Völundarkviða (Völundr's poem, the name can be anglicized as Völundarkvitha, Völundarkvidha, Völundarkvida, Volundarkvitha, Volundarkvidha or Volundarkvida) is one of the mythological poems of the Poetic Edda. It relates the story of the artisan Völundr who is called "king of the elves" in the poem. He is also mentioned as one of the three sons of the king of the Finns in the poem. His wife, a valkyrie, abandons him and he is later captured by Níðuðr, a Swedish petty king greedy for his gold. Völundr is hamstrung and put to work making artifacts for the king. Eventually he finds means of revenge and escape. He kills Niðuðr's sons, impregnates his daughter and then flies away laughing.

The poem is appreciated for its evocative images.

In the night went men,

in studded corslets,

their shields glistened

in the waning moon. Völundarkviða 6, Thorpe's translation

The Völundr myth appears to have been widespread among the Germanic peoples. It is alluded to in the Old English poem The Lament of Deor, the Norwegian Þiðreks saga af Bern and several ancient works of art.

The poem is preserved in its entirety among the mythological poems of the Codex Regius and the beginning of the prose prologue is also found in the AM 748 I 4to fragment.

See also: Weyland, Agilaz, Franks Casket

References

Dronke, Ursula (Ed. & trans.) (1997). The Poetic Edda, vol. II, Mythological Poems. Oxford: Clarendeon. ISBN 0198111819.

Thorpe, Benjamin. (Trans.). (1866). Edda Sæmundar Hinns Froða: The Edda Of Sæmund The Learned. (2 vols.) London: Trübner & Co. 1866. (HTML version transcribed by Ari Odhinnsen available at Northvegr: Lore: Poetic Edda - Thorpe Trans.) Reprinted 1906 as "The Elder Eddas of Saemund" in Rasmus B. Anderson & J. W. Buel (Eds.) The Elder Eddas of Saemund Sigfusson. Tr. from the original Old Norse text into English by Benjamin Thorpe, and The Younger Eddas of Snorre Sturleson Tr. from the original Old Norse text into English by I. A. Blackwell (pp. 1–255). Norrœna, the history and romance of northern Europe. London, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Berlin, New York: Norrœna Society. (A searchable graphic image version of this text requiring DjVu plugin is available at University of Georgia Libraries: Facsimile Books and Periodicals: The Elder Eddas and the Younger Eddas.)

External links

English translations

• Völundarkvitha Translation and commentary by Henry A. Bellows
• Völundarkviða Translation by Benjamin Thorpe
• Völundarkviða Translation by W. H. Auden and P. B. Taylor

Old Norse editions

• Völundarkviða Sophus Bugge's edition of the manuscript text
• Völundarkviða Guðni Jónsson's edition with normalized spelling

Old Norse poems | Sources of Norse mythology | Medieval literature

Völundarkviða | Völundarkvida | Volundkvadet