Vadgelmir (Vaðgelmir) is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

or stream in

Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern period ...

. It is mentioned in the

eddic poems The ''Poetic Edda'' is the modern name for an untitled collection of Old Norse anonymous narrative poems, which is distinct from the ''Prose Edda'' written by Snorri Sturluson. Several versions exist, all primarily of text from the Icelandic med ...

Grípisspá ''Grípisspá'' (''Grípir's prophecy'') or ''Sigurðarkviða Fáfnisbana I'' ("First Lay of Sigurd Fáfnir's Slayer") is an Eddic poem, found in the Codex Regius manuscript where it follows '' Frá dauða Sinfjötla'' and precedes ''Reginsmál''. ...

'' or ''SigurÞarkviða Fafnisbana önnur'' (''The Second Lay of

Sigurd Sigurd ( non, Sigurðr ) or Siegfried (Middle High German: ''Sîvrit'') is a legendary hero of Germanic heroic legend, who killed a dragon and was later murdered. It is possible he was inspired by one or more figures from the Frankish Meroving ...

Fafnicide'') and ''

Völuspá ''Vǫluspá'' (also ''Völuspá'', ''Vǫlospá'' or ''Vǫluspǫ́''; Old Norse: 'Prophecy of the völva, a seeress'; reconstructed Old Norse: ) is the best known poem of the ''Poetic Edda''. It tells the story of the creation of the world and ...

''.

Etymology

Zavaroni translates the name as "Evil-

ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

''Völuspá''

''Völuspá'' 39 records that breaking an

oath Traditionally an oath (from Anglo-Saxon ', also called plight) is either a statement of fact or a promise taken by a sacrality as a sign of verity. A common legal substitute for those who conscientiously object to making sacred oaths is to ...

, murder, and adultery are among the bad deeds for which entering Vadgelmir is a punishment.

''Grípisspá''

According to a legend recounted in ''Grípisspá'' ,

Loki Loki is a god in Norse mythology. According to some sources, Loki is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mentioned as a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi or Na ...

forced

Andvari In Norse mythology, Andvari ( 12th c. Old Norse: ; "careful one") is a dwarf who lives underneath a waterfall and has the power to change himself into a pike (gedda) at will. Andvari had a magical ring Andvaranaut, which helped him become we ...

to tell him how liars will be punished in the

Other World The concept of an otherworld in historical Indo-European religion is reconstructed in comparative mythology. Its name is a calque of ''orbis alius'' (Latin for "other Earth/world"), a term used by Lucan in his description of the Celtic Otherworld ...

. Andvari responded that their punishment is to enter Vadgelmir. One English translation of the edda describes the dialogue as follows. Loki asks: "tell me, Andvari! if thou wilt enjoy life in the halls of men, what retribution get the sons of mortals, if with foul words they assail each other". Andvari responds: " uel retribution get the sons of mortals, who in Vadgelmir wade: for the false words they have against others uttered, the punishments too long endure". Schorn notes that there is some tension in the dialogue, as Andvari responds to Loki's highly "abstract" question about the fate of liars with a particularized description of a place.

References

{{reflist Rivers in Norse mythology