The opening of Hávamál in Old Norse
Hávamál, “the sayings of the High One”, is a collection of Old Norse wisdom put in the mouth of Odin. It opens not with gods or battles but with very practical advice for walking into a stranger's hall: check the doors, because you don't know who is sitting inside.
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The text and translation
Gáttir allar, áðr gangi fram, um skoðaz skyli, um skygnaz skyli; þvíat óvíst er at vita, hvar óvinir sitia á fleti fyrir.
All the doorways, before one walks forward, one should look around, one should peer about; for it is uncertain to know where enemies sit ahead in the hall.
Word by word
- Gáttir
- doorways
- allar
- all
- áðr
- before
- gangi
- one walks
- fram
- forward
- um
- (verbal particle)
- skoðaz
- look around
- skyli
- one should
- um
- (verbal particle)
- skygnaz
- peer about
- skyli
- one should
- þvíat
- because
- óvíst
- uncertain
- er
- is
- at
- to
- vita
- know
- hvar
- where
- óvinir
- enemies
- sitia
- sit
- á
- on
- fleti
- hall floor
- fyrir
- ahead
Gefendr heilir!
Hail to the givers!
Word by word
- Gefendr
- givers
- heilir
- hail, be well
Gestr er inn kominn: hvar skal sitia siá?
A guest has come in: where shall this one sit?
Word by word
- Gestr
- a guest
- er
- has
- inn
- in
- kominn
- come
- hvar
- where
- skal
- shall
- sitia
- sit
- siá
- this one
miǫk er bráðr, sá er at brǫndom skal síns um freista frama.
Very hasty is he who must try his luck by the hearth-fires.
Word by word
- miǫk
- very
- er
- is
- bráðr
- hasty
- sá
- he
- er
- who
- at
- by
- brǫndom
- the fires
- skal
- must
- síns
- his
- um
- (verbal particle)
- freista
- try
- frama
- luck
Elz er þǫrf, þeims inn er kominn ok á kné kalinn;
Fire is needed by him who has come in and is chilled at the knee;
Word by word
- Elz
- fire
- er
- is
- þǫrf
- need
- þeims
- for him who
- inn
- in
- er
- has
- kominn
- come
- ok
- and
- á
- at
- kné
- knees
- kalinn
- chilled
matar ok váða er manni þǫrf, þeim er hefir um fiall farit.
food and clothing are needed by the man who has travelled over the mountains.
Word by word
- matar
- food
- ok
- and
- váða
- clothing
- er
- is
- manni
- for a man
- þǫrf
- need
- þeim
- him
- er
- who
- hefir
- has
- um
- over
- fiall
- mountain
- farit
- travelled
Vats er þǫrf, þeim er til verðar kømr, þerro ok þióðlaðar, góðs um œðis, ef sér geta mætti, orz ok endrþǫgo.
Water is needed by him who comes to a meal, a towel and a friendly welcome, a good disposition, if he could get it, talk and a hearing in return.
Word by word
- Vats
- water
- er
- is
- þǫrf
- need
- þeim
- for him
- er
- who
- til
- to
- verðar
- a meal
- kømr
- comes
- þerro
- a towel
- ok
- and
- þióðlaðar
- a hearty welcome
- góðs
- good
- um
- (verbal particle)
- œðis
- disposition
- ef
- if
- sér
- for himself
- geta
- get
- mætti
- he could
- orz
- talk
- ok
- and
- endrþǫgo
- a hearing in return
Vits er þǫrf, þeim er víða ratar; dælt er heima hvat;
Wits are needed by him who travels widely; anything is easy at home;
Word by word
- Vits
- wits
- er
- is
- þǫrf
- need
- þeim
- for him
- er
- who
- víða
- widely
- ratar
- travels
- dælt
- easy
- er
- is
- heima
- at home
- hvat
- anything
at augabragði verðr, sá er ekki kann ok með snotrom sitr.
he becomes a laughing-stock who knows nothing and sits among the wise.
Word by word
- at
- as
- augabragði
- a laughing-stock
- verðr
- becomes
- sá
- he
- er
- who
- ekki
- nothing
- kann
- knows
- ok
- and
- með
- among
- snotrom
- the wise
- sitr
- sits
At hyggiandi sinni skylit maðr hrœsinn vera, heldr gætinn at geði:
A man should not be boastful of his good sense, but rather careful in mind:
Word by word
- At
- about
- hyggiandi
- good sense
- sinni
- his
- skylit
- should not
- maðr
- a man
- hrœsinn
- boastful
- vera
- be
- heldr
- rather
- gætinn
- careful
- at
- in
- geði
- mind
þá er horskr ok þǫgull kømr heimisgarða til, sialdan verðr víti vǫrom.
when the wise and silent man comes to a homestead, harm seldom comes to the wary.
Word by word
- þá
- then
- er
- when
- horskr
- wise
- ok
- and
- þǫgull
- silent
- kømr
- comes
- heimisgarða
- homesteads
- til
- to
- sialdan
- seldom
- verðr
- comes
- víti
- harm
- vǫrom
- to the wary
þvíat óbrigðra vin fær maðr aldregi en manvit mikit.
For a man never gets a more trusty friend than great good sense.
Word by word
- þvíat
- because
- óbrigðra
- more trusty
- vin
- friend
- fær
- gets
- maðr
- a man
- aldregi
- never
- en
- than
- manvit
- good sense
- mikit
- great
Inn vari gestr, er til verðar kømr, þunno hlióði þegir, eyrom hlýðir, en augom skoðar; svá nýsiz fróðra hverr fyrir.
The wary guest who comes to a meal keeps silent with sharpened hearing; he listens with his ears and looks with his eyes; so every wise man spies out what is ahead.
Word by word
- Inn
- the
- vari
- wary
- gestr
- guest
- er
- who
- til
- to
- verðar
- a meal
- kømr
- comes
- þunno
- thin, keen
- hlióði
- hearing
- þegir
- keeps silent
- eyrom
- with ears
- hlýðir
- listens
- en
- and
- augom
- with eyes
- skoðar
- looks
- svá
- so
- nýsiz
- spies about
- fróðra
- of wise men
- hverr
- each
- fyrir
- ahead
Hinn er sæll, er sér um getr lof ok líknstafi; ódælla er við þat, er maðr eiga skal annars brióstom í.
He is happy who wins himself praise and kind words; it is harder with what a man must have in another's breast.
Word by word
- Hinn
- he
- er
- is
- sæll
- happy
- er
- who
- sér
- for himself
- um
- (verbal particle)
- getr
- gets
- lof
- praise
- ok
- and
- líknstafi
- kind words
- ódælla
- harder
- er
- is
- við
- with
- þat
- that
- er
- which
- maðr
- a man
- eiga
- have
- skal
- must
- annars
- another's
- brióstom
- breast
- í
- in
Sá er sæll, er siálfr um á lof ok vit, meðan lifir; þvíat ill ráð hefir maðr opt þegit annars brióstom ór.
He is happy who himself has praise and wit while he lives; for a man has often received bad counsel out of another's breast.
Word by word
- Sá
- he
- er
- is
- sæll
- happy
- er
- who
- siálfr
- himself
- um
- (verbal particle)
- á
- has
- lof
- praise
- ok
- and
- vit
- wit
- meðan
- while
- lifir
- he lives
- þvíat
- because
- ill
- bad
- ráð
- counsel
- hefir
- has
- maðr
- a man
- opt
- often
- þegit
- received
- annars
- another's
- brióstom
- breast
- ór
- out of
Byrði betri berrat maðr brauto at, en sé manvit mikit; auði betra þikkir þat í ókunnom stað, slíkt er válaðs vera.
No better burden does a man carry on the road than great good sense; in an unknown place it seems better than wealth; such is the refuge of the poor.
Word by word
- Byrði
- burden
- betri
- better
- berrat
- does not carry
- maðr
- a man
- brauto
- the road
- at
- on
- en
- than
- sé
- be
- manvit
- good sense
- mikit
- great
- auði
- than wealth
- betra
- better
- þikkir
- seems
- þat
- it
- í
- in
- ókunnom
- an unknown
- stað
- place
- slíkt
- such
- er
- is
- válaðs
- of the poor
- vera
- refuge
What to notice
- Gáttir allar means “all the doorways”, and it is the poem's famous first thought. In a world of feuds, this was simply good sense.
- Gefendr heilir! means “Hail to the givers!” Heill is related to the English words hail, whole and health.
- Gestr er inn kominn means “a guest has come in”. Gestr and guest are the same word, and you can nearly read the whole phrase.
- Vits er þǫrf means “wits are needed”. Þǫrf, “need”, repeats through these stanzas, listing what a traveller needs in turn: fire, food, water, and finally brains.
Read it yourself
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Sources
Hávamál, stanzas 1-10, ed. Gustav Neckel, Edda (Heidelberg 1914). Public domain. English: Claude (AI)
Text licence: Public domain.
Language pack licence: Texts: ODbL 1.0 / DbCL 1.0 (Rundata), CC BY-SA 4.0 (dataset); glosses CC BY-SA 4.0; tagged poems public domain, annotation CC BY-SA 4.0.
Inscription texts: Samnordisk runtextdatabas (Scandinavian Runic-text Database), Uppsala University, http://www.nordiska.uu.se/forskn/samnord.htm, via the "Scandinavian Runestone Inscriptions" dataset (CC BY-SA 4.0). Lemmas, grammar and glosses: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0) via kaikki.org, with AI-written fixes (marked "ai"). Runes rendered from the transliteration. Tagged poems (each passage carries its own source credit): Hávamál after Gustav Neckel's 1914 edition of the Codex Regius, public domain. Their tagging, lemmas and glosses are AI-written (marked "ai") and not yet reviewed by a person.
The introduction and notes on this page were written by Claude (AI). Word glosses are AI-assisted, and so is the English unless the source above names another translator.