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Svipdagsmol

Yet to Hel shall turn  both Horn and Ruth,
And before thee the waters shall fail.

9. "Then fourth I will chant thee,  if come thy foes
On the gallows-way against thee:
Into thine hands  shall their hearts be given,
And peace shall the warriors wish.

10.[1] "Then fifth I will chant thee,  if fetters perchance
Shall bind thy bending limbs:
O'er thy thighs do I chant  a loosening-charm,
And the lock is burst from the limbs,
And the fetters fall from the feet.

11. "Then sixth I will chant thee,  if storms on the sea
Have might unknown to man:
Yet never shall wind  or wave do harm,
And calm is the course of thy boat.

12. "Then seventh I chant thee,  if frost shall seek
To kill thee on lofty crags:
The fatal cold  shall not grip thy flesh,
And whole thy body shall be.


    Horn and Ruth: these two rivers, here used merely to symbolize all dangerous streams, are not included in the catalogue of rivers given in Grimnismol, 27-29, for which reason some editors have changed the names to Hron and Hrith.

  1. This stanza is a close parallel to Hovamol, 150, and the fifth line may well be an interpolation from line 4 of that stanza.

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