Hymiskviða is a poem collected in the Poetic Edda

Poetic Edda

The Poetic Edda is a collection of Old Norse poems primarily preserved in the Icelandic mediaeval manuscript Codex Regius. Along with Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, the Poetic Edda is the most important extant source on Norse mythology and Germanic heroic legends, and from the early 19th century...

. Its contents are somewhat confusing but can be summarized more or less as follows.

The Æsir

Æsir

In Old Norse, áss is the term denoting a member of the principal pantheon in Norse paganism. This pantheon includes Odin, Frigg, Thor, Baldr and Tyr. The second pantheon comprises the Vanir...

 visit Ægir

Ægir

Ægir is a sea giant, god of the ocean and king of the sea creatures in Norse mythology. He is also known for hosting elaborate parties for the gods.Ægir's servants are Fimafeng and Eldir.- Description :...

 and find, since Ægir apparently has a lot of kettles, that he should be their host from now on. Ægir has to agree, but on the condition that they bring a kettle large enough for him to warm the mead for all of them at once. That presents a problem, until Týr remembers a particularly large kettle in the possession of his father Hymir

Hymir

In Norse mythology, Hymir is a giant, husband of the giantess Hroðr and according to the Eddic poem Hymiskviða the father of the god Týr. He is the owner of a mile-wide cauldron which the Æsir wanted to brew beer in; Thor, accompanied by Týr, obtained it from him...

 (which is odd, as Týr is otherwise said to be the son of Óðinn

Odin

Odin is a major god in Norse mythology and the ruler of Asgard. Homologous with the Anglo-Saxon "Wōden" and the Old High German "Wotan", the name is descended from Proto-Germanic "*Wodanaz" or "*Wōđanaz"....

) (Odin). So the Æsir set off. Eventually they find Hymir's place, where Þórr

Thor

In Norse mythology, Thor is a hammer-wielding god associated with thunder, lightning, storms, oak trees, strength, the protection of mankind, and also hallowing, healing, and fertility...

 (Thor) eats so much that Hymir and his guests have no alternative but to go fishing. The poem then tells the story of how Þórr almost caught the Jörmungandr

Jörmungandr

In Norse mythology, Jörmungandr , mostly known as Jormungand, orJörmungand , or Midgard Serpent , or World Serpent, is a sea serpent, and the middle child of the giantess Angrboða and the god Loki...

, which is also recounted in the Prose Edda

Prose Edda

The Prose Edda, also known as the Younger Edda, Snorri's Edda or simply Edda, is an Icelandic collection of four sections interspersed with excerpts from earlier skaldic and Eddic poetry containing tales from Nordic mythology...

. Þórr shows off his strength, but Hymir taunts him and says that he could hardly be called strong if Þórr couldn't break Hymir's chalice. The chalice was a magic one and could not be broken unless slung against Hymir's head. Þórr is eventually told so and proceeds to do it. Hymir is annoyed but says that they can take the kettle and leave. There follows the obligatory slaying of hordes of giants, whereupon the Æsir leave with the kettle and booze contentedly at Ægir's place ever after (or at least until Lokasenna

Lokasenna

Lokasenna is one of the poems of the Poetic Edda. The poem presents flyting between the gods and Loki....

).

The poem contains fragments of a number of myths, and it shows. There is little structure to it, and scenes follow each other in a very rough logical order. Some of the allusions are not known from other sources and it contains unusually many kenning

Kenning

A kenning is a type of literary trope, specifically circumlocution, in the form of a compound that employs figurative language in place of a more concrete single-word noun. Kennings are strongly associated with Old Norse and later Icelandic and Anglo-Saxon poetry...

s for an Eddic poem.

External links

• Hymiskviða A critical edition and translation by Eysteinn Björnsson, including text of both manuscripts
• Hymiskvitha Translation and commentary by Henry A. Bellows
• Hymiskviða Translation by Benjamin Thorpe
  Benjamin Thorpe
  Benjamin Thorpe was an English scholar of Anglo-Saxon.-Biography:After studying for four years at Copenhagen University, under the Danish philologist Rasmus Christian Rask, he returned to England in 1830, and in 1832 published an English version of Caedmon's metrical paraphrase of portions of the...
  
  
• Hymiskviða Translation by W. H. Auden
  W. H. Auden
  Wystan Hugh Auden , who published as W. H. Auden, was an Anglo-American poet,The first definition of "Anglo-American" in the OED is: "Of, belonging to, or involving both England and America." See also the definition "English in origin or birth, American by settlement or citizenship" in See also...
  
  and P. B. Taylor
• Hymiskviða Translation by Lee M. Hollander
• Song of Hymer Translation by A. S. Cottle