Foreword
Völsa Þáttr is a likely 14th century tale, contained only in Flateyjarbók as an insertion into Ólafs Saga Helga, though it claims to be derived from a more “ancient” poem. It tells the story of a family in a remote part of northern Norway who institute a practice of worshipping a dismembered horse penis, but are later converted to Christianity through an interaction with Saint Olaf.1 Written from a Christian point of view, the þáttr’s purpose is to highlight the importance of Olaf’s missionary efforts by casting earlier pagan practices in an extreme and absurd light.
Though the story’s bias and purpose are clear from the text, its content also prompts an important follow-up question, which is, can anything be gleaned from the events described in this story about actual pagan practices?
It is not impossible that practices appearing absurd or even offensive to Christian sensibilities could have been commonplace in pagan society. On the other hand, the story does not present this sort of phallus worship as commonplace, but rather as a unique, familial custom. While the story itself may be the invention of a Christian author, the lesser-known deity name Mornir is attested in one other source2, poetry as a form of worship is attested throughout the record, and the notion of using herbs to preserve a severed body part in order to derive some numinous utility from it mirrors Odin’s actions taken with Mimir’s head in Norse mythology. It has also been proposed that the request made late in the story by the farmer’s wife to be raised above the door hinges (which is otherwise hard to understand) seems to recall Ibn Fadlan’s documentation of early 10th century Rus funerary practices.3
The þáttr may therefore preserve some extant memories of Scandinavian paganism, though as Margaret Clunies Ross reminds us, even if texts such as this one “may contain elements of truth”, we can not overlook the “somewhat stereotyped template involving a later, Christian view of the nature of pagan worship.”4
In this translation I have largely followed the source text as normalized by Anthony Faulkes in Stories From Sagas of Kings (2007).5 I have also broken each paragraph into a separate block containing the original Old Norse followed by its English translation. Readers should understand that, in hopes of preserving important details, I have attempted to provide the most literal translation possible, though this sometimes results in clunky English prose. Readers should also be aware that Old Norse prose often alternates sporadically between past and present tense. This is a deliberate technique used by ancient narrators to highlight and intensify certain details by describing them as if they are happening in the present. I have preserved this in my translation.
Preserving important details also requires deciphering a few kennings within the text where they occur. For the uninitiated, a kenning is an ancient Germanic technique of simple and complex poetic metaphors and allusions. For example, rather than using the word “sea”, a poet may opt for a phrase like “whale road”, alluding to the sea as a road for whales. Similarly, a phrase like “willow of Ægir’s fire” may be used as a reference to any woman. This reference is more complex, requiring the audience to know that trees are common references to humans, Ægir’s fire is a mythology-based reference to gold, and the construction “person of gold” is itself a common reference to a woman, conceptualized as one who is draped in jewelry. Völsa Þáttr is by no means overflowing with complex kennings, though it is useful to be aware of this technique before proceeding.
One final note of preamble revolves around the uncertain identity of Mornir who is referenced repeatedly throughout the phallus-worshipping ritual. Within the þáttr, this name is used as one might invoke the name of a deity. Each person takes the phallus, speaks a short verse, adds the phrase “May Mornir accept this idol,” then offers it to the next person. Linguistically, based on an attestation of the name in genitive form in Heimskringla, Mornir must be a masculine, singular noun. As such, it has been most widely interpreted as a reference to the Norse god Freyr (due to his own associations with phalli) or as a reference to a localized deity.6 Other proposals, such as the idea that this word refers to a goddess or to a collective of jotun women are unlikely to be correct.
And now, without further ado, Völsa Þáttr:
Völsa Þáttr - “Story of the Phallus”
1. Hefst Völsadýrkun andnesmanna. - “The Phallus-Worship of the Headland People Begins”
Eftir því sem í einu fornu kvæði vísar til, byggði á einu andnesi norðarliga í Nóregi, þar sem góð langskipa höfn var undir, fjarri meginbyggðinni ok svá þjóðleið einn bóndi ok húsfreyja, nökkut öldruð. Þau áttu tvau börn, son ok dóttur, at því sem í upphafi kvæðisins segir ok svá hefr:
According to what one ancient poem refers to, upon one northerly headland in Norway, where a good longships’ harbor lay below, far from the major settlement and thus any major road, there lived a farmer7 and a housewife, somewhat elderly. They had two children, a son and a daughter, as it says in the poem’s first part, and thusly begins:
Karl hefir búit | ok kona ǫldruð
á andnesi | einhverju.
Átti son | við seima Bil
drengr ok dóttur | drjúgskýrliga.
A man lived, also an elderly woman, upon a certain headland. The worthy man had a son by the Bil of gold (i.e., by the woman)8 and a very competent daughter.
Þar var ok þræll ok ambátt. Bóndi var spakr maðr ok óhlutdeilinn, en kerling var svarkr mikill ok réð mjök fyrir hýbýlaháttum dagliga. Bóndasonr var kátr ok gleðifullr, glensugr ok uppivöðslumikill. Bóndadóttir var eldri, næm ok náttúruvitr, þó at hon hefði eigi við fjölmenni upp vaxit. Bóndi átti etjutík stóra, er Lærir hét. Engar skynjar höfðu þau á heilagri trú.
There was also a slave and a handmaid. The farmer was a wise man and unmeddlesome, but the old woman was quite haughty and largely governed the daily affairs of the household. The farmer’s son was merry and joyful, jocular and boistrous. The farmer’s daughter was older, quick-minded, and naturally wise, though she had not grown up around many people. The farmer had a large female hunting-hound, which was called Lærir.9 They had no understanding of the holy faith.
Svá bar til á einu áliðnu hausti, at eykhestr karls dó. Var hann mjök feitr, ok með því at heiðnir menn höfðu hrossakjöt sér til fæðu, var hestrinn til gerr ok nýttr. Ok í fyrstu, er fleginn var, rak þræll af honum í einu þann lim, sem eftir skapan náttúrunnar hafa þess kyns kvikendi til getnaðar sem önnur dýr, þau sem aukast sín á milli, ok eftir því, sem fornskáldin vísa til, heitir vingull á hestum. Ok svá sem þrællinn hefir hann af skorit ok ætlar niðr at kasta á völlinn hjá sér, hleypr bóndason til hlæjandi ok grípr við ok gengr inn í stofu. Þar var fyrir móðir hans, dóttir hennar ok ambátt. Hann hristr at þeim vingulinn með mörgum kallsyrðum ok kvað vísu:
So it came to pass one late autumn10, that the man’s cart-horse died. It was very fat, and since heathen people had themselves horsemeat for nourishment, the horse was prepared and used. And firstly, when it was flayed, a slave thrust off of it at once that limb which after the shaping of nature this kind of living creature has for conception like other animals, those which multiply among themselves, and according to what the ancient skalds refer to, is called a “vingull” upon horses. And just as the slave has cut it off and intends to cast it down into the field beside him, the farmer’s son runs up laughing and snatches it and goes into the living room. There before him were his mother, her daughter, and a handmaid. He shakes the vingull at them with many gibes and spoke a verse:
Hér meguð sjá | heldr rǫskligan
vingul skorinn | af viggs fǫður.
Þér er, ambátt, | þessi Vǫlsi
allódaufligr | innan læra.
Here you may see a rather doughty vingull cut from a steed’s father (i.e., from a horse). For you, handmaid, this phallus is not at all dull between the thighs.
Ambáttin skellir upp ok hlær, en bóndadóttir bað hann út bera andstyggð þessa. Kerling stendr upp ok gengr at öðrum megin ok grípr af honum ok segir, at hvárki þetta né annat skulu þau ónýta, þat sem til gagns má verða, gengr fram síðan ok þurrkar hann sem vandligast ok vefr innan í einum líndúki ok berr hjá lauka ok önnur grös, svá at þar fyrir mætti hann eigi rotna, ok leggr niðr í kistu sína.
The handmaid bursts out laughing, but the farmer’s daughter bade him take away this abomination.11 The old woman stands up and walks to the other side [of the room] and grabs it from him and says that neither this nor any other thing should they waste, that which may become useful, then she goes away and dries it as thoroughly as possible and wraps it in some linen cloth and puts nearby leeks and other herbs on it so that thereby it might not rot, and lays it down into its chest.
Líðr nú svá á haustit, at kerling tekr hann upp hvert kveld með einhverjum formála honum til dýrkanar, ok þar kemr, at hon vendir þangat til öllum sínum átrúnaði ok heldr hann fyrir guð sinn leiðandi í sömu villu með sér bónda sinn ok börn ok allt sitt hyski. Ok með fjandans krafti vex hann svá ok styrknar, at hann má standa hjá húsfreyju, ef hon vill. Ok at svá gervu tekr kerling þann sið, at hon berr hann í stofu hvert kveld ok kveðr yfir honum vísu fyrst manna, fær síðan bónda ok svá hverr frá öðrum, þar til sem kemr at lokum til ambáttar, ok skyldi hverr maðr kveða yfir honum vísu. Fannst þat á hvers þeira ummælum, hversu hverju þeira var um gefit.
It so happens now in the autumn, that the old woman takes it up every evening with some fore-speech directed at it for worship, and eventually she turns all of her religious belief towards it and holds it as her god, leading her husband and children and all her household into the same heretical error with herself. And with the devil’s power it grows and strengthens, that it might stand up beside the housewife12, if she wants. And with that done the old woman adopts this custom, that she carries it into the living room every evening and speaks a verse over it first out of everyone, then passes it to the farmer and so on from each to the other until the point that it comes finally to the handmaid, and each person had to speak a verse over it. It could be discovered from each of their remarks how each of them felt about it.
2. Óláfr konungr hitti andnesmenn. - “King Olaf Visited the Headland People”
Þat hafði verit einhverju sinni, áðr en Óláfr konungr varð landflótta fyrir Knúti konungi, at hann helt skipum sínum norðr með landi. Hann hafði frétt af þessu andnesi ok þeiri ótrú, er þar fór fram. Ok með því at hann vildi þar sem annars staðar fólkinu snúa til réttrar trúar, segir hann fyrir leiðsögumanninum, at hann skal af víkja leiðinni ok til þeirar hafnar, er liggr undir fyrrgreindu andnesi, því at byrr var hægr. Koma þeir síð dags í þessa höfn. Lætr konungr tjalda yfir skipum, en segir, at þeir skulu á skipum liggja um nóttina, en hann vill ganga heim til bæjar ok biðr fara með sér Finn Árnason ok Þormóð Kolbrúnarskáld.
It had been upon some occasion, before King Olaf was made to flee the country by King Cnut13, that he steered his ships northward along the land. He had heard about this headland and the faithlessness which went on there. And because he wanted there, like other places, for the people to convert to the right faith, he commands the waysayer14 that he must head off the route and toward that harbor which lies below the aforementioned headland, because the breeze was convenient. They come late in the day into this harbor. The king has tents raised over the ships, and says that they must lie upon the ships during the night, but he wants to go visit the farmhouse and bids Finn Arnason and Thormod Kolbrunarskald travel with him.
Þeir taka sér allir grákufla ok steypa útan yfir klæði sín ok ganga svá heim til bæjar um kveldit í húmi, víkja af til stofu ok setjast á bekk annan ok skipa svá sessum, at Finnr sitr innstr, þá Þormóðr, en konungr yztr, bíða þar, til þess er myrkt er orðit, svá at engi maðr kemr í stofu. Ok eftir kemr innar kona með ljósi, ok var þat bóndadóttir. Hon heilsar mönnum ok spyrr þá at nafni, en þeir nefndust allir Grímar. Hon gerir þá upp ljós í stofunni. Hon sér jafnan til gestanna, ok lengst horfir hon á þann er yztr sitr. Ok svá sem hon býst fram at ganga, verðr henni ljóð á munni ok mælti svá:
They all take gray cowls for themselves and throw them over their clothes and go thusly to visit the farmhouse in the twilight of the evening, [they] head off to the living room, and sit themselves upon another bench and so arrange their seats that Finn sits most toward the inside, then Thormod, then the king most toward the outside; [they] bide there until the point that it has become dark, so that no person comes into the living room. And afterward a woman comes in with a light, and that was the farmer’s daughter. She greets the men and then asks for their names, but they all named themselves Grim.15 She then brightens the light in the living room. She keeps looking at the guests, and she focuses longest on the one that sits outermost. And just as she prepares herself to walk out, a poem comes upon her mouth and she so spoke:
Ek sé gull á gestum | ok guðvefjar skikkjur.
Mér fellr hugr til hringa. | Heldr vil ek þing en ljúga.
Kenni ek þik, konungr minn. | Kominn ertu, Óláfr.
I see gold upon the guests and cloaks of fine fabric. My mind falls upon the rings. I would rather be disfigured than [tell a] lie. I know you, my king. You are come, Olaf.
Þá svarar hann tilkvámumaðr sá er yztr sat: “Lát þú kyrrt yfir því, þú ert kona hyggin.”
Then he answers, the newcomer, he who sat outermost: “Let yourself keep quiet about that, you are an intelligent woman.”
Ekki skiptust þau fleirum orðum við. Gekk bóndadóttir fram, ok litlu seinna kemr inn bóndi ok sonr hans ok þræll. Sezt bóndi í hægsæti, sonr hans upp hjá honum, en þræll yfir lengra frá honum. Eru þeir kátri við gestina af kyrt þeiri.
They did not exchange more words with each other. The farmer’s daughter went out, and a little later the farmer and his son and a slave come in. The farmer sets himself in the high-seat, his son up beside him, and the slave farther over from him. They are merry toward the guests because of her silence.16
Síðan er snúit hýbýlum á leið ok tekit borð ok settr matr fram. Bóndadóttir settist upp hjá bróður sínum, en ambátt hjá þræli. Grímar sitja allir samt, sem fyrr var sagt. Síðast kemr innar kerling ok berr Völsa í fangi sér ok gengr at hægsætinu fyrir bónda. Ekki er þess getit, at hon kveddi gestina. Hon rekr af dúkana af Völsa ok setr á kné bónda ok kvað vísu:
Afterward the household is set in order and a table brought and food set forth. The farmer’s daughter sets herself up beside her brother, and the handmaid beside the slave. The Grims all sit together, as was said before. Lastly the old woman comes in and carries the phallus in her arms and walks toward the high-seat before the farmer. There is no mention that she greeted the guests. She thrusts off the cloth from the phallus and sets it upon the farmer’s knee (i.e., in his lap) and spoke a verse:
Aukinn ertu, Vǫlsi, | ok upp of tekinn,
líni gæddr, | en laukum studdr.
Þiggi Mǫrnir | þetta blæti,
en þú, bóndi sjálfr, | ber þú at þér Vǫlsa.
You are enlarged, phallus, and lifted up, adorned with linen, and supported with leeks. May Mornir accept this idol,17 but you, the farmer himself, you bear the phallus to yourself.
Bóndi lét sér fátt um finnast, tók þó við ok kvað vísu:
The farmer was indifferent, though he received it and spoke a verse:
Mundi eigi, | ef ek um réða,
blæti þetta | borit í aftan.
Þiggi Mǫrnir | þetta blæti,
en þú, sonr bónda, | sé þú við Vǫlsa.
This idol would not, if I ruled (i.e., if I was in charge in my own house), have been borne this evening. May Mornir accept this idol, but you, farmer’s son, you see about the phallus.
Bóndasonr greip við honum ok yppir Völsa ok vindr at systur sinni ok kvað vísu:
The farmer’s son snatched it and raises the phallus and swings it at his sister and spoke a verse:
Beri þér beytil | fyrir brúðkonur.
Þær skulu vingul | væta í aftan.
Þiggi Mǫrnir | þetta blæti,
en þú, dóttir bónda, | drag þú at þér Vǫlsa.
Bear for yourself the pintle18 (i.e., the phallus) before the bridesmaids19 (i.e., the women seated around the table). They shall moisten the vingull this evening.20 May Mornir accept this idol, but you, farmer’s daughter, you pull the phallus to yourself.
Hon gerir sér heldr fátt um, en varð þó at fylgja hýbýlaháttum, tók heldr tæpt á honum ok kvað þó vísu:
She acts rather indifferently, but nevertheless had to follow the ways of the household; [she] took it rather gingerly and spoke a verse though:
Þess sverk við Gefjun | ok við goðin ǫnnur,
at ek nauðig tek | við nosa rauðum.
Þiggi Mǫrnir | þetta blæti,
en þræll hjóna, | þríf þú við Vǫlsa.
This I swear by Gefjun and by the other gods, that I receive the red nose (i.e. the erect animal penis) under duress. May Mornir accept this idol, but slave of the master and mistress, you seize the phallus.
Þrællin tekr við ok kvað:
The slave receives it and spoke:
Hleifr væri mér | hálfu sæmri,
þykkr ok ǫkkvinn | ok þó víðr,
en Vǫlsi þessi | á verkdǫgum.
Þiggi Mǫrnir | þetta blæti,
en þú, þý hjóna, | þrýstu at þér Vǫlsa.
A loaf would be for me twice as fitting, thick and lumpy and yet wide as this phallus on workdays. May Mornir accept this idol, but you bondmaid of the master and mistress, thrust the phallus toward yourself.
Ambáttin tekr við honum mjök blíðliga, vefr hann at sér ok klappar honum ok kvað vísu:
The handmaid receives it quite delightfully, wraps it against herself and pats it and spoke a verse:
Víst eigi mættak | við of bindask
í mik at keyra, | ef vit ein lægim
í andkætu.
Þiggi Mǫrnir | þetta blæti,
en þú, Grímr, gestr várr, | gríp þú við Vǫlsa.
Surely I would not be able to abstain from driving it into myself if we two were lying alone in mutual pleasure. May Mornir accept this idol, but you, Grim, our guest, you grab hold of the phallus.
Finnr tók þá við ok helt á. Hann kvað þá vísu:
Finn then received and held onto it. He then spoke a verse:
Legit hefk víða | fyrir andnesjum,
snævgum hǫndum | segl upp dregit.
Þiggi Mǫrnir | þetta blæti,
en þú, Grímr, griði minn, | gríp þú við Vǫlsa.
I have berthed before headlands far and wide, with vigorous hands hoisted the sails. May Mornir accept this idol, but you, Grim, my companion, you grab hold of the phallus.
Hann fekk þá Þormóði. Tók hann við ok hugði at allglöggliga, hversu Völsi er skapaðr. Brosti hann þá ok kvað vísu:
He passed [it] then to Thormod. He received it and examined very precisely how the phallus is shaped. He smiled then and spoke a verse:
Sákat forðum | þó hefk farit víða,
flennt reðr fyrri | fara með bekkjum.
Þiggi Mǫrnir | þetta blæti,
en þú, Aðal-Grímr, | tak enn við Vǫlsa.
I never before saw, though I have fared widely, a penis with foreskin firstly pulled back (i.e., in its erect state) travel along the benches (i.e., being passed around). May Mornir accept this idol, but you, Noble Grim, receive yet the phallus.
Konungr tók við ok kvað vísu:
The king received [it] and spoke a verse:
Verit hefk stýrir | ok stafnbúi
ok oddviti | allra þjóða.
Þiggi Mǫrnir | þetta blæti,
en þú, hundr hjóna, | hirtu bákn þetta.
I have been steersman and prowman and leader of all peoples. May Mornir accept this idol, but you, hound of the master and mistress, tend to this monstrosity.
Hann kastaði þá fram á gólfit, en hundrinn greip þegar upp. En er kerling sá þat, þá var hon öll á flugi. Brá henni mjök við ok kvað vísu:
He then cast [it] forth upon the floor, and the hound snatched [it] up at once. But when the old woman saw that, then she flew into a panic. She was quite shaken by this and spoke a verse:
Hvat er þat manna | mér ókunnra,
er hundum gefr | heilagt blæti?
Hefi mik of hjarra | ok á hurðása,
vita ef ek borgit fæ | blætinu helga.
Legg þú niðr, Lærir, | ok lát mik eigi sjá,
ok svelg eigi niðr, | sártíkin rǫg.
What kind of man unknown to me is that,21 who gives a holy idol to a hound? Heave me over the door-hinges and onto the door-beams, to see if I can rescue the holy idol. Lay down, Lærir, and let me not see, and swallow not down, perverted wound-dog.
Konungr kastar þá af sér dularklæðunum. Þekkist hann þá. Telr hann þá trú fyrir þeim, ok var kerling treg til trúarinnar, en bóndi nökkuru fljótari, en með krafti guðs ok kostgæfi Óláfs verðr þat at lykðum, at þau taka öll trú ok eru skírð af hirðpresti konungs ok heldu vel trú síðan, er þau urðu áskynja, á hvern þau skyldu trúa, ok þekktu skapara sinn, sáu nú, hversu illa ok ómannliga þau höfðu lifat ok ólíkt öllum öðrum góðum mönnum.
The king then casts the disguise off of himself. He is then recognized. He then preaches the faith before them, and the old woman was reluctant toward the faith, but the farmer [was] somewhat quicker, and with God’s power and Olaf’s diligence, it happens in the end that they take the whole faith and are baptized by the king’s retinue-priest and held well the faith thereafter; once they were made aware of whom they should believe in, and recognized their maker, [they] saw now how evilly and inhumanely they had lived and unlike all other good people.
Má þat í slíku sýnast, at Óláfr konungr lagði allan hug á at eyða ok af má alla ósiðu ok heiðni ok fordæðuskap einn veg á inum yztum útskögum Nóregsveldis sem í miðjum heruðum meginlandsins. Hafði hann á því mesta hugsan at draga sem flesta til réttrar trúar. Er þat nú ok auðsýnt orðit, at hann hefir svá gert þessa hluti ok alla aðra, at guði hefir líkat.
In such it may be shown that King Olaf laid all [his] mind upon destroying and wiping out bad customs and paganism and witchcraft in like manner upon the farthest outlying capes of the realm of Norway, just as in the central districts of the mainland. He thought about that the most, to pull as many as possible to the right faith. It is now become clear, that he has so done these things and all others, [and] that God has been pleased.
Introductory information about Saint Olaf can be found on Wikipedia. Importantly, he reigned in the early 1000s A.D. and likely died in 1030. Völsa Þáttr therefore takes place within this time period.
The word Mǫrnir is used in a limited way in Völsa Þáttr, such that it can not be determined from this text alone whether the word is masculine singular or feminine plural. However, its one other attestation is a standalone verse preserved in Snorri’s Heimskringla, wherein it appears in a genitive form characteristic of masculine nouns. Thus Mǫrnir must be masculine singular. The context in Heimskringla is that King Harald Bluetooth of Denmark (or, more specifically his steward, Birgir) has seized a shipwrecked Icelandic vessel, and Icelanders have begun composing níð “shame” poetry against them in response. Following is the verse in question:
Þás sparn á mó Mǫrnis | morðkunnr Haraldr sunnan,
vas þá Vinða myrðir | vax eitt, í ham faxa;
en bergsalar Birgir | bǫndum rækr í landi
— þat sá ǫld — í jǫldu | óríkr fyrir líki.When battle-famous Harald kicked from the south against Mornir’s heath in stallions’ form, he was only wax. And powerless Birgir, rejected in the land by the deities of rock-halls (i.e., by the jotuns) [was] in front in a mare’s likeness. People saw that.
This is a classic ergi insult wherein Harald appears in stallions’ form with Birgir in front of him as a mare. Birgir is powerless but Harald, to his shame, is in some way like wax, presumably soft. In this interaction, Harald kicks against “Mornir’s heath”. This is likely a kenning referring to the field upon which Mornir (i.e., the deified horse phallus) rides, or in other words the mare’s backside. Fascinatingly, this word only ever shows up in the context of sex jokes involving horses.
In Ibn Fadlan’s account, a slave girl who has volunteered to be sacrificed alongside her already-dead master is described as being lifted up three times in order to see over a structure resembling a door frame. Each time she is lifted, she claims to be able to see her dead relatives in the afterlife. It has been supposed that a similar mantic practice may be in play here, somehow allowing the farmer’s wife to rescue the phallus from the hound.
Clunies Ross, M., “Giants”, The Pre-Christian Religions of the North: History and Structures, vol. II, edited by Jens Peter Schjødt, John Lindow, and Anders Andrén, Brepols, 2020, pp. 1554.
Faulkes, Anthony. Stories From Sagas of Kings. Viking Society For Northern Research, 2007.
Schjødt, Jens Peter, “Cyclical Rituals”, The Pre-Christian Religions of the North: History and Structures, vol. II, edited by Jens Peter Schjødt, John Lindow, and Anders Andrén, Brepols, 2020, pp. 801-802.
The word bóndi comes from the components búa “to reside” and -andi which forms agent nouns from verbs, yielding the literal construction of “one who does the residing”. It is used to refer to the resident head of household and, by extension, becomes the common Old Norse word for a farmer. A form combined with the word hús “house” (i.e., húsbóndi “master of the house”) was calqued into English, eventually becoming the modern word husband.
In the kenning system, a woman may be referred to by the name of any goddess or goddess-like figure. The name Bil references one of two children — her brother is named Hjúki — who accompany the personified moon across the heavens as attested in the Prose Edda. As stated previously, any female figure said to be “of gold” is typically just a reference to a woman.
It is unclear why the hound’s name is important. Late in the story the hound is referenced by name in poetic verse wherein its name is used in a metrical position requiring alliteration with another L, and this may be in large part why the name was chosen. If the name is intended to have some symbolic meaning, this meaning is unfortunately difficult to parse. If Lærir is derived from the root læ “venom/bane/harm” perhaps it is because the hound is the bane of the horse phallus. If it is derived from læra “to learn”, perhaps it is because the hound helps educate the family in proper belief by destroying their idol. Alternatively if it is derived from læri “thigh”, perhaps this is no more complex than another sex joke in which the phallus ends up eaten by the thigh. However, it is perhaps worth noting that another ambiguous læ(r)- root (Læraðr) appears in the name of a tree mentioned in Grímnismál, which is typically thought to be a name for Yggdrasill.
In this case, “autumn” (O.N. haust) is synonymous with the harvest season.
This story is not exactly a version of The Peasant’s Wise Daughter, however the farm girl in Völsa Þáttr very clearly illustrates the same character traits as “The Clever Farmgirl” documented as ATU 875 in the Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index, not least of which because she encounters and outsmarts a king. In this case, her wisdom and/or intelligence causes her to despise all things improprietous and heretical that occur around her.
Readers should understand that the phallus’ growth, strengthening, and ability to stand is a reference to it becoming erect. This aspect is alluded to later in verse as well.
Also known as Cnut the Great, born 990 A.D. in Denmark and died 1035 in England. The event mentioned here took place in 1029 when discontented Norwegian nobles supported an invasion by Cnut, which drove Olaf into exile in Kievan Rus.
The leiðsögumaðr “waysayer” was the crew member responsible for plotting the ship’s course.
Østmo, Einar. "The History of the Norvegr." Rulership in 1st to 14th Century Scandinavia: Royal Graves and Sites at Avaldsnes and Beyond, De Gruyter, 2020, p. 40.
The name Grímr is most likely related to gríma, meaning “mask,” and therefore implies a masked/disguised person. On-the-nose names related to costumes are not uncommon in Norse literature. See, for example, Arrow-Odd wearing a suit of birch bark and calling himself Næframaðr “Birch-bark Man”. Still, although the compound grímumaðr “masked/disguised man” is an attested Old Norse compound, Olaf and his companions opt instead here for Grímr, which just so happens to be an attested name for Odin used to evoke his capacity of a disguised wanderer. It is not clear that the author deliberately intended to apply Odin symbolism to Olaf and his companions but may simply be repeating common literary tropes. Interestingly, there are three “Grims” all dressed and behaving similarly in this story, which is how Snorri describes the characters Hár, Jafnhár, and Þriði (three names for Odin) who appear together answering Gangleri’s questions in Gylfaginning.
In other words, the men of the house behave as if nothing is amiss because the daughter kept quiet about Olaf’s identity.
The accusative wordform blæti is only found within Völsa Þáttr. Linguistically, it is quite clearly derived from the root blót- “sacrifice/sacrificial ceremony” by process of i-mutation. Cleasby/Vigfusson inferred that this word is an alternate (or perhaps more correct) form of the noun blót in its meaning of “idol”, which is confirmed by the following verse spoken by the farmer who laments that the blæti had been “borne” (i.e. physically carried) that evening.
This leads to the realization that Mornir, who is supplicated here to accept the blæti, is more specifically being asked to accept his own idol. The narrator has already told us that the farmer’s wife considers the phallus itself to be her god and the focus of her entire religion, and it makes sense that we should conceptualize an idol as a hypostasis of the deity it represents. In that case, Mornir and the phallus ought to be, in some form, one and the same. It is noteworthy, then, that a god should be supplicated to accept itself. Perhaps we are to understand that the god must be ritually presented with its human-made manifestation, and accept it, in order for the idol to be considered valid as unified with the god.
Olaf’s turn with the phallus follows the same pattern as the other family members in that he asks Mornir to accept the idol, however he then physically gives the phallus to the hound to destroy it. If the ritual is designed to unify the deity with its idol, perhaps Olaf intends to show that he has the power to destroy not just an object of worship but the deity associated with it as well.
“Pintle” here is translated from beytill, following Heizmann’s lead. A pintle is normally a bolt or pin as one would find in the center of a hinge but is also a euphemism for a penis. In this case the word is chosen because of the equivalence between Old Norse góibeytill and English cuckoopint (where pint is an abbreviated form of pintle), both being plants whose shapes have inspired phallic names. See:
Heizmann, Wilhelm. "Anonymous Lausavísur, Lausavísur from Vǫlsa þáttr 6." Poetry from the Kings’ Sagas 1: From Mythical Times to c. 1035, edited by Diana Whaley, Brepols, 2012, p. 1098. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 1.
The notion expressed by the farmer’s son here recalls Thrym’s words at the wedding speech in Þrymskviða:
Berið inn hamar | brúði at vígja,
leggið Mjǫllni | í meyjar kné,Carry in the hammer to hallow the bride, lay Mjollnir in the maiden’s lap
Whereas Thrym commands a hammer to be borne to the bride, the farmer’s son commands a pintle to be born in front of the bridesmaids. Heizmann notes that both stanzas contain poetic references to both male and female genitals: the hammer or pintle and the maiden’s lap or moistening action.
Possibly a double entendre. There is, of course, an obvious sexual implication in a woman moistening a phallus. Perhaps just as likely, the phallus may also require continued application of herbal ointments in order to prevent drying and cracking.
The phrase Hvat er þat manna | mér ókunnra is almost an exact repeat of the seeress’ words from the poem Baldrs Draumar in which Odin receives the prophecy detailing how Baldr will die. Leading up to stanza 5, Odin has made the journey to Hel on horseback and has found the grave of a dead seeress. He temporarily resurrects her in order to ask her questions and, upon being forced to arise, she speaks this verse:
Hvat er manna þat, | mér ókunnra,
er mér hefir aukit | erfitt sinni?
Var ek snivin snjóvi | ok slegin regni
ok drifin dǫggu — | dauð var ek lengi!What kind of man is that, unknown to me, who has given to me a hard time? I was snowed upon with snow and stricken with rain and driven with dew — long was I dead!
In BDr, the seeress refers to Odin whereas in VÞ, the old woman refers to Olaf who has disguised himself exactly as Odin would and given himself one of Odin’s names.
Quality work as always. I highly doubt that we're meant to infer any kind of Odinnic symbolism. As you are well aware, Grímr means "masked" or "disguised", and the king and his men are just that. It's in the same vein as Arrow-Oddr donning a suit of birch bark and presenting himself as Nǽframaðr, Birch-bark Man, in his saga.
Outstanding! These side-by-side translations, especially when as faithful to the original as yours, are my favorite means of improving my own Old Norse 👍