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The Elder Edda - Literary Sources 2

In the previous lesson we were introduced to the poem Havamal which includes a description of the discovery of the runes. The Havamal is just one poem in a book called the Elder Edda and in this and the next couple of lectures we will be considering the Eddas and the other literary sources which can shed some light upon the runes.

The precise meaning of the term "Edda" is unclear and hence a matter of debate amongst scholars. There are however two Eddas.

The Elder, or Poetic, Edda is a collection of poems and other material gathered between the 9th and 12th centuries. It is sometimes attributed to the Icelandic priest Saemund the Wise and it is possible he is responsible for its collection but he is certainly not the author. The author or more likely authors is/are unknown and likely to remain so. There are two distinct sections to the Poetic Edda, a mythical one consisting of 15 poems and a heroic one of 23 heroic lays. For those interested in the runes the mythical section is of greater significance. Some of its key poems are -

Voluspa (Song of the Sybil)
A detailed description from a wise prophetess/witch of the creation of the cosmos, its structure, the gods and their fate. It tells of Ymir from whose blood came oceans, from whose flesh came the earth and from his bones the mountains. Moving on then to describe the first man (Ash) and the first woman (Elm).

Then from the host three came
Great, merciful, from the god's home:
Ash and Elm, on earth they found,
Faint, feeble with no fate assigned them

Breath they had not, not blood nor senses,
Nor language posessed, not life-hue:
Odin gave them breath, Haenir senses
Blood and life hue Lothur gave

It ends with a description of the events of Ragnarok and the death of the gods. The earth is destroyed to rise again. There are echoes of the Christian Second Coming with the god Baldur resurrected and a world now without evil. The runes have out-lived Odin and have their part to play in what is to come.

At Ida's Field the Aesir meet:
They remember the worm of Middle-Earth
Ponder again the great twilight
And the ancient runes of the high god

Havamal (or Words of the High One)
We have already looked at this poem in some detail so we won't dwell on it again. It is important to recognize though that the vast majority of this poem is not about the runes, but is offering ethical and social guidance.

Of his knowledge a man should never boast
Rather be sparing of speech
When to his house a wiser comes:

Vafthrudnismal (Sayings of Vafthrudnir)
A tale reflecting two key characteristics of the god Odin, his love of disguise and his wisdom. Odin (in disguise) visits a famous giant in order to match wits against him. The poem consists of a series of questions and answers, relating to the world and gods, between Gragnod (Odin) and the giant. One answer could be taken as suggesting divinatory use of the runes.

From the runes of the giants, from the runes of the gods,
I can read the truth aright:

Grimnismal (Words of Grimnir)
Odin visits king Geirrod, a foster-son of his, again in disguise. However Odin's wife Frigg goes there before him and warns Geirrod to beware of a stranger that dogs don't bark at. Thus Geirrod is tricked into imprisoning and torturing Geirrod for which the king pays a heavy price. This tale contains also some detailed descriptions of Yggdrasil

Under Yggdrasil hide more serpents
Than dull apes dream of
Goin and Moin, Grafvitnir's sons,
Sleepbringer, Unraveler, shall bite off
Twigs of that tree forever

Skirnir (Words of Skirnir)
The god Frey is in love with Gerd. His servant Skirnir is dispatched to persuade her to accept his suit. Skirnir tries various approaches with her including bribery before finally resorting to threat. Interestingly he invokes troll runes which we can take as runic charms with the power to hurt or cause disruption. He marks these only offering to remove these when she submits

I score troll runes, then I score three letters,
Filth, frenzy, lust:
I can score them off as I score them on
If I find sufficient cause

Harbarzljoth (Lay of Harbard)
The god Thor is hindered in his attempt to cross a river by the ferryman Harbard. The two engage in a contest of matching deeds, deteriorating eventually into shouting insults and abuse at each other. Harbard is undoubtedly a disguised god, most probably Odin though Loki too is sometimes suggested.

Hymiskvitha (Lay of Hymir)
The gods Thor and Tyr are dispatched to the giant Hymir in order to bring back his magic cauldron which the gods need. Once there Thor eats so many oxen that they have to go fishing to replenish the larder. Hymir catches two whales but Thor hooks the Midgard Serpent. On their return Hymir is betrayed by his wife who tells the two gods how to defeat him. Of interest with respect to runes is the start of the poem describing the lifestyle of the gods.

Long ago the gods had game in abundance

Ate their fill, feasting together
Scored runes and relished blood.
In Aegir's hall there was great plenty

Lokasenna (Loki's Mocking)
The gods organize a party to celebrate and use their new ale cauldron and Loki gatecrashes it killing one of the servants. The gods are far from pleased by his arrival and bar him entry until he appeals directly to Odin

Remember Odin, in the olden days
What blood-brothers we were:
You would never have dreamed of drinking ale
Unless it was brought for us both

Loki's intention is to cause strife amongst the gods and he begins taunting them. Many of the incidents referred to are unknown outside this poem. Loki casts aspersions on all the gods and goddesses, challenging their wisdom, their courage and offering details of their sexual exploits. Only Thor's arrival persuades him to stop.

Thrymskvitha (Lay of Thrym)
Thor awakes to find his Hammer has been stolen, seeking the help of Loki in tracking it down. Loki discovers that the giant Thrym has it he that he will only agree to return it if Freya will be his bride. Since she won't agree to this deal however Thor dresses up as her and goes to Thrym in her place. When the Hammer is handed over Thor reveals himself and kills the giant.

Alvismal (Story of Alvis)
The dwarf Alvis seeks to marry Thor's daughter. Thor was not consulted by the gods before they agreed and is unhappy. He tells Alvis he will only give his permission if Alvis can answer all the questions he asks. This the dwarf manages but they talk for so long that dawn breaks. Alvis does not have time to get back underground and so turns to stone having been tricked by Thor.

Baldrs Draumar (Baldur's Dreams)
The god Baldur has been troubled by prophetic dreams. After a council of the gods has met Odin journeys to the underworld and uses the power of the runes to raise the spirit of a long dead witch (volva) who explains the dreams meaning.

The blood-dabbled hound of Hel faced him,
Howling in frenzy at the father of runes.
The High One halted at the eastern gate,
Where loomed a tumulus, tomb of a witch
Runes he chanted, charms of power:
Her spectre rose whom his spell commanded
To enlighten the god with the lore of the dead

Rigsthula (Lay of Rig)
Tells how the god Heimdall descends to earth and so establishes the three levels of society as well as passing on the knowledge of the runes.

Conclusion

In order to use the runes for divination and magic it is not necessary to read the Eddas or indeed to memorize them. They do however provide considerable insight into the picture of the universe which the ancient Vikings had, of the behavior of the gods and many of the concepts underlying the runes. We see that the gods themselves made heavy use of the runes moreover the runes are used magically in two ways, firstly being scored on wood, as Skirnir does, and secondly spoken or chanted aloud as Odin does at the gate of Hel.

You have completed the lesson. Read it as many times as you need to in order to feel you understand it. Then return here for:
Lesson 5 - Comprehension Tests, Reading and Further Exercises

Please ensure you complete these exercises before moving on to the next lesson.