loki

Thor’s Journey to Utgard, Part 4

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I now conclude the tale of Thor’s Journey to Utgard with the final seventeen stanzas, in which all is revealed about the strange happenings in the hall of Utgardaloki. Converting this to what I call “standard lines,” it was 264 lines long. My two longest poems are 729 and 983 lines, and, shorter than this, I think my Brisingamen poem came in at 96 lines. Next month will bring a new poem of some kind. Enjoy!

The crone then came,
cracking her knuckles,
ready for the match.
The wrestling began;
Ennilang strained hard,
yet Elli stood firm,
no matter the force
his might brought forth.

Then tricks she tried
and the True One slipped;
in pulling and pushing
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Thor’s Journey to Utgard, Part 3

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From last month, I continue the tale of Thor’s Journey to Utgard with another sixteen stanzas, and the poem is now three-quarters finished. Next month will bring the final 17 stanzas, in which you’ll see how Thor fares against Elli, and what’s been going on the whole time with these strange contests. Enjoy!

Out to the course,
Utgardaloki
and the troop then went
to test this feat.
A lad named Hugi
lined up for the race,
lean and lanky
was this little man.

The race started,
the running was fierce,
but ahead way far
did Hugi finish.
Time he still had
for turning around
to face Thjálfi
at the finish line.

The king urged Thjálfi
to increase his effort
on a second race,
though not seen at all
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Thor’s Journey to Utgard, Part 2

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From last month, I continue the tale of Thor’s Journey to Utgard with another sixteen stanzas, and the poem is halfway finished here with 33 stanzas so far. Next month will bring part 3, in which Thor finally takes part in the games in the hall. Enjoy!

The companions agreed
and pooled their food.
Long was that day,
with lengthy strides
by Skrýmir on the way;
they scored a night-stead
under an oak tree,
and got on to supper.

The etin slept
but the others tried
to open his knapsack
to eat their dinner.
But tricky it was:
untying the knots
proved impossible,
no piece would loosen.

Then rage-filled Thor
raised his hammer,
and smashed the head
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Thor’s Journey to Utgard, Part 1

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Wassail! For the first time in a long time, I have written a mythological story poem in stanzas of fornyrðislag. As the title indicates, it’s the one where Thor visits a mysterious king named Utgardaloki and attempts some challenges within his hall. It’s the longest mythological story in Snorri’s Edda, by far, which is why I had not rushed to turn it into a poem before! My whole poem is 66 stanzas, and I’ll run it over four months, either 16 or 17 stanzas at a time. Enjoy!

Thor is mightiest
as Thunderer of the Æsir,
yet the wicked work
he once had faced
of a cunning etin’s
crafty magic.
Give now a hearing
to my noble tale.

Once at one time,
the well-bearded Thor
went driving in his chariot,
drawn by two goats,
along with Loki
on his long journey.
They arrived at evening
at a rustic farm.

Its yeoman offered
the use of his lodgings,
and Sönnung then made
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Audio for Building Asgard’s Wall

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Today I present an audio recording of another eddic tale that I’ve set in verse. This time, it is Building Asgard’s Wall, which was posted as text last March. In this spoken version, the words are different in a few places from what I posted, and the original post has not been edited.

Here is the downloadable file of me reciting the poem:
Eirik Westcoat – Building Asgard’s Wall

And here is the inline player:

Enjoy! Feel free to share the file. For details, see the Creative Commons link below.

This post is:
Copyright © 2014 Eirik Westcoat.
All rights reserved.

The linked audio file of Building Asgard’s Wall is:
Copyright © 2014 Eirik Westcoat.
Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives License.

Thor’s Visit to Geirrod, Part 1

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Snorri presents a prose telling of this tale, and he also gives the passage from the Old Norse skaldic poem Þórsdrápa by Eilífr Guðrúnarson that tells the story as well. However, it is a fairly difficult skaldic poem, even when translated to English. (If you have Faulkes’ translation of Snorri’s Edda, you can find this tale on pages 81-86, or in chapter 18 of Skáldskaparmál in other editions.) Thus, a more accessible poetic rendition is needed.

My poem is in 14 stanzas of fornyrðislag, and is titled “Thor’s Visit to Geirrod.” The spellings have been anglicized throughout. I present the first half here today, and the second half will follow next Tuesday.

A warm welcome
I wish to have
for telling the tale
of a trip by Thor
to Geirrod’s garth
and the games in the hall;
the draught of dwarves
I draw for you now.

Continue reading →

Building Asgard’s Wall

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Today I present the tale of the building of Asgard’s wall in a lore poem of eleven stanzas of fornyrðislag with completely anglicized spelling. It is based on the story as found in the Gylfaginning of Snorri Sturluson’s Edda. It tells how Asgard got a defensive wall and of the origin of the eight-legged horse Sleipnir. The opening stanza in my poem includes a feature that is found in many skaldic poems — a reference to poetry through one of the many kennings for it. The poem’s title is simply “Building Asgard’s Wall.”

Silence I seek
for saying my tale
of the master mason
who meant to build
for the garth of gods
the greatest of walls;
with Ygg’s ale now
I utter my words.

Midgard was made
and mighty Valhalla;
for proof against
the passage of etins
the Aesir sought
a solid defense;
a builder offered
the best of walls.

Continue reading →