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Vafthruthnismol

What shall bring the doom  of death to Othin, When the gods to destruction go?"
  Vafthruthnir spake:53.[1] "The wolf shall fell  the father of men, And this shall Vithar avenge;The terrible jaws  shall he tear apart, And so the wolf shall he slay."
  Othin spake:54.[2] "Much have I fared,  much have I found, Much have I got from the gods:What spake Othin himself  in the ears of his son, Ere in the bale-fire he burned?"
  Vafthruthnir spake:55.[3] "No man can tell  what in olden time Thou spak'st in the ears of thy son;With fated mouth  the fall of the gods And mine olden tales have I told;With Othin in knowledge  now have I striven, And ever the wiser thou art."

    Hurler"): Thor. Concerning his death cf. Voluspo, 56. This stanza is quoted by Snorri.

  1. ↑ The wolf: Fenrir; cf. Voluspo, 53 and 54.
  2. ↑ His son: Baldr. Bugge changes lines 3-4 to run: "What did Othin speak  in the ear of Baldr, / When to the bale-fire they bore him?" For Baldr's death cf. Voluspo, 32 and note. The question is, of course, unanswerable save by Othin himself, and so the giant at last recognizes his guest.
  3. ↑ Fated: in stanza 19 Vafthruthnir was rash enough to wager his head against his guest's on the outcome of the contest of wisdom, so he knows that his defeat means his death.

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