Völundarkviða

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Völundr and his brothers marry valkyries who dress in swan skins. They turn out to be hard to keep.
Völundr and his brothers marry valkyries who dress in swan skins. They turn out to be hard to keep.

Völundarkviða (Völundr's poem, the name can be anglicized as Völundarkvitha, Völundarkvidha, Völundarkvida, Volundarkvitha, Volundarkvidha or Volundarkvida) is one of the mythological poems of the Poetic Edda.

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[edit] Synopsis

The poem relates the story of the artisan Völundr who is called "king of the elves" in the poem. He is also mentioned as one of the three sons of the king of the Finns in the poem. His wife, a valkyrie, abandons him and he is later captured by Níðuðr, a Swedish petty king greedy for his gold. Völundr is hamstrung and put to work making artifacts for the king. Eventually he finds means of revenge and escape. He kills Niðuðr's sons, impregnates his daughter and then flies away laughing.

The poem is appreciated for its evocative images.

In the night went men,
in studded corslets,
their shields glistened
in the waning moon. Völundarkviða 6, Thorpe's translation
Völund's smithy in the centre, Nidud's daughter to the left, and Nidud's dead sons hidden to the right of the smithy. Between the girl and the smithy, Völund can be seen in an eagle fetch flying away. From the Ardre image stone VIII.
Völund's smithy in the centre, Nidud's daughter to the left, and Nidud's dead sons hidden to the right of the smithy. Between the girl and the smithy, Völund can be seen in an eagle fetch flying away. From the Ardre image stone VIII.

The Völundr myth appears to have been widespread among the Germanic peoples. It is also related in the Þiðrekssaga af Bern (Velents þáttr smiðs) and it is alluded to in the Old English poem The Lament of Deor. It is moreover depicted on a panel of the 7th century Anglo-Saxon Franks Casket and on the 8th century Gotlandic Ardre image stone VIII.


The poem is preserved in its entirety among the mythological poems of the Codex Regius and the beginning of the prose prologue is also found in the AM 748 I 4to fragment.

See also: Weyland, Agilaz.

[edit] References

Dronke, Ursula (Ed. & trans.) (1997). The Poetic Edda, vol. II, Mythological Poems. Oxford: Clarendeon. ISBN 0198111819.

Thorpe, Benjamin. (Trans.). (1866). Edda Sæmundar Hinns Froða: The Edda Of Sæmund The Learned. (2 vols.) London: Trübner & Co. 1866. (HTML version transcribed by Ari Odhinnsen available at Northvegr: Lore: Poetic Edda - Thorpe Trans.) Reprinted 1906 as "The Elder Eddas of Saemund" in Rasmus B. Anderson & J. W. Buel (Eds.) The Elder Eddas of Saemund Sigfusson. Tr. from the original Old Norse text into English by Benjamin Thorpe, and The Younger Eddas of Snorre Sturleson Tr. from the original Old Norse text into English by I. A. Blackwell (pp. 1–255). Norrœna, the history and romance of northern Europe. London, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Berlin, New York: Norrœna Society. (A searchable graphic image version of this text requiring DjVu plugin is available at University of Georgia Libraries: Facsimile Books and Periodicals: The Elder Eddas and the Younger Eddas.)

[edit] External links

[edit] English translations

[edit] Old Norse editions

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