| Völuspá | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Original title | Vǫluspǫ́ |
| Language | Old Norse |
| Meter | Fornyrðislag |
| Full text | |
 Völuspá atWikisource | |
Völuspá (alsoVǫluspá,Vǫlospá, orVǫluspǫ́;Old Norse: 'Prophecy of thevölva, a seeress') is the best known poem of thePoetic Edda. It dates back to the tenth century and tells the story fromNorse Mythology of the creation of the world, itscoming end, and its subsequent rebirth that is related to the audience by avölva addressingOdin. Her name is given twice asHeiðr.[1] The poem is one of the most important primary sources for the study of Norse mythology. Parts of the poem appear in theProse Edda, but the earliest known wholly preserved version of the poem is in theCodex Regius andHauksbók manuscripts.
Many of stanzas ofVöluspá appear first in theProse Edda (composedc. 1220, of which the oldest extant manuscript dates from the beginning of the fourteenth century,c. 1300), in which the stanzas are quoted or paraphrased. The full poem is found in the IcelandicCodex Regius manuscript (c. 1270) and in theHaukr ErlendssonHauksbók Codex (c. 1334); the Codex Regius version is usually taken as a base for editions of the poem.
The order and number of the stanzas varies in the existing sources. Some editors and translators have further rearranged the material.
The poem starts with thevölva requesting silence from "the sons ofHeimdallr" (human beings) and she then asksOdin whether he wants her to recite ancient lore based on her memory. She says she remembersjötnar born in antiquity who reared her, nine worlds, and the "famous tree" (mjǫtviðr mærr, perhapsYggdrasill).
The völva proceeds to recite acreation myth, mentioningYmir and that the world was nothing but the magical void,Ginnungagap,[2] until the sons ofBurr lifted the earth out of the sea.[3] TheÆsir 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 in which the Æsir had plenty of gold and they happily constructed temples and made tools. But then three mighty maidens came fromJötunheimar and the golden age came to an end. The Æsir then created thedwarfs, of whomMótsognir andDurinn are the mightiest.
At this point ten of the poem's stanzas are considered complete. A section then appears in some versions that usually is considered an interpolation. It is entitled the "Dvergatal" ("Catalogue of Dwarfs") and it contains six stanzas with names of dwarves. The antiquity and role of this section in the poem is not clear and sometimes is omitted by editors and translators.
The poem continues with the creations of thefirst humans that are recounted along with a description of the world-tree,Yggdrasil. The völva recalls the burning ofGullveig that led to the first "folk" war, whereHeiðr is a name assumed by Gullveig in connection with the war of the deities,[4] and what occurred in the struggle between the Æsir andVanir. She then recalls the time the goddessFreyja was given to the jötnar, which is commonly interpreted as a reference to themyth of the jötunn builder, as told inGylfaginning 42.
The völva then reveals toOdin that she knows some of his own secrets and that he sacrificed an eye in pursuit of knowledge. She tells him that she knowswhere his eye is hidden and how he gave it up in exchange for knowledge. In several refrains she asks him whether he understands or whether he would like to hear more.
In the Codex Regius version, the völva goes on to describe the slaying ofBaldr, best and fairest of the deities and the enmity ofLoki, and of others. Then the völva prophesies the destruction of the deities where fire and flood overwhelm heaven and earth as the deities fight their final battles with their enemies. This is the "fate of the gods",Ragnarök. She describes the summons to battle, the deaths of many of the deities, including the death of Odin, who is slain byFenrir, the great wolf. The god of thunder and sworn protector of the earth,Thor, faces the world serpentJörmungandr and wins, but Thor is only able to take nine steps afterward before collapsing due to the serpent's venom. Víðarr faces Fenrir and kicks his jaw open before stabbing the wolf in the heart with his spear. The godFreyr fights the giantSurtr, who wields a fiery sword that shines brighter than the sun, and Freyr falls.
Finally, the völva prophesies that a beautiful reborn world will rise from the ashes of death and destruction whereBaldr andHöðr will live again in a new world and where the earth sprouts abundance without sowing seed. The surviving Æsir reunite withHœnir and meet together at the field ofIðavöllr, discussing Jörmungandr, great events of the past, and the runic alphabet. A final stanza describes the sudden appearance of thedragonNidhogg, bearing corpses in his wings, after which the völva emerges from her trance.
Völuspá is one of the most discussed poems of thePoetic Edda and dates to the tenth century, the century before theChristianization of Iceland.[5] In March 2018, a team of medieval historians and scientists from the University of Cambridge suggested that the Icelandic poem, Vǫluspá, that is estimated to date from 961 was a roughly contemporary chronicle of the eruption of the volcanoEldgjá in 939.[6] These researchers suggested that the dramatic imagery of the Eldgjá eruption was purposefully invoked in order to accelerate the Christianization of Iceland.
Some scholars hold that there are Christian influences in the text, emphasizing parallels with theSibylline Prophecies.[7][8] Henry Adams Bellows stated in 1936 that the author ofVöluspá would have had knowledge of Christianity and infused it into the poem. Bellows dates the poem to the tenth century that was a transitional period between paganism and Christianity and the two religions would have co-existed before Christianity was declared the official religion of Iceland and after which the old paganism was tolerated if practiced in private. He suggests that this infusion allowed the pagan traditions to survive to an extent in Iceland, unlike in mainlandScandinavia.[9] Several researchers have suggested that the entireDvergatal section and references to the "mighty one who rules over all" are later insertions.[5] Although some have identified the latter figure with Jesus, Bellows thought this was not necessarily the case.[9]
Texts on Wikisource: