Hávamál: Trust
Trust; a fundamental pillar of any relationship, be it romantic, platonic, business or otherwise. Without it there is nothing. In this post I will include stanzas from the Hávamál (Words of Odin) that mention trust, wether directly or indirectly. Source taken from the English translation of the Poetic Edda by Dr. Jackson Crawford. (More Hávamál posts can be found here).
— Hávamál 1 At every doorway before you enter, you should look around, you should take a good look around— for you never know where your enemies might be seated within.
— Hávamál 9 A man is happy if he finds good advice within himself. Many men have received bad advice by trusting someone else.
— Hávamál 38 Never go even a single step without a weapon at your side; you never know when you might find yourself in need of a spear.
— Hávamál 43 If you have a good friend. and you really trust him, and want good to come of your friendship, you should speak your mind with him, exchange gifts, visit him often.
— Hávamál 45 But if you have another friend, and you mistrust him but want to benefit from him, nonetheless— you should speak to him kindly, flatter him, and repay his treachery with your own.
— Hávamál 46 This same friend, if you mistrust him, and suspect him to be false in his words: you should talk with him, laugh with him, but repay just what he gives you.
— Hávamál 63 If you want to be called wise, you should know how to ask and answer wisely. Tell your secret to one person, never to two— everyone knows, if three people know.
— Hávamál 73 Two men will defeat one; your tongue can endanger your head. In every hand hidden by a cloak, I expect to see a weapon.
— Hávamál 84 No man should trust the words of a girl, nor anything a woman says Women’s hearts are molded on a wobbly wheel. Deception lurks in their words.
— Hávamál 88 Do not put too much trust in your newly planted crops, nor in your child too early— weather will shape the field and whim will shape the child, and neither will stay the same.
— Hávamál 85-89 (A list of things not to trust) - 85 A breaking bow, a burning fire, a howling wolf, a cawing crow, a grunting pig, a rootless tree, a swelling wave, a boiling kettle, - 86 a flying spear, a crashing wave, one-night-old ice, a striped snake, the words of a bride in bed, a broken sword, a playful bear, the child of a king, - 87 a sick calf, a stubborn servant, a prophet who foresees good things, a corpse on the battlefield, - 89 your brother’s killer (even if you meet him in public), a half-burned house, a horse that’s too fast (remember, a horse is unusable if only only one foot breaks)— may you never be so trusting that you trust all these things.
— Hávamál 90 Take care not to love a deceitful woman, it is like driving an unshod horse, a playful, young, poorly-tamed foal, across slippery ice, or like sailing a ship in a wild wind, or trying to catch a reindeer on foot after the mountains thaw.
— Hávamál 91 I’ll speak plainly now, since I know both men and women: men lie to women. We speak most eloquently when we tell the biggest lies., and seduce even wise women with lies.
— Hávamál 117 I counsel you, Loddfafnir, if you’ll take my advice, you’ll profit if you learn it, it’ll do you good if you remember it: Never let a bad man know of your misfortune, for you will never profit at all for telling him about it.
— Hávamál 119 I counsel you, Loddfafnir, if you’ll take my advice, you’ll profit if you learn it, it’ll do you good if you remember it: If you have a friend, and you trust him, go and visit him often. Weeds and high grass will grow on a path that nobody travels.
— Hávamál 124 Men become friends when they can share their minds with one another. Anything is better than being lied to: a real friend will disagree with you openly.
— Hávamál 130 I counsel you, Loddfafnir, if you’ll take my advice, you’ll profit if you learn it, it’ll do you good if you remember it: If you want to win a good woman, speak cheerfully with her, and enjoy it while you do, make promises to her, and keep your promises you’ll never regret winning such a prize.
Sigrdrifumal, a part of the hero story concerning Sigurth, mentions some advice on trust as well:
— Sigrdrifumal 7 “ You should learn beer-runes if you don’t want another man’s wife to abuse your trust if you have a tryst. Carve them on the drinking-horn and on the back of your hand, and carve the rune for ‘N’ on your fingernail.













