Fjölsvinnsmál
Encyclopedia
Fjölsvinnsmál or The Sayings of Fjölsvinnr is the second of two Old Norse poems commonly published under the title Svipdagsmál
"The Lay of Svipdagr". These poems are found together in several 17th century paper manuscripts with Fjölsvinnsmál. In at least three of these manuscripts, the poems appear in reverse order and are separated by a third eddic poem titled Hyndluljóð. For a long time, the connection between the two poems was not realized, until in 1854 Svend Grundtvig pointed out a connection between the story told in Gróagaldr and the first part of the medieval Scandinavian ballad of Ungen Sveidal/Herr Svedendal/Hertig Silfverdal. Then in 1856, Sophus Bugge noticed that the last part of the ballad corresponded to Fjölsvinnsmál. Bugge wrote about this connection in Forhandlinger i Videnskabs-Selskabet i Christiania 1860ææ, calling the two poems together Svipdagsmál. Subsequent scholars have accepted this title.
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 watchman, Fjölsviðr, who tells him to be gone before asking him his name. Svipdagr conceals it, only revealing it later in the poem.
A game of question and answers ensues, wherein Svipdagr learns that Menglöð lives in the castle guarded by Fjölsviðr, 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 Svipdagr.
The poem is considered to be among the youngest of the Eddic poems. Nevertheless it is cryptic and some stanzas are corrupt.
Svipdagsmál
Svipdagsmál or The Lay of Svipdagr is an Old Norse poem, a part of the Poetic Edda, comprising two poems, The Spell of Gróa and The Lay of Fjölsviðr. The two works are grouped since they have a common narrator, Svipdagr. Moreover they would appear to have a common origin since they are closely...
"The Lay of Svipdagr". These poems are found together in several 17th century paper manuscripts with Fjölsvinnsmál. In at least three of these manuscripts, the poems appear in reverse order and are separated by a third eddic poem titled Hyndluljóð. For a long time, the connection between the two poems was not realized, until in 1854 Svend Grundtvig pointed out a connection between the story told in Gróagaldr and the first part of the medieval Scandinavian ballad of Ungen Sveidal/Herr Svedendal/Hertig Silfverdal. Then in 1856, Sophus Bugge noticed that the last part of the ballad corresponded to Fjölsvinnsmál. Bugge wrote about this connection in Forhandlinger i Videnskabs-Selskabet i Christiania 1860ææ, calling the two poems together Svipdagsmál. Subsequent scholars have accepted this title.
In the first poem, Svipdagr enlists the aid of his dead mother, Gróa
Gróa
In Norse mythology, Gróa is a völva and practitioner of seiðr, the wife of Aurvandil the Bold.-Prose Edda:Gróa appears in the Prose Edda book Skáldskaparmál, in the context of Thor's battle with the jötunn Hrungnir...
, 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 watchman, Fjölsviðr, who tells him to be gone before asking him his name. Svipdagr conceals it, only revealing it later in the poem.
A game of question and answers ensues, wherein Svipdagr learns that Menglöð lives in the castle guarded by Fjölsviðr, 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 Svipdagr.
The poem is considered to be among the youngest of the Eddic poems. Nevertheless it is cryptic and some stanzas are corrupt.