Atlakvida states that he revenged himself on some one, with which revenge the song compares Gudrun's when she hands to Atle the goblets made of the skulls of the two young sons of the latter.
All the facts presented in these passages are rediscovered in the myth concerning Ivalde's sons—Volund, Egil, and Slagfin. There was a time when they were the friends of the gods and smithied for them costly treasures, and there was another time when they had the same plans as Loke tried to carry out in a secret manner—that is, to dethrone the gods and destroy what they had created. They deliver their foster-son Frey, the young god of harvests, to the giants (see Nos. 109, 112)—an event which, like Idun's disappearance from Asgard, refers to the coming of the fimbul-winter—and they depart to the most northern edge of the lower world where they dwell with swan-maids, dises of growth, who, like Idun in Forspjallsljod (str. 8), must have changed character and joined the world-hostile plots of their lovers. (Of Idun it is said, in the strophe mentioned, that she clothed herself in a wolf-skin given her by the smiths, and lyndi breytti, lek at lævisi, litom skipti.) The revenge which Volund, during his imprisonment by Nidad, takes against the latter explains why Atlakvida characterises Gudrun's terrible deed as "Rogner's revenge." In regard to the witchcraft (gand) concocted by Rogner and Regin, it is to be said that the sword of victory made by Volund is a gandr in the original sense of this word—an implement endowed with magic powers, and it was made during his sojourn in the Wolfdales.
One passage in Volundarkvida (str. 5), which hitherto has defied every effort at interpretation, shows that his skill was occupied with other magic things while he dwelt there. The passage reads: Lucthi hann alla lindbauga vel. The "lind"-rings in question, smithied of "red gold" (see the preceding lines in strophe 5), are, according to the prefix, lind, linnr, serpent-formed rings, which again are gand- (witchcraft) rings on account of the mysterious qualities ascribed to the serpent. Lindbaugi is another form for linnbaugi, just as lindból is another form for linnból. The part played by the serpent in the magic arts made it, when under the influence or in the possession of the magician, a gand, whence linnr, a serpent, could be used as a paraphrase of gandr, and gandr could in turn, in the compound Jörmungandr, be used as an epithet for the Midgard-serpent. The rings which Volund "closed well together" are gand-rings. The very rope (bast, böstr—Volundarkvida, 7, 12) on which he hangs the seven hundred gand-rings he has finished seems to be a gand, an object of witchcraft, with which Volund can bind and from which he can release the wind. When Nidad's men surprised Volund in his sleep and bound him with this rope, he asks ambiguously who "had bound the wind" with it (str. 12). In two passages in Volundarkvida (str. 4, 8) he is called vedreygr, "the storm-observer," or "the storm-terrible." The word may have either meaning. That Volund for his purposes, like Rogner, made use of magic songs is manifest from Saxo (Hist., 323, 324). According to Saxo it was by means of Volund-Haquinus' magic song that the Volund-sword, wielded by Svipdag-Ericus, was able to conquer Thor's hammer and Halfdan's club.
Passing now to the passages where the name Rogner occurs in paraphrases, I would particularly emphasize what I have already demonstrated: that Haustlaung with this name refers to Thjasse; that poems of a more recent date than Haustlaung, and connected with the same celebrated song, apply it to the supposed descendants of Thjasse, Hakon Jarl and his kinsmen; that all of these paraphrases represent Rogner as a producer of storm, snow, and hail; and that Rogner made "wind-cars," was a "Regin of the motion of the feather-leaf" (the wing), and "one who pleased the swans." Therefore (a) Rogner is an epithet of Thjasse, and at the same time it designates Volund; (b) all that is said of Rogner, when the name in the paraphrases is a Thjasse-epithet, applies to Volund; (c) all that is said of Rogner, independently of paraphrases, applies to Volund.
(18) A usage in the Old Norse poetry is to designate a person by the name of his opponent, when, by means of an additional characterisation, it can be made evident that the former and not the latter is meant. Thus, a giant can be called berg-thórr or grjót-Módi, because he once had Thor or Thor's son Mode as an opponent, and these epithets particularly apply to giants who actually fought with Thor or Mode in the mythology. In contrast with their successors in Christian times, the heathen skalds took great pains to give their paraphrases special justification and support in some mythological event. For the same reason that a giant who had fought with Mode could be called grjót-Módi, Volund, as Nidad's foe, could be called grjót-Nidudr. This epithet also occurs a single time in the Old Norse poetry, namely, in Haustlaung, and there it is applied to Thjasse. The paraphrase shows that the skald had in his mind a corresponding (antithetic) circumstance between Thjasse and Nidadr (Nidudr). What we are able to gather from our sources is, that Volund and Nidadr had had an encounter, and that one of so decisive a character, that the epithet grjót-Nidudr naturally would make the hearers think of Volund.
(19) When Loke had struck Thjasse, who was in eagle guise, with the magic pole, Thjasse flew up; and as Loke's hand was glued fast to one end of the pole and the eagle held fast to the other end, Loke had to accompany the eagle on its flight. Haustlaung says that Thjasse, pleased with his prey, bore him a long distance (of veg lángan) through the air. He directed his course in such a manner that Loke's body fared badly, probably being dragged over trees and rocks (svá at slitna sundr úlfs födor mundi). Then follows in the poem the lines given below, which I quote from Codex Regius, with the exception of a single word (midjungs, instead of mildings), which I cite from Codex Wormianus. Here, as elsewhere, I base nothing on text emendations, because even such, for which the best of reasons may be given, do not furnish sufficient foundation for mythological investigation, when the changes are not supported by some manuscript, or are in and of themselves absolutely necessary.
thá vard thórs ofrunni,
thúngr var Loptr, of sprúnginn;
málunautr hvats mátti
midjungs fridar bidja.
The contents of these lines, in the light of what has now been stated, are as follows:
Thjasse's pleasure in dragging Loke with him, and making his limbs come in disagreeable contact with objects on their way, was so great that he did not abstain therefrom, before he felt that he had over-exerted himself. Strong as he was, this could not but happen, for he had been flying with his burden very far from the place where he captured Loke in the ambush he had laid; and, besides, Loke was heavy. The badly-hurt Loke had during the whole time desired to beg for mercy, but during the flight he was unable to do so. When Thjasse finally sank to the ground, Loke obtained a breathing space, so that he could sue for mercy.