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Poetic Edda

29.[1] Kormt and Ormt  and the Kerlaugs twainShall Thor each day wade through,(When dooms to give  he forth shall goTo the ash-tree Yggdrasil;)For heaven's bridge  burns all in flame,And the sacred waters seethe.
30.[2] Glath and Gyllir,  Gler and Skeithbrimir,Silfrintopp and Sinir,Gisl and Falhofnir,  Golltopp and Lettfeti,On these steeds the gods shall goWhen dooms to give  each day they rideTo the ash-tree Yggdrasil.

  1. This stanza looks as though it originally had had nothing to do with the two preceding it. Snorri quotes it in his description of the three roots of Yggdrasil, and the three springs beneath them. "The third root of the ash stands in heaven and beneath this root is a spring which is very holy, and is called Urth's well." (Cf. Voluspo, 19) "There the gods have their judgment-seat, and thither they ride each day over Bifrost, which is also called the Gods' Bridge." Thor has to go on foot in the last days of the destruction, when the bridge is burning. Another interpretation, however, is that when Thor leaves the heavens (i.e., when a thunder-storm is over) the rainbow-bridge becomes hot in the sun. Nothing more is known of the rivers named in this stanza. Lines 3-4 are almost certainly interpolated from stanza 30.
  2. This stanza, again possibly an interpolation, is closely paraphrased by Snorri following the passage quoted in the previous note. Glath ("Joyous"): identified in the Skaldskaparmal with Skinfaxi, the horse of the day; cf. Vafthruthnismol, 12. Gyllir: "Golden." Gler: "Shining." Skeithbrimir: "Swift-Going." Silfrintopp: "Silver-Topped." Sinir: "Sinewy." Gisl: the meaning is doubtful; Gering suggests "Gleaming." Falhofnir:

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