The oldest and most important chapter of the Elder Edda is the Völuspá, or Sibyl’s Prophecy. It is addressed to Odin, describing the meeting of the Æsir (or Northern deities), the origin of the human race, and the destruction of men and gods at Ragnarök.[C] We will here transcribe a couple of stanzas as specimens of the form of the old Norse or Icelandic original, and add a close translation:
_Text._ | _Translation._ | 66. Hittask Æsir | 66. The Asas meet Á Ithavelli | On the wold of Ida Ok um moldwinur | And of the earth engirdler Mátkan dæma; | Mightily judge; Ok minnask war | And call to mind Á megindóma | Their [bygone] greatness Ok á Fimbultys | And the ancient runes Fornar runar. | Of Fimbultyr. | 68. Munu ósánir | 68. Then shall the acres Akrarvaxa, | Unsown bear harvest, Böls mun alls batna, | All ill is amended, Mun Baldr koma; | Balder is coming; Búa weir Häthr ok Baldr | Dwell Hader and Balder Hropts sigtoptir | In Hropt’s blessed dwellings Vel valtívar. | In friendship the wargods. Vituth ér enn etha hvat? | Know ye ought yet, or what?
From another chapter of the Elder Edda—that called Hávamál, and the most interesting after the Völuspá—we we will quote also a specimen. The whole chapter is made up of such proverbs or reflections, said to have been indited by Odin himself:
’Tis far out of the way To an ill friend, Though he dwell by the roadside; But to a good friend Is the path short, Though he be a great way off.
Thou shalt move on,— Shalt not be a guest Always in one place: The well-beloved becomes odious If he sit long In the house of another.
Among the other divisions of the first Edda we will mention the mystical Vafthruthnismál, or words of Vafthruthnir in reply to Odin, who has made inquiry about the cosmogony and chronology of Norse theology; the Grimnismál, or sayings of Grimnir, which describe the imprisonment and maltreatment which Odin suffered at the hands of King Geirröd; the Thrymskvitha, or lay of Thrym, who stole Thor’s hammer, and refused to restore it unless Freyja were given him to wife: by a device of Thor he is slain and the hammer recovered; the Alvismál, a learned dialogue between the dwarf Alvis and Odin. Deserving of separate mention is the famous Vegtams-kvitha, or Vegtam’s lay. Odin has been troubled with dreams concerning Balder, the helpless god, and applies to a Nala, or Sibyl, for their interpretation. Finally we will name the Völundarkvitha, or Song of Wayland. This contains the story of his toils and adventures at the court of Nidud, a Swedish king.