Hyndluljóð or Lay of Hyndla is an Old Norse poem

Old Norse poetry

Old Norse poetry encompasses a range of verse forms written in Old Norse, during the period from the 8th century to as late as the far end of the 13th century...

 often considered a part of the Poetic Edda

Poetic Edda

The Poetic Edda is a collection of Old Norse poems primarily preserved in the Icelandic mediaeval manuscript Codex Regius. Along with Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, the Poetic Edda is the most important extant source on Norse mythology and Germanic heroic legends, and from the early 19th century...

. It is preserved in its entirety only in Flateyjarbók

Flateyjarbók

The Flatey Book, is an important medieval Icelandic manuscript. It is also known as GkS 1005 fol. and by the Latin name Codex Flateyensis.- Description :...

but some stanzas are also quoted in the Prose Edda

Prose Edda

The Prose Edda, also known as the Younger Edda, Snorri's Edda or simply Edda, is an Icelandic collection of four sections interspersed with excerpts from earlier skaldic and Eddic poetry containing tales from Nordic mythology...

where they are said to come from Völuspá hin skamma

Völuspá hin skamma

Völuspá hin skamma, Völuspá the Less or the Short Völuspá, is an Old Norse poem which survives as a handful of stanzas in Hyndluljóð, in the Poetic Edda, and as one stanza in the Gylfaginning section of Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda...

.

In the poem, the goddess Freyja meets the völva

Völva

A vǫlva or völva is a shamanic seeress in Norse paganism, and a recurring motif in Norse mythology....

 Hyndla and they ride together towards Valhalla

Valhalla

In Norse mythology, Valhalla is a majestic, enormous hall located in Asgard, ruled over by the god Odin. Chosen by Odin, half of those that die in combat travel to Valhalla upon death, led by valkyries, while the other half go to the goddess Freyja's field Fólkvangr...

. Freyja rides on her boar Hildisvíni

Hildisvini

In Norse mythology, Hildisvíni is Freyja's boar which she rides when not using her cat-drawn chariot.It is also said to be Freyja's human lover, Ottar, in disguise, and is the reason why Loki consistently accuses her of being "wanton" by riding her lover in public.It was also the helmet of Áli...

 and Hyndla on a wolf. Their mission is to find out the pedigree

Pedigree chart

A pedigree chart is a diagram that shows the occurrence and appearance or phenotypes of a particular gene or organism and its ancestors from one generation to the next, most commonly humans, show dogs, and race horses....

 of Óttarr

Óttar (mythology)

In Norse Mythology, Óttar, also known as Óttar the Simple, is a protégé of the goddess Freyja. He appeared in Hyndluljóð , a poem in the Poetic Edda. In this tale, Óttar is said to be very pious to the goddesses. He built a shrine of stones, a hörgr, and on it made many offerings to Freyja...

 so that he can touch his inheritance, and the lay consists mostly of Hyndla reciting a number of names from Óttarr's ancestry. The poem may be a twelfth-century work.

English translations

• Hyndluljoth Translation and commentary by Henry Adams Bellows
  Henry Adams Bellows
  Henry Adams Bellows was a lawyer, state legislator, and jurist born in Rockingham, Vermont. He was elected to the New Hampshire House of Representatives from Littleton, New Hampshire in 1839. He was subsequently elected again to the House from Concord, New Hampshire in 1856–1857, and served as...
  
  
• Hyndluljóð Translation by W. H. Auden
  W. H. Auden
  Wystan Hugh Auden , who published as W. H. Auden, was an Anglo-American poet,The first definition of "Anglo-American" in the OED is: "Of, belonging to, or involving both England and America." See also the definition "English in origin or birth, American by settlement or citizenship" in See also...
  
   and P. B. Taylor

Old Norse editions

• Hyndluljóð Sophus Bugge
  Sophus Bugge
  Sophus Bugge was a noted Norwegian philologist and linguist. His scientific work was directed to the study of runic inscriptions and Norse philology. Bugge is best known for his theories and his work on the runic alphabet and the Poetic Edda and Prose Edda. -Background:Elseus Sophus Bugge was...
  
  's edition of the manuscript text
• Hyndluljóð Guðni Jónsson's edition with normalized spelling

Parallel text

• Henry Adams Bellows' translation in parallel with Guðni Jónsson's Old Norse text