Ætt 2 · Pos. 1

Name

Hail, the frozen grain that falls from the sky.

Meaning

Every poem sees hail as grain, sown from the sky, though nothing grows from it. It falls hard, ruins what it hits, then melts away as if it had never been. The Icelandic stanza ties it to winter, when the snakes lie still. Hail is among the oldest forces in the world. In Vafþrúðnismál the first jotun grew from drops of venom that sprang out of Élivágar, the storm waves, and the él in that name is most likely a squall of hail or snow.

The poems

English Rune Poem

Hail is the whitest
of grains;
it whirls down
from heaven’s height,
squalls of wind toss it,
then it turns to water.

Icelandic Rune Poem

Hail is cold grain,
and a shower of sleet,
and the sickness of snakes.

Norwegian Rune Poem

Hail is the coldest of grains;
Christ made the world of old.

Swedish Rune Poem

Hail is best at home.