Völuspá

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The seeress speaks her prophecy in this illustration to a 19th century Swedish translation of the Poetic Edda.
The seeress speaks her prophecy in this illustration to a 19th century Swedish translation of the Poetic Edda.

Völuspá (Prophecy of the Seeress) is the first and best known poem of the Poetic Edda. It tells the story of the creation of the world and its coming end related by a völva or seeress addressing Odin. It is one of the most important primary sources for the study of Norse mythology.

The prophecy commences with an address to Odin. The seeress then starts relating the story of the creation of the world in an abridged form. She explains how she came by her knowledge and that she understands the source of Odin's omniscience, and other secrets of the gods of Asgard. She deals with present and future happenings, touching on many of the Norse myths, such as the death of Baldr and the binding of Loki. Ultimately the seeress tells of the end of the world, Ragnarök, and its second coming.

The poem is preserved whole in the Codex Regius and Hauksbók manuscripts while parts of it are quoted in the Prose Edda. The Codex Regius version consists of 63 fornyrðislag stanzas.

Contents

[edit] Preservation

Völuspá is found in the Codex Regius manuscript (ca. 1270) and in Haukr Erlendsson's Hauksbók Codex (ca. 1334), and many of its stanzas are quoted or paraphrased in Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda (composed ca. 1220, oldest extant manuscript dates from ca. 1300). The order and number of the stanzas varies in these sources. Some editors and translators have further rearranged the material.

[edit] Synopsis

The poem starts with the seeress requesting silence from "the sons of Heimdallr" (human beings) and asking Odin whether he wants her to recite ancient lore. She says she remembers giants born in antiquity who reared her.

She then goes on to relate a creation myth; the world was empty until the sons of Burr lifted the earth out of the sea. The Æsir then established order in the cosmos by finding places for the sun, the moon and the stars, thereby starting the cycle of day and night. A golden age ensued where the Æsir had plenty of gold and happily constructed temples and made tools. But then three mighty giant maidens came from Jötunheimar and the golden age came to an end. The Æsir then created the dwarves, of whom Mótsognir and Durinn are the mightiest.

At this point 10 of the poem's 66 stanzas are over and six stanzas ensue which contain names of dwarves. This section, sometimes called Dvergatal (catalogue of dwarves), is usually considered an interpolation and sometimes omitted by editors and translators.

After the Dvergatal the creation of the first man and woman are recounted and Yggdrasill, the world-tree, is described. The seer recalls the events that led to the first ever war, and what occurred in the struggle between the Æsir and Vanir.

The seer then reveals to Odin that she knows some of his own secrets, of what he sacrificed of himself in pursuit of knowledge. She tells him she knows where his eye is hidden and how he gave it up in exchange for knowledge. She asks him constantly if he would like to hear more.

The seer goes on to describe the slaying of Baldr, best and fairest of the gods and the enmity of Loki, and of others. Then she prophesizes the final destruction of the gods where fire and flood overwhelm heaven and earth as the gods fight their final battles with their enemies. All this is forecast, this the "fate of the gods," the Ragnarök. She describes the summons to battle, the personal struggles of the gods. She tells of the tragic endings of many of the gods - and how Odin, himself, is slain.

Finally a beautiful reborn world will rise from the ashes of death and destruction where Baldr will live again in a new world where the earth sprouts abundance without sowing seed.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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[edit] English translations

[edit] Old Norse editions

The Poetic Edda
Preceded by
the Eddica minora poem
Hrafnagaldr Óðins		 The mythological poems Succeeded by
Hávamál
v • d • e
Norse mythology
List of Norse gods • Æsir • Vanir • Giants • Elves (Light Elves • Dark Elves) • Dwarves • Troll • Valkyries • Einherjar • Norns • Odin • Thor • Freyr • Freyja • Frigg • Heimdall • Loki • Baldr • Týr • Yggdrasil • Ginnungagap • Ragnarök
Sources Poetic Edda • Prose Edda • The Sagas • Volsung Cycle • Tyrfing Cycle • Rune stones • Old Norse language • Orthography • Later influence
Society Viking Age • Skald • Kenning • Blót • Seid • Numbers
People, places and things
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V%C3%B6lusp%C3%A1"
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