The Edda: A Collection of Essays 0887556167, 9780887553196

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EDDA: A COLLECTION OF ESSAYS

THE UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA ICELANDIC STUDIES Editors Haraldur Bessason Robert J. Glendinning 1 The Book of Settlements: Landndmabok Translated by Hermann Palsson and Paul Edwards 2 A History of the Old Icelandic Commonwealth: Islendinga Saga By Jon Johannesson, translated by Haraldur Bessason 3 Laws of Early Iceland: Grdgds I Translated by Andrew Dennis, Peter Foote and Richard Perkins 4 Edda: A Collection of Essays Edited by Robert J. Glendinning and Haraldur Bessason 5 Laws of Early Iceland: Grdgds H-III (in preparation) Translated by Andrew Dennis, Peter Foote and Richard Perkins

Edda A Collection of Essays Edited by ROBERT J. GLENDINNING and HARALDUR BESSASON

UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA PRESS

©University of Manitoba Press 1983 Reprinted 1985 Printed in Canada

Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data Main entry under title: Edda (University of Manitoba Icelandic studies, ISSN 0709-2997; 4) Includes index. ISBN 0-88755-616-7 (pbk.) I. Eddas—Addresses, essays, lectures. I. Bessason, Haraldur, 1931II. Glendinning, Robert James, 1931III. Series. PT7235.E32 839'.6'009 C81-091154-X

Contents Editors' Foreword xi Acknowledgments vii Abbreviations ix The Edda as Ritual: Odin and His Masks EINAR HAUGEN 3

Insults and Riddles in the Edda Poems H.R. ELLIS DAVIDSON

25

Elements of Imagery in the Poetic Edda PETER HALLBERG

47

Some Thoughts on Voluspa PAUL SCHACH

86

On the Composition o/Vplospa REGIS BOYER 117

Types of Eddie Mythological Poetry HEINZ KLINGENBERG 134

The River Names in Grimnismal 27-29 CHRISTOPHER HALE 165

The Revenge of Vqlundr KAAREN GRIMSTAD 187

Eddie Poetry as Oral Poetry: The Evidence of Parallel Passages in the Helgi Poems for Questions of Composition and Performance JOSEPH HARRIS 210

Did the Poet of Atlamal Know Atlaqvida? THEODORE M. ANDERSSON 243

Gudrunarqvida forna. A Reconstruction and Interpretation ROBERT J. GLENDINNING 258

Pagan Sympathy: Attitudes to Heathendom in the Prologue to Snorra Edda ANTHONY FAULKES

283

Notes on Contributors 315 Index 317

Acknowledgments This book has been published with the help of a grant from the Canadian Federation for the Humanities, using funds provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. The Icelandic Festival Committee of Manitoba, the Icelandic National League, and the IcelandicCanadian Fron have also provided strong encouragement and support during the planning of this volume.

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Abbreviations AnM ANF ANO APS AR Archiv AUS Beitr DA DAI FMAS GR GRM HES HSCP IF JAF JEGP JFI KHL M/£" MGH MM Neophil NM NoB PL PQ

Annuals Mediaevale (Duquesne University) Arkiv for nordisk Filologi Aarboger for nordisk Oldkyndighed og Historic Acta Philologica Scandinavica Vries, J. de, Altgermanische Religionsgeschichte. 2nd ed. 2 vols. Berlin: De Gruyter, 1956-7. Archiv fur das Studium der neueren Sprachen und Literaturen Annales Universitatis Saraviensis (Universitat des Saarlandes) Beitrdge zur Geschichte der deutschen Sprache und Literatur Dissertation Abstracts Dissertation Abstracts International Fruhmittelalterliche Studien Germanic Review Germanisch-Romanische Monatsschrift Harvard English Studies Harvard Studies in Classical Philology Islenzk fornrit Journal of American Folklore Journal of English and Germanic Philology Journal of the Folklore Institute (Indiana University) Kulturhistorisk leksikon for nordisk middelalder fra vikingetid til reformationstid Medium ALvum Monumenta Germaniae Historica Maal og Minne Neophilologus Neuphilologische Mitteilungen Namn och Bygd Migne, Patrologia Latina Philological Quarterly

PMLA SN SnE SS SBVS TAPA ZfdA ZfdPh

Publications of the Modern Language Association Studio Neophilologica Jonsson, Finnur, ed. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Copenhagen, 1931 Scandinavian Studies Saga-Book of the Viking Society for Northern Research Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association Zeitschrift fur deutsches Altertum und deutsche Literatur Zeitschrift fur deutsche Philologie POEMS

Akv Alv Am Br Fm Gdr (I,II,111) Ghv Grm Grp Hdv HH (I,II) HHv Hlr Hm Hrbl Hym Ls Od Rm Sd Sg Vkv Vm Prk

Atlaqvida Alvissmdl Atlamdl Brot af Sigurdarqvido Fdfnismdl Gudrunarqvida GudrunarhvQt Grimnismdl Gripisspd Hdvamdl Helgaqvida Hundingsbana Helgaqvida Hiorvardzsonar Helreid Brynhildar Hamdismdl Hdrbardzliod Hymisqvida Locasenna Oddrunargrdtr Reginsmdl Sigrdrifomdl Sigurdarqvida in scamma Volundarqvida Vafdrudnismdl Prymsqvida

Editors' Foreword The collection of essays presented here was conceived and planned when two International Saga Conferences (Edinburgh and Reykjavik) had provided a focus and stimulus for those interested in saga Tesearch. Since no similar stage had been created or even proposed for the advancement of scholarly endeavours in the area of Eddie research, it was and continues to be the editors' hope that this volume may, in its own way, represent itself as an international forum for Eddie scholarship. Three further Saga Conferences (Oslo, Munich and Toulon) have taken place while our volume has been in preparation. As a result, some of the works referred to by the authors as forthcoming have since been published. However, progress in Eddie studies has always run slow and deep, and we are confident that this volume will offer a useful and stimulating collection of ideas and will bear fruit in future Eddie scholarship. A word must be said about the editing process involved in the publication of the twelve articles which follow. Inevitably the twelve manuscripts, as they reached the hands of the editors, contained divergent principles and methods for dealing with the format of citations, source references, and other more or less technical matters such as the spelling of proper nouns. Although it may not always be apparent, nor in total have been completely successful, the editors have attempted to introduce a uniform convention for this aspect of the twelve articles. The decisions made in this respect will displease some and perhaps find complete favor with none. For this the editors apologize and in defence plead only that the necessity of the attempt seemed obvious. Apologies are offered especially to the authors for this editorial interference, and it should be explicitly stated once again that responsibility for the format of everything relating to documentation in the articles rests with the editors. Among the many specific problems encountered, special mention should be made of the troublesome Icelandic 'b' symbol. This has been replaced by 'th' in proper nouns (except in quotations, titles and bibliographical references) in order to make the articles more readable for those without a knowledge of Icelandic or Old Norse. With this one exception the form of proper

nouns transmitted in the original (edited) texts has been retained. On the decision of the editors this principle was disregarded only in the case of Professor Haugen's article, where English is the sole linguistic vehicle. In names and quotations from the Poetic Edda the edition used, unless otherwise stated, was Edda. Die Lieder des Codex Regius nebst verwandten Denkmalern, hrsg. von Gustav Neckel, I. Text, vierte umgearbeitete Auflage von Hans Kuhn (Heidelberg, 1962). Two articles have been translated: Regis Boyer's "The Composition of Vqlospd" was translated from the French by Julian Thorsteinson; Heinz Klingenberg's "Types of Eddie Mythological Poetry" was translated from the German by Doris Schmierer, Julian Thorsteinson and R.J. Glendinning. The index was prepared by Julian Thorsteinson with some help from Christine Bundesen and Charlotte Chranowski. The editors wish to thank all those whose kind assistance has made the volume possible.

Robert J. Glendinning Haraldur Bessason

EDDA: A COLLECTION OF ESSAYS

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E1NAR HAUGEN

The Edda as Ritual: Odin and His Masks Ord mer af ordi ordz leitadi. Hdvamdl 141 The skalds demonstrate by their use of kennings with mythical content that they knew many myths: but they do not tell them, they only allude to them. Snorri in his Edda found it necessary to tell the myths in narrative prose, so that his Christian readers could appreciate the obsolescing allusions. In justifying this practice he proceeded to rationalize and euhemerize the myths, treating them, in short, from an antiquarian point of view. But in the anonymous Elder Edda the allusions are acted out, and the myths are in no way rationalized or deprecated. The gods are treated seriously, as real creatures, having supernatural but real adventures, described and identified by their powers and attributes. We are no longer in Snorri's world of medieval and scholastic learning, but in a world he could only half understand, the world of Norse myth. It is therefore unconvincing when some scholars have attributed some or all of the Eddie poems to Christian poets. In spite of the less than luminous characters possessed by some of the gods, there is no trace of the Christian view that they were demons and devils. If there are Christian influences, as in the character of Balder, they have tolerantly been absorbed into the religion, which was not fiercely exclusive, dominated by the jealous god of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Like the Greek gods of Homer and Hesiod, they could commit adultery, steal, and deceive, without losing credibility as gods. In the sixth century B.C. the writer Xenophanes could reject the idea of anthropomorphic gods, but this did not, as Mircea Eliade has pointed out, "necessarily imply rationalism or atheism."1 The same is true, I suggest, of the poets of the Elder Edda. The problem of the original purpose and the audience of the Eddie poems has haunted scholars for a long time. But if we accept the premise that they were composed by pagans, we must presume that in some form or other most of them go back at least to the Viking Period. We are in somewhat the

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Einar Haugen position of scholars who attempt to assess the religious significance of the Greek gods. To cite Eliade again: "Homer was neither a theologian nor a mythographer. . . . He had composed his poems for a specific audience: the members of a military and feudal aristocracy. . . . He avoided evoking religious or mythological conceptions that were either foreign to his essentially patriarchal and military auditors or in which they took little interest. Concerning all that could be called the nocturnal, chthonian, funereal side of Greek religion and mythology, Homer says next to nothing."2 There is excellent reason to suppose that very much the same is true also of the poets of the Edda. If we turn to the first page of the main manuscript of the Edda, we are immediately confronted with an audience and a speaker. In dramatic words the sibyl, the soothsaying woman, addresses her distinguished listeners: Vsp 1 Hearing I ask of the holy races, The sons of Heimdall, You will, Father-of-the-Slain, that well I tell Old tales of men I remember best.3

This solemn appeal to the gods assembled in their hall, like the king's or chieftain's warriors in theirs, could well be the opening of a religious service, a cultic occasion. For the Father-of-the-Slain at whose command the sibyl is speaking is Odin himself, and the holy races to whom she is speaking are the gods, and by implication the battle-scarred and war-trained men who one day would fight the good battle for mastery of the universe on Odin's side against the evil Jotuns, whom we usually call 'Giants,' though this is something of a misnomer, as we will see. The question I wish to raise is simply this: how great is the step between the ritual occasions when the gods were worshiped and when they were offered sacrifices of animals and even men, and the occasions when the Eddie poems were recited? Just as in the case of the Greeks, we have no solid information about the cult, only the reports of outsiders and of late, more or less unreliable sagas. But anyone who reads the Elder Edda cannot help but feel that many a time he is present at the feast itself, that he is hearing words which could have been spoken there. One reason for this overwhelming feeling is that most of the poems consist of direct speech, either in monologue or dialogue form. The first poem, The Prophecy of the Sibyl, is spoken in toto by the Sibyl and is a powerful survey of the entire cosmogony, from the creation of the earth out of chaos, to the

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The Edda as Ritual introduction of evil and strife in the world, and finally the last battle which ends with the death of the gods and giants alike, but also the rise of a new earth on which the gods come back in purified form. The second poem is spoken by Odin himself, and is called The Speech of the High One; in this he develops at great length how men should live and get along in what was obviously an insecure world, where kinship, friendship, hospitality, and moderation were vital virtues, but where a reputation for courage and honor was what won a man eternal life. This is followed by The Lay of Vafthrudnir, where Odin leaves his wife Frigg to engage in a dialogue on numinous wisdom with a giant named Vafthrudnir; it is all dialogue, except for one stanza. Then comes The Lay of Grimnir, in which Odin visits the hall of a king of the Goths named Geirrod, who binds him up and puts him between two fires for eight days and nights without either food or drink, until Geirrod's son, Agnar, gives him a horn of mead. Then Odin's tongue is loosened, and he returns the favor by giving Agnar a lecture on mythology, which goes on for nearly fifty stanzas. In the poem entitled The Lay of Harbard, Odin, in the guise of Harbard 'Graybeard,' engages in a dialogue with Thor, who thinks he (Harbard) is a ferryman and asks for a ride over the sound. In the Fly ting ofLoki, we are treated to a whole banquet scene of the gods, where the villain Loki vilifies each of the gods in turn. One scholar has called it "a divine comedy in one act" (Heusler), and that it certainly is, though hardly one we would want to ask our maiden aunt to attend. It is this high degree of performance-oriented quality about the poems that has convinced me that we are very close to having something like a text for cultic occasions in the poems of the Elder Edda. They are all relatively short, and even those that are not monologues or dialogues tell a story rapidly and with much use of conversation. The argument has been made with special forcefulness (by Dame Bertha Phillpotts) for a poem about the god Frey, one of the fertility gods, who sends his messenger Skirnir to win for him the beautiful daughter of one of the Jotuns, Gerd. Frey represents fertility, Skirnir means 'the shining one,' or 'the sun,' and Gerd can be interpreted as 'yard,' or 'field,' and the charms used to win her are such as would win the heart of any maiden. It is hard to avoid the conclusion that the poem could be the scenario of a ritual drama in which the fertility of the fields in spring was promoted by this little love play between a god and his mistress. We know from Tacitus that Frey's father Njord, who at this early period is female, was carted around the fields of Germany in the first century A..D. with a male priest to help fertilize the field. The sexual symbolism of the plow that turns the furrow is not far to seek.

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Einar Haugen i

There can be no doubt that Odin is the most fascinating and challenging of the Norse gods. He appears in the Edda as ruler of the gods, and also as their father, a patriarch in an aristocratic society, with its own high-walled fortress, called Asgard, set squarely in the middle of Midgard, Middle Earth, which in turn is surrounded by Jotunheim, the home of the Jotuns, or evil forces. We know that he was worshiped by all the Germanic peoples, for his name is known in Old English and Old Saxon as Woden and in Old High German as Wotan or Wuotan. All of these show an initial w, which was regularly lost in Scandinavian in the sixth century, giving the name Odinn. The root of the name is a Germanic word *wddu- meaning 'frenzy' or 'madness,' as was still clear to the Christian writer Adam of Bremen in the eleventh century, when he translated it into Latin as furor or 'frenzy.' The word wood meaning 'mad' is good Old English also and was known in English as late as Shakespeare's time. In Midsummer Night's Dream he puns on the two meanings of the word by having Demetrius say, as he is lost in the forest, "And here am I, and wood within this wood, / Because I cannot meet my Hermia" (II.i. 192-93). But Odin's frenzy is clearly a kind of magic ecstasy, for he is also the god of magic and of poetry, a combination that Shakespeare was also aware of. In the same play he wrote of "the poet's eye, in a fine frenzy rolling," and said "the lunatic, lover, and the poet are of imagination all compact" (V.i.7-8). What we would like to know is whether this name of Odin's or Odin himself goes further back, into Indo-European times. There is no other god so named, but his name is cognate with the Latin word for prophet vates and the Irish for poet faith. Behind all of them is a verb that means 'to blow,' and we are reminded that words for 'spirit' and 'soul' like the Greek psyche and Latin spiritus all come from words for 'breath' or 'breathing.' 4 In linguistics the techniques for establishing the nature of the common ancestral language from which the ancient and modern Indo-European languages are descended were developed in the first half of the nineteenth century and are well-established and reliable. This discovery was followed by a vast amount of effort in the area of myth to establish similarly a common Indo-European religion by comparing the available myths preserved from India to Iceland. Max Muller was perhaps the most important scholar who tried to accomplish this end, basing his research on the work of Jacob Grimm, who was one of the great founders not only of comparative historical linguistics, but also of mythology and folklore. Most of this work proved to be premature, but in recent years scholars have returned to the

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The Edda as Ritual problem, and with new, often startling results. The one who has advanced this analysis farthest is the French professor of religion at the College de France, Georges Dumezil, whose book Gods of the Ancient Northmen I have edited and (with the help of my students) translated into English.5 The perspectives he opens for tying up the various mythologies into some sort of Indo-European religion are exciting indeed, and well worth serious consideration. When I first encountered Dumezil's work in my teaching of Scandinavian mythology, I was willing to listen to him and trust him in part because of his familiarity with linguistic methodology, as shown by his work on Georgian and other languages of the Caucasus. By now, several of his books have appeared in English, as well as a full study of his work and principles in a book entitled The New Comparative Mythology6 by C. Scott Littleton. I have made my own comment on Dumezil explicit in an article I wrote some years ago, showing how the tripartite structure which Dumezil proposes for Indo-European religion can also be analyzed into binary structures. 7 Some scholars have tried to show that Odin was a latecomer in the Germanic pantheon, but it has been the great service performed for us by Dumezil that he has established the existence of a tripartite set of functions performed by the Indo-European gods, regardless of their names. In his view Odin is the representative of the first and highest function, that of sovereignty. Not only is he the ruler of the gods, but he is also their keeper of sacred knowledge, the high priest who combines in his person two qualities, the ability to rule and the secret lore that is the essence of religious and magical power. As such he is primarily the god of the rulers, held in greater awe than any of the others; he corresponds in this respect above all to Varuna in the mythology of the Rig-Veda, who like Odin has "ambiguous, disquieting, almost demonic aspects."8 This was the god of the Brahmans, the highest caste. Dumezil's second function is that of force, the ideal of the warrior class, represented in the Veda by Indra and in Germanic myth by Thor. There is nothing complicated about Thor; he is the bulwark against the evil incursions of the giants, and while his strength is respected, our Eddie poems present him mostly in a comic aspect. Odin taunts him by saying that he gets the earls, while Thor gets the slaves after death. There is clearly an opposition within the world of gods between the sly magician Odin, with the crafty Loki at his side, and the mighty Thor, who alone can drive Loki away and tie him up. One can visualize a comic performance of such poems as the Lay of Thrym, where Thor has lost his hammer and has to disguise himself as Freya to get it back, or the episode in which Thor goes out fishing with the giant

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Einar Haugen Hymir and almost wrecks the boat by getting the Midgard Serpent on the hook, or the prose tale that Snorri tells, in which Thor hides in the thumb of the Giant's mitten and is constantly outwitted by the ruler of the Giants. There is also a third function in the complete Germanic and Indo-European society, that of fertility. Here we have a group neatly set off from the other gods, the Vanir, of whom there are three, Njord, the father, and his children Frey and Freya. At least one poem in the Edda deals primarily with them, the Ride ofSkirnir, which I have already pointed to as probably some kind of fertility ritual. 9 None of these offers the kind of complications that we find in Odin— ruler, poet, master of runes and magic, lord of the dead, embodiment of the uncertainty of fate itself. To be sure, it is important that crops grow, animals bear offspring, children be conceived; it is essential that the tribe be protected against the depredations of its neighbors. But over and above these functions there is that ultimate question of the unknowable element in the universe, of how things came to be, why they are as they are, and what we can do about it. To my mind Odin, more than any other god in Germanic myth, embodies this questioning, ambiguous aspect of divinity. He is the union in his own person of the sullied and the sacred, of which Mary Douglas speaks and which Lowell Edmunds has discussed in his study of Oedipus.10 One of the puzzling things about Odin, for example, is that the pagan Romans apparently equated him with Mercury rather than with Jupiter. In Tacitus we read that the Germans worshiped Mercury, and the description he gives suggests indeed that he is talking about Odin. Recently Calvert Watkins has suggested that Mercury and his Greek equivalent Hermes may actually go back to an Indo-European god of exchange and reciprocity.11 Hermes is the patron god of thieves; Odin steals the mead of poetry from the giants. Hermes is the giver of speech; Odin is the inventor of runes and poetry. Hermes conducts the dead from the earth to the underworld and back again; Odin selects the dead on the battlefield, and takes them to his Valhalla to live with him. He gives victory and he takes it away. Hermes is the messenger of the gods, mediator between heaven and earth, men and gods; Odin is the only god who has direct speech with men, as with Agnar in The Lay of Grimnir. He picks up information from everywhere by sending out his two ravens, Hugin 'Mind' and Munin 'Memory.' Hermes protects travelers and roads; Odin makes many trips to visit gods, giants, and men both to gain and give wisdom, and he disguises himself with names that mean 'traveler,' for example, Vegtamr, on his visit to Hel. Hermes is depicted with a staff, a scepter, or a wand; Odin often travels with a shepherd's

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The Edda as Ritual staff and his chief weapon is the spear. Watkins compares Hermes in these respects to the Vedic god Pusan, but perhaps we now can add Odin to these, at least in some functions. If this is correct, he reflects one aspect of an IndoEuropean god of exchange and reciprocity, one of the prime functions of all social intercourse and discourse, related to the principle originally proposed by the French sociologist Mauss and elaborated by Levi-Strauss. 12 II

Let us turn now to the Eddie poems themselves, and see what they have to tell us about Odin. I shall take my starting point in one of the strangest and most confusing of the poems of the Elder Edda, one in which Odin is the main character as well as sole narrator, the Lay of Grimnir (Grm). This monologue by the greatest and most powerful of all the gods"takes place in a curious setting. Odin tells us that he is placed between two fires that are uncomfortably close to him: Grm 1 Hot art thou, fire! too fierce by far; Get ye gone, ye flames! The mantle's burned, though I bear it aloft, And the fire is scorching its fur.

He is not only exposed to heat; for eight nights he has had neither food nor drink, and he has not moved during all this time. But now he has been given a drink by one Agnar, the son of Geirrod, king of the Goths. As a reward, Odin grants Agnar not only his father's throne, but also gives him a lecture on the eternal verities. At the end of the lecture, Odin turns to the aging father Geirrod, telling him that he is drunk and has not been listening, and then he reveals who he is: Grm 52 Small heed did you take to all that I told, And false were the words of your friends;For now the sword of my friend I see, That waits all wet with blood. 53 Your sword-pierced body shall Ygg have soon, For your life is ended at last; The fates are hostile; behold now Odin! Come near me, if you can!

The poem as a whole is fifty-four stanzas long, but the setting and the narrative I have just reported occupy only the first three and the penultimate

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Einar Haugen three stanzas, with possibly one more in the middle. The rest is all lecture, Odin dispensing wisdom to Agnar, or to anyone who will listen. The story part, in fact, is so skimpy that the compiler of the Edda felt it needed an explanation in prose. So he added a preface in which he explained how Odin got into this odd predicament: it was the result of a quarrel with his wife Frigg, which ended in a wager. Geirrod, king of the Goths, said Frigg, is so stingy that he even tortures his guests. Odin maintained that this was a damnable lie about his friend and favorite, and he set off to prove that she was wrong. But Frigg had poisoned the king's mind before Odin arrived, so that he was very suspicious of this stranger who came to his court disguised in a dark mantle and called himself Grimnir. Since he would not tell King Geirrod anything about himself, he was indeed tortured, by being placed between the fires for eight nights. At the end the compiler adds a conclusion, telling us that Geirrod slipped and fell on his sword; after that his son Agnar, who had handed Odin his beaker of beer, became the ruler of the kingdom. So Odin's prophecy came true, and Odin had revealed his power, using it against the man who, according to the prose introduction, had been his favorite. Now it is clear that any attempt to interpret this story as history or reality must fail. There is no record of Gothic kings named either Geirrod or Agnar. Nor can one exactly interpret it as a moral tale invented to show men how to behave, except perhaps to teach them to be hospitable to strangers. Odin behaves in a morally reprehensible manner by putting his old supporter and favorite to what can only be called an unfair test. He appears disguised, calls himself Grimnir, which means 'the masked one,' and still expects his host to receive him well and even to' listen to an hour's tiresome lecture about the philosophical problems of the universe. But the poem does have an unmistakable quality of myth about it, since it presents an encounter of humanity with the divine, of mankind with the sacred. More than that, it involves men of high rank, the royal family of the Goths, and at a juncture in their lives of the greatest importance to them and all their followers: the accession to the throne of a.new king after the death of the old. In spite of his divine power, Odin has submitted to the intense pain of fire and hunger, apparently for the sole purpose of conveying sacred knowledge to the new king. When he speaks to Agnar, he says: Grm 3 Hail to you, Agnar! For hailed you are By the voice of the Lord-of-Men; For a single drink you will never receive A greater gift as reward.

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The Edda as Ritual It is clear that the main gift is not just the kingship, which he would get anyway, but the insight into the workings of the universe that a king must have to fulfill his sacred function as ruler and high priest of his people.13 So Odin begins, rather prosily, by enumerating the mansions and the regions in which each of the gods dwells. He emphasizes above all his own Valhalla by devoting three stanzas to it, and later coming back to it in a fourth: Grm 23 Five hundred doors and forty there are I know, in ValhalPs walls; Eight hundred fighters through each door fare When to war with the Wolf they go.

From here he goes on to tell about the great tree that holds up the universe, in spite of all the evil forces that infest it, and this leads him back to the creation of the earth out of the flesh of the giant Ymir. At times it seems as if he loses his thread, but this may be due to eager copyists who put in extra stanzas they knew from other poems. Then he rises to the real climax, beginning with a stanza that is variously interpreted, but which I take to mean the following: Grm 45 Visions I have now given to the sons of the gods, From this will come a welcome blessing. To all the gods it will come On ^Egir's benches, At Aigir's ale-feast.

We will hear more about the ale-feast in yEgir's hall, but let us hurry on. Odin then begins his impressive recital of all the names by which he is known, the masks under which he has concealed himself at one time or another. In chant-like verses he recites these names, many of which we cannot interpret with certainty; but it makes a magnificently resounding chant. Let me quote one stanza in the original: Grm 47 Sadr oc Svipall oc Sanngetall, Herteitr oc Hnicarr, Bileygr, Baleygr, Bolvercr, Fiolnir, Grimr oc Grimnir, Glapsvidr oc Fi9lsvidr.

Taylor and Auden attempt to translate the names in this stanza. 14 I shall give their translation with a few changes where I think they may have missed the meaning:

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Einar Haugen Grm 47 Truthful, Changeable, Truth-getter, Battle-happy, Overthrower, Death-Worker, Many-shaped, One-Eyed, Fire-Eyed, Lore-master, Masked, and Deceitful.

The contradictions and ambiguities are only too apparent: how can Odin be both "truthful" and "deceitful"? The list of names in this poem alone runs to about fifty, and someone has counted over 125 in all. Odin says himself: Grm 48/5-7 By a single name 1 was never known Since first I fared among men. 15

One does not have to search very far in the huge literature on Germanic mythology to find that this poem has been held to reflect a ritual from the cult of the Germanic peoples.16 One can imagine the scene in the viking hall, with the fireplace down the middle of the high rafted room, the priest who represents the highest god torturing himself by heat and fasting until he is in an ecstatic condition that enables him to recite the strange names of Odin and tell the men in the hall what they should know. One may actually suppose that there was no other way in which the average warrior at the king's court could learn these stories and know about the gods he worshiped. The poem is like the scenario of a well-acted play, a monologue involving the disguised god, the discomfited king, and his kindly son. in

It is the same wherever Odin appears in the poems of the Edda. Right next to the Lay of Grimnir is the Lay of Vafthrudnir, in which Odin engages in a dialogue of wisdom with the giant named Vafthrudnir. Here he is disguised under the name of Gagnrad 'the Giver-of-good-counsel.' Again he reveals himself at the end, this time by asking the giant what Odin whispered in the ear of his son Balder when he was being burned on the pyre after his death, knowledge that of course only he himself could possess. The poem called Speech of the High One dispenses ethical and religious wisdom and the narrator tells some very strange stories about himself that we will get back to later. In the poem called The Lay of Rig, Odin is almost certainly the god who appears under the name of Rig and procreates the classes of mankind by going to bed successively with women called 'great grandmother,' 'grand-

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The Edda as Ritual mother,' and 'mother.' In the end he teaches his youngest son Kon the Young (a play on the word for 'king'), the wisdom of the runes, which enables him to "shield the warriors, dull the swordblade, and still the seas." In the Lay of Harbard (Hrbl) Odin again appears in disguise, this time under the name of Harbard 'Graybeard' and the victim of his wiles is his own colleague and son, the thunder god Thor. Odin pretends to be a ferryman, and when Thor comes to be ferried over a sound, Odin taunts him instead, and they engage in a contest of boasting. While Thor boasts of his warlike exploits against the giants as protector of the gods, Odin boasts of his conquests among their women. In this poem, which reflects a ritual flyting, or matching of insults, we learn the important difference between Thor and Odin, mentioned earlier: Hrbl 24 Odin gets the earls who fall in battle, But Thor gets the race of slaves.

But where did Odin get all this knowledge? Even this we learn from the poems. While Thor was battling to keep the Jotuns from destroying the gods, Odin was gaining insight into the unknowable, in part from the very giants Thor was fighting. These giants, who were the ancestors of the gods, were also their enemies, just as Chronos and the Titans were the parents and enemies of the gods of Olympus. In the Prophecy of the Sibyl we are told that Odin gave up one eye, half his physical sight, for the sake of spiritual insight. He pledged his eye to Mimir, a mythical water spirit whose name may mean something like 'memory.' According to another story he has Mimir's head with him and consults it for its knowledge. But he had other sources of wisdom: the sibyl, whose monologue consists entirely of a panorama of the cosmogony, as I have said. The sibyl, who is a kind of witch woman herself, tells us that she is compelled by Odin, "the ancient one, the fearful one," by his gifts and his witchcraft, to tell her story. Again in the Dreams of Balder (Bdr), we are told of Odin's visit to a witchwoman, a sibyl, in the underworld of death, Hel, to learn the reason for bad dreams that his son Balder has been having. This, too, is a dramatic dialogue, spirited and brief, with Odin concealing himself under the name of Vegtamr, the 'Wanderer,' until he is unmasked by asking the sibyl a riddle she cannot answer: Bdr 12 "You are not Wanderer, as I thought for a while, Instead you are Odin the old enchanter."

13

Einar Haugen To which Odin replies: "You are no wise woman steeped in wisdom, Instead you are mother of triple monsters."

But in the Speech of the High One (Hdv), Odin himself tells us how he got two of the most important instruments of his magic power, the mead of poetry and the gift of runes, those curious letters used by Norsemen for magic and other inscriptions. The mead of poetry, which we must understand as the poetry of religious chants, and of the magic inspired by Odin, was originally owned by one of the giants. Suttung was his name, and he kept it hidden in his mountain hall, but he proved to be vulnerable because it was in the keeping of his beautiful daughter Gunnlod. Odin used a magic auger to bore a hole in the mountain, slipped through it in the shape of a snake, and completed the sexual symbolism of the story by seducing the daughter, Gunnlod, and persuading her to give him a drink of the magic mead that conferred the gift of poetry on him and men. Here Odin virtually condemns himself for his treatment of the woman he so shamefully used and then abandoned: Hdv 110 Odin swore an oath on this ring, How can one trust his troth? Suttung he left deceived at the feast And Gunnlod woefully weeping.

Contrariwise, he won the power of the runes by self-sacrifice, as he tells it himself in the same poem, in words that have been hotly debated by scholars.17 Hdv 138 Wounded I hung on a wind-swept tree For nine long nights, Pierced by a spear, pledged to Odin, Offered, myself to myself; The wisest know not from whence do spring The roots of that ancient rood. 139 They gave me no bread, they gave me no mead: Down I looked. I picked up the runes, screaming I picked them, Down from the tree I fell.

14

The Edda as Ritual 140 Nine powerful lays I learned from the famous Son of Bolthorn, Bestla's father, And a drink I got of the dearest mead, Poured from the pot Odrarir. 141 Then did I thrive, learned in lore, And waxed in wisdom; Word from word led on to new words, Deed from deed led on to new deeds.

Odin then goes on to recite some of the charms he learned, charms that can bring "help in sorrow and pain and sickness," but can also "turn the mind of the white-armed maiden, and so change all her thoughts." This scene presents us with a ritual hanging, wounding with a spear, fasting for nine nights, acquisition of wisdom, and the dispensing of it in the form of chants and charms that influence men's lives. All this takes us back to the Lay of Grimnir. There, too, Odin himself accepted suffering and a fast of nine nights, before revealing in ecstatic words a vision of creation and the fate of men and gods. Odin is less directly involved in another scene in the Edda that has a strong ritual quality. This is the Speech of Sigrdrifa (Sd), one of the heroic poems, since it involved Sigurd the Dragon-slayer and his awakening of the sleeping beauty who is elsewhere known as Brynhild. After Sigurd has killed the dragon and acquired his gold, he is advised by birds to ride up a mountain and find a woman who has been put into magic sleep by Odin. She is a valkyrie, one of Odin's war maidens, who brought him the dead from the battle-field; Odin has punished her for disobeying his orders by putting her into a magic sleep. When Sigurd awakens her, we expect a vigorous love scene, but instead she greets him with a drink from a horn full of mead, and then she speaks a toast to the gods that could come right out of a ritual and is as close to a prayer as we find in the Edda: Sd 3 Hail to the day! Hail to the sons of day! Hail to the night and her daughter now! Look to us here with kindly eyes Send to us, waiting here, victory! 4 Hail to the gods! Hail to the goddesses! Hail to the fruitful earth! Give to us wisdom and goodly speech And healing hands while we live!

15

Einar Haugen Then in the remaining part of the poem, she lectures him on divine wisdom, "news from all the worlds," as Sigurd puts it in the prose introduction. But what she tells him in the course of the next thirty-three stanzas could have come right out of the Speech of the High One or The Lay of Grimnir. It is a set of verses concerning magic charms, with many references to Odin, and a series of numbered proverbs, much like those in the other poem. I hesitate to say that Sigrdrifa, which means something like 'Victorybringer,' is another mask of Odin, this time in the shape of a woman, but she talks exactly like him, and I believe she is simply Odin's mouthpiece. Again a slender story has been grafted on to a recital of numinous knowledge, which serves the purpose of preparing Sigurd to become a king, just as it did Agnar in the Lay of Grimnir. To add to the complexity and ambiguity of Odin's character is the fact that he is tied by the bonds of foster-brotherhood with Loki, the evil trickster, who is not a god but a Jotun. He (Loki) is tolerated among the gods, and he alternately gets them into trouble and helps them out of it. I cannot take up Loki's character in all its complexity, except to note that he seems like a comic counterpart to Odin himself. He is Odin's shadow, his alter ego, sly and skilful, serving the gods only at his own pleasure. He lacks the depth and awe and seriousness of Odin, but they share many qualities. When the gods are assembled in ^Egir's hall for a ritual feast, Loki is admitted only on Odin's word, and then proceeds to demolish the reputations of the gods in a fireworks of obscenity. 18 Even Odin himself does not escape, and we learn from Loki that often Odin has given victory in battle to those who did not deserve it and that he has spent time performing magic in the shape of a witch, work that he considers unworthy of a true hero. At the end of the scene it is only the threat of Thor's hammer that stops Loki's mouth, and it is after this that the gods tie him up and fasten a serpent over him from which drips a constant flow of poison. There he will lie until the end of the world, when he will break loose and become the leader of the host that spells the doom of gods and giants alike. IV

Odin's many masks serve especially in his relationship to three of the major themes in the religion of the Edda: sex, war, and mortality. In these respects we shall test Eliade's assertion in Myth and Reality that a myth is "a story that is a most precious possession because it is sacred, exemplary, significant."19 How does Odin's wisdom reflect these qualities in relation to the three important aspects of life I have mentioned?

16

The Edda as Ritual First sex, or rather the relationship between male and female. Sex in the sense of procreation is simple and uncomplicated as long as it is part of the third function. Sex on this level was simple fertility, animalistic and biological, as with the farm animals and the plants of the field. But with Odin and his friend Loki it became more complicated. As I noted earlier, Odin had his sexual adventures, although he was married to Frigg, and I have mentioned his affair with Gunnlod. This at least had a divine purpose, securing the magic mead of poetry. Another girl he tried to seduce was less trusting. Billing's daughter led him a merry chase, worthy of Boccaccio. After promising to wait for him at night, she first had him chased off by the guards, and when he got back later toward daybreak, he found that she was gone and had left a bitch behind in her bed. No wonder Odin draws the following conclusion: Hdv 102 Many a girl when one gets to know her Proves to be fickle and false; The wily woman taught me that When I tried my best to entice her. Nothing but shame did the shrewd one give me And I did not win any woman.

When Odin names the things one cannot trust, women come high on the list: Hdv 81 Praise not the day before evening, nor a woman before she is dead, Praise a sword when it's tested, a maiden when she is wed, Ice when you have crossed it, ale when it is drunk.

But he is quite aware that men are equally false: Hdv 91 Plain will I speak for both I know; False is men's faith to women; Fairest we speak when falsest we think: Many a maid is deceived.

It appears that Odin is not interested in sex as fertility, but sex as fun. Sex is a game, in which men are the hunters and women the hunted, and each of the parts has its stratagems. This is obviously a sophisticated but also morally ambiguous view of life, one better suited to the viking chiefs and warriors than to a settled agricultural population. A similar ambiguity appears in his attitude to war. Odin never partakes in

17

Einar Haugen the fighting, but he is the strategist in the background who decides the outcome of the battle. His weapon is the spear, in contrast to Thor's simple hammer; he throws his spear over the battlefield to bring about the outcome he wants. And the spear may hit his friends as easily as his enemies, if he has decided that their time has come and he wants them with him in Valhalla. In this hall they feast every evening on boar's meat, while Odin drinks wine, the symbol of royalty. This is the divine "feast of immortality," as Dumezil has called it (Le festin d'immortalite); it is depicted for us in the basic scene of The Flyting of Loki in the Edda.20 The feast comes at the end of a day when the warriors have fought and killed each other off, after which they all get up and come home for supper. This, too, is clearly a viking ideal, not a working man's dream. It is equally curious that Odin takes no direct part in the struggle against the giants, as we usually translate the word Jo fun, which in Old English was etin, and ultimately means 'eaters, devourers.' But they are made of the same stuff as the gods, being both their ancestors and their marriage partners. Not only do they have much of the wisdom that Odin seeks, but they also have beautiful daughters, whom the gods, and not least Odin, take a fancy to. The fertility divinity Njord is actually married to one of them, Skadi, which turns out disastrously because he wants to live by the sea and she wants to live in the mountains. On the other hand, the giants are always trying to snatch off the women of the gods, the goddesses, but are generally frustrated. The very fact that such sexual unions can occur shows that they belong to the same race. There are also a number of social occasions on which they visit one another's homes and are hospitably received, at least in the beginning. Altogether the warlike relation between them must reflect the conflicts of the Germanic tribes among each other for land and women during the migration period or even earlier. The gods and giants are the cosmogonic magnifications of two neighboring tribes; the only difference is that the gods are on our side, while the giants are not. So the gods are good and the giants are bad, and in the end it is the gods and not the giants who come back after their mutual destruction at the end of the world. This leads me into the third and last theme: mortality. The theme of death and how to overcome it has been one of the major concerns of every religion. Among the Germanic tribes it is clearly reflected in the cosmogony: the earth came into being by the killing of a giant, out of whose body the earth was made; the mountains, for example, are his bones. It will come to an end after a world-embracing battle between the gods and giants, in which both will be destroyed. It is part of Odin's wisdom that he, too, is mortal, like all the gods. In the hall of Vafthrudnir he asks the ancient sage:

18

The Edda as Ritual Vafdrudnismdl 52/4-6 What will bring doom of death to. Odin When the gods to destruction go?

And Vafthrudnir answers: 53 The Wolf will fell the father of men, And Vidharr will vengeance bring; He will sunder the savage jaws Of frightening Fenrir.

This is the chief theme of the Prophecy of the Sibyl (Vsp), the most magnificent "cult scenario" of Germanic myth, to use Eliade's term, 21 mysterious and impenetrable in spots, but detailed in its description of the end of the world and the twilight of the gods. Fate cannot be altered; like all men, the gods and their adversaries will die after the world has become so bad that the forces of evil are about to get the upper hand: Vsp 57 The sun turns black, earth sinks in the sea; Hurled from heaven are the burning stars; Reeking fumes burst into flames, The sky itself is scorched with fire.

But the seeress looks still farther into the future and sees a new earth rising, where the gods come back and live in beauty: Vsp 64 More fair than the sun a hall I see, Thatched with gold, on Gimle standing; There will righteous rulers dwell And live forever in joy and bliss.

In this new world Odin will need no mask, but in the world as it is today he illustrates more perfectly than any other Germanic god the ambiguity of character that reflects the struggle of good and evil within each of us. He represents the highest good, but this good is alloyed with evil. He reflects a world of insecurity, where everyone must be wary where he goes, for enemies lurk behind every door. 22 After we have torn away his masks, we find an enigma, an immortal who is also mortal, a moralist who cultivates immorality, and a warrior who avoids war. He is all-knowing, but he is forever seeking knowledge.

19

Einar Haugen It was long ago suggested by the German mythographer, Schroder, that the ceremonies by which Odin acquires his wisdom are strongly reminiscent of the ecstatic trances of the shaman in the shamanistic religions of northern Siberia and Europe. 23 Mircea Eliade has picked this idea up and developed it extensively in his book on shamanism. 24 Jere Fleck has strongly criticized these views and shown that while there are features here that remind us of shamanism, there is no real shaman, and these features therefore do not add up to a shamanistic religion.25 He has suggested instead that in Odin's trials to secure religious knowledge we have an example of the widely spread practice in many religions of asceticism and mortification of the flesh for the sake of inducing visions of the unknown. In the case of the Lay of Grimnir he proposes that the ceremony is one by which the young king is introduced into the mystic lore of the sacred kingship, which, following Hofler, he believes existed among the Germanic tribes.26 He believes that we should look for its origin in the parallels offered by Indo-Iranian myths and practices, which in turn suggests that we have here the tail end of a long chain of transmission back to the religion of the Indo-Europeans. 27 My own view is that Fleck is right, but that he restricts the use of the myths too severely when he makes them only part of the initiation of a king. I see them rather as part of the whole ceremonial pattern of Germanic religion in which the king-priest or sacred magician acts out the role of the gods he tells about. We even have a word for him: thepul who is mentioned in the Speech of the High One; here one Loddfafnir, otherwise unknown and with an impenetrable name, is the listener to Odin's lore. I have translated the word pul (thul) with 'chanter' for lack of a better word, and the word for what he does, pylja, with 'chanting,' a solemn recitation of numinous wisdom. He opens the ceremony by saying: Hdv 111 'Tis time to chant from the chanter's stool At the well of Wyrd; I watched and was silent, 1 watched and was thoughtful, I heard the High One's speech; Wisdom I heard about runes and wise advice, At the High one's hall, In the High one's hall; And this is what was said.

After this comes Odin's speech, most of it earthly rather than religious wisdom, as in the first part of the poem; but I suspect that in the minds of the listeners there was little distinction. One did not need to be a king or even

20

The Edda as Ritual an earl to make use of such wisdom, but the king's bodyguard would find it helpful to share it all. The term thul includes the idea of a sage, a speaker of wisdom, and a poet. The giant Vafthrudnir calls himself "an old thul"; 28 the dwarf Regin is referred to as "the hoary thul"; and Odin himself is the "master-thul" who paints the runes (Hdv 80, 142); to Loddfafnir he gives the advice: Hdv 134 Never laugh at a gray-haired thul; What the old men say is often good. V

It has been my intention in this study of Odin to show how we can extract from the often confused poems of the Edda a conception of the religious beliefs and practices of the Germanic tribes. I am convinced that the texts as we have them are very close to the cultic rituals which were enacted among them as among most other archaic peoples. In emphasizing their literary quality most students have overlooked their religious values. They have found the lists of names, the so-called 'wisdom poems,' dry and uninteresting, because they have not penetrated behind them to the religious faith of those who composed and performed them. They have criticized the repetitiousness of some of the verses and their stereotyped form, neglecting the value of formulaic repetition in creating a mood.29 They have never been able to imagine the shamanistic ecstasy that runs through these poems from one end to the other, the magic blessings that brought power to the kings, strength to the warriors, and fertility to the farmers. Harvard University

NOTES 1 Myth and Reality, trans. W.R. Trask (New York, 1968), p. 158. 2 Ibid., pp. 149, 152; see also Werner Jaeger, The Theology of the Early Greek Philosophers (Oxford, 1947), p. 47. 3 All translations from the Elder Edda are my own, based on the original text, but borrowing freely from the available published translations where they seemed best, specifically: The Poetic Edda, trans. Henry Adams Bellows (New York, 1957); The Poetic Edda, trans. Lee M. Hollander, 2nd ed. (Austin, Tex., 1962); The Elder Edda, a Selection, trans. Paul B. Taylor and W.H. Auden (New York, 1967). For the original see Edda, ed. G. Neckel, rev.

21

Einar Haugen

4 5 6 7 8 9

10 11 12 13 14 15

16

ed. H. Kuhn, 2 vols. (Heidelberg, 1962); Norroen fornkvcedi, ed. Sophus Bugge (Christiania, 1867; rpt. Oslo, 1965). For the most complete treatment of Odin see Jan de Vries, AR, II, pp. 27-106. Jan de Vries, Altnordisches etymologisches Worterbuch (Leiden, 1961). Gods of the Ancient Northmen, ed. Einar Haugen (Berkeley, 1973). The New Comparative Mythology: An Anthropological Assessment of the Theories of Georges Dumezil, rev. ed. (Berkeley, 1973). "The Mythical Structure of the Ancient Scandinavians: Some Thoughts on Reading Dumezil," in To Honor Roman Jakobson (The Hague, 1967), pp. 855-68. Gods of the Ancient Northmen, p. 40 (misprint in text: "ambitious" for "ambiguous"). Originally suggested by Magnus Olsen, "Fra gammelnorsk myte og kultus," MM (1909), pp. 17-36; amplified by Bertha S. Phillpotts in The Elder Edda and Ancient Scandinavian Drama (Cambridge, Eng., 1920); rejected by J. Sahlgren, Eddica et Scaldica, II, (1928), pp. 211-310. Recent commentators have been cautious in their approach to the problem, preferring to regard Skirnismdl as a literary treatment of an older cult myth, e.g. de Vries, AR, II, p. 181; E.6. Sveinsson, Islenzkar bokmenntir i fornold, I (Reykjavik, 1962), p. 280; Ludvig Holm-Olsen, Norges Litteraturhistorie, I, (Oslo, 1974), p. 275. Mary Douglas, Purity and Danger (London, 1966); Lowell Edmunds, "The Oedipus Myth and African Sacred Kingship," Comparative Civilizations Review (1979), no. 3, 1-12. "Studies in Indo-European Legal Language, Institutions, and Mythology," in Indo-European and Indo-Europeans, ed. P. Cardona, H. Hoenigswald, A. Senn (Philadelphia, 1970), pp. 321-54, esp. 345ff. M. Mauss, Essai sur le don (1925); S. Eitrem, in Pauly and Wissowa, Real-Encyclopddie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft, XV (1912), s.v. Hermes; C. Levi-Strauss, Les structures elementaires de la Parente (Paris, 1949), p. 177. See Jere Fleck "Konr—Ottarr—Geirrodr: A Knowledge Criterion for Succession to the Germanic Sacred Kingship," SS, 42 (1970), pp. 39-49. See The Elder Edda, A Selection, p. 69, st. 46. For an important study of Odin's names see Franz Rolf Schroder, "Grimnismal," Beitr, 80 (Tubingen, 1958), pp. 341-78. He points to a parallel in the Avesta, where Ahura Mazda gives himself twenty names as "protection against the evil spirit, just as if 1000 men protect a single one." Similarly the wind god Vayu in Middle Persian literature recounts all his names, studied by Stig Wikander, while in India there were regular name lists or name litanies, one running up to a thousand names plus eight for Shiva. Schroder notes the interesting fact that the number fifty for names is also found among the Sumerians, the Semites, the Persians, and the Indians: "Name ist nicht Schall und Rauch, sondern der Name ist eine geheimnisvolle magische Kraft." Sveinsson, in Islenzkar bokmenntir i fornold, I (p. 273), compares it with the concealment of Jahve's name among the Jews, referring to H. Guntert, Von der Sprache der Cotter und Geister (1921), pp. 7ff.: "Grimnismal is not simply a poem of wisdom; it is a revelation." Andreas Heusler on sts. 42 and 45 in Grm: "Sie klingen wie altertumliche Kultstrophen, die beim Opferfest gesprochen wurden." (Genzmer's translation of the Edda, Thule, II; (Jena, 1932); F.R. Schroder: "Das Lied, d. h. die kultische Szene wird man sich gewi/f in der Ternpelhalle gespielt denken miissen, in deren Mitte der den Gott agierende und vertretende Priester zwischen den heiligen Feuern die gottliche Weisheit verkiindet," ("Grimnismal," p. 353). (See Sveinsson, Islenzkar bokmenntir i fornold, I.) Magnus Olsen, "Fra Eddaforskningen: Grimnismal og den h0iere tekstkritikk," (ANF, 49, 1933), pp. 262-78, reprinted in Norrone Studier(Os\o, 1938), pp. 130-44, with supplement 145-49, translated as

22

The Edda as Ritual "Le pretre-magicien et le dieu-magicien dans la Norvege ancienne," in Revue de I'Histoire des Religions III (1935), 177-221; 112 (1935), 5-49. Holm-Olsen, Norges Litteraturhistorie, I, p. 274. 17 A.G. Hamel, "Odinn hanging on the tree," APS, 1 (1932), pp. 260-88; "Northern mythology," he writes, "is to a large extent sublimated magic" (p. 287); "the myth can only be understood if we look at Odinn's fasting and exposing himself to the elements primarily as a primitive magical practice, intended to actualize the God's dsmegin and to enforce the submission of the runes." For a thorough revision of the old views see now Jere Fleck, "Odinn's Self-Sacrifice—A New Interpretation" in two parts, "I: The Ritual Inversion," SS, 43 (1971), pp. 119-42, "II: The Ritual Landscape," SS, 43 (1971), pp. 385-413. For an old but still useful study see H.M. Chadwick, The Cult of Othin (London, 1899). 18 The literature on Loki is huge; see de Vries, AR, II, pp. 255-67. H.R. Ellis Davidson in Gods and Myths of Northern Europe (Harmondsworth, Eng., 1964) includes Loki in her chapter on "The Enigmatic Gods"; I would include Odin. She does grant, however, that "Loki as the ambivalent mischief-maker might similarly [to the trickster figure) be seen as a kind of Odin-figure in reverse . . . a parody of the great creator-gods rather than as consistently in opposition to them" (p. 181). F.S. Cawley, "The Figure of Loki in Germanic Mythology," The Harvard Theological Review 32 (1939), pp. 309-26, surveys the literature at that time and presents some interesting ideas. Holm-Olsen (Norges Litteraturhistorie, p. 280), is inclined to see the motif of the divine banquet as a borrowing from south European sources (e.g., Lucian), while Dumezil establishes it as an Indo-European motif in his monograph "Le festin d'Immortalite," in Etude de Mytho/ogie Comparee Indo-europeene, Annales du Musee Guimet, XXXIV (Paris, 1924). The three poems that make reference to the feast at /Egir's home are part of a cycle he calls "the ambrosian cycle" (pp. 11-15, 51-60). 19 Myth and Reality, p. 1. 20 Gods of the Ancient Northmen, p. 40. 21 Myth and Reality, p. 48. H.R.E. Davidson (Gods and Myths, p. 203), has explicitly rejected the idea of the conclusion of Vqlospd as a Christian influence, accepting it as "a vision of death and rebirth which is the essence of all great religions, the eternal re-enactment of which Eliade writes." 22 H.R.E. Davidson (Gods and Myths, p. 50), suggests that distrust is one of the central features of Germanic religion. 23 Schroder (Grimnismdl, p. 373), lists many parallels from Guiana, Finland (Kalevala), the Faroes, Old Indie, etc. He points out that the Indie tapas (chastisement, mortification) is based on older magic uses of heat to induce ecstasy, in some places with narcotics as an additional factor (Herodotus on the Scythians' use of hemp, i.e. cannabis). "Aus allem wird ersichtlich, da/? der Odin dieses Liedes dem Schamanen sehr nahesteht. Ja, er scheint geradezu als das gottliche Urbild desselben. . ." (p. 378). 24 Le chamanisme (Paris, 1951); German trans. Schamanismus und archaische Ekstasetechnik (Zurich/Stuttgart, 1957), pp. 362-69. 25 "The 'Knowledge-Criterion' in the Grimnismal: The Case against 'Shamanism,'" ANF, 86 (1971), pp. 49-65. 26 Otto Hofler, Germanisches Sakralkonigtum, I (Tubingen, 1952). 27 "The 'Knowledge-Criterion' in the Grimnismal," p. 65. 28 For a discussion of the meaning of the cognate OE pyle see J.L. Rosier, "Design for Treachery: The Unferth Intrigue," PMLA, 77 (1962), pp. 1-7. If th.e author is right in calling Unferth 'treacherous,' this would fit well with our view of Odin thefimbulpulr. But the

23

Einar Haugen glosses which connect the Old English word with Latin scurra 'jester, buffoon, parasite' suggest rather a Christian pejoration in the role of the pagan pulr from 'speaker of ancient wisdom' to that of 'public entertainer.' As has been demonstrated by Carol Clover in "The Germanic Context of the Unferb Episode," Speculum, 55 (1980), pp. 444-68, to which 1 owe this reference, Unferth's attack on Beowulf is more likely to have been an example of the Germanic type of gamesmanship known as aflyting, in Old Norse a senna or mannjafnadr. After completing the above, I became aware also of Joseph L. Baird, "Unferth the byle," MAE, 39 (1970), pp. 1-10. The view there presented of the meaning of pulr agrees with and confirms the one here presented, of the pulr being a cultic figure associated with Odin, for good or for bad, the latter being mostly due to Christian pejoration. 29 It is characteristic of Old Norse verse when compared with other Germanic verse that it is composed in stanzaic form, normally a quatrain with four beats to the line or alternating four and three(of course tied together by alliteration as in all Germanic verse). There is no clear reason for this difference, and one might suggest that cultic use entered into the new form. Stanzas are obviously more memorable than the flowing line of the Old English Beowulf ot the Old Saxon Heliand; they are more manageable as interchangeable units in religious chants. As in the later ballads, they can repeat lines formulaically, and at times they can deviate from the norm to create special effect, as in the repetition of a last line in the chant meter (Ijodahdttr).

24

H.R. ELLIS DAVIDSON

Insults and Riddles in the Edda Poems

While much effort has gone into attempts to date the Edda poems from their language and vocabulary, and there have been considerable arguments as to their age and place of origin, rather less attention has been paid to the nature of the subject matter and the particular methods of presentation. This was pointed out by Bertha Phillpotts as long ago as 1920,1 but little has been done to rectify the omission since, as is evident from L.M. Hollander's survey of work on the Edda published in 1963,2 where he shows how unsatisfactory most of the attempts to determine the date and purpose of the poems has proved to be. It might be worthwhile now, some half-century since Bertha Phillpotts wrote, to return to the problems of form and structure in the Poetic Edda. Her own theory was that the reason the narrative poems in the collection were all "to a greater or lesser extent hampered by the conventions of dialogic or monologic verse" was that they were the remains of a flourishing ritual drama from pre-Christian times in Scandinavia. She suggested that effigies of the gods were used for this, while two or three actors took the speaking and moving parts, and a chorus, possibly wearing bird or animal masks, assisted in the production. She believed that the purpose of the plays, performed in sacred places or perhaps in the temples of the gods, was to present myths at the yearly festivals; some, like the Helgi poems, might enact the slaying of the king by his successor, and others the contest between winter and summer, or a divine marriage. Her theories were in accordance with research at the time, inspired by the work of Frazer, Jane Harrison, Gilbert Murray and others, when the tendency was to see folk plays and ceremonies of later times as tattered fragments of more dignified ritualistic drama of the pre-Christian era. The Edda poems about gods and heroes could therefore be interpreted as reconstructions in poetic form of ritual drama, performed in Norway and Sweden in pagan times; this would explain the confusion in the prose links between the poems

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H.R.E. Davidson in the Codex Regius, since the thirteenth century Icelandic editor did not wholly understand his material. She claimed also that later examples of folk drama show how the dramatic tradition continued in Scandinavia among simple people. However we no longer feel confident that a neat line of descent can be traced in this way from the pagan past to the modern present, or that oral literature, whether in the form of folktales, folksong, ballads, or mumming plays, is derived from one hypothetical original, an early type from which all later examples must be derived.3 The modern tendency is to avoid sweeping generalizations, to realize that each individual work must have its own history, and that a two-way traffic between written and oral literature could go on not only in recent times but in earlier periods also, while popular customs can die out and be reborn many times over. Thus it is necessary to be more cautious in our expectations, and to demand precise evidence in a small field rather than sweeping evolutionary theories into which all material is required to fit. 4 Bearing this in mind, I propose to consider two particular aspects represented in the poems of the Codex Regius, the exchange of threats and insults, and the exchange of questions and answers. Parallels may be found in poems and stories in the Fornaldar sggur, and also in the early books of the Danish history of Saxo Grammaticus, and it is with the evidence from Saxo that I shall be particularly concerned. If we begin with poems of threats and insults, we have an obvious example in Hdrbardzliod, a spirited exchange between Thorr and Odinn in somewhat colloquial style, composed in what has been pronounced by Sijmons to be free rhythmic prose rather than conventional poetic metre.5 In this poem Odinn calls himself 'Hoary Beard,5 and appears as a ferryman, who refuses to bring over his boat to ferry Thorr across a river; they "exchange insults over the water, each boasting of past exploits and seeking to heap scorn on the achievements of the other. Some allusions are easily recognizable, like Thorr's account of his victory over Hrungnir, or Odinn's taunt that Thorr hid in a glove in terror of a giant, since these stories are told by Snorri in his Prose Edda\ but others, like the reference to Odinn taking the wand of the giant Hlebardr, or Thorr fighting the sons of Svarangr, are unknown. Nor is it easy to understand why Odinn's reference to a ring to make atonement between them arouses Thorr to intense fury. They part as enemies, threatening vengeance, and Thorr does not get across the river but has to go round another way, so that Odinn may be regarded as the victor. A second poem of threats and insults in which a large number of gods and goddesses take part is Locasenna, where Loci, denied entrance to the hall of ^gir, forces his way in to insult and threaten everyone who confronts him. He refers to dubious incidents in their past, accusing them of cowardice or

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Insults and Riddles infidelity, or taunting them for having been duped by their wives. Finally Thorr comes in with his hammer and drives Loci away. The heroic poems provide further examples. In Helgaqvida Higrvardzsonar there are two passages where insults are exchanged. The first is an encounter between Atli and Hrimgerdr, who claims to be the daughter of a giant Hati, who was slain by Helgi. Atli and later Helgi himself exchange threats and insults from their ship with the giantess on shore. Among other derogatory statements, Hrimgerdr describes Atli as a gelded horse, and he retaliates by comparing her to a mare, a type of insult frequently used in the Icelandic nid or scorn poem.6 Hrimgerdr apparently desires Helgi for her lover in compensation for her father's slaying, but Helgi threatens her with a loathsome giant as a husband. She finally admits that the guardian valkyrie, Svava, is stronger than she, and has saved the ships from her attacks. Then Atli announces that the sun has risen, and the giantess is turned to stone. In his translation of the poem, Hollander points out that the metre of this section is different from the rest, and suggests that it might be later in date; he apologizes for its coarseness, which he judges "offensive . . . to the more delicate taste of a later age."7 In Helgaqvida Hundingsbana there is a similar passage of insults between Gudmundr and Sinfiotli. Gudmundr acts as messenger of the king whose land Helgi is about to attack, and Sinfiptli is Helgi's supporter; he is the son of Sigurdr the Volsung and his sister Signy, whose story is told in Vqlsunga saga. Again the passage opens with a challenge and they announce their names; again the two boast and insult one another, accusing each other of shameful behavior. Gudmundr claims that Sinfiptli has behaved like a wolf, devouring men slain in battle; Sinfiptli in turn taunts him with having given birth to wolves which he himself fathered, while Gudmundr accuses him of having been gelded by giantesses, and of appearing as a mare in company with Sigurdr's horse Grani; then Sinfiptli retaliates by calling Gudmundr a female troll. In the end Gudmundr retires to announce Helgi's arrival to the king. There is a repetition of the dialogue between the two in the second lay, but this is less scurrilous, and consists mainly of boasting by both sides of victory to come. . There is an exchange of hostile speeches between two female characters in the Helreid Brynhildar, and this time the encounter takes place on the road to Hel, the land of the dead. Brynhildr, after her burning on a funeral pyre, drives towards Hel in her wagon, and is challenged by a giantess, who refuses to let her pass and accuses her of causing the death of many heroes. Brynhildr claims superiority over the giantess, and tells the story of her life as a valkyrie, her punishment by Odinn and her meeting with Sigurdr, to jus-

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H.R.E. Davidson tify what she has done. In the final verse she calls on the giantess to sink and let her pass. Other poems have passages of hostile dialogue. Scirnir and Gerdr have a verbal encounter in Scirnismdl, where he threatens her with sterility and death if she will not accept Freyr as a lover, and with a loathsome giant as husband, so that there is some resemblance to Atli's threat to Hrimgerdr in the Helgi lay.8 In Baldrs draumar Odinn forces the dead seeress to reply to his questions against her will, and then each abuses the other when she recognizes him as OQinn and he discovers that she is a malignant giantess. Sigurdr and the dying dragon have a dialogue in Fdfnismdl in which threats play some part and Fafnir prophesies Sigurdr's death. In Hyndloliod Freyia puts questions to the giantess Hyndla, and again the setting is the road to Hel. The goddess keeps her own form, but Ottarr, for whom the information is required, is disguised as her boar; at the end goddess and giantess abuse one another, and Freyia threatens the giantess with fire. There are interesting parallels in the Fornaldar SQgur, and particularly in three sagas dealing with members of a famous family from northern Norway. In Ketils saga Hcengs, the hero has an exchange of verses with two hostile supernatural beings whom he encounters, the Lapp king Gusi and a trollwoman. In Grims saga Lodinkinna, Ketill's son Grimr has a similar exchange with two troll women, while in Qrvar-Odds saga the hero, who is the son of Grimr, takes part in two exchanges of insulting verses, one with a heathen priestess who supports the old gods, and the other in a more realistic setting. This last is of particular interest, because the verses are recited at a formal drinking bout in the king's hall, where Oddr has arrived in disguise (ch. 27). He has covered his body and legs with birchbark, and wears a large birchbark hat; he calls himself 'Barkman,' although after a while he reveals that his name is Oddr; he refuses to give any details about his past and says that he has no special skills. In spite of this, the king agrees to give him hospitality, and before long Oddr outdoes the king's men in hunting, shooting and swimming. He makes two friends at the court, and they win wagers on his success. Encouraged by this, they make a further wager: that Oddr can outdo two experienced drinkers, the king's chief men, Sjolfr and Sigurdr, who have shown hostility to him from the outset. The wager is a gold armring of twelve ounces in weight against the lives of Oddr's two friends, and he is somewhat shocked by the risk they have taken: "You have made a rash wager this time," said Oddr, "adding so much to the previous stakes and pledging your own heads. I am not at all sure that I can hold so much more than other men, even though I am bigger, but nonetheless I will go in for the drinking match against them." 28

Insults and Riddles This match is described in detail. Sjplfr and Sigurdr in turn give each a horn to Oddr, and as he drinks it off, the giver recites a verse. Oddr then gives a horn to each of them, and recites two verses while they empty them. So it goes on, to the great enjoyment of the company, until the king's men are too drunk to be capable of making verses, and are forced to hand over the horns in silence. But Oddr, although he has drunk twice as much as his opponents, is still able to produce verse, and continues to do so until it is clear that he has won the wager: "the drink had knocked them out completely, and poetry-making was out of the question." Oddr then completes six more verses on his past exploits. The verses are all simple and vigorous, and consist of boasts of past achievements by the verse-maker, who taunts the other side with having nothing comparable to contribute. Oddr's opponents know nothing of his past, so the worst they can accuse him of is wandering round as a beggar, but he finds more telling insults to hurl back at them, taunting them with being "benchfellows" (equivalent to 'armchair' vikings), lying on the floor (presumably dead drunk), spending time chatting with the girls, dozing under sheets, debating whether to have "the calf or the slavegirl," and sleeping with bondmaids, while he mocks at one of them for having been a captive. There is a rather similar episode in Egils saga (ch. 44), although less formal and comic, when Egill visits the hall of Bardr in Norway. Egill recites a verse each time he receives a horn of ale, and the host complains after a while that this is insulting, because to continue versifying in this way implies that he has not been given enough to make him drunk. Such glimpses of life in Norwegian halls help to explain the advice given in the Edda poem Hdvamdl to those traveling in unfamiliar country, emphasizing the importance of not drinking too much, and not being rude to strangers: The more a man drinks, the less he knows how to guard his wits. (st. 12/4-6) A man may be thought wise who bears a retreat when guest is mocking at guest. He who makes fun at a feast cannot be sure he is not making foes by his jesting, (st. 31)

Egill takes part in an encounter of a more light-hearted kind when he stays for the night in the hall of a Norwegian jarl (ch. 48). Lots are drawn to arrange partners for the evening's drinking, and Egill gets the jarl's daughter. She greets him with a verse resembling those in Oddr's drinking contest,

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H.R.E. Davidson taunting her companion with having had no experience in fighting. Egill shows no resentment, but simply caps her verse with one boasting of his prowess, and after that they settle down to enjoy a very successful evening. Another example of the exchange of verses between a man and a girl meeting for the first time comes in Hjdlmpers saga (ch. 12), when the king's daughter Hervpr speaks verses insulting Hprdr, and threatens him with hanging, but he replies in forceful verses, and they are then reconciled, as if he had established his credentials. Riddle or question poems in the Edda are fewer in number, but include the important mythological poems Alvissmdl and Vafdrudnismdl. These are made up of a series of questions and answers concerning the gods and their world, and other supernatural beings. In each case a kind of wager is made before the contest; in Alvissmdl the dwarf from the rock agrees to be tested by Thorr before he can wed Thorr's daughter, while in Vafdrudnismdl Odinn and the giant wager their heads in ordspeki, 'verbal wit,' agreeing that the loser shall forfeit his life. Alviss (All-knowing) and Thorr insult one another, and it is implied that Thorr is disguised as a wandering man (st. 5); Thorr mocks the dwarf for his resemblance to the dead, while (if Gering's emendation is correct) Alviss retaliates by calling Thorr the son of a bitch. Thorr outwits the dwarf by prolonging the questions until sunrise, so that like the giantess Hrimgerdr he is trapped and turned to stone. The questions are concerned with naming, and the variant forms used by different beings. They might be seen as a test of poetic vocabulary, but it has also been suggested that the lists may be based on some system of tabu words like those recorded among fishermen, replacing more familiar terms which were not to be used at sea.9 In Vafdrudnismdl Odinn deliberately seeks out the giant Vafdrudnir, whose name means something like "Strong in Entanglement," perhaps referring to skill in riddles or in weaving elaborate systems of magical knowledge. Odinn as challenger is questioned first, and answers successfully the questions put to him concerning various mythological beings or places. Then in his turn he questions the giant about the origins of the worlds and their final destruction, including the manner of his own death. It was evidently to win this information that he came to the giant's hall, since once he has learned what he desires to know, he puts a question which he knows to be unanswerable by any except himself: what did Odinn whisper in Baldr's ear before he was burned on the pyre? The giant then admits defeat, acknowledging: "Now have I striven in word-skill (ordspeki) with Odinn; / you are ever wisest of all." A series of questions and answers perhaps modeled on this poem is found

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Insults and Riddles in the episode in Heidreks saga (ch. 9) where Odinn visits a king in disguise, taking the place of a man whom King Heidrekr has challenged to a riddle contest. The man has committed certain crimes, and, as an alternative to standing his trial before the judges, he is offered a chance to go free if he can find a riddle which the king cannot solve. Odinn takes the man's place, and calls himself by his name, Gestumblindi, although in fact this name means 'Blind Stranger,' and both Gestr and Blindr are names for Odinn. 10 In this case the riddles which Odinn asks are for the most part unexpected descriptions of familiar things such as hammer, bellows, ale, fog, a spider and so on; in one case he puts a series of consecutive questions together and the answers are also given in a series,11 but in most cases the riddle consists of a verse, and the reply is the name of the object, with a brief explanation as to why it fits the description. After a while Odinn suddenly reverts to a riddle of a different type, asking what pair of creatures has ten feet, three eyes and one tail between them. The king reacts immediately to this: "You are hard up if you have to go back to matters of long ago to bring up against me. That is Odinn riding on his horse Sleipnir." After this Odinn outwits him by the same trick as that used OH Vafdrudnir, although the wording differs from that of the poem, demanding what words Odinn spoke to the dead Baldr. Heidrekr, less philosophical in defeat than the giant, strikes out at Odinn in anger, and because of this loses his life soon after. This story from a fourteenth-century saga is presumably modeled on the tradition in the Edda poem, that of a contest in knowledge which Odinn wins by cheating. The theme of the 'neck riddle,' as it has been called, is a very popular one, found in folktales over a large part of the world, 12 but in this case the theme has been narrowed down to a particular form of the unanswerable riddle, based on Odinn's private knowledge of what happened at Baldr's funeral. It is interesting to note that although the riddles are nearly all secular and non-literary in type,13 some of the descriptions of familiar things are given a mythological coloring. The ptarmigan are described as maids flying for their father's pleasure, with white shields in winter and black ones in summer, and are thus depicted as valkyries, while the whitehooded ladies with bright hair who are alert in a storm are the waves, called '^Egir's maids.' The fact, however, that deliberate references to Odinn and Sleipnir are condemned as old-fashioned implies that while there is a memory of riddles based on mythological knowledge, such a practice has now been given up. An interesting parallel to the lists of names in Alvissmdl is found in an episode to which Snorri refers briefly in Skdldskaparmdl, when he quotes a verse said to be composed by the Norwegian skald Bragi Boddason, who

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H.R.E. Davidson lived in the ninth century. According to him, Bragi was challenged by a trollwoman who recited a verse to him, and two manuscripts of the Prose Edda include her verse as well as Bragi's reply.14 The verse consists of a number of kennings for troll, and Bragi's verse is made up of kennings for skald, and follows the same pattern. Almqvist claims that here we have a tradition known in the early thirteenth century, and possibly older than this, which was remembered as an instance of the quick-wittedness of the celebrated poet, and he suggests that the story which went with it is likely to have been one of a contest of troll against poet on which life depended.15 The trollwoman could have had her verse prepared, but Bragi presumably had to produce one extempore, of the same style and in the same metre on the subject she chose, and he should therefore be judged the winner. Halfway between tests of knowledge and exchange of threats are passages which give answers wrung by a questioner from some reluctant expert in specialized knowledge. Questions on mythological subjects are put by Sigurdr to the dying dragon in FdfnismdL In the same poem Loci questions the dwarf Andvari when he takes his treasure; Freyia gets information from the giantess in Hyndloliod on genealogies, although the relations between the two are hostile; questions are put by a son to his mother in the grave in the late poem Grogaldr, and questions and answers exchanged in the companion poem FJQlsvinnsmdl between Svipdagr and a giant, when the young hero seeks to establish his claim to enter the stronghold and take Menglpd as his bride. Indeed, the readiness with which poems on various mythological subjects connected with gods or heroes tend to fall into such patterns may be a significant clue to the better understanding of the Edda poems. It is worth noting that there are a number of parallels in the early books of the Latin history of the Danes by Saxo Grammaticus, a valuable source on account of its relatively early date. The preface to this work, thought to have been written after the book was completed, was probably composed between 1208 and 1218, on the grounds of references to Danish expeditions across the Elbe which can be dated,16 while the first nine books on legendary material are generally believed to have been written later than the final seven, which deal with the history of Denmark from the time of the Conversion.17 Thus it may be assumed that the material used in the early books was available to Saxo at the close of the twelfth century, some time before the Codex Regius was compiled in Iceland. Saxo claims that he has rendered into Latin old Danish poems, some of which were carved in stone, and put them into metrical form: "following the sense with the true steps of a translator, I have been careful to render one metre by another" (preface, section 3). He also claims in his preface to have

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Insults and Riddles "scrutinised the store of historical treasures" amassed by the men of Iceland, whom he praises warmly for their diligence in studying and preserving the past traditions of other Scandinavian nations, and to have copied their narratives. It is thus significant that we find in Saxo's early books a number of dialogue poems of the type under discussion, while in Book V the central character, Ericus Disertus, is particularly gifted in verbal exchanges of every kind. Although we know that Saxo often derives phrases and even incidents from Latin authors, the dialogues in metrical form are sufficiently close to surviving Icelandic models to justify the assumption that here we have Latin versions of lost Scandinavian poems which he has either read in manuscript or heard recited. An opportunity to judge how close his imitations are likely to be is afforded by his rendering of two stanzas from the Prose Edda attributed to the god Niordr and his wife Skadi after their marriage, when each expressed reluctance to visit the haunts of the other. The Icelandic version is simple and direct: 1 Hateful are the hills; I was not long there only nine nights; the howling of wolves seemed ill to me compared with the swans' call. 2 I could not sleep on the sea beds for the screaming of birds; on his far flight each morning the sea-mew awakened me.

(Gylfaginning 22).

Saxo turns these two stanzas into much longer passages of Latin verse, each in a different metre, and the speakers are Hadding and his wife Ragnhild, from northern Norway. This version is from a new translation by Peter Fisher:18 1 Why do I linger in the shadows, enfolded by rugged hills, not following the waves as before? The challenging howl of the wolf-pack, the ungovernable ferocity of beasts, cries of dangerous brutes raised to heaven snatch all rest from my eyes.

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H.R.E, Davidson The mountain ridges are desolate to hearts bent on sterner schemes. The unbending cliffs and harsh terrain oppress one whose soul delights in the high seas. To sound the straits with our oars, revel in plundered wealth, pursue for our coffers another's fortune and gloat over sea-loot would be a far finer business than haunting the winding foresttracks and barren ravines. 2 The chant of the birds torments me dwelling here on the shore, disturbing me with their jabber whenever I try to sleep, and I hear the ceaseless roar and fury of the tide as it takes away the gentle repose from my slumbering eyes. There is no relaxation at night for the shrill chatter of the sea-mew dinning its stupid screech into my tender ears, for it will not allow me to rest in my bed or be refreshed, but ominously caws away in dismal modulations. For me a safer and sweeter thing—to sport in the woods. How could you crop a more meagre share of peace in light or darkness than by tossing on the shifting deep? (Book I, 33).

It is possible that Saxo knew an additional stanza added to the first, expressing longing to return to the life of a sea-rover, but it seems more probable that he expanded the poem himself in this way to give it a more logical connection with his life of Hadding. The second poem, although considerably expanded, makes no new points which are not implied in the Icelandic version. As to why Saxo chose to give these poems to Hadding and his wife, and what was the exact link between Hadding and Niprdr, these are questions which cannot be discussed here.19 The significant point is that while Saxo expands his material and expresses it in an elaborate rhetorical style, he remains fairly faithful to the subject matter, and maintains the dialogue form. He must in this case have had access to the same source as that used by Snorri in the thirteenth century. Among these metrical passages, there are examples of the exchange of threats between characters confronting one another. In Book I, there is such an exchange between Besse and Gro in a forest (I, 13-16). Gro is a princess

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Insults and Riddles who has been a valkyrie, and Besse is a supporter of one of Saxo's early Danish kings, Gram, as Atli was of Helgi in the lay discussed above; later Gram (like Helgi) takes part in the dialogue with the woman. The verse here is not altogether consistent with the prose account, and some points are left unexplained. Besse and Gro give their names, and he announces the coming of Gram's forces, while she tries to make him withdraw by threats of what Sigtrygg will do to him, including the threat of hanging. He declares .that Gram will vanquish Sigtrygg, and warns her not to reject Gram as a lover. Gram accompanies Besse, and is said to be in disguise, clothed in goatskins and grasping a club to resemble a giant, and he speaks in an assumed voice: "giving a harsher timbre to his words to imitate the hair-raising voice of a giant" when he addresses her. She replies in a spirited outburst, refusing scornfully to mate with a giant, but he then speaks another verse, offering her a gift of gold, and then "threw off his disguises and revealed the natural grace of his countenance." She then accepts him as her lover. Later in the same book there is an outburst of threats before battle by Asmund of Sweden, when Asmund accuses Hadding of using magic rather than courage, and of being guilty of crimes, but Hadding's reply is not given by Saxo (I, 27). The most striking series of encounters, however, is in Book V, consisting of those in which Erik the Eloquent takes part. He is a young Norwegian who has been given the gift of brilliance in speech, and he comes to Denmark and overthrows the wicked counsellors and berserk warriors who surround the young Danish king, Frothi III, and is finally established as the king's friend and trusted adviser. Erik is expert at all kinds of oratory and repartee, and can produce insults, riddles, speeches and proverbs when needed. On arrival at court he encounters Grep, an unpleasant bully, who has gained his reputation, as Saxo puts it, by overcoming his opponents "not so much by clever language as by bullying them with a flow of insolence" (V, 132). Grep challenges Erik, demands his name, mocks him as a stranger, and declares him to be a fool and a rascal, a lowborn buffoon and a night-owl, who shall be made a feast for the crows. Erik's replies consist of a number of proverbial or gnomic utterances, which resemble some of the statements in the Edda poem, Hdvamdl, on the subject of wisdom and folly. For instance, he declares: A blockhead, unrestrained and unseemly in his emotions, cannot conduct his affairs with due moderation. Oars cleave the wave, falsehood the land; the latter is vexed by men's mouths, only hands weigh hard on the other.

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H.R.E. Davidson After a series of pronouncements of this kind, Grep, rather surprisingly, confesses himself to be beaten: "Grep was lost for a deft reply, and setting spurs to his horse, withdrew. When he reached home, he filled the palace with a tempestuous fit of yells, and shouting that he had been defeated, urged all his warriors to gather their weapons, intending to avenge his misfortunes in the vocal contest by force." Grep seems to have been stung by Erik's accusation that he had behaved treacherously towards the king, and his defeat evidently depends on the fact that he begins to defend himself in direct speech, and is unable, either through anger or ignorance, to produce the proverbial wisdom needed to counter Erik's charges. Another encounter takes place in the court between Erik and Grep's mother Gotvar (V, 139-40). She is the challenger, and wagers a neck ornament on her victory. The object of the contest this time seems to be obscenity, and her two lines are evidently a challenge to Erik to reply in a similar vein; the language used is sufficiently crude for Elton to omit these passages from his translation: G0tvar: When you grind your battle-axe on the whetstone, doesn't your shaken penis bruise the quivering rump? Erik: Since nature has planted hairs on the body of every man, a particular place is bound to wear a beard. In performing the act of love people must move their limbs, for every task has its own peculiar motions. When buttock presses on buttock or the waiting vagina receives the penis, why should a male refuse to do more?

After this exchange, Erik is hailed as victor, and Gotvar admits defeat. Erik has shown greater quickness of wit, proved himself more capable by composing a longer and more elaborate verse on a given theme without preparation (like the poet Bragi), and also put forward the male point of view against that of a woman. Not surprisingly there is not much outspoken verse of this kind recorded in Old Norse literature, but a comparison might be made with two verses attributed to the hero in Grettis saga (ch. 75), in reply to derogatory remarks made by a servant girl who finds him lying naked after a long swim. Erik shows a different kind of skill in speech when he encounters an enemy fleet before battle (V, 154), and this is a scene which resembles those in the Helgi lays, except that now no supernatural being is involved and no personal insults are exchanged. He utters a challenge to Olmar, and each

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Insults and Riddles boasts of coming victory, and then Erik goes on to visit the invading army of the Huns, where his quickness of wit saves him from being put to death as a spy. It seems that after defeating the woman G0tvar, he takes her place as official spokesman, since at the opening of Book V she is said not only to be expert at all kinds of disputation, but also excellent at making alliances, and she was sent with the party who visited the court of the Huns to arrange a marriage for Frode. The later books of Saxo do not include further examples of verbal contests, although there are poems of abuse, like that of Fridlev against a giant in Book VI (178-79), and a long robust speech in metrical form by Starkad in the same book (204-12) condemning the corruption and luxury at the court of Ingel. Turning from threats to riddles, Saxo has two episodes not in metrical form, but of considerable interest. After Erik the Eloquent has defeated Grep, he comes into the presence of the king and is called upon to describe his journey (V, 136-37). This is clearly a test of his verbal ingenuity, since the king commands: "You, the one who indulges himself in haughty language and a decorative display of style, tell us your place of departure and your reason for coming here." Erik's answers are as cryptic to the modern reader as they obviously are to Frothi; they consist of such statements as: "I turned away from a stone, borne on a beam, and time after time took my station by a stone . . ."; "I set out from the cliff and as my ship ran hither and thither I met a dolphin. . . . " Part of the skill seems to depend on the use of place names, farm names or personal names, and on giving them a literal interpretation; thus when he states that from a tree-trunk he came upon a log, Frothi replies: "That was a well-wooded region where the homes of your hosts comprised all these parts of trees." The technique needed to solve such riddling descriptions must indeed have been very similar to that required by the modern crossword puzzle, where the clues are based on puns or the dividing up of words. Only one of Erik's riddling statements is given a partial interpretation: "As I was resting there, a pack of wolves, glutted with human corpses, came and licked the points of my weapon. Then the tip of the king's spear was shaken off, that is to say, Fridlef's grandson." Frothi replies: "I'm at a standstill and can't think how to answer. You've quite baffled my understanding with your dark riddles." Erik then explains his meaning, claiming to have outwitted the king and describing the conversation as a contest: "I deserve a prize from you for winning the contest. You couldn't really fathom those wrapped-up speeches I fetched out. My mention of the spearpoint just now signified the slaying of Odd by my own hand." The name Odd means, literally, 'the point of a weapon,' and he was apparently a cousin of the king and so a grandson of Fridlef, Frothi's grand-

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H.R.E. Davidson father. If Odd was devoured by wolves, this means that he was killed in battle, since wolves devour the slain, a commonplace image in skaldic verse and heroic poetry. It may be noted that, in spite of the fact that Erik acknowledges that he has killed a near kinsman of the king, the queen rewards him for his 'victorious eloquence.' The other type of riddle is that used by Amleth in Book III (89 ff.). His replies are strange enough to suggest utter folly, as he intended, but it is evident that in reality they are ingenious answers in a riddle game similar to that played by Erik, but managed differently. His companions seem to be testing him by asking him simple riddles like those put by Gestumblindi, describing familiar things in unexpected ways. After a wolf has passed, they tell Amled that he has seen a young colt, and to this he replies that there are few of that breed in Fenge's stable; this reply is described as "a moderate but witty rejoinder which hit at his uncle's affluence." Clearly he is not merely replying like a simpleton that such colts are not found in stables, but is criticizing his uncle, the usurper who has killed his father and taken the kingdom, by implying that he is no warrior leader who provides food for the wolves, but has taken over the wealth amassed by Amleth's father, who won many battles. Secondly, Amleth's companions describe a ship's rudder as "an amazingly large knife," and Amleth replies: "All the better to cut an outsize ham with." Saxo explains that he refers to the sea, but possibly in the original there was a more sinister implication, a disguised threat against the king. It seems that Amleth's method is not simply to solve the riddle, but to introduce a new element into his answer, which his companions do not understand. In some cases the point may depend on puns now lost to us, as is illustrated by the strange incident of the horse-fly. Amleth's friend wished to warn him that he was being spied on, and did this by inserting a straw under the tail of a horse-fly and sending it towards the place where the prince was thought to be. Amleth recognized the warning, and disappeared into the fen, and later told the company that he had seen something "gliding quickly down with a straw mattress in its buttocks." This made them all laugh immoderately, but told the man who had sent the message that Amleth had understood it. An explanation of this puzzling passage has been given by Jorgen Olrik, who pointed out that Avnebag (Straw-buttocks), was a recognized term for a thief who took straw from the fields in harvest-time, which he would hide down his trousers. 20 There were heavy punishments for this, and no doubt men were on the watch for dubious characters with their trousers bulging with straw, so that this gives a meaning to a fly with a straw in its tail: "Watch out!" In such riddling speeches there is a link with the kennings of skaldic verse, while at the

38

Insults and Riddles same time we have riddles based on everyday life and colloquial language. Evidently in the twelfth century there were many other elaborate forms of verbal dexterity beside the complexities of skaldic verse as used in Iceland, and it seems that some of these flourished in Norway and Denmark. It may be significant that Erik, the expert in such verbal skills, is represented as a young man from Norway, although it would have been more suitable for Saxo's purposes had he been a Dane.21 Frothi's court had its own expert in verbal dexterities of various kinds, the middle-aged woman G0tvar (V, 121), but Erik vanquished her without difficulty and took her place. The name Erikr enn mdlspaki, which Saxo translates as Ericus disertus, is found in two Icelandic genealogies,22 where it is included in the royal line of either the Skilfingar or the Skjpldungar, but there is no trace of the story as told by Saxo. It may be remembered that D.A. Seip has put forward arguments for a Norwegian origin for many of the Edda poems,23 while Bertha Phillpotts, working from quite different premises, suggested that the chant-metre passages from which many of the dialogues are taken were from Norwegian sources.24 According to Saxo the gift of eloquence was given to Erik in youth, before he left Norway to seek out the Danish king, and it seems possible that it was originally thought of as a gift from Odinn; the mysterious father who leads him to treasure hidden in the earth suggests the god helping his young follower as Odinn helped Sigurdr, while his stepmother Kraka (whose name means crow or raven), has supernatural powers and can help him in time of need, like the supernatural foster mothers of the Fornaldar sggur.25 The Norwegian poet Bragi appears to be claiming help from Odinn in his choice of kennings for skald when he has his contest with the troll-woman, as Almqvist pointed out, 26 while Odinn himself is unrivalled in contests of wit and knowledge in the Edda poems. Erik's eloquence, however, owes nothing to mythological knowledge and is purely secular in character. There is no difficulty in finding fairly close parallels from other societies to this use of insults, riddles and proverbial wisdom; they play a major part in oral tradition in many parts of the world, and constitute an admired skill among young and old, a method of education, a means of transmitting oral knowledge and old lore, a training for poets, and a source of popular entertainment. The material indeed is so rich and widespread that it would not be practicable to attempt to establish direct links between such customs and the Edda poems, but one or two outstanding parallels may serve to establish the strong popular tradition which seems likely to lie behind the passages of debate in the Edda. The licensed exchange of verbal insults is well represented in records of the

39

H.R.E. Davidson custom of house visiting, which continues in many areas up to our own time, and is popular in fairly remote areas of Newfoundland, for instance. The importance of house visits has been made clear in the studies edited by Herbert Halpert and G.M. Story: Christmas Mumming in Newfoundland. It may be noted that the visitors attempt complete disguise, and speak in assumed voices, often deceiving those who know them well both as to sex and identity. When disguised, their behavior is the reverse of normal, and tends to be far less inhibited; the hosts attempt to penetrate the disguise by a form of guessing game, sometimes accompanied by roughness. Halpert emphasizes these points in his survey, 27 and provides interesting parallels from records of earlier mumming activities from North America, Britain and further afield, claiming that here we have a custom of "wide distribution and presumably of respectable age," whose significance has gone largely unnoticed, while more spectacular customs like the folk play and the hobby horse have attracted the attention of scholars. The element of disguise in the Edda poems and Saxo was noted by Bertha Phillpotts, who stressed its importance,28 and it is worth noting that two instances given above, Gram in his goatskins and Oddr in his costume of bark, are both paralleled in the account of costumes adopted by the Newfoundland mummers. 29 The type of disguise used by them varies from the skins of animals and birds, oilskins, sugar-bags, flour-barrels and the like, to a wide variety of masks and costumes, while large-brimmed hats, such as the kind worn by Oddr and also mentioned as one of Odinn's disguises, are noted as extremely popular because they conceal the shape of the head.30 In the two stories referred to, Gram apparently unmasks himself, but with Oddr we have the kind of unmasking which takes place in house visits; when he goes down to the lake to wash, his companions catch sight of a red jacket and a gold arm-ring under his costume of bark, and they tear this from him, while Oddr makes no attempt to prevent them; it may be noted moreover that he had given them clear clues to his identity in the final verses recited on the previous night. It may be significant that the debates in the Edda poems frequently end in recognition. The crude nature of some of the insults in the Edda and Saxo, and the kind of contest in which the woman G0tvar took part, can be paralleled from the Newfoundland evidence. Clyde Williams was startled to find two highly respectable women in their mid-forties not only using suggestive gestures and coarse language when in disguise, but also behaving aggressively towards the men in the houses where they visited; individuals showed embarrassment, but no one seemed shocked by this, and after unmasking, the women's behavior reverted to normal.31 Such freedom from the usual social

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Insults and Riddles conventions is of course found frequently in cases where disguise is not involved. One good example is provided by games played at Irish wakes, as described by Sean O'Suilleabhain.32 Those who had "lively tongues and a sharp wit," like Saxo's Erik, would settle down to ridicule one another, or two men might start a verbal attack on a third, with no holds barred: "The purpose of the ridicule was to make the recipient uncomfortable and to amuse the hearers. Although it was meant as fun, on the surface, still malice and insult were also present on occasions. Resentment at some jibe only made matters worse; the best policy for the recipient was to take it in good part and hope that it would be shortly over." The obscenities included in activities of this type were one reason why the Church made continual attempts to forbid drinking and games at wakes. Sean O'Suilleabhain makes it clear that the Irish wakes were no isolated phenomenon, and that there is good reason to believe that such games once formed an important part of funeral ceremonies in many parts of the world. In view of the part played by female speakers in the Edda poems and the efforts of G0tvar against Erik, it is interesting to note that older women often play a leading part in verbal contests of various kinds. 33 An example of this comes from an account of a Yakut wedding, by I.V. Shklovsky; 34 he heard young people taking part in a singing contest, men against girls, and after a time some old women came to join in, singing what he took to be extempore songs, some of which expressed "unbridled licentiousness and sensuality, the utmost plainness of language being employed." The old women afterwards encouraged the company to ask riddles. Examples of the exchange of insulting verses at weddings can be found nearer home, recorded in Wales at the end of the last century. In Cardiganshire alternate verses were recited or sung by the bridegroom's party and those in the house of the bride, either before the wedding or after the return from church. 35 Trefor Owen quotes an example where the party outside are accused of being beggars or tithe collectors, and when they claim that they have come for the bride they are told that she is unwilling to marry, that she wants a scholar and not a miner for a husband, and so on. At last the household relents, the door is opened, and then the party has to find the bride, who has either hidden or disguised herself. Again when the Mari Lwyd, a horse's skull on a pole, was carried round the house at Christmas time, it was customary for the visitors to have a rhyming competition with those indoors while they tried to gain admittance, and the extempore verses exchanged might be insulting or threatening.36 Instances may also be found of a contest in knowledge between two or more competitors, the modern equivalent of which is the popular quiz. This

41

H.R.E. Davidson also might take place at a wedding between the groom's party and the family of the bride, and Nora Chadwick gives examples from Russia, from the Himalayas, and from among the Siberian Tatars, while in Tatar heroic poetry such contests are represented as taking place between two heroes as an alternative to a fight. 37 Sometimes the contest is between a man and a girl, who compete in composing witty verses against one another, as in some of the Scandinavian examples given above.38 Riddle contests still play an important part in many African societies, and may serve as a means of education for the young, helping to establish the identity of the individual in a social group. 39 Closely allied to the riddle is the correct proverb or gnomic utterance for formal occasions or debate. This is one of the achievements of Erik the Eloquent, and is found also in some of the strange dialogues in the Edda between heroes and supernatural beings, as well as in sections of Hdvamdl. Parallels may be found in the proverbs collected by Radlov from the Altai and the Kirghiz, many of which were in poetic form, and which were introduced into formal speeches and polite conversation. Valikhanov, on a visit to the Turks of the Altai, was bewildered by the stilted and apparently irrelevant remarks made to him by his host, and thought he must be mad. But, as Nora Chadwick points out: ". . . i t seems clear that the chief was merely entertaining his guest with the most formal and polite kind of conversation with which he was familiar."40 She notes also that such formulae may be introduced into poetry, even when a simple enquiry is made as to a person's name: "Every wild beast has hair, / every person has a name— / what are you called?" Customs of this kind help to explain the reverence with which seemingly boring generalizations spoken by Erik are greeted by his hearers. There is clearly a link between such utterances and some types of riddle, those which describe the basic characteristics of some object, situation or person. As T.A. Shippey points out with regard to the Anglo-Saxon gnomic poems: ". . . one might think that the gnomic poems, like riddles, were offered as sportive tests, to probe men's capacity for uncovering moral truth." 41 The poem Hdvamdl contains many general-statements of a gnomic type, varying from practical observations: "The fire is for drinking ale by, ice to go skating on . . ." (st. 83); to precepts for wise or prudent conduct: "Friends should gladden one another with weapons and clothes . . ." (st. 41); "Praise the day at eventime, and a wife on her funeral pyre" (st. 81). The early part of the poem Hdvamdl is concerned with the experiences of a traveler in unfamiliar country, who has to encounter strangers when he seeks a lodging for the night. It seems that in the hall of a Norwegian king or jarl the well-educated man might be expected to have available a series of proverbial or gnomic utterances as did the Altai chief, or be capable of producing

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Insults and Riddles riddling speeches to try out on his host, as did Erik on his visit to Frothi. Indeed there is great emphasis in Hdvamdl on the desirability of being able to ask and answer questions: Every wise man should know how to ask questions and give answers, if he is to be known for his intelligence, (st. 63) He is deemed wise who can both ask questions and also give replies, (st. 28)

In Erik's case, the Norwegian was more than a match for the less gifted Danes, while he outdid Grep because the latter proved unable to match him in proverbial wisdom. One of his formal statements even protects him from being put to death as a spy, when he declares to the king of the Huns that it is unseemly for one man to be dragged away by many (V, 155), and this remark, we are told, won him an instant pardon. 42 It may be noted that in Hdvamdl such utterances, as well as spells and runic lore, are associated with Odinn. Thus in reconsidering the part played by certain types of debate and verbal contest in the Edda poems, it seems that we must allow for the influence of oral tradition, and need to bear in mind that the contests in these poems are of the same type as those popular in Scandinavia in the twelfth century. There seems no reason to assume that they are based on ritual drama or folk plays, although there is little doubt that such games and contests between individuals or groups must have contributed to early medieval drama. 43 The close parallels from Saxo, and in particular the achievements of Erik in formal speech, competitive verse-making, verbal games and riddles and proverbial pronouncements, may help us to understand better why these aspects are so important in the Edda poems. As to whether the secular games and debates in Saxo should be regarded as late developments of earlier practices once linked with learned mythological traditions before the Conversion, or whether, on the contrary, the gods in the Edda poems are represented in Christian times as taking part in the kind of sports and pastimes in which men delighted, it would be unwise here to offer any simple answer; I would think it probable that both types of tradition, mythological and secular, developed side by side, and continued to be popular for some time after the coming of Christianity. The Icelanders appear to have developed the skills of story-telling and skaldic verses perhaps to the exclusion of other types of verbal entertainments, and it must be emphasized that Edda and skaldic traditions overlap at many points. We have for instance the insults exchanged

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H.R.E. Davidson by the poets Bjorn and Thordr inBjarnar saga Hitdcelakappain the form of extempore verses, and the verses recited by Grettir and Sveinn when Grettir borrows Sveinn's horse (Grettis saga, ch. 47), while EgilPs skill in verse-making games when on his travels has already been noted. The Islendinga sqgur, however, have no instances of riddling contests or the kind of pastimes at which Saxo's Erik excelled. There may have been certain forms of intellectual activity which flourished particularly in Norway and Denmark, and which are in keeping with the activities of gods and heroes as represented in the Edda. The emphasis on men and women in disguise exchanging verses may well owe something to the existence of customs similar to house visiting, and this suggests a possible explanation of the many stories of giants, trolls and valkyries exchanging verses with men. In view of the rich variety of games and verbal contests which flourished at Irish wakes within living memory, and the picture which Saxo gives of the various entertainments at the Danish court under his legendary king Frothi III, we must be prepared for a lively and many-sided oral tradition flourishing in the period following the Viking Age, which has left its mark on the poems in the Edda. The desire to go back to pre-Christian times and to search for traces of rites and ceremonies such as could have been used in the pagan festivals is natural enough, but it must be recognized that there is much in the Edda in keeping with traditions which are found in Saxo against a secular background, and which were evidently familiar in his own time. The roots of these, no doubt, lie in an earlier, pre-Christian society, but they are far more complex and based on a greater variety of oral skills than Bertha Phillpotts and her contemporaries would have thought possible.

Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge

NOTES 1 The Elder Edda and Ancient Scandinavian Drama (Cambridge, Eng., 1920), pp. 1 I f f . 2 "Recent Work and Views on the Poetic Edda," SS, 35 (1963), pp. 101-09. 3 The position regarding folksong studies has been outlined by O.K. Wilgus, Anglo-American Folksong Study since 1898 (New Brunswick, 1959), pp. 121ff.; cf. H.R.E. Davidson, "Folklore and Literature," Folklore, 86 (1975), pp. 76ff. 4 This is well summarized by S.F. Nadel, "Malinowski on Magic and Religion," in Man and Culture, ed. R. Firth (London, 1957), pp. 189ff. 5 Die Lieder der Edda, Germ. Handbibliothek, VII, 3 (Halle, 1906), p. 100.

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Insults and Riddles 6 Cf. B. Almqvist, Norron Niddiktning (Uppsala, 1965), pp. 102ff.; F. Strom, "Nid, ergi and Old Norse moral attitudes," Dorothea Coke Memorial Lecture, University College, London (1973 [Viking Society, 1974)), pp. 15ff. 7 The Poetic Edda, 2nd. ed. (Austin, Tex., 1962), p. 169. 8 The hostility between Freyr's messenger Scirnir and the maiden Gerdr has puzzled critics. See Ursula Dronke, "Art and Tradition in Skirnismdl," in English and Medieval Studies presented to J.R.R. Tolkien, ed. N. Davis, C.L. Wrenn (London, 1962), pp. 255ff. While it may be possible to see an explanation in the myth on which the poem is based, the widespread custom of marriage songs in which the bride at first refuses to wed may also have influenced the form of the poem. 9 L. Moberg, "The Languages of Alvissmdl," SBVS, 18 (1971), especially pp. 316ff. 10 H. Falk, Odinsheiti, Videnskap. Skrifter, II, Hist. Filos. Kl. 10 (Christiania, 1924), pp. 5, 13. The name Gestiblindus is found in Saxo, Book V. 11 The existence of this type of riddle sequence, and its possible connection with Anglo-Saxon gnomic verses, has been noted by H.M. and N.K. Chadwick, Growth of Literature II (Cambridge, 1936), p. 213; III (1940), p. 835. 12 Stith-Thompson, Motif-Index of Folk-Literature (Copenhagen, 1956), H.542. 13 C. Tolkien, The Saga of King Heidrek the Wise (London, 1960), introduction, p. xix. 14 Snorra Edda, ed. F. Jonsson (Copenhagen, 1926), Skdldskaparmdl 51, p. 126 (note). 15 Norron Niddiktning, pp. 28ff. 16 A useful summary will be found in S. Oakley, The Story of Denmark (London, 1972), pp. 58ff. The crossing of the Elbe in 1208 by Valdemar II and possibly the later invasion in 1216 are referred to by Saxo in his preface: see G. Albeck, Dansk Litteratur Historic (Copenhagen, 1964), p. 60. 17 E. Kroman, Saxo og Overleveringen afhans Vcerk, Studier fra Sprog- og Oldtidsforskning, Filol. Hist. 278 (Copenhagen, 1971), pp. 35-36. 18 Here and throughout I am using the translation by Peter Fisher published in 1979 by D.S. Brewer and Rowman and Littlefield. The metrical passages were given in prose in the only existing English translation of Saxo's first nine books by O. Elton (Folklore Society, 1893), and Saxo's considerable talents in the composition of Latin verse have consequently gone largely unnoticed by English readers. 19 See Georges Dumezil, From Myth to Fiction: the Saga of Hadingus, trans. D. Coltman (Chicago, 1970), pp. 19ff. 20 "'Avnebag': Forklaring til en Gaade i Amled-Sagnet," Eestskrift til H.F. Feilberg (Copenhagen, 1911), pp. 98ff. I owe this reference to Annelise Talbot. 21 There seems no doubt that Saxo intended King Frothi and Erik to act as a model for King Valdemar I and Absalon, Archbishop of Lund, who was the patron of the young Saxo, and who asked him to write a history of Denmark. 22 See P. Herrmann, Die Heldensagen des Saxo Grammaticus (Leipzig, 1922), p. 339. 23 See "Om et norsk skriftlig grunnlag for Edda-diktningen," MM (1957), pp. 81-195. 24 Ancient Scandinavian Drama, pp. 47-48. 25 H.R.E. Davidson, The Viking Road to Byzantium (London, 1976), pp. 295ff. 26 Norron Niddiktning, p. 34. 27 Christmas Mumming in Newfoundland (Toronto, 1969), pp. 37ff. 28 Ancient Scandinavian Drama, pp. 115ff., 142, 152, 160ff. 29 Halpert, Christmas Mumming, pp. 151, 160. 30 Ibid., pp. 148ff., 154. 31 Ibid., pp. 213-14.

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H.R.E. Davidson 32 Irish Wake Amusements (Cork, 1967), pp. 56ff. 33 An interesting parallel is the part played by a woman poet in opposing the Christian missionaries in Iceland at the close of the tenth century, and reciting verses against them. See B. Almqvist, Norron Niddiklning, 2, p. 21. 34 In Far North-East Siberia, trans. L. Edwards and Z. Shklovsky (London, 1916), pp. 55ff. 35 See Trefor Owen, Welsh Folk Customs (National Museum of Wales, Cardiff, 1959), pp. 163-66. 36 Ibid., pp. 5 I f f . 37 Growth of Literature II, pp. 21 Iff; I I I , pp. 107ff, I S l f f , 865ff. 38 Ibid., pp. 187-89, 195. 39 See Folklore, 85 (1974), 142-43. 40 Growth of Literature III, p. 187. 41 Poems of Wisdom and Learning in Old English (Cambridge and New Jersey, 1976), p. 19. 42 This episode may have been based on the poem on the Battle of the Goths and Huns, a version of which was evidently known to Saxo, since here when the herald reaches the court of the Huns it is suggested that he should be killed, but the reply is made: "We must not harm heralds who travel alone." However, Saxo has altered the incident and fitted it into his account of the achievements of Frothi and Erik, and the sentiment as Erik expresses it is in keeping with his habit of making generalizations in formal converse with strangers. 43 See Richard Axton, European Drama of the Early Middle Ages (London, 1974), p. 46. Cf. C.R. Baskervill, "Dramatic Aspects of Medieval Folk Festivals in England," Studies in Philology, (1920), pp. 78ff. I am grateful to Dr. Axton for this reference, and also for helpful discussion of my paper as a whole.

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PETER HALLBERG

Elements of Imagery in the Edda

I

The purpose of this paper is to survey various forms of imagery in the Poetic Edda, their distribution among different types of poetry, and their function. This, of course, is not a new topic. The published literature on Eddie poetry has now reached such enormous proportions that no one can hope to absorb and utilize all of it. Many papers, and even books, have dealt specifically with the imagery of Old Norse (ON) poetry. Handbooks and general discussions of the Poetic Edda have treated the topic more or less thoroughly. Commentaries in editions and translations, and articles on individual poems, have elucidated many points. It would therefore be pretentious to aim at presenting anything really new, at least to scholars in the field. Nevertheless, it might not be irrelevant to give a short, comprehensive account in order to reassess the topic, possibly from angles somewhat different from those which have been used before. It goes without saying that I must here avoid becoming entangled in discussions of intricate linguistic and etymological problems; this would be quite outside the scope of the present discussion and would blur the overall picture. I have confined myself to the Eddie poetry represented in the Codex Regius. Other poems, such as Baldrs draumar, Grottasgngr, Rigspula or Vqlospd in scamma, would not have changed the outlines of the discussion or contributed any new material of fundamental interest had they been considered. English translations of lines or stanzas have been taken from Henry Adams Bellows' The Poetic Edda (New York, 1968). ii

I shall have to make some introductory comments on my use of the terms

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Peter Hallberg imagery and metaphor. The word 'imagery', especially, is rather ambiguous. I denote by imagery any words or phrases involving a comparison, an intermingling or fusion of two clearly different conceptual spheres, that is, metaphors as well as similes. If, for instance, the head of an individual is called hdfiall scarar '(high) mountain of the hair of the head' (Hym 23), this expression involves a comparison between a part of the body, the head, and an element of the landscape, a mountain. Following the widely accepted terminology introduced by I.A. Richards, I call the element which is 'described' tenor, and the element which is used for 'description' vehicle. Thus, in the case just cited, the concept head is the tenor and the concept mountain the vehicle. But one should be careful to stress the fact that such a neat division tends to blur the real process at work in the metaphor. We are dealing here with more than just a vehicle 'working on' and changing aspects of the tenor. There is also a reverse process. In the image hdfiall scarar, the concept 'mountain' is itself easily affected by the concept 'head,' and to some extent becomes 'personified' or 'animated.' We have a kind of fusion between the two concepts, a characteristic of metaphorical expressions. A configuration like hdfiall scarar immediately calls to mind the concept kenning, the form of imagery regarded as typical of Old Norse poetry, especially skaldic poetry. 1 Not all kennings, however, involve a metaphorical element. If we look again at Hymisqvida, the poem from which hdfiall scarar was cited, we find there a considerable number of expressions for its protagonist, the god Thorr: Yggs barn 'Yggr's child' (st. 2; Yggr is a name for Odinn); Sifiar verr 'Sif's husband' (sts. 3, 15, 34; Sif is Thorr's wife); fadir Moda 'Modi's father' (st. 34; Modi is Thorr's son); Odins sonr 'Odinn's son' (st. 35). Such paraphrases in Old Norse poetry are traditionally labelled kennings, although they do not imply any comparison at all. Thorr is Odinn's (Yggr's) son, Sif's husband, Modi's father. He is simply placed within his genealogical relations. Another kind of comparable paraphrase in the same poem refers instead to Thorr's various activities: his driving the famous chariot drawn by a pair of goats, his defence of gods and men against the giants, his killing of the Midgardsormr in the final collapse of the existing world. He is vinr verlida 'the friend of men' (st. 11), gygiar groetir 'he who makes the giantess cry' (st. 14), burs rddbani 'the giant's killer' (st. 19), hafra drottinn 'the master (owner) of goats' (sts. 20, 31), orms einbani 'solo killer of the serpent' (st. 22). In all these paraphrases there is no appeal to the listener's or reader's imagination, only to his learning, his knowledge of Old Norse mythology.

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Elements of Imagery (In many cases, however, the context makes them quite transparent even to an audience ignorant of their background.) They are allusions, not metaphors. But as such they play an important part by widening the frame of reference. By varying the simple name of the god, the many kennings for Thorr in Hymisqvidaevoke a wealth of associations which complete the picture of the protagonist, giving a stronger impression of his status and importance. Moreover, they serve, in terms of style, to heighten the diction of this poetry. These paraphrasing kennings of erudition, then, fall outside my definition of imagery. Consequently they will not be dealt with below. Let it be said, however, that they are very unevenly distributed among the two main categories of Eddie poetry. In the mythological poems they are frequent, occurring on an average in every ninth stanza (out of 611). In the heroic poems, on the other hand, we have a frequency of approximately one instance in every forty-fifth stanza (out of 771). This is rather striking, as the kennings "im engeren Sinne"2—the metaphorical ones—reverse this proportion (see pp. 60-61 below). Half of the examples from the heroic poems—some eight cases —appear in Helgaqvida Hundingsbana I. In nipt Nera 'Neri's sister' (st. 4; Neri is otherwise unknown) the norns are evoked, and in Imdar dottir 'Imdr's daughter' (st. 43; Imdr is a name for a giantess) the giants. Froda fridr 'Prodi's peace' (st. 13) of course refers to the story told in Grottasqngr. But elsewhere the paraphrasing 'genealogical' kennings remain within the context of heroic society and denote its heroes themselves. Thus Helgi is burr Sigmundar 'Sigmundr's son' (st. 6) and brodir SinfiQtla 'Sinfiptli's brother' (st. 8); his beloved Sigrun is Hqgna dottir 'Hpgni's daughter' (st. 17)—expressions easily comprehensible in their context. in

The demarcation of the imagery of the Poetic Edda is complicated for various reasons. Thus the very character of mythological poetry may make the identification of its metaphorical elements problematic. To a modern reader, an onlooker from without, a poem like Vqlospd might appear as one vast image or metaphor for the fate of the world. But what of its author? Did he regard his work as representing authentic myth through and through, or was much of it, even to him, more or less metaphorical? In stanza 5 we read: Sol varp sunnan, sinni mana, hendi inni hcegri um himiniodur; sol bat ne vissi, hvar hon sali atti sti9rnor bat ne visso, hvar peer stadi atto, mani bat ne vissi, hvat hann megins atti.

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Peter Hallberg The sun, the sister of the moon, from the south her right hand cast over heaven's rim; no knowledge she had where her home should be.

Quite apart from the exact meaning of this passage, the sun is clearly personified as a female creature (ON sol is feminine), physically and mentally comparable to a living being of a higher order. From a 'modern' point of view this is, of course, a metaphor—of a kind often met in romantic poetry. But did the author of Vqlospd 'believe' in this image? I doubt that his conception of the world was that naive. It seems preferable to interpret the passage as a poet's vision—that is as a metaphorical expression. Such an understanding may be supported by another mythological poem, Alvissmdl. It presents a catalogue of different names for a series of natural phenomena. In stanza 16 we get to know that the sun is called by men sol, by gods sunna, by dwarfs Dvalins leici (or leicd) 'Dvalinn's deceiver (or playmate)' (Dvalinn is a dwarf), by giants eyglo 'everglowing,' and by elves fagrahvel 'fair wheel.' This variation of the vocabulary, where different aspects of the object are exhibited in turn, seems to reveal a rather relativistic view, a clear consciousness that to a considerable degree we decide ourselves what we see in things. We also encounter semantic problems in a narrower sense when we try to establish—a millenium or so after the Eddie poems were composed—the contemporary 'meaning' and connotations of certain words in a special context. To pick out a single example, we meet in Vqlospa the word angan in two very similar phrases: a sorceress is said to be angan/illrar brudar 'delight of evil women' (st. 22); at a later point we hear of Odinn as Friggiar angan 'Frigg's delight' (st. 53). We know that the basic sense of angan was 'odour, scent.' But how much of this meaning was still present in the cases just cited? If it was fully actualized, we are dealing with a metaphor, a fusion of the tenor 'delight' with the vehicle 'odour.' On the other hand, angan may well have become more or less stabilized in the sense 'delight,' besides its fundamental, etymological meaning. If so, its use in the Vqlospdrepresents a 'faded' or 'dead' metaphor, although it is still to be regarded as a poetic expression not used in everyday language. It is difficult, and in many cases impossible, to solve such semantic problems because of the unbridgeable gulf of time. IV

To begin with rather plain and inconspicuous elements of imagery, we may examine the simple or compound adjectives implying a comparison of some

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Elements of Imagery kind. In fact, when we have to do with adjectives such as hvass or kaldr, it may sometimes be a matter of taste whether a certain case is to be interpreted as a metaphor, a real 'transfer' of the basic word sense, or only as a slight extension of that meaning. Moreover, in some instances the metaphor is certainly to be seen as quite stereotyped; there is hardly any impression of a distinct opposition between tenor and vehicle. The impression of gold (and silver), an element so important in our aristocratic heroic poetry, is heightened by slightly metaphorical epithets: glodraudr 'glowing red' (FM9, 20; Gdr 112; Am 13) is applied to gold, sncehvitr 'white as snow' (AM 70) to silver. The beauty of women is sometimes referred to by various epithets indicating brightness and implying a comparison with geese, gold, snow, sun: gaglbiartr 'bright as geese' (Akv 39), gullbiartr 'bright as gold' {Hrbl 30; possibly a reference to the woman's jewelry, just as linhvitr 'white as linen' in the same stanza, and in stanza 32, may apply not to her complexion but to her clothing, in the latter case with no metaphorical implications), miallhvitr 'white as snow' (Alv 7), solbiartr 'bright as the sun' (HH II 45), solhvitr 'white as the sun' (Hdv 97). More interesting perhaps than such merely ornamental epithets are those which describe mental qualities by a transfer of concrete to abstract. The concept of chilliness is sometimes used to denote various forms of hostility and malevolent attitude. King Atli's messenger speaks to the court of the Giucungar kaldri rqddo 'in a cold voice' (Akv 2). When the Fenrisiilfr is said to have kalda kiapta 'cold jaws' (Vm 53), the epithet is cerainly to be understood as referring to the cruelty of that terrible beast, the foe of gods and men. The phrase kqld rdd 'cold counsel' (Ls 51, Vkv 31) is a colloquial expression in prose, and may be labelled a 'dead' metaphor. The same seems to be the case with the compound kaldrifiadr 'with cold ribs, malevolent' (Vm 10), applied to the giant, Odinn's adversary. More specific for giants and other terrifying creatures is the epithet hrimkaldr 'cold as hoarfrost': Vm 21 (the giant Ymir); Ls 49, 50 (Loki's son); Fm 38 (Reginn). Very much like the concept of chilliness, the idea of sharpness may be transferred to mental qualities and states of mind. The word hvass 'sharp' is used of the eyes of young Helgi (HH 112), indicating a leader and hero, and of other warriors as well: Hundingr's sons are hvassir (HHII11), as are the Huns (Ghv 12); the epithet testifies to their courage and fighting spirit. When Gudrun tells her sorrows (harmaf)in Ghv 17 we find the following tri^adic series: sd sdrastr (when her husband Sigurdr was killed in his bed), then sd grimmastr (when Atli had her brother Gunnarr thrown into the snake pit), ending with sd hvassastr (when the heart was cut out of her brother Hogni,

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Peter Hallberg who laughed as he was executed). Perhaps the choice of the word in the latter case has something to do not only with Gudrun's feelings, but also with its associations of knives and cutting. An impressive use is made of the adjective blodugr 'bloody,' when Hdvamdl (st. 37) describes the man who must beg for his daily bread: bloduct er hiarta, beim er bidia seal ser i mal hvert matar. his heart is bleeding who needs must beg when food he fain would have.

Our heart is always blodugt, in a quite concrete and natural sense. But in the context here the word gets a surprising metaphorical intensity because body and soul are so strongly unified in the expression bloduct er hiarta. In a pejorative metaphorical sense the adjective bunnr 'thin' appears in the epithet bunngedr 'thin of mind' "med 'tyndt' sind, d.v.s. med let sind (ikke: 'letsindig'), med bibetydning af indskraenkethed."3 It is Brynhildr (Sg 41) who characterizes her rival Gudrun as bunnged kona. The wolf has a central position in Old Norse mythology and poetry, always with negative connotations, culminating in the Fenrisiilfr. In Reginsmdl (st. 11) we hear of a dis ulfhugud 'goddess with a wolf's mind, cruel,' Atlaqvida (st. 8) tells us that Gunnarr's and Hogni's road to King Atli is ylfskr 'wolfish, dangerous.' The appearance of this word, which seems to be a hapax legomenon, is prepared by the gold ring with a wolf's hair wound round it that Gudrun has sent her brothers as a warning. When she is said never to weep for brcedr sina berharda 'her brothers hard as bears, courageous, tough' (st. 38), another wild animal dear to the Old Norse imagination is called upon for comparison. In the mythological poetry we find a few metaphorical adjectives implying the animation of natural phenomena. In Vsp 27 Yggdrasill, the World Tree, is said to be heidvanr 'used to the bright heaven,' and in Vsp 41 we hear of vedr vdlynd 'malevolent weather.' In Grm 41 we find in hardmodgo sky 'the callous clouds.' These few instances, then, belong to Vqlospd and Grimnismdl, two poems dealing with the creation, existence and destruction of a thoroughly animated-world. The epithets just cited are appropriate to such a world. The 'callous clouds' become more understandable when we consider that they are created out of the giant Ymir's brain, and the 'malevolent weather' is one of the ominous signs which forebode the destruction of the world and the whole of nature.

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Elements of Imagery In several instances of seemingly animating metaphors, we are dealing perhaps rather with a metonymical transfer. Thus, when Thorr is said to swing Miqllni mordgigrnum 'the murderous MiQllnir' (Hym 36), we may well have to do with a real metaphor: the hammer is seen as an animated being, as weapons sometimes are. But one could also explain the expression as a transfer of the quality 'murderous' to the hammer from its owner. Certainly when Gudrun kills the Huns in Atli's residence hendi helfussi 'with a hand longing for death' (Akv 41), we have a clear example of metonymical rather than metaphorical transfer. It should be remarked in passing that helfuss probably has a double sense in this context: in her furious vengeance Gudrun is inflicting death on other people, but at the same time she seems to be longing for her own death.4 Metaphorical adjectives are not a dominant part of the image pattern in Eddie poetry, but they contribute effectively to that integration of various fields of experience which is a characteristic feature of metaphorical language. Man is seen in the light of surrounding nature. Elements of nature are seen in analogy with living creatures. Thus we have an impression of a creation experienced as a totality. In much the same way as adjectives, the verbs or verb phrases of everyday language sometimes acquire a metaphorical function in Eddie diction. Of course, here as everywhere we face the problem of distinguishing between a more or less stereotyped metaphorical use of a certain word on the one hand, and a fresher and more 'poetic' use on the other. Needless to say, the boundaries must have been rather fluid even to a contemporary audience. Just as hvass may be an epithet for eyes (cf.p. 51 above), we also hear how young Helgi hvessir augu / sem hildingar 'gazes sharply as warriors do' (HH 16). Usually the metaphorical transfer has the effect of making something abstract sensual and palpable. Thus the ominous atmosphere in Vqlospdis aptly condensed in the phrase lopt allt / Icevi blandit 'all the air mixed with treachery (corruption)' (st. 25). It is as if the corruption had become a kind of contagious substance penetrating the whole world. In a narrower and more personal context, so to speak, King Atli has a presentiment that he will be stabbed by his wife Gudrun Iceblgndnum hiqr 'with a sword mixed with treachery' (Gdr II 38). Loci hints at his intention to make trouble at the aesir's drinking-bout with the threatening words blend ec peim svd meini miqd 'I will mix their mead with harm (evil)' (Ls 3). Later on in the same poem he accuses two of the goddesses of being themselves meini blandin miqc (sts. 32, 56). In Sigrdrifomdl the valkyrie teaches Sigurdr, among other things, how to avoid meinblandinn migdr (st. 8). All these instances of

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Peter Hallberg blanda used in a metaphorical function have negative connotations. But in Hdvamdl we meet with the advice gediskaltu vid bann (i.e., viri) blanda 'you should mix minds with him' (st. 44). Harmful words or advice are sometimes said to bita 'bite' the victims (Hdv 118, Sg 64). The verb eta 'eat' is used not only of the fire (HHv 10), slightly animating that element, but also of sorrow and evil consuming man: sorg etr hiarta (Hdv 121), bann eta mein (Hdv 151). When Gudrun elegiacally recapitulates her life, she ends by wishing that um hiarta / bidni sorgir 'the sorrows might melt around my heart' (Ghv 20). The verb bidna seems to allude to the sorrows as cold and frozen things. The metaphor is especially well suited to the context here, as Gudrun has just summoned men to pile up her funeral pyre, that megi brenna briost / bqlvafult eldr 'the fire might burn my grief-filled breast.' This very concrete fire provides the background for the 'melting' of the sorrows, and gives the whole passage a penetrating intensity. Some of the metaphorical verb phrases used in Eddie poetry seem to have been well established in colloquial language. Of Gudrun feigning to be loyal to her husband Atli, but at the same time planning to kill him, it is said: lee hon tveim sciqldom 'she played with two shields' (Am 74)—one of the many metaphorical expressions involving the word scigldr. Another phrase of the same kind, but this time from the sphere of animal life rather than from fighting and war, appears when the goddess Scadi threatens Loci, who is aggressively insulting the gods: munattu lengi svd / leica lausom hala 'thou mayst not long in freedom flourish thy tail' (Ls 49). According to the dictionaries, ON halt 'tail' could apply to various animals. Possibly the phrase just cited alludes to a fox (see Fritzner, hali: dregr melrakkinn eptir ser halann sinn nu 'now the fox drags his tail behind himself; this is said of a man with the nickname melrakki 'fox.') It would be quite appropriate to associate the cunning Loci with a fox. There are other and perhaps more unusual examples of how a common verb is applied metaphorically. The phrase ur er bat brunnit 'there is something burnt out' (Am 54) is spoken by King Atli of the warders he has lost in battle. When Gudrun stabs the drunken Atli in his bed, she is said to give the bed blod at drecca 'blood to drink' (Akv 41). Hamdismdl opens with the words: Sprutto a tdi / tregnar idir 'harmful deeds sprang out of the path (or pavement) in front of the house.' The verb spretta seems to indicate an analogy with growing plants, and thus makes the deeds seem fated, as it were, independent of the will of men. Volundr's desire for his sword, when King Nidudr has deprived him of it, is rendered by an expressive metaphor: tenn hdnum teygiaz 'he stretches out his teeth' (Vkv 17). This phrase, somewhat

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Elements of Imagery obscure perhaps, should possibly not be understood literally, as Volundr snapping like a dog after his weapon, but rather figuratively. In the sometimes coarse language of Locasenna Loci is warned that if he intends to attack the gods with hrop 'invectives' and rog 'foul slander,' then a per muno pan perra pat 'they will wipe it off on you' (st. 4). Grimly perverted and ironical is the sense of a word with otherwise positive connotations, when Gudrun, about to kill her two little sons by Atli, addresses them with the declaration that she has for a long time desired at lyfia ycr elli 'to cure you of old age' (Am 78). A strong feeling of joy, especially if it may not be expected, as when a dangerous adversary threatens, can be conveyed by the word hugr 'heart.' When Thorr, in the humiliating situation where he has to masquerade as a giant's bride, realizes that he will presently get back his formidable hammer, we hear: hid Hlorrida hugr f briosti 'the heart laughed in Hlorridi's breast' (Prk 31). The same phrase is applied to King Atli (Gdr HI 10). If in Vqlospdthe World Tree is depicted as a living creature by the epithet heidvanr (cf. p. 52 above), we are told in Grimnismdl 35 with an animating metaphor that Yggdrasill drygirerfidi'suffers hardships' more than men know of. When reference is made in Hdvamdl 76 to the fame that deyr aldregi, and to the judgment on a deceased man that aldri deyr (st. 77), the effect of the metaphor deyia is greatly enhanced by the repetitive use in this very context of the same word in its common meaning: Deyr fe, / deyia frcendr (sts. 76, 77). The coupling of the 'basic' and the metaphorical senses of deyia, and the antithesis between the death of man and the eternity of his reputation, in combination with the compact diction of these stanzas, brings home the message admirably. Related to birth and death respectively are two other metaphorical verb phrases. When Borgny, under the influence of Oddrun's potent magic songs (bitra galdrd), succeeds in giving birth to a girl and a boy, we are told: Kndtti mcer oc mqgr / moldveg sporna (Od 8) 'a girl and a boy set foot on the earthy path,' that is, appeared on earth, entered this life. In the quarrel between Atli and Gudrun, where they are mutually alluding to the other partner's death, Gudrun boasts that by afridra dauda 'a finer way of death' she will/am / lids annat 'pass into another light' (Am 87). This phrase has been taken to indicate influence of Christianity.5 If that is correct, we seem to have here the only case in Eddie poetry where an element of imagery reveals a Christian impact on its diction. Sometimes a single noun is used metaphorically; then the relation between

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Peter Hallberg the vehicle and its tenor is in most cases quite transparent. Thus, in telling his ominous dreams to Gudrun Atli begins three successive stanzas by referring to the killing of their two sons: Hugda ec her i tuni / teinafallna 'I thought of plants drooping here in the garden' (Gdr II40); Hugda ec mer afhendi / haucafliuga'I thought of hawks flying from my hands' (st. 41); Hugda ec mer afhendi / hvelpa losna 'I thought of young dogs escaping my hand' (st. 42). However, these basic noun images for the boys—teinar, haucar, hvelpar —are expanded by other metaphorical elements related to the vehicles: Atli sees the plants rifnir med rotum 'plucked out by the roots,' the hawks fliuga / brdda lausa 'fly without prey (food),' and the whelps glaums andvana, / gylli bddir 'both of them howled deprived of their noisy joy' (?). The wolf is seen as a suitable equivalent for a dangerous man. In Sigrdrifomdlwe meet the curious wordvargdropi 'wolf's drop, son of an outlaw'; it seems to have become a kind of official term, as it appears in the old code of laws Grdgds.6Inthe Eddie poem the valkyrie warns Sigurdr never to trust such a vargdropi, whose son or father he has killed, for ulfr er i ungom syni 'there is a wolf in the young son' (st. 35). Perhaps in this case the strange word itself has inspired this statement. When Brynhildr incites her husband Gunnarr to kill Sigurdr, she does not forget Sigurdr's three-year-old son: Latom son fara fedr i sinni! scalat ulf ala ungan lengi; (Sg 12) The son shall fare with his father hence, and let not long the wolf-cub live.

Helgi, who has visited his enemy King Hundingr in disguise, explains to a shepherd when leaving that they have had ulf gran 'a grey wolf (HHII1) among them, Reginn welcomes Sigurdr gladly because the young man has much courage and there is fangs von /' at frecom ulfi 'hope of battle (or rather: prey?) from the greedy wolf (Rm 13). Reginn is probably referring to his foster-son Sigurdr's future killing of the dragon Fafnir, and hoping for a share of the monster's tremendous gold treasure. Young Helgi, growing up with his friends, is spoken of as dlmr itrborinn 'elm of noble descent' (HH 79). As is well known, some kind of tree-name very often forms the basis of a kenning for a man; but in a kenning this word has to be qualified by some other noun, that is, dlmr skialda 'elm of shields.'7 The difference may seem to be very slight, and of purely formal character. Still, we are probably right in considering kennings a special class of imagery.

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Elements of Imagery Descriptions of men in Eddie poetry not infrequently focus on their eyes, especially to denote strong emotions. To the giant Thrymr, longing to kiss his bride Freyia (i.e., the disguised Thorr who is extremely uneasy about his situation) a deterrent eldr 'fire' (f>rk 27) seems to burn from her eyes. Brynhildr's terrible excitement when she sees Sigurdr lying dead of his wounds is also indicated by eldr ur augom (Gdr 121}. When Vplundr has been taken by surprise and fettered, his eyes are compared to ormi peim inom frdna 'the gleaming snake' (Vkv 17). Just as fire can be used as an image for strong emotions in Eddie poetry, so also can coldness. An interesting and somewhat ambiguous example is the description of Brynhildr when she is seized by an unbearable jealousy at the thought of her rival Gudrun with Sigurdr: Opt gengr hon innan, illz um fyld, isa oc ipcla, aptan hvern, er bau Gudrun ganga a bed oc hana Sigurdr sveipr i ripti. (Sg 8) Oft did she go with grieving heart on the glacier's ice at even-tide, when Guthrun then to her bed was gone, and the bedclothes Sigurth about her laid.

The interpretation of this passage depends in some degree on how the first part of the stanza is understood syntactically. Is the phrase isa oc iqcla to be seen as connected with fylld, and hence as a kind of apposition to illsl Or is it to be combined instead with gengr! In his translation Bellows apparently has chosen the latter alternative and read gengr isa oc igcla. Lexicon Poeticum (iss) explicitly prefers this explanation and rejects the other: "ganga isa, ga over, fcerdes pa islagte strcekninger, Sigsk 8 (her er isa sikkert ace. pi. og ikke gen. styret af fyld, om Brynhild, hvilket er meningslost)" (cf. under jqkulk "ganga isa ok jpkla Sigsk #"). Olafur Briem comments on the passage in the same way: "some commentators think that isa ok jokla is in apposition to ills and means coldness of the mind. But according to Icelandic feeling for the language it seems unthinkable to me that gengr does not refer to isa ok jokla."* However, Einar 6l. Sveinsson interprets the words isa ok iQcla as "imagery, a closer description of Brynhildr's violent jealousy;" this would also be in accord with the diction of the poem, which is sometimes "tinged with baroque language."9 Sveinsson does not expressly deal with the

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Peter Hallberg syntactical aspects of the passage, but his interpretation seems to imply the reading ills umfylld, / isa ok igcla. If he is right—and I think he may well be —we have here a rather drastic image for human emotions. But even if we prefer the more 'realistic' combination ganga isa oc iqcla, Brynhildr's evening promenade has probably been intended by the poet to correspond to her state of mind—though in a more discreet and oblique manner. Some noun metaphors refer to various human activities. When Gudrun kills her husband Atli in his bed, the deed is commented upon by a grim understatement: opt var sa leicr betri, pa er bau lint scyldo optarr um fadmaz fyr pdlingom. (Akv 40) Oft their play was better when both in gladness each other embraced among princes all.

Ursula Dronke says of this passage: "sd leikr: there is an ironic play on the connotations of the word: 'love-sport' (which Gudrun should have offered her husband), and 'cruel trick' (which she does offer him)." 10 When Brynhildr addresses Gunnarr just before her death, she uses a colloquial metaphorical phrase from the sphere of navigation to warn him that everything will not run smoothly for him after her death: muna ydvart far alt i sundi, pott ec hafa ondo latid. (Sg 53) The ship in harbor home thou hast not, although my life I now have lost.

Literally / (a) sundi means 'afloat': Sigurdr's ship is still not afloat, that is, troubles are waiting for him. Speaking to Brynhildr, and referring to her fatal influence, a woman says: recr pic alda hver / illrar scepno 'you are driven by every wave of ill fate' (Gdr I 24). This seems to be the only occurrence of the word alda in the Poetic Edda. The mythological poem Alvissmdl affords a special kind of noun metaphor. The frame of the poem presents Asa-Thorr interrogating the dwarf Alviss 'He Who Knows All.' The questions concern various names for twelve different natural phenomena, and in addition, for ale—possibly because of its connections with social and religious rites, or its mythological

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Elements of Imagery connotations. In every other stanza the dwarf answers with a list of six expressions used, respectively, by men, gods, giants, dwarfs, and other creatures. 11 There have been diverging opinions as to the 'authenticity' of these expressions. Do they testify to archaic ideas concerning actually existent, perhaps more or less secret, separate languages within the ordinary language? Or are they rather to be seen as a unique and entertaining exercise in linguistic creativity and playfulness by an individual poet? Arguments for the latter alternative seem to carry most weight.12 Some of the poetic expressions are regular kennings and will be dealt with below (p. 61). Others, however, are 'simple' noun metaphors, sometimes with a qualifying adjective. The sky may be seen as (part of) a kind of residence: fagrarcefr 'fair roof (elves) or driupr salr 'dripping hall' (dwarfs), presumably with a reference to rain or dew. A basic metaphor for moon and sun is hvel 'wheel': in hell (helio i) they call the moon hverfanda hvel 'rolling wheel' (st. 14); the elves name the sunfagrahvel 'fair wheel' (st. 16). The wind is animated and characterized by its unsteadiness: vdfudr'waverer' (gods); but mostly by its noise: gneggiudr 'neigher' (ginnregin 'superior forces'), oepir 'wailer' (giants), dynfari'roaring traveler' (elves), hvidudr 'the squally one' (ihelio)(st. 20). The dangerous quality of fire is indicated by the metaphor hrqdudr 'the swift one' (helio i) (st. 26). A word among others for night is grima 'hood' (ginnregin) (st. 30), probably because the light of the day is considered to be hidden by the darkness. Characteristically, all these metaphors are marked, more or less, by a mythological, or semi-mythological aspect of the surrounding nature.

v We now turn to the kind of imagery which is regarded as most typical of Old Norse poetry, that is, the kennings. To define the exact character of the kenning as distinct from other kinds of metaphorical expression is not easy. But one important demarcating feature may be illustrated by an example. A word for 'sun,' just cited from Alvissmdl, is fagrahvel. When this word is considered without its context, that is, without its obvious applicability to the sun, one cannot guess its metaphorical sense; it merely denotes a 'fair wheel' of some kind. In the expression himins hvel 'wheel of the heaven, sun,' on the other hand, the genitive qualifies and restricts the reference of the basic word hvel.'*3 We are dealing here with a kenning, a metaphor complete in itself, so to speak. This does not mean, of course, that a kenning is always univocal. Thus, for instance, even such a simple kenning as himins hvel could, read out of its context, perhaps also be taken to refer to the

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Peter Hallberg moon. The kennings often presuppose a certain familiarity on the part of the listener or reader with the whole system and its basic principles. However, the criterion presented above for distinquishing between a regular kenning such as himins hvel and a noun metaphor such asfagrahvel seems to be essential, and indeed not only from a formal point of view. The 'independent' or 'detached' state of kennings as metaphorical expressions allows them to be handled as a kind of ready-made element in various contexts, often more or less mechanically, with only slight variations of the pattern. This is also the reason why they sometimes appear as strangely inappropriate in their context—at least to a modern audience. It should be noted here that the kennings of the Poetic Edda completely lack the amazing exaggerations which may be found in skaldic poetry, where they are perhaps conditioned to some extent by the difficult drottkvcett metre with its distorted syntax. We meet no instances of equilibristic performance, where a kenning may be elaborated by 'dissolving' the basic qualifying noun into a series of further kennings. Eddie diction limits itself in the main to kennings with two elements— two nouns which very often combine to form a compound. For example, the sword may be named rogborn 'thorn of strife' instead of rogs porn. I wish to emphasize once again my intention to leave aside here all instances lacking a metaphorical relation between the elements of the expression, or to the concepts to which they refer. Thus a great many instances traditionally labelled kennings fall outside the limits of this discussion. To the latter class belong many conventional circumlocutions for persons: baugbroti 'breaker of rings, open-handed man, prince' (HH117), gulls midlandi 'distributor of gold, prince' (Akv 37), herglqtudr 'destroyer of armies, warrior, hero' (Br 13), spillir bauga 'breaker (and giver) of rings' (Fm 32), sverda deilir 'distributor of swords, chieftain, prince, (Akv 36). Such expressions describe the function of the persons in question directly—in a heightened tone, to be sure, but without implying any elements of imagery. Within the above-mentioned limits one observes a remarkable difference between mythological and heroic poetry. With the exception of two poems, the mythological section of the Edda makes very restricted use of kennings. On the other hand, kennings occur rather frequently in the heroic lays. Thus, in the 611 stanzas of mythological poetry we find some twenty-six examples, or roughly one every twenty-fifth stanza; in the 771 stanzas of heroic poetry there are some 113 instances, or roughly one every seventh stanza. Of course these figures are approximate, as it is difficult in some cases to decide whether or not a particular expression should be classified as a kenning (in the sense in which the term is being used here). The kennings are also very unevenly distributed among the individual poems in the two principal sec-

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Elements of Imageryhhhh tions. Thus, among the mythological poems, Hymisqvida has by far the highest frequency, with twelve examples (out of a total of twenty-six), or approximately one every third stanza—which is more than twice as many as the average for the heroic poetry. This is only slightly less than in the heroic poem revealing the highest kenning frequency: Helgaqvida Hundingsbana I with its fifty-six stanzas shows some twenty-two cases. Almost half of the mythological poems have no metaphorical kennings at all: Vafdrudnismdl, Scirnismdl, Hdrbardzliod, Prymsqvida. Locasenna provides us with a single instance; Asa-Thorr threatens Loci with his hammer: herdaklett / drep ecper hdlsi tf/'thy shoulder-cliff / shall I cleave from thy neck' (st. 57). In Grimnismdl, too, we find a single instance in the mythological personification heidr brudr himins 'radiant bride of heaven,' for 'sun' (st. 39). The remaining kennings are found principally in two poems, Alvissmdl and Hymisqvida, with Vqlospd and Hdvamdl contributing a few instances. In the fanciful vocabulary of Alvissmdl (cf. p. 58-59 above) we meet some kennings implying an animating of natural phenomena. In the tongue of the dwarfs the sun is Dvalins leici (or leica), a mythological kenning which has been interpreted as 'deceiver (or playmate) of Dvalinn' (st. 16). Dvalinn is the name of a dwarf; perhaps this is an allusion to the well-known notion that dwarfs and giants turn into stone if they are surprised by the sunrise. This is in fact what happened to Alviss in the end. The vanir call the heaven vindofnir 'weaver of the winds' (st. 12), and in hell (/ helio) they name the clouds hidlmr huliz 'helmet of disguise' (st. 18) because they hide the view. In the language of the elves the calm is dagsefi 'he who calms the day' (st. 22). To the dwarfs the night appears as draumniqrun 'goddess of dreams' (st. 30; Niprun is the name of a goddess). Of a more profane and typically skaldic character, so to speak, are the following kennings: the sea is dlheimr 'world of the eels' (st. 24), the wood is hlidpang 'seaweed of the hills' or vallar fax 'mane of the field (st. 28) and the clouds arevindflot 'something sailing in the wind' (st. 18). In Vqlospd the kennings are used sparingly, and they appear there not so much for their own sake, but are integrated into the total vision of the poem. Thus the chaotic conditions anticipating the end of the world are characterized by the expressive word vargqld 'time of wolves' (st. 45). This may be understood quite literally as referring to a time when wolves have taken over and raid a world in dissolution. But it probably has a more metaphorical meaning, referring to a world dominated by all kinds of evil forces. It is introduced as the climax of a whole series of compounds with qld, all of them with highly negative connotations:

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Peter Hallberg hmpld,skildir ro klofnir, vindpld, varg9ld, adr verQld steypiz. Axe-time, sword-time, shields are sundered, wind-time, wolf-time, ere the world falls.

in fact, vargqld is not a regular kenning, as its basic element, gld, has its normal sense without any metaphorical implications. These are instead transferred to the qualifying noun vargr. As an element of destruction, fire plays an eminent role in Vglospd. We encounter it in the form of a mythological kenning as Surtarsefi'Surtr's relative' (st. 47). Surtr is a giant, ruler of the southern world of fire, and one of the main adversaries of the gods in the decisive battle. Later on we hear of him coming from the south med sviga Icevi 'with the scourge of branches' (st. 52). This is one of numerous kennings for fire based on the idea of its harmfulness to tree and wood, and its power to destroy them: birkis otti 'horror of the birch,' ys angr 'sorrow of the yew-tree' (cf. Fdfnismdl: lindar vadi 'the ruin of the linden' [st. 43]).14 In most cases such kennings have no special contextual motivation; they are introduced as conventional phrases, with only slight variation. But in Vglospd sviga Ice seems to be closely related to the main theme of the poem. In another paper I have argued that in the very culmination of the destruction of the world we have a grandiose picture of the World Tree, the ash Yggdrasill, being devoured by fire: Geisar eimi vid aldrnara, leicr har hiti vid himin sialfan. Fierce grows the steam and the life-feeding flame, till fire leaps high about heaven itself.

(Bellows' translation [st. 57] is based on the reading oc aldrnari, which appears in some manuscripts and has been adopted by many editors and commentators; I retain the text of Codex Regius: vid aldrnara). The kenning aldrnari 'nourisher of life' has usually been taken to denote fire. Thus Meissner, referring to a passage in Hdvamdl (Eldr er beztr / med yta sonurri) speaks of "die schone und fur den Norden characteristische (Hdv 68) Kenning aldrnari."^ With this interpretation (Bellows: 'life-feeding flame'), one would read st. 57: Tire (steam) rages with (against) fire.' But quite apart from the fact that kennings for fire with positive connotations seem to be extremely rare—"Die Bestimmung der Kenning enthalt in den meisten

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Elements of Imagery Fallen etwas, das durch das Feuer feindlich erfa/ft, angegriffen, beschadigt, verzehrt, vernichtet wird" 16 —it would be inappropriate to see the fire as 'nourisher of life' at the very moment when it swallows the world. Thus I propose to let aldrnari refer to the ash Yggdrasill, which can rightly be said to be the nourisher of the existing world. In fact, it stands as a symbol of life. Moreover, in st. 47 there is a direct statement that the fire will devour the ash-tree. The stanza begins with a picture of the tree and its agony (scelfr Yggdrasils / user standandi, / ymr ip aldna tre 'the ash Yggdrasill trembles where it stands, the old tree moans') and ends with the words: adr Surtar pann (the ash-tree) / sefi of gleypir 'before Surtr's relative swallows it.' I thus interpret the words geisar eimi / vid aldrnara as the fire raging against the huge world tree, swallowing it and thereby bringing about the end of the world. With this interpretation of aldrnari the kenning sviga Icevi would also be integrated into a wider pattern of destruction. 17 In the concluding part of Vqlospd, beginning with stanza 59 where the new world is rising out of the sea, we also meet a kenning for the vault of heaven. In an obscure passage reference is made to gods inhabiting vindheim vidan 'the wide world of the winds' (st. 63). This kenning too has many counterparts in Old Norse poetry; the sky is very often seen as the site of winds. 18 In Vqlospd, however, the metaphor vindheimr seems especially well suited to the wide vista which the poem creates, its all-embracing view over the world. The kennings in Vqlospa. just discussed are never confined to details, but always refer to the central eschatological theme and its development. The kennings of Hymisqvidahave a completely different character, more in the vein of typical skaldic poetry. In this poem about Asa-Thorr's visit to the giant Hymir we encounter a rather burlesque adventure. The kennings do not refer to elements of earth and heaven, but to the narrative itself in a rather narrow sense. Some of them seem to emphasize the grotesque dimensions of the giants' world, not without a touch of humor. Thus, when Hymir comes back from his hunting we hear that glumdo ioclar 'icicles rattled' because var karls, er kom, / kinnscogr frorinn 'the fellow's chin-forest was frozen, as he came in' (st. 10). This is the only kenning for a beard listed by Meissner, so there are no comparisons possible.19 But one must admit that the 'forest' creates a suggestion of gigantic dimensions. And when Thorr slaughters one of Hymir's bulls for their evening meal by tearing off its head, the latter is described as hdtun horna tveggia 'the highland of double horns' (st. 19)—again we have an impression of supernatural size. Another drastic kenning for head refers to the Midgard Serpent. Thorr, using the bull's head as bait (!), has caught the monster on his hook and bangs his hammer on its hdfiall scarar 'the (high) mountain of the hair (of

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Peter Hallberg the head)' (st. 23). The word scgr is a conventional part of kennings for the head; Meissner lists, for example, scarar haugr 'hill of the hair (of the head).'20 In connection with the Midgard Serpent, however, the reference to hair may appear inappropriate, as the latter seems most suited to human beings. On the other hand, however, we do not know how men—or this individual poet—imagined the shape of such a monstrous mythical 'snake'—it is also referred to as fiscr (st. 24); perhaps with some kind of mane? On the whole, the concept 'head' has an important place in the poem. Thus Thorr is incited by Hymir to demonstrate his strength by breaking a certain chalice. However, he does not succeed in his efforts until he gets the advice: Drep vid haus Hymis! hann er hardari, kostmods iptuns, kalki hveriom. (st. 30) Smite the skull of Hymir, heavy with food, for harder it is than ever was glass.

Then at last the chalice breaks, but heill var karli / hidlmstofn ofan 'whole was the fellow's / helmet-stem' (st. 31)—with another stock kenning for the head, better suited, it seems, to a warrior of heroic poetry than to a giant. The adventurous fishing trip is a central part of Hymisqvida, and it is also reflected in its kennings. Just before the two set out on their expedition Hymir refers to himself as kiola valdr 'steerer of ships' (st. 19)—a kenning of the paraphrastic kind, employing no metaphorical elements. Then again and again their vessel is described in kennings of a type well-known from skaldicheroic poetry: hlunngoti 'stallion of the rollers' (by which the ship is pulled forward on land) (st. 20),flotbrusi 'swimming buck' (st. 26), Iggfdcr 'waterhorse' (st. ,27). In the last-mentioned stanza there is another kenning, brimsvin 'swine of the surf,' which has also been taken by many scholars to refer to the boat. In itself the word might well have that meaning, but the actual context seems to present a more plausible alternative. In the preceding stanza, where the two have landed after their fishing trip, Hymir exhorts Thorr to share the remaining tasks with him and either carry home the two whales which he (Hymir) has caught, or secure the vessel. Then, in stanza 27, we hear how Thorr catches hold of the boat by the stem and pulls it ashore unassisted; then:

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Elements of Imagery einn med arom oc med austscoto bar hann til boeiar brimsvin i9tuns. Oars and bailer and all he bore with the surf-swine to the giant's house.

Thus, in a display of strength, Thorr does the whole job, not just half of it. But it is highly improbable that he should carry the ship itself all the way to the house. There is a special reference to oars and bailer; it would be natural for them to be taken home and the vessel left on the shore. The giant's brimsvin surely refers to the whales, his catch. Bellows expressly prefers that interpretation. To Konstantin Reichardt it is "die einzig mogliche."21 The associations with the sea and the adventures on the fishing trip linger on when the kettle which the gods borrow from Hymir is referred to by the giant as qlkioll 'ale-ship' (st. 33), and the giants killed by Thorr on his way back to the gods are seen as hraunhvalir 'stone-whales' (st. 36), that is, whales inhabiting the mountains. One wonders whether some kennings in Hymisqvida, elsewhere typical of poems depicting heroic viking life (hidlmstofn, hlunngoti, Iqgfdcf), may not have been introduced here in a vein of parody. In any case, such an intention would not contradict the overall character of this poem. VI

In the heroic poems of the Edda the kennings not only occur much more frequently than in the mythological poems (cf. p. 60-61 above), but on the whole are also of a more conventional type characteristic of the usage in skaldic drottkvcett stanzas. As for their tenor, we are here concerned with elements of an aristocratic and heroic human society: prince, warriors, ladies, gold, viking ship, battle, sword, wound, blood, ravens and wolves— all in association with the battlefield. The kennings for man or warrior are distributed over certain types of connection between tenor and vehicle, all of them well-known from skaldic poetry. Sometimes the man is associated with a god or other mythical figure: geir-Mimir 'Mimir of the spear' (HH114), geir-Niqrdr 'Niordr of the spear' (Ghv 8), her-Baldr 'Baldr of the army' (Sg 18). The purpose of such kennings, although with continuous usage they have become completely habitual, is of course to heighten the diction and to enoble men by relating them to higher powers. Usually, however, the vehicle is the concept 'tree,' either as a general

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Peter Hallberg category or as a specific species: bqrr skialdar 'tree of shield' (Am 30), dolgvidr 'tree of battle' (Sd 29), hildimeidr 'tree of battle' (Fm 36), hrottameidr 'tree of the sword' (Rm2Q; Hrotti is taken to be the name of a sword), brynbings apaldr 'apple-tree of the meeting of coats of mail' (Sd 5; a combination of two kennings since brynbing 'battle' is itself a kenning), rogapaldr 'apple-tree of battle' (HHv 6), vdpna hlynr 'maple-tree of the weapons' (Sd 20). To this category also belong some kennings for men with stafr 'staff as their basic element: audstafr 'staff of wealth' (Sd 31), hidlmstafr 'staff of the helmet' (Rm 22). The frequency of the concept 'tree' with reference to man testifies to its central place and positive connotations in the imagination of Old Norse poets. When a warrior is called varga vinr 'friend of the wolves' (HH16), we should probably regard this kenning not as an indication of his character, but rather as an allusion to wolves raiding the battlefield for the men he has killed. The heart and the chest as the site of life and courage have great prominence in the world of heroic poetry. Helgi Hundingsbani is said to have hart modacarn 'a hard acorn of mind' (HH 153), that is, heart. The comparison of the heart with an acorn is frequent in Old Norse poetry and reflects the notion that a hero was supposed to have a small and very solid heart.22 In Fdfnismdl Sigurdr, after having killed the dragon, roasts its heart in order to eat that fiqrsegi 'life-muscle' (st. 32) and thus acquire its power. Gudrun contemplates her husband Sigurdr's hugborg 'castle of courage, breast' (Gdr 114) pierced by the sword. A unique kenning appears in Atlamdl, which is the more striking as this kind of imagery is extremely rare in that poem. Gunnarr in the snake pit is said to play the harp with his ilqvistir 'twigs of the sole of the foot, toes' (st. 66). In the corresponding passage in Atlaqvida (st. 31) he plays the harp with his hands. The kennings for women combine in a conventional manner the name of a goddess or valkyrie with a word for gold, silver or jewelry—closely corresponding to the kennings for men, with their usual fusion of a god's name with a word for battle or weapon. Atli's sister Oddriin refers to herself as linnvengis Bil 'Bil of gold' (Od 33; Bil is a goddess); this is a twofold kenning inasmuch as linnvengi 'land of the serpent (dragon)' is itself a circumlocution for 'gold,' based on the idea of the dragon Fafnir lying outstretched over his huge gold treasure. Brynhildr, in her own words, appears as menScggul 'Scpgul of jewelry' (Sg 40; Scpgul is a valkyrie). On her way to the realm of the dead she is addressed by a giantess as Vdr gulls 'Var of gold' (Hlr 2; Var is a goddess). Instead of precious metals some other part of an

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Elements of Imagery aristocratic woman's garment may enter the kenning, for example, hqr-Gefn 'Gefn of flax (linen)' (Fm 43; Gefn is a goddess). Or, as in the case of men, the basic element of the kenning may be a word for wood or tree: mqrc menia 'tree of necklaces' (Sg 46). As for the gold, which plays so important and disastrous a part in Eddie heroic poetry, the kennings involving this idea are all related to the origin and fate of the famous treasure of the Niflungs. We have already met with gold as linnvengi. The same associations appear in ormbed 'bed of the serpent,' expanded into eldr ormbeds 'fire (glitter) of gold' (GdrI26). Other kennings refer to the treasure as having been buried and lost in the river Rhine: for example, it appears as Rinar mdlmr 'metal of the Rhine' (Sg 16). Instead of the Rhine, some other body of water may be used: lindar logi 'flame of the creek (well)' (Rm 1) or Ognar liomi 'brilliance of the 6gn' (HH121; Fm 42; 6gn is the name of a river). When Gunnarr speaks of the gold as rogmdlmr scatna 'men's metal of strife' (Akv 27), he refers, of course, to the feuds and killings to which it has given rise. These kennings for gold as a fatal object form a kind of leitmotif through the heroic poetry of the Edda beginning with Sigurdr's killing of the dragon and capturing of its treasure. The realm providing most kennings in the heroic lays is that of battle and war. Battle itself is seen as a social assembly qualified by some word for weapons or armor: brynbing 'assembly of coats of mail' (Sd 5), hiqrstefna (HHI13) or hiQrbing (7777750; Ghv 6) 'session of swords.' It is brimis domr 'court of the sword' (HH II22), or an eggleicr 'game of edges' (Gdr 7/31). Very often the basic word implies a reference to noise or stormy weather; Helgaqvida Hundingsbana I in particular excels in this kind of kenning, which is usually more periphrastic than really metaphorical: dolga dynr 'noise of battle' (HH I 20), geira gnyr 'noise of spears' (HH I 54), randa rymr 'crash of shields' (HH 117), brymr alma 'din of the bows' (HH 116), naddel 'storm of spears' (Grp 23), vedr grdrra geira 'storm of grey spears' (HH 112). The weapon dominating the battlefield is the sword. It is a benlogi 'wound-flame' (HH751), a benvqndr 'wound-staff (Br 19), and a rogborn 'thorn of strife' (Akv 29). In the last-mentioned passage (Atli inn riki /. . . / sleginn rogbornom) the word rogborn has also been understood as 'thorntree of strife,' that is, 'warrior' (Atli surrounded by his men). Either interpretation gives very much the same sense, but the former one seems preferable, as the kenning rogs born is to be found elsewhere in Old Norse poetry with the meaning 'sword.'23 The sword may also be referred to in animating or personifying kennings. It is seen, in the form of a semi-mythological para67

Peter Hallberg phrase, as Fdfnis bani 'Fafnir's killer' (Grp 15), and as a blodormr 'bloodsnake' (HH I S ) . In the latter case the constellation blodormr buinn is a conspicuous example of how conventionalized such a kenning had become. The epithet buinn 'decorated' (e.g., with gold or silver) suits a sword but definitely not a snake; the snake as such seems hardly to have been 'realized.' But doubtless swords were often thought of as endowed with a secret, almost supernatural power of their own. This is illustrated very well in Eddie heroic poetry when a valkyrie describes to Helgi Hiprvardzson an especially splendid sword: Hringr er i hialti, hugr i midio, ogn er i oddi beim er eiga getr; illgr med eggio ormr drerfadr, enn a valb9sto verpr nadr hala. (HHv 9) In the hilt is fame [?], in the haft is courage, in the point is fear for its owner's foes; on the blade there lies a blood-flecked snake, and a serpent's tail round the flat is twisted.

Here we have typical references to courage (hugr) and horror (ogn) inhabiting the weapon; twice—ormr, nadr—we are reminded of the serpent as a terrifying incarnation of hidden power, which suddenly strikes the victim with a deadly sting. These words, spoken by a valkyrie, give one the impression that the idea of the sword was imbued with myth and magic. Wounds are referred to as dolgspor 'traces of battle' (HH II42), in the phrase dolgspor dreyra 'battle-traces bleed.' Blood itself appears as a substance related to wounds, swords, the battlefield and fallen men: hiorlogr 'liquid of the sword' (Fm 14), sdrdropi 'drop of the wound' (HH II 42), valdqgg 'dew of the battlefield' (HH II44). The word harmdggg 'dew of sorrow' in the following stanza has been taken to refer to tears. One evening Sigrun goes into the grave-mound where her fallen lover Helgi has been buried. He reappears there from the realm of the dead and addresses her: Bin veldr pu, Sigrun fra Sefafi9llum, er Helgi er harmd9gg sleginn; Graetr pu, gullvarid, grimmom tarom, solbi9rt, sudroen, adr pu sofa gangir. Hvert fellr bloduct a briost grami, ursvalt, innfialgt, ecca prungit. (HH II45)

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Elements of Imagery Thou alone, Sigrun of Sefafjoll, art cause that Helgi with dew is heavy. Gold-decked maid, thy tears are grievous, (sun-bright south-maid, ere thou sleepest). Each falls like blood on the hero's breast, (burned-out, cold, and crushed with care).

The harmdqgg covering Helgi seems to correspod closely to Sigrun's tears falling on his breast. On the other hand, harmdqgg repeats in a parallel syntactic pattern the word valdqgg from the preceding stanza where it is associated with Helgi's death and his blodugri brynio 'bloody coat of mail' and clearly indicates blood: allr er visi valdogg sleginn er Helgi er

(st. 44)

harmdogg sleginn (st. 45).

A possible solution, a harmonization of the two meanings, may be that Sigrun's tears are thought of as being transformed into blood when they drip onto Helgi's body. This is indeed suggested by the words in stanza 45: Hvert [tar] fellr bloduct / a briost grami. After all, we move here in a mythical or semi-mythical sphere. Wolves and ravens, animals closely connected with the battlefield, both of them feeding on fallen men, are given mythical dimensions when they appear in kennings. The wolves are grey norna 'hounds of the norns' (Hm 29), Vidris grey 'Vidrir's (i.e. Odinn's) hounds' (HH I 13), grdnstod Gridar 'Gridr's gray horses' (HH II25; Gridr is the name of a giantess), or hrcegifr 'corpse-trolls' (GdrII29). The raven appears as Odinshaucr 'Odinn's hawk' (HH II 43)—the god's own famous ravens, Huginn and Muninn, are not meant here—and as gagl Gunnar systra 'goose of Gunnr's sisters' (HHIII; Gunnr is name of a valkyrie). The last-mentioned kenning is integrated into a verb phrase: Sigrun asks Helgi whether he has gggl alin / Gunnar systra 'fed the geese of Gunnr's sisters,' that is, killed men in battle. Verbal metaphors for killing, very much akin to the noun kennings in that they imply the same concepts, are gledia Hugin 'give pleasure to Huginn' (Rm 18, 26; Fm 26; here Huginn of course stands for ravens in general), gledia qrno 'give pleasure to eagles' (HH 145; the eagles compete with the ravens as birds of the battlefield), sedia hrafna 'feed ravens' (HH144), or sedia qrno and sedia cett ara 'feed eagles (the race

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Peter Hallberg of eagles)' (HH135; HHII8). The warriors fallen on the battleground are Hugins ban 'Huginn's barley,' that is, the raven's food (HH 154). As an instrument of death the gallows plays an important part in the Old Norse imagination; it is an object of horror and fascination. On their way to King I9rmunrecr to take revenge on him, the brothers Hamdir and Sprli pass the place where the king has had his own son Randver hanged. As we know from the prose introduction to GudrunarhvQt, Randver had been accused of having a love-affair with his father's wife Svanhildr, Hamdir's and Sprli's half-sister, daughter of Gudrun and Sigurdr. The King had Svanhildr trampled to death by horses, and Randver, as already noted, was hanged. In Hamdismdl the gallows on which the brothers find their sister's son (systor sonr) is referred to as vargtre vindkqld 'wind-cold wolf-tree' (st. 17), where the adjective, of course, indicates the gloomy surroundings, as does the word vdstigar 'paths of misery' in the same stanza. In the kenning vargtre the element vargr is taken to mean 'criminal, felon.' But, as Ursula Dronke aptly remarks, for a Norse audience " vargtre would certainly arouse associations with vargr = 'wolf.'.... The custom of hanging a wolf, or (as a substitute for a wolf) a dog, beside a criminal on the gallows may have strengthened the wolfish associations of vargtre."24 In this same context we find the rather obscure expression trono hvqt 'crane's incitement.' I believe that Ursula Dronke may well be right in seeing this phrase as a kenning for the corpse on the gallows, "the dead body which excites the appetite and attack of birds." The crane, to be sure, "is not a carrion bird, nor is trana commonly used as a heiti for 'bird' in general; elsewhere, to denote 'raven,' it is qualified by hjaldrs or blod." But in "the context of the gallows," she asserts, "no audience would mistake the implication of trana."25 The sea as a basic element of viking life is abundantly represented in the kennings of Eddie heroic poetry. The sea itself is seen mythologically when the waves are referred to as Kolgo systir (HH 128) and Algis dottir (HH I 29), where jEgir, is, of course, the god of the sea, and Kolga the wave personified. These two expressions, with their slight variation of a basic idea, are good examples of how stereotyped the coining of kennings for common concepts could be. In their context, however, even such stock kennings appear as less static than they seem to be in themselves. We hear of how saman qvomo / Kolgo systir / oc kilir langir, with a noise as when biqrg eda brim / brotna mundi. In the expression saman qvomo 'came together' we have a kind of amplification of the kenning, implying a fight between the sea and the 'long keels.' Still more pronounced is the dynamics of the total image, where ogorlig / AZgis dottir / stagstiornmQrom / steypa vildi 'the

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Elements of Imagery terrifying ^Egir's daughter would overturn the steeds of the sea.' After all, these kennings are not quite petrified or 'self-sufficient'; they have been skilfully integrated into the contextual patterns. The great majority of the kennings for the ship are divided between Helgaqvida I and Reginsmdl. In the former poem the sea and the viking life play a dominant part. Ship kennings appear again and again, always based on a comparison with an animal. Sometimes it is an animal in general: gidlfrdyr 'animal of the surge' (st. 30), brimdyr 'animal of the breakers' (st. 50). In the latter example—brimdyr bldsvgrt / oc buin gulli—the epithet buin gulli 'adorned with gold,' which hardly fits an animal, indicates that dyr in this connection has lost most of its basic sense and become a quite conventional poetic expression for a ship. On the other hand, when these brimdyr are said to liggia her i grindom, the word grind 'fold' may possibly involve associations with cattle or sheep, and thus rather enhance the animating aspect of the kenning. In some cases the ship is seen as a special kind of animal, for example, stagstiornmarr 'horse steered by stays' (st. 29). The word seems to imply a comparison between stays and reins, although a ship is certainly not 'steered' by its stays. But one should not expect a complete and logical analogy between tenor and vehicle in a kenning, no simple oneto-one correspondence between their elements. As for stagstiornrnqrum, alone filling a short-line in the stanza, it may have been invented and introduced with a view to the powerful alliteration with steypa in the following line. The sound pattern certainly has influenced the choice of many kenning variations, though it is hard to demonstrate in detail the mutual interrelations between sound and sense. In racca hirtir 'mast-ring harts' (st. 49), race/ is the mast-ring by which the yard of a ship is tied to its mast. In this case racca hirtir aptly alliterates with rdr langar 'long yards' in the next line. In Reginsmdl four of the five ship kennings animate the ship as a horse. This is the standard combination, and it seems quite appropriate under Old Norse cultural conditions: "dem Islander ist das Pferd auf dem Lande ein ebenso unentbehrliches Bewegungsmittel wie das Schiff auf der See."26 The ship kennings of Reginsmdl are all concentrated in stanzas 16 and 17, which describe Sigurdr's fleet in a storm. A man (in fact Odinn) is watching the difficult sailing from a rock, and as the ships pass by he asks: Hverir rida bar Raefils hestom havar unnir, haf glymianda? seglvigg ero sveita stoccin, munat vagmarar vind um standaz. (Rm 16)

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Peter Hallberg Who yonder rides on Raevil's steeds, o'er towering waves and waters wild? The sail-horses all with sweat are dripping, nor can the sea-steeds the gale withstand.

We have here the kennings Rcefils hestar 'RasfiU's horses,' where Rsefill is the name of a sea king, seglvigg 'sail-horses,' and vdgmarar 'wave-horses.' One can see how the contextual vocabulary has been adapted to the metaphorical element of the kennings: the men rida Refill's horses, and their sail-horses are sveita stoccin 'all in sweat,' an epithet which may in its turn be seen as a metaphor for foam. The poet thus enlivens conventional kennings by letting them 'infiltrate' the surrounding text. To Odinn's question Reginn replies in st. 17: Her ero ver Sigurdr a sastriam, er oss byrr gefinn vid bana sialfan; fellr brattr breki brgndum hasri, hlunnvigg hrapa; hverr spyrr at pvi? On the sea-trees here are Sigurth and I, the storm wind drives us on to our death; the waves crush down on the forward deck, and the roller-steeds sink. Who seeks our names?

The kenning scetre 'sea-tree' represents a large group, where as "Grundwort wird gewahlt ein Ausdruck fur Baum, Stock oder der Name eines bestimmten Baumes,"27 probably with a reference to the mast. In the case of hlunnvigg 'roller-steed' (hlunn — log with the help of which a ship is dragged overland) one notes how the verb hrapa 'fall, tumble (down)' seems to be adapted to the expression brattr breki 'steep, heavy sea.' Possibly the adjective brattr has slightly metaphorical implications, indicating a comparison with a precipice. Elements of land and sea are thus interwoven with one another. The great majority of the kennings in the heroic Eddie poems refer to man himself and his social life, including battle and warfare. But in some cases the tenor is an element of nature. The kennings for the waves in Helgaqvida I have already been mentioned. In the same poem the sky appears as mdna salr 'the moon's hall' (st. 3), significantly enough in connection with the mythical Norns weaving the web of fate. In Gripisspd, Gripir's prophecy of Sigurdr's future ends with the follow-

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Elements of Imagery ing climax, where the kenning solar siot 'the dwelling place of the sun, heaven' (sigt = plural of set) with its mythological connotations raises the diction to the level of pathos: Munat msetri madr a mold koma und solar sipt enn bu, Sigurdr, byccir.

(Grp 52)

A nobler man shall never live beneath the sun than Sigurth shall seem.

In Reginsmdl Sigurdr gets the advice that when going to battle one should not face sid scinandi / systor mdna 'the moon's sister shining late, the sinking sun' (st. 23), that is, one should turn not to the west but to the east. It is the disguised Odinn himself who uses this mythological kenning. The mysterious meeting between Sigrun and Helgi in his grave-mound ends when the morning comes, and Helgi declares that he will now have to rida / rodnar brautir (ride the reddened paths) to reach fyr vestan / vindhidlms bruar, / ddr Salgofnir / sigrbiod veki 'west of the bridge of the windhelm, before the cock Salgofnir awakes the victorious people,' (st. 49), that is, the inhabitants of Valhpll. The kenning vindhidlmr denotes the sky, and its bridge is Bifrpst, the rainbow. Thus this elevated imagery appears in a mythological context where the idea of life after death is evoked. The supernatural fire surrounding Sigrdrifa's dwelling on the mountain in Fdfnismdl is indicated by a conventional kenning: lindar vddi 'the lime-tree's harm' (st. 43) (cf. a corresponding expression in Vqlospd: sviga Ice 'scourge of branches,' p. 62 above). When in Gudrunarqvida 7/Gudrun describes the enchanted drink which her mother-in-law has given her, she uses kennings for some of the strange ingredients of the potion. It contains a lyngfiscr 'heather-fish,' which is a well-known kenning for 'snake.' We also hear of lands Haddingia / ax oskorit (st. 22), a rather obscure expression. The most satisfying explanation, however, seems to be that we have here a twofold kenning: land Haddingia means the sea (Haddingi, or possibly Haddingiar, is a name of sea-kings), and the ax 'ear' of the sea the seaweed.28 If this interpretation is correct, the passage provides a sophisticated contrast and balance between the kennings: the snake, a creature of the earth, is here associated with the sea by means of the concept 'fish,' whereas the seaweed is associated with the earth by the concept 'ear.' 29 Of course this does not necessarily imply that the contrast 'fish of the heather' and 'ear of the sea' was consciously calculated by the poet. In the following stanza (23) another ingredient of the drink is called umdogg arins 'dew surrounding the

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Peter Hallberg. hearth,' which seems to mean '(damp) soot and/or ashes.' The constellation dew/soot—the cool, pure and transparent moisture of the open air against the hot, black and dirty waste from the hearth of the house—is a good example of what extremes may be compressed into a kenning, giving a shock to our experience of normal properties and relations of the world. Perhaps the kennings in these two stanzas of Gudrunarqvida //are introduced in order to stress the mystery of the magic potion; on the horn in which the drink is presented to Gudrun there are hverskyns stafir / ristnir oc rodnir (runes of every kind, written and reddened). In a few instances we meet kennings for concepts of abstract or intangible phenomena. Sigriin waiting at the grave-mound for Helgi to come from sqlum Odins 'Odinn's halls,' talks of the evening as the time when drifr drott Qll / draumpinga til 'all men are seeking the assembly of dreams' (HHII50), that is, sleep. With the kenning draumping the dreams of men become more or less animated by being seen in analogy with men gathering for a meeting. Another kenning or kenning-like expression for sleep appears in Sigrdrifomdl, where the valkyrie tells Sigurdr that Odinn has up until then prohibited her from waking from sleep; she has not been able to bregda blundstgfom 'break the heavy spells of sleep,' (st. 2). (Cf. stanza 1: Hvi bra ec svefni?) More precisely blundstafir seems to mean runes by which enchanted sleep is enforced. Where Atli dreams in Gudrunarqvida II that hauca fliuga / brddalausa / bglranna til, (st. 41), the hawks are a metaphor for his and Gudrun's sons (cf. p. 56 above), and bqlrann 'house of misery, evil house' seems to be a kenning of death. (As we know, the boys will be killed by Gudrun). VII

The imagery of the Poetic Edda is not confined to the metaphorical transfer of single words or expressions, or to regular kennings. There are other forms too, less condensed, and involving broader parallels and comparisons. They are abundantly represented in Hdvamdl. Hdvamdl has a unique position within the mythological section of Codex Regius, since in its main gnomic parts it is hardly mythological at all. It preaches common sense, a wordly wisdom of how to accommodate oneself to one's fellow-creatures and to a rather tough existence in general. In this respect it has a real counterpart only in Sigrdrifomdl (of the heroic section), where the valkyrie in the concluding stanzas (22-37) gives her protege Sigurdr good advice—though sometimes a little trivial, quite in the manner of Hdvamdl.

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Elements of Imagery The special character of this didactic poetry is reflected also in its imagery. Experiences of everyday contemporary life are illuminated by parallels more or less close at hand. Sometimes the difference between a basic, realistic meaning and a figurative sense may be small. Thus in stanza 34 Afhvarf mikit er til illz vinar, bott a brauto bui; enn til gods vinar liggia gagnvegir, bott hann se firr far inn. Crooked and far is the road to a foe, though his house on the highway be; but wide and straight is the way to a friend, though far away he fare.

Afhvarf 'roundabout way' and gagnvegir 'short cuts' come near to describing a real situation in terms of local neighborhood, although it seems obvious that they should be understood here in a transferred sense, indicating the attitude to one's 'good' and 'bad' friends respectively. There is a similar reference to the 'way' between friends, only a little more detailed, in the section of the poem usually labelled Loddfdfnismdl. We are advised to visit a good friend frequently, bviat hrisi vex / oc hdvo grasi / vegr, er vcetki tr0dr 'for a path that nobody treads will become grassed with scrubs and long grass,' (st. 119). Human abilities and experiences are compared with things and situations from everyday social life. Thus, in the famous stanzas on mannvit 'intelligence, wisdom,' this capacity is said to be a better byrdr 'burden, load' (st. 10) than anything else. Drunkenness, ofdrykkia qls, is the worst vegnest 'bag of provisions' (st. 11) we can carry on our way. Wisdom is also metaphorically integrated into the overriding concept of friendship: we can never get obrigdra vin 'a more faithful friend' (st. 6) than our own mannvit. On the other hand, wealth is not only sem augabragd 'like a (scornfully) winking eye'; it is valtastr vina 'the least reliable of friends' (st. 78). The hearts of women are not to be trusted, we learn, as they are shaped a hverfanda hveli 'on a revolving wheel' (st. 84). The love of deceitful women is not easy to deal with. This idea is eloquently expounded in a series of comparisons with more or less desperate undertakings. One can as well try to rein on slippery ice a two-year-old, fiery and ill-tamed horse, which has not been shod; or navigate a ship without rudder in a raging gale; or catch a reindeer on a thawing mountain if one is lame (st. 90).

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Peter Hallberg Sometimes nature (mostly animal) is used for comparison. Cattle know when to stop grazing and head for home, but a foolish man never knows when to stop eating (st. 21). The advice to rise early if one wants to get another man's property or life is followed up by a picture from wild animal life: Sialdan liggiandi ulfr / leer um getr 'Seldom (Never) does a lying wolf acquire a piece of meat' (st. 58). Formally we have here—as in the case of the cattle and the foolish man—a plain juxtaposition of the corresponding elements. The comparison is not expressly stated by a connecting word such as as or like. But the effect is nevertheless that of a transfer of meaning, an interchange between two spheres, with man as tenor and animal as vehicle. In stanza 62, on the other hand, the connection is formally established. We first get a picture of a lonely eagle coming to the seashore, stretching out its neck towards aldinn mar 'the old sea,' and spying about for food: svd er madr 'such is a man' who comes to visit a company where he has formcelendr fda 'few supporters.' Just as realistic and plain as other comparisons in Hdvamdl, although more pathetic, is the well-known image of the pine tree withering away/?6>/7?/ a 'on a bare hill' (?), where neither its bark nor its needles are able to shelter it. The second half of the stanza reads: Sva er madr, sa er mangi ann, hvat seal hann lengi Ufa?

(st. 50)

It is like a man whom no one loves,— why should his life be long?

A suggestive but somewhat obscure constellation of man and nature is provided by the half-stanza: Litilla sanda, litilla sasva litil ero ged guma;

(st. 53/1-3)

A little sand has a little sea, and small are the minds of men.

As the syntactic pattern is not transparent here, various interpretations have been proposed. The alternatives are mainly two. Either we can take the words at their face value, so to speak: "men of (living on) a 'small' sandy coast where there are 'small' bodies of water, tend to have 'small' minds." Or, metaphorically, "minds of men are 'small' like 'small' coasts and 'small'

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Elements of Imagery bodies of water." It is hard to decide which reading is better. In the former case the words apply to a certain kind of men; in the latter case they apply to men in general. In fact, the second half-stanza seems to support the former interpretation: bvi allir menn urdot iafnspakir, halb er old hvar. (st. 53/4-6)

"For all men did not become equally wise; divided (imperfect) is mankind everywhere" (reading half for hdlb). In either case, however, there is a connection between man and nature, implying a kind of 'transfer'-from one sphere to the other. Fire is an element which appears often in Eddie poetry, with the ragnarqcvision of Vglospdas a grandiose culmination. In Hdvamdl we encounter fire in metaphorical expressions for relations between men. Love burns eldi heitari 'hotter than fire' for five days among 'bad friends,' but slocnar 'dies down' (st. 51) when the sixth day comes. Stanza 57 begins with the following lines: Brandr af brand! brenn, unz brunninn er, funi qveykiz af funa; A brand from a brand is kindled and burned, and fire from fire begotten.

This surprisingly intense image is used to introduce the sober assertion that "a man becomes wise by talking with other men, but stupid by retreating from the company of others" (enn til doelscr afdut). It seems significant that this poem, where social relations and friendship play such an important part, should choose fire—hot, swift, and unstable—as an analogy for those relations. The comparisons in Hdvamdl, then, are dealing with man in general; on the whole they have a didactic and rationalistic-intellectual character, in harmony with the rather sceptical mood of the poem. Occasional instances of a similar kind are to be found elsewhere in Eddie poetry. Sometimes they are clearly proverbial. Referring to Reginn's slyness, one of the birds inFdfnismdl says: par er mer ulfs von, / er ec eyro sec 'I can expect a wolf, when I catch sight of a wolf's ear,' (st. 35). When in his quarrel with Harbardr (Odinn) Thorr reproaches his adversary with the words ilium huga / launadir pupa godar giafir, he gets the answer: pat hefir eic, / er afannarriscefr 'the

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Peter Hallberg oak has what it shaves from another,' (Hrbl 22). This is taken to denote a man who profits (wrongfully) from others; Bellows assumes that the force of the proverb is much like that of the English 'to the victor belong the spoils' (p. 129). In the same poem Thorr assures Harbardr of his trustworthiness: Emcat ec sa haslbitr sem hiidscor forn a var. No heel-biter am I, in truth,

(Hrbl 35)

like an old leather shoe in spring.

In hcelbitr, Bellows sees an "effective parallel to our 'back-biter'" (p. 132); but rather than a slanderer this word means perhaps more generally "en der skader i stedet for at gavne."30 On their way to Iprmunrecr in order to take revenge, Hamdir and Sorli meet their half-brother Erpr and ask him rather contemptuously how he can help them. Erpr answers—in oblique narration—that he will help them sem fotr Qdrum 'as one foot helps the other,' apparently "a proverbial analogy" meaning that "one limb helps another as brother helps brother, and brother needs brother as one limb needs the other."31 The brothers don't—or won't —understand, as their reply shows: Hvat megi fotr foeti veita, ne holdgroin hpnd annarri?

(Hm 13)

How may a foot its fellow aid, or a flesh-grown hand another help?

Instead, they kill their half-brother. But they will regret the deed. In the decisive battle they realize that with his help they would not only have been able to wound Iprmunrecr, but to kill him: Af veeri nu haufud, ef Erpr lifdi, brodir occarr inn bodfroecni, er vid a braut vagom (Hm 28) His head were now off if Erpr were living, the brother so keen whom we killed on our road.

A stanza in Gudrun's conversation with Atli in Atlamdl, after he has had her brothers Gunnarr and Hogni killed, runs thus:

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Elements of Imagery Kostom drepr qvenna karla ofriki, i kne gengr hnefi, ef qvistir pverra, tre tecr at hniga, ef h0ggr tag undan; nu mattu einn, Atli, pllo her rada. (Am 73)

Lines 5 and 6, where we see the image of the tree which bends over if its root is cut through, show a clear parallel to Gudrun's situation. The two preceeding lines, however, which obviously also refer to her loneliness, are rather obscure and have been a matter of dispute. Usually the word hnefi has been taken to denote a tree or part of a tree, a meaning otherwise unknown. Then we would have here a slight variation of the comparison in lines 5 and 6. Ursula Dronke has recently proposed another solution. She lets hnefi have "its usual sense, 'king-piece' in hneftafl, a form of chess"; then "the phrase / kne gengr 'surrenders' would be appropriate." In that case, "the qvistir might denote the minor pieces which guard the hnefi and postpone his 'surrender,' less and less effectively as their numbers dwindle—bverra— through capture." She assumes "that in a primitive set of chess-men the lesser pieces might be small, casually shaped bits of wood or twig, intended perhaps to fit into a board with holes for the pieces; these pieces might sometimes familiarly be called what they are, qvistir." This interpretation seems attractive, although Ursula Dronke admits herself "that the use of qvistir in a rare sense would be confusing when a straightforward reference to a tree follows."32 There is another kind of comparison in Eddie poetry, very different from the more proverbial or general ones. All of its instances are found in the heroic lays and refer to a few protagonists, men and women, giving an individual picture of them. They appear in direct speech only, and are always spoken by women. In Helgavida Hundingsbana II 37 and 38, Helgi's beloved, the valkyrie Sigrun, praises the dead hero in a famous passage: Sva hafdi Helgi hroedda gorva fiandr sina alia oc froendr peira, sem fyr ulfi odar rynni geitr af fialli, geisca fullar. Sva bar Helgi af hildingom sem itrscapadr ascr af byrni eda sa dyrkalfr, d9ggo slunginn, er 0fri ferr pllom dyrom oc horn gloa vid himin sialfan.

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Peter Hallberg Such the fear that Helgi's foes ever felt, and all their kin, as makes the goats with terror mad run from the wolf among the rocks. Helgi rose above heroes all like the lofty ash above lowly thorns, or the noble stag, with dew besprinkled, bearing his head above all beasts, and his horns gleam bright to heaven itself.

There is a remarkable heightening effect in the diction here from the contemptuous comparison of Helgi's enemies with frightened goats, to the image of the hero as a young stag, whose horns "gleam bright to heaven itself." The epithets itrscapadr 'beautifully, nobly shaped,' and dqggo slunginn 'with dew besprinkled' contribute to the impression of an aristocratic, almost superhuman or mythological world. It is as if Helgi in the culminating phrase of the eulogy were transformed into a being of celestial attributes. In Gudrunarqvida I and II respectively we find the following very similar panegyrics by Gudrun upon her dead husband; still elements of nature dominate as vehicles for the comparison: Sva var minn Sigurdr hia sonom Giuca, sem vaeri geirlaucr or grasi vaxinn, eda vasri biartr steinn a band dreginn, iarcnasteinn yfir odlingom. (Gdr 718) Sva var Sigurdr uf sonom Giuca, sem vasri groenn laucr or grasi vaxinn, e6a hi9rtr habeinn um hv9ssum dyrom, eda gull glodrautt af gra silfri. (Gdr II2) So was my Sigurth o'er Gjuki's sons as the spear-leek grown above the grass, or the jewel bright borne on the band, the precious stone that princes wear.

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Elements of Imagery So Sigurth rose o'er Gjuki's sons as the leek grows green above the grass, or the stag o'er all the beasts doth stand, or as glow-red gold above silver gray.

Of course these stanzas depend on each other, directly or indirectly. The first half-stanzas are practically identical. And in the fifth lines biartr steinn and hiQrtr hdbeinn are so similar orthographically that one wonders whether the change—in one direction or the other—has been introduced by a copyist's misreading of the manuscript he was copying. The prose version of Vglsunga saga has: "sva bar hann af pllum mpnnum sem gull af jarni eda laukr af pdrum grpsum eda hjprtr af odrum dyrum" 33 —which seems to be based on a stanza very similar to that of Gdr II. But whether on that point /or //represents the original text it is impossible to decide. The appearance of hiqrtr hdbeinn 'high-legged stag' in //reminds one of the young stag in Helgaqvida Hundingsbana II. However, such an element may have become a kind of poetic topos in the imagery for an aristocratic hero. It can hardly tell us anything of a direct influence of one poem on another. In connection with her praise of Sigurdr Gudrun also refers to her own loneliness. While Sigurdr was living she had appeared to men, she says, as higher than Odinn's valkyries, but: nii em ec sva litil sem lauf se opt i iplstrom at ipfur daudan. (Gdr 119) As little now as the leaf I am on the willow hanging; my hero is dead.

This comparison has a more elaborate counterpart in Hamdismdl, where Gudnin's complaint refers to a later stage of her life, when she has also lost her daughter Svanhildr and exhorts her sons Hamdir and Sprli to avenge their sister: Einstced em ec ordin sem osp i holti, fallin at frcendom sem fura at qvisti, vadin at vilia sem vidr at laufi, pa er in qvistscoeda kemr urn dag varman. (Hm 5)

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Peter Hallberg Lonely am I as the forest aspen, of kindred bare as the fir of its boughs, my joys are all lost as the leaves of the tree when the scather of twigs from the warm day turns.

As for the feminine epithet in qvistscoeda 'harmful to the twigs,' its connection with a given thing or person cannot be understood from the context. Ursula Dronke, among other scholars, adopts Sophus Bugge's interpretation 'the branch-harming woman,' as it "would often be the woman's task to strip the foliage and dry it in the summer heat."34 This guess at least seems to be preferable to its competitors, such as: axe, sun, storm. In GudrunarhvQt as well Gudrun is in an elegiac mood and remembers Svanhildr: sva var Svanhildr i sal minom, sem vaeri soemleitr solar geisli. (Ghv 15) So did Svanhild seem in my hall as the ray of the sun is fair to see.

Svanhildr is once more referred to by Brynhildr in Sigurdarqvida in scamma. In her long soliloquy when she is about to die, she predicts the future of her sister-in-law and former rival Gudrun, who will bear a daughter: sii mun hvitari enn inn heidi dagr Svanhildr, vera, solar geisla. (Sg 55) Brighter far than the fairest day Svanhild shall be, or the beams of the sun.

It is striking to find here the same reference -to solar geisli as in GudrunarhvQt. This is hardly a fortuitous occurrence. And as Sigurdarqvida in scamma is usually held to be among the youngest lays in the Poetic Edda, one would be inclined to suppose that it has borrowed the image of Svanhildr from GudrunarhvQt.35 It is tempting to see this kind of imagery, all of it in the mouths of women, as belonging to a later stage of Eddie heroic poetry, where the interest was more centered on individual psychology and feeling than on pure action. But it seems to argue against this supposition that a typical elegiac comparison

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(einstoed em ec ordin etc.) appears in Hamdismdl, commonly considered to be one of the oldest heroic poems—at least in its 'core.' It is necessary to make this latter reservation, for Hamdismdl is in poor condition; it may well have been thoroughly revised, various elements may have been introduced very late. And although the brilliant metaphorical description of Helgi is to be found in Helgaqvida II and not in its counterpart I, which is supposed to be a younger poem, one cannot be sure of the relative age of different elements in these poems.36 Lays on the same topic and in the same metrical form may well have influenced each other—and even had stanzas or parts of stanzas mutually exchanged—at any stage of their oral or written tradition. On the whole the chronological interrelationships within the heroic poetry are for the most part too complicated to allow for definite conclusions. The position of the 'individual,' 'elegiac' comparisons in the development of Eddie poetic diction cannot be decided with any certainty. VIII

'Elements of imagery' in works of art should of course not be seen in isolation. Their aesthetic quality and implications are developed only in a poetic context. Sound patterns, versification, vocabulary, composition and so on, in an individual poem or a class of poems,—all these levels and factors function as a very complex whole and contribute to the literary meaning of the imagery. These aspects, however, have had to be largely neglected here; they would have called for detailed analyses far beyond the scope of the present discussion. Instead I hope that my survey, which has presented the material in a fairly exhaustive way, has given an overall impression of how essential the elements of imagery are in the fabric of Eddie poetry— from the simplest metaphorical applications of separate words to highly elaborate comparisons. The general function of poetic imagery is to widen the frame of reference and synthesize our experience of the world. Different spheres of reality and imagination are projected upon and illuminate one another. In the Poetic Edda this is the case to a remarkable degree. Mythology and human life intermingle. Not only do gods and valkyries appear from time to time among men, giving them advice and directing the course of events, in the kennings men are also seen as gods, women as goddesses or valkyries. The supernatural creatures of myth have their counterparts in the social life of men. The wolf of all wolves, the Fenrisulfr, is a kind of archetype of the wolves invading the battlefield, and of wolfish features in men. The terror of the Midgardsormr and the dragon Fdfnir may be evoked when the sword is seen

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Peter Hallberg as a serpent. The ravens watching for corpses on the battlefield are sometimes metaphorically related to Odinn's famous ravens. When men are depicted in kennings as trees a connection is established between man and nature; but perhaps there also looms in the background the idea of the tree of all trees, the ash Yggdrasill. In the Poetic Edda we meet a world that is animated. Celestial bodies, sun and moon, but also man-made objects such as ships and swords, are invested with a life of their own. On the other hand, sun and moon, and precious metals, may illuminate the beauty and the character of living women. The image of man constantly draws on references to animal life. Man and his activities are compared to bears, eagles, hawks, horses, wolves and so on. Thus the imagery of Eddie poetry in a way dissolves the strict limits between myth, nature, things, and man. It reflects a total, synthetic vision of the world.

University of Goteborg

NOTES 1 For a full account and systematic classification of Old Norse kennings, see Rudolf Meissner's well-known work Die Kenningar der Skalden: Bin Beitrag zur skaldischen Poetik (Bonn and Leipzig, 1921). 2 Ibid., p. 27. 3 On the sense of punngedr. Sveinbjorn Egilsson, Lexicon Poeticum Antiquae Linguae Septentrionalis: Ordbog over del norsk-islandske skjaldesprog, new ed. by Finnur Jonsson (Copenhagen, 1913-16). 4 For the 'double sense' of helfuss, see The Poetic Edda: Vol. I Heroic Poems, Ed. Ursula Dronke (Oxford, 1969), p. 72. 5 See Eddukvcedi, Ed. Olafur Briem (Reykjavik, 1968), p. 458. 6 On vargdropi, see Egilsson, Lexicon Poeticum. 1 On dlmr skialda, cf. ibid, (dlmr); and Meissner, Die Kenningar der Skalden, p. 266. 8 Eddukvcedi, p. 371. 9 Islenzkar bokmenntir ifornold, /(Reykjavik, 1962), pp. 519-20. 10 Heroic Poems I, p. 72. 11 A recent discussion of the vocabulary in Alvissmdl can be found in Lennart Moberg's paper "The Languages of Alvissmdl," SVBS, 18 (1973), pp. 299-323. 12 See Moberg, "The Languages of Alvissmdl," p. 323: "Alvissmdl is first and foremost a virtuoso performance. The poet shows off his rich vocabulary and his powers of expression." 13 For a discussion of the kenning as a 'Grundwort' in combination with a 'Bestimmung,' see Meissner, Die Kenningar der Skalden, pp. 2-3.

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Elements of Imagery 14 For kennings for fire as a menace to trees, see Meissner, Die Kenningar der Skalden, pp. 100-01. 15 Ibid., p. 102. 16 Ibid., p. 100. 17 For a fuller discussion of the kenning aldrnari see my article, "Varldstradet och varldsbranden: Ett motiv i Voluspa, ANF, 67 (1952), pp. 145-55. 18 For 'the sky as the site of winds,' see Meissner, Die Kenningar der Skalden, pp. 105-06. 19 Ibid., p. 132. 20 Ibid., p. 127. 21 "Hymiskvida. Interpretation. Wortschatz. Alter," Beitr, 57 (Halle, 1933), pp. 136-37. 22 For the 'heart as an acorn,' see Meissner, Die Kenningar der Skalden, p. 138. In Fostbroedra saga it is said that the hero Thorgeirr's heart is harla litit 'very small,' and we are told that some people assume that minni se hugprudra manna hjqrtu en huglaussa 'the hearts of brave men are smaller than those of cowardly men' (Islenzk fornrit VI, VestJirdinga sogur, [1943], p. 210). 23 For a discussion of the sense of the kenning rogporn see Dronke, Heroic Poems I, p. 63. 24 Ibid., p. 232. 25 Ibid., p. 233. 26 Meissner, Die Kenningar der Skalden, p. 208. 27 Ibid., p. 221. 28 For the interpretation of lands Haddingia ax see Briem, Eddukvcedi, p. 401. 29 It should be noted that the preceding stanza (21) of the poem speaks of the potion as mixed with iardar magni, / svalkqldum see 'magic earth, / ice-cold sea,' and thus expressly emphasizes the opposition earth / sea. (The Codex Regius reading urdar magni is surely an error for iardar magni; see Neckel/Kuhn, p. 227. 30 Egilsson, Lexicon Poeticum: hcelbitr. 31 Dronke, Heroic Poems I, p. 199. 32 Ibid., p. 133-34. 33 Vqlsunga saga ok Ragnars saga Lodbrokar, ed. Magnus Olsen (Copenhagen, 1906-08), p. 85. 34 Dronke, Heroic Poems I, p. 227. 35 On the age of Sigurdarqvida in scamma, see Sveinsson, Islenzkar bokmenntir i fornold, p. 492. 36 On the age of Helgaqvida I and //, see Sveinsson, Islenzkar bokmenntir i fornold, pp. 440-41.

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PAUL SCHACH

Some Thoughts on Voluspd

Shortly before midnight, Einar Olafur Sveinsson and I laid aside the first draft of Chapter 2 of the English edition of his book on Njdla. As I was leaving his house, Professor Einar answered an urgent telephone call from two fishermen regarding the correct wording of stanza 57, line 6 of Voluspd. As I returned home, snatches of that hauntingly beautiful and mysterious poem kept running through my mind. Overhead the northern lights streaked across the black sky. Off the south coast of Iceland, little Surtur continued to spew fiery lava into the night. Twice that tiny island had emerged from the water, only to collapse and disappear again. But now it was rising once more, and in a few months the sun would shine on salar steina 'stones of the earth' that had come up from the bottom of the sea. It was impossible to contemplate that volcanic island without recalling the helming geisar eimi / vid aldrnara, / leikr hdr hiti / vid himin sjalvan. But was it vid aldrnara or ok aldrnarii This was the line that the two fishermen had quarreled about while reciting the poem alternately over a bottle of brennivin. In the warmth of my room I once more listened to a taped recording of Professor Einar's recent radio presentation of the poem (hereafter referred to as Radio Talk, or RT). Then I opened the editions by Jon Helgason and Sigurdur Nordal and began to read. Now, some ten years later, I feel impelled to record my present interpretation of that cosmic poem. This interpretation is incorporated below, in my text of Voluspd; it follows that of Nordal in the sequence of verses but departs from it considerably in substance. I have, for example, deleted four stanzas and four lines of a fifth stanza beyond those pruned by Nordal. At first blush this may seem excessive, but I am convinced that the expunged material is extraneous to the poem and detracts from its integrity. The commentary contains miscellaneous information about words, names, and constructions, including references to recent scholarship, some of which agrees and some of which dis-

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Some Thoughts on Voluspa agrees with my position. For the most part I have not referred to older work that is now commonly known, since that has been done by Nordal and, more recently and in greater detail, by E.G. Pritchard. My prose translation is designed to support and help explain my reading of the Icelandic text. According to Jon Helgason, the three recensions of Voluspa that have come down to us represent orally preserved versions of the original poem. In general, the R recension (Codex Regius) is the most reliable, but occasionally H (Hauksbok) or S (Snorra Eddd) has retained better readings. In the case of stanza 3, line 2, for example, both R and H read par er Ymir byggdi. But this clause is not only grammatically incongruous within the helming and meaningless within the stanza; it also collides with the following verse and contradicts the poet's concept of the creation, destruction, and renewal of the world. I therefore followed Nordal in replacing this line with the one from S, which fits perfectly into the helming, the stanza and the poem as a whole. Unfortunately the solution of such textual problems is not always so obvious. Many passages remain obscure, and some may never be explained to the satisfaction of everyone. We are, after all, dealing with great art imperfectly preserved, with images and symbols that connote different things to different individuals, or even to the same individual at different times. Thirty years ago I accepted most of Nordal's views almost without question; today I see some things somewhat differently. In preparing my text, I have tried as far as possible to let the poem speak for itself. Names, words, and constructions have been tested for their appropriateness within a given passage and for their relevance to the entire poem. The best critical edition of Voluspa is that of Jon Helgason, which is based on the Codex Regius MS (as are all the other editions considered here) and has a full apparatus but no glossary. This edition also includes the H variant of stanza 55, which Jon Helgason was able to read with the aid of a quartz lamp. Hans Kuhn's revision of Neckel's edition also includes a complete critical apparatus, but his retention of the MS spellings in the text and in the Kurzes Worterbuch make their use irksome to students. The popular editions by Olafur Briem and Gudni Jonsson are convenient to use. The former, in modernized spelling, is annotated and includes stanza 55 of H; the latter is accompanied by a glossary (in Eddulyklaf) that I have found very helpful. The best annotated edition is that of Nordal. As indicated above, I have based my text in large part on his reconstructed one. Pritchard's study includes diplomatic transcriptions of the R and H MSS, her own emended text, and an English translation in addition to a detailed critical survey of relevant scholarship. Salus and Taylor follow Bugge in the arrangement of verses; in

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Paul Schach the facing-page translation Taylor and Auden seem to lay greater stress on form (retention of alliteration) than on accuracy. Of the several rather strange editions of Voluspd that have appeared in recent years, only two have been considered here. Although quite different in substance, they are similar in that the authors obviously did violence to the text in order to propagate their own opinions of what Voluspd should say. Bernhard Kummer did this by inserting incongruous, extraneous materials from various sources, both prose and verse, thus turning his inflated conglomeration into the opposite of what the author intended his poem to be —into a summa mythologiae of the North Germanic peoples. Olafur M. Olafsson, on the other hand, follows R for the most part and actually deletes several verses; but his wilful distortions and mistranslations are, if possible, even more bewildering than Kummer's. Reference will be made to these two editions from time to time. The question of the date and provenance of Voluspd, which is so important for an understanding of the poem, has been widely and warmly debated. Although it is generally believed today that Voluspd was composed in Iceland around the year 1000, this view is not quite unanimous. Bjarne Ulvestad, for example, sought the origin of this poem in the chaotic religious and political conditions that existed in Norway between 900 and 950 (p. 60). Following the lead of de Boor, G.W. Weber (1969, pp. 150f.) and Hans Kuhn (1971, p. 3), on linguistic evidence, connected the author with the antiChristian poets who flourished in Norway (Hladir) during the second half of the tenth century. Stefan Einarsson (1948) advocated a Christian Norwegian origin of Voluspd on the basis of the phrase hordomr mikill, until Einar Olafur Sveinsson (1948) demonstrated that the oldest known occurrence of hordomr is probably in this poem. Influenced by O. Hofmann, Wolfgang Butt (p. 83) located the poem "auf den britischen Inseln, genauer gesagt im Bereich des nordlichen Danalags." Completely Christian in concept, Voluspd was written between 1000 and 1033, he believes, under the inspiration of sermons by Archbishop Wulfstan of York. F. Wood (1959 and 1961) interprets this magnificent vision poem as a tenth-century Scandinavianized recasting of a fourth-century Gothic lay reflecting the culture of the Augustan period. The most persistent advocate of an early date of composition was Birger Nerman, who placed the poem in the seventh century on archaeological evidence. Andreas Heusler, on the other hand, argued that Voluspd had been composed in Iceland two or three generations "nach dem Ubertritt" under the influence of Christian theology. And Lee M. Hollander at one time (1927) found it "quite conceivable"

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Some Thoughts on VSluspa that the poem was composed "a century or two after the introduction of Christianity." J.S. Martin (p. 25) finds "the assumption of an Icelandic origin . . . reasonable" and concludes (p. 44) that the poem was "presumably written within the first half century of Christianity." Nearly all scholars agree that the author of Voluspa was an exceptional poet whose artistic creation reflects a culture in transition, a society in social and religious turmoil. The decades immediately preceding and following the introduction of Christianity to Iceland fit that picture perfectly. And when we consider the cogent linguistic evidence and the vivid descriptions of landscape and natural phenomena (Martin, p. 25; Hallberg [1975], p. 36) we find it difficult not to agree with Turville-Petre (1953, p. 56) that " Voluspa can hardly be other than an Icelandic poem." Indeed, I am convinced that Voluspa is as Icelandic as Njdla, with which it has much in common (R.F. Allen, pp. 130-33). The first two stanzas of Voluspa comprise the introduction. Acceding to Odinn's desire for knowledge, the seeress addresses gods and men in the manner of a court skald seeking audience. She then demonstrates her wisdom by recalling times so remote that the World Tree had not yet sprouted. Of the editions and translations considered here, only those of Salus, Taylor and Auden follow Bugge in relegating this exemplary prelude to an obscure place in the poem. 1 Hljods bid ek allar helgar kindir, meiri ok minni mogu Heimdallar; viltu, at ek, Valfodr, vel fyr telja forn spjoll fira, paus fremst of man.

Hearing I ask of all holy races, of the greater and lesser sons of Heimdallr. You wish, Valfodr, that I well relate ancient tales of gods and men, the most distant ones that I remember.

2 Ek man jotna ar of borna, pas fordum mik foedda hofdu; niu man ek heima, niu ividjur mjotvid maeran fyr mold nedan.

I remember primordial giants, who had reared me in ages long past. I remember nine worlds, nine branching roots—the splendid world tree beneath the ground.

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Paul Schach The introduction presents no serious problems. The kenning megir Heimdallar can be understood on the basis of Rigsfiula. Whether the latter influenced Voluspd (Sveinsson, 1962, pp. 211, 287, 327) or whether Rigsfiula is to be associated with King Hakon Hakonarson (K. v. See, 1957) has no bearing on the meaning of the phrase. Bernhard Kummer's reading Vdfodrs vel 'Unheilvaters List (Ranke)' (1961, pp. 9, 40, 45) has no more merit than his conviction that ''Unheilvaters Trug" is the central theme of the poem. The question whether mjotvid designates the World Tree 'in space' (Nordal) or 'in time' (Sveinsson) can be easily resolved. Why not regard it as a spatial metaphor of time as the poet himself probably did? Olafur Briem (p. 73) shares Nordal's pessimistic view that lines 5 and 6 of stanza 2 will never be satisfactorily understood. R has ividi 'realms, abodes, worlds,' and H has ividjur 'roots.' Salus, Taylor and Auden are impartial: they follow R in their text, but translate according to H (nine roots of the Tree). After a lengthy review of the controversy, E.G. Pritchard (pp. 194199 and 499) decides in favor of niu ividi 'nine rooms in the world tree,' but then expands the last line of her translation to read "sending its roots into the earth." Jan de Vries' etymology of ividi 'notches on the world tree' (1954, p. 98 and 1962, p. 288) is no more helpful than Olafur M. Olafsson's wilfull reading i vidi 'in the sea.' Actually both ividi and ividjur make perfectly good sense, but the latter must be the original since it accords better with the author's structural practice. Eschewing the grotesque popular mythology of his day (as embodied in Grimnismdl, Vafprudnismdl, and Snorri's Gylfaginning,), the poet portrays the creation of the universe and of man in a series of bold pictures that reflect his experience of the Icelandic landscape: vast expanses of sea and sand, trees washed ashore by the Gulf Stream, volcanic islands emerging from the sea, only to collapse and reappear, again and again, until they solidify as salar steinar. 3 Ar var alda, bats ekki var, vara sandr ne sser ne svalar unnir; jor6 fannsk asva ne upphiminn, gap var ginnunga, en gras hvergi,

In the beginning of time there was nothing, There were neither sands nor sea nor cool waves. There was no earth at all, nor sky above—the void was vast—and grass nowhere,

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Some Thoughts on Voluspa 4 adr Burs synir bjodum of yppdu, peir er Midgard mseran skopu; sol skein sunnan a salar steina, pa var grund groin groenum lauki.

until Bur's sons lifted up the lands, they who fashioned splendid Midgardr. The sun shone from the south upon the stony earth, and then the grassy plain was covered with green herbage.

5 Sol varp sunnan, sinni mana, hendi inni hoegri um himinjodur; sol pat ne vissi, hvar hon sali atti, mani pat ne vissi, hvat hann megins atti, stjornur pat ne vissu, hvar bser stadi attu.

From the south the sun, the moon's companion, with her right hand cast her rays across the sky. The sun did not know where her dwelling was; the moon did not know what power he had; the stars did not know where their stations were.

6 P>a gengu regin oil a rokstola, ginnheilog go6, ok um pat geettusk; Nott ok nidjum nofn of gafu, morgin hetu ok midjan dag, undorn ok aftan, arum at telja.

Then all the ruling powers, the most holy gods, ascended their thrones and took counsel. They gave names to night and her offspring—they named morning and midday, afternoon and evening — to number the years.

7 unz prir kvamu or pvi lidi oflgir ok astkir ^Esir at humi, fundu a landi litt megandi Ask ok Emblu orloglausa.

until three of their number, mighty and gracious jEsir, came to the sea. They found on the shore Askr and Embla, feeble and fateless.

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Paul Schach 8 Ond bau ne attu, 66 bau ne hofdu, la ne lasti ne litu g66a; ond gaf O6inn, 66 gaf Hoenir, la gaf L66urr ok litu g66a.

They had neither breath nor reason, hair nor speech, nor fair countenance. O6inn gave breath, Hoenir gave reason, L66urr gave hair and fair countenance,

As already indicated, S has preserved the original reading of stanza 3, line 2 (pats ekki var). Incredibly, Hermann Schneider (1948, p. 7) would sacrifice stanza 4 of the poem in order to accommodate the R-H reading of this line (pat er Ymir byggdi)! The latest defense of the R-H reading of stanza 3 line 2 is that of Pritchard (p. 216), who suggests that ''Ymir is not to be taken literally but ... as the symbol of the yawning void." The S reading, espoused by Nordal, is also favored by Sveinsson (RT), Gudni Jonsson, Olafur Briem, Turville-Petre (1964, pp. 257 ff.), Dolvers (p. 253), and Peter Hallberg (1975, p. 12). Ginnunga is generally understood to be an intensifier. Turville-Petre (1964, p. 275) and Pritchard (p. 212) follow de Vries (1962, p. 167) in interpreting ginnunga gap as "a void charged with mighty, magic force." To distort this phrase into 'grinning gap' (Salus, Taylor and Auden) is to trivialize an awesomely beautiful verse. Even worse is Olafsson's wilful interpretation of the phrase as 'death.' Kummer's "Schrei war der Wirrnis (Abgrund der Damonen)" is utter nonsense. Kummer's rendition of stanza 4, line 2 (R) as "die Tische deckten" is meaningless. Olafsson's literal translation of the kenning salar steina destroys the imagery of the verse. Kurt Schier (1963) discusses interesting parallels to the poet's description of the creation, but he seems to assume that typological similarity is tantamount to genetic relationship. Long a source of puzzlement, the first half of stanza 5 has been explained by G.W. Weber (1971); I have followed his reading almost verbatim in my translation. Beginning with the meaningless jodur in H, Olafsson reconstructs line 4 to read ofhiminjo, dyrr and relates the 'steed of the sky' to the dwarf Sudri. No less fantastic is Kummer's change of jodur to jodyr, with the subsequent distortion of the sentence to mean "Die Sonne offnet mit der rechten Hand das Lebenstor des Himmelssaales." It seems perfectly clear that the descendants of night in stanza 6 are the four times of day enumerated by the poet. The interpretation of nidjum as 'waning moon' is grammatically and structurally untenable: nid is not a j-

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Some Thoughts on Voluspa stem, nor can it be related to the four periods of the day. Nevertheless this interpretation is strongly argued by Horst Dolvers (1969). By rendering nidjum as 'nightfall' Salus, Taylor and Auden preserve the alliteration but distort the meaning of the verse. Stanzas 9-16 in R are known as the dvergatal or enumeration of dwarfs. Very few scholars would question Jon Helgason's judgment (1955, p. xvi) that this section cannot have been part of the original poem. Sveinsson retains stanza 9 (RT), but Sigurdur Nordal deletes the entire passage. Olafsson and Kummer retain and discuss the dvergatal, and Salus, Taylor and Auden keep and translate it. Following Gutenbrunner's lead, Dolvers (1969) strives mightily but unconvincingly to relate the dwarf names to motifs and events throughout the poem. Between stanzas 6 and 7 (17 in R) one or more verses seem to have been lost. Pritchard (p. 294) accepts Gering's emendation of husi to humi, which, strangely enough, has not found very wide endorsement. There is general agreement that askr means ash-tree and that embla cannot mean 'elm,' as it is rendered by Salus, Taylor and Auden. Turville-Petre (1964, p. 276) comments that embla "may mean a creeper, or such-like, but [it] has not yet been explained." There has been some disagreement about the five gifts bestowed upon Askr and Embla by the three gods. Near the end of Skdldskaparmdl, Snorri states that "Iceti means voice," and in chapter 85 of that work we read that "hair is called /a." Nordal accepts Snorri's explanation of Iceti, but prefers Noreen's interpretation of Id in the sense of 'blood' or 'vital warmth.' Olafsson's complete confidence in Snorri is substantiated by E.G. Polome's thorough investigation of this passage (1969). Stanzas 9 and 10 describe the brief 'golden age' of the gods during which they devote themselves to creative activities and intellectual pleasures. The advent of three ominous giantesses signals the end of this brief period of innocence and forbodes the corruption that will lead inexorably to ragnarok. 9 Hittusk ^Esir a Idavelli, beirs horg ok hof hatimbrudu; afla logdu, aud smidudu tangir skopu ok tol gerdu.

The y£sir met at Idavollr and raised high shrines and temples. They built forges, fashioned adornments, shaped tongs, and made tools,

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Paul Schach 10 Tefldu i turn, teitir varu, var beim vettergis vant or gulli, unz brjar kvamu bursa meyjar amattkar mjok or Jotunheimum.

They played at draughts on the meadow and were cheerful. They felt no lack of gold until three giant maidens, strong and baneful, came from the land of demons,

The bone of contention in stanza 9 is the meaning of Idavollr. Nordal favors the interpretation 'evergreen field.' Pritchard (p. 238f.) prefers the Sijmons-Gering rendition 'the field of unceasing activity,' since at this point the poet is concerned with the 'action and occupation' of the gods. Jan de Vries (1962, pp. 97f. and 283) accepts Krogmann's explanation of the name as 'das glanzende Gefilde' (1954, p. 37f.). I must agree with Pritchard, both for the reason she states and also because of the frequent occurrence of id 'work, activity' and its derivations and compounds in Old Norse. As B.M. Olsen pointed out over 80 years ago, the use of tun in the sense of 'meadow' in stanza 10 (8 in R) is significant linguistic evidence of Icelandic authorship of Voluspd. There is no basis for the identification of the three giantesses with the three fates of stanza 18. The evil portended in stanza 10 becomes reality in stanzas 11-14, which relate the war between the Msir and the Vanir, two rival tribes of gods. Here, too, the author demonstrates his originality. Not only is the enchantress Gullveig his creation; he makes the Vanir the invaders and aggressors in opposition to popular mythological belief as reflected in Ynglingasaga (ch. 4). 11 t>at man hon folkvig fyrst i heimi, er Gullveigu geirum studdu ok i holl Hars hana brenndu, brysvar brenndu brysvar borna, oft, osjaldan, bo hon enn lifir.

She remembers the first war in the world, when they riddled Gullveig with spears and burned her in Har's hall — thrice burned the thrice born — often, repeatedly, and yet she lives,

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Some Thoughts on Voluspa 12 Heidi hana hetu, hvars til hiisa kom, volu velspaa; vitti hon ganda, seid hon, hvars hon kunni, seid hon hug leikinn as var hon angan illrar brudar.

They called her a witch wherever she went, the deceitful seeress. She worked magic spells; she practiced sorcery wherever she could; she drove the gods mad with her enchantments. To wicked women she was always a delight.

13 f>a gengu regin oil a rokstola, ginnheilog god, ok um pat gasttusk, hvart skyldi SEsir afrad gjalda eda skyldi god 611 gildi eiga.

Then all the ruling powers, the most holy gods, ascended their thrones and took counsel as to whether the ^Esir should suffer great loss or whether all the gods should receive redress.

14 Fleygdi Odinn ok i folk of skaut, pat var enn folkvig fyrst i heimi; brotinn var bordveggr borgar Asa, knattu Vanir vigspa vollu sporna.

Odinn hurled his spear, cast it into the host, This was still the first war in the world. The plank wall in the JEsir stronghold was breached; the Vanir gained the field with battie magic.

Stanzas 11-14 (21-24 in R) pose severaj problems. The folkvig has been variously explained as a battle between gods and demons (Philippson 1953, p. 13), as a reflection of historical events ranging from prehistoric times to the Viking Age, or as a reminiscence of a religious war between Germanic tribes with different deities. Turville-Petre (1964, pp. 156ff.) suggests a relationship between the Norse myth and Irish tales of the battles of Mag Tured. Jan de Vries (1962, pp. 42ff.) embraces Dumezil's view that the folkvig symbolizes a social crisis—the nobility versus the farmers and herdsmen— from Indo-European times. Perhaps it would be best to try to understand this passage as much as possible within the context of the poem itself. The name Gullveig means 'the power of gold' (Sveinsson, 1962, p. 336) or even the 'intoxication' of gold and symbolizes the corrupting influence of

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Paul Schach wealth (Turville-Petre 1953, p. 57 and 1964, p. 159). Even without the support of etymology the significance of the name is revealed through the role played by this demonic witch. For Heino Gehrts (p. 328) Gullveig is "der von innerem Gold erfiillte, strahlende Gottertrank," an affirmative expression of the power and wealth of the Golden Age. Almost as bizarre is Olafsson's fantasy, according to which the folkvig was fought between the gods and an army of beautiful women led by Gullveig. Gehrts' interpretation of Gullveig's death as sacrificial has no more merit than de Vries' belief in the disenchanting power of the spears with which she was riddled. De Vries is no doubt right in insisting that heidr is not a personal name, although several scholars believe that "Heidr is Gullveig reborn" (Turville-Petre, 1964, p. 158; Olafur Briem, p. 22). Sveinsson (1962, p. 326) speaks of good and evil seeresses and assigns Heidr to the latter group. Whichever interpretation we accept of heidr, there can be little doubt that Gullveig "can hardly be other than Freyja" (Turville-Petre, 1964, p. 159). Gudni Jonsson (1949, p. 8 and 1954, p. 120) reads stanza 12, line 6 as I do. Nordal's reading ("she worked magic in a trance"), which is widely accepted, makes perfectly good sense, but I believe the one I have chosen is required within the structure of the stanza and the context of this section of the poem. Following Hockert, Nordal restores the MS reading (R and H) vigspd in stanza 14, line 7. There can be no question about the correctness of this reading since the JEsir, the warrior gods, could be overcome by the fertility gods only through deception and magic. Again there is a gap in the narrative. The two tribes of gods have been reconciled and integrated. The lost verses and the allusive technique of the poet make it necessary to fill in details from Snorri's account in Gylfaginning (ch. 42). At Loki's instigation the gods promise the goddess Freyja together with the sun and the moon to a giant in return for his services in building a fortress impervious to all enemies. Through magic and deception Loki cheats the giant, and Thorr treacherously slays him. Whereas Snorri stresses Loki's cunning deceitfulness, the author of Voluspd strongly emphasizes the moral turpitude of the gods. Indeed, this is a major cause of their downfall. Aside from their sketchiness, these two verses are not difficult to understand thanks to Snorri's parallel text. Ods mcer is a kenning for Freyja, who by now has come to be accepted by the Aisir.

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Some Thoughts on Voluspa 15 M gengu regin oil a rokstola, ginnheilog god, ok um fat gaettusk, hverr hefdi loft allt leevi blandit eda aett jotuns 6ds mey gefna.

Then all the ruling powers, the most holy gods, ascended their thrones and took counsel as to who had filled the air with perfidy or promised Od's wife to the demon race.

16 f>6rr einn bar va brunginn modi, hann sjaldan sitr, er hann slikt of fregn; a gengusk eidar, ord ok soeri, mal 611 meginlig, er a medal foru.

There Thorr alone slew, swollen with rage— he seldom sits idle when he learns such things. Oaths were broken, pledges and promises, all solemn vows that had been exchanged.

At this point the poet pauses in his narrative. The volva has revealed the past to Odinn and to gods and men as she had promised to do (sts. 1 and 2). Now in stanzas 17-19 the poet reminds us of the importance of the World Tree and introduces the Well of Fate, the norns, Odinn's pledge, and Heimdallr's hljod. This is all very mysterious and obscure, as it was perhaps meant to be. Recent scholarship has thrown some light on these obscurities, but there remains much that we cannot fathom. 17 Ask veil ek standa, heitir Yggdrasill, har badmr, ausinn hvita auri; padan koma doggvar, baers i dala falla, stendr as yfir grosnn Urdarbrunni.

An ash-tree I know, named Yggdrasill—a tall tree sprinkled with white earthy water. Thence come the dews that fall into the valleys. It stands, ever green, over the well of fate.

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Paul Schach 18 Padan koma meyjar margs vitandi, prjar or peim see er und bolli stendr; beer log logdu, paer lif kuru alda bornum, orlog seggja.

Thence come three maidens, having great knowledge, from the pool that lies at the foot of the fir-tree. They established laws and the fates of men and determined the length of their lives.

19 Veit hon Heimdallar hljod of folgit undir heidvonum helgum badmi; a ser hon ausask aurgum forsi af vedi Valfodrs. Vitud er enn—eda hvat?

She knows that Heimdallr's hearing is held in pawn beneath the lofty, holy tree. She sees a river pouring in a roily cascade from Valfodr's pledge. Do you follow me, or not?

Yggdrasill means 'Odinn's horse.' The phrase ausinn hvita auri has been the object of much speculation, little of which seems relevant within the context of the passage. Pritchard (p. 306) is resigned to interpret aurr simply as "water, perhaps that of the spring which is found beneath it." Jan de Vries (1957, Vol. II, p. 20) speaks of "das Wasser des Lebens" and suggests (p. 380) a possible identity with the poetic mead. Jere Fleck (pp. 402ff.) identifies the liquid with Odinn's sperm. Yet the word aurr means 'mud,' or 'clay,' and Snorri (Gylfaginning, ch. 16) states that "the norns, who live at the Urdarbrunnr, take water from the well and some of the clay that surrounds the well and pour it over the ash-tree so that it will neither dry out nor rot." In stanza 18 I have deleted the enumeration of the norns since these four lines are clearly a later interpolation, modeled on the classical parcae and possibly influenced by Hrabanus Maurus' speculations about the time references of the three fates (G.W. Weber, 1969, pp. 149ff.). Turville-Petre (1964, p. 279) devotes only a few lines to Urdr and comments that Verdandi and Skuld are "possibly late additions." Heimdallar hljod has aroused much speculation. Snorri seems to have confused this word with the gjallarhorn, but there is otherwise no attestation of the use of hljod in the sense of 'horn' in Icelandic. Nordal espouses the view set forth by Detter, Heinzel, and Hockert that hljod in this stanza is used in its original meaning of 'hearing.' Olafur Briem glosses hljod with

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Some Thoughts on Voluspa Must 'auditory passage,' and heyrn 'sense of hearing, ear.' Gudni Jonsson lists only heyrn. Turville-Petre (1964, p. 149) suggests that Heimdallr's hearing "may be conceived in concrete form, as one of Heimdallr's ears." According to Fleck (pp. 339ff.) Valfodrs ved is not Odinn's eye but his sperm, and is thus identical with the aurr and the poetic mead. This is contained in Heimdallr's horn, which is not a trumpet, but a drinking horn. Having completed her survey of the past, the seeress again addresses her audience to assure them that her competence to reveal the future is equal to her knowledge of the past. Odinn has grown old and fearful for the fates of the gods and of men. In exchange for jewelry, he receives wise counsel and a magical vision of the future. 20 Ein sat hon uti, pas inn aldni kom Yggjungr Asa ok i augu leit. Hvers fregnid mik? Hvi freistid min? All veit ek, O6inn, hvar bu auga fait, i inum msera Mimisbrunni; drekkr mjod Mimir morgin hverjan af vedi Valfodrs. Vitud er enn—eda hvat?

She sat outside alone when the ancient apprehensive one of the ^Esir came and peered into her eyes. What do you ask of me? Why do you question me? I know everything, Odinn —where you pawned your eye in the famous well of Mimir. Mimir drinks mead every morning from Valfodr's pledge. Do you follow me, or not?

21 Valdi henni Herfodr hringa ok men, fekk hon spjoll spaklig ok spa ganda, sa vitt ok of vitt of verold hverja.

Herfodr chose rings and necklaces for her and she gave wise words and magic prophecy. She saw far and wide throughout every world.

The next eleven stanzas contain portents and forebodings of the future— the gathering of the valkyries, the slaying of Baldr by his brother, his mother's grief, and faithful Sigyn at the side of her bound husband Loki. Again the allusive technique of the poet makes it necessary to fill in details— with discrimination—from Snorri's account. Stanzas 27, 30, and 31 in Nordal's edition (37, 40 and 41 in R) have been omitted, since they seem to

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Paul Schach be extraneous to the poem. Here for the first time there occurs the haunting refrain (Geyr Garmr mjok) which foretells the imminent, enveloping doom of the gods. The last verse of this section is a stark depiction of the human immorality which, together with the moral dissolution among the gods, will precipitate the destruction of the world. 22 Sa hon valkyrjur vitt of komnar, gorvar at rida til Godbjodar; Hildr belt skildi, en Skogul onnur, Gunnr ok Gondul ok Geirskogul.

She saw valkyries, come from afar, prepared to ride to the realm of the Goths. Hildr held a shield and Skogul likewise; Gunnr and Gondul and Geirskogul.

23 Ek sa Baldri, blodgum tivur, Odins barni, orlog folgin; stod of vaxinn vollum haeri mjor ok mjok fagr mistilteinn.

I saw the doom allotted to Baldr, the bloodied god, the child of Odinn: the slender and very fair mistletoe stands high above the plains.

24 Yard af beim meidi, er masr syndisk, harmflaug hasttlig, Hddr nam skjota; en Frigg of gret i Fensolum va Valhallar. Vitud er enn—eda hvat?

This tree, which seemed so slender, became a perilous, grief-bringing shaft; Hodr hurled it, and Frigg wept in Fensalir for the woe of Valhalla. Do you follow me, or not?

25 Haft sa hon liggja und Hveralundi, laegjarns liki Loka abekkjan; par sitr Sigyn peygi of sinum ver vel glyjud. Vitud er enn—eda hvat?

She saw a captive lying at Hveralundr, similar in shape to baleful Loki. There sits Sigyn, not very joyful, by her husband. Do you follow me, or not?

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Some Thoughts on Voluspa 26 A fellr austan um eitrdala soxum ok sverdum, Slidr heitir su.

From the east a river named Slidr flows through valleys of venom filled with knives and swords.

27 Sal sa hon standa solu fjarri Nastrondu a, nordr horfa dyrr; falla eitrdropar inn um Ijora, sa er undinn salr orma hryggjum.

She saw a hall standing far from the sun on Nastrond; its doors face northward. Drops of venom drip in through the smoke vent. That hall is wattled of snake spines.

28 Sa hon bar vada bunga strauma menn meinsvara ok mordvarga ok banns annars glepr eyrarunu; par sygr Nidhoggr nai framgengna, slitr vargr vera. Vitud er enn—eda hvat?

There she saw oathbreakers, murderers, and seducers wading heavy currents. There Nidhoggr sucks the corpses of the dead; the wolf rends men. Do you follow me, or not?

29 Sat par a haugi ok slo horpu gygjar hirdir, gladr Eggper; gol of hanum i galgvidi fagrraudr hani, sa er Fjalarr heitir.

There on a mound sat happy Eggper, the giantess' herdsman, striking a harp. On the gallows tree crowed the bright red rooster, whose name is Fjalarr.

30 Gol of Asum Gullinkambi, sa vekr holda at Herjafodrs; en annarr gol fyr jord nedan sotraudr hani at solum Heljar.

Gullinkambi crowed to the JEsir; he wakes the heroes of Herjafodr. Another one crowed beneath the ground, a soot-red cock in the halls of Hel.

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Paul Schach 31 Geyr Garmr mjok fyr Gnipahelli, festr mun slitna, en freki renna; fjold veit ek froeda, fram se ek lengra um ragnarok rom sigtiva.

Garmr howls loudly before Gnipahellir; the fetter will break and the wolf run free. I have a great store of knowledge and I see farther into the future—the overwhelming doom of the victory gods.

32 Broedr munu berjask ok at bonum verdask, munu systrungar sifjum spilla; hart er i heimi, hordomr mikill, skeggold, skalmold, skildir klofnir, vindold, vargold, adr verold steypisk; mun engi madr odrum pyrma.

Brothers will smite and slay each other, and sisters' sons betray their kinsmen. There is evil on earth and great whoredom; an axe age, a sword age—shields are split—a storm age, a wolf age before the world collapses, No man will show mercy to another,

In stanza 22 I have deleted Skuld, who is not a valkyrie, but the youngest of the norns (Gylfaginning, ch. 36), and replaced her with Hildr, whose name means 'battle.' The confusion of the mistletoe with a tall tree (sts. 23 and 24) is further evidence of Icelandic authorship, as is Hveralundr, if Nordal is correct in connecting this place name with hverr 'hot spring.' Sveinsson (1962, p. 336) asks whether vd is to be interpreted as 'harm' or 'peril.' Can we not, as with the word mjotvid (st. 2), assume that the author had both meanings in mind? As already indicated, stanza 27 is extraneous to the narrative of Voluspd. Snorri must also have been puzzled by this verse, since he mistakenly identifies both Sindri and Brimir as names of beer halls (Gylfaginning, ch. 52). In stanza 29 / galgvidi is taken from H; R has / gaglvidi, which makes no sense in this context. Eggper and the three cocks have yet to be explained. In the next section of the poem the atmosphere of apprehension rapidly intensifies as one vivid, ominous image succeeds the other in breathless haste. Symbolically, the World Tree itself moans and trembles as if in anticipation of its approaching destruction by fire. The poet heightens the portent of doom by concluding the passage with the juxtaposition of two ominous refrains.

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Some Thoughts on Voluspa 33 Leika Mims synir, en mjotudr kyndisk at inu galla Gjallarhorni; hatt blsess Heimdallr, horn er a lofti, maslir Odinn vid Mims hofud.

Mimir's sons are at large. Destruction bodes at the shrill blare of the Gjallarhorn; Heimdallr blows loudly, his horn is held high. Odinn consults Mimir's head.

34 Skelfr Yggdrasils askr standandi, ymr it aldna tre en jotunn losnar; hraedask allir a helvegum, adr Surtar bann sefi of gleypir.

The ash-tree Yggdrasill trembles, but remains standing. The ancient tree groans, and the giant is freed. All the denizens of Hel quake with fear until Surtr's kinsman consumes it.

35 Hvat er med Asum? Hvat er med alfum? Gnyr allr Jotunheimr, yEsir ro a bingi; stynja dvergar fyr steindurum, veggbergs visir. Vitud er enn—eda hvat?

What of the ^sir? What of the elves? The whole demon world roars. The JEsir are in assembly. The dwarves groan before the stone gates, (they who were) kings within the crags. Do you follow me, or not?

36 Geyr mi Garmr mjok, etc.

Now Garmr howls loudly, etc.

Stanza 33 contains several obscurities. Mims synir has been variously interpreted to mean 'waves' or 'giants.' Fleck (p. 397) reads synir 'visions.' Gudni Jonsson (1954, p. 119) interprets the second line to mean tortimingin kviknar, hefst 'the destruction quickens, begins.' If, however, mjotudr should be a scribal error for mjotvidr, then the line would mean 'the universe tree begins to burn.' Perhaps this is what the poet intended, for in the next verse there is a clear anticipation of the fiery destruction of Yggdrasill in stanza 44. The last two lines of stanza 34 clearly state that the World Tree will be consumed by fire. Salus, Taylor and Auden, however, connect this clause

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Paul Schach with the last two lines of the preceding verse and translate wrongly "Before he (i.e., Odinn) is swallowed by Surtr's kin." The pace quickens as the scene shifts to the onrushing hordes of demons, hastening from the east and the south to assault the gods. There is a remarkable contrast between the feeling of almost paralyzed fear and apprehension that informs the previous section of the poem and the sense of vehemence that animates these three verses, which contain no fewer than sixteen verbs, most of which depict violent action. 37 Hrymr ekr austan, hefisk lind fyrir, snysk Jormungandr i jotunmodi; ormr knyr unnir, en ari hlakkar, slitr nai Nidfolr, Naglfar losnar.

Hrymr drives from the east with his shield before him; the Jormungandr writhes in giant rage. The serpent whips the waves, and the eagle screams. Nidfolr rends corpses; Naglfar floats free.

38 Kjoll ferr austan, koma munu Muspells um log lydir, en Loki styrir; far a fiflmegir med freka allir, peim er brodir Byleists i for.

A keel sails from the east; Muspell's hordes will cross the sea, and Loki steers. All the demons will come with the wolf, and Byleist's brother will be in the host.

39 Surtr ferr sunnan med sviga laevi, skinn af sverdi sol valtiva; grjotbjorg gnata, en gifr rata, troda halir helveg, en himinn klofnar.

Surtr comes from the south with the destroyer of branches; sunlight flashes from the warrior's sword. Cliffs crash and witches stagger; men tread the way to Hel and the sky is rent.

Like Gullveig, Hrymr seems to be the creation of the poet (Nordal, 1923,

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Some Thoughts on Voluspa p. 130f.). The name, which means 'decrepit with age,' is most appropriate, since the giants as well as the gods and men will be destroyed in ragnarok. Odinn and Yggdrasill are also described as 'aged' (aldinn). Jormungandr 'the large staff is a kenning for the Midgardsormr, the world-encircling serpent. Nidfolr probably is identical with the dragon Nidhoggr. To substitute neffolr 'the yellow-beaked one,' as Bugge did, is to destroy the structure of the helming, since neffolr would be a kenning for ari in the previous line. Naglfar, the ship of the dead (de Vries, 1962, p. 404), was made from the unshorn nails of dead men according to Snorri's imaginative etymology (Gylfaginning, ch. 51). Muspell here designates a leader of the fire demons. The word is a borrowing from German, and originally meant something like 'world destruction' (de Vries, 1962, p. 396). Byleists brodir is a kenning for Loki. Surtr 'the Black' is another leader of the fire demons. Sviga Icevi is a kenning for fire. The widely held view (most recently expressed by Olafur Briem, 1968, p. 88) that valtiva refers to the gods is untenable. It can refer only to Surtr (Gudni Jonsson, 1954, p. 156). The climax of the poem, ragnarok, is described in three stanzas. The gods die, at least in part to expiate their crimes of avarice and treachery, but they die like heroes and take their demonic adversaries down with them. The kenning harmr annarr Hlinar 'Hlin's second grief is doubly appropriate: it not only reminds us of the connection between Baldr's murder and the slaying of Odinn; it also reveals once again the poet's sympathy for the grieving goddess Frigg (Hlin). The author expresses his admiration for Thorr through the use of four kennings for that god in stanza 43, just as he stressed the fateful deceitfulness of the gods by the fourfold iteration of oathbreaking in stanza 16. 40 Geyr nu Garmr mjdk, etc.

Now Garmr howls loudly, etc.

41 Pa komr Hlinar harmr annarr fram, er Odinn ferr vid ulf vega, en bani Belja bjartr at Surti; l?a mun Friggjar falla angan.

Then Hlin's second grief will come about when O6inn goes forth to fight the wolf and the resplendent slayer of Beli to fight Surtr. Then Frigg's joy will fall lifeless.

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Paul Schach 42 Pa komr inn mikli mogr Sigfodur, Vidarr, vega at valdyri; leetr hann megi Hvedrungs mundum standa hjor til hjarta, ba er hefnt fodur.

Then comes Vidar, Sigfodr's great son, to fight against the carrion beast. With both hands he thrusts his sword into the heart of Hvedrung's son. Then his father is avenged,

43 M komr inn masri mogr Hlodynjar, gengr Odins sonr vid orm vega, drepr af modi Midgards veurr, munu halir allir heimstod rydja; gengr fet niu Fjorgynjar burr neppr fra nadri nids okvidinn.

Then comes the glorious son of Hlodyn, goes Odinn's son to fight the serpent. Midgardr's protector slays him in wrath. All men will perish from the earth. Mortally wounded, Fjorgyn's son, of derision unafraid, walks nine steps from the serpent.

The portrayal of the end of the world corresponds perfectly to the depiction of its beginning. The heavenly bodies disappear and the earth returns to its place of origin. This simple, powerful image reflects both the poet's observation of nature and the once widely held fear (especially among island dwellers) that the earth would some day sink into the sea. Equally dramatic is the picture of the World Tree engulfed in roaring flames against the vastness of space. This vivid image, too, was inspired by the poet's experience of volcanic Iceland and by the widespread fear (especially in volcanic regions) that the earth would be destroyed by fire. Thus the end of the world is described by means of two equally appropriate images on both the cosmic and the symbolic level. 44 Sol ter sortna, sokkr fold i mar, hverfa af himni heidar stjornur; geisar eimi vid aldrnara, leikr har hiti vid himin sjalfan..

The sun turns black; earth sinks into the sea; the bright stars vanish from the sky. Raging fire engulfs the life sustainer; high flames flare up to the very sky.

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Some Thoughts on Voluspa 45 Geyr nu Garmr mjok, etc.

Now Garmr howls loudly, etc.

It has been maintained that the first line of stanza 44 was inspired by a solar eclipse. It seems more likely, however, that this line is a description of the sun seen through the smoke and debris of a volcanic eruption, as Nordal has suggested. There is a discrepancy, however, in Nordal's treatment of lines 5 and 6 of this stanza. On p. 143 he translates geisar eimi / vid aldrnara as "Fire rages against fire; the earth is all ablaze." In his emended text (p. 167), however, he substitutes the H reading, ok aldrnari. Furthermore, the interpretation of aldrnari 'life sustained as 'fire' seems inappropriate, since the function of fire in this context is to destroy. Foote and Wilson (p. 346) see aldrnari as an ironic kenning with which "the poet seems to detach himself and us from the horror of the ruin and make it easier to bear." This is admittedly an attractive and appealing interpretation, but I feel that Hallberg (1952) comes closer to the poet's intention by treating aldrnari as a kenning for the World Tree. "It is difficult to imagine a more magnificent symbol of ragnarok than the world tree blazing like a torch against the vastness of space while the waning stars hurtle down from the firmament" (1975, p. 33). The remaining seven stanzas describe the renewal of the earth and the return of some of the deities. Stanza 46 recalls the description of the creation in stanza 4, and in stanzas 47-49 we are reminded of the age of innocence and tranquility before the gods succumbed to the seductive witch Gullveig. The regeneration of the golden age is symbolized by the marvelous game boards on which the gods had formerly played draughts (st. 10), as well as by the return and cohabitation of Baldr and HGdr, much as the restoration of peace and tranquility in Njdla is sealed by the marriage of Kari and Hildigunnr. Ironically, the poet has the renewed gods inhabit the temple ruins of war gods. The human race has also been revived, and the poet assures us that men of integrity will enjoy happiness forever in Gimle. But the poem ends with a sombre warning that the evil which had caused the downfall of gods and men has not been vanquished. 46 Ser hon upp koma odru sinni jord or £egi idjagroena; falla forsar, flygr orn yfir, sa er a fjalli fiska veidir.

She sees the earth, freshly green, rise up once more from the sea. Cataracts fall; above the mountain an eagle flies, seeking fish,

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Paul Schach 47 Hittask /Esir a Idavelli ok um moldbinur mattkan doema ok minnask bar a megindoma ok a Fimbultys fornar riinar.

The ^Esir assemble on Idavollr and discuss the mighty serpent. There they call to mind momentous events and the ancient runes of Fimbultyr.

48 £>ar munu eftir undrsamligar gullnar toflur i grasi finnask, basrs i ardaga attar hofdu.

There in the grass they will find again the wondrous golden game-boards that they had owned in primeval times.

49 Munu osanir akrar vaxa, bols mun alls batna, mun Baldr koma; biia beir Hodr ok Baldr Hrofts sigtoftir, ve valtiva. Vitud er enn—eda hvat?

Unsown fields will bear grain and all grief be assuaged when Baldr returns. Baldr and Hodr will inhabit the ruins of Hropt's victory hall, the sanctuary of the warrior god. Do you follow me, or not?

50 Sal ser hon standa solu fegra gulli bakdan a Gimle; bar skulu dyggvar drottir byggja ok um aldrdaga yndis njota.

She sees a hall brighter than the sun, thatched with gold, standing on Gimle. There worthy people will live and enjoy happiness forever.

51 M komr inn riki at regindomi oflugr ofan, sa er dllu rasdr.

Then the mighty one—powerful, from above —will come to reign, he who has dominion over all.

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Some Thoughts on Voluspa 52 f»ar komr inn dimmi dreki fljugandi, nadr frann, nedan fra Nidafjollum; berr ser i fjodrum, flygr voll yfir, Nidhoggr nai. Nu mun hon sokkvask.

There comes the dark dragon, the glistening serpent, flying from below, from Nidafjoll. Nidhoggr flies across the plains, bearing corpses in his wings. Now she will sink,

After the cataclysm of ragnarok the earth again rises from the waves, renewed and refreshed. Hallberg (1975, p. 34) has rightly extolled the simple, vivid grandeur of stanza 46. The only adjective in the passages both appropriate and symbolic, for idjagroenn means 'erneut grim' (de Vries 1962, p. 283; Sturtevant, p. 293). Moldpinurr 'earth encircler' is a kenning for the world serpent. Fimbultyr, which means 'the mighty god,' is one of many epithets for Odinn. According to Pritchard (p. 483), the last two lines of stanza 47 mean that the "new gods remember Odin's wisdom and strive to carry on in his way." But de Vries (1964, p. 60ff.) sees the Odinn-Baldr contrast as the essential meaning of the poem. Stanzas 46-49 contain no fewer than four distinct references to earlier situations in the poem. As has been said of the author of Njdla, the creator of Voluspa must have had the conclusion of his work in mind before he composed the introduction. Laxness (pp. 13ff., 55ff., 71) suspects some connection between the osdnir akrar of Voluspa 48 and Adam of Bremen's vites sponte nascantur . . . et fruges non seminatas. After stanza 49 I have omitted a stanza of six obscure lines (R and H 63), since it seems to have no relevance to the passage or to the poem as a whole. Gimle has been the subject of considerable speculation. Finnur Jonsson interpreted the word to mean 'fire shelter' and thought it symbolized the new world, which would, in contrast to the old one, be 'fire proof.' Nordal accepted Finnur's etymology of the word, but believed, like Snorri (Gylfaginning, ch. 17), that it denoted an object which had survived the holocaust. Turville-Petre (1953, p. 60) is of the opinion that the magnificent goldroofed castle that is brighter than the sun "must somehow be associated with the New Jerusalem," and Sveinsson (1962, p. 328) essentially agrees. Like several other stanzas in Voluspa, this one seems to reflect a synthesis of pagan and Christian elements. Various explanations of dyggvar drottir have been set forth, but 'worthy people' (which follows Nordal's interpretation) seems to me to be close to the author's intent. Just as the gods of the new dispensation will have been purified by ragnarok, so too will the new race of

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Paul Schach human beings who inhabit Gimle be more just and righteous than the dissolute race described in stanza 35. Stanza 51 has evoked much controversy. This defective stanza occurs only in H. Some scholars, like Sveinsson (1962, p. 328f.) and de Vries (1964, p. 61), regard the helming as a late Christian emendation. Sveinsson therefore deletes this verse since, in his opinion, it has no relevance to the poem. De Vries, on the other hand, seems to believe that the 'emendation' is in the spirit of this passage of Voluspd. For Nordal (p. 199) hinn riki is "neither Christ nor Odinn, but the highest divine ideal of the poet himself." Olafur Briem (p. 92) seems to be in agreement with Nordal when he describes hinn riki as "some powerful god whom the poet supposes to be the highest ruler in the new world." A similar view is held by Hallberg (1975, p. 35), but Turville-Petre (1953, p. 64) seems to lean somewhat more toward Christian influence when he states that the poet "finds solace in the conception of an almighty and eternal God who rules all." Martin (p. 24) speaks of "the 'Mighty One,' the ruler of all—perhaps fate itself, or even Christ." For F. Wagner (p. 54) this "essence mysterieuse" is the creation of the poet, "incontestablement fondee sur des reminiscences chretiennes." The final stanza of the poem has also called forth various interpretations. According to Sveinsson (1962, p. 332f.), the vision of the seeress ends with stanza 50, and the terrible image of the dragon with corpses in its wings is intended as a final warning to Odinn of impending disaster. Olafur Briem (p. 92) also interprets this stanza as a "foreboding of ragnarok." I rather tend to favor Turville-Petre's explanation of this obscure stanza (1953, p. 58) as the poet's warning to his1 audience that "the forces of evil will survive the chastening fire of Ragnarok." The forces of good have been victorious, but the victory is neither absolute nor unconditional. Many views have been set forth regarding the meaning of Voluspd. Bjarne Ulvestad (p. 66) speaks of "this summa mythologiae of the Nordic past," and Kummer, as we have seen, tried to inflate the poem into a conglomeration of contradictory mythical motifs. In reality, however, rriany of the poet's cosmogonic and eschatological images derive not from Norse mythology but from themes of natural disaster fortified by his own experience of natural phenomena in Iceland. As Turville-Petre (1953, p. 61) expressed it, "this poet regarded the fates of gods and men as a natural evolutionary and devolutionary process. Such views would accord better with Christian teaching than the cruder and more grotesque ones typical of northern paganism." In many respects there is greater similarity between Voluspd and Genesis (1-2:4) than between Voluspd on the one hand and Vafprudnismdl and Grimnismdl on the other; and numerous biblical passages have been

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Some Thoughts on Voluspa regarded as prototypes both of ragnarok and of the regenerated world (Nordal, 1952, p. 177). Strongly influenced by Karl Miillenhoff, Finnur Jonsson regarded Voluspa as starkly pagan; its purpose, he maintained, was to defend the old faith against the encroachment of Christianity in Norway. Bjorn M. Olsen held the opposite point of view. He argued that the poet's intent was to demonstrate the self-destructive nature of paganism and thus to prepare the way for the adoption of Christianity in Iceland. Most scholars stand somewhere between these extremes. Axel Olrik undertook the enormous task of distinguishing between pagan and Christian motives in Voluspa on the basis of far-ranging comparative studies of religion, mythology, and folklore. Nordal (1923, p. 177) was not impressed with Olrik's findings; Turville-Petre (1953, p. 59f.), on the other hand, finds "many of his conclusions . . . irrefutable." Whereas Nordal's own position is clear and firm, some of his argumentation is neither clear nor consistent. Although he once declared (1923, p. 188) that Voluspa can never be understood correctly as long as it is assumed that the author composed it for a certain purpose (/ vissum tilgangi), he also maintained that the poet was endeavoring in his work to "create a system, a theology" (p. 176). And he further insisted (p. 29) that even though the course of events prevented Voluspa from becoming a sacred book, "it was intended to be a gospel, and it cannot be understood fully unless one attempts to read it in the same spirit in which the poet composed it." From Nordal's comparison of the author of Voluspa with the Roman emperor, Julian the Apostate (1942, p. 229), it is clear that he saw in this poem an endeavor to revive and ennoble the moribund dsatru. Indeed, Jon Johannesson (1956, p. 148) made the startling assertion that " Voluspa represented a grand endeavor to revitalize faith in the heathen gods." But the dsatru, as Jon Johannesson had already stated (p. 147), was in decline even at the time of the settlement. In a certain sense the emigration from Norway can be regarded as a flight from the tyranny of Odinn, the ruthless god of lawlessness, highwaymen, and perjurers (Turville-Petre, 1972, pp. 16ff.). As Heusler noted (1925, p. 20) there is nothing in the ancient literature of the North to support Nordal's assumption of an ethical development within the dsatru in Iceland which (as Nordal maintained) found artistic expression in Voluspa. Nor could this magnificent poem systematize and revitalize something that had long been in decay and disarray. Yet Nordal's faith in the viability of the dsatru seems never to have weakened. The key to an understanding of Voluspa, Nordal maintained, is to be found in the Book of Revelation (ch. 20). The inspiration for this poem, he

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Paul Schach argued, was the mood of impending doom that gripped the hearts and minds of the Icelanders as the year 1000 approached, the final impetus for its composition being the preaching of Pangbrandr. But as Ami Palsson pointed out (1924, p. 215), there is no evidence to be found in the literature of Norway and Iceland that such an eschatological fear played any role in the christianization of the North. This does not mean that the poet himself had not come under the spell of certain preachers of imminent world destruction, possibly in the British Isles or on the continent. Certainly the grand cosmic cataclysm which he portrayed reflects both the apocalyptic imagery of Revelation and the spiritual turmoil of the Icelanders during the time of conversion. But would sermons such as those preached by Bishop Wulfstan inspire a sensitive poet to create a theology and to proclaim a gospel of evil (if I may be permitted this oxymoron) which perforce embodies the very vices that are condemned by Christianity? For the theme of Voluspd, as Jan de Vries has stated, is the conflict between the condemned 'siindige Welt' of Odinn and the future innocent world of Baldr, whose portrait in this poem, as Nordal himself concedes, owes much to Christianity (pp. 186 and 198). And this divine tragi-comedy, as the poet repeatedly reminds us throughout the poem, is a symbolic reflection of the human struggle between paganism and Christianity. Nordal stresses the poet's fourfold iteration of the gods' oath-breaking (st. 16), and regards this crime as the cause of their downfall. Obviously the poet wanted to condemn this moral offense strongly, and he does so again in stanza 28, where human oath-breakers are punished along with murderers and seducers. Yet this moral transgression, like all the others in the poem, is the outcome of the magic spells worked by the deceitful seeress Gullveig (stanzas 11 and 12). The golden age of innocence comes to an end when she drives gods and humans mad with her enchantments and fills them with avarice and cupidity. From this point on, one outrage follows the other in swift succession until finally Baldr is unwittingly slain by his brother Hodr through the malicious instigation of Loki. The older dispensation had no means of containing the violence that had broken out, for killing could only be avenged by more killing, which in turn demanded still more killing. The older dispensation offered no hope, no escape from such a world of brutal violence. The holocaust of ragnarok was necessary and inescapable. The world of Thorr and Odinn, of Freyr and Freyja, of perjury and killing, of avarice and cupidity, had to be destroyed. After the holocaust the new world again arose from the sea, fresh and pure. Baldr and Hodr returned, and a new race of human beings, this one worthier than the former, to live in peace and happiness for ever. The

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Some Thoughts on Voluspa Mighty One descended from above to rule the new earth. There is hope and promise in these marvelously beautiful stanzas (46-51), but there can be no guarantee that the new race of gods and men will not eventually succumb to the wiles of Gullveig, for hon enn lifir. Furthermore, the gods were originally of the race of demons and thus bear within themselves the seeds of selfdestruction. (Students sometimes ask me whether the poet intended a parallel here with the Christian concept of original sin, and whether he might have associated the regeneration of the earth in the sea with Christian baptism.) These thoughts on Voluspa are offered as one possible reading of that magnificent poem. During the past thirty years I have gradually moved farther from Nordal and closer to Bjorn Magmisson Olsen—not so much through direct influence (I think) as through the growing awareness that Voluspa is closer in spirit to Njdla than I had once believed, especially in its renunciation of paganism (Schach, 1975). It also seems closer akin to Beowulf and the Hildebrandslied in its use of pagan and Christian motives (de Boor, 1964, p. 70) than I had formerly thought. Indeed, the creator of Voluspa might well have chosen as a motto for his poem Hildebrand's words welaga nu, waltant got, wewurt skihit. . . . But there is so much in Voluspa that we will never understand. Should the line read ok aldrnari or vid aldrnara! Perhaps it would be appropriate to close this discussion of Voluspa as Sigurdur Nordal did in his Islenzk menning: Vitud er enn—eda hvat?

University of Nebraska

BIBLIOGRAPHY A. Texts, Translations, and Commentaries Die Edda. Die wesentlichen Gesange der altnordischen Cotter und Heldendichtung. Ubertragen von Felix Genzmer. Diisseldorf/Koln, 1956. Eddadigte I. Voluspa, Hdvamdl. Nordisk filologi. Serie A, 4. bind. Udgivet af Jon Helgason. 2. aendrede udgave. Copenhagen, 1955. Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Nafnapulur og Skdldatal. Gudni Jonsson bjo til prentunar. Reykjavik, 1949. Eddukvcedi. Olafur Briem annadist litgafuna. Reykjavik, 1968. Eddukvcedi (Scemundar-Edda). Fyrri hluti. Gudni Jonsson bjo til prentunar. Reykjavik, 1949.

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Paul Schach Eddulyklar: Inngangur. Ordasafn. Visnaskyringar. Nafnaskrd. Gudni Jonsson bjo til prentunar. Reykjavik, 1954. The Elder Edda: A Selection. Translated from the Icelandic by Paul B. Taylor and W.H. Auden. Introduction by Peter H. Salus and Paul B. Taylor. Notes by Peter H. Salus. New York, 1970. Die Lieder des Codex Regius (Edda) und verwandte Denkmdler. Text, Ubersetzung, Erlauterungen bearbeitet von Bernhard Kummer. Bd. I: Mythische Dichtung. Teil I: Die Schau der Seherin (Vqluspd). Exkurse und religionsgeschichtliche Erganzung. Zeven, Bezirk Bremen. Verlag der Forschungsfragen unserer Zeit, 1961. Edda. Die Lieder des Codex Regius nebst verwandten Denkmalern, hrsg. von Gustav Neckel. I. Text. Vierte, umgearbeitete Auflage von Hans Kuhn. Heidelberg, 1962. Edda. Die Lieder des Codex Regius nebst verwandten Denkmalern, hrsg. von Gustav Neckel. II. Kurzes Worterbuch von Hans Kuhn. Dritte umgearbeitete Auflage des Kommentierenden glossars. Heidelberg, 1968. Islands pusund dr. Kva;dasafn. Fornoldin. Einar 6l Sveinsson hefur valid. Reykjavik: Helgafell, 1947. Landsbokasafn Islands. Arbok 1965. Olafsson, Olafur M., "Voluspa Konungsbokar." Reykjavik, 1966 (pp. 86-124). Poems of the Vikings. The Elder Edda. Translated by Patricia Terry with an Introduction by Charles W. Dunn. Indianapolis and New York, 1969. The Poetic Edda. Translated from the Icelandic with an Introduction and Notes by Henry Adams Bellows. New York, 1923. The Poetic Edda. Translated with an Introduction and Explanatory Notes by Lee M. Hollander. 2d. ed., rev. Austin, 1962. Pritchard, Elenore C. "The Voluspa: A Commentary." University of Pennsylvania Doctoral Dissertation. Philadelphia 1972. [DAI 33(1972): 1964 A (Pa.).] Snorri Sturluson, Edda. Gylfaginning og Prosafortellingene av Skdldskaparmdl. Nordisk filologi. Serie A. Texter. 1. Bind. Utgitt av Anne Holtsmark og Jon Helgason. 2. udgave. Copenhagen, 1950. Voluspa, gefin lit med skyringum af Sigurdi Nordal. Fylgir Arbok Haskola Islands 1922-23. Reykjavik, 1923. Onnur prentun (Helgafell) 1952. Voluspa: The Song of the Sybil, translated by Paul B. Taylor and W.H. Auden with the Icelandic text edited by Peter H. Salus and Paul B. Taylor. Iowa City, 1968. B. Literature and Mythology Allen, Richard F. Fire and Iron. Critical Approaches to Njdls saga. Pittsburgh, 1971. Boor, Helmut de. Die deutsche Literatur von Karl dem Grofien bis zum Beginn der hofischen Dichtung 770-1170. 6. Aufl. Munich, 1964. Einarsson, Stefan, Islensk bokmenntasaga 874-1961. Reykjavik, 1961. Foote, Peter, and David M. Wilson. The Viking Achievement: The Society and Culture of Early Medieval Scandinavia. London, 1970. Guthmundsson, Barthi. The Origin of the Icelanders. Translated with an introduction and notes by Lee M. Hollander. Lincoln, 1967. Hallberg, Peter. Old Icelandic Poetry: Eddie Lay and Skaldic Verse. Translated with a foreword by Paul Schach and Sonja Lindgrenson. Lincoln and London, 1975. Heusler, Andreas. Die altgermanische Dichtung. Darmstadt: Hermann Gentner, 1957. (Unveranderter Nachdruck der 2. iiberarb. und vermehrten Ausgabe [1943]).

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Some Thoughts on Voluspa Holtsmark, Anne. Studier i norron diktning. Oslo, 1956. Holtsmark, Anne. Studier i Snorres Mytologi. (Skrifter utgitt av det Norske VidenskapsAkademi i Oslo, II, Hist.-Filos. Klasse, N.S. 4) Oslo, 1964. Johannesson, Jon. Islendinga saga: I. Pjodveldisold. Reykjavik: Almenna Bokafelagid, 1956. (English translation by Haraldur Bessason, University of Manitoba Icelandic Studies, Vol. II, 1974.) Laxness, Halldor. Vinlandspunktur. Reykjavik: Helgafell, 1969. Martin, John Stanley. Ragnaryk. An Investigation into Old Norse Concepts of the Fate of the Gods. Melbourne Monographs in Germanic Studies, Vol. 3. Assen, 1972. Nordal, Sigur6ur. Islenzk menning I. Reykjavik, 1942. Philippson, Ernst Alfred. Die Genealogie der Cotter in germanischer Religion, Mythologie, und Theologie. Illinois Studies in Language and Literature, Vol. 37, No. 3. Urbana, Illinois, 1953. Schneider, Hermann. Fine Uredda. Untersuchungen und Texte zur Friihgeschichte der eddischen Gotterdichtung. Halle, 1948. Stromback, Dag. The Conversion of Iceland: A Survey. Translated and annotated by Peter Foote. Viking Society for Northern Research, 1975. Sveinsson, Einar 6l. Islenzkar bokmenntir i fornold I. Reykjavik, 1962. Turville-Petre, E.O.G. Myth and Religion of the North, The Religion of Ancient Scandinavia. New York, Chicago, San Francisco, 1964. Turville-Petre, E.O.G. Origins of Icelandic Literature. Oxford, 1953. Vries, Jan de. Altgermanische Religionsgeschichte. 2., vollig neu bearb. Auflage. Grundriss der germanischen Philologie, 12. 2 Bde. Berlin, 1956-57. Vries, Jan de. Altnordische Literaturgeschichte. 2., vollig neu bearb. Aufl. 2 Bde. Grundriss der germanischen Philologie, 15-16. Berlin, 1964-67. Vries, Jan de. Altnordisches etymologisches Worterbuch. 2., verarb. Aufl. Leiden, 1962. Weber, Gerd Wolfgang. Wyrd, Studien zum Schicksalsbegriff der altenglischen und altnordischen Literatur. Frankfurter Beitrage zur Germanistik. 8. Bad Homburg, 1969. C. Eddie Poetry and Voluspa Boor, Helmut de. "Die religiose Sprache der Vpluspa und verwandter Denkmaler." Deutsche Islandforschung I (1930): 68-142. Butt, Wolfgang. "Zur Herkunft der Vpluspa." Beitr 91(1969): 82-103. Ciclamini, Marlene. "Odin and the Giants." Neophil 46, 2(1962): 145-58. Ciclamini, Marlene. "The Chronological Conception in Norse Mythology." Neophil 47, 2(1963): 138-51. Dolvers, Horst. "Text, Gliederung und Deutung der Voluspa." ZfdA 98(1969): 241-64. Einarsson, Stefan. "Eddu-smaelki." Skirnir 122(1948): 143-45. Fischer, Rudolf W. "Gullveigs Wandlung. Versuch einer lauternden Deutung in Hars Halle." Antaios (1965): 581-96. Fleck, Jere. "Odinn's Self Sacrifice. A New Interpretation. I. The Ritual Inversion. II. The Ritual Landscape." SS 43(1971): 119-42; 385-413. Gehrts, Heino. "Die Gullveig-Mythe der V9luspa." ZfdPh 88(1969), 321-78. Grahn, Heinz A. "V9luspa. Versuch einer Deutung." WW 42(1967): 289-301. Gutenbrunner, Siegfried. "Eddastudien I. iiber die Zwerge in der Vpluspa Strophen 9-13." ANF 70(1955): 61-75.

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Paul Schach Hallberg, Peter. "Varldstradet och varldsbranden: Ett motiv i Voluspa." ANF 67(1952): 145-55. Hamel, A.G. van. "The Game of the Gods." ,47^50(1934): 218-42. Helgason, Jon. "Norges og Islands digtning." Nordisk Kultur VIII B. Stockholm: Bonnier; Oslo: Aschehoug; Copenhagen, 1934. Heusler, Andreas. Review of Sigurdur Nordal, Voluspa. ADA 44(1925): 21-22. Hollander, Lee M. "For Whom Were the Eddie Poems Composed?" JEGP 62(1963): 136-42. Jakobsen, Alfred. "Til Strofe 2, 5-6 i Voluspa." MM 55(1963): 79-93. Krogmann, Willy. "Muspilli und Muspellsheim." Zeitschrift fur Religions- und Geistesgeschichte. 5(1953): 97-118. Kuhn, Hans. "Rund um die Voluspa." Medicevalia litteraria: Festschrift fur Helmut de Boor zum 80. Geburtstag. Hrsg. v. Ursula Henning und Herbert Kolb. Munich, 1971. S. 1-14. Kuhn, Hans. "Und hvera lundi." NoB 33(1945): 171-95. Meissner, Rudolf. "V9luspa 2, 5-8." ZfdA 76(1939-40), 218-21. Nerman, Birger. "Det heliga tretalet och Vplospa." ANF 74(1959): 264-67. Herman, Birger. "Hur gammal ar Vplospa?" ANF 73(1958): 1-10. Nerman, Birger. "V9lospa 61:3: Gullnar toflor." ANF78(1963): 122-25. Nordal, Sigurdur. "Three Essays on Voluspa." Translated by B.S. Benedikz and J.S. McKinnel. SBVS 18(1970-71), 79-135. Palsson, Ami. Review of Sigurdur Nordal, Voluspa. Skirnir 98(1924): 212-17. Polome, Edgar C. "Some Comments on Vpluspa, Stanzas 17-18." Old Norse Literature and Mythology: A Symposium, ed. Edgar C. Polome. Austin and London, 1969. (pp. 265-90). Schach, Paul. "Antipagan Sentiment in the Sagas of Icelanders." Gripla 1. Reykjavik: 1975. Schier, Kurt. "Die Erdschopfung aus dem Urmeer und die Kosmogonie der Vpluspa." Marchen, Mythos, Dichtung, hrsg. v. Hugo Kuhn und Kurt Schier. Munich, 1963. (pp. 303-34). Schroder, Franz Rolf. "Ursprung und Ende der germanischen Heldendichtung." GRM 27(1939): 325-67. See, Klaus von. "Das Alter der Rigspula." APS 24(1957): 1-12. Steffensen, Jon. "Aspects of Life in Iceland in the Heathen Period." SBVS 17(1967-68): 177-205. Sturtevant, Albert Morey. "The Use of Colors in the Elder Edda." GR 13(1938): 289-99. Sveinsson, Einar 6l. "Litil athugasemd." Skirnir 122(1948): 143-45. Turville-Petre, E.O.G. "The Cult of Odinn in Iceland." Nine Norse Studies. Viking Society for Northern Research: University College London, 1972. (pp. 1-19). Ulvestad, Bjarne. "How Old Are the Mythological Eddie Poems?" SS 26(1954): 49-69. Vries, Jan de. "Baum und Schwert in der Sage von Sigmundr." ZfdA 85(1954): 98-106. Vries, Jan de. "V9luspa Strophen 21-22." ANF 77(1962): 42-47. Wagner, Felix. "Voluspa ou Predictions de la prophetesse. Analyse et Interpretation." Revue beige de philologie et d'histoire. 13(1934): 45-56. Weber, G.W. "'Sol per terrae marginem dicitur circuire' auch in Vqluspd 5, 1-4?" GRM 21(1971): 129-35. Wood, Frederic T. "The Age of the V9luspa." GR 36(1961): 94-107. Wood, Frederic T. "The Transmission of the Vgluspd." GR 34(1959): 247-61.

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REGIS BOYER

On the Composition of Vqlospd

The person who composed Vqlospd in the form in which we know it today obviously intended to do more than merely record sacred lore in verse form. As the custodian of this lore, and as the perpetuator of a tradition (either oral or written), he must have felt called upon to present his material in a spirit befitting its deeper meaning. Moreover, as a consummate artist, he obviously wished to create a work which was esthetically satisfying. It is on this level, from the perspective of the author, that I would like to attempt a new literary interpretation of Vqlospd (Vsp) even though I am fully aware of the difficulties involved in this undertaking, especially after the masterful studies of the late Sigurdur Nordal.1 Nevertheless, I believe that by taking the poem as it stands, it is possible to come to some interesting conclusions regarding both form and content. I shall begin with certain assumptions which require some explanation. We are all aware that the manuscript tradition of the Poetic Edda is highly problematic. As far as Vsp is concerned, it has become customary to mix the readings of the Codex Regius, Hauksbok, and other manuscripts. We must therefore take into consideration the fact that the standard texts—as edited, for example, by Neckel in Hans Kuhn's revision2—include various additions, interpolations and revisions which, in turn, reflect an attempt to restore or reconstitute a hypothetical original text. Such a text will, of course, be contentious. However, if we accept that the Codex Regius manuscript is the oldest we have, why must we necessarily assume that it is the result of an elaborate revision of a still older text? Why could we not assume, as a working hypothesis, that it is the original version of the text, or at least a version very close to the original? Normally an assertion of this kind calls for lengthy proofs based on external factors such as paleography, or the evidence afforded by other contemporary or even anterior documents. But would it

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Regis Boyer not be possible to demonstrate the authenticity of the text at hand by means of internal criteria—that is, by examining the structure and style of the poem as closely and carefully as possible? It is on the basis of these hypotheses that I propose to work exclusively with the Codex Regius version, although I am well aware of the risks involved. TABLE 1 Relation between stanzas in Neckel/Kuhn and Regius texts of Vsp Neckel/Kuhn 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15-16 17 18 19 20/1-8 20/9-12 21/1-6 21/7-10

Regius 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

Neckel/Kuhn 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36-37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44

Regius 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 missing in R 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43

Neckel/Kuhn Regius 45 44 46-47/1-4 45 missing in R 47/5-8 49 46 47 50 51 48 48 49 52 50 53 51 55 52 55 (Hauksbok) missing in R 56 53 57 54 58 55 59 56 60 57 58 61 62 59 63 60 64 61 65 missing in R 66 62

For the purposes of this discussion, Table 1 enumerates the stanzas of the standard Neckel/Kuhn edition (on which quotations are based) and relates them to the corresponding stanzas in Regius. Accordingly, I will refer only to the second (R) series of numbered stanzas. I believe that the Regius text presents an unquestionable unity, that it is satisfactory in itself, and that it constitutes a perfectly acceptable basis for study. Less corrupted than the Hauksbok version, and far more complete than that of Snorra Edda, it reveals what is of greatest interest to me—a spirit, one could almost say a soul unblemished. What the vqlva has to tell us does not concern a static, immutable vision, but rather an evolving historical process. And she does not tell it in random

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On the Composition o/Vplospa fashion. She selects, omitting certain details, emphasizing others, lucidly organizing her material as she proceeds. From this fact arise the two questions to which we must address ourselves. According to what criteria, what dynamic principle, does she depict the evolution of the history of the universe? And by what techniques does she present this picture in all its mutability? This is tantamount to saying that the plan adopted for the composition of the poem is of fundamental importance for understanding its meaning, and indeed this is precisely my justification for accepting the authority of the one manuscript version of the text. Thus, I propose to discuss the composition of the poem in considerable detail, but this does not preclude an attempt to answer the two questions posed above even at this point. According to Vsp and, it seems to me, all the documents that ancient Norse culture has left us, 3 the dynamic principle, the motor of the evolution of the universe, is fate. Our text is primarily concerned with a definition of fate, an elucidation of its verdicts, and a manifestation of its fulfillment. It is not accidental that the word orlqg, or its compound orlqglausa, appears three times (in sts. 16, 19 and 32), in a poem almost half of which (twenty-eight out of sixty-two stanzas) is devoted to the description of the fate of the gods (ragnargc): its preparation (sts. 28-40) and its consummation (sts. 41-45). As for the composition of the poem, we shall see that whatever criterion of internal organization we choose, it follows a movement of ascent and descent which is a constitutive characteristic, and which transforms the text into a drama, in the Greek etymological sense of the word (5pa|io)—an action progressing toward a definite goal, which may vary according to the principles we select, but which exists nonetheless. Then the movement subsides. In any case, whether we consider the spirit which animates the history of the world, or whether we consider the artistic principle of the author, we are dealing with a text which is centered on and controlled by a conscious progression toward fulfillment. I shall not attempt here an analysis of sources of the poem or influences on it. Whatever they may have been, a purely internal literary analysis of Vsp testifies to such elaboration and assimilation of sources that the final product is ultimately quite independent of its origins. In its core, Vsp is arranged in such a way as to illustrate by every possible means the essential vision and belief that fate is the supreme power, responsible for everything, toward which all things aim, and according to which everything is ordered. This being so, it is clear that the composition of the poem deserves our closest attention. The very structure of a poem on such a crucial subject must correspond to the structure of the mind which conceived it, and we shall see that, in fact, analysis confirms this correspondence.

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Regis Boyer A. The first stanza of Vsp is an exhortation which immediately establishes an epic frame for the poem, the majesty and solemnity of which have been frequently noted. From the very beginning we are in a sacred context (helgar kindir), in communion with the supreme powers (Heimdallr, Valfpdr), in a realm where esoteric lore (ec . . . fyrtelia, . . . fremst um man) is registered in a definite time frame (from the present to the past). Thus we know at once that we are going to move in a magical present either beyond the end of time, from which point we remember, or alternatively, before the beginning of time, from which point we anticipate with fear. This must also be the reason why the vglva indicates that she will speak only to comply with the will of Odinn (vildo, at ec, Valfqdr / vel fyrtelia), who is called Valfpdr for reasons we shall try to elucidate later. B. Next, a series of four stanzas (2-5) describes initial chaos, from the giants, ancestors of the vglva herself, and the nine original worlds lost in the gaping void, to the errant stars, and in particular the moon, which does not yet know what destiny (megin) fate has assigned to it. This is the only place in the poem where static verbs (vera, finnaz) occur frequently. Let us note also the recurrence, especially in stanza 5, of the theme of knowing (vita). But for the time being, we are strictly in the past (ar, fordum, st. 2), and stanza 2 emphasizes remembrance (ec man, man ec). C. Then follows a block of fifteen stanzas (6-20) clearly centered on the theme of creation (scapa sts. 7 and 9, gora sts. 7 and 10): the creation of time (st. 6) presented by the naming of its particularly appealing poetic aspects; then the creation of a multitude of other things. With the entrance of three pursa meyiar, who can only be the norns (st. 8), fate is enthroned in its almighty power (dmdtcar miqc), and, more precisely, in its historical form. The idea of fate dominates the whole stanza, since the gods of this primeval age play at 'tables' (tefldo i tuni), which must be a game of chance. These are the golden tables which will be referred to again in stanza 58. Next follows a passage about the creation of dwarves (sts. 9-15) which, it has been frequently noted, has certainly suffered additions or interpolations, even in Regius. This is probably one of the only two passages in Regius where there has been possible alteration of the original text (the other being st. 36). Stanzas 9-13 could belong to the original text, while 14 and 15 are most probably interpolations because of obvious redundancies (Dvalinn, Eikinscialdi), and because of certain epithets which seem inconsistent (Draupnir, which we know as a magic ring; Har, which is normally a name for Odinn; Fialarr, which, even within the poem, in st. 41, refers to a cock).

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On the Composition o/Vplospa By comparison, the passage devoted to the creation of man is much shorter, consisting of two stanzas (16 and 17), each one symmetrically constructed, with lines 5-8 balancing lines 1-4. Thus in stanza 16 we find the adjectives Q/lgir/dstgir to describe the gods, with orlqglausa to modify Ascr and Embla. In stanza 17 internal parallelism is conveyed by the series qnd/ od/ld/litu. The important word in these stanzas is orloglausa. It is evident here, as has already been suggested for stanza 8, that creation and fate are inseparable concepts. Between the Promethean image of two tree stumps which are orlqglausa, and that of the first human couple, there has been not only the attribution of spirit, color, etc., but above all, the incarnation of an 0rlog. It remains only to give life (conveyed by the verb standd) to the ash Yggdrasill (sts. 18-19), though not to create the ash, for it exists and has always existed, beyond time (cf.st. 2, miqtvid moeran / fyr mold nedari). It is noteworthy that the three functions of the ash are immediately enumerated. It is first the source and guarantor of all life (inasmuch as it is groenn), and second, of all fate (the references to urdar brunnr and scera a scidi). The latter action shows us the three norns engaged in what must have been one of the principal magical rites performed to procure omens, a fate-related rite par excellence. It should also be noted that the stanza ends on and culminates in the word orlqg. In its third function the ash is the source and guarantor of all knowledge (to be inferred from the fact that thepridr meyiar who emerge from the water at the foot of the tree are margs vitandi, st. 19). The colors (hvita aurr, groenn) which appear here for the first time, remind us by sheer contrast of the extent to which this whole section (sts. 6-20) emanates from tension and dynamic action. This is visible chiefly in the frequency of action-verbs (timbra, smida, gora, koma, gefa, falla, scera, leggia, etc.), in the rapid transition from one image or idea to another, in the marked tendency toward extensive enumerations (hgrgr/hof, alfa/aud/ tangir/tol, st. 7; the bula of the dwarves, st. 15; ond/od/ld/lceti/lito goda, st. 17; Urdr/Verdandi/Sculd, st. 19 etc.) in the paucity of adverbs and adjectives, and finally, even if we do not consider thepula of the dwarves, in the large number of characters, human or supernatural, who people these fifteen stanzas. Moreover, it is here that the first of the three refrains of the poem appears (sts. 6 and 9): pd gengo regin gll / d rqcstola. Its function is clearly to imbue the text with an atmosphere of the sacred (ginnheilog god) and of fate (rQcstolt),—to establish the creation of the world, of life, and of man in their religious and juridicial sanctions (which are inseparable in Norse-Germanic paganism); that is, to legitimize, on a sacred foundation, the existence of all

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Regis Boyer reality. The first refrain is therefore essentially a justification, a theophany. It promotes the overall objective of the poem. This is the only function, albeit of primary importance, that I can see for it. This is an opportune occasion to mention again, after so many other commentators, that if the psychological function of the three refrains in Vsp seems to be clear, their structural function is far less obvious. We can hardly say that they introduce new factors into the text, since they intertwine, the second and third refrains in particular. Whatever changes a hypothetical primary text may have undergone, I do not see that one can trace its composition in reference to these refrains. On the other hand, as we have just seen, there is a clear and ample correspondence here between the physical and psychological atmosphere of the whole of the text and that of the refrains. To return once more to Section C (sts. 6-20), it is important to note that the vglva hardly intrudes into the narrative (except in the single instance veil ec, st. 18) and that the whole section unfolds in a well-defined grammatical past. Only stanzas 18 and 19-20, which definitely mark a climax in the poem, are in the atemporal present (ec veil, heitir, koma, falla, stendr). For the rest, let us note that in the block 19-20, after the eternity of Yggdrasill and the norns has been established, time and chronology are reintroduced by the detail of the identification of the norns with their individual names. At the same time, the preterite emerges again. With the incarnation of fate, history is born and will henceforth take precedence in the tragic events which we must now record. D. From stanza 21 to stanza 27 the atmosphere darkens and clouds gather. The golden age of the preceding stanzas is running its course and the forces of fate hold new trials of a tragic nature for this world which they have ordered and which they govern. Stanza 23 has never been definitively explained. We do not know whether Heidr represents Gullverg, or the sybil herself who has been speaking since the beginning of the poem (in which case the general meaning of the text would be hard to grasp), or else the sorceress who invented seidr (Freyia?). Freyia's name would lend itself to this context because we know that in Ynglinga saga, chapter 4, she is identified as the originator of seidr. In any case, Gullveig's identity is not confirmed. Only two things are certain: first, that stanzas 21, 22 and 23 are literally bathed in magic (a woman is thrice burnt, thrice reborn, and still lives, cf. also vglu velspd, ganda, seid twice, and illrar brudar, meaning witches). And second, implicit in the context (especially st. 26/6), although not revealed explicitly until stanza 27/5-8, is the fact that one or several perjuries of extreme gravity

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On the Composition of Volospa have been committed, which will be the direct cause of the coming catastrophe. It is precisely this theme which provides the unity of Part D. In stanzas 2127 Vsp suggests that inexpiable perjuries have been committed, one of which is familiar to us (the story of Gullveig); another is wholly unknown (that of Heidr, if she is not identical with Gullveig); and the third, familiar to every reader of Gylfaginning, is the story of the high treason of which Loci is guilty at the time of the building of Asgardr (st. 26/7-8). It is a violent passage in which, whatever its meaning, the battle of the vEsir and the Vanir, and Thorr's combat with the giant influence the diction, the latter becoming almost hyperbolic (folcvig, illrar brudar, afrdd gialda, Icevi blandit, brunginn modi, mal qll meginlig), with superlatives (fyrst i heimi twice), incessant repetitions and parallels (st. 21, brysvar . . . brysvar; st. 23, seid hon . . . seid hon; st. 24, scyldu cesir . . . scyldu godin), verb or noun aggregations (st. 21, studdu, brendu, brendu; st. 26, eidar . . . ord . . . sceri . . . mdl), and particularly, a rhythm which is hacked and hammered out, and in which monosyllabic words occur more frequently than elsewhere in the poem (cf. st. 21 and especially 25 and 27, the latter two describing battles). The rapid recurrence of the first refrain, at an interval of two stanzas (24 and 26), emphasizes dramatically the narrative present, while for the rest, the passage operates in the past under the rubric of 'distant causes of ragnaryc.' It is unnecessary to emphasize the fact that these causes are perjuries, given the kind of mentality in which honor, conceived of as a reverence for the supreme divinity and power of destiny, 4 was the summum bonum. Whoever breaks his word, which is to say his honor, literally loses his sanctity. And this is just what the gods have done, thereby causing the doom of creation, which now falls into decline. For undoubtedly the reason for the writing of Vsp was to convey the vision of ragnargc (ragna rqc, not ragna racer). On the metaphysical plane it is the indispensible trial through which supreme knowledge and regeneration may be obtained. On a mystical level, it is the indispensible catharsis for the pure. Morally, it is the punishment for the errors committed; that is, once again, the inexpiable perjuries which are tersely but explicitly referred to in stanzas 27 (as we have just seen), and 38. Finally, on the artistic level, ragnargc will provide both the ascending and descending movement, the dark apogee and the splendid images with which we are all familiar. In short, it seems to me that no matter how one chooses to interpret this theme, the judgment of the supreme powers in the form of fate is a climax according to which the ideological system as well as the artistic conception of the author of Vsp are to be interpreted.

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Regis Boyer The author is soon to depict in stanzas of great variety and beautiful intensity the immediate causes of ragnarqc. To clarify this point: I am not saying that ragnarqc is itself the climax of the poem, but rather that it is the inevitable culmination, engendered by fate, of a process which has commenced earlier. Indeed, as was mentioned earlier, the primary fact of the history of the world was the creation of time. It was the first act of the gods after the initial chaos (st. 6). This first creation involved the creation of time as a progression, which will be, as we know, cyclical. (The regeneration to be brought about by ragnarqc will recreate the golden age of the dawn of time.) It follows that the climax of the ascending movement which we have traced, the transformation of the situation which will radically modify the course of history—in short, the reversal of the course of fate—does not take place at ragnarqc, which is only an inevitable result, and to a certain extent, a kind of conclusion. Rather, the climax of the ascending movement is reached in Part D, which we are now examining, since it is here and only here that the irreversible and inexpiable deeds are committed which will determine the outcome of history. Is this the reason why the first refrain appears for the last time in stanza 26? It is replaced almost immediately by the second refrain (vitud er enn, eda hvat?}. I am not certain. But what I would like to suggest is that from stanza 28 (which is, significantly, almost the mathematical center of the poem), a descending movement exists which is actually the resolution of the kind of temporality born in stanza 6. To formulate this more simply: henceforth there will be no more creation, only destruction. E. The last-mentioned fact has convinced me that the center, the climax of Vsp as a whole is reached here, in stanzas 28-31, because all four stanzas are devoted exclusively to the active forces of fate.5 Moreover, in these four compressed stanzas, the sibyl blends her lore (veit ec of sts. 28-29) and her prescience (sd hon of sts. 30-31), which indicates that she is associating memory and anticipation, the past and the future. This, together with the related juxtaposition of the subjective and objective (ec/hori) justifies the delicate but distinct demarcation line which I should like to draw between stanzas 29 and 30, that is, at the very center of the poem. Here we see Heimdallr intervene at the foot of Yggdrasill, and Odinn and the well of Mimir where Valfpdr has pawned his eye, a theme highlighted in stanza 29. And I do not know how we are to interpret the second refrain recorded in two consecutive stanzas (here as well as further on, sts. 62-63). Is it out of fearful awe that the vqlva asks the question? Are we perhaps to understand: "Is it really necessary that I continue?" Or is it due to a kind of

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On the Composition o/Vplospa proud reflex on the part of one who possesses esoteric wisdom and supreme magic (hon sat uti)1 In any case, from Heimdallr to Mimir (sts. 28-29), the vglva 'knows' what the forces of fate are doing, and from Herfpdr to the valkyries (sts. 30 and 31), she 'sees' how these same forces are acting. The thematic link is very strong since, for example, Odinn is referred to only as Valfpdr and Herf9dr, the two names which place him in direct relation to the valkyries. Similarly, the connection Heimdallr/Yggdrasill/Mimis brunnr/valkyries (norns) is established in the text itself by a series of associations which might be said to be spontaneous. On the other hand, I consider the transition to Baldr in the following section (st. 32), more subtle, established as it is by the heiti nqnnur (plural of Nanna, Baldr's wife, st. 31). So the forces of fate are aligned. It is striking to note that they are distributed symmetrically around the poem's central nerve, stanzas 28-31. Heimdallr is an example: if he is, in fact, as Dumezil would have it, a personification of Yggdrasill, and therefore the incarnation not only of Yggdrasill and Mimir with his well, but of the fate of the world, then his appearances can be mapped out as follows:

Heimdallr Yggdrasill Mimir

Previous appearance st. 1 st. 2, 18 st. 18

Appearance in sts. 28-31 st. 28 (his horn) st. 28 st. 29

Subsequent appearance st. 45 (his horn) st. 45 st. 45

One has to admit that this represents a surprising distribution around a focal point where the valkyries, the agents and executors par excellence of the judgments of fate, make their sole appearance (st. 31). F. Here now, in perfect distribution around these forces, are the final causes of ragnargc. In stanzas 21-27, we have seven stanzas which reveal distant causes. Stanzas 32-40 give us the immediate cause: the ignominious death of Baldr and its series of consequences—the torture of Loci, the banks of Nastrpnd, and Loci's brood. The transition from one stanza to the next is smooth (even in the sequence 39-40, where one might consider 40 as an introduction to the next section), except for stanza 36, which is impossible to classify and to make use of here, and which I must therefore consider as an unseasonable addition, the only unquestionable interpolation, in my opinion, in the whole of the Regius text. But for this stanza, the sequence is

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Regis Boyer perfectly logical. The vision of Baldr evokes the vision of the mistletoe (st. 32), which in turn evokes the vision of Hodr, and then, logically, the vision of Vali (not mentioned in Regius, but added, as we know, in Hauksbok). Fate (orlQg, st. 32) was present at the beginning; woe (vd Valhallar, st. 34) attends the conclusion. It is in vain that Loci, in accordance with all our other sources, is meted out an atrocious and exemplary punishment (st. 35), in vain that the terrible places are alluded to, to which every madr meinsvarr and mordvargr must go (st. 38). In Jarnvidr, the giantess has given birth to Loci's loathsome progeny, including the wolf Fenrir (st. 39), one of the major agents of ragnarqc. It is significant that in this section there is a mixture of tragic acts or events (Baldr's death, Loci's torture) and sinister tableaux or visions. This is clearly the reason why the leitmotif ec sd, sd hon recurs four times (sts. 32, 35, 37, 38). Here blood (sts. 32, 40), fire (bdl, st. 34), tears (of Frigg, st. 34), poison (eitrdalr, st. 36, eitrdropar, st. 37), corpses (st. 38) constitute the backdrop against which Baldr, the ideal god, dies. The contrasts are violently asserted in a regularly alternating rhythm: Baldr all bloody / the beauty of the mistletoe; H9dr's pyre / Friggs tears in Fensalir; Loci's torture / Sigyn's tenderness. On the other hand, an almost physically unwholesome sense of corporal suffering marks the heart-rending visions of stanzas 37-40: the drops of venom which rain through the roof-louvers, the men who splash through poison, the dragon that sucks the corpses, the monster that plucks the moon from the sky as if with a fork, the wolf that gorges on bleeding flesh, all of these make a repugnant scenario which has little in common with the grand Dantesque visions of ragnarqc. Once again the effect is produced by the verbs (falla, vada, suga, slit a, tiuga, fyllaz, rioda), which in their context suggest images even when they do not themselves produce an unpleasant sensation. It is important to note that in the course of this section, for the first time in the poem, we have left the past where, with very few exceptions, we have been firmly rooted since the beginning of the poem, to pass into the future in stanzas 40-41 (with the verb verda). The transition is striking: we are about to enter into a decidedly visionary and prophetic world. G. We come now (sts. 41-55) to the vast, 'hallucinated' fresco of ragnarqc, which doubtless accounts for the peerless value of Vsp. A new refrain, geyr

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On the Composition o/Vplospa Garmr miqc / fyr Gnipahelli (st. 46/1-2), just as vatic as the first refrain was majestic and the second anxious, introduces what will henceforth by the grammatical tense of the poem (mun slitna . . . mun renna, st. 46/3-4), associates objective knowledge (veil hori) with the subjective vision (se ec, st. 46/5-6) of the vglva, and develops powerfully what remains the major theme of the whole text, ragna TQC (in two words), which is emphasized to a degree which leads me to suspect that the author was perhaps not altogether without polemical motives after all. The choice of so strong a word as regin, associated with the idea of the judgment of fate implied in rgc always seemed to me to be taken from a potentially Christian view of things—especially given the heavy emphasis created by ragna rqc, romm, sigtyva, in which I sense some irony, especially in the sequence rqmm/sigtyva. This indicates that the description of ragnarqc, like all the rest of the poem, is anything but haphazard. It, too, obeys the laws of logiclal structural organization and progression which are the cardinal principle of Vsp. For, in the same way as in the preceding section (sts. 32-40), where violent scenes such as Baldr's death, Hodr's punishment, Loci's torture are succeeded by less dynamic but equally afflicting scenes, so in this section ragnarqc follows a progression of diminishing activity which leads us from the crowing of sacred cocks to the roaring of the devouring flames, which is almost static by contrast with what precedes it. This takes place in four successive movements: (a) A prologue full of sounds which has the wild majesty of a Wagnerian score: the cocks of stanzas 41 and 42 arouse the warriors for the ultimate struggle. After the chords of the prelude have been struck on the harp of the enigmatic Eggper, the regular recurrence of the verb gala every fourth line (41/5, 42/1, 42/5) brilliantly opens the fantastic oratorio. The third refrain, the contextual value of which we have already to some extent seen, returns in stanza 43, launching the first act. (b) This first act is a swiftly painted fresco (sts. 44-45) of the general chaos which will seize the created universe, followed by the evocation of the grand powers of fate, Mimir, Heimdallr, Yggdrasill. The word miotudr is also significant (st. 45). The studied effect of violence and scandal is achieved here by means of internal techniques such as the mention of crimes including fratricide and hordomr, which are absolutely inexpiable in the mental and moral universe of the ancient North, and also by means of external techniques such as variations in words which are semantically related, like broedr/systrungar/ sifiar, sceggQld/skdlm^ld/vindqld (st. 44). Moreover, the transition from the future tense (st. 44/1-2) to the present (hart er i heimi . . . scildir ro

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Regis Boyer klofnir) actualizes and intensifies the scene. Everything here is movement (beriaz, kliufa, steypaz, leica, kyndaz, losnd) and noise (bldsa, mcela, ymia). And the vision ends with the terrifying, though fleeting mention of the liberation of the monster Fenrir, who is responsible for the ultimate cataclysm. Two stanzas (41 and 42) were a prelude; two stanzas (44 and 45) gave a general idea of ragnarqc. The third refrain punctuates the progression. (c) Now follow stanzas 47-50 with the terrible unbridling of the monsters: Iprmungandr, the eagle Nidfplr, the ship Naglfar (st. 47), the giants under Loci's command (st. 48), and finally Surtr with fire (st. 50). The opposing armies of the forces of good (the ^sir, elves, and dwarves) have assembled in vain. The end is inevitable. To the frenetic activity (aca, snuaz, knyia, hlacca, slita, losna, fara, koma, gnata, rata, troda, klofnd) of the malevolent powers on all sides (austan, sunnan), the author can oppose only the inertia of the Aisir, elves and dwarves, and the uncertainty of the anguished questions of st. 49 (hvat er med dsom?). These are appropriate circumstances for the echoing of the second refrain. The world has been forfeited. (d) Stanzas 51-54, concluded by the last echo of the third refrain, depict in decrescendo the ultimate cataclysm,—the death of the y£sir and the monster, in a triple evocation beginning each time with/w k0mr (sts. 51, 52, 53). This corresponds to the triple reference to Hrymr/Kioll/Surtr ecr (ferr) austan (sunnan) in the stanza series 47, 48, 50. And it is literally the end of the world, the disappearance of the constellations in the universal conflagration. The succession of scenes is very rapid: Odinn—Fenrir, Freyr—Surtr, Vidarr—Fenrir, Thorr—Midgardsormr. Stanza 53 becomes almost mechanical due to the succession of initial verbs: k0mr/gengr/drepr/gengr. There is a note of tragic irony in the systematic recurrence of Homeric epithets (biartr . . . bani Bella/inn micli mpgr/inn mceri mqgr), because the real tragedy is played out in the implacable succession of names of those who are doomed to die immediately or to face great distress. The situation is different in stanza 54 where the stress is placed on the verbs (siga, hverfa, geisa, leica), so that their subjects (sol, fold, stiqrnor, eimi, hiti) retreat into the background. It is the veritable end of the world which the author translates into violent images, antithetical and also potently suggestive, which are obliterated as soon as they emerge (sol/ sortna, fold7mar). For the last time the third refrain is heard, and we are at the end of this enormous scene which has picked up some of the most striking allusions of stanzas 2-5, only to destroy them. It is important to note that fate, dominant from the beginning of the poem to the end, is almost withdrawn from this scene. It figures only indirectly in the reference to migtudr in stanza 45. In

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On the Composition o/V9lospa fact, it has attained its fulfillment, temporarily. Everything is done. Fate retires from its labors. In this beautiful aristocratic text there reigns a kind of distance which contributes significantly to its total effect. Everything is viewed with reserve and judged ipso facto as a series of images or scenes which the author grasps in order to create the desired effect in accordance with the stylistic means at his disposal. H. By contrast, the section which opens next (sts. 56-61) creates a powerful impression of surprise. Except in the third refrain the vglva did not intervene in the previous section. Here she re-emerges in the role of prophetess (ser hon, sts. 56, 61). She perceives the earth reborn and the universal regeneration which must follow the catastrophe. What characterizes this section is its splendour, the freshness of its images, its colors (idiagrcenn, gullnar tqflor, gulli pacpan), the evocation of landscapes in primitive nature (forsar, qrn, veidir . . . fisca, i grasi, acraf). The tense is either the simple future or present with futuritive meaning. We find ourselves in a purely visionary world. But above all, fate, which has governed the poem from the beginning, is strongly reasserted a final time in reminiscences heavy with meaning (megindoma), in an ultimate recourse to esoteric lore (fornar runar), and especially in the gullnar tgflor which existed at the beginning of time (st. 8) and which are miraculously found again. With the sacred dwelling of Gimle reconstructed, and with the emergence of a new moral order (bqls mun allz batnd), a universal harmony is reestablished, dominated by the figures of the innocent Baldr and his brother Hpdr, who was guilty against his will. Next, the enigmatic Hoenir appears on the scene with his magic wand. Thus, magic, fecundity/fertility, and fate, each of which is closely dependent on the others, impose an ultimate supremacy on the moral universe when violence and force decisively subjugated (dyggvar drottif), exist only for happiness (yndi, a word which is mentioned only this once in the whole text). Finally, temporality dissolves into eternity (urn aldrdaga, st. 61/7). It is noteworthy that, in the penultimate stanza, the last long-line of Vsp associates this atemporal aspect (um aldrdaga) with the sole reference to active happiness (niota yndis), In fact, this last section constitutes a solution in the literal sense of the word, a resolution of all the problems which have accumulated in the poem. Stanza 56 resolves the cosmic cataclysm; stanza 57 resolves the eclipse of the gods, stanza 58 resolves the apparent inconsistencies of fate; stanza 59 resolves the intolerable scandal of the suffering of the innocent because of

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Regis Boyer the wickedness of perjurers; stanza 60 resolves the antagonism of the forces which provoked the universal drama; stanza 61 resolves a different tension of forces by the substitution of Gimle for Valhalla. The dynamic evolution (becoming) which animated the poem has given way to an eternal stasis (being), manifested in the last two infinitives. /. As for the enigmatic last stanza (62), which constitutes the general conclusion: although interpretations differ drastically, I view it as a real denoument and as a necessary outcome of the action of the poem. For it not only remains to take leave of the vqlva on an objective note (numun hon socqvaz) now that nothing remains to be 'seen,' but it is also necessary, in accordance with the antithetical movement native to the Norse mentality, to eliminate from the vision of the brilliant paradise regained the last traces of the general conflagration, all the corpses (naif) which remain. This is why Nidh9ggr surfaces from Nidafioll to remove these remains. With him, the purification required for regeneration is finally attained. He is a counterbalance at the opposite pole for the Valfodr of the first stanza. With his disappearance, the reason for the vision itself disappears, and in a sense it is fitting that he carries away with him the vqlva, daughter of the giants, the evil race, who must sink (mun socqvaz), but not without having raised one of the most powerful images of the whole poem, dark (dimmr), dynamic (fliugandi, flygr yfir) and sinister, which succeeds in imposing its grave tone on the entire poem. This rather detailed exposition was necessary, I feel, in order to make possible an understanding of Vsp based on its structure. If my initial premise was correct, that is, if it is possible to take the Regius text as a coherent whole with only one, perhaps.two, exceptions, then the criterion for an internal reading, which is essentially the study of the structure of a text, works here remarkably well. For the fact is, the author of Vsp structured the poem consciously, and the result is a work which is highly controlled technically and thematically. Figure 1 attempts a synthesis of the detailed analyses of each part proposed above. It demonstrates clearly the regular progression of the artistic conception of the poem over an ascending/descending plane which creates an almost geometric symmetry. The motor of this evolution is time, or mythic chronology. 'Motor' is the appropriate word here. We have emphasized the frequency of verbs denoting action, of dynamic images and of tensions between opposing poles. It is remarkable how the successive levels outlined here correspond quantitatively to each other (see Figure 1):

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On the Composition o/Volospa FATE E/ The forces of fate (sts. 28-31) 4 sts. ACTIVE / CAUSES

PASSIVE / CONSEQUENCES

D/ Distant causes of the ragnaryt (sts. 21-27) 7 sts.

F/ Immediate causes of the ragnarqc (sts. 32-40) 9 sts.

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DESTRUCTION

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G/ The ragnarqc (sts. 41-55) 15 sts.

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B/ Original chaos (sts. 2-5) 4 sts.

H/ Regeneration (sts. 56-61) 6 sts.

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A/ Prologue rk and from the pure type of epic narrative. It is the difference between the self-sufficient hamarsheimt of Thorr, and the turgid, conceptually inflated kettle-fetching story which is orientated towards an apocalyptic vision. THE ENUMERATIVE TYPE Locasenna In Ls (/Egisdrecca),™ Loci and the gods, assembled with their servants in the hall of the sea-giant JEgir, drink, carouse, bicker and taunt each other, recounting deeds of glory and deeds of disgrace. The exploits of the gods, their fates from earliest times, the more recent past, and the coming end of the world are related without epic integration. Instead, these are episodically linked as enumerated blasphemies (cf. telia meinstafi, sts. 28, 29; telia vomm st. 52), to which merely an allusion suffices. These myth abbreviations serve a referential function in that they imply a more extensive narration elsewhere. They also have another function in that they are the building blocks of a conceptual structure or montage. The familiar is juxtaposed with the unfamiliar and with products of the poet's imagination. These myth abbreviations may be set forth and categorized as follows. Abbreviations of the Fenris myth which foreshadow the end of the world: (1) On entering the hall, Odinn addresses Loci as ulfsfadir (st. 10). Behind this allusion lies the myth, narrated in extenso by Snorri,13 according to which Loci sired the Fenris Wolf on the giantess Angrboda. The wolf was chained by the gods, during which operation Tyr lost his hand. But at the

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Types of Eddie Mythological Poetry end of the world, the wolf will free himself from his bonds, storm the earth, and devour Odinn and all the einheriar. When this is borne in mind it is evident that Odinn's designation of Loci (himself an enemy of the gods) as the father of an enemy of the gods is an implicit reference to pagan eschatological lore. This is also true in the following: (2) The introductory prose passage relates: Tyr varpar, hann var einhendr. Fenrisulfrsleit ho.ndafhdnom, paer hann var bundinn. And following from this: (3) Loci blasphemes Tyr: "Be quiet Tyr! You can never bring about peace. I have only to mention your right hand, which Fenrir tore off" (st. 38). (4) Tyr replies: "I had to relinquish my hand, but you lost Hrodrsvitnir (Fenrir); so we have suffered equal losses. The wolf does not fare well, who in his bonds must await the end of the world and the gods" (st. 39, er i bgndom seal / bida ragna rqcrs). This reference to ragnargc is picked up again in the reply that follows, with a similar prefigurative function. (5) Freyr says to Loci: "I see the bound Fenris Wolf lying in the estuary until the gods' destruction," (unz riufaz regin, st. 41). Abbreviated Thorr myths: (6) Loci blasphemes: "Why are you making such an uproar, Thorr? You will not be so bold when you have to battle the Fenris Wolf; and the Wolf will devour Odinn" (st. 58). This eschatologically orientated Fenris myth (cf. nos. 1-5), is a piece of slander delivered here from the viewpoint of the enemy of the gods which foreshadows the end of the world. However, Loci conceals the real feat of Thorr in the final struggle, for Thorr does not fight the Fenris Wolf, but slays the latter's brother, the Midgard Serpent.14 (7) "You shouldn't tell anyone about your journeys eastward to the giants, since you hid yourself in the thumb of a glove, you einheri, and forgot that you are Thorr" (st. 60). (8) Moreover: "You found the straps that Skrymir fastened strong and searing, so that you couldn't get at your provisions, and in perfect health you were famished" (st. 62). In (7) and (8), the blasphemous Loci refers to the Scrymir myth, which is narrated in full in SnE, Gylfaginning.^ But Loci does not mention the other great feats recounted in this story of Thorr, and of course, he also omits Thorr's other successful eastward journeys and his slaying of giants which, in anticipation of the final struggle, diminishes the number of future combatants in the forces aligned against the gods.16 Instead, Thorr is viewed from the perspective of the enemy of the gods, that is, as an underdog in a moment of humiliation. In a flash of ironic revelation

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Heinz Klingenberg he is referred to as einheri (resident of Valhalla and warrior in the ultimate struggle), a term which recalls stanza 58 (cf.no.6), and which serves a similar eschatological function. (9) By contrast, Thorr sees himself from the gods' perspective, as a successful, ultimately apocalyptic giant-killer. He threatens to murder the blasphemous Loci with his hammer, which is referred to by the kenning Hrungnis bani 'killer of the giant Hrungnir' (sts. 61, 63), an allusion to the famous Hrungnir myth (also narrated in full by Snorri).17 Abbreviated Freyr myth: (10) Loci blasphemes: "You bought Gymir's daughter with gold, and even gave away your sword. But when the sons of Muspell ride through Myrcvidr, do you know, wretch, how you will fight?" (st. 42). Here reference is made to the courtship fable narrated fully in the Eddie lay Scirnismal, and also in SnE. The eschatological reference makes the myth here another illustration of the overriding idea of the poem. (Snorri18 also tells us that Freyr will miss his sword when the ragnargc-demons attack). In the following myth abbreviations we again find an eschatological orientation. Events are alluded to which in their turn have both a referential and a prefigurative function. Abbreviated Heimdallr myth: (11) Loci says: "Be quiet, Heimdallr! An awful fate was allotted to you at the beginning of time. With a wet back, you will forever be the watchman of the gods" (st. 48). Again an implicit reference to the end of time. Heimdallr, who, according to SnE will be Loci's opponent in the final struggle, 19 keeps watch for the gods until the-end, when he will herald the attack of the ragnarQC-demons, i.e., the sons of Muspell (cf.no. 10), the Fenris Wolf (cf.no.4f.), and Loci (ulfs fadir, cf.no.l). Loci blasphemes the goddesses: (12) "Be silent Idunn! You are the most lascivious of all, since you clasped your brother's murderer in your arms" (st. 17). It is not known to what myth this alludes. (13) "Be silent, Gefion! I will now name the one who enticed you to enjoy love" (st. 20). Also an unidentified allusion. (14) "Be silent, Frigg! You are the daughter of Fiprgyn and were always

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Types of Eddie Mythological Poetry wanton. Even though you are Odinn's wife, his brothers, Vili and Ve, have lain in your arms" (st. 26). Snorri recounts this adultery. 20 (15) "Be silent Freyia! . . . Every one of the ^sir and elves in this hall has been your lover" (st. 30). The late Sqrlapdttr names Freyia as the bed-mate of Odinn, and also of four dwarves.21 (16) "Be silent, Freyia! . . . The gods found you in bed with your own brother" (st. 32). An unidentified allusion (cf.20). (17) "Be silent Tyr! Your wife bore me a son" (st. 40). No extant source mentions Tyr's wife, her adultery with Loci, or an offspring. (18) Intimate relations between Scadi and Loci are suggested in stanza 52, "if we are to reveal all our vices." This myth is unknown. (19) Only Thorr's wife Sif would be above the reproach of sexual licence were it not for her intimacy with Loci himself, which he exposes: "I know of one who could call Thorr a cuckold, and that is Loci" (st. 54).22 The myth abbreviations of Ls are selected in such a way as to establish a highly articulate pattern. Without exception Loci accuses the goddesses present, even the wife of Tyr who is not mentioned elsewhere (even as a background figure), of adultery and cupidity. Familiar myths are mixed with obscure allusions and even fictions of the author, all in the service of a transcendent idea, so that even this broadly aimed slander has a prefigurative function. In Loci's blasphemy of the goddesses the poet prefigures the end of the world, for moral depravity, corruption, whoredom and adultery are symptoms of the end. This is expressed in exemplary fashion in the venerable eschatological poem Vqlospd (i.e. the reference to hordomr mikill in stanza 45.23 The goddesses' hordomr mikill (with its eschatological significance) is referred to in Ls, stanza 33, as a vd litil. Niprdr defends his daughter's moral laxity on the grounds that it is no shame for a woman to take a husband or a lover or both. The sexual freedom of the Vanir could be considered questionable by a later period, and could be taken as a symptom of the end of the world, just like the incestuous marriage of Niprdr and his sister (originally an inoffensive myth) in the next allusion (cf. also no. 16): Abbreviated Niqrdr myths: (20) Loci blasphemes: "Halt, Niprdr! . . . Your sister bore you a son (Freyr), and that's no worse than what is to be expected of you" (st. 36). (21) "Be silent, Niordr! You were sent to the gods as a hostage" (st. 34).

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Heinz Klingenberg (22) "Hymir's daughters used you as a chamber pot and pissed in your mouth" (st. 34). This allusion to Niprdr's adventure with Hymir's daughters, reflecting the ancient hostility between the giants and the gods, is obscure. Myth abbreviation 21, on the other hand, refers to the use of Niprdr as a hostage in the ancient war with the Vanir, the first world-war,24 and the fight between 'brothers' in the era of the gods. According to the prophecy of Vqlospd, this war prefigures the final war of the gods. Ultimate events are thus foreshadowed by earlier events. It is safe to assume that the poet of Ls, familiar with numerous Eddie lays, knew Vqlospd, and it is certainly plausible that he used the figurative mode of thought found in this, the noblest of all our eschatological poems, to foreshadow the end of the world in his own poem. Abbreviated Odinn myths: (23) Loci blasphemes: "Be silent, Odinn! You have often given victory to the lesser man" (st. 22). The precise allusion remains obscure, but one is reminded of ancient heroes, warriors of Valhalla, such as Sigmundr, Haraldr hilditpnn and others, as well as the apologetic mythology of (for example) Eiriksmdl and Hdkonarmdl. The man to whom Odinn denies victory, whom he fetches to Valhalla to strengthen the divine army, is destined for ultimate events. No one knows when the Fenris Wolf will attack the gods and einheriar.25 (24) "Remember, Odinn, that in olden times we two mixed our blood in brotherhood" (st. 9). Loci, now the enemy of the gods, ulfsfadir a (st. 10, cf.l), speaks here. At the end of time sacred bonds of blood-brotherhood will be broken. Here Loci himself evokes a prefiguration. 26 Brothers will fight and be slain by brothers; cousins will destroy the bonds of kinship; adultery and whoredom will indicate the approaching end of the world (according to Vqluspd 45, and eschatological thinking in general). The threat of sifiaspell between gods related by blood and marriage is also the motive for Idunn's attempts at reconciliation: Bid ec, Bragi, / barna sifiar duga / oc allra oscmaga (st. 16). (25) Loci scorns Odinn's sexually perverse magicianship and the practice known as seidr, which involved shape-changing (referred to as args adal in st. 24). According to other sources this is also a symptom of the impending end of the era of the gods (cf. nos. 26, 27).27

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Types of Eddie Mythological Poetry Abbreviated Loci myths: (26) Loci is slandered not only by Odinn, but also by Niordr. Odinn says: "You spent eight winters under the earth, . . . you were a woman, bore children, and that is perverse" (args adal, st. 23). (27) Niprdr says: "... the perverse, effeminate god has entered the hall, he who has borne children" (st. 33). The myths referred to here are unknown to us, but their prefigurative function is clear. Loci's moral depravity and bisexuality, Odinn's args adal (cf.no.25), the incest of the Vanir (cf.nos.16, 20), the promiscuity and adultery of all the goddesses (nos. 12-19) have a cumulative effect in Ls. They are symptoms of the coming end of the era of the gods, which is motivated and justified by the idea of moral depravity. Moreover, the allusion to Loci's bisexuality suggests a possible connection with the prefiguration of the end of the world in Vqlospd in scamma, where Loci's acts of procreation are a preparation for the final battle against the gods. For Loci is the paternal progenitor of the demons of the apocalypse (i.e. ulfs fadir, cf.no.l), and is the maternal progenitor of all the monsters of the earth (Hyndloliod 40, 41).28 The following abbreviations of the myth of the bound Loci also prefigure the end: (28) Freyr says to Loci: "I see the (bound Fenris-) wolf lying in the estuary until the end of the world (cf. 5). Soon you will be bound. . . ." (st. 41). (29) Scadi says: " . . . the gods will bind you to the sharp precipice with the entrails of your dead son" (st. 49). In stanza 50 Loci echoes her words (cf. also no. 30). (30) The prose epilogue Frd Loca, relates that Loci "was bound with the entrails of his son, Nari, and his son Narfi was the wolf that tore open his brother Nari." This is a reference to the myth of the binding of Loci, narrated fully by Snorri, who connects it with the Baldr tragedy and also with the end of time: liggr hann i bqndum til ragna-rokrs.2* He who was the instigator of Baldr's death, and who prevented his return, will lie in bonds until the 'twilight of the gods.' (31) While this myth is extensively narrated in SnE,30 it appears in Ls as a myth abbreviation. Loci says: "Frigg, you want me to continue piling up my evil words. It is my fault that you do not see Baldr riding to the hall" (st. 28).

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Heinz Klingenberg This abbreviation has a referential as well as a prefigurative function. With the first death of a god, with this divine fratricide, the eschatological vision of Vglospd (sts. 3Iff.) opens, and the myth abbreviations of the fragmentary eschatological poem Vqlospd in scamma are similar in this respect (cf. Hyndloliod 29). In Vqlospd and Vqlospd in scamma, as in Ls, the end is sketchily prefigured and includes the famous, or notorious giant-slayings of the era of the gods (cf.no.9).31 (32) Loci says to Scadi: "I was the first and the last at the killing of Thiazi" (st. 50; Scadi repeats this verbatim in st. 51). Behind this allusion is the Thiazi myth, preserved in detail in Haustlqng and SnE, pp.78ff. Snorri does not say that Loci played an especially important role in this slaying. According to Hdrbardzliod 19 it was Thorr who killed Thiazi. With its long series of myth abbreviations, which function referentially insofar as they assume more extensive knowledge of a myth, Ls belongs to the enumerative type of poem, the same type which accounts for most of the mythological lays of the Corpus Eddicum. (For the moment I shall reserve discussion of the prefigurative myth abbreviations which function as part of an overriding eschatological idea.) Like the majority of enumerative lays, Ls also reveals a bipartite structure. The whole lay is set in a frame containing its own action, where mythical creatures meet and recount their lore, and where a context for such a meeting is created. The creative idea of this poem is the quarrel of the gods in ^Egir's hall. This frame situation informs all sixty-five of the spoken stanzas, in that no fewer than seventeen frame figures take their turn, in eighteen short dialogues, in disputing with Loci: Loci/Eldir, —/Bragi, —/Odinn, —/Bragi; Idunn/Loci, Gefion/—, Odinn/ —, Frigg/—, Freyia/—, Niprdr/—, Tyr/—, Freyr/—, Byggvir/—, Heimdallr/—, Scadi/—, Sif/—, Beyla/—, Thorr/—. In this regard Lsis atypical. In the typical enumerative lay, the frame and the encapsulated enumeration are formally and thematically quite clearly distinguished. One, or at most two frame figures recite the enumeration, which usually stands only in loose connection to the frame, and may serve an end in itself. Ls, by contrast, develops the mythological enumeration in very close relationship to an expanded frame story. Loci and the assembled gods not only curse each other as authorities on myth, but their mythological insults also serve to exacerbate the hostilities in /Egir's hall. Thus the series of myth abbreviations in Ls also serves an epic function, and the enumeration is not an end in itself, but plays an integral role in the overall poem. The frame and the enumeration combine to form a unified whole. The bipartite structure of mythological Eddie lays is transformed into something new, not only by a 148

Types of Eddie Mythological Poetry gradually intensifying frame situation (a situation of which we are continually reminded by the motif sEgis hglf),32a and by the continual intervention of further frame figures throughout the lay, but also by the concatenation of the eighteen dialogues where statement and counterstatement constantly interrupt each other. These statements are artfully linked together by the echoing of a word or phrase of the previous speaker by the subsequent speaker, and by the anaphoric pegipu (repeated sixteen times), as well as by the staf-like repetition of ... rgg vcettr /per seal minn prudhamarr, / Migllnir, mal fyrnema (four times), the anaphoric veiztu (seven times), and the mesophoric pit in twelve stanza-openings. Such an integrated structure distinguishes Ls from the pure type of enumeration, especially in the fact that here narrative is integrated with the help of enumerative stanzas. For Ls is more than an ordinary dispute of the gods in ,/Egir's hall, and the sEgisdrecca more than a casual or fortuitous frame used to expose or slander the heathen gods through the mouth of Loci, and vice versa. Something much more significant lies in the background here— the divine myth itself in all its depth and seriousness—and the myth abbreviations, building elements of a conceptual montage, provide the chronological and thematic superstructure for this hidden mythic narrative. This AZgisdrecca is not set randomly in time, but by careful design stands chronologically between Baldr's death (cf.no.31, Loci's first self-incrimination for his deed, i.e. ec pvi reed), and before the imminent binding of Loci (cf.nos.28-30), which, according to the prose epilogue of this lay as well as other sources, is to be interpreted as the gods' vengeance on the rddbani of the Baldr tragedy.33 (33) The ^Egisdrecca (the title of Ls in paper manuscripts), which is never forgotten in the lay because of the pervasive presence of the frame situation with its hall setting, documents a myth-making process in which the idea of a banquet of the gods (Sonatorrek 8, 19; Hym 1-3; SnE, p. 121) was capable of development into a judicial assembly after Baldr's death (cf. Hym 39: drecca Qldr at ^Egis = ping goda). This development is also clearly indicated in the inner frame of Grm. Odinn, being tortured in King Geirrodr's hall, sits between two fires and reveals mythological lore (see the discussion of this lay below.) Odinn raises his face toward the gods above with the invocation: "let all the gods on ^Egir's bench, at vEgir's feast, be brought in by this" (st. 45). (Thus a myth abbreviation with referential and prefigurative function.) All the gods are appealed to here to view Odinn's ignominious treatment in Geirrodr's hall. They are called as witnesses and judges to the trial which Odinn will hold over Geirrodr. Here, an actual and particular trial is 149

Heinz Klingenberg elevated and enhanced by an exemplum—a reference to the mythological yEgisdrecca, which is understood as an exemplary trial presided over by the full assembly of the gods /Egis drecco a/.34 The theme of Ls (which is not treated extensively elsewhere in the extant tradition), is the preliminary trial of Loci by the gods (excepting Thorr, who is still absent). The accused suddenly bursts into the trial, and the judgment of the gods on the damnable auctor intellectualis of the Baldr tragedy gradually takes shape. The plans for vengeance will be realized in Loci's terrible bondage. In the holy sanctuary (gridastadr), Loci can expose the crimes of his judges, and by enumerating his and their shameful deeds, can goad them into revealing his fate. He succeeds in this, although in doing so he risks antagonizing the gods even more, and making his sentence still harsher. But since he knows he can expect no amnesty, he can at least fight for a bargaining position: what do the gods have in store for him, what can he do to protect himself?35 Thus, in the flyting of the gods, Ls contains a hidden myth which is not narrated explicitly or as an end in itself as it might have been in an epic mythological lay, but rather indirectly, by means of myth abbreviations which have an epic function as well as a referential and prefigurative function. Let us now examine Ls as a whole with this fact in mind. Synopsis: (a) Stanzas 1-5, Loci in front of dEgir's hall, his talk with /Egir's servant Eldir: Loci, Baldr's radbani, approaches with a bad conscience and hears that the gods not only speak ill of him, but even speak of arms and preparations for battle. Still, Loci wishes to go before the gods, to spoil their beer as they drink in their sanctuary and to inveigle his judges into revealing their plans for vengeance for Baldr's death, so that he might escape the execution of their sentence on him. (b) Stanzas 6-10, preliminary skirmish in AZgir's hall: The unwelcome guest is received silently and Bragi, spokesman of the gods, wishes to deny him the welcoming toast and a seat in the hall. But Loci knows how to extort acceptance of his presence by reminding Odinn of their ancient pledge of blood-brotherhood and the promise that in the presence of one another they would drink together or not at all (myth abbreviation, cf.

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Types of Eddie Mythological Poetry no. 24). So that Loci should not be justified in slandering the gods, Odinn accords the father of the Fenris Wolf (cf. no. 1) a place in the circle and has him served, for wherever justice is sought, precedent rights must not be transgressed. (c) Stanzas 11-56, Loci's insolence at the banquet assembly: In the presence of Loci, upon whom judgment is to be passed when Thorr returns, the gods fall silent. But Loci breaks the silence with his unbridled vituperation, systematically exposing the hidden weaknesses and misdeeds of the gods who are about to judge him and his misdeed. He taunts his judges, one after the other (in the hope of inducing them to pronounce preliminary judgment on him, revealing what punishment might be imposed, and is most successful in this with Scadi). The climax of the dispute is the confrontation between Loci and Scadi. Scadi mounts a spirited attack (as the most outspoken representative of the faction that will win in the end, she pronounces the sentence which, as the prose epilogue reveals, is eventually executed, cf. 30). Loci will be bound on the jagged edge of a cliff, tied with the entrails of his son who has been torn open by another of his (Loci's) sons. Loci reacts to this revelation of his fate with brazen disdain, tormenting Scadi with the confession that he himself played a leading role in the murder of her father Thiazi (cf. no. 32). Scadi falls into a rage over the murder of her father and Baldr (whom, according to SnE, p. 81, she wanted to marry as compensation for her father's death).36 Scadi's vengeance fkpld rad,) will exacerbate the sentence passed on Loci: according to the prose epilogue of Ls as well as other sources, Scadi fastens a poisonous snake over the face of the bound Loci. Thus the poet leads us through the myth enumerations of the senna to the gods' judgment of Loci (cf. nos. 28-30).37 (d) Stanzas 57-65, the appearance of Thorr and Loci's departure from the hall: Thorr, who was not present at the preliminary trial and knows nothing of the pre-judgments of the assembled gods, threatens to strike Loci across the mouth and to kill him on the spot. In this way he is able to rid the gods of the unwelcome guest, for Thorr is known to strike an opponent even in a sanctuary. But even on his way out Loci plays a trump card and curses the banquet-master of the gods with an imprecation that foreshadows the apocalyptic conflagration—an allusion with referential, prefigurative and epic functions, which closes the frame of this dialogue-poem. The prefigurative reference to the final conflagration is the last trump of the accused, for

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Heinz Klingenberg even if he is bound, he will ultimately, like his son the Fenris Wolf (cf. nos. 1-6), break loose and take part in the final struggle against the gods before the world is destroyed in flames. (34) Loci curses JEgir: "You brewed the beer, but you will never again hold a feast; may the flames lick over all that you own and all that is here, and may they burn on your back" leiki yfir logi, / oc brenni per a baki, st. 65).38 The poet of Ls and his audience know what Loci, who is morally responsible for the Baldr tragedy (cf. no. 31), is trying to ascertain. The awful final judgment which Scadi, more clearly than any of the others, holds out to gratify Loci's interest (cf. nos. 28-29), will indeed be carried out ( cf. the prose epilogue of the poem and 30 here). It was to this end that Loci approached the assembly of the gods and unleashed his colossal abuse. In the extant version, Ls is composed of five times thirteen stanzas, and all in all thirteen gods speak in twice thirteen stanzas to Loci.39 The jury (which excludes Eldir, Byggvir and Beyla, the servants of Aigir and Freyr), assembled in vEgir's hall to determine what vengeance should be exacted for Baldr, operates under the law of the magic number thirteen.40 Before Thorr arrives as the thirteenth judge, Loci, the ostracized god, makes his appearance. The yet uncondemned enemy of the gods becomes, in his last major appearance, the interim thirteenth for the twelve gods who are determining his sentence, and a self-appointed judge of his future judges. But this interim judge, the apocryphal thirteenth, must retire when Thorr, the true thirteenth, arrives. The refrain, pegipu . . . pronounced twelve times by Loci, is uttered for the thirteenth time by Thorr (st. 57). The demoted Loci as an apocryphal thirteenth points up a further typological feature of the Eddie mythological lays. Their stories, whether in the frame or in the main body of the poem, are based on the confrontation of inhabitants of different worlds. In Ls the gods are confronted by the renegade, the blood-brother of Odinn in times long past (cf.24), who proves himself a past, present, and ultimately apocalyptic enemy of the gods, the one who in the recent past caused Baldr's death and who will be condemned for this until the 'last judgment.' This is underscored by the numerous myth abbreviations which point to Loci's hostility toward the gods and to the eschatological basis of the Eddie world. The overriding idea of Ls, a poem in which the gods sit in judgment over Loci, and in which he settles accounts with the gods and they with him, is the

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Types of Eddie Mythological Poetry end of the world. It is not only the confrontation of the gods with Loci, the future ragnarQC-demon that signals the end. Bonds of blood-brotherhood are broken (cf. no. 24). The destruction of kinship ties, fratricide, hordomr mikill are the prescriptive signs of the end of the world. The eschatological prefiguration of Vqlospa begins with Baldr's death, the first fratricide of the era of the gods, and the first death of a god (Vglospd 31ff.). So, too, begins the eschatological vision of Vglospd in scamma (Hyndloliod 29): Baldr's death, instigated by Loci, is the recognized signal of the end of the era of Odinn, which is doomed to destruction. The condemnation of Loci (Vqlospd 35), is a further signal, and between these two events lies our AZgisdrecca. The overriding eschatological principle of Ls is served especially by the numerous myth abbreviations (1-34), which reveal through the character and consistency of their selection that the era of Odinn is destined for ultimate destruction. The same is true of events ex illo tempore which foreshadow ultimate events (thus resembling functionally the prefigurations in Vqlospa). These prefigurations run through the poem as secondary or minor themes, and make a second level of meaning visible. Not only the renegade Loci, but also the gods who want to judge him, are exposed and morally condemned by their enemy through his revelation of their earlier misdeeds and divine misadventures. These faults and crimes signal the end of the era of Odinn, which was already foreshadowed in the distant past: Odinn's args adal (cf.no.25), the hordomr mikill of all the goddesses (cf. no. 12-19), Niprdr's incest (cf.no.20), and Freyr's incest (cf.no. 16). In its overall conception and effect Ls is an eschatological poem. This becomes evident in the prefigurative myth abbreviations, that is, the slaying of giants, Heimdallr's duty as watchman, Freyr's loss of his sword, Baldr's death, Loci's animosity toward the gods, the binding of the ragnargc-demon Loci (er lauss . . . / lidr or bqndom / oc ragna rqc / riufendr koma [Baldrs draumar 14]), the apocalyptic Fenris Wolf (cf.nos.1-6), Odinn's end (cf.no.6), the conflagration of the world (cf.no.34), and further eschatological references (ragna rqcr, st. 39; riufaz regin, st. 41; Muspellz synir / rida Myrcvid yfir, st. 42). Thus Ls represents the highly developed type of poetic enumeration characterized by the triumph of the conceptual over the epic element, and by the montage technique which places prefigurative eschatological myths at the disposal of the artist's imagination. This technique of using eschatologically orientated myth references as a poetic resource requires that the audience possess some background knowledge. The myths are enumerated with referential, prefigurative and epic functions in the service of a poem which, as a whole, is conceptually structured (the preliminary trial held by the gods over the instigator of the Baldr tragedy). They make Ls an eschatological poem in

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Heinz Klingen berg terms of its total effect, as well as exacerbating the hostilities in ^Egir's hall (narrative frame with its epic function). The narration is integrated by means of multifarious myth abbreviations and enumerative flyting stanzas which are worked into the bipartite structure (i.e., frame story and internal enumeration). Grimnismdl The simpler type of poetic enumeration is represented by the Eddie Grm, which is like Ls in its use of direct speech, but which uses this direct speech consistently in the form of monologue (fifty-four stanzas are spoken by Odinn). The bipartite structure characteristic of the type is much clearer in this didactic lay. A short epic frame (sts. 1-3, 51-53), which provides narrative context and suspense, contrasts with a non-epic enumeration of mythological lore. The frame, supported in the extant manuscripts by an introductory prose passage (Frd sonom Hraudungs konungs) and a prose epilogue, surrounds the enumeration with action, leads Odinn into the hall of King Geirrodr, and enables inhabitants of different worlds, gods and men, to meet. It is this frame which establishes the context in which the multifarious mythic material is enumerated. Synopsis: Odinn-Grimnir visits the hall of his foster-son Geirrodr incognito in order to test him. But Odinn's jealous wife, Frigg, has obfuscated the king so that he takes his guest for an evil magician. Geirrodr sets Odinn between two fires in his hall in order to force him to speak. For eight nights the tortured god sits without food and drink, and then begins to reveal his lore when the ten-yearold son of the king offers him a full drinking horn and thereby wins his favor. This is the frame in which the enumeration takes place. By reciting his many names in the last part of the enumeration, Odinn identifies himself in all his power and reveals himself to the king fnu knattu Odin sia, st. 53), to whom he pledges a speedy death. A prose epilogue reveals that Geirrodr, in order to rescue the god quickly from the torture of the flames, jumps up, stumbles, and falls on his own sword. The main object of Grm is not to recount a lively, vivid and self-sufficient story about Geirrodr (i.e., the fetching of Odinn's protege to Valhalla by the god himself). Rather, it is to recount the gnomic-didactic mythological material which is embedded in an epic frame, and which takes up approxi-

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Types of Eddie Mythological Poetry mately nine-tenths of the poem in its preserved form. The enumeration of mythological details appears to be largely an end in itself in the extant version of the poem. The loose connection to the frame story is to be found at the point where Odinn reveals himself to the king by the enumeration of his many names. Originally autonomous stanzas and stanza series, some of them of very ancient provenance, have apparently been collected and joined together to form an Odinn-monologue, a secondary poem of major proportions, which appears to us as the visionary revelation of the tortured god in the hall of King Geirrodr. Hence the poetic invention of the frame story. The first connected enumeration in Odinn's monologue is that of the different dwellings of the gods (sts. 4-17); they are literally counted (inn pridi, fiordi . . . in ellipto), though not consistently and evenly. In the second part of the enumeration (sts. 18ff.), which is the longest and most diversified part, Odinn's monologue mentions details of the geography of the mythological Valhalla and the World Tree and their inhabitants, and then the course of the sun, the sun wolves and the origin of the world. An inner frame structures the enumerations.41 The tortured god refers to himself and his situation (the frame-situation in Geirrodr's hall) after the enumeration of the divine homes and then addresses the divinities (sts. 42-45).42 With the enumeration of more than fifty names for Odinn (following the thirteen names of gods, and fourteen names of divine homes etc. in the first part, and, in the second part, the names of forty-two bodies of water, thirteen valkyries, twelve names for horses, seven for snakes, four for deer, and three dozen other names, in all more than fifteen dozen mythological names and an abundance of mythological details), this heterogeneous collection comes to an end. At this point it is linked to the narrative frame. For, with the enumeration of his more than fifty names (sts. 46-50, 54)43 the tortured god reveals his identity and manifests himself in all his power before King Geirrodr, who recognizes Odinn too late to be able to avoid the fate he deserves. In order to connect the inner story of the tortured guest (Odinn) with the frame (sts. 51-53), certainly fewer than fifty, perhaps only the eleven names of Odinn given in the final stanza (54) would have sufficed (Odinn ec nu heiti, / Yggr ec ddan het, / hetomc Pundr fyrir pat, / Vacr oc Scilfingr . . .). Indeed, "der Gedanke der allmahlichen Enthiillung des Gastes beherrscht die Auswahl nicht." 44 Extensive portions of the enumeration could be deleted without detriment to the poem as a whole. And yet the mythological lore in the enumerative parts of Grm, approximately 90 per cent of the extant lay, and uniform neither in content nor form (Ijodahdttr is juxtaposed with /?«/a-series) is not so completely an end in

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Heinz Klingenberg itself as it appears. Rather, it has a function in the lay as a whole, and shows what even the simpler type of poetic enumeration is able to achieve through the predominance of the conceptual over the epic: the mythological details of the multifaceted enumeration serve an overriding idea to which even the epic frame of the lay is subordinate. For the benefit of King Geirrodr, the uninitiated, who tortures his divine guest, Odinn tells his vision, surveys the magnificence of the world of the gods, Valhalla, and the landscape of the World Tree and its inhabitants, and includes the end of the age of the gods in his survey. But he does not do this in a mood of resignation; rather, he is conscious of his divine power, which is manifested in his many names. Odinn is here a mystagogue (although he is tortured like an initiation candidate by fire, hunger, and thirst, indicating the existence of an old initiation mythologem within the narrative frame). King Geirrodr, who does not recognize his mystagogue until the end, is the candidate, whose role is marked by existential crisis, by transition from life to death. The deluded protege of Odinn, fated to die, is initiated before his death into the knowledge of what one of Odinn's warriors can expect to see after his death. In and through Odinn's visionary utterances Geirrodr sees the sacred land of the gods and the magnificence of its dwellings and inhabitants (enumerated in accordance with a pre-existent mnemotechnically structured stanza sequence which is integrated incomplete into the larger poem as the building material of a conceptual montage). Geirrodr sees especially the magnificent Valhalla, the only dwelling to which more than one stanza is devoted outside the mnemotechnically recounted stanza series (sts. 8-10, 23). It is tempting to see this addition as the work of the creator of the larger lay, invented or included in order to give more eloquent expression to the overriding idea of the poem. In the context of Valhalla the einheriar motif with its notion of til Odins koma takes on a prefigurative function. King Geirrodr hears twice, emphatically, that every day Odinn chooses the dead warriors killed on the battlefield and that he decides who will come to Valhalla (sts. 8, 14). Geirrodr, too, could see the sacred land of the gods and easily recognize Valhalla, if he were to join Odinn after his death (sts. 9, 10): miqc er audkent, / fieim er til Odins koma, / salkynni at sid. Through Odinn's words and vision Geirrodr can see how the einheriar live in Valhalla, how these dead heroes eat with Odinn of the ever-renewed boar Ssehrimnir (second part of the enumeration, st. 18): enn pat fair vito, / vid hvat einheriar alaz. He sees that the einheriar drink mead of the mythic goat Heidrun, which never runs dry (st. 25); that they are served the mead by a host of valkyries (st. 36 cites, by means of preformulated mnemonic verses, 156

Types of Eddie Mythological Poetry the names of thirteen valkyries—peer bera einheriom Q[); in this way, like a leitmotif, the idea of the einheriar, and til Odins koma is sustained. Like Odinn-Grimnir, Geirrodr too can see the mythic Odinn, who nourishes himself on wine and sates his two wolves, Geri and Freki (st. 19). He also sees Odinn's other animals, the two ravens Huginn and Muninn (st. 20), and can see the path of the dead heroes to Valhalla, which leads over a great river and through the gate Valgrind (sts. 21-22): en pat fair vito, / hve hon er f Ids lokin. This is the path Geirrodr himself would take if he were to join Odinn after his death. Like Odinn-Grimnir, Geirrodr also sees a vision of the 540 gates of Valhalla before him. Through these gates 432,000 einheriar will advance with Odinn against the Fenris Wolf at the end of the world (st. 23). Geirrodr would advance with them if he were to go to Valhalla as an einheri after his death. Geirrodr knows now about the ultimate destiny of a hero who lives on after death with Odinn, lives because he is needed to fulfill the aeon, and to support Odinn against the ragnargc-demons at the end of the world, so that they too may be destroyed and so that a new world may follow. With Odinn's vision, Geirrodr sees the terrible Fenris Wolf (pa erpeirfara at vitni at vega, st. 23), and also Odinn's son Vidarr, who will avenge his father on the Fenris Wolf (st. 17), and who, according to other sources, will represent the new world when the old era of Odinn has finally passed (and that it will pass is clearly felt, e.g. enn / Prudheimi / seal Porr vera, / unz um riufaz regin, st. 4). King Geirrodr's initiation is elevated to a cosmological-eschatological level, to prepare the hero for his ultimate destiny in the history of the world. The creator of Grm in its final form speaks to us in terms of a transcendent idea, which he develops in accordance with the pre-existent stanzas and stanza series he has collected, and in accordance with his own poetic vision. Through Odinn's vision and its mythological lore Geirrodr is brought to Valhalla and its divine company. He views the eschatologically organized era of Odinn from primeval times (the myth of Ymir, the creation of the cosmos out of chaos, the first great deed of the blid regin, i.e. sts. 40f.), up to the final events, and from afar he glimpses the new world (i.e., the reference to Vidarr in st. 17 is a myth abbreviation with referential and prefigurative functions). He sees behind the cooling sun-shield Svpl (sts. 37f.), an idea which prefigures the conflagration of the world, for when the shield falls, biqrg ok brim / ec veit at brenna scolo (st. 38). He sees beyond the course of the sun and the sun wolves (st. 39), again an idea which prefigures the end of the world (. . . Hati, / hann er Hrodvitnis sonr, / sd seal fyr heida brudi himins', i.e., Hati the son of Fenrir, will devour the sun). Geirrodr views the

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Heinz Klingenberg best of each cosmological kind (e.g. Ascr Yggdrasils, Odinn, Bilrpst st. 44), which will be destroyed when (the pula form of enumeration, with stress building towards the end of the series) Garmr, the best of all dogs, howls at the end of the world (cf. the refrain in Vqlospd: geyr Garmr miqc}. He sees the many dwellings of the gods and the bridge to the world of the gods, which will go up in flames in the final conflagration (st. 29), and bodies of water (in sts. 27ff. more than forty names of bodies of water are enumerated). He surveys the environs of the World Tree, the realms of men and giants, and the goddess of the underworld, Hel (st. 31). He views the dragon Nidhoggr, which sucks on corpses, and sees the World Tree threatened, all of which signifies the end of the era of Odinn (sts. 32ff.), for the World Tree is being assailed by deer, snakes, Nidhpggr, and decay. And finally, he sees Odinn, conscious of his divine power, manifest himself in each of his many names. King Geirrodr has now been initiated. Viewed in this light, the extant version of Grm, with its extensive enumeration of mythological lore, is more of a compilation than a poem, a synthetic product made of borrowed materials, which attempts to give the best possible expression to a transcendent theme in accordance with the possibilities afforded by originally independent stanzas and stanza series. Mythological details in enumerative profusion are used as the building elements of a conceptual montage. In the form of poetic enumeration these elements take on a new function in the service of the thematically overriding idea of Geirrodr's initiation into wisdom and heroic existence, indeed into the eschatological destiny of an einheri. Moreover, Grm is not the only Eddie lay which gives expression to a thematically transcendant idea of initiation into heroic wisdom by means of an epic frame and non-epic enumeration. With the enumerative runic lore and rules of conduct in Sigrdrifomdl, Young Sigurd is initiated, as is Ottarr heimsci in Hyndloliod, with its enumerated geneology of heroes and its incorporated inner text of Vglospd in scamma.45 Yet the one who is initiated by Odinn-Grimnir through the mythological enumeration in Grm is, according to Odinn's decree in the epic frame, doomed to die (cf. st. 53: Eggmodan val / nu mun Yggr hafa, / pitt veil ec Iff um lidit). Too late, King Geirrodr recognizes the god in the miserably treated guest, and can no longer approach him (ndlgaztu mic, efpu megir, st. 53), instead stumbling and falling on his own sword. But even dead, King Geirrodr will not be able to approach Odinn and Valhalla, for he is banned from Odinn's following of einheriar (cf. st. 51, miclo ertu hnugginn, er pu ert mino gengi, / qllom einheriom, oc Odins hylli).** Thus the motifs of til Odins koma, of Valhalla and the einheriar, which stand above the non-epic enumeration, extend into the epic frame and give the lay as a whole its epic

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Types of Eddie Mythological Poetry point: the initiated Geirrodr can make no use of his new-found knowledge (cf. st. 52, Fiqld ec per sagda, / en pu fat um mant). He will not see the magnificence of the world of the gods, which he has now viewed from the dawn of time to the end of the world; he will not see Odinn in his majesty, or travel the path of dead heroes which has been revealed to him, the path that leads to Valhalla through the gate Valgrind; he will not eat of the wild boar Sashrimnir with the einheriar, he will not drink with them the mead of Heidrun; he will not be served by the maids of Odinn like the einheriar, and he will not go out through the gates of Valhalla with the 432,000 einheriar at the end of the world, when they go forth to fight the Fenris Wolf. For Geirrodr has lost Odinn's favor, and with it he has forfeited his own destiny as a future einheri with Odinn in Valhalla. The special inspiration of the poet who set the extant compilation of Grm into its epic frame was not the fetching home of the protege of Odinn by the many-named viator indefessus. Rather, it was the trial which Odinn-Grimnir holds over King Geirrodr, who tortures the god in his hall by setting him between two fires in order to force him to speak, and whom Odinn judges by means of his enumeration, creating a vision for Geirrodr of what he has forfeited. When King Geirrodr has been initiated in the first and second parts of the mythological enumeration, Odinn raises his face to the divine beings, thereby re-introducing the epic frame, in order to bring the trial to its close: Svipom hefi ec nu ypt fyr sigtiva sonom, vid pat seal vilbiprg vaca; 9llom asom pat seal inn koma, j*£gis becci a, /Egis drecco at. (st. 45)

All the gods drinking on ^igir's bench, at ^Egir's banquet, are called upon to witness the humiliating and excruciating treatment of Odinn in Geirrodr's hall, where Odinn is not sitting on Geirrodr's bench drinking ale. The gods are invoked as judges or witnesses to the trial that Odinn in his divine majesty (revealed in the more than fifty names cited in the third and last enumeration) holds over Geirrodr. This very real trial is signalized by the poet by his reference to the mythological ALgisdrecca, with which his audience was familiar. (A myth abbreviation with referential, prefigurative and epic functions. For this myth abbreviation cf. Ls above).47 The ALgisdrecca would be understood by the contemporary audience as an exemplary trial held by all the gods over the de.moted renegade Loci.

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Heinz Klingen berg The narrative frame of Grm, which is just over one tenth of the extant lay, and the non-epic enumeration (which is more a compilation than a poem, but which avoids kaleidoscopic confusion by an Ariadne's thread), unite to form a conceptually organized whole, unified under the thematically transcendent idea of the initiation of Geirrodr into wisdom and heroic existence (a theme which the poet has created in accordance with possibilities afforded by pre-existent stanzas and stanza series, not excluding a few additions and alterations). The profusion of mythological lore in the enumerative parts of the poem is thus integrated into the frame and action of the poem. Geirrodr is consecrated for death, tried by Odinn, and scorned by all the einheriar in the epic frame. In the non-epic enumeration, the initiated Geirrodr is led through Odinn's eschatological and cosmological vision, and thus sees, among other things, what he is to lose: the magnificence of the world of the gods and Valhalla, and the possibility of living on after death with Odinn and the 432,000 einheriar until the end of the era of Odinn. This is the conceptual structure of Grm, a poem which narrates neither a continuous story of Odinn, nor a continuous story of Geirrodr. Seen in this light, even the simpler Grm shows, like Ls, what can be accomplished by poetic enumeration, a type to which (in their final form) the majority of the mythological lays of the Corpus Eddicum belong.

University of Freiburg

NOTES 1 Codex Regius 2365: 1) Vqlospd, 2) Hdvamdl, 3) Vafdriidnismdl, 4) Grimnismdl, 5) Scirnismal, 6) Hdrbardzliod, 7) Hymisqvida, 8) Locasenna, 9) Prymsqvida, 10) Alvissmal; Codex Arnamagnaeanus 748: 11) Baldrs draumar / Vegtamsqvida; Hauksbok, Cod. AM 544: a different redaction of Vqlospd; Flateyiarbok, Cod. Reg. 1005: 12) Hyndloliod; within the Hyndloliod complex: 13) Vqlospd in scamma; Snorra Edda, Cod. Wormianus AM 242: 14) Rigsbula; Snorra Edda, Cod. Reg. 2367, Cod. Traiectinus: 15) Grottas9ngr; paper manuscripts: Svipdagsmdl, 16) Grogaldr, 17) Fiqlsvinnzmdl. Cf. B. Sijmons, Einleitung, Lieder der Edda, Germanistische Handbibliothek VII (Halle, 1906). 2 Cf. de Vries, Altnordische Literaturgeschichte, 2nd ed. (Berlin, 1964), I, p. 38ff; "Om Eddaens Visdomsdigtning," ANF, 50 (1934), pp. 1-59. F.R. Schroder, "Ursprung und Ende der germanischen Heldendichtung," GRM, 27 (1939), pp. 325-67, esp. p. 334ff. H. Schneider, "Uber die altesten Gotterlieder der Nordgermanen," in Sitzungsberichte der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Phil.—Hist. Kl., Jg. 1936, Heft 7 (Miinchen, 1936); "Beitrage zur Geschichte der nordischen Gotterdichtung," Beitr, 69 (1947), pp. 301-

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3 4 5 6 7 8 9

10 11

12 13 14 15 16 17 18

50; Eine Uredda. Untersuchungen und Texte zur Fruhgeschichte der eddischen Gotterdichtung (Halle, 1948); W. Mohr, "Thor im Flu/?. Zur Form der altnordischen mythologischen Uberlieferung," Beitr, 64 (1940), pp. 209-29. Quotations are from Edda. Die Lieder des Codex Regius nebst verwandten Denkmdlern, ed. Gustav Neckel, 4th revised ed. Hans Kuhn (Heidelberg, 1962), I. SnE = Edda Snorra Sturlusonar, ed. F. Jonsson (Copenhagen, 1931). See H. Gering/B. Sijmons, Kommentar zu den Liedern der Edda, Gotterlieder (Halle, 1927), p. 257. Narrated in detail in SnE, pp. lOOff.; for the Fenrir myth see SnE, pp. 34ff; on the eschatology see SnE, pp. 70ff.; on hafra drottinn see SnE, pp. 49f. Cf. K. Reichardt, "Hymiskvida. Interpretation. Wortschatz. Alter," Beitr, 57 (1933), 151ff; J. de Vries, "Das Wort godmdlugrm der Hymiskvida," GRM 35 (1954), 336f. See below. In Ls 54 Loci indicts himself for having committed adultery with Sif, Thorr's wife. Besides this unmistakable eschatological allusion, we have the opaque kenning Hrodrs andscoti 'Hrodr's opponent' for Thorr in Hym 11. On the name 'Hrodr' (= the Fends Wolf?) cf. Ls 39, where reference is made to Hrodrsvitnir (= Fenrir), er i bqndom seal / bida ragna rqcrs, i.e. 'who will devour Odinn at the end of time'; it is well known that Odinn is the opponent of the Fenris Wolf at the end of time, not Thorr, orms einbani, (Hym 22). It remains a question of whether Hrodrs andscoti is an allusion to a myth lost to us, or whether this myth abbreviation is also intended to function prefiguratively in the higher sense of the poem (cf. inn Icevisi Loci in the episode of the laming of Thorr's goat, Hym 37). Such a prefigurative function would emerge from the apocalyptic significance of the antagonism between Thorr and the Fenris Wolf, an element which is given added emphasis by the proximity of the passage to Ls, the next poem in the Edda collection (for the larger context see below). In Ls 58 we read: "Why are you blustering so, Thorr? / You'll have nothing to say / when you are to fight with the (Fenris) Wolf, / for he will devour Odinn" (here Loci is blaspheming Thorr and therefore suppresses the actual feat of Thorr, who is not to fight with Fenrir at the end of time, but is to kill the Midgard Serpent, ulfs hnitbrodir, Hym 23). Thus the poet is clearly signaling the end of time. In Grm (st. 39) as well, the end of time is prefigured by a cognomen for Fenrir. The wolf which pursues the sun (i.e. Hati) is referred to as Hrodvitnir's (i.e. Fenrir's) son (cf. also Vqlospa 40 and the deviant version in Vafdrudnismdl 46f.). See SnE, pp. 34ff. SeeHdrbardzliod23. J. de Vries, AR, I pp. 248f.; II, p. 131. The slaying of the giants here gains in significance because of the relationship between them and Thorr's companion, the god Tyr, who is referred in Hym 5, 9 and 11 (and only in Hym) as the son of the giant Hymir. An old mythologem (?) (cf. de Vries, AR, II, p. 19) could be thought of here as offering the opportunity in a later period to prefigure the end of time; the primeval relationship of the giants and the gods turns into patricide—thus an eschatological allusion. The title of the poem in a number of paper manuscripts is AZgisdrecca, or Locaglepsa. SnE, pp. 34ff.; cf. de Vries, AR, I, pp. 265ff.; II, p. 263. See note 9 above. SnE, pp. 48ff., esp. pp. 50ff.; cf. de Vries, AR, II, pp. 141, 143f. Cf. note 11 above. SnE, pp. lOOff.; cf. de Vries AR, II, pp. 133ff. SnE, pp. 40f.; cf. Gering/Sijmons, Kommentar, Gotterlieder, pp. 68, 297f.; de Vries, AR, II, pp. 178ff.

161

Heinz Klingenberg 19 SnE, pp. 32f., 72f.; cf. de Vries, AR, II, pp. 240ff. 20 Ynglinga saga, Ch. 3, Heimskringla, ed. F. Jonsson (Copenhagen, 1911), p. 5. For Frigg's unfaithfulness, see Saxo Grammaticus I, eds. J. Olrik and H. Raeder (Copenhagen, 1931), p. 25f.; AR, II, pp. 103, 280. 21 Flateyjarbok. En samling af norske Kongesagaer (Christiania, 1860-68), I, pp. 275ff.; see note 23. 22 Cf. Hdrbardzliod 48. 23 The words of this eschatological vision acquire new significance in the Age of the Sturlungs; cf. H. Klingenberg, Edda—Samlung und Dichtung (Basel-Stuttgart, 1974), pp. 132ff. and passim: Broedr muno beriaz oc at bpnom ver6az, muno systrungar sifiom spilla; hart er i heimi, hordomr mikill, scegggld, scalmold, scildir ro klofnir, vindpld, vargold, adr verpld steypiz; mun engi madr odrom pyrma. Cf. Gering/Sijmons, Kommentar, Gotterlieder, pp. 58f.; de Vries, AR, II, p. 395. See Hyndloliod 46ff: hleypr bu, edlvina, / uti a ndttom, / sem med hqfrom / Heidriin fari. Here we have invective from the mouth of the giantess Hyndla, enemy of the gods. Her words refer to a wanton Freyia who runs abroad at night with her lover Ottarr, an idea which is intended here, like that of the lascivious and aberrant goat Heidriin, to indicate cosmic disorder, moral depravity, and the end of time—a mythological speculation with a prefigurative quality (like the additional piece of invective according to which Freyia was constantly in erotic pursuit of her husband O6r, Hyndloliod 47); cf. Klingenberg, Edda, p. 23 and notes 15ff. 24 Cf. Vqlospd 23ff.; de Vries, AR, II, pp. 208ff., 395; Klingenberg, Edda, p. 48. 25 See Eiriksmdl 1: bvit ovist's at vita, / ncer ulfr enn hosvi / soekir d sjo.t goda; Hdkonarmdl 20: mun obundinn / d yta sjgt / Fenrisulfr fara, E.A. Kock, Den norsk-isldndska Skaldediktningen (Lund, 1946-50), I, pp. 35ff. 89ff.; de Vries, AR, II, pp. 56ff. 26 On the renegade of Ls see below. Besides a prefigurative character the myth abbreviation in question also has an epic function: Loci (himself guilty of causing Baldr's death, see Ls 28) reminds Odinn, the father of Baldr, of the ties of blood-brotherhood which they entered into in ages past, and of their promise, in each other's presence either to drink together or not at all, and thus extorts for himself a place at the /Egisdrecca and the opportunity to blaspheme the assembled gods. 27 Cf. de Vries, AR, I, pp. 330ff., II, pp. 21 If., 395. In keeping with the typological mode of thought in Vqlospd the Gullveig and Heidr episode (sts. 2If.) can be seen as afigura in the earliest and divine ages for the later hordomr mikill (st. 45) of the age of man. 28 Cf. Klingenberg, Edda, pp. 1 If. and note. On the prefigurative character of these elements cf. the mythological constructions in the flyting of Helgaqvida Hundingsbana I, Klingenberg, Edda, pp. 97ff. and notes 27, 30. 29 SnE, pp. 68ff.; de Vries AR, II, pp. 262f., 404. 30 SnE, p. 63ff.; de Vries, AR, II, pp. 214ff. 31 Cf. note 11; Klingenberg, Edda, pp. 10, 15, n.17. 32 Lssts. 3, 4, 10, 14, 16, 18, 27. 33 See Vqlospd 31-35; SnE, pp. 68ff: Allmiklv kom Loci aleid, er hann ollifyrst pvi er Baldr var veginn, ok sva bvi, er hann varb eigi leystr fra Heliv, eba hvart varb honum besa nakqvat hefnt? Goldit var honum betta, sva at hann mvn lengi keNaz (a condensation of

162

Types of Eddie Mythological Poetry

34

35

36 37

38

39

the corresponding part of the prose epilogue of Ls, cf.30 here). Ls leads us into this mythical interval of time, cf. H. Schneider, Beitrdge, pp. 330ff; A.G. Van Hamel, "The ProseFrame of Lokasenna," Neophilologus, 14 (1929), 204-14. The prose introduction to Ls contains a late misunderstanding when, in contradiction of the poem itself, it speaks of a twofold appearance of Loci in the hall, and justifies the gods' anger at Loci with the notion that before his verbal match with the gods Loci has slain ^Egir's attendant (for the older motif of the killing of Fimafengr by Loci cf. note 35). It is well here to accept Snorri's chronological order (SnE, p.121): pa senti Lokipar vid qll god (i.e. the Ls version) ok drop prcel Aegis, paN er Fimafengr net. Like Loci, over whom all the gods a becciom (see Ls 11) /Egis hgllo i(cf. note 32) wish to sit in judgment in the /Egisdrecca of Ls, the 'hero' of Grm, King Geirrodr, is also a disgraced enemy of Odinn and is excluded from his following of einheriar (cf. the further remarks in the main text). For further correspondence between the two poems cf. Grm 51 (Qlr ertu, Geirrodr, / hefrpu ofdruccif) and Ls 47 Qlr ertu, Loci / . . . ofdryccia / veldr alda hveim.) What is an imported myth abbreviation with referential character in Grm is the theme itself (ALgisdreccd) in Ls. Either both poems have made use of a mythological /Egisdrecca which had already taken the form of the gods' trial of Loci, or the inner frame-stanza of Grm has been influenced by Ls. The notice of the killing of Fimafengr by Loci perhaps belongs in this context, i.e., a myth abbreviation in the introductory prose (drop hann Fimafeng cf. note 33 and SnE, p. 121). If Loci wished to elude the execution of the sentence by concealing himself in the Franangr waterfall in the form of a salmon (as in the corresponding myth in SnE, pp. 68ff., and the condensed prose epilogue of Locasenna) one of the attendants of ^Egir and his wife Ran would have been a suitable man to help the gods catch the salmon (Loci). It is well known that Ran possessed a net for fishing (see SnE, p. 121, and the introductory prose of Reginsmdl, where Loci borrows Ran's net). Moreover, the functional name Fimafengr 'agile in catching,' could easily be interpreted as 'good at catching fish.' The killing of Fimafengr would demonstrate the farsightedness of Loci, whose thoughts outstrip those of the gods (as in the preliminary trial of Locasenna and in the myth of the binding of Loci, SnE, pp. 68ff., where in a mythological variation, Loci reflects on the ruse which the gods might use to capture him, and himself makes the net). The words leica lausom hala (Ls 49) could be a reference to the burlesque episode in SnE, p. 81. Besides obvious indications of this judgment we find half-veiled allusions to it in the words of a number of the gods, i.e., of Tyr (st. 39, cf.4), Odinn (st. 10, cf.l), Gefion (st. 19), Frigg (st. 27), Freyia (st. 31). There are also verbal diversions aimed at restoring tranquility in the foreground of the banquet situation, i.e., the words of Bragi (st. 12), Idunn (st. 16, 18), Heimdallr (st. 47), Sif (st. 53), beside threats that retard the action in the statements of Bragi (st. 14) and Byggvir (st. 43). The latter show that the final verdict has not yet been pronounced on Loci (Thorr has not yet arrived). Here the poem is following the natural course of a flyting of the gods. The description of the destruction of the world in Vqlospd ends with the universal conflagration (leicr hdr hiti, st. 57), and so also in the narrative frame of Hyndloliod, where the eschatological spa of Vqlospd in scamma reverberates and integrates the inner poem with the frame. Here also an 'earth ablaze' prefigures the apocalyptic conflagration (Hyr se ec brenna, / enn haudr logo [Hyndloliod 49]; cf. Klingenberg, Edda, pp. 22f.). By virtue of its final position this last myth abbreviation in Ls acquires enhanced expressiveness. Thorr has four stanzas, Bragi and Odinn each have three, I6unn, Frigg, Freyia, Niprdr,

163

Heinz Klingenberg

40 41 42

43 44 45 46 47

Tyr and Scadi each have two, and Gefion, Freyr, Heimdallr and Sif each have one. Vidarr (the 'silent god' in SnE, pp. 39, 99) does not speak in this altercation, marking the end of era of Odinn; inasmuch as Vidarr is a representative of the new world yet to be born (see Vafdrudnismdl 51), his silence could perhaps be construed as a prefigurative element. Cf. de Vries, AR, II, pp. 8, 284. As in other fully developed eddic mythological poems of this type, i.e., Vglospd(sis. 28ff.), Hdvamdl (sts. I l l , 143/5), Vafdrudnismdl (st. 19). "Whoever is first to grasp the fire (in order to free Odinn from torture) has the goodwill of Ullr and all the gods, for if the kettles are taken down, the yEsir will be able to see the abode (i.e. see into Geirrodr's hall through the smoke-hole)" (Grm 42). This stanza has likely been borrowed from some other context. Grm 45: "I have now raised my face before all the gods of victory, and with that shall I be rescued. That will bring in all the cesir on jEgir's bench, at £sgir's banquet" (a myth abbreviation with a prefigurative function, see below). An additional enumeration, Grm 43 and 44, has been interpolated, betraying the hand of a collector. With or without mythical-narrative connections in the background (i.e. a referential function); e.g. Grm 50: the outwitting of the giant Soccmimir and the killing of another giant— an unknown myth; also st. 49: Grimni mic heto / at Geirradar (= Grm, frame-story). A. Heusler, Edda, trans. F. Genzmer, Thule, vol.2 (Diisseldorf-Koln, 1963); p. 80. Cf. Klingenberg, Edda, pp. 9-36; on Sigrdrifomdl cf. loc. cit. §2, n.45; §11, n.12. In a different stanza form—hnoggva with dative means 'separate from a thing,' 'deprive of a thing.' Grundtvig conjectures oc allra einheria as a full line. Cf. the discussion of Ls above and note 34.

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CHRISTOPHER S. HALE

The River Names in Grimnismdl 27-29

It is a well-known fact that Grimnismdl (Grm), as it has been preserved in its present form, is defective. Occasionally a line seems to be missing, and scattered throughout are interpolations, many of which do not fit into the Ijodahdttr metre of the main part of the poem. One of the longest of the probable interpolations is stanzas 27-29, which contains a list of river names. This is, in fact, the only section of the poem which contains a list of any place names. In this paper I should like to examine these lines, offer interpretations of the names contained in them and give parallels, where possible, to them in the Scandinavian area. Based on the results found here, I should like to offer some suggestions as to the possible origin of these lines and a relationship between them to later forms of verse. It is not possible in an article of this length to refer to every single one of the vast number of Edda editions and criticisms bearing on the present problem that have appeared over the years on the Eddie poems. Therefore, I have taken into account only those theories which I feel to be of the greatest relevance. Of a total of forty-three river names (drheiti) mentioned in the mythological poems of the Poetic Edda, thirty-six of them occur in Grm 27-29 alone. In addition, thirty-one of these are mentioned in Gylfaginning and thirty-one also in the nafnapulur in Skdldskaparmdl in Snorra Edda. Besides this, a few are noted in other medieval sources. Four other rivers occur in Grm besides those in stanzas 27-29. Pund is noted in stanza 21 as being very difficult to cross, and Kqrmt, Qrmt and Kerlaugar in stanza 30 are rivers which Thorr must cross each day on his way to the place of judgment by the ash Yggdrasill. It is possible that stanzas 27-29 were interpolated to enlarge on the word vqtn in stanza 26, or that if stanza 30 is original, the names in it could also have called them forth.

165

Christopher Hale The names in this list have so far been only spottily researched in scholarly writing. While no work has appeared before that treats all of them in any depth, a number of editions of both the Poetic and Snorra Edda, as well as several etymological dictionaries, make a greater or lesser attempt to explain some of them.1 Furthermore, from time to time, several have been dealt with in articles which have appeared in various journals and collections. Magnus Olsen, for example, has discussed a few in Edda- og skaldekvad, VII, and others have been referred to by different scholars in articles in such journals as Namn och Bygd, Maal og Minne and Arkiv for nordisk filologi in conjunction with treatments of Scandinavian place names. In this connection, mention should be made of place-name studies such as Oluf Rygh's Norske Elvenavne (NE) and Norske Gaardnavne (NG), Per Hovda's Norske elvenamn and Elof Hellquist's Studier ofver de svenska sjonamnen which frequently offer parallels to their subject matter in the Eddie material.2 Also, attempts have been made to identify these rivers with actual ones in the North European area.3 The river names are grouped according to the passages in which they are found in Grm, and in each group additional information regarding the rivers they refer to is indicated; as well, mention is made of other medieval sources outside the Poetic Edda where these names are found. The manuscripts have been consulted either in the original or in photographic reproduction, and the forms of the river names in them are given and discussed, where relevant, under the heading of each name. The manuscripts and the abbreviations used for them in the text are: (1) Codex Regius of the Elder Edda, Gks 2365 4to, ca. 1270 (R). (2) AM 748 I 4to, early 1300s (A). (3) Codex Uppsaliensis, Uppsala DG 11 4to, early 1300s (U). (4) Codex Regius of the Younger Edda, AM 2367 4to, ca. 1325 (r). (5) Reykjabok, AM 468 4to, 1300-1350 (Rb). (6) Codex Wormianus, AM 242 fol., mid-1300s (W). (7) AM 757 4to, ca. 1400 (B). (8) AM 748 II 4to, ca. 1400 (C). (9) Codex Trajectinus, Utrecht nr. 1374, ca. 1600 but copied from a late 13th century ms. (T). The references for the Poetic Edda and Snorra Edda (SnE) are to Finnur Jonsson's editions, De gamle Eddadigte, and Edda Snorra Sturlusonar.4 SnE I refers to Gylfaginning, and SnE II to Skdldskaparmdl.

166

The River Names in Grimnismal 27-29 I Grm 27 Sid ok Vid, Soekin ok Eikin, Sv9l ok Gunnpro, FJ9rm ok Fimbulpul, Rin ok Rennandi, Gipul ok G9pul, G9mul ok Geirvimul, E>Eer hverfa of hodd goda.

All the rivers listed in Grm 27, except for Rin and Rennandi, flow from the well Hvergelmir in the middle of Niflheimr through the districts of the vEsir, according to SHE / 25, where they are listed in the same order as in Grm 27. Svgl, Gunnpro, Fjqrm and Fimbulpul are mentioned in that order also in SnE 14. Furthermore, all but Gipul and Gqpul are found in the nafnapulur in Skdldskaparmdl but in a different order from that in Grm 27, and mixed in with other river names: Sid Grm 27: Sip R; Sid A. SnE 125: Sid U; r; W; Sid T. SnE II89 (479-84): sid A; r; sid B; C; sid T.

See the following name. Vid Grm 27: vip R; vid A. SnE 14: vid-U; vid r; Vid W; uid T. SnE 125: vid U; r; vid W; vid T. SnE II89 (479-84): vid A; r; vid B; vid C; uid T.

It is difficult to determine from the manuscript forms alone whether the vowels here are originally long or short, as the acute accent over Sid and Vid in R may denote stress instead of length,5 and the accents over the forms in B and C are undoubtedly graphic, as these manuscripts belong to a relatively late period. At any rate, it appears that these two names have in-rhyme, and that, accordingly, the vowels in both should have the same quantity. If the vowel in the first name is short, there is no reasonable interpretation likely for it. Regarding the second name, a short vowel in it could connect it to Old Norse (ON) vid f. 'withy,' 'wand,' but this is also unlikely. I feel, therefore, it is probable that the vowels in both are long and that Sid and Vid are nom-

167

Christopher Hale inalizations of the feminine singular forms of the ON adjectives sidr 'long, hanging' and vidr 'wide' respectively.6 There appears to be a number of parallels to Sid. Svante Strandberg interprets the Swedish name Sibro as containing the adjective sid 'low-lying, marshy' and related to the ON adjective sidr,7 and Go'sta Franzen says that Sidus is probably formed from a river name *Sidha with a similar derivation.8 A related word seems to be found in the English river name Sid which, "runs in a narrow valley with very steep sides and high ridges on both sides,"9 in the Swedish lake name Sidlangen (Hellquist, pp. 525-26), and possibly also in the Norwegian farm name Scevik (NG, XV, p. 326). The Eddie name may have a similar meaning. Regarding Vid, there are parallels in several Norwegian river names such as Via, a brook in Hjelmeland, Rogaland which spreads out over its banks after a heavy rain (Norsk stadnamnarkiv, or NSA), as well as Barvio (Hovda, 1966, p. 23). The Swedish lake name Vidostern (Hellquist, pp. 705-06) and the Norwegian Vidflaa™ could also be mentioned. Via and Vibcekken, which Rygh derives from ON vidja L 'withy,' (NE, p. 296), may also contain the ON adjective vidr. Semantically identical to the Eddie name is the Norwegian river name Breia from the ON adjective breidr 'broad, wide' (NE, p. 22). Soekin Grm 27: spkin R; saekm A. SnE 125: Saskin U; Sekin r; sekin W; Sekin T. SnE II89 (479-84): saekin A; sekin r; sask/in C; sekin T.

All the manuscripts are later than the merger of ON (oe) and (ce.) The name is probably the feminine singular of a nominalization of an adjectival derivation with the suffix Germanic *—ina of the ON verb soekja 'to seek, proceed.'11 Soekin would thus mean something like 'the forward-rushing one' (Gering, p. 198). One may compare this to etymologically similar Norwegian river names such as Sokna, derived from an ON sokn, and the semantically similar ones formed from *fausa, ganga and skrid- (NE, pp. 238-39, 47, 64, 227). See also Fjqrm below. Eikin (Ekin) Grm 27: eiken R; aekirc A. Sn/25: askin U; ekinn r; ekin W; T. SnEII89 (479-84); ekin A; ekin r; eikin C; ekin T.

In the oldest manuscript (R) the name is written with a diphthong, and if this diphthong is original, Eikin is probably a nominalization of the feminine 168

The River Names in Grimnismal 27-29 singular of the ON adjective eikinn 'savage' (Gering, p. 198), formed in a way similar to that of Scekin. In Nordfjord, Norway, there is a river called Eikjola, the first element of which Per Hovda (1966, p. 34) relates to Norwegian dialect eikja 'to quarrel, dispute,' a derivative of ON eikinn, and this would support the above interpretation of the Eddie name. Another possibility is that it is connected to the ON noun eik f. 'oak' which seems to occur, as well as other appellatives for trees, in several river names.12 However, all the other manuscript forms, except for C, have no diphthong. If Ekin is then to be the original form, it is probably a nominalization of the feminine singular of the past participle of the ON verb aka 'to move, drive.' If this is indeed the case, there are a number of parallels in Nordic river names: for example, *Aka (NE, p. 3) and Akurda (Hovda, 1966, p. 17) in Norway and Agebcek in Denmark. 13 Svql Grm 27: svavl R; svpl A. SnE 14: kvol (!) U; Svavl r; Svol W; Suol T. SnE 125: Svoll U; Svavl R; svpl W; Suaul T. SnE II89 (479-84): svpl A; -svol r; suol B; suaul C; suol T.

Probably this is a nominalization of the feminine singular of the ON adjective svalr 'cool.' A root related to this adjective seems to be found in a number of Norwegian place names, possibly formed from a river name *Svala (NE, pp. 254-55), as well as the lake name Suluvatnet (Indrebo, 1924, pp. 193-94). Another parallel is probably the Swedish Svalen (Hellquist, p. 590). Semantically similar are names such as Kaldbcekken (NE, p 124). Cleasby and Vigfusson (p. 780) identify Svyl as the Swale River in England, but this is unlikely. Gunnpro Grm 27: gvnnlpro R; gvnnlpro A. SnE 14: gvndro U; gvrwbra r; Gvmzbra W; gunbra T. SnE 125: gvndro U; Gvnwfro r; gvnwfro W; gunwfro T. SnE II 89 (479-84): gvrmbro A; gvn/ifro r; gunn. . . B; gurwfor Q gunAzjDro T.

The first element appears to be the stem form of ON gunnr f. (with nonradical -r) 'war, battle (poet.).' A number of scholars (e.g. Jonsson, 1900, p. 222, and Gering, 1927, p. 198) seem to have considered the final element as a feminine derivation of ONprd n. 'obstinacy, defiance, ( and this interpretation would explain the manuscript forms written both -bra and -pro. Another possibility would be to connect it to ON bra f. 'yearning, 169

Christopher Hale longing.' However, it might also be ON pro f. 'trough' and refer to the course of the river, the few manuscript spellings with -pro then being due to scribal confusion with one of the first two words. Per Hovda has mentioned to me the Norwegian river Trona in Strand, Ryfylke, which flows for a few kilometers through a narrow passage, and this name is possibly etymologically parallel to the final element of the mythological one. Cf. also Trovatn and Trodalen, formed from a river name *pro (NE, p. 275). With the first element being the stem form of ON gunnr f., I suggest Gunnpro could mean something like 'the one which travels swiftly or wildly in its course.' Cf. Fjorm below. Fjqrm Grm 27: fiorm R; fi9rm A. SnE 14: fiorni U; form r; fiorm W; form T. SnE 125: fiorm U; r; W; T. SnE 7/89 (479-84): fiprm A; fiorm r; fiorm B; form C; fiorn T.

Oluf Rygh connects the root fjarm- in names such as Fjermedal and Fjermestad with an ON river name *Fjqrm, genetive Fjarmar, and relates it to the Norwegian dialect verbfjarma 'to travel quickly, rashly off,' mentioned by Ross.14 Per Hovda also notes that Fjermeros in Vest Agder, Norway, comes from a similar name.15 Magnus Olsen says that Fjqrm is formally identical to Anglo Saxon feorm f. 'feeding, provisions,' but that both this word and the Norwegian dialect fjarma are etymologically unclear.16 Semantically the meaning 'the rushing one' for Fjorm fits in well with other names in the group such as Soekin (see above) and Rennandi (see below). Fimbulpul Grm 27: fimbvlbvl R; -fimbvlbvl A. SnE 14: fimbvlbvl U; fimbvl. bvl r: fimbul/bul W; fimbul bul T. SnE 125: fimbvl^vl U; fimbvlbvl r; fimbul. ful W; fimbul T. SnE II89 (479-84): fimbvlbvl A; fimbvl byl r; fi/wbulfrul B; fimbul bul C; fimbul bul T.

The first element, ON fimbul, appears only in compounds in poetry with the meaning 'mighty, great.'17 Both Johannesson (p. 428) and de Vries (p. 626) mention the possibility that the final element -pul is related to Anglo Saxon (AS) gedyll 'breeze.' Hjalmar Falk18 notes the similarity of the Eddie river name to the Odinsheiti Fimbulpulr 'the great skald' and suggests that the former was called forth by the latter, but with a slight change in the meaning of the final element. This he relates to ON pylja 'to mumble.' Fimbulpul could thus mean 'the one which makes a great rushing sound.'19 Semantic-

170

The River Names in Grimnismal 27-29 ally similar Norwegian river names are Humla (NE, p. 110) and Kumra (Hovda, 1966, p. 67). Rin Grm 27: rin R; A. SnE II 89 (479-84): rin A; rin r; rin B; C; rin T.

Rin is the ON form of the river Rhine which is frequently mentioned in other ON sources as well as in a number of the heroic Eddie poems (e.g., Brot af Sigurdarkvidu, Sigurdarkvida hin skamma and Atlakvida). Probably here also the same river is referred to. Rennandi Grm 27: ren«andi R;-ren/n«di A. SnE II89 (479-84): rsenwandi A; ren/?andi r; . . . de B; rennandi C; renanrtdi T.

This is a nominalization of the present participle (cf. Migandi and Hyggjande)2Qa of ON renna 'to run, flow.' Cf. the river names in Norway formed from the verb renna and the noun laup (NE, pp. 190, 140). Magnus Olsen (1964, p. 15) interprets Rennandi as perhaps 'the one which is always free of ice.' Cf. also varma in Norwegian river names (NE pp. 291-92). Gipul Grm 27: gipvl R; A. SnE 125: gipvl U; r; W; gipul T.

Gipul is probably a feminine nominalization of a derivation in *-ula of a root *gip-. Cf. ON geipa 'to talk, talk nonsense,' Norwegian dialect gip 'mouth,' gipa 'to cause to yawn,' from an Indo-European *ghei : *g/2/.21 From the same root probably comes the Norwegian river name Gipa (NE, pp. 72, 319), and the first element in the Norwegian lake name Gipetjerni is from the river Gipa (Indreb0, 1924, pp. 70-71). Semantically parallel is Gjeispa (NE, p. 69). See also Gqpul below. Ggpul Grm 27: gavpvl R; -g9pvl A. SnE 125: giofvl U; gavpvl r; gopvl W; gaupul T.

These are formed in a way similar to that of the previous name from a root *gap- (ON gap n. 'opening,' gapa 'to yawn'). Etymologically parallel is probably the name of the group of Norwegian seters known collectively as Goppollen. O. Rygh (NG, IV, 1, p. 156) derives this name from Norwegian gople f. 'giant bellflower' (Campanula latifolid). However, according to Per 171

Christopher Hale Hovda, just west of this area a river flows through a narrow ravine, and this river quite likely once bore the same name as the seters. Gering and Sijmons (p. 198) say that Gipul and Ggpul possibly refer to rivers with shores that fall off sharply. They also note that as gapa occurs in the meaning 'to scream,' Gqpul may also be interpreted as 'the roaring one.' Gqmul Grm 27: gavmvl R; gpmvl A. SnE 125: gomol U; gavmvl r; gomvl W; gaumol T. SnE 7/89 (479-84): gpmvl A; gomvl r; gomul B; gaumul C; go-/mul T.

The name is most likely a nominalization of the feminine singular of the ON adjective gamall 'old.' Gering and Sijmons (p. 198) say that it might signify an old river bed in contrast to a newly formed one and compare it to the German Alter Rhein. Cf. Gamlelva and similar names several places in Norway (NSA). There is also a possibility that Gqmul might be related to ON gemlingr m. 'one-year-old sheep' and refer to a flooding river which swells up once a year. Geirvimul Grm 27: geirvi/mvl R; gasirvimvl A. SnE 125: geirvmvl U; geirvimvl r; geirrvmvl W; geir-/vimul T. SnE II89 (479-84): gseirvimvl A; geirvimvl r; geir (vimul) B; geiruimul C; geiruimol T.

The first element is the stem form of ON geirr m. 'spear.' Regarding the final element, both Magnus Olsen and Ingeborg Hoff have discussed the district called Vimar or Vimir which they connect to the mythological river name.22 According to Olsen, the root in both these names is Vim- which he compares to Old High German uuimi, corresponding to the Latin scatebra (i.e.,fluviorum) and vomens (i.e., ebulliens), as well as Icelandic vim,23 vim n. 'giddiness, a swimming in the head, wavering' and Norwegian dialect vima 'tumble, go as if confused.' Semantically, he feels the Eddie name is closest to vomens. Hoff derives these names from a root *uei 'turn around' and sees them as referring to the 'turning motion the eddies in the current make.'24 Geirvimul would thus mean something like 'the river which swarms with spears.' Martin Larsen mentions that the concept of rivers filled with pointed weapons has been common among the Nordic people and refers to "Haddingssagnet" in Saxo Grammaticus' Gesta Danorum.25

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The River Names in Grimnismal 27-29 ii Grm 28 Pyn ok Vin, I>9ll ok H9ll, Grad ok Gunriborin. Vina heitir enn, pnnur Vegsvinn, bridja Pjodnuma.

Vin flows from Hvergelmir according to SnE 14, as do all the rest, listed in the same order as above (except that Vina, Vegsvinn and Pjodnuma are mentioned later than the previous six) according to SnE 125. Furthermore, all but Grdd and Gunnporin are found in the nafnapulur (Vina twice) but in a different order from that in Grm 28 and mixed in with other river names. Pyn (Pyn) Grm 28: byn R; byn A. SnE I, 25: byri r; W; T. SnE II89 (479-84): fe yn A; byn r; . . . yn B; byn C; T.

The name appears in a spurious verse in Njdls saga (chapter 45) in a kenning for gold—pynjar logs (written pyniar logs in Rb). Pyn seems to be eliminated from the version of SnE 7 25 in U and the word fyri substituted for it after nefndar. Most scholars interpret it as 'the raging, thundering, roaring one' and compare it to ASpunian and the god's name 'Thorr' (Porr).26 According to Johannesson (p. 872), who agrees with this theory, the name is derived from the Indo-European (IE) roots *sten-, *ten- 'to thunder, rage, roar.' If this is correct, the vowel in Pyn would be short. Pyn also occurs in the nafnapulur in SnE as a heiti for a coat of mail. In Norway, however, there are several river names such as Tya which appear to go back to an ON *by with a long vowel (NE, p. 280). Sophus Bugge (NE, p. 339) interprets these names semantically as 'the ones which swell or have swollen up; the big ones' and relates them to Indie tdviti 'have power,' tuvi- 'mighty' and Greek Tails 'big.' Cf. the Norwegian rivers Gro and Reisa (NE, pp. 79, 189). If Pyn has a long vowel, then I feel that it may be a derivation in -n of the abovementioned root. Cleasby and Vigfusson (p. 780) have identified the Eddie name with the English river Tyne, while Ekwall (p. 426) says the latter is Celtic in origin.

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Christopher Hale Vin (Vin) Grm 28: vin R; A. SnE I 25: vin- U; vin r; vin W; vin T. SnE II 89 (479-84): vin A; r; vin B; C; uin T.

A number of scholars have identified it with the Russian river Dvina (see Vina below).27 This theory presupposes a long vowel. If Vin indeed has a long vowel, it could be connected to the IE root *-uei 'wither, dry (up)' (see Johannesson, p. 111), and related to those names which refer to rivers which dry up during the summer. Cf., for example, Torke (NE, p. 273). If the vowel is short, then the name could be connected to ON vin f. 'meadow' or vinr m. 'friend,' but this seems to me less likely. Pgll Grm 28: bavll R; bgll A. SnE 125: -boll U; boll r; bgll W; boll T. SnE II89 (479-84): bgll A; bavll r; baull C; T.

The name is formally identical to ON/?0// f. 'young fir tree.' Cf. Tollaaen and Tolga (NE, pp. 272, 337). Gering and Sijmons (p. 198), on the other hand, interpret it as 'the swollen one' (cf., Pyn, [Pyn] above), probably relating it to the IE root *tal- 'grow, flourish,' from which also the appellative ON pqll seems to be derived (cf., Johannesson, p. 426). Jan de Vries (p. 631), while noting Gering's and Sijmons' theory, mentions also the possibility, according to Holthausen,28 that the name is connected to AS gedyllan 'to quiet.' Cf. the Norwegian rivers Logn and Stilla (NE, p. 147, and Hovda, 1966, p. 107). Cleasby and Vigfusson (p. 780) have identified it as the Scottish river Thuil. Hqll Grm 28: havll R; hgll A. SnE 125: holl U; boll (!) r; holl W; T. SnE IIW (479-84); hgll A; -holl r; -holl B; haull- C; holl T.

Hgll is probably a nominalization of the feminine singular of the ON adjective hallr 'sloping.' O. Rygh mentions the farm name Hallen, derived from ON hallr, as possibly being named after the brook which flows by this place (NE, p. 90 and NG, XIV, p. 360). Cf. also Haldalen (NG, V, p. 157). Hellquist (pp. 212-14) lists several lake names in Sweden which may contain a root related to the same word. Semantically similar names of rivers are Bretta and Leina (NE, pp. 23, 141).

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The River Names in Grimnismal 27-29 Grdd Grm 28: grafc R; grad A. SnE 125: grad U; r; W; grad T.

Quite possibly the name is a feminine derivation of ON grddr m. 'hunger, greed.' Cf. Sylgr below. Another possibility is that it is related to ON grddi m. 'breeze curling the waves,' Modern Icelandic grad f. Finnur Jonsson connects the name Grddvik in Iceland to the latter word in the meaning 'bay where there is always a superficial (shallow) movement of the waves.' 29 Gunnporin Grm 28: gvrwborin R; -gvnnborin A. SnE 125: gvndro U; gvn/ibrainrt r; gvn/zborin W; gun«bo-/rm T.

The final element is probably a feminine nominalization of a derivative in *-waof the verb ONpora 'to dare' (cf., Mod. Ice.porinn 'daring, bold' and Soekin above), possibly here with a meaning such as 'to force through (i.e., in one's course).' The first element is likely the stem form of ON gunnr f. (with non-radical -f) 'war, battle (poet.),' and this has led some scholars to interpret the name as 'the one which is eager for or desirous of battle' (e.g., Gering, p. 198). Others have identified it with Gunnpro (e.g., Jonsson, 1900, p. 222). However, it seems to me more likely that Gunnporin means something like 'the one which forces itself mightily along its course.' Cf. Gunnpro as well as the semantically similar Fjqrm and Rennandi above. Vina Grm 28: Vin a R; Vina A. SnE 125: vina U; r; vina W; vina T. SnE II89 (479-84): vina, vina A; vina, vina r; vina, vina B; C; vina, uma T.

Gering and Sijmons (p. 198) have interpreted this name, according to the form in R, as 'wine stream' (cf., ON vm n. 'wine' and ON a f. 'river, stream'). However, the form 'Vin a' in R is unique and probably due to a misunderstanding of the text on the part of the manuscript copyist. Most other scholars (e.g., Jonsson, 1900, p. 40, and Wilken, p. 275) have identified the mythological river with the Russian Dvina. Due to the lack of a better explanation, I tend to agree with these latter authors. Furthermore, the ON form of the Dvina River is Vina.30 Vina may be connected to the name Vin (see above for its possible interpretation).

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Christopher Hale Vegsvinn Grm 28: vegsvinrt R; vaeg/svin A. SnE 125: veglvn U; vog. svinn r; ueg. suirai W; vog. suinn T. SnE II89 (479-84): vsegsvirw A; vegsvinrt r; vegs . . . B; vegsuinn C; T.

The first element is the stem form of ON vegr m. 'way.' The final element seems to be a nominalization of the feminine singular of the ON adjective svinnr 'swift, quick.' This latter word, or a root related to it, seems to occur in a number of Norwegian names such as Svindalen (pron. svinn-) in Andebu, Vestfold (NE, pp. 258-9), but there is a possibility also that the first element in some of these is Norwegian svin n., ON svin n. 'pig.'31 Furthermore, in several Swedish lake names such as Svinnaren it is quite likely that a river name *Svinn(a) occurs (see Hellquist, pp. 596-97). The ON adjective' svinnr in the meaning 'quick, rapid,' however, only occurs in ON in the expression svinn Rin (Atlaqvida 27). Otherwise the word means 'wise.' Nevertheless, I would connect the mythological name to the first meaning (not the least because of its use in conjunction with another river) and thus have Vegsvinn mean something like 'the one which flows rapidly in its course,' rather than 'the one which knows how to, or is wise in, finding its way' as some other scholars have suggested (e.g., Jonsson, 1900, p. 234). Pjodnuma Grm 28: biodnvma R; biodnvma A. SnE 125: biodnvma U; biodnuma r; biodnuma W; biodnuma T. SnE II89 (479-84): biodnvma A; r; biodnuma B; biodnuma C; T.

The final element, in spite of Magnus Olsen's doubts (1964, p. 25), seems to be related to Norwegian dialect nome, ON *numim. 'a little lake right beside a river, with the water level of which it rises and falls; water container' listed by Ross (p. 548). O. Rygh (NE, pp. 170-71) connects the names listed under the root naum- to Ross' word as does Amund B. Larsen for the farm name Homeland (NG, VIII, p. 222) and A. Kjser for Nome (NG, IX, p. 111). The first element would then probably be ON pjod f., in compounds meaning 'great, powerful.' Accordingly, pjodnuma could mean something like 'the one which contains a great deal of water.' Other scholars (e.g., Wilken, p. 276, and Gering, p. 198) have related the final element to the ON verb nema 'to take by force' with the meaning then something like 'the one which devours people.' If the final element has this latter connotation, then the meaning 'the one which takes with great force' could apply to a river which floods with disastrous consequences. Cf., for example, Bcegisd'mOxnadals-

176

The River Names in Grimnismal 27-29 hreppur, Eyjafjardarsysla, Iceland, from Icelandic bcegja 'to remove, drive off,' which regularly floods its banks. in Grm 29 Nyt ok Ngt, Ngnn ok Hrgnn, Slid ok Hrid, Sylgr ok Ylgr, Vid ok Van, Vgnd ok Strgnd, Gjgll ok Leiptr, falla gumnum nasr en falla til Heljar hedan.

Hrid, Sylgr, Ylgr, Vid and Leiptr, in that order, flow from the well Hvergelmir according to SnE 14. Also there it is stated that Gjgll is next to the gates of Hel. Furthermore, according to SnE I 25, Nyt, Ngt, Ngnn and Hrgnn, in that order (Ngt appears before Nyt [written 'reyt' in U]), flow from Hvergelmir as well. All, except Ngnn and Slid, are mentioned (some of them twice) in the nafnapulur but in a different order from that in Grm 29 and mixed in with other river names. According to SnE 134 Hermodr rode nine nights to Gjallar a on his way to fetch Baldr from Hel. Here it is implied that all must cross the gilded bridge over Gjgll in order to reach Hel, and that Hel itself is situated down and north from this place. Van in SnE 121 is mentioned as coming from the slather of the bound Fenris Wolf. In Helgakvida Hundingsbana II 31, reference is made to Leiptr as being a river on which oaths are sworn. Nyt Grm 29: nyt R; nyt A. SnE 125: reyt (!) U; nyt r; W; T. SnE II89 (479-84): Nyt A; r; Nyt B; Nyt C; nit T.

As Nyt stands together with Ngt which has a short vowel, it, too, probably has one in spite of the form with acute accent in R which undoubtedly denotes stress (cf. Lindblad, pp. lOlff. and 144ff.). Finnur Jonsson (1900, p. 229) connects the name to ON nyt f. 'use, enjoyment, produce,' probably meaning 'the one which is rich in fish.' Ivar Lundahl,32 who concurs with Jonsson, lists two Swedish river names Gagnan and Nyttestrom, the former formed from Old Swedish gaghn 'use, profit,' and the latter from an Old

177

Christopher Hale Swedish adjective *nyter 'useful,' ON *nytr, which are in ablaut connection to Old Swedish nyter, ON nytr, with the same meaning. It is quite likely that this is the case with Nyt, and these two Swedish examples would support Jonsson's interpretation. See also Nosle in Hedemark, Norway, written 'Nytle' in Diplomatarium Norvegicum, IV, 338, 136333 and probably derived from the same root (7VG, III, p. 162), N0tter0y from an island name Njot (NG,VI, p. 233), and, with a similar meaning, gefn in river names (NE, p. 68). An opposite semantic and etymological parallel is the river called Faanetta from the adjective fdnytr 'of little use' (NE, p. 44). However, nyt f. in ON also means 'milk,' and it could, though this is considerably less likely, refer to the color of the water in the river. Cf. Mjolkurd in Iceland and names such as Mjolkeelven and Mjolkemaen in Norway (NE, p. 161), Nqt Grm 29: navt R; 119! A. SnE 125: navt? U; navt r; (navt) W; naut T. SnE II89: (479-84): npt A; navt r; (no)t B; n/aut C; naut T.

Gering and Sijmons (p. 199) interpret the name as 'the stinging or burning one' and refer to the spear heiti Nqt in one of the pulur in SnE (cf. also Johannesson, p. 691). Jan de Vries (p. 415), on the other hand, connects it to AS not, Old High German naz 'wet,' Gothic ganatjan 'to wet,' Sanskrit nadi 'river,' and the Low German river name Nette. Hjalmar Falk (NG, V, pp. 218-19) gives Ngt the same interpretation in discussing the Norwegian farm name Natvet and Hellquist (p. 426) in discussing the Swedish lake name Naten. Hellquist, furthermore, lists the semantic parallels Vattern and Vdtsjon.34 I find this is the most likely explanation, and that the mythological name is thus probably a derivation of the Germanic root *nat. Nqnn Grm 29: navn« R; nqnn A. SnE 125: navnn U; r; W; naunn T.

Sophus Bugge (NE, p. 327) posits ON *Nqnn for the name written "Nannaraanae" (ace.) in Biskop Eysteins Jordebog, 207, near Nanset in Hedrum, Norway. He connects it to the Germanic adjectival stem *nanpa- 'bold, goahead' which occurs in Germanic personal names, and to which stem the ON verb nenna 'to strive' also belongs (cf. also Gering, p. 199). This is undoubtedly the same word from which the name of the mythological river is derived. Finnur Jdnsson (1900, p. 229) has explained Ngnn as 'the quickly flowing one.'

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The River Names in Grimnismal 27-29 Hrgnn Grm 29: hravnrc R; hrqnn A. SnE 125: hravn/7 U; r; hrorm W; hraurm T. SnE II89 (479-84): hrprm, hrqnn, A; hravn«, hravrw r; hronn, hronn B; hraunn, hraurm C; h(l)aurm, hraurw, T.

ON hrqnn f. 'wave.' Semantic parallels are Gira, connected to Norwegian dialect girm. 'current in the water' and Unna, related to ON unnr f. 'wave' (NE, pp. 72, 286), both referring to rivers with rough or wavy water which the Eddie name also seems to denote. Slid Grm 29: slit> R; slid A.

The name must be a derivative of ON slidr 'fearful.' If this is correct then the Norwegian river called Otta (cf. ON otti m. 'fright')35 would be a semantic parallel to it. One is tempted to identify it as the same river as Slidr, mentioned in Vqluspa 36, SnE I 4 and in the nafnafiulur. If the two names contain the same root as the ON adjective above, then Slidr would be a derivation in -r and Slid a stem form without the radical -r (note Mod. Norw. slid 'greedy'). Hrid Grm 29: hrit> R; hrid A. SnE 14: hribr U; hr/fr r; hrid W; hrid T. SnE II89 (479-84) hrid A; hrid r; (hr)id B; hrid C; T.

This is undoubtedly ON hrid f. 'tempest, storm.' Semantic parallels found among Norwegian river names are Fjuka, related to ON fjuk n. 'snow storm,' Frysja, to the Norwegian dialect verb/msa 'to spout, spray,' Boyse, to Norwegian dialect boysa 'to rush forth' (Hovda, 1966, pp. 30, 35, 43) and Strangen, to the ON adjective strangr 'powerful, rapid' (NE, p. 248). Cleasby and Vigfusson (p. 780) identify Hrid with the English river Reed, but this is unlikely. Sylgr Grm 29: sylgr R; A. SnE 14: Sylgr U; r; W; T. SnE 7/89 (479-84): sylgr A; r; sylgr B; C sylgir T.

Sylgr is undoubtedly a feminine derivation in *-iR of the preterite stage sulgof the ON verb svelgja 'to swallow.' Etymologically parallel is the Norwegian river name in solg- (NE, p. 239), Svelga (Hovda, 1966, p. 108) and the Icelandic Svelgsd (Jonsson, 1914, p. 22), all connected to the same

179

Christopher Hale verb. See also the semantically parallel Glupa (Hovda, 1966, p. 50), related to Norwegian glupe 'to bolt' (food), which flows past and down into a steep and rather long canyon. The Eddie name could signify a similar type of river. Ylgr Grm 29: ylgr R; -ylgr A. Srt£/4:ylgrU;r; W; T. SnE 7/89 (479-84): ylgr A; r; (y)lgr B; ylgr C; T.

ON ylgr f. 'she-wolf.' O. Rygh (NE, p. 302) connects the Norwegian river name Ylja to the same word, but G. Indreb0 refutes this idea and states that it is certainly derived from ON ylr 'warmth.' 36 However, there are a number of semantic parallels to this interpretation of Ylgr in river names such as the Norwegian Ulva and Ulvaaen (NE, p. 285) and in the Swedish lake called Ulven (Hellquist, pp. 671-73), all derived from ON ulfr m. 'wolf.' Cf. also the river names connected to ON birna f. 'she-bear' and ON bJQrn m. 'bear' (NE, pp. 13, 18). Another possibility is that Ylgr is related to Modern Icelandic ylgja f. and olga f. 'sea swell' and ON sjdvarolga with the same meaning (cf. t>yn above). Vid Grm 29: vip R; vid A. SnE II89 (479-84): id A; vid- r; vid C; pid (!) T.

This name is already mentioned in Grm 21 (see there for its interpretation). Whether or not the same river is meant here is difficult to determine with certainty. Hjalmar Falk,37 among others, believes that Vid here is a mistake for Vil. He points out that this latter name occurs in several places in SnE, especially in a passage entitled "fra Fenris ulfi" in A, leaf 15v, where it and Van are both mentioned as flowing from the slather of the bound Fenris Wolf. Furthermore, he says that Vil and Van fit well together semantically, meaning 'despair' and 'hope' respectively. I find this idea unlikely as Vid might have been repeated here in order to go together with Van, and Vid is also mentioned twice in the nafnapulur. Van Grm 29: van R;-vad (!) A. SnE 121: vam U; von r; W; T. SnE II89 (479-84): van A; von r; von B; vaunn C; von T. frd Fenris ulfi: van A.

Undoubtedly this is ON van L 'hope,' but probably in the context 'hope for

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The River Names in Grimnismal 27-29 something good' such as fishing. See Norwegian dialect von 'a place where one expects to find something, such as a fishing place or a hunting grounds'38 and Swedish dialect von f. 'instrument, trap in which one catches animals or fish.' 39 Cf. also the river name Vonbcekken (NE, p. 300), which is interpreted as possibly being compounded with Norwegian dialect von, and the farm name Ona.40 According to Joran Sahlgren, however, Van is possibly an old 'noa-' name with the meaning 'hope, good prospects' and called after a large, well-known river in the Norway of the pre-Christian period.41 This he identifies as Gotaalv. Van would thus be the old name for this river which is still found in the lake name Vdnern. The name also seems to occur in a couple of skaldic kennings, for example, frdnskids af mer Vdnar (Pldcitusdrdpa 9/4) and Vdnar dags d Spdni (Utfarardrdpa 2/2). Vqnd Grm 29: vavnd R; v^nd A. SnE II89 (479-84): vind - (!) A; vond r; vin«(!) B; vond C; T.

The name is most likely a nominalization of the feminine singular of the ON adjective vandr 'difficult.' Cf., for example, the Norwegian river Meina (NE, p. 157), probably derived from the ON verb meina 'to harm, hinder.' Another possibility is that it is related to ON vgndr m. 'wand, switch.' Cf., for example, the river names with the stem gand- (NE, p. 63), the district name Gand*2 and the lake called Gjende (Indreb0, 1924, p. 71), all related perhaps to Norwegian dialect gand m. 'thin stick,' as well as the river names with the stem stav- (NE, p. 245) to ON stafr 'stick, stave' and probably referring to rivers which flow in a straight course for a considerable stretch. A similar meaning may be possible here. Strgnd Grm 29: stravnd R; st^nd A. SnE II89 (479-84): strind, strond A; strand, strond r; -strinwi, strorwd B; strond, straund C; strond, strond T.

Formally the name is identical to ON strqnd f. 'strand, coast, shore,' but it is difficult to interpret semantically. Perhaps it might refer to a river which floods during part of the year, forming shores or banks. Johannesson (p. 881) relates the word strqnd to the IE root *ster- 'to spread,' and if this is the case, a meaning for the Eddie name such as the one I have posited here might not be too far-fetched. Gjqll Grm 29: giavll R; gigll A. SnE 14: Gioll U; r; Gi^ll W; gi011 T.

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Christopher Hale SnE 134: til giallar ar U; /// (a) rinnar giallar r; til arerwar giallar W; til arinnar giallar ar T. SnEIIS9 (479-84): Gi