Pretani Chieftain

“Við getum að auki verið nokkuð viss um að það eru ekki mörg fyrirbæri á himni sem hægt er að benda á sem hinn hvíta og hálfgegnsæja ask – sem teygir limar sínar og þrjár rætur um himininn og niður fyrir sjóndeildarhringinn – önnur en hin hvíta og hálfgegnsæja vetrarbraut sem teygir sig eins og hvítur trjástofn upp úr undirdjúpunum úr tveimur áttum og upp á himininn þar sem sýnilegur angi teygir sig líka út úr henni.” “We can also be fairly certain that there are not many phenomena in the sky that one could point to as the white and semi-transparent ash tree—which stretches its branches and three roots across the heavens and down below the horizon—other than the white and semi-transparent Milky Way, which reaches upward like a white tree trunk from the deep abyss in two directions and up into the sky, where a visible branch also extends outward from it.” Gísli Sigurðsson, Hvers konar heimild er Edda?

Nam Baldero Othinus ac Thoro sacraque deum agmina propugnabant. Diuinis humanisque uiribus permixtum aspiceres bellum. At Hotherus, tunica ferrum spernente succinctus, consertissimos deorum cuneos irrumpebat et, quantum terrenus in superna poterat, grassabatur. Sed et Thoro inusitato clave libratu cuocta clypeorum obstacula lacerabat, tantum ad se incessendum bestes inuitans, quantum socios ad tuendum. Nullum erat armature genus, quod impellenti non cederet. Nemo ferientem tuto excipere poterat. Quicquid ictu arcebat, obruit. Non clypei, non cassides impactum pertulere robur. Nulli corporis aut uirium magnitudo subsidio fuit. Proinde uictoria ad superos concessisset, ni Hotherus, inclinata suorum acie celerius aduolans, clauam preciso manubrio inutilem reddidisset. Quo telo defecti divi subitam dedere fugam. Then Balder, Odin, and Thor, together with the sacred host of the gods, fought in defense. You would have seen a battle in which divine and human forces were mingled. But Hotherus, girt with a tunic that scorned iron, broke through the densest ranks of the gods and pressed on as far as a mortal could against the heavenly powers. Thor, meanwhile, with an extraordinary swing of his club, was tearing apart every barrier of shields—inviting the beasts to attack him as much as he strove to protect his allies. There was no kind of armor that did not yield to his onslaught. No one could safely receive his blows. Whatever tried to ward off his strike, he crushed. Neither shields nor helmets endured the force of his impact. No greatness of body or of strength proved a defense. Accordingly, victory would have gone to the gods, had not Hotherus, when his own line was wavering, rushed forward swiftly and, by cutting off the handle of the club, rendered Thor’s weapon useless. With their champion thus disarmed, the gods suddenly turned to flight.