Fjölsvinnsmál
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Fjölsvinnsmál or The Sayings of Fjölsvinnr is the second of two Old Norse poems which comprise the Svipdagsmál, The Lay of Svipdagr. In the first poem, Svipdagr enlists the aid of his dead mother, Gróa, a witch, to assist him in the completion of a task set by his cruel stepmother.
At the commencement of Fjölsvinnsmál, Svipdagr has arrived at a castle on a mountain top. There he encounters a giant watchman, Fjölsvinnr, who rudely tells him to be gone, while asking him his name. Svipdagr wisely conceals his name.
A game of question and answers ensues, wherein Svipdagr learns that Menglöð lives in the castle guarded by the Fjölsvinnr, and that the castle may not be entered by any save one: Svipdagr. He gives his true name and the gates are opened and Menglöð greets her saviour.
The poem is considered to be among the youngest of the Eddic poems. Nevertheless it is cryptic and some stanzas are corrupt.
[edit] External links
- Thorpe's translation
- Bellows' translation
- Eysteinn Björnsson's edition and translation
- Guðni Jónsson's edition
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