Translated and edited by ANDY ORCHARD

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004
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PEARSON

THE ELDER EDDA

36. He heaved the cauldron down from his shoulders,

brandished murder-loving Mjollnir,
and killed all the vast lava-whales.
lava-whales giants
37. They'd not journeyed long, before there fell
Hl6rridi's goat, half-dead, ahead;
the trace's team-mate was lame in the leg:
vice-wise Loki had caused it.
38. But you have heard- someone more aware
of the lore of the gods can tell better how he took recompense from the lavadweller:
he gave up both children he had.

lava-dweller giant;
here Egil?

39. The strength-mighty one came to the

strength-mighty one Thor
gods' assembly,
bringing the cauldron that Hymir had owned;
and the sacred ones shall drink well
ale-feasts at JEgir's at flax-cutting time.

Lokasenna: Loki's home-truths

Frd .!Egi ok godum: About .!Egir and the gods

JEgir, who is called by another name Gymir, had prepared
ale for the JEsir, when he had obtained the great cauldron,
as has just been told. To the feast there came Odin and
Frigg, his wife. Thor did no_t come, because he was off in
the East. Sif, Thor's wife, was there, and Bragi, together
with Idunn, his wife. Tyr was there; he had only one hand:
the wolf Fenrir ripped his hand off, when it was put in
fetters. Njord was there, with his wife, Skadi, and Frey and
Freyja, and Vidar, Odin's son. Loki was there, and Frey's
servants, Byggvir and Beyla; many of the JEsir and elves
were there.

LOKASENNA

JF,gir had two servants, Fimafeng ['Quick-service'] and

Eldir ['Kitchen-boy'}; bright gold took the place of firelight,
and the ale served itself. There was a great place of sanctuary
there. Everyone had much praise for how good JF,gir's
servants were; Loki couldn't stand that, and killed Fimafeng.
Then the /F,sir shook their shields and screamed at Loki, and
drove him away to the woods, and then went back to
drinking.
Loki turned back, and met Eldir outside. Loki spoke to him:
r.

'Tell me, Eldir, before you take

a single step any further:
what do they have inside here,
those victory-gods' sons, for ale-speech?'

Eldir said:
2.

'They reckon up their weapons

and their prowess in war,
those sons of victory-gods.
Of the JEsir and elves who are here inside,
not a one has a good word for you.'

Loki said:
3.

'One ought to go into JEgir's halls,

to see a feast like that;
I bring strife and grief to the JEsir's sons,
and so mix malice with their mead.'

Eldir said:
4.

'I tell you, if you go into JEgir's halls,

to see a feast like that:
spill insults and slander on the powers in the hall,
and they'll wipe them off on to you.'

84

THE ELDER EDDA

Loki said:
5.

'I tell you, Eldir, if it's just we two

who wrangle with wounding words:
I'll turn out rich in my replies,
if you talk too much.'

Then Loki walked into the hall. And when those inside saw
who had come in, everyone fell silent. Loki said:
6.

7.

'Thirsty I have come to these halls,

Lopt travelling from long away,
to ask the JEsir for just one draught
of their much-famed mead.
'Why so silent, you puffed-up gods:
have you nothing to say to me at all?
Find me a seat and a place at the feast,
or tell me to go away from here!'

Bragi said:
8. 'To find you a seat and a place at the feast
is something the JEsir won't wish;
for the JEsir know the kind of person for whom
they ought to pour at fine feasts.'

Loki said:
9.

'Do you recall, Odin, when long ago

we two blended together our blood:
you said you would never partake of ale
unless it was brought to us both.'

LoptLoki

LOKASENNA

Odin said:
10.

'Up then, Vfdar, and let the wolf's father

take a seat at the feast,
lest Loki speaks of us with reproach
inside JEgir's halls.'

wolf's fa th er Loki

Then Vidar stood up and poured a drink for Loki. But before
he drank, he toasted the JEsir:
I I.

'Hail, gods; hail, goddesses,

and all the most holy powers,
except that one god, who sits further in,
Bragi, at the benches' end.'

Bragi said:
12.

'A steed and a sword will I give from my store,

and Bragi will requite you with a ring,
if you don't give the JEsir disfavour:
don't anger the gods against you!'

Loki said:
13. 'As for horses and arm-rings,
Bragi, you'll always lack both:
of the JEsir and elves who are gathered herein,
you are the wariest of war,
ever the most shy of shooting.'

Bragi said:
14. 'I know, if only I were outside,
instead of inside JEgir's hall,
I'd have your head held in my hand:
I'll take that payback for your lie.'

86

THE ELDER EDDA

Loki said:
15. 'You're a soldier in your seat, but you can't deliver,

Bragi, pretty-boy on a bench:

go and get moving if you're upset:
no hero heeds what's to come.'

Idunn said:
16. 'Bragi, I beg you: do a favour to our family

and all our adopted kin;

don't speak of Loki with reproach
inside JEgir's hall.'

Loki said:
17. 'Shut your mouth, Idunn, I declare that you are

of all women the maddest for men,

since you laid your bright-scrubbed arms
around your brother's butcher.'

Idunn said:
18. 'I'm not speaking to Loki with reproach

inside JEgir's hall;

I'm calming down Bragi, flushed with beer,
I don't want you two furiously to fight.'

Gefjon said:
l

9. 'Why must the two of you JEsir in here

wrangle with wounding words?

Is it not known of Lopt that he likes to give lip
and that all gods properly appreciate him?'

LOKASENNA

Loki said:
20.

'Shut your mouth, Gefjon, now I'll mention

someone who seduced you to sex:
that white boy who gave you a brooch,
and you thrust your thighs over him.'

Odin said:
2I.

'You're quite mad, Loki, and out of your mind

to make an enemy of Gefjon:
I reckon she knows all the fates of the world
just as clearly as me.'

Loki said:
22.

'Shut your mouth, Odin, you never know how

to hand out hostilities among men;
often you've granted to those you should not,
to weaker warriors, a win.'

Odin said:
2

3. 'I tell you, if I've granted to those I should not,

to weaker warriors, a win:

you spent eight winters under the earth,
as a milking-cow and a matron,
and there you bore babies;
that signals to me a cock-craver.'

Loki said:
24. 'It's said you played the witch on Samsey,

beat the drum like a lady-prophet;

in the guise of a wizard you wandered the world:
that signals to me a cock-craver.'

88

THE ELDER EDDA

Prigg said:
2

5. 'Your past lives neither of you two

should ever declare to men,

what you two l:Esir did in ancient days:
past history is best kept concealed.'

Loki said:
26. 'Shut your mouth, Frigg, you're Fjorgyn's daughter,

and have always been mad for men,

while Vidrir's wife, after all, you took
Vili and Ve,
both of them, into your arms.'

Vidrir Odin; Viii and ve

Odin's brothers

Prigg said:
2 7.

'I tell you that if I had here in l:Egir's hall

a boy to match my Baldr,
you'd never escape the l:Esir's sons,
and you'd be fought against in your fury.'

Loki said:
28. 'Frigg, do you still want me to say more

about my dreadful deeds?

I brought it about that you'd never see
Baldr ride back to the hall.'

Freyja said:
29. 'You're quite mad, Loki, when you make mention

of your hateful and horrible deeds;

Frigg, I think, knows all our fates,
though she never speaks of them herself.'

LOKASENNA

Loki said:
30. 'Shut your mouth, Freyja, I know you full well;
you're scarcely free from flaws.
As for each of the .!Esir and elves here inside:
at one time you've been their bitch.'

Freyja said:
3 r. 'Your tongue is treacherous: I think one day
it'll gabble you into grief;
the gods and goddesses are all angry with you,
you'll go home unhappy.'

Loki said:
3 2. 'Shut your mouth, Freyja, you're a witch,

and mixed up with much spite;

you straddled your brother while glad
gods stood by,
and then, Freyja, you farted.'

brother Frey

Njord said:
3 3. 'It matters little, if a wife takes a lover
instead of or as well as her man;
but strange that a cock-craving god can come here
when he has borne babies himself.'

Loki said:
34. 'Shut your mouth, Njord, East from here
you were sent as a hostage to the gods;
Hymir's daughters took you for a toilet
which is why they pissed in your mouth.'

90

THE ELDER EDDA

Njord said:
3 5. 'That is my comfort, when far from here
I was sent as a hostage to the gods:
that I sired a son, whom no one hates
and is deemed the JEsir's defence.'

son Frey

Loki said:
3 6. 'Stop now, Njord, hold yourself back a bit;
I won't keep it quiet any more:
on your own sister you sired that son,
though that's no worse than we expected.'

Tyr said:
3 7. 'Frey is the best of all bold riders
within the JEsir's courts:
he makes no girl cry, nor any man's wife,
and frees each one from chains.'

Loki said:
38. 'Shut your mouth, Tyr, you never know how
to be even-handed among folk:
I must just mention that right hand of yours
that Fenrir ripped away.'

Tyr said:
39. 'I miss my hand, you miss Famed Wolf:
both suffer bitter loss;
nor is the wolf well, but must in chains
await the powers' fate.'

powers' fate Ragnarok

LOKASENNA

9I

Loki said:
40. 'Shut your mouth, Tyr, your wife just happened
to have a son by me;
no cloth nor cash did you ever have
in recompense, you wretch.'

Frey said:

4I. 'I see a wolf lie by a river-mouth,

until the powers are rent;
unless you shut up now, you'll lie next to it,
tied up, mischief-maker!'
Loki said:
42.

'You had Gymir's daughter bought

Gymir's daughter Gerd
with gold,
and also gave your sword;
but when Muspell's sons ride over Mirkwood,
you won't know then, wretch, how to fight.'

Byggvir said:
43. 'Itell you, ifI had the fine lineage of Yngvi-Frey,
and such an splendid estate,
smaller than marrow I'd pound this spite-crow,
and break every bone that he has.'

Loki said:
44. 'What's that little thing I see, wagging like a dog,
snapping and yapping away?
You're always whispering in Frey's ear,
twittering under the grindstone.'

92

THE ELDER EDDA

Byggvir said:
45. 'My name is Byggvir, and I'm called brisk
ByggvirBarley-boy
by every god and man;
I'm honoured to be here, where all Hropt's kin
Hropt Odin
are drinking ale together.'

Loki said:
46. 'Shut your mouth, Byggvir, you never know how
to hand out meals among men;
you can't be found in the platform-straw
when warriors set to war.'

Heimdall said:
47. 'You're drunk, Loki, and out of your mind,
why won't you leave off, Loki?
Too much to drink makes every man
not mind how much he speaks.'

Loki said:
48. 'Shut your mouth, Heimdall, iffancient days
for you was a grim life laid down;
with muddy back you must ever be
and watch as the guard of the gods.'

Skadi said:
49. 'You're light-minded, Loki, but not for long
will you go with your tail playing free;
since on a sword-point, with the guts of your son,
ice-cold, the gods shall bind you.'

LOKASENNA

93

Loki said:
50. 'I tell you, if on a sword-point with the guts of my son,
ice-cold, the gods shall bind me:
first and most final I was at the killing
when we thrust hands on Thjazi.'
Thjazi Skadi's father

Skadi said:
5 I. 'I tell you, if first and most final you were at the killing
when you laid hands on Thjazi:
from my shrines and plains shall always come
cold counsels as far as you go.'

Loki said:
5 2. Your words were lighter to Laufey's son,
Laufey's son Loki
when you gave me a bidding to your bed;
one must mention such things, if we're keeping clear count
of each thing of which we're ashamed.'

Then Sif approached, offered Loki mead from a crystal cup

and said:
5 3. 'Your health, Loki,
take this white-topped cup
full of vintage mead;
say rather there's one woman,
among the .!Esir's sons,
who is quite without fault.'

He accepted the horn and drank it down:

54. 'You'd be the one, if only you were
wary and cautious with men;
but I know someone, it seems to me,
who made Hl6rridi's wife his whore,
and that one was vice-wise Loki.'

Hl6rridi Thor

THE ELDER EDDA

94

Bey/a said:

Bey/a 'Cow-girl'

5 5. 'All the mountains shake: I think it must be

Hl6rridi coming from home;
he'll bring silence to the one who smears everyone here,
all the gods and men.'

Loki said:
56. 'Shut your mouth, Beyla, you're Byggvir's wife,

and mixed up with much spite;

no greater disgrace came among the JEsir's sons:
you're dripping with shit, dairy-maid!'

Then Thor came up and said:

57. 'Shut your mouth, you cock-craving creature:
my mighty hammer Mjollnir
will cut you off from your cackle;
rock of . .. shoulders head
the rock of your shoulders I'll strike
from your neck,
and then your life will be done.'

Loki said:
58. 'Look! The Son of Earth has now entered in: Son of Earth Thor
why, Thor, do you thrash about so?
You won't be so brave when you must battle the wolf,
and he swallows Victory-father whole.'
Victory-father Odin

Thor said:
59. 'Shut your mouth, you cock-craving creature:

my mighty hammer Mjollnir

will cut you off from your cackle;
I'll cast you up on the roads to the East:
then no one will see you again.'

LOKASENNA

95

Loki said:
60. 'As for your trips East: those you never

should ever declare to men,

since in a glove's thumb you huddled, fine fighter,
and scarcely did you seem then like Thor.'

Thor said:
6I. 'Shut your mouth, you cock-craving creature:

my mighty hammer Mjollnir

will cut you off from your cackle;
with his right hand Hrungnir's slayer
will strike you;
so that every bone will be broken.'

Hrungnir's slayer Thor

Loki said:
62. 'I intend to keep living for a long time yet,

though you wave your hammer at me;

you thought Skrymir had tough leather straps,
and you couldn't get at the food,
and you starved from hunger, unharmed.'

Thor said:
63. 'Shut your mouth, you cock-craving creature:

my mighty hammer Mjollnir

will cut you off from your cackle;
Hrungnir's slayer will send you to Hel,
down below Corpse-gates.'

THE ELDER EDDA

Loki said:
64. 'I spoke before the JEsir,
I spoke before the JEsir's sons,
what my heart spurred me to say;
but before you alone will I walk out,
since I know you do throw blows.
6 5. 'Ale you made, JEgir, but never again

will you hold a feast after this;

as for all your possessions which are here inside:
may flame play over it,
and burn you behind!'

Fra Loka: About Loki

But after that Loki hid in the water(all of Franang in the
form of a salmon. The JEsir caught him there. He was tied
up with the guts of his son Nari. But Narfi, his other son,
turned into a wolf. Skadi took a venomous snake and fastened
it over Loki's face. Venom dripped from it. Sigyn, Loki's wife,
sat there and held a bowl under the venom. When the bowl
was full, she carried off the venom; but in the meantime
venom dripped on Loki. Then he had such violent spasms
that the whole world shook as a result. These we now call
earthquakes.

Thrymskvida: The song of Thrym

I.

Ving-Thor was enraged, when he awoke,

and felt his hammer gone.
His beard started to bristle, his locks to toss;
the son of Earth kept groping about.

Ving-ThorThor

son of Earth Thor

THRYMSKVIDA

2.

These were the first words he found to say:

'Listen now, Loki, to what I now tell,
what no one on earth or heaven knows:
the god has been robbed of his hammer!'

3.

They both set off to Freyja's fair halls,

and these were the first words he found to say:
'Freyja, will you lend me your feather-cloak,
so I can find the hammer's trace?'

97

be Loki

Freyja spoke:
4.

'Though it were gold, I should still give it you;

though it were silver, I should still pass it on.'

5. Then Loki flew, and the feather-cloak whirred,

until he passed beyond the borders of the gods,
and passed inside Giants' Domain.
6.

Thrym sat on a grave-mound, the lord of ogres,

clasping golden collars on his bitch-hounds,
smoothing the manes on his steeds.

Thrym spoke:
7.

'What's with the JEsir? What's with the elves?

Why come alone into Giants' Domain?'

[Loki spoke:]
'It's bad for the JEsir, [it's bad for the elves;]
have you hidden Hl6rridi's hammer?'

Hl6rridi Thor

THE ELDER EDDA

[Thrym spoke:]

8. 'I have hidden Hl6rridi's hammer

eight leagues under the earth.
No one shall have it back again
unless he brings me Freyja as bride.'
9. Then Loki flew, and the feather-cloak whirred,

until he passed beyond Giants' Domain,

and passed inside the borders of the gods;
he met Thor in the midst of that land,
and these were the first words he found to say:

he Thor

ro. 'Have you tidings, as well as trouble?

Give me a full account from on high!
Often a sitting storyteller lapses,
or when lying will deal in lies.'

[Loki spoke:]
I I.

'I have trouble as well as tidings:

Thrym, lord of ogres, has your hammer.
No one shall have it back again
unless he brings him Freyja as bride.'

I2.

Then they went to visit fair Freyja,

and these were the first words he found to say:
'Freyja, put on your bridal veil,
we two must drive to Giants' Domain.'

3. Freyja was enraged, and gave a snort,

so that the whole gods' hall trembled,
and the great Brisings' neck-ring tumbled:
'You'd think I'd become the maddest for men,
ifI drove with you to Giants' Domain.'

he Thor

THRYMSKVIDA

I4 At once all the gods were gathered,

and all the goddesses came to speak,
the mighty deities made a plan,
how they might restore Hl6rridi's hammer.
I

5. Then Heimdall spoke, most sparkling of gods:

he saw far ahead, like the other Vanir.
'Let us put Thor in the bridal veil,
let him wear the great Brisings' neck-ring!

6. 'Let us have keys jangling beneath him,

and women's clothes falling round his knees,
and broad gem-stones sitting on his chest,
let us top out his head with style.'

7. Then Thor spoke, the strapping god:

'The gods will call me a cock-craver,
if I let myself be put in a bridal veil.'

18. Then Loki spoke, the son of Laufey:

'Shut your mouth, Thor, and don't say such things;
Giants will soon dwell within the gods' borders
unless you have your hammer back.'
I

9. Then they put Thor into a bridal veil,

had him wear the great Brisings' neck-ring;

they had keys jangling beneath him,
and women's clothes falling round his knees,
and broad gem-stones sitting on his chest,
and they topped out his head with style.
20.

Then Loki spoke, the son of Laufey:

'I shall come too, to be your maid,
we two must drive to Giants' Domain.'

99

IOO

THE ELDER EDDA

2r.

At once the goats were driven home,

hastened to their traces; they had to run well.
The mountains shattered, the earth was ablaze:
Odin's Son Thor
Odin's son drove to Giants' Domain.

22.

Then Thrym spoke, the lord of ogres:

'Stand up, giants, and spread the benches;
now they bring me Freyja as bride,
the daughter of Njord from Naval-yard.

23. 'Here in my fields wander gold-horned cattle,

jet-black oxen, a giant's delight;
I have plenty of treasures, plenty of neck-rings,
only Freyja seems missing to me.'
24. Evening arrived all too soon,
and beer was brought forth before the giants.
One guest ate a whole ox, eight salmon too,
guest Thor
and all of the dainties intended for the women;
then Sif's husband drank three casks of
Sif's husband Thor
mead.
2

5. Then Thrym spoke, the lord of ogres:

'Did you ever see a bride eat more keenly;

I never saw a bride eat more broadly,
nor any maiden drink more mead.'
26.

The all-cunning handmaid sat ready, all-cunning handmaid Loki

and found something to say to the giant's speech:
'Freyja hasn't eaten at all for eight nights,
she was so desperate for Giants' Domain.'

2 7.

He bent down under the veil, and wished for a kiss;

and then jumped back the whole length of the.hall:
'Freyja's eyes! Why are they so fierce?
Fire seemed to me to flare from her eyes.'

THRYMSKVIDA

IOI

28. The all-cunning handmaid sat ready,

and found something to say to the giant's speech:

'Freyja hasn't slept at all for eight nights,
she was so desperate for Giants' Domain.'
29. Then in came the sorry sister of giants;

she dared to beg for a bridal gift:

'Offer red rings from your arms and fingers,
if you wish to secure my love,
my love, and all my favour.'
3 o. Then Thrym spoke, the lord of ogres:
'Bring in the hammer, to hallow the bride,
lay there Mjollnir bn the maiden's lap,
hallow US together by the hand of Var.' Vdr oath-goddess, Frigg?
3 r. The heart of Hl6rridi laughed in his chest,
when the hard-hearted one felt his hammer.
Thrym, lord of ogres, was the first one he felled,
before battering all of the giant-race.
3 2. Then he felled the aged sister of giants;

who dared to beg for a bridal gift;

instead of shillings, she took a beating,
a hammer's blow, instead of many rings.

So Odin's son gained his hammer again.

Volundarkvida: The song of Volund

Frd Volundi: About Volund
Nidud was the name of a king in Sweden. He had two sons
and one daughter; she was called Bodvild. There were three
brothers, sons of the king of the Finns. One was called
Striking-Finn, the second Egil, the third Volund: they went on