Stefan Olof Lundgren Gudasaga

ymir

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1. Niflheim: cold, fog and ice. Muspelheim: fire, flames and smoke.

2. In the great chasm separating these two irreconcilable places the giant Ymir comes into being. Soon the world is full of his children , the giants and trolls. Download MP3-example, 1 MB.

3. The other race in the world are the gods, the Aesir. The leader of the gods is Odin (lute). The Aesir want to stop the ungoverned spreading of the giants and trolls, and so Odin kills Ymir.

4. The gods create the world. Ymir's skull is turned into the sky. His blood becomes the sea, his flesh the earth and his bones the mountains and cliffs.

mimir

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1. The animals in the newly created world learn to walk, swim and fly. .

2. In order to understand the world better, Odin seeks out the wisest thinker of all: Mimir. Download MP3-example, 1 MB

3. Mimir will not allow Odin to drink from his spring of wisdom; only when Odin tears out one of his eyes and offers it to Mimir is he allowed to drink.

4. Gullveig sows discontent among the Aesir: according to her, it is only through gold and riches that happiness can be achieved. Odin burns the witch at the stake.

5. Loki cuts off the hair of Siv, Thor’s wife. Thor is enraged and forces Loki to provide new, even more beautiful hair for Siv. Loki goes to the dwarves, and from them procures thousands of delicate threads, that at once begin to grow on Siv’s bald head.

6. The goddess of love, Freyja, rides in a chariot drawn by two cats; when she wants to fly, she puts on a falcon’s coat.

7. The witch Gullveig has incited the Wanes against the Aesir. Thor in his flying chariot decides the world’s first battle for the Aesir.

8. The most beautiful goddess mourns for the many victims of war.

9. Once more Odin asks Mimir’s advice.

the norns

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1. Hugin and Munin. Odin's winged messengers, the ravens Hugin and Munin, fly round the world every day to find news of its happenings. When they return they perch upon Odin's shoulders and report to him.

2. The Norns. These all-knowing women are called Urd, Werdande and Skuld. Odins asks them about the future, but they put off his urgent questions with a smile. Download MP3-example, 1 MB.

3. Troll Children. Odin's foster brother Loki has taken a troll woman as his lover. When their children are born the Aesir are horrified. For these children are two monsters, the like of which has not yet been seen: the Midgard Serpent and the Fenris Wolf.

4. Conversations with the Dead. Odin's thirst for knowledge has no bounds, he also wishes to speak with the dead. In order to enter their realm, he pierces himself with a spear and hangs himself in the branches of the ash tree Yggdrasil for nine days and nights.

5. The Norns. Once again Odin tries to find out more about the fate of the world from the Norns, but his attempts are in vain.

skadi

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1. Heimdallr. Odin fears for the Aesir's power. He needs many warriors. He orders his son, Heimdallr, to go to Midgard, the home of men, and to beget divine children on the women there.

2. Freya's tears. Odin tries to comfort the goddess of love. She is suffering from unrequited love and weeps tears of pure gold. Download MP3-example, 1 MB.

3. The apples of Idun. Idun is keeper of the the magic apples that give eternal youth. The giant Tjatse abducts Idun and her apples. Loki manages to put things to rights and Tjatse is burnt.

4. Skadi. Tjatse's daughter Skadi wants to take revenge on the gods, but she is willing to make peace under two conditions. Firstly, she wants one of the Aesir for her husband, and secondly, the Aesir have to make her laugh.

5. Women's choice. Skadi is only allowed to see the feet of her candidates. Instead of the most handsome, she chooses Njord, an old widower. The gods cannot control their laughter, while Skadi is enraged

6. The cock dance. In order to make Skadi laugh Loki strips himself naked. He ties one end of a string to a billygoat's beard and the other to his (Loki's!) cock. The tug-of-war commences. No eye remains dry – and finally Skadi, too, has to laugh.

7. Old love. Odin and Freya at the hearth.

valkyrie

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1. The Valkyries. Tremendous noise: Odin and Thor bid the iron-clad rider goddesses farewell. The valkyries ride over the world’s battlefields, search for the greatest fallen heroes and carry them back to Valhalla on their horses. There they are called back to life and become part of Odin’s undead army.

2. Aegir. The gods visit the sea giant and ask him to let them use his festive hall. „I agree“, Aegir says, „but first you must bring me a cauldron large enough for me to brew all the beer for your celebration all at once.“ An impossible condition!

3. Hyme. The quest for the giant cauldron leads the gods to the wicked giant Hyme. Thor goes fishing with Hyme to calm him. But Thor hooks the Midgard Serpent, which is by now so huge it can circle the world.

4. The Cauldron. Only if Thor can break a magic goblet is he allowed to try his hand at the gigantic cauldron. At the third try Thor succeeds, for Hyme’s wife has whispered to him that he must throw the goblet at the hardest head in the world: Hyme’s! Now Thor drags the cauldron back to Aegir.

5. Rugne. In the meantime Odin has been riding on his eight-legged horse, Sleipnir. After a race against the giant Rugne both of them end up in Asgard. Choleric Thor rages at the unwelcome guest. Thereupon the tipsy Rugne challenges Thor to a duel. Download MP3-example, 1 MB

6. Tjalve. Thor’s squire, Tjalve, traps Rugne, so Thor is able to split Rugne’s skull with a single throw of his hammer, Miolnir. One of Rugne’s feet falls on top of Thor and he is caught fast. Only Magni, Thor’s three-day-old son, has the strenght to free his father.

7. Brime is the name of Aegir’s hall. The walls are of pure gold, lighting up the dark. Barrels of beer glide over the tables and refill empty mugs of their own accord.

THOR

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1. Loki has turned himself into a falcon and taunts the giant Geirroed and his two ugly daughters, Greip and Galp. But then he is taken prisoner and locked inside a chest for three months. Only once he has promised to lure Geirroed's bosom enemy Thor into Geirroed's castle is Loki released. Download MP3-example, 1 MB.

2. While Loki plots how to lure Thor into the trap, he goes to Valhalla's kitchens and overhears the kitchen staff gossiping about Odin's amorous misadventures among the daughters of men. For instance, on his first meeting with the daughter of Billing the two were driven apart by warriors with burning torches. But Odin would not give up; instead, he tiptoed into his beloved's bedroom at night. Only too late did he notice that it was not Billing's daughter in the bed, but a tied-up bitch.

3. Loki tells Thor that Geirroed's fair daughters Greip and Galp dream only of him, Thor. The ruse is successful. On their way to Geirroed Loki, Thor and his servant Tjalve are almost drowned crossing a broad river as the giantess Galp is urinating into the water.

4. The three are exhausted and soaked by the time they reach Geirroed's castle. In the entrance hall Thor is almost crushed to death when he sits upon a chair which promptly rises up and squashes him against the ceiling. A servant then brings Thor to Geirroed. Thor is led into a long, narrow room where Geirroed is waiting for him. As Thor walks towards him wordlessly, Geirroed takes up a pair of tongs and throws a piece of red-hot iron at him with all his might. However, Thor is wearing his iron gloves, so he catches the block of iron as if it were a toy and throws it back at Geirroed. The iron burns a hole all through Geirroed and crashes out through the castle walls.

5. The three adventurers make their way homewards, both frustrated and relieved at the same time.

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1. Frigga in her bath. Hot water is poured into a big wooden tub, and Frigga is washed and scrubbed by her three maids Fulla, Hlin and Gnau. She tells tales of her life with Odin.

2. The Fishers. Odin, Loki and Huhne go fishing. Loki kills an otter. It turns out this was the son of the farmer Reidmar; he had turned himself into an otter.

3. The Condition. The three fishers are taken captive by Reidmar. Loki is set free only when he promises to bring back enough gold to cover the entire otter-skin. Odin and Huhne are kept as hostages.

4. Andware. Loki forces the rich Andware to hand over all his gold. Andware tries to keep back one gold ring. When Loki demands this ring as well, Andware curses it: every wearer of the ring will finally be overtaken by destruction and death.

5. The Ring. As soon as Loki hands over the promised gold to Reidmar, the curse begins to work: Reidmar is killed by his eldest son Fowne. In his fear of being robbed, Fowne transforms himself into a dragon. His brother Regin sends his fosterling Sigurd to kill the dragon. Afterwards Regin demands that Sigurd fry Fowne's heart for him to eat. But when Sigurd tastes some of the dragon's blood, he can understand what the birds are singing. The birds sing that Regin is going to betray him. So Sigurd kills Regin as well.

6. Old Marriage. Frigga and Odin spend a nice, playful evening at home. Download MP3-example, 682 KB.