Icelandic Poetry/Song of Vafthrudnis

Layout 2

ARGUMENT.

This Ode describes a certain journey undertaken by Odin, under the name of Ganrade, to Vafthrudnis, a gigantic chief of the Jotunori or Jotori. The object in view was to discover which was the wisest.

THE

SONG

OF

VAFTHRUDNIS

ODIN.Valhalla’s Queen!^[1] I pray thee sayWhich to Vafthrudnis’ hall’s the way:For I with him intend to tryMy skill in ancient mystery.

FRIGGA.Do not leave thy native skies,Source of Heroes! I advise:For well I know no giant might,Ever witness’d in the fight,With his prowess can compare.

ODIN.Mysteries divine and rareI’ve often seen, I’ve often known,And now am bent to make my ownAll from mortals I can learn.

FRIGGA.Safe may’st thou go, and safe return,And, for each Goddess, may thy lifeBe safe from ev’ry mortal strife.Let prudence on thy steps attend,And wisdom with her shield defend:Thus doubly guarded, Chief! advanceThro’ fate’s elaborate mystic dance.

With light’ning speed the hero fled,Fearless of what the Goddess said,His secret purpose to fulfilOf finding out the giant’s skill.Strait to the spacious hall he prefs’d, By great Vafthrudnis long possess’d.There Ygger^[2] fees the chief of men!

ODIN.All hail Vafthrudnis! Odin then—Lo! to thy halls unknown I came,To learn and spread thy wond’rous fame:And first I pray thee, giant! tell,If sacred wisdom with thee dwell?

VAFTHRUDNIS.What mortal he who dares to come,Unbidden, to my awful domeTo hold discourse? For never moreShall he his homeward path explore;Unless he haply should exceed,What wisdom is to me decreed.

ODIN.Ganrade, great Giant! is my name;Late, thirsty, and fatigued, I cameTo thy dread halls; and long have stray’d,Seeking thy hospitable aid.

VAFTHRUDNIS.Wherefore, Ganrade! do you seekHere beneath Heaven’s cope to speak?Enter within my awful door,And there unfold thy hidden lore:For much in truth I wish to see,Which is the wisest, thee or me.

GANRADE.When to the presence of the great,A man draws near of humble state;Let him his tongue with wisdom guide,Or ignorance in silence hide:But, when an enemy is by,The wise will shun loquacity.

VAFTHRUDNIS.Mighty Ganrade! if you seekHere beneath heaven’s cope to speak,And prove your wisdom by discourse;What name distinguishes that horseWho o’er mankind, thro’ heaven’s high way,Drags the imperial car of day?

GANRADE.That horse who thro’ the heaven’s high way,Drags the imperial car of day,Skinfaxi’s^[3] call’d—’mong horses, heHas justly gain’d supremacy:Forever does his mane appear,Floating resplendent thro’ the air.

VAFTHRUDNIS.Tell, mighty Ganrade! if you seekHere beneath heaven’s cope to speak,What horse is that, who o’er the sightOf Gods, drags on the veil of night?

GANRADE.Hrimfaxi^[4] o’er the fightOf Gods, drags on the veil of night:From his iron bits distilEach morning dew on vale and hill.

VAFTHRUDNIS.Tell, mighty Ganrade! if you seekHere beneath heaven’s cope to speak;Among the sons of mortal birthWhat river parts the Gods and Earth?

GANRADE.Among the sons of mortal birthThe stream that parts the Gods and earth,Is Ifing^[5] call’d. Thro’ regions wideIt ever rolls its ample tide:Nor does the petrifying wind,Its waves in icy fetters bind.

VAFTHRUDNIS.Tell, mighty Ganrade! now the name,Borne by that wide-extended plain;Where, deck’d with many a shining car,Gods and great Surtur^[6] rush to war.

GANRADE.The plain, o’erspread with many a car,Where Gods and Surtur rush to war,Vigridi’s^[7] call’d; and each way roundA hundred miles extends its bound—Such does it meet the trav’ler’s eyes.

VAFTHRUDNIS.Truly, O Ganrad! thou art wise.Now to the giant’s inmost seatApproach, with not unworthy feet;And there in colloquy sublime,We’ll spend the yet remaining time.Stranger! in wisdom’s arduous strifeRisk gloriously the loss of life.

GANRADE.Vafthrudnis! tell, since thou art wise,And sacred truth thy speech supplies; Whence, of old^[8], the spacious earth,And out-stretch’d heavens, had their birth?

VAFTHRUDNIS.O Ganrade, hear! the spacious earthFrom flesh of Ymer^[9] took its birth: The craggy rocks and scatter’d stones,Had for their origin his bones:The skies expanded from his brains,And ocean issu’d from his veins.

GANRADE.Vafthrudnis! say, since thou art wise,And sacred truth thy speech supplies;Whence shines the Moon with gilded horn?And whence the sun illumes the morn?

VAFTHRUDNIS.He from whom the Moon first sprung,And Sun his annual course begun, Is Mundilförer^[10]—these aroundThe balanc’d earth in depths profound,Travel each day with silent pace,And mark the seasons in their race.

GANRADE.Vafthrudnis! say, since thou art wise,And sacred truth thy speech supplies;Whence day o’er men its glory spreads,And night with shades involves their heads?

VAFTHRUDNIS.Dellinger^[11] o’er the trav’lers way,Shines gentle harbinger of day; But sullen Night with raven wing,Did first from fatal Nörver^[12] spring.The Deities benign ordainThe silver Moon to wax and wane;And shed her renovated light,In monthly wheel, on human fight.

GANRADE.Vafthrudnis! tell, since thou art wife,And sacred truth thy speech supplies;Whence at the first came winter’s snow,And whence the summer’s sultry glow;Spreading their influence thro' the skies,Over the sage divinities?

VAFTHRUDNIS.Vindsualer^[13] first bade snow arise:Suasuder^[14] fires the summer skies:These two shall hold alternate reign,Long as the Gods their faith maintain.

GANRADE.This fifth thing tell, since thou art wise,And sacred truth thy speech supplies;Who, eldest in the Asori clime,Issued at the birth of time?And who ’mong Ymer’s progeny?

VAFTHRUDNIS.When wintry storms o’erspread the sky,E’er yet from ocean rose the earth, Great Bergelmer^[15] had his birth:Thrudgelmer^[16] was his father’s name—He from great Aurgelmer^[17] came.

GANRADE.This sixth thing tell, since thou art wise,And sacred truth thy speech supplies;Whence, number’d ’mongst the Jötni sons,Of eldest birth Aurgelmer comes?

VAFTHRUDNIS.From eastern Elivagi^[18] strands,Black drops of venom dy’d the lands; Strait from the widely moist’ned earthA teeming giant took his birth.But quickly^[19] sparks of fire flewFrom southern climes—a wonder new—And gave to winter's driving sleetThe animating power of heat.

GANRADE.

This seventh thing tell, since thou art wise,And sacred truth thy speech supplies;How from that hoary-headed manA race of giants first began;Since wives of gigantean raceHad never felt his fierce embrace?

VAFTHRUDNIS.O Ganrade! hear—a maid and sonFrom under his wide pinions sprung;His feet, as ancient legends say,Next their genial power display,And forth a second issue^[20] came,Rejoicing in their parent's fame.

GANRADE.This eighth thing tell, since thou art wise,And sacred truth thy speech supplies;What new born objects round thine eye Arose at thy nativity?For Giant! thou canst wisdom boast.

VAFTHRUDNIS.Far back on times remotest coast^[21],Before the Gods had form’d the earth,Great Bergelmer had his birth:—This I remember—He was wise,And guarded by fond Deities;Who safe embark'd him on the tide,And bade him safe the tempest ride.

GANRADE.This ninth thing tell, since thou art wise,And sacred truth thy speech supplies;Whence come the winds that o'er the deep,On their unseen pinion sweep ?

VAFTHRUDNIS.Where the heavens remotest bound,With darkness is encircled round;There Hræsvelger^[22] sits and swingsThe tempest from his eagle wings,

GANRADE.Begin, for Sage! thou knowest well,The origin of Gods to tell:— Page:Icelandic Poetry or the Edda of Sæmund (1797).pdf/71 Page:Icelandic Poetry or the Edda of Sæmund (1797).pdf/72 Page:Icelandic Poetry or the Edda of Sæmund (1797).pdf/73 Page:Icelandic Poetry or the Edda of Sæmund (1797).pdf/74 Page:Icelandic Poetry or the Edda of Sæmund (1797).pdf/75 Page:Icelandic Poetry or the Edda of Sæmund (1797).pdf/76 Page:Icelandic Poetry or the Edda of Sæmund (1797).pdf/77 Page:Icelandic Poetry or the Edda of Sæmund (1797).pdf/78 Page:Icelandic Poetry or the Edda of Sæmund (1797).pdf/79 Page:Icelandic Poetry or the Edda of Sæmund (1797).pdf/80 Page:Icelandic Poetry or the Edda of Sæmund (1797).pdf/81 Page:Icelandic Poetry or the Edda of Sæmund (1797).pdf/82 Page:Icelandic Poetry or the Edda of Sæmund (1797).pdf/83 Page:Icelandic Poetry or the Edda of Sæmund (1797).pdf/84 When to his son he whisp’ring stood,Ere the boy clim’d the fatal wood.

VAFTHRUDNIS.None know since time its race hath runWhat Odin whisper’d to his son.The fate of Gods and mystic loreWith thee no longer I explore.Thou, by the hand of knowledge led,The fatal stroke of death hast fled:And since thy wisdom I have try’d,Hear Vafthrudnis thus decide—In mysteries of every kind,Thou art the wisest of mankind.

1. “Valhalla’s Queen.”—Frigga, the Wife of Odin.
2. Ygger, one of the names of Odin, signifying suspicious or careful.
3. Skinfaxi, Aurora, which the Greeks called φοσφορος and the Latins Lucifer, having a white horse easy to be mounted. This description does not differ much from that of Varro, “Jubar dicitur stella Lucifer, quæ in summo habet diffusum lumen, ut Leo in capite jubam.”
4. Hrimfaxi, by which is understood Hesperus.
5. Ifing. This seems to be an allegorical river signifying discord and perpetual enmity, which separates bad men from the seats of the blest and the Gods. Its literal meaning is anger.
6. Surtur, the adverfary of Odin, who dwells at the antartic pole.
7. Vigridi, a fabulous place, the theatre of contention between the Gods and their opposers.
8. “Whence of old”—To understand this and the following verses, it is necessary to observe, that according to the Northern Mythology, Nifleil was created long before the earth; in the centre of which rose a fountain called Hvergelmer. Its effluvia produced many rivers near the boundaries of Hell, called in the Icelandic language, Suöl, Guntra, Fimbul, Thul, Slidr, Hridr, Ylgr, Sylgr, Wid, Leyptr, Giöll: which signify, according to the order in which they stand, Misery, Hope deferred, Habitation of Death, Swift perdition, Scabbard, Cruel storm, Whirlpool, Wailing and gnashing of teeth, and Widely flowing. The first world created in the southern regions was called Muspell—it was bright and hot, and for that reason was intolerable to all strangers, and none but its native inhabitants could reside there. In the confines of this world dwelt Surtur. In these parts were certain rivers called Elivagi, which, when they had proceeded so far from their source, that the poison with which they were replete could harden, their waters were converted into ice, bearing all the fantastic forms of dross and ore in a refiner’s furnace. Thence arose a poisonous exhalation which spread around like a hoar frost, and was continually increasing in the great void called Ginnungagap. This place looked toward the north, and appeared without like an immense structure of snow and ice; but within was filled with clouds and air. The southern part of this region was melted by sparks of fire which flew from Muspellsheim. For from Niflheim proceeded cold, and from Muspellsheim light and heat. Eternal serenity reigned in Ginnungagap. When warm gales approached this place, the ice began to flow with living drops. From these Ymer was created, whom the Hrimthussi called Aurgelmer. Ymer was not esteemed a God, because he and his whole posterity were evil. It is related of him, that sleeping, he emitted sweat from under his left wing, from whence Man and Woman were formed. Hence arose the race of the Hrimthussi, of whom Ymer was the first. From dissolved Ice was also formed the first Cow, called Andumbla. From her udder flowed four milky rivers, by which Ymer was nourished. But Odin, Vile, and Ve—the sons of Böre, killed Ymer, and carried him into the middle of Ginnungagap. Here from his flesh they created the earth; the sea and rivers from his blood; mountains from his bones; rocks and stones from his broken bones and teeth; herbs from his hair; heaven from his skull; the habitable earth from his eye-brows; and at last the clouds from his brains. In this account, confused and allegorical as it may seem, is contained the history of the creation; not so, however, but that many other things are interspersed which relate to after times. Thus the story of Bergelmer relates to the Deluge. What things were believed by the northern nations to have existed before the coming of Odin, may be summed up in a few articles.

   1. Matter did not exist from eternity.

   2. But because it once existed, it was necessary there should be some first cause. That was esteemed the most perfect of beings and creator of all things.

   3. This wise Being first created Nifleim, the place of storms, or Chaos: whence originated matter.

   4. This place being formed, he divided it into regions. The immense void contained within the sides separating it from the abyss, was called Ginnungagap: there the air was most pure, producing heat in one place and cold in another.

   5. Then the Creator made the turbid waters of the Elivagi rivers to flow between the spaces of heat and cold.

   6. From materials taken from this river, equally subject to the operation of heat and cold, he formed a mass and endued it with a living principle. This first formation was called Ymer, to whom was attributed a human appearance. He was supposed to be the μικροκοσμον of those elements from which the world was formed.

   7. From the same materials the world, man, and all living things were created; those particles being selected for each which were most particularly suited to its nature.

   ---

   ---

   It may be observed that there seem to be three divine persons which exceed all others. And because it is difficult to conceive of an operative being without ascribing to him locality, shape, and name: these powers were called Odin, Vile, and Ve; and to these was attributed the creation of all things. This seems to have been their origin—In former days there had been heroes and great rulers, who were supposed to possess a divine principle for the many benefits they had conferred on their subjects; by them they were ranked among the inferior Gods. But in after times, since

   Omnia post obitum fingat majora vetustas,
   

   their origin became fabulous, and they were raised to a superior class of Gods. This therefore will account for our finding Odin sometimes called the father of Gods and Men: and creator of all things. And again, seeing him described as originating from matter, and about to be devoured by the wolf. Moshem has made the same observation concerning Jupiter, who is often called by Homer and Hesiod,

   And —Πατηρ ανδρων τε Θεων τεAnd —μεγιςος Θεων αειγενεταων.
   
9. Ymer, the ruler of the Elements.
10. Mundilförer, the axis of the earth remaining fixed while the sun and stars revolved round. Thus, Aratus,
    Οι μεν ομως πολεες τε χαι αλλαδις αλλοι εοντες
    Ουρανω ελϰονϑα ͵παντʹ ηματα συνεχες αιει
    Αυταρ ογʹ ὅδ ολιγον μετανισσεται αλλα μαλ αυτως
    Αξον αιεν αρηρεν. εχει δʹ αδαλαντον απανη
    Μεσσηγυς γαιαν.
    
11. Dellinger, the Father of Day or Twilight.
12. Nörver—The Father of Night, like itself gloomy and black. Nott or Night married Dellinger, and had a son whose name was Dager or Day. Παντοπατηρ took notice of Nott and Dager, and gave to each a horse and chariot.
13. Vindsualer—The Father of Winter.
14. Suasuder—The Father of Summer.
15. Bergelmer—Noah, from Berg, a mountain, and Gemler, an old man.
16. Thrudgelmer—Lamech.
17. Aurgelmer—Adam.
18. Elivagi.—The streams of the Volga are here supposed to be meant. In this and the following verses the poet explains in a confused manner, the Creation of Man. First, he hints at the materials of creation: then at the creation of man: and thirdly, at the antediluvian world, the wickedness of which occasioned the destruction of the Jötni by a deluge.
19. “But quickly.”—The writer of the Voluspa thus describes the phenomenon of creation—In the day-spring of ages, says he, there was neither sea nor shore, nor refreshing breezes. The whole was only one vast abyss, without herb and without seed. The Sun had then no palace: the Moon was ignorant of her power. Towards the south there was a luminous and burning world: from this world flowed out incessantly into the Abyss that laid towards the north torrents of sparkling fire; which, in proportion as they removed far away from their source, congealed as they fell into the Abyss, and so filled it with scum and ice. A warm breath coming from the south, melted the vapours arising from this chaos, and formed of them living drops; whence was born the giant Ymer or Aurgelmer. It is reported that whilst he slept, an extraordinary sweat under his arm-pits produced a male and female; whence sprung the race of the giants; a race evil and corrupt as well as their author.
20. “A second issue,” which took place in a different manner to what the former creation did. This mode of generation among the Gods, is thus explained by Vossius: "In natura attendentes vim activam et passivam, eam et marem et fœminam dixere; marem illud, quod vim in alia exserit; fæminam, quæ vim alienam recipit, et quasi fœcundatur.”

    Orpheus, in his Hymn to Nature, has a similar idea.

    Παντων μεν Πατηρ, μητηρ, τροφος, ηδε τιθηνος
    

    There was a creation also originating from the Cow Andumbla, called the family of Bor, so named from the first of that family, who was the Father of Odin. The sons of Bor slew the giant Ymer, and the blood ran from his wounds in such abundance, that it caused a general inundation, wherein perished all the giants, except one, who saving himself in a bark, escaped with all his family. Then a new world was formed. The sons of Bor, or the Gods, dragged the body of the giant into the Abyss, and of it made the earth, in the way before described. They created four dwarfs to support the heavens, called North, East, West, and South. They fixed tapers in the heavens, and assigned to other fires certain spaces which they were to run through, some of them in heaven, others under the heaven: the days were distinguished, and the years numbered. They made the earth round, and surrounded it with the deep ocean, upon the banks of which they placed the giants. One day as the sons of Bor were taking a walk, they found two pieces of wood floating upon the water; these they took, and out of them formed a man and woman. The eldest of the Gods gave them life and fouls; the second motion and knowledge; the third the gift of speech, hearing and sight, to which he added beauty and raiment. From this man and this woman, named Askus and Embla, is descended the race of men who are permitted to inhabit the earth.

21. Remotest coast, the antartic pole.
22. Hræsvelger, the name of an Eagle derived from Hræ, a dead body, and Svelger, a glutton. Such a person has seldom a very fastidious taste so the wind renders all places clear and wholesome, by carrying away noxious vapours;—Loca venenosa nisi ventosa.