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Poetic Edda

51.[1] O'er the sea from the north  there sails a ship
With the people of Hel,  at the helm stands Loki;
After the wolf  do wild men follow,
And with them the brother  of Byleist goes.

52.[2] Surt fares from the south  with the scourge of branches,
The sun of the battle-gods  shone from his sword;
The crags are sundered,  the giant-women sink,
The dead throng Hel-way,  and heaven is cloven.

53.[3] Now comes to Hlin  yet another hurt,
When Othin fares  to fight with the wolf,
And Beli's fair slayer  seeks out Surt,
For there must fall  the joy of Frigg.

  1. ↑ North: a guess; the manuscripts have "east," but there seems to be a confusion with stanza 50, line 1. People of Hel: the manuscripts have "people of Muspell," but these came over the bridge Bifrost (the rainbow), which broke beneath them, whereas the people of Hel came in a ship steered by Loki. The wolf: Fenrir. The brother of Byleist: Loki. Of Byleist (or Byleipt) no more is known.
  2. ↑ Surt: the ruler of the fire-world. The scourge of branches: fire. This is one of the relatively rare instances in the Eddic poems of the type of poetic diction which characterizes the skaldic verse.
  3. ↑ Hlin: apparently another name for Frigg, Othin's wife. After losing her son Baldr, she is fated now to see Othin slain by the wolf Fenrir. Beli's slayer: Freyr, who killed the giant Beli with his fist; cf. Skirnismol, 16 and note. On Freyr, who belonged to the race of the Wanes, and was the brother of Freyja, see especially Skirnismol, passim. The joy of Frigg: Othin.

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