Page:Poeticedda00belluoft.djvu/215

This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.

Thrymskvitha

27.[1] Thrym looked 'neath the veil,  for he longed to kiss,But back he leaped  the length of the hall:"Why are so fearful  the eyes of Freyja?Fire, methinks,  from her eyes burns forth."
28.[2] Hard by there sat  the serving-maid wise,So well she answered  the giant's words:"No sleep has Freyja  for eight nights found,So hot was her longing  for Jotunheim."
29.[3] Soon came the giant's  luckless sister,Who feared not to ask  the bridal fee:"From thy hands the rings  of red gold take,If thou wouldst win  my willing love,(My willing love  and welcome glad.)"
30.[4] Then loud spake Thrym,  the giants' leader:"Bring in the hammer  to hallow the bride;On the maiden's knees  let Mjollnir lie,That us both the hand  of Vor may bless."

  1. For clearness I have inserted Thrym's name in place of the pronoun of the original. Fire: the noun is lacking in the manuscript; most editors have inserted it, however, following a late paper manuscript.
  2. In the manuscript the whole stanza is abbreviated to initial letters, except for "sleep," "Freyja," and "found."
  3. Luckless: so the manuscript, but many editors have altered the word "arma" to "aldna," meaning "old," to correspond with line 1 of stanza 32. Line 5 may well be spurious.
  4. Hallow: just what this means is not clear, but there are

[181]