Snorri Sturluson

“ Dead bodies float down with the stream, And from the shores witch-ravens scream. The cold blue river now runs red With the warm blood of warriors dead, And stains the waves in Karmt Sound With the last drops of the death-wound. "All down the stream, with unmann'd prow, Floats many an empty long-ship now, Ship after ship, shout after shout, Tell that Kign Hakon can't hold out. The bowmen ply their bows of elm, The red swords flash o'er broken helm: King Hakon's men rush to the strand, Out of their ships, up through the land." ”

“ A host shall come Hither, with swiftness, And fire the dwellings Above King Fródi.
'Thou shalt not hold The stead of Hleidr, The red gold rings Nor the gods' holy altar; We grasp the handle, Maiden, more hardly,— We were not warmer In the wound-gore of corpses. 'My father's maid Mightily ground For she saw the feyness Of men full many; The sturdy posts From the flour-box started, Made staunch with iron. Grind we yet swifter. 'Grind we yet swifter! The son of Yrsa, Hálfdanr's kinsman, Shall come with vengeance On Fródi's head: Him shall men call Yrsa's son and brother. ”

“ He replied, "It would be vexatious to know that a gallant king, who has gained so much honour in the world, should so forget himself. When you rose up out of Jordan, after bathing in the same waters as God himself, with palm-leaves in your hands, and the cross upon your breast, it was something else you promised, sire, than to eat flesh-meat on a Friday. If a meaner man were to do so, he would merit a heavy punishment. This royal hall is not so beset as it should be, when it falls upon me, a mean man, to challenge such an act." ”

“ In the east dwells the old hag, In the Jarnved forest; And brings forth there Fenrer's offspring. There comes of them all One the worst, The moon's devourer In a troll's disguise. He is filled with the life-blood Of men doomed to die; The seats of the gods He stains with red gore; Sunshine grows black The summer thereafter, All weather gets fickle. Know you yet or not? 13. Then asked Ganglere: What is the path from earth to heaven? Har answered, laughing: Foolishly do you now ask. Have you not been told that the gods made a bridge from earth to heaven, which is called Bifrost? ”

“ Harek answered: 'May I speak with permission what I please?'
'Speak,' said the king.
'This I judge,' said Harek, 'that thou wouldst not deem it to be well, if thou, O king, heardest every one's words, what men say when speaking their minds freely at home, how they think that it is a tyranny thou exercisest over all people. But the plain truth is, O king, that to rise against thee the people lack nothing but boldness and a leader. Nor is it wonderful in a man like Thorolf that he thinks himself above everyone; he wants not for strength and comeliness; he keeps a guard round him like a king ”

“ Canute is out beneath the sky— Canute of the clear blue eye! The king is out on the ocean's breast, Leading his grand fleet from the West. On to the East the ship-masts glide, Glancing and bright each long-ship's side. The conqueror of great Ethelred, Canute, is there, his foemen's dread: His dragon with her sails of blue, All bright and brilliant to the view, High hoisted on the yard arms wide, Carries great Canute o'er the tide. Brave is the royal progress—fast The proud ship's keel obeys the mast, Dashes through foam, and gains the land, Raising a surge on Limfjord's strand. ”

“ When we inquire whom Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday and Friday are named after, and press questions in reference to Tyr, Odin, Thor and Freyja, we get at best but a wise and knowing look. Are we, then, as a nation, like the ancient Jews, and do we bend the knee before the gods of foreign nations and forsake the altars of our own gods? What if we then should suffer the fate of that unhappy people—be scattered over all the world and lose our fatherland? In these Eddas our fathers have bequeathed unto us all their profoundest, all their sublimest, all their best thought. ”

“ King Hakon, whose sharp sword dyes red The bright steel cap on many a head, Has set a warrior brave and stout The foreign foeman to keep out, -- To keep that green land safe from war Which black Night bore to dwarf Annar.1 For many a carle whose trade's to wield The battle-axe, and swing the shield, On the swan's ocean-skates has come, In white-winged ships, across the foam, -- Across the sea, from far Ireland, To war against the Norseman's land. ”

“ The fair warriors of the Æsir, In battle wise, fast waded, And the surging pool, sward-sweeping, Streamed: the earth-drift's billow, Blown by the mighty tempest, Tugged with monstrous fury At the terrible oppressor Of the earth-born tribe of cave-folk. Till Thjálfi came uplifted On his lord Thor's wide shield-strap: That was a mighty thew-test For the Prop of Heaven; the maidens Of the harmful giant stiffly Held the stream stubborn against them ”

“ Then Hedin called to Hogne, his father-in-law, offering him a reconciliation and much gold as a ransom. Hogne answered: Too late do you offer to make peace with me, for now I have drawn the sword Dainsleif, which was smithied by the dwarfs, and must be the death of a man whenever it is drawn; its blows never miss the mark, and the wounds made by it never heal. Said Hedin: You boast the sword, but not the victory. That I call a good sword that is always faithful to its master. ”