Thrymskvitha / Þrymskviða / The Lay of Thrym
本页收录 Henry Adams Bellows 1923 年英译本。Bellows 译本已进入公有领域；本站保留其诗篇导言、英译正文和注释，不收现代中译或现代校勘文本。
Bellows 1923 英译
THE LAY OF THRYM
Bellows Introductory Note
The Thrymskvitha is found only in the Codex Regius, where it follows
the Lokasenna. Snorri does not quote from it, nor, rather oddly, does
the story occur in the Prose Edda.
Artistically the Thrymskvitha is one of the best, as it is, next to the
Voluspo, the most famous, of the entire collection. It has, indeed,
been called “the finest ballad in the world,” and not without some
reason. Its swift, vigorous action, the sharpness of its
characterization and the humor of the central situation combine to make
it one of the most vivid short narrative poems ever composed. Of course
we know nothing specific of its author, but there can be no question
that he was a poet of extraordinary ability. The poem assumed its
present form, most critics agree, somewhere about 900, and thus it is
one of the oldest in the collection. It has been suggested, on the
basis of stylistic similarity, that its author may also have composed
the Skirnismol, and possibly Baldrs Draumar. There is also some
resemblance between the Thrymskvitha and the Lokasenna (note, in this
connection, Bugge’s suggestion that the Skirnismol and the Lokasenna
may have been by the same man), and it is not impossible that all four
poems have a single authorship.
The Thrymskvitha has been preserved in excellent condition, without any
serious gaps or interpolations. In striking contrast to many of the
poems, it contains no prose narrative links, the story being told in
narrative verse—a rare phenomenon in the poems of the Edda.
1. Wild was Vingthor | when he awoke,
And when his mighty | hammer he missed;
He shook his beard, | his hair was bristling,
As the son of Jorth | about him sought.
2. Hear now the speech | that first he spake:
“Harken, Loki, | and heed my words,
Nowhere on earth | is it known to man,
Nor in heaven above: | our hammer is stolen.”
3. To the dwelling fair | of Freyja went they,
Hear now the speech | that first he spake:
“Wilt thou, Freyja, | thy feather-dress lend me,
That so my hammer | I may seek?”
Freyja spake:
4. “Thine should it be | though of silver bright,
And I would give it | though ’twere of gold.”
Then Loki flew, | and the feather-dress whirred,
Till he left behind him | the home of the gods,
And reached at last | the realm of the giants.
5. Thrym sat on a mound, | the giants’ master,
Leashes of gold | he laid for his dogs,
And stroked and smoothed | the manes of his steeds.
Thrym spake:
6. “How fare the gods, | how fare the elves?
Why comst thou alone | to the giants’ land?”
Loki spake:
“Ill fare the gods, | ill fare the elves!
Hast thou hidden | Hlorrithi’s hammer?”
Thrym spake:
7. “I have hidden | Hlorrithi’s hammer,
Eight miles down | deep in the earth;
And back again | shall no man bring it
If Freyja I win not | to be my wife.”
8. Then Loki flew, | and the feather-dress whirred,
Till he left behind him | the home of the giants,
And reached at last | the realm of the gods.
There in the courtyard | Thor he met:
Hear now the speech | that first he spake:
9. “Hast thou found tidings | as well as trouble?
Thy news in the air | shalt thou utter now;
Oft doth the sitter | his story forget,
And lies he speaks | who lays himself down.”
Loki spake:
10. “Trouble I have, | and tidings as well:
Thrym, king of the giants, | keeps thy hammer,
And back again | shall no man bring it
If Freyja he wins not | to be his wife.”
11. Freyja the fair | then went they to find;
Hear now the speech | that first he spake:
“Bind on, Freyja, | the bridal veil,
For we two must haste | to the giants’ home.”
12. Wrathful was Freyja, | and fiercely she snorted,
And the dwelling great | of the gods was shaken,
And burst was the mighty | Brisings’ necklace:
“Most lustful indeed | should I look to all
If I journeyed with thee | to the giants’ home.”
13. Then were the gods | together met,
And the goddesses came | and council held,
And the far-famed ones | a plan would find,
How they might Hlorrithi’s | hammer win.
14. Then Heimdall spake, | whitest of the gods,
Like the Wanes he knew | the future well:
“Bind we on Thor | the bridal veil,
Let him bear the mighty | Brisings’ necklace;
15. “Keys around him | let there rattle,
And down to his knees | hang woman’s dress;
With gems full broad | upon his breast,
And a pretty cap | to crown his head.”
16. Then Thor the mighty | his answer made:
“Me would the gods | unmanly call
If I let bind | the bridal veil.”
17. Then Loki spake, | the son of Laufey:
“Be silent, Thor, | and speak not thus;
Else will the giants | in Asgarth dwell
If thy hammer is brought not | home to thee.”
18. Then bound they on Thor | the bridal veil,
And next the mighty | Brisings’ necklace.
19. Keys around him | let they rattle,
And down to his knees | hung woman’s dress;
With gems full broad | upon his breast,
And a pretty cap | to crown his head.
20. Then Loki spake, | the son of Laufey:
“As thy maid-servant thither | I go with thee;
We two shall haste | to the giants’ home.”
21. Then home the goats | to the hall were driven,
They wrenched at the halters, | swift were they to
run;
The mountains burst, | earth burned with fire,
And Othin’s son | sought Jotunheim.
22. Then loud spake Thrym, | the giants’ leader:
“Bestir ye, giants, | put straw on the benches;
Now Freyja they bring | to be my bride,
The daughter of Njorth | out of Noatun.
23. “Gold-horned cattle | go to my stables,
Jet-black oxen, | the giant’s joy;
Many my gems, | and many my jewels,
Freyja alone | did I lack, methinks.”
24. Early it was | to evening come,
And forth was borne | the beer for the giants;
Thor alone ate an ox, | and eight salmon,
All the dainties as well | that were set for the
women;
And drank Sif’s mate | three tuns of mead.
25. Then loud spake Thrym, | the giants’ leader:
“Who ever saw bride | more keenly bite?
I ne’er saw bride | with a broader bite,
Nor a maiden who drank | more mead than this!”
26. Hard by there sat | the serving-maid wise,
So well she answered | the giant’s words:
“From food has Freyja | eight nights fasted,
So hot was her longing | for Jotunheim.”
27. 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. 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. 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. 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.”
31. The heart in the breast | of Hlorrithi laughed
When the hard-souled one | his hammer beheld;
First Thrym, the king | of the giants, he killed,
Then all the folk | of the giants he felled.
32. The giant’s sister | old he slew,
She who had begged | the bridal fee;
A stroke she got | in the shilling’s stead.
And for many rings | the might of the hammer.
33. And so his hammer | got Othin’s son.
Bellows Notes
1. Vingthor (“Thor the Hurler”): another name for Thor, equivalent to
Vingnir (Vafthruthnismol, 51). Concerning Thor and his hammer,
Mjollnir, cf. Hymiskvitha, Lokasenna, and Harbarthsljoth, passim.
Jorth: Earth, Thor’s mother, Othin being his father.
2. Loki: cf. Lokasenna, passim.
3. Freyja: Njorth’s daughter, and sister of Freyr; cf. Lokasenna,
introductory prose and note, also Skirnismol, introductory prose.
Freyja’s house was Sessrymnir (“Rich in Seats”) built in Folkvang
(“Field of the Folk”); cf. Grimnismol, 14. Feather-dress: this flying
equipment of Freyja’s is also used in the story of Thjazi, wherein Loki
again borrows the “hawk’s dress” of Freyja, this time to rescue Ithun;
cf. Harbarthsljoth, 19 and note.
4. The manuscript and most editions have lines 1–2 in inverse order.
Several editors assume a lacuna before line 1, making a stanza out of
the two conjectural lines (Bugge actually supplies them) and lines 1–2
of stanza 4. Thus they either make a separate stanza out of lines 3–5
or unite them in a six-line stanza with 5. The manuscript punctuation
and capitalization—not wholly trustworthy guides—indicate the stanza
divisions as in this translation.
5. Thrym: a frost-giant. Gering declares that this story of the theft
of Thor’s hammer symbolizes the fact that thunderstorms rarely occur in
winter.
6. Line 1: cf. Voluspo, 48, 1. The manuscript does not indicate Loki as
the speaker of lines 3–4. Hlorrithi: Thor.
7. No superscription in the manuscript. Vigfusson made up and inserted
lines like “Then spake Loki | the son of Laufey” whenever he
thought they would be useful.
9. The manuscript marks line 2, instead of line 1, as the beginning of
a stanza, which has caused editors some confusion in grouping the lines
of stanzas 8 and 9.
10. No superscription in the manuscript.
12. Many editors have rejected either line 2 or line 3. Vigfusson
inserts one of his own lines before line 4. Brisings’ necklace: a
marvelous necklace fashioned by the dwarfs, here called Brisings (i.e.,
“Twiners”); cf. Lokasenna, 20 and note.
13. Lines 1–3 are identical with Baldrs Draumar, 1, 1–3.
14. Heimdall: the phrase “whitest of the gods” suggests that Heimdall
was the god of light as well as being the watchman. His wisdom was
probably connected with his sleepless watching over all the worlds; cf.
Lokasenna, 47 and note. On the Wanes cf. Voluspo, 21 and note. They are
not elsewhere spoken of as peculiarly gifted with knowledge of future
events.
16. Possibly a line has been lost from this stanza.
17. Laufey: Loki’s mother, cf. Lokasenna, 52 and note.
18–19. The manuscript abbreviates all six lines, giving only the
initial letters of the words. The stanza division is thus arbitrary;
some editors have made one stanza of the six lines, others have
combined the last two lines of stanza 19 with stanza 20. It is possible
that a couple of lines have been lost.
21. Goats: Thor’s wagon was always drawn by goats; cf. Hymiskvitha, 38
and note. Jotunheim: the world of the giants.
22. Njorth: cf. Voluspo, 21, and Grimnismol, 11 and 16. Noatun
(“Ships’-Haven”): Njorth’s home, where his wife, Skathi, found it
impossible to stay; cf. Grimnismol, 11 and note.
24. Grundtvig thinks this is all that is left of two stanzas describing
Thor’s supper. Some editors reject line 4. In line 3 the manuscript has
“he,” the reference being, of course, to Thor, on whose appetite cf.
Hymiskvitha, 15. Sif: Thor’s wife; cf. Lokasenna, note to introductory
prose and stanza 53.
27. 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.
28. In the manuscript the whole stanza is abbreviated to initial
letters, except for “sleep,” “Freyja,” and “found.”
29. 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.
30. Hallow: just what this means is not clear, but there are references
to other kinds of consecration, though not of a bride, with the “sign
of the hammer.” According to Vigfusson, “the hammer was the holy sign
with the heathens, answering to the cross of the Christians.” In
Snorri’s story of Thor’s resuscitation of his cooked goat (cf.
Hymiskvitha, 38, note) the god “hallows” the goat with his hammer. One
of the oldest runic signs, supposed to have magic power, was named
Thor’s-hammer. Vor: the goddess of vows, particularly between men and
women; Snorri lists a number of little-known goddesses similar to Vor,
all of them apparently little more than names for Frigg.
33. Some editors reject this line, which, from a dramatic standpoint,
is certainly a pity. In the manuscript it begins with a capital letter,
like the opening of a new stanza.