Skáldskaparmál

137


     The Raven-Abode's brave Ruler
     Got the broad-faced Bride of Odin,
     The Land, with kingly counsels
     Of weapons, lured unto him.

Even as Thjódólfr sang:

     The Ruler, glad in Warriors,
     In the rowed hull doth fasten
     The ships of men to the strand's end,
     At the head of the sea keel-ridden.'

As Hallfredr sang:

     Full loath to let the Land slip
     I hold the lordly Spear-Prince:
     Audr's sister is subjected
     To the splendid Treasure-Spender.

Thus sang Thjódólfr:

     Far off the dart-slow sluggard
     Stood, when the Sword-Inciter
     In ancient days took to him
     The unripe Co-Wife of Rindr.

XXV. "How should one periphrase the sea? Thus: by calling it Ymir's Blood;
Visitor of the Gods; Husband of Rán; Father of Ćgir's Daughters, of them who
are called Himinglćva, Dúfa, Blódughadda, Hefring, Udr, Hrönn, Bylgja, Bára,
Kolga; Land of Rán and of Ćgir's Daughters, of Ships and of ships' names, of
the Keel, of Beaks, of Planks and Seams, of Fishes, of Ice; Way and Road of


138

Sea-Kings; likewise Encircler of Islands; House of Sands and of Kelp and of
Reefs; Land of Fishing-gear, of Sea-Fowls, and of Fair Wind. Even as Ormr
Barrey's-Skald sang:

     On the gravelly beach of good ships
     Grates the Blood of Ymir.

As Refr sang:

     The mild deer of the masthead beareth
     O'er the murky water from the westward
     Her wave-pressed bows; the land I look for
     Before the beak; the Whale-Home shallows.

Even as Steinn sang:

     When the fallow fell-wall's Whirlwinds
     Wove o'er the waves full fiercely,
     And Ćgir's storm-glad daughters
     Tore, of grim frost begotten.

And as Refr sang:

     Gymir's wet-cold Spae-Wife
     Wiles the Bear of Twisted Cables
     Oft into Ćgir's wide jaws,
     Where the angry billow breaketh.

It is said here that Ćgir and Gymir are both the same. And he sang further:

     And the Sea-Peak's Sleipnir slitteth
     The stormy breast rain-driven,


139

     The wave, with red stain running
     Out of white Rán's mouth.

As Ejnarr Skúlason sang:

     The stern snow-wind has thrust out
     With strength, the ship from landward:
     The Swan-Land's steed sees Iceland
     Into the surf receding.

And as he sang further:

     Many a stiff rowlock straineth,
     And the noisy Strand of Fish-Gear,
     The Sea, the lands o'ercometh:
     Men's hands oft span the stays.

And he sang yet further:

     The gray Isle-Fetter urges
     Heiti's raven-ship onward;
     Gold beaks the fleet ships carry:
     Rich that faring to the Chieftain.

And he sang again:

     The Isle-Rim autumn chilly
     Impels the dock's cold snowshoe.

And thus also:

     The cool lands' Surging-Girdle
     Before the beaks springs asunder.


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As Sućbjorn sang:

     They say nine brides of skerries
     Swiftly move the Sea-Churn
     Of Grótti's Island-Flour-Bin
     Beyond the Earth's last outskirt,-
     They who long the corny ale ground
     Of Amlódi; the Giver
     Of Rings now cuts with ship's beak
     The Abiding-Place of boat-sides.

Here the sea is called Amlódi's Churn. As Einárr Skúlason sang:

     The sturdy drive-nails weaken
     In the swift swirl, where paleth
     Rakni's Heaving Plain: wind
     Puffs the reefs against the stays.

XXVI. "How should one periphrase the sun? By calling her Daughter of
Mundilfari, Sister of the Moon, Wife of Glenr, Fire of Heaven and of the Air.
Even as Skúli Thorsteinsson sang:

     Glenr's god-blithe Bed-Mate wadeth
     Into the Goddess's mansion
     With rays; then the good light cometh
     Of gray-sarked Máni downward.

Thus sang Einarr Skólason:

     Whereso the lofty flickering
     Flame of the World's Hall swimmeth




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