Page:Poeticedda00belluoft.djvu/106

This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.

Poetic Edda

 Thou wouldst thy wisdom make known:
What name has the steed  that from East anew
 Brings night for the noble gods?"

  Othin spake:
14.[1] "Hrimfaxi name they  the steed that anew
 Brings night for the noble gods;
Each morning foam  from his bit there falls,
 And thence come the dews in the dales."

  Vafthruthnir spake:
15. "Speak forth now, Gagnrath,  if there from the floor
 Thou wouldst thy wisdom make known:
What name has the river  that 'twixt the realms
 Of the gods and the giants goes?"

  Othin spake:
16.[2] "Ifing is the river  that 'twixt the realms
 Of the gods and the giants goes;
For all time ever  open it flows,
 No ice on the river there is."

  Vafthruthnir spake:
17.[3] "Speak forth now, Gagnrath,  if there from the floor

    Here, and in general throughout the poem, the two-line introductory formulæ are abbreviated in the manuscripts.

  1. ↑ Hrimfaxi: "Frosty-Mane."
  2. ↑ Ifing: there is no other reference to this river, which never freezes, so that the giants cannot cross it.
  3. ↑

[72]

This article is issued from Wikisource. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.