The Prose Edda (28 page)

Uppsala
(
Uppsalir
), the seat of the ancient Swedish kings: S9

Urd
(
Urðr
; Fate or Destiny), a norn:
15

Urd, Well of
(
Urðarbrunnr
; Well of Destiny or Fate):
15
;
16
, in verse and prose;
17

Utgard
(
útgardr
; Outer Enclosure):
45
, Thor travels there

Utgarda-Loki
(
útgarðaloki
; Loki of the Outlying Regions), a giant king:
45
, concerning his retainers;
46
, puts Thor and his companions to tests;
47
, reveals deceptions to Thor; 48.
See
Skrymir

Vaeni
(
Væni
), a lake, probably Vänern in Sweden: S9

Vafthrudnir
(
Vafprúðnir
; Mighty Weaver, possibly Strong in Difficult Riddles), giant:
5

Vafud
(
Váfudr
; Dangling One?), name of Odin:
20

Vak
(
Vakr
; Alert or Vigilant One), name of Odin:
20

Valaskjalf
(
Valaskjálf
), Odin's hall:
17

Val-Father
(
Valföðr
; Father of the Slain), name of Odin:
15
, in a verse;
20

Valhalla
(
Valhöll
; Hall of the Slain), Odin's hall: 2, with reference to its being roofed with shields;
20
, Odin mans it with the Einherjar;
36
, the valkyries serve mead in it;
38
, with reference to the feeding of the host of Odin's champions;
39
, description of creatures of;
40
, the doors of;
41
, the daily battles of;
42
;
49
; S3

Vali
(
Váli
), dwarf:
14

Vali
(
Váli
), son of Loki:
50
, kills his brother when the Æsir turn him into a wolf

Vali
or
Ali
(
Váli
or
áli
), son of Odin and Rind:
30
;
53
, will survive Ragnarok; S1

Valkyrie
(
Valkyrja Valkyrjur
plural; Chooser of the Slain):
36
, sent by Odin to battle where they choose the slain for Valhalla;
49
, with Odin at Baldr's funeral; S7, Brynhild was a valkyrie; S10

Van
(
Ván
or
Vón
; Hope or Expectation), river from the Fenriswolf's saliva:
34

Vanaheim
(
Vanaheimar
; Home of the Vanir), place where Njord was brought up:
23

Vanir, the
(
Vanir
), a race of gods:
23
, give Njord to the Æsir as a hostage;
35
, Freyja the goddess of; S2, make a truce with the Æsir

Var
(
Vár
; Beloved), goddess:
35

Vartari
(
Vartari
), thong used to sew Loki's lips: S5

Vasad
(
Vásad
or
VÁsudr
; Damp Cold, Sleety), father of Vindloni, the father of Winter:
19

Ve
(
Vé
), son of Bor and Bestla, brother of Odin: 6
Vedrfolnir (
Vedrfö
lnir; Wind Bleached), hawk sitting between the eyes of the eagle in the branches of Yggdrasil:
16

Veggdegg
(
Veggdegg
), son of Odin ruling over East Saxland: P4

Vegsvinn
(
Vegsvinn
; Way Swift), in some manuscripts, river flowing from Hvergelmir:
39

Veratyr
(
Veratýr
; God of Men), name of Odin:
20

Verdandi
(
Verðandi
; Becoming or Being), norn:
15

Veseti
(
Véseti
), one of Hrolf Kraki's berserkers: S9

Vestri
(
Vestri
).
See
West

Vid
(
Víð
; Broad), river flowing from Hvergelmir:
4
;
39

Vidar
(
Víðarr
; Wide Reigner, called the Silent,
Inn Pögli
), a god, Odin's son:
29
;
51
, his shoe kills Fenrir at Ragnarok;
53
, survives Ragnarok; S1; S4, his mother; S6, visits Ægir

Vidblain
(
Víðbláinn
; Wide Blue), third heaven:
17

Vidfinn
(
Viðfinnr
; Finn of the Woods), father of Bil and Hjuki:
11

Vidolf
(
Viðólfr
; Forest Wolf), ancestor of seeresses:
5
, in a verse

Vidrir
(
Viðrir
; Ruler of Weather):
3
, one of the twelve names of Odin

Vidur
(
Viðurr
), name of Odin:
20

Vig
(
Vigr
), dwarf:
14

Vigrid
(
Vígríðr
; Battle Plain), plain:
51
, site of Ragnarok

Vili
(
Vili
), son of Bor and Bestla, brother of Odin:
6

Vilmeid
(
Vilmeiðr
), ancestor of wizards:
5
, in a verse

Vimur
(
Vimur
), river: S4, Thor crosses it

Vin
(
Vin
), a river:
39

Vina
(
Vína
), a river:
39

Vindalf
(
Vindálfr
; Wind Elf), dwarf:
14

Vindloni
or
Vindsval
(
Vindlóni
or
Vindsvalr
; Wind Chill), father of Winter:
19

Vingenir
(
Vingenir
), son of Vingethor: P3

Vingethor
(
Vingepórr
), son of Einridi: P3

Vingnir
(
Vingnir
), a name for Thor:
53
, in a verse

Vingolf
(
Vingólf
; Friendly Quarters):
3
, connected with Gimle;
14
, is the sanctuary of the goddesses;
20
, Odin mans it with the Einherjar

Virpir
(
Virpir
), dwarf:
14

Vitr
(
Vitr
; Wise), dwarf:
14

Vitrgils
(
Vitrgils
), son of Veggdegg: P4

Vitta
(
Vitta
), son of Vitrgils: P4

Voden
(
Voden
), son of Friallaf, Odin: P3

Vogg
(
Vöggr
), a small boy: S9, gives King Hrolf Kraki his name

Volsung
(
Völsungr
), a legendary hero: S7, father of Sigmund.
See
Volsungs

Volsungs
(
Völsungar
), descendants of Volsung: S7; P4, family originating in France.
See
Sigurd
or
Volsung

Voluspa
(
Völuspá
). See
Sibyl's Prophecy
and
Sibyl's Prophecy, The Shorter

Vor
(
Vör
; Careful), goddess:
35

Vott
(
Vöttr
), one of Hrolf Kraki's berserkers: S9

West
(
Vestri
), dwarf holding up a corner of the sky formed out of Ymir's skull:
8
;
14

Westphalia
(
Vestfal
): P4, is ruled over by Beldegg, son of Odin

Wigg
(
Wigg
), son of Freovin: P4

Winter
(
Vetr
):
19

World of the Dark Elves
(
Svartálfaheimr
):
34
, Skirnir is sent there; S7, Loki travels there.
See
Elves

World Tree
.
See
Yggdrasil

Ygg
(
Yggr
; Terrible One), Odin:
20

Yggdrasil
(
Yggdrasill
; Ygg's Horse), the Ash Tree or the World Tree:
15
, a description of;
16
, the creatures of;
41
, in a verse;
51
, will tremble at Ragnarok.
See
Lerad

Ylg
(
Ylgr
; Swelling), river flowing from Hvergelmir:
4

Ymir
(
Ymir
), primeval giant:
5
, is formed in Ginnungagap, a male and female form under his left arm and one of his legs begets a son with the other, the frost giants coming into being;
6
, lives off Audhumla's milk;
7
, killed by the sons of Bor;
8
, the world is created from his body, the wall of Midgard is formed from his eyebrows (or eyelashes);
14
, dwarves find life in his flesh

Ynglings
(
Ynglingar
), descendants of Yngvi: P5

Yngvi
(
Yngvi
), son of Odin, rules over Sweden after Odin; is progenitor of the Ynglings: P5

Yrsa
(
Yrsa
, the name Yrsa, unusual in medieval Norse narrative, may be related to Latin
ursa
(she bear)), Hrolf Kraki's mother and his sister: S9

Zealand
(
Selund
).
See
Sjaelland

1.
the region called Asia
: The concept of Asia included the Middle East as well as the Far East.

1.
all manner of berserkers
: Ferocious and feared warriors, they may have been members of cults connected with Odin in his capacity as god of warriors.

2.
Frigida, we call Frigg
: ‘Frigida' may be a play on the Latin word for cold. The introduction of such classical learning is characteristic of the
Prologue
.

1.
Sigtun
: An old trading town near modern-day Stockholm.

2.
Haleygjatal
:
Háleygjatal
(
The Helgeland Genealogies
) was a
tal
or poetic list of the jarls of Halogaland, the far northern section of Norway. Composed in the tenth century by the Norwegian poet Eyvind Skaldaspillir,
Haleygjatal
traced the ancestry of Jarl Hakon of Hlade (d. 995) back to distant mythical times. Fragments of the poem are preserved in poetic passages in
Skaldskaparmal
and in different versions of the kings' sagas.

1.
Sjaelland
: The large island in Denmark.

2.
Logrinn [the Lake]
: An old name for Lake Mälar in Sweden.

1.
Gylfi Encounters… Æsir
: The preceding first short story of Gefjun has long been considered to be a later addition to the original manuscript. If this is so,
Gylfaginning
began at this point with
chapter 2
.

2.
conjured up visual illusions
: The text employs the word
sjónhverfing
(pl.
sjónhverfingar
), with the sense of an optical illusion. In medieval Iceland
sjónhverfing
was understood to be the result of spells, part of a popular form of magic called
galdr.

3.
Thjodolf of Hvin
: Thjodolf of Hvin or Hvinir was a Norwegian skald in the court of King Harald Fairhair around the year 900. He is credited with composing
Ynglingatal
(
The Counting of the Ynglings
), a poem treating mythological subjects and offering a genealogy of the kings of Sweden.

4.
he was called High… was called Third
: High (
Hár
), Just-as-High (
Jafnhár
) and Third (
Priði
) are names for Odin.

1.
Hel
: The world of the dead, a pre-Christian concept.

2.
Niflhel
:
Nifl
, an old word, means mist, fog and darkness. At the time the
Edda
was written, the word was already obsolete but remained in many mythological compounds, as here in
Niflhel
(Dark Hel), a place seemingly different from
Hel
, where the worst of men underwent a kind of second death. Some manuscripts confuse Niflhel with Niflheim, the dark world of freezing mists.

1.
Ginnungagap
: The great void before creation.

2.
Muspell
: The text sometimes uses the shortened name
Muspell
for
Muspellsheim
(the world or region of Muspell). The name is related to the Old High German and Old Saxon
muspelli
,
muspille
and
muspelle.
These names are found in Christian poems and carry the meaning of doomsday, that is, the end of the world.