Source text: “The Language of Poetry”

A man is named Aegir, or Hler. He lived on the island now called Hlesey. He was highly skilled in magic. He made a journey to Asgard, but the Aesir knew of his coming beforehand, and he was warmly welcomed, though many things were brought about through illusions. In the evening, when it was time to drink, Odin had swords carried into the hall, and they were so bright that they gave light; no other light was used while they sat drinking. Then the Aesir went to their feast, and twelve Aesir took their high seats, those who were to be judges. Their names were Thor, Njord, Frey, Tyr, Heimdall, Bragi, Vidar, Vali, Ull, Hoenir, Forseti, and Loki. Likewise, the goddesses were Frigg, Freyja, Gefjon, Idunn, Gerd, Sigyn, Fulla, and Nanna. Aegir thought it a magnificent sight to look around him there. All the wall panels were hung with beautiful shields. There was strong mead there too, and much drinking. Bragi sat next to Aegir, and they drank together and talked. Bragi told Aegir of many events in which the Aesir had taken part.

He began his account with three Aesir setting out from home: Odin, Loki, and Hoenir. They travelled over mountains and wilderness, and food was hard to find. When they came down into a valley, they saw a herd of oxen, took one of the oxen, and put it in an earth oven. When they thought it must be cooked, they opened the oven, but it was not cooked. A second time, after a while had passed, they opened the oven, and it was still not cooked. They discussed among themselves what could be causing this. Then they heard a voice in the oak above them: whoever was sitting there said that he was responsible for the meat not cooking in the oven. They looked up, and an eagle was sitting there, no small one.

Then the eagle said, “If you will give me my fill of the ox, it will cook in the oven.”

They agreed. Then he let himself down from the tree, settled on the oven, and immediately took both the ox’s thighs and both its shoulders. Loki grew angry, picked up a great pole, swung it with all his strength, and struck the eagle’s body. The eagle recoiled from the blow and flew up. The pole was stuck fast to the eagle’s back, and Loki’s hands to the other end of the pole. The eagle flew at such a height that Loki’s feet struck stones, scree, and trees, and he thought his arms would be torn from his shoulders. He shouted and begged the eagle most urgently for mercy. But the eagle said that Loki would never be free unless he swore an oath to bring Idunn out of Asgard with her apples, and Loki agreed. Then he was released and went to his companions, and for now no more is told of their journey before they came home.

At the appointed time, Loki lured Idunn out of Asgard into a forest, saying that he had found some apples that she would consider treasures. He asked her to bring her own apples with her and compare them with the others. Then the giant Thjazi came there in eagle form, seized Idunn, and flew away with her to his home in Thrymheim.

The Aesir were badly troubled by Idunn’s disappearance, and they soon became grey-haired and old. Then the Aesir held an assembly, and each asked the others what they last knew of Idunn. She had last been seen going out of Asgard with Loki. Loki was seized and brought to the assembly, and he was threatened with death or torture. When he became frightened, he said that he would go after Idunn in Jotunheim if Freyja would lend him the falcon shape she possessed. When he obtained the falcon shape, he flew north into Jotunheim and came one day to the giant Thjazi’s home. Thjazi had rowed out to sea, and Idunn was home alone. Loki changed her into the shape of a nut, held her in his claws, and flew as fast as he could.

When Thjazi came home and found Idunn missing, he took his eagle shape and flew after Loki, raising an eagle’s gale as he flew. When the Aesir saw the falcon flying with the nut, and where the eagle was flying, they went out to the foot of Asgard’s wall and carried loads of wood shavings there. When the falcon flew in over the stronghold, he dropped down beside its wall. Then the Aesir set fire to the wood shavings, but the eagle could not stop himself when he lost the falcon. The fire caught the eagle’s feathers, and his flight came to an end. The Aesir were close by and killed the giant Thjazi inside the gates of Asgard, and that killing is very famous.

But Skadi, the giant Thjazi’s daughter, took a helmet and mail-coat and all her weapons of war and went to Asgard to avenge her father. The Aesir offered her a settlement and compensation, beginning with this: she was to choose herself a husband from among the Aesir, choosing by their feet and seeing nothing else of them. She saw one man’s exceptionally beautiful feet and said, “I choose this one. There can be little that is ugly about Baldr.” But it was Njord of Noatun.

She also made it part of her settlement that the Aesir should do something she thought they would be unable to do: make her laugh. Loki tied a cord around a goat’s beard and the other end around his own testicles, and each gave way in turn, both squealing loudly. Then Loki let himself fall into Skadi’s lap, and she laughed. Thus a settlement was made with her on the Aesir’s behalf.

It is said that Odin gave Skadi this further compensation: he took Thjazi’s eyes, threw them up into the sky, and made two stars from them.

Then Aegir said, “Thjazi seems to me to have been a very powerful being. What was his ancestry?”

Bragi answered, “His father was named Olvaldi, and you will find what I tell you about him remarkable. He was very rich in gold. When he died and his sons were to divide the inheritance, they measured out the gold they shared by each taking a mouthful, all taking the same number of mouthfuls. One of them was Thjazi, the second Idi, and the third Gang. From this we now have an expression among us, calling gold the mouth-count of these giants. We conceal it in riddles or poetry by calling it the speech or words or talk of these giants.”

Then Aegir said, “That seems to me well concealed in riddles.”

Aegir spoke again: “Where did the art that you call poetry originate?”

Bragi answered, “Its beginning was this: the gods were in conflict with the people called the Vanir. They arranged a peace conference and established a truce in this way: both sides went up to a single vessel and spat their spittle into it. When they parted, the gods did not want to let this token of their truce perish, so they made a man from it. His name is Kvasir. He is so wise that no one asks him anything to which he does not know the answer. He travelled widely through the world, teaching people knowledge. When he came as a guest to the home of two dwarfs, Fjalar and Galar, they called him aside for a private conversation and killed him. They let his blood run into two vessels and a kettle. The kettle is called Odrerir, and the vessels are called Son and Bodn. They mixed honey with the blood, and it became a mead that makes everyone who drinks it a poet or a learned man. The dwarfs told the Aesir that Kvasir had suffocated in his own wisdom, because no one there was learned enough to ask him questions that would draw on his knowledge.

“Then these dwarfs invited a giant named Gilling and his wife to their home. The dwarfs invited Gilling to row out to sea with them. As they went along the coast, the dwarfs rowed onto a submerged rock and overturned the boat. Gilling could not swim and drowned, but the dwarfs righted their boat and rowed ashore. They told his wife what had happened, and she was deeply distressed and wept loudly. Fjalar asked her whether she would feel better if she looked out to sea where he had drowned, and she wished to do so. Then he told his brother Galar to go up above the doorway as she went out and drop a millstone on her head, saying that he was tired of her wailing. And Galar did so.

“When the giant Suttung, Gilling’s son, heard of this, he went and seized the dwarfs, took them out to sea, and set them on a skerry that was submerged at high tide. They begged Suttung to spare their lives and offered him the precious mead as compensation for his father, and on these terms they reached a settlement. Suttung took the mead home and stored it in a place called Hnitbjorg, setting his daughter Gunnlod there to guard it.

“Because of this we call poetry Kvasir’s blood, or the dwarfs’ drink or fill, or any kind of liquid of Odrerir or Bodn or Son, or the dwarfs’ passage-price, because that mead bought them their lives and release from the skerry, or Suttung’s mead, or the liquid of Hnitbjorg.”

Then Aegir said, “It seems to me an obscure way of speaking to call poetry by these names. But how did you Aesir obtain Suttung’s mead?”

Bragi answered, “This is the story of it: Odin set out from home and came to a place where nine slaves were mowing hay. He asked whether they wanted him to sharpen their scythes. They agreed. Then he took a whetstone from his belt and sharpened the scythes. They thought their scythes cut much better and offered to buy the whetstone, but he set its price at a fair payment from whoever wished to buy it. All said they wanted it and asked him to sell it to them, but he threw the whetstone up into the air. As they all tried to catch it, they struggled with one another so that each swept his scythe across another’s neck.

“Odin sought lodging for the night with a giant named Baugi, Suttung’s brother. Baugi said that his farming affairs were in a bad way: his nine slaves had killed one another, and he could see no prospect of finding workmen. Odin called himself Bolverk before him. He offered to undertake nine men’s work for Baugi, asking in payment for one drink of Suttung’s mead. Baugi said that he had no control over the mead and that Suttung wanted it all for himself, but he said that he would go with Bolverk and try to obtain the mead.

“Bolverk did nine men’s work for Baugi during the summer, and when winter came he asked Baugi for his wages. They both went to Suttung. Baugi told his brother Suttung of his agreement with Bolverk, but Suttung flatly refused to give a single drop of the mead. Then Bolverk told Baugi that they should try some trick to see whether they could get the mead, and Baugi agreed. Bolverk brought out an auger called Rati and told Baugi to bore through the mountain, if the auger would bite. He did so. Then Baugi said that he had bored through the mountain, but Bolverk blew into the borehole, and the chips flew back towards him. He realized that Baugi meant to deceive him and told him to bore right through the mountain. Baugi bored again, and when Bolverk blew a second time, the chips flew inward. Then Bolverk changed into the shape of a snake and crawled into the borehole. Baugi thrust the auger after him but missed him.

“Bolverk went to where Gunnlod was and lay with her for three nights. Then she allowed him to take three drinks of the mead. With the first drink he drained all of Odrerir, with the second all of Bodn, and with the third all of Son, and then he had all the mead. He changed into eagle form and flew as fast as he could. When Suttung saw the eagle’s flight, he took eagle form himself and flew after him. When the Aesir saw Odin flying, they set their vessels out in the courtyard. When Odin came in over Asgard, he spat the mead up into the vessels. But Suttung had come so close to catching him that he let some of the mead out behind him, and no care was taken of that. Whoever wanted it could have it, and we call it the fool-poets’ share. But Odin gave Suttung’s mead to the Aesir and to those men who knew how to compose poetry. That is why we call poetry Odin’s booty and his find, his drink and his gift, and the drink of the Aesir.”

Then Aegir said: “In how many ways do you vary the expressions of poetry, and how many kinds of poetry are there?”

Then Bragi said: “There are two kinds that distinguish all poetry.”

Aegir asked: “Which two?”

Bragi said: “Language and verse forms.”

“What kinds of expression are used in poetry?”

“Poetic language has three divisions.”

“What are they?”

“To call each thing by its own name. The second division is what is called substitution. The third division of language is what is called a kenning. This division is formed in this way: we name Odin or Thor or Tyr, or someone among the Aesir or elves, and to whichever of them I name I attach a designation for something belonging to another god, or mention some of his deeds. Then the name belongs to that other god, rather than to the one who was named. Thus, when we say Victory-Tyr or Tyr of the Hanged or Tyr of Cargoes, these are names for Odin, and we call them kennings; likewise when we say Chariot-Tyr.”

This must now be said to young poets who wish to learn the language of poetry and acquire a wealth of words through ancient names, or who wish to understand what is composed in veiled language: they should study this book for knowledge and entertainment. But these accounts should not be forgotten or discredited to the point of removing from poetry the ancient kennings that the foremost poets have been pleased to use. Yet Christians should not believe in heathen gods, or in the truth of these accounts in any other way than is set out here at the beginning of the book.

Now examples shall be heard of how the foremost poets have thought it fitting to compose using these names and kennings, as when Arnor, the earls’ poet, says that Odin is called Allfather:

Now I mean to tell men
of the stern-hearted earl’s virtues;
slowly my grief eases;
Allfather’s mash-surf roars.

Here he also calls poetry Allfather’s mash-surf. Havard the Lame composed this:

Now for the sea-horse’s trees
the eagle’s flight has passed over the mounds;
I think they accept an invitation
from the field of the god of the hanged.

Viga-Glum composed this:

The host held back from advancing
beneath the hat of the Tyr of the Hanged;
they thought it no pleasant risk
to venture down the slope.

Ref composed this:

Often, when the Baldr of the gleams
of the prows’ earth had fallen,
the Raven-god’s holy cup
came kindly to me.

Eyvind, the spoiler of poets, composed this:

And Sigurd,
who gave the swans
of the Tyr of Cargoes
the beer of the rooks
of the Haddingjar’s slain,
was robbed of life
by the rulers of the land
at Oglo.

Glum Geirason composed this:

There was Victory-Tyr himself
in the attacking elf of Atal’s beasts;
the gods of Beimi directed
those ravens’ winds for him.

Eyvind also composed this:

Gondul and Skogul
were sent by the Tyr of the Goths
to choose among kings
which of Yngvi’s line
should go with Odin
and dwell in Valhalla.

Ulf Uggason composed this:

Far-famed Hropt-Tyr rides
to his son’s very broad pyre,
while words of praise
flow through my jaws.

Thjodolf of Hvin composed this:

The slain lay there on the sand,
assigned to the one-eyed
dweller in Frigg’s embrace;
we welcomed such a deed.

Hallfred composed this:

With true words the bold receiver
of the sword of the wind’s steed
draws beneath himself Thridi’s
pine-haired, longed-for wife.

Here is an example of the earth being called Odin’s wife in poetry. This is what Eyvind is said to have composed:

“Hermod and Bragi,”
said Hropt-Tyr,
“go to meet the prince,
for a king is coming,
one thought a champion,
here to the hall.”

Kormak composed this:

The land-winner honors with a headband
the dispenser of the gods’ fjord,
he who binds the mast upright.
Ygg won Rind with spells.

Steinthor composed this:

I have an ancient horn-torrent
to praise, though a small one,
of the burden of Gunnlod’s arms,
who shuns contentment.

Ulf Uggason composed this:

There, I think, Valkyries and ravens
follow the wise victory-tree
to the drink of the holy sacrifice.
Thus the hall received its pictures within.

Egil Skallagrimsson composed this:

I do not worship
Vili’s brother,
the gods’ protector,
because I am eager to;
yet Mimir’s friend
has granted me
redress for sorrow
that I count the better gift.
The wolf’s enemy,
accustomed to battle,
gave me an art
free from fault.

Here he is called the gods’ protector, Mimir’s friend, and the wolf’s enemy. Ref composed this:

To you we must render Fal’s drink,
Valgaut of the snow of the path
of the wave-steeds’ hall,
valiant and accustomed to command.

Einar, the bowl-clatterer, composed this:

I shall have to pour out
the bilge-water of Army-Tyr’s wine-vessel
before the generous, swift lord;
blame for that will not suffice.

Ulf Uggason composed this:

Noble Heimdall rides on his horse
to the pyre the gods have built
for the fallen son
of the wise Raven-tester.

This is said in Eirik’s Lay:

“What dream is this?” said Odin.
“I thought I rose before daybreak
to make Valhalla ready
for the slain.
I woke the Einherjar,
bade them rise,
strew the benches,
rinse the beer-cups,
and the Valkyries bear wine,
as though a ruler were coming.”

Kormak composed this:

Young, I ask the ruler of all
to hold me fully honored
on the swaying ground of Yngvi’s fish.
Hropt went with Gungnir.

Thoralf composed this:

The lord of Hlidskjalf himself
said what he had in mind,
where the shield-shunning Harek’s
followers were struck down.

Eyvind composed this:

He who bore,
flying from Surt’s
deep dales,
the burden that gives strength.

Bragi composed this:

It is clear to me that early
the son of the Father of Men wished
to test his strength against
the rain-drenched cord of the earth.

Einar composed this:

For most richly gifted princes
have less to settle with Bestla’s son
than you; I have taken up
the praise of battle.

Thorvald, the blending poet, composed this:

Now I have grasped much
in the mead
of Bor’s son,
Buri’s heir.

Here shall be heard how poets have made kennings for poetry using the names written above: calling it Kvasir’s blood, the dwarfs’ ship, the dwarfs’ mead, the giants’ mead, Suttung’s mead, Odin’s mead, the mead of the Aesir, the giants’ compensation for their father, the liquid and contents of Odrerir, Bodn, and Son, the liquid of Hnitbjorg, Odin’s booty, discovery, cargo, and gift, as in these verses composed by Einar, the bowl-clatterer:

I ask the great-hearted guardian
of the land to hear—hear, earl—
Kvasir’s blood, the dregs-surf
of the men of the fjord-bone.

And as Einar, the bowl-clatterer, also composed:

The dwarfs’ rock-keeping wave
passes over all the company
of Ull’s ash, who strengthens
courage in the shelter of battle-sorrow.

As Orm Steinthorsson composed:

May both the beer-bench’s body
and mine be carried into one hall;
let men receive the drink
of the dead Dvalin.

And as Ref composed:

I offer Thorstein the worth
of the rock-people’s mind-land;
the rock-Maerar’s wave resounds;
I ask humankind to listen.

As Egil composed:

The ruler offered me welcome;
I owe him praise for that.
I bore Odin’s mead
to the English lands.

And as Glum Geirason composed:

Listen, generous princes:
I have the gods’ supplicant’s drink.
For this we ask for silence,
that we may tell of a lord’s loss.

And as Eyvind composed:

I ask for a hearing
for Har’s drink,
while I raise up
Gilling’s compensation,
while in the gallows-burden’s
cauldron-liquid we trace
his lineage
back to the gods.

As Einar, the bowl-clatterer, composed:

The wave of the life-sea surges
before the ruler; Rognir’s deeds serve me;
Odrerir’s wave roars
against the skerry of incantations.

And again, as he composed:

Now that the wave of Bodn,
of the rock-Saxar, begins to swell,
let the prince’s people make
silence in the hall and hear the ship.

And as Eilif Gudrunarson composed:

You must decide on gifts of friendship,
since for us the seed of words
about a famous descendant grows
on Son’s reed-covered land.

As Volu-Stein composed:

Hear, Egil, my streams
of Mimir’s friend’s joy-rock resound
against the gums’ skerry;
Thund’s discovery is given me.

Orm Steinthorsson composed this:

Men need harbor no fear
about my poem; I turn nothing
to mockery in Vidur’s booty;
I know how to fashion praise.

Ulf Uggason composed this:

To cheerful Olaf I offer
the wave of Hild’s helmet-giant’s mind-fjord;
I wish to greet him
with Grimnir’s gift.

Poetry is called the dwarfs’ sea or liquid because Kvasir’s blood was liquid in Odrerir before the mead was made, and it was brewed there in the cauldron. For this reason it is called Odin’s cauldron-liquid, as Eyvind composed in the lines written earlier:

While in the gallows-burden’s
cauldron-liquid we trace
his lineage
back to the gods.

Poetry is also called the dwarfs’ vessel or drink. Líð means ale, and líð means a ship. Thus, as an example, poetry is now called the dwarfs’ ship for this reason, as it says here:

Both to the rock-earl’s bride
I must send the dwarfs’ ship
and the swelling wind
along one long-neglected road.

How should Thor be referred to? By calling him the son of Odin and Jord, the father of Magni, Modi, and Thrud, Sif’s husband, Ull’s stepfather, the wielder and owner of Mjolnir and the belt of strength and Bilskirnir, the defender of Asgard and Midgard, the enemy and slayer of giants and troll-women, the killer of Hrungnir, Geirrod, and Thrivaldi, the lord of Thjalfi and Roskva, the enemy of the Midgard Serpent, and the foster-son of Vingnir and Hlora. Bragi the poet composed this:

The line of Vidrir’s heir
lay far from slack on Eynaefir’s ski
as Jormungand was dragged
toward the sand.

Olvir Hnufa composed this:

The girdle of all lands raged,
and so did Jord’s son.

Eilif composed this:

Roskva’s brother stood angry;
Magni’s father won victory.
Neither Thor’s nor Thjalfi’s courage-stone
trembles with fear.

And as Eystein Valdason composed:

Thrud’s father gazed with sharp eyes
at the ring of the steep road;
the dwelling of the terror had stirred
before the boat.

Eystein also composed:

Sif’s confidant swiftly readied
his fishing gear beside the old man;
we stir Hrimnir’s
horn-stream.

And he also composed:

The earth’s coalfish jerked so
that broad seams sprang apart;
the fists of Ull’s kinsman
struck out over the gunwale.

Bragi composed this:

The terrifier of mighty prow-beasts
took his hammer in his right hand
when he recognized the boundary-fish
of all the lands.

Gamli composed this:

When Bilskirnir’s brave-hearted lord,
who devised no deceit,
began to destroy the earth’s fish
with the ravine-whale’s bane.

Thorbjorn, the poet of the disir, composed this:

Thor has defended Asgard by his might,
with Ygg’s helpers.

Bragi composed this:

And the hideous ring of the path
of the boat with its row of oars,
fierce of mind, stared from below
at the shatterer of Hrungnir’s skull.

Bragi also composed:

You have firmly held back your steeds,
splitter of Thrivaldi’s nine heads,
from the renowned feast-beast’s
festive banquet.

Eilif composed this:

The oppressor of women who roam
at evening opened his arm-mouth
at the heavy, red-hot morsel
of the tongs’ seaweed.

Ulf Uggason composed this:

The goat-user declared that the stout-grown
fat fellow thought the mighty pull
an immense
and dangerous venture.

And also this:

The mighty slayer of the mountain-Gaut
let his fist crash against the ear
of the tester of the reed of the leg;
a grievous hurt it was.
(56.)
The wide sky of Vimur’s ford
struck the ear’s floor against the waves,
away from the gleaming serpent.
Thus the hall received its pictures within.

Here he is called the giant of Vimur’s ford. Vimur is the name of a river that Thor waded when he went to Geirrod’s courts. And Vetrliði the poet composed this:

You broke Leikn’s legs,
battered Thrivaldi,
toppled Starkad,
and trod Gjalp dead.

And Thorbjorn, the poet of the disir, composed this:

A blow rang on Keila’s skull;
you shattered Kjallandi completely;
earlier you killed Lut and Leidi,
and made Buseyra bleed;
you checked Hengjankjapta;
Hyrrokkin died before;
yet sooner still the swarthy
Svivor was robbed of life.

How should Baldr be referred to? By calling him the son of Odin and Frigg, Nanna’s husband, Forseti’s father, owner of Hringhorni and Draupnir, Hod’s enemy, Hel’s companion, god of tears. Ulf Uggason composed a long passage about Baldr’s story in Húsdrápa, and examples in which Baldr is referred to in these ways have already been written above.

How should Njord be referred to? By calling him god of the Vanir, descendant of the Vanir, or a Van, and father of Frey and Freyja, the god who gives wealth. As Thord Sjareksson says:

Gudrun herself became
the slayer of her sons;
the wise bride of gods
could not love the Van;
Kjalar tamed
horses very well;
they did not say Hamdir
held back from sword-play.

This refers to Skadi leaving Njord, as written earlier.

How should Frey be referred to? By calling him Njord’s son, Freyja’s brother, and also god of the Vanir, descendant of the Vanir, a Van, god of fruitful seasons and giver of wealth. As Egil Skallagrimsson composed:

For Grjotbjorn
has been endowed
by Frey and Njord
with abundant wealth.

Frey is called Beli’s enemy, as Eyvind Skaldaspillir composed:

When the earls’ enemy
wished to settle
the outlying land
of Beli’s foe.

He owns Skidbladnir and the boar called Gullinbursti, as is said here:

Ivaldi’s sons
went in ancient days
to fashion Skidbladnir,
the best of ships,
for shining Frey,
Njord’s worthy son.

As Ulf Uggason says:

Battle-wise Frey rides on the boar to the pyre
of Odin’s son,
and leads the hosts,
foremost on the golden-bristled one.

The boar is also called Slidrugtanni.

How should Heimdall be referred to? By calling him the son of nine mothers or the watchman of the gods, as written earlier, or the white god, Loki’s enemy, seeker of Freyja’s necklace. Heimdall’s head is called a sword. It is said that he was pierced through with a human head. This is told in Heimdall’s Chant, and since then a head has been called Heimdall’s doom. A sword is called a man’s doom. Heimdall owns Gulltopp. He is also the visitor to Vagasker and Singastein. There he contended with Loki over Brisingamen. He is also called Vindler. Ulf Uggason composed a long passage in Húsdrápa about this story, and it is mentioned there that they were in the shapes of seals. He is also Odin’s son.

How should Tyr be referred to? By calling him the one-handed god and fosterer of the wolf, god of battles, Odin’s son.

How should Bragi be referred to? By calling him Idunn’s husband, the first maker of poetry, and the long-bearded god—from his name, someone with a great beard is called a beard-Bragi—and Odin’s son.

How should Vidar be referred to? He may be called the silent god, owner of the iron shoe, enemy and slayer of the wolf Fenrir, avenging god of the gods, the god who dwells on his father’s homesteads, and Odin’s son, brother of the Aesir.

How should Vali be referred to? By calling him the son of Odin and Rind, Frigg’s stepson, brother of the Aesir, Baldr’s avenging god, Hod’s enemy and his slayer, dweller on his father’s homesteads.

How should Hod be referred to? By calling him the blind god, Baldr’s slayer, shooter of the mistletoe, Odin’s son, Hel’s companion, Vali’s enemy.

How should Ull be referred to? By calling him Sif’s son, Thor’s stepson, god of skis, god of the bow, god of hunting, god of the shield.

How should Hoenir be referred to? By calling him Odin’s benchmate or companion or confidant, and the swift god, the long-footed one, and mud-king.

How should Loki be referred to? By calling him the son of Farbauti and Laufey, or Nal, brother of Byleist and Helblindi, father of Vanargand, that is, the wolf Fenrir, and of Jormungand, that is, the Midgard Serpent, and of Hel and Nari and Ali; kinsman and paternal uncle, companion and benchmate of Odin and the Aesir; visitor and chest-ornament of Geirrod; thief of giants, a goat, Brisingamen and Idunn’s apples; Sleipnir’s kinsman, Sigyn’s husband, enemy of the gods, destroyer of Sif’s hair, maker of mischief, the cunning god, slanderer and deceiver of the gods, plotter of Baldr’s death, the bound god, contentious enemy of Heimdall and Skadi. As Ulf Uggason says here:

Wise in counsel, the famed guardian of the gods
contends for land at Singastein
with the terribly cunning
son of Farbauti;
the mighty son of eight mothers
and one wins the lovely sea-kidney;
I tell of it beforehand
in strands of praise.

Here it is mentioned that Heimdall is the son of nine mothers.

Now further examples shall be told of the origins of those kennings just written for which examples have not already been given, as Bragi told Aegir: Thor had gone east to fight trolls, while Odin rode Sleipnir into Jotunheim and came to the giant called Hrungnir. Hrungnir then asked who this man with the golden helmet was, riding through air and over water, and said that he had a remarkably good horse. Odin said he would wager his head that no horse in Jotunheim was as good. Hrungnir said that it was a good horse, but declared that he himself had a horse with a much longer stride. It was called Gullfaxi. Hrungnir grew angry, leapt onto his horse and galloped after Odin, intending to repay his boasting. Odin rode so fast that he was a ridge ahead, but Hrungnir was in such a giant’s rage that he did not notice where he was until he had passed through the gates of the Aesir.

When he reached the hall doors, the Aesir invited him to drink. He went into the hall and asked for something to drink. The bowls Thor was accustomed to drinking from were brought out, and Hrungnir drained each one. When he grew drunk, there was no shortage of boasts. He declared that he would pick up Valhalla and carry it to Jotunheim, sink Asgard and kill all the gods, except that he wanted to take Freyja and Sif home with him. Freyja alone then dared to pour his drink, and he declared that he would drink all the Aesir’s ale.

When the Aesir grew tired of his boasts, they called on Thor. At once Thor came into the hall with his hammer raised, furious, and asked who was responsible for allowing giants as cunning as dogs to drink there, who had granted Hrungnir safe conduct to be in Valhalla, and why Freyja should pour his drink as though at a feast of the Aesir. Hrungnir answered, looking at Thor with unfriendly eyes, and said that Odin had invited him to drink and he was under Odin’s protection. Thor said that Hrungnir would regret that invitation before he got out. Hrungnir said it would bring Thor of the Aesir little glory to kill him unarmed. It would be a greater test of his courage if he dared to fight him on the border at Grjotunagardar.

“And it was a very foolish thing,” he said, “to leave my shield and whetstone at home. If I had my weapons here, we would try our strength in single combat now. As things stand, I charge you with dishonour if you mean to kill me unarmed.”

Thor was determined not to fail to come to single combat once challenged, for no one had ever challenged him before. Hrungnir then went on his way and rode hard until he reached Jotunheim. His journey became very famous among the giants, as did the fact that a meeting had been arranged between him and Thor. The giants felt that much depended on which of them won. They expected evil from Thor if Hrungnir fell, since he was the strongest among them.

The giants then made a man of clay at Grjotunagardar, nine leagues tall and three wide beneath the arms. They could find no heart large enough to suit him until they took one from a mare, and it proved unsteady in him when Thor arrived. Hrungnir had his famous heart of hard stone, pointed with three corners, like the carved design made ever since that is called Hrungnir’s heart. His head was also of stone. His shield was stone too, broad and thick, and he held it before him as he stood at Grjotatunagardar awaiting Thor. For a weapon he had a whetstone, which he rested on his shoulder, and he was no easy opponent. Beside him stood the clay giant called Mokkurkalfi, who was very frightened. It is said that he urinated when he saw Thor.

Thor went to the appointed duel, and Thjalfi went with him. Thjalfi ran ahead to where Hrungnir stood and said to him, “You stand unguarded, giant, holding your shield before you. Thor has seen you, and he is travelling underground and will come at you from below.”

Hrungnir thrust his shield beneath his feet and stood on it, taking the whetstone in both hands. At once he saw lightning and heard great peals of thunder. Then he saw Thor in his divine fury. Thor came on fiercely, swung his hammer and hurled it at Hrungnir from far away. Hrungnir raised the whetstone in both hands and threw it to meet the hammer. It struck the hammer in flight, and the whetstone broke apart. One piece fell to the ground, and from it all whetstone rocks have come. The other piece crashed into Thor’s head, so that he fell forward onto the ground. But the hammer Mjolnir struck Hrungnir in the middle of his head and shattered his skull into tiny pieces. He fell forward over Thor, so that his foot lay across Thor’s neck. Thjalfi attacked Mokkurkalfi, who fell with little glory.

Thjalfi then went to Thor to lift Hrungnir’s foot off him, but could not move it at all. All the Aesir came when they heard that Thor had fallen, and tried to lift the foot off him, but could get nowhere. Then Magni, the son of Thor and Jarnsaxa, arrived. He was then three nights old. He flung Hrungnir’s foot off Thor and said, “What a terrible pity, Father, that I came so late. I think I would have struck this giant dead with my fist if I had found him.”

Thor rose and warmly welcomed his son, saying that he would become a mighty man. “And I wish,” he said, “to give you the horse Gullfaxi, which belonged to Hrungnir.”

Then Odin spoke and said that Thor had done wrong to give that fine horse to a giantess’s son rather than to his own father.

Thor went home to Thrudvangar, and the whetstone remained lodged in his head. Then the seeress called Groa, wife of Aurvandil the Bold, came to him. She sang her spells over Thor until the whetstone began to loosen. When Thor felt this and thought there was hope of removing it, he wished to reward Groa for the healing and make her happy. He told her that he had waded south across Elivagar, carrying Aurvandil from Jotunheim in a basket on his back. As proof of this, one of Aurvandil’s toes had stuck out of the basket and frozen, so Thor had broken it off, thrown it up into the sky and made it into the star called Aurvandil’s Toe.

Thor said that it would not be long before Aurvandil came home. Groa became so happy that she could remember none of her spells, and the whetstone grew no looser. It still remains in Thor’s head, and people are warned against throwing a whetstone across the floor, because that makes the whetstone in Thor’s head move. Thjodolf of Hvin composed Haustlöng about this story.”

Then Aegir said, “Hrungnir seems to me to have been very mighty. Did Thor ever perform a greater feat of strength when contending with trolls?”

Then Bragi answers: “The story of Thor’s journey to Geirrod’s courts is well worth telling. He did not have his hammer Mjolnir, his belt of strength, or his iron gloves, and Loki was responsible for that. Loki went with him, for this had happened to Loki once when he flew out for amusement in Frigg’s falcon shape: out of curiosity he flew to Geirrod’s courts, saw a great hall there, perched on it, and looked in through a window. Geirrod looked towards him and ordered someone to catch the bird and bring it to him. The man he sent had great difficulty climbing the hall’s wall, it was so high. Loki enjoyed seeing him struggle to reach him and decided for the moment not to fly away until the man had completed the whole difficult climb. But when the man reached for him, he spread his wings and pushed off hard, only to find his feet stuck fast. Loki was caught there and brought to the giant Geirrod. When Geirrod saw his eyes, he suspected that this must be a person and told him to answer, but Loki remained silent. Then Geirrod locked Loki in a chest and kept him starving there for three months. When Geirrod took him out and demanded that he speak, Loki told him who he was. To save his life, he swore oaths to Geirrod that he would bring Thor to Geirrod’s courts without either his hammer or his belt of strength.

Thor came to lodge with a giantess called Grid. She was the mother of Vidar the Silent. She told Thor the truth about Geirrod: that he was an exceedingly cunning giant and dangerous to deal with. She lent Thor a belt of strength and iron gloves that she owned, and her staff, called Grid’s Staff. Then Thor came to the river called Vimur, the greatest of all rivers. He fastened the belt of strength around himself and braced Grid’s Staff against the current, while Loki held on beneath the belt. When Thor reached the middle of the river, it rose so high that it broke over his shoulders. Then Thor spoke this verse:

65
Do not rise now, Vimur,
since I mean to wade through you
to the giants’ courts;
know that if you rise,
then my divine strength will rise
as high as heaven.

Then Thor looked up into a ravine and saw Gjalp, Geirrod’s daughter, standing astride the river; she was causing it to rise. Thor took a great stone from the river and threw it at her, saying, ‘A river must be stopped at its mouth.’ His throw did not miss its mark. At that moment he was carried towards the bank, managed to catch hold of a rowan bush, and so climbed out of the river. Hence the saying that the rowan is Thor’s salvation.

When Thor reached Geirrod’s, the companions were first shown to a goat-house for their lodging. There was one chair to sit on, and Thor sat there. Then he noticed that the chair was rising beneath him towards the roof. He thrust Grid’s Staff against the rafters and pressed down hard on the chair. There was a great crack, followed by a scream. Geirrod’s daughters Gjalp and Greip had been beneath the chair, and he had broken both their backs.

Then Geirrod had Thor summoned into the hall for games. Great fires burned along the length of the hall. When Thor came opposite Geirrod, Geirrod took a glowing lump of iron with tongs and threw it at Thor. Thor caught it in his iron gloves and raised the lump aloft, while Geirrod leaped behind an iron pillar to protect himself. Thor threw the lump, driving it through the pillar, through Geirrod, through the wall, and into the ground outside.”

Eilif Gudrunarson composed his Thorsdrapa after this story.

How should Frigg be referred to in kennings? By calling her Fjorgyn’s daughter, Odin’s wife, Baldr’s mother, the rival of Jord and Rind and Gunnlod and Gerd, Nanna’s mother-in-law, queen of the Aesir and goddesses, of Fulla, the falcon shape, and Fensalir.

How should Freyja be referred to in kennings? By calling her Njord’s daughter, Frey’s sister, Od’s wife, Hnoss’s mother, possessor of the battle-slain and Sessrumnir and tomcats and Brisingamen, deity of the Vanir, lady of the Vanir, the deity whose tears are beautiful, goddess of love.

All the goddesses may likewise be referred to by naming one with another’s name and identifying her by her own possessions, deeds, or ancestry.

How should Sif be referred to in kennings? By calling her Thor’s wife, Ull’s mother, the deity with beautiful hair, Jarnsaxa’s rival, Thrud’s mother.

How should Idunn be referred to in kennings? By calling her Bragi’s wife and keeper of the apples, and the apples the Aesir’s remedy for old age. She is also the giant Thjazi’s stolen prize, as was told earlier, when he carried her away from the Aesir. Thjodolf of Hvin composed verses in Haustlong after that story.

It is likewise proper to refer to the Aesir by calling any one of them by another’s name and identifying him by his own deeds, possessions, or ancestry.

How should the sky be referred to in kennings? By calling it Ymir’s skull, and hence a giant’s skull, the dwarfs’ toil or burden, or the helmet of Vestri and Austri, Sudri and Nordri; the land of the sun, moon, heavenly bodies, wagons, and weather; the helmet or house of air, earth, and sun. As Arnor the Earls’ Poet said:

No young king so generous ever steps
aboard a planked ship
beneath Ymir’s ancient skull;
that prince’s splendour was abundant.

And again, as he said:

The bright sun turns black,
earth sinks into the dark sea,
Austri’s burden breaks,
the whole sea roars over the mountains.

As Bodvar the Lame said:

For no ruler will ever,
beneath the sun’s ground,
be keener in battle, better,
or nobler than Ingi’s brothers.

And as Thjodolf of Hvin said:

Jord’s son drove to the iron-game,
and the moon’s road thundered
beneath him; the fury
of Meili’s brother swelled.

As Orm, Poet of the Barra Isles, said:

However the lord of the wagon-road
welcomes me, lady of Draupnir’s band,
I hear that the ruler is mighty;
he governs the realm.

As Bragi the poet said:

He who cast the eyes
of the ski-goddess’s father
above the dwelling of many men
onto the winds’ wide washing-bowl.

And as Markus said:

It is long since a nobler guardian of seafarers
was born on the storm-vat’s surf-encircled floor;
every man praises the lofty life
of the ring-flinger.

As Stein Herdisarson said:

I invoke the holy ruler
of the high world-tent in this poem
before men; praise comes forth,
for he is more glorious.

And as Arnor the Earls’ Poet said:

Glorious king of the day’s ground,
help glorious Hermund.

And again Arnor said:

True ruler of the sun’s tents,
help valiant Rognvald.

And as Hallvard said:

Canute guards the land as the lord of all
guards the splendid hall of mountains.

As Arnor said:

Michael, wise in understanding, weighs
what is thought wrongly done and all that is good;
then the ruler of the sun’s helmet separates men
upon the judgment seat.

How should the earth be referred to in kennings? By calling her Ymir’s flesh and Thor’s mother, Onar’s daughter, Odin’s bride, the rival of Frigg and Rind and Gunnlod, Sif’s mother-in-law, the floor and bottom of the hall of weather, the sea of animals, Night’s daughter, the sister of Aud and Day. As Eyvind the Spoiler of Poets said:

Now the river’s sun is hidden
in the body of the giants’ enemy’s mother;
the counsels of a mighty people
are powerful.

As Hallfred the Troublesome Poet said:

Their plans came to pass: afterwards
that wise-counselling confidant of the king
possessed the only daughter
of Onar, overgrown with trees.

And again he said:

The steerer of the ravens’ resting-place
drew Baleyg’s broad-faced bride
to himself with the mighty speech
of steel.

As Thjodolf said:

The gladdener of lords moors
the Goths’ vessel, with riveted hull,
at the outer edge of the elk-sea,
against the clear sea’s floor.

As Hallfred said:

Thus I think the famous flinger
very reluctant to leave Aud’s sister alone;
the earth passes beneath
the glorious diminisher of necklaces.

As Thjodolf said:

The spear-sluggish fool stood far away
when the hastener of battle-light
once took Rind’s rival
without a bride-price.

How should the sea be referred to in kennings? By calling it Ymir’s blood, visitor to the gods, Ran’s husband, father of Aegir’s daughters, whose names are Himinglaeva, Dufa, Blodughadda, Hefring, Ud, Hronn, Bylgja, Bara, and Kolga; the land of Ran and Aegir’s daughters, of ships and terms for seagoing ships, of keels, prows, planking, seams, fish, and ice; the sea-kings’ way and roads; likewise the ring of islands, the house of sands, seaweed, and skerries, the land of fishing-lines, seabirds, and fair winds. As Orm, Poet of the Barra Isles, said:

Ymir’s blood roars from offshore
on the sandbank of good ships.

As Ref said:

The gentle beast of mastheads bears from the west
its wave-driven shoulders across the water;
I expect land before the prow;
it shaves the whale’s ridge.

As Svein said:

Then Aegir’s storm-rejoicing daughters
were woven and torn
by fierce, frost-bred squalls
from the pale mountain-wall.

And as Ref said:

Gymir’s spray-cold prophetess brings
the bear of twisted cables,
where the wave breaks,
often into Aegir’s jaws.

Here it is said that Aegir, Hler, and Gymir are all the same. And again he said:

But the sea-peak’s Sleipnir,
drenched in spray, tears its breast,
coloured with red stone,
from white Ran’s mouth.

As Einar Skulason said:

A fierce storm-wind has swiftly
thrust the ship away from land;
the horse of the swans’ field lets the snow-land
sink into the sea’s undertow.

And again, as he said:

Many a stiff oar rises
in men’s hands, while the fishing-line’s roaring shore
sweeps round the lands;
at times the stays are stretched taut.

And again he said:

The king’s longship’s prows carry golden plates;
that is a noble voyage for the prince;
the island-fetter propels
Heiti’s raven.

Again, as he said:

The autumn-cold island-rim thrusts
the frosted ski of the wake.

And again:

The swelling girdle of cool lands
splits apart before the prows.

As Snaebjorn said:

They say nine brides of the island-quern-frame
swiftly turn the most war-fierce
Grotti of skerries
out beyond the earth’s edge;
they who long ago ground
Amlodi’s ale-grist; the ring-diminisher
cleaves with his ship’s prow
the dwelling of ships’ sides.

Here the sea is called Amlodi’s mill. Again, as Einar Skulason said:

Strong driven nails loosen
in the rushing current, where Rakni’s
heaving ground turns pale; the sail’s bane
thrusts the reefed sail against the stay.

How should the sun be referred to in kennings? By calling her Mundilfari’s daughter, Mani’s sister, Glen’s wife, the fire of sky and air. As Skuli Thorsteinsson said:

Glen’s bedmate, gracious to the gods,
wades into the goddess’s sanctuary; then
the good light comes down with the rays
of grey-shirted Mani.

As Einar Skulason said:

Wherever the world’s lofty flickering flame
hovers over our treasure-friend,
most fierce against the blaze
of Beiti’s stronghold’s hall.

How should wind be described in kennings? By calling it Fornjot's son, the brother of Aegir and fire, the breaker of trees, the harm and death of trees or sails or rigging, or their hound or wolf. As Svein said in Nordrsetudrapa:
Fornjot's ugly sons
first began to blow.

How should fire be described in kennings? By calling it the brother of wind and Aegir, the death and destruction of trees and houses, Half's slayer, the sun of houses.

How should winter be described in kennings? By calling it Vindsval's son and the death of serpents, the season of storms. As Orm Steinthorsson said:
I offer the blind man this comfort:
the son of Vindval.

As Asgrim said:
The victory-bringer, generous with gold,
was afterwards in Trondheim—
the people know your deeds are true—
through that torment of serpents.

How should summer be described in kennings? By calling it Svasud's son, the relief of serpents and the growth of men. As Egil Skallagrimsson said:
Let us make our swords flash on high,
reddener of the wolf's teeth;
we have brave deeds to perform
in the mercy of the valley-fish.

How should a man be described in kennings? A man should be described through his deeds: what he gives or receives or does. He may also be described through the possessions he owns, and likewise through what he has given, and through the families he descends from and those descended from him.

How should he be described through these things? By calling him the performer or accomplisher of his journeys or activities, battles or sea voyages or hunting, or of weapons or ships. For he is a tester, reynir, of weapons and a doer, viðr, of battles, both meaning a performer. Viðr is a word for a tree. Reynir is also the name of a tree. From these terms poets have called a man an ash or maple, a grove, or other masculine names for trees, and associated them with battles or ships or wealth. It is also proper to describe a man through any of the names of the Aesir. He is also described through giants' names, though this is mostly mockery or abuse. Describing him through elves is considered fitting.

A woman should be described through all kinds of women's finery, gold and jewels, ale or wine or any other drink she serves or gives, and likewise through ale vessels and all the things it is fitting for her to make or provide. It is proper to describe her by calling her the willow or felled tree of what she distributes; selja and lág are trees. For this reason a woman is described in kennings through all feminine names for trees. A woman is described through jewels or glass stones because in ancient times women wore an ornament called a stone necklace around their necks. This has now been extended in kennings so that a woman is described through stone and all names for stones. A woman is also described through all the goddesses or Valkyries or Norns or disir. It is also proper to describe a woman through any of her activities, possessions or family.

How should gold be described in kennings? By calling it Aegir's fire and Glasir's needles, Sif's hair, Fulla's headband, Freyja's weeping, the speech and voice and words of giants, Draupnir's drops and the rain or shower of Draupnir or Freyja's eyes, otter compensation, the Aesir's forced payment, the seed of Fyrisvellir, the roof of Holgi's mound, the fire of all waters and of the hand, the stones and skerries or gleam of the hand.

Why is gold called Aegir's fire? The explanation is the story mentioned earlier: Aegir accepted an invitation to Asgard, and when he was ready to return home, he invited Odin and all the Aesir to visit him three months later. Foremost among those who made this journey were Odin and Njord, Frey, Tyr, Bragi, Vidar and Loki, and also the goddesses Frigg, Freyja, Gefjon, Skadi, Idunn and Sif. Thor was not there. He had gone east to kill trolls.

When the gods had taken their seats, Aegir had shining gold brought onto the hall floor. It brightened and lit the hall like fire, and served as light at his feast, just as swords served in place of fire in Valhalla. Then Loki quarrelled there with all the gods and killed Aegir's thrall, whose name was Fimafeng. Another of his thralls is named Eldir. His wife is named Ran, and they have nine daughters, as written earlier. At that feast everything provided itself: the food, the ale and all the equipment needed for the feast. Then these Aesir discovered that Ran owned a net in which she caught everyone who went to sea.

This story explains why gold is called the fire or light or radiance of Aegir, Ran or Aegir's daughters. From these kennings the practice has now developed of calling gold the fire of the sea and of all its names, since Aegir and Ran have names associated with the sea. From this, gold is now called the fire of lakes or rivers and of all river names. These terms have developed like other terms and kennings: younger poets have composed after the examples of older poets, as found in their poems, and then extended them into areas they considered similar to what had been composed before, as a lake resembles the sea, a river a lake, and a brook a river. Thus everything in which a term is extended further than is found before is called a new creation, and all of it is considered good when it accords with likeness and nature. As Bragi the poet said:
I received from the prince the fire
of the mackerels' bench for the drink
of the mountains' Fjolnir; the ruler
gave it to me with a cup.

Why is gold called Glasir's needles or leaves? In Asgard, before the doors of Valhalla, stands a grove called Glasir, and all its foliage is red gold, as is said here:
Glasir stands
with golden leaves
before Sigtyr's halls.
It is the most beautiful tree among gods and men.

Why is gold called Sif's hair? Loki, Laufey's son, had maliciously cut off all Sif's hair. When Thor discovered this, he seized Loki and would have broken every bone in his body before Loki swore that he would get the dark elves to make Sif hair of gold that would grow like other hair. After this Loki went to the dwarfs called Ivaldi's sons, and they made the hair, Skidbladnir and the spear Odin owned, called Gungnir.

Then Loki wagered his head with the dwarf called Brokk on whether Brokk's brother Sindri could make three treasures as good as these. When they came to the smithy, Sindri put a pigskin in the forge and told Brokk to work the bellows without stopping until he took out what he had put in. As soon as Sindri had left the smithy, while Brokk worked the bellows, a fly settled on Brokk's hand and bit him. But he kept working the bellows as before until the smith took something out of the forge. It was a boar, and its bristles were gold.

Next Sindri put gold in the forge and told Brokk to work the bellows without stopping until he returned. He went away. Then the fly came and settled on Brokk's neck and now bit twice as hard as before. But Brokk kept working the bellows until the smith took from the forge the gold ring called Draupnir.

Then Sindri put iron in the forge and told Brokk to work the bellows, saying that it would be ruined if the blowing stopped. Then the fly settled between Brokk's eyes and bit his eyelids. When the blood ran into his eyes so that he could not see, he snatched up his hand as quickly as he could, while the bellows sank down, and swept the fly away. Then the smith came back and said that everything in the forge had come close to being ruined. He took a hammer out of the forge.

He then placed all the treasures in his brother Brokk's hands and told him to take them to Asgard and settle the wager. When Brokk and Loki presented the treasures, the Aesir sat on their judgment seats, and the decision pronounced by Odin, Thor and Frey was to stand.

Loki gave Odin the spear Gungnir, Thor the hair that Sif was to have, and Frey Skidbladnir. He explained the properties of all the treasures: the spear never stopped in its thrust; the hair took root in the flesh as soon as it was placed on Sif's head; and Skidbladnir had a favourable wind as soon as its sail was raised, wherever it was to go, but could be folded up like a cloth and kept in one's pouch if desired.

Then Brokk brought forward his treasures. He gave Odin the ring and said that every ninth night eight rings of equal weight would drip from it. He gave Frey the boar and said that it could run through air and over water, night and day, faster than any horse. It would never be so dark at night or in the worlds of darkness that there would not be ample light wherever it went, so brightly did its bristles shine.

Then he gave Thor the hammer and said that he could strike as hard as he wished, whatever was before him, and the hammer would not fail. If he threw it at something, it would never miss and never fly so far that it would not return to his hand. If he wished, it could become so small that he could keep it inside his shirt. It had one flaw: its handle was rather short.

Their judgment was that the hammer was the best of all the treasures and offered the greatest protection against the frost giants, and they ruled that the dwarf should have his winnings. Then Loki offered to ransom his head, but the dwarf said there was no prospect of that.

“Catch me, then,” said Loki. But when the dwarf tried to catch him, he was already far away. Loki had shoes in which he could run through air and over water. Then the dwarf asked Thor to catch him, and Thor did so. The dwarf wanted to cut off Loki's head, but Loki said that he was entitled to the head, but not the neck.

Then the dwarf took a thong and a knife and tried to pierce holes in Loki's lips and lace his mouth shut, but the knife would not cut. Then he said that his brother's awl would be better for this. As soon as he mentioned it, the awl was there, and it pierced the lips. He laced the lips together, and Loki tore himself free of the stitches. The thong with which Loki's mouth was laced shut is called Vartari.

Here one can hear gold described through Fulla's headband, in what Eyvind the Poet-spoiler composed:
Fulla's brow-field's setting sun
shone on the mountains of Ull's ship
for poets throughout
the whole of Hakon's life.

Gold is called Freyja's weeping, as said earlier. As Skuli Thorsteinsson said:
Many a bringer of slaughter-fire's peril
won that morning, where we felled the slain,
still more of Freyja's tears;
we were there.

And as Einar Skulason said:
There Mardoll's weeping lies
between the grooves; we carry
the destroyer of Gaut's mighty door,
swollen with the valley-char's lair.

Here Einar has also described Freyja by calling her Hnoss's mother or Od's wife, as here:
The mighty ice of Rodi's roof
does not melt beneath the rain
of Od's bedfellow's eyes;
may the king thus reach old age.

And again:
I can wield Horn's glorious child;
we received a precious treasure.
The surf's firebrand rests on the shield's
destroyer, wrapped in gold.
The nurturer of the battle-swan
granted me Frodi's seed;
Frey's niece bears the drifting snow
of her mother's eyelashes.

Here it is also mentioned that Freyja may be described by calling her Frey's sister. And again:
In the child of Njord's daughter
a useful defence was offered me;
the sea's fire lay close to the steel;
I praise the ruler well for that.

Here she is called Njord's daughter. And again:
The battle-proud impeller of Vafud's assembly,
who displays courage,
gave me the mightily strong daughter
of the bride of the Vanir.
The mighty wielder of the sword
led Gefn's maiden to the poet's bed,
strewn with embers of the path
of Gautrek's swans.

Here she is called Gefn and Bride of the Vanir. It is proper to associate weeping with any of Freyja's names and so describe gold. These kennings are varied in many ways: it is called the hail or rain or sleet or drops or showers or torrents of her eyes or cheeks or cheekbones or eyelashes or eyelids.

Here one can hear that gold is called the word or voice of giants, as was said before. Thus spoke Bragi the poet:

I had him as a friend, worst
to the voice—but best to me—
of Ali of the fishing grounds’ under-globe,
a blameless third.

He called a stone the fishing grounds’ under-globe, a giant Ali of the stone, and gold the giant’s voice.

Why is gold called otter-payment? It is said that when the Aesir Odin, Loki, and Hoenir went to explore the world, they came to a river and walked along it to a waterfall. Beside the waterfall was an otter, which had caught a salmon in the falls and was eating with its eyes closed. Loki picked up a stone, threw it at the otter, and struck it on the head. Then Loki boasted of his catch, saying that he had caught an otter and a salmon with a single blow. They took the salmon and the otter and carried them along, until they came to a farm and went inside. The farmer who lived there was named Hreidmar. He was a powerful man and very skilled in magic. The Aesir asked to stay there for the night, saying that they had brought ample food, and showed the farmer their catch. When Hreidmar saw the otter, he called his sons, Fafnir and Regin, and told them that their brother Otr had been killed, and who had done it.

Now the father and sons went at the Aesir, seized and bound them, and told them that the otter was Hreidmar’s son. The Aesir offered a ransom for their lives, as much wealth as Hreidmar himself wished to demand. They agreed on this settlement and bound it with oaths. Then the otter was skinned. Hreidmar took the otter’s skin and told them that they must fill it with red gold and also cover it completely, and that this should be their settlement.

Then Odin sent Loki to Svartalfheim, and he came to the dwarf named Andvari. He was a fish in a pool, and Loki caught him and demanded as ransom for his life all the gold he possessed in his rock. When they came into the rock, the dwarf brought out all the gold he owned, and it was a very great treasure. Then the dwarf slipped a small gold ring under his arm. Loki saw this and told him to hand over the ring. The dwarf begged him not to take the ring away, saying that he could increase his wealth with it if he kept it. Loki said that he should not have a single penny left, took the ring from him, and went out. But the dwarf said that the ring should bring death to whoever owned it. Loki said that this suited him well, and that the curse could remain in force, since he would pass it on to the ears of whoever received it.

He went away and came to Hreidmar, and showed Odin the gold. When Odin saw the ring, he thought it beautiful and took it out of the treasure, but handed the gold over to Hreidmar. Hreidmar filled the otter’s skin as full as he could and stood it upright when it was full. Then Odin went up to it and was to cover the skin with the gold. He told Hreidmar to see whether the skin was now completely covered. Hreidmar looked and examined it carefully, and saw a single whisker. He demanded that it be covered, or else their settlement would be void. Then Odin brought out the ring and covered the whisker, and said that they were now released from the otter-payment.

When Odin had taken his spear and Loki his shoes, and they no longer had anything to fear, Loki said that what Andvari had declared should hold true: that the ring and the gold should bring death to whoever owned them. And so it proved afterwards. Now it has been told why gold is called otter-payment, or the Aesir’s forced payment, or the metal of strife.

What more is there to tell about the gold? Hreidmar took the gold as compensation for his son, but Fafnir and Regin demanded some of it as compensation for their brother. Hreidmar would not grant them a single penny of the gold. The brothers conceived the wicked plan of killing their father for the gold. Then Regin demanded that Fafnir divide the gold equally between them. Fafnir replied that there was little chance that he would share the gold with his brother, when he had killed his father for it. He told Regin to go away, or else he would meet the same fate as Hreidmar. Fafnir had taken a helmet that had belonged to Hreidmar and put it on his head. It was called the Helm of Terror, and every living creature that saw it was afraid. He had also taken the sword called Hrotti. Regin had the sword called Refil. He fled, while Fafnir went up onto Gnitaheid, made himself a lair there, changed into a serpent’s shape, and lay down upon the gold.

Regin went to King Hjalprek in Thjod and became his smith. There he took into his fostering Sigurd, the son of Sigmund, son of Volsung, and of Hjordis, daughter of Eylimi. Sigurd was the most outstanding of all warrior kings in lineage, strength, and courage. Regin told him where Fafnir lay upon the gold and urged him to go and win it. Then Regin made the sword called Gram. It was so sharp that when Sigurd lowered it into running water, it cut through a tuft of wool that drifted with the current against its edge. Next Sigurd split Regin’s anvil with the sword, right down into its wooden block.

After that, Sigurd and Regin went to Gnitaheid. Sigurd dug a pit in Fafnir’s path and sat down in it. When Fafnir crawled to the water and passed over the pit, Sigurd thrust the sword through him, and that killed him. Then Regin came up and said that Sigurd had killed his brother. As a settlement, he required Sigurd to take Fafnir’s heart and roast it over a fire. Regin lay down, drank Fafnir’s blood, and settled down to sleep.

As Sigurd roasted the heart, he thought it must be fully cooked and touched it with his finger to see how firm it was. When the froth from the heart ran onto his finger, he burned himself and put his finger into his mouth. When the heart’s blood touched his tongue, he understood the speech of birds and knew what the nuthatches sitting in the tree were saying. Then one spoke:

There sits Sigurd,
spattered with blood,
roasting Fafnir’s heart
beside the fire;
wise I would think
the breaker of rings
if he ate the gleaming
muscle of life.

There lies Regin, said another,
plotting to himself;
he means to betray the young man
who trusts him.
In anger he puts
crooked words together;
the smith of evil means
to avenge his brother.

Then Sigurd went to Regin and killed him. Afterwards he went to his horse, named Grani, and rode until he came to Fafnir’s lair. He took the gold, tied it into packs, and loaded them onto Grani’s back. Then he mounted himself and rode on his way. Now the story has been told that explains why gold is called Fafnir’s lair or dwelling, or the metal of Gnitaheid, or Grani’s burden.

Then Sigurd rode until he found a house on the mountain. Inside, a woman lay asleep, wearing a helmet and a coat of mail. He drew his sword and cut the mail off her. Then she awoke and said her name was Hild. She is called Brynhild and was a Valkyrie.

Sigurd rode away from there and came to a king named Gjuki. His wife was named Grimhild. Their children were Gunnar, Hogni, Gudrun, and Gudny. Guttorm was Gjuki’s stepson. Sigurd stayed there a long time. He married Gudrun, Gjuki’s daughter, and Gunnar and Hogni swore brotherhood with Sigurd.

Next Sigurd and Gjuki’s sons went to Atli, Budli’s son, to ask for his sister Brynhild as a wife for Gunnar. She lived on Hindarfjall, and a wavering flame surrounded her hall. She had sworn a vow to marry only the man who dared to ride through the wavering flame. Then Sigurd and the Gjukungs—they are also called Niflungs—rode up onto the mountain, and Gunnar was to ride through the wavering flame. He owned the horse called Goti, but that horse did not dare to leap into the fire. Then Sigurd and Gunnar exchanged appearances and names, because Grani would carry no man but Sigurd. Sigurd mounted Grani and rode through the wavering flame.

That evening he celebrated his wedding with Brynhild. When they came to bed, he drew the sword Gram from its sheath and laid it between them. In the morning, when he rose and dressed, he gave Brynhild as a bridal gift the gold ring that Loki had taken from Andvari, and took another ring from her hand as a keepsake. Sigurd then mounted his horse and rode to his companions. He and Gunnar exchanged appearances again, and they went home to Gjuki with Brynhild. Sigurd had two children with Gudrun, Sigmund and Svanhild.

Once Brynhild and Gudrun went to the water to bleach their hair. When they came to the river, Brynhild waded out from the bank and said that she would not put on her head water that ran from Gudrun’s hair, because she had a braver husband. Gudrun followed her into the river and said that she had the right to wash her hair farther upstream, because she had a husband whose courage neither Gunnar nor anyone else in the world could equal, since he had killed Fafnir and Regin and taken the inheritance of them both.

Then Brynhild replied, “It is worth more that Gunnar rode through the wavering flame, while Sigurd did not dare.”

Then Gudrun laughed and said, “Do you think Gunnar rode through the wavering flame? I believe the man who went to bed beside you was the one who gave me this gold ring. And the gold ring you have on your hand, which you received as a bridal gift, is called Andvaranaut, and I do not believe Gunnar went to Gnitaheid to fetch it.”

Then Brynhild fell silent and went home. After that she urged Gunnar and Hogni to kill Sigurd, but because they were bound to Sigurd by sworn oaths, they urged their brother Guttorm to kill him. He thrust a sword through Sigurd as he slept. When Sigurd received the wound, he threw the sword Gram after him, cutting the man in two at the waist. There Sigurd fell, and his three-year-old son, named Sigmund, whom they killed. After that Brynhild ran herself through with a sword and was burned with Sigurd. Gunnar and Hogni then took Fafnir’s inheritance and Andvaranaut, and ruled the lands.

King Atli, son of Budli and brother of Brynhild, then married Gudrun, who had been Sigurd's wife, and they had children. King Atli invited Gunnar and Hogni to visit him, and they accepted the invitation. Before leaving home, however, they hid the gold, Fafnir's inheritance, in the Rhine, and that gold has never since been found. King Atli had a force waiting there and fought against Gunnar and Hogni, and they were taken prisoner. King Atli had Hogni's heart cut out while he was alive. This killed him. He had Gunnar thrown into a snake-pit, but a harp was secretly brought to him, and he played it with his toes, since his hands were bound. He played the harp so that all the snakes fell asleep except one viper, which darted at him and struck him below the breastbone, thrusting its head into his body. It clung to his liver until he died. Gunnar and Hogni are called Niflungs and Gjukungs. For this reason gold is called the Niflungs' treasure or inheritance.

A little later Gudrun killed two of her sons and had drinking cups made from their skulls, adorned with gold and silver. Then the funeral feast for the Niflungs was held. At that feast Gudrun had King Atli served mead in those cups, mixed with the boys' blood, and she had their hearts roasted and given to the king to eat. When this was done, she told him herself, with many harsh words. There was no shortage of strong drink, and most people fell asleep where they sat. That night she went to the king as he slept, accompanied by Hogni's son, and they struck him down. This killed him. Then they set fire to the hall, and the people inside were burned.

After this she went to the sea and threw herself into it, intending to end her life, but she was washed across the fjord and reached the land ruled by King Jonakr. When he saw her, he took her into his household and married her. They had three sons, named Sorli, Hamdir, and Erp. Their hair was all as black as a raven, like Gunnar's and Hogni's and that of the other Niflungs. Svanhild, the daughter of young Sigurd, was brought up there, and she was the most beautiful of all women.

King Jormunrek the Mighty heard of this. He sent his son Randver to ask for her hand on his behalf. When Randver came to Jonakr, Svanhild was entrusted to him. He was to bring her to King Jormunrek. Then Earl Bikki said that it would be more fitting for Randver to marry Svanhild, since he was young, as she was, whereas Jormunrek was old. The young people liked this advice. Bikki then told the king about it. King Jormunrek had his son seized and led to the gallows. Randver then took his hawk, plucked out its feathers, and asked that it be sent to his father. Then he was hanged. When King Jormunrek saw the hawk, it occurred to him that just as the hawk was flightless and featherless, so his kingdom was helpless, since he was old and without a son. Then, as King Jormunrek rode out of the forest with his retainers after hunting, he saw Svanhild sitting bleaching her hair. They rode her down and trampled her to death beneath their horses' hooves.

When Gudrun heard this, she urged her sons to avenge Svanhild. As they prepared to leave, she gave them mail-coats and helmets so strong that iron could make no impression on them. She instructed them that when they reached King Jormunrek, they should approach him at night while he slept. Sorli and Hamdir were to cut off his hands and feet, and Erp his head. Once they were on their way, they asked Erp what help he would give them if they encountered King Jormunrek. He replied that he would help them as a hand helps a foot. They said that a foot received no support at all from a hand. They were so angry with their mother, who had sent them off with bitter words, that they wanted to do what would hurt her most, and they killed Erp, because she loved him best. A little later, as Sorli was walking, one foot slipped, and he supported himself with his hand. Then he said, "The hand has helped the foot now. It would be better now if Erp were alive."

When they came by night to King Jormunrek where he slept and cut off his hands and feet, he awoke and called to his men, telling them to wake. Then Hamdir said, "His head would be off now if Erp were alive." The retainers rose and attacked them, but could do nothing against them with weapons. Then Jormunrek shouted that they must be battered with stones. This was done. Sorli and Hamdir fell there. By then all Gjuki's family and descendants were dead. For this reason a mail-coat is called the clothing or garments of Hamdir and Sorli.

Young Sigurd was survived by a daughter named Aslaug, who was brought up at Heimir's in Hlymdalir, and great lineages have descended from her. It is said that Sigmund, son of Volsung, was so powerful that he could drink poison without harm, while his son Sinfjotli and Sigurd had such tough skin that poison did them no harm if it touched their bare bodies from outside. Thus the poet Bragi has composed:

When, on the hook of the wrestling challenger
of ancient Lit's men,
the coiling eel hung curled,
the eel of the Volsungs' drink.

Most poets have composed from these stories, taking up various episodes. Bragi the Old composed about the fall of Sorli and Hamdir in the praise-poem he made about Ragnar Lodbrok:

And Jormunrek awoke
from a dreadful dream,
amid blood-stained troops
in the surge of swords;
uproar arose in the hall
of Raudve's foremost kinsman,
when Erp's raven-black brothers
avenged their sorrows.

Corpse-dew flowed over the benches
on the battle-elf's hall-floor;
there, amid gore, severed
hands and feet could be seen.
He fell, mingled with blood,
headfirst into the ale-bowls' pool;
this is painted on the leaf
of the trees of Leifi's lands.

There stood, encircling
the prince's tub of the floor-steed,
the masts of Naglfari's sail,
with no nails in them;
and soon Sorli and Hamdir,
united in purpose, were battered
with the hard shoulder-knobs
of Hergaut's beloved.

The scatterer of the surge of steel
had Gjuki's descendants hard pressed,
when they sought to rob
Foglhild's beloved of life;
and all repaid Jonakr's sons
for the dark-shirted birches'
fiercely gleaming blows to the brow
and the blades' edges.

I see that fall of men
on the fair surface of the shield.
Ragnar gave me the moon of Rae's carriage
and a wealth of stories.

Why is gold called Frodi's meal? This is the story behind it: Odin had a son named Skjold, from whom the Skjoldungs are descended. He lived and ruled in the lands now called Denmark, but then called Gotland. Skjold had a son named Fridleif, who ruled the lands after him. Fridleif's son was named Frodi. He succeeded his father as king at the time when Emperor Augustus established peace throughout the world. Christ was born then. Because Frodi was the most powerful of all kings in the northern lands, the peace was attributed to him throughout the Danish-speaking world, and people call it Frodi's Peace. No one harmed another, even if he came upon his father's or brother's killer, free or bound. There were no thieves or robbers either, so that a gold ring lay on Jalangrsheid for a long time.

King Frodi went to Sweden as the guest of the king named Fjolnir. There he bought two slave-women named Fenja and Menja. They were large and strong. At that time two millstones were found in Denmark, so large that no one was strong enough to turn them. These millstones had the property that the mill would grind whatever the person turning it commanded. The mill was called Grotti. The man who gave the mill to King Frodi was named Hengikjopt. King Frodi had the slave-women brought to the mill and told them to grind gold. They did so, first grinding gold and peace and prosperity for Frodi. He allowed them no longer rest or sleep than the cuckoo was silent, or than it took to sing a song. It is said that they sang the lay called Grotti's Song, which begins:

Now we have come
to the king's halls,
we two who know the future,
Fenja and Menja;
with Frodi,
Fridleif's son,
these mighty maidens
are kept as slaves.

Before the lay ended, they ground out an army against Frodi, so that that night a sea-king named Mysing arrived, killed Frodi, and took much plunder. Then Frodi's Peace ended. Mysing took Grotti with him, along with Fenja and Menja, and told them to grind salt. At midnight they asked whether Mysing had had enough salt. He told them to grind longer. They had been grinding only a little while when the ship sank, and a whirlpool remained there in the sea, where the water pours into the millstone's eye. Then the sea became salty.

Why is gold called Kraki's seed? There was a king in Denmark named Hrolf Kraki. He was the most renowned of the ancient kings, above all for his generosity, courage, and humility. One sign of his humility, often recounted in stories, concerns a poor little boy named Vogg. He came into King Hrolf's hall. The king was then young and slender. Vogg walked up before him and looked up at him. The king said, "What do you want to say, boy, looking at me like that?"

Vogg said, "When I was at home, I heard it said that King Hrolf at Hleidra was the greatest man in the northern lands, but now a little sapling sits here in the high seat, and you call him king."

The king replied, "Boy, you have given me a name: I shall be called Hrolf Kraki. But it is customary for a gift to accompany the giving of a name. Now I see that you have no gift to give me for my naming that would please me. So the one who has something to give must give to the other." He took a gold ring from his hand and gave it to him.

Then Vogg said, "May you give with the greatest good fortune of all kings, and I vow to kill the man who kills you."

The king laughed and said, "Vogg is pleased with little."

Another example is told of Hrolf Kraki’s courage. A king named Adils ruled at Uppsala. He was married to Yrsa, Hrolf Kraki’s mother. He was at odds with a king named Ali, who ruled over Norway. They arranged to fight a battle on the ice of the lake called Vänern. King Adils sent word to Hrolf Kraki, his stepson, asking him to come to his assistance. He promised wages to his entire army for the duration of the expedition, while the king himself was to receive three treasures of his own choosing from Sweden. King Hrolf could not go because of his war with the Saxons, but he nevertheless sent Adils his twelve berserks. Among them were Bodvar Bjarki and Hjalti the Stout-hearted, Hvitserk the Bold, Vott, Veseti, and the brothers Svipdag and Beigud.

King Ali and a large part of his army fell in that battle. King Adils then took from his dead body the helmet Hildisvin and his horse Hrafn. Hrolf Kraki’s berserks then asked to receive their wages, three pounds of gold apiece, and also asked to take Hrolf Kraki the treasures they had chosen for him. These were the helmet Hildigolt and the mail-coat Finnsleif, neither of which iron could pierce, and the gold ring called Sviagris, which Adils’s forefathers had owned. But the king refused to surrender any of the treasures, nor did he pay their wages. The berserks left, displeased with their lot, and told Hrolf Kraki what had happened.

He immediately set out for Uppsala. When he had brought his ships into the river Fyris, he rode to Uppsala with his twelve berserks, all without a promise of safe conduct. Yrsa, his mother, welcomed him and accompanied him to his lodgings, rather than to the king’s hall. Fires were lit for them there, and they were given ale to drink. Then King Adils’s men came in, piled logs on the fire, and made it so large that the clothes of Hrolf and his men began to burn. They said, “Is it true that Hrolf Kraki and his berserks flee neither fire nor iron?”

Then Hrolf Kraki sprang up, and all his men with him. He said:
“Let us heap the fires still higher
in Adils’s houses.”

He took his shield, threw it onto the fire, and leaped over the fire while the shield was burning. He said further:
“He does not flee the fire
who leaps over it.”

His men followed, one after another. They also seized those who had built up the fire and threw them onto it. Then Yrsa came and gave Hrolf Kraki an animal’s horn full of gold, together with the ring Sviagris, and told them to ride away to their army. They sprang onto their horses and rode down onto Fyrisvellir. Then they saw King Adils riding after them with his army fully armed, intending to kill them.

Hrolf Kraki reached his right hand down into the horn and scattered the gold all along the road. When the Swedes saw it, they leaped from their saddles, and each took whatever he could get. But King Adils told them to ride on and himself rode hard. His horse was called Slongvir, the swiftest of all horses. Hrolf Kraki then saw King Adils riding close behind him. He took the ring Sviagris, threw it towards him, and told him to accept it as a gift. King Adils rode up to the ring, reached for it with his spear-point, and slid it up onto the socket. Hrolf Kraki turned back and saw him bend down. Then he said, “Now I have made the mightiest of the Swedes stoop like a swine.” Thus they parted.

For this reason gold is called Kraki’s seed or the seed of Fyrisvellir. As Eyvind Skaldaspillir said:
“We bore, Ull of the battle-leek,
throughout Hakon’s life,
the seed of Fyrisvellir
on the mountains of hawks.”

As Thjodolf said:
“The prince sows Yrsa’s son’s grain
for his household upon the steep field,
brightly ploughed with rings,
of the knuckle-wise birds.
The blameless ruler showers
Kraki’s bright barley
on the flesh of the sea-earth,
the hawk’s perch, for me myself.”

It is said that the king named Holgi, after whom Halogaland is named, was the father of Thorgerd Holgabrud. Sacrifices were offered to both of them. Holgi’s burial mound was built with alternating layers: one of gold or silver—this was the sacrificial wealth—and another of earth and stones. As Skuli Thorsteinsson said:
“When I reddened Reifnir’s roof-beacon
off Svolder to win wealth,
I gathered in rings the mound-thatch
of Holgi, who follows the army.”

In the ancient Bjarkamal many names for gold are listed. It says there:
“The most generous king
enriched his household
with Fenja’s toil,
Fafnir’s Midgard,
Glasir’s glowing foliage,
Grani’s fair burden,
Draupnir’s precious sweat,
Grafvitnir’s down.

The generous ruler gave out,
and men received,
Sif’s scalp-bonds,
the ice of the bow’s distress,
the sorrowful otter-payment,
Mardoll’s tears,
Orun’s fire,
Idi’s glittering speech.

The giver of battle gladdened—
we went finely dressed—
very many hosts
with Thjazi’s assembly-speech,
the Rhine’s red ore,
the Niflungs’ strife,
the battle-bold prince.
Yet he did not protect Baldr.”

In kennings gold is called the fire of the hand, joint, or arm, because it is red; silver is called snow, ice, or frost, because it is white. In the same way gold or silver may be described in relation to a purse, crucible, or bowl. Both silver and gold may be the stones of the hand, or the neckband of any man accustomed to wearing a necklace. Necklaces and rings may be either silver or gold unless otherwise specified. As Thorleik the Fair said:
“The king casts the crucible’s cargo
onto his men’s gleaming falcon-perches;
the young ruler gives
the fire of the arm.”

And as Einar Skalaglamm said:
“The land-valiant prince destroys
Lund’s fires of the wrist.
I do not think the ruler’s warriors
will run short of the Rhine’s stones.”

As Einar Skulason said:
“On either side of the purse’s expanse
lie snow and fire
of the blood-ember’s rock;
I must praise the destroyer of treasures.”

And again, as he said:
“Every day the sea-flame thunders
above the crucible’s white snowdrift,
while Heiti’s horse’s side-shield
rules a generous heart.
The fire of the eel’s rushing road
can never melt the bowls’ snow;
the feller of hosts undertakes
every bold enterprise.”

Here gold is called the fire of the eel’s rushing road, and silver the snow of the bowls. As Thord Maeraskald said:
“Hermod, the glad sender
of the hands’ lava, sees
in the destroyer of threads a good father,
who owned the serpent’s lair.”

A man is called a breaker of gold, as Ottar the Black said:
“I need to enjoy the generosity
of the breaker of battle’s embers.
Here within is a most vigorous
household with a wise king.”

Or a sender of gold, as Einar Skalaglamm said:
“The sender of gold lets me enjoy
the ground’s lot of Ygg’s mead;
the king gladdens his band of warriors;
I may receive his favour.”

A flinger of gold, as Thorleik said:
“The flinger of gold makes
the king’s household loyal to him with gifts.”

An enemy of gold, as Thorvald Blonduskald said:
“The enemy of gold flings the embers
of the arm; the king gives red wealth;
the destroyer of wicked men distributes
Grani’s burden.”

A lord of gold, as here:
“I found a lord of gold;
a tugging-song is made
of the flame of the shower’s path,
the battle-beacon’s tree.”

A woman is described in relation to gold and called a willow of gold, as Hallar-Stein said:
“The caster of the amber of the cool,
salt field of Vidblindi’s boar
will long remember the willow
of the reed-thong’s land.”

Here whales are called Vidblindi’s boars. He was a giant and drew whales out of the sea like fish. The field of whales is the sea; the amber of the sea is gold. A woman is the willow of the gold she gives, and a synonym for willow is tree, as was written earlier: a woman is described by all kinds of feminine tree-names. She is also called a log of what she gives. A log is also a tree that falls in the forest. As Gunnlaug Serpent-tongue said:
“The woman was born to bring strife
among men’s children; the bush
of battle caused it; I was eager
to possess the log of wealth.”

A woman is called a forest. As Hallar-Stein said:
“With poetry’s plane I have smoothed
Bil of the ale-prows,
fair forest of bowls, careful in my work
on the stems of the refrain-ship.”

A pole, again as Stein said:
“You, slender guardian-Sif
of the flood’s fire, will, like other
poles of the Hjadnings’ stone,
struggle against your fortune.”

A prop, as Orm Steinthorsson said:
“The very pure prop of the fjord’s bone
was dressed in clothes.
The spear-Frey cast new stitching
around the Hrist of mead.”

A support, as Steinar said:
“All my dreams of the gentle Syn
of the necklace’s soft resting-place have lied;
this swaying support of the stream’s moon
has brought me to submission.”

A birch, again as Orm said:
“For upon the cup of the hollow,
roaring fire of hands, which I present,
I have placed the image of the birch
of Billing’s son’s drink.”

An oak, as here:
“The finely dressed oak
of riches stands against our pleasure.”

A linden, as here:
“Battle-bold elm of the metal shower,
our courage must not fail:
so the linden of linen commanded
in the land.”

A man is described in relation to trees, as was written earlier, and called a tester of weapons or battles, journeys and deeds, ships and everything he commands and puts to the test. As Ulf Uggason said:
“And the stiff cord of earth’s leg
stared over the gunwale
at the tester of the land’s hosts,
gleaming-eyed, and blew venom.”

A tree or trunk, as Kormak said:
“The trunk of the slaughter-twig
surpasses many in the din of spears;
the sword wins land
for Earl Sigurd, the tree of battle.”

A grove, as Hallfred the Troublesome Poet said:
“In the east the mighty nurturing grove
of the shield’s peril, budding with hair,
stands as a great support
for the firs of Ull’s ship.”

Here fir is also named.

A box-tree, as Arnor said:
“The bold box-tree of men bade the Rygir
bring their shields together at dawn;
he kept the rain of strife-clouds falling
throughout the autumn night.”

An ash, as Ref said:
“The generous ash of Haar’s snowstorm,
the rushing Frey, went
into the maiden’s gold-strewn bed;
the tree has ample vigour.”

A maple, as here:
“‘Welcome,’ the maple of the hand’s ice
thus greeted the mail-coat.”

A tree, as Ref said:
“For I have resolved to offer
all praise of battle’s feeder to Thorstein,
the terrifier of the battle-place;
the tree of swords brings this about.”

A stave, as Ottar said:
“You held the land there against two princes,
where the raven did not starve;
fierce stave of battle, you are swift in counsel,
against the race of men.”

A thorn, as Arnor said:
“The young thorn of wealth heaped
heavy piles of slain before the eagle,
while his retainers showed
slippery slopes to the eagle’s feeder.”

How should battle be referred to? By calling it the weather of weapons or shields or Odin or a Valkyrie or warrior-kings, or their din or clamor. As Hornklofi said:

The king waged a spear-storm
against men, where wound-goslings
screeched at Skogul's din;
red wounds snorted blood.

As Eyvind said:

And that man,
in Har's weather,
wore the dusky shirt
of Hrisgrimnir.

As Bersi said:

Once, when I was younger—
so the story goes—I was thought
well suited to Hlokk's snowstorm
among the trees of battle-fire.

As Einar said:

The bold ruler lets Hild's sail
catch Gondul's mightiest roaring wind;
the linen cracks where
hail from the bowstring drives.

As Einar Skalaglamm said:

Nor did the shirts of victory-trees,
carefully wrought, firmly shelter
the honored men from Hogni's showers
in Har's tumult.

As here:

To set the edge-net's cord
against the rousers of spear-din.

And this too:

At Gondul's clamor the king's enemies
sank beneath the eagle's claws.

Weapons and armor should be referred to through battle, Odin, Valkyries, and warrior-kings: a helmet is called a hat or headdress, a mail-coat a shirt or tunic, and a shield a tent; the shield-wall is called a hall and roof, wall and floor. Shields are also named and referred to through warships, as the ship's sun or moon or leaf or gleam or fence. A shield is also called Ull's ship, or referred to through Hrungnir's feet, since he stood on a shield. On ancient shields it was customary to paint a border called a ring, and shields are referred to through that ring. Cutting weapons, axes or swords, are called fires of blood or wounds. Swords are called Odin's fires, while axes are given the names of troll-women and referred to through blood or wounds or forest or wood. Thrusting weapons are aptly referred to through serpents or fish. Missiles are often referred to through hail or driving snow or sleet. All these kennings are varied in many ways, for most poetry in which these kennings are needed is composed in praise-poems. As Viga-Glum said:

The army hesitated to advance
before the slope in Hanged-Tyr's hats;
they did not find it pleasant
to venture into danger.

As Einar Skalaglamm said:

Battle-eager Sigvaldi,
helmet-crowned, offered combat,
and battle-bold Bui, who came
from the south into Gunn's din.

Rodi's shirt, as Tind said:

Then the trees of mail had to cast off
Hangi's ring-patterned, rattling shirt,
when the riding-steeds of Rodi's
road were stripped of men.

Hamdir's tunic, as Hallfred said:

Outside, the ring-hail of Egil's weapons
breaks hard and fiercely
against Hamdir's tunics
upon the noble trees of the wave-beast.

Sorli's clothes, as he also said:

From there the bright clothes
of Sorli's men—I hear it clearly—
are reddened with blood
in the file-showers of wound-fire.

Hlokk's tents, as Grettir said:

The raisers of Hlokk's tents
held the noses of Hild's wall together,
and the storm-Njords struck
at one another's beards.

Rodi's roof, as Einar said:

The strong ice of Rodi's roof
never dwindles before the rain
of the eyes of Od's bedmate;
may that king attain old age.

Hild's wall, as Grettir said in what was written above.

Ship-sun, as Einar said:

Olaf's kin reddens the flame
of the ships' sun upon the sea.

Bow-moon, as Ref said:

Fair was the day when the flingers
of the arm's flame pressed upon me
a beautiful bow-moon
in the hanging path of rings.

The ship's fence, as here:

Thus he shot straight through
the stone-painted fence of the prow;
that battle-fierce sweller of spear-din
pierced it as though it were birch bark.

Ull's vessel, as Thjodolf said:

Storms rage in full force
around the ruler's ship of Ull,
where the masts with joining nails,
sheathed in scabbard-cloths, sway.

The leaf beneath Hrungnir's soles, as Bragi said:

Will you hear, Hrafnkel,
how I shall praise the ruler
and the leaf beneath the soles of Thrud's thief,
brightly covered with paint?

Bragi the poet said this about the ring on the shield:

Unless the famed son of Sigurd
wished good recompense
for the ringing, ring-hubbed
wheel of Hogni's daughter.

He called the shield Hild's wheel, and the ring the wheel's hub.

Ring-land, as Hallvard said:

The ruler sees the red-bright,
curved ring-land of the spear-host
fly apart in two;
the white shield bursts asunder.

This too is said:

A ring best suits a shield,
and arrows a bow.

A sword is Odin's fire, as Kormak said:

Battle swelled when the feeder
of Grid's steed, who stirred up strife,
advanced with Gaut's ringing fire.
Urd came out of the well.

Helmet-fire, as Ulf Uggason said:

The mighty Hild of the mountains
made the sea-Sleipnir stride forward,
while the mighty wielders of Hroft's
helmet-fire felled her steed.

Mail-coat's fire, as Glum Geirason said:

The land's guardian made the hone-thinned,
ringing fire of mail shriek then;
he defended himself against men,
stubbornly holding to life.

Shield-ice and shield's destruction, as Einar said:

From the upright ruler I received
ice of red shields, sprinkled
with Freyja's eyelid-thaw;
we bear the helmet's destruction in our hand.

An axe is called the troll-woman of shields, as Einar said:

The riders of Raefil's land-steed
can clearly see how finely carved
the dragons lie beside the eyelash
of the helmet's Grid.

A spear is called a serpent, as Ref said:

My fierce, oaken dark dragon
of the shield's forests can play
upon men's palms
where men meet.

Arrows are called the hail of the bow or bowstring or shields or battle, as Einar Skalaglamm said:

The Rognir of the sword's crash
boldly shook the hail of bows
out of Hlokk's sails;
the wolves' benefactor saved his life.

And Hallfred:

And the iron-covered garments
of the hunger-banishing feeders
of spear-Rota's gosling
failed to shelter them from bowstring-hail.

And Eyvind Skaldaspillir:

They said you scarcely let your spirit
falter, guardian of the Hordar's land,
when mail-hail broke in wounds
and the elm bows bent.

Battle is called the weather or storm of the Hjadnings, and weapons the fires or wands of the Hjadnings, and there is a story behind this. A king named Hogni had a daughter called Hild. A king named Hedin, son of Hjarrandi, carried her off as plunder. King Hogni was then away at a meeting of kings. When he learned that his kingdom had been raided and his daughter taken away, he set out with his forces to seek Hedin and heard that he was traveling north along the coast. When King Hogni reached Norway, he learned that Hedin had sailed west across the sea. Hogni then sailed after him all the way to the Orkneys, and when he reached the place called Hoy, Hedin was there with his forces.

Hild then went to meet her father and offered him a necklace on Hedin's behalf as a settlement, but in the same breath she said that Hedin was ready to fight and that Hogni could expect no mercy from him. Hogni answered his daughter harshly. When she met Hedin, she told him that Hogni wanted no settlement, and urged him to prepare for battle. Both sides did so, going ashore on the island and drawing up their forces.

Then Hedin called out to Hogni, his father-in-law, and offered him a settlement and much gold in compensation. Hogni answered: “You have offered this too late if you wish to make peace, for now I have drawn Dainsleif, which the dwarfs made. It must kill a man every time it is drawn, and it never fails in its stroke, and no wound heals if it is made by this sword.”

Then Hedin said: “You are praising your sword, but not your victory. I call any sword good that is faithful to its lord.”

Then they began the battle called the Battle of the Hjadnings, and fought all that day. In the evening the kings went to their ships. But during the night Hild went among the slain and by sorcery raised up all those who were dead. The next day the kings went onto the battlefield and fought, as did all those who had fallen the previous day. This battle continued day after day in such a way that all who fell, and all the weapons lying on the battlefield, and likewise the shields, turned to stone. But at dawn all the dead men rose and fought, and all the weapons were serviceable again. It is said in poems that the Hjadnings will remain like this until Ragnarok. Bragi the poet composed his praise-poem for Ragnar Lodbrok from this story.

Battle is Odin's weather, as was written earlier. As Viga-Glum said:

Like earls, I once cleared
my way to lands—
word went around of it—
with the staves of Vidrir's weather-wand.

Vidrir's weather here means battle, the wand of battle means the sword, and men are the staves of the sword. Here both battle and weapons are used in a kenning for a man. When poetry is composed in this way, it is called extended. A shield is the land of weapons, and weapons are the hail or rain of that land, if the imagery is developed further.

How should a ship be referred to? By calling it the horse or beast or ski of sea-kings or the sea or ships' equipment or the wind.

Wave-steed, as Hornklofi said:

The hard-minded clearer
of the pale wave-steed,
still a child, had ships' prows
thrust onto the sea at highest tide.

Geiti's horse, as Erringar-Stein said:

Though all the people tell the poet
of war coming from the south,
we load this horse of Geiti with stones;
gladly we make the effort.

Sveidi's reindeer:

Victory-bold son of Svein, you came
with long-planked reindeer onto the path
of Solsi's stream; the beasts
of the sound glided from the land.

So Hallvard said. Here they are also called beasts of the sound, and the sea Solsi's stream. As Thord Sjareksson said:

He made the shield-board's horse
sway from the north past Siggja.
The wind drove the delight of Gylfi's league
south past Aumar.
Then the horse of the seagull's path
left both Karmt and Agdir astern;
the leek's horse waded
past Lista.

Here a ship is called the horse of the shield-board, and the sea Gylfi's land; the seagull's path is the sea and the horse the ship, and it is also called the leek's horse. The mast is called a leek. And again, as Markus said:

The bold winter-wanderer of the sea-road
waded through the snows of fjord-serpents.
Snarling-tooth ran over the masthead-high peaks
of the whale's dwelling.
The bear advanced upon the ancient
paths of the flood's sea-skis.
The storm-hardy bruin of the prop
broke the skerry's resounding fetter.

Here a ship is called the bear of sea-roads. A bear is called winter-wanderer and snarling-tooth and bruin, and here it is called the bear of the prop. A ship is also called a reindeer, as Hallvard said in what was written above, and a stag, as King Harald Sigurdsson said:

The planking cut a wide course past Sicily;
we were splendid then.
The expanse's splendid stag glided
well beneath the men, as we hoped.

And an elk, as Einar said:

Kindly breaker of the ring's peace,
a man cannot stay long with you—
we fit out the elk of the flood—
unless something comes of it.

An otter, as Mani said:

What work can you do with the men
aboard the otter of the sea,
drooping, gray-cheeked old man,
now that your strength is failing?

A wolf, as Ref said:

And the waster of the hone-wand's treasure
listened to Thorstein;
I am loyal to the tree of the roller-wolf
in tales of sorrow.

And an ox. A ship is called a ski or wagon or carriage. As Eyjolf Dadaskald said:

Very late in the day the young man
went on the ski of Meiti's offshore domain,
with equal strength, to meet
the noble chieftain.

As Styrkar Oddason said:

And after the noble scatterer
of the flood's fire, Hogni's host
furiously drove the rollers' wagons
onto Heiti's snows.

And as Thorbjorn said:

The loader of the roller's sea-carriage
was in the spring of baptism;
that scatterer of treasure gained
the highest grace of White Christ.

How should Christ be referred to in kennings? By calling him creator of heaven and earth, of angels and the sun; ruler of the world, the kingdom of heaven, and angels; king of heaven, the sun, angels, Jerusalem, the Jordan, and Greece; master of the apostles and saints. Poets of old have referred to him through Urd’s well and Rome, as Eilif Gudrunarson said:

They say he sits south at Urd’s well;
so far has the mighty king of Rome
extended his dominion over the lands
of the gods of the mountain plateau.

Thus said Skafti Thoroddsson:

The might of the monks’ lord
is greatest; God accomplishes most.
Mighty Christ created the whole world
and raised the hall of Rome.

King of heaven, as Markus said:

The king of the storm-house made earth and heaven,
as well as the faithful host.
One ruler can govern everything:
Christ, lord of mankind.

Thus said Eilif kulnasvein:

The world’s host and the ranks of men
bow before the holy cross.
Heaven’s sun-king alone is purer
than all other true glory.

Mary’s son, as Eilif also said:

Heaven’s pure host bows
to Mary’s son.
The lord of hosts performs true, glorious deeds;
he is both man and God.

King of angels, as Eilif also said:

The glorious power of God’s friend
is greater than men imagine.
Yet the generous king of angels
is holier and more glorious than all.

King of the Jordan, as Sighvat said:

The king of the Jordan once commanded
four angels to be sent from heaven;
a cascade washed the holy hair
upon the lord’s head.

King of the Greeks, as Arnor said:

For kindness I offer prayers
to the wise guardian of Greeks and Gardar
for the slayer of men.
Thus I repay the prince’s gift.

Thus said Eilif kulnasvein:

Heaven’s glory praises the ruler of men;
he is king of all.

Here he first called Christ king of men, and the second time king of all. Einar Skulason also said:

He who guards the people,
bright in mercy, who embraces
the whole world, had heaven’s kingdom opened
for the valiant prince.

Here the kennings overlap, and whoever interprets the poetry must determine from the context which king is meant. For it is correct to call the emperor of Constantinople king of the Greeks, and likewise to call the king who rules the land of Jerusalem king of Jerusalem; likewise to call the king of Rome emperor of the city of Rome, or the ruler of England king of the English. But the kenning written above, calling Christ king of men, can apply to any king. It is correct to refer to all kings by calling them rulers of the land, defenders of the land, seekers of land, leaders of the royal household, or guardians of the people. Thus said Eyvind skaldaspillir:

The rulers of the land
deprived the Cargo-god
of his life
at Oglo.

And as Glum Geirason said:

Beneath his helmet the ruler reddened
the whetstones’ hollow against the Gauts.
There, in the clash of spears,
the land’s guardian was overtaken.

As Thjodolf said:

May the noble leader of the household,
glad at heart, leave his sons
his inheritance and ancestral soil;
that is my wish.

As Einar said:

The brave-hearted guardian of the people wears
the snake’s headgear upon his bold mountain of hair;
the poet recounts before men
the glory of the king of the Hordar.

It is also correct to call a king who has tributary kings beneath him king of kings. An emperor is highest among kings; next comes a king who rules a nation, and all such kings are equal to one another in all poetic kennings. Next come those men called earls or tributary kings. They are equal to kings in kennings, except that tributary kings cannot be called kings of nations. Thus Arnor the earls’ poet said of Earl Thorfinn:

Let the court learn how this
bold-spirited king of earls attacked.
He did not fail to contend
with the overbearing prince’s terror.

Next in poetic kennings come the men called hersirs. They may be referred to like kings or earls, by calling them breakers of gold, lavish givers of wealth, men of the standard, or leaders of the host, or by calling a man leader of the troop or of the battle. For every king of a nation who rules many lands appoints tributary kings and earls to govern alongside him, to administer the law of the land and defend against warfare those lands that lie far from the king. Their judgments and punishments must have the same authority there as the king’s own.

But within one country there are many districts, and kings customarily appoint a judge over as many districts as they place under his authority. These men are called hersirs or landed men in the Danish tongue, counts in Saxony, and barons in England. They too must be lawful judges and lawful defenders of the territory entrusted to their government. If the king is absent, a standard must be carried before them in battle, and they then have the same authority as military commanders as kings or earls.

Next come the men called freeholders. These are farmers of established lineage who possess full legal rights. They may be referred to as givers and guardians of wealth and reconcilers of men. These kennings may also apply to chieftains.

Kings and earls have in their following men called retainers and housecarls. Landed men also have men who have entered their service, called retainers in Denmark and Sweden but housecarls in Norway; nevertheless, they swear oaths just as retainers do to kings. Kings’ housecarls were very commonly called retainers in ancient times. Thus said Thorvald blonduskald:

King eager for battle, be fortunate,
and so too your brave housecarls.
Men have on their lips my poem,
filled with praise.

King Harald Sigurdsson composed this:

Full of power, he waits to fill
the ruler’s throne; I often see
a smaller band of housecarls
following at an earl’s heels.

The retainers and housecarls of chieftains may be referred to by calling them the inner household, the following, or paid men. Thus said Sighvat:

I heard that the prince’s following
recently fought a battle on the water;
the storms of spearheads that I next recount
were none of the smallest.

And also this:

Then, on the prince’s horse of the cable,
it was as though no maiden
were serving mead to these paid men
before the greeting of weapons.

The pay and gifts that chieftains give are called service-money. Thus said Ottar the Black:

I need to enjoy the goodwill
of the breaker of battle’s embers.
Here within, with the wise prince,
is a household eager for every deed.

Earls, hersirs, and retainers are referred to as the king’s confidants, conversation-companions, or benchmates. Thus said Hallfred:

The king’s confidant, mighty in battle,
who delights in daring, lets the garments
forged with Hogni’s hammer ring
around him, swift to anger.

As Snaebjorn said:

The kings’ conversation-companion has
the resounding swords of the prow
of the long-sided horse of the steering-band
pressed against the hard wave.

Thus said Arnor:

My young sons show
heavy sorrow on my behalf
at the death of that battle-famed
benchmate of the prince.

The king’s companion, as Hallfred said:

The agreement was concluded: thereafter
that wise-counselling companion of the king
possessed Onar’s only daughter,
grown over with woodland.

Men should also be referred to through their ancestry, as Kormak said:

Let the generous son of Harald’s
true-proven friend listen;
I proclaim my yeast-Rhine of the men
of the Syr of fen-teeth.

He called the earl the king’s true-proven friend, and Earl Hakon the son of Earl Sigurd. But Thjodolf said this about Harald:

Every hard trial increases
Olaf’s father’s storm of iron swords,
so that it is worthy
of praise.

And also this:

Jarizleif saw
how the prince fared.
The holy king’s brother
advanced.

And he also said:

Dead is the one
who surpassed all,
the descendant of hawk-perches,
Harald’s brother’s son.

Arnor also said this in Rognvaldsdrapa:

Heiti’s descendant, a boon to armies,
chose to establish kinship with me.
Through this, the earl’s marriage-kinship
helped me win renown.

And he also said of Earl Thorfinn:

Thin-forged swords bit south of Man,
and there beneath the shields
powerful armies fell
before old Rognvald’s descendant.

And he also said:

God, keep harm from the splendid
ennobler of mighty Torf-Einar’s line;
I ask mercy for the faithful,
noble ruler.

And Einar skalaglamm also said:

No pillar of Hilditann’s line
will be more generous
than the battle-promoter;
I am bound to uphold his praise.

How is poetry phrased without kennings? By naming each thing by its own name. What are the names for poetry without kennings? It is called verse, praise, song, eulogy, and commendation. Bragi the Old spoke this when he was driving through a forest late one evening. A troll-woman then addressed him in verse and asked who was passing:

They call me troll,
moon of dwelling-Rungnir,
sucker of a giant’s wealth,
ruin of the storm-sun,
the seeress’s affliction,
guardian of the navel-earth,
swallower of heaven’s wheel.
What is a troll, if not that?

He answered:

They call me poet,
Vidur’s thought-smith,
finder of Gaut’s gift,
a poet of no small worth,
bearer of Ygg’s ale,
creator of song,
skilled smith of verse.
What is a poet, if not that?

And as Kormak said:

I make still more praise
about Sigrod’s famous son;
I pay him the holy drink’s honour.
Thor sits in his chariot.

And as Thord Kolbeinsson said:

The shield-maple, lavish in glorious deeds,
had many warships, as well as merchant ships
and longships, thunder upon the surf;
the poet’s song grows.

Eulogy, as Ulf Uggason said:

There the river of sword-rain reaches
the sea; earlier I delivered eulogy.
Thus I offer
a commendation of warriors.

Here poetry is called commendation.

What are the names of the gods? They are called bonds, as Eyjolf dadaskald said:

Eirik, generous with the spear’s pledge,
brings land beneath himself
at the bonds’ pleasure, and makes battle.

And fetters, as Thjodolf of Hvin said:

The bait-reindeer among the bones
was hard for the gods to share.
The helmeted adorner of the fetters
asked what caused this.

Powers, as Einar skalaglamm said:

I say the mightily strengthened powers
increase Hakon’s dominion.

Yule-gods, as Eyvind said:

Once more we have fashioned
the Yule-gods’ feast,
the ruler’s praise,
like a bridge of stones.

Divinities, as Kormak said:

With a headband the land-winner
enriches the wielder of the divinities’ fjord,
he who binds the straight mast.
Ygg worked spells to win Rind.

These names for the sky are recorded, but we have not found all these terms in poems. Yet I think there is no obligation to use these poetic terms, any more than others, in poetry unless one has first found such terms in the works of leading poets.

Sky: twin-faced, bright-clouded, storm-Mimir, far-reaching, light-farer, drifter, Skatyrnir, wide-embracer, winter-Mimir, lightning, coverer, wide-blue.

Sun: sunna, wheel, eye-glow, all-bright, sight, fair-wheel, comforting light, Dvalin’s plaything, elf-wheel, Ifrodul, Mylin.

Moon: Mani, new moon, waning moon, year-counter, Mulin, Fengari, Glam, hastener, squinter, Skram.

What are the names for the earth? It is called earth, as Thjodolf said:
The earl, the ring's hardener,
often raises fierce storms
of spear-points before he forces
the earth beneath himself.

Soil, as Ottar said:
The battle-Baldr defends the soil;
few kings can do as much.
Olaf gladdens the eagles;
the Swedes' ruler is valiant.

Ground, as Hallfred said:
The broad ground lies beneath the tree
of the island-fetter's road, bound
by the venom-cunning serpent; the Hod
of the whetstone-land destroys treasures.

Land, as Einar said:
Brave warriors fiercely defend
the land of illustrious princes with swords;
helmets often split before the raging
storm of edges.

Country, as Thord Kolbeinsson said:
After the battle the country, from Veiga
in the north—words are hard to find for warfare—
lay subdued southward to Agdir,
or farther still, for a time.

Territory, as Ottar said:
You held, where the raven did not starve—
you are bold in counsel—the territory,
fierce staff of terror, against two princes
and the race of men.

Hlodyn, as Volu-Stein said:
I remember when the dark earth
once gaped with a dug mouth
for the sender of the words of the Dan
of green Hlodyn's bones.

Earth, as Ulf Uggason said:
The stiff cord of earth stared
across the gunwale at the tester
of the hosts of the land's bone,
gleaming-eyed, and blew venom.

Fjorgyn, as is said here:
I was loyal to the lavish giver
of the sounding bed of Fjorgyn's eel;
may honor attend the storm of the words
of Eldir of the anvil's river.

The wolf is a beast. It is proper to form kennings for blood or carrion by calling them its food or drink. It is not proper to form such kennings with other beasts. The wolf is also called Ulf, as Thjodolf said:
A plentiful feast was prepared for Geri,
when Sigurd's son came from the north
to entice the wolf out of the forest
to the wounds.

Here it is also called Geri. Freki, as Egil said:
When the spear-breaker
—Freki tore the wound—
rubbed the raven
on the head's prow.

Vitnir, as Einar said:
The venom-cold river was reddened
with the hot surge of wounds.
Vitnir's warm drink flowed with the water
into Kormt's necklace.

Ylgr, as Arnor said:
The she-wolf's evil brood swallowed
carrion piled high with slaughter,
and the green sea became mingled
with red blood.

Varg, as Illugi said:
It pleased the wolf when my lord
put the fugitives to flight; the necklace-destroyer
pierced many a dusky trout
of the forest with his sword.

These too are names for the wolf, as Hall said:
He relieved the heath-dweller's hunger;
the gray howler enjoyed the wounds.
The prince reddened Fenrir's muzzle;
the wolf went to drink from wounds.

And again, as Thord said:
Gjalp's herd waded in blood,
while the dusky pack gained plenty
of Freki's wheat; the howler enjoyed
Geri's drink.

A bear is called Fetvidnir, Hunn, Vetr lidi, Bersi, Fress, Iugtanni, Ifjung, Glum, Jolfud, Vilskarp, Bera, Jorek, Riti, Frek, Blom, Ysjung. A stag is called Motrodnir, Dalar, Dal, Dain, Dvalin, Duneyr, Durathror.

These names of horses are listed in Thorgrim's Thula:
Hrafn and Sleipnir,
excellent horses,
Val and Lettfeti;
Tjaldari was there,
Gulltopp and Goti;
I heard Soti mentioned,
Mor and Lung with Mar.

Vigg and Stuf
were with Skaevad.
Blakk could carry a warrior;
Silfrtopp and Sinir;
I also heard Fak mentioned,
Gullfaxi and Jor among the gods.

Blodughofi was the horse's name
that they said carried
the mighty Atridi;
Gisl and Falhofnir,
Glaer and Skeidbrimir;
Gyllir was mentioned there too.

These others are listed in Kalf's Verse:
Dag rode Drosul,
and Dvalin Modnir,
Hjalm Hafeti,
and Haki Fak;
Beli's slayer rode
Blodughofi,
and the Haddingjar's prince
rode Skaevad.

Vestein rode Val,
and Vifil Stuf,
Meinthjof Mor,
and Morgin Vakr,
Ali Hrafn,
when they rode to the ice;
and another, eastward
beneath Adils,
a gray horse, wheeled about,
wounded by a spear.

Bjorn rode Blakk,
and Bjar Kert,
Atli Glaum,
and Adils Slongvir,
Hogni Holkvir,
and Harald Folkvir,
Gunnar Goti,
and Sigurd Grani.

Arvak and Alsvid draw the sun, as was written earlier. Hrimfaxi or Fjorsvartnir draws Night. Skinfaxi or Glad accompanies Day.

These names of oxen occur in Thorgrim's Thula:
The names of ancient oxen
I have learned thoroughly:
Raud and Haefir,
Rekin and Hyr,
Himinhrjod and Apli,
Arf and Arfuni.

These are names for serpents: dragon, Fafnir, Jormungand, adder, Nidhogg, serpent, viper, Goin, Moin, Grafvitnir, Grabak, Ofnir, Svafnir, Grim.

Cattle: cow, calf, oxen, heifer, yearling, young bull, bull.

Sheep: ram, wether, ewe, lamb, tup.

Swine: sow, young sow, boar, hog, piglet.

What are the names for the air and the weather? The air is called Ginnungagap and Middle-world, Bird-world, Weather-world. Weather is called storm, fair wind, tempest, squall, gust, wind. So it says in Alsvinn's Sayings:
Wind it is called among men,
but Waverer among the gods;
the mighty powers call it Neigher,
the giants Howler,
the elves Roaring Traveler;
in Hel it is called Blusterer.

Wind is also called a blast.

There are two birds for which no further qualification is needed when calling blood or carrion their drink or food. These are the raven and the eagle. Any other masculine bird-name may be used in a kenning with blood or carrion, and then it signifies an eagle or raven, as Thjodolf said:
The prince makes the blood-grouse
rejoice in the eagle's barley.
The king of the Hordar carries Gaut's sickle
against the blood-swan's fodder.
The feeder of the carrion-vulture of the eagles' sea
makes his followers mark out with spear-points
every stretch farther south
that he must defend.

These are names for the raven: Krak, Huginn, Munin, Borginmodi, Arflognir, Artali, Holdbodi. So said Einar skalaglamm:
The army-leader gave the mountain-wonted
ravens their fill; the raven grew full
on the she-wolf's food,
while spears rang out.

So said Einar Skulason:
The worthy strengthener can steer
the precious beast of the battle-starling;
sorrow disturbs the gleam-sun's hound
with grief for Huginn's cargo.

And again, as he said:
In battle, where men fall,
the king's heart swells with courage;
blue-black Munin drinks
blood from wounds.

As Viga-Glum said:
When, eager for the din of the goddess
of the blood-necklace, we stood shielded
on the gravel-bank, Borginmodi
gained a meal of blood.

As Skuli Thorsteinsson said:
You would have seen me last, where I gave
Arflognir sore wounds,
among a hundred warriors
beneath the Hvitings' Hlokk.

The eagle is called Ari, Gemlir, Hreggskornir, Eggdir, Ginnar, Undskornir, Gallopnir. As Einar said:
He reddened the dusky muzzle
of Jarnsaxa's horse with blood;
the eagle tore Geri's bait;
the eagle's food was gained with iron.

As Ottar said:
The eagle drinks a draught from corpses;
the she-wolf gets her meal.
The wolf often reddens its jaws;
the eagle finds food there.

As Thjodolf said:
The wolf of the giantess flew to meet
the tellers of tales,
in an ancient eagle's shape,
not long ago.

And as it says here:
I wish to perfect the lofty mead
of Hreggskornir's hands.

And again, as Skuli said:
I keep watch, as before and since,
when I held the sea-hawk's sorrow;
the poet listens well then
to Gallopnir's good discourse.

What are the names for the sea? It is called Mar, Aegir, Gymir, Hler, ocean, road, fishing-ground, salt, water, sea. As Arnor said, and as was written earlier:
Let the company hear how the bold
king of earls ventured out to sea.
The unyielding prince did not lack
struggles against Aegir.

Here it is named sea, and also Aegir. Mar, as Hornklofi said:
When the deadly driver of the rush-serpent
of the sanctuary-road drove Nokvi's
steeds of the water's teeth
out onto the sea to win glory.

Water is also named here. So said Einar:
Water washes the vessels; the flood's surf
cleanses the steeds, while the fair
weather-vanes ring out where the sea
thunders against either side.

Here it is also called flood. So said Ref, as was written earlier:
Often Gymir's spray-cold prophetess
carries Bjorn, where the wave breaks,
into Aegir's jaws,
the jaws of twisted cables.

Ocean, as Hallvard said:
Westward into the ocean you directed
the prow, shaker of the hard steed
of the glittering belt, the ice
of the girdle of all lands.

Road, as it says here:
We have traveled onto the road from the land
the Sami traverse on skis.
Eastward, from the vessels' path,
I see mountains glittering with rays.

Fishing-ground, as Egil said:
Westward I went over the sea,
and I carry Vidrir's
sea of the mind's shore;
such is my voyage.

Mar, as Einar said:
The cold sea washes the black timbers
beneath the generous prince for many a day;
the storm-twisted sorrow of the elm
cuts into the jaws of Mon.

Salt, as Arnor said:
The valiant high king cut the salt
from the east with a sloping hull;
a sharp wind carried the destroyer
of the wave's surf-fire to Sigtuna.

Sea, as Bolverk said:
The following year you fitted out a levy
from the fair land; water washed over the ships;
you plowed the sea with splendid
steeds of the surge.

Here the sea is also called surge. Expanse, as Ref said:
The prow-cutting steed of the stay
strikes the planking-world with its breast;
the timber suffers hardship, and flings
the expanse inward over its stiff edge.

Dusk, as Njal of the Burning said:
Together we sixteen bailed, woman,
in four rowing-spaces, while the surf rose;
the dusk swept over
the ocean-ship's hull.

These too are names for the sea, with which it is proper to form kennings for ships or gold. Ran is said to have been Aegir's wife, as here:
The sea flung embers into the sky;
the ocean surged with force.
The prows, I think, sliced the clouds.
Ran's road struck at the moon.

Aegir and Ran have nine daughters, and their names were written earlier: Himinglaeva, Dufa, Blodughadda, Hefring, Udr, Hronn, Bylgja, Drofn, Kolga. Einar Skulason counted in this verse:
Himinglaeva fiercely rouses
the sea's roar against the brave,
six of their names, [Himinglaeva, Udr, Dufa, Blodughadda, Kolga, Hefring].

Hronn, as Valgard said:
Foam lay in the bedding;
the swollen ocean played over gold,
and the waves washed the fearsome
heads of the warships.

Bylgja, as Ottar the Black said:
You cut the draught-high waves
with a smooth-planed rudder; the sheet
of what women spun played by the masthead
on the roller's reindeer.

Drofn, as Orm said:
The guarding Thrud of the hawk's perch
practices every virtue,
and the steadfast Lofn of the wave's flame
shuns faults.

Wave, as Thorleik the Fair said:
The sea roars, and the wave carries
bright foam over the red timber,
where the roller-bison, adorned with gold,
gapes with its gray mouth.

Shore-water, as Einar said:
Nor had bold men ever before found
our friends on a ship's prow
where the sea fell so heavily;
I think they did not calm the shore-water.

Swell, as Ref said:
Mountains of water crash upon the swell;
now the winter-traveler of Glammi's skis
surges forward, the sheet-bear
of Gusir's cattle.

Breaker, as it says here:
A breaker suddenly fell over me.
The ocean invited me home with it.
I did not accept the sea's invitation.

Surf, as Ottar said:
Planks broke while the surf roared;
the slaughter of timber increased.
Men met with mighty weather;
the strakes stood low above the sea.

Wave, as Bragi said:
The sender of the wave's breeze would not
lift it against the crooked sea-monster,
he who cut the gulls' land's
slender cord for Thor.

Sound, as Einar said:
I cut the sound with planking
south of Hrund;
my hand was adorned
at my meeting with the generous ruler.

Fjord, as Einar said:
Next I see a serpent finely drawn
on the splendid shirt of the yeasty flood;
let the giver of fjord-fire grasp
how I treat that subject.

Sea, as Markus said:
I will certainly not slander
the shaker of the sea's sun in my speech,
god of the sheath-eel;
a man who spoils poetry is wicked.

What are the terms for fire? As here:
This fire burns often;
the worthy prince scorches settlements.
Houses breathe out smoke before the ruler
when Magnus kindles it.

Flame, as Valgard said:
Swiftly from the soot shot
the raging flame with embers;
it swept over houses, and smoke
stood in columns afterward.

Pyre, as here:
Haki was burned on a pyre
where the paths of the surf surged.

Embers, as Grani said:
The embers of Glammi’s path, I think,
brought ruin; so the prince set fires.

Blaze, as Atli said:
The axe reddens; blazes grow,
very many; halls flare,
houses burn, fire rages,
the noble company falls bleeding.

Here the fire is also called a conflagration. Smoke, as here:
The sovereign’s dwellings burned;
fire, I think, brought down the hall.
Smoke flung frost upon the host
beside the Nid itself, where the buildings were half finished.

Fire, as Arnor said:
Angry, the destroyer of the island-Danes
spared no measures against the Raumar.
The Heinir’s threats dwindled;
fire made them quiet.

Flame, as Einar said:
Flame was swiftly kindled,
and swiftly fled
the host of Hisingen,
which had the worse of it.

Blaze, as Valgard said:
Brightly the blaze swept about;
the mighty ruler’s Vikings eagerly
broke the strongholds of the city;
it cast sorrow upon the maiden.

Fire, as Halldor Skvaldri said:
There you could divide
their treasures; never were you
robbed of victory; the shield’s
fire swept over those dwellings.

These are the names of periods of time: age, formerly, lifetime, long ago, year, half-year, winter, summer, spring, autumn, month, week, day, night, morning, evening, dusk, early, soon, late, at a time, the day before, next, yesterday, tomorrow, while, moment.

These are further terms for night in Alsvinnsmal:
It is called Night among men,
and Darkness among the gods;
the mighty powers call it Mask,
the giants call it Freedom from Care,
the elves Delight in Sleep,
the dwarfs Dream-Njorun.

Autumn lasts from the equinox until the sun sets in the southwestern quarter. Then winter lasts until the equinox. Then spring lasts until the moving days. Then summer lasts until the equinox. The month immediately before winter is called Autumn-month; the first month of winter is called Slaughter-month, then comes Frost-month, then Ram-month, then Thorri, then Goi, then Lone-month, then Cuckoo-month and Seedtime, then Egg-time and Lambfold-time, then Sun-month and Shieling-month, then Haymaking, then Grain-harvest-month.

What are the unqualified terms for men? Each individual is a man; the first and highest title a man is called is emperor, next king, and next earl. These three men share all the following titles.

All-ruler, as is said here:
I know all the sovereigns
east and south of the fleets’ seats;
Svein’s son proves himself
better than every prince.

Here he is also called prince. He is called all-ruler because he alone rules over his whole kingdom.

Host-leader, as Gizur said:
The host-leader gladdens in battle
the troll-woman’s steed and Hlokk’s swan;
Olaf makes Ygg’s geese glad
in Skogul’s storms.

A king is called host-leader because he arranges his army in battle formations.

Leader, as Ottar the Black said:
The leader takes battle-Frey’s
desired bride in the east, surely against her will;
the all-ruler has
a good life among men.

Lord or master, as Arnor said:
The lord won victory in every
Shetland thunder of swords;
the poet wishes to proclaim the prince’s glory,
he who was highest among men.

An earl is called duke, and a king is also called this because he leads an army into battle. So Thjodolf said:
The humbler of dukes had
the eyes of the mound’s hastener,
taken captive, gouged from his head;
I proclaim his praise.

Signor or senior, as Sighvat said:
Let the wretched now enjoy,
lord of Norway, your laws
as well as the fortunate; keep your word
and give generously.

Generous one, as Markus said:
The generous one assailed the hostile people with fire;
death was then allotted to the seafarers.
You kindled the highest gleam of flame,
crusher of thieves, south at Jomsborg.

Illustrious one, as Hallvard said:
Beneath earth’s hazel there is
no illustrious one nearer the lord of monks
than you, breaker of the land-ruler’s word,
who protects the Danes.

Land-ruler, as Thjodolf said:
The blameless land-ruler scatters
the bright grain of Kraki,
as was written earlier. He is called this because he drives an army through other kings’ lands or drives an army out of his own land.

There was a king named Halfdan the Old, who was the most renowned of all kings. He held a great sacrifice at midwinter and sacrificed so that he might live for three hundred years in his kingship. But he received the answer that he would live no longer than one long human lifetime, yet for three hundred years there would be no woman or untitled man in his family. He was a great warrior and traveled widely in the eastern lands. There he killed in single combat a king named Sigtrygg. Then he married a woman called Alvig the Wise, daughter of King Emund of Holmgard. They had eighteen sons, and nine were born at one time. These were their names: one was Thengill, who was called Thengill of Men; the second Raesir; the third Gram; the fourth Gylfi; the fifth Hilmir; the sixth Jofur; the seventh Tyggi; the eighth Skyli or Skuli; the ninth Harri or Herra. These nine brothers became so renowned in warfare that in all learned writings since, their names have been used as titles of rank, like the title king or earl. They had no children and all fell in battle.

So Ottar the Black said:
The prince was already in youth
full of strength, eager for battle.
I pray that his life may endure;
I count him a leader of men.

So Markus said:
The ruler made the Rhine’s sun shine
from a reddened skull upon the sea-mountains.

So Egil said:
The prince has thrust up
the enclosure-cliffs of the ground.

So Eyvind said:
The cheerful king
played with the sons of men;
he was to defend the land
and stood beneath a golden helmet.

So Glum Geirason said:
Beneath his helmet the ruler reddened
the whetstone’s hollow upon the Geats.

So Ottar the Black said:
Let the prince hear the beginning;
the king’s praise will grow.
Let him rightly learn the measures
of my praise, his poem.

As Stuf said:
With both hands the glory-eager ruler
hewed down the company of men;
joyfully the host advanced beneath shields
there, south off the Nissan.

So Hallfred said:
I am parted from the ruler;
the age’s harvest of poets has caused it.
The lord of men’s disposition
is far beyond most men’s hopes and understanding.

So Markus said:
I summon the hawk-spirited lord
of the Danes’ land to a costly work of praise.

Halfdan and Alvig also had nine other sons, whose names were these: Hildir, from whom the Hildings descend; the second Nefir, from whom the Niflungs descend; the third Audi, from whom the Odlings descend; the fourth Yngvi, from whom the Ynglings descend; the fifth Day, from whom the Doglings descend; the sixth Bragi, from whom the Bragnings descend. This is the family of Halfdan the Generous. The seventh was Budli, from whom the Budlungs descend. Atli and Brynhild came from the Budlung family. The eighth was Lofdi. He was a great warrior-king. The company who were called Lofdar followed him. His kinsmen are called Lofdungs. From them descends Eylimi, the maternal grandfather of Sigurd, Fafnir’s slayer. The ninth was Sigar; from him descend the Siklings. This is the family of Siggeir, who was Volsung’s son-in-law, and the family of Sigar, who hanged Hagbard. Harald the Red-bearded, Halfdan the Black’s maternal grandfather, descended from the Hilding family. Gjuki was of the Niflung family, Kjar of the Odling family, and Eirik the Wise-spoken of the Ylfing family.

These are also renowned royal families: the descendants of Yngvi, from whom the Ynglings descend; the descendants of Skjold in Denmark, from whom the Skjoldungs descend; the descendants of Volsung in the land of the Franks, who are called Volsungs. There was a warrior-king named Skelfir, and his family is called the Skilfing family. That lineage is in the eastern lands. Men have used these family names just mentioned in poetry so that all of them serve as titles of rank.

As Einar said:
I have heard that princes went forward
to wage the grey spear-assembly
by the island; the green linden
was split in two.

As Grani said:
The prince gave the eagle’s offspring
Danish blood to drink.

As Gamli, the poet of Gnaevad, said:
The young prince struck down
for me, young then, the strength
of the middle sections of words upon the tongue
of the nail-ship within its boards.

As Jorunn said:
The prince resolved to redden in blood
the hostile people’s battlefields;
the host suffered the king’s anger;
houses often bowed before blazes.

So Einar said:
The prince’s sword bit;
blood fell upon spears.
[Hild’s cloud was torn
at Whitby.]

So Arnor said:
The ruler’s son accustoms princes’ warships
to pitching out at sea.
He stains the warship’s interior
with blood; that is the raven’s good fortune.

As Thjodolf said:
Thus ended the brave prince’s life,
so that we are all in a difficult position;
the praised ruler suffered
the destruction of his life.

The company called Lofdar followed King Lofdi.

As Arnor said:
Another Skjoldung higher than you, prince,
will never be born beneath the sun.

Volsung, as Thorkel Hamarskald said:
The descendant of Volsungs
had a gold-adorned weapon
sent to me
across the cool sea.

Yngling, as Ottar the Black said:
Before you, there was on earth
no Yngling eager for battle
who subdued the islands
from the west to the east.

Yngvi is also a term for a king, as Markus said:
People shall hear Eirik’s praise;
no man knows a more excellent prince
in this world; Yngvi held
the princes’ seat with lasting renown.

Skilfing, as Valgard said:
The Skilfing steered south with a great host
past the broad lands, where warships shook;
in the end Sicily
was laid waste.

Signor, as Sighvat said, and as was written earlier:
Let the wretched now enjoy,
lord of Norway, and give generously.

Poets are called bards, and in poetry it is proper to call any man this if one wishes. Those men who followed King Half were called warriors, and from their name fighting men are called warriors; it is proper to call all men this. Men are also called Lofdar in poetry, as was written earlier. Those men who followed the king called Skati the Generous were called generous men. From his name, everyone who is generous is called a generous man. Those who followed King Bragi the Old are called champions. Those men who judge men’s cases are called worthies. Defenders of the land are called fighters, men, and husbands. Vikings and seafarers are a shipborne army. Those who followed King Beimuni were called heroes. Leaders of companies are called men or bridegrooms, just as a man is called a bridegroom at a wedding.

Men are called Goths after the name of the king called Goti, after whom Gotland is named. He was named after Odin, his name being derived from the name Gaut, for Gautland or Gotland was named after Odin, and Sweden after Svidur. That is also a name of Odin. At that time all the mainland he possessed was called Reidgotaland, and all the islands Eygotaland. This is now called the Danish realm and the Swedish realm.

Young men without farms are called gallants while they are acquiring wealth or renown: those who travel between countries are traveling gallants; those who serve princes are royal gallants; those who serve powerful men or farmers are also gallants. Valiant men who are making their way are called gallants. Men are also called fellows, stalwarts, and retainers; these are followers. Farmers are called thanes and freeholders. Those men who work to reconcile people are called mediators.

There are men who are called these things: champions, combatants, heroes, men of prowess, men of valor, hardy men, mighty men, warriors. Opposed to these are the following terms for a man: soft, weak, timid, a weakling, a coward, a wretch, a craven, a scarecrow, a feeble fellow, a miserable fellow, a sluggard, a good-for-nothing, a dastard, a dullard, a dawdler, a do-nothing, a paltry fellow, a beggar, a contemptible fellow, a son of misery.

A generous man is called a liberal man, an illustrious man, a generous one, a people’s benefactor, a gold-giver, a Baldr among men, a prosperous man, a lover of good living, a wealthy man, a rich man, a chieftain. Opposed to these are the following terms: miser, skinflint, niggard, wretch, money-grubber, reluctant giver.

A wise man is called a master of counsel. An unwise man is also called a fool, an idiot, a lout, a dupe, a boor, a simpleton, a dolt, a jester, a madman, a frenzied man, a lunatic.

A well-dressed man is called a dandy, a gallant, a splendid fellow, a fop, a man of finery. A man is called a sloven, a ragged fellow, a clumsy fellow, a straddle-legs, a vagabond, a loafer, a byre-dweller, a slouch, a laggard.

The people of a country are called a populace or a folk. A thrall is also called a bondman, a servant, a laborer, a slave.

Each single person is called a man,
a pair if there are two,
a throng if there are three;
four are a fellowship,
five men are a band,
a troop if there are six;
seven fill a crew,
eight bear the tally of accusation;
nine are companions,
a gathering if there are ten;
eleven are messengers;
a train it is
if twelve travel;
thirteen are a crowd,
fourteen a travelling party;
a meeting it is
when fifteen meet;
sixteen are a garrison,
seventeen an attacking force;
enemies seem plentiful
to one who meets eighteen;
he has a company
who has nineteen men;
twenty men are a retinue.
Thirty are a nation,
forty a people,
fifty a battalion,
sixty an assembly,
seventy are warriors,
eighty a multitude,
a hundred a host.

There are also terms that people use in place of men's names. We call these relational descriptions, true descriptions, or substitute names. Relational descriptions consist in naming another thing by its proper name and calling the person one wishes to name its owner, or calling him the father or grandfather of what one has named. Great-grandfather is the third. He is also called son and heir, inheritor, child, infant and boy, successor. He is also called brother, blood-brother, bosom-brother, brother, brother. He is also called descendant, nephew, relation, son, offspring, kinsman, scion, descendant, pillar of the family, member of the family, branch of the kin, branch of the family, offspring, progeny, chief scion, offshoot. There are also relatives by marriage, connections by marriage, and those joined by marriage. He is also called friend and fellow counsellor, adviser, interlocutor, confidant, companion in conversation, old benchmate, shipmate, seatmate, companion on a bench. A benchmate is a companion who shares one's half of a rowing bench. He is also called enemy, foe, opponent, adversary, destroyer, harm-doer, slayer, oppressor, overthrower, ruthless attacker.

We call these terms relational descriptions, and likewise when a man is described by reference to his farm or his ship, which has a name, or to a possession of his that has been given a proper name. We call it true description to call men wise men, thoughtful men, men wise in speech, skilled counsellors, generous with wealth, untiring, heedful men, splendid men. These are substitute names.

These are unqualified terms for women in poetry: wife and bride and lady are names for women who are given in marriage. Damsel and belle are names for women much given to pride and finery. Gentlewomen are those who are deft with words. Ladies are those who are quiet; proud women and grand dames are those who are haughty. A woman of forceful temperament is called a spirited woman. The most powerful is called a matron. A shy woman is called a modest maiden, as are young maidens or women who are timid. A woman whose husband has gone abroad is called a waiting wife. A woman whose husband has been slain is called a bereaved wife. A woman whose husband died of sickness is called a widow. Each is first called a maiden, and those who are old are called old women.

There are also terms for women that are insulting, and these may be found in poems, although they are not written here. Women who share one husband are called rival wives. A son's wife is called a daughter-in-law. A husband's mother is called a mother-in-law. There are also mother, grandmother, and third, great-grandmother. A mother is called a mam. There are also daughter and child, infant. There are also sister, lady, sister by birth. A woman is also called her husband's bedfellow, companion in conversation, confidante, and this is a relational description.

A person has what is called a head. It should be described by calling it the neck's toil or burden, the land of helmet and hat and brain, of hair and brows, scalp, ears, eyes, mouth; Heimdall's sword—and it is correct to use any term for a sword one wishes and qualify it with any name of Heimdall. Unqualified terms for the head are skull, brainpan, pate, crown.

Eyes are called sight and glance or gaze, aimers. They may be described by calling them the sun or moon, shields and glass or gemstones or the stone of lashes or brows, eyelids or forehead. Ears are called listening organs and hearing. They should be described by calling them the land of hearing, or using any other term for earth, or its mouth or channel or sight or eyes, when creating new metaphors.

The mouth should be described by calling it the land or house of tongue or teeth, words or gums, lips or the like; and when creating new metaphors, people call the mouth a ship, the lips its planking, and the tongue its oar or rudder. Teeth are sometimes called the stones or skerries of words, mouth, or tongue. The tongue is often called the sword of speech or of the mouth.

A beard is called a fringe, and what grows on the lips is called a moustache or whiskers. Hair is called locks, and what women have is called tresses. Hair is also called a head of hair. Hair is described by calling it a forest or using any term for trees, qualifying it by reference to skull or brainpan or head; a beard is qualified by reference to chin or cheeks or throat.

The heart is called the core. It should be described by calling it a grain or stone or apple or nut or ball or the like, qualifying it by reference to breast or mind; it may also be called the house or earth or rock of the mind. The breast should be described by calling it the house or enclosure or ship of heart, spirit, or liver, the land of energy, mind, and memory.

The mind is called thought and affection, love, fondness, will, desire. The mind should be described by calling it the wind of troll-women, and it is correct to name whichever one wishes; likewise one may name giants, or describe them by reference to a giant's wife or mother or daughter. The mind is also called disposition, liking, energy, strength, willingness, memory, understanding, temper, mood, loyalty. The mind is also called anger, hostility, malice, fierceness, misery, grief, sorrow, ill temper, irritability, deceit, faithlessness, lack of spirit, fickleness, insolence, hard-heartedness, agitation.

The hand may be called hand, arm, paw, fist. Parts of the hand and arm are called elbow, forearm, wrist, joint, finger, grip, flipper, nail, fingertip, edge, quick. The hand may be called the earth of weapons or shields, the tree of shoulder and sleeve, palm and flipper, the earth of gold rings and of falcon and hawk and all its names; and in new metaphors, the foot of the shoulder, the bow-bender.

Feet may be called trees of soles, insteps, stockings, or the like, the running spear of the road or of walking, of a step. The foot may be called the tree or pillar of these. Feet are described by reference to skis and shoes and trousers. Parts of the foot and leg are called thigh, knee, calf, bone, shin, instep, outer edge, sole, toe. The foot may be described by reference to all these things and called their tree; the foot is also called a mast and a yard, qualified by reference to these things.

Speech is also called words and expression and eloquence, talk, tale, altercation, dispute, song, incantation, chanting, chatter, quavering, din, babble, squalling, merriment, wrangling, mockery, prattle, boasting, praise, gossip, foolish talk, dialect speech, idle talk, blather. It is also called voice, sound, vocal tone, resonance, rushing, shrill crying, roaring, clanging, thundering, rumbling, crashing, swishing, swooshing, movement.

Understanding is called wisdom, counsel, comprehension, memory, judgement, thoughtfulness, skill in reckoning, foresight, resourcefulness, wisdom in speech, ability. It is also called cunning, scheming, guile, treachery.

Læti has two meanings. Læti means voice; læti means behaviour, and æði also means ill temper. Reiði also has two meanings. Reiði is what it is called when a person is angry; reiði also means the equipment of a ship or horse. Far also has two meanings. Fár is anger; far is a ship. People make much use of such expressions to compose in a concealed manner, and this is called very over-obvious. People call the place in a person's body where bones meet a lið; lið means a ship; lið means people; lið is also what it is called when a person gives another assistance; líð means ale. Hlið is a gate in a fence, and people call an ox hlið, but hlíð is a slope.

These distinctions can be used in poetry to make it so over-obvious that it is difficult to understand, if one is to take a meaning different from the one the preceding lines initially seem to suggest. The same applies to many other terms whose names are shared by several things.