The Mead of Poetry (Óðrerir) and Odin’s Labor

This is the third of our four stories of Odin and the mead of poetry. In Snorri’s Prose Edda, the mead was brewed from Kvasir’s blood and honey. It was kept in two vats, Són and Boðn, and a kettle called Óðrerir, a name often used for the mead of poetry (Óðrerir) itself. To begin at the beginning, read Kvasir: Man of Spit, then Fjalarr and Galarr Give up the Mead.

The giant Suttung knew everyone would want the mead of poetry. So he hid it deep inside a mountain called Hnitbjörg and set his daughter Gunnlöð to guard it day and night.

Odin’s Thirst for the Mead of Poetry

No one in Norse myth craved knowledge like Odin. For example, he hung himself on Yggdrasil for nine nights to win the runes, and he gave up an eye at Mimir’s well. When he heard about the mead of poetry (Óðrerir), he had to have it. Disguising himself as Bölverkr (‘Evil-Doer’), he set out for Suttung’s lands.

Odin and the Nine Slaves

While traveling, Odin-Bolverk saw nine slaves, owned by Suttung’s brother Baugi, harvesting hay with scythes. He remarked that they looked weary and that their blades were dull. So the slaves welcomed his help.

Odin-Bolverk sharpened their scythes with his whetstone until the blades were keener than they had ever been. Then the slaves begged him for the whetstone. Odin-Bolverk told them that whoever caught it could have it as a gift, and he tossed it high into the air.

In their desperation to claim it, the slaves swung their scythes at one another. By sundown, every one of them lay dead, reaped by their own greed. Afterward, Odin retrieved his whetstone and continued on his way.

Odin and Baugi: a Summer’s Labor for the Mead of Poetry (Óðrerir)

Odin-Bolverk arrived at Baugi’s home and told him that his nine slaves were dead. Baugi now needed workers, and Odin-Bolverk offered to do the work of all nine men for the summer. In return, Baugi would help him obtain a drink of the Mead of Poetry from Baugi’s brother, Suttung. Baugi agreed, and Odin-Bolverk kept his promise.

When the summer’s work was done, Baugi went with Bölverkr to ask Suttung for a drink of the mead. Suttung flatly refused. So Bölverkr suggested they try a trick, and Baugi, having given his word, reluctantly agreed.

Next time: how Odin got into the mountain and out again.