Nordic
Magic Healing: |
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This version is obsolete, new version: http://www.nordic-life.org/nmh/VoluPagaEng.htm Völuspá
- The prediction of the
prophetess Old
Norse and English versions with commentary It is also supplemented, after the poem, by
historical indications on Verden massacre, by citations of Gautrek’s saga and
finally by a “touristic
post scriptum” more
interesting than expected This translation is not yet completed.
If you are interested in the meaning of örlög,
go to "On Örlög". If you are interested in the ‘world’
after Raganrök go to "Gimlé" Here
is an nth translation of the Edda poem Völuspá. It is different from the other
translations by two aspects. 1. I
provide a litteral translation that reveals my grammatical and vocbulary
choices. It may look somewhat obscure but it is followed by a translation in a
less acrobatic English that should clarify the intended meaning. From time to
time two irreducible versions are possible and I will give them. 2.
These various possible versions are nevertheless presented from a
Heathen-centric (I invented this word) point of view, i.e. the point of view of
a committed Heathen. This vocabulary is inspired by English-speaking scholars
who start now speaking of a Christo-centric vision to point
at a pseudo atheist or objective attitude that in depth relies on concepts
firmly defined within the framework of Christendom. The most famous
Christo-centric scholar was Ursula Dronke († 2012) who has been able to hold
this position merged into a phenomenal knowledge of the Old Norse language. Her
translation of Völuspá (1997), so much it abounds in scholarship, has been near
me during the present transaltion in spite of its christocentricity. By the
way,she has just provided me the occasion of a voluntary christocentrism: the
date of her death is indicated by († 2012). This supposes that she obviously is
buried as a good Christian woman - what is true in her case, but this small
sign of cross can be also used for any atheist. My
presentation of Hávamál http://www.nordic-life.org/nmh/IntroNewHavamalEng.htm
is in done a similar spirit,but in a less argumentative way since all the
attempts to spot Christian influences in Hávamál have been ridiculed by the
scholars (see the 2nd interlude associated to s. 21 http://www.nordic-life.org/nmh/NewHavamalEng15-35.htm
. On the contrary, and relatively recently, Völuspá became for most people a
very Christianed piece of lore, yet another incredible miracle. In what follows,
no Scandinavian name or concept will appear without explanation. Once
explained, I will use some of these names as if they were well-known. When
dealing with Eddic poems, one must remember that they are known by a remarkably
small number of manuscripts which however present different versions. I will
use here as reference Codex Regius, in the version published by Hans
Kuhn, Carl Winter, Heidelberg 1962. Kuhn presents a great number of variations
which are in the various manuscripts, but I will not give these details. For
reasons of the convenience, I will keep the letter ö, used to represent an ‘o
tailed’ in Kuhn’s edition. Once
that a manuscript is chosen, the Old Norse language of poetry is hard to
understand. For my translation, I used De Vries’ etymological dictionary (noted
‘Devries’), Cleasby-Vigfusson’s
Icelandic-English dictionary (noted C.-V.) and very often also,
Sveinbjön Egilsson’s Lexicon poëticum antiquæ linguæ septentrionalis (noted as
LexPoet). This last provides the meaning of a greater number of words than
C.-V., associated a variety of quotations illustrating the use of the words,
mainly in poetry. I also built a reliable, readable and cherchable list of
irregular verbs I made available at IRREGULAR VERBS. Some useful preliminary explanations
A
prophetess was called a völva that gives
völu in the singular genitive: this is the “völu” in völuspá. She practised
a kind of shamanism which resembles much that of North American Indians, which became
so popular since a few years. This kind of Scandinavian shamanism is called seiðr or seið – often spelled ‘seidr’. In spite of the scarcity of available
testimony, we know that a völva practised
seið outside, on a kind of wooden platform,
surrounded by all her helpers and customers, and she required someone singing a
special song. There is also a solitary form of practice, called “útiseta” (outside sitted) to which
Völuspa seems to refer It
seems that seidr was practised
primarily by women since it is known that the practice of the seidr ‘to
perfection’ makes the men impotent where this word can also be understood as ‘homosexual’. Thus,
what had been in the past a highly respected ability, since it was reserved to
women or to effeminate men (or, according to my personal interpretation:
reserved to the female side of men - and women!), became gradually scorned, and
is often used as an insult in texts and runic inscriptions Note
that we will always speak of the mythic Giants and Dwarves in order to single
them out of the tall or short individuals. Likewise our gods will never carry a
capital letter in order to differentiate them from God. Óðinn
(often written: Odin, or Odhin, or Odhinn) is the main of the Scandinavian gods,
the Æsir. There was also another kind of gods, the Vanir who might have been
more ancient, but they will be reconcile with the Æsir, after a war evoked
below in stanzas 21-26. Lastly, the Giants are also supra human beings who seem
to be irreducible enemies to the Æsir. They will cause Ragnarök as described in
stanzas 44 to 58 Old
Norse civilization was equipped with a spirituality associated to an ancestors’
worship, to which the poems and sagas refer. This worship is also firmly proven
by the multitude of offerings found in the howes of the powerful ones and close
to the tombs of humble ones, and by the meetings held around these sites during
hundreds of years. |
Old Norse (ON) from
the Codex Regius |
Litteral (orð eptir orð)Translation followed by an English one |
Comments |
1.
Hlióðs bið ec allar
kindir meiri
oc minni, mögo
Heimdalar; vildo
at ec, Valföðr, vel
fyrtelia forn
spiöll fira, þau er fremst um man |
(Your) listening beg I from all the family high ones and low ones, children of Heimdalr; you want that I, Killed-ones’
Father, well to tell old knowledge of the
people those the ‘most forward’
(that) I remember **************************** I
beg you to listen , you
all of the family, higher
and lower ones, children
of Heimdalr; You
want, Valföðr, that I
properly tell ancient
knowledge remotest
that I remember. |
The first line is a
ritual formula used to ask silence at the beginning of the Icelandic general
meeting, or before declaming poetry. Valföðr = Killed-ones’ Father = Óðinn the
‘most forward’ = the oldest. Another Eddic poem,
Rigsþula, also tells us that all kinds of human ones are Heimdall’s sons. |
2. Ec man iötna ár um borna, þá er forðom mic fœdda höfðo; nío man ec heima, nío íviði, miötvið mœran fyr mold neðan. |
I remember the
giants in old times born, those who in the past me nourished to someone
adult; nine remember I countries, nine Giantesses (or
ogresses) the measure-master famous
toward the ground under.
**************************** I
remember the giants in
old times born, those
who in the past nourished
me to become an adult; I
remember nine countries, nine
Giantesses and
the famous measure-master still
under the ground. |
the
two words ‘giantess’ and ‘ogress’
are more or less equivalent in the Norse langage. Here, the master of
measurement can only be Yggdrasill, which is still growing under the ground. This title has been used
in Old English to point at God. Yggdrasill is certainly no proper ‘god’ though
this way of speech attributes to it a primary
role in Norse mythology. |
1.
Hlióðs bið ec allar
kindir meiri
oc minni, mögo
Heimdalar; vildo
at ec, Valföðr, vel
fyrtelia forn
spiöll fira, þau er fremst um man |
(Your) listening beg I from all the family high ones and low ones, children of Heimdalr; you want that I, Killed-ones’
Father, well to tell old knowledge of the
people those the ‘most forward’
(that) I remember **************************** I
beg you to listen , you
all of the family, higher
and lower ones, children
of Heimdalr; You
want, Valföðr, that I
properly tell ancient
knowledge remotest
that I remember. |
The first line is a
ritual formula used to ask silence at the beginning of the Icelandic general
meeting, or before declaming poetry. Valföðr = Killed-ones’ Father = Óðinn the
‘most forward’ = the oldest. Another Eddic poem,
Rigsþula, also tells us that all kinds of human ones are Heimdall’s sons. |
2. Ec man iötna
|
I remember the
giants nine remember I countries, **************************** I
remember the giants
|
Here, the master of
measurement can only be Yggdrasill, which is still growing under the ground. This title has been used
in Old English to point at God. Yggdrasill is certainly no proper ‘god’ though
this way of speech attributes to it a primary
role in Norse mythology. |
3. Ár var alda, (year was bed-of-river) þar er Ymir bygði, (there Ymir settlements) vara sandr né sær né svalar unnir, iörð fannz æva né upphiminn, gap var ginnunga enn gras hvergi. |
3.
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3. "gap var ginnunga" can also be translated "emptiness was open." |
4. |
4. |
4. Burr is Óðinn's father. Following Snorri's Prose Edda, the primal cow Auðumla, after licking the first giant Ymir out of the ice, licked out also the first man, Burr. Midgard is the humans' dwelling, our earth. Green leeks, "grœnom lauki" in the text, is strangely similar in modern English and in ON. Anyhow, this proves that leek was a very important herb, of mystical importance since it is described here as the "Alfather" of all herbs. |
5. Sól varp sunnan sinni mána, hendi inni hœgri um himiniöður; sól þat né vissi hvar hón sali átti, stiörnor þat ne visso hvar þær staði átto, máni þat né vissi hvat hann megins átti. |
5.
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5.
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6. Þá gengo regin öll á röcstóla, ginnheilög goð, oc um þat gættuz: nótt oc niðium nöfn um gáfo, morgin héto oc miðian dag, undorn og aptan, árom at telia. |
6.
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6.
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7.
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7.
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7. |
8. |
8.
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8.
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9. |
9.
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9. Strophe 10 will tell us that the dwarves will craft human shapes out of these ingredients. This solves the ambiguity of v. 7 s. 10: the human shapes are made of earth. In "ginnheilog" what exactly means "ginn"
is unknow.
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10. Þar Mótsognir |
10. Mótsognir became the greatest of the dwarves,
and Durinn after him;
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10.
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11. |
11. |
11.
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12. |
12. |
12.
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13. |
13. |
13.
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14. |
14.
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14.
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15. |
15. |
15.
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16. |
16.
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16.
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17. Unz þrír qvómo
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SEE A NEW LITTERAL and COMMENTED VERSION OF s. 17-20
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18. |
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19.
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20. |
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21. |
21.
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21. Gullveig means "Power of the Gold". She is the cause of the war between the Aesir and the Vanir. She is from the Vanir, visiting the Aesir, and these last ones burned her three times, but she was three times reborn. The war begun because of this ill treatment of Gullveig.
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22. |
22.
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22. To practice "spá" is the job of the seeresses, it amounts to what is called "to journey" in modern shamanism. |
23. |
23.
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23. Paying a fee in order to erase a feud is standard practice in the ancient Nordic world.
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24. |
24. |
24. The Vanir won the war as the last four verses say, and this is confirmed by Snorri's prose Edda. |
25. |
25. |
25. |
26. |
26. |
26. |
27.Veit hón Heimdalar
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CORRECTED STANZA
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28. |
28.
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2
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29. |
29.
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30. |
30.
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31. |
SEE A NEW LITTERAL and COMMENTED VERSION OF s. 31
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31.
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32. |
32.
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32.
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33. |
33.
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33. Frigg is the mother of Baldr, and she is weeping for her dead son. Fensalir = Swamp's Hall, is the name of Frigg's hall. Because of the name of her hall, some hypothesize that she was associated with the ritual drowning. |
34.
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34.
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34.Loki will be punished of this crime by being chained
with links made of his sons' intestines. |
35. |
35.
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35. A serpent spits its venom above Loki's face. Sigyn, Loki's wife, protects him by gathering the venom in a pot before it reaches Loki. Still, her ørlög is not a first choice one!
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36. |
36.
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36.
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37. |
37.
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37.
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38. |
38.
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38.
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39. |
39.
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40. |
40.
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40.
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41. |
41. |
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42. |
42.
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42.
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43. |
43.
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43. Hel is the dwelling of the dead who did not die in battle. Hel is also the name of the Goddess who reigns in Hel.
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44.
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44.
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44. |
45. |
45.
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46. Giallarhorni; hátt blæss Heimdallr, horn er á lopti, mælir Óðinn við Míms höfuð; |
Corrected 46; Sport/Move Mímir’s sons
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46. Mímir
is a wise Giant keepr of knowledge. Miötuðr can carry its proper meaning
(mjöt is a measure) or point at fate, Urðr, or at Yggdrasill
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47. |
47.
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47. Surt ?=? The Black One. Surt's kin is the fire. "he" here is certainly Yggdrasil that will be swallowed = devoured by Surt's kin = the flames, a classical skaldic image. |
48. |
48.
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48. Iötunheimr is the home (= heimr) of the iötun (= the Giants). It is spelled "jötun" nowadays.
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49 = 44. |
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50. |
50. From the East drives Hrym, lifts up his shield; Jórmungandr squirms with rage Taken by the giants' frenzy. The great worm whips the waves The pale-beaked eagle Niðfölr pecks at the dead, The ship Naglfari is free. |
50. |
51. |
51.
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51. Býleistr = the brother of Loki's borther.
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52. |
52.
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52. The bane of branches = the fire.
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53. |
53.
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53.
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54 = 44. | ||
55. |
55.
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55. |
55'. |
55'.
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55'. The belt of the earth designates the serpent that circles the earth, Jórmungandr. Since Þórr will kill Jórmungandr at ragna röc, Óðinn's son is here Þórr. The expression "Vidar's family death" designates ragna röc : Vidar's family are the gods.
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56. |
56.
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56. Hlóðyn = She-Stormy, the earth, the mother of God Þórr . Óðinn is the father of Þórr . Fjörgyn = Earth. The serpent, the worm both designate a dragon who must be Jórmungandr, eventually killed by Þórr. We do not know what a "véor" is. If it qualifies Jórmungandr, then something like "belt" could be ok. In this single stanza Þórr is called by three different names.
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57. |
57.
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58 = 44. | ||
59. |
A new, largely commentated version of these stanzas is available HERE
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59.
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60. |
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60. Fimbultýr = Supreme God. Tyr is the name of a very ancient God who seems to have been a sky-God, master of the battle, somewhat as Óðinn became. Fimbul expresses the idea of vastness. Another poem says that the runes have been created by the "Powers," and shouted by Óðinn. Since he is the one who acquired of the magical secret power of the runes, the High God must be here Óðinn.
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61. |
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62. |
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62.
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63. |
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63. |
64. |
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64. Gimlé = Protected from the Fire. Another text says that Gimlé is in the sky. The second half of this stanza and stanza 65 smell strongly of Christianity and are often called a late adjunction.
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65. |
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65.
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66. |
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66. "She" is again the völva who has finished and will go away. |
References.
De Vries "Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch" Leiden 1961.
Snorri Sturluson, Edda, Prologue and Gylfaginning, edited by A. Faulkes, Clarendon Press, Oxford 1982. Presents an Old Norse version of the text, with commentaries and a glossary.
Snorri Sturluson, L'Edda, translation F. X. Dillmann, Gallimard, 1991 contains a large number of fascinating explanations.
Poetic Edda:
The Poetic Edda, Carolyne Larrington Translation, 1996, Oxford University Press
Norse Poems, W. H. Auden & P. B. Taylor, Faber and Faber, London 1986.
Hans Kuhn, Edda, Codex Regius, Vol. I. Texts; Vol. II. Short Dictionary, Carl Winter, Heidelberg 1962.
Die Edda, F. Genzmer, Eugen Diederichs, München 1992.
The Elder Edda, Andy Orchard, Penguin
2011.
The Poetic Edda Vol. II, Ursula Dronke, Clarendon 1997.
The Elder Edda, Andy Orchard, Penguin 2011.
copyright © 1998-2015 Yves Kodratoff