Chapters 114-123 - Germanic Mythology

already seen that it is a day's journey between Asgard and the Elivogar (see no. 108), and
that on the southern coast Thor has a lodging, where he is taken in, and where his
precious chariot and team are taken care of while he goes on excursions into Jötunheim.
The continuation of the poem shows that this time, too, he stopped at the same lodge, and
that he got his warriors there. Now, as always before, he proceeds on foot, after entering
into Jötunheim.
Strophe 3 first makes a mythic chronological statement, namely, that the daughter
of Geirröd, "galdur-ready," had come to an understanding with Loki, before Rögnir
became the latter's ally. 14 This mytho-chronological statement means (1) that there was a
time when Rögnir did not share Loki's plans, hostile to the gods; (2) that the events that
Þórsdrápa mentions took place before Rögnir became a foe of the gods. Why Þórsdrápa
thinks it necessary to give this information already becomes clear by what strophe 4 says.
Thereafter is mentioned the departure from Idi's chalet. The army, hostile to
giants, proceeds to Jötunheim, but before [705] it gets there it must traverse an
intermediate region which is called Endil's moor.
One might expect that instead of speaking of a moor as the boundary area which
had to be covered before one entered into Jötunheim, the poem would have spoken of the
waters behind which Jötunheim lies, and named it by one of its many names —Elivogar,
Gandvik, or Hrönn. But upon closer inspection, it appears that Endil's moor is nothing
other than a paraphrase for a body of water. The evidence of this lies in that "Endil's
skis," Endils andrar, Endils íturskíð, is a common paraphrase for boat. So is Endils eykur,
"Endil's horse." The moor which Endil crosses on such skis and on such a horse must
therefore be a body of water. 15 And here no other water can be meant than that which lies
between Endil's chalet and Jötunheim, that is, Elivogar, Gandvik. 16
The name Endill may be the same as Vendill, Vandill (Nafnaþulur [Pr. Edd. I,
548]), an abbreviation of Örvandill. The initial V was originally a semi-vowel, and as
such it alliterated with other semi-vowels and with vowels (compare the rhymes on an
Oland runic stone, Vandils jörmungrundar úrgrandari). 17 This easily disappearing semivowel
may have been thrown out in later times where it was thought to obscure the
alliteration, and thus the form Endill may have arisen from Vendill, Vandill. "Örvandil's
moor" is accordingly in poetic language synonymous with Elivogar, and the paraphrase is
14 Along with Finnur Jónsson, Faulkes and Björnson identify Thjalfi as the "Rögnir of the battle,"
interpreting the line to mean that Thjalfi was quicker to join the battle than Loki.
15 These examples are found in Lexicon Poeticum: "for ship : Endils öndurr, Einar skálaglamm lausavísa 2,
Endils eykr Njálas øvrige vers 9, Endils ítrskíð, Ólafs drápa Tryggvasonar 23; More exact parallels are
Endils fold, "Endil's field" Plácítúsdrápa 51; Endils (eld)grund, "Endil's (fire)ground," Hallfreðr
vandræðaskáld lausavísa 3; and [Æ]ndils iarmungrundar meaning sea on the Karlevi Runestone.
16 This interpretation is sound. In context, it reads: mantælir gallópnis halla spendi gaupnum ilja á Endils
mó; "The maiden-betrayer of the halls of the shrill-crier [Thor] stretched the palms of his soles onto Endill's
moor [ocean]." [E. Björnsson tr.] Alternately, Faulkes has: "Endil's [giant's] girls [troll-wives] made his
sole palms span [walk] the heath."
17 In part, the Karlevi runestone of Öland, reads: Munat reið-Viðurr ráða/ rógstarkr í Danmörku/ Endils
jörmungrundar/ ørgrandari landi; "a more upright chariot-Vidur [warrior] of wondrous-wide ground of
Endil [the sea] will not rule, strife-strong, land in Denmark," [Foote and Wilson tr.]; "Never again shall
such a battle-hardened sea-warrior, Viðurr-of-the-Carriage of [the sea-king] Endill's mighty dominion
(=God of sea-vessels) rule unsurpassed over land in Denmark." [Rundata tr.]; John McKinnell translates the
same kenning as: Endils jôrmungrundar reið-Viðurr, "the wagon-Odin (reið-Viðurr) of the huge ground of
(the sea king)."