Suttungr

Then on the ninth night, when the fires around him had been lighted, Odin lifted up his voice and began to sing a song.

His song became louder and louder and the king and the king's friends and the servants of the king's house had to stand still and hearken to it Odin sang about Geirrod the king how the gods had protected him giving him strength and skill and how instead of making a noble use of that strength and skill he had made himself like one of the wild beasts then he sang of how the vengeance of the gods was about to fall on this ignoble king the flames died down and Geirrod and his friends saw before them not a friendless wanderer but one who looked more kingly than any king of the earth the chains fell down from his body and he advanced toward the evil company then Geirrod rushed upon him with his sword in hand to kill him the sword struck but Odin remained unhurt thy life runs out the gods they are wroth with thee draw near if thou canst Odin shalt thou see so Odin sang and in fear of his terrible gaze Geirrod and his company shrank away and as they shrank away they were changed into beasts into the wolves that range the forests and Agnar came forward and him Odin declared to be king all the folk were glad when Agnar came to rule over them for they had been oppressed by Geirrod in his cruel reign and Agnar was not only kind but he was strong and victorious in his rule end of section nine section ten of the children of Odin this LibriVox recording is in the public domain recording by Elizabeth Klett the children of Odin the book of northern myths by Pauric Colum part two chapter three Odin wins for men the magic mead it was the dwarfs who brewed the magic mead and it was the giants who hid it away but it was Odin who brought it from the place where it was hidden and gave it to the sons of men those who drank of the magic mead became very wise and not only that but they could put their wisdom to such beautiful words that every one who heard would love and remember it the dwarfs brewed the magic mead through cruelty and villainy they made it out of the blood of a man the man was Kvasir the poet he had wisdom and he had such beautiful words with it that what he said was loved and remembered by all the dwarfs brought Kvasir down into their caverns and they killed him there now they said we have Kvasir's blood and Kvasir's wisdom no one else will have his wisdom but us they poured the blood into three jars and they mixed it with honey and from it they brewed the magic mead having killed a man the dwarfs became more and more bold they came out of their caverns and went up and down through Midgard the world of men they went into Jotunheim and began to play their evil tricks on the most harmless of the giants they came upon one giant who was very simple Gilling was his name they persuaded Gilling to row them out to sea in a boat then the two most cunning of the dwarfs Galar and Fialar steered the boat onto a rock the boat split Gilling who could not swim was drowned the dwarfs clambered up on pieces of the boat and came safely ashore they were so delighted with their evil tricks that they wanted to play some more of them Galar and Fialar then thought of a new piece of mischief they might do they led their band of dwarfs to Gilling's house and screamed out to his wife that Gilling was dead the giant's wife began to weep and lament at last she rushed out of the house weeping and clapping her hands now Galar and Fialar had clambered up on the lintel of the house and as she came running out they cast a millstone on her head it struck her and Gilling's wife fell down dead more and more the dwarfs were delighted at the destruction they were making they were so insolent now that they made up songs and sang them songs that were all a boast of how they had killed Kvasir the poet and Gilling the giant and Gilling's wife they stayed around Jotunheim tormenting all whom they were able to torment and flattering themselves that they were great and strong they stayed too long however Suttung Gilling's brother tracked them down and captured them Suttung was not harmless and simple like Gilling his brother he was cunning and he was covetous once they were in his hand the dwarfs had no chance of making an escape he took them and left them on a rock in the sea a rock that the tide would cover the giant stood up in the water taller than the rock and the tide as it came in did not rise above his knees he stood there watching the dwarfs as the water rose up round them and they became more and more terrified oh take us off the rock good Suttung they cried out to him take us off the rock and we will give you gold and jewels take us off the rock and we will give you a necklace as beautiful as Brisingamen so they cried out to him but the giant Suttung only laughed at them he had no need of gold or jewels then Fialar and Galar cried out take us off the rock and we will give you the jars of the magic mead we have brewed the magic mead said Suttung this is something that no one else has it would be well to get it for it might help us in the battle against the gods yes i will get the magic mead from them he took the band of dwarfs off the rock but he held Galar and Fialar their chiefs while the others went into their caverns and brought up the jars of the magic mead Suttung took the mead and brought it to a cavern in a mountain near his dwelling And thus it happened that the magic mead brewed by the dwarfs through cruelty and villainy came into the hands of the giants and the story now tells how Odin, the eldest of the gods at that time in the world as Vegtam the Wanderer took the magic mead out of Suttung's possession and brought it into the world of men.

Now Suttung had a daughter named Gunlod and she by her goodness and her beauty was like Gerda and Skadi the giant maids whom the dwellers in Asgard favored.

Suttung that he might have a guardian for the magic mead enchanted Gunlod turning her from a beautiful giant maiden into a witch with long teeth and sharp nails.

He shut her into the cavern where the jars of the magic mead were hidden.

Odin heard of the death of Kvasir whom he honored above all men.

The dwarfs who slew him he had closed up in their caverns so that they were never again able to come out into the world of men and then he set out to get the magic mead that he might give it to men so that tasting it they would have wisdom and words would be at their command that would make wisdom loved and remembered.

How Odin won the magic mead out of the rock-covered cavern where Suttung had hidden it and how he broke the enchantment that lay upon Gunlod Suttung's daughter is a story often told around the hearths of men.

but we conceal it in secret terms or in poesy in this way that we call it speech or word or talk of these giants then said egir i deem that well concealed in secret terms and again said egir whence did this art which ye call poesy derive its beginnings braggy answered these were the beginnings thereof the gods had a dispute with the folk which are called vanir and they appointed a peace meeting between them and established peace in this way they each went to a vat and spat their spittle therein then at parting the gods took that peace token and would not let it perish but shaped thereof a man this man is called kvasir and he was so wise that none could question him concerning anything but that he knew the solution he went up and down the earth to give instruction to men and when he came upon invitation to the abode of certain dwarfs fjalar and galar they called him into privy converse with them and killed him letting his blood run into two vats and a kettle the kettle is called odrerir and the vats sun and bodin they blended honey with the blood and the outcome was that mead by the virtue of which he who drinks becomes a scald or scholar the dwarfs reported to the isir that kvasir had choked on his own shrewdness since there was none so wise there as to be able to question his wisdom then these dwarfs invited the giant who is called gilinger to visit them and his wife with him next the dwarfs invited gilinger to row upon the sea with them but when they had gone out from the land the dwarfs rowed into the breakers and capsized the boat gilinger was unable to swim and he perished but the dwarfs righted their boat and rowed to land they reported this accident to his wife but she took it grievously and wept aloud then fjalar asked her whether it would ease her heart if she should look out upon the sea at the spot where he had perished and she desired it then he spoke softly to galar his brother bidding him go up over the doorway when she should go out and let a millstone fall on her head saying that her weeping grew wearisome to him and even so he did now when the giant suttunger gilinger's son learned of this he went over and took the dwarfs and carried them out to sea and set them on a reef which was covered at high tide they besought suttunger to give them respite of their lives and as the price of reconciliation offered him the precious mead in satisfaction of his father's death and that became a means of reconciliation between them suttunger carried the mead home and concealed it in the place called nitbjorg placing his daughter gunnlud there to watch over it because of this we call poesy kvasir's blood or dwarf's drink or fil or any kind of liquid of odrerir or of bodin or of sun or a ferryboat of dwarfs since this mead brought them life ransom from the reef or suttunger's mead or liquor of nitbjorg then egir said these seem to me dark sayings to call poesy by these names but how did ye isir come at suttunger's mead braggy answered that tale runs thus odin departed from home and came to a certain place where nine thralls were mowing hay he asked if they desired him to whet their scythes and they assented then he took a hone from his belt and whetted the scythes it seemed to them that the scythes cut better by far and they asked that the hone be sold them but he put such a value on it that whoso desired to buy must give a considerable price nonetheless all said that they would agree and prayed him to sell it to them he cast the hone up into the air but since all wished to lay their hands on it they became so intermingled with one another that each struck with his scythe against the other's neck odin sought a night's lodging with the giant who is called baugi suttunger's brother baugi bewailed his husbandry saying that his nine thralls had killed one another and declared that he had no hope of workmen odin called himself bulverker in baugi's presence he offered to undertake nine men's work for baugi and demanded for his wages one drink of suttunger's mead baugi declared that he had no control whatever over the mead and said that suttunger was determined to have it to himself but promised to go with bulverker and try if they might get the mead during the summer bulverker accomplished nine men's work for baugi but when winter came he asked baugi for his hire then they both set out for suttunger's baugi told suttunger his brother of his bargain with bulverker but suttunger flatly refused them a single drop of the mead and bulverker made suggestion to baugi that they try certain wiles if perchance they might find means to get at the mead and baugi agreed readily thereupon bulverker drew out the auger called rati saying that baugi must bore the rock if the auger cut he did so at last baugi said that the rock was bored through but bulverker blew into the auger hole and the chips flew up at him then he discovered that baugi would have deceived him and he bade him bore through the rock baugi bored anew and when bulverker blew a second time then the chips were blown in by the blast then bulverker turned himself into a serpent and crawled into the auger hole but baugi thrust at him from behind with the auger and missed him bulverker proceeded to the place where gunnlud was and lay with her three nights and then she gave him leave to drink three draughts of the mead in the first draught he drank every drop out of odrerir and in the second he emptied bodin and in the third sun and then he had all the mead Then he turned himself into the shape of an eagle and flew as furiously as he could.

But when Suttungr saw the eagle's flight, he too assumed the fashion of an eagle and flew after him.

When the Aesir saw Odin flying, straightway they set out their vats in the court, and when Odin came into Asgard, he spat up the mead into the vats.

Nevertheless he came so near to being caught by Suttungr that he sent some mead backwards, and no heed was taken of this.

Whosoever would might have that, and we call that the poetaster's part.

But Odin gave the mead of Suttungr to the Aesir, and to those men who possess the ability to compose.

Therefore we call poesy Odin's booty and find, and his drink and gift, and the drink of the Aesir.

Then said Aegir, In how many ways are the terms of skaldship variously phrased? Or how many are the essential elements of the skaldic art? Then Bragi answered, The elements into which all poesy is divided are two.