Then clung with his hands
The husband of Sigyn
To Skade’s foster-son,
In the presence of all the gods.
The pole stuck fast
To Jotunheim’s strong fascinator,
But the hands of Honer’s dear friend
Stuck to the other end.
Flew then with the wise god
The voracious bird of prey
Far away; so the wolf’s father
To pieces must be torn.
Odin’s friend got exhausted.
Heavy grew Lopt.
Odin’s companion
Must sue for peace.
Hymer’s kinsman demanded
That the leader of hosts
The sorrow-healing maid,
Who the asas’ youth-preserving apples keeps,
Should bring to him.
Brisingamen’s thief
Afterward brought Idun
To the gard of the giant.
Sorry were not the giants
After this had taken place,
Since from the south
Idun had come to the giants.
All the race
Of Yngve-Frey, at the Thing,
Grew old and gray,—
Ugly-looking were the gods.
Until the gods found the blood-dog,
Idun’s decoying thrall,
And bound the maid’s deceiver,
You shall, cunning Loke,
Spake Thor, die;
Unless back you lead,
With your tricks, that
Good joy-increasing maid.
Heard have I that thereupon
The friend of Honer flew
In the guise of a falcon
(He often deceived the asas with his cunning);
And the strong fraudulent giant,
The father of Morn,
With the wings of the eagle
Sped after the hawk’s child.
The holy gods soon built a fire—
They shaved off kindlings—
And the giant was scorched.
This is said in memory
Of the dwarf’s heel-bridge.[94]
A shield adorned with splendid lines
From Thorleif I received.
[ÆGER’S FEAST.]
How shall gold be named? It may be called fire; the needles of Glaser; Sif’s hair; Fulla’s head-gear; Freyja’s tears; the chatter, talk or word of the giants; Draupner’s drop; Draupner’s rain or shower; Freyja’s eyes; the otter-ransom, or stroke-ransom, of the asas; the seed of Fyrisvold; Holge’s how-roof; the fire of all waters and of the hand; or the stone, rock or gleam of the hand.
Why is gold called Æger’s fire? The saga relating to this is, as has before been told, that Æger made a visit to Asgard, but when he was ready to return home he invited Odin and all the asas to come and pay him a visit after the lapse of three months. On this journey went Odin, Njord, Frey, Tyr, Brage, Vidar, Loke; and also the asynjes, Frigg, Freyja, Gefjun, Skade, Idun, Sif. Thor was not there, for he had gone eastward to fight trolls. When the gods had taken their seats, Æger let his servants bring in on the hall floor bright gold, which shone and lighted up the whole hall like fire, just as the swords in Valhal are used instead of fire. Then Loke bandied hasty words with all the gods, and slew Æger’s thrall who was called Fimafeng. The name of his other thrall is Elder. The name of Æger’s wife is Ran, and they have nine daughters, as has before been written. At this feast all things passed around spontaneously, both food and ale and all the utensils needed for the feasting. Then the asas became aware that Ran had a net in which she caught all men who perish at sea. Then the saga goes on telling how it happens that gold is called the fire, or light or brightness of Æger, of Ran, or of Æger’s daughters; and from these periphrases it is allowed to call gold the fire of the sea, or of any of the periphrases of the sea, since Æger and Ran are found in periphrases of the sea; and thus gold is now called the fire of waters, of rivers, or of all the periphrases of rivers. But these names have fared like other periphrases. The younger skald has composed poetry after the pattern of the old skalds, imitating their songs; but afterward they have expanded the metaphors whenever they thought they could improve upon what was sung before; and thus the water is the sea, the river is the lakes, the brook is the river. Hence all the figures that are expanded more than what has before been found are called new tropes, and all seem good that contain likelihood and are natural. Thus sang the skald Brage: