56. In anger smites | the warder of earth,--
Forth from their homes | must all men flee;-
Nine paces fares | the son of Fjorgyn,
And, slain by the serpent, | fearless he sinks.
57. The sun turns black, | earth sinks in the sea,
The hot stars down | from heaven are whirled;
Fierce grows the steam | and the life-feeding flame,
Till fire leaps high | about heaven itself.
58. Now Garm howls loud | before Gnipahellir,
The fetters will burst, | and the wolf run free;
Much do I know, | and more can see
Of the fate of the gods, | the mighty in fight.
59. Now do I see | the earth anew
Rise all green | from the waves again;
The cataracts fall, | and the eagle flies,
And fish he catches | beneath the cliffs.
60. The gods in Ithavoll | meet together,
Of the terrible girdler | of earth they talk,
And the mighty past | they call to mind,
And the ancient runes | of the Ruler of Gods.
[56. The warder of earth: Thor. The son of Fjorgyn: again {footnote p. 24} Thor,
who, after slaying the serpent, is overcome by his venomous breath, and dies.
Fjorgyn appears in both a masculine and a feminine form. in the masculine 1t is a
name for Othin; in the feminine, as here and in Harbarthsljoth, 56, it apparently
refers to Jorth.
57. With this stanza ends the account of the destruction.
58. Again the refrain-stanza (cf. stanza 44 and note), abbreviated in both manuscripts,
as in the case of stanza 49. It is probably misplaced here.
59. Here begins the description of the new world which is to rise out of the wreck of the old
one. It is on this passage that a few critics have sought to base their argument that the poem
is later than the introduction of Christianity (circa 1000), but this theory has never seemed
convincing (cf. introductory note).
60. The third line of this stanza is not found in Regius. Ithavoll: cf. stanza 7 and note. The
girdler of earth: Mithgarthsorm: {footnote p. 25}, who, lying in the sea, surrounded the land.
The Ruler of Gods: Othin. The runes were both magic signs, generally carved on wood, and sung or
spoken charms.]
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56. Ţá kemr inn mćri mögr Hlóđynjar, gengr Óđins
sonr viđ orm vega, drepr af móđi Miđgarđs véurr,
munu halir allir heimstöđ ryđja; gengr fet níu
Fjörgynjar burr neppr frá nađri níđs ókvíđnum.
57. Sól tér sortna, sígr fold í mar,
hverfa af himni heiđar stjörnur;
geisar eimi ok aldrnari,
leikr hár hiti viđ himin sjalfan.
58. Geyr nú Garmr mjök fyr Gnipahelli,
festr mun slitna en freki renna;
fjölđ veit ek frćđa fram sé ek lengra
um ragna rök römm sigtíva
59. Sér hon upp koma öđru sinni
jörđ ór ćgi iđjagrćna;
falla forsar, flýgr örn yfir,
sá er á fjalli fiska veiđir.
60. Finnask ćsir á Iđavelli
ok um moldţinur máttkan dćma
ok minnask ţar á megindóma
ok á Fimbultýs fornar rúnir.
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