22. Odens fåglar. Oden is represented as having two birds, Hugin (thought) and Munin (memory or, according to some authorities, the longing that impels Oden to activity), which are dispatched to the earth at every day-break and in the evening return to Oden and whisper into his ears the news of the day's happenings.
26. ty vädret rår för årsväxt och vind för lycka. Equivalent to saying that man is not himself the absolute master of his own destiny. The forces of nature can thwart all his plans.
28. Throughout this canto Tegnér draws freely from Havamal, the "Song of Oden" or the "Song of the Most High," which is replete with precepts on morality and wisdom. In this stanza this ancient Scandinavian song is followed very closely. Note the frequent sarcastic references to woman in the Saga.
32. norna. The norns, three in number, weave the fate of men and gods. Urda was the norn of the past, Verdandi of the present, and Skulda of the future.
32. hon stötte på sköld. The meaning is: Wherever fate threatened with some danger it was met by courage and vigilance.
33. de asasöner. See note, canto I: 35.
33. Nordlands kungar, the kings of the Northland.
38. bautasten. A monument erected in honor of rulers or heroes.
39. Frej, the god of sunshine and warm summer showers, hence also the god of harvests.