Teutonic mythology Author:Viktor Rydberg Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: V. THE IVALDE RACE. SVIPDAG AND GROA. Groa's son Svipdag is mentioned by this name in two Old Norse songs, Grogalder and Fjolsvinnsmal, which as Bugge h... more »as shown, are mutually connected, and describe episodes from the same chain of events. The contents of Grogalder are as follows: Groa is dead when the event described in the song takes place. Svipdag is still quite young. Before her death she has told him that he is to go to her grave and call her if he needs her help. The grave is a grave-chamber made of large flat stones raised over a stone floor, and forming when seen from the outside a mound which is furnished with a door (str. 1, 15). Svipdag's father has married a second time. The stepmother commands her stepson to go abroad and find Menglodum, "those fond of ornaments." From Fjolsvinnsmal we learn that one of those called by this name is a young maid who becomes Svipdag's wife. Her real name is not given: she is continually designated as Menglod, Menglad, one of "those fond of ornaments," whom Svipdag has been commanded to find. This task seems to Svipdag to exceed his powers. It must have been one of great adventures and great dangers, for he now considers it the proper time to ask his deceased mother for help. He has become suspicious of his stepmother's intentions; he considers her Icevis (cunning), and her proposition is "a cruel olay which she has put before him" (str. 3). He goes to Groa's grave-chamber, probably in the night (verda auflgari allir a nottum dauthir—Helge Hund., ii. 51), bids her wake, and reminds her of her promise. That of Groa which had become dust (er til moldar er komin), and that of her which had left this world of man and gone to the lower world (er or Ijodheimum lidin), become again united under the influence of maternal love...« less