Fjölsvinnsmál

''Fjölsvinnsmál'' (Old Norse: 'The Lay of Fjölsvinn') is the second of two Old Norse poems commonly published under the title ''Svipdagsmál'' "The Lay of Svipdagr". These poems are found together in several 17th-century paper manuscripts with ''Fjölsvinnsmál''. In at least three of these manuscripts, the poems appear in reverse order and are separated by a third eddic poem titled ''Hyndluljóð''. For a long time, the connection between the two poems was not realized, until in 1854 Svend Grundtvig pointed out a connection between the story told in ''Gróagaldr'' and the first part of the medieval Scandinavian ballad of ''Ungen Sveidal''/''Herr Svedendal''/''Hertig Silfverdal'' ( TSB A 45, DgF 70, SMB 18, NMB 22). Then in 1856, Sophus Bugge noticed that the last part of the ballad corresponded to ''Fjölsvinnsmál''. Bugge wrote about this connection in ''Forhandlinger i Videnskabs-Selskabet i Christiania 1860'', calling the two poems together ''Svipdagsmál''. Subsequent scholars have accepted this title. Einar Ólafur Sveinsson, "Svipdag's Long Journey," ''Hereditas'', Folklore of Ireland Society, Dublin, 1975.

In the first poem, Svipdagr enlists the aid of his dead mother, Gróa, a witch, to assist him in the completion of a task set by his cruel stepmother.

At the commencement of ''Fjölsvinnsmál'', Svipdagr has arrived at a castle on a mountain top. There he encounters a watchman, Fjölsviðr, who tells him to be gone before asking him his name. Svipdagr conceals it, only revealing it later in the poem.

A game of question and answers ensues, wherein Svipdagr learns that Menglöð lives in the castle guarded by Fjölsviðr, and that the castle may not be entered by any save one: Svipdagr. He gives his true name and the gates are opened and Menglöð greets Svipdagr.

References

Bibliography

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External links

Thorpe's translation

Bellows' translation



Pettit’s (2023) translation

Guðni Jónsson's edition

Eddic poetry

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