20. Nothing is known of the incident here mentioned. There is a good deal of confusion as to various of the gods and goddesses, and it has been suggested that Gefjun is really Frigg under another name, with a little of Freyja—whose attributes were frequently confused with Frigg’s—thrown in. Certainly Othin’s answer (stanza 21, lines 3–4) fits Frigg perfectly, for she shared his knowledge of the future, whereas it has no relation to anything known of Gefjun. As for the necklace (line 3), it may be the Brisings’ necklace, which appears in the Thrymskvitha as Freyja’s, but which, in some mythological writings, is assigned to Frigg.
21. Snorri quotes line 1; cf. note on stanza 29.
23. There is no other reference to Loki’s having spent eight years underground, or to his cow-milking. On one occasion, however, he did bear offspring. A giant had undertaken to build the gods a fortress, his reward being Freyja and the sun and moon, provided the work was done by a given time. His sole helper was his horse, Svathilfari. The work being nearly done, and the gods fearing to lose Freyja and the sun and moon, Loki turned himself into a mare, and so effectually distracted Svathilfari from his task that shortly afterwards Loki gave birth to Othin’s eight-legged horse, Sleipnir. In such contests of abuse a man was not infrequently taunted with having borne children; cf. Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I, 39–45. One or two of the last three lines may be spurious.
24. Samsey: perhaps the Danish island of Samsö. Othin was the god of magic, but there is no other reference to his ever having disguised himself as a witch.
25. Frigg: Othin’s wife; cf. note to introductory prose.
26. Fjorgyn: Othin; cf. Voluspo, 56 and note. Vili and Ve: Othin’s brothers, who appear merely as, with Othin, the sons of Bur and Bestla; cf. Voluspo, 4. The Ynglingasaga says that, during one of Othin’s protracted absences, his two brothers took Frigg as their mistress. Vithrir: another name for Othin.
27. On the death of Baldr, slain through Loki’s cunning by the blind Hoth, cf. Voluspo, 32 and note.
29. Freyja: daughter of Njorth and sister of Freyr; cf. note on introductory prose. Snorri, in speaking of Frigg’s knowledge of the future, makes a stanza out of Lokasenna, 21, 1; 47, 2; 29, 3–4, thus: “Mad art thou, Loki, | and little of wit, / Why, Loki, leavst thou this not? / The fate of all | does Frigg know well, / Though herself she says it not.”
30. According to Snorri, Freyja was a model of fidelity to her husband, Oth.
32. Before each of stanzas 32–42 the manuscript indicates the speaker, through the initial letter of the name written in the margin. Thy brother: Freyr; there is no other indication that such a relation existed between these two, but they themselves were the product of such a union; cf. stanza 36 and note.
33. Njorth: father of Freyr and Freyja, and given by the Wanes as a hostage, in exchange for Hönir, at the close of the first war; cf. Voluspo, 21 and note, also Skirnismol, introductory prose and note. Babes: cf. stanza 23 and note. Bugge suggests that this clause may have been a late insertion.
34. Daughters of Hymir: we have no clue to who these were, though Hymir is doubtless the frost-giant of the Hymiskvitha (q.v.). Loki’s point is that Njorth is not a god, but the product of an inferior race (the Wanes).
35. The son: Freyr.
36. Thy sister: the Ynglingasaga supports this story of Njorth’s having had two children by his sister before he came among the gods. Snorri, on the other hand, specifically says that Freyr and Freyja were born after Njorth came to the gods.
37. Tyr: the god of battle; cf. notes on Hymiskvitha, 4, and Voluspo, 39. Freyr; concerning his noble qualities cf. Skirnismol, introductory prose and note.
38. Snorri mentions Tyr’s incompetence as a peacemaker. Fenrir: the wolf, Loki’s son; cf. Voluspo, 39.
39. Hrothvitnir (“The Mighty Wolf”): Fenrir, who awaits in chains the final battle and death at the hands of Vithar. The manuscript has a metrical error in line 3, which has led to various emendations, all with much the same meaning.
40. Thy wife: there is no other reference to Tyr’s wife, nor do we know who was the son in question.
41. The mouth of the river: according to Snorri, the chained Fenrir “roars horribly, and the slaver runs from his mouth, and makes the river called Vam; he lies there till the doom of the gods.” Freyr’s threat is actually carried out; cf. concluding prose.
42. The daughter of Gymir: Gerth, heroine of the Skirnismol, which gives the details of Freyr’s loss of his sword. Muspell’s sons: the name Muspell is not used elsewhere in the poems; Snorri uses it frequently, but only in this same phrase, “Muspell’s sons.” They are the dwellers in the fire-world, Muspellsheim, led by Surt against the gods in the last battle; cf. Voluspo, 47 and 52 and notes. Myrkwood: here the dark forest bounding the fire-world; in the Atlakvitha (stanza 3) the name is used of another boundary forest.
43. Byggvir: one of Freyr’s two servants; cf. introductory prose. Ingunar-Freyr: the name is not used elsewhere in the poems, or by Snorri; it may be the genitive of a woman’s name, Ingun, the unknown sister of Njorth who was Freyr’s mother (cf. stanza 36), or a corruption of the name Ingw, used for Freyr (Fro) in old German mythology.
44. Beginning with this stanza, the names of the speakers are lacking in the manuscript. The mill: i.e., at slaves’ tasks.
45. Nothing further is known of either Byggvir’s swiftness or his cowardice. Hropt: Othin.
47. Heimdall: besides being the watchman of the gods (cf. Voluspo, 27), he appears also as the god of light (cf. Thrymskvitha, 14), and possibly also as a complex cultural deity in the Rigsthula. He was a son of Othin, born of nine sisters; cf. Hyndluljoth, 37–40. In the last battle he and Loki slay one another. Line 2 is quoted by Snorri; cf. stanza 29, note.
49. Skathi: the wife of Njorth, and daughter of the giant Thjazi, concerning whose death cf. Harbarthsljoth, 19, note. Bowels, etc.: according to the prose note at the end of the Lokasenna, the gods bound Loki with the bowels of his son Vali, and changed his other son, Narfi, into a wolf. Snorri turns the story about, Vali being the wolf, who tears his brother to pieces, the gods then using Narfi’s intestines to bind Loki. Narfi—and presumably Vali—were the sons of Loki and his wife, Sigyn. They appear only in this episode, though Narfi (or Nari) is named by Snorri in his list of Loki’s children. Cf. concluding prose, and note.
52. Laufey’s son: Loki; not much is known of his parents beyond their names. His father was the giant Farbauti, his mother Laufey, sometimes called Nal. There is an elaborate but far-fetched hypothesis explaining these three on the basis of a nature-myth. There is no other reference to such a relation between Skathi and Loki as he here suggests.
53. Sif: Thor’s wife; cf. Harbarthsljoth, 48, where her infidelity is again mentioned. The manuscript omits the proper name from the preceding prose, and a few editors have, obviously in error, attributed the speech to Beyla.
54. Hlorrithi: Thor. Line 5 is probably spurious.
55. Beyla: Freyr’s servant, wife of Byggvir; cf. introductory prose and note.
57. Mjollnir: concerning Thor’s famous hammer see particularly Thrymskvitha, 1 and note. Shoulder-cliff: head; concerning the use of such diction in the Edda, cf. introductory note to Hymiskvitha. The manuscript indicates line 3 as the beginning of a stanza, but this is apparently a scribal error.
58. Son of Earth: Thor, son of Othin and Jorth (Earth). The manuscript omits the word “son,” but all editors have agreed in supplying it. The wolf: Fenrir, Loki’s son, who slays Othin (Sigfather: “Father of Victory”) in the final battle. Thor, according to Snorri and to the Voluspo, 56, fights with Mithgarthsorm and not with Fenrir, who is killed by Vithar.
59. Lines 1–2 are abbreviated in the manuscript, as also in stanzas 61 and 63.
60. Loki’s taunt that Thor hid in the thumb of Skrymir’s glove is similar to that of Othin, Harbarthsljoth, 26, in the note to which the story is outlined. Line 4 is identical with line 3 of Harbarthsljoth, 26.
61. Hrungnir’s slayer: the hammer; the story of how Thor slew this stone-headed giant is indicated in Harbarthsljoth, 14–15, and outlined in the note to stanza 14 of that poem.
62. On the day following the adventure of the glove, Thor, Loki and Thor’s servants proceed on their way in company with Skrymir, who puts all their food in his wallet. At evening Skrymir goes to sleep, and Thor tries to get at the food, but cannot loosen the straps of the wallet. In a rage he smites Skrymir three times on the head with his hammer, but the giant—who, it subsequently appears, deftly dodges the blows—is totally undisturbed. Line 5 may well be spurious.
65. The flames: the fire that consumes the world on the last day; cf. Voluspo, 57. Line 5 may be spurious.
Prose: Snorri tells the same story, with minor differences, but makes it the consequence of Loki’s part in the slaying of Baldr, which undoubtedly represents the correct tradition. The compiler of the poems either was confused or thought the incident was useful as indicating what finally happened to Loki. Possibly he did not mean to imply that Loki’s fate was brought upon him by his abuse of the gods, but simply tried to round out the story. Franang: “Gleaming Water.” Vali and Narfi: cf. stanza 49 and note. Sigyn: cf. Voluspo, 35, the only other place where she is mentioned in the poems. Snorri omits the naive note about earthquakes, his narrative ending with the words, “And there he lies till the destruction of the gods.”
THRYMSKVITHA THE LAY OF THRYM INTRODUCTORY NOTE The Thrymskvitha is found only in the Codex Regius, where it follows the Lokasenna. Snorri does not quote from it, nor, rather oddly, does the story occur in the Prose Edda.
Artistically the Thrymskvitha is one of the best, as it is, next to the Voluspo, the most famous, of the entire collection. It has, indeed, been called “the finest ballad in the world,” and not without some reason. Its swift, vigorous action, the sharpness of its characterization and the humor of the central situation combine to make it one of the most vivid short narrative poems ever composed. Of course we know nothing specific of its author, but there can be no question that he was a poet of extraordinary ability. The poem assumed its present form, most critics agree, somewhere about 900, and thus it is one of the oldest in the collection. It has been suggested, on the basis of stylistic similarity, that its author may also have composed the Skirnismol, and possibly Baldrs Draumar. There is also some resemblance between the Thrymskvitha and the Lokasenna (note, in this connection, Bugge’s suggestion that the Skirnismol and the Lokasenna may have been by the same man), and it is not impossible that all four poems have a single authorship.
The Thrymskvitha has been preserved in excellent condition, without any serious gaps or interpolations. In striking contrast to many of the poems, it contains no prose narrative links, the story being told in narrative verse—a rare phenomenon in the poems of the Edda.
1. Wild was Vingthor | when he awoke, And when his mighty | hammer he missed; He shook his beard, | his hair was bristling, As the son of Jorth | about him sought.
2. Hear now the speech | that first he spake: “Harken, Loki, | and heed my words, Nowhere on earth | is it known to man, Nor in heaven above: | our hammer is stolen.”
3. To the dwelling fair | of Freyja went they, Hear now the speech | that first he spake: “Wilt thou, Freyja, | thy feather-dress lend me, That so my hammer | I may seek?”
Freyja spake: 4. “Thine should it be | though of silver bright, And I would give it | though ’twere of gold.” Then Loki flew, | and the feather-dress whirred, Till he left behind him | the home of the gods, And reached at last | the realm of the giants.
5. Thrym sat on a mound, | the giants’ master, Leashes of gold | he laid for his dogs, And stroked and smoothed | the manes of his steeds.
Thrym spake: 6. “How fare the gods, | how fare the elves? Why comst thou alone | to the giants’ land?”
Loki spake: “Ill fare the gods, | ill fare the elves! Hast thou hidden | Hlorrithi’s hammer?”
Thrym spake: 7. “I have hidden | Hlorrithi’s hammer, Eight miles down | deep in the earth; And back again | shall no man bring it If Freyja I win not | to be my wife.”
8. Then Loki flew, | and the feather-dress whirred, Till he left behind him | the home of the giants, And reached at last | the realm of the gods. There in the courtyard | Thor he met: Hear now the speech | that first he spake: 9. “Hast thou found tidings | as well as trouble? Thy news in the air | shalt thou utter now; Oft doth the sitter | his story forget, And lies he speaks | who lays himself down.”
Loki spake: 10. “Trouble I have, | and tidings as well: Thrym, king of the giants, | keeps thy hammer, And back again | shall no man bring it If Freyja he wins not | to be his wife.”
11. Freyja the fair | then went they to find; Hear now the speech | that first he spake: “Bind on, Freyja, | the bridal veil, For we two must haste | to the giants’ home.”
12. Wrathful was Freyja, | and fiercely she snorted, And the dwelling great | of the gods was shaken, And burst was the mighty | Brisings’ necklace: “Most lustful indeed | should I look to all If I journeyed with thee | to the giants’ home.”
13. Then were the gods | together met, And the goddesses came | and council held, And the far-famed ones | a plan would find, How they might Hlorrithi’s | hammer win.
14. Then Heimdall spake, | whitest of the gods, Like the Wanes he knew | the future well: “Bind we on Thor | the bridal veil, Let him bear the mighty | Brisings’ necklace; 15. “Keys around him | let there rattle, And down to his knees | hang woman’s dress; With gems full broad | upon his breast, And a pretty cap | to crown his head.”
16. Then Thor the mighty | his answer made: “Me would the gods | unmanly call If I let bind | the bridal veil.”
17. Then Loki spake, | the son of Laufey: “Be silent, Thor, | and speak not thus; Else will the giants | in Asgarth dwell If thy hammer is brought not | home to thee.”
18. Then bound they on Thor | the bridal veil, And next the mighty | Brisings’ necklace.
19. Keys around him | let they rattle, And down to his knees | hung woman’s dress; With gems full broad | upon his breast, And a pretty cap | to crown his head.
20. Then Loki spake, | the son of Laufey: “As thy maid-servant thither | I go with thee; We two shall haste | to the giants’ home.”
21. Then home the goats | to the hall were driven, They wrenched at the halters, | swift were they to run; The mountains burst, | earth burned with fire, And Othin’s son | sought Jotunheim.
22. Then loud spake Thrym, | the giants’ leader: “Bestir ye, giants, | put straw on the benches; Now Freyja they bring | to be my bride, The daughter of Njorth | out of Noatun.
23. “Gold-horned cattle | go to my stables, Jet-black oxen, | the giant’s joy; Many my gems, | and many my jewels, Freyja alone | did I lack, methinks.”
24. Early it was | to evening come, And forth was borne | the beer for the giants; Thor alone ate an ox, | and eight salmon, All the dainties as well | that were set for the women; And drank Sif’s mate | three tuns of mead.
25. Then loud spake Thrym, | the giants’ leader: “Who ever saw bride | more keenly bite? I ne’er saw bride | with a broader bite, Nor a maiden who drank | more mead than this!”
26. Hard by there sat | the serving-maid wise, So well she answered | the giant’s words: “From food has Freyja | eight nights fasted, So hot was her longing | for Jotunheim.”
27. Thrym looked ’neath the veil, | for he longed to kiss, But back he leaped | the length of the hall: “Why are so fearful | the eyes of Freyja? Fire, methinks, | from her eyes burns forth.”
28. Hard by there sat | the serving-maid wise, So well she answered | the giant’s words: “No sleep has Freyja | for eight nights found, So hot was her longing | for Jotunheim.”
29. Soon came the giant’s | luckless sister, Who feared not to ask | the bridal fee: “From thy hands the rings | of red gold take, If thou wouldst win | my willing love, (My willing love | and welcome glad.)”
30. Then loud spake Thrym, | the giants’ leader: “Bring in the hammer | to hallow the bride; On the maiden’s knees | let Mjollnir lie, That us both the hand | of Vor may bless.”
31. The heart in the breast | of Hlorrithi laughed When the hard-souled one | his hammer beheld; First Thrym, the king | of the giants, he killed, Then all the folk | of the giants he felled.
32. The giant’s sister | old he slew, She who had begged | the bridal fee; A stroke she got | in the shilling’s stead. And for many rings | the might of the hammer.
33. And so his hammer | got Othin’s son.
NOTES 1. Vingthor (“Thor the Hurler”): another name for Thor, equivalent to Vingnir (Vafthruthnismol, 51). Concerning Thor and his hammer, Mjollnir, cf. Hymiskvitha, Lokasenna, and Harbarthsljoth, passim. Jorth: Earth, Thor’s mother, Othin being his father.
2. Loki: cf. Lokasenna, passim.
3. Freyja: Njorth’s daughter, and sister of Freyr; cf. Lokasenna, introductory prose and note, also Skirnismol, introductory prose. Freyja’s house was Sessrymnir (“Rich in Seats”) built in Folkvang (“Field of the Folk”); cf. Grimnismol, 14. Feather-dress: this flying equipment of Freyja’s is also used in the story of Thjazi, wherein Loki again borrows the “hawk’s dress” of Freyja, this time to rescue Ithun; cf. Harbarthsljoth, 19 and note.
4. The manuscript and most editions have lines 1–2 in inverse order. Several editors assume a lacuna before line 1, making a stanza out of the two conjectural lines (Bugge actually supplies them) and lines 1–2 of stanza 4. Thus they either make a separate stanza out of lines 3–5 or unite them in a six-line stanza with 5. The manuscript punctuation and capitalization—not wholly trustworthy guides—indicate the stanza divisions as in this translation.
5. Thrym: a frost-giant. Gering declares that this story of the theft of Thor’s hammer symbolizes the fact that thunderstorms rarely occur in winter.
6. Line 1: cf. Voluspo, 48, 1. The manuscript does not indicate Loki as the speaker of lines 3–4. Hlorrithi: Thor.
7. No superscription in the manuscript. Vigfusson made up and inserted lines like “Then spake Loki | the son of Laufey” whenever he thought they would be useful.
9. The manuscript marks line 2, instead of line 1, as the beginning of a stanza, which has caused editors some confusion in grouping the lines of stanzas 8 and 9.
10. No superscription in the manuscript.
12. Many editors have rejected either line 2 or line 3. Vigfusson inserts one of his own lines before line 4. Brisings’ necklace: a marvelous necklace fashioned by the dwarfs, here called Brisings (i.e., “Twiners”); cf. Lokasenna, 20 and note.
13. Lines 1–3 are identical with Baldrs Draumar, 1, 1–3.
14. Heimdall: the phrase “whitest of the gods” suggests that Heimdall was the god of light as well as being the watchman. His wisdom was probably connected with his sleepless watching over all the worlds; cf. Lokasenna, 47 and note. On the Wanes cf. Voluspo, 21 and note. They are not elsewhere spoken of as peculiarly gifted with knowledge of future events.
16. Possibly a line has been lost from this stanza.
17. Laufey: Loki’s mother, cf. Lokasenna, 52 and note.
18–19. The manuscript abbreviates all six lines, giving only the initial letters of the words. The stanza division is thus arbitrary; some editors have made one stanza of the six lines, others have combined the last two lines of stanza 19 with stanza 20. It is possible that a couple of lines have been lost.
21. Goats: Thor’s wagon was always drawn by goats; cf. Hymiskvitha, 38 and note. Jotunheim: the world of the giants.
22. Njorth: cf. Voluspo, 21, and Grimnismol, 11 and 16. Noatun (“Ships’-Haven”): Njorth’s home, where his wife, Skathi, found it impossible to stay; cf. Grimnismol, 11 and note.
24. Grundtvig thinks this is all that is left of two stanzas describing Thor’s supper. Some editors reject line 4. In line 3 the manuscript has “he,” the reference being, of course, to Thor, on whose appetite cf. Hymiskvitha, 15. Sif: Thor’s wife; cf. Lokasenna, note to introductory prose and stanza 53.
27. For clearness I have inserted Thrym’s name in place of the pronoun of the original. Fire: the noun is lacking in the manuscript; most editors have inserted it, however, following a late paper manuscript.
28. In the manuscript the whole stanza is abbreviated to initial letters, except for “sleep,” “Freyja,” and “found.”
29. Luckless: so the manuscript, but many editors have altered the word “arma” to “aldna,” meaning “old,” to correspond with line 1 of stanza 32. Line 5 may well be spurious.
30. Hallow: just what this means is not clear, but there are references to other kinds of consecration, though not of a bride, with the “sign of the hammer.” According to Vigfusson, “the hammer was the holy sign with the heathens, answering to the cross of the Christians.” In Snorri’s story of Thor’s resuscitation of his cooked goat (cf. Hymiskvitha, 38, note) the god “hallows” the goat with his hammer. One of the oldest runic signs, supposed to have magic power, was named Thor’s-hammer. Vor: the goddess of vows, particularly between men and women; Snorri lists a number of little-known goddesses similar to Vor, all of them apparently little more than names for Frigg.
33. Some editors reject this line, which, from a dramatic standpoint, is certainly a pity. In the manuscript it begins with a capital letter, like the opening of a new stanza.
ALVISSMOL THE BALLAD OF ALVIS INTRODUCTORY NOTE No better summary of the Alvissmol can be given than Gering’s statement that “it is a versified chapter from the skaldic Poetics.” The narrative skeleton, contained solely in stanzas 1–8 and in 35, is of the slightest; the dwarf Alvis, desirous of marrying Thor’s daughter, is compelled by the god to answer a number of questions to test his knowledge. That all his answers are quite satisfactory makes no difference whatever to the outcome. The questions and answers differ radically from those of the Vafthruthnismol. Instead of being essentially mythological, they all concern synonyms. Thor asks what the earth, the sky, the moon, and so on, are called “in each of all the worlds,” but there is no apparent significance in the fact that the gods call the earth one thing and the giants call it another; the answers are simply strings of poetic circumlocutions, or “kennings.” Concerning the use of these “kennings” in skaldic poetry, cf. introductory note to the Hymiskvitha.
Mogk is presumably right in dating the poem as late as the twelfth century, assigning it to the period of “the Icelandic renaissance of skaldic poetry.” It appears to have been the work of a man skilled in poetic construction,—Thor’s questions, for instance, are neatly balanced in pairs,—and fully familiar with the intricacies of skaldic diction, but distinctly weak in his mythology. In other words, it is learned rather than spontaneous poetry. Finnur Jonsson’s attempt to make it a tenth century Norwegian poem baffles logic. Vigfusson is pretty sure the poem shows marked traces of Celtic influence, which is by no means incompatible with Mogk’s theory (cf. introductory note to the Rigsthula).
The poem is found only in Regius, where it follows the Thrymskvitha. Snorri quotes stanzas 20 and 30, the manuscripts of the Prose Edda giving the name of the poem as Alvissmol, Alsvinnsmol or Olvismol. It is apparently in excellent condition, without serious errors of transmission, although interpolations or omissions in such a poem might have been made so easily as to defy detection.
The translation of the many synonyms presents, of course, unusual difficulties, particularly as many of the Norse words can be properly rendered in English only by more or less extended phrases. I have kept to the original meanings as closely as I could without utterly destroying the metrical structure.
Alvis spake: Alvis spake: 1. “Now shall the bride | my benches adorn, And homeward haste forthwith; Eager for wedlock | to all shall I seem, Nor at home shall they rob me of rest.”
Thor spake: 2. “What, pray, art thou? | Why so pale round the nose? By the dead hast thou lain of late? To a giant like | dost thou look, methinks; Thou wast not born for the bride.”
Alvis spake: 3. “Alvis am I, | and under the earth My home ’neath the rocks I have; With the wagon-guider | a word do I seek; Let the gods their bond not break.”
Thor spake: 4. “Break it shall I, | for over the bride Her father has foremost right; At home was I not | when the promise thou hadst, And I give her alone of the gods.”
Alvis spake: 5. “What hero claims | such right to hold O’er the bride that shines so bright? Not many will know thee, | thou wandering man! Who was bought with rings to bear thee?”
Thor spake: 6. “Vingthor, the wanderer | wide, am I, And I am Sithgrani’s son; Against my will | shalt thou get the maid, And win the marriage word.”
Alvis spake: 7. “Thy good-will now | shall I quickly get, And win the marriage word; I long to have, | and I would not lack, This snow-white maid for mine.”
Thor spake: 8. “The love of the maid | I may not keep thee From winning, thou guest so wise, If of every world | thou canst tell me all That now I wish to know.
9. “Answer me, Alvis! | thou knowest all, Dwarf, of the doom of men: What call they the earth, | that lies before all, In each and every world?”
Alvis spake: 10. “‘Earth’ to men, ‘Field’ | to the gods it is, ‘The Ways’ is it called by the Wanes; ‘Ever Green’ by the giants, | ‘The Grower’ by elves, ‘The Moist’ by the holy ones high.”
Thor spake: 11. “Answer me, Alvis! | thou knowest all, Dwarf, of the doom of men: What call they the heaven, | beheld of the high one, In each and every world?”
Alvis spake: 12. “‘Heaven’ men call it, | ‘The Height’ the gods, The Wanes ‘The Weaver of Winds’; Giants ‘The Up-World,’ | elves ‘The Fair-Roof,’ The dwarfs ‘The Dripping Hall.’”
Thor spake: 13. “Answer me, Alvis! | thou knowest all, Dwarf, of the doom of men: What call they the moon, | that men behold, In each and every world?”
Alvis spake: 14. “‘Moon’ with men, ‘Flame’ | the gods among, ‘The Wheel’ in the house of hell; ‘The Goer’ the giants, | ‘The Gleamer’ the dwarfs, The elves ‘The Teller of Time.’”
Thor spake: 15. “Answer me, Alvis! | thou knowest all, Dwarf, of the doom of men: What call they the sun, | that all men see, In each and every world?”
Alvis spake: 16. “Men call it ‘Sun,’ | gods ‘Orb of the Sun,’ ‘The Deceiver of Dvalin’ the dwarfs; The giants ‘The Ever-Bright,’ | elves ‘Fair Wheel,’ ‘All-Glowing’ the sons of the gods.”
Thor spake: 17. “Answer me, Alvis! | thou knowest all, Dwarf, of the doom of men: What call they the clouds, | that keep the rains, In each and every world?”
Alvis spake: 18. “‘Clouds’ men name them, | ‘Rain-Hope’ gods call them, The Wanes call them ‘Kites of the Wind’; ‘Water-Hope’ giants, | ‘Weather-Might’ elves, ‘The Helmet of Secrets’ in hell.”
Thor spake: 19. “Answer me, Alvis! | thou knowest all, Dwarf, of the doom of men: What call they the wind, | that widest fares, In each and every world?”
Alvis spake: 20. “‘Wind’ do men call it, | the gods ‘The Waverer,’ ‘The Neigher’ the holy ones high; ‘The Wailer’ the giants, | ‘Roaring Wender’ the elves, In hell ‘The Blustering Blast.’”
Thor spake: 21. “Answer me, Alvis! | thou knowest all, Dwarf, of the doom of men: What call they the calm, | that quiet lies, In each and every world?”
Alvis spake: 22. “‘Calm’ men call it, | ‘The Quiet’ the gods, The Wanes ‘The Hush of the Winds’; ‘The Sultry’ the giants, | elves ‘Day’s Stillness,’ The dwarfs ‘The Shelter of Day.’”
Thor spake: 23. “Answer me, Alvis! | thou knowest all, Dwarf, of the doom of men: What call they the sea, | whereon men sail, In each and every world?”
Alvis spake: 24. “‘Sea’ men call it, | gods ‘The Smooth-Lying,’ ‘The Wave’ is it called by the Wanes; ‘Eel-Home’ the giants, | ‘Drink-Stuff’ the elves, For the dwarfs its name is ‘The Deep.’”
Thor spake: 25. “Answer me, Alvis! | thou knowest all, Dwarf, of the doom of men: What call they the fire, | that flames for men, In each of all the worlds?”
Alvis spake: 26. “‘Fire’ men call it, | and ‘Flame’ the gods, By the Wanes is it ‘Wildfire’ called; ‘The Biter’ by giants, | ‘The Burner’ by dwarfs, ‘The Swift’ in the house of hell.”
Thor spake: 27. “Answer me, Alvis! | thou knowest all, Dwarf, of the doom of men: What call they the wood, | that grows for mankind, In each and every world?”
Alvis spake: 28. “Men call it ‘The Wood,’ | gods ‘The Mane of the Field,’ ‘Seaweed of Hills’ in hell; ‘Flame-Food’ the giants, | ‘Fair-Limbed’ the elves, ‘The Wand’ is it called by the Wanes.”
Thor spake: 29. “Answer me, Alvis! | thou knowest all, Dwarf, of the doom of men: What call they the night, | the daughter of Nor, In each and every world?”
Alvis spake: 30. “‘Night’ men call it, | ‘Darkness’ gods name it, ‘The Hood’ the holy ones high; The giants ‘The Lightless,’ | the elves ‘Sleep’s Joy,’ The dwarfs ‘The Weaver of Dreams.’”
Thor spake: 31. “Answer me, Alvis! | thou knowest all, Dwarf, of the doom of men: What call they the seed, | that is sown by men, In each and every world?”
Alvis spake: 32. “Men call it ‘Grain,’ | and ‘Corn’ the gods, ‘Growth’ in the world of the Wanes; ‘The Eaten’ by giants, | ‘Drink-Stuff’ by elves, In hell ‘The Slender Stem.’”
Thor spake: 33. “Answer me, Alvis! | thou knowest all, Dwarf, of the doom of men: What call they the ale, | that is quaffed of men, In each and every world?”
Alvis spake: 34. “‘Ale’ among men, | ‘Beer’ the gods among, In the world of the Wanes ‘The Foaming’; ‘Bright Draught’ with giants, | ‘Mead’ with dwellers in hell, ‘The Feast-Draught’ with Suttung’s sons.”
Thor spake: 35. “In a single breast | I never have seen More wealth of wisdom old; But with treacherous wiles | must I now betray thee: The day has caught thee, dwarf! (Now the sun shines here in the hall.)”
NOTES 1. Alvis (“All-Knowing”): a dwarf, not elsewhere mentioned. The manuscript nowhere indicates the speakers’ names. The bride in question is Thor’s daughter; Thruth (“Might”) is the only daughter of his whose name is recorded, and she does not appear elsewhere in the poems. Her mother was Sif, Thor’s wife, whereas the god’s sons were born of a giantess. Benches: cf. Lokasenna, 15 and note.
2. The dwarfs, living beyond the reach of the sun, which was fatal to them (cf. stanzas 16 and 35), were necessarily pale. Line 3 is, of course, ironical.
3. Wagon-guider: Thor, who travels habitually on his goat-drawn wagon. Bugge changes “Vagna vers” to “Vapna verþs,” rendering the line “I am come to seek | the cost of the weapons.” In either case, Alvis does not as yet recognize Thor.
4. Apparently the gods promised Thor’s daughter in marriage to Alvis during her father’s absence, perhaps as a reward for some craftsmanship of his (cf. Bugge’s suggestion as to stanza 3). The text of line 4 is most uncertain.
5. Hero: ironically spoken; Alvis takes Thor for a tramp, the god’s uncouth appearance often leading to such mistakes; cf. Harbarthsljoth, 6. Line 4 is a trifle uncertain; some editors alter the wording to read “What worthless woman bore thee?”
6. Vingthor (“Thor the Hurler”): cf. Thrymskvitha, 1. Sithgrani (“Long-Beard”): Othin.
8. Every world: concerning the nine worlds, cf. Voluspo, 2 and note. Many editors follow this stanza with one spoken by Alvis, found in late paper manuscripts, as follows: “Ask then, Vingthor, | since eager thou art / The lore of the dwarf to learn; / Oft have I fared | in the nine worlds all, / And wide is my wisdom of each.”
10. Men, etc.: nothing could more clearly indicate the author’s mythological inaccuracy than his confusion of the inhabitants of the nine worlds. Men (dwellers in Mithgarth) appear in each of Alvis’s thirteen answers; so do the gods (Asgarth) and the giants (Jotunheim). The elves (Alfheim) appear in eleven answers, the Wanes (Vanaheim) in nine, and the dwarfs (who occupied no special world, unless one identifies them with the dark elves of Svartalfaheim) in seven. The dwellers “in hell” appear in six stanzas; the phrase probably refers to the world of the dead, though Mogk thinks it may mean the dwarfs. In stanzas where the gods are already listed appear names elsewhere applied only to them,—“holy ones,” “sons of the gods” and “high ones,”—as if these names meant beings of a separate race. “Men” appears twice in the same stanza, and so do the giants, if one assumes that they are “the sons of Suttung.” Altogether it is useless to pay much attention to the mythology of Alvis’s replies.
11. Lines 1, 2, and 4 of Thor’s questions are regularly abbreviated in the manuscript. Beheld, etc.: the word in the manuscript is almost certainly an error, and all kinds of guesses have been made to rectify it. All that can be said is that it means “beheld of” or “known to” somebody.
14. Flame: a doubtful word; Vigfusson suggests that it properly means a “mock sun.” Wheel: the manuscript adds the adjective “whirling,” to the destruction of the metre; cf. Hovamol, 84, 3.