Vǫluspá and the War in Heaven

Abstract

This paper explores the diction of the poem Vǫluspá , comparing one of its phrases to a similar phrase widely attested in Old English religious poetry. In particular, the Old Norse phrase há timbroðo ‘built high’, which is used in the poem to describe heathen cultic sites, is examined and compared to uses attested in Old Norse, Old High German, and Old English works. Although rare in Old Norse poetry, in Old English sources the phrase commonly describes heaven, and is used to juxtapose its light and glory with the darkness of hell; the phrase is also formulaically associated with the theme of the War in Heaven. When read in the context of these resonances, Vǫluspá’s description of the Æsir’s early works take on a new tone. The paper also explores the possibility that these literary traditions may share overlapping oral and formulaic elements, highlighting the ways that commonly inherited poetic formulas can take on new connotations within new cultural and religious contexts.