Asatru Folk Assembly - February 06, 2024


Hamðismál, a reading

Hosted by
Steve McNallen
Mentioned
Goths Be Jormenric Hoptus Malah Jormenrek Svanhild Heartest Guthrum Guthron Slender Yannick Regius Norris Sorli Gjoki Hogni Crane Whom
Guðrúnarhvöt, a reading Völsunga Saga, a reading

Episode Stats


Length

11 minutes

Words per minute

118.23

Word count

1,317

Sentence count

54

Harmful content

Toxicity

3

sentences flagged

Hate speech

11

sentences flagged


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

The Ballad of Hampthismal, the concluding poem in The Clerics of Regius, is on the whole the worst preserved through all the poems in the collection. It is a patchwork, so pronounced that it can hardly be regarded as a coherent poem at all.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Toxicity classifications generated with s-nlp/roberta_toxicity_classifier .
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
Hosts, guests, and mentioned names generated with spaCy (en_core_web_sm), reconciled against Wikidata.
00:00:00.000 Hamphdismal, the Ballad of Hamphdor.
00:00:24.000 The Hamthismal, the concluding poem in the Clerics of Regius, is on the whole the worst
00:00:31.860 preserved through all the poems in the collection.
00:00:35.360 The origin of the story, the relation of the Hamthismal to the Guthranar Havot and of both
00:00:41.120 poems to the hypothetical old Hamthismal are outlined in the introductory note to the
00:00:46.800 Guthranar Havot.
00:00:49.240 The Haunt as Small as We Have It is certainly not the old poem of that name.
00:00:54.480 Indeed, it is so pronounced a patchwork that it can hardly be regarded as a coherent poem
00:00:59.860 at all.
00:01:01.700 Some of the stanzas are in Fornisarag, some are in Marahattar, one appears to be
00:01:09.020 in Lothahattar, and in many cases the words can be adapted to any known metrical form
00:01:15.360 only by liberal emendation.
00:01:17.480 That any one should have deliberately composed such a poem seems quite incredible, and it
00:01:23.860 is far more likely that some 11th century narrator constructed a poem about the death
00:01:29.180 of Hamther and Sorli by piecing together various fragments and possibly adding a number of
00:01:35.800 Malahatar stanzas of his own.
00:01:39.060 It has been argued, and with apparently sound logic, that our extant Hamther small originated
00:01:45.460 in Greenland, along with the Altamal. In any case, it can hardly have been put together
00:01:51.040 before the latter part of the 11th century, although the old Humphysmal undoubtedly long
00:01:57.300 antedates this period. Many editors have contempted to pick out the parts of the extant poem which
00:02:04.380 were borrowed from this older lay, but the condition of the text is such that it is by
00:02:09.500 no means clear even what stanzas aren't in Fornis' Log and what in Malahatar.
00:02:16.140 Many editors likewise indicate gaps and omissions, but it seems doubtful whether the extant
00:02:22.320 Hoptus Malah ever had a really consecutive quality, its component fragments having apparently
00:02:29.600 been strung together with little regard for continuity.
00:02:34.060 The notes indicate some of the more important editorial suggestions, but make no attempt
00:02:40.420 to cover all of them, and the metrical form of the translation is often based on mere
00:02:45.400 guesswork as to the character of the original lines and stances.
00:02:50.480 Despite the chaotic state of the text, however, the underlying narrative is reasonably clear,
00:02:56.460 and the story can be followed with no great difficulty.
00:03:02.940 Pomp the small.
00:03:06.240 Great the evils once that grew, With the dawning sad of the sorrow of elves.
00:03:12.580 In early morn, awake for men, The evils that grief to each shall bring.
00:03:20.700 Not now nor yet of yesterday was it, Long the time that since hath lapsed,
00:03:27.700 So that little there is that is half as old, Since Guthrum, daughter of Gjoki, wedded,
00:03:34.960 Her son so young to Svanhild's vengeance.
00:03:40.620 The sister ye had was Svanhild called, And her did Jormenrek trample with horses.
00:03:48.720 White and black on the battle way, Gray rode wanted the steeds of the Goths.
00:03:57.100 the kings of the folk are ye like, for now ye are living alone of my race. Lonely am
00:04:05.340 I as the forest aspen, of kindred bare as the fir of its boughs. My joys are all lost
00:04:15.560 as the leaves of the tree, with the scather of twigs from the warm day turns.
00:04:25.000 Then Hamther spoke forth the High of Heart.
00:04:30.900 Small praise didst thou, Guthrun, to Hogni's deed give,
00:04:35.920 When they waken thy cigarette from out of his sleep,
00:04:39.560 Thou didst sit on the bed while the slayers laughed.
00:04:44.740 Thy bed-covers white, with blood were red,
00:04:48.680 From his wounds and with gore of thy husband were wet,
00:04:52.960 Thou wilt strike it at thee by the slaying of Herb,
00:04:56.480 And the killing of Eitel, thine own grief was worse.
00:05:01.400 So should each one wield the wound-biting sword, 0.62
00:05:04.920 That another it slays, but smites not itself,
00:05:09.680 Then did sorely speak, for wise was he ever.
00:05:15.620 With my mother I never a quarrel will make,
00:05:19.940 So little in speaking we thinks ye both lack.
00:05:24.060 What hast thou, Guthron, that will give thee no tears?
00:05:28.840 For thy brothers dost weep, and thy boys so sweet,
00:05:33.080 Like kinsmen in birth on the battlefield slain.
00:05:36.760 Now Guthron asks,
00:05:39.720 While for us both shalt thou weep,
00:05:42.700 We sit doomed on our steeds, and far hence shall we die.
00:05:48.420 Then the famed lad won On the steps she was.
00:05:53.800 Slender-fingered spake with her sons, Ye shall danger have, if counsel ye he not. 0.58
00:06:02.600 By two heroes alone shall two hundred of Goths Be bound or be slain in a lofty walled burg. 0.91
00:06:11.860 From the courtyard they fared, In fury they breathed. 0.58
00:06:15.940 The youth swiftly went o'er the mountains wet, On their hunnish steeds thus vengeance
00:06:21.840 to have, On the way they found a man so wise. 1.00
00:06:28.900 What help from the weakling brown may we have? 1.00
00:06:33.640 So answered them their half-brother then, So well may I, my kinsman aid, as help one 0.99
00:06:40.960 One foot from the other haze.
00:06:44.080 How may a foot its fellow aid On a flesh-grown hand another help?
00:06:49.780 Then Earp spake forth, his words were few, As haughty he sat on his horse's back.
00:07:00.400 To the timid tis they ill, The way to tell, 0.91
00:07:04.640 A bastard day the bold one called, On their sheaths they drew, 0.96
00:07:10.540 Their shining swords, their blades to the giantess joy to give. 0.99
00:07:16.020 By a third they lessened the might that was theirs,
00:07:19.840 The fighter young to earth they felled,
00:07:23.160 Their cloaks they shook, their swords they sheathed,
00:07:27.140 The highborn men wrapped their mantles close.
00:07:32.520 On the roads they fell in an ill way found,
00:07:36.420 And their sister's son on the tree they saw, On the wind-cold wolf-tree west of the hill,
00:07:44.040 And Crane's bait crawled, None would care to linger,
00:07:50.480 And the hall was din, And the men drank deep,
00:07:55.380 On the horse's hoofs could no one hear, Till the warrior hardy sounded his horn,
00:08:02.980 Then came in the tale to Jorminric told, How warriors helmed without they beheld.
00:08:10.220 Take counsel wise, for brave ones are come, Of mighty men thou desist, or didst murder.
00:08:20.020 Then Jorminric laughed, His hand laid on his beard,
00:08:25.860 His arms, for with wine he was warlike, He called for.
00:08:32.540 He shook his brown locks, on his white shield he looked, and raised high the cup of gold
00:08:37.580 in his hand.
00:08:39.580 Ha!
00:08:40.580 Hoppy, methinks, were I to behold, hamper and sorely, here in my hall.
00:08:48.440 The men would I bind, with strings of bows, and gricky's airs, on the gallows hang.
00:08:54.980 In the hall was clamber, the cups were shattered, men stood in blood from the breast of the 0.85
00:09:02.520 the Goths. Then did Hamther speak forth the haughty of heart.
00:09:08.360 Thou soughtest Jormenric us to see, sons of one mother seeking thy dwelling. Thou seest
00:09:17.840 thy hands, thy feet thou beholdest, Jormenric flung in the fire so hot.
00:09:25.120 Then roared the king of the race of the gods, bold in his armor, as roars a bear,
00:09:36.120 Stone, ye the men, that steel will not bite, sword, no spear, the sons of Yannick.
00:09:44.840 Sorely spake 0.85
00:09:47.880 Ill didst win, brother, when the bag thou didst open
00:09:52.420 Off from the bag came baleful counsel
00:09:55.460 Heartest thou, Hamther, if knowledge thou hast
00:09:59.900 A man without wisdom is lacking in much
00:10:03.020 Hamther spake
00:10:05.880 His head was now off, if earth was living
00:10:11.280 The brother so keen
00:10:13.680 Whom we killed on the road
00:10:15.060 The warrior noble
00:10:17.540 T'was the Norns that drove me
00:10:19.440 The hero to slay
00:10:21.840 When in fight
00:10:22.920 Should be holy
00:10:24.840 In fashion of wolves
00:10:27.160 It befits us not
00:10:28.980 Amongst ourselves to strive
00:10:31.760 Like the hounds of the Norns
00:10:33.500 That nourished were
00:10:35.800 In the greed mid-waist so grim
00:10:37.980 We have greatly fought o'er the ghast we stand
00:10:42.740 By our blades laid low like eagles on branches
00:10:46.560 Great our fame, though we die today or tomorrow 0.99
00:10:51.220 None out lives the night when the Norris have spoken 0.82
00:10:55.820 Then sorely beside the gables sank
00:10:59.980 And Hamther fell at the back of the house
00:11:03.360 This is called the Old Ballad of Hamtha.