High One replied:
'I will tell you about
something that seemed far more important to the Æsir. The beginning
of this story is that Baldr the Good had some terrible dreams that
threatened his life. When he told the Æsir these dreams, they
took counsel together and it was decided to seek protection for Baldr
from every kind of peril. Frigg exacted an oath from fire and water,
iron and all kinds of metals, stones, earth, trees, ailments, beasts,
birds, poison and serpents, that they would not harm Baldr. And when
this had been done and put to the test, Baldr and the Æsir used
to amuse themselves by making him stand up at their assemblies for
some of them to throw darts at, others to strike and the rest to throw
stones at. No matter what was done he was never hurt, and everyone
thought that a fine thing. When Loki, Laufey's son, saw that, however,
he was annoyed that Baldr was not hurt and he went disguised as a
woman to Fensalir to visit Frigg. Frigg asked this woman if she knew
what the Æsir were doing at the assembly. She answered that
they were all throwing things at Baldr, moreover that he was not being
hurt. Frigg remarked: "Neither weapons nor trees will injure
Baldr; I have taken an oath from them all." The woman asked:
"Has everything sworn you an oath to spare Baldr?"
Frigg replied:
"West of Valhalla grows a little bush called mistletoe, I did
not exact an oath from it; I thought it too young." Thereupon
the woman disappeared.
'Loki took hold of
the mistletoe, pulled it up and went to the assembly. Now Höð
was standing on the outer edge of the circle of men because he was
blind. Loki asked him: "Why aren't you throwing darts at Baldr?"
He replied: "Because I can't see where Baldr is, and, another
thing, I have no weapon." Then Loki said:
"You go and
do as the others are doing and show Baldr honour like other men. I
will show you where he is standing: throw this twig at him."
Höð took the mistletoe and aimed at Baldr as directed by
Loki. The dart went right through him and he fell dead to the ground.
This was the greatest misfortune ever to befall gods and men.
'When Baldr had fallen,
the Æsir were struck dumb and not one of them could move a finger
to lift him up; each looked at the other, and all were of one mind
about the perpetrator of that deed, but no one could take vengeance;
the sanctuary there was so holy. When the Æsir did try to speak,
weeping came first, so that no one could tell the other his grief
in words. Óðin, however, was the most affected by this
disaster, since he understood best what a loss and bereavement the
death of Baldr was for the Æsir. When the gods had recovered
from the first shock Frigg spoke. She asked which of the Æsir
wished to win her whole affection and favour. Would he ride the road
to Hel to try if he could find Baldr, and offer Hel a ransom if she
would allow Baldr to come home to Asgarð The one who undertook
this journey was a son of Óðin called Hermóð
the Bold. Then they caught Óðin’s horse, Sleipnir,
and led him forward, and Hermóð mounted that steed and
galloped away.
'The Æsir,
however, took Baldr's body and carried it down to the sea. Baldr's
ship was called Ringhorn (Curved-prow), it was a very large ship.
The gods wanted to launch it and to build Baldr's funeral pyre on
it, but they could not move it at all. They sent to Giantland then
for the ogress called Hyrrokkin. And when she came - she was riding
a wolf with vipers for reins -she jumped off her steed and Óðin
called to four berserks to guard it, but they were unable to hold
it fast till they struck it down. Then Hyrrokkin went to the prow
of the vessel and at the first shove launched it in such a way that
the rollers burst into flame and the whole world trembled. Thór
became angry then and seizing his hammer would have cracked her skull
had not all the gods begged protection for her.
'Then Baldr's body
was carried out on to the ship, and when his wife Nanna, daughter
of Nep, saw that, her heart broke from grief and she died. She was
carried on to the pyre and it was set alight. Thór was standing
by and consecrating it with Mjöllnir, when a dwarf called Lit
ran in front of his feet. Thór tripped him up and kicked him
into the fire, and he was burned to death. All sorts of people came
to this cremation. First and foremost, Óðin, accompanied
by Frigg and his valkyries and ravens. Frey drove in a chariot drawn
by the boar called Gold-bristle or Razor-tooth. Heimdall rode the
horse called Gold-tuft and Freyja was driving her cats. A great crowd
of frost ogres and cliff giants came too.
Óðin laid
on the pyre the gold ring which is called Draupnir; it had this characteristic
afterwards, that every ninth night there dropped from it eight rings
of equal value. Baldr's horse with all its harness was led to the
pyre.
'Concerning Hermóð,
however, there is this to tell. For nine nights he rode dales so deep
and dark that he saw nothing, until he reached the river Gjöll
and rode over its bridge; it is thatched with gleaming gold. The maiden
who guards that bridge is called Móðguð. She asked
him his name and family and said that the day before five troops of
dead men had ridden over the bridge, "but the bridge resounds
as much under you alone, and you don't look like a man who has died.
Why are you riding here on the road to Hel ?" He replied "I
must ride to Hel to seek for Baldr. Have you seen anything of him
on his way there?" She said that Baldr had ridden past over the
bridge of the Gjöll, "but the road to Hel lies downwards
and northwards".
'Hermóð
rode on then till he came to the gates of Hel. Then he alighted and
tightened his stirrups, remounted, and dug in his spurs, and the horse
jumped over the gate with such vigour that it came nowhere near it.
Then Hermóð rode right up to the hall and dismounted. He
went inside and saw his brother Baldr sitting on the high seat there.
Hermóð stayed there that night. In the morning he asked
Hel if Baldr might ride home with him, telling her how much the gods
were weeping. Hel said, however, that this test should be made as
to whether Baldr was loved as much as people said. "If everything
in the world, both dead or alive, weeps for him, then he shall go
back to the Æsir, but he shall remain with Hel if anyone objects
or will not weep." Then Hermóð stood up and Baldr
led him out of the hall and taking (off) the ring Draupnir sent it
to Óðin in remembrance, but Nanna sent Frigg, along with
other gifts, linen (for a head-dress), and Fulla a gold ring. Hermóð
rode back again to Asgarð and (when) he arrived (there) related
all he had seen and heard.
'Thereupon the Æsir
sent messengers throughout the whole world to ask for Baldr to be
wept out of Hel; and everything did that - men and beasts, and the
earth, and the stones and trees and all metals - just as you will
have seen these things weeping when they come out of frost and into
the warmth. When the messengers were coming home, having made a good
job of their errand, they met with a giantess sitting in a cave; she
gave her name as Thökk. They asked her to weep Baldr out of Hel.
She answered:
Thökk will weep
dry tears
at Baldr's embarkation; the Old Fellow's (Odin's) son
was no use to me alive or dead, let Hel hold what she has.
It is thought that
the giantess there was Loki, Laufey's son - who has done most harm
amongst the Æsir.'
Then Gangleri said:
'Loki has a great deal to answer for, since first he caused Baldr
to be killed, and then prevented him from being freed from Hel. Was
any vengeance taken on him for this?'
High One said:
'This was requited him in a manner he will long remember. When the
gods had become as wrathful with him as might be expected, he ran
away and hid himself on a mountain. There he built himself a house
with four doors so that he could see out of it in all directions.
Often during the day, however, he changed himself into the shape of
a salmon and hid in the place called the waterfall of Fránang.
He tried to anticipate in his mind what contraption the Æsir
would use to catch him in the waterfall so, (once) when he was sitting
indoors over a fire, he took linen twine and twisted it into meshes
in the way that nets have been made since. Then he saw that the Æsir
were almost on him - Óðin had seen where he was from Hliðskjálf
- so throwing the net on to the fire, he jumped up and out into the
river.
'When the Æsir
arrived, the one who went into the house first was the wisest of them
all - his name was Kvasir. When he saw in the fire the white ash to
which the net had burned, he understood that that was a contraption
for catching fish and said so to the Æsir. Thereupon they made
a net in imitation of the one they could see from the burned-out ashes
Loki had made. When the net was ready, the Æsir went to the
river and cast it into the waterfall. Thór was holding on to
one end of the net and the rest of the Æsir the other as they
dragged it. Loki, however, got ahead and lay down between two stones.
They dragged the net over him and, realising that there was something
alive there, went up the waterfall a second time and flung the net
out, weighting it so heavily that nothing could pass under it. Loki
swam ahead of the net then but, when he saw the sea was close to,
he jumped back over its edge-rope and hurried up into the waterfall.
This time the gods saw where he had gone; they went back again to
the waterfall and dividing their forces into two groups, while Thór
waded in mid-stream, they made for the (open) sea. Then Loki saw that
he had only two means of escape, either to risk his life by jumping
out to sea or to try once more to leap over the net. He chose the
latter, jumping as quickly as possible over its edge-rope. Thór
clutched at him and caught him, but he slipped through his hand until
he had him fast by the tail, and it is for this reason that the salmon
tapers towards the tail.
'After that Loki was taken unconditionally and put into a cave.
Taking three flat stones, the gods set them up on end and bored a
hole through each. Then Loki's sons were captured, Vali and Nari or
Narfi. The Æsir changed Vali into a wolf and he tore asunder
his brother Narfi. The Æsir took his entrails and with them
bound Loki over the edges of the three stones - one under his shoulder,
the second under his loins, the third under his knee-joints - and
these bonds became iron. Then Skaði took a poisonous snake and
fastened it up over him so that the venom from it should drop on to
his face. His wife Sigyn, however, sits by him holding a basin under
the poison drops. When the basin becomes full she goes away to empty
it, but in the meantime the venom drips on to his face and then he
shudders so violently that the whole earth shakes -- you call that
an earthquake. There he will lie in bonds until Ragnarök (twilight
of the gods).
Then Gangleri said:
'What is there to relate about Ragnarök I have never heard tell
of this before.'
High One said:
'There are many and great tidings to tell about it. First will come
the winter called Fimbulvetr. (terrible winter) Snow will drive from
all quarters, there will be hard frosts and biting winds; the sun
will be no use. There will be three such winters on end with no summer
between. Before that, however, three other winters will pass accompanied
by great wars throughout the whole world. Brothers will kill each
other for the sake of gain, and no one will spare father or son in
manslaughter or in incest. As it says in the Sibyl's Vision:
Brothers will fight
and kill each other,
siblings do incest;
men will know misery,
adulteries be multiplied,
an axe-age, a sword-age,
shields will be cloven,
a wind-age, a wolf-age,
before the world's ruin.
'Then will occur
what will seem a great piece of news, the wolf will wallow the sun
and that will seem a great disaster to men. Then another wolf will
seize the moon and that one too will do great harm. The stars will
disappear from heaven. Then this will come to pass, the whole surface
of the earth and the mountains will tremble so (violently) that trees
will be uprooted from the ground, mountains will crash down, and all
fetters and bonds will be snapped and severed. The wolf Fenrir will
get loose then. The sea will lash against the land because the Miðgarð
Serpent is writhing in giant fury trying to come ashore. At that time,
too, the ship known as Naglfar will become free. It is made of dead
men's nails, so it is worth warning you that, if anyone dies with
his nails uncut, he will greatly increase the material for that ship
which both gods and men devoutly hope will take a long time building.
In this tidal wave, however, Naglfar will be launched. The name of
the giant steering Naglfar is Hrym. The wolf Fenrir will advance with
wide open mouth, his upper jaw against the sky, his lower on the earth
(he would gape more widely still if there were room) and his eyes
and nostrils will blaze with fire. The Miðgarð Serpent will
blow so much poison that the whole sky and sea will be spattered with
it; he is most terrible and will be on the other side of the wolf
'In this din the
sky will be rent asunder and the sons of Muspell ride forth from it.
Surt will ride first and with him fire blazing both before and behind.
He has a very good sword and it shines more brightly than the sun.
When they ride over Bifröst, however -- as has been said before
-- that bridge will break. The sons of Muspell will push forward to
the plain called Vígríð and the wolf Fenrir and
the Miðgarð Serpent will go there too. Loki and Hrym with
all the frost giants will also be there by then, and all the family
of Hel will accompany Loki. The sons of Muspell, however, will form
a host in themselves and that a very bright one. The plain Vígríð
is a hundred and twenty leagues in every direction.
'When these things
are happening, Heimdall will stand up and blow a great blast on the
horn Gjöll and awaken all the gods and they will hold an assembly.
Then Oðin will ride to Mímir's spring and ask Mimir's advice
for himself and his company. The ash Yggdrasil will tremble and nothing
in heaven or earth will be free from fear. The Æsir and all
the Einherjar will arm themselves and press forward on to the plain.
Óðin will ride first in a helmet of gold and a beautiful
coat of mail and with his spear Gungnir, and he will make for the
wolf Fenrir. Thór will advance at his side but will be unable
to help him, because he will have his hands full fighting the Miðgarð
Serpent. Frey will fight against Surt and it will be a hard conflict
before Frey falls; the loss of the good sword that he gave to Skirnir
will bring about his death. Then the hound Garm, which was bound in
front of Gnipahellir, (Cliff cave leading to Hel) will also get free;
he is the worst sort of monster. He will battle with Týr and
each will kill the other. Thór will slay the Miðgarð
Serpent but stagger back only nine paces before he falls down dead,
on account of the poison blown on him by the serpent. The wolf will
swallow Óðin and that will be his death. Immediately afterwards,
however, Víðar will stride forward and place one foot on
the lower jaw of the wolf On this foot he will be wearing the shoe
which has been in the making since the beginning of time; it consists
of the strips of leather men pare off at the toes and heels of their
shoes, and for this reason people who want to help the Æsir
must throw away these strips. Víðar will take the wolf's
upper jaw in one hand and tear his throat asunder and that will be
the wolf's death. Loki will battle with Heimdall and each will kill
the other. Thereupon Surt will fling fire over the earth and burn
up the whole world. As it says in the Sibyl's Vision:
"Heimdall blows
loud his horn raised aloft,
Óðin speaks with Mímir's head;
Yggdrasil trembles, old outspreading ash,
and groans as the giant gets free.
How fare the Æsir?
How fare the elves?
All Giantland resounds -- the Æsir in assembly;
inhabitants of hillsides groan -- dwarfs by their doorways of stone.
Do you know any more
or not?
Hrym drives from
the east
holds high his shield before him,
Jörmungand writhes in giant rage,
the serpent churns up waves;
screaming for joy, ghastly eagle
will tear dead bodies with his beak.
From the east sails
a ship, from the sea will come
the people of Muspell with Loki as pilot;
all sons of fiends are rowing with Fenrir;
with them on this voyage is Býleist's brother (Loki).
Surt from the south
comes with spoiler-of-twigs
blazing his sword (like) the sun of the Mighty Ones;
mountains will crash down, troll-women stumble,
men tread the road to Hel, heaven's rent asunder.
Then occurs Hlín's
(Frigg's) second grief,
when Óðin goes to fight the wolf
and Beli's bane (Frey) turns, fair, on Surt,
then will Frigg's beloved die.
To fight the wolf
goes Óðin's son,
Víðar is on his way; sword in hand
he will pierce the heart of Hveðrung's son.
Thus is his sire avenged.
The famous son of
Earth (Thór) falls back,
fainting from the serpent, fearing not attack.
All mankind must abandon home
when Miðgarð's Buckler (Thór) strikes in wrath.
The sun will go black
Earth sink in the sea,
Heaven be stripped of its bright stars;
smoke rages and fire,
leaping, the flame licks heaven itself."
'Further it says
here:
"Vígríð's
the plain where the conflict takes place between Surt and the kindly
gods. One hundred and twenty leagues each way
is the plain for them appointed.'"
Then Gangleri asked:
'What will happen afterwards, when heaven and earth and the whole
world has been burned and all the gods are dead and all the Einherjar
and the whole race of man? Didn't you say before that everyone will
go on living for ever in some world or other?'
Then Third answered:
'There will be many good dwelling-places then and many bad. The best
place to be in at that time will be Gimlé in heaven, and for
those that like it there is plenty of good drink in the hall called
Brimir that is on Ókolnir (never cold). There is also an excellent
hall on Niðfjöll (Dark mountains) called Sindri; it is made
of red gold. Good and righteous men will live in these halls. On Nástrandir
(Corpse strands) there is a large and horrible hall whose doors face
north; it is made of the backs of serpents woven together like wattle-work,
with all their heads turning in to the house and spewing poison so
that rivers of it run through the hall. Perjurers and murderers wade
these rivers as it says here:
"I know a hall
whose doors face north
on Nástrandir, far from the sun,
poison drips from lights in the roof;
that building is woven of backs of snakes.
There heavy streams must be waded through
by breakers of pledges and murderers.
But it is worst (of all) in Hvergelmir.
There Niðhogg bedevils the bodies of the dead."'
Then Gangleri asked:
'Will any of the gods be living then? Will there be any earth or heaven
then?'
High One said:
'At that time earth will rise out of the sea and be green and fair,
and fields of corn will grow that were never sown. Víðar
and Válí will be living, so neither the sea nor Surt's
Fire will have done them injury, and they will inhabit Iðavöll
where Asgarð used to be. And the sons of Thór, Móði
and Magni will come there and possess Mjöllnir. After that Baldr
and Höð will come from Hel. They will all sit down together
and converse, calling to mind their hidden lore and talking about
things that happened in the past, about the Miðgarð Serpent
and the wolf Fenrir. Then they will find there in the grass the golden
chessmen the Æsir used to own. As it is said:
"Víðar
and Váli when Surt's fire has died will dwell in the temples,
Móði and Magni Thór's Mjöllnir will own at
the end of the battle."
While the world is being burned by Surt, in a place called Hoddmímir's
Wood, will be concealed two human beings called Líf and Lífthrasir.Their
food will be the morning dews, and from these men will come so great
a stock
that the whole world will be peopled, as it says here:
"Líf
and Lífthrasir in Hoddmímir wood will be hidden;
the morning dews their food and drink
from thence will come men after men."
'And you will think
this strange, but the sun will have borne a daughter no less lovely
than herself, and she will follow the paths of her mother, as it says
here:
"Glory-of-elves
(the sun) to a girl will give birth before Fenrir overtakes her,
when the gods are dead she will pursue the paths of her mother."
And now, if you have
anything more to ask, I can't think how you can manage it, for I've
never heard anyone tell more of the story of the world. Make what
use of it you can.
The next thing was
that Gangleri heard a tremendous noise on all sides and turned about;
and when he had looked all round him (he found) that he was standing
in the open air on a level plain. He saw neither hall nor stronghold.
Then he went on his way and coming home to his kingdom related the
tidings he had seen and heard, and after him these stories have been
handed down from one man to another.
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