The Poetic Edda · Poem 3
The Ballad of Vafthruthnir
1Othin spake: “Counsel me, Frigg, for I long to fare, And Vafthruthnir fain would find; In wisdom old with the giant wise Myself would I seek to match.”
2Frigg spake: “Heerfather here at home would I keep, Where the gods together dwell; Amid all the giants an equal in might To Vafthruthnir know I none.”
3Othin spake: “Much have I fared, much have I found, Much have I got from the gods; And fain would I know how Vafthruthnir now Lives in his lofty hall.”
4Frigg spake: “Safe mayst thou go, safe come again, And safe be the way thou wendest! Father of men, let thy mind be keen When speech with the giant thou seekest.”
5The wisdom then of the giant wise Forth did he fare to try; He found the hall of the father of Im, And in forthwith went Ygg.
6Othin spake: “Vafthruthnir, hail! to thy hall am I come, For thyself I fain would see; And first would I ask if wise thou art, Or, giant, all wisdom hast won.”
7Vafthruthnir spake: “Who is the man that speaks to me, Here in my lofty hall? Forth from our dwelling thou never shalt fare, Unless wiser than I thou art.”
8Othin spake: “Gagnrath they call me, and thirsty I come From a journey hard to thy hall; Welcome I look for, for long have I fared, And gentle greeting, giant.”
9Vafthruthnir spake: “Why standest thou there on the floor whilst thou speakest? A seat shalt thou have in my hall; Then soon shall we know whose knowledge is more, The guest’s or the sage’s gray.”
10Othin spake: “If a poor man reaches the home of the rich, Let him wisely speak or be still; For to him who speaks with the hard of heart Will chattering ever work ill.”
11Vafthruthnir spake: “Speak forth now, Gagnrath, if there from the floor Thou wouldst thy wisdom make known: What name has the steed that each morn anew The day for mankind doth draw?”
12Othin spake: “Skinfaxi is he, the steed who for men The glittering day doth draw; The best of horses to heroes he seems, And brightly his mane doth burn.”
13Vafthruthnir spake: “Speak forth now, Gagnrath, if there from the floor Thou wouldst thy wisdom make known: What name has the steed that from East anew Brings night for the noble gods?”
14Othin spake: “Hrimfaxi name they the steed that anew Brings night for the noble gods; Each morning foam from his bit there falls, And thence come the dews in the dales.”
15Vafthruthnir spake: “Speak forth now, Gagnrath, if there from the floor Thou wouldst thy wisdom make known: What name has the river that ’twixt the realms Of the gods and the giants goes?”
16Othin spake: “Ifing is the river that ’twixt the realms Of the gods and the giants goes; For all time ever open it flows, No ice on the river there is.”
17Vafthruthnir spake: “Speak forth now, Gagnrath, if there from the floor Thou wouldst thy wisdom make known: What name has the field where in fight shall meet Surt and the gracious gods?”
18Othin spake: “Vigrith is the field where in fight shall meet Surt and the gracious gods; A hundred miles each way does it measure, And so are its boundaries set.”
19Vafthruthnir spake: “Wise art thou, guest! To my bench shalt thou go, In our seats let us speak together; Here in the hall our heads, O guest, hall we wager our wisdom upon.”
20Othin spake: “First answer me well, if thy wisdom avails, And thou knowest it, Vafthruthnir, now: In earliest time whence came the earth, Or the sky, thou giant sage?”
21Vafthruthnir spake: “Out of Ymir’s flesh was fashioned the earth, And the mountains were made of his bones; The sky from the frost-cold giant’s skull, And the ocean out of his blood.”
22Othin spake: “Next answer me well, if thy wisdom avails, And thou knowest it, Vafthruthnir, now: Whence came the moon, o’er the world of men That fares, and the flaming sun?”
23Vafthruthnir spake: “Mundilferi is he who begat the moon, And fathered the flaming sun; The round of heaven each day they run, To tell the time for men.”
24Othin spake: “Third answer me well, if wise thou art called, If thou knowest it, Vafthruthnir, now: Whence came the day, o’er mankind that fares, Or night with the narrowing moon?”
25Vafthruthnir spake: “The father of day is Delling called, And the night was begotten by Nor; Full moon and old by the gods were fashioned, To tell the time for men.”
26Othin spake: “Fourth answer me well, if wise thou art called, If thou knowest it, Vafthruthnir, now: Whence did winter come, or the summer warm, First with the gracious gods?”
27Vafthruthnir spake: “Vindsval he was who was winter’s father, And Svosuth summer begat;”...............................
28Othin spake: “Fifth answer me well, if wise thou art called, If thou knowest it, Vafthruthnir, now: What giant first was fashioned of old, And the eldest of Ymir’s kin?”
29Vafthruthnir spake: “Winters unmeasured ere earth was made Was the birth of Bergelmir; Thruthgelmir’s son was the giant strong, And Aurgelmir’s grandson of old.”
30Othin spake: “Sixth answer me well, if wise thou art called, If thou knowest it, Vafthruthnir, now: Whence did Aurgelmir come with the giants’ kin, Long since, thou giant sage?”
31Vafthruthnir spake: “Down from Elivagar did venom drop, And waxed till a giant it was; And thence arose our giants’ race, And thus so fierce are we found.”
32Othin spake: “Seventh answer me well, if wise thou art called, If thou knowest it, Vafthruthnir, now: How begat he children, the giant grim, Who never a giantess knew?”
33Vafthruthnir spake: “They say ’neath the arms of the giant of ice Grew man-child and maid together; And foot with foot did the wise one fashion A son that six heads bore.”
34Othin spake: “Eighth answer me well, if wise thou art called, If thou knowest it, Vafthruthnir, now: What farthest back dost thou bear in mind? For wide is thy wisdom, giant!”
35Vafthruthnir spake: “Winters unmeasured ere earth was made Was the birth of Bergelmir; This first knew I well, when the giant wise In a boat of old was borne.”
36Othin spake: “Ninth answer me well, if wise thou art called, If thou knowest it, Vafthruthnir, now: Whence comes the wind that fares o’er the waves Yet never itself is seen?”
37Vafthruthnir spake: “In an eagle’s guise at the end of heaven Hræsvelg sits, they say; And from his wings does the wind come forth To move o’er the world of men.”
38Othin spake: “Tenth answer me now, if thou knowest all The fate that is fixed for the gods: Whence came up Njorth to the kin of the gods,— (Rich in temples and shrines he rules,—) Though of gods he was never begot?”
39Vafthruthnir spake: “In the home of the Wanes did the wise ones create him, And gave him as pledge to the gods; At the fall of the world shall he fare once more Home to the Wanes so wise.”
40Othin spake: “Eleventh answer me well,................... What men...... in...... home Each day to fight go forth?”
41Vafthruthnir spake: “The heroes all in Othin’s hall Each day to fight go forth; They fell each other, and fare from the fight All healed full soon to sit.”
42Othin spake: “Twelfth answer me now how all thou knowest Of the fate that is fixed for the gods; Of the runes of the gods and the giants’ race The truth indeed dost thou tell, (And wide is thy wisdom, giant!)”
43Vafthruthnir spake: “Of the runes of the gods and the giants’ race The truth indeed can I tell, (For to every world have I won;) To nine worlds came I, to Niflhel beneath, The home where dead men dwell.”
44Othin spake: “Much have I fared, much have I found, Much have I got of the gods: What shall live of mankind when at last there comes The mighty winter to men?”
45Vafthruthnir spake: “In Hoddmimir’s wood shall hide themselves Lif and Lifthrasir then; The morning dews for meat shall they have, Such food shall men then find.”
46Othin spake: “Much have I fared, much have I found, Much have I got of the gods: Whence comes the sun to the smooth sky back, When Fenrir has snatched it forth?”
47Vafthruthnir spake: “A daughter bright Alfrothul bears Ere Fenrir snatches her forth; Her mother’s paths shall the maiden tread When the gods to death have gone.”
48Othin spake: “Much have I fared, much have I found, Much have I got of the gods: What maidens are they, so wise of mind, That forth o’er the sea shall fare?”
49Vafthruthnir spake: “O’er Mogthrasir’s hill shall the maidens pass, And three are their throngs that come; They all shall protect the dwellers on earth, Though they come of the giants’ kin.”
50Othin spake: “Much have I fared, much have I found, Much have I got of the gods: Who then shall rule the realm of the gods, When the fires of Surt have sunk?”
51Vafthruthnir spake: “In the gods’ home Vithar and Vali shall dwell, When the fires of Surt have sunk; Mothi and Magni shall Mjollnir have When Vingnir falls in fight.”
52Othin spake: “Much have I fared, much have I found, Much have I got of the gods: What shall bring the doom of death to Othin, When the gods to destruction go?”
53Vafthruthnir spake: “The wolf shall fell the father of men, And this shall Vithar avenge; The terrible jaws shall he tear apart, And so the wolf shall he slay.”
54Othin spake: “Much have I fared, much have I found, Much have I got from the gods: What spake Othin himself in the ears of his son, Ere in the bale-fire he burned?”
55Vafthruthnir spake: “No man can tell what in olden time Thou spak’st in the ears of thy son; With fated mouth the fall of the gods And mine olden tales have I told; With Othin in knowledge now have I striven, And ever the wiser thou art.”