Then Gangleri said, ‘Which Æsir ought men to believe in?’
High answered, ‘There are twelve Æsir whose nature is divine.’
Then Just-as-High added: ‘The goddesses are no less sacred, nor are they less powerful.’
Then Third said, ‘Odin is the highest and oldest of the gods. He rules in all matters, and, although the other gods are powerful, all serve him as children do their father. Frigg is his wife. She knows the fates of men, even though she pronounces no prophecies. So it is said here, when Odin himself spoke with one of the Æsir called Loki:1
“You are raving, Loki, and out of your mind, why, Loki, do you not stop? Frigg knows, I believe, the fate of all, though she herself says nothing.”
(Loki’s Flyting. 21, 29, 47)
‘Odin is called All-Father, because he is the father of all the gods. He is also called Father of the Slain [Val-Father], because all who fall in battle are his adopted sons. With them he mans Valhalla and Vingolf, and they are known as the Einherjar. He is also called Hanga-God [God of the Hanged], Hapta-God2 [God of Prisoners] and Farma-God [God of Cargoes], and he named himself in many other ways on his visit to King Geirrod:
“I call myself Grim and Gangleri, Herjan, Hjalmberi, Thekk, Thrid, Thunn, Unn, Helblindi, Har, Sann, Svipal,[^fn38] Sanngetal, Herteit, Hnikar, Bileyg, Baleyg, Bolverk, Fjolnir, Grimnir, Glapsvid, Fjolsvid, Sidhott, Sidskegg, Sig-Father, Hnikud, All-Father, Atrid, Farmatyr, Oski, Omi, Jafnhar, Blindi, Gondlir, Harbard, Svidur, Svidrir, Jalk, Kjalar, Vidur, Thror, Ygg, Thund, Vak, Skilfing, Vafud, Hroptatyr, Gaut, Veratyr.”’ (*The Lay of Grimnir. 46–50*)
Then Gangleri said, ‘You have given him a large number of names. Truly,4 it would be a mark of great learning to be able to relate all the events that lie behind each of these names.’
Then High said, ‘To go carefully through all of that requires much wisdom. Nevertheless, it can quickly be said that most names were given, because, with all the different branches of languages in the world, each of the peoples needed to change his name to their own tongue to worship and to pray. But some names derive from events that took place on his travels. They have formed into tales, and you will never be called a wise man if you are unable to recount these great events.’
-
one of the Æsir called Loki : In other places Loki is not considered a member of the Æsir. ↩
-
Hapta-God : Hapta-God ( Haptaguð ) can mean God of fetters, hence a connection with prisoners. But it could also be ‘he who employs fetters’ and/or perhaps even ‘he who loosens fetters’. Höpt can also mean gods, with the possibility that Haptaguð refers to ‘foremost of the gods’. Further, as a noun hapt might mean godly powers. The name could thus mean the god of gods or the ‘god who restricts men with his divine laws’. ↩
-
Helblindi… Sann, Svipal : Helblindi could be a scribal error for Herblindi (Blinder of Armies). Sann and Svipal mean truthful and changing (shifting). Some of the pairs of names in this verse contain similar contrasts. ↩
-
Truly : The expression pat veit trúa mín means something like ‘truly’ or ‘by my faith’. The expression is not found in the earliest Icelandic texts but becomes common in thirteenth-century romance sagas, many of which derive from French stories translated into Old Norse. ↩