thor

Audio for Calls to the Gods

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Some may have wondered if there is a particular way in which the poetic calls to the gods should be recited. Of course, anyone trying these in their rituals is free to develop their own style. I prefer a style with a strong rhythm and forceful recitation. For those curious as to how I envision them, I present today an audio recording of five of my calls.

The audio contains calls to Odin, Tyr, Thor, Freyja, and Freyr. All have been featured in previous posts as text: here for Odin and Freyja, here for Thor, and here for Tyr and Freyr. Yes, I chose these particular calls because I was in a Dumezilian trifunctional mood. 🙂

Here is the downloadable file of me reciting the calls:
Eirik Westcoat – Calls to the Gods

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 © 2013 Eirik Westcoat.
All rights reserved.

The linked audio file of Calls to the Gods is:
Copyright © 2013 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 →

More Short Sumbel Toasts

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Today I present four more short sumbel toasts, one each to Thor, Tyr, Heimdall, and Freyja. Each toast is two stanzas of ljóðaháttr. The spellings have all been fully anglicized.

A Toast to Thor

Hail Thor,
thunder’s wielder,
Asgard’s chosen champion;
that bane of etins,
and best of warriors
is father to Modi and Magni.

He slew Hrungnir
and hammered Thrym
with peerless might and main.
For warding well
this world of Midgard,
Hail to thunderous Thor!

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More Calls to the Gods and Others

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It is time for some more calls to the gods and other wights; it was in late November that I last posted some. Like the previous ones, these calls are also two stanzas of ljóðaháttr. Today I’m presenting calls to Thor, the Elves, the Aesir, and the Vanir. (The astute and well-read may notice some Dumezilian trifunctional aspects adapted into the last two.)

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The Six Treasures

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It’s way past time for a new poem. My aim now is to update this blog at least weekly, and this may be chaotic at first, but here goes…

In the Prose Edda, there are many fine stories that unfortunately have no poetic counterparts in the Poetic Edda or other ancient sources. One of these is the tale of the creation of the treasures of the gods. Thus I have made a modern English poetic version of it in the ljóðaháttr style that goes to the point where the gods judge the treasures — it does not include Brokk’s attempt to collect on the wager. (Generally, Old Norse names in the poem are rendered in Old Norse, but not always — you’ll probably notice the strange characters.)

I presented this poem at the East Coast Thing’s Skaldic Competition in 2011, where it won first place in the spoken word category. It has also been a favorite of the kindred I’m in.

The poem is called “The Six Treasures”

Continue reading →