grind,\n  With a hard heart\n  And with loud voice\n  Did Menja sing:\n\n  We grind for Frode\n  Wealth and happiness,\n  And gold abundant\n  On the mill of luck.\n  Dance on roses!\n  Sleep on down!\n  Wake when you please!\n  That is well ground.\n\n  Here shall no one\n  Hurt the other,\n  Nor in ambush lie,\n  Nor seek to kill;\n  Nor shall any one\n  With sharp sword hew,\n  Though bound he should find\n  His brother\u2019s bane.\n\n  They stood in the hall,\n  Their hands were resting;\n  Then was it the first\n  Word that he spoke:\n  Sleep not longer\n  Than the cuckoo on the hall,\n  Or only while\n  A song I sing:\n\n  Frode! you were not\n  Wary enough,--\n  You friend of men,--\n  When maids you bought!\n  At their strength you looked,\n  And at their fair faces,\n  But you asked no questions\n  About their descent.\n\n  Hard was Hrungner\n  And his father;\n  Yet was Thjasse\n  Stronger than they,\n  And Ide and Orner,\n  Our friends, and\n  The mountain-giants\u2019 brothers,\n  Who fostered us two.\n\n  Not would Grotte have come\n  From the mountain gray,\n  Nor this hard stone\n  Out from the earth;\n  The maids of the mountain-giants\n  Would not thus be grinding\n  If we two knew\n  Nothing of the mill.\n\n  Through winters nine\n  Our strength increased,\n  While below the sod\n  We played together.\n  Great deeds were the maids\n  Able to perform;\n  Mountains they\n  From their places moved.\n\n  The stone we rolled\n  From the giants\u2019 dwelling,\n  So that all the earth\n  Did rock and quake.\n  So we hurled\n  The rattling stone,\n  The heavy block,\n  That men caught it.\n\n  In Svithjod\u2019s land\n  Afterward we\n  Fire-wise women,\n  Fared to the battle,\n  Byrnies we burst,\n  Shields we cleaved,\n  Made our way\n  Through gray-clad hosts.\n\n  One chief we slew,\n  Another we aided,--\n  To Guthorm the Good\n  Help we gave.\n  Ere Knue had fallen\n  Nor rest we got.\n  Then bound we were\n  And taken prisoners.\n\n  Such were our deeds\n  In former days,\n  That we heroes brave\n  Were thought to be.\n  With spears sharp\n  Heroes we pierced,\n  So the gore did run\n  And our swords grew red.\n\n  Now we are come\n  To the house of the king,\n  No one us pities.\n  Bond-women are we.\n  Dirt eats our feet,\n  Our limbs are cold,\n  The peace-giver[100] we turn.\n  Hard it is at Frode\u2019s.\n\n  The hands shall stop,\n  The stone shall stand;\n  Now have I ground\n  For my part enough.\n  Yet to the hands\n  No rest must be given,\n  \u2019Till Frode thinks\n  Enough has been ground.\n\n  Now hold shall the hands\n  The lances hard,\n  The weapons bloody,--\n  Wake now, Frode!\n  Wake now, Frode!\n  If you would listen\n  To our songs,--\n  To sayings old.\n\n  Fire I see burn\n  East of the burg,--\n  The warnews are awake.\n  That is called warning.\n  A host hither\n  Hastily approaches\n  To burn the king\u2019s\n  Lofty dwelling.\n\n  No longer you will sit\n  On the throne of Hleidra\n  And rule o\u2019er red\n  Rings and the mill.\n  Now must we grind\n  With all our might,\n  No warmth will we get\n  From the blood of the slain.\n\n  Now my father\u2019s daughter\n  Bravely turns the mill.\n  The death of many\n  Men she sees.\n  Now broke the large\n  Braces \u2019neath the mill,--\n  The iron-bound braces.\n  Let us yet grind!\n\n  Let us yet grind!\n  Yrsa\u2019s son\n  Shall on Frode revenge\n  Halfdan\u2019s death.\n  He shall Yrsa\u2019s\n  Offspring be named,\n  And yet Yrsa\u2019s brother.\n  Both of us know it.\n\n  The mill turned the maidens,--\n  Their might they tested;\n  Young they were,\n  And giantesses wild.\n  The braces trembled.\n  Then fell the mill,--\n  In twain was broken\n  The heavy stone.\n\n  All the old world\n  Shook and trembled,\n  But the giant\u2019s maid\n  Speedily said:\n  We have turned the mill, Frode!\n  Now we may stop.\n  By the mill long enough\n  The maidens have stood.\n\n    [Footnote 98: These words are spoken by the maidens while they put\n    the mill together.]\n\n    [Footnote 99: Frode.]\n\n    [Footnote 100: The mill.]\n\n\nROLF KRAKE.\n\nA king in Denmark hight Rolf Krake, and was the most famous of all kings\nof olden times; moreover, he was more mild, brave and condescending than\nall other men. A proof of his condescension, which is very often spoken\nof in olden stories, was the following: There was a poor little fellow\nby name Vog. He once came into King Rolf\u2019s hall while the king was yet a\nyoung man, and of rather delicate growth. Then Vog went before him and\nlooked up at him. Then said the king: What do you mean to say, my\nfellow, by looking so at me? Answered Vog: When I was at home I heard\npeople say that King Rolf, at Hleidra, was the greatest man in the\nnorthlands, but now sits here in the high-seat a little crow (krake),\nand it they call their king. Then made answer the king: You, my fellow,\nhave given me a name, and I shall henceforth be called Rolf Krake, but\nit is customary that a gift accompanies the name. Seeing that you have\nno gift that you can give me with the name, or that would be suitable to\nme, then he who has must give to the other. Then he took a gold ring off\nhis hand and gave it to the churl. Then said Vog: You give as the best\nking of all, and therefore I now pledge myself to become the bane of him\nwho becomes your bane. Said the king, laughing: A small thing makes Vog\nhappy.\n\nAnother example is told of Rolf Krake\u2019s bravery. In Upsala reigned a\nking by name Adils, whose wife was Yrsa, Rolf Krake\u2019s mother. He was\nengaged in a war with Norway\u2019s king, Ale. They fought a battle on the\nice of the lake called Wenern. King Adils sent a message to Rolf Krake,\nhis stepson, asking him to come and help him, and promising to furnish\npay for his whole army during the campaign. Furthermore King Rolf\nhimself should have any three treasures that he might choose in Sweden.\nBut Rolf Krake could not go to his assistance, on account of the war\nwhich he was then waging against the Saxons. Still he sent twelve\nberserks to King Adils. Among them were Bodvar Bjarke, Hjalte the\nValiant, Hvitserk the Keen, Vot, Vidsete, and the brothers Svipday and\nBeigud. In that war fell King Ale and a large part of his army. Then\nKing Adils took from the dead King Ale the helmet called Hildesvin, and\nhis horse called Rafn. Then the berserks each demanded three pounds of\ngold in pay for their service, and also asked for the treasures which\nthey had chosen for Rolf Krake, and which they now desired to bring to\nhim. These were the helmet Hildegolt; the byrnie Finnsleif, which no\nsteel could scathe; and the gold ring called Sviagris, which had\nbelonged to Adils\u2019 forefathers. But the king refused to surrender any of\nthese treasures, nor did he give the berserks any pay. The berserks then\nreturned home, and were much dissatisfied. They reported all to King\nRolf, who straightway busked himself to fare against Upsala; and when he\ncame with his ships into the river Fyre, he rode against Upsala, and\nwith him his twelve berserks, all peaceless. Yrsa, his mother, received\nhim and took him to his lodgings, but not to the king\u2019s hall. Large\nfires were kindled for them, and ale was brought them to drink. Then\ncame King Adils\u2019 men in and bore fuel onto the fireplace, and made a\nfire so great that it burnt the clothes of Rolf and his berserks,\nsaying: Is it true that neither fire nor steel will put Rolf Krake and\nhis berserks to flight? Then Rolf Krake and all his men sprang up, and\nhe said:\n\n  Let us increase the blaze\n  In Adils\u2019 chambers.\n\nHe took his shield and cast it into the fire, and sprang over the fire\nwhile the shield was burning, and cried:\n\n  From the fire flees not he\n  Who over it leaps.\n\nThe same did also his men, one after the other, and then they took those\nwho had put fuel on the fire and cast them into it. Now Yrsa came and\nhanded Rolf Krake a deer\u2019s horn full of gold, and with it she gave him\nthe ring Sviagris, and requested them to ride straightway to their army.\nThey sprang upon their horses and rode away over the Fyrisvold. Then\nthey saw that King Adils was riding after them with his whole army, all\narmed, and was going to slay them. Rolf Krake took gold out of the horn\nwith his right hand, and scattered it over the whole way. But when the\nSwedes saw it they leaped out of their saddles, and each one took as\nmuch as he could. King Adils bade them ride, and he himself rode on with\nall his might. The name of his horse was Slungner, the fastest of all\nhorses. When Rolf Krake saw that King Adils was riding near him, he took\nthe ring Sviagris and threw it to him, asking him to take it as a gift.\nKing Adils rode to the ring, picked it up with the end of his spear, and\nlet it slide down to his hand. Then Rolf Krake turned round and saw that\nthe other was stooping. Said he: Like a swine I have now bended the\nforemost of all Swedes. Thus they parted. Hence gold is called the seed\nof Krake or of Fyrisvold.\n\n\nHOGNE AND HILD.\n\nA king by name Hogne had a daughter by name Hild. Her a king, by name\nHedin, son of Hjarrande, made a prisoner of war, while King Hogne had\nfared to the trysting of the kings. But when he learned that there had\nbeen harrying in his kingdom, and that his daughter had been taken away,\nhe rode with his army in search of Hedin, and learned that he had sailed\nnorthward along the coast. When King Hogne came to Norway, he found out\nthat Hedin had sailed westward into the sea. Then Hogne sailed after him\nto the Orkneys. And when he came to the island called Ha, then Hedin was\nthere before him with his host. Then Hild went to meet her father, and\noffered him as a reconciliation from Hedin a necklace; but if he was not\nwilling to accept this, she said that Hedin was prepared for a battle,\nand Hogne might expect no clemency from him. Hogne answered his daughter\nharshly. When she returned to Hedin, she told him that Hogne would not\nbe reconciled, and bade him busk himself for the battle. And so both\nparties did; they landed on the island and marshaled their hosts. Then\nHedin called to Hogne, his father-in-law, offering him a reconciliation\nand much gold as a ransom. Hogne answered: Too late do you offer to make\npeace with me, for now I have drawn the sword Dainsleif, which was\nsmithied by the dwarfs, and must be the death of a man whenever it is\ndrawn; its blows never miss the mark, and the wounds made by it never\nheal. Said Hedin: You boast the sword, but not the victory. That I call\na good sword that is always faithful to its master. Then they began the\nbattle which is called the Hjadninga-vig (the slaying of the\nHedin_ians_); they fought the whole day, and in the evening the kings\nfared back to their ships. But in the night Hild went to the\nbattlefield, and waked up with sorcery all the dead that had fallen. The\nnext day the kings went to the battlefield and fought, and so did also\nall they who had fallen the day before. Thus the battle continued from\nday to day; and all they who fell, and all the swords that lay on the\nfield of battle, and all the shields, became stone. But as soon as day\ndawned all the dead arose again and fought, and all the weapons became\nnew again, and in songs it is said that the Hjadnings will so continue\nuntil Ragnarok.\n\n\n\n\nNOTES.\n\n\nENEA.\n\nThe Enea mentioned in the Foreword to Gylfe\u2019s Fooling refers to the\nsettlement of western Europe, where \u00c6neas is said to have founded a city\non the Tiber. Bergmann, however, in his Fascination de Gulfi, page 28,\nrefers it to the Thracian town Ainos.\n\n\nHERIKON.\n\nHerikon is undoubtedly a mutilated form for Erichthonios. The genealogy\nhere given corresponds with the one given in the Iliad, Book 20, 215.\n\n\nTHE HISTORICAL ODIN.\n\nThe historical or anthropomorphized Odin, described in the Foreword to\nthe Fooling of Gylfe, becomes interesting when we compare it with\nSnorre\u2019s account of that hero in Heimskringla, and then compare both\naccounts with the Roman traditions about \u00c6neas. Of course the whole\nstory is only a myth; but we should remember that in the minds and\nhearts of our ancestors it served every purpose of genuine history. Our\nfathers accepted it in as good faith as any Christian ever believed in\nthe gospel of Christ, and so it had a similar influence in moulding the\nsocial, religious, political and literary life of our ancestors. We\nbecome interested in this legend as much as if it were genuine history,\non account of the influence it wielded upon the minds and hearts of a\nrace destined to act so great a part in the social, religious and\npolitical drama of Europe. We look into this and other ancestral myths,\nand see mirrored in them all that we afterward find to be reliable\nhistory of the old Teutons. In the same manner we are interested in the\nstory told about Romulus and Remus, about Mars and the wolf. This Roman\nmyth is equally prophetic in reference to the future career of Rome. The\nwarlike Mars, the rapacity of the wolf, and the fratricide Romulus, form\na mirror in which we see reflected the whole historical development of\nthe Romans; so that the story of Romulus is a vest-pocket edition of the\nhistory of Rome.\n\nThere are many points of resemblance between this old story of Odin and\nthe account that Virgil gives us of \u00c6neas, the founder of the Latin\nrace; and it is believed that, while Virgil imitated Homer, he based his\npoem upon a legend current among his countrymen. The Greeks in Virgil\u2019s\npoem are Pompey and the Romans in our Teutonic story. The Trojans\ncorrespond to Mithridates and his allies. \u00c6neas and Odin are identical.\nJust as Odin, a heroic defender of Mithridates, after traversing various\nunknown countries, finally reaches the north of Europe, organizes the\nvarious Teutonic kingdoms, settles his sons upon the thrones of Germany,\nEngland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway, and instructs his people to gather\nstrength and courage, so as eventually to take revenge on the cursed\nRomans; so \u00c6neas, one of the most valiant defenders of Troy, after many\nadventures in various lands, at length settles in Italy, and becomes the\nfounder of a race that in course of time is to wreak vengeance upon the\nGreeks. The prophecy contained in the Roman legend was fulfilled by\nMetellus and Mummius, in the years 147 and 146 before Christ, when the\nRomans became the conquerors of Greece. The prophecy contained in our\nTeutonic legend foreshadowed with no less unrelenting necessity the\ndownfall of proud Rome, when the Teutonic commander Odoacer, in the year\n476 after Christ, dethroned, not Romulus, brother of Remus, but Romulus\nAugustulus, son of Orestes. Thus history repeats itself. Roman history\nbegins and ends with Romulus; and we fancy we can see some connection\nbetween Od-in and Od-oacer. \u201cAs the twig is bent the tree is inclined.\u201d\n\nIt might be interesting to institute a similar comparison between our\nTeutonic race-founder Odin and Ulysses, king of Ithaca, but the reader\nwill have to do this for himself.\n\nIn one respect our heroes differ. The fall of Troy and the wanderings of\nUlysses became the theme of two great epic poems among the Greeks. The\nwanderings and adventures of \u00c6neas, son of Anchises, were fashioned into\na lordly epic by Virgil for the Romans. But the much-traveled man, the\n\u1f00\u03bd\u1f74\u03c1 \u03c0\u03bf\u03bb\u03cd\u03c4\u03c1\u03bf\u03c0\u03bf\u03c2, the weapons and the hero, Odin, who, driven by the\nnorns, first came to Teutondom and to the Baltic shores, has not yet\nbeen sung. This wonderful expedition of our race-founder, which, by\ngiving a historic cause to all the later hostilities and conflicts\nbetween the Teutons and the Romans, might, as suggested by Gibbon,\nsupply the noble ground-work of an epic poem as thrilling as the \u00c6neid\nof Virgil, has not yet been woven into a song for our race, and we give\nour readers this full account of Odin from the Heimskringla in\nconnection with the Foreword to Gylfe\u2019s Fooling, with the hope that\namong our readers there may be found some descendant of Odin, whose\nskaldic wings are but just fledged for the flights he hopes to take,\nwho will take a draught, first from Mimer\u2019s gushing fountain, then from\nSuttung\u2019s mead, brought by Odin to Asgard, and consecrate himself and\nhis talents to this legend with all the ardor of his soul. For, as\nWilliam Morris so beautifully says of the Volsung Saga, this is the\ngreat story of the Teutonic race, and should be to us what the tale of\nTroy was to the Greeks, and what the tale of \u00c6neas was to the Romans,\nto all our race first and afterward, when the evolution of the world has\nmade the Teutonic race nothing more than a name of what it has been; a\nstory, too, then, should it be to the races that come after us, no less\nthan the Iliad, and the Odyssey and the \u00c6neid have been to us.[101] We\nsincerely trust that we shall see Odin wrought into a Teutonic epic,\nthat will present in grand outline the contrast between the Roman and\nthe Teuton. And now we are prepared to give the Heimskringla account of\nthe historical Odin. We have adopted Samuel Laing\u2019s translation, with a\nfew verbal alterations where such seemed necessary.\n\n    [Footnote 101: Quoted from memory.]\n\nIt is said that the earth\u2019s circle (Heimskringla), which the human race\ninhabits, is torn across into many bights, so that great seas run into\nthe land from the out-ocean. Thus it is known that a great sea goes into\nNjorvasound,[102] and up to the land of Jerusalem. From the same sea a\nlong sea-bight stretches toward the northeast, and is called the Black\nSea, and divides the three parts of the earth; of which the eastern part\nis called Asia, and the western is called by some Europe, by some\nEnea.[103] Northward of the Black Sea lies Svithjod the Great,[104] or\nthe Cold. The Great Svithjod is reckoned by some not less than the\nSaracens\u2019 land,[105] others compare it to the Great Blueland.[106] The\nnorthern part of Svithjod lies uninhabited on account of frost and cold,\nas likewise the southern parts of Blueland are waste from the burning\nsun. In Svithjod are many great domains, and many wonderful races of\nmen, and many kinds of languages. There are giants,[107] and there are\ndwarfs,[108] and there are also blue men.[109] There are wild beasts and\ndreadfully large dragons. On the north side of the mountains, which lie\noutside of all inhabited lands, runs a river through Svithjod, which is\nproperly called by the name of Tanais,[110] but was formerly called\nTanaquisl or Vanaquisl, and which falls into the ocean at the Black Sea.\nThe country of the people on the Vanaquisl was called Vanaland or\nVanaheim, and the river separates the three parts of the world, of which\nthe easternmost is called Asia and the westernmost Europe.\n\n    [Footnote 102: Njorvasound, the Straits of Gibraltar; so called\n    from the first Norseman who sailed through them. His name was\n    Njorve. See Ann. for nordisk Oldkyndighed, Vol. I, p. 58.]\n\n    [Footnote 103: See note, page 221.]\n\n      [Transcriber\u2019s Note:\n      The reference is to the first \u201cNote\u201d, on Enea.]\n\n    [Footnote 104: Svithjod the Great, or the Cold, is the ancient\n    Sarmatia and Scythia Magna, and formed the great part of the\n    present European Russia. In the mythological sagas it is also\n    called Godheim; that is, the home of Odin and the other gods.\n    Svithjod the Less is Sweden proper, and is called Mannheim; that\n    is, the home of the kings, the descendants of the gods.]\n\n    [Footnote 105: The Saracens\u2019 land (Serkland) means North Africa\n    and Spain, and the Saracen countries in Asia; that is, Persia,\n    Assyria, etc.]\n\n    [Footnote 106: Blueland, the country of the blacks in Africa, the\n    country south of Serkland, the modern Ethiopia.]\n\n    [Footnote 107: Tartareans.]\n\n    [Footnote 108: Kalmuks.]\n\n    [Footnote 109: Mongolians.]\n\n    [Footnote 110: The Tanais is the present Don river, which empties\n    into the Sea of Asov.]\n\nThe country east of the Tanaquisl in Asia was called Asaland or Asaheim,\nand the chief city in that land was called Asgard.[111] In that city was\na chief called Odin, and it was a great place for sacrifice. It was the\ncustom there that twelve temple-priests[112] should both direct the\nsacrifices and also judge the people. They were called priests or\nmasters, and all the people served and obeyed them. Odin was a great and\nvery far-traveled warrior, who conquered many kingdoms, and so\nsuccessful was he that in every battle the victory was on his side.\nIt was the belief of his people that victory belonged to him in every\nbattle. It was his custom when he sent his men into battle, or on any\nexpedition, that he first laid his hand upon their heads, and called\ndown a blessing upon them; and then they believed their undertaking\nwould be successful. His people also were accustomed, whenever they fell\ninto danger by land or sea, to call upon his name; and they thought that\nalways they got comfort and aid by it, for where he was they thought\nhelp was near. Often he went away so long that he passed many seasons on\nhis journeys.\n\n    [Footnote 111: Asgard is supposed, by those who look for\n    historical fact in mythological tales, to be the present Assor;\n    others, that it is Chasgar in the Caucasian ridge, called by\n    Strabo Aspargum the Asburg, or castle of the asas. We still have\n    in the Norse tongue the word Aas, meaning a ridge of high land.\n    The word asas is not derived from Asia, as Snorre supposed. It is\n    the O.H. Ger. _ans_; Anglo-Sax. _os_ = a hero. The word also\n    means a pillar; and in this latter sense the gods are the pillars\n    of the universe. Connected with the word is undoubtedly Aas, a\n    mountain-ridge, as supporter of the skies; and this reminds us of\n    _Atlas_, as bearer of the world.]\n\n    [Footnote 112: The temple-priests performed the functions of\n    priest and judge, and their office continued hereditary throughout\n    the heathen period of Norse history.]\n\nOdin had two brothers, the one hight Ve, the other Vile,[113] and they\ngoverned the kingdom when he was absent. It happened once when Odin had\ngone to a great distance, and had been so long away that the people of\nAsia doubted if he would ever return home, that his two brothers took it\nupon themselves to divide his estate; but both of them took his wife\nFrigg to themselves. Odin soon after returned home, and took his wife\nback.\n\n    [Footnote 113: See Norse Mythology, page 174.]\n\nOdin went out with a great army against the Vanaland people; but they\nwere well prepared, and defended their land, so that victory was\nchangeable, and they ravaged the lands of each other and did great\ndamage. They tired of this at last, and, on both sides appointing a\nmeeting for establishing peace, made a truce and exchanged hostages. The\nVanaland people sent their best men,--Njord the Rich and his son Frey;\nthe people of Asaland sent a man hight H\u0153ner,[114] as he was a stout and\nvery handsome man, and with him they sent a man of great understanding,\ncalled Mimer; and on the other side the Vanaland people sent the wisest\nman in their community, who was called Quaser. Now when H\u0153ner came to\nVanaheim he was immediately made a chief, and Mimer came to him with\ngood counsel on all occasions. But when H\u0153ner stood in the Things, or\nother meetings, if Mimer was not near him, and any difficult matter was\nlaid before him, he always answered in one way: Now let others give\ntheir advice; so that the Vanaland people got a suspicion that the\nAsaland people had deceived them in the exchange of men. They took\nMimer, therefore, and beheaded him, and sent his head to the Asaland\npeople. Odin took the head, smeared it with herbs, so that it should not\nrot, and sang incantations over it. Thereby he gave it the power that it\nspoke to him, and discovered to him many secrets.[115] Odin placed Njord\nand Frey as priests of the sacrifices, and they became deities of the\nAsaland people. Njord\u2019s daughter, Freyja, was priestess of the\nsacrifices, and first taught the Asaland people the magic art, as it was\nin use and fashion among the Vanaland people. While Njord was with the\nVanaland people he had taken his own sister in marriage, for that was\nallowed by their law; and their children were Frey and Freyja. But among\nthe Asaland people it was forbidden to come together in so near\nrelationship.[116]\n\n    [Footnote 114: See Brage\u2019s Talk, p. 160; and Norse Mythology,\n    pp. 247 and 342.]\n\n    [Footnote 115: In the Vala\u2019s Prophecy of the Elder Edda it is\n    said that Odin talks with the head of Mimer before the coming of\n    Ragnarok. See Norse Mythology, p. 421.]\n\n    [Footnote 116: This shows that the vans must have belonged to the\n    mythological system of some older race that, like the ancient\n    Romans (Liber and Libera), recognized the propriety of marriage\n    between brothers and sisters, at least among their gods. Such\n    marriages were not allowed among our Odinic ancestors. Hence we\n    see that when Njord, Frey and Freyja were admitted to Asgard, they\n    entered into new marriage relations. Njord married Skade, Frey\n    married Gerd, and Freyja married Oder. Our ancestors were never\n    savages!]\n\nThere goes a great mountain barrier from northeast to southwest, which\ndivides the Great Svithjod from other kingdoms. South of this mountain\nridge is not far to Turkland, where Odin had great possessions.[117] But\nOdin, having foreknowledge and magic-sight, knew that his posterity\nwould come to settle and dwell in the northern half of the world. In\nthose times the Roman chiefs went wide around the world, subduing to\nthemselves all people; and on this account many chiefs fled from their\ndomains.[118] Odin set his brothers Vile and Ve over Asgard, and he\nhimself, with all the gods and a great many other people, wandered out,\nfirst westward to Gardarike (Russia), and then south to Saxland\n(Germany). He had many sons, and after having subdued an extensive\nkingdom in Saxland he set his sons to defend the country. He himself\nwent northward to the sea, and took up his abode in an island which is\ncalled Odinse (see note below), in Funen. Then he sent Gefjun across the\nsound to the north to discover new countries, and she came to King\nGylfe, who gave her a ploughland. Then she went to Jotunheim and bore\nfour sons to a giant, and transformed them into a yoke of oxen, and\nyoked them to a plough and broke out the land into the ocean, right\nopposite to Odinse, which was called Seeland, where she afterward\nsettled and dwelt.[119] Skjold, a son of Odin, married her, and they\ndwelt at Leidre.[120] Where the ploughed land was, is a lake or sea\ncalled Laage.[121] In the Swedish land the fjords of Laage correspond to\nthe nesses of Seeland. Brage the old sings thus of it:\n\n  Gefjun glad\n  Drew from Gylfe\n  The excellent land,\n  Denmark\u2019s increase,\n  So that it reeked\n  From the running beasts.\n  Four heads and eight eyes\n  Bore the oxen,\n  As they went before the wide\n  Robbed land of the grassy isle.[122]\n\n    [Footnote 117: Turkland was usually supposed to mean Moldau and\n    Wallachia. Some, who regard the great mountain barrier as being\n    the Ural Mountains, think Turkland is Turkistan in Asia. Asia\n    Minor is also frequently styled Turkland.]\n\n    [Footnote 118: Ancient Norse writers connect this event with\n    Mithridates and Pompey the Great. They tell how Odin was a heroic\n    prince who, with his twelve peers or apostles, dwelt in the Black\n    Sea region. He became straightened for room, and so led the asas\n    out of Asia into eastern Europe. Then they go on to tell how the\n    Roman empire had arrived at its highest point of power, and saw\n    all the then known world--the orbis terrarum--subject to its laws,\n    when an unforeseen event raised up enemies against it from the\n    very heart of the forests of Scythia, and on the banks of the Don\n    river. The leader was Mithridates the Great, against whom the\n    Romans waged three wars, and the Romans looked upon him as the\n    most formidable enemy the empire had ever had to contend with.\n    Cicero delivered his famous oration, Pro lege Manilia, and\n    succeeded in getting Pompey appointed commander of the third war\n    against Mithridates. The latter, by flying, had drawn Pompey after\n    him into the wilds of Scythia. Here the king of Pontus sought\n    refuge and new means of vengeance. He hoped to arm against the\n    ambition of Rome all his neighboring nations whose liberties she\n    threatened. He was successful at first, but all those Scythian\n    peoples, ill-united as allies, ill-armed as soldiers, and still\n    worse disciplined, were at length forced to yield to the genius of\n    the great general Pompey. And here traditions tell us that Odin\n    and the other asas were among the allies of Mithridates. Odin had\n    been one of the gallant defenders of Troy, and at the same time,\n    with \u00c6neas and Anchises, he had taken flight out of the burning\n    and falling city. Now he was obliged to withdraw a second time by\n    flight, but this time it was not from the Greeks, but from the\n    Romans, whom he had offended by assisting Mithridates. He was now\n    compelled to go and seek, in lands unknown to his enemies, that\n    safety which he could no longer find in the Scythian forests. He\n    then proceeded to the north of Europe, and laid the foundations of\n    the Teutonic nations. As fast as he subdued the countries in the\n    west and north of Europe he gave them to one or another of his\n    sons to govern. Thus it comes to pass that so many sovereign\n    families throughout Teutondom are said to be descended from Odin.\n    Hengist and Horsa, the chiefs of those Saxons who conquered\n    Britain in the fifth century, counted Odin in the number of their\n    ancestors. The traditions go on to tell how he conquered Denmark,\n    founded Odinse (Odinsve = Odin\u2019s Sanctuary; comp. _ve_ with the\n    German _Wei_ in _Weinacht_), and gave the kingdom to his son\n    Skjold (shield); how he conquered Sweden, founded the Sigtuna\n    temple, and gave the country to his son Yngve; how finally Norway\n    had to submit to him, and be ruled by a third son of Odin, Saming.\n\n    It has been seriously contended,--and it would form an important\n    element in an epic based on the historical Odin,--that a desire of\n    being revenged on the Romans was one of the ruling principles of\n    Odin\u2019s whole conduct. Driven by those foes of universal liberty\n    from his former home in the east, his resentment was the more\n    violent, since the Teutons thought it a sacred duty to revenge all\n    injuries, especially those offered to kinsmen or country. Odin had\n    no other view in traversing so many distant lands, and in\n    establishing with so much zeal his doctrines of valor, than to\n    arouse all Teutonic nations, and unite them against so formidable\n    and odious a race as the Romans. And we, who live in the light of\n    the nineteenth century, and with the records before us, can read\n    the history of the convulsions of Europe during the decline of the\n    Roman empire; we can understand how that leaven, which Odin left\n    in the bosoms of the believers in the asa-faith, first fermented a\n    long time in secret; but we can also see how in the fullness of\n    time, the signal given, the descendants of Odin fell like a swarm\n    of locusts upon this unhappy empire, and, after giving it many\n    terrible shocks, eventually overturned it, thus completely\n    avenging the insult offered so many centuries before by Pompey to\n    their founder Odin. We can understand how it became possible for\n    \u201cthose vast multitudes, which the populous north poured from her\n    frozen loins, to pass the Rhine and the Danube, and come like a\n    deluge on the south, and spread beneath Gibraltar and the Libyan\n    sands;\u201d how it were possible, we say, for them so largely to\n    remodel and invigorate a considerable part of Europe, nay, how\n    they could succeed in overrunning and overturning \u201cthe rich but\n    rotten, the mighty but marrowless, the disciplined but diseased,\n    Roman empire; that gigantic and heartless and merciless usurpation\n    of soulless materialism and abject superstition of universal\n    despotism, of systemized and relentless plunder, and of depravity\n    deep as hell.\u201d In connection with this subject we would refer our\n    readers to Mallet\u2019s Northern Antiquities, pp. 79-83, where\n    substantially the same account is given; to Norse Mythology, pp.\n    232-236; to George Stephen\u2019s Runic Monuments, Vol. I; and to\n    Charles Kingsley\u2019s The Roman and the Teuton.]\n\n    [Footnote 119: Compare this version of the myth with the one given\n    in the first chapter of The Fooling of Gylfe. Many explain the\n    myth to mean the breaking through of the Baltic between Sweden and\n    Denmark.]\n\n    [Footnote 120: Leidre or Leire, at the end of Isefjord, in the\n    county of Lithraborg, is considered the oldest royal seat in\n    Denmark.]\n\n    [Footnote 121: Laage is a general name for lakes and rivers. It\n    here stands for Lake Malar, in Sweden.]\n\n    [Footnote 122: The grassy isle is Seeland.]\n\nNow when Odin heard that things were in a prosperous condition in the\nland to the east beside Gylfe, he went thither, and Gylfe made a peace\nwith him, for Gylfe thought he had no strength to oppose the people of\nAsaland. Odin and Gylfe had many tricks and enchantments against each\nother; but the Asaland people had always the superiority. Odin took up\nhis residence at the Malar lake, at the place now called Sigtun.[123]\nThere he erected a large temple, where there were sacrifices according\nto the customs of the Asaland people. He appropriated to himself the\nwhole of that district of country, and called it Sigtun. To the temple\ngods he gave also domains. Njord dwelt in Noatun, Frey in Upsal, Heimdal\nin Himinbjorg, Thor in Thrudvang, Balder in Breidablik;[124] to all of\nthem he gave good domains.\n\n    [Footnote 123: Sigtun. _Sige_, Ger. Sieg, (comp. Sigfrid,) means\n    victory, and is one of Odin\u2019s names; _tun_ means an inclosure, and\n    is the same word as our modern English _town_. Thus Sigtun would,\n    in modern English, be called Odinstown; like our Johnstown,\n    Williamstown, etc.]\n\n    [Footnote 124: Noatun, Thrudvang, Breidablik and Himinbjorg are\n    purely mythological names, and for their significance the reader\n    is referred to The Fooling of Gylfe. Snorre follows the lay of\n    Grimner in the Elder Edda.]\n\nWhen Odin of Asaland came to the north, and the gods with him, he began\nto exercise and to teach others the arts which the people long afterward\nhave practiced. Odin was the cleverest of all, and from him all others\nlearned their magic arts; and he knew them first, and knew many more\nthan other people. But now, to tell why he is held in such high respect,\nwe must mention various causes that contributed to it. When sitting\namong his friends his countenance was so beautiful and friendly, that\nthe spirits of all were exhilarated by it; but when he was in war, he\nappeared fierce and dreadful. This arose from his being able to change\nhis color and form in any way he liked. Another cause was, that he\nconversed so cleverly and smoothly, that all who heard were persuaded.\nHe spoke everything in rhyme, such as is now composed, and which we call\nskald-craft. He and his temple gods were called song-smiths, for from\nthem came that art of song into the northern countries. Odin could make\nhis enemies in battle blind or deaf, or terror-struck, and their weapons\nso blunt that they could no more cut than a willow-twig; on the other\nhand, his men rushed forward without armor, were as mad as dogs or\nwolves, bit their shields, and were strong as bears or wild bulls, and\nkilled people at a blow, and neither fire nor iron told upon them. These\nwere called berserks.[125]\n\n    [Footnote 125: Berserk. The etymology of this word has been much\n    contested. Some, upon the authority of Snorre in the above quoted\n    passage, derive it from berr (_bare_) and serkr (comp. _sark_,\n    Scotch for shirt); but this etymology is inadmissible, because\n    serkr is a substantive, not an adjective. Others derive it from\n    berr (Germ. _B\u00e4r_ = _ursus_), which is greatly to be preferred,\n    for in olden ages athletes and champions used to wear hides of\n    bears, wolves and reindeer (as skins of lions in the south), hence\n    the names Bjalfe, Bjarnhedinn, Ulfhedinn (hedinn, _pellis_),--\n    \u201cpellibus aut parvis rhenonum tegimentis utuntur.\u201d C\u00e6sar, Bell.\n    Gall. VI, 22. Even the old poets understood the name so, as may be\n    seen in the poem of Hornklofi (beginning of the 10th century),\n    a dialogue between a valkyrie and a raven, where the valkyrie says\n    at berserkja rei\u00f0u vil ek \u00feik spyrja, to which the raven replies,\n    Ulfhednar heita, _they are called wolf coats_. In battle the\n    berserks were subject to fits of frenzy, called _berserksgangr_\n    (_furor bersercicus_), when they howled like wild beasts, foamed at\n    the mouth, and gnawed the iron rim of their shields. During these\n    fits they were, according to a popular belief, proof against steel\n    and fire, and made great havoc in the ranks of the enemy. But when\n    the fever abated they were weak and tame. Vigfusson Cleasby\u2019s\n    Icelandic-English Dictionary, _sub voce_.]\n\nOdin could transform his shape; his body would lie as if dead or asleep,\nbut then he would be in the shape of a fish, or worm, or bird, or beast,\nand be off in a twinkling to distant lands upon his own or other\npeoples\u2019 business. With words alone he could quench fire, still the\nocean in tempest, and turn the wind to any quarter he pleased. Odin had\na ship, which he called Skidbladner,[126] in which he sailed over wide\nseas, and which he could roll up like a cloth. Odin carried with him\nMimer\u2019s head, which told him all the news of other countries. Sometimes\neven he called the dead out of the earth, or set himself beside the\nburial-mounds; whence he was called the ghost-sovereign, and the lord of\nthe mounds. He had two ravens,[127] to whom he had taught the speech of\nman; and they flew far and wide through the land, and brought him the\nnews. In all such things he was pre\u00ebminently wise. He taught all these\narts in runes and songs, which are called incantations, and therefore\nthe Asaland people are called incantation-smiths. Odin also understood\nthe art in which the greatest power is lodged, and which he himself\npracticed, namely, what is called magic. By means of this he could know\nbeforehand the predestined fate[128] of men, or their not yet completed\nlot, and also bring on the death, ill-luck or bad health of people, or\ntake away the strength or wit from one person and give it to another.\nBut after such witchcraft followed such weakness and anxiety, that it\nwas not thought respectable for men to practice it; and therefore the\npriestesses were brought up in this art. Odin knew definitely where all\nmissing cattle were concealed under the earth, and understood the songs\nby which the earth, the hills, the stones and mounds were opened to him;\nand he bound those who dwell in them by the power of his word, and went\nin and took what he pleased. From these arts he became very celebrated.\nHis enemies dreaded him; his friends put their trust in him, and relied\non his power and on himself. He taught the most of his arts to his\npriests of the sacrifices, and they came nearest to himself in all\nwisdom and witch-knowledge. Many others, however, occupied themselves\nmuch with it; and from that time witchcraft spread far and wide, and\ncontinued long. People sacrificed to Odin, and the twelve chiefs of\nAsaland,--called them their gods, and believed in them long after. From\nOdin\u2019s name came the name Audun, which people gave to his sons; and from\nThor\u2019s name came Thorer, also Thorarinn; and it was also sometimes\naugmented by other additions, as Steinthor, Hafthor, and many kinds of\nalterations.\n\n    [Footnote 126: In the mythology this ship belongs to Frey, having\n    been made for him by the dwarfs.]\n\n    [Footnote 127: Hugin and Munin.]\n\n    [Footnote 128: The old Norse word is \u00f3rl\u00f6g, which is plural, (from\n    \u00f6r = Ger. _ur_, and l\u00f6g, _laws_,) and means the primal law, fate,\n    weird, doom; the Greek \u03bc\u03bf\u1fd6\u03c1\u03b1. The idea of predestination was a\n    salient feature in the Odinic religion. The word \u00f6rlog, O.H.G.\n    _urlac_, M.H.G. _urlone_, Dutch _orlog_, had special reference to\n    a man\u2019s fate in war. Hence Orlogschiffe in German means a naval\n    fleet. The Danish orlog means warfare at sea.]\n\nOdin established the same law in his land that had been before in\nAsaland. Thus he established by law that all dead men should be burned,\nand their property laid with them upon the pile, and the ashes be cast\ninto the sea or buried in the earth. Thus, said he, everyone will come\nto Valhal with the riches he had with him upon the pile; and he would\nalso enjoy whatever he himself had buried in the earth. For men of\nconsequence a mound should be raised to their memory, and for all other\nwarriors who had been distinguished for manhood, a standing stone; which\ncustom remained long after Odin\u2019s time. Toward winter there should be a\nblood-sacrifice for a good year, and in the middle of winter for a good\ncrop; and the third sacrifice should be in summer, for victory in\nbattle. Over all Svithjod[129] the people paid Odin a scatt, or tax,--so\nmuch on each head; but he had to defend the country from enemy or\ndisturbance, and pay the expense of the sacrifice-feasts toward winter\nfor a good year.\n\n    [Footnote 129: Svithjod, which here means Sweden, is derived from\n    Odin\u2019s name, Svidr and thjod = folk, people. Svithjod thus means\n    Odin\u2019s people, and the country takes its name from the people.]\n\nNjord took a wife hight Skade; but she would not live with him, but\nmarried afterward Odin, and had many sons by him, of whom one was called\nSaming, and of this Eyvind Skaldespiller sings thus:\n\n  To Asason[130] Queen Skade bore\n  Saming, who dyed his shield in gore,--\n  The giant queen of rock and snow\n  Who loves to dwell on earth below,\n  The iron pine-tree\u2019s daughter she,\n  Sprung from the rocks that rib the sea,\n  To Odin bore full many a son,--\n  Heroes of many a battle won.\n\n    [Footnote 130: Odin.]\n\nTo Saming Jarl Hakon the Great reckoned up his pedigree.[131] This\nSvithjod (Sweden) they call Mannheim, but the great Svithjod they call\nGodheim, and of Godheim great wonders and novelties were related.\n\n    [Footnote 131: Norway was given to Saming by Odin.]\n\nOdin died in his bed in Sweden; and when he was near his death he made\nhimself be marked with the point of a spear,[132] and said he was going\nto Godheim, and would give a welcome there to all his friends, and all\nbrave warriors should be dedicated to him; and the Swedes believed that\nhe was gone to the ancient Asgard, and would live there eternally. Then\nbegan the belief in Odin, and the calling upon him. The Swedes believed\nthat he often showed himself to them before any great battle. To some he\ngave victory, others he invited to himself; and they reckoned both of\nthese to be well off in their fate. Odin was burnt, and at his pile\nthere was great splendor. It was their faith that the higher the smoke\narose in the air, the higher would he be raised whose pile it was; and\nthe richer he would be the more property that was consumed with him.\n\n    [Footnote 132: He gave himself nine wounds in the form of the head\n    of a spear, or Thor\u2019s hammer; that is, he marked himself with the\n    sign of the _cross_, an ancient heathen custom.]\n\nNjord of Noatun was then the sole sovereign of the Swedes; and he\ncontinued the sacrifices, and was called the drot, or sovereign, by the\nSwedes, and he received scatt and gifts from them. In his days were\npeace and plenty, and such good years in all respects that the Swedes\nbelieved Njord ruled over the growth of seasons and the prosperity of\nthe people. In his time all the diars, or gods, died, and\nblood-sacrifices were made for them. Njord died on a bed of sickness,\nand before he died made himself be marked for Odin with the spear-point.\nThe Swedes burned him, and all wept over his grave-mound.\n\nFrey took the kingdom after Njord, and was called drot by the Swedes,\nand they paid taxes to him. He was like his father, fortunate in friends\nand in good seasons. Frey built a great temple at Upsala, made it his\nchief seat, and gave it all his taxes, his land and goods. Then began\nthe Upsala domains, which have remained ever since. Then began in his\nday the Frode-peace; and then there were good seasons in all the land,\nwhich the Swedes ascribed to Frey, so that he was more worshiped than\nthe other gods, as the people became much richer in his days by reason\nof the peace and good seasons. His wife was called Gerd, daughter of\nGymer, and their son was called Fjolner. Frey was called by another\nname, Yngve; and this name Yngve was considered long after in his race\nas a name of honor, so that his descendants have since been called\nYnglings (_i.e._ Yngve-lings). Frey fell into a sickness, and as his\nillness took the upper hand, his men took the plan of letting few\napproach him. In the meantime they raised a great mound, in which they\nplaced a door with three holes in it. Now when Frey died they bore him\nsecretly into the mound, but told the Swedes he was alive, and they kept\nwatch over him for three years. They brought all the taxes into the\nmound, and through the one hole they put in the gold, through the other\nthe silver, and through the third the copper money that was paid. Peace\nand good seasons continued.\n\nFreyja alone remained of the gods, and she became on this account so\ncelebrated that all women of distinction were called by her name, whence\nthey now have the title Frue (Germ. _Frau_), so that every woman is\ncalled frue (that is, mistress) over her property, and the wife is\ncalled the house-frue. Freyja continued the blood-sacrifices. Freyja had\nalso many other names. Her husband was called Oder, and her daughters\nHnos and Gersame. They were so very beautiful that afterward the most\nprecious jewels were called by their names.\n\nWhen it became known to the Swedes that Frey was dead, and yet peace and\ngood seasons continued, they believed that it must be so as long as Frey\nremained in Sweden, and therefore they would not burn his remains, but\ncalled him the god of this world, and afterward offered continually\nblood-sacrifices to him, principally for peace and good seasons.[133]\n\n    [Footnote 133: Here ends Snorre\u2019s account of the asas in\n    Heimskringla. The reader will, of course, compare the account here\n    given of Odin, Njord, Frey, Freyja, etc., with the purely\n    mythological description of them in the Younger Edda, and with\n    that in Norse Mythology. Upon the whole, Snorre has striven to\n    accommodate his sketch to the Eddas, while he has had to clothe\n    mythical beings with the characteristics of human kings. Like\n    Saxo-Grammaticus, Snorre has striven to show that the deities,\n    which we now recognize as personified forces and phenomena of\n    nature, were extraordinary and enterprising persons, who formerly\n    ruled in the North, and inaugurated the customs, government and\n    religion of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, England, and the\n    other Teutonic lands.]\n\n\nFORNJOT AND THE SETTLEMENT OF NORWAY.\n\nIn the asa-faith we find various foreign elements introduced. Thus, for\nexample, the vans did not originally belong to the Odinic system. As the\nTeutons came in contact with other races, the religious ideas of the\nlatter were frequently adopted in some modified form. Especially do\nFinnish elements enter into the asa-system. The Finnish god of thunder\nwas Ukko. He is supposed to have been confounded with our Thor, whence\nthe latter got the name \u00d6ku-Thor (Ukko-Thor). The vans may be connected\nwith the Finnish Wainamoinen, and in the same manner a number of Celtic\nelements have been mixed with Teutonic mythology. And this is not all.\nThere must have flourished a religious system in the North before the\narrival of Odin and his apostles. This was probably either Tshudic or\nCeltic, or a mixture of the two. The asa-doctrine superseded it, but\nthere still remain traces in some of the oldest records of the North.\nThus we have in the prehistoric sagas of Iceland an account of the\nfinding of Norway, wherein it is related that Fornjot,[134] in Jotland,\nwhich is also called Finland or Quenland, east of the Gulf of Bothnia,\nhad three sons: Hler, also called \u00c6ger, Loge and Kare.[135] Of Loge it\nis related that he was of giant descent, and, being very tall of\nstature, he was called Haloge, that is High Loge; and after him the\nnorthern part of Norway is called Halogaland (now Helgeland). He was\nmarried to Glod (a red-hot coal), and had with her two daughters, Eysa\nand Eimyrja; both words meaning glowing embers. Haloge had two jarls,\nVifil (the one taking a vif = wife) and Vesete (the one who sits at the\nve = the sanctuary, that is, the dweller by the hearth, the first\nsanctuary), who courted his daughters; the former addressing himself to\nEimyrja, the latter to Eysa, but the king refusing to give his consent,\nthey carried them away secretly. Vesete settled in Borgundarholm\n(Bornholm), and had a son, Bue (one who settles on a farm); Vifil sailed\nfurther east and settled on the island Vifilsey, on the coast of Sweden,\nand had a son, Viking (the pirate).\n\n    [Footnote 134: The word fornjot can be explained in two ways:\n    either as for-njot = the first enjoyer, possessor; or as forn-jot,\n    the ancient giant. He would then correspond to Ymer.]\n\n    [Footnote 135: Notice this trinity: Hler is the sea (comp. the\n    Welsh word _llyr_ = sea); Loge is fire (comp. the Welsh _llwg_),\n    he reminds us both by his name and his nature of Loke; Kare is the\n    wind.]\n\nThe third son, Kare, had a numerous offspring. He had one son by name\nJokul (iceberg), another Froste (frost), and Froste\u2019s son was named Sna\n(snow). He had a third son, by name Thorri (bare frost), after whom the\nmid-winter month, Thorra-month, was called; and his daughters hight Fonn\n(packed snow), Drifa (snow-drift), and Mjoll (meal, fine snow). All\nthese correspond well to Kare\u2019s name, which, as stated, means wind.\nThorri had two sons, Nor and Gor, and a daughter, Goe. The story goes on\nto tell how Goe, the sister, was lost, and how the brothers went to\nsearch for her, until they finally found him who had robbed her. He was\nHrolf, from the mountain, a son of the giant Svade, and a grandson of\nAsa-Thor. They settled their trouble, and thereupon Hrolf married Goe,\nand Nor married Hrolf\u2019s sister, settled in the land and called it after\nhis own name, Norvegr, that is, Norway. By this story we are reminded of\nKadmos, who went to seek his lost sister Europa. In the Younger Edda the\nwinds are called the sons of Fornjot, the sea is called the son of\nFornjot, and the brother of the fire and of the winds, and Fornjot is\nnamed among the old giants. This makes it clear that Fornjot and his\noffspring are not historical persons, but cosmological impersonations.\nAnd additional proof of this is found by an examination of the beginning\nof the Saga of Thorstein, Viking\u2019s Son. (See Viking Tales of the North,\npp. 1 and 2).\n\n\nTHE FOOLING OF GYLFE.\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\nThis story about the ploughing of Gylfe reminds us of the legend told in\nthe first book of Virgil\u2019s \u00c6neid, about the founding of Carthage by\nDido, who bought from the Libyan king as much ground as she could cover\nwith a bull\u2019s hide. Elsewhere it is related that she cut the bull\u2019s hide\ninto narrow strips and encircled therewith all the ground upon which\nCarthage was afterward built. Thus Dido deceived the Libyan king nearly\nas effectually as Gefjun deluded King Gylfe. The story is also told by\nSnorre in Heimskringla, see p. 231.\n\nThe passage in verse, which has given translators so much trouble in a\ntransposed form, would read as follows: Gefjun glad drew that excellent\nland (dj\u00fapr\u00f3dul = the deep sun = gold; \u00f6\u00f0la = udal = property; dj\u00fapr\u00f3dul\n\u00f6\u00f0la = the golden property), Denmark\u2019s increase (Seeland), so that it\nreeked (steamed) from the running oxen. The oxen bore four heads and\neight eyes, as they went before the wide piece of robbed land of the\nisle so rich in grass.\n\nGefjun is usually interpreted as a goddess of agriculture, and her name\nis by some derived from \u03b3\u1fc6; and _fjon_, that is, _terr\u00e6 separatio_;\nothers compare it with the Anglo-Saxon _geofon_ = the sea. The etymology\nremains very uncertain.\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\nIt is to the delusion or eye-deceit mentioned in this chapter that\nSnorre Sturlasson refers in his Heimskringla, in Chapter VI of Ynglinga\nSaga.\n\nThjodolf of Hvin was a celebrated skald at the court of Harald Fairhair.\n\nThinking thatchers, etc. Literally transposed, this passage would read:\nReflecting men let shields (literally Svafner\u2019s, that is Odin\u2019s\nroof-trees,) glisten on the back. They were smitten with stones. To let\nshields glisten on the back, is said of men who throw their shields on\ntheir backs to protect themselves against those who pursue the flying\nhost.\n\nHar means the High One, Jafnhar the Equally High One, and Thride the\nThird One. By these three may be meant the three chief gods of the\nNorth: Odin, Thor and Frey; or they may be simply an expression of the\nEddic trinity. This trinity is represented in a number of ways: by Odin,\nVile and Ve in the creation of the world, and by Odin, H\u0153ner and Loder\nin the creation of Ask and Embla, the first human pair. The number three\nfigures extensively in all mythological systems. In the pre-chaotic\nstate we have Muspelheim, Niflheim and Ginungagap. Fornjot had three\nsons: Hler, Loge and Kare. There are three norns: Urd, Verdande and\nSkuld. There are three fountains: Hvergelmer, Urd\u2019s and Mimer\u2019s; etc.\n(See Norse Mythology, pp. 183, 195, 196.)\n\nHar being Odin, Har\u2019s Hall will be Valhal. You will not come out from\nthis hall unless you are wiser. In the lay of Vafthrudner, of the Elder\nEdda, we have a similar challenge, where Vafthrudner says to Odin:\n\n  Out will you not come\n  From our halls\n  Unless I find you to be wiser (than I am).\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\nThis chapter gives twelve names of Odin. In the Eddas and in the skaldic\nlays he has in all nearly two hundred names. His most common name is\nOdin (in Anglo-Saxon and in Old High German _Wodan_), and this is\nthought by many to be of the same origin as our word _god_. The other\nOld Norse word for god, _tivi_, is identical in root with Lat. _divus_;\nSansk. _dwas_; Gr. \u0394\u03b9\u03cc\u03c2 (\u0396\u03b5\u03cd\u03c2); and this is again connected with _Tyr_,\nthe Tivisco in the Germania of Tacitus. (See Max M\u00fcller\u2019s Lectures on\nthe Science of Language, 2d series, p. 425). Paulus Diakonus states that\nWodan, or Gwodan, was worshiped by all branches of the Teutons. Odin has\nalso been sought and found in the Scythian _Zalmoxis_, in the Indian\n_Buddha_, in the Celtic Budd, and in the Mexican Votan. Zalmoxis,\nderived from the Gr. \u0396\u03b1\u03bb\u03bc\u03cc\u03c2, helmet, reminds us of Odin as the\nhelmet-bearer (Grimm, Gesch. der Deutschen Sprache). According to\nHumboldt, a race in Guatemala, Mexico, claim to be descended from\nVotan (Vues des Cordill\u00e8res, 1817, I, 208). This suggests the question\nwhether Odin\u2019s name may not have been brought to America by the Norse\ndiscoverers in the 10th and 11th centuries, and adopted by some of the\nnative races. In the Lay of Grimner (Elder Edda) the following names of\nOdin are enumerated:\n\n  Grim is my name\n  And Ganglere,\n  Herjan and Helmet-bearer,\n  Thekk and Thride,\n  Thud and Ud,\n  Helblinde and Har,\n\n  Sad and Svipal,\n  And Sanngetal,\n  Herteit and Hnikar,\n  Bileyg and Baleyg,\n  Bolverk, Fjolner,\n  Grim and Grimner,\n  Glapsvid and Fjolsvid,\n\n  Sidhot, Sidskeg,\n  Sigfather, Hnikud,\n  Alfather, Valfather,\n  Atrid and Farmatyr.\n  With one name\n  Was I never named\n  When I fared \u2019mong the peoples.\n\n  Grimner they called me\n  Here at Geirrod\u2019s,\n  But Jalk at Asmund\u2019s,\n  And Kjalar the time\n  When sleds (kjalka) I drew,\n  And Thror at the Thing,\n  Vidur on the battle-field,\n  Oske and Ome,\n  Jafnhar and Biflinde,\n  Gondler and Harbard \u2019mong the gods.\n\n  Svidur and Svidre\n  Hight I at Sokmimer\u2019s,\n  And fooled the ancient giant\n  When I alone Midvitne\u2019s,\n  The mighty son\u2019s,\n  Bane had become.\n\n  Odin I now am called,\n  Ygg was my name before,\n  Before that I hight Thund,\n  Yak and Skilfing,\n  Vafud and Hroptatyr,\n  Got and Jalk \u2019mong the gods,\n  Ofner and Svafner.\n  All these names, I trow,\n  Have to me alone been given.\n\nWhat the etymology of all these names is, it is not easy to tell. The\nmost of them are clearly Norse words, and express the various activities\nof their owner. It is worthy of notice that it is added when and where\nOdin bore this or that name (his name was Grim at Geirrod\u2019s, Jalk at\nAsmund\u2019s, etc.), and that the words sometimes indicate a progressive\ndevelopment, as Thund, then Ygg, and then Odin. First he was a mere\nsound in the air (Thund), then he took to thinking (Ygg), and at last he\nbecame the inspiring soul of the universe. Although we are unable to\ndefine all these names, they certainly each have a distinct meaning, and\nour ancestors certainly understood them perfectly. Har = the High One;\nJafn-har = the Equally High One; Thride = the Third (\u0396\u03b5\u1f7a\u03c2 \u1f04\u03bb\u03bb\u03bf\u03c2 and\n\u03a4\u03c1\u03af\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2); Alfather probably contracted from _Alda_father = the Father of\nthe Ages and the Creations; Veratyr = the Lord of Beings; R\u00f6gner = the\nRuler (from regin); Got (Gautr, from _gj\u00f3ta_, to cast) = the Creator,\nLat. Instillator; Mjotud = the Creator, the word being allied to\nAnglo-Saxon _meotod_, _metod_, Germ. _Messer_, and means originally\ncutter; but to cut and to make are synonymous. Such names as these have\nreference to Odin\u2019s divinity as creator, arranger and ruler of gods and\nmen. Svid and Fjolsvid = the swift, the wise; Ganglere, Gangrad and\nVegtam = the wanderer, the waywont; Vidrer = the weather-ruler, together\nwith serpent-names like Ofner, Svafner, etc., refer to Odin\u2019s knowledge,\nhis journeys, the various shapes he assumes. Permeating all nature, he\nappears in all its forms. Names like Sidhot = the slouchy hat; Sidskeg =\nthe long-beard; Baleyg = the burning-eye; Grimner = the masked; Jalk\n(Jack) = the youth, etc., express the various forms in which he was\nthought to appear,--to his slouchy hat, his long beard, or his age, etc.\nSuch names as Sanngetal = the true investigator; Farmatyr = the\ncargo-god, etc., refer to his various occupations as inventor,\ndiscoverer of runes, protector of trade and commerce, etc. Finally, all\nsuch names as Herfather = father of hosts; Herjan = the devastator;\nSigfather = the father of victory; Sigtyr = god of victory; Skilfing =\nproducing trembling; Hnikar = the breaker, etc., represent Odin as the\ngod of war and victory. Oske = wish, is thus called because he gratifies\nour desires. Gimle, as will be seen later, is the abode of the blessed\nafter Ragnarok. Vingolf (Vin and golf) means _friends\u2019 floor_, and is\nthe hall of the goddesses. Hel is the goddess of death, and from her\nname our word _hell_ is derived.\n\nOur ancestors divided the universe into nine worlds: the uppermost was\nMuspelheim (the world of light); the lowest was Niflheim (the world of\ndarkness). Compare the Greek word \u03bd\u03b5\u03c6\u03ad\u03bb\u03b7 = mist. (See Norse Mythology,\np. 187.)\n\nGINUNGAGAP. Ginn means wide, large, far-reaching, perhaps also void\n(compare the Anglo-Saxon _gin_ = gaping, open, spacious; ginian = to\ngap; and ginnung = a yawning). Ginungagap thus means the yawning gap or\nabyss, and represents empty space. The poets use ginnung in the sense of\na fish and of a hawk, and in geographical saga-fragments it is used as\nthe name of the Polar Sea.\n\nHVERGELMER. This word is usually explained as a transposition for\nHvergemler, which would then be derived from Hver and gamall (old) = the\nold kettle; but Petersen shows that gelmir must be taken from galm,\nwhich is still found in the Jutland dialect, and means a gale (compare\nGolmstead = a windy place, and _golme_ = to roar, blow). Gelmer is then\nthe one producing galm, and Hvergelmer thus means the roaring kettle.\nThe twelve rivers proceeding from Hvergelmer are called the Elivogs\n(\u00c9liv\u00e1gar) in the next chapter. \u00c9li-v\u00e1gar means, according to Vigfusson,\nice-waves. The most of the names occur in the long list of river names\ngiven in the Lay of Grimner, of the Elder Edda. Svol = the cool;\nGunnthro = the battle-trough. Slid is also mentioned in the Vala\u2019s\nProphecy, where it is represented as being full of mud and swords. Sylg\n(from _svelgja_ = to swallow) = the devourer; Ylg (from _yla_ = to roar)\n= the roaring one; Leipt = the glowing, is also mentioned in the Lay of\nHelge Hunding\u2019s Bane, where it is stated that they swore by it (compare\nStyx); Gjoll (from _gjalla_ = to glisten and clang) = the shining,\nclanging one. The meaning of the other words is not clear, but they\ndoubtless all, like those explained, express cold, violent motion, etc.\nThe most noteworthy of these rivers are Leipt and Gjoll. In the Lay of\nGrimner they are said to flow nearest to the abode of man, and fall\nthence into Hel\u2019s realm. Over Gjoll was the bridge which Hermod, after\nthe death of Balder, crossed on his way to Hel. It is said to be\nthatched with shining gold, and a maid by name Modgud watches it. In the\nsong of Sturle Thordson, on the death of Skule Jarl, it is said that\n\u201cthe king\u2019s kinsman went over the Gjoll-bridge.\u201d The farther part of the\nhorizon, which often appears like a broad bright stream, may have\nsuggested this river.\n\nSURT means the swarthy or black one. Many have regarded him as the\nunknown (dark) god, but this is probably an error. But there was some\none in Muspelheim who sent the heat, and gave life to the frozen drops\nof rime. The latter, and not Surt, who is a giant, is the eternal god,\nthe mighty one, whom the skald in the Lay of Hyndla dare not name. It is\ninteresting to notice that our ancestors divided the evolution of the\nworld into three distinct periods: (1) a pre-chaotic condition\n(Niflheim, Muspelheim and Ginungagap); (2) a chaotic condition (Ymer and\nthe cow Audhumbla); (3) and finally the three gods, Odin (spirit), Vile\n(will) and Ve (sanctity), transformed chaos into cosmos. And away back\nin this pre-chaotic state of the world we find this mighty being who\nsends the heat. It is not definitely stated, but it can be inferred from\nother passages, that just as the good principle existed from everlasting\nin Muspelheim, so the evil principle existed co-eternally with it in\nHvergelmer in Niflheim. Hvergelmer is the source out of which all matter\nfirst proceeded, and the dragon or devil Nidhug, who dwells in\nHvergelmer, is, in our opinion, the evil principle who is from eternity.\nThe good principle shall continue forever, but the evil shall cease to\nexist after Ragnarok.\n\nYMER is the noisy one, and his name is derived from _ymja_ = to howl\n(compare also the Finnish deity Jumo, after whom the town Umea takes its\nname, like Odinse).\n\nAURGELMER, THRUDGELMER and BERGELMER express the gradual development\nfrom aur (clay) to thrud (that which is compressed), and finally to berg\n(rock).\n\nVIDOLF, VILMEIDE and SVARTHOFDE are mentioned nowhere else in the\nmythology.\n\nBURE and BORE mean the bearing and the born; that is, father and son.\n\nBOLTHORN means the miserable one, from bol = evil; and Bestla may mean\nthat which is best. The idea then is that Bor united himself with that\nwhich was best of the miserable material at hand.\n\nThat the flood caused by the slaying of Ymer reminds us of Noah and his\nark, and of the Greek flood, needs only to be suggested.\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\nASK means an ash-tree, and EMBLA an elm-tree.\n\nWhile the etymology of the names in the myths are very obscure, the\nmyths themselves are clear enough. Similar myths abound in Greek\nmythology. The story about Bil and Hjuke is our old English rhyme about\nJack and Gill, who went up the hill to fetch a pail of water.\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\nIn reference to the golden age, see Norse Mythology, pp. 182 and 197.\n\nIn the appendix to the German so-called Hero-Book we are told that the\ndwarfs were first created to cultivate the desert lands and the\nmountains; thereupon the giants, to subdue the wild beasts; and finally\nthe heroes, to assist the dwarfs against the treacherous giants. While\nthe giants are always hostile to the gods, the dwarfs are usually\nfriendly to them.\n\nDWARFS. Both giants and dwarfs shun the light. If surprised by the\nbreaking forth of day, they become changed to stone. In one of the poems\nof the Elder Edda (the Alvism\u00e1l), Thor amuses the dwarf Alvis with\nvarious questions till daylight, and then cooly says to him: With great\nartifices, I tell you, you have been deceived; you are surprised here,\ndwarf, by daylight! The sun now shines in the hall. In the Helgakvida\nAtle says to the giantess Hrimgerd: It is now day, Hrimgerd! But Atle\nhas detained you, to your life\u2019s perdition. It will appear a laughable\nharbor-mark, where you stand as a stone-image.\n\nIn the German tales the dwarfs are described as deformed and diminutive,\ncoarsely clad and of dusky hue: \u201ca little black man,\u201d \u201ca little gray\nman.\u201d They are sometimes of the height of a child of four years,\nsometimes as two spans high, a thumb high (hence, Tom Thumb). The old\nDanish ballad of Eline of Villenwood mentions a troll not bigger than an\nant. Dvergm\u00e1l (the speech of the dwarfs) is the Old Norse expression for\nthe echo in the mountains.\n\nIn the later popular belief, the dwarfs are generally called the\nsubterraneans, the brown men in the moor, etc. They make themselves\ninvisible by a hat or hood. The women spin and weave, the men are\nsmiths. In Norway rock-crystal is called dwarf-stone. Certain stones are\nin Denmark called dwarf-hammers. They borrow things and seek advice from\npeople, and beg aid for their wives when in labor, all which services\nthey reward. But they also lame cattle, are thievish, and will carry off\ndamsels. There have been instances of dwarf females having married and\nhad children with men. (Thorpe\u2019s Northern Mythology.)\n\nWAR. It was the first warfare in the world, says the Elder Edda, when\nthey pierced Gullveig (gold-thirst) through with a spear, and burned her\nin Odin\u2019s hall. Thrice they burned her, thrice she was born anew: again\nand again, but still she lives. When she comes to a house they call her\nHeide (the bright, the welcome), and regard her as a propitious vala or\nprophetess. She can tame wolves, understands witchcraft, and delights\nwicked women. Hereupon the gods consulted together whether they should\npunish this misdeed, or accept a blood-fine, when Odin cast forth a\nspear among mankind, and now began war and slaughter in the world. The\ndefenses of the burgh of the asas was broken down. The vans anticipated\nwar, and hastened over the field. The valkyries came from afar, ready to\nride to the gods\u2019 people: Skuld with the shield, Skogul, Gunn, Hild,\nGondul and Geirr Skogul. (Quoted by Thorpe.)\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\nIn reference to Ygdrasil, we refer our readers to Norse Mythology, pp.\n205-211, and to Thomas Carlyle\u2019s Heroes and Hero-worship.\n\nA connection between the norns Urd, Verdande and Skuld and the weird\nsisters in Shakspeare\u2019s _Macbeth_ has long since been recognized; but\nnew light has recently been thrown upon the subject by the philosopher\nKarl Blind, who has contributed valuable articles on the subject in the\nGerman periodical \u201cDie Gegenwart\u201d and in the \u201cLondon Academy.\u201d We take\nthe liberty of reproducing here an abstract of his article in the\n\u201cAcademy\u201d:\n\n      *    *    *    *    *    *\n\n  The fact itself of these Witches being simply transfigurations, or\n  later disguises, of the Teutonic Norns is fully established--as may\n  be seen from Grimm or Simrock. In delineating these hags, Shakspeare\n  has practically drawn upon old Germanic sources, perhaps upon\n  current folk-lore of his time.\n\n  It has always struck me as noteworthy that in the greater part of\n  the scene between the Weird Sisters, Macbeth and Banquo, and\n  wherever the Witches come in, Shakspeare uses the staff-rime in a\n  remarkable manner. Not only does this add powerfully to the archaic\n  impressiveness and awe, but it also seems to bring the form and\n  figure of the Sisters of Fate more closely within the circle of the\n  Teutonic idea. I have pointed out this striking use of the\n  alliterative system in _Macbeth_ in an article on \u201cAn old German\n  Poem and a Vedic Hymn,\u201d which appeared in _Fraser_ in June, 1877,\n  and in which the derivation of the Weird Sisters from the Germanic\n  Norns is mentioned.\n\n  The very first scene in the first act of _Macbeth_ opens strongly\n  with the staff-rime:\n\n    _1st Witch_. When shall we three meet again--\n    In thunder, lightning or in rain?\n\n    _2d Witch_. When the hurly-burly\u2019s done,\n    When the battle\u2019s lost and won.\n\n    _3d Witch_. That will be ere set of sun.\n\n    _1st Witch_. Where the place?\n\n    _2d Witch_.              Upon the heath.\n\n    _3d Witch_. There to meet with Macbeth.\n\n    _1st Witch_. I come, Graymalkin!\n\n    _All_. Paddock calls. Anon.\n    Fair is foul, and foul is fair.\n    Hover through the fog and filthy air.\n\n  Not less marked is the adoption of the fullest staff-rime--together\n  (as above) with the end-rime--in the third scene, when the Weird\n  Sisters speak. Again, there is the staff-rime when Banquo addresses\n  them. Again, the strongest alliteration, combined with the end-rime,\n  runs all through the Witches\u2019 spell-song in Act iv, scene 1. This\n  feature in Shakspeare appears to me to merit closer investigation;\n  all the more so because a less regular alliteration, but still a\n  marked one, is found in not a few passages of a number of his plays.\n  Only one further instance of the systematic employment of\n  alliteration may here be noted in passing. It is in Ariel\u2019s songs in\n  the _Tempest_, Act i, scene 2. Schlegel and Tieck evidently did not\n  observe this alliterative peculiarity. Their otherwise excellent\n  translation does not render it, except so far as the obvious\n  similarity of certain English and German words involuntarily made\n  them do so. But in the notes to their version of _Macbeth_ the\n  character of the Weird Sisters is also misunderstood, though\n  Warburton is referred to, who had already suggested their\n  derivations from the Valkyrs or Norns.\n\n  It is an error to say that the Witches in _Macbeth_ \u201care never\n  called witches\u201d (compare Act i, scene 3: \u201c\u2018Give me!\u2019 quoth I.\n  \u2018A-roint thee, _witch_!\u2019 the rump-fed ronyon cries\u201d). However, their\n  designation as Weird Sisters fully settles the case of their\n  Germanic origin.\n\n  This name \u201cWeird\u201d is derived from the Anglo-Saxon Norn Wyrd (Sax.\n  _Wurth_; O.H. Ger. _Wurd_; Norse, _Urd_), who represents the Past,\n  as her very name shows. Wurd is _die Gewordene_--the \u201cHas Been,\u201d or\n  rather the \u201cHas Become,\u201d if one could say so in English.\n\n      *    *    *    *    *    *\n\n  In Shakspeare the Witches are three in number--even as in Norse,\n  German, as well as in Keltic and other mythologies. Urd, properly\n  speaking, is the Past. Skuld is the Future, or \u201cThat Which shall\n  Be.\u201d Verdandi, usually translated as the Present, has an even deeper\n  meaning. Her name is not to be derived from _vera_ (to be), but from\n  _verda_ (Ger. _werden_). This verb, which has a mixed meaning of \u201cto\n  be,\u201d \u201cto become,\u201d or to \u201cgrow,\u201d has been lost in English. Verdandi\n  is, therefore, not merely a representative of present Being, but of\n  the process of Growing, or of Evolution--which gives her figure a\n  profounder aspect. Indeed, there is generally more significance in\n  mythological tales than those imagine who look upon them chiefly as\n  a barren play of fancy.\n\n  Incidentally it may be remarked that, though Shakspeare\u2019s Weird\n  Sisters are three in number--corresponding to Urd, Verdandi and\n  Skuld--German and Northern mythology and folk-lore occasionally\n  speak of twelve or seven of them. In the German tale of\n  _Dornr\u00f6schen_, or the Sleeping Beauty, there are twelve good fays;\n  and a thirteenth, who works the evil spell. Once, in German\n  folk-lore, we meet with but two Sisters of Fate--one of them called\n  _Kann_, the other _Muss_. Perhaps these are representatives of man\u2019s\n  measure of free will (that which he \u201ccan\u201d), and of that which is his\n  inevitable fate--or, that which he \u201cmust\u201d do.\n\n  Though the word \u201cNorn\u201d has been lost in England and Germany, it is\n  possibly preserved in a German folk-lore ditty, which speaks of\n  three Sisters of Fate as \u201cNuns.\u201d Altogether, German folk-lore is\n  still full of rimes about three Weird Sisters. They are sometimes\n  called Wild Women, or Wise Women, or the Measurers\n  (_Metten_)--namely, of Fate; or, euphemistically, like the\n  Eumenides, the Advisers of Welfare (_Heil-R\u00e4thinnen_), reminding us\n  of the counsels given to Macbeth in the apparition scene; or the\n  Quick Judges (_Gach-Schepfen_). Even as in the Edda, these German\n  fays weave and twist threads or ropes, and attach them to distant\n  parts, thus fixing the weft of Fate. One of these fays is sometimes\n  called Held, and described as black, or as half dark half\n  white--like Hel, the Mistress of the Nether World. That German fay\n  is also called Rachel, clearly a contraction of Rach-Hel, i.e. the\n  Avengeress Hel.\n\n  Now, in _Macbeth_ also the Weird Sisters are described as \u201cblack.\u201d\n  The coming up of Hekate with them in the cave-scene might not\n  unfitly be looked upon as a parallel with the German Held, or\n  Rach-Hel, and the Norse Hel; these Teutonic deities being originally\n  Goddesses of Nocturnal Darkness, and of the Nether World, even as\n  Hekate.\n\n  In German folk-lore, three Sisters of Fate bear the names of Wilbet,\n  Worbet and Ainbet. Etymologically these names seem to refer to the\n  well-disposed nature of a fay representing the Past; to the warring\n  or worrying troubles of the Present; and to the terrors (_Ain_ =\n  _Agin_) of the Future. All over southern Germany, from Austria to\n  Alsace and Rhenish Hesse, the three fays are known under various\n  names besides Wilbet, Worbet, and Ainbet--for instance, as Mechtild,\n  Ottilia, and Gertraud; as Irmina, Adela, and Chlothildis, and so\n  forth. The fay in the middle of this trio is always a good fay,\n  a white fay--but blind. Her treasure (the very names of Ottilia and\n  Adela point to a treasure) is continually being taken from her by\n  the third fay, a dark and evil one, as well as by the first. This\n  myth has been interpreted as meaning that the Present, being blinded\n  as to its own existence, is continually being encroached upon,\n  robbed as it were, by the dark Future and the Past. Of this\n  particular trait there is no vestige in Shakspeare\u2019s Weird Sisters.\n  They, like the Norns, \u201cgo hand in hand.\u201d But there is another point\n  which claims attention Shakspeare\u2019s Witches are bearded. (\u201cYou\n  should be women, and yet your beards forbid me to interpret that you\n  are so.\u201d Act i, scene 3.)\n\n  It need scarcely be brought to recollection that a commingling of\n  the female and male character occurs in the divine and semi-divine\n  figures of various mythological systems--including the Bearded\n  Venus. Of decisive importance is, however, the fact of a bearded\n  Weird Sister having apparently been believed in by our heathen\n  German forefathers.\n\n  Near Wessobrunn, in Upper Bavaria, where the semi-heathen fragment\n  of a cosmogonic lay, known as \u201cWessobrunn Prayer,\u201d was discovered,\n  there has also been found, of late, a rudely-sculptured three-headed\n  image. It is looked upon as an ancient effigy of the German Norns.\n  The Cloister of the three Holy Bournes, or Fountains, which stands\n  close by the place of discovery, is supposed to have been set up on\n  ground that had once served for pagan worship. Probably the later\n  monkish establishment of the Three Holy Bournes had taken the place\n  of a similarly named heathen sanctuary where the three Sisters of\n  Fate were once adored. Indeed, the name of all the corresponding\n  fays in yet current German folk-lore is connected with holy wells.\n  This quite fits in with the three Eddic Bournes near the great Tree\n  of Existence, at one of which--apparently at the oldest, which is\n  the very Source of Being--the Norns live, \u201cthe maidens that over the\n  Sea of Age travel in deep foreknowledge,\u201d and of whom it is said\n  that:\n\n    They laid the lots, they ruled the life\n    To the sons of men, their fate foretelling.\n\n  Now, curiously enough, the central head of the slab found near\n  Wessobrunn, in the neighborhood of the Cloister of the Three Holy\n  Bournes, is _bearded_. This has puzzled our arch\u00e6ologists. Some of\n  them fancied that what appears to be a beard might after all be the\n  hair of one of the fays or Norns, tied round the chin. By the light\n  of the description of the Weird Sisters in Shakspeare\u2019s _Macbeth_\n  we, however, see at once the true connection.\n\n  In every respect, therefore, his \u201cWitches\u201d are an echo from the\n  ancient Germanic creed--an echo, moreover, coming to us in the\n  oldest Teutonic verse-form; that is, in the staff-rime.\n\n      KARL BLIND.\n\nELVES. The elves of later times seem a sort of middle thing between the\nlight and dark elves. They are fair and lively, but also bad and\nmischievous. In some parts of Norway the peasants describe them as\ndiminutive naked boys with hats on. Traces of their dance are sometimes\nto be seen on the wet grass, especially on the banks of rivers. Their\nexhalation is injurious, and is called _alfgust_ or _elfbl\u00e6st_, causing\na swelling, which is easily contracted by too nearly approaching places\nwhere they have spat, etc. They have a predilection for certain spots,\nbut particularly for large trees, which on that account the owners do\nnot venture to meddle with, but look on them as something sacred, on\nwhich the weal or woe of the place depends. Certain diseases among their\ncattle are attributed to the elves, and are, therefore, called elf-fire\nor elf-shot. The dark elves are often confounded with the dwarfs, with\nwhom they, indeed, seem identical, although they are distinguished in\nOdin\u2019s Raven\u2019s Song. The Norwegians also make a distinction between\ndwarfs and elves, believing the former to live solitary and in quiet,\nwhile the latter love music and dancing. (Faye, p. 48; quoted by\nThorpe.)\n\nThe fairies of Scotland are precisely identical with the above. They are\ndescribed as a diminutive race of beings of a mixed or rather dubious\nnature, capricious in their dispositions and mischievous in their\nresentment. They inhabit the interior of green hills, chiefly those of a\nconical form, in Gaelic termed _Sighan_, on which they lead their dances\nby moonlight; impressing upon the surface the marks of circles, which\nsometimes appear yellow and blasted, sometimes of a deep green hue, and\nwithin which it is dangerous to sleep, or to be found after sunset.\nCattle which are suddenly seized with the cramp, or some similar\ndisorder, are said to be _elf-shot_. (Scott\u2019s Minstrelsy of the Scottish\nBorder; quoted by Thorpe.)\n\nOf the Swedish elves, Arndt gives the following sketch: Of giants, of\ndwarfs, of the alp, of dragons, that keep watch over treasures, they\nhave the usual stories; nor are the kindly elves forgotten. How often\nhas my postillion, when he observed a circular mark in the dewy grass,\nexclaimed: See! there the elves have been dancing. These elf-dances play\na great part in the spinning-room. To those who at midnight happen to\nenter one of these circles, the elves become visible, and may then play\nall kinds of pranks with them; though in general they are little, merry,\nharmless beings, both male and female. They often sit in small stones,\nthat are hollowed out in circular form, and which are called elf-querns\nor mill-stones. Their voice is said to be soft like the air. If a loud\ncry is heard in the forest, it is that of the Skogsr\u00e5 (spirit of the\nwood), which should be answered only by a _He!_ when it can do no harm.\n(Reise durch Sweden; quoted by Thorpe.)\n\nThe elf-shot was known in England in very remote times, as appears from\nthe Anglo-Saxon incantation, printed by Grimm in his Deutsche\nMythologie, and in the appendix to Kemble\u2019s Saxons in England: Gif hit\nw\u0153re esa gescot o\u00f0\u00f0e hit w\u0153re ylfa gescot; that is, if it were an\nasa-shot or an elf-shot. On this subject Grimm says: It is a very old\nbelief that dangerous arrows were shot by the elves from the air. The\nthunder-bolt is also called elf-shot, and in Scotland a hard, sharp,\nwedge-shaped stone is known by the name of elf-arrow, elf-flint,\nelf-bolt, which, it is supposed, has been sent by the spirits. (Quoted\nby Thorpe.)\n\nCHAPTER VII.\n\nOur ancestors divided the universe into nine worlds, and these again\ninto three groups:\n\n1. Over the earth. Muspelheim, Ljosalfaheim and Asaheim.\n\n2. On the earth. Jotunheim, Midgard and Vanheim.\n\n3. Below the earth. Svartalfaheim, Niflheim and Niflhel.\n\nThe gods had twelve abodes:\n\n1. THRUDHEIM. The abode of Thor. His realm is Thrudvang, and his palace\nis Bilskirner.\n\n2. YDALER. Uller\u2019s abode.\n\n3. VALASKJALF. Odin\u2019s hall.\n\n4. SOKVABEK. The abode of Saga.\n\n5. GLADSHEIM, where there are twelve seats for the gods, besides the\nthrone occupied by Alfather.\n\n6. THRYMHEIM. Skade\u2019s abode.\n\n7. BREIDABLIK. Balder\u2019s abode.\n\n8. HIMMINBJORG. Heimdal\u2019s abode.\n\n9. FOLKVANG. Freyja\u2019s abode.\n\n10. GLITNER. Forsete\u2019s abode.\n\n11. NOATUN. Njord\u2019s abode.\n\n12. LANDVIDE. Vidar\u2019s abode.\n\nAccording to the Lay of Grimner, the gods had twelve horses, but the\nowner of each horse is not given:\n\n(1) Sleipner (Odin\u2019s), (2) Goldtop (Heimdal\u2019s), (3) Glad, (4) Gyller,\n(5) Gler, (6) Skeidbrimer, (7) Silvertop, (8) Siner, (9) Gisl, (10)\nFalhofner, (11) Lightfoot, (12) Blodughofdi (Frey\u2019s).\n\nThe owners of nine of them are not given, and, moreover, it is stated\nthat Thor had no horse, but always either went on foot or drove his\ngoats.\n\nThe favorite numbers are three, nine and twelve. Monotheism was\nrecognized in the unknown god, who is from everlasting to everlasting.\nA number of trinities were established, and the nine worlds were\nclassified into three groups. The week had nine days, and originally\nthere were probably but nine gods, that is, before the vans were united\nwith the asas. The number nine occurs where Heimdal is said to have nine\nmothers, Menglad is said to have nine maid-servants, \u00c6ger had nine\ndaughters, etc. When the vans were united with the asas, the number rose\nto twelve:\n\n(1) Odin, (2) Thor, (3) Tyr, (4) Balder, (5) Hoder, (6) Heimdal, (7)\nHermod, (8) Njord, (9) Frey, (10) Uller, (11) Vidar, (12) Forsete.\n\nIf we add to this list Brage, Vale and Loke, we get fifteen; but the\nEddas everywhere declare that there are twelve gods, who were entitled\nto divine worship.\n\nThe number of the goddesses is usually given as twenty-six.\n\nCHAPTER VIII.\n\nLoke and his offspring are so fully treated in our Norse Mythology, that\nwe content ourselves by referring our readers to that work.\n\nCHAPTER IX.\n\nFreyja\u2019s ornament Brising. In the saga of Olaf Tryggvason, there is a\nrather awkward story of the manner in which Freyja became possessed of\nher ornament. Freyja, it is told, was a mistress of Odin. Not far from\nthe palace dwelt four dwarfs, whose names were Alfrig, Dvalin, Berling\nand Grer; they were skillful smiths. Looking one day into their stony\ndwelling, Freyja saw them at work on a beautiful golden necklace, or\ncollar, which she offered to buy, but which they refused to part with,\nexcept on conditions quite incompatible with the fidelity she owed to\nOdin, but to which she, nevertheless, was tempted to accede. Thus the\nornament became hers. By some means this transaction came to the\nknowledge of Loke, who told it to Odin. Odin commanded him to get\npossession of the ornament. This was no easy task, for no one could\nenter Freyja\u2019s bower without her consent. He went away whimpering, but\nmost were glad on seeing him in such tribulation. When he came to the\nlocked bower, he could nowhere find an entrance, and, it being cold\nweather, he began to shiver. He then transformed himself into a fly and\ntried every opening, but in vain; there was nowhere air enough to make\nhim to get through [Loke (fire) requires air]. At length he found a hole\nin the roof, but not bigger than the prick of a needle. Through this he\nslipt. On his entrance he looked around to see if anyone were awake, but\nall were buried in sleep. He peeped in at Freyja\u2019s bed, and saw that she\nhad the ornament round her neck, but that the lock was on the side she\nlay on. He then transformed himself to a flea, placed himself on\nFreyja\u2019s cheek, and stung her so that she awoke, but only turned herself\nround and slept again. He then laid aside his assumed form, cautiously\ntook the ornament, unlocked the bower, and took his prize to Odin. In\nthe morning, on waking, Freyja seeing the door open, without having been\nforced, and that her ornament was gone, instantly understood the whole\naffair. Having dressed herself, she repaired to Odin\u2019s hall, and\nupbraided him with having stolen her ornament, and insisted on its\nrestoration, which she finally obtained. (Quoted by Thorpe.)\n\nMention is also made of the Br\u00f3singa-men in the Beowulf (verse 2394).\nHere it is represented as belonging to Hermanric, but the legend\nconcerning it has never been found.\n\nCHAPTER X.\n\nThis myth about Frey and Gerd is the subject of one of the most\nfascinating poems in the Elder Edda, the Journey of Skirner. It is, as\nAuber Forestier, in Echoes from Mistland, says, the germ of the Niblung\nstory. Frey is Sigurd or Sigfrid, and Gerd is Brynhild. The myth is also\nfound in another poem of the Elder Edda, the Lay of Fjolsvin, in which\nthe god himself--there called Svipday (the hastener of the\nday)--undertakes the journey to arouse from the winter sleep the cold\ngiant nature of the maiden Menglad (the sun-radiant daughter), who is\nidentical with Freyja (the goddess of spring, promise, or of love\nbetween man and woman, and who can easily be compared with Gerd). Before\nthe bonds which enchain the maiden can in either case be broken, Bele\n(the giant of spring storms, corresponding to the dragon Fafner in the\nNiblung story,) must be conquered, and Wafurloge (the wall of bickering\nflames that surrounded the castle) must be penetrated. The fanes\nsymbolize the funeral pyre, for whoever enters the nether world must\nscorn the fear of death. (Auber Forestier\u2019s Echoes from Mistland;\nIntroduction, xliii, xliv.) We also find this story repeated again and\nagain, in numberless variations, in Teutonic folk-lore; for instance,\nin The Maiden on the Glass Mountain, where the glass mountain takes the\nplace of the bickering flame.\n\nCHAPTER XI.\n\nThe tree Lerad (furnishing protection) must be regarded as a branch of\nYgdrasil.\n\nCHAPTER XII.\n\nIn Heimskringla Skidbladner is called Odin\u2019s ship. This is correct. All\nthat belonged to the gods was his also.\n\nCHAPTER XIII.\n\nFor a thorough analysis of Thor as a spring god, as the god who dwells\nin the clouds, as the god of thunder and lightning, as the god of\nagriculture, in short, as the god of culture, we can do no better than\nto refer our readers to Der Mythus von Thor, nach Nordischen Quellen,\nvon Ludwig Uhland, Stuttgart, 1836; and to Handbuch der Deutschen\nMythologie, mit Einschluss der Nordischen, von Karl Simrock, Vierte\nAuflage, Bonn, 1874.\n\nCHAPTER XIV.\n\nThe death of Balder is justly regarded as the most beautiful myth in\nTeutonic mythology. It is connected with the Lay of Vegtam in the Elder\nEdda. Like so many other myths (Frey and Gerd, The Robbing of Idun,\netc.) the myth symbolizes originally the end of summer and return of\nspring. Thus Balder dies every year and goes to Hel. But in the\nfollowing spring he returns to the asas, and gladdens all things living\nand dead with his pure shining light. Gradually, however, the myth was\nchanged from a symbol of the departing and returning summer, and applied\nto the departing and returning of the world year, and thus the death of\nBalder prepares the way for Ragnarok and Regeneration. Balder goes to\nHel and does not return to this world. Thokk refuses to weep for him.\nHis return is promised after Ragnarok. The next spring does not bring\nhim back, but the rejuvenated earth. Thus the death of Balder becomes\nthe central thought in the drama of the fate of the gods and of the\nworld. It is inseparably connected with the punishment of Loke and the\ntwilight of the gods. The winter following the death of Balder is not an\nordinary winter, but the Fimbul-winter, which is followed by no summer,\nbut by the destruction of the world. The central idea in the Odinic\nreligion, the destruction and regeneration of the world, has taken this\nbeautiful sun-myth of Balder into its service. Balder is then no more\nmerely the pure holy light of heaven; he symbolizes at the same time the\npurity and innocence of the gods; he is changed from a physical to an\nethical myth. He impersonated all that was good and holy in the life of\nthe gods; and so it came to pass that when the golden age had ceased,\nwhen thirst for gold (Gulveig), when sin and crime had come into the\nworld, he was too good to live in it. As in Genesis fratricide (Cain and\nAbel) followed upon the eating of the forbidden fruit, and the loss of\nparadise; so, when the golden age (paradise) had ended among the asas,\nLoke (the serpent) brought fratricide (Hoder and Balder) among the gods;\nthemselves and our ancestors regarded fratricide as the lowest depth of\nmoral depravity. After the death of Balder\n\n  Brothers slay brothers,\n  Sisters\u2019 children\n  Shed each other\u2019s blood,\n  Hard grows the world,\n  Sensual sin waxes huge.\n\n  There are sword-ages, ax-ages--\n  Shields are cleft in twain,--\n  Storm-ages, murder-ages,--\n  Till the world falls dead,\n  And men no longer spare\n  Or pity one another.\n\nUpon the whole we may say that a sun-myth first represents the death of\nthe day at sunset, when the sky is radiant as if dyed in blood. In the\nflushing morn light wins its victory again. Then this same myth becomes\ntransferred to the death and birth of summer. Once more it is lifted\ninto a higher sphere, while still holding on to its physical\ninterpretation, and is applied to the world year. Finally, it is clothed\nwith ethical attributes, becomes thoroughly anthropomorphized, and\ntypifies the good and the evil, the virtues and vices (light and\ndarkness), in the character and life of gods and of men. Thus we get\nfour stages in the development of the myth.\n\nCHAPTER XV.\n\nRAGNAROK. The word is found written in two ways, Ragnarok and ragnar\u00f6kr.\nRagna is genitive plural, from the word regin (god), and means of the\ngods. Rok means reason, ground, origin, a wonder, sign, marvel. It is\nallied to the O.H.G. _rahha_ = sentence, judgment. Ragnar\u00f6k would then\nmean _the history of the gods_, and applied to the dissolution of the\nworld, might be translated _the last judgment_, _doomsday_, _weird of\ngods and the world_. Rokr means _twilight_, and Ragnarokr, as the\nYounger Edda has it, thus means _the twilight of the gods_, and the\nlatter is adopted by nearly all modern writers, although Gudbr.\nVigfusson declares that Ragnarok (doomsday) is no doubt the correct\nform. And this is also to be said in favor of doomsday, that Ragnarok\ndoes not involve only the _twilight_, but the whole _night_ of the gods\nand the world.\n\n\nTHE NIFLUNGS AND GJUKUNGS.\n\nThis chapter of _Skaldskaparmal_ contains much valuable material for a\ncorrect understanding of the Nibelungen-Lied, especially as to the\norigin of the Niblung hoard, and the true character of Brynhild. The\nmaterial given here, and in the Icelandic Volsunga Saga, has been used\nby Wm. Morris in his Sigurd the Volsung and the Fall of the Niblungs.\nIn the Nibelungen-Lied, as transposed by Auber Forestier, in Echoes from\nMist-Land, we have a perfect gem of literature from the middle high\nGerman period, but its author had lost sight of the divine and mythical\norigin of the material that he wove into his poem. It is only by\ncombining the German Nibelungen-Lied with the mythical materials found\nin Norseland that our national Teutonic epic can be restored to us.\nWagner has done this for us in his famous drama; Jordan has done it in\nhis Sigfrid\u2019s saga; Morris has done it in the work mentioned above; but\nwill not Auber Forestier gather up all the scattered fragments relating\nto Sigurd and Brynhild, and weave them together into a prose narrative,\nthat shall delight the young and the old of this great land?\n\nWe are glad to welcome at this time a new book in the field of Niblung\nliterature. We refer to Geibel\u2019s Brunhild, translated, with introduction\nand notes, by Prof. G. Theo. Dippold, and recently published in Boston.\n\n\nMENJA AND FENJA.\n\nThis is usually called the peace of Frode, which corresponds to the\ngolden age in the life of the asas. Avarice is the root of crime, and\nall other evils. Avarice is at the bottom of all the endless woes of the\nNiblung story. The myth explaining why the sea is salt is told in a\nvariety of forms in different countries. In Germany there are several\nfolk-lore stories and traditions in regard to it. In Norway, where\nfolk-lore tales are so abundant, we find the myth about Menja and Fenja\nrecurring in the following form:\n\n\nWHY THE SEA IS SALT.\n\nLong, long ago there were two brothers, the one was rich and the other\nwas poor. On Christmas eve the poor one had not a morsel of bread or\nmeat in his house, and so he went to his brother and asked him for\nmercy\u2019s sake to give him something for Christmas. It was not the first\ntime the brother had had to give him, and he was not very much pleased\nto see him this time either.\n\n\u201cIf you will do what I ask of you, I will give you a whole ham of pork,\u201d\nsaid he.\n\nThe poor man promised immediately, and was very thankful besides.\n\n\u201cThere you have it, now go to hell,\u201d said the rich one, and threw the\nham at him.\n\n\u201cWhat I have promised, I suppose, I must keep,\u201d said the other. He took\nthe ham and started. He walked and walked the whole day, and at twilight\nhe came to a place where everything looked so bright and splendid.\n\n\u201cThis must be the place,\u201d thought the man with the ham.\n\nOut in the wood-shed stood an old man with a long white beard, cutting\nwood for Christmas.\n\n\u201cGood evening,\u201d said the man with the ham.\n\n\u201cGood evening, sir. Where are you going so late?\u201d said the man.\n\n\u201cI am on my way to hell, if I am on the right road,\u201d said the poor man.\n\n\u201cYes, you have taken the right road; it is here,\u201d said the old man. \u201cNow\nwhen you get in, they will all want to buy your ham, for pork is rare\nfood in hell; but you must not sell it, unless you get the hand-mill\nthat stands back of the door for it. When you come out again I will show\nyou how to regulate it. You will find it useful in more than one\nrespect.\u201d\n\nThe man with the ham thanked the old man for this valuable information,\nand rapped at the devil\u2019s door.\n\nWhen he came in it happened as the old man had said. All the devils,\nboth the large ones and the small ones, crowded around him like ants\naround a worm, and the one bid higher than the other for the ham.\n\n\u201cIt is true my wife and I were to have it for our Christmas dinner, but,\nseeing that you are so eager for it, I suppose I will have to let you\nhave it,\u201d said the man. \u201cBut if I am to sell it, I want that hand-mill\nthat stands behind the door there for it.\u201d\n\nThe devil did not like to spare it, and kept dickering and bantering\nwith the man, but he insisted, and so the devil had to give him the\nhand-mill. When the man came out in the yard he asked the old\nwood-chopper how he should regulate the mill; and when he had learned\nhow to do it, he said \u201cthank you,\u201d and made for home as fast as he\ncould. But still he did not reach home before twelve o\u2019clock in the\nnight Christmas eve.\n\n\u201cWhy, where in the world have you been?\u201d said the woman. \u201cHere I have\nbeen sitting hour after hour waiting and waiting, and I haven\u2019t as much\nas two sticks to put on the fire so as to cook the Christmas porridge.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, I could not come any sooner. I had several errands to do, and I had\na long way to go too. But now I will show you,\u201d said the man. He set the\nmill on the table, and had it first grind light, then a table-cloth,\nthen food and ale and all sorts of good things for Christmas, and as he\ncommanded the mill ground. The woman expressed her great astonishment\nagain and again, and wanted to know where her husband had gotten the\nmill, but this he would not tell.\n\n\u201cIt makes no difference where I have gotten it; you see the mill is a\ngood one, and that the water does not freeze,\u201d said the man.\n\nThen he ground food and drink, and all good things, for the whole\nChristmas week, and on the third day he invited his friends: he was\ngoing to have a party. When the rich brother saw all the nice and good\nthings at the party, he became very wroth, for he could not bear to see\nhis brother have anything.\n\n\u201cChristmas eve he was so needy that he came to me and asked me for\nmercy\u2019s sake to give him a little food, and now he gives a feast as\nthough he were both count and king,\u201d said he to the others.\n\n\u201cBut where in hell have you gotten all your riches from?\u201d said he to his\nbrother.\n\n\u201cBehind the door,\u201d answered he who owned the mill. He did not care to\ngive any definite account, but later in the evening, when he began to\nget a little tipsy, he could not help himself and brought out the mill.\n\n\u201cThere you see the one that has given me all the riches,\u201d said he, and\nthen he let the mill grind both one thing and another. When the brother\nsaw this he was bound to have the mill, and after a long bantering about\nit, he finally was to have it; but he was to pay three hundred dollars\nfor it, and his brother was to keep it until harvest.\n\n\u201cWhen I keep it until then, I shall have ground food enough to last many\nyears,\u201d thought he.\n\nOf course the mill got no chance to grow rusty during the next six\nmonths, and when harvest-time came, the rich brother got it; but the\nother man had taken good care not to show him how to regulate it. It was\nin the evening that the rich man brought the mill home, and in the\nmorning he bade his wife go and spread the hay after the mowers,--he\nwould get dinner ready, he said. Toward dinner he put the mill on the\ntable.\n\n\u201cGrind fish and gruel: Grind both well and fast!\u201d said the man, and the\nmill began to grind fish and gruel. It first filled all the dishes and\ntubs full, and after that it covered the whole floor with fish and\ngruel. The man kept puttering and tinkering, and tried to get the mill\nto stop; but no matter how he turned it and fingered at it, the mill\nkept on, and before long the gruel got so deep in the room that the man\nwas on the point of drowning. Then he opened the door to the\nsitting-room, but before long that room was filled too, and the man had\nall he could do to get hold of the door-latch down in this flood of\ngruel. When he got the door open he did not remain long in the room. He\nran out as fast as he could, and there was a perfect flood of fish gruel\nbehind, deluging the yard and his fields.\n\nThe wife, who was in the meadow making hay, began to think that it took\na long time to get dinner ready. \u201cEven if husband does not call us, we\nwill have to go anyway. I suppose he does not know much about making\ngruel; I will have to go and help him,\u201d said the woman to the mowers.\n\nThey went homeward, but on coming up the hill they met the flood of fish\nand gruel and bread, the one mixed up with the other, and the man came\nrunning ahead of the flood.\n\n\u201cWould that each one of you had an hundred stomachs, but have a care\nthat you do not drown in the gruel flood,\u201d cried the husband. He ran by\nthem as though the devil had been after him, and hastened down to his\nbrother. He begged him in the name of everything sacred to come and take\nthe mill away immediately.\n\n\u201cIf it grinds another hour the whole settlement will perish in fish and\ngruel,\u201d said he.\n\nBut the brother would not take it unless he got three hundred dollars,\nand this money had to be paid to him.\n\nNow the poor brother had both money and the mill, and so it did not take\nlong before he got himself a farm, and a much nicer one than his\nbrother\u2019s. With his mill he ground out so much gold that he covered his\nhouse all over with sheets of gold. The house stood down by the\nsea-shore, and it glistened far out upon the sea. All who sailed past\nhad to go ashore and visit the rich man in the golden house, and all\nwanted to see the wonderful mill, for its fame spread far and wide, and\nthere was none who had not heard speak of it.\n\nAfter a long time there came a sea-captain who wished to see the mill.\nHe asked whether it could grind salt.\n\n\u201cYes, it can grind salt,\u201d said he who owned the mill; and when the\ncaptain heard this, he was bound to have it, let it cost what it will.\nFor if he had that, thought he, he would not have to sail far off over\ndangerous waters after cargoes of salt. At first the man did not wish to\nsell it, but the captain teased and begged and finally the man sold it,\nand got many thousand dollars for it. When the captain had gotten the\nmill on his back, he did not stay there long, for he was afraid the man\nmight reconsider the bargain and back out again. He had no time to ask\nhow to regulate it; he went to his ship as fast as he could, and when he\nhad gotten some distance out upon the sea, he got his mill out.\n\n\u201cGrind salt both fast and well,\u201d said the captain. The mill began to\ngrind salt, and that with all its might. When the captain had gotten the\nship full he wanted to stop the mill; but no matter how he worked, and\nno matter how he handled it, the mill kept grinding as fast as ever, and\nthe heap of salt kept growing larger and larger, and at last the ship\nsank. The mill stands on the bottom of the sea grinding this very day,\nand so it comes that the sea is salt.\n\n\n\n\nVOCABULARY.\n\n\nADILS. A king who reigned in Upsala.\nAE. A dwarf.\n\u00c6GER. The god presiding over the stormy sea.\nALF. A dwarf.\nALFATHER. A name of Odin.\nALFHEIM. The home of the elves.\nALFRIG. A dwarf.\nALSVID. One of the horses of the sun.\nALTHJOF. A dwarf.\nALVIS. A dwarf.\nAMSVARTNER. The name of the lake in which the island was situated where\n  the wolf Fenrer was chained.\nANDHRIMNER. The cook in Valhal.\nANDLANG. The second heaven.\nANDVARE. A dwarf.\nANDVARE-NAUT. The ring in the Niblung story.\nANGERBODA. A giantess; mother of the Fenris-wolf.\nANNAR. Husband of Night and father of Jord.\nARVAK. The name of one of the horses of the sun.\nASAHEIM. The home of the asas.\nASALAND. The land of the asas.\nASAS. The Teutonic gods.\nASA-THOR. A common name for Thor.\nASGARD. The residence of the gods.\nASK. The name of the first man created by Odin, Honer and Loder.\nASLAUG. Daughter of Sigurd and Brynhild.\nASMUND. A man visited by Odin.\nASYNJES. The Teutonic goddesses.\nATLE. Gudrun\u2019s husband after the death of Sigurd.\nATRID. A name of Odin.\nAUD. The son of Night and Naglfare.\nAUDHUMBLA. The cow that nourished the giant Ymer.\nAUDUN. A name derived from Odin.\nAURGELMER. A giant; grandfather of Bergelmer; the same as Ymer.\nAURVANG. A dwarf.\nAUSTRE. A dwarf.\n\nBAFUR. A dwarf.\nBALDER. Son of Odin and Frigg, slain by Hoder.\nBALEYG. A name of Odin.\nBAR-ISLE. A cool grove in which Gerd agreed with Skirner to meet Frey.\nBAUGE. A brother of Suttung. Odin worked for him one summer, in order to\n  get his help in obtaining Suttung\u2019s mead of poetry.\nBEIGUD. One of Rolf Krake\u2019s berserks.\nBELE. A giant, brother of Gerd, slain by Frey.\nBERGELMER. A giant; son of Thrudgelmer and grandson of Aurgelmer.\nBERLING. A dwarf.\nBESTLA. Wife of Bure and mother of Odin.\nBIFLIDE. A name of Odin.\nBIFLINDE. A name of Odin.\nBIFROST. The rainbow.\nBIFUR. A dwarf.\nBIKKE. A minister of Jormunrek; causes Randver to be hanged, and\n  Svanhild trodden to death by horses.\nBIL. One of the children that accompany Moon.\nBILEYG. A name of Odin.\nBILSKIRNER. Thor\u2019s abode.\nBLAIN. A dwarf.\nBLODUGHOFDE. Frey\u2019s horse.\nBODN. One of the three jars in which the poetic mead is kept.\nBODVAR BJARKE. One of Rolf Krake\u2019s berserks.\nBOL. One of the rivers flowing out of Hvergelmer.\nBOLTHORN. A giant; father of Bestla, mother of Odin.\nBOLVERK. A name of Odin.\nBOMBUR. A dwarf.\nBOR. Son of Bure; father of Odin.\nBRAGE. A son of Odin; the best of skalds.\nBREIDABLIK. The abode of Balder.\nBRIMER. One of the heavenly halls after Ragnarok.\nBRISING. Freyja\u2019s necklace.\nBROK. A dwarf.\nBRYNHILD. One of the chief heroines in the Niblung story.\nBUDLE. Father of Atle and Brynhild.\nBUE. A son of Vesete, who settled in Borgundarholm.\nBURE. Grandfather of Odin.\nBYLEIST. A brother of Loke.\nBYRGER. A well from which Bil and Hjuke were going when they were taken\n  by Moon.\n\nDAIN. A dwarf.\nDAIN. One of the stags that bite the leaves of Ygdrasil.\nDAINSLEIF. Hogne\u2019s sword.\nDAY. Son of Delling.\nDAYBREAK. The father of Day.\nDELLING. Daybreak.\nDOLGTHVARE. A dwarf.\nDORE. A dwarf.\nDRAUPNER. Odin\u2019s ring.\nDROME. One of the fetters with which the Fenris-wolf was chained.\nDUF. A dwarf.\nDUNEY. One of the stags that bite the leaves of Ygdrasil.\nDURATHRO. One of the stags that bite the leaves of Ygdrasil.\nDURIN. A dwarf.\nDVALIN. One of the stags that bite the leaves of Ygdrasil.\nDVALIN. A dwarf.\n\nEIKINSKJALDE. A dwarf.\nEIKTHYRNER. A hart that stands over Odin\u2019s hall.\nEILIF. Son of Gudrun; a skald.\nEIMYRJA. One of the daughters of Haloge and Glod.\nEINDRIDE. A name of Thor.\nEIR. An attendant of Menglod, and the best of all in the healing art.\nEKIN. One of the rivers flowing from Hvergelmer.\nELDER. A servant of \u00c6ger.\nELDHRIMNER. The kettle in which the boar Sahrimner is cooked in Valhal.\nELIVOGS. The ice-cold streams that flow out of Niflheim.\nELJUDNER. Hel\u2019s hall.\nELLE. An old woman (old age) with whom Thor wrestled in Jotunheim.\nEMBLA. The first woman created by Odin, Honer and Loder.\nENDIL. The name of a giant.\nERP. A son of Jonaker, murdered by Sorle and Hamder.\nEYLIME. The father of Hjordis, mother of Volsung.\nEYSA. One of the daughters of Haloge and Glod.\n\nFAFNER. Son of Hreidmar, killed by Sigurd.\nFAL. A dwarf.\nFALHOFNER. One of the horses of the gods.\nFARBAUTE. The father of Loke.\nFARMAGOD. One of the names of Odin.\nFARMATYR. One of the names of Odin.\nFENJA. A female slave who ground at Frode\u2019s mill.\nFENRIS-WOLF. The monster wolf, son of Loke.\nFENSALER. The abode of Frigg.\nFID. A dwarf.\nFILE. A dwarf.\nFIMAFENG. \u00c6ger\u2019s servant.\nFIMBUL. One of the streams flowing from Hvergelmer.\nFIMBULTHUL. One of the streams flowing from Hvergelmer.\nFIMBUL-TYR. The unknown god.\nFIMBUL-WINTER. The great and awful winter of three years duration\n  preceding Ragnarok.\nFINNSLEIF. A byrnie belonging to King Adils, of Upsala.\nFJALAR. A dwarf.\nFJOLNER. A name of Odin.\nFJOLSVID. A name of Odin.\nFJORGVIN. The mother of Frigg and of Thor.\nFJORM. One of the streams flowing from Hvergelmer.\nFOLKVANG. Freyja\u2019s abode.\nFORM. One of the streams flowing from Hvergelmer.\nFORNJOT. The ancient giant; the father of \u00c6ger.\nFORSETE. The peace-maker; son of Balder and Nanna.\nFRANANGER FORCE. The waterfall into which Loke cast himself in the\n  likeness of a salmon.\nFREKE. One of Odin\u2019s wolves.\nFREY. Son of Njord and husband of Skade.\nFREYJA. The daughter of Njord and sister of Frey.\nFRIDLEIF. A son of Skjold.\nFRIGG. Wife of Odin and mother of the gods.\nFRODE. Grandson of Skjold.\nFROSTE. A dwarf.\nFULLA. Frigg\u2019s attendant.\nFUNDIN. A dwarf.\nFYRE. A river in Sweden.\n\nGAGNRAD. A name of Odin.\nGALAR. A dwarf.\nGANDOLF. A dwarf.\nGANG. A giant.\nGANGLARE. A name of Odin.\nGANGLATE. Hel\u2019s man-servant.\nGANGLERE. A name of Odin.\nGANGLOT. Hel\u2019s maid-servant.\nGANGRAD. A name of Odin.\nGARDROFA. A horse.\nGARM. A dog that barks at Ragnarok.\nGAUT. A name of Odin.\nGEFJUN. A goddess; she is present at \u00c6ger\u2019s feast.\nGEFN. One of the names of Freyja.\nGEIRAHOD. A valkyrie.\nGEIRROD. A giant visited by Thor.\nGEIR SKOGUL. A valkyrie.\nGEIRVIMUL. One of the streams flowing from Hvergelmer.\nGELGJA. The fetter with which the Fenris-wolf was chained.\nGERD. A beautiful giantess, daughter of Gymer.\nGERE. One of Odin\u2019s wolves.\nGERSAME. One of the daughters of Freyja.\nGILLING. Father of Suttung, who possessed the poetic mead.\nGIMLE. The abode of the righteous after Ragnarok.\nGINNAR. A dwarf.\nGINUNGAGAP. The premundane abyss.\nGIPUL. One of the streams flowing from Hvergelmer.\nGISL. One of the horses of the gods.\nGJALLAR-BRIDGE. The bridge across the river Gjol, near Helheim.\nGJALLAR-HORN. Heimdal\u2019s horn.\nGJALLAR-RIVER. The river near Helheim.\nGJALP. One of the daughters of Geirrod.\nGJUKE. A king in Germany, visited by Sigurd.\nGLADSHEIM. Odin\u2019s dwelling.\nGLAM. The name of a giant.\nGLAPSVID. A name of Odin.\nGLASER. A grove in Asgard.\nGLEIPNER. The last fetter with which the wolf Fenrer was bound.\nGLENER. The husband of Sol (sun).\nGLER. One of the horses of the gods.\nGLITNER. Forsete\u2019s hall.\nGLOIN. A dwarf.\nGNA. Frigg\u2019s messenger.\nGNIPA-CAVE. The cave before which the dog Garm barks.\nGNITA-HEATH. Fafner\u2019s abode, where he kept the treasure of the Niblungs.\nGOIN. A serpent under Ygdrasil.\nGOL. A valkyrie.\nGOLDFAX. The giant Hrungner\u2019s horse.\nGOMUL. One of the streams flowing from Hvergelmer.\nGONDLER. One of the names of Odin.\nGONDUL. A valkyrie.\nGOPUL. One of the streams flowing from Hvergelmer.\nGOT. A name of Odin.\nGOTE. Gunnar\u2019s horse.\nGOTHORM. A son of Gjuke; murders Sigurd, and is slain by him.\nGRABAK. One of the serpents under Ygdrasil.\nGRAD. One of the streams flowing from Hvergelmer.\nGRAFVITNER. A serpent under Ygdrasil.\nGRAFVOLLUD. A serpent under Ygdrasil.\nGRAM. Sigurd\u2019s sword.\nGRANE. Sigurd\u2019s horse.\nGREIP. One of the daughters of Geirrod.\nGRID. A giantess visited by Thor.\nGRIDARVOL. Grid\u2019s staff.\nGRIM. A name of Odin.\nGRIMHILD. Gjuke\u2019s queen.\nGRIMNER. One of the names of Odin.\nGRJOTTUNGARD. The place where Thor fought with Hrungner.\nGROA. A giantess, mother of Orvandel.\nGROTTE. The name of King Frode\u2019s mill.\nGUD. A valkyrie.\nGUDNY. One of the children of Gjuke.\nGUDRUN. The famous daughter of Gjuke.\nGULLINBURSTE. The name of Frey\u2019s boar.\nGULLINTANNE. A name of Heimdal.\nGULLTOP. Heimdal\u2019s horse.\nGULLVEIG. A personification of gold; she is pierced and burnt.\nGUNGNER. Odin\u2019s spear.\nGUNLAT. The daughter of the giant Suttung.\nGUNN. A valkyrie.\nGUNNAR. The famous son of Gjuke.\nGUNTHRAIN. One of the rivers flowing from Hvergelmer.\nGWODAN. An old name for Odin.\nGYLFE. A king of Svithjod, who visited Asgard under the name of\n  Ganglere.\nGYLLER. One of the horses of the gods.\nGYMER. Another name of the ocean divinity \u00c6ger.\n\nHABROK. A celebrated hero.\nHALLINSKIDE. Another name of Heimdal.\nHALOGE. A giant, son of Fornjot; also called Loge.\nHAMDER. Son of Jonaker and Gudrun, incited by his mother to avenge his\n  sister\u2019s death.\nHAMSKERPER. A horse; the sire of Hofvarpner, which was Gna\u2019s horse.\nHANGAGOD. A name of Odin.\nHANGATYR. A name of Odin.\nHAPTAGOD. A name of Odin.\nHAR. The High One; applied to Odin.\nHARBARD. A name assumed by Odin.\nHATE. The wolf bounding before the sun, and will at last catch the moon.\nHEIDE. Another name for Gullveig.\nHEIDRUN. A goat that stands over Valhal.\nHEIMDAL. The god of the rainbow.\nHEIMER. Brynhild\u2019s foster-father.\nHEL. The goddess of death; daughter of Loke.\nHELBLINDE. A name of Odin.\nHELMET-BEARER. A name of Odin.\nHENGEKJAPT. The man to whom King Frode gave his mill.\nHEPTE. A dwarf.\nHERAN. A name of Odin.\nHERFATHER. A name of Odin.\nHERJAN. A name of Odin.\nHERMOD. The god who rode on Sleipner to Hel, to get Balder back.\nHERTEIT. A name of Odin.\nHILD. A valkyrie.\nHILDESVIN. A helmet, which King Adils took from King Ale.\nHIMINBJORG. Heimdal\u2019s dwelling.\nHINDFELL. The place where Brynhild sat in her hall, surrounded by the\n  Vafurloge.\nHJALMBORE. A name of Odin.\nHJALPREK. A king in Denmark; collects a fleet for Sigurd.\nHJATLE THE VALIANT. One of Rolf Krake\u2019s berserks.\nHJORDIS. Married to Sigmund, and mother of Sigurd.\nHJUKE. One of the children that accompany Moon.\nHLEDJOLF. A dwarf.\nHLER. Another name of \u00c6ger.\nHLIDSKJALF. The seat of Odin, whence he looked out over all the world.\nHLIN. One of the attendants of Frigg; Frigg herself is sometimes called\n  by this name.\nHLODYN. Thor\u2019s mother.\nHLOK. A valkyrie.\nHLORIDE. A name of Thor.\nHNIKER. A name of Odin.\nHNIKUD. A name of Odin.\nHNITBJORG. The place where Suttung hid the poetic mead.\nHNOS. Freyja\u2019s daughter.\nHODER. The slayer of Balder; he is blind.\nHODMIMER\u2019S-HOLT. The grove where the two human beings, Lif and\n  Lifthraser, were preserved during Ragnarok.\nHOFVARPNER. Gna\u2019s horse.\nHOGNE. A son of Gjuke.\nHONER. One of the three creating gods; with Odin and Loder he creates\n  Ask and Embla.\nHOR. A dwarf.\nHORN. A name of Freyja.\nHRASVELG. A giant in an eagle\u2019s plumage, who produces the wind.\nHREIDMAR. The father of Regin and Fafner.\nHRIB. One of the streams flowing from Hvergelmer.\nHRIMFAXE. The horse of Night.\nHRINGHORN. The ship upon which Balder\u2019s body was burned.\nHRIST. A valkyrie.\nHRODVITNER. A wolf; father of the wolf Hate.\nHRON. One of the streams flowing from Hvergelmer.\nHROPTATYR. A name of Odin.\nHROTTE. Fafner\u2019s sword.\nHRUNGNER. A giant; Thor slew him.\nHRYM. A giant, who steers the ship Naglfar at Ragnarok.\nHVERGELMER. The fountain in the middle of Niflheim.\nHUGE. A person (Thought) who ran a race with Thjalfe, in Jotunheim.\nHUGIST. One of Odin\u2019s ravens.\nHUGSTORE. A dwarf.\nHYMER. A giant with whom Thor went fishing when he caught the\n  Midgard-serpent.\nHYNDLA. A vala visited by Freyja.\nHYRROKEN. A giantess who launched the ship on which Balder was burned.\n\nIDA. A plain where the gods first assemble, and where they assemble\n  again after Ragnarok.\nIDAVOLD. The same.\nIDE. A giant, son of Olvalde.\nIDUN. Wife of Brage; she kept the rejuvenating apples.\nIRONWOOD. The abode of giantesses called Jarnveds.\nIVA. A river in Jotunheim.\nIVALD. The father of the dwarfs that made Sif\u2019s hair, the ship\n  Skidbladner, and Odin\u2019s spear Gungner.\n\nJAFNHAR. A name of Odin.\nJALG. A name of Odin.\nJALK. A name of Odin.\nJARNSAXA. One of Heimdal\u2019s nine giant mothers.\nJARNVED. The same as Ironwood.\nJARNVIDJES. The giantesses dwelling in Ironwood.\nJORD. Wife of Odin, mother of Thor.\nJORMUNGAND. The Midgard-serpent.\nJORMUNREK. King of Goths, marries Svanhild.\nJORUVOLD. The country where Aurvang is situated. Thence come several\n  dwarfs.\nJOTUNHEIM. The home of the giants.\n\nKERLAUGS. The rivers that Thor every day must cross.\nKILE. A dwarf.\nKJALER. A name of Odin.\nKORMT. A river which Thor every day must cross.\nKVASER. The hostage given by the vans to the asas; his blood, when\n  slain, was the poetical meed kept by Suttung.\n\nLADING. One of the fetters with which the Fenris-wolf was bound.\nLANDVIDE. Vidar\u2019s abode.\nLAUFEY. Loke\u2019s mother.\nLEIPT. One of the rivers flowing out of Hvergelmer.\nLERAD. A tree near Valhal.\nLETFET. One of the horses of the gods.\nLIF.       } The two persons preserved in Hodmimer\u2019s-holt during\nLIFTHRASER.}   Ragnarok.\nLIT. A dwarf.\nLJOSALFAHEIM. The home of the light elves.\nLODER. One of the three gods who created Ask and Embla.\nLOFN. One of the asynjes.\nLOGE. A giant who tried his strength at eating with Loke in Jotunheim.\nLOKE. The giant-god of the Norse mythology.\nLOPT. Another name for Loke.\nLOVAR. A dwarf.\nLYNGVE. The island where the Fenris-wolf was chained.\n\nMAGNE. A son of Thor.\nMANNHEIM. The home of man; our earth.\nMARDOL. One of the names of Freyja.\nMEGINGJARDER. Thor\u2019s belt.\nMEILE. A son of Odin.\nMENGLAD. Svipdag\u2019s betrothed.\nMENJA. A female slave who ground at Frode\u2019s mill.\nMIDGARD. The name of the earth in the mythology.\nMIDVITNE. A giant.\nMIMER. The name of the wise giant; keeper of the holy well.\nMIST. A valkyrie.\nMJODVITNER. A dwarf.\nMJOLNER. Thorn\u2019s hammer.\nMJOTUD. A name of Odin.\nMODE. One of Thor\u2019s sons.\nMODGUD. The may who guards the Gjallar-bridge.\nMODSOGNER. A dwarf.\nMOIN. A serpent under Ygdrasil.\nMOKKERKALFE. A clay giant in the myth of Thor and Hrungner.\nMOON, brother of Sun. Both children of Mundilfare.\nMOONGARM. A wolf of Loke\u2019s offspring; he devours the moon.\nMORN. A troll-woman.\nMUNDILFARE. Father of the sun and moon.\nMUNIN. One of Odin\u2019s ravens.\nMUSPEL. The name of an abode of fire.\nMUSPELHEIM. The world of blazing light before the creation.\n\nNA. A dwarf.\nNAGLFAR. A mythical ship made of nail-parings; it appears in Ragnarok.\nNAIN. A dwarf.\nNAL. Mother of Loke.\nNANNA. Daughter of Nep; mother of Forsete, and wife of Balder.\nNARE. Sod of Loke; also called Narfe.\nNARFE. _See_ Nare.\nNASTRAND. A place of punishment for the wicked after Ragnarok.\nNEP. Father of Nanna.\nNIBLUNGS. Identical with Gjukungs.\nNIDA MOUNTAINS. A place where there is, after Ragnarok, a golden hall\n  for the race of Sindre (the dwarfs).\nNIDE. A dwarf.\nNIDHUG. A serpent in the nether world.\nNIFLHEIM. The world of mist before the creation.\nNIFLUNGS. Identical with Niblungs.\nNIGHT. Daughter of Norfe.\nNIKAR. A name of Odin.\nNIKUZ. A name of Odin.\nNIPING. A dwarf.\nNJORD. A van; husband of Skade, and father of Frey and Freyja.\nNOATUN. Njord\u2019s dwelling.\nNON. One of the streams flowing from Hvergelmer.\nNOR. The man after whom Norway was supposed to have been named.\nNORDRE. A dwarf.\nNORFE. A giant, father of Night.\nNORNS. The weird sisters.\nNOT. One of the streams flowing from Hvergelmer.\nNY. A dwarf.\nNYE. A dwarf.\nNYRAD. A dwarf.\n\nODER. Freyja\u2019s husband.\nODIN. Son of Bor and Bestla; the chief of Teutonic gods.\nODRARER. One of the vessels in which the poetic mead was kept.\nOFNER. A serpent under Ygdrasil.\nOIN. A dwarf.\nOKU-THOR. A name of Thor.\nOLVALDE. A giant; father of Thjasse, Ide and Gang.\nOME. A name of Odin.\nONAR. A dwarf.\nORBODA. Wife of the giant Gymer.\nORE. A dwarf.\nORMT. One of the rivers that Thor has to cross.\nORNER. The name of a giant.\nORVANDEL. The husband of Groa, the vala who sang magic songs over Thor\n  after he had fought with Hrungner.\nOSKE. A name of Odin.\nOTTER. A son of Hreidmar; in the form of an otter he was killed by Loke.\n\nQUASER. _See_ Kvaser.\n\nRADGRID. A valkyrie.\nRADSVID. A dwarf.\nRAFNAGUD. A name of Odin.\nRAGNAROK. The last day; the dissolution of the gods and the world; the\n  twilight of the gods.\nRAN. The goddess of the sea; wife of \u00c6ger.\nRANDGRID. A valkyrie.\nRANDVER. A son of Jormunrek.\nRATATOSK. A squirrel in Ygdrasil.\nRATE. An auger used by Odin in obtaining the poetic mead.\nREGIN. Son of Hreidmar.\nREGINLEIF. A valkyrie.\nREIDARTYR. A name of Odin.\nREK. A dwarf.\nRIND. Mother of Vale.\nROGNER. A name of Odin.\nROSKVA. Thor\u2019s maiden follower.\n\nSAHRIMNER. The boar on which the gods and heroes in Valhal live.\nSAD. A name of Odin.\nSAGA. The goddess of history.\nSAGER. The bucket carried by Bil and Hjuke.\nSANGETAL. A name of Odin.\nSEKIN. One of the streams flowing from Hvergelmer.\nSESSRYMNER. Freyja\u2019s palace.\nSIAR. A dwarf.\nSID. A stream flowing from Hvergelmer.\nSIDHOT. A name of Odin.\nSIDSKEG. A name of Odin.\nSIF. Thor\u2019s wife.\nSIGFATHER. A name of Odin.\nSIGFRID. The hero in the Niblung story; the same as Sigurd.\nSIGMUND. Son of Volsung. Also son of Sigurd and Gudrun.\nSINDRE. A dwarf.\nSIGTYR. A name of Odin.\nSIGYN. Loke\u2019s wife.\nSIGURD. The hero in the Niblung story; identical with Sigfrid.\nSILVERTOP. One of the horses of the gods.\nSIMUL. The pole on which Bil and Hjuke carried the bucket.\nSINFJOTLE. Son of Sigmund.\nSINER. One of the horses of the gods.\nSJOFN. One of the asynjes.\nSKADE. A giantess; daughter of Thjasse and wife of Njord.\nSKEGGOLD. A valkyrie.\nSKEIDBRIMER. One of the horses of the gods.\nSKIDBLADNER. Frey\u2019s ship.\nSKIFID. A dwarf.\nSKIFIR. A dwarf.\nSKILFING. A name of Odin.\nSKINFAXE. The horse of Day.\nSKIRNER. Frey\u2019s messenger.\nSKOGUL. A valkyrie.\nSKOL. The wolf that pursues the sun.\nSKRYMER. The name assumed by Utgard-Loke; a giant.\nSKULD. The norn of the future.\nSLEIPNER. Odin\u2019s eight-footed steed.\nSLID. One of the streams flowing from Hvergelmer.\nSLIDRUGTANNE. Frey\u2019s boar.\nSNOTRA. One of the asynjes.\nSOKMIMER. A giant slain by Odin.\nSOKVABEK. A mansion, where Odin and Saga quaff from golden beakers.\nSOL. Daughter of Mundilfare.\nSON. One of the vessels containing the poetic mead.\nSORLE. Son of Jonaker and Gudrun; avenges the death of Svanhild.\nSUDRE. A dwarf.\nSUN. Identical with Sol.\nSURT. Guards Muspelheim. A fire-giant in Ragnarok.\nSUTTUNG. The giant possessing the poetic mead.\nSVADE. A giant.\nSVADILFARE. A horse, the sire of Sleipner.\nSVAFNER. A serpent under Ygdrasil.\nSVANHILD. Daughter of Sigurd and Gudrun.\nSVARIN. A dwarf.\nSVARTALFAHEIM. The home of the swarthy elves.\nSVARTHOFDE. The ancestor of all enchanters.\nSVASUD. The name of a giant; father of summer.\nSVIAGRIS. A ring demanded by the berserks for Rolf Krake.\nSVID. A name of Odin.\nSVIDAR. A name of Odin.\nSVIDR. A name of Odin.\nSVIDRE. A name of Odin.\nSVIDRIR. A name of Odin.\nSVIDUR. A name of Odin.\nSVIPDAG. The betrothed of Menglad.\nSVIPOL. A name of Odin.\nSVOL. One of the streams flowing from Hvergelmer.\nSVOLNE. A name of Odin.\nSYLG. A stream flowing from Hvergelmer.\nSYN. A minor goddess.\nSYR. A name of Freyja.\n\nTANGNJOST.  } Thor\u2019s goats.\nTANGRISNER. }\nTHEK. A dwarf; also a name of Odin.\nTHJALFE. The name of Thor\u2019s man-servant.\nTHJASSE. A giant; the father of Njord\u2019s wife, Skade.\nTHJODNUMA. One of the streams flowing from Hvergelmer.\nTHOK. Loke in the disguise of a woman.\nTHOL. One of the streams flowing from Hvergelmer.\nTHOR. Son of Odin and Fjorgyn. The god of thunder.\nTHORIN. A dwarf.\nTHORN. A giant.\nTHRIDE. A name of Odin.\nTHRO. A dwarf; also a name of Odin.\nTHROIN. A dwarf.\nTHROR. A name of Odin.\nTHRUD. A valkyrie.\nTHUD. A name of Odin.\nTHUL. A stream flowing from Hvergelmer.\nTHUND. A name of Odin.\nTHVITE. A stone used in chaining the Fenris-wolf.\nTHYN. One of the streams flowing from Hvergelmer.\nTYR. The one-armed god of war.\n\nUD. A name of Odin.\nUKKO. The god of thunder in Tshudic mythology.\nUKKO-THOR. A name for Thor.\nULLER. Son of Sif and step-son of Thor.\nURD. The norn of the past.\nUTGARD. The abode of the giant Utgard-Loke.\nUTGARD-LOKE. A giant visited by Thor; identical with Skrymer.\n\nVAFTHRUDNER. A giant visited by Odin.\nVAFUD. A name of Odin.\nVAFURLOGE. The bickering flame surrounding Brynhild on Hindfell.\nVAK. A name of Odin.\nVALASKJALF. One of Odin\u2019s dwellings.\nVALE. Brother of Balder; kills Hoder.\nVALFATHER. A name of Odin.\nVALHAL. The hall to which Odin invites those slain in battle.\nVANADIS. A name of Freyja.\nVANAHEIM. The home of the vans.\nVAR. The goddess of betrothals and marriages.\nVARTARE. The thread with which the mouth of Loke was sewed together.\nVASAD. The grandfather of Winter.\nVE. A brother of Odin. (Odin, Vile and Ve).\nVEDFOLNER. A hawk in Ygdrasil.\nVEGSVIN. One of the streams flowing from Hvergelmer.\nVEGTAM. A name of Odin.\nVERATYR. A name of Odin.\nVERDANDE. The norn of the present.\nVESTRE. A dwarf.\nVID. One of the streams flowing from Hvergelmer.\nVIDAR. Son of Odin and the giantess Grid.\nVIDBLAIN. The third heaven.\nVIDFIN. The father of Bil and Hjuke.\nVIDOLF. The ancestor of the valas.\nVIDRER. A name of Odin.\nVIDUR. A name of Odin.\nVIG. A dwarf.\nVIGRID. The field of battle where the gods and the hosts of Surt meet in\n  Ragnarok.\nVILE. Brother of Odin and Ve.\nVILMEIDE. The ancestor of all wizards.\nVIMER. A river that Thor crosses.\nVIN. A river that flows from Hvergelmer.\nVINA. A river that flows from Hvergelmer.\nVINDALF. A dwarf.\nVINDLONG. One of the names of the father of winter.\nVINDSVAL. One of the names of the father of winter.\nVINGNER. A name of Thor.\nVINGOLF. The palace of the asynjes.\nVINGTHOR. A name of Thor.\nVIRFIR. A dwarf.\nVIT. A dwarf.\nVOLSUNGS. The descendants of Volsung.\nVON. A river formed by the saliva running from the mouth of the chained\n  Fenris-wolf.\nVOR. One of the asynjes.\n\nWODAN. A name of Odin.\n\nYDALER. Uller\u2019s dwelling.\nYG. A name of Odin.\nYGDRASIL. The world-embracing ash-tree.\nYLG. One of the streams flowing from Hvergelmer.\nYMER. The huge giant out of whose body the world was created.\n\n\n\n\nINDEX.\n\n  [Transcriber\u2019s Note:\n\n  Page references in the 5-10 range do not correspond reliably to actual\n  citations; pages 5 and 6 do not exist at all. It is possible that the\n  Preface was rewritten and repaginated between 1879 (the original date\n  of the book) and 1901 (the date of the printing used as the basis for\n  this e-text).]\n\n\nA\n\nAbel, 265.\nAcademy (London), 252.\nAchilleus, 167, 168.\nAdam, 33.\nAdela, 255.\nAdils, 215, 217.\nAe, 71.\n\u00c6ger, 153, 154, 159, 160, 162, 164, 169, 176-189, 196, 240, 260.\n\u00c6neas, 168, 221-224, 229, 242.\nAfrica and Africans, 36, 38, 225.\nAinbet, 255.\nAinos, 221.\nAldafather, 246.\nAle, 89, 168, 215.\nAlf, 71.\nAlfather, 65, 69, 72, 77, 80, 81, 92, 94, 98, 106, 245, 246, 259.\nAlfheim, 77, 183.\nAlfrig, 261.\nAlsace, 255.\nAlsvid, 66.\nAlthjof, 70.\nAlvis, 251.\nAmerica, 30, 244.\nAmsvartner, 94.\nAnchises, 223, 229.\nAndhrimner, 104.\nAndlang, 78.\nAndvare, 71, 194, 195, 199-201.\nAndvarenaut, 200.\nAngerboda, 91.\nAnglo-Saxon, 258.\nAnnan, 45.\nAnnar, 65.\nArgulos, 41.\nAriadne, 29.\nAriel, 253.\nArk, 33.\nArndt, 257, 258.\nArvak, 66.\nAsaheim, 226, 259.\nAsaland, 226, 234.\nAsas, 79-90.\nAsa-Thor, 241.\nAsburg, 226.\nAsgard, 6, 7, 51, 54, 64, 65, 69, 133, 136, 148, 153, 156-158, 164,\n  168-176, 181, 189, 191, 224, 226, 228, 230, 237.\nAsia, 38, 43, 166, 225-229.\nAsiamen, 46, 48.\nAsk, 5, 64, 243, 250.\nAslaug, 204.\nAsmund, 245, 246.\nAspargum, 226.\nAsov, 225.\nAssor, 229.\nAsynjes, 97-100.\nAssyrians, 37, 40, 225.\nAtlas, 226.\nAtle, 198-202, 251.\nAtra, 45.\nAtrid, 81, 245.\nAud, 65.\nAudhumbla, 59, 246.\nAudun, 235.\nAurgelmer, 58, 250.\nAurvang, 71.\nAustre, 61, 70.\nAustria, 255.\n\n\nB\n\nBaal, 37.\nBabylon, 39.\nBafur, 70.\nBalder, 6, 7, 8, 46, 83, 84, 89, 131-136, 148, 158, 175, 232, 249, 259,\n  260, 264, 265.\nBaleyg, 81, 245, 247.\nBaltic, 223, 231.\nBanquo, 253.\nBar, 61, 64, 250.\nBar-Isle, 102.\nBauge, 162, 163.\nBavaria, 256.\nBedvig, 45.\nBeigud, 215.\nBel, 37.\nBeldegg, 46.\nBele, 102, 103, 145, 175, 262.\nBeowulf, 262.\nBergelmer, 60, 250.\nBergmann, Fr., 18, 221.\nBerling, 261.\nBestla, 60, 250.\nBiflide, 54.\nBiflinde, 54, 81, 245.\nBifrost, 68, 73, 74, 77, 88, 108, 142.\nBifur, 70.\nBikke, 202, 203.\nBil, 66, 99, 250.\nBileyg, 81, 245.\nBilskirner, 82, 259.\nBjaf, 45.\nBjalfe, 233.\nBjar, 45.\nBjarnhedinn, 233.\nBlack Sea, 225, 229.\nBlackwell, W. L., 15, 18.\nBlain, 70.\nBlind, Karl, 252-256.\nBlodughofde, 260.\nBlueland, 225, 226.\nBodn, 160-165.\nBodvar Bjarke, 215.\nBol, 106.\nBolthorn, 60, 250.\nBolverk, 81, 162, 163, 245.\nBombur, 70.\nBor, 50, 61, 64, 250.\nBorgundarholm, 240.\nBornholm, 240.\nBothnia, 240.\nBrage, 6, 9, 16, 25, 50, 87, 108, 153, 154, 159, 160, 164, 166, 169,\n  184, 187, 189, 205, 231, 260.\nBrander, 46.\nBreidablik, 77, 84, 232, 259.\nBrimer, 147, 166.\nBrising, 97, 186, 261, 262.\nBritain, 230.\nBrok, 190-192.\nBrynhild, 198-201, 262, 267.\nBudd, 244.\nBuddha, 244.\nBudle, 198, 201.\nBue, 240.\nBugge, Sophus, 18.\nBure, 5, 60, 250.\nByleist, 91, 144.\nByrger, 66.\n\n\nC\n\nC\u00e6sar, 233.\nCain, 265.\nCarlyle, Sir Thomas, 22, 252.\nCarthage, 31, 242.\nCato, the Elder, 31.\nCaucasian, 226.\nCeltic, 239, 240, 244.\nCerberos, 41.\nChaldeans, 40.\nChasgar, 226.\nChina, 28.\nChlotildis, 255.\nChrist, 201, 221, 223.\nCicero, 229.\nColumbus, 30.\nCottle, A. S., 15.\nCrete, 28, 39-42.\n\n\nD\n\nDain, 70, 75.\nDainsleif, 219.\nDane, 46.\nDanube, 230.\nDardanos, 42.\nDasent, G. W., 15, 16, 18.\nDay, 65, 66.\nDaybreak, 65.\nDelling, 65.\nDenmark, 50, 206, 207, 214, 222, 230, 231, 239, 242, 251.\nDido, 242.\nDietrich, Fr., 18.\nDippold, G. Theo., 267.\nDolgthvare, 71.\nDon, 225, 229.\nDore, 71.\nDornr\u00f6schen, 254.\nDraupner, 71, 134, 136, 187.\nDrome, 93.\nDuf, 71.\nDuney, 75.\nDurathro, 75.\nDurin, 70.\nDvalin, 70, 74, 75, 261.\n\n\nE\n\nEgilsson, S., 18, 19.\nEikenskjalde, 71.\nEikthyrner, 106.\nEilif, 179.\nEimyrja, 240.\nEindride, 175.\nEir, 97.\nEkin, 106.\nElder, 188.\nEldhrimner, 104.\nElenus, 168.\nEline, 251.\nElivogs, 5, 57, 59, 173, 248.\nEljudner, 92.\nElle, 124, 127.\nEmbla, 5, 64, 243, 250.\nEmerson, R. W., 22.\nEndil, 180.\nEnea, 38, 221, 225.\nEngland, 30, 48, 222, 232, 239, 250, 258.\nErichthonios, 221.\nErp, 202-205.\nEthiopia, 225.\nEttm\u00fcller, Ludw., 18.\nEurope, 38, 221-230, 241, 254.\nEve, 33.\nEylime, 196.\nEysa, 240.\nEyvind Skaldespiller, 236.\n\n\nF\n\nFafner, 193-201, 263.\nFal, 71.\nFalhofner, 73, 260.\nFarbaute, 91, 185.\nFarmagod, 81, 247.\nFarmatyr, 81, 165, 245.\nFaye, A., 257.\nFenja, 206-208, 267.\nFenris-wolf, 8, 87, 91-96, 104, 141, 142, 148, 149, 168.\nFensaler, 97, 132.\nFid, 71.\nFile, 71.\nFimafeng, 188.\nFimbul, 56.\nFimbulthul, 106.\nFimbul-tyr, 5, 6, 8.\nFimbul-winter, 7, 140, 264.\nFinnish, 239, 240, 241, 250.\nFinnsleif, 215.\nFjalar, 160, 161.\nFjarlaf, 45.\nFjolner, 54, 81, 207, 238, 245.\nFjolsvid, 81, 245, 246.\nFjorgvin, 65.\nFjorm, 106.\nFolkvang, 86, 259.\nForestier, Auber, 262, 263, 266, 267.\nForm, 56, 241.\nFornjot, 239-243.\nForsete, 89, 90, 153, 259, 260.\nFrananger Force, 137.\nFrankland, 46.\nFraser\u2019s Magazine, 253.\nFreke, 105.\nFreovit, 46.\nFrey, 6, 7, 8, 85, 86, 94, 101-103, 109-112, 134, 142, 143, 153, 187,\n  191, 192, 227, 228, 237-239, 243, 260, 262, 264.\nFreyja, 6, 7, 29, 85, 86, 97, 110, 134, 153, 157, 170, 183, 187, 228,\n  232, 239, 259, 261, 262.\nFridleif, 45, 46, 206, 218.\nFrigialand, 168.\nFrigg, 6, 7, 43, 45, 65, 80, 94, 97, 98, 131-136, 145, 153, 176, 187,\n  227.\nFrigia, 43.\nFrigida, 45.\nFrjodiger, 46.\nFrode, 41, 206-213, 238, 267.\nFroste, 71, 240, 241.\nFulla, 97, 136, 153, 187.\nFundin, 71.\nFunen, 231.\nFyre, 216.\nFyrisvold, 187, 217.\n\n\nG\n\nGaelic, 257.\nGagnrad, 247.\nGalar, 160, 161.\nGandolf, 70.\nGandvik, 179.\nGang, 159.\nGanglare, 81.\nGanglate, 92.\nGanglere, 245, 246, 247.\nGanglot, 92.\nGangrad, 58.\nGardarike, 230.\nGardie, de la, 17.\nGardrofa, 99.\nGarm, 8, 108, 143.\nGaut, 81.\nGave, 46.\nGefjun, 49, 50, 97, 153, 187, 231, 242.\nGefn, 97.\nGegenwart, Die, 252.\nGeibel, Em., 267.\nGeir, 46.\nGeirabod, 99.\nGeirrod, 81, 176-183, 245, 246.\nGeir Skogul, 252.\nGeirvimul, 106.\nGelgja, 96.\nGelmer, 248.\nGerd, 101-113, 153, 228, 238, 262, 265.\nGere, 105, 261.\nGermania (of Tacitus), 244.\nGermany, 30, 222, 230, 239, 250-256.\nGersame, 238.\nGertraud, 255.\nGibraltar, 225, 230.\nGill, 250.\nGilling, 161.\nGimle, 9, 54, 77, 78, 147, 247.\nGinnar, 71.\nGinungagap, 5, 56, 57, 58, 61, 72, 243, 247-249.\nGipul, 106.\nGisl, 73, 260.\nGissur, Jarl, 24.\nGjallar-bridge, 135, 249.\nGjallarhorn, 72, 88, 142.\nGjallar-river, 135.\nGjalp, 178, 179, 180, 182.\nGjoll, 56, 96, 248.\nGjuke, 199, 204, 206, 266.\nGjukungs, 193-201.\nGlad, 73, 260.\nGladsheim, 28, 69, 259.\nGlam, 183.\nGlapsvid, 81, 245.\nGlaser, 187, 199.\nGleipner, 87, 94.\nGlener, 66.\nGler, 73, 260.\nGlitner, 77, 89, 90, 259.\nGlod, 240.\nGloin, 71.\nGlora, 44.\nGna, 98, 99.\nGnipa-cave, 8, 143.\nGnita-heath, 196-200.\nGod, 33-40, 54.\nGodheim, 225, 236.\nGoe, 241.\nGoin, 75.\nGol, 99.\nGolden Age, 69-71.\nGoldfax, 169, 176.\nGomul, 106.\nGondler, 81, 245.\nGondul, 252.\nGopul, 106.\nGor, 241.\nGot, 246.\nGote, 199.\nGothorm, 198-211.\nGotland, 206.\nGoransson, J., 18.\nGrabak, 76.\nGrad, 106.\nGrafvitner, 75.\nGrafvollud, 76.\nGram, 199, 200.\nGrane, 198.\nGrave, 199.\nGray, 16.\nGreece and Greeks, 28, 31, 39-43, 222-229, 250.\nGreenland, 30.\nGreip, 178-183.\nGrid, 177.\nGridarvol, 177, 181.\nGrim, 81, 245, 246.\nGrimhild, 198.\nGrimm (Brothers), 244, 253, 258.\nGrimner, 81, 244, 245, 247, 248.\nGrjottungard, 171, 174.\nGroa, 173, 174.\nGrotte, 207, 210.\nGrottesong, 207, 208.\nGuatemala, 88, 244.\nGud, 100.\nGudny, 198.\nGudolf, 45.\nGudrun, 179-203.\nGullinburste, 134.\nGullintanne, 88.\nGulltop, 73, 88, 134, 259.\nGullveig, 252, 265.\nGungner, 142, 189-192.\nGunlad, 160-165.\nGunn, 252.\nGunnar, 198-203.\nGunnthro, 56, 248.\nGunthrain, 106.\nGwodan, 244.\nGylfe, 9, 16, 46, 49, 50, 51, 52, 151, 221, 224, 231, 232, 242.\nGyller, 73, 260.\nGymer, 101, 103, 238.\n\n\nH\n\nHa, 218.\nHabrok, 108.\nHafthor, 235.\nHakon, 21-24, 236.\nHaleygjatal, 47.\nHalfdan, 213.\nHallinskide, 88.\nHaloge, 240.\nHalogeland, 240.\nHam, 35, 36.\nHamder, 202, 206.\nHamskerper, 99.\nHangagod, 81.\nHangatyr, 165.\nHaptagod, 81.\nHar, 71, 81, 243-246.\nHarald Harfager, 51, 243.\nHarbard, 245.\nHate, 67.\nHaustlong, 184.\nHebrew, 37.\nHedin, 218, 219.\nHedinians, 219.\nHeide, 252.\nHeidrun, 106.\nHeimdal, 6, 8, 88, 89, 134, 142, 143, 153, 232, 259, 260.\nHeimer, 204.\nHeimskringla, 10, 22, 50, 57, 221, 224, 239, 242, 243, 263.\nHekate, 255.\nHektor, 43, 151, 167, 168.\nHel, 6, 7, 55, 56, 57, 91-96, 133, 135-137, 142, 144, 148, 248, 255,\n  264.\nHelblinde, 81, 91, 245.\nHeld, 255.\nHelge Hundings-Bane, 248.\nHelgeland, 240.\nHelmet-bearer, 245.\nHenderson, 16.\nHendride, 44.\nHengekjapt, 207.\nHengist, 46, 229.\nHepte, 71.\nHerakles, 41.\nHeran, 54.\nHerbert, 16.\nHerfather, 247.\nHerfjoter, 99.\nHerikon, 43, 221.\nHerjan, 54, 81, 245, 247.\nHermanric, 262.\nHermod, 45, 133, 135, 136, 249, 260.\nHero-book, 250.\nHerodotos, 22.\nHerteit, 81, 245.\nHesse (Rhenish), 255.\nHild, 99, 198, 218, 219, 252.\nHildebrand, Karl, 18.\nHildesvin, 215.\nHimminbjorg, 77, 88, 89, 232, 259.\nHindfell, 199.\nHjaddingavig, 219.\nHjalmbore, 81.\nHjalprek, 196.\nHjalte the Valiant, 215.\nHjarrande, 218.\nHjordis, 196.\nHjuke, 66, 250.\nHledjolf, 71.\nHleidre, 212, 214.\nHler, 153, 240, 243.\nHlidskjalf, 64, 77, 101, 137.\nHlin, 98, 145.\nHlodyn, 145.\nHlok, 99.\nHloride, 44.\nHlymdaler, 204.\nHnikar, 54, 81, 245, 247.\nHnikud, 54, 81, 245.\nHnitbjorg, 161, 162.\nHnos, 97, 238.\nHoder, 7, 89, 132, 148, 260, 265.\nHodmimer\u2019s-holt, 149.\nHofvarpner, 99.\nHogne, 198-218.\nHolge, 187.\nHolzmann, A., 18.\nHomer, 222.\nHoner, 84, 153, 155, 157, 184-186, 193, 227, 243.\nHor, 71.\nHorn, 97.\nHornklofe, 233.\nHorsa, 229.\nHowitts, the, 16.\nHrasvelg, 79.\nHreidmar, 193-196.\nHrid, 56.\nHrimfaxe, 65.\nHrimgerd, 251.\nHringhorn, 133.\nHrist, 99.\nHrodvitner, 67.\nHrolf, 241.\nHron, 106.\nHroptatyr, 81, 246.\nHrotte, 196.\nHrungner, 7, 169-176, 210.\nHrym, 141-144.\nHvergelmer, 56, 72, 75, 106, 148, 243, 248, 249.\nHvitserk, 215.\nHuge, 121, 126.\nHugin, 105.\nHugstare, 71.\nHumboldt, 244.\nHymer, 128-133, 167, 186.\nHyndla, 249.\nHyrrokken, 133, 134.\n\n\nI\n\nIceland, 240.\nIda, 148.\nIdavold, 69.\nIde, 159.\nIdun, 6, 7, 10, 28, 87, 88, 153, 155, 157, 184-187, 264.\nIliad, 22, 221, 224.\nIlos, 43.\nIndia, 28, 244.\nIrmina, 255.\nIronwood, 57.\nIsefjord, 231.\nItaly, 42, 222.\nIthaca, 223.\nItrman, 45.\nIva, 182.\nIvalde, 112, 189.\n\n\nJ\n\nJack, 247, 250.\nJafnhar, 81, 243, 245, 246.\nJalanger, 207.\nJalg, 54.\nJalk, 54, 81, 245-247.\nJamieson, 16.\nJaphet, 35.\nJarnsaxa, 173.\nJarnved, 67.\nJarnvidjes, 67.\nJat, 45.\nJerusalem, 225.\nJews, 29.\nJohnstown, 232.\nJokul, 240.\nJonaker, 202, 206.\nJonsson (Arngrim), 17.\nJonsson (Th.), 18, 19.\nJord, 65, 100, 174, 175.\nJormungand, 91-96, 144.\nJormunrek, 202-206.\nJoruvold, 71.\nJotland, 240.\nJotunheim, 49, 65, 69, 91, 110, 111, 115, 133, 144, 157, 169, 176, 185,\n  187, 231, 259.\nJuno, 40, 250.\nJupiter, 41, 42.\nJutland, 46, 247.\n\n\nK\n\nKadmos, 241.\nKalevala, 84.\nKalmuks, 225.\nKann, 254.\nKare, 240-243.\nKemble, 258.\nKerlangs, 73.\nKeyser (Rud.), 18, 19, 20, 23, 25, 26.\nKesfet, 45.\nKile, 71.\nKingsley (Chas.), 230.\nKjalar, 81, 245.\nKnue, 211.\nKormt, 73.\nKvaser, 137, 160-165, 227.\n\n\nL\n\nLaage, 231.\nLading, 93.\nLaing (Samuel), 22, 224.\nLandvide, 259.\nLaomedon, 43.\nLatin, 222.\nLaufey, 91, 110, 113, 137.\nLeidre (See Hleidre), 231.\nLeipt, 56, 248.\nLerad, 106, 263.\nLetfet, 73, 260.\nLiber, 228.\nLibera, 228.\nLif, 149.\nLifthraser, 149.\nLit, 71, 134.\nLithraborg, 231.\nLjosalfaheim, 259.\nLoder, 243.\nLofn, 98.\nLoge, 120, 126, 240, 243.\nLogrinn, 49.\nLoke, 6-8, 80, 91-96, 109-145, 151, 153, 155-158, 176-187, 188-199, 240,\n  260, 261, 264, 265.\nLopt, 91, 186.\nLoptsson (Jon), 20.\nLora, 44.\nLoricos, 44.\nLoride, 44.\nLovar, 71.\nLybia, 230, 242.\nLyngve, 94.\n\n\nM\n\nMacbeth, 252-265.\nMacedonians, 39, 40, 42.\nMaelstrom, 208.\nMagi, 45.\nMagne, 45, 48, 149, 168, 173.\nMagnusson (Arne), 17, 18, 23.\nMalar, 49, 231, 232.\nMallet, 16, 230.\nManilius, 229.\nMannheim, 225, 236.\nMardol, 97.\nMars, 222.\nMechtild, 255.\nMediterranean Sea, 38.\nMegingjarder, 83, 106, 176, 180.\nMeile, 174.\nMenglad, 260, 262.\nMenja, 206-209, 267.\nMenon, 44.\nMetellus, 223.\nMexican, 244.\nMidgard, 5, 62, 63, 67, 109, 128, 145, 259.\nMidvitne, 245.\nMimer, 10, 19, 72, 73, 142, 143, 224, 227, 228, 234, 243.\nMist, 99.\nMithridates, 222, 229.\nMjodvitner, 70.\nMjoll, 241.\nMjolner, 6-8, 64, 83, 111-130, 134, 148, 149, 171, 176.\nMjotud, 246.\nM\u00f6bius (Th.), 18.\nMode, 45, 148, 149, 168.\nModgud, 135, 249.\nModsogner, 70.\nMoin, 75.\nMokkerkalfe, 171, 173.\nMoldau, 228.\nMongolians, 225.\nMoon, 66.\nMoongarm, 67.\nMorn, 185, 186.\nMorris (Wm.), 224, 266.\nM\u00fcller (Max), 244.\nM\u00fcller (P. E.), 18, 20.\nMummius, 223.\nMunch (P. A.), 18.\nMundilfare, 66.\nMunin, 105.\nMunon, 44.\nMuspel, 68, 103, 112, 142, 144.\nMuspelheim, 5, 56, 58, 61, 66, 243, 247, 249, 259.\nMuss, 254.\nMysing, 207.\n\n\nN\n\nNa, 70.\nNaglfar, 65, 112, 141, 144.\nNain, 70.\nNal, 91.\nNanna, 81, 134, 136, 153.\nNare, 91, 139.\nNarfe, 65, 91, 139.\nNastrand, 9, 147.\nNep, 89, 134.\nNeptune, 41.\nNiblungs, 101, 193, 199, 201, 202, 262, 263, 266.\nNiblung Story, 30, 266, 267.\nNida Mountains, 147.\nNide, 70.\nNidhug, 9, 72, 75, 148, 249.\nNiflheim, 5, 56, 58, 72, 92, 243, 247, 249, 259.\nNiflhel, 55, 111, 259.\nNiflungs, 193-199, 201, 202, 266.\nNight,65.\nNikar, 54.\nNikuz, 54.\nNile, 41.\nNiping, 70.\nNjord, 6, 42, 84, 85, 101, 153, 158, 159, 187, 227, 228, 232, 236, 237,\n  239, 259, 260.\nNjorvasnud, 225.\nNjorve, 225.\nNoah, 33, 35, 225.\nNoatun, 84, 85, 158, 232, 237, 259.\nNon, 106.\nNor, 241.\nNordre, 61, 70.\nNorfe, 65.\nNorns, 73-78.\nNorway, 215, 218, 222, 230, 236, 239, 240, 241, 251, 256, 257.\nNot, 106.\nNy, 71.\nNye, 70.\nNyrad, 71.\nNyerup (R.), 18.\n\n\nO\n\nOder, 97, 112, 228, 238.\nOdin, 5-10, 29, 39, 43, 45-47, 60, 65, 73, 77, 80, 83, 86, 89, 96, 100,\n  104-112, 132-134, 137, 142, 143, 145, 153, 155, 157, 158, 160-165,\n  168-176, 181, 185, 186, 187, 189-192, 194, 195, 206, 221, 239, 240,\n  243-263.\nOdinse, 230, 231, 250.\nOdinstown, 232.\nOdoacer, 223.\nOdrarer, 160-165.\nOdyssey, 22, 224.\nOfner, 76, 245, 247.\nOin, 70.\nOku-Thor, 82, 151, 167, 168, 209.\nOlafsson (Magnus), 17.\nOlafsson (Stephan), 17.\nOlaf (Thordsson), 9, 20, 22, 23-27.\nOlaf (Tryggvason), 261.\nOlvalde, 159.\nOme, 54, 81, 245.\nOnar, 70.\nOrboda, 101.\nOre, 70, 71.\nOrestes, 223.\nOrkneys, 218.\nOrmt, 73.\nOrner, 210.\nOrvandel, 173-175.\nOske, 54, 81, 245, 247.\nOtter, 193.\nOttilia, 255.\n\n\nP\n\nPaulus (Diakonos), 244.\nPersia, 225.\nPetersen (N. M.), 248.\nPfeiffer (Fr.), 18.\nPigott, 16.\nPluto, 49.\nPoetry (origin of), 161-165.\nPolar Sea, 248.\nPompey, 43, 222, 229, 230.\nPontus, 229.\nPriamos, 39, 43, 44, 166, 167.\nPyrrhus, 168.\n\n\nQ\n\nQuaser (see Kvaser).\nQuenland, 240.\n\n\nR\n\nRachel, 255.\nRadgrid, 99.\nRedsvid, 71.\nRafn, 215.\nRafnagud, 105.\nRagnar, 206.\nRagnar (Lodbrok), 205.\nRagnarok, 8, 88, 96, 104, 139-145, 167, 219, 228, 247, 249, 264, 266.\nRan, 188.\nRandgrid, 99.\nRandver, 202-205.\nRask (Rasmus), 18.\nRatatosk, 75.\nRate, 163.\nRefil, 196.\nRegin, 193-200.\nReginleif, 99.\nReidartyr, 165.\nReidgotaland, 46.\nRek, 71.\nRemus, 222, 223.\nResen (P. J.), 17.\nRhine, 201, 230.\nRind, 89, 100.\nRitta, 46.\nRoddros, 167.\nRolf Krake, 214-217.\nRogner, 246.\nRome, 31, 43, 221-230.\nRomulus, 222, 223.\nRomulus (Augustulus), 223.\nRoskva, 114, 115.\nRosta, 100.\nRugman (Jon), 17.\nRussia, 225, 230.\n\n\nS\n\nSad, 81, 245.\nSaga, 97, 259.\nSager, 66.\nSahrimner, 104.\nSaming, 47, 230, 236.\nSamund the Wise, 20, 26.\nSangetal, 81, 245, 247.\nSaracens, 225.\nSarmatia, 225.\nSaturn, 38, 40, 41, 42.\nSaxland, 45, 48, 230, 231.\nSaxo-Grammaticus, 239.\nSaxons, 215, 229.\nSchlegel, 253.\nScotland, 257, 258.\nScott (Walter), 257, 258.\nScythia (Magna), 225, 229, 244.\nSeeland, 49, 50, 231, 242.\nSekin, 106.\nSennar, 36.\nSerkland, 225.\nSessrymner, 86.\nShakspeare, 252-256.\nShem, 36.\nSiar, 71.\nSibyl, 44.\nSid, 106.\nSidhot, 81, 245, 247.\nSidskeg, 81, 245, 247.\nSif, 44, 89, 170, 187, 189-192.\nSigar, 46.\nSigfather, 81, 245, 247.\nSigfrid, 19, 232, 263.\nSigge, 46.\nSighan, 257.\nSighvat, 20.\nSigmund, 196-204.\nSigtuna, 47, 230, 232.\nSigtyr, 165, 189, 247.\nSigurd, 196-204, 262, 267.\nSigyn, 139, 153, 185.\nSilvertop, 73, 260.\nSimrock (K.), 18, 19, 253, 263.\nSimul, 66.\nSindre, 147, 190-192.\nSiner, 73, 260.\nSinfjotle, 204.\nSjafne, 98.\nSjofn, 98.\nSkade, 84, 85, 139, 158, 159, 185, 187, 228, 236, 259.\nSkeggold, 99.\nSkeidbrimer, 73, 200.\nSkidbladner, 108-113, 189-192, 234, 263.\nSkifid, 71.\nSkilfing, 81, 246, 247.\nSkinfaxe, 66.\nSkirfir, 71.\nSkirner, 94, 101-103, 143, 263.\nSkjaldun, 45.\nSkjold, 45, 46, 206, 230, 231.\nSkogul, 99, 252.\nSkol, 67.\nSkrymer, 116-127.\nSkuld, 74, 100, 243, 252, 256.\nSkule (Jarl), 21-24, 249.\nSleeping Beauty, 254.\nSleipner, 73, 108-112, 133, 169-176, 259.\nSlid, 56, 248.\nSlidrugtanne, 134.\nSna, 241.\nSnorre, 9, 19-27, 221, 226, 233, 239, 242, 243.\nSnotra, 98.\nSokmimer, 245.\nSokvabek, 97, 259.\nSol, 99.\nSolvarg, 67.\nSon, 164, 165.\nSorle, 202-206\nSpain, 225.\nSteinthor, 235.\nStephens (Geo.), 230.\nStrabo, 226.\nSturle (Thordsson), 21, 249.\nStyx, 248.\nSudre, 61, 70.\nSun, 66.\nSurt, 8, 57, 78, 142-149, 168, 249.\nSuttung, 164, 165.\nSvade, 241.\nSvadilfare, 110, 111.\nSvafner, 76, 243, 246, 247.\nSvanhild, 199-206.\nSvarin, 71, 259.\nSvartalfaheim, 94.\nSvarthofde, 58, 250.\nSvasud, 80.\nSveinsson (Br.), 17.\nSviagris, 215, 217.\nSvid, 246.\nSvidar, 54.\nSvidr, 236.\nSvidrer, 54, 245.\nSvidrir, 81.\nSvidur, 245.\nSvipdag, 46, 215, 262.\nSvipol, 81, 245.\nSvithjod, 46, 49, 181, 207, 211, 225, 228, 236.\nSvebdegg, 46.\nSvol, 56, 106, 248.\nSvolne, 174.\nSylg, 56, 248.\nSyn, 98.\nSyr, 97.\n\n\nT\n\nTacitus, 244.\nTanais, 225.\nTanaquisl, 225, 226.\nTangnjost, 83.\nTangrisner, 83.\nTartareans, 225.\nTaylor (W.), 16.\nTestament (New), 28.\nTestament (Old), 28.\nTeutons, 222-224, 229, 230, 239, 244, 253, 263, 264.\nThek, 71, 81, 245.\nThjalfe, 114, 115, 120, 121, 126, 171, 173, 181.\nThjasse, 84, 85, 155-158, 184-187, 210.\nThjode, 196.\nThjodnuma, 106.\nThjodolf, 51, 174, 184, 243.\nThok, 136, 137, 264.\nThol, 106.\nThor, 6, 8, 29, 41, 44, 65, 73, 82, 83, 89, 100, 109-153, 165-192,\n  205-243, 251, 259, 260, 263.\nThorarin, 235.\nThord, 20.\nThorer, 235.\nThorin, 70.\nThorleif, 176, 184, 187.\nThorn, 179.\nThorodd (Runemaster), 27.\nThorpe (Benjamin), 15, 252, 257, 259, 262.\nThorre, 241.\nThorstein (Viking\u2019s son), 241.\nThrace, 44, 221.\nThride, 81, 243-246.\nThro, 71, 81.\nThroin, 71.\nThror, 245.\nThrud, 99.\nThruda, 183.\nThrudgelmer, 250.\nThrudheim, 44, 259.\nThrudvang, 82, 127, 173, 232, 259.\nThrym, 7.\nThrymheim, 84, 85, 156, 259.\nThucydides, 22.\nThud, 81, 245.\nThul, 56.\nThule, 30.\nThund, 81, 246.\nThvite, 96.\nThyn, 106.\nTiber, 221.\nTieck, 250.\nTivisco, 244.\nTom Thumb, 251.\nTorfason (T.), 17.\nTror, 44.\nTros, 43.\nTroy, 38, 43, 44, 47, 64, 151, 166, 167, 168, 222-224, 229.\nTshudic, 240.\nTurkey, 38, 45, 47, 151, 166.\nTurkistan, 228, 229.\nTurkland, 229.\nTyr, 6, 8, 29, 87, 92, 95, 143, 153, 165, 187, 244, 260.\n\n\nU\n\nUd, 81, 245.\nUhland (Ludw.), 18, 263.\nUkko, 82, 84, 239.\nUkko-Thor, 239.\nUlfhedinn, 233.\nUller, 89, 153, 174, 183, 259, 260.\nUlysses, 151, 223.\nUmea, 250.\nUpsala, 47, 215, 216, 232, 237.\nUral Mountains, 229.\nUrd, 10, 19, 73, 74, 76, 243, 252-256.\nUtgard, 118-127.\nUtgard-Loke, 119-130.\n\n\nV\n\nVafthrudner, 58, 243, 244.\nVafud, 81, 246.\nVafurloge, 199, 200.\nVag, 214, 215.\nVainamoinen, 84.\nVak, 81, 246.\nValaskjalf, 77, 80, 259.\nValdemar (King), 23, 27.\nVale, 71, 89, 100, 139, 148, 153, 260.\nValfather, 73, 243.\nValhal, 6, 7, 28, 51, 81, 99, 104-109, 132, 170-176, 188, 235, 243.\nVanadis, 97.\nVanaheim, 226, 227, 259.\nVanaland, 226-228.\nVanaquisl, 225-226.\nVar, 98.\nVartare, 192.\nVasad, 80.\nVe, 60, 227, 230, 243, 249.\nVedas, 253.\nVedfolner, 75.\nVeggdegg, 45.\nVegsvin, 106.\nVegtam, 247, 264.\nVenus, 42, 256.\nVeratyr, 81, 247.\nVerdande, 74, 243, 252, 256.\nVerer, 46.\nVesete, 240.\nVestfal, 46.\nVestre, 61.\nVid, 56, 106.\nVidar, 8, 89, 143, 145, 148, 153, 168, 177, 187, 259, 260.\nVidblain, 78.\nVidfin, 66.\nVidolf, 58, 250.\nVidrer, 54, 247.\nVidsete, 215.\nVidur, 81.\nVifil, 240.\nVifilsey, 240.\nVig, 70.\nVigfusson (G.), 9, 26, 75, 223, 248, 265.\nVigrid, 142, 146.\nViking, 240.\nVile, 60, 230, 243, 249, 277.\nVillenwood, 251.\nVilmeide, 58, 250.\nVimer, 177, 178.\nVin, 106.\nVina, 106.\nVindalf, 70.\nVindlone, 80.\nVindsval, 80.\nVingener, 45, 149.\nVingethor, 44.\nVingolf, 54, 69, 81, 247.\nVinland, 30.\nVirfir, 71.\nVirgil, 222, 223, 242.\nVit, 71.\nVitrgils, 46.\nVodin, 45.\nVog, 214, 215.\nVolsungs, 46, 196-205.\nVolsung saga, 224, 266.\nVolukrontes, 167.\nVon, 96.\nVor, 98.\nVot, 215.\nVotan, 244.\n\n\nW\n\nWafurloge, 263.\nWainamoinen, 239.\nWallachia, 228.\nWarburton, 253.\nWeird Sisters, 253-256.\nWelsh, 240.\nWenern, 215.\nWessebrun Prayer, 256.\nWilbet, 255.\nWilkin (E.), 18, 19, 20.\nWilliamstown, 232.\nWitches, 253-256.\nWodan, 244.\nWorbet, 255.\nWorm (Chr.), 17.\nWorm (Ole), 17.\n\n\nY\n\nYdaler, 259.\nYg, 81, 246.\nYgdrasil, 6, 8, 15, 29, 72, 73-78, 108, 142, 143, 252, 263.\nYlg, 56, 248.\nYmer, 5, 24, 58-63, 70, 128, 179, 240, 249, 250.\nYnglinga saga, 50, 243.\nYnglings, 47, 238.\nYngve, 47, 230, 238.\nYngve-Frey, 186.\nYrsa, 213-216.\nYvigg, 46.\n\n\nZ\n\nZalmoxis, 244.\nZeus, 244, 246.\nZoroaster, 37, 40.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n           *       *       *       *\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nErrors and anomalies noted by transcriber:\n\nA few paragraph-ending periods (full stops) have been supplied.\n\nThe author omitted vowel modifiers and diacritics from all names in\nthe body text: Hakon, Malar, Mjolnir. The footnotes are generally more\nlinguistically precise.\n\nThe name \u201cSvanhild/Swanhild\u201d is spelled \u201cSwanhild\u201d in the body text,\n\u201cSvanhild\u201d in the Vocabulary (all occurrences) and Index. The spelling\n\u201cskees\u201d is used consistently.\n\n\nAmbiguous stanzas in verse:\n    The king saw\n    ...\n    \u2019Round his house.\n    ...\n    Struck to the ground.\n    ...\n    With blows and wounds.\n  _page break after \u201chis house\u201d; no stanza break in printed text until\n  after \u201cblows and wounds\u201d_\n\n\nTypographical errors (all from \u201cNotes\u201d, Vocabulary and Index):\n\na great sea goes into / Njorvasound\nFootnote 102: Njorvasound ...\n  _spelling as in original: should probably be \u201cNjorvasund\u201d_\n\nChapter VI of Ynglinga / Saga\n  _text reads \u201cYnglingla\u201d_\n\nthe much-traveled man, the / \u1f00\u03bd\u1f74\u03c1 \u03c0\u03bf\u03bb\u03cd\u03c4\u03c1\u03bf\u03c0\u03bf\u03c2\n  _text reads \u201c\u03c0\u03bf\u03bb\u03cd\u03b8\u03c1\u03bf\u03c0\u03bf\u03c2\u201d_\n\nthe valkyrie says / at berserkja rei\u00f0u vil ek \u00feik spyrja\n  _text reads \u201cpik spyrja\u201d_\n\nidentical in root with Lat. _divus_; / Sansk. _dwas_\n  _so in original; the Sanskrit is usually given as \u201cdyaus\u201d_\n\nZalmoxis, derived from the Gr. \u0396\u03b1\u03bb\u03bc\u03cc\u03c2, helmet\n  _so in original. \u0396\u03b1\u03bb\u03bc\u03cc\u03c2 is defined by Liddell and Scott--\n  a dictionary available to the author-- as Thracian for \u201ca skin.\u201d_\n\nCompare the Greek word \u03bd\u03b5\u03c6\u03ad\u03bb\u03b7 = mist.\n  _text reads \u201c\u03bd\u03b5\u03c6\u03ad\u03bb\u03b3\u201d_\n\nand then cooly says to him\n  _spelling as in original_\n\nThrough this he / slipt.\n  _variant spelling in original_\n\nHe impersonated all that was good and holy\n  _text reads \u201cal\u201d_\n\nThis chapter of _Skaldskaparmal_\n  _text reads \u201cSkaldkaparmal\u201d_\n\nEchoes from Mistland; Echoes from Mist-Land\n  _inconsistent forms in original_\n\nJARNVIDJES. The giantesses dwelling in Ironwood.\n  _text reads \u201cJARNVIDJIS\u201d_\n\nJORMUNGAND. The Midgard-serpent.\n  _text reads \u201cJORMUNDGAND\u201d_\n\n... from the mouth {of the} chained Fenris-wolf.\n... out of whose body the world was cr{eated.}\n  _page image incomplete; words and letters in braces supplied from\n  context_\n\nRandver, 202-205.\n  _text reads \u201c22-205\u201d_","title":"The Younger Edda; Also called Snorre's Edda, or The Prose Edda","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":67043}