The Riddles of Gestumblindi: Riddle 10

As usual, here's the answer to the previous riddle:

"Góð er gáta þín, Gestumblindi, getit er þessar. Þar fara svanbrúðir til hreiðrs síns ok verpa eggjum; skurm á eggi er eigi höndum gert né hamri klappat, en svanr er fyrir eyjar utan örðigr, sá er þær gátu eggin við."

"Your riddle is good, Gestumblindi, but I have guessed it. Swan-maids* go to their nests and lay eggs; the shell of the egg is not by hand or hammer forged, and the swan by whom they previously got the eggs sits upright outside the islands."

Riddle 10

Þá mælti Gestumblindi:

"Hverjar eru þær rýgjar
á reginfjalli,
elr við kván kona,
þar til er mög of getr,
ok eigu-t þær varðir vera?
Heiðrekr konungr,
hyggðu at gátu."

Then said Gestumblindi:

"What are those ladies
On the mighty mountain,
Woman begets by wife,
So that she bears a son,
And those women have no husbands?**
Heiðrekr king,
Ponder this riddle."

*Female swans.
**This is an idiomatic rendering of (in literal word-order): and having-not [i.e. marriage] those women be.


Currently reading: Reclaiming the Atonement, Patrick Henry Reardon
Current audio book: Out of the Silent Planet, C.S. Lewis
Currently translating: Hervarar Saga, "The Riddles of Gestumblindi"

The Riddles of Gestumblindi: Riddle 9

First, here's the answer to riddle 8:

Heiðrekr mælti: "Smækkast nú gáturnar, Gestumblindi, hvat þarf lengr yfir þessu at sitja? Þat er hrafntinna, ok skein á hana sólargeisli."

Your riddles grow small, Gestumblindi, what need is there to sit any longer at this? That is obsidian*, when shone on her a sunbeam.

Riddle 9

Þá mælti Gestumblindi:

"Báru brúðir
bleikhaddaðar
ambáttir tvær
öl til skemmu;
var-at þat höndum horfit
né hamri at klappat,
þó var fyrir eyjar utan
örðigr sá, er gerði.
Heiðrekr konungr,
hyggðu at gátu."

Then said Gestumblindi:

"Maidens bore,
Fair-headed,
Serving-maids twain
Ale to the store-house;
Not turned by hands
Nor beaten by hammers,
Though far outside the island
The maker sat upright.**
Heiðrekr king,
Ponder this riddle."

*Literally "raven-flint."
**The thing which was not turned by hands or beaten by hammers must refer to the cask in which the ale was carried, not the ale itself.


Currently reading: For the Life of the World
Current audio book: The Man Who Was Thursday
Currently translating: Hervara saga, "The Riddles of Gestumblindi"

The Riddles of Gestumblindi: Riddle 8

First, here's the answer to riddle 7:

"Góð er gáta þín, Gestumblindi, getit er þessar. Þat er laukr. Höfuð hans er fast í jörðu, en hann kvíslar, er hann vex upp."

"Your riddle is good, Gestumblindi, but I have guessed it. That is a leek [or garlic]. His head is fast in the earth, and he forks as he grows upwards."

Riddle 8

Þá mælti Gestumblindi:

"Hvat er þat undra,
er ek úti sá
fyr Dellings durum;
horni harðara,
hrafni svartara,
skildi hvítara,
skapti réttara?
Heiðrekr konungr,
hyggðu at gátu."

Then said Gestumblindi:

"What is that wonder
Which I saw outside
Before Delling's Doors?
Harder than a horn,
Darker than a raven,
Whiter than a shield*,
Straighter than a shaft?
Heiðrekr king,
Ponder this riddle."

*This is the reading found in the R-text of the saga. However, the H and U versions both have "whiter than the white of an egg," which is probably closer to the original reading. The ON word for an egg-white is skjall.



Currently reading: How to be Un-Lucky, by Joshua Gibbs
Current Audio Book: The Odyssey, by Homer
Currently translating: The Waking of Agantyr

The Riddles of Gestumblindi: Riddle 7

First, here's the answer to Riddle 6:

"Þat er köngurváfur."

"That is a spider."*

Riddle 7

Þá mælti Gestumblindi:

"Hvat er þat undra,
er ek úti sá
fyr Dellings durum;
höfði sínu vísar
á helvega,
en fótum til sólar snýr?
Heiðrekr konungr,
hyggðu at gátu."

Then said Gestumblindi:

"What is that wonder
Which I saw outside
Before Delling's doors?
Its head points
The way to hell,
While its feet towards the sun are turned.
Heiðrekr king,
Think on this riddle."


*I particularly like how Heiðrekr does not compliment Gestumblindi for this particular riddle, as he does for all of the others. Maybe Heiðrekr didn't like spiders very much?


Currently Reading: For the Life of the World, Alexander Schmemman
Current Audio Book: War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
Currently Translating: Aeneid Book I, Vergil

The Riddles of Gestumblindi: Riddle 6

Here's the answer to Riddle 5:

"Góð er gáta þín, Gestumblindi, getit er þessar. Þat eru smiðbelgir; þeir hafa engan vind, nema þeim sé blásit, ok eru þeir dauðir sem annat smíði, en fyrir þeim má líkt smíða sverð sem annat."

"Good is your riddle, Gestumblindi, but I have guessed it. That is a smith's bellows; they have no breath, unless they are blown, and otherwise they are as dead as any other smith's tools, but by them you may, if you like, forge a sword* as well as another thing."

Riddle 6

Þá mælti Gestumblindi:

"Hvat er þat undra,
er ek úti sá
fyr Dellings durum;
fætr hefir átta,
en fjögur augu
ok berr ofar kné en kvið?
Heiðrekr konungr,
hyggðu at gátu."

Then said Gestumblindi:

"What is that wonder
Which I saw outside
Before Delling's doors?
Of feet it has eight,
And four eyes,
And it bears its knees above its belly?
Heiðrekr king,
Think on this riddle."


*The sword is, of course, the wound-leek referred to in the previous riddle. Wound-leek is a common kenning for a sword.


Currently reading: Homeric Moments
Current audio book: Anubis Gates
Currently translating: Book I of The Aeneid

The Riddles of Gestumblindi: Riddle 5

To begin with, here's the answer to Riddle 4:

"Góð er gáta þín, Gestumblindi, getit er þessar. Þat er hamarr sá, er hafðr er at gullsmíð; hann kveðr hátt við, er hann kemr á harðan steðja, ok þat er hans gata."

"Your riddle is good, Gestumblindi, but I have guessed it. That is a hammer that, as he is being held by a goldsmith, screams loud when he comes down on the hard anvil, and that is his road."

Riddle 5

Þá mælti Gestumblindi:

"Hvat er þat undra,

er ek úti sá

fyr Dellings durum;

ókvikvir tveir

andalausir

sáralauk suðu?

Heiðrekr konungr,

hyggðu at gátu."

Then said Gestumblindi:

"What is that wonder,

That outside I saw

Before Delling's Door*;

Both turning, two

Breathless ones

A wound-leek seethed?

Heiðrekr king,

Think on this riddle."

*This is a difficult kenning. It seems that Dellingr was probably a god, the father of Dagr, the personified day. Dellings durum probably means something like "sunrise." This is the first of a sequence of three riddles which refer to Delling's Door, and there are two more later in the saga. 

Currently Reading: Homeric Moments

Current Audio Book: The Fellowship of the Ring (almost to Rivendell!)

Currently Translating: Vergil's Aeneid

The Riddles of Gestumblindi: Riddle 4

If you're just joining us, we're going through the Riddles of Gestumblindi, a passage from Herverar saga in which Oðinn, disguised as a troublesome lord named Gestumblindi, has engaged in a riddling match with king Heiðrekr. This riddle contest may be of particular interest to Tolkien fans, since according to John Rateliff's History of the Hobbit, it is almost certainly the Urtext for the famous "Riddles in the Dark" passage in The Hobbit.

To begin today's post, here's the answer to Riddle 3:

"Góð er gáta þín, Gestumblindi, getit er þessar. Þar lagðist þú í forsælu, er dögg var fallin á grasi, ok kældir svá varir þínar ok stöðvaðir svá þorsta þinn."

"Your riddle is good, Gestumblindi, but I have guessed it. You lay in the shade where dew had fallen on the grass, and with it you cooled your lips and stopped your thirst."

Riddle 4

Þá mælti Gestumblindi:

"Hverr er sá inn hvelli,

er gengr harðar götur

ok hefir hann þær fyrr of farit,

mjök fast kyssir,

sá er hefir munna tvá

ok á gulli einu gengr?

Heiðrekr konungr,

hyggðu at gátu."

Then said Gestumblindi:

"Who is that shrill one,

who walks hard ways

where he has often fared,

many and firm are his kisses

because he has two mouths,

and on gold alone goes?"

Heiðrekr king,

ponder this riddle."

I'll post the answer, along with the next riddle, later this week. In the meantime, you like Heiðrekr can ponder this riddle!

Currently reading: Homeric Moments

Current audio book: The Fellowship of the Ring

Currently translating: Otfrid's Evangelienbuch

The Riddles of Gestumblindi: Riddle 3

First, the answer to Riddle #2:

"Góð er gáta þín, Gestumblindi, getit er þessar. Þar fórtu yfir árbrú, ok var árvegr undir þér, en fuglar flugu yfir höfði þér ok hjá þér tveim megin, ok var þat þeira vegr."

"Your riddle is good, Gestumblindi, and I have guessed it. You journeyed across a bridge, and there was an oar-way [river] under it, and a bird flew over your head, and on both sides of you, and that was their way."

The Third Riddle

Þá mælti Gestumblindi:

(3) "Hvat er þat drykki,
er ek drakk í gær,*
var-at þat vín né vatn
né in heldr mungát
né matar ekki,
ok gekk ek þorstalauss þaðan?
Heiðrekr konungr,

hyggðu at gátu."

Then said Gestumblindi:

"What was that drink
Which I drank yesterday?
It was not wine nor water
Nor even ale,
Food it was not;
Yet I went thirstless thence?
Heiðrekr king
Ponder this riddle."

*more about this way of referring to "yesterday" here.


Currently reading: Homeric Moments
Current audio book: The Fellowship of the Ring
Currently Translating: Otfrid

The Riddles of Gestumblindi: Riddle 2

First, the answer to the first riddle:

Konungr segir: "Góð er gáta þín, Gestumblindi, getit er þessar. Færi honum mungát. Þat lemr margra vit, ok margir eru þá margmálgari, er mungát ferr á, en sumum vefst tungan, svá at ekki verðr at orði."

The King said: "Your riddle is good, Gestumblindi, and I have guessed it. Bring ale* to him--'tis ale that lames the wits of many, and many become more talkative when ale gets the upper hand, but for some the tongue gets entangled, so that they cannot speak."

And now for the second riddle:

Þá mælti Gestumblindi:

(2) "Heiman ek fór,

heiman ek för gerða,

sá ek á veg vega;

var þeim vegr undir

ok vegr yfir

ok vegr á alla vega.

Heiðrekr konungr

hyggðu at gátu."

Then said Gestumblindi:

"From home I journeyed,

From home I made a journey,

Looked I on a way of ways;

Was there a way under

And a way over

And ways on all sides.

Heiðrekr king

Ponder this riddle."

As before, I'll post the answer in a few days. Until then, you like Heiðrekr can ponder this riddle.

*The word translated as ale here is mungat, which might also refer to small beer.

Currently reading: Homeric Moments: Clues to Delight in Reading the Odyssey and the Illiad

Current audio book: The Fellowship of the Ring

Currently translating: Das Ludwigslied

The Riddles of Gestumblindi: Riddle 1

If you read this blog, you know I am doing some work with Hervarar saga. One of the more memorable moments in the saga is when Oðinn engages King Heiðrekr (the current possessor of the cursed sword Tyrfingr at that moment in the saga) in a riddle contest. Oðinn is disguised as Gestumblindi, a powerful lord who had refused to pay King Heiðrekr tribute. Heiðrekr's practice for resolving disputes was as follows: they must either submit to the judgment of his counsel, or best the king (who was not called "the Wise" for nothing) in a riddle-contest. Oðinn, for his own reasons (as usual) has gone to Heiðrekr disguised as Gestumblindi and engages with him as follows:

'Lord,' said Gestumblindi, 'I have come here because I wish to be reconciled with you.'
'Will you submit to the jugdment of my wise men?' answered the king.
'Are there no other ways of redeeming myself?' asked Gestumblindi.
'There are others,' said the king, 'if you think yourself able to propound riddles.'
'I have no great skill in that,' Gestumblindi replied, 'but the other way seems hard.'
'Then will you rather submit to the judgment of my counselors?' asked the king.
'I choose rather to propound riddles,' said Gestumblindi.
'That is right and fitting,' said the king.
Then said Gestumblindi:
(Trans. C. Tolkien)

For fun and practice, I'm going to be translating the riddles themselves. I'll post a riddle, then the answer to the riddle as well as the next riddle in the following post. Feel free to follow along with me and match wits with Oðinn himself.

Here's the first riddle:

Hafa vildak
þat er ek hafða í gær,
vittu, hvat þat var:
Lýða lemill,
orða tefill
ok orða upphefill.
Heiðrekr konungr,
hyggðu at gátu.

(1) I wish to have today
What I had yesterday,
Ponder what that was:
Men it mames,
Speech destroys,
And speech inspires.
Heiðrekr king,
Ponder this riddle.


Currently reading: Summa Theologiae
Current Audio Book: The Lord of the Rings
Currently translating: The Old High German Tatian