The Prose Edda (17 page)
Authors: Snorri Sturluson
âKing Jormunrek had his son seized and led to the gallows. Randver grabbed hold of his hawk and plucked out its feathers, asking that it be sent to his father. Then Randver was hanged. When King Jormunrek saw the hawk, he realized that, like it, now featherless and unable to fly, his kingdom also was disabled as he was old and had no son.
âLater King Jormunrek was returning from a hunt with his retainers. Riding from the forest, he saw Queen Svanhild sitting outside, washing her hair. He and his men rode her down, trampling her to death under the feet of their horses.
âWhen Gudrun learned about this, she incited her sons to seek vengeance for Svanhild. As they prepared their trip, she gave them mail coats and helmets so strong that iron would not pierce them. Her advice to her sons was that when they reached King Jormunrek they should attack him at night while he slept. Sorli and Hamdir should cut off his arms and legs, and Erp the head. As they travelled, the brothers asked Erp what assistance they could expect from him, should they actually get to King Jormunrek. He answered that he would help them just as the hand helps the foot. They said that the foot was not supported at all by the hand.
âTheir mother had taunted the sons as they set out, and that made them so angry with her that they wanted to do whatever would hurt her the most. So they killed Erp, because she loved him the most. A little while later, as Sorli was walking, one of his legs slipped under him, and he supported himself with his hand. Then he said: “The hand now has helped the foot. It would have been better if Erp had lived!”
âIt was night when they reached King Jormunrek's sleeping quarters. He awoke as they struck off his hands and legs, and he called out to his men, commanding them to rise.
âThen Hamdir said: “The head would now have been off, if Erp had lived!”
âThe king's men rose and attacked the brothers, but they could not harm them with weapons. Finally Jormunrek called to his men, telling them to stone them. They did so and Sorli and Hamdir both fell. Now the house of Gjuki and all his descendants were dead.
âFrom his youth, Sigurd was survived by a daughter named Aslaug.
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She had been born at the home of Heimir in Hlymdales, and from her great families are descended.
âIt is said that Sigmund, the son of Volsung, was so tough that he could drink poison and not be harmed. Also that his
son Sinfjotli, as well as Sigurd,
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had skin so hard that poison caused them no harm even if it came on to their bare flesh.'
Frodi's Mill and His Peace
âWhy is gold called Frodi's flour?'
âThere is a tale about this: Skjold was a son of Odin, the one from whom the Skjoldungs are descended. He had a court and ruled over lands that are now called Denmark but were known at that time as Gotland. Skjold had a son named Fridleif, who ruled over lands after him. Fridleif's son was named Frodi, and he took the kingdom after his father in the period when Emperor Augustus was pacifying the whole world; this was when Christ was born. Because Frodi was the most powerful king in the northern countries, his name became connected with the peace which reigned throughout all the lands speaking the Danish tongue.
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The Norwegians called it Frodi's peace. No man harmed another, even if he came upon the killer of his father or of his brother, whether they were free or bondsmen. There were neither thieves nor robbers and for a long time a gold ring lay untouched on Jalangr's Heath.
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âKing Frodi went on a visit to Sweden as guest of the king named Fjolnir. He bought there two slavewomen. They were called Fenja and Menja and were huge and strong. At that time there were in Denmark two millstones so large that no one was strong enough to get them turning. The nature of these stones was that they ground out whatever the miller commanded to be ground. The mill was called Grotti, and Hang Jaw was the name of the one who gave the mill to King Frodi.
âKing Frodi had the slavewomen taken to the mill and commanded them to grind gold, peace and prosperity for Frodi. He gave them no more time to rest or to sleep than a cuckoo takes to remain silent or a person to sing a verse. It is said that then they chanted the lay called
Grotti's Song
. And before they had finished their singing, they ground out an army to oppose Frodi. That very same night the sea king named Mysing arrived there
and killed Frodi, taking much plunder. With that, Frodi's peace ended.
âMysing took Grotti and also Fenja and Menja away with him and told them to grind salt. Towards the middle of the night, they asked Mysing if he was not growing tired of salt. He told them to keep on grinding, but they continued for only a short time before the ship sank. From that time on there has been a whirlpool in the ocean where the sea flows down into the eye of the millstone. It was then that the sea became salty.'
Kraki's Seed and King Hrolf Kraki of Denmark
âWhy is gold called Kraki's seed?'
âThere was a king in Denmark named Hrolf Kraki. He was the most renowned of the old kings, chiefly because of his generosity, valour and humility. A mark of his humility, and one that is often repeated in stories, is that a little poor boy named Vogg came into King Hrolf's hall. At the time, the king was young and slender in build.
âVogg went before Hrolf and stared up at him. Then the king said: “What do you want to say, boy, since you are staring at me?”
âVogg replied: “When I was at home I heard it said that King Hrolf at Hleidra was the greatest man in the northern lands, but now there sits before me on the throne a thin pole
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[
kraki
] of a man; and you call him your king!”
âIn reply the king said, “You, boy, have given me a name. I shall be called Hrolf Kraki, and it is the custom that a gift shall accompany the name giving. I can see, however, that at this naming you have no gift for me which I would find acceptable. So the one who has will give to the other.” And he took a gold ring from his arm and gave it to the boy.
âThen Vogg said, “May your giving be blessed above all kings, and I swear an oath to be the death of the man who kills you.”
âThe king laughed as he replied, “It takes little to please Vogg.”
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âAnother story that illustrates King Hrolf's valour has to do with a king named Adils, who ruled over Uppsala
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and who was married to Yrsa,
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Hrolf Kraki's mother. Adils was at war with the king called Ali, who ruled Norway. They arranged to meet in battle on the ice of the lake named Vaeni, and King Adils sent a request to his stepson Hrolf Kraki to come to his assistance. He promised to pay Hrolf's whole army while it was away from home, and King Hrolf was to choose for himself three of Sweden's treasures. As King Hrolf was unable to undertake the trip because of his conflict with the Saxons, he sent to Adils his twelve berserkers. Bodvar Bjarki was among them, and so also was Hjalti the Courageous, Hvitserk the Bold, Vott, Veseti and the brothers Svipdag and Beigud. In that battle King Ali fell, along with a large part of his army. Then King Adils took the helmet called Battle Pig from Ali's dead body and the horse Raven.
âThen Hrolf Kraki's berserkers asked that each of them should be paid three pounds of gold for their services. Furthermore, they asked to take back to Hrolf Kraki the treasures that they would choose for him: the helmet Hildigolt [Battle Boar] and the mail shirt Finnsleif [Finn's Legacy], which weapons could not pierce, and the gold ring called Sviagris
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[the Swedes' Pig], which had been in the possession of Adils' ancient ancestors. But the king refused to give up any of these treasures, and he would not even pay them their wages.
âLittle pleased with their lot, the berserkers left. They reported the outcome to Hrolf Kraki, who immediately set out for Uppsala. After first guiding his ships up the river Fyri,
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Hrolf rode to Uppsala accompanied by his twelve berserkers, all of them without safe conduct. Hrolf's mother Yrsa welcomed him. She showed him to his lodgings, though not to the king's hall. Large fires were lit for them, and they were supplied with ale. Next, King Adils' men entered. They heaped logs on to the fires, making them burn so hot that the clothes were burned off King Hrolf and his men.
âAdils' men asked: “Is it true that Hrolf Kraki and his berserkers flee neither fire nor iron?”
âThen Hrolf Kraki and all his men jumped to their feet, and Hrolf answered: “Let's further increase the fires in Adils' house”, and, grabbing his shield, he threw it into the blaze. As the shield burned, he jumped over the flames and said, “He does not flee fire who leaps over it.” Now, each of his men, one after the other, did the same thing. And as they did so, they took hold of those who had been feeding the fire and threw them into the blaze.
âYrsa now arrived and gave Hrolf Kraki an animal's horn filled with gold, including the ring Sviagris. She advised them to ride back to their army, and they leapt on to their horses and rode down to the Fyri Plains. It was then that they saw King Adils riding after them. His army was with him, dressed for war and intending to kill. With his right hand, King Hrolf Kraki reached into the horn and, taking hold of the gold, he sowed it like seed all along the road. When the Swedes saw him doing that, they leapt from their saddles, each trying to grab as much gold as he could. King Adils commanded his men to continue riding, and he himself galloped as hard as he could. His horse, named Slungnir, was the fastest of mounts.
âWhen Hrolf Kraki saw King Adils coming up fast behind him, he took the ring Sviagris and threw it in front of Adils, inviting him to take it as a gift. King Adils rode up to where the ring lay and reached for it with his spear, letting the ring slide on to the blade all the way to the socket. Hrolf Kraki now looked back and, seeing Adils bent over, he said: “I made the most powerful of the Swedes grovel like a pig.” Then they parted.
âFrom this story, gold is called the seed of Kraki or the seed of the Fyri Plains.'
The Never-ending Battle
Battle is called the weather or the storm of the Hjadnings, and weapons are known as the fires or the wands of the Hjadnings. There is a story behind these names.
A king named Hogni had a daughter called Hild [Battle]. While King Hogni was away at a kings' assembly, King Hedin Hjarrandason abducted Hild, taking her as a prize of war. When Hogni heard that his kingdom had been raided and his daughter had been taken captive, he set out with his men to search for Hedin. He learned that Hedin had sailed north, following the coastline. But when King Hogni arrived in Norway, he heard that Hedin had sailed west over the sea.
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Hogni then sailed after him all the way to the Orkney Isles. When he reached the place called Haey [Hoy or High Island], Hedin was there, waiting with his men.
Then Hild went to meet her father. As a sign of reconciliation from Hedin, she offered him the gift of a necklace. She informed him that otherwise Hedin was prepared to fight, and, if he did, there would be no hope of his showing Hogni any mercy. Hogni's response to his daughter was harsh. When she returned to Hedin, she told him that Hogni did not want to reconcile and advised him to prepare for battle. Both sides now went to the island, the two sides drawing up in battle order. Hedin then called to Hogni, his father-in-law, offering to settle with him. He proposed to pay a large compensation in gold.
Hogni replied, âIt is too late for you to want to settle and make such an offer, because I have now drawn Dainsleif [Dain's Legacy] from its sheath. The dwarves made it and it must be the death of a man each time it is unsheathed. Its stroke never fails and its wounds do not heal.'
Then Hedin replied, âYou boast about your sword but not about victory. Still, I call good whatever serves its master well.'
The battle named the Fight of the Hjadnings then began, and they fought all through that day. At dusk the kings returned to their ships. But during the night Hild went to the slain, and through magic she awakened all those who were dead. On the
second day the kings went to the battlefield, as did all those who had fallen on the previous day. In this manner the battle continued day after day. All who fell were turned to stone, together with all the weapons and shields lying on the field. But at the dawn of the new day, all the dead men stood up and began to fight again, while all their weapons became like new.
It says in the poetry that in this way the Hjadnings await Ragnarok. Concerning this tale, the poet Bragi composed a passage in his formal poem about Ragnar Lodbrok [
Ragnarsdrapa
].
SKALDSKAPARMAL
Translated by Russell Poole
In addition to the myths and legends above,
Skaldskaparmal
contains many specific examples of kennings and other instructional information about the language of skaldic verse. These passages, of which the following is an appreciable sampling, teach, in a schoolmasterly tone, how to refer to the gods and goddesses as well as to people, places and things. At times the passages offer us otherwise unknown mythological, legendary and genealogical information. As with the Heimdall story, translated below, many of these passages are short and sketchy. Luckily a good number of the stories that are mentioned in this section are told more fully elsewhere in the
Edda
.
Then Ãgir said, âIn how many ways do you vary the diction in poetry, and how many types of poetry are there?'
Bragi replied, âAll poetry belongs to one or another of two types.'
Ãgir asked, âWhich two?'
Bragi said, âWe classify poetry according to diction and metre.'
