21. The war I remember, | the first in the world,
When the gods with spears | had smitten Gollveig,
And in the hall | of Hor had burned her,
Three times burned, | and three times born,
Oft and again, | yet ever she lives.
22. Heith they named her | who sought their home,
The wide-seeing witch, | in magic wise;
Minds she bewitched | that were moved by her magic,
To evil women | a joy she was.
23. On the host his spear | did Othin hurl,
Then in the world | did war first come;
The wall that girdled | the gods was broken,
And the field by the warlike | Wanes was trodden.
24. Then sought the gods | their assembly-seats,
The holy ones, | and council held,
Whether the gods | should tribute give,
Or to all alike | should worship belong.
25. Then sought the gods | their assembly-seats,
The holy ones, | and council held,
To find who with venom | the air had filled,
Or had given Oth's bride | to the giants' brood.
[21. This follows stanza 20 in Regius; in the Hauksbok version stanzas
25, 26, 27, 40, and 41 come between stanzas 20 and 21. Editors have
attempted all sorts of rearrangements. The war: the first war was that
between the gods and the Wanes. The cult of the Wanes (Vanir) seems to
have originated among the seafaring folk of the Baltic and the southern
shores of the North Sea, and to have spread thence into Norway in
opposition to the worship of the older gods; hence the "war." Finally
the two types of divinities were worshipped in common; hence the treaty
which ended the war with the exchange of hostages. Chief among the Wanes
were Njorth and his children, Freyr and Freyja, all of whom became
conspicuous among the gods. Beyond this we know little of the Wanes, who
seem originally to have been water-deities. I remember: the manuscripts
have "she remembers," but the Volva is apparently still speaking of her own
memories, as in stanza 2. Gollveig ("Gold-Might"): apparently the first of
the Wanes to come among the gods, her ill treatment being the immediate cause
of the war. Müllenhoff maintains that Gollveig is another name for Freyja.
Lines 5-6, one or both of them probably interpolated, seem to symbolize the
refining of gold by fire. Hor ("The High One"): Othin.
22. Heith ("Shining One"?): a name often applied to wise women and prophetesses.
The application of this stanza to Gollveig is far from clear, though the reference
may be to the {footnote p. 11} magic and destructive power of gold. It is also
possible that the stanza is an interpolation. Bugge maintains that it applies to
the Volva who is reciting the poem, and makes it the opening stanza, following it
with stanzas 28 and 30, and then going on with stanzas I ff. The text of line 2
is obscure, and has been variously emended.
23. This stanza and stanza 24 have been transposed from the order in the manuscripts,
for the former describes the battle and the victory of the Wanes, after which the gods
took council, debating whether to pay tribute to the victors, or to admit them, as was
finally done, to equal rights of worship.
25. Possibly, as Finn Magnusen long ago suggested, there is something lost after stanza
24, but it was not the custom of the Eddic poets to supply transitions which their hearers
could generally be counted on to understand. The story referred to in stanzas 25-26
(both quoted by Snorri) is that of the rebuilding of Asgarth after its destruction by the
Wanes. The gods employed a giant as builder, who demanded as his reward the sun and moon,
and the goddess Freyja for his wife. The gods, terrified by the rapid progress of the work,
forced Loki, who had advised the bargain, to delay the giant by a trick, so that the
{footnote p. 12} work was not finished in the stipulated time (cf. Grimnismol, 44, note).
The enraged giant then threatened the gods, whereupon Thor slew him. Oth's bride: Freyja; of
Oth little is known beyond the fact that Snorri refers to him as a man who "went away on long
journeys."]
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21. Ţat man hon fólkvíg fyrst í heimi,
er Gullveig geirum studdu
ok í höll Hárs hana brendu;
ţrysvar brendu ţrysvar borna,
opt, ósjaldan, ţó hon enn lifir.
22. Heiđi hana hétu, hvars til húsa kom,
völu velspá, vitti hon ganda,
seiđ hon hvars hon kunni, seiđ hon hugleikin,
ć var hon angan illrar brúđar.
23. Ţá gengu regin öll á rökstóla,
ginnheilug gođ, ok um ţat gćttusk:
hvárt skyldu ćsir afráđ gjalda
eđa skyldu gođin öll gildi eiga.
24. Fleygđi Óđinn ok í fólk um skaut,
ţat var enn fólkvíg fyrst í heimi;
brotinn var borđveggr borgar ása,
knáttu vanir vígská völlu sporna.
25. Ţá gengu regin öll á rökstóla,
ginnheilug gođ, ok um ţat gćttusk:
hverr hefđi lopt allt lćvi blandit
eđa ćtt jötuns Óđs mey gefna.
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