Völuspá in skamma

1. 1.

Váru ellifu There were eleven

æsir talðir, Æsir counted,

Baldr er hné, when Baldr went down

við banaþúfu; on the mound of death;

þess lézk Váli for this Váli

verðr at hefna, took the revenge,

síns of bróður of his brother

sló hann handbana. the hand-slayer he slew.(1)

2. 2.

Var Baldrs faðir Baldr's father was

Burs arfþegi, Burr's heir,

Freyr átti Gerði, Freyr married Gerðr,

hon var Gymis dóttir, she was daughter of Gymir,

jötna ættar, of a line of jǫtuns,

ok Aurboðu; and of Aurboða;

þó var Þjazi, thus was Þjazi(2)

þeira frændi, their kinsman,

skrautgjarn jötunn, a showy(3) jǫtunn,

hans var Skaði dóttir. Skaði was his daughter.

3. 3.

Margt segjum þér Much we tell you

ok munum fleira; and remember more;

vörumk, at viti svá. I reckon that you know so.

Viltu enn lengra? Do you want longer still?(4)

4. 4.

Haki var Hveðnu Haki was Hveðna's

hóti beztr sona, best son by a bit,(5)

en Hveðnu var and of Hveðna,

Hjörvarðr faðir; Hjǫrvarðr was father;(6)

Heiðr ok Hrossþjófr Heiðr and Hrossþjófr

Hrímnis kindar. [are] of Hrímnir's kindred.

5. 5

Eru völur allar All vǫlur(7) are

frá Viðolfi, descended from Viðolfr,

vitkar allir all wizards

frá Vilmeiði, from Vilmeiðr,

seiðberendr the seiðr-bearer(8)

frá Svarthöfða, from Svarthǫfði,

jötnar allir all jǫtnar

frá Ymi komnir. from Ymir.

6. 6.

Margt segjum þér Much we tell you

ok munum fleira; and remember more;

vörumk, at viti svá. I reckon that you know so.

Viltu enn lengra? Do you want longer still?

7. 7.

Varð einn borin One was born

í árdaga in days of old

rammaukinn mjök greatly endowed with strength,

rögna kindar; of the kindred of the rǫgn(9);

níu báru þann nine bore the

naddgöfgan mann beam-gifted man,

jötna meyjar jǫtun maids,

við jarðar þröm. on the edge of the earth.

8. 8.

Hann Gjalp of bar, Gjalp bore him,

hann Greip of bar, Greip bore him,

bar hann Eistla Eistla bore him

ok Eyrgjafa, and Eyrgjafa,

hann bar Ulfrún Ulfrún bore him

ok Angeyja, and Angeyja,

Imdr ok Atla Imdr and Atla

ok Járnsaxa. and Járnsaxa.

9. 9.

Sá var aukinn He was endowed

jarðar megni, with the might of the earth,

svalköldum sæ the chill-cold sea,

ok sónardreyra. and the blood of atonement.(11)

10. 10.

Margt segjum þér Much we tell you

ok munum fleira; and remember more;

vörumk, at viti svá. I reckon that you know so.

Viltu enn lengra? Do you want longer still?

11. 11.

Ól ulf Loki Loki sired the wolf

við Angrboðu, with Angrboða,

en Sleipni gat and had Sleipnir

við Svaðilfara; with Svaðilfari;

eitt þótti skass one [was] thought the monster

allra feiknast, most terrible of all,

þat var bróður frá that was from the brother

Býleists komit. of Býleist sprung.(12)

12. 12.

Loki át hjarta Loki ate a heart

lindi brenndu, burned with linden,

fann hann halfsviðinn he found half-singed

hugstein konu; the mind-stone of a woman;(13)

varð Loftr kviðugr Loftr became pregnant

af konu illri; with an evil woman;

þaðan er á foldu from that in the world is

flagð hvert komit. every ogress come.(14)

13. 13.

Haf gengr hríðum The sea goes tempestuously(15)

við himin sjalfan, against the sky(16) itself,

líðr lönd yfir, flows over the land,

en loft bilar; and [the vault of] heaven(17) cracks;

þaðan koma snjóvar from there come snows

ok snarir vindar; and cutting winds;

þá er í ráði, then it is in process(18)

at rögn of þrjóti. that the rǫgn(19) come to an end.

14. 14.

Varð einn borinn There was born one

öllum meiri, greater than all,

sá var aukinn he was endowed

jarðar megni; with the might of the earth;(20)

þann kveða stilli they call him the ruler

stórúðgastan most high-minded,

sif sifjaðan sib bound in kinship,

sjötum görvöllum. to the entirety of peoples.(21)

15. 15.

Þá kemr annarr Then [will] come another

enn máttkari, the mightier,

þó þori ek eigi yet I do not dare

þann at nefna; to name him;

fáir séa nú few(22) see now

fram of lengra further forward

en Óðinn mun than [when] Óðinn will

ulfi mæta. meet the wolf.(23)

Notes

1. In the manuscript this poem constitutes verses 29–44 of Hyndluljóð, and at the end of this verse the refrain appears:

allt er þat ætt þín, all this is your line,

Óttarr heimski. silly Óttarr.

2. Omitting a comma inserted by the editor, Guðni Jónsson, which breaks up the sense.

3. Emended: the word refers to being fond of ornament, a flashy dresser. Olive Bray has taken it as referring to his shapeshifting. The manuscript has skautgjarn: fond of "sheets" —skaut can refer to a sail, a headscarf, the corners of the sky ... none of which appears to work here. Guðbrandur Vigfússon emended to skotgjarn, fond of "shooting", i.e., hunting.

4. As noted by Sophus Bugge in his edition, this refrain contrasts with that in Hyndluljóð:

Varðar, at viti svá. Important that [he] know so.

Viltu enn lengra? Do you want further still?

and recalls one in Alvíssmál:

vǫrumk, dvergr, at vitir -: I reckon, dwarf, you know -:

In translating, I am adopting Guðbrandur Vigfússon's emendation of viti, "that [Óttarr] know" to vitir, "you know", but he also rendered vörumk here as "I doubt".

5. probably meaning by a lot

6. These four lines are assigned to Hyndluljóð by Olive Bray. Guðbrandur Vigfússon changed Haki to Hati, the wolf who will swallow the moon, and changed the lines to match his being Hróðvitnir's son.

7. plural of vǫlva

8. Emended based on Gylfaginning, where this verse is quoted; the manuscript has skilberendr, "bearer of distinction or discernment".

9. i.e, regin; the verse clearly refers to Heimdallr.

10. Naddr means "stud" or "nail" - thought to refer to sunbeams?

11. Presumably referring to the sónargǫltr sacrifice at Yule.

12. Presumably referring to Jǫrmungandr.

13. Unclear lines. Át, "ate", and konu, "woman's", are emendations for af , "from", and komu, "came"; hugsteinn is a kenning for "heart". Finnur Jónsson suggested the reference was to Gullveig; I am following his tentative translation.

14. Guðbrandur Vigfússon related these lines to Hel, but the story is otherwise unknown. Flagð can be used of a witch, a jǫtun-woman, or a troll-wife; Finnur Jónsson thought the troll meaning more likely here than the giantess.

15. Probably "[will] wage war" is meant. The base meaning of hríð is "[snow]storm", but hríðum usually means "often".

16. As always, himinn can be either "sky" or "heaven".

17. Lopt/Loft, similarly, can be rendered "sky", "heaven", or "air"; Guðbrandur Vigfússon has "firmament" here.

18. í ráði, "in council, consultation; planned", is puzzling, usually left out.

19. Emendation: the manuscript has regn, "rain" - emended either to rǫgn or to regin.

20. These 2 lines also in Verse 9.

21. Some editors have taken this verse as about Thor and capitalise Sif in the second to last line: Guðbrandur Vigfússon has "Sib's gossip" (i.e., spouse) for that line. Others see it as being, like Verse 9, about Heimdallr, who is "bound in kinship" to all peoples because he is the ancestor of all classes, following Rígsþula. In his 1922 edition, Richard Constant Boer accordingly emended the line to sifjum sifjaðan, translated by Lee M. Hollander as "in sib with all sires". Hans Kuhn, in his revision of Gustav Neckel's German edition, mistakenly interprets it as "living in peace", leading to a third interpretation of the verse, as referring to the Christian god.

22. As usual in Old Norse, "few" here may mean "none."

23. Fenrir, at Ragnarǫk.