Poetry
Hávamál
Anonymous · 1000
Opening lines
Gáttir allar,
áðr gangi fram,
um skoðask skyli,
um skyggnast skyli,
All the doorways,
before one walks in,
one should look them over,
one should scan them,
Translation by Erostrate
Text quoted from heimskringla.no
Synopsis
A collection of maxims and counsel attributed to Odin, under the name of Hávi, for the man alone in a dangerous world: caution with hosts, moderation in drink, the value of friendship and renown, inevitable death, distrust of women. Mingled with these are the account of the god's amorous adventures and of his winning of the mead of poetry from Gunnlöð, the counsels addressed to Loddfáfnir, the account of the nine nights when Odin hangs from the wind-battered tree to obtain the runes, and the list of eighteen magic songs.
Context
The poem gathers several distinct poems that a compiler brought together, and its date remains disputed, from the tenth to the thirteenth century according to scholars; a pagan Norway seems probable for the first sections. The Codex Regius is its only source, apart from two short passages, quoted by Snorri and by the saga of the sworn brothers. The skald Eyvindr skáldaspillir takes up two stanzas in his Hákonarmál, perhaps before 960. The poem is mostly in ljóðaháttr, the metre of wisdom poetry.
Who it is for
One hundred and sixty-four stanzas, to be read by sections; the maxims can be read in isolation, while the part devoted to Odin calls for commentary.
Prizes and reception
The longest poem in the Codex Regius, often translated into English, from Benjamin Thorpe to W. H. Auden.