CHAPTER XLIV.REVENGE.

The duty of the nearest relative—Procedure—Blood-nights—Secret slaying—Incitement to revenge by women—Intentional wounding—Arbitration—Manslaughter—Murder by lunatics—Insults—Punishment of derision.

Revenge played a conspicuous part in the daily life of the Norsemen, and it was the duty of the nearest relative to avenge the death of a kinsman. This duty first belonged to the brother of the deceased, and, if he had no brother, to his next of kin. Relatives as far as the fourth degree were obliged, if there was no one nearer, to undertake the duty. If the relative could not find the murderer, his revenge fell upon the innocent kinsman of the murderer, or upon the servants of the latter.

Procedure depended on the nature of the case. If a man was slain in his own Herad, his wife or heir, or the nearest of kin present in the Herad, the same day that the death became known sent out an arrow from farm to farm through the Herad to summon the bœndr. The summons ordered them to meet the same day, or, if it was already late, the next day, at the place of murder, to attend the Arrow-thing. At the Arrow-thing those more especially had to appear to whom the murderer had announced the slaying, with his name and residence; those assembled examined the circumstances of the slaying, and what was practically a coroner’s inquest took place.

“Thither came nine bœndr who lived next to the slaying-place. Mörd (who caused the slaying and declared it) had ten men with him. He showed to the bœndr the wounds of Höskuld, and named witnesses to the wounds, and one to every wound except one. He feigned not to know who had given it, for he had given it himself. He declared that Skarphedin had slain him, and that his brothers and Kari had given thewounds. Then he summoned the nine neighbours of the slaying-place to come to the Althing, then he rode home” (Njala, 112).

The days and nights immediately following a murder were calledblood-nights.

Hrolleif, the son of a witchcraft-knowing woman, slew the chief Ingimund. When he came home and told his mother what he had done, she said:

“‘It is my advice that thou goest away, for the blood-nights are the quickest for revenge’”[581](Vatnsdæla, c. 24).

“Glum went out one day to slay Sigmund; he put on the blue cloak, and had a spear in his hand, ornamented with gold. When he had killed him he rode off to his brother Thorstein, who, seeing blood on the inlaid ornaments of the weapon, asked if he had struck anyone with it just before. Glum said: ‘It is true, I forgot to tell thee that I have slain Sigmund Thorkelsson to-day.’ Thorstein answered: ‘That will be bad tidings to Thorkel (Sigmund’s father) and the Esphol men, his sons-in-law.’ Glum added: ‘It is an old saying, that during the blood-nights every one is most passionate; but they will think little of it as time passes’” (Viga Glum’s Saga, c. 8).

If at least twenty-seven bœndr had come to the Thing, and the nearest kinsman of the murdered man was present, and the slayer himself, after having received truce (grid), appeared, or it was stated that although the arrow had reached him he did not desire to appear, the Arrow-thing possessed the right to at once render judgment in the case.

The fifth day the prosecution took place at theFimtarthing, which was an extraordinaryHeradsthing.

To this Thing the slayer, or the person accused of the murder, was summoned, and here the case was carried to completion, and judgment given by the Thingsmen.

If the slaying was murder, and there was no certainty as to the murderer, then the next of kin could require three persons, on whom his suspicions had fallen, to free themselves one after the other, bytylftareid(an oath of suspicion).

“If the king accuses a man of land-treason (high-treason),he must repel the charge by a tylftareid. Charge of murder and of breach of faith must also be repelled in this way. Six men, equal to him (the accused) in rétt, shall be summoned on both sides of him, two of them selected, then two of his nearest kinsmen, himself as the fifth, and seven fangavattar (witnesses summoned at random)” (Gulathing’s Law, 132).

“Further, if thou findest a man slain out on the field, thou shalt hide the body and tell the first man whom thou meetest, and then go to his heir if he is in the Fylki; else thou shalt cut a Thing-summons and call a Thing. The man that does not come to the Thing is fined six aurar, called the large Thing-fine, and proves himself to be the slayer if the heir wants to accuse him of it” (Gulath., 161).

If a reconciliation took place between the slayer and family of the slain, the nearest of kin to the slain at once assured the slayer of intermediate truce (grid), and later, when the indemnity was paid, which generally took place in several instalments, assured him of security (tryggdir), whereby the matter was regarded as completely settled.[582]

If the slayer left the weapon in the wound of his foe his act was not considered murder, but only a lesser crime, termed “secret slaying.”

“One morning, just before day-light, while Véstein was still in bed, some one entered the room, thrust a spear through his breast, and went out again. When Vestein tried to rise he fell dead. His sister Aud called upon a thrall of hers, Thord the faint-hearted, and bade him take the weapon from the wound. It was the custom for the man who pulled the weapon from a wound to be obliged to avenge the slain; but it was called secret slaying, and not murder, if the slayer left the weapon remaining in the wound” (Gisli Sursson’s Saga).

To slay a man for revenge at night, or to put any one to death at night, was considered murder.

“King Olaf sat down in his seat when the room had been prepared, and was very angry. He asked where the slayer was. He was told that he was guarded out on the balcony. The king said: ‘Why is he not slain?’ Thorarin Nefjulfsson answered: ‘My lord, do you not call it a murder to slay menat night?’ Then the king said: ‘Put him into fetters, and slay him to-morrow’” (St. Olaf’s Saga, c. 126).

“Then Arinbjörn said: ‘The king will not let himself be incited to all thy nithing-deeds. He will not let Egil be killed this night, because night-killings are murders.’ The king replied: ‘It shall be as thou askest, Arinbjörn, that Egil shall live this night’” (Egil’s Saga, c. 62).

Incitement to revenge was often given by women. Thorbjörg, the wife of Indridi, heard that her brother Hörd had been treacherously slain by Thorstein Gullknapp.

“When she and her husband came into their bed in the evening, Thorbjörg drew a sax and thrust it at Indridi; but he parried the blow with his hand and got much wounded. He said: ‘Thorbjörg, it is difficult to know what to do, and thou art very hard upon me. What shall I do that we may become friends again?’ ‘Thou canst do nothing but fetch the head of Thorstein Gullknapp for me’” (Hörd’s Saga, c. 37).

To him who performednabjargir(ceremony attending the dead) belonged the duty of avenging the dead.

Höskuld, a son of Njal by his concubine Hródný, was found wounded with sixteen wounds. Hródný laid him against the wall in Njal’s sheephouse and went in to Njal’s bed, as it was night.

“She asked if Njal was awake. He answered: ‘I have slept, but now I am awake. Why art thou here so early?’ Hródný replied: ‘Rise from the bed of my rival and go out with me, and also thy wife and thy sons.’ They rose and went out. Skarphedin said: ‘Let us take our weapons with us.’ Njal did not speak, and they ran in and fetched their weapons. Hródný walked on in front, and when they came to the sheephouse she went in and asked them to follow. She took up a lantern and said: ‘Here, Njal, is thy son Höskuld with many wounds on him, and he needs to be healed.’ Njal answered: ‘I see death-marks on him, and no life-marks; why hast thou not given him nabjargir, as his nostrils are open?’ ‘I intended Skarphedin to do that,’ she answered. Skarphedin walked up to Höskuld’s body and closed the nostrils, eyes, and mouth. Then he asked his father, ‘Who, sayest thou, is the slayer?’ Njal answered: ‘Lýting of Samstadir and his brothers have probably slain him.’ Hródný said: ‘I give it into thy hands, Skarphedin, to revenge thy brother; and I expect thee to behave well and perform the greatest part (in the revenge),though he was not legitimate.’ Bergthóra (Njal’s wife) said: ‘It is strange that you slay men for slight reasons, while you ponder over and digest this matter until nothing comes of it; Höskuld Hvitanesgodi will soon be here and ask you to come to terms, and you will grant him them; if you intend to do anything, do it now.’ Skarphedin said: ‘Now our mother incites us with lawful provocation’” (Njala, c. 98).

Then follows in the Saga a long account of how the two brothers of Lýting were killed, and how he himself was wounded and escaped. Lýting went to a man called Höskuld, who was a godi, and asked him to reconcile him with Njal and his sons. Höskuld consented, and went with him to Njal’s home.

If a man intentionally wounded an innocent man, or offended him in such a way that full rétt was due to him, the offended could slay him if he had not offered surety.

It was not uncommon to resort to arbitration when cases of revenge occurred for which weregild would have to be paid.

Gunnar of Hlidarendi, the famous champion, with his brother Kolskegg had slain eight men. After the prosecution of the case had begun at the Althing, some proposed that good men should arbitrate.

“It was determined, according to the advice of the wisest men, that all the suits which followed should be submitted to arbitration; six men to arbitrate, and it was done at once at the Althing. It was decided that the death of Skamkel should not be paid for, the wound of the spur making up for the wergild; for the other a befitting payment was made. The kinsmen of Gunnar gave property, so that all the weregilds were at once paid at the Althing” (Njala, c. 56).

Manslaughter was murder if it was not acknowledged by the slayer; if there was no witness to the deed, he had to acknowledge it at the farm nearest to the place of slaughter, and tell his name and home. If kinsmen of the slain were present, he might pass the place; but in no case could he go further than the third farm without declaring it.

“Further, if men meet at the crossing of roads, and the one slays the other, and the man is alive when people come to him, then he is the slayer whom the man declares to be, unless thegreat evidencehelp him. If another man declares himself tobe the slayer, then they are both slayers, though there is only one wound on the dead man. When a man declares the slaying lawfully, he goes from the place in whatever direction he likes, and declares it at the next house, unless kinsmen on male or female side or near relatives of the dead are there; in this case he shall pass on to the next house, unless they (kinsmen) are also there; then he shall go to the third house and declare it, whoever are in it. He is neither called Ulf (wolf), nor Björn (bear), unless it be his name. He shall tell thejartegn(by which he is known), and tell where he slept last night. At the Arrow-thing evidence of the declaration of the slaying shall be given” (Gulathing’s Law, 61).[583]

If a man acknowledged a slaughter lawfully, and also in the presence of witnesses gave surety that he would pay weregild andthegngildi(weregild for a thegn), he thereby made himself holy and sacred, so that he could not be slain.

“If a man wounds an innocent man, or injures him publicly by deeds liable to full rétt, and revenge is taken by the man or his kinsmen before a lawful offer with full surety has been made, then the one who first broke the peace is outlawed, whether he has been slain or outraged in other ways, unless the king and other men of good sense think otherwise. But if he offers full surety he is peace-holy, and the one who slays him is outlawed” (Frostath., Introd. 6).

An insane man who committed murder, though not accounted responsible for his actions, was expelled the country.

“If a man becomes mad so that he breaks his chains and kills a man, he shall leave the land, and have all his property in half a month’s truce during summer, and one month during winter” (Frostath.).

“If a father becomes so mad that he slays his son, or a son slays his father, or a brother his brother, he shall be outlawed, and leave the land, and never come back again” (Frostath., iv. 31).

Among the insults which were most resented were those caused by “nid,” or derision. Derision was of two kinds: the first called “tungunid,” tongue derision; that is, derisive ormocking words, which were chiefly in songs and lampoons (nidvisur), which sometimes were also thought to possess magical power, thus scaring away the guardian spirits, and bringing misfortune on the person in question. The second weretrenid(wooden derision), that is, derisive images carved or traced on wood. These were placed at spots where they would draw attention, generally on the grounds of the enemy; and some of them must have corresponded to the caricatures of our own times.

These derisive songs were so much resented that Harald Gormsson, King of Denmark, intended to go to Iceland to take revenge upon the people for a derisive song which had been made upon him by an Icelander.

“Harald Gormsson King of Denmark heard that Hakon jarl had cast away Christianity, and made warfare in many places in his lands. Then he levied a host and went to Norway, and when he came into the realm of Hakon he plundered there, and devastated the country, and went with his host to the islands called Solundir. Only five farms were left in Laradal, and all the people fled to the mountains and forests with all the loose property they could take with them. Then he wanted to sail[584]to Iceland, to take revenge for the derision (nid) which all the Icelanders had made on him. The Icelanders had enacted a law that as many nid-songs (derisive songs) should be made about the King of Denmark as there were noses (heads, men) in the country. The reason for this was that a ship owned by Icelanders had been wrecked in Denmark, and all the property on board taken by the Danes, who called it wreckage; this was done by the king’s steward Birgir, and the derision was on both of them”[585](Olaf Tryggvason’s Saga, c. 36).

Derision was forbidden by law, and punished by outlawry.

“No man shall make tongue-nid (derision) on another, nor wood-nid (nid carved on wood). If it be known and proved that he has done this, he is liable to outlawry; he shall redeem the offence with an oath of reconciliation; he falls as an outlaw if he is slain. No man shall make exaggeration orslander about another: that is exaggeration if a man says about another what cannot take place, or will not, or has not, saying he is a woman every ninth night, and has borne a child, and calls himgylvin(she-wolf). He is an outlaw, if it is proved; he shall redeem the offence with an oath of reconciliation; he falls as an outlaw if he is slain” (Earlier Gulathing’s Law, 138).

END OF VOL. 1.

1.A kind of baptism.

2.The assembly of the people.

3.The hall and abode of the slain.

4.“Sueonum hinc civitates, ipso in oceano, præter viros armaque classibus valent. Forma navium eo differt quod utrinque prora paratam semper appulsui frontem agit. Nec velis ministrantur, nec remos in ordinem lateribus adjungunt: solutum, ut in quibusdam fluminum, et mutabile, ut res poscit, hinc et illinc remigium” (Germ. xliv.).

5.“Hujus est civitatis longe amplissima auctoritas omnis oræ maritimæ regionum earum, quod et naves habent Veneti plurimas, quibus in Britanniam navigare consuerunt, et scientia atque usu nauticarum rerum reliquos antecedunt, et in magno impetu maris atque aperto, paucis portibus interjectis, quos tenent ipsi, omnes fere qui eo mari uti consuerunt, habent vectigales” (Gallic War, iii. c. 8).“Namque ipsorum naves ad hunc modum factæ armatæque erant; carinæ aliquanto planiores, quam nostrarum navium, quo facilius vada ac decessum æstus excipere possent; proræ admodum erectæ, atque item puppes ad magnitudinem fluctuum tempestatumque accommodatæ; naves totæ factæ ex robore ad quamvis vim et contumeliam perferendam; transtra pedalibus in latitudinem trabibus confixa clavis ferreis digiti pollicis crassitudine; ancoræ pro funibus ferreis catenis revinctæ; pelles pro velis alutæque tenuiter confectæ, hæ sive propter lini inopiam atque ejus usus inscientiam, sive eo, quod est magis verisimile, quod tantas tempestates Oceani tantosque impetus ventorum sustineri, ac tanta onera navium regi velis non satis commode posse arbitrabantur. Cum his navibus nostræ classi ejusmodi congressus erat, ut una celeritate et pulsu remorum præstaret; reliqua, pro loci natura, pro vi tempestatum, illis essent aptiora et accommodatiora. Neque enim his nostræ rostro nocere poterant (tanta in his erat firmitudo), neque propter altitudinem facile telum adjiciebatur, et eadem de causa minus commode copulis continebantur. Accedebat, ut, cum sævire ventus cœpisset et se vento dedissent, et tempestatem ferrent facilius, et in vadis consisterent tutius, et ab æstu relictæ nihil saxa et cautes timerent; quarum rerum omnium nostris navibus casus erat extimescendus” (c. 13).

“Namque ipsorum naves ad hunc modum factæ armatæque erant; carinæ aliquanto planiores, quam nostrarum navium, quo facilius vada ac decessum æstus excipere possent; proræ admodum erectæ, atque item puppes ad magnitudinem fluctuum tempestatumque accommodatæ; naves totæ factæ ex robore ad quamvis vim et contumeliam perferendam; transtra pedalibus in latitudinem trabibus confixa clavis ferreis digiti pollicis crassitudine; ancoræ pro funibus ferreis catenis revinctæ; pelles pro velis alutæque tenuiter confectæ, hæ sive propter lini inopiam atque ejus usus inscientiam, sive eo, quod est magis verisimile, quod tantas tempestates Oceani tantosque impetus ventorum sustineri, ac tanta onera navium regi velis non satis commode posse arbitrabantur. Cum his navibus nostræ classi ejusmodi congressus erat, ut una celeritate et pulsu remorum præstaret; reliqua, pro loci natura, pro vi tempestatum, illis essent aptiora et accommodatiora. Neque enim his nostræ rostro nocere poterant (tanta in his erat firmitudo), neque propter altitudinem facile telum adjiciebatur, et eadem de causa minus commode copulis continebantur. Accedebat, ut, cum sævire ventus cœpisset et se vento dedissent, et tempestatem ferrent facilius, et in vadis consisterent tutius, et ab æstu relictæ nihil saxa et cautes timerent; quarum rerum omnium nostris navibus casus erat extimescendus” (c. 13).

6.Ἐπὶ τὸν αὐχένα τῆς Κιμβρικῆς χερσονήσου Σάξονες(Geog. lib. ii. c. 2).

7.Βαστάρνας δε, Σκύθικον ἔθνος, ὑποπεσόντας αὐτῷ προσέμενος κατῴκισε Θρᾳκίοις χωρίοις· καὶ διετέλεσαν τοῖς Ῥωμαίων βιοτεύοντες νόμοις. καὶ Φράγκων τῷ βασιλεῖ προσελθόντων καὶ τυχόντων οἰκήσεως μοῖρά τις ἀποστᾶσα, πλοίων εὐπορήσασα, τὴν Ἑλλάδα συνετάραξεν ἅπασαν καὶ Σικελίᾳ προσσχοῦσα καὶ τῇ Συρακουσίων προσμίξασα πολὺν κατὰ ταύτην εἰργάσατο φόνον. ἤδη δε καὶ Λιβύῃ προσορμισθεῖσα, καὶ ἀποκρουσθεῖσα δυνάμεως ἐκ Καρχηδόνος ἐπενεχθείσης,οἵα τε γέγονεν ἀπαθὴς ἐπανελθεῖν οἴκαδε.(Zosimus. de Probo, i. 71).

8.“Quid loquar rursus intimas Franciæ nationes jam non ab iis locis quæ olim Romani invaserant, sed a propriis ex origine sui sedibus, atque ab ultimis barbariæ littoribus avulsas, ut, in desertis Galliæ regionibus collocatæ et pacem Romani imperii cultu juvarent et arma delectu?” (Eumenius. Constantin. Aug. c. vi.)

9.“Recursabat quippe in animos illa sub Divo Probo et paucorum ex Francis captivorum incredibilis audacia et indigna felicitas, qui a Ponto usque correptis navibus Græciam Asiamque populati nec impune plerisque Libyæ littoribus appulsi ipsas postremo, navalibus quondam victoriis nobiles ceperant Syracusas, et immenso itinere pervecti Oceanum, qua terras irrupit intraverant atque ita eventu temeritatis ostenderant nihil esse clausum piraticæ desperationi quo navigiis pateret accessus” (Eumenius Panegyr. Const. Cæs. xviii. circ.A.D.300)

10.“Per hæc tempora (i.e. 287) etiam Carausius, qui vilissime natus in strenuæ militiæ ordine famam egregiam fuerat consecutus, cum apud Bononiam per tractum Belgicæ et Armoricæ pacandum mare accepisset, quod Franci et Saxones infestabant, multis barbaris sæpe captis, nec præda integra aut provincialibus reddita aut imperatoribus missa consulto ab eo admitti barbaros ut transeuntes cum præda exciperet atque hac se occasione ditaret; a Maximiano jussus occidi purpuram sumpsit et Britannias occupavit” (Eutropius, Breviarium Historiæ, ix. ch. 21).

11.Orat. 1.Φράγκοι καὶ Σάξονες τῶν ὑπὲρ τὸν Ῥῆνον καὶ τὴν ἑσπερίαν θάλατταν ἐθνῶν τὰ μαχιμώτατα.

12.“Hoc tempore velut per universum orbem Romanum bellicum canentibus buccinis, excitæ gentes sævissimæ limites sibi proximos persultabant. Gallias Rhætiasque simul Alamanni populabantur; Sarmatæ, Pannonias et Quadi; Picti, Saxonesque, et Scoti, et Attacotti Britannos ærumnis vexavere continuis” (Rerum Gestarum, lib. xxvi. s. 4).

13.“Gallicanos vero tractusFranci, etSaxonesiisdem confines, quo quisque erumpere potuit terra vel mari, prædis acerbis incendiisque et captivorum funeribus hominum violabant” (Ammianus Marcellinus, d. circ. 400, lib. xxvii. c. 8, § 5).

14.“Maduerunt Saxone fusoOrcades; incaluit Pictorum sanguine Thule;Scotorum cumulos flevit glacialis Ierne.”(De Cons. Hon. iv. 31.)

14.

“Maduerunt Saxone fusoOrcades; incaluit Pictorum sanguine Thule;Scotorum cumulos flevit glacialis Ierne.”(De Cons. Hon. iv. 31.)

“Maduerunt Saxone fusoOrcades; incaluit Pictorum sanguine Thule;Scotorum cumulos flevit glacialis Ierne.”

“Maduerunt Saxone fuso

Orcades; incaluit Pictorum sanguine Thule;

Scotorum cumulos flevit glacialis Ierne.”

(De Cons. Hon. iv. 31.)

15.“Vita omnis in venationibus atque in studiis rei militaris consistit. Ab parvulis labori ac duritiæ student ... in fluminibus promiscue perluuntur et pellibus aut parvis rhenonum tegimentis utuntur magna corporis parte nuda” (Cæsar De Bello Gallico, vi. 21).

16.“Nec enim immensa barbarorum scuta, enormes hastas, inter truncos arborum et enata humo virgulta perinde haberi quam pila et gladios et hærentia corpori tegmina ... non loricam Germano, non galeam, ne scuta quidem ferro nervo ve firmata, sed viminum textus vel tenues fucatas colore tabulas, primatu utcunque aciem hastatam, cæteris præusta aut brevia tela” (Tacitus Annals, ii. 14).

17.“Nam super hac re varia opinio est, aliis arbitrantibus de Danis Northmannisque originem duxisse Saxones, aliis autem aestimantibus, ut ipse adolescentulus audivi quendam praedicantem de Graecis, quia ipsi dicerent, Saxone reliquias fuisse Macedonici exercitus qui secutus magnum Alexandrum inmatura morte ipsius per totum orbem sit dispersus” (Ann. lib. 1).

18.“Dani et Sueones, quos Northmannos vocamus, et Septentrionale litus et omnes in eo insulas tenent” (Vita Caroli Magni, c. 12; Eginhard, historian and friend of Charlemagne).

19.“Dani more quoque Francisco dicuntur nomine Manni.”

20.Völuspa is derived fromvölva,sybilandspá, foretelling. The namevölvaseems to be derived fromvölr(staff, stick), as we see that the sibyls or prophetesses used to walk from place to place with a stick.

21.Vafthrudnir.Vaf= weave, or entangle:thrudnir= strong, or mighty; hence Vafthrudnir = mighty in riddles which cannot be disentangled.

22.The awful = Odin.

23.The one who gives useful advice.

24.When the heart, which is near the ribs, is cold, the ribs are also cold; therefore this meanscold-hearted.

25.Fœda means both to give birth to, to raise, and to feed.

26.Ividi, a very obscure word (only found here in the whole Northern literature), which has been translated differently without any particle of authority in any case, and in each case only as a mere guess. The word vid means tree, perhaps the world-tree,Yggdrasil, which extended its roots under the world.

27.It is well known that the later Edda bears strong marks of the influence of Christianity, and we quote it with caution and only when it essentially agrees with Voluspa and other parts of the earlier Edda.

28.Vili, will;Ve, sanctuary, holy place. Cf. also ‘Lokasenna,’ 26; ‘Ynglinga,’ c. 3.

29.Gjöll (the sounding one).

30.Gjallar bridge (the bridge of Gjöll).

31.Modgud (the valkyrja of anger).

32.Nanna is told of in Baldr’s burning, as she, his wife, was burnt with him.

33.In Sigurdrifumal it is said the runes were in the holy mead, sent to Asar, Alfar, and Vanir.

34.Elivagar, the streams flowing from the well Hvergelmir in Niflheim froze into a Jötun.

35.i.e., a Jötun woman.

36.A kind of trough used for flour; so the boat is called in which he saved his life as is seen by what follows. In the lay of Hyndla we read:—“All Jötnar came from Ymir.”

36.A kind of trough used for flour; so the boat is called in which he saved his life as is seen by what follows. In the lay of Hyndla we read:—

“All Jötnar came from Ymir.”

37.Mundilfori, frommondul= a handle, andfara= to go; the one veering or turning round.

38.A Jötun.

39.Sun, in the north, is of feminine gender, and the moon masculine.

40.The rim of heaven = the line of the sky from the horizon.

41.The sun.

42.The moon.

43.Rökstól—stol, seat or stool;rök, judgment.

44.Wind-chilly.

45.Sweet mood.

46.Bloody surf means poetically the sea, and the expression, the bones of Blain, a name nowhere else mentioned in the earlier Edda, seems to refer to a fight, the record of which is lost to us.

47.Modsognir and Durin, only mentioned here, refer to some lost myth. There seem to have been three kinds of tribes of Dvergar, having for chiefs, respectively, Modsognir, Durin, Dvalin. “Manyman-likenessesin the earth,” namely Dvergar, who are often described as living under the earth.

48.The five stanzas (Nos. 11, 12, 13, 15, 16) omitted give a long list of names of Dvergar, among them those of Nyi, the growing moon; Nidi, the waning moon; Nordri, the north, &c.; Althjof, all-thief; Dvalin, the delayer, &c., &c.

49.The Dvergar clan of Dvalin, who is not mentioned before, seems to have been the highest among all the Dvergar.From Alvismal we may infer that the Dvergar were related to the Thursar.

49.The Dvergar clan of Dvalin, who is not mentioned before, seems to have been the highest among all the Dvergar.

From Alvismal we may infer that the Dvergar were related to the Thursar.

50.There seems to be something missing between the stanzas 16 and 17, unless the poet means the host of the Dvergar, who were under the three above-named chiefs.

51.It seems that the house in which Ask and Embla were to live was in existence already.Askmeans ash-tree, likeYggdrasil;Emblaonly occurs here in the Völuspa, and it is most difficult consequently to give a meaning to it; the elm-tree is calledalm, and perhaps is here meant to be in contrast to the ash.

52.Odin, Hœnir, and Lodur gave them life. Hœnir is mentioned in the later Edda. Lodur is only mentioned in the beginning of Heimskringla.

53.Jarnvid, or iron forest; the word is only found here and in the Later Edda. The old one means a Jötun woman, Angrboda, by whom Loki begat the Fenrir wolf (‘Later Edda,’ c. 34).

54.The son of Fenrir. According to the prose EddaMánagarmis the name of the son of the Fenrir wolf who swallowed the moon. See Gylfaginning, c. 12.

55.A third bird not named lives in the halls of Hel. They represent the Jötnar, the Asar, and the third Hel (the home of the dead), and seem to be the wakers of these three different realms.

56.The Asar, after taking Loki, bound him to a rock with fetters made of the entrails of his son, Vali (who must not be confused with his namesake, Baldr’s brother).“Now Loki was without any truce taken to a cave. They took three slabs, set them on edge, and made a hole in each. They took the sons of Loki, Vali and Nari or Narfi, and changed Vali into a wolf which tore Narfi asunder. Then they took his entrails and with them tied Loki over the three slabs; one was under his shoulders, another under his loins, the third under his knees, and these bands changed into iron. Then Skadi (a goddess) took a poisonous serpent and fastened it above him, so that the poison should drip into his face; but his wife Sigyn stands at his side, and holds a vessel under the poison-drops. When it is full she goes out to pour it down, but in the meanwhile the poison drips into his face; then he shudders so hard that the whole earth trembles; that you call earthquake. There he lies in bands till the doom of the gods” (Gylfaginning, c. 50).“Loki begat the wolfWith Angrboda,And SleipnirWith Svadilföri;One monster was thoughtMost terrible of all;It was sprung fromThe brother of Býleist (= Loki).”[Hyndluljód, 40]The Asar were afraid of Fenrir wolf, Loki’s son, and twice tried to chain it, but could not.“Thereupon they were afraid that they could not chain the wolf; then Allfödr (Odin) sent the servant Skírnir, the messenger ofFrey, down to Svartálfaheim (world of the black Álfar) to some Dvergar, and had a chain made, called Gleipnir. It was made of six things: Of the noise of the cat, of the beard of women, of the roots of the mountain, of the sinews of the bear, of the breath of the fish, of the spittle of the bird.”At last they succeeded in chaining it with the chain, but Týr lost his right hand, which he was obliged to put into the mouth of the wolf as a pledge.“When the Asar saw that the wolf was fully tied they took the band which hung on the chain and was called Gelgja, and drew it through a large slab, called Gjöll, and fastened the slab deep down in the ground. They took a large stone and put it still deeper into the ground; it was called Thviti, and they used it as a fastening pin. The wolf gaped terribly and shook itself violently, and wanted to bite them. They put into its mouth a sword; the guards touch the lower palate and the point the upper palate; that is its gag. It groans fiercely and saliva flows from its mouth and makes the river Von; there it lies till the last fight of the gods” (Later Edda, c. 34).

56.The Asar, after taking Loki, bound him to a rock with fetters made of the entrails of his son, Vali (who must not be confused with his namesake, Baldr’s brother).

“Now Loki was without any truce taken to a cave. They took three slabs, set them on edge, and made a hole in each. They took the sons of Loki, Vali and Nari or Narfi, and changed Vali into a wolf which tore Narfi asunder. Then they took his entrails and with them tied Loki over the three slabs; one was under his shoulders, another under his loins, the third under his knees, and these bands changed into iron. Then Skadi (a goddess) took a poisonous serpent and fastened it above him, so that the poison should drip into his face; but his wife Sigyn stands at his side, and holds a vessel under the poison-drops. When it is full she goes out to pour it down, but in the meanwhile the poison drips into his face; then he shudders so hard that the whole earth trembles; that you call earthquake. There he lies in bands till the doom of the gods” (Gylfaginning, c. 50).

“Loki begat the wolfWith Angrboda,And SleipnirWith Svadilföri;One monster was thoughtMost terrible of all;It was sprung fromThe brother of Býleist (= Loki).”[Hyndluljód, 40]

“Loki begat the wolfWith Angrboda,And SleipnirWith Svadilföri;One monster was thoughtMost terrible of all;It was sprung fromThe brother of Býleist (= Loki).”

“Loki begat the wolf

With Angrboda,

And Sleipnir

With Svadilföri;

One monster was thought

Most terrible of all;

It was sprung from

The brother of Býleist (= Loki).”

[Hyndluljód, 40]

The Asar were afraid of Fenrir wolf, Loki’s son, and twice tried to chain it, but could not.

“Thereupon they were afraid that they could not chain the wolf; then Allfödr (Odin) sent the servant Skírnir, the messenger ofFrey, down to Svartálfaheim (world of the black Álfar) to some Dvergar, and had a chain made, called Gleipnir. It was made of six things: Of the noise of the cat, of the beard of women, of the roots of the mountain, of the sinews of the bear, of the breath of the fish, of the spittle of the bird.”

At last they succeeded in chaining it with the chain, but Týr lost his right hand, which he was obliged to put into the mouth of the wolf as a pledge.

“When the Asar saw that the wolf was fully tied they took the band which hung on the chain and was called Gelgja, and drew it through a large slab, called Gjöll, and fastened the slab deep down in the ground. They took a large stone and put it still deeper into the ground; it was called Thviti, and they used it as a fastening pin. The wolf gaped terribly and shook itself violently, and wanted to bite them. They put into its mouth a sword; the guards touch the lower palate and the point the upper palate; that is its gag. It groans fiercely and saliva flows from its mouth and makes the river Von; there it lies till the last fight of the gods” (Later Edda, c. 34).

57.Dvergar.

58.Hrym. This name occurs nowhere else.

59.Jörmungand is the world serpent, Midgard’s serpent, the son of Loki.“Angrboda was a Jötun woman in Jötunheimar. Loki begat three children by her: Fenrir wolf, Jörmungand, or Midgardsorm, the serpent, and Hel. When the gods knew that these three children were brought up in Jötunheimar, they had foretellings that great misfortune and loss would be caused by them, and all thought much evil must be expected from them, first on account of their mother, and still more of their father. Allfödr (Odin) sent the gods to take and bring them to him. When they came to him he threw the serpent (Midgardsorm) into the deep sea that lies round all lands, and it grew so much that it lies in the middle of the sea round all lands and bites its tail” (Later Edda, c. 34).

59.Jörmungand is the world serpent, Midgard’s serpent, the son of Loki.

“Angrboda was a Jötun woman in Jötunheimar. Loki begat three children by her: Fenrir wolf, Jörmungand, or Midgardsorm, the serpent, and Hel. When the gods knew that these three children were brought up in Jötunheimar, they had foretellings that great misfortune and loss would be caused by them, and all thought much evil must be expected from them, first on account of their mother, and still more of their father. Allfödr (Odin) sent the gods to take and bring them to him. When they came to him he threw the serpent (Midgardsorm) into the deep sea that lies round all lands, and it grew so much that it lies in the middle of the sea round all lands and bites its tail” (Later Edda, c. 34).

60.“Naglfar.” The ship, said in the Later Edda, Gylfaginning 51, to be made of nails of dead men; when it is finished the end of the world comes.

61.Loki being the chief enemy of the gods.

62.The first sorrow is not mentioned. Hlin, a maid of Frigg (see Gylfaginning, 35). Her second sorrow is the death of Odin.

63.Slayer of Beli = Frey.

64.The wolf Fenrir.

65.Loki is the father of Fenrir-wolf, who is called the Jötun’s son, as Loki was a Jötun.

66.Odin’s son, Vidar, avenges his father by slaying the Fenrir-wolf.

67.Here the Völva again sees how everything is destroyed. Ragnarök, “the doom of the powers and the end of the world,” is mentioned in Lokasenna where Loki is taunting the gods; when he comes to Tyr, the latter answers him—I have no handAnd thou hast no praise;We are both badly off;Nor is the wolf wellThat in bands shallWait for Ragnarök.In Atlamal Ragnarök is also mentioned in the dreams of Glaumvor (see p.462). In the later Edda the word is corrupted by having an “r” added, which gives the meaning oftwilightinstead ofdoomof the gods, as it really meant.

I have no handAnd thou hast no praise;We are both badly off;Nor is the wolf wellThat in bands shallWait for Ragnarök.

I have no hand

And thou hast no praise;

We are both badly off;

Nor is the wolf well

That in bands shall

Wait for Ragnarök.

In Atlamal Ragnarök is also mentioned in the dreams of Glaumvor (see p.462). In the later Edda the word is corrupted by having an “r” added, which gives the meaning oftwilightinstead ofdoomof the gods, as it really meant.

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