The Prose Edda (29 page)

3.
troll witches stumble
: The verb
rata
, translated here as ‘stumble', has at least three meanings: to travel, in the sense of moving about or roaming; to find one's way; and to fall or crash. It is unclear which meaning is intended.

1.
seeresses
:
Völur
, sibyls who act as seeresses or prophetesses.

2.
under his left arm
: The Icelandic word is
hönd
, meaning arm or armpit, as well as hand.

1.
wooden box
: The word
lúðr
has several meanings. I translate
lúdr
as wooden box, because the word also means a stand for holding a handmill, that is, the wooden box that surrounds the millstone into which the ground flour falls. This box could function as a vessel. It is also somewhat like a coffin, and the usage of the word in this line carries the imagery both of a boat and of death. Another meaning for
lúðr
is a trumpet.

2.
Countless winters
: The passage of years was counted by winters.

1.
eyelashes
: Related to English ‘brow', the Old Norse word
brá
(here in the plural
brár
) means eyelash or the eye itself. Probably the reference is to eyelashes, resembling a fence or wall. Possibly the reference is to all of the eye.

2.
called this stronghold Midgard
: Perhaps the name Midgard refers to the fortress-like wall that surrounds and protects the world of men from the giants.

1.
The sons of Bor… hearing and sight
:
The Sibyl's Prophecy
stanzas 17– 18 tells a similar story but names Odin'S companions as Hoenir and Lodur.

2.
Earth was his daughter
: In
chapter 36
, Jord or Earth is counted among the
ásynjur
or goddesses of the Æsir. In
chapter 10
, Earth is the daughter of Night and Annar.

1.
he will swallow the moon
: The word used is
tungl
, which usually means moon, but
tungl
may be a shortening of
himintungl,
meaning heavenly body or bodies. Alone,
tungl
can mean sun. In the verse that follows,
tungl
probably means moon, if one thinks of Managarm (Moon Dog), but it is possible that the reference is to the sun.
The Lay of Vafthrudnir
offers a different version of the destruction of the sun, in which Fenrir swallows it.

2.
In the East the old one lives
: It is not clear to whom ‘the old one' (
in aldna
) refers. In the prose preceding the verse she is called the old ogress or giantess (
in gamla gýgr
) and seems to be a creature from the oldest times. Possibly she refers to Angrboda, the mother of Fenrir (see
chapter 34
).

1.
the middle of the stronghold
: The text uses the word
borg
, which in this context could mean a fortress or a town. The idea seems to be an extensive stronghold and a town within.

2.
goddesses
: Here the goddesses are called
gyðjur
(female gods); elsewhere they are often referred to as
ásynjur
(female Æsir).

3.
the women… from Giant Land
: This line corresponds to stanza 8 of
The Sibyl's Prophecy
, which speaks of the coming of three giant maidens from Giant Land. Who these women are is unclear.

4.
from the waves of blood
: The text uses the word
brim
, meaning surf. In
The Sibyl's Prophecy
, Brimir is the name for a giant, possibly Ymir. If the verse is referring to a giant, then the line possibly reads: ‘from Ymir'S blood'.

5.
live in the ground
: The text uses the word
mold
, meaning the ground, soil or earth. These dwarves live in holes in the earth, that is, in some form of underground houses, perhaps caves.

6.
The Sibyl's Prophecy
: The lists of the dwarves differ significantly between the
Prose Edda
and
The Sibyl's Prophecy
.

1.
drinks… from the Gjallarhorn
: The god Heimdall also has a horn or trumpet named Gjallarhorn. They may be the same. See
chapter 27.

2.
Urd… Verdandi… and Skuld
: Urd (
Urðr
) and Verdandi (
Verðandi
) are names derived from the verb
verða
, meaning ‘to become'. They may also be related to the helping verb ‘must'. The name
Skuld
is problematic, with numerous possibilities. It may derive from the verbal form
skal
, which corresponds to the English ‘shall', conveying the idea of necessity or responsibility, i.e., something in the future that cannot be avoided.
Skuld
may also mean ‘obligation', ‘debt', ‘fault' or ‘blame'. Together the names of these norns imply ‘to become', ‘to have to' and ‘to be absolutely required to', and may also signify ‘past', ‘present' and ‘future'.

1.
devouring the tree's foliage
: This line has often been mistranslated, leading to the wrong assumption that the World Tree was a conifer. The text uses the words
bíta barr. Bíta
means to bite, rip with the teeth, or eat.
Barr
means the foliage of a tree, whether leaf or pine needle, although frequently it refers to just pine needles. Together,
bíta barr
means to eat the foliage off a tree, words suitable for both an ash tree and a pine.

1.
one of the Æsir called Loki
: In other places Loki is not considered a member of the Æsir.

2.
Hapta-God
: Hapta-God (
Haptaguð
) can mean God of fetters, hence a connection with prisoners. But it could also be ‘he who employs fetters' and/or perhaps even ‘he who loosens fetters'.
Höpt
can also mean gods, with the possibility that
Haptaguð
refers to ‘foremost of the gods'. Further, as a noun
hapt
might mean godly powers. The name could thus mean the god of gods or the ‘god who restricts men with his divine laws'.

3.
Helblindi… Sann, Svipal
: Helblindi could be a scribal error for Herblindi (Blinder of Armies). Sann and Svipal mean truthful and changing (shifting). Some of the pairs of names in this verse contain similar contrasts.

4.
Truly
: The expression
pat veit trúa mín
means something like ‘truly' or ‘by my faith'. The expression is not found in the earliest Icelandic texts but becomes common in thirteenth-century romance sagas, many of which derive from French stories translated into Old Norse.

1.
five hundred and forty living spaces
: The usual meaning of the word gólf is floor. Here the word most probably refers to divisions in a longhouse building, such as the living spaces set off from each other by pillars holding up the roof. The term ‘hundred'
probably stood for 120, as was customary (the medieval ‘long hundred' was based on the number twelve). Thus the figure of 540 would be larger if the author is using the long hundred.

1.
One plant… Baldr'S brow
: The Icelandic plant
Baldrs brá
is
Matricaria maritima
.

1.
three nights at Noatun
: The
Codex Regius
says ‘nine winters… and another nine', but the other three main manuscripts,
Codex Upsaliensis
,
Codex Wormianus
and
Codex Trajectinus
, say ‘nine nights… and another three'.

1.
She is easily approachable… pray to her
: This clause is somewhat unusual in Old Icelandic. A second translation might be: ‘She most successfully fulfils the desires of people who pray to her.'

2.
from her name… title of honour… ladies
:
Fróva
, later
frú
, meaning lady, appears to be a loan word from Low German.

1.
Tyr
: Related to Latin
deus
and Greek
Zeus
, the name Tyr may derive from postulated Old Germanic
tiwaz
, meaning ‘god'.In
The Lay of Sigurdrifa
Tyr is the name of a rune that brings victory.

1.
wooden box
:
Eski
means a wooden box made of ash and generally used for carrying personal possessions. In chapter 35, the goddess Fulla is said to carry Frigg's
eski.

1.
Heimdall'S Chant
:
Heimdall's Chant
no longer exists; see
Appendix 3
for more details.

1.
work… will long be remembered
: See
chapter 49.

1.
thick shoe
: At Ragnarok, Vidar uses his special shoe to kill the Wolf; see
chapter 51.

1.
Ull… good person to pray to
: Although not an important figure in the surviving mythology, Ull is often mentioned in skaldic verse, and his cult was widespread throughout the north.

1.
the Midgard Serpent
:(
Miðgarðsormr
) Also referred to by the name Jormungand (
Jörmungandr
).

1.
Brisingamen
: Several figures, including giants and Heimdall, possessed Brisingamen at different times.

1.
Valkyries
: ‘Valkyrie' derives from two words, the noun
valr
, the slain on the battlefield, and the verb
kjósa
, ‘to choose'. The compound means ‘chooser of the slain' and the Old
Norse
valkyrja
(plural
valkyrjur
) is cognate with Old English
wælcyrge
.

1.
the place called Barey
: In some manuscripts
Barey
is spelled
Barrey.
The word has several possible meanings, which has stirred controversy. If a compound, the second part of the word,
ey,
probably means island. One possibility for the first part of the word,
Barr,
is evergreen tree; hence
Barey
would mean wooded or conifer island, perhaps even a forest.
Barr
could also mean barley and, if so, the meaning could be connected with fertility worship. The god of fertility consummating his longing and marriage in a barley field with a young woman who meets him there has cultic possibilities. In
The Lay of Skirnir
, the place is called
Barri
, which seems to be a windless or quiet grove.
Barey
might refer to the Hebridean island Barra, lying off the western coast of Scotland. Barra was occupied by Norsemen and is mentioned in Icelandic writings, including
Grettir'S Saga.

2.
half this holding time
: The term used is
hálf hýnótt.
The
hýnótt
was a waiting period preceding a wedding. The phrase seems to mean half of such a waiting or holding time. Already Frey knows he can barely make it past three nights.

1.
famous tree, Lerad
:
The Lay of Grimnir
mentions the tree Lerad or Laerad, which seems to be the same as Yggdrasil.

2.
all… satisfy their thirst
: The word
fulldrukkinn
(fully drunk) is an ironic usage. It could mean either drink to their satisfaction or become drunk.

1.
Five hundred doors
: If the counting is in long hundreds of 120, which is probable, then five hundred doors would be six hundred.

1.
The slain they select
: This line could have several meanings, among them the following: they determine ahead of time who is to be slain, or they choose from among the slain those who should be taken back to Valhalla.

2.
Habrok of hawks
: Habrok is the hawk of King Hrolf. In
The Saga of King Hrolf Kraki,
Habrok fights for his lord.

1.
Thor… hammering on trolls
: The verb used is
berja
, meaning to strike, to beat, with the idea of hammering on something. The medieval author is humorously playing on words. Rather than fighting with trolls, which requires the verb
berjast
(the ‘-
st
' ending changing the meaning of the verb to indicate that two or more people are fighting among themselves), Thor, alone, is hammering on the trolls.

2.
Od's maid
: The verses refer to Freyja by the word
mær
, which means maiden or virgin, as well as wife or beloved.

1.
so many examples… Thor is the mightiest
: The idea seems to be that even when Thor loses, as he does to Utgarda-Loki, it is because of deception and not through a lack of might.