The Völuspá (Old Norse for “Prophecy of the Seeress”) is one of the most important and well-known poems in the Poetic Edda, which is a collection of Old Norse poems from the Viking Age. The Poetic Edda is a primary source of Norse mythology and a significant literary work in the medieval Icelandic literary tradition.
The Völuspá is a narrative poem that tells the story of the creation of the world and its eventual destruction, known as Ragnarök, from the perspective of a seeress or volva. The poem describes the past, present, and future of the cosmos, including the birth of the gods, the creation of humans, and the fate of gods and men at the end of the world. It contains rich imagery, mythical elements, and provides insights into Norse cosmology and the beliefs of the people of that time.
Þar var Móðsognir mæztr um orðinn
dverga allra, en Durinn annarr;
þeir mannlíkun mörg um gerðu
dvergar í jörðu, sem Durinn sagði
There was Motsognir, the greatest in speech
of all the dwarves. But Durinn was second.
These dwarves made many man-like-bodies
out of the earth as Durinn had asked.
(James Allen Chisholm)
There Motsognir became most famous of
all dwarfs, and Durin next;
Many manlike figures the dwarfs made,
out of the earth, as Durin recounted.
(Carolyne Larrington)
There was Motsognir the mightiest made
of all the dwarfs, and Durin next;
Many a likeness of men they made,
The dwarfs in the earth, as Durin said.
(Henry Adams Bellows)
Then was Motsognir
created greatest
of all the dwarfs,
and Durin second;
there in man’s likeness
they created many
dwarfs from the earth,
as Durin said.
(Benjamin Thorpe)
*(Thomas Smith)
There Motsogner obtained the pre-eminence
Of all the Duerga. Durin the next.
They made many images of men,
Dwarfs on the earth, as Durin said.
(Sharon Turner)
*(Ebenezer Henderson)
they fashioned out of earth,
in the image of man,
many Dwarves as Durinn commanded
(Gudbrand Vigfusen and F. York Powell)
*(Jacqueline Simpson)
Then was Modsognir
Made the mightiest
Of all the dwarfs,
And Durin the second;
Many shapes of men
These made on the earth,
As Durin told,
These Dwarfs aforesaid.
(William Morris)
thus Sea-Mind
most renowned became
of all the dwarfs,
Dwarfish was second;
they made many
human forms,
the dwarfs from the earth,
as Dwarfish told them
(Bernard Scudder)
Mótsognir rose, mightiest ruler
Of the kin of dwarfs, but Durin next;
Molded many manlike bodies
The dwarfs under earth, as Durin bade them.
(Lee M Hollander)
