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Hávamál, The Saying of Odin, Stanza 13
Hail and welcome! This is Huginn's Heathen Hof, with your Daily Hávamál.
Original-
Óminnishegri heitir
sá er yfir ölðrum þrumir
hann stelr geði guma
þess fugls fjöðrum
ek fjötraðr vask
í garði Gunnlaðar
Translation-
Forgetfulness hovers over
drunken men, like a heron,
and robs them of their wits.
Just as it did to me,
when I was Held in Gunnlöð's hall.
-Hávamál: Stanza 13
Yesterday we saw the lead in to this poetic narrative, when Odin emphasized the importance of moderation. This verse (as well as the next) are a brief reference to a larger tale. There are several versions of this event that were recorded in the Lore, and they conflict in several places, but the main theme of the tale remains fairly constant.
Odin had made a hard bargain in order to gain access to the "Mead of Poetry", which belonged to the giant, Suttungr. When Suttungr refused to give it up, Odin hatched a plan to seduce Suttungr's daughter Gunnlöð. He spent three nights, dead drunk, in Gunnlöð's bed before stealing all of the mead and leading Suttungr on a drunken chase all across Midgard.
