Poetic EddaNorse MythologyAncient Myth / ComparativeOld NorseSharePoetic Edda 20Bellows - EnglishMoreVersion - 1 availableBellowsLanguageEnglishEspañol‹Poetic Edda 1Poetic Edda 2Poetic Edda 3Poetic Edda 4Poetic Edda 5Poetic Edda 6Poetic Edda 7Poetic Edda 8Poetic Edda 9Poetic Edda 10Poetic Edda 11Poetic Edda 12Poetic Edda 13Poetic Edda 14Poetic Edda 15Poetic Edda 16Poetic Edda 17Poetic Edda 18Poetic Edda 19Poetic Edda 20Poetic Edda 21Poetic Edda 22Poetic Edda 23Poetic Edda 24Poetic Edda 25Poetic Edda 26Poetic Edda 27Poetic Edda 28Poetic Edda 29Poetic Edda 30Poetic Edda 31Poetic Edda 32Poetic Edda 33Poetic Edda 34Poetic Edda 35Poetic Edda 36Poetic Edda 37Poetic Edda 38Poetic Edda 39Poetic Edda 40Poetic Edda 41Poetic Edda 42Poetic Edda 43Poetic Edda 44Poetic Edda 45Poetic Edda 46Poetic Edda 47Poetic Edda 48Poetic Edda 49Poetic Edda 50Poetic Edda 51Poetic Edda 52Poetic Edda 53Poetic Edda 54Poetic Edda 55Poetic Edda 56Poetic Edda 57Poetic Edda 58Poetic Edda 59Poetic Edda 60Poetic Edda 61Poetic Edda 62Poetic Edda 63Poetic Edda 64Poetic Edda 65Poetic Edda 66Poetic Edda 67Poetic Edda 68Poetic Edda 69Poetic Edda 70Poetic Edda 71Poetic Edda 72Poetic Edda 73Poetic Edda 74Poetic Edda 75Poetic Edda 76Poetic Edda 77Poetic Edda 78Poetic Edda 79Poetic Edda 80Poetic Edda 81Poetic Edda 82Poetic Edda 83Poetic Edda 84Poetic Edda 85Poetic Edda 86›NotesPoetic Edda 20ListenPlay this chapter in spoken English.Save chapterListen to chapter11. Alvis (“All-Knowing”): a dwarf, not elsewhere mentioned. The manuscript nowhere indicates the speakers’ names. The bride in question is Thor’s daughter; Thruth (“Might”) is the only daughter of his whose name is recorded, and she does not appear elsewhere in the poems. Her mother was Sif, Thor’s wife, whereas the god’s sons were born of a giantess. Benches: cf. Lokasenna, 15 and note. 22. The dwarfs, living beyond the reach of the sun, which was fatal to them (cf. stanzas 16 and 35), were necessarily pale. Line 3 is, of course, ironical. 33. Wagon-guider: Thor, who travels habitually on his goat-drawn wagon. Bugge changes “Vagna vers” to “Vapna verþs,” rendering the line “I am come to seek | the cost of the weapons.” In either case, Alvis does not as yet recognize Thor. 44. Apparently the gods promised Thor’s daughter in marriage to Alvis during her father’s absence, perhaps as a reward for some craftsmanship of his (cf. Bugge’s suggestion as to stanza 3). The text of line 4 is most uncertain. 55. Hero: ironically spoken; Alvis takes Thor for a tramp, the god’s uncouth appearance often leading to such mistakes; cf. Harbarthsljoth, 6. Line 4 is a trifle uncertain; some editors alter the wording to read “What worthless woman bore thee?” 66. Vingthor (“Thor the Hurler”): cf. Thrymskvitha, 1. Sithgrani (“Long-Beard”): Othin. 78. Every world: concerning the nine worlds, cf. Voluspo, 2 and note. Many editors follow this stanza with one spoken by Alvis, found in late paper manuscripts, as follows: “Ask then, Vingthor, | since eager thou art / The lore of the dwarf to learn; / Oft have I fared | in the nine worlds all, / And wide is my wisdom of each.” 810. Men, etc.: nothing could more clearly indicate the author’s mythological inaccuracy than his confusion of the inhabitants of the nine worlds. Men (dwellers in Mithgarth) appear in each of Alvis’s thirteen answers; so do the gods (Asgarth) and the giants (Jotunheim). The elves (Alfheim) appear in eleven answers, the Wanes (Vanaheim) in nine, and the dwarfs (who occupied no special world, unless one identifies them with the dark elves of Svartalfaheim) in seven. The dwellers “in hell” appear in six stanzas; the phrase probably refers to the world of the dead, though Mogk thinks it may mean the dwarfs. In stanzas where the gods are already listed appear names elsewhere applied only to them,—“holy ones,” “sons of the gods” and “high ones,”—as if these names meant beings of a separate race. “Men” appears twice in the same stanza, and so do the giants, if one assumes that they are “the sons of Suttung.” Altogether it is useless to pay much attention to the mythology of Alvis’s replies. 911. Lines 1, 2, and 4 of Thor’s questions are regularly abbreviated in the manuscript. Beheld, etc.: the word in the manuscript is almost certainly an error, and all kinds of guesses have been made to rectify it. All that can be said is that it means “beheld of” or “known to” somebody. 1014. Flame: a doubtful word; Vigfusson suggests that it properly means a “mock sun.” Wheel: the manuscript adds the adjective “whirling,” to the destruction of the metre; cf. Hovamol, 84, 3. 1116. Deceiver of Dvalin: Dvalin was one of the foremost dwarfs; cf. Voluspo, 14, Fafnismol, 13, and Hovamol, 144. The sun “deceives” him because, like the other dwarfs living underground, he cannot live in its light, and always fears lest sunrise may catch him unaware. The sun’s rays have power to turn the dwarfs into stone, and the giantess Hrimgerth meets a similar fate (cf. Helgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar, 30). Alvis suffers in the same way; cf. stanza 35. 1220. Snorri quotes this stanza in the Skaldskaparmal. Waverer: the word is uncertain, the Prose Edda manuscripts giving it in various forms. Blustering Blast: two Prose Edda manuscripts give a totally different word, meaning “The Pounder.” 1322. Hush, etc.: the manuscript, by inserting an additional letter, makes the word practically identical with that translated “Kite” in stanza 18. Most editors have agreed as to the emendation. 1424. Drink-Stuff: Gering translates the word thus; I doubt it, but can suggest nothing better. 1526. Wildfire: the word may mean any one of various things, including “Wave,” which is not unlikely. 1628. In hell: the word simply means “men,” and it is only a guess, though a generally accepted one, that here it refers to the dead. 1729. Nor: presumably the giant whom Snorri calls Norvi or Narfi, father of Not (Night) and grandfather of Dag (Day). Cf. Vafthruthnismol, 25. 1830. Snorri quotes this stanza in the Skaldskaparmal. The various Prose Edda manuscripts differ considerably in naming the gods, the giants, etc. Lightless: some manuscripts have “The Unsorrowing.” 1932. Grain: the two words translated “grain” and “corn” apparently both meant primarily barley, and thence grain in general, the first being the commoner term of the two. Drink-Stuff: the word is identical with the one used, and commented on, in stanza 24, and again I have followed Gering’s interpretation for want of a better one. If his guess is correct, the reference here is evidently to grain as the material from which beer and other drinks are brewed. 2034. Suttung’s sons: these ought to be the giants, but the giants are specifically mentioned in line 3. The phrase “Suttung’s sons” occurs in Skirnismol, 34, clearly meaning the giants. Concerning Suttung as the possessor of the mead of poetry, cf. Hovamol, 104. 2135. Concerning the inability of the dwarfs to endure sunlight, which turns them into stone, cf. stanza 16 and note. Line 5 may be spurious. ‹Previous chapterPoetic Edda 19Next chapterPoetic Edda 21›Similar passagesBy tradition and source labelFind similarCompare selectedCompare with similarAsk Deep ThoughtSelect passages to search for parallels.Tap any verse to select it, then compare selected passages or ask Deep Thought. Public domain in the United States via Project Gutenberg