(Now the sun shines here in the hall.)”
[[183]]
NOTES
[[184]]
[1]. Alvis (“All-Knowing”): a dwarf, not elsewhere mentioned. The manuscript nowhere indicates the speakers’ names. The bride in question is Thor’s daughter; Thruth (“Might”) is the only daughter of his whose name is recorded, and she does not appear elsewhere in the poems. Her mother was Sif, Thor’s wife, whereas the god’s sons were born of a giantess. Benches: cf. Lokasenna, 15 and note.
[2]. The dwarfs, living beyond the reach of the sun, which was fatal to them (cf. stanzas 16 and 35), were necessarily pale. Line 3 is, of course, ironical.
[3]. Wagon-guider: Thor, who travels habitually on his goat-drawn wagon. Bugge changes “Vagna vers” to “Vapna verþs,” [[185]]rendering the line “I am come to seek | the cost of the weapons.” In either case, Alvis does not as yet recognize Thor.
[4]. Apparently the gods promised Thor’s daughter in marriage to Alvis during her father’s absence, perhaps as a reward for some craftsmanship of his (cf. Bugge’s suggestion as to stanza 3). The text of line 4 is most uncertain.
[5]. Hero: ironically spoken; Alvis takes Thor for a tramp, the god’s uncouth appearance often leading to such mistakes; cf. Harbarthsljoth, 6. Line 4 is a trifle uncertain; some editors alter the wording to read “What worthless woman bore thee?”