Note 30 — The Wise-Woman’s Prophecy

This is apparently the transitional stanza, in which the Volva, rewarded by Othin for her knowledge of the past (stanzas 1–29), is induced to proceed with her real prophecy (stanzas 31–66). Some editors turn the stanza into the third person, making it a narrative link. Bugge, on the other hand, puts it after stanza 28 as the third stanza of the poem. No lacuna is indicated in the manuscripts, and editors have attempted various emendations. Heerfather (“Father of the Host”): Othin.