Step 6 of 8 · Resources, Work and Generosity
Gifts between friends
Why this step
The Hávamál’s own terms for friendship are reciprocal. In stanzas 41 and 42 friends gladden each other with weapons and clothes, and a gift is answered with a gift. This is the poem’s side of the argument Gebo just raised: here giving back is part of what lets a friendship last, not a form of scorekeeping.
The text, stanzas 41–42
41.
With raiment and arms shall friends gladden each other,
so has one proved oneself;
for friends last longest, if fate be fair
who give and give again.
42.
To his friend a man should bear him as friend,
and gift for gift bestow,
laughter for laughter let him exchange,
but leasing pay for a lie.
- Olive Bray (editor and translator), The Elder or Poetic Edda, Commonly Known as Sæmund’s Edda, part I: The Mythological Poems (opens in a new tab) (1908), stanzas 41–42 (Bray’s numbering) Rights: Public domain. Published in 1908, so in the public domain in the United States. Text as edited online by D. L. Ashliman, Folklore and Mythology Electronic Texts, University of Pittsburgh.
From the Lorebook
In the guest’s section, friendship is something kept up by giving and giving back.