Sagas and Myths of the Northmen

by Jesse L. Byock

  ‘They went before the king, Utgarda-Loki, and greeted him, but he took his time in noticing them. Then he said, grinning through his teeth: “News travels slowly from distant parts, but am I wrong in thinking that this little fellow is Thor the Charioteer? Surely there is more to you than meets the eye. Tell me, companions, in what skills do you think you are capable of competing? No one can stay here with us who does not have some skill or knowledge greater than other men.”

  ‘Then he who stood at the back of the group, the one called Loki, spoke up: “I have a skill in which I am ready to be tested. No one here in the hall will prove quicker than I at eating his food.”

  ‘Utgarda-Loki answered, “That would be an accomplishment, if you are up to it, and feats such as that will be put to the test.” Next he called out to the end of the bench to the one who was called Logi [Fire] and told him to come forward on to the floor and pit himself against Loki. Then a trough filled with meat was brought in and set on the hall floor. Loki placed himself at one end and Logi at the other. Each began to eat as fast as he could, and they met in the middle of the trough. Loki had eaten all the meat from the bones, but Logi had eaten not only the meat but also the bones and even the trough. To everyone it seemed that Loki had lost the contest.

  ‘Then Utgarda-Loki asked in what the youngster could compete. Thjalfi replied that he would run a race against whomever Utgarda-Loki chose. Utgarda-Loki called that a fine sport, but said that Thjalfi would have to be very quick if he intended to win. Utgarda-Loki made it clear that the matter would quickly be put to the test. Next Utgarda-Loki stood up and went outside where there was a good running course over the flat plain. He called a little fellow named Hugi to come to him and ordered him to run a race with Thjalfi. They ran the first race, and Hugi was so far in the lead that he turned around at the end and faced his opponent.

  ‘Then Utgarda-Loki said, “Thjalfi, you will need to exert yourself more if you are to win the contest. Yet it is true that no one else has come here who seemed to me faster on his feet than you.”

  ‘Then they began to race for a second time. When Hugi came to the end of the course he turned around, but Thjalfi was behind him by the distance of a long bow shot.

  ‘Utgarda-Loki then said: “I think Thjalfi knows how to run a good race, but I have no faith that he will win. Now comes the test; let them run the third race.” When Hugi reached the end of the race and turned around, Thjalfi had not even reached the midpoint of the course. Everyone then said that the contest was over.

  ‘Utgarda-Loki asked Thor what feat he wanted to show them, as so many tales were told about his exploits. Thor answered that he would most like to pit himself against someone in drinking. Utgarda-Loki said that this contest could easily be arranged. He went into the hall and called to his cupbearer, telling him to bring the feasting horn from which his retainers usually drank. The cupbearer quickly brought the horn and placed it in Thor’s hand.

  ‘Then Utgarda-Loki said, “It is thought that drinking from this horn is well done if it is emptied in one drink. Some drain it in two, but no one is such a small-time drinker that he cannot finish it in three.”

  ‘Thor eyed the horn, and it did not seem to be very large, although it was rather long. He was quite thirsty and began to drink, swallowing hugely and thinking that it would not be necessary to bend himself over the horn more than once. When he had drunk as much as he could, he bent back from the horn and looked in to see how much drink remained. It seemed to him that the level in the horn was only slightly lower than it had been before.

  ‘Utgarda-Loki then said, “Good drinking, although not all that much. I would not have believed it if I had been told that Thor of the Æsir would not have drunk more, but I know that you will drain it in a second drink.”

  ‘Thor gave no reply but put the horn to his mouth and resolved to take a larger drink. He struggled with it as long as he could hold his breath and noticed that he could not lift up the bottom end of the horn as much as he would have liked. When he lowered the horn from his mouth and looked in, it seemed to him that the level had gone down even less than it had in the first try, although there was now enough space at the top of the horn above the liquid to carry the drink without spilling it.

  ‘Utgarda-Loki asked, “What now, Thor? Are you going to be so brave that you will take one sip more than is good for you? It seems to me that if you want to take a third drink from the horn, then it will have to be the biggest. But among us here, you will not be known as great a man as the Æsir call you, unless you give a better account of yourself in other contests than it seems to me you are doing in this one.”

  ‘Then Thor grew angry. Placing the horn to his mouth, he drank with all his might, continuing as long as he could. When he looked into the horn he could see at least some difference. Then he gave the horn back and would drink no more.

  ‘Utgarda-Loki said, “Clearly your strength is not as great as we thought, but will you still try your hand in other contests? It is obvious that you are not going to succeed here.”

  ‘Thor replied: “I will make a try at still another game. But when I was home among the Æsir, I would have found it strange if such drinks were called little. What sort of contest will you offer me now?”

  ‘Utgarda-Loki replied, “Here among us, little boys do something that is thought a rather small matter: they lift my cat off the ground. But I would not have thought it possible to propose such a thing to Thor of the Æsir if I had not already seen that your strength is much less than I had thought.”

  ‘Now a grey cat, and rather a large one, jumped out on to the floor of the hall. Thor approached it, and, placing his hand under the middle of the belly, started to lift up the cat. But as much as Thor raised his hand the cat arched its back. When Thor had reached as high as he could, one of the cat’s paws was lifted off the ground. Beyond this effort, Thor could do no more.

  ‘Then Utgarda-Loki said, “This contest has gone as I expected it would. The cat is rather large, whereas Thor is short and small compared with the larger men among us here.”

  ‘Thor replied, “Although you call me little, let someone come forward and wrestle with me! Now I am angry!”

  ‘Utgarda-Loki looked over the benches and replied, “Here inside, I do not see any man who would find it dignified to wrestle with you.” Then he went on, “But wait, first let us see. Call my nurse, the old woman Elli, to come here, and let Thor wrestle with her, if he wants to. She has thrown to the ground men who seemed to me to be no less strong than Thor.”

  ‘Next an old woman walked into the hall. Utgarda-Loki said she should wrestle with Thor of the Æsir. The story is not long to tell. The match went this way: the more Thor threw his strength into the grappling, the more steadfastly she stood her ground. Then the old crone showed her skill. Thor lost his footing and the contest grew fiercer. It was not long before Thor fell to one knee. Then Utgarda-Loki intervened. He told them to stop the contest, saying that there was no need for Thor to challenge others to wrestle in his hall. By then it was late at night. Utgarda-Loki showed Thor and his companions to places on the benches, and there they were treated well for the rest of the night.

  Utgarda-Loki Reveals that Thor was Deceived

  ‘In the morning, at first light, Thor and his companions stood up, dressed and prepared to leave. Utgarda-Loki then came in and had a table set for them. There was no lack of hospitality as to food or drink. When they finished eating they turned to leave. Utgarda-Loki stayed with them, accompanying them as they left the fortress. At their parting, Utgarda-Loki asked Thor how he thought the trip had gone and whether Thor had ever met a man more powerful. Thor replied that he could not deny that he had been seriously dishonoured in their encounter: “Moreover, I know that you will say that I am a person of little account and that galls me.”

  ‘And Utgarda-Loki replied, “Now that you are out of the fortress, I will tell you the truth, for, if I live and am the one to decide, you will never enter it again. On my wor
d, I can assure you, that you would never have been allowed to enter if I had known in advance that you had so much power in you, because you nearly brought disaster upon us. I have tricked you with magical shape-changings, as I did that first time when I found you in the forest. I am the one you met there. And when you tried to untie the food bag, you were unable to find where to undo it, because I had fastened it with iron wire. When you next struck me three times with the hammer, the first was the least, yet it was so powerful that it would have killed me had it found its mark. But when you saw a flat-topped mountain near my hall with three square-shaped valleys in it, one deeper than the others, these were the marks of your hammer. I had moved this flat-topped mountain in front of your blows, but you did not see me doing it. It was the same when your companions contested with my retainers. And so it was in the first contest undertaken by Loki. He was very hungry and he ate quickly. But the one called Logi was wildfire itself, and he burned the trough no less quickly than the meat. When Thjalfi ran against the one called Hugi, that was my mind, and Thjalfi could not be expected to compete with its speed. When you drank from the horn, you thought it slow going, but on my word that was a miracle I would never have believed could happen. The other end of the horn, which you could not see, was out in the ocean. When you come to the ocean you will see how much your drinking lowered it. This is now known as the tides.”

  ‘Utgarda-Loki had still more to say: “I thought it no less a feat when you lifted the cat. Truly all those who saw you raise one of the cat’s paws off the ground grew fearful, because that cat was not what it seemed to be. It was the Midgard Serpent, which encircles all lands, and from head to tail its length is just enough to round the earth. But you pulled him up so high that he almost reached the sky.

  ‘ “It, too, was a real wonder that you remained on your feet for so long during the wrestling. You fell no more than on to one knee, as you struggled with the crone Elli [Old Age], and no one accomplishes that after reaching the point where old age beckons, because no one overcomes Old Age. As we part, I can truthfully say that it would be better for us both if you never come again to meet me. Next time I will defend my stronghold with similar or other trickery, so that you will not get me into your power.”

  ‘When Thor heard this account, he gripped his hammer and raised it into the air. But, when he was ready to strike, Utgarda-Loki was nowhere to be seen. Then Thor returned to the fortress, intending to destroy it. There he saw a broad, beautiful plain, but no stronghold. Then, turning back, he journeyed until he came once again to Thrudvangar. In truth, it can be said that from then on he was determined to find a way to confront the Midgard Serpent, and later on that happened.

  ‘Now I believe that no one else could have given you a truer account of this journey by Thor.’

  Thor and the Giant Hymir Go Fishing

  Gangleri then said: ‘Utgarda-Loki is very powerful, and he uses many tricks and much magic. Nevertheless, it is evident that he is a force to be reckoned with, because his retainers have so much strength. But didn’t Thor take vengeance in return?’

  High answered, ‘Even those who are not men of learning know that Thor made amends for the journey just recounted. He was not home for long before he prepared to set out again. He went so quickly that he took with him neither chariot nor goats nor companions. Leaving Midgard disguised as a young boy, he arrived one evening at the house of a giant, the one called Hymir. Thor stayed there that night. At daybreak Hymir got up, dressed and prepared to go fishing in the sea. Thor jumped up, quickly got himself ready and asked Hymir to let him row out to sea with him. But Hymir said he could expect little help from the boy, because he was so young and so small. “And you will freeze if you stay as long and as far out as I am accustomed to doing.”

  ‘Thor told Hymir that he would not stop him from rowing far out from land, and he added that it was not clear who would be the first one wanting to row back in. Thor grew so enraged at the giant that he almost let the hammer slam into him. Yet he let the matter pass because he had set his mind on testing his strength elsewhere. He asked Hymir what sort of bait they should use, but Hymir told him to get his own. Thor then went off looking until he saw a herd of oxen belonging to Hymir. He took the biggest ox, called Himinhrjot, ripped off its head, and took it with him down to the sea.

  ‘Hymir had already launched the boat. Thor got in and sat down towards the stern. He took two oars and started rowing, and Hymir noticed that he was making some progress. Hymir rowed from forward in the bow, and the boat moved quickly. Hymir then said that they had come to the waters where he usually trawled for flatfish, but Thor said he wanted to row much further, and they started another bout of fast rowing. Hymir then warned that they had come so far out that to go further was dangerous because of the Midgard Serpent. But Thor replied that he wanted to keep on rowing, and so he did. Hymir was by then most unhappy.

  ‘Finally Thor pulled up his oars and set about preparing his line, which was very strong, with a hook that was neither weaker nor less firm. Thor baited the hook with the ox head and cast it overboard, where it sank to the bottom. And it can be said in truth that this time Thor tricked the Midgard Serpent no less than Utgarda-Loki had tricked Thor into lifting the Midgard Serpent with his arm.

  ‘The Midgard Serpent opened its mouth and swallowed the ox head. The hook dug into the gums of its mouth, and when the serpent felt this, he snapped back so hard that both of Thor’s fists slammed against the gunwale. Thor now became angry and, taking on his divine strength, he strained so hard that both his feet pushed through the bottom of the boat. Using the sea floor to brace himself, he began pulling the serpent up on board. It can be said that no one has seen a more terrifying sight than this: Thor, narrowing his eyes at the serpent, while the serpent spits out poison and stares straight back from below. It is told that the giant Hymir changed colour. He grew pale and feared for his life when he saw the serpent and also the sea rushing in and out of the boat.

  ‘Just at that instant, as Thor grabbed the hammer and raised it into the air, the giant, fumbling with the bait knife, cut Thor’s line where it lay across the edge of the boat, and the serpent sank back into the sea. But Thor threw his hammer after it, and people say that down on the bottom he struck the serpent’s head off. But I think the opposite is true: the Midgard Serpent still lives and lies in the surrounding sea. Using his fist, Thor punched Hymir behind the ear so that he fell head over heels overboard. With this Thor waded back to land.’

  [ … ]

  The High One Reveals the Events of Ragnarok

  Then Gangleri asked, ‘What is to be said about Ragnarok? I have not heard it spoken of before.’

  High replied: ‘There are many important things to be said about it. First will come the winter called Fimbulvetr [Extreme Winter]. Snow will drive in from all directions; the cold will be severe and the winds will be fierce. The sun will be of no use. Three of these winters will come, one after the other, with no summer in between. But before that there will have been another three winters with great battles taking place throughout the world. Brothers will kill brothers for the sake of greed, and neither father nor son will be spared in the killings and the collapse of kinship. So it is said in The Sibyl’s Prophecy:

  Brothers will fight,

  bringing death to each other.

  Sons of sisters

  will split their kin bonds.

  Hard times for men,

  rampant depravity,

  age of axes, age of swords,

  shields split,

  wind age, wolf age,

  until the world falls into ruin.

  ‘Next will come an event thought to be of much importance. The wolf will swallow the sun, and mankind will think it has suffered a terrible disaster. Then the other wolf will catch the moon, and he too will cause much ruin. The stars will disappear from the heavens.

  ‘So, also, there is this to be told: the whole earth, together with the mountains, will start to shake so that the trees
will loosen from the ground, the mountains will fall, and all fetters and bonds will sever and break. Then the Fenriswolf will break free. The sea will surge on to the land as the Midgard Serpent writhes in giant fury and advances up on the land. Then it also will happen that the ship Naglfar loosens from its moorings. It is made from the nails of dead men, and for this reason it is worth considering the warning that if a person dies with untrimmed nails he contributes crucial material to Naglfar, a ship that both gods and men would prefer not to see built. On the flooding sea, Naglfar comes floating. The giant steering Naglfar is named Hrym. Meanwhile, the Fenriswolf advances with its mouth gaping: its upper jaw reaches to the heavens and the lower one drops down to the earth. He would open it still wider, if only there were room. Flames shoot out of his eyes and nostrils. The Midgard Serpent spews out so much venom that it spatters throughout the air and into the sea. He is terrible and will be on one side of the wolf.

  ‘Amid this din the sky splits apart and in ride the sons of Muspell. Surt comes first, riding with fires burning both before and behind him. His sword is magnificent, and the glare from it is brighter than that from the sun. As they ride across Bifrost, it will break, as was told earlier. Muspell’s sons advance until they reach the plain called Vigrid [Battle Plain]. The Fenriswolf and the Midgard Serpent also go there. Then Loki arrives and also Hrym. The latter is accompanied by all the frost giants, while all of Hel’s own follow Loki. The sons of Muspell have their own battle troop, and it shines brilliantly. The field Vigrid lies a hundred leagues in each direction.