The Poetic Edda: Völuspá

Völuspá
The Sibyl's Prophecy

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For the first time online

The Völuspá
Read Before The Leicestershire Literary Society
by Thomas Smith, Esq. F.S.A
An Original translation based on the Latin translation in the 1828 Copenhagen Edition

April 6, 1838

Individual verses of the poem, 28 in all, have been gathered below from the full text of the lecture.
All stanzas were unnumbered, and presented with a facing Icelandic text (as shown here).
Original pages, documenting the entire lecture, have been reproduced below for examination.

Hlióds bid ec
Allar kindir
Meiri ok minni
Mavgu Heimdallar
Vildo it ec Valfavdvr
Vél fyr telia
Fornspiöll fíra
þau er fremst um man

1. Be silent
All living beings,
High and low,
Children of Heimdallr.
I, of the World-Father
Will unfold wonders;
The old lays
Which in time past I learned

Ar var allda
þar er Ymir bygdi
Vara sandr né sær
Né svalar vnnir.
Jörd fannz æva
Né vupphimin
Gao var ginnúnga
Enn gras hvergi.

3. It was the beginning of time
When Ymer was:
There was no shore, nor sea,
Nor cool waves,
Earth was no where seen,
Nor heaven above
An all swallowing abyss there was
But no greenth.

Adur Bvrs synir
Biódom um yþþo
þeir er Midgard
Möran scópo
Sól scein svnnan
A salar steina
þá var grund gróin
Grönom lauki.

4. Until the sons of Bor
Found the golden orbs;
They who Midgard*
Glorious created.
Then shone the sun
On its rocky walls;
Then first the earth grew green
With springing grass.

*Midgard. Middle-guard or middle-yard. In the same way Asgard was the guard or yard of the Asir, and Utgard, where the Iötnur were confined, was the outer yard or utter yard. Yard, guard, garden seem to be derived from the same root.

Sól varp svnnan
Sinni mána
Hendi inni högri
Vm himin-iódyr.
Sól þat né vissi
Hvar hon sali atti
Stjörnor þat stadi átto
Máni þat né vissi
Hvat han megins átti.

5. The sun on the south,
Companion of the moon,
With his right hand harnessed
The heavenly steeds.
And the sun knew not
Where were his courts;
Nor did the stars know
Their habitation;
The moon knew not
The place of her abode.

Þá gengo regin öll
A raukstóla,
Ginheilög god,
oc vm þat gættuz:
Nótt ok nidiom
Navfn um gáfo,
morgin héto
ok midian dag,
Vndorn oc aptan,
Arom at telia.

6. Then the heavenly powers took
Their high-raised seats,—
The most holy Gods,
And consulted of these things,
To night and new moon
Names they gave;
Morning they appointed,
And noon,
Afternoon and evening,
To be signs for years.

Hittoz æsir
A Idavelli
Þeir er havrg oc hof
Hátimbroþo.
Afla lavgdo
Auð smiðoþo
Afls kostodo
Allz freistodo
Tángir scopo
Oc tól gördo.

7. The Asir met
On Ida plain;
Fanes and courts
Did they raise high.
Furnaces they made,
Precious metals wrought,
With power they strove,
All things they assayed:
Tongs they invented,
And forge tools.

Tefldo í túni
teitir voro
Var þeim vettegis
Vant or gvlli
Vnz þriár qvomo
þursa meyiar
Amättkar mioc
Or Iotonheimom.

8. With golden orbs played
The Asir all-glad:
No want was there to them
Of gold.
Until there came
Three Thurse maids,
All fearful,
From Iotunheim.

Þá gengo regin öll
A raukstóla,
Ginheilög god,
oc vm þat gættoz:
Hverr scyldi dverga
Drottin skepa
Or brímis blódi
Oc or blám leggiom.

9. Then took the heavenly powers
Their lofty seats—
The most holy gods,
And there counsel took
Which of them of dwarfs
The troops should create,
Of Ymer's blood,
And blue bones.

The next five stanzas of the Völuspá [not shown] contain a catalogue of the names of the various dwarfs, who were thus called into existence.

. . . to return to the Völuspá, which after the creation of the dwarfs proceeds to describe how man was formed out of two ash trees called Asc and Embla:

Unz þrír qvomo
Or þní lidi
Avfligar oc ástgir
Æsir at húsi.
Fvundo á landi
Litt megandi
Asc oc Emblo
Orlöglusa

17. There came from that meeting
Of the heavenly powers,
Three mighty and beautiful
Asir to the earth.
There found they on the ground,
Of little worth,
Asc and Embla
Without sense or life.

Avnd þau né átto
Od þ né havfdo
Lá né læti
Né tito góda.
Avnd gaf Odinn
Od gaf Hönir
Lá gaf Lódvrr
Oc lito góda.

18. Soul they possessed not,
Reason they had not,
Neither blood, nor motion,
Nor bright colour.
Soul Odin gave,
And Hænir reason.
Blood Lodur granted
And a beauteous form.

Asc veit ec standa
heitir Ygdrasil
hár badmr ausinn
hvita auri.
þadan coma davggvar
þærs í dala falla
stendr æ yfir grönn
Urðar brvnni.

19. An ash know I standing
Ygdrasil is it called;
A high tree teeming
With pure water.
Thence come the showers
Which on the vallies fall.
It stands ever-flourishing
By Urda's well.

After verse 20 the two manuscripts versions of Völuspá diverge. Here R is Codex Regius and H is Hauksbók. The stanzas were not numbered in the original text. On occasion, Mr. Smith has combined parts of two verses into one, and in the final stanza has added lines from a late paper manscript.

þat man hon fólkvíg
Fyrst í heimi
Er gullveig
Geirom stvddo
Oc í havll Hárs
Hana bendo.
þrysvar bendo
þrysvar borna
opt ósialdan
þo hon en lifr.

R 21/H26. The first death among the folk
Remember I in the world.
When from the earth
The gold ore men dug,
And in the high one's courts
It did burn.
Three times born,
Again and yet again
Yet it still liveth.

Heiði hana héto
Hvars til húsa com,
Völo velspá,
Vitti hon ganda.
Seið hon kvnni,
Seið hon leikin var,
Æ var hon ángan
Illrar þióðar.

R 22/H27 They called it money,
When to the house it came,
With its magic art.
Wolves themselves it tamed.
in the magic fire
the metal flows.
It has ever been the delight
of evil men.

Þá gengo regin öll
A ravkstóla,
Ginheilög god,
Oc um þat gættuz,
Hvart skyldo Æsir
Afráð giallda
Edr skyldo godin öll
Gildi eiga.

R23/H28. Then took all the gods
Their lofty seats,
The most holy powers,
And consulted of this thing:
Whether the good gods
The crime should avenge,
or whether atonement
For the sin they should accept.

Fleygði Odinn
Oc í fólc vm scaut,
þat var enn folkvíg
Fyrst í heimi.
Brotinn var borðvegr
Borgar Asa,
Knátto Vanir vígspá
Völlo sporna.

R24/H29. Odin sped his spear
Among the folk;
Thus first was slaughter
Brought into the world.
Broken was the bound
Of the Asa burg.
The Vanir,* spirits of strife,
Swept the plains.

*Vanir. Little is told of the Vanir except that they were spirits inhabiting the atmosphere, and were thought to have the control of aerial tempests, etc.

The Völuspá now proceeds with detached allusions to Heimdallr's horn, to the Valkyriar, and to the acts of the greater divinities of Asgard, such as the anger of Thor at the giant race, and the visit of Odin to Mimer's well; but the notices are so obscure and disconnected, that we must have recourse to the Edda of Snorro for an account of the chief Asir and their attributes.

Ec sá Baldri,
Blóðgom tívor,
Odins barni,
Orlög fólgin:

R 31/1-4. I saw of Baldur,
The blood-besprinkled god,
The son of Odin,
The appointed doom.

Hapt sá hon liggia
Vndir hvera lvndi
Lægiarn líki
Loka áþeckian.
þar sitr Sigyn
þeygi vm sínom
Ver vel glýioð
Vitod err enn edr hvat?

R34. There saw I lying
Bound near the boiling springs,
The faithless form
Which Loki's features bore.
There sits Siguna,
Of her wretched lord
No longer proud.
Understand ye yet, or no?

Sal sá hon standa
Sólo fjarri
Nástrondo á,
Nordr horfa dyr.
Féllo eitrdropar
Inn um lióra,
Sá er vndinn salr
Orma hriggium.

R37/H34. I saw a dark abode
Far from the sun
On Naströnd's* icy shore,
Whence gates open to the cutting north.
Its walls are formed
Of wreathed snakes,
Whose venom rains
Eternally within.

*Naströnd. the coast of dead corpses and evil beings, encompassing the abyss of Hvergelmer and situated in the lowest depths of Niflheim. The dark and poisonous streams, 'Elivagar,' surround it: Nidhog, the great dragon who dwells beneath the central root of Ygdrasil, torments the dead, with the innumberable serpents which inhabit 'Hvergelmer.'

Sá hon þar vada
þúnga strauma
Menn morðvarga
Oc meinsvara
Oc þanns annars glepr
Eyra rúno.
Þar svg Níðhöggr
Nái framgengna,
Sleit vargr vera.
Vitod er enn edr hvat?

R38/H35. Thither must go,
Across the dark torrents,
The souls of evil men,
The perjured, the coward,
The secret murderer,
The voluptuous man,
There Nidhog forever gnaws
The corses of the dead.
The Hell-wolf rends them,
Understand ye yet, or no?

Austr sat hin aldna
I Iárnviði
Oc föddi þar
Fenris kindir.
Fyllisk fiörvi
Feigra manna,
Rýðr ragna siöt
Raudum dreira.
Svört verda sólscin
Of svmur eptir,
Vedr öll válynd -
Vitod er enn edr hvat?

R39/H24 (1-4) In Ironwood,
towards the east,
Sits night, the mother,
And still brings forth
the giant brood,
R40/H25 Nourished with the breath
Of dying men.
Red blood smears
The holy temples.
Then shall the sun grow dim
In summer tide,
And storms shall sweep the earth.
Understand ye yet, or no?

Brödvr mvno beriaz
Oc at bavnom verda,
Mvno systrungar
Sifiom spilla.
Hart er í heimi,
Hórdómr micill,
Sceggaavld, scálmavld,
Scildir ro klofnir,
Vindöld, vargöld
Aðr veröld steipiz,
Mvn engi madr
Odrom þyrma.

R44 (H37) Brother brother slays.
Rent asunder are
The bonds of kindred;
(missing line)
Hard will be the time!
Luxury prevails;
Axe-time, sword-time!
Shields are cleft.
Wolf-time, storm-time
Ere the world falls!
Nor shall one man
Another spare.

Hvat er med Asom
Hvat er med Alfom
Gnýr allr Iotvnheimr
Æsir ro á þíngi
Stynia Dvergar
Fyr steindvrom
Veggsbergs vísir
Vitod er enn edr hvat.

R50/H40 What affrights the Asæ?
What affrights the Elves?
The giant world rages.
The Asæ flock together.
the dwarfs tremble
Before their rocky doors
Of their cavern haunts.
Understand ye yet, or no?

Svrtr ferr svnnan
med sviga læfi,
Scin af sverdi
Sól valtífa.
Griótbiörg gnata,
Enn gífor rata,
Troda halir helveg,
Enn himin clofnar.

R51/H44 Surtur comes from the south,
On flames of fire;
A sun shines from the sword
Of the Almighty God.
The mountains shiver,
The giants rush headlong,
Men travel the path of death,
the heavens are cleft asunder.

Sól tecr sortna,
Sigr fold í mar,
Hverfa af himni
Heidar stiörnur,
Geisar eimr
Vid aldvrnára,
Leicr hár hiti
Vid himin siálfan.

R55/H49 The sun is darkened;
The earth sinks into the sea:
Disappear from heaven
The bright stars.
The fire rages
Around the tree of ages:
The flames climb (to)
Heaven itself.

Sér hon vppkoma
Avdro sinni
Jord or ægi
Idia gröna.
Falla forsar,
Flýgr avrn yfir,
Sá er á fialli
Fisca veidir.

R57/H51 But lo! rising
Above the waves,
I see a new earth
In its young beauty green.
the waters disappear.
the eagle, which of late
Fished in the mountain tops,
Flies away.

Mvno ósánir
Acrar vaxa,
Bavls mvn allz batna,
Baldvr mvn coma.
Búa þeir Havdr oc Baldvr
Hropts sigtoptir

R60/H54 (1-6) The unsown fields
Shall bring forth corn.
All crimes shall cease
Baldur shall return.
Baldur and Hödur shall
Together dwell
In Odin's blessed seats.

Sal sér hon standa
Sólo fegra,
Gulli þacdan,
A Gimle:
þar sculo dyggvar
Dróttir byggia
Oc vm aldrdaga
Yndis nióta.

R62/56 And I see a bright abode
In the highest heaven,
The roof glittering with gold.
More glorious than the sun.
There shall the just
Together dwell;
And through eternal time
Happiness shall taste.

Þá cömr inn ríki
At regindómi
Avflvgr ofan,
Aá er öllo rædr.Semr hann dóma
Oc sacar leggr
Vescavp setr
þau er vera sculo

H57/1-4. Then at the great day
Shall come to judgement,
The everlasting God
Who governs all.
(From late paper mss.) He shall declare his laws;
And all strife shall cease;
And peace and truth shall reign
For evermore.

Such, Gentlemen is the Völuspá!

Original Page Images
The Völuspá
Read April 6, 1838 Before The Leicestershire Literary Society
by T. Smith, Esq. F.S.A
Double-click to enlarge

Title Page	Page 1	Pages 2-3	Pages 4-5
pages 6-7	pages 8-9	pages 10-11	pages 12-13
pages 14-15	pages 16-17	pages 18-19	pages 20-21
pages 22-23	pages 24-25	pages 26-27	pages 28-29
pages 30-31	pages 32-33	pages 34-35	pages 36-37
pages 38-39	pages 40-41	pages 42-43	pages 44-45
pages 46-47	pages 48-49	pages 50-51	pages 52-53
pages 54-55	pages 56-57	pages 58-59	pages 60-61

This page was created on Oct. 25, 2013.
It is the first online edition of this text.

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