So, this will be the first post using the using the new translation. I went back and reread the other stanzas using it and it seems much better then the one I was using, occasional typo aside. Let's see if that quality continues, shall we?
Seeress said:
I saw for Baldr, | the bleeding god,
The son of Othin, | his destiny set:
Famous and fair | in the lofty fields,
Full grown in strength | the mistletoe stood.
The improvement in quality is apparent, isn't it? Anyway, I think this is the first mention of Baldur in either translation. Also, bleeding god? I don't think I've heard that appelation in regards to him before. Bla bla bla very pretty guy, and is apparently pretty strong? Maybe God of War didn't overstate how strong he is. Also, stuff about the mistletoe.
Seeress said:
From the branch which seemed | so slender and fair
Came a harmful shaft | that Hoth should hurl;
But the brother of Baldr | was born ere long,
And one night old | fought Othin's son.
More stuff about the mistletoe arrow that killed Baldur and about his brother, Hoth, who threw it. According to the footnotes, those last two lines are talking about Vali, who was born explicitly to kill Hoth. The guy who didn't know he was killing his brother because he's blind. ...Combined with that "burning someone alive three times over just for starting an arguement" incident earlier, I'm beginning to think the Norse gods might be more fucked up then the
Greeks. Please, tell me that's just me imagining things or something; I don't want to think about a pantheon worse then the Greek one.
Seeress said:
His hands he washed not, | his hair he combed not,
Till he bore to the bale-blaze | Baldr's foe.
But in Fensalir | did Frigg weep sore
For Valhall's need: | would you know yet more?
This seems to be talking about Vali. He waits till his brother is burning on some sort of pyre to clean himself. Frigg, unsurprisingly, is not made happy by the fact that her sons have just killed each other in some sort of murder chain.
Seeress said:
Then did Váli slaughter bonds twist:
made farily grim were those fetters of guts.
This is referring to the binding of Loki. The gods turned one of his sons, Vali, into a wolf, and watched as the boy killed and began eating his brother, Narfi. They used Narfi as spare materials in binding Loki to a rock, and then tied a snake around a stalactite. The venom from the snake dripped down onto Loki's face, who'se only respite was when his wife, Sigyn, caught the venom in a bowl. Of course, the bowl eventually filled, so whenever she went to empty it, the venom began driping onto the god's face again. Let me reiterate: I'm beginning to think the Norse gods are more fucked up then the Greeks.
Seeress said:
One did I see | in the wet woods bound,
A lover of ill, | and to Loki like;
By his side does Sigyn | sit, nor is glad
To see her mate: | would you know yet more?
This pretty much describes what I said above.
Seeress said:
From the east there pours | through poisoned vales
With swords and daggers | the river Slith.
The apparently extremely poisonous and cold river Slith which flows through the lands of the Frost Giants. Hmm, how do they survive then? They probably don't have much of an agriculture with their river and soil messed up like that. "Eating humans" would be the obvious answer, which is why I immediately dislike it.
Seeress said:
Northward a hall | in Nithavellir
Of gold there rose | for Sindri's race;
And in Okolnir | another stood,
Where the giant Brimir | his beer-hall had.
This seems to be describing the home of the Dwarfs. The Dwarfs just, store all their gold in some giant hall? That doesn't seem very secure. There's another hall, apparently set in a volcano, which, knowing dorfs, I would not be surprised by, where Brimir drank tons of booze. Apparently some people think Brimir and Ymir are the same person, but then this wouldn't make sense, because Ymir's body was used to make the Dwarf world, wasn't it?
Seeress said:
A hall I saw, | far from the sun,
On Nastrond it stands, | and the doors face north,
Venom drops | through the smoke-vent down,
For around the walls | do serpents wind.
This is supposed to be Niflheim, if that wasn't clear. That venom... Is that from Nidhoggr? Or is Niflheim not far "down" enough on Yggdrasill for that to happen?
Seeress said:
I saw there wading | through rivers wild
Treacherous men | and murderers too,
And workers of ill | with the wives of men;
There Nithhogg sucked | the blood of the slain,
And the wolf tore men; | would you know yet more?
Oh, nevermind, there's Nidhoggr! So I guess that wasn't him. Maybe it's Jormungandr? IIRC, he's supposed to have a really poisonous bite too. Also, here we get to see what who's bad enough to get to Niflheim: liars, murderers, and...adulterers?. "The wolf", is that referring to Fenrir or his sons? ...Or maybe, it's referring to Vali?
Seeress said:
The giantess old | in Ironwood sat,
In the east, and bore | the brood of Fenrir;
Among these one | in monster's guise
Was soon to steal | the sun from the sky.
Oh, I guess it can't be Fenrir's sons, they havent even been born yet apparently. Apparently, this giantess is never named, and Ironwood is only referred to in one other place, in a poem relating to this stanza. The wolf referred to here is Skoll, IIRC.
Seeress said:
There feeds he full | on the flesh of the dead,
And the home of the gods | he reddens with gore;
Dark grows the sun, | and in summer soon
Come mighty storms: | would you know yet more?
Oh! Did we skip forward a bit, to when Skoll has been born? Now he's feeding on the corpses of the dead to grow big and strong like his Papa. What's that bit about the home of the gods referring to? Aren't they still in Niflheim? Or is that the Seeress telling the future? The end there definitely seems to be her telling the future, so that's probably it.
Seeress said:
On a hill there sat, | and smote on his harp,
Eggther the joyous, | the giants' warder;
Above him the cock | in the bird-wood crowed,
Fair and red | did Fjalar stand.
Oh hey, a Giant just enjoying a day out, playing some music and listening to the birds. How nice... According to the footnotes, Fjalar's call is the signal for the Giants to wake up for their final throwdown with the gods. Eggther is supposed to be the Frost Giant counterpart of Heimdall, which does make sense with "warder".
Seeress said:
Then to the gods | crowed Gollinkambi,
He wakes the heroes | in Othin's hall;
And beneath the earth | does another crow,
The rust-red bird | at the bars of Hel.
Elsewhere, the gods' Fjalar wakes them too, and then
Hel's Fjalar alerts her forces. Y'know, it must be neat just having all these natural-made doomsday clocks just waiting around.
Seeress said:
Now Garm howls loud | before Gnipahellir,
The fetters will burst, | and the wolf run free;
Much do I know, | and more can see
Of the fate of the gods, | the mighty in fight.
Not much really to say about this. Ragnarok begins, Fenrir busts free of his bindings and goes to eat Odin, and the gods fight...the Frost Giants? The Fire Giants? The army of the dead?
Seeress said:
Brothers shall fight | and fell each other,
And sisters' sons | shall kinship stain;
Hard is it on earth, | with mighty whoredom;
Axe-time, sword-time, | shields are sundered,
Wind-time, wolf-time, | ere the world falls;
Nor ever shall men | each other spare.
Think you're a bit late to the "brother kills brother" thing Ragnarok. "Mighty whoredom"? And the rest of the stanza consists of everyone killing each other. Yeah, seems about right for an end of the world story.
Sometimes I get these moments where there's something I should totally remember, but I just don't for whatever reason. Thanks.
