Grímnismál
© 2023 Edward Pettit, CC BY-NC 4.0 https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0308.04
Grímnismál (Grm.) ‘The Sayings of Grímnir’ survives complete in both R (fol. 8v–11r) and A (fol. 3v–5v). In A it follows Vm. and precedes Hym. The poem’s date and place of composition are, as usual, uncertain, but it may well have oral roots in the pagan period. Its metre is mainly ljóðaháttr, but there are several instances of galdralag and some passages resemble fornyrðislag.
Grm. has broad structural similarities to the preceding poem in both R and A, Vm. Both are essentially wisdom-poems in which Óðinn, having disagreed with his wife, visits a foreign court. There he conceals his identity and undergoes a test, during which information is imparted about the world—its creation, natural phenomena, inhabitants and destruction. At the end, Óðinn reveals his true identity to his drunken, duped opponent, who loses his life in an extreme realization of the dangers of inebriation (cf. Háv. 13–14).
The locations differ, however. Vm. is largely set in the land of giants. Grm., like Rþ., is mainly set in the world of humans, albeit ones who, in the case of Geirrøðr and Hrauðungr, share their names with giants. The poems’ focus differs accordingly. In Vm. Óðinn seems keen to hear about Ragnarok, perhaps with a view to averting his dreadful fate. In Grm. all he seeks to discover is the hospitality of his foster-son, Geirrøðr, and, apparently, Geirrøðr’s fitness to rule. Having been refreshed by Geirrøðr’s son, Agnarr, Óðinn names him as the next king. He then reveals—through monologue, rather than question-and-answer dialogue—a wealth of information, perhaps stitched together by the poet from various sources, full of pointed references to divine rule, eating, drinking, hospitality, suffering, reconciliation, filial vengeance, water, protection from heat, loss of thought and memory, and the alliance of einherjar ‘unique champions’ and gods at Ragnarok.
Some scholars have claimed (and others denied) that this revelation is, or was in an earlier setting, ‘shamanistic’. That is to say, Óðinn’s torture between two fires in Grm. might have a basis in a ritual designed to raise the sufferer’s consciousness into communion with otherworldly spirits who would grant him privileged knowledge—an ordeal comparable, perhaps, to Óðinn’s hanging on a tree to discover secrets in Háv. 138–39. Óðinn’s ordeal in Grm. has been likened more specifically to Indian ascetic practice (tapas), and especially to a Díksá ritual that ‘precedes the soma-sacrifice, during which the initiate—dressed in an antelope-cloak—is placed near the sacrificial fire, and through endurance to the heat obtains a very high degree of spiritual strength’.1 But much depends on the meaning of stt. 42 and 45, which is somewhat unclear. What we can say is that, although it appears that ‘the motif of “wisdom from ordeal” is a well-attested motif throughout Northern medieval literature as well as an established Indo-European theme’,2 taking Grm. as it stands in the manuscripts, the prose framework’s explanation of the fires as a mere torture demands no apology, especially as it has many parallels.
In any event, the information Grímnir (Óðinn) imparts serves several purposes. First, it gives Geirrøðr every chance to recognize his god, rescue him, and honour him with food and drink. Secondly, it gives Agnarr the knowledge he will need to rule well, perhaps some of the same advice which the ‘old man’ (Óðinn) earlier gave to the young Geirrøðr (in A). Thirdly, it represents a grim reminder to people of the consequences of not honouring their god. As one scholar observes, the poem stresses the ‘importance of correctly aligning, [and] then steadily maintaining, relations between the human and the divine’.3 Finally, Grímnir’s words may torture Geirrøðr with the knowledge of a glorious afterlife with the einherjar, which he is to miss.
How Grm. was read or performed is unknown. Possibly it, like Vm. and other Eddic dialogue-poems in ljóðaháttr, was once a dramatic monologue. Perhaps a masked, cloaked actor played the part of Grímnir, tethered between two burning cauldrons in a hall. Before him may have stood two other actors as the horn-bearing Agnarr and the drunken, sword-bearing Geirrøðr. Perhaps, if Grm. has roots in genuine pagan ritual, they lie in initiation rites. One scholar remarks:
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.4
Grm. is a major source for Snorri Sturluson’s Prose Edda, which cites twenty-two of its stanzas in whole or part, and draws on at least six more.
Synopsis
Prose: A prologue describes how Óðinn and his wife, Frigg, disguise themselves as an old couple and each foster one of the young sons of King Hrauðungr. Óðinn fosters the elder, Geirrøðr; Frigg fosters the younger, Agnarr. Óðinn helps Geirrøðr maliciously exile Agnarr and become king of their late father’s realm.
The scene shifts to Hliðskjálf, Óðinn’s observation platform. Óðinn taunts Frigg that her foster-son is mating with a giantess in a cave, whereas Geirrøðr is ruling over a kingdom. Frigg retorts that Geirrøðr is so stingy that he tortures his guests if too many arrive. Óðinn is outraged by this accusation and has a bet with his wife about it.
Presumably without her husband’s knowledge, Frigg sees to it that Geirrøðr is on the lookout for a dangerous sorcerer. Unknown to Geirrøðr, that sorcerer is Óðinn in disguise. Geirrøðr seizes Óðinn and tortures him between two fires because he will give no information except his (supposed) name, Grímnir ‘Masked One’.
Geirrøðr’s son, Agnarr, is shocked by his father’s actions, and gives Grímnir a drinking horn. Grímnir drains it and, as the fire starts to burn his cloak, finally speaks.
Verse: Grímnir tells the fire to get away from him (1). He says that, during the eight nights in which he has sat between the fires, only Agnarr has offered him refreshment. He will reward Agnarr with sole rulership of the land (2–3).
Grímnir lists twelve divine dwelling-places and the gods associated with them. Þórr lives in Þrúðheimr (4), Ullr in lands called Ýdalir (5), another god (unnamed) in Valaskjálf (6), and Óðinn and Sága drink in Sǫkkvabekkr (7). Óðinn selects the slain daily in Valhǫll—a hall, situated on Glaðsheimr, whose martial trappings make it unmistakable (8–10). Þrymheimr was once home to the giant Þjazi, but now belongs to his daughter, Skaði (11). Baldr lives in lands called Breiðablik (12), and Heimdallr drinks mead in Himinbjǫrg (13). Freyja selects half the slain each day at Fólkvangr and decides where they sit; Óðinn has the other half (14). Forseti calms disputes in the golden-pillared hall called Glitnir (15). Njǫrðr has halls in Nóatún (16). Víðarr’s land (unnamed) is overgrown, but it is there that he states that he will avenge Óðinn’s death (17).
Few people know that the einherjar—the (formerly slain) ‘unique warriors’ whom Óðinn chose to fight beside the gods at Ragnarok—eat the boar Sæhrímnir, which the cook Andhrímnir boils in the pot Eldhrímnir (18). Óðinn feeds his wolves, Geri and Freki, but he himself lives on wine alone (19). His ravens Huginn and Muninn fly over the earth each day, but he fears they may not return (20).
After an obscure verse about the bridge between heaven and earth (21), Grímnir refers to the gate Valgrind (22), and to the largest hall, Bilskírnir, which belongs to his son (Þórr) (23). His thoughts then return to Valhǫll and the fight of the massed einherjar against the wolf (Fenrir) at Ragnarok (24).
A goat called Heiðrún stands on Valhǫll’s roof, bites a tree called Læraðr, and has to fill a vat with a stream of mead that will not run dry (25). The stag Eikþyrnir also stands on it and bites its branches. Drops fall from its antlers into Hvergelmir, from where all rivers have their source (26).
Grímnir lists the rivers, ending with the two Kerlaugar, which Þórr has to wade when he goes to give judgement at Yggdrasill because the celestial bridge is ablaze (27–29). He also names the horses ridden by the gods on their way to give judgement (30).
Next Grímnir describes aspects of the world-tree, Yggdrasill. It has three roots. The underworld goddess Hel lives beneath one, frost-giants under another, and humans below the third (31). The squirrel Ratatoskr brings word from the eagle at the top of the tree to the dragon Niðhǫggr below (32). Four stags gnaw the tree’s shoots (33), and snakes lie beneath it, eating away (34). The tree suffers as a stag bites it from above and Niðhǫggr from below, and its side rots (35).
Grímnir asks some valkyries to bring him a drinking-horn (36). He then speaks of the sun, the moon and the terrestrial world. Two horses, Árvakr and Alsviðr, drag the sun up each day (37). A shield called Svǫl stands before it, to prevent earth and sea from burning away (38). The wolf Skǫll pursues the sun, while the wolf Hati lies in wait before it (39).
Earth was made from the flesh, sea from the blood, rocks from the bones, trees from the hair, and the sky from the skull of the giant Ymir (40). Miðgarðr was formed from his eyelashes (41), and the clouds from his brain (41).
After a somewhat mysterious stanza in which Grímnir appears to promise the gods’ favour to whoever removes(?) the fire (42), he lists nine of the best things that exist: Skíðblaðnir (ship), Yggdrasill (tree), Óðinn (Áss/god), Sleipnir (steed), Bilrǫst (bridge), Bragi (poet), Hábrók (hawk), Garmr (hound) and Brimir (sword) (43–44).
In another rather obscure stanza, Grímnir speaks of welcome relief and of the gods at Ægir’s feast (45). He then lists many of his names and describes his slaying of an obscure character, ‘the eminent son of Miðviðnir’ (46–50).
At last, Grímnir addresses Geirrøðr directly. Geirrøðr is drunk, he says, and has lost Óðinn’s favour (51). He remembers little that he has been told, and will die by his own sword (52). His fate is sealed as Óðinn reveals himself and challenges Geirrøðr to approach him (53–54).
Prose: Geirrøðr slips and impales himself on his sword as he moves to take Óðinn from the fires. Óðinn disappears, and Agnarr rules the kingdom for a long time.
Further Reading
Chadwick, H. M., The Cult of Othin: An Essay in the Ancient Religion of the North (London: C. J. Clay, 1899; rpt. Stockholm: Looking Glass Press, 1994).
Dronke, U., ed., The Poetic Edda: Volume III. Mythological Poems II (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2011).
Egeler, M., ‘Eikþyrnir and the Rivers of Paradise: Cosmological Perspectives on dating Grímnismál 26–28’, ANF 128 (2013), 17–39.
Falk, H., Odensheite (Kristiania: Dybwad, 1924).
Fleck, J., ‘Konr—Óttarr—Geirrøðr: A Knowledge Criterion for Succession to the Germanic Sacred Kingship’, SS 42 (1970), 39–49.
Fleck, J., ‘The “Knowledge-Criterion” in the Grímnismál: the Case Against “Shamanism”’, ANF 86 (1971), 49–65.
Grundy, S., The Cult of Óðinn: God of Death? (New Haven, CT: Troth Publications, 2014).
Grundy, S., Miscellaneous Studies towards the Cult of Óðinn (New Haven, CT: Troth Publications, 2014).
Gunnell, T., The Origins of Drama in Scandinavia (Woodbridge: D. S. Brewer, 1995).
Hale, C. S., ‘The River Names in Grímnismál 27–29’, in R. J. Glendinning and Haraldur Bessason, ed., Edda: A Collection of Essays (Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1983), pp. 165–86.
Haugen, E., ‘The Edda as Ritual: Odin and His Masks’, in R. J. Glendinning and Haraldur Bessason, ed., Edda: A Collection of Essays (Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1983), pp. 3–24.
Jackson, E., ‘The Art of the List-Maker and the Grímnismál Catalogue of the Homes of the Gods: A Reply to Jan de Vries’, ANF 110 (1995), 5–39.
Klingenberg, H., ‘Types of Eddic Mythological Poetry’, in R. J. Glendinning and Haraldur Bessason, ed., Edda: A Collection of Essays (Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1983), pp. 134–64.
Larrington, C., ‘Vafþrúðnismál and Grímnismál: Cosmic History, Cosmic Geography’, in P. Acker and C. Larrington, ed., The Poetic Edda: Essays on Old Norse Mythology (New York: Routledge, 2002), pp. 59–77.
Lassen, A., Odin’s Ways: A Guide to the Pagan God in Medieval Literature (New York: Routledge, 2022).
Liberman, A., ‘Two Heavenly Animals: The Goat Heiðrún and the Hart Eikþyrnir’, in In Prayer and Laughter: Essays on Medieval Scandinavian and Germanic Mythology, Literature, and Culture (Moscow: Paleograph Press, 2016), pp. 337–46.
Martin, J. S., ‘Ár vas alda. Ancient Scandinavian Creation Myths Reconsidered’, in U. Dronke, Guðrún P. Helgadóttir, G. W. Weber and H. Bekker-Nielsen, ed., Speculum Norroenum: Norse Studies in Memory of Gabriel Turville-Petre (Odense: Odense University Press, 1981), pp. 357–69.
Mattioli, V., ‘Grímnismál: A Critical Edition’ (PhD thesis, University of St Andrews, 2017), https://core.ac.uk/reader/132612327
Nordberg, A., Krigarna i Odins sal: Dödsföreställningar och krigarkult i fornnordisk religion (Stockholm: Stockholm University Press, 2004) [with English summary].
Nygaard, S., ‘Being Óðinn Bursson: The Creation of Social and Moral Obligation in Viking Age Warrior-Bands through the Ritualized, Oral Performance of Poetry—the Case of Grímnismál’, in J. Morawiec, A. Jochymek and G. Bartusik, ed., Social Norms in Medieval Scandinavia (Amsterdam: Arc Humanities Press, 2019), pp. 51–74, https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvpb3xck.8
Pearce, C. A., ed. and trans., ‘Grímnismál: An Edition and Commentary’, (M.Phil. thesis, University of London, 1972).
Quinn, J., ‘Liquid Knowledge: Traditional Conceptualisations of Learning in Eddic Poetry’, in S. Rankovic, L. Melve and E. Mundal, ed., Along the Oral-Written Continuum: Types of Texts, Relations and Their Implications (Turnhout: Brepols, 2010), pp. 175–217, https://doi.org/10.1484/m.usml-eb.3.4283
Ralph, B., ‘The Composition of the Grímnismál’, ANF 87 (1972), 97–118.
Sayers, W., ‘King Geirrǫðr (Grímnismál) and the Archaic Motif Cluster of Deficient Rulership, Maritime Setting, and Lower-Body Accidents with Familiar Iron Instruments’, Nouvelle Mythologie Comparée 3 (2016), 1–12.
Sayers, W., ‘The Mythological Norse Ravens Huginn and Muninn: Interrogators of the Newly Slain’, Studia Linguistica Universitatis Iagellonicae Cracoviensis 139 (2022), 143–55, https://doi.org/10.4467/20834624SL.22.008.15632
Schjødt, J. P., ‘The “Fire Ordeal” in the Grímnismál: Initiation or Annihilation?’, Mediaeval Scandinavia 12 (1988), 29–43.
Schröder, F. R., ‘Grímnismál’, Beiträge zur Geschichte der deutschen Sprache und Literatur 80 (1958), 341–78.
Snekkestad, P., ‘Fishermen in Trouble — Grímnismál and Elf Islands in Northern Norway’, in S. Figenschow, R. Holt and M. Tveit, ed., Myths and Magic in the Medieval Far North: Realities and Representations of a Region on the Edge of Europe (Turnhout: Brepols, 2021), pp. 95–118, https://doi.org/10.1484/M.AS-EB.5.120521
Sundqvist, O., An Arena for Higher Powers: Ceremonial Buildings and Religious Strategies for Rulership in Late Iron Age Scandinavia (Leiden: Brill, 2016), https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004307483
Von See, K., B. La Farge and K. Schulz, Kommentar zu den Liedern der Edda. Band I: Götterlieder, II (Heidelberg: Universitätsverlag Winter, 2019).
Frá sonum Hrauðungs konungs
Hrauðungr konungr átti tvá sonu. Hét annarr Agnarr, en annarr Geirrøðr. Agnarr var tíu vetra, en Geirrøðr átta vetra. Þeir reru tveir á báti með dorgar sínar at smáfiski. Vindr rak þá í haf út. Í náttmyrkri brutu þeir við land, ok gengu upp, fundu kotbónda einn. Þar váru þeir um vetrinn. Kerling fóstraði Agnar, en karl Geirrøð.
At vári fekk karl þeim skip. En er þau kerling leiddu þá til strandar, þá mælti karl einmæli við Geirrøð. Þeir fengu byr ok kvómu til stǫðva fǫðurs síns. Geirrøðr var fram í skipi. Hann hljóp upp á land, en hratt út skipinu ok mælti: ‘Farðu þar er smyl hafi þik!’ Skipit rak út, en Geirrøðr gekk upp til bœjar. Honum var vel fagnat. Þá var faðir hans andaðr. Var þá Geirrøðr til konungs tekinn ok varð maðr ágætr.
Óðinn ok Frigg sátu í Hliðskjálfu ok sá um heima alla. Óðinn mælti: ‘Sér þú Agnar, fóstra þinn, hvar hann elr bǫrn við gýgi í hellinum? En Geirrøðr, fóstri minn, er konungr ok sitr nú at landi!’ Frigg segir: ‘Hann er matníðingr sá at hann kvelr gesti sína ef honum þikkja ofmargir koma!’ Óðinn segir at þat er in mesta lygi. Þau veðja um þetta mál.
Frigg sendi eskismey sína, Fullu, til Geirrøðar. Hon bað konung varask, at eigi fyrgerði honum fjǫlkunnigr maðr, sá er þar var kominn í land. Ok sagði þat mark á, at engi hundr var svá ólmr at á hann myndi hlaupa. En þat var inn mesti hégómi at Geirrøðr væri eigi matgóðr. Ok þó lætr hann handtaka þann mann er eigi vildu hundar á ráða. Sá var í feldi blám ok nefndisk Grímnir, ok sagði ekki fleira frá sér, þótt hann væri at spurðr. Konungr lét hann pína til sagna ok setja milli elda tveggja, ok sat hann þar átta nætr.
Geirrøðr konungr átti son, tíu vetra gamlan, ok hét Agnarr eptir bróður hans. Agnarr gekk at Grímni ok gaf honum horn fullt at drekka. Sagði at konungr gørði illa, er hann lét pína hann saklausan. Grímnir drakk af. Þá var eldrinn svá kominn at feldrinn brann af Grímni. Hann kvað:
Grímnismál
1. ‘Heitr ertu, hripuðr, ok heldr til mikill,
gǫngumk firr, funi!
Loði sviðnar, þótt ek á lopt berak,
brennumk feldr fyrir.
2. ‘Átta nætr sat ek milli elda hér,
svá at mér mangi mat né bauð,
nema einn Agnarr, er einn skal ráða,
Geirrøðar sonr, Gotna landi.
3. ‘Heill skaltu, Agnarr, allz þik heilan biðr
Veratýr vera;
eins drykkjar þú skalt aldregi
betri gjǫld geta!
4. ‘Land er heilagt er ek liggja sé
Ásum ok álfum nær;
en í Þrúðheimi skal Þórr vera,
unz um rjúfask regin.
5. ‘Ýdalir heita, þar er Ullr hefir
sér um gǫrva sali;
Álfheim Frey gáfu í árdaga
tívar at tannfé.
6. ‘Bœr er sá inn þriði, er blíð regin
silfri þǫkðu sali;
Válaskjálf heitir, er vélti sér
Áss í árdaga.
7. ‘Søkkvabekkr heitir inn fjórði, en þar svalar knegu
unnir yfir glymja;
þar þau Óðinn ok Sága drekka um alla daga,
glǫð, ór gullnum kerum.
8. ‘Glaðsheimr heitir inn fimmti, þars in gullbjarta
Valhǫll víð of þrumir;
en þar Hroptr kýss hverjan dag
vápndauða vera.
9. ‘Mjǫk er auðkent þeim er til Óðins koma,
salkynni at sjá;
skǫptum er rann rept, skjǫldum er salr þakiðr,
brynjum um bekki strát.
10. ‘Mjǫk er auðkent þeim er til Óðins koma,
salkynni at sjá;
vargr hangir fyr vestan dyrr,
ok drúpir ǫrn yfir.
11. ‘Þrymheimr heitir inn sétti, er Þjazi bjó,
sá inn ámátki jǫtunn;
en nú Skaði byggvir, skír brúðr goða,
fornar tóptir fǫður.
12. ‘Breiðablik eru in sjúndu, en þar Baldr hefir
sér um gerva sali,
á því landi er ek liggja veit
fæsta feiknstafi.
13. ‘Himinbjǫrg eru in áttu, en þar Heimdall
kveða valda véum;
þar vǫrðr goða drekkr í væru ranni,
glaðr, inn góða mjǫð.
14. ‘Fólkvangr er inn níundi, en þar Freyja ræðr
sessa kostum í sal;
hálfan val hon kýss hverjan dag,
en hálfan Óðinn á.
15. ‘Glitnir er inn tíundi, hann er gulli studdr
ok silfri þakðr it sama;
en þar Forseti byggir flestan dag
ok svæfir allar sakir.
16. ‘Nóatún eru in elliptu, en þar Njǫrðr hefir
sér um gǫrva sali;
manna þengill, inn meinsvani
hátimbruðum hǫrgi ræðr.
17. ‘Hrísi vex ok há grasi
Víðars land, viði;
en þar mǫgr of læzk af mars baki,
frœkn, at hefna fǫður.
18. ‘Andhrímnir lætr í Eldhrímni
Sæhrímni soðinn;
fleska bezt, en þat fáir vitu
við hvat einherjar alask.
19. ‘Gera ok Freka seðr gunntamiðr
hróðigr Herjafǫðr;
en við vín eitt vápngǫfugr
Óðinn æ lifir.
20. ‘Huginn ok Muninn fljúga hverjan dag
jǫrmungrund yfir;
óumk ek of Hugin, at hann aptr né komit,
þó sjámk meirr um Munin.
21. ‘Þýtr Þund, unir Þjóðvitnis
fiskr flóði í;
árstraumr þikkir ofmikill
valglaumi at vaða.
22. ‘Valgrind heitir, er stendr velli á,
heilǫg, fyr helgum durum;
forn er sú grind, en þat fáir vitu,
hvé hon er í lás lokin.
23 [24]. ‘Fimm hundruð gólfa ok um fjórum tøgum,
svá hygg ek Bilskírni með bugum;
ranna þeira er ek rept vita,
míns veit ek mest magar.
24 [23]. ‘Fimm hundruð dura ok um fjórum tøgum,
svá hygg ek á Valhǫllu vera;
átta hundruð einherja ganga ór einum durum,
þá er þeir fara at vitni at vega.
25. ‘Heiðrún heitir geit er stendr hǫllu á Herjafǫðrs
ok bítr af Læraðs limum;
skapker fylla hon skal ins skíra mjaðar,
knáat sú veig vanask.
26. ‘Eikþyrnir heitir hjǫrtr er stendr á hǫllu Herjafǫðrs
ok bítr af Læraðs limum;
en af hans hornum drýpr í Hvergelmi,
þaðan eigu vǫtn ǫll vega.
27. ‘Síð ok Víð, Sœkin ok Eikin,
Svǫl ok Gunnþró,
Fjǫrm ok Fimbulþul,
Rín ok Rennandi,
Gipul ok Gǫpul,
Gǫmul ok Geirvimul —
þær hverfa um hodd goða —
Þyn ok Vín,
Þǫll ok Hǫll,
Gráð ok Gunnþorin.
28. ‘Vín á heitir enn, ǫnnur Vegsvinn,
þriðja Þjóðnuma,
Slíð ok Hríð, Sylgr ok Ylgr,
Víð ok Ván, Vǫnd ok Strǫnd,
Gjǫll ok Leiptr, þær falla gumnum nær,
en falla til Heljar heðan.
29. ‘Kǫrmt ok Ǫrmt ok Kerlaugar tvær,
þær skal Þórr vaða,
hverjan dag, er hann dœma ferr
at aski Yggdrasils,
þvíat ásbrú brenn ǫll loga;
heilǫg vǫtn hlóa.
30. ‘Glaðr ok Gyllir, Gler ok Skeiðbrimir,
Silfrintoppr ok Sinir,
Gísl ok Falhófnir, Gulltoppr ok Léttfeti —
þeim ríða Æsir jóm,
dag hvern, er þeir dœma fara
at aski Yggdrasils.
31. ‘Þrjár rœtr standa á þrjá vega
undan aski Yggdrasils;
Hel býr undir einni, annarri hrímþursar,
þriðju mennskir menn.
32. ‘Ratatoskr heitir íkorni er renna skal
at aski Yggdrasils;
arnar orð hann skal ofan bera
ok segja Niðhǫggvi niðr.
33. ‘Hirtir eru ok fjórir, þeirs af hæfingar á
gaghálsir gnaga:
Dáinn ok Dvalinn,
Duneyrr ok Duraþrór.
34. ‘Ormar fleiri liggja undir aski Yggdrasils
en þat uf hyggi hverr ósviðra apa;
Góinn ok Móinn — þeir eru Grafvitnis synir —
Grábakr ok Grafvǫlluðr;
Ófnir ok Sváfnir hygg ek at æ skyli
meiðs kvistu má.
35. ‘Askr Yggdrasils drýgir erfiði,
meira en menn viti;
hjǫrtr bítr ofan, en á hliðu fúnar,
skerðir Niðhǫggr neðan.
36. ‘Hrist ok Mist vil ek at mér horn beri,
Skeggjǫld ok Skǫgul,
Hildi ok Þrúði,
Hlǫkk ok Herfjǫtur,
Gǫll ok Geirǫlul,
Randgríð ok Ráðgrið ok Reginleif;
þær bera einherjum ǫl.
37. ‘Árvakr ok Alsviðr, þeir skulu upp heðan,
svangir, Sól draga;
en und þeira bógum fálu blíð regin,
Æsir, ísarn kól.
38. ‘Svǫl heitir, hann stendr Sólu fyrir,
skjǫldr, skínanda goði;
bjǫrg ok brim ek veit at brenna skulu,
ef hann fellr í frá.
39. ‘Skǫll heitir úlfr er fylgir inu skírleita goði
til varna viðar;
en annarr, Hati, hann er Hróðvitnis sonr,
sá skal fyr heiða brúði himins.
40. ‘Ór Ymis holdi var jǫrð um skǫpuð,
en ór sveita sær,
bjǫrg ór beinum, baðmr ór hári,
en ór hausi himinn.
41. ‘En ór hans brám gerðu blíð regin
Miðgarð manna sonum,
en ór hans heila váru þau in harðmóðgu
ský ǫll um skǫpuð.
42. ‘Ullar hylli hefr ok allra goða,
hverr er tekr fyrstr á funa,
þvíat opnir heimar verða um Ása sonum,
þá er hefja af hvera.
43. ‘Ívalda synir gengu í árdaga
Skíðblaðni at skapa,
skipa bezt, skírum Frey,
nýtum Njarðar bur.
44. ‘Askr Yggdrasils, hann er œztr viða,
en Skíðblaðnir skipa,
Óðinn Ása, en jóa Sleipnir,
Bilrǫst brúa, en Bragi skálda,
Hábrók hauka, en hunda Garmr,
en Brimir sverða.
45. ‘Svipum hefi ek nú ypt fyr sigtíva sonum;
við þat skal vilbjǫrg vaka;
ǫllum Ásum þat skal inn koma,
Ægis bekki á,
Ægis drekku at.
46. ‘Hétumk Grímr, hétumk Gangleri,
Herjan ok Hjálmberi,
Þekkr ok Þriði, Þundr ok Uðr,
Helblindi ok Hár.
47. ‘Saðr ok Svipall ok Sanngetall,
Herteitr ok Hnikarr,
Bileygr, Báleygr, Bǫlverkr, Fjǫlnir,
Grímr ok Grímnir, Glapsviðr ok Fjǫlsviðr.
48. ‘Síðhǫttr, Síðskeggr, Sigfǫðr, Hnikuðr,
Alfǫðr, Valfǫðr, Atríðr ok Farmatýr;
einu nafni hétumk aldregi,
síz ek með fólkum fór.
49. ‘Grímni mik hétu at Geirraðar,
en Jálk at Ásmundar,
en þá Kjalar er ek kjálka dró,
Þrór þingum at,
Viðurr at vígum,
Óski ok Ómi, Jafnhár ok Biflindi,
Gǫndlir ok Hárbarðr með goðum.
50. ‘Sviðurr ok Sviðrir er ek hét at Sǫkkmímis,
ok dulða ek þann inn aldna jǫtun,
þá er ek Miðviðnis vark ins mæra burar
orðinn einn bani.
51. ‘Ǫlr ertu, Geirrøðr, hefr þú ofdrukkit!
Miklu ertu hnugginn er þú ert mínu gengi,
ǫllum einherjum ok Óðins hylli.
52. ‘Fjǫlð ek þér sagða, en þú fátt um mant —
of þik véla vinir;
mæki liggja ek sé míns vinar
allan í dreyra drifinn!
53. ‘Eggmóðan val nú mun Yggr hafa,
þitt veit ek líf um liðit;
úfar ru dísir — nú knáttu Óðin sjá,
nálgaztu mik, ef þú megir!
54. ‘Óðinn ek nú heiti, Yggr ek áðan hét,
hétumk Þundr fyrir þat;
Vakr ok Skilfingr, Váfuðr ok Hroptatýr,
Gautr ok Jálkr með goðum,
Ófnir ok Sváfnir, er ek hygg at orðnir sé
allir af einum mér.’
Geirrøðr konungr sat ok hafði sverð um kné sér, ok brugðit til miðs. En er hann heyrði at Óðinn var þar kominn, stóð hann upp ok vildi taka Óðin frá eldinum. Sverðit slapp ór hendi honum, vissu hjǫltin niðr. Konungr drap fœti ok steyptisk áfram, en sverðit stóð í gǫgnum hann, ok fekk hann bana. Óðinn hvarf þá. En Agnarr var þar konungr lengi síðan.
About the Sons of King Hrauðungr
King Hrauðungr had two sons.5 One was called Agnarr and the other Geirrøðr. Agnarr was ten years old, and Geirrøðr eight years old. The two of them rowed in a boat with their fishing-lines to catch small fish. A wind drove them out to sea. In the darkness of night they were wrecked against land, and they went ashore [and] found a smallholder. They stayed there for the winter. The old woman fostered Agnarr, and the old man fostered Geirrøðr.6
In the spring the old man got them a ship. And when he and the old woman led them to the shore, then the old man spoke in private to Geirrøðr. They got a fair wind and came to their father’s landing place. Geirrøðr was at the bow of the ship. He leapt ashore, and pushed the ship out and said: ‘Go where the fiends may have you!’7 The ship rode out,8 and Geirrøðr went up to the settlement. He was warmly welcomed. By then his father was dead. Geirrøðr was then chosen as king and became a renowned man.
Óðinn and Frigg sat in Hliðskjálf and looked through all worlds.9 Óðinn said: ‘Do you see Agnarr, your foster-son, where he begets children on a giantess in the cave? But Geirrøðr, my foster-son, is a king and now rules over a land!’10 Frigg says: ‘He’s so stingy with food that he tortures his guests if it seems to him too many come!’ Óðinn says that is the greatest lie. They had a bet on this matter.
Frigg sent her box-maiden, Fulla,11 to Geirrøðr. She told the king to beware lest a magic-knowing man,12 the one who had come to that land, should cast a spell on him. And she said the mark [of this man] was that no dog was so fierce that it would jump on him. But it was the greatest slander that Geirrøðr was not generous with food. And, even so, he had that man seized whom dogs would not attack. That one was in a dark-blue cloak and called himself Grímnir,13 and he said nothing more about himself, even though he was asked. The king had him tortured to make him talk and set between two fires, and he sat there for eight nights.14
King Geirrøðr had a son, ten years old, and he was called Agnarr after his brother. Agnarr went to Grímnir and gave him a full horn to drink from. He said the king was acting disgracefully when he had him, an innocent man, tortured. Grímnir drained it. By then the fire had progressed so that the cloak was burning off Grímnir. He said:
The Sayings of Grímnir
1. ‘You’re hot, hastener,15 and rather too huge;
go further from me, flame!
The loden coat is getting singed, though I bear it aloft,
the cloak burns before me.
2. ‘For eight nights I sat here amid fires,
without anyone having offered me food,
except Agnarr alone, who alone shall rule —
Geirrøðr’s son — the land of the Gotar.16
3. ‘You shall be hale,17 Agnarr, since Veratýr18
bids you be hale;
for one drink you shall never
receive a better reward!
4. ‘The land is holy which I see lying
and Þórr shall be in Þrúðheimr,19
until the powers are ripped apart.20
5. ‘Ýdalir21 it’s called,22 where Ullr23 has
built halls for himself;
in early days the gods gave Álfheimr24
to Freyr as a tooth-fee.25
6. ‘The third26 homestead is the one where kindly powers
thatched halls with silver;
Válaskjálf27 it’s called, which an Áss28 built
ably for himself in early days.29
7. ‘Sǫkkvabekkr30 is the name of the fourth, and there cool waves
plash over it;
there Óðinn and Sága31 drink through all days,
glad, from golden goblets.
8. ‘Glaðsheimr32 is the name of the fifth, where the gold-bright
Valhǫll33 stands broadly;
and there, each day, Hroptr34 chooses
men killed by weapons.35
9. ‘Much is easily recognized36 by those who come to Óðinn’s,37
to see his household:
the house is raftered with shafts,38 the hall is thatched with shields,
the benches [are] bestrewn with mail-coats.39
10. ‘Much is easily recognized by those who come to Óðinn’s,
to see his household;
a wolf40 hangs west of the door
and an eagle stoops above.
11. ‘Þrymheimr41 is the name of the sixth, where Þjazi lived,
that almighty giant;42
but now Skaði, the gods’ shining bride,43 inhabits
the ancient sites of her father.44
12. ‘Breiðablik45 is the seventh, and there Baldr
has built halls for himself,
on the land where I know fewest
13. ‘Himinbjǫrg48 is the eighth, and there Heimdallr,
they say, presides over sanctuaries;
there the gods’ watchman49 drinks in a homely hall,
glad, the good mead.50
14. ‘Fólkvangr51 is the ninth, and there Freyja decides
the choice of seats in the hall;52
half the slain she selects each day,
and Óðinn has [the other] half.53
15. ‘Glitnir54 is the tenth, it’s supported by golden pillars
and similarly thatched with silver;
and there Forseti55 dwells most days
and soothes all disputes.56
16. ‘Nóatún57 is the eleventh, and there Njǫrðr has
built halls for himself;
a lord of men, the blameless one
rules a high-built altar.58
17. ‘Overgrown with brushwood and tall grass59
is Víðarr’s land, with a wood;60
and there the brave youth asserts from his steed’s back
that he will avenge his father.61
18. ‘Andhrímnir has Sæhrímnir
boiled in Eldhrímnir;62
[it’s] the best of flesh, but few know
on what the unique champions live.63
19. ‘Battle-trained, glorious Herjafǫðr64
feeds Geri and Freki;65
but on wine alone weapon-noble
Óðinn always lives.66
20. ‘Huginn and Muninn fly every day
over the vast earth;67
I fear for Huginn, that he won’t come back,
yet I’m more concerned about Muninn.68
21. ‘Þund thunders, Þjóðvitnir’s fish
resides contentedly in the flood;69
the river-current seems too strong
for the steed of the slain(?) to wade.70
22. ‘Valgrind it’s called, which stands on open ground,
holy, before holy doors;71
ancient is that gate, but few know
how it’s locked with a latch.
23 [24]. ‘Five hundred rooms and forty72
are in Bilskírnir73 altogether, so I think;
of those buildings that I know are roofed,
I know my son’s is biggest.74
24 [23]. ‘Five hundred doors and forty75
eight hundred76 unique champions walk from one door,
when they go to fight the wolf.77
25. ‘Heiðrún78 is the name of the goat which stands on Herjafǫðr’s hall79
and bites on Læraðr’s limbs;80
she must fill a specially-crafted vat81 with the shining mead,
that intoxicating drink cannot run out.
26. ‘Eikþyrnir82 is the name of the hart which stands on Herjafǫðr’s hall
and from his horns drops fall into Hvergelmir,83
whence all waters take their courses.84
27.85 ‘Síð86 and Víð,87 Sœkin88 and Eikin,89
they flow around the hoards100 of the gods —
28. ‘A river is called Vín,107 moreover,108 a second Vegsvinn,109
a third Þjóðnuma,110
Nyt111 and Nǫt,112 Nǫnn113 and Hrǫnn,114
Slíð115 and Hríð,116 Sylgr117 and Ylgr,118
Víð119 and Ván,120 Vǫnd121 and Strǫnd,122
Gjǫll123 and Leiptr,124 they fall125 near humans,
and fall from here to Hel.126
29. ‘Kǫrmt127 and Ǫrmt128 and two Kerlaugar,129
every day, when he goes to give judgement
at the ash of Yggdrasill,130
because all the god-bridge131 burns with flame,
holy waters boil(?).132
30. ‘Glaðr133 and Gyllir,134 Gler135 and Skeiðbrimir,136
Gísl139 and Falhófnir,140 Gulltoppr141 and Léttfeti142 —
the Æsir143 ride these steeds,
every day, when they go to give judgement
at the ash of Yggdrasill.144
31. ‘Three roots extend145 in three directions
from under the ash of Yggdrasill;146
Hel147 lives under one, frost-giants [under] another,
human beings148 [under] a third.
32. ‘Ratatoskr149 is the name of the squirrel which must run
an eagle’s150 words he must bring from above151
and speak them to Niðhǫggr152 beneath.
33. ‘There are also four stags, those which gnaw on its shoots,153
with necks bent back:
34. ‘More snakes lie under the ash of Yggdrasill
than any unwise ape158 would think;159
Góinn160 and Móinn161 — they are Grafvitnir’s162 sons —
Grábakr163 and Grafvǫlluðr;164
Ófnir165 and Sváfnir166 I think must always
wear away at the tree’s twigs.167
35. ‘The ash of Yggdrasill suffers hardship,
more than men may know;
a stag bites it from above,168 and its side rots,
Niðhǫggr gnaws it from beneath.169
36. ‘Hrist170 and Mist171 I want to bring me a horn,
Randgríð180 and Ráðgríð181 and Reginleif;182
they bring ale to the unique champions.183
37. ‘Árvakr184 and Alsviðr,185 those scrawny ones must drag
Sól up from here;186
but under their shoulders kindly powers,
Æsir,187 concealed iron coolers(?).188
38. ‘Svǫl is its name189 — it stands before Sól —
a shield, [before] the shining god;190
I know that rocks and surf shall burn up,
if it falls away from it.
39. ‘Skǫll191 is the name of the wolf which pursues the shiny-faced god192
to the shelter of the wood;193
and the other, Hati,194 he is Hróðvitnir’s son,
he must be before the shining bride of the sky.195
40. ‘From Ymir’s196 flesh the earth was formed,
and from his “sweat”197 the sea,
boulders from his bones, trees from his hair,
and from his skull the sky.198
41. ‘And from his eyelashes199 the kindly powers made
Miðgarðr200 for the sons of men,
and from his brain all those hard-hearted
clouds were created.
42. ‘Whoever first takes hold of the fire201 will have the favour
of Ullr and of all gods,202
because worlds203 become open204 around205 the sons of the Æsir,206
when the cauldrons are taken off.207
43. ‘Ívaldi’s sons went in early days
to build Skíðblaðnir,208
best of ships, for shining Freyr,209
for the able son of Njǫrðr.210
44. ‘The ash of Yggdrasill, it’s the greatest of trees,
Óðinn of Æsir,211 and Sleipnir of steeds,212
Bilrǫst of bridges,213 and Bragi of poets,214
Hábrók of hawks,215 and Garmr of hounds,216
and Brimir of swords.217
45. ‘I have now lifted my fleeting disguises218 before the sons of the victory gods;219
with that, welcome relief220 shall awake;
for221 all the Æsir222 it shall come inside,
at Ægir’s drinking feast.223
46. ‘They called me Grímr,224 they called me Gangleri,225
Þekkr228 and Þriði,229 Þundr230 and Uðr,231
47. ‘Saðr234 and Svipall235 and Sanngetall,236
Bileygr,239 Báleygr,240 Bǫlverkr,241 Fjǫlnir,242
Grímr243 and Grímnir,244 Glapsviðr245 and Fjǫlsviðr.246
48. ‘Síðhǫttr,247 Síðskeggr,248 Sigfǫðr,249 Hnikuðr,250
Alfǫðr,251 Valfǫðr,252 Atríðr253 and Farmatýr;254
by one name they have never called me,
since I travelled among troops.255
49. ‘Grímnir they called me at Geirrøðr’s,
and then Kjalarr258 when I drew a sledge;259
Óski264 and Ómi,265 Jafnhár266 and Biflindi,267
Gǫndlir268 and Hárbarðr269 among the gods.
50. ‘Sviðurr270 and Sviðrir271 when I was named at Sǫkkmímir’s,272
and I concealed it from that ancient giant,
when I alone had become slayer
of the eminent son of Miðviðnir.273
51. ‘You’re drunk, Geirrøðr, you’ve drunk too much!274
You’re robbed of much when you’re not in my company,275
[namely] all the unique champions and Óðinn’s favour.
52. ‘Much have I told you, but few things you remember —
friends deceive you;276
I see the sword of my friend277 lying
all soaked in blood!
53. ‘Your edge-weary corpse278 Yggr279 will now have,
your life, I know, has ebbed away;
the spirit-women280 are angry — now you can see Óðinn,
approach me,281 if you can!
54. ‘I am called Óðinn now, I was called Yggr earlier,282
they called me Þundr before that;283
Vakr284 and Skilfingr285, Váfuðr286 and Hroptatýr,287
Gautr288 and Jálkr289 among the gods,
Ófnir and Sváfnir,290 all of which I think have
arisen from me alone.’
King Geirrøðr sat and had a sword on his knee, and it was drawn to the middle. And when he heard that Óðinn had come there, he stood up and wanted to take Óðinn from the fires. The sword slipped from his hand, the hilt pointed downwards. The king lost his footing and toppled forward, and the sword ran him through, and he got his death. Óðinn disappeared then. And Agnarr was king there for a long time after.
Textual Apparatus to Grímnismál
Frá sonum Hrauðungs konungs] These rubricated but faded words are illegible in the photograph in the facsimile volume of R; this edition therefore relies on the transcription therein, which brackets these words; A fra hrauðvngi konvngi ‘About King Hrauðungr’
Hrauðungr] The first letter is a large and inset in R
annarr] A annarr s. (with annarr inserted above the abbreviation)
dorgar] A dorgir
Í náttmyrkri brutu þeir] A þæir brutu ináttmyrkri
en karl Geirrøð] so R; A æn karl fostraði geirrøð. ok kændi honum rað ‘and the old man fostered Geirrøðr and gave him advice’
þau kerling] so A; R kerling þau
til strandar] A til skips ‘to the ship’
fǫðurs] A fǫðvr
Farðu] A Far þv nv ‘Go now’
rak út] A rak i haf vt ‘rode out to sea’
upp] so A; R vt ‘out’
bœjar] A bœia
var] A var þar
Þá var faðir hans] A æn faðir hans var þa ‘and his father was then’
Var þá Geirrøðr] A GæiRǫðr var þa
Hliðskjálfu] A hliðskialf
heima alla] A alla heima
En Geirrøðr, fóstri minn, er konungr ok sitr nú at landi] A ænn (ær above line) konvngr fostri minn ok sitr at lǫndvm
in] A hin
eskismey] A æski mæy
inn] A hinn
Geirrøðr] A gæiRǫðr konvngr
Ok þó lætr] A ænn þo lætr konvngr
ráða] A hlavpa
pína] A pina hann
tveggja] A absent
hann] A absent
átti] A atti þa
þau kerling] so A; R kerling þau
fullt] so A; R fult
Sagði] A ok sagði
at konungr gørði illa] A at faðir hans gærði
er hann lét pína hann saklausan] A ær hann pinndi þænna mann saklavsan
Grímnismál] The title is rubricated but illegible, due to fading, in the photograph in the facsimile volume of R; this edition therefore relies here on its transcription in the facsimile volume and on A
1/1 Heitr] The first letter is large, inset, rubricated but faded in R
1/5 berak] A væra
2/2 milli] A millvm
2/6 sonr] A son
4/6 um] A of
5/4 Frey] R corrected from freyr by underdotting
6/1 inn] A hin
7/1 inn] A hinn
7/1 fjórði] A fiorð; R has a roman numeral
8/1 heitir] A ær ‘is’
8/1 inn] A hinn
8/2 in] A hin
8/3 Valhǫll] R corrected from vaulhlaull (or perhaps vailhlaill) by underdotting
8/3 of] A absent
9/2 til] A absent
Originally, the scribe of R mistakenly put stanza 9 after stanza 10, but he did subsequently indicate their correct order
10/2–3 þeim er til Óðins koma, salkynni at siá] A þæim ær. t. k. s. at sia
10/2-3] R abbreviates þ. er o. k. s. k.
11/1 inn] A hinn
11/6 fornar] A forna
12/1 Breiðablik] R Breiða, corrected to Breiðablik by a later hand; A Bræiða blio
12/1 in] A hin
12/1 sjúndu] A siavnndv
13/1 in] A hin
13/6 inn] R absent; A hin
14/1 inn] A hinn
15/1 er inn] A h. e. (abbreviation for heitir enn)
15/3 it] A hit
16/1 eru in] A ær. h.
16/5 inn] A hinn
16/6 hǫrgi] so A; R haurg
16/6 ræðr] so A; R absent
17/3 Víðars] so A; R vinþars
17/6 at] R and A have the Tironian sign for ok ‘and’
18/6 við] R and A absent; supplied from SnEGylf
18/6 einherjar] A æinhæria
20/1 Muninn] R muNiN; A mvninn
20/4 of] so R (interlined); A vm
20/4 Hugin] A corrects hvgim to hvgin by underdotting
20/5 komit] R comiþ; A komi
20/6 sjámk] A siamz ek
20/6 Munin] R mvniN; A mvninn
21/1 Þund] A þvndr
21/5 þikkir] R absent
21/6 valglaumi] A valglavmni
22/3 durum] A dyrvm
22/6 lokin] A vm lokin
23/1 Fimm hundruð] A abbreviates Fim. h.
23/3 bugum] R corrects bvgomo to bvgom by underdotting
23] A places this stanza after stanza 24
24/3 hygg] A kvæt ‘say’
24/3 Valhǫllu] A valhǫll
24/5 ganga] A ganga sænn ‘go at the same time’
24/5 durum] A dyrum
24/6 at vitni] A við vitni
25/2 Herjafǫðrs] A hæriafǫðvr
25/6 knáat] A kann
26/2 hǫllu] A hællv
26/3 Læraðs limum] A abbreviates l. l.
26/6 eigu] A æiga
27/2 Eikin] A ækin
27/3 ok] not visible in A, due to smudge
28/1 Vín á] so R; A Vina
28/1 ein] R enn; A ænn
28/2 Vegsvinn] A væg svin
28/8 Ván] A vað
28/12 en] so A ænn; R er ‘which’
29/4 hverjan dag] A dag hværn
29/8 loga] so A; R logo
30/2 Gler] A glær
30/3 Silfrintoppr] so A; R silfrintoptr corrected to silfrintopr by underdotting
30/4 Falhófnir] A falæpnir
30/6 jóm] A iovm
30/8 er þeir dœma fara] A ær dæma
31/4 undir] A und
32/1 Ratatoskr] A Raratoskr
32/3 Yggdrasils] so A; R yGdrasis
33/2 hæfingar] A hæfingiar
33/3 gaghálsir] so A; R agaghalsir
33/3 gnaga] A ganga
33/5 Duneyrr ok Duraþrór] A dynæyR ok dyraþror
34/3 þat] A absent
34/3 uf] A of
34/3 ósviðra] A osvinnra
34/5 þeir eru] A þæirro
34/7 Ófnir] A opnir
34/9 meiðs] A mæiðar
35/3 viti] A of viti
36/3 Skeggjǫld] A skægg ǫlld
36/4 Hildi ok Þrúði] A hilldr ok þrvðr (i.e., Hildr ok Þrúðr)
36/6 Geirǫlul] A gæirrǫmvl
36/8 ok] so A; R absent
36/9 ǫl] A corrects ǫll to ǫl by underdotting
38/1 Svǫl] A Svalin
38/3 goði] A gvði
39/2 inu] A hinu
39/3 varna] A corrects vavna to varna
39/5 hann er] A absent
39/5 sonr] A svn
40/3 sær] A sior
40/5 baðmr] A baðrmr
41/6 um] A of
42/1 hefr] A hæfir
42/5 um] A of
42/6 þá er] A þa ær þæir
43/1 Ívalda] A Ivallda
44/6 Bilrǫst] Inserted above the line in A
44/9 Garmr] A gramr
44/10 en Brimir sverða] so A ænn brimir sværða; R absent
45/1 nú] A absent
45/1 ypt] Two letters erased before this word at the start of the line in R
45/2 sigtíva] A sigtifa
45/7 drekku] A dryKiv
46/1–2 Hétumk Grímr, hétumk Gangleri] A Hætvmz grimr ok ganglæri
46/5 Þundr] A þvðr
46/5 ok] Inserted above the line in R
46/6 Helblindi] A hærblindr ‘Army Blind/Hidden One’
46/6 ok] Inserted above the line in R
48/2 Sigfǫðr] A sigfæðr (with a mark above the -æ-)
48/3 Valfǫðr] A absent
48/6 hétumk aldregi] A hætvmz
48/7 með] A absent
49/3 Ásmundar] so A; R ǫsmundar
49/4 en þá Kjalar] ænn þa ialk
49/7 Viðurr at vígum] A viður at vigvm; R absent
50/3 inn] A hinn
50/4 er] Added in margin in R
50/4 Miðviðnis] A miðvitnis
50/4 vark] A var
50/5 ins] A hins
50/6 einn bani] A æinbani
51/2 hefr] A hæfir
51/4 gengi] A gæði
52/1 sagða] A sagðac
52/2 fátt] so A; R fat
53/2 mun] A man
53/3 um] A of
53/4 úfar ru] so paper manuscripts; R varar ro; A vvaRro
53/6 nálgaztu] so A; R nalgazstv
54/3 hétumk] A hætvmz
54/8 er] A absent
54/9 af] A at
Final prose Óðinn] A abbreviates .o.
Final prose vildi] A vill ‘wants’
Final prose Óðin] A abbreviates .o.
Final prose vissu] A ok vissv ‘and pointed’
Final prose steyptisk] A stæyttiz
Final prose sverðit] A sværð
Final prose gǫgnum] A gægnvm
Final prose fekk hann bana] A fæK þar af bana
Final prose Óðinn hvarf þá] A absent
Final prose En Agnarr var þar konungr lengi síðan] A Enn agnarr varð konvngr ‘And Agnarr became king’
1 See J. P. Schjødt, ‘The “Fire Ordeal” in the Grímnismál: Initiation or Annihilation?’, Mediaeval Scandinavia 12 (1988), 29–43 at 31; Schjødt, however, opposes this view.
2 S. L. Higley, Between Languages: The Uncooperative Text in Early Welsh and Old English Nature Poetry (University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1993), p. 237.
3 C. Larrington, ‘Vafþrúðnismál and Grímnismál: Cosmic History, Cosmic Geography’, in P. Acker and C. Larrington, ed., The Poetic Edda: Essays on Old Norse Mythology (New York: Routledge, 2002), pp. 59–77 at 74.
4 E. Haugen, ‘The Edda as Ritual: Odin and His Masks’, in R. J. Glendinning and Haraldur Bessason, ed., Edda: A Collection of Essays (Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1983), pp. 3–24 at 12.
5 King Hrauðungr is obscure, but his name probably means ‘Destroyer’. Another Hrauðungr appears in Hdl. 26; a sea-king of this name is found in a name-list in SnESkáld (I, 75, p. 110); and a giant is so named in SnESkáld (I, 75, p. 114) and Hjálmþés saga ok Ǫlvis ‘The Saga of Hjálmþér and Ǫlvir’. Agnarr ‘Terrifying Army’ and Geirrøðr ‘Spear Peace’ (elsewhere a giant-name) are also obscure figures.
6 Here A adds that the old man gave him advice. The fosterers are presumably the smallholder and his wife, whose identities we learn shortly.
7 Geirrøðr, the younger son, exiles his elder brother in order to inherit the kingdom in his stead. His words probably serve as a spell of banishment, most likely taught to him by the ‘old man’ during their private talk. ‘Fiends’ is a loose translation of the obscure noun smyl, which seems to have denoted some kind of monstrous being.
8 I.e., it was driven out to sea.
9 SnEGylf (9, p. 13) identifies Hliðskjálf ‘Door/Inlet Shelf’ as a place in Ásgarðr ‘Áss/God Court’ containing a high-seat, from which Óðinn can see all worlds.
10 The old man was Óðinn in disguise; the old woman was Frigg.
11 Fulla, probably ‘Bountiful One’, is one of the Ásynjur ‘goddesses’ according to SnEGylf (35, p. 29), which identifies her as a virgin who carries Frigg’s ashen box (eski).
12 Literally, a ‘much-knowing man’, one skilled in malevolent magic.
13 ‘Masked One’, an alias of Óðinn. The dark blue of his cloak forbodes death.
14 The following revelatory poem is probably recited during the ninth night, a time of transformational suffering in other myths; cf. Háv. 138–39, FSk. 39, 41.
15 A term for ‘fire’.
16 Literally ‘Goths’, but the term may denote humankind in general. The last line of this stanza does not conform to the ljóðaháttr otherwise used in stanzas 1 to 26.
17 I.e., healthy, well.
18 ‘God of Men’, an alias of Óðinn.
19 ‘Power Home’. It is possibly the aforementioned holy land.
20 The ruling gods will die violently at Ragnarok.
21 ‘Yew Dales’.
22 Literally, ‘they’re called’, the noun and verb being pl.
23 A god whose name appears cognate with OE wuldor ‘brilliance, glory’. SnEGylf (31, p. 26) identifies him as Sif’s son and Þórr’s stepson, a handsome warrior and an unrivalled archer and skier, to whom it is good to pray in single combat. ‘Yew Dales’ is a fitting home for an archer, as yew wood was used for making bows.
24 ‘Elf Home’. In SnEGylf (17, p. 19) Álfheimr is the home of the ‘light-elves’. Here it might contain, or form part of, Ýdalir, and its owner, Freyr ‘Lord’ (a god described as bjartr ‘bright’ in Vsp. 52 and skírr ‘shining’ in Grm. 43) or a freyr ‘lord’, might be a young version of the implicitly brilliant Ullr.
25 I.e., as a gift for Freyr’s first tooth.
26 The arithmetic is correct if the holy land and Þrúðheimr of Vm. 4 may be taken together as the site of one homestead and the same is true of Ýdalir and Álfheimr in Vm. 5. Otherwise, some clumsy interpolation or other textual corruption may have occurred.
27 ‘Váli’s Shelf’, Váli being Baldr’s avenger; alternatively, perhaps Valaskjálf ‘Shelf of the Slaughtered(?)’.
28 One of the Æsir, possibly Váli; alternatively, just ‘a god’.
29 According to SnEGylf (17, p. 20), Valaskjálf is a ‘big place’ belonging to Óðinn; the gods built it and roofed it with silver, and Óðinn’s high-seat Hliðskjálf is inside it.
30 ‘Sunken Bank/Beck’ or perhaps ‘Bank/Beck of Treasures’.
31 SnEGylf (35, p. 29) says Sága ‘Seeress/Sayer(?)’ is the second of the Ásynjur after Frigg, and that she lives at Sǫkkvabekkr, which is a ‘big place’. Possibly Sága (cf. soga ‘to suck’?) was originally another name for Frigg, whose home in Vsp. 33 is the watery Fensalir ‘Fen-Halls’.
32 ‘Home of Gladness’ or ‘Glade’s Home’. In SnEGylf (14, p. 15) Glaðsheimr is the site of a golden temple to the gods.
33 The ‘Hall of the Slain’, to which the einherjar ‘unique/only champions’ repair.
34 An alias of Óðinn.
35 Literally ‘weapon-dead men’. The reference is to the einherjar, noblemen killed in battle who are selected by valkyries, at Óðinn’s command, to live in his hall, Valhǫll, before fighting beside him at Ragnarok.
36 Or ‘It’s [i.e., the hall is] very easily recognized’.
37 Or simply ‘to Óðinn’.
38 Spear-shafts.
39 Valhǫll, to which the einherjar come; cf. Grm. 24. It is similarly described as roofed with gilded shields in SnEGylf (2, p. 2).
40 Or ‘criminal’.
41 ‘Thunder Home’.
42 Þjazi was a giant slain by the gods for kidnapping the goddess Iðunn and her apples; see Haust., SnESkáld (I, G56, pp. 1–2), SPSMA III, 431–63; also Hrbl. 19.
43 The giantess Skaði won the right to choose a divine husband as part of a compensation package for the slaying of her father, Þjazi. She had to make her choice at a beauty contest in which she could see only the gods’ lower legs and feet. She chose the most attractive pair, thinking they must be Baldr’s, only to discover that they were the smooth, clean limbs of the sea-god Njǫrðr; see SnESkáld (I, G56, p. 2). The couple hated each other’s homes (SnEGylf 23, pp. 23–24) and, according to chapter 8 of Ynglinga saga, Skaði left Njǫrðr for Óðinn. SnESkáld (I, 75, p. 114) includes Skaði among the Ásynjur.
44 This stanza is quoted in variant form in SnEGylf (23, p. 24), SnEUpp (18, p. 42).
45 ‘Broad-Shining Ones’.
46 ON feiknstafir, which corresponds to OE facenstafas in Beowulf l. 1018, denotes evil rune-staves, which signify deceits, falsehoods and malign intentions. SnEGylf (22, p. 23) says there is nothing óhreint ‘impure’ in Breiðablik, and that there is no fairer place (17, p. 19).
47 This stanza is quoted in variant form in SnEGylf (22, p. 23), SnEUpp (18, p. 40).
48 ‘Sky Rocks/Mountains’ or ‘Sky Help/Deliverance’; the former sense might describe towering clouds; it could also reflect an inference from the discovery of meteorites.
49 Heimdallr.
50 This stanza is quoted in variant form in SnEGylf (27, p. 26), SnEUpp (20, p. 44). SnEGylf (17, p. 20) says Himinbjǫrg stendr á himins enda við brúar sporð, þar er Bifrǫst kemr til himins ‘stands at the end of the sky by the end of the bridge, where Bifrǫst [the celestial bridge] reaches the sky’.
51 ‘Folk/Host Plain’, possibly a term for ‘battlefield’.
52 Some seating positions were more prestigious than others.
53 This stanza is quoted in variant form in SnEGylf (24, p. 24), SnEUpp (19, p. 42). Cf. Hrbl. 24.
54 ‘Glittering One’.
55 ‘Chairman’, an obscure god. SnEGylf (32, p. 26) identifies him as one of the Æsir, the son of Baldr and Nanna (Baldr’s wife), and adds that all who bring tough legal disputes to his heavenly hall, Glitnir, leave with their differences settled.
56 This stanza is quoted in variant form in SnEGylf (32, p. 26), SnEUpp (20, p. 46). SnEGylf (17, pp. 19–20) says Glitnir’s walls, supports and pillars are made of red gold, and its roof of silver.
57 ‘Ships’ Yards’, potentially a term for ‘sea’.
58 Or ‘temple’, ‘shrine’; see note to Vsp. 7.
59 Cf. Háv. 119.
60 Or perhaps ‘is Víðarr’s land, Viði’.
61 Víðarr’s lands possibly lie untended because his sole purpose is to avenge the death of his father, Óðinn, at Ragnarok (cf. Vsp. 53).
62 These three names probably mean essentially ‘One Exposed to Soot’, ‘Sea-Sooty One’ and ‘Fire-Sooty One’, respectively.
63 This stanza is quoted in SnEGylf (38, p. 32), SnEUpp (25, p. 56). According to SnEGylf, the cook Andhrímnir boils the boar Sæhrímnir twice a day in the pot Eldhrímnir, to feed the host of the slain in Valhǫll.
64 ‘Father of Armies’, an alias of Óðinn.
65 Óðinn’s wolves. Both names mean ‘Greedy One’.
66 This stanza is quoted in SnEGylf (38, p. 32), SnEUpp (25, p. 56).
67 Huginn ‘Thoughtful One’ and Muninn ‘Mindful One’ are Óðinn’s ravens. On returning from their travels, they sit on his shoulders and speak the news they have gathered into his ears. Contrast the ‘heron of oblivion’ in Háv. 13.
68 This stanza is quoted in variant form in SnEGylf (38, pp. 32–33), SnEUpp (25, p. 56).
69 An obscure passage, for which various interpretations have been proposed. Þund(r) ‘Thunderous/Swollen One’ is probably a noisy, violent river (cf. Grm. 29), not necessarily terrestrial, though Þundr (the reading of A) is also a name of Óðinn in Grm. 46, 54. Þjóðvitnir, interpreted as ‘Great Wolf’, is sometimes thought to describe Fenrir (cf. vitnir in Grm. 24, Hróðvitnir in Grm. 39, Hróðrsvitnir in Ls. 39), whose ‘fish’ could be either his sibling, Miðgarðsormr, or the sun, which he will devour at Ragnarok; then again, the translation ‘Þund roars, a fish resides contentedly in Þjóðvitnir’s flood’ is grammatically possible, in which case the flood might be the river of slaver running from the jaws of the bound Fenrir. However, a more cohesive interpretation, especially in the context of the surrounding stanzas, identifies Þjóðvitnir, interpreted as ‘Great Discerning (One)’, as Heimdallr. Albeit surprisingly, his ‘fish’ might be the heavenly bridge Bifrǫst/Bilrǫst, given that when SnEGylf (17, p. 20) locates Himinbjǫrg (Heimdallr’s home in Grm. 13) ‘at the sky’s end by the bridge’s end (við brúar sporð), where Bifrǫst reaches the sky’, the term sporðr used for the bridge’s end elsewhere denotes a fish’s tail (cf. Sd. 16); the bridge’s contentedness might contrast with its breaking in Fm. 15. (This interpretation follows Eysteinn Björnsson, ‘When is a Fish a Bridge? An Investigation of Grímnismál 21’ (27 April 2000), formerly available at http://notendur.hi.is/eybjorn/ugm/grm21.html; see also http://www.germanicmythology.com/PoeticEdda/GRM21.html)
70 The second half of this stanza is also rather obscure. R’s valglaumi (A has valglaumni), interpreted as the dat. sg. of an otherwise unattested compound valglaumr, might denote a glaumr ‘(cheerfully noisy) horse’ (Sleipnir?) bearing a man killed in battle (val). Another possibility is that the word denotes ‘the rejoicing slain’, with reference to the desire to fall in battle, rather than expire of old age. Either way, the intended destination is probably Valhǫll, which, since the river Þund cannot be crossed by wading, might be reached via the bridge Bifrǫst/Bilrǫst. Cf. Grm. 29, Fm. 15; for the dead as waders, see also Vsp. 38, Rm. 3–4.
71 Valgrind ‘Gate of the Slain’ is otherwise unknown, but quite possibly the einherjar, having crossed the bridge linking the worlds of humans and gods, pass through this gate to enter Valhǫll.
72 Here ‘hundred’ is the old Germanic hundred of 120; the total is therefore 640.
73 Possibly ‘Momentarily Cleansed/Shining One’, which might refer to lightning emitted by the home of a thunder-god.
74 This stanza is quoted in variant form in SnEGylf (21, p. 22), SnEUpp (18, p. 38). Snorri identifies Bilskírnir as Þórr’s hall.
75 A total of 640, as in Grm. 23.
76 Actually, 960.
77 This stanza is quoted in variant form in SnEGylf (40, p. 33), SnEUpp (25, p. 58). The wolf is Fenrir, whom Óðinn and his chosen warriors fight at Ragnarok.
78 In this name, Heið- possibly comes from Heiðþyrnir, the name of the lowest heaven in Norse mythology, in which case this element would refer principally to ‘heavenly brightness’ (for the likely associated use of -þyrnir in Eikþyrnir, see the next stanza). But heið- could also suggest ‘pure/clean’, ‘honour’, ‘fee’, ‘heath’, ‘heathen’; note also the seeress Heiðr in Vsp. 22, who might be identifiable as the Gullveig ‘Gold Intoxicating Drink’ of Vsp. 21. The second element, -rún, could suggest ‘rune/secret’, ‘run’ and maybe even a mead-serving valkyrie. A Norwegian adjective, heidrun, applied to cows slightly unwell from overgrazing, raises the possibility that Heiðrún overindulged on Læraðr’s branches. She is also mentioned in Hdl. 46–47.
79 SnEGylf (39, p. 33) identifies the hall as Valhǫll.
80 I.e., branches. The tree Læraðr also appears as Léraðr in a derived passage in SnEGylf (39, p. 33); it is perhaps a form of the world-tree (cf. Grm. 35), from which dripped a sugary substance associated with honey, the main ingredient of mead. The meaning of Læraðr is obscure, but perhaps note the weapon Lævateinn ‘Twig of Treacheries’, which seems to have been taken from the world-tree, in Fj. 26. The goat Heiðrún is also obscure; the same passage in SnEGylf says that mead flows from her udder, enough to fill a vat from which all the unique champions can drink their fill.
81 The vat was apparently created, or shaped, specifically for this purpose.
82 The first element of this name, eik-, means ‘oak’ or, more generally, ‘tree’. The second, þyrnir (‘overcast’?), was possibly extracted from Heiðþyrnir, one form of the name of the lowest heaven of Old Norse mythology (cf. the probably associated origin of the goat-name Heiðrún in the previous stanza); there may be a pun on ‘thorny’, the stag’s tines being likened to thorns.
83 Hvergelmir ‘Cauldron/Basin Roarer’ is mentioned several times in SnEGylf as a well or spring.
84 This stanza is paraphrased in SnEGylf (39, p. 33), which provides no more information about Eikþyrnir.
85 Grm. 27–29 l. 1 list mythical rivers.
86 Possibly ‘Long One’, ‘Low-Lying One’ or ‘Late/Slow One’. Either way, it is the name of a mythical river, like all the other names down to Grm. 29 l. 1. Cf. SnEGylf (4, p. 9; 39, p. 33).
87 ‘Wide One’.
88 ‘Forward-Rushing One’. SnEGylf (39, p. 33) has Sekin.
89 ‘Driven One’ or ‘Wild/Powerful One’. SnEGylf (39, p. 33) has Ekin.
90 ‘Cool One’.
91 Possibly ‘Battle Trough’. This name recurs in SnEGylf (39, p. 33), but SnEGylf (4, p. 9) has Gunnþrá ‘Battle Throe(s)/Obstinacy’. This line lacks alliteration.
92 ‘Rushing One’.
93 ‘Mighty Murmuring One’.
94 The Rhine.
95 ‘Running One’.
96 Perhaps ‘Gabbling One’.
97 Possibly ‘Gaping One’.
98 ‘Old One’.
99 ‘Spear-Swarming One’; in other words, a river containing many spears. Cf. Vsp. 36; also Slíð and Nǫt in Grm. 28.
100 These hoards are perhaps imagined as the centres of divine realms.
101 Possibly ‘Thundering One’; alternatively, Þýn ‘Swollen One’.
102 Possibly the Dvina. The name perhaps denotes a river that dries up in summer, though vín also means ‘wine’. Note also Vín in Grm. 28. The present line lacks alliteration but has rhyme.
103 Ostensibly ‘Fir Tree’, but perhaps etymologically ‘Swollen One’ or ‘Quiet One’.
104 ‘Sloping One’. SnEGylf (39, p. 33) has Bǫll. This line lacks alliteration but has rhyme.
105 ‘Greedy One’.
106 ‘Battle-Daring One’. SnEGylf (39, p. 33) has Gunnþráin.
107 The Vín also appears in Grm. 27. A has Vina (presumably for Vína, the Dvína), which may be the better reading.
108 Possibly, enn ‘moreover’, ‘also’, ‘still’ was originally ein ‘one’.
109 ‘Way-Swift/Wise One’. SnEGylf (39, p. 33) has Veg, Svinn.
110 Perhaps ‘Great Water-Container’, ‘Mightily Forceful Taker or ‘People Taker’.
111 ‘Useful One’.
112 ‘Wet One’. This name is also attested as a term for ‘spear’; cf. the rivers Geirvimul in Grm. 27, Slíðr in Vsp. 35 and Slíð in Grm. 28.
113 ‘Bold One’.
114 ‘Wave’.
115 ‘Dire’ or ‘Scabbard’; cf. Slíðr in Vsp. 35 and SnEGylf (4, p. 9).
116 ‘Storm’.
117 ‘Swallower’.
118 ‘She-Wolf’.
119 ‘Wide One’, as in Grm. 27; but it has been suggested this instance is a mistake for *Víl ‘Misery, Despair’.
120 ‘Hope’ or ‘Expectation’. Ván is the name of the river of slaver running from the mouth of the bound Fenrir, according to SnEGylf (34, p. 29).
121 Probably ‘Difficult One’; alternatively, ‘Wand/Thin Stick’.
122 ‘Shore’.
123 ‘Din’.
124 ‘Lightning’; cf. HH. II, 31.
125 Or ‘flow’, as also in the next line.
126 The underworld land of the dead, or the female who presides over it. Cf. Gg. 8.
127 Perhaps ‘Dyked One’. Kǫrmt was formerly also the name of the Norwegian island now called Karmøy.
128 Possibly ‘Armed One’, referring to a delta.
129 ‘Tub-Bathings’.
130 The world-tree.
131 Or Áss-bridge (secondarily perhaps ‘beam-bridge’). Either way, the reference is doubtless to Bifrǫst/Bilrǫst, the bridge between the worlds of humans and gods; see Grm. 21, 44.
132 Or perhaps ‘holy waters roar’, the sense of the verb hlóa being uncertain. Then again, if -a in hlóa is a negative suffix, the sense is ‘holy waters do not boil/roar’. This stanza is quoted in variant form in SnEGylf (15, pp. 17-18), SnEUpp (14, p. 28).
133 ‘Glad/Bright One’; SnESkáld (I, 58, p. 90) records that this horse (alias Skinfaxi ‘Shining Mane’) accompanies the day.
134 ‘Golden One’ or ‘Gilder’.
135 Ostensibly ‘Glass’, but probably rather ‘Radiant One’; A has Glær ‘Glaring/Clear One’.
136 Possibly ‘Racetrack Surfer’ or ‘Race Foaming One’.
137 ‘Silver Forelock’.
138 ‘Sinewy One’.
139 Ostensibly ‘Hostage’, but perhaps rather ‘Shining One’.
140 ‘Fallow-Hoofed One’ or ‘Hidden-Hoofed One’.
141 ‘Gold Forelock’.
142 ‘Light Foot’.
143 Or ‘gods’.
144 A variant version of this stanza’s list of horses appears in SnEGylf (15, p. 17).
145 Literally, ‘stand’.
146 Cf. Háv. 138, Fj. 20.
147 Eponymous goddess of Hel, underworld of the dead.
148 Literally, ‘mannish men/people’.
149 ‘Augur’s Tooth’.
150 SnEGylf (16, p. 18) says an eagle sits in the world tree’s branches and is wise in many things. Its name has not survived.
151 SnEGylf (16, p. 18) has Ratatoskr running up and down the tree, conveying ǫfundarorð ‘malicious words’ between the eagle and Niðhǫggr.
152 ‘Waning/Dark-Moon Striker’ or Níðhǫggr ‘Malicious Striker’, a dragon also mentioned in Vsp.
153 I.e., the world-tree’s shoots. Here ‘shoots’ is an interpretation of hæfingar, which may literally denote ‘things that raise themselves up’.
154 ‘(One Who Has) Died’.
155 ‘Delayed One’.
156 ‘Din-Eared’, ‘Dun-Eared’ or ‘Downy-Eared’.
157 Perhaps ‘Door Thriver/Boar’.
158 I.e., oaf, fool. Literally, ‘each of the unwise apes’.
159 SnEGylf (16, p. 18) says ‘so many snakes are in Hvergelmir with Niðhoggr that no tongue can recount them’.
160 Perhaps ‘One Who Lives Deep in the Earth’ or ‘Yawning One’.
161 ‘Moor-Dwelling One’.
162 ‘Grave/Pit Wolf’.
163 ‘Grey Back’.
164 Possibly ‘Grave/Pit-Digging/Making One’.
165 Possibly ‘Instigator’; alternatively, Ofnir ‘(Inter)woven One’, an allusion to a snake’s coils.
166 ‘One Who Lulls to Sleep’, i.e., perhaps, ‘Killer’.
167 I.e., by gnawing them. This stanza is quoted immediately after Grm. 35 in SnEGylf (16, p. 19); see also the variant in SnEUpp (15, p. 32). A list of names for snakes in SnESkáld (I, 58, p. 90) includes Góinn, Móinn, Grafvitnir, Grábakr, Ófnir, Sváfnir.
168 Cf. Grm. 26; also Grm. 33, which mentions four stags.
169 This stanza is quoted immediately before Grm. 34 in SnEGylf (16, pp. 18–19); see also the variant in SnEUpp (15, p. 30). SnEGylf (15, p. 17) records that Niðhǫggr gnaws the bottom of one of the world-tree’s roots, the one that extends over Niflheimr and above Hvergelmir.
170 ‘Shaking One’.
171 ‘Mist’.
172 ‘Axe Age’.
173 Possibly ‘Outstanding One’.
174 ‘Battle’.
175 ‘Power’.
176 Perhaps ‘Noise’, ‘Scream’.
177 ‘Army Fetter’.
178 ‘Tumult’.
179 Geir- means ‘spear’.
180 ‘Shield-(Rim) Eager One’; alternatively, Randgrið ‘Shield Truce’.
181 ‘Counsel Eager One’; alternatively, Ráðgrið ‘Counsel Truce’.
182 ‘(Divine)-Power Leaving’; i.e., perhaps, ‘Offspring of a Divine Power’.
183 The listed names are those of valkyries. This stanza is quoted in variant form in SnEGylf (36, p. 30), SnEUpp (23, p. 54).
184 ‘Early Waker’.
185 ‘All-Swift’. Cf. Sd. 15.
186 Sól is the personified sun.
187 Or ‘gods’.
188 Or ‘cool irons’, or possibly even ‘ice coolers’. SnEGylf (11, pp. 13–14; see also SnESkáld I, 58, p. 90) identifies Árvakr and Alsviðr as horses that draw the chariot of the sun. It adds that the gods put two bellows under the horses’ shoulders to cool them, and ‘in some sources it is called iron-cool [ísarnkol]’.
189 ‘Cool One’.
190 This shield—in A called Svalin—is also mentioned in Sd. 15. Elsewhere, Svalinn appears in a list of poetic terms for ‘shield’ (SPSMA III, 825–26) and the sun itself is a ‘(sky)-shield’ (SPSMA III, 85–86, VII, 172, 175–76). For the shining sun as a deity, cf. Grm. 39 and Sd. 15; also perhaps Vm. 46–47.
191 ‘Mockery’.
192 The sun.
193 A reference to the setting of the sun behind woods on the horizon. The wolf aims to catch and devour the sun.
194 ‘Hater’. Cf. the giant Hati in HHv. 11 pr.; they are not necessarily distinct.
195 At first sight, one might think the ‘shining bride of the sky’ is the moon. However, the standard Old Norse word for ‘moon’, máni, is masc., whereas words for sun (sól, sunna) are fem., and the sun is a woman in Vsp. 5 and Vm. 47. We may imagine the two wolves working together, with Skǫll driving the divine sun (similarly described in Sd. 15) into the clutches of Hati, who is perhaps in the deceptive shelter of the wood. Rather similarly, one manuscript of Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks calls the wolves Skalli and Hatti, records that they strive for the shining ‘swallower of flame’, and explains that annarr þeira ferr fyrir, en annarr eptir sólu ‘one of them goes before, and the other after the sun’. Understandably, however, a belief developed that one wolf would devour the sun and the other the moon, possibly as a result of misinterpretation of Grm. 39 and Vsp. 39, where tungl might be interpreted as either sun or moon. That, at least, is how the present stanza is interpreted in SnEGylf (12, p. 14, and see note on pp. 60–61): ‘There are two wolves, and the one that goes behind her [i.e. sól, the sun] is called Skǫll. He panics her and he will take her, and the one who runs before her is called Hati Hróðvitnisson, and he wants to take the moon [tunglit], and that will come to pass’. Hróðvitnir ‘Glory Wolf’ is presumably equivalent to Hróðrsvitnir, a name for Fenrir in Ls. 39. Needless to say, when Hróð(s)vitnir catches the sun, he will devour it. Cf. Vsp. 39–40 and Vm. 46–47.
196 A primordial giant; see Vsp. 3.
197 I.e., blood.
198 Stt. 40 and 41 are quoted together in variant form in SnEGylf (8, p. 12), SnEUpp (10, p. 20). Cf. Vm. 21.
199 Or ‘eyelids’.
200 ‘Middle Enclosed Space’, the centrally positioned enclosure where humans live; sometimes, more specifically, the surrounding wall.
201 Presumably the fire torturing Grímnir.
202 According to SnEGylf (31, p. 26), Ullr is the fair son of Sif and the stepson of Þórr; he is an unrivalled archer and skier, whom duellists should pray to. Here in Grm., however, Ullr might be an alias of Óðinn. From Book 3 of Saxo’s GD we learn that Ollerus (= Ullr) replaced Óðinn as chief god and was even given his name, but fled to Sweden on Óðinn’s reinstatement and was killed by the Danes. In places, the cult of Ullr may have been assimilated into that of Óðinn. In Anglo-Saxon texts, OE Woden, a cognate of ON Óðinn, is associated with OE wuldor ‘glory’, a word cognate with ON Ullr.
203 Literally ‘homes’.
204 Or ‘because open worlds will come to pass’.
205 Or ‘over’, ‘above’.
206 The ‘sons of the Æsir’ could be either the Æsir (gods) themselves or, perhaps more likely here, men.
207 The cauldrons presumably contain the torturing fires and were either suspended from the hall’s roof or raised on stands. The exact sense and significance of this stanza are unclear.
208 ‘(Ship) Assembled from Pieces of Thin Wood’.
209 SnEGylf (43, p. 36) and SnESkáld (I, 35, pp. 41–42) agree with Grm. 43–44 that Skíðblaðnir is the best ship, and that it was made for Freyr by the (unnamed) dwarven sons of an otherwise unknown person called Ívaldi, a name that could mean ‘Yew-(Bow)-Controlling One’ (= Ullr?) or ‘Very Powerful One’. However, chapter 7 of Ynglinga saga assigns the ship to Óðinn, and SnEUpp (26, p. 62) says the dwarves gave it to Freyja.
210 This stanza is quoted in variant form in SnESkáld (I, 7, pp. 18–19).
211 Or ‘gods’.
212 Sleipnir ‘Sliding/Slippy One’ is Óðinn’s horse, which is elsewhere described as grey and eight-legged.
213 Bilrǫst means ‘Momentary League’; SnEGylf (15, pp. 17–18) calls it Bifrǫst ‘Shaking League’. It is the bridge between the worlds of humans and gods, which SnEGylf identifies as a rainbow; its red segment is fire, designed to repel the frost- and mountain-giants. All the gods ride over the bridge every day, except for Þórr, who wades; see Grm. 21, 29.
214 Bragi (cf. bragr ‘best’, ‘poetry’) is a god of poetry; he might be the apotheosis of the ninth-century skaldic poet Bragi Boddason the Old.
215 Nothing more is known of Hábrók ‘High Breeches’, though this hawk presumably had long legs.
216 Garmr ‘Howler’ appears prominently in Vsp.
217 The words en Brimir sverða ‘and Brimir of swords’ are found only in A and lack alliteration; they might originally have been a variant of en Bragi skálda ‘and Bragi of poets’ earlier in this stanza. Cf. HH. II 10, Sd. 14, according to which ‘He [Óðinn?] stood on a cliff with the edges of Brimir’, and SnESkáld (I, 75, p. 119), in which Brimir (or brumr, brimarr) ‘Flickerer(?)’ is a sword-name. Nothing more is known of this sword. This stanza is quoted in variant form in SnEGylf (41, p. 34; see also SnEUpp 25, p. 60), which says these are the words sjálfra Ásanna ‘of the Æsir themselves’.
218 ON svipr (dat. pl. svipum) means literally ‘swoop’, ‘swift movement’, but can also denote a ‘sudden loss’, a ‘glimpse (of someone)’, a ‘fleeting appearance’, a ‘look’ and a ‘likeness’; here it seems likely to denote the temporary disguises of Óðinn’s cloak (now burned away?) and his alias, Grímnir; Óðinn may consider that his preceding disclosure of arcane knowledge has revealed his true identity. The verb yppa (past participle ypt), literally ‘to up’ can also mean ‘extol’ and ‘announce’, this last sense being used elsewhere to introduce a versified list of Óðinn’s aliases: Nú skal yppa Óðins nǫfnum ‘Now I shall announce Óðinn’s names’ (SPSMA III, 732).
219 ‘Sons of the victory gods’ could, like ‘sons of the Æsir’ in Grm. 42, refer to either gods or men (or both). This line is metrically anomalous in having double alliteration in its second half.
220 Or ‘a desired remedy/protection’, but vil- can also mean ‘bowels’, ‘self-will’ and ‘veil’. Yet another possibility is vílbjǫrg ‘misery/toil deliverance’. The precise nature of the vilbjǫrg/vílbjǫrg is obscure, but, judging from the following lines, it is at least partly suggestive of a refreshing drink.
221 Alternatively, ‘to’ or ‘from’.
222 Or ‘gods’.
223 Ægir ‘Sea’ is a sea-giant; for his feast, see Hym. 2, 39 and Ls.
224 ‘Masked One’.
225 Alternatively, ‘I called myself Grímr, I called myself Gangleri’. This is a list of aliases of Óðinn. Gangleri means ‘Walk-Weary One’.
226 ‘Army Leader’.
227 ‘Helmet Bearer’. Cf. Sd. 14. SnEGylf (51, p. 50) describes Óðinn as wearing a golden helmet at Ragnarok.
228 ‘Agreeable/Beloved One’ or ‘Perceptive One’.
229 ‘Third’. Why Óðinn bears this name is unclear, but ON Þriði is cognate with Trita, the ancient Sanskrit name of a dragon-slaying deity associated with thunder and lightning (note Óðinn’s next alias, Þundr).
230 Possibly ‘Thunderous One’ or ‘Swollen One’.
231 Ostensibly at least, the Old Norse fem. noun uðr ‘wave’.
232 ‘Hel-Blind/Hidden One’.
233 ‘High One’ or ‘One-Eyed One’. Grm. 46–50 and 54 are repeated, albeit with considerable differences, in SnEGylf (20, pp. 21–22); see also SnEUpp (17, p. 36).
234 ‘True One’. This stanza continues the list of aliases of Óðinn.
235 ‘Changeable One’.
236 ‘Truth Getter/Guesser’.
237 ‘Army Happy One’.
238 ‘Instigator’, ‘Inciter’.
239 ‘Feeble-Eyed One’ or ‘One with Space for an Eye’.
240 ‘Flame-Eyed One’.
241 ‘Evil Doer’, the alias Óðinn assumes when stealing the mead of poetry from the giants in Háv. 109 and SnESkáld (I, G58, p. 4).
242 ‘Very Wise One’ or ‘Hidden One/Concealer’.
243 This name has already appeared in the previous stanza.
244 ‘Masked One’.
245 ‘Seduction-Wise/Swift One’.
246 ‘Very Wise One’. Part of this stanza is quoted by Óláfr Þórðarson, Snorri Sturluson’s nephew, in his Third Grammatical Treatise (c. 1250).
247 ‘Broad-Hatted One’. This stanza continues the list of aliases of Óðinn.
248 ‘Broad-Bearded One’.
249 ‘Victory Father’.
250 ‘Instigator’, ‘Inciter’.
251 ‘All Father’.
252 ‘Slaughter Father’ or ‘Father of the Slain’.
253 ‘Attacking Rider’.
254 ‘God of Cargoes’, the ‘cargoes’ perhaps especially being hanged men.
255 Or ‘peoples’, ‘men’.
256 ‘Gelding’. The name is repeated in Grm. 54.
257 We have no details of this episode and do not know the identity of Ásmundr ‘God Hand/Protection’.
258 Possibly, ‘Keeler’, if this name is related to kjǫlr ‘keel’, kjoll ‘keel’, ‘ship’. Alternatively, perhaps ‘Feeder’.
259 Again, this episode is obscure, but it perhaps relates to a story of how Óðinn, disguised as Forni ‘Old One’, found a tree-trunk fit to make into the keel of the longship of King Óláfr Trygvasson; see Guðbrandr Vigfusson and C. R. Unger, Flateyjarbok: en samling af norsk konge-sagaer, 3 vols. (Christiania: Mallings, 1860–68), I, 433–34.
260 ‘Thriving/Fruitful One’.
261 Since Þrós þing ‘Þrór’s assembly’ is a skaldic kenning for ‘battle’, the assemblies may be battles.
262 Possibly ‘Feller’, ‘One Who Cuts Down’. Alternatively, it has been suggested that Viðurr is cognate with a south Scandinavian people called Wederas ‘Weathers’ or ‘Wethers’ (also Weder-Geatas) in the Old English poem Beowulf.
263 This line appears only in A.
264 Possibly ‘Desired One’ or ‘Wish (Fulfiller)’.
265 Possibly ‘Distantly Heard One’ or ‘Highest One’.
266 ‘Equally High One’.
267 Possibly ‘One with Shaking Shield’ or ‘One with Painted Shield’.
268 This name probably relates to Gǫndul, the name of a valkyrie in Vsp. 30 and of some sort of supernatural animal; these terms appear related to gandr, a noun denoting some kind of spirit or magical wand (see Vsp. 22).
269 ‘Grey Beard’, Óðinn’s alias in Hrbl.
270 Possibly ‘Spear-Wielder’, though a connection with Svíar ‘Swedes’ is also conceivable.
271 ‘Stiller’, ‘Calmer’.
272 I.e., Sǫkkmímir’s home.
273 Or ‘when I became sole slayer of Miðviðnir, the eminent son’. This episode is otherwise unknown, but a giant called Sǫkkmímir ‘Sunken/Treasure Mímir’ is mentioned in chapter 12 of Ynglinga saga, and Sekmímir or Sǫkmímir appears in a list of giant-names in SnESkáld (I, 75, p. 111). Miðviðnir could mean ‘Mid-Wood One’ (i.e., ‘Dweller Amid a Wood’), but A has Miðvitnir, which might mean ‘Middle Wolf’ or ‘Fishing-Bank Wolf’.
274 Literally, ‘you’ve overdrunk’.
275 Mínu ‘my’ has alliterative stress. In place of gengi ‘following, company, support’, A has gæði, which might be the noun gœði ‘good will’.
276 Or maybe ‘friends are dealing with you’. The precise sense is unclear, but the phrase could be proverbial.
277 Presumably an ironic reference to Geirrøðr. Míns ‘my’ has alliterative stress.
278 I.e., ‘corpse wearied by the edge of a sword’. Cf. Hm. 30.
279 Yggr ‘Terrible/Frightening One’ is an alias of Óðinn.
280 The dísir were female spirits or goddesses. Their precise nature is unclear, but they seem to have been associated with death, valkyries, the Nornir and Freyja.
281 Mik ‘me’ has alliterative stress.
282 Most unusually, the second half of this revelatory line has triple alliteration.
283 Or ‘and I called myself Þundr before that’.
284 ‘Wakeful One’.
285 ‘Descendant of Skelfir’, a legendary ancestor of the peoples known as Ynglingar and Skilfingar. Skilfingr is also a poetic term for ‘prince’ and ‘sword’.
286 ‘Wavering/Dangling One’, probably a reference to Óðinn’s hanging on a windy tree (Háv. 138–49). It is also a poetic term for ‘wind’.
287 Perhaps ‘God of Hidden Things’; cf. Hroptr in Grm. 8.
288 ‘Gotlander’, ‘Goth’ or ‘Sacrifice’.
289 This name appeared earlier in Grm. 49.
290 These two are also names of snakes in Grm. 34.