NOTES AND ELUCIDATIONS.
William Edward Frye translation
NOTES TO THE FIRST CANTO.
Specimen of the metre in the original.
Et Sagn fuld vaerd at höre Med gamle Runer staaer; Laaner mig Eders Oere! Mens jeg Guldharpen slaaer. Hvad i de mörke Skrifter Er sat med sindrig Hu Om Asernes Bedrifter, Det vil jeg tolke nu.
The eight first Cantos, in the original, are written in the same metre. In my translation, as will be seen, I have indulged in greater variety.
NOTES TO THE SECOND CANTO.
Specimen of the metre in the original.
Com Thor med vaagent Oere Ru tröstig sad i̱ Mag, Da fik han snart at höre Et svart og vaeldigt Brag, etc.
NOTES TO THE THIRD CANTO.
Specimen of the metre in the original.
En Saga fast utroli̱g Jeg nu kundgi̱öre maa; Mod Utgards fierne Boli̱g Vilde de Kaemper gaae.
NOTES TO THE FOURTH CANTO.
Specimen of the original.
Da laa ret for hans Oeje Den store Utgardstad; Det kunde vel fornöie, Han blev i Hu saa glad.
For this Canto, I have adopted a metre something similar to that used in Bürger’s Leonora.
NOTES TO THE FIFTH CANTO.
Specimen of the original.
Da ved de brede Borde De Kaemper rundt nu sad, Tog Loke snilt ti̱l Orde, Den muntre Usa glad, etc.
NOTES TO THE SIXTH CANTO.
Specimen of the original.
Da nu den Helt hi̱n svare Midt udi Marken stod, Alt under Himlen klare, Med Blomster ved sin Fod, etc.
The Author has adhered closely to the prosaic Edda in his narration of Thor’s adventure in Utgard.
With respect to the two Loks, and the difference between them, it is not a little curious to find that in the gospel of Nicodemus (one of those rejected by the council of Nice, chap. xx, verses 2 and following), Satan and the prince of hell are described as two distinct persons; and when Satan informs the latter, that he has achieved for him a great conquest, by bringing captive to his realm no less a personage than Jesus Christ, the prince of hell, instead of thanking Satan for that service, loads him with reproaches for his unpardonable thoughtlessness, in bringing into his dominions a person by whom he (the prince of hell) had sustained a serious detriment, in the loss of sundry souls, whom Jesus Christ, in escaping from hell, had carried off with him, and who, but for that visit, would still have remained there.
It is singular that this comparison should have escaped the notice, not only of Finn Magnussen, but that of all the other commentators of the Edda, when discussing the subject of the two Loks. I stumbled by mere chance three years ago on a copy of the apocryphal New Testament in German, and on reading the chapter above quoted, the idea of this analogy immediately and forcibly struck me.
NOTES TO THE SEVENTH CANTO.
Specimen of the original.
Thor monne sig omgiorde, Og kasted vidt sit Blik; De rige, fede Hiorde Saa stadigt rundt ham gik.
NOTES TO THE EIGHTH CANTO.
Specimen of the original.
Gud Thor, den Understaerke, Var ti̱t i̱ Hu saa gram; Han lod sig i̱ntet maerke, Dog tyktes det ham Skam, At Jetter ham turde giaekke, etc.
By way of variety, I have adopted a trochaic metre for my translation of this Canto.
NOTES TO THE NINTH CANTO.
Specimen of the original.
Ormen laa paa salten Bund i̱ Havet, Straengt i Dybets Faengsel avet, Bag Steenplanterne begravet. Over ham flöd fri og dristig Hvalen, Men i mörke Bölgedalen Beed han slugen sig i Halen, etc.
and so on in tercets. I have preferred the heroic couplet for my translation.
NOTES TO THE TENTH CANTO.
Specimen of the original.
I Valaskialf sad Loke laenge, Han kieded sig, lod Hovdet haenge, Ei Valhals Glaeder meer ham smage. Man seer ham selv Saehrimner vrage; Han bittert leer og spotter Guder;
and so on in tercets and couplets. I have adopted a free but rhymed metre for my translation.
NOTES TO THE ELEVENTH CANTO.
Specimen of the original.
Tilgiv tvungne Trael af Elskov! At han dig atter Astsael finder: Bil du ei̱ vorde Billiens Frister, Bri̱nge du Brand i Blodet aldrig.
I have given two translations of this Canto, one of which is an attempt to imitate the metre of the original, in which Œhlenschläger has successfully imitated the alliterative metre of the Icelandic poetry.
NOTES TO THE TWELFTH CANTO.
Specimen of the original.
Han sad i Hallen og taenkte derpaa, Hans Haevn ham glaedte saa saare: Naar Sif sig nu speiler i blanken Aa, Da faelder hun modige Taare.
I have adopted a similar metre to the original in my translation of this Canto, but with greater prodigality of rhyme, the middle rhymes being only used by the author in the nine last stanzas.
NOTES TO THE THIRTEENTH CANTO.
Specimen of the original.
As-Odin ud med Hænir drog, Og med Loke, den Svend i Ophav staerk; De Menneskeskikkelser dem paatog. (Vil du kiaende di̱n Mand, pröv selv hans Vaerk.) Af at sidde paa Stol i Hlidskialfs Slot Var Odin traet, den opmaerksomme Drot; Som Vandringsmand, i Skyggernes Löv Han aander, og föler selv sig Stöv, etc.
In my translation of this Canto, I have adopted as a metre a stanza of eight lines, generally of ten syllables each, but admitting occasionally lines of eight or twelve syllables; the arrangement of the rhymes is varied. It is in fact exactly the same metre as that adopted by Schiller, in his translation of the second and fourth Books of the Æneid, and by Wieland, in his poem of Idris and Zenide.
NOTES TO THE FOURTEENTH CANTO.
Specimen of the original.
Som Vinden blaeser hen den lette Sky, Saa svinder hver Bedrift i Evigheden; Sen Bölge sank, een reiser sig paa ny, Og Kampen leger leflende med Freden; Snart blinke Svaerd, snart ruste de i Skeden. Hvad er det alt? Et flygtigt Giöglemöde, En Sommerfugl, som parred sig—og döde.
I much wished to adopt, as a metre for the translation of this Canto, the Spenserian stanza, but I found it too difficult. I therefore adopted a metre of my own invention, viz., a stanza of nine lines, eight of which have ten syllables, and the ninth, which rhymes with the sixth and eighth, has twelve. The arrangement of the rhyme is regular throughout, and it appears to me that this metre has something of the march and harmony of the Spenserian stanza.
NOTES TO THE FIFTEENTH CANTO.
Specimen of the original.
Da de höje Valhals Guder Blomstred end i Oestens Land, Fiernt i Asien paa Bierget, Naer det skiönne Ginistan: For de hid til Norden droge, Mod den kolde Klippeblok, Hvor de sloge Jetters Haer og Dvaerges Flok.
The metre I have adopted for my translation of this Canto is of my own invention; it may be thought fantastic, but in its trochaic form it has something of the march of the original. I leave the first, third, and fifth line unrhymed, with a double close.
It seems to me that the appellation Goth was not known in Scandinavia previous to the invasion of the Asar, and that these last assumed the name of Goths (good and brave men), when they introduced their religion into that country. This idea leads me also to surmise, that as long as the Asar remained in Asia, the name Hrimthusser (frost-giant), and not Jetter or Jotun, was applied to the evil spirits of their mythology; and that it was not until after their grand immigration into Scandinavia, under the command of the historical Odin, that the term Jetter or Jotun (which was the national appellation of the aborigines of Scandinavia) was, in consequence of the long and bitter wars between the Asar and Jetter, and of the national hatred arising therefrom, applied by the Asar to those malevolent spirits, who, as they supposed, assisted their enemies, the Jetter. The self-love of all nations leads them to assume, that they are the favourites of the good gods, and that the evil spirits are the abettors, instigators, and coadjutors of their enemies; and even in our time, as has been wittily remarked by Washington Irving, a number of the good sort of people in England, during the war against revolutionary France, thought that somehow or other God Almighty was on the side of the English government. As a further confirmation of my conjecture that the word Goth was unknown to the Scandinavian peninsula, until introduced there by the Asar, I cite the following passage from a Saga, written in the Icelandic or ancient Scandinavian tongue:
En dha voru dhessi lönd er Asia menn bygdu köllud Godlönd, en fólkid Godjod. Odin ok hans synir voru slórum vitrir ok fjölkunnigir, fagrir at álitum, og sterkir át afli. Margir adrir i dheirra ætt voru miklir afburdbarmenn, medh ymisligum algerleik, og nokkura af dheim tóku menn til at blóta og trúa á, ok kölludhu godh sin.
Translated thus:
Then this land, which Asia’s people took possession of, was called Godland, and the people Godjod. Odin and his sons were very wise and skilled in many things, fair in aspect, and strong limbed. Many of their race were men of great strength and of divers perfections, and the people began to worship some of them, and call them their gods.
NOTES TO THE SIXTEENTH CANTO.
Specimen of the metre.
Mens Ydun var i̱ Faengsel, stod Valhal som en Grav, En frugtbar Oee var opslugt af baelmörken Hav I Borgens öde Haller hver Gud sad i sin Vraa, Og som en Marmelstötte sti̱vt hen for sig saae.
The metre I have adopted for the translation of this Canto is somewhat more regular than that of the original: mine is in lines of thirteen syllables each: a slight pause after the seventh syllable will give the rhythm required.
NOTES TO THE SEVENTEENTH CANTO.
Specimen of the metre.
Dybt udi Fieldehallen et Kammer blev han vaer; En deilig Mö han öined paa Bolstrene, klar: I söden Sövn hun slumred med stille Pigesind, Og Morgenröden blomstred paa hendes Liliekind.
In my translation of this and of the two next Cantos, I have adopted, as a metre, the line of fourteen syllables.
NOTES TO THE EIGHTEENTH CANTO.
Specimen of the metre.
Da ilte dem imöde Freiers gode Skosvend, Vel Skirnir man ham naevner. Nu er hun her igien, Til Guderne han raabte, da han dem kunde see, Nu Ydun er i Valhal: endt er nu Asernes Vee!
The nature and attributes of all the gods and goddesses seated at the banquet of Valhalla, are so fully detailed in the text, that notes to this Canto are almost superfluous.
NOTES TO THE NINETEENTH CANTO.
Specimen of the metre.
Fra Valaskialf gik Odin nu i den naeste Hal; Der vented ham Einheriar, de stod i tusindtal: Syn, den gode Vogterske, vidt aabned Portens Flöi̱, Da traadte mellem Kaemper Odin den Herre saa höi.
NOTES TO THE TWENTIETH CANTO.
Specimen of the metre.
Da Asaskokke I taette Flokke Fra Oesten rede, Med Svaerd af Skede, etc.
I have chosen the octosyllabic couplet for my translation.
The mythologic formation of the island of Sealand (of which Copenhagen is the present capital), and which forms the subject of this Canto, is thus given in the poetic Edda:
“Gladly drew Gefion From the powerful Gyllfe Denmark’s annexation, So that it smoked after the springing oxen. Four heads and eight eyes Had the oxen, who drew The piece of earth after them, To form the favourite island.”
NOTES TO THE TWENTY-FIRST CANTO.
In the original, this Canto is written in the classic hexameter, which seems to suit wonderfully well the Danish and Swedish languages.
Specimen of the metre.
Men da Maane bag Field var flygtet, haeftig forfulgt af Maanegarm, den bevingede Trold, som stedse den aengster, Meest usynlig for Menneskers Bli̱k, dog stundum i Regnsky Synlig som Ulv, naar i Dunsterne brun han viser sit Hoved.
I have given my translation in the ten syllabled heroic couplet.
NOTES TO THE TWENTY-SECOND CANTO.
Specimen of the metre.
Du Ungersvend, som sukker taus med blegen Ki̱nd, Fordi ei Freya signer di̱t Bryst, Fordi du ei kan böi̱e stolten Piges Si̱nd, etc.
In stanzas of eight lines.
In my translation I have adopted the ottava rima.
NOTES TO THE TWENTY-THIRD CANTO.
Specimen of the metre.
Nu i̱lte Ski̱rnir, hvad han kunde, Ned ad den ski̱önne Regnbuerand, Hen over Jordens dunkle Lunde, Da kom han til Troldkaemveland. Det var som Vinden, Vei̱en over: Den i̱ngen Bom kan byde Stöv; Det var som Blaest paa Havets Vover, Der kruser Bölgens sorte Top.
In the metre I have adopted for this Canto, I have introduced occasionally anapests, for the sake of greater variety.
In this Canto the poet has diverged considerably from either Edda, and has boldly and felicitously sketched a plan of his own, into which, however, he has interwoven ideas taken from three different Cantos of the poetic Edda: viz Harbard’s song; Alvismal (discourse of Alvis); Skirnisfor (journey of Skirnir). In the first, Harbard’s song, it is Thor, and not Skirnir, who enters into a dialogue with Harbard, whom he meets at the fiord. In the second, Alvismal, the subject of the Canto is a dialogue between Thor and the dwarf Alvis (all-wise), wherein the latter makes a pompous display of his learning, by giving definitions and synonymes of earth, heaven, wind, fire, nearly in the same manner that Skirnir does in this Canto. In the third, Skirnir’s journey, wherein Skirnir is sent by Frey to propose marriage to Gerda, are mentioned the ferocious dogs which guard the dwelling of giant Gymer, the father of Gerda.
NOTES TO THE TWENTY-FOURTH CANTO.
This Canto in the original is written in the classic hexameter.
Specimen.
Da nu Skirni̱r blev vaer den ovladtsölverne Laage, Hvor med kulsort Glands ham en Broes glatdannede Steenkul Veien viste; da gik han derind; og brat han befandt sig Atter i fri Luft. Himlen var blaa med utallige Stierner, etc.
I have chosen for my translation our heroic couplet.
In this Canto the poet has diverged considerably from the chapter in the poetic Edda, called the Skirnisfor, which treats of the same subject. In Œhlenschläger’s poem, as has been seen, Skirnir makes use of the most gentle and insinuating means of persuasion to induce Gerda to give ear to his proposal; and the stratagem of Frey’s likeness conveyed from the brook into Gerda’s basin is entirely the poet’s own concetto, and it is, I think, a very ingenious one: whereas, in the Edda, Skirnir makes use of the most terrible threats and sinister predictions, in order to force Gerda to accede to his master’s wishes; and at length he succeeds in terrifying her into submission: among other threats, which are not of the most decent nature, he tells her that she shall either be wedded to a frightful three-headed Goblin of the Hrimthussar race, or pine a maid, tormented with the most violent desires, which cannot be gratified.
NOTE TO THE TWENTY-FIFTH CANTO.
In the original, the metre of this Canto is written in imitation of one much used in the ancient Danish ballads, which, admitting a refrain that seems to have little or no connection with the substance of the ballad, continue it in every stanza throughout the piece. Here are three different refrains used in succession throughout the whole Canto, except in the two last stanzas.
Specimen.
Da Skirnir vaagned i naeste Gry, (Solstraalen i Skyen sig bader) Da stod med Venlighed ved hans Ly Biergtrolden i̱ Pandserplader. Som Guldbrandsdölen saa staerk og lang (De Fugle quiddre paa Grene) I Haanden bar han en sortbraendt Stang, Dog stod han der ei allene. Ham fulgte trolig den Datter huld; (Dugdraaben glindser paa Blommen) Som Ranken omslynger den runkne Bul, Hun var med Faderen kommen. Et Baeger hun ind for Guden bar, (Solstraalen i Skyen sig bader), etc.
I have followed exactly the same plan in my translation.
NOTE TO THE TWENTY-SIXTH CANTO.
This Canto in the original is written in the octosyllabic couplet. I have adopted the same metre for the translation.
Specimen of the metre.
Nu blev der Fryd i Valhals Gaard I fine Vadmel, blöde Maar, Den skiönne Bi̱ergets Pige foer Fra Fieldet og fra grönnen Jord. Ad Bifrost drog den unge Brud, I Luften liig, et Sti̱erneskud.
NOTES TO THE TWENTY-SEVENTH CANTO.
Specimen of the metre in the original.
I haveṯ stander Oeen; Nu Hlesen kun er liden, Thi Bölgerne med Ti̱den Har plöieṯ den i̱ Söen; Men stor i Oldti̱ds Dage Den knei̱sed höi̱ og brat, Og ṯrodsed Nordens Drage, Deṯ sorṯe Kaṯṯegaṯ.
The subject of this Canto is taken from the celebrated chapter in the poetic Edda, called “Ægir’s feast” or “Lok’s scurrility,” to account for the origin, object and meaning of which, has puzzled all the commentators of the Edda. The most simple éclaircissement thereof seems to be that of Finn Magnussen, who thinks that the author of it may have been a sort of Scandinavian Lucian, who wished to throw a sly ridicule on the gods of his country. Œhlenschläger has varied, augmented, and embellished the subject with imagery and embroidery of his own, and has omitted certain parts of somewhat too obscene a nature.
NOTES TO THE TWENTY-EIGHTH CANTO.
The metre in the original is in couplets as follows:
Hen Loke flöd i Havet, som Orm, sli̱meṯ blaa, Alle de faele Syner han klart paa Dybeṯ saae. Han strakte sig med Angest, han bugṯed sig med Iil. Paa Kysten fulgte Bonden med Oei̱et ham en Mi̱i̱l.
The metre I have adopted for the translation of this Canto is the couplet of lines of fourteen syllables occasionally interspersed with couplets of thirteen syllables. In reading the latter, a pause should be made after the seventh syllable. This metre resembles that of the original, and has much of its prosaic and familiar march. This Canto and the next are based on the chapter of the poetic Edda, called Thrymsqvida.
NOTES TO THE TWENTY-NINTH CANTO.
Specimen of the metre in the original.
Ru Asaṯhor Med Loke foer Paa Gyldenkarm Ti̱l Fieldets Sṯeen; Og Loke sad I Hierṯeṯ glad Ved Gudens Harm, Ti̱l Jeṯṯers Meen.
Saa reiste de frem medens Klippen skialv, Med en gabende Klöfṯ Steenbierget sprak, Og den Hnle saa sort kun aabned sig halv, Og en Lue med Gni̱st gi̱ennem Mulmeṯ trak.
I have adopted for the translation of this Canto a metre, alternatively trochaic and anapestic.
The following explanation of the foregoing mythe is given by the Swedish poet Ling:
The loss of Thor’s hammer, and its remaining eight miles under ground in the hands of Thrymur the frost giant, denotes the impotence or inactivity of the electrical fluid during the eight months’ winter of the northern regions. The invitation of Thrymur to Freya typifies the struggle of nature at the approach of spring, to renew its vitality.
Stuhr’s opinion of this mythe is much the same as that of Ling. He thinks it to be a hymn in honour of spring, typified by Freya. Thor borrows Freya’s attire, i.e. in spring the electrical heat resumes its force. Thor travels with Loptur (the air) to Thrymur. They are furnished with a copious repast; i.e. at the approach of and by the influence of spring, the unfruitfulness of the earth ceases. When Asa-Lok speaks of the eight nights of longing passed by the pretended Freya, it means the progressive changes undergone by the polar atmosphere during the eight winter months, before the heat finally obtains the mastery. The immense appetite and quantity of mead drank by Thor denote the absorption of the earth’s vapours by the electrical fire of summer, and the death of Thrymur denotes the total disappearance of winter. It is scarcely necessary to remind the reader, that Miölner, the hammer of Thor, typifies, almost everywhere, thunder, or the electrical fire and its effects.
In the Greek poem of Nonnus, called the Dionysiacs, or Actions of Bacchus, we find a mythe having no doubt the same signification as that of the Thrymsqvida. Jupiter at the approach of winter loses his thunderbolts, which fall into the hands of the giant Typhon. He recovers them in spring, by means of a stratagem of Cadmus, and soon after makes use of them to discomfit and slay the giant Typhon.
NOTE TO THE THIRTIETH CANTO.
In the original this Canto is written in terza rima as follows.
Da Thor nu sti̱lle sad, og endt var Kampen, Da steeg en langsom Rög af Jeṯṯeblodeṯ, Og hvid og tyk oplöftede sig Dampen. Da ski̱aelved Loke brat og tabte Modeṯ, etc.
Besides the difficulty of the terza rima, it is a metre not very well suited to the genius of the English language. I have, therefore, given my translation of this Canto in blank verse, following the example of Carey in his version of Dante.
The subject of this Canto seems taken partly from some strophes in the Voluspâ, and partly from the Vaftrudnismal, which are the names of two of the most important chapters of the poetic Edda.
This Canto does not require notes, but as it may amuse the reader to compare the history of the destruction and reproduction of the world with the account thereof given in the Edda, I here subjoin some extracts from the two chapters above mentioned, following Finn Magnussen’s translation. I think the reader will remark some resemblance between certain parts of this Canto and certain parts of the Apocalypse. The battle between Thor and the Serpent Jormundgard is not unlike the combat between the Archangel Michael and the great dragon; and the palace of Gimle, the future abode of the blessed, presents an image of the new Jerusalem.
EXTRACTS FROM THE VAFTRUDNISMAL (Discourse of Vaftrudner).
The wolf (Fenris) shall swallow up The father of time (Odin); But Vidar shall avenge him, And tear the monster’s jaws asunder. … A daughter shall be born Of the old sun,[104] Before Fenris swallows her up: After the fall of the gods The daughter shall travel On the same course as her mother did. … Lif and Liftrasir Remain conceal’d in the wood (Hoddmimer); They are nourished by the morning dew, And from them the new race shall spring. … When the fire (of Surtur) shall be extinguish’d, Vidar shall construct anew The dwellings of the gods. … Then finally shall peace Succeed to the long strife.
EXTRACTS FROM THE VOLUSPA (Vala’s Prophecy).
Loud howls the monster (the dog Garm) At the cavern of Gnypa; The wolf (Fenris) shall break his chain. … Brother shall fight with brother And slay each other: The bonds of affection and parentage Shall be rent asunder: Evil reigns in the world; Libidinous excess triumphs; The sword, the axe Shall be in constant employ: Shields shall be cloven; Times of tempest, of wolfish ferocity, Before the world finally ends; No man shall spare his neighbour. … Naglefar moves forward With keel gliding from the East; Lok steers it. … Surtur compelling flames Advances from the south! … The earth sinks into the deep! The stars disappear from heaven! Volumes of fire and smoke Consume the all-nourishing tree (Yggdrassil) Flames mounting on high Consume heaven itself. … And behold arises a second time The earth from the sea! … The Asar shall meet again On the plains of Ida; There shall again Wonderful tablets of gold Be found in the grass. … Fields unsown Shall produce corn; All evil vanish; Balder return; He and Hœdur shall dwell In Odin’s holy abode. … A palace is seen Brighter than the sun Roof’d with gold Standing on Gimle! Therein shall dwell Virtuous people, And enjoy happiness For ever and ever!
ETYMOLOGIES OMITTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
Lok from locka (to tempt).
Hofvarpur, name of the steed of Gna, from hof (hoof), hvarpa (to throw out).