Games Workshop - Warhammer 40,000 - Leagues of Votann: Grimnyr

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Skoll and Hati: the wolves that devour respectively the sun and moon. The latter is the son of Hrothvitnir ("The Mighty Wolf," i. e. Fenrir); cf. Voluspo, 40, and Vafthruthnismol, 46-47, in which Fenrir appears as the thief. Ironwood: a conjectural emendation of an obscure phrase; cf. Voluspo, 40. Grím seems to be a variant of "Grímnir", which means "masked person". A very apt name for Odin. The closest English equivalent is "grimace", while "grim" (similar meaning in old Norse and modern English) seems to be distantly related, and only appears as a byname of Odin, "Asagrim", in a medieval Swedish ballad. (Note the difference between "Grím" and "Grim").

Without discussing in detail the problems suggested by these prose passages, it is worth noting, first, that the Eddic poems contain relatively few stanzas of truly narrative verse; and second, that all of them are based on narratives which must have been more or less familiar to the hearers of the poems. In other words, the poems seldom aimed to tell stories, although most of them followed a narrative sequence of ideas. The stories themselves appear to have lived in oral prose tradition, just as in the case of the sagas; and the prose notes of the manuscripts, in so far as they contain material not simply drawn from the poems themselves, are relics of this tradition. The early Norse poets rarely conceived verse as a suitable means for direct story telling, and in some of the poems even the simplest action is told in prose “links” between dialogue stanzas. This version is based on an older English translation that has been adapted slightly for a modern-day reader. Most, if not all, of the old English words and phrases, are changed as well as updating some sentence structures. When unsure of a particular meaning or spelling, I have consulted a more modern translation in Norwegian. Grímnismál Fortify - The Kin have a natural belief in their own indomitable fortitude. Employing controlled empyric energies channelled through their barrier-tech, the Grimnyr causes these beliefs to manifest in realspace as a temporary physical enhancement that makes themselves or others in their company more resilient against any wounds. Grimnir's main symbol is a double-bladed battleaxe, one of the favourite weapons of Dwarf Slayers. Clerics of Grimnir dress in breeches with tattoos on their chest, including Grimnir's rune, and wear their hair in a Slayer's crest. [1a] Relationships [ ]Himinbjorg ("Heaven's Cliffs"): the dwelling at the end of the bridge Bifrost (the rainbow), where Heimdall (cf. Voluspo, 27) keeps watch against the coming of the giants. In this stanza the two functions of Heimdall--as father of mankind (cf. Voluspo, 1 and note, and Rigsthula, introductory prose and note) and as warder of the gods--seem both to be mentioned, but the second line in the manuscripts is apparently in bad shape, and in the editions is more or less conjectural. Listen now! Where gods and elves live the land is hallowed; and Thor will live in Thrudheim until all the gods are destroyed. The other gods have halls too. The first is called Ydalir, dales where yews grow, and Ull lives there. The second is Alfheim, where the light elves live. The gods gave that place to Freyr when he cut his first tooth. The third is called Valaskjalf, Hall of the Slain; one god built it for himself, and with their own hands the others thatched it with silver. The fourth is Sokkvabekk, the sinking floor — it is lapped on all sides by cool murmur­ing water and there, every day, Odin and Saga drink joyfully from gold goblets.

Grimnir is portrayed as a muscular Dwarf, his body covered with tattoos and ritual scars, wearing the spiked orange crest and exotic jewellery of a Slayer. He is clad in chain mail and is armed with the axe Az-Dreugidum (“Waraxe of Doom”). [1a] Symbol [ ]Arvak the Early Waker and Alsvid, All Swift, are the names of the steeds whose wearisome work is to drag the sun across the sky. Long ago the gods took pity on them, and put bellows under their yokes. And in front of the sun, like a shield, stands Svalin. Should he let his guard slip, the mountains and the sea would burst into flames. Skoll is the wolf on the tail of the sun, and he will chase her until at last he runs her down in Iron Wood; and Hati, Hrodvitnir’s son, is the wolf in pursuit of the moon. This stanza is almost certainly an interpolation, brought in through a confusion of the first two lines with those of stanza 23. Its description of Thor's house, Bilskirnir (cf. stanza 4 and [fp. 94] note) has nothing to do with that of Valhall. Snorri quotes the stanza in his account of Thor.]

It is the Grimnyr or "Living Ancestors" who come closest to speaking to the Votann. The chief amongst the Grimnyr is known as the " Lord Grimnyr" who represents the other Grimnyr in their Kindred's Hearthspake and on the Votannic Council of the Kinhost. To them falls the duty of asking the Ancestor Cores for wisdom and guidance, and interpreting the resultant output. This they do within the arcane technological structures called Fanes. Frigga replied: “He is so greedy with food that he torments his guests if too many of them show up.” Odin then said that this was a great lie, and they agreed to make a bet on it. Frigga sent her chambermaid Fulla, with a message to Geirröd. She asked the king to be careful not to harm the man who had come to their land, saying that no dog was so fierce it would charge him. Stanzas 33-34 may well be interpolated, and are certainly in bad shape in the Mss. Bugge points out that they are probably of later origin than those surrounding them. Snorri [fp. 98] closely paraphrases stanza 33, but without elaboration, and nothing further is known of the four harts. It may be guessed, however, that they are a late multiplication of the single hart mentioned in stanza 26, just as the list of dragons in stanza 34 seems to have been expanded out of Nithhogg, the only authentic dragon under the root of the ash. Highest twigs: a guess; the Mss. words are baffling. Something has apparently been lost from lines 3-4, but there is no clue as to its nature.]

Army Rule – Eye of the Ancestors

The meaning is disputed according to Lindow but Larrington gives the translation "Sage" in the Poetic Edda. Since they are privy to the sacred wisdom of the Votann, they are as close to serving the function of priests or religious leaders in League society as the secular Kin get. Equipped with barrier-tech such as Ancestral Ward Staves and accompanied by two energy-focusing CORV robotic assistants, the Grimnyr are able to rouse the fury of the Immaterium against the Kin's foes, much like other intelligent species' psykers. The largest temple of Grimnir in general use is located in Karaz-a-Karak. The temple in the Slayers’ Hall at Karak Kadrin is larger, but only Slayers are permitted to enter. The temple at Karaz-a-Karak is dominated by a large statue of Grimnir as he appeared before departing for the Chaos Wastes; the temple’s walls are carved with reliefs depicting the deeds of Grimnir on his journey, as told by the returning Morgrim. Another great temple to Grimnir lies in the still ruined part of Karak Eight Peaks, just out of reach of the Dwarfs dwelling in the citadel. Many Slayers have set forth to recapture the temple, but none has yet succeeded. [1a] Sources [ ]

Prose. The texts of the two manuscripts differ in many minor details. Hrauthung: this mythical king is not mentioned elsewhere. Geirröth: the manuscripts spell his name in various ways [fp. 86] Frigg: Othin's wife. She and Othin nearly always disagreed in some such way as the one outlined in this story. Hlithskjolf ("Gate-Shelf"): Othin's watch-tower in heaven, whence he can overlook all the nine worlds; cf. Skirnismol, introductory prose. Grimnir: "the Hooded One."] The applications of this fact, which has been too often over looked, are almost limitless, for it suggests a still unwritten chapter in the history of ballad poetry and the so-called "popular" epic. It implies that narrative among early peoples may frequently have had a period of prose existence before it was made into verse, and thus puts, for example, a long series of transitional stages before such a poem as the Iliad. In any case, the prose notes accompanying the Eddic poems prove that in addition to the poems themselves there existed in the twelfth century a considerable amount of narrative tradition, presumably in prose form, on which these notes were based by the compiler. Snorri quotes this stanza, which concludes the passage, beginning with stanza 25, describing Yggdrasil. If we assume that stanzas 27-34 are later interpolations--possibly excepting 32--this section of the poem reads clearly enough.]

Indeed, through arcane technological processes that even the Kin do not understand, there have been instances recorded of Fanes miraculously developing an artificial intellect in their own right, and so joining the ranks of the Votann themselves. These occurrences of miraculous self-awareness are cause for great honour and celebration amongst the Kindred in whose hold they occur. All Dwarf warriors throughout the Old World and Norsca worship Grimnir. He is especially venerated by the Slayers [1a] and other Dwarf soldiers. [3a]