Havamal

by W.H. Auden, Taylor Auden (Translator)

Håvamål er visdomsordene som tjente som åndelig føde for vikingene. Disse visdomsordene ble diktet i perioden 700-900 e.kr. og gir et klart bilde av vikingenes holdninger til og syn på livet. Håvamål forteller deg hvordan du skal behandle gjester, hvordan du opptrer, og gir deg råd om livet, vennskap, penger, lykke og positiv tenkning.

Genres: Poetry, Mythology, Philosophy, Classics, History, Nonfiction, Religion

20 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 700

About the author

Poems, published in such collections as Look, Stranger! (1936) and The Shield of Achilles (1955), established importance of British-American writer and critic Wystan Hugh Auden in 20th-century literature.

In and near Birmingham, he developed in a professional middle-class family. He attended English independent schools and studied at Christ church, Oxford. From 1927, Auden and Christopher Isherwood maintained a lasting but intermittent sexual friendship despite briefer but more intense relations with other men. Auden passed a few months in Berlin in 1928 and 1929.

He then spent five years from 1930 to 1935, teaching in English schools and then traveled to Iceland and China for books about his journeys. People noted stylistic and technical achievement, engagement with politics, morals, love, and religion, and variety in tone, form and content. He came to wide attention at the age of 23 years in 1930 with his first book, Poems ; The Orators followed in 1932.

Three plays in collaboration with Christopher Isherwood in 1935 to 1938 built his reputation in a left-wing politics.

People best know this Anglo for love such as "Funeral Blues," for political and social themes, such as "September 1, 1939," for culture and psychology, such as The Age of Anxiety , and for religion, such as For the Time Being and "Horae Canonicae." In 1939, partly to escape a liberal reputation, Auden moved to the United States. Auden and Christopher Isherwood maintained a lasting but intermittent sexual friendship to 1939. In 1939, Auden fell in lust with Chester Kallman and regarded their relation as a marriage.

From 1941, Auden taught in universities. This relationship ended in 1941, when Chester Kallman refused to accept the faithful relation that Auden demanded, but the two maintained their friendship.

Auden taught in universities through 1945. His work, including the long For the Time Being and The Sea and the Mirror , in the 1940s focused on religious themes. He attained citizenship in 1946.

The title of his long The Age of Anxiety , a popular phrase, described the modern era; it won him the Pulitzer Prize in 1947. From 1947, he wintered in New York and summered in Ischia. From 1947, Auden and Chester Kallman lived in the same house or apartment in a non-sexual relation and often collaborated on opera libretti, such as The Rake's Progress for music of Igor Stravinsky until death of Auden.

Occasional visiting professorships followed in the 1950s. From 1956, he served as professor at Oxford. He wintered in New York and summered in Ischia through 1957. From 1958, he wintered usually in New York and summered in Kirchstetten, Austria.

He served as professor at Oxford to 1961; his popular lectures with students and faculty served as the basis of his prose The Dyer's Hand in 1962.

Auden, a prolific prose essayist, reviewed political, psychological and religious subjects, and worked at various times on documentary films, plays, and other forms of performance. Throughout his controversial and influential career, views on his work ranged from sharply dismissive, treating him as a lesser follower of William Butler Yeats and T.S. Eliot, to strongly affirmative, as claim of Joseph Brodsky of his "greatest mind of the twentieth century."

He wintered in Oxford in 1972/1973 and summered in Kirchstetten, Austria, until the end of his life.

After his death, films, broadcasts, and popular media enabled people to know and ton note much more widely "Funeral Blues," "Musée des Beaux Arts," "Refugee Blues," "The Unknown Citizen," and "September 1, 1939," t

Reviews

[Manny · Rating 5 out of 5]

[Before reading]



It has been a pleasure to help my talented Icelandic colleagues Birgitta Björg Guðmarsdóttir and Brynjarr Eyjólfsson put together this new multimedia edition of the Hávamál, which you can access here using Chrome or Firefox. Together with Ingibjörg Iða Auðunardóttir, they will soon be using it as the main resource for a new Goodreads reading group.
_____________________________
[After reading]

I followed the Icelanders' advice and read three verses a day, listening to the audio and checking the glosses until I could understand what it meant. What wonderful minimalist poetry! I liked many verses enough that I had to try and produce my own translation.

10

Byrði betri
berrat maðr brautu að
en sé manvit mikið;
auði betra
þikkir það í ókunnum stað,
slíkt er válaðs vera.

A nobler burden
you never will carry
than simple common sense.
In foreign land
it is better than gold;
Nothing comforts the wretched more.

13

Óminnis hegri heitir
sá er yfir ölðrum þrumir,
hann stelr geði guma;
þess fugls fjöðrum
ek fjötraðr vark
í garði Gunnlaðar.

The heron of oblivion
hovers over drinkers
and steals the minds of men;
With this bird's feathers
I once was bound
in the house of Gunnlöð

23

Ósviðr maðr
vakir um allar nætr
ok hyggr að hvívetna;
þá er móðr
er að morgni kjömr:
allt er víl sem var.

The unwise man
is awake all night
and fears for many things;
But tired he is
when morning comes
and his ills are just as they were

27

Ósnotr maðr
er með aldir kjömr,
það er bazt að hann þegi;
engi það veit
að hann ekki kann
nema hann mæli til margt;

The unwise man
who with others meets
it is best he holds his tongue;
No one shall find
that he nothing knows
if he just not speak too much.

35

Ganga skal,
skala gestr vera
ey í einum stað;
ljúfr verðr leiðr
ef lengi sitr
annars fletjum á

Leave in good time
the guest should not stay
always in the same place;
Love becomes hate
if he sits too long
beside another's hearth.

38

Vápnum sínum
skala maðr velli á
feti ganga framarr
því að óvíst er að vita
nær verðr á vegum úti
geirs um þörf guma

Away from his weapons
in the open country
a man should not move a foot
For it's hard to know
out there on the road
when you might not need your spear.

43

Vin sínum
skal maðr vinr vera
þeim ok þess vin;
en óvinar síns
skyli en maðr
vinar vinr vera.

To his friend a man
shall friendship prove
to him and the friend of his friend;
but never a man
shall friendship make
with one of his foe's friends.

44

Veiztu ef þú vin átt
þanns þú vel trúir
ok vill þú af honum gótt geta
geði skalt við þann
ok gjöfum skipta
fara að finna oft.

If you have a friend
that you truly trust
and good from him you will get
Mingle your thoughts with his
and exchange gifts
and travel to see him often.

45

Ef þú át annan
þanns þú illa trúir
vildu af honum þó gótt geta
fagrt skalt við þann mæla
en flátt hyggja
ok gjalda lausung við lygi.

If you have another
that you do not trust
but good from him you will get
Speak fair words to him
but hide your thoughts
and repay deceit with lies.

50

Hrörnar þöll
sú er stendr þorpi á,
hlýr at henni börkr né barr;
svá er maðr
sá er manngi ann;
hvað skal hann lengi lifa?

The fir-tree withers
that stands on the farm
unprotected by needles or bark:
So is the man
that nobody loves;
why should he want long life?

53

Lítilla sanda,
lítilla sæva,
lítil eru geð guma;
að allir menn
urðut jafnspakir;
hálb er öld hvar.

Little beaches
little lakes
little the minds of men;
Though all men are
not equally wise
more than half-wise is none.

58

Ár skal rísa
sá er annars vill
fé eða fjör hafa;
sjaldan liggjandi úlfr
ær um getr
né sofandi maðr sigr.

Rise with the dawn
if you hope to take
another man's money or blood;
The lazy wolf
finds seldom meat
or the sleeping man his gain.

63

Fregna ok segja
skal fróðra hverr,
sá er vill heitinn horskr;
einn vita
né annarr skal;
þjóð veit ef þríru.

Learn when to answer
and when to ask
if you wish to be counted as wise;
Confide in one
a second's too much
the world knows what three know.

65

Orða þeira,
er maðr öðrum segir,
oft hann gjöld um getr.

The words
a man to another speaks
often bring bitter reward.

71

Haltr ríðr hrossi,
hjörð rekr handarvanr,
daufr vegr ok dugir;
blindr er betri
en brenndr sé;
nýtr manngi nás.

Though lame, one can ride
Without hands, herd sheep
The deaf can be heroes in battle;
Better be blind
than burned on a pyre;
a corpse is of no use at all.

77

Deyr fé,
deyja frændr,
deyr sjálfr ið sama;
ek veit einn
að aldri deyr
dómr um dauðan hvern.

Kine die,
kinsmen die,
you shall die too;
One thing
that shall never die
what men said of you.

[Manny]

[Original review, 2012]

I just saw this wonderful verse quoted in Lars Saabye Christensen's Beatles:

Døyr fe;
døyr frendar;
døyr sjølv det same.
Eg veit eitt
som aldri døyr,
dom um daudan kvar.

After a little searching, an English translation, though I'm not sure it's Auden's:

Cattle die, and kinsmen die,
And so one dies one's self;
But a noble name will never die,
If good renown one gets.

I had to take a shot at translating it as well. Here's what I came up with on the train between Geneva and Basel:

Kine die;
Kinsmen die;
You shall die too;
One thing that will never die
That men said of you.

Hard to get the flavor of the archaic Norwegian!
_____________________
[Update, Sep 13 2019]

Another beautiful verse from the Hávamál that I found today, this time in the medieval Icelandic:

v.Hav.63

Fregna ok segja
skal fróðra hverr,
sá er vill heitinn horskr;
einn vi
né annarr skal;
þjóð veit ef þrír u.

W.H. Auden's translation:

It is safe to tell a secret to one,
Risky to tell it to two,
To tell it to three is thoughtless folly,
Everyone else will know.

[notgettingenough · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm racked with guilt whilst simultaneously experiencing a serious case of FOMO. There are many things I'm missing out on at the moment, and the reading group for Hávamál is no doubt the coolest of them. I never use that word, but all that ice and snow. Maybe it's the coldest of them.

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Max says in the comment thread 'Hats off to you, Manny, for bringing in the heavy artillery (i.e. genuine Nords). You're a peach.
🍑
We're all sure to gain some major knowledge in the coming weeks, both inside & outside the text.'

Yeah, well. I'm not a reading group type, but this is the one that's making me wish I was :)

[Anna Kļaviņa]

Wardruna - Gibu

Hávamál stanza 42-47

Original

42.
Vin sínum
skal maðr vinr vera
ok gjalda gjöf við gjöf
hlátr við hlátri
skyli hölðar taka
en lausung við lygi

43
Vin sínum
skal maðr vinr vera
þeim ok þess vinr
en óvinar síns
skyli engi maðr
vinar vinr vera

44
Veiztu ef þú vin átt
þanns þú vel trúir
ok vill þú af honum gótt geta
geði skalt við þann
blanda ok gjöfum skipta
fara at finna opt

45
Ef þú át annan
þanns þú illa trúir
vildu af honum þó gótt geta
fagrt skalt við þann mæla
en flátt hyggja
ok gjalda lausung við lygi

46
Þat er enn of þann
er þú illa trúir
ok þér er grunr at hans geði
hlæja skaltu við þeim
ok um hug mæla
glík skulu gjöld gjöfum

47
Ungr var ek forðum
fór ek einn saman
þá varð ek villr vega
auðigr þóttumk
er ek annan fann
maðr er manns gaman
_____________________
#1 Translation

42.
A man must be a friend
to his friend
and give gift for gift.
Men should use
mockery in return for mockery,
and deception in return for a lie.

43
A man must be a friend
to his friend,
for himself and for the friend,
but no man must
be a friend of a friend
of his foe.

44
Know, if you have a friend
in whom you have faith,
and you wish to get something good from him,
you must share with his mind
and exchange gifts,
and go often to seek him out.

45
If you have another
whom you mistrust,
but you want to get something good from him,
you must speak fair to him,
and think deceitful thoughts,
and give deception in return for a lie.

46
There is more about the one
whom you mistrust
and whose disposition you suspect:
you should laugh with him
and speak other than your thought.
There should be repayment for such gifts.

47
Long ago I was young,
I travelled on my own,
then I turned astray in my paths:
I thought myself rich
when I found another,
man is man's entertainment.

#2Translation

42.
To his friend a man should bear him as friend,
and gift for gift bestow,
laughter for laughter let him exchange,
but leasing pay for a lie.

43.
To his friend a man should bear him as friend,
to him and a friend of his;
but let him beware that he be not the friend
of one who is friend to his foe.

44.
Hast thou a friend whom thou trustest well,
from whom thou cravest good?
Share thy mind with him, gifts exchange with him,
fare to find him oft.

45.
But hast thou one whom thou trustest ill
yet from whom thou cravest good?
Thou shalt speak him fair, but falsely think,
and leasing pay for a lie.

46.
Yet further of him whom thou trusted ill,
and whose mind thou dost misdoubt;
thou shalt laugh with him but withhold thy thought,
for gift with like gift should be paid.

47.
Young was I once, I walked alone,
and bewildered seemed in the way;
then I found me another and rich I thought me,
for man is the joy of man.

[Curtis Jensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reminiscent of Proverbs from The Bible. Each verse has meaning by itself, and means more with the background context.
Fun short read.

[Flor ):) · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was a very interesting look on the way the Vikings saw life.

[Gard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Betre byrdi
du ber 'kje i bakken
enn mannavit mykje.
D'er betre enn gull
i framand gard;
vit er vesalmanns trøyst.

Word.

[Mikaela · Rating 1 out of 5]

Full av trams i stil med "När du äta din frukost skall, du bör sätta fram tallrik först." Plus att Oden också delar med sig av lite fräscha "sanningar" om kvinnor. Förstår inte hur någon kan tycka att det här skulle ha någon slags relevans för vår samtid.

[Scott Whitney · Rating 4 out of 5]

After studying mythology last summer and teaching a mythology which included Norse myths, I have come to love the wisdom and the belief systems of the Norse people. These sayings hold a lot of wisdom and power.

[Conan The Librarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excelentes consejos del Padre de Todos.

Mujeres, amigos, moral, salud y también una que otra aventura de Odín.

[Karoline Aaland · Rating 4 out of 5]

guide:
http://valkyrja.com/050715.html?fbcli...

[Jeremiah Hopkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Norse mythology provides inspiration for countless writings and tales, from Tolkien's Lord of the Rings to the MCU. These two books are part of a larger work called the Poetic Edda, a collection of Old Norse narrative poems which contain myths and legends from ancient Nordic culture and religion. While I don't hold to Norse mythology and religion as truth in any way, they contained a few insights on personal conduct and wisdom proverbs that I deeply appreciated.

"Let no man glory in the greatness of his mind,
but rather keep watch o'er his wits.
Cautious and silent let him enter a dwelling;
to the heedful comes seldom harm,
for none can find a more faithful friend
than the wealth of mother wit."
-Havamal

5.9/10

[Diego · Rating 5 out of 5]

La sabiduría del día a día de las culturas nórdicas, una lectura muy divertida y que sirve para comprender la extraña dualidad que existe en esta parte del mundo. Entre un individualismo muy exaltado con un sentido comunitario muy fuerte y el respeto por la naturaleza. Además es una buena fuente si se conecta con las sagas y con otras obras de hace 1000 o más años en el norte de Europa.

[Autumn Gonzales · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Short are the sails of a ship, dangerous the dark in autumn.”

There is nothing I love more than wisdom voiced as prose. Excellent read for a rainy day, and a beautiful introduction to Norse wisdom.

“It is best for a man to be middle-wise, not over cunning and clever. No man is meant to know his future, so let him sleep in peace.”

[The Sebbe · Rating 4 out of 5]

8/10

Read in Swedish, ”Texter från Sapfo till Strindberg”. Cool to be reading some viking ”philosophy”, (if you can call it that) kinda difficult to understand all meaning though, some poems are really hard to interpret imo should re-read

[Joachim · Rating 5 out of 5]

We can all benefit from the wisdom of the Vikings...

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of common wisdom from an uncommon source: Odin, the All-Father. The poems, written in the classic form, cover everything from how to behave in public to how to conduct your life.

[Eva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Livsvisdom. Visdomsord.

[Jurga · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have got the Lithuanian edition from the Viking Ship museum. It is a very handy copy of this part of Poetic Edda. Wise words, too. A book one should have if he does not prefer The Bible.

[Una Ragnars · Rating 4 out of 5]

snilld

[Lu · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s a very good book,pretty poetry!

[Roze Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Vikings Brand and their products! Although I needed to exchange a size, the company was very helpful and communicative throughout the entire process.

[Aina Hard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rätt go ändå…

[Oskar Mellum-Halvorsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

BARS
(JEG SKJØNNER IKKE BÆRET,
men god flow/rim og rytme(/fin flyt))

[Sol Ekfeldt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Boken är så osammanhängande att det blir komiskt i vissa fall. På många sätt är det en sanningslära från en forntida religion, därav har den även uråldrig moral och kvinnosyn i vissa fall. Det jag dock vill peka på är att om man som kvinna ska känna sig kränkt för varje verk man läser skrivet före feministens tid så kommer man aldrig att kunna läsa några historiska verk över huvud taget. Historien stod sällan på kvinnans sida och genom att vilja förstå oss på hur våra förfäder tänkte måste vi sätta oss in i deras värld och därmed läsa deras litteratur. Jag håller självklart med om att dess syn på etik och moral är uråldrig när det kommer till jämställdhet, men det finns även finare budskap nedteckade här i, precis som det finns meddelanden som är så pass konstiga att man börjar fundera på vad man egentligen läser och brister ut i gapskratt.

Det var definitivt en intressant och snabb läsning, och jag ångrar sanneligen inte att jag läste den. 3/5.

[Austin Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%A1...

These small books are completely hit or miss. This was a hit!!!!

"The following day the Frost Giants came,
Walked into Har's hall To ask for Har's advice:
Had Bolverk they asked, come back to his friends,
Or had he been slain by Suttung?"

[Austin Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%A1...

These small books are completely hit or miss. This was a hit!!!!

"The following day the Frost Giants came,
Walked into Har's hall To ask for Har's advice:
Had Bolverk they asked, come back to his friends,
Or had he been slain by Suttung?"

[Shannon · Rating 1 out of 5]

Poor formatting

I own two other versions. Wanted one for my iPad. Bought this without looking at it. My mistake. Sections are not numbered. But worse is that it isn't formatted well. Paragraph breaks are inconsistent, non existent, or appear when not needed.

Skip this version

[Bettie]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yY7dtu...

[Tiina]

I don't often read words that are more than a thousand years old. It's hard to rate this little book, other than I got it from a very dear person, bought in a very dear place.