Hymiskviða

Hymiskviða (Hym.) ‘The Lay of Hymir’ survives complete in both R (fol. 13v–15r) and A (fol. 5v–6v). The two versions differ little in content, but the latter is positioned between Grm. and Vkv. The now-established title Hymiskviða appears only in A, R’s text being headed Þórr dró Miðgarðsorm ‘Þórr fished for the Miðgarðsormr [‘the Snake of Miðgarðr’, i.e., the world-serpent]’.

The poem’s date and place of composition are uncertain, though scholars incline to the twelfth century or the first half of the thirteenth. However, archaeological evidence shows that myths about Þórr’s fishing for the Miðgarðsormr—the story central to this poem’s narrative—date back to at least the eighth century in Scandinavia. Furthermore, ancient mythic roots are suggested by broad parallels between Þórr’s fight with the Miðgarðsormr (a creature comparable to the Greco-Egyptian ouroboros and the Biblical Leviathan which Christ hooks in Patristic exegesis) and those of, for example, the Indian thunder-god Indra with Vrtra and the Greek Apollo with Python. In addition, the poem’s notion of divine feasting may have roots in the ancient Indo-European mythic concept of a divine feast for which sacred drink is prepared, despite opposition from giants or other monsters.

Hym.’s metre is fornyrðislag. Most stanzas have the normal four long lines, but instances with two, three and five lines also occur. The poem’s style is noteworthy because, of all the Eddic poems, Hym. has the most in common with Old Norse skaldic verse: numerous kennings and variations appear, and there is some unorthodox syntax. The poet also uses many unique words. Together, these attributes might suggest the work of a skaldic reviser of Eddic verse, or simply an original poet familiar with both poetic traditions.

A following prose section entitled Frá Ægi ok goðum ‘About Ægir and the gods’ links Hym. to the next poem in R, Ls., which tells of Loki’s abuse of the gods at Ægir’s feast. The gods’ feasting in Ægir’s hall, which is enabled by Þorr’s successful quest for the giant Hymir’s cauldron in Hym., is also mentioned in Grm. 45.

Hym. strings together four main narrative elements about Þórr, two of which are described more fully elsewhere in Old Norse literature:

1. The quest for the giant cauldron of the giant Hymir, which frames the other three main narrative elements. This story is otherwise alluded to only in a line from the mid-twelfth-century First Grammatical Treatise, which says heyrði til hǫddu, þá er Þórr bar hverinn ‘you could hear the handle when Þórr carried the cauldron’,¹ in some younger kennings, and in the prose introduction to Ls. That Týr should accompany Þórr on a quest is unparalleled—Þórr’s usual companion, as in Þrk., is Loki.
2. Þórr’s fishing trip with Hymir, during which the god catches the Miðgarðsormr, is one of the best attested Norse myths. Þórr is probably shown fishing for this serpent on an eighth-century bronze plaque from Sweden and, more clearly, on four picture-stones: the Altuna Stone from Uppland, Sweden; Ardre Stone VIII from Gotland, Sweden; the Hørdum Stone from Jylland, Denmark; and the Gosforth Fishing Stone from Cumbria, England, which appears to show whales surrounding the bait (cf. Hym. 21), along with what might be part of the serpentine monster itself. These stones range in date from the eighth to the eleventh century.2 The last two show a figure, presumably Hymir, about to cut Þórr’s fishing line with an axe. Skaldic poems also refer to the encounter, providing details not found in Hym. The most noteworthy are six stanzas attributed to Bragi Boddason the Old in which Þórr hooks the sea-monster and a frightened Hymir cuts his fishing line;³ Úlf Uggason’s c. 985 Húsdrápa ‘House Poem’ (Húsdr.), in stt. 3–6 of which Þórr beheads the serpent;⁴ a tenth-century stanza by Gamli Gnævaðarskáld, in which Þórr again kills the serpent;⁵ and three tenth-century verses by Eysteinn Valdason.⁶ SnEGylf (48, pp. 44–45), however, has the fullest account, which shows no clear use of Hym. It reads as follows, in summary:

Þórr’s motivation is revenge for his humiliation by the trickery of the giant Skrýmir/Útgarða-Loki, during which he appeared to fail at various tests of strength, one of which was lifting a cat—in reality, the Miðgarðsormr in disguise. Þórr sets out out alone, as a young man, and without his goats or chariot. He spends the night as a guest at Hymir’s place and the next morning asks to go fishing with him. Hymir doubts he would be much use, but Þórr disputes this. Hymir tells Þórr to get bait, which he does by tearing the head off Himinhrjótr, Hymir’s largest ox. The two row out to sea. Hymir is reluctant to row out too far because of the Miðgarðsormr, but Þórr rows on anyway. He baits his line with the ox-head and casts it overboard. On the sea-bed the serpent takes the bait and is hooked. It jerks away, smashing Þórr’s fists onto the gunwale. But Þórr summons all his strength and, pushing his feet through the boat’s bottom and onto the sea-bed, hauls the snake up. Þórr and the poison-spitting serpent stare at each other. Seeing this and realising that the boat is sinking, Hymir panics: he cuts Þórr’s line just as the god is raising his hammer to strike the snake. Þórr throws his hammer after the sinking creature. Some people think the snake was beheaded there on the sea-bed, but the speaker (Hár) does not—he believes it is still alive. Þórr knocks Hymir overboard and wades ashore.

3. Hymir’s threefold test of Þórr’s strength: to carry the boat or the whales, to break a cup, and to carry the cauldron. As noted above, the third task is alluded to in the First Grammatical Treatise. Þórr’s strength is also tested, albeit differently, several times by the giant Skrýmir/Útgarða-Loki in SnEGylf. Folk-tales contain parallels, too: for example, in one Swedish story a giant offers a drink to his guests, but the hero’s companions cannot lift the goblet; the hero lifts it easily and kills the giant by hurling it against his head.
4. The laming of Þórr’s goat. SnEGylf (44, p. 37) tells a different version of this story, one in which the context differs, the farmer is unnamed and not said to be a giant, Loki is not blamed, and the laming is caused by physical attack, rather than curse. In summary:

Þórr and Loki arrive at the house of a peasant farmer [cf. Egill in Hym.]. Þórr kills his goats, which are then skinned and put in a cooking-pot. The two gods, the farmer, his wife, their son Þjálfi and daughter Rǫskva share the meal. Þórr tells the farmer and his family to put the goat’s bones on the goatskins. They do so, but Þjálfi takes one of the thigh-bones and splits it with his knife to get at the marrow. Þórr gets up in the small hours and resurrects the goats by blessing them with his hammer. The goats get up, but one of them is lame in a hind leg with a broken thigh-bone. Þórr is furious but pacified by the household’s terror. He accepts Þjálfi and Rǫskva as compensation. He leaves his goats with the farmer, and he, Loki, Þjálfi and Rǫskva set out for the land of giants.

A similar story occurs in British records in the early ninth-century Latin Historia Brittonum ‘History of the Britons’.⁷ In short:

Saint Germanus visited a wicked king called Benlli (Benli), but was refused entry to his castle. One of the king’s servants invited Germanus to spend the night at his house. Having no food other than a cow and her calf, the servant killed the calf, cooked it and laid it before them. Germanus ordered that none of its bones be broken, and in the morning it was found alive and well beside its mother.

As John McKinnell observes, Hym.’s narrative corresponds to a common story-pattern found in at least seven other versions in Snorri’s Prose Edda, Saxo’s GD and Þorsteins þáttr bæjarmagns ‘The Story of Þorsteinn Mansion-Might’.⁸ In this archetypal pattern, Þórr, generally with one or two companions who are little or no help to him, visits a giant; he receives help from a giantess and has to cross a dangerous river or sea; the giant’s hospitality is poor—or worse; the giant initiates contests which Þórr usually wins, sometimes by killing the giant or destroying a house-pillar; Þórr returns home pursued by giants, whom he slays with a special weapon.

In addition, comparisons may be drawn with other Eddic poems in which a questing god visits a giant. In FSk. Freyr’s servant Skírnir visits giant-land on his master’s behalf to win the giantess Gerðr; in Þrk. Þórr and Loki visit the giant Þrymr to regain Þórr’s stolen hammer. Both quests are successful and the latter ends similarly with Þórr slaughtering the giants with his hammer. Hym.’s affectionate comedy involving Þórr also finds parallel in Þrk., and gains poignancy from knowledge of his death against the Miðgarðsormr in their final battle, as described in Vsp.

Synopsis

Further Reading

Kopár, L., Gods and Settlers: The Iconography of Norse Mythology in Anglo-Scandinavian Sculpture (Turnhout: Brepols, 2012), https://doi.org/10.1484/m.sem-eb.5.106277

McKinnell, J., Both One and Many: Essays on Change and Variety in Late Norse Heathenism (Rome: Il Calamo, 1994).

Marteinn Helgi Sigurðsson, ‘Týr: The One-Handed War-God’ (PhD thesis, University of Cambridge, 2003).

Marteinn Helgi Sigurðsson, ‘Þórr’s Travel Companion in Hymiskviða’, Gripla 16 (2005), 197–207.

Meulengracht Sørensen, P., ‘Thor’s Fishing Expedition’, in G. Steinsland, ed., Words and Objects: Towards a Dialogue Between Archaeology and History of Religion (Oslo: Norwegian University Press, 1986), pp. 257–78; rpt. in P. Acker and C. Larrington, ed., The Poetic Edda: Essays on Old Norse Mythology (New York: Routledge, 2002), pp. 119–37.

Oosten, J. G., The War of the Gods: The Social Code in Indo-European Mythology (London: Routledge, 1985).

Quinn, J., ‘Fifth-Column Mother: Týr’s Parentage according to Hymiskviða’, in I. G. Losquiño, O. Sundqvist and D. Taggart, ed., Making the Profane Sacred in the Viking Age: Essays in Honour of Stefan Brink (Turnhout: Brepols, 2020), pp. 171–82, https://doi.org/10.1484/m.tcne-eb.5.119346

Von See, K., B. La Farge, E. Picard, I. Priebe and K. Schulz, Kommentar zu den Liedern der Edda, Bd. 2: Götterlieder (Heidelberg: Universitätsverlag Winter, 1997).

Zotto, C. del, ed., La ‘Hymskviða’ e la pesca di Þórr nella tradizione nordica (Rome: Istituto di Glottologia della Università di Roma, 1979).

Hymiskviða

1. Ár valtívar   veiðar námu,

ok sumblsamir,   áðr saðir yrði;

hristu teina   ok á hlaut sá,

fundu þeir at Ægis   ørkost hvera.

2. Sat bergbúi,   barnteitr, fyrir,

mjǫk glíkr megi   miskorblinda;

leit í augu   Yggs barn í þrá:

‘Þú skalt Ásum   opt sumbl gøra!’

3. Ǫnn fekk jǫtni   orðbæginn halr,

hugði at hefndum   hann næst við goð;

bað hann Sifjar ver   sér fœra hver:

‘þanns ek ǫllum ǫl   yðr of heita!’

4. Né þat máttu   mærir tívar

ok ginnregin   of geta hvergi,

unz af tryggðum   Týr Hlórriða

ástráð mikit   einum sagði:

5. ‘Býr fyr austan   Élivága

hundvíss Hymir   at himins enda;

á minn faðir,   móðugr, ketil,

rúmbrugðinn hver,   rastar djúpan.

6. ‘Veiztu ef þiggjum   þann lǫgvelli?’

‘Ef, vinr, vélar   vit gørvum til!’

7. Fóru drjúgum   dag þann fram,

Ásgarði frá,   unz til Egils kvómu;

hirði hann hafra   horngǫfgasta,

hurfu at hǫllu   er Hymir átti.

8. Mǫgr fann ǫmmu   mjǫk leiða sér —

hafði hǫfða   hundruð níu!

En ǫnnur gekk,   algullin, fram,

brúnhvít, bera   bjórveig syni:

9. ‘Áttniðr jǫtna,   ek viljak ykkr

hugfulla tvá   und hvera setja:

er minn frí   mǫrgu sinni

gløggr við gesti,   gǫrr ills hugar!’

10. En váskapaðr   varð síðbúinn

harðráðr Hymir   heim af veiðum;

gekk inn í sal —   glumðu jǫklar —

var karls, er kom,   kinnskógr frørinn.

11. ‘Ver þú heill, Hymir,   í hugum góðum,

nú er sonr kominn   til sala þinna —

sá er vit vættum —   af vegi lǫngum!

Fylgir honum   Hróðrs andskoti,

vinr verliða,   Véurr heitir sá.

12. ‘Séðu hvar sitja   und salar gafli,

svá forða sér —   stendr súl fyrir!’

Sundr stǫkk súla   fyr sjón jǫtuns,

en áðr í tvau   áss brotnaði.

13. Stukku átta,   en einn af þeim,

hverr harðsleginn,   heill af þolli;

fram gengu þeir,   en forn jǫtunn

sjónum leiddi   sinn andskota.

14. Sagðit honum   hugr vel, þá er hann sá

gýgjar grœti   á gólf kominn;

þar váru þjórar   þrír of teknir,

bað senn jǫtunn   sjóða ganga.

15. Hvern létu þeir   hǫfði skemmra

ok á seyði   síðan báru;

át Sifjar verr,   áðr sofa gengi,

einn með ǫllu   øxn tvá Hymis!

16. Þótti hárum   Hrungnis spjalla

verðr Hlórriða   vel fullmikill:

‘Munum at apni   ǫðrum verða

við veiðimat   vér þrir lifa!’

17. Véurr kvazk vilja   á vág róa,

ef ballr jǫtunn   beitur gæfi;

‘Hverfðu til hjarðar,   ef þú hug trúir,

brjótr berg-Dana,   beitur sœkja!

18. ‘Þess vænti ek,   at þér myni

ǫgn af oxa   auðfeng vera!’

Sveinn sýsliga   sveif til skógar,

þar er uxi stóð   alsvartr fyrir.

19. Braut af þjóri   þurs ráðbani

hátún ofan   horna tveggja;

‘Verk þikkja þín   verri myklu

kjóla valdi,   en þú kyrr sitir!’

20. Bað hlunngota   hafra dróttinn

áttrunn apa   útarr fœra;

en sá jǫtunn   sína talði

litla fýsi   at róa lengra.

21. Dró mærr Hymir   móðugr hvali

einn á ǫngli   upp senn tvá;

en aptr í skut   Óðni sifjaðr,

Véurr, við vélar   vað gørði sér.

22. Egndi á ǫngul,   sá er ǫldum bergr,

orms einbani,   uxa hǫfði;

gein við ǫngli,   sú er goð fjá,

umgjǫrð neðan   allra landa.

23. Dró djarfliga   dáðrakkr Þórr

orm eitrfán   upp at borði;

hamri kníði   háfjall skarar

ofljótt ofan   úlfs hnitbróður.

24. Hreingálkn hlumðu,   en hǫlkn þutu,

fór in forna   fold ǫll saman;

søkkðisk síðan   sá fiskr í mar.

25. Óteitr jǫtunn   er þeir aptr reru,

svá at ár Hymir   ekki mælti;

veifði hann rœði   veðrs annars til:

26. ‘Mundu um vinna   verk hálft við mik,

at þú heim hvali   haf til bœjar

eða flotbrúsa   festir okkarn.’

27. Gekk Hlórriði,   greip á stafni,

vatt með austri   upp lǫgfáki;

einn, með árum   ok með austskotu,

bar hann til bœjar   brimsvín jǫtuns

ok holtriða   hver í gegnum.

28. Ok enn jǫtunn   um afrendi

þrágirni vanr   við Þór senti;

kvaðat mann ramman,   þótt róa kynni

krǫpturligan,   nema kálk bryti.

29. En Hlórriði,   er at hǫndum kom,

brátt lét bresta   brattstein gleri;

sló hann sitjandi   súlur í gøgnum,

báru þó heilan   fyr Hymi síðan.

30. Unz þat in fríða   frilla kendi,

ástráð mikit   eitt, er vissi:

‘Drep við haus Hymis —   hann er harðari,

kostmóðs jǫtuns,   kálki hverjum!’

31. Harðr reis á kné,   hafra dróttinn,

fœrðisk allra   í ásmegin;

heill var karli   hjálmstofn ofan,

en vínferill   valr rifnaði.

32. ‘Mǫrg veit ek mæti   mér gengin frá,

er ek kálki sé   ór knjám hrundit.’

Karl orð um kvað:   ‘Knákat ek segja

aptr ævagi,   “þú ert, ǫlðr, of heitt!”

33. ‘Þat er til kostar,   ef koma mættið

út ór óru   ǫlkjól hofi’;

Týr leitaði   tysvar hrœra,

stóð at hváru   hverr kyrr fyrir.

34. Faðir Móða   fekk á þremi,

ok í gegnum steig   gólf niðr í sal;

hóf sér á hǫfuð upp   hver Sifjar verr,

en á hælum   hringar skullu.

35. Fóru lengi   áðr líta nam

aptr Óðins sonr   einu sinni;

sá hann ór hreysum   með Hymi austan

fólkdrót fara   fjǫlhǫfðaða.

36. Hóf hann sér af herðum   hver standanda,

veifði hann Mjǫllni   morðgjǫrnum fram,

ok hraunhvala   hann alla drap.

37. Fórut lengi   áðr liggja nam

hafr Hlórriða   hálfdauðr fyrir;

var skirr skǫkuls   skakkr á banni,

en því inn lævísi   Loki um olli.

38. En ér heyrt hafið   — hverr kann um þat

goðmálugra   gørr at skilja —

hver af hraunbúa   hann laun um fekk,

er hann bæði galt   bǫrn sín fyrir.

39. Þróttǫflugr kom   á þing goða,

ok hafði hver,   þanns Hymir átti;

en véar hverjan   vel skulu drekka

ǫlðr at Ægis   eitrhǫrmeitið.

The Lay of Hymir9

Þórr fished for the Miðgarðsormr10

1. Early,¹¹ the gods of the slain caught game,

and were eager for a feast, before they were full;

they shook twigs and inspected sacrificial blood,¹²

they found at Ægir’s13 an ample choice of cauldrons.

2. The cliff-dweller¹⁴ sat there, merry as a child,

much like the son of a mash-blender;¹⁵

Yggr’s child16 looked into his eyes in defiance:

‘You shall often make¹⁷ drinking-feasts for the Æsir!’

3. The word-trying man¹⁸ made work for the giant,

he¹⁹ brooded revenge at once against the god;

he called on Sif’s husband20 to bring him a cauldron:

‘the one in which I can brew ale for you all!’

4. The glorious gods and the mighty powers

could not get it anywhere,

until Týr,21 out of true loyalty,

spoke a great piece of kindly advice to Hlórriði22 alone:

5. ‘To the east²³ of the Élivágar24 lives

all-wise Hymir25 at heaven’s end;²⁶

my fierce father²⁷ owns a kettle,

a capacious cauldron, one league deep.’

6. ‘Do you know if we can get that liquid-boiler?’²⁸

‘If, my friend, we two use wiles to do so!’

7. They travelled far away that day,²⁹

from Ásgarðr,30 until they came to Egill’s;31

he tended the nobly-horned he-goats,³²

[and] they³³ turned to the hall which Hymir owned.

8. The young man³⁴ found his grandmother very loathsome to him —

she had nine hundred heads!

But another³⁵ came forward, all-golden,

white-browed, to bring her son a beer-drink:

9. ‘Offspring of giants, I want to put you

two brave ones under the cauldrons:³⁶

my beloved³⁷ is on many occasions

stingy with guests, inclined to ill temper!’

10. And misshapen³⁸ Hymir of hard-counsel

the old man’s cheek-forest39 was frozen when he came.

11. ‘Be hale, Hymir, [and] in good spirits,

the one we two have waited for — from a long way off!40

Hróðr’s enemy41 accompanies him,

the friend of humankind, the one called Véurr.42

12. ‘See where they sit under the hall’s gable,

so they protect themselves — a pillar stands in front!’

The pillar burst apart before the giant’s glance,

and before that a beam⁴³ broke in two.

13. Eight [cauldrons] fell down, but [only] one of them,

a hard-hammered cauldron, [fell] intact from the hanging-peg;

they⁴⁴ came forward, and the ancient giant

tracked his enemy⁴⁵ with his eyes.

14. His mind had misgivings⁴⁶ when he saw

the griever of a giantess⁴⁷ had come on to the floor;

three bulls were taken there,

the giant ordered them to be boiled at once.

15. They made each one shorter by a head⁴⁸

and then carried them to the cooking-pit;

Sif’s husband ate, before he went to sleep,

two of Hymir’s oxen, whole, on his own!

16. It seemed to the hoary friend of Hrungnir49

that Hlórriði’s meal was, well, large enough:

17. Véurr said he was willing to row on the surging sea,

breaker of rock-Danir,50 to seek bait!⁵¹

18. ‘This I expect, that bait from an ox

will be easy for you to obtain!’⁵²

The boy⁵³ turned fast to the forest,

before which there stood an all-black ox.⁵⁴

19. The giant’s counsel-killer⁵⁵ broke from above the bull

the high-meadow of two horns;⁵⁶

‘Your works seem much worse

to the ruler of ships than when you sit quiet!’⁵⁷

20. The lord of goats⁵⁸ asked the offspring of apes⁵⁹

to row the roller-stallion⁶⁰ further out;

but the giant declared he had

little desire to row any longer.⁶¹

21. Famous, moody⁶² Hymir at once hauled up,

and back in the stern the one related to Óðinn,

Véurr, prepared a line for himself with wiles.63

22. The one who saves men, the snake’s lone slayer,⁶⁴

baited the hook with the ox’s head;

it gaped at the hook,⁶⁵ the one whom gods hate,⁶⁶

the girdle of all lands,⁶⁷ from below.

23. Deed-brave Þórr daringly dragged

high-mountain of hair68 of the wolf’s birth-brother.⁶⁹

24. Reindeer-monsters⁷⁰ roared,⁷¹ and stony grounds resounded,

all the ancient earth shuddered;⁷²

then that fish⁷³ sank into the sea.⁷⁴

25. The giant [was] gloomy when they rowed back,

such that Hymir at first said nothing;

he turned the rudder75 to another tack:

26. ‘You would be sharing half the work with me

if you bring the whales back to the farm

or make fast our floating-buck.’⁷⁶

27. Hlórriði went [and] grasped the prow,

hoisted up the sea-steed77 with the bilge-water;

alone, with oars and with bilge-bailer,

he carried the giant’s surf-swine⁷⁸ to the farm

and through a valley of wooded ridges.⁷⁹

28. And still the giant, accustomed to stubbornness,

disputed with Þórr about strength;

29. And Hlórriði, when it came to his hands,

soon made steep stone80 break with the glass;

sitting, he struck it⁸¹ through pillars,⁸²

but they brought it [back] intact to Hymir.

30. Until the fair loved one⁸³ imparted

one great piece of loving advice which she knew:

‘Strike it against Hymir’s skull — it’s harder,

the choice-weary84 giant’s, than any goblet!’⁸⁵

31. The hard lord of he-goats⁸⁶ rose at the knee,

assumed his full Áss-strength;87

intact was the top of the old man’s helmet-stump,⁸⁸

but the round⁸⁹ wine-vessel was riven.

32. ‘Many treasures, I know, have departed from me,

when⁹⁰ I see the goblet dashed from my knees.’⁹¹

The old man⁹² spoke words: ‘I can’t say

ever again, “You, ale, are brewed!”

33. ‘It’s your opportunity [to see] if you can take⁹³

the ale-ship⁹⁴ out of our farmstead’;⁹⁵

Týr tried twice to shift it,

[but] each time the cauldron stood still before him.96

34. Móði’s father97 grasped it by the rim,

and through the floor in the hall stepped down;⁹⁸

Sif’s husband heaved the cauldron up on to his head,

and at his heels the rings99 clattered.

35. They went a long way¹⁰⁰ before

Óðinn’s son looked back one time;

he saw advancing from stone-heaps, with Hymir, from the east,

a warrior-host of many-headed ones.101

36. He heaved the [high-]standing cauldron from his shoulders,

he swung murder-eager Mjǫllnir102 forward,

and he slew all the lava-whales.¹⁰³

37.¹⁰⁴ They had not gone far before

Hlórriði’s goat lay half-dead before them;

the trace’s team-mate105 was lamed¹⁰⁶ by a curse,¹⁰⁷

and the crafty Loki108 was the cause of that.

38. But you have heard — everyone who knows

tales of the gods can tell it more fully —

what recompense he¹⁰⁹ received from the lava-dweller,¹¹⁰

when he¹¹¹ paid for it with both his children.¹¹²

39. The one of great strength¹¹³ came to the gods’ assembly,

and he had the cauldron, the one which Hymir owned;

and holy ones114 shall drink ale well

at Ægir’s [home] each venom-rope-cutter.115

Textual Apparatus to Hymiskviða

Hymiskviða] This title, now traditional, appears only in A. R’s rubricated title is illegible in the photograph in the facsimile volume; the heading Þórr dró Miðgarðsorm is taken from its transcription. This edition is based on R.