Skáldskaparmál

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     He gave it me, with mercy,
     For the Drink of the Mountain-Giant.

XXXIV. "Why is gold called the Needles, or Leaves, of Glasir? In Asgard, before
the doors of Valhall, there stands a grove which is called Glasir, and its
leafage is all red gold, even as is sung here:

     Glasir stands
     With golden leafage
     Before the High God's halls.

Far and wide, this tree is the fairest known among gods and men.

XXXV. "Why is gold called Sif's Hair? Loki Laufeyarson, for mischief's sake,
cut off all Sif's hair. But when Thor learned of this, he seized Loki, and
would have broken every hone in him, had he not sworn to get the Black Elves to
make Sif hair of gold, such that it would grow like other hair. After that,
Loki went to those dwarves who are called Ivaldi's Sons; and they made the
hair, and Skídbladnir also, and the spear which became Odin's possession, and
was called Gungnir. Then Loki wagered his head with the dwarf called Brokkr
that Brokkr's brother Sindri could not make three other precious things equal
in virtue to these. Now when they came to the smithy, Sindri laid a pigskin in
the hearth and bade Brokkr blow, and did not cease work until he took out of
the hearth that which he had laid therein. But when he went out of the smithy,
while the other dwarf was blowing, straightway a fly settled upon his hand and
stung: yet he blew on


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as before, until the smith took the work out of the hearth; and it was a boar,
with mane and bristles of gold. Next, he laid gold in the hearth and bade
Brokkr blow and cease not from his blast until he should return. He went out;
but again the fly came and settled on Brokkr's neck, and bit now half again as
hard as before; yet he blew even until the smith took from the hearth that gold
ring which is called Draupnir. Then Sindri laid iron in the hearth and bade him
blow, saying that it would be spoiled if the blast failed. Straightway the fly
settled between Brokkr's eyes and stung his eyelid, but when the blood fell
into his eyes so that he could not see, then he clutched at it with his hand as
swiftly as he could,-while the bellows grew flat, -and he swept the fly from
him. Then the smith came thither and said that it had come near to spoiling all
that was in the hearth. Then he took from the forge a hammer, put all the
precious works into the hands of Brokkr his brother, and bade him go with them
to Asgard and claim the wager.
       "Now when he and Loki brought forward the precious gifts, the Ćsir sat
down in the seats of judgment; and that verdict was to prevail which Odin,
Thor, and Freyr should render. Then Loki gave Odin the spear Gungnir, and to
Thor the hair which Sif was to have, and Skídbladnir to Freyr, and told the
virtues of all these things: that the spear would never stop in its thrust; the
hair would grow to the flesh as soon as it came upon Sifs head; and Skídbladnir
would have a favoring breeze as soon as the sail was raised, in whatsoever
direction it might go, but could be folded together like a napkin and be kept
in Freyr's pouch if he so desired. Then Brokkr brought forward his gifts: he
gave to Odin the ring, saying that eight


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rings of the same weight would drop from it every ninth night; to Freyr he gave
the boar, saying that it could run through air and water better than any horse,
and it could never become so dark with night or gloom of the Murky Regions that
there should not be sufficient light where he went, such was the glow from its
mane and bristles. Then he gave the hammer to Thor, and said that Thor might
smite as hard as he desired, whatsoever might be before him, and the hammer
would not fail; and if he threw it at anything, it would never miss, and never
fly so far as not to return to his hand; and if he desired, he might keep it in
his sark, it was so small; but indeed it was a flaw in the hammer that the
fore-haft was somewhat short.
       "This was their decision: that the hammer was best of all the precious
works, and in it there was the greatest defense against the Rime-Giants; and
they gave sentence, that the dwarf should have his wager. Then Loki offered to
redeem his head, but the dwarf said that there was no chance of this. 'Take me,
then,' quoth Loki; but when Brokkr would have laid hands on him, he was a long
way off. Loki had with him those shoes with which he ran through air and over
water. Then the dwarf prayed Thor to catch him, and Thor did so. Then the dwarf
would have hewn off his head; but Loki said that he might have the head, but
not the neck. So the dwarf took a thong and a knife, and would have bored a
hole in Loki's lips and stitched his mouth together, but the knife did not cut.
Then Brokkr said that it would be better if his brother's awl were there: and
even as he named it, the awl was there, and pierced the lips. He stitched the
lips together, and Loki ripped the thong out of the edges. That thong, with
which Loki's mouth was sewn together, is called Vartari.


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XXXVI. "One may hear how gold is metaphorically called Fulla's Snood, in this
verse which Eyvindr Skald-Despoiler wrought:

     Fulla's shining Fillet,
     The forehead's sun at rising,
     Shone on the swelling shield-hill
     For skalds all Hakon's life-days.

XXXVII. "Gold is called Freyja's Tears, as was said before. So sang Skúli
Thorsteinsson:

     Many a fearless swordsman
     Received the Tears of Freyja
     The more the morn when foemen
     We murdered; we were present.

And as Einarr Skúlason sang:

     Where, mounted 'twixt the carvings,
     The Tear of Mardöll lieth,
     We bear the axe shield-splitting,
     Swollen with Serpent's lair-gold.

And here Einarr has further periphrased Freyja so as to call her Mother of
Hnoss, or Wife of Ódr, as standeth below:

     The shield, tempest's strong roof-ice,
     With tear-gold is unminished,
     Eye-rain of Ódr's Bed-Mate:
     His age the King so useth.

And again thus:



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