Page:Poeticedda00belluoft.djvu/192

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

Poetic Edda

Of women most lustful in love,
Since thou thy washed-bright  arms didst wind
About thy brother's slayer."

  Ithun spake:
18. "To Loki I speak not  with spiteful words
Here within Ægir's hall;
And Bragi I calm,  who is hot with beer,
For I wish not that fierce they should fight."

  Gefjun spake:
19.[1] "Why, ye gods twain,  with bitter tongues
Raise hate among us here?
Loki is famed  for his mockery foul,
And the dwellers in heaven he hates."

  Loki spake:
20.[2] "Be silent, Gefjun!  for now shall I say
Who led thee to evil life;
The boy so fair  gave a necklace bright,
And about him thy leg was laid."


    We do not even know who Ithun's brother was, much less who slew him.

  1. Gefjun: a goddess, not elsewhere mentioned in the poems, who, according to Snorri, was served by the women who died maidens. Beyond this nothing is known of her. Lines 3-4 in the manuscript are puzzling, and have been freely emended.
  2. Nothing is known of the incident here mentioned. There is a good deal of confusion as to various of the gods and goddesses, and it has been suggested that Gefjun is really Frigg under another name, with a little of Freyja—whose attributes were frequently confused with Frigg's—thrown in. Certainly Othin's

[158]