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V afthrudnir (V afÞruÐnir )
An old giant,
the wisest of all giants and famed for his talent of
answering riddles. He lives in a hall some distance
from Asgard. In the poem V afthrudnismal , from the
P oetic E dda , Odin visits Vafthrudnir and challenges
the giant to a riddle contest. Vafthrudnir is known
only from this poem, though Snorri Sturluson does
mention the giant in his recounting of the creation
story in the P rose E dda .
V afthrudnismal (V afÞruÐnismal ;
Lay of
Vafthrudnir) A 10th-century poem from the P oetic
E dda . Vafthrudnir, the central character, is described
as a “wise giant and riddle master.” Odin, using the
name Gagnrad, visits the giant to test his knowledge
and to obtain some wisdom. The poem takes the
form of a question-and-answer game between Odin
and the giant.
First Odin answers Vafthrudnir’s questions. The
giant is impressed by his guest’s knowledge and in
turn answers Odin’s questions about the Sun and
the Moon, day and night, winter and summer, the
first giants, the Vanir gods, the hall of dead heroes,
and the fate of the gods. Finally, Odin asks about the
end of the world and the world thereafter. Odin in
turn is impressed by the giant’s knowledge and asks
him how he acquired it. Vafthrudnir says that he has
roamed far and wide, even to the home of the dead in
Niflheim, and can also read the runes.
The Lay of Vafthrudnir is a valuable source of
information about the Norse myths. All of it appears
in the C odex R egius and some of it in the Arnamag-
nean Codex of the Poetic Edda. Snorri Sturluson
draws upon it extensively in the P rose E dda .
V alaskjalf (V alaskialf ; Shelf of the Slain)
One
of the many halls of the gods in Asgard. Mythologists
debate exactly who lived in this hall. In the poem
G rimnismal , part of the P oetic E dda , Valaskjalf is
described as a structure thatched in sliver and made
by “the god” himself, but experts disagree over who
this specific god might be.
In his work G ylfaginning , Snorri Sturluson
wrote that the great god Odin himself owned Valask-
jalf, and that the gods made the great hall. In this hall
is Hlidskjalf, Odin’s great high seat or throne.
V algrind (Carrion
Gate, Death Gate) Either
one of the gates of Hel (2) or one of the gates of
Valhalla, the hall of the slain. As a gate that guarded
Hel, Valgrind stands with two others, Helgrind,
which means “Hel Gate,” and Nagrind, which means
“corpse gate.” The gates close so fast that they catch
the heel of anyone trying to pass through them.
But in the poem G rimnismal , Valgrind is portrayed
as an old gate of Valhalla that guards holy doors that
stand behind it. Some linguists also translate the
name Valgrind as the “Grill of the Fallen.”
V alhalla (V alholl ; Hall of the Slain) The
hall built by the god Odin in Asgard to receive
heroes slain in battle. The warriors, called Einherjar,
fought all day and feasted all night. They were
brought to Valhalla by the Valkyries, Odin’s warrior
maidens, led by the goddess Freya. The heroes went
to battle at Odin’s side at Ragnarok, the end of the
world, in which all were slain once again.
In modern English the word Valhalla means a
heavenly place where the deserving dead find eternal
happiness, or an esteemed burial place on Earth.
Valhalla appears in the P oetic E dda (especially in
G rimnismal ) and Snorri Sturluson’s P rose E dda .
The Hall of Dead Heroes Odin, the Alfodr
and warrior god of the Aesir, built Valhalla, the Hall
of the Slain. It was situated in Gladsheim, Odin’s
realm in Asgard. It was the most beautiful hall there.
The roof was tiled with shining shields, the rafters
were flashing spears, and on the benches were fine
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