The myth of Loki and the deadly mistletoe - Iseult Gillespie

Translator: Sanne Yvonne Nordbø Østbø Reviewer: Thomas Bedin

Baldur— son of All Father Odin and Queen Frigg,

Balder, sønn av Allfader Odin og dronning Frigg,

husband of Nanna the Peaceful, and God of truth and light—

-gift med den fredelige Nanna, gudinnen for sannhet og lys—

was the gentlest and most beloved being in all of Asgard.

-var den mildeste og mest elskede i hele Åsgård.

In his great hall of Breidablik,

I hans digre hall kalt Breidablikk,

Baldur’s soothing presence eased his subject’s woes.

-var Balders beroligende vesen som balsam for plagede sjeler.

But lately, he was plagued by troubles of his own.

Men i det siste var det han selv som var blitt plaget.

Every night, Baldur had gruesome visions foretelling his own imminent death.

Hver natt hadde han mareritt om at han snart skulle dø.

Determined to protect her son from these grim prophecies,

Fast bestemt på å verne sønnen mot disse vonde spådommene,

Queen Frigg travelled across the nine realms,

-reiste dronning Frigg over alle de ni verdener,

begging all living things not to harm Baldur.

-og bønnfalte alle ting om å ikke såre Balder.

Her grace moved each being she encountered.

Hennes nåde rørte hvert vesen som hun møtte på sin vei.

Every animal and element, every plague and plant, every blade and bug

Alle dyr og elementer, hver pest og plante, klinge og kryp,

gladly gave their word.

-ga henne sitt ord med glede.

Frigg returned to Breidablik, and threw a great feast to celebrate.

Frigg dro tilbake til Breidablikk, og fikk i stand et stort festmåltid.

Wine flowed freely, and soon the gods took turns testing Baldur’s immunity.

Vinen flommet, og snart ville gudene prøve ut Balders usårlighet.

Lurking in the corner, Loki rolled his eyes.

I hjørnet stod Loke og himlet med øynene.

The trickster god had never cared for Baldur the Bright,

Den slu guden hadde ingenting til overs for Balder den skinnende,

and found his new gift profoundly irritating.

-og ergret seg over hans nye talent.

Surely there was a flaw in Frigg’s plan.

Friggs plan måtte da ha en brist?

Taking the form of an old woman,

I skikkelse av en gammel kone,

Loki crept to Frigg’s side and feigned confusion.

-listet Loke seg bort til Frigg og spilte forvirret.

Why were the gods attacking sweet Baldur, whom they all loved so dearly?

″Hvorfor angriper de vår skjønne og dypt elskede Balder?″

Frigg told her of the oaths, but the old woman pressed on.

Frigg fortalte henne om edene, men den gamle kona ville vite mer.

Surely you didn’t receive a vow from everything, she asked.

“Alle ting kan vel ikke ha lovet det″, spurte hun.

Frigg shrugged.

Frigg trakk på skuldrene.

The only being she hadn’t visited was mistletoe.

Den eneste hun ikke hadde besøkt, var mistelteinen.

After all, what god could fear a trifling weed?

For hva slags gud fryktet en puslete spire?

At this, Loki dashed outside to find a sprig of mistletoe.

Så Loke hastet av sted for å skaffe en misteltein.

When he returned, the festivities had grown even rowdier.

Da han kom tilbake, var festen blitt enda voldsommere.

Men ikke alle hadde glede av feiringen.

But not every god was enjoying the party.

Baldur’s brother Hodur, who was blind and weapon-less, sat dejected.

Balders bror, Hod, var blind og satt der våpenløs og alene.

Seeing his opportunity,

Luringen så sitt snitt,

the trickster slyly offered Hodur a chance to participate.

-og tilbød Hod en mulighet til å delta.

Loki armed him with mistletoe, guided his aim towards his brother,

Loke væpnet ham med mistelteinen, og med en veiledende hånd,

and told Hodur to hurl with all his might.

-ba han Hod gi alt han hadde.

The mistletoe pierced Baldur’s chest with deadly force.

Mistelteinen traff Balder i brystet med dødelig kraft.

The god’s light quickly flickered out, and despair swept over the crowd.

Gudens lys ebbet raskt ut, og fortvilelsen bredte seg i flokken.

Øyeblikkelig kunne man sanse Balders død-

Within moments, the impact of Baldur’s death could be felt

across the nine realms.

-på tvers over alle de ni verdenene.

But from the weeping masses, Hermod the Brave stepped forward.

Men frem fra den gråtende mengden, skred den modige Hermod frem.

The warrior god believed that with the help of Odin’s mighty steed,

Krigsguden mente at med hjelp fra Odins mektige hingst,

there was no plane he could not reach.

-var alle riker innenfor rekkevidde.

He would travel to halls of Hel herself, and bring Baldur home.

Han skulle dra og hente Balder, ut fra hallene til selveste Hel.

The god rode for nine days and nine nights,

Guden red i ni dager og ni netter,

past halls of corpses and over paths paved with bone.

-forbi haller av lik og på stier brolagt med bein.

When he finally reached the Queen of the Underworld,

Da han endelig møtte Dødsrikets dronning,

Hermod begged her to return Baldur to his family.

-tryglet Hermod henne om å gjenforene Balder med familien.

Hel considered taking pity, but she wanted to know the extent of the gods’ mourning.

Hel vurderte å være barmhjertig, men ville vite hvor dypt sorgen stakk.

She agreed to relinquish Baldur’s soul—

Hun gikk med på å overgi Balders sjel—

if Hermod could prove that every living thing wept at Baldur’s death.

-hvis Hermod kunne bevise at alle ting gråt for Balder.

Hermod shot back to the land of the living.

Hermod stormet tilbake til de levendes land.

He met with every creature that Frigg visited earlier—

Han traff alle skapningene som Frigg hadde besøkt tidligere—

all of which cried for Baldur and begged for his return.

-hvorav alle gråt for Balder og ba om hans tilbakekomst.

Meanwhile, Loki watched Hermod’s mission with disdain.

Samtidig iakttok Loke ferden hans, full av forakt.

He would not let his work be so easily undone,

Det han hadde utrettet skulle ikke ha vært forgjeves,

but if he interfered too boldly it might reveal his hand in Baldur’s murder.

-men hvis han grep inn for mye, kunne hans skyld bli avslørt.

Disguising himself as a ferocious giant, he hid himself at Hermod’s final stop.

Forkledd som en fæl kjempe, gjemte han seg ved Hermods siste stopp.

When the warrior came,

Da krigeren kom, viste både den ulende vinden-

the howling wind and craggy rocks each declared their love for Baldur.

-og de bratte klippene sin kjærlighet for Balder.

But the giant within spewed only contempt for the deceased.

Men kjempen spydde bare edder og galle om den avdøde.

No matter how much Hermod begged, she would not shed a single tear.

Uansett hvor mye Hermod tryglet, ville hun ikke felle en eneste tåre.

With his last hope dashed, the god began to mourn Baldur a second time.

Guden ble motløs, og nok en gang sørget han over Balders bortgang.

But an echo from the cave rang out above his sobs.

Men et ekko fra hulen overdøvet hulkene hans.

Loki’s twisted cackle was well-known to every Asgardian,

Den onde latteren til Loke var velkjent for alle i Åsgård,

and Hermod realized he’d been tricked.

-og Hermod skjønte at han var blitt lurt.

As he leapt to accost the trickster,

Han kastet seg over luringen for å irettesette ham,

Loki took the form of a salmon and wriggled into the waterfall.

-men Loke forvandlet seg til en laks og sprellet ut i fossen.

His escape was guaranteed, until Thor arrived at the scene.

Han hadde sluppet unna, hadde det ikke vært for Tor.

Dragging Loki back to the cave, the gods bound him with a poisonous serpent.

Gudene slepte Loke tilbake til hulen, hvor de bandt ham fast med en giftig orm.

Here, Loki would remain chained until the end of days—

Her skulle Loke være fastbundet frem til verdens undergang,

the serpent dripping venom on his brow as punishment

-mens ormegiften dryppet ned i ansiktet hans som straff-

for dousing Asgard’s brightest light.

-for å ha slukket Åsgårds skinnende lys.