Hnitbjörg- Norse LocationLocation · Landmark

Suttungr's Vault

The dwarves Fjalar and Galar owed a life. They had killed the giant Gillingr and his wife, and when Suttungr came for blood-price, they paid with the only thing valuable enough: the Mead of Poetry, brewed from the blood of the wise Kvasir mixed with honey. Suttungr carried the mead to Hnitbjörg, a mountain whose name means "clashing rocks." He poured it into three vessels, Óðrerir and Boðn and Són, and locked them deep inside the stone. His daughter Gunnlöð sat watch over them in the mountain's interior, alone with the mead in the dark.

The Bore-Hole and the Eagle

Odin wanted the mead and was willing to spend a full summer getting it. He found Baugi, Suttungr's brother, whose nine thralls were struggling with dull scythes. Odin offered to sharpen them and tossed a whetstone into the air. The thralls scrambled for it and cut each other's throats. With his brother's workforce dead, Baugi needed a replacement. Odin struck a deal: one summer's labor for one drink inside Hnitbjörg.

When autumn came, Baugi took the auger Rati and drilled into the mountain's face. The first attempt fell short. Baugi blew into the hole, and the rock chips flew back, so Odin knew the passage did not go through. He made Baugi drill again. This time the chips blew inward. Odin shifted into the shape of a serpent and threaded himself through the bore-hole. Baugi stabbed after him with the auger and missed.

Inside, Odin found Gunnlöð. He spent three nights with her, and she granted him three draughts, one from each vessel. He drained all three to the last drop, shifted into eagle form, and flew for Ásgarðr. Suttungr saw and gave chase, also as an eagle. The gods had set vats in the courtyard, and Odin spat the mead into them just ahead of Suttungr's talons. A few drops fell outside the walls during the flight. Those drops, the Hávamál says, are the share of bad poets.