abroad over the face of the earth.

Frey was, moreover, the proud possessor not only of the dauntless steed
Blodug-hofi, which would dash through fire and water at his command,
but also of the magic ship Skidbladnir, a personification of the
clouds. This vessel, sailing over land and sea, was always wafted
along by favourable winds, and was so elastic that, while it could
assume large enough proportions to carry the gods, their steeds,
and all their equipments, it could also be folded up like a napkin
and thrust into a pocket.

"Ivaldi's sons
Went in days of old
Skidbladnir to form,
Of ships the best,
For the bright Frey,
Nioerd's benign son."

Lay of Grimnir (Thorpe's tr.).

The Wooing of Gerda

It is related in one of the lays of the Edda that Frey once ventured
to ascend Odin's throne Hlidskialf, from which exalted seat his gaze
ranged over the wide earth. Looking towards the frozen North, he saw
a beautiful young maiden enter the house of the frost giant Gymir,
and as she raised her hand to lift the latch her radiant beauty
illuminated sea and sky.

A moment later, this lovely creature, whose name was Gerda, and who
is considered as a personification of the flashing Northern lights,
vanished within her father's house, and Frey pensively wended his
way back to Alfheim, his heart oppressed with longing to make this
fair maiden his wife. Being deeply in love, he was melancholy and
absent-minded in the extreme, and began to behave so strangely that
his father, Nioerd, became greatly alarmed about his health, and bade
his favourite servant, Skirnir, discover the cause of this sudden
change. After much persuasion, Skirnir finally won from Frey an account
of his ascent of Hlidskialf, and of the fair vision he had seen. He
confessed his love and also his utter despair, for as Gerda was the
daughter of Gymir and Angur-boda, and a relative of the murdered
giant Thiassi, he feared she would never view his suit with favour.

"In Gymer's court I saw her move,
The maid who fires my breast with love;
Her snow-white arms and bosom fair
Shone lovely, kindling sea and air.
Dear is she to my wishes, more
Than e'er was maid to youth before;
But gods and elves, I wot it well,
Forbid that we together dwell."

Skirner's Lay (Herbert's tr.).

Skirnir, however, replied consolingly that he could see no reason why
his master should take