[30] She set out
full plates, and treasures
of silverware on the table,
loaded with meat and poultry.
They drank wine
{152} from gemstone beakers,
they drank and talked,
till the day turned to night.
[31] Rig knew how to
give them good counsel.
He rose from his seat
and prepared the bed.
He was there
three nights in a row,
then he went walking again
in the middle of the road,
and nine months
soon passed.
[32] Mother had a child,
she swaddled him in silk,
they sprinkled water over him,
they named him Lord.
His hair was blonde,
his cheeks were bright,
his eyes were as cruel
and clear as vipers’.
[33] They raised Lord
there in their home;
he learned to hold a shield,
to string a bow,
to bend a bow,
to carve an arrow,
to throw a spear,
to cast a javelin,
to ride a horse,
to hunt with dogs,
to draw a sword,
to swim competitively.
[34] Then Rig
came walking
to their farm,
he taught Lord runes,
gave him his own name,
{153} called him his son,
told him
to claim lands,
to conquer lands,
conquer old villages.
[35] He rode then
through the
icy mountains of Mirkwood,
till he came to a hall
and shook his spear,
shook his shield,
set his horse to a gallop
and drew his sword:
he started a war,
he reddened the fields with blood,
he killed many men,
he conquered lands.
[36] He became sole owner
of eighteen estates,
he shared his wealth,
he gave his men
treasures upon treasures,
and good horses.
He gave away rings;
he did not care to hoard them.
[37] Then messengers came
along well-prepared roads,
they came to the hall
where that chieftain lived.
They presented
the beautiful, soft-fingered,
wise girl,
whose name was Eagle.
[38] They offered Lord the girl,
took her to his home,
married her to him,
she wore the bridal veil.
Then they lived together
{154} and loved one another,
they increased their family
and enjoyed their days.
[39] Their oldest son was Boy
and the next was Kid,
then Offspring and Noble,
Heir and Scion,
Descendant and Successor,
Son and Lad,
another was Nobility,
and the youngest was named King—
they played together,
they learned to swim, and play chess.
[40] The sons of Lord
grew up there,
they broke horses,
they made shields,
they shot arrows,
they made war.
[41] But young King
learned runes,
runes of fate
and runes of destiny,
he learned spells
to save lives
and dull blades,
to calm storms.
[42] He learned the language of birds;
he learned to put out fires,
to calm sorrows and induce sleep,
and give comfort in sorrow.
He had the strength,
the passion, of eight men.
[43] Rig shared runes
with him,
but King tricked him,
and learned them better than he,
{155} and then he earned
the right to call himself
by the name of Rig,
for his rune-lore.
[44] Young King
rode with his arrows;
he shot arrows,
he killed birds.
[45] Then a crow said to him,
a crow sitting on a high branch:
“Why do you kill birds,
young king?
It would be better
to mount up on your horse,
and kill men.
[46] “I know two chieftains
with rich halls, they live nearby,
they have bigger inheritances
than you have—
they know how to steer ships,
they know how to sharpen blades,
they know how to kill men.”
{156} Voluspa en skamma (The Short Prophecy of Ragnarok)
Voluspa en skamma (literally “The Short Voluspa”), the name given to parts of this poem quoted in the Prose Edda, is another mythological poem from outside the Codex Regius. It appears in its entirety in the manuscript Flateyjarbok, where it is identified as Hyndluljoth (“Song of Hyndla”). In it, the dead witch Hyndla tells the goddess Freyja and a human warrior named Ottar of Ottar’s ancestry, eventually tracing him back to the gods and telling a little about the gods and their fates. It is usually believed that the stanzas dealing with the gods (st. 30–50) were originally a separate poem (the Voluspa en skamma proper) and that the first twentynine stanzas dealing with Ottar’s ancestry were only added to it by a later editor. Whether originally a single poem or not, the poem appears to have been composed fairly late.
Voluspa en skamma
Freyja said:
[1] “WAKE UP, LADY,
wake up, friend,
wake up, sister,
Hyndla, you cave-dweller.
The night is dark;
we will ride
to Valhalla,
to the holy hall.
[2] “We’ll ask Odin
to keep us in mind;
he gives gold
to those who are worthy.
He gave Hermoth
a helmet and armor,
he gave Sigmund
a sword as a gift.
[3] “He gives victory to some,
money to others,
{157} eloquence to many,
and common sense to all.
He gives waves to the sea,
word-skill to poets,
he gives many
the happiness of love.
[4] “I will sacrifice
to Thor, and ask him
to support you always
and look on you with a smile,
no matter how much
he hates other giant-women.
[5] “Now take a wolf
out of your stable,
let him walk
alongside my hog.”
Hyndla said:
“I doubt the hog
will walk the god’s road;
I don’t want to saddle
my swift wolf.
[6] “You lie, Freyja,
you want to tempt me.
But your eyes
tell me everything.
Your lover,
young Ottar,
son of Innstein,
follows on the road of the dead.”
Freyja said:
[7] “You are being foolish;
you are dreaming, Hyndla,
if you think my lover
follows me on the road of the dead,
where the hog
Gullinbusti glows,
that battle-swine
{158} which two cr
afty dwarves,
Dain and Nabbi,
made for me.
[8] “I’ll step out of the saddle,
we’ll sit together
and speak together
about great families,
about the good men
descended from the gods.
[9] “They have dared much,
young Ottar
and Angantyr,
to take the gold of Valland.
A young man
needs good counsel,
if he wants to get his
inheritance from his kin.
[10] “Ottar made me
a temple of stone,
and the stones of that temple
glisten like glass,
reddened with fresh blood
from sacrificed oxen—
Ottar believed faithfully
in the goddesses.
[11] “Now, you must
name noble men,
and all the best
human families:
Who are the Skjoldungs?
Who are the Skilfings?
Who are the Authlings?
Who are the Ylfings?
Who are the best prince’s sons,
the best chieftain’s sons,
the best of all men
in all of Midgard?”
{159} Hyndla said:
[12] “You, Ottar,
are Innstein’s son,
and Innstein was
the son of Alf the Old.
Alf was Ulf’s son,
Ulf was Saefari’s,
Saefari was the son of
Svan the Red.
[13] “Your father’s mother
was beautifully bejeweled,
she must have been
the priestess of Hlethi.
Her father was Frothi,
her mother was Friaut,
that whole family
was well-born.
[14] “In olden days,
Ali was the best man,
and before him, Halfdan
was chief of the Skjoldungs.
Those princes
are remembered for their killings,
and Ali’s accomplishments
are known around the world.
[15] “He was the in-law
He killed Sigtrygg
with a cold sword-blade.
He married Almveig,
best of women,
and together they raised
eighteen sons.
[16] “From them come the Skjoldungs,
the Skilfings,
the Authlings,
the Ynglings,
{160} the best prince’s sons,
the best chieftain’s sons,
the best of all men
in all of Midgard.
And this is your family,
foolish Ottar.
[17] “Hildigunn
was her mother,
the daughter of Svava
and a Sea-King.
And this is your family,
foolish Ottar.
It would profit you to know it—
do you want to know still more?
[18] “Dag married Thora,
mother of warriors,
there were great men
born in that line:
Frathmar and Gyrth,
both the Frekars,
Am, Josurmar,
and Alf the Old.
It would profit you to know it—
do you want to know still more?
[19] “Ketill was their friend,
he was heir to Klyp,
he was the grandfather
of your mother.
Frothi was born
before Kari,
but Alf
was born earliest.
[20] “Then Nanna,
who was Nokkvi’s daughter.
Her son was the
in-law of your father.
These are old relatives,
but I can speak still more.
{161} I knew Brodd,
and Horfi also.
This is your family,
foolish Ottar.
[21] “Isolf and Asolf,
sons of Almoth
and his wife Skurhild,
who was Skekkil’s daughter—
you are related
to many great men.
This is your family,
foolish Ottar.
[22] “Gunnar the Steadfast,
Grim the Plow-Smith,
Thori Iron-Shield,
Ulf the Howler.
[23] “Bui and Brami,
Barri and Reifnir,
Tind and Tyrfing,
the two Haddings,
this is your family,
foolish Ottar.
[24] “Ani and Omi,
Arngrim’s sons,
were born
to Eyfura.
The noise of all kinds of evil
caused by those berserks
went over land and sea
like a wildfire.
This is your family,
foolish Ottar.
[25] “I knew both
Brodd and Horfi,
brave companions
of Hrolf the Old.
Those families are
{162} descended from Jormunrekk,
Sigurth’s in-law,
and Sigurth was the prince
who killed Fafnir.
Listen to my story.
[26] “The prince Sigurth
was a descendant of Volsung,
his mother Hjordis
was descended from Hrauthung,
and her father Eylimi
from the Authlings;
this is your family,
foolish Ottar.
[27] “Gunnar and Hogni
were the sons of Gjuki,
and Guthrun
was their sister.
Gotthorm was not
the son of Gjuki,
but his mother was the same
as Gunnar’s and Hogni’s.
This is your family,
foolish Ottar.
[28] “Harald Wartooth
was son of
Hrorek, the hater of riches.
Hrorek was the son of Auth,
and Auth the Wise
was the daughter of Ivar.
Rathbarth was
the father of Randver;
those men
were blessed by the gods
This is your family,
foolish Ottar.
{163} [29] “There were eleven
of the gods,
after doomed
Balder fell.
Vali then
craved vengeance,
and so he killed
the killer of his brother.
This is your family,
foolish Ottar.
was Odin, heir of Bur,
and Frey married Gerth,
who was the daughter of Gymir,
a man of giant family,
married to Aurbotha.
Thjassi was
their kinsman,
a good archer and a giant,
and his daughter was Skathi.
[31] “I have told you much,
and I remember still more.
I suspect that few know all this—
do you want to know more?
[32] “Haki was the best son
of Hvaedna by far,
and Hvaedna’s father
was Hjorvarth.
Heith and Hrossthjof
were the giant Hrimnir’s children.
[33] “All the witches
come from Vitholf,
all the wizards
come from Vilmeith,
all the warlocks
come from Svarthofthi,
{164} all the giants
come from Ymir.
[34] “I have told you mu
ch,
and I remember still more.
I suspect that few know all this—
do you want to know more?
[35] “There was one born
in ancient times,
a very powerful son
of the family of the gods.
He had nine mothers,
those nine giant women
gave birth to the noble spearman
at the edge of the world.
[36] “I have told you much,
and I remember still more.
I suspect that few know all this—
do you want to know more?
[37] “His mothers were Gjalp,
and Greip,
Eistla
and Eyrgjafa,
Ulfrun
and Angreyja,
Imth and Atla
and Jarnsaxa.
[38] “The earth gave him
strength to grow,
as did the cold sea,
and the blood of the boar.
[39] “I have told you much,
and I remember still more.
Certainly few know all this—
do you want to know more?
{165} [40] “Loki fathered
a wolf with Angerbotha:
he fathered Sleipnir
with Svathilfari.
But there was one child
worse than all the others
of those born to
Byleist’s brother Loki.
[41] “Loki ate a woman’s heart,
he found it
half-burned
on a burning linden tree.
Loki became pregnant
from that dead evil woman,
and from their child
come all the troll-women.
[42] “The storm-stirred sea
heaves up to heaven,
it drowns the lands
and chokes all the air.
Then come snow-storms
and sharp winds,
then the time comes near
when the gods will fall.
[43] “One was born,
greater than all others,
the earth gave him
strength to grow.
They say that he
was boldest of all,
he was related
to all the classes of men.
[44] “But another will come,
a god even greater,
and I dare not
speak his name.
Few can see further,
{166} beyond the day
when the wolf
will swallow Odin.”
Freyja said:
[45] “Give a memory-drink
to Ottar,
so that three days from now
he can remember
each word
of what you say,
when he and Angantyr
reckon their family trees.”
Hyndla said:
[46] “Hurry away from here,
I want to sleep.
You learned nothing from me
of my own free choice.
Leave here
in the night
like a ewe
with your ram.
[47] “You ran after Odin,
you’re always lustful,
and you’ve slept
with many others.
Leave here
in the night
like a ewe
with your ram.”
Freyja said:
[48] “I will strike a fire