Vindr þagði; vötn stöðvaði;
þá heyrða ek grimligan gný;
sínum mönnum svipvísar konur
moluðu mold til matar.
Vindr þagði; vötn stöðvaði; þá heyrða ek grimligan gný; svipvísar konur moluðu mold til matar mönnum sínum.
The wind fell silent; the waters stood still; then I heard a terrible din; treacherous women were crushing earth into food for their men.
[6] moluðu mold til matar ‘they were crushing earth into food’: Cf. Grott where the giantesses Fenja and Menja are condemned to grind out gold from a magic mill. Njörður Njarðvík (1991, 88-9) notes that earth does not need grinding (though it may need crushing!), and that this is therefore an unending task. A similar punishment appears in the ‘Vision of the Monk of Wenlock’ (Tangl 1916, 13).