Hyndluljóð
The Lay of Hyndla
Old Norse Poetry
English translation (1928) by Lee M Hollander.
Transcription by Eiður Eyþórsson.
I
About this translation
This translation of Hyndluljóð by Lee M Hollander is derived from his 1928 1st edition of The Poetic Edda. In that work, the poem appears in English translation alongside Hollander’s notes and commentary.
The wording of the poem and its accompanying commentary has been preserved without alteration. Minor adjustments have been made to the layout for readability: line breaks within stanzas have been expanded where necessary, and notes that originally appeared at the bottom of each page have been repositioned to appear directly beneath the relevant stanza. Hollander’s first note (¹ᵃ) was actually attached to the English title of the poem (The Lay of Hyndla). It is here included below with the main content, before the poem begins.
At the end of this page, you will find Hollander’s original introductory to Hyndluljóð.
Here Begins Hyndluljóð¹ᵃ
¹ᵃExclusive of the Short ‘Prophecy of the Seeress’ which, in the original, comes between stanzas 29 and 30.
1
Freya said:
“Awake, good maiden, awake, my friend,
sister Hyndla,¹ who sleepest in cave;
’tis darkest night,² so now let us ride
hence to Valholl,³ the hallowed stead.
¹’Bitch.’ As to Freya’s wheedlingly calling her friend’, cf. 6 and 31.
²The time when the beings of the nether world may be abroad.
³’Hall of the Slain’, Óthin’s hall.
2
“We shall ask Óthin our errand to speed,
he gives and grants gold to his followers:
to Hermóth⁴ gave he helm and byrnie,
to king Sigmund, his keenest sword.⁵
⁴Ags. Heremōd, ‘He of Warlike Courage’. It is uncertain whether the god, Óthin’s son, is referred to or, more probably, the famous hero who is the predecessor of Skiold, cf. 11.
⁵Viz. the sword Gram ‘troll’ which, later, becomes Sigurth’s weapon.
3
“He gives riches to some, to some, victory,
word-skill to wights, wisdom to others,
sea-breeze to sailors, song-craft to skalds,
gives manfulness to many a warrior.
4
“I shall worship Thór, and this ask of him
that he shall not ever do ill to thee,
though else he love not etin women.”
5
“Take one of thy wolves⁶ from his wonted stall,
with my boar⁷ let him leap on our way.”
Hyndla said:
“Slow runs thy boar on the road to Valholl,
nor will I weary my worthy steed.
⁶ The wolf is the mount of trolls and witches; cf. H.Hv., Prose introductory to IV.
⁷ The boar is elsewhere the animal sacred to her brother Frey; cf. reference in note above. Generally, Freya’s chariot has a span of cats.
6
“False art, Freya, to befriend me now:
thy eye seemeth to say to me
thou leadest thy lover on his last journey,⁸
Óttar⁹ the Young, Innstein’s¹⁰ son.”
⁸ I.e. as a slain warrior to join the heroes in Óthin’s (or Freya’s) hall; cf. Grímn. 8, 14.
⁹ Cf. Ags. Óthere; cf. the genealogy below.
¹⁰ Known a one of ‘Hálf’s Warriors’, who figure in the Hálfs saga.
7
Freya said:
“Dull art, Hyndla, and dreamest, ween I,
to believe my lover on his last journey:
my boar gleameth, golden-bristled,
Hildisvini,¹¹ by smiths twain shaped
of dwarfish kin, Dáin¹² and Nabbi.
¹¹ ‘Battle-Swine’.
¹² Cf. p. 388.
8
“Let us strive¹³ as we sit astride our saddles,
match our lore of lines of lordly races,
of the kin of kings who came from Óthin.”¹⁴
¹³ Viz. with words. The passage is doubtful.
¹⁴ All the royal families of the North trace their ancestry ultimately back to the gods.
9
“Wagered have they for Welsh gold,
Óttar the Young and Angantýr:¹⁵
the young hero to help I am bound,
lest he fail to have his father’s share.
¹⁵ Ags. Ongenþēow.
10
“He a high-altar made me of heaped stones—
all glary have grown the gathered rocks¹⁶—
and reddened anew them with neats’ fresh blood;
for aye believed Óttar in the ásyniur.¹⁷
¹⁶ By the fire of repeated burnt-offerings which in the earliest times were made on rude stone altars.
¹⁷ Plural of ásynja, ‘goddess’.
11
“Reckon up in order the oldest sib,
and call to mind the kin of men:
a Skioldung who, a Skilfing¹⁸ who,
(an Othling who,)¹⁹ an Ylfing who?
Who a land-holder, who of lordly stock,
Who of most worth are in the world of men?”
¹⁸ Ags. Scyldingas, Scylfingas; their progenitors are Skiold and Skelfir.
¹⁹ Supplied here from 16. According to Skáld. chap. 62 the Othlings were descended from an eponymous King Auth. The Ylfings (Ags. Ylfingas), descendants of Ulf ‘Wolf’, are of the same race with Helgi Hundingsbani (H.H. I, 5).—Note that in the corresponding passage (16) the Ynglings (descendants of the god Yngvi) are mentioned instead.
12
Hyndla said:
“Thou art, Óttar, from Innstein sprung;
but Innstein was born to Álf the Old,
and Álf to Ulf, Ulf to Sæfari;²⁰
Sæfari’s father was Svan the Red.”
²⁰ ‘Sea-Farer’.
13
“As mother hadst thou a high-born maiden,
I ween she was hight Hlédís the Priestess;
was Fróthi her father, Friaut her mother:²¹
this race was wholly ranked with the highest.
²¹All three are unknown.—Fróthi (Ags. Frōda) ‘the Wise’ bears a name common among the mythical Danish kings; cf. Grot.
14
“Of old was Authi²² among earth’s greatest;
before was Hálfdan²³ highest of Skioldungs;
many wars in the world waged the bold one,
to the welkin were wafted his works abroad.
²²Accepting Jónsson’s emendation for the Áli of the original. According to Skáld. chap. 62 Authi was a son of Hálfdan.
²³Ags. Healfdene, ‘Half-Dane’; i.e. Hálfdan the Old, a legendary king of the Danes. He is always ‘the High’, which may have reference to his stature.
15
“Befriended by Eymund, foremost among men,
he slew Siggtrygg with the sword’s edge;
he home led Almveig,²⁴ the most high-born woman,—
they issue had of eighteen sons.
²⁴The Skáld., loc. cit. indicates that she was the daughter of Eymund, King of Russia. Her sons by Hálfdan (born nine at a birth) were the mythical progenitors of the royal families of the North.
16
“Thence the Skioldungs, thence the Skilfings,
thence the Othlings, thence the Ynglings,
the land-holders thence, the lords’ stock thence
who of most worth are in the world of men:
thy sib all these, silly Óttar!
17
“Her²⁵ mother, hold I, was Hildigunn,
the child of Sváva and of Sækonung;²⁶
thy sib all these, silly Óttar!
Thou needs must know this,— wilt know still more?
²⁵Almveig’s?
²⁶These are unknown otherwise.—Sækonung ‘Sea-King’.
18
“Dag²⁷ married Thóra, mother of heroes;
in that kin were born the best of men:
Fráthmar and Gyrth, and the Freki brothers,
Am, Iofurmar, and Álf the Old;
thou needs must know this,— wilt know still more?
²⁷‘Day’, one of Hálfdan’s sons (Skáld., loc. cit.)
19
“Was Ketil their kinsman, Klyp’s oldest son,
your own mother’s mother-father;²⁸
Fróthi, Kári before that time lived,
and Hálf the hero²⁹ to Hild was born.
²⁸Ketil ‘Helmet,’ is Óttar’s great-grandfather on the spindle-side, as Fróthi (13) is on the spear-side.
²⁹Probably, the King Hálf of Horthaland of whom the Hálfs saga deals. The others are unknown.
20
“Then was Nanna born, Nokkvi’s daughter;
her son your father’s sister did wed;³⁰
of forefathers old still further I tell:
thy sib all these, silly Óttar!
³⁰The name of this uncle of Óttar’s is not mentioned.
21
“Ísolf and Ásolf, and Olmóth’s sons,
and Skúrhild’s eke, Skekkil’s daughter,³¹
among them are with many heroes;
thy sib all these, silly Óttar!
³¹The relation of all these persons to Óttar is obscure.
22
“Gunnar Midwall, Grím the Hardy,
Ironshield-Thórir, Ulf the Gaping,
Brodd and Horvi— both I knew them—
they house-carles were with Hrólf the Old.³²
³²The arrangement of this and the two following stanzas is Bugge’s.—Excepting Thórir and Grím, these ‘house-carles’ (members of the king’s bodyguard) are unknown elsewhere. The company is that of King Hrólf of the Hrólfs saga Gautrekssonar.
23
“Hervarth, Hiorvarth, Hrani, Angantýr,
Búi and Brámi, Barri and Reifnir,
Tind and Tyrfing, and the two Haddings:³³
thy sib all these, silly Óttar!
³³These twelve sons of Arngrím occur prominently in the Hervarar saga and in the Ǫrvar Odds saga.
24
“In Bolm in Eastland were born these twelve,
the sons of Arngrím and Eyfura;
the blare of these berserks,³⁴ their baleful deeds,
like wildfire swept over sea and land:
thy sib all these, silly Óttar!
³⁴Wild warriors; cf. Hárb. 37.
25
“Were given to the gods the goodly men,
king Iormunrekk’s kinsmen all—:³⁵
he was Sigurth’s sib— what I say heed thou—
the folkruler’s, who Fáfnir slew.
³⁵As he was the husband of Svanhild, Sigurth’s daughter by Guthrún, both the Volsungs and the Niflungs may be said to be his ‘kinsmen’. For the names and occurrences touched on in this and the two following stanzas, general reference is made to the entire cycle of lays dealing with the fates of the Volsungs and Giúkungs (Gríp. to Hamð.).—‘Given to the gods’ probably means ‘slain’.
26
“Was Svanhild’s sire the son of Volsung
and of Hiordís, of Hrauthung’s³⁵ᵃ kin—
she Eylimi’s, the Othling’s,³⁶ daughter:
thy sib all these, silly Óttar!
³⁵ᵃA king of this name occurs in Grímn., Prose Intro.
³⁶Only here is Eylimi, Sigurth’s grandfather, called an Othling.
27
“Gunnar and Hogni were Giúki’s sons,
of the same sib was their sister Guthrún;
but Gotthorm was not of Giúki’s kin,
though a brother to both his sons:³⁷
thy sib all these, silly Óttar!
³⁷In other words, he was Giúki’s stepson; which is of importance in the slaying of Sigurth, cf. Sig. sk. 20.
28
Of Hvethna’s sons Haki was best,
but Hiorvarth was Hvethna’s father.³⁸
³⁸The connection of these persons with Óttar is not known.—These lines are transposed here with Bugge. Cf. Vsp. sk. 5, note.
29
Harold War-Tooth³⁹ was to Hrœrek⁴⁰ born,
the sower-of-rings: he the son was of Auth;⁴¹
Auth the Deep-Minded was Ívar’s⁴² daughter;
Ráthbarth was Randvér’s⁴³ father:
thy sib all these, silly Óttar!”⁴⁴
³⁹The epithet ‘War-Tooth’ probably signifies ‘Warrior’. He is the famous, historic, king of Denmark (Tenth Century). His connection with Óttar is not explained.
⁴⁰Ags. Hrēthric, ‘Glorious Ruler’. The epithet here given him is one typical of a generous, ring-dispensing prince (cf. H.H. I, 18); but in this case the name is ironic: according to the ancient ‘Lay of Biarki’ he cast away his gold to buy off his assailant King Hrólf kraki.
⁴¹‘The Wealthy’ (?). Her namesake, a famous woman colonist of Iceland, bore the same epithet.
⁴²This famous viking plays a rôle in the Ragnarssaga loðbrókar.
⁴³‘Shield-Warrior’. Not identical, of course, with the son of Iormunrekk; cf. Guð. hv. Introductory Prose.
⁴⁴After this stanza the Manuscript, without the indication of a break, inserts the Short ‘Prophecy of the Seeress’ which quite evidently has no connection whatever with the matter in hand.
30
Freya said:
“To my boar bring thou, that he bear all in mind,
a cup⁴⁵ so he can keep all these words,
and think of them on the third morning,
when the twain shall tell of their kin.”
⁴⁵Containing the ‘ale of memory’; cf. Sigrdr. Prose after 4; and below, 34.
31
Hyndla said:
“Wend thy way now, I wish to sleep;
but little good wilt get from me,
in the night who runnest, thou noble friend,⁴⁵ᵃ
in her heat as Heithrún⁴⁶ the he-goats among.
⁴⁵ᵃ Ironic, with reference to Freya’s speech when approaching her; cf. note 1.
⁴⁶ The name of the mythical she-goat mentioned in Grímn. 25.
32
“Wert ever eager with Óthin⁴⁷ to lie:
under thy apron still others have crept,
in the night who runnest, thou noble friend,
in her heat as Heithrún the he-goats among.”
⁴⁷ Her husband; cf. Vsp. 17. The meaning, possibly, is this that, notwithstanding her pretended faithfulness to him—after he had left her she sought him in many lands, Gylfag. chap. 34—she had accepted other lovers. A similar accusation is made by Loki; Lok. 30.
33
Freya said:
“The evil hag I hedge with fire:
unscathed shalt not escape from hence.”
34
Hyndla said:
“A fire see I burn, flameth the earth:
he who loveth his life will release him gladly:
in the beaker I bear the beer to Óttar,
with venom brewed: may it work thy bane!”
35
Freya said:
“Thy wicked wish shall work no harm
though, etin woman, thou evil threatenest;
for drink shall he the goodly draught:
may all gods then lend Óttar help!”
III
Introductory note
Owing to its sadly confused and faulty preservation (in the large manuscript codex called the Flatisland Book (Flateyarbók), written in Iceland toward the end of the Fourteenth Century, this poem has given rise to the most varying interpretations. One thing is clear, viz. its didactic purpose to impart information about the genealogy of Óttar, the scion of a princely house which ruled the Norwegian shire of Horthaland (around the Hardanger Fiord) and—we assume—the forebear of a distinguished family in Iceland. The story within which this lore is framed is not made out without difficulty.
As the text is handed down to us, the following interpretation seems most plausible: the goddess Freya, riding on her boar, awakens the wise giantess Hyndla (cf. the situation in ‘Baldr’s Dreams’ and ‘Gróa’s Spell’) and invites her to mount her wolf to ride to Valholl with her. There, Óthin and Thór are to grant success to Freya’s protégé, Óttar: he has wagered with Angantýr, another hero, and staked his all on it, as to who is of nobler descent. On the way, so Freya proposes, they are to match their genealogical lore. Notwithstanding Freya’s denial the giantess knows that the boar is Óttar in disguise, and addresses to him the information desired; whereupon Freya demands, still further, that she give him to drink of “memory ale,” so that he may keep in his mind until the third day what has been told him. This, the giantess refuses, but is compelled by the threat of encircling fire. Her curse on the drink is neutralized by Freya’s blessing.
Many minor and major alterations have been proposed to render the action more plausible. Most radically, Finnur Jónsson claims that stanzas 31–34, 2 should precede 11, as furnishing the compulsion to make the giantess divulge her lore; and, indeed, this re-arrangement would eliminate a number of difficulties.
As to the genealogies of Óttar’s race, three groups may be discerned—that of the kings of Horthaland, to which he belongs by immediate descent; the line of Hálfdan the Old, mythical ancestor of all the lordly races of the North; and famous legendary heroes whose kinship is claimed. To be sure, no two scholars are agreed as to what is to be regarded as genuine or interpolated in these lists.
That they seemed authentic to learned Icelanders of the Thirteenth Century is attested by the fact that they are drawn on, both by Snorri, in his Skáldskaparmǫ́l (chap. 64), and in the story entitled ‘How Norway was Settled’ (Hversu Noregr bygðist).¹ᵇ
To most scholars, the poem has the earmarks of rather late and learned Icelandic origin, say the Twelfth Century; but it must be acknowledged that some elements do point to an earlier time, perhaps the end of the Tenth Century.
¹ᵇFlateyarbók I, p. 24ff.
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