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Svipdagsmol

I. GROUGALDR

Groa's Spell

  Svipdag spake:1.[1] "Wake thee, Groa!  wake, mother good!At the doors of the dead I call thee;Thy son, bethink thee,  thou badst to seekThy help at the hill of death."
  Groa spake:2. "What evil vexes  mine only son,What baleful fate hast thou found,That thou callest thy mother,  who lies in the mould,And the world of the living has left?"
  Svipdag spake:3.[2] "The woman false  whom my father embracedHas brought me a baleful game;For she bade me go forth  where none may fare,And Mengloth the maid to seek."
  Groa spake:4. "Long is the way,  long must thou wander,But long is love as well;Thou mayst find, perchance,  what thou fain wouldst have,If the fates their favor will give."

  1. Svipdag ("Swift Day"): the names of the speakers are lacking in the manuscripts.
  2. The woman: Svipdag's stepmother, who is responsible for

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