Gripla - 20.12.2008, Blaðsíða 114

GRIPLA112
(Vǫluspá 46); the Sigrdrífumál instance will be discussed further below.
In other contexts, where communication is not at issue, the name Mímr/
Mímir/Mími occurs without the hǫfuð element, for example Mímameiðr
‘Mími’s tree’, Fjǫlsvinnsmál 19–22; Hoddmímis holt ‘Hoard-Mímir’s wood’,
Vafþrúðnismál 45; Mímis brunni ‘Mímir’s well’, Vǫluspá 28. It is not,
however, certain that all these references are to the same being, and in
some further instances the context makes it clear that Mímir/Mímr is a
giant (Sǫkkmímir ‘Mímir of the deep’, Grímnismál 50; Míms synir ‘sons
of Mímr’, Vǫluspá 46; hrekk-Mímis ekkjur ‘widows of crafty Mímir’ (i. e.
giantesses), Þórsdrápa 9).
The sole account of Míms hǫfuð attached to a body is in Ynglinga saga.
Chapter 4 recounts the hostage exchange that ends the Æsir-Vanir war.
The Æsir send their handsomest member, Hœnir, and their cleverest,
Mímir, in exchange respectively for Njǫrðr and Freyr, and Kvasir:
En er Hœnir kom í Vanaheim, þá var hann þegar hǫfðingi gǫrr.
Mímir kenndi honum ráð ǫll. En er Hœnir var staddr á þingum eða
stefnum, svá at Mímir var eigi nær, ok kœmi nǫkkur vandamál fyrir
hann, þá svaraði hann æ inu sama: ‘ráði aðra’, kvað hann. Þá grunaði
Vani, at Æsir myndi hafa falsat þá í mannaskiptinu. Þá tóku þeir
Mími ok hálshjoggu ok sendu hǫfuðit Ásum. Óðinn tók hǫfuðit ok
smurði urtum þeim, er eigi mátti fúna, ok kvað þá yfir galdra ok
magnaði svá, at þat mælti við hann ok sagði honum marga leynda
hluti. (ÍF 26, 13).
And when Hœnir arrived in Vanaheimr, he was immediately made
a chieftain. He took all his counsel from Mímir. But when Hœnir
was so placed at a þing or meeting that Mímir wasn’t nearby, and
some difficulty was presented to him, then he always answered
alike: ‘let others decide’, he said. Then the Vanir suspected that the
Æsir might have defrauded them in the hostage exchange. Then
they took Mímir and chopped off and sent the head to the Æsir.
Óðinn took the head and smeared it with certain herbs, so that it
wouldn’t decay, and spoke charms over it and gave it such magical
powers that it spoke to him and told him many hidden things.