THE LAY OF RÍG

RÍGSÞULA

"The Lay of Ríg" as preserved fills exactly the last sheet of the Codex
Wormianus of Snorri's Edda.  The lost conclusion evidently stood on a
following one.  However, notwithstanding this fragmentary condition, it is
clear that they lay was intended as a glorification of the existing
aristocratic order in the Scandinavian homeland---not in the republican
Iceland---whether in Denmark or Norway, and more specially as a vindication of
the divine origin of kingship.  But this is as far as agreement among scholars
goes:  about few Eddic poems has there been such a diversity of opinion in
almost every other respect.  Thus, one famous scholar is convinced that the
author had Norwegian condition in mind, that the lay is therefore Norwegian,
that it dates from the tenth century, that the young Kon may represent Harald
Fairhair himself.  Another scholar agrees that it was composed early in the
tenth century, since the poem seems to presuppose heathendom undisturbed, but
holds that it is by some Icelandic skald celebrating the Danish royal house,
perhaps King Gorm the Old or Harald Bluetooth (1).  Still another holds the
view that the lay had its origin on one of the Scottish islands and it has
also been urged that it mirrors Old Irish conditions.  However that may be,
God as the progenitor of all three estates definitely is a medieval Christian
conception.
Again, until recently the lay had been universally regarded as a valuable
source of information on social conditions in the earliest times;  but this
now seems open to doubt with the growing feeling that it may be the didactic,
antiquarian effort of a learned skald.  At any rate, in its lists of names
(like the whole lay, in free fornyrðislag) there is a suspicious similarity to
the nafnaþulur (rigmaroles) and the heitatol of the thirteenth century, and to
such a poem as the "Alíssmál,";  so that we may not be far wrong in assigning
the lay to the eleventh or twelfth century.  However, it could hardly be
later, because serfdom was abolished in Norway at the end of the twelfth
century.
But whatever its authenticity, the lay does stand out as unique among Eddic
poems, and will always be read with interest for its vivid and colorful,
though brief, contrasted descriptions of the life of the thrall, the freeman,
and the noble in ancient Scandinavia.


It is told by men in olden tales that one of the gods whose name was
Heimdall, fared forth along the seashore until he came to a farm.  There he
called himself Ríg.  The following poem treats of the this tale.

1. In olden times, say they,        on earth-paths green
there wended his way       a wise god ancient,
rugged and mighty----       Ríg (2) was he hight.

2. Walked unwearied (in middle ways); (3)
to a dwelling he came,     was the door bolted.
In gan he go,      on the ground was a fire, (4)
at the hearth, hoary,    sate husband and wife---
Ái and Edda, (5)           in old headgear.

3. Well knew Ríg         wisely to counsel;
on middle seat       he sate him down,
betwixt the twain               of the toft benched him.

4. Then took Edda              a thick loaf heavy
of bread hard-baked   and full of bran;
a bowl then bore             on the board Edda,
filled with the broth     of boiled calf-meat.

5. Well knew Ríg         wisely to counsel;
he rose up thence, ready for sleep;
on middle bedstead his berth he made,
betwixt the twain               of the toft laid him. (6)

6. And there stayed he three days together; (7)
then walked unwearied         in middle ways.
Moons full nine           went meanwhile by.

7. Gave Edda birth           to a boy child then,
(in clouts she swathed) (8)               the swarthy-skinned one.
Thrall they called him,        and cast on him water (9)
(dark was his hair                and dull his eyes.) (10)

8. On his hand the skin     was scraggy and wrinkled,
(nasty his nails), (11) his knuckles gnarled,
his fingers thick,             his face ugly,
his back hulky,             his heels were long.

9. He gan to grow           and gain in strength, (12)
betimes took him             to try his might:
to bind bast ropes, burdens to pack,
to bear faggots home      the whole day long.

10. Came to his cot            a crook-legged wench----
were her soles dirty, and sunburnt her arms,
her nose bent downward;             her name was Thír. (13)

11. On middle seat         she sate her down,
by her side did sit the son of the house;
whispered and laughed           and lay together
Thrall and Thír           whole days through.

12. In their hut, happy, they had a brood:
I ween they were hight (14) Hay-Giver, Howler
Bastard, Sluggard, Bent-Back and Paunch,
Stumpy, Stinker             Stableboy, Swarthy,
Longshanks and Lout:         they laid fences,
put dung on fields, fattened the swine,
herded the goats,              and grubbed up peat. (15)

13. Their daughters were Drudge and Daggle-Tail,
Slattern, Serving-Maid,          and Cinder-Wench,
Stout-Leg, Shorty, Stumpy and Dumpy,
Spinkleshanks eke,    and Sputterer:
thence are sprung the breed of thralls.

14. At his staff Ríg strode,        and straight forth fared;
to a dwelling he came,        was the door ajar.
In gan he go,     on the ground was a fire,
sate husband and wife there with their work busy.

15. A weaver's beam           out of wood he shaped----
his beard was brushed,          and banged, his hair----
in kirtle tight-fitting;    were planks on the floor.

16. The good wife sate and swayed her distaff,
braided the yarn            to use for weaving,
with a snood (16) on her head     and a smock on her breast,
on her neck, a kerchief,         and clasps (17) on her shoulders.
Afi and Amma        owned that house.

17. Well knew Ríg        wisely to counsel,
(18) (on middle seat he sate him down,
betwixt the twain              of the toft benched him).

18. (Then took Amma ........... ............ .............
............ .......... ........ ........... .......... .......
( a full trencher           on the table she put
with boiled calf-meat,     the best she had.)

19. (Well knew Ríg           wisely to counsel),
he rose up thence, ready for sleep;
on middle bedstead his berth he made,
betwixt the twain           of the toft laid him.

20. And there stayed he three days together
(then walked unwearied            in the middle ways).
Moons full nine              went meanwhile by.

21. Gave Amma birth               to a boy child then.
Karl (19) they called him,           clothed in linen;
ruddy his hue,         and rapid his eyes.

22. Then gan he grow and gain in strength,
tamed the oxen          and tempered ploughshares,
timbered houses,              and barns for the hay,
fashioned carts,             and followed the plough.

23. A bride they brought him           with a bunch of keys dangling,
in goatskin kirtle,              gave her to Karl.
Snær (20) was she hight             and sate under veil,
[a house they reared them             and rings bestowed,] (21)
their linen they spread,        and the larder stocked.

24. In their homestead, happy,                they had a brood,
hight Man and Yeoman,             Master, Goodman,
Husbandman, Farmer,       Franklin, Crofter,
Bound-Beard, Steep-Beard, (22)      Broad, (23) Swain, and Smith.

25. By other names             were known their daughters:
Woman, Gentlewoman,          Wife, Bride, Lady,
Haughty, Maiden, Hussif and Dame:
thence are come           the kin of carls.

26. At his staff Ríg strode         steadfastly on;
a hall he saw then, was southward (24) the door,
raised on high,           with a ring in the doorpost.

27. He strode in straightway,           was straw on the floor.
Sate there the good folk,        gazed at each other,
Father and Motheer,   with their fingers playing. (25)

28. On the bench he sate,    a bowstring twining,
bent the elmwood, (26)    and arrows shafted.
Sate the lady,        looked at her arms,
stroked the linen,             straightened her sleeves.

29. Was a brooch on her breast, and a bonnet on her head,
a long train of silk, (27)     and sark all blue.
Was her brow brighter,        her breast lighter,
her neck whiter, (28) than whitest snow.

30. Well knew Ríg        wisely to counsel,
on middle seat      he sate him down,
betwixt the twain            of the toft he benched him.

31. Of bleached flax then    a broidered cloth
did Mother take,             and the table covered;
a light-baked loaf          she laid on the table,
of wheaten meal,              white and thin.

32. A full trencher          on the table she put,
silver-plated,    and set forth then
flitches of bacon              and steaked fowl also;
there was wine in a crock,             were the cups gold-plated;
they drank and chatted         till the day was ended.

33. Well could Ríg        wisely counsel;
he rose up thence, ready for sleep;
(29) (on middle bedstead           his berth he made,
betwixt the twain             of the toft he laid him.)

34. And there stayed he   three days together;
then walked unwearied        in middle ways.
Full nine months           went meanwhile by.

35. A son bore Mother, in silk they swathed him,
sprinkled water on him          and called him Earl.
Was his hair flaxen, and fair-hued his cheek,
his eyes awfully           like an adder's, blazed. (30)

36. Up grew Earl       within the hall,
gan bucklers wield and the bowstring fasten,
gan the elmwood bend         and arrows shaft;
gan hurl the spear and speed the lance,
gan hunt with hounds,         and horses ride,
gan brandish swords    and swim in the sea.

37. Out of woodlands came Ríg walking,
came Ríg walking,                  and taught him runes;
his own name gave him           as heir and son,
bade him make his own         the udal lands, (31)
the udal lands           and olden manors.

38. He dauntless rode through darkling woods,
over frosty fells,              to a faraway hall.
Shields he shattered       and shafts he hurled,
brandished his sword       and swiftly rode;
he wakened war          and warriors slew,
with wound-red weapons                he won him land.

39. He made himself master        of manors eighteen,
gan share his wealth and shower it on all:
silver and gold        and slender steeds;
squandered arm rings        and scattered gold. (32)

40. His heralds drove on dew-wet paths,
and came to the hall    where Hersir (33) dwelled;
a daughter had he, dainty-fingered,
fair-haired and wise,      was she hight Erna. (34)

41. For her hand they asked,           and home drove her,
gave her to Earl,          gowned in linen;
they lived together   and loved each other,
had many children, and lived cheerfully.

42. Boy was the oldest, Bairn the second,
then Issue and Child,      Heir, Youth, and Squire,
Offspring and Lad----    they sports did learn---
Son and Scion----- swimming and "tables";  (35)

43. Up within hall       grew Earl's children;
spearshafts they shook,             with shields they fended,
swift steeds bestrode,      and straightened arrows.

44. But Kon only           could carve runes, (37)
runes lasting ay,          life-keeping runes:
to bring forth babes   birth runes he knew,
to dull sword edges and to calm the sea.

45. Fowls' speech he knew,          and quenched fires,
could soothe (sorrows) (38) and the sick mind heal;
in his arms the strength        of eight men had.

46. In runes he rivaled Ríg the Earl; (39)
with wiles he warred,      outwitting him;
thus got for himself, and gained to have,
the name of Ríg          and runic lore.

47. Rode Kon the young      through copse and woods,
birds he snared,          used bow and arrow.

48. Then quoth a crow, croaking on branch:
"Why snarest thou birds,            scion of kings?
Rather should'st thou     ride swift horse,
(brandish swords) (40)        and slay foemen.

49. "Have Dan and Danp (41)         a dwelling richer,
and lands larger,           than are left to thee;
are they skilled in steering              on stormy seas,
in trying swords               and slaying heroes." (42)

_______________

1. See St. 49 and Notes.
2. In no other source does Heimdall bear this name, which is probably from the
Celtic ri(g), "king," or else Græco-Latin rex.  The fact that in "Voluspá,"
St. 1, "all hallowed beings" (men?) are mentioned as his children, "high and
low," has led to the conjecture that the author took these lines as his
"text".
3. That is, of Mithgarth.  The line is supplied from Sts. 6 and 34.  It may
mean, here, "on earth."
4. In Old Germanic times the hearth fire was built on the ground, the smoke
escaping through the louver.
5. Words still used in Modern Icelandic for "grandfather" and "grandmother."
6. In the oldest times it was not uncommon in the North, as is still the case
among primitive peoples, for the host to offer his wife or daughter to the
honored guest.
7. Guests generally remained three days.
8. Following Gering's suggestion.
9. This is the old Germanic baptismal ceremony of "name-fastening" which had
grown up, probably, independently of the Christian rite.  See "Hávamál,"  St.
158.
10. Supplied after Sijmon's suggestion, to correspond with the description in
Sts. 21 and 35.
11. Supplied after Grundtvig's suggestion.  Sallow complexion, dull eyes, and
an unlovely appearance in general, are the standard characteristics of the
slave in Old Norse tradition.
12. The line transposed here from Stanza 8 of the original to conform to
Stanza 22.
13. "Drudge."
14. Some of the names in this list, as well as in those following, are
doubtful.  The Translator has not followed the order of the original in this,
or in the following, list of names.
15.  In the Orkneyinga saga, Chap. 7, we are told that it was Earl Einar, the
Norwegian ruler of the Orkneys in the ninth century, who first taught the
islanders how to use peat.  But the digging of peat was probably very old in
the treeless portions of the North.  Already Pliny (Hist. nat. XVI, 1)
describes the method of curing it as practiced on the shores of the North Sea.
16. In the original, rather "hood."
17. The word dvergar of the original means "flat plate ornaments."
18. The portions of Sts. 17-20 within parantheses are supplied after Bugge's
very plausible suggestion, from the corresponding passages.
19. "Carl," (free) man of the common people.
20. "Daughter-in-Law."  See the description of Thór as a bride in
"Þrymskviða," St. 19.
21. Probably interpolated:  the dealing out of rings is typical of the
nobility, not the common people (see "Helgakviða Hundingsbana" I, Note 24).
The exchange of rings as in the Christian marriage ceremony (which has been
suggested) seems utterly foreign to the passage.
22. Possibly referring to unknown fashions of wearing the beard.
23. Nicknamee of the burly, proud farmer.
24. South is the direction of good omen.  The Old Icelandic door raised up-
and-down, on hinges.  It is raised, in the house of the noble, to indicate his
hospitality.  The ring served as knocker.
25. Probably as an outward sign of leisure.
26. The bow made of elmwood.
27. The material is not indicated in the original.
28. The rime is not in the original.
29. Supplied from the corresponding passages.
30. Flashing eyes were regarded as a sure token of noble birth.  See Tacitus'
acies oculorum of the Teutons.
31. That is, the lands entailed by primogeniture.
32. Lavish generosity was one of the princely virtues.
33. "Lord," chieftain of a district.
34. "The Efficient" (?).
35. This was a board game, a kind of chess.  Compare the German (Schach-)
zabeln.  It was a royal accomplishment, like those mentioned in St. 38.
36. The last two names are etymologically akin and signify "noble descendant."
In the original , kon ( r ) ungr (Kon the Young) yeilds Old Norse konungr,
"king," by juxtaposition (and popular etymology).
37. For this and the following rune magic see "Hávamál,"  St. 146 ff., and
"Sigrdrífumál,"  St. 6 ff.
38. Following Sijmon's emendation.
39. That is, his father, the son of Ríg (Heimdall).  He now bestows the title
of Ríg, "king," on Kon as his true heir.
40. Supplied from St. 36.
41. In all probability these are eponymous kings of Denmark.  See "Atlakviða,"
St. 5.
42. The poem ends here abruptly.  From the whole tenor of the poem we cannot
doubt that Kon follows the advice of the bird (as does Sigurth in
"Fáfnismál,")  and wins the lands of Dan and Danp.  According to the synoptic
account o the lost Skjoldungasaga given by the learned Icelander, Arngrím
Jónsson (1597), King Ríg married Dana, the daughter of Danpr of Danpstead, and
their son Dan was the mythical king who united Denmark under one rule.