I have given two translations of this Canto, one of which is an attempt to imitate the metre of the original, in which Œhlenschläger has successfully imitated the alliterative metre of the Icelandic poetry.
[42] Lassie; the liberty of using a Scottish word may well be allowed in a translation from the Danish, since there is so much affinity between the Danish and the Lowland Scotch languages.
Specimen of the original.
[43] By leek and by crout: a common method of swearing among the Scandinavians to this day.
[44] Bauta-sten means a tombstone, or funeral monument.
[45] Odin’s eye, i.e. the sun.
[46] By this description, the poet has probably meant to designate the fossil formations of the earth.
[47] The new hair made for Sif may possibly represent a meteor, comet, or shooting star, or perhaps lightning, as connected with thunder (Thor). Finn Magnussen thinks that, in this mythe, Sif typifies the earth, and her hair the corn, which is cut down by Lok (time), and reproduced and gilded by him at the instigation of Thor; i.e. the electrical heat of summer ripening the corn.
I have adopted a similar metre to the original in my translation of this Canto, but with greater prodigality of rhyme, the middle rhymes being only used by the author in the nine last stanzas.
Specimen of the original.
In my translation of this Canto, I have adopted as a metre a stanza of eight lines, generally of ten syllables each, but admitting occasionally lines of eight or twelve syllables; the arrangement of the rhymes is varied. It is in fact exactly the same metre as that adopted by Schiller, in his translation of the second and fourth Books of the Æneid, and by Wieland, in his poem of Idris and Zenide.
[48] Jarl: a title of nobility in Norway, corresponding to that of count; the English title, earl, is derived therefrom.
[49] This eagle is the giant Thiasse, who took that form, in order to get Asa-Lok into his power, and compel him to carry off Iduna, the guardian of the apples of immortality, from Asagard.
[50] Alla lumaca; so the Italians term that style of wreathing the hair.
Specimen of the original.
I much wished to adopt, as a metre for the translation of this Canto, the Spenserian stanza, but I found it too difficult. I therefore adopted a metre of my own invention, viz., a stanza of nine lines, eight of which have ten syllables, and the ninth, which rhymes with the sixth and eighth, has twelve. The arrangement of the rhyme is regular throughout, and it appears to me that this metre has something of the march and harmony of the Spenserian stanza.
[51] In this stanza the poet means probably to convey the idea, that whoever wishes to succeed in his profession, whatever it be, must aim at excellence and immortality.
[52] Kattegat means Passage of the Cat, so called from its danger, arising from the frequency of tempests. The poet begins here to trace the calamities and deterioration caused to the world by the absence of Iduna.
[53] Yggdrassil; see this name in the Alphabetical Catalogue. Yggdrassil, the mythological ash-tree, is called by the Scalds “the tree of life.” There is a Christmas ceremony at this day in Germany, wherein an artificial tree, generally made of fir, bears on its branches various little presents for children, for which they draw lots. May not this tree trace its origin from Yggdrassil, the tree of life, which distributes to the human race their different lots?
The human race has often been compared by poets to a tree, and the generations of mankind to its leaves. Homer has,
[54] Odin’s ravens; their names are Hugin (thought), and Munin (memory). Finn Magnussen thus explains the mythe of the rape of Iduna by the giant Thiasse:
Iduna represents the mild air of spring, which gives renovated life and animation to all nature. Thiasse represents winter, and the carrying off of Iduna typifies the disappearance of all genial warmth at the approach of winter; her deliverance from the prison of Thiasse denotes the return of spring; Thiasse being burnt to death in the bale-fire of Breidablik, denotes the melting and disappearance of ice by the heat of the sun at the approach of summer. The rape and the deliverance of Iduna are both effectuated through the agency of Asa-Lok, who typifies time and its vacillating nature, now impelled to good, and now to evil.
Specimen of the original.
The metre I have adopted for my translation of this Canto is of my own invention; it may be thought fantastic, but in its trochaic form it has something of the march of the original. I leave the first, third, and fifth line unrhymed, with a double close.
[55] Vaner: see the article Vaner and Vanaheim in the Alphabetical Catalogue.
[56] Ginnistan; by Ginnistan is probably meant Persia or Armenia. My friend Dr. Constancio suggests to me, that the word may be derived from Zend, the actual name of a tribe of Curds, and signifying in Persian life, living, and figuratively vigorous. The word Zend, with the addition of stan (country, in Persian), comes very near the word Ginnistan.
[57] The circumstance of Niord being given as a hostage to the Asar pleads in favour of the hypothesis I have already given, namely, that Niord and his children Frey and Freya were Assyrian or Persian divinities, adopted by the Asar, and incorporated in their religion. Frey, the son of Niord, typifies the sun at the winter solstice, and the festivities of the new year in the pagan time were instituted to do him honour. His father Niord presides over the winds and waves; but Balder also typifies the sun (at its highest elevation), and Ægir is the god of the sea. The fact is, that in the Scandinavian mythology there are two sun-gods and two gods of the sea. The explanation of this seeming incongruity is not difficult. Among the Asar, Balder was the sun god, and Ægir the god of the sea; but among the Vaner, Niord was the god of the winds and waves, Frey typified the sun, and his sister Freya the moon. When the political alliance took place between the Asar and the Vaner, the former adopted some of the divinities of the latter, and in consequence of this amalgamation, Niord, Frey and Freya received suitable posts in the Gothic pantheon. It is remarkable, that among the ancient Egyptians the sun was called Phré. Among the Greeks, Bacchus often typified the sun, and by the Romans he was called Liber, which has exactly the same meaning as the word Frey, viz. free.
[58] By Niord’s drying up marshes and dispelling vapours may be meant the salubrious effects of the north wind.
[59] Odur; this description will remind the classical reader of Bacchus.
It seems to me that the appellation Goth was not known in Scandinavia previous to the invasion of the Asar, and that these last assumed the name of Goths (good and brave men), when they introduced their religion into that country. This idea leads me also to surmise, that as long as the Asar remained in Asia, the name Hrimthusser (frost-giant), and not Jetter or Jotun, was applied to the evil spirits of their mythology; and that it was not until after their grand immigration into Scandinavia, under the command of the historical Odin, that the term Jetter or Jotun (which was the national appellation of the aborigines of Scandinavia) was, in consequence of the long and bitter wars between the Asar and Jetter, and of the national hatred arising therefrom, applied by the Asar to those malevolent spirits, who, as they supposed, assisted their enemies, the Jetter. The self-love of all nations leads them to assume, that they are the favourites of the good gods, and that the evil spirits are the abettors, instigators, and coadjutors of their enemies; and even in our time, as has been wittily remarked by Washington Irving, a number of the good sort of people in England, during the war against revolutionary France, thought that somehow or other God Almighty was on the side of the English government. As a further confirmation of my conjecture that the word Goth was unknown to the Scandinavian peninsula, until introduced there by the Asar, I cite the following passage from a Saga, written in the Icelandic or ancient Scandinavian tongue:
En dha voru dhessi lönd er Asia menn bygdu köllud Godlönd, en fólkid Godjod. Odin ok hans synir voru slórum vitrir ok fjölkunnigir, fagrir at álitum, og sterkir át afli. Margir adrir i dheirra ætt voru miklir afburdbarmenn, medh ymisligum algerleik, og nokkura af dheim tóku menn til at blóta og trúa á, ok kölludhu godh sin.
Translated thus:
Then this land, which Asia’s people took possession of, was called Godland, and the people Godjod. Odin and his sons were very wise and skilled in many things, fair in aspect, and strong limbed. Many of their race were men of great strength and of divers perfections, and the people began to worship some of them, and call them their gods.
Specimen of the metre.
The metre I have adopted for the translation of this Canto is somewhat more regular than that of the original: mine is in lines of thirteen syllables each: a slight pause after the seventh syllable will give the rhythm required.
[60] This Canto begins with a description of the fatal consequences of the absence of Iduna: all the pleasures of Valhalla are suspended. According to Finn Magnussen, the mythe of Skada’s entry into Valhalla may be thus interpreted: Skada here typifies the violent winds and capricious temperature of the commencement of spring, which proceeds from winter, as Skada does from her father, the frost-giant Thiasse. Though she enters Valhalla with violent designs, she becomes pacified at the sight of Balder (the sun at the summer solstice). Thus doth spring, commencing with tempests, become appeased and calm, from the increasing heat of the sun at the beginning of summer. The English reader will be here reminded of the old English proverb: “Spring comes in like a lion, and goes out like a lamb.”
[61] Hildur’s favourite sport; i.e. war. See this name in the Catalogue.
[62] The story of the game of blind man’s buff, called by the Northmen blind cow, in which Skada catches Niord, and is united to him in marriage, is borrowed from the prosaic Edda. I can find no satisfactory solution of this mythe; it may mean, however, that the spring weather, after much shuffling and shifting about, settles down at last into a mild serenity and constancy (during summer). But the matrimonial bliss of Niord and his consort will not be of long duration. Towards the autumnal equinox, Skada’s capricious temper will break out, she will begin her mischievous pranks again, and set winds and waves by the ears as usual. Skada’s catching Niord by the leg in the game of blind man’s buff, may mean the force of a tempest, which sometimes lifts men off their legs.
Specimen of the metre.
In my translation of this and of the two next Cantos, I have adopted, as a metre, the line of fourteen syllables.
[63] That the Jotuns should appear to the Asar to be giants in size, and as having the heads of wolves, bears, etc., has been accounted for in my preface to this work, which I hope the reader will consult and bear in mind.
[64] Of all the giant race, the Hrimthusser were reckoned the most ferocious, rough, and uncouth. The names of Horseleg and Goatbeard are humourously given by the poet to two of them, whom he represents as testifying their admiration of Gerda in a clownish and indelicate manner.
[65] This change was the consequence of the return of Iduna to Valhalla.
[66] In the original, Blaamandsland (blue man’s land): so Africa was called by the Scandinavians.
Specimen of the metre.
The nature and attributes of all the gods and goddesses seated at the banquet of Valhalla, are so fully detailed in the text, that notes to this Canto are almost superfluous.
[67] Alludes to Skirnir’s name, derived from skirna (to clear up, to brighten).
[68] Frey is sometimes called Freyr.
[69] By this the poet means, no doubt, that the pearl and coral divers, from their being accustomed to remain for a long time under water, are less liable to be drowned than other people.
[70] By Ervin’s minster is meant the steeple of the cathedral of Strasburgh, built by Ervin of Steinbach.
[71] The nature of the message given by Odin to Hermod has been already related in the 15th Canto.
Specimen of the metre.
[72] Starkodder was the greatest warrior of his time, and was deified after his death. His name was ever in the greatest veneration among the Scandinavians. Though he killed Oluf, he repented it ever afterwards, and in this poem the poet puts into Oluf’s mouth the generous sentiment, that Starkodder, in killing him and making him die in blood, had perhaps saved him from dying by old age or sickness; in which case, instead of being in Valhalla, he would have risked falling into the hands of Hela. According to the author of this work, Œhlenschläger (who has made Starkodder the subject of a most interesting tragedy), Oluf’s death was revenged by his son Frode Frækne, who clove Starkodder’s scull in single combat. In the above tragedy Frode, after killing Starkodder, renders ample justice to his military talent and exploits, and anticipates, in the following manner, his reception among the heroes of Valhalla:
[73] The purport of this message is explained in the twenty-first Canto. It was to obtain from the dwarfs a magic chain, wherewith to bind Fenris.
[74] This butting match between Asa-Lok and one of Thor’s goats was no doubt suggested to the poet (for there is no account of it in either Edda) by the painting or mosaic found in Herculaneum, I believe, or in Pompeii, and which has been made the subject of many a bas-relief, medallion, or cameo: viz. a satyr butting against a goat. To Œhlenschläger may well be applied the line of Haley respecting Ariosto:
Specimen of the metre.
I have chosen the octosyllabic couplet for my translation.
The mythologic formation of the island of Sealand (of which Copenhagen is the present capital), and which forms the subject of this Canto, is thus given in the poetic Edda:
[75] The etymology of Sealand, called formerly and more properly Sœlund, is from the Danish words sœ (sea) and lund (grove).
[76] Œresund is the appellation for what other nations call the Sound par excellence; for sund means a channel or strait.
In the original, this Canto is written in the classic hexameter, which seems to suit wonderfully well the Danish and Swedish languages.
Specimen of the metre.
I have given my translation in the ten syllabled heroic couplet.
[77] Horseleg and Goatbeard; names of the two giants mentioned in the 17th Canto as having behaved rudely to Gerda.
[78] Quaser in the Icelandic language signifies breath or inspiration. The story of Quaser is probably an oriental one of some poet, who was murdered by those who were jealous of his talents, and were dwarfs in genius compared to him.
[79] The story of the stone, which Odin casts among the giants to incite them to discord, resembles much a circumstance mentioned in the poem of Apollonius of Rhodes, called “The Argonauts” in the 3d Canto. “But the giants, springing from the furrows which he had traced, covered with their arms the field he had ploughed. Jason, returning, rushes toward them, and throws amongst them an enormous stone; many are crushed by it; others, disputing for its possession, slay one another.” In fact, the amour of Odin with Gunliod has some sort of resemblance in the beginning to that of Jason and Medea.
Specimen of the metre.
In stanzas of eight lines.
In my translation I have adopted the ottava rima.
[80] Freya’s grief for the loss of Odur is related in the 15th Canto. Freya is often termed by the Scalds the “goddess of the golden tear.”
Specimen of the metre.
In the metre I have adopted for this Canto, I have introduced occasionally anapests, for the sake of greater variety.
In this Canto the poet has diverged considerably from either Edda, and has boldly and felicitously sketched a plan of his own, into which, however, he has interwoven ideas taken from three different Cantos of the poetic Edda: viz Harbard’s song; Alvismal (discourse of Alvis); Skirnisfor (journey of Skirnir). In the first, Harbard’s song, it is Thor, and not Skirnir, who enters into a dialogue with Harbard, whom he meets at the fiord. In the second, Alvismal, the subject of the Canto is a dialogue between Thor and the dwarf Alvis (all-wise), wherein the latter makes a pompous display of his learning, by giving definitions and synonymes of earth, heaven, wind, fire, nearly in the same manner that Skirnir does in this Canto. In the third, Skirnir’s journey, wherein Skirnir is sent by Frey to propose marriage to Gerda, are mentioned the ferocious dogs which guard the dwelling of giant Gymer, the father of Gerda.
[81] Fiord means a creek or arm of the sea running inland; on the coast of Norway the fiords run for a very considerable distance inland; and thus flowing from the sea at the high tide form a contrast with the course of the rivers.
[82] The word shoeless foot, in the original nœgne Fod, seems borrowed from the speech of Harbard to Thor, in Harbard’s song in the poetic Edda, wherein he says,
[A] Probably because Thor had taken off his shoes, in order to ford the stream.
[83] The remarks on the females of the Jotun race seem likewise borrowed from the same chapter in the poetic Edda:
[84] Drypsal means Drippinghall.
[85] Oppheim means abode above.
[86] The original has Svalhjelm (cool helmet), and means a covering to protect the head against the rays of the sun; I have therefore chosen the word umbrella as the most appropriate expression.
[87] Alludes to the difference between a fiord and a river.
[88] With respect to Gestur and his riddles, they are not to be found in the Edda; but the poet has borrowed the idea from the Hervara Saga, wherein king Heidrek, who had a great talent for divining riddles and enigmas, had a great many proposed to him by Odin, under the disguise of the blind Gestur.
Extract from the Hervara Saga in the original Icelandic, with a literal translation.
| Heiman ék fór, | From home I went, |
| Heiman ék ferdadist; | From home I travelled, |
| Sá ék á veg vega: | Saw I on way ways: |
| Vegr var undir; | The way was under, |
| Vegr var yfir, | The way was over, |
| Ok ver gá alla: | And the way over all; |
| Heidrekr kongr! | Heidrek king! |
| Hyggtu at gatu? | Guessest thou the riddle? |
| Gód er gáta dhin, | Good is riddle thine, |
| Gestr blindi! | Gestur blind! |
| Gétit er dheirrar: | Guessed is it: |
| Fugl dhar yfir fló; | Bird there over flew; |
| Fiskr dhar undir svam | Fish there under swam |
| Fórtu á brú. | Thyself went on bridge. |
This Canto in the original is written in the classic hexameter.
Specimen.
I have chosen for my translation our heroic couplet.
[89] The poet, in this line, alludes no doubt to the unclean food often used by the inhabitants of Finmark.
[90] This part of Gerda’s speech reminds me of the discourse of the beautiful Marcela, in the XIV chapter, 2d book, part 1st of Don Quixote.
In this Canto the poet has diverged considerably from the chapter in the poetic Edda, called the Skirnisfor, which treats of the same subject. In Œhlenschläger’s poem, as has been seen, Skirnir makes use of the most gentle and insinuating means of persuasion to induce Gerda to give ear to his proposal; and the stratagem of Frey’s likeness conveyed from the brook into Gerda’s basin is entirely the poet’s own concetto, and it is, I think, a very ingenious one: whereas, in the Edda, Skirnir makes use of the most terrible threats and sinister predictions, in order to force Gerda to accede to his master’s wishes; and at length he succeeds in terrifying her into submission: among other threats, which are not of the most decent nature, he tells her that she shall either be wedded to a frightful three-headed Goblin of the Hrimthussar race, or pine a maid, tormented with the most violent desires, which cannot be gratified.
In the original, the metre of this Canto is written in imitation of one much used in the ancient Danish ballads, which, admitting a refrain that seems to have little or no connection with the substance of the ballad, continue it in every stanza throughout the piece. Here are three different refrains used in succession throughout the whole Canto, except in the two last stanzas.
Specimen.
I have followed exactly the same plan in my translation.
This Canto in the original is written in the octosyllabic couplet. I have adopted the same metre for the translation.
Specimen of the metre.
[91] Gefion’s strand is the island of Sealand.
Specimen of the metre in the original.
The subject of this Canto is taken from the celebrated chapter in the poetic Edda, called “Ægir’s feast” or “Lok’s scurrility,” to account for the origin, object and meaning of which, has puzzled all the commentators of the Edda. The most simple éclaircissement thereof seems to be that of Finn Magnussen, who thinks that the author of it may have been a sort of Scandinavian Lucian, who wished to throw a sly ridicule on the gods of his country. Œhlenschläger has varied, augmented, and embellished the subject with imagery and embroidery of his own, and has omitted certain parts of somewhat too obscene a nature.
[92] Skidbladner, name of the bark given by Gerda to Frey. The following is probably the explanation of this mythe. Frey signifies the sun; Gerda, the earth. Skidbladner signifies the clouds or vapours extracted from the earth by the rays of the sun. See Skidbladner in the Alphabetical Catalogue.
[93] Hringhorn; name of Balder’s bark. The language of the ancient Scandinavians was highly poetical and metaphorical. A ship was often compared to an animal, and its masts to the horns of the said animal; the masts were made fast with iron rings round their circumference, and this I take to be the surest etymology of the word Hringhorn or Ringhorn. The ships of the Vikings were long and deep, and had usually but one mast.