“Þorr's Fishing Expedition” [Hymiskviða]

Hymiskviða is a fusion of at least two narratives that were probably separate originally: the fetching of the brewing cauldron from the giant Hymir, and Þόrr’s fishing expedition during which he hooks the Miðgarðsormr or World-Serpent. Towards the end of the poem, reference is made to a third story: the laming of Þόrr’s goat and his acquiring of Egill’s two children as compensation. The poem is not well preserved in the manuscript; skaldic verse, Northern picture stones, and Snorri’s account in Gylfaginning help to fill in some of the gaps. Possibly composed as a prequel to Lokasenna (the poem which follows it in the Codex Regius), its composite nature has led a number of scholars to assign it a relatively late date.