07

Chapter VII

1. The name is Väinämöinen, due to vowel harmonization, but we had pity on the typesetter.

2. D. Comparetti, The Traditional Poetry of the Finns (1898).

3. The magic spell, published in the Variants and translated by Comparetti, was sung by Ontrei in 1855.

4. See the epigraph to the Introduction, p. 1.

5. In the Eddic lay of Sigrdrifa, the valkyria enumerates the places where can be found hugruna, i.e., the runes that give wisdom and knowledge, among which are the following: the shield of the sun, the ear and hoof of his horses, the wheel of Rognir’s chariot, Sleipnir’s teeth and Bragi’s tongue, the beak of the eagle, the clutch of the bear, the paw of the wolf, the nail of the Norns, the head of the bridge, etc. (Sigrdr. vs. 13-17).

6. M. Haavio, Vainamoinen, Eternal Sage (1952), p. 40 (quoting Setälä).

7. See chapter VIII.