27. Thrym looked 'neath the veil, | for he longed to kiss,
But back he leaped | the length of the hall:
"Why are so fearful | the eyes of Freyja?
Fire, methinks, | from her eyes burns forth."

28. Hard by there sat | the serving-maid wise,
So well she answered | the giant's words:
"No sleep has Freyja | for eight nights found,
So hot was her longing | for Jotunheim."

29. Soon came the giant's | luckless sister,
Who feared not to ask | the bridal fee:
"From thy hands the rings | of red gold take,
If thou wouldst win | my willing love,
(My willing love | and welcome glad.)"

30: Then loud spake Thrym, | the giants' leader:
"Bring in the hammer | to hallow the bride;
On the maiden's knees | let Mjollnir lie,
That us both the band | of Vor may bless."

31. The heart in the breast | of Hlorrithi laughed
When the hard-souled one | his hammer beheld;
First Thrym, the king | of the giants, he killed,
Then all the folk | of the giants he felled.

32. The giant's sister | old he slew,
She who had begged | the bridal fee;
A stroke she got | in the shilling's stead,
And for many rings | the might of the hammer.

33. And so his hammer | got Othin's son.

[27. For clearness I have inserted Thrym's name in place of the pronoun of the original. Fire: the noun is lacking in the manuscript; most editors have inserted it, however, following a late paper manuscript.

28. In the manuscript the whole stanza is abbreviated to initial letters, except for "sleep," "Freyja," and "found."

29. Luckless: so the manuscript, but many editors have altered the word "arma" to "aldna," meaning "old," to correspond with line 1 of stanza 32. Line 5 may well be spurious.

30. Hallow: just what this means is not clear, but there are {footnote po. 181} references to other kinds of consecration, though not of a bride, with the "sign of the hammer." According to Vigfusson, "the hammer was the holy sign with the heathens, answering to the cross of the Christians." In Snorri's story of Thor's resuscitation of his cooked goat (cf. Hymiskvitha, 38, note) the god "hallows" the goat with his hammer. One of the oldest runic signs, sup posed to have magic power, was named Thor's-hammer. Vor: the goddess of vows, particularly between men and women; Snorri lists a number of little-known goddesses similar to Vor, all of them apparently little more than names for Frigg.

33. Some editors reject this line, which, from a dramatic stand point, is certainly a pity. In the manuscript it begins with a capital letter, like: the opening of a new stanza.]

27. Laut und línu, lysti at kyssa,
en hann útan stökk endlangan sal:
"Hví eru öndótt augu Freyju?
Þykki mér ór augum eldr of brenna."

28. Sat in alsnotra ambótt fyrir,
er orð of fann við jötuns máli:
"Svaf vætr Freyja átta nóttum,
svá var hon óðfús í Jötunheima."

29. Inn kom in arma jötna systir,
hin er brúðféar biðja þorði:
"Láttu þér af höndum hringa rauða,
ef þú öðlask vill ástir mínar,
ástir mínar, alla hylli.

30. Þá kvað þat Þrymr, þursa dróttinn:
"Berið inn hamar brúði at vígja,
lekkið Mjöllni í meyjar kné,
vígið okkr saman Várar hendi."

31. Hló Hlórriða hugr í brjósti,
er harðhugaðr hamar of þekkði;
Þrym drap hann fyrstan, þursa dróttin,
ok ætt jötuns alla lamði.

32. Drap hann ina öldnu jötna systur,
hin er brúðféar of beðit hafði;
hon skell of hlaut fyr skillinga,
en högg hamars fyr hringa fjölð.
Svá kom Óðins sonr endr at hamri.