Slow Havamal: 112

[kylec]

In verse 112, Odin counsels Loddfafnir not to rise at night, unless to spy on an enemy, or take a leak.

Thus begins a series of verses in which Odin counsels someone named Loddfafnir on many things. We don’t know much about the man, but Odin says he’ll profit to learn from the advice.

There are many good reasons not to rise at night. An earlier verse pointed out that losing sleep will never help you accomplish what you intend the following day. Further, night was a different prospect to a 10th century Norseman. There were no lights to guide him. He could stub a toe, or worse. Night, as admitted in this verse, was also the domain of evildoers. Spies and highwaymen lurked in the dark. Maybe sorcerers plied their vile works by the moon. To remain in bed is not only to avoid these characters, but to avoid becoming one of them.

Provisions are made for spying, of course. Odin’s advice is never to turn the other cheek. Havamal often encourages us to take proactive measures toward those who would harm us, and not to let them get away with their misbehavior. You can count campfires by night to estimate your enemy’s strength. You can also catch an individual at the kinds of deeds mentioned earlier—something Odin found out when he visited Billing’s girl. There is little for an honest man at that hour other than to answer nature’s call.

In 2023, we can of course flip on a light and do many productive things. A lot of sleep is lost in the name of “productivity.” We stare at little blue screens well into the night, or stay out late drinking. Some poor souls even work the graveyard shift. Present man has many more temptations luring him from his bed. But are they enough to ignore Odin’s advice? Arguably, his counsel applies as well to a TV binge as it does a fretting warrior pacing his darkened camp on the eve of battle. Few things benefit us more at midnight than revitalizing sleep.