Frodi’s Mill And His Peace

‘Why is gold called Frodi’s flour?’

‘There is a tale about this: Skjold was a son of Odin, the one from whom the Skjoldungs are descended. He had a court and ruled over lands that are now called Denmark but were known at that time as Gotland. Skjold had a son named Fridleif, who ruled over lands after him. Fridleif’s son was named Frodi, and he took the kingdom after his father in the period when Emperor Augustus was pacifying the whole world; this was when Christ was born. Because Frodi was the most powerful king in the northern countries, his name became connected with the peace which reigned throughout all the lands speaking the Danish tongue.¹ The Norwegians called it Frodi’s peace. No man harmed another, even if he came upon the killer of his father or of his brother, whether they were free or bondsmen. There were neither thieves nor robbers and for a long time a gold ring lay untouched on Jalangr’s Heath.²

‘King Frodi went on a visit to Sweden as guest of the king named Fjolnir. He bought there two slavewomen. They were called Fenja and Menja and were huge and strong. At that time there were in Denmark two millstones so large that no one was strong enough to get them turning. The nature of these stones was that they ground out whatever the miller commanded to be ground. The mill was called Grotti, and Hang Jaw was the name of the one who gave the mill to King Frodi.

‘King Frodi had the slavewomen taken to the mill and commanded them to grind gold, peace and prosperity for Frodi. He gave them no more time to rest or to sleep than a cuckoo takes to remain silent or a person to sing a verse. It is said that then they chanted the lay called Grotti’s Song. And before they had finished their singing, they ground out an army to oppose Frodi. That very same night the sea king named Mysing arrived there and killed Frodi, taking much plunder. With that, Frodi’s peace ended.

‘Mysing took Grotti and also Fenja and Menja away with him and told them to grind salt. Towards the middle of the night, they asked Mysing if he was not growing tired of salt. He told them to keep on grinding, but they continued for only a short time before the ship sank. From that time on there has been a whirlpool in the ocean where the sea flows down into the eye of the millstone. It was then that the sea became salty.’