Scandinavian literature summaries - 2023

Short summary - Edda
Epic

Songs about gods

Song of Hymir

Once the gods return from hunting with prey and start a feast, and they lack a cauldron. And now the god Tyr, in friendship with Thor, Odin's son, gives good advice: "He lives in the east ... Hymir the wise" and he keeps "a great cauldron, a mile deep."

And so Tyr and Thor set off on their journey and, having arrived at the place, they put their goats in a stall, and they themselves go to the chambers.

Here Humir appears in the chambers, and the guests go out to meet him. Hymir breaks the beam, the boilers from it - eight in number - fall, and only one remains intact. Then three bulls with strong horns are served on the table, and Thor eats two whole.

The next morning Thor goes to sea with Humir, taking his rods. Thor the winner puts a bull's head on a hook, throws it into the water, and the snake that the human world girded opens its mouth and swallows the bait. Thor drags him boldly and begins to beat him, which is why the snake roars and goes to the bottom again. Hymir, on the other hand, caught two whales, these boars of the surf, and now they rule towards the shore. On the shore, wanting to test Thor's strength, Humir orders him to bring the whales to the court.

Brings Thor whales. But even this is not enough for Humir to test the strength of Thor. He asks him to break the goblet, and Thor throws the goblet with force into the stone pillar, “... the stone was crushed into pieces by the goblet, but without cracks the goblet returned to Hyumir.” Here Thor recalls the advice: it is necessary to throw a goblet at the head of Hymir, the giant jotun, because his skull is stronger than stone. Indeed, a goblet breaks on Hymir's head. Here the giant agrees to give up his cauldron, but sets the condition that the searchers for the cauldron themselves, without anyone's help, take it away. Tyr cannot even move the cauldron, while Thor takes hold of the rim of the cauldron, puts it on his head and goes, jangling his cauldron rings on his heels.

They drive off not far, when, turning around, they see that together with Hymir, “a mighty army of many heads” is following them. Then Thor, dropping the cauldron, raises his hammer Mjollnir and kills everyone.

Thor returns to the aces-gods with a cauldron, "and the aces now drank beer every winter to their fill."

Song of the Hold

Thor from sleep gets up furious and sees that the hammer Mjollnir has disappeared from him. He tells Loki, the cunning god, about his loss, and then they go to Freya's house and ask her outfit from feathers to find the hammer. Freya gives an outfit, and makes noise with Loki's feathers, flying away from the land of aces-gods to the land where the giant jotuns live.

A hold-giant sits on a mound and weaves collars for dogs out of gold. He sees Loki and asks him why he came to Jotunheim. And Loki answered him, didn’t he hide the hammer of Chlorridi-Thor? Hold replies that he hid the hammer and will give it away only when they give him beautiful Freya as his wife.

Loki flies back and Toru says everything. Then they both go to Freya, ask her to put on a wedding outfit and go with them to Jotunheim. But Freya flatly refuses.

Then the gods-aces gather for the Thing - they think how to return the hammer of Thor to them. And they decide to put on a wedding dress for Thor: cover his head with a magnificent dress, and decorate his chest with a necklace of Brising dwarfs. Loki agrees to go to Jotunheim as Thor's maid.

Seeing them, Thrym says that the tables should be covered for a feast. At the feast, Hold wants to kiss the bride, but, throwing back the veil, he sees that her eyes are sparkling and “the flames are burning out of them.” The sensible maid answers that “Freya was without sleep for eight nights,” she was in such a hurry to come to the land of the giants. And impatiently, Thrym, the king of the jotuns, orders Mjollnir to be carried and placed on the bride’s knees in order to conclude an alliance with her as soon as possible. Hlorridi-Thor joyfully seizes the mighty hammer and destroys the whole kind of giants, together with Hold. "So Thor took possession of the hammer again."

Songs about heroes

Song of Völund

There lived a king named Nidud, He had two sons and a daughter, Bedwild.

Three brothers lived - the sons of the king of the Finns: Slagfrid, Egil and Völund. Early in the morning they see three women on the shore - they were Valkyries. The brothers take them as wives, and Völund the Wonderful gets it. They live for seven winters, and then the Valkyries rush to battle and do not return back. The brothers go to look for them, only Völund sits at home.

Nidud learns that Völund is left alone, and sends warriors to him in shiny chain mail. Warriors enter inside the dwelling and see: rings are hung on the bast, seven hundred in number. They take off the rings and string them again, only one ring is hidden. Völund comes from hunting, counts the rings and sees that there is not one. He decides that the young Valkyrie has returned and has taken the ring. He sits for a long time, and then falls asleep;

waking up, he sees that he is tightly tied with ropes. King Nidud takes his sword, and the golden ring that was taken, he gives to his daughter Bedvild. And then the king gives the order; Cut the sinews of Völund the blacksmith, take him to a distant island and leave him there.

Völund, sitting on the island, cherishes revenge. One day, two of Nidud's sons come to him - to look at the treasures that were on the island. And as soon as the brothers bowed to the casket, as Völund cuts off their heads Away to both. Silver-rimmed bowls of skulls makes them and Nidudu sends them; "Yakhonty eyes" sends him to his wife; He takes the teeth of both and makes breast buckles for Bedwild.

Bedwild goes to him with a request: fix the damaged ring. Völund gives her beer and the ring and takes her girlish honor from her. And then, having received the magic ring back, it rises into the air and heads towards Nidudu.

Nidud sits and mourns for his sons. Völund tells him that in his smithy he can find the skin from the heads of his sons, and under the furs of his feet. Bedwild is now pregnant by him. And Völund, laughing, takes off into the air again, “Nidud was left alone in the mountain.”

The Second Song of Helgi, the Killer of Hunding

King Sigmund's son is called Helga, Hagal is his tutor.

One warlike king Hunding is called, and he has many sons. Enmity reigns between Sigmund and Hunding.

King Hunding sends people to Hagal to find Helgi. But Helgi cannot hide herself except as a slave; and he begins to grind the grain. Hunding's people look for Helga everywhere, but they don't find it. Then Blind the Malicious notices that the eyes of the slave girl are flashing too menacingly and the millstone in her hands is cracking. Hagal answers that the diva is not here, because the daughter of the millstones turns the king; before she rushed under the clouds and could fight like brave Vikings, now Helgi took her prisoner.

Helgi escaped and went to the warship. He slew King Hunding, and from that time on he was called the Killer of Hunding.

King Hogni has a daughter, Sigrun the Valkyrie, who rushes through the air. Sigrun is betrothed to Hodbrodd, son of King Granmar. Helgi the mighty at this time fights with the sons of Hunding and kills them. And then rests under the Eagle Stone. Sig-run flies to him there, hugs him and kisses him. And Helga fell in love with her, and the maiden had loved him for a long time, even before she met him.

Helgi is not afraid of the wrath of King Hogni and King Granmar, but goes to war against them and kills all the sons of Granmar, as well as King Hogni. So by the will of fate, Sigrun the Valkyrie becomes the cause of discord among relatives.

Helgi marries Sigrun and they have sons. But Helga's long life is not destined. Dag, the son of Högni, sacrifices to Odin the God to help him avenge his father. Gives Odin Dag a spear, and with that spear pierces Dag Helgi. Then Doug goes to the mountains and tells Sigrun what happened.

Sigrun calls a curse on his brother's head, while Dag wants to pay her for her husband. Sigrun refuses and the hill is built on the tomb of the mighty prince Helga.

Helgi goes straight to Valhalla, and there Odin offers him to rule along with him.

And then one day the maid Sigrun sees how dead Helgi with his people is going to the mound. It seems wonderful to the maid, and she asks Helgi if the end of the world has come. And he replies that no, because although he spurs the horse, he is not destined to return home. At home, the maid Sigrun tells what she saw.

Sigrun goes to the mound to Helgi: she is very glad to see her husband, even if he is dead. Helgi the dead reproaches her, they say, she is guilty of his death. And he says that "from now on, in the barrow with me, killed, the noble maiden will stay together!"

Sigrun spends the night in the arms of the dead, and in the morning Helgi and his people jump away, and Sigrun and his maid return home. Sigrun mourns for Helgi, and soon death takes her to him.

“In ancient times, people believed that people were born again, but now they consider it to be a woman's fairy tales. They say that Helgi and Sigrun were born again."

Gripir's Prophecy

Gripir rules the lands, he is the wisest among people. Siturd, the son of Sigmund, comes to his chambers to find out what is destined for him in life. Gripir, who is Sigurd's mother's brother, Kindly receives his kinsman.

And Gripir says to Sigurd that he will be great: first he will avenge his father and defeat King Hunding in battle. Then he will strike Regina the dwarf with the Fafnir-serpent and, having found Fafnir's lair, he will load his Horse named Grani with "gold cargo" and go to King Gyuki. On the mountain he will see a sleeping maiden in armor. With a sharp blade, Sigurd will cut the armor, the maiden will wake up from sleep and teach

Sigmund's son runes wise. Gripir cannot see further than Sigurd's youth.

Sigurd feels that a sad lot awaits him, and therefore Gripir does not want to tell his fate further. And now Sigurd starts persuading, and Gripir speaks again.

“Heimir has a maiden with a beautiful face,” Brynhild is her name, and she will deprive Sigurd of peace, for he will love her. But as soon as Sigurd spends the night with Gjuki, he immediately forgets the fair maiden. Through the machinations of Grimhild the treacherous, fair-haired Gudrun, the daughter of Grimhild and Gunnar, will be given to him as a wife. And for Gunnar he will woo Brynhild, changing his guise with Gunnar. But although he will look like Gunnar, his soul will remain the same. And the noble Sigurd will lie next to the maiden, but there will be a sword between them. And the people of Sigurd will be condemned for such a deceit of a worthy maiden.

Then the princes will return and two weddings will play in the chambers of Gjuki: Gunnara with Brynhild and Sigurda with Gudrun. By that time, Gunnar and Sigurd will return to their guises, but their souls will remain the same.

Sigurd and Gudrun will live happily, Brynhild, "marriage will seem bitter, she will seek revenge for deceit." She will tell Gunnar that Sigurd did not keep his oaths, "when the noble king Gunnar, Gyuki's heir" believed him. And the noble wife Gudrun will be angry; out of grief, she will deal cruelly with Sigurd: her brothers will become the murderers of Sigurd.

Grimhild the treacherous one will be to blame for this.

And Gripir says to the sad Sigurd: “In that consolation, prince, you will find that you are destined for a lot of happiness: here on earth, under the sun, there will be no hero equal to Sigurd!”

Sigurd answers him: “Let's say goodbye happily! You can't argue with fate! You, Gripir, kindly fulfilled the request; would you predict more luck and happiness in my life, if you could!