Baldrs draumar

"Odin rides to Hel" (1908) by W. G. Collingwood

Baldrs draumar (Baldr's dreams) or Vegtamskviða is an Eddic poem, contained in the manuscript AM 748 I 4to. It relates information on the myth of Baldr's death in a way consistent with Gylfaginning.

Baldr has been having nightmares. Odin rides to Hel to investigate. He finds the grave of a völva and resurrects her. Their conversation follows, where the völva tells Odin about Baldr's fate. In the end Odin asks her a question which reveals his identity and the völva tells him to ride home.

The poem is one of the shortest Eddic poems, consisting of 14 fornyrðislag stanzas. Some late paper manuscripts contain about five more stanzas, those are thought to be of young origin. Sophus Bugge believed them to have been composed by the author of Forspjallsljóð.

External links

English translations

• Baldrs Draumar Translation and commentary by H. A. Bellows
• Baldrs Draumar Bellows' translation with clickable names
• Vegtamskviða eða Baldrs Draumar Translation by Benjamin Thorpe
• Baldrs draumar Translation by W. H. Auden and P. B. Taylor
• The Song of the Traveller Translation by A. S. Cottle

Old Norse editions

• Vegtamskviða Sophus Bugge's edition of the manuscript text
• Baldrs draumar Guðni Jónsson's edition of the text with normalized spelling
• AM 748 I 4to Facsimile of the original manuscript

Other links

• Baldrs draumar: literally and literarily Article by Mats Malm