LEGEND OF THE ORIGIN OF MEAD

At the end of the war between Æsir and Vanir, all the gods and goddesses spat into a vessel to seal the peace agreement. Rather than let the saliva go to waste, the gods decided to form a man from it. His name was Kvasir, the wisest of the Vanir, so well-versed in the knowledge of the nine worlds that he soon gained renown for his ability to answer people's questions. No one could ask him something that he could not answer.

Kvasir traveled far and wide throughout the world to impart his knowledge to men. On one of his journeys, he stayed at the home of two dwarf brothers, Fjalar and Galar, who craftily led Kvasir to a cave and murdered him. The dwarves drained all his blood and stored it in two large jars, Bodn ("offering") and Són ("atonement"), and a cauldron, Odrerir ("inspiration"). They added honey to the wise man's blood and, letting it ferment, produced the divine mead known as Kvas. Anyone who drank from it immediately became a poet.

Fjalar and Galar kept the mead for themselves. When the Æsir sent a messenger to look for Kvasir, the dwarves told him that the wise man had drowned in his own knowledge and died. Then the dwarves went to the dwelling of the giant Gilling and invited him to take them in his boat to the middle of a lake, after which they sank the boat and the giant drowned, but the dwarves reached the shore and informed the giant's wife that an accident had occurred and Gilling had died. When the giantess came out of her house wailing loudly, the dwarves, atop the house's roof, threw a millstone at her, killing her. When Suttung, Gilling's son, learned of what had happened to his parents, he tied the dwarves to some rocks that would be covered by the tide, but they exchanged their lives for the mead prepared with Kvasir's blood.

Suttung took the precious liquid and went straight to his home, near Mount Hnitbjörg. There, he created a secret chamber deep inside the mountain and placed the two jars and the cauldron of mead inside it for safekeeping. Suttung ordered his daughter Gunnlod to guard the mead day and night.

The Æsir, meanwhile, learned of what had happened to Kvasir and the mead created from his blood. Odin decided that he would travel to Jotunheim to recover that treasure. He disguised himself as a man, something he often did, and called himself Bölverkr ("worker of affliction").

Bölverkr traveled to Jotunheim and eventually arrived at a valley where nine men were working in a field cutting grass. Bölverkr could see that the work was progressing slowly because the workers' tools were not sharp. Striking up a conversation, Bölverkr learned that the men worked for Baugi, Suttung's brother, and offered to sharpen their scythes. They gratefully accepted and were amazed to realize how quickly they could work after Bölverkr had finished. They immediately offered to buy his whetstone.

Bölverkr responded by throwing the whetstone very high. The men pushed each other to catch it and, in doing so, cut each other's throats with their scythes, falling dead instantly. Bölverkr caught the whetstone as it fell and continued his journey.

That evening, Bölverkr appeared at the farm of the giant Baugi, requesting hospitality. That day Baugi was not in a good mood, having learned that his nine men had killed each other and was desperate to find replacements with the season so far along. Bölverkr offered to do the work of the nine men for the rest of the harvest if Baugi would help him get a drink of the mead that his brother Suttung possessed. Baugi agreed.

Bölverkr carried out the work of nine men and more for the rest of the summer. When the harvest was finished, Baugi approached Suttung to ask for a drink of mead, which Suttung immediately refused.

Bölverkr then convinced Baugi to help him trick Suttung to get the mead. Together, they went to Mount Hnitbjörg. Bölverkr took out an auger, called Rati, and instructed Baugi on how to use it to drill into the side of the mountain until reaching the secret chamber where the mead was hidden. When Baugi said he had finished the work, Bölverkr blew into the hole formed and small stones and dust flew into his face, thus proving that the hole had not yet reached its target. Realizing that Baugi had lied and tried to deceive him, Bölverkr ordered him back to work.

For the second time, Baugi announced that he had finished and when Bölverkr blew again, no more dust came out of the hole. Immediately, Bölverkr turned into a serpent and slithered into the mountain. Baugi, surprised, tried to stab him with the auger, but it was too late.

Once inside the secret chamber, Bölverkr returned to his human form and presented himself before Gunnlod, Suttung's daughter, who guarded the mead seated on a stool of solid gold. Upon seeing Bölverkr, Gunnlod completely forgot Suttung's warnings about how to care for the mead. Bölverkr then set about seducing her and, after three days, made love to her in the secret chamber inside the mountain. After this, Gunnlod was willing to give Bölverkr anything he desired. He asked her for three drinks of the precious mead and she agreed. With the first drink, he emptied Bodn. The second drink completely emptied Són. With the last one, Bölverkr completely emptied the cauldron Odrerir.

With all the divine mead in his mouth, Odin turned into an eagle and flew away, towards Asgard. When Suttung saw him, he too transformed into an eagle and set off after the god. They flew swiftly across Jotunheim, but as they approached Asgard, the other gods saw them and quickly placed vessels in the palace courtyards. As Odin flew over Asgard, he dropped the mead from his mouth into the vessels. Suttung pursued him relentlessly, so close that Odin, in the excitement of the race, let some mead fall outside the walls. This small amount could not be kept by the gods. It is still out there. Anyone can find it and keep it for themselves, if they so wish. It is called "the portion of inferior poets". But most of the mead was carefully kept by the gods. Odin gave it to the Æsir and occasionally to some men who demonstrated their ability to compose poetry.

Suttung never recovered his valuable mead.

Source: Norse Mythology