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Poetic Edda

2.[1] Forward he went  on the midmost way,He came to a dwelling,  a door on its posts;In did he fare,  on the floor was a fire,Two hoary ones  by the hearth there sat,Ai and Edda,  in olden dress.
3.[2] Rig knew well  wise words to speak,Soon in the midst  of the room he sat,And on either side  the others were.
4.[3] A loaf of bread  did Edda bring,Heavy and thick  and swollen with husks;Forth on the table  she set the fare,And broth for the meal  in a bowl there was.(Calf's flesh boiled  was the best of the dainties.)
5.[4] Rig knew well  wise words to speak,Thence did he rise,  made ready to sleep;Soon in the bed  himself did he lay,And on either side  the others were.
  1. ↑ Most editions make line 5 a part of the stanza, as here, but some indicate it as the sole remnant of one or more stanzas descriptive of Ai and Edda, just as Afi and Amma, Fathir and Mothir, are later described. Ai and Edda: Great-Grandfather and Great-Grandmother; the latter name was responsible for Jakob Grimm's famous guess at the meaning of the word "Edda" as applied to the whole collection (cf. Introduction).
  2. ↑ A line may have been lost from this stanza.
  3. ↑ Line 5 has generally been rejected as spurious.
  4. ↑ The manuscript has lines 1-2 in inverse order, but marks the word "Rig" as the beginning of a stanza.

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