[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. |
NOTES TO THE TWENTY-FOURTH CANTO.
This Canto in the original is written in the classic hexameter.