Vadgelmir

Vadgelmir (Vaðgelmir) is a river or stream in Norse mythology. It is mentioned in the eddic poems Grípisspá or SigurÞarkviða Fafnisbana önnur (The Second Lay of Sigurd Fafnicide) and Völuspá.

Etymology[]

Zavaroni translates the name as "Evil-ford".^[1]

Völuspá[]

Völuspá 39 records that breaking an oath, murder, and adultery are among the bad deeds for which entering Vadgelmir is a punishment.^[2]

Grípisspá[]

According to a legend recounted in Grípisspá , Loki forced Andvari to tell him how liars will be punished in the Other World. Andvari responded that their punishment is to enter Vadgelmir.^[3]

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".^[4] Andvari responds: "[c]ruel retribution get the sons of mortals, who in Vadgelmir wade: for the false words they have against others uttered, the punishments too long endure".^[4]

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.^[5]

References[]

^ Zavaroni, Adolfo (15 March 2006). "Mead and Functions of Mímir, Oðinn, Viðófnir and Svipdagr". Amsterdamer Beiträge zur älteren Germanistik. 61 (1): 82. doi:10.1163/18756719-061001007. ISSN 0165-7305.
^ McKinnell, John (30 April 2014). Essays on Eddic Poetry. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. p. 195. ISBN 978-1-4426-6926-0. OCLC 879870428.
^ MacCulloch, John Arnott (1930). The Mythology of All Races. 2. Boston: Archaeological Institute of America. p. 268.
^ ^a ^b The Elder Eddas of Saemund Sigfusson. Translated by Thorpe, Benjamin. London: Norrœna Society. 1906. p. 167. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
^ Schorn, Brittany Erin (10 January 2012). 'How Can His Word Be Trusted?': Speaker and Authority in Old Norse Wisdom Poetry (PhD thesis). University of Cambridge. p. 32. doi:10.17863/CAM.15907.

[1] Zavaroni, Adolfo (15 March 2006). "Mead and Functions of Mímir, Oðinn, Viðófnir and Svipdagr". Amsterdamer Beiträge zur älteren Germanistik. 61 (1): 82. doi:10.1163/18756719-061001007. ISSN 0165-7305.

[2] McKinnell, John (30 April 2014). Essays on Eddic Poetry. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. p. 195. ISBN 978-1-4426-6926-0. OCLC 879870428.

[3] MacCulloch, John Arnott (1930). The Mythology of All Races. 2. Boston: Archaeological Institute of America. p. 268.

[:0-4] The Elder Eddas of Saemund Sigfusson. Translated by Thorpe, Benjamin. London: Norrœna Society. 1906. p. 167. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

[5] Schorn, Brittany Erin (10 January 2012). 'How Can His Word Be Trusted?': Speaker and Authority in Old Norse Wisdom Poetry (PhD thesis). University of Cambridge. p. 32. doi:10.17863/CAM.15907.

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