Frumtexti: „Hárbarðsljóð“

"Hverr er sá sveinn sveina,
er stendr fyr sundit handan?"
Ferjukarlinn kvað:

"Hverr er sá karl karla,
er kallar of váginn?"
Þórr kvað:

"Fer þú mik um sundit,
fæði ek þik á morgun;
meis hef ek á baki,
verðr-a matr in betri;
át ek í hvíld,
áðr ek heiman fór,
síldr ok hafra;
saðr em ek enn þess."
Ferjukarlinn kvað:

"Árligum verkum
hrósar þú, verðinum;
veizt-at-tu fyrir görla,
döpr eru þín heimkynni,
dauð, hygg ek, at þín móðir sé."
Þórr kvað:

"Þat segir þú nú,
er hverjum þykkir
mest at vita,
at mín móðir dauð sé."
Ferjukarlinn kvað:

"Þeygi er sem þú
þrjú bú góð eigir;
berbeinn þú stendr
ok hefr brautinga gervi,
þatki, at þú hafir brækr þínar."
Þórr kvað:

"Stýrðu hingat eikjunni,
ek mun þér stöðna kenna, -
eða hverr á skipit,
er þú heldr við landit?"
Ferjukarlinn kvað:

"Hildolfr sá heitir,
er mik halda bað,
rekkr inn ráðsvinni,
er býr í Ráðseyjarsundi;
bað-at hann hlennimenn flytja
eða hrossaþjófa,
góða eina
ok þá, er ek görva kunna;
segðu til nafns þíns,
ef þú vill um sundit fara!"
Þórr kvað:

"Segja mun ek til nafns míns,
þótt ek sekr séak,
ok til alls eðlis:
Ek em Óðins sonr,
Meila bróðir,
en Magna faðir,
þrúðvaldr goða,
við Þór knáttu hér dæma!
Hins vil ek nú spyrja,
hvat þú heitir."
Ferjukarlinn kvað:

"Hárbarðr ek heiti,
hylk um nafn sjaldan."
Þórr kvað:

"Hvat skaltu of nafn hylja,
nema þú sakar eigir?"
Hárbarðr kvað:

"En þótt ek sakar eiga,
þá mun ek forða fjörvi mínu
fyr slíkum sem þú ert,
nema ek feigr sé."
Þórr kvað:

"Harm ljótan
mér þykkir í því
at vaða um váginn til þín
ok væta ögur minn;
skylda ek launa
kögursveini þínum
kanginyrði,
ef ek kæmumk yfir sundit."
Hárbarðr kvað:

"Hér mun ek standa
ok þín heðan bíða;
fannt-a þú mann in harðara
at Hrungni dauðan."
Þórr kvað:

"Hins viltu nú geta,
er vit Hrungnir deildum,
sá inn stórúðgi jötunn,
er ór steini var höfuðit á;
þó lét ek hann falla
ok fyrir hníga.
Hvat vanntu þá meðan, Hárbarðr?"
Hárbarðr kvað:

"Var ek með Fjölvari
fimm vetr alla
í ey þeiri,
er Algræn heitir;
vega vér þar knáttum
ok val fella,
margs at freista,
mans at kosta."
Þórr kvað:

"Hversu snúnuðu yðr konur yðrar?"
Hárbarðr kvað:

"Sparkar áttu vér konur,
ef oss at spökum yrði;
horskar áttu vér konur,
ef oss hollar væri;
þær ór sandi
síma undu,
ok ór dali djúpum
grund of grófu;
varð ek þeim einn öllum
efri at ráðum;
hvílda ek hjá þeim systrum sjau,
ok hafða ek geð þeira allt ok gaman.
Hvat vanntu þá meðan, Þórr?"
Þórr kvað:

"Ek drap Þjaza,
inn þrúðmóðga jötun,
upp ek varp augum
Alvalda sonar
á þann inn heiða himin;
þau eru merki mest
minna verka,
þau er allir menn síðan of séa.
Hvat vanntu þá meðan, Hárbarðr?"
Hárbarðr kvað:

"Miklar manvélar
ek hafða við myrkriður,
þá er ek vélta þær frá verum;
harðan jötun
ek hugða Hlébarð vera,
gaf hann mér gambantein,
en ek vélta hann ór viti."
Þórr kvað:

"Illum huga
launaðir þú þá góðar gjafar."
Hárbarðr kvað:

"Þat hefr eik,
er af annarri skefr,
of sik er hverr í slíku.
Hvat vanntu þá meðan Þórr?"
Þórr kvað:

"Ek var austr
ok jötna barðak
brúðir bölvísar,
er til bjargs gengu;
mikil myndi ætt jötna,
ef allir lifði
vætr myndi manna
undir Miðgarði.
Hvat vanntu þá meðan, Hárbarðr?"
Hárbarðr kvað:

"Var ek á Vallandi
ok vígum fylgdak,
atta ek jöfrum,
en aldri sættak;
Óðinn á jarla,
þá er í val falla,
en Þórr á þrælakyn."
Þórr kvað:

"Ójafnt skipta
er þú myndir með ásum liði,
ef þú ættir vilgi mikils vald."
Hárbarðr kvað:

"Þórr á afl ærit,
en ekki hjarta;
af hræðslu ok hugbleyði
þér var í hanzka troðit,
ok þóttisk-a þú þá Þórr vera;
hvárki þú þá þorðir
fyr hræðslu þinni
hnjósa né físa,
svá at Fjalarr heyrði."
Þórr kvað:

"Hárbarðr inn ragi,
ek mynda þik í hel drepa,
ef ek mætta seilask um sund."
Hárbarðr kvað:

"Hvat skyldir um sund seilask,
er sakir ro alls engar?
Hvat vanntu þá, Þórr?"
Þórr kvað:

"Ek var austr
ok ána varðak,
þá er mik sóttu
þeir Svárangs synir;
grjóti þeir mik börðu,
gagni urðu þeir þó lítt fegnir,
þó urðu þeir mik fyrri
friðar at biðja.
Hvat vanntu þá meðan, Hárbarðr?"
Hárbarðr kvað:

"Ek var austr
ok við einhverja dæmðak,
lék ek við ina línhvítu
ok launþing háðak;
gladdak ina gullbjörtu,
gamni mær unði."
Þórr kvað:

"Góð átt þú þér mankynni þar þá."
Hárbarðr kvað:

"Liðs þíns
væra ek þá þurfi, Þórr,
at ek helda þeiri inni línhvítu mey."
Þórr kvað:

"Ek munda þér þá þat veita,
ef ek viðr of kæmumk."
Hárbarðr kvað:

"Ek mynda þér þá trúa,
nema þú mik í tryggð véltir."
Þórr kvað:

"Emk-at ek sá hælbítr
sem húðskór forn á vár."
Hárbarðr kvað:

"Hvat vanntu þá meðan, Þórr?"
Þórr kvað:

"Brúðir berserkja
barðak í Hléseyju;
þær höfðu verst unnit,
vélta þjóð alla."
Hárbarðr kvað:

"Klæki vanntu þá, Þórr,
er þú á konum barðir."
Þórr kvað:

"Vargynjur þat váru,
en varla konur,
skelldu skip mitt,
er ek skorðat hafðak,
ægðu mér járnlurki
en eltu Þjalfa.
Hvat vanntu meðan, Hárbarðr?"
Hárbarðr kvað:

"Ek vark í hernum,
er hingat gerðisk
gnæfa gunnfana,
geir at rjóða."
Þórr kvað:

"Þess viltu nú geta,
er þú fórt oss óljúfan at bjóða."
Hárbarðr kvað:

"Bæta skal þér þat þá
munda baugi,
sem jafnendr unnu,
þeir er okkr vilja sætta."
Þórr kvað:

"Hvar namtu þessi
in hnæfiligu orð,
er ek heyrða aldregi
in hnæfiligri?"
Hárbarðr kvað:

"Nam ek at mönnum
þeim inum aldrænum,
er búa í heimis skógum."
Þórr kvað:

"Þó gefr þú gott nafn dysjum,
er þú kallar þær heimis skóga."
Hárbarðr kvað:

"Svá dæmi ek of slíkt far."
Þórr kvað:

"Orðkringi þín
mun þér illa koma,
ef ek ræð á vág at vaða;
ulfi hæra
hygg ek þik æpa munu,
ef þú hlýtr af hamri högg."
Hárbarðr kvað:

"Sif á hó heima,
hans muntu fund vilja,
þann muntu þrek drýgja,
þat er þér skyldara."
Þórr kvað:

"Mælir þú at munns ráði,
svá at mér skyldi verst þykkja,
halr inn hugblauði,
hygg ek, at þú ljúgir."
Hárbarðr kvað:

"Satt hygg ek mik segja;
seinn ertu at för þinni,
langt myndir þú nú kominn, Þórr,
ef þú litum færir."
Þórr kvað:

"Hárbarðr inn ragi,
heldr hefr þú nú mik dvalðan."
Hárbarðr kvað:

"Ása-þórs hugða ek
aldregi mundu
glepja féhirði farar."
Þórr kvað:

"Ráð mun ek þér nú ráða;
ró þú hingat bátinum,
hættum hætingi,
hittu föður Magna."
Hárbarðr kvað:

"Farðu firr sundi,
þér skal fars synja."
Þórr kvað:

"Vísa þú mér nú leiðina,
alls þú vill mik eigi um váginn ferja."
Hárbarðr kvað:

Lítit er at synja,
langt er at fara;
stund er til stokksins,
önnur til steinsins,
haltu svá til vinstra vegsins,
unz þú hittir Verland;
þar mun Fjörgyn
hitta Þór, son sinn,
ok mun hon kenna hánum áttunga brautir
til Óðins landa."
Þórr kvað:

"Mun ek taka þangat í dag?"
Hárbarðr kvað:

"Taka við víl ok erfiði,
at upprennandi sólu,
er ek get þána."
Þórr kvað:

"Skammt mun nú mál okkat,
alls þú mér skætingu einni svarar;
launa mun ek þér farsynjun,
ef vit finnumk í sinn annat."
Hárbarðr kvað:

"Far þú nú,
þars þik hafi allan gramir."

"Who is the fellow yonder, on the farther shore of the sound?"

The ferryman spake: 2.
"What kind of a peasant is yon, that calls o'er the bay?"

Thor spake: 3.
"Ferry me over the sound; I will feed thee therefor in the morning;
A basket I have on my back, and food therein, none better;
At leisure I ate, ere the house I left,
Of herrings and porridge, so plenty I had."

The ferryman spake: 4.
"Of thy morning feats art thou proud, but the future thou knowest not wholly;
Doleful thine home-coming is: thy mother, methinks, is dead."

Thor spake: 5.
"Now hast thou said what to each must seem
The mightiest grief, that my mother is dead."

The ferryman spake: 6.
"Three good dwellings, methinks, thou hast not;
Barefoot thou standest, and wearest a beggar's dress;
Not even hose dost thou have."

Thor spake: 7.
"Steer thou hither the boat; the landing here shall I show thee;
But whose the craft that thou keepest on the shore?"

The ferryman spake: 8.
"Hildolf is he who bade me have it,
A hero wise; his home is at Rathsey's sound.
He bade me no robbers to steer, nor stealers of steeds,
But worthy men, and those whom well do I know.
Say now thy name, if over the sound thou wilt fare."

Thor spake: 9.
"My name indeed shall I tell, though in danger I am, And all my race; I am Othin's son,
Meili's brother, and Magni's father,
The strong one of the gods; with Thor now speech canst thou get.
And now would I know what name thou hast."

The ferryman spake: 10.
"Harbarth am I, and seldom I hide my name."

Thor spake: 11.
"Why shouldst thou hide thy name, if quarrel thou hast not?"

Harbarth spake: 12.
"And though I had a quarrel, from such as thou art
Yet none the less my life would I guard,
Unless I be doomed to die."

Thor spake: 13.
"Great trouble, methinks, would it be to come to thee,
To wade the waters across, and wet my middle;
Weakling, well shall I pay thy mocking words,
if across the sound I come."

Harbarth spake: 14.
"Here shall I stand and await thee here;
Thou hast found since Hrungnir died no fiercer man."

Thor spake: 15.
"Fain art thou to tell how with Hrungnir I fought,
The haughty giant, whose head of stone was made;
And yet I felled him, and stretched him before me.
What, Harbarth, didst thou the while?"

Harbarth spake: 16.
Five full winters with Fjolvar was I,
And dwelt in the isle that is Algrön called;
There could we fight, and fell the slain,
Much could we seek, and maids could master."

Thor spake: 17.
"How won ye success with your women?"

Harbarth spake: 18.
"Lively women we had, if they wise for us were;
Wise were the women we had, if they kind for us were;
For ropes of sand they would seek to wind,
And the bottom to dig from the deepest dale.
Wiser than all in counsel I was,
And there I slept by the sisters seven,
And joy full great did I get from each.
What, Thor, didst thou the while?"

Thor spake: 19.
"Thjazi I felled, the giant fierce,
And I hurled the eyes of Alvaldi's son
To the heavens hot above;
Of my deeds the mightiest marks are these,
That all men since can see.
What, Harbarth, didst thou the while?"

Harbarth spake: 20.
"Much love-craft I wrought with them who ride by night,
When I stole them by stealth from their husbands;
A giant hard was Hlebarth, methinks:
His wand he gave me as gift,
And I stole his wits away."

Thor spake: 21.
"Thou didst repay good gifts with evil mind."

Harbarth spake: 22.
"The oak must have what it shaves from another;
In such things each for himself.
What, Thor, didst thou the while?"

Thor spake: 23.
"Eastward I fared, of the giants I felled
Their ill-working women who went to the mountain;
And large were the giants' throng if all were alive;
No men would there be in Mithgarth more.
What, Harbarth, didst thou the while?"

Harbarth spake: 24.
"In Valland I was, and wars I raised,
Princes I angered, and peace brought never;
The noble who fall in the fight hath Othin,
And Thor hath the race of the thralls."

Thor spake: 25.
"Unequal gifts of men wouldst thou give to the gods,
If might too much thou shouldst have."

Harbarth spake: 26.
"Thor has might enough, but never a heart;
For cowardly fear in a glove wast thou fain to crawl,
And there forgot thou wast Thor;
Afraid there thou wast, thy fear was such,
To fart or sneeze lest Fjalar should hear."

Thor spake: 27.
"Thou womanish Harbarth, to hell would I smite thee straight,
Could mine arm reach over the sound."

Harbarth spake: 28.
"Wherefore reach over the sound, since strife we have none?
What, Thor, didst thou do then?"

Thor spake: 29.
"Eastward I was, and the river I guarded well,
Where the sons of Svarang sought me there;
Stones did they hurl; small joy did they have of winning;
Before me there to ask for peace did they fare.
What, Harbarth, didst thou the while?"

Harbarth spake: 30.
"Eastward I was, and spake with a certain one,
I played with the linen-white maid, and met her by stealth;
I gladdened the gold-decked one, and she granted me joy."

Thor spake: 31.
"Full fair was thy woman-finding."

Harbarth spake: 32.
"Thy help did I need then, Thor, to hold the white maid fast."

Thor spake: 33.
"Gladly, had I been there, my help to thee had been given."

Harbarth spake: 34.
"I might have trusted thee then, didst thou not betray thy troth."

Thor spake: 35.
"No heel-biter am I, in truth, like an old leather shoe in spring."

Harbarth spake: 36.
"What, Thor, didst thou the while?"

Thor spake: 37.
"In Hlesey the brides of the Berserkers slew I;
Most evil they were, and all they betrayed."

Harbarth spake: 38.
"Shame didst thou win, that women thou slewest, Thor."

Thor spake: 39.
"She-wolves they were like, and women but little;
My ship, which well I had trimmed, did they shake;
With clubs of iron they threatened, and Thjalfi they drove off.
What, Harbarth, didst thou the while?"

Harbarth spake: 40.
"In the host I was that hither fared,
The banners to raise, and the spear to redden."

Thor spake: 41.
"Wilt thou now say that hatred thou soughtest to bring us?"

Harbarth spake: 42.
"A ring for thy hand shall make all right for thee,
As the judge decides who sets us two at peace."

Thor spake: 43.
"Where foundest thou so foul and scornful a speech?
More foul a speech I never before have heard."

Harbarth spake: 44.
"I learned it from men, the men so old,
Who dwell in the hills of home."

Thor spake: 45.
"A name full good to heaps of stones thou givest
When thou callest them hills of home."

Harbarth spake: 46.
"Of such things speak I so."

Thor spake: 47.
"Ill for thee comes thy keenness of tongue,
If the water I choose to wade;
Louder, I ween, than a wolf thou cryest,
If a blow of my hammer thou hast."

Harbarth spake: 48.
"Sif has a lover at home, and him shouldst thou meet;
More fitting it were on him to put forth thy strength."

Thor spake: 49.
"Thy tongue still makes thee say what seems most ill to me,
Thou witless man! Thou liest, I ween."

Harbarth spake: 50.
"Truth do I speak, but slow on thy way thou art;
Far hadst thou gone if now in the boat thou hadst fared."

Thor spake: 51.
"Thou womanish Harbarth! here hast thou held me too long."

Harbarth spake: 52.
"I thought not ever that Asathor would be hindered
By a ferryman thus from faring."

Thor spake: 53.
"One counsel I bring thee now: row hither thy boat;
No more of scoffing; set Magni's father across."

Harbarth spake: 54.
"From the sound go hence; the passage thou hast not."

Thor spake: 55.
"The way now show me, since thou takest me not o'er the water."

Harbarth spake: 56.
"To refuse it is little, to fare it is long;
A while to the stock, and a while to the stone;
Then the road to thy left, till Verland thou reachest;
And there shall Fjorgyn her son Thor find,
And the road of her children she shows him to Othin's realm."

Thor spake: 57.
"May I come so far in a day?"

Harbarth spake: 58.
"With toil and trouble perchance,
While the sun still shines, or so I think."

Thor spake: 59.
"Short now shall be our speech, for thou speakest in mockery only; The passage thou gavest me not I shall pay thee if ever we meet."

Harbarth spake: 60.
"Get hence where every evil thing shall have thee!"