6. Thus was he there | for three nights long,
Then forward he went | on the midmost way,
And so nine months | were soon passed by.
7. A son bore Edda, | with water they sprinkled him,
With a cloth his hair | so black they covered;
Thræll they named him, | . . . . .
8. The skin was wrinkled | and rough on his hands,
Knotted his knuckles, | . . . . .
Thick his fingers, | and ugly his face,
Twisted his back, | and big his heels.
9. He began to grow, | and to gain in strength,
Soon of his might | good use he made;
With bast he bound, | and burdens carried,
Home bore faggots | the whole day long.
10. One came to their home, | crooked her legs,
Stained were her feet, | and sunburned her arms,
Flat was her nose; | her name was Thir.
[6. The manuscript does not indicate that these lines form a separate stanza, and as only one line and a fragment of another are left of stanza 7, the
editions have grouped the lines in all sorts of ways, with, of course, various conjectures as to where lines may have been lost.
7. After line 1 the manuscript has only four words: "cloth," "black," "named," and "Thræll." No gap is anywhere indicated. Editors have pieced out the
passage in various ways. Water, etc.: concerning the custom of sprinkling water on children, which long antedated the introduction of Christianity, cf.
Hovamol, 159 and note. Black: dark hair, among the blond Scandinavians, was the mark of a foreigner, hence of a slave. Thræll: Thrall or Slave.
8. In the manuscript line 1 of stanza 9 stands before stanza 8, neither line being capitalized as the beginning of a stanza. I have followed Bugge's
rearrangement. The manuscript indicates no gap in line 2, but nearly all editors have assumed one, Grundtvig supplying "and rough his nails."
9. The manuscript marks line 2 as the beginning of a stanza.
10. A line may well have dropped out, but the manuscript is too uncertain as to the stanza-divisions to make any guess safe. Crooked: the word in the
original is obscure. Stained: literally, "water was on her soles." Thir: "Serving-Woman."]
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6. Þar var hann at þat þríar nætr saman,
gekk hann meir at þat miðrar brautar;
liðu meir at þat mánuðr níu.
7. Jóð ól Edda jósu vatni,
hörvi svartan, hétu Þræl.
8. Hann nam at vaxa ok vel dafna;
var þar á höndum hrokkit skinn,
kropnir knúar, fingr digrir,
fúlligt andlit, lotr hryggr,
langir hælar.
9. Nam han meir at þat magns of kosta,
bast at binda, byrðar gerva;
bar hann heim at þat hrís gerstan dag.
10. Þar kom at garði gengilbeina,
aurr var á iljum, armr sólbrunninn,
niðrbjúgt er nef, nefndisk Þír.
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