Vadgelmir

Vadgelmir (Vaðgelmir) is a river or stream in Norse mythology. It is mentioned in the eddic poems Grípisspá or SigurÞarkviða Fafnisbana önnur (The Second Lay of Sigurd Fafnicide) and Völuspá.

Etymology

Zavaroni translates the name as "Evil-ford".[1]

Völuspá

Völuspá 39 records that breaking an oath, murder, and adultery are among the bad deeds for which entering Vadgelmir is a punishment.[2]

Grípisspá

According to a legend recounted in Grípisspá , Loki forced Andvari to tell him how liars will be punished in the Other World. Andvari responded that their punishment is to enter Vadgelmir.[3]

One English translation of the edda describes the dialogue as follows. Loki asks: "tell me, Andvari! if thou wilt enjoy life in the halls of men, what retribution get the sons of mortals, if with foul words they assail each other".[4] Andvari responds: "[c]ruel retribution get the sons of mortals, who in Vadgelmir wade: for the false words they have against others uttered, the punishments too long endure".[4]

Schorn notes that there is some tension in the dialogue, as Andvari responds to Loki's highly "abstract" question about the fate of liars with a particularized description of a place.[5]

References

Zavaroni, Adolfo (15 March 2006). "Mead and Functions of Mímir, Oðinn, Viðófnir and Svipdagr". Amsterdamer Beiträge zur älteren Germanistik. 61 (1): 82. doi:10.1163/18756719-061001007. ISSN 0165-7305.
McKinnell, John (30 April 2014). Essays on Eddic Poetry. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. p. 195. ISBN 978-1-4426-6926-0. OCLC 879870428.
MacCulloch, John Arnott (1930). The Mythology of All Races. 2. Boston: Archaeological Institute of America. p. 268.
The Elder Eddas of Saemund Sigfusson. Translated by Thorpe, Benjamin. London: Norrœna Society. 1906. p. 167. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
Schorn, Brittany Erin (10 January 2012). 'How Can His Word Be Trusted?': Speaker and Authority in Old Norse Wisdom Poetry (PhD thesis). University of Cambridge. p. 32. doi:10.17863/CAM.15907.

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[1] Zavaroni, Adolfo (15 March 2006). "Mead and Functions of Mímir, Oðinn, Viðófnir and Svipdagr". Amsterdamer Beiträge zur älteren Germanistik. 61 (1): 82. doi:10.1163/18756719-061001007. ISSN 0165-7305.

[2] McKinnell, John (30 April 2014). Essays on Eddic Poetry. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. p. 195. ISBN 978-1-4426-6926-0. OCLC 879870428.

[3] MacCulloch, John Arnott (1930). The Mythology of All Races. 2. Boston: Archaeological Institute of America. p. 268.

[:0-4] The Elder Eddas of Saemund Sigfusson. Translated by Thorpe, Benjamin. London: Norrœna Society. 1906. p. 167. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

[5] Schorn, Brittany Erin (10 January 2012). 'How Can His Word Be Trusted?': Speaker and Authority in Old Norse Wisdom Poetry (PhD thesis). University of Cambridge. p. 32. doi:10.17863/CAM.15907.