Freyr, the son of Njordhr, one day had seated himself on Hlidhskjalf and looked over all the worlds. Then saw he in the world of Etins a fair maiden as she went from the hall of her father to her bower. And that sight made him heavy of heart. Skirnir was the name of Freyr's servitor. Njordhr bade him to make Freyr speak out. Then Skadi said:
1.
Arise, Skirnir,
ride now swiftly
to Frey, my son,
And ask him this:
with whom is the wise one
So angry, so sad at heart?Skirnir said:
2.
A grim answer
I shall get, Skadi,
I fear, from Frey, your son,
If I ask him this:
at whom is the wise one
So angry, so sad at heart?3.
Tell me, Frey,
first of the gods,
That which I long to learn:
Why do you sit and sulk
in your hall alone,
my lord, all day?Freyr said:
4.
Why should I tell you
what is the cause
Of the great grief that casts
Gloom on my mind,
though the Glory of Elves
Lights up the daytime hours.Skirnir said:
5.
No grief, Prince,
is so great that you
may not tell it to me:
In the days of our youth
we were young together,
Each can trust the other.Freyr said:
6.
I saw a girl
in Gymir's courts,
A girl for whose love I long:
Air and water
took on a radiance
From the light of her lovely arms.7.
As dear to no man
in days past
Was maid as she is to me:
But no elf, no god,
will grant my prayer
That I may lie with her.Skirnir said:
8.
Give me a mare
that will gallop through the wall of flickering flame,
And the sword
that slays by itself
when battle is joined
with the race of giants.Freyr said:
9.
I will give you a mare
that will gallop through the wall of flickering flame,
And the sword
that slays by itself
if brave the warrior be who wields it.Skirnir said:
10.
Night has fallen:
now we must ride
Over the misty mountains,
The fells of the troll-folk;
We shall both arrive
or both fall into
The hands of the horrible giant.
Skirnir rode to Jotunheimr and to Gymir's hall. There were savage dogs tied to the gate of the enclosure about Gerdh's bower. Skirnir hailed a shepherd sitting upon a hill and said:
11.
Hail, herdsman, howe-watcher,
Looking this way and that!
By what means
can I speak,
despite his hounds,
With Gymir's daughter, Gerd.The herdsman said:
12.
Are you doomed to death,
or dead already?
. . . . . . . . . .
Barred shall you ever be
from speech
With Gymir's daughter, Gerd.Skirnir said:
13.
To stake life
on the luck of the dice
Is better than to be a coward:
The day of my death
is by Fate
my time is fixed.Gerd said:
14.
What is the noise which now I hear,
That din
throughout our halls?
Earth trembles,
everything shakes
In the wide garths of Gymir.Ambatt said:
15.
A man on a mare:
he dismounts and leads her
Unbridled to graze the grass.Gerd said:
16.
Go, let him in;
bid him enter our hall
And drink a draught of mead,
Though my heart forebodes
that my brother's killer
Darkens the door with his shadow.17.
Are you one of the elves,
are you one of the gods,
Or one of the wise Vanes?
Why have you ridden
through wildfire
Hither to visit our halls?Skirnir said:
18.
I am not an elf,
I am not a god,
Nor one of the wise Vanes,
Though well I have ridden
through wildfire
Hither to visit your halls.19.
Eleven apples,
all of gold,
Lo, I will give them you, Gerd,
To look on Freyr
with friendly eyes,
Call him your dearest dear.Gerd said:
20.
No, your apples
I will never take
At any wooer's wish,
Nor look on Freyr
with friendly eyes,
Nor call him my dearest dear.Skirnir said:
21.
This bracelet I'll give you,
that was burned on the pyre
Of Baldur, Odin's boy:
It drops eight
of equal thickness
Every ninth night.Gerd said:
22.
I refuse the bracelet,
though burned on the pyre
Of Baldur, Odin's boy:
I need no gold
in Gymir's court;
His wealth is at my command.Skirnir said:
23.
Do you see this sword,
slender, inwrought,
This sword I hold in my hand?
I will hack your head
from your haughty neck
Unless you pledge your love.Gerd said:
24.
No threat of force
shall frighten me
To yield to a wooer's wish:
If Gymir,
my father,
finds you here,
Short shrift you will get.Skirnir said:
25.
Do you see this sword,
slender, inwrought,
This sword I hold in my hand?
Beneath its edge
will the old one kneel,
It dooms your father to die.26.
With a taming wand
I shall teach you swiftly,
Make you, maiden, obey.
You shall be sent
where no son of man
Or god shall see you again,27.
With earth behind you,
on an eagle's mound,
Facing Hel,
for ever sit.
Fouler to you
shall food look
Than the snake seems to warriors.28.
A sight you shall become
ere you come out.
Hrimnir shall leer at you,
everyone jeer at you,
A more famous figure you'll be
Than the gods' watchman
when you gape through the fence.29.
May error and terror,
blotches and blains,
Grow on you, grief with tears.
Crouch low
while the curse I pronounce,
Heavy torment
and twofold grief.30.
Orcs shall pinch you
the whole day long
In the grim garths of the giants,
To the halls of Frost
You shall creep every day,
crawl without choice,
Without any hope of choice
Lamentation not laughter know,
Dejection instead of joy.31.
With three-headed trolls
shall your time be spent,
Never shall a man come near you,
May your senses be numbed,
your sadness weep,
May you be as the thistle,
thoughtlessly crushed
Underfoot at the gate of the garth.32.
To the woods I went,
through the wet trees,
For a spell-binding branch,
And a fitting branch I found.33.
Odin is angry,
angry is Thor,
All the gods shall hate you
Base maiden,
you have brought on yourself
The anger of all the gods.34.
Hear me, giants,
hear me frost-trolls,
Sons of Suttung,
hear me,
What I forebode,
what I forbid,
Joy of man to this maid,
Love of man to this maid.35.
Hrimgrimir shall have you,
the hideous troll,
Beside the doors of the dead,
Under the tree-roots
ugly scullions
Pour you the urine of goats;
Nothing else
shall you ever drink,
Never what you wish,
Ever what I wish.36.
I score troll-runes,
then I score three letters,
Filth, frenzy, lust:
I can score them off
as I score them on,
If I find sufficient cause.Gerd said:
37.
You have conquered, warrior.
This cup I pledge you,
Full of foaming mead,
Little did I dream
my love would ever
Be vowed to a son of the Vanes.Skirnir said:
38.
More must I know
for the message I bear
When I ride from Gymir's garth.
Where will you meet,
when will you give
Yourself to the Son of Njörd?Gerd said:
39.
In the woods of Barn
which we both know,
A peaceful, secluded place,
After nine nights
to Njörd's Son
Gerd will give herself.
Then rode Skirnir home. Freyr stood without and greeted him and asked him what tidings he brought:
40.
Answer me, Skirnir,
ere you dismount
Or step a foot further:
Is it joyful news
from Gianthome
You bring with you or bad?Skirnir said:
41.
In the woods of Barri
which we both know,
A peaceful, secluded place,
After nine nights
to Njord's Son
Gerd will give herself.Freyr said:
42.
Long is one night,
longer are two,
Endless the thought of three.
Many a month
has moved more swiftly
Than this half of a bridal eve.