Sunday, March 22, 2026 · 天火 · tianmu.org

Poetic Edda

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Texts

Alvissmol — The Ballad of AlvisA dwarf who knows the names of all things is stalled by Thor's questions until sunrise turns him to stone. The tenth poem of the Poetic Edda, translated by Henry Adams Bellows, 1923.Atlakvitha — The Greenland Lay of AtliAtli lures the Burgundian kings Gunnar and Hogni to his court and murders them for their gold — and Guthrun, his own wife, takes terrible revenge. Forty-six stanzas of the oldest heroic lay in the Poetic Edda, translated by Henry Adams Bellows, 1923.Atlamol — The Greenland Ballad of AtliThe longest heroic poem in the Poetic Edda — ninety-nine stanzas retelling the destruction of the Burgundian kings and Guthrun's savage revenge on Atli, composed in medieval Greenland. Translated by Henry Adams Bellows, 1923.Baldrs Draumar — Baldr's DreamsOdin rides to the realm of the dead to learn why his son Baldr dreams of death. A seeress rises from her grave to answer him. The eleventh poem of the Poetic Edda, translated by Henry Adams Bellows, 1923.Brot af Sigurtharkvithu — Fragment of a Sigurth LayThe surviving twenty stanzas of the lost 'Long' Lay of Sigurth, beginning mid-stanza with the debate over Sigurth's murder and ending with Brynhild's prophecy of doom. The twenty-sixth poem of the Poetic Edda, translated by Henry Adams Bellows, 1923.Fafnismol — The Ballad of FafnirSigurth slays the dragon Fafnir, hears the dying worm's prophecies, and learns from the speech of birds that his foster-father plots treachery. The twenty-second poem of the Poetic Edda, translated by Henry Adams Bellows, 1923.Fra Dautha Sinfjotla — Of Sinfjotli's DeathA short prose passage from the Codex Regius telling how Sinfjotli, eldest son of Sigmund, was poisoned by his stepmother Borghild, and how a mysterious boatman — presumably Odin — carried the body away. The bridge between the Helgi lays and the Sigurth cycle, translated by Henry Adams Bellows, 1923.Grimnismol — The Ballad of GrimnirOdin, tortured between two fires, pours out the entire cosmography of the Norse world — the homes of the gods, the world-tree, the rivers of creation, the Valkyries, and his own secret names. The fourth poem of the Poetic Edda, translated by Henry Adams Bellows, 1923.Gripisspo — Gripir's ProphecyThe young Sigurth visits his uncle Gripir, the wisest of all men, and asks to know his fate — and Gripir tells him everything: the dragon, the treasure, the Valkyrie, the false wooing, and the death. The twentieth poem of the Poetic Edda, translated by Henry Adams Bellows, 1923.Guthrunarhvot — Guthrun's IncitingGuthrun, widowed thrice and robbed of her daughter Svanhild, arms her last sons for a vengeance from which they will not return — then speaks her final lament. Twenty-two stanzas from the Poetic Edda, translated by Henry Adams Bellows, 1923.Guthrunarkvitha I — The First Lay of GuthrunA lament of extraordinary emotional power — Guthrun sits beside the dead Sigurth, unable to weep, until the women of the court uncover his body and the tears come at last. The twenty-seventh poem of the Poetic Edda, translated by Henry Adams Bellows, 1923.Guthrunarkvitha II en Forna — The Second, or Old, Lay of GuthrunThe oldest surviving poem of the Sigurth cycle — Guthrun reviews her sorrows from Sigurth's death through her unwilling marriage to Atli and his ominous dreams. Forty-five stanzas, probably from the first half of the tenth century. Translated by Henry Adams Bellows, 1923.Guthrunarkvitha III — The Third Lay of GuthrunGuthrun, accused of infidelity by a serving-woman, vindicates herself through the ordeal of boiling water — ten stanzas of dramatic clarity. The thirty-first poem of the Poetic Edda, translated by Henry Adams Bellows, 1923.Hamthesmol — The Ballad of HamtherHamther and Sorli ride to avenge their sister Svanhild against King Jormunrek, knowing they ride to their deaths. The final poem of the Codex Regius. Thirty-one stanzas from the Poetic Edda, translated by Henry Adams Bellows, 1923.Harbarthsljoth — The Poem of HarbarthThor and Odin trade insults across a sound — a flyting between the thunder-god and the All-Father disguised as a ferryman. The sixth poem of the Poetic Edda, translated by Henry Adams Bellows, 1923.Helgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar — The Lay of Helgi the Son of HjorvarthA silent prince receives his name from a Valkyrie, wins a great victory, and dies by treachery born of a sacred oath. The first of the three Helgi lays of the Poetic Edda, translated by Henry Adams Bellows, 1923.Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I — The First Lay of Helgi HundingsbaneA vigorous ballad of the birth, victories, and triumph of Helgi Hundingsbane — son of Sigmund, slayer of Hunding, winner of the Valkyrie Sigrun. The second of the three Helgi lays of the Poetic Edda, translated by Henry Adams Bellows, 1923.Helgakvitha Hundingsbana II — The Second Lay of Helgi HundingsbaneA patchwork of ancient fragments telling of Helgi Hundingsbane's adventures, his love for the Valkyrie Sigrun, his death at the hands of her brother Dag, and the extraordinary scene of his return from the dead to the burial hill. The last and most devastating of the three Helgi lays of the Poetic Edda, translated by Henry Adams Bellows, 1923.Helreith Brynhildar — Brynhild's Hell-RideBrynhild rides the Hel-way in a death-wagon and argues with a giantess for the rightness of her life — fourteen stanzas of extraordinary dramatic unity. The twenty-ninth poem of the Poetic Edda, translated by Henry Adams Bellows, 1923.Hovamol — The Ballad of the High OneThe words of Odin the High One — wisdom, cunning, love, sorcery, and the winning of the runes. The longest and most celebrated poem of the Poetic Edda, translated by Henry Adams Bellows, 1923.Hymiskvitha — The Lay of HymirThor and Tyr journey to the giant Hymir's hall to win a brewing-kettle for the gods. Along the way, Thor catches the world-serpent on a fishing line. The seventh poem of the Poetic Edda, translated by Henry Adams Bellows, 1923.Hyndluljoth — The Poem of HyndlaFreyja rides to the giantess Hyndla to learn the ancestry of her protégé Ottar, unfolding the genealogies of Norse heroes. The thirteenth poem of the Poetic Edda, translated by Henry Adams Bellows, 1923.Lokasenna — Loki's WranglingLoki enters the feast of the gods and insults every god and goddess present, one by one, until Thor arrives and drives him out. The eighth poem of the Poetic Edda, translated by Henry Adams Bellows, 1923.Oddrunargratr — The Lament of OddrunOddrun, sister of Atli, tells the story of her forbidden love for Gunnar and her helpless grief at his death in the serpent-pit. Thirty-two stanzas from the Poetic Edda, translated by Henry Adams Bellows, 1923.Reginsmol — The Ballad of ReginThe gods pay a ransom of cursed gold, a father is slain by his son, and the young Sigurth prepares to avenge his own father before seeking the dragon's treasure. The twenty-first poem of the Poetic Edda, translated by Henry Adams Bellows, 1923.Rigsthula — The Song of RigA god walks among mortals and fathers the three classes of Norse society — thralls, farmers, and nobles. The twelfth poem of the Poetic Edda, translated by Henry Adams Bellows, 1923.Sigrdrifumol — The Ballad of the Victory-BringerSigurth finds the sleeping Valkyrie Brynhild on Hindarfjoll, wakes her from Othin's enchantment, and receives the wisdom of the runes and eleven counsels for a hero's life. The twenty-fifth poem of the Poetic Edda, translated by Henry Adams Bellows, 1923.Sigurtharkvitha en Skamma — The Short Lay of SigurthBrynhild's poem — seventy stanzas spanning the death of Sigurth, Brynhild's grief and rage, her great prophecy, and her self-immolation on the funeral pyre. The longest of the heroic lays in the Poetic Edda, translated by Henry Adams Bellows, 1923.Skirnismol — The Ballad of SkirnirFreyr's servant Skirnir rides to the giant world to woo the maiden Gerth — with golden apples, a magic ring, a sword, and finally a terrible curse. The fifth poem of the Poetic Edda, translated by Henry Adams Bellows, 1923.Svipdagsmol — The Ballad of SvipdagA dead mother rises from her grave to sing protective charms over her son, who then journeys to win his destined bride behind walls of flame. The fourteenth poem of the Poetic Edda, translated by Henry Adams Bellows, 1923.Thrymskvitha — The Lay of ThrymThor's hammer is stolen by the giant Thrym, and the gods must disguise Thor as a bride to retrieve it. The ninth poem of the Poetic Edda, translated by Henry Adams Bellows, 1923.Vafthruthnismol — The Ballad of VafthruthnirOdin wagers his head in a wisdom contest with the wisest of giants — cosmology, creation, and the doom of the gods. The third poem of the Poetic Edda, translated by Henry Adams Bellows, 1923.Völundarkvitha — The Lay of VölundA master smith is captured and lamed by a king, then takes terrible vengeance and escapes on wings he forged. The fifteenth poem of the Poetic Edda, translated by Henry Adams Bellows, 1923.Voluspo — The Wise-Woman's ProphecyThe prophecy of the seeress — from the creation of the world through its destruction and rebirth. The first and greatest poem of the Poetic Edda, translated by Henry Adams Bellows, 1923.