Prose Edda — Old Norse facing a living language
Þá mælti Gangleri: "Hverjir eru æsir, þeir er mönnum er skylt at trúa á?" Hárr segir: "Tólf eru æsir goðkunnigir." Þá mælti Jafnhárr: "Eigi eru ásynjurnar óhelgari, ok eigi megu þær minna." Þá mælti Þriði: "Óðinn er æðstr ok elztr ásanna.
Then Gangleri asked: "Who are the Aesir — the ones men are bound to believe in?" High said: "Twelve of the Aesir are divine." Then Just-as-High said: "The goddesses are no less sacred, and no less powerful." Then Third said: "Odin is highest and oldest of the Aesir.
Hann ræðr öllum hlutum, ok svá sem önnur goðin eru máttug, þá þjóna honum öll svá sem börn föður, en Frigg er kona hans, ok veit hon örlög manna, þótt hon segi eigi spár, svá sem hér er sagt, at Óðinn mælti sjálfr við þann ás, er Loki heitir: 29. Ærr ertu, Loki, ok örviti, hví né lezk-a þú, Loki? Örlög Frigg, hygg ek, at öll viti, þótt hon sjalfgi segi.
He rules over everything, and however mighty the other gods are, they all serve him the way children serve a father. Frigg is his wife, and she knows the fates of all men, though she never speaks of them — as is told here, where Odin himself spoke to the god called Loki: You're mad, Loki, / out of your mind — / why won't you stop, Loki?
Óðinn heitir Alföðr, því at hann er faðir allra goða. Hann heitir ok Valföðr, því at hans óskasynir eru allir þeir, er í val falla. Þeim skipar hann Valhöll ok Vingólf, ok heita þeir þá Einherjar. Hann heitir ok Hangaguð ok Haftaguð, Farmaguð, ok enn hefir hann nefnzt á fleiri vega, þá er hann var kominn til Geirröðar konungs: 30.
/ Frigg knows all fates, I think, / though she never tells them. Odin is called Allfather because he is father of all the gods. He's also called Father of the Slain, because everyone who falls in battle becomes one of his adopted sons; he gives them places in Valhalla and Vingolf, and they're called the Einherjar.
Hétumk Grímr ok Gangleri, Herjann, Hjalmberi, Þekkr, Þriði, Þuðr, Uðr, Helblindi, Hárr, 31.
He's also called the God of the Hanged, the God of Chains, the God of Cargoes, and he's taken still more names than that — when he came to King Geirrod, he said: I was called Grim and Gangleri, / Herjan, Hjalmberi, / Thekk, Third, Thud, Ud, / Helblindi, High, / Sad, Svipal, Sanngetal, / Herteit, Hnikar, / Bileyg, Baleyg, Bolverk, / Fjolnir, Grimnir, / Glapsvid, Fjolsvid, / Sidhott, Sidskegg, / Sigfod, Hnikud, Allfather, / Atrid, Farmatyr, / Oski, Omi, Just-as-High, / Biflindi, Gondlir, Harbard, / Svidur, Svidrir, Jalk, / Kjalar, Vidur, Thror, / Ygg, Thund, Vak, / Skilfing, Vafud, / Hroftatyr, Gaut, Veratyr.
Saðr, Svipall, Sanngetall, Herteitr, Hnikarr, Bileygr, Báleygr, Bölverkr, Fjölnir, Grímnir, Glapsviðr, Fjölsviðr, Síðhöttr, Síðskeggr, Sigföðr, Hnikuðr, Alföðr, Atríðr, Farmatýr, Óski, Ómi, Jafnhárr, Biflindi, Göndlir, Hárbarðr, Sviðurr, Sviðrir, Jalkr, Kjalarr, Viðurr, Þrór, Yggr, Þundr, Vakr, Skilfingr, Váfuðr, Hroftatýr, Gautr, Veratýr." Þá mælti Gangleri: "Geysimörg heiti hafit þér gefit honum, ok þat veit trúa mín, at þat mun vera mikill fróðleikr, sá er hér kann skyn ok dæmi, hverir atburðir hafa orðit sér til hvers þessa nafns."
Then Gangleri said: "You've given him a tremendous number of names, and I'd wager it takes real learning to know the whole story behind each one." High said: "It's a great deal to gather and lay out properly, but the short answer is this: most of the names came about because there are so many different branches of language in the world that every people felt they had to turn his name into their own tongue, for calling on him and praying to him.
Þá segir Hárr: "Mikil skynsemi er at rifja þat vandliga upp, en þó er þér þat skjótast at segja, at flest heiti hafa verit gefin af þeim atburð, at svá margar sem eru greinir tungnanna í veröldinni, þá þykkjast allar þjóðir þurfa at breyta nafni hans til sinnar tungu til ákalls ok bæna fyrir sjálfum sér, en sumir atburðir til þessa heita hafa gerzt í ferðum hans, ok er þat fært í frásagnir, ok muntu eigi mega fróðr maðr heita, ef þú skalt eigi kunna segja frá þeim stórtíðendum."
But some of these names arose from things that happened on his travels, and those tales have been passed down — you can't really call yourself a learned man unless you can tell of those great events."