Study › Runes & Norse › The Mead of Poetry
The Mead of Poetry makes whoever drinks it a poet or a sage. Two dwarves brewed it from the blood of wise Kvasir, a giant hid it in a mountain, and Odin won it by cunning.
How the mead was made
When the Aesir and Vanir made peace, they sealed it by all spitting into a vat, and from that mingled spittle they shaped Kvasir, the wisest of all beings, who could answer any question. But two dwarves, Fjalar and Galar, murdered Kvasir and brewed his blood with honey into the Mead of Poetry, held in the vat Odrerir and the two crocks Bodn and Son. Whoever drank of it became a poet or a sage.
Suttung's mountain
The dwarves next drowned the giant Gilling and killed his wife, and to settle the blood-debt they surrendered the mead to Gilling's kinsman, the giant Suttung. He hid it deep inside the mountain Hnitbjorg, setting his daughter Gunnlod to guard it.
Odin wins the mead
Odin set out to win it by cunning, under the name Bolverk. He tricked Suttung's brother Baugi into boring a hole through the mountain with the auger Rati, slipped inside as a serpent, and spent three nights with Gunnlod — and for each night she let him take one draught. In three great swallows he drained all three vessels dry.
The eagle's flight
Then, turning into an eagle, Odin flew for Asgard with Suttung, also in eagle-shape, close behind. He spat the mead into waiting containers the gods had set out; but a few drops fell astray behind him, and those became the share of bad poets. The tale is preserved in Snorri's Skaldskaparmal.
Read about Kvasir and the Triple Horn of Odin, its emblem.
Questions
What is the Mead of Poetry made of?
Kvasir's blood brewed with honey.
How did Odin get the mead?
He spent three nights with Gunnlod, drank all three vessels and flew home as an eagle.