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The Movement for Black Lives
 The Movement
for Black Lives
Philosophical Perspectives
Edited by
B R A N D O N HO G A N , M IC HA E L C HO L B I ,
A L E X M A DVA , A N D B E N JA M I N S . YO ST

1
 3
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Hogan, Brandon, editor. | Cholbi, Michael, editor. | Madva, Alex, editor. |
Yost, Benjamin S. (Benjamin Schertz), editor.
Title: The movement for Black lives : philosophical perspectives / eds.,
Brandon Hogan, Michael Cholbi, Alex Madva, and Benjamin S. Yost.
Description: New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2021] |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2021011724 (print) | LCCN 2021011725 (ebook) |
ISBN 9780197507780 (paperback) | ISBN 9780197507773 (hb) |
ISBN 9780197507803 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Black lives matter movement—Philosophy. |
Black power—United States—History. |
Civil rights movements—United States—History—21st century.
Classification: LCC E185.615 .M684 2021 (print) | LCC E185.615 (ebook) |
DDC 323.1196/073001—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021011724
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DOI: 10.1093/​oso/​9780197507773.001.0001

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 Contents

Contributors  vii

Introduction  1

PA RT I : T H E VA LU E O F B L AC K L I V E S
1. What “Black Lives Matter” Should Mean  15
Brandon Hogan
2. “And He Ate Jim Crow”: Racist Ideology as False Consciousness  35
Vanessa Wills
3. He Never Mattered: Poor Black Males and the Dark Logic of
Intersectional Invisibility  59
Tommy J. Curry

PA RT I I : T H E O R I Z I N G R AC IA L J U ST IC E
4. Reconsidering Reparations: The Movement for Black Lives and
Self-​Determination  93
Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò
5. The Movement for Black Lives and Transitional Justice  116
Colleen Murphy

PA RT I I I : T H E L A N G UAG E O F T H E M 4 B L
6. Positive Propaganda and the Pragmatics of Protest  139
Michael Randall Barnes
7. Value-​Based Protest Slogans: An Argument for Reorientation  160
Myisha Cherry
8. The Movement for Black Lives and the Language of Liberation  176
Ian Olasov
vi Contents

PA RT I V: T H E M 4 B L , A N T I - B
​ L AC K R AC I SM , A N D
P U N I SH M E N T
9. Can Capital Punishment Survive If Black Lives Matter?  199
Michael Cholbi and Alex Madva
10. Sentencing Leniency for Black Offenders  218
Benjamin S. Yost

PA RT V: ST R AT E G Y A N D S O L I DA R I T Y
11. The Violence of Leadership in Black Lives Matter  243
Dana Francisco Miranda
12. Speaking for, Speaking with, and Shutting up: Models of
Solidarity and the Pragmatics of Truth Telling  263
Mark Norris Lance
13. Sky’s the Limit: A Case Study in Envisioning Real
Anti-​Racist Utopias  280
Keyvan Shafiei

Index  301
 Contributors

Michael Randall Barnes completed his PhD in the philosophy department at

Georgetown University, writing his dissertation on how speech maintains oppres-
sion. He is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the Rotman Institute of Philosophy at
Western University.
Myisha Cherry is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of California,
Riverside. Her research interests include the intersection of moral psychology
and social and political philosophy. Cherry’s work has appeared in scholarly
journals such as Hypatia and Critical Philosophy of Race. She has also written for
the Los Angeles Times, Boston Review, Huffington Post, Salon, and New Philosopher
Magazine. Her books include The Case for Rage (Oxford, 2020), The Moral Psychology
of Anger (coedited with Owen Flanagan), and UnMuted: Conversations on Prejudice,
Oppression, and Social Justice (Oxford, 2019). She is also the host of the UnMute
Podcast, where she interviews philosophers about the social and political issues of
our day.
Michael Cholbi is Chair in Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh. He has
published widely in ethical theory, practical ethics, and the philosophy of death
and dying. His books include Suicide: The Philosophical Dimensions (Broadview,
2011), Understanding Kant’s Ethics (Cambridge, 2016), and Grief: A Philosophical
Guide (Princeton, forthcoming). He is the editor of several scholarly collections, in-
cluding Immortality and the Philosophy of Death (Rowman and Littlefield, 2015);
Procreation, Parenthood, and Educational Rights (Routledge, 2017); and The Future
of Work, Technology, and Basic Income (Routledge, 2019). He is the coeditor of the
textbook Exploring the Philosophy of Death and Dying: Classic and Contemporary
Perspectives (Routledge, forthcoming). His work has also appeared in a number of
scholarly journals, including Ethics, Mind, Philosophical Studies, Philosophy and
Phenomenological Research, and Oxford Studies in Normative Ethics. In recent years,
he has been an academic visitor at Australian National University, the University
of Turku (Finland), and the Hastings Center. He is the founder of the International
Association for the Philosophy of Death and Dying and serves on the editorial boards
of the Journal of Applied Philosophy, Social Theory and Practice, Ergo, and the Journal of
the American Philosophical Association. His current research interests include Kantian
ethics, particularly respect for persons, equality, and rational agency; death and dying,
including suicide and assisted dying, immortality, and grief; the ethics of work and
labor; paternalism; and procreative and parental ethics.
viii Contributors

Tommy J. Curry, Personal Chair in Africana Philosophy and Black Male Studies
at the University of Edinburgh, is the author of The Man-​Not: Race, Class, Genre,
and the Dilemmas of Black Manhood (Temple, 2017), winner of the 2018 American
Book Award. He also authored Another White Man’s Burden: Josiah Royce’s Quest
for a Philosophy of Racial Empire (SUNY Press, 2018) and republished the for-
gotten philosophical works of William Ferris as The Philosophical Treatise of William
H. Ferris: Selected Readings from The African Abroad or, His Evolution in Western
Civilization (Rowman & Littlefield, 2016). He is the editor of the first book series
dedicated to the study of Black males titled Black Male Studies: A Series Exploring the
Paradoxes of Racially Subjugated Males with Temple University Press.
Brandon Hogan is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Howard University. He
writes about legal punishment, racial justice, Hegel’s political philosophy, and
Wittgenstein’s later philosophy. His work has appeared in Contemporary Pragmatism,
The Journal of Pan African Studies, and the Berkeley Journal of African American Law
and Policy. He earned a PhD from the University of Pittsburgh under the supervision
of Robert Brandom and a JD from Harvard Law School.
Mark Norris Lance is Professor of Philosophy at Georgetown University. He has
published two books and around forty articles in philosophy of language, epis-
temology, logic, metaethics, and applied political philosophy. He is also the co-
founder, current codirector, and professor in the Program on Justice and Peace. He
has served as national cochair of the Peace and Justice Studies Association and the
Consortium on Peace Research Education and Development. He has also been an
activist and organizer for over thirty years on a wide range of peace and social justice
issues, speaking to audiences around the world and working directly with activist
campaigns.
Alex Madva is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Director of the California
Center for Ethics and Policy at Cal Poly Pomona. He coedited An Introduction to
Implicit Bias: Knowledge, Justice, and the Social Mind (Routledge, 2020), and his
work has appeared in journals, including Noûs, Ethics, The Journal of Applied
Philosophy, Pacific Philosophical Quarterly, Ergo, Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews
(WIREs): Cognitive Science, and the International Journal of STEM Education. He has
led numerous workshops and training sessions on bias, stereotype threat, and im-
postor syndrome for schools, courts, and wider audiences.
Dana Francisco Miranda is Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Faculty Fellow
for the Applied Ethics Center at the University of Massachusetts Boston, as well as a
Research Associate for the Philosophy Department at the University of Connecticut.
He earned his doctorate in philosophy at the University of Connecticut in 2019
and his bachelor’s in philosophy at Bard College. His research is in political philos-
ophy, Africana philosophy, and psychosocial studies. His current book manuscript,
The Coloniality of Happiness, investigates the philosophical significance of suicide,
 Contributors ix

depression, and well-​being for members of the African Diaspora. His most recent
work has been published in Entre Letras, Disegno, Cosmos and History: The Journal of
Natural and Social Philosophy, and The APA Blog: Black Issues in Philosophy. He also
currently serves as the Secretary of Digital Outreach & Chair of Architectonics for
the Caribbean Philosophical Association.
Colleen Murphy is the Roger and Stephany Joslin Professor of Law and Professor
of Philosophy and Political Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-​
Champaign, where she is also Director of the Women and Gender in Global
Perspectives Program. She is associate editor for the Journal of Ethics and Social
Philosophy, Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, and the Journal of
Moral Philosophy. Professor Murphy is the author of The Conceptual Foundations of
Transitional Justice (Cambridge, 2017), which received the North American Society
for Social Philosophy Book Award, and A Moral Theory of Political Reconciliation
(Cambridge, 2010).
Ian Olasov is a doctoral candidate in philosophy at the CUNY Graduate Center.
His research focuses on the philosophy of language, moral theory, and social episte-
mology. He is also the founder and director of Brooklyn Public Philosophers, a philos-
ophy event series for a general audience. His is the author of The Answers: Questions,
Stories, and Insights from the Ask a Philosopher Booth (St. Martin’s, 2020).
Keyvan Shafiei is a PhD candidate in the department of philosophy at Georgetown
University. He is currently working on a dissertation on the ideological and cul-
tural underpinnings of mass incarceration in the United States. In this work, Shafiei
explores the origins of the development of mass incarceration by investigating the
ways in which ideologies, cultures, and persons are coconstitutive, and the ways in
which mass injustices develop out of the interactions and interconnections therein.
Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Georgetown University.
He completed his PhD at University of California, Los Angeles. He works on ethical
theory and social/​political philosophy, drawing from anticolonial thought, German
transcendental philosophy, and the Black radical tradition.
Vanessa Wills is a political philosopher, ethicist, educator, and activist working
in Washington, DC, where she is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at The George
Washington University. Her areas of specialization are moral, social, and political
philosophy, nineteenth-​century German philosophy (especially Karl Marx), and
the philosophy of race. Her research is informed by her study of Marx’s work, and
she focuses on the ways in which economic and social arrangements can inhibit or
promote the realization of values such as freedom, equality, and human develop-
ment. Her recent publications include “Revolutionary Admiration” and “ ‘Man Is the
Highest Being for Man’: Marx’s Radical Irreligion.”
x Contributors

Benjamin S. Yost is Professor of Philosophy, Adjunct at Cornell University; he was

previously Professor of Philosophy at Providence College. His specializations in-
clude the philosophy of punishment, especially punishment and inequality, and
Kant’s practical philosophy. His book Against Capital Punishment was published with
Oxford in 2019. Other published work appears in journals such as Utilitas, Journal of
the American Philosophical Association, Kantian Review, and Continental Philosophy
Review.
 Introduction

The Movement for Black Lives (M4BL) has reshaped how Americans think
about activism and shined a light on the ongoing problem of police violence
against Black and Brown communities.* The Movement began with a pas-
sionate Facebook post in response to the acquittal of George Zimmerman
for the murder of Trayvon Martin. The post’s author, Alicia Garza, intended
her post to be a “Love Letter to Black People.” At the conclusion of her post,
she writes, “Black people. I love you. I love us. Our lives matter.” This line
morphed into the slogan “Black lives matter,” which, along with the help of
activists Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi, was transformed into the Black
Lives Matter organization (BLM).
In 2015, BLM joined forces with a coalition of over 150 activist organiza-
tions to form the M4BL. While the Movement’s first target was police vio-
lence, the M4BL has expanded the scope of its activism, issuing a platform
titled “A Vision for Black Lives: Policy Demands for Black Power, Freedom
and Justice.” The platform includes a call to abolish the death penalty and
private prisons, a demand for reparations for American slavery, a demand
for the retroactive decriminalization of drug-​related offenses, and a pro-
posal for large-​scale wealth redistribution, among other things. In short, the
Movement seeks to tear down all laws and policies that evince a lack of con-
cern for Black Life.
The M4BL is also notable because it resists the notion that Black activist
organizations must be headed by a charismatic leader. The Movement seeks
to empower individuals and local groups to imagine solutions to problems
facing Black people. In this way, the Movement is self-​consciously egali-
tarian. Further, the Movement seeks to give voice to Black persons who have
been historically marginalized even within Black spaces. These persons in-
clude Black women, and gay, lesbian, formerly incarcerated, poor, disabled,
and trans members of the Black community. The M4BL seeks to be both
democratic and inclusive.

* The editors would like to thank Amy Ramirez for her help preparing this volume for publication.

The Movement for Black Lives. Edited by: Brandon Hogan, Michael Cholbi, Alex Madva, and Benjamin S. Yost,
Oxford University Press. © Oxford University Press 2021. DOI: 10.1093/​oso/​9780197507773.003.0001
2 Introduction

Sadly, the work of the M4BL is just as necessary today as it was at its incep-
tion. In the spring of 2020, the world was again reminded that police officers
often treat Black life as disposable. On March 13, 2020, Breonna Taylor was
murdered in her apartment in Louisville, Kentucky, by police officers exe-
cuting a no-​knock warrant as part of a drug investigation. Believing that the
plainclothes police officers were burglars, Taylor’s boyfriend fired a warning
shot as deterrence. The police officers proceeded to fire thirty-​two rounds
into the apartment, killing Taylor only. Taylor was innocent, at home, and in
her bed. No drugs were found. No officers were charged for her death.
On May 25, 2020, George Floyd was arrested for attempting to use a coun-
terfeit $20 bill. During the arrest, Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin
pinned Floyd to the ground, resting his knee on Floyd’s neck for over eight
minutes. Other officers stood by and did nothing. Floyd pleaded with the of-
ficer and called out for his mother, to no avail. Floyd later died due to injuries
sustained during the arrest. The officers were filmed as onlookers pleaded
with them to help Floyd. They did not care. Unlike the Taylor case, officers
were charged in Floyd’s death. Chauvin has been charged with second-​degree
murder, among other charges, and the onlooking officers have been charged
with aiding and abetting. Hopefully, justice will be served in this case, though
it is statistically unlikely.
Taylor and Floyd are the latest names to be added to a long list of Black
people who were unjustly killed by the police. Until real changes are made,
the list will continue to grow. Taylor and Floyd also serve as reminders that
the work of the M4BL is far from over. Floyd’s death in particular sparked
worldwide protests, led to the creation of Black Lives Matter Plaza in
Washington, DC, and brought greater public attention to the work of the or-
ganizations that comprise the M4BL.
The inspiring work of the M4BL has garnered much scholarly atten-
tion. Currently, there are over one hundred academic articles on the BLM
organization alone. The Movement has also given rise to several academic
books. These works include Christopher Lebron’s The Making of Black
Lives Matter: A Brief History of an Idea, Keeanga-​Yamahtta Taylor’s From
#BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation, and Barbara Ransby’s Making All
Black Lives Matter: Reimagining Freedom in the Twenty-​First Century. While
each book provides a take on the Movement’s practical activities and theoret-
ical underpinnings, these works primarily offer a historical analysis of BLM
and the M4BL.
 Introduction 3

While contributions to this volume draw on the rich scholarship on BLM

and the M4BL, this work offers critical philosophical engagements with
the themes, platforms, language, and organizational model of the M4BL.
Chapters in this volume address the context in which the Movement exists,
and the contributors aim to offer critiques, appraisals, and insights based in
their training in academic philosophy. The M4BL is deeply philosophical,
and this volume seeks to respect and participate in the thoughtful philo-
sophical discussion began by the Movement. To be clear, the authors in this
volume do not claim to speak for the Movement nor do they presuppose that
they have a better understanding of the Movement than those who partici-
pate on the ground. We view the M4BL as a dynamic, novel, and necessary
social movement. The contributors only seek to think philosophically about
the Movement as we do about other social phenomena. As such, they hope
that participants in the Movement will engage philosophically with their
work. The conversation should by symmetrical. Indeed, as an act of good
faith and solidarity, any proceeds from the sale of this volume will be donated
to causes supported by the Movement.
This volume is organized into five parts: Part I: The Value of Black Lives;
Part II: Theorizing Racial Justice; Part III: The Language of the M4BL; Part
IV: The M4BL, Anti-​Black Racism, and Punishment; and Part V: Strategy and
Solidarity. Naturally, themes from each part overlap, and the philosophers in
this volume can easily be put into conversation with one another. As such,
this work is organized so as to initiate a fruitful and comprehensive philo-
sophical discussion about the M4BL. The remainder of this introduction will
provide an overview of the contents of each section.

Part I: The Value of Black Lives

This first section addresses the ideological and theoretical underpinnings

of the M4BL. Persons appear to disagree about the meaning of “Black lives
matter.” Some take the slogan to mean “Only Black lives matter,” while others
take it to mean “Black lives matter, too.” In Chapter 1, “What ‘Black Lives
Matter’ Should Mean,” Brandon Hogan examines the meaning of the slogan,
focusing on the assumptions about social reality undertaken by persons who
say “Black lives matter.” After reviewing several possible interpretations of the
slogan, he concludes that there is no consensus about the meaning of “Black
4 Introduction

lives matter.” He then turns to the question of what the slogan should mean,
assuming that an attractive interpretation of “Black lives matter” should be
both metaphysically plausible and useful to activists. He posits that the lives
of Black people matter only in relation to a given population. As such, Black
lives matter to some, but not to others. Thus, the slogan both expresses a
truth (relative to some) and an aspiration (relative to others). He argues that
both interpretations of the slogan are socially useful. It is useful, he argues,
for activists to believe that Black lives do matter because this belief is a source
of pride and inspiration. Hogan also argues that activists would do well to
recognize that Black lives do not matter to some. This latter interpretation,
Hogan argues, justifies certain forms of direct, nonsentimental activism.
One of the M4BL’s central aims is to challenge the dominant systems of
belief and value that reinforce the subordination of Black people. In other
words, the M4BL aims to transform racist ideology root and branch. But
this is, of course, no easy task. In Chapter 2, “ ‘And He Ate Jim Crow’: Racist
Ideology as False Consciousness,” Vanessa Wills argues that understanding
the intransigence of racial oppression requires a deeper appreciation of racist
ideology. Drawing from Marx and Engels, Wills argues that racist ideology is
a form of false consciousness, which represents the world accurately at a very
superficial level, but misrepresents the deeper facts that underlie the superfi-
cial appearances. Wills’s analysis insightfully distinguishes between two types
of racist ideology: (1) first-​order false consciousness, or the inaccurate beliefs
related to objective social arrangements (e.g., “this group is impoverished be-
cause they are lazy,” rather than “this group is impoverished because they
are oppressed”); and (2) second-​order false consciousness, or the inaccurate
beliefs about how our first-​order beliefs are formed (e.g., “I believe this group
is lazy because I am free-​thinking rational person,” rather than “I believe this
group is lazy because I want to believe that the system is meritocratic and the
world is fair”). The practical upshots of Wills’s analysis are that we must both
directly undermine oppressive social conditions and develop interventions
that dislodge lay theories about the causes of race-​based disadvantage.
Tommy J. Curry represents a dissenting voice. He is critical of BLM
activists in particular. In Chapter 3, “He Never Mattered: Poor Black Males
and the Dark Logic of Intersectional Invisibility,” Curry argues that problem-
atic ideological trends have caused BLM activists and their sympathizers to
unjustifiably marginalize or downplay the unique struggles faced by Black
men. BLM began as a reaction to the unjustified killings of Black men at the
hands of police officers. As Curry explains, Black men are still more likely to
 Introduction 5

face police violence than men or women in any other demographic. Curry
contends that BLM activists have taken on a version of intersectional theory
that contends that persons who suffer multiple forms of oppression (e.g., per-
sons targeted by racism and heterosexism and classism) are rendered invis-
ible in social justice movements. Because of this, Curry claims, activists seek
to decenter the oppression of Black men. But, he claims, this decentering
does not reflect the reality of Black male oppression. He further contends
that this move has occurred because activists have become divorced from
the Black communities they claim to serve, instead seeking praise and profits
from white philanthropists. Curry calls on activists to move away from ide-
ology and profit-​seeking to focus on empirical findings about the nature and
magnitude of anti-​Black violence.

Part II: Theorizing Racial Justice

Chapters in this section engage directly with the vision of racial jus-
tice outlined in the M4BL platform. In Chapter 4, “Reconsidering
Reparations: The Movement for Black Lives and Self-​ Determination,”
Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò provides a philosophical appraisal of the M4BL’s call for
reparations for American slavery and extends this discussion to address the
issue of reparations for African colonization. Táíwò points out that many
theorists justify reparations as a form of restorative justice. He contends that
these sorts of views fail either because they operate on an underdeveloped
notion of harm or because they fail to fully justify reparations, instead of,
say, apologies, as the correct remedial measure. Táíwò instead argues for a
forward-​looking justification for reparations. Reparations, for Táíwò, pro-
vide historically oppressed groups with material resources that further the
aim of group self-​determination, that is, the tools necessary to take control
of their own lives. This justification, Táíwò claims, is implicit in the M4BL
policy platform.
In Chapter 5, “The Movement for Black Lives and Transitional Justice,”
Colleen Murphy proposes that the Movement be conceptualized as an effort
at transitional justice. Transitional justice is the process of dealing with wrong-
doing committed in the context of conflict or repression for the sake of rec-
ognizing victims, holding perpetrators to account, and, most fundamentally,
contributing to societal transformation. Among the measures societies use
to advance transitional justice are truth commissions, reparations programs,
6 Introduction

amnesty provisions, criminal trials, and memorials. Transitional justice

succeeds to the extent that it transforms the political relationships among cit-
izens and between citizens and their government. Contrasting US anti-​racist
movements in the Jim Crow era with similar movements in apartheid-​era
South Africa, Murphy highlights how the latter, unlike the former, succeeded
in making the redressing of past racial wrongs a constitutive element of their
social reforms. The M4BL thus operates in a contemporary American con-
text wherein there remains widespread denial about the nature and scope of
wrongdoing during Jim Crow, as well as inattention to ongoing structural ine-
quality. Murphy sees the Movement as a catalyst for transitional justice within
the United States, drawing attention to how racial facts continue to perpet-
uate inequality and human rights abuses. The Movement’s focus on transi-
tional justice has already borne fruit in greater political attention to racial
reparations, the establishment of governmental commissions on lynching,
and memorials and museums focused on slavery and mass incarceration.

Part III: The Language of the M4BL

After the emphasis in Part II on foundational questions of racial justice, Part

III turns to the role of language in the M4BL. Three authors offer different
perspectives on the nature and significance of the slogans and counter-​
slogans associated with the Movement, exploring, for example, the distinc-
tive aims and consequences of chanting (or tweeting) “Black lives matter” in
contrast to chanting “All lives matter” or “Blue lives matter.”
One might think that all of these slogans are mere propaganda, public
statements that primarily function to either undermine or undergird dem-
ocratic ideals (rather than to, say, give reasons or add new information to
our shared conversation). Thus, in Chapter 6, “Positive Propaganda and the
Pragmatics of Protest,” Michael Randall Barnes explores whether the “Black
lives matter” slogan might simply be a “good” kind of propaganda, less about
asserting information about Black lives than about pushing our nation to-
ward justice. Taking Jason Stanley’s How Propaganda Works as a point of
departure, Barnes ultimately disagrees that “#BlackLivesMatter” is mere
propaganda, and instead interprets it as a speech act of political protest. On
Barnes’s view—​which generalizes to the moral and epistemic functions of
protest more broadly—​slogans like this foreground the moral authority of
the protesters and challenge the unjust authority of the powerful.
 Introduction 7

Philosophers interested in social movement slogans often focus on their

communicative nature, in particular the hermeneutical failures that arise in
discourse. One of the most well-​known of these is found in the infamous
“All lives matter” retort to “Black lives matter.” In Chapter 7, “Value-​Based
Protest Slogans: An Argument for Reorientation,” Myisha Cherry contends
that while highlighting and criticizing such failures provides insight into so-
cial movement slogans as a communicative practice, doing so risks placing
too much importance on outgroup understandings. For Cherry, this em-
phasis on outgroups is misguided because social movement slogans need not
gain external uptake in order to perform their functions. Cherry also worries
that an outgroup emphasis can cause unproductive distractions for users.
For her, protest slogans are first and foremost tools for their users. She urges
a shift in focus to what these slogans (e.g., “Black is beautiful” and “Black
lives matter”) do for users, as well as what they demand from users and en-
able them to express. Among other things, “value-​based protest slogans,” as
Cherry calls them, provide affirmation and comfort as well as moral and po-
litical guidelines for their users. As such, value-​based protest slogans can suc-
cessfully perform their key functions regardless of their uptake by nonusers.
Like Barnes and Cherry, Ian Olasov addresses the distinctive commu-
nicative tactics of the Movement. In Chapter 8, “The Movement for Black
Lives and the Language of Liberation,” Olasov observes that the Movement’s
tactics are continuous with those deployed in historical anti-​racist, envi-
ronmental, economic justice, and anti-​war movements, including street
protests, chants such as “No justice, no peace,” and the incorporation of
African-​ American Vernacular English. However, the Movement also
uses several novel communicative tools. These include the online hashtag
#BlackLivesMatter, videos of police violence, the naming of the dead, and
what Olasov calls “stereotype engineering,” wherein Movement supporters
utilize known idioms (such as “white supremacist”) in accordance with their
literal meaning but in ways that challenge the associations surrounding those
idioms (for example, using “white supremacist” to refer not only to members
of overtly racist groups such as the Klan but to liberals who blame mass Black
incarceration on features of Black culture). On Olasov’s analysis, these novel
tools respond to the distinctive challenges that Keeanga-​Yamahtta Taylor has
argued the Movement faces when compared to similar social movements.
The Movement advances a systemic critique of long-​standing institutions
and practices, particularly in the United States, a critique that casts doubt on
the popular embrace of color-​blind policies, the trust in police and judicial
8 Introduction

institutions, and the entanglement of race with opposition to social welfare

and support for mass incarceration. While these communicative tools have
limits, Olasov understands them as an attempt to generate a new “language
of liberation.”

Part IV: The M4BL, Anti-​Black Racism, and Punishment

The M4BL has been marked by a sustained focus on issues of criminal justice,
including police brutality, the “criminalization” of blackness, and the harsh
civil penalties and criminal sentences doled out to Black communities. As
a result, the M4BL has demanded profound and radical reforms, with some
members calling for the wholesale abolition of prisons. The two chapters in
this section explore the relationships between the M4BL and criminal justice
in greater depth.
In Chapter 9, “Can Capital Punishment Survive If Black Lives Matter?,”
Michael Cholbi and Alex Madva defend the Movement’s claim that the
death penalty is a “racist practice” that “devalues black lives” and ought to be
abolished. They begin by surveying the jurisprudential history of race and
capital punishment in the United States, noting that courts have occasionally
expressed worries about racial injustice but have usually called for reform
rather than abolition. Cholbi and Madva argue, however, that racial discrim-
ination in capital contexts flows in part from implicit biases related to race,
criminality, and violence. The body of research on implicit bias suggests that
court-​mandated reforms have and will continue to fail to remediate racial
discrimination in capital punishment. Cholbi and Madva further argue that
traditional debates about capital punishment have been overly individual-
istic, narrowly focused on the justice of the practice for particular defendants
and victims. By contrast, drawing from the M4BL’s group-​centered approach,
Cholbi and Madva investigate the justice of the practice for the community
as a whole, and they claim that the case for abolition rests on understanding
Black Americans as a class subject to bias and thereby not accorded equal
status under the law.
However, calls for the abolition of capital punishment, or prisons more
generally, lead to what Benjamin S. Yost calls the “decarceration dilemma.” In
Chapter 10, “Sentencing Leniency for Black Offenders,” Yost seeks to resolve
this dilemma. The M4BL’s platform urges an end to policing and punish-
ment “as we know them.” This exhortation responds to the well-​documented
 Introduction 9

racial disparities that infect the American criminal justice system root and
branch. Decarceration movements aim to reduce both the intensity and
scope of policing and imprisonment. But, as Yost points out, letting violent
offenses go unpunished leaves Black communities vulnerable. Wholesale
penal abolition thus threatens to undermine the rights and liberties of Black
Americans. Hence the dilemma: the most straightforward way to remedy the
racial injustice of punishment imposes injustices of its own. After discussing
how Tommie Shelby and Christopher Lewis attempt to resolve the dilemma,
Yost lays out his procedural alternative, which he contends has advantages
over Shelby and Lewis’s substantive, culpability-​based approach. Yost’s view
relies on the principle of expanded asymmetry, which holds that it is better to
underpunish than overpunish. This principle obtains only under conditions
of sentencing uncertainty; thus, Yost makes the case that virtually all trials of
Black offenders meet this condition. If this effort is successful, he concludes,
sentencing authorities are obliged to treat Black offenders leniently, though
need not forgo punishment altogether.

Part V: Strategy and Solidarity

Part V concludes the volume by examining the M4BL’s forward-​looking strat-

egies for social change. One of the most striking departures of the M4BL from
prior racial justice movements is its collective refusal to anoint figurehead
leaders who purport to “speak for” the interests of the entire community. As
a result, the Movement is often criticized for being “leaderless.” But members
of the Movement reject this characterization. As the Founder of the Pasadena
Chapter of #BlackLivesMatter, Jasmine Abdullah Richards, explains, “This is
a leader-​full movement. We empower each other. If we just have one leader
then that depletes that person of all their resources, their energy and eve-
rything. But if we have more than one person then, when I fall I have this
person and this person on the right and left of me to pick me up and give me
some of their energy.” In Chapter 11, “The Violence of Leadership in Black
Lives Matter,” Dana Francisco Miranda explains and defends the Movement’s
alternative “leader-​full” model, which replaces traditional hierarchical forms
of leadership with more collaborative, decentralized, and democratized or-
ganizational structures and practices. Miranda draws from work by Barbara
Ransby, Patrisse Khan-​Cullors, and Frantz Fanon to contrast decentralized
Black liberation movements—​which boast an abundance of locally situated
Another random document with
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of Mundilferi, cf. Vafthruthnismol, 23 and note, and Grimnismol, 37
and note.

6. Possibly an interpolation, but there seems no strong reason for

assuming this. Lines 1–2 are identical with lines 1–2 of stanza 9, and
line 2 may have been inserted here from that later stanza.

7. Ithavoll (“Field of Deeds”?): mentioned only here and in stanza 60

as the meeting-place of the gods; it appears in no other connection.

8. Tables: the exact nature of this game, and whether it more closely
resembled chess or checkers, has been made the subject of a 400-
page treatise, Willard Fiske’s “Chess in Iceland.” Giant-maids:
perhaps the three great Norns, corresponding to the three fates; cf.
stanza 20 and note. Possibly, however, something has been lost
after this stanza, and the missing passage, replaced by the
catalogue of the dwarfs (stanzas 9–16), may have explained the
“giant-maids” otherwise than as Norns. In Vafthruthnismol, 49, the
Norns (this time “three throngs” instead of simply “three”) are spoken
of as giant-maidens; [6]Fafnismol, 13, indicates the existence of
many lesser Norns, belonging to various races. Jotunheim: the world
of the giants.

9. Here apparently begins the interpolated catalogue of the dwarfs,

running through stanza 16; possibly, however, the interpolated
section does not begin before stanza 11. Snorri quotes practically
the entire section, the names appearing in a somewhat changed
order. Brimir and Blain: nothing is known of these two giants, and it
has been suggested that both are names for Ymir (cf. stanza 3).
Brimir, however, appears in stanza 37 in connection with the home of
the dwarfs. Some editors treat the words as common rather than
proper nouns, Brimir meaning “the bloody moisture” and Blain being
of uncertain significance.

10. Very few of the dwarfs named in this and the following stanzas
are mentioned elsewhere. It is not clear why Durin should have been
singled out as authority for the list. The occasional repetitions
suggest that not all the stanzas of the catalogue came from the
same source. Most of the names presumably had some definite
significance, as Northri, Suthri, Austri, and Vestri (“North,” “South,”
“East,” and “West”), Althjof [7](“Mighty Thief”), Mjothvitnir (“Mead-
Wolf”), Gandalf (“Magic Elf”), Vindalf (“Wind Elf”), Rathsvith (“Swift in
Counsel”), Eikinskjaldi (“Oak Shield”), etc., but in many cases the
interpretations are sheer guesswork.

12. The order of the lines in this and the succeeding four stanzas
varies greatly in the manuscripts and editions, and the names
likewise appear in many forms. Regin: probably not identical with
Regin the son of Hreithmar, who plays an important part in the
Reginsmol and Fafnismol, but cf. note on Reginsmol, introductory
prose.

14. Dvalin: in Hovamol, 144, Dvalin seems to have given magic

runes to the dwarfs, probably accounting for their skill in
craftsmanship, while in Fafnismol, 13, he is mentioned as the father
of some of the lesser Norns. The story that some of the dwarfs left
the rocks and mountains to find a new home on the sands is
mentioned, but unexplained, in Snorri’s Edda; of Lofar we know only
that he was descended from these wanderers. [8]

15. Andvari: this dwarf appears prominently in the Reginsmol, which

tells how the god Loki treacherously robbed him of his wealth; the
curse which he laid on his treasure brought about the deaths of
Sigurth, Gunnar, Atli, and many others.

17. Here the poem resumes its course after the interpolated section.
Probably, however, something has been lost, for there is no apparent
connection between the three giant-maids of stanza 8 and the three
gods, Othin, Hönir and Lothur, who in stanza 17 go forth to create
man and woman. The word “three” in stanzas 8 and 17 very likely
confused some early reciter, or perhaps the compiler himself. Ask
and Embla: ash and elm; Snorri gives them simply as the names of
the first man and woman, but says that the gods made this pair out
of trees.

18. Hönir: little is known of this god, save that he occasionally

appears in the poems in company with Othin and Loki, and [9]that he
survives the destruction, assuming in the new age the gift of
prophesy (cf. stanza 63). He was given by the gods as a hostage to
the Wanes after their war, in exchange for Njorth (cf. stanza 21 and
note). Lothur: apparently an older name for Loki, the treacherous but
ingenious son of Laufey, whose divinity Snorri regards as somewhat
doubtful. He was adopted by Othin, who subsequently had good
reason to regret it. Loki probably represents the blending of two
originally distinct figures, one of them an old fire-god, hence his gift
of heat to the newly created pair.

19. Yggdrasil: cf. stanza 2 and note, and Grimnismol, 29–35 and
notes. Urth (“The Past”): one of the three great Norns. The world-ash
is kept green by being sprinkled with the marvelous healing water
from her well.

20. The maidens: the three Norns; possibly this stanza should follow
stanza 8. Dwelling: Regius has “sæ” (sea) instead of “sal” (hall,
home), and many editors have followed this reading, although
Snorri’s prose paraphrase indicates “sal.” Urth, Verthandi and Skuld:
“Past,” “Present” and “Future.” Wood, etc.: the magic signs (runes)
controlling the destinies of men were cut on pieces of wood. Lines 3–
4 are probably interpolations from some other account of the Norns.
[10]

21. This follows stanza 20 in Regius; in the Hauksbok version

stanzas 25, 26, 27, 40 and 41 come between stanzas 20 and 21.
Editors have attempted all sorts of rearrangements. The war: the first
war was that between the gods and the Wanes. The cult of the
Wanes (Vanir) seems to have originated among the seafaring folk of
the Baltic and the southern shores of the North Sea, and to have
spread thence into Norway in opposition to the worship of the older
gods; hence the “war.” Finally the two types of divinities were
worshipped in common; hence the treaty which ended the war with
the exchange of hostages. Chief among the Wanes were Njorth and
his children, Freyr and Freyja, all of whom became conspicuous
among the gods. Beyond this we know little of the Wanes, who seem
originally to have been water-deities. I remember: the manuscripts
have “she remembers,” but the Volva is apparently still speaking of
her own memories, as in stanza 2. Gollveig (“Gold-Might”):
apparently the first of the Wanes to come among the gods, her ill-
treatment being the immediate cause of the war. Müllenhoff
maintains that Gollveig is another name for Freyja. Lines 5–6, one or
both of them probably interpolated, seem to symbolize the refining of
gold by fire. Hor (“The High One”): Othin.

22. Heith (“Shining One”?): a name often applied to wise-women and

prophetesses. The application of this stanza to Gollveig is far from
clear, though the reference may be to the [11]magic and destructive
power of gold. It is also possible that the stanza is an interpolation.
Bugge maintains that it applies to the Volva who is reciting the poem,
and makes it the opening stanza, following it with stanzas 28 and 30,
and then going on with stanzas 1 ff. The text of line 2 is obscure, and
has been variously emended.

23. This stanza and stanza 24 have been transposed from the order
in the manuscripts, for the former describes the battle and the victory
of the Wanes, after which the gods took council, debating whether to
pay tribute to the victors, or to admit them, as was finally done, to
equal rights of worship.

25. Possibly, as Finn Magnusen long ago suggested, there is

something lost after stanza 24, but it was not the custom of the Eddic
poets to supply transitions which their hearers could generally be
counted on to understand. The story referred to in stanzas 25–26
(both quoted by Snorri) is that of the rebuilding of Asgarth after its
destruction by the Wanes. The gods employed a giant as builder,
who demanded as his reward the sun and moon, and the goddess
Freyja for his wife. The gods, terrified by the rapid progress of the
work, forced Loki, who had advised the bargain, to delay the giant by
a trick, so that the [12]work was not finished in the stipulated time (cf.
Grimnismol, 44, note). The enraged giant then threatened the gods,
whereupon Thor slew him. Oth’s bride: Freyja; of Oth little is known
beyond the fact that Snorri refers to him as a man who “went away
on long journeys.”

26. Thor: the thunder-god, son of Othin and Jorth (Earth); cf.
particularly Harbarthsljoth and Thrymskvitha, passim. Oaths, etc.:
the gods, by violating their oaths to the giant who rebuilt Asgarth,
aroused the undying hatred of the giants’ race, and thus the giants
were among their enemies in the final battle.

27. Here the Volva turns from her memories of the past to a
statement of some of Othin’s own secrets in his eternal search for
knowledge (stanzas 27–29). Bugge puts this stanza after stanza 29.
The horn of Heimdall: the Gjallarhorn (“Shrieking Horn”), with which
Heimdall, watchman of the gods, will summon them to the last battle.
Till that time the horn is buried under Yggdrasil. Valfather’s pledge:
Othin’s eye (the sun?), which he gave to the water-spirit Mimir (or
Mim) in exchange for the latter’s wisdom. It appears here and in
stanza 29 as a drinking-vessel, from which Mimir drinks the magic
mead, and from which he pours water on the ash Yggdrasil. Othin’s
sacrifice of his eye in order to gain knowledge of his final doom is
one of the series of disasters leading up to the destruction of the
gods. There were several differing versions of the story of Othin’s
relations with Mimir; another one, quite incompatible with this,
appears in stanza 47. In the manuscripts I know and I see appear as
“she knows” and “she sees” (cf. note on 21). [13]

28. The Hauksbok version omits all of stanzas 28–34, stanza 27

being there followed by stanzas 40 and 41. Regius indicates stanzas
28 and 29 as a single stanza. Bugge puts stanza 28 after stanza 22,
as the second stanza of his reconstructed poem. The Volva here
addresses Othin directly, intimating that, although he has not told
her, she knows why he has come to her, and what he has already
suffered in his search for knowledge regarding his doom. Her
reiterated “would you know yet more?” seems to mean: “I have
proved my wisdom by telling of the past and of your own secrets; is it
your will that I tell likewise of the fate in store for you?” The Old One:
Othin.

29. The first line, not in either manuscript, is a conjectural

emendation based on Snorri’s paraphrase. Bugge puts this stanza
after stanza 20.

30. This is apparently the transitional stanza, in which the Volva,

rewarded by Othin for her knowledge of the past (stanzas 1–29), is
induced to proceed with her real prophecy (stanzas 31–66). Some
editors turn the stanza into the third person, making it a narrative
link. Bugge, on the other hand, puts it [14]after stanza 28 as the third
stanza of the poem. No lacuna is indicated in the manuscripts, and
editors have attempted various emendations. Heerfather (“Father of
the Host”): Othin.

31. Valkyries: these “Choosers of the Slain” (cf. stanza 1, note) bring
the bravest warriors killed in battle to Valhall, in order to re-enforce
the gods for their final struggle. They are also called “Wish-Maidens,”
as the fulfillers of Othin’s wishes. The conception of the supernatural
warrior-maiden was presumably brought to Scandinavia in very early
times from the South-Germanic races, and later it was interwoven
with the likewise South-Germanic tradition of the swan-maiden. A
third complication developed when the originally quite human women
of the hero-legends were endowed with the qualities of both
Valkyries and swan-maidens, as in the cases of Brynhild (cf.
Gripisspo, introductory note), Svava (cf. Helgakvitha
Hjorvarthssonar, prose after stanza 5 and note) and Sigrun (cf.
Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I, 17 and note). The list of names here
given may be an interpolation; a quite different list is given in
Grimnismol, 36. Ranks of the gods: some editors regard the word
thus translated as a specific place name. Herjan (“Leader of Hosts”):
Othin. It is worth noting that the name Hild (“Warrior”) is the basis of
Bryn-hild (“Warrior in Mail-Coat”).

32. Baldr: The death of Baldr, the son of Othin and Frigg, was the
first of the great disasters to the gods. The story is fully told by
Snorri. Frigg had demanded of all created things, saving only the
mistletoe, which she thought too weak to be worth troubling
[15]about, an oath that they would not harm Baldr. Thus it came to be
a sport for the gods to hurl weapons at Baldr, who, of course, was
totally unharmed thereby. Loki, the trouble-maker, brought the
mistletoe to Baldr’s blind brother, Hoth, and guided his hand in
hurling the twig. Baldr was slain, and grief came upon all the gods.
Cf. Baldrs Draumar.

33. The lines in this and the following stanza have been combined in
various ways by editors, lacunæ having been freely conjectured, but
the manuscript version seems clear enough. The brother of Baldr:
Vali, whom Othin begot expressly to avenge Baldr’s death. The day
after his birth he fought and slew Hoth.

34. Frigg: Othin’s wife. Some scholars have regarded her as a solar
myth, calling her the sun-goddess, and pointing out that her home in
Fensalir (“the sea-halls”) symbolizes the daily setting of the sun
beneath the ocean horizon.

35. The translation here follows the Regius version. The Hauksbok
has the same final two lines, but in place of the first [16]pair has, “I
know that Vali | his brother gnawed, / With his bowels then |
was Loki bound.” Many editors have followed this version of the
whole stanza or have included these two lines, often marking them
as doubtful, with the four from Regius. After the murder of Baldr, the
gods took Loki and bound him to a rock with the bowels of his son
Narfi, who had just been torn to pieces by Loki’s other son, Vali. A
serpent was fastened above Loki’s head, and the venom fell upon
his face. Loki’s wife, Sigyn, sat by him with a basin to catch the
venom, but whenever the basin was full, and she went away to
empty it, then the venom fell on Loki again, till the earth shook with
his struggles. “And there he lies bound till the end.” Cf. Lokasenna,
concluding prose.

36. Stanzas 36–39 describe the homes of the enemies of the gods:
the giants (36), the dwarfs (37), and the dead in the land of the
goddess Hel (38–39). The Hauksbok version omits stanzas 36 and
37. Regius unites 36 with 37, but most editors have assumed a
lacuna. Slith (“the Fearful”): a river in the giants’ home. The “swords
and daggers” may represent the icy cold.

37. Nithavellir (“the Dark Fields”): a home of the dwarfs. Perhaps the
word should be “Nithafjoll” (“the Dark Crags”). Sindri: the great
worker in gold among the dwarfs. Okolnir [17](“the Not Cold”):
possibly a volcano. Brimir: the giant (possibly Ymir) out of whose
blood, according to stanza 9, the dwarfs were made; the name here
appears to mean simply the leader of the dwarfs.

38. Stanzas 38 and 39 follow stanza 43 in the Hauksbok version.

Snorri quotes stanzas 38, 39, 40 and 41, though not consecutively.
Nastrond (“Corpse-Strand”): the land of the dead, ruled by the
goddess Hel. Here the wicked undergo tortures. Smoke-vent: the
phrase gives a picture of the Icelandic house, with its opening in the
roof serving instead of a chimney.

39. The stanza is almost certainly in corrupt form. The third line is
presumably an interpolation, and is lacking in most of the late paper
manuscripts. Some editors, however, have called lines 1–3 the
remains of a full stanza, with the fourth line lacking, and lines 4–5 the
remains of another. The stanza depicts the torments of the two worst
classes of criminals known to Old Norse morality—oath-breakers
and murderers. Nithhogg (“the Dread Biter”): the dragon that lies
beneath the ash Yggdrasil and gnaws at its roots, thus symbolizing
the destructive elements in the universe; cf. Grimnismol, 32, 35. The
wolf: presumably the wolf Fenrir, one of the children of Loki and the
giantess Angrbotha (the others being Mithgarthsorm and the
goddess Hel), who was chained by the gods with the marvelous
chain Gleipnir, fashioned by a dwarf “out of six things: the [18]noise of
a cat’s step, the beards of women, the roots of mountains, the
nerves of bears, the breath of fishes, and the spittle of birds.” The
chaining of Fenrir cost the god Tyr his right hand; cf. stanza 44.

40. The Hauksbok version inserts after stanza 39 the refrain-stanza

(44), and puts stanzas 40 and 41 between 27 and 21. With this
stanza begins the account of the final struggle itself. The giantess:
her name is nowhere stated, and the only other reference to
Ironwood is in Grimnismol, 39, in this same connection. The children
of this giantess and the wolf Fenrir are the wolves Skoll and Hati, the
first of whom steals the sun, the second the moon. Some scholars
naturally see here an eclipse-myth.

41. In the third line many editors omit the comma after “sun,” and put
one after “soon,” making the two lines run: “Dark grows the sun |
in summer soon, / Mighty storms—” etc. Either phenomenon in
summer would be sufficiently striking.

42. In the Hauksbok version stanzas 42 and 43 stand between

stanzas 44 and 38. Eggther: this giant, who seems to be the
watchman of the giants, as Heimdall is that of the gods and Surt of
the dwellers in the fire-world, is not mentioned elsewhere in [19]the
poems. Fjalar, the cock whose crowing wakes the giants for the final
struggle.

43. Gollinkambi (“Gold-Comb”): the cock who wakes the gods and
heroes, as Fjalar does the giants. The rust-red bird: the name of this
bird, who wakes the people of Hel’s domain, is nowhere stated.

44. This is a refrain-stanza. In Regius it appears in full only at this

point, but is repeated in abbreviated form before stanzas 50 and 59.
In the Hauksbok version the full stanza comes first between stanzas
35 and 42, then, in abbreviated form, it occurs four times: before
stanzas 45, 50, 55, and 59. In the Hauksbok line 3 runs: “Farther I
see | and more can say.” Garm: the dog who guards the gates of
Hel’s kingdom; cf. Baldrs Draumar, 2 ff, and Grimnismol, 44.
Gnipahellir (“the Cliff-Cave”): the entrance to the world of the dead.
The wolf: Fenrir; cf. stanza 39 and note.

45. From this point on through stanza 57 the poem is quoted by

Snorri, stanza 49 alone being omitted. There has been much
discussion as to the status of stanza 45. Lines 4 and 5 look like an
interpolation. After line 5 the Hauksbok has a line running: “The
world resounds, | the witch is flying.” Editors have arranged these
seven lines in various ways, with lacunæ freely indicated. Sisters’
sons: in all Germanic countries the relations between uncle and
nephew were felt to be particularly close. [20]

46. Regius combines the first three lines of this stanza with lines 3,
2, and 1 of stanza 47 as a single stanza. Line 4, not found in Regius,
is introduced from the Hauksbok version, where it follows line 2 of
stanza 47. The sons of Mim: the spirits of the water. On Mim (or
Mimir) cf. stanza 27 and note. Gjallarhorn: the “Shrieking Horn” with
which Heimdall, the watchman of the gods, calls them to the last
battle.

47. In Regius lines 3, 2, and 1, in that order, follow stanza 46 without

separation. Line 4 is not found in Regius, but is introduced from the
Hauksbok version. Yggdrasil: cf. stanza 19 and note, and
Grimnismol, 29–35. The giant: Fenrir. The head of Mim: various
myths were current about Mimir. This stanza refers to the story that
he was sent by the gods with Hönir as a hostage to the Wanes after
their war (cf. stanza 21 and note), and that the Wanes cut off his
head and returned it to the gods. Othin embalmed the head, and by
magic gave it the power of speech, thus making Mimir’s noted
wisdom always available. Of course this story does not fit with that
underlying the references to Mimir in stanzas 27 and 29. The
kinsman of Surt: the wolf [21]Fenrir, who slays Othin in the final
struggle; cf. stanza 53. Surt is the giant who rules the fire-world,
Muspellsheim; cf. stanza 52.
48. This stanza in Regius follows stanza 51; in the Hauksbok it
stands, as here, after 47. Jotunheim: the land of the giants.

49. Identical with stanza 44. In the manuscripts it is here

abbreviated.

50. Hrym: the leader of the giants, who comes as the helmsman of
the ship Naglfar (line 4). The serpent: Mithgarthsorm, one of the
children of Loki and Angrbotha (cf. stanza 39, note). The serpent
was cast into the sea, where he completely encircles the land; cf.
especially Hymiskvitha, passim. The eagle: the giant Hræsvelg, who
sits at the edge of heaven in the form of an eagle, and makes the
winds with his wings; cf. Vafthruthnismol, 37, and Skirnismol, 27.
Naglfar: the ship which was made out of dead men’s nails to carry
the giants to battle. [22]

51. North: a guess; the manuscripts have “east,” but there seems to
be a confusion with stanza 50, line 1. People of Hel: the manuscripts
have “people of Muspell,” but these came over the bridge Bifrost (the
rainbow), which broke beneath them, whereas the people of Hel
came in a ship steered by Loki. The wolf: Fenrir. The brother of
Byleist: Loki. Of Byleist (or Byleipt) no more is known.

52. Surt: the ruler of the fire-world. The scourge of branches: fire.
This is one of the relatively rare instances in the Eddic poems of the
type of poetic diction which characterizes the skaldic verse.

53. Hlin: apparently another name for Frigg, Othin’s wife. After losing
her son Baldr, she is fated now to see Othin slain by the wolf Fenrir.
Beli’s slayer: the god Freyr, who killed the giant Beli with his fist; cf.
Skirnismol, 16 and note. On Freyr, who belonged to the race of the
Wanes, and was the brother of Freyja, see especially Skirnismol,
passim. The joy of Frigg: Othin. [23]

54. As quoted by Snorri the first line of this stanza runs: “Fares
Othin’s son | to fight with the wolf.” Sigfather (“Father of Victory”):
Othin. His son, Vithar, is the silent god, famed chiefly for his great
shield, and his strength, which is little less than Thor’s. He survives
the destruction. The giant’s son: Fenrir.

55. This and the following stanza are clearly in bad shape. In Regius
only lines 1 and 4 are found, combined with stanza 56 as a single
stanza. Line 1 does not appear in the Hauksbok version, the stanza
there beginning with line 2. Snorri, in quoting these two stanzas,
omits 55, 2–4, and 56, 3, making a single stanza out of 55, 1, and
56, 4, 2, 1, in that order. Moreover, the Hauksbok manuscript at this
point is practically illegible. The lacuna (line 3) is, of course, purely
conjectural, and all sorts of arrangements of the lines have been
attempted by editors. Hlothyn: another name for Jorth (“Earth”),
Thor’s mother; his father was Othin. The snake: Mithgarthsorm; cf.
stanza 5c and note. Othin’s son: Thor. The fourth line in Regius
reads “against the wolf,” but if this line refers to Thor at all, and not to
Vithar, the Hauksbok reading, “serpent,” is correct.

56. The warder of earth: Thor. The son of Fjorgyn: again [24]Thor,
who, after slaying the serpent, is overcome by his venomous breath,
and dies. Fjorgyn appears in both a masculine and a feminine form.
In the masculine it is a name for Othin; in the feminine, as here and
in Harbarthsljoth, 56, it apparently refers to Jorth.

57. With this stanza ends the account of the destruction.

58. Again the refrain-stanza (cf. stanza 44 and note), abbreviated in

both manuscripts, as in the case of stanza 49. It is probably
misplaced here.

59. Here begins the description of the new world which is to rise out
of the wreck of the old one. It is on this passage that a few critics
have sought to base their argument that the poem is later than the
introduction of Christianity (circa 1000), but this theory has never
seemed convincing (cf. introductory note).

60. The third line of this stanza is not found in Regius. Ithavoll: cf.
stanza 7 and note. The girdler of earth: Mithgarthsorm, [25]who, lying
in the sea, surrounded the land. The Ruler of Gods: Othin. The runes
were both magic signs, generally carved on wood, and sung or
spoken charms.

61. The Hauksbok version of the first two lines runs:

“The gods shall find there, | wondrous fair,

The golden tables | amid the grass.”

No lacuna (line 4) is indicated in the manuscripts. Golden tables: cf.

stanza 8 and note.

62. Baldr: cf. stanza 32 and note. Baldr and his brother, Hoth, who
unwittingly slew him at Loki’s instigation, return together, their union
being a symbol of the new age of peace. Hropt: another name for
Othin. His “battle-hall” is Valhall.

63. No lacuna (line 2) indicated in the manuscripts. Hönir: cf. stanza

18 and note. In this new age he has the gift of foretelling the future.
Tveggi (“The Twofold”): another name for [26]Othin. His brothers are
Vili and Ve (cf. Lokasenna, 26, and note). Little is known of them,
and nothing, beyond this reference, of their sons. Vindheim (“Home
of the Wind”): heaven.

64. This stanza is quoted by Snorri. Gimle: Snorri makes this the
name of the hall itself, while here it appears to refer to a mountain on
which the hall stands. It is the home of the happy, as opposed to
another hall, not here mentioned, for the dead. Snorri’s description of
this second hall is based on Voluspo, 38, which he quotes, and
perhaps that stanza properly belongs after 64.

65. This stanza is not found in Regius, and is probably spurious. No

lacuna is indicated in the Hauksbok version, but late paper
manuscripts add two lines, running:

“Rule he orders, | and rights he fixes,

Laws he ordains | that ever shall live.”
The name of this new ruler is nowhere given, and of course the
suggestion of Christianity is unavoidable. It is not certain, however,
that even this stanza refers to Christianity, and if it does, it may have
been interpolated long after the rest of the poem was composed.

66. This stanza, which fits so badly with the preceding ones, [27]may
well have been interpolated. It has been suggested that the dragon,
making a last attempt to rise, is destroyed, this event marking the
end of evil in the world. But in both manuscripts the final half-line
does not refer to the dragon, but, as the gender shows, to the Volva
herself, who sinks into the earth; a sort of conclusion to the entire
prophecy. Presumably the stanza (barring the last half-line, which
was probably intended as the conclusion of the poem) belongs
somewhere in the description of the great struggle. Nithhogg: the
dragon at the roots of Yggdrasil; cf. stanza 39 and note. Nithafjoll
(“the Dark Crags”); nowhere else mentioned. Must I: the manuscripts
have “must she.” [28]

[Contents]
HOVAMOL
 The Ballad of the High One
[Contents]

Introductory Note
This poem follows the Voluspo in the Codex Regius, but is preserved
in no other manuscript. The first stanza is quoted by Snorri, and two
lines of stanza 84 appear in one of the sagas.

In its present shape it involves the critic of the text in more puzzles
than any other of the Eddic poems. Without going in detail into the
various theories, what happened seems to have been somewhat as
follows. There existed from very early times a collection of proverbs
and wise counsels, which were attributed to Othin just as the Biblical
proverbs were to Solomon. This collection, which presumably was
always elastic in extent, was known as “The High One’s Words,” and
forms the basis of the present poem. To it, however, were added
other poems and fragments dealing with wisdom which seemed by
their nature to imply that the speaker was Othin. Thus a catalogue of
runes, or charms, was tacked on, and also a set of proverbs,
differing essentially in form from those comprising the main
collection. Here and there bits of verse more nearly narrative crept
in; and of course the loose structure of the poem made it easy for
any reciter to insert new stanzas almost at will. This curious
miscellany is what we now have as the Hovamol.

Five separate elements are pretty clearly recognizable: (1) the

Hovamol proper (stanzas 1–80), a collection of proverbs and
counsels for the conduct of life; (2) the Loddfafnismol (stanzas 111–
138), a collection somewhat similar to the first, but specifically
addressed to a certain Loddfafnir; (3) the Ljothatal (stanzas 147–
165), a collection of charms; (4) the love-story of Othin and Billing’s
daughter (stanzas 96–102), with an introductory dissertation on the
faithlessness of women in general (stanzas 81–95), which probably
crept into the poem first, and then pulled the story, as an apt
illustration, after it; (5) the story of how Othin got the mead of poetry
—the draught which gave him the gift of tongues—from the maiden
Gunnloth (stanzas 103–110). There is also a brief passage (stanzas
139–146) telling how Othin won the runes, this passage being a
natural introduction to the Ljothatal, and doubtless brought into the
poem for that reason. [29]

It is idle to discuss the authorship or date of such a series of

accretions as this. Parts of it are doubtless among the oldest relics of
ancient Germanic poetry; parts of it may have originated at a
relatively late period. Probably, however, most of its component
elements go pretty far back, although we have no way of telling how
or when they first became associated.

It seems all but meaningless to talk about “interpolations” in a poem

which has developed almost solely through the process of piecing
together originally unrelated odds and ends. The notes, therefore,
make only such suggestions as are needed to keep the main
divisions of the poem distinct.

Few gnomic collections in the world’s literary history present sounder

wisdom more tersely expressed than the Hovamol. Like the Book of
Proverbs it occasionally rises to lofty heights of poetry. If it presents
the worldly wisdom of a violent race, it also shows noble ideals of
loyalty, truth, and unfaltering courage.

[Contents]
1. Within the gates | ere a man shall go,
(Full warily let him watch,)
Full long let him look about him;
For little he knows | where a foe may lurk,
And sit in the seats within.

2. Hail to the giver! | a guest has come;

Where shall the stranger sit?
Swift shall he be | who with swords shall try
The proof of his might to make.

[30]

3. Fire he needs | who with frozen knees

Has come from the cold without;
Food and clothes | must the farer have,
The man from the mountains come.

4. Water and towels | and welcoming speech

Should he find who comes to the feast;
If renown he would get, | and again be greeted,
Wisely and well must he act.

5. Wits must he have | who wanders wide,

But all is easy at home;
At the witless man | the wise shall wink
When among such men he sits.
6. A man shall not boast | of his keenness of mind,
But keep it close in his breast;
To the silent and wise | does ill come seldom
When he goes as guest to a house;
(For a faster friend | one never finds
Than wisdom tried and true.)

7. The knowing guest | who goes to the feast,

In silent attention sits;
With his ears he hears, | with his eyes he watches,
Thus wary are wise men all.

[31]

8. Happy the one | who wins for himself

Favor and praises fair;
Less safe by far | is the wisdom found
That is hid in another’s heart.

9. Happy the man | who has while he lives

Wisdom and praise as well,
For evil counsel | a man full oft
Has from another’s heart.

10. A better burden | may no man bear

For wanderings wide than wisdom;
It is better than wealth | on unknown ways,
And in grief a refuge it gives.
11. A better burden | may no man bear
For wanderings wide than wisdom;
Worse food for the journey | he brings not afield
Than an over-drinking of ale.

12. Less good there lies | than most believe

In ale for mortal men;
For the more he drinks | the less does man
Of his mind the mastery hold.

[32]

13. Over beer the bird | of forgetfulness broods,

And steals the minds of men;
With the heron’s feathers | fettered I lay
And in Gunnloth’s house was held.

14. Drunk I was, | I was dead-drunk,

When with Fjalar wise I was;
’Tis the best of drinking | if back one brings
His wisdom with him home.

15. The son of a king | shall be silent and wise,

And bold in battle as well;
Bravely and gladly | a man shall go,
Till the day of his death is come.

16. The sluggard believes | he shall live forever,