Harbarthsljoth (literally “Graybeard’s Song”) is a relatively long poem in which Odin, in the disguise of the ferryman “Graybeard,” denies Thor passage on his ferry. The two exchange heated words that clearly compare and contrast the two gods’ deeds, attitudes, and reputations, often ending their respective boasts with the question, Hvat vanntu methan? (“What were you doing meanwhile?”). By stanza 24 Graybeard has more or less admitted he is Odin, and Thor seems to understand his true identity as well, though he never addresses Graybeard as Odin. In stanza 26 there is a reference to Thor’s journey to meet Utgartha-Loki, told in the Prose Edda, in which Thor and his companions sleep inside the glove of a truly huge giant. Harbarthsljoth appears in both the Codex Regius and in the manuscript AM 748 I 4to. The prose introduction is original.
Thor was coming back from the east and came to a fjord. On the other side of the fjord was a ferryman with his boat. Thor called out:
“WHO IS THAT MAN WHO STANDS on the other side of the fjord?”
The other man answered:
“Who is that man who calls from across the water?”
Thor said:
“Take me across the water, and I’ll give you some breakfast. I’m carrying a basket on my back, and you’ll find no better food. I ate in peace before I left home; I had some herring and goat, and I’m still full from that.”
The ferryman said:
“You’re boasting about your breakfast. But you don’t know if your homecoming will be glad; I think your mother is dead.”
Thor said:
“You are telling me news that would seem bad to anybody— that my mother is dead.”
The ferryman said:
“You don’t look like a man who owns good farms. There you stand, barefoot like a beggar, not even a good pair of pants on.”
Thor said:
“Row that boat over here, I’ll show you the landing. Who owns that ship that you’re on?”
The ferryman said:
“A man named Hildolf asked me to run the ferry, a wise and provident man who lives in Rathseyjarsund. He asked me not to give rides to beggars or horse thieves, only good people and those I know well. Tell me your name if you want to cross the fjord.”
Thor said:
“I’ll tell you my name, I’m no criminal, and I’m from a good family: I am Odin’s son, Meili’s brother, and Magni’s father, warrior of the gods, you’re talking to Thor here! Now I’ll ask in turn, what is your name?”
The ferryman said:
“Graybeard is my name, I rarely lie about that.”
Thor said:
“Why would anyone lie about that, except to conceal some crime?”
Graybeard said:
“Whether or not I committed crimes, I’d still want to defend my life against people like you, unless my fated day had come.”
Thor said:
“It seems like a shame for me to wade over there to get at you and get my pants wet. But I’ll pay you back, slanderer, for these nasty words, if I get over this fjord.”
Graybeard said:
“I’ll stand right here and wait for you. I think I’ll be your toughest enemy since Hrungnir.”
Thor said:
“You want to talk about when I killed Hrungnir, that arrogant giant with a stone head? I knocked him down, I laid him out flat. What were you doing meanwhile, Graybeard?”
Graybeard said:
“I was with Fjolvar for five years on the island called Algron. We were waging war, killing warriors, proving ourselves, and sampling the local ladies.”
Thor said:
“How did the women treat you?”
Graybeard said:
“We had girls who liked to kick, but sometimes they would act docile. We had wise women, too; and sometimes they were loyal. Some of them wound some thread from a valley, out of the sand. I made them all submit to my will. I slept with seven sisters, had all their charms to myself. What were you doing meanwhile, Thor?”
Thor said:
“I killed Thjassi, the bold giant; I threw the eyes of that son of Allvaldi into the clear sky. Those are the greatest monuments to my deeds, which everyone can see ever since. What were you doing meanwhile, Graybeard?”
Graybeard said:
“Great seductions. In the night I was ridden by women stolen from their husbands. I think Hlebarth was a strong giant; he gave me a magic wand, and I enchanted away his wits.”
Thor said:
“You repaid him badly for his good gift.”
Graybeard said:
“A tree has only the space it can crowd another out of; every man must look out for himself. What were you doing meanwhile, Thor?”
Thor said:
“I was in the east fighting giants, evil women who lived in the mountains. There would be many more giants if they had all survived; there would not be a single human left on Midgard. What were you doing meanwhile, Graybeard?”
Graybeard said:
“I was in the south making battles. I turned princes against one another, I never made peace. Odin receives the powerful men who fall in battle, and Thor receives their servants.”
Thor said:
“You deal out victory and defeat unfairly, if you have so much power over battles.”
Graybeard said:
“You have plenty of strength, Thor, but no courage. Like a prince of cowards, you got stepped on in a glove— you didn’t look much like Thor then. You didn’t dare sneeze or break wind, for fear that the giant Fjalar might hear you.”
Thor said:
“Graybeard, you sissy! I’ll kill you if I get across this fjord!”
Graybeard said:
“How are you going to get across? You have no transportation. What were you doing meanwhile, Thor?”
Thor said:
“I was in the east guarding a river, when Svarang’s sons attacked me. They threw stones at me, but they got little out of it, they ended up begging me for peace. What were you doing meanwhile, Graybeard?”
Graybeard said:
“I was in the east, together with a certain lovely someone. I enjoyed myself with that beauty for quite a while— I showed the blonde a good time, and she showed me one.”
Thor said:
“You had a good-looking woman there?”
Graybeard said:
“I could have used your help, Thor— you could have helped me hold that gorgeous girl down.”
Thor said:
“I would have helped you, if I had been there.”
Graybeard said:
“I would trust you about that, if you hadn’t tricked me before.”
Thor said:
“I’m no heel-biter, no cheap old shoe in the springtime.”
Graybeard said:
“What were you doing meanwhile, Thor?”
Thor said:
“Fighting berserkers’ brides on the island Hlesey. They had done evil things, assaulted everyone.”
Graybeard said:
“How shameful of you, Thor, fighting women.”
Thor said:
“They were wolves, hardly women. They broke my ship when I landed ashore, threatened me with iron rods, and chased my servant Thjalfi. What were you doing meanwhile, Graybeard?”
Graybeard said:
“I was with an army. We came this way to wave some war-banners and get some spears bloody.”
Thor said:
“Now you’re saying you came to do the gods evil?”
Graybeard said:
“I’ll give you this arm-ring to make up for it. Fair judges would say it’s an equal value.”
Thor said:
“Where did you learn to spit out all these hateful words? I know I’ve never heard more awful talk.”
Graybeard said:
“I learned this sort of talk from the old men who live in the forests of home.”
Thor said:
“You give a good name to burial mounds if you call them ‘the forests of home.’”
Graybeard said:
“That’s how I talk about such things.”
Thor said:
“I’ll repay you for this slander with a good beating, if I can get across this fjord. I think you’d howl louder than a wolf if you felt my hammer on you.”
Graybeard said:
“Your wife has a lover, Thor. You’ll meet him if you go home, then you’ll really suffer! That one’s a better target for your hammer.”
Thor said:
“You are just lying at random, saying whatever will most anger me. You cowardly fool, I think you’re lying.”
Graybeard said:
“I think I’m telling the truth. But you’re late completing your journey— you won’t get home for a long time, even if you walk all day and night.”
Thor said:
“Graybeard, you sissy, you’re the one who’s held me up.”
Graybeard said:
“I didn’t think that Thor would let some peasant hold him up on his journey.”
Thor said:
“Here’s some advice: Row that boat over here to me, we’ll stop this bickering, and you’ll meet me face to face.”
Graybeard said:
“Get far away from here. You don’t get to ride the ferry.”
Thor said:
“Then show me the way around, if you won’t take me across.”
Graybeard said:
“I won’t deny that request. It’s a long walk: Go to the tree trunk, then to the rock, then turn left till you reach Midgard. There your mother the Earth will meet you, and she’ll show you the gods’ road to Asgard.”
Thor said:
“Can I get there today?”
Graybeard said:
“I suspect, if you travel hard, you could be there before sundown.”
Thor said:
“I see this conversation is over, since you only answer with insults. I will pay you back for this delay if we ever meet again.”
Graybeard said:
“Go now, and have a bad journey!”