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Kvasir
Jul 18, 2007 16:58:12 GMT -5
Post by KittyLane on Jul 18, 2007 16:58:12 GMT -5
Kvasir by Micha F. Lindemans In Norse mythology, Kvasir was the wisest of the Vanir, fashioned from the spittle of all the gods. Two brothers, the dwarves Fjalar and Galar, invited him to a feast in their dismal cavern and killed him. The dwarves mixed his blood with honey and preserved it in two jars and a cauldron. The mixture fermented, creating the mead of poetry. Those who drink it become inspired poets. Some time later, the brothers murdered the giant Gilling and his wife. Gilling's son, Suttung, came looking for his parents and threatened to kill the dwarves. The brothers gave the mead to Suttung in return for sparing their lives. Suttung hid the mead in the center of a mountain and ordered his daughter Gunnlod to guard it. Suttung boasted of his treasure, and when the god Odin learned of it he went to Jotunheim to obtain the mead. Disguised as a farmhand, Odin worked for Suttung's brother, Baugi, all summer. When the work was done, Odin asked Baugi to give him a drink of the mead. Reluctantly, Baugi drilled a small hole through the side of the mountain and into the chamber where the mead was kept. Odin changed himself into a snake and slithered through the hole into the chamber where Gunnlod guarded the mead. Resuming the form of a giant man, he persuaded Gunnlod to give him three sips of the mead. Odin drained all three vessels, changed himself into an eagle, and flew back to Asgard.
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Kvasir
Jul 18, 2007 16:58:34 GMT -5
Post by KittyLane on Jul 18, 2007 16:58:34 GMT -5
Kvasir Kvasir is a god of Norse mythology. He was created from the saliva of all the gods, making him the wisest of the Vanir, but was quickly murdered by Fjalar and Galar, two dwarven brothers, in their cavern. They mixed his blood with honey and preserved it; the blood fermented into a magical mead that inspired poets. Later, they killed Gillingr and his wife. The giant Suttungr, enraged by Fjalar and Galarr's murder of his father Gillingr and his mother, took the dwarves out to sea, setting them on a reef which would be covered at high tide. The dwarves entreated Suttungr to spare them, offering him for reconciliation the precious mead they had obtained. Suttungr brought the mead to his home and concealed it in a place called Hnitbjorg, asking his daughter Gunnlod to guard it. Odin left his home and traveled to a certain place where nine thralls were working mowing hay. He asked if any of them wished him to sharpen their scythes, and all agreed. Odin then took a whetstone from his belt, sharpening their scythes greatly. So impressed were they by how well their scythes now cut the harvest, they asked insistently that he sell the stone to them. Odin told them he would only sell it at a very considerable price, but they agreed and persisted. He then tossed the whetstone into the air, and the thralls scrambled for it with such desire that they mortally wounded each other with their scythes. Odin then sought a night's lodging with the dead thralls' master, Baugi, who was Suttungr's brother. Baugi despaired for his efforts, having found his workers had killed each other, declaring all workers hopeless. To disguise himself, Odin called himself Bölverkr in Baugi's presence, and offered to undertake the work of all nine thralls. In return, however, he demanded as wages one drink of Suttungr's mead. Baugi answered that he had no control whatsoever of the mead, that Suttungr insisted on having it entirely to himself, but assented to go with Bolverkr (Odin) to try to get the mead. Odin completed the tasks of the nine workmen over the summer, and as winter arrived he asked for the pay which was promised. They traveled to Suttungr's home, and when Baugi told his brother of the bargain, Suttungr refused to share even a drop of his beloved mead. Bolverkr suggested to Baugi they might be able to get the mead by trickery, and Baugi readily agreed. Odin produced an auger called Rati, asking Baugi to bore through the rock barring them from the cache of mead, and when the hole was bored through, Odin transformed himself into a snake and slithered through the opening. Baugi, believing himself deceived, thrust the auger after Odin through the hole, but missed. Odin continued to where Gunnlod was at watch guarding the mead, and slept with her for three nights, after which she consented to give him three swallows of the precious drink. Odin drained the entire cache with three massive swallows, transforming to an eagle for the escape back to Asgard. Odin now gives the mead of Suttungr called the "Mead of Poetry" to the Æsir, to the Valkyries for reviving dead heroes upon their arrival in Valhalla, and to all who have the ability to compose. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kvasir
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