Title: Grímnismál

Tags: Hooded traveller

Description:

Grímnismál ("The Words of Grímnir") is one of the poems contained in the Codex Regius ("royal book") of thePoetic Edda. It is the fourth poem in the manuscript, and similar toVöluspá, it is quoted heavily in theProse Eddaattributed to Snorri Sturluson (LINK). Like some other poems in the Codex Regius of the Poetic Edda, Grímnismál is preceded by a short prose section which is considered to be younger than the poem itself, inserted possibly by one of the scribes or compilers of Codex Regius, but it is still thought to be reliable in its addition of context. The poem itself is in the form of a conversation between Grímnir ("hooded," "masked one"), who is the god Óðinn (LINK) in disguise, and Agnarr, the young son of king Geirrøðr (although only Óðinn speaks). Very similar toVafþrúðnismál,Grímnismális a list of cosmological knowledge in the form of a conversation. It is thus an important source of information on various things in Norse mythology.

Synopsis​

The prose introduction tells how a king named Hrauðungr had two sons, Agnarr and Geirrøðr. The two young boys go out in a boat together but are driven far out to sea by a strong wind, until they reached a shore where they found a farm to stay at. Agnarr, the older one, was fostered by the woman living there, and Geirrøðr by the man. In the spring, the man gave the brothers a ship to sail home with, but before they left, the man speaks privately with Geirrøðr. When they arrive home, Geirrøðr jumps ashore first and pushes the ship back out and says "go where the evil one may take you!" Geirrøðr goes to his father's home to find him dead, and he is welcomed back as the new king. The man and woman at the farm are then revealed to be Óðinn and Frigg (LINK), and Óðinn boasts that his foster-son is a king in a rich land while Frigg's is raising children in a cave with a gýgr ("giantess, ogress;" a rare word designating a female jötunn). Frigg retorts by accusing Geirrøðr of being a stingy king, a serious accusation, who also tortures his guests. Óðinn denies this, and they have a wager on it. Frigg then sends a handmaiden to warn King Geirrøðr that a magician will soon visit him, so when a cloaked man named Grímnir arrives, Geirrøðr has him seized, tortured, and placed between two fires, where he stays for eight nights. On the eighth night, the kings son, named Agnarr after his uncle, brings Grímnir a full horn to drink, and regrets that his father is treating an innocent man so badly. In response for this kindness, Grímnir blesses Agnarr and foretells that he will rule the kingdom, and begins to list a great amount of mythological lore. This is where the poem proper begins.

The poem opens with a listing of the abodes of the gods, the names of the halls and who lives there (stanzas 4–17). Then there are descriptions ofValhöll, or Valhalla (stanzas 18–25); the food and drink served there to theEinherjar, Óðinn's chosen warriors; Óðinn's wolves, Geri and Freki (both of which can be interpreted to mean "greedy, ravenous"); and his ravens, Huginn and Muninn ("thought" and "memory," respectively) (LINK ALL). The stag Eikþyrnir (LINK) is described (stanza 26), standing atop Valhöll and dripping water from his antlers into the spring Hvergelmir, which is the source of many rivers, which are then listed and named (stanzas 27–29). Then a wondrous depiction of Yggdrasill (LINK), the cosmic tree, is given (stanzas 31–35): it has three roots, under each one of which live Hel, the frost-giants, and humankind. The squirrel, Ratatoskr (LINK), who runs up and down the trunk of the tree and brings news; the four harts (male deer) that nibble on the foliage; all the serpents that inhabit the tree, including the ominous dragon Níðhöggr (LINK) that tears up the roots. Stanza 36 names some valkyries (LINK) who serve drinks in Valhöll. Stanzas 38 and 39 tell of the horses which pull the chariots of the sun and moon through the heavens, and the wolves, Sköll and Hati, which chase after them (LINKS). 40 and 41 describe the creation of the earth and Miðgarðr (LINK) from the body of the primordial jötunn Ymir (LINK). A few stanzas later, the poem enters its last section, when Grímnir begins listing all of his names, which are all names of Óðinn, revealing his identity to Agnarr (stanzas 46–54). In stanzas 51–53, he exclaims that Geirrøðr has lost his favour and will die soon. 

The poem is followed by a very short prose conclusion, which tells that when king Geirrøðr hears that was Óðinn all along, he gets up to go free him, but the sword which he had in his lap falls, blade pointing up, and Geirrøðr falls on it, dying. Afterwards, Óðinn disappeared and Agnarr was king for a long time.

Analysis​

The form of the poem resembles other initiation scenes, where a young prince or warrior is instructed in magical and mythological lore and prepared for great deeds or rulership. It is also representative of Óðinn's close connection with the ideology of kingship and presents a narrative meditation on concepts of sovereignty in Viking Age and Medieval Scandinavia. Óðinn's favor, a symbol of divine favor more generally, is necessary for the taking (and keeping, as Geirrøðr's misstep shows) of a throne. However, the prose introduction shows that king Geirrøðr's fate is the result of the meddling of the gods and their wagers with each other. Despite losing Óðinn's favor by imprisoning him, he only does so because Frigg warned him falsely of a magician seeking to do him harm, which itself was payback against Óðinn's deceit in advising young Geirrøðr to push his brother back out to sea and take the throne for himself. This echoes a wider Germanic notion of fate's unavoidability, whether it is created by the gods or by the Nornir (LINK), whose power determines even the gods' fates, exemplified by the inescapable Ragnarök (LINK).