Random translation fun

[llama_nom]

> whirling wheels

Old Norse has an expression 'hverfanda hvél' "whirling wheel".  In
Alvíssmál it's said to be the name by which people in hell call the
moon (which whirls or turns around the sky).  In Hávamál and
elsewhere, the expression is a proverbial metaphor for
untrustworthiness: 'Á hverfanda hvéli váru þeim hjörtu sköpuð' "their
hearts were shaped on a whirling wheel."  Admittedly in Gothic
'hvairban' is used with the meaning "to walk", but there is also in
Gothic the adjective 'hveilahvairbs' "transient, temporary, not
lasting", which seems reminiscent of the Old Norse use.  So maybe we
could justify using the verb in this context as a poetic fixed expression.

Llama Nom

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