{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_33471/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_33471","id":"gutenberg_33471","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/33471","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Folk songs, Scandinavian","Old Norse literature -- Translations into English","Sagas"],"text":"Produced by Lesley Halamek, Ted Garvin and the Online\nDistributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n  STORIES AND BALLADS\n  OF THE FAR PAST\n\n  TRANSLATED FROM THE NORSE\n  (ICELANDIC AND FAROESE)\n  WITH INTRODUCTIONS AND NOTES\n\n  BY\n\n  N. KERSHAW\n\n  CAMBRIDGE\n  AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS\n  1921\n\n\n\n\nPRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN\n\n\n\n\nPreface\n\n\nVery few of the _Fornaldar S\u02c6gur Northrlanda_ have hitherto been\ntranslated into English. The _V\u02c6lsungasaga_ is of course well known,\nbut with this exception the 'Stories of Icelanders,' and the 'Stories\nof the Kings of Norway' are probably the only sagas familiar to the\nmajority of English readers. Of the four sagas contained in this\nvolume only one--the _Th\u00b7ttr of S\u02c6rli_--has appeared in English\nbefore, though the poetry which they contain has frequently been\ntranslated, from the time of Hickes's _Thesaurus_ (1705). So far as\nI am aware no version of any of the Faroese ballads has appeared in\nEnglish. Out of the great number which were collected during the\n18th and 19th centuries I have chosen a few which deal with the same\nstories as the sagas translated here; and for purposes of comparison I\nhave added a short extract from one of the Icelandic _R\u00ccmur_, as well\nas a Danish ballad and part of the Shetland _Hildina_.\n\nIn accordance with general custom in works of this kind I have\ndiscarded the use of accents, unfamiliar symbols, etc., except in a\nfew Norse words which can hardly be anglicised.\n\nMy thanks are due to the Syndics of the Cambridge University Press for\nundertaking the publication of this book, and to the staff for their\nunfailing courtesy.\n\nTo Professor Thuren of Christiania I am indebted for kindly allowing\nme to print the melodies from his son's _Folkesangen paa F\u00car\u00aferne_. I\nhave also to thank many friends in St Andrews and Cambridge for\nhelp which they have kindly given to me in various ways, including\nProfessor Lawson, Dr Maitland Anderson and the staffs of the two\nUniversity Libraries, and Mr B. Dickins. Especially I wish to thank\nProfessor Chadwick to whom I am indebted for constant help and advice\nthroughout the book.\n\n  N. K.\n\n  _2 November, 1920._\n\n\n\n\nTable of Contents\n\n\n  PART I\n\n  SAGAS\n  PAGE\n  General Introduction                              3\n  The Th\u00b7ttr of Nornagest                          11\n  The Th\u00b7ttr of S\u02c6rli                              38\n  The Saga of Hromund Greipsson                    58\n  The Saga of Herv\u02c6r and Heithrek                  79\n  Appendix to Part I (The Combat at Sams\u00af\n  and Hjalmar's Death Song)                       144\n\n\n  PART II\n\n  BALLADS\n\n  General Introduction                            153\n  Gr\u00ccplur I                                       171\n  The Faroese Ballad of Nornagest                 176\n  The Faroese Ballad of Hjalmar and Angantyr      182\n  The Danish Ballad of Angelfyr and Helmer        186\n  The Faroese Ballad of Arngrim's Sons            193\n  The Faroese Riddle Ballad (G\u00b7tu R\u00ccma)           212\n  The Shetland Ballad of Hildina                  217\n\n  Notes                                           220\n  List of editions and translations               254\n\n\n\n\nTO MY SISTER\n\n\n\n\nPART I\n\nSAGAS\n\n\n\n\nTHE SAGAS\n\nGENERAL INTRODUCTION\n\n\nThe following stories are taken from the _Fornaldars\u02c6gur Northrlanda_,\nor 'Stories of Ancient Times relating to the countries of the\nNorth'--a collection of Sagas edited by Rafn in 1829-30 and re-edited\nby Valdimar \u00a1smundarson in 1886-1891. The stories contained in this\ncollection deal almost exclusively with times anterior to Harold the\nFairhaired (c. 860-930) and the colonisation of Iceland, and stop\ntherefore where the better known stories relating to Iceland and the\nhistorical kings of Norway begin. Some of them relate to persons and\nevents of the ninth century, while others are concerned with times\nas remote as the fourth or fifth centuries. Their historical value is\nnaturally far inferior to that of the _\u00d5slendinga S\u02c6gur_, or 'Stories\nof Icelanders' and the _Konunga S\u02c6gur_, or 'Stories of the Kings.'\n\nFrom the literary point of view also the 'Stories of Ancient Times'\nare generally much inferior to the others. The 'Stories of Icelanders'\nare derived from oral tradition, which generally goes back in more\nor less fixed form to the time at which the characters in the stories\nlived, and they give us a vivid picture of the persons themselves and\nof the conditions of life in their time. In the 'Stories of Ancient\nTimes,' on the other hand, though there is some element derived from\ntradition, often apparently of a local character, it is generally very\nmeagre. More often perhaps the source of the stories is to be found in\npoems, notable instances of which will be found in _Hervarar Saga_ and\nin _V\u02c6lsunga Saga_. In many cases, however, the stories without doubt\ncontain a large proportion of purely fictitious matter.\n\nThe texts of the 'Stories of Ancient Times' which have come down to us\ndate as a rule from the thirteenth and the beginning of the fourteenth\ncenturies though the actual MSS. themselves are generally later. Most\nof the stories, however, were probably in existence before this time.\nThe Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus (c. 1200) was familiar with many\nof them, including the story of Hethin and H\u02c6gni[1] and one of the\nscenes recorded in _Hervarar Saga_[2]. And we are told that a story\nwhich seems to have corresponded, in its main outlines at least, to\nthe story of Hromund Greipsson was composed and recited at a wedding\nin Iceland in 1119[3]. But in many cases the materials of our\nstories were far earlier than this, though they no doubt underwent\nconsiderable changes before they assumed their present form.\n\nIndeed many stages in the literary history of the North are\nrepresented in the following translations. Of these probably the\noldest is that section of the _Hervarar Saga_ which deals with the\nbattle between the Goths and the Huns \"at Dylgia and on Dunheith and\nupon all the heights of J\u02c6sur.\" The poetry here included in the saga\ndates even in its present form probably from the Viking Age, perhaps\nfrom the tenth century. But the verses themselves do not appear to be\nall of the same date. Some of them show a certain elaboration and\na sense of conscious art, while others are comparatively bare and\nprimitive in type and contain very early features[4]; and there is\nevery probability that such poetry was ultimately derived from poetry\ncomposed at a time when the Goths were still remembered. This is not\nsurprising in view of the fact that stories relating to the Goths were\npopular in English and German heroic poetry, as well as in the heroic\nlays of the North. Indeed we know from Jordanes[5] and elsewhere that\nheroic poetry was common among the Goths themselves and that they were\nwont to celebrate the deeds of their ancestors in verse sung to the\naccompaniment of the harp.\n\nThis poem is no doubt much older than the saga. Originally it would\nseem to have been complete in itself; but many verses have probably\nbeen lost. Thus there can be little doubt that the prose passages in\nchs. XII-XV are often merely a paraphrase of lost verses, though it\nmust not be assumed that all the prose in this portion of the saga\noriginated in such a way[6]. \"It is difficult to tell ... where the\nprose of the manuscripts is to be taken as standing in the place\nof lost narrative verses, and where it fills a gap that was never\nintended to be filled with verse, but was always left to the reciter\nto be supplied in his own way[7].\" The difficulty, however, is greater\nin some cases than in others. The following picturesque passage\nfrom the opening of ch. 14 of the _Hervarar Saga_ is a very probable\ninstance of a paraphrase of lost verses:\n\n    It happened one morning at sunrise that as Herv\u02c6r was standing\n    on the summit of a tower over the gate of the fortress, she\n    looked southwards towards the forest and saw clouds of dust,\n    arising from a great body of horse, by which the sun was\n    hidden for a long time. Next she saw a gleam beneath the dust,\n    as though she were gazing on a mass of gold--fair shields\n    overlaid with gold, gilded helmets and white corslets.\n\nThe motif of a chief or his lady standing on the pinnacle of a tower\nof the fort and looking out over the surrounding country for an\napproaching army is a very common one in ballads. The motif of the\nabove passage from _Hervarar Saga_, including the armour of the foe\nand the shining shields, occurs in the opening stanzas of the Danish\nBallad _De vare syv og syvsindstyve_[8], which probably dates from\nthe fourteenth century (though it may possibly be later[9]) and which\nderives its material ultimately from old heroic lays[10].\n\nTo the same period approximately as the poem on the battle with the\nHuns belong the two pieces from the _Older Edda_ contained in the\n_Th\u00b7ttr[11] of Nornagest_. The _Reginsm\u00b7l_ indeed, of which only about\nhalf is quoted, may be even earlier than the former (in the form in\nwhich it appears in _Hervarar Saga_), while the _Hellride of Brynhild_\ncan hardly be later than the early part of the eleventh century.\n\nA second stage in the literary history of the North is represented\nby the 'episodic' poems _Hjalmar's Death Song_ and the _Waking of\nAngantyr_, both of which are attributed to the twelfth century by\nHeusler and Ranisch[12]. Unlike the poem on the battle between the\nGoths and the Huns, neither of these forms a story complete in\nitself. They presuppose the existence of a saga in some form or other,\npresumably oral, dealing at least with the fight at Sams\u00af; and the\nexistence of such a saga in the twelfth century is confirmed by the\naccount of the same event given by Saxo[13].\n\nA third stage in the literary development of the heroic legends is\nrepresented by the written saga itself, which has evidently been\nformed by the welding together, with more or less skill as the case\nmay be, of several distinct stories, and of more than one literary\nform. A particularly striking instance of this is to be found in the\n_Hervarar Saga_ with its stories of the Heroic and Viking Ages,\nthe poems dealing with the fight on Sams\u00af, the primitive Riddles of\nGestumblindi and the early poem of the battle between the Goths and\nHuns[14]. Something of the same kind has also taken place in the\ncomposition of the _Th\u00cattir of Nornagest_ and of _S\u02c6rli_ respectively,\nthough into the former has entered a considerable element of folk-tale\nwhich is introduced with a certain _na\u00d4vet\u00c8_ and no little skill\nalongside the old heroic legends. As has been already mentioned, these\nthree sagas, like others of the same type, appear to have been written\ndown in the late thirteenth or the early years of the fourteenth\ncentury. On the other hand most if not the whole of the _Saga of\nHromund Greipsson_ appears to have been composed early in the twelfth\ncentury, but we do not know when it was first written down.\n\nA fourth stage is represented by the Icelandic _R\u00ccmur_ which are for\nthe most part rhyming metrical versions of the sagas and which date\nfrom the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. As an illustration of\nthis stage I have translated a few stanzas from the _Gr\u00ccplur_, a\n_R\u00ccma_ based on an early form of the story of Hromund Greipsson[15].\nThe _R\u00ccmur_ are, so far as we can judge, somewhat wearisome\nparaphrases of the prose stories, and while the metre and diction\nare elaborate in the extreme, the treatment of the story is often\nmechanical and puerile. Comparatively few of the _R\u00ccmur_ have as yet\nbeen published and the _Gr\u00ccplur_ is the only one known to me which is\nprimarily concerned with any of the sagas contained in this volume.\n\nThe ballads, both Faroese and Danish[16], belong to a fifth stage in\nthe life of heroic legend in the North; but their origin and history\nis by no means so clear as that of the _R\u00ccmur_, and it is at present\nimpossible to assign even approximate dates to more than a few of\nthem with any degree of certainty. I have touched on this question at\nsomewhat greater length below[17]; and I would only add here that\nsome Danish and Swedish ballads, e.g. _Ung Sveidal_[18], _Thord af\nHaffsgaard_[19] and perhaps _Her Aage_[20], appear to be derived more\nor less directly from poems of the Viking Age, such as _Fj\u02c6lsvinsm\u00b7l_,\n_Thrymskvitha_ and _Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I_--without any\nintermediate prose stage.\n\nA careful study of the Faroese ballads as a whole might enable one\nto determine something more of the relation of ballads to\n'Literature'[21] and of the various ballad forms to one another, such\nas that of the short and simple _Ballad of Hjalmar and Angantyr_\nto the longer and more complicated _Ballad of Arngrims Sons_.\nSimplification and confusion are among the chief characteristics of\npopular poetry[22]; but it is to be noted that in the case of\nthe _Hervarar Saga_ confusion set in long before the days of the\nballad--as early as the saga itself, where there must surely be at\nleast one case of repetition of character[23]. In reality, considering\nthrough how many stages the ballad material has passed, one is amazed\nat the vitality of the stories and the amount of original groundwork\npreserved. A careful comparison of the _V\u02c6lsunga Saga_ and the Faroese\ncycle of ballads generally classed together as _Sj\u02d9r\uf8ffar Kv\u00ca\uf8ffi_--which,\nbe it observed, were never written down at all till the nineteenth\ncentury--brings out to a degree literally amazing the conservatism of\nthe ballads on the old heroic themes.\n\nReaders who desire to make further acquaintance with the 'Stories of\nAncient Times' as a whole will find a further account of the subject\nin Professor Craigie's _Icelandic Sagas_ (p. 92 ff.). More detailed\naccounts will be found in Finnur J\u00dbnsson's _Oldnorske og Oldislandske\nLitteraturs Historie_[24], Vol. II, pp. 789-847, and in Mogk's\n_Geschichte der Altnordischen Literatur_ in Paul's _Grundriss der\nGermanischen Philologie_, Ed. II, 1904, Vol. II, pp. 830-857, while a\ndiscussion of the heroic stories will be found in Professor Chadwick's\n_Heroic Age_, chs. I-VIII. For a full bibliography of the texts,\ntranslations, and general literature dealing with the _Fornaldars\u02c6gur_\ncollectively, see the annual _Islandica_, Vol. V, pp. 1-9, compiled\nby Halld\u00dbr Hermannsson and issued by the Cornell University Library,\n1912.\n\n    [Footnote 1: Cf. Saxo Grammaticus, _Dan. Hist._, Book V, p.\n    160 (Elton's translation, pp. 197, 198).]\n\n    [Footnote 2: Cf. Saxo, _op. cit._, Book V, p. 166 (Elton's\n    translation, p. 205).]\n\n    [Footnote 3: Cf. Introduction to the _Saga of Hromund\n    Greipsson_, p. 58 below.]\n\n    [Footnote 4: Cf. Heusler and Ranisch, _Eddica Minora_\n    (Dortmund, 1903) p. xii.]\n\n    [Footnote 5: _De Origine Actibusque Getarum_ (transl. C.C.\n    Mierow, Princeton, 1915), cap. 5.]\n\n    [Footnote 6: Cf. Heusler and Ranisch, _op. cit._, p. x ff.]\n\n    [Footnote 7: Ker, _Epic and Romance_ (London, 1908, 2nd ed.),\n    p. 112.]\n\n    [Footnote 8: S. Grundtvig, _Danmarks Gamle Folkeviser_\n    (Copenhagen, 1853-1890), Bd I, no. 7.]\n\n    [Footnote 9: See General Introduction to Part II, p. 166\n    below.]\n\n    [Footnote 10: Cf. Axel Olrik, _Danske Folkeviser \u00cc Udvalg_\n    (Copenhagen and Christiania, 1913), pp. 81, 82.]\n\n    [Footnote 11: A. _Th\u00b7ttr_ (pl. _Th\u00cattir_) is a story within a\n    story--an episode complete in itself but contained in a long\n    saga.]\n\n    [Footnote 12: _Eddica Minora_, pp. xxi, xlii.]\n\n    [Footnote 13: _Op. cit._, Book V, p. 166 (Elton's translation,\n    pp. 204, 205).]\n\n    [Footnote 14: See Introduction to the _Hervarar Saga_, pp.\n    81-4 below.]\n\n    [Footnote 15: See Introduction to the _Gr\u00ccplur_, p. 171 ff.\n    below.]\n\n    [Footnote 16: Cf. p. 165 ff. below.]\n\n    [Footnote 17: Cf. General Introduction to Part II, p. 166\n    below.]\n\n    [Footnote 18: Bugge's edition of the _Saemundar Edda_, p. 352\n    ff.; also Ker, _Epic and Romance_, p. 114 etc.; Vigf\u02d9sson and\n    Powell, _Corpus Poeticum Boreale_ (Oxford, 1883), Vol. I, p.\n    501 ff.]\n\n    [Footnote 19: _C. P. B._, Vol. I, pp. 175 and 501 ff.]\n\n    [Footnote 20: _C. P. B._, Vol. I, p. 502 ff.]\n\n    [Footnote 21: Always, however, with the proviso that, owing\n    to the avowed literary origin of many of them, the Faroese\n    ballads to some extent form a class by themselves; cf. General\n    Introduction to Part II, p. 166 below.]\n\n    [Footnote 22: Cf. Chadwick, _The Heroic Age_ (Cambridge,\n    1912), p. 95.]\n\n    [Footnote 23: Cf. the Introduction to the _Saga of Herv\u02c6r and\n    Heithrek_, p. 81 f. below.]\n\n    [Footnote 24: Copenhagen, 1901.]\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION TO THE TH\u00a1TTR OF NORNAGEST\n\n\nThis story occurs as an episode in the long _Saga of Olaf\nTryggvason_--to be distinguished from the shorter _Saga of Olaf\nTryggvason_ contained in the _Heimskringla_ and translated by Morris\nand Magn\u02d9sson in the _Saga Library_[1]. The best known manuscript\n(_F_) of the longer saga is the _Flateyjarb\u00dbk_ which comes from the\nisland of Flatey in Breithifj\u02c6rth off the west of Iceland, and was\nwritten between 1386 and 1394. The second (_S_) is the Codex _Arn.\nMagn. 62_ in the Royal Library (at Copenhagen), which, like the\nformer, contains a fragment only of the _Saga of Olaf Tryggvason_,\nbut includes the _Th\u00b7ttr of Nornagest_. This MS. dates, in all\nprobability, from shortly after the middle of the fourteenth\ncentury. Finally, besides several paper MSS. (comparatively late and\nunimportant), there is a MS. _A_ (number 2845 of the Royal Library at\nCopenhagen) dating from the fifteenth century, in which the _th\u00b7ttr_\nstands by itself.\n\nRafn[2], in his edition of the _Fornaldars\u02c6gur_, based his text of the\n_th\u00b7ttr_ on _A_; but subsequent examination has rendered it probable\nthat this MS. is hardly independent of _F_ which gives an earlier and\nbetter text. As regards MSS. _F_ and _S_, the latter frequently gives\na better reading than the former[3]. For this reason it was followed\nby Bugge[4] who believed it to be the better source. Wilken[5] however\nheld that _F_ represents the 'Vulgate' of the _th\u00b7ttr_, while _S_\ngives a corrected and edited version. In his edition, therefore, he\nchiefly followed _F_, though he made use of _S_ throughout, and also\n(for the poems) the _Codex Regius_ of the Older Edda. His example has\nbeen followed by later editors, including Valdimar \u00a1smundarson[6],\nfrom whose version the following translation has been made. The\ndifferences between all three MSS. appear to be very slight, but\n\u00a1smundarson's edition approximates more closely to Wilken's than to\nRafn's. Indeed the variations between the texts of Wilken's second\nedition[7] and \u00a1smundarson are negligible. For a full bibliography of\ntexts, translations, and literature relating to this saga the reader\nis referred to _Islandica_, Vol. V, p. 32.\n\nThe saga itself dates from about 1300[8]. It is derived from\ntradition, mainly Icelandic; but the various stories contained in\nit differ greatly from one another in their historical value. This\nepisode is probably to be regarded as legendary in part; and it would\nseem also to contain a good deal of conscious fiction.\n\nThe _th\u00b7ttr_ falls naturally into three parts. The framework of\nthe story--the arrival of Guest at the hall of Olaf Tryggvason, his\ninclusion in the King's retinue, and his baptism--forms a whole in\nitself and contains nothing inherently improbable save the manner of\nhis death, where the folk-tale element creeps in. The first 'story\nwithin a story,' the account that Guest gives of his wanderings and\nmore especially of the adventures of Sigurth, is legendary--or perhaps\nrather made up from old legends with the help of the _Edda_ poems. As\nin the case of the Anglo-Saxon poem _Widsith_--and indeed to a much\ngreater extent--the persons who figure in the stranger's stories lived\nin reality in widely different ages. Sigurth and his brothers-in-law\nbelong to the early part of the fifth century, Harold the Fairhaired\nand the sons of Lothbrok to the latter part of the ninth century.\nOther characters such as Guthmund of Glasisvellir who is mentioned in\nthe first chapters are probably mythical.\n\nThe third part, which is perhaps the most interesting part of the\n_th\u00b7ttr_, is the passage in which Guest explains how he came by his\nname. There can be no doubt that here we are in the region of pure\nfolk-tale. The story of the visit of the Norns shows a very remarkable\nresemblance to the Greek legend of Althaea and Meleager. The same\nmotif appears to some extent in the mediaeval French romances of\n_Ogier the Dane_, and is familiar to everyone in a slightly different\nform as the first part of the German folk-tale, _Sleeping Beauty_,\nwhere the reference to spinning should be noted.\n\nThe poetry contained in this _th\u00b7ttr_, unlike that in the _Hervarar\nSaga_, is all taken from the _Older Edda_. One of the poems, the\n_Hellride of Brynhild_, is given almost complete and there are long\nextracts from _Reginsm\u00b7l_. There are, however, some references to\npoems which no longer exist[9].\n\nIn many respects the story of Nornagest is among the most interesting\nof the Romantic Sagas. It gives a vivid picture of life in a northern\ncourt--the _na\u00d4vet\u00c8_ and friendliness of the conversation; the\npersonal interest that the King took in his men; the intimacy and\ndirectness and simplicity of the intercourse between them. There is\nsomething, too, of the same boyish indulgence--e.g. in King Olaf's\nattitude towards the wager--which one notices in Hrolf Kraki's talk\nwith V\u02c6gg[10]. Yet combined with the amiability of both kings is a\ncertain natural dignity which is very convincing.\n\n    [Footnote 1: An abridged translation of the longer saga by\n    J. Sephton is published in the _Northern Library_, Vol. II\n    (London, 1898).]\n\n    [Footnote 2: _Fornaldars\u02c6gur Northrlanda_ (Copenhagen, 1829),\n    Introduction, pp. xix, xx.]\n\n    [Footnote 3: Wilken, _Die Prosaische Edda nebst V\u02c6lsungasaga\n    und Nornageststh\u00b7ttr_ (Paderborn, 1877), p. lxxxv ff.]\n\n    [Footnote 4: _Norr\u00afne Skrifter af Sagnhistorisk Indhold_\n    (Christiania, 1873).]\n\n    [Footnote 5: _Op. cit._, p. lxxxviii.]\n\n    [Footnote 6: See _Fornaldars\u02c6gur Northrlanda_ (Reykjav\u00cck,\n    1891), Vol. I, pp. 247-266.]\n\n    [Footnote 7: The second edition follows the _Codex Regius_ in\n    the text of the poems included in the _Th\u00b7ttr_ more closely\n    than did the first edition.]\n\n    [Footnote 8: Cf. Finnur J\u00dbnsson, _Den Oldnorske og\n    Oldislandske Litteraturs Historie_, Vol. II, p. 847; also\n    Mogk, _Norwegisch-Isl\u2030ndischen Literatur_ (Strassburg, 1904),\n    p. 822.]\n\n    [Footnote 9: Cf. p. 19 below and note (p. 222).]\n\n    [Footnote 10: Cf. _Sk\u00b7ldskaparm\u00b7l_, ch. 3; also _Hr\u00dblfs Saga\n    Kraka_, ch. 42.]\n\n\nTHE TH\u00a1TTR OF NORNAGEST\n\nI. The story goes that on one occasion when King Olaf Tryggvason was\nliving at Trondhjem, it chanced that a man came to him late in the day\nand addressed him respectfully. The King welcomed him and asked him\nwho he was, and he said that his name was Guest.\n\nThe King answered: \"You shall be guest here, whatever you are called.\"\n\nGuest said: \"I have told you my name truly, Sire, and I will gladly\nreceive your hospitality if I may.\"\n\nThe King told him he could have it readily. But since the day was far\nspent, the King would not enter into conversation with his guest; for\nhe was going soon to vespers, and after that to dinner, and then to\nbed and to sleep.\n\nNow on that same night King Olaf Tryggvason was lying awake in his\nbed and saying his prayers, while all the other men in the hall were\nasleep. Then the King noticed that an elf or spirit of some kind had\ncome into the hall, though all the doors were locked. He made his way\npast the beds of the men who were asleep there, one after another, and\nat last reached the bed of a man at the far end.\n\nThen the elf stopped and said: \"An empty house, and a mighty strong\nbolt on the door! People say that the King is the wisest of men. If he\nwere as clever in things of this kind as they say he would not sleep\nso soundly.\"\n\nAfter that he vanished through the door, locked as it was.\n\nEarly next morning the King sent his servant to find out who had\noccupied that bed over night, and it proved to have been the stranger.\nThe King ordered him to be summoned before him and asked him whose son\nhe was.\n\nHe answered: \"My father's name was Thorth. He was a Dane and was\ncalled 'The Contentious,' and lived at a place called Groening in\nDenmark.\"\n\n\"You are a well set-up man,\" said the King.\n\nGuest was bold of speech, and bigger in build than most men. He looked\nstrong but was somewhat advanced in years. He asked the King if he\nmight stay for a while in his retinue. The King asked if he were\nbaptised. Guest said that he had been prime-signed but not baptised.\nThe King said that he was free to remain in his retinue, but added:\n\n\"You will not remain long unbaptised with me.\"\n\nThe reason for the elf's remark about the bolt was that Guest had\ncrossed himself, that evening like other men, but was in reality still\na heathen.\n\nThe King said: \"Can you do anything in the way of sport or music?\"\n\nHe replied that he could play the harp and tell stories which people\nenjoyed.\n\nThen said the King: \"King Svein has no right to let unbaptised men\nleave his kingdom and wander about from one country to another.\"\n\nGuest replied: \"You must not blame the King of the Danes for this,\nfor it is a long time since I left Denmark. In fact it was a long time\nbefore the Emperor Otto burnt the Dane-work and forced King Harold\nGormsson and Earl Haakon the Heathen to become Christians.\"\n\nThe King questioned Guest about many subjects and he always gave him\ngood and intelligent answers. Men say that it was in the third year of\nKing Olaf's reign that Guest came to him.\n\nIn this year also there came to him two men called Grim who were sent\nby Guthmund from Glasisvellir. They brought to the King as a present\nfrom Guthmund two horns which were also called 'Grim.' They had also\nsome further business with the King which we will return later.\n\nAs for Guest, he remained with the King, and had a place at the far\nend of the visitors' seats. He was a man of breeding and had good\nmanners, and was popular and much respected by everyone.\n\nII. A little before Yule, Ulf the Red and his following came home. He\nhad been engaged on the King's business all summer, for he had been\nappointed to guard the coasts of 'The Bay' against Danish raids. He\nnever failed to be with King Olaf at mid-winter.\n\nUlf had many fine treasures to bring to the King, which he had got\nduring the summer, and one gold ring in particular which was called\nHnituth. It was welded together in seven places and each piece had a\ndifferent colour. It was made of much finer gold than rings usually\nare. The ring had been given to Ulf by a landowner called Lothmund,\nand before that it had belonged to King Half, from whom the\nHalfsrekkar take their name. The ring had come to them as forced\ntribute from King Halfdan Ylfing. Lothmund had asked Ulf in return for\nit that he would guard his home with the support of King Olaf, and Ulf\nhad promised to do so.\n\nNow King Olaf was keeping Yule in magnificent style at his court in\nTrondhjem; and it was on the eighth day of Yule that Ulf gave him the\ngold ring Hnituth. The King thanked him for the gift as well as for\nall the faithful service which he had constantly rendered him.\n\nThe ring was passed round the building in which the drinking was going\non.--As yet no halls had been built in Norway. Now each man showed it\nto his neighbour and they thought that they had never seen such\nfine gold as that of which the ring was made. At last it came to the\nguest-table, and so to the guest who had just arrived. He looked at\nthe ring and handed it back on the palm of his hand--the hand in which\nhe had been holding his drinking horn. He was not much impressed with\nthe treasure, and made no remarks about it, but went on jesting with\nhis companions. A serving-man was pouring out drink at the end of the\nguest-table.\n\n\"Do you not like the ring?\" he asked.\n\nThey said; \"We all like it very much except the new-comer. He can't\nsee anything in it; but we think he can't appreciate it simply because\nhe doesn't care for things of this kind.\"\n\nThe serving-man went up the hall to the King and told him exactly what\nthe guests had said, adding that, the new-comer had taken little note\nof the treasure, valuable as it was, when it was shown to him.\n\nThen the King remarked: \"The new-comer probably knows more than you\nthink: he must come to me in the morning and tell me a story.\"\n\nNow he and the other guests at the farthest table were talking among\nthemselves. They asked the new-comer where he had seen a better ring\nor even one as good as this.\n\n\"Since you evidently think it strange,\" said he, \"that I make so\nlittle of it, I may say that I have certainly seen gold which is in no\nway inferior, but actually better.\"\n\nThe King's men now laughed heartily and said that that promised good\nsport, adding:\n\n\"Will you agree to wager with us that you have seen gold as good as\nthis, and prove it? We will stake four marks in current coin against\nyour knife and belt; and the King shall decide who is in the right.\"\n\nThen said Guest: \"I will neither be made a laughing-stock for you nor\nfail to keep the wager which you offer. And I will certainly lay a\nwager with you on the spot, and stake exactly what you have suggested,\nand the King shall judge who is in the right.\"\n\nThen they stopped talking, and Guest took his harp and played it well\ntill far into the evening, so that it was a joy to all who heard him.\nWhat he rendered best was _The Harping of Gunnar_; and last of all he\nplayed the ancient _Wiles of Guthrun_, neither of which they had heard\nbefore. And after that they went to sleep for the night.\n\nIII. In the morning the King rose early and heard Mass; and after that\nhe went to breakfast with his retinue. And when he had taken his place\nin the high seat, the guests came up to him, and Guest with them; and\nthey told him all about their agreement and the wager which they had\nmade.\n\n\"I am not much taken with your wager,\" replied the King, \"although it\nis your own money that you are staking. I suspect that the drink must\nhave gone to your heads; and I think you would do well to give it up,\nespecially if Guest agrees.\"\n\n\"My wish is,\" replied Guest, \"that the whole agreement should stand.\"\n\n\"It looks to me, Guest,\" said the King, \"as if it was my men rather\nthan you whose tongues have got them into trouble; but we will soon\nput it to the test.\"\n\nAfter that they left him and went to drink; and when the drinking\ntables were removed, the King summoned Guest and spoke to him as\nfollows:\n\n\"Now is the time for you to produce the gold if you have any, so that\nI can decide your wager.\"\n\n\"As you will, Sire!\" replied Guest.\n\nThen he felt in a pouch which he had with him, and took out of it a\nfob which he untied, and then handed something to the King.\n\nThe King saw that it was a piece of a saddle-buckle and that it was of\nexceedingly fine gold. Then he bade them bring the ring Hnituth; and\nwhen they did so, the King compared the ring and the piece of gold and\nsaid:\n\n\"I have no doubt whatever that the gold which Guest has shown us is\nthe finer, and anyone who looks at it must think so too.\"\n\nEverybody agreed with the King. Then he decided the wager in Guest's\nfavour, and the other guests came to the conclusion that they had made\nfools of themselves over the business.\n\nThen Guest said: \"Take your money and keep it yourselves, for I don't\nneed it; but don't make any more wagers with strangers, for you never\nknow when you may hit upon someone who has both seen and heard more\nthan you have.--I thank you, Sire, for your decision!\"\n\nThen the King said: \"Now I want you to tell me where you got that gold\nfrom, which you carry about with you.\"\n\nGuest replied: \"I am loth to tell you, because no-one will believe\nwhat I have to say about it.\"\n\n\"Let us hear it all the same,\" said the King, \"for you promised before\nthat you would tell us your story.\"\n\n\"If I tell you the history of this piece of gold,\" replied Guest, \"I\nexpect you will want to hear the rest of my story along with it.\"\n\n\"I expect that that is just what will happen,\" said the King.\n\nIV. \"Then I will tell you how once I went south into the land of the\nFranks. I wanted to see for myself what sort of a prince Sigurth the\nson of Sigmund was, and to discover if the reports which had reached\nme of his great beauty and courage were true. Nothing happened\nworth mentioning until I came to the land of the Franks and met\nKing Hjalprek. He had a great court around him. Sigurth, the son of\nSigmund, the son of V\u02c6lsung, and of Hj\u02c6rdis, the daughter of Eylimi,\nwas there at that time. Sigmund had fallen in battle against the sons\nof Hunding, and Hj\u02c6rdis had married Alf the son of King Hjalprek.\nThere Sigurth grew up together with all the other sons of King\nSigmund. Among these were Sinfj\u02c6tli and Helgi, who surpassed all men\nin strength and stature. Helgi slew King Hunding, thereby earning the\nname Hundingsbani. The third son was called Hamund. Sigurth, however,\noutstripped all his brothers, and it is a well-known fact that he was\nthe noblest of all warrior princes, and the very model of a king in\nheathen times.\n\nAt that time, Regin, the son of Hreithmar, had also come to King\nHjalprek. He was a dwarf in stature, but there was no-one more cunning\nthan he. He was a wise man, but malign and skilled in magic. Regin\ntaught Sigurth many things and was devoted to him. He told him about\nhis birth and his wondrous adventures.\n\nAnd when I had been there a little while, I entered Sigurth's service\nlike many others. He was very popular with everybody, because he was\nfriendly and unassuming, and generous to all.\n\nV. It chanced one day that we came to Regin's house and Sigurth was\nmade welcome there. Then Regin spoke these verses:\n\n  The son of Sigmund cometh to our hall,\n  A valiant warrior. It must needs befall\n  That I, less doughty and oppressed with age,\n  Shall fall a victim to his wolfish rage.\n\n  But I will cherish Yngvi's valorous heir,\n  Since Fate hath sent him hither to our care,\n  Train him to be, in valour and in worth,\n  The mightiest and most famous prince on earth.\n\nAt this time, Sigurth was constantly in Regin's company. Regin told\nhim much about Fafnir--how he dwelt upon Gnitaheith in the form of a\nserpent, and also of his wondrous size. Regin made for Sigurth a sword\ncalled Gram. It was so sharp that when he thrust it into the River\nRhine it cut in two a flock of wool which he had dropped into the\nriver and which was drifting down stream, cutting it just as clean as\nit did the water itself. Later on, Sigurth clove Regin's stithy with\nthe sword. After that Regin urged Sigurth to slay his brother Fafnir\nand Sigurth recited this verse:\n\n  The sons of Hunding would laugh loud and high,\n  Who shed the life-blood of King Eylimi,\n  If that his grandson bold should more desire\n  Rings of red gold than vengeance for his sire.\n\nAfter that Sigurth made ready an expedition to attack the sons of\nHunding; and King Hjalprek gave him many men and some warships.\nHamund, Sisurth's brother, was with him on this venture, and so was\nRegin the dwarf. I was present too, and they called me Nornagest. King\nHjalprek had got to know me when he was in Denmark with Sigmund the\nson of V\u02c6lsung. At that time, Sigmund was married to Borghild, but\nthey parted because Borghild killed Sinfj\u02c6tli the son of Sigmund by\npoison. Then Sigmund went south to the land of the Franks and married\nHj\u02c6rdis, the daughter of King Eylimi. The sons of Hunding slew him, so\nSigurth had both his father and grandfather to avenge.\n\nHelgi, the son of Sigmund, who was called Hundingsbani, was the\nbrother of Sigurth who was afterwards called Fafnisbani. Helgi,\nSigurth's brother, had slain King Hunding and three of his sons,\nEyjulf, Hervarth, and Hj\u02c6rvarth, but Lyngvi and his two remaining\nbrothers, Alf and Heming, escaped. They were exceedingly famous for\nexploits and accomplishments of every kind; but Lyngvi surpassed all\nhis brothers. They were very skilled in magic. They had reduced many\npetty kings to subjection, and slain many champions, and burnt many\ncities. They had worked the greatest havoc with their raids in Spain\nand in the land of the Franks. But at that time the Imperial Power had\nnot yet been transferred to the regions north of the Alps. The sons of\nHunding had seized the realm which had belonged to Sigurth in the land\nof the Franks, and they had very large forces there.\n\nVI. Now I must tell you how Sigurth prepared for battle against the\nsons of Hunding. He had got together a large and well-armed host, and\nRegin was a mighty man in the councils of the force. He had a sword\nwhich was called Rithil and which he had forged himself. Sigurth asked\nRegin to lend him the sword. He did so, begging him to slay Fafnir\nwhen he should return from this adventure, and this Sigurth promised\nto do.\n\nAfter that we sailed away south along the coast, and then we met with\na great storm raised by witchcraft, and many believed that it had\nbeen stirred up by the sons of Hunding. After this we hugged the shore\nsomewhat more closely, and then we saw a man on a rocky promontory\nwhich jutted out from the cliffs. He wore a green cloak and dark\nbreeches, and had high laced boots on his feet, and carried a spear in\nhis hand. This man addressed us in the following stanza:\n\n  What folk are ye who ride the sea-king's steed,\n  Mounting the lofty billows, and proceed\n  Athwart the tossing main? Drenched is your sail,\n  Nor can your ships against the wind prevail.\n\nRegin replied:\n\n  Hither come we with Sigurth o'er the foam,\n  Whom ocean breezes blow to our last home.--\n  Full soon the breakers, higher than the prow\n  Will sink our 'ocean-steeds'; but who art thou?\n\nThe man in the cloak replied:\n\n  Hnikar the name men did for me employ,\n  Young V\u02c6lsung, when I gave the raven joy\n  Of carnage. Call me either of the two--\n  Fj\u02c6lnir or Feng, but let me fare with you.\n\nThen we steered towards the land and the wind fell immediately; and\nSigurth bade the man come on board. He did so, and a fair breeze\nsprang up. The man sat down at Sigurth's feet and was very friendly,\nasking if Sigurth would like to hear some advice from him. Sigurth\nsaid that he would, and added that he had an idea that Hnikar could\ngive people very helpful advice if he were willing to turn it to their\nadvantage. Then Sigurth said to the man in the cloak:\n\n  O Hnikar, since you know the destiny\n  Of gods and men, declare this unto me.--\n  Which are the omens that should most delight\n  When swords are swinging and a man must fight?\n\nHnikar replied:\n\n  Many propitious signs, if men could know,\n  Appear when swords are swinging to and fro.\n  I hold a warrior has a trusty guide\n  When a dark raven hovers at his side.\n\n  I hold it too for a propitious sign\n  If men to make a journey should design,\n  And, coming out of doors, see close at hand\n  Two gallant warriors in the pathway stand.\n\n  And if you hear beneath the rowan tree\n  A howling wolf, the sound spells luck to thee,\n  And luck shall helmed warriors bring to thee,\n  If thou such warriors art the first to see.\n\n  Facing the sinking and late shining light\n  Of the Moon's sister, warriors should not fight.\n  Victory is theirs who, eager for the fray,\n  Can clearly see to order their array.\n\n  I hold it no occasion for delight\n  When a man stumbles as he goes to fight;\n  For guileful spirits dog him on his way\n  With mischief-bearing looks throughout the fray\n\n  A man of wisdom, as each day goes past,\n  Washes, and combs his hair, and breaks his fast.\n  He knows not where by evening he may be.--\n  Stumbling is bad luck, boding ill to thee.\n\nAnd after that we sailed southwards along the coast of Holstein and to\nthe east of Friesland, and there we landed. The sons of Hunding heard\nat once of our expedition and gathered an army; and they soon had a\nlarger force than we had, and when we encountered them there was a\ngreat battle. Lyngvi was the most valiant of the brothers in every\nonset, though they all fought bravely. Sigurth's attack was so\nfierce that everyone shrank before him, when they saw that they were\nthreatened by the sword Gram. There was no need to reproach Sigurth\nwith lack of courage. And when he and Lyngvi met, they exchanged many\nblows and fought with the greatest valour. Then there was a lull in\nthe battle, for people turned to watch the single combat. For a long\ntime neither of them was able to inflict a wound on the other, so\nskilled in arms were they.\n\nThen Lyngvi's brothers made a fierce attack and slew many of our men,\nwhile others took to flight. Then Hamund, Sigurth's brother, rushed to\nmeet them, and I joined him, and then there was another encounter.\n\nThe end of the affair between Sigurth and Lyngvi was that Sigurth made\nhim prisoner and had him fettered. And when Sigurth joined us, matters\nvery soon changed. Then the sons of Hunding fell and all their\nhost; but then night was coming on. And when day dawned, Hnikar had\nvanished, and he was never seen again. We came to the conclusion that\nit must in reality have been Othin.\n\nA discussion then took place as to what death Lyngvi should suffer;\nRegin counselled that the 'blood eagle' should be carved on his back.\nThen I handed to Regin his sword and with it he carved Lyngvi's back\ntill he had severed the ribs from the spine; and then he drew out the\nlungs. Thus died Lyngvi with great courage.\n\nThen Regin said:\n\n  Full seldom has a bolder warrior\n  Reddened the earth than Sigmund's murderer.\n  Hugin he feasted. Now with biting sword\n  The 'bloody eagle' on his back is scored.\n\nGreat spoil was taken there. Sigurth's sailors got the whole of it\nbecause he would not take any himself. The clothes and weapons taken\nwere worth much gold.\n\nAfterwards Sigurth slew Fafnir, and Regin also, because Regin had\nintended to deal treacherously with him. Sigurth took Fafnir's gold\nand rode away with it, and from that time on he was called Fafnisbani.\n\nAfter that he rode up to Hindarheith where he found Brynhild. What\npassed between them is told in the story of Sigurth Fafnisbani.\n\nVII. Later on Sigurth married Guthrun the daughter of King Gjuki and\nthen stayed for a while with his brothers-in-law, the sons of Gjuki. I\nreturned to the North with Sigurth and was with him in Denmark, and\nI was also with him when Sigurth Hring sent his brothers-in-law, the\nsons of Gandalf, to Gunnar and H\u02c6gni, the sons of Gjuki, and demanded\nthat they should pay him tribute, threatening them with invasion in\ncase they refused. But they decided to defend their country. Thereupon\nGandalf's sons challenged the sons of Gjuki to a pitched battle on the\nfrontier, and then returned home; but the sons of Gjuki asked Sigurth\nFafnisbani to go to battle with them, and he agreed to do so. I was\nstill with Sigurth at that time. Then we sailed again northwards along\nthe coast of Holstein and landed at a place called Jarnamotha. Not far\nfrom the landing place hazel-wood poles had been set up to mark where\nthe fight was to take place.\n\nThen we saw many ships sailing from the north under the command of\nthe sons of Gandalf. Then the two hosts charged one another fiercely.\nSigurth Hring was not there, because he had to defend his own land,\nSweden, against the inroads of the Kurir and Kv\u00canir. Sigurth was a\nvery old man at that time. Then the forces came into collision, and\nthere was a great battle and much slaughter. The sons of Gandalf\nfought bravely, for they were exceptionally big and strong.\n\nIn that host there appeared a big strong man who made such slaughter\nof men and horses that no-one could withstand him, for he was more\nlike a giant than a man. Gunnar bade Sigurth go and attack the\nscoundrel, adding that as things were, there would be no success. So\nSigurth made ready to encounter the mighty man, and some others went\nwith him, but most of them were far from eager.\n\nWe quickly came upon the mighty man, and Sigurth asked him his name\nand whence he came. He said that he was Starkath, the son of Storverk,\nand that he came from the North, from Fenhring in Norway. Sigurth said\nthat he had heard reports of him and generally little to his credit,\nadding that no mercy ought to be shown towards such people.\n\nStarkath said: \"Who is this man who casts insults in my teeth?\"\n\nSigurth told him who he was.\n\nStarkath said: \"Are you called Fafnisbani?\"\n\nSigurth said he was.\n\nThen Starkath sought to escape, but Sigurth pursued him and swung\naloft the sword Gram and struck him on the jaw with the hilt so hard\nthat two molars fell out of his mouth; it was a stunning blow.\n\nThen Sigurth bade the cur take himself off, and Starkath went away,\nand I picked up one of the teeth and carried it off with me. It is now\nused on a bell-rope at Lund in Denmark and weighs seven ounces; and\npeople go and look at it there as a curiosity.\n\nAs soon as Starkath had run away, the sons of Gandalf took to flight,\nand we captured great booty; and after that Sigurth went home to his\nrealm and remained there for a while.\n\nVIII. A short time after, we heard that Starkath had committed a foul\nmurder, slaying King Ali in his bath.\n\nIt chanced one day that as Sigurth Fafnisbani was riding to some\ngathering or other, he rode into a muddy pool, and his horse Grani\nleapt up so wildly that his saddle-girth burst asunder and the buckle\nfell to the ground. And when I saw where it lay shining in the mud, I\npicked it up and handed it to Sigurth; but he said that I might keep\nit. It was that very piece of gold that you were looking at a short\ntime ago. Then Sigurth got down from his horse, and I rubbed it down\nand washed the mud off it; and I pulled a lock of hair out of its tail\nas a proof of its great size.\"\n\nThen Guest showed the lock and it was seven ells long.\n\nKing Olaf said: \"I think your stories are very entertaining.\"\n\nEverybody praised his stories and his talent.\n\nThen the King wanted him to tell them much more about the adventures\nhe had met with on his travels. So Guest told them many amusing\nstories till late in the evening. It was then time to go to bed; but\nnext morning the King sent for Guest, and wanted to talk to him still\nfurther.\n\nThe King said: \"I can't quite make out your age and how you can be\nold enough to have been present when these events took place. You will\nhave to tell another story so as to make us better acquainted with\nthings of this kind.\"\n\nGuest replied: \"I suspected before that you would want to hear another\nof my stories, if I told you what had happened about the gold.\"\n\n\"You must certainly tell me some more,\" replied the King.\n\nIX. \"I must tell you then,\" Guest began, \"that I went north to Denmark\nand there settled down on my estate, for my father had died a short\ntime before; and a little later I heard of the death of Sigurth and\nthe sons of Gjuki, and I felt that that was news indeed.\"\n\n\"What was the cause of Sigurth's death?\" asked the King.\n\nGuest replied: \"It is generally believed that Guthorm the son of Gjuki\nran a sword through him while he was asleep in bed with Guthrun. On\nthe other hand, Germans say that Sigurth was slain out in the forest.\nIn the _Guthr\u02d9nar-r\u00catha_ again it is stated that Sigurth and the sons\nof Gjuki had ridden to a gathering and that they slew him then. But\none thing is agreed by all--that they set on him when he was down and\noff his guard, and that they were guilty of gross treachery towards\nhim.\"\n\nThen one of the retinue asked:\n\n\"How did Brynhild behave then?\"\n\nGuest answered: \"Brynhild then slew seven of her slaves and five\nhandmaidens, and ran herself through with a sword, commanding that she\nshould be taken to the pyre along with these people and burned beside\nSigurth. This was done, one pile being made for Sigurth and another\nfor Brynhild, and he was burned first, and then Brynhild. She was\ntaken in a chariot with a canopy of velvet and silk which was all\nablaze with gold, and thus was she burnt.\"\n\nThen Guest was asked if Brynhild had chanted a lay after she was dead.\nHe replied that she had, and they asked him to recite it if he could.\n\nThen Guest said: \"As Brynhild was being driven to the pyre on the way\nto Hell, she was brought near some cliffs where an ogress dwelt. The\nogress was standing outside the doors of her cave and wore a skin\nkirtle and was of a blackish hue. She carried a long faggot in her\nhand and cried:\n\n'This will I contribute to your burning, Brynhild. It would have been\nbetter if you had been burned while you were still alive, before\nyou were guilty of getting such a splendid man as Sigurth Fafnisbani\nslain. I was always friendly to him and therefore I shall attack you\nin a reproachful song which will make you hated by everybody who hears\nwhat you have done.'\n\nAfter that Brynhild and the ogress chanted to one another.\n\nThe ogress sang as follows:\n\n  Thou shalt not be suffered to pass through my courts\n    With their pillars of stone in my mansion drear,--\n  Better far wert thou busied at home with thy needle!\n    Not thine is the husband thou followest here.\n\n  Inconstant soul, why comest thou hither?\n    From the land of the Romans why visit'st thou me?\n  Full many a wolf hast thou made be partaker\n    Of the life-blood of men who were butchered by thee!\n\nThen cried Brynhild:\n\n  Upbraid me no more from thy rock bound dwelling\n    For battles I fought in the days of old.--\n  Thou wilt not be deemed to be nobler of nature\n    Than I, wheresoever our story is told!\n\nThe Ogress:\n\n  In an evil hour, O Buthli's daughter,\n    In an evil hour wert thou brought to birth.--\n  The Sons of Gjuki thou gavest to slaughter,\n    Their noble dwellings thou rased'st to earth.\n\nBrynhild:\n\n  A true account, if thou carest to hearken,\n    O thou lying soul, will I tell to thee;--\n  How empty of love and o'ershadowed by falsehood\n    The life that the Gjukings had destined for me!\n\n  Atli's daughter was I, yet the monarch bold-hearted\n    Assigned me a home neath the shade of the oak.\n  But twelve summers old, if thou carest to hearken,\n    Was this maid when her vows to the hero she spoke.\n\n  Hjalmgunnar the Old, of the Gothic nation,\n    Great chief, on the pathway to Hell did I speed;\n  And victory granted to Auth's young brother;\n    Then Othin's dread fury was roused at my deed.\n\n  Then a phalanx of bucklers did Othin set round me\n    On Skatalund's heights, shields crimson and white,--\n  Bade only that prince break the slumber that bound me\n    Who knew naught of terror, nor shrank from the fight.\n\n  And flames high towering and fiercely raging\n  Round my Southern hall did he set in a ring:\n  None other was destined to pass through in safety\n    Save the hero who treasure of Fafnir should bring.\n\n  The generous hero with treasure a-gleaming,\n    The Danish viking on Grani rode,--\n  Foremost champion in deeds of valour--\n    Where my foster-father had his abode.\n\n  As brother with sister we slept together;\n    Eight nights' space he lay at my side.\n  There were we happy and slumbered idly,\n    Nor loving caresses did ever betide.\n\n  Yet Guthrun the daughter of Gjuki reviled me,\n    That I in the arms of her lover had slept.\n  O then was I 'ware of the thing I desired not--\n    The truth of my marriage from me had they kept.\n\n  All too long against storms of adversity struggling\n    Both women and men seek their fortunes to right;\n  But I with my Sigurth shall end my life's battle\n    At last. Now depart from me, daughter of Night!\n\nThen the ogress gave a horrible shriek and leapt into the cliff.\"\n\nThen the King's followers cried: \"That's fine! Go on and tell us some\nmore!\"\n\nBut the King said: \"You need not tell us any more about things of that\nkind.\" Then he continued: \"Were you ever with the sons of Lothbrok?\"\n\nGuest replied: \"I was only with them for a short time; I joined them\nwhen they were making an expedition to the south in the neighbourhood\nof the Alps, and when they destroyed Vifilsborg. Panic spread\neverywhere at their approach, for they were victorious wherever they\nwent. They were intending at the time to go to Rome. It chanced one\nday that a certain man came up to King Bj\u02c6rn Ironside and saluted him.\nThe King received him in a friendly way and asked him whence he came.\nHe said that he had come from the south, from Rome.\n\nThe King asked him: 'How long is the journey there?'\n\nHe replied: 'You can see here, O King, the shoes which I am wearing.'\n\nThen he took iron-bound shoes from his feet, and the tops of them were\nvery thick, but underneath they were all torn.\n\n'You can see now how severely my shoes have suffered,' said he, 'and\ntell by that what a long way it is from here to Rome.'\n\n'It must be a very long way,' said the King; 'I shall turn back and\ngive up the idea of attacking the territories of Rome.'\n\nAnd the result was that they went no further on their way; and\neveryone thought it extraordinary that they should change their minds\nso suddenly at the word of one man, when they had all their plans\nlaid. So after this the sons of Lothbrok went back to their homes in\nthe north, and made no further raids in the south.\"\n\nThe King said: \"It is clear that the saints in Rome would not allow\nthem to make their way there. The man you spoke of must have been a\nSpirit sent from God to make them change their minds so quickly, so\nas not to bring destruction on Rome, the most holy place of Jesus\nChrist.\"\n\nX. Then the King asked Guest: \"Amongst the kings whom you have\nvisited, whose was the court that you liked best?\"\n\nGuest replied: \"I enjoyed most being with Sigurth and the sons of\nGjuki; but the sons of Lothbrok were those who allowed most freedom\nto their followers to live as they liked. Then again the richest place\nwas that of Eric at Upsala; but King Harold the Fairhaired was more\nexacting than any of the kings I have mentioned in the duties that he\nimposed on his followers. I was with King Hl\u02c6thver too in the land of\nthe Saxons, and there I was prime-signed; for it was not possible\nto remain with him otherwise, because the Christian religion was\ncarefully observed there. That was the place I liked best on the\nwhole.\"\n\nThe King said: \"You can give us a great deal of information whatever\nquestion we ask you.\"\n\nThe King then asked Guest many further questions, and Guest told him\neverything clearly, and finally he said:\n\n\"Now I must tell you why I am called Norna-gest.\"\n\nThe King said he would like to hear.\n\nXI. Guest began: \"I was brought up at my father's home at a place\ncalled Groening. My father was a wealthy man and kept house in great\nstyle. At that time wise women used to go about the country. They\nwere called 'spae-wives,' and they foretold people's futures. For\nthis reason people used to invite them to their houses and gave them\nhospitality and bestowed gifts on them at parting.\n\nMy father did the same, and they came to him with a great following to\nforetell my fate. I was lying in my cradle when the time came for them\nto prophesy about me, and two candles were burning above me. Then they\nforetold that I should be a favourite of Fortune, and a greater man\nthan any of my kindred or forbears--greater even than the sons of the\nchief men in the land; and they said that all would come to pass\njust as it has done. But the youngest Norn thought that she was not\nreceiving enough attention compared with the other two, since\nthey were held in high account yet did not consult her about these\nprophecies. There was also a great crowd of roughs present, who pushed\nher off her seat, so that she fell to the ground. She was much vexed\nat this and called out loudly and angrily, telling them to stop\nprophesying such good things about me:\n\n'For I ordain that the boy shall live no longer than that candle burns\nwhich is alight beside him.'\n\nThen the eldest spae-wife took the candle and extinguished it and bade\nmy mother take charge of it and not light it until the last day of\nmy life. After that the spae-wives went away, and my father gave them\ngood gifts at parting. When I was full-grown, my mother gave me the\ncandle to take charge of: I have it with me now.\"\n\nThe King said: \"Why have you come here to me now?\"\n\nGuest replied: \"The idea that came into my mind was this: I expected\nthat I should get good luck from you, because I have heard you highly\npraised by good and wise men.\"\n\nThe King said: \"Will you receive holy baptism now?\"\n\nGuest replied: \"Yes, I will, since you advise it.\"\n\nSo it came to pass; and the King took him into his favour and made\nhim one of his retinue. Guest became a very good Christian and loyally\nfollowed the King's rules of life. He was also popular with everybody.\n\nXII. It happened one day that the King asked Guest: \"How much longer\nwould you live if you could choose?\"\n\nGuest replied: \"Only a short time, please God!\"\n\nThe King said: \"What will happen if you take your candle now?\"\n\nThereupon Guest took his candle out of the frame of his harp. The King\nordered it to be lighted, and this was done. And when the candle was\nlighted it soon began to burn away.\n\nThen the King said to Guest: \"How old are you?\"\n\nAnd Guest replied: \"I am now three hundred years old.\"\n\n\"You are an old man,\" observed the King.\n\nThen Guest laid himself down and asked them to anoint him with oil.\nThe King ordered it to be done, and when it was finished there was\nvery little of the candle left unburnt. Then it became clear that\nGuest was drawing near to his end, and his spirit passed just as the\ntorch flickered out; and they all marvelled at his passing. The King\nalso set great store by his stories and held that the account which he\nhad given of his life was perfectly true.\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION TO THE TH\u00a1TTR OF S\u00f7RLI\n\n\nThis story, like the last, is taken from the long _Saga of Olaf\nTryggvason_ contained in the _Flateyjarb\u00dbk_, Vol. I, pp. 275-283. Its\nconnection, however, with the story of that King is of the slightest.\nAccording to the opinion of Finnur J\u00dbnsson[1] the story in its present\nform dates from the first half of the fourteenth century.\n\nThis story, like the _Th\u00b7ttr of Nornagest_, shows evidence of a\ndefinite structural plan and falls into three distinct parts. In the\nfirst two chapters the scene is laid among the gods, and the story is\nset in motion by the forging of a necklace for the goddess Freyja by\nsome dwarfs. This is stolen by Loki and given to Othin, who refuses\nto restore it to Freyja till she promises to bring about a perpetual\nbattle between two mighty kings.\n\nThen in chs. III and IV we have an account of the adventures of a\nViking prince named S\u02c6rli, from whom the story takes its (somewhat\ninappropriate) title[2]. S\u02c6rli comes into contact (first as an enemy,\nlater as a friend) with another prince called H\u02c6gni, and this leads up\nto the main theme--the friendship and subsequent quarrel of Hethin\nand H\u02c6gni, in whose tragic fate Freyja's promise is fulfilled. The\nperpetual battle between these two heroes is finally ended by one of\nOlaf Tryggvason's men, and it is through this that the story comes to\nbe introduced into his Saga.\n\nThe story of Hethin and H\u02c6gni was a favourite one in the North. It\nis told in _Sk\u00b7ldskaparm\u00b7l_, ch. 49 and in Saxo Grammaticus' _Danish\nHistory_, Book V (Elton, pp. 195-198). The earliest Norse reference to\nit is to be found in Bragi's _Ragnarsdr\u00b7pa_, str. 3-7. The story must\nalso have been well known in the Orkneys, since we find the following\nverses in the _H\u00b7ttalykill_ by Jarl R\u02c6gnvald (1136-58) and an\nIcelandic skald Hall who flourished 1140-48[3].\n\n  Who planned to carry off Hild?\n  Who fight all day long?\n  Who will be reconciled at last?\n  Who incited the kings?\n  Hethin planned to carry off Hild;\n  The Hjathningar are always fighting;\n  They will be reconciled at last;\n  Hild incited the host.\n\n  Who reddens the keen blades?\n  Who chops meat for the wolf?\n  Who makes showers of helmets?\n  Who stirred up strife?\n  Harold reddened the keen blades;\n  The host chops meat for the wolf;\n  H\u02c6gni makes the shower of helmets;\n  Hjarrandi stirred up strife!\n\nIn the Shetlands the story survived down to modern times in the form\nof a ballad known as _Hildina_, which was taken down by George Low[4]\nfrom the recitation of an old man on the Isle of Foula in 1774. The\nNorwegian dialect (Norn) in which it is composed is so obscure as\nwe have it in Low's script as to be almost untranslatable, though a\nserious attempt at its interpretation has been made by Dr M. H\u00cagstad\nin _Skrifter udgivne af Videnskabsselskabet i Christiania_, 1900\n(_Historisk-Filosofisk Klasse_, II), with a very full discussion of\nall the linguistic difficulties involved[5]. According to Low \"The\nsubject is a strife between a King of Norway and an Earl of Orkney, on\naccount of the hasty marriage of the Earl with the King's daughter\nin her father's absence.\" Further on[6] he gives the substance of the\nballad at greater length:\n\n    An Earl of Orkney, in some of his rambles on the coast of\n    Norway, saw and fell in love with the King's daughter of the\n    country. As their passion happened to be reciprocal he carried\n    her off in her father's absence, who was engaged in war with\n    some of his distant neighbours. On his return, he followed the\n    fugitives to Orkney, accompanied by his army, to revenge\n    on the Earl the rape of his daughter. On his arrival there,\n    Hildina (which was her name) first spied him, and advised her\n    now husband to go and attempt to pacify the King. He did so,\n    and by his appearance and promises brought the King so over as\n    to be satisfied with the match.\n\nAfter this, with the introduction of a courtier Hiluge the story\nproceeds in a form totally different from anything found in the\n_th\u00b7ttr_, though an attempt has been made to connect it with the\nsecond part of the German poem _Kudrun_.\n\nThe story of Hethin and H\u02c6gni however was not confined to Norway and\nits colonies; indeed it seems to have been popular throughout the\nwhole Teutonic world. It forms the subject of the first part of the\nmediaeval German poem _Kudrun_, and characters from the story are\nmentioned in the Anglo-Saxon poems _Widsith_, l. 21, and _Deor_, l. 36\nff.\n\nFor a treatment of the different versions of the story as it was known\nto men of old, the reader may be referred to Miss Clarke's _Sidelights\non Teutonic History during the Migration Period_ (Cambridge, 1911),\np. 190 ff., and to Chambers' _Widsith_, p. 100 ff. It may be mentioned\nhere that in the main points of the story--the carrying off of Hild\nand the subsequent pursuit by the father--all the versions are agreed.\nThe German version, however, differs in many respects from those of\nthe North (except that of the _Hildina_)--especially in the fact that\nthe combatants become reconciled. The various Scandinavian versions of\nthe story also differ somewhat in detail among themselves. The story\ntranslated below is the only one which mentions the slaying by Hethin\nof H\u02c6gni's wife, and it is only here that Hethin is described as being\nof foreign origin. Moreover this is the only version in which the\ngoddess Freyja is made responsible for the Unending Battle. Indeed\nthe supernatural element, and especially the influence of charms and\nspells, is more prominent in this version than in any of the others.\nIt is only here, too, that we find the story of G\u02c6ndul and the \"potion\nof forgetfulness.\" On the other hand our version contains no reference\nto the statement made in _Sk\u00b7ldskaparm\u00b7l_ and Saxo that it was Hild\nwho by her magic spells restored the dead to life each night.\n\nIn our version of the story the character of Hild is left wholly\nundeveloped. Indeed the writers of the Romantic Sagas are always\nso much more interested in incident than in character that highly\nindividualised personality is rare. Even when as in the case of\nHerv\u02c6r[7], the very nature of the story presents an interesting and\nsomewhat unusual personality, we are sometimes left with a feeling of\ndissatisfaction and a conviction that the writer did not realise the\nfull merits and possibilities of his material. H\u02c6gni is the usual type\nof hot-headed implacable sea-rover. The character of Hethin, however,\npresents some interesting features and strikes us as more modern in\nconception. Naturally gentle of disposition, he had been forced\nby malignant powers into a situation foreign to his nature. Hardly\ncharacteristic of a viking chief are his genuine regret for the harm\nhe had done and his anxiety that the men of H\u02c6gni and himself\nshould not be called upon to forfeit their lives for his \"crimes and\nmisdeeds.\" The conventional viking, clear-eyed and purely material\nin his view of life, would have stayed to brave out the consequences.\nHethin only wished \"to go away somewhere a long way off, where he\nwould not each day have his wicked deeds cast in his teeth.\" His\nremorse had broken him down.--\"You will find it an easy matter to slay\nme when I am left alive last of all!\"\n\nThe motif of the Everlasting Battle is not confined the story of\nHethin and H\u02c6gni. Parallels can be found in many literatures, both\nancient and modern[8].\n\nThis _th\u00b7ttr_ has been translated into English under the title of\n_The Tale of Hogni and Hedinn_ in _Three Northern Love Stories_ by W.\nMorris and Eir\u00cckr Magn\u02d9sson, London, 1875.\n\nFor a full bibliography of MSS., translations, and the general\nliterature dealing with this saga, cf. _Islandica_, Vol. v, pp. 41,\n42.\n\n    [Footnote 1: _Oldnorske og Oldislandske Litteraturs Historie_,\n    Vol. II, p. 837.]\n\n    [Footnote 2: The life of this prince is told at length in\n    another saga--_S\u02c6rla Saga Sterka_ which is published in Vol.\n    III of \u00a1smundarson's edition of the _Fornaldars\u02c6gur_.]\n\n    [Footnote 3: Cf. Finnur J\u00dbnsson, _op. cit._, Vol. II, pp. 34,\n    35.]\n\n    [Footnote 4: Cf. _A Tour through the Islands of Orkney and\n    Schetland_, by George Low, edited by J. A. Anderson (Kirkwall,\n    1879), p. 108 ff.]\n\n    [Footnote 5: On p. 217 ff. below I have attempted a\n    translation of the first twelve stanzas from H\u00cagstad's\n    corrected text.]\n\n    [Footnote 6: _Op. cit._, p. 113.]\n\n    [Footnote 7: Cf. The _Saga of Herv\u02c6r and Heithrek_ translated\n    below, p. 87 ff.]\n\n    [Footnote 8: Cf. Panzer, _Hilde-Gudrun_ (Halle, 1901),\n    _passim_; Frazer, _Pausanias's Description of Greece_ (London,\n    1898), Vol. II, p. 443 ff.; etc.]\n\n\nTHE TH\u00a1TTR OF S\u00f7RLI\n\nI. To the East of Vanakvisl in Asia was a country called Asialand or\nAsiaheim. Its inhabitants were called \u2206sir and the chief city they\ncalled Asgarth. Othin was the name of their King, and it was a great\nplace for heathen sacrifices. Othin appointed Nj\u02c6rth and Frey as\npriests. Nj\u02c6rth had a daughter called Freyja who accompanied Othin and\nwas his mistress. There were four men in Asia called Alfregg, Dvalin,\nBerling and Grer, who dwelt not far from the King's hall, and who were\nso clever that they could turn their hands to anything. Men of this\nkind were called dwarfs. They dwelt in a rock, but at that time they\nmixed more with men than they do now. Othin loved Freyja very much,\nand she was the fairest of all women in her day. She had a bower of\nher own which was beautiful and strong, and it was said that if the\ndoor was closed and bolted, no-one could enter the bower against her\nwill.\n\nIt chanced one day that Freyja went to the rock and found it open, and\nthe dwarfs were forging a gold necklace, which was almost finished.\nFreyja was charmed with the necklace, and the dwarfs with Freyja.\nShe asked them to sell it, offering gold and silver and other costly\ntreasures in exchange for it. The dwarfs replied that they were not\nin need of money, but each one said that he would give up his share\nin the necklace.... And at the end of four nights they handed it to\nFreyja. She went home to her bower and kept silence about it as if\nnothing had happened.\n\nII. There was a man called Farbauti who was a peasant and had a\nwife called Laufey. She was thin and meagre, and so she was called\n'Needle.' They had no children except a son who was called Loki. He\nwas not a big man, but he early developed a caustic tongue and was\nalert in trickery and unequalled in that kind of cleverness which is\ncalled cunning. He was very full of guile even in his youth, and for\nthis reason he was called Loki the Sly. He set off to Othin's home\nin Asgarth and became his man. Othin always had a good word for him\nwhatever he did, and often laid heavy tasks upon him, all of which he\nperformed better than could have been expected. He also knew almost\neverything that happened, and he told Othin whatever he knew.\n\nNow it is said that Loki got to know that Freyja had received the\nnecklace ... and this he told to Othin. And when Othin heard of it he\ntold Loki to fetch him the necklace. Loki said that there was not much\nhope of that, because no-one could get into Freyja's bower against her\nwill. Othin told him to go, and not come back without the necklace.\nSo Loki went off howling, and everyone was glad that he had got into\ntrouble.\n\nHe went to Freyja's bower, but it was locked. He tried to get in but\ncould not. The weather outside was very cold and he became thoroughly\nchilled. Then he turned himself into a fly, and flew around all the\nbolts and along the whole of the woodwork, but nowhere could he find\na hole big enough to enter by, right up to the gable. He found only a\nhole no bigger than would allow of the insertion of a needle. Through\nthis hole he crept. And when he got inside he stared around, wondering\nif anyone was awake. But he found that the room was all wrapped in\nslumber.\n\nThen he went in and up to Freyja's bed and found that she was wearing\nthe necklace and that the clasp was underneath her. Loki thereupon\nturned himself into a flea and settled on Freyja's cheek and stung\nher, till she awoke and turned over and went to sleep again. Then he\nlaid aside his flea-form, drew the necklace from her gently, opened\nthe door and departed, carrying the necklace to Othin.\n\nWhen Freyja awoke in the morning she found that the door was open,\nthough it had not been forced, and that her lovely necklace was gone.\nShe had a shrewd idea of the trick that had been played on her, and\nwhen she was dressed she went into the hall to King Othin, and told\nhim that he had done ill to rob her of her trinket, and begged him to\nreturn it.\n\nOthin replied that considering how she had come by it she should never\nget it back:\n\n\"--Unless you bring about a quarrel between two kings, each of whom\nhas twenty kings subject to him; so that they shall fight under the\ninfluence of such spells and charms that as fast as they fall they\nshall start up again and fight on--unless there be some Christian man\nso brave and so much favoured by the great good fortune of his liege\nlord that he shall dare to take arms and enter among the combatants\nand slay them. Then and not till then shall the labours of those\nprinces be brought to an end--whoever may be the chief who is destined\nto free them from the oppression and toil of their disastrous lot.\"\n\nFreyja agreed to this and recovered the necklace.\n\nIII. Four and twenty years after the death of Frithfrothi a King\ncalled Erling ruled over the Highlands of Norway. He had a wife and\ntwo sons, of whom the elder was called S\u02c6rli the Strong, and the\nyounger Erlend. They were promising young men. S\u02c6rli was the stronger\nof the two. As soon as they were old enough they took to raiding, and\nfought against the viking Sindri, the son of Sveigir, the son of Haki,\na sea-king in the Skerries of the Elf. There fell Sindri the viking,\nand with him all his host; and Erlend the son of Erling also fell\nin that battle. After that S\u02c6rli sailed into the Baltic and harried\nthere, and performed so many great deeds that it would take too long\nto recount them all.\n\nIV. There was a King called Halfdan who ruled Denmark; and his capital\nwas at Roskilde. He married Hvethna the elder, and their sons were\nH\u02c6gni and Haakon. They were distinguished for their stature, strength\nand ability. As soon as they were old enough they took to piracy.\n\nNow we must return to S\u02c6rli and relate how one autumn he set sail\nfor Denmark. King Halfdan had been intending to go to a gathering\nof kings. He was far advanced in years at the time when the events\nrelated here took place. He had such a fine warship that for strength\nand excellence of every kind it had no equal in all the countries of\nthe North. It was riding at anchor in the harbour, but King Halfdan\nhad gone ashore to give orders for a carousal before starting on his\nvoyage. And when S\u02c6rli saw the warship his heart was consumed with a\nburning desire to possess it at all possible hazards. And indeed it is\ngenerally agreed that there never was a greater treasure of a warship\nthan this in all the countries of the North, except the warships\nEllithi and Gn\u02c6th and the Long Serpent.\n\nSo he ordered his men to prepare themselves for battle--\n\n\"For we must slay King Halfdan and seize his warship.\"\n\nA man called S\u00cavar, his fo'c'sle-man and marshal, made answer:\n\n\"That is not advisable, Sire, for Halfdan is a great chief and a\nfamous man. Moreover he has two sons who will be certain to avenge\nhim, for they are both very famous men already.\"\n\n\"Though they be superior to the very gods,\" said S\u02c6rli, \"yet we shall\nfight just as we have done before.\"\n\nThey prepared for battle, and the news reached King Halfdan. He\nstarted up and went with all his men to his ships, and they prepared\nthem for battle at once. Some of Halfdan's men protested to him that\nit was not advisable to fight, and suggested that he should take to\nflight as the odds were too heavy against them. The King replied that\nthey would all fall dead one on the top of another before he would\nflee.\n\nBoth sides now prepared to give battle, and closed forthwith in a\nfierce combat, the result of which was that King Halfdan fell with all\nhis host; and S\u02c6rli took possession of the warship and everything on\nit that was of value.\n\nThen S\u02c6rli learned that H\u02c6gni had returned from a raiding expedition\nand was lying off Odins\u00af. S\u02c6rli set off thither with his ships, and\nwhen they met, he told him of the death of Halfdan, his father, and\nmade him an offer of reconciliation on his own terms, suggesting also\nthat they should become foster-brothers; but H\u02c6gni declined all his\noffers. Then they joined battle, as is told in the poem dealing\nwith S\u02c6rli. Haakon fought very boldly and slew S\u00cavar, S\u02c6rli's\nstandard-bearer and fo'c'sle-man. Then S\u02c6rli slew Haakon, but H\u02c6gni\nslew King Erling, S\u02c6rli's father. After that H\u02c6gni and S\u02c6rli fought\ntogether, and S\u02c6rli went down before H\u02c6gni from weariness and wounds.\nAnd H\u02c6gni afterwards caused him to be healed of his wounds, and they\nswore foster-brotherhood to one another, and both remained true to\ntheir oaths as long as they lived. S\u02c6rli was the first to die. He fell\nin the Baltic at the hands of vikings, as is told in the poem of which\nhe is the subject.\n\nAnd when H\u02c6gni heard of S\u02c6rli's death, he went raiding in the Baltic\nthe same summer, and was victorious everywhere. He became king over\nthose regions; and it is said that twenty kings were vassals to King\nH\u02c6gni and paid him tribute. H\u02c6gni became so famous on account of his\ngreat deeds and his raiding expeditions that his name was as well\nknown in the north of Finland as away in Paris, and everywhere in\nbetween.\n\nV. There was a King called Hjarrandi who ruled over Serkland. He had\na wife and a son called Hethin, who quickly grew into a man remarkable\nfor his strength, stature and ability. While still a youth he went on\nraiding expeditions and became a sea-king, harrying all round Spain\nand Greece and all the neighbouring kingdoms; so that he made twenty\nkings pay him tribute, holding their land and revenue as his vassals.\nIn winter time Hethin used to stay at home in Serkland. It is said\nthat on one occasion he went into a forest with his retinue. He left\nhis men and found himself alone in a glade where he saw a woman, tall\nand fair, sitting on a throne. She spoke to him courteously, and when\nhe asked her her name she said she was called G\u02c6ndul. Then they talked\ntogether. She questioned him about his mighty deeds and he told her\neverything frankly and asked her whether she knew of any king to match\nhimself in valour and hardihood, renown and prowess. She replied that\nshe knew of one who did not fall short of him--one who had twenty\nkings subject to him just as Hethin had; and she added that his name\nwas H\u02c6gni and that he lived in the North, in Denmark.\n\n\"I know one thing,\" said Hethin; \"we have got to prove which of us is\nthe more valiant.\"\n\n\"It is high time for you to return to your men,\" said she; \"they will\nbe looking for you.\"\n\nThen they parted. He returned to his men, and she remained sitting\nthere.\n\nAt the very beginning of spring, Hethin prepared to set out. He had\na warship, and three hundred and sixty men in it, and he made for\nthe northern part of the world. He sailed all that summer and the\nfollowing winter, and at the beginning of spring he reached Denmark.\n\nVI. King H\u02c6gni was at home at that time; and when he heard that a\nfamous king had come to his shores, he invited him to a magnificent\nbanquet, and Hethin accepted the invitation. And as they sat drinking,\nH\u02c6gni asked what motive brought Hethin so far north.\n\nHethin replied that his object was to compete with him in contests\nwhich would make trial of their courage and daring and all their\nprowess and skill.\n\nH\u02c6gni said he was ready for this; and early next morning they went\nswimming and shooting together. They rode a-tilt, and performed feats\nof arms and of skill of all kinds. And in all their exploits they were\nso equal that no-one could distinguish which was the better of the\ntwo. After that they swore foster-brotherhood to one another, and\nbound themselves to share everything equally.\n\nHethin was young and unmarried, but H\u02c6gni was somewhat older. He had\nmarried Herv\u02c6r, the daughter of Hj\u02c6rvarth, the son of Heithrek Ulfham.\nH\u02c6gni had a daughter who was called Hild, and who excelled all other\nwomen in beauty and understanding. He loved his daughter exceedingly.\nHe had no other children.\n\nVII. It is said that a little later H\u02c6gni went on a raiding expedition\nwhile Hethin stayed behind to look after his kingdom. It chanced one\nday that Hethin went into a forest to pass the time. The weather\nwas mild. He again wandered away from his men. He came upon a forest\nglade, and there he saw sitting on a throne the same woman whom he\nhad seen before in Serkland--only now he thought her even fairer than\nbefore. She was again the first to speak and chattered to him gaily.\nShe was holding a horn with a lid to it. The King fell in love with\nher. She offered him a drink and he felt thirsty, as he had grown\nwarm; so he took the horn and drank; and when he had drunk, a very\nwonderful change came over him, for he remembered nothing that had\nhappened to him previously. He then sat down and talked to her.\n\nShe asked him if what she had said to him before of the skill and\ncourage of H\u02c6gni had proved true and Hethin replied that it was true\nenough--\"for he did not come short of me in any feat that we tried,\nand so we declared ourselves a match.\"\n\n\"Yet you two are not equal,\" said she.\n\n\"And why not?\" asked Hethin.\n\n\"For this reason,\" replied she: \"H\u02c6gni has married a wife of high\nbirth, whereas you have no wife.\"\n\nHe replied: \"H\u02c6gni will marry me to Hild his daughter as soon as I\nlike to ask him, and then I shall be as well married as he.\"\n\n\"Your honour will be impaired,\" said she, \"if you ask H\u02c6gni for a\nmarriage alliance. If, as you profess, you lack neither courage nor\nvalour, you would do better to carry off Hild by force, and put the\nQueen to death by taking her and laying her down in front of the prow\nof your warship, and letting it cut her in two when it is launched.\"\n\nThe wickedness and forgetfulness contained in the ale which Hethin had\ndrunk had so got the better of him that there seemed to him to be no\nalternative, and he had not the slightest recollection that he and\nH\u02c6gni were 'foster-brothers.'\n\nPresently they parted, and Hethin went back to his men. This took\nplace in the late summer.\n\nThen Hethin ordered his men to get ready the warship, saying that he\nintended to go home to Serkland. Then he went into the ladies' bower\nand took the Queen and Hild by either hand and led them out. Hild's\nclothes and jewels were also taken. There was no-one in the kingdom\nwho had the courage to do anything; for they were afraid of Hethin and\nhis men--he glowered so fiercely.\n\nHild asked Hethin what his intention was, and he told her. She\nbesought him to think better of it, adding:\n\n\"My father will marry me to you if you ask him for me.\"\n\n\"Ask for you?\" echoed Hethin; \"I will never do that.\"\n\n\"And,\" she continued, \"if you really must carry me off, even so my\nfather will make it up with you. But if you do anything so wicked and\nunmanly as to put my mother to death, my father will never make it up\nwith you. I have had a warning in dreams that you two will fight and\nslay one another. Yet I am afraid that there must be something still\nmore terrible in store. It will be a great sorrow to me if I have to\nbe the means of exposing my father to the ruinous effects of magic\nspells; nor shall I have any joy in seeing you in difficulties and\ntoils.\"\n\nHethin replied that he cared not at all for the consequences, and that\nhe would do as he had threatened.\n\n\"You cannot mend it now,\" said Hild, \"because in this case you are not\nyour own master.\"\n\nThen Hethin went down to the sea-shore, and now was the warship\nlaunched. He thrust the Queen down in front of the prow, so that\nshe perished. Hethin stepped into the warship. And when it was quite\nready, he took it into his head to land alone, leaving his men behind;\nand he went into the same forest where he had gone before. And when\nhe came into the glade, there he saw G\u02c6ndul seated on her throne. They\ngreeted one another cordially. Hethin told her what he had done and\nshe expressed her approval.\n\nShe had with her the horn which she had carried before, and she\noffered him a drink from it. He took it and drank; and when he had\ndrunk, sleep fell upon him, and he let his head sink into her lap.\nAnd when he had fallen asleep, she slipped away from under his head,\nsaying:\n\n\"Now I devote both you and H\u02c6gni and all your followers, and lay you\nunder all the spells imposed by Othin.\"\n\nThen Hethin awoke and saw the fleeting shadow of G\u02c6ndul, but she\nappeared to him now to be big and black; and he recalled everything\nand realised how much mischief he had done. He decided now to go away\nsomewhere a long way off, where he would not each day have his wicked\ndeeds cast in his teeth. So he went to his ship, and made haste to\nfree her from her moorings. A fair breeze was blowing off the land,\nand so he sailed away with Hild.\n\nVIII. When H\u02c6gni returned home, he learnt that Hethin had sailed away\nwith Hild and the warship Halfdanarnaut, leaving the dead body of the\nQueen in his tracks. H\u02c6gni was furious and bade his men start up on\nthe spot and sail in pursuit of Hethin. This they did, and a fair\nbreeze sprang up. Every evening they reached the harbour from which\nHethin had sailed away in the morning.\n\nIt happened one day that as H\u02c6gni was making for a harbour, Hethin's\nsails were sighted out at sea; so H\u02c6gni and his men gave chase. As a\nmatter of fact, it is said that at this point Hethin got a head wind\nagainst him, whereas H\u02c6gni had the luck to have a fair wind as before.\nHethin then lay to off an island called Hoy, and there he rode at\nanchor. H\u02c6gni quickly came alongside, and when they met, Hethin\ngreeted him courteously.\n\n\"I must tell you, foster-brother,\" said Hethin, \"that so great a\nmisfortune has come upon me that no-one save you can remedy it. I\nhave carried off your daughter and your warship, and put your wife\nto death, yet from no personal wickedness of my own, but rather from\npromptings of evil spirits and wicked spells. My wish now is that you\nshall have your own way entirely in this matter between yourself and\nme. I also offer to give up to you both Hild and the warship, and all\nthe men and money contained in it, and to go to such distant lands\nthat I can never return to the North nor into your sight as long as I\nlive.\"\n\nH\u02c6gni replied: \"Had you asked me for Hild I would have married her\nto you; and even in spite of your having carried her off by force\nwe might have made up our quarrel. Now, however, since you have been\nguilty of such an outrage as to put the Queen to death in a most\nshameful manner, I certainly will not make terms with you. We will try\nhere, on the spot, which of us is the more valiant fighter.\"\n\nHethin replied: \"It would be best, if nothing less than fighting will\nsatisfy you, that we two should measure our strength alone; for you\nhave no quarrel with any man here save with me. There is no use in\nmaking innocent men pay for my crimes and evil deeds.\"\n\nTheir followers all swore with one accord that they would rather fall\ndead in heaps than that they two should exchange blows alone. And when\nHethin saw that nothing would satisfy H\u02c6gni, save that they should\nfight, he ordered his men to land, saying:\n\n\"I will no longer hold back from H\u02c6gni, nor make excuses to avoid\nfighting. Let every man bear himself bravely!\"\n\nThey thereupon landed and fell to fighting. H\u02c6gni was full of fury,\nbut Hethin was both dexterous with his weapons and mighty in his\nstroke. It is told for fact that so potent was the evil charm in\nthe spell that even when they had cloven one another to the very\nshoulders, yet they started up as before and went on fighting. Hild\nsat in a grove and watched the battle.\n\nThis harrowing torment continued to oppress them from the time when\nthey began to fight until Olaf Tryggvason became King of Norway. It\nis said to have gone on for a hundred and forty-three years, until it\nfell to the lot of this famous man that one of his retinue released\nthem from their grievous calamities and tragic doom.\n\nIX. In the first year of King Olaf's reign, it is said that he came\none evening to the island of Hoy and anchored there. It was a\nregular occurrence in the neighbourhood of this island that watchmen\ndisappeared every night, and no-one knew what had become of them. On\nthis particular night it was Ivar the Gleam who kept guard. And\nwhen all the men on the ships were asleep, Ivar took the sword that\nJarnskj\u02c6ld had had and that Thorstein his son had given him, and all\nhis armour, and went up on to the island. And when he had landed\non the island he saw a man coming towards him. He was very tall and\ncovered with blood, and his face was full of sorrow. Ivar asked\nhim his name, and he replied that he was called Hethin, the son of\nHjarrandi, and that he had come of a stock in far Serkland, adding:\n\n\"I am telling you the truth when I say that the vanishing of the\nwatchmen must be laid to the charge of me and H\u02c6gni, the son of\nHalfdan. For we and our men have been laid under such powerful and\ndestructive spells that we go on fighting night and day; and this has\ncontinued for many generations, while Hild, the daughter of H\u02c6gni,\nsits and looks on. It is Othin who has laid this spell upon us; and\nour only hope of redemption is that a Christian man should give battle\nto us.--When that occurs, he whom the Christian slays shall not stand\nup again; and so will each one be freed from his distress. Now I would\npray you that you will come to fight with us, because I know that you\nare a good Christian, and also that the King whom you serve is very\nlucky. I have a feeling too that we shall get some good from him and\nhis men.\"\n\nIvar agreed to go with him.\n\nHethin was glad at that and said:\n\n\"You must take care not to encounter H\u02c6gni face to face, and also not\nto slay me before you slay him; because no mortal man can encounter\nH\u02c6gni face to face and slay him if I die before him, for the glance\nof his eye strikes terror and spares none. Therefore this is the only\nway: I will attack him in front and engage him in battle, while you go\nbehind and give him his death stroke. You will find it an easy matter\nto slay me, when I am left alive last of all.\"\n\nThen they went into the battle, and Ivar saw that all that Hethin had\ntold him was quite true. He went behind H\u02c6gni and struck him on the\nhead, and clove his skull down to the shoulders, whereupon H\u02c6gni fell\ndown dead and never rose up again. After that he slew all the men\nwho were fighting, and last of all he slew Hethin, which was no great\ntask.\n\nWhen he returned to the ships the day was dawning. He went to the King\nand told him what he had done. The King was very well pleased with\nhis work and told him that he had had great good luck. Next day they\nlanded and made their way to the spot where the battle had taken\nplace; but they saw no sign of what had happened there. Yet the\nbloodstains on Ivar's sword were visible proofs; and never again did\nwatchmen disappear on that coast.\n\nAfter that the King went home to his realm.\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION TO THE SAGA OF HROMUND GREIPSSON\n\n\nIn the _Saga of Thorgils and Haflithi_, ch. 10 (published in\n_Sturlunga Saga_, ed. by G. Vigfusson, Vol. I, p. 19), we are told\nthat at a wedding held at Reykjaholar in Iceland in 1119, \"There was\nfun and merriment and great festivity and all kinds of amusements,\nsuch as dancing and wrestling and story-telling.... Although it is a\nmatter of no great importance, some record has been preserved of the\nentertainment which was provided, and who were the people who provided\nit. Stories were told which many people now reject, and of which they\ndisclaim any knowledge; for it seems that many people do not know\nwhat is true, but think some things to be true which are really pure\ninvention and other things to be fictitious which are really true.\nHralf of Skalmarnes told a story about Hr\u02c6ngvith the Viking and Olaf\n'the Sailors' King,' and about the rifling of the barrow of Thrain the\nberserk, and about Hromund Gripsson, and included many verses in\nhis story. King Sverrir used to be entertained with this story and\ndeclared that fictitious stories like this were the most entertaining\nof any. Yet there are men who can trace their ancestry to Hromund\nGripsson. Hrolf himself had composed this story.\"\n\nAmong those whose ancestry was traced to Hromund Greipsson were Ingolf\nand Leif, the first Norwegian colonists of Iceland. According\nto _Landn\u00b7mab\u00dbk_, 1, ch. 3, they were second cousins, and their\ngrandfathers, who had come from Thelam\u02c6rk in the south-west of Norway,\nwere sons of Hromund. Olaf 'The Sailors' King' is mentioned also\nin the _Saga of Gr\u00ccm Lothinkinni_, ch. 3; and members of his family\nfigure prominently in several other sagas.\n\nThese persons may actually be historical. But the fictitious element\nis obvious enough in many places as, for instance, in Hromund's voyage\nto the west. Thrain himself is vividly presented to us as \"black and\nhuge, with talons like bird's claws, all clad in glittering gold,\nseated on a throne, roaring loudly and blowing a fire!\" This chapter\nis indeed a tale of\n\n  Ghaisties and ghoulies,\n  And lang-leggity beasties,\n  And things that gae bump in the nicht.\n\nThe most curious features of the saga, however, are the blurred and\nperhaps confused reminiscences of stories and characters which form\nthe subject of some of the Edda poems. The brothers Bild and Voli can\nhardly be other than corruptions of the god Balder and his\navenger V\u00b7li. The name of Hromund's sword 'Mistletoe' too may be a\nreminiscence of the same story, though a sword of the same name is\nfound in _Hervarar Saga_ (ch. 2). Again, the account of Hromund's\nsojourn with Hagal, disguised as a grinding-maid, and the search\nmade by Blind (ch. 8) are certainly reminiscences of the Edda poem\n_Helgakvitha Hundingsbana II_ (sometimes called _V\u02c6lsungakvitha_),\nwhere the same adventures are recorded in connection with the same\nnames, except that Helgi here takes the place Hromund.\n\nBut the most interesting case, however, is the story of Hromund's\nopponent Helgi the Bold and Kara (ch. 7). In this story, Helgi is said\nto be in the service of two kings called Hadding, and there can\nbe little doubt that Helgi and Kara are identical with Helgi\nHaddingjaskati and Kara, whose adventures formed the subject of a lost\npoem called _K\u00b7rulj\u00dbth_. This poem is referred to in the prose at the\nend of _Helgakvitha Hundingsbana II_, where it is stated that they\nwere reincarnations of Helgi Hundingsbani and Sigr\u02d9n--just as the two\nlatter were themselves reincarnations of Helgi the son of Hj\u02c6rvarth\nand Sv\u00b7va--\"but that is now said to be an old wives' tale.\"\n\nChapter 4 also has a special interest of its own. Breaking into\nbarrows was a favourite exploit of the Norsemen, no doubt for the sake\nof the gold which they often contained. References to the practice are\nvery common in the sagas, e.g. _Grettissaga_, ch. 18; _Hartharsaga_,\nch. 15; cf. also Saxo Grammaticus, _Dan. Hist._, p. 200 ff., etc. The\nruthlessness with which the Norsemen plundered the Irish barrows is\nmentioned with great indignation in the Irish Chronicles. In the\n_War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill_, cap. XXV, we read that certain\nNorsemen plundered in Ireland \"until they reached Kerry, and they left\nnot a cave there under ground that they did not explore.\" In the same\nwork cap. LXIX, we are told that--\n\n    Never was there a fortress, or a fastness, or a mound, or a\n    church, or a sacred place, or a sanctuary, when it was taken\n    by that howling, furious, loathsome crew, which was not\n    plundered by the collectors and accumulators of that wealth.\n    Neither was there in concealment under ground in Erin, nor the\n    various solitudes belonging to Fians or to Fairies,\n    anything that was not discovered by these foreign, wonderful\n    Denmarkians, through paganism and idol worship.\n\nFinally in the _Annals of Ulster_ we read (sub anno 862) that\n\n    The cave of Achadh-Aldai (i.e. probably New Grange, near\n    Dublin) and [the cave] of Knowth, and the cave of Fert-Boadan\n    over Dowth, and the cave of the smith's wife were searched by\n    the foreigners (i.e. Norsemen, etc.) which had not been done\n    before.\n\nAnd in England as late as 1344 Thomas of Walsingham records the\nslaying of the dragon that guarded a barrow, and the recovery of a\ngreat treasure of gold by the retainers of the Earl of Warrenne.\n\nPopular imagination believed that barrows were occupied by a ghostly\ninhabitant 'haugbui,' who guarded the treasure. This was sometimes a\ndragon, as in _Beowulf_, or a reanimated corpse, as in our saga; but\nwhatever he was, he inspired the outside world with such fear that\nthe breaking into a grave-mound came to be regarded as a deed of the\ngreatest courage and prowess. The 'hogboy' (_haugbui_) of Maeshowe, a\nbarrow in the Orkneys, is still a living reality in the imaginations\nof the country people[1].\n\nUnfortunately _The Saga of Hromund Greipsson_ is preserved only\nin late paper MSS., of which none apparently are earlier than the\nseventeenth century. None of the verses of which the notice in the\n_Saga of Thorgils and Haflithi_ speaks (cf. p. 58 above) have been\npreserved. There is, however, a rhymed version of the saga known as\n_Gr\u00ccplur_, dating apparently from about the year 1400 and evidently\ntaken from a better text than any of those which have come down to us.\nA short extract from these rhymed verses will be found on pp. 173-75.\nFor a full discussion of the relationship of the _Gr\u00ccplur_ to the\nextant texts of the saga and to the later ballads, the reader is\nreferred to K\u02c6lbing, _Beitr\u2030ge zur Vergleichenden Geschichte der\nRomantischen Poesie und Prosa des Mittelalters_ (Breslau, 1876), pp.\n181-83, and to Andrews, _Studies in the Fornaldars\u02c6gur Northrlanda_[2]\nin _Modern Philology_, 1911, 1912.\n\nA full bibliography of texts, translations and literature relating to\nthis saga will be found in _Islandica_, Vol. v, p. 30.\n\n    [Footnote 1: Cf. Joseph Anderson, _Scotland in Pagan Times:\n    The Bronze and Stone Ages_, pp. 278-279 (publ. by Douglas,\n    Edinburgh, 1886).]\n\n    [Footnote 2: It is pointed out by Andrews, p. 2, that the form\n    Lara (which appears in Rafn's and \u00a1smundarson's editions, ch.\n    7) is due to a misreading. The MSS. have Cara.]\n\n\nTHE SAGA OF HROMUND GREIPSSON\n\nI. There was a King called Olaf, the son of Gnothar-Asmund, and he\nruled over Garthar in Denmark, and was very famous. Two brothers, Kari\nand \u00f7rnulf, both mighty warriors, were entrusted with the defence of\nhis territories. In that district there was a wealthy landowner called\nGreip, who had a wife called Gunnl\u02c6th, the daughter of Hrok the Black.\nThey had nine sons whose names were as follows: Hrolf, Haki, Gaut,\nThr\u02c6st, Angantyr, Logi, Hromund, Helgi, Hrok. They were all promising\nfellows, though Hromund was the finest of them. He did not know what\nfear was. He was blue-eyed and fair-haired; he was broad-shouldered,\ntall and strong, and resembled his mother's father. The King had two\nmen called Bild and Voli. They were wicked and deceitful, but the King\nvalued them highly.\n\nOn one occasion King Olaf was sailing eastwards with his fleet along\nthe coast of Norway. They put in at Ulfasker, and lying to off one of\nthe islands they began to plunder. The King bade Kari and \u00f7rnulf go up\non the island and look if they could see any warships. They went up on\nland and saw six warships under some cliffs, one of them being a most\ngorgeous 'Dragon.' Kari called to the men and asked whose ships they\nwere. One of the scoundrels on the 'Dragon' stood up and declared his\nname to be Hr\u02c6ngvith, adding:\n\n\"But what may your name be?\"\n\nKari told him his own name and the name of his brother and added:\n\n\"You are the worst man I know and I am going to chop you into\nfragments.\"\n\nHr\u02c6ngvith replied: \"For thirty-three years I have harried both summer\nand winter. I have fought sixty battles and been victorious every\ntime with my sword Brynthvari, which has never grown blunt. Come here\nto-morrow, Kari, and I will sheathe it in your breast.\"\n\nKari said he would not fail to appear.\n\nHr\u02c6ngvith had it in his power to choose every day who was to perish by\nthe point of his sword.\n\nII. The brothers went back to the King and told him the news. The King\ngave orders to prepare for battle, and his men set to work. The hosts\nmet and a stiff fight took place. The brothers fought bravely, Kari\nslaying eight or twelve men with every blow. When Hr\u02c6ngvith saw that,\nhe leapt up on the King's ship, attacked Kari and thrust him through\nwith his sword. As soon as Kari was wounded he called to the King:\n\n\"Farewell, Sire. I am going to be Othin's guest!\"\n\nHr\u02c6ngvith spitted \u00f7rnulf on his spear, and when both the brothers had\nfallen, Hr\u02c6ngvith called out to the rest to surrender. Then a\nmurmur of discontent arose in the King's host. No blade would wound\nHr\u02c6ngvith. Now it is told that Hromund Greipsson was in the King's\nretinue. He took a club in his hand, fastened a long grey goat's beard\non his face, drew a hood over his head, and then rushed to the fight,\nwhere he found the two brothers lying dead. He rescued the King's\nstandard, and began to deal death among the scoundrels with his club.\n\nHr\u02c6ngvith asked who he was and if he were the father of that wretched\nKari.\n\nHromund told him his name and said he was going to avenge the\nbrothers:--\n\n\"Though Kari was no relative of mine, I will slay you all the same.\"\n\nAnd thereupon he dealt Hr\u02c6ngvith such a blow with his club that his\nhead was all awry afterwards.\n\nHr\u02c6ngvith said: \"I have been in many battles, but I never got such a\nblow!\"\n\nHromund struck another blow at Hr\u02c6ngvith and broke his skull. At the\nthird stroke he died. After that all the survivors surrendered to the\nKing, and so the battle ended.\n\nIII. Then Hromund proceeded to ransack the ship, and came upon a man\nprepared to offer resistance in the prow. He asked the man's name; and\nhe replied that he was called Helgi the Bold, a brother of Hr\u02c6ngvith,\nand added: \"I have no mind to sue for peace.\" Hromund gave orders that\nthe wounds of Helgi the Bold should be attended to. Then he sailed\naway to Sweden and was entrusted with the defence of part of the\ncountry.\n\nAfter that King Olaf sailed away to the British Isles with his host,\nas far as the Hebrides, where they landed and made a raid. There was\na man dwelling hard by whose cattle had been taken and driven away by\nthe King's men, and he was bewailing his loss piteously. Hromund went\nand asked him who he was.\n\nThe man replied that his name was Mani and that his home was a\nvery little way off; and he said that they would win more honour by\nbreaking into barrows and plundering the treasures of ghosts.\n\nHromund asked him to tell him if he knew anything about places of this\nkind.\n\nMani replied that he certainly did:--\n\n\"There was a berserk called Thrain, a big, strong man who was deeply\nversed in sorcery. He conquered Valland and was King there. He was put\ninto a barrow with a sword, armour and great treasure; but no-one is\nin a hurry to go there.\"\n\nHromund asked in which direction they should sail in order to reach\nit, and he replied that they could reach it by sailing due south for\nsix days. Hromund thanked the man for his information, gave him money,\nand restored his cattle to him. Then they sailed away in the direction\nindicated by the man, and at the end of six days they saw the barrow\nstraight in front of their ship.\n\nIV. They went from the British Isles to Valland, and found the barrow\nand immediately set to work to break it open. And when six days had\nelapsed they came upon a trap-door in the barrow. There they beheld a\nbig fiend, black and huge, all clad in glittering gold, and seated on\na throne. He was roaring loudly and blowing a fire.\n\nHromund asked: \"Now who will enter the barrow? Whoever does so shall\nhave his choice of three treasures.\"\n\nVoli replied: \"No-one will be anxious to forfeit his life for them.\nThere are sixty men here, and that troll will be the death of them\nall.\"\n\nHromund said: \"Kari would have ventured on it, had he been alive,\"\nand he added--what was true enough--that even if he were let down by\na rope, it would not be so bad to struggle against eight others as\nagainst Thrain.\n\nThen Hromund climbed down by a rope.--It was during the night; and\nwhen he had got down, he gathered up a great amount of treasure and\nbound it to the end of the rope.\n\nThrain had been King of Valland in bygone days and had won all his\nvictories by magic. He had wrought great evil; and when he was so old\nthat he could fight no longer, he had got himself shut up alive in the\nbarrow, and much treasure along with him.\n\nNow Hromund saw a sword hanging up on a pillar. He took it down,\ngirded it on, and marched up to the throne, saying:\n\n\"It is time for me to leave the barrow since there is no-one to stop\nme. But what ails you, old fellow? Have you not seen me gathering up\nyour money while you sit quietly by, you hateful cur? Were you not\nashamed to look on while I took your sword and necklace and ever so\nmany more of your treasures?\"\n\nThrain said that he cared for nothing if only he would let him sit\nquietly on his throne: \"Formerly,\" he continued, \"I used to be the\nfirst to fight. I must have become a great coward if I let you rob me\nof my wealth single handed; but I'm going to prevent your taking my\ntreasures; you had better beware of me, dead though I am.\"\n\nThen said Hromund: \"Hoist yourself up on your legs, coward and\nweakling, and take back your sword from me if you dare.\"\n\nThe ghost replied: \"There is no glory in attacking me with a sword\nwhen I am unarmed. I would rather try my strength in wrestling with\nyou.\"\n\nThen Hromund flung down the sword and trusted to his strength. When\nThrain saw that, he took down his cauldron which he kept above him.\nHe was by no means pleasant to watch as he blew up his fire, ready to\nmake a meal from the cauldron. The body of the cauldron was full,\nand there was a big flame beneath its feet. Thrain was wearing a\ngold-wrought mantle. Both his hands were crooked and his finger nails\nwere like talons.\n\nHromund said: \"Get down off your throne, vile wretch, now that you\nhave been robbed of all wealth.\"\n\nThen said the ghost: \"To be sure, it is high time to get on my legs,\nsince you taunt me with lack of courage.\"\n\nDay departed, and evening drew on, and it became dark in the barrow.\nThen the ghost began wrestling with Hromund and threw down his\ncauldron. Hromund put forth all his strength, and they fought so hard\nthat rubble and stones were torn up. Then the ghost sank down on one\nknee, saying:\n\n\"You press me hard: you are indeed a brave fellow.\"\n\nHromund replied: \"Stand up on your feet again without support. You are\nmuch weaker than Mani the peasant said.\"\n\nThen Thrain turned himself into a troll, and the barrow was filled\nwith a horrible stench: and he stuck his claws into the back of\nHromund's neck, tearing the flesh from his bones down to his loins,\nsaying:\n\n\"You need not complain if the game is rough and your body sore, for I\nam going to tear you limb from limb.\"\n\n\"I cannot imagine,\" cried Hromund, \"how such a cat has got into this\nbarrow!\"\n\nThe ghost replied: \"You must have been brought up by Gunnl\u02c6th. There\nare not many like you.\"\n\n\"It will go ill with you,\" said Hromund, \"if you go on scratching me\nlong.\"\n\nThey wrestled hard and long till everything round them shook. At last\nHromund tripped him and brought him down. It had become very dark by\nthis time.\n\nThen said the ghost: \"By guile you have overcome me and taken my\nsword. It was that that brought our struggle to this issue. I have\nlived in my barrow for a long time, brooding over my riches; but it is\nnot wise to trust too much to one's treasures, however good they may\nseem. Never would I have thought that you, Mistletoe, my good sword,\nwould do me a hurt.\"\n\nHromund then freed himself and seized the sword, and said:\n\n\"Now tell me how many men you have slain in single combat with\nMistletoe.\"\n\n\"A hundred and forty four,\" said the ghost, \"and I never got a\nscratch. I tried my skill with King Seming who was in Sweden, and he\nwas of the opinion that it would take a long time to vanquish me.\"\n\nHromund said: \"You have been a curse on men for a long time, and it\nwill be a good deed to kill you at once.\"\n\nThen he cut off the ghost's head, and burned him to ashes on the fire;\nand then he went out of the barrow. They asked him on what terms he\nand Thrain had parted, and he replied that matters had gone according\nto his wishes:--\"For I cut off his head.\"\n\nHromund kept for himself the three treasures which he had won in the\nbarrow--the ring, the necklace and Mistletoe; but everyone received a\nshare of the money.\n\nThen King Olaf sailed away to his kingdom in the north, and settled\ndown peacefully in his own country.\n\nV. After that Hromund grew very famous. He was generous and popular.\nOne day he gave to a man called Hrok a ring of solid gold which\nweighed an ounce. Voli got to know about that and slew Hrok by night\nand stole the ring. And when the King heard of it he said he would be\neven with Voli some day for such a piece of villainy.\n\nThe King had two sisters, one called Dagny and the other Svanhvit.\nSvanhvit was better than her sister in every way, and had no equal\nbetween Sweden and Halogaland.\n\nHromund Greipsson was at home at this time and became friendly with\nSvanhvit; but he took no precautions against either Voli or Bild. On\none occasion she told Hromund that Voli and Bild were busy slandering\nhim to the King.\n\nHe said: \"I am not afraid of any low wretch, and I shall talk to you\nas long as you give me the chance.\"\n\nThis slander became so serious that Hromund and his brother had to\nleave the King's retinue and go home to their father.\n\nA short time after, Svanhvit was talking to King Olaf and said:\n\n\"Hromund, who brought us the greatest glory, has now been banished\nfrom the royal retinue; and in his place you retain two men who care\nfor neither honour nor virtue.\"\n\nThe King replied: \"A rumour reached me that he intended to betray you;\nand the sword shall part your love.\"\n\n\"You have very soon forgotten,\" said she, \"the time when he went alone\ninto the barrow; and no-one else dared.--Voli and Bild will be hanged\nfirst.\"\n\nAnd having said this, she departed hastily.\n\nVI. Some time after this, two kings, both called Hadding, came\nfrom Sweden, and Helgi the brother of Hr\u02c6ngvith was with them. They\nchallenged King Olaf to battle with them on the frozen surface of Lake\nVener in the western part of the land. He preferred fighting them to\nabandoning his country, so he summoned Hromund and his brothers to\nfollow him. Hromund, however, declined to go, saying that Bild and\nVoli were mighty fine fellows and always fought for the King.\n\nThe King departed with his host. Svanhvit was grieved at what had\nhappened, and went to Hromund's home. Hromund welcomed her.\n\n\"Hearken now to my prayer,\" said she, \"more favourably than you did to\nmy brother's request, and help the King. I will give you a shield with\na strap attached. Nothing can harm you while you wear this strap.\"\n\nHromund thanked her for the gift and she was comforted; so he and his\neight brothers made ready to set out.\n\nIn the meantime the King and his host reached the frozen Vener, where\nthe Swedish army was waiting for them. And in the morning, as soon as\nit was light enough to fight, they armed themselves on the ice, and\nthe Swedes made a fierce onslaught. Bild was slain as soon as the\nbattle began, but Voli was nowhere to be seen. King Olaf and King\nHadding were wounded.\n\nHromund had pitched his tent near the side of the lake. His brothers\narmed themselves early in the morning; but Hromund said:\n\n\"I had a bad dream in the night; some misfortune is in store for us,\nand I am not going into the battle today.\"\n\nHis brothers replied that it was disgraceful not to have the courage\nto support the King's army, when he had come for that very purpose.\n\nThey went into the battle and fought bravely and all those of the army\nof the Haddings who came against them fell in heaps. A witch had\ncome among them in the likeness of a swan. She sang and worked\nsuch powerful spells that none of Olaf's men took heed to defend\nthemselves. Then she flew over the sons of Greip, singing loudly.\nHer name was Kara. At that same moment Helgi the Bold encountered the\neight brothers and slew every one of them.\n\nVII. At this point Hromund entered the battle. Helgi the Bold caught\nsight of him and cried:\n\n\"Here comes the man who slew my brother Hr\u02c6ngvith. Now you must beware\nof that sword of his which he got in the barrow.--You held aloof while\nI slew your brothers.\"\n\n\"You need not question my courage, Helgi,\" replied Hromund, \"for one\nor other of us must fall now.\"\n\nHelgi said: \"Mistletoe is such a heavy weapon that you cannot use it.\nI will lend you another that you can manage.\"\n\n\"You need not taunt me with faint-heartedness,\" cried Hromund.\n\"Remember the blow which I dealt Hr\u02c6ngvith, when I shattered his skull\nto atoms!\"\n\nHelgi said: \"You have bound a girl's garter round your hand, Hromund.\nLay aside the shield which you are carrying. It will be impossible to\nwound you so long as you carry that: I am sure that you are dependent\non that girl.\"\n\nHromund could not endure these galling words, and flung down his\nshield. Helgi the Bold had always been victorious, and it was by\nmeans of magic that he had gained his success. His mistress' name was\nKara--she who was present in the form of a swan. Helgi brandished his\nsword so high over his head that it chopped off the swan's leg. He\ndrove the sword down into the ground as far as the hilt, and said:\n\n\"My luck has fled now; and it was a bad business when I missed you.\"\n\nHromund replied: \"You were very unlucky, Helgi, to be the slayer of\nyour own mistress, and you will have no more happiness.\"\n\nKara dropped down dead. And with the stroke that Helgi made at\nHromund, when the sword was buried up to the hilt, the point of\nthe sword caught Hromund's belly and ripped it open, and Helgi fell\nforward with the force of his own stroke. Hromund was not behindhand\nthen: he struck Helgi on the head with Mistletoe, cleaving helmet and\nskull down to the shoulders, and breaking a piece out of the sword.\nThen Hromund took his belt-knife and thrust it into his belly where\nthere was a gaping wound, and forced back the paunch fat which was\nhanging out. At the same time he stitched up the edges of his belly\nwith a cord, bound his clothes firmly over it, and so continued\nfighting valiantly. Men fell dead in heaps before him, and he fought\non till midnight. Then the survivors of the army of the Haddings fled,\nand thereupon the battle came to an end.\n\nThen Hromund saw a man standing before him on the ice, and he felt\nconvinced that he must have made the ice on the lake by spells. He\nperceived that it was Voli. He remarked that it was not unfitting\nthat he should give him his deserts, and rushed at him, brandishing\nMistletoe and intending to strike him. Voli blew the sword out of his\nhand, and it happened to light on a hole in the ice, and sank to the\nbottom.\n\nThen Voli laughed and said: \"You are doomed now that you have lost\nhold of Mistletoe.\"\n\nHromund replied: \"You will die before me.\"\n\nThen he leapt upon Voli and caught him up and dashed him down against\nthe ice, so that his neck-bone was broken. There lay the great\nsorcerer dead! But Hromund sat him down on the ice, saying:\n\n\"I did not take the girl's advice, so now I have got fourteen wounds;\nand in addition to that my eight brothers lie slain, and my good blade\nMistletoe has fallen into the lake, and nothing will ever make up to\nme for the loss of my sword.\"\n\nThen he went back to his tent and got some rest.\n\nVIII. Now the King's sisters were sent for. Svanhvit examined\nHromund's wound, and stitched his stomach together and tried to bring\nhim round. She got him taken to a man called Hagal to be cured. This\nman's wife was very skilful, and they made him welcome and nursed him\nback to health. Hromund discovered that the couple were skilled in\nmagic.\n\nThe man was a fisherman, and one day when he was fishing, he caught a\npike, and on going home and cutting it open he found Hromund's sword\nMistletoe in its maw, and gave it to him. Hromund was glad to get it\nand kissed the sword-hilt and rewarded the peasant richly.\n\nIn King Hadding's army was a man called Blind the Evil. He told the\nKing that Hromund was alive and was being nursed secretly in the home\nof the peasant couple. The King refused to believe it, declaring that\nthey would not dare to conceal him; but he ordered a search to be\nmade. Blind and some other men went to the dwelling of Hagal and his\nwife and asked if Hromund was under their care. The woman said he\nwould not be found there. Blind searched thoroughly, but did not find\nHromund because the woman had hidden him under her cauldron. Blind and\nhis companions went away, and when they had gone some distance Blind\nsaid:\n\n\"Our quest has not been fruitful. We must go back again.\"\n\nThey did so. They went back and found the woman. Blind told her that\nshe was a crafty one and had hidden Hromund under her cauldron.\n\n\"Look there then and see if you can find him,\" said she. This she\nsaid because, when she saw them returning, she had dressed Hromund in\nwoman's clothes and set him to grind and turn the handmill. The men\nnow made search in the house and when they came upon the girl turning\nthe handmill they sniffed all round the place, but she cast an\nunfriendly look on the King's men, and they went away again without\nfinding anything.\n\nAnd when they had gone away, Blind said that the peasant's wife\nhad made things look different from what they were, and he had his\nsuspicions that it must have been Hromund who was turning the mill,\ndressed as a woman.--\"And I see we have been deceived. We shall do no\ngood struggling with the woman for she is more cunning than we.\"\n\nThey cursed her and went back home to the King, leaving matters as\nthey stood.\n\nIX. In the following winter Blind saw many things in a dream, and on\none occasion he told his dream to the King, saying:\n\n\"I dreamed that a wolf came running from the east, and bit you and\nwounded you, O King.\"\n\nThe King said he would interpret his dream as follows:\n\n\"A King will come here from some other land, and his coming will be\nterrible at first; yet afterwards peace will be brought about.\"\n\nAnd Blind said that he dreamed he saw many hawks perched on a\nhouse--\"And there I espied your falcon, Sire. He was all bare and\nstripped of his feathers.\"\n\nThe King said: \"A wind will come from the clouds and shake our\ncastle.\"\n\nBlind related a third dream as follows.\n\n\"I saw a herd of swine running from the south towards the King's hall\nand rooting up the earth with their snouts.\"\n\nThe King said: \"That signifies the flood-tide, wet weather, and grass\nspringing from moisture, when the sun shines on the heath.\"\n\nBlind related a fourth dream:\n\n\"I thought I saw a terrible giant come hither from the east; he gave\nyou a great wound with his teeth.\"\n\nThe King said: \"Messengers from some King will come into my hall. They\nwill provoke enmity and I shall be angered thereby.\"\n\n\"Here is a fifth dream,\" said Blind; \"I dreamed that a terrible\nserpent lay coiled round Sweden.\"\n\n\"A splendid warship will land here, loaded with jewels,\" said the\nKing.\n\n\"I had a sixth dream,\" said Blind; \"I dreamed that dark clouds came\nover the land with claws and wings, and flew away with thee, O King;\nand I dreamed moreover that there was a serpent in the house of Hagal\nthe peasant. He attacked people in a terrible manner. He devoured both\nyou and me and all the men belonging to the court. Now what can that\nsignify?\"\n\nThe King said: \"I have heard that there is a bear lurking not far from\nHagal's dwelling. I will go and attack the bear, and it will be in a\ngreat rage.\"\n\n\"Next I dreamed that a dragon's form had been drawn round the King's\nhall, and Hromund's belt was hanging from it.\"\n\nThe King said: \"You know that Hromund lost his sword and belt in the\nlake; and are you afraid of Hromund after that?\"\n\nBlind dreamed yet more dreams which he told to the King; and the King\ninterpreted them all to his liking, and none of them according to\ntheir real significance.\n\nBut now Blind related one more dream--this time one which concerned\nhimself.\n\n\"I dreamed that an iron ring was fixed round my neck.\"\n\nThe King said: \"The meaning of this dream is that you are going to be\nhanged; and that will be the end of both of us.\"\n\nX. After that King Olaf gathered together an army and went to Sweden.\nHromund accompanied him, and they took the hall of King Hadding by\nsurprise. He was in bed in an outer chamber, and was not aware of\ntheir presence till they smashed in the door of his room. Hadding\nshouted to his men and asked who was disturbing the peace of the\nnight. Hromund told him who they were.\n\nThe King said: \"You are anxious to avenge your brothers.\"\n\nHromund said that he had not come to waste words about the death of\nhis brothers, adding--\"Now you will have to pay for it and perish on\nthe spot.\"\n\nThen one of King Hadding's champions, as big as a giant, leapt up; but\nHromund slew him. King Hadding covered himself up in bed and got no\nwound, because every time Hromund cut down at him, the sword turned\nand came down flat on him. Then Hromund took a club and beat King\nHadding to death.\n\nThen said Hromund: \"Here I have laid low King Hadding, the most famous\nman I have ever seen.\"\n\nThe man Blind, who was also called Bavis, was bound and then hanged;\nand so his dream was fulfilled.\n\nThey got a quantity of gold and other booty there, and then went\nhome. King Olaf married Svanhvit to Hromund. They were devoted to one\nanother, and had a family of sons and daughters; they were people of\ngreat distinction in every respect. Kings and great champions sprang\nfrom their stock.\n\nHere ends the Saga of Hromund Greipsson.\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION TO THE SAGA OF HERV\u00f7R AND HEITHREK\n\n\nThe _Saga of Herv\u02c6r and Heithrek_ is found in two vellums, the\n_Hauksb\u00dbk_ (A.M. 544), dating from c. 1325, which for convenience\nis usually called _H_; and MS. 2845[1] in the Royal Library at\nCopenhagen, dating from the fifteenth century, and generally called\n_R_. Besides these there are a number of paper MSS. (h) dating\nfrom the seventeenth century. According to Bugge[2], these have no\nindependent value and can contribute nothing to our knowledge of the\ntext up to the point at which the vellums break off. They are useful\nhowever as continuing the Saga beyond this point. _H_ comes to an end\nwith Gestumblindi's second riddle, while _R_ breaks off just before\nthe close of ch. 12. Beyond this point we are entirely dependent on\nthe paper MSS. One of these (A.M. 345 written in 1694) was adopted by\nRafn[3] as the text for his edition of the Saga, though he gives _H_\nin full as an Appendix.\n\nThe MSS. differ considerably among themselves. For instance _R_ omits\nthe first chapter of the Saga, but contains _Hjalmar's Death Song_.\nHere, too, many of the riddles are wanting, and the order of the\nrest is quite different from that of _h_. Finnur J\u00dbnsson[4] is of the\nopinion that _R_ is the best text throughout; but Heusler[5], like\nValdimar \u00a1smundarson, keeps the order of the riddles as in _h_.\nPetersen[6] regards _H_ as the best text and follows it so far as\nit goes; but when it breaks off he follows _R_ mainly, although he\nconsiders the latter MS. to be defective in many places, \"at the\nbeginning, middle and end.\" He has supplied the lacunae in it from\nArn. Magn. 192, the paper MS. which comes nearest to it, and also\nfrom others but with greater reservation. Valdimar \u00a1smundarson,\nlike Petersen, and no doubt influenced by him, has followed _H_ very\nclosely in his edition of the Saga[7] till it breaks off, and after\nthat the paper MSS. (_h_) most closely related to it. He does not\nappear to have used _R_, and therefore omits the details of the fight\non Sams\u00af and _Hjalmar's Death Song_. \u00a1smundarson's version has been\nfollowed closely in the translation given below, but one or two\ninteresting passages omitted by _H_ have been translated separately\n(see Appendix on pp. 144-150) from the text printed from _R_ in\nWimmer's _Oldnordisk L\u00casebog_[8] and from some short excerpts from _h_\nprinted at the close of Petersen's edition of the Saga.\n\nFor a full bibliography of the texts, translations, and literature\ndealing with this saga the reader is referred to _Islandica_, Vol. V,\npp. 22-26.\n\nIn this saga we have what appears to be the history of a certain\nfamily for more than four generations. From the point of view of\nconstruction, the story can hardly be regarded as a success. Yet it\ncontains scenes at least equal to any others which can be found among\nsagas of this kind. It also embodies a considerable amount of poetry\nwhich is not found elsewhere. Some of this is of high merit, and one\npiece, dealing with the battle between the Huns and the Goths, is\nevidently of great antiquity.\n\nThe Saga opens in a purely mythical milieu--with Guthmund in\nGlasisvellir, to whom we have already had reference in the story\nof Nornagest. Next we have a typical story of the Viking Age--the\nadventures of the sons of Arngrim and their fight on Sams\u00af. This\nstory is known to us from other sources, the earliest being the poem\n_Hyndlulj\u00dbth_ (str. 24), which according to Finnur J\u00dbnsson[9] cannot\nbe later in date than the latter part of the tenth century, though\nMogk[10] is inclined to doubt this. Other references occur in the\n_Saga of \u00f7rvar-Odd_, Saxo's _Danish History_, the later ballads\ntranslated below, etc.\n\nWe then pass on to the account of Herv\u02c6r, the daughter of Angantyr\n(which is only found here and in the ballads), and the striking poem\nin which she is represented as visiting her father's grave-mound to\nobtain his sword.\n\nThe next and longest section contains the life of Herv\u02c6r's son\nHeithrek, which is peculiar to this saga and which in its earlier\npart likewise seems to be a story of the Viking Age. Towards the end,\nhowever, it gradually dawns upon us that there has been an unconscious\nchange of scene, and that Heithrek instead of being a Viking prince\nof the Northern coasts, is now represented as a King of the Goths,\nsomewhere in the East of Europe--apparently in the neighbourhood\nof the Dnieper. In the last section of the story, dealing with the\nadventures of Angantyr and Hl\u02c6th, the sons of Heithrek, there is no\nlonger any reminiscence of the Viking Age or the North of Europe. Here\nwe are away back among the Goths and Huns in the fifth or the latter\npart of the fourth century.\n\nThroughout this strange concatenation of scenes a connecting link\nis afforded by the magic flaming sword, which is handed on from\ngeneration to generation, and which can never be sheathed without\nhaving dealt a death wound.\n\nIt is abundantly clear that the latter part of the story is of a\ntotally different origin from the first part, and in reality many\ncenturies earlier. The prose here is for the most part little more\nthan a paraphrase of the poem, which probably has its roots in poetry\nof the Gothic period. But how this story came to be joined on to a\nnarrative of the Viking Age is far from clear.\n\nIt is also interesting to note that some of the characters in the\nsaga are repetitions of one another. At all events what is said about\nHerv\u02c6r the daughter of Heithrek in the latter part of the story bears\na strong resemblance to the description of the more prominent Herv\u02c6r,\nthe daughter of Angantyr, in the first part.\n\nThree poems of considerable length are preserved in the story. The\nRiddles of Gestumblindi, though somewhat tedious as a whole, afford\na better specimen of this type of composition than is to be found\nelsewhere in early Norse literature. They cannot fail to be of\nconsiderable interest to anyone who studies the Anglo-Saxon Riddles,\nthough unlike the latter they are wholly Teutonic in spirit and form.\nDirect Latin influence appears to be entirely absent.\n\nGestumblindi's Riddles, while they belong essentially to popular\nliterature, yet contain many arresting phrases which show a minute\nobservation of nature. They illustrate the condensed, proverbial type\nof wisdom that prevails in a primitive state of society, as well as\nits keen interest and delight in the little things of life. They can\nhardly be called literature as we understand the term; they are rather\nthe stuff of which literature is made. But though it is a far cry from\nthese little nature verses to the more beautiful and more ambitious\nnature poems of Burns and Tennyson, yet Gestumblindi's loving interest\nin \"every creature of earth\" surprised even King Heithrek into\ncomment. The keen and whimsical observation that noted that even a\nspider is a \"marvel\" and that it \"carries its knees higher than its\nbody\" is the same spirit that inspired a poem to the\n\n  Wee sleekit, cowrin', tim'rous beastie.\n\nThe poet who noticed that water falling as hail on rock looks _white_\nby contrast, yet forms little _black_ circles when it falls into the\nsand as rain, had much in common with one who noticed that rock and\nsand yield opposite sounds when struck by the same object--\n\n  Low on the sand and loud on the stone\n  The last wheel echoed away.\n\nBut though these things are pleasing in themselves, they are, of\ncourse, slight. Gestumblindi cannot rise to the heights of true poetry\nreached by Burns or Tennyson.\n\nBesides the Riddles, this saga has preserved for us two far finer\npoems--in fact two of the finest Norse poems that we possess--the\ndialogue between Herv\u02c6r and Angantyr at the Barrows of Sams\u00af, and\nthe narrative of the great battle between the Goths and the Huns, the\n_Chevy Chase_ of the North. The ruthlessness and barbaric splendour of\nthe Hunnish leaders, the cruelty and the poetry of warfare a thousand\nyears ago, are here vividly depicted in Norse verse at its simplest\nand best.\n\nWe may notice too the little vignettes that appear from time to time\nboth in the poetry itself and in the prose narrative, some of which is\nevidently derived from lost verses.--Herv\u02c6r standing at sunrise on the\nsummit of the tower and looking southward towards the forest; Angantyr\nmarshalling his men for battle and remarking drily that there used to\nbe more of them when mead drinking was in question; great clouds of\ndust rolling over the plain, through which glittered white corslet and\ngolden helmet, as the Hunnish host came riding on.\n\nThe dialogue between Herv\u02c6r and Angantyr, despite a certain\nmelodramatic element in the setting, is treated with great delicacy\nand poetic feeling, and an atmosphere of terror and mystery pervades\nthe whole poem. The midnight scene in the eerie and deserted\nburial-ground, the lurid flickering of the grave fires along the\nlonely beach, the tombs opening one by one as the corpses start to\nlife--all these work on the imagination and create an atmosphere\nof dread. The poet understood the technique of presenting the\nsupernatural, and he is deliberately vague and suggestive. Much more\nis implied than is stated, and much is left to the imagination.\n\nThe greatest charm of the poem, however, lies in the sympathetic\ntreatment of Herv\u02c6r. The Herv\u02c6r of the prose narrative is perfectly\nconsistent with the Herv\u02c6r of the poem, but at the same time the\npoem--which is probably more than a century older than the saga--would\nlead us to conclude that her character was not correctly understood by\nthe writer of the saga. Obviously unsympathetic, he denounces her with\nan indignation which would have made the writer of the poem smile.\n\n\"She grew up to be a beautiful girl ... but as soon as she could do\nanything it was oftener harm than good; and when she had been checked\nshe escaped to the woods.... And when the Earl heard of it he had her\ncaught and brought home.\"\n\nThe picture which the poem presents to us is that of a high-spirited\ngirl, headstrong and impulsive, not unlike Brynhild in the V\u02c6lsung\nstory. When she goes to the barrows, every nerve is strung up to gain\nthe treasure that has fired her imagination:\n\n  What care I though the death-fires blaze,\n  They sink and tremble before my gaze,\n        They quiver out and die!\n\nBut a reaction comes when she holds the sword in her hands at last:\n\n  Surely in terror I drew my breath\n  Between the worlds of life and death\n        When the grave fires girt me round.\n\nSurveying the saga as a whole, perhaps the most striking feature is\nits extraordinary diversity of interest. It would be difficult to find\nelsewhere in Norse literature--or indeed perhaps in any literature--so\ngreat a variety of subjects and of literary forms brought together\nwithin such narrow limits.\n\nOf the poems contained in the saga, the first is romantic, the second\ngnomic, the third heroic--and the prose narrative itself is not less\nvaried in character. The conclusion of the saga appears to be purely\nhistorical; indeed it is generally regarded as one of the most\nimportant authorities for early Swedish history. Elsewhere also\nhistorical elements are probably not wanting, but they are interwoven\nin a network of romance and folklore. Thus whoever King Heithrek may\nhave been, the part which he has come to play in the saga is chiefly\nthat of linking together a number of folk-tales and illustrating\npopular saws. As regards chronology, the war described in ch. 12-15\nmust belong to a period nearly seven centuries before the incidents\nrelated at the close of the saga. Still more strange is the fact that\nthe victor in this war, the younger Angantyr, would seem to have lived\nsome four or five centuries before his great grandfather and namesake\nwho perished at Sams\u00af--if indeed the latter story rests on any genuine\ntradition. In spite of these and similar inconsistencies, however,\nthe saga is on the whole perhaps the most attractive of all the\n_Fornaldars\u02c6gur_.\n\n    [Footnote 1: This MS. is identical with the one referred to as\n    _A_ in the Introduction to the _Th\u00b7ttr of Nornagest_ (cf. p.\n    11 above).]\n\n    [Footnote 2: Quoted by Heusler, _Eddica Minora_ (Dortmund,\n    1903), p. vii.]\n\n    [Footnote 3: _Fornaldars\u02c6gur Northrlanda_ (Copenhagen, 1829),\n    Vol. I; _Antiquit\u00c8s russes_ etc. (Copenhagen, 1850-2), Vol.\n    I.]\n\n    [Footnote 4: _Oldnorske og Oldislandske Litteraturs Historie_,\n    Vol. II, p. 839 f.]\n\n    [Footnote 5: _Eddica Minora_, pp. 106-120.]\n\n    [Footnote 6: Cf. _Forord_ to N. M. Petersen's edition of\n    _Hervarar Saga ok Heithreks Konungs_ (published by the\n    'Nordiske Literatur-Samfund,' Copenhagen, 1847).]\n\n    [Footnote 7: See _Fornaldars\u02c6gur Northrlanda_ (Reykjav\u00cck,\n    1891), Vol. I, pp. 309-360.]\n\n    [Footnote 8: Copenhagen, 4th edition, 1889.]\n\n    [Footnote 9: _Oldnorske og Oldislandske Litteraturs Historie_,\n    Vol. I, p. 201.]\n\n    [Footnote 10: _Geschichte der Norwegisch-Isl\u2030ndischen\n    Literatur_ (Strassburg, 1904), p. 605.]\n\n\nTHE SAGA OF HERV\u00f7R AND HEITHREK\n\nHere begins the Saga of King Heithrek the Wise.\n\nI. It is said that in the days of old the northern part of Finnmark\nwas called J\u02c6tunheimar, and that there was a country called Ymisland\nto the south between it and Halogaland. These lands were then the home\nof many giants and half-giants; for there was a great intermixture\nof races at that time, because the giants took wives from among the\npeople of Ymisland.\n\nThere was a king in J\u02c6tunheimar called Guthmund. He was a mighty man\namong the heathen. He dwelt at a place called Grund in the region of\nGlasisvellir. He was wise and mighty. He and his men lived for\nmany generations, and so heathen men believed that the fields of\nimmortality lay in his realm; and whoever went there cast off sickness\nor old age and became immortal.\n\nAfter Guthmund's death, people worshipped him and called him their\ngod. His son's name was H\u02c6fund. He had second sight and was wise of\nunderstanding, and was judge of all suits throughout the neighbouring\nkingdoms. He never gave an unjust judgment, and no-one dared violate\nhis decision.\n\nThere was a man called Hergrim who was a giant dwelling in the rocks.\nHe carried off from Ymisland Ama the daughter of Ymir, and afterwards\nmarried her. Their son Thorgrim Halftroll took from J\u02c6tunheimar \u00f7gn\nAlfasprengi, and afterwards married her. Their son was called Grim.\nShe had been betrothed to Starkath Aludreng, who had eight hands; but\nshe was carried off while he was away to the north of Elivagar. When\nhe came home he slew Hergrim in single combat; but \u00f7gn ran herself\nthrough with a sword rather than marry Starkath. After that Starkath\ncarried off Alfhild the daughter of King Alf from Alfheimar, but he\nwas afterwards slain by Thor.\n\nThen Alfhild went to her kinsfolk, and Grim was with her there till\nhe went raiding and became a great warrior. He married Bauggerth the\ndaughter of Starkath Aludreng and set up his dwelling on an island\noff Halogaland called Bolm. He was called Ey-grim Bolm. His son by\nBauggerth was called Arngrim the Berserk, who afterwards lived in Bolm\nand was a very famous man.\n\nII. There was a King called Sigrlami who was said to be a son of\nOthin. His son Svafrlami succeeded to the kingdom after his father and\nwas a very great warrior. One day as the King rode a-hunting he got\nseparated from his men, and at sunset he came upon a big stone and\ntwo dwarfs beside it. The King banned them with his graven sword from\nentering the stone. The dwarfs begged him to spare their lives.\n\nThe King said: \"What are your names?\"\n\nOne of them said his name was Dvalin and the other Dulin.\n\nThe King said: \"As you are the most cunning of all dwarfs you must\nmake me a sword, the best you can. The hilt and the grip must be of\ngold, and it must cut iron as easily as if it were cloth and never\nrust; and it must bring victory to whoever uses it in battle and\nsingle combat.\"\n\nThey agreed to this, and the King rode away home.\n\nAnd when the appointed day came, the King rode to the stone. The\ndwarfs were outside, and they handed to the King a sword which was\nvery beautiful.\n\nBut as Dvalin was standing in the doorway of the stone he said:\n\n\"Your sword, Svafrlami, will be the death of a man every time it\nis drawn; and moreover it will be the instrument of three pieces of\nvillainy; and to you yourself also it shall bring death.\"\n\nThen the King struck at the dwarfs with the sword. But they sprang\ninto the stone, and the sword came down on it--sinking so deep that\nboth the ridges of the blade were hidden; for the door into the stone\nclosed as they disappeared. The King called the sword 'Tyrfing,' and\never afterwards he carried it in battle and single combat, and was\nalways victorious.\n\nThe King had a daughter who was called Eyfura, an exceedingly\nbeautiful and clever girl.\n\nAt that time Arngrim was raiding among the Perms in the Baltic. He\nraided the Kingdom of King Svafrlami and fought against him. They met\nface to face, and King Svafrlami struck at Arngrim who parried the\nblow with his shield; but the lower part of the shield was cut away\nand the sword plunged into the earth. Then Arngrim struck off the\nKing's hand, so that he had to let Tyrfing fall. Arngrim caught up\nTyrfing and cut down first the King, and then many others. He took\ngreat booty there, and carried off Eyfura, the King's daughter and\ntook her to his home in Bolm.\n\nBy her he had twelve sons. The eldest was Angantyr, then Hervarth,\nthen Hj\u02c6rvarth, S\u00caming and Hrani, Brami, Barri, Reifnir, Tind and Bui,\nand the two Haddings who only did one man's work between them, because\nthey were twins and the youngest of the family; whereas Angantyr, who\nwas a head taller than other men, did the work of two. They were all\nberserks, and were unequalled in strength and courage. Even when they\nwent marauding there were never more than just the twelve brothers on\none ship. They raided far and wide in many lands, and had much success\nand won great renown. Angantyr had Tyrfing, and S\u00caming Mistletoe,\nHervarth had Hrotti, and each of the others possessed a sword famous\nin single combat. And it was their custom when they had only their own\nmen with them, to land when they felt the berserks' fury coming upon\nthem, and wrestle with trees or great rocks; for they had been known\nto slay their own men and disable their ship. Great tales were told\nabout them and they became very famous.\n\nIII. One Yule Eve at Bolm, Angantyr made a vow over the pledge cup, as\nthe custom then was, that he would wed Ingibj\u02c6rg the daughter of King\nYngvi of Upsala--the cleverest and most beautiful maiden in all the\nNorthlands--or perish in the attempt and marry no-one else. No more of\ntheir vows are recorded.\n\nTyrfing had this characteristic, that whenever it was unsheathed it\nshone like a sunbeam, even in the dark, and could only be sheathed\nwith human blood still warm upon it. Never did he whose blood was shed\nby Tyrfing live to see another day. It is very famous in all stories\nof the olden days.\n\nNext summer the brothers went to Upsala in Sweden, and when they had\nentered the hall, Angantyr told the King his vow and that he intended\nto wed his daughter.\n\nEverybody in the hall listened. Angantyr asked the King to declare\nwhat was to be the result of their errand, whereupon Hjalmar the\nstout-hearted rose from the table, and addressed the King:\n\n\"Call to mind, Sire, how much honour I have won for you since I came\ninto your kingdom, and how many times I have risked my life for you.\nIn return for these my services I beg that you will give me your\ndaughter in marriage. And moreover I consider myself more deserving a\nfavourable answer than these berserks, who do harm to everyone.\"\n\nThe King pondered over the matter, and found it difficult to decide\nthe question in such a way as to give rise to as little trouble as\npossible; and he answered at last:\n\n\"My wish is that Ingibj\u02c6rg should choose for herself the husband she\nprefers.\"\n\nShe replied: \"If you want to marry me to anyone, then I would rather\nhave a man whose good qualities I know already than one of whom I have\nonly known by hearsay, and nothing but evil at that.\"\n\nAngantyr said: \"I will not bandy words with you; for I can see that\nyou love Hjalmar. But as for you, Hjalmar, come south to Sams\u00af and\nmeet me in single combat. If you do not appear next midsummer you will\nbe a coward in the eyes of all men.\"\n\nHjalmar said that he would not fail to come and fight, and the sons of\nArngrim went home to their father and told him what had happened. He\nreplied that this was the first time he had ever felt any anxiety on\ntheir behalf.\n\nThey spent the winter at home, and in the spring made ready to start,\ngoing first to Earl Bjartmar, where a feast was made for them.\nAnd during the evening Angantyr asked the Earl for the hand of his\ndaughter and in this as in the rest they got their wish. The wedding\ntook place, and afterwards the sons of Arngrim prepared to set out.\nBut the night before they left, Angantyr had a dream which he related\nto the Earl:\n\n\"I dreamed that I and my brothers were in Sams\u00af. We found many birds\nthere and killed all that we saw. Then I dreamed that as we were\nsetting out again upon the island, two eagles flew towards us. I went\nagainst one and we had a stiff encounter; and at last we sank down and\nhad no strength left in us. But the other eagle fought with my eleven\nbrothers and overcame them all.\"\n\nThe Earl said: \"The death of mighty men has been revealed to you in\nthis dream.\"\n\nThen Angantyr and his brothers went away and came to Sams\u00af, and went\nashore to look for Hjalmar; and the story of their adventures there\nis related in the _Saga of \u00f7rvar-Odd_. First they came to Munarvagar,\nwhere they slew all the men from the two ships of Hjalmar and Odd; and\nafterwards they went ashore and encountered Hjalmar and Odd themselves\non the island. Odd slew Angantyr's eleven brothers, and Hjalmar slew\nAngantyr, and afterwards died there himself of his wounds.\n\nThen Odd had all the rest of them placed in great barrows with all\ntheir weapons; but Hjalmar's body he took home to Sweden. And when\nIngibj\u02c6rg the King's daughter saw Hjalmar's body, she fell down dead\nand they were both laid together in one barrow at Upsala.\n\nIV. The story goes on to say that a girl was born to the daughter of\nEarl Bjartmar. Everyone advised exposing the child, saying that if\nshe resembled her father's kinsmen she would not have a womanly\ndisposition. The Earl, however, had her sprinkled with water; and\nhe brought her up, and called her Herv\u02c6r, saying that the line of\nArngrim's sons would not be extinguished if she were left alive.\n\nShe grew up to be a beautiful girl. She was tall and strong, and\ntrained herself in the use of bow, shield and sword. But as soon as\nshe could do anything it was oftener harm than good; and when she had\nbeen checked she ran away to the woods and killed people to provide\nherself with money. And when the Earl heard of it, he had her caught\nand brought home, where she remained for a time.\n\nOne day she went to the Earl and said: \"I want to go away because I am\nnot happy here.\"\n\nA little while after she departed alone, dressed and armed like a\nman, and joined some vikings and stayed with them for a time, calling\nherself Hervarth. Shortly afterwards the chief of the vikings died,\nand Hervarth took command of the band.\n\nOne day when they sailed to Sams\u00af, Hervarth landed; but her men would\nnot follow her, saying that it was not safe for anyone to be out of\ndoors there by night. Hervarth declared that there was likely to be\nmuch treasure in the barrows. She landed on the island towards sunset,\nbut they lay off in Munarvagar. She met a shepherd boy and asked him\nfor information.\n\nHe said: \"You are a stranger to the island; but come home with me, for\nit is unsafe for anyone to be out of doors here after sunset; and I am\nin a hurry to get home.\"\n\nHervarth replied: \"Tell me where are 'Hj\u02c6rvarth's Barrows,' as they\nare called.\"\n\n\"You must surely be mad,\" replied the boy, \"if you want to explore by\nnight what no-one dare visit at mid-day. Burning flame plays over them\nas soon as the sun has set.\"\n\nBut Hervarth insisted that she would visit the barrows--whereupon the\nshepherd said:\n\n\"I see that you are a brave man though not a wise one, so I will give\nyou my necklace if you will come home with me.\"\n\nBut Hervarth replied: \"Even if you give me all you have you will not\nhold me back.\"\n\nAnd when the sun had set, loud rumblings were heard all over the\nisland, and flames leapt out of the barrows. Then the shepherd grew\nfrightened and took to his heels and ran to the wood as fast as he\ncould, without once looking back. Here is a poem giving an account of\nhis talk with Herv\u02c6r:\n\n  Driving his flocks at the fall of day,\n  In Munarvagar along the bay,\n            A shepherd met a maid.--\n  \"Who comes to our island here alone?\n  Haste to seek shelter, the day is done,\n            The light will quickly fade.\"\n\n  \"I will not seek for a resting place:\n  A stranger am I to the island race.--\n            But tell me quick I pray,\n  Ere thou goest hence, if I may descry\n  Where the tombs of the children of Arngrim lie:\n            O tell me, where are they?\"\n\n  \"Forbear from such questions utterly!\n  Foolish and rash must thou surely be,\n            And in a desperate plight!\n  Let us haste from these horrors as fast as we can,\n  For abroad it is ghastly for children of men\n            To wander about in the night.\"\n\n  \"My necklace of gold is the price I intend\n  To pay for thy guidance; for I am the friend\n            Of vikings, and will not be stayed.\"\n  \"No treasures so costly, nor rings of red gold\n  Shall take me their thrall, or my footsteps withhold,\n            That thereby my flight be gainsaid.\n\n  \"Foolish is he who comes here alone\n  In the fearsome dark when the sun has gone\n            And the flames are mounting high;--\n  When earth and fen are alike ablaze,\n  And tombs burst open before thy gaze:\n            O faster let us hie!\"\n\n  \"Let us never heed for the snorting blaze,\n  Nor fear, though over the island ways\n            Dart tongues of living light.\n  Let us not lightly give way to fear\n  Of the noble warriors buried here,\n            But talk with them tonight.\"\n\n  But the shepherd lad fled fast away,\n  Nor stayed to hear what the youth would say,\n            But into the forest sped;\n  While in Herv\u02c6r's breast rose proud and high\n  Her hard-knit heart, as she saw near by\n            The dwellings of the dead.\n\nShe could now see the fires of the barrows and the ghosts standing\noutside; and she approached the barrows fearlessly and passed through\nthe fires as if they had been merely smoke, until she reached the\nbarrow of the berserks. Then she cried:\n\n  V. Awaken, Angantyr, hearken to me!\n  The only daughter of Tofa and thee\n            Is here and bids thee awake!\n  Give me from out the barrow's shade\n  The keen-edged sword which the dwarfs once made\n            For Svafrlami's sake.\n\n  Hervarth, Hj\u02c6rvarth, Angantyr,\n  And Hrani, under the tree-roots here,\n            I bid you now appear;--\n  Clad in harness and coat of mail,\n  With shield and broadsword of biting steel,\n            Helmet and reddened spear!\n\n  The sons of Arngrim are changed indeed\n  To heaps of dust, and Eyfura's seed\n            Has crumbled into mould.--\n  In Munarvagar will no one speak\n  To her who has come thus far to seek\n            Discourse with the men of old?\n\n  Hervarth, Hj\u02c6rvarth, Angantyr\n  And Hrani, great be your torment here\n            If ye will not hear my words.\n  Give me the blade that Dvalin made;\n  It is ill becoming the ghostly dead\n            To keep such costly swords!\n\n  In your tortured ribs shall my curses bring\n  A maddening itch and a frenzied sting,\n            Till ye writhe in agonies,\n  As if ye were laid to your final rest\n  Where the ants are swarming within their nest,\n            And revelling in your thighs!\n\nThen answered Angantyr:\n\n  O Herv\u02c6r, daughter, why dost thou call\n  Words full of cursing upon us all?\n            Thou goest to meet thy doom!\n  Mad art thou grown, and thy wits are fled;\n  Thy mind is astray, that thou wak'st the dead\n            --The dwellers in the tomb.\n\n  No father buried me where I lie,\n  Nor other kinsman[1] ...\n  The only two who remained unslain\n  Laid hold on Tyrfing, but now again\n            One only possesses the sword.\n\nShe answered:\n\n  Nought save the truth shalt thou tell to me!\n  May the ancient gods deal ill with thee\n            If thou harbour Tyrfing there!\n  Thine only daughter am I, and yet\n  Unwilling thou art that I should get\n            That which belongs to thine heir!\n\nIt now seemed as if the barrows, which had opened, were surrounded\nwith an unbroken ring of flame. Then Angantyr cried:\n\n  The barrows are opening! Before thy gaze\n  The round of the island is all ablaze,\n            And the gate of Hell stands wide.\n  There are spectres abroad that are ghastly to see.\n  Return, little maiden, right hastily\n            To thy ship that waits on the tide.\n\nShe replied:\n\n  No funeral fire that burns by night\n  Can make me tremble with affright,\n            Or fear of awful doom.\n  Thy daughter's heart can know no fear,\n  Though a ghost before her should appear\n            In the doorway of the tomb.\n\nAngantyr:\n\n  O Herv\u02c6r, Herv\u02c6r, hearken to me!\n  Nought save the truth will I tell to thee\n            That will surely come about!\n  Believe me, maiden, Tyrfing will be\n  A curse upon all thy progeny\n            Till thy race be blotted out.\n\n  A son shalt thou bear, as I prophesy,\n  Who shall fight with Tyrfing mightily,\n            And trust to Tyrfing's might.\n  I tell thee Heithrek shall be his name,\n  The noblest man and of greatest fame\n            Of all under Heaven's light.\n\nHerv\u02c6r:\n\n  On all you dead this curse I cry:--\n  Mouldering and rotting shall ye lie\n            With the spirits in the tomb!\n  Out of the barrow, Angantyr,\n  Give me the keen-edged Tyrfing here,\n            The sword called 'Hjalmar's Doom'!\n\nAngantyr:\n\n  Surely unlike to a mortal thou\n  To wander about from howe to howe,\n            And stand in the doorway here!\n  In the horror of night-time, my little maid,\n  Thou comest with helmet and byrnie and blade,\n            And shakest thy graven spear!\n\nHerv\u02c6r:\n\n  A mortal maiden is she who comes,\n  Arousing the corpses within their tombs,\n            And will not be denied:--\n  Give me from out the barrow's shade\n  The keen-edged sword that the dwarf-folk made,\n            Which it ill becomes thee to hide!\n\nAngantyr:\n\n  The sword that the death-stroke to Hjalmar gave\n  Lies under my shoulders within the grave,\n            And wrapped about with flame.\n  But that maiden lives not in any land\n  Who dare grasp the weapon within her hand\n            For any hope of fame.\n\nHerv\u02c6r:\n\n  There lives, O Angantyr, a maid\n  Who yearns to handle the keen-edged blade,\n            And such a maid am I!\n  And what care I though the tomb fires blaze!\n  They sink and tremble before my gaze,\n            They quiver out and die!\n\nAngantyr:\n\n  O Herv\u02c6r, 'tis folly and madness dire\n  To rush wide-eyed through the flaming fire\n            With courage undismayed.\n  Rather by far will I give to thee\n  The accursed sword, though unwillingly,\n            My little, tender maid.\n\nHerv\u02c6r:\n\n  O son of the vikings, well hast thou done\n  In giving me Tyrfing from out the tomb;\n            And happier am I today\n  That I now grasp Tyrfing within my hands\n  Than if I were queen of the broad Northlands,\n            And conqueror of Noroway.\n\nAngantyr:\n\n  Vain is thy rapture, my luckless maid!\n  Thy hopes are false. All too soon will fade\n            The flush of joy from thy face.\n  Try, child, to listen; I am warning thee!--\n  This sword is the sword of destiny,\n            The destroyer of all thy race!\n\nHerv\u02c6r:\n\n  Away, away to my 'ocean-steed'!\n  The daughter of princes is glad indeed,\n            O glad at heart today!\n  And what care I for the destiny\n  Of children as yet undreamed by me?--\n            Let them quarrel as they may!\n\nAngantyr:\n\n  Thou shalt have and enjoy without sorrow or pain\n  The blade which proved to be Hjalmar's bane,\n            If thou draw it not from its sheath.\n  Worse than a plague is this cursed thing.\n  Touch not its edges, for poisons cling\n            Above it and beneath.\n\n  Farewell, yet fain would I give to thee\n  The life that has passed from my brothers and me,\n            O daughter, 'tis truth I say!\n  --The strength and vigour and hardihood,\n  --All that we had that was great and good,\n            That has vanished and passed away!\n\nHerv\u02c6r:\n\n  Farewell, farewell to all you dead!\n  Farewell! I would that I were sped!\n            Farewell all you in the mound!...\n  Surely in terror I drew my breath\n  Between the Worlds of Life and Death\n            When the grave fires girt me round!\n\n    [Footnote 1: Two lines are missing from the MS. at this\n    point.]\n\nThen she returned towards her ships; but when dawn came, she saw that\nthey had departed. The vikings had been scared by the rumblings\nand the flames on the island. She got a ship to carry her away;\nbut nothing is told of her voyage till she came to Guthmund in\nGlasisvellir, where she remained all through the winter, still calling\nherself Hervarth.\n\nVI. One day Guthmund was playing chess, and when the game was almost\nup, he asked if anyone could advise him as to his moves. So Hervarth\nwent up to him and began to direct his moves; and it was not long\nbefore Guthmund began to win. Then somebody took up Tyrfing and drew\nit. When Hervarth saw this, he snatched the sword out of his hands,\nand slew him, and then left the room. They wanted to rush out in\npursuit, but Guthmund said:\n\n\"Don't stir--you will not be avenged on the man so easily as you\nthink, for you don't know who he is. This woman-man will cost you dear\nbefore you take his life.\"\n\nAfter that Herv\u02c6r spent a long time in piracy and had great success.\nAnd when she grew tired of that she went home to the Earl, her\nmother's father. There she behaved like other girls, working at her\nembroidery and fine needlework.\n\nH\u02c6fund, the son of Guthmund, heard of this and went and asked for the\nhand of Herv\u02c6r, and was accepted; and he took her home.\n\nH\u02c6fund was a very wise man and so just in his judgments that he never\nswerved from giving a correct decision, whether the persons involved\nwere natives or foreigners. And it is from him that the 'h\u02c6fund' or\njudge of law-suits takes his name in every realm.\n\nHe and Herv\u02c6r had two sons. One was called Angantyr, the other\nHeithrek. They were both big strong men--sensible and handsome.\nAngantyr resembled his father in character and was kindly disposed\ntowards everyone. H\u02c6fund loved him very much, as indeed did everybody.\nBut however much good he did, Heithrek did still more evil. He was\nHerv\u02c6r's favourite. His foster-father was called Gizur.\n\nOne day H\u02c6fund held a feast and invited all the chief men in his\nkingdom except Heithrek. This greatly displeased him, but he put in\nan appearance all the same, declaring that he would do them some\nmischief. And when he entered the hall, Angantyr rose and went to meet\nhim and invited him to sit beside him. Heithrek was not cheerful, but\nhe sat till late in the evening after Angantyr had gone; and then he\nturned to the men who sat on either side of him and worked upon them\nby his conversation in such a way that they became infuriated with\neach other. But when Angantyr came back he told them to be quiet. And\nwhen Angantyr went out a second time, Heithrek reminded them of his\nwords, and worked upon them to such an extent that one of them struck\nthe other. Then Angantyr returned and persuaded them to keep the peace\ntill morning. And the third time Angantyr went away, Heithrek asked\nthe man who had been struck why he had not the courage to avenge\nhimself. And so effective did his persuasion prove that he who had\nbeen struck sprang up and slew his companion. When Angantyr returned,\nhe was displeased at what had taken place. And when H\u02c6fund heard of\nit, he told Heithrek that he must either leave his kingdom or forfeit\nhis life.\n\nSo Heithrek went out, and his brother with him. Then his mother came\nup and gave him Tyrfing. And Heithrek said to her:\n\n\"I don't know when I shall be able to show as much difference in my\ntreatment of my father and mother as they do in their treatment of me.\nMy father proclaims me an outlaw while my mother has given me Tyrfing,\nwhich is of more account to me than a great territory. But I shall do\nthat very thing that will most distress my father.\"\n\nHe then drew the sword, which gleamed and flashed brilliantly, and\nthen he got into a great rage and showed the berserk's fury coming\nupon him. The two brothers were alone. Now since Tyrfing had to be the\ndeath of a man every time it was drawn, Heithrek dealt his brother his\ndeath-blow. H\u02c6fund was told of it, and Heithrek escaped at once to the\nwoods. H\u02c6fund had a funeral feast made for his son Angantyr, and he\nwas lamented by everybody.\n\nHeithrek got little joy of his deed and lived in the woods for a long\ntime, shooting deer and bears for food. And when he came to think over\nhis position, he reflected that there would be but a poor tale to tell\nif no-one was to know what had become of him; and it occurred to him\nthat he could even yet become a man famous for deeds of prowess like\nhis ancestors before him. So he went home and sought out his mother\nand begged her to ask his father to give him some sound advice before\nthey parted. She went to H\u02c6fund and asked him to give their son sound\nadvice. H\u02c6fund replied that he would give him a little, but added that\nit would turn out to his disadvantage nevertheless; he said however\nthat he would not ignore his request:\n\n\"In the first place he must not aid a man who has slain his liege\nlord. Secondly, he must not protect a man who has slain one of his\ncomrades. Thirdly, his wife ought not to be always leaving home to\nvisit her relatives. Fourthly, he ought not to stay out late with his\nsweetheart. Fifthly, he should not ride his best horse when he is in\na hurry. Sixthly, he ought not to bring up the child of a man in a\nbetter position than himself. Seventhly, let him always be cheerful\ntowards one who comes for hospitality. Eighthly, he should never lay\nTyrfing on the ground.--Yet he will not get any benefit from this\nadvice.\"\n\nHis mother repeated these maxims to him.\n\nHeithrek replied: \"This advice must have been given me in a spiteful\nspirit. It will not be of any use to me.\"\n\nHis mother gave him a mark of gold at parting, and bade him always\nbear in mind how sharp his sword was, and how great renown had been\nwon by everyone who had borne it--what great protection its sharp\nedges afforded to him who wielded it in battle or single combat, and\nwhat great success it always had.--Then they parted.\n\nHe went on his way; and when he had gone a short distance he came upon\nsome men who were leading a man in bonds. Heithrek asked what the man\nhad done, and they replied that he had betrayed his liege lord. He\nasked if they would accept money as his ransom, and they said that\nthey were willing to do so. He ransomed the man for half his gold\nmark.\n\nThe man then offered to serve him, but Heithrek replied:\n\n\"You would not be faithful to a stranger like me, seeing that you\nbetrayed your liege lord to whom you owed many benefits.\"\n\nShortly after he again came upon some men, of whom one was in bonds.\nHe asked what this man had done, and they replied that he had murdered\none of his comrades. He freed him with the other half of his gold\nmark. This man also offered to serve him, but Heithrek declined.\n\nAfter that he went on his way till he came to Reithgotaland, where he\nwent to the King who ruled there. His name was Harold, and he was an\nold man at the time. Heithrek remained for a time with the King, who\ngave him a cordial welcome.\n\nVII. There were two Earls who had plundered the kingdom of King Harold\nand made it subject to them, and because he was old he paid them\ntribute every year. Heithrek grew intimate with the King, and\neventually it came about that he became the commander of his army\nand betook himself to raiding, and soon made himself famous for his\nvictories. He proceeded to make war on the Earls who had subdued King\nHarold's kingdom, and a stiff fight took place between them. Heithrek\nfought with Tyrfing and, as in the past, no-one could withstand it,\nfor it cut through steel as easily as cloth; and the result was that\nhe slew both the Earls and put all their army to flight. He then\nwent throughout the kingdom and brought it under King Harold and took\nhostages, and then returned home. And as a mark of great honour, King\nHarold went himself to meet him, and he acquired great fame from this.\nThe King gave him his daughter Helga in marriage and with her half his\nkingdom. Heithrek had the defence of the whole realm in his hands; and\nthis arrangement lasted for a time.\n\nKing Harold had a son in his old age. Heithrek also had a son, who\nwas called Angantyr. Presently a great famine began in Reithgotaland\n(which is now called Jutland) and it threatened to destroy all the\ninhabitants. So they tried divination, and the answer was that there\nwould be no plenty in Reithgotaland until the noblest boy in the land\nhad been sacrificed. Heithrek said that that was King Harold's son,\nbut the King declared that Heithrek's son was the noblest; and there\nwas no escape from this dilemma save by referring it to H\u02c6fund, whose\ndecisions were always just.\n\nThereupon Heithrek went to visit his father, who made him welcome.\nHe asked his father's decision about this question. H\u02c6fund pronounced\nHeithrek's son to be the noblest in that land.\n\n\"What compensation do you adjudge to me for my loss?\" asked Heithrek.\n\n\"You shall claim for yourself in compensation every second man in\nthe retinue of King Harold. Beyond that there is no need to give you\nadvice, considering your character and the army that you have under\nyou.\"\n\nThen Heithrek went back and summoned a meeting, and told them his\nfather's opinion:\n\n\"He decided that it was my son who must be sacrificed; and as\ncompensation to me he adjudged to me every second man of those who are\nwith King Harold, and I want you to swear an oath that this shall be\ndone.\"\n\nAnd they did so. Then the people demanded that he should give up his\nson and get them a better harvest. Heithrek then talked with his\nmen after the force had been divided, and demanded fresh oaths of\nallegiance from them. These they gave, swearing to follow him whether\nat home or abroad, for whatever purpose he wished.\n\nThen said he: \"It appears to me that Othin will have been well\ncompensated for one boy if he gets in place of him King Harold and his\nson and all his host!\"\n\nHe then bade his men raise his standard and make an attack on King\nHarold and slay him and all his host, declaring that he was giving\nthis host to Othin instead of his own son. He caused the altars to be\nreddened with the blood of King Harold and his son Halfdan, while the\nQueen took her own life in the temple of the D\u00ccs.\n\nHeithrek was now accepted as King throughout the realm. He made love\nto Sifka the daughter of Humli, a prince from the land of the Huns.\nTheir son was called Hl\u02c6th. He was brought up with his mother's\nfather.\n\nVIII. King Heithrek went out raiding and marched against the land of\nthe Saxons with a great host. The King of the Saxons sent men to\nmeet him and they made peace with one another, and the King invited\nHeithrek to a banquet. Heithrek accepted the invitation. The result of\nthis banquet was that Heithrek sought the hand of the King's daughter\nand married her, receiving much property and land as her dowry; and\nwith that King Heithrek went home to his kingdom. She often used to\nask to go to visit her father, and Heithrek was indulgent to her in\nthis matter. Her stepson Angantyr used to go with her.\n\nOn one occasion when Heithrek was returning from a raid, he lay in\nhiding off the land of the Saxons. He landed during the night and\nentered the building in which his wife was sleeping. He had only one\ncompanion with him. All the sentries were asleep. He found a handsome\nman asleep beside his wife. He took his son Angantyr and carried him\naway with him, and returned to his ship, having first cut off a lock\nof the man's hair.\n\nNext morning he lay to in the King's berth, and all the people went to\ngreet him; and a feast was prepared in his honour. A little later he\nhad a meeting called and asked if anything was known of his son. The\nQueen alleged that he had died suddenly. He asked her to guide him to\nhis tomb, and when she said that that would only increase his grief,\nhe replied that he did not mind that. A search was made accordingly,\nand a dog was found wrapped in a shroud. Heithrek remarked that his\nson had not changed for the better. Then the King caused the man\nwhom he had found asleep to be brought forward, and he proved to be a\nbondman. Thereupon Heithrek put away his wife, and then went home to\nhis kingdom.\n\nOne summer as Heithrek was away raiding, he went into the land of the\nHuns and harried there, and Humli his father-in-law fled before him.\nHeithrek there captured great booty and also Sifka, the daughter\nof King Humli, and then returned home to his kingdom. Their son was\ncalled Hl\u02c6th, as we said before. He sent her home shortly after. He\nalso captured another woman called Sifka from Finland. She was the\nloveliest woman ever seen.\n\nOne summer he sent men east to Holmgarth to offer to bring up the\nchild of King Hrollaug, the most powerful king of the time. This he\ndid because he was anxious to act exactly contrary to the whole of his\nfather's advice. Messengers came to Holmgarth and told their errand to\nthe King, who had a young son called Horlaug.\n\nThe King replied: \"Is it likely that I shall send him my son to bring\nup, when he has betrayed King Harold his father-in-law and his other\nrelatives and friends?\"\n\nBut the Queen urged: \"Do not be so hasty in refusing this, for if you\ndo not accept his offer the result will certainly be war. I expect it\nwill fare with you as with many another, and war with him will be no\ntrifle. Moreover he has a sword which nothing can withstand, and the\nman who wields it will always be victorious.\"\n\nSo the King resolved to send his son to Heithrek; and Heithrek was\npleased with him and brought him up and loved him much.\n\nHeithrek's father had also counselled him not to tell secrets to his\nsweetheart.\n\nIX. Every summer King Heithrek went raiding; he always went into the\nBaltic where he had King Hrollaug's friendly country at hand. On one\noccasion King Hrollaug invited him to a feast, and Heithrek consulted\nhis friends as to whether he should accept the invitation. They all\ntried to dissuade him, bidding him bear in mind his father's maxims.\n\n\"All his maxims will I disregard,\" he replied, and sent word to the\nKing that he would be present at the feast.\n\nHe divided his host into three parts. One he ordered to guard the\nships, the second accompanied him, while the third he ordered to go\non shore and conceal themselves in a wood near the house in which the\nfeast was to be held, and to be on the look out in case he should need\nhelp. Heithrek went to the feast, and the next day, when the Kings\nwere seated, Heithrek asked where the King's son, his foster-child,\nwas. A search was made for him, but he could not be found. Heithrek\nwas greatly distressed and retired to bed early; and when Sifka joined\nhim she asked why he was distressed.\n\n\"That is a difficult matter to talk about,\" replied he, \"because my\nlife is at stake if it becomes known.\"\n\nShe promised to keep the secret, adding:\n\n\"Tell me for the sake of the love that is between us.\"\n\nSo Heithrek began:\n\n\"As I was riding to the forest yesterday looking for sport, I caught\nsight of a wild boar and made a thrust at him with my spear; but I\nmissed my aim and the shaft snapped. Then I leapt down from my horse\nand drew Tyrfing, which was effective as usual, and I slew the boar.\nBut when I looked round there was no-one by except the King's son.\nBut it is a peculiarity of Tyrfing that it must be sheathed with human\nblood still warm upon it, so I slew the lad. Now this will be the end\nof me if King Hrollaug hears of it, because we have only a small force\nhere.\"\n\nNext morning when Sifka came to the Queen, the Queen asked her why\nHeithrek had been depressed. She said that she did not dare to tell.\nBut the Queen persuaded her to change her mind, so she told the Queen\nall that Heithrek had told her.\n\n\"These are terrible tidings,\" cried the Queen, and went off in deep\ngrief and told the King; but she added:\n\n\"Yet Heithrek has done this against his will.\"\n\n\"Your advice has turned out as I expected,\" said the King as he left\nthe hall to give orders to his men to arm.\n\nHeithrek had a shrewd notion as to what Sifka had said, and ordered\nhis men to arm themselves secretly, and then to go out in small\ndetachments and try to find out what was happening.\n\nA little later King Hrollaug came in and asked Heithrek to come and\nhave a private talk with him. And when they entered a garden, some men\nsprang at Heithrek and seized him and cast him into fetters and bound\nhim securely; and he recognised the two men who bound him most tightly\nas the men whose lives he had saved. The King ordered him to be taken\nto the forest and hanged. There were two hundred and forty of them all\ntold, and when they entered the forest, King Heithrek's men sprang out\nat them with his weapons and standard and a trumpet which they blew\nas they attacked their foes. Their companions concealed in the woods\nheard the noise and came out to meet King Heithrek's men. And when the\nnatives saw that, they all took to their heels; but most of them were\nslain. The Goths took their King and released him. Heithrek went to\nhis ships after that, taking with him the King's son whom he had left\nwith the men concealed in the wood.\n\nKing Hrollaug now summoned a very large force, and King Heithrek\nraided in his kingdom wherever he went.\n\nThen said King Hrollaug to the Queen:\n\n\"Your advice has turned out badly for me. I find that our son is with\nHeithrek, and in his present state of anger he will think nothing\nof making an end of him in his criminal way, just as he slew his own\ninnocent brother.\"\n\n\"We have been far too easily convinced,\" replied the Queen. \"You saw\nhow popular he was, when no-one would fetter him except two bad men;\nand our son is taken good care of. This has been a trick of his to\nmake trial of you, and you offered him a poor return for bringing up\nyour child. Send men to him now, and offer to make it up with him,\nand to give him so much of your territories as you may agree upon with\nhim; and offer him your daughter too, if we can recover our son. That\nwill be better than that you should part from him in enmity. And even\nif he already has wide territory, he has not a wife as beautiful as\nshe.\"\n\n\"I had not intended to offer her to anyone,\" replied the King; \"but as\nyou are so wise, you shall decide.\"\n\nMessengers were sent accordingly to King Heithrek to bring about a\nreconciliation. A council was held and a reconciliation effected by\nHeithrek's marrying Hergerth, the daughter of King Hrollaug; and she\nbrought him as her dowry Wendland, the province which lies nearest to\nReithgotaland.\n\nOn one occasion the King was riding his best horse as he was\nconducting Sifka home. It was late in the evening, and when the King\ncame to a river his horse fell dead. Shortly afterwards, when Sifka\nattempted to embrace him, he threw her down and broke her leg.\nAfterwards King Heithrek settled down in his own kingdom and became a\ngreat sage.\n\nX. They had a daughter called Herv\u02c6r who was brought up by a man\ncalled Ormar. She was a most beautiful girl, but as tall and strong as\na man, and trained herself in the use of bow and arrows.\n\nThere was a great man in Reithgotaland called Gestumblindi, who was\nnot on good terms with King Heithrek.\n\nIn the King's retinue there were seven men whose duty it was to decide\nall the disputes that arose in that country.\n\nKing Heithrek worshipped Frey, and he used to give Frey the biggest\nboar he could find. They regarded it as so sacred that in all\nimportant cases they used to take the oath on its bristles. It was the\ncustom to sacrifice this boar at the 'sacrifice of the herd.' On Yule\nEve the 'boar of the herd' was led into the hall before the King.\nThen men laid their hands on his bristles and made solemn vows. King\nHeithrek himself made a vow that however deeply a man should have\nwronged him, if he came into his power he should not be deprived of\nthe chance of receiving a trial by the King's judges; but he should\nget off scot free if he could propound riddles which the King could\nnot answer. But when people tried to ask the King riddles, not one was\nput to him which he could not solve.\n\nThe King sent a message to Gestumblindi bidding him come to him on\nan appointed day; otherwise the King said that he would send to fetch\nhim. Neither alternative pleased Gestumblindi, because he knew himself\nto be no match for the King in a contest of words; neither did he\nthink he had much to hope from a trial before the judges, for his\noffences were many. On the other hand, he knew that if the King had to\nsend men to bring him it would cost him his life. Then he proceeded to\nsacrifice to Othin and to ask his help, promising him great offerings.\n\nOne evening a stranger visited Gestumblindi, and said that he also\nwas called Gestumblindi. They were so much alike that neither could\nbe distinguished from the other. They exchanged clothes, and the\nlandowner went into hiding, and everyone thought the stranger was the\nlandowner himself.\n\nThis man went to visit the King and greeted him. The King looked at\nhim and was silent.\n\nGestumblindi said: \"I am come, Sire, to make my peace with you.\"\n\n\"Will you stand trial by the judges?\" asked the King.\n\n\"Are there no other means of escape?\" asked Gestumblindi.\n\n\"If,\" replied the King, \"you can ask me riddles which I cannot answer,\nyou shall go free.\"\n\n\"I am not likely to be able to do that,\" replied Gestumblindi; \"yet\nthe alternative is severe.\"\n\n\"Do you prefer the trial?\" asked the King.\n\n\"Nay,\" said he, \"I would rather ask riddles.\"\n\n\"That is quite in order,\" said the King, \"and much depends on the\nissue. If you can get the better of me you shall marry my daughter and\nnone shall gainsay you. Yet I don't imagine you are very clever, and\nit has never yet happened that I have been unable to solve the riddles\nthat have been put to me.\"\n\nThen a chair was placed for Gestumblindi, and the people began to\nlisten eagerly to the words of wisdom.\n\nGestumblindi began as follows:\n\n    XI. I would that I had that which I had yesterday. Guess O\n    King, what that was:--Exhauster of men, retarder of words, yet\n    originator of speech. King Heithrek, read me this riddle!\n\nHeithrek replied:\n\n    Your riddle is a good one, Gestumblindi. I have guessed\n    it.--Give him some ale. That is what confounds many people's\n    reason. Some are made garrulous by it, but some become\n    confused in their speech.\n\nGestumblindi said:\n\n    I went from home, I made my way from home, I looked upon a\n    road of roads. A road was beneath me, a road above and a road\n    on every side. King Heithrek, read me this riddle!\n\nHeithrek replied:\n\n    Your riddle is a good one, Gestumblindi. I have guessed\n    it. You went over a bridge, and the course of the river was\n    beneath it, and birds were flying over your head and on either\n    side of you; that was their road; you saw a salmon in the\n    river, and that was his road.\n\nGestumblindi said:\n\n    What was the drink that I had yesterday? It was neither wine\n    nor water, mead nor ale, nor any kind of food; and yet I went\n    away with my thirst quenched. King Heithrek, read me this\n    riddle!\n\nHeithrek replied:\n\n    Your riddle is a good one, Gestumblindi. I have guessed it.\n    You lay in the shade and cooled your lips in dew. But if\n    you are the Gestumblindi I took you for, you are a more\n    intelligent man than I expected; for I had heard that your\n    conversation showed no brains, yet now you are setting to work\n    cleverly.\n\nGestumblindi said:\n\n    I expect that I shall soon come to grief; yet I should like\n    you to listen a while longer.\n\nThen he continued:\n\n    Who is that clanging one who traverses hard paths which he has\n    trod before? He kisses very rapidly, has two mouths and walks\n    on gold alone. King Heithrek, read me this riddle!\n\nHeithrek replied:\n\n    Your riddle is a good one, Gestumblindi. I have guessed it.\n    That is the goldsmith's hammer, with which gold is forged.\n\nGestumblindi said:\n\n    What is that huge one that passes over the earth, swallowing\n    lakes and pools? He fears the wind, but he fears not man, and\n    carries on hostilities against the sun. King Heithrek, read me\n    this riddle!\n\nHeithrek replied:\n\n    Your riddle is a good one, Gestumblindi. I have guessed it.\n    That is fog. One cannot see the sea because of it. Yet as soon\n    as the wind blows, the fog lifts; but men can do nothing to\n    it. Fog kills the sunshine. You have a cunning way of asking\n    riddles and conundrums, whoever you are.\n\nGestumblindi said:\n\n    What is that huge one that controls many things and of which\n    half faces towards Hell? It saves people's lives and grapples\n    with the earth, if it has a trusty friend. King Heithrek, read\n    me this riddle!\n\nHeithrek replied:\n\n    Your riddle is a good one, Gestumblindi. I have guessed it.\n    That is an anchor with its thick strong cable. It controls\n    many a ship, and grips the earth with one of its flukes which\n    is pointing towards Hell. It is a means of safety to many\n    people. Greatly do I marvel at your readiness of speech and\n    wisdom.\n\nGestumblindi said:\n\n    Ah, but I am now almost at the end of my riddles; yet everyone\n    is eager to save his life.--What lives in high mountains? What\n    falls in deep valleys? What lives without breathing? What is\n    never silent? King Heithrek, read me this riddle!\n\nHeithrek replied:\n\n    Your riddle is a good one, Gestumblindi. I have guessed it.\n    A raven always lives in high mountains, and dew falls in\n    deep valleys, a fish lives without breathing, and the booming\n    waterfall is never silent.\n\n    Things are now becoming serious, said Gestumblindi, and I do\n    not know what is going to happen.--What is the marvel which\n    I have seen outside Delling's doorway? It points its head\n    towards Hell and turns its feet to the sun. King Heithrek,\n    read me this riddle!\n\nHeithrek replied:\n\n    Your riddle is a good one, Gestumblindi. I have guessed it.\n    That is a leek. Its head grows down into the ground, and its\n    blades upward into the air.\n\nGestumblindi said:\n\n    What is the marvel which I have seen outside Delling's\n    doorway?--Two restless, lifeless things boiling a wound-leek.\n    King Heithrek, read me this riddle!\n\nHeithrek replied:\n\n    Your riddle is a good one, Gestumblindi. I have guessed it.\n    That is the smith's bellows which have breath, yet not life.\n\nGestumblindi said:\n\n    What is the marvel which I have seen outside Delling's\n    doorway?--White fliers smiting the rock, and black fliers\n    burying themselves in sand! King Heithrek, read me this\n    riddle!\n\nHeithrek replied:\n\n    Your riddle is a good one, Gestumblindi. I have guessed it.\n    But now your riddles are growing trivial. That is hail and\n    rain; for hail beats upon the street; whereas rain-drops fall\n    into the sand and sink into the earth.\n\nGestumblindi said:\n\n    What is the marvel which I have seen outside Delling's\n    doorway? I saw a black hog wallowing in mud, yet no bristles\n    were standing up on his back. King Heithrek, read me this\n    riddle!\n\nHeithrek replied:\n\n    Your riddle is a good one, Gestumblindi. I have guessed\n    it. That is a dung-beetle. But we have talked too long when\n    dung-beetles come to exercise the wits of great men.\n\nGestumblindi said:\n\n    \"It is best to put off misfortune\"; and though there are some\n    who overlook this truth, many will want to go on trying. I\n    myself too see now that I shall have to look out for every\n    possible way of escape. What is the marvel that I have seen\n    outside Delling's doorway? This creature has ten tongues,\n    twenty eyes, forty feet, and walks with difficulty. King\n    Heithrek, read me this riddle!\n\nHeithrek replied:\n\n    Your riddle is a good one, Gestumblindi. I have guessed it.\n    That was a sow with nine little pigs.\n\nThen the King had the sow killed and they found they had killed with\nher nine little pigs, as Gestumblindi had said.\n\nThen the King said:\n\n    I am beginning to suspect that I have to deal with a cleverer\n    man than myself in this business; but I don't know who you can\n    be.\n\nGestumblindi said:\n\n    I am such as you can see; and I am very anxious to save my\n    life and be quit of this task.\n\n    You must go on asking riddles, replied the King, till you have\n    exhausted your stock, or else till I fail to solve them.\n\nGestumblindi said:\n\n    What is the marvel which I have seen outside Delling's\n    doorway? It flies high, with a whistling sound like the\n    whirring of an eagle. Hard it is to clutch, O King. King\n    Heithrek, read me this riddle!\n\nHeithrek replied:\n\n    Your riddle is a good one, Gestumblindi. I have guessed it.\n    That is an arrow, said the King.\n\nGestumblindi said:\n\n    What is the marvel which I have seen outside Delling's\n    doorway? It has eight feet and four eyes, and carries its\n    knees higher than its body. King Heithrek, read me this\n    riddle!\n\nHeithrek replied:\n\n    I notice firstly that you have a long hood; and secondly that\n    you look downwards more than most people, since you observe\n    every creature of the earth.--That is a spider.\n\nGestumblindi said:\n\n    What is the marvel which I have seen outside Delling's\n    doorway? It shines upon men in every land; and yet wolves are\n    always struggling for it. King Heithrek, read me this riddle!\n\nHeithrek replied:\n\n    Your riddle is a good one, Gestumblindi. I have guessed it.\n    It is the sun. It gives light to every land and shines down on\n    all men. But the wolves are called Skalli and Hatti. Those are\n    the wolves who accompany the sun, one in front and one behind.\n\nGestumblindi said:\n\n    What is the marvel which I have seen outside Delling's\n    doorway? It was harder than horn, blacker than the raven,\n    whiter than the membrane of an egg, straighter than a shaft.\n    King Heithrek, read me this riddle!\n\nHeithrek replied:\n\n    Your riddle is a good one, Gestumblindi. I have guessed it.\n    You saw an agate, and a sunbeam penetrated the house and shone\n    upon it. But since you seem to be a learned man, can you not\n    propound your riddles without always beginning them in the\n    same way?\n\nThen said Gestumblindi:\n\n    Two bond-women, fair-haired brides, were carrying ale to the\n    store-room. The cask was not turned by hands, nor clinched\n    by hammers; and he who made it strutted about outside the\n    islands. King Heithrek, read me this riddle!\n\nHeithrek replied:\n\n    Your riddle is a good one, Gestumblindi. I have guessed it.\n    These are eider duck laying their eggs. The eggs are not made\n    with hammer or hands, and the hand-maidens put the ale into\n    the egg-shell.\n\nGestumblindi said:\n\n    He who has got but a little sword and is very short of\n    learning has to look out for help. I would like to talk still\n    further.--Who are those ladies of the lofty mountain? A woman\n    begets by a woman; a maid has a son by a maid; and these\n    good-wives have no husbands. King Heithrek, read me this\n    riddle!\n\nHeithrek replied:\n\n    Your riddle is a good one, Gestumblindi. I have guessed it.\n    They are two Angelicas joined together, and a young angelica\n    shoot is growing between them.\n\nGestumblindi said:\n\n    Who are the girls who fight without weapons around their lord?\n    The dark red ones always protect him, and the fair ones seek\n    to destroy him. King Heithrek, read me this riddle!\n\nHeithrek replied:\n\n    Your riddle is a good one, Gestumblindi. I have guessed it.\n    That is a game of chess. The pieces smite one another without\n    weapons around the king, and the red assist him.\n\nGestumblindi said:\n\n    Who are the merry-maids who glide over the land for their\n    father's pleasure? They bear a white shield in winter and a\n    black one in summer. King Heithrek, read me this riddle!\n\nHeithrek replied:\n\n    Your riddle is a good one, Gestumblindi. I have guessed it.\n    Those are ptarmigan.\n\nGestumblindi said:\n\n    Who are the damsels who go sorrowing for their father's\n    pleasure? These white-hooded ladies have shining hair, and are\n    very wide awake in a gale. King Heithrek, read me this riddle!\n\nHeithrek replied:\n\n    Your riddle is a good one, Gestumblindi. I have guessed it.\n    Those are the billows, which are called \u2206gir's maidens.\n\nGestumblindi said:\n\n    Who are the maidens who go about many together for their\n    father's pleasure? They have brought trouble to many; and\n    these good-wives have no husbands. King Heithrek, read me this\n    riddle!\n\nHeithrek replied:\n\n    Your riddle is a good one, Gestumblindi. I have guessed it.\n    Those are billows like the last.\n\nGestumblindi said:\n\n    Who are the brides who go about the reefs and trail along the\n    firths? These white-hooded ladies have a hard bed and do not\n    play much when the weather is calm. King Heithrek read me this\n    riddle.\n\nHeithrek replied:\n\n    Your riddle is a good one, Gestumblindi. I have guessed it.\n    Those again are \u2206gir's maidens; but your pleading has now\n    become so weak that you will have to stand trial by the\n    judges.\n\nGestumblindi said:\n\n    I am loath to do so; and yet I fear that it will very soon\n    come to that. I saw a barrow-dweller pass by, a corpse\n    sitting on a corpse, the blind riding on the blind towards\n    the ocean-path. Lifeless was the steed. King Heithrek, read me\n    this riddle!\n\nHeithrek replied:\n\n    Your riddle is a good one, Gestumblindi. I have guessed it.\n    It is that you came to a river; and an ice-floe was floating\n    along the stream, and on it a dead horse was lying, and on the\n    horse was a dead snake; and thus the blind was carrying the\n    blind when they were all three together.\n\nGestumblindi said:\n\n    What is that beast which slays people's flocks and is girt\n    around with iron? It has eight horns, yet no head, and it runs\n    when it can. King Heithrek, read me this riddle!\n\nHeithrek replied:\n\n    Your riddle is a good one, Gestumblindi. I have guessed it.\n    That is the _Hunn_ in chess. It has the same name as a bear.\n    It runs as soon as it is thrown.\n\nGestumblindi said:\n\n    What is that beast which protects the Danes? Its back is\n    bloody, but it shields men, encounters spears and saves men's\n    lives. Man fits his hand to its body. King Heithrek, read me\n    this riddle!\n\nHeithrek replied:\n\n    Your riddle is a good one, Gestumblindi. I have guessed it.\n    That is a shield. It protects many people and often has a\n    bloody back.\n\nGestumblindi said:\n\n    A 'nose-goose' (i.e. duck) in former days had grown very\n    big when eager for young. She gathered together her building\n    timber: 'biters of straw' sheltered her, and 'drink's echoing\n    cavern' was above her. King Heithrek, read me this riddle!\n\nHeithrek replied:\n\n    Your riddle is a good one, Gestumblindi. I have guessed it.\n    There a duck was sitting on her eggs between the jaws of an\n    ox, which you call 'biters of straw.' The 'echoing cavern' is\n    the skull, and the 'building timber,' the nest.\n\nGestumblindi said:\n\n    Four walking, four hanging, two pointing the way, two warding\n    off the dogs, one, generally dirty, dangling behind! King\n    Heithrek, read me this riddle!\n\nHeithrek replied:\n\n    Your riddle is a good one, Gestumblindi. I have guessed it.\n    That is a cow. She has four feet and four udders, two horns\n    and two eyes, and the tail dangles behind.\n\nGestumblindi said:\n\n    Who is that solitary one who sleeps in the grey ash and is\n    made from stone only? This greedy one has neither father nor\n    mother. There will he spend his life. King Heithrek, read me\n    this riddle.\n\nHeithrek replied:\n\n    Your riddle is a good one, Gestumblindi. I have guessed it.\n    That is a spark struck by a flint and hidden in the hearth.\n\nGestumblindi said:\n\n    I saw a horse standing....\n\nThen the King said:\n\n    My retinue shall read this riddle.\n\nThey made many guesses, but not particularly good ones. And when the\nKing saw that they could do nothing he said:\n\n    What you call a 'horse' is a piece of linen, and his 'mare' is\n    the weaver's rod; and the linen is shaken up and down.\n\nGestumblindi said:\n\n    Who are the thanes who ride to the meeting, sixteen of them\n    together? They send their men far and wide to make homes of\n    their own. King Heithrek, read me this riddle!\n\nHeithrek replied:\n\n    Your riddle is a good one, Gestumblindi. I have guessed it.\n    That is 'King Itrek's game.'\n\nGestumblindi said:\n\n    In summer time at sunset I saw the King's body-guard awake and\n    very joyful. The nobles were drinking their ale in silence,\n    but the ale-butts stood screaming. King Heithrek, read me this\n    riddle!\n\nHeithrek replied:\n\n    Your riddle is a good one, Gestumblindi. I have guessed\n    it. That is a sow with her litter. When the little pigs are\n    feeding, she squeals and they are silent.--But I can't imagine\n    who you are who can compose such things so deftly out of such\n    unpromising materials!\n\nThe King then silently made a sign that the door of the hall was to be\nclosed.\n\nGestumblindi said:\n\n    I saw maidens like dust. Rocks were their beds. They were\n    black and swarthy in the sunshine, but the darker it grew, the\n    fairer they appeared. King Heithrek, read me this riddle!\n\nHeithrek replied:\n\n    Your riddle is a good one, Gestumblindi. I have guessed it.\n    They are pale embers on the hearth.\n\nGestumblindi said:\n\n    I sat on a sail, and saw dead men carrying a channel of blood\n    in the bark of a tree. King Heithrek, read me this riddle!\n\nHeithrek replied:\n\n    Your riddle is a good one, Gestumblindi. I have guessed it.\n    You sat on a wall, and watched a hawk flying and carrying an\n    eider duck in its claws.\n\nGestumblindi said:\n\n    Who are those two who have ten feet, three eyes and one tail?\n    King Heithrek, read me this riddle!\n\nHeithrek replied:\n\n    You are hard up when you have to turn back to things of long\n    ago to bring forward against me. That is Othin riding his\n    horse Sleipnir. It had eight feet and Othin two, and they had\n    three eyes--Sleipnir two and Othin one.\n\nGestumblindi said:\n\n    Tell me lastly, Heithrek, if you are wiser than any other\n    prince, what did Othin whisper in Balder's ear, before he was\n    placed upon the pyre?\n\nThe King replied:\n\n    I am sure it was something scandalous and cowardly and\n    thoroughly contemptible. You are the only person who knows the\n    words which you spoke, you evil and wretched creature.\n\nThen the King drew Tyrfing, and struck at Gestumblindi; but he changed\nhimself into a falcon and flew out through the window of the hall. And\nthe sword struck the tail of the falcon; and that is why it has had\na short tail ever since, according to heathen superstition. But Othin\nhad now become wroth with the King for striking at him; and that night\nhe was slain.\n\nXII. It is said that King Heithrek had some slaves, nine in all, whom\nhe had taken in a freebooting expedition in the West. They came of\nnoble families, and chafed against their captivity. One night, when\nKing Heithrek lay in bed, attended by only a handful of men, the\nslaves armed themselves and went to the building in which he lay.\nThey first slew the sentries, and then went and broke into the King's\nchamber, and slew the King and all who were within. They took the\nsword Tyrfing, and all the treasure that they found there, and carried\neverything off with them.\n\nFor a while, no one knew who had done the deed or how vengeance was to\nbe taken. Then Angantyr the son of King Heithrek had a meeting called,\nand by that assembly he was proclaimed King over all the territories\nthat King Heithrek had held. And at the same meeting he swore a solemn\noath that he would never sit on his father's throne until he had\navenged him.\n\nShortly after the meeting, Angantyr went away by himself and travelled\nfar and wide searching for these men. One evening he was walking down\nto the sea along a river called Graf. There he saw three men in a\nfishing-boat, and presently he saw one of the men catch a fish, and\nheard him call to one of his companions to hand him a bait-knife to\ncut off the fish's head. The man replied that he could not spare it.\nThen the first man said:\n\n\"Take down the sword from over there by the rudder, and hand it to\nme.\"\n\nAnd he took it and unsheathed it, and cut off the fish's head, and\nthen spoke a verse:\n\n  This pike at the mouth of the river\n    Has paid the penalty\n  For the slaughter inflicted on Heithrek,\n    'Neath the Mountains of Harvathi.\n\nAngantyr immediately perceived that it was Tyrfing, and went off at\nonce to the wood and waited there till it was dark. And the fishermen\nrowed to the land, and went to a tent which they had, and lay down and\nwent to sleep. And when it was close on midnight, Angantyr went up to\nthem and pulled down the tent on top of the slaves and slew all nine\nof them, and carried off the sword Tyrfing as a sign that he had\navenged his father. He then went home and had a great funeral feast\nheld to his father's memory on the banks of the Dnieper, at a place\ncalled Arheimar. The kings who ruled at that time were as follows:\nHumli ruled the Huns, Gizur the Gautar, Angantyr the Goths, Valdar the\nDanes, Kjar the Gauls; Alrek the Bold ruled the English people.\n\nHl\u02c6th the son of King Heithrek was brought up at the court of King\nHumli, his grandfather. He was a very handsome and valiant man. There\nwas an old saying at that time that a man was \"born with weapons or\nhorses.\" And the explanation is that it referred to the weapons which\nwere being forged at the time when the man was born; also to any\nsheep, beasts, oxen and horses that were born about the same time.\nThese were all given to high-born men as an honour to them, as is here\nrelated about Hl\u02c6th the son of Heithrek:\n\n  In the land of the Huns was H\u02c6lth born\n    In a holy forest glade,\n  With ring-bedizened helmet,\n    With dagger and keen-edged blade,\n  With byrnie and with broadsword,\n    And noble prancing steed.\n\nThen Hl\u02c6th learnt of the death of his father, and also that his\nbrother Angantyr had been made King over all the territory which their\nfather had held. Then King Humli and Hl\u02c6th resolved that Hl\u02c6th should\ngo and request his brother Angantyr to allow him a share of his\nfather's property, and that he should try first by fair words--as is\nsaid here:\n\n  Hl\u02c6th, the heir of Heithrek,\n    Came riding from the East,\n  To where Angantyr was holding\n    King Heithrek's funeral feast.\n  He came to his court in Arheimar\n    Where the Gothic people dwell,\n  Demanding his share of the heritage left\n    By the King when he journeyed to Hell.\n\nHl\u02c6th now arrived in Arheimar with a great host as it says here:\n\n  He found a warrior hastening\n    Towards the lofty hall;\n  And unto this late traveller\n    Did Hl\u02c6th his greeting call:\n  O man, make haste to enter\n    This hall that towers so high!\n      Bid Angantyr speed,\n      For great is the need\n    We hold a colloquy.\n\nThe men entered and went up to Angantyr's table and saluted the King,\nsaying:\n\n  Hl\u02c6th, thy warlike brother,\n    King Heithrek's valiant heir,\n  Has sent me hither to thee,\n    And bidden me declare\n  That he wishes to hold converse;\n    And though he be young indeed,\n  Yet he looks a mighty champion,\n    Seated high upon his steed.\n\nAnd when the King heard that, he flung down his knife upon the table\nand arose from the feast; and he put on his corslet and took a white\nshield in one hand and the sword Tyrfing in the other. Then a great\ndin arose in the hall, as is said in the poem:\n\n  Then a murmur arose from the warriors,\n    And all in the hall drew near,\n  As the warder reported the message of Hl\u02c6th:\n    --Everyone lent an ear;\n  And the men all awaited with quivering breath\n    The message of Angantyr.\n\nThen Angantyr said: \"Hail, brother! You are welcome! Come in and drink\nwith us, and let us first drink mead in memory of our father, to the\nhonour and glory of us all with full ceremony.\"\n\nHl\u02c6th said: \"We are come hither for a different purpose than to fill\nour stomachs.\"\n\nThen Hl\u02c6th cried:\n\n  Of all the possessions of Heithrek\n    The half do I now demand;\n  --His spear and blade and treasures,\n    His cattle and his land,\n  His handmaids and his bondmen,\n    And the children to them born,\n  And the murmuring mill that the bondwomen turn\n    As they wearily grind the corn.\n\n  And half of the far-famed Myrkvith,\n    And half of the holy grave\n  Far off mid the Gothic peoples,--\n    These also will I have.--\n  Half of the noble pillar\n    That stands on Danaper's shore;\n  And of Heithrek's castles, land and folk,\n    And half of his golden store!\n\nCried Angantyr:\n\n  The white-shining shield shall be cloven, brother,\n    And spear on spear shall ring;\n  And many a helmet be lowered, brother,\n    In battle for this thing,\n  Ere I give thee half my heritage,\n    Or half of the sword Tyrfing.\n\nBut Angantyr added:\n\n  I will offer thee wealth in plenty,\n    And all thy heart's desire\n  In store of costly treasure,\n    And rings of golden fire;\n  Twelve hundred squires will I give thee,\n    Twelve hundred prancing steeds;\n      Twelve hundred men\n      To attend on them\n    And arm them for mighty deeds.\n\n  And every man whom I give thee\n    Shall receive a richer store\n  Of rings and costly treasures\n    Than ever he had before.--\n  To every man a maiden!\n    To every maid a ring!\n  I will clasp a necklace round her throat,\n    A necklace fit for a king!\n\n  I will case thee all in silver\n    As thou sittest on thy throne;\n  And a third of the Gothic peoples\n    Shall be thine to rule alone;\n  With gold shalt thou be covered\n    As thou farest through the land.--\n      Thou shalt dazzle the sight\n      As thou walk'st in the light\n    Like the flame of a fiery brand.\n\nXIII. Gizur, a liegeman from the Grytingar, King Heithrek's\nfoster-father, was with King Angantyr. He was a very old man at that\ntime. And when he heard King Angantyr's suggestion, he thought that he\nwas offering too much and said:\n\n  King Angantyr is generous,\n    And royal his offering!\n  For thy mother was merely a bondmaid\n    Though thou hadst for thy father a King.\n  And though thou art only an outcast,\n    Yet a seat of honour was thine,\n  When the Prince was dividing his treasure and land,\n    And his portion to each did assign.\n\nHl\u02c6th grew very angry at being called an outcast and the child of a\nbondwoman, if he accepted his brother's offer; so he departed at once\nwith all his men and returned home to King Humli, his mother's father,\nin the land of the Huns. And he told Humli that Angantyr his brother\nhad not granted him an equal share. King Humli enquired as to all that\nhad passed between them, and was very angry that Hl\u02c6th, the son of his\ndaughter, should be called the son of a bondmaid, and he cried:\n\n  We will stay in our homes for the winter,\n    And as princes are wont when they dine,\n  We will hold high converse together,\n    Quaffing the costly wine.\n  We will call on the Hunnish people\n    To arm them with spear and with shield.--\n      They shall march to the fight\n      Right royally dight,\n    And conquer their foes in the field.\n\nThen he added:\n\n  We will summon a mighty host, Hl\u02c6th,\n    And shield on shield will clang,\n  As the warriors arm them from twelve years old,\n    And the wild colts gallop along.\n      And the Huns shall mass\n      Ere the winter pass,\n    And assemble a countless throng.\n\nThat winter, King Humli and Hl\u02c6th remained quiet, but the following\nspring they collected such a large army that the land of the Huns was\nswept bare of fighting men. All those of twelve years old and upwards,\nwho were fit for military service and could carry arms, joined the\narmy, and all the horses of two years old and upwards. The host was\nnow so big that thousands and nothing less than thousands could be\ncounted in the legions. And a commander was set over every 'thousand,'\nand a standard was set up over every legion. And there were five\n'thousand' in each legion, each 'thousand' containing thirteen\n'hundreds,' and each 'hundred' four times forty men; and these legions\nwere thirty three in number.\n\nWhen these troops had assembled, they rode through the forest which\nwas called Myrkvith, and which separated the land of the Huns from\nthat of the Goths. And when they emerged from the forest, they came\nupon a thickly inhabited country with level fields; and on these\nplains there was a fine fortress. It was under the command of Herv\u02c6r,\nthe sister of Angantyr and Hl\u02c6th, and Ormar, her foster-father was\nwith her. They had been appointed to defend the land against the\nHunnish host, and they had a large army there.\n\nXIV. It happened one morning at sunrise that as Herv\u02c6r was standing\non the summit of a tower over the gate of the fortress, she looked\nsouthwards towards the forest, and saw clouds of dust arising from a\ngreat body of horse, by which the sun was hidden for a long time. Next\nshe saw a gleam beneath the dust, as though she were gazing on a mass\nof gold--fair shields overlaid with gold, gilded helmets and white\ncorslets. Then she perceived that it was the Hunnish host coming on in\nvast numbers. She descended hastily and called her trumpeter, and bade\nhim sound the assembly.\n\nThen said Herv\u02c6r: \"Take your weapons and arm for battle; and do thou,\nOrmar, ride against the Huns and offer them battle before the Southern\nGate.\"\n\nOrmar replied: \"I will certainly take my shield and ride with the\ncompanies of the Goths. I will challenge the Huns and offer them\nbattle before the Southern Gate.\"\n\nThen Ormar rode out of the fortress against the Huns. He called loudly\nbidding them ride up to the fort, saying:\n\n\"Outside the gate of the fortress, in the plains to the south--there\nwill I offer you battle. Let those who arrive first await their foes!\"\n\nThen Ormar rode back to the fortress, and found Herv\u02c6r and all her\nhost armed and ready. They rode forthwith out of the fort with all\ntheir host against the Huns, and a great battle began between them.\nBut the Hunnish host was far superior in numbers, so that Herv\u02c6r's\ntroops began to suffer heavy losses; and in the end Herv\u02c6r fell, and\na great part of her army round about her. And when Ormar saw her fall,\nhe fled with all those who still survived. Ormar rode day and night as\nfast as he could to King Angantyr in Arheimar. The Huns then proceeded\nto ravage and burn throughout the land.\n\nAnd when Ormar came into the presence of King Angantyr, he cried:\n\n  From the south have I journeyed hither\n    To bear these tidings to thee:--\n  The whole of the forest of Myrkvith\n    Is burnt up utterly;\n  And the land of the Goths is drenched with blood\n    As our warriors fall and die.\n\nThen he continued:\n\n  All of thy noblest warriors\n    On the field are lying dead.\n  King Heithrek's daughter fell by the sword;\n    She drooped and bowed her head.\n  Thy sister Herv\u02c6r is now no more.--\n    By the Huns was her life-blood shed.\n  O prouder and lighter the maiden's step\n    As she wielded spear and sword\n  Than if she were sped to her trysting place,\n    Or her seat at the bridal-board!\n\nWhen King Angantyr heard that, he drew back his lips, and it was some\ntime before he spoke. Then he said:\n\n\"In no brotherly wise hast thou been treated, my noble sister!\"\n\nThen he surveyed his retinue, and his band of men was but small; then\nhe cried:\n\n  The Gothic warriors were many,\n    As they sat and drank the mead;\n  But now when many are called for,\n    The array is poor indeed!\n  Not a man in the host will adventure--\n    Though I offer a rich reward--\n      To take his shield,\n      And ride to the field,\n    To seek out the Hunnish horde.\n\nThen Gizur the Old cried:\n\n  I will crave no single farthing,\n    Nor ringing coin of gold;\n      I will take my shield\n      And ride to the field\n    To the Huns with their myriads untold.\n  And the message of war that you send to the host\n    Will I carry, and there unfold.\n\nIt was a rule with King Heithrek that if his army was invading a land,\nand the King of that land had set up hazel stakes to mark the spot\non which the battle was to take place, then the vikings should not go\nraiding till the battle had been fought.\n\nGizur armed himself with good weapons and leapt on his horse as if he\nhad been a young man. Then he cried to the King:\n\n\"Where shall I challenge the host of the Huns to battle?\"\n\nKing Angantyr replied: \"Challenge them to battle at Dylgia and on\nDunheith, and upon all the heights of J\u02c6sur, where the Goths have\noften won renown by glorious victories!\"\n\nThen Gizur rode away until he came to the host of the Huns. He rode\njust within earshot, and then called loudly, crying:\n\n  Your host is panic stricken,\n    And your prince is doomed to fall;\n  Though your banners are waving high in the air,\n    Yet Othin is wroth with you all.\n  Come forth to the J\u02c6sur Mountains,\n    On Dylgia and Dunheith come fight;\n      For I make a sure boast,\n      In the heart of your host\n    The javelin of Othin will light!\n\nWhen Hl\u02c6th heard Gizur's words, he cried:\n\n\"Lay hold upon Gizur of the Grytingar, Angantyr's man, who has come\nfrom Arheimar!\"\n\nKing Humli said: \"We must not injure heralds who travel about\nunattended.\"\n\nGizur cried: \"You Hunnish dogs are not going to overcome us with\nguile.\"\n\nThen Gizur struck spurs into his horse and rode back to King Angantyr,\nand went up to him and saluted him. The King asked him if he had\nparleyed with the Huns.\n\nGizur replied: \"I spoke with them and I challenged them to meet us on\nthe battle-field of Dunheith and in the valleys of Dylgia.\"\n\nAngantyr asked how big the army of the Huns was.\n\n\"Their host is very numerous,\" replied Gizur. \"There are six legions\nin all, and five 'thousands' in every legion, and each 'thousand'\ncontains thirteen 'hundreds,' and in every 'hundred' there are a\nhundred and sixty men.\"\n\nAngantyr asked further questions about the host of the Huns.\n\nHe then sent men in all directions to summon every man who was willing\nto support him and could bear weapons. He then marched to Dunheith\nwith his army, and it was a very great host. There the host of the\nHuns came against him with an army half as big again as his own.\n\nXV. Next day they began their battle, and they fought together the\nwhole day, and at evening they went to their quarters. They continued\nfighting for eight days, but the princes were then still all\nunwounded, though none could count the number of the slain. But both\nday and night troops came thronging round Angantyr's banner from all\nquarters; and so it came about that his army never grew less.\n\nThe battle now became fiercer than ever. The Huns were desperate, for\nthey now saw that their only chance of escaping annihilation lay in\nvictory, and that sorry would be their lot if they had to ask for\nquarter from the Goths. The Goths on the other hand were defending\ntheir freedom and their native land against the Huns; so they stood\nfast and encouraged one another to fight on. Then towards the close of\nthe day the Goths made so fierce an attack that the line of the Huns\nrecoiled before it. And when Angantyr saw that, he pressed forward\nfrom behind the rampart of shields into the forefront of the battle\nand grasping Tyrfing in his hand, mowed down both men and horses.\nThen the ranks fell apart in front of the Kings of the Huns, and Hl\u02c6th\nexchanged blows with his brother. There fell Hl\u02c6th and King Humli, and\nthen the Huns took to flight. The Goths cut them down and made such\na great slaughter that the rivers were dammed with the bodies and\ndiverted from their courses, and the valleys were full of dead men and\nhorses. Angantyr then went to search among the slain, and found his\nbrother Hl\u02c6th. Then he cried:\n\n  I offered thee wealth unstinted, brother,\n    And treasures manifold,--\n  Riches of cattle and land, brother,\n    Riches of glittering gold;\n  But now thou hast wagered and lost in the battle\n    Thy desires and glories untold.\n\n  A curse has fallen upon us, brother,\n    I have dealt destruction to thee;\n  And ne'er shall the deed be forgotten, brother;\n    Full ill is the norns' decree!\n\nXVI. Angantyr ruled Reithgotaland as King for a long time. He was\npowerful and generous and a great warrior, and lines of kings are\nsprung from him.\n\nHe had a son called Heithrek Wolfskin who ruled after him for a long\ntime in Reithgotaland. Heithrek had a daughter called Hild, who was\nthe mother of Halfdan the Valiant, the father of Ivar Vithfathmi. Ivar\nVithfathmi went with his army into the Swedish kingdom, as is told in\nthe Sagas of the Kings. And King Ingjald the Wicked was panic-stricken\nat the approach of his army, and burned the roof over himself and all\nhis retinue at a place called R\u00caning. Ivar Vithfathmi then conquered\nall Sweden. He also subdued Denmark and Courland and the land of the\nSaxons and Esthonia, and all the eastern realms as far as Russia. He\nalso ruled the land of the Saxons in the West and conquered the part\nof England which was called Northumbria.\n\nThen he conquered all Denmark and set over it King Valdar, to whom\nhe married his daughter Alfhild. Their sons were Harold Hildit\u02c6nn\nand Randver who afterwards fell in England. And when Valdar died in\nDenmark, Randver got possession of the Danish kingdom and made himself\nKing over it. And King Harold Hildit\u02c6nn got himself proclaimed King\nof Gautland, and he afterwards conquered all the kingdoms already\nmentioned, which King Ivar Vithfathmi had held.\n\nKing Randver married Asa, the daughter of King Harold of the Red\nMoustache from Norway. Their son was Sigurth Hring. King Randver died\nsuddenly, and Sigurth Hring succeeded to the Kingdom of Denmark. He\nfought against King Harold Hildit\u02c6nn at the Battle of Brav\u02c6ll in East\nGautland, and there King Harold fell, and a great multitude of his\narmy with him. This battle and the one which Angantyr and his brother\nHl\u02c6th fought at Dunheith are the battles which have been most famous\nin stories of old. Never were any greater slaughters made.\n\nKing Sigurth Hring ruled the Kingdom of the Danes till the day of his\ndeath; and his son Ragnar Lothbrok succeeded him.\n\nHarold Hildit\u02c6nn had a son called Eystein the Wicked, who succeeded to\nthe Swedish Realm after his father, and ruled it until he was slain\nby the sons of Ragnar Lothbrok, as is related in the Saga of Ragnar\nLothbrok. The sons of Ragnar Lothbrok conquered all the Swedish\nKingdom; and after the death of King Ragnar, his son, Bj\u02c6rn Ironside,\ninherited Sweden, and Sigurth Denmark, Hvitserk the Eastern Realm, and\nIvar the Boneless England.\n\nThe sons of Bj\u02c6rn Ironside were Eric and Refil. The latter was a\nwarrior-prince and sea-king. King Eric ruled the Swedish Realm after\nhis father, and lived but a short time. Then Eric the son of Refil\nsucceeded to the Kingdom. He was a great warrior and a very powerful\nKing. The sons of Eric Bj\u02c6rnsson were \u00f7nund of Upsala and King Bj\u02c6rn.\nThen the Swedish Realm again came to be divided between brothers. They\nsucceeded to the Kingdom on the death of Eric Refilsson. King Bj\u02c6rn\nbuilt a house called 'Barrow,' and he himself was called Bj\u02c6rn of the\nBarrow. Bragi the poet was with him. King \u00f7nund had a son called Eric,\nand he succeeded to the throne at Upsala after his father. He was a\nmighty King. In his days Harold the Fair-haired made himself King of\nNorway. He was the first to unite the whole of that country under his\nsway.\n\nEric at Upsala had a son called Bj\u02c6rn, who came to the throne after\nhis father and ruled for a long time. The sons of Bj\u02c6rn, Eric the\nVictorious, and Olaf succeeded to the kingdom after their father. Olaf\nwas the father of Styrbj\u02c6rn the Strong. In their days King Harold\nthe Fair-haired died. Styrbj\u02c6rn fought against King Eric his father's\nbrother at Fyrisvellir, and there Styrbj\u02c6rn fell. Then Eric ruled\nSweden till the day of his death. He married Sigrith the Ambitious.\nThey had a son called Olaf who was accepted as King in Sweden after\nKing Eric. He was only a child at the time and the Swedes carried him\nabout with them, and for this reason they called him 'Skirt-King,'\nand then, later, Olaf the Swede. He ruled for a long time and was a\npowerful King. He was the first king of Sweden to be converted, and in\nhis days, Sweden was nominally Christian.\n\nKing Olaf the Swede had a son called \u00f7nund who succeeded him. He died\nin his bed. In his day fell King Olaf the Saint at Stiklestad. Olaf\nthe Swede had another son called Eymund, who came to the throne after\nhis brother. In his day the Swedes neglected the Christian religion,\nbut he was King for only a short time.\n\nThere was a great man of noble family in Sweden called Steinkel. His\nmother's name was Astrith, the daughter of Njal the son of Fin the\nSquinter, from Halogaland; and his father was R\u02c6gnvald the Old.\nSteinkel was an Earl in Sweden at first, and then after the death of\nEymund, the Swedes elected him their King. Then the throne passed\nout of the line of the ancient kings of Sweden. Steinkel was a mighty\nprince. He married the daughter of King Eymund. He died in his bed in\nSweden about the time that King Harold fell in England.\n\nSteinkel had a son called Ingi, who became King of Sweden after\nHaakon. Ingi was King of Sweden for a long time, and was popular and a\ngood Christian. He tried to put an end to heathen sacrifices in Sweden\nand commanded all the people to accept Christianity; yet the Swedes\nheld to their ancient faith. King Ingi married a woman called M\u00car\nwho had a brother called Svein. King Ingi liked Svein better than any\nother man, and Svein became thereby the greatest man in Sweden. The\nSwedes considered that King Ingi was violating the ancient law of the\nland when he took exception to many things which Steinkel his father\nhad permitted, and at an assembly held between the Swedes and King\nIngi, they offered him two alternatives, either to follow the old\norder, or else to abdicate. Then King Ingi spoke up and said that he\nwould not abandon the true faith; whereupon the Swedes raised a shout\nand pelted him with stones, and drove him from the assembly.\n\nSvein, the King's brother-in-law, remained behind in the assembly, and\noffered the Swedes to do sacrifices on their behalf if they would give\nhim the Kingdom. They all agreed to accept Svein's offer, and he was\nthen recognised as King over all Sweden. A horse was then brought to\nthe assembly and hewn in pieces and cut up for eating, and the\nsacred tree was smeared with blood. Then all the Swedes abandoned\nChristianity, and sacrifices were started again. They drove King Ingi\naway; and he went into Vesterg\u02c6tland. Svein the Sacrificer was King of\nSweden for three years.\n\nKing Ingi set off with his retinue and some of his followers, though\nit was but a small force. He then rode eastwards by Sm\u00c2land and into\n\u00f7sterg\u02c6tland and then into Sweden. He rode both day and night, and\ncame upon Svein suddenly in the early morning. They caught him in his\nhouse and set it on fire and burned the band of men who were within.\n\nThere was a baron called Thjof who was burnt inside. He had been\npreviously in the retinue of Svein the Sacrificer. Svein himself left\nthe house, but was slain immediately.\n\nThus Ingi once more received the Kingdom of Sweden; and he\nreestablished Christianity and ruled the Kingdom till the end of his\nlife, when he died in his bed.\n\nKing Steinkel had, besides Ingi, another son Hallstein who reigned\nalong with his brother. Hallstein's sons were Philip and Ingi, and\nthey succeeded to the Kingdom of Sweden after King Ingi the elder.\nPhilip married Ingigerth, the daughter of King Harold the son of\nSigurth. He reigned for only a short time.\n\n\n\n\nAPPENDIX TO PART I\n\nTHE COMBAT AT SAMS\u00ff AND HJALMAR'S DEATH SONG\n\n\nThe following passage is taken from an early text of the _Saga of\nHerv\u02c6r and Heithrek_ (MS. 2845 in the Royal Library at Copenhagen)\nwhere it occurs immediately after the earl's speech (\"The death of\nmighty men\" etc.) on p. 92[1].\n\n\nWhen the brothers came home they made ready to go to the combat, and\ntheir father accompanied them to the ship and gave the sword Tyrfing\nto Angantyr, saying:\n\n\"I think that you will have need of good weapons now.\"\n\nHe then bade them farewell, and so they parted.\n\nAnd when the brothers came to Sams\u00af they saw two ships lying in a\nharbour which was called Munarvag. The ships were of the kind called\n'Ash.' The brothers concluded that these must be the ships of Hjalmar\nand Odd the Far-travelling, who was called \u00f7rvar-Odd. The sons of\nArngrim then drew their swords and gnawed the rims of their shields\nand worked themselves up into the berserks' fury. Then they sallied\nforth, six against each 'Ash,' but so brave were the men whom they\nencountered on board that they all drew their weapons, and not one\nfled from his post, and not one spoke a word of fear. And the berserks\nmade their way up one side of the ship and down the other and slew\nthem all. Then they landed and began to howl.\n\nHjalmar and Odd had landed on the Island to find out if the berserks\nhad come. And as they made their way from the forest to join their\nships, the berserks were leaving the ships with bloody weapons and\ndrawn swords. But by this time the berserk fury had passed away from\nthem, and at such times their strength is reduced like that of people\nwho are recovering from illness of some kind.\n\nThen said Odd:\n\n  I never knew aught of terror\n    Till today when the berserks came.\n  They have sailed to this isle in their ashen ships,\n    All twelve devoid of shame,\n  And landed with many a whoop and yell,\n    Those wretches of evil fame.\n\nThen said Hjalmar to Odd: \"Do you see that all our men are fallen? It\nis my belief that we shall all be Othin's guests tonight in Valhalla.\"\n\n--And it is said that that was the only word of fear ever uttered by\nHjalmar.\n\nOdd replied: \"My advice would be that we should make off to the wood;\nfor we shall never be able to put up a fight, being only two against\ntwelve--and twelve too who have slain the twelve bravest men in\nSweden.\"\n\nThen said Hjalmar: \"We will never flee from our foes. Rather will we\nsuffer the worst that their weapons can inflict. I am going to fight\nagainst the berserks.\"\n\n\"Not so,\" replied Odd; \"I have no mind to visit Othin tonight. It is\nall these berserks who must perish before evening comes; but you and I\nwill be left alive.\"\n\nAn account of their dialogue is found in these verses which Hjalmar\nchanted:\n\n  Twelve berserks hasten onward,\n    Inglorious warriors;--\n  Leaving their warships on they come;\n    And when night's shadow lowers\n  We two shall feast in Othin's hall,\n    Leaving them conquerors.\n\nBut Odd replied:\n\n  This is the answer I give thee:--\n    In Othin's hall tonight,\n      Twelve berserks shall feast,\n      Every one as a guest,\n  While we shall live on in the light.\n\nHjalmar and Odd saw that Angantyr had Tyrfing in his hand, for it\nflashed like a sunbeam.\n\nHjalmar said: \"Will you fight against Angantyr alone, or against all\nhis eleven brothers?\"\n\n\"I will fight against Angantyr,\" replied Odd; \"He will give mighty\nstrokes with Tyrfing; but I have more faith in the protection of my\nshirt than in that of your mail-coat.\"\n\nThen cried Hjalmar: \"When did you and I ever go to battle and you took\nthe lead of me? You want to fight Angantyr because you hold that to be\nthe deed of greater prowess. I am the leader in this combat, however,\nand far other was the vow I made to the daughter of the King of the\nSwedes than to let you or anybody else come before me in the fight. It\nis I who am going to fight Angantyr.\"\n\nAnd with that he drew his sword and stepped forth to meet Angantyr and\nthey commended one another to Valhalla[2]. Hjalmar and Angantyr then\nmade ready for the combat, and mighty strokes fell thick and fast\nbetween them.\n\nOdd called to the berserks, saying:\n\n  Man to man should a warrior fight\n    Who would win a well-fought day,--\n  Unless it be that his courage fail,\n    Or his valour has ebbed away.\n\nThen Hj\u02c6rvarth advanced, and he and Odd had a stiff encounter; but\nOdd's silken shirt was so strong that no weapon could pierce it. And\nso good was his sword that it cut through iron as easily as cloth; and\nfew strokes had he dealt ere Hj\u02c6rvarth fell dead.\n\nThen Hervarth came on and the same thing happened;--then Hrani, then\neach of the others in turn. And with such force did Odd encounter them\nall that he slew every one of the eleven brothers. As for the combat\nbetween Hjalmar and Angantyr, the upshot was that Hjalmar was wounded\nin sixteen places, and then Angantyr fell dead.\n\nThen Odd went over to where Hjalmar lay and cried:\n\n  O Hjalmar! Why has thy face grown pale\n    As the face of men who die?\n  Wide gape the rents in byrnie and helm,\n    And I fear that the end draws nigh;\n  And the strength of manhood has gone from thine arm,\n    And the light of life from thine eye.\n\nHjalmar made answer[3]:\n\n  With sixteen wounds is my mailcoat rent,\n    And the world is fading fast.\n  Blindly I tread in the gathering gloom,\n    Pierced to the heart at the last\n  By Angantyr's sword with its pitiless point\n    And its edges in poison cast.\n\n  *I have given no cause to Ingibj\u02c6rg\n    To hold my prowess light;\n  It shall never be said by our maidens at home\n    That I gave one thought to flight.\n  They shall hear how the battle was fought and won.--\n    How I wielded my sword in the fight.\n\n  Five manors were mine, all nobly appointed,\n    Where I might have tarried and made good cheer.\n  Yet my heart was stirred by a restless longing\n    That urged me onward to Sams\u00af here,\n  Where, pierced by the sword, with my life blood out pouring,\n    I shall linger and die on this island so drear.\n\n  In my mind I can see the henchmen\n    Drinking mead in my father's hall.--\n  A circle of gold is round every throat,\n    And joy is among them all.\n  My merry companions are drinking their ale,\n    Till thought and care are no more,\n  While I, torn with wounds from a murderous sword,\n    Perish here on this island shore.\n\n  *The lofty halls of Sigtun,\n    I see them from far away;\n  And the maidens who sought to withhold us\n    As we hastened forth on our way.\n  I shall never again see those maidens,\n    Or talk with the warriors bold,\n  Or drink fair ale in the King's high hall,\n    As I did in the days of old.\n\n  In my heart a voice still lingers,\n    The voice of a maiden fair,\n  Who rode with me forth to Agni's meads,\n    And bade farewell to me there.\n  And true, too true, were the words she spake\n    From the depths of her despair,\n  That never again should I touch her lips,\n    Or tangle her golden hair.\n\n  In my ear a song is ringing,\n    An echo from out the East,--\n  I heard it from Soti's cliffs on the night\n    When I left my friends at the feast.\n  How could I know that never again\n    Should I hear the maidens' lay,\n  As I hastened forth with my heart aflame,\n    And my good ship sailed away?\n\n  *In token of what has befallen,\n    My helmet and corslet take,\n  And bear them forth to the King's high hall.--\n    'Tis the last request I make.\n  The prince's daughter, fair Ingibj\u02c6rg,\n    Will be stricken with grief and pain\n  When she looks on my good shield hacked and rent,\n    And knows that her love was vain.\n\n  Draw from my arm this token,\n    This ring of gleaming gold:\n  And bear it to Ingibj\u02c6rg the fair,\n    Lest she deem my love grown cold.\n  Young is the maid to bear the sorrow\n    Her heart must then endure,\n  When I ride not home to greet her,\n    When I keep not my tryst as of yore\n\n  *I left the youthful Ingibj\u02c6rg\n    Upon that fateful day,\n  When rashly we placed our fortunes\n    In the hands of Destiny.\n  O heavy will be the maiden's grief,\n    The sorrow she must endure\n  When she knows I have fallen in battle,\n    And will enter her hall no more.\n\n  From the tree tops away to the Eastward\n    There gather a loathly brood:--\n  Raven and eagle are swooping\n    To wet their bills in my blood.\n  Full many a feast has the eagle had\n    Of carrion slain by me:\n      I have fought my last fight,\n        And I pass to the night;\n      And now he shall feast on me.\n\nThen Hjalmar died[4]. Odd brought the tidings to Sweden; and the\nKing's daughter could not bear to live after Hjalmar, so she took her\nown life. Angantyr and his brothers were laid in a barrow in Sams\u00af\nwith all their weapons.\n\n    [Footnote 1: Printed in Wimmer's _Oldnordisk L\u00casebog_ (4th\n    ed.) p. 29 ff. The poetry is also found, though with\n    many divergent readings, in _\u00f7rvar-Odds Saga_, ch. 14\n    _(Fornaldars\u02c6gur_, Vol. II, p. 217 ff.).]\n\n    [Footnote 2: In late (paper) MSS. the following passage is\n    here added.--\"Angantyr said: 'It is my wish that if any of\n    us escapes from here we should not rob one another of our\n    weapons. If I die, I wish to have Tyrfing in the barrow\n    with me. Odd likewise shall have his shirt and Hjalmar his\n    weapons!' And they agreed that those who were left alive were\n    to raise a barrow for the others.\"\n\n    Then follows a long description of the fighting.]\n\n    [Footnote 3: This poem is given more fully in _\u00f7rvar-Odds\n    Saga_ than in _Hervarar Saga_. The strophes which occur only\n    in the former are marked with an asterisk. I have re-arranged\n    the order of the stanzas, in regard to which there is\n    considerable variation between the two texts.]\n\n    [Footnote 4: In paper MSS. the following passage occurs here:\n\n    \"Odd remained there all night. In the morning he brought\n    together the bodies of all the berserks and then set about\n    building barrows. The islanders built chambers of great oaks\n    as Odd directed them, and then piled up stones and sand on\n    the top. They were strongly constructed, and it was a great\n    achievement. Odd was busy at this work for a fortnight. Then\n    he placed the berserks in with their weapons and closed the\n    barrows. After this Odd took Hjalmar's body and carried it to\n    a ship and conveyed it to Sweden.\"]\n\n\n\n\nPART II\n\nBALLADS\n\n\n\n\nBALLADS\n\nGENERAL INTRODUCTION\n\n\nI. The ballads of the Faroe Islands aroused the interest of Ole Worm\nas early as 1639; but the five ballads which he took down are no\nlonger extant, and we know of them only from a reference by Peder\nSyv[1] towards the close of the seventeenth century. In 1673 Lucas\nDebes[2] wrote a description of the islands which contained an account\nof their dances and songs; but unfortunately he did not transcribe any\nof the ballads. Indeed the balladry and songs attracted little general\nattention till the close of the eighteenth century, when Jens Kristjan\nSvabo devoted himself to a careful study of the language and a\ncollection of the ballads of his native Islands.\n\nIn 1781-2, during a visit to the Faroes, Svabo turned his attention\nespecially to Faroese folk-songs and made a ms. collection of\nfifty-two ballads, which were purchased by the Crown Prince and\npresented to the Royal Library at Copenhagen. It is interesting to\nnote that Svabo, like his contemporary Bishop Percy[3], thought it\nnecessary to apologise in his preface for making the collection, and\nhumbly claims for it an interest merely antiquarian. It is clear,\nhowever from his tone throughout the Preface, that Svabo had a far\nmore scholarly appreciation of the value of his material than had\nPercy. Indeed it would be difficult to overestimate the debt which all\nsucceeding students of Faroese ballads owe to him. Disappointed in his\nhopes of public recognition of his work done for the Civil Service,\nhe retired to the Islands, where, in solitude and poverty, he devoted\nhimself, till his death in 1829, to the collection and transcription\nof ballad material. His personal help and example inspired other\nFaroe-islanders to make collections for themselves, some of which,\nnotably Klemmentsen's _Sandoyjarb\u00dbk_, are among our best authorities\nfor the ballads today. His own ballad collection, still in ms. in the\nRoyal Library at Copenhagen, has never been published; but Schr\u00after,\nLyngbye and Hammershaimb all owed their incentive and inspiration to\nhis work. To study the history of Faroese ballad collections without\nrealising the force of Svabo's personality is to leave Hamlet out of\nthe play.\n\nIn 1817 the Danish botanist, Hans Kristjan Lyngbye visited the Faroes,\nwhere he became acquainted with \"the learned Svabo\" as he calls him,\nand also with Johan Henrik Schr\u00after, a clergyman on Suder\u00af, himself\na keenly interested ballad collector, and, incidentally, the first to\nmake a collection of Faroese folk-tales in prose. Partly from these\nmen, and partly from oral recitations and material supplied by Provost\nHentze, Lyngbye was able to gather together a considerable body of\nFaroese ballads which, with the support and encouragement of Bishop\nP. E. M\u00b8ller, he published at Copenhagen in 1822, under the title of\n_F\u00car\u02c6iske Kv\u00cader om Sigurd Fofnersbane og hans \u2206t_.\n\nUnfortunately Lyngbye knew no Icelandic and very little Faroese, and\nhis work necessarily suffers in consequence. Still more unfortunate\nwas his unscientific handling of material and lack of literary\nconscience, which permitted his cutting out, adding and transposing\nstanzas--and again we are reminded of the _Reliques_--till the\noriginal form of a ballad is sometimes entirely lost. Fortunately,\nhowever, most of the material that he had at his command is still\npreserved. It is to be noted that the qualities which go to make an\nideal _collector_ of ballads do not always imply an ideal editor of\nthe material collected. The great collector of Jutland ballads and\nfolk-lore, Evald Tang Kristensen, has started a new and sounder\ntradition by a reverent in-gathering of all that formed part of the\ncommon stock of peasant lore in his day[4]. The sifting of material\nis wisely left to the trained scholar, and, one hopes, to a later and\nless intrepid generation[5].\n\nThe tradition started by Svabo and Lyngbye was carried on by V. U.\nHammershaimb, himself a native of the Islands and a great lover of\nFaroese folk-lore. During the years 1847-8, and again in 1853, he\nvisited the Faroes expressly to study the dialects, and to collect\nthe native ballads and folklore, which he published under the title\nof _F\u00car\u02c6iske_ _Kv\u00cader_ in the _Nordiske Literatur-Samfund_, the\n_Antiquarisk Tidsskrift_, etc.\n\nLike Svabo, Hammershaimb eventually returned and settled on the\nFaroes; but unfortunately, owing to the pressure of his administrative\nduties, he was never able to spare time for a final revision of his\ncollection, though urged repeatedly to the work by his friend Svend\nGrundtvig. Ultimately, however, when Grundtvig himself undertook to\nmake an exhaustive critical edition of the Faroese ballads in all\ntheir variant forms, Hammershaimb placed all his material in his\nhands.\n\nSvend Grundtvig and his colleague J. Bloch, of the Royal Library\nstaff, completed in 1876 their great fifteen vol. MS. collection\nof Faroese ballads with all their known variants, _F\u00afroyja\nKv\u00ca\uf8ffi_--_Corpus Carminum Faeroensium_--_F\u00car\u00afernes Gamle Folkeviser_.\nThis was afterwards increased by Bloch to sixteen volumes by the\naddition of much new material, some of which was collected by Jakobsen\nin his journey to the Faroes in 1887[6]. Before beginning the work\nGrundtvig had every available version, whether in public or private\nhands, at his disposal, so that he had a magnificent apparatus\ncriticus. Unfortunately the work has never been published, so that\nowing to the difficulties of communication with Denmark (which have\nproved to be insuperable) it has been impossible for me to consult\nit. The first three volumes, however, which include all the Faroese\nballads translated below, are based on Hammershaimb's collections of\n1851-1855. Hammershaimb was himself a genuine scholar with a sensitive\nliterary conscience and a thorough knowledge of all the Faroese\ndialects, and his work is spoken of in the highest terms by Grundtvig\nin his article on the _Corpus Carminum Faroensium_[7]. Moreover\nHammershaimb had consulted all the other available versions of\nthese ballads before printing; so that it is improbable that when a\ncomparison of the texts can be made much alteration will be required.\n\nII. The Faroe Islands are probably the only place to be found in\nWestern Europe where ballads are still sung to the accompaniment of\nthe dance. The dance and song, it must be confessed, are gradually\nlosing their original character, while the ballads are often long and\nunwieldy, sometimes, as in the Ballad of \u00d5vint Herintsson, running to\nfive divisions (_T\u00cattir_) and over three hundred and fifty verses. The\nverses are frequently chanted in a solemn recitative, while the ballad\ntunes tend to be confined chiefly to the refrains. The method of\nsupplying the melody, however, is subject to almost endless variation.\nSometimes old native folk tunes are attached to special ballads, e.g.\nin the case of _Vi hugged mid kaarde_; sometimes native ballads are\nsung to Danish folk melodies and refrains as, e.g. _Grindevisen_, sung\nto the tune of the Danish _Burmand holder i Fj\u00caldet ut_. Sometimes in\nthe Faroese repertoire, Norse ballads are found complete with their\nown melodies, e.g. _S\u00afmandsviserne_, or sung to Danish folk-tunes,\ne.g. _Zinklars Vise_. Most curious of all is the method not\ninfrequently resorted to in modern times of singing native ballads,\noften of modern origin, to the tunes of the Protestant Psalmody--a\ncustom which may have had its origin in the common practice of singing\nboth ballads and psalms on all momentous occasions, such as on the\nnight of a wedding, or before starting on a big fishing expedition.\nThe Islanders have little idea of tone or melody and do not sing well;\nand eye-witnesses of some of the ballad dances at Thorshaven aver\nthat the tunes sound less like dance music than melancholy dirges.\nIn _Folkesangen paa F\u00car\u00aferne_ (_F\u00car\u00afske Kvadmelodier_), pp. 85-140,\nThuren has published a large number of original ballad tunes. The\ncharacteristic motifs of folk tunes are traceable throughout, as well\nas their elusive qualities. Thus we find, side by side with airs based\non the ordinary major and minor scales, others which, like mediaeval\nchurch music, are based on a 'modal' or 'gapped' tonal system.\nIndeed traces of the pentatonic scale are not infrequently met with,\nespecially in the tunes attached to the earlier ballads. The majority\nof Faroese melodies, however, have only one gap and have more in\ncommon with the system of notation found in Gregorian music than with\nthe pentatonic scale of many Hebridean lays. A further characteristic\nof folk music which appears in most Faroese airs is the curious form\nof close which rarely occurs on the tonic. Not infrequently the theme\nends on the leading note or supertonic which strikes the ear with a\nperpetual surprise, the cadence leading one to anticipate a repetition\nrather than a conclusion of the air. The reason is that these tunes,\nlike many folk songs from Somerset, the Appalachians and the Hebrides,\nwere 'circular,' that is, formed for continuous repetition to suit the\nlengthy nature of the songs and ballads.\n\nThe ballad however is not a mere historical relic on the Faroes, but\na living literary form. The simplicity of the life, and the absence of\nclass distinction[8], still constitute an atmosphere in some respects\nnot unlike that of Mediaeval Denmark, and the ballad is the favourite\nform of artistic expression. A whale-hunt, a shipwreck, or the\nadventures of fishermen in the far north are still made the subject\nof a new ballad, composed by one or more of the community; and if the\nresult finds general favour it is added to the ballad repertoire along\nwith the ballads of Sir Tristram or Childe Sigurth[9].\n\nIn his description of his travels on the Faroes 1847-8, V. U.\nHammershaimb[10] says that he took down the greater number of his\nballads at Sumb\u00af on Suder\u00af, the most southerly village in the Islands.\nHe describes the ballad dance as follows:\n\n    It is the custom here that the same ballad should not be sung\n    more than once a year[11] in the 'dancing-chamber,' so that\n    the repertoire is obviously extensive, seeing that they dance\n    at wedding feasts, generally for three days and nights without\n    cessation. In the special dancing season from Yule till Lent,\n    the ballads are danced not only on Sundays but also on the\n    so-called 'Feast Days.' (They do not dance again from the\n    beginning of Lent till the day after Christmas.) The dance at\n    Sumb\u00af has characteristics of its own which differ from those\n    of the rest of the Faroes. The people here generally sing\n    well and know how to put expression into the actual dance.\n    Elsewhere on the Islands this is now for the most part reduced\n    to a uniform stamp with the feet, marking the melody of the\n    ballad. Moreover they still continue here in common use both\n    the 'Walking Verse' (_stigingar stev_) and the more rapid\n    measure 'Tripping Verse' (_tr\u00dbkingar stev_) of the Round\n    Dance, in which, as a rule, the dancers hold one another by\n    the hand, forming a circle, dancing backwards while the\n    verse (_\u02c6rindi_) is sung, and reversing the movement with\n    considerable energy during the singing of the refrain\n    (_vi\uf8ffgangur, ni\uf8ffurl\u00b7g, stev_). This round dance is\n    characteristic of Sumb\u00af[12].\n\nFor the most part the dance is now performed with the same speed\nin both verse and refrain[13], and though little changed since\nHammershaimb wrote, it tends more and more to become a solemn and\njoyless function; and there is a curious unanimity today among\neyewitnesses as to the depressing effect it has on them. Hjalmar\nThuren, writing in later times (1908), furnishes some additional\ninformation as to the manner of the ballad dance[14]. The ballads\nare danced with special zest on the 29th of July, the day of the\nanniversary of the death of Saint Olaf, when all the islanders who\ncan leave their homes flock to Thorshaven and dance from sunset till\nsunrise. Sometimes the ballads are danced in the open air, and it\nhas been the custom in certain districts from ancient times to hold\nassemblies for dancing out in the fields on certain fixed days. On\nthe 12th Sunday after Trinity people meet in definite places on the\nNorthern Islands. On the other hand the dance is often the spontaneous\noutcome of the desire of the moment, \"as much to keep themselves warm\nas for the sake of entertainment.\" Thus after a whale-hunt the men\nsometimes dance in their wet, bloody clothes, singing the popular\nballad of the ca'ing whale with the refrain:\n\n  To us bold men great joy it is\n  To slay a whale!\n\nThe dance is always accompanied by song, but instrumental music has\nnever been in use on the Faroes. The time and character of the dance\nare indicated at the beginning of the ballad by the precentor. This\npost of honour was originally much sought after and some precentors\nwere famous over the islands for their special rendering of certain\nballads, some of which were family possessions in the old days.\n\nWhen a ballad is concluded, one of those who are taking part\nstraightway begins on a new one, the dance frequently continuing\nuninterrupted, even when the song is ended. The precentor must have\na strong voice and great powers of endurance as the ballads are often\nvery long. He is generally of a lively disposition with some dramatic\npower, so that by imitating his gesticulations the dancers give\ncharacter and individuality to the ballad. Thus in the refrain to the\n_Death-Song of Ragnar Lo\uf8ffbr\u00dbk_:\n\n  _We struck with the sword_\n\nthe dancers stamp on the floor and clap hands together; but they are\nsolemn and silent during the singing of a sorrowful ballad such as\n\n  Queen Dagmar lies sick, etc.\n\nWith the ballad dances of the Faroes it is interesting to compare the\nballad dances of the Ukraine and also the choral dances of a community\nso far removed as the Torres Straits. Of these latter Dr Haddon\nwrites[15]:\n\n    The dancing-ground was an oblong space.... The drummer with\n    the singers generally struck up a song, but sometimes the\n    dancers sang a refrain or called for a song by name. Each song\n    seemed to be associated with its own particular dance and\n    to be _accompanied by some story or incident_ which was\n    illustrated by the movements of the dancers.\n\nA much closer parallel, however, is furnished by the [Cyrillic:\nKhorovod] or choral dance of Little Russia. The [Cyrillic: Khorovod],\naccording to the account of an eye witness[16], is not only a song\nsung to the accompaniment of a dance; but the song is narrative\nin form and answers in all respects to the ballad of North Western\nEurope. The dancers join hands and dance in a circle from west to\neast, in a contrary direction to the sun's movements--_withershins_ as\nthe Scots peasants have it. Then, because it is considered unlucky to\ndo anything _withershins_, in the refrain the motion is reversed and\nthe dancers pass from east to west, to counteract the baleful effects\nof the first direction. Here too, however, it is interesting to note,\nthe dance is sometimes stationary.\n\nIII. Into the rise of the ballads on the Faroes and their exact\nrelation of form and content to the Icelandic _Fornkv\u00ca\uf8ffi_[17], and to\nthe _Viser_ of Norway[18], Sweden[19], and above all of Denmark[20],\nit is impossible to enter here. Perhaps the relationship between the\nballads of the various countries of the North will never be fully\nunderstood. The ramifications are too many and too complex, while too\nmany links in the chain have already been lost in the \"scrubby paper\nbooks\" such as that with which Bishop Percy found the housemaid\nlighting the parlour fire. And those who would too hastily dogmatise\non the 'conveyance', translation, and borrowing of the various\nversions receive a wholesome warning from Dr Axel Olrik's analysis[21]\nof the ancestry and parallel versions of the Scots, Icelandic,\nSwedish, Norwegian and Danish forms of the ballads of Earl Brand (Dan.\n_Riboldsvisen_). Moreover it is no easier to generalise about the\nsources of the Faroese ballad material than about the Danish. The\nmotif of the Faroese _Tristrams T\u00b7ttur_, also found in the Icelandic\nballad of _Tristram_ comes ultimately (through the Tristram's Saga\none would suppose) from a French romance; that of Nornagest, changed\nthough it is in form, is surely founded on the Icelandic Saga; _Olufu\nKv\u00ca\uf8ffi_ comes no doubt from a Spanish story; and the motif of the\nScots ballad of _Binnorie_ is \"found also among the people of Ireland,\nNorway, Sweden, Denmark and the Faroes[22].\"\n\nIt would be pleasant to develop a theory that the purveyors of ballad\nmaterial were the sailors and merchants who plied up and down the\ngreat trade routes in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, or even\nearlier. It has been suggested by Professor Ker[23] and others that\nShetland _may_ have been \"the chief meeting-place or trading station\nbetween the ballads of Scotland and Norway.\" The Shetland ballad of\n_Sir Orfeo_ actually has a refrain in Norn, the Norse dialect spoken\nin Shetland and the small neighbouring islands till the eighteenth\ncentury; while the ballad of _Hildina_ taken down by Low[24] on the\nIsland of Foula off Shetland (cf. p. 217 below) is entirely composed\nin Norn. Indeed we know from Low's account[25] that many ballads and\nsongs must have perished with the language:\n\n    Nothing remains but a few names of things and two or three\n    remnants of songs which one old man can repeat;\n\nand further on he continues:\n\n    Most of the fragments they have are _old historical ballads\n    and romances_.... William Henry, a farmer in Guttorm in Foula\n    has the most knowledge of any I found; he spoke of three kinds\n    of poetry used in Norn, and repeated or sung by the old men;\n    the Ballad (or Romance, I suppose); _the Vysie or vyse, now\n    commonly sung to dancers_[26]; and the simple song.... Most\n    of all their tales are relative to the history of Norway;\n    they seem to know little of the rest of Europe but by names;\n    Norwegian transactions they have at their fingers' ends.\n\nOne would like to have known more about Norn and its 'Vysies,' which\nmight have formed an interesting and instructive link between some of\nthe Northern ballads. On the other hand, the Scandinavian colonies in\nIreland, and settlers in English ports such as Bristol, may have done\nnot a little, through their trade with France and the Mediterranean\ncountries, to spread the new rhyming four line verse and the romantic\nstories of southern and eastern Europe[27].\n\nWhile this obscurity remains as to the connection between the Faroese\nballads and those of neighbouring countries, notably Denmark, the\nquestions of the age and origin of many of the Faroese ballads in\ntheir present form are also frought with difficulty. Of the Danish\nballads, which sometimes offer parallels so close as to suggest\ntranslation from one language to the other, the first MS. collection\nthat can be dated with certainty was written down in 1550. But there\nis much evidence, both internal and external, for assigning a much\nearlier date to the historical ballads at least. It has been suggested\nby Olrik[28], who supports his view by arguments which it would be\nextremely difficult to contest, that many of the historical ballads\nare practically contemporaneous with the events which they describe,\nand some of these took place in the thirteenth century, while others,\ne.g. _Riboldsvisen_, are possibly of the twelfth century.\n\nUnfortunately we have fewer data, whether philological or historical,\nfor assigning dates to the Faroese ballads than we have for the\nDanish. There can be little doubt, however, that the ballads\ntranslated below had their origin in the _Fornaldar S\u02c6gur_ composed\nin Iceland during the thirteenth century or in some fourteenth century\n_R\u00ccmur_ derived from the sagas. That many of the Faroese ballads were\nliterary in origin[29], and were based on either Sagas or R\u00ccmur, is\nconclusively established by the opening lines of many of the ballads\nthemselves, notably that of the _Olufu R\u00ccma_:\n\n  Ein er r\u00ccman ur \u00d5slandi komin,\n  Skr\u00ccva\uf8ff \u00cc b\u00dbk so brei\uf8ffa.\n\n    (\"This story is come from Iceland, written in a book so\n    broad.\")\n\nAnd _Tr\u02c6llini \u00cc Hornalandum_:\n\n  Verse 1. Fr\u00af\uf8ff\u00cc\uf8ff er komi\uf8ff fr\u00b7 \u00d5sland\u00cc\n           Skr\u00ccva\uf8ff \u00cc b\u00dbk so v\u00cc\uf8ffa _etc._\n\n  Verse 2. Fr\u00af\uf8ffi\uf8ff er komi\uf8ff fr\u00b7 \u00d5slandi\n           Skr\u00ccva\uf8ff \u00cc b\u00dbk so brei\uf8ffa _etc._\n\n  Verse 3. Fr\u00af\uf8ffi\uf8ff er komi\uf8ff fr\u00b7 \u00d5slandi\n           Higar i\uf8ff skald ta\uf8ff t\u00dbk,\n           Havi\uf8ff t\u00car hoyrt um kongin tann,\n           \u00d5\uf8ff skr\u00ccva\uf8ffur stendur \u00cc b\u00dbk?\n\n    (\"This poem has come from Iceland, brought hither by a\n    _skald_. Have you heard of the king about whom this book is\n    written?\")\n\nThe passages quoted above would seem to point to R\u00ccmur rather than\nSagas as the sources of the ballads. Or had more than one \"Book\nso broad\" come from Iceland? One wonders. Heusler notices[30] the\ntendency to divide up the longer ballads into sections or _T\u00cattir_,\neach whole in itself and yet forming a part of the ballad, and\nsuggests the Icelandic _R\u00ccmur_ as the models for this particular form.\nIt is even possible that the word _R\u00ccma_ is used advisedly in the\nfirst strophe of _Olufu Kv\u00ca\uf8ffi_, instead of the somewhat commoner\n_Kv\u00ca\uf8ffi_, with some reminiscence of its origin. One of the _Sjur\uf8ffar\nKv\u00ca\uf8ffi_ (_Dv\u02c6rgamoy_ III) begins:\n\n  Eina veit eg r\u00ccmuna,\n  \u00d5\uf8ff inni hevir ligi\uf8ff leingi.\n\n    (I know a rhyme (or _R\u00ccma_?) etc.)\n\nand _R\u00ccsin \u00cc Holmgar\uf8ff_ also begins:\n\n  Eg veit eina r\u00ccmuna,\n  \u00d5\uf8ff gj\u02c6rd er um Virgar sterka.\n\nMany other instances might be quoted.\n\nBut it would be perilous to press too far what may, after all, be a\nmere verbal coincidence. And whatever gave rise to our poems as they\nnow stand, it cannot be too strongly emphasised that they, like the\nrest of the _F\u00afroyja Kv\u00ca\uf8ffi_, are first and last _Ballads_--rightly\nballads. They have a form of their own, like other ballads, and are\nnot a degenerate form of _R\u00ccmur_ or a mere versification of some\nold Icelandic legends. Indeed what Professor Ker says of the Danish\nballads[31] may with equal truth be applied to the ballads of the\nFaroes:\n\n    The ballads are not rude, rustic travesties of older more\n    dignified stories; though some, perhaps many, of the older\n    stories may survive among the ballads. They are for Denmark in\n    the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries what the older heroic\n    lays of the Poetic Edda had been before them in the Northern\n    lands. They take the place of earlier heroic poetry.\n\nWhatever the nature of their connection with the ballads of the\nsurrounding lands, the Faroese ballads are no isolated growth. They\nexhibit all the main characteristics of the ballad type, especially of\nthe Danish, Norwegian and Icelandic ballads. Crude and inartistic they\noften are compared with the best of the Danish and even the Scottish\nballads. The _Ballad of Hjalmar and Angantyr_ has little to recommend\nit beyond its simplicity and na\u00d4vet\u00c8, the 'quaintness' of primitive\nliterature; the _Ballad of Arngrim's Sons_ exhibits a curious lack of\nskill in the manipulation of the theme, and perhaps we are justified\nin assuming that two earlier ballads or perhaps _t\u00cattir_ have been\nimperfectly welded. The _Ballad of Nornagest_ is bald to a fault\nand lacks inspiration; and all alike show an imperfect artistry in\ndiction.\n\nYet despite all these blemishes they are ballads as surely as _Sir\nPatrick Spens_ or _Ungen Sveidal_ are ballads. Nor is Professor Ker\nquite just to the ballads of the Faroes in saying[32] that because of\ntheir length, and \"because they were made out of books, nothing but\nthe lyrical form and the dancing custom kept them from turning into\nordinary romances.\" Surely no material could be less promising than\nKing Heithrek's Riddles; yet in virtue of what has been forgotten\nand what has been selected--the telescoping of the riddles and the\nelaboration of the setting--the ballad spirit has entered in and\nshaped from the unwieldy mass an artistic whole.\n\nIndeed whatever their faults one realises in all these ballads the\ntruth of Sidgwick's epigram[33]: \"You never know what a ballad will\nsay next, though you _do_ know how it is going to say it!\" For it is\neven less similarity of theme than similarity of form that links\nthe ballads of the Faroes with those of Denmark and the North. The\ninvariable accompaniment of the refrain; the fluctuation between\nassonance and rhyme, the disregard of alliteration, and the general\nverse form; the love of repetition and ballad formulae,--especially\nof repetition of whole phrases or verses with the alteration of merely\nthe words that rhyme, or of repetition with inversion of word order;\nthe balladist's love of colour, of the material and the concrete, of\nglitter and shine; the large element of dialogue; the abrupt dramatic\nopenings; the condensation and concentration of narrative and the\nstrict exclusion of the irrelevant or superfluous; the infallible\nfeeling for a 'situation'; the atmosphere of the tragic or the\ncritical; the \"echo, without comment, of the clash of man and\nfate[34].\" All these are the elements that make the ballad a form of\nliterature distinct from other lyric or epic forms; all these are the\nelements that go to make the Faroese ballads what they are--part of\nwhat Ker calls the \"Platonic Idea, a Ballad in itself, unchangeable\nand one, of which the phenomenal multitude of ballads are\n'partakers[35].'\"\n\n    [Footnote 1: Cf. S. Grundtvig, _Meddelelse Ang\u00c2ende F\u00car\u00afernes\n    Litteratur og sprog_, in _Aarb\u00afger for Nordisk Oldkyndighed_,\n    published by the Royal Norse Early Text Society (Copenhagen),\n    1882, p. 358.]\n\n    [Footnote 2: _F\u00caroa Reserata_ (Copenhagen, 1673), pp. 251 and\n    308 (tr. John Sterpin, London, 1676).]\n\n    [Footnote 3: _Reliques_, Vol. I, _Epistle to the Countess of\n    Northumberland_.]\n\n    [Footnote 4: Cf. W. A. Craigie, _Evald Tang Kristensen,\n    A Danish Folk-lorist_, in _Folklore_, Vol. IX, 1898, pp.\n    194-220.]\n\n    [Footnote 5: Cf. C. J. Sharp, _English Folk Songs from the\n    Southern Appalachians_ (London, 1917), p. xxii.]\n\n    [Footnote 6: Axel Olrik, _Om Svend Grundtvigs og J\u02c6rgen\n    Blochs F\u00afroyjakv\u00ca\uf8ffi og f\u00car\u00afske ordbog_, in _Arkiv f\u02c6r Nordisk\n    Filologi_ (Lund, 1890), p. 249.]\n\n    [Footnote 7: Sv. Grundtvig, _F\u00car\u00afernes Litteratur og Sprog_,\n    in _Aarb\u00afg for Nord. Oldk._, 1882, p. 364.]\n\n    [Footnote 8: Cf. N. Annandale, _The Faroes and Iceland_\n    (Oxford, 1905), p. 42.]\n\n    [Footnote 9: For interesting accounts of the composition\n    of new ballads, cf. Lyngbye's article in the _Skandinavske\n    Litteraturselskabs Skrifter_, 12th and 13th Annual, p. 234\n    ff.; also P. E. M\u00b8ller, Introduction to Lyngbye's _F\u00car. Kv._,\n    pp. 14, 15. The _Trawlarav\u00ccsur_ and other ballads, besides\n    the dances and tunes of the Faroe Islands of today, have been\n    investigated by Thuren who published several studies on this\n    most interesting subject, e.g. _Dans og Kvaddigtning\n    paa F\u00car\u00aferne, med et Musikbilag_, 1901. _Folkesangen paa\n    F\u00car\u00aferne_, 1908, etc., (cf. especially _Nyere Danseviser_, pp.\n    273-282), etc.]\n\n    [Footnote 10: _Antiq. Tidsk._, 1846-1848, pp. 258-267.]\n\n    [Footnote 11: According to H. Thuren, _Dansen paa F\u00car\u00aferne_\n    (Copenhagen, 1908), p. 9, a certain fixed number of songs are\n    now sung on Suder\u00af; a great many have been quite forgotten\n    since Hammershaimb wrote.]\n\n    [Footnote 12: It is also occasionally danced in Andefjord,\n    but only very rarely nowadays (cf. H. Thuren, _Dansen paa\n    F\u00car\u00aferne_, p. 8).]\n\n    [Footnote 13: _Ib._ p. 8.]\n\n    [Footnote 14: _Ib._, pp. 4-10.]\n\n    [Footnote 15: _Dances and Dance Paraphernalia_, in _Expedition\n    to the Torres Straits_ (Cambridge, 1904), Vol. IV, p. 292.]\n\n    [Footnote 16: Miss Aline Brylinska, who has kindly supplied me\n    with this information.]\n\n    [Footnote 17: S. Grundtvig and J\u00dbn Sigur\uf8ffsson, _Islenzk\n    Fornkv\u00ca\uf8ffi_, in _Nordiske Oldskrifter_ (Copenhagen, 1854-85).]\n\n    [Footnote 18: Landstad, _Norske Folkeviser_ (Christiania,\n    1853); S. Bugge, 1858.]\n\n    [Footnote 19: Geijer and Afzelius, 1814-1816, 1880; Arwidsson,\n    1834-1842.]\n\n    [Footnote 20: S. Grundtvig, _Danmarks Gamle Folkeviser_,\n    1853-1890. S. Grundtvig and A. Olrik, _Danske Ridderviser_,\n    1895-1919.]\n\n    [Footnote 21: _Riboldsvisen_ (a review of von der Recke's\n    _Nogle Folkeviseredaktioner_) in _Danske Studier_, 1906, p.\n    175 ff.]\n\n    [Footnote 22: Landstad, _Norske Folkeviser_, note to _Dei Tvo\n    Systar_, p. 867.]\n\n    [Footnote 23: _On the Danish Ballads_ (_Scottish Historical\n    Review_, Vol. I, No. 4, July, 1904), p. 362.]\n\n    [Footnote 24: _A Tour through Orkney and Schetland in 1774_,\n    Kirkwall, 1879. Cf. also Preface to _S\u02c6rla Th\u00b7ttr_, p. 39 ff.\n    above.]\n\n    [Footnote 25: _Ib._, p. 105 ff.]\n\n    [Footnote 26: The _Vyse_, be it observed, is the Danish\n    word most commonly used to denote a ballad. The Faroese use\n    _Kv\u00ca\uf8ffi_, and less frequently _R\u00ccma_.]\n\n    [Footnote 27: For an account of the Scandinavian settlements\n    on the Bristol Channel, cf. A. Bugge, _Contributions to the\n    History of the Norsemen in Ireland_, No. III, published in\n    _Videnskabsselskabet i Christiania, Historisk-filosofisk\n    Klasse_, 11, 1900.]\n\n    [Footnote 28: Axel Olrik, Introduction to _Danske Folkeviser \u00cc\n    Udvalg_, 3rd ed. (Copenhagen and Christiania, 1913), p. 40 ff.\n    Cf. also Steenstrup, _Vore Folkeviser_ (Copenhagen, 1891), ch.\n    VII.]\n\n    [Footnote 29: On the literary sources of the Faroese ballads,\n    cf. Steenstrup, _op. cit._ Introduction.]\n\n    [Footnote 30: _Lied und Epos_ (Dortmund, 1915), p. 19.]\n\n    [Footnote 31: _On the History of the Ballads, 1100-1500_,\n    published in _Proceedings of the British Academy_ for\n    1902-1910, p. 202.]\n\n    [Footnote 32: _On the History of the Ballads_, etc., p. 202.]\n\n    [Footnote 33: Frank Sidgwick, _The Ballad_, London (Arts and\n    Crafts of Letters Series), p. 61.]\n\n    [Footnote 34: Gummere, _The Popular Ballad_ (London, 1907), p.\n    340.]\n\n    [Footnote 35: _On the History of the Ballads_, etc., p. 204.]\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION TO GR\u00d5PLUR I\n\n\nIn the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries in Iceland, many of the\nSagas or portions of them were turned into rhyming verse known\nas _R\u00ccmur_. Sagas of almost every class were subjected to this\ntreatment--_\u00d5slendinga S\u02c6gur_, _Fornaldar S\u02c6gur_, _Fornmanna S\u02c6gur_\nand others. It is supposed that in the first place these rhymed\nversions (_R\u00ccmur_) were made for the purpose of recitation at social\ngatherings. There is ground for believing that the _R\u00ccmur_ were\nsometimes recited, as an accompaniment of dances in Iceland[1]; but\nthis is not believed to have been the purpose for which they were\noriginally composed[2].\n\nAccording to both J\u00dbnsson[3] and Mogk[4], the _R\u00ccmur_ and other forms\nof rhyming verse in early Norse poetry originated in the Mediaeval\nLatin Church Hymns introduced into Iceland in the thirteenth century.\nThe similarity between the rhyming metres of the Latin and many\n(though not all) of the forms of verse used in the _R\u00ccmur_ is very\nstriking. Whether the influence of Latin hymns in Iceland was directly\nresponsible for the change, however, as J\u00dbnsson and Mogk believe, or\nwhether the Latin hymns only influenced Norse verse indirectly\nthrough the medium of French poetry, is problematical. Perhaps these\ncompositions owe their origin to the fashion of turning all kinds of\nmaterial, likely and unlikely, into rhyming verse--a fashion which\noriginated in France, and from the latter part of the twelfth century\nonwards gradually made its way over most of the West and North of\nEurope. The rhyming chronicles of the fourteenth century in England\nmay be mentioned as one instance of this fashion, and the rhyming\nparaphrases of the splendid prose of Iceland are an outcome of the\nsame movement.\n\nThe _Gr\u00ccplur_, some twenty stanzas of which are given below, represent\nthis stage in the development of Icelandic literature. It may be\nobserved that, like other _R\u00ccmur_, they are the work of educated\npeople--a fact which makes the wretched quality of much of the verse\nall the more striking, especially when they are contrasted with\nthe ballads, which are, at least in most cases, the work of the\nunlettered. Unattractive however as they appear to the modern mind, it\nhas been thought advisable to include a short extract from them here\nbecause it seems possible that in some cases the Faroese ballads may\nhave derived their material from Iceland through the intermediate\nstage of the _R\u00ccmur_ rather than from the Saga direct.\n\nReference is made to the exploits of Hromund in other _R\u00ccmur_ besides\nthe _Gr\u00ccplur_, notably in the _M\u00b7lsh\u00b7ttakv\u00ca\uf8ffi_, the _Sk\u00cc\uf8ffa-R\u00ccma_[5]\n(which is interesting as being based, in all probability, on an\nearlier poem than the _Gr\u00ccplur_) and in the _Klerka-R\u00ccma_[6]. And he\nand Thrain the Berserk still live in the popular songs of the North.\nHe is the _Ungen Ranild_[7] of the Danish ballad; and in the Norwegian\nballad _Ramund den Unge_[8], Ramund (Hromund) and H\u02c6lgi (Helgi) appear\nas rivals for the hand of Svanhvit (who, however, is not mentioned by\nname). Like some of the Faroese ballads on the _Hervarar Saga_, these\nlater versions are far removed from the story as we know it from early\nIcelandic sources[9]. They are of interest only to those who care\nfor folk song and ballad for their freshness and their na\u00d4ve\nsimplicity[10].\n\n    [Footnote 1: Cf. Finnur J\u00dbnsson, _Oldnorske og Oldislandske\n    Litteraturs Historie_, Vol. III, p. 35.]\n\n    [Footnote 2: Cf. F. J\u00dbnsson, _op. cit._, Vol. III, p. 36; also\n    Eugen Mogk, _Geschichte der Norwegisch-Isl\u2030ndischen Literatur_\n    (Strasburg, 1904), p. 722.]\n\n    [Footnote 3: _Op. cit._, III, p. 26 ff.]\n\n    [Footnote 4: _Op. cit._, p. 722 ff.]\n\n    [Footnote 5: Ed. by K. Maurer, Munich, 1869; F. J\u00dbnsson,\n    _Carmina Scaldica_ (Copenhagen, 1913).]\n\n    [Footnote 6: Codex A.M. 604 H.]\n\n    [Footnote 7: S. Grundtvig, _Danmarks Gamle Folkeviser_, Vol.\n    I, p. 367 ff.]\n\n    [Footnote 8: M. B. Landstad, _Norske Folkeviser_ (Christiania,\n    1853), p. 189 ff.]\n\n    [Footnote 9: Cf. K\u02c6lbing, _Beitr\u2030ge zur Vergleichenden\n    Geschichte der Romantischen Poesie und Prosa des\n    Mittelalters_, pp. 185-187.]\n\n    [Footnote 10: For further ballads on the story of Hromund\n    Greipsson, cf. Andrews, _Studies in the Fornaldars\u02c6gur\n    Northrlanda_, in _Modern Philology_, 1911, 1912.]\n\n\nGR\u00d5PLUR I\n\n  9. Olaf was a mighty Prince\n    Who governed H\u02c6rthaland.\n  The brave folk dwelling along the coast\n    He guarded with his hand.\n\n  10. Gn\u02c6thar-Asmund, the Prince's father,\n    A peerless man was he;\n  By many a battle he reft from Kings\n    Their land and territory.\n\n  11. In the stern of the King's ship Kari stood,\n    And of heroes many another;\n  In strength of limb had he never a peer;\n    And \u00f7rnulf was his brother.\n\n  12. The King and his warriors reddened their swords\n    In the blood of wicked men;\n  But no man travelling with merchandise\n    Got any hurt from them.\n\n  13. The Prince brought joy to his followers' hearts,\n    With Draupnir's beautiful blood.\n  A franklin who better were named a burgess\n    Beside the princes stood.\n\n  14. Grip was a man who stirred up strife,\n    Eager with blade for slaughter.\n  This hero's wife was a good woman:\n    Of Hrok the Black was she daughter.\n\n  15. Grip and Gunnl\u02c6th, his good wife,\n    They had nine sons in all:\n  (Clever verses are made about them)\n    And _Hr\u02c6k_ did they every one call!\n\n  16. Hromund was a son of Grip,\n    Eldest of the brothers was he;\n  His heart knew never aught of fear,\n    Nor faltered his valiancy.\n\n  17. Hrolf must I add, H\u02c6gni, Haki and Gaut,\n    And Thr\u02c6st with the other five;\n  Angantyr and Helgi whose lot it was\n    In the fortunes of war to thrive.\n\n  18. Logi was youngest (a tiny lad)\n    Of the sons of the worthy pair;\n  Hromund alone sallied forth to fight in battle,\n    And the rest stayed at home where they were.\n\n  19. The hero feared neither fire nor sword\n    When shields clashed in the fray;\n  His shoulders were broad, and shining his hair.\n    And kindly and keen was his eye.\n\n  20. He never fled or deserted the host,\n    But poured forth darts on the shield;--\n  Faithful and true in courage was he\n    As a hero should be in the field.\n\n  21. His wicked foe did he slay with might--\n    He knew no fear of pain;\n  And all his noble courage and valour\n    From his kinsman Hr\u02c6k did he gain.\n\n  22. Two villains were there with the King,\n    Deep-versed in magic arts.\n  I swear those brothers Bild and Vali\n    Both had evil hearts!\n\n  23. The King of Vali council takes,\n    And a sad mistake made he;\n  A name had he gained for courtesy and valour,\n    But he never donned byrnie.\n\n  24. Less trusty warrior in the field\n    I never look to find;--\n  False he was and treacherous,--\n    Full of deceit his mind.\n\n  25. The Prince's troop, the Niflung men,\n    Along Norway's coast did sail,\n  Until they came to the Skerries of the Elf,--\n    Nor did their courage fail.\n\n  26. The troop had prepared for a mighty battle,\n    And against a promontory\n  Olaf's men in their warships there\n    Lay at anchor in the bay.\n\n  27. \"Over the Island do ye go,\"--\n    Thus to Kari spoke he,--\n  \"To see if ye come on the vikings' ships,\n    And if they are like to fight fiercely.\"\n\n  28. Kari and Ornulf, clothed and armed,\n    With shield and polished blade\n  Examine the coast, and hastily\n    A search through the island made.\n\n  29. Six tall warships soon they see,\n    Under the sea-cliffs lay they;\n  And a '_Dragon_' carved in wondrous wise\n    Beside the warships lay.\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION TO THE FAROESE BALLAD OF NORNAGEST\n\n\nThe _Ballad of Nornagest_ was published for the first time by Lyngbye\nin 1822 in _F\u00car\u02c6iske Kv\u00cader om Sigurd Fofnersbane_ etc. In his visit\nto the Faroes in 1847-8, Hammershaimb took down the ballad from oral\nrecitation at Sumb\u00af. He afterwards collated his version carefully\nwith those of Svabo, Schr\u00after and Lyngbye, and published the result\nin _F\u00car\u02c6iske Kv\u00cader_, Vol. I, Copenhagen, 1851. This is the version of\nthe ballad translated below.\n\nLyngbye points out that Nornagest has become a well-known character\nin modern Faroese legend. We certainly note his popularity in the\nballads, which is no doubt due to his association with Sigurth in the\noriginal story. In some ballads he appears as a companion in arms of\nthe latter and even as a great warrior himself. He it is who rides\nwith Sigurth and Virgar to meet the giant in Holmgarth (cf. _R\u00ccsin \u00cc\nHolmgar\uf8ffum_, v. 33), and in _Ragnarlikkja_ (cf. v. 39 ff.) \"the fierce\nNornagest\" sails with Sigurth, Brand, and Virgar to slay the King of\nGirtland; and so too in other stories.\n\nIt will be observed that the framework of the story differs\nconsiderably from that of the Saga, notably in the opening and closing\nscenes. The beginning of another story, dealing likewise with an old\nman, has been substituted for the original opening. The mention of\nthe boat in verse 40 is perhaps reminiscent of some folk-tale; and the\nstory of the leaden casket containing the soul of Nornagest which was\nsunk in the lake is an interesting instance of the external soul. I\nhave no doubt that it is a reference to some folk-tale, but have not\nyet been able to identify it. Among many primitive peoples, who can\nhardly grasp abstract ideas, the life or soul of a man is regarded\nas a concrete thing which can be laid aside, and which, so long as\nit remains unharmed, will secure for him immortality. There is, for\nexample, a Hindoo story of a princess whose soul was believed to be in\nher necklace.--One day an astrologer said to her parents: \"This is\nno common child; the necklace of gold about her neck contains your\ndaughter's soul; let it therefore be guarded with the utmost care; for\nif it were taken off and worn by another person, she would die[1].\"\n\nMany similar folk-tales are known from Icelandic and Danish sources as\nwell as from many parts of Europe and Asia.\n\nThe air to which the following ballad is sung will be found on pp.\n117, 118 of Thuren's _Folkesangen paa F\u00car\u00aferne_.\n\n    [Footnote 1: For many interesting parallels, cf. Frazer,\n    _Golden Bough_ (London, 1911-1915), \"Balder the Beautiful,\"\n    ch. II.]\n\n\n_Nornagests Rima_\n\nTaken down by A. P. BERGGEEN.\n\n\n[Illustration: Music]\n\n  [Lyric:\n  E\u00cctt er fr\u00af\uf8ffi\uf8ff um | Nor-na gest, | Lat t\u00car r\u00b7-\uf8ffa |\n  ra\uf8ff-ger\uf8ff \u00cc | van-da. | Ti likum g\u00db\uf8ffum | gekk hann n\u00cast. |\n  Ox-ar tolv voru | leid-dir \u00b7 torg, | og so fram \u00b7 |\n  fri-\uf8ffu borg. | Gra-ni bar | gul-li\uf8ff af |hei-\uf8ffi. ||]\n\n\nTHE FAROESE BALLAD OF NORNAGEST\n\n  1.  A Ballad there is of Nornagest,\n    Refrain:--_Be ready with a plan in trouble!_--\n      In manly virtues among the best.\n    Refrain:--_Every lad should do so!_\n\n  2.  Twelve oxen were led to the market square,\n      And onward thence to a castle fair.\n\n  3.  The King he thought to hew them to earth,\n      And with courage and joy did he sally forth.\n\n  4.  The King he struck such a mighty blow\n      That the blood from the wounds did swiftly flow.\n\n  5.  All the oxen fell down dead,\n      And the axe sank deep that he brandished.\n\n  6.  All men praised his princely blow:\n      The blood from the wounds did swiftly flow.\n\n  7.  A man there came with crutches twain:\n      With these he steadied himself amain.\n\n  8.  The King to the man full mildly spoke:--\n      \"O why, and O why, dost thou praise not my stroke?\"\n\n  9.  \"O Sire, thou struckest full manfully;\n      But I saw a finer stroke in days gone by.\n\n  10. \"Of Sigurth's deeds hast thou heard the worth,--\n      The mightiest champion of men on earth!\n\n  11. \"Leaf and grove did tremble and quake\n      When Sigurth clove in sunder the snake.\n\n  12. \"This may you tell of Sigurth the bold:--\n      'He was mightiest of all men in days of old.'\n\n  13. \"This can I tell of Sigurth's fame:--\n      'I know no hero with eyes so keen.'\n\n  14. \"Leaf and grove did tremble and shake\n      When Sigurth clove in sunder the snake.\n\n  15. \"A noble man was H\u02c6gni, I ween,\n      Full well did I know his ugly mien.\n\n  16. \"Rich, brave and gentle was Gunnar enow,\n      Wise too, and Gunnhild was like him, I trow.\n\n  17. \"Wise too, and Gunnhild was like him, I trow.\n      Of heroes like him are there all too few.\n\n  18. \"My father he had a homestead fair:\n      Herds of cattle were pastured there.\n\n  19. \"And horses I tended as I sat in the wood.--\n      And blithest my heart when the weather was good!\n\n  20. \"One and all in their saddles they ride,\n      Childe Sigurth, and H\u02c6gni, and Gunnar beside.\n\n  22. \"Over the mire-pit rode all and one.--\n      I was a lad, and I looked thereon.\n\n  23. \"First sprang Gunnar's horse forthright.\n      Gunnar measured his leap aright.\n\n  24. \"H\u02c6gni's horse sprang after then.\n      Fast stuck Grani in the fen.\n\n  25. \"The last to spring was Sigurth's steed.\n      Sigurth had given him so heavy a feed!\n\n  26. \"Grani floundered in the fen:\n      His saddle girth brake in pieces twain.\n\n  27. \"Down from their saddles each did glide,--\n      Childe Sigurth, and H\u02c6gni, and Gunnar beside.\n\n  28. \"They dragged at the noble steed amain;\n      But Sigurth pulled hardest the bridle rein.\n\n  29. \"'Oft have I leapt o'er the pit aright\n      By day and eke in the murky night.\n\n  30. \"'O Guest, a service of thee I pray:--\n      Wash from my courser the mire away.\n\n  31. \"'The saddle buckle which broke 'neath me--\n      The same, O Guest, will I give to thee.'\n\n  32. \"Forth they rode to a river then.\n      No-one was there to look to the men.\n\n  33. \"I washed his poitrail and breast for him,\n      His thigh, his leg, and each long limb.\n\n  34. \"The noble courser I made full clean.\n      Then Sigurth took me for his horse-swain.\n\n  35. \"So rode we forth to Fafnir's lair.\n      Like the sun's own beams did the gold shine there.\n\n  36. \"From Sigurth's steed did I draw a hair,\n      Of wondrous length and beyond compare.\n\n  37. \"The hair in the tail of Grani hung,\n       --Well-nigh a foot and a fathom long.\n\n  38. \"Well-nigh a foot and a fathom in height.\n      And it shone and gleamed like silver so bright.\n\n  39. \"In days gone by, full far have I strayed,\n      Nor found I my candle and span of days.\"\n\n  40. The King he gave him pole and boat,\n      And directed the old man on his road.\n\n  41. \"In the Land of the Franks is a lake broad and wide\n      Where thy candle and span of days do bide.\"\n\n  42. Long and long dived the courteous man\n      Before he came his candle upon.\n\n  43. K\u02c6rnar the priest baptised him anon.\n      When the candle burnt out his life was done.\n\n  44. When the light in the lanthorn had burnt away,\n    Refrain:--_Be ready with a plan in trouble!_--\n      Then ended too his own life's day.\n    Refrain:--_Every lad should do so!_\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION TO THE BALLAD OF HJALMAR AND ANGANTYR\n\n\nThe following ballad was taken down by Hammershaimb from oral\nrecitation in Westmanhavn in 1846, and published at Copenhagen in 1855\nin _F\u00car\u02c6iske Kv\u00cader_, Vol. II. He took down a second version of the\nsame ballad, but consisting of only nineteen stanzas, at Sumb\u00af in\n1847, which he published in the _Antiquarisk Tidsskrift_, 1849-50.\nThis second version differs slightly from the one given in our text.\nIn it Arngrim is said to have twelve sons of whom Angantyr was the\nyoungest. Hjalmar is not expressly stated to have been a brother of\nAngantyr, as he is in our version and in the Danish ballad _Angelfyr\nand Helmer the Warrior_ (cf. p. 188 ff.). Moreover Angantyr is the\nfirst to learn of the franklin's daughter, and he forthwith builds\na ship and sails away alone; and it is only later that Hjalmar also\nhears of her and sets sail, thus reaching the spot when Angantyr has\nalready landed. More colour is given to the maiden's choice in the\nsecond version by the additional detail that\n\n  Hjalmar leapt so lightly to land,\n  He made no footprint on the sand.\n\nThis, however, it is to be noted, is the regular formula by which the\nlanding of the hero is described in the Faroese ballads. Cf. _Lokka\nT\u00b7ttur_, v. 78.\n\nIt is the opinion of Hammershaimb that this ballad was the original\nfrom which the longer ballad of _Arngrim's Sons_ sprang. This would\nseem to be supported by Heusler's contention that _The Long Ballad_\nof the _Marsk Stig_ Cycle was composed by welding together several\nshorter ballads[1]; and certainly the _Ballad of Arngrim's Sons_\nsuggests that at least two distinct ballads have been run into one,\nespecially when we compare the two varying versions of Svabo and\nHammershaimb. Against this, however, we have to place the fact that\nsomething of the same invertebrate impression is given by the _Saga\nof Herv\u02c6r and Heithrek_, on which these ballads are ultimately based.\nEven if we assume a composite origin for the _Ballad of Arngrim's\nSons_, there is no evidence that any portion of it was based on the\nshort _Ballad of Hjalmar and Angantyr_, while the difference of metre\ndiminishes the probability of a connection.\n\nThe air and refrain to this ballad are given on p. 124 of Thuren's\n_Folkesangen paa F\u00car\u00aferne_.\n\n    [Footnote 1: _Lied und Epos_ (Dortmund, 1905), p. 41 ff.]\n\n\n_The Ballad of Hjalmar and Angantyr_\n\nKIRKJUB\u00ff.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n[Music quarter note=112]\n\n  [Lyric:\n  B\u00dbndin | undir | eikini | b\u02ddr, || V\u00cal | bornir |\n  menn |Eigir hann | ellivu | synir | d\u02ddr! || Arngrims\n  synir \u00b7 | Bjarn | londum | ber- | jast vi\uf8ff | Sams | oy. ||]\n\n\nTHE BALLAD OF HJALMAR AND ANGANTYR\n\n  1.  A man lived up in a high oak-tree,\n    Refrain:--    _Ye well-born men!_--\n      Eleven warlike sons had he.\n    Refrain:--    _Arngrim's Sons from Africa_,\n               _They fought, they fought on Sams\u00af._\n\n  2.  He had eleven sons so dear,--\n      The champions Hjalmar and Angantyr.\n\n  3.  A ship, a ship did these warriors man,\n      And swift 'fore the wind was the course she ran.\n\n  4.  They hoisted their sail to the mast so high:\n      They had faith in their strength and their valiancy.\n\n  5.  Their anchor they cast in the white, white sand.\n      Hjalmar hastily sprang to the land.\n\n  6.  Their anchor they cast in the white, white sand.\n      And Angantyr eagerly sprang on the strand.\n\n  7.  Angantyr eagerly sprang on the strand.\n      Up to his knees he sank in the sand.\n\n  8.  \"I drew my hose from my legs so bare\n     To hide the sand from my lady fair!\"\n\n  9.  In the garden they busked them in cloaks of skin,\n      And so went up to the franklin sitting there within.\n\n  10. \"Here sittest thou, franklin, drinking thy wine:\n      I beg that thy daughter so fair may be mine!\"\n\n  11. When Hjalmar stood before the board,\n      Angantyr straight took up the word.--\n\n  12. \"Here sittest thou, franklin, drinking thy wine:\n      I beg that thy daughter so fair may be mine!\"\n\n  13. In sorry plight was the franklin then,\n      For there at the board stood two mighty men.\n\n  14. \"No choice so hard will I ever make;\n      The maiden herself must choose her mate.\"\n\n  15. \"No choice so hard shall be made by thee:\n      The warrior Hjalmar shall wed with me.\n\n  16. \"With Hjalmar the Brave would I wedded be,\n      Who is so lovely and fair to see.\"\n\n  17. \"O franklin! Lend me a trusty blade,\n      We two must fight for the hand of the maid.\"\n\n  18. \"O franklin! Lend me a sharp penknife:\n      Each of us surely must lose his life.\"\n\n  19. They fought their way forth of the hall.\n      They bellowed louder than any troll.\n\n  20. Till they reached a river they fought amain,\n      Down on their knees and then up again.\n\n  21. Down on their knees and then up again\n    Refrain:--    _Ye well-born men!_--\n      Till stiff and dead lay those champions twain.\n    Refrain:--    _Arngrim's Sons from Africa_,\n               _They fought, they fought on Sams\u00af._\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION TO THE DANISH BALLAD OF ANGELFYR AND HELMER THE WARRIOR\n\n\nFour different versions of the Danish ballad of _Angelfyr and Helmer\nthe Warrior_ are given by Grundtvig in _Danmarks Gamle Folkeviser_,\nVol. I, number 19 (Copenhagen, 1853). Two of these, closely allied,\nare found in a MS. written in the sixteenth century[1]. The version\nwhich Grundtvig has called _A_ is the one adopted for translation\nbelow.\n\nAn interesting study in ballad composition is afforded by a comparison\nof this Danish ballad with the Faroese ballads of the _Sons of\nArngrim_. According to Axel Olrik[2] the Danish ballad is founded on\nthe _Saga of Herv\u02c6r and Heithrek_. That the ultimate source of all the\nballads of the _Sons of Arngrim_ was the Saga there can be no doubt.\nBut whether the Danish ballad is derived directly from the Saga or\nthrough some intermediate stage, Icelandic, Faroese or Danish, is\nproblematical. A definite relationship between the Danish and the\nFaroese ballads would seem to be shown by several common features of\nthe story which do not occur in the Saga itself, as well as by some\nstriking verbal resemblances which have no foundation in the prose\nnarrative.\n\nThus on the one hand both in the Danish and in the Faroese ballads\ntranslated above, Hjalmar and Angantyr are described as brothers[3],\nwhereas in the Saga they are not related. On the other hand the Danish\nand the two Faroese ballads are almost identical in their description\nof Angantyr and all his kin as \"vile trolls,\" though Version _A_\ngiven by Grundtvig describes him in accordance with the Saga as a\n\"half-troll\" (i.e. on his mother's side).\n\nOther close verbal parallels, surely indicative of cross-relationship\nor of a common source, are afforded by a comparison of certain\npassages of the Danish ballad and the Faroese _Ballad of Arngrim's\nSons_. Thus _v. 5_ of the Danish is practically identical with _v. 74_\nof the Faroese, and we may compare _v. 9_ of the shorter _Ballad of\nHjalmar and Angantyr_. May we also compare _v. 6_ of the Danish with\n_v. 79_ of the longer Faroese ballad; _v. 8_ with _v. 81_; _v. 10_\nwith _v. 84_; _v. 14_ with _v. 79_? Conventional as many of these\nphrases are, the identity can hardly be accidental in all cases.\n\nThe precise nature of the relationship between the two versions is not\nso clear. We may note, however, some of the features contained in the\nDanish version of the story which are not found in the Saga. In the\nfirst place neither Arngrim nor Sams\u00af are mentioned, the names Offue\nand Uthiss-kier being substituted for them[4]; secondly, except in\nthe refrain there is no mention of the sea or a voyage in the Danish\nballad. Helmer bids them \"saddle his steed,\" and both he and Angelfyr\n_ride_ to Upsala. Finally after _v. 11_ of our text, the Danish ballad\ndiffers entirely from the Faroese version of the story and also from\nthat of the _Saga of Herv\u02c6r and Heithrek_. Offue's revenge is peculiar\nto the Danish, and here too no mention is made of Ingibj\u02c6rg's death.\n\nFrom all these changes, and especially from the transference of names\nand places, it is obvious that the Danish version of the story is\nconsiderably more remote from the Saga than either of the two Faroese\nversions. At the same time, the absence of any reference to Sams\u00af\nor any other Danish locality renders it highly improbable that its\ndivergences are due to any (Danish) local tradition independent of the\nSaga.\n\nOn the whole it would seem that at an early date (fifteenth or early\nsixteenth century?) a ballad had been made from this portion of the\nSaga, either directly or through the intermediate stage of a lost\nrhymed version; and that it was composed in the Faroes themselves\nor in Iceland or some other region--the Orkneys and Shetlands are\na possible suggestion--and acquired by the Danes not very long\nafterwards.\n\n    [Footnote 1: Cf. Grundtvig, _Danmarks Gamle Folkeviser_, Vol.\n    I, p. 252. Also Axel Olrik, _Danske Folkeviser \u00cc Udvalg_, Vol.\n    I, p. 263.]\n\n    [Footnote 2: Cf. Olrik, _op. cit._, p. 78. For general\n    information on the Danish ballads the reader is referred to\n    Steenstrup, _Vore Folkeviser_ (Copenhagen, 1891), translated\n    by E. G. Cox (Boston, 1914).]\n\n    [Footnote 3: See, however, the Introduction to the _Ballad of\n    Hjalmar and Angantyr_, p. 182 above.]\n\n    [Footnote 4: So MS. _A_; but cf. below _v. 1_ and note.]\n\n\nANGELFYR AND HELMER THE WARRIOR\n\n  1.  Offue he dwelt in Uthiss-kier,\n        Both rich and bold was he;\n      And when two sons were born to him,\n        He vowed they should warriors be.\n\n  Refrain:  _But the tempest from the North\n            Lashes dark and troubled billows\n            On the gleaming waste of sand._[1]\n\n  2.  It was Young Helmer the Warrior;\n        He bade them saddle his steed:\n      \"I Ride to Upsala this day,\n        The King's daughter to wed.\"\n\n  3.  Then up and spake Young Angelfyr,\n        Where he stood in scarlet so red:\n      \"O never shalt thou this eventide\n        To the lovely maid be wed!\"\n\n  4.  Then up and spake Young Angelfyr:\n        He bade them saddle his steed:\n      \"I will gallop today to Upsala,\n        Till the earth is rent with my speed.\"\n\n  5.  Out of doors in the castle-court\n        They busked them in cloaks of skin,\n      And so went they to the hall gallery,\n        Where the King of Upsala sat within.\n\n  6.  In came Young Helmer the Warrior,\n        And stood before the board;\n      \"O King, I pray thee, give me thy daughter,--\n        I wait thy friendly word.\"\n\n  7.  In there came Young Angelfyr,\n        And gold shone on his hand:\n      \"O King, I pray thee, give me thy daughter\n        And quit thee from this thy land.\"\n\n  8.  Long and long stood the King of Upsala,\n        And pondered silently,\n      How those heroes who stood before him\n        He might answer fittingly.\n\n  9.  It was the King of Upsala,\n        And he spake this word theretil:\n      \"I give my daughter to that man only\n        Who has won him her goodwill.\"\n\n  10. \"I give thee thanks, my father dear,\n        That the choice thou lay'st on me;\n      I give myself to Young Helmer the Warrior,\n        For a noble man is he.\n\n  11. \"I will not wed me to Angelfyr:\n        For he is half a troll;--\n      So is his father, and so his mother,\n        And so are his kinsfolk all.\"\n\n  12. Then up and spake Young Angelfyr\n        As he stood and pondered there:\n      \"We both will take us forth to the courtyard,\n        And fight for the maiden fair.\"\n\n  13. It was the King of Upsala,\n        And answered he forthright:\n      \"O the swords they be keen, and the lads they be bold,\n        And may measure them well in a fight.\"\n\n  14. Then up and rose Young Angelfyr\n        Where he his sword out drew;\n      And up rose Young Helmer the Warrior,\n        Whom he to the earth did hew.\n\n  15. Offue he stands in Uthiss-kier\n        And far and wide looks he:\n      \"O somewhere is Helmer suffering pain,\n        For I feel such woe in the heart of me.\"\n\n  16. Offue he stands in Uthiss-kier\n        And looks o'er the wide, wide heath:\n      \"O what can be harming my two sons today,\n        And why are they both so wroth?\"\n\n  17. It was Offue in Uthiss-kier;\n        He sprang on his red-roan steed.\n      And so came he to the King's courtyard,\n        Ere Helmer was dead indeed.\n\n  18. \"O hearken, hearken, Young Helmer,\n        Beloved son of mine:\n      Thy noble sword from out thy hands\n        Why didst thou list to tine?\"\n\n  19. \"Eight are the mortal wounds I bear,\n        They are both deep and sore;\n      And had I only one of them\n        I could not live an hour.\"\n\n  20. O it was Offue in Uthiss-kier,\n        And he his sword out drew;--\n      And O it was Young Angelfyr\n        Whom down to the earth he slew.\n\n  21. \"Lie thou there, Young Angelfyr\n        And bleed till thou art dead;\n      So woeful was I in my heart\n        When I saw how Helmer bled.\n\n  22. \"Lie thou there, Young Angelfyr,\n        And lose thy life-blood all.\n      So woeful was I in my heart\n        When I saw Young Helmer fall.\"\n\n  Refrain:  _But the tempest from the North\n            Lashes dark and troubled billows\n            On the gleaming waste of sand._\n\n    [Footnote 1: The translation of the refrain is somewhat free;\n    but cf. Olrik, _D. F. \u00cc U._, p. 78. Extreme condensation is a\n    feature of all Faroese and Danish ballad refrains which makes\n    a literal translation into English practically impossible.]\n\n\nIn MS. _B_ of the _Ballad of Angelfyr_ etc., _vv._ 1-11 correspond\npretty closely to MS. _A_; but _vv._ 12-18 are different:\n\n  12. Alff he stood in Odderskier,\n        And listened over the field;\n      Then could he hear so far away\n        Where his sons their swords did wield.\n\n  13. Up then rose Alff in Odderskier;\n        He sprang on his red-roan steed;\n      And came he so to Upsala\n        Ere both the warriors were dead.\n\n  14. \"O hearken, hearken, Young Helmer,\n        Beloved son of mine:\n      Why does the life blood from thy head\n        In streams come running down?\"\n\n  15. It was Young Helmer the Warrior,\n        And his father answered he:\n      \"My brother Angelfyr could not have the maid,\n        And therefore he wrought this ill to me.\n\n  16. \"My body is pierced with fifteen wounds,\n        All tainted with poison full sore;\n      And had I only one of them\n        I could not live an hour.\"\n\n  17. It was Alff in Odderskier,\n        And an oak he uproot\u00c8d;\n      He struck with the oak Young Angelfyr,\n        Till he lay on the earth stone dead.\n\n  18. Now both these warriors are lying dead,\n        And dead lie they in their grave;\n      And the King he is ready to give his daughter\n        To the man whom he himself will have.\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION TO THE FAROESE BALLAD OF ARNGRIM'S SONS\n\n\nThe _Ballad of Arngrim's Sons_ was first taken down by Svabo towards\nthe close of the eighteenth century. He never published it, but his\nMS. (III. 9) is preserved in the Royal Library at Copenhagen. In 1848\nV. U. Hammershaimb took the ballad down again from oral recitation\non Sand\u00af and published it in the _Antiquarisk T\u00ccdsskrift_, 1849-1851\n(Copenhagen, 1852). He had, however, consulted Svabo's version, for he\nsays in the prefatory note to the ballad:\n\n    It is entirely confused in Svabo's version in the Royal\n    Library. I have therefore kept to the version which I got on\n    Sand\u00af, which in the main points agrees with the Saga. Only in\n    the conclusion and two other passages have I followed Svabo's\n    version.\n\nBy 1855, however, it would seem that his view had changed. In his\nprefatory note to the _Ballad of Arngrim's Sons_, published in\n_Nordiske Oldskrifter_, vols. 18-19, Part II (Copenhagen, 1855), he\nwrites:\n\n    The version given by Svabo is at variance with the Saga and\n    has many internal discrepancies arising mainly from the fact\n    that Hjalmar and Angantyr are here taken to be brothers, as\n    in the Danish ballad. In the _Antiquarisk T\u00ccdsskrift_ for\n    1849-1851 I published another version which I took down\n    in Sand\u00af in 1848, and in which I made some use of Svabo's\n    version. My version corresponds exactly with the _Harvarar\n    Saga_, but it is open to suspicion from the fact that it here\n    forms the second part (_th\u00b7ttr_) of _Hjalmar's Kv\u00ca\uf8ffi_, of\n    which the first part (_The Th\u00b7ttr of \u00f7rvar-Oddr_) is clearly\n    of later origin; as is shown not only by the language,\n    but also by the fact that the whole falls in with Suhm's\n    story,--\"The three friends, Hjalmar, Asbj\u02c6rn and \u00f7rvarodd,\"\n    etc. Many verses of _Arngrim's Sons_ presuppose a first\n    _t\u00b7ttur_ to the ballad, for example that in which the sick\n    Asbj\u02c6rn complains that he cannot follow his companion to the\n    fight on Sams\u00af[1]. That the language in the second part is\n    purer and older than in the first part is easily explained\n    from the fact that the people of Sand\u00af have utilised the\n    older Faroese version which was taken down by Svabo. They only\n    needed to transpose the verses and to make a very few changes\n    to get the whole readjusted according to the Saga or Suhm's\n    story. The verses which the Sand\u00af version has in common with\n    Svabo's could therefore be used for purposes of comparison.\n    There are thus weighty reasons for giving preference to\n    Svabo's version, in spite of all its imperfections.\n\nOf the first part of _Hjalmar's Kv\u00ca\uf8ffi_ I have unfortunately been\nunable to obtain a copy, though it is no doubt accessible at\nCopenhagen, as it is mentioned as number 60 ('_Hjalmar's Kv\u00ca\uf8ffi_, 2\nt\u00cattir: _a_, \u00f7rvaroddur, _b_, Arngrim's Sinir') in a list of\nFaroese ballads taken down in the Faroes by Hammershaimb for the\narchaeological archives of the Royal Old Norse Text Society[2].\nHammershaimb says[3], however, that the first part \"deals with\nHjalmar's youth, the counsel given him by his father when he leaves\nhome, how he is taken into the retinue (_hir\uf8ff_) of the Swedish King,\nhow he distinguishes himself by his bravery against the vikings, and\nhow he and Asbj\u02c6rn and \u00f7rvarodd swear to be foster-brothers.\"\n\nThe translation which follows is made from Hammershaimb's second\nedition of the ballad, published in _Nordiske Oldskrifter_, vols. 18\nand 19, Part II[4]--which is in fact Svabo's text; but the refrain of\nhis first version has been adopted.\n\nIt will be noticed that the ballad differs in many points from the\n_Saga of Herv\u02c6r and Heithrek_. In the first place, according to the\nballad, it is Arngrim and not Angantyr who is buried with the sword\nTyrfing[5]. Secondly, Hervik (the Herv\u02c6r of the Saga) is described\nas a daughter of Arngrim and a sister of Angantyr. Hjalmar also is\na brother of Hervik and of Angantyr according to the ballad, and\nactually accompanies Hervik on her quest of the sword Tyrfing, which\naccording to the ballad took place _before_ the fight on Sams\u00af.\nFinally, Arngrim is said to have been killed by \u00f7rvarodd, and Hervik\naccordingly kills \u00f7rvarodd in retaliation. Another 'Young Odd' appears\nlater as Hjalmar's companion in the true place of \u00f7rvarodd.\n\nThus we see that, as commonly happens in popular poetry, complex\nsituations have become simplified, and, where simplification has not\ntaken place, the people and events have become confused[6]. Both\nin the shorter Faroese ballad of _Hjalmar and Angantyr_, and in\nthe Danish ballad of _Angelfyr and Helmer the_ _Warrior_, the\nsimplification has proceeded even farther, and a still more striking\ninstance of rigorous simplification is to be found in the _Ballad of\nNornagest_.\n\nNo _R\u00ccmur_ dealing with Arngrim's Sons have been published, and I have\nnot been able to ascertain whether any exist, though a passing mention\nis made of them in verse 74 of the satirical poem _Sk\u00ccthar\u00ccma_[7],\nprobably composed in the fifteenth century by Einar or Sigur\uf8ffur\nF\u00dbstri. _A priori_ it would seem probable that the ballads are derived\nfrom compositions of this kind rather than from the Saga direct.\nBut it would be unwise to hazard even a guess as to the balance of\nprobability without detailed knowledge of the relative circulation,\ndistribution and popularity of the Sagas and the R\u00ccmur respectively.\n\nThe air to which the following ballad is sung on the Faroes has been\ntranscribed and printed by Thuren in _Folkesangen paa F\u00car\u00aferne_, pp.\n132, 133.\n\n    [Footnote 1: Cf. also the introduction of \u00f7rvar-Odd in v.\n    29 of Hammershaimb's version (_Antiq. T\u00ccdss._, 1849-51, pp.\n    61-74); also vv. 28, 33, 58.]\n\n    [Footnote 2: Cf. _Antiq. T\u00ccdss._, 1849-1851, p. 28.]\n\n    [Footnote 3: _Ib._, p. 58.]\n\n    [Footnote 4: Copenhagen, 1855.]\n\n    [Footnote 5: So Svabo's version; the Sand\u00af version of\n    Hammershaimb's first edition, however, preserves Angantyr\n    here.]\n\n    [Footnote 6: A still more striking instance of the latter\n    development will be found in the _G\u00b7tu R\u00ccma_ (see p. 213 f.\n    below) especially v. 22.]\n\n    [Footnote 7: _Carmina Scaldica_ (_a selection of Norwegian\n    and Icelandic Scaldic poetry_) by Finnur J\u00dbnsson, Copenhagen,\n    1913.]\n\n\n_The Ballad of Arngrim's Sons_\n\n[Illustration] [Music: dotted-quarter note = 116 SANDOY.]\n\n  [Lyric:\n  Arngr\u00ccmur | eigir      | eina  | borg, hon | stendur \u00b7 | h\u02c6gum\n          | fjalli,  :||\n  ellivu    | eigir hann | synir | s\u00car   og  | t\u00dblvti er | riddarin\n          | snjalli.\n\n  (Refrain)\n  N\u02d9 | fellur | r\u00cc | man | yvir tann]\n  brei\uf8ffa | fj\u02c6r\uf8ff; | har | liggur ein | b\u00dbn- | di  |\n  dey\uf8ffur \u00cc | d\u02c6kkari | j\u02c6rd! | N\u02d9 | fellur | r\u00cc- | man. ||]\n\n\n_Variations of Refrain of The Ballad of Arngrim's Sons_\n\n(1) I S\u00ffRVAGI.\n\n[Music]\n\n(2)\n\n[Music]\n\n(3) KVALB\u00ff.\n\n[Music]\n\n(4)\n\n[Music]\n\n\nTHE BALLAD OF ARNGRIM'S SONS.\n\n    1.  High on a lofty mountain\n          Does Arngrim his castle hold;\n        He has eleven noble sons,\n          And his twelfth is a champion bold.\n\n  Refrain: _Noble men are sailing now from Norway,\n              And a fair breeze bears them o'er the wave._\n\n    2.  He has eleven noble sons,\n          Each skilled to wield his brand;\n        And mightiest of all is Angantyr\n          Who comes from Bjarnaland.\n\n    3.  He has eleven noble sons,\n          Beneath oak-trees live they;\n        And Angantyr lives with them there\n          And a warrior bold is he.\n\n    4.  Arngrim and the Earl's lady,\n          Children so fine had they--\n        Their daughter was named Hervik,\n          Who governed land and fee.\n\n    5.  This maiden was named Hervik,\n          'Fore all men I declare,\n        She tilted in the tourney\n          When the lads were playing there.\n\n    6.  She tilted in the tourney\n          Among the lads so strong.\n        Then blood was up and blood was shed\n          Ere she had played her long.\n\n    7.  Down then sat the lads there;\n          Angry were they each one.--\n        \"Better than fighting us so fiercely\n          Go 'venge thy father anon!\"\n\n    8.  Water she cast on her armour;\n          She list no longer to fight,\n        But went and stood before her mother,\n          With cheeks all red and white.\n\n    9.  \"O hearken, hearken my Mother dear,\n          The truth from thee would I know.--\n        Was my father slain in battle\n          Or did he die on straw?\"\n\n   10.  \"No truer tale can I tell to thee,\n          My daughter whom I love:\n        He fell before the bold \u00f7rvarodd\n          To the South in Isan's Grove.\n\n   11.  \"I can tell thee no truer, my daughter dear\n          Than I tell as here I stand;--\n        He fell before the bold \u00f7rvarodd\n          To the South in Isan's Land.\"\n\n   12.  She took her quickly to a chest\n          Which guarded gold and fee;\n        She drew a shirt from out the chest,\n          And flung it on Hervik's knee.\n\n   13.  She drew a shirt from out the chest,\n          All bloodstained where it had lain.--\n        \"Here may'st thou see the very same shirt\n          In which thy father was slain.\"\n\n   14.  Up then rose Hervik the Earl's daughter\n          And manned ship hastily;\n        Its cables were of shining gold,\n          All twisted cunningly.\n\n   15.  Up then rose Hervik the Earl's daughter,\n          And decked her ship so fine,\n        And bade them store within the hold\n          Both ale and costly wine.\n\n   16.  Tarred were the masts,\n          And black was the ship in hue;\n        The masthead was of the red, red gold,\n          And the sun shone on it too.\n\n   17.  Tarred were the masts;\n          The ship it was quite new;\n        The golden weather-cock spun aloft,\n          And shone amid Heaven's own blue.\n\n   18.  Tarred were the masts,\n          The beams scored wondrously;\n        Stem and stern were of red, red gold,\n          And so was the sail on high.\n\n   19.  All in the middle of the ship's deck\n          The colour shone so fair\n        Where Hervik, the Earl's daughter,\n          Sat on the platform there.\n\n   20.  She hoists aloft her silken sail,\n          Striped gold on a scarlet ground,\n        Nor ever once does she strike it again\n          Till she comes to Isan's Land.\n\n   21.  She hoists aloft her silken sail,\n          (The like will scarce be found)\n        Nor ever once does she strike it again\n          Till she comes to Isan's ground.\n\n   22.  Forth when Hervik's frigate\n          Touched the fair land,\n        Cast she forth her anchor\n          Into the white, white sand.\n\n   23.  Cast she down her anchor\n          Into the white, white sand;\n        And the first was Hervik the Earl's daughter\n          To spring with her foot to land.\n\n   24.  The first was Hervik the Earl's daughter\n          To spring with her foot to land,\n        And with her Hjalmar her brother\n          Close at her right hand.\n\n   25.  There a huntsman met her;\n          He had hunted herd and fee:\n        \"O why art thou so sorrowful,\n          As a troll had been hunting thee?\"\n\n   26.  Then up stood Hervik the Earl's daughter,\n          Her good sword out she drew,\n        And with it she clove the huntsman\n          And him in sunder slew.\n\n   27.  Three cross roads are bending,\n          And one can she descry;\n        Hervik has gone straight forth to the barrow\n          Wherein her father doth lie.\n\n   28.  Hervik has gone straight forth to the barrow\n          Where her father lies dead and cold.\n        Little recks she of fear or favour,\n          Though quake now fell and fold.\n\n   29.  Then up and spake the voice of Arngrim,\n          And these words first spake he:--\n        \"O where are my eleven sons gone,\n          Since daughters are visiting me?\"\n\n   30.  \"I pass not for my eleven brothers,\n          Or where they share their fee.\n        No treasure have I, save only Hjalmar,\n          Hither brought with me.\n\n   31.  \"O haste thee, haste thee, my noble Father\n          The good brand to give me;\n        Or shall I set fire here to this barrow,\n          And burn it over thee?\"\n\n   32.  Full woe was the champion Arngrim\n          That she should wreck his grave.\n        He seiz\u00c8d Tyrfing in both his hands\n          And to his daughter gave.\n\n   33.  He gave to her the sword then\n          Was wonderfully made.--\n        The length of it was eighteen ells,\n          And poisoned was its blade.\n\n   34.  He gave to her the sword then\n          Was wonderfully made.\n        No leechcraft could avail the man\n          Was wounded by its blade.\n\n   35.  All in the middle of the garden\n          She clad her in cloak of skin;\n        She busked her in a cloak of fur,\n          And entered the high hall within.\n\n   36. She busked her in her cloak of fur\n          And entered the high hall belive,\n        Where \u00f7rvarodd sat before the board\n          With a hundred men and five.\n\n   37.  \"O welcome, welcome, Hervik,\n          Hither now to me\n        Mead or wine shalt thou have to drink\n          As liefest is to thee.\"\n\n   38.  \"O little to me is thy mead, \u00f7rvarodd,\n          And little to me thy wine.\n        Today I have come to thy high hall,\n          And a different errand is mine.\n\n   39.  \"O little to me is thy mead, \u00f7rvarodd,\n          And little to me thy beer;\n        For a different errand did I busk me\n          When I left my home to come here.\n\n   40.  \"I busked me and came from Sweden\n          To fight in this thy land.\n        Stand up! Stand up! Thou bold \u00f7rvarodd,\n          Stand up, and arm thy band!\"\n\n   41.  It fell full early on a morning tide,\n          Before the sun rose high,\n        Bold \u00f7rvarodd had a hundred men and twelve\n          Accoutred royally.\n\n   42.  Bold \u00f7rvarodd had a hundred men and twelve\n          Accoutred royally.\n        Then up rose Hervik, the Earl's daughter,\n         To meet them gallantly.\n\n   43.  Up then rose Hervik, the Earl's daughter,\n          So doughty in the fight.\n        She blew a blast on her golden horn,\n          And struck to left and right.\n\n   44.  It was Hervik, the Earl's daughter,\n          So gallantly she rode;--\n        She clove to the shoulders every knight\n          Who forth against her strode.\n\n   45.  She clove to the shoulders every knight\n          Who forth against her strode,\n        Till only \u00f7rvarodd and his two companions\n          Survivors of the army stood.\n\n   46.  Under the castle gateway\n          The King crept fearfully.--\n        \"Now mercy, mercy, sweet Hervik,\n          I pray thou'lt give to me!\"\n\n   47. \"Just so much is the sweet mercy\n          Thou now shalt get of me\n        As thou gavest to my noble Father\n          When thou slew'st him felonly!\"\n\n   48.  \"Just so much is the sweet mercy\n          Thou now shalt win of me\n        As thou gavest to my noble Father\n          When thou slew'st him cruelly!\"\n\n   49.  That was Hervik, the Earl's daughter,\n          To draw her sword was fain.\n        She has slain the warrior \u00f7rvarodd\n          And cut him in pieces twain.\n\n   50.  She has slain the warrior \u00f7rvarodd\n          And cut him in pieces twain,\n        And all his men so brave and true\n          She has heaped on his corse amain.\n\n   51.  Up then rose Hervik, the Earl's daughter;\n          Through the greenwood gan she ride;\n        But hawk or hound made never a cry\n          In the greenwood by her side.\n\n   52.  She hoists aloft her silken sail,\n          Striped gold on a scarlet ground;\n        Nor ever once does she strike it again\n          Till she reaches far Uppland.\n\n   53.  Forth when Hervik's frigate\n          Touched the fair land,\n        Cast she forth her anchor\n          Into the white, white sand.\n\n   54.  Cast she forth her anchor\n          Into the white, white sand;\n       And forthwith her brother Angantyr\n          Came riding down the strand.\n\n   55.  She gave to him the sword then\n          Was wonderfully made.--\n        The length of it was eighteen ells,\n          And poisoned was its blade.\n\n   56.  She gave to him the sword then\n          Was wonderfully made.--\n        No leechcraft could avail the man\n          Was wounded by its blade.\n\n   57.  Angantyr sits in his high seat,\n          And with his men spake he!--\n       \"O where will I get a make to myself?\n          This thought has been long with me.\"\n\n   58.  One and all they hung their heads,\n          And never a word spake they,\n        Save Hjalmar his brother, and better were it\n          He had held his peace that day.\n\n   59.  \"I can no truer tell thee,\n          But and thou list to hear:\n        The King of Upsala has a daughter,\n          And she is passing fair.\n\n   60.  \"The King of Upsala has a daughter\n          As lovely as the sun.\n        Her cheeks they are as red and white\n          As blood on driven snow.\n\n   61.  \"The King of Upsala has a daughter:\n          Of many is her fame the word.\n        Her throne it is of the red, red gold,\n          And stands at the King's own board.\"\n\n   62.  \"O gin the maiden be so fair,\n          And gin she be so fine,\n        I swear an oath, though ill betide,\n          To call that maiden mine.\n\n   63.  \"O long and long will the journey be\n          O'er breaker but and billow;\n        But I go forth to Upsala, Hjalmar,\n          And thou, my brother, must follow.\"\n\n   64.  Then up spake Hjalmar the warrior,\n          And straightway answered he:\n        \"The bird feels joy when he spies a corpse,\n          And so do I follow thee!\"\n\n   65.  Up then rose him Angantyr,\n          And manned ship hastily.\n        Its cables were of shining gold\n          All twisted cunningly.\n\n   66.  Up then rose him Angantyr,\n          And decked his ship so fine,\n        And bade them store within the hold\n          Both ale and costly wine.\n\n   67.  He hoists aloft his silken sail,\n          Striped gold on a scarlet ground\n        Nor ever once does he strike it again\n          Till he comes to Uppsaland.\n\n   68.  Forth then when his frigate\n          Touched the fair land,\n        Cast he down his anchor\n          Into the white, white sand.\n\n   69.  Cast he down his anchor\n          Into the white, white sand.\n        And Angantyr was the first to light\n          With his foot to land.\n\n   70.  Angantyr was the first to light\n          With his foot to land,\n        And by him Hjalmar his brother,\n          Close at his right hand.\n\n   71.  By him Hjalmar his brother\n          Close at his right hand;\n        Truly is it told to me\n          He sank to his knees in sand.\n\n   72.  Up they went from the sea-shore,\n          Those men of wealth and worth;\n        The rollers brake, and the earth it shook\n          As they set their ships in berth.\n\n   73.  Up they went from the sea-shore,\n          In their clothes of scarlet so fair;\n        Their helmets were of burnished gold,\n          And no man did they fear.\n\n   74.  All in the middle of the garden\n          They clad them in cloaks of skin;\n        They busked them in their cloaks of fur\n          And entered the high hall within.\n\n   75.  They busked them in their cloaks of fur\n          And entered the high hall belive,\n        Where the King of Uppland sat at the board\n          With a hundred men and five.\n\n   76.  Hjalmar went into the high hall\n          With silk embroidered hood.\n        His cheeks were red as lobster's claws,\n          His eyes were like the dove.\n\n   77.  Angantyr has do'en him to the high hall,\n          'Twas the custom in days gone by;\n        And all in a word did he hail the King\n          And ask for the maid truly.\n\n   78.  Angantyr stands on the hall floor,\n          Offers him greeting there;--\n        \"Now hail be to thee, bold King of Uppsaland,\n          Give me thy daughter fair!\"\n\n   79.  Then up and spake the bold Hjalmar,\n          Before the broad board he stood:--\n        \"O King, I pray thee, give me thy daughter\n          Who is so fair and good.\"\n\n   80.  Up then rose the bold Hjalmar,\n          Before the broad board sat he:--\n        \"O King, I pray thee, give me thy daughter\n          Who is so wise and fair to see.\"\n\n   81.  Long in sorrow sat the King\n          And silently pondered.\n        What he should answer the two fierce warriors,\n          Who stood before the board.\n\n   82.  Up then rose the King of Uppsaland;\n          Angry and wroth was he:\n        \"My lady daughter shall come to the hall\n          And for herself reply.\"\n\n   83.  They have led his daughter to the hall,\n          Attended fittingly;\n        And Hjalmar's face grew red and pale\n          As in the high-seat sat he.\n\n   84.  \"Now thanks and thanks to my noble father\n          Who gave this choice to me.\n        Hjalmar the champion from Uppland,\n          He shall my husband be.\n\n   85.  \"I will not wed me to Angantyr:\n          He is so vile a troll;\n        So is his father and so his mother,\n          And so are his kinsfolk all.\"\n\n   86.  \"Come forth, come forth, thou bold Hjalmar\n          For ne'er so brief a tide.\n        To battle on an island make thee bowne;\n          She shall not be thy bride.\"\n\n   87.  Then up and answered Odd the Young:\n          \"Once more we are fighting here.\n        You shall go against Arngrim's Sons,\n          And I against Angantyr.\"\n\n   88.  \"We two, Angantyr and I,\n          Shall fight with mighty strife;\n        I would not that lady Ingibj\u02c6rg hear\n          That I sought to flee for my life.\n\n   89.  \"We two, Angantyr and I,\n          Shall meet in a mighty gripe,\n        And long will lady Ingibj\u02c6rg wait\n          Ere she hear that I shrank for my life.\"\n\n   90.  Out then spake the Young Odd,\n          And pondered heavily;\n        \"O gin thou go'est against Angantyr,\n          Thou choosest thy death truly.\"\n\n   91.  All the sons of Arngrim\n          Rode up the river shore\n        A-tightening of their shield-straps\n          Till they could tighten them no more.\n\n   92.  All the sons of Arngrim\n          Rode through the plain so green;\n        A league and a league you could hear on the stones\n          The clang of their spears so keen.\n\n   93.  All the sons of Arngrim,\n          Angry were they in mood.\n        Little recked they for weapons,\n          But tore up clubs of stout oakwood.\n\n   94.  All the sons of Arngrim\n          Rode up the river strand.\n        It is the young Odd will lose his life,\n          For Hjalmar is not at hand.\n\n   95.  Odd rode against the Sons of Arngrim,\n          His noble weapons proved he so,\n        And he slew all the eleven brothers\n          Yet never dealt he a second blow.\n\n   96.  Angantyr and the bold Hjalmar\n          On the island combated.\n        All their followers who manned the ship\n          Are lying now stone dead.\n\n   97.  Hjalmar then struck Angantyr,\n          So lay he at his feet.\n        \"O Hjalmar, give me now a drink,\n          For it comforts the meanest wight.\"\n\n   98.  \"A drink from out my drinking horn\n          I give thee willingly;\n        But hearken, Angantyr my brother,\n          Today have I surely conquered thee.\"\n\n   99.  O he held the horn before his lips,\n          --He the noble warrior,--\n        And O it was the heathen dog\n          Who stabbed him under the helmet there.\n\n  100.  It was the warrior Hjalmar,\n          He drew his sword amain;\n        He has cleft his brother Angantyr\n          And cut him in pieces twain.\n\n  101.  Odd came home at eventide\n          A-riding on the strand,\n        And saw where Hjalmar had sat him there,\n          Marred by the poisoned brand.\n\n  102.  Odd came home at eventide,\n          Where Hjalmar leant his back on a stone;\n        \"O why art thou so wondrous pale,\n          And what has brought thee to make such moan?\"\n\n  103.  \"My corslet he has pierc\u00c8d,\n          He has scathed my skin so white;\n        The poison smeared upon the blade\n          My heart will surely smite.\"\n\n  104.  \"Thou didst put thy faith in thy corslet,\n          All made of shining steel;\n        But here stand I in my shirt only,\n          And yet no wound I feel.\n\n  105.  \"Thou didst put thy trust in thy corslet,\n          All made of silver bright;\n        But here stand I in my shirt only,\n          And got no wound in the fight.\n\n  106.  \"Thou did'st put thy trust in thy corslet,\n          All made of silver white;\n        But here stand I in my shirt only\n          Which sword could never bite.\"\n\n  107.  Then up and spake the Warrior Hjalmar.\n          The first word he did say\n        Was \"Hearken and hearken now Young Odd,\n          And bear me hence away.\"\n\n  108.  Then up and answered the Young Odd,\n          He gazed on the rocky ravine:\n        \"This fight, O Hjalmar, if thou list to hear\n          Has gone as I had foreseen.\"\n\n  109.  He drew the gold ring from his arm;\n          Speech could he utter still;\n        Bade carry it to the lady Ingibj\u02c6rg,\n          And bade him fare him well\n\n  110.  He drew the gold ring from his arm;\n          All floating was he in blood.\n        He sent it to the lady Ingibj\u02c6rg,\n          That maid so fair and good.\n\n  111.  She died of grief for Hjalmar--\n          She the noble maid;\n        I swear an oath upon my honour\n          There lives none of whom the like can be said.\n\nRefrain: _Noble men are sailing now from Norway,\n          And a fair breeze bears them o'er the wave._\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION TO THE FAROESE RIDDLE BALLAD (G\u00a1TU R\u00d5MA)\n\n\nThe _G\u00b7tu R\u00ccma_ was first taken down in Suder\u00af by a clergyman,\nSchr\u02c6ter, early in the nineteenth century, and is preserved in the\narchives of the Early Text Society in Copenhagen. Unfortunately\nSchr\u02c6ter was only able to obtain the Ballad in a fragmentary form,\nand he has left us only a Danish translation of what he found. In his\ntravels on the Faroes in 1847-1848 Hammershaimb made strenuous efforts\nto get the entire version, but curiously enough only succeeded\nin getting a version (of course in the original Faroese) which\ncorresponds closely in length and content with Schr\u02c6ter's. He\npublished this version first in the _Antiquarisk T\u00ccdsskrift_,\n1849-1851, and later _F\u00car\u02c6iske Kv\u00ca\uf8ffer_, vol. II. (Copenhagen, 1855).\nThe translation given below is taken from the ballad as printed in\n_F\u00car\u02c6iske Kv\u00ca\uf8ffer_.\n\nThat a longer version of this ballad once existed is proved by the\nfact that verse 8 of both Schr\u02c6ter's and Hammershaimb's versions\nstates that Guest the Blind[1] propounds thirty riddles to King\nHeithrek--about the same number as are to be found in the Saga, though\nonly some six riddles and the answers to four others have come down\nto us. Hammershaimb attributed the loss of the others to the fact\nthat the ballad is no longer one of those used in the dance. He was of\nopinion that the riddles propounded in the _R\u00ccma_ are not the same as\nthose found in the Saga; but it is to be noticed that the subjects\nof the riddles are in four cases the same, and in the other cases the\nsubjects have the same characteristics, though the riddles themselves\nare not identical. It would therefore seem on the whole that the\nsubjects of the _G\u00b7tu R\u00ccma_ were originally identical with those of\nthe Saga, but that they have become corrupted and possibly confused in\nthe popular mind.\n\n    [Footnote 1: Presumably a corruption of _Gestumblindi_.]\n\n\nG\u00a1TU R\u00d5MA.\n\n  1.  Guest goes wandering from the hall,\n        Silent and blind is he;\n      Meets he with an eldern man\n        All with hair so grey.\n\n  2.  Meets he with an eldern man,\n        All with hair so grey;\n      \"Why art thou so silent, Guest the Blind,\n        And wherefore dost thou stray?\"\n\n  3.  \"It is not so wonderful\n        Though I of speech am slow;\n      For riddles have brought me to an evil pass,\n        And I lose my head tomorrow.\n\n  4.  \"It is not so wonderful\n        Though mournful am I and slow;\n      For riddles have brought me to an evil pass,\n        And I lose my life tomorrow.\"\n\n  5.  \"How much of the red, red gold\n        Wilt thou give to me,\n      If I go in before King Heithrek\n        And ask thy riddles for thee?\"\n\n  6.  \"Twelve marks of the red, red gold\n        Will I give to thee,\n      If thou wilt go in before King Heithrek,\n        And ransom my head for me.\"\n\n  7.  \"Go thou into thy courtyard\n        And look to thy dwelling, thou,\n      While I go in before King Heithrek,\n        And ask him riddles now.\"\n\n  8.  \"Thirty are the riddles\n        And one will I propose ...\n          (_Riddles lost._)\n\n  9.  (_First two lines lost._)\n      Thunder is the red drum\n        Which beats over all the world.\"\n\n  10. \"O hearken now, Heithrek my King,\n        Where dost thou know the neighbours,\n      Both of whom use the same door,\n        And neither one knows the other?\"\n\n  11. \"My thought and thy thought,\n        No neighbour is one to other;\n      Both of them use the same door,\n        Yet neither knows the other.\"\n\n  12. \"O hearken now, Heithrek my King,\n        Where dost thou know the brothers\n      Who roll far away on the outer reefs,\n        And have neither fathers nor mothers?\"\n\n  13. \"The Western flow and the Eastern flow,\n        Well may they be called brothers;\n      They roll far away on the outer reefs\n        And have neither fathers nor mothers.\"\n\n  14. \"O hearken now, Heithrek my King,\n        And what can this be now?--\n      Soft as down and hard as horn,\n        And white as glistening snow!\"\n\n  15. \"Hear thou this now, Guest the Blind;\n        This riddle I understand.--\n      The sea it is both soft and hard,\n        And flings white spray upon the land.\"\n\n  16. \"O hearken now, Heithrek my King,\n        Where does the sapling grow,--\n      Its root is turned towards high Heaven,\n        And its head turned down below?\"\n\n  17. \"The icicle on the high crags,\n        No sapling it is I trow,\n      Yet its root is turned towards high heaven,\n        And its head turned down below.\"\n\n  18. \"O hearken now, Heithrek my King,\n        Where does that forest grow,--\n      It is cut on every holy day,\n        And yet there is wood enow?\"\n\n  19. \"The beard which grows on each man's chin,\n        No forest is that I trow,\n      Though shaved on every holy day,\n        And yet there is wood enow.\"\n\n  20. \"O hearken now, Heithrek my King,\n        Where dost thou know the brothers,--\n      Both of them live in the same hall,\n        And have neither fathers nor mothers?\"\n\n  21. \"Turf clods and brimstones,\n        Neither of the twain are brothers.\n      Both of them live in the same hall,\n        And have neither fathers nor mothers.\"\n\n  22. \"The sow she wanders to her sty,\n        She wallows on the green, green earth.\n      The boar he grunts and the little pigs squeak,\n        And each makes music with his mouth.\"\n\n  23. \"O well do I know thy riddle,\n        And well it shall be spoke;\n      The hammer is raised in every smithy,\n        And falls with even stroke.\"\n\n  24. \"O well do I know thy riddle,\n        Though thereof no boast make I.\n      It is Othin who rides upon his steed,\n        By land and eke by sea.\n\n  25. \"O well do I know thy riddle,\n        Yet of wisdom I make no display.\n      Othin he rides upon his steed\n        By night and eke by day.\"\n\n  26. Othin has turned into a wild fowl,\n        And flown out from the hall;\n      And therein King Heithrek has been burnt,\n        He and his nobles all.\n\n  27. Othin has turned into a wild fowl,\n        And has flown far out to sea;\n      He has burnt King Heithrek in his hall,\n        And all his company.\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION TO THE SHETLAND BALLAD OF HILDINA\n\n\nThis ballad has been discussed above, pp. 39 and 164 f. It was taken\ndown by George Low in the course of a visit made by him to the island\nof Foula in the Shetlands in 1774. He was entirely ignorant of the\nlanguage, and had apparently no idea as to the meaning of the actual\nwords, though the general drift of the ballad was explained to him by\nthe islander, William Henry, from whom he obtained it (cf. p. 164).\nAs very few remains of the dialect have been preserved, apart from the\nballad, the interpretation presents great difficulties. The following\ntranslation of the first twelve stanzas is made from the corrected\ntext given by Dr M. H\u00cagstad in his edition of the _Hildina_ contained\nin _Skrifter udgivne af Videnskabsselskabet i Christiania_, 1900\n(_Historisk-Filosofiske Klasse_, II).\n\n\nTHE SHETLAND BALLAD OF HILDINA\n\n  1.  It was the Earl from Orkney,\n        And counsel of his kin sought he,\n      Whether he should the maiden\n        Free from her misery.\n\n  2.  \"If thou free the maid from her gleaming hall,\n        O kinsman dear of mine,\n      Ever while the world shall last\n        Thy glory still shall shine.\"\n\n  3.  Home came the king,\n        Home from the ship's levy\n      The lady Hildina she was gone,\n        And only her stepmother there found he.\n\n  4.  \"Be he in whatever land,\n        This will I prove true,\n      He shall be hanged from the highest tree\n        That ever upward grew.\"\n\n  5.  \"If the Earl but come to Orkney,\n        Saint Magnus will be his aid,\n      And in Orkney ever he will remain--\n        Haste after him with speed.\"\n\n  6.  The King he stood before his lady,\n        And a box on her ear gave he,\n      And all adown her lily white cheeks\n       The tears did flow truly.\n\n  7.  The Earl he stood before Hildina,\n        And a pat on her cheek gave he,--\n      \"O which of us two wouldst thou have lie dead,\n       Thy father dear or me?\"\n\n  8.  \"I would rather see my father doomed,\n        And all his company,\n      If so my own true lord and I\n        May long rule in Orkney.\n\n  9.  \"Now do thou take in hand thy steed,\n        And ride thou down to the strand;\n      And do thou greet my sire full blithely,\n        And gladly will he clasp thy hand.\"\n\n  10. The King he now made answer--\n        So sore displeased was he--\n      \"In payment for my daughter\n        What wilt thou give to me.\"\n\n  11. \"Thirty marks of the red gold,\n        This to thee will I give,\n      And never shalt thou lack a son\n        As long as I may live.\"\n\n  12. Now long stood the King,\n        And long on the Earl gazed he:--\n      \"O thou art worth a host of sons;\n        Thy boon is granted thee.\"\n\nIt will be seen that up to this point, in spite of the loss of the\nnames, there can be little doubt that the subject of the ballad is the\nstory of Hethin and H\u02c6gni. After this however the narrative deviates\nfrom any other known version of this story. It would rather seem\nthat--as in the German Kudrun--two stories, originally distinct, have\nbeen brought together in one poem.\n\n\n\n\nNOTES\n\nThe numbers refer to chapters (sagas) and strophes (ballads, etc.)\n\n\nTHE TH\u00a1TTR OF NORNAGEST\n\n_The Th\u00b7ttr of Nornagest._ A _th\u00b7ttr_ is a portion (episode) of a\nlonger saga, in this case the _Saga of Olaf Tryggvason_ which is found\nin the _Flateyjarb\u00dbk_.\n\nI. _King Olaf Tryggvason_, one of the most famous kings of Norway\n(_r._ 995-1000). He compelled the country to accept Christianity. For\naccounts of his life and times, see the _Story of Olaf Tryggvison_ in\nthe _Heimskringla_, vol. I, pp. 221-378; and also the longer _Saga of\nKing Olaf Tryggwason_, translated by Sephton.\n\n_Trondhjem_, originally the name, not of a town, but of the entire\ndistrict round the Trondhjem Fjord.\n\n_A man came to him._ Cf. the _Saga of Olaf Tryggvason_\n(_Heimskringla_), ch. 71.\n\n_Guest._ Here a pun is intended, the word _Gestr_ in Icelandic\nsignifying a 'guest' as well as a 'stranger.'\n\n_The Contentious._ The word in the text, '_\u02dbingb\u00cctr_,' seems to mean\n'sharp in debate,' and to refer to his ready wit and astuteness in\nlitigation.\n\n_Guest said that he had been prime-signed._ To 'prime-sign' signified\nto make the _prima signatio_ or sign of the Cross over a person,\npreliminary to baptism. People so 'prime-signed' were admitted to\ncertain parts of the Mass and to social intercourse in Christian\ncommunities. See the _Saga of Egil Skallagrimsson_, ch. 50 \"King\nAthelstan [of England] was a good Christian.... He asked Thorolf and\nhis brother to let themselves be prime-signed; for this was a common\npractice with both merchants and soldiers who took service under\nChristians. Men who were prime-signed had free intercourse with both\nChristians and heathens, and followed whatever religion they liked\nbest. Thorolf and Egil did as the King asked them, and both were\nprime-signed.\"\n\n_Svein Forkbeard_, King of Denmark from 986 (?) to 1014, and of\nEngland also during the last year of his life.\n\n_The Emperor Otto_, i.e. Otto II, 973-983.\n\n_Dane-work_, i.e. the Danish Wall still partially preserved, which\ndivided Jutland from the land of the Saxons and stretched from near\nthe city of Slesvig to the marsh-land along the River Treene.\n\n_King Harold Gormsson_ appears to have reigned for about fifty years\nand to have died probably in 986. He was nick-named Harold 'Bluetooth'\n(or perhaps 'Blacktooth'). About 974 he fought the Emperor Otto II,\nand Earl Haakon of Norway aided him. Both Harold and Haakon were\nforced to accept Christianity, but Haakon afterwards renounced it.\n\n_Earl Haakon the Heathen_, i.e. Earl Haakon the Great, or the Bad, who\nruled over Norway, 975-995.\n\n_Guthmund._ Cf. the _Saga of Herv\u02c6r and Heithrek_, ch. 1. See also\nSaxo Grammaticus, _Dan. Hist._, pp. 346-349, where Guthmund is\ndescribed as a magician dwelling in the land of the Perms. But see\n_Glasisvellir_, below.\n\n_Glasisvellir._ Cf. the _Saga of Herv\u02c6r and Heithrek_, ch. 1. For\nthe name of the tree or grove called _Glasir_ beside Othin's abode\nin Valhalla, see _Sk\u00b7ldskaparm\u00b7l_, ch. 34: \"Glasir stands with golden\nfoliage before the halls of the God of Victory.\" See also _Bjarkam\u00b7l\nin Forna_, str. 3.\n\nII. _Ulf the Red_ was standard-bearer to Olaf Tryggvason at the Battle\nof Sv\u02c6ld (cf. the _Saga of Olaf Tryggvason, Heimskringla_, ch. 56),\nwhere he slew great numbers of the enemy.\n\n_The Bay_, i.e. Christiania Fjord and the adjacent coasts.\n\n_King Half._ See _H\u00b7lfssaga_, ch. 10; and _Flateyjarb\u00dbk_, 11, pp. 136,\n137. King Half had a chosen band of warriors numbering about sixty,\nwho were subject to strict discipline and rules which Professor\nCraigie (_The Icelandic Sagas_, p. 94) suggests were modelled on those\nof the J\u00dbmsv\u00cckings. For instance, \"It was one of their customs always\nto lie off the ends of promontories. Secondly, they made a rule of\nnever pitching tents on their ships and never clewing up the sail on\naccount of bad weather.\" The incident referred to in the text is not\nmentioned in the Saga.\n\n_No halls had been built in Norway._ The writer probably means to\ncontrast the stone halls of his own day with the wooden structures of\nearlier times.\n\n_The Harping of Gunnar_, a lost poem. The legend here referred to is\ntold in _V\u02c6lsunga Saga_, ch. 37 (and elsewhere), doubtless from an old\nlay.--'King Attila had Gunnar cast into a pit full of snakes ... and\nhis hands were tied. Guthr\u02d9n sent him a harp, and he was so skilful\nin harping that he could play it with his toes; and he harped so well\nthat hardly anyone had ever heard such skilful playing, even with the\nhand. So beautifully did he play that all the snakes were lulled to\nsleep except one horrible big adder which crept up to him and stung\nhim to the heart. Thus he perished with great courage.'\n\nGunnar, the son of Gj\u02d9ki, is the central figure both of the Norse\nstory and of the German _Nibelungenlied_, in which he is called\nGunther. In reality, he was overthrown and killed by the Huns in 437,\nafter which the Burgundians moved from the Rhine to the district now\nknown as Burgundy.\n\n_The Ancient Wiles of Guthr\u02d9n._ It is generally believed that this is\nthe name of another lost heroic poem. But the title may possibly mean\n_The Adventures of Guthr\u02d9n_, in which case the poem referred to may be\nthe well-known _Ancient Lay of Guthr\u02d9n_ (_Gu\uf8ffr\u02d9narkvi\uf8ffa hin forna_).\nThis latter poem is alluded to in ch. 9 below under the title of\n_Gu\uf8ffr\u02d9narr\u00ca\uf8ffa_.\n\nIV. _The Land of the Franks_, the Rhineland. As far back as the\nfifth century the Franks occupied that region--to the north of the\nBurgundians.\n\n_Sigurth the son of Sigmund._ The story of Sigurth the V\u02c6lsung is\nrelated in _V\u02c6lsunga Saga_.\n\n_Hundingsbani_, i.e. 'Slayer of Hunding.' See _V\u02c6lsunga Saga_, ch. 9.\n\nV. _It chanced one day that_, etc. Chapters 5 and 6 are mainly taken\nfrom the poem _Reginsm\u00b7l_ of which strophes 13-26 are quoted in our\ntext. _Reginsm\u00b7l_ is the first poem of a trilogy dealing with the\nearly adventures of Sigurth. The two remaining poems _F\u00b7fnism\u00b7l_ and\n_Sigrdrifum\u00b7l_ are used only in the last two sentences of ch. 6.\n\n_Yngvi_ is a name of the god Frey, from whom the kings of Norway and\nthe early kings of Sweden were believed to have sprung.\n\n_Fafnisbani_, i.e. 'Slayer of Fafnir.' Cf. ch. 6 _infra_. See also\n_V\u02c6lsunga Saga_, ch. 18.\n\n_The Imperial Power had not_, etc. This may mean either the refounding\nof the Western Empire by Charlemagne, A.D. 800, or possibly the\ngaining of the Imperial throne by Otto I, King of the Germans, in 962.\n\nVI. _Sigurth prepared for battle_, etc. An account of this battle is\ngiven in _V\u02c6lsunga Saga_, ch. 17.\n\n_The sea-king's steed._ The text has _R\u00cafils hestum_, lit. 'R\u00cafil's\nhorses.' R\u00cafil was a legendary sea-king. The names of such characters\nare frequently used in 'kennings' (i.e. poetic circumlocutions) like\nthis.\n\n_Hnikar_, a name of the god Othin in the _Gr\u00ccmnism\u00b7l_ (str. 47) and\nelsewhere.\n\n_The Moon's sister._ The text has _systur M\u00b7na_, 'M\u00b7ni's sister,' i.e.\nthe sun. _M\u00b7ni_, the old word for the moon, is preserved in Iceland\nonly in a mythological sense, the ordinary word in use for moon being\n_tungl_. _M\u00b7ni_ and _S\u00dbl_ (the sun) were brother and sister. See\n_Vaf\u02dbr\u02d9\u02dbnism\u00b7l_, str. 23; also _Gylfaginning_, ch. 11, 12.\n\n_Order their array_, lit. 'draw up a wedge-shaped column'--a\nfavourite battle-formation, the origin of which was ascribed to Othin.\n_Stumbling is bad luck_, etc. So Wilken (gloss. _s.v. fyrir_, 2.)\nVigf\u02d9sson and Gering transl. 'It is an ill thing to outrun one's\nluck.'\n\n_Friesland._ In early times the Frisians occupied a much greater\nextent of coast than now, reaching from the boundary between Holland\nand Belgium on one side to beyond the mouth of the Weser on the\nother--apart from the Frisians inhabiting the west coast of Slesvig.\n\n_The 'blood-eagle'_ was a form of vengeance practised by the heathen\nScandinavians in battle when anyone captured the slayer of his father.\nThe ribs were cut in the shape of an eagle, and the lungs torn out\nthrough the opening. The Northumbrian King Ella (\u2206lla) is said to have\nbeen put to death in this way by the sons of Ragnar Lothbr\u00dbk. Cf. the\n_Saga of Ragnar Lo\uf8ffbr\u00dbk and his sons_, ch. 18; also the _Th\u00b7ttr of\nRagnar's Sons_, ch. 3.\n\n_Hugin and Munin_ were Othin's attendant ravens who gave him\ninformation. See _Gr\u00ccmnism\u00b7l_, str. 20; _Gylfaginning_, ch. 38;\n_Ynglingasaga_ (_Heimskringla_), ch. 7.\n\n_The story of Sigurth Fafnisbani._ The whole story of the loves of\nSigurth and Brynhild is related in the _V\u02c6lsunga Saga_, ch. 20-32. It\nis uncertain whether the reference here is to the _V\u02c6lsunga Saga_ as\nwe have it or to an earlier form of the story.\n\nVII. _Gjuki_ is mentioned under the form _Gebica_ in the _Lex\nBurgundionum_ (_c._ 500 A.D.). Nothing more is known of him from\nhistorical sources; but he is mentioned in _Sk\u00b7ldskaparm\u00b7l_, ch. 41,\n_V\u02c6lsunga Saga_ ch. 25, and in the _Edda Poems_, as the father of\nGunnar and Guthr\u02d9n. His name appears also (as _Gifica_, _Gibicho_,\netc.) in the Anglo-Saxon poem _Widsi\u02db_, the Latin poem _Waltharius_,\nand in several early German poems.\n\n_Sigurth Hring_, a legendary king of Sweden and Denmark, and the\nfather of Ragnar Lo\uf8ffbr\u00dbk. His story is related at length in a fragment\nof the _Skj\u02c6ldunga Saga_; and he is probably identical with the\n_Sigifridus_ who is mentioned in several Frankish Chronicles under\nthe year 812 as carrying on hostilities against another Danish King\n_Anulo_.\n\n_The sons of Gandalf_ were in constant hostility with King Harold the\nFairhaired and his father. They owned Alfheimar and Vingulm\u02c6rk along\nthe Swedish coast of the Kattegat. Cf. the _Story of Halfdan the\nBlack_ (_Heimskringla_), ch. 1, 4; also the _Story of Harold the\nFairhaired_ (_Heimskringla_), ch. 1 etc.\n\n_Gunnar and H\u02c6gni._ The story of the relations of Gunnar and H\u02c6gni\nwith Sigurth is told in _V\u02c6lsunga Saga_, ch. 26 f.\n\n_Jarnamotha._ The locality is unknown. There were large forests in\nHolstein in the Middle Ages called 'Iarnawith' and 'Isarnho'; cf.\nM\u00b8llenhoff, _Deutsche Altertumskunde_, v, p. 122.\n\n_hazlewood poles had been set up_, etc. The verb _hasla_, used in\nthe sense of 'to challenge (to a pitched battle),' means, lit. 'to\nenhazle' a battlefield, i.e. to mark out the space reserved for\na pitched battle with hazel poles. Cf. the _Saga of Egil\nSkallagr\u00ccmsson_, ch. 52.\n\n_The Kurir_ were the people of Courland (perhaps Lithuanians). The\n_Kv\u00canir_ were the Finnish inhabitants of the northern portion of what\nis now Sweden. King Alfred, in his translation of _Orosius_, inserts\nan original account of Norway and the neighbouring regions which was\ngiven to him by a Norwegian called Ohthere. It is there stated that\nbeyond the mountains which bound the northern part of Norway was 'the\nland of the Cwenas.' Cf. also the _Saga of Egil Skallagr\u00ccmsson_, ch.\n14.\n\n_Starkath_, the ideal warrior of old time in the North. Probably\noriginally a historical figure, he became the centre of much legendary\nmatter, and, as often happened in such cases, he was even credited\nwith the composition of many poems, notably that on the Battle of\nBr\u00b7v\u02c6ll--an event which probably took place long after his time. In\nSaxo Grammaticus, _Dan. Hist._, pp. 246-258, he corresponds to the\nunnamed \"Old Warrior\" mentioned in _Beowulf_, l. 2041 ff.\n\n_Fenhring_, in H\u02c6rthaland in Norway, not far from Bergen.\n\n_Lund_, the old ecclesiastical capital of Denmark, situated in\nSkaane in the extreme south of Sweden. Not only Skaane, but also the\nneighbouring provinces (Halland, etc.) belonged in early times to\nDenmark.\n\nVIII. _Starkath had committed a foul murder._ For this story see Saxo\nGrammaticus, _Dan. Hist._, p. 314 ff. Saxo says that the rule of\nKing Ali or Ole was so hateful to the Zealanders that twelve of their\ngenerals resolved to put him to death, bribing Starkath to join them.\nAlthough a personal friend of Ole, Starkath agreed to do so, and\nmurdered him in his bath. He afterwards repented bitterly, \"and to\natone for his crime slew some of those who had inspired him to it.\"\n\n_Travels._ I have followed the reading _fer\uf8ffa_, 'travels,' adopted by\nWilken, not _fr\u00canda_, as in the _Fornaldar S\u02c6gur_, ed. by \u00a1smundarson.\nThe latter would read: \"The King wanted him to tell him much more\nabout the history of his relatives.\"\n\nIX. _Germans say_, etc. For the German story of the murder of Sigurth\nsee the _Nibelungenlied_, str. 985 ff.\n\n_Guthr\u02d9narr\u00catha._ This is no doubt the poem commonly called\n_Gu\uf8ffr\u02d9narkvi\uf8ffa hin forna_, the opening of which narrates how Sigurth's\nhorse came home riderless.\n\n_Brynhild and the ogress chanted_, etc. The following lay is found\nin the _Edda Poems_ under the title of _Helrei\uf8ff Brynhildar_ ('The\nHell-ride of Brynhild').\n\n_From the Land of the Romans_, lit. 'From Valland'--the 'land of the\nValar,' i.e. the Celts or Romans. Here the reference is doubtless\nto the Roman territories on the west bank of the Rhine. In the\n_Nibelungenlied_, Gunther (i.e. Gunnar) is represented as reigning at\nWorms. Cf. p. 232 below.\n\n_Assigned me a home_, etc. In the _Codex Regius_ of the _Edda Poems_\nthis passage runs as follows: \"The courageous king had my swan-form\nand those of my eight sisters carried beneath an oak.\"\n\n_Hjalmgunnar._ See _Sigrdrifum\u00b7l_, the prose following str. 4. \"She\n(i.e. Sigrdrifa) said that two kings were fighting. One was called\nHjalmgunnar. He was old at that time, but a very great warrior, and\nOthin had promised him victory; but the other was called Agnar, the\nbrother of Autha, whom no being would protect. Sigrdrifa (who was a\nvalkyrie) slew Hjalmgunnar in battle, but Othin pierced her with a\nsleep-producing thorn in punishment for this,\" etc.\n\n_Fafnir_ was the serpent who guarded the gold hoard on Gn\u00cctahei\uf8ff till\nSigurth slew him and carried off the treasure.\n\n_All too long_, etc. In the _Codex Regius_ of the _Edda Poems_ this\npassage runs as follows: \"For far too long a time (? for ever) will\nwomen and men be born into the world to overwhelming sorrow.\"\n\n_The Sons of Lothbrok._ Ragnar Lothbr\u00dbk was a famous king who\nflourished about the middle of the ninth century, and who, according\nto legend, obtained his name ('Shaggy Breeks') from the shaggy\ntrowsers which he wore when he went to attack a serpent. His various\nexploits are told in the _Saga of Ragnar Lothbr\u00dbk_, and in the _Th\u00b7ttr\nof the Sons of Ragnar_, and also by Saxo Grammaticus, _Dan. Hist._,\npp. 368-380, etc. Among his other adventures he is said to have\ninvaded Northumbria, but he was defeated by King Ella (\u2206lla) and\nthrown into a snake-pit, where he \"died laughing,\" as we are told in\na late poem (_Krakum\u00b7l_ or the 'Death-song of Ragnar Lothbr\u00dbk'). His\ndeath was afterwards avenged by his sons who invaded England in 866.\nPractically nothing historical is known of Lo\uf8ffbr\u00dbk himself, though\nthe achievements of his sons, both in the British Isles and on the\ncontinent, are of great historical importance.\n\n_In the neighbourhood of the Alps._ In 856, Bj\u02c6rn Ironside, a son of\nRagnar Lothbr\u00dbk, with H\u00b7stein his chief lieutenant, invaded France,\nand during the years 859-862 made expeditions to Spain, Africa, the\nsouth of France, and Italy, capturing Pisa, Luna, etc. There can be\nno doubt that in their invasion of Italy in 860 the real objective was\nRome; but for some unknown reason they returned without approaching\nit. According to Scandinavian tradition, when they entered Luna they\nwere under the impression that it was Rome, and returned satisfied\nthat their aim was accomplished.\n\n_Vifilsborg._ This place is identified by Wilken with the modern\nAvenches in the Canton Vaud (Switzerland).\n\n_Make their way there_, lit. 'pass over (the mountains) thither.'\n\nX. _Eric_, a famous King of Sweden in the time of Harold the\nFairhaired, King of Norway, in the latter half of the ninth century.\nHe is frequently referred to in the Sagas and regarded as the typical\ngreat Swedish King of the past.\n\n_Upsala_, i.e. Old Upsala, the ancient capital of the Swedish kingdom,\na few miles from the modern city.\n\n_King Harold the Fairhaired_, said to have been born _c._ 850 and to\nhave succeeded as King of Vestfold _c._ 860. His conquest of Norway\nwas practically completed at the Battle of Hafrsfj\u02c6rth (_c._ 872). He\nis said to have retired in 930 and died _c._ 933.\n\n_King Hlothver_, i.e. Louis I, King of the Franks and Emperor,\n814-840.\n\n_The Saxons_ inhabited a large part of north-west Germany and Holland;\nbut the name _Saxland_ is often used in a wider sense, i.e. the German\npart of the Empire.\n\n_Nornagest_, i.e. 'Gest (or guest) of the Norns.' The Norns were\nrepresented in Scandinavian mythology as women with the power of\nshaping human destiny. See _Helgakvi\uf8ffa Hundingsbana_, 1, str. 2;\n_Gylfaginning_, chs. 15, 16; Saxo Grammaticus, _Dan. Hist._, p. 223;\nthe _Saga of Burnt Nj\u00b7l_, ch. 156. Similar beliefs occur in Greek\nstories about the Fates ([Greek: Kl\u00d9thes]) e.g. the late Greek legend\nof the birth of Meleager. Cf. p. 13 above.\n\nXII. _Three hundred._ I have used round figures here as elsewhere.\nStrictly the Norse 100 is 120.\n\n\nTHE TH\u00a1TTR OF S\u00f7RLI\n\nI. _Vanakvisl._ The opening sentence may be compared with\n_Ynglingasaga_, ch. 1, in the _Heimskringla_. From this it appears\nthat Vanakv\u00ccsl is the River Don, though strictly _kv[vi]sl_ means the\nfork (delta) of a river.\n\n_\u2206sir and Vanir_, two sets of Scandinavian deities; but the references\nto the River Don and Asia are due to the learned speculations of\nlater times, suggested partly by the resemblance of _Asia_ and _\u2206sir_.\nAccording to _Ynglingasaga_, chs. 1-4, there was war between the \u2206sir\nand the Vanir, which was concluded by an exchange of hostages. The\nVanir gave to the \u2206sir three of their leading people--Nj\u02c6rth and his\nchildren Frey and Freyja. Othin made Nj\u02c6rth and Frey temple-priests,\nand Freyja a temple-priestess. What is said about Freyja here is not\nmentioned in _Ynglingasaga_; but from the poems of the _Edda_ it is\nclear that she was the Aphrodite of northern mythology.\n\n_Asgarth._ For a description of Asgarth, the home of the \u2206sir, see\n_Gylfaginning_, chs. 2, 9, 14, etc.\n\n_Men in Asia called Alfregg_, etc. For Dvalin, cf. the _Saga of Herv\u02c6r\nand Heithrek_, ch. 2 and note.\n\n_Lived in a rock_; cf. _V\u02c6lusp\u00b7_, str. 48.\n\n_Necklace._ For the _Br\u00ccsingamen_, Freyja's treasure, see\n_Thrymskvi\uf8ffa_, str. 12, etc. Cf. also _Beowulf_, l. 1199.\n\nII. _Nal_, i.e. 'Needle.'\n\n_Loki._ See _Gylfaginning_, ch. 33; and the _Edda Poems_, passim.\n\n_So much favoured by the great good fortune of his lord._ Cf. _Laxd\u00cala\nSaga_, ch. 40 'Mun konungr [i.e. Olaf Tryggvason] vera giftudrj\u02d9gr ok\nhamingju-mikill.'\n\nIII. _Frithfrothi_, the mythical peace-king of the Danes. See\n_Sk\u00b7ldskaparm\u00b7l_, ch. 43. He is often split up into two different\ncharacters, as by Saxo Grammaticus. (See especially _Dan. Hist._, Book\nv, which gives an account of the great Frothi.)\n\n_Erling and S\u02c6rli._ Their story is told in the _Saga of S\u02c6rli the\nStrong_ (_Fornaldar S\u02c6gur_, III.).\n\n_Skerries of the Elf._ Rocky islands near the mouth of the G\u02c6ta Elv\nnot far from G\u02c6teborg.\n\nIV. _Halfdan_, surnamed Br\u02c6nuf\u00dbstri. See the _Saga of S\u02c6rli the\nStrong_, ch. 11, where he is represented as King of Sweden.\n\n_Roeskilde_, the old capital of Sj\u00calland, now the ecclesiastical\ncapital of Denmark.\n\n_Ellithi._ See the _Saga of Thorstein Vikingson_ (passim), and the\n_Saga of Fri\uf8ffj\u00dbf the Bold_ (passim).\n\n_Gnoth._ The ship Gnoth belonged to \u00a1smund, who was called after it\n'Gno\uf8ffar-\u00a1smund.' Cf. the _Saga of Egil and Asmund_, ch. 17; and\nthe _Saga of Gr\u00ccm Lo\uf8ffinkinni_, ch. 3. See also the _Saga of Hromund\nGreipsson_, ch. 1.\n\n_Long Serpent_, i.e. the warship of Olaf Tryggvason.\n\n_As is told in the poem_, etc. The poem is now lost.\n\n_The poem of which he is the subject._ The Saga here quotes a\ndifficult and obscure stanza which I have omitted.\n\n_H\u02c6gni ... went raiding in the Baltic_, etc. In _Widsi\uf8ff_ l. 21, H\u02c6gni\nis said to have ruled the _Holmryge_, i.e., no doubt, the Rugii on the\ncoast of Pomerania.\n\nV. _Hjarrandi_ is the name of Hethin's father in all the Norse forms\nof the story; but originally this would seem to have been the name of\nHethin's minstrel--the _H\u00d9rant_ of _Kudrun_, and the _Heorrenda_ of\n_Deor_.\n\n_Serkland_, i.e. Africa, 'Saracen Land.' It is only in this story\nthat Hethin is said to come from here. Saxo Grammaticus calls him\na Norwegian. Cf. also _Widsi\u02db_, l. 21, which gives the name of an\nunknown people.\n\n_G\u02c6ndul_, the name of one of the Valkyries. See _V\u02c6lusp\u00b7_, str. 31;\n_H\u00b7konarm\u00b7l_, passim; _Sk\u00b7ldskaparm\u00b7l_, chs. 2 and 47.\n\nVI. _Heithrek Ulfham._ For Heithrek Ulfham see the _Saga of Herv\u02c6r and\nHeithrek_, ch. 16.\n\nVII. _She asked him._ I have followed Rafn's text. The Reykjav\u00cck ed.\napparently has a misprint here--_hann_ for _h\u00dbn_.\n\n_He thrust the Queen down in front of the prow_, etc. The murder of\nthe Queen is peculiar to this saga.\n\nVIII. _This harrowing torment continued_, etc. A good deal has been\nwritten on the subject of the Unending Battle, which many writers\nbelieve to have been of mythological origin. Very often, however, it\nappears in local traditions. See Frazer's _Pausanias_, vol. II, p. 443\n(the reference to the Battle of Marathon), where a considerable number\nof parallels are given. See also Panzer, _Hilde-Gudrun_, p. 328. Cf.\np. 43, note I above.\n\n_Olaf Tryggvason._ See the _Th\u00b7ttr of Nornagest_, ch. 1 and note.\n\nIX. _Jarnskj\u02c6ld._ Cf. _Fornmanna S\u02c6gur_, vol. III, p. 125 ff. (_Saga\nof Olaf Tryggvason_).\n\n_Glance of his eye_, etc. Literally, \"He has the _\u00cagishj\u00b7lmr_.\" This\nis a poetical expression for a glance inspiring terror.\n\n\nTHE SAGA OF HROMUND GREIPSSON\n\nI. _Gnothar-Asmund_, i.e. Asmund of the Gnoth, who was so called from\nhis ship 'Gnoth' (cf. p. 230 above). For an account of him see the\n_Saga of Egil and Asmund_ (in _Fornaldar S\u02c6gur_, vol. III), especially\nch. 17. He is mentioned also in the _Saga of Gr\u00ccm Lo\uf8ffinkinni_, ch. 2.\nA different account of Olaf's family is given in _G\u02c6ngu-Hr\u00dblfs Saga_,\nch. 38.\n\n_Garthar in Denmark._ The geography of the story is by no means clear.\nElsewhere in this saga Olaf's realm would seem to be situated in\nSweden, while references in other works, e.g. _Landn\u00b7mab\u00dbk_, I, ch.\n3, _Hversu Noregr Bygthist_, ch. 2 (_Fornaldar S\u02c6gur_, II, p. 7) etc.,\npoint to Norway, especially the provinces of Thelam\u02c6rk and H\u02c6rthaland,\nas the home of Hromund and his family.\n\n_Hromund._ According to _Landn\u00b7mab\u00dbk_, I, ch. 3, Ingolf and Leif,\nthe first settlers in Iceland (A.D. 874) were the great grandsons of\nHromund Greipsson. This would seem to show that he lived in the\nsecond half of the eighth century. See also the _Saga of Halfdan\nEysteinsson_, ch. 1.\n\n_Bild and Voli._ For these names, see Introduction to this saga, p.\n59, and the note to _Mistletoe_ below.\n\n_Ulfasker._ A corruption of _Elfasker_. Cf. _Gr\u00ccplur_, str. 25, and\nnote to _Skerries of the Elf_, p. 229 above.\n\n_Dragon_, a common term for a large type of warship in the Viking Age.\n\n_Scoundrels._ The text has _Bl\u00b7menn_, i.e. lit. 'Black men', negroes.\nBut in the Romantic Sagas, owing probably to the influence of stories\nrelating to the Saracens, pirates are described as _Bl\u00b7menn_, even in\nstories relating exclusively to the North. Cf. _The Ballad of Hj\u00b7lmar\nand Angantyr_ (refrain), p. 184, above.\n\nII. _I am going to be Othin's guest_, is a euphemism for 'be slain,'\nand is equivalent to 'go to Valhalla,' the abode of slain warriors\nwhich belonged to Othin. See the _Saga of Egil Skallagr\u00ccmsson_, ch.\n81, where Thorgerth, Egil's daughter, says that she will have no\nsupper till she \"sup with Freyja.\"\n\n_No blade would wound Hr\u02c6ngvith._ It is not uncommon to hear that a\nwarrior, usually an unsympathetic character, was immune through spells\nfrom wounds inflicted by weapons; cf. _Beowulf_, l. 804, where this is\nstated of Grendel.\n\nIII. _Hebrides._ The word _Suthreyjar_, here translated Hebrides,\nproperly means all the islands off the west coast of Scotland. The\nmodern form of the word is _Sodor_, surviving in the name of the\ndiocese of 'Sodor and Man.'\n\n_Ghosts._ It will be seen from the context that the word _draugr_ here\ntranslated 'ghost,' is in reality the animated corpse of the dead man.\nThis is a common feature of Norse stories (e.g. the _Saga of Grettir\nthe Strong_, ch. 18).\n\nIV. _Valland_, i.e. France, lit. the 'Land of the _Valar_,' i.e.\nof the Celts or Romans. In Anglo-Saxon literature the French are\nsometimes called _Galwalas_, i.e. the 'Walas (Welsh) of Gaul'. See\nalso the _Th\u00b7ttr of Nornagest_, ch. 9 and note.\n\n_And he added_, etc. Are we to assume a lacuna here? The composition\nof this saga is however far from perfect. In certain passages (e.g. at\nthe beginning of this chapter) one is inclined to suspect that someone\nhas tried to combine two different texts of the story.\n\n_Finger nails_, etc. Cf. the physiological fact of the growth of the\nfinger nails after death, and the legend of Charlemagne according to\nwhich his beard grew through a stone table after his death.\n\n_Gunnl\u02c6th._ Other documents appear to make Hromund a Norwegian, and\nthis is what we should gather from _Landn\u00b7mab\u00dbk_ quoted above (p. 231,\nnote). See _Hversu Noregr Byg\uf8ffist_, ch. 2.\n\n_Mistletoe_, the name of the sword again connects this story with that\nof Balder who is stated in _V\u02c6lusp\u00b7_, str. 32 and _Gylfaginning_, ch.\n49 to have been killed by a piece of mistletoe.\n\nV. _Dagny_, the wife of Ingj\u00dbld, who was the friend of Gr\u00ccm\nLothinkinni. See the _Saga of Gr\u00ccm Lo\uf8ffinkinni_, ch. 3.\n\n_H\u00b7logaland._ See _Hervarar Saga_, ch. 1 and note; and also the Sagas\nof _Ketil H\u00cang_ and _Gr\u00ccm Lo\uf8ffinkinni_.\n\n_Voli and Bild_, etc. At this point the writer of the saga has omitted\npart of the dialogue in which Olaf threatens to hang Hromund. Cf.\n_Gr\u00ccplur_, p. 383, str. 20, 21.\n\nVI. _Helgi_ is known elsewhere as Helgi Haddingjaskati, e.g. in the\nshort text called _Hversu Noregr Byg\uf8ffist_, ch. 2 (_Fornaldar\nS\u02c6gur_, II, p. 7). According to the prose at the end of _Helgakvi\uf8ffa\nHundingsbana_ II, Helgi Haddingjaskati and Kara were reincarnations\nof Helgi Hundingsbani and Sigr\u02d9n, the hero and heroine of this poem.\nTheir story was given in a poem called _K\u00b7rulj\u00db\uf8ff_ which is now lost.\nSee however Vigf\u02d9sson and Powell, _Corpus Poeticum Boreale_, vol. I,\npp. 129 and 130.\n\n_On the frozen surface of Lake Vener._ This story is perhaps taken\nfrom that of the battle related in _Sk\u00b7ldskaparm\u00b7l_, ch. 43 and\n_Ynglingasaga_, ch. 33. Cf. _Beowulf_, l. 2392 ff.\n\n_Kara._ For the form _Lara_ which appears in the printed editions\nsee p. 62, note, above. In the prose at the end of _Helgakvi\uf8ffa\nHundingsbana_ II, Kara is called a valkyrie.\n\nVIII. _Hagal._ The story of Hagal and Blind is given also at the\nbeginning of _Helgakvi\uf8ffa Hundingsbana_ II; but here the person\ndisguised as a grinding-maid is Helgi, the hero of the poem.\n\nX. _Who was also called Bavis_; cf. _Helgakv. Hund_. II, str. 2, where\nhe is called _Blindr enn b\u02c6lv\u00ccsi_ ('skilled in harmful doings').\n\n\nSAGA OF HERV\u00f7R AND HEITHREK\n\nI. _Finnmark_, i.e. the northernmost part of the Scandinavian\nPeninsula.\n\n_J\u02c6tunheimar_, i.e. the homes of the _j\u02c6tnar_ or giants. This name\noccurs frequently in Norse stories, though it is not elsewhere\nconnected with Finnmark.\n\n_Ymisland_, i.e. the land of _\u203amir_; see below.\n\n_Halogaland_, i.e. the northern part of Norway stretching from about\nlat. 65\u221e as far as Finnmark.\n\n_Guthmund._ Cf. the _Th\u00b7ttr of Nornagest_, ch. 1 and note.\n\n_Glasisvellir._ Cf. the _Th\u00b7ttr of Nornagest_, ch. 1, and note.\n\n_Fields of immortality_, i.e. lit. 'Fields of the not dead'\n(_\u00dbdainsakr_). Cf. the _Saga of Eir\u00cckr V\u00cc\uf8fff\u02c6rla_, ch. 1, and the\n_Saga of H\u00b7lfdan Eysteinsson_, ch. 1. See also Saxo Grammaticus, _Dan.\nHist._, p. 129.\n\n_H\u02c6fund._ The name means lit. 'Judge.'\n\n_Ymir_, i.e. the old 'Rime-giant,' the first being created out\nof Chaos, from whom the giants sprang; cf. _V\u02c6lusp\u00b7_, str. 3;\n_Vaf\u02dbr\u02d9\u02dbnism\u00b7l_, str. 21; _Gr\u00ccmnism\u00b7l_, str. 40; _Hyndlulj\u00db\uf8ff_, str.\n33; _Gylfaginning_, chs. 5-8.\n\n_Starkath Aludreng._ See _Gautreks Saga_, ch. 3, according to which\nthis Starkath is the grandfather of his more famous namesake, for\nwhom see the _Th\u00b7ttr of Nornagest_, ch. 7 and note. See also Saxo\nGrammaticus, _Dan. Hist._, pp. 224, 225.\n\n_Elivagar._ See _Vaf\u02dbr\u02d9\u02dbnism\u00b7l_, str. 31; _Gylfaginning_, ch. 5;\n_Hymiskvi\uf8ffa_, str. 5.\n\n_Alfheimar_, a name given to the region between the G\u00aftaelv and the\nRiver Glommen, in the south-east of Norway (now mainly in Sweden). The\nroyal family of this region is frequently mentioned in the history\nof Harold the Fairhaired and his father, and also in the stories of\nSigurth Hring. See the _Th\u00b7ttr of Nornagest_, ch. 7 and note.\n\n_Ey-grim Bolm_, i.e. 'Grim of the Island of Bolm.'\n\n_Arngrim._ See Saxo Grammaticus, _Dan. Hist._, p. 203 ff.\n\n_Berserk._ See _Ynglingasaga_, ch. 6.\n\nII. _Dwarfs._ Cf. the story of Sveg\uf8ffir in _Ynglingasaga_, ch. 15.\n\n_Dvalin_ is the name of a dwarf in _V\u02c6lusp\u00b7_, str. 11, 14; _H\u00b7vam\u00b7l_,\nstr. 143, and in other of the _Edda_ poems. It is, in fact, the\ntypical name for a dwarf. Cf. also _Gylfaginning_, ch. 14, and\n_Sk\u00b7ldskaparm\u00b7l_, ch. 3, 57. _Dulin_ does not occur elsewhere, though\n_Durin_ is found in _V\u02c6lusp\u00b7_, str. 10.\n\n_Standing in the doorway of the stone_, etc. Cf. _V\u02c6lusp\u00b7_, str. 48.\n\n_Your sword_, etc. Cf. _Sk\u00b7ldskaparm\u00b7l_, ch. 49. \"Now I have drawn\n_D\u00b7insleif_, which the dwarfs made and which must cause a man's death\nevery time it is drawn, and never fails in its stroke.\"\n\n_Tyrfing._ It has been suggested that this name is derived from\n_tyrfi_, 'resinous fir-tree,' owing to its flaming like resinous\nfir-wood. In early times it was customary for swords to be called by\nnames ending in _-ing_. Cf. the swords _Hrunting_ in _Beowulf_, l.\n1457, etc., _Nagling_, _ibid._, l. 2680, and _Mimming_ in _Waldhere_,\nl. 3, etc., etc.\n\n_Perms._ The text has _um Bjarmaland_ 'in the land of the Bjarmar,'\ni.e. the _Beormas_ of Ohthere's Voyage in Alfred's translation of\n_Orosius_. It is generally reached, not as here, apparently, by the\nBaltic, but by voyages round the North Cape. The name is generally\nsupposed to be connected with _Perm_, and in early times may have\ncomprehended the Zyrianians, as well as the Permians proper and the\nVotiaks. There is some evidence from place-names that this group\nof languages was once spoken as far west as the White Sea. Cf.\nAbercromby, _The Pre- and Proto-historic Finns_, p. 10 f.\n\n_Svafrlami._ The text (H) followed by the Reykjavik edition here has\nSigrlami--which can hardly be right. Rafn's ed. reads Svafrlami.\n\n_Twelve sons._ For Arngrim's Sons, Cf. _Hyndlulj\u00dbth_, str. 23, 24;\nSaxo Grammaticus, _Dan. Hist._, pp. 203-205; _Saga of \u00f7rvar Odd_, ch.\n14.\n\n_Twins._ See the _Saga of Harold the Fairhaired_ (_Heimskringla_), ch.\n18, where again we find twins both receiving the same name.\n\n_Mistletoe._ A sword of the same name occurs in the _Saga of Hromund\nGreipsson_ (see above).\n\n_Hrotti._ Cf. _Hrunting_, the sword of Hunferth in _Beowulf_, l. 1457\netc. See also the note to _Tyrfing_, p. 235.\n\nIII. _Yule_, a festival of heathen times, approximately at Christmas,\nbut rather later.\n\n_Feast_, lit. 'At the Bragi-cup.' The custom of making vows in\nconnection with these toasts was carried on into Christian times,\nan interesting example being found in the _Saga of Olaf Tryggvason_\n(_Heimskringla_), ch. 39. See also the _Saga of Haakon the Good_\n(_Heimskringla_), ch. 16; and _Helgakvi\uf8ffa Hj\u02c6rvar\uf8ffss\u00dbnar_, str. 32.\n\n_Angantyr made a vow._ In the Royal MS. (see p. 79) it is Hj\u02c6rvarth\nwho makes the vow and subsequently claims the bride.\n\n_Yngvi_ is the family name of the early Swedish kings. Collectively\nthe early Swedish royal family were called _Ynglingar_. Cf.\n_Ynglingasaga_, ch. 20.\n\n_Never did he_, etc. Compare what is said of H\u02c6gni's sword in\n_Sk\u00b7ldskaparm\u00b7l_, ch. 49.\n\n_Sams\u00af._ The fight at Sams\u00af is described in another MS. of this saga\n(which is translated in the appendix to Part I, p. 145 ff. above and\nwhich contains also the _Death-song of Hjalmar_), as well as in the\n_Saga of \u00f7rvar Odd_, ch. 14, and in Saxo Grammaticus, _Dan. Hist._,\np. 205. The Island of Sams\u00af is situated half way between Jutland and\nSj\u00calland.\n\nIV. _Exposing the child_, etc. For the custom of exposing infants,\nespecially girls, at birth, so as to cause their death, see the _Saga\nof Gunnlaug Ormstungu_, ch. 3, the _Saga of Finnbogi Rammi_, etc. A\nsimilar custom prevailed in Ancient Greece. Cf. Plato, _Rep._ v, 461;\nAristophanes, _Clouds_, l. 530 f.\n\n_Sprinkled with water._ Sprinkling a child with water when a name was\ngiven to it appears to have been customary in heathen times. Cf. the\n_Saga of Harold the Fairhaired_ (_Heimskringla_), ch. 40; the _Saga of\nHaakon the Good_, ch. 12; the _Saga of Egil Skallagrimsson_, ch. 31;\n_V\u02c6lsunga Saga_, ch. 13.\n\n_She grew up_, etc. Cf. the description of the later Herv\u02c6r in ch. 10.\n\n_Here is a poem_, etc. The poem is probably earlier than the Saga in\nits present form. Heusler (_Eddica Minora_, p. xxi) refers it to the\nearly part of the twelfth century.\n\n_I will give you my necklace_, etc. Note the discrepancy between the\npoem and the prose at this point. In the former it would seem to be\nHerv\u02c6r who offers a necklace, and this is what we should expect.\n\n_Foolish is he who comes here alone_, etc. Cf. J. M. Synge, _The Aran\nIslands_, III: \"We went up on the dun, where Michael said he had\nnever been before after nightfall, though he lives within a stone's\nthrow.... These people make no distinction between the natural and the\nsupernatural.\"\n\nV. _Ghosts_, i.e. the animated corpses of the people buried there.\n\n_Nor other kinsman._ There is a lacuna in the text of the ms. at this\npoint.\n\nVI. _Bring up the child_, etc. It was customary for men in high\nstation to send their children to be brought up and educated in the\nhouses of relatives and friends.\n\n_Reithgotaland_ is here explained as Jutland; but in ch. 9, Heithrek's\nsubjects are described as _Gotar_, i.e. Goths; and in the latter part\nof the Saga, from ch. 12 onwards, the subject is clearly a war between\nthe Goths and Huns. The earliest occurrence of the word (in the\nSwedish Inscription of R\u02c6k; cf. also _Vaf\u02dbr\u02d9\u02dbnism\u00b7l_, str. 12) gives\nnot _Reithgotaland_, but _Hraithgotaland_, which suggests that the\nname may be connected in some way with _Hrethgotan_, a name applied to\nthe Goths in Anglo-Saxon poetry.\n\nVII. _Divination._ The phrase means literally, 'The casting of bits of\nwood at the sacrifice.' Cf. Tacitus, _Germania_, ch. 10.\n\n_Every second man._ _annanhv\u00b7rn_, apparently for _annanhvern_.\n\n_Hall of the D\u00ccs._ It is not clear who the _d\u00ccs_ was, as the word is\nused rather loosely for supernatural female beings. Another reference\nto the _Hall of the D\u00ccs_ occurs in _Ynglingasaga_, ch. 33. One of the\ngoddesses (Freyja?) may be meant; or it may be the guardian spirit of\nthe family.\n\nVIII. _Land of the Saxons._ Cf. the _Th\u00b7ttr of Nornagest_, ch. 10 and\nnote.\n\n_Sifka and Hl\u02c6th._ The names here mentioned, together with _Heithrek_\nand _Angantyr_, are believed by some scholars to recur in _Widsi\u02db_, l.\n116, where we find\n\n  _Hea\uf8fforic and Sifecan, Hli\uf8ffe and Incgen\uf8ffeow_,\n\nmentioned as being among the followers of Eormenric. These names\nclearly come from Gothic tradition, but the passage would seem to\nsuggest that _Sifeca_ was a man, the Sibich of the German poems. Cf.\nChambers, _Widsith_, p. 32. For the name Lotherus in Saxo, see note to\nch. 12, p. 242.\n\n_Holmgarth_, i.e. Novgorod.\n\nIX. _Wendland_, i.e. the 'Land of the Slavs' (Anglo-Saxon\n_Weonodland_). After the expansion of the Slavs, from the fifth\ncentury onwards, this term came to denote an enormous expanse of\ncountry, including the coast of Eastern Germany, to which it\nis applied in the account of the voyage of Wulfstan in Alfred's\ntranslation of _Orosius_. In earlier times, when the Goths still\noccupied Poland and Galicia, the Slavs were restricted to the regions\neast of these countries.\n\n_His horse fell dead._ Here the point of the story seems to be missed,\nor at least not clearly expressed. According to H\u02c6fund's fifth maxim\n(see ch. 6), Heithrek was not to ride his best horse when he was in a\nhurry.\n\nX. _They had a daughter._ From our text it would appear that Herv\u02c6r\nwas the daughter of Sifka; but the end of ch. 9 is probably a late\naddition to the text. In the text printed by Rafn, Herv\u02c6r is expressly\nstated to be a daughter of Hergerth.\n\n_Ormar_ is presumably to be identified with the _Wyrmhere_ mentioned\nin _Widsi\u02db_, l. 119, in connection with the war waged by the Goths\nagainst the Huns in defence of their ancient fatherland, round the\nforest of the Vistula.\n\n_Gestumblindi._ For this curious name, cf. the _Gestiblindus Gothorum\nrex_ mentioned by Saxo Grammaticus, _Dan. Hist._, p. 198 ff.\n\n_In the King's retinue there were seven men_, etc. In the text (_a_)\nof this saga printed in Rafn's edition (_Fornaldar S\u02c6gur_, I, p.\n462), there are said to be twelve men here. This is no doubt the right\nfigure, twelve being the regular number in the judicial councils of\nthe North, whether historical or legendary. Thus, e.g. in the _Saga of\nOlaf the Holy_ (_Heimskringla_), ch. 96 we read of a council of twelve\nsages (_spekingar_), whose duty it was to advise the Swedish king,\nespecially in the administration of justice. Similar councils existed\nin the Danish settlements in England. Thus Lincoln and Stamford had\neach a council of twelve (cf. Stubbs, _Const. Hist._, I, p. 106,\nand n. 4). We may compare the twelve priests who officiated in the\nsacrifices at M\u00caren (cf. the _Saga of Olaf the Holy, Heimskr_. ch.\n115), and the story of the twelve gods who were appointed by Othin as\ntemple priests (_hof-go\uf8ffar_) to keep up the sacrifices and administer\njustice among men; cf. _Ynglingasaga_, ch. 2 (_Hyndlulj\u00db\uf8ff_, str. 30;\n_Gautrekssaga_, ch. 7). In the Irish _Lay of Magnus Barelegs_, the\nNorwegians are referred to as _Clann an d\u00b7 [.c]o[.m]airlea[.c]\nd\u00c8ag_ ('children or clan of the twelve councillors'). Cf. _Laoi[.d]\nMa[.g]nius Moir_ (_Reliques of Irish Poetry_, by Charlotte Brooke,\nDublin 1789, p. 274).\n\n_King Heithrek worshipped Frey._ One text quoted by Rafn (_Verelius_)\nhas _Freyja_ for _Frey_. The boar appears in stories relating to both\nthese deities, e.g. _Gylfaginning_, ch. 49; _Sk\u00b7ldskaparm\u00b7l_, ch. 35;\n_Hyndluli\u00db\uf8ff_, str. 5, 7.\n\nXI. _I would that I had that_, etc. On these riddles see Heusler,\n_Eddica Minora_, p. xc ff.; 'Diealtnordischen R\u2030tsel' in _Zeitschrift\ndes Vereins f\u00b8r Volkskunde_, XI, p. 117 ff.; Tupper, _Modern Language\nNotes_, 18, p. 103; _The Riddles of the Exeter Book_, p. lii, etc. In\nthe original the riddles are all in verse, while the King's answers,\nexcept the refrain with which they begin (\"Your riddle is a good one,\"\netc.) are in prose.\n\n_You went over a bridge_, etc. The metrical text given by Rafn\n(_Fornaldar S\u02c6gur_, I, p. 466), has: \"A bird flew above thee, a fish\nswam beneath thee, thou did'st go over a bridge.\" The prose text given\non the same page has: \"Thou did'st go over a bridge, and the course of\nthe river was beneath thee, but birds were flying over thy head and on\nboth sides of thee, and that was their road.\"\n\n_Delling's doorway._ Delling (perhaps from an obsolete word _dallr_,\n'bright, shining') is mentioned in _Vaf\u02dbr\u02d9\u02dbnism\u00b7l_, str. 25, as\nthe 'father of Day.' Possibly he may originally have been a\npersonification of day itself. The expression \"before Delling's\ndoorway\" occurs also in _H\u00b7vam\u00b7l_, str. 160, where it has been\nthought to mean 'at sunrise.' See also the genealogy in _Hversu\nNoregr Byg\uf8ffist_, ch. I (_Fornaldar S\u02c6gur_, II, p. 6), where a certain\nSvanhild is said to be the daughter of Day, the son of Delling, and\nof S\u00dbl (i.e. the sun), the daughter of Mundilfari (cf. _Gylfaginning_,\nch. II).\n\n_Wolves are always struggling for it._ See _Gylfaginning_, ch. 12\n(from _Gr\u00ccmnism\u00b7l_, str. 39).\n\n_He who made it_, etc. I have followed Heusler's reading and read _er_\nfor _ker_ and _\u02db\u00db_ or _sj\u00b7_ for _\u02db\u00b7_.\n\n_Laying their eggs._ For _verja_ read _verpa_.\n\n_Have no husbands._ For _eigu_, read _eigut_, as on p. 121.\n\n_Game of chess._ The text has _hneftafl_, i.e. a game having certain\nfeatures in common with chess which was played in Iceland till the\nintroduction of the latter, probably in the thirteenth century.\nGame-pieces have been discovered in Iceland which were probably used\nfor this game. Some are plain and hemispherical in shape, others are\nshaped with a man's head or a dog's head. For a full and interesting\ndescription of _hneftafl_ see H. J. R. Murray, _A History of Chess_,\nOxford, 1913, Appendix I, 'Chess in Iceland,' pp. 443-446.\n\n_\u2206gis meyjar._ \u2206gir or Hl\u00c8r, the husband of Rann, is a personification\nof the sea; but the kennings '\u2206gir's daughters,' '\u2206gir's steed,' etc.\nfor 'billows' are common in poetry. See _Helgakvi\uf8ffa Hundingsbana_ II,\nstr. 29, and _Bragar-r\u00ca\uf8ffur_, ch. 55 (included in Brodeur's translation\nof the _Prose Edda_ as _Sk\u00b7ldskaparm\u00b7l_, ch. I).\n\n_Reefs._ For _brimserkum_, read _brimskerjum_.\n\n_Ocean-path._ For _brim-rei\uf8ffar_, read _brim-lei\uf8ffar_. The passage is\npossibly corrupt.\n\n_That is the hunn._ This stanza is difficult to interpret as we have\nno clear information as to the character of the game. It would seem\nthat like the game of the Welsh _tawlbwrdd_, it was played between\nsides composed, the one of sixteen 'fair' (white) men, the other of a\nKing (called _hnefa_ or _hunn_) and eight 'dark' (black) men. Cf.\nnote to _Game of Chess_ above. See also Murray, _A History of Chess_,\nOxford 1913, Appendix I, 'Chess in Iceland,' pp. 443-446.\n\n_Four walking_, etc. This riddle is found in a form almost identical\nwith our text in Jakobsen's _Dialect and Place Names of Shetland_\n(Lerwick, 1897), p. 53. The 'sow' is also found in the _Exeter\nBook_, while 'the waves,' 'the anchor' and 'hailstones' have certain\naffinities with the AS. riddles.\n\n_King Itrek's Game._ The reference here seems to be to a game\nsomething like chess. The text (R) given by Heusler in his edition\nof the _Eddica Minora_, p. 118, reads: \"That is Itrek and Andath when\nthey sit at their game.\"\n\n_Dead men_, etc. In this strophe there seems to be an elaborate play\non words. The phrase 'dead men' (_dau\uf8ffar menn_) seems to be a disguise\nfor _val_ which means 'the slain' as well as 'hawk.' So also 'channel\nof blood' seems to be a disguise for _\u00ca\uf8ffi_ which means 'vein' as well\nas 'eider-duck.'\n\n_Sleipnir._ Othin's eight-footed horse. Cf. especially _Gylfaginning_,\nch. 42.\n\n_Tell me lastly_, etc. In _Vaf\u02dbr\u02d9\u02dbnism\u00b7l_, str. 54, Othin makes\nhimself known to Vaf\u02dbr\u02d9\u02dbnir by the same question.\n\nXII. _This pike_, etc. This verse is generally supposed to come from a\nlost poem on Heithrek.\n\n_Mountains of Harvathi._ It is thought that _Harvathi_ may be the\nearly Teutonic name for the Carpathians--a reminiscence of Gothic\ntimes.\n\n_Humli and Hl\u02c6th._ These names may be compared with _Humblus_ and\n_Lotherus_, two sons of Dan, the first kings mentioned in Saxo\nGrammaticus, _Dan. Hist._, p. 1. For the name _Hl\u02c6\uf8ff_ cf. also note to\nch. 7, p. 238.\n\n_Poem._ For this poem on the battle between the Goths and the Huns,\nsee Heusler, _Eddica Minora_, p. vii ff., and notes. In part at least\nit appears to be very old.\n\n_Myrkvith._ The forest _Myrkvith_ is mentioned also in _Atlakvi\uf8ffa_,\nstr. 3, 5, and 13; and in _Helgakvi\uf8ffa Hundingsbana_, I, str. 53.\n\n_Pillar_, lit. 'stone.' I do not know what is meant. Possibly\n_Gu\uf8ffr\u02d9narkvi\uf8ffa_ III, str. 3 may be compared.\n\n_Danaper's Shore._ _Danpr_ is treated as a personal name in\n_R\u00ccgs\u02dbula_, str. 49, but it is more likely to have been originally\nthe name of the River Dnieper (mentioned by Jordanes, _The Origins and\nDeeds of the Goths_, ch. 5, 52, as _Danaper_), which was within the\nterritories of the Goths in the fourth century.\n\nXIII. _Gizur._ There appear to be reminiscences of this story in Saxo,\nBook V, e.g. in regard to the numbering of the Hunnish forces. _Gizur_\nseems to correspond to Eric in Saxo p. 190 f. It has been suggested\nthat he is Othin in disguise.\n\n_Hazle stakes._ Cf. the _Th\u00b7ttr of Nornagest_, ch. 7 (note).\n\nXIV. _They rode forthwith ... against the Huns._ It has been suggested\nby Heinzel that this battle between the Goths and the Huns was the\ngreat battle fought on the Catalaunian Plain in 451 A.D.; but the\npassage in _Widsi\uf8ff_ cited on p. 238 points rather to Poland.\n\n_Drew ... lips_, lit. 'drew back his moustache.'\n\n_Dunheith_ and the other place names are unknown.\n\nXV. _The Goths were defending_, etc. Cf. _Widsi\u02db_, l. 121 ff.\n\nXVI. _Ivar Vithfathmi._ For Ivar Vithfathmi and his family, see\n_Ynglingasaga_, chs. 44, 45, and the first fragment of _Skj\u02c6ldunga\nSaga_ (printed in the _Fornaldar S\u02c6gur_, I, p. 285 ff.), chs. 1-3.\n\n_Harold Hildit\u02c6nn._ The fullest account of Harold Hildit\u02c6nn is that\ngiven by Saxo Grammaticus, _Dan. Hist._, p. 296 ff. See also the\nfragments of the _Skj\u02c6ldunga Saga_, ch. 4 ff.\n\n_Gautland_, i.e. the Land of the _Geatas_ in _Beowulf_, the modern\nG\u02c6taland (whether Vesterg\u02c6tland or \u00f7sterg\u02c6tland or both), comprising\nroughly speaking the southern portions of Sweden, exclusive of the\nDanish districts (Skaane etc).\n\n_Harold of the Red Moustache._ He was King of Agthir. A daughter of\nhis, also called \u00a1sa, was married to Guthr\u02c6th, King of Vestfold--the\n_Godefridus_ who fought against Charlemagne and died in 810. See\n_Ynglingasaga_, ch. 53. Their son was H\u00b7lfdan the Black, the father of\nHarold the Fairhaired.\n\n_Sigurth Hring._ See the _Th\u00b7ttr of Nornagest_, ch. 7 and note.\n\n_Battle of Br\u00b7v\u02c6ll._ The chief accounts of this battle are to be found\nin the second fragment of the _Skj\u02c6ldunga Saga_, ch. 8 f. (see above);\nand in Saxo Grammaticus, _Dan. Hist._, pp. 309 ff.\n\n_The Sons of King Ragnar._ For Ragnar Lothbr\u00dbk and his sons, see the\n_Th\u00b7ttr of Nornagest_, ch. 9 and note.\n\n_A sea-king._ Cf. the _Saga of Olaf the Holy (Heimskringla)_, ch. 4.\n\n_The Sons of Eric Bj\u02c6rnson were \u00f7nund and Bj\u02c6rn._ These are probably\nto be identified with the Swedish kings Bern and Anoundus mentioned\nin Rembertus' _Life of St. Ansgar_, chs. 11 and 19, in connection with\nthe saint's missionary visits to Sweden (_c._ 830).\n\n_Bragi Skald_ was the great grandfather of Arinbj\u02c6rn the friend of\nEgil Skallagr\u00ccmsson. In the _Saga of Egil Skallagr\u00ccmsson_, ch. 59,\nhe is said to have saved his life by composing in one night a poem\nin honour of King Bj\u02c6rn. Some fragments of his poems have been\npreserved--the earliest datable Norse poems which have come down to\nus.\n\n_King Harold the Fairhaired._ See the _Th\u00b7ttr of Nornagest_, ch. 10,\nand note.\n\n_Eric the Victorious._ The battle won by Eric the Victorious over\nStyrbj\u02c6rn at Fyrisvellir seems to have taken place between 980\nand 985. Several Runic inscriptions contain references to it. The\nstatement that Harold the Fairhaired died in Eric's time can hardly be\ncorrect; for Harold is believed to have died in 933.\n\n_Fyrisvellir_, on the banks of the Fyris\u00c2, close to the site of the\nmodern town of Upsala.\n\n_Olaf the Swede._ The traditional date of his conversion is 1008.\n\n_Olaf the Saint_, ex-King of Norway, whence he had been expelled in\n1028, was killed at the Battle of Stiklestad in 1030 in an attempt to\nrecover the throne.\n\n_He tried to put an end to_, etc. An interesting account of the\nheathen ceremonies of the Swedes, dating from shortly after the middle\nof the eleventh century, is given by Adam of Bremen in his _History of\nthe Church of Hamburg_, Book IV., ch. 26 f.\n\n_The sacred tree._ The sacrificial tree in question is presumably that\nmentioned in schol. 134 to Adam of Bremen as standing beside the great\ntemple of Upsala.\n\n_Eymund_, _c._ 1050-_c._ 1060.\n\n_Steinkel_, 1060-1066.\n\n_Haakon the Red_, 1066-1079?\n\n_Ingi I_, d. _c._ 1110. He, Hallstein and Bl\u00dbtsvein were all reigning\nin 1081.\n\n_Philippus_, d. 1118.\n\n_Ingi II_, d. 1125.\n\n\nGRIPLUR I\n\n10. _Gnoth-\u00a1smund_, etc. For notes on people mentioned in the\n_Gr\u00ccplur_, see notes to the _Saga of Hromund Greipsson_, p. 231 ff.\nabove.\n\n13. _Draupnir's beautiful blood_, a _kenning_ for 'gold rings.'\nDraupnir was the name of Othin's ring which was made by the smith\nEitri and sent to Othin by his brother Brokk. Its special value lay in\nthe fact that every ninth night, eight gold rings dropped from it. Cf.\n_Sk\u00b7ldskaparm\u00b7l_, ch. 35. Cf. also _V\u02c6lusp\u00b7_, str. 15, where Draupnir\nis mentioned in the list of dwarfs.\n\n\nTHE FAROESE BALLAD OF NORNAGEST\n\n_Refrain._ According to Lyngbye the refrain should be:\n\n  _You dare not give counsel in trouble_, etc.\n\nOthers have it\n\n  _Let them have help in trouble._\n\nSchr\u00after took down the first two verses as follows:\n\n  A ballad there is of Nornagest,--\n      _You dare not give counsel in trouble_--\n  In manly virtues among the best.--\n      _Let every lad do so!_\n  Twelve oxen were led to the Market Square,\n  And onward thence to a castle fair.--\n      _Grani bore gold from the heath._\n\n  The King he thought to hew them to earth,--\n      _You dare not give counsel in trouble_--\n  With courage and joy does he sally forth,--\n      _Let every lad do so!_\n  The King he struck such a mighty blow,\n  That the blood from the wounds did swiftly flow.\n      _Grani bore gold from the heath._\n\n10. _The mightiest champion_, etc. In Lyngbye's version 10 and 11 are\ntransposed. Hammershaimb's is no doubt the correct order.\n\n15. _Was H\u02c6gni_, etc. Lyngbye here inserts a stanza:\n\n  H\u02c6gni was a mighty man:\n  Swarthy of hue was he as I ween.\n\n16. _Rich, brave_, etc. The Suder\u00af version of the ballad here\nsubstitutes at the beginning of the line: \"They were old and grey.\"\n\n31. _The saddle-buckle_, etc. In Lyngbye's version of the _Ballad\nof Regin the Smith_, v. 131 (omitted by Hammershaimb) the following\nstanza is found:\n\n  [Grani] sprang across the pool\n    And his saddle-buckle brake.\n  And as I ween that saddle-buckle\n    Nornagest did take.\n\nIn the _Ballad of Regin the Smith_ we are told that the accident to\nGrani occurred when Sigurth was on his way home from Gn\u00cctahei\uf8ff after\nslaying Fafnir. Grani was heavily laden with treasure and Sigurth\nalso was mounted on him, so that the accident there appears perfectly\nnatural.\n\n_In days_, etc. So Hammershaimb. Lyngbye has:\n\n  In days gone by full far have I strayed\n  In search of my candle and span of days.\n\n_In the land._ Here Lyngbye has:\n\n  In the Land of the Franks is a lake broad and wide:\n  O there does my span of life abide.\n\n  O there does my span of life abide:\n  And so for long I have wandered far and wide.\n\nBut he adds a version corresponding to Hammershaimb's in a footnote\nand states that it is frequently sung so.\n\n42. _The courteous man._ According to Lyngbye, by a 'courteous man,'\nthe Faroese mean a _Scotsman_ and says that the origin of the word\n(_kurtis_) is unknown. It is of course the same as the Icelandic\n_kurteis_ which is a French loan-word.\n\nAccording to Lyngbye it was still part of popular Faroese legend in\nhis day that Nornagest kept his candle in a little leaden casket which\nwas sunk in a lake. Lyngbye says that Nornagest was regarded as the\n'Nestor' of the Faroes, which is quite in accordance both with his\n\"three hundred years\" mentioned in the saga, and with the unusually\nlong span of life often associated with the External Soul of folklore.\n\n\nTHE BALLAD OF HJALMAR AND ANGANTYR\n\n1. _In a high oak-tree._ In the version of this ballad obtained by\nHammershaimb at Sumb\u00af the first line runs 'A man there lived on (lit.\n'in') an island high,' whereas in the _Ballad of Arngrim's Sons_,\nv. 3, we are told that Arngrim and his sons lived 'under' an oak.\nPossibly the first line of our text is a confusion of these two\nversions. The error is made more comprehensible by the fact that\nthere are no trees on the Faroes, and so the phrase must have been a\nmeaningless jingle of words to the singers.\n\n_Arngrim's sons from Africa._ The text has 'Arngrim's sons from\nBl\u00b7land,' by which the Faroese ballads and the _Fornaldar S\u02c6gur_\ngenerally mean Africa. Here, however, we should more naturally have\nexpected 'Norway,' and it is very probable that, as Hammershaimb\nsuggests, we here have the refrain in a corrupt form as so often\nhappens. Probably 'from Bl\u00b7land' (_af Bl\u00b7landum_) should be 'from\nB\u00dblmland' (af _B\u00dblmlandi_), i.e. from the Island of B\u00dblm, but the\nFaroese may have substituted the more familiar name for that of the\nisland with which they were unacquainted.\n\n2. _The champions Hjalmar_, etc. The Sumb\u00af version has:\n\n  He has eleven sons so dear;\n  The twelfth is the warrior Angantyr,\nand also inserts immediately following a verse giving reasons for the\nvoyage:\n\n  News then came to Angantyr\n  That a man there was had a daughter fair.\n\n4. _They hoisted their sail_, etc. Cf. _Sigmundar Kv\u00ca\uf8ffi_, str. 13, 28,\n48.\n\n5. _Their anchor they cast_, etc. Cf. _Magna Dans_ (_Icelandic\nFornkv\u00ca\uf8ffi_) v. 3, with which this is practically identical.\n\n6. _Angantyr eagerly_, etc. The lit. transl. of the text is 'Angantyr\nwas the first to step,' etc.; but the following v. has 'Hjalmar was\nthe first to step!' The Sumb\u00af version, which is undoubtedly better\nhere, has\n\n  _Angantyr loypur so tungliga \u00b7 land_\n  Angantyr leapt so heavily to land,\n\ninstead of\n\n  _Fyrstur steig Angant\u02ddr f\u00dbtum \u00b7 land_\n  Angantyr was the first to step with his feet to land.\n\n10. _Here sittest thou_, etc. In the Sumb\u00af version, Hjalmar's request\nis not recorded. The repetition of Angantyr's request in our text, if\nit has any significance at all, implies that both Hjalmar and Angantyr\nmade the proposal.\n\n18. _O franklin, lend me_, etc. The Sumb\u00af version here inserts an\nadditional verse.\n\n  Angantyr is so vile a troll,\n  So are his kinsfolk and followers all.\n\n19. _Forth of the hall._ In the Sumb\u00af version the fight took place\noutside the hall, and only Angantyr is credited with the troll-like\nbellowing. Indeed one feels throughout the Sumb\u00af version a more\nclearly defined hostility to Angantyr on the part of the balladist,\nwhereas the Westmanhavn version is more detached in its attitude.\n\n\nTHE DANISH BALLAD OF ANGELFYR AND HELMER\n\n1. _Offue he dwelt in Uthiss-kier_, so MS. A. MS. B has \"_Alff ...\nOdderskier_.\" MS. C. has \"_Ulff ... Oderskier_.\" MS. D has \"_Alff ...\nOdderski\u00car_.\" Axel Olrik, however, in the version which he prints in\n_Danske Folkeviser i Udvalg_, p. 105 f. has \"Alf ... Oddersk\u00car.\" He\nexplains (Introduction, p. 78) Alf to be 'a combination of Arngrim the\nfather of the berserks and Hjalmar's foster-brother \u00f7rvarodd.'\n\n7. _Gold shone on his hand._ The phrase is not quite clear. It may\npossibly refer to some personal ornament, but in view of the following\nline, would seem more probably to indicate that Angelfyr offered money\nto the King of Upsala.\n\n11. _He is half a troll_, So A, which is in accordance with Angelfyr's\nancestry as told in the _Saga of Herv\u02c6r and Heithrek_, ch. I. B and\nD, however, like the Faroese, have 'He is so vile a troll.' A gives\nlittle sense, considering the second half of the verse, and the whole\nbecomes a meaningless formula in all the versions in which Angantyr\nand Hjalmar are described as brothers.\n\n18. _Whom he himself will have._ Possibly _han_, 'he,' is a misprint\nfor _h\u00dbn_, 'she,' which is what we should expect. Cf. the _Saga of\nHerv\u02c6r and Heithrek_, ch. 3. One hardly expects a cynical touch like\nthis in an authentic ballad. But the whole of the latter part of B may\nbe a later version than the original.\n\n\nTHE FAROESE BALLAD OF ARNGRIM'S SONS\n\n_Refrain._ I have adopted the refrain given in Hammershaimb's version\nof the Ballad, taken down on Sand\u00af in 1848 and published in the\n_Antiq. T\u00ccdss._, 1849-1851, rather than Svabo's version which he\nafterwards adopted, but which is very obscure and possibly corrupt.\n\n2. _Bjarnaland_, so sing the Faroese according to both Svabo and\nHammershaimb. By _Bjarnaland_ they mean Norway. Contrast, however,\nthe _Saga of Herv\u02c6r and Heithrek_, ch. 2, where we are distinctly told\nthat Angantyr's mother was Eyfura who had been carried off by Arngrim\nfrom _Bjarmaland_ (i.e. the land of the Perms) where her father was\nking. See also the note on this passage. The Faroese have no doubt\nconfused the unfamiliar name with one more familiar to themselves.\n\n3. _Beneath oak trees live they_--a common ballad formula with no real\nsignificance. It is interesting, however, as a touch indicating the\nliterary origin of this and other stories told in the Faroese ballads.\nAs has been remarked (see p. 247 above) there are no trees on the\nFaroes. On the other hand farm houses in Scandinavian lands stand\nfrequently beneath the shadow of a large oak. For a discussion of this\nsubject, see Chadwick, _Cult of Othin_ (Cambridge, 1899), p. 72 ff.\nCompare the Scottish Ballad of _Rose the Red and White Lily_, v. 38:\n\n  Then out and spak' the King again,\n    Says, \"Bonny boy, tell to me\n  Who lives into yon bigly bow'r,\n    Stands by yon green oak-tree?\"\n\n4. _Arngrim and the Earl's lady_, etc. So Svabo. In Hammershaimb's\nversion (_Antiq. T\u00ccdss._ 1849-1851) she is described as the daughter\nof Angantyr.\n\n7. _Better than fighting_, etc. The incident of a _boy_ playing too\nroughly with his companions and being told by them to go and avenge\nhis father instead of maltreating them is very widespread. Prof. Ker\nnotes its occurrence (_On the History of the Ballads_ 1100-1500,\np. 194) in the Irish Romance of Maelduin, in four Norwegian, five\nFaroese, two or three Danish ballads, in a Literary History of the\nArabs and in New Guinea.\n\n8. _Water she cast_, etc. The passage is obscure. It is not clear\nif Hervik had actually been fighting with the 'lads,' so that the\ncleansing of her armour was an actual necessity; or if she had only\nbeen playing rather roughly. _Leika_ can mean both 'to play' and\n'to fight'; and _leikv\u02c6llr_ may mean both a 'playground' and a\n'battlefield.' If Hervik had only been playing, the throwing of the\nwater on the armour was possibly a rite performed before undertaking\nvengeance.\n\n9. _Die on straw._ To 'die on straw' is the regular idiom in Faroese\nand Icelandic for to 'die in one's bed,' of old age or sickness, as\nopposed to death by the sword.\n\n10. _Isan's Grove._ Hammershaimb suggests that by _Isan's Land_ here\nand in vv. 20 and 21 below the Faroese mean _Sams\u00af_. On the other hand\nthere was a forest in Holstein in ancient times called _Isarnho_,\nand some such name may possibly be preserved here. There was a King\n_Isung_ mentioned in the Danish Ballad _De vare syv og syvsindstyve_,\nas an opponent of King _Didrik_; but it is improbable that his land is\nhere indicated.\n\n13. _She drew a shirt from out the chest_, etc.--a common ballad\nmotif. A verse almost identical with this is to be found in the _Kv\u00ca\uf8ffi\nof Regin the Smith_, v. 47.\n\n14. _Up then rose Hervik_, etc. vv. 14, 15, 16 and 20 are identical\nwith vv. 12-16 (inclusive) of _Olufu Kv\u00ca\uf8ffi_, the only change being\nthat 'Hugin the King' takes the place of 'Hervik the Earl's\ndaughter.' They are practically identical too with the _Kv\u00ca\uf8ffi of the\nJ\u00dbmsv\u00cckingar_, vv. 6-8 (inclusive). Cf. also _Sjur\uf8ffar Kv\u00ca\uf8ffi_ (III\n_H\u02c6gna T\u00b7ttur_, vv. 46-49), and _Ragnarlikkja_, vv. 40-48.\n\n20. _Striped gold on a scarlet ground._ The text has _Gull vi\uf8ff rey\uf8ffan\nbrand_, which is probably a mishearing of the line _Gull vi\uf8ff rey\uf8ffan\nrand_ ('with a gold stripe on a red ground'). Verse 39 of _Br\u02d9saj\u02c6kils\nKv\u00ca\uf8ffi_ (which is otherwise identical with the above) gives in the\nsecond line _Gull vi\uf8ff r\u00b7um brann_ ('gold blazed on the yardarms'). In\nHammershaimb's version of our ballad, vv. 10, 72, the line is _Gulli\nvovin vi\uf8ff rand_ ('woven with gold in stripes'), as also in v. 22 of\nthe _Kv\u00ca\uf8ffi of Ormar Torolvsson_. The line also occurs in the form\n_Gull vi\uf8ff v\u00b7gum rann_ ('the margin of the ship was gold down to where\nit touched the waves'). This is no doubt corrupt, but it is difficult\nto conjecture as to which of all the variants was the original form of\nthe line.\n\n23. _Cast she down her anchor_, etc. vv. 23, 24 are the almost\ninvariable formula for the landing in the Faroese ballads. They are\npractically identical with v. 46 of _Olufu Kv\u00ca\uf8ffi_ and vv. 24, 25 of\nthe _Kv\u00ca\uf8ffi of Ormar Torolvsson_. Cf. also _Sigmundar Kv\u00ca\uf8ffi_, v. 32;\n_Br\u02d9saj\u02c6kils Kv\u00ca\uf8ffi_, v. 41 and the _Kv\u00ca\uf8ffi of Alvur Kongur_, vv. 24-26\nand _Sjur\uf8ffar Kv\u00ca\uf8ffi_ (_H\u02c6gna T\u00b7ttur_, vv. 71-73).\n\n25. _Herd and fee._ Either the word _j\u00cage_ or the word _f\u00ca_ seems to\nhave an unusual sense here.\n\n28. _Though quake now fell and fold._ The original (_kyk gekk j\u02c6r\uf8ff \u00b7\nfold_) is not clear. I have merely adopted Grundtvig's translation of\nHammershaimb's early text in the _Antiq. T\u00ccdss_. 1849-1851. The 1855\ned. substitutes _hon_ for _j\u02c6r\uf8ff_ which is better.\n\n35. _All in the middle_, etc. There is obviously a lacuna or\ntransference of some kind here. For this and the following verses,\ncf. _Olufu Kv\u00ca\uf8ffi_, vv. 26, 27, which are identical except the names.\nIndeed it is a common formula in the Faroese and Danish Ballads, and\noccurs in the _Kv\u00ca\uf8ffi of Ormar Torolvsson_, v. 26; and the _Kv\u00ca\uf8ffi of\nAlvur Kongur_, v. 33.\n\n36. _A hundred men and five_--a stock number in the Faroese ballads.\nCf. the _Kv\u00ca\uf8ffi of Ormar Torolvsson_, v. 27, where we are also told\nthat the King sat at the board 'with a hundred men and five.' Cf. also\n_Olufu Kv\u00ca\uf8ffi_, v. 27.\n\n37. _Mead or wine_, etc. Cf. _Sjur\uf8ffar Kv\u00ca\uf8ffi_ (III, _H\u02c6gna T\u00b7ttur_, v.\n181).\n\n52. Perhaps we should here again assume a lacuna or transposition.\n\n_Uppland_ is the old name for the modern province of Upsala in Sweden.\n\n60. _Her cheeks they are as red and white_, etc. Cf. the _Kv\u00ca\uf8ffi of\nFinnur hin Fr\u00cc\uf8ffi_, v. 18. Cf. also the old Celtic romance of the _Fate\nof the Sons of Usna_: \"I should like,\" said Deirdre, \"that he who is\nto be my husband should have these three colours: his hair as black\nas the raven: his cheeks red as the blood: his skin like the snow\"\n(Joyce's translation). Cf. also Grimm's story of _Little Snowdrop_.\n\n68. _Forth then when his frigate_, etc. vv. 68-84 are found in almost\nidentical form in _Olufu Kv\u00ca\uf8ffi_, vv. 22-35.\n\n69. _Angantyr was the first to light_, etc. A common ballad formula,\nboth Faroese and Danish.\n\n88. _I would not that lady Ingibj\u02c6rg hear_, etc. Lit. \"the lady\nIngibj\u02c6rg will learn that I fled.\" There is a suppressed condition.\n\"If I let you fight, the lady Ingibj\u02c6rg would learn, etc.\"\nHammershaimb's text (_Antiq. T\u00ccdss._) v. 37, has a negative and no\ncondition: \"The lady Ingibj\u02c6rg shall not learn,\" etc.\n\n97. _O Hjalmar, give me now a drink._ This incident appears to be\ntaken from _Gunnlaugs Saga_, ch. 12.\n\n\nTHE FAROESE GATU RIMA\n\n9. _Thunder is the red drum._ Probably _rey\uf8ffa_ ('red') is a printer's\nerror for _rei\uf8ffa_ ('angry'), though the same form occurs also in the\nversion of the ballad published in the _Antiquarisk T\u00ccdsskrift_. In\nv. 16, however, we find _skari\uf8ff_ whereas in v. 17 the word is written\n_skar\uf8ffi\uf8ff_, the form used in both verses in _Antiq. T\u00ccdss._, and the\ntwo words are obviously identical in both verses. Moreover in v. 21\n_einir_ ('own,' 'single') which gives little sense, is surely an error\nfor _eingir_ ('no,' adj.) as in vv. 11, 17, 19. The negative is also\nfound in v. 21 in the version in the _Antiq. T\u00ccdss._, in the form\n_ei_, 'they have _not_ fathers or mothers.' Indeed the entire ballad\nwould seem to be somewhat carelessly printed in _F\u00car\u02c6iske Kv\u00ca\uf8ffer_.\n\n\nHILDINA\n\n5. _St Magnus_, Earl of Orkney, 1108 to 1116. A cathedral was built at\nKirkwall in his honour by one of his successors, Earl Ronald.\n\n\n\n\nEDITIONS OF TEXTS USED FOR TRANSLATIONS\n\n\nPART I\n\n    _Fornaldar S\u02c6gur Nor\uf8ffrlanda_, ed. by C. C. Rafn, published at\n    Copenhagen, 1829.\n\n    _Fornaldar S\u02c6gur Nor\uf8ffrlanda_, ed. by Valdimar \u00a1smundarson,\n    published by Sigur\uf8ffur Kristj\u00b7nsson, Reykjav\u00cck, 1891-1911.\n\n    _Die Prosaische Edda im Auszuge nebst V\u02c6lsungasaga und\n    Nornageststh\u00b7ttr_, ed. with introduction and glossary by Ernst\n    Wilken, Paderborn, 1877. 2nd ed., 1912.\n\n    _Sagaen om Hervar ok Kong Hei\uf8ffrek_, ed. by N. N. Petersen\n    and published (together with a Danish translation by G.\n    Thorarensen), by the Norse Literature Society, Copenhagen,\n    1847.\n\n\nPART II\n\n    _F\u00car\u02c6iske Kv\u00ca\uf8ffer henh\u00afrende til Hervarar Saga_, published by\n    V. U. Hammershaimb in the _Antiquarisk T\u00ccdsskrift_, 1849-1851,\n    Copenhagen, 1852.\n\n    _F\u00car\u02c6iske Kv\u00ca\uf8ffer_, published by V. U. Hammershaimb at\n    Copenhagen, Part I, 1851; Part II, 1855.\n\n    _Danmarks Gamle Folkeviser_, Vol. I, collected and edited by\n    Svend Grundtvig, 1853.\n\n    _Gr\u00ccplur_, published in _R\u00ccmnasafn_, edited by Finnur J\u00dbnsson,\n    Copenhagen, 1905-1912, p. 351 ff.\n\n\n\n\nNOTE: TRANSLATIONS\n\n\nThe following is a list of English translations of works referred\nto in the notes of the present volume. It is not in the nature of a\nbibliography; but for the convenience of English readers, reference\nhas been given, whenever English translations are accessible, to the\ntranslations in preference to the original work.\n\n    _Corpus Poeticum Boreale_, 'The Poetry of the Old Northern\n    Tongue from the earliest times to the Thirteenth Century,' 2\n    Vols., Vigf\u02d9sson and Powell, Oxford, 1883.\n\n    _Five Pieces of Runic Poetry_, including _Herv\u02c6r and\n    Angantyr_, translated into prose by Bishop Percy, 1763.\n\n    _Hickes's Thesaurus_, including _Herv\u02c6r and Angantyr_,\n    translated into prose, Oxford, 1705.\n\n    _The Elder or Poetic Edda_, Part I, _The Mythological Poems_,\n    translated and edited by Olive Bray; printed for the Viking\n    Club, 1908.\n\n    _The Edda of S\u00camund_, translated by B. Thorpe, published by\n    Tr\u00b8bner and Co., London, 1866.\n\n    _The Prose Edda_, translated by A. G. Brodeur, New York, 1916.\n\n    Saxo Grammaticus, _Danish History_, Books I-IX, translated\n    from the Latin by Professor Elton; published by D. Nutt,\n    1894 (the numbers in the notes refer to the pages of the\n    translation, and not to the original Latin).\n\n    _The Heimskringla_, translated by W. Morris and E. Magn\u02d9sson;\n    published by B. Quaritch in _The Saga Library_, 1889.\n\n    _The Saga of King Olaf Tryggwason_, translated by J. Sephton\n    and published by D. Nutt in _The Northern Library_, London\n    1895 (different from _The Story of Olaf Tryggvison_ contained\n    in the _Heimskringla_).\n\n    _Islands Landn\u00b7mab\u00dbk_--'The Book of the Settlement of\n    Iceland,' translated by T. Ellwood and published at Kendal,\n    1898.\n\n    _The Story of Egill Skallagr\u00ccmsson_, translated by W. C.\n    Green, published by Elliot Stock, 1893.\n\n    _Grettissaga--The Story of Grettir the Strong_, translated by\n    E. Magn\u02d9sson and W. Morris, published by Longmans, Green and\n    Co. (new edition), 1900. Also translated by G. A. Hight in\n    Dent's _Everyman_ Series.\n\n    _Brennu Nj\u00b7lssaga--The Story of Burnt Njal_, translated by G.\n    W. Dasent; published by Edmonston and Douglas, Edinburgh 1861;\n    republished by Dent in the _Everyman_ Series.\n\n    _Three Northern Love Stories and other tales_, translated by\n    E. Magn\u02d9sson and W. Morris. 2nd ed. 1901.\n\n    _V\u02c6lsunga Saga--The Story of Sigurth the V\u02c6lsung_, translated\n    by W. Morris and E. Magn\u02d9sson; published by the 'Walter Scott'\n    Publishing Co. Ltd., London and Felling-on-Tyne.\n\n    _The Nibelungenlied--The Lay of the Nibelung Men_, translated\n    into verse by Arthur S. Way; published at the Cambridge\n    University Press, 1911. Also _The Lay of the Nibelungs_,\n    translated into prose by Alice Horton, and edited by Edward\n    Bell; published by George Bell and Sons, London, 1898. Also\n    _The Fall of the Nibelungs_, translated by M. Armour in Dent's\n    _Everyman_ Series.\n\nA further list of English translations of sagas not referred to in\nthis book will be found in Craigie's _Icelandic Sagas_, ch. VII, p.\n110. A list of foreign translations, especially translations into the\nvarious Teutonic languages, will be found in _Islandica_, issued\nby the Cornell University Library, Vol. V, compiled by Halld\u00dbr\nHermansson, 1912, pp. 3-7 (general) and _passim_.\n\n\n\n\nCAMBRIDGE: PRINTED BY J. B. PEACE, M.A., AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\nTranscriber's Note:\n\nThroughout this book 'I' (Roman numeral 'one') has been used for '1'\n(one). In the case of 'II' and 'III' it is not always clear whether\nthe Author referred to 2, or 11 (eleven); or 3, or 111 (one hundred\nand eleven). (The number keys on some old typewriters only contained\nnumerals 2 to 9. Capital 'I' was used for '1', and capital 'O' for\nzero).\n\nPage 239: Irish Gaelic: Original had dots over the letters 'c', 'm',\n'd' and 'g'. 'c', 'm', 'd' and 'g', with dots above, are shown as\n[.c], [.m], [.d] and [.g].\n\n\"In the Irish _Lay of Magnus Barelegs_, the Norwegians are referred to\nas _Clann an d\u00b7 [.c]o[.m]airlea[.c] d\u00c8ag_ ('children or clan of the\ntwelve councillors'). Cf. _Laoi[.d] Ma[.g]nius Moir_ (_Reliques of\nIrish Poetry_, by Charlotte Brooke, Dublin 1789, p. 274).\"\n\nAccents on proper names are not necessarily consistent throughout\nthis Book.\n\n\nErrata\n\nSundry missing or damaged punctuation has been repaired.\n\nText corrections:\n\nPage 81: 'Hyndlulj[=\u00db]th' corrected to 'Hyndlulj\u00dbth' Other occurence\nin this book: 'Hyndlulj\u00dbth' (no macron); ... elsewhere: [Hyndlulj\u00db\uf8ff]\n(Wikipedia). (The 'o' had a macron (line over, indicated as [=o]) as\nwell as the acute accent).\n\nPage 180: 'bridal' corrected to 'bridle' ... \"But Sigurth pulled\nhardest the bridle rein.\"\n\nPage 240: 'wou d' corrected to 'would' - missing letter replaced: \"XI.\n_I would that I had that_, etc.\"","title":"Stories and Ballads of the Far Past: Translated from the Norse (Icelandic and Faroese) with Introductions and Notes","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":67331}