{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_73533/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_73533","id":"gutenberg_73533","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/73533","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Poetry","Edda S\u00e6mundar -- Translations into English","Eddas -- Translations into English","Mythology, Norse -- Poetry -- Translations into English","Old Norse poetry -- Translations into English"],"text":"THE\n                              POETIC EDDA\n\n                     TRANSLATED FROM THE ICELANDIC\n                     WITH AN INTRODUCTION AND NOTES\n\n\n                                   BY\n                          HENRY ADAMS BELLOWS\n\n\n                           TWO VOLUMES IN ONE\n\n\n                                NEW YORK\n                  THE AMERICAN-SCANDINAVIAN FOUNDATION\n\n                        LONDON: HUMPHREY MILFORD\n                        OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS\n\n                                  1923\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n    This series of Scandinavian Classics is published by The American-\n    Scandinavian Foundation in the belief that greater familiarity with\n    the chief literary monuments of the North will help Americans to a\n    better understanding of Scandinavians, and thus serve to stimulate\n    their sympathetic co\u00f6peration to good ends.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n                       To George Lyman Kittredge\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n                         SCANDINAVIAN CLASSICS\n                          VOLUMES XXI AND XXII\n\n                            THE POETIC EDDA\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n                      ESTABLISHED BY NIELS POULSON\n\n    THIS VOLUME IS ENDOWED IN PART BY CHARLES S. PETERSON OF CHICAGO\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS [1]\n\n\n    General Introduction                        xi\n\n    Lays of the Gods\n\n        Voluspo                                  1\n        Hovamol                                 28\n        Vafthruthnismol                         68\n        Grimnismol                              84\n        Skirnismol                             107\n        Harbarthsljoth                         121\n        Hymiskvitha                            138\n        Lokasenna                              151\n        Thrymskvitha                           174\n        Alvissmol                              183\n        Baldrs Draumar                         195\n        Rigsthula                              201\n        Hyndluljoth                            217\n        Svipdagsmol                            234\n\n    Lays of the Heroes\n\n        V\u00f6lundarkvitha                         252\n        Helgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar            269\n        Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I             290\n        Helgakvitha Hundingsbana II            309\n        Fra Dautha Sinfjotla                   332\n        Gripisspo                              337\n        Reginsmol                              356\n        Fafnismol                              370\n        Sigrdrifumol                           386\n        Brot af Sigurtharkvithu                402\n        Guthrunarkvitha I                      411\n        Sigurtharkvitha en Skamma              420\n        Helreith Brynhildar                    442\n        Drap Niflunga                          447\n        Guthrunarkvitha II, en Forna           450\n        Guthrunarkvitha III                    465\n        Oddrunargratr                          469\n        Atlakvitha en Gr\u00f6nlenzka               480\n        Atlamol en Gr\u00f6nlenzku                  499\n        Guthrunarhvot                          536\n        Hamthesmol                             545\n\n\n\n\nNOTE\n\n[1] For the phonetic spellings of the proper names see the Pronouncing\nIndex.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nACKNOWLEDGEMENT\n\n\nThe General Introduction mentions many of the scholars to whose work\nthis translation owes a special debt. Particular reference, however,\nshould here be made to the late William Henry Schofield, Professor of\nComparative Literature in Harvard University and President of The\nAmerican-Scandinavian Foundation, under whose guidance this translation\nwas begun; to Henry Goddard Leach, for many years Secretary of The\nAmerican-Scandinavian Foundation, and to William Witherle Lawrence,\nProfessor of English in Columbia University and Chairman of the\nFoundation\u2019s Committee on Publications, for their assistance with the\nmanuscript and the proofs; and to Hanna Astrup Larsen, the Foundation\u2019s\nliterary secretary, for her efficient management of the complex details\nof publication.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGENERAL INTRODUCTION\n\n\nThere is scarcely any literary work of great importance which has been\nless readily available for the general reader, or even for the serious\nstudent of literature, than the Poetic Edda. Translations have been far\nfrom numerous, and only in Germany has the complete work of translation\nbeen done in the full light of recent scholarship. In English the only\nversions were long the conspicuously inadequate one made by Thorpe, and\npublished about half a century ago, and the unsatisfactory prose\ntranslations in Vigfusson and Powell\u2019s Corpus Poeticum Boreale,\nreprinted in the Norr\u0153na collection. An excellent translation of the\npoems dealing with the gods, in verse and with critical and explanatory\nnotes, made by Olive Bray, was, however, published by the Viking Club\nof London in 1908. In French there exist only partial translations,\nchief among them being those made by Bergmann many years ago. Among the\nseven or eight German versions, those by the Brothers Grimm and by Karl\nSimrock, which had considerable historical importance because of their\ninfluence on nineteenth century German literature and art, and\nparticularly on the work of Richard Wagner, have been largely\nsuperseded by Hugo Gering\u2019s admirable translation, published in 1892,\nand by the recent two-volume rendering by Genzmer, with excellent notes\nby Andreas Heusler, 1914\u20131920. There are competent translations in both\nNorwegian and Swedish. The lack of any complete and adequately\nannotated English rendering in metrical form, based on a critical text,\nand profiting by the cumulative labors of such scholars as Mogk,\nVigfusson, Finnur Jonsson, Grundtvig, Bugge, Gislason, Hildebrand,\nL\u00fcning, Sweet, Niedner, Ettm\u00fcller, M\u00fcllenhoff, Edzardi, B. M. Olsen,\nSievers, Sijmons, Detter, Heinzel, Falk, Neckel, Heusler, and Gering,\nhas kept this extraordinary work practically out of the reach of those\nwho have had neither time nor inclination to master the intricacies of\nthe original Old Norse.\n\nOn the importance of the material contained in the Poetic Edda it is\nhere needless to dwell at any length. We have inherited the Germanic\ntraditions in our very speech, and the Poetic Edda is the original\nstorehouse of Germanic mythology. It is, indeed, in many ways the\ngreatest literary monument preserved to us out of the antiquity of the\nkindred races which we call Germanic. Moreover, it has a literary value\naltogether apart from its historical significance. The mythological\npoems include, in the Voluspo, one of the vastest conceptions of the\ncreation and ultimate destruction of the world ever crystallized in\nliterary form; in parts of the Hovamol, a collection of wise counsels\nthat can bear comparison with most of the Biblical Book of Proverbs; in\nthe Lokasenna, a comedy none the less full of vivid characterization\nbecause its humor is often broad; and in the Thrymskvitha, one of the\nfinest ballads in the world. The hero poems give us, in its oldest and\nmost vivid extant form, the story of Sigurth, Brynhild, and Atli, the\nNorse parallel to the German Nibelungenlied. The Poetic Edda is not\nonly of great interest to the student of antiquity; it is a collection\nincluding some of the most remarkable poems which have been preserved\nto us from the period before the pen and the printing-press replaced\nthe poet-singer and oral tradition. It is above all else the desire to\nmake better known the dramatic force, the vivid and often tremendous\nimagery, and the superb conceptions embodied in these poems which has\ncalled forth the present translation.\n\n\n\n\nWHAT IS THE POETIC EDDA?\n\nEven if the poems of the so-called Edda were not so significant and\nintrinsically so valuable, the long series of scholarly struggles which\nhave been going on over them for the better part of three centuries\nwould in itself give them a peculiar interest. Their history is\nstrangely mysterious. We do not know who composed them, or when or\nwhere they were composed; we are by no means sure who collected them or\nwhen he did so; finally, we are not absolutely certain as to what an\n\u201cEdda\u201d is, and the best guess at the meaning of the word renders its\napplication to this collection of poems more or less misleading.\n\nA brief review of the chief facts in the history of the Poetic Edda\nwill explain why this uncertainty has persisted. Preserved in various\nmanuscripts of the thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries is a prose\nwork consisting of a very extensive collection of mythological stories,\nan explanation of the important figures and tropes of Norse poetic\ndiction,\u2014the poetry of the Icelandic and Norwegian skalds was\nappallingly complex in this respect,\u2014and a treatise on metrics. This\nwork, clearly a handbook for poets, was commonly known as the \u201cEdda\u201d of\nSnorri Sturluson, for at the head of the copy of it in the Uppsalabok,\na manuscript written presumably some fifty or sixty years after\nSnorri\u2019s death, which was in 1241, we find: \u201cThis book is called Edda,\nwhich Snorri Sturluson composed.\u201d This work, well known as the Prose\nEdda, Snorri\u2019s Edda or the Younger Edda, has recently been made\navailable to readers of English in the admirable translation by Arthur\nG. Brodeur, published by the American-Scandinavian Foundation in 1916.\n\nIcelandic tradition, however, persisted in ascribing either this Edda\nor one resembling it to Snorri\u2019s much earlier compatriot, S\u00e6mund the\nWise (1056\u20131133). When, early in the seventeenth century, the learned\nArngrimur Jonsson proved to everyone\u2019s satisfaction that Snorri and\nnobody else must have been responsible for the work in question, the\nnext thing to determine was what, if anything, S\u00e6mund had done of the\nsame kind. The nature of Snorri\u2019s book gave a clue. In the mythological\nstories related a number of poems were quoted, and as these and other\npoems were to all appearances Snorri\u2019s chief sources of information, it\nwas assumed that S\u00e6mund must have written or compiled a verse\nEdda\u2014whatever an \u201cEdda\u201d might be\u2014on which Snorri\u2019s work was largely\nbased.\n\nSo matters stood when, in 1643, Brynjolfur Sveinsson, Bishop of\nSkalholt, discovered a manuscript, clearly written as early as 1300,\ncontaining twenty-nine poems, complete or fragmentary, and some of them\nwith the very lines and stanzas used by Snorri. Great was the joy of\nthe scholars, for here, of course, must be at least a part of the\nlong-sought Edda of S\u00e6mund the Wise. Thus the good bishop promptly\nlabeled his find, and as S\u00e6mund\u2019s Edda, the Elder Edda or the Poetic\nEdda it has been known to this day.\n\nThis precious manuscript, now in the Royal Library in Copenhagen, and\nknown as the Codex Regius (R2365), has been the basis for all published\neditions of the Eddic poems. A few poems of similar character found\nelsewhere have subsequently been added to the collection, until now\nmost editions include, as in this translation, a total of thirty-four.\nA shorter manuscript now in the Arnamagn\u00e6an collection in Copenhagen\n(AM748), contains fragmentary or complete versions of six of the poems\nin the Codex Regius, and one other, Baldrs Draumar, not found in that\ncollection. Four other poems (Rigsthula, Hyndluljoth, Grougaldr and\nFjolsvinnsmol, the last two here combined under the title of\nSvipdagsmol), from various manuscripts, so closely resemble in\nsubject-matter and style the poems in the Codex Regius that they have\nbeen included by most editors in the collection. Finally, Snorri\u2019s Edda\ncontains one complete poem, the Grottasongr, which many editors have\nadded to the poetic collection; it is, however, not included in this\ntranslation, as an admirable English version of it is available in Mr.\nBrodeur\u2019s rendering of Snorri\u2019s work.\n\nFrom all this it is evident that the Poetic Edda, as we now know it, is\nno definite and plainly limited work, but rather a more or less\nhaphazard collection of separate poems, dealing either with Norse\nmythology or with hero-cycles unrelated to the traditional history of\ngreater Scandinavia or Iceland. How many other similar poems, now lost,\nmay have existed in such collections as were current in Iceland in the\nlater twelfth and thirteenth centuries we cannot know, though it is\nevident that some poems of this type are missing. We can say only that\nthirty-four poems have been preserved, twenty-nine of them in a single\nmanuscript collection, which differ considerably in subject-matter and\nstyle from all the rest of extant Old Norse poetry, and these we group\ntogether as the Poetic Edda.\n\nBut what does the word \u201cEdda\u201d mean? Various guesses have been made. An\nearly assumption was that the word somehow meant \u201cPoetics,\u201d which\nfitted Snorri\u2019s treatise to a nicety, but which, in addition to the\nlack of philological evidence to support this interpretation, could by\nno stretch of scholarly subtlety be made appropriate to the collection\nof poems. Jacob Grimm ingeniously identified the word with the word\n\u201cedda\u201d used in one of the poems, the Rigsthula, where, rather\nconjecturally, it means \u201cgreat-grandmother.\u201d The word exists in this\nsense nowhere else in Norse literature, and Grimm\u2019s suggestion of\n\u201cTales of a Grandmother,\u201d though at one time it found wide acceptance,\nwas grotesquely inappropriate to either the prose or the verse work.\n\nAt last Eirikr Magnusson hit on what appears the likeliest solution of\nthe puzzle: that \u201cEdda\u201d is simply the genitive form of the proper name\n\u201cOddi.\u201d Oddi was a settlement in the southwest of Iceland, certainly\nthe home of Snorri Sturluson for many years, and, traditionally at\nleast, also the home of S\u00e6mund the Wise. That Snorri\u2019s work should have\nbeen called \u201cThe Book of Oddi\u201d is altogether reasonable, for such a\nmethod of naming books was common\u2014witness the \u201cBook of the Flat Island\u201d\nand other early manuscripts. That S\u00e6mund may also have written or\ncompiled another \u201cOddi-Book\u201d is perfectly possible, and that tradition\nshould have said he did so is entirely natural.\n\nIt is, however, an open question whether or not S\u00e6mund had anything to\ndo with making the collection, or any part of it, now known as the\nPoetic Edda, for of course the seventeenth-century assignment of the\nwork to him is negligible. We can say only that he may have made some\nsuch compilation, for he was a diligent student of Icelandic tradition\nand history, and was famed throughout the North for his learning. But\notherwise no trace of his works survives, and as he was educated in\nParis, it is probable that he wrote rather in Latin than in the\nvernacular.\n\nAll that is reasonably certain is that by the middle or last of the\ntwelfth century there existed in Iceland one or more written\ncollections of Old Norse mythological and heroic poems, that the Codex\nRegius, a copy made a hundred years or so later, represents at least a\nconsiderable part of one of these, and that the collection of\nthirty-four poems which we now know as the Poetic or Elder Edda is\npractically all that has come down to us of Old Norse poetry of this\ntype. Anything more is largely guesswork, and both the name of the\ncompiler and the meaning of the title \u201cEdda\u201d are conjectural.\n\n\n\n\nTHE ORIGIN OF THE EDDIC POEMS\n\nThere is even less agreement about the birthplace, authorship and date\nof the Eddic poems themselves than about the nature of the existing\ncollection. Clearly the poems were the work of many different men,\nliving in different periods; clearly, too, most of them existed in oral\ntradition for generations before they were first committed to writing.\nIn general the mythological poems are strongly heathen in character,\nand as Christianity became generally accepted throughout Norway and\nIceland early in the eleventh century, it is altogether likely that\nmost of the poems dealing with the Norse gods antedate the year 1000.\nOn the other hand, Hoffory, Finnur Jonsson and others have shown pretty\nconclusively from linguistic evidence that these poems cannot have\nassumed anything like their present form before the ninth century. As\nfor the poems belonging to the hero cycles, one or two of them appear\nto be as late as 1100, but most of them clearly belong to the hundred\nyears following 950. It is a fairly safe guess that the years between\n900 and 1050 saw the majority of the Eddic poems put into shape, but it\nmust be remembered that many changes took place during the long\nsubsequent period of oral transmission, and also that many of the\nlegends, both mythological and heroic, on which the poems were based,\ncertainly existed in Norway, and quite possibly in verse form, long\nbefore the year 900. In considering such poems it is essential to\nforget the present mode of composition, whereby a poet at once fixes\nhis thought and his style by means of writing, and to remember that for\nat least two centuries, and possibly much longer, the correct\ntransmission of many of the Eddic poems depended solely on accurate\nhearing and retentive memory.\n\nAs to the origin of the legends on which the poems are based, the whole\nquestion, at least so far as the stories of the gods are concerned, is\nmuch too complex for discussion here. How much of the actual narrative\nmaterial of the mythological lays is properly to be called Scandinavian\nis a matter for students of comparative mythology to guess at. The\ntales underlying the heroic lays are clearly of foreign origin: the\nHelgi story comes from Denmark, and that of V\u00f6lund from Germany, as\nalso the great mass of traditions centering around Sigurth (Siegfried),\nBrynhild, the sons of Gjuki, Atli (Attila), and Jormunrek (Ermanarich).\nThe introductory notes to the various poems deal with the more\nimportant of these questions of origin.\n\nOf the men who composed these poems,\u2014\u201cwrote\u201d is obviously the wrong\nword,\u2014we know absolutely nothing, save that some of them must have been\nliterary artists with a high degree of conscious skill. The Eddic poems\nare \u201cfolk-poetry,\u201d\u2014whatever that may be,\u2014only in the sense that some of\nthem strongly reflect racial feelings and beliefs; they are anything\nbut crude or primitive in workmanship, and they show that not only the\npoets themselves, but also many of their hearers, must have made a\ncareful study of the art of poetry.\n\nWhere the poems were composed is almost equally uncertain. The claims\nof Norway have been extensively advanced, but the great literary\nactivity of Iceland after the settlement of the island by Norwegian\nemigrants late in the ninth century makes the theory of an Icelandic\nsource for most of the poems plausible. The two Atli lays, with what\nauthority we do not know, bear in the Codex Regius the superscription\n\u201cthe Greenland poem,\u201d and internal evidence indicates that this\nstatement is correct. Certainly in one poem, the Rigsthula, and\nprobably in several others, there are marks of Celtic influence. During\na considerable part of the ninth and tenth centuries, Scandinavians\nwere active in Ireland and in most of the western islands inhabited by\nbranches of the Celtic race. Some scholars claim nearly all the Eddic\npoems for these \u201cWestern Isles,\u201d in sharp distinction from Iceland;\ntheir arguments are commented on in the introductory note to the\nRigsthula. However, as Iceland early came to be the true center of this\nScandinavian island world, it may be said that most of the evidence\nconcerning the birthplace of the Eddic poems in anything like their\npresent form points in that direction, and certainly it was in Iceland\nthat they were chiefly preserved.\n\n\n\n\nTHE EDDA AND OLD NORSE LITERATURE\n\nWithin the proper limits of an introduction it would be impossible to\ngive any adequate summary of the history and literature with which the\nEddic poems are indissolubly connected, but a mere mention of a few of\nthe salient facts may be of some service to those who are unfamiliar\nwith the subject. Old Norse literature covers approximately the period\nbetween 850 and 1300. During the first part of that period occurred the\ngreat wanderings of the Scandinavian peoples, and particularly the\nNorwegians. A convenient date to remember is that of the sea-fight of\nHafrsfjord, 872, when Harald the Fair-Haired broke the power of the\nindependent Norwegian nobles, and made himself overlord of nearly all\nthe country. Many of the defeated nobles fled overseas, where inviting\nrefuges had been found for them by earlier wanderers and\nplunder-seeking raiders. This was the time of the inroads of the\ndreaded Northmen in France, and in 885 Hrolf Gangr (Rollo) laid siege\nto Paris itself. Many Norwegians went to Ireland, where their\ncompatriots had already built Dublin, and where they remained in\ncontrol of most of the island till Brian Boru shattered their power at\nthe battle of Clontarf in 1014.\n\nOf all the migrations, however, the most important were those to\nIceland. Here grew up an active civilization, fostered by absolute\nindependence and by remoteness from the wars which wracked Norway, yet\nkept from degenerating into provincialism by the roving life of the\npeople, which brought them constantly in contact with the culture of\nthe South. Christianity, introduced throughout the Norse world about\nthe year 1000, brought with it the stability of learning, and the\nIcelanders became not only the makers but also the students and\nrecorders of history.\n\nThe years between 875 and 1100 were the great spontaneous period of\noral literature. Most of the military and political leaders were also\npoets, and they composed a mass of lyric poetry concerning the\nauthorship of which we know a good deal, and much of which has been\npreserved. Narrative prose also flourished, for the Icelander had a\npassion for story-telling and story-hearing. After 1100 came the day of\nthe writers. These sagamen collected the material that for generations\nhad passed from mouth to mouth, and gave it permanent form in writing.\nThe greatest bulk of what we now have of Old Norse literature,\u2014and the\npublished part of it makes a formidable library,\u2014originated thus in the\nearlier period before the introduction of writing, and was put into\nfinal shape by the scholars, most of them Icelanders, of the hundred\nyears following 1150.\n\nAfter 1250 came a rapid and tragic decline. Iceland lost its\nindependence, becoming a Norwegian province. Later Norway too fell\nunder alien rule, a Swede ascending the Norwegian throne in 1320.\nPestilence and famine laid waste the whole North; volcanic disturbances\nworked havoc in Iceland. Literature did not quite die, but it fell upon\nevil days; for the vigorous native narratives and heroic poems of the\nolder period were substituted translations of French romances. The\npoets wrote mostly doggerel; the prose writers were devoid of national\nor racial inspiration.\n\nThe mass of literature thus collected and written down largely between\n1150 and 1250 may be roughly divided into four groups. The greatest in\nvolume is made up of the sagas: narratives mainly in prose, ranging all\nthe way from authentic history of the Norwegian kings and the early\nIcelandic settlements to fairy-tales. Embodied in the sagas is found\nthe material composing the second group: the skaldic poetry, a vast\ncollection of songs of praise, triumph, love, lamentation, and so on,\nalmost uniformly characterized by an appalling complexity of figurative\nlanguage. There is no absolute line to be drawn between the poetry of\nthe skalds and the poems of the Edda, which we may call the third\ngroup; but in addition to the remarkable artificiality of style which\nmarks the skaldic poetry, and which is seldom found in the poems of the\nEdda, the skalds dealt almost exclusively with their own emotions,\nwhereas the Eddic poems are quite impersonal. Finally, there is the\nfourth group, made up of didactic works, religious and legal treatises,\nand so on, studies which originated chiefly in the later period of\nlearned activity.\n\n\n\n\nPRESERVATION OF THE EDDIC POEMS\n\nMost of the poems of the Poetic Edda have unquestionably reached us in\nrather bad shape. During the long period of oral transmission they\nsuffered all sorts of interpolations, omissions and changes, and some\nof them, as they now stand, are a bewildering hodge-podge of\nlittle-related fragments. To some extent the diligent twelfth century\ncompiler to whom we owe the Codex Regius\u2014S\u00e6mund or another\u2014was himself\ndoubtless responsible for the patchwork process, often supplemented by\nnarrative prose notes of his own; but in the days before written\nrecords existed, it was easy to lose stanzas and longer passages from\ntheir context, and equally easy to interpolate them where they did not\nby any means belong. Some few of the poems, however, appear to be\nvirtually complete and unified as we now have them.\n\nUnder such circumstances it is clear that the establishment of a\nsatisfactory text is a matter of the utmost difficulty. As the basis\nfor this translation I have used the text prepared by Karl Hildebrand\n(1876) and revised by Hugo Gering (1904). Textual emendation has,\nhowever, been so extensive in every edition of the Edda, and has\ndepended so much on the theories of the editor, that I have also made\nextensive use of many other editions, notably those by Finnur Jonsson,\nNeckel, Sijmons, and Detter and Heinzel, together with numerous\ncommentaries. The condition of the text in both the principal codices\nis such that no great reliance can be placed on the accuracy of the\ncopyists, and frequently two editions will differ fundamentally as to\ntheir readings of a given passage or even of an entire poem. For this\nreason, and because guesswork necessarily plays so large a part in any\nedition or translation of the Eddic poems, I have risked overloading\nthe pages with textual notes in order to show, as nearly as possible,\nthe exact state of the original together with all the more significant\nemendations. I have done this particularly in the case of\ntranspositions, many of which appear absolutely necessary, and in the\nindication of passages which appear to be interpolations.\n\n\n\n\nTHE VERSE-FORMS OF THE EDDIC POEMS\n\nThe many problems connected with the verse-forms found in the Eddic\npoems have been analyzed in great detail by Sievers, Neckel, and\nothers. The three verse-forms exemplified in the poems need only a\nbrief comment here, however, in order to make clear the method used in\nthis translation. All of these forms group the lines normally in\nfour-line stanzas. In the so-called Fornyrthislag (\u201cOld Verse\u201d), for\nconvenience sometimes referred to in the notes as four-four measure,\nthese lines have all the same structure, each line being sharply\ndivided by a c\u00e6sural pause into two half-lines, and each half-line\nhaving two accented syllables and two (sometimes three) unaccented\nones. The two half-lines forming a complete line are bound together by\nthe alliteration, or more properly initial-rhyme, of three (or two) of\nthe accented syllables. The following is an example of the\nFornyrthislag stanza, the accented syllables being in italics:\n\n\n    Vrei\u00fer vas Ving\u00fe\u00f3rr,   |   es vakna\u00fei\n    ok s\u00edns hamars   |   of sakna\u00fei;\n    skegg nam hrista,   |   sk\u01ebr nam d\u00fdja,\n    r\u00e9\u00fe Jar\u00fear burr   |   umb at \u00fereifask.\n\n\nIn the second form, the Ljothahattr (\u201cSong Measure\u201d), the first and\nthird line of each stanza are as just described, but the second and\nfourth are shorter, have no c\u00e6sural pause, have three accented\nsyllables, and regularly two initial-rhymed accented syllables, for\nwhich reason I have occasionally referred to Ljothahattr as four-three\nmeasure. The following is an example:\n\n\n    Ar skal r\u00edsa   |   s\u00e1s annars vill\n            f\u00e9 e\u00fea fj\u01ebr hafa;\n    liggjandi ulfr   |   sjaldan l\u00e1er of getr\n            n\u00e9 sofandi ma\u00fer sigr.\n\n\nIn the third and least commonly used form, the Malahattr (\u201cSpeech\nMeasure\u201d), a younger verse-form than either of the other two, each line\nof the four-line stanza is divided into two half-lines by a c\u00e6sural\npause, each half-line having two accented syllables and three\n(sometimes four) unaccented ones; the initial rhyme is as in the\nFornyrthislag. The following is an example:\n\n\n    Horsk vas h\u00fasfreyja,   |   hug\u00fei at mannviti,\n    lag heyr\u00fei or\u00fea,   |   hvat \u00e1 laun m\u00e1eltu;\n    \u00fe\u00e1 vas vant vitri,   |   vildi \u00feeim hjalpa:\n    skyldu of s\u00e1e sigla,   |   en sj\u01eblf n\u00e9 kvamskat.\n\n\nA poem in Fornyrthislag is normally entitled -kvitha (Thrymskvitha,\nGuthrunarkvitha, etc.), which for convenience I have rendered as \u201clay,\u201d\nwhile a poem in Ljothahattr is entitled -mol (Grimnismol, Skirnismol,\netc.), which I have rendered as \u201cballad.\u201d It is difficult to find any\ndistinction other than metrical between the two terms, although it is\nclear that one originally existed.\n\nVariations frequently appear in all three kinds of verse, and these I\nhave attempted to indicate through the rhythm of the translation. In\norder to preserve so far as possible the effect of the Eddic verse, I\nhave adhered, in making the English version, to certain of the\nfundamental rules governing the Norse line and stanza formations. The\nnumber of lines to each stanza conforms to what seems the best guess as\nto the original, and I have consistently retained the number of\naccented syllables. In translating from a highly inflected language\ninto one depending largely on the use of subsidiary words, it has,\nhowever, been necessary to employ considerable freedom as to the number\nof unaccented syllables in a line. The initial-rhyme is generally\nconfined to two accented syllables in each line. As in the original,\nall initial vowels are allowed to rhyme interchangeably, but I have\ndisregarded the rule which lets certain groups of consonants rhyme only\nwith themselves (e.g., I have allowed initial s or st to rhyme with sk\nor sl). In general, I have sought to preserve the effect of the\noriginal form whenever possible without an undue sacrifice of accuracy.\nFor purposes of comparison, the translations of the three stanzas just\ngiven are here included:\n\nFornyrthislag:\n\n\n    Wild was Vingthor   |   when he awoke,\n    And when his mighty   |   hammer he missed;\n    He shook his beard,   |   his hair was bristling,\n    To groping set   |   the son of Jorth.\n\n\nLjothahattr:\n\n\n    He must early go forth   |   who fain the blood\n      Or the goods of another would get;\n    The wolf that lies idle   |   shall win little meat,\n      Or the sleeping man success.\n\n\nMalahattr:\n\n\n    Wise was the woman,   |   she fain would use wisdom,\n    She saw well what meant   |   all they said in secret;\n    From her heart it was hid   |   how help she might render,\n    The sea they should sail,   |   while herself she should go not.\n\n\n\n\nPROPER NAMES\n\nThe forms in which the proper names appear in this translation will\nundoubtedly perplex and annoy those who have become accustomed to one\nor another of the current methods of anglicising old Norse names. The\nnominative ending -r it has seemed best to omit after consonants,\nalthough it has been retained after vowels; in Baldr the final -r is a\npart of the stem and is of course retained. I have rendered the Norse \u00fe\nby \u201cth\u201d throughout, instead of spasmodically by \u201cd,\u201d as in many texts:\ne.g., Othin instead of Odin. For the Norse \u00f8 I have used its\nequivalent, \u201c\u00f6,\u201d e.g., V\u00f6lund; for the \u01eb I have used \u201co\u201d and not \u201ca,\u201d\ne.g., Voluspo, not Valuspa or Voluspa. To avoid confusion with accents\nthe long vowel marks of the Icelandic are consistently omitted, as\nlikewise in modern Icelandic proper names. The index at the end of the\nbook indicates the pronunciation in each case.\n\n\n\n\nCONCLUSION\n\nThat this translation may be of some value to those who can read the\npoems of the Edda in the original language I earnestly hope. Still more\ndo I wish that it may lead a few who hitherto have given little thought\nto the Old Norse language and literature to master the tongue for\nthemselves. But far above either of these I place the hope that this\nEnglish version may give to some, who have known little of the ancient\ntraditions of what is after all their own race, a clearer insight into\nthe glories of that extraordinary past, and that I may through this\nmedium be able to bring to others a small part of the delight which I\nmyself have found in the poems of the Poetic Edda.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPART I\n\nTHE POETIC EDDA\n\n\nVOLUME I\n\nLAYS OF THE GODS\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nVOLUSPO\n\nTHE WISE-WOMAN\u2019S PROPHECY\n\n\nINTRODUCTORY NOTE\n\nAt the beginning of the collection in the Codex Regius stands the\nVoluspo, the most famous and important, as it is likewise the most\ndebated, of all the Eddic poems. Another version of it is found in a\nhuge miscellaneous compilation of about the year 1300, the Hauksbok,\nand many stanzas are included in the Prose Edda of Snorri Sturluson.\nThe order of the stanzas in the Hauksbok version differs materially\nfrom that in the Codex Regius, and in the published editions many\nexperiments have been attempted in further rearrangements. On the\nwhole, however, and allowing for certain interpolations, the order of\nthe stanzas in the Codex Regius seems more logical than any of the\nwholesale \u201cimprovements\u201d which have been undertaken.\n\nThe general plan of the Voluspo is fairly clear. Othin, chief of the\ngods, always conscious of impending disaster and eager for knowledge,\ncalls on a certain \u201cVolva,\u201d or wise-woman, presumably bidding her rise\nfrom the grave. She first tells him of the past, of the creation of the\nworld, the beginning of years, the origin of the dwarfs (at this point\nthere is a clearly interpolated catalogue of dwarfs\u2019 names, stanzas\n10\u201316), of the first man and woman, of the world-ash Yggdrasil, and of\nthe first war, between the gods and the Vanir, or, in Anglicized form,\nthe Wanes. Then, in stanzas 27\u201329, as a further proof of her wisdom,\nshe discloses some of Othin\u2019s own secrets and the details of his search\nfor knowledge. Rewarded by Othin for what she has thus far told (stanza\n30), she then turns to the real prophesy, the disclosure of the final\ndestruction of the gods. This final battle, in which fire and flood\noverwhelm heaven and earth as the gods fight with their enemies, is the\ngreat fact in Norse mythology; the phrase describing it, ragna r\u00f6k,\n\u201cthe fate of the gods,\u201d has become familiar, by confusion with the word\nr\u00f6kkr, \u201ctwilight,\u201d in the German G\u00f6tterd\u00e4mmerung. The wise-woman tells\nof the Valkyries who bring the slain warriors to support Othin and the\nother gods in the battle, of the slaying of Baldr, best and fairest of\nthe gods, through the wiles of Loki, of the enemies of the gods, of the\nsummons to battle on both sides, and of the mighty struggle, till Othin\nis slain, and \u201cfire leaps high about heaven itself\u201d (stanzas 31\u201358).\nBut this is not all. A new and beautiful world is to rise on the ruins\nof the old; Baldr comes back, and \u201cfields unsowed bear ripened fruit\u201d\n(stanzas 59\u201366).\n\nThis final passage, in particular, has caused wide differences of\nopinion as to the date and character of the poem. That the poet was\nheathen and not Christian seems almost beyond dispute; there is an\nintensity and vividness in almost every stanza which no archaizing\nChristian could possibly have achieved. On the other hand, the\nevidences of Christian influence are sufficiently striking to outweigh\nthe arguments of Finnur Jonsson, M\u00fcllenhoff and others who maintain\nthat the Voluspo is purely a product of heathendom. The roving Norsemen\nof the tenth century, very few of whom had as yet accepted\nChristianity, were nevertheless in close contact with Celtic races\nwhich had already been converted, and in many ways the Celtic influence\nwas strongly felt. It seems likely, then, that the Voluspo was the work\nof a poet living chiefly in Iceland, though possibly in the \u201cWestern\nIsles,\u201d in the middle of the tenth century, a vigorous believer in the\nold gods, and yet with an imagination active enough to be touched by\nthe vague tales of a different religion emanating from his neighbor\nCelts.\n\nHow much the poem was altered during the two hundred years between its\ncomposition and its first being committed to writing is largely a\nmatter of guesswork, but, allowing for such an obvious interpolation as\nthe catalogue of dwarfs, and for occasional lesser errors, it seems\nquite needless to assume such great changes as many editors do. The\npoem was certainly not composed to tell a story with which its early\nhearers were quite familiar; the lack of continuity which baffles\nmodern readers presumably did not trouble them in the least. It is, in\neffect, a series of gigantic pictures, put into words with a directness\nand sureness which bespeak the poet of genius. It is only after the\nreader, with the help of the many notes, has familiarized himself with\nthe names and incidents involved that he can begin to understand the\neffect which this magnificent poem must have produced on those who not\nonly understood but believed it.\n\n\n\n\n\n1.  Hearing I ask   |   from the holy races,\n    From Heimdall\u2019s sons,   |   both high and low;\n    Thou wilt, Valfather,   |   that well I relate\n    Old tales I remember   |   of men long ago.\n\n2.  I remember yet   |   the giants of yore,\n    Who gave me bread   |   in the days gone by;\n    Nine worlds I knew,   |   the nine in the tree\n    With mighty roots   |   beneath the mold.\n\n3.  Of old was the age   |   when Ymir lived;\n    Sea nor cool waves   |   nor sand there were;\n    Earth had not been,   |   nor heaven above,\n    But a yawning gap,   |   and grass nowhere.\n\n4.  Then Bur\u2019s sons lifted   |   the level land,\n    Mithgarth the mighty   |   there they made;\n    The sun from the south   |   warmed the stones of earth,\n    And green was the ground   |   with growing leeks.\n\n5.  The sun, the sister   |   of the moon, from the south\n    Her right hand cast   |   over heaven\u2019s rim;\n    No knowledge she had   |   where her home should be,\n    The moon knew not   |   what might was his,\n    The stars knew not   |   where their stations were.\n\n6.  Then sought the gods   |   their assembly-seats,\n    The holy ones,   |   and council held;\n    Names then gave they   |   to noon and twilight,\n    Morning they named,   |   and the waning moon,\n    Night and evening,   |   the years to number.\n\n7.  At Ithavoll met   |   the mighty gods,\n    Shrines and temples   |   they timbered high;\n    Forges they set,   |   and they smithied ore,\n    Tongs they wrought,   |   and tools they fashioned.\n\n8.  In their dwellings at peace   |   they played at tables,\n    Of gold no lack   |   did the gods then know,\u2014\n    Till thither came up   |   giant-maids three,\n    Huge of might,   |   out of Jotunheim.\n\n9.  Then sought the gods   |   their assembly-seats,\n    The holy ones,   |   and council held,\n    To find who should raise   |   the race of dwarfs\n    Out of Brimir\u2019s blood   |   and the legs of Blain.\n\n10. There was Motsognir   |   the mightiest made\n    Of all the dwarfs,   |   and Durin next;\n    Many a likeness   |   of men they made,\n    The dwarfs in the earth,   |   as Durin said.\n\n11. Nyi and Nithi,   |   Northri and Suthri,\n    Austri and Vestri,   |   Althjof, Dvalin,\n    Nar and Nain,   |   Niping, Dain,\n    Bifur, Bofur,   |   Bombur, Nori,\n    An and Onar,   |   Ai, Mjothvitnir.\n\n12. Vigg and Gandalf,   |   Vindalf, Thrain,\n    Thekk and Thorin,   |   Thror, Vit and Lit,\n    Nyr and Nyrath,\u2014   |   now have I told\u2014\n    Regin and Rathsvith\u2014   |   the list aright.\n\n13. Fili, Kili,   |   Fundin, Nali,\n    Heptifili,   |   Hannar, Sviur,\n    Frar, Hornbori,   |   Fr\u00e6g and Loni,\n    Aurvang, Jari,   |   Eikinskjaldi.\n\n14. The race of the dwarfs   |   in Dvalin\u2019s throng\n    Down to Lofar   |   the list must I tell;\n    The rocks they left,   |   and through wet lands\n    They sought a home   |   in the fields of sand.\n\n15. There were Draupnir   |   and Dolgthrasir,\n    Hor, Haugspori,   |   Hlevang, Gloin,\n    Dori, Ori,   |   Duf, Andvari,\n    Skirfir, Virfir,   |   Skafith, Ai.\n\n16. Alf and Yngvi,   |   Eikinskjaldi,\n    Fjalar and Frosti,   |   Fith and Ginnar;\n    So for all time   |   shall the tale be known,\n    The list of all   |   the forbears of Lofar.\n\n17. Then from the throng   |   did three come forth,\n    From the home of the gods,   |   the mighty and gracious;\n    Two without fate   |   on the land they found,\n    Ask and Embla,   |   empty of might.\n\n18. Soul they had not,   |   sense they had not,\n    Heat nor motion,   |   nor goodly hue;\n    Soul gave Othin,   |   sense gave H\u00f6nir,\n    Heat gave Lothur   |   and goodly hue.\n\n19. An ash I know,   |   Yggdrasil its name,\n    With water white   |   is the great tree wet;\n    Thence come the dews   |   that fall in the dales,\n    Green by Urth\u2019s well   |   does it ever grow.\n\n20. Thence come the maidens   |   mighty in wisdom,\n    Three from the dwelling   |   down \u2019neath the tree;\n    Urth is one named,   |   Verthandi the next,\u2014\n    On the wood they scored,\u2014   |   and Skuld the third.\n    Laws they made there,   |   and life allotted\n    To the sons of men,   |   and set their fates.\n\n21. The war I remember,   |   the first in the world,\n    When the gods with spears   |   had smitten Gollveig,\n    And in the hall   |   of Hor had burned her,\u2014\n    Three times burned,   |   and three times born,\n    Oft and again,   |   yet ever she lives.\n\n22. Heith they named her   |   who sought their home,\n    The wide-seeing witch,   |   in magic wise;\n    Minds she bewitched   |   that were moved by her magic,\n    To evil women   |   a joy she was.\n\n23. On the host his spear   |   did Othin hurl,\n    Then in the world   |   did war first come;\n    The wall that girdled   |   the gods was broken,\n    And the field by the warlike   |   Wanes was trodden.\n\n24. Then sought the gods   |   their assembly-seats,\n    The holy ones,   |   and council held,\n    Whether the gods   |   should tribute give,\n    Or to all alike   |   should worship belong.\n\n25. Then sought the gods   |   their assembly-seats,\n    The holy ones,   |   and council held,\n    To find who with venom   |   the air had filled,\n    Or had given Oth\u2019s bride   |   to the giants\u2019 brood.\n\n26. In swelling rage   |   then rose up Thor,\u2014\n    Seldom he sits   |   when he such things hears,\u2014\n    And the oaths were broken,   |   the words and bonds,\n    The mighty pledges   |   between them made.\n\n27. I know of the horn   |   of Heimdall, hidden\n    Under the high-reaching   |   holy tree;\n    On it there pours   |   from Valfather\u2019s pledge\n    A mighty stream:   |   would you know yet more?\n\n28. Alone I sat   |   when the Old One sought me,\n    The terror of gods,   |   and gazed in mine eyes:\n    \u201cWhat hast thou to ask?   |   why comest thou hither?\n    Othin, I know   |   where thine eye is hidden.\u201d\n\n29. I know where Othin\u2019s   |   eye is hidden,\n    Deep in the wide-famed   |   well of Mimir;\n    Mead from the pledge   |   of Othin each morn\n    Does Mimir drink:   |   would you know yet more?\n\n30. Necklaces had I   |   and rings from Heerfather,\n    Wise was my speech   |   and my magic wisdom;\n    .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .\n    Widely I saw   |   over all the worlds.\n\n31. On all sides saw I   |   Valkyries assemble,\n    Ready to ride   |   to the ranks of the gods;\n    Skuld bore the shield,   |   and Skogul rode next,\n    Guth, Hild, Gondul,   |   and Geirskogul.\n    Of Herjan\u2019s maidens   |   the list have ye heard,\n    Valkyries ready   |   to ride o\u2019er the earth.\n\n32. I saw for Baldr,   |   the bleeding god,\n    The son of Othin,   |   his destiny set:\n    Famous and fair   |   in the lofty fields,\n    Full grown in strength   |   the mistletoe stood.\n\n33. From the branch which seemed   |   so slender and fair\n    Came a harmful shaft   |   that Hoth should hurl;\n    But the brother of Baldr   |   was born ere long,\n    And one night old   |   fought Othin\u2019s son.\n\n34. His hands he washed not,   |   his hair he combed not,\n    Till he bore to the bale-blaze   |   Baldr\u2019s foe.\n    But in Fensalir   |   did Frigg weep sore\n    For Valhall\u2019s need:   |   would you know yet more?\n\n35. One did I see   |   in the wet woods bound,\n    A lover of ill,   |   and to Loki like;\n    By his side does Sigyn   |   sit, nor is glad\n    To see her mate:   |   would you know yet more?\n\n36. From the east there pours   |   through poisoned vales\n    With swords and daggers   |   the river Slith.\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n\n37. Northward a hall   |   in Nithavellir\n    Of gold there rose   |   for Sindri\u2019s race;\n    And in Okolnir   |   another stood,\n    Where the giant Brimir   |   his beer-hall had.\n\n38. A hall I saw,   |   far from the sun,\n    On Nastrond it stands,   |   and the doors face north;\n    Venom drops   |   through the smoke-vent down,\n    For around the walls   |   do serpents wind.\n\n39. I saw there wading   |   through rivers wild\n    Treacherous men   |   and murderers too,\n    And workers of ill   |   with the wives of men;\n    There Nithhogg sucked   |   the blood of the slain,\n    And the wolf tore men;   |   would you know yet more?\n\n40. The giantess old   |   in Ironwood sat,\n    In the east, and bore   |   the brood of Fenrir;\n    Among these one   |   in monster\u2019s guise\n    Was soon to steal   |   the sun from the sky.\n\n41. There feeds he full   |   on the flesh of the dead,\n    And the home of the gods   |   he reddens with gore;\n    Dark grows the sun,   |   and in summer soon\n    Come mighty storms:   |   would you know yet more?\n\n42. On a hill there sat,   |   and smote on his harp,\n    Eggther the joyous,   |   the giants\u2019 warder;\n    Above him the cock   |   in the bird-wood crowed,\n    Fair and red   |   did Fjalar stand.\n\n43. Then to the gods   |   crowed Gollinkambi,\n    He wakes the heroes   |   in Othin\u2019s hall;\n    And beneath the earth   |   does another crow,\n    The rust-red bird   |   at the bars of Hel.\n\n44. Now Garm howls loud   |   before Gnipahellir,\n    The fetters will burst,   |   and the wolf run free;\n    Much do I know,   |   and more can see\n    Of the fate of the gods,   |   the mighty in fight.\n\n45. Brothers shall fight   |   and fell each other,\n    And sisters\u2019 sons   |   shall kinship stain;\n    Hard is it on earth,   |   with mighty whoredom;\n    Axe-time, sword-time,   |   shields are sundered,\n    Wind-time, wolf-time,   |   ere the world falls;\n    Nor ever shall men   |   each other spare.\n\n46. Fast move the sons   |   of Mim, and fate\n    Is heard in the note   |   of the Gjallarhorn;\n    Loud blows Heimdall,   |   the horn is aloft,\n    In fear quake all   |   who on Hel-roads are.\n\n47. Yggdrasil shakes,   |   and shiver on high\n    The ancient limbs,   |   and the giant is loose;\n    To the head of Mim   |   does Othin give heed,\n    But the kinsman of Surt   |   shall slay him soon.\n\n48. How fare the gods?   |   how fare the elves?\n    All Jotunheim groans,   |   the gods are at council;\n    Loud roar the dwarfs   |   by the doors of stone,\n    The masters of the rocks:   |   would you know yet more?\n\n49. Now Garm howls loud   |   before Gnipahellir,\n    The fetters will burst,   |   and the wolf run free;\n    Much do I know,   |   and more can see\n    Of the fate of the gods,   |   the mighty in fight.\n\n50. From the east comes Hrym   |   with shield held high;\n    In giant-wrath   |   does the serpent writhe;\n    O\u2019er the waves he twists,   |   and the tawny eagle\n    Gnaws corpses screaming;   |   Naglfar is loose.\n\n51. O\u2019er the sea from the north   |   there sails a ship\n    With the people of Hel,   |   at the helm stands Loki;\n    After the wolf   |   do wild men follow,\n    And with them the brother   |   of Byleist goes.\n\n52. Surt fares from the south   |   with the scourge of branches,\n    The sun of the battle-gods   |   shone from his sword;\n    The crags are sundered,   |   the giant-women sink,\n    The dead throng Hel-way,   |   and heaven is cloven.\n\n53. Now comes to Hlin   |   yet another hurt,\n    When Othin fares   |   to fight with the wolf,\n    And Beli\u2019s fair slayer   |   seeks out Surt,\n    For there must fall   |   the joy of Frigg.\n\n54. Then comes Sigfather\u2019s   |   mighty son,\n    Vithar, to fight   |   with the foaming wolf;\n    In the giant\u2019s son   |   does he thrust his sword\n    Full to the heart:   |   his father is avenged.\n\n55. Hither there comes   |   the son of Hlothyn,\n    The bright snake gapes   |   to heaven above;\n    .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .\n    Against the serpent   |   goes Othin\u2019s son.\n\n56. In anger smites   |   the warder of earth,\u2014\n    Forth from their homes   |   must all men flee;\u2014\n    Nine paces fares   |   the son of Fjorgyn,\n    And, slain by the serpent,   |   fearless he sinks.\n\n57. The sun turns black,   |   earth sinks in the sea,\n    The hot stars down   |   from heaven are whirled;\n    Fierce grows the steam   |   and the life-feeding flame,\n    Till fire leaps high   |   about heaven itself.\n\n58. Now Garm howls loud   |   before Gnipahellir,\n    The fetters will burst,   |   and the wolf run free;\n    Much do I know,   |   and more can see\n    Of the fate of the gods,   |   the mighty in fight.\n\n59. Now do I see   |   the earth anew\n    Rise all green   |   from the waves again;\n    The cataracts fall,   |   and the eagle flies,\n    And fish he catches   |   beneath the cliffs.\n\n60. The gods in Ithavoll   |   meet together,\n    Of the terrible girdler   |   of earth they talk,\n    And the mighty past   |   they call to mind,\n    And the ancient runes   |   of the Ruler of Gods.\n\n61. In wondrous beauty   |   once again\n    Shall the golden tables   |   stand mid the grass,\n    Which the gods had owned   |   in the days of old,\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n\n62. Then fields unsowed   |   bear ripened fruit,\n    All ills grow better,   |   and Baldr comes back;\n    Baldr and Hoth dwell   |   in Hropt\u2019s battle-hall,\n    And the mighty gods:   |   would you know yet more?\n\n63. Then H\u00f6nir wins   |   the prophetic wand,\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    And the sons of the brothers   |   of Tveggi abide\n    In Vindheim now:   |   would you know yet more?\n\n64. More fair than the sun,   |   a hall I see,\n    Roofed with gold,   |   on Gimle it stands;\n    There shall the righteous   |   rulers dwell,\n    And happiness ever   |   there shall they have.\n\n65. There comes on high,   |   all power to hold,\n    A mighty lord,   |   all lands he rules.\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n\n66. From below the dragon   |   dark comes forth,\n    Nithhogg flying   |   from Nithafjoll;\n    The bodies of men   |   on his wings he bears,\n    The serpent bright:   |   but now must I sink.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTES\n\n\n1. A few editors, following Bugge, in an effort to clarify the poem,\nplace stanzas 22, 28 and 30 before stanzas 1\u201320, but the arrangement in\nboth manuscripts, followed here, seems logical. In stanza 1 the Volva,\nor wise-woman, called upon by Othin, answers him and demands a hearing.\nEvidently she belongs to the race of the giants (cf. stanza 2), and\nthus speaks to Othin unwillingly, being compelled to do so by his magic\npower. Holy: omitted in Regius; the phrase \u201choly races\u201d probably means\nlittle more than mankind in general. Heimdall: the watchman of the\ngods; cf. stanza 46 and note. Why mankind should be referred to as\nHeimdall\u2019s sons is uncertain, and the phrase has caused much\nperplexity. Heimdall seems to have had various attributes, and in the\nRigsthula, wherein a certain Rig appears as the ancestor of the three\ngreat classes of men, a fourteenth century annotator identifies Rig\nwith Heimdall, on what authority we do not know, for the Rig of the\npoem seems much more like Othin (cf. Rigsthula, introductory prose and\nnote). Valfather (\u201cFather of the Slain\u201d): Othin, chief of the gods, so\ncalled because the slain warriors were brought to him at Valhall (\u201cHall\nof the Slain\u201d) by the Valkyries (\u201cChoosers of the Slain\u201d).\n\n2. Nine worlds: the worlds of the gods (Asgarth), of the Wanes\n(Vanaheim, cf. stanza 21 and note), of the elves (Alfheim), of men\n(Mithgarth), of the giants (Jotunheim), of fire (Muspellsheim, cf.\nstanza 47 and note), of the dark elves (Svartalfaheim), of the dead\n(Niflheim), and presumably of the dwarfs (perhaps Nithavellir, cf.\nstanza 37 and note, but the ninth world is uncertain). The tree: the\nworld-ash Yggdrasil, symbolizing the universe; cf. Grimnismol, 29\u201335\nand notes, wherein Yggdrasil is described at length.\n\n3. Ymir: the giant out of whose body the gods made the world; cf.\nVafthruthnismol, 21. In this stanza as quoted in Snorri\u2019s Edda the\nfirst line runs: \u201cOf old was the age   |   ere aught there was.\u201d\nYawning gap: this phrase, \u201cGinnunga-gap,\u201d is sometimes used as a proper\nname.\n\n4. Bur\u2019s sons: Othin, Vili, and Ve. Of Bur we know only that his wife\nwas Bestla, daughter of Bolthorn; cf. Hovamol, 141. Vili and Ve are\nmentioned by name in the Eddic poems only in Lokasenna, 26. Mithgarth\n(\u201cMiddle Dwelling\u201d): the world of men. Leeks: the leek was often used\nas the symbol of fine growth (cf. Guthrunarkvitha I, 17), and it was\nalso supposed to have magic power (cf. Sigrdrifumol, 7).\n\n5. Various editors have regarded this stanza as interpolated; Hoffory\nthinks it describes the northern summer night in which the sun does not\nset. Lines 3\u20135 are quoted by Snorri. In the manuscripts line 4 follows\nline 5. Regarding the sun and moon as daughter and son of Mundilferi,\ncf. Vafthruthnismol, 23 and note, and Grimnismol, 37 and note.\n\n6. Possibly an interpolation, but there seems no strong reason for\nassuming this. Lines 1\u20132 are identical with lines 1\u20132 of stanza 9, and\nline 2 may have been inserted here from that later stanza.\n\n7. Ithavoll (\u201cField of Deeds\u201d?): mentioned only here and in stanza 60\nas the meeting-place of the gods; it appears in no other connection.\n\n8. Tables: the exact nature of this game, and whether it more closely\nresembled chess or checkers, has been made the subject of a 400-page\ntreatise, Willard Fiske\u2019s \u201cChess in Iceland.\u201d Giant-maids: perhaps the\nthree great Norns, corresponding to the three fates; cf. stanza 20 and\nnote. Possibly, however, something has been lost after this stanza, and\nthe missing passage, replaced by the catalogue of the dwarfs (stanzas\n9\u201316), may have explained the \u201cgiant-maids\u201d otherwise than as Norns. In\nVafthruthnismol, 49, the Norns (this time \u201cthree throngs\u201d instead of\nsimply \u201cthree\u201d) are spoken of as giant-maidens; Fafnismol, 13,\nindicates the existence of many lesser Norns, belonging to various\nraces. Jotunheim: the world of the giants.\n\n9. Here apparently begins the interpolated catalogue of the dwarfs,\nrunning through stanza 16; possibly, however, the interpolated section\ndoes not begin before stanza 11. Snorri quotes practically the entire\nsection, the names appearing in a somewhat changed order. Brimir and\nBlain: nothing is known of these two giants, and it has been suggested\nthat both are names for Ymir (cf. stanza 3). Brimir, however, appears\nin stanza 37 in connection with the home of the dwarfs. Some editors\ntreat the words as common rather than proper nouns, Brimir meaning \u201cthe\nbloody moisture\u201d and Blain being of uncertain significance.\n\n10. Very few of the dwarfs named in this and the following stanzas are\nmentioned elsewhere. It is not clear why Durin should have been singled\nout as authority for the list. The occasional repetitions suggest that\nnot all the stanzas of the catalogue came from the same source. Most of\nthe names presumably had some definite significance, as Northri,\nSuthri, Austri, and Vestri (\u201cNorth,\u201d \u201cSouth,\u201d \u201cEast,\u201d and \u201cWest\u201d),\nAlthjof (\u201cMighty Thief\u201d), Mjothvitnir (\u201cMead-Wolf\u201d), Gandalf (\u201cMagic\nElf\u201d), Vindalf (\u201cWind Elf\u201d), Rathsvith (\u201cSwift in Counsel\u201d),\nEikinskjaldi (\u201cOak Shield\u201d), etc., but in many cases the\ninterpretations are sheer guesswork.\n\n12. The order of the lines in this and the succeeding four stanzas\nvaries greatly in the manuscripts and editions, and the names likewise\nappear in many forms. Regin: probably not identical with Regin the son\nof Hreithmar, who plays an important part in the Reginsmol and\nFafnismol, but cf. note on Reginsmol, introductory prose.\n\n14. Dvalin: in Hovamol, 144, Dvalin seems to have given magic runes to\nthe dwarfs, probably accounting for their skill in craftsmanship, while\nin Fafnismol, 13, he is mentioned as the father of some of the lesser\nNorns. The story that some of the dwarfs left the rocks and mountains\nto find a new home on the sands is mentioned, but unexplained, in\nSnorri\u2019s Edda; of Lofar we know only that he was descended from these\nwanderers.\n\n15. Andvari: this dwarf appears prominently in the Reginsmol, which\ntells how the god Loki treacherously robbed him of his wealth; the\ncurse which he laid on his treasure brought about the deaths of\nSigurth, Gunnar, Atli, and many others.\n\n17. Here the poem resumes its course after the interpolated section.\nProbably, however, something has been lost, for there is no apparent\nconnection between the three giant-maids of stanza 8 and the three\ngods, Othin, H\u00f6nir and Lothur, who in stanza 17 go forth to create man\nand woman. The word \u201cthree\u201d in stanzas 8 and 17 very likely confused\nsome early reciter, or perhaps the compiler himself. Ask and Embla: ash\nand elm; Snorri gives them simply as the names of the first man and\nwoman, but says that the gods made this pair out of trees.\n\n18. H\u00f6nir: little is known of this god, save that he occasionally\nappears in the poems in company with Othin and Loki, and that he\nsurvives the destruction, assuming in the new age the gift of prophesy\n(cf. stanza 63). He was given by the gods as a hostage to the Wanes\nafter their war, in exchange for Njorth (cf. stanza 21 and note).\nLothur: apparently an older name for Loki, the treacherous but\ningenious son of Laufey, whose divinity Snorri regards as somewhat\ndoubtful. He was adopted by Othin, who subsequently had good reason to\nregret it. Loki probably represents the blending of two originally\ndistinct figures, one of them an old fire-god, hence his gift of heat\nto the newly created pair.\n\n19. Yggdrasil: cf. stanza 2 and note, and Grimnismol, 29\u201335 and notes.\nUrth (\u201cThe Past\u201d): one of the three great Norns. The world-ash is kept\ngreen by being sprinkled with the marvelous healing water from her\nwell.\n\n20. The maidens: the three Norns; possibly this stanza should follow\nstanza 8. Dwelling: Regius has \u201cs\u00e6\u201d (sea) instead of \u201csal\u201d (hall,\nhome), and many editors have followed this reading, although Snorri\u2019s\nprose paraphrase indicates \u201csal.\u201d Urth, Verthandi and Skuld: \u201cPast,\u201d\n\u201cPresent\u201d and \u201cFuture.\u201d Wood, etc.: the magic signs (runes) controlling\nthe destinies of men were cut on pieces of wood. Lines 3\u20134 are probably\ninterpolations from some other account of the Norns.\n\n21. This follows stanza 20 in Regius; in the Hauksbok version stanzas\n25, 26, 27, 40 and 41 come between stanzas 20 and 21. Editors have\nattempted all sorts of rearrangements. The war: the first war was that\nbetween the gods and the Wanes. The cult of the Wanes (Vanir) seems to\nhave originated among the seafaring folk of the Baltic and the southern\nshores of the North Sea, and to have spread thence into Norway in\nopposition to the worship of the older gods; hence the \u201cwar.\u201d Finally\nthe two types of divinities were worshipped in common; hence the treaty\nwhich ended the war with the exchange of hostages. Chief among the\nWanes were Njorth and his children, Freyr and Freyja, all of whom\nbecame conspicuous among the gods. Beyond this we know little of the\nWanes, who seem originally to have been water-deities. I remember: the\nmanuscripts have \u201cshe remembers,\u201d but the Volva is apparently still\nspeaking of her own memories, as in stanza 2. Gollveig (\u201cGold-Might\u201d):\napparently the first of the Wanes to come among the gods, her\nill-treatment being the immediate cause of the war. M\u00fcllenhoff\nmaintains that Gollveig is another name for Freyja. Lines 5\u20136, one or\nboth of them probably interpolated, seem to symbolize the refining of\ngold by fire. Hor (\u201cThe High One\u201d): Othin.\n\n22. Heith (\u201cShining One\u201d?): a name often applied to wise-women and\nprophetesses. The application of this stanza to Gollveig is far from\nclear, though the reference may be to the magic and destructive power\nof gold. It is also possible that the stanza is an interpolation. Bugge\nmaintains that it applies to the Volva who is reciting the poem, and\nmakes it the opening stanza, following it with stanzas 28 and 30, and\nthen going on with stanzas 1 ff. The text of line 2 is obscure, and has\nbeen variously emended.\n\n23. This stanza and stanza 24 have been transposed from the order in\nthe manuscripts, for the former describes the battle and the victory of\nthe Wanes, after which the gods took council, debating whether to pay\ntribute to the victors, or to admit them, as was finally done, to equal\nrights of worship.\n\n25. Possibly, as Finn Magnusen long ago suggested, there is something\nlost after stanza 24, but it was not the custom of the Eddic poets to\nsupply transitions which their hearers could generally be counted on to\nunderstand. The story referred to in stanzas 25\u201326 (both quoted by\nSnorri) is that of the rebuilding of Asgarth after its destruction by\nthe Wanes. The gods employed a giant as builder, who demanded as his\nreward the sun and moon, and the goddess Freyja for his wife. The gods,\nterrified by the rapid progress of the work, forced Loki, who had\nadvised the bargain, to delay the giant by a trick, so that the work\nwas not finished in the stipulated time (cf. Grimnismol, 44, note). The\nenraged giant then threatened the gods, whereupon Thor slew him. Oth\u2019s\nbride: Freyja; of Oth little is known beyond the fact that Snorri\nrefers to him as a man who \u201cwent away on long journeys.\u201d\n\n26. Thor: the thunder-god, son of Othin and Jorth (Earth); cf.\nparticularly Harbarthsljoth and Thrymskvitha, passim. Oaths, etc.: the\ngods, by violating their oaths to the giant who rebuilt Asgarth,\naroused the undying hatred of the giants\u2019 race, and thus the giants\nwere among their enemies in the final battle.\n\n27. Here the Volva turns from her memories of the past to a statement\nof some of Othin\u2019s own secrets in his eternal search for knowledge\n(stanzas 27\u201329). Bugge puts this stanza after stanza 29. The horn of\nHeimdall: the Gjallarhorn (\u201cShrieking Horn\u201d), with which Heimdall,\nwatchman of the gods, will summon them to the last battle. Till that\ntime the horn is buried under Yggdrasil. Valfather\u2019s pledge: Othin\u2019s\neye (the sun?), which he gave to the water-spirit Mimir (or Mim) in\nexchange for the latter\u2019s wisdom. It appears here and in stanza 29 as a\ndrinking-vessel, from which Mimir drinks the magic mead, and from which\nhe pours water on the ash Yggdrasil. Othin\u2019s sacrifice of his eye in\norder to gain knowledge of his final doom is one of the series of\ndisasters leading up to the destruction of the gods. There were several\ndiffering versions of the story of Othin\u2019s relations with Mimir;\nanother one, quite incompatible with this, appears in stanza 47. In the\nmanuscripts I know and I see appear as \u201cshe knows\u201d and \u201cshe sees\u201d (cf.\nnote on 21).\n\n28. The Hauksbok version omits all of stanzas 28\u201334, stanza 27 being\nthere followed by stanzas 40 and 41. Regius indicates stanzas 28 and 29\nas a single stanza. Bugge puts stanza 28 after stanza 22, as the second\nstanza of his reconstructed poem. The Volva here addresses Othin\ndirectly, intimating that, although he has not told her, she knows why\nhe has come to her, and what he has already suffered in his search for\nknowledge regarding his doom. Her reiterated \u201cwould you know yet more?\u201d\nseems to mean: \u201cI have proved my wisdom by telling of the past and of\nyour own secrets; is it your will that I tell likewise of the fate in\nstore for you?\u201d The Old One: Othin.\n\n29. The first line, not in either manuscript, is a conjectural\nemendation based on Snorri\u2019s paraphrase. Bugge puts this stanza after\nstanza 20.\n\n30. This is apparently the transitional stanza, in which the Volva,\nrewarded by Othin for her knowledge of the past (stanzas 1\u201329), is\ninduced to proceed with her real prophecy (stanzas 31\u201366). Some editors\nturn the stanza into the third person, making it a narrative link.\nBugge, on the other hand, puts it after stanza 28 as the third stanza\nof the poem. No lacuna is indicated in the manuscripts, and editors\nhave attempted various emendations. Heerfather (\u201cFather of the Host\u201d):\nOthin.\n\n31. Valkyries: these \u201cChoosers of the Slain\u201d (cf. stanza 1, note) bring\nthe bravest warriors killed in battle to Valhall, in order to\nre-enforce the gods for their final struggle. They are also called\n\u201cWish-Maidens,\u201d as the fulfillers of Othin\u2019s wishes. The conception of\nthe supernatural warrior-maiden was presumably brought to Scandinavia\nin very early times from the South-Germanic races, and later it was\ninterwoven with the likewise South-Germanic tradition of the\nswan-maiden. A third complication developed when the originally quite\nhuman women of the hero-legends were endowed with the qualities of both\nValkyries and swan-maidens, as in the cases of Brynhild (cf. Gripisspo,\nintroductory note), Svava (cf. Helgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar, prose after\nstanza 5 and note) and Sigrun (cf. Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I, 17 and\nnote). The list of names here given may be an interpolation; a quite\ndifferent list is given in Grimnismol, 36. Ranks of the gods: some\neditors regard the word thus translated as a specific place name.\nHerjan (\u201cLeader of Hosts\u201d): Othin. It is worth noting that the name\nHild (\u201cWarrior\u201d) is the basis of Bryn-hild (\u201cWarrior in Mail-Coat\u201d).\n\n32. Baldr: The death of Baldr, the son of Othin and Frigg, was the\nfirst of the great disasters to the gods. The story is fully told by\nSnorri. Frigg had demanded of all created things, saving only the\nmistletoe, which she thought too weak to be worth troubling about, an\noath that they would not harm Baldr. Thus it came to be a sport for the\ngods to hurl weapons at Baldr, who, of course, was totally unharmed\nthereby. Loki, the trouble-maker, brought the mistletoe to Baldr\u2019s\nblind brother, Hoth, and guided his hand in hurling the twig. Baldr was\nslain, and grief came upon all the gods. Cf. Baldrs Draumar.\n\n33. The lines in this and the following stanza have been combined in\nvarious ways by editors, lacun\u00e6 having been freely conjectured, but the\nmanuscript version seems clear enough. The brother of Baldr: Vali, whom\nOthin begot expressly to avenge Baldr\u2019s death. The day after his birth\nhe fought and slew Hoth.\n\n34. Frigg: Othin\u2019s wife. Some scholars have regarded her as a solar\nmyth, calling her the sun-goddess, and pointing out that her home in\nFensalir (\u201cthe sea-halls\u201d) symbolizes the daily setting of the sun\nbeneath the ocean horizon.\n\n35. The translation here follows the Regius version. The Hauksbok has\nthe same final two lines, but in place of the first pair has, \u201cI know\nthat Vali   |   his brother gnawed, / With his bowels then   |   was\nLoki bound.\u201d Many editors have followed this version of the whole\nstanza or have included these two lines, often marking them as\ndoubtful, with the four from Regius. After the murder of Baldr, the\ngods took Loki and bound him to a rock with the bowels of his son\nNarfi, who had just been torn to pieces by Loki\u2019s other son, Vali. A\nserpent was fastened above Loki\u2019s head, and the venom fell upon his\nface. Loki\u2019s wife, Sigyn, sat by him with a basin to catch the venom,\nbut whenever the basin was full, and she went away to empty it, then\nthe venom fell on Loki again, till the earth shook with his struggles.\n\u201cAnd there he lies bound till the end.\u201d Cf. Lokasenna, concluding\nprose.\n\n36. Stanzas 36\u201339 describe the homes of the enemies of the gods: the\ngiants (36), the dwarfs (37), and the dead in the land of the goddess\nHel (38\u201339). The Hauksbok version omits stanzas 36 and 37. Regius\nunites 36 with 37, but most editors have assumed a lacuna. Slith (\u201cthe\nFearful\u201d): a river in the giants\u2019 home. The \u201cswords and daggers\u201d may\nrepresent the icy cold.\n\n37. Nithavellir (\u201cthe Dark Fields\u201d): a home of the dwarfs. Perhaps the\nword should be \u201cNithafjoll\u201d (\u201cthe Dark Crags\u201d). Sindri: the great\nworker in gold among the dwarfs. Okolnir (\u201cthe Not Cold\u201d): possibly a\nvolcano. Brimir: the giant (possibly Ymir) out of whose blood,\naccording to stanza 9, the dwarfs were made; the name here appears to\nmean simply the leader of the dwarfs.\n\n38. Stanzas 38 and 39 follow stanza 43 in the Hauksbok version. Snorri\nquotes stanzas 38, 39, 40 and 41, though not consecutively. Nastrond\n(\u201cCorpse-Strand\u201d): the land of the dead, ruled by the goddess Hel. Here\nthe wicked undergo tortures. Smoke-vent: the phrase gives a picture of\nthe Icelandic house, with its opening in the roof serving instead of a\nchimney.\n\n39. The stanza is almost certainly in corrupt form. The third line is\npresumably an interpolation, and is lacking in most of the late paper\nmanuscripts. Some editors, however, have called lines 1\u20133 the remains\nof a full stanza, with the fourth line lacking, and lines 4\u20135 the\nremains of another. The stanza depicts the torments of the two worst\nclasses of criminals known to Old Norse morality\u2014oath-breakers and\nmurderers. Nithhogg (\u201cthe Dread Biter\u201d): the dragon that lies beneath\nthe ash Yggdrasil and gnaws at its roots, thus symbolizing the\ndestructive elements in the universe; cf. Grimnismol, 32, 35. The wolf:\npresumably the wolf Fenrir, one of the children of Loki and the\ngiantess Angrbotha (the others being Mithgarthsorm and the goddess\nHel), who was chained by the gods with the marvelous chain Gleipnir,\nfashioned by a dwarf \u201cout of six things: the noise of a cat\u2019s step, the\nbeards of women, the roots of mountains, the nerves of bears, the\nbreath of fishes, and the spittle of birds.\u201d The chaining of Fenrir\ncost the god Tyr his right hand; cf. stanza 44.\n\n40. The Hauksbok version inserts after stanza 39 the refrain-stanza\n(44), and puts stanzas 40 and 41 between 27 and 21. With this stanza\nbegins the account of the final struggle itself. The giantess: her name\nis nowhere stated, and the only other reference to Ironwood is in\nGrimnismol, 39, in this same connection. The children of this giantess\nand the wolf Fenrir are the wolves Skoll and Hati, the first of whom\nsteals the sun, the second the moon. Some scholars naturally see here\nan eclipse-myth.\n\n41. In the third line many editors omit the comma after \u201csun,\u201d and put\none after \u201csoon,\u201d making the two lines run: \u201cDark grows the sun   |\nin summer soon, / Mighty storms\u2014\u201d etc. Either phenomenon in summer\nwould be sufficiently striking.\n\n42. In the Hauksbok version stanzas 42 and 43 stand between stanzas 44\nand 38. Eggther: this giant, who seems to be the watchman of the\ngiants, as Heimdall is that of the gods and Surt of the dwellers in the\nfire-world, is not mentioned elsewhere in the poems. Fjalar, the cock\nwhose crowing wakes the giants for the final struggle.\n\n43. Gollinkambi (\u201cGold-Comb\u201d): the cock who wakes the gods and heroes,\nas Fjalar does the giants. The rust-red bird: the name of this bird,\nwho wakes the people of Hel\u2019s domain, is nowhere stated.\n\n44. This is a refrain-stanza. In Regius it appears in full only at this\npoint, but is repeated in abbreviated form before stanzas 50 and 59. In\nthe Hauksbok version the full stanza comes first between stanzas 35 and\n42, then, in abbreviated form, it occurs four times: before stanzas 45,\n50, 55, and 59. In the Hauksbok line 3 runs: \u201cFarther I see   |   and\nmore can say.\u201d Garm: the dog who guards the gates of Hel\u2019s kingdom; cf.\nBaldrs Draumar, 2 ff, and Grimnismol, 44. Gnipahellir (\u201cthe\nCliff-Cave\u201d): the entrance to the world of the dead. The wolf: Fenrir;\ncf. stanza 39 and note.\n\n45. From this point on through stanza 57 the poem is quoted by Snorri,\nstanza 49 alone being omitted. There has been much discussion as to the\nstatus of stanza 45. Lines 4 and 5 look like an interpolation. After\nline 5 the Hauksbok has a line running: \u201cThe world resounds,   |   the\nwitch is flying.\u201d Editors have arranged these seven lines in various\nways, with lacun\u00e6 freely indicated. Sisters\u2019 sons: in all Germanic\ncountries the relations between uncle and nephew were felt to be\nparticularly close.\n\n46. Regius combines the first three lines of this stanza with lines 3,\n2, and 1 of stanza 47 as a single stanza. Line 4, not found in Regius,\nis introduced from the Hauksbok version, where it follows line 2 of\nstanza 47. The sons of Mim: the spirits of the water. On Mim (or Mimir)\ncf. stanza 27 and note. Gjallarhorn: the \u201cShrieking Horn\u201d with which\nHeimdall, the watchman of the gods, calls them to the last battle.\n\n47. In Regius lines 3, 2, and 1, in that order, follow stanza 46\nwithout separation. Line 4 is not found in Regius, but is introduced\nfrom the Hauksbok version. Yggdrasil: cf. stanza 19 and note, and\nGrimnismol, 29\u201335. The giant: Fenrir. The head of Mim: various myths\nwere current about Mimir. This stanza refers to the story that he was\nsent by the gods with H\u00f6nir as a hostage to the Wanes after their war\n(cf. stanza 21 and note), and that the Wanes cut off his head and\nreturned it to the gods. Othin embalmed the head, and by magic gave it\nthe power of speech, thus making Mimir\u2019s noted wisdom always available.\nOf course this story does not fit with that underlying the references\nto Mimir in stanzas 27 and 29. The kinsman of Surt: the wolf Fenrir,\nwho slays Othin in the final struggle; cf. stanza 53. Surt is the giant\nwho rules the fire-world, Muspellsheim; cf. stanza 52.\n\n48. This stanza in Regius follows stanza 51; in the Hauksbok it stands,\nas here, after 47. Jotunheim: the land of the giants.\n\n49. Identical with stanza 44. In the manuscripts it is here\nabbreviated.\n\n50. Hrym: the leader of the giants, who comes as the helmsman of the\nship Naglfar (line 4). The serpent: Mithgarthsorm, one of the children\nof Loki and Angrbotha (cf. stanza 39, note). The serpent was cast into\nthe sea, where he completely encircles the land; cf. especially\nHymiskvitha, passim. The eagle: the giant Hr\u00e6svelg, who sits at the\nedge of heaven in the form of an eagle, and makes the winds with his\nwings; cf. Vafthruthnismol, 37, and Skirnismol, 27. Naglfar: the ship\nwhich was made out of dead men\u2019s nails to carry the giants to battle.\n\n51. North: a guess; the manuscripts have \u201ceast,\u201d but there seems to be\na confusion with stanza 50, line 1. People of Hel: the manuscripts have\n\u201cpeople of Muspell,\u201d but these came over the bridge Bifrost (the\nrainbow), which broke beneath them, whereas the people of Hel came in a\nship steered by Loki. The wolf: Fenrir. The brother of Byleist: Loki.\nOf Byleist (or Byleipt) no more is known.\n\n52. Surt: the ruler of the fire-world. The scourge of branches: fire.\nThis is one of the relatively rare instances in the Eddic poems of the\ntype of poetic diction which characterizes the skaldic verse.\n\n53. Hlin: apparently another name for Frigg, Othin\u2019s wife. After losing\nher son Baldr, she is fated now to see Othin slain by the wolf Fenrir.\nBeli\u2019s slayer: the god Freyr, who killed the giant Beli with his fist;\ncf. Skirnismol, 16 and note. On Freyr, who belonged to the race of the\nWanes, and was the brother of Freyja, see especially Skirnismol,\npassim. The joy of Frigg: Othin.\n\n54. As quoted by Snorri the first line of this stanza runs: \u201cFares\nOthin\u2019s son   |   to fight with the wolf.\u201d Sigfather (\u201cFather of\nVictory\u201d): Othin. His son, Vithar, is the silent god, famed chiefly for\nhis great shield, and his strength, which is little less than Thor\u2019s.\nHe survives the destruction. The giant\u2019s son: Fenrir.\n\n55. This and the following stanza are clearly in bad shape. In Regius\nonly lines 1 and 4 are found, combined with stanza 56 as a single\nstanza. Line 1 does not appear in the Hauksbok version, the stanza\nthere beginning with line 2. Snorri, in quoting these two stanzas,\nomits 55, 2\u20134, and 56, 3, making a single stanza out of 55, 1, and 56,\n4, 2, 1, in that order. Moreover, the Hauksbok manuscript at this point\nis practically illegible. The lacuna (line 3) is, of course, purely\nconjectural, and all sorts of arrangements of the lines have been\nattempted by editors. Hlothyn: another name for Jorth (\u201cEarth\u201d), Thor\u2019s\nmother; his father was Othin. The snake: Mithgarthsorm; cf. stanza 5c\nand note. Othin\u2019s son: Thor. The fourth line in Regius reads \u201cagainst\nthe wolf,\u201d but if this line refers to Thor at all, and not to Vithar,\nthe Hauksbok reading, \u201cserpent,\u201d is correct.\n\n56. The warder of earth: Thor. The son of Fjorgyn: again Thor, who,\nafter slaying the serpent, is overcome by his venomous breath, and\ndies. Fjorgyn appears in both a masculine and a feminine form. In the\nmasculine it is a name for Othin; in the feminine, as here and in\nHarbarthsljoth, 56, it apparently refers to Jorth.\n\n57. With this stanza ends the account of the destruction.\n\n58. Again the refrain-stanza (cf. stanza 44 and note), abbreviated in\nboth manuscripts, as in the case of stanza 49. It is probably misplaced\nhere.\n\n59. Here begins the description of the new world which is to rise out\nof the wreck of the old one. It is on this passage that a few critics\nhave sought to base their argument that the poem is later than the\nintroduction of Christianity (circa 1000), but this theory has never\nseemed convincing (cf. introductory note).\n\n60. The third line of this stanza is not found in Regius. Ithavoll: cf.\nstanza 7 and note. The girdler of earth: Mithgarthsorm, who, lying in\nthe sea, surrounded the land. The Ruler of Gods: Othin. The runes were\nboth magic signs, generally carved on wood, and sung or spoken charms.\n\n61. The Hauksbok version of the first two lines runs:\n\n\n    \u201cThe gods shall find there,   |   wondrous fair,\n    The golden tables   |   amid the grass.\u201d\n\n\nNo lacuna (line 4) is indicated in the manuscripts. Golden tables: cf.\nstanza 8 and note.\n\n62. Baldr: cf. stanza 32 and note. Baldr and his brother, Hoth, who\nunwittingly slew him at Loki\u2019s instigation, return together, their\nunion being a symbol of the new age of peace. Hropt: another name for\nOthin. His \u201cbattle-hall\u201d is Valhall.\n\n63. No lacuna (line 2) indicated in the manuscripts. H\u00f6nir: cf. stanza\n18 and note. In this new age he has the gift of foretelling the future.\nTveggi (\u201cThe Twofold\u201d): another name for Othin. His brothers are Vili\nand Ve (cf. Lokasenna, 26, and note). Little is known of them, and\nnothing, beyond this reference, of their sons. Vindheim (\u201cHome of the\nWind\u201d): heaven.\n\n64. This stanza is quoted by Snorri. Gimle: Snorri makes this the name\nof the hall itself, while here it appears to refer to a mountain on\nwhich the hall stands. It is the home of the happy, as opposed to\nanother hall, not here mentioned, for the dead. Snorri\u2019s description of\nthis second hall is based on Voluspo, 38, which he quotes, and perhaps\nthat stanza properly belongs after 64.\n\n65. This stanza is not found in Regius, and is probably spurious. No\nlacuna is indicated in the Hauksbok version, but late paper manuscripts\nadd two lines, running:\n\n\n    \u201cRule he orders,   |   and rights he fixes,\n    Laws he ordains   |   that ever shall live.\u201d\n\n\nThe name of this new ruler is nowhere given, and of course the\nsuggestion of Christianity is unavoidable. It is not certain, however,\nthat even this stanza refers to Christianity, and if it does, it may\nhave been interpolated long after the rest of the poem was composed.\n\n66. This stanza, which fits so badly with the preceding ones, may well\nhave been interpolated. It has been suggested that the dragon, making a\nlast attempt to rise, is destroyed, this event marking the end of evil\nin the world. But in both manuscripts the final half-line does not\nrefer to the dragon, but, as the gender shows, to the Volva herself,\nwho sinks into the earth; a sort of conclusion to the entire prophecy.\nPresumably the stanza (barring the last half-line, which was probably\nintended as the conclusion of the poem) belongs somewhere in the\ndescription of the great struggle. Nithhogg: the dragon at the roots of\nYggdrasil; cf. stanza 39 and note. Nithafjoll (\u201cthe Dark Crags\u201d);\nnowhere else mentioned. Must I: the manuscripts have \u201cmust she.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nHOVAMOL\n\nTHE BALLAD OF THE HIGH ONE\n\n\nINTRODUCTORY NOTE\n\nThis poem follows the Voluspo in the Codex Regius, but is preserved in\nno other manuscript. The first stanza is quoted by Snorri, and two\nlines of stanza 84 appear in one of the sagas.\n\nIn its present shape it involves the critic of the text in more puzzles\nthan any other of the Eddic poems. Without going in detail into the\nvarious theories, what happened seems to have been somewhat as follows.\nThere existed from very early times a collection of proverbs and wise\ncounsels, which were attributed to Othin just as the Biblical proverbs\nwere to Solomon. This collection, which presumably was always elastic\nin extent, was known as \u201cThe High One\u2019s Words,\u201d and forms the basis of\nthe present poem. To it, however, were added other poems and fragments\ndealing with wisdom which seemed by their nature to imply that the\nspeaker was Othin. Thus a catalogue of runes, or charms, was tacked on,\nand also a set of proverbs, differing essentially in form from those\ncomprising the main collection. Here and there bits of verse more\nnearly narrative crept in; and of course the loose structure of the\npoem made it easy for any reciter to insert new stanzas almost at will.\nThis curious miscellany is what we now have as the Hovamol.\n\nFive separate elements are pretty clearly recognizable: (1) the Hovamol\nproper (stanzas 1\u201380), a collection of proverbs and counsels for the\nconduct of life; (2) the Loddfafnismol (stanzas 111\u2013138), a collection\nsomewhat similar to the first, but specifically addressed to a certain\nLoddfafnir; (3) the Ljothatal (stanzas 147\u2013165), a collection of\ncharms; (4) the love-story of Othin and Billing\u2019s daughter (stanzas\n96\u2013102), with an introductory dissertation on the faithlessness of\nwomen in general (stanzas 81\u201395), which probably crept into the poem\nfirst, and then pulled the story, as an apt illustration, after it; (5)\nthe story of how Othin got the mead of poetry\u2014the draught which gave\nhim the gift of tongues\u2014from the maiden Gunnloth (stanzas 103\u2013110).\nThere is also a brief passage (stanzas 139\u2013146) telling how Othin won\nthe runes, this passage being a natural introduction to the Ljothatal,\nand doubtless brought into the poem for that reason.\n\nIt is idle to discuss the authorship or date of such a series of\naccretions as this. Parts of it are doubtless among the oldest relics\nof ancient Germanic poetry; parts of it may have originated at a\nrelatively late period. Probably, however, most of its component\nelements go pretty far back, although we have no way of telling how or\nwhen they first became associated.\n\nIt seems all but meaningless to talk about \u201cinterpolations\u201d in a poem\nwhich has developed almost solely through the process of piecing\ntogether originally unrelated odds and ends. The notes, therefore, make\nonly such suggestions as are needed to keep the main divisions of the\npoem distinct.\n\nFew gnomic collections in the world\u2019s literary history present sounder\nwisdom more tersely expressed than the Hovamol. Like the Book of\nProverbs it occasionally rises to lofty heights of poetry. If it\npresents the worldly wisdom of a violent race, it also shows noble\nideals of loyalty, truth, and unfaltering courage.\n\n\n\n\n\n1.  Within the gates   |   ere a man shall go,\n      (Full warily let him watch,)\n      Full long let him look about him;\n    For little he knows   |   where a foe may lurk,\n      And sit in the seats within.\n\n2.  Hail to the giver!   |   a guest has come;\n      Where shall the stranger sit?\n    Swift shall he be   |   who with swords shall try\n      The proof of his might to make.\n\n3.  Fire he needs   |   who with frozen knees\n      Has come from the cold without;\n    Food and clothes   |   must the farer have,\n      The man from the mountains come.\n\n4.  Water and towels   |   and welcoming speech\n      Should he find who comes to the feast;\n    If renown he would get,   |   and again be greeted,\n      Wisely and well must he act.\n\n5.  Wits must he have   |   who wanders wide,\n      But all is easy at home;\n    At the witless man   |   the wise shall wink\n      When among such men he sits.\n\n6.  A man shall not boast   |   of his keenness of mind,\n      But keep it close in his breast;\n    To the silent and wise   |   does ill come seldom\n      When he goes as guest to a house;\n    (For a faster friend   |   one never finds\n      Than wisdom tried and true.)\n\n7.  The knowing guest   |   who goes to the feast,\n      In silent attention sits;\n    With his ears he hears,   |   with his eyes he watches,\n      Thus wary are wise men all.\n\n8.  Happy the one   |   who wins for himself\n      Favor and praises fair;\n    Less safe by far   |   is the wisdom found\n      That is hid in another\u2019s heart.\n\n9.  Happy the man   |   who has while he lives\n      Wisdom and praise as well,\n    For evil counsel   |   a man full oft\n      Has from another\u2019s heart.\n\n10. A better burden   |   may no man bear\n      For wanderings wide than wisdom;\n    It is better than wealth   |   on unknown ways,\n      And in grief a refuge it gives.\n\n11. A better burden   |   may no man bear\n      For wanderings wide than wisdom;\n    Worse food for the journey   |   he brings not afield\n      Than an over-drinking of ale.\n\n12. Less good there lies   |   than most believe\n      In ale for mortal men;\n    For the more he drinks   |   the less does man\n      Of his mind the mastery hold.\n\n13. Over beer the bird   |   of forgetfulness broods,\n      And steals the minds of men;\n    With the heron\u2019s feathers   |   fettered I lay\n      And in Gunnloth\u2019s house was held.\n\n14. Drunk I was,   |   I was dead-drunk,\n      When with Fjalar wise I was;\n    \u2019Tis the best of drinking   |   if back one brings\n      His wisdom with him home.\n\n15. The son of a king   |   shall be silent and wise,\n      And bold in battle as well;\n    Bravely and gladly   |   a man shall go,\n      Till the day of his death is come.\n\n16. The sluggard believes   |   he shall live forever,\n      If the fight he faces not;\n    But age shall not grant him   |   the gift of peace,\n      Though spears may spare his life.\n\n17. The fool is agape   |   when he comes to the feast,\n      He stammers or else is still;\n    But soon if he gets   |   a drink is it seen\n      What the mind of the man is like.\n\n18. He alone is aware   |   who has wandered wide,\n      And far abroad has fared,\n    How great a mind   |   is guided by him\n      That wealth of wisdom has.\n\n19. Shun not the mead,   |   but drink in measure;\n      Speak to the point or be still;\n    For rudeness none   |   shall rightly blame thee\n      If soon thy bed thou seekest.\n\n20. The greedy man,   |   if his mind be vague,\n      Will eat till sick he is;\n    The vulgar man,   |   when among the wise,\n      To scorn by his belly is brought.\n\n21. The herds know well   |   when home they shall fare,\n      And then from the grass they go;\n    But the foolish man   |   his belly\u2019s measure\n      Shall never know aright.\n\n22. A paltry man   |   and poor of mind\n      At all things ever mocks;\n    For never he knows,   |   what he ought to know,\n      That he is not free from faults.\n\n23. The witless man   |   is awake all night,\n      Thinking of many things;\n    Care-worn he is   |   when the morning comes,\n      And his woe is just as it was.\n\n24. The foolish man   |   for friends all those\n      Who laugh at him will hold;\n    When among the wise   |   he marks it not\n      Though hatred of him they speak.\n\n25. The foolish man   |   for friends all those\n      Who laugh at him will hold;\n    But the truth when he comes   |   to the council he learns,\n      That few in his favor will speak.\n\n26. An ignorant man   |   thinks that all he knows,\n      When he sits by himself in a corner;\n    But never what answer   |   to make he knows,\n      When others with questions come.\n\n27. A witless man,   |   when he meets with men,\n      Had best in silence abide;\n    For no one shall find   |   that nothing he knows,\n      If his mouth is not open too much.\n    (But a man knows not,   |   if nothing he knows,\n      When his mouth has been open too much.)\n\n28. Wise shall he seem   |   who well can question,\n      And also answer well;\n    Nought is concealed   |   that men may say\n      Among the sons of men.\n\n29. Often he speaks   |   who never is still\n      With words that win no faith;\n    The babbling tongue,   |   if a bridle it find not,\n      Oft for itself sings ill.\n\n30. In mockery no one   |   a man shall hold,\n      Although he fare to the feast;\n    Wise seems one oft,   |   if nought he is asked,\n      And safely he sits dry-skinned.\n\n31. Wise a guest holds it   |   to take to his heels,\n      When mock of another he makes;\n    But little he knows   |   who laughs at the feast,\n      Though he mocks in the midst of his foes.\n\n32. Friendly of mind   |   are many men,\n      Till feasting they mock at their friends;\n    To mankind a bane   |   must it ever be\n      When guests together strive.\n\n33. Oft should one make   |   an early meal,\n      Nor fasting come to the feast;\n    Else he sits and chews   |   as if he would choke,\n      And little is able to ask.\n\n34. Crooked and far   |   is the road to a foe,\n      Though his house on the highway be;\n    But wide and straight   |   is the way to a friend,\n      Though far away he fare.\n\n35. Forth shall one go,   |   nor stay as a guest\n      In a single spot forever;\n    Love becomes loathing   |   if long one sits\n      By the hearth in another\u2019s home.\n\n36. Better a house,   |   though a hut it be,\n      A man is master at home;\n    A pair of goats   |   and a patched-up roof\n      Are better far than begging.\n\n37. Better a house,   |   though a hut it be,\n      A man is master at home;\n    His heart is bleeding   |   who needs must beg\n      When food he fain would have.\n\n38. Away from his arms   |   in the open field\n      A man should fare not a foot;\n    For never he knows   |   when the need for a spear\n      Shall arise on the distant road.\n\n39. If wealth a man   |   has won for himself,\n      Let him never suffer in need;\n    Oft he saves for a foe   |   what he plans for a friend,\n      For much goes worse than we wish.\n\n40. None so free with gifts   |   or food have I found\n      That gladly he took not a gift,\n    Nor one who so widely   |   scattered his wealth\n      That of recompense hatred he had.\n\n41. Friends shall gladden each other   |   with arms and garments,\n      As each for himself can see;\n    Gift-givers\u2019 friendships   |   are longest found,\n      If fair their fates may be.\n\n42. To his friend a man   |   a friend shall prove,\n      And gifts with gifts requite;\n    But men shall mocking   |   with mockery answer,\n      And fraud with falsehood meet.\n\n43. To his friend a man   |   a friend shall prove,\n      To him and the friend of his friend;\n    But never a man   |   shall friendship make\n      With one of his foeman\u2019s friends.\n\n44. If a friend thou hast   |   whom thou fully wilt trust,\n      And good from him wouldst get,\n    Thy thoughts with his mingle,   |   and gifts shalt thou make,\n      And fare to find him oft.\n\n45. If another thou hast   |   whom thou hardly wilt trust,\n      Yet good from him wouldst get,\n    Thou shalt speak him fair,   |   but falsely think,\n      And fraud with falsehood requite.\n\n46. So is it with him   |   whom thou hardly wilt trust,\n      And whose mind thou mayst not know;\n    Laugh with him mayst thou,   |   but speak not thy mind,\n      Like gifts to his shalt thou give.\n\n47. Young was I once,   |   and wandered alone,\n      And nought of the road I knew;\n    Rich did I feel   |   when a comrade I found,\n      For man is man\u2019s delight.\n\n48. The lives of the brave   |   and noble are best,\n      Sorrows they seldom feed;\n    But the coward fear   |   of all things feels,\n      And not gladly the niggard gives.\n\n49. My garments once   |   in a field I gave\n      To a pair of carven poles;\n    Heroes they seemed   |   when clothes they had,\n      But the naked man is nought.\n\n50. On the hillside drear   |   the fir-tree dies,\n      All bootless its needles and bark;\n    It is like a man   |   whom no one loves,\u2014\n      Why should his life be long?\n\n51. Hotter than fire   |   between false friends\n      Does friendship five days burn;\n    When the sixth day comes   |   the fire cools,\n      And ended is all the love.\n\n52. No great thing needs   |   a man to give,\n      Oft little will purchase praise;\n    With half a loaf   |   and a half-filled cup\n      A friend full fast I made.\n\n53. A little sand   |   has a little sea,\n      And small are the minds of men;\n    Though all men are not   |   equal in wisdom,\n      Yet half-wise only are all.\n\n54. A measure of wisdom   |   each man shall have,\n      But never too much let him know;\n    The fairest lives   |   do those men live\n      Whose wisdom wide has grown.\n\n55. A measure of wisdom   |   each man shall have,\n      But never too much let him know;\n    For the wise man\u2019s heart   |   is seldom happy,\n      If wisdom too great he has won.\n\n56. A measure of wisdom   |   each man shall have,\n      But never too much let him know;\n    Let no man the fate   |   before him see,\n      For so is he freest from sorrow.\n\n57. A brand from a brand   |   is kindled and burned,\n      And fire from fire begotten;\n    And man by his speech   |   is known to men,\n      And the stupid by their stillness.\n\n58. He must early go forth   |   who fain the blood\n      Or the goods of another would get;\n    The wolf that lies idle   |   shall win little meat,\n      Or the sleeping man success.\n\n59. He must early go forth   |   whose workers are few,\n      Himself his work to seek;\n    Much remains undone   |   for the morning-sleeper,\n      For the swift is wealth half won.\n\n60. Of seasoned shingles   |   and strips of bark\n      For the thatch let one know his need,\n    And how much of wood   |   he must have for a month,\n      Or in half a year he will use.\n\n61. Washed and fed   |   to the council fare,\n      But care not too much for thy clothes;\n    Let none be ashamed   |   of his shoes and hose,\n      Less still of the steed he rides,\n      (Though poor be the horse he has.)\n\n62. When the eagle comes   |   to the ancient sea,\n      He snaps and hangs his head;\n    So is a man   |   in the midst of a throng,\n      Who few to speak for him finds.\n\n63. To question and answer   |   must all be ready\n      Who wish to be known as wise;\n    Tell one thy thoughts,   |   but beware of two,\u2014\n      All know what is known to three.\n\n64. The man who is prudent   |   a measured use\n      Of the might he has will make;\n    He finds when among   |   the brave he fares\n      That the boldest he may not be.\n\n65. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n      .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    Oft for the words   |   that to others one speaks\n      He will get but an evil gift.\n\n66. Too early to many   |   a meeting I came,\n      And some too late have I sought;\n    The beer was all drunk,   |   or not yet brewed;\n      Little the loathed man finds.\n\n67. To their homes men would bid me   |   hither and yon,\n      If at meal-time I needed no meat,\n    Or would hang two hams   |   in my true friend\u2019s house,\n      Where only one I had eaten.\n\n68. Fire for men   |   is the fairest gift,\n      And power to see the sun;\n    Health as well,   |   if a man may have it,\n      And a life not stained with sin.\n\n69. All wretched is no man,   |   though never so sick;\n      Some from their sons have joy,\n    Some win it from kinsmen,   |   and some from their wealth,\n      And some from worthy works.\n\n70. It is better to live   |   than to lie a corpse,\n      The live man catches the cow;\n    I saw flames rise   |   for the rich man\u2019s pyre,\n      And before his door he lay dead.\n\n71. The lame rides a horse,   |   the handless is herdsman,\n      The deaf in battle is bold;\n    The blind man is better   |   than one that is burned,\n      No good can come of a corpse.\n\n72. A son is better,   |   though late he be born,\n      And his father to death have fared;\n    Memory-stones   |   seldom stand by the road\n      Save when kinsman honors his kin.\n\n73. Two make a battle,   |   the tongue slays the head;\n    In each furry coat   |   a fist I look for.\n\n74. He welcomes the night   |   whose fare is enough.\n      (Short are the yards of a ship,)\n      Uneasy are autumn nights;\n    Full oft does the weather   |   change in a week,\n      And more in a month\u2019s time.\n\n75. A man knows not,   |   if nothing he knows,\n    That gold oft apes begets;\n    One man is wealthy   |   and one is poor,\n    Yet scorn for him none should know.\n\n76. Among Fitjung\u2019s sons   |   saw I well-stocked folds,\u2014\n    Now bear they the beggar\u2019s staff;\n    Wealth is as swift   |   as a winking eye,\n      Of friends the falsest it is.\n\n77. Cattle die,   |   and kinsmen die,\n      And so one dies one\u2019s self;\n    But a noble name   |   will never die,\n      If good renown one gets.\n\n78. Cattle die,   |   and kinsmen die,\n      And so one dies one\u2019s self;\n    One thing I know   |   that never dies,\n      The fame of a dead man\u2019s deeds.\n\n79. Certain is that   |   which is sought from runes,\n      That the gods so great have made,\n      And the Master-Poet painted;\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n      .  .  .  .  . of the race of gods:\n      Silence is safest and best.\n\n80. An unwise man,   |   if a maiden\u2019s love\n      Or wealth he chances to win,\n    His pride will wax,   |   but his wisdom never,\n      Straight forward he fares in conceit.\n\n        *    *    *    *    *    *\n\n81. Give praise to the day at evening,   |   to a woman on her pyre,\n    To a weapon which is tried,   |   to a maid at wedlock,\n    To ice when it is crossed,   |   to ale that is drunk.\n\n82. When the gale blows hew wood,   |   in fair winds seek the water;\n    Sport with maidens at dusk,   |   for day\u2019s eyes are many;\n    From the ship seek swiftness,   |   from the shield protection,\n    Cuts from the sword,   |   from the maiden kisses.\n\n83. By the fire drink ale,   |   over ice go on skates;\n    Buy a steed that is lean,   |   and a sword when tarnished,\n    The horse at home fatten,   |   the hound in thy dwelling.\n\n        *    *    *    *    *    *\n\n84. A man shall trust not   |   the oath of a maid,\n      Nor the word a woman speaks;\n    For their hearts on a whirling   |   wheel were fashioned,\n      And fickle their breasts were formed.\n\n        *    *    *    *    *    *\n\n85. In a breaking bow   |   or a burning flame,\n    A ravening wolf   |   or a croaking raven,\n    In a grunting boar,   |   a tree with roots broken,\n    In billowy seas   |   or a bubbling kettle,\n\n86. In a flying arrow   |   or falling waters,\n    In ice new formed   |   or the serpent\u2019s folds,\n    In a bride\u2019s bed-speech   |   or a broken sword,\n    In the sport of bears   |   or in sons of kings,\n\n87. In a calf that is sick   |   or a stubborn thrall,\n    A flattering witch   |   or a foe new slain.\n\n88. In a brother\u2019s slayer,   |   if thou meet him abroad,\n    In a half-burned house,   |   in a horse full swift\u2014\n    One leg is hurt   |   and the horse is useless\u2014\n    None had ever such faith   |   as to trust in them all.\n\n        *    *    *    *    *    *\n\n89. Hope not too surely   |   for early harvest,\n      Nor trust too soon in thy son;\n    The field needs good weather,   |   the son needs wisdom,\n      And oft is either denied.\n\n        *    *    *    *    *    *\n\n90. The love of women   |   fickle of will\n    Is like starting o\u2019er ice   |   with a steed unshod,\n    A two-year-old restive   |   and little tamed,\n    Or steering a rudderless   |   ship in a storm,\n    Or, lame, hunting reindeer   |   on slippery rocks.\n\n        *    *    *    *    *    *\n\n91. Clear now will I speak,   |   for I know them both,\n      Men false to women are found;\n    When fairest we speak,   |   then falsest we think,\n      Against wisdom we work with deceit.\n\n92. Soft words shall he speak   |   and wealth shall he offer\n      Who longs for a maiden\u2019s love,\n    And the beauty praise   |   of the maiden bright;\n      He wins whose wooing is best.\n\n93. Fault for loving   |   let no man find\n      Ever with any other;\n    Oft the wise are fettered,   |   where fools go free,\n      By beauty that breeds desire.\n\n94. Fault with another   |   let no man find\n      For what touches many a man;\n    Wise men oft   |   into witless fools\n      Are made by mighty love.\n\n95. The head alone knows   |   what dwells near the heart,\n      A man knows his mind alone;\n    No sickness is worse   |   to one who is wise\n      Than to lack the longed-for joy.\n\n96. This found I myself,   |   when I sat in the reeds,\n      And long my love awaited;\n    As my life the maiden   |   wise I loved,\n      Yet her I never had.\n\n97. Billing\u2019s daughter   |   I found on her bed,\n      In slumber bright as the sun;\n    Empty appeared   |   an earl\u2019s estate\n      Without that form so fair.\n\n98. \u201cOthin, again   |   at evening come,\n      If a woman thou wouldst win;\n    Evil it were   |   if others than we\n      Should know of such a sin.\u201d\n\n99. Away I hastened,   |   hoping for joy,\n      And careless of counsel wise;\n    Well I believed   |   that soon I should win\n      Measureless joy with the maid.\n\n100. So came I next   |   when night it was,\n      The warriors all were awake;\n    With burning lights   |   and waving brands\n      I learned my luckless way.\n\n101. At morning then,   |   when once more I came,\n      And all were sleeping still,\n    A dog I found   |   in the fair one\u2019s place,\n      Bound there upon her bed.\n\n102. Many fair maids,   |   if a man but tries them,\n      False to a lover are found;\n    That did I learn   |   when I longed to gain\n      With wiles the maiden wise;\n    Foul scorn was my meed   |   from the crafty maid,\n      And nought from the woman I won.\n\n        *    *    *    *    *    *\n\n103. Though glad at home,   |   and merry with guests,\n      A man shall be wary and wise;\n    The sage and shrewd,   |   wide wisdom seeking,\n      Must see that his speech be fair;\n    A fool is he named   |   who nought can say,\n      For such is the way of the witless.\n\n104. I found the old giant,   |   now back have I fared,\n      Small gain from silence I got;\n    Full many a word,   |   my will to get,\n      I spoke in Suttung\u2019s hall.\n\n105. The mouth of Rati   |   made room for my passage,\n      And space in the stone he gnawed;\n    Above and below   |   the giants\u2019 paths lay,\n      So rashly I risked my head.\n\n106. Gunnloth gave   |   on a golden stool\n      A drink of the marvelous mead;\n    A harsh reward   |   did I let her have\n      For her heroic heart,\n      And her spirit troubled sore.\n\n107. The well-earned beauty   |   well I enjoyed,\n      Little the wise man lacks;\n    So Othr\u00f6rir now   |   has up been brought\n      To the midst of the men of earth.\n\n108. Hardly, methinks,   |   would I home have come,\n      And left the giants\u2019 land,\n    Had not Gunnloth helped me,   |   the maiden good,\n      Whose arms about me had been.\n\n109. The day that followed,   |   the frost-giants came,\n       Some word of Hor to win,\n      (And into the hall of Hor;)\n    Of Bolverk they asked,   |   were he back midst the gods,\n      Or had Suttung slain him there?\n\n110. On his ring swore Othin   |   the oath, methinks;\n      Who now his troth shall trust?\n    Suttung\u2019s betrayal   |   he sought with drink,\n      And Gunnloth to grief he left.\n\n        *    *    *    *    *    *\n\n111. It is time to chant   |   from the chanter\u2019s stool;\n      By the wells of Urth I was,\n    I saw and was silent,   |   I saw and thought,\n      And heard the speech of Hor.\n    (Of runes heard I words,   |   nor were counsels wanting,\n      At the hall of Hor,\n      In the hall of Hor;\n      Such was the speech I heard.)\n\n112. I rede thee, Loddfafnir!   |   and hear thou my rede,\u2014\n      Profit thou hast if thou hearest,\n      Great thy gain if thou learnest:\n    Rise not at night,   |   save if news thou seekest,\n      Or fain to the outhouse wouldst fare.\n\n113. I rede thee, Loddfafnir!   |   and hear thou my rede,\u2014\n      Profit thou hast if thou hearest,\n      Great thy gain if thou learnest:\n    Beware of sleep   |   on a witch\u2019s bosom,\n      Nor let her limbs ensnare thee.\n\n114. Such is her might   |   that thou hast no mind\n      For the council or meeting of men;\n    Meat thou hatest,   |   joy thou hast not,\n      And sadly to slumber thou farest.\n\n115. I rede thee, Loddfafnir!   |   and hear thou my rede,\u2014\n      Profit thou hast if thou hearest,\n      Great thy gain if thou learnest:\n    Seek never to win   |   the wife of another,\n      Or long for her secret love.\n\n116. I rede thee, Loddfafnir!   |   and hear thou my rede,\u2014\n      Profit thou hast if thou hearest,\n      Great thy gain if thou learnest:\n    If o\u2019er mountains or gulfs   |   thou fain wouldst go,\n      Look well to thy food for the way.\n\n117. I rede thee, Loddfafnir!   |   and hear thou my rede,\u2014\n      Profit thou hast if thou hearest,\n      Great thy gain if thou learnest:\n    An evil man   |   thou must not let\n      Bring aught of ill to thee;\n    For an evil man   |   will never make\n      Reward for a worthy thought.\n\n118. I saw a man   |   who was wounded sore\n      By an evil woman\u2019s word;\n    A lying tongue   |   his death-blow launched,\n      And no word of truth there was.\n\n119. I rede thee, Loddfafnir!   |   and hear thou my rede,\u2014\n      Profit thou hast if thou hearest,\n      Great thy gain if thou learnest:\n    If a friend thou hast   |   whom thou fully wilt trust,\n      Then fare to find him oft;\n    For brambles grow   |   and waving grass\n      On the rarely trodden road.\n\n120. I rede thee, Loddfafnir!   |   and hear thou my rede,\u2014\n      Profit thou hast if thou hearest,\n      Great thy gain if thou learnest:\n    A good man find   |   to hold in friendship,\n     And give heed to his healing charms.\n\n121. I rede thee, Loddfafnir!   |   and hear thou my rede,\u2014\n      Profit thou hast if thou hearest,\n      Great thy gain if thou learnest:\n    Be never the first   |   to break with thy friend\n      The bond that holds you both;\n    Care eats the heart   |   if thou canst not speak\n      To another all thy thought.\n\n122. I rede thee, Loddfafnir!   |   and hear thou my rede,\u2014\n      Profit thou hast if thou hearest,\n      Great thy gain if thou learnest:\n    Exchange of words   |   with a witless ape\n     Thou must not ever make.\n\n123. For never thou mayst   |   from an evil man\n      A good requital get;\n    But a good man oft   |   the greatest love\n      Through words of praise will win thee.\n\n124. Mingled is love   |   when a man can speak\n      To another all his thought;\n    Nought is so bad   |   as false to be,\n      No friend speaks only fair.\n\n125. I rede thee, Loddfafnir!   |   and hear thou my rede,\u2014\n      Profit thou hast if thou hearest,\n      Great thy gain if thou learnest:\n    With a worse man speak not   |   three words in dispute,\n      Ill fares the better oft\n      When the worse man wields a sword.\n\n126. I rede thee, Loddfafnir!   |   and hear thou my rede,\u2014\n      Profit thou hast if thou hearest,\n      Great thy gain if thou learnest:\n    A shoemaker be,   |   or a maker of shafts,\n      For only thy single self;\n    If the shoe is ill made,   |   or the shaft prove false,\n      Then evil of thee men think.\n\n127. I rede thee, Loddfafnir!   |   and hear thou my rede,\u2014\n      Profit thou hast if thou hearest,\n      Great thy gain if thou learnest:\n    If evil thou knowest,   |   as evil proclaim it,\n      And make no friendship with foes.\n\n128. I rede thee, Loddfafnir!   |   and hear thou my rede,\u2014\n      Profit thou hast if thou hearest,\n      Great thy gain if thou learnest:\n    In evil never   |   joy shalt thou know,\n      But glad the good shall make thee.\n\n129. I rede thee, Loddfafnir!   |   and hear thou my rede,\u2014\n      Profit thou hast if thou hearest,\n      Great thy gain if thou learnest:\n    Look not up   |   when the battle is on,\u2014\n    (Like madmen the sons   |   of men become,\u2014)\n      Lest men bewitch thy wits.\n\n130. I rede thee, Loddfafnir!   |   and hear thou my rede,\u2014\n      Profit thou hast if thou hearest,\n      Great thy gain if thou learnest:\n    If thou fain wouldst win   |   a woman\u2019s love,\n      And gladness get from her,\n    Fair be thy promise   |   and well fulfilled;\n      None loathes what good he gets.\n\n131. I rede thee, Loddfafnir!   |   and hear thou my rede,\u2014\n      Profit thou hast if thou hearest,\n      Great thy gain if thou learnest:\n    I bid thee be wary,   |   but be not fearful;\n    (Beware most with ale   |   or another\u2019s wife,\n    And third beware   |   lest a thief outwit thee.)\n\n132. I rede thee, Loddfafnir!   |   and hear thou my rede,\u2014\n      Profit thou hast if thou hearest,\n      Great thy gain if thou learnest:\n    Scorn or mocking   |   ne\u2019er shalt thou make\n      Of a guest or a journey-goer.\n\n133. Oft scarcely he knows   |   who sits in the house\n      What kind is the man who comes;\n    None so good is found   |   that faults he has not,\n      Nor so wicked that nought he is worth.\n\n134. I rede thee, Loddfafnir!   |   and hear thou my rede,\u2014\n      Profit thou hast if thou hearest,\n      Great thy gain if thou learnest:\n    Scorn not ever   |   the gray-haired singer,\n      Oft do the old speak good;\n    (Oft from shrivelled skin   |   come skillful counsels,\n      Though it hang with the hides,\n      And flap with the pelts,\n      And is blown with the bellies.)\n\n135. I rede thee, Loddfafnir!   |   and hear thou my rede,\u2014\n      Profit thou hast if thou hearest,\n      Great thy gain if thou learnest:\n    Curse not thy guest,   |   nor show him thy gate,\n      Deal well with a man in want.\n\n136. Strong is the beam   |   that raised must be\n      To give an entrance to all;\n    Give it a ring,   |   or grim will be\n      The wish it would work on thee.\n\n137. I rede thee, Loddfafnir!   |   and hear thou my rede,\u2014\n      Profit thou hast if thou hearest,\n      Great thy gain if thou learnest:\n    When ale thou drinkest,   |   seek might of earth,\n    (For earth cures drink,   |   and fire cures ills,\n    The oak cures tightness,   |   the ear cures magic,\n    Rye cures rupture,   |   the moon cures rage,\n    Grass cures the scab,   |   and runes the sword-cut;)\n      The field absorbs the flood.\n\n138. Now are Hor\u2019s words   |   spoken in the hall,\n      Kind for the kindred of men,\n      Cursed for the kindred of giants:\n    Hail to the speaker,   |   and to him who learns!\n      Profit be his who has them!\n      Hail to them who hearken\n\n        *    *    *    *    *    *\n\n139. I ween that I hung   |   on the windy tree,\n      Hung there for nights full nine;\n    With the spear I was wounded,   |   and offered I was\n      To Othin, myself to myself,\n    On the tree that none   |   may ever know\n      What root beneath it runs.\n\n140. None made me happy   |   with loaf or horn,\n      And there below I looked;\n    I took up the runes,   |   shrieking I took them,\n      And forthwith back I fell.\n\n141. Nine mighty songs   |   I got from the son\n      Of Bolthorn, Bestla\u2019s father;\n    And a drink I got   |   of the goodly mead\n      Poured out from Othr\u00f6rir.\n\n142. Then began I to thrive,   |   and wisdom to get,\n      I grew and well I was;\n    Each word led me on   |   to another word,\n      Each deed to another deed.\n\n143. Runes shalt thou find,   |   and fateful signs,\n      That the king of singers colored,\n      And the mighty gods have made;\n    Full strong the signs,   |   full mighty the signs\n      That the ruler of gods doth write.\n\n144. Othin for the gods,   |   Dain for the elves,\n      And Dvalin for the dwarfs,\n    Alsvith for giants   |   and all mankind,\n      And some myself I wrote.\n\n145. Knowest how one shall write,   |   knowest how one shall rede?\n    Knowest how one shall tint,   |   knowest how one makes trial?\n    Knowest how one shall ask,   |   knowest how one shall offer?\n    Knowest how one shall send,   |   knowest how one shall sacrifice?\n\n146. Better no prayer   |   than too big an offering,\n      By thy getting measure thy gift;\n    Better is none   |   than too big a sacrifice,\n      .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    So Thund of old wrote   |   ere man\u2019s race began,\n    Where he rose on high   |   when home he came.\n\n        *    *    *    *    *    *\n\n147. The songs I know   |   that king\u2019s wives know not,\n      Nor men that are sons of men;\n    The first is called help,   |   and help it can bring thee\n      In sorrow and pain and sickness.\n\n148. A second I know,   |   that men shall need\n      Who leechcraft long to use;\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n      .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n\n149. A third I know,   |   if great is my need\n      Of fetters to hold my foe;\n    Blunt do I make   |   mine enemy\u2019s blade,\n      Nor bites his sword or staff.\n\n150. A fourth I know,   |   if men shall fasten\n      Bonds on my bended legs;\n    So great is the charm   |   that forth I may go,\n      The fetters spring from my feet,\n      Broken the bonds from my hands.\n\n151. A fifth I know,   |   if I see from afar\n      An arrow fly \u2019gainst the folk;\n    It flies not so swift   |   that I stop it not,\n      If ever my eyes behold it.\n\n152. A sixth I know,   |   if harm one seeks\n      With a sapling\u2019s roots to send me;\n    The hero himself   |   who wreaks his hate\n      Shall taste the ill ere I.\n\n153. A seventh I know,   |   if I see in flames\n      The hall o\u2019er my comrades\u2019 heads;\n    It burns not so wide   |   that I will not quench it,\n      I know that song to sing.\n\n154. An eighth I know,   |   that is to all\n      Of greatest good to learn;\n    When hatred grows   |   among heroes\u2019 sons,\n      I soon can set it right.\n\n155. A ninth I know,   |   if need there comes\n      To shelter my ship on the flood;\n    The wind I calm   |   upon the waves,\n      And the sea I put to sleep.\n\n156. A tenth I know,   |   what time I see\n      House-riders flying on high;\n    So can I work   |   that wildly they go,\n      Showing their true shapes,\n      Hence to their own homes.\n\n157. An eleventh I know,   |   if needs I must lead\n      To the fight my long-loved friends;\n    I sing in the shields,   |   and in strength they go\n      Whole to the field of fight,\n      Whole from the field of fight,\n      And whole they come thence home.\n\n158. A twelfth I know,   |   if high on a tree\n      I see a hanged man swing;\n    So do I write   |   and color the runes\n      That forth he fares,\n      And to me talks.\n\n159. A thirteenth I know,   |   if a thane full young\n      With water I sprinkle well;\n    He shall not fall,   |   though he fares mid the host,\n      Nor sink beneath the swords.\n\n160. A fourteenth I know,   |   if fain I would name\n      To men the mighty gods;\n    All know I well   |   of the gods and elves,\u2014\n      Few be the fools know this.\n\n161. A fifteenth I know,   |   that before the doors\n      Of Delling sang Thjothr\u00f6rir the dwarf;\n    Might he sang for the gods,   |   and glory for elves,\n      And wisdom for Hroptatyr wise.\n\n162. A sixteenth I know,   |   if I seek delight\n      To win from a maiden wise;\n    The mind I turn   |   of the white-armed maid,\n      And thus change all her thoughts.\n\n163. A seventeenth I know,   |   so that seldom shall go\n      A maiden young from me;\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n      .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n\n164. Long these songs   |   thou shalt, Loddfafnir,\n      Seek in vain to sing;\n    Yet good it were   |   if thou mightest get them,\n      Well, if thou wouldst them learn,\n      Help, if thou hadst them.\n\n165. An eighteenth I know,   |   that ne\u2019er will I tell\n      To maiden or wife of man,\u2014\n    The best is what none   |   but one\u2019s self doth know,\n      So comes the end of the songs,\u2014\n    Save only to her   |   in whose arms I lie,\n      Or who else my sister is.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTES\n\n\n1. This stanza is quoted by Snorri, the second line being omitted in\nmost of the Prose Edda manuscripts.\n\n2. Probably the first and second lines had originally nothing to do\nwith the third and fourth, the last two not referring to host or guest,\nbut to the general danger of backing one\u2019s views with the sword.\n\n6. Lines 5 and 6 appear to have been added to the stanza.\n\n12. Some editors have combined this stanza in various ways with the\nlast two lines of stanza 11, as in the manuscript the first two lines\nof the latter are abbreviated, and, if they belong there at all, are\npresumably identical with the first two lines of stanza 10.\n\n13. The heron: the bird of forgetfulness, referred to in line 1.\nGunnloth: the daughter of the giant Suttung, from whom Othin won the\nmead of poetry. For this episode see stanzas 104\u2013110.\n\n14. Fjalar: apparently another name for Suttung. This stanza, and\nprobably 13, seem to have been inserted as illustrative.\n\n25. The first two lines are abbreviated in the manuscript, but are\ndoubtless identical with the first two lines of stanza 24.\n\n27. The last two lines were probably added as a commentary on lines 3\nand 4.\n\n36. The manuscript has \u201clittle\u201d in place of \u201ca hut\u201d in line 1, but this\ninvolves an error in the initial-rhymes, and the emendation has been\ngenerally accepted.\n\n37. Lines 1 and 2 are abbreviated in the manuscript, but are doubtless\nidentical with the first two lines of stanza 36.\n\n39. In the manuscript this stanza follows stanza 40.\n\n40. The key-word in line 3 is missing in the manuscript, but editors\nhave agreed in inserting a word meaning \u201cgenerous.\u201d\n\n41. In line 3 the manuscript adds \u201cgivers again\u201d to \u201cgift-givers.\u201d\n\n55\u201356. The first pairs of lines are abbreviated in the manuscript.\n\n61. The fifth line is probably a spurious addition.\n\n62. This stanza follows stanza 63 in the manuscript, but there are\nmarks therein indicating the transposition.\n\n65. The manuscript indicates no lacuna (lines 1 and 2). Many editors\nhave filled out the stanza with two lines from late paper manuscripts,\nthe passage running:\n\n\n    \u201cA man must be watchful   |   and wary as well,\n      And fearful of trusting a friend.\u201d\n\n\n70. The manuscript has \u201cand a worthy life\u201d in place of \u201cthan to lie a\ncorpse\u201d in line 1, but Rask suggested the emendation as early as 1818,\nand most editors have followed him.\n\n73\u201374. These seven lines are obviously a jumble. The two lines of\nstanza 73 not only appear out of place, but the verse-form is unlike\nthat of the surrounding stanzas. In 74, the second line is clearly\ninterpolated, and line 1 has little enough connection with lines 3, 4\nand 5. It looks as though some compiler (or copyist) had inserted here\nvarious odds and ends for which he could find no better place.\n\n75. The word \u201cgold\u201d in line 2 is more or less conjectural, the\nmanuscript being obscure. The reading in line 4 is also doubtful.\n\n76. In the manuscript this stanza follows 78, the order being: 77, 78,\n76, 80, 79, 81. Fitjung (\u201cthe Nourisher\u201d): Earth.\n\n79. This stanza is certainly in bad shape, and probably out of place\nhere. Its reference to runes as magic signs suggests that it properly\nbelongs in some list of charms like the Ljothatal (stanzas 147\u2013165).\nThe stanza-form is so irregular as to show either that something has\nbeen lost or that there have been interpolations. The manuscript\nindicates no lacuna; Gering fills out the assumed gap as follows:\n\n\n    \u201cCertain is that   |   which is sought from runes,\n      The runes\u2014,\u201d etc.\n\n\n81. With this stanza the verse-form, as indicated in the translation,\nabruptly changes to Malahattr. What has happened seems to have been\nsomething like this. Stanza 80 introduces the idea of man\u2019s love for\nwoman. Consequently some reciter or compiler (or possibly even a\ncopyist) took occasion to insert at this point certain stanzas\nconcerning the ways of women. Thus stanza 80 would account for the\nintroduction of stanzas 81 and 82, which, in turn, apparently drew\nstanza 83 in with them. Stanza 84 suggests the fickleness of women, and\nis immediately followed\u2014again with a change of verse-form\u2014by a list of\nthings equally untrustworthy (stanzas 85\u201390). Then, after a few more\nstanzas on love in the regular measure of the Hovamol (stanzas 91\u201395),\nis introduced, by way of illustration, Othin\u2019s story of his adventure\nwith Billing\u2019s daughter (stanzas 96\u2013102). Some such process of growth,\nwhatever its specific stages may have been, must be assumed to account\nfor the curious chaos of the whole passage from stanza 81 to stanza\n102.\n\n84. Lines 3 and 4 are quoted in the Fostbr\u00e6thrasaga.\n\n85. Stanzas 85\u201388 and 90 are in Fornyrthislag, and clearly come from a\ndifferent source from the rest of the Hovamol.\n\n87. The stanza is doubtless incomplete. Some editors add from a late\npaper manuscript two lines running:\n\n\n    \u201cIn a light, clear sky   |   or a laughing throng,\n    In the howl of a dog   |   or a harlot\u2019s grief.\u201d\n\n\n88. This stanza follows stanza 89 in the manuscript. Many editors have\nchanged the order, for while stanza 89 is pretty clearly an\ninterpolation wherever it stands, it seriously interferes with the\nsense if it breaks in between 87 and 88.\n\n96. Here begins the passage (stanzas 96\u2013102) illustrating the falseness\nof woman by the story of Othin\u2019s unsuccessful love-affair with\nBilling\u2019s daughter. Of this person we know nothing beyond what is here\ntold, but the story needs little comment.\n\n102. Rask adds at the beginning of this stanza two lines from a late\npaper manuscript, running:\n\n\n    \u201cFew are so good   |   that false they are never\n      To cheat the mind of a man.\u201d\n\n\nHe makes these two lines plus lines 1 and 2 a full stanza, and lines 3,\n4, 5, and 6 a second stanza.\n\n103. With this stanza the subject changes abruptly, and apparently the\nvirtues of fair speech, mentioned in the last three lines, account for\nthe introduction, from what source cannot be known, of the story of\nOthin and the mead of song (stanzas 104\u2013110).\n\n104. The giant Suttung (\u201cthe old giant\u201d) possessed the magic mead, a\ndraught of which conferred the gift of poetry. Othin, desiring to\nobtain it, changed himself into a snake, bored his way through a\nmountain into Suttung\u2019s home, made love to the giant\u2019s daughter,\nGunnloth, and by her connivance drank up all the mead. Then he flew\naway in the form of an eagle, leaving Gunnloth to her fate. While with\nSuttung he assumed the name of Bolverk (\u201cthe Evil-Doer\u201d).\n\n105. Rati (\u201cthe Traveller\u201d): the gimlet with which Othin bored through\nthe mountain to reach Suttung\u2019s home.\n\n106. Probably either the fourth or the fifth line is a spurious\naddition.\n\n107. Othr\u00f6rir: here the name of the magic mead itself, whereas in\nstanza 141 it is the name of the vessel containing it. Othin had no\nintention of bestowing any of the precious mead upon men, but as he was\nflying over the earth, hotly pursued by Suttung, he spilled some of it\nout of his mouth, and in this way mankind also won the gift of poetry.\n\n109. Hor: Othin (\u201cthe High One\u201d). The frost-giants, Suttung\u2019s kinsmen,\nappear not to have suspected Othin of being identical with Bolverk,\npossibly because the oath referred to in stanza 110 was an oath made by\nOthin to Suttung that there was no such person as Bolverk among the\ngods. The giants, of course, fail to get from Othin the information\nthey seek concerning Bolverk, but Othin is keenly conscious of having\nviolated the most sacred of oaths, that sworn on his ring.\n\n111. With this stanza begins the Loddfafnismol (stanzas 111\u2013138).\nLoddfafnir is apparently a wandering singer, who, from his \u201cchanter\u2019s\nstool,\u201d recites the verses which he claims to have received from Othin.\nWells of Urth: cf. Voluspo, 19 and note. Urth (\u201cthe Past\u201d) is one of\nthe three Norns. This stanza is apparently in corrupt form, and editors\nhave tried many experiments with it, both in rejecting lines as\nspurious and in rearranging the words and punctuation. It looks rather\nas though the first four lines formed a complete stanza, and the last\nfour had crept in later. The phrase translated \u201cthe speech of Hor\u201d is\n\u201cHova mol,\u201d later used as the title for the entire poem.\n\n112. Lines 1\u20133 are the formula, repeated (abbreviated in the\nmanuscript) in most of the stanzas, with which Othin prefaces his\ncounsels to Loddfafnir, and throughout this section, except in stanzas\n111 and 138, Loddfafnir represents himself as simply quoting Othin\u2019s\nwords. The material is closely analogous to that contained in the first\neighty stanzas of the poem. In some cases (e.g., stanzas 117, 119, 121,\n126 and 130) the formula precedes a full four-line stanza instead of\ntwo (or three) lines.\n\n129. Line 5 is apparently interpolated.\n\n131. Lines 5\u20136 probably were inserted from a different poem.\n\n133. Many editors reject the last two lines of this stanza as spurious,\nputting the first two lines at the end of the preceding stanza. Others,\nattaching lines 3 and 4 to stanza 132, insert as the first two lines of\nstanza 133 two lines from a late paper manuscript, running:\n\n\n    \u201cEvil and good   |   do men\u2019s sons ever\n      Mingled bear in their breasts.\u201d\n\n\n134. Presumably the last four lines have been added to this stanza, for\nthe parallelism in the last three makes it probable that they belong\ntogether. The wrinkled skin of the old man is compared with the dried\nskins and bellies of animals kept for various purposes hanging in an\nIcelandic house.\n\n136. This stanza suggests the dangers of too much hospitality. The beam\n(bolt) which is ever being raised to admit guests becomes weak thereby.\nIt needs a ring to help it in keeping the door closed, and without the\nability at times to ward off guests a man becomes the victim of his own\ngenerosity.\n\n137. The list of \u201chousehold remedies\u201d in this stanza is doubtless\ninterpolated. Their nature needs no comment here.\n\n138. In the manuscript this stanza comes at the end of the entire poem,\nfollowing stanza 165. Most recent editors have followed M\u00fcllenhoff in\nshifting it to this position, as it appears to conclude the passage\nintroduced by the somewhat similar stanza III.\n\n139. With this stanza begins the most confusing part of the Hovamol:\nthe group of eight stanzas leading up to the Ljothatal, or list of\ncharms. Certain paper manuscripts have before this stanza a title:\n\u201cOthin\u2019s Tale of the Runes.\u201d Apparently stanzas 139, 140 and 142 are\nfragments of an account of how Othin obtained the runes; 141 is\nerroneously inserted from some version of the magic mead story (cf.\nstanzas 104\u2013110); and stanzas 143, 144, 145, and 146 are from\nmiscellaneous sources, all, however, dealing with the general subject\nof runes. With stanza 147 a clearly continuous passage begins once\nmore. The windy tree: the ash Yggdrasil (literally \u201cthe Horse of\nOthin,\u201d so called because of this story), on which Othin, in order to\nwin the magic runes, hanged himself as an offering to himself, and\nwounded himself with his own spear. Lines 5 and 6 have presumably been\nborrowed from Svipdagsmol, 30.\n\n141. This stanza, interrupting as it does the account of Othin\u2019s\nwinning the runes, appears to be an interpolation. The meaning of the\nstanza is most obscure. Bolthorn was Othin\u2019s grandfather, and Bestla\nhis mother. We do not know the name of the uncle here mentioned, but it\nhas been suggested that this son of Bolthorn was Mimir (cf. Voluspo, 27\nand note, and 47 and note). In any case, the nine magic songs which he\nlearned from his uncle seem to have enabled him to win the magic mead\n(cf. stanzas 104\u2013110). Concerning Othr\u00f6rir, here used as the name of\nthe vessel containing the mead, cf. stanza 107 and note.\n\n143. This and the following stanza belong together, and in many\neditions appear as a single stanza. They presumably come from some lost\npoem on the authorship of the runes. Lines 2 and 3 follow line 4 in the\nmanuscript; the transposition was suggested by Bugge. The king of\nsingers: Othin. The magic signs (runes) were commonly carved in wood,\nthen colored red.\n\n144. Dain and Dvalin: dwarfs; cf. Voluspo, 14, and note. Dain, however,\nmay here be one of the elves rather than the dwarf of that name. The\ntwo names also appear together in Grimnismol, 33, where they are\napplied to two of the four harts that nibble at the topmost twigs of\nYggdrasil. Alsvith (\u201cthe All-Wise\u201d) appears nowhere else as a giant\u2019s\nname. Myself: Othin. We have no further information concerning the list\nof those who wrote the runes for the various races, and these four\nlines seem like a confusion of names in the rather hazy mind of some\nreciter.\n\n145. This Malahattr stanza appears to be a regular religious formula,\nconcerned less with the runes which one \u201cwrites\u201d and \u201ctints\u201d (cf.\nstanza 79) than with the prayers which one \u201casks\u201d and the sacrifices\nwhich one \u201coffers\u201d and \u201csends.\u201d Its origin is wholly uncertain, but it\nis clearly an interpolation here. In the manuscript the phrase\n\u201cknowest?\u201d is abbreviated after the first line.\n\n146. This stanza as translated here follows the manuscript reading,\nexcept in assuming a gap between lines 3 and 5. In Vigfusson and\nPowell\u2019s Corpus Poeticum Boreale the first three lines have somehow\nbeen expanded into eight. The last two lines are almost certainly\nmisplaced; Bugge suggests that they belong at the end of stanza 144.\nThund: another name for Othin. When home he came: presumably after\nobtaining the runes as described in stanzas 139 and 140.\n\n147. With this stanza begins the Ljothatal, or list of charms. The\nmagic songs themselves are not given, but in each case the peculiar\napplication of the charm is explained. The passage, which is certainly\napproximately complete as far as it goes, runs to the end of the poem.\nIn the manuscript and in most editions line 4 falls into two\nhalf-lines, running:\n\n\n    \u201cIn sickness and pain   |   and every sorrow.\u201d\n\n\n148. Second, etc., appear in the manuscript as Roman numerals. The\nmanuscript indicates no gap after line 2.\n\n152. The sending of a root with runes written thereon was an excellent\nway of causing death. So died the Icelandic hero Grettir the Strong.\n\n156. House-riders: witches, who ride by night on the roofs of houses,\ngenerally in the form of wild beasts. Possibly one of the last two\nlines is spurious.\n\n157. The last line looks like an unwarranted addition, and line 4 may\nlikewise be spurious.\n\n158. Lines 4\u20135 are probably expanded from a single line.\n\n159. The sprinkling of a child with water was an established custom\nlong before Christianity brought its conception of baptism.\n\n161. This stanza, according to M\u00fcllenhoff, was the original conclusion\nof the poem, the phrase \u201ca fifteenth\u201d being inserted only after stanzas\n162\u2013165 had crept in. Delling: a seldom mentioned god who married Not\n(Night). Their son was Dag (Day). Thjothr\u00f6rir: not mentioned elsewhere.\nHroptatyr: Othin.\n\n163. Some editors have combined these two lines with stanza 164. Others\nhave assumed that the gap follows the first half-line, making \u201cso\nthat\u2014from me\u201d the end of the stanza.\n\n164. This stanza is almost certainly an interpolation, and seems to\nhave been introduced after the list of charms and the Loddfafnismol\n(stanzas 111\u2013138) were combined in a single poem, for there is no other\napparent excuse for the reference to Loddfafnir at this point. The\nwords \u201cif thou mightest get them\u201d are a conjectural emendation.\n\n165. This stanza is almost totally obscure. The third and fourth lines\nlook like interpolations.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nVAFTHRUTHNISMOL\n\nTHE BALLAD OF VAFTHRUTHNIR\n\n\nINTRODUCTORY NOTE\n\nThe Vafthruthnismol follows the Hovamol in the Codex Regius. From\nstanza 20 on it is also included in the Arnamagn\u00e6an Codex, the first\npart evidently having appeared on a leaf now lost. Snorri quotes eight\nstanzas of it in the Prose Edda, and in his prose text closely\nparaphrases many others.\n\nThe poem is wholly in dialogue form except for a single narrative\nstanza (stanza 5). After a brief introductory discussion between Othin\nand his wife, Frigg, concerning the reputed wisdom of the giant\nVafthruthnir, Othin, always in quest of wisdom, seeks out the giant,\ncalling himself Gagnrath. The giant immediately insists that they shall\ndemonstrate which is the wiser of the two, and propounds four questions\n(stanzas 11, 13, 15, and 17), each of which Othin answers. It is then\nthe god\u2019s turn to ask, and he begins with a series of twelve numbered\nquestions regarding the origins and past history of life. These\nVafthruthnir answers, and Othin asks five more questions, this time\nreferring to what is to follow the destruction of the gods, the last\none asking the name of his own slayer. Again Vafthruthnir answers, and\nOthin finally propounds the unanswerable question: \u201cWhat spake Othin\nhimself in the ears of his son, ere in the bale-fire he burned?\u201d\nVafthruthnir, recognizing his questioner as Othin himself, admits his\ninferiority in wisdom, and so the contest ends.\n\nThe whole poem is essentially encyclop\u00e6dic in character, and thus was\nparticularly useful to Snorri in his preparation of the Prose Edda. The\nencyclop\u00e6dic poem with a slight narrative outline seems to have been\nexceedingly popular; the Grimnismol and the much later Alvissmol\nrepresent different phases of the same type. The Vafthruthnismol and\nGrimnismol together, indeed, constitute a fairly complete dictionary of\nNorse mythology. There has been much discussion as to the probable date\nof the Vafthruthnismol, but it appears to belong to about the same\nperiod as the Voluspo: in other words, the middle of the tenth century.\nWhile there may be a few interpolated passages in the poem as we now\nhave it, it is clearly a united whole, and evidently in relatively good\ncondition.\n\n\n\n\n\nOthin spake:\n\n\n1.  \u201cCounsel me, Frigg,   |   for I long to fare,\n      And Vafthruthnir fain would find;\n    In wisdom old   |   with the giant wise\n      Myself would I seek to match.\u201d\n\n\nFrigg spake:\n\n\n2.  \u201cHeerfather here   |   at home would I keep,\n      Where the gods together dwell;\n    Amid all the giants   |   an equal in might\n      To Vafthruthnir know I none.\u201d\n\n\nOthin spake:\n\n\n3.  \u201cMuch have I fared,   |   much have I found,\n      Much have I got from the gods;\n    And fain would I know   |   how Vafthruthnir now\n      Lives in his lofty hall.\u201d\n\n\nFrigg spake:\n\n\n4.  \u201cSafe mayst thou go,   |   safe come again,\n      And safe be the way thou wendest!\n    Father of men,   |   let thy mind be keen\n      When speech with the giant thou seekest.\u201d\n\n5.  The wisdom then   |   of the giant wise\n      Forth did he fare to try;\n    He found the hall   |   of the father of Im,\n      And in forthwith went Ygg.\n\n\nOthin spake:\n\n\n6.  \u201cVafthruthnir, hail!   |   to thy hall am I come,\n      For thyself I fain would see;\n    And first would I ask   |   if wise thou art,\n      Or, giant, all wisdom hast won.\u201d\n\n\nVafthruthnir spake:\n\n\n7.  \u201cWho is the man   |   that speaks to me,\n      Here in my lofty hall?\n    Forth from our dwelling   |   thou never shalt fare,\n      Unless wiser than I thou art.\u201d\n\n\nOthin spake:\n\n\n8.  \u201cGagnrath they call me,   |   and thirsty I come\n      From a journey hard to thy hall;\n    Welcome I look for,   |   for long have I fared,\n      And gentle greeting, giant.\u201d\n\n\nVafthruthnir spake:\n\n\n9.  \u201cWhy standest thou there   |   on the floor whilst thou\n    speakest?\n      A seat shalt thou have in my hall;\n    Then soon shall we know   |   whose knowledge is more,\n      The guest\u2019s or the sage\u2019s gray.\u201d\n\n\nOthin spake:\n\n\n10. \u201cIf a poor man reaches   |   the home of the rich,\n      Let him wisely speak or be still;\n    For to him who speaks   |   with the hard of heart\n      Will chattering ever work ill.\u201d\n\n\nVafthruthnir spake:\n\n\n11. \u201cSpeak forth now, Gagnrath,   |   if there from the floor\n      Thou wouldst thy wisdom make known:\n    What name has the steed   |   that each morn anew\n      The day for mankind doth draw?\u201d\n\n\nOthin spake:\n\n\n12. \u201cSkinfaxi is he,   |   the steed who for men\n      The glittering day doth draw;\n    The best of horses   |   to heroes he seems,\n      And brightly his mane doth burn.\u201d\n\n\nVafthruthnir spake:\n\n\n13. \u201cSpeak forth now, Gagnrath,   |   if there from the floor\n      Thou wouldst thy wisdom make known:\n    What name has the steed   |   that from East anew\n      Brings night for the noble gods?\u201d\n\n\nOthin spake:\n\n\n14. \u201cHrimfaxi name they   |   the steed that anew\n      Brings night for the noble gods;\n    Each morning foam   |   from his bit there falls,\n      And thence come the dews in the dales.\u201d\n\n\nVafthruthnir spake:\n\n\n15. \u201cSpeak forth now, Gagnrath,   |   if there from the floor\n      Thou wouldst thy wisdom make known:\n    What name has the river   |   that \u2019twixt the realms\n      Of the gods and the giants goes?\u201d\n\n\nOthin spake:\n\n\n16. \u201cIfing is the river   |   that \u2019twixt the realms\n      Of the gods and the giants goes;\n    For all time ever   |   open it flows,\n      No ice on the river there is.\u201d\n\n\nVafthruthnir spake:\n\n\n17. \u201cSpeak forth now, Gagnrath,   |   if there from the floor\n      Thou wouldst thy wisdom make known:\n    What name has the field   |   where in fight shall meet\n      Surt and the gracious gods?\u201d\n\n\nOthin spake:\n\n\n18. \u201cVigrith is the field   |   where in fight shall meet\n      Surt and the gracious gods;\n    A hundred miles   |   each way does it measure,\n      And so are its boundaries set.\u201d\n\n\nVafthruthnir spake:\n\n\n19. \u201cWise art thou, guest!   |   To my bench shalt thou go,\n      In our seats let us speak together;\n    Here in the hall   |   our heads, O guest,\n      hall we wager our wisdom upon.\u201d\n\n\nOthin spake:\n\n\n20. \u201cFirst answer me well,   |   if thy wisdom avails,\n      And thou knowest it, Vafthruthnir, now:\n    In earliest time   |   whence came the earth,\n      Or the sky, thou giant sage?\u201d\n\n\nVafthruthnir spake:\n\n\n21. \u201cOut of Ymir\u2019s flesh   |   was fashioned the earth,\n      And the mountains were made of his bones;\n    The sky from the frost-cold   |   giant\u2019s skull,\n      And the ocean out of his blood.\u201d\n\n\nOthin spake:\n\n\n22. \u201cNext answer me well,   |   if thy wisdom avails,\n      And thou knowest it, Vafthruthnir, now:\n    Whence came the moon,   |   o\u2019er the world of men\n      That fares, and the flaming sun?\u201d\n\n\nVafthruthnir spake:\n\n\n23. \u201cMundilferi is he   |   who begat the moon,\n      And fathered the flaming sun;\n    The round of heaven   |   each day they run,\n      To tell the time for men.\u201d\n\n\nOthin spake:\n\n\n24. \u201cThird answer me well,   |   if wise thou art called,\n      If thou knowest it, Vafthruthnir, now:\n    Whence came the day,   |   o\u2019er mankind that fares,\n      Or night with the narrowing moon?\u201d\n\n\nVafthruthnir spake:\n\n\n25. \u201cThe father of day   |   is Delling called,\n      And the night was begotten by Nor;\n    Full moon and old   |   by the gods were fashioned,\n      To tell the time for men.\u201d\n\n\nOthin spake:\n\n\n26. \u201cFourth answer me well,   |   if wise thou art called,\n      If thou knowest it, Vafthruthnir, now:\n    Whence did winter come,   |   or the summer warm,\n      First with the gracious gods?\u201d\n\n\nVafthruthnir spake:\n\n\n27. \u201cVindsval he was   |   who was winter\u2019s father,\n      And Svosuth summer begat;\u201d\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n      .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n\n\nOthin spake:\n\n\n28. \u201cFifth answer me well,   |   if wise thou art called,\n      If thou knowest it, Vafthruthnir, now:\n    What giant first   |   was fashioned of old,\n      And the eldest of Ymir\u2019s kin?\u201d\n\n\nVafthruthnir spake:\n\n\n29. \u201cWinters unmeasured   |   ere earth was made\n      Was the birth of Bergelmir;\n    Thruthgelmir\u2019s son   |   was the giant strong,\n      And Aurgelmir\u2019s grandson of old.\u201d\n\n\nOthin spake:\n\n\n30. \u201cSixth answer me well,   |   if wise thou art called,\n      If thou knowest it, Vafthruthnir, now:\n    Whence did Aurgelmir come   |   with the giants\u2019 kin,\n      Long since, thou giant sage?\u201d\n\n\nVafthruthnir spake:\n\n\n31. \u201cDown from Elivagar   |   did venom drop,\n      And waxed till a giant it was;\n    And thence arose   |   our giants\u2019 race,\n      And thus so fierce are we found.\u201d\n\n\nOthin spake:\n\n\n32. \u201cSeventh answer me well,   |   if wise thou art called,\n      If thou knowest it, Vafthruthnir, now:\n    How begat he children,   |   the giant grim,\n      Who never a giantess knew?\u201d\n\n\nVafthruthnir spake:\n\n\n33. \u201cThey say \u2019neath the arms   |   of the giant of ice\n      Grew man-child and maid together;\n    And foot with foot   |   did the wise one fashion\n      A son that six heads bore.\u201d\n\n\nOthin spake:\n\n\n34. \u201cEighth answer me well,   |   if wise thou art called,\n      If thou knowest it, Vafthruthnir, now:\n    What farthest back   |   dost thou bear in mind?\n      For wide is thy wisdom, giant!\u201d\n\n\nVafthruthnir spake:\n\n\n35. \u201cWinters unmeasured   |   ere earth was made\n      Was the birth of Bergelmir;\n    This first knew I well,   |   when the giant wise\n      In a boat of old was borne.\u201d\n\n\nOthin spake:\n\n\n36. \u201cNinth answer me well,   |   if wise thou art called,\n      If thou knowest it, Vafthruthnir, now:\n    Whence comes the wind   |   that fares o\u2019er the waves\n      Yet never itself is seen?\u201d\n\n\nVafthruthnir spake:\n\n\n37. \u201cIn an eagle\u2019s guise   |   at the end of heaven\n      Hr\u00e6svelg sits, they say;\n    And from his wings   |   does the wind come forth\n      To move o\u2019er the world of men.\u201d\n\n\nOthin spake:\n\n\n38. \u201cTenth answer me now,   |   if thou knowest all\n      The fate that is fixed for the gods:\n    Whence came up Njorth   |   to the kin of the gods,\u2014\n    (Rich in temples   |   and shrines he rules,\u2014)\n      Though of gods he was never begot?\u201d\n\n\nVafthruthnir spake:\n\n\n39. \u201cIn the home of the Wanes   |   did the wise ones create him,\n      And gave him as pledge to the gods;\n    At the fall of the world   |   shall he fare once more\n      Home to the Wanes so wise.\u201d\n\n\nOthin spake:\n\n\n40. \u201cEleventh answer me well,   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n        .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    What men .  .  .  .  .  .   |   in .  .  .  .  .  . home\n      Each day to fight go forth?\u201d\n\n\nVafthruthnir spake:\n\n\n41. \u201cThe heroes all   |   in Othin\u2019s hall\n      Each day to fight go forth;\n    They fell each other,   |   and fare from the fight\n      All healed full soon to sit.\u201d\n\n\nOthin spake:\n\n\n42. \u201cTwelfth answer me now   |   how all thou knowest\n      Of the fate that is fixed for the gods;\n    Of the runes of the gods   |   and the giants\u2019 race\n      The truth indeed dost thou tell,\n      (And wide is thy wisdom, giant!)\u201d\n\n\nVafthruthnir spake:\n\n\n43. \u201cOf the runes of the gods   |   and the giants\u2019 race\n      The truth indeed can I tell,\n      (For to every world have I won;)\n    To nine worlds came I,   |   to Niflhel beneath,\n      The home where dead men dwell.\u201d\n\n\nOthin spake:\n\n\n44. \u201cMuch have I fared,   |   much have I found,\n      Much have I got of the gods:\n    What shall live of mankind   |   when at last there comes\n      The mighty winter to men?\u201d\n\n\nVafthruthnir spake:\n\n\n45. \u201cIn Hoddmimir\u2019s wood   |   shall hide themselves\n    Lif and Lifthrasir then;\n    The morning dews   |   for meat shall they have,\n      Such food shall men then find.\u201d\n\n\nOthin spake:\n\n\n46. \u201cMuch have I fared,   |   much have I found,\n      Much have I got of the gods:\n    Whence comes the sun   |   to the smooth sky back,\n      When Fenrir has snatched it forth?\u201d\n\n\nVafthruthnir spake:\n\n\n47. \u201cA daughter bright   |   Alfrothul bears\n      Ere Fenrir snatches her forth;\n    Her mother\u2019s paths   |   shall the maiden tread\n      When the gods to death have gone.\u201d\n\n\nOthin spake:\n\n\n48. \u201cMuch have I fared,   |   much have I found,\n      Much have I got of the gods:\n    What maidens are they,   |   so wise of mind,\n      That forth o\u2019er the sea shall fare?\u201d\n\n\nVafthruthnir spake:\n\n\n49. \u201cO\u2019er Mogthrasir\u2019s hill   |   shall the maidens pass,\n      And three are their throngs that come;\n    They all shall protect   |   the dwellers on earth,\n      Though they come of the giants\u2019 kin.\u201d\n\n\nOthin spake:\n\n\n50. \u201cMuch have I fared,   |   much have I found,\n      Much have I got of the gods:\n    Who then shall rule   |   the realm of the gods,\n      When the fires of Surt have sunk?\u201d\n\n\nVafthruthnir spake:\n\n\n51. \u201cIn the gods\u2019 home Vithar   |   and Vali shall dwell,\n      When the fires of Surt have sunk;\n    Mothi and Magni   |   shall Mjollnir have\n      When Vingnir falls in fight.\u201d\n\n\nOthin spake:\n\n\n52. \u201cMuch have I fared,   |   much have I found,\n      Much have I got of the gods:\n    What shall bring the doom   |   of death to Othin,\n      When the gods to destruction go?\u201d\n\n\nVafthruthnir spake:\n\n\n53. \u201cThe wolf shall fell   |   the father of men,\n      And this shall Vithar avenge;\n    The terrible jaws   |   shall he tear apart,\n      And so the wolf shall he slay.\u201d\n\n\nOthin spake:\n\n\n54. \u201cMuch have I fared,   |   much have I found,\n      Much have I got from the gods:\n    What spake Othin himself   |   in the ears of his son,\n      Ere in the bale-fire he burned?\u201d\n\n\nVafthruthnir spake:\n\n\n55. \u201cNo man can tell   |   what in olden time\n      Thou spak\u2019st in the ears of thy son;\n    With fated mouth   |   the fall of the gods\n      And mine olden tales have I told;\n    With Othin in knowledge   |   now have I striven,\n      And ever the wiser thou art.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTES\n\n\n1. The phrases \u201cOthin spake,\u201d \u201cFrigg spake,\u201d etc., appear in\nabbreviated form in both manuscripts. Frigg: Othin\u2019s wife; cf. Voluspo,\n34 and note. Vafthruthnir (\u201cthe Mighty in Riddles\u201d): nothing is known\nof this giant beyond what is told in this poem.\n\n2. Heerfather (\u201cFather of the Host\u201d): Othin.\n\n5. This single narrative stanza is presumably a later interpolation.\nIm: the name appears to be corrupt, but we know nothing of any son of\nVafthruthnir. Ygg (\u201cthe Terrible\u201d): Othin.\n\n8. Gagnrath (\u201cthe Gain-Counsellor\u201d): Othin on his travels always\nassumes a name other than his own.\n\n10. This stanza sounds very much like many of those in the first part\nof the Hovamol, and may have been introduced here from some such\nsource.\n\n12. Skinfaxi: \u201cShining-Mane.\u201d\n\n13. Here, and in general throughout the poem, the two-line introductory\nformul\u00e6 are abbreviated in the manuscripts.\n\n14. Hrimfaxi: \u201cFrosty-Mane.\u201d\n\n16. Ifing: there is no other reference to this river, which never\nfreezes, so that the giants cannot cross it.\n\n17. Surt: the ruler of the fire-world (Muspellsheim), who comes to\nattack the gods in the last battle; cf. Voluspo, 52.\n\n18. Vigrith: \u201cthe Field of Battle.\u201d Snorri quotes this stanza. A\nhundred miles: a general phrase for a vast distance.\n\n19. With this stanza Vafthruthnir, sufficiently impressed with his\nguest\u2019s wisdom to invite him to share his own seat, resigns the\nquestioning to Othin.\n\n20. The fragmentary version of this poem in the Arnamagn\u00e6an Codex\nbegins in the middle of the first line of this stanza.\n\n21. Ymir: the giant out of whose body the gods made the world; cf.\nVoluspo, 3 and note.\n\n22. In this and in Othin\u2019s following questions, both manuscripts\nreplace the words \u201cnext,\u201d \u201cthird,\u201d \u201cfourth,\u201d etc., by Roman numerals.\n\n23. Mundilferi (\u201cthe Turner\u201d?): known only as the father of Mani (the\nMoon) and Sol (the Sun). Note that, curiously enough, Mani is the boy\nand Sol the girl. According to Snorri, Sol drove the horses of the sun,\nand Mani those of the moon, for the gods, indignant that they should\nhave been given such imposing names, took them from their father to\nperform these tasks. Cf. Grimnismol, 37.\n\n25. Delling (\u201cthe Dayspring\u201d? Probably another form of the name,\nDogling, meaning \u201cSon of the Dew\u201d is more correct): the husband of Not\n(Night); their son was Dag (Day); cf. Hovamol, 161. Nor: Snorri calls\nthe father of Night Norvi or Narfi, and puts him among the giants.\nLines 3\u20134: cf. Voluspo, 6.\n\n27. Neither the Regius nor the Arnamagn\u00e6an Codex indicates a lacuna.\nMost editors have filled out the stanza with two lines from late paper\nmanuscripts: \u201cAnd both of these   |   shall ever be, / Till the gods to\ndestruction go.\u201d Bugge ingeniously paraphrases Snorri\u2019s prose:\n\u201cVindsval\u2019s father   |   was Vosuth called, / And rough is all his\nrace.\u201d Vindsval: \u201cthe Wind-Cold,\u201d also called Vindljoni, \u201cthe\nWind-Man.\u201d Svosuth: \u201cthe Gentle.\u201d\n\n28. Ymir\u2019s kin: the giants.\n\n29. Bergelmir: when the gods slew Ymir in order to make the world out\nof his body, so much blood flowed from him that all the frost-giants\nwere drowned except Bergelmir and his wife, who escaped in a boat; cf.\nstanza 35. Of Thruthgelmir (\u201cthe Mightily Burning\u201d) we know nothing,\nbut Aurgelmir was the frost-giants\u2019 name for Ymir himself. Thus Ymir\nwas the first of the giants, and so Othin\u2019s question is answered.\n\n31. Snorri quotes this stanza, and the last two lines are taken from\nhis version, as both of the manuscripts omit them. Elivagar (\u201cStormy\nWaves\u201d): Mogk suggests that this river may have been the Milky Way. At\nany rate, the venom carried in its waters froze into ice-banks over\nGinnunga-gap (the \u201cyawning gap\u201d referred to in Voluspo, 3), and then\ndripped down to make the giant Ymir.\n\n33. Snorri gives, without materially elaborating on it, the same\naccount of how Ymir\u2019s son and daughter were born under his left arm,\nand how his feet together created a son. That this offspring should\nhave had six heads is nothing out of the ordinary, for various giants\nhad more than the normal number, and Hymir\u2019s mother is credited with a\nlittle matter of nine hundred heads; cf. Hymiskvitha, 8. Of the career\nof Ymir\u2019s six-headed son we know nothing; he may have been the\nThruthgelmir of stanza 29.\n\n35. Snorri quotes this stanza. Bergelmir: on him and his boat cf.\nstanza 29 and note.\n\n37. Snorri quotes this stanza. Hr\u00e6svelg (\u201cthe Corpse-Eater\u201d): on this\ngiant in eagle\u2019s form cf. Voluspo, 50, and Skirnismol, 27.\n\n38. With this stanza the question-formula changes, and Othin\u2019s\nquestions from this point on concern more or less directly the great\nfinal struggle. Line 4 is presumably spurious. Njorth: on Njorth and\nthe Wanes, who gave him as a hostage to the gods at the end of their\nwar, cf. Voluspo, 21 and note.\n\n40. In both manuscripts, apparently through the carelessness of some\nolder copyist, stanzas 40 and 41 are run together: \u201cEleventh answer me\nwell, what men in the home mightily battle each day? They fell each\nother, and fare from the fight all healed full soon to sit.\u201d Luckily\nSnorri quotes stanza 41 in full, and the translation is from his\nversion. Stanza 40 should probably run something like this: \u201cEleventh\nanswer me well,   |   if thou knowest all / The fate that is fixed for\nthe gods: / What men are they   |   who in Othin\u2019s home / Each day to\nfight go forth?\u201d\n\n41. The heroes: those brought to Valhall by the Valkyries. After the\nday\u2019s fighting they are healed of their wounds and all feast together.\n\n43. Nine worlds: cf. Voluspo, 2. Niflhel: \u201cDark-Hell.\u201d\n\n44. The mighty winter: Before the final destruction three winters\nfollow one another with no intervening summers.\n\n45. Snorri quotes this stanza. Hoddmimir\u2019s wood: probably this is the\nash-tree Yggdrasil, which is sometimes referred to as \u201cMimir\u2019s Tree,\u201d\nbecause Mimir waters it from his well; cf. Voluspo, 27 and note, and\nSvipdagsmol, 30 and note. Hoddmimir is presumably another name for\nMimir. Lif (\u201cLife\u201d) and Lifthrasir (\u201cSturdy of Life\u201d?): nothing further\nis known of this pair, from whom the new race of men is to spring.\n\n46. Fenrir: there appears to be a confusion between the wolf Fenrir\n(cf. Voluspo, 39 and note) and his son, the wolf Skoll, who steals the\nsun (cf. Voluspo, 40 and note).\n\n47. Snorri quotes this stanza. Alfrothul (\u201cthe Elf-Beam\u201d): the sun.\n\n49. Mogthrasir (\u201cDesiring Sons\u201d): not mentioned elsewhere in the Eddic\npoems, or by Snorri. The maidens: apparently Norns, like the\n\u201cgiant-maids\u201d in Voluspo, 8. These Norns, however, are kindly to men.\n\n50. Surt: cf. Voluspo, 52 and note.\n\n51. Vithar: a son of Othin, who slays the wolf Fenrir; cf. Voluspo, 54\nand note. Vali: the son whom Othin begot to avenge Baldr\u2019s death; cf.\nVoluspo, 33 and note. Mothi (\u201cWrath\u201d) and Magni (\u201cMight\u201d): the sons of\nthe god Thor, who after his death inherit his famous hammer, Mjollnir.\nConcerning this hammer cf. especially Thrymskvitha, passim. Vingnir\n(\u201cthe Hurler\u201d): Thor. Concerning his death cf. Voluspo, 56. This stanza\nis quoted by Snorri.\n\n53. The wolf: Fenrir; cf. Voluspo, 53 and 54.\n\n54. His son: Baldr. Bugge changes lines 3\u20134 to run: \u201cWhat did Othin\nspeak   |   in the ear of Baldr, / When to the bale-fire they bore\nhim?\u201d For Baldr\u2019s death cf. Voluspo, 32 and note. The question is, of\ncourse, unanswerable save by Othin himself, and so the giant at last\nrecognizes his guest.\n\n55. Fated: in stanza 19 Vafthruthnir was rash enough to wager his head\nagainst his guest\u2019s on the outcome of the contest of wisdom, so he\nknows that his defeat means his death.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGRIMNISMOL\n\nTHE BALLAD OF GRIMNIR\n\n\nINTRODUCTORY NOTE\n\n\nThe Grimnismol follows the Vafthruthnismol in the Codex Regius and is\nalso found complete in the Arnamagn\u00e6an Codex, where also it follows the\nVafthruthnismol. Snorri quotes over twenty of its stanzas.\n\nLike the preceding poem, the Grimnismol is largely encyclop\u00e6dic in\nnature, and consists chiefly of proper names, the last forty-seven\nstanzas containing no less than two hundred and twenty-five of these.\nIt is not, however, in dialogue form. As M\u00fcllenhoff pointed out, there\nis underneath the catalogue of mythological names a consecutive and\nthoroughly dramatic story. Othin, concealed under the name of Grimnir,\nis through an error tortured by King Geirr\u00f6th. Bound between two\nblazing fires, he begins to display his wisdom for the benefit of the\nking\u2019s little son, Agnar, who has been kind to him. Gradually he works\nup to the great final moment, when he declares his true name, or rather\nnames, to the terrified Geirr\u00f6th, and the latter falls on his sword and\nis killed.\n\nFor much of this story we do not have to depend on guesswork, for in\nboth manuscripts the poem itself is preceded by a prose narrative of\nconsiderable length, and concluded by a brief prose statement of the\nmanner of Geirr\u00f6th\u2019s death. These prose notes, of which there are many\nin the Eddic manuscripts, are of considerable interest to the student\nof early literary forms. Presumably they were written by the compiler\nto whom we owe the Eddic collection, who felt that the poems needed\nsuch annotation in order to be clear. Linguistic evidence shows that\nthey were written in the twelfth or thirteenth century, for they\npreserve none of the older word-forms which help us to date many of the\npoems two or three hundred years earlier.\n\nWithout discussing in detail the problems suggested by these prose\npassages, it is worth noting, first, that the Eddic poems contain\nrelatively few stanzas of truly narrative verse; and second, that all\nof them are based on narratives which must have been more or less\nfamiliar to the hearers of the poems. In other words, the poems seldom\naimed to tell stories, although most of them followed a narrative\nsequence of ideas. The stories themselves appear to have lived in oral\nprose tradition, just as in the case of the sagas; and the prose notes\nof the manuscripts, in so far as they contain material not simply drawn\nfrom the poems themselves, are relics of this tradition. The early\nNorse poets rarely conceived verse as a suitable means for direct\nstory-telling, and in some of the poems even the simplest action is\ntold in prose \u201clinks\u201d between dialogue stanzas.\n\nThe applications of this fact, which has been too often overlooked, are\nalmost limitless, for it suggests a still unwritten chapter in the\nhistory of ballad poetry and the so-called \u201cpopular\u201d epic. It implies\nthat narrative among early peoples may frequently have had a period of\nprose existence before it was made into verse, and thus puts, for\nexample, a long series of transitional stages before such a poem as the\nIliad. In any case, the prose notes accompanying the Eddic poems prove\nthat in addition to the poems themselves there existed in the twelfth\ncentury a considerable amount of narrative tradition, presumably in\nprose form, on which these notes were based by the compiler.\n\nInterpolations in such a poem as the Grimnismol could have been made\neasily enough, and many stanzas have undoubtedly crept in from other\npoems, but the beginning and end of the poem are clearly marked, and\npresumably it has come down to us with the same essential outline it\nhad when it was composed, probably in the first half of the tenth\ncentury.\n\n\n\n\n\nKing Hrauthung had two sons: one was called Agnar, and the other\nGeirr\u00f6th. Agnar was ten winters old, and Geirr\u00f6th eight. Once they both\nrowed in a boat with their fishing-gear to catch little fish; and the\nwind drove them out into the sea. In the darkness of the night they\nwere wrecked on the shore; and going up, they found a poor peasant,\nwith whom they stayed through the winter. The housewife took care of\nAgnar, and the peasant cared for Geirr\u00f6th, and taught him wisdom. In\nthe spring the peasant gave him a boat; and when the couple led them to\nthe shore, the peasant spoke secretly with Geirr\u00f6th. They had a fair\nwind, and came to their father\u2019s landing-place. Geirr\u00f6th was forward in\nthe boat; he leaped up on land, but pushed out the boat and said, \u201cGo\nthou now where evil may have thee!\u201d The boat drifted out to sea.\nGeirr\u00f6th, however, went up to the house, and was well received, but his\nfather was dead. Then Geirr\u00f6th was made king, and became a renowned\nman.\n\nOthin and Frigg sat in Hlithskjolf and looked over all the worlds.\nOthin said: \u201cSeest thou Agnar, thy fosterling, how he begets children\nwith a giantess in the cave? But Geirr\u00f6th, my fosterling, is a king,\nand now rules over his land.\u201d Frigg said: \u201cHe is so miserly that he\ntortures his guests if he thinks that too many of them come to him.\u201d\nOthin replied that this was the greatest of lies; and they made a wager\nabout this matter. Frigg sent her maid-servant, Fulla, to Geirr\u00f6th. She\nbade the king beware lest a magician who was come thither to his land\nshould bewitch him, and told this sign concerning him, that no dog was\nso fierce as to leap at him. Now it was a very great slander that King\nGeirr\u00f6th was not hospitable; but nevertheless he had them take the man\nwhom the dogs would not attack. He wore a dark-blue mantle and called\nhimself Grimnir, but said no more about himself, though he was\nquestioned. The king had him tortured to make him speak, and set him\nbetween two fires, and he sat there eight nights. King Geirr\u00f6th had a\nson ten winters old, and called Agnar after his father\u2019s brother. Agnar\nwent to Grimnir, and gave him a full horn to drink from, and said that\nthe king did ill in letting him be tormented without cause. Grimnir\ndrank from the horn; the fire had come so near that the mantle burned\non Grimnir\u2019s back. He spake:\n\n\n1.  Hot art thou, fire!   |   too fierce by far;\n      Get ye now gone, ye flames!\n    The mantle is burnt,   |   though I bear it aloft,\n      And the fire scorches the fur.\n\n2.  \u2019Twixt the fires now   |   eight nights have I sat,\n      And no man brought meat to me,\n    Save Agnar alone,   |   and alone shall rule\n      Geirr\u00f6th\u2019s son o\u2019er the Goths.\n\n3.  Hail to thee, Agnar!   |   for hailed thou art\n      By the voice of Veratyr;\n    For a single drink   |   shalt thou never receive\n      A greater gift as reward.\n\n4.  The land is holy   |   that lies hard by\n      The gods and the elves together;\n    And Thor shall ever   |   in Thruthheim dwell,\n      Till the gods to destruction go.\n\n5.  Ydalir call they   |   the place where Ull\n      A hall for himself hath set;\n    And Alfheim the gods   |   to Freyr once gave\n      As a tooth-gift in ancient times.\n\n6.  A third home is there,   |   with silver thatched\n      By the hands of the gracious gods:\n    Valaskjolf is it,   |   in days of old\n      Set by a god for himself.\n\n7.  S\u00f6kkvabekk is the fourth,   |   where cool waves flow,\n      And amid their murmur it stands;\n    There daily do Othin   |   and Saga drink\n      In gladness from cups of gold.\n\n8.  The fifth is Glathsheim,   |   and gold-bright there\n      Stands Valhall stretching wide;\n    And there does Othin   |   each day choose\n      The men who have fallen in fight.\n\n9.  Easy is it to know   |   for him who to Othin\n      Comes and beholds the hall;\n    Its rafters are spears,   |   with shields is it roofed,\n      On its benches are breastplates strewn.\n\n10. Easy is it to know   |   for him who to Othin\n      Comes and beholds the hall;\n    There hangs a wolf   |   by the western door,\n      And o\u2019er it an eagle hovers.\n\n11. The sixth is Thrymheim,   |   where Thjazi dwelt,\n      The giant of marvelous might;\n    Now Skathi abides,   |   the god\u2019s fair bride,\n      In the home that her father had.\n\n12. The seventh is Breithablik;   |   Baldr has there\n      For himself a dwelling set,\n    In the land I know   |   that lies so fair,\n      And from evil fate is free.\n\n13. Himinbjorg is the eighth,   |   and Heimdall there\n      O\u2019er men holds sway, it is said;\n    In his well-built house   |   does the warder of heaven\n      The good mead gladly drink.\n\n14. The ninth is Folkvang,   |   where Freyja decrees\n      Who shall have seats in the hall;\n    The half of the dead   |   each day does she choose,\n      And half does Othin have.\n\n15. The tenth is Glitnir;   |   its pillars are gold,\n      And its roof with silver is set;\n    There most of his days   |   does Forseti dwell,\n      And sets all strife at end.\n\n16. The eleventh is Noatun;   |   there has Njorth\n      For himself a dwelling set;\n    The sinless ruler   |   of men there sits\n      In his temple timbered high.\n\n17. Filled with growing trees   |   and high-standing grass\n      Is Vithi, Vithar\u2019s land;\n    But there did the son   |   from his steed leap down,\n      When his father he fain would avenge.\n\n18. In Eldhrimnir   |   Andhrimnir cooks\n      S\u00e6hrimnir\u2019s seething flesh,\u2014\n    The best of food,   |   but few men know\n      On what fare the warriors feast.\n\n19. Freki and Geri   |   does Heerfather feed,\n      The far-famed fighter of old:\n    But on wine alone   |   does the weapon-decked god,\n      Othin, forever live.\n\n20. O\u2019er Mithgarth Hugin   |   and Munin both\n      Each day set forth to fly;\n    For Hugin I fear   |   lest he come not home,\n      But for Munin my care is more.\n\n21. Loud roars Thund,   |   and Thjothvitnir\u2019s fish\n      Joyously fares in the flood;\n    Hard does it seem   |   to the host of the slain\n      To wade the torrent wild.\n\n22. There Valgrind stands,   |   the sacred gate,\n      And behind are the holy doors;\n    Old is the gate,   |   but few there are\n      Who can tell how it tightly is locked.\n\n23. Five hundred doors   |   and forty there are,\n      I ween, in Valhall\u2019s walls;\n    Eight hundred fighters   |   through one door fare\n      When to war with the wolf they go.\n\n24. Five hundred rooms   |   and forty there are\n      I ween, in Bilskirnir built;\n    Of all the homes   |   whose roofs I beheld,\n      My son\u2019s the greatest meseemed.\n\n25. Heithrun is the goat   |   who stands by Heerfather\u2019s hall,\n      And the branches of L\u00e6rath she bites;\n    The pitcher she fills   |   with the fair, clear mead,\n      Ne\u2019er fails the foaming drink.\n\n26. Eikthyrnir is the hart   |   who stands by Heerfather\u2019s hall\n      And the branches of L\u00e6rath he bites;\n    From his horns a stream   |   into Hvergelmir drops,\n      Thence all the rivers run.\n\n27. Sith and Vith,   |   S\u00e6kin and \u00c6kin,\n    Svol and Fimbulthul,   |   Gunnthro and Fjorm,\n      Rin and Rinnandi,\n    Gipul and Gopul,   |   Gomul and Geirvimul,\n      That flow through the fields of the gods;\n    Thyn and Vin,   |   Thol and Hol,\n      Groth and Gunnthorin.\n\n28. Vino is one,   |   Vegsvin another,\n      And Thjothnuma a third;\n    Nyt and Not,   |   Non and Hron,\n    Slith and Hrith,   |   Sylg and Ylg,\n    Vith and Von,   |   Vond and Strond,\n    Gjol and Leipt,   |   that go among men,\n      And hence they fall to Hel.\n\n29. Kormt and Ormt   |   and the Kerlaugs twain\n      Shall Thor each day wade through,\n    (When dooms to give   |   he forth shall go\n      To the ash-tree Yggdrasil;)\n    For heaven\u2019s bridge   |   burns all in flame,\n      And the sacred waters seethe.\n\n30. Glath and Gyllir,   |   Gler and Skeithbrimir,\n      Silfrintopp and Sinir,\n    Gisl and Falhofnir,   |   Golltopp and Lettfeti,\n      On these steeds the gods shall go\n    When dooms to give   |   each day they ride\n      To the ash-tree Yggdrasil.\n\n31. Three roots there are   |   that three ways run\n      \u2019Neath the ash-tree Yggdrasil;\n    \u2019Neath the first lives Hel,   |   \u2019neath the second the\n    frost-giants,\n      \u2019Neath the last are the lands of men.\n\n32. Ratatosk is the squirrel   |   who there shall run\n      On the ash-tree Yggdrasil;\n    From above the words   |   of the eagle he bears,\n      And tells them to Nithhogg beneath.\n\n33. Four harts there are,   |   that the highest twigs\n    Nibble with necks bent back;\n    Dain and Dvalin,   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n      Duneyr and Dyrathror.\n\n34. More serpents there are   |   beneath the ash\n      Than an unwise ape would think;\n    Goin and Moin,   |   Grafvitnir\u2019s sons,\n      Grabak and Grafvolluth,\n    Ofnir and Svafnir   |   shall ever, methinks,\n      Gnaw at the twigs of the tree.\n\n35. Yggdrasil\u2019s ash   |   great evil suffers,\n      Far more than men do know;\n    The hart bites its top,   |   its trunk is rotting,\n      And Nithhogg gnaws beneath.\n\n36. Hrist and Mist   |   bring the horn at my will,\n      Skeggjold and Skogul;\n    Hild and Thruth,   |   Hlokk and Herfjotur,\n      Gol and Geironul,\n    Randgrith and Rathgrith   |   and Reginleif\n      Beer to the warriors bring.\n\n37. Arvak and Alsvith   |   up shall drag\n      Weary the weight of the sun;\n    But an iron cool   |   have the kindly gods\n      Of yore set under their yokes.\n\n38. In front of the sun   |   does Svalin stand,\n      The shield for the shining god;\n    Mountains and sea   |   would be set in flames\n      If it fell from before the sun.\n\n39. Skoll is the wolf   |   that to Ironwood\n      Follows the glittering god,\n    And the son of Hrothvitnir,   |   Hati, awaits\n      The burning bride of heaven.\n\n40. Out of Ymir\u2019s flesh   |   was fashioned the earth,\n      And the ocean out of his blood;\n    Of his bones the hills,   |   of his hair the trees,\n      Of his skull the heavens high.\n\n41. Mithgarth the gods   |   from his eyebrows made,\n      And set for the sons of men;\n    And out of his brain   |   the baleful clouds\n      They made to move on high.\n\n42. His the favor of Ull   |   and of all the gods\n      Who first in the flames will reach;\n    For the house can be seen   |   by the sons of the gods\n      If the kettle aside were cast.\n\n43. In days of old   |   did Ivaldi\u2019s sons\n      Skithblathnir fashion fair,\n    The best of ships   |   for the bright god Freyr,\n      The noble son of Njorth.\n\n44. The best of trees   |   must Yggdrasil be,\n      Skithblathnir best of boats;\n    Of all the gods   |   is Othin the greatest,\n      And Sleipnir the best of steeds;\n    Bilrost of bridges,   |   Bragi of skalds,\n    Hobrok of hawks,   |   and Garm of hounds.\n\n45. To the race of the gods   |   my face have I raised,\n      And the wished-for aid have I waked;\n    For to all the gods   |   has the message gone\n      That sit in \u00c6gir\u2019s seats,\n      That drink within \u00c6gir\u2019s doors.\n\n46. Grim is my name,   |   Gangleri am I,\n      Herjan and Hjalmberi,\n    Thekk and Thrithi,   |   Thuth and Uth,\n      Helblindi and Hor;\n\n47. Sath and Svipal   |   and Sanngetal,\n      Herteit and Hnikar,\n    Bileyg, Baleyg,   |   Bolverk, Fjolnir,\n    Grim and Grimnir,   |   Glapsvith, Fjolsvith.\n\n48. Sithhott, Sithskegg,   |   Sigfather, Hnikuth,\n    Allfather, Valfather,   |   Atrith, Farmatyr:\n    A single name   |   have I never had\n      Since first among men I fared.\n\n49. Grimnir they call me   |   in Geirr\u00f6th\u2019s hall,\n      With Asmund Jalk am I;\n    Kjalar I was   |   when I went in a sledge,\n      At the council Thror am I called,\n      As Vithur I fare to the fight;\n    Oski, Biflindi,   |   Jafnhor and Omi,\n      Gondlir and Harbarth midst gods.\n\n50. I deceived the giant   |   Sokkmimir old\n      As Svithur and Svithrir of yore;\n    Of Mithvitnir\u2019s son   |   the slayer I was\n      When the famed one found his doom.\n\n51. Drunk art thou, Geirr\u00f6th,   |   too much didst thou drink,\n      .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    Much hast thou lost,   |   for help no more\n      From me or my heroes thou hast.\n\n52. Small heed didst thou take   |   to all that I told,\n      And false were the words of thy friends;\n    For now the sword   |   of my friend I see,\n      That waits all wet with blood.\n\n53. Thy sword-pierced body   |   shall Ygg have soon,\n      For thy life is ended at last;\n    The maids are hostile;   |   now Othin behold!\n      Now come to me if thou canst!\n\n54. Now am I Othin,   |   Ygg was I once,\n      Ere that did they call me Thund;\n    Vak and Skilfing,   |   Vofuth and Hroptatyr,\n      Gaut and Jalk midst the gods;\n    Ofnir and Svafnir,   |   and all, methinks,\n      Are names for none but me.\n\n\nKing Geirr\u00f6th sat and had his sword on his knee, half drawn from its\nsheath. But when he heard that Othin was come thither, then he rose up\nand sought to take Othin from the fire. The sword slipped from his\nhand, and fell with the hilt down. The king stumbled and fell forward,\nand the sword pierced him through, and slew him. Then Othin vanished,\nbut Agnar long ruled there as king.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTES\n\n\nProse. The texts of the two manuscripts differ in many minor details.\nHrauthung: this mythical king is not mentioned elsewhere. Geirr\u00f6th: the\nmanuscripts spell his name in various ways. Frigg: Othin\u2019s wife. She\nand Othin nearly always disagreed in some such way as the one outlined\nin this story. Hlithskjolf (\u201cGate-Shelf\u201d): Othin\u2019s watch-tower in\nheaven, whence he can overlook all the nine worlds; cf. Skirnismol,\nintroductory prose. Grimnir: \u201cthe Hooded One.\u201d\n\n2. In the original lines 2 and 4 are both too long for the meter, and\nthus the true form of the stanza is doubtful. For line 4 both\nmanuscripts have \u201cthe land of the Goths\u201d instead of simply \u201cthe Goths.\u201d\nThe word \u201cGoths\u201d apparently was applied indiscriminately to any\nSouth-Germanic people, including the Burgundians as well as the actual\nGoths, and thus here has no specific application; cf. Gripisspo, 35 and\nnote.\n\n3. Veratyr (\u201cLord of Men\u201d): Othin. The \u201cgift\u201d which Agnar receives is\nOthin\u2019s mythological lore.\n\n4. Thruthheim (\u201cthe Place of Might\u201d): the place where Thor, the\nstrongest of the gods, has his hall, Bilskirnir, described in stanza\n24.\n\n5. Ydalir (\u201cYew-Dales\u201d): the home of Ull, the archer among the gods, a\nson of Thor\u2019s wife, Sif, by another marriage. The wood of the yew-tree\nwas used for bows in the North just as it was long afterwards in\nEngland. Alfheim: the home of the elves. Freyr: cf. Skirnismol,\nintroductory prose and note. Tooth-gift: the custom of making a present\nto a child when it cuts its first tooth is, according to Vigfusson,\nstill in vogue in Iceland.\n\n6. Valaskjolf (\u201cthe Shelf of the Slain\u201d): Othin\u2019s home, in which is his\nwatch-tower, Hlithskjolf. Gering identifies this with Valhall, and as\nthat is mentioned in stanza 8, he believes stanza 6 to be an\ninterpolation.\n\n7. S\u00f6kkvabekk (\u201cthe Sinking Stream\u201d): of this spot and of Saga, who is\nsaid to live there, little is known. Saga may be an hypostasis of\nFrigg, but Snorri calls her a distinct goddess, and the name suggests\nsome relation to history or story-telling.\n\n8. Glathsheim (\u201cthe Place of Joy\u201d): Othin\u2019s home, the greatest and most\nbeautiful hall in the world. Valhall (\u201cHall of the Slain\u201d): cf.\nVoluspo, 31 and note. Valhall is not only the hall whither the slain\nheroes are brought by the Valkyries, but also a favorite home of Othin.\n\n10. The opening formula is abbreviated in both manuscripts. A wolf:\nprobably the wolf and the eagle were carved figures above the door.\n\n11. Thrymheim (\u201cthe Home of Clamor\u201d): on this mountain the giant Thjazi\nbuilt his home. The god, or rather Wane, Njorth (cf. Voluspo, 21, note)\nmarried Thjazi\u2019s daughter, Skathi. She wished to live in her father\u2019s\nhall among the mountains, while Njorth loved his home, Noatun, by the\nsea. They agreed to compromise by spending nine nights at Thrymheim and\nthen three at Noatun, but neither could endure the surroundings of the\nother\u2019s home, so Skathi returned to Thrymheim, while Njorth stayed at\nNoatun. Snorri quotes stanzas 11\u201315.\n\n12. Breithablik (\u201cWide-Shining\u201d): the house in heaven, free from\neverything unclean, in which Baldr (cf. Voluspo, 32, note), the fairest\nand best of the gods, lived.\n\n13. Himinbjorg (\u201cHeaven\u2019s Cliffs\u201d): the dwelling at the end of the\nbridge Bifrost (the rainbow), where Heimdall (cf. Voluspo, 27) keeps\nwatch against the coming of the giants. In this stanza the two\nfunctions of Heimdall\u2014as father of mankind (cf. Voluspo, 1 and note,\nand Rigsthula, introductory prose and note) and as warder of the\ngods\u2014seem both to be mentioned, but the second line in the manuscripts\nis apparently in bad shape, and in the editions is more or less\nconjectural.\n\n14. Folkvang (\u201cField of the Folk\u201d): here is situated Freyja\u2019s hall,\nSessrymnir (\u201cRich in Seats\u201d). Freyja, the sister of Freyr, is the\nfairest of the goddesses, and the most kindly disposed to mankind,\nespecially to lovers. Half of the dead: Mogk has made it clear that\nFreyja represents a confusion between two originally distinct\ndivinities: the wife of Othin (Frigg) and the northern goddess of love.\nThis passage appears to have in mind her attributes as Othin\u2019s wife.\nSnorri has this same confusion, but there is no reason why the Freyja\nwho was Freyr\u2019s sister should share the slain with Othin.\n\n15. Glitnir (\u201cthe Shining\u201d): the home of Forseti, a god of whom we know\nnothing beyond what Snorri tells us: \u201cForseti is the son of Baldr and\nNanna, daughter of Nep. All those who come to him with hard cases to\nsettle go away satisfied; he is the best judge among gods and men.\u201d\n\n16. Noatun (\u201cShips\u2019-Haven\u201d): the home of Njorth, who calms the waves;\ncf. stanza 11 and Voluspo, 21.\n\n17. Vithi: this land is not mentioned elsewhere. Vithar avenged his\nfather, Othin, by slaying the wolf Fenrir.\n\n18. Stanzas 18\u201320 appear also in Snorri\u2019s Edda. Very possibly they are\nan interpolation here. Eldhrimnir (\u201cSooty with Fire\u201d): the great kettle\nin Valhall, wherein the gods\u2019 cook, Andhrimnir (\u201cThe Sooty-Faced\u201d)\ndaily cooks the flesh of the boar S\u00e6hrimnir (\u201cThe Blackened\u201d). His\nflesh suffices for all the heroes there gathered, and each evening he\nbecomes whole again, to be cooked the next morning.\n\n19. Freki (\u201cThe Greedy\u201d) and Geri (\u201cThe Ravenous\u201d): the two wolves who\nsit by Othin\u2019s side at the feast, and to whom he gives all the food set\nbefore him, since wine is food and drink alike for him. Heerfather:\nOthin.\n\n20. Mithgarth (\u201cThe Middle Home\u201d): the earth. Hugin (\u201cThought\u201d) and\nMunin (\u201cMemory\u201d): the two ravens who sit on Othin\u2019s shoulders, and fly\nforth daily to bring him news of the world.\n\n21. Thund (\u201cThe Swollen\u201d or \u201cThe Roaring\u201d): the river surrounding\nValhall. Thjothvitnir\u2019s fish: presumably the sun, which was caught by\nthe wolf Skoll (cf. Voluspo, 40), Thjothvitnir meaning \u201cthe mighty\nwolf.\u201d Such a phrase, characteristic of all Skaldic poetry, is rather\nrare in the Edda. The last two lines refer to the attack on Valhall by\nthe people of Hel; cf. Voluspo, 51.\n\n22. Valgrind (\u201cThe Death-Gate\u201d): the outer gate of Valhall; cf.\nSigurtharkvitha en skamma, 68 and note.\n\n23. This and the following stanza stand in reversed order in Regius.\nSnorri quotes stanza 23 as a proof of the vast size of Valhall. The\nlast two lines refer to the final battle with Fenrir and the other\nenemies.\n\n24. This stanza is almost certainly an interpolation, brought in\nthrough a confusion of the first two lines with those of stanza 23. Its\ndescription of Thor\u2019s house, Bilskirnir (cf. stanza 4 and note) has\nnothing to do with that of Valhall. Snorri quotes the stanza in his\naccount of Thor.\n\n25. The first line in the original is, as indicated in the translation,\ntoo long, and various attempts to amend it have been made. Heithrun:\nthe she-goat who lives on the twigs of the tree L\u00e6rath (presumably the\nash Yggdrasil), and daily gives mead which, like the boar\u2019s flesh,\nsuffices for all the heroes in Valhall. In Snorri\u2019s Edda Gangleri\nfoolishly asks whether the heroes drink water, whereto Har replies, \u201cDo\nyou imagine that Othin invites kings and earls and other noble men, and\nthen gives them water to drink?\u201d\n\n26. Eikthyrnir (\u201cThe Oak-Thorned,\u201d i.e., with antlers, \u201cthorns,\u201d like\nan oak): this animal presumably represents the clouds. The first line,\nlike that of stanza 25, is too long in the original. L\u00e6rath: cf. stanza\n25, note. Hvergelmir: according to Snorri, this spring, \u201cthe\nCauldron-Roaring,\u201d was in the midst of Niflheim, the world of darkness\nand the dead, beneath the third root of the ash Yggdrasil. Snorri gives\na list of the rivers flowing thence nearly identical with the one in\nthe poem.\n\n27. The entire passage from stanza 27 through stanza 35 is confused.\nThe whole thing may well be an interpolation. Bugge calls stanzas 27\u201330\nan interpolation, and editors who have accepted the passage as a whole\nhave rejected various lines. The spelling of the names of the rivers\nvaries greatly in the manuscripts and editions. It is needless here to\npoint out the many attempted emendations of this list. For a passage\npresenting similar problems, cf. Voluspo, 10\u201316. Snorri virtually\nquotes stanzas 27\u201328 in his prose, though not consecutively. The name\nRin, in line 3, is identical with that for the River Rhine which\nappears frequently in the hero poems, but the similarity is doubtless\npurely accidental.\n\n28. Slith may possibly be the same river as that mentioned in Voluspo,\n36, as flowing through the giants\u2019 land. Leipt: in Helgakvitha\nHundingsbana II, 29, this river is mentioned as one by which a solemn\noath is sworn, and Gering points the parallel to the significance of\nthe Styx among the Greeks. The other rivers here named are not\nmentioned elsewhere in the poems.\n\n29. This stanza looks as though it originally had had nothing to do\nwith the two preceding it. Snorri quotes it in his description of the\nthree roots of Yggdrasil, and the three springs beneath them. \u201cThe\nthird root of the ash stands in heaven and beneath this root is a\nspring which is very holy, and is called Urth\u2019s well.\u201d (Cf. Voluspo,\n19) \u201cThere the gods have their judgment-seat, and thither they ride\neach day over Bifrost, which is also called the Gods\u2019 Bridge.\u201d Thor has\nto go on foot in the last days of the destruction, when the bridge is\nburning. Another interpretation, however, is that when Thor leaves the\nheavens (i.e., when a thunder-storm is over) the rainbow-bridge becomes\nhot in the sun. Nothing more is known of the rivers named in this\nstanza. Lines 3\u20134 are almost certainly interpolated from stanza 30.\n\n30. This stanza, again possibly an interpolation, is closely\nparaphrased by Snorri following the passage quoted in the previous\nnote. Glath (\u201cJoyous\u201d): identified in the Skaldskaparmal with Skinfaxi,\nthe horse of day; cf. Vafthruthnismol, 12. Gyllir: \u201cGolden.\u201d Gler:\n\u201cShining.\u201d Skeithbrimir: \u201cSwift-Going.\u201d Silfrintopp: \u201cSilver-Topped.\u201d\nSinir: \u201cSinewy.\u201d Gisl: the meaning is doubtful; Gering suggests\n\u201cGleaming.\u201d Falhofnir: \u201cHollow-Hoofed.\u201d Golltopp (\u201cGold-Topped\u201d): this\nhorse belonged to Heimdall (cf. Voluspo, 1 and 46). It is noteworthy\nthat gold was one of the attributes of Heimdall\u2019s belongings, and,\nbecause his teeth were of gold, he was also called Gullintanni\n(\u201cGold-Toothed\u201d). Lettfeti: \u201cLight-Feet.\u201d Othin\u2019s eight-footed horse,\nSleipnir, is not mentioned in this list.\n\n31. The first of these roots is the one referred to in stanza 26; the\nsecond in stanza 29 (cf. notes). Of the third root there is nothing\nnoteworthy recorded. After this stanza it is more than possible that\none has been lost, paraphrased in the prose of Snorri\u2019s Edda thus: \u201cAn\neagle sits in the branches of the ash-tree, and he is very wise; and\nbetween his eyes sits the hawk who is called Vethrfolnir.\u201d\n\n32. Ratatosk (\u201cThe Swift-Tusked\u201d): concerning this squirrel, the Prose\nEdda has to add only that he runs up and down the tree conveying the\nabusive language of the eagle (see note on stanza 31) and the dragon\nNithhogg (cf. Voluspo, 39 and note) to each other. The hypothesis that\nRatatosk \u201crepresents the undying hatred between the sustaining and the\ndestroying elements\u2014the gods and the giants,\u201d seems a trifle\nfar-fetched.\n\n33. Stanzas 33\u201334 may well be interpolated, and are certainly in bad\nshape in the Mss. Bugge points out that they are probably of later\norigin than those surrounding them. Snorri closely paraphrases stanza\n33, but without elaboration, and nothing further is known of the four\nharts. It may be guessed, however, that they are a late multiplication\nof the single hart mentioned in stanza 26, just as the list of dragons\nin stanza 34 seems to have been expanded out of Nithhogg, the only\nauthentic dragon under the root of the ash. Highest twigs: a guess; the\nMss. words are baffling. Something has apparently been lost from lines\n3\u20134, but there is no clue as to its nature.\n\n34. Cf. note on previous stanza. Nothing further is known of any of the\nserpents here listed, and the meanings of many of the names are\nconjectural. Snorri quotes this stanza. Editors have altered it in\nvarious ways in an attempt to regularize the meter. Goin and Moin:\nmeaning obscure. Grafvitnir: \u201cThe Gnawing Wolf.\u201d Grabak: \u201cGray-Back.\u201d\nGrafvolluth: \u201cThe Field-Gnawer.\u201d Ofnir and Svafnir (\u201cThe Bewilderer\u201d\nand \u201cThe Sleep-Bringer\u201d): it is noteworthy that in stanza 54 Othin\ngives himself these two names.\n\n35. Snorri quotes this stanza, which concludes the passage, beginning\nwith stanza 25, describing Yggdrasil. If we assume that stanzas 27\u201334\nare later interpolations\u2014possibly excepting 32\u2014this section of the poem\nreads clearly enough.\n\n36. Snorri quotes this list of the Valkyries, concerning whom cf.\nVoluspo, 31 and note, where a different list of names is given. Hrist:\n\u201cShaker.\u201d Mist: \u201cMist.\u201d Skeggjold: \u201cAx-Time.\u201d Skogul: \u201cRaging\u201d (?).\nHild: \u201cWarrior.\u201d Thruth: \u201cMight.\u201d Hlokk: \u201cShrieking.\u201d Herfjotur:\n\u201cHost-Fetter.\u201d Gol: \u201cScreaming.\u201d Geironul: \u201cSpear-Bearer.\u201d Randgrith:\n\u201cShield-Bearer.\u201d Rathgrith: Gering guesses \u201cPlan-Destroyer.\u201d Reginleif:\n\u201cGods\u2019-Kin.\u201d Manuscripts and editions vary greatly in the spelling of\nthese names, and hence in their significance.\n\n37. M\u00fcllenhoff suspects stanzas 37\u201341 to have been interpolated, and\nEdzardi thinks they may have come from the Vafthruthnismol. Snorri\nclosely paraphrases stanzas 37\u201339, and quotes 40\u201341. Arvak (\u201cEarly\nWaker\u201d) and Alsvith (\u201cAll-Swift\u201d): the horses of the sun, named also in\nSigrdrifumol, 15. According to Snorri: \u201cThere was a man called\nMundilfari, who had two children; they were so fair and lovely that he\ncalled his son Mani and his daughter Sol. The gods were angry at this\npresumption, and took the children and set them up in heaven; and they\nbade Sol drive the horses that drew the car of the sun which the gods\nhad made to light the world from the sparks which flew out of\nMuspellsheim. The horses were called Alsvith and Arvak, and under their\nyokes the gods set two bellows to cool them, and in some songs these\nare called \u2018the cold iron.\u2019\u201d\n\n38. Svalin (\u201cThe Cooling\u201d): the only other reference to this shield is\nin Sigrdrifumol, 15.\n\n39. Skoll and Hati: the wolves that devour respectively the sun and\nmoon. The latter is the son of Hrothvitnir (\u201cThe Mighty Wolf,\u201d i.e.\nFenrir); cf. Voluspo, 40, and Vafthruthnismol, 46\u201347, in which Fenrir\nappears as the thief. Ironwood: a conjectural emendation of an obscure\nphrase; cf. Voluspo, 40.\n\n40. This and the following stanza are quoted by Snorri. They seem to\nhave come from a different source from the others of this poem; Edzardi\nsuggests an older version of the Vafthruthnismol. This stanza is\nclosely parallel to Vafthruthnismol, 21, which see, as also Voluspo, 3.\nSnorri, following this account, has a few details to add. The stones\nwere made out of Ymir\u2019s teeth and such of his bones as were broken.\nMithgarth was a mountain-wall made out of Ymir\u2019s eyebrows, and set\naround the earth because of the enmity of the giants.\n\n42. With this stanza Othin gets back to his immediate situation, bound\nas he is between two fires. He calls down a blessing on the man who\nwill reach into the fire and pull aside the great kettle which, in\nIcelandic houses, hung directly under the smoke-vent in the roof, and\nthus kept any one above from looking down into the interior. On Ull,\nthe archer-god, cf. stanza 5 and note. He is specified here apparently\nfor no better reason than that his name fits the initial-rhyme.\n\n43. This and the following stanza are certainly interpolated, for they\nhave nothing to do with the context, and stanza 45 continues the\ndramatic conclusion of the poem begun in stanza 42. This stanza is\nquoted by Snorri. Ivaldi (\u201cThe Mighty\u201d): he is known only as the father\nof the craftsmen-dwarfs who made not only the ship Skithblathnir, but\nalso Othin\u2019s spear Gungnir, and the golden hair for Thor\u2019s wife, Sif,\nafter Loki had maliciously cut her own hair off. Skithblathnir: this\nship (\u201cWooden-Bladed\u201d) always had a fair wind, whenever the sail was\nset; it could be folded up at will and put in the pocket. Freyr:\nconcerning him and his father, see Voluspo, 21, note, and Skirnismol,\nintroductory prose and note.\n\n44. Snorri quotes this stanza. Like stanza 43 an almost certain\ninterpolation, it was probably drawn in by the reference to\nSkithblathnir in the stanza interpolated earlier. It is presumably in\nfaulty condition. One Ms. has after the fifth line half of a\nsixth,\u2014\u201cBrimir of swords.\u201d Yggdrasil: cf. stanzas 25\u201335. Skithblathnir:\ncf. stanza 43, note. Sleipnir: Othin\u2019s eight-legged horse, one of\nLoki\u2019s numerous progeny, borne by him to the stallion Svathilfari. This\nstallion belonged to the giant who built a fortress for the gods, and\ncame so near to finishing it, with Svathilfari\u2019s aid, as to make the\ngods fear he would win his promised reward\u2014Freyja and the sun and moon.\nTo delay the work, Loki turned himself into a mare, whereupon the\nstallion ran away, and the giant failed to complete his task within the\nstipulated time. Bilrost: probably another form of Bifrost (which\nSnorri has in his version of the stanza), on which cf. stanza 29.\nBragi: the god of poetry. He is one of the later figures among the\ngods, and is mentioned only three times in the poems of the Edda. In\nSnorri\u2019s Edda, however, he is of great importance. His wife is Ithun,\ngoddess of youth. Perhaps the Norwegian skald Bragi Boddason, the\noldest recorded skaldic poet, had been traditionally apotheosized as\nearly as the tenth century. Hobrok: nothing further is known of him.\nGarm: cf. Voluspo, 44.\n\n45. With this stanza the narrative current of the poem is resumed.\n\u00c6gir: the sea-god; cf. Lokasenna, introductory prose.\n\n46. Concerning the condition of stanzas 46\u201350, quoted by Snorri,\nnothing definite can be said. Lines and entire stanzas of this\n\u201ccatalogue\u201d sort undoubtedly came and went with great freedom all\nthrough the period of oral transmission. Many of the names are not\nmentioned elsewhere, and often their significance is sheer guesswork.\nAs in nearly every episode Othin appeared in disguise, the number of\nhis names was necessarily almost limitless. Grim: \u201cThe Hooded.\u201d\nGangleri: \u201cThe Wanderer.\u201d Herjan: \u201cThe Ruler.\u201d Hjalmberi: \u201cThe\nHelmet-Bearer.\u201d Thekk: \u201cThe Much-Loved.\u201d Thrithi: \u201cThe Third\u201d (in\nSnorri\u2019s Edda the stories are all told in the form of answers to\nquestions, the speakers being Har, Jafnhar and Thrithi. Just what this\ntripartite form of Othin signifies has been the source of endless\ndebate. Probably this line is late enough to betray the somewhat\nmuddled influence of early Christianity.) Thuth and Uth: both names\ndefy guesswork. Helblindi: \u201cHel-Blinder\u201d (two manuscripts have\nHerblindi\u2014\u201cHost-Blinder\u201d). Hor: \u201cThe High One.\u201d\n\n47. Sath: \u201cThe Truthful.\u201d Svipal: \u201cThe Changing.\u201d Sanngetal: \u201cThe\nTruth-Teller.\u201d Herteit: \u201cGlad of the Host.\u201d Hnikar: \u201cThe Overthrower.\u201d\nBileyg: \u201cThe Shifty-Eyed.\u201d Baleyg: \u201cThe Flaming-Eyed.\u201d Bolverk: \u201cDoer\nof Ill\u201d (cf. Hovamol, 104 and note). Fjolnir: \u201cThe Many-Shaped.\u201d\nGrimnir: \u201cThe Hooded.\u201d Glapsvith: \u201cSwift in Deceit.\u201d Fjolsvith: \u201cWide\nof Wisdom.\u201d\n\n48. Sithhott: \u201cWith Broad Hat.\u201d Sithskegg: \u201cLong-Bearded.\u201d Sigfather:\n\u201cFather of Victory.\u201d Hnikuth: \u201cOverthrower.\u201d Valfather: \u201cFather of the\nSlain.\u201d Atrith: \u201cThe Rider.\u201d Farmatyr: \u201cHelper of Cargoes\u201d (i.e., god\nof sailors).\n\n49. Nothing is known of Asmund, of Othin\u2019s appearance as Jalk, or of\nthe occasion when he \u201cwent in a sledge\u201d as Kjalar (\u201cRuler of Keels\u201d?).\nThror and Vithur are also of uncertain meaning. Oski: \u201cGod of Wishes.\u201d\nBiflindi: the manuscripts vary widely in the form of this name.\nJafnhor: \u201cEqually High\u201d (cf. note on stanza 46). Omi: \u201cThe Shouter.\u201d\nGondlir: \u201cWand-Bearer.\u201d Harbarth: \u201cGraybeard\u201d (cf. Harbarthsljoth,\nintroduction).\n\n50. Nothing further is known of the episode here mentioned. Sokkmimir\nis presumably Mithvitnir\u2019s son. Snorri quotes the names Svithur and\nSvithrir, but omits all the remainder of the stanza.\n\n51. Again the poem returns to the direct action, Othin addressing the\nterrified Geirr\u00f6th. The manuscripts show no lacuna. Some editors supply\na second line from paper manuscripts: \u201cGreatly by me art beguiled.\u201d\n\n53. Ygg: Othin (\u201cThe Terrible\u201d). The maids: the three Norns.\n\n54. Possibly out of place, and probably more or less corrupt. Thund:\n\u201cThe Thunderer.\u201d Vak: \u201cThe Wakeful.\u201d Skilfing: \u201cThe Shaker.\u201d Vofuth:\n\u201cThe Wanderer.\u201d Hroptatyr: \u201cCrier of the Gods.\u201d Gaut: \u201cFather.\u201d Ofnir\nand Svafnir: cf. stanza 34.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSKIRNISMOL\n\nTHE BALLAD OF SKIRNIR\n\n\nINTRODUCTORY NOTE\n\nThe Skirnismol is found complete in the Codex Regius, and through\nstanza 27 in the Arnamagn\u00e6an Codex. Snorri quotes the concluding\nstanza. In Regius the poem is entitled \u201cFor Scirnis\u201d (\u201cSkirnir\u2019s\nJourney\u201d).\n\nThe Skirnismol differs sharply from the poems preceding it, in that it\nhas a distinctly ballad quality. As a matter of fact, however, its\nverse is altogether dialogue, the narrative being supplied in the prose\n\u201clinks,\u201d concerning which cf. introductory note to the Grimnismol. The\ndramatic effectiveness and vivid characterization of the poem seem to\nconnect it with the Thrymskvitha, and the two may possibly have been\nput into their present form by the same man. Bugge\u2019s guess that the\nSkirnismol was the work of the author of the Lokasenna is also\npossible, though it has less to support it.\n\nCritics have generally agreed in dating the poem as we now have it as\nearly as the first half of the tenth century; Finnur Jonsson puts it as\nearly as 900, and claims it, as usual, for Norway. Doubtless it was\ncurrent in Norway, in one form or another, before the first Icelandic\nsettlements, but his argument that the thistle (stanza 31) is not an\nIcelandic plant has little weight, for such curse-formulas must have\ntraveled freely from place to place. In view of the evidence pointing\nto a western origin for many or all of the Eddic poems, Jonsson\u2019s\nreiterated \u201cDigtet er sikkert norsk og ikke islandsk\u201d is somewhat\nexasperating. Wherever the Skirnismol was composed, it has been\npreserved in exceptionally good condition, and seems to be practically\ndevoid of interpolations or lacun\u00e6.\n\n\n\n\n\nFreyr, the son of Njorth, had sat one day in Hlithskjolf, and looked\nover all the worlds. He looked into Jotunheim, and saw there a fair\nmaiden, as she went from her father\u2019s house to her bower. Forthwith he\nfelt a mighty love-sickness. Skirnir was the name of Freyr\u2019s servant;\nNjorth bade him ask speech of Freyr. He said:\n\n\n1.  \u201cGo now, Skirnir!   |   and seek to gain\n      Speech from my son;\n    And answer to win,   |   for whom the wise one\n      Is mightily moved.\u201d\n\n\nSkirnir spake:\n\n\n2.  \u201cIll words do I now   |   await from thy son,\n      If I seek to get speech with him,\n    And answer to win,   |   for whom the wise one\n      Is mightily moved.\u201d\n\n\nSkirnir spake:\n\n\n3.  \u201cSpeak prithee, Freyr,   |   foremost of the gods,\n      For now I fain would know;\n    Why sittest thou here   |   in the wide halls,\n      Days long, my prince, alone?\u201d\n\n\nFreyr spake:\n\n\n4.  \u201cHow shall I tell thee,   |   thou hero young,\n      Of all my grief so great?\n    Though every day   |   the elfbeam dawns,\n      It lights my longing never.\u201d\n\n\nSkirnir spake:\n\n\n5.  \u201cThy longings, methinks,   |   are not so large\n      That thou mayst not tell them to me;\n    Since in days of yore   |   we were young together,\n      We two might each other trust.\u201d\n\n\nFreyr spake:\n\n\n6.  \u201cFrom Gymir\u2019s house   |   I beheld go forth\n      A maiden dear to me;\n    Her arms glittered,   |   and from their gleam\n      Shone all the sea and sky.\n\n7.  \u201cTo me more dear   |   than in days of old\n      Was ever maiden to man;\n    But no one of gods   |   or elves will grant\n      That we both together should be.\u201d\n\n\nSkirnir spake:\n\n\n8.  \u201cThen give me the horse   |   that goes through the dark\n      And magic flickering flames;\n    And the sword as well   |   that fights of itself\n      Against the giants grim.\u201d\n\n\nFreyr spake:\n\n\n9.  \u201cThe horse will I give thee   |   that goes through the dark\n      And magic flickering flames,\n    And the sword as well   |   that will fight of itself\n      If a worthy hero wields it.\u201d\n\n\nSkirnir spake to the horse:\n\n\n10. \u201cDark is it without,   |   and I deem it time\n      To fare through the wild fells,\n      (To fare through the giants\u2019 fastness;)\n    We shall both come back,   |   or us both together\n      The terrible giant will take.\u201d\n\n\nSkirnir rode into Jotunheim to Gymir\u2019s house. There were fierce dogs\nbound before the gate of the fence which was around Gerth\u2019s hall. He\nrode to where a herdsman sat on a hill, and said:\n\n\n11. \u201cTell me, herdsman,   |   sitting on the hill,\n      And watching all the ways,\n    How may I win   |   a word with the maid\n      Past the hounds of Gymir here?\u201d\n\n\nThe herdsman spake:\n\n\n12. \u201cArt thou doomed to die   |   or already dead,\n      Thou horseman that ridest hither?\n    Barred from speech   |   shalt thou ever be\n      With Gymir\u2019s daughter good.\u201d\n\n\nSkirnir spake:\n\n\n13. \u201cBoldness is better   |   than plaints can be\n      For him whose feet must fare;\n    To a destined day   |   has mine age been doomed,\n      And my life\u2019s span thereto laid.\u201d\n\n\nGerth spake:\n\n\n14. \u201cWhat noise is that   |   which now so loud\n      I hear within our house?\n    The ground shakes,   |   and the home of Gymir\n      Around me trembles too.\u201d\n\n\nThe Serving-Maid spake:\n\n\n15. \u201cOne stands without   |   who has leapt from his steed,\n      And lets his horse loose to graze;\u201d\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n      .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n\n\nGerth spake:\n\n\n16. \u201cBid the man come in,   |   and drink good mead\n      Here within our hall;\n    Though this I fear,   |   that there without\n      My brother\u2019s slayer stands.\n\n17. \u201cArt thou of the elves   |   or the offspring of gods,\n      Or of the wise Wanes?\n    How camst thou alone   |   through the leaping flame\n      Thus to behold our home?\u201d\n\n\nSkirnir spake:\n\n\n18. \u201cI am not of the elves,   |   nor the offspring of gods,\n      Nor of the wise Wanes;\n    Though I came alone   |   through the leaping flame\n      Thus to behold thy home.\n\n19. \u201cEleven apples,   |   all of gold,\n      Here will I give thee, Gerth,\n    To buy thy troth   |   that Freyr shall be\n      Deemed to be dearest to you.\u201d\n\n\nGerth spake:\n\n\n20. \u201cI will not take   |   at any man\u2019s wish\n      These eleven apples ever;\n    Nor shall Freyr and I   |   one dwelling find\n      So long as we two live.\u201d\n\n\nSkirnir spake:\n\n\n21. \u201cThen do I bring thee   |   the ring that was burned\n      Of old with Othin\u2019s son;\n    From it do eight   |   of like weight fall\n      On every ninth night.\u201d\n\n\nGerth spake:\n\n\n22. \u201cThe ring I wish not,   |   though burned it was\n      Of old with Othin\u2019s son;\n    In Gymir\u2019s home   |   is no lack of gold\n      In the wealth my father wields.\u201d\n\n\nSkirnir spake:\n\n\n23. \u201cSeest thou, maiden,   |   this keen, bright sword\n      That I hold here in my hand?\n    Thy head from thy neck   |   shall I straightway hew,\n      If thou wilt not do my will.\u201d\n\n\nGerth spake:\n\n\n24. \u201cFor no man\u2019s sake   |   will I ever suffer\n      To be thus moved by might;\n    But gladly, methinks,   |   will Gymir seek\n      To fight if he finds thee here.\u201d\n\n\nSkirnir spake:\n\n\n25. \u201cSeest thou, maiden,   |   this keen, bright sword\n      That I hold here in my hand?\n    Before its blade   |   the old giant bends,\u2014\n      Thy father is doomed to die.\n\n26. \u201cI strike thee, maid,   |   with my magic staff,\n      To tame thee to work my will;\n    There shalt thou go   |   where never again\n      The sons of men shall see thee.\n\n27. \u201cOn the eagle\u2019s hill   |   shalt thou ever sit,\n      And gaze on the gates of Hel;\n    More loathsome to thee   |   than the light-hued snake\n      To men, shall thy meat become.\n\n28. \u201cFearful to see,   |   if thou comest forth,\n      Hrimnir will stand and stare,\n      (Men will marvel at thee;)\n    More famed shalt thou grow   |   than the watchman of the gods!\n      Peer forth, then, from thy prison.\n\n29. \u201cRage and longing,   |   fetters and wrath,\n      Tears and torment are thine;\n    Where thou sittest down   |   my doom is on thee\n      Of heavy heart\n      And double dole.\n\n30. \u201cIn the giants\u2019 home   |   shall vile things harm thee\n      Each day with evil deeds;\n    Grief shalt thou get   |   instead of gladness,\n      And sorrow to suffer with tears.\n\n31. \u201cWith three-headed giants   |   thou shalt dwell ever,\n      Or never know a husband;\n    (Let longing grip thee,   |   let wasting waste thee,\u2014)\n    Be like to the thistle   |   that in the loft\n      Was cast and there was crushed.\n\n32. \u201cI go to the wood,   |   and to the wet forest,\n      To win a magic wand;\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n      I won a magic wand.\n\n33. \u201cOthin grows angry,   |   angered is the best of the gods,\n      Freyr shall be thy foe,\n    Most evil maid,   |   who the magic wrath\n      Of gods hast got for thyself.\n\n34. \u201cGive heed, frost-rulers,   |   hear it, giants,\n      Sons of Suttung,\n      And gods, ye too,\n    How I forbid   |   and how I ban\n      The meeting of men with the maid,\n      (The joy of men with the maid.)\n\n35. \u201cHrimgrimnir is he,   |   the giant who shall have thee\n      In the depth by the doors of Hel;\n    To the frost-giants\u2019 halls   |   each day shalt thou fare,\n      Crawling and craving in vain,\n      (Crawling and having no hope.)\n\n36. \u201cBase wretches there   |   by the root of the tree\n      Will hold for thee horns of filth;\n    A fairer drink   |   shalt thou never find,\n      Maid, to meet thy wish,\n      (Maid, to meet my wish.)\n\n37. \u201cI write thee a charm   |   and three runes therewith,\n      Longing and madness and lust;\n    But what I have writ   |   I may yet unwrite\n      If I find a need therefor.\u201d\n\n\nGerth spake:\n\n\n38. \u201cFind welcome rather,   |   and with it take\n      The frost-cup filled with mead;\n    Though I did not believe   |   that I should so love\n      Ever one of the Wanes.\u201d\n\n\nSkirnir spake:\n\n\n39. \u201cMy tidings all   |   must I truly learn\n      Ere homeward hence I ride:\n    How soon thou wilt   |   with the mighty son\n      Of Njorth a meeting make.\u201d\n\n\nGerth spake:\n\n\n40. \u201cBarri there is,   |   which we both know well,\n      A forest fair and still;\n    And nine nights hence   |   to the son of Njorth\n      Will Gerth there grant delight.\u201d\n\n\nThen Skirnir rode home. Freyr stood without, and spoke to him, and\nasked for tidings:\n\n\n41. \u201cTell me, Skirnir,   |   ere thou take off the saddle,\n      Or farest forward a step:\n    What hast thou done   |   in the giants\u2019 dwelling\n      To make glad thee or me?\u201d\n\n\nSkirnir spake:\n\n\n42. \u201cBarri there is,   |   which we both know well,\n      A forest fair and still;\n    And nine nights hence   |   to the son of Njorth\n      Will Gerth there grant delight.\u201d\n\n\nFreyr spake:\n\n\n43. \u201cLong is one night,   |   longer are two;\n      How then shall I bear three?\n    Often to me   |   has a month seemed less\n      Than now half a night of desire.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTES\n\n\nProse. Freyr: concerning his father, Njorth, and the race of the Wanes\nin general, cf. Voluspo, 21 and note. Snorri thus describes Njorth\u2019s\nfamily: \u201cNjorth begat two children in Noatun; the son was named Freyr,\nand the daughter Freyja; they were fair of aspect and mighty. Freyr is\nthe noblest of the gods; he rules over rain and sunshine, and therewith\nthe fruitfulness of the earth; it is well to call upon him for plenty\nand welfare, for he rules over wealth for mankind. Freyja is the\nnoblest of the goddesses. When she rides to the fight, she has one-half\nof the slain, and Othin has half. When she goes on a journey, she\ndrives her two cats, and sits in a cart. Love-songs please her well,\nand it is good to call on her in love-matters.\u201d Hlithskjolf: Othin\u2019s\nwatch-tower; cf. Grimnismol, introductory prose. He said: both\nmanuscripts have \u201cThen Skathi said:\u201d (Skathi was Njorth\u2019s wife), but\nBugge\u2019s emendation, based on Snorri\u2019s version, is doubtless correct.\n\n1. My son: both manuscripts, and many editors, have \u201cour son,\u201d which,\nof course, goes with the introduction of Skathi in the prose. As the\nstanza is clearly addressed to Skirnir, the change of pronouns seems\njustified. The same confusion occurs in stanza 2, where Skirnir in the\nmanuscripts is made to speak of Freyr as \u201cyour son\u201d (plural). The\nplural pronoun in the original involves a metrical error, which is\ncorrected by the emendation.\n\n4. Elfbeam: the sun, so called because its rays were fatal to elves and\ndwarfs; cf. Alvissmol, 35.\n\n6. Gymir: a mountain-giant, husband of Aurbotha, and father of Gerth,\nfairest among women. This is all Snorri tells of him in his paraphrase\nof the story.\n\n7. Snorri\u2019s paraphrase of the poem is sufficiently close so that his\naddition of another sentence to Freyr\u2019s speech makes it probable that a\nstanza has dropped out between 7 and 8. This has been tentatively\nreconstructed, thus: \u201cHither to me   |   shalt thou bring the maid, /\nAnd home shalt thou lead her here, / If her father wills it   |   or\nwills it not, / And good reward shalt thou get.\u201d Finn Magnusen detected\nthe probable omission of a stanza here as early as 1821.\n\n8. The sword: Freyr\u2019s gift of his sword to Skirnir eventually proves\nfatal, for at the last battle, when Freyr is attacked by Beli, whom he\nkills bare-handed, and later when the fire-demon, Surt, slays him in\nturn, he is weaponless; cf. Voluspo, 53 and note. Against the giants\ngrim: the condition of this line makes it seem like an error in\ncopying, and it is possible that it should be identical with the fourth\nline of the next stanza.\n\n10. Some editors reject line 3 as spurious.\n\n12. Line 2 is in neither manuscript, and no gap is indicated. I have\nfollowed Grundtvig\u2019s conjectural emendation.\n\n13. This stanza is almost exactly like many in the first part of the\nHovamol, and may well have been a separate proverb. After this stanza\nthe scene shifts to the interior of the house.\n\n15. No gap indicated in either manuscript. Bugge and Niedner have\nattempted emendations, while Hildebrand suggests that the last two\nlines of stanza 14 are spurious, 14, 1\u20132, and 15 thus forming a single\nstanza, which seems doubtful.\n\n16. Brother\u2019s slayer: perhaps the brother is Beli, slain by Freyr; the\nonly other references are in Voluspo, 53, and in Snorri\u2019s paraphrase of\nthe Skirnismol, which merely says that Freyr\u2019s gift of his sword to\nSkirnir \u201cwas the reason why he was weaponless when he met Beli, and he\nkilled him bare-handed.\u201d Skirnir himself seems never to have killed\nanybody.\n\n17. Wise Wanes: cf. Voluspo, 21 and note.\n\n18. The Arnamagn\u00e6an Codex omits this stanza.\n\n19. Apples: the apple was the symbol of fruitfulness, and also of\neternal youth. According to Snorri, the goddess Ithun had charge of the\napples which the gods ate whenever they felt themselves growing old.\n\n21. Ring: the ring Draupnir (\u201cDropper\u201d) was made by the dwarfs for\nOthin, who laid it on Baldr\u2019s pyre when the latter\u2019s corpse was burned\n(cf. Voluspo, 32 and note, and Baldrs Draumar). Baldr, however, sent\nthe ring back to Othin from hell. How Freyr obtained it is nowhere\nstated. Andvari\u2019s ring (Andvaranaut) had a similar power of creating\ngold; cf. Reginsmol, prose after stanza 4 and note. Lines 3 and 4 of\nthis stanza, and the first two of stanza 22, are missing in the\nArnamagn\u00e6an Codex.\n\n25. The first two lines are abbreviated in both manuscripts.\n\n26. With this stanza, bribes and threats having failed, Skirnir begins\na curse which, by the power of his magic staff, is to fall on Gerth if\nshe refuses Freyr.\n\n27. Eagle\u2019s hill: the hill at the end of heaven, and consequently\noverlooking hell, where the giant Hr\u00e6svelg sits \u201cin an eagle\u2019s guise,\u201d\nand makes the winds with his wings; cf. Vafthruthnismol, 37, also\nVoluspo, 50. The second line is faulty in both manuscripts;\nHildebrand\u2019s emendation corrects the error, but omits an effective\ntouch; the manuscript line may be rendered \u201cAnd look and hanker for\nhell.\u201d The Arnamagn\u00e6an Codex breaks off with the fourth line of this\nstanza.\n\n28. Hrimnir: a frost-giant, mentioned elsewhere only in Hyndluljoth,\n33. Line 3 is probably spurious. Watchman of the gods: Heimdall; cf.\nVoluspo, 46.\n\n29. Three nouns of doubtful meaning, which I have rendered rage,\nlonging, and heart respectively, make the precise force of this stanza\nobscure. Niedner and Sijmons mark the entire stanza as interpolated,\nand Jonsson rejects line 5.\n\n30. In Regius and in nearly all the editions the first two lines of\nthis stanza are followed by lines 3\u20135 of stanza 35. I have followed\nNiedner, Sijmons, and Gering. The two words here translated vile things\nare obscure; Gering renders the phrase simply \u201cKobolde.\u201d\n\n31. The confusion noted as to the preceding stanza, and a metrical\nerror in the third line, have led to various rearrangements and\nemendations; line 3 certainly looks like an interpolation. Three-headed\ngiants: concerning giants with numerous heads, cf. Vafthruthnismol, 33,\nand Hymiskvitha, 8.\n\n32. No gap indicated in the manuscript; Niedner makes the line here\ngiven as 4 the first half of line 3, and fills out the stanza thus:\n\u201cwith which I will tame you, / Maid, to work my will.\u201d The whole stanza\nseems to be either interpolated or out of place; it would fit better\nafter stanza 25.\n\n33. Jonsson marks this stanza as interpolated. The word translated most\nevil is another case of guesswork.\n\n34. Most editors reject line 3 as spurious, and some also reject line\n6. Lines 2 and 3 may have been expanded out of a single line running\napproximately \u201cYe gods and Suttung\u2019s sons.\u201d Suttung: concerning this\ngiant cf. Hovamol, 104 and note.\n\n35. Most editors combine lines 1\u20132 with stanza 36 (either with the\nfirst two lines thereof or the whole stanza), as lines 3\u20135 stand in the\nmanuscript after line 2 of stanza 30. Hrimgrimnir (\u201cThe\nFrost-Shrouded\u201d): a giant not elsewhere mentioned. Line 5, as a\nrepetition of line 4, is probably a later addition.\n\n36. For the combination of this stanza with the preceding one, cf. note\non stanza 35. The scribe clearly did not consider that the stanza began\nwith line 1, as the first word thereof in the manuscript does not begin\nwith a capital letter and has no period before it. The first word of\nline 3, however, is so marked. Line 5 may well be spurious.\n\n37. Again the scribe seems to have been uncertain as to the stanza\ndivisions. This time the first line is preceded by a period, but begins\nwith a small letter. Many editors have made line 2 into two half-lines.\nA charm: literally, the rune Thurs (\u00fe); the runic letters all had magic\nattributes; cf. Sigrdrifumol, 6\u20137 and notes.\n\n40. Barri: \u201cThe Leafy.\u201d\n\n42. Abbreviated to initial letters in the manuscript.\n\n43. The superscription is lacking in Regius. Snorri quotes this one\nstanza in his prose paraphrase, Gylfaginning, chapter 37. The two\nversions are substantially the same, except that Snorri makes the first\nline read, \u201cLong is one night,   |   long is the second.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nHARBARTHSLJOTH\n\nTHE POEM OF HARBARTH\n\n\nINTRODUCTORY NOTE\n\nThe Harbarthsljoth is found complete in the Codex Regius, where it\nfollows the Skirnismol, and from the fourth line of stanza 19 to the\nend of the poem in the Arnamagn\u00e6an Codex, of which it occupies the\nfirst page and a half.\n\nThe poem differs sharply from those which precede it in the Codex\nRegius, both in metrical form and in spirit. It is, indeed, the most\nnearly formless of all the Eddic poems. The normal metre is the\nMalahattr (cf. Introduction, where an example is given). The name of\nthis verse-form means \u201cin the manner of conversation,\u201d and the\nHarbarthsljoth\u2019s verse fully justifies the term. The Atli poems\nexemplify the conventional use of Malahattr, but in the Harbarthsljoth\nthe form is used with extraordinary freedom, and other metrical forms\nare frequently employed. A few of the speeches of which the poem is\ncomposed cannot be twisted into any known Old Norse metre, and appear\nto be simply prose.\n\nHow far this confusion is due to interpolations and faulty transmission\nof the original poem is uncertain. Finnur Jonsson has attempted a\nwholesale purification of the poem, but his arbitrary condemnation of\nwords, lines, and entire stanzas as spurious is quite unjustified by\nany positive evidence. I have accepted Mogk\u2019s theory that the author\nwas \u201ca first-rate psychologist, but a poor poet,\u201d and have translated\nthe poem as it stands in the manuscripts. I have preserved the metrical\nconfusion of the original by keeping throughout so far as possible to\nthe metres found in the poem; if the rhythm of the translation is often\nhard to catch, the difficulty is no less with the original Norse.\n\nThe poem is simply a contest of abuse, such as the early Norwegian and\nIcelander delighted in, the opposing figures being Thor and Othin, the\nlatter appearing in the disguise of the ferryman Harbarth. Such\nbillingsgate lent itself readily to changes, interpolations and\nomissions, and it is little wonder that the poem is chaotic. It\nconsists mainly of boasting and of references, often luckily obscure,\nto disreputable events in the life of one or the other of the\ndisputants. Some editors have sought to read a complex symbolism into\nit, particularly by representing it as a contest between the noble or\nwarrior class (Othin) and the peasant (Thor). But it seems a pity to\ntake such a vigorous piece of broad farce too seriously.\n\nVerse-form, substance, and certain linguistic peculiarities, notably\nthe suffixed articles, point to a relatively late date (eleventh\ncentury) for the poem in its present form. Probably it had its origin\nin the early days, but its colloquial nature and its vulgarity made it\nreadily susceptible to changes.\n\nOwing to the chaotic state of the text, and the fact that none of the\neditors or commentators have succeeded in improving it much, I have not\nin this case attempted to give all the important emendations and\nsuggestions. The stanza-divisions are largely arbitrary.\n\n\n\n\n\nThor was on his way back from a journey in the East, and came to a\nsound; on the other side of the sound was a ferryman with a boat. Thor\ncalled out:\n\n\n1.  \u201cWho is the fellow yonder,   |   on the farther shore of the\n    sound?\u201d\n\n\nThe ferryman spake:\n\n\n2.  \u201cWhat kind of a peasant is yon,   |   that calls o\u2019er the bay?\u201d\n\n\nThor spake:\n\n\n3.  \u201cFerry me over the sound;   |   I will feed thee therefor in the\n    morning;\n    A basket I have on my back,   |   and food therein, none better;\n    At leisure I ate,   |   ere the house I left,\n    Of herrings and porridge,   |   so plenty I had.\u201d\n\n\nThe ferryman spake:\n\n\n4.  \u201cOf thy morning feats art thou proud,   |   but the future thou\n    knowest not wholly;\n    Doleful thine home-coming is:   |   thy mother, methinks, is dead.\u201d\n\n\nThor spake:\n\n\n5.  \u201cNow hast thou said   |   what to each must seem\n    The mightiest grief,   |   that my mother is dead.\u201d\n\n\nThe ferryman spake:\n\n\n6.  \u201cThree good dwellings,   |   methinks, thou hast not;\n    Barefoot thou standest,   |   and wearest a beggar\u2019s dress;\n    Not even hose dost thou have.\u201d\n\n\nThor spake:\n\n\n7.  \u201cSteer thou hither the boat;   |   the landing here shall I show\n    thee;\n    But whose the craft   |   that thou keepest on the shore?\u201d\n\n\nThe ferryman spake:\n\n\n8.  \u201cHildolf is he   |   who bade me have it,\n    A hero wise;   |   his home is at Rathsey\u2019s sound.\n    He bade me no robbers to steer,   |   nor stealers of steeds,\n    But worthy men,   |   and those whom well do I know.\n    Say now thy name,   |   if over the sound thou wilt fare.\u201d\n\n\nThor spake:\n\n\n9.  \u201cMy name indeed shall I tell,   |   though in danger I am,\n    And all my race;   |   I am Othin\u2019s son,\n    Meili\u2019s brother,   |   and Magni\u2019s father,\n    The strong one of the gods;   |   with Thor now speech canst thou\n    get.\n    And now would I know   |   what name thou hast.\u201d\n\n\nThe ferryman spake:\n\n\n10. \u201cHarbarth am I,   |   and seldom I hide my name.\u201d\n\n\nThor spake:\n\n\n11. \u201cWhy shouldst thou hide thy name,   |   if quarrel thou hast\n    not?\u201d\n\n\nHarbarth spake:\n\n\n12. \u201cAnd though I had a quarrel,   |   from such as thou art\n    Yet none the less   |   my life would I guard,\n    Unless I be doomed to die.\u201d\n\n\nThor spake:\n\n\n13. \u201cGreat trouble, methinks,   |   would it be to come to thee,\n    To wade the waters across,   |   and wet my middle;\n    Weakling, well shall I pay   |   thy mocking words,\n    If across the sound I come.\u201d\n\n\nHarbarth spake:\n\n\n14. \u201cHere shall I stand   |   and await thee here;\n    Thou hast found since Hrungnir died   |   no fiercer man.\u201d\n\n\nThor spake:\n\n\n15. \u201cFain art thou to tell   |   how with Hrungnir I fought,\n    The haughty giant,   |   whose head of stone was made;\n    And yet I felled him,   |   and stretched him before me.\n    What, Harbarth, didst thou the while?\u201d\n\n\nHarbarth spake:\n\n\n16. \u201cFive full winters   |   with Fjolvar was I,\n    And dwelt in the isle   |   that is Algr\u00f6n called;\n    There could we fight,   |   and fell the slain,\n    Much could we seek,   |   and maids could master.\u201d\n\n\nThor spake:\n\n\n17. \u201cHow won ye success with your women?\u201d\n\n\nHarbarth spake:\n\n\n18. \u201cLively women we had,   |   if they wise for us were;\n    Wise were the women we had,   |   if they kind for us were;\n    For ropes of sand   |   they would seek to wind,\n    And the bottom to dig   |   from the deepest dale.\n    Wiser than all   |   in counsel I was,\n    And there I slept   |   by the sisters seven,\n    And joy full great   |   did I get from each.\n    What, Thor, didst thou the while?\u201d\n\n\nThor spake:\n\n\n19. \u201cThjazi I felled,   |   the giant fierce,\n    And I hurled the eyes   |   of Alvaldi\u2019s son\n    To the heavens hot above;\n    Of my deeds the mightiest   |   marks are these,\n    That all men since can see.\n    What, Harbarth, didst thou the while?\u201d\n\n\nHarbarth spake:\n\n\n20. \u201cMuch love-craft I wrought   |   with them who ride by night,\n    When I stole them by stealth from their husbands;\n    A giant hard   |   was Hlebarth, methinks:\n    His wand he gave me as gift,\n    And I stole his wits away.\u201d\n\n\nThor spake:\n\n\n21. \u201cThou didst repay good gifts with evil mind.\u201d\n\n\nHarbarth spake:\n\n\n22. \u201cThe oak must have   |   what it shaves from another;\n    In such things each for himself.\n    What, Thor, didst thou the while?\u201d\n\n\nThor spake:\n\n\n23. \u201cEastward I fared,   |   of the giants I felled\n    Their ill-working women   |   who went to the mountain;\n    And large were the giants\u2019 throng   |   if all were\n    alive;\n    No men would there be   |   in Mithgarth more.\n    What, Harbarth, didst thou the while?\u201d\n\n\nHarbarth spake:\n\n\n24. \u201cIn Valland I was,   |   and wars I raised,\n    Princes I angered,   |   and peace brought never;\n    The noble who fall   |   in the fight hath Othin,\n    And Thor hath the race of the thralls.\u201d\n\n\nThor spake:\n\n\n25. \u201cUnequal gifts   |   of men wouldst thou give to the gods,\n    If might too much thou shouldst have.\u201d\n\n\nHarbarth spake:\n\n\n26. \u201cThor has might enough,   |   but never a heart;\n    For cowardly fear   |   in a glove wast thou fain to crawl,\n    And there forgot thou wast Thor;\n    Afraid there thou wast,   |   thy fear was such,\n    To fart or sneeze   |   lest Fjalar should hear.\u201d\n\n\nThor spake:\n\n\n27. \u201cThou womanish Harbarth,   |   to hell would I smite thee\n    straight,\n    Could mine arm reach over the sound.\u201d\n\n\nHarbarth spake:\n\n\n28. \u201cWherefore reach over the sound,   |   since strife we have\n    none?\n    What, Thor, didst thou do then?\u201d\n\n\nThor spake:\n\n\n29. \u201cEastward I was,   |   and the river I guarded well,\n    Where the sons of Svarang   |   sought me there;\n    Stones did they hurl;   |   small joy did they have of winning;\n    Before me there   |   to ask for peace did they fare.\n    What, Harbarth, didst thou the while?\u201d\n\n\nHarbarth spake:\n\n\n30. \u201cEastward I was,   |   and spake with a certain one,\n    I played with the linen-white maid,   |   and met her by stealth;\n    I gladdened the gold-decked one,   |   and she granted me joy.\u201d\n\n\nThor spake:\n\n\n31. \u201cFull fair was thy woman-finding.\u201d\n\n\nHarbarth spake:\n\n\n32. \u201cThy help did I need then, Thor,   |   to hold the white maid\n    fast.\u201d\n\n\nThor spake:\n\n\n33. \u201cGladly, had I been there,   |   my help to thee had been\n    given.\u201d\n\n\nHarbarth spake:\n\n\n34. \u201cI might have trusted thee then,   |   didst thou not betray\n    thy troth.\u201d\n\n\nThor spake:\n\n\n35. \u201cNo heel-biter am I, in truth,   |   like an old leather shoe\n    in spring.\u201d\n\n\nHarbarth spake:\n\n\n36. \u201cWhat, Thor, didst thou the while?\u201d\n\n\nThor spake:\n\n\n37. \u201cIn Hlesey the brides   |   of the Berserkers slew I;\n    Most evil they were,   |   and all they betrayed.\u201d\n\n\nHarbarth spake:\n\n\n38. \u201cShame didst thou win,   |   that women thou slewest, Thor.\u201d\n\n\nThor spake:\n\n\n39. \u201cShe-wolves they were like,   |   and women but little;\n    My ship, which well   |   I had trimmed, did they shake;\n    With clubs of iron they threatened,   |   and Thjalfi they drove\n    off.\n    What, Harbarth, didst thou the while?\u201d\n\n\nHarbarth spake:\n\n\n40. \u201cIn the host I was   |   that hither fared,\n    The banners to raise,   |   and the spear to redden.\u201d\n\n\nThor spake:\n\n\n41. \u201cWilt thou now say   |   that hatred thou soughtest to bring\n    us?\u201d\n\n\nHarbarth spake:\n\n\n42. \u201cA ring for thy hand   |   shall make all right for thee,\n    As the judge decides   |   who sets us two at peace.\u201d\n\n\nThor spake:\n\n\n43. \u201cWhere foundest thou   |   so foul and scornful a speech?\n    More foul a speech   |   I never before have heard.\u201d\n\n\nHarbarth spake:\n\n\n44. \u201cI learned it from men,   |   the men so old,\n    Who dwell in the hills of home.\u201d\n\n\nThor spake:\n\n\n45. \u201cA name full good   |   to heaps of stones thou givest\n    When thou callest them hills of home.\u201d\n\n\nHarbarth spake:\n\n\n46. \u201cOf such things speak I so.\u201d\n\n\nThor spake:\n\n\n47. \u201cIll for thee comes   |   thy keenness of tongue,\n    If the water I choose to wade;\n    Louder, I ween,   |   than a wolf thou cryest,\n    If a blow of my hammer thou hast.\u201d\n\n\nHarbarth spake:\n\n\n48. \u201cSif has a lover at home,   |   and him shouldst thou meet;\n    More fitting it were   |   on him to put forth thy strength.\u201d\n\n\nThor spake:\n\n\n49. \u201cThy tongue still makes thee say   |   what seems most ill to\n    me,\n    Thou witless man! Thou liest, I ween.\u201d\n\n\nHarbarth spake:\n\n\n50. \u201cTruth do I speak,   |   but slow on thy way thou art;\n    Far hadst thou gone   |   if now in the boat thou hadst fared.\u201d\n\n\nThor spake:\n\n\n51. \u201cThou womanish Harbarth!   |   here hast thou held me too\n    long.\u201d\n\n\nHarbarth spake:\n\n\n52. \u201cI thought not ever   |   that Asathor would be hindered\n    By a ferryman thus from faring.\u201d\n\n\nThor spake:\n\n\n53. \u201cOne counsel I bring thee now:   |   row hither thy boat;\n    No more of scoffing;   |   set Magni\u2019s father across.\u201d\n\n\nHarbarth spake:\n\n\n54. \u201cFrom the sound go hence;   |   the passage thou hast not.\u201d\n\n\nThor spake:\n\n\n55. \u201cThe way now show me,   |   since thou takest me not o\u2019er the\n    water.\u201d\n\n\nHarbarth spake:\n\n\n56. \u201cTo refuse it is little,   |   to fare it is long;\n    A while to the stock,   |   and a while to the stone;\n    Then the road to thy left,   |   till Verland thou reachest;\n    And there shall Fjorgyn   |   her son Thor find,\n    And the road of her children   |   she shows him to Othin\u2019s realm.\u201d\n\n\nThor spake:\n\n\n57. \u201cMay I come so far in a day?\u201d\n\n\nHarbarth spake:\n\n\n58. \u201cWith toil and trouble perchance,\n    While the sun still shines,   |   or so I think.\u201d\n\n\nThor spake:\n\n\n59. \u201cShort now shall be our speech,   |   for thou speakest in\n    mockery only;\n    The passage thou gavest me not   |   I shall pay thee if ever we\n    meet.\u201d\n\n\nHarbarth spake:\n\n\n60. \u201cGet hence where every evil thing shall have thee!\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTES\n\n\nProse. Harbarth (\u201cGray-Beard\u201d): Othin. On the nature of the prose notes\nfound in the manuscripts, cf. Grimnismol, introduction. Thor: the\njourneys of the thunder-god were almost as numerous as those of Othin;\ncf. Thrymskvitha and Hymiskvitha. Like the Robin Hood of the British\nballads, Thor was often temporarily worsted, but always managed to come\nout ahead in the end. His \u201cJourney in the East\u201d is presumably the\nfamous episode, related in full by Snorri, in the course of which he\nencountered the giant Skrymir, and in the house of Utgartha-Loki lifted\nthe cat which turned out to be Mithgarthsorm. The Hymiskvitha relates a\nfurther incident of this journey.\n\n2. The superscriptions to the speeches are badly confused in the\nmanuscripts, but editors have agreed fairly well as to where they\nbelong.\n\n3. From the fact that in Regius line 3 begins with a capital letter, it\nis possible that lines 3\u20134 constitute the ferryman\u2019s reply, with\nsomething lost before stanza 4.\n\n4. Thy mother: Jorth (Earth).\n\n5. Some editors assume a lacuna after this stanza.\n\n6. Three good dwellings: this has been generally assumed to mean three\nseparate establishments, but it may refer simply to the three parts of\na single farm, the dwelling proper, the cattle-barn and the storehouse;\ni.e., Thor is not even a respectable peasant.\n\n8. Hildolf (\u201cslaughtering wolf\u201d): not elsewhere mentioned in the Edda.\nRathsey (\u201cIsle of Counsel\u201d): likewise not mentioned elsewhere.\n\n9. In danger: Thor is \u201csekr,\u201d i.e., without the protection of any law,\nso long as he is in the territory of his enemies, the giants. Meili: a\npractically unknown son of Othin, mentioned here only in the Edda.\nMagni: son of Thor and the giantess Jarnsaxa; after Thor\u2019s fight with\nHrungnir (cf. stanza 14, note) Magni, though but three days old, was\nthe only one of the gods strong enough to lift the dead giant\u2019s foot\nfrom Thor\u2019s neck. After rescuing his father, Magni said to him: \u201cThere\nwould have been little trouble, father, had I but come sooner; I think\nI should have sent this giant to hell with my fist if I had met him\nfirst.\u201d Magni and his brother, Mothi, inherit Thor\u2019s hammer.\n\n12. This stanza is hopelessly confused as to form, but none of the\neditorial rearrangements have materially altered the meaning. Doomed to\ndie: the word \u201cfeigr\u201d occurs constantly in the Old Norse poems and\nsagas; the idea of an inevitable but unknown fate seems to have been\npractically universal throughout the pre-Christian period. On the\nconcealment of names from enemies, cf. Fafnismol, prose after stanza 1.\n\n13. This stanza, like the preceding one, is peculiarly chaotic in the\nmanuscript, and has been variously emended.\n\n14. Hrungnir: this giant rashly wagered his head that his horse,\nGullfaxi, was swifter than Othin\u2019s Sleipnir. In the race, which\nHrungnir lost, he managed to dash uninvited into the home of the gods,\nwhere he became very drunk. Thor ejected him, and accepted his\nchallenge to a duel. Hrungnir, terrified, had a helper made for him in\nthe form of a dummy giant nine miles high and three miles broad.\nHrungnir himself had a three-horned heart of stone and a head of stone;\nhis shield was of stone and his weapon was a grindstone. But Thjalfi,\nThor\u2019s servant, told him the god would attack him out of the ground,\nwherefore Hrungnir laid down his shield and stood on it. The hammer\nMjollnir shattered both the grindstone and Hrungnir\u2019s head, but part of\nthe grindstone knocked Thor down, and the giant fell with his foot on\nThor\u2019s neck (cf. note on stanza 9). Meanwhile Thjalfi dispatched the\ndummy giant without trouble.\n\n16. Fjolvar: not elsewhere mentioned in the poems; perhaps the father\nof the \u201cseven sisters\u201d referred to in stanza 18. Algr\u00f6n \u201cThe\nAll-Green\u201d: not mentioned elsewhere in the Edda.\n\n17. Thor is always eager for stories of this sort; cf. stanzas 31 and\n33.\n\n18. Lines 1\u20132 are obscure, but apparently Harbarth means that the women\nwere wise to give in to him cheerfully, resistance to his power being\nas impossible as (lines 3\u20134) making ropes of sand or digging the\nbottoms out of the valleys. Nothing further is known of these unlucky\n\u201cseven sisters.\u201d\n\n19. Thjazi: this giant, by a trick, secured possession of the goddess\nIthun and her apples (cf. Skirnismol, 19, note), and carried her off\ninto Jotunheim. Loki, through whose fault she had been betrayed, was\nsent after her by the gods. He went in Freyja\u2019s \u201chawk\u2019s-dress\u201d (cf.\nThrymskvitha, 3), turned Ithun into a nut, and flew back with her.\nThjazi, in the shape of an eagle, gave chase. But the gods kindled a\nfire which burnt the eagle\u2019s wings, and then they killed him. Snorri\u2019s\nprose version does not attribute this feat particularly to Thor.\nThjazi\u2019s daughter was Skathi, whom the gods permitted to marry Njorth\nas a recompense for her father\u2019s death. Alvaldi: of him we know only\nthat he was the father of Thjazi, Ithi and Gang, who divided his\nwealth, each taking a mouthful of gold. The name is variously spelled.\nIt is not known which stars were called \u201cThjazi\u2019s Eyes.\u201d In the middle\nof line 4 begins the fragmentary version of the poem found in the\nArnamagn\u00e6an Codex.\n\n20. Riders by night: witches, who were supposed to ride on wolves in\nthe dark. Nothing further is known of this adventure.\n\n22. The oak, etc.: this proverb is found elsewhere (e.g., Grettissaga)\nin approximately the same words. Its force is much like our \u201cto the\nvictor belong the spoils.\u201d\n\n23. Thor killed no women of the giants\u2019 race on the \u201cjourney to the\nEast\u201d so fully described by Snorri, his great giant-killing adventure\nbeing the one narrated in the Thrymskvitha.\n\n24. Valland: this mythical place (\u201cLand of Slaughter\u201d) is elsewhere\nmentioned, but not further characterized; cf. prose introduction to\nV\u00f6lundarkvitha, and Helreith Brynhildar, 2. On the bringing of slain\nheroes to Othin, cf. Voluspo, 31 and note, and, for a somewhat\ndifferent version, Grimnismol, 14. Nowhere else is it indicated that\nThor has an asylum for dead peasants.\n\n26. The reference here is to one of the most familiar episodes in\nThor\u2019s eastward journey. He and his companions came to a house in the\nforest, and went in to spend the night. Being disturbed by an\nearthquake and a terrific noise, they all crawled into a smaller room\nopening from the main one. In the morning, however, they discovered\nthat the earthquake had been occasioned by the giant Skrymir\u2019s lying\ndown near them, and the noise by his snoring. The house in which they\nhad taken refuge was his glove, the smaller room being the thumb.\nSkrymir was in fact Utgartha-Loki himself. That he is in this stanza\ncalled Fjalar (the name occurs also in Hovamol, 14) is probably due to\na confusion of the names by which Utgartha-Loki went. Loki taunts Thor\nwith this adventure in Lokasenna, 60 and 62, line 3 of this stanza\nbeing perhaps interpolated from Lokasenna, 60, 4.\n\n29. The river: probably Ifing, which flows between the land of the gods\nand that of the giants; cf. Vafthruthnismol, 16. Sons of Svarang:\npresumably the giants; Svarang is not elsewhere mentioned in the poems,\nnor is there any other account of Thor\u2019s defense of the passage.\n\n30. Othin\u2019s adventures of this sort were too numerous to make it\npossible to identify this particular person. By stealth: so the\nArnamagn\u00e6an Codex; Regius, followed by several editors, has \u201clong\nmeeting with her.\u201d\n\n35. Heel-biter: this effective parallel to our \u201cback-biter\u201d is not\nfound elsewhere in Old Norse.\n\n37. Hlesey: \u201cthe Island of the Sea-God\u201d (Hler = \u00c6gir), identified with\nthe Danish island L\u00e4s\u00f6, in the Kattegat. It appears again, much out of\nplace, in Oddrunargratr, 28. Berserkers: originally men who could turn\nthemselves into bears, hence the name, \u201cbear-shirts\u201d; cf. the werewolf\nor loupgarou. Later the name was applied to men who at times became\nseized with a madness for bloodshed; cf. Hyndluljoth, 23 and note. The\nwomen here mentioned are obviously of the earlier type.\n\n39. Thjalfi: Thor\u2019s servant; cf. note on stanza 14.\n\n40. To what expedition this refers is unknown, but apparently Othin\nspeaks of himself as allied to the foes of the gods.\n\n41. Hatred: so Regius; the other manuscript has, apparently,\n\u201csickness.\u201d\n\n42. Just what Othin means, or why his words should so have enraged\nThor, is not evident, though he may imply that Thor is open to bribery.\nPerhaps a passage has dropped out before stanza 43.\n\n44. Othin refers to the dead, from whom he seeks information through\nhis magic power.\n\n48. Sif: Thor\u2019s wife, the lover being presumably Loki; cf. Lokasenna,\n54.\n\n52. Asathor: Thor goes by various names in the poems: e.g., Vingthor,\nVingnir, Hlorrithi. Asathor means \u201cThor of the Gods.\u201d\n\n53. Magni: Thor\u2019s son; cf. stanza 9 and note.\n\n56. Line 2: the phrases mean simply \u201ca long way\u201d; cf. \u201cover stock and\nstone.\u201d Verland: the \u201cLand of Men\u201d to which Thor must come from the\nland of the giants. The Arnamagn\u00e6an Codex has \u201cValland\u201d (cf. stanza 24\nand note), but this is obviously an error. Fjorgyn: a feminine form of\nthe same name, which belongs to Othin (cf. Voluspo, 56 and note); here\nit evidently means Jorth (Earth), Thor\u2019s mother. The road: the rainbow\nbridge, Bifrost; cf. Grimnismol, 29 and note.\n\n58. Line 2: so Regius; the other manuscript has \u201cere sunrise.\u201d\n\n60. The Arnamagn\u00e6an Codex clearly indicates Harbarth as the speaker of\nthis line, but Regius has no superscription, and begins the line with a\nsmall letter not preceded by a period, thereby assigning it to Thor.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nHYMISKVITHA\n\nTHE LAY OF HYMIR\n\n\nINTRODUCTORY NOTE\n\nThe Hymiskvitha is found complete in both manuscripts; in Regius it\nfollows the Harbarthsljoth, while in the Arnamagn\u00e6an Codex it comes\nafter the Grimnismol. Snorri does not quote it, although he tells the\nmain story involved.\n\nThe poem is a distinctly inferior piece of work, obviously based on\nvarious narrative fragments, awkwardly pieced together. Some critics,\nJessen and Edzardi for instance, have maintained that the compiler had\nbefore him three distinct poems, which he simply put together; others,\nlike Finnur Jonsson and Mogk, think that the author made a new poem of\nhis own on the basis of earlier poems, now lost. It seems probable that\nhe took a lot of odds and ends of material concerning Thor, whether in\nprose or in verse, and worked them together in a perfunctory way,\nwithout much caring how well they fitted. His chief aim was probably to\nimpress the credulous imaginations of hearers greedy for wonders.\n\nThe poem is almost certainly one of the latest of those dealing with\nthe gods, though Finnur Jonsson, in order to support his theory of a\nNorwegian origin, has to date it relatively early. If, as seems\nprobable, it was produced in Iceland, the chances are that it was\ncomposed in the first half of the eleventh century. Jessen, rather\nrecklessly, goes so far as to put it two hundred years later. In any\ncase, it belongs to a period of literary decadence,\u2014the great days of\nEddic poetry would never have permitted the nine hundred headed person\nfound in Hymir\u2019s home\u2014and to one in which the usual forms of diction in\nmythological poetry had yielded somewhat to the verbal subtleties of\nskaldic verse.\n\nWhile the skaldic poetry properly falls outside the limits of this\nbook, it is necessary here to say a word about it. There is preserved,\nin the sagas and elsewhere, a very considerable body of lyric poetry,\nthe authorship of each poem being nearly always definitely stated,\nwhether correctly or otherwise. This type of poetry is marked by an\nextraordinary complexity of diction, with a peculiarly difficult\nvocabulary of its own. It was to explain some of the \u201ckennings\u201d which\ncomposed this special vocabulary that Snorri wrote one of the sections\nof the Prose Edda. As an illustration, in a single stanza of one poem\nin the Egilssaga, a sword is called \u201cthe halo of the helm,\u201d \u201cthe\nwound-hoe,\u201d \u201cthe blood-snake\u201d (possibly; no one is sure what the\ncompound word means) and \u201cthe ice of the girdle,\u201d while men appear in\nthe same stanza as \u201cOthin\u2019s ash-trees,\u201d and battle is spoken of as \u201cthe\niron game.\u201d One of the eight lines has defied translation completely.\n\nSkaldic diction made relatively few inroads into the earlier Eddic\npoems, but in the Hymiskvitha these circumlocutions are fairly\nnumerous. This sets the poem somewhat apart from the rest of the\nmythological collection. Only the vigor of the two main stories\u2014Thor\u2019s\nexpedition after Hymir\u2019s kettle and the fishing trip in which he caught\nMithgarthsorm\u2014saves it from complete mediocrity.\n\n\n\n\n\n1.  Of old the gods   |   made feast together,\n    And drink they sought   |   ere sated they were;\n    Twigs they shook,   |   and blood they tried:\n    Rich fare in \u00c6gir\u2019s   |   hall they found.\n\n2.  The mountain-dweller   |   sat merry as boyhood,\n    But soon like a blinded   |   man he seemed;\n    The son of Ygg   |   gazed in his eyes:\n    \u201cFor the gods a feast   |   shalt thou forthwith get.\u201d\n\n3.  The word-wielder toil   |   for the giant worked,\n    And so revenge   |   on the gods he sought;\n    He bade Sif\u2019s mate   |   the kettle bring:\n    \u201cTherein for ye all   |   much ale shall I brew.\u201d\n\n4.  The far-famed ones   |   could find it not,\n    And the holy gods   |   could get it nowhere;\n    Till in truthful wise   |   did Tyr speak forth,\n    And helpful counsel   |   to Hlorrithi gave.\n\n5.  \u201cThere dwells to the east   |   of Elivagar\n    Hymir the wise   |   at the end of heaven;\n    A kettle my father   |   fierce doth own,\n    A mighty vessel   |   a mile in depth.\u201d\n\n\nThor spake:\n\n\n6.  \u201cMay we win, dost thou think,   |   this whirler of water?\u201d\n\n\nTyr spake:\n\n\n    \u201cAye, friend, we can,   |   if cunning we are.\u201d\n\n7.  Forward that day   |   with speed they fared,\n    From Asgarth came they   |   to Egil\u2019s home;\n    The goats with horns   |   bedecked he guarded;\n    Then they sped to the hall   |   where Hymir dwelt.\n\n8.  The youth found his grandam,   |   that greatly he loathed,\n    And full nine hundred   |   heads she had;\n    But the other fair   |   with gold came forth,\n    And the bright-browed one   |   brought beer to her son.\n\n9.  \u201cKinsman of giants,   |   beneath the kettle\n    Will I set ye both,   |   ye heroes bold;\n    For many a time   |   my dear-loved mate\n    To guests is wrathful   |   and grim of mind.\u201d\n\n10. Late to his home   |   the misshapen Hymir,\n    The giant harsh,   |   from his hunting came;\n    The icicles rattled   |   as in he came,\n    For the fellow\u2019s chin-forest   |   frozen was.\n\n11. \u201cHail to thee, Hymir!   |   good thoughts mayst thou have;\n    Here has thy son   |   to thine hall now come;\n    (For him have we waited,   |   his way was long;)\n    And with him fares   |   the foeman of Hroth,\n    The friend of mankind,   |   and Veur they call him.\n\n12. \u201cSee where under   |   the gable they sit!\n    Behind the beam   |   do they hide themselves.\u201d\n    The beam at the glance   |   of the giant broke,\n    And the mighty pillar   |   in pieces fell.\n\n13. Eight fell from the ledge,   |   and one alone,\n    The hard-hammered kettle,   |   of all was whole;\n    Forth came they then,   |   and his foes he sought,\n    The giant old,   |   and held with his eyes.\n\n14. Much sorrow his heart   |   foretold when he saw\n    The giantess\u2019 foeman   |   come forth on the floor;\n    Then of the steers   |   did they bring in three;\n    Their flesh to boil   |   did the giant bid.\n\n15. By a head was each   |   the shorter hewed,\n    And the beasts to the fire   |   straight they bore;\n    The husband of Sif,   |   ere to sleep he went,\n    Alone two oxen   |   of Hymir\u2019s ate.\n\n16. To the comrade hoary   |   of Hrungnir then\n    Did Hlorrithi\u2019s meal   |   full mighty seem;\n    \u201cNext time at eve   |   we three must eat\n    The food we have   |   as the hunting\u2019s spoil.\u201d\n\n17. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    Fain to row on the sea   |   was Veur, he said,\n    If the giant bold   |   would give him bait.\n\n\nHymir spake:\n\n\n18. \u201cGo to the herd,   |   if thou hast it in mind,\n    Thou slayer of giants,   |   thy bait to seek;\n    For there thou soon   |   mayst find, methinks,\n    Bait from the oxen   |   easy to get.\u201d\n\n19. Swift to the wood   |   the hero went,\n    Till before him an ox   |   all black he found;\n    From the beast the slayer   |   of giants broke\n    The fortress high   |   of his double horns.\n\n\nHymir spake:\n\n\n20. \u201cThy works, methinks,   |   are worse by far,\n    Thou steerer of ships,   |   than when still thou sittest.\u201d\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n\n21. The lord of the goats   |   bade the ape-begotten\n    Farther to steer   |   the steed of the rollers;\n    But the giant said   |   that his will, forsooth,\n    Longer to row   |   was little enough.\n\n22. Two whales on his hook   |   did the mighty Hymir\n    Soon pull up   |   on a single cast;\n    In the stern the kinsman   |   of Othin sat,\n    And Veur with cunning   |   his cast prepared.\n\n23. The warder of men,   |   the worm\u2019s destroyer,\n    Fixed on his hook   |   the head of the ox;\n    There gaped at the bait   |   the foe of the gods,\n    The girdler of all   |   the earth beneath.\n\n24. The venomous serpent   |   swiftly up\n    To the boat did Thor,   |   the bold one, pull;\n    With his hammer the loathly   |   hill of the hair\n    Of the brother of Fenrir   |   he smote from above.\n\n25. The monsters roared,   |   and the rocks resounded,\n    And all the earth   |   so old was shaken;\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    Then sank the fish   |   in the sea forthwith.\n\n26. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    Joyless as back   |   they rowed was the giant;\n    Speechless did Hymir   |   sit at the oars,\n    With the rudder he sought   |   a second wind.\n\n\nHymir spake:\n\n\n27. \u201cThe half of our toil   |   wilt thou have with me,\n    And now make fast   |   our goat of the flood;\n    Or home wilt thou bear   |   the whales to the house,\n    Across the gorge   |   of the wooded glen?\u201d\n\n28. Hlorrithi stood   |   and the stem he gripped,\n    And the sea-horse with water   |   awash he lifted;\n    Oars and bailer   |   and all he bore\n    With the surf-swine home   |   to the giant\u2019s house.\n\n29. His might the giant   |   again would match,\n    For stubborn he was,   |   with the strength of Thor;\n    None truly strong,   |   though stoutly he rowed,\n    Would he call save one   |   who could break the cup.\n\n30. Hlorrithi then,   |   when the cup he held,\n    Struck with the glass   |   the pillars of stone;\n    As he sat the posts   |   in pieces he shattered,\n    Yet the glass to Hymir   |   whole they brought.\n\n31. But the loved one fair   |   of the giant found\n    A counsel true,   |   and told her thought:\n    \u201cSmite the skull of Hymir,   |   heavy with food,\n    For harder it is   |   than ever was glass.\u201d\n\n32. The goats\u2019 mighty ruler   |   then rose on his knee,\n    And with all the strength   |   of a god he struck;\n    Whole was the fellow\u2019s   |   helmet-stem,\n    But shattered the wine-cup   |   rounded was.\n\n\nHymir spake:\n\n\n33. \u201cFair is the treasure   |   that from me is gone,\n    Since now the cup   |   on my knees lies shattered;\u201d\n    So spake the giant:   |   \u201cNo more can I say\n    In days to be,   |   \u2018Thou art brewed, mine ale.\u2019\n\n34. \u201cEnough shall it be   |   if out ye can bring\n    Forth from our house   |   the kettle here.\u201d\n    Tyr then twice   |   to move it tried,\n    But before him the kettle   |   twice stood fast.\n\n35. The father of Mothi   |   the rim seized firm,\n    And before it stood   |   on the floor below;\n    Up on his head   |   Sif\u2019s husband raised it,\n    And about his heels   |   the handles clattered.\n\n36. Not long had they fared,   |   ere backwards looked\n    The son of Othin,   |   once more to see;\n    From their caves in the east   |   beheld he coming\n    With Hymir the throng   |   of the many-headed.\n\n37. He stood and cast   |   from his back the kettle,\n    And Mjollnir, the lover   |   of murder, he wielded;\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    So all the whales   |   of the waste he slew.\n\n38. Not long had they fared   |   ere one there lay\n    Of Hlorrithi\u2019s goats   |   half-dead on the ground;\n    In his leg the pole-horse   |   there was lame;\n    The deed the evil   |   Loki had done.\n\n39. But ye all have heard,\u2014   |   for of them who have\n    The tales of the gods,   |   who better can tell?\u2014\n    What prize he won   |   from the wilderness-dweller,\n    Who both his children   |   gave him to boot.\n\n40. The mighty one came   |   to the council of gods,\n    And the kettle he had   |   that Hymir\u2019s was;\n    So gladly their ale   |   the gods could drink\n    In \u00c6gir\u2019s hall   |   at the autumn-time.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTES\n\n\n1. Twigs: Vigfusson comments at some length on \u201cthe rite practised in\nthe heathen age of inquiring into the future by dipping bunches of\nchips or twigs into the blood (of sacrifices) and shaking them.\u201d But\nthe two operations may have been separate, the twigs being simply\n\u201cdivining-rods\u201d marked with runes. In either case, the gods were\nseeking information by magic as to where they could find plenty to\ndrink. \u00c6gir: a giant who is also the god of the sea; little is known of\nhim outside of what is told here and in the introductory prose to the\nLokasenna, though Snorri has a brief account of him, giving his home as\nHlesey (L\u00e4s\u00f6, cf. Harbarthsljoth, 37). Grimnismol, 45, has a reference\nto this same feast.\n\n2. Mountain-dweller: the giant (\u00c6gir). Line 2: the principal word in\nthe original has defied interpretation, and any translation of the line\nmust be largely guesswork. Ygg: Othin; his son is Thor. Some editors\nassume a gap after this stanza.\n\n3. Word-wielder: Thor. The giant: \u00c6gir. Sif: Thor\u2019s wife; cf.\nHarbarthsljoth, 48. The kettle: \u00c6gir\u2019s kettle is possibly the sea\nitself.\n\n4. Tyr: the god of battle; his two great achievements were thrusting\nhis hand into the mouth of the wolf Fenrir so that the gods might bind\nhim, whereby he lost his hand (cf. Voluspo, 39, note), and his fight\nwith the hound Garm in the last battle, in which they kill each other.\nHlorrithi: Thor.\n\n5. Elivagar (\u201cStormy Waves\u201d): possibly the Milky Way; cf.\nVafthruthnismol, 31, note. Hymir: this giant figures only in this\nepisode. It is not clear why Tyr, who is elsewhere spoken of as a son\nof Othin, should here call Hymir his father. Finnur Jonsson, in an\nattempt to get round this difficulty, deliberately changed the word\n\u201cfather\u201d to \u201cgrandfather,\u201d but this does not help greatly.\n\n6. Neither manuscript has any superscriptions, but most editors have\nsupplied them as above. From this point through stanza 11 the editors\nhave varied considerably in grouping the lines into stanzas. The\nmanuscripts indicate the third lines of stanzas 7, 8, 9, and 10 as\nbeginning stanzas, but this makes more complications than the present\narrangement. It is possible that, as Sijmons suggests, two lines have\nbeen lost after stanza 6.\n\n7. Egil: possibly, though by no means certainly, the father of Thor\u2019s\nservant, Thjalfi, for, according to Snorri, Thor\u2019s first stop on this\njourney was at the house of a peasant whose children, Thjalfi and\nRoskva, he took into his service; cf. stanza 38, note. The Arnamagn\u00e6an\nCodex has \u201c\u00c6gir\u201d instead of \u201cEgil,\u201d but, aside from the fact that Thor\nhad just left \u00c6gir\u2019s house, the sea-god can hardly have been spoken of\nas a goat-herd.\n\n8. The youth: Tyr, whose extraordinary grandmother is Hymir\u2019s mother.\nWe know nothing further of her, or of the other, who is Hymir\u2019s wife\nand Tyr\u2019s mother. It may be guessed, however, that she belonged rather\nto the race of the gods than to that of the giants.\n\n11. Two or three editors give this stanza a superscription (\u201cThe\nconcubine spake,\u201d \u201cThe daughter spake\u201d). Line 3 is commonly regarded as\nspurious. The foeman of Hroth: of course this means Thor, but nothing\nis known of any enemy of his by this name. Several editors have sought\nto make a single word meaning \u201cthe famous enemy\u201d out of the phrase.\nConcerning Thor as the friend of man, particularly of the peasant\nclass, cf. introduction to Harbarthsljoth. Veur: another name, of\nuncertain meaning, for Thor.\n\n13. Eight: the giant\u2019s glance, besides breaking the beam, knocks down\nall the kettles with such violence that all but the one under which\nThor and Tyr are hiding are broken.\n\n14. Hymir\u2019s wrath does not permit him to ignore the duties of a host to\nhis guests, always strongly insisted on.\n\n15. Thor\u2019s appetite figures elsewhere; cf. Thrymskvitha, 24.\n\n16. The comrade of Hrungnir: Hymir, presumably simply because both are\ngiants; cf. Harbarthsljoth, 14 and note.\n\n17. The manuscripts indicate no lacuna, and many editors unite stanza\n17 with lines 1 and 2 of 18. Sijmons and Gering assume a gap after\nthese two lines, but it seems more probable that the missing passage,\nif any, belonged before them, supplying the connection with the\nprevious stanza.\n\n18. The manuscripts have no superscription. Many editors combine lines\n3 and 4 with lines 1 and 2 of stanza 19. In Snorri\u2019s extended\nparaphrase of the story, Hymir declines to go fishing with Thor on the\nground that the latter is too small a person to be worth bothering\nabout. \u201cYou would freeze,\u201d he says, \u201cif you stayed out in mid-ocean as\nlong as I generally do.\u201d Bait (line 4): the word literally means\n\u201cchaff,\u201d hence any small bits; Hymir means that Thor should collect\ndung for bait.\n\n19. Many editors combine lines 3 and 4 with stanza 20. Fortress, etc.:\nthe ox\u2019s head; cf. introductory note concerning the diction of this\npoem. Several editors assume a lacuna after stanza 19, but this seems\nunnecessary.\n\n20. The manuscripts have no superscription. Steerer of ships: probably\nmerely a reference to Thor\u2019s intention to go fishing. The lacuna after\nstanza 20 is assumed by most editors.\n\n21. Lord of the goats: Thor, because of his goat-drawn chariot.\nApe-begotten: Hymir; the word \u201capi,\u201d rare until relatively late times\nin its literal sense, is fairly common with the meaning of \u201cfool.\u201d\nGiants were generally assumed to be stupid. Steed of the rollers: a\nship, because boats were pulled up on shore by means of rollers.\n\n23. Warder of men: Thor; cf. stanza 11. Worm\u2019s destroyer: likewise\nThor, who in the last battle slays, and is slain by, Mithgarthsorm; cf.\nVoluspo, 56. The foe of the gods: Mithgarthsorm, who lies in the sea,\nand surrounds the whole earth.\n\n24. Hill of the hair: head,\u2014a thoroughly characteristic skaldic phrase.\nBrother of Fenrir: Mithgarthsorm was, like the wolf Fenrir and the\ngoddess Hel, born to Loki and the giantess Angrbotha (cf. Voluspo, 39\nand note), and I have translated this line accordingly; but the word\nused in the text has been guessed as meaning almost anything from\n\u201ccomrade\u201d to \u201cenemy.\u201d\n\n25. No gap is indicated in the manuscripts, but that a line or more has\nbeen lost is highly probable. In Snorri\u2019s version, Thor pulls so hard\non the line that he drives both his feet through the flooring of the\nboat, and stands on bottom. When he pulls the serpent up, Hymir cuts\nthe line with his bait-knife, which explains the serpent\u2019s escape.\nThor, in a rage, knocks Hymir overboard with his hammer, and then wades\nashore. The lines of stanzas 25 and 26 have been variously grouped.\n\n26. No gap is indicated in the manuscripts, but line 2 begins with a\nsmall letter. A second wind: another direction, i.e., he put about for\nthe shore.\n\n27. No superscription in the manuscripts. In its place Bugge supplies a\nline\u2014\u201cThese words spake Hymir,   |   the giant wise.\u201d The manuscripts\nreverse the order of lines 2 and 3, and in both of them line 4 stands\nafter stanza 28. Goat of the flood: boat.\n\n28. Sea-horse: boat. Surf-swine: the whales.\n\n29. Snorri says nothing of this episode of Hymir\u2019s cup. The glass which\ncannot be broken appears in the folklore of various races.\n\n31. The loved one: Hymir\u2019s wife and Tyr\u2019s mother; cf. stanza 8 and\nnote. The idea that a giant\u2019s skull is harder than stone or anything\nelse is characteristic of the later Norse folk-stories, and in one of\nthe so-called \u201cmythical sagas\u201d we find a giant actually named\nHard-Skull.\n\n32. Helmet-stem: head.\n\n33. The manuscripts have no superscription. Line 4 in the manuscripts\nis somewhat obscure, and Bugge, followed by some editors, suggests a\nreading which may be rendered (beginning with the second half of line\n3): \u201cNo more can I speak / Ever again   |   as I spoke of old.\u201d\n\n35. The father of Mothi and Sif\u2019s husband: Thor.\n\n36. The many-headed: The giants, although rarely designated as a race\nin this way, sometimes had two or more heads; cf. stanza 8, Skirnismol,\n31 and Vafthruthnismol, 33. Hymir\u2019s mother is, however, the only\nmany-headed giant actually to appear in the action of the poems, and it\nis safe to assume that the tradition as a whole belongs to the period\nof Norse folk-tales of the m\u00e4rchen order.\n\n37. No gap is indicated in the manuscripts. Some editors put the\nmissing line as 2, some as 3, and some, leaving the present three lines\ntogether, add a fourth, and metrically incorrect, one from late paper\nmanuscripts: \u201cWho with Hymir   |   followed after.\u201d Whales of the\nwaste: giants.\n\n38. According to Snorri, when Thor set out with Loki (not Tyr) for the\ngiants\u2019 land, he stopped first at a peasant\u2019s house (cf. stanza 7 and\nnote). There he proceeded to cook his own goats for supper. The\npeasant\u2019s son, Thjalfi, eager to get at the marrow, split one of the\nleg-bones with his knife. The next morning, when Thor was ready to\nproceed with his journey, he called the goats to life again, but one of\nthem proved irretrievably lame. His wrath led the peasant to give him\nboth his children as servants (cf. stanza 39). Snorri does not indicate\nthat Loki was in any way to blame.\n\n39. This deliberate introduction of the story-teller is exceedingly\nrare in the older poetry.\n\n40. The translation of the last two lines is mostly guesswork, as the\nword rendered \u201cgods\u201d is uncertain, and the one rendered \u201cat the\nautumn-time\u201d is quite obscure.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLOKASENNA\n\nLOKI\u2019S WRANGLING\n\n\nINTRODUCTORY NOTE\n\nThe Lokasenna is found only in Regius, where it follows the\nHymiskvitha; Snorri quotes four lines of it, grouped together as a\nsingle stanza.\n\nThe poem is one of the most vigorous of the entire collection, and\nseems to have been preserved in exceptionally good condition. The\nexchange or contest of insults was dear to the Norse heart, and the\nLokasenna consists chiefly of Loki\u2019s taunts to the assembled gods and\ngoddesses, and their largely ineffectual attempts to talk back to him.\nThe author was evidently well versed in mythological lore, and the poem\nis full of references to incidents not elsewhere recorded. As to its\ndate and origin there is the usual dispute, but the latter part of the\ntenth century and Iceland seem the best guesses.\n\nThe prose notes are long and of unusual interest. The introductory one\nlinks the poem closely to the Hymiskvitha, much as the Reginsmol,\nFafnismol and Sigrdrifumol are linked together; the others fill in the\nnarrative gaps in the dialogue\u2014very like stage directions,\u2014and provide\na conclusion by relating Loki\u2019s punishment, which, presumably, is here\nconnected with the wrong incident. It is likely that often when the\npoem was recited during the two centuries or so before it was committed\nto writing, the speaker inserted some such explanatory comments, and\nthe compiler of the collection followed this example by adding such\nexplanations as he thought necessary. The Lokasenna is certainly much\nolder than the Hymiskvitha, the connection between them being purely\none of subject-matter; and the twelfth-century compiler evidently knew\na good deal less about mythology than the author whose work he was\nannotating.\n\n\n\n\n\n\u00c6gir, who was also called Gymir, had prepared ale for the gods, after\nhe had got the mighty kettle, as now has been told. To this feast came\nOthin and Frigg, his wife. Thor came not, as he was on a journey in the\nEast. Sif, Thor\u2019s wife, was there, and Bragi with Ithun, his wife. Tyr,\nwho had but one hand, was there; the wolf Fenrir had bitten off his\nother hand when they had bound him. There were Njorth and Skathi his\nwife, Freyr and Freyja, and Vithar, the son of Othin. Loki was there,\nand Freyr\u2019s servants Byggvir and Beyla. Many were there of the gods and\nelves.\n\n\u00c6gir had two serving-men, Fimafeng and Eldir. Glittering gold they had\nin place of firelight; the ale came in of itself; and great was the\npeace. The guests praised much the ability of \u00c6gir\u2019s serving-men. Loki\nmight not endure that, and he slew Fimafeng. Then the gods shook their\nshields and howled at Loki and drove him away to the forest, and\nthereafter set to drinking again. Loki turned back, and outside he met\nEldir. Loki spoke to him:\n\n\n1.  \u201cSpeak now, Eldir,   |   for not one step\n      Farther shalt thou fare;\n    What ale-talk here   |   do they have within,\n      The sons of the glorious gods?\u201d\n\n\nEldir spake:\n\n\n2.  \u201cOf their weapons they talk,   |   and their might in war,\n      The sons of the glorious gods;\n    From the gods and elves   |   who are gathered here\n      No friend in words shalt thou find.\u201d\n\n\nLoki spake:\n\n\n3.  \u201cIn shall I go   |   into \u00c6gir\u2019s hall,\n      For the feast I fain would see;\n    Bale and hatred   |   I bring to the gods,\n      And their mead with venom I mix.\u201d\n\n\nEldir spake:\n\n\n4.  \u201cIf in thou goest   |   to \u00c6gir\u2019s hall,\n      And fain the feast wouldst see,\n    And with slander and spite   |   wouldst sprinkle the gods,\n      Think well lest they wipe it on thee.\u201d\n\n\nLoki spake:\n\n\n5.  \u201cBethink thee, Eldir,   |   if thou and I\n      Shall strive with spiteful speech;\n    Richer I grow   |   in ready words\n      If thou speakest too much to me.\u201d\n\n\nThen Loki went into the hall, but when they who were there saw who had\nentered, they were all silent.\n\nLoki spake:\n\n\n6.  \u201cThirsty I come   |   into this thine hall,\n      I, Lopt, from a journey long,\n    To ask of the gods   |   that one should give\n      Fair mead for a drink to me.\n\n7.  \u201cWhy sit ye silent,   |   swollen with pride,\n      Ye gods, and no answer give?\n    At your feast a place   |   and a seat prepare me,\n      Or bid me forth to fare.\u201d\n\n\nBragi spake:\n\n\n8.  \u201cA place and a seat   |   will the gods prepare\n      No more in their midst for thee;\n    For the gods know well   |   what men they wish\n      To find at their mighty feasts.\u201d\n\n\nLoki spake:\n\n\n9.  \u201cRemember, Othin,   |   in olden days\n      That we both our blood have mixed;\n    Then didst thou promise   |   no ale to pour,\n      Unless it were brought for us both.\u201d\n\n\nOthin spake:\n\n\n10. \u201cStand forth then, Vithar,   |   and let the wolf\u2019s father\n      Find a seat at our feast;\n    Lest evil should Loki   |   speak aloud\n      Here within \u00c6gir\u2019s hall.\u201d\n\n\nThen Vithar arose and poured drink for Loki; but before he drank he\nspoke to the gods:\n\n\n11. \u201cHail to you, gods!   |   ye goddesses, hail!\n      Hail to the holy throng!\n    Save for the god   |   who yonder sits,\n      Bragi there on the bench.\u201d\n\n\nBragi spake:\n\n\n12. \u201cA horse and a sword   |   from my hoard will I give,\n      And a ring gives Bragi to boot,\n    That hatred thou makst not   |   among the gods;\n      So rouse not the great ones to wrath.\u201d\n\n\nLoki spake:\n\n\n13. \u201cIn horses and rings   |   thou shalt never be rich,\n      Bragi, but both shalt thou lack;\n    Of the gods and elves   |   here together met\n      Least brave in battle art thou,\n      (And shyest thou art of the shot.)\u201d\n\n\nBragi spake:\n\n\n14. \u201cNow were I without   |   as I am within,\n      And here in \u00c6gir\u2019s hall,\n    Thine head would I bear   |   in mine hands away,\n      And pay thee the price of thy lies.\u201d\n\n\nLoki spake:\n\n\n15. \u201cIn thy seat art thou bold,   |   not so are thy deeds,\n      Bragi, adorner of benches!\n    Go out and fight   |   if angered thou feelest,\n      No hero such forethought has.\u201d\n\n\nIthun spake:\n\n\n16. \u201cWell, prithee, Bragi,   |   his kinship weigh,\n      Since chosen as wish-son he was;\n    And speak not to Loki   |   such words of spite\n      Here within \u00c6gir\u2019s hall.\u201d\n\n\nLoki spake:\n\n\n17. \u201cBe silent, Ithun!   |   thou art, I say,\n      Of women most lustful in love,\n    Since thou thy washed-bright   |   arms didst wind\n      About thy brother\u2019s slayer.\u201d\n\n\nIthun spake:\n\n\n18. \u201cTo Loki I speak not   |   with spiteful words\n      Here within \u00c6gir\u2019s hall;\n    And Bragi I calm,   |   who is hot with beer,\n      For I wish not that fierce they should fight.\u201d\n\n\nGefjun spake:\n\n\n19. \u201cWhy, ye gods twain,   |   with bitter tongues\n      Raise hate among us here?\n    Loki is famed   |   for his mockery foul,\n      And the dwellers in heaven he hates.\u201d\n\n\nLoki spake:\n\n\n20. \u201cBe silent, Gefjun!   |   for now shall I say\n      Who led thee to evil life;\n    The boy so fair   |   gave a necklace bright,\n      And about him thy leg was laid.\u201d\n\n\nOthin spake:\n\n\n21. \u201cMad art thou, Loki,   |   and little of wit,\n      The wrath of Gefjun to rouse;\n    For the fate that is set   |   for all she sees,\n      Even as I, methinks.\u201d\n\n\nLoki spake:\n\n\n22. \u201cBe silent, Othin!   |   not justly thou settest\n      The fate of the fight among men;\n    Oft gavst thou to him   |   who deserved not the gift,\n      To the baser, the battle\u2019s prize.\u201d\n\n\nOthin spake:\n\n\n23. \u201cThough I gave to him   |   who deserved not the gift,\n      To the baser, the battle\u2019s prize;\n    Winters eight   |   wast thou under the earth,\n      Milking the cows as a maid,\n      (Ay, and babes didst thou bear;\n      Unmanly thy soul must seem.)\u201d\n\n\nLoki spake:\n\n\n24. \u201cThey say that with spells   |   in Samsey once\n      Like witches with charms didst thou work;\n    And in witch\u2019s guise   |   among men didst thou go;\n      Unmanly thy soul must seem.\u201d\n\n\nFrigg spake:\n\n\n25. \u201cOf the deeds ye two   |   of old have done\n      Ye should make no speech among men;\n    Whate\u2019er ye have done   |   in days gone by,\n      Old tales should ne\u2019er be told.\u201d\n\n\nLoki spake:\n\n\n26. \u201cBe silent, Frigg!   |   thou art Fjorgyn\u2019s wife,\n      But ever lustful in love;\n    For Vili and Ve,   |   thou wife of Vithrir,\n      Both in thy bosom have lain.\u201d\n\n\nFrigg spake:\n\n\n27. \u201cIf a son like Baldr   |   were by me now,\n      Here within \u00c6gir\u2019s hall,\n    From the sons of the gods   |   thou shouldst go not forth\n      Till thy fierceness in fight were tried.\u201d\n\n\nLoki spake:\n\n\n28. \u201cThou wilt then, Frigg,   |   that further I tell\n      Of the ill that now I know;\n    Mine is the blame   |   that Baldr no more\n      Thou seest ride home to the hall.\u201d\n\n\nFreyja spake:\n\n\n29. \u201cMad art thou, Loki,   |   that known thou makest\n      The wrong and shame thou hast wrought;\n    The fate of all   |   does Frigg know well,\n      Though herself she says it not.\u201d\n\n\nLoki spake:\n\n\n30. \u201cBe silent, Freyja!   |   for fully I know thee,\n      Sinless thou art not thyself;\n    Of the gods and elves   |   who are gathered here,\n      Each one as thy lover has lain.\u201d\n\n\nFreyja spake:\n\n\n31. \u201cFalse is thy tongue,   |   and soon shalt thou find\n      That it sings thee an evil song;\n    The gods are wroth,   |   and the goddesses all,\n      And in grief shalt thou homeward go.\u201d\n\n\nLoki spake:\n\n\n32. \u201cBe silent, Freyja!   |   thou foulest witch,\n      And steeped full sore in sin;\n    In the arms of thy brother   |   the bright gods caught thee\n      When Freyja her wind set free.\u201d\n\n\nNjorth spake:\n\n\n33. \u201cSmall ill does it work   |   though a woman may have\n      A lord or a lover or both;\n    But a wonder it is   |   that this womanish god\n      Comes hither, though babes he has borne.\u201d\n\n\nLoki spake:\n\n\n34. \u201cBe silent, Njorth;   |   thou wast eastward sent,\n      To the gods as a hostage given;\n    And the daughters of Hymir   |   their privy had\n      When use did they make of thy mouth.\u201d\n\n\nNjorth spake:\n\n\n35. \u201cGreat was my gain,   |   though long was I gone,\n      To the gods as a hostage given;\n    The son did I have   |   whom no man hates,\n      And foremost of gods is found.\u201d\n\n\nLoki spake:\n\n\n36. \u201cGive heed now, Njorth,   |   nor boast too high,\n      No longer I hold it hid;\n    With thy sister hadst thou   |   so fair a son,\n      Thus hadst thou no worse a hope.\u201d\n\n\nTyr spake:\n\n\n37. \u201cOf the heroes brave   |   is Freyr the best\n      Here in the home of the gods;\n    He harms not maids   |   nor the wives of men,\n      And the bound from their fetters he frees.\u201d\n\n\nLoki spake:\n\n\n38. \u201cBe silent, Tyr!   |   for between two men\n      Friendship thou ne\u2019er couldst fashion;\n    Fain would I tell   |   how Fenrir once\n      Thy right hand rent from thee.\u201d\n\n\nTyr spake:\n\n\n39. \u201cMy hand do I lack,   |   but Hrothvitnir thou,\n      And the loss brings longing to both;\n    Ill fares the wolf   |   who shall ever await\n      In fetters the fall of the gods.\u201d\n\n\nLoki spake:\n\n\n40. \u201cBe silent, Tyr!   |   for a son with me\n      Thy wife once chanced to win;\n    Not a penny, methinks,   |   wast thou paid for the wrong,\n      Nor wast righted an inch, poor wretch.\u201d\n\n\nFreyr spake:\n\n\n41. \u201cBy the mouth of the river   |   the wolf remains\n      Till the gods to destruction go;\n    Thou too shalt soon,   |   if thy tongue is not stilled,\n      Be fettered, thou forger of ill.\u201d\n\n\nLoki spake:\n\n\n42. \u201cThe daughter of Gymir   |   with gold didst thou buy,\n      And sold thy sword to boot;\n    But when Muspell\u2019s sons   |   through Myrkwood ride,\n      Thou shalt weaponless wait, poor wretch.\u201d\n\n\nByggvir spake:\n\n\n43. \u201cHad I birth so famous   |   as Ingunar-Freyr,\n      And sat in so lofty a seat,\n    I would crush to marrow   |   this croaker of ill,\n      And beat all his body to bits.\u201d\n\n\nLoki spake:\n\n\n44. \u201cWhat little creature   |   goes crawling there,\n      Snuffling and snapping about?\n    At Freyr\u2019s ears ever   |   wilt thou be found,\n      Or muttering hard at the mill.\u201d\n\n\nByggvir spake:\n\n\n45. \u201cByggvir my name,   |   and nimble am I,\n      As gods and men do grant;\n    And here am I proud   |   that the children of Hropt\n      Together all drink ale.\u201d\n\n\nLoki spake:\n\n\n46. \u201cBe silent, Byggvir!   |   thou never couldst set\n      Their shares of the meat for men;\n    Hid in straw on the floor,   |   they found thee not\n      When heroes were fain to fight.\u201d\n\n\nHeimdall spake:\n\n\n47. \u201cDrunk art thou, Loki,   |   and mad are thy deeds,\n      Why, Loki, leavst thou this not?\n    For drink beyond measure   |   will lead all men\n      No thought of their tongues to take.\u201d\n\n\nLoki spake:\n\n\n48. \u201cBe silent, Heimdall!   |   in days long since\n      Was an evil fate for thee fixed;\n    With back held stiff   |   must thou ever stand,\n      As warder of heaven to watch.\u201d\n\n\nSkathi spake:\n\n\n49. \u201cLight art thou, Loki,   |   but longer thou mayst not\n      In freedom flourish thy tail;\n    On the rocks the gods bind thee   |   with bowels torn\n      Forth from thy frost-cold son.\u201d\n\n\nLoki spake:\n\n\n50. \u201cThough on rocks the gods bind me   |   with bowels torn\n      Forth from my frost-cold son,\n    I was first and last   |   at the deadly fight\n      There where Thjazi we caught.\u201d\n\n\nSkathi spake:\n\n\n51. \u201cWert thou first and last   |   at the deadly fight\n      There where Thjazi was caught,\n    From my dwellings and fields   |   shall ever come forth\n      A counsel cold for thee.\u201d\n\n\nLoki spake:\n\n\n52. \u201cMore lightly thou spakest   |   with Laufey\u2019s son,\n      When thou badst me come to thy bed;\n    Such things must be known   |   if now we two\n      Shall seek our sins to tell.\u201d\n\n\nThen Sif came forward and poured mead for Loki in a crystal cup, and\nsaid:\n\n\n53. \u201cHail to thee, Loki,   |   and take thou here\n      The crystal cup of old mead;\n    For me at least,   |   alone of the gods,\n      Blameless thou knowest to be.\u201d\n\n\nHe took the horn, and drank therefrom:\n\n\n54. \u201cAlone thou wert   |   if truly thou wouldst\n      All men so shyly shun;\n    But one do I know   |   full well, methinks,\n      Who had thee from Hlorrithi\u2019s arms,\u2014\n      (Loki the crafty in lies.)\u201d\n\n\nBeyla spake:\n\n\n55. \u201cThe mountains shake,   |   and surely I think\n      From his home comes Hlorrithi now;\n    He will silence the man   |   who is slandering here\n      Together both gods and men.\u201d\n\n\nLoki spake:\n\n\n56. \u201cBe silent, Beyla!   |   thou art Byggvir\u2019s wife,\n      And deep art thou steeped in sin;\n    A greater shame   |   to the gods came ne\u2019er,\n      Befouled thou art with thy filth.\u201d\n\n\nThen came Thor forth, and spake:\n\n\n57. \u201cUnmanly one, cease,   |   or the mighty hammer,\n      Mjollnir, shall close thy mouth;\n    Thy shoulder-cliff   |   shall I cleave from thy neck,\n      And so shall thy life be lost.\u201d\n\n\nLoki spake:\n\n\n58. \u201cLo, in has come   |   the son of Earth:\n      Why threaten so loudly, Thor?\n    Less fierce thou shalt go   |   to fight with the wolf\n      When he swallows Sigfather up.\u201d\n\n\nThor spake:\n\n\n59. \u201cUnmanly one, cease,   |   or the mighty hammer,\n      Mjollnir, shall close thy mouth;\n    I shall hurl thee up   |   and out in the East,\n      Where men shall see thee no more.\u201d\n\n\nLoki spake:\n\n\n60. \u201cThat thou hast fared   |   on the East-road forth\n      To men shouldst thou say no more;\n    In the thumb of a glove   |   didst thou hide, thou great one,\n      And there forgot thou wast Thor.\u201d\n\n\nThor spake:\n\n\n61. \u201cUnmanly one, cease,   |   or the mighty hammer,\n      Mjollnir, shall close thy mouth;\n    My right hand shall smite thee   |   with Hrungnir\u2019s slayer,\n      Till all thy bones are broken.\u201d\n\n\nLoki spake:\n\n\n62. \u201cA long time still   |   do I think to live,\n      Though thou threatenest thus with thy hammer;\n    Rough seemed the straps   |   of Skrymir\u2019s wallet,\n      When thy meat thou mightest not get,\n      (And faint from hunger didst feel.)\u201d\n\n\nThor spake:\n\n\n63. \u201cUnmanly one, cease,   |   or the mighty hammer,\n      Mjollnir, shall close thy mouth;\n    The slayer of Hrungnir   |   shall send thee to hell,\n      And down to the gate of death.\u201d\n\n\nLoki spake:\n\n\n64. \u201cI have said to the gods   |   and the sons of the gods\n      The things that whetted my thoughts;\n    But before thee alone   |   do I now go forth,\n      For thou fightest well, I ween.\n\n65. \u201cAle hast thou brewed,   |   but, \u00c6gir, now\n      Such feasts shalt thou make no more;\n    O\u2019er all that thou hast   |   which is here within\n      Shall play the flickering flames,\n      (And thy back shall be burnt with fire.)\u201d\n\n\nAnd after that Loki hid himself in Franang\u2019s waterfall in the guise of\na salmon, and there the gods took him. He was bound with the bowels of\nhis son Vali, but his son Narfi was changed to a wolf. Skathi took a\npoison-snake and fastened it up over Loki\u2019s face, and the poison\ndropped thereon. Sigyn, Loki\u2019s wife, sat there and held a shell under\nthe poison, but when the shell was full she bore away the poison, and\nmeanwhile the poison dropped on Loki. Then he struggled so hard that\nthe whole earth shook therewith; and now that is called an earthquake.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTES\n\n\nProse. \u00c6gir: the sea-god; Snorri gives Hler as another of his names,\nbut he is not elsewhere called Gymir, which is the name of the giant,\nGerth\u2019s father, in the Skirnismol. On \u00c6gir cf. Grimnismol, 45, and\nHymiskvitha, 1. Frigg: though Othin\u2019s wife is often mentioned, she\nplays only a minor part in the Eddic poems; cf. Voluspo, 34,\nVafthruthnismol, 1, and Grimnismol, introductory prose. Thor: the\ncompiler is apparently a trifle confused as to Thor\u2019s movements; the\n\u201cjourney in the East\u201d here mentioned cannot be the one described in the\nHymiskvitha, nor yet the one narrated by Snorri, as Loki was with Thor\nthroughout that expedition. He probably means no more than that Thor\nwas off killing giants. Sif: concerning Thor\u2019s wife the chief incident\nis that Loki cut off her hair, and, at the command of the wrathful\nThor, was compelled to have the dwarfs fashion her a new supply of hair\nout of gold; cf. Harbarthsljoth, 48. Bragi: the god of poetry; cf.\nGrimnismol, 44 and note. Ithun: the goddess of youth; cf. note on\nSkirnismol, 19. Ithun is not mentioned by name in any other of the\nEddic poems, but Snorri tells in detail how the giant Thjazi stole her\nand her apples, explaining the reference in Harbarthsljoth, 19 (q. v.).\nTyr: the god of battle; cf. Hymiskvitha, 4, and (concerning his\ndealings with the wolf Fenrir) Voluspo, 39, note. Njorth: the chief of\nthe Wanes, and father of Freyr and Freyja; cf. (concerning the whole\nfamily) Skirnismol, introductory prose and note, also Voluspo, 21 and\nnote. Skathi: Njorth\u2019s wife was the daughter of the giant Thjazi; cf.\nHarbarthsljoth, 19, note, and Grimnismol, 11. Vithar: the silent god,\nthe son of Othin who avenged his father by slaying the wolf Fenrir; cf.\nVoluspo, 54, Vafthruthnismol, 51, and Grimnismol, 17. Loki: the\nmischief-making fire-god; in addition to the many references to his\ncareer in the Lokasenna, cf. particularly Voluspo, 32 and 35, and\nnotes. Byggvir and Beyla: not mentioned elsewhere in the poems; Freyr\u2019s\nconspicuous servant is Skirnir, hero of the Skirnismol. Fimafeng (\u201cThe\nSwift Handler\u201d) and Eldir (\u201cThe Man of the Fire\u201d): mentioned only in\nconnection with this incident. Glittering gold: \u00c6gir\u2019s use of gold to\nlight his hall, which was often thought of as under the sea, was\nresponsible for the phrase \u201cflame of the flood,\u201d and sundry kindred\nphrases, meaning \u201cgold.\u201d\n\n6. Lopt: like Lothur (cf. Voluspo, 18) another name for Loki; cf.\nHyndluljoth, 43, and Svipdagsmol, 42.\n\n7. In the manuscript this stanza begins with a small letter, and\nHeinzel unites it with stanza 6.\n\n8. Bragi: cf. note on introductory prose. Why Loki taunts him with\ncowardice (stanzas 11\u201313\u201315) is not clear, for poetry, of which Bragi\nwas the patron, was generally associated in the Norse mind with\npeculiar valor, and most of the skaldic poets were likewise noted\nfighters.\n\n9. There exists no account of any incident in which Othin and Loki thus\nswore blood-brotherhood, but they were so often allied in enterprises\nthat the idea is wholly reasonable. The common process of \u201cmingling\nblood\u201d was carried out quite literally, and the promise of which Loki\nspeaks is characteristic of those which, in the sagas, often\naccompanied the ceremony; cf. Brot af Sigurtharkvithu, 18 and note.\n\n10. In stanzas 10\u201331 the manuscript has nothing to indicate the\nidentity of the several speakers, but these are uniformly clear enough\nthrough the context. Vithar: cf. note on introductory prose. The wolf\u2019s\nfather: Loki; cf. Voluspo, 39 and note.\n\n13. Sijmons makes one line of lines 4\u20135 by cutting out a part of each;\nFinnur Jonsson rejects 5 as spurious.\n\n14. The text of line 4 is somewhat obscure, and has been variously\nemended, one often adopted suggestion making the line read, \u201cLittle is\nthat for thy lies.\u201d\n\n15. Adorner of benches: this epithet presumably implies that Bragi is\nnot only slothful, but also effeminate, for a very similar word, \u201cpride\nof the benches,\u201d means a bride.\n\n16. Ithun: Bragi\u2019s wife; cf. note on introductory prose. The goddesses\nwho, finding that their husbands are getting the worst of it, take up\nthe cudgels with Loki, all find themselves confronted with undeniable\nfacts in their own careers; cf. stanzas 26 (Frigg), 52 (Skathi) and 54\n(Sif). Gefjun and Freyja are silenced in similar fashion. Wish-son:\nadopted son; Loki was the son of the giant Farbauti and the giantess\nLaufey, and hence was not of the race of the gods, but had been\nvirtually adopted by Othin, who subsequently had good reason to regret\nit.\n\n17. We do not even know who Ithun\u2019s brother was, much less who slew\nhim.\n\n19. Gefjun: a goddess, not elsewhere mentioned in the poems, who,\naccording to Snorri, was served by the women who died maidens. Beyond\nthis nothing is known of her. Lines 3\u20134 in the manuscript are puzzling,\nand have been freely emended.\n\n20. Nothing is known of the incident here mentioned. There is a good\ndeal of confusion as to various of the gods and goddesses, and it has\nbeen suggested that Gefjun is really Frigg under another name, with a\nlittle of Freyja\u2014whose attributes were frequently confused with\nFrigg\u2019s\u2014thrown in. Certainly Othin\u2019s answer (stanza 21, lines 3\u20134) fits\nFrigg perfectly, for she shared his knowledge of the future, whereas it\nhas no relation to anything known of Gefjun. As for the necklace (line\n3), it may be the Brisings\u2019 necklace, which appears in the Thrymskvitha\nas Freyja\u2019s, but which, in some mythological writings, is assigned to\nFrigg.\n\n21. Snorri quotes line 1; cf. note on stanza 29.\n\n23. There is no other reference to Loki\u2019s having spent eight years\nunderground, or to his cow-milking. On one occasion, however, he did\nbear offspring. A giant had undertaken to build the gods a fortress,\nhis reward being Freyja and the sun and moon, provided the work was\ndone by a given time. His sole helper was his horse, Svathilfari. The\nwork being nearly done, and the gods fearing to lose Freyja and the sun\nand moon, Loki turned himself into a mare, and so effectually\ndistracted Svathilfari from his task that shortly afterwards Loki gave\nbirth to Othin\u2019s eight-legged horse, Sleipnir. In such contests of\nabuse a man was not infrequently taunted with having borne children;\ncf. Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I, 39\u201345. One or two of the last three\nlines may be spurious.\n\n24. Samsey: perhaps the Danish island of Sams\u00f6. Othin was the god of\nmagic, but there is no other reference to his ever having disguised\nhimself as a witch.\n\n25. Frigg: Othin\u2019s wife; cf. note to introductory prose.\n\n26. Fjorgyn: Othin; cf. Voluspo, 56 and note. Vili and Ve: Othin\u2019s\nbrothers, who appear merely as, with Othin, the sons of Bur and Bestla;\ncf. Voluspo, 4. The Ynglingasaga says that, during one of Othin\u2019s\nprotracted absences, his two brothers took Frigg as their mistress.\nVithrir: another name for Othin.\n\n27. On the death of Baldr, slain through Loki\u2019s cunning by the blind\nHoth, cf. Voluspo, 32 and note.\n\n29. Freyja: daughter of Njorth and sister of Freyr; cf. note on\nintroductory prose. Snorri, in speaking of Frigg\u2019s knowledge of the\nfuture, makes a stanza out of Lokasenna, 21, 1; 47, 2; 29, 3\u20134, thus:\n\u201cMad art thou, Loki,   |   and little of wit, / Why, Loki, leavst thou\nthis not? / The fate of all   |   does Frigg know well, / Though\nherself she says it not.\u201d\n\n30. According to Snorri, Freyja was a model of fidelity to her husband,\nOth.\n\n32. Before each of stanzas 32\u201342 the manuscript indicates the speaker,\nthrough the initial letter of the name written in the margin. Thy\nbrother: Freyr; there is no other indication that such a relation\nexisted between these two, but they themselves were the product of such\na union; cf. stanza 36 and note.\n\n33. Njorth: father of Freyr and Freyja, and given by the Wanes as a\nhostage, in exchange for H\u00f6nir, at the close of the first war; cf.\nVoluspo, 21 and note, also Skirnismol, introductory prose and note.\nBabes: cf. stanza 23 and note. Bugge suggests that this clause may have\nbeen a late insertion.\n\n34. Daughters of Hymir: we have no clue to who these were, though Hymir\nis doubtless the frost-giant of the Hymiskvitha (q.v.). Loki\u2019s point is\nthat Njorth is not a god, but the product of an inferior race (the\nWanes).\n\n35. The son: Freyr.\n\n36. Thy sister: the Ynglingasaga supports this story of Njorth\u2019s having\nhad two children by his sister before he came among the gods. Snorri,\non the other hand, specifically says that Freyr and Freyja were born\nafter Njorth came to the gods.\n\n37. Tyr: the god of battle; cf. notes on Hymiskvitha, 4, and Voluspo,\n39. Freyr; concerning his noble qualities cf. Skirnismol, introductory\nprose and note.\n\n38. Snorri mentions Tyr\u2019s incompetence as a peacemaker. Fenrir: the\nwolf, Loki\u2019s son; cf. Voluspo, 39.\n\n39. Hrothvitnir (\u201cThe Mighty Wolf\u201d): Fenrir, who awaits in chains the\nfinal battle and death at the hands of Vithar. The manuscript has a\nmetrical error in line 3, which has led to various emendations, all\nwith much the same meaning.\n\n40. Thy wife: there is no other reference to Tyr\u2019s wife, nor do we know\nwho was the son in question.\n\n41. The mouth of the river: according to Snorri, the chained Fenrir\n\u201croars horribly, and the slaver runs from his mouth, and makes the\nriver called Vam; he lies there till the doom of the gods.\u201d Freyr\u2019s\nthreat is actually carried out; cf. concluding prose.\n\n42. The daughter of Gymir: Gerth, heroine of the Skirnismol, which\ngives the details of Freyr\u2019s loss of his sword. Muspell\u2019s sons: the\nname Muspell is not used elsewhere in the poems; Snorri uses it\nfrequently, but only in this same phrase, \u201cMuspell\u2019s sons.\u201d They are\nthe dwellers in the fire-world, Muspellsheim, led by Surt against the\ngods in the last battle; cf. Voluspo, 47 and 52 and notes. Myrkwood:\nhere the dark forest bounding the fire-world; in the Atlakvitha (stanza\n3) the name is used of another boundary forest.\n\n43. Byggvir: one of Freyr\u2019s two servants; cf. introductory prose.\nIngunar-Freyr: the name is not used elsewhere in the poems, or by\nSnorri; it may be the genitive of a woman\u2019s name, Ingun, the unknown\nsister of Njorth who was Freyr\u2019s mother (cf. stanza 36), or a\ncorruption of the name Ingw, used for Freyr (Fro) in old German\nmythology.\n\n44. Beginning with this stanza, the names of the speakers are lacking\nin the manuscript. The mill: i.e., at slaves\u2019 tasks.\n\n45. Nothing further is known of either Byggvir\u2019s swiftness or his\ncowardice. Hropt: Othin.\n\n47. Heimdall: besides being the watchman of the gods (cf. Voluspo, 27),\nhe appears also as the god of light (cf. Thrymskvitha, 14), and\npossibly also as a complex cultural deity in the Rigsthula. He was a\nson of Othin, born of nine sisters; cf. Hyndluljoth, 37\u201340. In the last\nbattle he and Loki slay one another. Line 2 is quoted by Snorri; cf.\nstanza 29, note.\n\n49. Skathi: the wife of Njorth, and daughter of the giant Thjazi,\nconcerning whose death cf. Harbarthsljoth, 19, note. Bowels, etc.:\naccording to the prose note at the end of the Lokasenna, the gods bound\nLoki with the bowels of his son Vali, and changed his other son, Narfi,\ninto a wolf. Snorri turns the story about, Vali being the wolf, who\ntears his brother to pieces, the gods then using Narfi\u2019s intestines to\nbind Loki. Narfi\u2014and presumably Vali\u2014were the sons of Loki and his\nwife, Sigyn. They appear only in this episode, though Narfi (or Nari)\nis named by Snorri in his list of Loki\u2019s children. Cf. concluding\nprose, and note.\n\n52. Laufey\u2019s son: Loki; not much is known of his parents beyond their\nnames. His father was the giant Farbauti, his mother Laufey, sometimes\ncalled Nal. There is an elaborate but far-fetched hypothesis explaining\nthese three on the basis of a nature-myth. There is no other reference\nto such a relation between Skathi and Loki as he here suggests.\n\n53. Sif: Thor\u2019s wife; cf. Harbarthsljoth, 48, where her infidelity is\nagain mentioned. The manuscript omits the proper name from the\npreceding prose, and a few editors have, obviously in error, attributed\nthe speech to Beyla.\n\n54. Hlorrithi: Thor. Line 5 is probably spurious.\n\n55. Beyla: Freyr\u2019s servant, wife of Byggvir; cf. introductory prose and\nnote.\n\n57. Mjollnir: concerning Thor\u2019s famous hammer see particularly\nThrymskvitha, 1 and note. Shoulder-cliff: head; concerning the use of\nsuch diction in the Edda, cf. introductory note to Hymiskvitha. The\nmanuscript indicates line 3 as the beginning of a stanza, but this is\napparently a scribal error.\n\n58. Son of Earth: Thor, son of Othin and Jorth (Earth). The manuscript\nomits the word \u201cson,\u201d but all editors have agreed in supplying it. The\nwolf: Fenrir, Loki\u2019s son, who slays Othin (Sigfather: \u201cFather of\nVictory\u201d) in the final battle. Thor, according to Snorri and to the\nVoluspo, 56, fights with Mithgarthsorm and not with Fenrir, who is\nkilled by Vithar.\n\n59. Lines 1\u20132 are abbreviated in the manuscript, as also in stanzas 61\nand 63.\n\n60. Loki\u2019s taunt that Thor hid in the thumb of Skrymir\u2019s glove is\nsimilar to that of Othin, Harbarthsljoth, 26, in the note to which the\nstory is outlined. Line 4 is identical with line 3 of Harbarthsljoth,\n26.\n\n61. Hrungnir\u2019s slayer: the hammer; the story of how Thor slew this\nstone-headed giant is indicated in Harbarthsljoth, 14\u201315, and outlined\nin the note to stanza 14 of that poem.\n\n62. On the day following the adventure of the glove, Thor, Loki and\nThor\u2019s servants proceed on their way in company with Skrymir, who puts\nall their food in his wallet. At evening Skrymir goes to sleep, and\nThor tries to get at the food, but cannot loosen the straps of the\nwallet. In a rage he smites Skrymir three times on the head with his\nhammer, but the giant\u2014who, it subsequently appears, deftly dodges the\nblows\u2014is totally undisturbed. Line 5 may well be spurious.\n\n65. The flames: the fire that consumes the world on the last day; cf.\nVoluspo, 57. Line 5 may be spurious.\n\nProse: Snorri tells the same story, with minor differences, but makes\nit the consequence of Loki\u2019s part in the slaying of Baldr, which\nundoubtedly represents the correct tradition. The compiler of the poems\neither was confused or thought the incident was useful as indicating\nwhat finally happened to Loki. Possibly he did not mean to imply that\nLoki\u2019s fate was brought upon him by his abuse of the gods, but simply\ntried to round out the story. Franang: \u201cGleaming Water.\u201d Vali and\nNarfi: cf. stanza 49 and note. Sigyn: cf. Voluspo, 35, the only other\nplace where she is mentioned in the poems. Snorri omits the naive note\nabout earthquakes, his narrative ending with the words, \u201cAnd there he\nlies till the destruction of the gods.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTHRYMSKVITHA\n\nTHE LAY OF THRYM\n\n\nINTRODUCTORY NOTE\n\nThe Thrymskvitha is found only in the Codex Regius, where it follows\nthe Lokasenna. Snorri does not quote from it, nor, rather oddly, does\nthe story occur in the Prose Edda.\n\nArtistically the Thrymskvitha is one of the best, as it is, next to the\nVoluspo, the most famous, of the entire collection. It has, indeed,\nbeen called \u201cthe finest ballad in the world,\u201d and not without some\nreason. Its swift, vigorous action, the sharpness of its\ncharacterization and the humor of the central situation combine to make\nit one of the most vivid short narrative poems ever composed. Of course\nwe know nothing specific of its author, but there can be no question\nthat he was a poet of extraordinary ability. The poem assumed its\npresent form, most critics agree, somewhere about 900, and thus it is\none of the oldest in the collection. It has been suggested, on the\nbasis of stylistic similarity, that its author may also have composed\nthe Skirnismol, and possibly Baldrs Draumar. There is also some\nresemblance between the Thrymskvitha and the Lokasenna (note, in this\nconnection, Bugge\u2019s suggestion that the Skirnismol and the Lokasenna\nmay have been by the same man), and it is not impossible that all four\npoems have a single authorship.\n\nThe Thrymskvitha has been preserved in excellent condition, without any\nserious gaps or interpolations. In striking contrast to many of the\npoems, it contains no prose narrative links, the story being told in\nnarrative verse\u2014a rare phenomenon in the poems of the Edda.\n\n\n\n\n\n1.  Wild was Vingthor   |   when he awoke,\n      And when his mighty   |   hammer he missed;\n    He shook his beard,   |   his hair was bristling,\n    As the son of Jorth   |   about him sought.\n\n2.  Hear now the speech   |   that first he spake:\n    \u201cHarken, Loki,   |   and heed my words,\n    Nowhere on earth   |   is it known to man,\n    Nor in heaven above:   |   our hammer is stolen.\u201d\n\n3.  To the dwelling fair   |   of Freyja went they,\n    Hear now the speech   |   that first he spake:\n    \u201cWilt thou, Freyja,   |   thy feather-dress lend me,\n    That so my hammer   |   I may seek?\u201d\n\n\nFreyja spake:\n\n\n4.  \u201cThine should it be   |   though of silver bright,\n    And I would give it   |   though \u2019twere of gold.\u201d\n    Then Loki flew,   |   and the feather-dress whirred,\n    Till he left behind him   |   the home of the gods,\n    And reached at last   |   the realm of the giants.\n\n5.  Thrym sat on a mound,   |   the giants\u2019 master,\n    Leashes of gold   |   he laid for his dogs,\n    And stroked and smoothed   |   the manes of his steeds.\n\n\nThrym spake:\n\n\n6.  \u201cHow fare the gods,   |   how fare the elves?\n    Why comst thou alone   |   to the giants\u2019 land?\u201d\n\n\nLoki spake:\n\n\n    \u201cIll fare the gods,   |   ill fare the elves!\n    Hast thou hidden   |   Hlorrithi\u2019s hammer?\u201d\n\n\nThrym spake:\n\n\n7.  \u201cI have hidden   |   Hlorrithi\u2019s hammer,\n    Eight miles down   |   deep in the earth;\n    And back again   |   shall no man bring it\n    If Freyja I win not   |   to be my wife.\u201d\n\n8.  Then Loki flew,   |   and the feather-dress whirred,\n    Till he left behind him   |   the home of the giants,\n    And reached at last   |   the realm of the gods.\n    There in the courtyard   |   Thor he met:\n    Hear now the speech   |   that first he spake:\n\n9.  \u201cHast thou found tidings   |   as well as trouble?\n    Thy news in the air   |   shalt thou utter now;\n    Oft doth the sitter   |   his story forget,\n    And lies he speaks   |   who lays himself down.\u201d\n\n\nLoki spake:\n\n\n10. \u201cTrouble I have,   |   and tidings as well:\n    Thrym, king of the giants,   |   keeps thy hammer,\n    And back again   |   shall no man bring it\n    If Freyja he wins not   |   to be his wife.\u201d\n\n11. Freyja the fair   |   then went they to find;\n    Hear now the speech   |   that first he spake:\n    \u201cBind on, Freyja,   |   the bridal veil,\n    For we two must haste   |   to the giants\u2019 home.\u201d\n\n12. Wrathful was Freyja,   |   and fiercely she snorted,\n    And the dwelling great   |   of the gods was shaken,\n    And burst was the mighty   |   Brisings\u2019 necklace:\n    \u201cMost lustful indeed   |   should I look to all\n    If I journeyed with thee   |   to the giants\u2019 home.\u201d\n\n13. Then were the gods   |   together met,\n    And the goddesses came   |   and council held,\n    And the far-famed ones   |   a plan would find,\n    How they might Hlorrithi\u2019s   |   hammer win.\n\n14. Then Heimdall spake,   |   whitest of the gods,\n    Like the Wanes he knew   |   the future well:\n    \u201cBind we on Thor   |   the bridal veil,\n    Let him bear the mighty   |   Brisings\u2019 necklace;\n\n15. \u201cKeys around him   |   let there rattle,\n    And down to his knees   |   hang woman\u2019s dress;\n    With gems full broad   |   upon his breast,\n    And a pretty cap   |   to crown his head.\u201d\n\n16. Then Thor the mighty   |   his answer made:\n    \u201cMe would the gods   |   unmanly call\n    If I let bind   |   the bridal veil.\u201d\n\n17. Then Loki spake,   |   the son of Laufey:\n    \u201cBe silent, Thor,   |   and speak not thus;\n    Else will the giants   |   in Asgarth dwell\n    If thy hammer is brought not   |   home to thee.\u201d\n\n18. Then bound they on Thor   |   the bridal veil,\n    And next the mighty   |   Brisings\u2019 necklace.\n\n19. Keys around him   |   let they rattle,\n    And down to his knees   |   hung woman\u2019s dress;\n    With gems full broad   |   upon his breast,\n    And a pretty cap   |   to crown his head.\n\n20. Then Loki spake,   |   the son of Laufey:\n    \u201cAs thy maid-servant thither   |   I go with thee;\n    We two shall haste   |   to the giants\u2019 home.\u201d\n\n21. Then home the goats   |   to the hall were driven,\n    They wrenched at the halters,   |   swift were they to\n    run;\n    The mountains burst,   |   earth burned with fire,\n    And Othin\u2019s son   |   sought Jotunheim.\n\n22. Then loud spake Thrym,   |   the giants\u2019 leader:\n    \u201cBestir ye, giants,   |   put straw on the benches;\n    Now Freyja they bring   |   to be my bride,\n    The daughter of Njorth   |   out of Noatun.\n\n23. \u201cGold-horned cattle   |   go to my stables,\n    Jet-black oxen,   |   the giant\u2019s joy;\n    Many my gems,   |   and many my jewels,\n    Freyja alone   |   did I lack, methinks.\u201d\n\n24. Early it was   |   to evening come,\n    And forth was borne   |   the beer for the giants;\n    Thor alone ate an ox,   |   and eight salmon,\n    All the dainties as well   |   that were set for the\n    women;\n    And drank Sif\u2019s mate   |   three tuns of mead.\n\n25. Then loud spake Thrym,   |   the giants\u2019 leader:\n    \u201cWho ever saw bride   |   more keenly bite?\n    I ne\u2019er saw bride   |   with a broader bite,\n    Nor a maiden who drank   |   more mead than this!\u201d\n\n26. Hard by there sat   |   the serving-maid wise,\n    So well she answered   |   the giant\u2019s words:\n    \u201cFrom food has Freyja   |   eight nights fasted,\n    So hot was her longing   |   for Jotunheim.\u201d\n\n27. Thrym looked \u2019neath the veil,   |   for he longed to kiss,\n    But back he leaped   |   the length of the hall:\n    \u201cWhy are so fearful   |   the eyes of Freyja?\n    Fire, methinks,   |   from her eyes burns forth.\u201d\n\n28. Hard by there sat   |   the serving-maid wise,\n    So well she answered   |   the giant\u2019s words:\n    \u201cNo sleep has Freyja   |   for eight nights found,\n    So hot was her longing   |   for Jotunheim.\u201d\n\n29. Soon came the giant\u2019s   |   luckless sister,\n    Who feared not to ask   |   the bridal fee:\n    \u201cFrom thy hands the rings   |   of red gold take,\n    If thou wouldst win   |   my willing love,\n    (My willing love   |   and welcome glad.)\u201d\n\n30. Then loud spake Thrym,   |   the giants\u2019 leader:\n    \u201cBring in the hammer   |   to hallow the bride;\n    On the maiden\u2019s knees   |   let Mjollnir lie,\n    That us both the hand   |   of Vor may bless.\u201d\n\n31. The heart in the breast   |   of Hlorrithi laughed\n    When the hard-souled one   |   his hammer beheld;\n    First Thrym, the king   |   of the giants, he killed,\n    Then all the folk   |   of the giants he felled.\n\n32. The giant\u2019s sister   |   old he slew,\n    She who had begged   |   the bridal fee;\n    A stroke she got   |   in the shilling\u2019s stead.\n    And for many rings   |   the might of the hammer.\n\n33. And so his hammer   |   got Othin\u2019s son.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTES\n\n\n1. Vingthor (\u201cThor the Hurler\u201d): another name for Thor, equivalent to\nVingnir (Vafthruthnismol, 51). Concerning Thor and his hammer,\nMjollnir, cf. Hymiskvitha, Lokasenna, and Harbarthsljoth, passim.\nJorth: Earth, Thor\u2019s mother, Othin being his father.\n\n2. Loki: cf. Lokasenna, passim.\n\n3. Freyja: Njorth\u2019s daughter, and sister of Freyr; cf. Lokasenna,\nintroductory prose and note, also Skirnismol, introductory prose.\nFreyja\u2019s house was Sessrymnir (\u201cRich in Seats\u201d) built in Folkvang\n(\u201cField of the Folk\u201d); cf. Grimnismol, 14. Feather-dress: this flying\nequipment of Freyja\u2019s is also used in the story of Thjazi, wherein Loki\nagain borrows the \u201chawk\u2019s dress\u201d of Freyja, this time to rescue Ithun;\ncf. Harbarthsljoth, 19 and note.\n\n4. The manuscript and most editions have lines 1\u20132 in inverse order.\nSeveral editors assume a lacuna before line 1, making a stanza out of\nthe two conjectural lines (Bugge actually supplies them) and lines 1\u20132\nof stanza 4. Thus they either make a separate stanza out of lines 3\u20135\nor unite them in a six-line stanza with 5. The manuscript punctuation\nand capitalization\u2014not wholly trustworthy guides\u2014indicate the stanza\ndivisions as in this translation.\n\n5. Thrym: a frost-giant. Gering declares that this story of the theft\nof Thor\u2019s hammer symbolizes the fact that thunderstorms rarely occur in\nwinter.\n\n6. Line 1: cf. Voluspo, 48, 1. The manuscript does not indicate Loki as\nthe speaker of lines 3\u20134. Hlorrithi: Thor.\n\n7. No superscription in the manuscript. Vigfusson made up and inserted\nlines like \u201cThen spake Loki   |   the son of Laufey\u201d whenever he\nthought they would be useful.\n\n9. The manuscript marks line 2, instead of line 1, as the beginning of\na stanza, which has caused editors some confusion in grouping the lines\nof stanzas 8 and 9.\n\n10. No superscription in the manuscript.\n\n12. Many editors have rejected either line 2 or line 3. Vigfusson\ninserts one of his own lines before line 4. Brisings\u2019 necklace: a\nmarvelous necklace fashioned by the dwarfs, here called Brisings (i.e.,\n\u201cTwiners\u201d); cf. Lokasenna, 20 and note.\n\n13. Lines 1\u20133 are identical with Baldrs Draumar, 1, 1\u20133.\n\n14. Heimdall: the phrase \u201cwhitest of the gods\u201d suggests that Heimdall\nwas the god of light as well as being the watchman. His wisdom was\nprobably connected with his sleepless watching over all the worlds; cf.\nLokasenna, 47 and note. On the Wanes cf. Voluspo, 21 and note. They are\nnot elsewhere spoken of as peculiarly gifted with knowledge of future\nevents.\n\n16. Possibly a line has been lost from this stanza.\n\n17. Laufey: Loki\u2019s mother, cf. Lokasenna, 52 and note.\n\n18\u201319. The manuscript abbreviates all six lines, giving only the\ninitial letters of the words. The stanza division is thus arbitrary;\nsome editors have made one stanza of the six lines, others have\ncombined the last two lines of stanza 19 with stanza 20. It is possible\nthat a couple of lines have been lost.\n\n21. Goats: Thor\u2019s wagon was always drawn by goats; cf. Hymiskvitha, 38\nand note. Jotunheim: the world of the giants.\n\n22. Njorth: cf. Voluspo, 21, and Grimnismol, 11 and 16. Noatun\n(\u201cShips\u2019-Haven\u201d): Njorth\u2019s home, where his wife, Skathi, found it\nimpossible to stay; cf. Grimnismol, 11 and note.\n\n24. Grundtvig thinks this is all that is left of two stanzas describing\nThor\u2019s supper. Some editors reject line 4. In line 3 the manuscript has\n\u201che,\u201d the reference being, of course, to Thor, on whose appetite cf.\nHymiskvitha, 15. Sif: Thor\u2019s wife; cf. Lokasenna, note to introductory\nprose and stanza 53.\n\n27. For clearness I have inserted Thrym\u2019s name in place of the pronoun\nof the original. Fire: the noun is lacking in the manuscript; most\neditors have inserted it, however, following a late paper manuscript.\n\n28. In the manuscript the whole stanza is abbreviated to initial\nletters, except for \u201csleep,\u201d \u201cFreyja,\u201d and \u201cfound.\u201d\n\n29. Luckless: so the manuscript, but many editors have altered the word\n\u201carma\u201d to \u201caldna,\u201d meaning \u201cold,\u201d to correspond with line 1 of stanza\n32. Line 5 may well be spurious.\n\n30. Hallow: just what this means is not clear, but there are references\nto other kinds of consecration, though not of a bride, with the \u201csign\nof the hammer.\u201d According to Vigfusson, \u201cthe hammer was the holy sign\nwith the heathens, answering to the cross of the Christians.\u201d In\nSnorri\u2019s story of Thor\u2019s resuscitation of his cooked goat (cf.\nHymiskvitha, 38, note) the god \u201challows\u201d the goat with his hammer. One\nof the oldest runic signs, supposed to have magic power, was named\nThor\u2019s-hammer. Vor: the goddess of vows, particularly between men and\nwomen; Snorri lists a number of little-known goddesses similar to Vor,\nall of them apparently little more than names for Frigg.\n\n33. Some editors reject this line, which, from a dramatic standpoint,\nis certainly a pity. In the manuscript it begins with a capital letter,\nlike the opening of a new stanza.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nALVISSMOL\n\nTHE BALLAD OF ALVIS\n\n\nINTRODUCTORY NOTE\n\nNo better summary of the Alvissmol can be given than Gering\u2019s statement\nthat \u201cit is a versified chapter from the skaldic Poetics.\u201d The\nnarrative skeleton, contained solely in stanzas 1\u20138 and in 35, is of\nthe slightest; the dwarf Alvis, desirous of marrying Thor\u2019s daughter,\nis compelled by the god to answer a number of questions to test his\nknowledge. That all his answers are quite satisfactory makes no\ndifference whatever to the outcome. The questions and answers differ\nradically from those of the Vafthruthnismol. Instead of being\nessentially mythological, they all concern synonyms. Thor asks what the\nearth, the sky, the moon, and so on, are called \u201cin each of all the\nworlds,\u201d but there is no apparent significance in the fact that the\ngods call the earth one thing and the giants call it another; the\nanswers are simply strings of poetic circumlocutions, or \u201ckennings.\u201d\nConcerning the use of these \u201ckennings\u201d in skaldic poetry, cf.\nintroductory note to the Hymiskvitha.\n\nMogk is presumably right in dating the poem as late as the twelfth\ncentury, assigning it to the period of \u201cthe Icelandic renaissance of\nskaldic poetry.\u201d It appears to have been the work of a man skilled in\npoetic construction,\u2014Thor\u2019s questions, for instance, are neatly\nbalanced in pairs,\u2014and fully familiar with the intricacies of skaldic\ndiction, but distinctly weak in his mythology. In other words, it is\nlearned rather than spontaneous poetry. Finnur Jonsson\u2019s attempt to\nmake it a tenth century Norwegian poem baffles logic. Vigfusson is\npretty sure the poem shows marked traces of Celtic influence, which is\nby no means incompatible with Mogk\u2019s theory (cf. introductory note to\nthe Rigsthula).\n\nThe poem is found only in Regius, where it follows the Thrymskvitha.\nSnorri quotes stanzas 20 and 30, the manuscripts of the Prose Edda\ngiving the name of the poem as Alvissmol, Alsvinnsmol or Olvismol. It\nis apparently in excellent condition, without serious errors of\ntransmission, although interpolations or omissions in such a poem might\nhave been made so easily as to defy detection.\n\nThe translation of the many synonyms presents, of course, unusual\ndifficulties, particularly as many of the Norse words can be properly\nrendered in English only by more or less extended phrases. I have kept\nto the original meanings as closely as I could without utterly\ndestroying the metrical structure.\n\n\n\n\n\nAlvis spake:\n\n\n1.  \u201cNow shall the bride   |   my benches adorn,\n      And homeward haste forthwith;\n    Eager for wedlock   |   to all shall I seem,\n      Nor at home shall they rob me of rest.\u201d\n\n\nThor spake:\n\n\n2.  \u201cWhat, pray, art thou?   |   Why so pale round the nose?\n      By the dead hast thou lain of late?\n    To a giant like   |   dost thou look, methinks;\n      Thou wast not born for the bride.\u201d\n\n\nAlvis spake:\n\n\n3.  \u201cAlvis am I,   |   and under the earth\n      My home \u2019neath the rocks I have;\n    With the wagon-guider   |   a word do I seek;\n      Let the gods their bond not break.\u201d\n\n\nThor spake:\n\n\n4.  \u201cBreak it shall I,   |   for over the bride\n      Her father has foremost right;\n    At home was I not   |   when the promise thou hadst,\n      And I give her alone of the gods.\u201d\n\n\nAlvis spake:\n\n\n5.  \u201cWhat hero claims   |   such right to hold\n      O\u2019er the bride that shines so bright?\n    Not many will know thee,   |   thou wandering man!\n      Who was bought with rings to bear thee?\u201d\n\n\nThor spake:\n\n\n6.  \u201cVingthor, the wanderer   |   wide, am I,\n      And I am Sithgrani\u2019s son;\n    Against my will   |   shalt thou get the maid,\n      And win the marriage word.\u201d\n\n\nAlvis spake:\n\n\n7.  \u201cThy good-will now   |   shall I quickly get,\n      And win the marriage word;\n    I long to have,   |   and I would not lack,\n      This snow-white maid for mine.\u201d\n\n\nThor spake:\n\n\n8.  \u201cThe love of the maid   |   I may not keep thee\n      From winning, thou guest so wise,\n    If of every world   |   thou canst tell me all\n      That now I wish to know.\n\n9.  \u201cAnswer me, Alvis!   |   thou knowest all,\n      Dwarf, of the doom of men:\n    What call they the earth,   |   that lies before all,\n      In each and every world?\u201d\n\n\nAlvis spake:\n\n\n10. \u201c\u2018Earth\u2019 to men, \u2018Field\u2019   |   to the gods it is,\n      \u2018The Ways\u2019 is it called by the Wanes;\n    \u2018Ever Green\u2019 by the giants,   |   \u2018The Grower\u2019 by elves,\n      \u2018The Moist\u2019 by the holy ones high.\u201d\n\n\nThor spake:\n\n\n11. \u201cAnswer me, Alvis!   |   thou knowest all,\n      Dwarf, of the doom of men:\n    What call they the heaven,   |   beheld of the high one,\n      In each and every world?\u201d\n\n\nAlvis spake:\n\n\n12. \u201c\u2018Heaven\u2019 men call it,   |   \u2018The Height\u2019 the gods,\n      The Wanes \u2018The Weaver of Winds\u2019;\n    Giants \u2018The Up-World,\u2019   |   elves \u2018The Fair-Roof,\u2019\n      The dwarfs \u2018The Dripping Hall.\u2019\u201d\n\n\nThor spake:\n\n\n13. \u201cAnswer me, Alvis!   |   thou knowest all,\n      Dwarf, of the doom of men:\n    What call they the moon,   |   that men behold,\n      In each and every world?\u201d\n\n\nAlvis spake:\n\n\n14. \u201c\u2018Moon\u2019 with men, \u2018Flame\u2019   |   the gods among,\n      \u2018The Wheel\u2019 in the house of hell;\n    \u2018The Goer\u2019 the giants,   |   \u2018The Gleamer\u2019 the dwarfs,\n      The elves \u2018The Teller of Time.\u2019\u201d\n\n\nThor spake:\n\n\n15. \u201cAnswer me, Alvis!   |   thou knowest all,\n      Dwarf, of the doom of men:\n    What call they the sun,   |   that all men see,\n      In each and every world?\u201d\n\n\nAlvis spake:\n\n\n16. \u201cMen call it \u2018Sun,\u2019   |   gods \u2018Orb of the Sun,\u2019\n      \u2018The Deceiver of Dvalin\u2019 the dwarfs;\n    The giants \u2018The Ever-Bright,\u2019   |   elves \u2018Fair Wheel,\u2019\n      \u2018All-Glowing\u2019 the sons of the gods.\u201d\n\n\nThor spake:\n\n\n17. \u201cAnswer me, Alvis!   |   thou knowest all,\n      Dwarf, of the doom of men:\n    What call they the clouds,   |   that keep the rains,\n      In each and every world?\u201d\n\n\nAlvis spake:\n\n\n18. \u201c\u2018Clouds\u2019 men name them,   |   \u2018Rain-Hope\u2019 gods call them,\n      The Wanes call them \u2018Kites of the Wind\u2019;\n    \u2018Water-Hope\u2019 giants,   |   \u2018Weather-Might\u2019 elves,\n      \u2018The Helmet of Secrets\u2019 in hell.\u201d\n\n\nThor spake:\n\n\n19. \u201cAnswer me, Alvis!   |   thou knowest all,\n      Dwarf, of the doom of men:\n    What call they the wind,   |   that widest fares,\n      In each and every world?\u201d\n\n\nAlvis spake:\n\n\n20. \u201c\u2018Wind\u2019 do men call it,   |   the gods \u2018The Waverer,\u2019\n      \u2018The Neigher\u2019 the holy ones high;\n    \u2018The Wailer\u2019 the giants,   |   \u2018Roaring Wender\u2019 the elves,\n      In hell \u2018The Blustering Blast.\u2019\u201d\n\n\nThor spake:\n\n\n21. \u201cAnswer me, Alvis!   |   thou knowest all,\n      Dwarf, of the doom of men:\n    What call they the calm,   |   that quiet lies,\n      In each and every world?\u201d\n\n\nAlvis spake:\n\n\n22. \u201c\u2018Calm\u2019 men call it,   |   \u2018The Quiet\u2019 the gods,\n      The Wanes \u2018The Hush of the Winds\u2019;\n    \u2018The Sultry\u2019 the giants,   |   elves \u2018Day\u2019s Stillness,\u2019\n      The dwarfs \u2018The Shelter of Day.\u2019\u201d\n\n\nThor spake:\n\n\n23. \u201cAnswer me, Alvis!   |   thou knowest all,\n      Dwarf, of the doom of men:\n    What call they the sea,   |   whereon men sail,\n      In each and every world?\u201d\n\n\nAlvis spake:\n\n\n24. \u201c\u2018Sea\u2019 men call it,   |   gods \u2018The Smooth-Lying,\u2019\n      \u2018The Wave\u2019 is it called by the Wanes;\n    \u2018Eel-Home\u2019 the giants,   |   \u2018Drink-Stuff\u2019 the elves,\n      For the dwarfs its name is \u2018The Deep.\u2019\u201d\n\n\nThor spake:\n\n\n25. \u201cAnswer me, Alvis!   |   thou knowest all,\n      Dwarf, of the doom of men:\n    What call they the fire,   |   that flames for men,\n      In each of all the worlds?\u201d\n\n\nAlvis spake:\n\n\n26. \u201c\u2018Fire\u2019 men call it,   |   and \u2018Flame\u2019 the gods,\n      By the Wanes is it \u2018Wildfire\u2019 called;\n    \u2018The Biter\u2019 by giants,   |   \u2018The Burner\u2019 by dwarfs,\n      \u2018The Swift\u2019 in the house of hell.\u201d\n\n\nThor spake:\n\n\n27. \u201cAnswer me, Alvis!   |   thou knowest all,\n      Dwarf, of the doom of men:\n    What call they the wood,   |   that grows for mankind,\n      In each and every world?\u201d\n\n\nAlvis spake:\n\n\n28. \u201cMen call it \u2018The Wood,\u2019   |   gods \u2018The Mane of the Field,\u2019\n      \u2018Seaweed of Hills\u2019 in hell;\n    \u2018Flame-Food\u2019 the giants,   |   \u2018Fair-Limbed\u2019 the elves,\n      \u2018The Wand\u2019 is it called by the Wanes.\u201d\n\n\nThor spake:\n\n\n29. \u201cAnswer me, Alvis!   |   thou knowest all,\n      Dwarf, of the doom of men:\n    What call they the night,   |   the daughter of Nor,\n      In each and every world?\u201d\n\n\nAlvis spake:\n\n\n30. \u201c\u2018Night\u2019 men call it,   |   \u2018Darkness\u2019 gods name it,\n      \u2018The Hood\u2019 the holy ones high;\n    The giants \u2018The Lightless,\u2019   |   the elves \u2018Sleep\u2019s Joy,\u2019\n      The dwarfs \u2018The Weaver of Dreams.\u2019\u201d\n\n\nThor spake:\n\n\n31. \u201cAnswer me, Alvis!   |   thou knowest all,\n      Dwarf, of the doom of men:\n    What call they the seed,   |   that is sown by men,\n      In each and every world?\u201d\n\n\nAlvis spake:\n\n\n32. \u201cMen call it \u2018Grain,\u2019   |   and \u2018Corn\u2019 the gods,\n      \u2018Growth\u2019 in the world of the Wanes;\n    \u2018The Eaten\u2019 by giants,   |   \u2018Drink-Stuff\u2019 by elves,\n      In hell \u2018The Slender Stem.\u2019\u201d\n\n\nThor spake:\n\n\n33. \u201cAnswer me, Alvis!   |   thou knowest all,\n      Dwarf, of the doom of men:\n    What call they the ale,   |   that is quaffed of men,\n      In each and every world?\u201d\n\n\nAlvis spake:\n\n\n34. \u201c\u2018Ale\u2019 among men,   |   \u2018Beer\u2019 the gods among,\n      In the world of the Wanes \u2018The Foaming\u2019;\n    \u2018Bright Draught\u2019 with giants,   |   \u2018Mead\u2019 with dwellers in hell,\n      \u2018The Feast-Draught\u2019 with Suttung\u2019s sons.\u201d\n\n\nThor spake:\n\n\n35. \u201cIn a single breast   |   I never have seen\n      More wealth of wisdom old;\n    But with treacherous wiles   |   must I now betray thee:\n      The day has caught thee, dwarf!\n      (Now the sun shines here in the hall.)\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTES\n\n\n1. Alvis (\u201cAll-Knowing\u201d): a dwarf, not elsewhere mentioned. The\nmanuscript nowhere indicates the speakers\u2019 names. The bride in question\nis Thor\u2019s daughter; Thruth (\u201cMight\u201d) is the only daughter of his whose\nname is recorded, and she does not appear elsewhere in the poems. Her\nmother was Sif, Thor\u2019s wife, whereas the god\u2019s sons were born of a\ngiantess. Benches: cf. Lokasenna, 15 and note.\n\n2. The dwarfs, living beyond the reach of the sun, which was fatal to\nthem (cf. stanzas 16 and 35), were necessarily pale. Line 3 is, of\ncourse, ironical.\n\n3. Wagon-guider: Thor, who travels habitually on his goat-drawn wagon.\nBugge changes \u201cVagna vers\u201d to \u201cVapna ver\u00fes,\u201d rendering the line \u201cI am\ncome to seek   |   the cost of the weapons.\u201d In either case, Alvis does\nnot as yet recognize Thor.\n\n4. Apparently the gods promised Thor\u2019s daughter in marriage to Alvis\nduring her father\u2019s absence, perhaps as a reward for some craftsmanship\nof his (cf. Bugge\u2019s suggestion as to stanza 3). The text of line 4 is\nmost uncertain.\n\n5. Hero: ironically spoken; Alvis takes Thor for a tramp, the god\u2019s\nuncouth appearance often leading to such mistakes; cf. Harbarthsljoth,\n6. Line 4 is a trifle uncertain; some editors alter the wording to read\n\u201cWhat worthless woman bore thee?\u201d\n\n6. Vingthor (\u201cThor the Hurler\u201d): cf. Thrymskvitha, 1. Sithgrani\n(\u201cLong-Beard\u201d): Othin.\n\n8. Every world: concerning the nine worlds, cf. Voluspo, 2 and note.\nMany editors follow this stanza with one spoken by Alvis, found in late\npaper manuscripts, as follows: \u201cAsk then, Vingthor,   |   since eager\nthou art / The lore of the dwarf to learn; / Oft have I fared   |   in\nthe nine worlds all, / And wide is my wisdom of each.\u201d\n\n10. Men, etc.: nothing could more clearly indicate the author\u2019s\nmythological inaccuracy than his confusion of the inhabitants of the\nnine worlds. Men (dwellers in Mithgarth) appear in each of Alvis\u2019s\nthirteen answers; so do the gods (Asgarth) and the giants (Jotunheim).\nThe elves (Alfheim) appear in eleven answers, the Wanes (Vanaheim) in\nnine, and the dwarfs (who occupied no special world, unless one\nidentifies them with the dark elves of Svartalfaheim) in seven. The\ndwellers \u201cin hell\u201d appear in six stanzas; the phrase probably refers to\nthe world of the dead, though Mogk thinks it may mean the dwarfs. In\nstanzas where the gods are already listed appear names elsewhere\napplied only to them,\u2014\u201choly ones,\u201d \u201csons of the gods\u201d and \u201chigh\nones,\u201d\u2014as if these names meant beings of a separate race. \u201cMen\u201d appears\ntwice in the same stanza, and so do the giants, if one assumes that\nthey are \u201cthe sons of Suttung.\u201d Altogether it is useless to pay much\nattention to the mythology of Alvis\u2019s replies.\n\n11. Lines 1, 2, and 4 of Thor\u2019s questions are regularly abbreviated in\nthe manuscript. Beheld, etc.: the word in the manuscript is almost\ncertainly an error, and all kinds of guesses have been made to rectify\nit. All that can be said is that it means \u201cbeheld of\u201d or \u201cknown to\u201d\nsomebody.\n\n14. Flame: a doubtful word; Vigfusson suggests that it properly means a\n\u201cmock sun.\u201d Wheel: the manuscript adds the adjective \u201cwhirling,\u201d to the\ndestruction of the metre; cf. Hovamol, 84, 3.\n\n16. Deceiver of Dvalin: Dvalin was one of the foremost dwarfs; cf.\nVoluspo, 14, Fafnismol, 13, and Hovamol, 144. The sun \u201cdeceives\u201d him\nbecause, like the other dwarfs living underground, he cannot live in\nits light, and always fears lest sunrise may catch him unaware. The\nsun\u2019s rays have power to turn the dwarfs into stone, and the giantess\nHrimgerth meets a similar fate (cf. Helgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar, 30).\nAlvis suffers in the same way; cf. stanza 35.\n\n20. Snorri quotes this stanza in the Skaldskaparmal. Waverer: the word\nis uncertain, the Prose Edda manuscripts giving it in various forms.\nBlustering Blast: two Prose Edda manuscripts give a totally different\nword, meaning \u201cThe Pounder.\u201d\n\n22. Hush, etc.: the manuscript, by inserting an additional letter,\nmakes the word practically identical with that translated \u201cKite\u201d in\nstanza 18. Most editors have agreed as to the emendation.\n\n24. Drink-Stuff: Gering translates the word thus; I doubt it, but can\nsuggest nothing better.\n\n26. Wildfire: the word may mean any one of various things, including\n\u201cWave,\u201d which is not unlikely.\n\n28. In hell: the word simply means \u201cmen,\u201d and it is only a guess,\nthough a generally accepted one, that here it refers to the dead.\n\n29. Nor: presumably the giant whom Snorri calls Norvi or Narfi, father\nof Not (Night) and grandfather of Dag (Day). Cf. Vafthruthnismol, 25.\n\n30. Snorri quotes this stanza in the Skaldskaparmal. The various Prose\nEdda manuscripts differ considerably in naming the gods, the giants,\netc. Lightless: some manuscripts have \u201cThe Unsorrowing.\u201d\n\n32. Grain: the two words translated \u201cgrain\u201d and \u201ccorn\u201d apparently both\nmeant primarily barley, and thence grain in general, the first being\nthe commoner term of the two. Drink-Stuff: the word is identical with\nthe one used, and commented on, in stanza 24, and again I have followed\nGering\u2019s interpretation for want of a better one. If his guess is\ncorrect, the reference here is evidently to grain as the material from\nwhich beer and other drinks are brewed.\n\n34. Suttung\u2019s sons: these ought to be the giants, but the giants are\nspecifically mentioned in line 3. The phrase \u201cSuttung\u2019s sons\u201d occurs in\nSkirnismol, 34, clearly meaning the giants. Concerning Suttung as the\npossessor of the mead of poetry, cf. Hovamol, 104.\n\n35. Concerning the inability of the dwarfs to endure sunlight, which\nturns them into stone, cf. stanza 16 and note. Line 5 may be spurious.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBALDRS DRAUMAR\n\nBALDR\u2019S DREAMS\n\n\nINTRODUCTORY NOTE\n\nBaldrs Draumar is found only in the Arnamagn\u00e6an Codex, where it follows\nthe Harbarthsljoth fragment. It is preserved in various late paper\nmanuscripts, with the title Vegtamskvitha (The Lay of Vegtam), which\nhas been used by some editors.\n\nThe poem, which contains but fourteen stanzas, has apparently been\npreserved in excellent condition. Its subject-matter and style link it\nclosely with the Voluspo. Four of the five lines of stanza 11 appear,\nalmost without change, in the Voluspo, 32\u201333, and the entire poem is\nsimply an elaboration of the episode outlined in those and the\npreceding stanzas. It has been suggested that Baldrs Draumar and the\nVoluspo may have been by the same author. There is also enough\nsimilarity in style between Baldrs Draumar and the Thrymskvitha (note\nespecially the opening stanza) to give color to Vigfusson\u2019s guess that\nthese two poems had a common authorship. In any case, Baldrs Draumar\npresumably assumed its present form not later than the first half of\nthe tenth century.\n\nWhether the Volva (wise-woman) of the poem is identical with the\nspeaker in the Voluspo is purely a matter for conjecture. Nothing\ndefinitely opposes such a supposition. As in the longer poem she\nforetells the fall of the gods, so in this case she prophesies the\nfirst incident of that fall, the death of Baldr. Here she is called up\nfrom the dead by Othin, anxious to know the meaning of Baldr\u2019s evil\ndreams; in the Voluspo it is likewise intimated that the Volva has\nrisen from the grave.\n\nThe poem, like most of the others in the collection, is essentially\ndramatic rather than narrative, summarizing a story which was doubtless\nfamiliar to every one who heard the poem recited.\n\n\n\n\n\n1.  Once were the gods   |   together met,\n    And the goddesses came   |   and council held,\n    And the far-famed ones   |   the truth would find,\n    Why baleful dreams   |   to Baldr had come.\n\n2.  Then Othin rose,   |   the enchanter old,\n    And the saddle he laid   |   on Sleipnir\u2019s back;\n    Thence rode he down   |   to Niflhel deep,\n    And the hound he met   |   that came from hell.\n\n3.  Bloody he was   |   on his breast before,\n    At the father of magic   |   he howled from afar;\n    Forward rode Othin,   |   the earth resounded\n    Till the house so high   |   of Hel he reached.\n\n4.  Then Othin rode   |   to the eastern door,\n    There, he knew well,   |   was the wise-woman\u2019s grave;\n    Magic he spoke   |   and mighty charms,\n    Till spell-bound she rose,   |   and in death she spoke:\n\n5.  \u201cWhat is the man,   |   to me unknown,\n    That has made me travel   |   the troublous road?\n    I was snowed on with snow,   |   and smitten with rain,\n    And drenched with dew;   |   long was I dead.\u201d\n\n\nOthin spake:\n\n\n6.  \u201cVegtam my name,   |   I am Valtam\u2019s son;\n    Speak thou of hell,   |   for of heaven I know:\n    For whom are the benches   |   bright with rings,\n    And the platforms gay   |   bedecked with gold?\u201d\n\n\nThe Wise-Woman spake:\n\n\n7.  \u201cHere for Baldr   |   the mead is brewed,\n    The shining drink,   |   and a shield lies o\u2019er it;\n    But their hope is gone   |   from the mighty gods.\n    Unwilling I spake,   |   and now would be still.\u201d\n\n\nOthin spake:\n\n\n8.  \u201cWise-woman, cease not!   |   I seek from thee\n    All to know   |   that I fain would ask:\n    Who shall the bane   |   of Baldr become,\n    And steal the life   |   from Othin\u2019s son?\u201d\n\n\nThe Wise-Woman spake:\n\n\n9.  \u201cHoth thither bears   |   the far-famed branch,\n    He shall the bane   |   of Baldr become,\n    And steal the life   |   from Othin\u2019s son.\n    Unwilling I spake,   |   and now would be still.\u201d\n\n\nOthin spake:\n\n\n10. \u201cWise-woman, cease not!   |   I seek from thee\n    All to know   |   that I fain would ask:\n    Who shall vengeance win   |   for the evil work,\n    Or bring to the flames   |   the slayer of Baldr?\u201d\n\n\nThe Wise-Woman spake:\n\n\n11. \u201cRind bears Vali   |   in Vestrsalir,\n    And one night old   |   fights Othin\u2019s son;\n    His hands he shall wash not,   |   his hair he shall comb not,\n    Till the slayer of Baldr   |   he brings to the flames.\n    Unwilling I spake,   |   and now would be still.\u201d\n\n\nOthin spake:\n\n\n12. \u201cWise-woman, cease not!   |   I seek from thee\n    All to know   |   that I fain would ask:\n    What maidens are they   |   who then shall weep,\n    And toss to the sky   |   the yards of the sails?\u201d\n\n\nThe Wise-Woman spake:\n\n\n13. \u201cVegtam thou art not,   |   as erstwhile I thought;\n    Othin thou art,   |   the enchanter old.\u201d\n\n\nOthin spake:\n\n\n    \u201cNo wise-woman art thou,   |   nor wisdom hast;\n    Of giants three   |   the mother art thou.\u201d\n\n\nThe Wise-Woman spake:\n\n\n14. \u201cHome ride, Othin,   |   be ever proud;\n    For no one of men   |   shall seek me more\n    Till Loki wanders   |   loose from his bonds,\n    And to the last strife   |   the destroyers come.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTES\n\n\n1. Lines 1\u20133 are identical with Thrymskvitha, 13, 1\u20133. Baldr:\nconcerning this best and noblest of the gods, the son of Othin and\nFrigg, who comes again among the survivors after the final battle, cf.\nVoluspo, 32 and 62, and notes. He is almost never mentioned anywhere\nexcept in connection with the story of his death, though Snorri has one\nshort passage praising his virtue and beauty. After stanza 1 two old\neditions, and one later one, insert four stanzas from late paper\nmanuscripts.\n\n2. Sleipnir: Othin\u2019s eight-legged horse, the son of Loki and the\nstallion Svathilfari; cf. Lokasenna, 23, and Grimnismol, 44, and notes.\nNiflhel: the murky (\u201cnifl\u201d) dwelling of Hel, goddess of the dead. The\nhound: Garm; cf. Voluspo, 44.\n\n3. Father of magic: Othin appears constantly as the god of magic. Hel:\noffspring of Loki and the giantess Angrbotha, as were the wolf Fenrir\nand Mithgarthsorm. She ruled the world of the unhappy dead, either\nthose who had led evil lives or, according to another tradition, those\nwho had not died in battle. The manuscript marks line 3 as the\nbeginning of a stanza, and thus the editions vary in their grouping of\nthe lines of this and the succeeding stanzas.\n\n6. The manuscript has no superscriptions indicating the speakers.\nVegtam (\u201cThe Wanderer\u201d): Othin, as usual, conceals his identity,\ncalling himself the son of Valtam (\u201cThe Fighter\u201d). In this instance he\nhas unusual need to do so, for as the wise-woman belongs apparently to\nthe race of the giants, she would be unwilling to answer a god\u2019s\nquestions. Heaven: the word used includes all the upper worlds, in\ncontrast to hell. Benches, etc.: the adornment of the benches and\nraised platforms, or elevated parts of the house, was a regular part of\nthe preparation for a feast of welcome. The text of the two last lines\nis somewhat uncertain.\n\n7. Grundtvig, followed by Edzardi, thinks a line has been lost between\nlines 3 and 4.\n\n9. Concerning the blind Hoth, who, at Loki\u2019s instigation, cast the\nfatal mistletoe at Baldr, cf. Voluspo, 32\u201333 and notes. In the\nmanuscript the last line is abbreviated, as also in stanza 11.\n\n10. In the manuscript lines 1\u20132 are abbreviated, as also in stanza 12.\n\n11. Rind: mentioned by Snorri as one of the goddesses. Concerning her\nson Vali, begotten by Othin for the express purpose of avenging Baldr\u2019s\ndeath, and his slaying of Hoth the day after his birth, cf. Voluspo,\n33\u201334, where the lines of this stanza appear practically verbatim.\nVestrsalir (\u201cThe Western Hall\u201d): not elsewhere mentioned in the poems.\n\n12. The manuscript marks the third line as the beginning of a stanza;\nsomething may have been lost. Lines 3\u20134 are thoroughly obscure.\nAccording to Bugge the maidens who are to weep for Baldr are the\ndaughters of the sea-god \u00c6gir, the waves, whose grief will be so\ntempestuous that they will toss the ships up to the very sky. \u201cYards of\nthe sails\u201d is a doubtfully accurate rendering; the two words, at any\nrate in later Norse nautical speech, meant respectively the \u201ctack\u201d and\nthe \u201csheet\u201d of the square sail.\n\n13. Possibly two separate stanzas. Enchanter: the meaning of the\noriginal word is most uncertain.\n\n14. Concerning Loki\u2019s escape and his relation to the destruction of the\ngods, cf. Voluspo, 35 and 51, and notes. While the wise-woman probably\nmeans only that she will never speak again till the end of the world,\nit has been suggested, and is certainly possible, that she intends to\ngive Loki her counsel, thus revenging herself on Othin.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRIGSTHULA\n\nTHE SONG OF RIG\n\n\nINTRODUCTORY NOTE\n\nThe Rigsthula is found in neither of the principal codices. The only\nmanuscript containing it is the so-called Codex Wormanius, a manuscript\nof Snorri\u2019s Prose Edda. The poem appears on the last sheet of this\nmanuscript, which unluckily is incomplete, and thus the end of the poem\nis lacking. In the Codex Wormanius itself the poem has no title, but a\nfragmentary parchment included with it calls the poem the Rigsthula.\nSome late paper manuscripts give it the title of Rigsmol.\n\nThe Rigsthula is essentially unlike anything else which editors have\nagreed to include in the so-called Edda. It is a definitely cultural\npoem, explaining, on a mythological basis, the origin of the different\ncastes of early society: the thralls, the peasants, and the warriors.\nFrom the warriors, finally, springs one who is destined to become a\nking, and thus the whole poem is a song in praise of the royal estate.\nThis fact in itself would suffice to indicate that the Rigsthula was\nnot composed in Iceland, where for centuries kings were regarded with\nprofound disapproval.\n\nNot only does the Rigsthula praise royalty, but it has many of the\nearmarks of a poem composed in praise of a particular king. The\nmanuscript breaks off at a most exasperating point, just as the\nconnection between the mythical \u201cYoung Kon\u201d (Konr ungr, konungr,\n\u201cking\u201d; but cf. stanza 44, note) and the monarch in question is about\nto be established. Owing to the character of the Norse settlements in\nIceland, Ireland, and the western islands generally, search for a\nspecific king leads back to either Norway or Denmark; despite the\narguments advanced by Edzardi, Vigfusson, Powell, and others, it seems\nmost improbable that such a poem should have been produced elsewhere\nthan on the Continent, the region where Scandinavian royalty most\nflourished. Finnur Jonsson\u2019s claim for Norway, with Harald the\nFair-Haired as the probable king in question, is much less impressive\nthan Mogk\u2019s ingenious demonstration that the poem was in all\nprobability composed in Denmark, in honor of either Gorm the Old or\nHarald Blue-Tooth. His proof is based chiefly on the evidence provided\nby stanza 49, and is summarized in the note to that stanza.\n\nThe poet, however, was certainly not a Dane, but probably a wandering\nNorse singer, who may have had a dozen homes, and who clearly had spent\nmuch time in some part of the western island world chiefly inhabited by\nCelts. The extent of Celtic influence on the Eddic poems in general is\na matter of sharp dispute. Powell, for example, claims almost all the\npoems for the \u201cWestern Isles,\u201d and attributes nearly all their good\nqualities to Celtic influence. Without here attempting to enter into\nthe details of the argument, it may be said that the weight of\nauthoritative opinion, while clearly recognizing the marks of Celtic\ninfluence in the poems, is against this view; contact between the\nroving Norsemen of Norway and Iceland and the Celts of Ireland and the\n\u201cWestern Isles,\u201d and particularly the Orkneys, was so extensive as to\nmake the presumption of an actual Celtic home for the poems seem quite\nunnecessary.\n\nIn the case of the Rigsthula the poet unquestionably had not only\npicked up bits of the Celtic speech (the name Rig itself is almost\ncertainly of Celtic origin, and there are various other Celtic words\nemployed), but also had caught something of the Celtic literary spirit.\nThis explains the cultural nature of the poem, quite foreign to Norse\npoetry in general. On the other hand, the style as a whole is\nvigorously Norse, and thus the explanation that the poem was composed\nby an itinerant Norse poet who had lived for some time in the Celtic\nislands, and who was on a visit to the court of a Danish king, fits the\nascertainable facts exceedingly well. As Christianity was introduced\ninto Denmark around 960, the Rigsthula is not likely to have been\ncomposed much after that date, and probably belongs to the first half\nof the tenth century. Gorm the Old died about the year 935, and was\nsucceeded by Harald Blue-Tooth, who died about 985.\n\nThe fourteenth (or late thirteenth) century annotator identifies Rig\nwith Heimdall, but there is nothing in the poem itself, and very little\nanywhere else, to warrant this, and it seems likely that the poet had\nOthin, and not Heimdall, in mind, his purpose being to trace the origin\nof the royal estate to the chief of the gods. The evidence bearing on\nthis identification is briefly summed up in the note on the\nintroductory prose passage, but the question involves complex and\nbaffling problems in mythology, and from very early times the status of\nHeimdall was unquestionably confusing to the Norse mind.\n\n\n\n\n\nThey tell in old stories that one of the gods, whose name was Heimdall,\nwent on his way along a certain seashore, and came to a dwelling, where\nhe called himself Rig. According to these stories is the following\npoem:\n\n\n1.  Men say there went   |   by ways so green\n    Of old the god,   |   the aged and wise,\n    Mighty and strong   |   did Rig go striding.\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n\n2.  Forward he went   |   on the midmost way,\n    He came to a dwelling,   |   a door on its posts;\n    In did he fare,   |   on the floor was a fire,\n    Two hoary ones   |   by the hearth there sat,\n    Ai and Edda,   |   in olden dress.\n\n3.  Rig knew well   |   wise words to speak,\n    Soon in the midst   |   of the room he sat,\n    And on either side   |   the others were.\n\n4.  A loaf of bread   |   did Edda bring,\n    Heavy and thick   |   and swollen with husks;\n    Forth on the table   |   she set the fare,\n    And broth for the meal   |   in a bowl there was.\n    (Calf\u2019s flesh boiled   |   was the best of the dainties.)\n\n5.  Rig knew well   |   wise words to speak,\n    Thence did he rise,   |   made ready to sleep;\n    Soon in the bed   |   himself did he lay,\n    And on either side   |   the others were.\n\n6.  Thus was he there   |   for three nights long,\n    Then forward he went   |   on the midmost way,\n    And so nine months   |   were soon passed by.\n\n7.  A son bore Edda,   |   with water they sprinkled him,\n    With a cloth his hair   |   so black they covered;\n    Thr\u00e6ll they named him,   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n\n8.  The skin was wrinkled   |   and rough on his hands,\n    Knotted his knuckles,   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    Thick his fingers,   |   and ugly his face,\n    Twisted his back,   |   and big his heels.\n\n9.  He began to grow,   |   and to gain in strength,\n    Soon of his might   |   good use he made;\n    With bast he bound,   |   and burdens carried,\n    Home bore faggots   |   the whole day long.\n\n10. One came to their home,   |   crooked her legs,\n    Stained were her feet,   |   and sunburned her arms,\n    Flat was her nose;   |   her name was Thir.\n\n11. Soon in the midst   |   of the room she sat,\n    By her side there sat   |   the son of the house;\n    They whispered both,   |   and the bed made ready,\n    Thr\u00e6ll and Thir,   |   till the day was through.\n\n12. Children they had,   |   they lived and were happy,\n    Fjosnir and Klur   |   they were called, methinks,\n    Hreim and Kleggi,   |   Kefsir, Fulnir,\n    Drumb, Digraldi,   |   Drott and Leggjaldi,\n    Lut and Hosvir;   |   the house they cared for,\n    Ground they dunged,   |   and swine they guarded,\n    Goats they tended,   |   and turf they dug.\n\n13. Daughters had they,   |   Drumba and Kumba,\n    \u00d6kkvinkalfa,   |   Arinnefja,\n    Ysja and Ambott,   |   Eikintjasna,\n    Totrughypja   |   and Tronubeina;\n    And thence has risen   |   the race of thralls.\n\n14. Forward went Rig,   |   his road was straight,\n    To a hall he came,   |   and a door there hung;\n    In did he fare,   |   on the floor was a fire:\n    Afi and Amma   |   owned the house.\n\n15. There sat the twain,   |   and worked at their tasks:\n    The man hewed wood   |   for the weaver\u2019s beam;\n    His beard was trimmed,   |   o\u2019er his brow a curl,\n    His clothes fitted close;   |   in the corner a chest.\n\n16. The woman sat   |   and the distaff wielded,\n    At the weaving with arms   |   outstretched she worked;\n    On her head was a band,   |   on her breast a smock;\n    On her shoulders a kerchief   |   with clasps there was.\n\n17. Rig knew well   |   wise words to speak,\n    Soon in the midst   |   of the room he sat,\n    And on either side   |   the others were.\n\n18. Then took Amma   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    The vessels full   |   with the fare she set,\n    Calf\u2019s flesh boiled   |   was the best of the dainties.\n\n19. Rig knew well   |   wise words to speak,\n    He rose from the board,   |   made ready to sleep;\n    Soon in the bed   |   himself did he lay,\n    And on either side   |   the others were.\n\n20. Thus was he there   |   for three nights long,\n    Then forward he went   |   on the midmost way,\n    And so nine months   |   were soon passed by.\n\n21. A son bore Amma,   |   with water they sprinkled him,\n    Karl they named him;   |   in a cloth she wrapped him,\n    He was ruddy of face,   |   and flashing his eyes.\n\n22. He began to grow,   |   and to gain in strength,\n    Oxen he ruled,   |   and plows made ready,\n    Houses he built,   |   and barns he fashioned,\n    Carts he made,   |   and the plow he managed.\n\n23. Home did they bring   |   the bride for Karl,\n    In goatskins clad,   |   and keys she bore;\n    Sn\u00f6r was her name,   |   \u2019neath the veil she sat;\n    A home they made ready,   |   and rings exchanged,\n    The bed they decked,   |   and a dwelling made.\n\n24. Sons they had,   |   they lived and were happy:\n    Hal and Dreng,   |   Holth, Thegn and Smith,\n    Breith and Bondi,   |   Bundinskeggi,\n    Bui and Boddi,   |   Brattskegg and Segg.\n\n25. Daughters they had,   |   and their names are here:\n    Snot, Bruth, Svanni,   |   Svarri, Sprakki,\n    Fljoth, Sprund and Vif,   |   Feima, Ristil:\n    And thence has risen   |   the yeomen\u2019s race.\n\n26. Thence went Rig,   |   his road was straight,\n    A hall he saw,   |   the doors faced south;\n    The portal stood wide,   |   on the posts was a ring,\n    Then in he fared;   |   the floor was strewn.\n\n27. Within two gazed   |   in each other\u2019s eyes,\n    Fathir and Mothir,   |   and played with their fingers;\n    There sat the house-lord,   |   wound strings for the bow,\n    Shafts he fashioned,   |   and bows he shaped.\n\n28. The lady sat,   |   at her arms she looked,\n    She smoothed the cloth,   |   and fitted the sleeves;\n    Gay was her cap,   |   on her breast were clasps,\n    Broad was her train,   |   of blue was her gown,\n    Her brows were bright,   |   her breast was shining,\n    Whiter her neck   |   than new-fallen snow.\n\n29. Rig knew well   |   wise words to speak,\n    Soon in the midst   |   of the room he sat,\n    And on either side   |   the others were.\n\n30. Then Mothir brought   |   a broidered cloth,\n    Of linen bright,   |   and the board she covered;\n    And then she took   |   the loaves so thin,\n    And laid them, white   |   from the wheat, on the cloth.\n\n31. Then forth she brought   |   the vessels full,\n    With silver covered,   |   and set before them,\n    Meat all browned,   |   and well-cooked birds;\n    In the pitcher was wine,   |   of plate were the cups,\n    So drank they and talked   |   till the day was gone.\n\n32. Rig knew well   |   wise words to speak,\n    Soon did he rise,   |   made ready to sleep;\n    So in the bed   |   himself did he lay,\n    And on either side   |   the others were.\n\n33. Thus was he there   |   for three nights long,\n    Then forward he went   |   on the midmost way,\n    And so nine months   |   were soon passed by.\n\n34. A son had Mothir,   |   in silk they wrapped him,\n    With water they sprinkled him,   |   Jarl he was;\n    Blond was his hair,   |   and bright his cheeks,\n    Grim as a snake\u2019s   |   were his glowing eyes.\n\n35. To grow in the house   |   did Jarl begin,\n    Shields he brandished,   |   and bow-strings wound,\n    Bows he shot,   |   and shafts he fashioned,\n    Arrows he loosened,   |   and lances wielded,\n    Horses he rode,   |   and hounds unleashed,\n    Swords he handled,   |   and sounds he swam.\n\n36. Straight from the grove   |   came striding Rig,\n    Rig came striding,   |   and runes he taught him;\n    By his name he called him,   |   as son he claimed him,\n    And bade him hold   |   his heritage wide,\n    His heritage wide,   |   the ancient homes.\n\n37. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    Forward he rode   |   through the forest dark,\n    O\u2019er the frosty crags,   |   till a hall he found.\n\n38. His spear he shook,   |   his shield he brandished,\n    His horse he spurred,   |   with his sword he hewed;\n    Wars he raised,   |   and reddened the field,\n    Warriors slew he,   |   and land he won.\n\n39. Eighteen halls   |   ere long did he hold,\n    Wealth did he get,   |   and gave to all,\n    Stones and jewels   |   and slim-flanked steeds,\n    Rings he offered,   |   and arm-rings shared.\n\n40. His messengers went   |   by the ways so wet,\n    And came to the hall   |   where Hersir dwelt;\n    His daughter was fair   |   and slender-fingered,\n    Erna the wise   |   the maiden was.\n\n41. Her hand they sought,   |   and home they brought her,\n    Wedded to Jarl   |   the veil she wore;\n    Together they dwelt,   |   their joy was great,\n    Children they had,   |   and happy they lived.\n\n42. Bur was the eldest,   |   and Barn the next,\n    Joth and Athal,   |   Arfi, Mog,\n    Nith and Svein,   |   soon they began\u2014\n    Sun and Nithjung\u2014   |   to play and swim;\n    Kund was one,   |   and the youngest Kon.\n\n43. Soon grew up   |   the sons of Jarl,\n    Beasts they tamed,   |   and bucklers rounded,\n    Shafts they fashioned,   |   and spears they shook.\n\n44. But Kon the Young   |   learned runes to use,\n    Runes everlasting,   |   the runes of life;\n    Soon could he well   |   the warriors shield,\n    Dull the swordblade,   |   and still the seas.\n\n45. Bird-chatter learned he,   |   flames could he lessen,\n    Minds could quiet,   |   and sorrows calm;\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    The might and strength   |   of twice four men.\n\n46. With Rig-Jarl soon   |   the runes he shared,\n    More crafty he was,   |   and greater his wisdom;\n    The right he sought,   |   and soon he won it,\n    Rig to be called,   |   and runes to know.\n\n47. Young Kon rode forth   |   through forest and grove,\n    Shafts let loose,   |   and birds he lured;\n    There spake a crow   |   on a bough that sat:\n    \u201cWhy lurest thou, Kon,   |   the birds to come?\n\n48. \u201c\u2019Twere better forth   |   on thy steed to fare,\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   and the host to slay.\n\n49. \u201cThe halls of Dan   |   and Danp are noble,\n    Greater their wealth   |   than thou hast gained;\n    Good are they   |   at guiding the keel,\n    Trying of weapons, and giving of wounds.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTES\n\n\nProse. It would be interesting to know how much the annotator meant by\nthe phrase old stories. Was he familiar with the tradition in forms\nother than that of the poem? If so, his introductory note was scanty,\nfor, outside of identifying Rig as Heimdall, he provides no information\nnot found in the poem. Probably he meant simply to refer to the poem\nitself as a relic of antiquity, and the identification of Rig as\nHeimdall may well have been an attempt at constructive criticism of his\nown. The note was presumably written somewhere about 1300, or even\nlater, and there is no reason for crediting the annotator with any\nconsiderable knowledge of mythology. There is little to favor the\nidentification of Rig with Heimdall, the watchman of the gods, beyond a\nfew rather vague passages in the other poems. Thus in Voluspo, 1, the\nVolva asks hearing \u201cfrom Heimdall\u2019s sons both high and low\u201d; in\nGrimnismol, 13, there is a very doubtful line which may mean that\nHeimdall \u201co\u2019er men holds sway, it is said,\u201d and in \u201cthe Short Voluspo\u201d\n(Hyndluljoth, 40) he is called \u201cthe kinsman of men.\u201d On the other hand,\neverything in the Rigsthula, including the phrase \u201cthe aged and wise\u201d\nin stanza 1, and the references to runes in stanzas 36, 44, and 46,\nfits Othin exceedingly well. It seems probable that the annotator was\nwrong, and that Rig is Othin, and not Heimdall. Rig: almost certainly\nbased on the Old Irish word for \u201cking,\u201d \u201cri\u201d or \u201crig.\u201d\n\n1. No gap is indicated, but editors have generally assumed one. Some\neditors, however, add line 1 of stanza 2 to stanza 1.\n\n2. Most editions make line 5 a part of the stanza, as here, but some\nindicate it as the sole remnant of one or more stanzas descriptive of\nAi and Edda, just as Afi and Amma, Fathir and Mothir, are later\ndescribed. Ai and Edda: Great-Grandfather and Great-Grandmother; the\nlatter name was responsible for Jakob Grimm\u2019s famous guess at the\nmeaning of the word \u201cEdda\u201d as applied to the whole collection (cf.\nIntroduction).\n\n3. A line may have been lost from this stanza.\n\n4. Line 5 has generally been rejected as spurious.\n\n5. The manuscript has lines 1\u20132 in inverse order, but marks the word\n\u201cRig\u201d as the beginning of a stanza.\n\n6. The manuscript does not indicate that these lines form a separate\nstanza, and as only one line and a fragment of another are left of\nstanza 7, the editions have grouped the lines in all sorts of ways,\nwith, of course, various conjectures as to where lines may have been\nlost.\n\n7. After line 1 the manuscript has only four words: \u201ccloth,\u201d \u201cblack,\u201d\n\u201cnamed,\u201d and \u201cThr\u00e6ll.\u201d No gap is anywhere indicated. Editors have\npieced out the passage in various ways. Water, etc.: concerning the\ncustom of sprinkling water on children, which long antedated the\nintroduction of Christianity, cf. Hovamol, 159 and note. Black: dark\nhair, among the blond Scandinavians, was the mark of a foreigner, hence\nof a slave. Thr\u00e6ll: Thrall or Slave.\n\n8. In the manuscript line 1 of stanza 9 stands before stanza 8, neither\nline being capitalized as the beginning of a stanza. I have followed\nBugge\u2019s rearrangement. The manuscript indicates no gap in line 2, but\nnearly all editors have assumed one, Grundtvig supplying \u201cand rough his\nnails.\u201d\n\n9. The manuscript marks line 2 as the beginning of a stanza.\n\n10. A line may well have dropped out, but the manuscript is too\nuncertain as to the stanza-divisions to make any guess safe. Crooked:\nthe word in the original is obscure. Stained: literally, \u201cwater was on\nher soles.\u201d Thir: \u201cServing-Woman.\u201d\n\n12. There is some confusion as to the arrangement of the lines and\ndivision into stanzas of 12 and 13. The names mean: Fjosnir,\n\u201cCattle-Man\u201d; Klur, \u201cThe Coarse\u201d; Hreim, \u201cThe Shouter\u201d; Kleggi, \u201cThe\nHorse-Fly\u201d; Kefsir, \u201cConcubine-Keeper\u201d; Fulnir, \u201cThe Stinking\u201d; Drumb,\n\u201cThe Log\u201d; Digraldi, \u201cThe Fat\u201d; Drott, \u201cThe Sluggard\u201d; Leggjaldi, \u201cThe\nBig-Legged\u201d; Lut, \u201cThe Bent\u201d; Hosvir, \u201cThe Grey.\u201d\n\n13. The names mean: Drumba, \u201cThe Log\u201d; Kumba, \u201cThe Stumpy\u201d;\n\u00d6kkvinkalfa, \u201cFat-Legged\u201d; Arinnefja, \u201cHomely-Nosed\u201d; Ysja, \u201cThe\nNoisy\u201d; Ambott, \u201cThe Servant\u201d; Eikintjasna, \u201cThe Oaken Peg\u201d (?);\nTotrughypja, \u201cClothed in Rags\u201d; Tronubeina, \u201cCrane-Legged.\u201d\n\n14. In the manuscript line 4 stands after line 4 of stanza 16, but\nseveral editors have rearranged the lines, as here. Afi and Amma:\nGrandfather and Grandmother.\n\n15. There is considerable confusion among the editors as to where this\nstanza begins and ends.\n\n16. The manuscript marks line 3 as the beginning of a stanza.\n\n17. The manuscript jumps from stanza 17, line 1, to stanza 19, line 2.\nBugge points out that the copyist\u2019s eye was presumably led astray by\nthe fact that 17, 1, and 19, 1, were identical. Lines 2\u20133 of 17 are\nsupplied from stanzas 3 and 29.\n\n18. I have followed Bugge\u2019s conjectural construction of the missing\nstanza, taking lines 2 and 3 from stanzas 31 and 4.\n\n19. The manuscript marks line 2 as the beginning of a stanza.\n\n20. The manuscript omits line 2, supplied by analogy with stanza 6.\n\n21. Most editors assume a lacuna, after either line 2 or line 3.\nSijmons assumes, on the analogy of stanza 8, that a complete stanza\ndescribing Karl (\u201cYeoman\u201d) has been lost between stanzas 21 and 22.\n\n22. No line indicated in the manuscript as beginning a stanza. Cart:\nthe word in the original, \u201ckartr,\u201d is one of the clear signs of the\nCeltic influence noted in the introduction.\n\n23. Bring: the word literally means \u201cdrove in a wagon\u201d\u2014a mark of the\nbride\u2019s social status. Sn\u00f6r: \u201cDaughter-in-Law.\u201d Bugge, followed by\nseveral editors, maintains that line 4 was wrongly interpolated here\nfrom a missing stanza describing the marriage of Kon.\n\n24. No line indicated in the manuscript as beginning a stanza. The\nnames mean: Hal, \u201cMan\u201d; Dreng, \u201cThe Strong\u201d; Holth, \u201cThe Holder of\nLand\u201d; Thegn, \u201cFreeman\u201d; Smith, \u201cCraftsman\u201d; Breith, \u201cThe\nBroad-Shouldered\u201d; Bondi, \u201cYeoman\u201d; Bundinskeggi, \u201cWith Beard Bound\u201d\n(i.e., not allowed to hang unkempt); Bui, \u201cDwelling-Owner\u201d; Boddi,\n\u201cFarm-Holder\u201d; Brattskegg, \u201cWith Beard Carried High\u201d; Segg, \u201cMan.\u201d\n\n25. No line indicated in the manuscript as beginning a stanza. The\nnames mean: Snot, \u201cWorthy Woman\u201d; Bruth, \u201cBride\u201d; Svanni, \u201cThe\nSlender\u201d; Svarri, \u201cThe Proud\u201d; Sprakki, \u201cThe Fair\u201d; Fljoth, \u201cWoman\u201d\n(?); Sprund, \u201cThe Proud\u201d; Vif, \u201cWife\u201d; Feima, \u201cThe Bashful\u201d; Ristil,\n\u201cThe Graceful.\u201d\n\n26. Many editors make a stanza out of line 4 and lines 1\u20132 of the\nfollowing stanza. Strewn: with fresh straw in preparation for a feast;\ncf. Thrymskvitha, 22.\n\n27. Fathir and Mothir: Father and Mother. Perhaps lines 3\u20134 should form\na stanza with 28, 1\u20132.\n\n28. Bugge thinks lines 5\u20136, like 23, 4, got in here from the lost\nstanzas describing Kon\u2019s bride and his marriage.\n\n31. The manuscript of lines 1\u20133 is obviously defective, as there are\ntoo many words for two lines, and not enough for the full three. The\nmeaning, however, is clearly very much as indicated in the translation.\nGering\u2019s emendation, which I have followed, consists simply in shifting\n\u201cset before them\u201d from the first line to the second\u2014where the\nmanuscript has no verb,\u2014and supplying the verb \u201cbrought\u201d in line 1. The\nvarious editions contain all sorts of suggestions.\n\n32. The manuscript begins both line 1 and line 2 with a capital\npreceded by a period, which has led to all sorts of strange\nstanza-combinations and guesses at lost lines in the various editions.\nThe confusion includes stanza 33, wherein no line is marked in the\nmanuscript as beginning a stanza.\n\n34. Jarl: \u201cNobly-Born.\u201d\n\n35. Various lines have been regarded as interpolations, 3 and 6 being\nmost often thus rejected.\n\n36. Lines 1, 2, and 5 all begin with capitals preceded by periods, a\nfact which, taken in conjunction with the obviously defective state of\nthe following stanza, has led to all sorts of conjectural emendations.\nThe exact significance of Rig\u2019s giving his own name to Jarl (cf. stanza\n46), and thus recognizing him, potentially at least, as a king, depends\non the conditions under which the poem was composed (cf. Introductory\nNote). The whole stanza, particularly the reference to the teaching of\nmagic (runes), fits Othin far better than Heimdall.\n\n37. Something\u2014one or two lines, or a longer passage\u2014has clearly been\nlost, describing the beginning of Jarl\u2019s journey. Yet many editors,\nrelying on the manuscript punctuation, make 37 and 38 into a single\nstanza.\n\n39. The manuscript marks both lines 1 and 2 as beginning stanzas.\n\n40. Hersir: \u201cLord\u201d; the hersir was, in the early days before the\nestablishment of a kingdom in Norway, the local chief, and hence the\nhighest recognized authority. During and after the time of Harald the\nFair-Haired the name lost something of its distinction, the hersir\ncoming to take rank below the jarl. Erna: \u201cThe Capable.\u201d\n\n42. The names mean: Bur, \u201cSon\u201d; Barn, \u201cChild\u201d; Joth, \u201cChild\u201d; Athal,\n\u201cOffspring\u201d; Arfi, \u201cHeir\u201d; Mog, \u201cSon\u201d; Nith, \u201cDescendant\u201d; Svein,\n\u201cBoy\u201d; Sun, \u201cSon\u201d; Nithjung, \u201cDescendant\u201d; Kund, \u201cKinsman\u201d; Kon, \u201cSon\u201d\n(of noble birth). Concerning the use made of this last name, see note\non stanza 44. It is curious that there is no list of the daughters of\nJarl and Erna, and accordingly Vigfusson inserts here the names listed\nin stanza 25. Grundtvig rearranges the lines of stanzas 42 and 43.\n\n44. The manuscript indicates no line as beginning a stanza. Kon the\nYoung: a remarkable bit of fanciful etymology; the phrase is \u201cKonr\nungr,\u201d which could readily be contracted into \u201cKonungr,\u201d the regular\nword meaning \u201cking.\u201d The \u201ckon\u201d part is actually not far out, but the\nsecond syllable of \u201ckonungr\u201d has nothing to do with \u201cungr\u201d meaning\n\u201cyoung.\u201d Runes: a long list of just such magic charms, dulling\nswordblades, quenching flames, and so on, is given in Hovamol, 147\u2013163.\n\n45. The manuscript indicates no line as beginning a stanza. Minds:\npossibly \u201cseas,\u201d the word being doubtful. Most editors assume the gap\nas indicated.\n\n46. The manuscript indicates no line as beginning a stanza. Rig-Jarl:\nKon\u2019s father; cf. stanza 36.\n\n47. This stanza has often been combined with 48, either as a whole or\nin part. Crow: birds frequently play the part of mentor in Norse\nliterature; cf., for example, Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I, 5, and\nFafnismol, 32.\n\n48. This fragment is not indicated as a separate stanza in the\nmanuscript. Perhaps half a line has disappeared, or, as seems more\nlikely, the gap includes two lines and a half. Sijmons actually\nconstructs these lines, largely on the basis of stanzas 35 and 38.\nBugge fills in the half-line lacuna as indicated above with \u201cThe sword\nto wield.\u201d\n\n49. Dan and Danp: These names are largely responsible for the theory\nthat the Rigsthula was composed in Denmark. According to the Latin\nepitome of the Skj\u00f6ldungasaga by Arngrimur Jonsson, \u201cRig (Rigus) was a\nman not the least among the great ones of his time. He married the\ndaughter of a certain Danp, lord of Danpsted, whose name was Dana; and\nlater, having won the royal title for his province, left as his heir\nhis son by Dana, called Dan or Danum, all of whose subjects were called\nDanes.\u201d This may or may not be conclusive, and it is a great pity that\nthe manuscript breaks off abruptly at this stanza.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nHYNDLULJOTH\n\nTHE POEM OF HYNDLA\n\n\nINTRODUCTORY NOTE\n\nThe Hyndluljoth is found in neither of the great manuscripts of the\nPoetic Edda, but is included in the so-called Flateyjarbok (Book of the\nFlat Island), an enormous compilation made somewhere about 1400. The\nlateness of this manuscript would of itself be enough to cast a doubt\nupon the condition in which the poem has been preserved, and there can\nbe no question that what we have of it is in very poor shape. It is, in\nfact, two separate poems, or parts of them, clumsily put together. The\nlonger one, the Poem of Hyndla proper, is chiefly a collection of\nnames, not strictly mythological but belonging to the semi-historical\nhero-sagas of Norse tradition. The wise-woman, Hyndla, being asked by\nFreyja to trace the ancestry of her favorite, Ottar, for the purpose of\ndeciding a wager, gives a complex genealogy including many of the\nheroes who appear in the popular sagas handed down from days long\nbefore the Icelandic settlements. The poet was learned, but without\nenthusiasm; it is not likely that he composed the Hyndluljoth much\nbefore the twelfth century, though the material of which it is\ncompounded must have been very much older. Although the genealogies are\nessentially continental, the poem seems rather like a product of the\narch\u00e6ological period of Iceland.\n\nInserted bodily in the Hyndluljoth proper is a fragment of fifty-one\nlines, taken from a poem of which, by a curious chance, we know the\nname. Snorri quotes one stanza of it, calling it \u201cthe short Voluspo.\u201d\nThe fragment preserved gives, of course, no indication of the length of\nthe original poem, but it shows that it was a late and very inferior\nimitation of the great Voluspo. Like the Hyndluljoth proper, it\napparently comes from the twelfth century; but there is nothing\nwhatever to indicate that the two poems were the work of the same man,\nor were ever connected in any way until some blundering copyist mixed\nthem up. Certainly the connection did not exist in the middle of the\nthirteenth century, when Snorri quoted \u201cthe short Voluspo.\u201d\n\nNeither poem is of any great value, either as mythology or as poetry.\nThe author of \u201cthe short Voluspo\u201d seems, indeed, to have been more or\nless confused as to his facts; and both poets were too late to feel\nanything of the enthusiasm of the earlier school. The names of Hyndla\u2019s\nheroes, of course, suggest an unlimited number of stories, but as most\nof these have no direct relation to the poems of the Edda, I have\nlimited the notes to a mere record of who the persons mentioned were,\nand the saga-groups in which they appeared.\n\n\n\n\n\nFreyja spake:\n\n\n1.  \u201cMaiden, awake!   |   wake thee, my friend,\n    My sister Hyndla,   |   in thy hollow cave!\n    Already comes darkness,   |   and ride must we\n    To Valhall to seek   |   the sacred hall.\n\n2.  \u201cThe favor of Heerfather   |   seek we to find,\n    To his followers gold   |   he gladly gives;\n    To Hermoth gave he   |   helm and mail-coat,\n    And to Sigmund he gave   |   a sword as gift.\n\n3.  \u201cTriumph to some,   |   and treasure to others,\n    To many wisdom   |   and skill in words,\n    Fair winds to the sailor,   |   to the singer his art,\n    And a manly heart   |   to many a hero.\n\n4.  \u201cThor shall I honor,   |   and this shall I ask,\n    That his favor true   |   mayst thou ever find;\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    Though little the brides   |   of the giants he loves.\n\n5.  \u201cFrom the stall now one   |   of thy wolves lead forth,\n    And along with my boar   |   shalt thou let him run;\n    For slow my boar goes   |   on the road of the gods,\n    And I would not weary   |   my worthy steed.\u201d\n\n\nHyndla spake:\n\n\n6.  \u201cFalsely thou askest me,   |   Freyja, to go,\n    For so in the glance   |   of thine eyes I see;\n    On the way of the slain   |   thy lover goes with thee,\n    Ottar the young,   |   the son of Instein.\u201d\n\n\nFreyja spake:\n\n\n7.  \u201cWild dreams, methinks,   |   are thine when thou\n    sayest\n    My lover is with me   |   on the way of the slain;\n    There shines the boar   |   with bristles of gold,\n    Hildisvini,   |   he who was made\n    By Dain and Nabbi,   |   the cunning dwarfs.\n\n8.  \u201cNow let us down   |   from our saddles leap,\n    And talk of the race   |   of the heroes twain;\n    The men who were born   |   of the gods above,\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n\n\n9.  \u201cA wager have made   |   in the foreign metal\n    Ottar the young   |   and Angantyr;\n    We must guard, for the hero   |   young to have,\n    His father\u2019s wealth,   |   the fruits of his race.\n\n10. \u201cFor me a shrine   |   of stones he made,\u2014\n    And now to glass   |   the rock has grown;\u2014\n    Oft with the blood   |   of beasts was it red;\n    In the goddesses ever   |   did Ottar trust.\n\n11. \u201cTell to me now   |   the ancient names,\n    And the races of all   |   that were born of old:\n    Who are of the Skjoldungs,   |   who of the Skilfings,\n    Who of the Othlings,   |   who of the Ylfings,\n    Who are the free-born,   |   who are the high-born,\n    The noblest of men   |   that in Mithgarth dwell?\u201d\n\n\nHyndla spake:\n\n\n12. \u201cThou art, Ottar,   |   the son of Instein,\n    And Instein the son   |   of Alf the Old,\n    Alf of Ulf,   |   Ulf of S\u00e6fari,\n    And S\u00e6fari\u2019s father   |   was Svan the Red.\n\n13. \u201cThy mother, bright   |   with bracelets fair,\n    Hight, methinks,   |   the priestess Hledis;\n    Frothi her father,   |   and Friaut her mother;\u2014\n    Her race of the mightiest   |   men must seem.\n\n14. \u201cOf old the noblest   |   of all was Ali,\n    Before him Halfdan,   |   foremost of Skjoldungs;\n    Famed were the battles   |   the hero fought,\n    To the corners of heaven   |   his deeds were carried.\n\n15. \u201cStrengthened by Eymund,   |   the strongest of men,\n    Sigtrygg he slew   |   with the ice-cold sword;\n    His bride was Almveig,   |   the best of women,\n    And eighteen boys   |   did Almveig bear him.\n\n16. \u201cHence come the Skjoldungs,   |   hence the Skilfings,\n    Hence the Othlings,   |   hence the Ynglings,\n    Hence come the free-born,   |   hence the high-born,\n    The noblest of men   |   that in Mithgarth dwell:\n    And all are thy kinsmen,   |   Ottar, thou fool!\n\n17. \u201cHildigun then   |   her mother hight,\n    The daughter of Svava   |   and S\u00e6konung;\n    And all are thy kinsmen,   |   Ottar, thou fool!\n    It is much to know,\u2014   |   wilt thou hear yet more?\n\n18. \u201cThe mate of Dag   |   was a mother of heroes,\n    Thora, who bore him   |   the bravest of fighters,\n    Frathmar and Gyrth   |   and the Frekis twain,\n    Am and Jofurmar,   |   Alf the Old;\n    It is much to know,\u2014   |   wilt thou hear yet more?\n\n19. \u201cHer husband was Ketil,   |   the heir of Klypp,\n    He was of thy mother   |   the mother\u2019s-father;\n    Before the days   |   of Kari was Frothi,\n    And born of Hild   |   was Hoalf then.\n\n20. \u201cNext was Nanna,   |   daughter of Nokkvi,\n    Thy father\u2019s kinsman   |   her son became;\n    Old is the line,   |   and longer still,\n    And all are thy kinsmen,   |   Ottar, thou fool!\n\n21. \u201cIsolf and Osolf,   |   the sons of Olmoth,\n    Whose wife was Skurhild,   |   the daughter of Skekkil,\n    Count them among   |   the heroes mighty,\n    And all are thy kinsmen,   |   Ottar, thou fool!\n\n22. \u201cGunnar the Bulwark,   |   Grim the Hardy,\n    Thorir the Iron-shield,   |   Ulf the Gaper,\n    Brodd and H\u00f6rvir   |   both did I know;\n    In the household they were   |   of Hrolf the Old.\n\n23. \u201cHervarth, Hjorvarth,   |   Hrani, Angantyr,\n    Bui and Brami,   |   Barri and Reifnir,\n    Tind and Tyrfing,   |   the Haddings twain,\u2014\n    And all are thy kinsmen,   |   Ottar, thou fool!\n\n24. \u201cEastward in Bolm   |   were born of old\n    The sons of Arngrim   |   and Eyfura;\n    With berserk-tumult   |   and baleful deed\n    Like fire o\u2019er land   |   and sea they fared,\u2014\n    And all are thy kinsmen,   |   Ottar, thou fool!\n\n25. \u201cThe sons of Jormunrek   |   all of yore\n    To the gods in death   |   were as offerings given;\n    He was kinsman of Sigurth,\u2014   |   hear well what I say,\u2014\n    The foe of hosts,   |   and Fafnir\u2019s slayer.\n\n26. \u201cFrom Volsung\u2019s seed   |   was the hero sprung,\n    And Hjordis was born   |   of Hrauthung\u2019s race,\n    And Eylimi   |   from the Othlings came,\u2014\n    And all are thy kinsmen,   |   Ottar, thou fool!\n\n27. \u201cGunnar and Hogni,   |   the heirs of Gjuki,\n    And Guthrun as well,   |   who their sister was;\n    But Gotthorm was not   |   of Gjuki\u2019s race,\n    Although the brother   |   of both he was:\n    And all are thy kinsmen,   |   Ottar, thou fool!\n\n28. \u201cOf Hvethna\u2019s sons   |   was Haki the best,\n    And Hjorvarth the father   |   of Hvethna was;\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n\n29. \u201cHarald Battle-tooth   |   of Auth was born,\n    Hr\u00f6rek the Ring-giver   |   her husband was;\n    Auth the Deep-minded   |   was Ivar\u2019s daughter,\n    But Rathbarth the father   |   of Randver was:\n    And all are thy kinsmen,   |   Ottar, thou fool!\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\nFRAGMENT OF \u201cTHE SHORT VOLUSPO\u201d\n\n\n30. Eleven in number   |   the gods were known,\n    When Baldr o\u2019er the hill   |   of death was bowed;\n    And this to avenge   |   was Vali swift,\n    When his brother\u2019s slayer   |   soon he slew.\n\n31. The father of Baldr   |   was the heir of Bur,\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n\n32. Freyr\u2019s wife was Gerth,   |   the daughter of Gymir,\n    Of the giants\u2019 brood,   |   and Aurbotha bore her;\n    To these as well   |   was Thjazi kin,\n    The dark-loving giant;   |   his daughter was Skathi.\n\n33. Much have I told thee,   |   and further will tell;\n    There is much that I know;\u2014   |   wilt thou hear\n    yet more?\n\n34. Heith and Hrossthjof,   |   the children of Hrimnir.\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n\n35. The sybils arose   |   from Vitholf\u2019s race,\n    From Vilmeith all   |   the seers are,\n    And the workers of charms   |   are Svarthofthi\u2019s children,\n    And from Ymir sprang   |   the giants all.\n\n36. Much have I told thee,   |   and further will tell;\n    There is much that I know;\u2014   |   wilt thou hear yet more?\n\n37. One there was born   |   in the bygone days,\n    Of the race of the gods,   |   and great was his might;\n    Nine giant women,   |   at the world\u2019s edge,\n    Once bore the man   |   so mighty in arms.\n\n38. Gjolp there bore him,   |   Greip there bore him,\n    Eistla bore him,   |   and Eyrgjafa,\n    Ulfrun bore him,   |   and Angeyja,\n    Imth and Atla,   |   and Jarnsaxa.\n\n39. Strong was he made   |   with the strength of earth,\n    With the ice-cold sea,   |   and the blood of swine.\n\n40. One there was born,   |   the best of all,\n    And strong was he made   |   with the strength of earth;\n    The proudest is called   |   the kinsman of men\n    Of the rulers all   |   throughout the world.\n\n41. Much have I told thee,   |   and further will tell;\n    There is much that I know;\u2014   |   wilt thou hear yet more?\n\n42. The wolf did Loki   |   with Angrbotha win,\n    And Sleipnir bore he   |   to Svathilfari;\n    The worst of marvels   |   seemed the one\n    That sprang from the brother   |   of Byleist then.\n\n43. A heart ate Loki,\u2014   |   in the embers it lay,\n    And half-cooked found he   |   the woman\u2019s heart;\u2014\n    With child from the woman   |   Lopt soon was,\n    And thence among men   |   came the monsters all.\n\n44. The sea, storm-driven,   |   seeks heaven itself,\n    O\u2019er the earth it flows,   |   the air grows sterile;\n    Then follow the snows   |   and the furious winds,\n    For the gods are doomed,   |   and the end is death.\n\n45. Then comes another,   |   a greater than all,\n    Though never I dare   |   his name to speak;\n    Few are they now   |   that farther can see\n    Than the moment when Othin   |   shall meet the wolf.\n\n\n\n\n\nFreyja spake:\n\n\n46. \u201cTo my boar now bring   |   the memory-beer,\n    So that all thy words,   |   that well thou hast spoken,\n    The third morn hence   |   he may hold in mind,\n    When their races Ottar   |   and Angantyr tell.\u201d\n\n\nHyndla spake:\n\n\n47. \u201cHence shalt thou fare,   |   for fain would I sleep,\n    From me thou gettest   |   few favors good;\n    My noble one, out   |   in the night thou leapest\n    As Heithrun goes   |   the goats among.\n\n48. \u201cTo Oth didst thou run,   |   who loved thee ever,\n    And many under   |   thy apron have crawled;\n    My noble one, out   |   in the night thou leapest,\n    As Heithrun goes   |   the goats among.\u201d\n\n\nFreyja spake:\n\n\n49. \u201cAround the giantess   |   flames shall I raise,\n    So that forth unburned   |   thou mayst not fare.\u201d\n\n\nHyndla spake:\n\n\n50. \u201cFlames I see burning,   |   the earth is on fire,\n    And each for his life   |   the price must lose;\n    Bring then to Ottar   |   the draught of beer,\n    Of venom full   |   for an evil fate.\u201d\n\n\nFreyja spake:\n\n\n51. \u201cThine evil words   |   shall work no ill,\n    Though, giantess, bitter   |   thy baleful threats;\n    A drink full fair   |   shall Ottar find,\n    If of all the gods   |   the favor I get.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTES\n\n\n1. Freyja: The names of the speakers do not appear in the manuscripts.\nOn Freyja cf. Voluspo, 21 and note; Skirnismol, introductory prose and\nnote; Lokasenna, introductory prose and note. As stanzas 9\u201310 show,\nOttar has made a wager of his entire inheritance with Angantyr\nregarding the relative loftiness of their ancestry, and by rich\nofferings (Hyndla hints at less commendable methods) has induced Freyja\nto assist him in establishing his genealogy. Freyja, having turned\nOttar for purposes of disguise into a boar, calls on the giantess\nHyndla (\u201cShe-Dog\u201d) to aid her. Hyndla does not appear elsewhere in the\npoems.\n\n2. Heerfather: Othin; cf. Voluspo, 30. Hermoth: mentioned in the Prose\nEdda as a son of Othin who is sent to Hel to ask for the return of the\nslain Baldr. Sigmund: according to the Volsungasaga Sigmund was the son\nof Volsung, and hence Othin\u2019s great-great-grandson (note that Wagner\neliminates all the intervening generations by the simple expedient of\nusing Volsung\u2019s name as one of Othin\u2019s many appellations). Sigmund\nalone was able to draw from the tree the sword which a mysterious\nstranger (Othin, of course) had thrust into it (compare the first act\nof Wagner\u2019s Die Walk\u00fcre).\n\n3. Sijmons suggests that this stanza may be an interpolation.\n\n4. No lacuna after line 2 is indicated in the manuscript. Editors have\nattempted various experiments in rearranging this and the following\nstanza.\n\n5. Some editors, following Simrock, assign this whole stanza to Hyndla;\nothers assign to her lines 3\u20134. Giving the entire stanza to Freyja\nmakes better sense than any other arrangement, but is dependent on\nchanging the manuscript\u2019s \u201cthy\u201d in line 3 to \u201cmy,\u201d as suggested by\nBugge. The boar on which Freyja rides (\u201cmy worthy steed\u201d) is, of\ncourse, Ottar.\n\n6. Hyndla detects Ottar, and accuses Freyja of having her lover with\nher. Unless Ottar is identical with Oth (cf. Voluspo, 25 and note),\nwhich seems most unlikely, there is no other reference to this love\naffair. The way of the slain: the road to Valhall.\n\n7. Various experiments have been made in condensing the stanza into\nfour lines, or in combining it with stanza 8. Hildisvini\n(\u201cBattle-Swine\u201d): perhaps Freyja refers to the boar with golden\nbristles given, according to Snorri, to her brother Freyr by the\ndwarfs. Dain: a dwarf; cf. Voluspo, 11. Nabbi: a dwarf nowhere else\nmentioned.\n\n8. The first line is obviously corrupt in the manuscript, and has been\nvariously emended. The general assumption is that in the interval\nbetween stanzas 7 and 8 Freyja and Hyndla have arrived at Valhall. No\nlacuna is indicated in the manuscript.\n\n9. Foreign metal: gold. The word valr, meaning \u201cforeign,\u201d and akin to\n\u201cWelsh,\u201d is interesting in this connection, and some editors interpret\nit frankly as \u201cCeltic,\u201d i.e., Irish.\n\n10. To glass: i.e., the constant fires on the altar have fused the\nstone into glass. Glass beads, etc., were of very early use, though the\nuse of glass for windows probably did not begin in Iceland much before\n1200.\n\n11. Possibly two stanzas, or perhaps one with interpolations. The\nmanuscript omits the first half of line 4, here filled out from stanza\n16, line 2. Skjoldungs: the descendants of Skjold, a mythical king who\nwas Othin\u2019s son and the ancestor of the Danish kings; cf. Snorri\u2019s\nEdda, Skaldskaparmal, 43. Skilfings: mentioned by Snorri as descendants\nof King Skelfir, a mythical ruler in \u201cthe East.\u201d In Grimnismol, 54, the\nname Skilfing appears as one of Othin\u2019s many appellations. Othlings:\nSnorri derives this race from Authi, the son of Halfdan the Old (cf.\nstanza 14). Ylfings: some editors have changed this to \u201cYnglings,\u201d as\nin stanza 16, referring to the descendants of Yng or Yngvi, another son\nof Halfdan, but the reference may be to the same mythical family to\nwhich Helgi Hundingsbane belonged (cf. Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I, 5).\n\n12. Instein: mentioned in the Halfssaga as one of the warriors of King\nHalf of Horthaland (the so-called Halfsrekkar). The others mentioned in\nthis stanza appear in one of the later mythical accounts of the\nsettlement of Norway.\n\n14. Stanzas 14\u201316 are clearly interpolated, as Friaut (stanza 13, line\n3) is the daughter of Hildigun (stanza 17, line 1). Halfdan the Old, a\nmythical king of Denmark, called by Snorri \u201cthe most famous of all\nkings,\u201d of whom it was foretold that \u201cfor three hundred years there\nshould be no woman and no man in his line who was not of great repute.\u201d\nAfter the slaying of Sigtrygg he married Almveig (or Alvig), daughter\nof King Eymund of Holmgarth (i.e., Russia), who bore him eighteen sons,\nnine at one birth. These nine were all slain, but the other nine were\ntraditionally the ancestors of the most famous families in Northern\nhero lore.\n\n16. Compare stanza 11. All or part of this stanza may be interpolated.\n\n17. Hildigun (or Hildiguth): with this the poem returns to Ottar\u2019s\ndirect ancestry, Hildigun being Friaut\u2019s mother. Line 4: cf. the\nrefrain-line in the Voluspo (stanzas 27, 29, etc.).\n\n18. Another interpolation, as Ketil (stanza 19, line 1) is the husband\nof Hildigun (stanza 17). Dag: one of Halfdan\u2019s sons, and ancestor of\nthe D\u00f6glings. Line 5 may be a late addition.\n\n19. Ketil: the semi-mythical Ketil Hortha-Kari, from whom various\nIcelandic families traced their descent. Hoalf: probably King Half of\nHorthaland, hero of the Halfssaga, and son of Hjorleif and Hild (cf.\nstanza 12, note).\n\n20. Nanna: the manuscript has \u201cManna.\u201d Of Nanna and her father, Nokkvi,\nwe know nothing, but apparently Nanna\u2019s son married a sister of\nInstein, Ottar\u2019s father.\n\n21. Olmoth: one of the sons of Ketil Hortha-Kari. Line 4: here, and\ngenerally hereafter when it appears in the poem, this refrain-line is\nabbreviated in the manuscript to the word \u201call.\u201d\n\n22. An isolated stanza, which some editors place after stanza 24,\nothers combining lines 1\u20132 with the fragmentary stanza 23. In the\nmanuscript lines 3\u20134 stand after stanza 24, where they fail to connect\nclearly with anything. Hrolf the Old: probably King Hrolf Gautreksson\nof Gautland, in the saga relating to whom (Fornaldar s\u00f6gur III, 57 ff.)\nappear the names of Thorir the Iron-shield and Grim Thorkelsson.\n\n23. Stanzas 23 and 24 name the twelve Berserkers, the sons of Arngrim\nand Eyfura, the story of whom is told in the Hervararsaga and the\nOrvar-Oddssaga. Saxo Grammaticus tells of the battle between them and\nHjalmar and Orvar-Odd. Line 1 does not appear in the manuscript, but is\nadded from the list of names given in the sagas. The Berserkers were\nwild warriors, distinguished above all by the fits of frenzy to which\nthey were subject in battle; during these fits they howled like wild\nbeasts, foamed at the mouth, and gnawed the iron rims of their shields.\nAt such times they were proof against steel or fire, but when the fever\nabated they were weak. The etymology of the word berserk is disputed;\nprobably, however, it means \u201cbear-shirt.\u201d\n\n24. The manuscript omits the first half of line 1, here supplied from\nthe Orvar-Oddssaga. Bolm: probably the island of Bolms\u00f6, in the Swedish\nprovince of Sm\u00e5land. In the manuscript and in most editions stanza 24\nis followed by lines 3\u20134 of stanza 22. Some editors reject line 5 as\nspurious.\n\n25. In the manuscript line 1 stands after line 4 of stanza 29. Probably\na stanza enumerating Jormunrek\u2019s sons has been lost. Many editors\ncombine lines 3\u20134 of stanza 22 and lines 2\u20134 of stanza 25 into one\nstanza. Jormunrek: the historical Ermanarich, king of the Goths, who\ndied about 376. According to Norse tradition, in which Jormunrek played\na large part, he slew his own sons (cf. Guthrunarhvot and Hamthesmol).\nIn the saga Jormunrek married Sigurth\u2019s daughter, Svanhild. Stanzas\n25\u201327 connect Ottar\u2019s descent with the whole\nVolsung-Sigurth-Jormunrek-Gjuki genealogy. The story of Sigurth is the\nbasis for most of the heroic poems of the Edda, of the famous\nVolsungasaga, and, in Germany, of the Nibelungenlied. On his battle\nwith the dragon Fafnir cf. Fafnismol.\n\n26. Volsung: Sigurth\u2019s grandfather and Othin\u2019s great-grandson. Hjordis:\ndaughter of King Eylimi, wife of Sigmund and mother of Sigurth.\nOthlings: cf. stanza 11.\n\n27. Gunnar, Hogni, and Guthrun: the three children of the Burgundian\nking Gjuki and his wife Grimhild (Kriemhild); Guthrun was Sigurth\u2019s\nwife. Gotthorm, the third brother, who killed Sigurth at Brynhild\u2019s\nbehest, was Grimhild\u2019s son, and thus a step-son of Gjuki. These four\nplay an important part in the heroic cycle of Eddic poems. Cf.\nGripisspo, introductory note.\n\n28. In the manuscript and in many editions these two lines stand\nbetween stanzas 33 and 34. The change here made follows Bugge. The\nmanuscript indicates no gap between stanzas 27 and 29. Hvethna: wife of\nKing Halfdan of Denmark.\n\n29. The manuscript and many editions include line 1 of stanza 25 after\nline 4 of stanza 29. The story of Harald Battle-tooth is told in detail\nby Saxo Grammaticus. Harald\u2019s father was Hr\u00f6rek, king of Denmark; his\nmother was Auth, daughter of Ivar, king of Sweden. After Ivar had\ntreacherously destroyed Hr\u00f6rek, Auth fled with Harald to Russia, where\nshe married King Rathbarth. Harald\u2019s warlike career in Norway, and his\ndeath on the Bravalla-field at the hands of his nephew, Sigurth Ring,\nson of Randver and grandson of Rathbarth and Auth, were favorite saga\nthemes.\n\n30. At this point begins the fragmentary and interpolated \u201cshort\nVoluspo\u201d identified by Snorri. The manuscript gives no indication of\nthe break in the poem\u2019s continuity. Eleven: there are various\nreferences to the \u201ctwelve\u201d gods (including Baldr); Snorri\n(Gylfaginning, 20\u201333) lists the following twelve in addition to Othin:\nThor, Baldr, Njorth, Freyr, Tyr, Bragi, Heimdall, Hoth, Vithar, Vali,\nUll and Forseti; he adds Loki as of doubtful divinity. Baldr and Vali:\ncf. Voluspo, 32\u201333.\n\n31. The fragmentary stanzas 31\u201334 have been regrouped in various ways,\nand with many conjectures as to omissions, none of which are indicated\nin the manuscript. The order here is as in the manuscript, except that\nlines 1\u20132 of stanza 28 have been transposed from after line 2 of stanza\n33. Bur\u2019s heir: Othin; cf. Voluspo, 4.\n\n32. Freyr, Gerth, Gymir: cf. Skirnismol. Aurbotha: a giantess, mother\nof Gerth. Thjazi and Skathi: cf. Lokasenna, 49, and Harbarthsljoth, 19.\n\n33. Cf. Voluspo, 44 and 27.\n\n34. Heith (\u201cWitch\u201d) and Hrossthjof (\u201cHorse-thief\u201d): the only other\nreference to the giant Hrimnir (Skirnismol, 28) makes no mention of his\nchildren.\n\n35. This stanza is quoted by Snorri (Gylfaginning, 5). Of Vitholf\n(\u201cForest Wolf\u201d), Vilmeith (\u201cWish-Tree\u201d) and Svarthofthi (\u201cBlack Head\u201d)\nnothing further is known. Ymir: cf. Voluspo, 3.\n\n37. According to Snorri (Gylfaginning, 27) Heimdall was the son of\nOthin and of nine sisters. As Heimdall was the watchman of the gods,\nthis has given rise to much \u201csolar myth\u201d discussion. The names of his\nnine giantess mothers are frequently said to denote attributes of the\nsea.\n\n38. The names of Heimdall\u2019s mothers may be rendered \u201cYelper,\u201d \u201cGriper,\u201d\n\u201cFoamer,\u201d \u201cSand-Strewer,\u201d \u201cShe-Wolf,\u201d \u201cSorrow-Whelmer,\u201d \u201cDusk,\u201d \u201cFury,\u201d\nand \u201cIron-Sword.\u201d\n\n39. It has been suggested that these lines were interpolated from\nGuthrunarkvitha II, 22. Some editors add the refrain of stanza 36.\nSwine\u2019s blood: to Heimdall\u2019s strength drawn from earth and sea was\nadded that derived from sacrifice.\n\n40. In the manuscript this stanza stands after stanza 44. Regarding\nHeimdall\u2019s kinship to the three great classes of men, cf. Rigsthula,\nintroductory note, wherein the apparent confusion of his attributes\nwith those of Othin is discussed.\n\n42. Probably a lacuna before this stanza. Regarding the wolf Fenrir,\nborn of Loki and the giantess Angrbotha, cf. Voluspo, 39 and note.\nSleipnir: Othin\u2019s eight-legged horse, born of the stallion Svathilfari\nand of Loki in the guise of a mare (cf. Grimnismol, 44). The worst:\ndoubtless referring to Mithgarthsorm, another child of Loki. The\nbrother of Byleist: Loki; cf. Voluspo, 51.\n\n43. Nothing further is known of the myth here referred to, wherein Loki\n(Lopt) eats the cooked heart of a woman and thus himself gives birth to\na monster. The reference is not likely to be to the serpent, as,\naccording to Snorri (Gylfaginning, 34), the wolf, the serpent, and Hel\nwere all the children of Loki and Angrbotha.\n\n44. Probably an omission, perhaps of considerable length, before this\nstanza. For the description of the destruction of the world, cf.\nVoluspo, 57.\n\n45. Cf. Voluspo, 65, where the possible reference to Christianity is\nnoted. With this stanza the fragmentary \u201cshort Voluspo\u201d ends, and the\ndialogue between Freyja and Hyndla continues.\n\n46. Freyja now admits the identity of her boar as Ottar, who with the\nhelp of the \u201cmemory-beer\u201d is to recall the entire genealogy he has just\nheard, and thus win his wager with Angantyr.\n\n47. Heithrun: the she-goat that stands by Valhall (cf. Grimnismol, 25),\nthe name being here used simply of she-goats in general, in caustic\ncomment on Freyja\u2019s morals. Of these Loki entertained a similar view;\ncf. Lokasenna, 30.\n\n48. Oth: cf. stanza 6 and note, and Voluspo, 25 and note. Lines 3\u20134,\nabbreviated in the manuscript, are very likely repeated here by\nmistake.\n\n49. The manuscript repeats once again lines 3\u20134 of stanza 47 as the\nlast two lines of this stanza. It seems probable that two lines have\nbeen lost, to the effect that Freyja will burn the giantess alive \u201cIf\nswiftly now   |   thou dost not seek, / And hither bring   |   the\nmemory-beer.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSVIPDAGSMOL\n\nTHE BALLAD OF SVIPDAG\n\n\nINTRODUCTORY NOTE\n\nThe two poems, Grougaldr (Groa\u2019s Spell) and Fjolsvinnsmol (the Ballad\nof Fjolsvith), which many editors have, very wisely, united under the\nsingle title of Svipdagsmol, are found only in paper manuscripts, none\nof them antedating the seventeenth century. Everything points to a\nrelatively late origin for the poems: their extensive use of \u201ckennings\u201d\nor poetical circumlocutions, their romantic spirit, quite foreign to\nthe character of the unquestionably older poems, the absence of any\nreference to them in the earlier documents, the frequent errors in\nmythology, and, finally, the fact that the poems appear to have been\npreserved in unusually good condition. Whether or not a connecting link\nof narrative verse joining the two parts has been lost is an open\nquestion; on the whole it seems likely that the story was sufficiently\nwell known so that the reciter of the poem (or poems) merely filled in\nthe gap with a brief prose summary in pretty much his own words. The\ngeneral relationship between dialogue and narrative in the Eddic poems\nis discussed in the introductory note to the Grimnismol, in connection\nwith the use of prose links.\n\nThe love story of Svipdag and Mengloth is not referred to elsewhere in\nthe Poetic Edda, nor does Snorri mention it; however, Groa, who here\nappears as Svipdag\u2019s mother, is spoken of by Snorri as a wise woman,\nthe wife of Orvandil, who helps Thor with her magic charms. On the\nother hand, the essence of the story, the hero\u2019s winning of a bride\nringed about by flames, is strongly suggestive of parts of the\nSigurth-Brynhild traditions. Whether or not it is to be regarded as a\nnature or solar myth depends entirely on one\u2019s view of the whole \u201csolar\nmyth\u201d school of criticism, not so highly esteemed today as formerly;\nsuch an interpretation is certainly not necessary to explain what is,\nunder any circumstances, a very charming romance told, in the main,\nwith dramatic effectiveness.\n\nIn later years the story of Svipdag and Mengloth became popular\nthroughout the North, and was made the subject of many Danish and\nSwedish as well as Norwegian ballads. These have greatly assisted in\nthe reconstruction of the outlines of the narrative surrounding the\ndialogue poems here given.\n\n\n\n\n\nI. GROUGALDR\n\nGROA\u2019S SPELL\n\n\nSvipdag spake:\n\n\n1.  \u201cWake thee, Groa!   |   wake, mother good!\n      At the doors of the dead I call thee;\n    Thy son, bethink thee,   |   thou badst to seek\n      Thy help at the hill of death.\u201d\n\n\nGroa spake:\n\n\n2.  \u201cWhat evil vexes   |   mine only son,\n      What baleful fate hast thou found,\n    That thou callest thy mother,   |   who lies in the mould,\n      And the world of the living has left?\u201d\n\n\nSvipdag spake:\n\n\n3.  \u201cThe woman false   |   whom my father embraced\n      Has brought me a baleful game;\n    For she bade me go forth   |   where none may fare,\n      And Mengloth the maid to seek.\u201d\n\n\nGroa spake:\n\n\n4.  \u201cLong is the way,   |   long must thou wander,\n      But long is love as well;\n    Thou mayst find, perchance,   |   what thou fain wouldst have,\n      If the fates their favor will give.\u201d\n\n\nSvipdag spake:\n\n\n5.  \u201cCharms full good   |   then chant to me, mother,\n      And seek thy son to guard;\n    For death do I fear   |   on the way I shall fare,\n      And in years am I young, methinks.\u201d\n\n\nGroa spake:\n\n\n6.  \u201cThen first I will chant thee   |   the charm oft-tried,\n      That Rani taught to Rind;\n    From the shoulder whate\u2019er   |   mislikes thee shake,\n      For helper thyself shalt thou have.\n\n7.  \u201cThen next I will chant thee,   |   if needs thou must travel,\n      And wander a purposeless way:\n    The bolts of Urth   |   shall on every side\n      Be thy guards on the road thou goest.\n\n8.  \u201cThen third I will chant thee,   |   if threatening streams\n      The danger of death shall bring:\n    Yet to Hel shall turn   |   both Horn and Ruth,\n      And before thee the waters shall fail.\n\n9.  \u201cThen fourth I will chant thee,   |   if come thy foes\n      On the gallows-way against thee:\n    Into thine hands   |   shall their hearts be given,\n      And peace shall the warriors wish.\n\n10. \u201cThen fifth I will chant thee,   |   if fetters perchance\n      Shall bind thy bending limbs:\n    O\u2019er thy thighs do I chant   |   a loosening-charm,\n      And the lock is burst from the limbs,\n      And the fetters fall from the feet.\n\n11. \u201cThen sixth I will chant thee,   |   if storms on the sea\n      Have might unknown to man:\n    Yet never shall wind   |   or wave do harm,\n      And calm is the course of thy boat.\n\n12. \u201cThen seventh I chant thee,   |   if frost shall seek\n      To kill thee on lofty crags:\n    The fatal cold   |   shall not grip thy flesh,\n      And whole thy body shall be.\n\n13. \u201cThen eighth will I chant thee,   |   if ever by night\n      Thou shalt wander on murky ways:\n    Yet never the curse   |   of a Christian woman\n      From the dead shall do thee harm.\n\n14. \u201cThen ninth will I chant thee,   |   if needs thou must strive\n      With a warlike giant in words:\n    Thy heart good store   |   of wit shall have,\n      And thy mouth of words full wise.\n\n15. \u201cNow fare on the way   |   where danger waits,\n      Let evils not lessen thy love!\n    I have stood at the door   |   of the earth-fixed stones,\n      The while I chanted thee charms.\n\n16. \u201cBear hence, my son,   |   what thy mother hath said,\n      And let it live in thy breast;\n    Thine ever shall be   |   the best of fortune,\n      So long as my words shall last.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\nII. FJOLSVINNSMOL\n\nTHE LAY OF FJOLSVITH\n\n\n17. Before the house   |   he beheld one coming\n      To the home of the giants high.\n\n\nSvipdag spake:\n\n\n    \u201cWhat giant is here,   |   in front of the house,\n      And around him fires are flaming?\u201d\n\n\nFjolsvith spake:\n\n\n18. \u201cWhat seekest thou here?   |   for what is thy search?\n      What, friendless one, fain wouldst thou know?\n    By the ways so wet   |   must thou wander hence,\n      For, weakling, no home hast thou here.\u201d\n\n\nSvipdag spake:\n\n\n19. \u201cWhat giant is here,   |   in front of the house,\n      To the wayfarer welcome denying?\u201d\n\n\nFjolsvith spake:\n\n\n    \u201cGreeting full fair   |   thou never shalt find,\n      So hence shalt thou get thee home.\n\n20. \u201cFjolsvith am I,   |   and wise am I found,\n      But miserly am I with meat;\n    Thou never shalt enter   |   within the house,\u2014\n      Go forth like a wolf on thy way!\u201d\n\n\nSvipdag spake:\n\n\n21. \u201cFew from the joy   |   of their eyes will go forth,\n      When the sight of their loves they seek;\n    Full bright are the gates   |   of the golden hall,\n      And a home shall I here enjoy.\u201d\n\n\nFjolsvith spake:\n\n\n22. \u201cTell me now, fellow,   |   what father thou hast,\n      And the kindred of whom thou camst.\u201d\n\n\nSvipdag spake:\n\n\n    \u201cVindkald am I,   |   and Varkald\u2019s son,\n      And Fjolkald his father was.\n\n23. \u201cNow answer me, Fjolsvith,   |   the question I ask,\n      For now the truth would I know:\n    Who is it that holds   |   and has for his own\n      The rule of the hall so rich?\u201d\n\n\nFjolsvith spake:\n\n\n24. \u201cMengloth is she,   |   her mother bore her\n      To the son of Svafrthorin;\n    She is it that holds   |   and has for her own\n      The rule of the hall so rich.\u201d\n\n\nSvipdag spake:\n\n\n25. \u201cNow answer me, Fjolsvith,   |   the question I ask,\n      For now the truth would I know:\n    What call they the gate?   |   for among the gods\n      Ne\u2019er saw man so grim a sight.\u201d\n\n\nFjolsvith spake:\n\n\n26. \u201cThrymgjol they call it;   |   \u2019twas made by the three,\n      The sons of Solblindi;\n    And fast as a fetter   |   the farer it holds,\n      Whoever shall lift the latch.\u201d\n\n\nSvipdag spake:\n\n\n27. \u201cNow answer me, Fjolsvith,   |   the question I ask,\n      For now the truth would I know:\n    What call they the house?   |   for no man beheld\n      \u2018Mongst the gods so grim a sight.\u201d\n\n\nFjolsvith spake:\n\n\n28. \u201cGastropnir is it,   |   of old I made it\n      From the limbs of Leirbrimir;\n    I braced it so strongly   |   that fast it shall stand\n      So long as the world shall last.\u201d\n\n\nSvipdag spake:\n\n\n29. \u201cNow answer me, Fjolsvith,   |   the question I ask,\n      For now the truth would I know:\n    What call they the tree   |   that casts abroad\n      Its limbs o\u2019er every land?\u201d\n\n\nFjolsvith spake:\n\n\n30. \u201cMimameith its name,   |   and no man knows\n      What root beneath it runs;\n    And few can guess   |   what shall fell the tree,\n      For fire nor iron shall fell it.\u201d\n\n\nSvipdag spake:\n\n\n31. \u201cNow answer me, Fjolsvith,   |   the question I ask,\n      For now the truth would I know:\n    What grows from the seed   |   of the tree so great,\n      That fire nor iron shall fell?\u201d\n\n\nFjolsvith spake:\n\n\n32. \u201cWomen, sick   |   with child, shall seek\n      Its fruit to the flames to bear;\n    Then out shall come   |   what within was hid,\n      And so is it mighty with men.\u201d\n\n\nSvipdag spake:\n\n\n33. \u201cNow answer me, Fjolsvith,   |   the question I ask,\n      For now the truth would I know:\n    What cock is he   |   on the highest bough,\n      That glitters all with gold?\u201d\n\n\nFjolsvith spake:\n\n\n34. \u201cVithofnir his name,   |   and now he shines\n      Like lightning on Mimameith\u2019s limbs;\n    And great is the trouble   |   with which he grieves\n      Both Surt and Sinmora.\u201d\n\n\nSvipdag spake:\n\n\n35. \u201cNow answer me, Fjolsvith,   |   the question I ask,\n      For now the truth would I know:\n    What call they the hounds,   |   that before the house\n      So fierce and angry are?\u201d\n\n\nFjolsvith spake:\n\n\n36. \u201cGif call they one,   |   and Geri the other,\n      If now the truth thou wouldst know;\n    Great they are,   |   and their might will grow,\n      Till the gods to death are doomed.\u201d\n\n\nSvipdag spake:\n\n\n37. \u201cNow answer me, Fjolsvith,   |   the question I ask,\n      For now the truth would I know:\n    May no man hope   |   the house to enter,\n      While the hungry hounds are sleeping?\u201d\n\n\nFjolsvith spake:\n\n\n38. \u201cTogether they sleep not,   |   for so was it fixed\n      When the guard to them was given;\n    One sleeps by night,   |   the next by day,\n      So no man may enter ever.\u201d\n\n\nSvipdag spake:\n\n\n39. \u201cNow answer me, Fjolsvith,   |   the question I ask,\n      For now the truth would I know:\n    Is there no meat   |   that men may give them,\n     And leap within while they eat?\u201d\n\n\nFjolsvith spake:\n\n\n40. \u201cTwo wing-joints there be   |   in Vithofnir\u2019s body,\n      If now the truth thou wouldst know;\n    That alone is the meat   |   that men may give them,\n      And leap within while they eat.\u201d\n\n\nSvipdag spake:\n\n\n41. \u201cNow answer me, Fjolsvith,   |   the question I ask,\n      For now the truth would I know:\n    What weapon can send   |   Vithofnir to seek\n      The house of Hel below?\u201d\n\n\nFjolsvith spake:\n\n\n42. \u201cL\u00e6vatein is there,   |   that Lopt with runes\n      Once made by the doors of death;\n    In L\u00e6gjarn\u2019s chest   |   by Sinmora lies it,\n      And nine locks fasten it firm.\u201d\n\n\nSvipdag spake:\n\n\n43. \u201cNow answer me, Fjolsvith,   |   the question I ask,\n      For now the truth would I know:\n    May a man come thence   |   who thither goes,\n      And tries the sword to take?\u201d\n\n\nFjolsvith spake:\n\n\n44. \u201cThence may he come   |   who thither goes,\n      And tries the sword to take,\n    If with him he carries   |   what few can win,\n      To give to the goddess of gold.\u201d\n\n\nSvipdag spake:\n\n\n45. \u201cNow answer me, Fjolsvith,   |   the question I ask,\n      For now the truth would I know:\n    What treasure is there   |   that men may take\n      To rejoice the giantess pale?\u201d\n\n\nFjolsvith spake:\n\n\n46. \u201cThe sickle bright   |   in thy wallet bear,\n      Mid Vithofnir\u2019s feathers found;\n    To Sinmora give it,   |   and then shall she grant\n      That the weapon by thee be won.\u201d\n\n\nSvipdag spake:\n\n\n47. \u201cNow answer me, Fjolsvith,   |   the question I ask,\n      For now the truth would I know:\n    What call they the hall,   |   encompassed here\n      With flickering magic flames?\u201d\n\n\nFjolsvith spake:\n\n\n48. \u201cLyr is it called,   |   and long it shall\n      On the tip of a spear-point tremble;\n    Of the noble house   |   mankind has heard,\n      But more has it never known.\u201d\n\n\nSvipdag spake:\n\n\n49. \u201cNow answer me, Fjolsvith,   |   the question I ask,\n      For now the truth would I know:\n    What one of the gods   |   has made so great\n      The hall I behold within?\u201d\n\n\nFjolsvith spake:\n\n\n50. \u201cUni and Iri,   |   Bari and Jari,\n      Var and Vegdrasil,\n    Dori and Ori,   |   Delling, and there\n      Was Loki, the fear of the folk.\u201d\n\n\nSvipdag spake:\n\n\n51. \u201cNow answer me, Fjolsvith,   |   the question I ask,\n      For now the truth would I know:\n    What call they the mountain   |   on which the maid\n      Is lying so lovely to see?\u201d\n\n\nFjolsvith spake:\n\n\n52. \u201cLyfjaberg is it,   |   and long shall it be\n      A joy to the sick and the sore;\n    For well shall grow   |   each woman who climbs it,\n      Though sick full long she has lain.\u201d\n\n\nSvipdag spake:\n\n\n53. \u201cNow answer me, Fjolsvith,   |   the question I ask,\n      For now the truth would I know:\n    What maidens are they   |   that at Mengloth\u2019s knees\n      Are sitting so gladly together?\u201d\n\n\nFjolsvith spake:\n\n\n54. \u201cHlif is one named,   |   Hlifthrasa another,\n      Thjothvara call they the third;\n    Bjort and Bleik,   |   Blith and Frith,\n      Eir and Aurbotha.\u201d\n\n\nSvipdag spake:\n\n\n55. \u201cNow answer me, Fjolsvith,   |   the question I ask,\n      For now the truth would I know:\n    Aid bring they to all   |   who offerings give,\n      If need be found therefor?\u201d\n\n\nFjolsvith spake:\n\n\n56. \u201cSoon aid they all   |   who offerings give\n      On the holy altars high;\n    And if danger they see   |   for the sons of men,\n      Then each from ill do they guard.\u201d\n\n\nSvipdag spake:\n\n\n57. \u201cNow answer me, Fjolsvith,   |   the question I ask,\n      For now the truth would I know:\n    Lives there the man   |   who in Mengloth\u2019s arms\n      So fair may seek to sleep?\u201d\n\n\nFjolsvith spake:\n\n\n58. \u201cNo man there is   |   who in Mengloth\u2019s arms\n      So fair may seek to sleep,\n    Save Svipdag alone,   |   for the sun-bright maid\n      Is destined his bride to be.\u201d\n\n\nSvipdag spake:\n\n\n59. \u201cFling back the gates!   |   make the gateway wide!\n      Here mayst thou Svipdag see!\n    Hence get thee to find   |   if gladness soon\n      Mengloth to me will give.\u201d\n\n\nFjolsvith spake:\n\n\n60. \u201cHearken, Mengloth,   |   a man is come;\n      Go thou the guest to see!\n    The hounds are fawning,   |   the house bursts open,\u2014\n      Svipdag, methinks, is there.\u201d\n\n\nMengloth spake:\n\n\n61. \u201cOn the gallows high   |   shall hungry ravens\n      Soon thine eyes pluck out,\n    If thou liest in saying   |   that here at last\n      The hero is come to my hall.\n\n62. \u201cWhence camest thou hither?   |   how camest thou here?\n      What name do thy kinsmen call thee?\n    Thy race and thy name   |   as a sign must I know,\n      That thy bride I am destined to be.\u201d\n\n\nSvipdag spake:\n\n\n63. \u201cSvipdag am I,   |   and Solbjart\u2019s son;\n      Thence came I by wind-cold ways;\n    With the words of Urth   |   shall no man war,\n      Though unearned her gifts be given.\u201d\n\n\nMengloth spake:\n\n\n64. \u201cWelcome thou art,   |   for long have I waited;\n      The welcoming kiss shalt thou win!\n    For two who love   |   is the longed-for meeting\n      The greatest gladness of all.\n\n65. \u201cLong have I sat   |   on Lyfjaberg here,\n      Awaiting thee day by day;\n    And now I have   |   what I ever hoped,\n      For here thou art come to my hall.\n\n66. \u201cAlike we yearned;   |   I longed for thee,\n      And thou for my love hast longed;\n    But now henceforth   |   together we know\n      Our lives to the end we shall live.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTES\n\n\n1. Svipdag (\u201cSwift Day\u201d): the names of the speakers are lacking in the\nmanuscripts.\n\n3. The woman: Svipdag\u2019s stepmother, who is responsible for his search\nfor Mengloth (\u201cNecklace-Glad\u201d). This name has suggested that Mengloth\nis really Frigg, possessor of the famous Brisings\u2019 necklace, or else\nFreyja (cf. Lokasenna, 20, note).\n\n6. For this catalogue of charms (stanzas 6\u201314) cf. the Ljothatal\n(Hovamol, 147\u2013165). Rani and Rind: the manuscripts have these words in\ninverse relation; I have followed Neckel\u2019s emendation. Rind was the\ngiantess who became the mother of Vali, Othin\u2019s son, the one-night-old\navenger of Baldr (cf. Voluspo, 33\u201334, and Baldrs Draumar, 11 and note).\nRani is presumably Othin, who, according to a skaldic poem, won Rind by\nmagic.\n\n7. Urth: one of the three Norns, or Fates; cf. Voluspo, 20.\n\n8. Horn and Ruth: these two rivers, here used merely to symbolize all\ndangerous streams, are not included in the catalogue of rivers given in\nGrimnismol, 27\u201329, for which reason some editors have changed the names\nto Hron and Hrith.\n\n10. This stanza is a close parallel to Hovamol, 150, and the fifth line\nmay well be an interpolation from line 4 of that stanza.\n\n13. A dead Christian woman: this passage has distressed many editors,\nwho have sought to emend the text so as to make it mean simply \u201ca dead\nwitch.\u201d The fact seems to be, however, that this particular charm was\ncomposed at a time when Christians were regarded by all conservative\npagans as emissaries of darkness. A dead woman\u2019s curse would naturally\nbe more potent, whether she was Christian or otherwise, than a living\none\u2019s. Presumably this charm is much older than the poem in which it\nhere stands.\n\n16. At this point Groa\u2019s song ends, and Svipdag, thus fortified, goes\nto seek Mengloth. All the link that is needed between the poems is\napproximately this: \u201cThen Svipdag searched long for Mengloth, and at\nlast he came to a great house set all about with flames. And before the\nhouse there was a giant.\u201d\n\n17. Most editors have here begun a new series of stanza numbers, but if\nthe Grougaldr and the Fjolsvinnsmol are to be considered as a single\npoem, it seems more reasonable to continue the stanza numbers\nconsecutively. Bugge thinks a stanza has been lost before 17, including\nFjolsvith\u2019s name, so that the \u201che\u201d in line 1 might have something to\nrefer to. However, just such a prose link as I have suggested in the\nnote on stanza 16 would serve the purpose. Editors have suggested\nvarious rearrangements in the lines of stanzas 17\u201319. The substance,\nhowever, is clear enough. The giant Fjolsvith (\u201cMuch-Wise\u201d), the warder\nof the house in which Mengloth dwells, sees Svipdag coming and stops\nhim with the customary threats. The assignment of the speeches in\nstanzas 17\u201320, in the absence of any indications in the manuscripts, is\nmore or less guesswork.\n\n22. Vindkald (\u201cWind-Cold\u201d), Varkald (\u201cCold of Early Spring\u201d) and\nFjolkald (\u201cMuch Cold\u201d): Svipdag apparently seeks to persuade Fjolsvith\nthat he belongs to the frost giants.\n\n24. Svafrthorin: who he was, or what his name means, or who his son\nwas, are all unknown.\n\n26. Thrymgjol (\u201cLoud-Clanging\u201d): this gate, like the gate of the dead,\nshuts so fast as to trap those who attempt to use it (cf.\nSigurtharkvitha en skamma, 68 and note). It was made by the dwarfs,\nsons of Solblindi (\u201cSun-Blinded\u201d), the traditional craftsmen, who could\nnot endure the light of day.\n\n28. Gastropnir: \u201cGuest-Crusher.\u201d Leirbrimir\u2019s (\u201cClay-Giant\u2019s\u201d) limbs: a\npoetic circumlocution for \u201cclay\u201d; cf. the description of the making of\nearth from the body of the giant Ymir, Vafthruthnismol, 21.\n\n30. Mimameith (\u201cMimir\u2019s Tree\u201d): the ash Yggdrasil, that overshadows the\nwhole world. The well of Mimir was situated at its base; cf. Voluspo,\n27\u201329.\n\n32. Gering suggests that two stanzas have been lost between stanzas 15\nand 16, but the giant\u2019s answer fits the question quite well enough. The\nfruit of Yggdrasil, when cooked, is here assumed to have the power of\nassuring safe childbirth.\n\n34. Vithofnir (\u201cTree-Snake\u201d): apparently identical with either the cock\nGollinkambi (cf. Voluspo, 43) or Fjalar (cf. Voluspo, 42), the former\nof which wakes the gods to battle, and the latter the giants. Surt: the\ngiant mentioned in Voluspo, 52, as ruler of the fire-world; here used\nto represent the giants in general, who are constantly in terror of the\ncock\u2019s eternal watchfulness. Sinmora: presumably Surt\u2019s wife, the\ngiantess who possesses the weapon by which alone the cock Vithofnir may\nbe slain.\n\n35. The last two lines have been variously emended.\n\n36. Gif and Geri: both names signify \u201cGreedy.\u201d The first part of line 3\nis conjectural; the manuscripts indicate the word \u201celeven,\u201d which\nclearly fails to make sense.\n\n42. L\u00e6vatein (\u201cWounding Wand\u201d): the manuscripts differ as to the form\nof this name. The suggestion that the reference is to the mistletoe\nwith which Baldr was killed seems hardly reasonable. Lopt: Loki.\nL\u00e6gjarn (\u201cLover of Ill\u201d): Loki; cf. Voluspo, 35, where the term appears\nas an adjective applied to Loki. This is Falk\u2019s emendation for the\nmanuscripts\u2019 \u201cS\u00e6gjarn,\u201d meaning \u201cSea Lover.\u201d Sinmora: cf. stanza 34.\n\n44. Goddess of gold: poetic circumlocution for \u201cwoman,\u201d here meaning\nSinmora.\n\n46. Sickle: i.e., tail feather. With this the circle of impossibilities\nis completed. To get past the dogs, they must be fed with the\nwing-joints of the cock Vithofnir; the cock can be killed only with the\nsword in Sinmora\u2019s possession, and Sinmora will give up the sword only\nin return for the tail feather of the cock.\n\n48. Lyr (\u201cHeat-Holding\u201d): just what the spear-point reference means is\nnot altogether clear. Presumably it refers to the way in which the\nglowing brightness of the lofty hall makes it seem to quiver and turn\nin the air, but the tradition, never baffled by physical laws, may have\nactually balanced the whole building on a single point to add to the\ndifficulties of entrance.\n\n50. Loki, the one god named, was the builder of the hall, with the aid\nof the nine dwarfs. Jari, Dori, and Ori appear in the Voluspo catalogue\nof the dwarfs (stanzas 13 and 15); Delling appears in Hovamol, 161, and\nVafthruthnismol, 25, in the latter case, however, the name quite\npossibly referring to some one else. The other dwarfs\u2019 names do not\nappear elsewhere. The manuscripts differ as to the forms of many of\nthese names.\n\n52. Lyfjaberg (\u201cHill of Healing\u201d): the manuscripts vary as to this\nname; I have followed Bugge\u2019s suggestion. This stanza implies that\nMengloth is a goddess of healing, and hence, perhaps, an hypostasis of\nFrigg, as already intimated by her name (cf. stanza 3, note). In stanza\n54 Eir appears as one of Mengloth\u2019s handmaidens, and Eir, according to\nSnorri (Gylfaginning, 35) is herself the Norse Hygeia. Compare this\nstanza with stanza 32.\n\n54. The manuscripts and editions show many variations in these names.\nThey may be approximately rendered thus: Helper, Help-Breather,\nFolk-Guardian, Shining, White, Blithe, Peaceful, Kindly (?), and\nGold-Giver.\n\n55. One of the manuscripts omits stanzas 55 and 56.\n\n56. The first line is based on a conjectural emendation.\n\n63. Solbjart (\u201cSun-Bright\u201d): not elsewhere mentioned. The words of\nUrth: i.e., the decrees of fate; cf. stanza 7.\n\n65. Lyfjaberg cf. stanza 52 and note.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPART II\n\nTHE POETIC EDDA\n\n\nVOLUME II\n\nLAYS OF THE HEROES\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nV\u00d6LUNDARKVITHA\n\nTHE LAY OF V\u00d6LUND\n\n\nINTRODUCTORY NOTE\n\nBetween the Thrymskvitha and the Alvissmol in the Codex Regius stands\nthe V\u00f6lundarkvitha. It was also included in the Arnamagn\u00e6an Codex, but\nunluckily it begins at the very end of the fragment which has been\npreserved, and thus only a few lines of the opening prose remain. This\nis doubly regrettable because the text in Regius is unquestionably in\nvery bad shape, and the other manuscript would doubtless have been of\ngreat assistance in the reconstruction of the poem.\n\nThere has been a vast amount written regarding the Weland tradition as\na whole, discussing particularly the relations between the\nV\u00f6lundarkvitha and the Weland passage in Deor\u2019s Lament. There can be\nlittle question that the story came to the North from Saxon regions,\nalong with many of the other early hero tales. In stanza 16 the Rhine\nis specifically mentioned as the home of treasure; and the presence of\nthe story in Anglo-Saxon poetry probably as early as the first part of\nthe eighth century proves beyond a doubt that the legend cannot have\nbeen a native product of Scandinavia. In one form or another, however,\nthe legend or the smith persisted for centuries throughout all the\nTeutonic lands, and the name of Wayland Smith is familiar to all\nreaders of Walter Scott, and even of Rudyard Kipling\u2019s tales of\nEngland.\n\nIn what form this story reached the North is uncertain. Sundry striking\nparallels between the diction of the V\u00f6lundarkvitha and that of the\nWeland passage in Deor\u2019s Lament make it distinctly probable that a\nSaxon song on this subject had found its way to Scandinavia or Iceland.\nBut the prose introduction to the poem mentions the \u201cold sagas\u201d in\nwhich V\u00f6lund was celebrated, and in the Thithrekssaga we have definite\nevidence of the existence of such prose narrative in the form of the\nVelentssaga (Velent, V\u00f6lund, Weland, and Wayland all being, of course,\nidentical), which gives a long story for which the V\u00f6lundarkvitha can\nhave supplied relatively little, if any, of the material. It is\nprobable, then, that Weland stories were current in both prose and\nverse in Scandinavia as early as the latter part of the ninth century.\n\nOnce let a figure become popular in oral tradition, and the number and\nvariety of the incidents connected with his name will increase very\nrapidly. Doubtless there were scores of Weland stories current in the\neighth, ninth, and tenth centuries, many of them with very little if\nany traditional authority. The main one, however, the story of the\nlaming of the smith by King Nithuth (or by some other enemy) and of\nWeland\u2019s terrible revenge, forms the basis of the V\u00f6lundarkvitha. To\nthis, by way of introduction, has been added the story of V\u00f6lund and\nthe swan-maiden, who, to make things even more complex, is likewise\nsaid to be a Valkyrie. Some critics maintain that these two sections\nwere originally two distinct poems, merely strung together by the\ncompiler with the help of narrative prose links; but the poem as a\nwhole has a kind of dramatic unity which suggests rather that an early\npoet\u2014for linguistically the poem belongs among the oldest of the Eddic\ncollection\u2014used two distinct legends, whether in prose or verse, as the\nbasis for the composition of a new and homogeneous poem.\n\nThe swan-maiden story appears, of course, in many places quite distinct\nfrom the Weland tradition, and, in another form, became one of the most\npopular of German folk-tales. Like the story of Weland, however, it is\nof German rather than Scandinavian origin, and the identification of\nthe swan-maidens as Valkyries, which may have taken place before the\nlegend reached the North, may, on the other hand, have been simply an\nattempt to connect southern tradition with figures well known in\nnorthern mythology.\n\nThe V\u00f6lundarkvitha is full of prose narrative links, including an\nintroduction. The nature of such prose links has already been discussed\nin the introductory note to the Grimnismol; the V\u00f6lundarkvitha is a\nstriking illustration of the way in which the function of the earlier\nEddic verse was limited chiefly to dialogue or description, the\nnarrative outline being provided, if at all, in prose. This prose was\nput in by each reciter according to his fancy and knowledge, and his\nestimate of his hearers\u2019 need for such explanations; some of it, as in\nthis instance, eventually found its way into the written record.\n\nThe manuscript of the V\u00f6lundarkvitha is in such bad shape, and the\nconjectural emendations have been so numerous, that in the notes I have\nattempted to record only the most important of them.\n\n\n\n\n\nThere was a king in Sweden named Nithuth. He had two sons and one\ndaughter; her name was Bothvild. There were three brothers, sons of a\nking of the Finns: one was called Slagfith, another Egil, the third\nV\u00f6lund. They went on snowshoes and hunted wild beasts. They came into\nUlfdalir and there they built themselves a house; there was a lake\nthere which is called Ulfsjar. Early one morning they found on the\nshore of the lake three women, who were spinning flax. Near them were\ntheir swan-garments, for they were Valkyries. Two of them were\ndaughters of King Hlothver, Hlathguth the Swan-White and Hervor the\nAll-Wise, and the third was Olrun, daughter of Kjar from Valland. These\ndid they bring home to their hall with them. Egil took Olrun, and\nSlagfith Swan-White, and V\u00f6lund All-Wise. There they dwelt seven\nwinters; but then they flew away to find battles, and came back no\nmore. Then Egil set forth on his snowshoes to follow Olrun, and\nSlagfith followed Swan-White, but V\u00f6lund stayed in Ulfdalir. He was a\nmost skillful man, as men know from old tales. King Nithuth had him\ntaken by force, as the poem here tells.\n\n\n1.  Maids from the south   |   through Myrkwood flew,\n    Fair and young,   |   their fate to follow;\n    On the shore of the sea   |   to rest them they sat,\n    The maids of the south,   |   and flax they spun.\n\n2.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    Hlathguth and Hervor,   |   Hlothver\u2019s children,\n    And Olrun the Wise   |   Kjar\u2019s daughter was.\n\n3.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    One in her arms   |   took Egil then\n    To her bosom white,   |   the woman fair.\n\n4.  Swan-White second,\u2014   |   swan-feathers she wore,\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    And her arms the third   |   of the sisters threw\n    Next round V\u00f6lund\u2019s   |   neck so white.\n\n5.  There did they sit   |   for seven winters,\n    In the eighth at last   |   came their longing again,\n    (And in the ninth   |   did need divide them).\n    The maidens yearned   |   for the murky wood,\n    The fair young maids,   |   their fate to follow.\n\n6.  V\u00f6lund home   |   from his hunting came,\n    From a weary way,   |   the weather-wise bowman,\n    Slagfith and Egil   |   the hall found empty,\n    Out and in went they,   |   everywhere seeking.\n\n7.  East fared Egil   |   after Olrun,\n    And Slagfith south   |   to seek for Swan-White;\n    V\u00f6lund alone   |   in Ulfdalir lay,\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n\n8.  Red gold he fashioned   |   with fairest gems,\n    And rings he strung   |   on ropes of bast;\n    So for his wife   |   he waited long,\n    If the fair one home   |   might come to him.\n\n9.  This Nithuth learned,   |   the lord of the Njars,\n    That V\u00f6lund alone   |   in Ulfdalir lay;\n    By night went his men,   |   their mail-coats were studded,\n    Their shields in the waning   |   moonlight shone.\n\n10. From their saddles the gable   |   wall they sought,\n    And in they went   |   at the end of the hall;\n    Rings they saw there   |   on ropes of bast,\n    Seven hundred   |   the hero had.\n\n11. Off they took them,   |   but all they left\n    Save one alone   |   which they bore away.\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n\n12. V\u00f6lund home   |   from his hunting came,\n    From a weary way,   |   the weather-wise bowman;\n    A brown bear\u2019s flesh   |   would he roast with fire;\n    Soon the wood so dry   |   was burning well,\n    (The wind-dried wood   |   that V\u00f6lund\u2019s was).\n\n13. On the bearskin he rested,   |   and counted the rings,\n    The master of elves,   |   but one he missed;\n    That Hlothver\u2019s daughter   |   had it he thought,\n    And the all-wise maid   |   had come once more.\n\n14. So long he sat   |   that he fell asleep,\n    His waking empty   |   of gladness was;\n    Heavy chains   |   he saw on his hands,\n    And fetters bound   |   his feet together.\n\n\nV\u00f6lund spake:\n\n\n15. \u201cWhat men are they   |   who thus have laid\n    Ropes of bast   |   to bind me now?\u201d\n\n    Then Nithuth called,   |   the lord of the Njars:\n    \u201cHow gottest thou, V\u00f6lund,   |   greatest of elves,\n    These treasures of ours   |   in Ulfdalir?\u201d\n\n\nV\u00f6lund spake:\n\n\n16. \u201cThe gold was not   |   on Grani\u2019s way,\n    Far, methinks, is our realm   |   from the hills of the Rhine;\n    I mind me that treasures   |   more we had\n    When happy together   |   at home we were.\u201d\n\n17. Without stood the wife   |   of Nithuth wise,\n    And in she came   |   from the end of the hall;\n    On the floor she stood,   |   and softly spoke:\n    \u201cNot kind does he look   |   who comes from the wood.\u201d\n\n\nKing Nithuth gave to his daughter Bothvild the gold ring that he had\ntaken from the bast rope in V\u00f6lund\u2019s house, and he himself wore the\nsword that V\u00f6lund had had. The queen spake:\n\n\n18. \u201cThe glow of his eyes   |   is like gleaming snakes,\n    His teeth he gnashes   |   if now is shown\n    The sword, or Bothvild\u2019s   |   ring he sees;\n    Let them straightway cut   |   his sinews of strength,\n    And set him then   |   in S\u00e6varstath.\u201d\n\n\nSo was it done: the sinews in his knee-joints were cut, and he was set\nin an island which was near the mainland, and was called S\u00e6varstath.\nThere he smithied for the king all kinds of precious things. No man\ndared to go to him, save only the king himself. V\u00f6lund spake:\n\n\n19. \u201cAt Nithuth\u2019s girdle   |   gleams the sword\n    That I sharpened keen   |   with cunningest craft,\n    (And hardened the steel   |   with highest skill;)\n    The bright blade far   |   forever is borne,\n    (Nor back shall I see it   |   borne to my smithy;)\n    Now Bothvild gets   |   the golden ring\n    (That was once my bride\u2019s,\u2014   |   ne\u2019er well shall it be.)\u201d\n\n20. He sat, nor slept,   |   and smote with his hammer,\n    Fast for Nithuth   |   wonders he fashioned;\n    Two boys did go   |   in his door to gaze,\n    Nithuth\u2019s sons,   |   into S\u00e6varstath.\n\n21. They came to the chest,   |   and they craved the keys,\n    The evil was open   |   when in they looked;\n    To the boys it seemed   |   that gems they saw,\n    Gold in plenty   |   and precious stones.\n\n\nV\u00f6lund spake:\n\n\n22. \u201cCome ye alone,   |   the next day come,\n    Gold to you both   |   shall then be given;\n    Tell not the maids   |   or the men of the hall,\n    To no one say   |   that me you have sought.\u201d\n\n23. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    Early did brother   |   to brother call:\n    \u201cSwift let us go   |   the rings to see.\u201d\n\n24. They came to the chest,   |   and they craved the keys,\n    The evil was open   |   when in they looked;\n    He smote off their heads,   |   and their feet he hid\n    Under the sooty   |   straps of the bellows.\n\n25. Their skulls, once hid   |   by their hair, he took,\n    Set them in silver   |   and sent them to Nithuth;\n    Gems full fair   |   from their eyes he fashioned,\n    To Nithuth\u2019s wife   |   so wise he gave them.\n\n26. And from the teeth   |   of the twain he wrought\n    A brooch for the breast,   |   to Bothvild he sent it;\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n\n27. Bothvild then   |   of her ring did boast,\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .    |   \u201cThe ring I have broken,\n    I dare not say it   |   save to thee.\u201d\n\n\nV\u00f6lund spake:\n\n\n28. \u201cI shall weld the break   |   in the gold so well\n    That fairer than ever   |   thy father shall find it,\n    And better much   |   thy mother shall think it,\n    And thou no worse   |   than ever it was.\u201d\n\n29. Beer he brought,   |   he was better in cunning,\n    Until in her seat   |   full soon she slept.\n\n\nV\u00f6lund spake:\n\n\n    \u201cNow vengeance I have   |   for all my hurts,\n    Save one alone,   |   on the evil woman.\u201d\n\n30. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    Quoth V\u00f6lund: \u201cWould   |   that well were the sinews\n    Maimed in my feet   |   by Nithuth\u2019s men.\u201d\n\n31. Laughing V\u00f6lund   |   rose aloft,\n    Weeping Bothvild   |   went from the isle,\n    For her lover\u2019s flight   |   and her father\u2019s wrath.\n\n32. Without stood the wife   |   of Nithuth wise,\n    And in she came   |   from the end of the hall;\n    But he by the wall   |   in weariness sat:\n    \u201cWakest thou, Nithuth,   |   lord of the Njars?\u201d\n\n\nNithuth spake:\n\n\n33. \u201cAlways I wake,   |   and ever joyless,\n    Little I sleep   |   since my sons were slain;\n    Cold is my head,   |   cold was thy counsel,\n    One thing, with V\u00f6lund   |   to speak, I wish.\n\n34. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    \u201cAnswer me, V\u00f6lund,   |   greatest of elves,\n    What happed with my boys   |   that hale once were?\u201d\n\n\nV\u00f6lund spake:\n\n\n35. \u201cFirst shalt thou all   |   the oaths now swear,\n    By the rail of ship,   |   and the rim of shield,\n    By the shoulder of steed,   |   and the edge of sword,\n    That to V\u00f6lund\u2019s wife   |   thou wilt work no ill,\n    Nor yet my bride   |   to her death wilt bring,\n    Though a wife I should have   |   that well thou knowest,\n    And a child I should have   |   within thy hall.\n\n36. \u201cSeek the smithy   |   that thou didst set,\n    Thou shalt find the bellows   |   sprinkled with blood;\n    I smote off the heads   |   of both thy sons,\n    And their feet \u2019neath the sooty   |   straps I hid.\n\n37. \u201cTheir skulls, once hid   |   by their hair, I took,\n    Set them in silver   |   and sent them to Nithuth;\n    Gems full fair   |   from their eyes I fashioned,\n    To Nithuth\u2019s wife   |   so wise I gave them.\n\n38. \u201cAnd from the teeth   |   of the twain I wrought\n    A brooch for the breast,   |   to Bothvild I gave it;\n    Now big with child   |   does Bothvild go,\n    The only daughter   |   ye two had ever.\u201d\n\n\nNithuth spake:\n\n\n39. \u201cNever spakest thou word   |   that worse could hurt me,\n    Nor that made me, V\u00f6lund,   |   more bitter for vengeance;\n    There is no man so high   |   from thy horse to take thee,\n    Or so doughty an archer   |   as down to shoot thee,\n    While high in the clouds   |   thy course thou takest.\u201d\n\n40. Laughing V\u00f6lund   |   rose aloft,\n    But left in sadness   |   Nithuth sat.\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n\n41. Then spake Nithuth,   |   lord of the Njars:\n    \u201cRise up, Thakkrath,   |   best of my thralls,\n    Bid Bothvild come,   |   the bright-browed maid,\n    Bedecked so fair,   |   with her father to speak.\u201d\n\n42. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    \u201cIs it true, Bothvild,   |   that which was told me;\n    Once in the isle   |   with V\u00f6lund wert thou?\u201d\n\n\nBothvild spake:\n\n\n43. \u201cTrue is it, Nithuth,   |   that which was told thee,\n    Once in the isle   |   with V\u00f6lund was I,\n    An hour of lust,   |   alas it should be!\n    Nought was my might   |   with such a man,\n    Nor from his strength   |   could I save myself.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTES\n\n\nProse. Nithuth (\u201cBitter Hater\u201d): here identified as a king of Sweden,\nis in the poem (stanzas 9, 15 and 32) called lord of the Njars, which\nmay refer to the people of the Swedish district of Nerike. In any case,\nthe scene of the story has moved from Saxon lands into the Northeast.\nThe first and last sentences of the introduction refer to the second\npart of the poem; the rest of it concerns the swan-maidens episode.\nBothvild (\u201cWarlike Maid\u201d): V\u00f6lund\u2019s victim in the latter part of the\npoem. King of the Finns: this notion, clearly later than the poem,\nwhich calls V\u00f6lund an elf, may perhaps be ascribed to the annotator who\ncomposed the prose introduction. The Finns, meaning the dwellers in\nLapland, were generally credited with magic powers. Egil appears in the\nThithrekssaga as V\u00f6lund\u2019s brother, but Slagfith is not elsewhere\nmentioned. Ulfdalir (\u201cWolf-Dale\u201d), Ulfsjar (\u201cWolf-Sea\u201d), Valland\n(\u201cSlaughter-Land\u201d): mythical places without historical identification.\nValkyries: cf. Voluspo, 31 and note; there is nothing in the poem to\nidentify the three swan-maidens as Valkyries except one obscure word in\nline 2 of stanza 1 and again in line 5 of stanza 5, which may mean, as\nGering translates it, \u201chelmed,\u201d or else \u201cfair and wise.\u201d I suspect that\nthe annotator, anxious to give the Saxon legend as much northern local\ncolor as possible, was mistaken in his mythology, and that the poet\nnever conceived of his swan-maidens as Valkyries at all. However, this\nidentification of swan-maidens with Valkyries was not uncommon; cf.\nHelreith Brynhildar, 7. The three maidens\u2019 names, Hlathguth, Hervor,\nand Olrun, do not appear in the lists of Valkyries. King Hlothver: this\nname suggests the southern origin of the story, as it is the northern\nform of Ludwig; the name appears again in Guthrunarkvitha II, 26, and\nthat of Kjar is found in Atlakvitha, 7, both of these poems being based\non German stories. It is worth noting that the composer of this\nintroductory note seems to have had little or no information beyond\nwhat was actually contained in the poem as it has come down to us; he\nrefers to the \u201cold stories\u201d about V\u00f6lund, but either he was unfamiliar\nwith them in detail or else he thought it needless to make use of them.\nHis note simply puts in clear and connected form what the verse tells\nsomewhat obscurely; his only additions are making Nithuth a king of\nSweden and V\u00f6lund\u2019s father a king of the Finns, supplying the name\nUlfsjar for the lake, identifying the swan-maidens as Valkyries, and\ngiving Kjar a home in Valland.\n\n1. The manuscript indicates line 3 as the beginning of a stanza; two\nlines may have been lost before or after lines 1\u20132, and two more, or\neven six, with the additional stanza describing the theft of the\nswan-garments, after line 4. Myrkwood: a stock name for a magic, dark\nforest; cf. Lokasenna, 42.\n\n2. In the manuscript these two lines stand after stanza 16; editors\nhave tried to fit them into various places, but the prose indicates\nthat they belong here, with a gap assumed.\n\n3. In the manuscript these two lines follow stanza 1, with no gap\nindicated, and the first line marked as the beginning of a stanza. Many\neditors have combined them with stanza 4.\n\n4. No lacuna indicated in the manuscript; one editor fills the stanza\nout with a second line running: \u201cThen to her breast Slagfith embraced.\u201d\n\n5. Line 3 looks like an interpolation, but line 5, identical with line\n2 of stanza 1, may be the superfluous one.\n\n6. The phrase \u201cV\u00f6lund home from a weary way\u201d is an emendation of\nBugge\u2019s, accepted by many editors. Some of those who do not include it\nreject line 4, and combine the remainder of the stanza with all or part\nof stanza 7.\n\n7. The manuscript marks the second, and not the first, line as the\nbeginning of a stanza. Some editors combine lines 2\u20133 with all or part\nof stanza 8. No gap is indicated in the manuscript, but many editors\nhave assumed one, some of them accepting Bugge\u2019s suggested \u201cTill back\nthe maiden   |   bright should come.\u201d\n\n8. No line in this stanza is indicated in the manuscript as beginning a\nnew stanza; editors have tried all sorts of experiments in regrouping\nthe lines into stanzas with those of stanzas 7 and 9. In line 3 the\nword long is sheer guesswork, as the line in the manuscript contains a\nmetrical error.\n\n9. Some editors combine the first two lines with parts of stanza 8, and\nthe last two with the first half of stanza 10. Njars: there has been\nmuch, and inconclusive, discussion as to what this name means; probably\nit applies to a semi-mythical people somewhere vaguely in \u201cthe East.\u201d\n\n10. Some editors combine lines 3\u20134 with the fragmentary stanza 11.\n\n11. No gap indicated in the manuscript; some editors combine these\nlines with lines 3\u20134 of stanza 10, while others combine them with the\nfirst two lines of stanza 12. The one ring which Nithuth\u2019s men steal is\ngiven to Bothvild, and proves the cause of her undoing.\n\n12. The manuscript indicates line 3, and not line 1, as the beginning\nof a stanza, which has given rise to a large amount of conjectural\nrearrangement. Line 2 of the original is identical with the phrase\nadded by Bugge in stanza 6. Line 5 may be spurious, or lines 4\u20135 may\nhave been expanded out of a single line running \u201cThe wind-dried wood\n|   for V\u00f6lund burned well.\u201d\n\n13. Elves: the poem here identifies V\u00f6lund as belonging to the race of\nthe elves. Hlothver\u2019s daughter: Hervor; many editors treat the\nadjective \u201call-wise\u201d here as a proper name.\n\n15. In this poem the manuscript indicates the speakers. Some editors\nmake lines 1\u20132 into a separate stanza, linking lines 3\u20135 (or 4\u20135) with\nstanza 16. Line 3 is very possibly spurious, a mere expansion of\n\u201cNithuth spake.\u201d Nithuth, of course, has come with his men to capture\nV\u00f6lund, and now charges him with having stolen his treasure.\n\n16. The manuscript definitely assigns this stanza to V\u00f6lund, but many\neditors give the first two lines to Nithuth. In the manuscript stanza\n16 is followed by the two lines of stanza 2, and many editions make of\nlines 3\u20134 of stanza 16 and stanza 2 a single speech by V\u00f6lund. Grani\u2019s\nway: Grani was Sigurth\u2019s horse, on which he rode to slay Fafnir and win\nAndvari\u2019s hoard; this and the reference to the Rhine as the home of\nwealth betray the southern source of the story. If lines 1\u20132 belong to\nV\u00f6lund, they mean that Nithuth got his wealth in the Rhine country, and\nthat V\u00f6lund\u2019s hoard has nothing to do with it; if the speaker is\nNithuth, they mean that V\u00f6lund presumably has not killed a dragon, and\nthat he is far from the wealth of the Rhine, so that he must have\nstolen his treasure from Nithuth himself.\n\n17. Line 1 is lacking in the manuscript, lines 2\u20134 following\nimmediately after the two lines here given as stanza 2. Line 1,\nborrowed from line 1 of stanza 32, is placed here by many editors,\nfollowing Bugge\u2019s suggestion. Certainly it is Nithuth\u2019s wife who utters\nline 4. Who comes from the wood: V\u00f6lund, noted as a hunter. Gering\nassumes that with the entrance of Nithuth\u2019s wife the scene has changed\nfrom V\u00f6lund\u2019s house to Nithuth\u2019s, but I cannot see that this is\nnecessary.\n\nProse. The annotator inserted this note rather clumsily in the midst of\nthe speech of Nithuth\u2019s wife.\n\n18. In the manuscript lines 2\u20133 stand before line 1; many editors have\nmade the transposition here indicated. Some editors reject line 3 as\nspurious. S\u00e6varstath: \u201cSea-Stead.\u201d\n\n19. This stanza is obviously in bad shape. Vigfusson makes two stanzas\nof it by adding a first line: \u201cThen did V\u00f6lund speak,   |   sagest of\nelves.\u201d Editors have rejected various lines, and some have regrouped\nthe last lines with the first two of stanza 20. The elimination of the\npassages in parenthesis produces a four-line stanza which is metrically\ncorrect, but it has little more than guesswork to support it.\n\n20. The editions vary radically in combining the lines of this stanza\nwith those of stanzas 19 and 21, particularly as the manuscript\nindicates the third line as the beginning of a stanza. The meaning,\nhowever, remains unchanged.\n\n21. Several editions make one stanza out of lines 3\u20134 of stanza 20 and\nlines 1\u20132 of stanza 21, and another out of the next four lines. The\nevil was open: i.e., the gold in the chest was destined to be their\nundoing.\n\n22. The manuscript indicates line 3 as the beginning of a stanza, and\nseveral editors have adopted this grouping. In the Thithrekssaga V\u00f6lund\nsends the boys away with instructions not to come back until just after\na fall of snow, and then to approach his dwelling walking backward. The\nboys do this, and when, after he has killed them, V\u00f6lund is questioned\nregarding them, he points to the tracks in the snow as evidence that\nthey had left his house.\n\n23. No gap indicated in the manuscript. Some editors assume it, as\nhere; some group the lines with lines 3\u20134 of stanza 22, and some with\nlines 1\u20132 of stanza 24.\n\n24. Some editions begin a new stanza with line 3.\n\n25. The manuscript indicates line 3 as the beginning of a stanza, and\nmany editors have adopted this grouping.\n\n26. These two lines have been grouped in various ways, either with\nlines 3\u20134 of stanza 25 or with the fragmentary stanza 27. No gap is\nindicated in the manuscript, but the loss of something is so obvious\nthat practically all editors have noted it, although they have differed\nas to the number of lines lost.\n\n27. No gap indicated in the manuscript; the line and a half might be\nfilled out (partly with the aid of late paper manuscripts) thus: \u201cBut\nsoon it broke,   |   and swiftly to V\u00f6lund / She bore it and said\u2014\u201d\n\n29. The manuscript does not name V\u00f6lund as the speaker before line 3;\nVigfusson again inserts his convenient line, \u201cThen V\u00f6lund spake,   |\nsagest of elves.\u201d A few editions combine lines 3\u20134 with the two lines\nof stanza 30.\n\n30. No gap indicated in the manuscript; some editors combine the two\nlines with lines 3\u20134 of stanza 29, and many with the three lines of\nstanza 31.\n\n31. Something has probably been lost before this stanza, explaining how\nV\u00f6lund made himself wings, as otherwise, owing to his lameness, he\ncould not leave the island. The Thithrekssaga tells the story of how\nV\u00f6lund\u2019s brother, Egil, shot birds and gave him the feathers, out of\nwhich he made a feather-garment. This break in the narrative\nillustrates the lack of knowledge apparently possessed by the compiler\nwho was responsible for the prose notes; had he known the story told in\nthe Thithrekssaga, it is hardly conceivable that he would have failed\nto indicate the necessary connecting link at this point. Some editors\nreject line 3 as spurious. The manuscript does not indicate any lacuna.\n\n32. The manuscript indicates line 4 as the beginning of a stanza, and\nmany editors have followed this arrangement.\n\n33. The manuscript does not name the speaker. It indicates line 3 as\nthe beginning of a new stanza. Vigfusson adds before line 1, \u201cThen\nspake Nithuth,   |   lord of the Njars.\u201d\n\n34. No gap indicated in the manuscript, but it seems clear that\nsomething has been lost. Some editors combine these two lines with\nlines 3\u20134 of stanza 33. V\u00f6lund is now flying over Nithuth\u2019s hall.\n\n35. The manuscript does not name the speaker; Vigfusson again makes two\nfull stanzas with the line, \u201cThen did V\u00f6lund speak,   |   sagest of\nelves.\u201d Some editors begin a new stanza with line 4, while others\nreject as interpolations lines 2\u20133 or 5\u20137. V\u00f6lund\u2019s wife: the reference\nis to Bothvild, as V\u00f6lund wishes to have his vengeance fall more\nheavily on her father than on her.\n\n36. Lines 3\u20134 are nearly identical with lines 3\u20134 of stanza 24.\n\n37. Identical, except for the pronouns, with stanza 25.\n\n38. Lines 1\u20132: cf. stanza 26.\n\n39. The manuscript does not name the speaker. Either line 4 or line 5\nmay be an interpolation; two editions reject lines 3\u20135, combining lines\n1\u20132 with stanza 40. In the Thithrekssaga Nithuth actually compels Egil,\nV\u00f6lund\u2019s brother, to shoot at V\u00f6lund. The latter has concealed a\nbladder full of blood under his left arm, and when his brother\u2019s arrow\npierces this, Nithuth assumes that his enemy has been killed. This\nepisode likewise appears among the scenes from V\u00f6lund\u2019s career rudely\ncarved on an ancient casket of ivory, bearing an Anglo-Saxon\ninscription in runic letters, which has been preserved.\n\n40. Line 1: cf. stanza 31. The manuscript indicates no lacuna.\n\n41. The first line is a conjectural addition. Thakkrath is probably the\nnorthern form of the Middle High German name Dancrat.\n\n42. The manuscript indicates no gap, but indicates line 3 as the\nbeginning of a stanza; Vigfusson\u2019s added \u201cThen Nithuth spake,   |\nlord of the Njars\u201d seems plausible enough.\n\n43. The manuscript does not name the speaker. Different editors have\nrejected one or another of the last three lines, and as the manuscript\nindicates line 4 as the beginning of a new stanza, the loss of two or\nthree lines has likewise been suggested. According to the\nThithrekssaga, the son of V\u00f6lund and Bothvild was Vithga, or Witege,\none of the heroes of Dietrich of Bern.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nHELGAKVITHA HJORVARTHSSONAR\n\nTHE LAY OF HELGI THE SON OF HJORVARTH\n\n\nINTRODUCTORY NOTE\n\nThe three Helgi lays, all found in the Codex Regius, have been the\nsubjects of a vast amount of discussion, in spite of which many of the\nfacts regarding them are still very far from settled. It is, indeed,\nscarcely possible to make any unqualified statement regarding these\nthree poems for which a flat contradiction cannot be found in the\nwritings of some scholar of distinction. The origin of the Helgi\ntradition, its connection with that of Sigurth, the authorship, date\nand home of the poems, the degree to which they have been altered from\ntheir original forms, the status of the composer of the copious prose\nnotes: these and many other allied questions have been and probably\nalways will be matters of dispute among students of the Edda\u2019s history.\n\nWithout attempting to enter into the discussion in detail, certain\ntheories should be noted. Helgi appears originally to have been a\nDanish popular hero, the son of King Halfdan. Saxo Grammaticus has a\ngood deal to say about him in that capacity, and it has been pointed\nout that many of the place names in the Helgi lays can be pretty\nclearly identified with parts of Denmark and neighboring stretches of\nthe Baltic. The Danish Helgi, according to Saxo, was famed as the\nconqueror of Hunding and Hothbrodd, the latter as the result of a naval\nexpedition at the head of a considerable fleet.\n\nFrom Denmark the story appears to have spread northward into Norway and\nwestward into the Norse settlements among the islands. Not many of its\noriginal features remained, and new ones were added here and there,\nparticularly with regard to Helgi\u2019s love affair with Sigrun. The\nvictories over Hunding and Hothbrodd, however, were generally retained,\nand out of material relating to these two fights, and to the\nHelgi-Sigrun story, were fashioned the two lays of Helgi Hundingsbane.\n\nHow the Helgi legend became involved with that of the Volsungs is an\nopen question. Both stories travelled from the South, and presumably\nabout the same time, so it is not unnatural that some confusion should\nhave arisen. At no time, however, was the connection particularly close\nso far as the actual episodes of the two stories were concerned. In the\ntwo lays of Helgi Hundingsbane the relationship is established only by\nthe statement that Helgi was the son of Sigmund and Borghild; Sigurth\nis not mentioned, and in the lay of Helgi the son of Hjorvarth there is\nno connection at all. On the other hand, Helgi does not appear in any\nof the Eddic poems dealing directly with the Volsung stories, although\nin one passage of doubtful authenticity (cf. Reginsmol, introductory\nnote) his traditional enemy, Hunding, does, represented by his sons. In\nthe Volsungasaga the story of Helgi, including the fights with Hunding\nand Hothbrodd and the love affair with Sigrun, is told in chapters 8\nand 9 without otherwise affecting the course of the narrative. Here, as\nin the Helgi lays, Helgi is the son of Sigmund Volsungsson and\nBorghild; Sigurth, on the other hand, is the son of Sigmund and\nHjordis, the latter being the daughter of King Eylimi. Still another\nson, who complicates both stories somewhat, is Sinfjotli, son of\nSigmund and his own sister, Signy. Sinfjotli appears in both of the\nHelgi Hundingsbane lays and in the Volsungasaga, but not in any of the\nEddic poems belonging to the Volsung cycle (cf. Fra Dautha Sinfjotla\nand note).\n\nThere is a certain amount of resemblance between the story of Helgi and\nSigrun and that of Sigurth and Brynhild, particularly as the annotator\nresponsible for the prose notes insists that Sigrun was a Valkyrie.\nWhether this resemblance was the cause of bringing the two stories\ntogether, or whether the identification of Helgi as Sigmund\u2019s son\nresulted in alterations of the love story in the Helgi poems, cannot be\ndetermined.\n\nThe first of the three Helgi poems, the lay of Helgi the son of\nHjorvarth, is a somewhat distant cousin of the other two. The Helgi in\nquestion is apparently the same traditional figure, and he leads a\nnaval expedition, but he is not the son of Sigmund, there is no\nconnection with the Volsung cycle, and his wife is Svava, not Sigrun.\nAt the same time, the points of general resemblance with the two Helgi\nHundingsbane lays are such as to indicate a common origin, provided one\ngoes far enough back. The annotator brings the stories together by the\nnaive expedient of having Helgi \u201cborn again,\u201d and not once only, but\ntwice.\n\nThe first Helgi lay is manifestly in bad shape, and includes at least\ntwo distinct poems, differentiated not only by subject-matter but by\nmetrical form. Although the question is debatable, the longer of these\npoems (stanzas 1\u201311 and 31\u201343) seems in turn to have been compounded\nout of fragments of two or more Helgi poems. The first five stanzas are\na dialogue between a bird and Atli, one of Hjorvarth\u2019s followers,\nconcerning the winning of Sigrlin, who is destined to be Hjorvarth\u2019s\nwife and Helgi\u2019s mother. Stanzas 6\u201311 are a dialogue between Helgi and\na Valkyrie (the accompanying prose so calls her, and identifies her as\nSvava, but there is nothing in the verse to prove this). Stanzas 12\u201330\nform a fairly consecutive unit, in which Atli, on guard over Helgi\u2019s\nship, has a vigorous argument with a giantess, Hrimgerth, whence this\nsection has sometimes been called the Hrimgertharmol (Lay of\nHrimgerth). The last section, stanzas 31\u201343, is again fairly\nconsecutive, and tells of the death of Helgi following the rash oath of\nhis brother, Hethin, to win Svava for himself.\n\nParts I, II, and IV may all have come from the same poem or they may\nnot; it is quite impossible to tell surely. All of them are generally\ndated by commentators not later than the first half of the tenth\ncentury, whereas the Hrimgertharmol (section III) is placed\nconsiderably later. When and by whom these fragments were pieced\ntogether is another vexed question, and this involves a consideration\nof the prose notes and links, of which the Helgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar\nhas a larger amount than any other poem in the Edda. These prose links\ncontain practically all the narrative, the verse being almost\nexclusively dialogue. Whoever composed them seems to have been\nconsciously trying to bring his chaotic verse material into some\nsemblance of unity, but he did his work pretty clumsily, with manifest\nblunders and contradictions. Bugge has advanced the theory that these\nprose passages are to be regarded as an original and necessary part of\nthe work, but this hardly squares with the evidence.\n\nIt seems probable, rather, that as the Helgi tradition spread from its\nnative Denmark through the Norse regions of the North and West, and\nbecame gradually interwoven, although not in essentials, with the other\ngreat hero cycle from the South, that of the Volsungs, a considerable\nnumber of poems dealing with Helgi were composed, at different times\nand in different places, reflecting varied forms of the story. Many\ngenerations afterwards, when Iceland\u2019s literary period had arrived,\nsome zealous scribe committed to writing such poems or fragments of\npoems as he knew, piecing them together and annotating them on the\nbasis of information which had reached him through other channels. The\nprose notes to Helgakvitha Hundingsbana II frankly admit this patchwork\nprocess: a section of four stanzas (13\u201316) is introduced with the\nphrase, \u201cas is said in the Old Volsung Lay\u201d; the final prose note cites\nan incident \u201ctold in the Karuljoth (Lay of Kara),\u201d and a two-line\nspeech is quoted \u201cas it was written before in the Helgakvitha.\u201d\n\n\n\nThe whole problem of the origin, character and home of the Helgi poems\nhas been discussed in great detail by Bugge in his Helge-Digtene i den\n\u00c6ldre Edda, Deres Hjem og Forbindelser, which, as translated by W. H.\nSchofield under the title The Home of the Eddic Poems, is available for\nreaders of English. This study is exceedingly valuable, if not in all\nrespects convincing. The whole matter is so complex and so important in\nthe history of Old Norse literature, and any intelligent reading of the\nHelgi poems is so dependent on an understanding of the conditions under\nwhich they have come down to us, that I have here discussed the\nquestion more extensively than the scope of a mere introductory note to\na single poem would warrant.\n\n\n\n\n\n(I)\n\nOF HJORVARTH AND SIGRLIN\n\n\nHjorvarth was the name of a king, who had four wives: one was called\nAlfhild, and their son was named Hethin; the second was called S\u00e6reith,\nand their son was named Humlung; the third was called Sinrjoth, and\ntheir son was named Hymling. King Hjorvarth had made a great vow to\nhave as wife whatsoever woman he knew was fairest. He learned that King\nSvafnir had a daughter fairer than all others, whose name was Sigrlin.\nIthmund was the name of one of his jarls; he had a son called Atli, who\nwent to woo Sigrlin on behalf of the king. He dwelt the winter long\nwith King Svafnir. There was a jarl called Franmar, Sigrlin\u2019s\nfoster-father; his daughter was named Alof. The jarl told him that the\nmaiden\u2019s hand was denied, and Atli went home. Atli, the jarl\u2019s son,\nstood one day in a certain wood; a bird sat in the branches up over\nhim, and it had heard that his men called Hjorvarth\u2019s wives the fairest\nof women. The bird twittered, and Atli hearkened to what it spoke. It\nsaid:\n\n\n1.  \u201cSawest thou Sigrlin,   |   Svafnir\u2019s daughter,\n    The fairest maid   |   in her home-land found?\n    Though Hjorvarth\u2019s wives   |   by men are held\n    Goodly to see   |   in Glasir\u2019s wood.\u201d\n\n\nAtli spake:\n\n\n2.  \u201cNow with Atli,   |   Ithmund\u2019s son,\n    Wilt thou say more,   |   thou bird so wise?\u201d\n\n\nThe bird spake:\n\n\n    \u201cI may if the prince   |   an offering makes,\n    And I have what I will   |   from the house of the king.\u201d\n\n\nAtli spake:\n\n\n3.  \u201cChoose not Hjorvarth,   |   nor sons of his,\n    Nor the wives so fair   |   of the famous chief;\n    Ask not the brides   |   that the prince\u2019s are;\n    Fair let us deal   |   in friendly wise.\u201d\n\n\nThe bird spake:\n\n\n4.  \u201cA fane will I ask,   |   and altars many,\n    Gold-horned cattle   |   the prince shall give me,\n    If Sigrlin yet   |   shall sleep in his arms,\n    Or free of will   |   the hero shall follow.\u201d\n\n\nThis was before Atli went on his journey; but when he came home, and\nthe king asked his tidings, he said:\n\n\n5.  \u201cTrouble we had,   |   but tidings none,\n    Our horses failed   |   in the mountains high,\n    The waters of S\u00e6morn   |   we needs must wade;\n    Svafnir\u2019s daughter,   |   with rings bedecked,\n    She whom we sought,   |   was still denied us.\u201d\n\n\nThe king bade that they should go another time, and he went with them\nhimself. But when they came up on the mountain, they saw Svavaland\nburning and mighty dust-clouds from many steeds. The king rode from the\nmountain forward into the land, and made a night\u2019s stay hard by a\nstream. Atli kept watch and went over the stream; he found there a\nhouse. A great bird sat on the housetop to guard it, but he was asleep.\nAtli hurled his spear at the bird and slew it, and in the house he\nfound Sigrlin the king\u2019s daughter and Alof the jarl\u2019s daughter, and he\nbrought them both thence with him. Jarl Franmar had changed himself\ninto the likeness of an eagle, and guarded them from the enemy host by\nmagic. Hrothmar was the name of a king, a wooer of Sigrlin; he slew the\nking of Svavaland and had plundered and burned his land. King Hjorvarth\ntook Sigrlin, and Atli took Alof.\n\n\n\n\n\n(II)\n\nHjorvarth and Sigrlin had a son, mighty and of noble stature; he was a\nsilent man, and no name stuck fast to him. He sat on a hill, and saw\nnine Valkyries riding; one of them was the fairest of all. She spake:\n\n\n6.  \u201cLate wilt thou, Helgi,   |   have hoard of rings,\n    Thou battle-tree fierce,   |   or of shining fields,\u2014\n    The eagle screams soon,\u2014   |   if never thou speakest,\n    Though, hero, hard   |   thy heart may cry.\u201d\n\n\nHelgi spake:\n\n\n7.  \u201cWhat gift shall I have   |   with Helgi\u2019s name,\n    Glorious maid,   |   for the giving is thine?\n    All thy words   |   shall I think on well,\n    But I want them not   |   if I win not thee.\u201d\n\n\nThe Valkyrie spake:\n\n\n8.  \u201cSwords I know lying   |   in Sigarsholm,\n    Fifty there are   |   save only four;\n    One there is   |   that is best of all,\n    The shield-destroyer,   |   with gold it shines.\n\n9.  \u201cIn the hilt is fame,   |   in the haft is courage,\n    In the point is fear,   |   for its owner\u2019s foes;\n    On the blade there lies   |   a blood-flecked snake,\n    And a serpent\u2019s tail   |   round the flat is twisted.\u201d\n\n\nEylimi was the name of a king, whose daughter was Svava; she was a\nValkyrie, and rode air and sea. She gave Helgi this name, and shielded\nhim oft thereafter in battle. Helgi spake:\n\n\n10. \u201cHjorvarth, king,   |   unwholesome thy counsels,\n    Though famed thou art   |   in leading the folk,\n    Letting fire the homes   |   of heroes eat,\n    Who evil deed   |   had never done thee.\n\n11. \u201cYet Hrothmar still   |   the hoard doth hold,\n    The wealth that once   |   our kinsmen wielded;\n    Full seldom care   |   the king disturbs,\n    Heir to dead men   |   he deems himself.\u201d\n\n\nHjorvarth answered that he would give Helgi a following if he fain\nwould avenge his mother\u2019s father. Then Helgi got the sword that Svava\nhad told him of. So he went, and Atli with him, and they slew Hrothmar,\nand they did many great deeds.\n\n\n\n\n\n(III)\n\nHe slew the giant Hati, whom he found sitting on a certain mountain.\nHelgi and Atli lay with their ships in Hatafjord. Atli kept watch\nduring the first part of the night. Hrimgerth, Hati\u2019s daughter, spake:\n\n\n12. \u201cWho are the heroes   |   in Hatafjord?\n      The ships are covered with shields;\n    Bravely ye look,   |   and little ye fear,\n      The name of the king would I know.\u201d\n\n\nAtli spake:\n\n\n13. \u201cHelgi his name,   |   and never thou mayst\n      Harm to the hero bring;\n    With iron is fitted   |   the prince\u2019s fleet,\n      Nor can witches work us ill.\u201d\n\n\nHrimgerth spake:\n\n\n14. \u201cWho now, thou mighty   |   man, art thou?\n      By what name art thou known to men?\n    He trusts thee well,   |   the prince who wills\n      That thou stand at the stem of his ship.\u201d\n\n\nAtli spake:\n\n\n15. \u201cAtli am I,   |   and ill shalt thou find me,\n      Great hate for witches I have;\n    Oft have I been   |   in the dripping bows,\n      And to dusk-riders death have brought.\n\n16. \u201cCorpse-hungry giantess,   |   how art thou called?\n      Say, witch, who thy father was!\n    Nine miles deeper   |   down mayst thou sink,\n      And a tree grow tall on thy bosom.\u201d\n\n\nHrimgerth spake:\n\n\n17. \u201cHrimgerth am I,   |   my father was Hati,\n      Of giants the most in might;\n    Many a woman   |   he won from her home,\n      Ere Helgi hewed him down.\u201d\n\n\nAtli spake:\n\n\n18. \u201cWitch, in front   |   of the ship thou wast,\n      And lay before the fjord;\n    To Ron wouldst have given   |   the ruler\u2019s men,\n      If a spear had not stuck in thy flesh.\u201d\n\n\nHrimgerth spake:\n\n\n19. \u201cDull art thou, Atli,   |   thou dreamest, methinks,\n      The lids lie over thine eyes;\n    By the leader\u2019s ships   |   my mother lay,\n      Hlothvarth\u2019s sons on the sea I slew.\n\n20. \u201cThou wouldst neigh, Atli,   |   but gelded thou art,\n      See, Hrimgerth hoists her tail;\n    In thy hinder end   |   is thy heart, methinks,\n      Though thy speech is a stallion\u2019s cry.\u201d\n\n\nAtli spake:\n\n\n21. \u201cA stallion I seem   |   if thou seekest to try me,\n      And I leap to land from the sea;\n    I shall smite thee to bits,   |   if so I will,\n      And heavy sinks Hrimgerth\u2019s tail.\u201d\n\n\nHrimgerth spake:\n\n\n22. \u201cGo ashore then, Atli,   |   if sure of thy might,\n      Let us come to Varin\u2019s cove;\n    Straight shall thy rounded   |   ribs be made\n      If thou comest within my claws.\u201d\n\n\nAtli spake:\n\n\n23. \u201cI will not go   |   till the warriors wake,\n      Again their chief to guard;\n    I should wonder not,   |   foul witch, if up\n      From beneath our keel thou shouldst come.\u201d\n\n\nHrimgerth spake:\n\n\n24. \u201cAwake now, Helgi,   |   and Hrimgerth requite,\n      That Hati to death thou didst hew;\n    If a single night   |   she can sleep by the prince,\n      Then requited are all her ills.\u201d\n\n\nHelgi spake:\n\n\n25. \u201c\u2019Tis Lothin shall have thee,\u2014   |   thou\u2019rt loathsome to men,\u2014\n      His home in Tholley he has;\n    Of the wild-dwellers worst   |   is the giant wise,\n      He is meet as a mate for thee.\u201d\n\n\nHrimgerth spake:\n\n\n26. \u201cMore thou lovest her   |   who scanned the harbor,\n      Last night among the men;\n    (The gold-decked maid   |   bore magic, methinks,\n      When the land from the sea she sought,\n      And fast she kept your fleet;)\n    She alone is to blame   |   that I may not bring\n      Death to the monarch\u2019s men.\u201d\n\n\nHelgi spake:\n\n\n27. \u201cHrimgerth, mark,   |   if thy hurts I requite,\n      Tell now the truth to the king;\n    Was there one who the ships   |   of the warrior warded,\n      Or did many together go?\u201d\n\n\nHrimgerth spake:\n\n\n28. \u201cThrice nine there were,   |   but one rode first,\n      A helmed maid white of hue;\n    Their horses quivered,   |   there came from their manes\n      Dew in the dales so deep,\n      (Hail on the woods so high,\n      Thence men their harvest have,\n      But ill was the sight I saw.)\u201d\n\n\nAtli spake:\n\n\n29. \u201cLook eastward, Hrimgerth,   |   for Helgi has struck thee\n      Down with the runes of death;\n    Safe in harbor floats   |   the prince\u2019s fleet,\n      And safe are the monarch\u2019s men.\u201d\n\n\nHelgi spake:\n\n\n30. \u201cIt is day, Hrimgerth,   |   for Atli held thee\n      Till now thy life thou must lose;\n    As a harbor mark   |   men shall mock at thee,\n      Where in stone thou shalt ever stand.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\n(IV)\n\nKing Helgi was a mighty warrior. He came to King Eylimi and sought the\nhand of his daughter, Svava. Then Helgi and Svava exchanged vows, and\ngreatly they loved each other. Svava was at home with her father, while\nHelgi was in the field; Svava was still a Valkyrie as before.\n\nHethin was at home with his father, King Hjorvarth, in Norway. Hethin\nwas coming home alone from the forest one Yule-eve, and found a\ntroll-woman; she rode on a wolf, and had snakes in place of a bridle.\nShe asked Hethin for his company. \u201cNay,\u201d said he. She said, \u201cThou shalt\npay for this at the king\u2019s toast.\u201d That evening the great vows were\ntaken; the sacred boar was brought in, the men laid their hands\nthereon, and took their vows at the king\u2019s toast. Hethin vowed that he\nwould have Svava, Eylimi\u2019s daughter, the beloved of his brother Helgi;\nthen such great grief seized him that he went forth on wild paths\nsouthward over the land, and found Helgi, his brother. Helgi said:\n\n\n31. \u201cWelcome, Hethin!   |   what hast thou to tell\n    Of tidings new   |   that from Norway come?\n    Wherefore didst leave   |   thy land, O prince,\n    And fared alone   |   to find us here?\u201d\n\n\nHethin spake:\n\n\n32. \u201cA deed more evil   |   I have done\n    Than, brother mine,   |   thou e\u2019er canst mend;\n    For I have chosen   |   the child of the king,\n    Thy bride, for mine   |   at the monarch\u2019s toast.\u201d\n\n\nHelgi spake:\n\n\n33. \u201cGrieve not, Hethin,   |   for true shall hold\n    The words we both   |   by the beer have sworn;\n    To the isle a warrior   |   wills that I go,\n    (There shall I come   |   the third night hence;)\n    And doubtful must be   |   my coming back,\n    (So may all be well,   |   if fate so wills.)\u201d\n\n\nHethin spake:\n\n\n34. \u201cThou saidst once, Helgi,   |   that Hethin was\n    A friend full good,   |   and gifts didst give him;\n    More seemly it were   |   thy sword to redden,\n    Than friendship thus   |   to thy foe to give.\u201d\n\n\nHelgi spoke thus because he foresaw his death, for his\nfollowing-spirits had met Hethin when he saw the woman riding on the\nwolf. Alf was the name of a king, the son of Hrothmar, who had marked\nout a battle-place with Helgi at Sigarsvoll after a stay of three\nnights. Then Helgi spake:\n\n\n35. \u201cOn a wolf there rode,   |   when dusk it was,\n    A woman who fain   |   would have him follow;\n    Well she knew   |   that now would fall\n    Sigrlin\u2019s son   |   at Sigarsvoll.\u201d\n\n\nThere was a great battle, and there Helgi got a mortal wound.\n\n\n36. Sigar riding   |   did Helgi send\n    To seek out Eylimi\u2019s   |   only daughter:\n    \u201cBid her swiftly   |   ready to be,\n    If her lover   |   alive she would find.\u201d\n\n\nSigar spake:\n\n\n37. \u201cHither now   |   has Helgi sent me,\n    With thee, Svava,   |   thyself to speak;\n    The hero said   |   he fain would see thee\n    Ere life the nobly   |   born should leave.\u201d\n\n\nSvava spake:\n\n\n38. \u201cWhat chanced with Helgi,   |   Hjorvarth\u2019s son?\n    Hard to me   |   is harm now come;\n    If the sea smote him,   |   or sword bit him,\n    Ill shall I bring   |   to all his foes.\u201d\n\n\nSigar spake:\n\n\n39. \u201cIn the morn he fell   |   at Frekastein,\n    The king who was noblest   |   beneath the sun;\n    Alf has the joy   |   of victory all,\n    Though need therefor   |   is never his.\u201d\n\n\nHelgi spake:\n\n\n40. \u201cHail to thee, Svava!   |   thy sorrow rule,\n    Our meeting last   |   in life is this;\n    Hard the wounds   |   of the hero bleed,\n    And close to my heart   |   the sword has come.\n\n41. \u201cI bid thee, Svava,\u2014   |   weep not, bride,\u2014\n    If thou wilt hearken   |   to these my words,\n    The bed for Hethin   |   have thou ready,\n    And yield thy love   |   to the hero young.\u201d\n\n\nSvava spake:\n\n\n42. \u201cA vow I had   |   in my dear-loved home,\n    When Helgi sought   |   with rings to have me,\n    That not of my will,   |   if the warrior died,\n    Would I fold in my arms   |   a man unfamed.\u201d\n\n\nHethin spake:\n\n\n43. \u201cKiss me, Svava,   |   I come not back,\n    Rogheim to see,   |   or Rothulsfjoll,\n    Till vengeance I have   |   for the son of Hjorvarth,\n    The king who was noblest   |   beneath the sun.\u201d\n\n\nOf Helgi and Svava it is said that they were born again.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTES\n\n\nProse: In the manuscript the sub-title, \u201cOf Hjorvarth and Sigrlin,\u201d\nstands as the title for the whole poem, though it clearly applies only\nto the first five stanzas. Most editions employ the title here given.\nHjorvarth: the name is a not uncommon one; there are two men of that\nname mentioned in the mythical-heroic genealogies of the Hyndluljoth\n(stanzas 23 and 28), and Hjorvarth appears in Helgakvitha Hundingsbana\nI (stanza 14) and II (prose after stanza 12) as a son of Hunding. This\nparticular Hjorvarth is called by the annotator, but not directly so in\nthe verse, a king of Norway. The name means \u201cSword-Guardian.\u201d Four\nwives: polygamy, while very infrequent, appears occasionally in the\nNorse sagas. Alfhild: \u201cElf-Warrior.\u201d Hethin: \u201cFur-Clothed\u201d (?).\nS\u00e6reith: \u201cSea-Rider.\u201d Sinrjoth: \u201cEver-Red.\u201d The fourth wife, not here\nnamed, may be Sigrlin. It has been suggested that S\u00e6reith and Sinrjoth\nmay be northern and southern forms of the same name, as also Humlung\nand Hymling, their sons. Svafnir: the annotator calls him king of\nSvavaland, apparently a place on the mainland which could be reached\nfrom Norway either by land or by sea. Sigrlin: \u201cThe Conquering\nSerpent.\u201d Atli: Norse form of the Gothic Attila (Etzel). Alof: perhaps\na feminine form of Olaf. A bird: compare the counsel given by the birds\nto Sigurth after the slaying of Fafnir (Fafnismol, stanzas 32\u201338). This\nis one of the many curious resemblances between the Helgi and the\nSigurth stories.\n\n1. Glasir\u2019s wood: Snorri in the Skaldskaparmal quotes a half stanza to\nthe effect that \u201cGlasir stands with golden leaves before Othin\u2019s hall,\u201d\nand calls it \u201cthe fairest wood among gods and men.\u201d The phrase as used\nhere seems to mean little.\n\n4. The bird\u2019s demands would indicate that it is in reality one of the\ngods. Gold-horned cattle: cf. Thrymskvitha, 23. There are other\nreferences to gilding the horns of cattle, particularly for sacrificial\npurposes.\n\nProse. The annotator contradicts himself here, as he had already stated\nthat Atli was on his way home.\n\n5. Possibly the remains of two stanzas, or perhaps a line has been\nadded. S\u00e6morn: this river is nowhere else mentioned.\n\nProse. Sigrlin and Alof, protected by the latter\u2019s father, Franmar,\nhave fled before the ravaging army of Sigrlin\u2019s rejected suitor,\nHrothmar. The beginning of a new section (II) is indicated in the\nmanuscript only by the unusually large capital letter with which\n\u201cHjorvarth\u201d begins. No name, etc.: this probably means that Helgi had\nalways been so silent that he would answer to no name, with the result\nthat he had none. Valkyries: cf. Voluspo, 31 and note. The annotator\ninsists here and in the prose after stanza 9 that Svava was a Valkyrie,\nbut there is nothing in the verse to prove it, or, indeed, to identify\nthe Svava of the last section of the poem with the person who gave\nHelgi his name. In the Volsungasaga Sigmund himself names his son\nHelgi, and gives him a sword, following Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I.\n\n6. Battle-tree: poetic phrase for \u201cwarrior.\u201d Shining fields: the words\nin the manuscript may form a proper name, Rothulsvoll, having this\nmeaning.\n\n7. Gift: not only was it customary to give gifts with the naming of a\nchild, but the practice frequently obtained when a permanent epithet\nwas added to the name of an adult.\n\n8. Sigarsholm (\u201cIsle of Sigar\u201d): a place not identified, but probably\nrelated to the Sigarsvoll where Helgi was slain (stanza 35).\n\n9. The sword is carved with magic runes and with snakes. Fame: the\noriginal word is uncertain.\n\nProse. Eylimi: this name is another link with the Sigurth story, as it\nis likewise the name of the father of Sigurth\u2019s mother, Hjordis.\n\n10. With this stanza begins a new episode, that of Helgi\u2019s victory over\nKing Hrothmar, who had killed his mother\u2019s father (cf. prose after\nstanza 5). It has been suggested, in consequence, that stanzas 10\u201311\nmay be a separate fragment. The verse tells nothing of the battle,\nmerely giving Helgi\u2019s reproaches to his father for having left\nSvafnir\u2019s death and the burning of Svavaland unavenged.\n\nProse. The manuscript does not indicate any break, but the episode\nwhich forms the basis of the Hrimgertharmol (stanzas 12\u201330) clearly\nbegins with the slaying of the giant Hati (\u201cThe Hateful\u201d). Hatafjord:\n\u201cHati\u2019s Fjord.\u201d Hrimgerth: \u201cFrost-Shrouded\u201d (?).\n\n13. Iron: the keels of Norse ships were sometimes fitted with iron\n\u201cshoes\u201d at bow and stern, but it is not certain that this practice much\nantedated the year 1000, and thus this line has raised some question as\nto the antiquity of this stanza, if not of the entire Hrimgertharmol,\nwhich may have been composed as late as the eleventh century.\n\n15. The manuscript does not indicate the speaker. The pun on \u201cAtli\u201d and\n\u201catall\u201d (meaning \u201cill\u201d) is untranslatable.\n\n17. The manuscript does not indicate the speaker.\n\n18. From this point to the end the manuscript does not indicate the\nspeakers. Ron: wife of the sea-god \u00c6gir, who draws drowning men into\nthe sea with her net. There is no other reference to the wounding of\nHrimgerth.\n\n19. Apparently both Hrimgerth and her mother, Hati\u2019s wife, had sought\nto destroy Helgi\u2019s ships, and had actually killed some of his\ncompanions, the sons of Hlothvarth, concerning whom nothing more is\nknown. Many editors assume that a stanza containing a speech by Atli\nhas been lost after stanza 19.\n\n20. Apparently Hrimgerth has assumed the form of a mare.\n\n22. Varin\u2019s cove: the name of Varin appears twice in place names in\nHelgakvitha Hundingsbana I (stanzas 27 and 39). The sagas mention a\nmythical King Varin who lived at Skorustrond in Rogaland (Norway).\n\n25. Of the giant Lothin (\u201cThe Shaggy\u201d) and his home in Tholley (\u201cPine\nIsland\u201d) nothing is known. Cf. Skirnismol, 35.\n\n26. Something is clearly wrong with this stanza, and the manuscript\nindicates line 6 as the beginning of a new one. Perhaps a line (between\nlines 4 and 5) has been lost, or perhaps the lines in parenthesis are\ninterpolations. Hrimgerth here refers to Svava, or to the protectress\nwith whom the annotator has identified her, as having saved Helgi and\nhis ships from the vengeance of the giantesses. In the original line 1\nincludes Helgi\u2019s name, which makes it metrically incorrect.\n\n28. Again something is clearly wrong, and the last three lines look\nlike interpolations, though some editors have tried to reconstruct two\nfull stanzas. The passage suggests the identification of the Valkyries\nwith the clouds.\n\n29. Some editions give this speech to Helgi. Eastward: Atli and Helgi\nhave held Hrimgerth in talk till sunrise, and the sun\u2019s rays turn her\ninto stone. But dwarfs rather than giants were the victims of sunlight;\ncf. Alvissmol, stanzas 16 and 35.\n\n30. Most editions give this stanza to Atli. With this the\nHrimgertharmol ends, and after the next prose passage the meter reverts\nto that of the earlier sections.\n\nProse. The manuscript does not indicate a new section of the poem.\nEylimi: cf. note on prose after stanza 9. Valkyrie: here, as before,\nthe annotator has apparently nothing but his own imagination on which\nto base his statement. Svava in the ensuing stanzas certainly does not\nbehave like a Valkyrie. Norway: the annotator doubtless based this\nstatement on the reference to Norway in line 2 of stanza 31. Yule-eve:\nthe Yule feast, marking the new year, was a great event in the heathen\nNorth. It was a time of feasting and merrymaking, vows (\u201cNew Year\u2019s\nresolutions\u201d), ghosts and witches; the spirits had their greatest power\non Yule-eve. The king\u2019s toast: vows made at the passing of the king\u2019s\ncup at the Yule feast were particularly sacred. Sacred boar: a boar\nconsecrated to Freyr, an integral part of the Yule rites. Hethin\u2019s vow,\nwhich is, of course, the vengeance of the troll-woman, is too sacred to\nbe broken, but he immediately realizes the horror of his oath.\n\n31. From Norway: Bugge uses this phrase as evidence that the poem was\ncomposed in one of the Icelandic settlements of the western islands,\nbut as the annotator himself seems to have thought that Hethin came to\nHelgi by land (\u201con wild paths southward\u201d), this argument does not\nappear to have much weight.\n\n32. The second line is conjectural; a line has clearly been lost from\nthis stanza, and various emendations have been suggested.\n\n33. Perhaps this is the remnant of two stanzas, or perhaps two lines\n(probably the ones in parenthesis) have been interpolated. The isle:\nduels were commonly fought on islands, probably to guard against\ntreacherous interference, whence the usual name for a duel was\n\u201cisle-going.\u201d A duel was generally fought three days after the\nchallenge. Reckoning the lapse of time by nights instead of days was a\ncommon practice throughout the German and Scandinavian peoples.\n\nProse. Some editors place all or part of this prose passage after\nstanza 35. Following-spirits: the \u201cfylgja\u201d was a female guardian spirit\nwhose appearance generally betokened death. The belief was common\nthroughout the North, and has come down to recent times in Scottish and\nIrish folk-lore. Individuals and sometimes whole families had these\nfollowing-spirits, but it was most unusual for a person to have more\nthan one of them. Alf: son of the Hrothmar who killed Helgi\u2019s\ngrandfather, and who was in turn later killed by Helgi. Sigarsvoll\n(\u201cSigar\u2019s Field\u201d): cf. stanza 8 and note; the Sigar in question may be\nthe man who appears as Helgi\u2019s messenger in stanzas 36\u201339.\n\n36. Sigar (\u201cThe Victorious\u201d): cf. the foregoing note.\n\n39. Frekastein (\u201cWolf-Crag\u201d): the name appears several times in the\nHelgi lays applied to battlefields; cf. Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I, 46\nand 55, and II, 18 and 24. Need: i.e., Alf deserves no credit for the\nvictory, which was due to the troll-woman\u2019s magic.\n\n41. One or two editors ascribe this stanza to Hethin.\n\n43. A few editions make the extraordinary blunder of ascribing this\nspeech to the dying Helgi. The point, of course, is that Hethin will\nsatisfy Svava\u2019s vow by becoming famous as the slayer of Alf. Rogheim\n(\u201cHome of Battle\u201d) and Rothulsfjoll (\u201cSun-Mountain\u201d): nowhere else\nmentioned; Hethin means simply that he will not come back to Svava till\nhe has won fame.\n\nProse. Regarding this extraordinary bit see the prose note at the end\nof Helgakvitha Hundingsbana II. Gering thinks the reborn Helgi\nHjorvarthsson was Helgi Hundingsbane, while Svava, according to the\nannotator himself, became Sigrun. The point seems to be simply that\nthere were so many Helgi stories current, and the hero died in so many\nirreconcilable ways, that tradition had to have him born over again,\nnot once only but several times, to accommodate his many deaths, and to\navoid splitting him up into several Helgis. Needless to say, the poems\nthemselves know nothing of this rebirth, and we owe the suggestion\nentirely to the annotator, who probably got it from current tradition.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nHELGAKVITHA HUNDINGSBANA I\n\nTHE FIRST LAY OF HELGI HUNDINGSBANE\n\n\nINTRODUCTORY NOTE\n\nThe general subject of the Helgi lays is considered in the introduction\nto Helgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar, and it is needless here to repeat the\nstatements there made. The first lay of Helgi Hundingsbane is\nunquestionably one of the latest of the Eddic poems, and was composed\nprobably not earlier than the second quarter of the eleventh century.\nIt presents several unusual characteristics. For one thing, it is among\nthe few essentially narrative poems in the whole collection, telling a\nconsecutive story in verse, and, except for the abusive dialogue\nbetween Sinfjotli and Gothmund, which clearly was based on another and\nolder poem, it does so with relatively little use of dialogue. It is,\nin fact, a ballad, and in the main an exceedingly vigorous one. The\nannotator, who added his prose narrative notes so freely in the other\nHelgi poems, here found nothing to do. The available evidence indicates\nthat narrative verse was a relatively late development in Old Norse\npoetry, and it is significant that most of the poems which consist\nchiefly, not of dialogue, but of narrative stanzas, such as the first\nHelgi Hundingsbane lay and the two Atli lays, can safely be dated, on\nthe basis of other evidence, after the year 1000.\n\nThe first Helgi Hundingsbane lay is again differentiated from most of\nthe Eddic poems by the character of its language. It is full of those\nverbal intricacies which were the delight of the Norse skalds, and\nwhich made Snorri\u2019s dictionary of poetic phrases an absolute necessity.\nMany of these I have paraphrased in the translation; some I have\nsimplified or wholly avoided. A single line will serve to indicate the\ncharacter of this form of complex diction (stanza 56, line 4): \u201cAnd the\nhorse of the giantess   |   raven\u2019s-food had.\u201d This means simply that\nwolves (giantesses habitually rode on wolves) ate the bodies of the\ndead.\n\nExcept for its intricacies of diction, and the possible loss of a\nstanza here and there, the poem is comparatively simple. The story\nbelongs in all its essentials to the Helgi tradition, with the Volsung\ncycle brought in only to the extent of making Helgi the son of Sigmund,\nand in the introduction of Sinfjotli, son of Sigmund and his sister\nSigny, in a passage which has little or nothing to do with the course\nof the narrative, and which looks like an expansion of a passage from\nsome older poem, perhaps from the \u201cold Volsung lay\u201d to which the\nannotator of the second Helgi Hundingsbane lay refers (prose after\nstanza 12). There are many proper names, some of which betray the\nconfusion caused by the blending of the two sets of traditions; for\nexample, Helgi appears indiscriminately as an Ylfing (which presumably\nhe was before the Volsung story became involved) and as a Volsung.\nGranmar and his sons are called Hniflungs (Nibelungen) in stanza 50,\nthough they seem to have had no connection with this race. The place\nnames have aroused much debate as to the localization of the action,\nbut while some of them probably reflect actual places, there is so much\ngeographical confusion, and such a profusion of names which are almost\ncertainly mythical, that it is hard to believe that the poet had any\ndefinite locations in mind.\n\n\n\n\n\n1.  In olden days,   |   when eagles screamed,\n    And holy streams   |   from heaven\u2019s crags fell,\n    Was Helgi then,   |   the hero-hearted,\n    Borghild\u2019s son,   |   in Bralund born.\n\n2.  \u2019Twas night in the dwelling,   |   and Norns there came,\n    Who shaped the life   |   of the lofty one;\n    They bade him most famed   |   of fighters all\n    And best of princes   |   ever to be.\n\n3.  Mightily wove they   |   the web of fate,\n    While Bralund\u2019s towns   |   were trembling all;\n    And there the golden   |   threads they wove,\n    And in the moon\u2019s hall   |   fast they made them.\n\n4.  East and west   |   the ends they hid,\n    In the middle the hero   |   should have his land;\n    And Neri\u2019s kinswoman   |   northward cast\n    A chain, and bade it   |   firm ever to be.\n\n5.  Once sorrow had   |   the Ylfings\u2019 son,\n    And grief the bride   |   who the loved one had borne.\n        *    *    *    *    *    *\n    Quoth raven to raven,   |   on treetop resting,\n    Seeking for food,   |   \u201cThere is something I know.\n\n6.  \u201cIn mail-coat stands   |   the son of Sigmund,\n    A half-day old;   |   now day is here;\n    His eyes flash sharp   |   as the heroes\u2019 are,\n    He is friend of the wolves;   |   full glad are we.\u201d\n\n7.  The warrior throng   |   a ruler thought him,\n    Good times, they said,   |   mankind should see;\n    The king himself   |   from battle-press came,\n    To give the prince   |   a leek full proud.\n\n8.  Helgi he named him,   |   and Hringstathir gave him,\n    Solfjoll, Sn\u00e6fjoll,   |   and Sigarsvoll,\n    Hringstoth, Hotun,   |   and Himinvangar,\n    And a blood-snake bedecked   |   to Sinfjotli\u2019s brother.\n\n9.  Mighty he grew   |   in the midst of his friends,\n    The fair-born elm,   |   in fortune\u2019s glow;\n    To his comrades gold   |   he gladly gave,\n    The hero spared not   |   the blood-flecked hoard.\n\n10. Short time for war   |   the chieftain waited,\n    When fifteen winters   |   old he was;\n    Hunding he slew,   |   the hardy wight\n    Who long had ruled   |   o\u2019er lands and men.\n\n11. Of Sigmund\u2019s son   |   then next they sought\n    Hoard and rings,   |   the sons of Hunding;\n    They bade the prince   |   requital pay\n    For booty stolen   |   and father slain.\n\n12. The prince let not   |   their prayers avail,\n    Nor gold for their dead   |   did the kinsmen get;\n    Waiting, he said,   |   was a mighty storm\n    Of lances gray   |   and Othin\u2019s grimness.\n\n13. The warriors forth   |   to the battle went,\n    The field they chose   |   at Logafjoll;\n    Frothi\u2019s peace   |   midst foes they broke,\n    Through the isle went hungrily   |   Vithrir\u2019s hounds.\n\n14. The king then sat,   |   when he had slain\n    Eyjolf and Alf,   |   \u2019neath the eagle-stone;\n    Hjorvarth and Hovarth,   |   Hunding\u2019s sons,\n    The kin of the spear-wielder,   |   all had he killed.\n\n15. Then glittered light   |   from Logafjoll,\n    And from the light   |   the flashes leaped;\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n\n16. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    High under helms   |   on heaven\u2019s field;\n    Their byrnies all   |   with blood were red,\n    And from their spears   |   the sparks flew forth.\n\n17. Early then   |   in wolf-wood asked\n    The mighty king   |   of the southern maid,\n    If with the hero   |   home would she\n    Come that night;   |   the weapons clashed.\n\n18. Down from her horse   |   sprang Hogni\u2019s daughter,\u2014\n    The shields were still,\u2014   |   and spake to the hero:\n    \u201cOther tasks   |   are ours, methinks,\n    Than drinking beer   |   with the breaker of rings.\n\n19. \u201cMy father has pledged   |   his daughter fair\n    As bride to Granmar\u2019s   |   son so grim;\n    But, Helgi, I   |   once Hothbrodd called\n    As fine a king   |   as the son of a cat.\n\n20. \u201cYet the hero will come   |   a few nights hence,\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    Unless thou dost bid him   |   the battle-ground seek,\n    Or takest the maid   |   from the warrior mighty.\u201d\n\n\nHelgi spake:\n\n\n21. \u201cFear him not,   |   though Isung he felled,\n    First must our courage   |   keen be tried,\n    Before unwilling   |   thou fare with the knave;\n    Weapons will clash,   |   if to death I come not.\u201d\n\n22. Messengers sent   |   the mighty one then,\n    By land and by sea,   |   a host to seek,\n    Store of wealth   |   of the water\u2019s gleam,\n    And men to summon,   |   and sons of men.\n\n23. \u201cBid them straightway   |   seek the ships,\n    And off Brandey   |   ready to be!\u201d\n    There the chief waited   |   till thither were come\n    Men by hundreds   |   from Hethinsey.\n\n24. Soon off Stafnsnes   |   stood the ships,\n    Fair they glided   |   and gay with gold;\n    Then Helgi spake   |   to Hjorleif asking:\n    \u201cHast thou counted   |   the gallant host?\u201d\n\n25. The young king answered   |   the other then:\n    \u201cLong were it to tell   |   from Tronueyr\n    The long-stemmed ships   |   with warriors laden\n    That come from without   |   into Orvasund.\n\n26. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    \u201cThere are hundreds twelve   |   of trusty men,\n    But in Hotun lies   |   the host of the king,\n    Greater by half;   |   I have hope of battle.\u201d\n\n27. The ship\u2019s-tents soon   |   the chieftain struck,\n    And waked the throng   |   of warriors all;\n    (The heroes the red   |   of dawn beheld;)\n    And on the masts   |   the gallant men\n    Made fast the sails   |   in Varinsfjord.\n\n28. There was beat of oars   |   and clash of iron,\n    Shield smote shield   |   as the ships\u2019-folk rowed;\n    Swiftly went   |   the warrior-laden\n    Fleet of the ruler   |   forth from the land.\n\n29. So did it sound,   |   when together the sisters\n    Of Kolga struck   |   with the keels full long,\n    As if cliffs were broken   |   with beating surf,\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n\n30. Helgi bade higher   |   hoist the sails,\n    Nor did the ships\u2019-folk   |   shun the waves,\n    Though dreadfully   |   did \u00c6gir\u2019s daughters\n    Seek the steeds   |   of the sea to sink.\n\n31. But from above   |   did Sigrun brave\n    Aid the men   |   and all their faring;\n    Mightily came   |   from the claws of Ron\n    The leader\u2019s sea-beast   |   off Gnipalund.\n\n32. At evening there   |   in Unavagar\n    Floated the fleet   |   bedecked full fair;\n    But they who saw   |   from Svarin\u2019s hill,\n    Bitter at heart   |   the host beheld.\n\n33. Then Gothmund asked,   |   goodly of birth,\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    \u201cWho is the monarch   |   who guides the host,\n    And to the land   |   the warriors leads?\u201d\n\n34. Sinfjotli answered,   |   and up on an oar\n    Raised a shield all red   |   with golden rim;\n    A sea-sentry was he,   |   skilled to speak,\n    And in words with princes   |   well to strive.\n\n35. \u201cSay tonight   |   when you feed the swine,\n    And send your bitches   |   to seek their swill,\n    That out of the East   |   have the Ylfings come,\n    Greedy for battle,   |   to Gnipalund.\n\n36. \u201cThere will Hothbrodd   |   Helgi find,\n    In the midst of the fleet,   |   and flight he scorns;\n    Often has he   |   the eagles gorged,\n    Whilst thou at the quern   |   wert slave-girls kissing.\u201d\n\n\nGothmund spake:\n\n\n37. \u201cHero, the ancient   |   sayings heed,\n    And bring not lies   |   to the nobly born.\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n\n38. \u201cThou hast eaten   |   the entrails of wolves,\n    And of thy brothers   |   the slayer been;\n    Oft wounds to suck   |   thy cold mouth sought,\n    And loathed in rocky   |   dens didst lurk.\u201d\n\n\nSinfjotli spake:\n\n\n39. \u201cA witch in Varin\u2019s   |   isle thou wast,\n    A woman false,   |   and lies didst fashion;\n    Of the mail-clad heroes   |   thou wouldst have\n    No other, thou saidst,   |   save Sinfjotli only.\n\n40. \u201cA Valkyrie wast thou,   |   loathly witch,\n    Evil and base,   |   in Allfather\u2019s home;\n    The warriors all   |   must ever fight,\n    Woman subtle,   |   for sake of thee.\n\n41. \u201c.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    Nine did we   |   in Sogunes\n    Of wolf-cubs have;   |   I their father was.\u201d\n\n\nGothmund spake:\n\n\n42. \u201cThou didst not father   |   Fenrir\u2019s-wolves,\n    Though older thou art   |   than all I know;\n    For they gelded thee   |   in Gnipalund,\n    The giant-women   |   at Thorsnes once.\n\n43. \u201cUnder houses the stepson   |   of Siggeir lay,\n    Fain of the wolf\u2019s cry   |   out in the woods;\n    Evil came then   |   all to thy hands,\n    When thy brothers\u2019   |   breasts thou didst redden,\n    Fame didst thou win   |   for foulest deeds.\n\n44. \u201cIn Bravoll wast thou   |   Grani\u2019s bride,\n    Golden-bitted   |   and ready to gallop;\n    I rode thee many   |   a mile, and down\n    Didst sink, thou giantess,   |   under the saddle.\u201d\n\n\nSinfjotli spake:\n\n\n45. \u201cA brainless fellow   |   didst seem to be,\n    When once for Gollnir   |   goats didst milk,\n    And another time   |   when as Imth\u2019s daughter\n    In rags thou wentest;   |   wilt longer wrangle?\u201d\n\n\nGothmund spake:\n\n\n46. \u201cSooner would I   |   at Frekastein\n    Feed the ravens   |   with flesh of thine\n    Than send your bitches   |   to seek their swill,\n    Or feed the swine;   |   may the fiends take you!\u201d\n\n\nHelgi spake:\n\n\n47. \u201cBetter, Sinfjotli,   |   thee \u2019twould beseem\n    Battle to give   |   and eagles to gladden,\n    Than vain and empty   |   words to utter,\n    Though ring-breakers oft   |   in speech do wrangle.\n\n48. \u201cGood I find not   |   the sons of Granmar,\n    But for heroes \u2019tis seemly   |   the truth to speak;\n    At Moinsheimar   |   proved the men\n    That hearts for the wielding   |   of swords they had.\u201d\n\n49. Mightily then   |   they made to run\n    Sviputh and Sveggjuth   |   to Solheimar;\n    (By dewy dales   |   and chasms dark,\n    Mist\u2019s horse shook   |   where the men went by;)\n    The king they found   |   at his courtyard gate,\n    And told him the foeman   |   fierce was come.\n\n50. Forth stood Hothbrodd,   |   helmed for battle,\n    Watched the riding   |   of his warriors;\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    \u201cWhy are the Hniflungs   |   white with fear?\u201d\n\n\nGothmund spake:\n\n\n51. \u201cSwift keels lie   |   hard by the land,\n    (Mast-ring harts   |   and mighty yards,\n    Wealth of shields   |   and well-planed oars;)\n    The king\u2019s fair host,   |   the Ylfings haughty;\n    Fifteen bands   |   to land have fared,\n    But out in Sogn   |   are seven thousand.\n\n52. \u201cAt anchor lying   |   off Gnipalund\n    Are fire-beasts black,   |   all fitted with gold;\n    There wait most   |   of the foeman\u2019s men,\n    Nor will Helgi long   |   the battle delay.\u201d\n\n\nHothbrodd spake:\n\n\n53. \u201cBid the horses run   |   to the Reginthing,\n    Melnir and Mylnir   |   to Myrkwood now,\n    (And Sporvitnir   |   to Sparinsheith;)\n    Let no man seek   |   henceforth to sit\n    Who the flame of wounds   |   knows well to wield.\n\n54. \u201cSummon Hogni,   |   the sons of Hring,\n    Atli and Yngvi   |   and Alf the Old;\n    Glad they are   |   of battle ever;\n    Against the Volsungs   |   let us go.\u201d\n\n55. Swift as a storm   |   there smote together\n    The flashing blades   |   at Frekastein;\n    Ever was Helgi,   |   Hunding\u2019s slayer,\n    First in the throng   |   where warriors fought;\n    (Fierce in battle,   |   slow to fly,\n    Hard the heart   |   of the hero was.)\n\n56. From heaven there came   |   the maidens helmed,\u2014\n    The weapon-clang grew,\u2014   |   who watched o\u2019er the king;\n    Spake Sigrun fair,\u2014   |   the wound-givers flew,\n    And the horse of the giantess   |   raven\u2019s-food had:\u2014\n\n57. \u201cHail to thee, hero!   |   full happy with men,\n    Offspring of Yngvi,   |   shalt ever live,\n    For thou the fearless   |   foe hast slain\n    Who to many the dread   |   of death had brought.\n\n58. \u201cWarrior, well   |   for thyself hast won\n    Red rings bright   |   and the noble bride;\n    Both now, warrior,   |   thine shall be,\n    Hogni\u2019s daughter   |   and Hringstathir,\n    Wealth and triumph;   |   the battle wanes.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTES\n\n\n1. The manuscript contains the superscription: \u201cHere begins the lay of\nHelgi Hundingsbane and h. (Hothbrodd?) The lay of the Volsungs.\u201d\nEagles, etc.: the screaming of eagles and water pouring from heaven\nwere portents of the birth of a hero. Borghild: Sigmund\u2019s first wife;\nBralund was her home, not Sigmund\u2019s.\n\n2. Norns: cf. Voluspo, 20 and note. Here it is the Norns who preside\nover Helgi\u2019s early destiny, and not a Valkyrie, as in Helgakvitha\nHjorvarthssonar.\n\n3. Line 2 is largely guesswork, the manuscript being obscure. Moon\u2019s\nhall: the sky.\n\n4. East, etc.: the Norns give Helgi fame in the East, West, and North;\nin the North his renown is particularly to endure. This suggests that\nthe poet was aware of the spread of the Helgi story over many lands.\nNeri\u2019s kinswoman: evidently one of the Norns, but nothing further is\nknown of Neri, and the word may not be a proper name at all.\n\n5. The manuscript indicates no gap, but it looks as though something\nhad been lost after line 2. Ylfings\u2019 son: Sigmund is evidently meant,\nthough calling him an Ylfing (cf. Hyndluljoth, 11 and note) is a\nmanifest error. Helgi, in the tradition as it came from Denmark, was\nundoubtedly an Ylfing, and the poet, in order to combine the two\nlegends, has to treat the Ylfings and Volsungs as if they were the same\nfamily.\n\n6. Sigmund: the chief link between the Helgi and Sigurth stories. He\nwas the son of Volsung, great-grandson of Othin. His children by his\nfirst wife, Borghild, were Helgi and Hamund (belonging to the Helgi\ncycle); his son by his second wife, Hjordis, was Sigurth. An incestuous\nconnection with his sister, Signy (cf. Wagner\u2019s Siegmund and Sieglinde)\nresulted in the birth of Sinfjotli (cf. Fra Dautha Sinfjotla and note).\n\n7. The king: Sigmund, who gives his son a symbol of the lands which he\nbestows on him. Regarding the leek, cf. Voluspo, 4; Guthrunarkvitha I,\n17, and Sigrdrifumol, 7.\n\n8. Hringstathir (\u201cRing-Stead\u201d): quite possibly the historical Ringsted,\nlong a possession of the Danish kings, and thus a relic of the old\nHelgi tradition. Hringstoth may be another form of the same name.\nSolfjoll (\u201cSun-Mountain\u201d) and Sn\u00e6fjoll (\u201cSnow-Mountain\u201d) are fictitious\nnames. Regarding Sigarsvoll cf. Helgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar, stanzas 8\nand 35. Saxo mentions a Danish king named Sigar, and the frequency with\nwhich the name appears in the Helgi poems may be taken as a\nreminiscence of Denmark. Hotun (\u201cHigh Place\u201d): possibly the village of\nTune in Seeland. Himinvangar (\u201cHeaven\u2019s Field\u201d): an imaginary place.\nBlood-snake: a sword. Sinfjotli: cf. note on stanza 6.\n\n9. Elm: a not uncommon word for \u201cman.\u201d Blood-flecked: i.e., won in\nbattle.\n\n10. Fifteen: until early in the eleventh century a Norwegian or\nIcelandic boy became \u201cof age\u201d at twelve, and Maurer cites this passage\nas added proof of the poem\u2019s lateness. Hunding: the annotator\n(introductory prose to Helgakvitha Hundingsbana II) calls him king of\nHundland, which shows no great originality. Saxo mentions a Hunding who\nwas a Saxon king ruling in Jutland, probably the origin of Helgi\u2019s\ntraditional foe.\n\n12. Storm, etc.: war.\n\n13. Logafjoll (\u201cFlame-Mountain\u201d): a mythical name. Frothi: a:\ntraditional king of Denmark, whose peaceful reign was so famous that\n\u201cFrothi\u2019s peace\u201d became a by-word for peace of any kind. Vithrir\u2019s\nhounds: wolves; Vithrir is Othin, and his hounds are the wolves Freki\nand Geri.\n\n14. In this poem Helgi kills all the sons of Hunding, but in the poems\nof the Sigurth cycle, and the prose notes attached thereto, Sigmund and\nhis father-in-law, Eylimi, are killed by Hunding\u2019s sons, on whom\nSigurth subsequently takes vengeance (cf. Fra Dautha Sinfjotla and\nReg\u00efnsmol).\n\n15. No gap indicated in the manuscript, but almost certainly something\nhas been lost mentioning more specifically the coming of the Valkyries.\nThe lightning which accompanies them suggests again their\nidentification with the clouds (cf. Helgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar, 28).\n\n16. Some editions fill out the first line: \u201cHe saw there mighty maidens\nriding.\u201d The manuscript indicates line 4 as the beginning of a new\nstanza.\n\n17. Wolf-wood: dark forest; the original word is not altogether clear.\nSouthern: this variety of Valkyrie, like the swan-maidens of the\nV\u00f6lundarkvitha, was clearly regarded as of southern (i.e., German)\norigin. Here again there is a confusion of traditions; the Valkyries of\nthe Voluspo were as essentially Norse as any part of the older\nmythology. I doubt if a poet much earlier than the author of the first\nHelgi Hundingsbane lay would have made his Sigrun, daughter of Hogni, a\nValkyrie. It is to be noted that the same complication appears in the\nSigurth story, where the undoubted Valkyrie, Brynhild-Sigrdrifa (the\nlatter name is really only an epithet) is hopelessly mixed up with the\nquite human Brynhild, daughter of Buthli.\n\n18. Breaker of rings: generous prince, because the breaking of rings\nwas the customary form of distributing gold.\n\n19. Granmar: the annotator gives an account of him and his family in\nthe prose following stanza 12 of Helgakvitha Hundingsbana II.\n\n20. No gap indicated in the manuscript; some editors combine the stanza\nwith the fragmentary stanza 21, and others fill in with \u201cAnd home will\ncarry   |   Hogni\u2019s daughter.\u201d\n\n21. The manuscript has only lines 1 and 4 with the word \u201cfirst\u201d of line\n2, and does not indicate Helgi as the speaker. The Volsungasaga, which\nfollows this poem pretty closely, expands Helgi\u2019s speech, and lines 2\u20133\nare conjectural versifications of the saga\u2019s prose. Isung: nothing is\nknown of him beyond the fact, here indicated, that Hothbrodd killed\nhim.\n\n22. Water\u2019s gleam: gold.\n\n23. Brandey (\u201cBrand-Isle\u201d): not mentioned elsewhere. Hethinsey\n(\u201cHethin\u2019s Isle\u201d): possibly the island of Hiddensee, east of R\u00fcgen.\n\n24. Stafnsnes (\u201cSteersman\u2019s Cape\u201d): an unidentifiable promontory. Fair:\na guess, as the adjective in the manuscript is obscure. Hjorleif does\nnot appear elsewhere, and seems to be simply one of Helgi\u2019s\nlieutenants.\n\n25. Tronueyr: \u201cCrane-Strand.\u201d Long-stemmed: literally \u201clong-headed,\u201d as\nthe high, curving stem of a Norse ship was often carved to represent a\nhead and neck. Orvasund: almost certainly the Danish \u00d6resund, off\nSeeland. Such bits of geography as this followed Helgi persistently.\n\n26. No gap indicated in the manuscript. Hotun: cf. stanza 8 and note.\n\n27. Line 3 seems to have been interpolated from line 4 of Helgakvitha\nHundingsbana II, 42. Ship\u2019s-tents: the awnings spread over the deck to\nshelter the crews from sun and rain when the ships were at anchor.\nVarinsfjord: cf. Helgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar, 22 and note.\n\n28. The manuscript indicates line 3 as the beginning of a new stanza,\nand some editions follow this arrangement, making lines 1\u20132 a separate\nstanza.\n\n29. The manuscript indicates no gap, and some editions combine the\nstanza with lines 3\u20134 of stanza 28. Sisters of Kolga: the waves, Kolga\n(\u201cThe Gold\u201d) being one of the daughters of the sea-god, \u00c6gir. As the\nVolsungasaga says, \u201cNow there was a great storm.\u201d\n\n30. Helgi demonstrates his courage, whatever one may think of his\nseamanship. \u00c6gir\u2019s daughters: the waves; cf. stanza 29 and note.\n\n31. Sigrun here appears again as a Valkyrie. Ron: \u00c6gir\u2019s wife; cf.\nHelgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar, 18 and note. Sea-beast: ship. Gnipalund:\n\u201cCrag-Wood.\u201d\n\n32. Unavagar: \u201cFriendly Waves.\u201d Svarin\u2019s hill: the hill where Granmar\nhad his dwelling.\n\n33. Here begins the long dialogue between Gothmund, one of Granmar\u2019s\nsons, and Sinfjotli, Helgi\u2019s half-brother. Two lines (stanza 33, lines\n3\u20134) are quoted by the annotator in the prose note following stanza 16\nof the second Helgi Hundingsbane lay, and the dialogue, in much\nabbreviated form, together with Helgi\u2019s admonition to Sinfjotli to\ncease talking, is closely paralleled in stanzas 22\u201327 of that poem. It\nhas been suggested that this whole passage (stanzas 33\u201348) is an\ninterpolation, perhaps from \u201cthe Old Volsung lay.\u201d This may be, but it\nseems more probable that the poet used an older poem simply as the\nbasis for this passage, borrowing a little but making up a great deal\nmore. The manuscript indicates no gap in stanza 33.\n\n34. Sinfjotli: cf. note on stanza 6. Red: raising a red shield was the\nsignal for war.\n\n35. Ylfings: cf. stanza 5 and note.\n\n36. Quern: turning the hand mill was, throughout antiquity, the task of\nslaves.\n\n37. The manuscript does not name the speakers in this dialogue. No gap\nindicated in the manuscript, and editors have attempted various\ncombinations of stanzas 37 and 38.\n\n38. Wolves: the Volsungasaga tells that Sigmund and Sinfjotli lived in\nthe woods for a time as werewolves. Brothers: Sinfjotli killed the two\nsons of his mother, Signy, and her husband, Siggeir, as part of the\nvengeance wreaked on Siggeir for the treacherous murder of Sigmund\u2019s\nfather, Volsung, and nine of his brothers (cf. Fra Dautha Sinfjotla and\nnote). The manuscript marks line 3 as the beginning of a new stanza.\n\n39. Varin\u2019s isle: cf. stanza 27 and note, and Helgakvitha\nHjorvarthssonar, 22. Reproaching a man with having been a woman and\nborne children was not uncommon.\n\n40. This stanza may be an interpolation in the dialogue passage.\nAllfather: Othin. We have no information regarding Gothmund\u2019s career,\nbut it looks as though Sinfjotli were drawing solely on his imagination\nfor his taunts, whereas Gothmund\u2019s insults have a basis in Sinfjotli\u2019s\nprevious life.\n\n41. No gap indicated in the manuscript; some editors combine the two\nlines with stanza 40, some regard them as the first instead of the last\nlines of a separate stanza, and some assume the lacuna here indicated.\nSogunes (\u201cSaga\u2019s Cape\u201d): of the goddess Saga little is known; cf.\nGrimnismol, 7.\n\n42. Fenrir\u2019s-wolves: wolves in general. Thorsnes: \u201cThor\u2019s Cape.\u201d\n\n43. The phrase \u201cunder houses,\u201d which follows the manuscript, may be an\nerror for \u201cin wolf-caves.\u201d Line 3 (or 4) may be an interpolation. The\nmanuscript indicates line 5 as the beginning of a new stanza. Siggeir:\ncf. stanza 38, note.\n\n44. Several editions assign this stanza to Sinfjotli instead of to\nGothmund. Bravoll (\u201cField of the Brow\u201d): not elsewhere mentioned in the\npoems. Grani: Sigurth\u2019s horse (cf. V\u00f6lundarkvitha, 16 and note);\nGothmund means that Sinfjotli had turned into a mare, after the fashion\nof Loki (cf. Grimnismol, 44, note). The meaning of line 4 in the\noriginal is uncertain.\n\n45. A few editions give this stanza to Gothmund. Gollnir: possibly a\ngiant. Imth: nothing is known of him or his daughter.\n\n46. A few editions give this stanza to Sinfjotli. Frekastein: cf.\nHelgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar, 39 and note. A stanza may have been lost\nafter stanza 46, parallel to stanza 25 of the second Helgi Hundingsbane\nlay.\n\n47. Ring-breakers: cf. stanza 18 and note.\n\n48. Moinsheimar: a battlefield of which nothing is known, where,\nhowever, the sons of Granmar appear to have fought bravely.\n\n49. Here the scene shifts to the shore among Hothbrodd\u2019s followers.\nSviputh and Sveggjuth (\u201cSwift\u201d and \u201cLithe\u201d): horses\u2019 names. Mist\u2019s\nhorse: the Valkyrie\u2019s name is the same as the English word \u201cmist,\u201d and\nthe \u201chorse\u201d on which the mist rides is the earth. The two lines in\nparenthesis may be interpolated, or line 5 may begin a new stanza, as\nthe manuscript indicates.\n\n50. No gap indicated in the manuscript. Hniflungs: cf. introductory\nnote.\n\n51. Lines 2\u20133 may be interpolated, or a new stanza may begin, as the\nmanuscript indicates, with line 5. Many editors combine lines 5\u20136 with\nall or part of stanza 52. Possibly Gothmund is not the speaker.\nMast-ring harts: ships, so called from the ring attaching the yard to\nthe mast. Ylfings: cf. stanza 5 and note. Sogn: this name, which\nactually belongs in western Norway, seems to have been used here with\nno particular significance.\n\n52. The manuscript indicates line 3 as beginning a new stanza; some\neditors combine lines 3\u20134 with all or part of stanza 53, while others\nassume the loss of two lines following line 4. Fire-beasts: dragons,\ni.e., ships. The Norse ships of war, as distinguished from merchant\nvessels, were often called dragons because of their shape and the\ncarving of their stems.\n\n53. The manuscript does not indicate the speaker, and a few editors\nassume the loss of one or two lines embodying the phrase \u201cHothbrodd\nspake.\u201d In the manuscript line 3, which many editors have suspected of\nbeing spurious, stands before line 2. Possibly lines 4\u20135 are the\nremains of a separate stanza. Reginthing (\u201cThe Great Council\u201d):\napparently the council-place for the whole country, as distinct from\nthe local council, or \u201cherathsthing.\u201d Melnir (\u201cBit-Bearer\u201d), Mylnir\n(\u201cThe Biter\u201d) and Sporvitnir (\u201cSpur-Wolf\u201d): horses\u2019 names. Myrkwood: a\nnot uncommon name for a dark forest; cf. Lokasenna, 42, and Atlakvitha,\n3. Sparinsheith (\u201cSparin\u2019s Heath\u201d): nothing more is known of Sparin or\nhis heath. Flame of wounds: sword.\n\n54. Hogni: the father of Sigrun; cf. Helgakvitha Hundingsbana II, 18.\nOf Hring and his sons nothing further is known. Volsungs: here for the\nfirst time the poet gives Helgi and Sinfjotli the family name to which,\nas sons of Sigmund Volsungsson, they are entitled.\n\n55. The manuscript indicates line 5 as the beginning of a new stanza,\nbut many editors have rejected lines 5\u20136 as spurious, while others\nregard them as the first half of a stanza the last two lines of which\nhave been lost.\n\n56. Wound-givers: probably this means \u201cValkyries,\u201d but there is\nconsiderable doubt as to the original word. Horse, etc.: i.e., the wolf\n(because giantesses customarily had wolves for their steeds) ate\ncorpses (the food of birds of prey).\n\n57. Yngvi: one of the sons of Halfdan the Old, and traditional ancestor\nof the Ynglings, with whom the Ylfings seem to have been confused (cf.\nHyndluljoth, 11 and note). The confusion between the Ylfings (or\nYnglings) and Volsungs was carried far enough so that Sigurth himself\nis once called a descendant of Yngvi (Reginsmol, 14). Gering identifies\nthe name of Yngvi with the god Freyr, but the Volsungs certainly\nclaimed descent from Othin, not Freyr, and there is nothing to indicate\nthat Helgi in the Danish tradition was supposed to be descended from\nFreyr, whereas his descent from Yngvi Halfdansson fits well with the\nrest of his story. However, cf. Sigurtharkvitha en skamma, 24 and note.\n\n58. This entire stanza may be an interpolation; nearly every edition\nhas a different way of dealing with it. Hringstathir: as this place had\nbeen given to Helgi by his father (cf. stanza 8 and note), the poet has\napparently made a mistake in naming it here as a conquest from\nGranmar\u2019s sons, unless, indeed, they had previously captured it from\nHelgi, which seems unlikely.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nHELGAKVITHA HUNDINGSBANA II\n\nTHE SECOND LAY OF HELGI HUNDINGSBANE\n\n\nINTRODUCTORY NOTE\n\nAs the general nature of the Helgi tradition has been considered in the\nintroductory note to Helgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar, it is necessary here\nto discuss only the characteristics of this particular poem. The second\nHelgi Hundingsbane lay is in most respects the exact opposite of the\nfirst one: it is in no sense consecutive; it is not a narrative poem,\nand all or most of it gives evidence of relatively early composition,\nits origin probably going well back into the tenth century.\n\nIt is frankly nothing but a piece of, in the main, very clumsy\npatchwork, made up of eight distinct fragments, pieced together\nawkwardly by the annotator with copious prose notes. One of these\nfragments (stanzas 13\u201316) is specifically identified as coming from\n\u201cthe old Volsung lay.\u201d What was that poem, and how much more of the\nextant Helgi-lay compilation was taken from it, and did the annotator\nknow more of it than he included in his patchwork? Conclusive answers\nto these questions have baffled scholarship, and probably always will\ndo so. My own guess is that the annotator knew little or nothing more\nthan he wrote down; having got the first Helgi Hundingsbane lay, which\nwas obviously in fairly good shape, out of the way, he proceeded to\nassemble all the odds and ends of verse about Helgi which he could get\nhold of, putting them together on the basis of the narrative told in\nthe first Helgi lay and of such stories as his knowledge of prose sagas\nmay have yielded.\n\nSection I (stanzas 1\u20134) deals with an early adventure of Helgi\u2019s, in\nwhich he narrowly escapes capture when he ventures into Hunding\u2019s home\nin disguise. Section II (stanzas 5\u201312) is a dialogue between Helgi and\nSigrun at their first meeting. Section III (stanzas 13\u201316, the \u201cold\nVolsung lay\u201d group) is another dialogue between Helgi and Sigrun when\nshe invokes his aid to save her from Hothbrodd. Section IV (stanzas\n17\u201321), which may well be from the same poem as Section III, is made up\nof speeches by Helgi and Sigrun after the battle in which Hothbrodd is\nkilled; stanza 21, however, is certainly an interpolation from another\npoem, as it is in a different meter. Section V (stanzas 22\u201327) is the\ndispute between Sinfjotli and Gothmund, evidently in an older form than\nthe one included in the first Helgi Hundingsbane lay. Section VI\n(stanzas 28\u201337) gives Dag\u2019s speech to his sister, Sigrun, telling of\nHelgi\u2019s death, her curse on her brother and her lament for her slain\nhusband. Section VII (stanza 38) is the remnant of a dispute between\nHelgi and Hunding, here inserted absurdly out of place. Section VIII\n(stanzas 39\u201350) deals with the return of the dead Helgi and Sigrun\u2019s\nvisit to him in the burial hill.\n\nSijmons maintains that sections I and II are fragments of the Kara lay\nmentioned by the annotator in his concluding prose note, and that\nsections IV, VI, and VIII are from a lost Helgi-Sigrun poem, while\nSection III comes, of course, from the \u201cold Volsung lay.\u201d This seems as\ngood a guess as any other, conclusive proof being quite out of the\nquestion.\n\nWere it not for sections VI and VIII the poem would be little more than\na battle-ground for scholars, but those two sections are in many ways\nas fine as anything in Old Norse poetry. Sigrun\u2019s curse of her brother\nfor the slaying of Helgi and her lament for her dead husband, and the\nextraordinary vividness of the final scene in the burial hill, have a\nquality which fully offsets the baffling confusion of the rest of the\npoem.\n\n\n\n\n\nKing Sigmund, the son of Volsung, had as wife Borghild, from Bralund.\nThey named their son Helgi, after Helgi Hjorvarthsson; Hagal was\nHelgi\u2019s foster-father. Hunding was the name of a powerful king, and\nHundland is named from him. He was a mighty warrior, and had many sons\nwith him on his campaigns. There was enmity and strife between these\ntwo, King Hunding and King Sigmund, and each slew the other\u2019s kinsmen.\nKing Sigmund and his family were called Volsungs and Ylfings.\n\nHelgi went as a spy to the home of King Hunding in disguise. H\u00e6ming, a\nson of King Hunding\u2019s, was at home. When Helgi went forth, then he met\na young herdsman, and said:\n\n\n1.  \u201cSay to H\u00e6ming   |   that Helgi knows\n    Whom the heroes   |   in armor hid;\n    A gray wolf had they   |   within their hall,\n    Whom King Hunding   |   Hamal thought.\u201d\n\n\nHamal was the name of Hagal\u2019s son. King Hunding sent men to Hagal to\nseek Helgi, and Helgi could not save himself in any other way, so he\nput on the clothes of a bond-woman and set to work at the mill. They\nsought Helgi but found him not.\n\n\n2.  Then Blind spake out,   |   the evil-minded:\n    \u201cOf Hagal\u2019s bond-woman   |   bright are the eyes;\n    Yon comes not of churls   |   who stands at the quern;\n    The millstones break,   |   the boards are shattered.\n\n3.  \u201cThe hero has   |   a doom full hard,\n    That barley now   |   he needs must grind;\n    Better befits   |   his hand to feel\n    The hilt of the sword   |   than the millstone\u2019s handle.\u201d\n\n\nHagal answered and said:\n\n\n4.  \u201cSmall is the wonder   |   if boards are splintered;\n    By a monarch\u2019s daughter   |   the mill is turned;\n    Once through clouds   |   she was wont to ride,\n    And battles fought   |   like fighting men,\n    (Till Helgi a captive   |   held her fast;\n    Sister she is   |   of Sigar and Hogni,\n    Thus bright are the eyes   |   of the Ylfings\u2019 maid.)\u201d\n\n\nHelgi escaped and went to a fighting ship. He slew King Hunding, and\nthenceforth was called Helgi Hundingsbane.\n\n\n\n\n\n(II)\n\nHe lay with his host in Brunavagar, and they had there a\nstrand-slaughtering, and ate the flesh raw. Hogni was the name of a\nking. His daughter was Sigrun; she was a Valkyrie and rode air and\nwater; she was Svava reborn. Sigrun rode to Helgi\u2019s ship and said:\n\n\n5.  \u201cWho rules the ship   |   by the shore so steep?\n    Where is the home   |   ye warriors have?\n    Why do ye bide   |   in Brunavagar,\n    Or what the way   |   that ye wish to try?\u201d\n\n\nHelgi spake:\n\n\n6.  \u201cHamal\u2019s the ship   |   by the shore so steep,\n    Our home in Hlesey   |   do we have;\n    For fair wind bide we   |   in Brunavagar,\n    Eastward the way   |   that we wish to try.\u201d\n\n\nSigrun spake:\n\n\n7.  \u201cWhere hast thou, warrior,   |   battle wakened,\n    Or gorged the birds   |   of the sisters of Guth?\n    Why is thy byrnie   |   spattered with blood,\n    Why helmed dost feast   |   on food uncooked?\u201d\n\n\nHelgi spake:\n\n\n8.  \u201cLatest of all,   |   the Ylfings\u2019 son\n    On the western sea,   |   if know thou wilt,\n    Captured bears   |   in Bragalund,\n    And fed the eagles   |   with edge of sword.\n    Now is it shown   |   why our shirts are bloody,\n    And little our food   |   with fire is cooked.\u201d\n\n\nSigrun spake:\n\n\n9.  \u201cOf battle thou tellest,   |   and there was bent\n    Hunding the king   |   before Helgi down;\n    There was carnage when thou   |   didst avenge thy kin,\n    And blood flowed fast   |   on the blade of the sword.\u201d\n\n\nHelgi spake:\n\n\n10. \u201cHow didst thou know   |   that now our kin,\n    Maiden wise,   |   we have well avenged?\n    Many there are   |   of the sons of the mighty\n    Who share alike   |   our lofty race.\u201d\n\n\nSigrun spake:\n\n\n11. \u201cNot far was I   |   from the lord of the folk,\n    Yester morn,   |   when the monarch was slain;\n    Though crafty the son   |   of Sigmund, methinks,\n    When he speaks of the fight   |   in slaughter-runes.\n\n12. \u201cOn the long-ship once   |   I saw thee well,\n    When in the blood-stained   |   bow thou wast,\n    (And round thee icy   |   waves were raging;)\n    Now would the hero   |   hide from me,\n    But to Hogni\u2019s daughter   |   is Helgi known.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\n(III)\n\nGranmar was the name of a mighty king, who dwelt at Svarin\u2019s hill. He\nhad many sons; one was named Hothbrodd, another Gothmund, a third\nStarkath. Hothbrodd was in a kings\u2019 meeting, and he won the promise of\nhaving Sigrun, Hogni\u2019s daughter, for his wife. But when she heard this,\nshe rode with the Valkyries over air and sea to seek Helgi. Helgi was\nthen at Logafjoll, and had fought with Hunding\u2019s sons; there he killed\nAlf and Eyolf, Hjorvarth and Hervarth. He was all weary with battle,\nand sat under the eagle-stone. There Sigrun found him, and ran to throw\nher arms about his neck, and kissed him, and told him her tidings, as\nis set forth in the old Volsung lay:\n\n\n13. Sigrun the joyful   |   chieftain sought,\n    Forthwith Helgi\u2019s   |   hand she took;\n    She greeted the hero   |   helmed and kissed him,\n    The warrior\u2019s heart   |   to the woman turned.\n\n14. From her heart the daughter   |   of Hogni spake,\n    Dear was Helgi,   |   she said, to her;\n    \u201cLong with all   |   my heart I loved\n    Sigmund\u2019s son   |   ere ever I saw him.\n\n15. \u201cAt the meeting to Hothbrodd   |   mated I was,\n    But another hero   |   I fain would have;\n    Though, king, the wrath   |   of my kin I fear,\n    Since I broke my father\u2019s   |   fairest wish.\u201d\n\n\nHelgi spake:\n\n\n16. \u201cFear not ever   |   Hogni\u2019s anger,\n    Nor yet thy kinsmen\u2019s   |   cruel wrath;\n    Maiden, thou   |   with me shalt live,\n    Thy kindred, fair one,   |   I shall not fear.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\n(IV)\n\nHelgi then assembled a great sea-host and went to Frekastein. On the\nsea he met a perilous storm; lightning flashed overhead and the bolts\nstruck the ship. They saw in the air that nine Valkyries were riding,\nand recognized Sigrun among them. Then the storm abated, and they came\nsafe and sound to land. Granmar\u2019s sons sat on a certain mountain as the\nships sailed toward the land. Gothmund leaped on a horse and rode for\nnews to a promontory near the harbor; the Volsungs were even then\nlowering their sails. Then Gothmund said, as is written before in the\nHelgi lay:\n\n\n    \u201cWho is the king   |   who captains the fleet,\n    And to the land   |   the warriors leads?\u201d\n\n\nSinfjotli, Sigmund\u2019s son, answered him, and that too is written.\n\nGothmund rode home with his tidings of the host; then Granmar\u2019s sons\nsummoned an army. Many kings came there; there were Hogni, Sigrun\u2019s\nfather, and his sons Bragi and Dag. There was a great battle, and all\nGranmar\u2019s sons were slain and all their allies; only Dag, Hogni\u2019s son,\nwas spared, and he swore loyalty to the Volsungs. Sigrun went among the\ndead and found Hothbrodd at the coming of death. She said:\n\n\n17. \u201cNever shall Sigrun   |   from Sevafjoll,\n    Hothbrodd king,   |   be held in thine arms;\n    Granmar\u2019s sons   |   full cold have grown,\n    And the giant-steeds gray   |   on corpses gorge.\u201d\n\n\nThen she sought out Helgi, and was full of joy. He said:\n\n\n18. \u201cMaid, not fair   |   is all thy fortune,\n    The Norns I blame   |   that this should be;\n    This morn there fell   |   at Frekastein\n    Bragi and Hogni   |   beneath my hand.\n\n19. \u201cAt Hlebjorg fell   |   the sons of Hrollaug,\n    Starkath the king   |   at Styrkleifar;\n    Fighters more noble   |   saw I never,\n    The body fought when   |   the head had fallen.\n\n20. \u201cOn the ground full low   |   the slain are lying,\n    Most are there   |   of the men of thy race;\n    Nought hast thou won,   |   for thy fate it was\n    Brave men to bring   |   to the battle-field.\u201d\n\n\nThen Sigrun wept.   |   Helgi said:\n\n\n21. \u201cGrieve not, Sigrun,   |   the battle is gained,\n      The fighter can shun not his fate.\u201d\n\n\nSigrun spake:\n\n\n    \u201cTo life would I call   |   them who slaughtered lie,\n      If safe on thy breast I might be.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\n(V)\n\nThis Gothmund the son of Granmar spoke:\n\n\n22. \u201cWhat hero great   |   is guiding the ships?\n    A golden flag   |   on the stem he flies;\n    I find not peace   |   in the van of your faring,\n    And round the fighters   |   is battle-light red.\u201d\n\n\nSinfjotli spake:\n\n\n23. \u201cHere may Hothbrodd   |   Helgi find,\n    The hater of flight,   |   in the midst of the fleet;\n    The home of all   |   thy race he has,\n    And over the realm   |   of the fishes he rules.\u201d\n\n\nGothmund spake:\n\n\n24. \u201cFirst shall swords   |   at Frekastein\n    Prove our worth   |   in place of words;\n    Time is it, Hothbrodd,   |   vengeance to have,\n    If in battle worsted   |   once we were.\u201d\n\n\nSinfjotli spake:\n\n\n25. \u201cBetter, Gothmund,   |   to tend the goats,\n    And climb the rocks   |   of the mountain cliffs;\n    A hazel switch   |   to hold in thy hand\n    More seemly were   |   than the hilt of a sword.\u201d\n\n\nHelgi spake:\n\n\n26. \u201cBetter, Sinfjotli,   |   thee \u2019twould beseem\n    Battles to give,   |   and eagles to gladden,\n    Than vain and empty   |   speech to utter,\n    Though warriors oft   |   with words do strive.\n\n27. \u201cGood I find not   |   the sons of Granmar,\n    But for heroes \u2019tis seemly   |   the truth to speak;\n    At Moinsheimar   |   proved the men\n    That hearts for the wielding   |   of swords they had,\n    (And ever brave   |   the warriors are.)\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\n(VI)\n\nHelgi took Sigrun to wife, and they had sons. Helgi did not reach old\nage. Dag, the son of Hogni, offered sacrifice to Othin to be avenged\nfor his father\u2019s death; Othin gave Dag his spear. Dag found Helgi, his\nbrother-in-law, at a place which is called Fjoturlund. He thrust the\nspear through Helgi\u2019s body. Then Helgi fell, and Dag rode to Sevafjoll\nand told Sigrun the tidings:\n\n\n28. \u201cSad am I, sister,   |   sorrow to tell thee,\n    Woe to my kin   |   unwilling I worked;\n    In the morn there fell   |   at Fjoturlund\n    The noblest prince   |   the world has known,\n    (And his heel he set   |   on the heroes\u2019 necks.)\u201d\n\n\nSigrun spake:\n\n\n29. \u201cNow may every   |   oath thee bite\n    That with Helgi   |   sworn thou hast,\n    By the water   |   bright of Leipt,\n    And the ice-cold   |   stone of Uth.\n\n30. \u201cThe ship shall sail not   |   in which thou sailest,\n    Though a favoring wind   |   shall follow after;\n    The horse shall run not   |   whereon thou ridest,\n    Though fain thou art   |   thy foe to flee.\n\n31. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    \u201cThe sword shall bite not   |   which thou bearest,\n    Till thy head itself   |   it sings about.\n\n32. \u201cVengeance were mine   |   for Helgi\u2019s murder,\n    Wert thou a wolf   |   in the woods without,\n    Possessing nought   |   and knowing no joy,\n    Having no food   |   save corpses to feed on.\u201d\n\n\nDag spake:\n\n\n33. \u201cMad art thou, sister,   |   and wild of mind,\n    Such a curse   |   on thy brother to cast;\n    Othin is ruler   |   of every ill,\n    Who sunders kin   |   with runes of spite.\n\n34. \u201cThy brother rings   |   so red will give thee,\n    All Vandilsve   |   and Vigdalir;\n    Take half my land   |   to pay the harm,\n    Ring-decked maid,   |   and as meed for thy sons.\u201d\n\n\nSigrun spake:\n\n\n35. \u201cI shall sit not happy   |   at Sevafjoll,\n    Early or late,   |   my life to love,\n    If the light cannot show,   |   in the leader\u2019s band,\n    Vigbl\u00e6r bearing him   |   back to his home,\n    (The golden-bitted;   |   I shall greet him never.)\n\n36. \u201cSuch the fear   |   that Helgi\u2019s foes\n    Ever felt,   |   and all their kin,\n    As makes the goats   |   with terror mad\n    Run from the wolf   |   among the rocks.\n\n37. \u201cHelgi rose   |   above heroes all\n    Like the lofty ash   |   above lowly thorns,\n    Or the noble stag,   |   with dew besprinkled,\n    Bearing his head   |   above all beasts,\n    (And his horns gleam bright   |   to heaven itself.)\u201d\n\n\nA hill was made in Helgi\u2019s memory. And when he came to Valhall, then\nOthin bade him rule over everything with himself.\n\n\n\n\n\n(VII)\n\nHelgi said:\n\n\n38. \u201cThou shalt, Hunding,   |   of every hero\n    Wash the feet,   |   and kindle the fire,\n    Tie up dogs,   |   and tend the horses,\n    And feed the swine   |   ere to sleep thou goest.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\n(VIII)\n\nOne of Sigrun\u2019s maidens went one evening to Helgi\u2019s hill, and saw that\nHelgi rode to the hill with many men. The maiden said:\n\n\n39. \u201cIs this a dream   |   that methinks I see,\n    Or the doom of the gods,   |   that dead men ride,\n    And hither spurring   |   urge your steeds,\n    Or is home-coming now   |   to the heroes granted?\u201d\n\n\nHelgi spake:\n\n\n40. \u201cNo dream is this   |   that thou thinkest to see,\n    Nor the end of the world,   |   though us thou beholdest,\n    And hither spurring   |   we urge our steeds,\n    Nor is home-coming now   |   to the heroes granted.\u201d\n\n\nThe maiden went home and said to Sigrun:\n\n\n41. \u201cGo forth, Sigrun,   |   from Sevafjoll,\n    If fain the lord   |   of the folk wouldst find;\n    (The hill is open,   |   Helgi is come;)\n    The sword-tracks bleed;   |   the monarch bade\n    That thou his wounds   |   shouldst now make well.\u201d\n\n\nSigrun went in the hill to Helgi, and said:\n\n\n42. \u201cNow am I glad   |   of our meeting together,\n    As Othin\u2019s hawks,   |   so eager for prey,\n    When slaughter and flesh   |   all warm they scent,\n    Or dew-wet see   |   the red of day.\n\n43. \u201cFirst will I kiss   |   the lifeless king,\n    Ere off the bloody   |   byrnie thou cast;\n    With frost thy hair   |   is heavy, Helgi,\n    And damp thou art   |   with the dew of death;\n    (Ice-cold hands   |   has Hogni\u2019s kinsman,\n    What, prince, can I   |   to bring thee ease?)\u201d\n\n\nHelgi spake:\n\n\n44. \u201cThou alone, Sigrun   |   of Sevafjoll,\n    Art cause that Helgi   |   with dew is heavy;\n    Gold-decked maid,   |   thy tears are grievous,\n    (Sun-bright south-maid,   |   ere thou sleepest;)\n    Each falls like blood   |   on the hero\u2019s breast,\n    (Burned-out, cold,   |   and crushed with care.)\n\n45. \u201cWell shall we drink   |   a noble draught,\n    Though love and lands   |   are lost to me;\n    No man a song   |   of sorrow shall sing,\n    Though bleeding wounds   |   are on my breast;\n    Now in the hill   |   our brides we hold,\n    The heroes\u2019 loves,   |   by their husbands dead.\u201d\n\n\nSigrun made ready a bed in the hill.\n\n\n46. \u201cHere a bed   |   I have made for thee, Helgi,\n    To rest thee from care,   |   thou kin of the Ylfings;\n    I will make thee sink   |   to sleep in my arms,\n    As once I lay   |   with the living king.\u201d\n\n\nHelgi spake:\n\n\n47. \u201cNow do I say   |   that in Sevafjoll\n    Aught may happen,   |   early or late,\n    Since thou sleepest clasped   |   in a corpse\u2019s arms,\n    So fair in the hill,   |   the daughter of Hogni!\n    (Living thou comest,   |   a daughter of kings.)\n\n48. \u201cNow must I ride   |   the reddened ways,\n    And my bay steed set   |   to tread the sky;\n    Westward I go   |   to wind-helm\u2019s bridges,\n    Ere Salgofnir wakes   |   the warrior throng.\u201d\n\n\nThen Helgi and his followers rode on their way, and the women went home\nto the dwelling. Another evening Sigrun bade the maiden keep watch at\nthe hill. And at sunset when Sigrun came to the hill she said:\n\n\n49. \u201cNow were he come,   |   if come he might,\n    Sigmund\u2019s son,   |   from Othin\u2019s seat;\n    Hope grows dim   |   of the hero\u2019s return\n    When eagles sit   |   on the ash-tree boughs,\n    And men are seeking   |   the meeting of dreams.\u201d\n\n\nThe Maiden said:\n\n\n50. \u201cMad thou wouldst seem   |   alone to seek,\n    Daughter of heroes,   |   the house of the dead;\n    For mightier now   |   at night are all\n    The ghosts of the dead   |   than when day is bright.\u201d\n\n\nSigrun was early dead of sorrow and grief. It was believed in olden\ntimes that people were born again, but that is now called old wives\u2019\nfolly. Of Helgi and Sigrun it is said that they were born again; he\nbecame Helgi Haddingjaskati, and she Kara the daughter of Halfdan, as\nis told in the Lay of Kara, and she was a Valkyrie.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTES\n\n\nProse. In the manuscript the poem is headed \u201cOf the Volsungs,\u201d but most\neditions give it the title used here. Sigmund: cf. Helgakvitha\nHundingsbana I, 6 and note, which also mentions Volsung, Borghild and\nBralund: cf. Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I, 1 and note. Helgi: the\nannotator\u2019s explanation that the child was named after Helgi\nHjorvarthsson is a naive way of getting around the difficulties created\nby the two sets of Helgi stories. He might equally well have said that\nthe new Helgi was the old one born again, as he accounts for Sigrun in\nthis way (\u201cshe was Svava reborn\u201d). Hagal: not elsewhere mentioned; it\nwas a common custom to have boys brought up by foster-parents. Hunding\nand Hundland: cf. Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I, 10 and note. Volsungs and\nYlfings: regarding this confusion of family names cf. Helgakvitha\nHundingsbana I, 5 and note. H\u00e6ming: his name does not appear in the\nlist of Hunding\u2019s sons. It is quite possible that these opening stanzas\n(1\u20134) do not refer to Hunding at all.\n\n1. Helgi appears to have stayed with Hunding under the name of Hamal,\nbut now, thinking himself safe, he sends word of who he really is.\nHunding: it has been suggested that the compiler may have inserted this\nname to fit what he thought the story ought to be, in place of H\u00e6ming,\nor even Hadding. If stanzas 1\u20134 are a fragment of the Karuljoth (Lay of\nKara), this latter suggestion is quite reasonable, for in that poem,\nwhich we do not possess, but which supplied material for the compilers\nof the Hromundar saga Greipssonar, Helgi appears as Helgi\nHaddingjaskati (cf. final prose note). Nothing beyond this one name\nconnects stanzas 1\u20134 with Hunding.\n\nProse. Hagal: Helgi\u2019s foster-father, who naturally protects him.\n\n2. The manuscript indicates line 2 as the beginning of the stanza, the\ncopyist evidently regarding line 1 as prose. This has caused various\nrearrangements in the different editions. Blind: leader of the band\nsent to capture Helgi.\n\n3. The manuscript marks line 3 as the beginning of a stanza. Barley:\nthe word literally means \u201cforeign grain,\u201d and would afford an\ninteresting study to students of early commerce.\n\n4. Possibly two stanzas with one line lost, or perhaps the lines in\nparenthesis are spurious; each editor has his own guess. Sigar and\nHogni: it seems unlikely that Hagal refers to the Hogni who was\nSigrun\u2019s father, for this part of the story has nothing whatever to do\nwith Sigrun. As Hagal is, of course, deliberately lying, it is useless\nto test any part of his speech for accuracy.\n\nProse. No division indicated in the manuscript. Brunavagar (\u201cBruni\u2019s\nSea\u201d): mentioned only in this section. Strand-slaughtering: a killing\non the shore of cattle stolen in a raid. Hogni and Sigrun: cf.\nHelgakvitha Hundingsbana I, 17 and note; the annotator\u2019s notion of\nSigrun as the reincarnated Svava (cf. Helgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar,\nconcluding prose note) represents a naive form of scholarship. There is\nnothing in stanzas 5\u201312 which clearly identifies Sigrun as a Valkyrie,\nor which, except for the last line of stanza 12, identifies the speaker\nas Sigrun. Some editors, therefore, call her simply \u201cthe Valkyrie,\u201d\nwhile Vigfusson, who thinks this section is also a remnant of the\nKaruljoth, calls her Kara.\n\n6. The manuscript does not indicate the speakers. Hamal: Helgi\u2019s\nassumption of this name seems to link this section (stanzas 5\u201312) with\nstanza 1. Hlesey (\u201cIsland of Hler\u201d\u2014i.e., \u00c6gir, the sea-god): generally\nidentified as the Danish island of L\u00e4s\u00f6; cf. Harbarthsljoth, 37 and\nnote.\n\n7. Guth: a Valkyrie (cf. Voluspo, 31); the birds of her sisters are the\nkites and ravens.\n\n8. The manuscript indicates line 5 as the beginning of a new stanza;\nsome editors reject lines 1\u20132, while others make lines 5\u20136 into a\nfragmentary stanza. Ylfings: cf. introductory prose and note. Bragalund\n(\u201cBragi\u2019s Wood\u201d): a mythical place. Bears: presumably Berserkers,\nregarding whom cf. Hyndluljoth, 23.\n\n10. Helgi\u2019s meaning in lines 3\u20134 is that, although he has already\ndeclared himself an Ylfing (stanza 8, line 1), there are many heroes of\nthat race, and he does not understand how Sigrun knows him to be Helgi.\n\n11. Slaughter-runes: equivocal or deceptive speech regarding the\nbattle. The word \u201crune\u201d had the meaning of \u201cmagic\u201d or \u201cmystery\u201d long\nbefore it was applied to the signs or characters with which it was\nlater identified.\n\n12. Some editors reject line 3, others line 5. The manuscript omits\nHelgi\u2019s name in line 5, thereby destroying both the sense and the\nmeter. Vigfusson, following his Karuljoth theory (cf. note on prose\nfollowing stanza 4), changes Hogni to Halfdan, father of Kara.\n\nProse. The manuscript indicates no division. Most of this prose passage\nis evidently based on Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I; the only new features\nare the introduction of Starkath as a third son of Granmar, which is\nclearly an error based on a misunderstanding of stanza 19, and the\nreference to the kings\u2019 meeting, based on stanza 15. Kings\u2019 meetings,\nor councils, were by no means unusual; the North in early days was\nprolific in kings. For the remaining names, cf. Helgakvitha\nHundingsbana I: Granmar, stanza 19; Hothbrodd, stanza 19; Gothmund,\nstanza 33; Svarin\u2019s hill, stanza 32; Logafjoll, stanza 13; Alf, Eyjolf,\nHjorvarth and Hervarth, stanza 14. The old Volsung lay: cf.\nIntroductory Note.\n\n13. Some editions combine lines 3\u20134, or line 4, with part of stanza 14.\n\n14. The lines of stanzas 14 and 15 are here rearranged in accordance\nwith Bugge\u2019s emendation; in the manuscript they stand as follows: lines\n3\u20134 of stanza 14; stanza 15; lines 1\u20132 of stanza 14. This confusion has\ngiven rise to various editorial conjectures.\n\nProse. The manuscript indicates no division. Here again, the annotator\nhas drawn practically all his information from Helgakvitha Hundingsbana\nI, which he specifically mentions and even quotes. The only new\nfeatures are the names of Hogni\u2019s sons, Bragi and Dag. Bragi is\nmentioned in stanza 18, though it is not there stated that he is\nHogni\u2019s son. Dag, who figures largely in stanzas 28\u201334, is a puzzle,\nfor the verse never names him, and it is an open question where the\nannotator got his name. Frekastein: cf. Helgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar, 39\nand note. As is written: the two lines are quoted, with a change of two\nwords, from Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I, 33. Sinfjotli: cf. Helgakvitha\nHundingsbana I, 6 and note, and stanzas 33\u201348, in which the whole\ndialogue is given. Loyalty: apparently the annotator got this bit of\ninformation out of stanza 29, in which Sigrun refers to the oaths which\nher brother had sworn to Helgi.\n\n17. Sevafjoll (\u201cWet Mountain\u201d): mentioned only in this poem.\nGiant-steeds: wolves, the usual steeds of giantesses; cf. Helgakvitha\nHundingsbana I, 56.\n\n18. Maid: the word thus rendered is the same doubtful one which appears\nin V\u00f6lundarkvitha, 1 and 5, and which may mean specifically a Valkyrie\n(Gering translates it \u201chelmed\u201d or \u201cheroic\u201d) or simply \u201cwise.\u201d Cf.\nV\u00f6lundarkvitha, note on introductory prose. Norns: cf. Voluspo, 20 and\nnote. In stanza 33 Dag similarly lays the blame for the murder he has\ncommitted on Othin. Bragi: probably Sigrun\u2019s brother.\n\n19. This stanza looks like an interpolation, and there is little or\nnothing to connect it with the slaying of Granmar\u2019s sons. In the\nmanuscript line 2, indicated as the beginning of a stanza, precedes\nline 1. Hlebjorg (\u201cSea-Mountain\u201d) and Styrkleifar (\u201cBattle-Cliffs\u201d):\nplace names not elsewhere mentioned. Of Hrollaug\u2019s sons nothing further\nis known. Starkath: this name gives a hint of the origin of this\nstanza, for Saxo Grammaticus tells of the slaying of the Swedish hero\nStarkath (\u201cThe Strong\u201d) the son of Storverk, and describes how his\nsevered head bit the ground in anger (cf. line 4). In all probability\nthis stanza is from an entirely different poem, dealing with the\nStarkath story, and the annotator\u2019s attempt to identify the Swedish\nhero as a third son of Granmar is quite without foundation.\n\n21. The difference of meter would of itself be enough to indicate that\nthis stanza comes from an entirely different poem. A few editions\nassign the whole stanza to Helgi, but lines 3\u20134 are almost certainly\nSigrun\u2019s, and the manuscript begins line 3 with a large capital letter\nfollowing a period.\n\n22. With this stanza begins the dispute between Gothmund and Sinfjotli\nwhich, together with Helgi\u2019s rebuke to his half-brother, appears at\nmuch greater length in Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I, 33\u201348. It is\nintroduced here manifestly in the wrong place. The version here given\nis almost certainly the older of the two, but the resemblance is so\nstriking, and in some cases (notably in Helgi\u2019s rebuke) the stanzas are\nso nearly identical, that it seems probable that the composer of the\nfirst Helgi Hundingsbane lay borrowed directly from the poem of which\nthe present dialogue is a fragment. Flag: the banner (\u201cgunnfani,\u201d cf.\n\u201cgonfalon\u201d) here serves as the signal for war instead of the red shield\nmentioned in Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I, 34. Battle-light: perhaps the\n\u201cnorthern lights.\u201d\n\n23. Lines 3\u20134 are obscure, and in the manuscript show signs of error.\nHelgi had not at this time, so far as we know, conquered any of\nHothbrodd\u2019s land. The realm of the fishes, in line 4, presumably means\nthe sea, but the word here translated \u201cfishes\u201d is obscure, and many\neditors treat it as a proper name, \u201cthe realm of the Fjorsungs,\u201d but\nwithout further suggestion as to who or what the Fjorsungs are.\n\n24. The word here translated swords is a conjectural emendation; the\nmanuscript implies merely an invitation to continue the quarrel at\nFrekastein. Hothbrodd: apparently he is here considered as present\nduring the dispute; some editors, in defiance of the meter, have\nemended the line to mean \u201cTime is it for Hothbrodd   |   vengeance to\nhave.\u201d\n\n26\u201327. Cf. Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I, 47\u201348, which are nearly\nidentical. Stanza 27 in the manuscript is abbreviated to the first\nletters of the words, except for line 5, which does not appear in the\nother poem, and which looks like an interpolation.\n\nProse. Here begins a new section of the poem, dealing with Helgi\u2019s\ndeath at the hands of Dag, Sigrun\u2019s brother. The note is based wholly\non stanzas 28\u201334, except for the introduction of Dag\u2019s name (cf. note\non prose following stanza 16), and the reference to Othin\u2019s spear, the\nweapon which made victory certain, and which the annotator brought in\ndoubtless on the strength of Dag\u2019s statement that Othin was responsible\nfor Helgi\u2019s death (stanza 33). Fjoturlund (\u201cFetter-Wood\u201d): mentioned\nonly here and in stanza 28.\n\n28. Line 5 looks like an interpolation.\n\n29. Leipt: this river is mentioned in Grimnismol, 28. Uth: a daughter\nof the sea-god \u00c6gir; regarding her sacred stone we know nothing.\nAccording to the annotator, Dag\u2019s life had been spared because he swore\nloyalty to Helgi.\n\n31. No gap indicated in the manuscript, but most editors have assumed\nthat either the first or the last two lines have been lost. Bugge adds\na line: \u201cThe shield shall not help thee   |   which thou holdest.\u201d\n\n34. Vandilsve (\u201cVandil\u2019s Shrine\u201d): who Vandil was we do not know; this\nand Vigdalir (\u201cBattle-Dale\u201d) are purely mythical places.\n\n35. Line 5 may be spurious. Vigbl\u00e6r (\u201cBattle-Breather\u201d): Helgi\u2019s horse.\n\n37. Line 5 (or possibly line 4) may be spurious. Cf. Guthrunarkvitha I,\n17, and Guthrunarkvitha II, 2.\n\nProse. Valhall, etc.: there is no indication as to where the annotator\ngot this notion of Helgi\u2019s sharing Othin\u2019s rule. It is most unlikely\nthat such an idea ever found place in any of the Helgi poems, or at\nleast in the earlier ones; probably it was a late development of the\ntradition in a period when Othin was no longer taken seriously.\n\n38. This stanza apparently comes from an otherwise lost passage\ncontaining a contest of words between Helgi and Hunding; indeed the\nname of Hunding may have been substituted for another one beginning\nwith \u201cH,\u201d and the stanza originally have had no connection with Helgi\nat all. The annotator inserts it here through an obvious\nmisunderstanding, taking it to be Helgi\u2019s application of the power\nconferred on him by Othin.\n\n39. Here begins the final section (stanzas 39\u201350), wherein Sigrun\nvisits the dead Helgi in his burial hill. Doom of the gods: the phrase\n\u201cragna r\u00f6k\u201d has been rather unfortunately Anglicized into the word\n\u201cragnarok\u201d (the Norse term is not a proper name), and r\u00f6k, \u201cdoom,\u201d has\nbeen confused with r\u00f6kkr, \u201cdarkness,\u201d and so translated \u201cdusk of the\nGods,\u201d or \u201cG\u00f6tterd\u00e4mmerung.\u201d\n\n40. In the manuscript most of this stanza is abbreviated to the first\nletters of the words.\n\n41. Line 3 (or possibly line 2) may be spurious. Sword-tracks: wounds.\nOne edition places stanza 48 after stanza 41, and another does the same\nwith stanza 50.\n\n43. Possibly lines 5\u20136 are spurious, or part of a stanza the rest of\nwhich has been lost. It has also been suggested that two lines may have\nbeen lost after line 2, making a new stanza of lines 3\u20136. Kinsman:\nliterally \u201cson-in-law.\u201d\n\n44. Lines 4 and 6 have been marked by various editors as probably\nspurious. Others regard lines 1\u20132 as the beginning of a stanza the rest\nof which has been lost, or combine lines 5\u20136 with lines 5\u20136 of stanza\n45 to make a new stanza. South-maid: cf. Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I, 17\nand note.\n\n45. Both lines 3\u20134 and lines 5\u20136 have been suspected by editors of\nbeing interpolated, and the loss of two lines has also been suggested.\nBrides: the plural here is perplexing. Gering insists that only Sigrun\nis meant, and translates the word as singular, but both \u201cbrides\u201d and\n\u201cloves\u201d are uncompromisingly plural in the text. Were the men of\nHelgi\u2019s ghostly following likewise visited by their wives? The\nannotator may have thought so, for in the prose he mentions the \u201cwomen\u201d\nreturning to the house, although, of course, this may refer simply to\nSigrun and the maid.\n\n47. Line 5 (or possibly line 4) may be interpolated.\n\n48. Wind-helm: the sky; the bridge is Bifrost, the rainbow (cf.\nGrimnismol, 29). Salgofnir (\u201cHall-Crower\u201d): the cock Gollinkambi who\nawakes the gods and warriors for the last battle.\n\n49. Many editors assign this speech to the maid. Line 5 (or 4) may be\nspurious. Meeting of dreams (\u201cDream-Thing\u201d): sleep.\n\nProse. The attitude of the annotator is clearly revealed by his\ncontempt for those who put any faith in such \u201cold wives\u2019 folly\u201d as the\nidea that men and women could be reborn. As in the case of Helgi\nHjorvarthsson, the theory of the hero\u2019s rebirth seems to have developed\nin order to unite around a single Helgi the various stories in which\nthe hero is slain. The Lay of Kara (Karuljoth) is lost, although, as\nhas been pointed out, parts of the Helgakvitha Hundingsbana II may be\nremnants of it, but we find the main outlines of the story in the\nHromundar saga Greipssonar, whose compilers appear to have known the\nKaruljoth. In the saga Helgi Haddingjaskati (Helgi the Haddings\u2019-Hero)\nis protected by the Valkyrie Kara, who flies over him in the form of a\nswan (note once more the Valkyrie swan-maiden confusion); but in his\nfight with Hromund he swings his sword so high that he accidentally\ngives Kara a mortal wound, whereupon Hromund cuts off his head. As this\nmakes the third recorded death of Helgi (once at the hands of Alf, once\nat those of Dag, and finally in the fight with Hromund), the phenomenon\nof his rebirth is not surprising. The points of resemblance in all the\nHelgi stories, including the one told in the lost Karuljoth, are\nsufficiently striking so that it is impossible not to see in them a\ncommon origin, and not to believe that Helgi the son of Hjorvarth,\nHelgi the son of Sigmund and Helgi the Haddings\u2019-Hero (not to mention\nvarious other Helgis who probably figured in songs and stories now\nlost) were all originally the same Helgi who appears in the early\ntraditions of Denmark.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nFRA DAUTHA SINFJOTLA\n\nOF SINFJOTLI\u2019S DEATH\n\n\nINTRODUCTORY NOTE\n\nIt has been pointed out that the Helgi tradition, coming originally\nfrom Denmark, was early associated with that of the Volsungs, which was\nof German, or rather of Frankish, origin (cf. Introductory Note to\nHelgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar). The connecting links between these two\nsets of stories were few in number, the main point being the\nidentification of Helgi as a son of Sigmund Volsungsson. Another son of\nSigmund, however, appears in the Helgi poems, though not in any of the\npoems dealing with the Volsung cycle proper. This is Sinfjotli, whose\nsole function in the extant Helgi lays is to have a wordy dispute with\nGothmund Granmarsson.\n\nSinfjotli\u2019s history is told in detail in the early chapters of the\nVolsungasaga. The twin sister of Sigmund Volsungsson, Signy, had\nmarried Siggeir, who hated his brother-in-law by reason of his desire\nto possess a sword which had belonged to Othin and been won by Sigmund.\nHaving treacherously invited Volsung and his ten sons to visit him,\nSiggeir slew Volsung and captured his sons, who were set in the stocks.\nEach night a wolf (\u201csome men say that she was Siggeir\u2019s mother\u201d) came\nout of the woods and ate up one of the brothers, till on the tenth\nnight Sigmund alone was left. Then, however, Signy aided him to escape,\nand incidentally to kill the wolf. He vowed vengeance on Siggeir, and\nSigny, who hated her husband, was determined to help him. Convinced\nthat Sigmund must have a helper of his own race, Signy changed forms\nwith a witch, and in this guise sought out Sigmund, who, not knowing\nwho she was, spent three nights with her. Thereafter she gave birth to\na boy, whom she named Sinfjotli (\u201cThe Yellow-Spotted\u201d?), whom she sent\nto Sigmund. For a time they lived in the woods, occasionally turning\ninto wolves (whence perhaps Sinfjotli\u2019s name). When Sinfjotli was full\ngrown, he and his father came to Siggeir\u2019s house, but were seen and\nbetrayed by the two young sons of Signy and Siggeir, whereupon\nSinfjotli slew them. Siggeir promptly had Sigmund and Sinfjotli buried\nalive, but Signy managed to smuggle Sigmund\u2019s famous sword into the\ngrave, and with this the father and son dug themselves out. The next\nnight they burned Siggeir\u2019s house, their enemy dying in the flames, and\nSigny, who had at the last refused to leave her husband, from a sense\nof somewhat belated loyalty, perishing with him.\n\nWas this story, which the Volsungasaga relates in considerable detail,\nthe basis of an old poem which has been lost? Almost certainly it was,\nalthough, as I have pointed out, many if not most of the old stories\nappear to have been handed down rather in prose than in verse, for the\nVolsungasaga quotes two lines of verse regarding the escape from the\ngrave. At any rate, Sinfjotli early became a part of the Volsung\ntradition, which, in turn, formed the basis for no less than fifteen\npoems generally included in the Eddic collection. Of this tradition we\nmay recognize three distinct parts: the Volsung-Sigmund-Sinfjotli\nstory; the Helgi story, and the Sigurth story, the last of these three\nbeing by far the most extensive, and suggesting an almost limitless\namount of further subdivision. With the Volsung-Sigmund-Sinfjotli story\nthe Sigurth legend is connected only by the fact that Sigurth appears\nas Sigmund\u2019s son by his last wife, Hjordis; with the Helgi legend it is\nnot connected directly at all. Aside from the fact that Helgi appears\nas Sigmund\u2019s son by his first wife, Borghild, the only link between the\nVolsung story proper and that of Helgi is the appearance of Sinfjotli\nin two of the Helgi poems. Originally it is altogether probable that\nthe three stories, or sets of stories, were entirely distinct, and that\nSigurth (the familiar Siegfried) had little or nothing more to do with\nthe Volsungs of northern mythological-heroic tradition than he had with\nHelgi.\n\nThe annotator or compiler of the collection of poems preserved in the\nCodex Regius, having finished with the Helgi lays, had before him the\ntask of setting down the fifteen complete or fragmentary poems dealing\nwith the Sigurth story. Before doing this, however, he felt it\nincumbent on him to dispose of both Sigmund and Sinfjotli, the sole\nlinks with the two other sets of stories. He apparently knew of no poem\nor poems concerning the deaths of these two; perhaps there were none,\nthough this is unlikely. Certainly the story of how Sinfjotli and\nSigmund died was current in oral prose tradition, and this story the\ncompiler set forth in the short prose passage entitled Of Sinfjotli\u2019s\nDeath which, in Regius, immediately follows the second lay of Helgi\nHundingsbane. The relation of this passage to the prose of the\nReginsmol is discussed in the introductory note to that poem.\n\n\n\n\n\nSigmund, the son of Volsung, was a king in the land of the Franks;\nSinfjotli was his eldest son, the second was Helgi, and the third\nHamund. Borghild, Sigmund\u2019s wife, had a brother who was named \u2014\u2014.\nSinfjotli, her stepson, and \u2014\u2014 both wooed the same woman, wherefore\nSinfjotli slew him. And when he came home, Borghild bade him depart,\nbut Sigmund offered her atonement-money, and this she had to accept. At\nthe funeral feast Borghild brought in ale; she took poison, a great\nhorn full, and brought it to Sinfjotli. But when he looked into the\nhorn, he saw that it was poison, and said to Sigmund: \u201cMuddy is the\ndrink, Father!\u201d Sigmund took the horn and drank therefrom. It is said\nthat Sigmund was so hardy that poison might not harm him, either\noutside or in, but all his sons could withstand poison only without on\ntheir skin. Borghild bore another horn to Sinfjotli and bade him drink,\nand all happened as before. And yet a third time she brought him a\nhorn, and spoke therewith scornful words of him if he should not drink\nfrom it. He spoke as before with Sigmund. The latter said: \u201cLet it\ntrickle through your beard, Son!\u201d Sinfjotli drank, and straightway was\ndead. Sigmund bore him a long way in his arms, and came to a narrow and\nlong fjord, and there was a little boat and a man in it. He offered to\ntake Sigmund across the fjord. But when Sigmund had borne the corpse\nout into the boat, then the craft was full. The man told Sigmund to go\nround the inner end of the fjord. Then the man pushed the boat off, and\ndisappeared.\n\nKing Sigmund dwelt long in Denmark in Borghild\u2019s kingdom after he had\nmarried her. Thereafter Sigmund went south into the land of the Franks,\nto the kingdom which he had there. There he married Hjordis, the\ndaughter of King Eylimi; their son was Sigurth. King Sigmund fell in a\nbattle with the sons of Hunding, and Hjordis then married Alf the son\nof King Hjalprek. There Sigurth grew up in his boyhood. Sigmund and all\nhis sons were far above all other men in might and stature and courage\nand every kind of ability. Sigurth, however, was the foremost of all,\nand all men call him in the old tales the noblest of mankind and the\nmightiest leader.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTE\n\n\nProse. Regarding Sigmund, Sinfjotli, and Volsung see Introductory Note.\nThe Franks: although the Sigurth story had reached the North as early\nas the sixth or seventh century, it never lost all the marks of its\nFrankish origin. Helgi and Hamund: sons of Sigmund and Borghild; Helgi\nis, of course Helgi Hundingsbane; of Hamund nothing further is\nrecorded. Borghild: the manuscript leaves a blank for the name of her\nbrother; evidently the compiler hoped some day to discover it and write\nit in, but never did. A few editions insert wholly unauthorized names\nfrom late paper manuscripts, such as Hroar, Gunnar, or Borgar. In the\nVolsungasaga Borghild bids Sinfjotli drink \u201cif he has the courage of a\nVolsung.\u201d Sigmund gives his advice because \u201cthe king was very drunk,\nand that was why he spoke thus.\u201d Gering, on the other hand, gives\nSigmund credit for having believed that the draught would deposit its\npoisonous contents in Sinfjotli\u2019s beard, and thus do him no harm. Boat:\nthe man who thus carries off the dead Sinfjotli in his boat is\npresumably Othin. Denmark: Borghild belongs to the Danish Helgi part of\nthe story. The Franks: with this the Danish and Norse stories of Helgi\nand Sinfjotli come to an end, and the Frankish story of Sigurth begins.\nSigmund\u2019s two kingdoms are an echo of the blended traditions. Hjordis:\njust where this name came from is not clear, for in the German story\nSiegfried\u2019s mother is Sigelint, but the name of the father of Hjordis,\nEylimi, gives a clew, for Eylimi is the father of Svava, wife of Helgi\nHjorvarthsson. Doubtless the two men are not identical, but it seems\nlikely that both Eylimi and Hjordis were introduced into the\nSigmund-Sigurth story, the latter replacing Sigelint, from some version\nof the Helgi tradition. Hunding: in the Helgi lays the sons of Hunding\nare all killed, but they reappear here and in two of the poems\n(Gripisspo, 9, and Reginsmol, 15), and the Volsungasaga names Lyngvi as\nthe son of Hunding who, as the rejected lover of Hjordis, kills Sigmund\nand his father-in-law, Eylimi, as well. The episode of Hunding and his\nsons belongs entirely to the Danish (Helgi) part of the story; the\nGerman legend knows nothing of it, and permits the elderly Sigmund to\noutlive his son. There was doubtless a poem on this battle, for the\nVolsungasaga quotes two lines spoken by the dying Sigmund to Hjordis\nbefore he tells her to give the pieces of his broken sword to their\nunborn son. Alf: after the battle, according to the Volsungasaga,\nLyngvi Hundingsson tried to capture Hjordis, but she was rescued by the\nsea-rover Alf, son of King Hjalprek of Denmark, who subsequently\nmarried her. Here is another trace of the Danish Helgi tradition. The\nNornageststhattr briefly tells the same story.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGRIPISSPO\n\nGRIPIR\u2019S PROPHECY\n\n\nINTRODUCTORY NOTE\n\nThe Gripisspo immediately follows the prose Fra Dautha Sinfjotla in the\nCodex Regius, and is contained in no other early manuscript. It is\nunquestionably one of the latest of the poems in the Eddic collection;\nmost critics agree in calling it the latest of all, dating it not much\nbefore the year 1200. Its author (for in this instance the word may be\ncorrectly used) was not only familiar with the other poems of the\nSigurth cycle, but seems to have had actual written copies of them\nbefore him; it has, indeed, been suggested, and not without\nplausibility, that the Gripisspo may have been written by the very man\nwho compiled and annotated the collection of poems preserved in the\nCodex Regius.\n\nIn form the poem is a dialogue between the youthful Sigurth and his\nuncle, Gripir, but in substance it is a condensed outline of Sigurth\u2019s\nwhole career as told piecemeal in the older poems. The writer was\nsufficiently skillful in the handling of verse, but he was utterly\nwithout inspiration; his characters are devoid of vitality, and their\nspeeches are full of conventional phrases, with little force or\nincisiveness. At the same time, the poem is of considerable interest as\ngiving, in brief form, a summary of the story of Sigurth as it existed\nin Iceland (for the Gripisspo is almost certainly Icelandic) in the\nlatter half of the twelfth century.\n\nIt is not desirable here to go in detail into the immensely complex\nquestion of the origin, growth, and spread of the story of Sigurth\n(Siegfried). The volume of critical literature on the subject is\nenormous, and although some of the more patently absurd theories have\nbeen eliminated, there are still wide divergencies of opinion regarding\nmany important points. At the same time, a brief review of the chief\nfacts is necessary in order to promote a clearer understanding of the\npoems which follow, and which make up more than a third of the Eddic\ncollection.\n\nThat the story of Sigurth reached the North from Germany, having\npreviously developed among the Franks of the Rhine country, is now\nuniversally recognized. How and when it spread from northwestern\nGermany into Scandinavia are less certainly known. It spread, indeed,\nin every direction, so that traces of it are found wherever Frankish\ninfluence was extensively felt; but it was clearly better known and\nmore popular in Norway, and in the settlements established by\nNorwegians, than anywhere else. We have historical proof that there was\nconsiderable contact, commercial and otherwise, between the Franks of\nnorthwestern Germany and the Norwegians (but not the Swedes or the\nDanes) throughout the period from 600 to 800; coins of Charlemagne have\nbeen found in Norway, and there is other evidence showing a fairly\nextensive interchange of ideas as well as of goods. Presumably, then,\nthe story of the Frankish hero found its way into Norway in the seventh\ncentury. While, at this stage of its development, it may conceivably\nhave included a certain amount of verse, it is altogether probable that\nthe story as it came into Norway in the seventh century was told\nlargely in prose, and that, even after the poets had got hold of it,\nthe legend continued to live among the people in the form of oral prose\nsaga.\n\nThe complete lack of contemporary material makes it impossible for us\nto speak with certainty regarding the character and content of the\nSigurth legend as it existed in the Rhine country in the seventh\ncentury. It is, however, important to remember the often overlooked\nfact that any popular traditional hero became a magnet for originally\nunrelated stories of every kind. It must also be remembered that in the\nearly Middle Ages there existed no such distinction between fiction and\nhistory as we now make; a saga, for instance, might be anything from\nthe most meticulously accurate history to the wildest of fairy tales,\nand a single saga might (and sometimes did) combine both elements. This\nwas equally true of the Frankish traditions, and the two principles\njust stated account for most of the puzzling phenomena in the growth of\nthe Sigurth story.\n\nOf the origin of Sigurth himself we know absolutely nothing. No\nhistorical analogy can be made to fit in the slightest degree. If one\nbelieves in the possibility of resolving hero stories into nature\nmyths, he may be explained in that fashion, but such a solution is not\nnecessary. The fact remains that from very early days Sigurth (Sifrit)\nwas a great traditional hero among the Franks. The tales of his\nstrength and valor, of his winning of a great treasure, of his wooing a\nmore or less supernatural bride, and of his death at the hands of his\nkinsmen, probably were early features of this legend.\n\nThe next step was the blending of this story with one which had a clear\nbasis in history. In the year 437 the Burgundians, under their king,\nGundicarius (so the Latin histories call him), were practically\nannihilated by the Huns. The story of this great battle soon became one\nof the foremost of Rhineland traditions; and though Attila was\npresumably not present in person, he was quite naturally introduced as\nthe famous ruler of the invading hordes. The dramatic story of Attila\u2019s\ndeath in the year 453 was likewise added to the tradition, and during\nthe sixth century the chain was completed by linking together the\nstories of Sigurth and those of the Burgundian slaughter. Gundicarius\nbecomes the Gunther of the Nibelungenlied and the Gunnar of the Eddic\npoems; Attila becomes Etzel and Atli. A still further development came\nthrough the addition of another, and totally unrelated, set of\nhistorical traditions based on the career of Ermanarich, king of the\nGoths, who died about the year 376. Ermanarich figures largely in many\nstories unconnected with the Sigurth cycle, but, with the zeal of the\nmedieval story-tellers for connecting their heroes, he was introduced\nas the husband of Sigurth\u2019s daughter, Svanhild, herself originally part\nof a separate narrative group, and as Jormunrek he plays a considerable\npart in a few of the Eddic poems.\n\nSuch, briefly, appears to have been the development of the legend\nbefore it came into Norway. Here it underwent many changes, though the\nclear marks of its southern origin were never obliterated. The names\nwere given Scandinavian forms, and in some cases were completely\nchanged (e.g., Kriemhild becomes Guthrun). New figures, mostly of\nsecondary importance, were introduced, and a large amount of purely\nNorthern local color was added. Above all, the earlier part of the\nstory was linked with Northern mythology in a way which seems to have\nhad no counterpart among the southern Germanic peoples. The Volsungs\nbecome direct descendants of Othin; the gods are closely concerned with\nFafnir\u2019s treasure, and so on. Above all, the Norse story-tellers and\npoets changed the figure of Brynhild. In making her a Valkyrie,\nsleeping on the flame-girt rock, they were never completely successful,\nas she persisted in remaining, to a considerable extent, the entirely\nhuman daughter of Buthli whom Sigurth woos for Gunnar. This confusion,\nintensified by a mixing of names (cf. Sigrdrifumol, introductory note),\nand much resembling that which existed in the parallel cases of Svava\nand Sigrun in the Helgi tradition, created difficulties which the Norse\npoets and story-tellers were never able to smooth out, and which have\nperplexed commentators ever since.\n\n\n\nThose who read the Sigurth poems in the Edda, or the story told in the\nVolsungasaga, expecting to find a critically accurate biography of the\nhero, will, of course, be disappointed. If, however, they will\nconstantly keep in mind the general manner in which the legend grew,\nits accretions ranging all the way from the Danube to Iceland, they\nwill find that most of the difficulties are simply the natural results\nof conflicting traditions. Just as the Danish Helgi had to be \u201creborn\u201d\ntwice in order to enable three different men to kill him, so the story\nof Sigurth, as told in the Eddic poems, involves here and there\ninconsistencies explicable only when the historical development of the\nstory is taken into consideration.\n\n\n\n\n\nGripir was the name of Eylimi\u2019s son, the brother of Hjordis; he ruled\nover lands and was of all men the wisest and most forward-seeing.\nSigurth once was riding alone and came to Gripir\u2019s hall. Sigurth was\neasy to recognize; he found out in front of the hall a man whose name\nwas Geitir. Then Sigurth questioned him and asked:\n\n\n1.  \u201cWho is it has   |   this dwelling here,\n    Or what do men call   |   the people\u2019s king?\u201d\n\n\nGeitir spake:\n\n\n    \u201cGripir the name   |   of the chieftain good\n    Who holds the folk   |   and the firm-ruled land.\u201d\n\n\nSigurth spake:\n\n\n2.  \u201cIs the king all-knowing   |   now within,\n    Will the monarch come   |   with me to speak?\n    A man unknown   |   his counsel needs,\n    And Gripir fain   |   I soon would find.\u201d\n\n\nGeitir spake:\n\n\n3.  \u201cThe ruler glad   |   of Geitir will ask\n    Who seeks with Gripir   |   speech to have.\u201d\n\n\nSigurth spake:\n\n\n    \u201cSigurth am I,   |   and Sigmund\u2019s son,\n    And Hjordis the name   |   of the hero\u2019s mother.\u201d\n\n4.  Then Geitir went   |   and to Gripir spake:\n    \u201cA stranger comes   |   and stands without;\n    Lofty he is   |   to look upon,\n    And, prince, thyself   |   he fain would see.\u201d\n\n5.  From the hall the ruler   |   of heroes went,\n    And greeted well   |   the warrior come:\n    \u201cSigurth, welcome   |   long since had been thine;\n    Now, Geitir, shalt thou   |   Grani take.\u201d\n\n6.  Then of many   |   things they talked,\n    When thus the men   |   so wise had met.\n\n\nSigurth spake:\n\n\n    \u201cTo me, if thou knowest,   |   my mother\u2019s brother,\n    Say what life   |   will Sigurth\u2019s be.\u201d\n\n\nGripir spake:\n\n\n7.  \u201cOf men thou shalt be   |   on earth the mightiest,\n    And higher famed   |   than all the heroes;\n    Free of gold-giving,   |   slow to flee,\n    Noble to see,   |   and sage in speech.\u201d\n\n\nSigurth spake:\n\n\n8.  \u201cMonarch wise,   |   now more I ask;\n    To Sigurth say,   |   if thou thinkest to see,\n    What first will chance   |   of my fortune fair,\n    When hence I go   |   from out thy home?\u201d\n\n\nGripir spake:\n\n\n9.  \u201cFirst shalt thou, prince,   |   thy father avenge,\n    And Eylimi,   |   their ills requiting;\n    The hardy sons   |   of Hunding thou\n    Soon shalt fell,   |   and victory find.\u201d\n\n\nSigurth spake:\n\n\n10. \u201cNoble king,   |   my kinsman, say\n    Thy meaning true,   |   for our minds we speak:\n    For Sigurth mighty   |   deeds dost see,\n    The highest beneath   |   the heavens all?\u201d\n\n\nGripir spake:\n\n\n11. \u201cThe fiery dragon   |   alone thou shalt fight\n    That greedy lies   |   at Gnitaheith;\n    Thou shalt be of Regin   |   and Fafnir both\n    The slayer; truth   |   doth Gripir tell thee.\u201d\n\n\nSigurth spake:\n\n\n12. \u201cRich shall I be   |   if battles I win\n    With such as these,   |   as now thou sayest;\n    Forward look,   |   and further tell:\n    What the life   |   that I shall lead?\u201d\n\n\nGripir spake:\n\n\n13. \u201cFafnir\u2019s den   |   thou then shalt find,\n    And all his treasure   |   fair shalt take;\n    Gold shalt heap   |   on Grani\u2019s back,\n    And, proved in fight,   |   to Gjuki fare.\u201d\n\n\nSigurth spake:\n\n\n14. \u201cTo the warrior now   |   in words so wise,\n    Monarch noble,   |   more shalt tell;\n    I am Gjuki\u2019s guest,   |   and thence I go:\n    What the life   |   that I shall lead?\u201d\n\n\nGripir spake:\n\n\n15. \u201cOn the rocks there sleeps   |   the ruler\u2019s daughter,\n    Fair in armor,   |   since Helgi fell;\n    Thou shalt cut   |   with keen-edged sword,\n    And cleave the byrnie   |   with Fafnir\u2019s killer.\u201d\n\n\nSigurth spake:\n\n\n16. \u201cThe mail-coat is broken,   |   the maiden speaks,\n    The woman who   |   from sleep has wakened;\n    What says the maid   |   to Sigurth then\n    That happy fate   |   to the hero brings?\u201d\n\n\nGripir spake:\n\n\n17. \u201cRunes to the warrior   |   will she tell,\n    All that men   |   may ever seek,\n    And teach thee to speak   |   in all men\u2019s tongues,\n    And life with health;   |   thou\u2019rt happy, king!\u201d\n\n\nSigurth spake:\n\n\n18. \u201cNow is it ended,   |   the knowledge is won,\n    And ready I am   |   forth thence to ride;\n    Forward look   |   and further tell:\n    What the life   |   that I shall lead?\u201d\n\n\nGripir spake:\n\n\n19. \u201cThen to Heimir\u2019s   |   home thou comest,\n    And glad shalt be   |   the guest of the king;\n    Ended, Sigurth,   |   is all I see,\n    No further aught   |   of Gripir ask.\u201d\n\n\nSigurth spake:\n\n\n20. \u201cSorrow brings me   |   the word thou sayest,\n    For, monarch, forward   |   further thou seest;\n    Sad the grief   |   for Sigurth thou knowest,\n    Yet nought to me, Gripir,   |   known wilt make.\u201d\n\n\nGripir spake:\n\n\n21. \u201cBefore me lay   |   in clearest light\n    All of thy youth   |   for mine eyes to see;\n    Not rightly can I   |   wise be called,\n    Nor forward-seeing;   |   my wisdom is fled.\u201d\n\n\nSigurth spake:\n\n\n22. \u201cNo man, Gripir,   |   on earth I know\n    Who sees the future   |   as far as thou;\n    Hide thou nought,   |   though hard it be,\n    And base the deeds   |   that I shall do.\u201d\n\n\nGripir spake:\n\n\n23. \u201cWith baseness never   |   thy life is burdened,\n    Hero noble,   |   hold that sure;\n    Lofty as long   |   as the world shall live,\n    Battle-bringer,   |   thy name shall be.\u201d\n\n\nSigurth spake:\n\n\n24. \u201cNought could seem worse,   |   but now must part\n    The prince and Sigurth,   |   since so it is;\n    My road I ask,\u2014   |   the future lies open,\u2014\n    Mighty one, speak,   |   my mother\u2019s brother.\u201d\n\n\nGripir spake:\n\n\n25. \u201cNow to Sigurth   |   all shall I say,\n    For to this the warrior   |   bends my will;\n    Thou knowest well   |   that I will not lie,\u2014\n    A day there is   |   when thy death is doomed.\u201d\n\n\nSigurth spake:\n\n\n26. \u201cNo scorn I know   |   for the noble king,\n    But counsel good   |   from Gripir I seek;\n    Well will I know,   |   though evil awaits,\n    What Sigurth may   |   before him see.\u201d\n\n\nGripir spake:\n\n\n27. \u201cA maid in Heimir\u2019s   |   home there dwells,\n    Brynhild her name   |   to men is known,\n    Daughter of Buthli,   |   the doughty king,\n    And Heimir fosters   |   the fearless maid.\u201d\n\n\nSigurth spake:\n\n\n28. \u201cWhat is it to me,   |   though the maiden be\n    So fair, and of Heimir   |   the fosterling is?\n    Gripir, truth   |   to me shalt tell,\n    For all of fate   |   before me thou seest.\u201d\n\n\nGripir spake:\n\n\n29. \u201cOf many a joy   |   the maiden robs thee,\n    Fair to see,   |   whom Heimir fosters;\n    Sleep thou shalt find not,   |   feuds thou shalt end not,\n    Nor seek out men,   |   if the maid thou seest not.\u201d\n\n\nSigurth spake:\n\n\n30. \u201cWhat may be had   |   for Sigurth\u2019s healing?\n    Say now, Gripir,   |   if see thou canst;\n    May I buy the maid   |   with the marriage-price,\n    The daughter fair   |   of the chieftain famed?\u201d\n\n\nGripir spake:\n\n\n31. \u201cYe twain shall all   |   the oaths then swear\n    That bind full fast;   |   few shall ye keep;\n    One night when Gjuki\u2019s   |   guest thou hast been,\n    Will Heimir\u2019s fosterling   |   fade from thy mind.\u201d\n\n\nSigurth spake:\n\n\n32. \u201cWhat sayst thou, Gripir?   |   give me the truth,\n    Does fickleness hide   |   in the hero\u2019s heart?\n    Can it be that troth   |   I break with the maid,\n    With her I believed   |   I loved so dear?\u201d\n\n\nGripir spake:\n\n\n33. \u201cTricked by another,   |   prince, thou art,\n    And the price of Grimhild\u2019s   |   wiles thou must pay;\n    Fain of thee   |   for the fair-haired maid,\n    Her daughter, she is,   |   and she drags thee down.\u201d\n\n\nSigurth spake:\n\n\n34. \u201cMight I with Gunnar   |   kinship make,\n    And Guthrun win   |   to be my wife,\n    Well the hero   |   wedded would be,\n    If my treacherous deed   |   would trouble me not.\u201d\n\n\nGripir spake:\n\n\n35. \u201cWholly Grimhild   |   thy heart deceives,\n    She will bid thee go   |   and Brynhild woo\n    For Gunnar\u2019s wife,   |   the lord of the Goths;\n    And the prince\u2019s mother   |   thy promise shall win.\u201d\n\n\nSigurth spake:\n\n\n36. \u201cEvil waits me,   |   well I see it,\n    And gone is Sigurth\u2019s   |   wisdom good,\n    If I shall woo   |   for another to win\n    The maiden fair   |   that so fondly I loved.\u201d\n\n\nGripir spake:\n\n\n37. \u201cYe three shall all   |   the oaths then take,\n    Gunnar and Hogni,   |   and, hero, thou;\n    Your forms ye shall change,   |   as forth ye fare,\n    Gunnar and thou;   |   for Gripir lies not.\u201d\n\n\nSigurth spake:\n\n\n38. \u201cHow meanest thou?   |   Why make we the change\n    Of shape and form   |   as forth we fare?\n    There must follow   |   another falsehood\n    Grim in all ways;   |   speak on, Gripir!\u201d\n\n\nGripir spake:\n\n\n39. \u201cThe form of Gunnar   |   and shape thou gettest,\n    But mind and voice   |   thine own remain;\n    The hand of the fosterling   |   noble of Heimir\n    Now dost thou win,   |   and none can prevent.\u201d\n\n\nSigurth spake:\n\n\n40. \u201cMost evil it seems,   |   and men will say\n    Base is Sigurth   |   that so he did;\n    Not of my will   |   shall I cheat with wiles\n    The heroes\u2019 maiden   |   whom noblest I hold.\u201d\n\n\nGripir spake:\n\n\n41. \u201cThou dwellest, leader   |   lofty of men,\n    With the maid as if   |   thy mother she were;\n    Lofty as long   |   as the world shall live,\n    Ruler of men,   |   thy name shall remain.\u201d\n\n\nSigurth spake:\n\n\n42. \u201cShall Gunnar have   |   a goodly wife,\n    Famed among men,\u2014   |   speak forth now, Gripir!\n    Although at my side   |   three nights she slept,\n    The warrior\u2019s bride?   |   Such ne\u2019er has been.\u201d\n\n\nGripir spake:\n\n\n43. \u201cThe marriage draught   |   will be drunk for both,\n    For Sigurth and Gunnar,   |   in Gjuki\u2019s hall;\n    Your forms ye change,   |   when home ye fare,\n    But the mind of each   |   to himself remains.\u201d\n\n\nSigurth spake:\n\n\n44. \u201cShall the kinship new   |   thereafter come\n    To good among us?   |   Tell me, Gripir!\n    To Gunnar joy   |   shall it later give,\n    Or happiness send   |   for me myself?\u201d\n\n\nGripir spake:\n\n\n45. \u201cThine oaths remembering,   |   silent thou art,\n    And dwellest with Guthrun   |   in wedlock good;\n    But Brynhild shall deem   |   she is badly mated,\n    And wiles she seeks,   |   herself to avenge.\u201d\n\n\nSigurth spake:\n\n\n46. \u201cWhat may for the bride   |   requital be,\n    The wife we won   |   with subtle wiles?\n    From me she has   |   the oaths I made,\n    And kept not long;   |   they gladdened her little.\u201d\n\n\nGripir spake:\n\n\n47. \u201cTo Gunnar soon   |   his bride will say\n    That ill didst thou   |   thine oath fulfill,\n    When the goodly king,   |   the son of Gjuki,\n    With all his heart   |   the hero trusted.\u201d\n\n\nSigurth spake:\n\n\n48. \u201cWhat sayst thou, Gripir?   |   give me the truth!\n    Am I guilty so   |   as now is said,\n    Or lies does the far-famed   |   queen put forth\n    Of me and herself?   |   Yet further speak.\u201d\n\n\nGripir spake:\n\n\n49. \u201cIn wrath and grief   |   full little good\n    The noble bride   |   shall work thee now;\n    No shame thou gavest   |   the goodly one,\n    Though the monarch\u2019s wife   |   with wiles didst cheat.\u201d\n\n\nSigurth spake:\n\n\n50. \u201cShall Gunnar the wise   |   to the woman\u2019s words,\n    And Gotthorm and Hogni,   |   then give heed?\n    Shall Gjuki\u2019s sons,   |   now tell me, Gripir,\n    Redden their blades   |   with their kinsman\u2019s blood?\u201d\n\n\nGripir spake:\n\n\n51. \u201cHeavy it lies   |   on Guthrun\u2019s heart,\n    When her brothers all   |   shall bring thee death;\n    Never again   |   shall she happiness know,\n    The woman so fair;   |   \u2019tis Grimhild\u2019s work.\u201d\n\n\nSigurth spake:\n\n\n52. \u201cNow fare thee well!   |   our fates we shun not;\n    And well has Gripir   |   answered my wish;\n    More of joy   |   to me wouldst tell\n    Of my life to come   |   if so thou couldst.\u201d\n\n\nGripir spake:\n\n\n53. \u201cEver remember,   |   ruler of men,\n    That fortune lies   |   in the hero\u2019s life;\n    A nobler man   |   shall never live\n    Beneath the sun   |   than Sigurth shall seem.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTES\n\n\nProse. The manuscript gives the poem no title. Gripir: this uncle of\nSigurth\u2019s was probably a pure invention of the poet\u2019s. The Volsungasaga\nmentions him, but presumably only because of his appearance here. On\nEylimi and Hjordis see Fra Dautha Sinfjotla and note. Geitir, the\nserving-man, is likewise apparently an invention of the poet\u2019s.\n\n1. The manuscript does not indicate the speakers anywhere in the poem.\nSome editors have made separate stanzas out of the two-line speeches in\nstanzas 1, 3 and 6.\n\n3. Sigurth: a few editions use in the verse the older form of this\nname, \u201cSigvorth,\u201d though the manuscript here keeps to the form used in\nthis translation. The Old High German \u201cSigifrid\u201d (\u201cPeace-Bringer\nthrough Victory\u201d) became the Norse \u201cSigvorth\u201d (\u201cVictory-Guarder\u201d),\nthis, in turn, becoming \u201cSigurth.\u201d\n\n4. Bugge thinks a stanza has been lost after stanza 4, in which Geitir\ntells Gripir who Sigurth is.\n\n5. Grani: Sigurth\u2019s horse. According to the Volsungasaga his father was\nSleipnir, Othin\u2019s eight-legged horse, and Othin himself gave him to\nSigurth. The introductory note to the Reginsmol tells a different\nstory.\n\n9. Thy father: on the death of Sigmund and Eylimi at the hands of\nHunting\u2019s sons see Fra Dautha Sinfjotla and note.\n\n11. The dragon: Fafnir, brother of the dwarf Regin, who turns himself\ninto a dragon to guard Andvari\u2019s hoard; cf. Reginsmol and Fafnismol.\nGnitaheith: a relic of the German tradition; it has been identified as\nlying south of Paderborn.\n\n13. Gjuki: the Norse form of the name Gibeche (\u201cThe Giver\u201d). Gjuki is\nthe father of Gunnar, Hogni, and Guthrun, the family which reflects\nmost directly the Burgundian part of the tradition (cf. Introductory\nNote). The statement that Sigurth is to go direct from the slaying of\nFafnir to Gjuki\u2019s hall involves one of the confusions resulting from\nthe dual personality of Brynhild. In the older (and the original South\nGermanic) story, Sigurth becomes a guest of the Gjukungs before he has\never heard of Brynhild, and first sees her when, having changed forms\nwith Gunnar, he goes to woo her for the latter. In another version he\nfinds Brynhild before he visits the Gjukungs, only to forget her as the\nresult of the magic draught administered by Guthrun\u2019s mother. Both\nthese versions are represented in the poems of which the author of the\nGripisspo made use, and he tried, rather clumsily, to combine them, by\nhaving Sigurth go to Gjuki\u2019s house, then find the unnamed Valkyrie, and\nthen return to Gjuki, the false wooing following this second visit.\n\n15. Basing his story on the Sigrdrifumol, the poet here tells of\nSigurth\u2019s finding of the Valkyrie, whom he does not identify with\nBrynhild, daughter of Buthli (stanza 27), at all. His error in this\nrespect is not surprising, in view of Brynhild\u2019s dual identity (cf.\nIntroductory Note, and Fafnismol, 44 and note). Helgi: according to\nHelreith Brynhildar (stanza 8), with which the author of the Gripisspo\nwas almost certainly familiar, the hero for whose death Brynhild was\npunished was named Hjalmgunnar. Is Helgi here identical with\nHjalmgunnar, or did the author make a mistake? Finnur Jonsson thinks\nthe author regarded Sigurth\u2019s Valkyrie as a fourth incarnation of\nSvava-Sigrun-Kara, and wrote Helgi\u2019s name in deliberately. Many\neditors, following Bugge, have tried to reconstruct line 2 so as to get\nrid of Helgi\u2019s name.\n\n19. Heimir: the Volsungasaga says that Heimir was the husband of\nBrynhild\u2019s sister, Bekkhild. Brynhild\u2019s family connections involve a\nqueer mixture of northern and southern legend. Heimir and Bekkhild are\npurely of northern invention; neither of them is mentioned in any of\nthe earlier poems, though Brynhild speaks of her \u201cfoster-father\u201d in\nHelreith Brynhildar. In the older Norse poems Brynhild is a sister of\nAtli (Attila), a relationship wholly foreign to the southern stories,\nand the father of this strangely assorted pair is Buthli, who in the\nNibelungenlied is apparently Etzel\u2019s grandfather. Add to this her role\nof Valkyrie, and it is small wonder that the annotator himself was\npuzzled.\n\n27. Brynhild (\u201cArmed Warrior\u201d): on her and her family see Introductory\nNote and note to stanza 19.\n\n33. Most editions have no comma after line 3, and change the meaning to\n\u201cFain of thee   |   the fair-haired one / For her daughter is.\u201d\nGrimhild: in the northern form of the story Kriemhild, Gunther\u2019s sister\nand Siegfried\u2019s wife, becomes Grimhild, mother of Gunnar and Guthrun,\nthe latter taking Kriemhild\u2019s place. The Volsungasaga tells how\nGrimhild gave Sigurth a magic draught which made him utterly forget\nBrynhild. Edzardi thinks two stanzas have been lost after stanza 33,\ntheir remains appearing in stanza 37.\n\n35. In the Volsungasaga Grimhild merely advises Gunnar to seek Brynhild\nfor his wife, and to have Sigurth ride with him. Goths: the historical\nGunnar (Gundicarius, cf. Introductory Note) was not a Goth, but a\nBurgundian, but the word \u201cGoth\u201d was applied in the North without much\ndiscrimination to the southern Germanic peoples.\n\n37. In the Nibelungenlied Siegfried merely makes himself invisible in\norder to lend Gunther his strength for the feats which must be\nperformed in order to win the redoubtable bride. In the northern\nversion Sigurth and Gunnar change forms, \u201cas Grimhild had taught them\nhow to do.\u201d The Volsungasaga tells how Sigurth and Gunnar came to\nHeimir, who told them that to win Brynhild one must ride through the\nring of fire which surrounded her hall (cf. the hall of Mengloth in\nSvipdagsmol). Gunnar tries it, but his horse balks; then he mounts\nGrani, but Grani will not stir for him. So they change forms, and\nSigurth rides Grani through the flames. Oaths: the blood-brotherhood\nsworn by Sigurth, Gunnar, and Hogni makes it impossible for the\nbrothers to kill him themselves, but they finally get around the\ndifficulty by inducing their half-brother, Gotthorm (cf. Hyndluljoth,\n27 and note) to do it.\n\n39. The last half of line 4 is obscure, and the reading is conjectural.\n\n41. Something is clearly wrong with stanzas 41\u201343. In the manuscript\nthe order is 41, 43, 42, which brings two of Gripir\u2019s answers together,\nfollowed by two of Sigurth\u2019s questions. Some editors have arranged the\nstanzas as in this translation, while others have interchanged 41 and\n43. In any case, Sigurth in stanza 42 asks about the \u201cthree nights\u201d\nwhich Gripir has never mentioned. I suspect that lines 3\u20134 of stanza\n41, which are practically identical with lines 3\u20134 of stanza 23, got in\nhere by mistake, replacing two lines which may have run thus: \u201cWith thy\nsword between,   |   three nights thou sleepest / With her thou winnest\n|   for Gunnar\u2019s wife.\u201d The subsequent poems tell how Sigurth laid his\nsword Gram between himself and Brynhild.\n\n43. The simultaneous weddings of Sigurth and Gunnar form a memorable\nfeature of the German tradition as it appears in the Nibelungenlied,\nbut in the Volsungasaga Sigurth marries Guthrun before he sets off with\nGunnar to win Brynhild.\n\n45. According to the Volsungasaga, Sigurth remembers his oaths to\nBrynhild almost immediately after his return to Gunnar\u2019s house.\nBrynhild, on the other hand, knows nothing until the famous quarrel\nbetween herself and Guthrun at the bath (another reminiscence of the\nGerman story), when she taunts Guthrun with Sigurth\u2019s inferiority to\nGunnar, and Guthrun retorts with the statement that it was Sigurth, and\nnot Gunnar, who rode through the flames.\n\n47. Brynhild tells Gunnar that Sigurth really possessed her during the\nthree nights when he slept by her in Gunnar\u2019s form, thus violating his\noath. Here again there is a confusion of two traditions. If Sigurth did\nnot meet Brynhild until after his oath to Gunnar (cf. note on stanza\n13), Brynhild\u2019s charge is entirely false, as she herself admits in\nHelreith Brynhildar. On the other hand, according to the version in\nwhich Sigurth finds Brynhild before he meets Gjuki\u2019s sons, their union\nwas not only completed, but she had by him a daughter, Aslaug, whom she\nleaves in Heimir\u2019s charge before going to become Gunnar\u2019s wife. This is\nthe Volsungasaga version, and thus the statement Brynhild makes to\nGunnar, as a result of which Sigurth is slain, is quite true.\n\n50. Gotthorm: Gunnar\u2019s half-brother, and slayer of Sigurth.\n\n52. The manuscript has stanzas 52 and 53 in inverse order.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nREGINSMOL\n\nTHE BALLAD OF REGIN\n\n\nINTRODUCTORY NOTE\n\nThe Reginsmol immediately follows the Gripisspo in the Codex Regius,\nand in addition stanzas 1, 2, 6, and 18 are quoted in the Volsungasaga,\nand stanzas 13\u201326 in the Nornageststhattr. In no instance is the title\nof the poem stated, and in Regius there stands before the introductory\nprose, very faintly written, what appears to be \u201cOf Sigurth.\u201d As a\nresult, various titles have been affixed to it, the two most often used\nbeing \u201cthe Ballad of Regin\u201d and \u201cthe First Lay of Sigurth Fafnisbane.\u201d\n\nAs a matter of fact, it is by no means clear that the compiler of the\nEddic collection regarded this or either of the two following poems,\nthe Fafnismol and the Sigrdrifumol, as separate and distinct poems at\nall. There are no specific titles given, and the prose notes link the\nthree poems in a fairly consecutive whole. Furthermore, the prose\npassage introducing the Reginsmol connects directly with Fra Dautha\nSinfjotla, and only the insertion of the Gripisspo at this point, which\nmay well have been done by some stupid copyist, breaks the continuity\nof the story.\n\nFor convenience I have here followed the usual plan of dividing this\nmaterial into distinct parts, or poems, but I greatly doubt if this\ndivision is logically sound. The compiler seems, rather, to have\nundertaken to set down the story of Sigurth in consecutive form, making\nuse of all the verse with which he was familiar, and which, by any\nstretch of the imagination, could be made to fit, filling up the gaps\nwith prose narrative notes based on the living oral tradition.\n\nThis view is supported by the fact that not one of the three poems in\nquestion, and least of all the Reginsmol, can possibly be regarded as a\nunit. For one thing, each of them includes both types of stanza\ncommonly used in the Eddic poems, and this, notwithstanding the efforts\nof Grundtvig and M\u00fcllenhoff to prove the contrary, is almost if not\nquite conclusive proof that each poem consists of material taken from\nmore than one source. Furthermore, there is nowhere continuity within\nthe verse itself for more than a very few stanzas. An analysis of the\nReginsmol shows that stanzas 1\u20134, 6\u201310, and 12, all in Ljothahattr\nstanza form, seem to belong together as fragments of a poem dealing\nwith Loki\u2019s (not Andvari\u2019s) curse on the gold taken by the gods from\nAndvari and paid to Hreithmar, together with Hreithmar\u2019s death at the\nhands of his son, Fafnir, as the first result of this curse. Stanza 5,\nin Fornyrthislag, is a curse on the gold, here ascribed to Andvari, but\nthe only proper name in the stanza, Gust, is quite unidentifiable, and\nthe stanza may originally have had to do with a totally different\nstory. Stanza 11, likewise in Fornyrthislag, is merely a father\u2019s\ndemand that his daughter rear a family to avenge his death; there is\nnothing in it to link it necessarily with the dying Hreithmar. Stanzas\n13\u201318, all in Fornyrthislag, give Regin\u2019s welcome to Sigurth (stanzas\n13\u201314), Sigurth\u2019s announcement that he will avenge his father\u2019s death\non the sons of Hunding before he seeks any treasure (stanza 15), and a\ndialogue between a certain Hnikar, who is really Othin, and Regin, as\nthe latter and Sigurth are on the point of being shipwrecked. This\nsection (stanzas 13\u201318) bears a striking resemblance to the Helgi lays,\nand may well have come originally from that cycle. Next follows a\npassage in Ljothahattr form (stanzas 19\u201322 and 24\u201325) in which\nHnikar-Othin gives some general advice as to lucky omens and good\nconduct in battle; the entire passage might equally well stand in the\nHovamol, and I suspect that it originally came from just such a\ncollection of wise saws. Inserted in this passage is stanza 23, in\nFornyrthislag, likewise on the conduct of battle, with a bit of\ntactical advice included. The \u201cpoem\u201d ends with a single stanza, in\nFornyrthislag, simply stating that the bloody fight is over and that\nSigurth fought well\u2014a statement equally applicable to any part of the\nhero\u2019s career.\n\nFinnur Jonsson has divided the Reginsmol into two poems, or rather into\ntwo sets of fragments, but this, as the foregoing analysis has\nindicated, does not appear to go nearly far enough. It accords much\nbetter with the facts to assume that the compiler of the collection\nrepresented by the Codex Regius, having set out to tell the story of\nSigurth, took his verse fragments pretty much wherever he happened to\nfind them. In this connection, it should be remembered that in the\nfluid state of oral tradition poems, fragments, and stanzas passed\nreadily and frequently from one story to another. Tradition, never\ncritical, doubtless connected with the Sigurth story much verse that\nnever originated there.\n\nIf the entire passage beginning with the prose Fra Dautha Sinfjotla,\nand, except for the Gripisspo, including the Reginsmol, Fafnismol, and\nSigrdrifumol, be regarded as a highly uncritical piece of compilation,\nrendered consecutive by the compiler\u2019s prose narrative, its\ndifficulties are largely smoothed away; any other way of looking at it\nresults in utterly inconclusive attempts to reconstruct poems some of\nwhich quite possibly never existed.\n\nThe twenty-six stanzas and accompanying prose notes included under the\nheading of Reginsmol belong almost wholly to the northern part of the\nSigurth legend; the mythological features have no counterpart in the\nsouthern stories, and only here and there is there any betrayal of the\ntradition\u2019s Frankish home. The story of Andvari, Loki, and Hreithmar is\npurely Norse, as is the concluding section containing Othin\u2019s counsels.\nIf we assume that the passage dealing with the victory over Hunding\u2019s\nsons belongs to the Helgi cycle (cf. introductory notes to Helgakvitha\nHjorvarthssonar and Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I), there is very little\nleft to reflect the Sigurth tradition proper.\n\nRegarding the general development of the story of Sigurth in the North,\nsee the introductory note to the Gripisspo.\n\n\n\n\n\nSigurth went to Hjalprek\u2019s stud and chose for himself a horse, who\nthereafter was called Grani. At that time Regin, the son of Hreithmar,\nwas come to Hjalprek\u2019s home; he was more ingenious than all other men,\nand a dwarf in stature; he was wise, fierce and skilled in magic. Regin\nundertook Sigurth\u2019s bringing up and teaching, and loved him much. He\ntold Sigurth of his forefathers, and also of this: that once Othin and\nH\u00f6nir and Loki had come to Andvari\u2019s waterfall, and in the fall were\nmany fish. Andvari was a dwarf, who had dwelt long in the waterfall in\nthe shape of a pike, and there he got his food. \u201cOtr was the name of a\nbrother of ours,\u201d said Regin, \u201cwho often went into the fall in the\nshape of an otter; he had caught a salmon, and sat on the high bank\neating it with his eyes shut. Loki threw a stone at him and killed him;\nthe gods thought they had had great good luck, and stripped the skin\noff the otter. That same evening they sought a night\u2019s lodging at\nHreithmar\u2019s house, and showed their booty. Then we seized them, and\ntold them, as ransom for their lives, to fill the otter skin with gold,\nand completely cover it outside as well with red gold. Then they sent\nLoki to get the gold; he went to Ron and got her net, and went then to\nAndvari\u2019s fall and cast the net in front of the pike, and the pike\nleaped into the net.\u201d Then Loki said:\n\n\n1.  \u201cWhat is the fish   |   that runs in the flood,\n      And itself from ill cannot save?\n    If thy head thou wouldst   |   from hell redeem,\n      Find me the water\u2019s flame.\u201d\n\n\nAndvari spake:\n\n\n2.  \u201cAndvari am I,   |   and Oin my father,\n      In many a fall have I fared;\n    An evil Norn   |   in olden days\n      Doomed me in waters to dwell.\u201d\n\n\nLoki spake:\n\n\n3.  \u201cAndvari, say,   |   if thou seekest still\n      To live in the land of men,\n    What payment is set   |   for the sons of men\n      Who war with lying words?\u201d\n\n\nAndvari spake:\n\n\n4.  \u201cA mighty payment   |   the men must make\n      Who in Vathgelmir\u2019s waters wade;\n    On a long road lead   |   the lying words\n      That one to another utters.\u201d\n\n\nLoki saw all the gold that Andvari had. But when he had brought forth\nall the gold, he held back one ring, and Loki took this from him. The\ndwarf went into his rocky hole and said:\n\n\n5.  \u201cNow shall the gold   |   that Gust once had\n    Bring their death   |   to brothers twain,\n    And evil be   |   for heroes eight;\n    Joy of my wealth   |   shall no man win.\u201d\n\n\nThe gods gave Hreithmar the gold, and filled up the otter-skin, and\nstood it on its feet. Then the gods had to heap up gold and hide it.\nAnd when that was done, Hreithmar came forward and saw a single\nwhisker, and bade them cover it. Then Othin brought out the ring\nAndvaranaut and covered the hair. Then Loki said:\n\n\n6.  \u201cThe gold is given,   |   and great the price\n      Thou hast my head to save;\n    But fortune thy sons   |   shall find not there,\n      The bane of ye both it is.\u201d\n\n\nHreithmar spake:\n\n\n7.  \u201cGifts ye gave,   |   but ye gave not kindly,\n      Gave not with hearts that were whole;\n    Your lives ere this   |   should ye all have lost,\n      If sooner this fate I had seen.\u201d\n\n\nLoki spake:\n\n\n8.  \u201cWorse is this   |   that methinks I see,\n      For a maid shall kinsmen clash;\n    Heroes unborn   |   thereby shall be,\n      I deem, to hatred doomed.\u201d\n\n\nHreithmar spake:\n\n\n9.  \u201cThe gold so red   |   shall I rule, methinks,\n      So long as I shall live;\n    Nought of fear   |   for thy threats I feel,\n      So get ye hence to your homes.\u201d\n\n\nFafnir and Regin asked Hreithmar for a share of the wealth that was\npaid for the slaying of their brother, Otr. This he refused, and Fafnir\nthrust his sword through the body of his father, Hreithmar, while he\nwas sleeping. Hreithmar called to his daughters:\n\n\n10. \u201cLyngheith and Lofnheith,   |   fled is my life,\n      And mighty now is my need!\u201d\n\n\nLyngheith spake:\n\n\n    \u201cThough a sister loses   |   her father, seldom\n      Revenge on her brother she brings.\u201d\n\n\nHreithmar spake:\n\n\n11. \u201cA daughter, woman   |   with wolf\u2019s heart, bear,\n    If thou hast no son   |   with the hero brave;\n    If one weds the maid,   |   for the need is mighty,\n    Their son for thy hurt   |   may vengeance seek.\u201d\n\n\nThen Hreithmar died, and Fafnir took all the gold. Thereupon Regin\nasked to have his inheritance from his father, but Fafnir refused this.\nThen Regin asked counsel of Lyngheith, his sister, how he should win\nhis inheritance. She said:\n\n\n12. \u201cIn friendly wise   |   the wealth shalt thou ask\n      Of thy brother, and better will;\n    Not seemly is it   |   to seek with the sword\n      Fafnir\u2019s treasure to take.\u201d\n\n\nAll these happenings did Regin tell to Sigurth.\n\nOne day, when he came to Regin\u2019s house, he was gladly welcomed. Regin\nsaid:\n\n\n13. \u201cHither the son   |   of Sigmund is come,\n    The hero eager,   |   here to our hall;\n    His courage is more   |   than an ancient man\u2019s,\n    And battle I hope   |   from the hardy wolf.\n\n14. \u201cHere shall I foster   |   the fearless prince,\n    Now Yngvi\u2019s heir   |   to us is come;\n    The noblest hero   |   beneath the sun,\n    The threads of his fate   |   all lands enfold.\u201d\n\n\nSigurth was there continually with Regin, who said to Sigurth that\nFafnir lay at Gnitaheith, and was in the shape of a dragon. He had a\nfear-helm, of which all living creatures were terrified. Regin made\nSigurth the sword which was called Gram; it was so sharp that when he\nthrust it down into the Rhine, and let a strand of wool drift against\nit with the stream, it cleft the strand asunder as if it were water.\nWith this sword Sigurth cleft asunder Regin\u2019s anvil. After that Regin\negged Sigurth on to slay Fafnir, but he said:\n\n\n15. \u201cLoud will the sons   |   of Hunding laugh,\n    Who low did Eylimi   |   lay in death,\n    If the hero sooner   |   seeks the red\n    Rings to find   |   than his father\u2019s vengeance.\u201d\n\n\nKing Hjalprek gave Sigurth a fleet for the avenging of his father. They\nran into a great storm, and were off a certain headland. A man stood on\nthe mountain, and said:\n\n\n16. \u201cWho yonder rides   |   on R\u00e6vil\u2019s steeds,\n    O\u2019er towering waves   |   and waters wild?\n    The sail-horses all   |   with sweat are dripping,\n    Nor can the sea-steeds   |   the gale withstand.\u201d\n\n\nRegin answered:\n\n\n17. \u201cOn the sea-trees here   |   are Sigurth and I,\n    The storm wind drives us   |   on to our death;\n    The waves crash down   |   on the forward deck,\n    And the roller-steeds sink;   |   who seeks our names?\u201d\n\n\nThe Man spake:\n\n\n18. \u201cHnikar I was   |   when Volsung once\n    Gladdened the ravens   |   and battle gave;\n    Call me the Man   |   from the Mountain now,\n    Feng or Fjolnir;   |   with you will I fare.\u201d\n\n\nThey sailed to the land, and the man went on board the ship, and the\nstorm subsided. Sigurth spake:\n\n\n19. \u201cHnikar, say,   |   for thou seest the fate\n      That to gods and men is given;\n    What sign is fairest   |   for him who fights,\n      And best for the swinging of swords?\u201d\n\n\nHnikar spake:\n\n\n20. \u201cMany the signs,   |   if men but knew,\n      That are good for the swinging of swords;\n    It is well, methinks,   |   if the warrior meets\n      A raven black on his road.\n\n21. \u201cAnother it is   |   if out thou art come,\n      And art ready forth to fare,\n    To behold on the path   |   before thy house\n      Two fighters greedy of fame.\n\n22. \u201cThird it is well   |   if a howling wolf\n      Thou hearest under the ash;\n    And fortune comes   |   if thy foe thou seest\n      Ere thee the hero beholds.\n\n23. \u201cA man shall fight not   |   when he must face\n    The moon\u2019s bright sister   |   setting late;\n    Win he shall   |   who well can see,\n    And wedge-like forms   |   his men for the fray.\n\n24. \u201cFoul is the sign   |   if thy foot shall stumble\n      As thou goest forth to fight;\n    Goddesses baneful   |   at both thy sides\n      Will that wounds thou shalt get.\n\n25. \u201cCombed and washed   |   shall the wise man go,\n      And a meal at morn shall take;\n    For unknown it is   |   where at eve he may be;\n      It is ill thy luck to lose.\u201d\n\n\nSigurth had a great battle with Lyngvi, the son of Hunding, and his\nbrothers; there Lyngvi fell, and his two brothers with him. After the\nbattle Regin said:\n\n\n26. \u201cNow the bloody eagle   |   with biting sword\n    Is carved on the back   |   of Sigmund\u2019s killer;\n    Few were more fierce   |   in fight than his son,\n    Who reddened the earth   |   and gladdened the ravens.\u201d\n\n\nSigurth went home to Hjalprek\u2019s house; thereupon Regin egged him on to\nfight with Fafnir.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTES\n\n\nProse. Hjalprek: father of Alf, Sigurth\u2019s step-father; cf. Fra Dautha\nSinfjotla, and note. Grani: cf. Gripisspo, 5 and note. Regin\n(\u201cCounsel-Giver\u201d): undoubtedly he goes back to the smith of the German\nstory; in the Thithrekssaga version he is called Mimir, while Regin is\nthere the name of the dragon (here Regin\u2019s brother, Fafnir). The\nVoluspo (stanza 12) names a Regin among the dwarfs, and the name may\nhave assisted in making Regin a dwarf here. Hreithmar: nothing is known\nof him outside of this story. Othin, H\u00f6nir and Loki: these same three\ngods appear in company in Voluspo, 17\u201318. Andvari\u2019s fall: according to\nSnorri, who tells this entire story in the Skaldskaparmal, Andvari\u2019s\nfall was in the world of the dark elves, while the one where Loki\nkilled the otter was not; here, however, the two are considered\nidentical. With his eyes shut: according to Snorri, Otr ate with his\neyes shut because he was so greedy that he could not bear to see the\nfood before him diminishing. Ron: wife of the sea-god \u00c6gir, who draws\ndown drowning men with her net; cf. Helgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar, 18 and\nnote. Snorri says that Loki caught the pike with his hands.\n\n1. Snorri quotes this stanza. Water\u2019s flame: gold, so called because\n\u00c6gir, the sea-god, was wont to light his hall with gold.\n\n2. Snorri quotes this stanza. The name of the speaker is not given in\nthe manuscripts. Oin: nothing further is known of Andvari\u2019s father.\nNorn: cf. Voluspo, 20.\n\n3. Stanzas 3\u20134 may well be fragments of some other poem. Certainly\nLoki\u2019s question does not fit the situation, and the passage looks like\nan extract from some such poem as Vafthruthnismol. In Regius the phrase\n\u201cLoki spake\u201d stands in the middle of line 1.\n\n4. The manuscript does not name the speaker. Vathgelmir (\u201cRaging to\nWade\u201d): a river not elsewhere mentioned, but cf. Voluspo, 39.\n\nProse. Snorri says Andvari\u2019s ring had the power to create new gold. In\nthis it resembled Baldr\u2019s ring, Draupnir; cf. Skirnismol, 21 and note.\n\n5. This stanza apparently comes from a different source from stanzas\n1\u20134 (or 1\u20132 if 3\u20134 are interpolated) and 6\u201310; cf. Introductory Note.\nIn the Volsungasaga Andvari lays his curse particularly on the ring.\nGust: possibly a name for Andvari himself, or for an earlier possessor\nof the treasure. Brothers twain: Fafnir and Regin. Heroes eight: the\nword \u201ceight\u201d may easily have been substituted for something like \u201call\u201d\nto make the stanza fit the case; the \u201ceight\u201d in question are presumably\nSigurth, Gotthorm, Gunnar, Hogni, Atli, Erp, Sorli and Hamther, all of\nwhom are slain in the course of the story. But the stanza may\noriginally not have referred to Andvari\u2019s treasure at all.\n\nProse. Andvaranaut: \u201cAndvari\u2019s Gem.\u201d\n\n6. Snorri quotes this stanza, introducing it, as here, with \u201cThen Loki\nsaid\u201d in the prose. Regius omits this phrase, but inserts \u201csaid Loki\u201d\nin line 1.\n\n8. The word translated \u201cmaid\u201d in line 2 is obscure, and \u201cgold\u201d may be\nmeant. Apparently, however, the reference is to the fight between\nSigurth and the sons of Gjuki over Brynhild. The manuscript does not\nname the speaker, and many editions assign this stanza to Hreithmar.\n\n9. The manuscript includes \u201csaid Hreithmar\u201d (abbreviated) in the middle\nof line 1, and some editors have followed this.\n\n10. Hreithmar\u2019s daughters do not appear elsewhere. It has been\nsuggested that originally stanza 10 was followed by one in which\nLofnheith lamented her inability to avenge her father, as she was\nmarried and had no son.\n\n11. Apparently an interpolation (cf. Introductory Note). Vigfusson\ntries to reconstruct lines 2 and 4 to fit the Ljothahattr rhythm, but\nwithout much success. Hreithmar urges his daughter, as she has no sons,\nto bear a daughter who, in turn, will have a son to avenge his\ngreat-grandfather. Grundtvig worked out an ingenious theory to fit this\nstanza, making Sigurth\u2019s grandfather, Eylimi, the husband of\nLyngheith\u2019s daughter, but there is absolutely no evidence to support\nthis. The stanza may have nothing to do with Hreithmar.\n\n13. This and the following stanza may be out of place here, really\nbelonging, together with their introductory prose sentence, in the\nopening prose passage, following the first sentence describing Regin.\nCertainly they seem to relate to Regin\u2019s first meeting with Sigurth.\nStanzas 13\u201326, interspersed with prose, are quoted in the\nNornageststhattr. Stanzas 13\u201318 may be the remnants of a lost poem\nbelonging to the Helgi cycle (cf. Introductory Note). Hardy wolf:\nwarrior, i.e., Sigurth.\n\n14. Yngvi\u2019s heir: Yngvi was one of the sons of the Danish king Halfdan\nthe Old, and traditionally an ancestor of Helgi (cf. Helgakvitha\nHundingsbana I, 57 and note). Calling Sigurth a descendant of Yngvi is,\nof course, absurd, and the use of this phrase is one of the many\nreasons for believing that stanzas 13\u201318 belonged originally to the\nHelgi cycle. The threads, etc.: another link with Helgi; cf.\nHelgakvitha Hundingsbana I, 3\u20134. As Helgi was likewise regarded as a\nson of Sigmund, stanzas 13\u201314 would fit him just as well as Sigurth.\n\nProse. Gnitaheith: cf. Gripisspo, 11 and note. Fear-helm: the word\n\u201c\u00e6gis-hjalmr,\u201d which occurs both here and in Fafnismol, suggests an\nextraordinarily interesting, and still disputed, question of etymology.\nGram: according to the Volsungasaga Regin forged this sword from the\nfragments of the sword given by Othin to Sigmund (cf. Fra Dautha\nSinfjotla and note).\n\n15. Regarding the sons of Hunding and Eylimi, father of Sigurth\u2019s\nmother, all of whom belong to the Helgi tradition, cf. Fra Dautha\nSinfjotla and note.\n\nProse. The fleet, and the subsequent storm, are also reminiscent of the\nHelgi cycle; cf. Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I, 29\u201331, and II, prose after\nstanza 16. A man: Othin.\n\n16. R\u00e6vil\u2019s steeds (R\u00e6vil was a sea-king, possibly the grandson of\nRagnar Lothbrok mentioned in the Hervararsaga), sail-horses and\nsea-steeds all mean \u201cships.\u201d\n\n17. Sea-trees and roller-steeds (the latter because ships were pulled\nup on shore by means of rollers) both mean \u201cships.\u201d\n\n18. The Volsungasaga quotes this stanza. Hnikar and Fjolnir: Othin\ngives himself both these names in Grimnismol, 47; Feng (\u201cThe Seizer\u201d)\ndoes not appear elsewhere. According to the Volsungasaga, no one knew\nOthin\u2019s name when he came to Volsung\u2019s house and left the sword there\nfor Sigmund.\n\n19. This and the following stanzas are strongly suggestive of the\nHovamol, and probably came originally from some such collection.\n\n23. This stanza is clearly an interpolation, drawn in by the\ncommon-sense advice, as distinct from omens, given in the last lines of\nstanza 22. Moon\u2019s sister: the sun; cf. Vafthruthnismol, 23 and note.\nWedge-like: the wedge formation (prescribed anew in 1920 for the United\nStates Army under certain circumstances) was said to have been invented\nby Othin himself, and taught by him only to the most favored warriors.\n\n24. Goddesses: Norse mythology included an almost limitless number of\nminor deities, the female ones, both kind and unkind, being generally\nclassed among the lesser Norns.\n\n25. This stanza almost certainly had nothing originally to do with the\nothers in this passage; it may have been taken from a longer version of\nthe Hovamol itself.\n\nProse. Lyngvi: the son of Hunding who killed Sigmund in jealousy of his\nmarriage with Hjordis; cf. Fra Dautha Sinfjotla and note. The\nVolsungasaga names one brother who was with Lyngvi in the battle,\nHjorvarth, and Sigurth kills him as readily as if he had not already\nbeen killed long before by Helgi. But, as has been seen, it was nothing\nfor a man to be killed in two or three different ways.\n\n26. Bloody eagle, etc.: the Nornageststhattr describes the manner in\nwhich the captured Lyngvi was put to death. \u201cRegin advised that they\nshould carve the bloody eagle on his back. So Regin took his sword and\ncleft Lyngvi\u2019s back so that he severed his back from his ribs, and then\ndrew out his lungs. So died Lyngvi with great courage.\u201d\n\nProse. In Regius there is no break of any kind between this prose\npassage and the prose introduction to the Fafnismol (cf. Introductory\nNote).\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nFAFNISMOL\n\nTHE BALLAD OF FAFNIR\n\n\nINTRODUCTORY NOTE\n\nThe so-called Fafnismol, contained in full in the Codex Regius, where\nit immediately follows the Reginsmol without any indication of a break,\nis quoted by Snorri in the Gylfaginning (stanza 13) and the\nSkaldskaparmal (stanzas 32 and 33), and stanzas 6, 3, and 4 appear in\nthe Sverrissaga. Although the Volsungasaga does not actually quote any\nof the stanzas, it gives a very close prose parallel to the whole poem\nin chapters 18 and 19.\n\nThe general character of the Fafnismol, and its probable relation to\nthe Reginsmol and the Sigrdrifumol, have been discussed in the\nintroductory note to the Reginsmol. While it is far more nearly a unit\nthan the Reginsmol, it shows many of the same characteristics. It has\nthe same mixture of stanza forms, although in this case only nine\nstanzas (32\u201333, 35\u201336 and 40\u201344) vary from the normal Ljothahattr\nmeasure. It shows, though to a much less marked extent, the same\ntendency to introduce passages from extraneous sources, such as the\nquestion-and-answer passage in stanzas 11\u201315. At the same time, in this\ninstance it is quite clear that one distinct poem, including probably\nstanzas 1\u201310, 16\u201323, 25\u201331, and 34\u201339, underlay the compilation which\nwe here have. This may, perhaps, have been a long poem (not, however,\nthe \u201cLong\u201d Sigurth Lay; see introductory note to Brot af\nSigurtharkvithu) dealing with the Regin-Fafnir-Sigurth-Brynhild story,\nand including, besides most of the Fafnismol, stanzas 1\u20134 and 6\u201311 of\nthe Reginsmol and part of the so-called Sigrdrifumol, together with\nmuch that has been lost. The original poem may, on the other hand, have\nconfined itself to the Fafnir episode.\n\nIn any case, and while the extant Fafnismol can be spoken of as a\ndistinct poem far more justly than the Reginsmol, there is still no\nindication that the compiler regarded it as a poem by itself. His prose\nnotes run on without a break, and the verses simply cover a dramatic\nepisode in Sigurth\u2019s early life. The fact that the work of compilation\nhas been done more intelligently than in the case of the Reginsmol\nseems to have resulted chiefly from the compiler\u2019s having been familiar\nwith longer consecutive verse passages dealing with the Fafnir episode.\nThe Reginsmol is little more than a clumsy mosaic, but in the Fafnismol\nit is possible to distinguish between the main substance of the poem\nand the interpolations.\n\nHere, as in the Reginsmol, there is very little that bespeaks the\nGerman origin of the Sigurth story. Sigurth\u2019s winning of the treasure\nis in itself undoubtedly a part of the earlier southern legend, but the\nmanner in which he does it is thoroughly Norse. Moreover, the\nconcluding section, which points toward the finding of the sleeping\nBrynhild, relates entirely to the northern Valkyrie, the warrior-maiden\npunished by Othin, and not at all to the southern Brynhild the daughter\nof Buthli. The Fafnismol is, however, sharply distinguished from the\nReginsmol by showing no clear traces of the Helgi tradition, although a\npart of the bird song (stanzas 40\u201344, in Fornyrthislag form, as\ndistinct from the body of the poem) sounds suspiciously like the bird\npassage in the beginning of the Helgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar. Regarding\nthe general relations of the various sets of traditions in shaping the\nstory of Sigurth, see the introductory note to Gripisspo.\n\nThe Fafnismol, together with a part of the Sigrdrifumol, has indirectly\nbecome the best known of all the Eddic poems, for the reason that\nWagner used it, with remarkably little change of outline, as the basis\nfor his \u201cSiegfried.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\nSigurth and Regin went up to the Gnitaheith, and found there the track\nthat Fafnir made when he crawled to water. Then Sigurth made a great\ntrench across the path, and took his place therein. When Fafnir crawled\nfrom his gold, he blew out venom, and it ran down from above on\nSigurth\u2019s head. But when Fafnir crawled over the trench, then Sigurth\nthrust his sword into his body to the heart. Fafnir writhed and struck\nout with his head and tail. Sigurth leaped from the trench, and each\nlooked at the other. Fafnir said:\n\n\n1.  \u201cYouth, oh, youth!   |   of whom then, youth, art thou born?\n      Say whose son thou art,\n    Who in Fafnir\u2019s blood   |   thy bright blade reddened,\n      And struck thy sword to my heart.\u201d\n\n\nSigurth concealed his name because it was believed in olden times that\nthe word of a dying man might have great power if he cursed his foe by\nhis name. He said:\n\n\n2.  \u201cThe Noble Hart   |   my name, and I go\n      A motherless man abroad;\n    Father I had not,   |   as others have,\n      And lonely ever I live.\u201d\n\n\nFafnir spake:\n\n\n3.  \u201cIf father thou hadst not,   |   as others have,\n      By what wonder wast thou born?\n    (Though thy name on the day   |   of my death thou hidest,\n      Thou knowest now thou dost lie.)\u201d\n\n\nSigurth spake:\n\n\n4.  \u201cMy race, methinks,   |   is unknown to thee,\n      And so am I myself;\n    Sigurth my name,   |   and Sigmund\u2019s son,\n      Who smote thee thus with the sword.\u201d\n\n\nFafnir spake:\n\n\n5.  \u201cWho drove thee on?   |   why wert thou driven\n      My life to make me lose?\n    A father brave   |   had the bright-eyed youth,\n      For bold in boyhood thou art.\u201d\n\n\nSigurth spake:\n\n\n6.  \u201cMy heart did drive me,   |   my hand fulfilled,\n      And my shining sword so sharp;\n    Few are keen   |   when old age comes,\n      Who timid in boyhood be.\u201d\n\n\nFafnir spake:\n\n\n7.  \u201cIf thou mightest grow   |   thy friends among,\n      One might see thee fiercely fight;\n    But bound thou art,   |   and in battle taken,\n      And to fear are prisoners prone.\u201d\n\n\nSigurth spake:\n\n\n8.  \u201cThou blamest me, Fafnir,   |   that I see from afar\n      The wealth that my father\u2019s was;\n    Not bound am I,   |   though in battle taken,\n      Thou hast found that free I live.\u201d\n\n\nFafnir spake:\n\n\n9.  \u201cIn all I say   |   dost thou hatred see,\n      Yet truth alone do I tell;\n    The sounding gold,   |   the glow-red wealth,\n      And the rings thy bane shall be.\u201d\n\n\nSigurth spake:\n\n\n10. \u201cSome one the hoard   |   shall ever hold,\n      Till the destined day shall come;\n    For a time there is   |   when every man\n      Shall journey hence to hell.\u201d\n\n\nFafnir spake:\n\n\n11. \u201cThe fate of the Norns   |   before the headland\n      Thou findest, and doom of a fool;\n    In the water shalt drown   |   if thou row \u2019gainst the wind,\n      All danger is near to death.\u201d\n\n\nSigurth spake:\n\n\n12. \u201cTell me then, Fafnir,   |   for wise thou art famed,\n      And much thou knowest now:\n    Who are the Norns   |   who are helpful in need,\n      And the babe from the mother bring?\u201d\n\n\nFafnir spake:\n\n\n13. \u201cOf many births   |   the Norns must be,\n      Nor one in race they were;\n    Some to gods, others   |   to elves are kin,\n      And Dvalin\u2019s daughters some.\u201d\n\n\nSigurth spake:\n\n\n14. \u201cTell me then, Fafnir,   |   for wise thou art famed,\n      And much thou knowest now:\n    How call they the isle   |   where all the gods\n      And Surt shall sword-sweat mingle?\u201d\n\n\nFafnir spake:\n\n\n15. \u201cOskopnir is it,   |   where all the gods\n      Shall seek the play of swords;\n    Bilrost breaks   |   when they cross the bridge,\n      And the steeds shall swim in the flood.\n\n16. \u201cThe fear-helm I wore   |   to afright mankind,\n      While guarding my gold I lay;\n    Mightier seemed I   |   than any man,\n      For a fiercer never I found.\u201d\n\n\nSigurth spake:\n\n\n17. \u201cThe fear-helm surely   |   no man shields\n      When he faces a valiant foe;\n    Oft one finds,   |   when the foe he meets,\n      That he is not the bravest of all.\u201d\n\n\nFafnir spake:\n\n\n18. \u201cVenom I breathed   |   when bright I lay\n      By the hoard my father had;\n    (There was none so mighty   |   as dared to meet me,\n      And weapons nor wiles I feared.)\u201d\n\n\nSigurth spake:\n\n\n19. \u201cGlittering worm,   |   thy hissing was great,\n      And hard didst show thy heart;\n    But hatred more   |   have the sons of men\n      For him who owns the helm.\u201d\n\n\nFafnir spake:\n\n\n20. \u201cI counsel thee, Sigurth,   |   heed my speech,\n      And ride thou homeward hence;\n    The sounding gold,   |   the glow-red wealth,\n      And the rings thy bane shall be.\u201d\n\n\nSigurth spake:\n\n\n21. \u201cThy counsel is given,   |   but go I shall\n      To the gold in the heather hidden;\n    And, Fafnir, thou   |   with death dost fight,\n      Lying where Hel shall have thee.\u201d\n\n\nFafnir spake:\n\n\n22. \u201cRegin betrayed me,   |   and thee will betray,\n      Us both to death will he bring;\n    His life, methinks,   |   must Fafnir lose,\n      For the mightier man wast thou.\u201d\n\n\nRegin had gone to a distance while Sigurth fought Fafnir, and came back\nwhile Sigurth was wiping the blood from his sword. Regin said:\n\n\n23. \u201cHail to thee, Sigurth!   |   Thou victory hast,\n      And Fafnir in fight hast slain;\n    Of all the men   |   who tread the earth,\n      Most fearless art thou, methinks.\u201d\n\n\nSigurth spake:\n\n\n24. \u201cUnknown it is,   |   when all are together,\n      (The sons of the glorious gods,)\n      Who bravest born shall seem;\n    Some are valiant   |   who redden no sword\n      In the blood of a foeman\u2019s breast.\u201d\n\n\nRegin spake:\n\n\n25. \u201cGlad art thou, Sigurth,   |   of battle gained,\n      As Gram with grass thou cleansest;\n    My brother fierce   |   in fight hast slain,\n      And somewhat I did myself.\u201d\n\n\nSigurth spake:\n\n\n26. \u201cAfar didst thou go   |   while Fafnir reddened\n      With his blood my blade so keen;\n    With the might of the dragon   |   my strength I matched,\n      While thou in the heather didst hide.\u201d\n\n\nRegin spake:\n\n\n27. \u201cLonger wouldst thou   |   in the heather have let\n      Yon hoary giant hide,\n    Had the weapon availed not   |   that once I forged,\n      The keen-edged blade thou didst bear.\u201d\n\n\nSigurth spake:\n\n\n28. \u201cBetter is heart   |   than a mighty blade\n      For him who shall fiercely fight;\n    The brave man well   |   shall fight and win,\n      Though dull his blade may be.\n\n29. \u201cBrave men better   |   than cowards be,\n      When the clash of battle comes;\n    And better the glad   |   than the gloomy man\n      Shall face what before him lies.\n\n30. \u201cThy rede it was   |   that I should ride\n      Hither o\u2019er mountains high;\n    The glittering worm   |   would have wealth and life\n      If thou hadst not mocked at my might.\u201d\n\n\nThen Regin went up to Fafnir and cut out his heart with his sword, that\nwas named Rithil, and then he drank blood from the wounds. Regin said:\n\n\n31. \u201cSit now, Sigurth,   |   for sleep will I,\n      Hold Fafnir\u2019s heart to the fire;\n    For all his heart   |   shall eaten be,\n      Since deep of blood I have drunk.\u201d\n\n\nSigurth took Fafnir\u2019s heart and cooked it on a spit. When he thought\nthat it was fully cooked, and the blood foamed out of the heart, then\nhe tried it with his finger to see whether it was fully cooked. He\nburned his finger, and put it in his mouth. But when Fafnir\u2019s\nheart\u2019s-blood came on his tongue, he understood the speech of birds. He\nheard nut-hatches chattering in the thickets. A nut-hatch said:\n\n\n32. \u201cThere sits Sigurth,   |   sprinkled with blood,\n    And Fafnir\u2019s heart   |   with fire he cooks;\n    Wise were the breaker   |   of rings, I ween,\n    To eat the life-muscles   |   all so bright.\u201d\n\n\nA second spake:\n\n\n33. \u201cThere Regin lies,   |   and plans he lays\n    The youth to betray   |   who trusts him well;\n    Lying words   |   with wiles will he speak,\n    Till his brother the maker   |   of mischief avenges.\u201d\n\n\nA third spake:\n\n\n34. \u201cLess by a head   |   let the chatterer hoary\n      Go from here to hell;\n    Then all of the wealth   |   he alone can wield,\n      The gold that Fafnir guarded.\u201d\n\n\nA fourth spake:\n\n\n35. \u201cWise would he seem   |   if so he would heed\n    The counsel good   |   we sisters give;\n    Thought he would give,   |   and the ravens gladden,\n    There is ever a wolf   |   where his ears I spy.\u201d\n\n\nA fifth spake:\n\n\n36. \u201cLess wise must be   |   the tree of battle\n    Than to me would seem   |   the leader of men,\n    If forth he lets   |   one brother fare,\n    When he of the other   |   the slayer is.\u201d\n\n\nA sixth spake:\n\n\n37. \u201cMost foolish he seems   |   if he shall spare\n      His foe, the bane of the folk;\n    There Regin lies,   |   who hath wronged him so,\n      Yet falsehood knows he not.\u201d\n\n\nA seventh spake:\n\n\n38. \u201cLet the head from the frost-cold   |   giant be hewed,\n      And let him of rings be robbed;\n    Then all the wealth   |   which Fafnir\u2019s was\n      Shall belong to thee alone.\u201d\n\n\nSigurth spake:\n\n\n39. \u201cNot so rich a fate   |   shall Regin have\n      As the tale of my death to tell;\n    For soon the brothers   |   both shall die,\n      And hence to hell shall go.\u201d\n\n\nSigurth hewed off Regin\u2019s head, and then he ate Fafnir\u2019s heart, and\ndrank the blood of both Regin and Fafnir. Then Sigurth heard what the\nnut-hatch said:\n\n\n40. \u201cBind, Sigurth, the golden   |   rings together,\n    Not kingly is it   |   aught to fear;\n    I know a maid,   |   there is none so fair,\n    Rich in gold,   |   if thou mightest get her.\n\n41. \u201cGreen the paths   |   that to Gjuki lead,\n    And his fate the way   |   to the wanderer shows;\n    The doughty king   |   a daughter has,\n    That thou as a bride   |   mayst, Sigurth, buy.\u201d\n\n\nAnother spake:\n\n\n42. \u201cA hall stands high   |   on Hindarfjoll,\n    All with flame   |   is it ringed without;\n    Warriors wise   |   did make it once\n    Out of the flaming   |   light of the flood.\n\n43. \u201cOn the mountain sleeps   |   a battle-maid,\n    And about her plays   |   the bane of the wood;\n    Ygg with the thorn   |   hath smitten her thus,\n    For she felled the fighter   |   he fain would save.\n\n44. \u201cThere mayst thou behold   |   the maiden helmed,\n    Who forth on Vingskornir   |   rode from the fight;\n    The victory-bringer   |   her sleep shall break not,\n    Thou heroes\u2019 son,   |   so the Norns have set.\u201d\n\n\nSigurth rode along Fafnir\u2019s trail to his lair, and found it open. The\ngate-posts were of iron, and the gates; of iron, too, were all the\nbeams in the house, which was dug down into the earth. There Sigurth\nfound a mighty store of gold, and he filled two chests full thereof; he\ntook the fear-helm and a golden mail-coat and the sword Hrotti, and\nmany other precious things, and loaded Grani with them, but the horse\nwould not go forward until Sigurth mounted on his back.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTES\n\n\nProse. The prose follows the concluding prose passage of the Reginsmol\nwithout any interruption; the heading \u201cOf Fafnir\u2019s Death\u201d is written in\nthe manuscript very faintly just before stanza 1. Gnitaheith: cf.\nGripisspo, 11 and note. Fafnir: Regin\u2019s brother: cf. Reginsmol, prose\nafter stanza 14. Venom: in the Volsungasaga it was the blood, and not\nthe venom, that poured down on Sigurth\u2019s head. Sigurth was much worried\nabout this danger, and before he dug the trench asked Regin what would\nhappen if the dragon\u2019s blood overcame him. Regin thereupon taunted him\nwith cowardice (Sigurth refers to this taunt in stanza 30, but the\nstanza embodying it has disappeared). After Sigurth had dug his trench,\nan old man (Othin, of course) appeared and advised him to dig other\ntrenches to carry off the blood, which he did, thereby escaping harm.\n\n1. The first line in the original, as here, is unusually long, but\ndramatically very effective on that account.\n\n3. The names of the speakers do not appear in the manuscript, though\nthey seem originally to have been indicated in the margin for stanzas\n3\u201330. The last two lines of stanza 3 are missing in the manuscript,\nwith no gap indicated, but the Volsungasaga prose paraphrase indicates\nthat something was omitted, and the lines here given are conjecturally\nreconstructed from this paraphrase.\n\n4. The manuscript marks line 3 as the beginning of a stanza.\n\n5. Line 4, utterly obscure in the manuscript, is guesswork.\n\n7. Fafnir here refers to the fact that Hjordis, mother of the still\nunborn Sigurth, was captured by Alf after Sigmund\u2019s death; cf. Fra\nDautha Sinfjotla, note.\n\n11. Stanzas 11\u201315 are probably interpolated, and come from a poem\nsimilar to Vafthruthnismol. The headland: Fafnir is apparently quoting\nproverbs; this one seems to mean that disaster (\u201cthe fate of the\nNorns\u201d) awaits when one rounds the first headland (i.e., at the\nbeginning of life\u2019s voyage, in youth). The third line is a commentary\non obstinate rashness. The Volsungasaga paraphrases stanzas 11\u201315\nthroughout.\n\n12. Norns: cf. stanza 13 and note. Sigurth has no possible interest in\nknowing what Norns are helpful in childbirth, but interpolations were\nseldom logical.\n\n13. Snorri quotes this stanza. There were minor Norns, or fates, in\naddition to the three great Norns, regarding whom cf. Voluspo, 20.\nDvalin: chief of the dwarfs; cf. Voluspo, 14.\n\n14. Surt: ruler of the fire world; the reference is to the last great\nbattle. Sword-sweat: blood.\n\n15. Oskopnir (\u201cNot-Made\u201d): apparently another name for Vigrith, which\nis named in Vafthruthnismol, 18, as the final battle-ground. Bilrost\n(or Bifrost): the rainbow bridge which breaks beneath Surt\u2019s followers;\ncf. Grimnismol, 29 and note.\n\n16. With this stanza Fafnir returns to the situation. Fear-helm:\nregarding the \u201c\u00e6gis-hjalmr\u201d cf. Reginsmol, prose after stanza 14 and\nnote.\n\n18. Lines 3\u20134 do not appear in the manuscript, and no gap is indicated;\nthey are here conjecturally paraphrased from the prose passage in the\nVolsungasaga.\n\n20. It has been suggested that this stanza is spurious, and that stanza\n21 ought to follow stanza 22. Lines 3\u20134, abbreviated in the manuscript,\nare identical with lines 3\u20134 of stanza 9. The Volsungasaga paraphrase\nin place of these two lines makes Fafnir say: \u201cFor it often happens\nthat he who gets a deadly wound yet avenges himself.\u201d It is quite\nlikely that two stanzas have been lost.\n\n22. The Volsungasaga places its paraphrase of this stanza between those\nof stanzas 15 and 16.\n\n24. Line 2 is probably spurious, but it is a phrase typical of such\npoems as Grimnismol or Vafthruthnismol.\n\n25. Gram: Sigurth\u2019s sword; cf. Reginsmol, prose after 14.\n\n26. In the manuscript stanzas 26\u201329 stand after stanza 31, which fails\nto make clear sense; they are here rearranged in accordance with the\nVolsungasaga paraphrase.\n\n28\u201329. Almost certainly interpolated from some such poem as the\nHovamol. Even the faithful Volsungasaga fails to paraphrase stanza 29.\n\n30. Something has evidently been lost before this stanza. Sigurth\nclearly refers to Regin\u2019s reproach when he was digging the trench (cf.\nnote on introductory prose), but the poem does not give such a passage.\n\nProse. Rithil (\u201cSwift-Moving\u201d): Snorri calls the sword Refil\n(\u201cSerpent\u201d).\n\n32. That the birds\u2019 stanzas come from more than one source is fairly\napparent, but whether from two or from three or more is uncertain. It\nis also far from clear how many birds are speaking. The manuscript\nnumbers II, III, and IV in the margin with numerals; the Volsungasaga\nmakes a different bird speak each time. There are almost as many\nguesses as there are editions. I suspect that in the original poem\nthere was one bird, speaking stanzas 34 and 37. Stanza 38 is little\nmore than a repetition of stanza 34, and may well have been a later\naddition. As for the stanzas in Fornyrthislag (32\u201333 and 35\u201336), they\napparently come from another poem, in which several birds speak (cf.\n\u201cwe sisters\u201d in stanza 35). This may be the same poem from which\nstanzas 40\u201344 were taken, as well as some of the Fornyrthislag stanzas\nin the Sigrdrifumol.\n\n34. Some editions turn this speech from the third person into the\nsecond, but the manuscript is clear enough.\n\n35. Wolf, etc.: the phrase is nearly equivalent to \u201cthere must be fire\nwhere there is smoke.\u201d The proverb appears elsewhere in Old Norse.\n\n36. Tree of battle: warrior.\n\n37. Here, as in stanza 34, some editions turn the speech from the third\nperson into the second.\n\n38. Giant: Regin was certainly not a frost-giant, and the whole stanza\nlooks like some copyist\u2019s blundering reproduction of stanza 34.\n\n40. Neither the manuscript nor any of the editions suggest the\nexistence of more than one bird in stanzas 40\u201344. It seems to me,\nhowever, that there are not only two birds, but two distinct stories.\nStanzas 40\u201341 apply solely to Guthrun, and suggest that Sigurth will go\nstraight to Gunnar\u2019s hall. Stanzas 42\u201344, on the other hand, apply\nsolely to Brynhild, and indicate that Sigurth will find her before he\nvisits the Gjukungs. The confusion which existed between these two\nversions of the story, and which involved a fundamental difference in\nthe final working out of Brynhild\u2019s revenge, is commented on in the\nnote on Gripisspo, 13. In the present passage it is possible that two\nbirds are speaking, each reflecting one version of the story; it seems\neven more likely that one speech or the other (40\u201341 or 42\u201344) reflects\nthe original form of the narrative, the other having been added, either\nlater or from another poem. In the Volsungasaga the whole passage is\ncondensed into a few words by one bird: \u201cWiser were it if he should\nthen ride up on Hindarfjoll, where Brynhild sleeps, and there would he\nget much wisdom.\u201d The Guthrun-bird does not appear at all.\n\n41. Gjuki: father of Gunnar and Guthrun: cf. Gripisspo, 13 and note.\n\n42. Hindarfjoll: \u201cMountain of the Hind.\u201d Light of the flood: gold; cf.\nReginsmol, 1 and note.\n\n43. Battle-maid: Brynhild, here clearly defined as a Valkyrie. Bane of\nthe wood: fire. Ygg: Othin; cf. Grimnismol, 53. The thorn: a prose note\nin Sigrdrifumol calls it \u201csleep-thorn.\u201d The fighter: the story of the\nreason for Brynhild\u2019s punishment is told in the prose following stanza\n4 of Sigrdrifumol.\n\n44. Vingskornir: Brynhild\u2019s horse, not elsewhere mentioned.\nVictory-bringer: the word thus translated is in the original\n\u201csigrdrifa.\u201d The compiler of the collection, not being familiar with\nthis word, assumed that it was a proper name, and in the prose\nfollowing stanza 4 of the Sigrdrifumol he specifically states that this\nwas the Valkyrie\u2019s name. Editors, until recently, have followed him in\nthis error, failing to recognize that \u201csigrdrifa\u201d was simply an epithet\nfor Brynhild. It is from this blunder that the so-called Sigrdrifumol\ntakes its name. Brynhild\u2019s dual personality as a Valkyrie and as the\ndaughter of Buthli has made plenty of trouble, but the addition of a\nsecond Valkyrie in the person of the supposed \u201cSigrdrifa\u201d has made\nstill more.\n\nProse. There is no break in the manuscript between the end of this\nprose passage and the beginning of the one introducing the\nSigrdrifumol: some editors include the entire prose passage with one\npoem or the other. Hrotti; \u201cThruster.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSIGRDRIFUMOL\n\nTHE BALLAD OF THE VICTORY-BRINGER\n\n\nINTRODUCTORY NOTE\n\nThe so-called Sigrdrifumol, which immediately follows the Fafnismol in\nthe Codex Regius without any indication of a break, and without\nseparate title, is unquestionably the most chaotic of all the poems in\nthe Eddic collection. The end of it has been entirely lost, for the\nfifth folio of eight sheets is missing from Regius, the gap coming\nafter the first line of stanza 29 of this poem. That stanza has been\ncompleted, and eight more have been added, from much later paper\nmanuscripts, but even so the conclusion of the poem is in obscurity.\n\nProperly speaking, however, the strange conglomeration of stanzas which\nthe compiler of the collection has left for us, and which, in much the\nsame general form, seems to have lain before the authors of the\nVolsungasaga, in which eighteen of its stanzas are quoted, is not a\npoem at all. Even its customary title is an absurd error. The mistake\nmade by the annotator in thinking that the epithet \u201csigrdrifa,\u201d rightly\napplied to Brynhild as a \u201cbringer of victory,\u201d was a proper name has\nalready been explained and commented on (note on Fafnismol, 44). Even\nif the collection of stanzas were in any real sense a poem, which it\nemphatically is not, it is certainly not the \u201cBallad of Sigrdrifa\u201d\nwhich it is commonly called. \u201cBallad of Brynhild\u201d would be a\nsufficiently suitable title, and I have here brought the established\nname \u201cSigrdrifumol\u201d into accord with this by translating the epithet\ninstead of treating it as a proper name.\n\nEven apart from the title, however, the Sigrdrifumol has little claim\nto be regarded as a distinct poem, nor is there any indication that the\ncompiler did so regard it. Handicapped as we are by the loss of the\nconcluding section, and of the material which followed it on those\nmissing pages, we can yet see that the process which began with the\nprose Fra Dautha Sinfjotla, and which, interrupted by the insertion of\nthe Gripisspo, went on through the Reginsmol and the Fafnismol,\ncontinued through as much of the Sigrdrifumol as is left to us. In\nother words, the compiler told the story of Sigurth in mixed prose and\nverse, using whatever verse he could find without much questioning as\nto its origin, and filling in the gaps with his own prose. Fra Dautha\nSinfjotla, Reginsmol, Fafnismol, and Sigrdrifumol are essentially a\ncoherent unit, but one of the compiler\u2019s making only; they represent\nneither one poem nor three distinct poems, and the divisions and titles\nwhich have been almost universally adopted by editors are both\narbitrary and misleading.\n\nThe Sigrdrifumol section as we now have it is an extraordinary piece of\npatchwork. It is most unlikely that the compiler himself brought all\nthese fragments together for the first time; little by little, through\na process of accretion and also, unluckily, through one of elimination,\nthe material grew into its present shape. Certainly the basis of it is\na poem dealing with the finding of Brynhild by Sigurth, but of this\noriginal poem only five stanzas (2\u20134 and 20\u201321) can be identified with\nany degree of confidence. To these five stanzas should probably,\nhowever, be added some, if not all, of the passage (stanzas 6\u201312) in\nwhich Brynhild teaches Sigurth the magic runes. These stanzas of\nrune-lore attracted sundry similar passages from other sources,\nincluding stanza 5, in which a magic draught is administered (not\nnecessarily by Brynhild or to Sigurth), the curious rune-chant in\nstanzas 15\u201317, and stanzas 13\u201314 and 18\u201319. Beginning with stanza 22,\nand running to the end of the fragment (stanza 37), is a set of\nnumbered counsels closely resembling the Loddfafnismol (Hovamol,\nstanzas 111\u2013138), which manifestly has nothing whatever to do with\nBrynhild. Even in this passage there are probably interpolations\n(stanzas 25, 27, 30, 34, and 36). Finally, and bespeaking the existence\nat some earlier time of another Sigurth-Brynhild poem, is stanza 1,\nsharply distinguished by its metrical form from stanzas 2\u20134 and 20\u201321.\nMany critics argue that stanzas 6\u201310 of Helreith Brynildar belonged\noriginally to the same poem as stanza 1 of the Sigrdrifumol.\n\nThe Sigrdrifumol, then, must be regarded simply as a collection of\nfragments, most of them originally having no relation to the main\nsubject. All of the story, the dialogue and the characterization are\nembodied in stanzas 1\u20134 and 20\u201321 and in the prose notes accompanying\nthe first four stanzas; all of the rest might equally well (or better)\nbe transferred to the Hovamol, where its character entitles it to a\nplace. Yet stanzas 2\u20134 are as fine as anything in Old Norse poetry, and\nit is out of the scanty material of these three stanzas that Wagner\nconstructed much of the third act of \u201cSiegfried.\u201d\n\nThe Sigrdrifumol represents almost exclusively the contributions of the\nNorth to the Sigurth tradition (cf. introductory note to the\nGripisspo). Brynhild, here disguised by the annotator as \u201cSigrdrifa,\u201d\nappears simply as a battle-maid and supernatural dispenser of wisdom;\nthere is no trace of the daughter of Buthli and the rival of Guthrun.\nThere is, however, so little of the \u201cpoem\u201d which can definitely be\nassigned to the Sigurth cycle that it is impossible to trace back any\nof the underlying narrative substance.\n\nThe nature and condition of the material have made editorial\nconjectures and emendations very numerous, and as most of the guesses\nare neither conclusive nor particularly important, only a few of them\nare mentioned in the notes.\n\n\n\n\n\nSigurth rode up on Hindarfjoll and turned southward toward the land of\nthe Franks. On the mountain he saw a great light, as if fire were\nburning, and the glow reached up to heaven. And when he came thither,\nthere stood a tower of shields, and above it was a banner. Sigurth went\ninto the shield-tower, and saw that a man lay there sleeping with all\nhis war-weapons. First he took the helm from his head, and then he saw\nthat it was a woman. The mail-coat was as fast as if it had grown to\nthe flesh. Then he cut the mail-coat from the head-opening downward,\nand out to both the arm-holes. Then he took the mail-coat from her, and\nshe awoke, and sat up and saw Sigurth, and said:\n\n\n1.  \u201cWhat bit through the byrnie?   |   how was broken my sleep?\n    Who made me free   |   of the fetters pale?\u201d\n\n\nHe answered:\n\n\n    \u201cSigmund\u2019s son,   |   with Sigurth\u2019s sword,\n    That late with flesh   |   hath fed the ravens.\u201d\n\n\nSigurth sat beside her and asked her name. She took a horn full of mead\nand gave him a memory-draught.\n\n\n2.  \u201cHail, day!   |   Hail, sons of day!\n      And night and her daughter now!\n    Look on us here   |   with loving eyes,\n      That waiting we victory win.\n\n3.  \u201cHail to the gods!   |   Ye goddesses, hail,\n      And all the generous earth!\n    Give to us wisdom   |   and goodly speech,\n      And healing hands, life-long.\n\n4.  \u201cLong did I sleep,   |   my slumber was long,\n      And long are the griefs of life;\n    Othin decreed   |   that I could not break\n      The heavy spells of sleep.\u201d\n\n\nHer name was Sigrdrifa, and she was a Valkyrie. She said that two kings\nfought in battle; one was called Hjalmgunnar, an old man but a mighty\nwarrior, and Othin had promised him the victory, and\n\n\n    The other was Agnar,   |   brother of Autha,\n    None he found   |   who fain would shield him.\n\n\nSigrdrifa slew Hjalmgunnar in the battle, and Othin pricked her with\nthe sleep-thorn in punishment for this, and said that she should never\nthereafter win victory in battle, but that she should be wedded. \u201cAnd I\nsaid to him that I had made a vow in my turn, that I would never marry\na man who knew the meaning of fear.\u201d Sigurth answered and asked her to\nteach him wisdom, if she knew of what took place in all the worlds.\nSigrdrifa said:\n\n\n5.  \u201cBeer I bring thee,   |   tree of battle,\n    Mingled of strength   |   and mighty fame;\n    Charms it holds   |   and healing signs,\n    Spells full good,   |   and gladness-runes.\u201d\n\n            *    *    *    *    *    *\n\n6.  Winning-runes learn,   |   if thou longest to win,\n      And the runes on thy sword-hilt write;\n    Some on the furrow,   |   and some on the flat,\n      And twice shalt thou call on Tyr.\n\n7.  Ale-runes learn,   |   that with lies the wife\n      Of another betray not thy trust;\n    On the horn thou shalt write,   |   and the backs of thy hands,\n      And Need shalt mark on thy nails.\n    Thou shalt bless the draught,   |   and danger escape,\n      And cast a leek in the cup;\n    (For so I know   |   thou never shalt see\n      Thy mead with evil mixed.)\n\n8.  Birth-runes learn,   |   if help thou wilt lend,\n      The babe from the mother to bring;\n    On thy palms shalt write them,   |   and round thy joints,\n      And ask the fates to aid.\n\n9.  Wave-runes learn,   |   if well thou wouldst shelter\n      The sail-steeds out on the sea;\n    On the stem shalt thou write,   |   and the steering-blade,\n      And burn them into the oars;\n    Though high be the breakers,   |   and black the waves,\n      Thou shalt safe the harbor seek.\n\n10. Branch-runes learn,   |   if a healer wouldst be,\n      And cure for wounds wouldst work;\n    On the bark shalt thou write,   |   and on trees that be\n      With boughs to the eastward bent.\n\n11. Speech-runes learn,   |   that none may seek\n      To answer harm with hate;\n    Well he winds   |   and weaves them all,\n      And sets them side by side,\n    At the judgment-place,   |   when justice there\n      The folk shall fairly win.\n\n12. Thought-runes learn,   |   if all shall think\n      Thou art keenest minded of men.\n\n            *    *    *    *    *    *\n\n13. Them Hropt arranged,   |   and them he wrote,\n      And them in thought he made,\n    Out of the draught   |   that down had dropped\n      From the head of Heithdraupnir,\n      And the horn of Hoddrofnir.\n\n14. On the mountain he stood   |   with Brimir\u2019s sword,\n      On his head the helm he bore;\n    Then first the head   |   of Mim spoke forth,\n      And words of truth it told.\n\n            *    *    *    *    *    *\n\n15. He bade write on the shield   |   before the shining goddess,\n    On Arvak\u2019s ear,   |   and on Alsvith\u2019s hoof,\n    On the wheel of the car   |   of Hrungnir\u2019s killer,\n    On Sleipnir\u2019s teeth,   |   and the straps of the sledge.\n\n16. On the paws of the bear,   |   and on Bragi\u2019s tongue,\n    On the wolf\u2019s claws bared,   |   and the eagle\u2019s beak,\n    On bloody wings,   |   and bridge\u2019s end,\n    On freeing hands   |   and helping foot-prints.\n\n17. On glass and on gold,   |   and on goodly charms,\n    In wine and in beer,   |   and on well-loved seats,\n    On Gungnir\u2019s point,   |   and on Grani\u2019s breast,\n    On the nails of Norns,   |   and the night-owl\u2019s beak.\n\n            *    *    *    *    *    *\n\n18. Shaved off were the runes   |   that of old were written,\n      And mixed with the holy mead,\n      And sent on ways so wide;\n    So the gods had them,   |   so the elves got them,\n      And some for the Wanes so wise,\n      And some for mortal men.\n\n19. Beech-runes are there,   |   birth-runes are there,\n      And all the runes of ale,\n      And the magic runes of might;\n    Who knows them rightly   |   and reads them true,\n      Has them himself to help;\n      Ever they aid,\n      Till the gods are gone.\n\n\n            *    *    *    *    *    *\n\nBrynhild spake:\n\n\n20. \u201cNow shalt thou choose,   |   for the choice is given,\n      Thou tree of the biting blade;\n    Speech or silence,   |   \u2019tis thine to say,\n      Our evil is destined all.\u201d\n\n\nSigurth spake:\n\n\n21. \u201cI shall not flee,   |   though my fate be near,\n      I was born not a coward to be;\n    Thy loving word   |   for mine will I win,\n      As long as I shall live.\u201d\n\n            *    *    *    *    *    *\n\n22. Then first I rede thee,   |   that free of guilt\n      Toward kinsmen ever thou art;\n    No vengeance have,   |   though they work thee harm,\n      Reward after death thou shalt win.\n\n23. Then second I rede thee,   |   to swear no oath\n      If true thou knowest it not;\n    Bitter the fate   |   of the breaker of troth,\n      And poor is the wolf of his word.\n\n24. Then third I rede thee,   |   that thou at the Thing\n      Shalt fight not in words with fools;\n    For the man unwise   |   a worser word\n      Than he thinks doth utter oft.\n\n25. Ill it is   |   if silent thou art,\n      A coward born men call thee,\n      And truth mayhap they tell;\n      Seldom safe is fame,\n      Unless wide renown be won;\n    On the day thereafter   |   send him to death,\n      Let him pay the price of his lies.\n\n26. Then fourth I rede thee,   |   if thou shalt find\n      A wily witch on thy road,\n    It is better to go   |   than her guest to be,\n      Though night enfold thee fast.\n\n27. Eyes that see   |   need the sons of men\n      Who fight in battle fierce;\n    Oft witches evil   |   sit by the way,\n      Who blade and courage blunt.\n\n28. Then fifth I rede thee,   |   though maidens fair\n      Thou seest on benches sitting,\n    Let the silver of kinship   |   not rob thee of sleep,\n      And the kissing of women beware.\n\n29. Then sixth I rede thee,   |   if men shall wrangle,\n      And ale-talk rise to wrath,\n    No words with a drunken   |   warrior have,\n      For wine steals many men\u2019s wits.\n\n30. Brawls and ale   |   full oft have been\n      An ill to many a man,\n    Death for some,   |   and sorrow for some;\n      Full many the woes of men.\n\n31. Then seventh I rede thee,   |   if battle thou seekest\n      With a foe that is full of might;\n    It is better to fight   |   than to burn alive\n      In the hall of the hero rich.\n\n32. Then eighth I rede thee,   |   that evil thou shun,\n      And beware of lying words;\n    Take not a maid,   |   nor the wife of a man,\n      Nor lure them on to lust.\n\n33. Then ninth I rede thee:   |   burial render\n      If thou findest a fallen corpse,\n    Of sickness dead,   |   or dead in the sea,\n      Or dead of weapons\u2019 wounds.\n\n34. A bath shalt thou give them   |   who corpses be,\n      And hands and head shalt wash;\n    Wipe them and comb,   |   ere they go in the coffin,\n      And pray that they sleep in peace.\n\n35. Then tenth I rede thee,   |   that never thou trust\n      The word of the race of wolves,\n      (If his brother thou broughtest to death,\n      Or his father thou didst fell;)\n    Often a wolf   |   in a son there is,\n      Though gold he gladly takes.\n\n36. Battle and hate   |   and harm, methinks,\n      Full seldom fall asleep;\n    Wits and weapons   |   the warrior needs\n      If boldest of men he would be.\n\n37. Then eleventh I rede thee,   |   that wrath thou shun,\n      And treachery false with thy friends;\n    Not long the leader\u2019s   |   life shall be,\n      For great are the foes he faces.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTES\n\n\nProse. The introductory prose follows without break the prose\nconcluding the Fafnismol, the point of division being arbitrary and not\nagreed upon by all editors. Hindarfjoll: cf. Fafnismol, 42 and note.\nFranks: this does not necessarily mean that Sigurth was on his way to\nthe Gjukungs\u2019 home, for Sigmund had a kingdom in the land of the Franks\n(cf. Fra Dautha Sinfjotla). Shields: the annotator probably drew the\nnotion of the shield-tower from the reference in Helreith Brynhildar,\n9. The flame-girt tower was not uncommon; cf. Mengloth\u2019s hall in\nSvipdagsmol.\n\n1. This stanza, and the two lines included in the prose after stanza 4,\nand possibly stanza 5 as well, evidently come from a different poem\nfrom stanzas 2\u20134. Lines 3\u20134 in the original are obscure, though the\ngeneral meaning is clear.\n\nProse (after stanza 1). In the manuscript stanza 4 stands before this\nprose note and stanzas 2\u20133. The best arrangement of the stanzas seems\nto be the one here given, following M\u00fcllenhoff\u2019s suggestion, but the\nprose note is out of place anywhere. The first sentence of it ought to\nfollow stanza 4 and immediately precede the next prose note; the second\nsentence ought to precede stanza 5.\n\n2. Sons of day: the spirits of light. The daughter of night (Not),\naccording to Snorri, was Jorth (Earth).\n\nProse (after stanza 4). Sigrdrifa: on the error whereby this epithet,\n\u201cvictory-bringer,\u201d became a proper name cf. Fafnismol, 44 and note.\nHjalmgunnar: in Helreith Brynhildar (stanza 8) he is called a king of\nthe Goths, which means little; of him and his adversary, Agnar, we know\nnothing beyond what is told here. The two lines quoted apparently come\nfrom the same poem as stanza 1; the two first lines of the stanza have\nbeen reconstructed from the prose thus: \u201cHjalmgunnar was one,   |   the\nhoary king, / And triumph to him   |   had Heerfather promised.\u201d A few\neditions insert in this prose passage stanzas 7\u201310 of Helreith\nBrynhildar, which may or may not have belonged originally to this poem.\n\n5. This stanza is perhaps, but by no means surely, from the same poem\nas stanza 1. Tree of battle: warrior. Runes: the earliest runes were\nnot letters, but simply signs supposed to possess magic power; out of\nthem developed the \u201crunic alphabet.\u201d\n\n6. Stanzas 6\u201312 give a list of runes which probably had no original\nconnection with the Brynhild-Sigurth story. Tyr: the sword-god (cf.\nHymiskvitha, 4 and note); \u201ctyr\u201d is also the name of a rune which became\n\u201cT.\u201d\n\n7. Regius gives only lines 1\u20136; lines 7\u20138 are added from Volsungasaga.\nLies, etc.: a guest on his arrival received a draught of ale from the\nhands of his host\u2019s wife, and it was to prevent this draught from\nbewitching him that the runes were recommended. Need: the word \u201cnauth,\u201d\nmeaning \u201cneed,\u201d is also the name of the rune which became \u201cN.\u201d Leek:\nleeks were long supposed to have the power of counteracting poison or\nwitchcraft.\n\n9. Sail-steeds: ships.\n\n10. Branch-runes: runes cut in the bark of trees. Such runes were\nbelieved to transfer sickness from the invalid to the tree. Some\neditors, however, have changed \u201climrunar\u201d (\u201cbranch-runes\u201d) to\n\u201clifrunar\u201d (\u201clife-runes\u201d).\n\n11. Lines 3\u20136 look like an accidental addition, replacing two lines now\nlost. They mean, apparently, that the man who interweaves his speech\nwith \u201cspeech-runes\u201d when he pleads his case at the \u201cThing,\u201d or popular\ntribunal, will not unduly enrage his adversary in the argument of the\ncase.\n\n12. Here the list of runes breaks off, though the manuscript indicates\nno gap, and three short passages of a different type, though all\ndealing with runes, follow.\n\n13. Stanzas 13\u201314 appear to have come from a passage regarding Othin\u2019s\ngetting of the runes similar to Hovamol, 139\u2013146. Editors have tried\nvarious combinations of the lines in stanzas 12\u201314. Hropt: Othin; cf.\nVoluspo, 62. The draught, etc.: apparently the reference is to the head\nof Mim, from which Othin derived his wisdom in magic (cf. Voluspo, 47\nand note); Heithdraupnir (\u201cLight-Dropper\u201d) and Hoddrofnir\n(\u201cTreasure-Opener\u201d) seem to be names for Mim.\n\n14. This stanza is clearly in bad shape; perhaps, as the manuscript\nindicates, a new stanza, of which most has been lost, should begin with\nline 3. Brimir: a giant (cf. Voluspo, 9 and 37); why Othin should have\nhis sword is unknown.\n\n15. Stanzas 15\u201317 constitute a wholly distinct rune-chant. Line 1 is\nunusually long in the original, as here. Shield: the shield Svalin\n(\u201cCooling\u201d) that stands in front of the sun; cf. Grimnismol, 38. Arvak\n(\u201cEarly Walter\u201d) and Alsvith (\u201cAll-Swift\u201d): the horses that draw the\nsun\u2019s car; cf. Grimnismol, 37. Hrungnir: the slayer of the giant\nHrungnir was Thor (cf. Harbarthsljoth, 14 and note), but the line is in\nbad shape; the name may not be Hrungnir, and \u201ckiller\u201d is a conjectural\naddition. Sleipnir: Othin\u2019s eight-legged horse; cf. Grimnismol, 44 and\nnote. Sledge: perhaps the one mentioned in Grimnismol, 49.\n\n16. Bragi: the god of poetry; cf. Grimnismol, 44 and note.\n\n17. Charms: the wearing of amulets was very common. Gungnir: Othin\u2019s\nspear, made by the dwarfs, which he occasionally lent to heroes to whom\nhe granted victory. Grani: Sigurth\u2019s horse; the Volsungasaga has\n\u201cgiantesses\u2019.\u201d\n\n18. Stanzas 18\u201319, which editors have freely rearranged, apparently\ncome from another source than any of the rest. Shaved off: the runes\nwere shaved off by Othin from the wood on which they were carved, and\nthe shavings bearing them were put into the magic mead. Wanes: cf.\nVoluspo, 21, note.\n\n19. Lines 3, 6, and 7 look like spurious additions, but the whole\nstanza is chaotic. Beech-runes: runes carved on beech-trees.\n\n20. Stanzas 20\u201321 are all that remains of the dialogue between Brynhild\nand Sigurth from the poem to which stanzas 2\u20134 belong; cf. Introductory\nNote. In the intervening lost stanzas Brynhild has evidently warned\nSigurth of the perils that will follow if he swears loyalty to her;\nhence the choice to which she here refers. Tree, etc.: warrior. The\nmanuscript does not indicate the speaker of either this or the\nfollowing stanza; the Volsungasaga names Sigurth before stanza 21.\n\n21. It is quite possible that the original poem concluded with two\nstanzas after this, paraphrased thus in the Volsungasaga: \u201cSigurth\nsaid: \u2018Nowhere is to be found any one wiser than thou, and this I\nswear, that I shall have thee for mine, and that thou art after my\nheart\u2019s desire.\u2019 She answered: \u2018I would rather have thee though I might\nchoose among all men.\u2019 And this they bound between them with oaths.\u201d\nStanzas 22\u201337, which the Volsungasaga paraphrases, may have been\nintroduced at a relatively early time, but can hardly have formed part\nof the original poem.\n\n22. With this stanza begins the list of numbered counsels, closely\nresembling the Loddfafnismol (Hovamol, 111\u2013138), here attributed to\nBrynhild. That the section originally had anything to do with Brynhild\nis more than improbable.\n\n23. Wolf of his word: oath-destroyer, oath-breaker.\n\n25. This chaotic and obscure jumble of lines has been unsuccessfully\n\u201cimproved\u201d by various editors. It is clearly an interpolation, meaning,\nin substance: \u201cIt is dangerous to keep silent too long, as men may\nthink you a coward; but if any one taunts you falsely because of your\nsilence, do not argue with him, but the next morning kill him as proof\nthat he is a liar.\u201d\n\n27. Probably another interpolation.\n\n28. Silver of kinship: the passage is doubtful, but apparently it means\nthe \u201cmarriage-price\u201d for which a bride was \u201cbought.\u201d\n\n29. Line 1 comes at the end of the thirty-second leaf of Regius, and\nwhatever further was contained in that manuscript has vanished with the\nlost eight-leaf folio (cf. Introductory Note). The rest of stanza 29,\nand stanzas 30\u201337, are added from later paper manuscripts, which were\nundoubtedly copied from an old parchment, though probably not from the\ncomplete Regius. The Volsungasaga paraphrases these additional stanzas.\n\n30. Probably an interpolation.\n\n31. The meaning is that it is better to go forth to battle than to stay\nat home and be burned to death. Many a Norse warrior met his death in\nthis latter way; the burning of the house in the Njalssaga is the most\nfamous instance.\n\n34. Probably an interpolation.\n\n35. Lines 3\u20134 are probably interpolated. Race of wolves: family of a\nslain foe.\n\n36. Probably an interpolation.\n\n37. Lines 3\u20134 may well have come from the old Sigurth-Brynhild poem,\nlike stanzas 2\u20134 and 20\u201321, being inserted here, where they do not fit\nparticularly well, in place of the two lines with which the eleventh\ncounsel originally ended. Perhaps they formed part of the stanza of\nwarning which evidently preceded Brynhild\u2019s speech in stanza 20. In the\nVolsungasaga they are paraphrased at the end of Brynhild\u2019s long speech\nof advice (stanzas 20\u201337), and are immediately followed by the prose\npassage given in the note on stanza 21. It seems likely, therefore,\nthat the paper manuscripts have preserved all of the so-called\nSigrdrifumol which was contained in the lost section of Regius, with\nthe possible exception of these two concluding stanzas, and these may\nvery well have been given only in the form of a prose note, though it\nis practically certain that at one time they existed in verse form.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBROT AF SIGURTHARKVITHU\n\nFRAGMENT OF A SIGURTH LAY\n\n\nINTRODUCTORY NOTE\n\n\nThe gap of eight leaves in the Codex Regius (cf. introductory note to\nthe Sigrdrifumol) is followed by a passage of twenty stanzas which is\nevidently the end of a longer poem, the greater part of it having been\ncontained in the lost section of the manuscript. There is here little\nquestion of such a compilation as made up the so-called Reginsmol,\nFafnismol, and Sigrdrifumol; the extant fragment shows every sign of\nbeing part of a poem which, as it stood in the manuscript, was a\ncomplete and definite unit. The end is clearly marked; the following\npoem, Guthrunarkvitha I, carries a specific heading in the manuscript,\nso that there is no uncertainty as to where the fragment closes.\n\nIt seems altogether likely that the twenty stanzas thus remaining are\nthe end of a poem entitled Sigurtharkvitha (Lay of Sigurth), and, more\nspecifically, the \u201cLong\u201d Lay of Sigurth. The extant and complete\nSigurth lay, a relatively late work, is referred to by the annotator as\nthe \u201cShort\u201d Lay of Sigurth, which, of course, presupposes the existence\nof a longer poem with the same title. As the \u201cshort\u201d lay is one of the\nlongest poems in the whole collection (seventy stanzas), it follows\nthat the other one must have been considerably more extensive in order\nto have been thus distinguished by its length. It may be guessed, then,\nthat not less than eighty or a hundred stanzas, and possibly more, of\nthe \u201cLong\u201d Lay of Sigurth have been lost with the missing pages of\nRegius.\n\nThe narrative, from the point at which the so-called Sigrdrifumol\nbreaks off to that at which the Brot takes it up, is given with\nconsiderable detail in the Volsungasaga. In this prose narrative four\nstanzas are quoted, and one of them is specifically introduced with the\nphrase: \u201cas is told in the Lay of Sigurth.\u201d It is possible, but most\nunlikely, that the entire passage paraphrases this poem alone; such an\nassumption would give the Lay of Sigurth not less than two hundred and\nfifty stanzas (allowing about fifteen stanzas to each of the missing\npages), and moreover there are inconsistencies in the Volsungasaga\nnarrative suggesting that different and more or less conflicting poems\nwere used as sources. The chances are that the \u201cLong\u201d Lay of Sigurth\nfilled approximately the latter half of the lost section of the\nmanuscript, the first half including poems of which the only trace is\nto be found in the Volsungasaga prose paraphrase and in two of the\nstanzas therein quoted.\n\nThe course of the Volsungasaga\u2019s story from the Sigrdrifumol to the\nBrot is, briefly, as follows. After leaving the Valkyrie, Sigurth comes\nto the dwelling of Heimir, Brynhild\u2019s brother-in-law, where he meets\nBrynhild and they swear oaths of fidelity anew (the Volsungasaga is no\nmore lucid with regard to the Brynhild-Sigrdrifa confusion than was the\nannotator of the poems). Then the scene shifts to the home of the\nGjukungs. Guthrun, Gjuki\u2019s daughter, has a terrifying dream, and visits\nBrynhild to have it explained, which the latter does by foretelling\npretty much everything that is going to happen; this episode was\npresumably the subject of a separate poem in the lost section of the\nmanuscript. Guthrun returns home, and Sigurth soon arrives, to be made\nenthusiastically welcome. Grimhild, mother of Gunnar and Guthrun, gives\nhim a magic draught which makes him forget all about Brynhild, and\nshortly thereafter he marries Guthrun.\n\nThen follows the episode of the winning of Brynhild for Gunnar (cf.\nGripisspo, 37 and note). This was certainly the subject of a poem,\npossibly of the first part of the \u201cLong\u201d Lay of Sigurth, although it\nseems more likely that the episode was dealt with in a separate poem.\nThe Volsungasaga quotes two stanzas describing Sigurth\u2019s triumphant\npassing through the flames after Gunnar has failed and the two have\nchanged forms. They run thus:\n\n\n    The fire raged,   |   the earth was rocked,\n    The flames leaped high   |   to heaven itself;\n    Few were the hardy   |   heroes would dare\n    To ride or leap   |   the raging flames.\n\n    Sigurth urged Grani   |   then with his sword,\n    The fire slackened   |   before the hero,\n    The flames sank low   |   for the greedy of fame,\n    The armor flashed   |   that Regin had fashioned.\n\n\nAfter Sigurth has spent three nights with Brynhild, laying his sword\nbetween them (cf. Gripisspo, 41 and note), he and Gunnar return home,\nwhile Brynhild goes to the dwelling of her brother-in-law, Heimir, and\nmakes ready for her marriage with Gunnar, directing Heimir to care for\nher daughter by Sigurth, Aslaug. The wedding takes place, to be\nfollowed soon after by the quarrel between Guthrun and Brynhild, in\nwhich the former betrays the fact that it was Sigurth, and not Gunnar,\nwho rode through the flames. Brynhild speaks with contempt of Guthrun\nand her whole family, and the following stanza, which presumably\nbelongs to the same Sigurth lay as the Brot, is quoted at this point:\n\n\n    Sigurth the dragon   |   slew, and that\n    Will men recall   |   while the world remains;\n    But little boldness   |   thy brother had\n    To ride or leap   |   the raging flames.\n\n\nGunnar and Sigurth alike try to appease the angry Brynhild, but in\nvain. After Sigurth has talked with her, his leaving her hall is\ndescribed in the following stanza, introduced by the specific phrase:\n\u201cas is said in the Lay of Sigurth\u201d:\n\n\n    Forth went Sigurth,   |   and speech he sought not,\n    The friend of heroes,   |   his head bowed down;\n    Such was his grief   |   that asunder burst\n    His mail-coat all   |   of iron wrought.\n\n\nBrynhild then tells Gunnar that she had given herself wholly to Sigurth\nbefore she had become Gunnar\u2019s wife (the confusion between the two\nstories is commented on in the note to Gripisspo, 47), and Gunnar\ndiscusses plans of vengeance with his brother, Hogni. It is at this\npoint that the action of the Brot begins.\n\nBeginning with this poem, and thence to the end of the cycle, the\nGerman features of the narrative predominate (cf. introductory note to\nGripisspo).\n\n\n\n\n\nHogni spake:\n\n\n1.  \u201c(What evil deed   |   has Sigurth) done,\n    That the hero\u2019s life   |   thou fain wouldst have?\u201d\n\n\nGunnar spake:\n\n\n2.  \u201cSigurth oaths   |   to me hath sworn,\n    Oaths hath sworn,   |   and all hath broken;\n    He betrayed me there   |   where truest all\n    His oaths, methinks,   |   he ought to have kept.\u201d\n\n\nHogni spake:\n\n\n3.  \u201cThy heart hath Brynhild   |   whetted to hate,\n    Evil to work   |   and harm to win;\n    She grudges the honor   |   that Guthrun has,\n    And that joy of herself   |   thou still dost have.\u201d\n\n4.  They cooked a wolf,   |   they cut up a snake,\n    They gave to Gotthorm   |   the greedy one\u2019s flesh,\n    Before the men,   |   to murder minded,\n    Laid their hands   |   on the hero bold.\n\n5.  Slain was Sigurth   |   south of the Rhine;\n    From a limb a raven   |   called full loud:\n    \u201cYour blood shall redden   |   Atli\u2019s blade,\n    And your oaths shall bind   |   you both in chains.\u201d\n\n6.  Without stood Guthrun,   |   Gjuki\u2019s daughter,\n    Hear now the speech   |   that first she spake:\n    \u201cWhere is Sigurth now,   |   the noble king,\n    That my kinsmen riding   |   before him come?\u201d\n\n7.  Only this   |   did Hogni answer:\n    \u201cSigurth we   |   with our swords have slain;\n    The gray horse mourns   |   by his master dead.\u201d\n\n8.  Then Brynhild spake,   |   the daughter of Buthli:\n    \u201cWell shall ye joy   |   in weapons and lands;\n    Sigurth alone   |   of all had been lord,\n    If a little longer   |   his life had been.\n\n9.  \u201cRight were it not   |   that so he should rule\n    O\u2019er Gjuki\u2019s wealth   |   and the race of the Goths;\n    Five are the sons   |   for ruling the folk,\n    And greedy of fight,   |   that he hath fathered.\u201d\n\n10. Then Brynhild laughed\u2014   |   and the building echoed\u2014\n    Only once,   |   with all her heart;\n    \u201cLong shall ye joy   |   in lands and men,\n    Now ye have slain   |   the hero noble.\u201d\n\n11. Then Guthrun spake,   |   the daughter of Gjuki:\n    \u201cMuch thou speakest   |   in evil speech;\n    Accursed be Gunnar,   |   Sigurth\u2019s killer,\n    Vengeance shall come   |   for his cruel heart.\u201d\n\n12. Early came evening,   |   and ale was drunk,\n    And among them long   |   and loud they talked;\n    They slumbered all   |   when their beds they sought,\n    But Gunnar alone   |   was long awake.\n\n13. His feet were tossing,   |   he talked to himself,\n    And the slayer of hosts   |   began to heed\n    What the twain from the tree   |   had told him then,\n    The raven and eagle,   |   as home they rode.\n\n14. Brynhild awoke,   |   the daughter of Buthli,\n    The warrior\u2019s daughter,   |   ere dawn of day:\n    \u201cLove me or hate me,   |   the harm is done,\n    And my grief cries out,   |   or else I die.\u201d\n\n15. Silent were all   |   who heard her speak,\n    And nought of the heart   |   of the queen they knew,\n    Who wept such tears   |   the thing to tell\n    That laughing once   |   of the men she had won.\n\n\nBrynhild spake:\n\n\n16. \u201cGunnar, I dreamed   |   a dream full grim:\n    In the hall were corpses;   |   cold was my bed;\n    And, ruler, thou   |   didst joyless ride,\n    With fetters bound   |   in the foemen\u2019s throng.\n\n17. \u201c.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    Utterly now   |   your Niflung race\n    All shall die;   |   your oaths ye have broken.\n\n18. \u201cThou hast, Gunnar,   |   the deed forgot,\n    When blood in your footprints   |   both ye mingled;\n    All to him   |   hast repaid with ill\n    Who fain had made thee   |   the foremost of kings.\n\n19. \u201cWell did he prove,   |   when proud he rode\n    To win me then   |   thy wife to be,\n    How true the host-slayer   |   ever had held\n    The oaths he had made   |   with the monarch young.\n\n20. \u201cThe wound-staff then,   |   all wound with gold,\n    The hero let   |   between us lie;\n    With fire the edge   |   was forged full keen,\n    And with drops of venom   |   the blade was damp.\u201d\n\n\nHere it is told in this poem about the death of Sigurth, and the story\ngoes here that they slew him out of doors, but some say that they slew\nhim in the house, on his bed while he was sleeping. But German men say\nthat they killed him out of doors in the forest; and so it is told in\nthe old Guthrun lay, that Sigurth and Gjuki\u2019s sons had ridden to the\ncouncil-place, and that he was slain there. But in this they are all\nagreed, that they deceived him in his trust of them, and fell upon him\nwhen he was lying down and unprepared.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTES\n\n\n1. The fragment begins with the last words of line 1 (probably line 3\nof the stanza). A few editors ascribe this speech to Gunnar and the\nnext to Brynhild; one reconstruction of lines 1\u20132 on this probably\nfalse assumption runs: \u201cWhy art thou, Brynhild,   |   daughter of\nButhli, / Scheming ill   |   with evil counsel?\u201d Hogni (German Hagene):\nbrother of Gunnar and Guthrun.\n\n2. A few editors ascribe this speech to Brynhild. Gunnar, if the stanza\nis his, has believed Brynhild\u2019s statement regarding Sigurth\u2019s\ndisloyalty to his blood-brother.\n\n4. The Volsungasaga quotes a somewhat different version of this stanza,\nin which the snake is called \u201cwood-fish\u201d and the third line adds \u201cbeer\nand many things.\u201d Eating snakes and the flesh of beasts of prey was\ncommonly supposed to induce ferocity. Gotthorm: Grimhild\u2019s son,\nhalf-brother to Gunnar. He it is who, not having sworn brotherhood with\nSigurth, does the killing.\n\n5. In the manuscript this stanza stands between stanzas 11 and 12; most\neditions have made the change here indicated. South of the Rhine: the\ndefinite localization of the action shows how clearly all this part of\nthe story was recognized in the North as of German origin. Atli\n(Attila; cf. introductory note to Gripisspo): the Northern version of\nthe story makes him Brynhild\u2019s brother. His marriage with Guthrun, and\nhis slaying of her brothers, are told in the Atli poems. Regarding the\nmanner of Sigurth\u2019s death cf. concluding prose passage and note. Stanza\n13 indicates that after stanza 5 a stanza containing the words of an\neagle has been lost.\n\n7. One line of this stanza, but it is not clear which, seems to have\nbeen lost. The gray horse: Grani.\n\n8. Some editions set stanzas 8 and 9 after stanza 11; Sijmons marks\nthem as spurious. Buthli: cf. Gripisspo, 19, note.\n\n9. Goths: a generic term for any German race; cf. Gripisspo, 35 and\nnote. Five sons: according to the Volsungasaga Sigurth had only one\nson, named Sigmund, who was killed at Brynhild\u2019s behest.\nSigurtharkvitha en skamma and Guthrunarkvitha II likewise mention only\none son. The daughter of Sigurth and Guthrun, Svanhild, marries\nJormunrek (Ermanarich).\n\n12. The manuscript marks line 4 as the beginning of a new stanza, and a\nfew editions combine it with stanza 13.\n\n13. Slayer of hosts: warrior (Gunnar). Raven and eagle: cf. note on\nstanza 5.\n\n16. Mogk regards stanzas 16 and 17 as interpolated, but on not very\nsatisfactory grounds. On the death of Gunnar cf. Drap Niflunga.\n\n17. No gap is indicated in the manuscript, and some editions attach\nthese two lines to stanza 16. Niflungs: this name (German Nibelungen),\nmeaning \u201csons of the mist,\u201d seems to have belonged originally to the\nrace of supernatural beings to which the treasure belonged in the\nGerman version. It was subsequently extended to include the Gjukungs\nand their Burgundians. This question, of minor importance in the Norse\npoems, has evoked an enormous amount of learned discussion in\nconnection with the Nibelungenlied.\n\n18. Footprints: the actual mingling of blood in one another\u2019s\nfootprints was a part of the ceremony of swearing blood-brotherhood,\nthe oath which Gunnar and Sigurth had taken. The fourth line refers to\nthe fact that Sigurth had won many battles for Gunnar.\n\n20. Regarding the sword episode cf. Gripisspo, 41 and note.\nWound-staff: sword.\n\nProse. This prose passage has in the manuscript, written in red, the\nphrase \u201cOf Sigurth\u2019s Death\u201d as a heading; there is no break between it\nand the prose introducing Guthrunarkvitha I, the heading for that poem\ncoming just before stanza 1. This note is of special interest as an\neffort at real criticism. The annotator, troubled by the two versions\nof the story of Sigurth\u2019s death, feels it incumbent on him not only to\npoint the fact out, but to cite the authority of \u201cGerman men\u201d for the\nform which appears in this poem. The alternative version, wherein\nSigurth is slain in bed, appears in Sigurtharkvitha en skamma,\nGuthrunarhvot, and Hamthesmol, and also in the Volsungasaga, which\ntells how Gotthorm tried twice to kill Sigurth but was terrified by the\nbrightness of his eyes, and succeeded only after the hero had fallen\nasleep. That the annotator was correct in citing German authority for\nthe slaying of Sigurth in the forest is shown by the Nibelungenlied and\nthe Thithrekssaga. The \u201cold\u201d Guthrun lay is unquestionably\nGuthrunarkvitha II.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGUTHRUNARKVITHA I\n\nTHE FIRST LAY OF GUTHRUN\n\n\nINTRODUCTORY NOTE\n\nThe First Lay of Guthrun, entitled in the Codex Regius simply\nGuthrunarkvitha, immediately follows the remaining fragment of the\n\u201clong\u201d Sigurth lay in that manuscript. Unlike the poems dealing with\nthe earlier part of the Sigurth cycle, the so-called Reginsmol,\nFafnismol, and Sigrdrifumol, it is a clear and distinct unit,\napparently complete and with few and minor interpolations. It is also\none of the finest poems in the entire collection, with an extraordinary\nemotional intensity and dramatic force. None of its stanzas are quoted\nelsewhere, and it is altogether probable that the compilers of the\nVolsungasaga were unfamiliar with it, for they do not mention the\nsister and daughter of Gjuki who appear in this poem, or Herborg,\n\u201cqueen of the Huns\u201d (stanza 6).\n\nThe lament of Guthrun (Kriemhild) is almost certainly among the oldest\nparts of the story. The lament was one of the earliest forms of poetry\nto develop among the Germanic peoples, and I suspect, though the matter\nis not susceptible of proof, that the lament of Sigurth\u2019s wife had\nassumed lyric form as early as the seventh century, and reached the\nNorth in that shape rather than in prose tradition (cf. Guthrunarkvitha\nII, introductory note). We find traces of it in the seventeenth\nAventiure of the Nibelungenlied, and in the poems of the Edda it\ndominates every appearance of Guthrun. The two first Guthrun lays (I\nand II) are both laments, one for Sigurth\u2019s death and the other\nincluding both that and the lament over the slaying of her brothers;\nthe lament theme is apparent in the third Guthrun lay and in the\nGuthrunarhvot.\n\nIn their present forms the second Guthrun lay is undoubtedly older than\nthe first; in the prose following the Brot the annotator refers to the\n\u201cold\u201d Guthrun lay in terms which can apply only to the second one in\nthe collection. The shorter and \u201cfirst\u201d lay, therefore, can scarcely\nhave been composed much before the year 1000, and may be somewhat\nlater. The poet appears to have known and made use of the older lament;\nstanza 17, for example, is a close parallel to stanza 2 of the earlier\npoem; but whatever material he used he fitted into a definite poetic\nscheme of his own. And while this particular poem is, as critics have\ngenerally agreed, one of the latest of the collection, it probably\nrepresents one of the earliest parts of the entire Sigurth cycle to\ntake on verse form.\n\nGuthrunarkvitha I, so far as the narrative underlying it is concerned,\nshows very little northern addition to the basic German tradition.\nBrynhild appears only as Guthrun\u2019s enemy and the cause of Sigurth\u2019s\ndeath; the three women who attempt to comfort Guthrun, though unknown\nto the southern stories, seem to have been rather distinct creations of\nthe poet\u2019s than traditional additions to the legend. Regarding the\nrelations of the various elements in the Sigurth cycle, cf.\nintroductory note to Gripisspo.\n\n\n\n\n\nGuthrun sat by the dead Sigurth; she did not weep as other women, but\nher heart was near to bursting with grief. The men and women came to\nher to console her, but that was not easy to do. It is told of men that\nGuthrun had eaten of Fafnir\u2019s heart, and that she understood the speech\nof birds. This is a poem about Guthrun.\n\n\n1.  Then did Guthrun   |   think to die,\n    When she by Sigurth   |   sorrowing sat;\n    Tears she had not,   |   nor wrung her hands,\n    Nor ever wailed,   |   as other women.\n\n2.  To her the warriors   |   wise there came,\n    Longing her heavy   |   woe to lighten;\n    Grieving could not   |   Guthrun weep,\n    So sad her heart,   |   it seemed, would break.\n\n3.  Then the wives   |   of the warriors came,\n    Gold-adorned,   |   and Guthrun sought;\n    Each one then   |   of her own grief spoke,\n    The bitterest pain   |   she had ever borne.\n\n4.  Then spake Gjaflaug,   |   Gjuki\u2019s sister:\n    \u201cMost joyless of all   |   on earth am I;\n    Husbands five   |   were from me taken,\n    (Two daughters then,   |   and sisters three,)\n    Brothers eight,   |   yet I have lived.\u201d\n\n5.  Grieving could not   |   Guthrun weep,\n    Such grief she had   |   for her husband dead,\n    And so grim her heart   |   by the hero\u2019s body.\n\n6.  Then Herborg spake,   |   the queen of the Huns:\n    \u201cI have a greater   |   grief to tell;\n    My seven sons   |   in the southern land,\n    And my husband, fell   |   in fight all eight.\n    (Father and mother   |   and brothers four\n    Amid the waves   |   the wind once smote,\n    And the seas crashed through   |   the sides of the ship.)\n\n7.  \u201cThe bodies all   |   with my own hands then\n    I decked for the grave,   |   and the dead I buried;\n    A half-year brought me   |   this to bear;\n    And no one came   |   to comfort me.\n\n8.  \u201cThen bound I was,   |   and taken in war,\n    A sorrow yet   |   in the same half-year;\n    They bade me deck   |   and bind the shoes\n    Of the wife of the monarch   |   every morn.\n\n9.  \u201cIn jealous rage   |   her wrath she spake,\n    And beat me oft   |   with heavy blows;\n    Never a better   |   lord I knew,\n    And never a woman   |   worse I found.\u201d\n\n10. Grieving could not   |   Guthrun weep,\n    Such grief she had   |   for her husband dead,\n    And so grim her heart   |   by the hero\u2019s body.\n\n11. Then spake Gollrond,   |   Gjuki\u2019s daughter:\n    \u201cThy wisdom finds not,   |   my foster-mother,\n    The way to comfort   |   the wife so young.\u201d\n    She bade them uncover   |   the warrior\u2019s corpse.\n\n12. The shroud she lifted   |   from Sigurth, laying\n    His well-loved head   |   on the knees of his wife:\n    \u201cLook on thy loved one,   |   and lay thy lips\n    To his as if yet   |   the hero lived.\u201d\n\n13. Once alone   |   did Guthrun look;\n    His hair all clotted   |   with blood beheld,\n    The blinded eyes   |   that once shone bright,\n    The hero\u2019s breast   |   that the blade had pierced.\n\n14. Then Guthrun bent,   |   on her pillow bowed,\n    Her hair was loosened,   |   her cheek was hot,\n    And the tears like raindrops   |   downward ran.\n\n15. Then Guthrun, daughter   |   of Gjuki, wept,\n    And through her tresses   |   flowed the tears;\n    And from the court   |   came the cry of geese,\n    The birds so fair   |   of the hero\u2019s bride.\n\n16. Then Gollrond spake,   |   the daughter of Gjuki:\n    \u201cNever a greater   |   love I knew\n    Than yours among   |   all men on earth;\n    Nowhere wast happy,   |   at home or abroad,\n    Sister mine,   |   with Sigurth away.\u201d\n\n\nGuthrun spake:\n\n\n17. \u201cSo was my Sigurth   |   o\u2019er Gjuki\u2019s sons\n    As the spear-leek grown   |   above the grass,\n    Or the jewel bright   |   borne on the band,\n    The precious stone   |   that princes wear.\n\n18. \u201cTo the leader of men   |   I loftier seemed\n    And higher than all   |   of Herjan\u2019s maids;\n    As little now   |   as the leaf I am\n    On the willow hanging;   |   my hero is dead.\n\n19. \u201cIn his seat, in his bed,   |   I see no more\n    My heart\u2019s true friend;   |   the fault is theirs,\n    The sons of Gjuki,   |   for all my grief,\n    That so their sister   |   sorely weeps.\n\n20. \u201cSo shall your land   |   its people lose\n    As ye have kept   |   your oaths of yore;\n    Gunnar, no joy   |   the gold shall give thee,\n    (The rings shall soon   |   thy slayers be,)\n    Who swarest oaths   |   with Sigurth once.\n\n21. \u201cIn the court was greater   |   gladness then\n    The day my Sigurth   |   Grani saddled,\n    And went forth Brynhild\u2019s   |   hand to win,\n    That woman ill,   |   in an evil hour.\u201d\n\n22. Then Brynhild spake,   |   the daughter of Buthli:\n    \u201cMay the witch now husband   |   and children want\n    Who, Guthrun, loosed   |   thy tears at last,\n    And with magic today   |   hath made thee speak.\u201d\n\n23. Then Gollrond, daughter   |   of Gjuki, spake:\n    \u201cSpeak not such words,   |   thou hated woman;\n    Bane of the noble   |   thou e\u2019er hast been,\n    (Borne thou art   |   on an evil wave,\n    Sorrow hast brought   |   to seven kings,)\n    And many a woman   |   hast loveless made.\u201d\n\n24. Then Brynhild, daughter   |   of Buthli, spake:\n    \u201cAtli is guilty   |   of all the sorrow,\n    (Son of Buthli   |   and brother of mine,)\n    When we saw in the hall   |   of the Hunnish race\n    The flame of the snake\u2019s bed   |   flash round the hero;\n    (For the journey since   |   full sore have I paid,\n    And ever I seek   |   the sight to forget.)\u201d\n\n25. By the pillars she stood,   |   and gathered her strength,\n    From the eyes of Brynhild,   |   Buthli\u2019s daughter,\n    Fire there burned,   |   and venom she breathed,\n    When the wounds she saw   |   on Sigurth then.\n\n\nGuthrun went thence away to a forest in the waste, and journeyed all\nthe way to Denmark, and was there seven half-years with Thora, daughter\nof Hokon. Brynhild would not live after Sigurth. She had eight of her\nthralls slain and five serving-women. Then she killed herself with a\nsword, as is told in the Short Lay of Sigurth.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTES\n\n\nProse. The prose follows the concluding prose of the Brot without\nindication of a break, the heading standing immediately before stanza\n1. Fafnir\u2019s heart: this bit of information is here quite without point,\nand it is nowhere else stated that Guthrun understood the speech of\nbirds. In the Volsungasaga it is stated that Sigurth gave Guthrun some\nof Fafnir\u2019s heart to eat, \u201cand thereafter she was much grimmer than\nbefore, and wiser.\u201d\n\n1. This stanza seems to be based on Guthrunarkvitha II, 11\u201312.\n\n4. Gjaflaug: nothing further is known of this aunt of Guthrun, or of\nthe many relatives whom she has lost. Very likely she is an invention\nof the poet\u2019s, for it seems improbable that otherwise all further trace\nof her should have been lost. Line 4 has been marked by many editors as\nspurious.\n\n5. Some editors assume the loss of a line, after either line 1 or line\n3. I prefer to believe that here and in stanza 10 the poet knew exactly\nwhat he was doing, and that both stanzas are correct.\n\n6. Herborg: neither she nor her sorrows are elsewhere mentioned, nor is\nit clear what a \u201cqueen of the Huns\u201d is doing in Gunnar\u2019s home, but the\nword \u201cHun\u201d has little definiteness of meaning in the poems, and is\nfrequently applied to Sigurth himself (cf. note on stanza 24). Herborg\nappears from stanza 11 to have been the foster-mother of Gollrond,\nGuthrun\u2019s sister. Lines 5\u20137 may be interpolations, or may form a\nseparate stanza.\n\n7. Lines 1 and 2 stand in reversed order in the manuscript; I have\nfollowed Gering\u2019s conjectural transposition.\n\n9. Herborg implies that the queen\u2019s jealousy was not altogether\nmisplaced.\n\n10. Cf. stanza 5 and note. The manuscript abbreviates to first letters.\n\n11. Gollrond: not elsewhere mentioned. Line 4 looks like an\ninterpolation replacing a line previously lost.\n\n12. The manuscript indicates line 3 as the beginning of a stanza, and\nsome editors have attempted to follow this arrangement.\n\n14. Many editors assume the loss of a line from this stanza.\n\n15. The word here translated \u201ctresses\u201d is sheer guesswork. The detail\nof the geese is taken from Sigurtharkvitha en skamma, 29, line 3 here\nbeing identical with line 4 of that stanza.\n\n16. Line 1, abbreviated in the manuscript, very likely should be simply\n\u201cGollrond spake.\u201d\n\n17. Cf. Guthrunarkvitha II, 2. The manuscript does not name the\nspeaker, and some editions have a first line, \u201cThen Guthrun spake,   |\nthe daughter of Gjuki.\u201d\n\n18. Herjan: Othin; his maids are the Valkyries; cf. Voluspo, 31, where\nthe same phrase is used.\n\n20. Line 4 looks like an interpolation (cf. Fafnismol, 9, line 4), but\nsome editors instead have queried line 5. How Guthrun\u2019s curse is\nfulfilled is told in the subsequent poems. That desire for Sigurth\u2019s\ntreasure (the gold cursed by Andvari and Loki) was one of the motives\nfor his murder is indicated in Sigurtharkvitha en skamma (stanza 16),\nand was clearly a part of the German tradition, as it appears in the\nNibelungenlied.\n\n21. Cf. Gripisspo, 35 and note.\n\n22. Line 1 is abbreviated in the manuscript.\n\n23. Editors are agreed that this stanza shows interpolations, but\ndiffer as to the lines to reject. Line 4 (literally \u201cevery wave of\nill-doing drives thee\u201d) is substantially a proverb, and line 5, with\nits apparently meaningless reference to \u201cseven\u201d kings, may easily have\ncome from some other source.\n\n24. The stanza is obviously in bad shape; perhaps it represents two\nseparate stanzas, or perhaps three of the lines are later additions.\nAtli: Brynhild here blames her brother, following the frequent custom\nof transferring the responsibility for a murder (cf. Helgakvitha\nHundingsbana II, 33), because he compelled her to marry Gunnar against\nher will, an idea which the poet seems to have gained from\nSigurtharkvitha en skamma, 32\u201339. These stanzas represent an entirely\ndifferent version of the story, wherein Atli, attacked by Gunnar and\nSigurth, buys them off by giving Gunnar his sister, Brynhild, as wife.\nHe seems to have induced the latter to marry Gunnar by falsely telling\nher that Gunnar was Sigurth (a rationalistic explanation of the\ninterchange of forms described in the Volsungasaga and Gripisspo,\n37\u201339). In the present stanza Atli is made to do this out of desire for\nSigurth\u2019s treasure. Hunnish race: this may be merely an error (neither\nGunnar nor Sigurth could properly have been connected in any way with\nAtli and his Huns), based on Sigurtharkvitha en skamma, wherein Sigurth\nappears more than once as the \u201cHunnish king.\u201d The North was very much\nin the dark as to the differences between Germans, Burgundians, Franks,\nGoths, and Huns, and used the words without much discrimination. On the\nother hand, it may refer to Sigurth\u2019s appearance when, adorned with\ngold, he came with Gunnar to besiege Atli, in the alternative version\nof the story just cited (cf. Sigurtharkvitha en skamma, 36). Flame of\nthe snake\u2019s bed: gold, so called because serpents and dragons were the\ntraditional guardians of treasure, on which they lay.\n\nProse. The manuscript has \u201cGunnar\u201d in place of \u201cGuthrun,\u201d but this is\nan obvious mistake; the entire prose passage is based on\nGuthrunarkvitha II, 14. The Volsungasaga likewise merely paraphrases\nGuthrunarkvitha II, and nothing further is known of Thora or her\nfather, Hokon, though many inconclusive attempts have been made to\nidentify the latter. Brynhild: the story of her death is told in great\ndetail in the latter part of Sigurtharkvitha en skamma.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSIGURTHARKVITHA EN SKAMMA\n\nTHE SHORT LAY OF SIGURTH\n\n\nINTRODUCTORY NOTE\n\nGuthrunarkvitha I is immediately followed in the Codex Regius by a long\npoem which in the manuscript bears the heading \u201cSigurtharkvitha,\u201d but\nwhich is clearly referred to in the prose link between it and\nGuthrunarkvitha I as the \u201cshort\u201d Lay of Sigurth. The discrepancy\nbetween this reference and the obvious length of the poem has led to\nmany conjectures, but the explanation seems to be that the \u201clong\u201d\nSigurth lay, of which the Brot is presumably a part, was materially\nlonger even than this poem. The efforts to reduce the \u201cshort\u201d Sigurth\nlay to dimensions which would justify the appellation in comparison\nwith other poems in the collection, either by separating it into two\npoems or by the rejection of many stanzas as interpolations, have been\nutterly inconclusive.\n\nAlthough there are probably several interpolated passages, and\nindications of omissions are not lacking, the poem as we now have it\nseems to be a distinct and coherent unit. From the narrative point of\nview it leaves a good deal to be desired, for the reason that the\npoet\u2019s object was by no means to tell a story, with which his hearers\nwere quite familiar, but to use the narrative simply as the background\nfor vivid and powerful characterization. The lyric element, as Mogk\npoints out, overshadows the epic throughout, and the fact that there\nare frequent confusions of narrative tradition does not trouble the\npoet at all.\n\nThe material on which the poem was based seems to have existed in both\nprose and verse form; the poet was almost certainly familiar with some\nof the other poems in the Eddic collection, with poems which have since\nbeen lost, and with the narrative prose traditions which never fully\nassumed verse form. The fact that he seems to have known and used the\nOddrunargratr, which can hardly have been composed before 1050, and\nthat in any case he introduces the figure of Oddrun, a relatively late\naddition to the story, dates the poem as late as the end of the\neleventh century, or even the first half of the twelfth. There has been\nmuch discussion as to where it was composed, the debate centering\nchiefly on the reference to glaciers (stanza 8). There is something to\nbe said in favor of Greenland as the original home of the poem (cf.\nintroductory note to Atlakvitha), but the arguments for Iceland are\neven stronger; Norway in this case is practically out of the question.\n\nThe narrative features of the poem are based on the German rather than\nthe Norse elements of the story (cf. introductory note to Gripisspo),\nbut the poet has taken whatever material he wanted without much\ndiscrimination as to its source. By the year 1100 the story of Sigurth,\nwith its allied legends, existed throughout the North in many and\nvaried forms, and the poem shows traces of variants of the main story\nwhich do not appear elsewhere.\n\n\n\n\n\n1.  Of old did Sigurth   |   Gjuki seek,\n    The Volsung young,   |   in battles victor;\n    Well he trusted   |   the brothers twain,\n    With mighty oaths   |   among them sworn.\n\n2.  A maid they gave him,   |   and jewels many,\n    Guthrun the young,   |   the daughter of Gjuki;\n    They drank and spake   |   full many a day,\n    Sigurth the young   |   and Gjuki\u2019s sons.\n\n3.  Thereafter went they   |   Brynhild to woo,\n    And so with them   |   did Sigurth ride,\n    The Volsung young,   |   in battle valiant,\u2014\n    Himself would have had her   |   if all he had seen.\n\n4.  The southern hero   |   his naked sword,\n    Fair-flashing, let   |   between them lie;\n    (Nor would he come   |   the maid to kiss;)\n    The Hunnish king   |   in his arms ne\u2019er held\n    The maiden he gave   |   to Gjuki\u2019s sons.\n\n5.  Ill she had known not   |   in all her life,\n    And nought of the sorrows   |   of men she knew;\n    Blame she had not,   |   nor dreamed she should bear it,\n    But cruel the fates   |   that among them came.\n\n6.  By herself at the end   |   of day she sat,\n    And in open words   |   her heart she uttered:\n    \u201cI shall Sigurth have,   |   the hero young,\n    E\u2019en though within   |   my arms he die.\n\n7.  \u201cThe word I have spoken;   |   soon shall I rue it,\n    His wife is Guthrun,   |   and Gunnar\u2019s am I;\n    Ill Norns set for me   |   long desire.\u201d\n\n8.  Oft did she go   |   with grieving heart\n    On the glacier\u2019s ice   |   at even-tide,\n    When Guthrun then   |   to her bed was gone,\n    And the bedclothes Sigurth   |   about her laid.\n\n9.  \u201c(Now Gjuki\u2019s child   |   to her lover goes,)\n    And the Hunnish king   |   with his wife is happy;\n    Joyless I am   |   and mateless ever,\n    Till cries from my heavy   |   heart burst forth.\u201d\n\n10. In her wrath to battle   |   she roused herself:\n    \u201cGunnar, now   |   thou needs must lose\n    Lands of mine   |   and me myself,\n    No joy shall I have   |   with the hero ever.\n\n11. \u201cBack shall I fare   |   where first I dwelt,\n    Among the kin   |   that come of my race,\n    To wait there, sleeping   |   my life away,\n    If Sigurth\u2019s death   |   thou shalt not dare,\n    (And best of heroes   |   thou shalt not be.)\n\n12. \u201cThe son shall fare   |   with his father hence,\n    And let not long   |   the wolf-cub live;\n    Lighter to pay   |   is the vengeance-price\n    After the deed   |   if the son is dead.\u201d\n\n13. Sad was Gunnar,   |   and bowed with grief,\n    Deep in thought   |   the whole day through;\n    Yet from his heart   |   it was ever hid\n    What deed most fitting   |   he should find,\n    (Or what thing best   |   for him should be,\n    Or if he should seek   |   the Volsung to slay,\n    For with mighty longing   |   Sigurth he loved.)\n\n14. Much he pondered   |   for many an hour;\n    Never before   |   was the wonder known\n    That a queen should thus   |   her kingdom leave;\n    In counsel then   |   did he Hogni call,\n    (For him in truest   |   trust he held.)\n\n15. \u201cMore than all   |   to me is Brynhild,\n    Buthli\u2019s child,   |   the best of women;\n    My very life   |   would I sooner lose\n    Than yield the love   |   of yonder maid.\n\n16. \u201cWilt thou the hero   |   for wealth betray?\n    \u2019Twere good to have   |   the gold of the Rhine,\n    And all the hoard   |   in peace to hold,\n    And waiting fortune   |   thus to win.\u201d\n\n17. Few the words   |   of Hogni were:\n    \u201cUs it beseems not   |   so to do,\n    To cleave with swords   |   the oaths we swore,\n    The oaths we swore   |   and all our vows.\n\n18. \u201cWe know no mightier   |   men on earth\n    The while we four   |   o\u2019er the folk hold sway,\n    And while the Hunnish   |   hero lives,\n    Nor higher kinship   |   the world doth hold.\n\n19. \u201cIf sons we five   |   shall soon beget,\n    Great, methinks,   |   our race shall grow;\n    Well I see   |   whence lead the ways;\n    Too bitter far   |   is Brynhild\u2019s hate.\u201d\n\n\nGunnar spake:\n\n\n20. \u201cGotthorm to wrath   |   we needs must rouse,\n    Our younger brother,   |   in rashness blind;\n    He entered not   |   in the oaths we swore,\n    The oaths we swore   |   and all our vows.\u201d\n\n21. It was easy to rouse   |   the reckless one.\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    The sword in the heart   |   of Sigurth stood.\n\n22. In vengeance the hero   |   rose in the hall,\n    And hurled his sword   |   at the slayer bold;\n    At Gotthorm flew   |   the glittering steel\n    Of Gram full hard   |   from the hand of the king.\n\n23. The foeman cleft   |   asunder fell,\n    Forward hands   |   and head did sink,\n    And legs and feet   |   did backward fall.\n\n24. Guthrun soft   |   in her bed had slept,\n    Safe from care   |   at Sigurth\u2019s side;\n    She woke to find   |   her joy had fled,\n    In the blood of the friend   |   of Freyr she lay.\n\n25. So hard she smote   |   her hands together\n    That the hero rose up,   |   iron-hearted:\n    \u201cWeep not, Guthrun,   |   grievous tears,\n    Bride so young,   |   for thy brothers live.\n\n26. \u201cToo young, methinks,   |   is my son as yet,\n    He cannot flee   |   from the home of his foes;\n    Fearful and deadly   |   the plan they found,\n    The counsel new   |   that now they have heeded.\n\n27. \u201cNo son will ride,   |   though seven thou hast,\n    To the Thing as the son   |   of their sister rides;\n    Well I see   |   who the ill has worked,\n    On Brynhild alone   |   lies the blame for all.\n\n28. \u201cAbove all men   |   the maiden loved me,\n    Yet false to Gunnar   |   I ne\u2019er was found;\n    I kept the oaths   |   and the kinship I swore;\n    Of his queen the lover   |   none may call me.\u201d\n\n29. In a swoon she sank   |   when Sigurth died;\n    So hard she smote   |   her hands together\n    That all the cups   |   in the cupboard rang,\n    And loud in the courtyard   |   cried the geese.\n\n30. Then Brynhild, daughter   |   of Buthli, laughed,\n    Only once,   |   with all her heart,\n    When as she lay   |   full loud she heard\n    The grievous wail   |   of Gjuki\u2019s daughter.\n\n31. Then Gunnar, monarch   |   of men, spake forth:\n    \u201cThou dost not laugh,   |   thou lover of hate,\n    In gladness there,   |   or for aught of good;\n    Why has thy face   |   so white a hue,\n    Mother of ill?   |   Foredoomed thou art.\n\n32. \u201cA worthier woman   |   wouldst thou have been\n    If before thine eyes   |   we had Atli slain;\n    If thy brother\u2019s bleeding   |   body hadst seen\n    And the bloody wounds   |   that thou shouldst bind.\u201d\n\n\nBrynhild spake:\n\n\n33. \u201cNone mock thee, Gunnar!   |   thou hast mightily fought,\n    But thy hatred little   |   doth Atli heed;\n    Longer than thou,   |   methinks, shall he live,\n    And greater in might   |   shall he ever remain.\n\n34. \u201cTo thee I say,   |   and thyself thou knowest,\n    That all these ills   |   thou didst early shape;\n    No bonds I knew,   |   nor sorrow bore,\n    And wealth I had   |   in my brother\u2019s home.\n\n35. \u201cNever a husband   |   sought I to have,\n    Before the Gjukungs   |   fared to our land;\n    Three were the kings   |   on steeds that came,\u2014\n    Need of their journey   |   never there was.\n\n36. \u201cTo the hero great   |   my troth I gave\n    Who gold-decked sat   |   on Grani\u2019s back;\n    Not like to thine   |   was the light of his eyes,\n    (Nor like in form   |   and face are ye,)\n    Though kingly both   |   ye seemed to be.\n\n37. \u201cAnd so to me   |   did Atli say\n    That share in our wealth   |   I should not have,\n    Of gold or lands,   |   if my hand I gave not;\n    (More evil yet,   |   the wealth I should yield,)\n    The gold that he   |   in my childhood gave me,\n    (The wealth from him   |   in my youth I had.)\n\n38. \u201cOft in my mind   |   I pondered much\n    If still I should fight,   |   and warriors fell,\n    Brave in my byrnie,   |   my brother defying;\n    That would wide   |   in the world be known,\n    And sorrow for many   |   a man would make.\n\n39. \u201cBut the bond at last   |   I let be made,\n    For more the hoard   |   I longed to have,\n    The rings that the son   |   of Sigmund won;\n    No other\u2019s treasure   |   e\u2019er I sought.\n\n40. \u201cOne alone   |   of all I loved,\n    Nor changing heart   |   I ever had;\n    All in the end   |   shall Atli know,\n    When he hears I have gone   |   on the death-road hence.\u201d\n\n            *    *    *    *    *    *\n\n41. \u201cNever a wife   |   of fickle will\n    Yet to another   |   man should yield.\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    So vengeance for all   |   my ills shall come.\u201d\n\n42. Up rose Gunnar,   |   the people\u2019s ruler,\n    And flung his arms   |   round her neck so fair;\n    And all who came,   |   of every kind,\n    Sought to hold her   |   with all their hearts.\n\n43. But back she cast   |   all those who came,\n    Nor from the long road   |   let them hold her;\n    In counsel then   |   did he Hogni call:\n    \u201cOf wisdom now   |   full great is our need.\n\n44. \u201cLet the warriors here   |   in the hall come forth,\n    Thine and mine,   |   for the need is mighty,\n    If haply the queen   |   from death they may hold,\n    Till her fearful thoughts   |   with time shall fade.\u201d\n\n45. (Few the words   |   of Hogni were:)\n    \u201cFrom the long road now   |   shall ye hold her not,\n    That born again   |   she may never be!\n    Foul she came   |   from her mother forth,\n    And born she was   |   for wicked deeds,\n    (Sorrow to many   |   a man to bring.)\u201d\n\n46. From the speaker gloomily   |   Gunnar turned,\n    For the jewel-bearer   |   her gems was dividing;\n    On all her wealth   |   her eyes were gazing,\n    On the bond-women slain   |   and the slaughtered slaves.\n\n47. Her byrnie of gold   |   she donned, and grim\n    Was her heart ere the point   |   of her sword had pierced it;\n    On the pillow at last   |   her head she laid,\n    And, wounded, her plan   |   she pondered o\u2019er.\n\n48. \u201cHither I will   |   that my women come\n    Who gold are fain   |   from me to get;\n    Necklaces fashioned   |   fair to each\n    Shall I give, and cloth,   |   and garments bright.\u201d\n\n49. Silent were all   |   as so she spake,\n    And all together   |   answer made:\n    \u201cSlain are enough;   |   we seek to live,\n    Not thus thy women   |   shall honor win.\u201d\n\n50. Long the woman,   |   linen-decked, pondered,\u2014\n    \u2014Young she was,\u2014   |   and weighed her words:\n    \u201cFor my sake now   |   shall none unwilling\n    Or loath to die   |   her life lay down.\n\n51. \u201cBut little of gems   |   to gleam on your limbs\n    Ye then shall find   |   when forth ye fare\n    To follow me,   |   or of Menja\u2019s wealth.\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n\n52. \u201cSit now, Gunnar!   |   for I shall speak\n    Of thy bride so fair   |   and so fain to die;\n    Thy ship in harbor   |   home thou hast not,\n    Although my life   |   I now have lost.\n\n53. \u201cThou shalt Guthrun requite   |   more quick than thou\n    thinkest,\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    Though sadly mourns   |   the maiden wise\n    Who dwells with the king,   |   o\u2019er her husband dead.\n\n54. \u201cA maid shall then   |   the mother bear;\n    Brighter far   |   than the fairest day\n    Svanhild shall be,   |   or the beams of the sun.\n\n55. \u201cGuthrun a noble   |   husband thou givest,\n    Yet to many a warrior   |   woe will she bring,\n    Not happily wedded   |   she holds herself;\n    Her shall Atli   |   hither seek,\n    (Buthli\u2019s son,   |   and brother of mine.)\n\n56. \u201cWell I remember   |   how me ye treated\n    When ye betrayed me   |   with treacherous wiles;\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    Lost was my joy   |   as long as I lived.\n\n57. \u201cOddrun as wife   |   thou fain wouldst win,\n    But Atli this   |   from thee withholds;\n    Yet in secret tryst   |   ye twain shall love;\n    She shall hold thee dear,   |   as I had done\n    If kindly fate   |   to us had fallen.\n\n58. \u201cIll to thee   |   shall Atli bring,\n    When he casts thee down   |   in the den of snakes.\n\n59. \u201cBut soon thereafter   |   Atli too\n    His life, methinks,   |   as thou shalt lose,\n    (His fortune lose   |   and the lives of his sons;)\n    Him shall Guthrun,   |   grim of heart,\n    With the biting blade   |   in his bed destroy.\n\n60. \u201cIt would better beseem   |   thy sister fair\n    To follow her husband   |   first in death,\n    If counsel good   |   to her were given,\n    Or a heart akin   |   to mine she had.\n\n61. \u201cSlowly I speak,\u2014   |   but for my sake\n    Her life, methinks,   |   she shall not lose;\n    She shall wander over   |   the tossing waves,\n    To where Jonak rules   |   his father\u2019s realm.\n\n62. \u201cSons to him   |   she soon shall bear,\n    Heirs therewith   |   of Jonak\u2019s wealth;\n    But Svanhild far   |   away is sent,\n    The child she bore   |   to Sigurth brave.\n\n63. \u201cBikki\u2019s word   |   her death shall be,\n    For dreadful the wrath   |   of Jormunrek;\n    So slain is all   |   of Sigurth\u2019s race,\n    And greater the woe   |   of Guthrun grows.\n\n64. \u201cYet one boon   |   I beg of thee,\n    The last of boons   |   in my life it is:\n    Let the pyre be built   |   so broad in the field\n    That room for us all   |   will ample be,\n    (For us who slain   |   with Sigurth are.)\n\n65. \u201cWith shields and carpets   |   cover the pyre,\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    Shrouds full fair,   |   and fallen slaves,\n    And besides the Hunnish   |   hero burn me.\n\n66. \u201cBesides the Hunnish   |   hero there\n    Slaves shall burn,   |   full bravely decked,\n    Two at his head   |   and two at his feet,\n    A brace of hounds   |   and a pair of hawks,\n    For so shall all   |   be seemly done.\n\n67. \u201cLet between us   |   lie once more\n    The steel so keen,   |   as so it lay\n    When both within   |   one bed we were,\n    And wedded mates   |   by men were called.\n\n68. \u201cThe door of the hall   |   shall strike not the heel\n    Of the hero fair   |   with flashing rings,\n    If hence my following   |   goes with him;\n    Not mean our faring   |   forth shall be.\n\n69. \u201cBond-women five   |   shall follow him,\n    And eight of my thralls,   |   well-born are they,\n    Children with me,   |   and mine they were\n    As gifts that Buthli   |   his daughter gave.\n\n70. \u201cMuch have I told thee,   |   and more would say\n    If fate more space   |   for speech had given;\n    My voice grows weak,   |   my wounds are swelling;\n    Truth I have said,   |   and so I die.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTES\n\n\n1. Gjuki: father of the brothers twain, Gunnar and Hogni, and of\nGuthrun. In this version of the story Sigurth goes straight to the home\nof the Gjukungs after his victory over the dragon Fafnir, without\nmeeting Brynhild on the way (cf. Gripisspo, 13 and note). Volsung:\nSigurth\u2019s grandfather was Volsung; cf. Fra Dautha Sinfjotla and note.\nOaths: regarding the blood-brotherhood sworn by Sigurth, Gunnar, and\nHogni cf. Brot, 18 and note.\n\n3. Brynhild: on the winning of Brynhild by Sigurth in Gunnar\u2019s shape\ncf. Gripisspo, 37 and note. The poet here omits details, and in stanzas\n32\u201339 appears a quite different tradition regarding the winning of\nBrynhild, which I suspect he had in mind throughout the poem.\n\n4. Southern hero: Sigurth, whose Frankish origin is seldom wholly lost\nsight of in the Norse versions of the story. On the episode of the\nsword cf. Gripisspo, 41 and note. Line 3 may well be an interpolation;\nboth lines 4 and 5 have also been questioned, and some editions combine\nline 5 with lines 1\u20133 of stanza 5. Hunnish king: Sigurth, who was, of\ncourse, not a king of the Huns, but was occasionally so called in the\nlater poems owing to the lack of ethnological distinction made by the\nNorse poets (cf. Guthrunarkvitha I, 24 and note).\n\n5. This stanza may refer, as Gering thinks, merely to the fact that\nBrynhild lived happy and unsuspecting as Gunnar\u2019s wife until the fatal\nquarrel with Guthrun (cf. Gripisspo, 45 and note) revealed to her the\ndeceit whereby she had been won, or it may refer to the version of the\nstory which appears in stanzas 32\u201339, wherein Brynhild lived happily\nwith Atli, her brother, until he was attacked by Gunnar and Sigurth,\nand was compelled to give his sister to Gunnar, winning her consent\nthereto by representing Gunnar as Sigurth, her chosen hero (cf.\nGuthrunarkvitha I, 24 and note). The manuscript marks line 4 as the\nbeginning of a new stanza, and many editors combine it with stanza 6.\n\n6. Brynhild has now discovered the deceit that has been practised on\nher. That she had loved Sigurth from the outset (cf. stanza 40) fits\nwell with the version of the story wherein Sigurth meets her before he\ncomes to Gunnar\u2019s home (the version not used in this poem), or the one\noutlined in the note on stanza 5, but does not accord with the story of\nSigurth\u2019s first meeting Brynhild in Gunnar\u2019s form\u2014an added reason for\nbelieving that the poet in stanzas 5\u20136 had in mind the story\nrepresented by stanzas 32\u201339. The hero: the manuscript originally had\nthe phrase thus, then corrected it to \u201cthough I die,\u201d and finally\ncrossed out the correction. Many editions have \u201cI.\u201d\n\n7. Perhaps a line is missing after line 3.\n\n8. Glacier: a bit of Icelandic (or Greenland) local color.\n\n9. Line 1 does not appear in the manuscript, and is based on a\nconjecture by Bugge. Some editions add line 2 to stanza 8. The\nmanuscript indicates line 3 as the beginning of a stanza, and some\neditors assume a gap of two lines after line 4. Hunnish king: cf.\nstanza 4.\n\n10. Lands: Brynhild\u2019s wealth again points to the story represented by\nstanzas 32\u201339; elsewhere she is not spoken of as bringing wealth to\nGunnar.\n\n11. Line 5, or perhaps line 3, may be interpolated.\n\n12. The son: the three-year-old son of Sigurth and Guthrun, Sigmund,\nwho was killed at Brynhild\u2019s behest.\n\n13. This stanza has been the subject of many conjectural emendations.\nSome editions assume a gap after line 2, and make a separate stanza of\nlines 3\u20137; others mark lines 5\u20137 as spurious. The stanza seems to have\nbeen expanded by repetition. Grief (line 1): the manuscript has\n\u201cwrath,\u201d involving a metrical error.\n\n14. Bugge and Gering transfer lines 4\u20135 to the beginning of stanza 16,\non the basis of the Volsungasaga paraphrase, and assume a gap of one\nline after line 3. Line 5, which is in the nature of a stereotyped\nclause, may well be interpolated.\n\n15. After \u201cButhli\u201d in line 2 the manuscript has \u201cmy brother,\u201d\napparently a scribal error. In line 4 the manuscript has \u201cwealth\u201d\ninstead of \u201clove,\u201d apparently with stanza 10 in mind, but the\nVolsungasaga paraphrase has \u201clove,\u201d and many editors have suspected an\nerror.\n\n16. Cf. note on stanza 14. After thus adding lines 4\u20135 of stanza 14 at\nthe beginning of stanza 16, Gering marks line 4 as probably spurious;\nothers reject both lines 3 and 4 as mere repetitions. Rhine: the Rhine,\nthe sands of which traditionally contained gold, was apparently the\noriginal home of the treasure of the Nibelungs, converted in the North\nto Andvari\u2019s treasure (cf. Reginsmol, 1\u20139). That greed for Sigurth\u2019s\nwealth was one of the motives for his slaying is indicated likewise in\nGuthrunarkvitha I, 20, and in the German versions of the story.\n\n18. We four: if line 1 of stanza 19 is spurious, or the reference\ntherein to \u201cfive\u201d is a blunder, as may well be the case, then the\n\u201cfour\u201d are Sigurth and the three brothers, Gunnar, Hogni, and Gotthorm.\nBut it may be that the poet had in mind a tradition which, as in the\nThithrekssaga, gave Gjuki a fourth son, in which case the \u201cfour\u201d refers\nonly to the four Gjukungs. Hunnish hero: Sigurth; cf. stanza 4 and\nnote. Some editions put line 4 between lines 1 and 2. Some add lines\n1\u20132 of stanza 19 to stanza 18, marking them as spurious.\n\n19. We five: see note on preceding stanza. Some editors mark lines 1\u20132\nas spurious, and either assume a gap of two lines after line 4 or\ncombine lines 3\u20134 with stanza 20. Whence lead the ways: a proverbial\nexpression signifying \u201cwhence the trouble comes.\u201d\n\n20. The manuscript does not name the speaker. Gotthorm (the name is\nvariously spelt): half-brother of Gunnar and Hogni (cf. Hyndluljoth, 27\nand note, and Brot, 4 and note). The name is the northern form of\nGundomar; a prince of this name is mentioned in the Lex Burgundionum,\napparently as a brother of Gundahari (Gundicarius). In the\nNibelungenlied the third brother is called Gernot.\n\n21. No gap is indicated in the manuscript, and many editors combine\nstanza 21 with stanza 22, but it seems likely that not only two lines,\nbut one or more stanzas in addition, have been lost; cf. Brot, 4, and\nalso the detailed account of the slaying of Sigurth in the\nVolsungasaga, wherein, as here, Sigurth is killed in his bed (cf.\nstanza 24) and not in the forest.\n\n22. Some editions combine lines 3\u20134 with stanza 23. Gram: Sigurth\u2019s\nsword (cf. Reginsmol, prose after stanza 14); the word here, however,\nmay not be a proper name, but may mean \u201cthe hero.\u201d\n\n23. A line may well have been lost from this stanza.\n\n24. Freyr: if the phrase \u201cthe friend of Freyr\u201d means anything more than\n\u201cking\u201d (cf. Rigsthula, 46 etc.), which I doubt, it has reference to the\nlate tradition that Freyr, and not Othin, was the ancestor of the\nVolsungs (cf. Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I, 57 and note).\n\n25. M\u00fcllenhoff thinks this stanza, or at any rate lines 1\u20132, a later\naddition based on stanza 29.\n\n26. My son: Sigmund; cf. stanza 12 and note, and also Brot, 9 and note.\n\n27. Sigurth means that although Guthrun may have seven sons by a later\nmarriage, none of them will equal Sigmund, \u201cson of their (i.e.,\nGunnar\u2019s and Hogni\u2019s) sister.\u201d Thing: council.\n\n28. Sigurth\u2019s protestation of guiltlessness fits perfectly with the\nstory of his relations with Brynhild used in this poem, but not, of\ncourse, with the alternative version, used in the Gripisspo and\nelsewhere, wherein Sigurth meets Brynhild before he woos her for\nGunnar, and they have a daughter, Aslaug.\n\n29. Cf. Guthrunarkvitha I, 15.\n\n30. Cf. Brot, 10.\n\n31. Line 1 may well be a mere expansion of \u201cGunnar spake.\u201d The\nmanuscript marks line 4 as the beginning of a new stanza, and some\neditions combine lines 4\u20135 with stanza 32.\n\n32. This stanza, which all editors have accepted as an integral part of\nthe poem, apparently refers to the same story represented by stanzas\n37\u201339, which most editors have (I believe mistakenly) marked as\ninterpolated. As is pointed out in the notes on stanzas 3, 5, 6 and 10,\nthe poet throughout seems to have accepted the version of the story\nwherein Gunnar and Sigurth besiege Atli, and are bought off by the gift\nof Atli\u2019s sister, Brynhild, to Gunnar as wife, her consent being won by\nAtli\u2019s representation that Gunnar is Sigurth (cf. also Guthrunarkvitha\nI, 24 and note).\n\n33. The manuscript does not name the speaker, and some editions add a\nfirst line: \u201cThen Brynhild, daughter   |   of Buthli, spake.\u201d\n\n34. Cf. stanza 5.\n\n35. Three kings: Gunnar, Hogni, and Sigurth.\n\n36. Some editions place this stanza after stanza 39, on the theory that\nstanzas 37\u201339 are interpolated. Line 4, as virtually a repetition of\nline 3, has generally been marked as spurious. In this version of the\nwinning of Brynhild it appears that Atli pointed out Sigurth as Gunnar,\nand Brynhild promptly fell in love with the hero whom, as he rode on\nGrani and was decked with some of the spoils taken from Fafnir, she\nrecognized as the dragon\u2019s slayer. Thus no change of form between\nSigurth and Gunnar was necessary. The oath to marry Gunnar had to be\ncarried out even after Brynhild had discovered the deception.\n\n37. Most editors mark stanzas 37\u201339 as interpolated, but cf. note on\nstanza 32. Stanza 37 has been variously emended. Lines 4 and 6 look\nlike interpolated repetitions, but many editors make two stanzas,\nfollowing the manuscript in beginning a new stanza with line 4. After\nline 1 Grundtvig adds: \u201cSon of Buthli,   |   and brother of mine.\u201d\nAfter line 6 Bugge adds: \u201cNot thou was it, Gunnar,   |   who Grani\nrode, / Though thou my brother   |   with rings didst buy.\u201d Regarding\nBrynhild\u2019s wealth cf. stanza 10 and note.\n\n38. Brynhild here again appears as a Valkyrie. The manuscript marks\nline 4 as the beginning of a new stanza. Any one of the last three\nlines may be spurious.\n\n39. Some editions combine this stanza with lines 4\u20135 of stanza 38, with\nlines 1\u20132 of stanza 40, or with the whole of stanza 40. The bond:\nBrynhild thought she was marrying Sigurth, owner of the treasure,\nwhereas she was being tricked into marrying Gunnar.\n\n41. At this point there seem to be several omissions. Brynhild\u2019s\nstatement in lines 1\u20132 seems to refer to the episode, not here\nmentioned but told in detail in the Volsungasaga, of Sigurth\u2019s effort\nto repair the wrong that has been done her by himself giving up Guthrun\nin her favor, an offer which she refuses. The lacuna here suggested,\nwhich is not indicated in the manuscript, may be simply a single line\n(line 1) or a stanza or more. After line 2 there is almost certainly a\ngap of at least one stanza, and possibly more, in which Brynhild states\nher determination to die.\n\n42. Hardly any two editions agree as to the arrangement of the lines in\nstanzas 42\u201344. I have followed the manuscript except in transposing\nline 4 of stanza 43 to this position from the place it holds in the\nmanuscript after line 4 of stanza 44. All the other arrangements\ninvolve the rejection of two or more lines as spurious and the\nassumption of various gaps. Gering and Sijmons both arrange the lines\nthus: 42, 1\u20132; two-line gap; 43, 3 (marked probably spurious); 44, 1\u20134;\n43\u20134 (marked probably spurious); 42, 3\u20134; 43, 1\u20132.\n\n43. Cf. note on preceding stanza.\n\n44. Cf. note on stanza 42.\n\n45. Perhaps the remains of two stanzas; the manuscript marks line 4 as\nthe beginning of a new stanza, and after line 4 an added line has been\nsuggested: \u201cShe was ever known   |   for evil thoughts.\u201d On the other\nhand, line 1, identical with line 1 of stanza 17, may well be a mere\nexpansion of \u201cHogni spake,\u201d and line 6 may have been introduced, with a\nslight variation, from line 5 of stanza 38. Born again: this looks like\na trace of Christian influence (the poem was composed well after the\ncoming of Christianity to Iceland) in the assumption that if Brynhild\nkilled herself she could not be \u201cborn again\u201d (cf. concluding prose to\nHelgakvitha Hundingsbana II).\n\n46. The manuscript marks line 3 as beginning a stanza; some editions\ntreat lines 1\u20132 as a separate stanza, and combine lines 3\u20134 with lines\n1\u20132 of stanza 47. Jewel-bearer (literally \u201cland of jewels\u201d): woman,\nhere Brynhild. Bond-women, etc.: in stanza 69 we learn that five female\nslaves and eight serfs were killed to be burned on the funeral pyre,\nand thus to follow Sigurth in death.\n\n47. The manuscript marks line 3, and not line 1, as beginning a stanza,\nand some editions treat lines 3\u20134 as a separate stanza, or combine them\nwith stanza 48.\n\n48. Brynhild means, as stanzas 49\u201351 show, that those of her women who\nwish to win rewards must be ready to follow her in death. The word\ntranslated \u201cwomen\u201d in line 1 is conjectural, but the general meaning is\nclear enough.\n\n49. In place of \u201cas so she spake\u201d in line 1 the manuscript has \u201cof\ntheir plans they thought,\u201d which involves a metrical error.\n\n51. No gap indicated in the manuscript; many editions place it between\nlines 3 and 4. Menja\u2019s wealth: gold; the story of the mill Grotti,\nwhereby the giantesses Menja and Fenja ground gold for King Frothi, is\ntold in the Grottasongr.\n\n52. With this stanza begins Brynhild\u2019s prophesy of what is to befall\nGunnar, Guthrun, Atli, and the many others involved in their fate. Line\n3 is a proverbial expression meaning simply \u201cyour troubles are not at\nan end.\u201d\n\n53. No gap is indicated in the manuscript; one suggestion for line 2\nruns: \u201cGrimhild shall make her   |   to laugh once more.\u201d Gering\nsuggests a loss of three lines, and joins lines 3\u20134 with stanza 54.\n\n54. Probably a line has been lost from this stanza. Grundtvig adds as a\nnew first line: \u201cHer shalt thou find   |   in the hall of Half.\u201d Some\neditions query line 3 as possibly spurious. Svanhild: the figure of\nSvanhild is exceedingly old. The name means \u201cSwan-Maiden-Warrior,\u201d\napplying to just such mixtures of swan-maiden and Valkyrie as appear in\nthe V\u00f6lundarkvitha. Originally part of a separate tradition, Svanhild\nappears first to have been incorporated in the Jormunrek (Ermanarich)\nstory as the unhappy wife of that monarch, and much later to have been\nidentified as the daughter of Sigurth and Guthrun, thus linking the two\nsets of legends.\n\n55. Line 2 in the original is almost totally obscure. Line 4 should\nvery possibly precede line 2, while line 5 looks like an unwarranted\naddition.\n\n56. This stanza probably ought to follow stanza 52, as it refers solely\nto the winning of Brynhild by Gunnar and Sigurth. M\u00fcllenhoff regards\nstanzas 53\u201355 as interpolated. The manuscript indicates no gap after\nline 3.\n\n57. Stanzas 57\u201358 seem to be the remains of two stanzas, but the\nVolsungasaga paraphrase follows closely the form here given. Line 3 may\nwell be spurious; line 5 has likewise been questioned. Oddrun: this\nsister of Atli and Brynhild, known mainly through the Oddrunargratr, is\na purely northern addition to the cycle, and apparently one of a\nrelatively late date. She figures solely by reason of her love affair\nwith Gunnar.\n\n58. Possibly two lines have been lost; many editions combine the two\nremaining lines with lines 1\u20133 of stanza 59. Concerning the manner of\nGunnar\u2019s death cf. Drap Niflunga.\n\n59. Line 3 may well be spurious, as it is largely repetition. The\nmanuscript has \u201csofa\u201d (\u201csleep\u201d) in place of \u201csona\u201d (\u201csons\u201d), but the\nVolsungasaga paraphrase says clearly \u201csons.\u201d The slaying of Atli by\nGuthrun in revenge for his killing of her brothers is told in the two\nAtli lays. The manuscript marks line 4 as the beginning of a new\nstanza, and some editions make a separate stanza out of lines 4\u20135, or\nelse combine them with stanza 60.\n\n60. To follow in death: this phrase is not in Regius, but is included\nin late paper manuscripts, and has been added in most editions.\n\n61. Jonak: this king, known only through the Hamthesmol and the stories\nwhich, like this one, are based thereon, is another purely northern\naddition to the legend. The name is apparently of Slavic origin. He\nappears solely as Guthrun\u2019s third husband and the father of Hamther,\nSorli, and Erp (cf. introductory prose to Guthrunarhvot).\n\n62. Svanhild: cf. stanza 54 and note.\n\n63. Bikki: Svanhild is married to the aged Jormunrek (Ermanarich), but\nBikki, one of his followers, suggests that she is unduly intimate with\nJormunrek\u2019s son, Randver. Thereupon Jormunrek has Randver hanged, and\nSvanhild torn to pieces by wild horses. Ermanarich\u2019s cruelty and his\nbarbarous slaying of his wife and son were familiar traditions long\nbefore they became in any way connected with the Sigurth cycle (cf.\nintroductory note to Gripisspo).\n\n64. Line 5 is very probably spurious.\n\n65. The manuscript indicates no gap; a suggested addition runs \u201cGold\nlet there be,   |   and jewels bright.\u201d Fallen slaves: cf. stanzas 66\nand 69. Hunnish hero: cf. stanza 4 and note.\n\n66. In place of lines 3\u20134 the manuscript has one line \u201cTwo at his head,\n|   and a pair of hawks\u201d; the addition is made from the Volsungasaga\nparaphrase. The burning or burying of slaves or beasts to accompany\ntheir masters in death was a general custom in the North. The number of\nslaves indicated in this stanza does not tally with the one given in\nstanza 69, wherefore Vigfusson rejects most of this stanza.\n\n67. Cf. Gripisspo, 41 and note. After line 1 the manuscript adds the\nphrase \u201cbright, ring-decked,\u201d referring to the sword, but it is\nmetrically impossible, and many editions omit it.\n\n68. The door: The gate of Hel\u2019s domain, like that of Mengloth\u2019s house\n(cf. Svipdagsmol, 26 and note), closes so fast as to catch any one\nattempting to pass through. Apparently the poet here assumes that the\ngate of Valhall does likewise, but that it will be kept open for\nSigurth\u2019s retinue.\n\n69. Cf. stanza 66.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nHELREITH BRYNHILDAR\n\nBRYNHILD\u2019S HELL-RIDE\n\n\nINTRODUCTORY NOTE\n\nThe little Helreith Brynhildar immediately follows the \u201cshort\u201d Sigurth\nlay in the Codex Regius, being linked to it by the brief prose note;\nthe heading, \u201cBrynhild\u2019s Ride on Hel-Way,\u201d stands just before the first\nstanza. The entire poem, with the exception of stanza 6, is likewise\nquoted in the Nornageststhattr. Outside of one stanza (No. 11), which\nis a fairly obvious interpolation, the poem possesses an extraordinary\ndegree of dramatic unity, and, certain pedantic commentators\nnotwithstanding, it is one of the most vivid and powerful in the whole\ncollection. None the less, it has been extensively argued that parts of\nit belonged originally to the so-called Sigrdrifumol. That it stands in\nclose relation to this poem is evident enough, but it is difficult to\nbelieve that such a masterpiece of dramatic poetry was ever the result\nof mere compilation. It seems more reasonable to regard the Helreith,\nwith the exception of stanza 11 and allowing for the loss of two lines\nfrom stanza 6, as a complete and carefully constructed unit, based\nundoubtedly on older poems, but none the less an artistic creation in\nitself.\n\nThe poem is generally dated as late as the eleventh century, and the\nconcluding stanza betrays Christian influence almost unmistakably. It\nshows the confusion of traditions manifest in all the later poems; for\nexample, Brynhild is here not only a Valkyrie but also a swan-maiden.\nOnly three stanzas have any reference to the Guthrun-Gunnar part of the\nstory; otherwise the poem is concerned solely with the episode of\nSigurth\u2019s finding the sleeping Valkyrie. Late as it is, therefore, it\nis essentially a Norse creation, involving very few of the details of\nthe German cycle (cf. introductory note to Gripisspo).\n\n\n\n\n\nAfter the death of Brynhild there were made two bale-fires, the one for\nSigurth, and that burned first, and on the other was Brynhild burned,\nand she was on a wagon which was covered with a rich cloth. Thus it is\ntold, that Brynhild went in the wagon on Hel-way, and passed by a house\nwhere dwelt a certain giantess. The giantess spake:\n\n\n1.  \u201cThou shalt not further   |   forward fare,\n    My dwelling ribbed   |   with rocks across;\n    More seemly it were   |   at thy weaving to stay,\n    Than another\u2019s husband   |   here to follow.\n\n2.  \u201cWhat wouldst thou have   |   from Valland here,\n    Fickle of heart,   |   in this my house?\n    Gold-goddess, now,   |   if thou wouldst know,\n    Heroes\u2019 blood   |   from thy hands hast washed.\u201d\n\n\nBrynhild spake:\n\n\n3.  \u201cChide me not, woman   |   from rocky walls,\n    Though to battle once   |   I was wont to go;\n    Better than thou   |   I shall seem to be,\n    When men us two   |   shall truly know.\u201d\n\n\nThe giantess spake:\n\n\n4.  \u201cThou wast, Brynhild,   |   Buthli\u2019s daughter,\n    For the worst of evils   |   born in the world;\n    To death thou hast given   |   Gjuki\u2019s children,\n    And laid their lofty   |   house full low.\u201d\n\n\nBrynhild spake:\n\n\n5.  \u201cTruth from the wagon   |   here I tell thee,\n    Witless one,   |   if know thou wilt\n    How the heirs of Gjuki   |   gave me to be\n    Joyless ever,   |   a breaker of oaths.\n\n6.  \u201cHild the helmed   |   in Hlymdalir\n    They named me of old,   |   all they who knew me.\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n\n7.  \u201cThe monarch bold   |   the swan-robes bore\n    Of the sisters eight   |   beneath an oak;\n    Twelve winters I was,   |   if know thou wilt,\n    When oaths I yielded   |   the king so young.\n\n8.  \u201cNext I let   |   the leader of Goths,\n    Hjalmgunnar the old,   |   go down to hell,\n    And victory brought   |   to Autha\u2019s brother;\n    For this was Othin\u2019s   |   anger mighty.\n\n9.  \u201cHe beset me with shields   |   in Skatalund,\n    Red and white,   |   their rims o\u2019erlapped;\n    He bade that my sleep   |   should broken be\n    By him who fear   |   had nowhere found.\n\n10. \u201cHe let round my hall,   |   that southward looked,\n    The branches\u2019 foe   |   high-leaping burn;\n    Across it he bade   |   the hero come\n    Who brought me the gold   |   that Fafnir guarded.\n\n11. \u201cOn Grani rode   |   the giver of gold,\n    Where my foster-father   |   ruled his folk;\n    Best of all   |   he seemed to be,\n    The prince of the Danes,   |   when the people met.\n\n12. \u201cHappy we slept,   |   one bed we had,\n    As he my brother   |   born had been;\n    Eight were the nights   |   when neither there\n    Loving hand   |   on the other laid.\n\n13. \u201cYet Guthrun reproached me,   |   Gjuki\u2019s daughter,\n    That I in Sigurth\u2019s   |   arms had slept;\n    Then did I hear   |   what I would were hid,\n    That they had betrayed me   |   in taking a mate.\n\n14. \u201cEver with grief   |   and all too long\n    Are men and women   |   born in the world;\n    But yet we shall live   |   our lives together,\n    Sigurth and I.   |   Sink down, Giantess!\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTES\n\n\nProse. The prose follows the last stanza of Sigurtharkvitha en skamma\nwithout break. Two bale-fires: this contradicts the statement made in\nthe concluding stanzas of Sigurtharkvitha en skamma, that Sigurth and\nBrynhild were burned on the same pyre; there is no evidence that the\nannotator here had anything but his own mistaken imagination to go on.\n\n2. Valland: this name (\u201cLand of Slaughter\u201d) is used elsewhere of\nmythical places; cf. Harbarthsljoth, 24, and prose introduction to\nV\u00f6lundarkvitha; it may here not be a proper name at all. Gold-goddess:\npoetic circumlocution for \u201cwoman.\u201d\n\n6. In Regius these two lines stand after stanza 7, but most editions\nplace them as here. They are not quoted in the Nornageststhattr.\nPresumably two lines, and perhaps more, have been lost. It has\nfrequently been argued that all or part of the passage from stanza 6\nthrough stanza 10 (6\u201310, 7\u201310 or 8\u201310) comes originally from the\nso-called Sigrdrifumol, where it would undoubtedly fit exceedingly\nwell. Hild: a Valkyrie name meaning \u201cFighter\u201d (cf. Voluspo, 31). In\nsuch compound names as Brynhild (\u201cFighter in Armor\u201d) the first element\nwas occasionally omitted. Hlymdalir (\u201cTumult-Dale\u201d): a mythical name,\nmerely signifying the place of battle as the home of Valkyries.\n\n7. Regarding the identification of swan-maidens with Valkyries, and the\nmanner in which men could get them in their power by stealing their\nswan-garments, cf. V\u00f6lundarkvitha, introductory prose and note, where\nthe same thing happens. The monarch: perhaps Agnar, brother of Autha,\nmentioned in Sigrdrifumol (prose and quoted verse following stanza 4)\nas the warrior for whose sake Brynhild defied Othin in slaying\nHjalmgunnar. Eight: the Nornageststhattr manuscripts have \u201csisters of\nAtli\u201d instead of \u201csisters eight.\u201d\n\n8. Hjalmgunnar: regarding this king of the Goths (the phrase means\nlittle) and his battle with Agnar, brother of Autha, cf. Sigrdrifumol,\nprose after stanza 4. One Nornageststhattr manuscript has \u201cbrother of\nthe giantess\u201d in place of \u201cleader of Goths.\u201d\n\n9. Cf. Sigrdrifumol, prose introduction. Skatalund (\u201cWarriors\u2019 Grove\u201d):\na mythical name; elsewhere the place where Brynhild lay is called\nHindarfjoll.\n\n10. Branches\u2019 foe: fire. Regarding the treasure cf. Fafnismol.\n\n11. This stanza is presumably an interpolation, reflecting a different\nversion of the story, wherein Sigurth meets Brynhild at the home of her\nbrother-in-law and foster-father, Heimir (cf. Gripisspo, 19 and 27).\nGrani: Sigurth\u2019s horse. Danes: nowhere else does Sigurth appear in this\ncapacity. Perhaps this is a curious relic of the Helgi tradition.\n\n12. Eight nights: elsewhere (cf. Gripisspo, 42) the time is stated as\nthree nights, not eight. There is a confusion of traditions here, as in\nGripisspo. In the version of the story wherein Sigurth met Brynhild\nbefore he encountered the Gjukungs, Sigurth was bound by no oaths, and\nthe union was completed; it is only in the alternative version that the\nepisode of the sword laid between the two occurs.\n\n14. The idea apparently conveyed in the concluding lines, that Sigurth\nand Brynhild will be together in some future life, is utterly out of\nkeeping with the Norse pagan traditions, and the whole stanza indicates\nthe influence of Christianity.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDRAP NIFLUNGA\n\nTHE SLAYING OF THE NIFLUNGS\n\n\nINTRODUCTORY NOTE\n\nIt has been already pointed out (introductory note to Reginsmol) that\nthe compiler of the Eddic collection had clearly undertaken to\nformulate a coherent narrative of the entire Sigurth cycle, piecing\ntogether the various poems by means of prose narrative links. To some\nextent these links were based on traditions existing outside of the\nlays themselves, but in the main the material was gathered from the\ncontents of the poems. The short prose passage entitled Drap Niflunga,\nwhich in the Codex Regius immediately follows the Helreith Brynhildar,\nis just such a narrative link, and scarcely deserves a special heading,\nbut as nearly all editions separate it from the preceding and following\npoems, I have followed their example.\n\nWith Sigurth and Brynhild both dead, the story turns to the slaying of\nthe sons of Gjuki by Atli, Guthrun\u2019s second husband, and to a few\nsubsequent incidents, mostly late incorporations from other narrative\ncycles, including the tragic death of Svanhild, daughter of Sigurth and\nGuthrun and wife of Jormunrek (Ermanarich), and the exploits of\nHamther, son of Guthrun and her third husband, Jonak. These stories are\ntold, or outlined, in the two Atli lays, the second and third Guthrun\nlays, the Oddrunargratr, the Guthrunarhvot, and the Hamthesmol. Had the\ncompiler seen fit to put the Atli lays immediately after the Helreith\nBrynhildar, he would have needed only a very brief transitional note to\nmake the course of the story clear, but as the second Guthrun lay, the\nnext poem in the collection, is a lament following the death of\nGuthrun\u2019s brothers, some sort of a narrative bridge was manifestly\nneeded.\n\nDrap Niflunga is based entirely on the poems which follow it in the\ncollection, with no use of extraneous material. The part of the story\nwhich it summarizes belongs to the semi-historical Burgundian tradition\n(cf. introductory note to Gripisspo), in many respects parallel to the\nfamiliar narrative of the Nibelungenlied, and, except in minor details,\nshowing few essentially Northern additions. Sigurth is scarcely\nmentioned, and the outstanding episode is the slaying of Gunnar and\nHogni, following their journey to Atli\u2019s home.\n\n\n\n\n\nGunnar and Hogni then took all the gold that Fafnir had had. There was\nstrife between the Gjukungs and Atli, for he held the Gjukungs guilty\nof Brynhild\u2019s death. It was agreed that they should give him Guthrun as\nwife, and they gave her a draught of forgetfulness to drink before she\nwould consent to be wedded to Atli. The sons of Atli were Erp and\nEitil, and Svanhild was the daughter of Sigurth and Guthrun. King Atli\ninvited Gunnar and Hogni to come to him, and sent as messenger Vingi or\nKnefr\u00f6th. Guthrun was aware of treachery, and sent with him a message\nin runes that they should not come, and as a token she sent to Hogni\nthe ring Andvaranaut and tied a wolf\u2019s hair in it. Gunnar had sought\nOddrun, Atli\u2019s sister, for his wife, but had her not; then he married\nGlaumvor, and Hogni\u2019s wife was Kostbera; their sons were Solar and\nSn\u00e6var and Gjuki. And when the Gjukungs came to Atli, then Guthrun\nbesought her sons to plead for the lives of both the Gjukungs, but they\nwould not do it. Hogni\u2019s heart was cut out, and Gunnar was cast into\nthe serpent\u2019s den. He smote on the harp and put the serpents to sleep,\nbut an adder stung him in the liver.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTE\n\n\nProse. Niflungs: regarding the mistaken application of this name to the\nsons of Gjuki, who were Burgundians, cf. Brot, 17 and note. Draught of\nforgetfulness: according to the Volsungasaga Grimhild, Guthrun\u2019s\nmother, administered this, just as she did the similar draught which\nmade Sigurth forget Brynhild. Erp and Eitil: Guthrun kills her two sons\nby Atli as part of her revenge; the annotator here explains her act\nfurther by saying that Guthrun asked her sons to intercede with their\nfather in favor of Guthrun\u2019s brothers, but that they refused, a detail\nwhich he appears to have invented, as it is found nowhere else.\nSvanhild: cf. Sigurtharkvitha en skamma, 54 and note. Vingi or\nKnefr\u00f6th: Atlakvitha (stanza 1) calls the messenger Knefr\u00f6th; Atlamol\n(stanza 4) speaks of two messengers, but names only one of them, Vingi.\nThe annotator has here tried, unsuccessfully, to combine the two\naccounts. Andvaranaut: regarding the origin of Andvari\u2019s ring cf.\nReginsmol, prose after stanzas 4 and 5 and notes; Sigurth gave the ring\nto Guthrun. Here again the annotator is combining two stories; in\nAtlakvitha (stanza 8) Guthrun sends a ring (not Andvaranaut) with a\nwolf\u2019s hair; in Atlamol (stanza 4) she sends a message written in\nrunes. The messenger obscures these runes, and Kostbera, Hogni\u2019s wife,\nwho attempts to decipher them, is not clear as to their meaning, though\nshe suspects danger. Oddrun: cf. Sigurtharkvitha en skamma, 57 and\nnote. Glaumvor: almost nothing is told of Gunnar\u2019s second wife, though\nshe appears frequently in the Atlamol. Kostbera (or Bera), Hogni\u2019s\nwife, is known only as skilled in runes. Her brother was Orkning. The\nsons of Hogni and Kostbera, according to the Atlamol (stanza 28), were\nSolar and Sn\u00e6var; the third son, Gjuki, named after his grandfather,\nseems to be an invention of the annotator\u2019s. Adder: according to\nOddrunargratr (stanza 30) Atli\u2019s mother assumed this form in order to\ncomplete her son\u2019s vengeance.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGUTHRUNARKVITHA II, EN FORNA\n\nTHE SECOND, OR OLD, LAY OF GUTHRUN\n\n\nINTRODUCTORY NOTE\n\nIt has already been pointed out (introductory note to Guthrunarkvitha\nI) that the tradition of Guthrun\u2019s lament was known wherever the\nSigurth story existed, and that this lament was probably one of the\nearliest parts of the legend to assume verse form. Whether it reached\nthe North as verse cannot, of course, be determined, but it is at least\npossible that this was the case, and in any event it is clear that by\nthe tenth and eleventh centuries there were a number of Norse poems\nwith Guthrun\u2019s lament as the central theme. Two of these are included\nin the Eddic collection, the second one being unquestionably much the\nolder. It is evidently the poem referred to by the annotator in the\nprose note following the Brot as \u201cthe old Guthrun lay,\u201d and its\ncharacter and state of preservation have combined to lead most\ncommentators to date it as early as the first half of the tenth\ncentury, whereas Guthrunarkvitha I belongs a hundred years later.\n\nThe poem has evidently been preserved in rather bad shape, with a\nnumber of serious omissions and some interpolations, but in just this\nform it lay before the compilers of the Volsungasaga, who paraphrased\nit faithfully, and quoted five of its stanzas. The interpolations are\non the whole unimportant; the omissions, while they obscure the sense\nof certain passages, do not destroy the essential continuity of the\npoem, in which Guthrun reviews her sorrows from the death of Sigurth\nthrough the slaying of her brothers to Atli\u2019s dreams foretelling the\ndeath of their sons. It is, indeed, the only Norse poem of the Sigurth\ncycle antedating the year 1000 which has come down to us in anything\napproaching complete form; the Reginsmol, Fafnismol, and Sigrdrifumol\nare all collections of fragments, only a short bit of the \u201clong\u201d\nSigurth lay remains, and the others\u2014Gripisspo, Guthrunarkvitha I and\nIII, Sigurtharkvitha en skamma, Helreith Brynhildar, Oddrunargratr,\nGuthrunarhvot, Hamthesmol, and the two Atli lays\u2014are all generally\ndated from the eleventh and even the twelfth centuries.\n\nAn added reason for believing that Guthrunarkvitha II traces its origin\nback to a lament which reached the North from Germany in verse form is\nthe absence of most of the characteristic Norse additions to the\nnarrative, except in minor details. Sigurth is slain in the forest, as\n\u201cGerman men say\u201d (cf. Brot, concluding prose); the urging of Guthrun by\nher mother and brothers to become Atli\u2019s wife, the slaying of the\nGjukungs (here only intimated, for at that point something seems to\nhave been lost), and Guthrun\u2019s prospective revenge on Atli, all belong\ndirectly to the German tradition (cf. introductory note to Gripisspo).\n\nIn the Codex Regius the poem is entitled simply Guthrunarkvitha; the\nnumeral has been added in nearly all editions to distinguish this poem\nfrom the other two Guthrun lays, and the phrase \u201cthe old\u201d is borrowed\nfrom the annotator\u2019s comment in the prose note at the end of the Brot.\n\n\n\n\n\nKing Thjothrek was with Atli, and had lost most of his men. Thjothrek\nand Guthrun lamented their griefs together. She spoke to him, saying:\n\n\n1.  A maid of maids   |   my mother bore me,\n    Bright in my bower,   |   my brothers I loved,\n    Till Gjuki dowered   |   me with gold,\n    Dowered with gold,   |   and to Sigurth gave me.\n\n2.  So Sigurth rose   |   o\u2019er Gjuki\u2019s sons\n    As the leek grows green   |   above the grass,\n    Or the stag o\u2019er all   |   the beasts doth stand,\n    Or as glow-red gold   |   above silver gray.\n\n3.  Till my brothers let me   |   no longer have\n    The best of heroes   |   my husband to be;\n    Sleep they could not,   |   or quarrels settle,\n    Till Sigurth they   |   at last had slain.\n\n4.  From the Thing ran Grani   |   with thundering feet,\n    But thence did Sigurth   |   himself come never;\n    Covered with sweat   |   was the saddle-bearer,\n    Wont the warrior\u2019s   |   weight to bear.\n\n5.  Weeping I sought   |   with Grani to speak,\n    With tear-wet cheeks   |   for the tale I asked;\n    The head of Grani   |   was bowed to the grass,\n    The steed knew well   |   his master was slain.\n\n6.  Long I waited   |   and pondered well\n    Ere ever the king   |   for tidings I asked.\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n\n7.  His head bowed Gunnar,   |   but Hogni told\n    The news full sore   |   of Sigurth slain:\n    \u201cHewed to death   |   at our hands he lies,\n    Gotthorm\u2019s slayer,   |   given to wolves.\n\n8.  \u201cOn the southern road   |   thou shalt Sigurth see,\n    Where hear thou canst   |   the ravens cry;\n    The eagles cry   |   as food they crave,\n    And about thy husband   |   wolves are howling.\u201d\n\n9.  \u201cWhy dost thou, Hogni,   |   such a horror\n    Let me hear,   |   all joyless left?\n    Ravens yet   |   thy heart shall rend\n    In a land that never   |   thou hast known.\u201d\n\n10. Few the words   |   of Hogni were,\n    Bitter his heart   |   from heavy sorrow:\n    \u201cGreater, Guthrun,   |   thy grief shall be\n    If the ravens so   |   my heart shall rend.\u201d\n\n11. From him who spake   |   I turned me soon,\n    In the woods to find   |   what the wolves had left;\n    Tears I had not,   |   nor wrung my hands,\n    Nor wailing went,   |   as other women,\n    (When by Sigurth   |   slain I sat).\n\n12. Never so black   |   had seemed the night\n    As when in sorrow   |   by Sigurth I sat;\n    The wolves .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n\n13. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    Best of all   |   methought \u2019twould be\n    If I my life   |   could only lose,\n    Or like to birch-wood   |   burned might be.\n\n14. From the mountain forth   |   five days I fared,\n    Till Hoalf\u2019s hall   |   so high I saw;\n    Seven half-years   |   with Thora I stayed,\n    Hokon\u2019s daughter,   |   in Denmark then.\n\n15. With gold she broidered,   |   to bring me joy,\n    Southern halls   |   and Danish swans;\n    On the tapestry wove we   |   warrior\u2019s deeds,\n    And the hero\u2019s thanes   |   on our handiwork;\n    (Flashing shields   |   and fighters armed,\n    Sword-throng, helm-throng,   |   the host of the king).\n\n16. Sigmund\u2019s ship   |   by the land was sailing,\n    Golden the figure-head,   |   gay the beaks;\n    On board we wove   |   the warriors faring,\n    Sigar and Siggeir,   |   south to Fjon.\n\n17. Then Grimhild asked,   |   the Gothic queen,\n    Whether willingly   |   would I .  .  .  .  .  .\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n\n18. Her needlework cast she   |   aside, and called\n    Her sons to ask,   |   with stern resolve,\n    Who amends to their sister   |   would make for her son,\n    Or the wife requite   |   for her husband killed.\n\n19. Ready was Gunnar   |   gold to give,\n    Amends for my hurt,   |   and Hogni too;\n    Then would she know   |   who now would go,\n    The horse to saddle,   |   the wagon to harness,\n    (The horse to ride,   |   the hawk to fly,\n    And shafts from bows   |   of yew to shoot).\n\n20. (Valdar, king   |   of the Danes, was come,\n    With Jarizleif, Eymoth,   |   and Jarizskar).\n    In like princes   |   came they all,\n    The long-beard men,   |   with mantles red,\n    Short their mail-coats,   |   mighty their helms,\n    Swords at their belts,   |   and brown their hair.\n\n21. Each to give me   |   gifts was fain,\n    Gifts to give,   |   and goodly speech,\n    Comfort so   |   for my sorrows great\n    To bring they tried,   |   but I trusted them not.\n\n22. A draught did Grimhild   |   give me to drink,\n    Bitter and cold;   |   I forgot my cares;\n    For mingled therein   |   was magic earth,\n    Ice-cold sea,   |   and the blood of swine.\n\n23. In the cup were runes   |   of every kind,\n    Written and reddened,   |   I could not read them;\n    A heather-fish   |   from the Haddings\u2019 land,\n    An ear uncut,   |   and the entrails of beasts.\n\n24. Much evil was brewed   |   within the beer,\n    Blossoms of trees,   |   and acorns burned,\n    Dew of the hearth,   |   and holy entrails,\n    The liver of swine,\u2014   |   all grief to allay.\n\n25. Then I forgot,   |   when the draught they gave me,\n    There in the hall,   |   my husband\u2019s slaying;\n    On their knees the kings   |   all three did kneel,\n    Ere she herself   |   to speak began:\n\n26. \u201cGuthrun, gold   |   to thee I give,\n    The wealth that once   |   thy father\u2019s was,\n    Rings to have,   |   and Hlothver\u2019s halls,\n    And the hangings all   |   that the monarch had.\n\n27. \u201cHunnish women,   |   skilled in weaving,\n    Who gold make fair   |   to give thee joy,\n    And the wealth of Buthli   |   thine shall be,\n    Gold-decked one,   |   as Atli\u2019s wife.\u201d\n\n\nGuthrun spake:\n\n\n28. \u201cA husband now   |   I will not have,\n    Nor wife of Brynhild\u2019s   |   brother be;\n    It beseems me not   |   with Buthli\u2019s son\n    Happy to be,   |   and heirs to bear.\u201d\n\n\nGrimhild spake:\n\n\n29. \u201cSeek not on men   |   to avenge thy sorrows,\n    Though the blame at first   |   with us hath been;\n    Happy shalt be   |   as if both still lived,\n    Sigurth and Sigmund,   |   if sons thou bearest.\u201d\n\n\nGuthrun spake:\n\n\n30. \u201cGrimhild, I may not   |   gladness find,\n    Nor hold forth hopes   |   to heroes now,\n    Since once the raven   |   and ravening wolf\n    Sigurth\u2019s heart\u2019s-blood   |   hungrily lapped.\u201d\n\n\nGrimhild spake:\n\n\n31. \u201cNoblest of birth   |   is the ruler now\n    I have found for thee,   |   and foremost of all;\n    Him shalt thou have   |   while life thou hast,\n    Or husbandless be   |   if him thou wilt choose not.\u201d\n\n\nGuthrun spake:\n\n\n32. \u201cSeek not so eagerly   |   me to send\n    To be a bride   |   of yon baneful race;\n    On Gunnar first   |   his wrath shall fall,\n    And the heart will he tear   |   from Hogni\u2019s breast.\u201d\n\n33. Weeping Grimhild   |   heard the words\n    That fate full sore   |   for her sons foretold,\n    (And mighty woe   |   for them should work;)\n    \u201cLands I give thee,   |   with all that live there,\n    (Vinbjorg is thine,   |   and Valbjorg too,)\n    Have them forever,   |   but hear me, daughter.\u201d\n\n34. So must I do   |   as the kings besought,\n    And against my will   |   for my kinsmen wed;\n    Ne\u2019er with my husband   |   joy I had,\n    And my sons by my brothers\u2019   |   fate were saved not.\n\n35. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    I could not rest   |   till of life I had robbed\n    The warrior bold,   |   the maker of battles.\n\n36. Soon on horseback   |   each hero was,\n    And the foreign women   |   in wagons faring;\n    A week through lands   |   so cold we went,\n    And a second week   |   the waves we smote,\n    (And a third through lands   |   that water lacked).\n\n37. The warders now   |   on the lofty walls\n    Opened the gates,   |   and in we rode.\n\n            *    *    *    *    *    *\n\n38. Atli woke me,   |   for ever I seemed\n    Of bitterness full   |   for my brothers\u2019 death.\n\n\nAtli spake:\n\n\n39. \u201cNow from sleep   |   the Norns have waked me\n    With visions of terror,\u2014   |   to thee will I tell them;\n    Methought thou, Guthrun,   |   Gjuki\u2019s daughter,\n    With poisoned blade   |   didst pierce my body.\u201d\n\n\nGuthrun spake:\n\n\n40. \u201cFire a dream   |   of steel shall follow\n    And willful pride   |   one of woman\u2019s wrath;\n    A baneful sore   |   I shall burn from thee,\n    And tend and heal thee,   |   though hated thou art.\u201d\n\n\nAtli spake:\n\n\n41. \u201cOf plants I dreamed,   |   in the garden drooping,\n    That fain would I have   |   full high to grow;\n    Plucked by the roots,   |   and red with blood,\n    They brought them hither,   |   and bade me eat.\n\n42. \u201cI dreamed my hawks   |   from my hand had flown,\n    Eager for food,   |   to an evil house;\n    I dreamed their hearts   |   with honey I ate,\n    Soaked in blood,   |   and heavy my sorrow.\n\n43. \u201cHounds I dreamed   |   from my hand I loosed,\n    Loud in hunger   |   and pain they howled;\n    Their flesh methought   |   was eagles\u2019 food,\n    And their bodies now   |   I needs must eat.\u201d\n\n\nGuthrun spake:\n\n\n44. \u201cMen shall soon   |   of sacrifice speak,\n    And off the heads   |   of beasts shall hew;\n    Die they shall   |   ere day has dawned,\n    A few nights hence,   |   and the folk shall have them.\u201d\n\n\nAtli spake:\n\n\n45. \u201cOn my bed I sank,   |   nor slumber sought,\n    Weary with woe,\u2014   |   full well I remember.\u201d\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTES\n\n\nProse. Thjothrek: the famous Theoderich, king of the Ostrogoths, who\nbecame renowned in German story as Dietrich von Bern. The German\ntradition early accepted the anachronism of bringing together Attila\n(Etzel, Atli), who died in 453, and Theoderich, who was born about 455,\nand adding thereto Ermanarich (Jormunrek), king of the Goths, who died\nabout 376. Ermanarich, in German tradition, replaced Theoderich\u2019s\nactual enemy, Odovakar, and it was in battle with Jormunrek (i.e.,\nOdovakar) that Thjothrek is here said to have lost most of his men. The\nannotator found the material for this note in Guthrunarkvitha III, in\nwhich Guthrun is accused of having Thjothrek as her lover. At the time\nwhen Guthrunarkvitha II was composed (early tenth century) it is\nprobable that the story of Theoderich had not reached the North at all,\nand the annotator is consequently wrong in giving the poem its setting.\n\n2. Cf. Guthrunarkvitha I, 17.\n\n4. Regarding the varying accounts of the manner of Sigurth\u2019s death cf.\nBrot, concluding prose and note. Grani: cf. Brot, 7.\n\n6. No gap indicated in the manuscript. Some editions combine these two\nlines with either stanza 5 or stanza 7.\n\n7. Gotthorm: from this it appears that in both versions of the death of\nSigurth the mortally wounded hero killed his murderer, the younger\nbrother of Gunnar and Hogni. The story of how Gotthorm was slain after\nkilling Sigurth in his bed is told in Sigurtharkvitha en skamma, 22\u201323,\nand in the Volsungasaga.\n\n11. On lines 3\u20134 cf. Guthrunarkvitha I, 1. Line 5 is probably spurious.\n\n12. Many editions make one stanza of stanzas 12 and 13, reconstructing\nline 3; the manuscript shows no gap. Bugge fills out the stanza thus:\n\u201cThe wolves were howling   |   on all the ways, / The eagles cried   |\nas their food they craved.\u201d\n\n13. Cf. note on preceding stanza. Grundtvig suggests as a first line:\n\u201cLong did I bide,   |   my brothers awaiting.\u201d Many editors reject line\n4.\n\n14. The manuscript marks line 3 as beginning a stanza, and many\neditions combine lines 3\u20134 with lines 1\u20132 of stanza 15. Hoalf (or\nHalf): Gering thinks this Danish king may be identical with Alf, son of\nKing Hjalprek, and second husband of Hjordis, Sigurth\u2019s mother (cf. Fra\nDautha Sinfjotla and note), but the name was a common one. Thora and\nHokon have not been identified (cf. Guthrunarkvitha I, concluding\nprose, which is clearly based on this stanza). A Thora appears in\nHyndluljoth, 18, as the wife of Dag, one of the sons of Halfdan the\nOld, the most famous of Denmark\u2019s mythical kings, and one of her sons\nis Alf (Hoalf?).\n\n15. The manuscript marks line 3 as the beginning of a stanza. Some\neditors combine lines 5\u20136 with lines 1\u20132 of stanza 16, while others\nmark them as interpolated.\n\n16. Some editions combine lines 3\u20134 with stanza 17. Sigmund: Sigurth\u2019s\nfather, who here appears as a sea-rover in Guthrun\u2019s tapestry. Sigar:\nnamed in Fornaldar s\u00f6gur II, 10, as the father of Siggeir, the latter\nbeing the husband of Sigmund\u2019s twin sister, Signy (cf. Fra Dautha\nSinfjotla). Fjon: this name, referring to the Danish island of F\u00fcnen,\nis taken from the Volsungasaga paraphrase as better fitting the Danish\nsetting of the stanza than the name in Regius, which is \u201cFife\u201d\n(Scotland).\n\n17. No gap is indicated in the manuscript, and most editions combine\nthese two lines either with lines 3\u20134 of stanza 16, with lines 1\u20132 of\nstanza 18, or with the whole of stanza 18. Line 2 has been filled out\nin various ways. The Volsungasaga paraphrase indicates that these two\nlines are the remains of a full stanza, the prose passage running: \u201cNow\nGuthrun was somewhat comforted of her sorrows. Then Grimhild learned\nwhere Guthrun was now dwelling.\u201d The first two lines may be the ones\nmissing. Gothic: the term \u201cGoth\u201d was used in the North without much\ndiscrimination to apply to all south-Germanic peoples. In Gripisspo,\n35, Gunnar, Grimhild\u2019s son, appears as \u201clord of the Goths.\u201d\n\n18. The manuscript marks line 3 as the beginning of a stanza. Grimhild\nis eager to have amends made to Guthrun for the slaying of Sigurth and\ntheir son, Sigmund, because Atli has threatened war if he cannot have\nGuthrun for his wife.\n\n19. Lines 5\u20136 are almost certainly interpolations, made by a scribe\nwith a very vague understanding of the meaning of the stanza, which\nrefers simply to the journey of the Gjukungs to bring their sister home\nfrom Denmark.\n\n20. Lines 1\u20132 are probably interpolated, though the Volsungasaga\nincludes the names. Some one apparently attempted to supply the names\nof Atli\u2019s messengers, the \u201clong-beard men\u201d of line 4, who have come to\nask for Guthrun\u2019s hand. Some commentators assume, as the Volsungasaga\ndoes, that these messengers went with the Gjukungs to Denmark in search\nof Guthrun, but it seems more likely that a transitional stanza has\ndropped out after stanza 19, and that Guthrun received Atli\u2019s\nemissaries in her brothers\u2019 home. Long-beards: the word may actually\nmean Langobards or Lombards, but, if it does, it is presumably without\nany specific significance here. Certainly the names in the interpolated\ntwo lines do not fit either Lombards or Huns, for Valdar is identified\nas a Dane, and Jarizleif and Jarizskar are apparently Slavic. The\nmanuscript indicates line 5 as beginning a new stanza.\n\n21. Each: the reference is presumably to Gunnar and Hogni, and perhaps\nalso Grimhild. I suspect that this stanza belongs before stanza 20.\n\n22. Stanzas 22\u201325 describe the draught of forgetfulness which Grimhild\ngives Guthrun, just as she gave one to Sigurth (in one version of the\nstory) to make him forget Brynhild. The draught does not seem to work\ndespite Guthrun\u2019s statement in stanza 25 (cf. stanza 30), for which\nreason Vigfusson, not unwisely, places stanzas 22\u201325 after stanza 34.\nBlood of swine: cf. Hyndluljoth, 39 and note.\n\n23. The Volsungasaga quotes stanzas 23\u201324. Heather-fish: a snake.\nHaddings\u2019 land: the world of the dead, so called because, according to\nSaxo Grammaticus, the Danish king Hadingus once visited it. It is\npossible that the comma should follow \u201cheather-fish,\u201d making the \u201cear\nuncut\u201d (of grain) come from the world of the dead.\n\n24. Dew of the hearth: soot.\n\n25. In the manuscript, and in some editions, the first line is in the\nthird person plural: \u201cThen they forgot,   |   when the draught they had\ndrunk.\u201d The second line in the original is manifestly in bad shape, and\nhas been variously emended. I forgot: this emendation is doubtful, in\nview of stanza 30, but cf. note to stanza 22. The kings all three:\nprobably Atli\u2019s emissaries, though the interpolated lines of stanza 20\nname four of them. I suspect that line 4 is wrong, and should read:\n\u201cEre he himself (Atli)   |   to speak began.\u201d Certainly stanzas 26\u201327\nfit Atli much better than they do Grimhild, and there is nothing\nunreasonable in Atli\u2019s having come in person, along with his tributary\nkings, to seek Guthrun\u2019s hand. However, the \u201cthree kings\u201d may not be\nAtli\u2019s followers at all, but Gunnar, Hogni, and the unnamed third\nbrother possibly referred to in Sigurtharkvitha en skamma, 18.\n\n26. Thy father\u2019s: So the manuscript, in which case the reference is\nobviously to Gjuki. But some editions omit the \u201cthy,\u201d and if Atli, and\nnot Grimhild, is speaking (cf. note on stanza 25), the reference may\nbe, as in line 3 of stanza 27, to the wealth of Atli\u2019s father, Buthli.\nHlothver: the northern form of the Frankish name Chlodowech (Ludwig),\nbut who this Hlothver was, beyond the fact that he was evidently a\nFrankish king, is uncertain. If Atli is speaking, he is presumably a\nFrankish ruler whose land Atli and his Huns have conquered.\n\n27. Cf. note on stanza 25 as to the probable speaker.\n\n28. In stanzas 28\u201332 the dialogue, in alternate stanzas, is clearly\nbetween Guthrun and her mother, Grimhild, though the manuscript does\nnot indicate the speakers.\n\n29. Sigmund: son of Sigurth and Guthrun, killed at Brynhild\u2019s behest.\n\n30. This stanza presents a strong argument for transposing the\ndescription of the draught of forgetfulness (stanzas 22\u201324 and lines\n1\u20132 of stanza 25) to follow stanza 33. Raven, etc.: the original is\nsomewhat obscure, and the line may refer simply to the \u201ccorpse-eating\nraven.\u201d\n\n32. In the manuscript this stanza is immediately followed by the two\nlines which here, following Bugge\u2019s suggestion, appear as stanza 35. In\nlines 3\u20134 Guthrun foretells what will (and actually does) happen if she\nis forced to become Atli\u2019s wife. If stanza 35 really belongs here, it\ncontinues the prophesy to the effect that Guthrun will have no rest\ntill she has avenged her brothers\u2019 death.\n\n33. Very likely the remains of two stanzas; the manuscript marks line 4\nas beginning a new stanza. On the other hand, lines 3 and 5 may be\ninterpolations. Vinbjorg and Valbjorg: apparently imaginary\nplace-names.\n\n34. The kings: presumably Gunnar and Hogni. My sons: regarding\nGuthrun\u2019s slaying of her two sons by Atli, Erp and Eitil, cf. Drap\nNiflunga, note.\n\n35. In the manuscript this stanza follows stanza 32. The loss of two\nlines, to the effect that \u201cIll was that marriage for my brothers, and\nill for Atli himself,\u201d and the transposition of the remaining two lines\nto this point, are indicated in a number of editions. The warrior,\netc.: Atli, whom Guthrun kills.\n\n36. The stanza describes the journey to Atli\u2019s home, and sundry\nunsuccessful efforts have been made to follow the travellers through\nGermany and down the Danube. Foreign women: slaves. Line 5, which the\nmanuscript marks as beginning a stanza, is probably spurious.\n\n37. After these two lines there appears to be a considerable gap, the\nlost stanzas giving Guthrun\u2019s story of the slaying of her brothers. It\nis possible that stanzas 38\u201345 came originally from another poem,\ndealing with Atli\u2019s dream, and were here substituted for the original\nconclusion of Guthrun\u2019s lament. Many editions combine stanzas 37 and\n38, or combine stanza 38 (the manuscript marks line 1 as beginning a\nstanza) with lines 1\u20132 of stanza 39.\n\n39. The manuscript indicates line 3 as the beginning of a stanza. The\nmanuscript and most editions do not indicate the speakers in this and\nthe following stanzas.\n\n40. Guthrun, somewhat obscurely, interprets Atli\u2019s first dream (stanza\n39) to mean that she will cure him of an abscess by cauterizing it. Her\ninterpretation is, of course, intended merely to blind him to her\npurpose.\n\n41. In stanzas 41\u201343 Atli\u2019s dreams forecast the death of his two sons,\nwhose flesh Guthrun gives him to eat (cf. Atlakvitha, 39, and Atlamol,\n78).\n\n44. This stanza is evidently Guthrun\u2019s intentionally cryptic\ninterpretation of Atli\u2019s dreams, but the meaning of the original is\nmore than doubtful. The word here rendered \u201csacrifice\u201d may mean\n\u201csea-catch,\u201d and the one rendered \u201cbeasts\u201d may mean \u201cwhales.\u201d None of\nthe attempted emendations have rendered the stanza really intelligible,\nbut it appears to mean that Atli will soon make a sacrifice of beasts\nat night, and give their bodies to the people. Guthrun of course has in\nmind the slaying of his two sons.\n\n45. With these two lines the poem abruptly ends; some editors assign\nthe speech to Atli (I think rightly), others to Guthrun. Ettm\u00fcller\ncombines the lines with stanza 38. Whether stanzas 38\u201345 originally\nbelonged to Guthrun\u2019s lament, or were interpolated here in place of the\nlost conclusion of that poem from another one dealing with Atli\u2019s\ndreams (cf. note on stanza 37), it is clear that the end has been lost.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGUTHRUNARKVITHA III\n\nTHE THIRD LAY OF GUTHRUN\n\n\nINTRODUCTORY NOTE\n\nThe short Guthrunarkvitha III, entitled in the manuscript simply\nGuthrunarkvitha, but so numbered in most editions to distinguish it\nfrom the first and second Guthrun lays, appears only in the Codex\nRegius. It is neither quoted nor paraphrased in the Volsungasaga, the\ncompilers of which appear not to have known the story with which it\ndeals. The poem as we have it is evidently complete and free from\nserious interpolations. It can safely be dated from the first half of\nthe eleventh century, for the ordeal by boiling water, with which it is\nchiefly concerned, was first introduced into Norway by St. Olaf, who\ndied in 1030, and the poem speaks of it in stanza 7 as still of foreign\norigin.\n\nThe material for the poem evidently came from North Germany, but there\nis little indication that the poet was working on the basis of a\nnarrative legend already fully formed. The story of the wife accused of\nfaithlessness who proves her innocence by the test of boiling water had\nlong been current in Germany, as elsewhere, and had attached itself to\nvarious women of legendary fame, but not except in this poem, so far as\nwe can judge, to Guthrun (Kriemhild). The introduction of Thjothrek\n(Theoderich, Dietrich, Thithrek) is another indication of relative\nlateness, for the legends of Theoderich do not appear to have reached\nthe North materially before the year 1000. On the anachronism of\nbringing Thjothrek to Atli\u2019s court cf. Guthrunarkvitha II, introductory\nprose, note, in which the development of the Theoderich tradition in\nits relation to that of Atli is briefly outlined.\n\nGuthrunarkvitha III is, then, little more than a dramatic German story\nmade into a narrative lay by a Norse poet, with the names of Guthrun,\nAtli, Thjothrek, and Herkja incorporated for the sake of greater\neffectiveness. Its story probably nowhere formed a part of the living\ntradition of Sigurth and Atli, but the poem has so little distinctively\nNorse coloring that it may possibly have been based on a story or even\na poem which its composer heard in Germany or from the lips of a German\nnarrator.\n\n\n\n\n\nHerkja was the name of a serving-woman of Atli\u2019s; she had been his\nconcubine. She told Atli that she had seen Thjothrek and Guthrun both\ntogether. Atli was greatly angered thereby. Then Guthrun said:\n\n\n1.  \u201cWhat thy sorrow, Atli,   |   Buthli\u2019s son?\n    Is thy heart heavy-laden?   |   Why laughest thou never?\n    It would better befit   |   the warrior far\n    To speak with men,   |   and me to look on.\u201d\n\n\nAtli spake:\n\n\n2.  \u201cIt troubles me, Guthrun,   |   Gjuki\u2019s daughter,\n    What Herkja here   |   in the hall hath told me,\n    That thou in the bed   |   with Thjothrek liest,\n    Beneath the linen   |   in lovers\u2019 guise.\u201d\n\n\nGuthrun spake:\n\n\n3.  \u201cThis shall I   |   with oaths now swear,\n    Swear by the sacred   |   stone so white,\n    That nought was there   |   with Thjothmar\u2019s son\n    That man or woman   |   may not know.\n\n4.  \u201cNor ever once   |   did my arms embrace\n    The hero brave,   |   the leader of hosts;\n    In another manner   |   our meeting was,\n    When our sorrows we   |   in secret told.\n\n5.  \u201cWith thirty warriors   |   Thjothrek came,\n    Nor of all his men   |   doth one remain;\n    Thou hast murdered my brothers   |   and mail-clad men,\n    Thou hast murdered all   |   the men of my race.\n\n6.  \u201cGunnar comes not,   |   Hogni I greet not,\n    No longer I see   |   my brothers loved;\n    My sorrow would Hogni   |   avenge with the sword,\n    Now myself for my woes   |   I shall payment win.\n\n7.  \u201cSummon Saxi,   |   the southrons\u2019 king,\n    For he the boiling   |   kettle can hallow.\u201d\n    Seven hundred   |   there were in the hall,\n    Ere the queen her hand   |   in the kettle thrust.\n\n8.  To the bottom she reached   |   with hand so bright,\n    And forth she brought   |   the flashing stones:\n    \u201cBehold, ye warriors,   |   well am I cleared\n    Of sin by the kettle\u2019s   |   sacred boiling.\u201d\n\n9.  Then Atli\u2019s heart   |   in happiness laughed,\n    When Guthrun\u2019s hand   |   unhurt he saw;\n    \u201cNow Herkja shall come   |   the kettle to try,\n    She who grief   |   for Guthrun planned.\u201d\n\n10. Ne\u2019er saw man sight   |   more sad than this,\n    How burned were the hands   |   of Herkja then;\n    In a bog so foul   |   the maid they flung,\n    And so was Guthrun\u2019s   |   grief requited.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTES\n\n\nProse. The annotator derived all the material for this note from the\npoem itself, except for the reference to Herkja as Atli\u2019s former\nconcubine. Herkja: the historical Kreka and the Helche of the\nNibelungenlied, who there appears as Etzel\u2019s (Attila\u2019s) first wife.\nThjothrek: cf. Introductory Note.\n\n2. The manuscript omits the names of the speakers throughout.\n\n3. Holy stone: just what this refers to is uncertain; it may be\nidentical with the \u201cice-cold stone of Uth\u201d mentioned in an oath in\nHelgakvitha Hundingsbana II, 29. Thjothmar\u2019s son: the manuscript has\nsimply \u201cThjothmar.\u201d Some editions change it as here, some assume that\nThjothmar is another name or an error for Thjothrek, and Finnur Jonsson\nnot only retains Thjothmar here but changes Thjothrek to Thjothmar in\nstanza 5 to conform to it.\n\n5. Regarding the death of Thjothrek\u2019s men cf. Guthrunarkvitha II,\nintroductory prose, note. It was on these stanzas of Guthrunarkvitha\nIII that the annotator based his introduction to Guthrunarkvitha II.\nThe manuscript repeats the \u201cthirty\u201d in line 2, in defiance of metrical\nrequirements.\n\n6. In the manuscript this stanza follows stanza 7; many editions have\nmade the transposition.\n\n7. Who Saxi may be is not clear, but the stanza clearly points to the\ntime when the ordeal by boiling water was still regarded as a foreign\ninstitution, and when a southern king (i.e., a Christian from some\nearlier-converted region) was necessary to consecrate the kettle used\nin the test. The ordeal by boiling water followed closely the\nintroduction of Christianity, which took place around the year 1000.\nSome editions make two stanzas out of stanza 7, and M\u00fcllenhoff contends\nthat lines 1\u20132 do not constitute part of Guthrun\u2019s speech.\n\n10. The word \u201crequited\u201d in line 4 is omitted in the manuscript, but it\nis clear that some such word was intended. The punishment of casting a\nculprit into a bog to be drowned was particularly reserved for women,\nand is not infrequently mentioned in the sagas.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nODDRUNARGRATR\n\nTHE LAMENT OF ODDRUN\n\n\nINTRODUCTORY NOTE\n\nThe Oddrunargratr follows Guthrunarkvitha III in the Codex Regius; it\nis not quoted or mentioned elsewhere, except that the composer of the\n\u201cshort\u201d Sigurth lay seems to have been familiar with it. The\nVolsungasaga says nothing of the story on which it is based, and\nmentions Oddrun only once, in the course of its paraphrase of\nBrynhild\u2019s prophecy from the \u201cshort\u201d Sigurth lay. That the poem comes\nfrom the eleventh century is generally agreed; prior to the year 1000\nthere is no trace of the figure of Oddrun, Atli\u2019s sister, and yet the\nOddrunargratr is almost certainly older than the \u201cshort\u201d Sigurth lay,\nso that the last half of the eleventh century seems to be a fairly safe\nguess.\n\nWhere or how the figure of Oddrun entered the Sigurth-Atli cycle is\nuncertain. She does not appear in any of the extant German versions,\nand it is generally assumed that she was a creation of the North,\nthough the poet refers to \u201cold tales\u201d concerning her. She does not\ndirectly affect the course of the story at all, though the poet has\nused effectively the episode of Gunnar\u2019s death, with the implication\nthat Atli\u2019s vengeance on Gunnar and Hogni was due, at least in part, to\nhis discovery of Gunnar\u2019s love affair with Oddrun. The material which\nforms the background of Oddrun\u2019s story belongs wholly to the German\npart of the legend (cf. introductory note to Gripisspo), and is\nparalleled with considerable closeness in the Nibelungenlied; only\nOddrun herself and the subsidiary figures of Borgny and Vilmund are\nNorthern additions. The geography, on the other hand, is so utterly\nchaotic as to indicate that the original localization of the Atli story\nhad lost all trace of significance by the time this poem was composed.\n\nIn the manuscript the poem, or rather the brief introductory prose\nnote, bears the heading \u201cOf Borgny and Oddrun,\u201d but nearly all\neditions, following late paper manuscripts, have given the poem the\ntitle it bears here. Outside of a few apparently defective stanzas, and\nsome confusing transpositions, the poem has clearly been preserved in\ngood condition, and the beginning and end are definitely marked.\n\n\n\n\n\nHeithrek was the name of a king, whose daughter was called Borgny.\nVilmund was the name of the man who was her lover. She could not give\nbirth to a child until Oddrun, Atli\u2019s sister, had come to her; Oddrun\nhad been beloved of Gunnar, son of Gjuki. About this story is the\nfollowing poem.\n\n\n1.  I have heard it told   |   in olden tales\n    How a maiden came   |   to Morningland;\n    No one of all   |   on earth above\n    To Heithrek\u2019s daughter   |   help could give.\n\n2.  This Oddrun learned,   |   the sister of Atli,\n    That sore the maiden\u2019s   |   sickness was;\n    The bit-bearer forth   |   from his stall she brought,\n    And the saddle laid   |   on the steed so black.\n\n3.  She let the horse go   |   o\u2019er the level ground,\n    Till she reached the hall   |   that loftily rose,\n    (And in she went   |   from the end of the hall;)\n    From the weary steed   |   the saddle she took;\n    Hear now the speech   |   that first she spake:\n\n4.  \u201cWhat news on earth,   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    Or what has happened   |   in Hunland now?\u201d\n\n\nA serving-maid spake:\n\n\n    \u201cHere Borgny lies   |   in bitter pain,\n    Thy friend, and, Oddrun,   |   thy help would find.\u201d\n\n\nOddrun spake:\n\n\n5.  \u201cWho worked this woe   |   for the woman thus,\n    Or why so sudden   |   is Borgny sick?\u201d\n\n\nThe serving-maid spake:\n\n\n    \u201cVilmund is he,   |   the heroes\u2019 friend,\n    Who wrapped the woman   |   in bedclothes warm,\n    (For winters five,   |   yet her father knew not).\u201d\n\n6.  Then no more   |   they spake, methinks;\n    She went at the knees   |   of the woman to sit;\n    With magic Oddrun   |   and mightily Oddrun\n    Chanted for Borgny   |   potent charms.\n\n7.  At last were born   |   a boy and girl,\n    Son and daughter   |   of Hogni\u2019s slayer;\n    Then speech the woman   |   so weak began,\n    Nor said she aught   |   ere this she spake:\n\n8.  \u201cSo may the holy   |   ones thee help,\n    Frigg and Freyja   |   and favoring gods,\n    As thou hast saved me   |   from sorrow now.\u201d\n\n\nOddrun spake:\n\n\n9.  \u201cI came not hither   |   to help thee thus\n    Because thou ever   |   my aid didst earn;\n    I fulfilled the oath   |   that of old I swore,\n    That aid to all   |   I should ever bring,\n    (When they shared the wealth   |   the warriors had).\u201d\n\n\nBorgny spake:\n\n\n10. \u201cWild art thou, Oddrun,   |   and witless now,\n    That so in hatred   |   to me thou speakest;\n    I followed thee   |   where thou didst fare,\n    As we had been born   |   of brothers twain.\u201d\n\n\nOddrun spake:\n\n\n11. \u201cI remember the evil   |   one eve thou spakest,\n    When a draught I gave   |   to Gunnar then;\n    Thou didst say that never   |   such a deed\n    By maid was done   |   save by me alone.\u201d\n\n12. Then the sorrowing woman   |   sat her down\n    To tell the grief   |   of her troubles great.\n\n13. \u201cHappy I grew   |   in the hero\u2019s hall\n    As the warriors wished,   |   and they loved me well;\n    Glad I was   |   of my father\u2019s gifts,\n    For winters five,   |   while my father lived.\n\n14. \u201cThese were the words   |   the weary king,\n    Ere he died,   |   spake last of all:\n    He bade me with red gold   |   dowered to be,\n    And to Grimhild\u2019s son   |   in the South be wedded.\n\n15. \u201cBut Brynhild the helm   |   he bade to wear,\n    A wish-maid bright   |   he said she should be;\n    For a nobler maid   |   would never be born\n    On earth, he said,   |   if death should spare her.\n\n16. \u201cAt her weaving Brynhild   |   sat in her bower,\n    Lands and folk   |   alike she had;\n    The earth and heaven   |   high resounded\n    When Fafnir\u2019s slayer   |   the city saw.\n\n17. \u201cThen battle was fought   |   with the foreign swords,\n    And the city was broken   |   that Brynhild had;\n    Not long thereafter,   |   but all too soon,\n    Their evil wiles   |   full well she knew.\n\n18. \u201cWoeful for this   |   her vengeance was,\n    As so we learned   |   to our sorrow all;\n    In every land   |   shall all men hear\n    How herself at Sigurth\u2019s   |   side she slew.\n\n19. \u201cLove to Gunnar   |   then I gave,\n    To the breaker of rings,   |   as Brynhild might;\n    To Atli rings   |   so red they offered,\n    And mighty gifts   |   to my brother would give.\n\n20. \u201cFifteen dwellings   |   fain would he give\n    For me, and the burden   |   that Grani bore;\n    But Atli said   |   he would never receive\n    Marriage gold   |   from Gjuki\u2019s son.\n\n21. \u201cYet could we not   |   our love o\u2019ercome,\n    And my head I laid   |   on the hero\u2019s shoulder;\n    Many there were   |   of kinsmen mine\n    Who said that together   |   us they had seen.\n\n22. \u201cAtli said   |   that never I\n    Would evil plan,   |   or ill deed do;\n    But none may this   |   of another think,\n    Or surely speak,   |   when love is shared.\n\n23. \u201cSoon his men   |   did Atli send,\n    In the murky wood   |   on me to spy;\n    Thither they came   |   where they should not come,\n    Where beneath one cover   |   close we lay.\n\n24. \u201cTo the warriors ruddy   |   rings we offered,\n    That nought to Atli   |   e\u2019er they should say;\n    But swiftly home   |   they hastened thence,\n    And eager all   |   to Atli told.\n\n25. \u201cBut close from Guthrun   |   kept they hid\n    What first of all   |   she ought to have known.\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n\n26. \u201cGreat was the clatter   |   of gilded hoofs\n    When Gjuki\u2019s sons   |   through the gateway rode;\n    The heart they hewed   |   from Hogni then,\n    And the other they cast   |   in the serpents\u2019 cave.\n\n27. \u201cThe hero wise   |   on his harp then smote,\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    For help from me   |   in his heart yet hoped\n    The high-born king,   |   might come to him.\n\n28. \u201cAlone was I gone   |   to Geirmund then,\n    The draught to mix   |   and ready to make;\n    Sudden I heard   |   from Hlesey clear\n    How in sorrow the strings   |   of the harp resounded.\n\n29. \u201cI bade the serving-maids   |   ready to be,\n    For I longed the hero\u2019s   |   life to save;\n    Across the sound   |   the boats we sailed,\n    Till we saw the whole   |   of Atli\u2019s home.\n\n30. \u201cThen crawling the evil   |   woman came,\n    Atli\u2019s mother\u2014   |   may she ever rot!\n    And hard she bit   |   to Gunnar\u2019s heart,\n    So I could not help   |   the hero brave.\n\n31. \u201cOft have I wondered   |   how after this,\n    Serpents\u2019-bed goddess!   |   I still might live,\n    For well I loved   |   the warrior brave,\n    The giver of swords,   |   as my very self.\n\n32. \u201cThou didst see and listen,   |   the while I said\n    The mighty grief   |   that was mine and theirs;\n    Each man lives   |   as his longing wills,\u2014\n    Oddrun\u2019s lament   |   is ended now.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTES\n\n\nProse. Nothing further is known of Heithrek, Borgny or Vilmund. The\nannotator has added the name of Borgny\u2019s father, but otherwise his\nmaterial comes from the poem itself. Oddrun, sister of Atli and\nBrynhild, here appears as proficient in birth-runes (cf. Sigrdrifumol,\n8). Regarding her love for Gunnar, Guthrun\u2019s brother, and husband of\nher sister, Brynhild, cf. Sigurtharkvitha en skamma, 57 and note.\n\n1. Olden tales: this may be merely a stock phrase, or it may really\nmean that the poet found his story in oral prose tradition.\nMorningland: the poem\u2019s geography is utterly obscure. \u201cMorningland\u201d is\napparently identical with \u201cHunland\u201d (stanza 4), and yet Oddrun is\nherself sister of the king of the Huns. Vigfusson tries to make\n\u201cMornaland\u201d into \u201cMorva land\u201d and explain it as Moravia. Probably it\nmeans little more than a country lying vaguely in the East. With stanza\n28 the confusion grows worse.\n\n3. Line 3 (cf. V\u00f6lundarkvitha, 17) or line 5 (cf. Thrymskvitha, 2),\nboth quoted from older poems, is probably spurious; the manuscript\nmarks line 3 as the beginning of a new stanza.\n\n4. Line 1 in the original appears to have lost its second half. In line\n2 the word rendered \u201chas happened\u201d is doubtful. The manuscript does not\nindicate the speaker of lines 3\u20134, and a few editors assign them to\nBorgny herself.\n\n5. The manuscript does not indicate the speakers. For the woman:\nconjectural; the manuscript has instead: \u201cWhat warrior now   |   hath\nworked this woe?\u201d The manuscript indicates line 3 as beginning a new\nstanza. Line 5, apparently modeled on line 4 of stanza 13, is probably\nspurious.\n\n6. Charms: cf. Sigrdrifumol, 8.\n\n7. Hogni\u2019s slayer: obviously Vilmund, but unless he was the one of\nAtli\u2019s followers who actually cut out Hogni\u2019s heart (cf. Drap\nNiflunga), there is nothing else to connect him with Hogni\u2019s death.\nSijmons emends the line to read \u201cBorn of the sister   |   of Hogni\u2019s\nslayer.\u201d\n\n8. Regarding Frigg as a goddess of healing cf. Svipdagsmol, 52, note.\nRegarding Freyja as the friend of lovers cf. Grimnismol, 14, note. A\nline is very possibly missing from this stanza.\n\n9. The manuscript does not name the speaker. In line 2 the word\nrendered \u201cearn\u201d is omitted in the manuscript, but nearly all editions\nhave supplied it. Line 5 is clearly either interpolated or out of\nplace. It may be all that is left of a stanza which stood between\nstanzas 15 and 16, or it may belong in stanza 12.\n\n10\u201320. In the manuscript the order is as follows: 12; 13; 14; 15, 3\u20134;\n10; 11; 16; 17; 18; 19, 1\u20132; 15, 1\u20132; 19, 3\u20134; 20. The changes made\nhere, following several of the editions, are: (a) the transposition of\nstanzas 10\u201311, which are clearly dialogue, out of the body of the\nlament to a position just before it; (b) the transposition of lines 1\u20132\nof stanza 15 to their present position from the middle of stanza 19.\n\n10. The manuscript does not name the speaker; cf. note on stanzas\n10\u201320.\n\n11. The manuscript does not name the speaker; cf. note on stanzas\n10\u201320. The word rendered \u201cevil\u201d in line 1 is a conjectural addition.\nApparently Borgny was present at Atli\u2019s court while the love affair\nbetween Oddrun and Gunnar was in progress, and criticised Oddrun for\nher part in it. A draught, etc.: apparently in reference to a secret\nmeeting of the lovers.\n\n12. In the manuscript this stanza follows stanza 9; cf. note on stanzas\n10\u201320. No gap is indicated, but something has presumably been lost.\nGrundtvig supplies as a first line: \u201cThe maid her evil   |   days\nremembered,\u201d and inserts as a second line line 5 of stanza 9.\n\n13. The manuscript indicates line 3 as the beginning of a new stanza;\nmany editions combine lines 1\u20132 with stanza 12 and lines 3\u20134 with lines\n1\u20132 of stanza 14. The hero: Buthli, father of Oddrun, Atli, and\nBrynhild.\n\n14. The manuscript indicates line 3, but not line 1, as the beginning\nof a new stanza; some editions combine lines 3\u20134 with lines 3\u20134 of\nstanza 15. Making Buthli plan the marriage of Oddrun and Gunnar may be\na sheer invention of the poet, or may point to an otherwise lost\nversion of the legend.\n\n15. Lines 1\u20132 have here been transposed from the middle of stanza 19;\ncf. note on stanzas 10\u201320. Wish-maid: a Valkyrie, so called because the\nValkyries fullfilled Othin\u2019s wish in choosing the slain heroes for\nValhall. The reference to Brynhild as a Valkyrie by no means fits with\nthe version of the story used in stanzas 16\u201317, and the poet seems to\nhave attempted to combine the two contradictory traditions; cf.\nFafnismol, note on stanza 44. In the manuscript stanzas 10\u201311 follow\nline 4 of stanza 15.\n\n16. In stanzas 16\u201317 the underlying story seems to be the one used in\nSigurtharkvitha en skamma (particularly stanzas 32\u201339), and referred to\nin Guthrunarkvitha I, 24, wherein Gunnar and Sigurth lay siege to\nAtli\u2019s city (it here appears as Brynhild\u2019s) and are bought off only by\nAtli\u2019s giving Brynhild to Gunnar as wife, winning her consent thereto\nby falsely representing to her that Gunnar is Sigurth. This version is,\nof course, utterly at variance with the one in which Sigurth wins\nBrynhild for Gunnar by riding through the ring of flames, and is\nprobably more closely akin to the early German traditions. In the\nNibelungenlied Brynhild appears as a queen ruling over lands and\npeoples. Fafnir\u2019s slayer: Sigurth.\n\n17. Cf. note on preceding stanza.\n\n18. Cf. Sigurtharkvitha en skamma, stanzas 64\u201370.\n\n19. In the manuscript lines 1\u20132 of stanza 15 follow line 2, resulting\nin various conjectural combinations. The manuscript marks line 3 as\nbeginning a new stanza. Rings, etc.: possibly, as Gering maintains,\npayment offered by Gunnar and Hogni for Brynhild\u2019s death, but more\nprobably, as in stanza 20, Gunnar\u2019s proffered \u201cmarriage gold\u201d for the\nhand of Oddrun.\n\n20. Grani\u2019s burden: the treasure won by Sigurth from Fafnir; cf.\nFafnismol, concluding prose. The manuscript marks line 3 as beginning a\nnew stanza, as also in stanzas 21 and 22.\n\n23. Murky wood: the forest which divided Atli\u2019s realm from that of the\nGjukungs is in Atlakvitha, 3, called Myrkwood. This hardly accords with\nthe extraordinary geography of stanzas 28\u201329, or with the journey\ndescribed in Guthrunarkvitha II, 36.\n\n24. In the manuscript lines 3 and 4 stand in reversed order.\n\n25. No gap is indicated in the manuscript; some editors assume the loss\nnot only of two lines, but of an additional stanza. Evidently Guthrun\nhas already become Atli\u2019s wife.\n\n26. If a stanza has been lost after stanza 25, it may well have told of\nAtli\u2019s treacherous invitation to the Gjukungs to visit him; cf. Drap\nNiflunga, which likewise tells of the slaying of Hogni and Gunnar (the\nother).\n\n27. In the manuscript these three lines follow line 2 of stanza 28. No\ngap is indicated in the manuscript. In the Volsungasaga Guthrun gives\nher brother the harp, with which he puts the serpents to sleep. The\nepisode is undoubtedly related to the famous thirtieth Aventiure of the\nNibelungenlied, in which Volker plays the followers of Gunther to sleep\nbefore the final battle.\n\n28. In the manuscript the three lines of stanza 27 follow line 2, and\nline 3 is marked as beginning a new stanza. Geirmund: nothing further\nis known of him, but he seems to be an ally or retainer of Atli, or\npossibly his brother. Hlesey: the poet\u2019s geography is here in very bad\nshape. Hlesey is (or may be) the Danish island of L\u00e4s\u00f6, in the Kattegat\n(cf. Harbarthsljoth, 37 and note), and thither he has suddenly\ntransported not only Gunnar\u2019s death-place but Atli\u2019s whole dwelling\n(cf. stanza 29), despite his previous references to the ride to Hunland\n(stanzas 3\u20134) and the \u201cmurky wood\u201d (stanza 23). Geirmund\u2019s home, where\nOddrun has gone, is separated from Hlesey and Atli\u2019s dwelling by a\nsound (stanza 29). However, geographical accuracy is seldom to be\nlooked for in heroic epic poetry.\n\n29. Many editions combine this stanza with lines 3\u20134 of stanza 28. The\nsound: cf. note on stanza 28.\n\n30. The manuscript marks line 3 as beginning a new stanza. Atli\u2019s\nmother: the Volsungasaga does not follow this version; Gunnar puts all\nthe serpents but one to sleep with his harp playing, \u201cbut a mighty and\nevil adder crawled to him and drove his fangs into him till they\nreached his heart, and so he died.\u201d It is possible that \u201cAtli\u201d is a\nscribal error for a word meaning \u201cof serpents.\u201d\n\n31. Serpents\u2019-bed goddess: woman (i.e., Borgny); \u201cgoddess of gold\u201d was\na frequent term for a woman, and gold was often called the \u201cserpents\u2019\nbed\u201d (cf. Guthrunarkvitha I, 24 and note).\n\n32. Some editions make line 4 a statement of the poet\u2019s, and not part\nof Oddrun\u2019s speech.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nATLAKVITHA EN GR\u00d6NLENZKA\n\nTHE GREENLAND LAY OF ATLI\n\n\nINTRODUCTORY NOTE\n\nThere are two Atli poems in the Codex Regius, the Atlakvitha (Lay of\nAtli) and the Atlamol (Ballad of Atli). The poems are not preserved or\nquoted in any other old manuscript, but they were extensively used by\nthe compilers of the Volsungasaga. In the manuscript superscription to\neach of these poems appears the word \u201cGreenland,\u201d which has given rise\nto a large amount of argument. The scribe was by no means infallible,\nand in this case his statement proves no more than that in the period\nround 1300 there was a tradition that these two poems originated in the\nGreenland settlement.\n\nThe two Atli poems deal with substantially the same material: the visit\nof the sons of Gjuki to Atli\u2019s court, their deaths, and the subsequent\nrevenge of their sister, Guthrun, Atli\u2019s wife, on her husband. The\nshorter of the two, the Atlakvitha, tells the story with little\nelaboration; the Atlamol, with about the same narrative basis, adds\nmany details, some of them apparently of the poet\u2019s invention, and with\na romantic, not to say sentimental, quality quite lacking in the\nAtlakvitha. Both poems are sharply distinguished from the rest of the\ncollection by their metrical form, which is the Malahattr (used\nirregularly also in the Harbarthsljoth), employed consistently and\nsmoothly in the Atlamol, and with a considerable mixture of what appear\nto be Fornyrthislag lines (cf. Introduction) in the Atlakvitha.\n\nIt is altogether probable that both poems belong to the eleventh\ncentury, the shorter Atlakvitha being generally dated from the first\nquarter thereof, and the longer Atlamol some fifty years or more later.\nIn each case the poet was apparently a Christian; in the Atlamol\n(stanza 82) Guthrun expresses her readiness to die and \u201cgo into another\nlight,\u201d and in the Atlakvitha there is frequent use of mythological\nnames (e.g., Valhall, Hlithskjolf) with an evident lack of\nunderstanding of their relation to the older gods. These facts fit the\ntheory of a Greenland origin exceedingly well, for the Greenland\nsettlement grew rapidly after the first explorations of Eirik the Red,\nwhich were in 982\u2013985, and its most flourishing period was in the\neleventh century. The internal evidence, particularly in the case of\nthe Atlamol, points likewise to an origin remote from Iceland, Norway,\nand the \u201cWestern Isles\u201d; and the two poems are sufficiently alike so\nthat, despite the efforts of Finnur Jonsson and others to separate\nthem, assigning one to Greenland and the other to Norway or elsewhere,\nit seems probable that the manuscript statement is correct in both\ninstances, and that the two Atli poems did actually originate in\nGreenland. An interesting account of this Greenland settlement is given\nin William Hovgaard\u2019s Voyages of the Norsemen to America, published by\nthe American-Scandinavian Foundation in 1914, and an extraordinarily\nvivid picture of the sufferings of the early settlers appears in\nMaurice Hewlett\u2019s Thorgils, taken from the Floamannasaga.\n\nFrom the standpoint of narrative material there is little that is\ndistinctively Norse in either the Atlakvitha or the Atlamol. The story\nis the one outlined in the prose Drap Niflunga (largely based on these\ntwo poems), representing almost exclusively the southern blending of\nthe Attila and Burgundian legends (cf. introductory note to Gripisspo).\nIn the Atlakvitha, indeed, the word \u201cBurgundians\u201d is actually used.\nBrynhild is not mentioned in either poem; Sigurth\u2019s name appears but\nonce, in the Atlamol. Thus the material goes directly back to its\nSouth-Germanic origins, with little of the Northern making-over which\nresulted in such extensive changes in most parts of the Sigurth story.\nThe general atmosphere, on the other hand, particularly in the Atlamol,\nis essentially Norse.\n\nAs has been said, the Atlakvitha is metrically in a chaotic state, the\nnormal Malahattr lines being frequently interspersed with lines and\neven stanzas which apparently are of the older Fornyrthislag type. How\nmuch of this confusion is due to faulty transmission is uncertain, but\nit has been suggested that the composer of the Atlakvitha made over in\nMalahattr an older Atli poem in Fornyrthislag, and this suggestion has\nmuch to recommend it. That he worked on the basis of an older poem is,\nindeed, almost certain, for in oral prose tradition a far larger number\nof distinctively Norse traits would unquestionably have crept in than\nare found in the material of the Atlakvitha. As for the Atlamol, here\nagain the poet seems to have used an older poem as his basis, possibly\nthe Atlakvitha itself, although in that case he must have had other\nmaterial as well, for there are frequent divergences in such matters as\nproper names.\n\nThe translation of the Atlakvitha is rendered peculiarly difficult by\nthe irregularity of the metre, by the evident faultiness of the\ntransmission, and above all by the exceptionally large number of words\nfound nowhere else in Old Norse, involving much guesswork as to their\nmeanings. The notes do not attempt to indicate all the varying\nsuggestions made by editors and commentators as to the reconstruction\nof defective stanzas and the probable meanings of obscure passages; in\ncases which are purely or largely guesswork the notes merely point out\nthe uncertainty without cataloguing the proposed solutions.\n\n\n\n\n\nGuthrun, Gjuki\u2019s daughter, avenged her brothers, as has become well\nknown. She slew first Atli\u2019s sons, and thereafter she slew Atli, and\nburned the hall with his whole company. Concerning this was the\nfollowing poem made:\n\n\n1.  Atli sent   |   of old to Gunnar\n    A keen-witted rider,   |   Knefr\u00f6th did men call him;\n    To Gjuki\u2019s home came he   |   and to Gunnar\u2019s dwelling,\n    With benches round the hearth,   |   and to the beer so sweet.\n\n2.  Then the followers, hiding   |   their falseness, all drank\n    Their wine in the war-hall,   |   of the Huns\u2019 wrath wary;\n    And Knefr\u00f6th spake loudly,   |   his words were crafty,\n    The hero from the south,   |   on the high bench sitting:\n\n3.  \u201cNow Atli has sent me   |   his errand to ride,\n    On my bit-champing steed   |   through Myrkwood the secret,\n    To bid you, Gunnar,   |   to his benches to come,\n    With helms round the hearth,   |   and Atli\u2019s home seek.\n\n4.  \u201cShields shall ye choose there,   |   and shafts made of\n    ash-wood,\n    Gold-adorned helmets,   |   and slaves out of Hunland,\n    Silver-gilt saddle-cloths,   |   shirts of bright scarlet,\n    With lances and spears too,   |   and bit-champing steeds.\n\n5.  \u201cThe field shall be given you   |   of wide Gnitaheith,\n    With loud-ringing lances,   |   and stems gold-o\u2019erlaid,\n    Treasures full huge,   |   and the home of Danp,\n    And the mighty forest   |   that Myrkwood is called.\u201d\n\n6.  His head turned Gunnar,   |   and to Hogni he said:\n    \u201cWhat thy counsel, young hero,   |   when such things we hear?\n    No gold do I know   |   on Gnitaheith lying\n    So fair that other   |   its equal we have not.\n\n7.  \u201cWe have seven halls,   |   each of swords is full,\n    (And all of gold   |   is the hilt of each;)\n    My steed is the swiftest,   |   my sword is sharpest,\n    My bows adorn benches,   |   my byrnies are golden,\n    My helm is the brightest   |   that came from Kjar\u2019s hall,\n    (Mine own is better   |   than all the Huns\u2019 treasure.)\u201d\n\n\nHogni spake:\n\n\n8.  \u201cWhat seeks she to say,   |   that she sends us a ring,\n    Woven with a wolf\u2019s hair?   |   methinks it gives warning;\n    In the red ring a hair   |   of the heath-dweller found I,\n    Wolf-like shall our road be   |   if we ride on this journey.\u201d\n\n9.  Not eager were his comrades,   |   nor the men of his kin,\n    The wise nor the wary,   |   nor the warriors bold.\n    But Gunnar spake forth   |   as befitted a king,\n    Noble in the beer-hall,   |   and bitter his scorn:\n\n10. \u201cStand forth now, Fjornir!   |   and hither on the floor\n    The beakers all golden   |   shalt thou bring to the warriors.\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n\n11. \u201cThe wolves then shall rule   |   the wealth of the Niflungs,\n    Wolves aged and grey-hued,   |   if Gunnar is lost,\n    And black-coated bears   |   with rending teeth bite,\n    And make glad the dogs,   |   if Gunnar returns not.\u201d\n\n12. A following gallant   |   fared forth with the ruler,\n    Yet they wept as their home   |   with the hero they left;\n    And the little heir   |   of Hogni called loudly:\n    \u201cGo safe now, ye wise ones,   |   wherever ye will!\u201d\n\n13. Then let the bold heroes   |   their bit-champing horses\n    On the mountains gallop,   |   and through Myrkwood the secret;\n    All Hunland was shaken   |   where the hard-souled ones rode,\n    On the whip-fearers fared they   |   through fields that were\n    green.\n\n14. Then they saw Atli\u2019s halls,   |   and his watch-towers high,\n    On the walls so lofty   |   stood the warriors of Buthli;\n    The hall of the southrons   |   with seats was surrounded,\n    With targets bound   |   and shields full bright.\n\n15. Mid weapons and lances   |   did Atli his wine\n    In the war-hall drink,   |   without were his watchmen,\n    For Gunnar they waited,   |   if forth he should go,\n    With their ringing spears   |   they would fight with the ruler.\n\n16. This their sister saw,   |   as soon as her brothers\n    Had entered the hall,\u2014   |   little ale had she drunk:\n    \u201cBetrayed art thou, Gunnar!   |   what guard hast thou, hero,\n    \u2019Gainst the plots of the Huns?   |   from the hall flee swiftly!\n\n17. \u201cBrother, \u2019twere far better   |   to have come in byrnie,\n    With thy household helmed,   |   to see Atli\u2019s home,\n    And to sit in the saddle   |   all day \u2019neath the sun,\n    (That the sword-norns might weep   |   for the death-pale warriors,\n    And the Hunnish shield-maids   |   might shun not the sword,)\n    And send Atli himself   |   to the den of the snakes;\n    (Now the den of the snakes   |   for thee is destined.)\u201d\n\n\nGunnar spake:\n\n\n18. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    \u201cToo late is it, sister,   |   to summon the Niflungs,\n    Long is it to come   |   to the throng of our comrades,\n    The heroes gallant,   |   from the hills of the Rhine.\u201d\n\n            *    *    *    *    *    *\n\n19. Then Gunnar they seized,   |   and they set him in chains,\n    The Burgundians\u2019 king,   |   and fast they bound him.\n\n20. Hogni slew seven   |   with sword so keen,\n    And an eighth he flung   |   in the fire hot;\n    A hero should fight   |   with his foemen thus,\n    As Hogni strove   |   in Gunnar\u2019s behalf.\n\n21. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    The leader they asked   |   if his life he fain\n    With gold would buy,   |   the king of the Goths.\n\n\nGunnar spake:\n\n\n22. \u201cFirst the heart of Hogni   |   shall ye lay in my hands,\n    All bloody from the breast   |   of the bold one cut\n    With keen-biting sword,   |   from the son of the king.\u201d\n\n23. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    They cut out the heart   |   from the breast of Hjalli,\n    On a platter they bore it,   |   and brought it to Gunnar.\n\n24. Then Gunnar spake forth,   |   the lord of the folk:\n    \u201cHere have I the heart   |   of Hjalli the craven,\n    Unlike to the heart   |   of Hogni the valiant,\n    For it trembles still   |   as it stands on the platter;\n    Twice more did it tremble   |   in the breast of the man.\u201d\n\n25. Then Hogni laughed   |   when they cut out the heart\n    Of the living helm-hammerer;   |   tears he had not.\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    On a platter they bore it,   |   and brought it to Gunnar.\n\n26. Then Gunnar spake forth,   |   the spear of the Niflungs:\n    \u201cHere have I the heart   |   of Hogni the valiant,\n    Unlike to the heart   |   of Hjalli the craven,\n    Little it trembles   |   as it lies on the platter,\n    Still less did it tremble   |   when it lay in his breast.\n\n27. \u201cSo distant, Atli,   |   from all men\u2019s eyes,\n    Shalt thou be as thou   |   .  .  .  .  . from the gold.\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n\n28. \u201cTo no one save me   |   is the secret known\n    Of the Niflungs\u2019 hoard,   |   now Hogni is dead;\n    Of old there were two,   |   while we twain were alive,\n    Now is none but I,   |   for I only am living.\n\n29. \u201cThe swift Rhine shall hold   |   the strife-gold of heroes,\n    That once was the gods\u2019,   |   the wealth of the Niflungs,\n    In the depths of the waters   |   the death-rings shall glitter,\n    And not shine on the hands   |   of the Hunnish men.\u201d\n\n\nAtli spake:\n\n\n30. \u201cYe shall bring the wagon,   |   for now is he bound.\u201d\n\n            *    *    *    *    *    *\n\n31. On the long-maned Glaum   |   rode Atli the great,\n    About him were warriors   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    But Guthrun, akin   |   to the gods of slaughter,\n    Yielded not to her tears   |   in the hall of tumult.\n\n\nGuthrun spake:\n\n\n32. \u201cIt shall go with thee, Atli,   |   as with Gunnar thou heldest\n    The oaths ofttimes sworn,   |   and of old made firm,\n    By the sun in the south,   |   by Sigtyr\u2019s mountain,\n    By the horse of the rest-bed,   |   and the ring of Ull.\u201d\n\n33. Then the champer of bits   |   drew the chieftain great,\n    The gold-guarder, down   |   to the place of death.\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n\n34. By the warriors\u2019 host   |   was the living hero\n    Cast in the den   |   where crawling about\n    Within were serpents,   |   but soon did Gunnar\n    With his hand in wrath on   |   the harp-strings smite;\n    The strings resounded,\u2014   |   so shall a hero,\n    A ring-breaker, gold   |   from his enemies guard.\n\n35. Then Atli rode   |   on his earth-treading steed,\n    Seeking his home,   |   from the slaughter-place;\n    There was clatter of hoofs   |   of the steeds in the court,\n    And the clashing of arms   |   as they came from the field.\n\n36. Out then came Guthrun   |   to meeting with Atli,\n    With a golden beaker   |   as gift to the monarch:\n    \u201cThou mayst eat now, chieftain,   |   within thy dwelling,\n    Blithely with Guthrun   |   young beasts fresh slaughtered.\u201d\n\n37. The wine-heavy ale-cups   |   of Atli resounded,\n    When there in the hall   |   the Hunnish youths clamored,\n    And the warriors bearded,   |   the brave ones, entered.\n\n38. Then in came the shining one,   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   and drink she bore them;\n    Unwilling and bitter   |   brought she food to the warrior,\n    Till in scorn to the white-faced   |   Atli did she speak:\n\n39. \u201cThou giver of swords,   |   of thy sons the hearts\n    All heavy with blood   |   in honey thou hast eaten;\n    Thou shalt stomach, thou hero,   |   the flesh of the slain,\n    To eat at thy feast,   |   and to send to thy followers.\n\n40. \u201cThou shalt never call   |   to thy knees again\n    Erp or Eitil,   |   when merry with ale;\n    Thou shalt never see   |   in their seats again\n    The sharers of gold   |   their lances shaping,\n    (Clipping the manes   |   or minding their steeds.)\u201d\n\n41. There was clamor on the benches,   |   and the cry of men,\n    The clashing of weapons,   |   and weeping of the Huns,\n    Save for Guthrun only,   |   she wept not ever\n    For her bear-fierce brothers,   |   or the boys so dear,\n    So young and so unhappy,   |   whom with Atli she had.\n\n42. Gold did she scatter,   |   the swan-white one,\n    And rings of red gold   |   to the followers gave she;\n    The fate she let grow,   |   and the shining wealth go,\n    Nor spared she the treasure   |   of the temple itself.\n\n43. Unwise then was Atli,   |   he had drunk to wildness,\n    No weapon did he have,   |   and of Guthrun bewared not;\n    Oft their play was better   |   when both in gladness\n    Each other embraced   |   among princes all.\n\n44. With her sword she gave blood   |   for the bed to drink,\n    With her death-dealing hand,   |   and the hounds she loosed,\n    The thralls she awakened,   |   and a firebrand threw\n    In the door of the hall;   |   so vengeance she had.\n\n45. To the flames she gave all   |   who yet were within,\n    And from Myrkheim had come   |   from the murder of Gunnar;\n    The timbers old fell,   |   the temple was in flames,\n    The dwelling of the Buthlungs,   |   and the shield-maids burned,\n    They were slain in the house,   |   in the hot flames they sank.\n\n46. Now the tale is all told,   |   nor in later time\n    Will a woman in byrnie   |   avenge so her brothers;\n    The fair one to three   |   of the kings of the folk\n    Brought the doom of death   |   ere herself she died.\n\n\nStill more is told in the Greenland ballad of Atli.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTES\n\n\nProse. On the marriage of Guthrun to Atli at the instigation of her\nbrothers, Gunnar and Hogni, and on the slaying of Atli and his two\nsons, Erp and Eitil, cf. Drap Niflunga and note.\n\n1. Line 1 apparently is in Fornyrthislag. Knefr\u00f6th (the name is spelt\nin various ways, and its meaning is uncertain): in the Atlamol (stanza\n4) there are two messengers, one named Vingi and the other unnamed; the\nannotator combines the two versions in the Drap Niflunga. Benches,\netc.: the adjective rendered \u201cround the hearth,\u201d which etymologically\nit ought to mean, is made obscure by its application to \u201chelmets\u201d in\nstanzas 3 and 17.\n\n2. Falseness: i.e., Gunnar\u2019s followers concealed their fear and hatred\nof the Huns at the feast; but the word may mean \u201cfear of treachery.\u201d\nWar-hall: the word used is \u201cValhall,\u201d the name of Othin\u2019s hall of slain\nwarriors.\n\n3. Myrkwood the secret (the adjective is literally \u201cunknown\u201d): the\nforest which divided Atli\u2019s realm from that of the Gjukungs; cf.\nOddrunargratr, 23 and note. Around the hearth: the adjective is the\nsame one which is applied to \u201cbenches\u201d in stanza 1 (cf. note); it may\nbe an error here, or it may possibly have the force of \u201cof your\nfollowers,\u201d i.e., Gunnar is to arm the men of his household (those who\nare round his hearth) for the journey.\n\n4. Slaves, etc.: some editions have \u201cswords in plenty.\u201d Scarlet: the\nword apparently means \u201cslaughter-red,\u201d \u201cblood-red,\u201d but it may mean\nsomething entirely different.\n\n5. Gnitaheith: here the dragon Fafnir had his lair (cf. Gripisspo, 11).\nSigurth doubtless owned it after Fafnir\u2019s death, and the Gjukungs after\nthey had killed Sigurth. Possibly they had given it to Atli in\nrecompense for the death of his sister, Brynhild, and he now offered to\nrestore it to them, or\u2014as seems more likely\u2014the poet was not very clear\nabout its ownership himself. Stems: i.e., the gilded stems of ships,\ncarved like dragons,\u2014an evident northern touch, if the word is correct,\nwhich is by no means certain. Danp: this name was early applied to a\nmythical Danish king (cf. Rigsthula, 49 and note), but it may have been\nfabricated by error out of the word \u201cDanparsta\u00feir\u201d (the phrase here\nused is \u201csta\u00fei Danpar\u201d), used in the Hervararsaga of a field of battle\nbetween the Goths and the Huns, and quite possibly referring to the\nregion of the Dnieper. The name seems to have clung to the Atli\ntradition long after it had lost all definite significance. Myrkwood:\ncf. note on stanza 3.\n\n7. The stanza is clearly in bad shape; the manuscript indicates line 5\nas beginning a new stanza. In line 5 the manuscript has \u201cand shield\u201d\nafter \u201chelm.\u201d Kjar: Gering ingeniously identifies this Kjar with Kjar\nthe father of Olrun, mentioned in the V\u00f6lundarkvitha, introductory\nprose and stanza 2, on the basis of a genealogy in the Flateyjarbok, in\nwhich Authi, the grandfather of Kjar (by no means certainly the same\nman) and Buthli, father of Atli, are mentioned as making a raiding\nvoyage together. This identification, however, rests on slight\nevidence.\n\n8. The manuscript does not name the speaker. One editor gives the first\nsentence to Gunnar. She, etc.: Guthrun, seeking to warn her brothers of\nAtli\u2019s treachery, sends them a ring with a wolf\u2019s hair as a sign of\ndanger; in the Atlamol (stanza 4) she sends a message written in runes;\ncf. Drap Niflunga. Heath-dweller: wolf.\n\n9. In line 1 the manuscript has \u201cHis comrades did not urge Gunnar,\u201d but\nthe name, involving a metrical error, seems to have been inserted\nthrough a scribal blunder.\n\n10. The manuscript indicates no lacuna, but probably two lines have\ndropped out, for the Volsungasaga paraphrase runs: \u201cGive us to drink in\ngreat cups, for it may well be that this shall be our last feast.\u201d\nFjornir: Gunnar\u2019s cup-bearer.\n\n11. Bugge thinks this stanza is spoken by Gunnar\u2019s terrified followers;\nGrundtvig assigns it to Hogni. Apparently, however, Gunnar means that\nif he and his men are not valiant enough to make the journey and return\nsafely, it matters little what may happen to them. Niflungs: regarding\nthe application of this name to Gunnar\u2019s Burgundians cf. Brot, 17 and\nnote. Bears: these \u201cblack\u201d bears have been used as arguments against\nthe Greenland origin of the poem. And make glad the dogs: i.e., by\ngiving them corpses to eat, but the phrase in the original is more than\ndoubtful.\n\n12. Some editions in line 2 read \u201chome of the Niflungs\u201d instead of\n\u201ctheir home,\u201d and others \u201chome of the Huns,\u201d the manuscript reading\nbeing \u201chome of the men.\u201d Heir: the Atlamol (stanza 28) names two sons\nof Hogni, Sn\u00e6var and Solar, both of whom make the journey with their\nfather and are killed. The Volsungasaga, combining the two versions,\nsays that Sn\u00e6var and Solar went with their father, and implies that it\nwas a third and still younger son who said: \u201cFarewell, and have a good\ntime\u201d (thus literally).\n\n13. Myrkwood: cf. stanza 3 and note; the journey is here made by land,\nwhereas in the Atlamol it is made partly by boat; cf. Atlamol, 34 and\nnote. Whip-fearers: horses, but there is some uncertainty as to the\nword.\n\n14. In line 1 the manuscript has \u201cland\u201d instead of \u201challs,\u201d which\ninvolves a metrical error. Watch-towers: the word used is identical\nwith the name of Othin\u2019s watch-tower, Hlithskjolf (cf. Grimnismol,\nintroductory prose). Buthli: the manuscript has \u201cBikki,\u201d which has led\nsome editors to transfer this stanza to the Hamthesmol, placing it\nbetween stanzas 16 and 17; it seems more likely, however, that \u201cBikki\u201d\nwas a scribal error for \u201cButhli.\u201d Regarding Bikki cf. Sigurtharkvitha\nen skamma, 63 and note. Line 4 is apparently in Fornyrthislag.\n\n15. Line 1 in the manuscript is apparently incorrectly copied, and some\neditions omit \u201cMid weapons and lances\u201d and assume a gap in either line\n1 or line 3.\n\n17. This may be the remains of two stanzas; the manuscript marks line 5\nas beginning a new stanza. Editorial conjectures are numerous and\nvaried. Household: the phrase is the same \u201chelms round the hearth\u201d\ncommented on in stanza 3. Some editions insert a conjectural line after\nline 3. Sword-norns, etc.: the line is exceedingly obscure, and the\nphrase rendered \u201csword-norns\u201d may mean \u201ccorpse-norns.\u201d Apparently it\nrefers to the warrior-women of the Huns, the \u201cshield-maids\u201d of line 5\nand of stanza 45. Roman writers refer to the warrior-women among the\nearly Germanic tribes, and the tradition, closely allied to that of the\nValkyries, attached itself readily to the ferocious Huns. Den of\nsnakes: concerning the manner of Gunnar\u2019s death cf. Drap Niflunga.\n\n18. The manuscript indicates no lacuna and does not name the speaker;\nperhaps a line similar to line 1 of stanza 24 (or 26) should be\ninserted here. Rhine: Gunnar\u2019s Burgundian home is here clearly\nlocalized. After this stanza it is probable that a passage describing\nthe battle has been lost.\n\n19. These two lines, apparently the remains of a full stanza, may\nbelong after stanza 20. Burgundians\u2019 king: the phrase may mean\n\u201cBurgundians\u2019 men,\u201d i.e., they bound all the Burgundians who were left\nalive after the battle. This is the only place in the poems in which\nthe name \u201cBurgundian\u201d appears; that the poet had no very clear\nconception of its meaning is indicated by the fact that in stanza 21 he\ncalls Gunnar \u201cking of the Goths.\u201d\n\n20. Apparently a Fornyrthislag stanza, though most editions have\nattempted to expand the lines into Malahattr. The exploits of Hogni\n(Hagene), with the names of many of his victims, are told in the\nNibelungenlied. The fire: in the Nibelungenlied Kriemhild has the hall\nset on fire, and the Burgundians fight amid the flames. Line 4 is\nclearly defective, and some editors regard the name \u201cGunnar\u201d as all\nthat is left of the first two lines of stanza 21.\n\n21. Again apparently the remains of a Fornyrthislag stanza. Editors\nhave attempted various combinations of the lines. Gold: presumably\nSigurth\u2019s treasure.\n\n22. The manuscript does not indicate the speaker; perhaps a first line\nsimilar to line 1 of stanza 24 should appear here. Some editors,\nhowever, assume that a line is missing after line 3. Gunnar demands\nproof that Hogni is dead because, as stanza 28 shows, he is unwilling\nto die himself until he is assured that the secret of the treasure will\nperish with him. He did not, of course, intend that the heart should be\ncut from the living Hogni.\n\n23. Most editions assume a gap (lines 1\u20132, 2\u20133 or 3\u20134). Hjalli: Atli\u2019s\ncook, killed to deceive Gunnar, as Atli hoped to wring the secret of\nthe hoard from Hogni if Gunnar remained silent. In the Atlamol (stanzas\n59\u201360) Atli\u2019s men prepare to kill Hjalli, but he is spared at Hogni\u2019s\nintercession.\n\n25. Helm-hammerer (literally \u201chelmet-smith\u201d): warrior, i.e., Hogni. No\ngap indicated in the manuscript.\n\n26. Line 1 may belong elsewhere (stanzas 18 or 22).\n\n27. Apparently the remains of two Fornyrthislag lines; the manuscript\ncombines them with lines 1\u20132 of stanza 28. Gunnar foretells Atli\u2019s\nspeedy death.\n\n28. Apparently in Fornyrthislag. The manuscript indicates line 3 as the\nbeginning of a stanza, and many editions combine lines 3\u20134 with stanza\n29. This stanza explains Gunnar\u2019s demand for Hogni\u2019s heart in stanza\n22.\n\n29. The manuscript marks line 3, and not line 1, as the beginning of a\nstanza. Rhine, etc.: the stanza shows the blending of three different\ntraditions with regard to the treasure: the German tradition of the\ngold of the Rhine (cf. V\u00f6lundarkvitha, 16, and Sigurtharkvitha en\nskamma, 16), the tradition, likewise German, of the hoard of the\nNibelungen (Niflungs), early blended with the first one, and finally\nthe northern tradition of the theft of Andvari\u2019s treasure by Othin,\nH\u00f6nir, and Loki (cf. Reginsmol, 1\u20139).\n\n30. Apparently all that is left of a full stanza. The manuscript does\nnot name Atli as the speaker, and Grundtvig inserts: \u201cThen Atli called,\n|   the king of the Huns,\u201d as a first line. Some editors combine this\nline with the two lines of stanza 33. Wagon: in Brot, 16, Gunnar is led\nto his death in the serpents\u2019 den on horseback, not in a wagon.\n\n31. The stanza in the original is hopelessly confused. Glaum: this\nhorse of Atli\u2019s is mentioned by name elsewhere. Long-maned: uncertain.\nThe manuscript indicates no gap, but something has evidently been lost.\nGods of slaughter: perhaps the phrase, usually applied to Othin and the\nother gods, is here used simply to mean \u201cheroes,\u201d i.e., Atli, Gunnar,\nand Hogni. Line 4 suggests Guthrun\u2019s tearlessness after Sigurth\u2019s death\n(cf. Guthrunarkvitha II, 11).\n\n32. The manuscript does not indicate the speaker. Sigtyr\n(\u201cVictory-God\u201d): Othin; what particular mountain (if any) is meant is\nunknown. Horse of the rest-bed: probably this means \u201cbedpost,\u201d i.e.,\nthe support of the marriage-bed. Ull: the archer-god, cf. Grimnismol, 5\nand note. Nothing is known of his ring.\n\n33. Apparently the remains of a Fornyrthislag stanza. Some editors\ncombine the two lines with the line here indicated as stanza 30.\nChamper of bits: horse. The manuscript indicates no gap.\n\n34. Six Fornyrthislag lines which editors have tried to reconstruct in\nall sorts of ways. The manuscript marks line 5 as the beginning of a\nnew stanza. Regarding the serpents\u2019 den, Gunnar\u2019s harp-playing, and the\nmanner of his death, cf. Drap Niflunga and Oddrunargratr, 27\u201330, and\nnotes. In Atlamol, 62, Gunnar plays the harp with his feet, his hands\nbeing bound, and some editors change hand in line 4 to \u201cfoot.\u201d Lines\n5\u20136 may be interpolated, or, as Bugge maintains, lines 1\u20134 may have\nbeen expanded out of two lines.\n\n35. The manuscript marks line 3 as beginning a new stanza. Two\n(possibly three) of the lines appear to be in Fornyrthislag. Field: so\nthe manuscript, involving a metrical error; many editions have \u201cwood.\u201d\n\n36. Young beasts: Guthrun means Atli\u2019s sons, Erp and Eitil, but of\ncourse he thinks she refers to newly slaughtered beasts; cf.\nGuthrunarkvitha II, 41\u201345.\n\n37. Youths: a conjectural addition. The brave ones is also conjectural,\nthe manuscript having \u201ceach.\u201d No gap indicated in the manuscript; some\neditions insert as line 3 or line 4 a slightly altered version of line\n2 of stanza 45.\n\n38. No gap indicated in the manuscript, but the two fragments cannot be\nfitted together as one line. The shining one: Guthrun.\n\n39. Giver of swords: generous prince, i.e., Atli. Honey: cf.\nGuthrunarkvitha II, 42. To send to thy followers: literally, \u201cto send\nfrom thy high seat.\u201d\n\n40. Apparently a Fornyrthislag stanza. Merry with ale: presumably this\nrefers to Atli, but the manuscript reading makes it apply to the two\nboys. Sharers of gold: princes. Line 5 is either interpolated or all\nthat is left of a separate stanza.\n\n41. The text of the whole stanza has required a considerable amount of\nemendation. Lines 3\u20135 may have been expanded out of two lines, or line\n5 may be an interpolation, possibly from stanza 12 of the\nGuthrunarhvot. Weapons: the word literally means \u201cgood-weaving,\u201d and\nmay refer to silken garments, but this hardly fits the noun here\nrendered \u201cclashing.\u201d Wept not: cf. stanza 31 and note.\n\n42. Line 1 appears to be in Fornyrthislag. Guthrun distributes Atli\u2019s\ntreasures among his followers apparently to prevent their wrath at the\nslaying of Erp and Eitil from turning against her; Atli, as stanza 43\nshows, is too drunk to realize or prevent what she is doing.\n\n43. The second half of line 4 is apparently an error, but none of the\neditorial suggestions have improved it.\n\n44. Guthrun allows the dogs and the house-thralls, who had no part in\nGunnar\u2019s death, to escape before she burns the dwelling with all who\nare left therein. In Atlamol, stanzas 83\u201384, Atli is slain by a son of\nHogni (Hniflung?) with Guthrun\u2019s help.\n\n45. Some editions transfer line 2 to stanza 37; others reject line 3 as\ninterpolated. Myrkheim (\u201cDark-Home\u201d): probably identical with Myrkwood;\ncf. stanza 3. Temple: probably both here and in stanza 42 the word\nmeans little more than the place where Atli\u2019s treasures were kept; the\npoet was by no means literal in his use of terms connected with the\nheathen religion. Buthlungs: sons of Buthli, i.e., Atli and his family.\nShield-maids: cf. stanza 17 and note.\n\n46. The entire stanza is very likely a later addition. Three kings:\nAtli and his two sons, Erp and Eitil.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nATLAMOL EN GR\u00d6NLENZKU\n\nTHE GREENLAND BALLAD OF ATLI\n\n\nINTRODUCTORY NOTE\n\nMany of the chief facts regarding the Atlamol, which follows the\nAtlakvitha in the Codex Regius, are outlined in the introductory note\nto the earlier Atli lay. That the superscription in the manuscript is\ncorrect, and that the poem was actually composed in Greenland, is\ngenerally accepted; the specific reference to polar bears (stanza 17),\nand the general color of the entire poem make this origin exceedingly\nlikely. Most critics, again, agree in dating the poem nearer 1100 than\n1050. As to its state of preservation there is some dispute, but,\nbarring one or two possible gaps of some importance, and the usual\nnumber of passages in which the interpolation or omission of one or two\nlines may be suspected, the Atlamol has clearly come down to us in\nfairly good shape.\n\nThroughout the poem the epic quality of the story itself is\novershadowed by the romantically sentimental tendencies of the poet,\nand by his desire to adapt the narrative to the understanding of his\nfellow-Greenlanders. The substance of the poem is the same as that of\nthe Atlakvitha; it tells of Atli\u2019s message to the sons of Gjuki, their\njourney to Atli\u2019s home, the slaying of Hogni and Gunnar, Guthrun\u2019s\nbitterness over the death of her brothers, and her bloody revenge on\nAtli. Thus in its bare outline the Atlamol represents simply the\nFrankish blending of the legends of the slaughter of the Burgundians\nand the death of Attila (cf. Gripisspo, introductory note). But here\nthe resemblance ends. The poet has added characters, apparently of his\nown creation, for the sake of episodes which would appeal to both the\nmen and the women of the Greenland settlement. Sea voyages take the\nplace of journeys by land; Atli is reproached, not for cowardice in\nbattle, but for weakness at the Thing or great council. The additions\nmade by the poet are responsible for the Atlamol\u2019s being the longest of\nall the heroic poems in the Eddic collection, and they give it a kind\nof emotional vividness, but it has little of the compressed intensity\nof the older poems. Its greatest interest lies in its demonstration of\nthe manner in which a story brought to the North from the South\nGermanic lands could be adapted to the understanding and tastes of its\neleventh century hearers without any material change of the basic\nnarrative.\n\nIn what form or forms the story of the Gjukungs and Atli reached the\nGreenland poet cannot be determined, but it seems likely that he was\nfamiliar with older poems on the subject, and possibly with the\nAtlakvitha itself. That the details which are peculiar to the Atlamol,\nsuch as the figures of Kostbera and Glaumvor, existed in earlier\ntradition seems doubtful, but the son of Hogni, who aids Guthrun in the\nslaying of Atli, appears, though under another name, in other late\nversions of the story, and it is impossible to say just how much the\npoet relied on his own imagination and how far he found suggestions and\nhints in the prose or verse stories of Atli with which he was familiar.\n\nThe poem is in Malahattr (cf. Introduction) throughout, the verse being\nfar more regular than in the Atlakvitha. The compilers of the\nVolsungasaga evidently knew it in very much the form in which we now\nhave it, for in the main it is paraphrased with great fidelity.\n\n\n\n\n\n1.  There are many who know   |   how of old did men\n    In counsel gather;   |   little good did they get;\n    In secret they plotted,   |   it was sore for them later,\n    And for Gjuki\u2019s sons,   |   whose trust they deceived.\n\n2.  Fate grew for the princes,   |   to death they were given;\n    Ill counsel was Atli\u2019s,   |   though keenness he had;\n    He felled his staunch bulwark,   |   his own sorrow fashioned,\n    Soon a message he sent   |   that his kinsmen should seek him.\n\n3.  Wise was the woman,   |   she fain would use wisdom,\n    She saw well what meant   |   all they said in secret;\n    From her heart it was hid   |   how help she might render,\n    The sea they should sail,   |   while herself she should go not.\n\n4.  Runes did she fashion,   |   but false Vingi made them,\n    The speeder of hatred,   |   ere to give them he sought;\n    Then soon fared the warriors   |   whom Atli had sent,\n    And to Limafjord came,   |   to the home of the kings.\n\n5.  They were kindly with ale,   |   and fires they kindled,\n    They thought not of craft   |   from the guests who had come;\n    The gifts did they take   |   that the noble one gave them,\n    On the pillars they hung them,   |   no fear did they harbor.\n\n6.  Forth did Kostbera, wife   |   of Hogni, then come,\n    Full kindly she was,   |   and she welcomed them both;\n    And glad too was Glaumvor,   |   the wife of Gunnar,\n    She knew well to care   |   for the needs of the guests.\n\n7.  Then Hogni they asked   |   if more eager he were,\n    Full clear was the guile,   |   if on guard they had been;\n    Then Gunnar made promise,   |   if Hogni would go,\n    And Hogni made answer   |   as the other counseled.\n\n8.  Then the famed ones brought mead,   |   and fair was the feast,\n    Full many were the horns,   |   till the men had drunk deep;\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    Then the mates made ready   |   their beds for resting.\n\n9.  Wise was Kostbera,   |   and cunning in rune-craft,\n    The letters would she read   |   by the light of the fire;\n    But full quickly her tongue   |   to her palate clave,\n    So strange did they seem   |   that their meaning she saw not.\n\n10. Full soon then his bed   |   came Hogni to seek,\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    The clear-souled one dreamed,   |   and her dream she kept not,\n    To the warrior the wise one   |   spake when she wakened:\n\n11. \u201cThou wouldst go hence, Hogni,   |   but heed my counsel,\u2014\n    Known to few are the runes,\u2014   |   and put off thy faring;\n    I have read now the runes   |   that thy sister wrote,\n    And this time the bright one   |   did not bid thee to come.\n\n12. \u201cFull much do I wonder,   |   nor well can I see,\n    Why the woman wise   |   so wildly hath written;\n    But to me it seems   |   that the meaning beneath\n    Is that both shall be slain   |   if soon ye shall go.\n    But one rune she missed,   |   or else others have marred it.\u201d\n\n\nHogni spake:\n\n\n13. \u201cAll women are fearful;   |   not so do I feel,\n    Ill I seek not to find   |   till I soon must avenge it;\n    The king now will give us   |   the glow-ruddy gold;\n    I never shall fear,   |   though of dangers I know.\u201d\n\n\nKostbera spake:\n\n\n14. \u201cIn danger ye fare,   |   if forth ye go thither,\n    No welcoming friendly   |   this time shall ye find;\n    For I dreamed now, Hogni,   |   and nought will I hide,\n    Full evil thy faring,   |   if rightly I fear.\n\n15. \u201cThy bed-covering saw I   |   in the flames burning,\n    And the fire burst high   |   through the walls of my home.\u201d\n\n\nHogni spake:\n\n\n    \u201cYon garment of linen   |   lies little of worth,\n    It will soon be burned,   |   so thou sawest the bed-cover.\u201d\n\n\nKostbera spake:\n\n\n16. \u201cA bear saw I enter,   |   the pillars he broke,\n    And he brandished his claws   |   so that craven we were;\n    With his mouth seized he many,   |   and nought was our might,\n    And loud was the tumult,   |   not little it was.\u201d\n\n\nHogni spake:\n\n\n17. \u201cNow a storm is brewing,   |   and wild it grows swiftly,\n    A dream of an ice-bear   |   means a gale from the east.\u201d\n\n\nKostbera spake:\n\n\n18. \u201cAn eagle I saw flying   |   from the end through the house,\n    Our fate must be bad,   |   for with blood he sprinkled us;\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    From the evil I fear   |   that \u2019twas Atli\u2019s spirit.\u201d\n\n\nHogni spake:\n\n\n19. \u201cThey will slaughter soon,   |   and so blood do we see,\n    Oft oxen it means   |   when of eagles one dreams;\n    True is Atli\u2019s heart,   |   whatever thou dreamest.\u201d\n    Then silent they were,   |   and nought further they said.\n\n20. The high-born ones wakened,   |   and like speech they had,\n    Then did Glaumvor tell   |   how in terror she dreamed,\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    .  .  .  .  . Gunnar   |   two roads they should go.\n\n\nGlaumvor spake:\n\n\n21. \u201cA gallows saw I ready,   |   thou didst go to thy hanging,\n    Thy flesh serpents ate,   |   and yet living I found thee;\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    The gods\u2019 doom descended;   |   now say what it boded.\u201d\n\n            *    *    *    *    *    *\n\n22. \u201cA sword drawn bloody   |   from thy garments I saw,\u2014\n    Such a dream is hard   |   to a husband to tell,\u2014\n    A spear stood, methought,   |   through thy body thrust,\n    And at head and feet   |   the wolves were howling.\u201d\n\n\nGunnar spake:\n\n\n23. \u201cThe hounds are running,   |   loud their barking is heard,\n    Oft hounds\u2019 clamor follows   |   the flying of spears.\u201d\n\n\nGlaumvor spake:\n\n\n24. \u201cA river the length   |   of the hall saw I run,\n    Full swiftly it roared,   |   o\u2019er the benches it swept;\n    O\u2019er the feet did it break   |   of ye brothers twain,\n    The water would yield not;   |   some meaning there was.\u201d\n\n            *    *    *    *    *    *\n\n25. \u201cI dreamed that by night   |   came dead women hither,\n    Sad were their garments,   |   and thee were they seeking;\n    They bade thee come swiftly   |   forth to their benches,\n    And nothing, methinks,   |   could the Norns avail thee.\u201d\n\n\nGunnar spake:\n\n\n26. \u201cToo late is thy speaking,   |   for so is it settled;\n    From the faring I turn not,   |   the going is fixed,\n    Though likely it is   |   that our lives shall be short.\u201d\n\n27. Then bright shone the morning,   |   the men all were ready,\n    They said, and yet each   |   would the other hold back;\n    Five were the warriors,   |   and their followers all\n    But twice as many,\u2014   |   their minds knew not wisdom.\n\n28. Sn\u00e6var and Solar,   |   they were sons of Hogni,\n    Orkning was he called   |   who came with the others,\n    Blithe was the shield-tree,   |   the brother of Kostbera;\n    The fair-decked ones followed,   |   till the fjord divided them,\n    Full hard did they plead,   |   but the others would hear not.\n\n29. Then did Glaumvor speak forth,   |   the wife of Gunnar,\n    To Vingi she said   |   that which wise to her seemed:\n    \u201cI know not if well   |   thou requitest our welcome,\n    Full ill was thy coming   |   if evil shall follow.\u201d\n\n30. Then did Vingi swear,   |   and full glib was his speech,\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    \u201cMay giants now take me   |   if lies I have told ye,\n    And the gallows if hostile   |   thought did I have.\u201d\n\n31. Then did Bera speak forth,   |   and fair was her thought,\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    \u201cMay ye sail now happy,   |   and victory have,\n    To fare as I bid ye,   |   may nought your way bar.\u201d\n\n32. Then Hogni made answer,\u2014   |   dear held he his kin,\u2014\n    courage, ye wise ones,   |   whatsoever may come;\n    Though many may speak,   |   yet is evil oft mighty,\n    And words avail little   |   to lead one homeward.\n\n33. They tenderly looked   |   till each turned on his way,\n    Then with changing fate   |   were their farings divided.\n\n34. Full stoutly they rowed,   |   and the keel clove asunder,\n    Their backs strained at the oars,   |   and their strength was\n    fierce;\n    The oar-loops were burst,   |   the thole-pins were broken,\n    Nor the ship made they fast   |   ere from her they fared.\n\n35. Not long was it after\u2014   |   the end must I tell\u2014\n    That the home they beheld   |   that Buthli once had;\n    Loud the gates resounded   |   when Hogni smote them;\n    Vingi spake then a word   |   that were better unsaid:\n\n36. \u201cGo ye far from the house,   |   for false is its entrance,\n    Soon shall I burn you,   |   ye are swiftly smitten;\n    I bade ye come fairly,   |   but falseness was under,\n    Now bide ye afar   |   while your gallows I fashion.\u201d\n\n37. Then Hogni made answer,   |   his heart yielded little,\n    And nought did he fear   |   that his fate held in store:\n    \u201cSeek not to affright us,   |   thou shalt seldom succeed;\n    If thy words are more,   |   then the worse grows thy fate.\u201d\n\n38. Then Vingi did they smite,   |   and they sent him to hell,\n    With their axes they clove him   |   while the death-rattle came.\n\n39. Atli summoned his men,   |   in mail-coats they hastened,\n    All ready they came,   |   and between was the courtyard.\n\n            *    *    *    *    *    *\n\n40. Then came they to words,   |   and full wrathful they were:\n    \u201cLong since did we plan   |   how soon we might slay you.\u201d\n\n\nHogni spake:\n\n\n41. \u201cLittle it matters   |   if long ye have planned it;\n    For unarmed do ye wait,   |   and one have we felled,\n    We smote him to hell,   |   of your host was he once.\u201d\n\n42. Then wild was their anger   |   when all heard his words;\n    Their fingers were swift   |   on their bowstrings to seize,\n    Full sharply they shot,   |   by their shields were they guarded.\n\n43. In the house came the word   |   how the heroes without\n    Fought in front of the hall;   |   they heard a thrall tell it;\n    Grim then was Guthrun,   |   the grief when she heard,\n    With necklaces fair,   |   and she flung them all from her,\n    (The silver she hurled   |   so the rings burst asunder.)\n\n44. Then out did she go,   |   she flung open the doors,\n    All fearless she went,   |   and the guests did she welcome;\n    To the Niflungs she went\u2014   |   her last greeting it was,\u2014\n    In her speech truth was clear,   |   and much would she speak.\n\n45. \u201cFor your safety I sought   |   that at home ye should stay;\n    None escapes his fate,   |   so ye hither must fare.\u201d\n    Full wisely she spake,   |   if yet peace they might win,\n    But to nought would they hearken,   |   and \u201cNo\u201d said they all.\n\n46. Then the high-born one saw   |   that hard was their battle,\n    In fierceness of heart   |   she flung off her mantle;\n    Her naked sword grasped she   |   her kin\u2019s lives to guard,\n    Not gentle her hands   |   in the hewing of battle.\n\n47. Then the daughter of Gjuki   |   two warriors smote down,\n    Atli\u2019s brother she slew,   |   and forth then they bore him;\n    (So fiercely she fought   |   that his feet she clove off;)\n    Another she smote   |   so that never he stood,\n    To hell did she send him,\u2014   |   her hands trembled never.\n\n48. Full wide was the fame   |   of the battle they fought,\n    \u2019Twas the greatest of deeds   |   of the sons of Gjuki;\n    Men say that the Niflungs,   |   while themselves they were living,\n    With their swords fought mightily,   |   mail-coats they sundered,\n    And helms did they hew,   |   as their hearts were fearless.\n\n49. All the morning they fought   |   until midday shone,\n    (All the dusk as well   |   and the dawning of day,)\n    When the battle was ended,   |   the field flowed with blood;\n    Ere they fell, eighteen   |   of their foemen were slain,\n    By the two sons of Bera   |   and her brother as well.\n\n50. Then the warrior spake,   |   and wild was his anger:\n    \u201cThis is evil to see,   |   and thy doing is all;\n    Once we were thirty,   |   we thanes keen for battle,\n    Now eleven are left,   |   and great is our lack.\n\n51. \u201cThere were five of us brothers   |   when Buthli we lost,\n    Now Hel has the half,   |   and two smitten lie here;\n    A great kinship had I,\u2014   |   the truth may I hide not,\u2014\n    From a wife bringing slaughter   |   small joy could I win.\n\n52. We lay seldom together   |   since to me thou wast given,\n    Now my kin all are gone,   |   of my gold am I robbed;\n    Nay, and worst, thou didst send   |   my sister to hell.\u201d\n\n\nGuthrun spake:\n\n\n53. \u201cHear me now, Atli!   |   the first evil was thine;\n    My mother didst thou take,   |   and for gold didst murder her,\n    My sister\u2019s daughter   |   thou didst starve in a prison.\n    A jest does it seem   |   that thy sorrow thou tellest,\n    And good do I find it   |   that grief to thee comes.\u201d\n\n\nAtli spake:\n\n\n54. \u201cGo now, ye warriors,   |   and make greater the grief\n    Of the woman so fair,   |   for fain would I see it;\n    So fierce be thy warring   |   that Guthrun shall weep,\n    I would gladly behold   |   her happiness lost.\n\n55. \u201cSeize ye now Hogni,   |   and with knives shall ye hew him,\n    His heart shall ye cut out,   |   this haste ye to do;\n    And grim-hearted Gunnar   |   shall ye bind on the gallows,\n    Swift shall ye do it,   |   to serpents now cast him.\u201d\n\n\nHogni spake:\n\n\n56. \u201cDo now as thou wilt,   |   for glad I await it,\n    Brave shalt thou find me,   |   I have faced worse before;\n    We held thee at bay   |   while whole we were fighting,\n    Now with wounds are we spent,   |   so thy will canst thou work.\u201d\n\n57. Then did Beiti speak,   |   he was Atli\u2019s steward:\n    \u201cLet us seize now Hjalli,   |   and Hogni spare we!\n    Let us fell the sluggard,   |   he is fit for death,\n    He has lived too long,   |   and lazy men call him.\u201d\n\n58. Afraid was the pot-watcher,   |   he fled here and yon,\n    And crazed with his terror   |   he climbed in the corners:\n    \u201cIll for me is this fighting,   |   if I pay for your fierceness,\n    And sad is the day   |   to die leaving my swine\n    And all the fair victuals   |   that of old did I have.\u201d\n\n59. They seized Buthli\u2019s cook,   |   and they came with the knife,\n    The frightened thrall howled   |   ere the edge did he feel;\n    He was willing, he cried,   |   to dung well the courtyard,\n    Do the basest of work,   |   if spare him they would;\n    Full happy were Hjalli   |   if his life he might have.\n\n60. Then fain was Hogni\u2014   |   there are few would do thus\u2014\n    To beg for the slave   |   that safe hence he should go;\n    \u201cI would find it far better   |   this knife-play to feel,\n    Why must we all hark   |   to this howling longer?\u201d\n\n61. Then the brave one they seized;   |   to the warriors bold\n    No chance was there left   |   to delay his fate longer;\n    Loud did Hogni laugh,   |   all the sons of day heard him,\n    So valiant he was   |   that well he could suffer.\n\n            *    *    *    *    *    *\n\n62. A harp Gunnar seized,   |   with his toes he smote it;\n    So well did he strike   |   that the women all wept,\n    And the men, when clear   |   they heard it, lamented;\n    Full noble was his song,   |   the rafters burst asunder.\n\n63. Then the heroes died   |   ere the day was yet come;\n    Their fame did they leave   |   ever lofty to live.\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n\n64. Full mighty seemed Atli   |   as o\u2019er them he stood,\n    The wise one he blamed,   |   and his words reproached her:\n    \u201cIt is morning, Guthrun;   |   now thy dear ones dost miss,\n    But the blame is part thine   |   that thus it has chanced.\u201d\n\n\nGuthrun spake:\n\n\n65. \u201cThou art joyous, Atli,   |   for of evil thou tellest,\n    But sorrow is thine   |   if thou mightest all see;\n    Thy heritage heavy   |   here can I tell thee,\n    Sorrow never thou losest   |   unless I shall die.\u201d\n\n\nAtli spake:\n\n\n66. \u201cNot free of guilt am I;   |   a way shall I find\n    That is better by far,\u2014   |   oft the fairest we shunned;\u2014\n    With slaves I console thee,   |   with gems fair to see,\n    And with silver snow-white,   |   as thyself thou shalt choose.\u201d\n\n\nGuthrun spake:\n\n\n67. \u201cNo hope shall this give thee,   |   thy gifts I shall take\n    not,\n    Requital I spurned   |   when my sorrows were smaller;\n    Once grim did I seem,   |   but now greater my grimness,\n    There was nought seemed too hard   |   while Hogni was living.\n\n68. \u201cOur childhood did we have   |   in a single house,\n    We played many a game,   |   in the grove did we grow;\n    Then did Grimhild give us   |   gold and necklaces;\n    Thou shalt ne\u2019er make amends   |   for my brother\u2019s murder,\n    Nor ever shalt win me   |   to think it was well.\n\n69. \u201cBut the fierceness of men   |   rules the fate of women,\n    The tree-top bows low   |   if bereft of its leaves,\n    The tree bends over   |   if the roots are cleft under it;\n    Now mayest thou, Atli,   |   o\u2019er all things here rule.\u201d\n\n70. Full heedless the warrior   |   was that he trusted her,\n    So clear was her guile   |   if on guard he had been;\n    But crafty was Guthrun,   |   with cunning she spake,\n    Her glance she made pleasant,   |   with two shields she played.\n\n71. The beer then she brought   |   for her brothers\u2019 death-feast,\n    And a feast Atli made   |   for his followers dead;\n    No more did they speak,   |   the mead was made ready,\n    Soon the men were gathered   |   with mighty uproar.\n\n72. Thus bitterly planned she,   |   and Buthli\u2019s race threatened,\n    And terrible vengeance   |   on her husband would take;\n    The little ones called she,   |   on a block she laid them;\n    Afraid were the proud ones,   |   but their tears did not fall;\n    To their mother\u2019s arms went they,   |   and asked what she would.\n\n\nGuthrun spake:\n\n\n73. \u201cNay, ask me no more!   |   You both shall I murder,\n    For long have I wished   |   your lives to steal from you.\u201d\n\n\nThe boys spake:\n\n\n    \u201cSlay thy boys as thou wilt,   |   for no one may bar it,\n    Short the angry one\u2019s peace   |   if all thou shalt do.\u201d\n\n74. Then the grim one slew both   |   of the brothers young,\n    Full hard was her deed   |   when their heads she smote off;\n    Fain was Atli to know   |   whither now they were gone,\n    The boys from their sport,   |   for nowhere he spied them.\n\n\nGuthrun spake:\n\n\n75. \u201cMy fate shall I seek,   |   all to Atli saying,\n    The daughter of Grimhild   |   the deed from thee hides not;\n    No joy thou hast, Atli,   |   if all thou shalt hear,\n    Great sorrow didst wake   |   when my brothers thou slewest.\n\n76. \u201cI have seldom slept   |   since the hour they were slain,\n    Baleful were my threats,   |   now I bid thee recall them;\n    Thou didst say it was morning,\u2014   |   too well I remember,\u2014\n    Now is evening come,   |   and this question thou askest.\n\n77. \u201cNow both of thy sons   |   thou hast lost .  .  .\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   as thou never shouldst do;\n    The skulls of thy boys   |   thou as beer-cups didst have,\n    And the draught that I made thee   |   was mixed with their blood.\n\n78. \u201cI cut out their hearts,   |   on a spit I cooked them,\n    I came to thee with them,   |   and calf\u2019s flesh I called them;\n    Alone didst thou eat them,   |   nor any didst leave,\n    Thou didst greedily bite,   |   and thy teeth were busy.\n\n79. \u201cOf thy sons now thou knowest;   |   few suffer more sorrow;\n    My guilt have I told,   |   fame it never shall give me.\u201d\n\n\nAtli spake:\n\n\n80. \u201cGrim wast thou, Guthrun,   |   in so grievous a deed,\n    My draught with the blood   |   of thy boys to mingle;\n    Thou hast slain thine own kin,   |   most ill it beseemed thee,\n    And little for me   |   twixt my sorrows thou leavest.\u201d\n\n\nGuthrun spake:\n\n\n81. \u201cStill more would I seek   |   to slay thee thyself,\n    Enough ill comes seldom   |   to such as thou art;\n    Thou didst folly of old,   |   such that no one shall find\n    In the whole world of men   |   a match for such madness.\n    Now this that of late   |   we learned hast thou added,\n    Great evil hast grasped,   |   and thine own death-feast made.\u201d\n\n\nAtli spake:\n\n\n82. \u201cWith fire shall they burn thee,   |   and first shall they\n    stone thee,\n    So then hast thou earned   |   what thou ever hast sought for.\u201d\n\n\nGuthrun spake:\n\n\n    \u201cSuch woes for thyself   |   shalt thou say in the morning,\n    From a finer death I   |   to another light fare.\u201d\n\n83. Together they sat   |   and full grim were their thoughts,\n    Unfriendly their words,   |   and no joy either found;\n    In Hniflung grew hatred,   |   great plans did he have,\n    To Guthrun his anger   |   against Atli was told.\n\n84. To her heart came ever   |   the fate of Hogni,\n    She told him \u2019twere well   |   if he vengeance should win;\n    So was Atli slain,\u2014   |   \u2019twas not slow to await,\u2014\n    Hogni\u2019s son slew him,   |   and Guthrun herself.\n\n85. Then the warrior spake,   |   as from slumber he wakened,\n    Soon he knew for his wounds   |   would the bandage do nought:\n    \u201cNow the truth shalt thou say:   |   who has slain Buthli\u2019s son?\n    Full sore am I smitten,   |   nor hope can I see.\u201d\n\n\nGuthrun spake:\n\n\n86. \u201cNe\u2019er her deed from thee hides   |   the daughter of Grimhild,\n    I own to the guilt   |   that is ending thy life,\n    And the son of Hogni;   |   \u2019tis so thy wounds bleed.\u201d\n\n\nAtli spake:\n\n\n    \u201cTo murder hast thou fared,   |   though foul it must seem;\n    Ill thy friend to betray   |   who trusted thee well.\n\n87. \u201cNot glad went I hence   |   thy hand to seek, Guthrun,\n    In thy widowhood famed,   |   but haughty men found thee;\n    My belief did not lie,   |   as now we have learned;\n    I brought thee home hither,   |   and a host of men with us.\n\n88. \u201cMost noble was all   |   when of old we journeyed,\n    Great honor did we have   |   of heroes full worthy;\n    Of cattle had we plenty, |and greatly we prospered,\n    Mighty was our wealth,   |   and many received it.\n\n89. \u201cTo the famed one as bride-gift   |   I gave jewels fair,\n    I gave thirty slaves,   |   and handmaidens seven;\n    There was honor in such gifts,   |   yet the silver was greater.\n\n90. \u201cBut all to thee was   |   as if nought it were worth,\n    While the land lay before thee   |   that Buthli had left me;\n    Thou in secret didst work   |   so the treasure I won not;\n    My mother full oft   |   to sit weeping didst make,\n    No wedded joy found I   |   in fullness of heart.\u201d\n\n\nGuthrun spake:\n\n\n91. \u201cThou liest now, Atli,   |   though little I heed it;\n    If I seldom was kindly,   |   full cruel wast thou;\n    Ye brothers fought young,   |   quarrels brought you to battle,\n    And half went to hell   |   of the sons of thy house,\n    And all was destroyed   |   that should e\u2019er have done good.\n\n92. \u201cMy two brothers and I   |   were bold in our thoughts,\n    From the land we went forth,   |   with Sigurth we fared;\n    Full swiftly we sailed,   |   each one steering his ship,\n    So our fate sought we e\u2019er   |   till we came to the East.\n\n93. \u201cFirst the king did we slay,   |   and the land we seized,\n    The princes did us service,   |   for such was their fear;\n    From the forest we called   |   them we fain would have guiltless,\n    And rich made we many   |   who of all were bereft.\n\n94. \u201cSlain was the Hun-king,   |   soon happiness vanished,\n    In her grief the widow   |   so young sat weeping;\n    Yet worse seemed the sorrow   |   to seek Atli\u2019s house,\n    A hero was my husband,   |   and hard was his loss.\n\n95. \u201cFrom the Thing thou camst never,   |   for thus have we heard,\n    Having won in thy quarrels,   |   or warriors smitten;\n    Full yielding thou wast,   |   never firm was thy will,\n    In silence didst suffer,   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\u201d\n\n\nAtli spake:\n\n\n96. \u201cThou liest now, Guthrun,   |   but little of good\n    Will it bring to either,   |   for all have we lost;\n    But, Guthrun, yet once   |   be thou kindly of will,\n    For the honor of both,   |   when forth I am borne.\u201d\n\n\nGuthrun spake:\n\n\n97. \u201cA ship will I buy,   |   and a bright-hued coffin,\n    I will wax well the shroud   |   to wind round thy body,\n    For all will I care   |   as if dear were we ever.\u201d\n\n98. Then did Atli die,   |   and his heirs\u2019 grief doubled;\n    The high-born one did   |   as to him she had promised;\n    Then sought Guthrun the wise   |   to go to her death,\n    But for days did she wait,   |   and \u2019twas long ere she died.\n\n99. Full happy shall he be   |   who such offspring has,\n    Or children so gallant,   |   as Gjuki begot;\n    Forever shall live,   |   and in lands far and wide,\n    Their valor heroic   |   wherever men hear it.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTES\n\n\n1. Men: Atli and his advisers, with whom he planned the death of the\nsons of Gjuki, Gunnar and Hogni. The poet\u2019s reference to the story as\nwell known explains the abruptness of his introduction, without the\nmention of Atli\u2019s name, and his reference to Guthrun in stanza 3 simply\nas \u201cthe woman\u201d (\u201chusfreyja,\u201d goddess of the house).\n\n2. Princes: Atli, Gunnar, and Hogni. Bulwark: Atli\u2019s slaying of his\nwife\u2019s brothers, who were ready to support and defend him in his\ngreatness, was the cause of his own death.\n\n3. The woman: Guthrun, concerning whose marriage to Atli cf.\nGuthrunarkvitha II. The sea: a late and essentially Greenland variation\nof the geography of the Atli story. Even the Atlakvitha, perhaps half a\ncentury earlier, separates Atli\u2019s land from that of the Gjukungs only\nby a forest.\n\n4. Runes: on the two versions of Guthrun\u2019s warning, and also on the\nname of the messenger (here Vingi), cf. Drap Niflunga and note.\nLimafjord: probably the Limfjord of northern Jutland, an important\npoint in the wars of the eleventh century. The name was derived from\n\u201cEylimafj\u01ebr\u00fe,\u201d i.e., Eylimi\u2019s fjord. The poet may really have thought\nthat the kingdom of the Burgundians was in Jutland, or he may simply\nhave taken a well-known name for the sake of vividness.\n\n5. Some editors assume a gap after this stanza.\n\n6. Some editions place this stanza between stanzas 7 and 8. Kostbera\n(\u201cThe Giver of Food\u201d) and Glaumvor (\u201cThe Merry\u201d): presumably creations\nof the poet. Both: Atli\u2019s two emissaries, Vingi and the one here\nunnamed (Knefr\u00f6th?).\n\n7. It is altogether probable that a stanza has been lost between\nstanzas 6 and 7, in which Gunnar is first invited, and replies\ndoubtfully. Made promise: many editions emend the text to read\n\u201cpromised the journey.\u201d The text of line 4 is obscure; the manuscript\nreads \u201cnitti\u201d (\u201crefused\u201d), which many editors have changed to \u201chlitti,\u201d\nwhich means exactly the opposite.\n\n8. No gap is indicated in the manuscript; Bugge adds (line 3): \u201cThen\nthe warriors rose,   |   and to slumber made ready.\u201d The manuscript\nindicates line 4 as beginning a new stanza, and some editions make a\nseparate stanza out of lines 1\u20132. Others suggest the loss of a line\nafter line 4.\n\n9. The manuscript does not indicate line 1 as the beginning of a\nstanza; cf. note on stanza 8.\n\n10. Some editions combine this stanza with lines 1\u20132 of stanza 11. The\nmanuscript indicates no gap. Grundtvig adds (line 2): \u201cBut sleep to the\nwoman   |   so wise came little.\u201d\n\n11. Some editions make a separate stanza out of lines 1\u20132, or combine\nthem with stanza 10, and combine lines 3\u20134 with stanza 12 (either lines\n1\u20134 or 1\u20132). The manuscript marks line 3 as beginning a new stanza.\n\n12. Line 5 may be spurious, or else all that is left of a lost stanza.\nThe manuscript marks it as the beginning of a new stanza, which, as the\ntext stands, is clearly impossible.\n\n13. The manuscript, followed by some editions, has \u201cHogni spake\u201d in the\nmiddle of line 1. Ill: the manuscript and many editions have \u201cthis.\u201d\nThe king: Atli.\n\n14. The manuscript does not indicate the speakers in this dialogue\nbetween Kostbera and Hogni (stanzas 14\u201319). Two lines may possibly have\nbeen lost after line 2, filling out stanza 14 and making stanza 15\n(then consisting of lines 3\u20134 of stanza 14 and lines 1\u20132 of stanza 15)\nthe account of Kostbera\u2019s first dream. The manuscript marks line 3 as\nbeginning a new stanza. In any case, the lost lines cannot materially\nhave altered the meaning.\n\n15. Saw I: the manuscript here, as also in stanzas 16, 18, 21, 22, and\n24, has \u201cmethought,\u201d which involves a metrical error. Some editors\nregard lines 3\u20134 as the remains of a four-line stanza. Regarding\nKostbera\u2019s warning dreams, and Hogni\u2019s matter-of-fact interpretations\nof them, cf. Guthrunarkvitha II, 39\u201344.\n\n16. The meaning of the first half of line 3 in the original is obscure.\n\n17. Two lines may have been lost after line 2, but the Volsungasaga\nparaphrase gives no clue. Ice-bear: polar bears, common in Greenland,\nare very rarely found in Iceland, and never in Norway, a fact which\nsubstantiates the manuscript\u2019s reference to Greenland as the home of\nthe poem.\n\n18. The manuscript indicates no gap, but most editors assume the loss\nof a line after line 1 or 2; Grundtvig adds, after line 1: \u201cBlack were\nhis feathers,   |   with blood was he covered.\u201d Atli\u2019s spirit: the\npoet\u2019s folk-lore seems here a bit weak. Presumably he means such a\nfemale following-spirit (\u201cfylgja\u201d) as appears in Helgakvitha\nHjorvarthssonar, prose following stanza 34 (cf. note thereon), but the\nword he uses, \u201chamr\u201d (masculine) means \u201cskin,\u201d \u201cshape.\u201d He may,\nhowever, imply that Atli had assumed the shape of an eagle for this\noccasion.\n\n19. The manuscript indicates line 4 as beginning a new stanza.\n\n20. The manuscript indicates no gap, but none of the many attempted\nemendations have made sense out of the words as they stand. The proper\nlocation for the missing words is sheer guesswork. Two roads: probably\nthe meaning is that their way (i.e., their success) would be doubtful.\n\n21. The manuscript does not indicate the speakers in this dialogue\n(stanzas 21\u201326). No gap is indicated after line 2. Most editors assume\nthe loss of two lines or of a full stanza after stanza 21 giving\nGunnar\u2019s interpretation of Glaumvor\u2019s dream, but the Volsungasaga gives\nno clue, as it does not mention this first dream at all. Grundtvig\nsuggests as Gunnar\u2019s answer: \u201cBanners are gleaming,   |   since of\ngallows didst dream, / And wealth it must mean   |   that thou serpents\ndidst watch.\u201d Gods\u2019 doom: an odd, and apparently mistaken, use of the\nphrase \u201cragna r\u00f6k\u201d (cf. Voluspo, introductory note).\n\n23. Perhaps two lines have been lost after line 2. Possibly the\nconcluding phrase of line 2 should be \u201cbloody spears,\u201d as in the\nVolsungasaga paraphrase.\n\n24. Again Gunnar\u2019s interpretation is missing, and most editors either\nassume a gap or construct two Malahattr lines out of the Volsungasaga\nprose paraphrase, which runs: \u201cThe grain shall flow, since thou hast\ndreamed of rivers, and when we go to the fields, often the chaff rises\nabove our feet.\u201d\n\n25. The meaning of line 4 is uncertain, but apparently it refers to the\nguardian spirits or lesser Norns (cf. Fafnismol, 12\u201313 and notes).\n\n26. Possibly a line has been lost from this stanza.\n\n27. Five: Gunnar, Hogni, and the three mentioned in stanza 28.\n\n28. Perhaps a line has been lost before line 1; Grundtvig supplies:\n\u201cGunnar and Hogni,   |   the heirs twain of Gjuki.\u201d Sn\u00e6var (the\nmanuscript here has \u201cSnevar\u201d), Solar and Orkning appear only in this\npoem and in the prose narratives based on it. Lines 2\u20133 may have been\nexpanded out of one line, or possibly line 3 is spurious. The\nmanuscript indicates line 4 as beginning a new stanza, and many\neditions make a separate stanza out of lines 4\u20135, many of them assuming\nthe loss of two lines. Shield-tree: warrior (Orkning), here identified\nas Kostbera\u2019s brother. Fair-decked ones: women, i.e., Glaumvor and\nKostbera. Fjord: perhaps specifically the Limafjord mentioned in stanza\n4.\n\n30. The manuscript indicates no gap. Grundtvig inserts (line 2): \u201cThe\nevil was clear   |   when his words he uttered.\u201d\n\n31. Bera: Kostbera; the first element in compound feminine proper names\nwas not infrequently omitted; cf. Hild for Brynhild (Helreith\nBrynhildar, 6). The manuscript indicates no gap; Grundtvig inserts\n(line 2): \u201cAnd clear was her cry   |   to her kinsmen dear.\u201d\n\n32. Hogni\u2019s method of cheering his wife and sister-in-law is somewhat\nunusual, for the meaning of lines 3\u20134 is that good wishes and blessings\nare of little use in warding off danger.\n\n33. Perhaps two lines have been lost after line 2; Grundtvig supplies:\n\u201cThen weeping did Glaumvor   |   go to her rest-bed, / And sadly did\nBera   |   her spinning wheel seek.\u201d\n\n34. Keel, etc.: in the Nibelungenlied, and presumably in the older\nGerman tradition, Hagene breaks his oar steering the Burgundians across\nthe Danube (stanza 1564), and, after all have landed, splinters the\nboat (stanza 1581) in order that there may be no retreating. The poet\nhere seems to have confused the story, connecting the breaking of the\nship\u2019s keel with the violence of the rowing, but echoing the older\nlegend in the last line, wherein the ship is allowed to drift away\nafter the travellers have landed. Oar-loops: the thongs by which the\noars in a Norse boat were made fast to the thole-pins, the combination\ntaking the place of the modern oarlock.\n\n35. The manuscript indicates line 4 as beginning a new stanza, and many\neditions combine it with stanza 36, some of them assuming the loss of a\nline from stanza 35. In the Volsungasaga paraphrase the second half of\nline 4 is made a part of Vingi\u2019s speech: \u201cBetter had ye left this\nundone.\u201d\n\n36. Cf. note on preceding stanza; the manuscript does not indicate line\n1 as beginning a stanza. Line 3 may be spurious.\n\n37. In the Volsungasaga paraphrase the second half of line 1 and the\nfirst half of line 2 are included in Hogni\u2019s speech.\n\n38. Possibly two lines have been lost after line 2.\n\n39. It is probable that a considerable passage has been lost between\nstanzas 39 and 40, for the Volsungasaga paraphrase includes a dialogue\nat this point. The manuscript indicates no gap, and most editions\ncombine stanzas 39 and 40 as a single stanza. The prose passage,\nindicating the substance of what, if anything, is lost, runs as\nfollows: \u201c\u2018Be welcome among us, and give me that store of gold which is\nours by right, the gold that Sigurth had, and that now belongs to\nGuthrun.\u2019 Gunnar said: \u2018Never shalt thou get that gold, and men of\nmight shalt thou find here, ere we give up our lives, if it is battle\nthou dost offer us; in truth it seems that thou hast prepared this\nfeast in kingly fashion, and with little grudging toward eagle and\nwolf.\u2019\u201d The demand for the treasure likewise appears in the\nNibelungenlied.\n\n40. These two lines, which most editions combine with stanza 39, may be\nthe first or last two of a four-line stanza. The Volsungasaga gives\nAtli\u2019s speech very much as it appears here.\n\n41. The manuscript does not indicate the speaker; Grundtvig adds as a\nfirst line: \u201cThen Hogni laughed loud   |   where the slain Vingi lay.\u201d\nMany editors assume the loss of a line somewhere in the stanza.\nUnarmed: Hogni does not see Atli\u2019s armed followers, who are on the\nother side of the courtyard (stanza 39). One: Vingi.\n\n42. Most editors assume the loss of one line, after either line 1 or\nline 3.\n\n43. The manuscript reading of lines 1\u20132, involving a metrical error,\nis: \u201cIn the house came the word   |   of the warring without, / Loud in\nfront of the hall   |   they heard a thrall shouting.\u201d Some editors\nassume a gap of two lines after line 2, the missing passage giving the\nwords of the thrall. The manuscript marks line 3 as the beginning of a\nstanza, and many editions make a separate stanza of lines 3\u20135, some of\nthem assuming the loss of a line after line 3. With the stanza as here\ngiven, line 5 may well be spurious.\n\n44. Niflungs: regarding the application of this term to the Burgundians\ncf. Atlakvitha, 11, and Brot, 17, and notes. The manuscript here spells\nthe name with an initial N, as elsewhere, but in stanza 83 the son of\nHogni appears with the name \u201cHniflung.\u201d In consequence, some editors\nchange the form in this stanza to \u201cHniflungs,\u201d while others omit the\ninitial H in both cases. I have followed the manuscript, though\nadmittedly its spelling is illogical.\n\n46. The warlike deeds of Guthrun represent an odd transformation of the\nGerman tradition. Kriemhild, although she did no actual fighting in the\nNibelungenlied, was famed from early times for her cruelty and\nfierceness of heart, and this seems to have inspired the poet of the\nAtlamol to make his Guthrun into a warrior outdoing Brynhild herself.\nKriemhild\u2019s ferocity, of course, was directed against Gunther and\nespecially Hagene, for whose slaying she rather than Etzel was\nresponsible; here, on the other hand, Guthrun\u2019s is devoted to the\ndefense of her brothers.\n\n47. Line 3 is very likely an interpolation. The manuscript marks line 4\nas the beginning of a new stanza, and some editions make a separate\nstanza of lines 4\u20135. Atli\u2019s brother: doubtless a reminiscence of the\nearly tradition represented in the Nibelungenlied by the slaying of\nEtzel\u2019s brother, Bl\u0153delin (the historical Bleda), by Dancwart.\n\n48. Line 3 may well be spurious, for it implies that Gunnar and Hogni\nwere killed in battle, whereas they were taken prisoners. Some editors,\nin an effort to smooth out the inconsistency, change \u201cthemselves\u201d in\nthis line to \u201csound.\u201d Line 5 has also been questioned as possibly\ninterpolated. Niflungs: on the spelling of this name in the manuscript\nand the various editions cf. note on stanza 44.\n\n49. Line 2 is probably an interpolation, and the original apparently\nlacks a word. There is some obscurity as to the exact meaning of lines\n4\u20135. The two sons of Bera: Sn\u00e6var and Solar; her brother is Orkning;\ncf. stanza 28.\n\n50. The warrior: Atli. Thirty: perhaps an echo of the \u201cthirty warriors\u201d\nof Thjothrek (cf. Guthrunarkvitha III, 5). Subtracting the eighteen\nkilled by Sn\u00e6var, Solar and Orkning (stanza 49), and Vingi, killed by\nthe whole company (stanza 38), we have eleven left, as Atli says, but\nthis does not allow much for the exploits of Gunnar and Hogni, who, by\nthis reckoning, seem to have killed nobody. The explanation probably is\nthat lines 4\u20135 of stanza 49 are in bad shape.\n\n51. Five brothers: the Volsungasaga speaks of four (not five) sons of\nButhli, but names only Atli. Regarding the death of the first two\nbrothers cf. stanza 91 and note. The manuscript marks line 3 as\nbeginning a stanza, and many editions combine lines 3\u20134 with stanza 52.\nSome insert lines 2\u20133 of stanza 52 ahead of lines 3\u20134 of stanza 51.\n\n52. Possibly a line has been lost from this stanza. The manuscript\nmarks line 3 as beginning a new stanza, which is impossible unless\nsomething has been lost. Gold: the meaning of this half line is\nsomewhat doubtful, but apparently Atli refers to Sigurth\u2019s treasure,\nwhich should have been his as Brynhild\u2019s brother. Sister: Brynhild;\nregarding Guthrun\u2019s indirect responsibility for Brynhild\u2019s death cf.\nGripisspo, 45 and note.\n\n53. The manuscript does not name the speaker. The Volsungasaga gives\nthe speech, in somewhat altered form, to Hogni: \u201cWhy speakest thou so?\nThou wast the first to break peace; thou didst take my kinswoman and\nstarved her in a prison, and murdered her and took her wealth; that was\nnot kinglike; and laughable does it seem to me that thou talkest of thy\nsorrow, and good shall I find it that all goes ill with thee.\u201d This\npresumably represents the correct form of the stanza, for nowhere else\nis it intimated that Atli killed Guthrun\u2019s mother, Grimhild, nor is the\nniece elsewhere mentioned. Some editions make a separate stanza of\nlines 4\u20135, Grundtvig adding a line after line 3 and two more after line\n5. Other editors are doubtful about the authenticity of either line 3\nor line 5.\n\n54. The manuscript does not indicate the speaker.\n\n56. The text of the first half of line 3 is somewhat uncertain, but the\ngeneral meaning of it is clear enough.\n\n57. Beiti: not elsewhere mentioned. The Atlakvitha version of this\nepisode (stanzas 23\u201325) does not mention Beiti, and in the Volsungasaga\nthe advice to cut out Hjalli\u2019s heart instead of Hogni\u2019s is given by an\nunnamed \u201ccounsellor of Atli.\u201d In the Atlakvitha Hjalli is actually\nkilled; the Volsungasaga combines the two versions by having Hjalli\nfirst let off at Hogni\u2019s intercession and then seized a second time and\nkilled, thus introducing the Atlakvitha episode of the quaking heart\n(stanza 24). The text of the first half of line 3 is obscure, and there\nare many and widely varying suggestions as to the word here rendered\n\u201csluggard.\u201d\n\n58. Some editions mark line 5 as probably interpolated.\n\n59. Cook: the original word is doubtful. The Volsungasaga does not\nparaphrase lines 3\u20135; the passage may be a later addition, and line 5\nis almost certainly so.\n\n61. It is probable that a stanza describing the casting of Gunnar into\nthe serpents\u2019 den has been lost after this stanza. Sons of day: the\nphrase means no more than \u201cmen.\u201d\n\n62. Regarding Gunnar\u2019s harp-playing, and his death, cf. Oddrunargratr,\n27\u201330 and notes, and Atlakvitha, 34. Toes (literally \u201csole-twigs\u201d): the\nVolsungasaga explains that Gunnar\u2019s hands were bound. Rafters: thus\nliterally, and probably correctly; Gering has an ingenious but unlikely\ntheory that the word means \u201charp.\u201d\n\n63. There is some doubt as to the exact meaning of line 2. After this\nline two lines may have been lost; Grundtvig adds: \u201cFew braver shall\never   |   be found on the earth, / Or loftier men   |   in the world\never live.\u201d\n\n64. Wise one: Guthrun. The manuscript marks line 3 as beginning a new\nstanza.\n\n65. The manuscript does not indicate the speaker.\n\n66. The manuscript does not name the speaker. The negative in the first\nhalf of line 1 is uncertain, and most editions make the clause read \u201cOf\nthis guilt I can free myself.\u201d The fairest, etc.: i.e., I have often\nfailed to do the wise thing.\n\n67. The manuscript does not indicate the speaker. Requital, etc.: it is\nnot clear just to what Guthrun refers; perhaps she is thinking of\nSigurth\u2019s death, or possibly the poet had in mind his reference to the\nslaying of her mother in stanza 53.\n\n68. Line 5 is very probably a later addition, though some editors\nquestion line 3 instead.\n\n69. Guthrun suddenly changes her tone in order to make Atli believe\nthat she is submissive to his will, and thus to gain time for her\nvengeance. Line 2 in the original is thoroughly obscure; it runs\nliterally: \u201cOn the knee goes the fist   |   if the twigs are taken\noff.\u201d Perhaps the word meaning \u201cfist\u201d may also have meant \u201ctree-top,\u201d\nas Gering suggests, or perhaps the line is an illogical blending of the\nideas contained in lines 1 and 3.\n\n70. The manuscript indicates line 3 as the beginning of a new stanza.\nTwo shields, etc.: i.e., Guthrun concealed her hostility (symbolized by\na red shield, cf. Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I, 34) by a show of\nfriendliness (a white shield).\n\n71. Many editions make a separate stanza of lines 1\u20132, some of them\nsuggesting the loss of two lines, and combine lines 3\u20134 with lines 1\u20132\nof stanza 72. The manuscript marks both lines 1 and 3 as beginning\nstanzas.\n\n72. The manuscript marks line 3 as beginning a new stanza; some\neditions make a separate stanza of lines 3\u20135, while others combine them\nwith lines 1\u20132 of stanza 73. Line 2 in the original is clearly\ndefective, the verb being omitted. The meaning of line 3 is uncertain;\nthe Volsungasaga paraphrase has: \u201cAt evening she took the sons of King\nAtli (Erp and Eitil) where they were playing with a block of wood.\u201d\nProbably the text of the line as we have it is faulty. Lines 4\u20135 may\npossibly have been expanded out of a single line, or line 5 may be\nspurious.\n\n73. The manuscript does not name the speakers. It indicates line 3 as\nbeginning a new stanza, in which it is followed by many editions. The\nVolsungasaga paraphrases line 4 thus: \u201cBut it is shameful for thee to\ndo this.\u201d Either the text of the line has been changed or the\nVolsungasaga compilers misunderstood it. The angry one: Atli.\n\n74. The manuscript indicates line 3 as beginning a new stanza.\n\n75. The manuscript does not name the speaker.\n\n76. Morning: Guthrun refers to Atli\u2019s taunt in stanza 64.\n\n77. The manuscript indicates no gap (lines 1\u20132), and most editions make\na single line, despite the defective meter: \u201cThy sons hast thou lost\n|   as thou never shouldst lose them.\u201d The second part of line 2 is in\nthe original identical with the second half of line 3 of stanza 80, and\nmay perhaps have been inserted here by mistake. Skulls: it is possible\nthat line 3 was borrowed from a poem belonging to the V\u00f6lund tradition\n(cf. V\u00f6lundarkvitha, 25 and 37), and the idea doubtless came from some\nsuch source, but probably the poet inserted it in a line of his own\ncomposition to give an added touch of horror. The Volsungasaga follows\nthe Atlamol in including this incident.\n\n78. Some editions add lines 3\u20134 to stanza 79; Finnur Jonsson marks them\nas probably spurious.\n\n79. Perhaps these two lines should form part of stanza 78, or perhaps\nthey, rather than lines 3\u20134 of stanza 78, are a later addition. A gap\nof two lines after line 1 has also been conjectured.\n\n80. The manuscript does not indicate the speaker.\n\n81. The manuscript does not indicate the speaker. Lines 1\u20132 may be the\nremains of a separate stanza; Grundtvig adds: \u201cThou wast foolish, Atli,\n|   when wise thou didst feel, / Ever the whole   |   of thy race did I\nhate.\u201d The Volsungasaga paraphrase, however, indicates no gap. Many\neditions make a separate stanza of lines 3\u20136, which, in the\nVolsungasaga, are paraphrased as a speech of Atli\u2019s. Lines 5\u20136 may be\nspurious.\n\n82. The manuscript does not indicate the speakers. Many editions make\ntwo separate stanzas of the four lines. Another light: a fairly clear\nindication of the influence of Christianity; cf. Introductory Note.\n\n83. The manuscript marks line 3 as the beginning of a new stanza.\nHniflung: the Volsungasaga says that \u201cHogni had a son who was called\nHniflung,\u201d but the name appears to be nothing more than the familiar\n\u201cNiflung\u201d applied in general to the sons of Gjuki and their people. On\nthe spelling cf. note on stanza 44. This son of Hogni appears in later\nversions of the story. In the Thithrekssaga he is called Aldrian, and\nis begotten by Hogni the night before his death. Aldrian grows up and\nfinally shuts Attila in a cave where he starves to death. The poet here\nhas incorporated the idea, which finds no parallel in the Atlakvitha,\nwithout troubling himself to straighten out the chronology.\n\n84. Line 4 may be in Fornyrthislag, and from another poem.\n\n85. The manuscript marks line 3 as beginning a new stanza. The\nVolsungasaga makes line 2 part of Atli\u2019s speech.\n\n86. The manuscript does not name the speakers. It marks line 4 as the\nbeginning of a new stanza, and many editions follow this arrangement,\nin most cases making a stanza of lines 4\u20135 and line 1 of stanza 87.\nHowever, line 1 may well have been interpolated here from stanza 75.\nGrundtvig adds after line 3: \u201cHis father he avenged,   |   and his\nkinsmen fully.\u201d Some editors assume the loss of one or two lines after\nline 5.\n\n87. The manuscript marks line 2 as beginning a new stanza, and some\neditions make a stanza out of lines 2\u20134 and line 1 of stanza 88.\n\n88. The manuscript marks line 2 as the beginning of a stanza, and many\neditions make a stanza out of lines 2\u20134, or combine them with stanza\n89. Some question the genuineness of line 4.\n\n89. Many editions assume a gap of one line after line 3; Grundtvig\nadds: \u201cBit-champing horses   |   and wheel-wagons bright.\u201d Line 4 may\nbe spurious. Greater: i.e., the silver which Atli gave Guthrun was of\ngreater value even than the honor of receiving such royal gifts.\n\n90. Some editions mark line 3 as spurious or defective. The manuscript\nmarks line 4 as the beginning of a new stanza. The land, etc.: there is\nmuch obscurity as to the significance of this line. Some editors omit\nor question \u201cme,\u201d in which case Atli is apparently reproaching Guthrun\nfor having incited him to fight with his brothers to win for himself\nthe whole of Buthli\u2019s land. In stanza 91 Guthrun denies that she was to\nblame for Atli\u2019s quarrels with his brothers. The Volsungasaga reading\nsupports this interpretation. The historical Attila did actually have\nhis brother, Bleda, killed in order to have the sole rule. The\ntreasure: Sigurth\u2019s hoard, which Atli claimed as the brother of\nBrynhild and husband of Guthrun, Sigurth\u2019s widow, but which Gunnar and\nHogni kept for themselves, with, as Atli here charges, Guthrun\u2019s\nconnivance. My mother: the only other reference to Atli\u2019s mother is in\nOddrunargratr, 30, wherein she appears as the adder who stings Gunnar\nto death, and in the prose passages based on that stanza.\n\n91. The manuscript does not indicate the speaker. It marks both lines 4\nand 5 as beginning new stanzas, but line 5 is presumably an\ninterpolation. The text of the second half of line 2 is obscure, and\nmany emendations have been suggested. Ye brothers: cf. note on stanza\n90. Half: i.e., two of Atli\u2019s brothers were killed, the other two dying\nin the battle with Gunnar and Hogni; cf. stanza 51.\n\n92. From the land: this maritime expedition of Guthrun and her two\nbrothers, Gunnar and Hogni (the poet seems to know nothing of her\nhalf-brother, Gotthorm), with Sigurth seems to have been a pure\ninvention of the poet\u2019s, inserted for the benefit of his Greenland\nhearers. Nothing further is reported concerning it.\n\n93. The forest: i.e., men who were outlawed in the conquered land were\nrestored to their rights\u2014another purely Norse touch.\n\n94. Hun-king: Sigurth, though most illogically so called; cf.\nSigurtharkvitha en skamma, 4 and note. The Volsungasaga paraphrase of\nline 2 is so remote as to be puzzling: \u201cIt was little to bear the name\nof widow.\u201d Perhaps, however, the word \u201cnot\u201d fell out between \u201cwas\u201d and\n\u201clittle.\u201d\n\n95. Thing, etc.: here the poet makes Atli into a typical Norse\nland-owner, going to the \u201cThing,\u201d or general law council, to settle his\ndisputes. Even the compilers of the Volsungasaga could not accept this,\nand in their paraphrase changed \u201cThing\u201d to \u201cbattle.\u201d The text of the\nsecond half of line 2 is uncertain. The manuscript leaves a blank to\nindicate the gap in line 4; Grundtvig adds: \u201cas beseems not a king.\u201d\n\n97. The manuscript does not indicate the speaker. Many editors assume a\ngap either before or after line 1. A ship: the burial of Norse chiefs\nin ships was of frequent occurrence, but the Greenland poet\u2019s\napplication of the custom to Atli is somewhat grotesque.\n\n98. Heirs, etc.: merely a stock phrase, here quite meaningless, as\nAtli\u2019s heirs had all been killed. Long: cf. Guthrunarhvot, introductory\nprose.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGUTHRUNARHVOT\n\nGUTHRUN\u2019S INCITING\n\n\nINTRODUCTORY NOTE\n\nThe two concluding poems in the Codex Regius, the Guthrunarhvot\n(Guthrun\u2019s Inciting) and the Hamthesmol (The Ballad of Hamther), belong\nto a narrative cycle connected with those of Sigurth, the Burgundians,\nand Atli (cf. Gripisspo, introductory note) by only the slenderest of\nthreads. Of the three early historical kings who gradually assumed a\ndominant place in Germanic legend, Ermanarich, king of the East Goths\nin the middle of the fourth century, was actually the least important,\neven though Jordanes, the sixth century author of De Rebus Getecis,\ncompared him to Alexander the Great. Memories of his cruelty and of his\ntragic death, however, persisted along with the real glories of\nTheoderich, a century and a half later, and of the conquests of Attila,\nwhose lifetime approximately bridged the gap between Ermanarich\u2019s death\nand Theoderich\u2019s birth.\n\nChief among the popular tales of Ermanarich\u2019s cruelty was one\nconcerning the death of a certain Sunilda or Sanielh, whom, according\nto Jordanes, he caused to be torn asunder by wild horses because of her\nhusband\u2019s treachery. Her brothers, Sarus and Ammius, seeking to avenge\nher, wounded but failed to kill Ermanarich. In this story is the root\nof the two Norse poems included in the Codex Regius. Sunilda easily\nbecame the wife as well as the victim of the tyrant, and, by the\nprocess of legend-blending so frequently observed, the story was\nconnected with the more famous one of the Nibelungs by making her the\ndaughter of Sigurth and Guthrun. To account for her brothers, a third\nhusband had to be found for Guthrun; the Sarus and Ammius of Jordanes\nare obviously the Sorli and Hamther, sons of Guthrun and Jonak, of the\nNorse poems. The blending of the Sigurth and Ermanarich legends\nprobably, though not certainly, took place before the story reached the\nNorth, in other words before the end of the eighth century.\n\nRegarding the exact status of the Guthrunarhvot and the Hamthesmol\nthere has been a great deal of discussion. That they are closely\nrelated is obvious; indeed the first parts of the two poems are nearly\nidentical in content and occasionally so in actual diction. The\nannotator, in his concluding prose note, refers to the second poem as\nthe \u201cold\u201d ballad of Hamther, wherefore it has been assumed by some\ncritics that the composer of the Guthrunarhvot used the Hamthesmol,\napproximately as it now stands, as the source of part of his material.\nThe extant Hamthesmol, however, is almost certainly a patchwork; part\nof it is in Fornyrthislag (cf. Introduction), including most of the\nstanzas paralleled in the Guthrunarhvot, and likewise the stanza\nfollowed directly by the reference to the \u201cold\u201d ballad, while the rest\nis in Malahattr. The most reasonable theory, therefore, is that there\nexisted an old ballad of Hamther, all in Fornyrthislag, from which the\ncomposer of the Guthrunarhvot borrowed a few stanzas as the\nintroduction for his poem, and which the composer of the extant, or\n\u201cnew,\u201d Hamthesmol likewise used, though far more clumsily.\n\nThe title \u201cGuthrunarhvot,\u201d which appears in the Codex Regius, really\napplies only to stanzas 1\u20138, all presumably borrowed from the \u201cold\u201d\nballad of Hamther. The rest of the poem is simply another Guthrun\nlament, following the tradition exemplified by the first and second\nGuthrun lays; it is possible, indeed, that it is made up of fragments\nof two separate laments, one (stanzas 9\u201318) involving the story of\nSvanhild\u2019s death, and the other (stanzas 19\u201321) coming from an\notherwise lost version of the story in which Guthrun closely follows\nSigurth and Brynhild in death. In any event the present title is really\na misnomer; the poet, who presumably was an eleventh century Icelander,\nused the episode of Guthrun\u2019s inciting her sons to vengeance for the\nslaying of Svanhild simply as an introduction to his main subject, the\nlast lament of the unhappy queen.\n\nThe text of the poem in Regius is by no means in good shape, and\neditorial emendations have been many and varied, particularly in\ninterchanging lines between the Guthrunarhvot and the Hamthesmol. The\nVolsungasaga paraphrases the poem with such fidelity as to prove that\nit lay before the compilers of the saga approximately in its present\nform.\n\n\n\n\n\nGuthrun went forth to the sea after she had slain Atli. She went out\ninto the sea and fain would drown herself, but she could not sink. The\nwaves bore her across the fjord to the land of King Jonak; he took her\nas wife; their sons were Sorli and Erp and Hamther. There was brought\nup Svanhild, Sigurth\u2019s daughter; she was married to the mighty\nJormunrek. With him was Bikki, who counselled that Randver, the king\u2019s\nson, should have her. This Bikki told to the king. The king had Randver\nhanged, and Svanhild trodden to death under horses\u2019 feet. And when\nGuthrun learned this, she spake with her sons.\n\n\n1.  A word-strife I learned,   |   most woeful of all,\n    A speech from the fullness   |   of sorrow spoken,\n    When fierce of heart   |   her sons to the fight\n    Did Guthrun whet   |   with words full grim.\n\n2.  \u201cWhy sit ye idle,   |   why sleep out your lives,\n    Why grieve ye not   |   in gladness to speak?\n    Since Jormunrek   |   your sister young\n    Beneath the hoofs   |   of horses hath trodden,\n    (White and black   |   on the battle-way,\n    Gray, road-wonted,   |   the steeds of the Goths.)\n\n3.  \u201cNot like are ye   |   to Gunnar of yore,\n    Nor have ye hearts   |   such as Hogni\u2019s was;\n    Vengeance for her   |   ye soon would have\n    If brave ye were   |   as my brothers of old,\n    Or hard your hearts   |   as the Hunnish kings\u2019.\u201d\n\n4.  Then Hamther spake,   |   the high of heart:\n    \u201cLittle the deed   |   of Hogni didst love,\n    When Sigurth they wakened   |   from his sleep;\n    Thy bed-covers white   |   were red with blood\n    Of thy husband, drenched   |   with gore from his heart.\n\n5.  \u201cBloody revenge   |   didst have for thy brothers,\n    Evil and sore,   |   when thy sons didst slay;\n    Else yet might we all   |   on Jormunrek\n    Together our sister\u2019s   |   slaying avenge.\n\n6.  \u201c.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    The gear of the Hunnish   |   kings now give us!\n    Thou hast whetted us so   |   to the battle of swords.\u201d\n\n7.  Laughing did Guthrun   |   go to her chamber,\n    The helms of the kings   |   from the cupboards she took,\n    And mail-coats broad,   |   to her sons she bore them;\n    On their horses\u2019 backs   |   the heroes leaped.\n\n8.  Then Hamther spake,   |   the high of heart:\n    \u201cHomeward no more   |   his mother to see\n    Comes the spear-god, fallen   |   mid Gothic folk;\n    One death-draught thou   |   for us all shalt drink,\n    For Svanhild then   |   and thy sons as well.\u201d\n\n9.  Weeping Guthrun,   |   Gjuki\u2019s daughter,\n    Went sadly before   |   the gate to sit,\n    And with tear-stained cheeks   |   to tell the tale\n    Of her mighty griefs,   |   so many in kind.\n\n10. \u201cThree home-fires knew I,   |   three hearths I knew,\n    Home was I brought   |   by husbands three;\n    But Sigurth only   |   of all was dear,\n    He whom my brothers   |   brought to his death.\n\n11. \u201cA greater sorrow   |   I saw not nor knew,\n    Yet more it seemed   |   I must suffer yet\n    When the princes great   |   to Atli gave me.\n\n12. \u201cThe brave boys I summoned   |   to secret speech;\n    For my woes requital   |   I might not win\n    Till off the heads   |   of the Hniflungs I hewed.\n\n13. \u201cTo the sea I went,   |   my heart full sore\n    For the Norns, whose wrath   |   I would now escape;\n    But the lofty billows   |   bore me undrowned,\n    Till to land I came,   |   so I longer must live.\n\n14. \u201cThen to the bed\u2014   |   of old was it better!\u2014\n    Of a King of the folk   |   a third time I came;\n    Boys I bore   |   his heirs to be,\n    Heirs so young,   |   the sons of Jonak.\n\n15. \u201cBut round Svanhild   |   handmaidens sat,\n    She was dearest ever   |   of all my children;\n    So did Svanhild   |   seem in my hall\n    As the ray of the sun   |   is fair to see.\n\n16. \u201cGold I gave her   |   and garments bright,\n    Ere I let her go   |   to the Gothic folk;\n    Of my heavy woes   |   the hardest it was\n    When Svanhild\u2019s tresses   |   fair were trodden\n    In the mire by hoofs   |   of horses wild.\n\n17. \u201cThe sorest it was   |   when Sigurth mine\n    On his couch, of victory   |   robbed, they killed;\n    And grimmest of all   |   when to Gunnar\u2019s heart\n    There crept the bright-hued   |   crawling snakes.\n\n18. \u201cAnd keenest of all   |   when they cut the heart\n    From the living breast   |   of the king so brave;\n    Many woes I remember,   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n\n19. \u201cBridle, Sigurth,   |   thy steed so black,\n    Hither let run   |   thy swift-faring horse;\n    Here there sits not   |   son or daughter\n    Who yet to Guthrun   |   gifts shall give.\n\n20. \u201cRemember, Sigurth,   |   what once we said,\n    When together both   |   on the bed we sat,\n    That mightily thou   |   to me wouldst come\n    From hell and I   |   from earth to thee.\n\n21. \u201cPile ye up, jarls,   |   the pyre of oak,\n    Make it the highest   |   a hero e\u2019er had;\n    Let the fire burn   |   my grief-filled breast,\n    My sore-pressed heart,   |   till my sorrows melt.\u201d\n\n22. May nobles all   |   less sorrow know,\n    And less the woes   |   of women become,\n    Since the tale of this   |   lament is told.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTES\n\n\nProse. In the manuscript the prose is headed \u201cOf Guthrun,\u201d the title\n\u201cGuthrunarhvot\u201d preceding stanza 1. The prose introduction is used both\nby Snorri (Skaldskaparmal, chapter 42) and in the Volsungasaga. It\nwould be interesting to know on what the annotator based this note, for\nneither Bikki nor Randver is mentioned by name in either the\nGuthrunarhvot or the Hamthesmol. On the prose notes in general, cf.\nReginsmol, introductory note. Guthrun: on the slaying of Atli by his\nwife, Guthrun, Sigurth\u2019s widow, cf. Atlamol, 83\u201386 and notes. Jonak: a\nNorthern addition to the legend, introduced to account for Svanhild\u2019s\nhalf-brothers; the name is apparently of Slavic origin. Sorli, Erp, and\nHamther: Sorli and Hamther are the Sarus and Ammius of the Jordanes\nstory (cf. introductory note). The Volsungasaga follows this note in\nmaking Erp likewise a son of Guthrun, but in the Hamthesmol he is a son\nof Jonak by another wife. Svanhild: cf. Sigurtharkvitha en skamma, 54\nand note. Jormunrek (Ermanarich): cf. introductory note. Bikki: the\nSifka or Sibicho of the Gothic legends of Ermanarich, whose evil\ncounsel always brings trouble. Randver: in the Volsungasaga Jormunrek\nsends his son Randver with Bikki to seek Svanhild\u2019s hand. On the voyage\nhome Bikki says to Randver: \u201cIt were right for you to have so fair a\nwife, and not such an old man.\u201d Randver was much pleased with this\nadvice, \u201cand he spake to her with gladness, and she to him.\u201d Thus the\nstory becomes near of kin to those of Tristan and Iseult and Paolo and\nFrancesca. According to the Volsungasaga, Bikki told Ermanarich that a\nguilty love existed between his son and his young wife, and presumably\nthe annotator here meant as much by his vague \u201cthis.\u201d\n\n1. The poet\u2019s introduction of himself in this stanza is a fairly\ncertain indication of the relative lateness of the poem.\n\n2. Idle: a guess; a word is obviously missing in the original. The\nmanuscript marks line 5 as beginning a new stanza, and lines 5\u20136 may\nwell have been inserted from another part of the \u201cold\u201d Hamthesmol (cf.\nHamthesmol, 3).\n\n3. Gunnar and Hogni: cf. Drap Niflunga. Line 5 may be interpolated.\nHunnish: here used, as often, merely as a generic term for all South\nGermanic peoples; the reference is to the Burgundian Gunnar and Hogni.\n\n4. Hamther: some editions spell the name \u201cHamthir.\u201d Sigurth, etc.: cf.\nSigurtharkvitha en skamma, 21\u201324, and Brot, concluding prose. This\nstanza has been subjected to many conjectural rearrangements, some\neditors adding two or three lines from the Hamthesmol.\n\n5. Bloody: a guess; a word in the original is clearly missing, and the\nsame is true of all in line 3. Thy sons: i.e., by killing her sons Erp\nand Eitil (cf. Atlamol, 72\u201374) Guthrun deprived Hamther, Sorli, and the\nsecond Erp of valuable allies in avenging Svanhild\u2019s death.\n\n6. The manuscript indicates no gap, but most editors assume the loss of\none, two or even more lines before the two here given.\n\n7. The manuscript indicates line 4 as beginning a new stanza.\n\n8. Line 1, identical with line 1 of stanza 4, may be interpolated here.\nSpear-god: warrior, i.e., Hamther himself. With this stanza the\nintroductory hvot (\u201cinciting\u201d) ends, and stanza 9 introduces the lament\nwhich forms the real body of the poem.\n\n11. Line 1 in the original is of uncertain meaning. Many editors assume\nthe loss of a line after line 1, and some completely reconstruct line 1\non the basis of a hypothetical second line. Princes: Gunnar and Hogni.\n\n12. Some editors assume the loss of one line, or more, before line 1.\nHniflungs: Erp and Eitil, the sons of Guthrun and Atli. On the\napplication of the name Niflung (or, as later spelt, Hniflung) to the\ndescendants of Gjuki, Guthrun\u2019s father, cf. Brot, 17, note.\n\n13. Norns: the fates; cf. Voluspo, 8 and note.\n\n14. The manuscript omits the first half of line 4.\n\n16. Some editors assume a gap of two lines after line 2, and make a\nseparate stanza of lines 3\u20135; Gering adds a sixth line of his own\ncoining, while Grundtvig inserts one between lines 3 and 4. The\nmanuscript indicates line 5 as beginning a new stanza.\n\n17. The manuscript does not indicate line 1 as beginning a stanza (cf.\nnote on stanza 16). Stanzas 17 and 18 are very likely later\ninterpolations, although the compilers of the Volsungasaga knew them as\nthey stand here. The whole passage depends on the shades of difference\nin the meanings of the various superlatives: har\u00feastr, \u201chardest\u201d;\ns\u00e1rastr, \u201csorest\u201d; grimmastr, \u201cgrimmest,\u201d and hvassastr, \u201ckeenest.\u201d\nSnakes: cf. Drap Niflunga.\n\n18. The king: Hogni; cf. Atlakvitha, 25. The manuscript marks line 3 as\nbeginning a new stanza. Most editors agree that there is a more or less\nextensive gap after stanza 18, and some of them contend that the\noriginal ending of the poem is lost, stanzas 19\u201321 coming from a\ndifferent poem, probably a lament closely following Sigurth\u2019s death.\n\n19. The manuscript does not indicate line 1 as beginning a stanza, and\nit immediately follows the fragmentary line 3 of stanza 18. The\nresemblance between stanzas 19\u201321 and stanzas 64\u201369 of Sigurtharkvitha\nen skamma suggests that, in some otherwise lost version of the story,\nGuthrun, like Brynhild, sought to die soon after Sigurth\u2019s death. Thy\nsteed: Guthrun\u2019s appeal to the dead Sigurth to ride back to earth to\nmeet her is reminiscent of the episode related in Helgakvitha\nHundingsbana II, 39\u201348. The promise mentioned in stanza 20 is spoken of\nelsewhere only in the Volsungasaga paraphrase of this passage.\n\n21. Perhaps something has been lost between stanzas 20 and 21, or\npossibly stanza 21, while belonging originally to the same poem as\nstanzas 19 and 20, did not directly follow them. Sore-pressed: a guess;\na word seems to have been omitted in the original.\n\n22. Words of the poet\u2019s, like stanza 1, and perhaps constituting a\nlater addition. Many editors assume the loss of a line after line 3.\nThe meaning, of course, is that the poet hopes the story of Guthrun\u2019s\nwoes will make all other troubles seem light by comparison.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nHAMTHESMOL\n\nTHE BALLAD OF HAMTHER\n\n\nINTRODUCTORY NOTE\n\nThe Hamthesmol, the concluding poem in the Codex Regius, is on the\nwhole the worst preserved of all the poems in the collection. The\norigin of the story, the relation of the Hamthesmol to the\nGuthrunarhvot, and of both poems to the hypothetical \u201cold\u201d Hamthesmol,\nare outlined in the introductory note to the Guthrunarhvot. The\nHamthesmol as we have it is certainly not the \u201cold\u201d poem of that name;\nindeed it is so pronounced a patchwork that it can hardly be regarded\nas a coherent poem at all. Some of the stanzas are in Fornyrthislag,\nsome are in Malahattr, one (stanza 29) appears to be in Ljothahattr,\nand in many cases the words can be adapted to any known metrical form\nonly by liberal emendation. That any one should have deliberately\ncomposed such a poem seems quite incredible, and it is far more likely\nthat some eleventh century narrator constructed a poem about the death\nof Hamther and Sorli by piecing together various fragments, and\npossibly adding a number of Malahattr stanzas of his own.\n\nIt has been argued, and with apparently sound logic, that our extant\nHamthesmol originated in Greenland, along with the Atlamol. In any\ncase, it can hardly have been put together before the latter part of\nthe eleventh century, although the \u201cold\u201d Hamthesmol undoubtedly long\nantedates this period. Many editors have attempted to pick out the\nparts of the extant poem which were borrowed from this older lay, but\nthe condition of the text is such that it is by no means clear even\nwhat stanzas are in Fornyrthislag and what in Malahattr. Many editors,\nlikewise, indicate gaps and omissions, but it seems doubtful whether\nthe extant Hamthesmol ever had a really consecutive quality, its\ncomponent fragments having apparently been strung together with little\nregard for continuity. The notes indicate some of the more important\neditorial suggestions, but make no attempt to cover all of them, and\nthe metrical form of the translation is often based on mere guesswork\nas to the character of the original lines and stanzas. Despite the\nchaotic state of the text, however, the underlying narrative is\nreasonably clear, and the story can be followed with no great\ndifficulty.\n\n\n\n\n\n1.  Great the evils   |   once that grew,\n    With the dawning sad   |   of the sorrow of elves;\n    In early morn   |   awake for men\n    The evils that grief   |   to each shall bring.\n\n2.  Not now, nor yet   |   of yesterday was it,\n    Long the time   |   that since hath lapsed,\n    So that little there is   |   that is half as old,\n    Since Guthrun, daughter   |   of Gjuki, whetted\n    Her sons so young   |   to Svanhild\u2019s vengeance.\n\n3.  \u201cThe sister ye had   |   was Svanhild called,\n    And her did Jormunrek   |   trample with horses,\n    White and black   |   on the battle-way,\n    Gray, road-wonted,   |   the steeds of the Goths.\n\n4.  \u201cLittle the kings   |   of the folk are ye like,\n    For now ye are living   |   alone of my race.\n\n5.  \u201cLonely am I   |   as the forest aspen,\n    Of kindred bare   |   as the fir of its boughs,\n    My joys are all lost   |   as the leaves of the tree\n    When the scather of twigs   |   from the warm day turns.\u201d\n\n6.  Then Hamther spake forth,   |   the high of heart:\n    \u201cSmall praise didst thou, Guthrun,   |   to Hogni\u2019s deed give\n    When they wakened thy Sigurth   |   from out of his sleep,\n    Thou didst sit on the bed   |   while his slayers laughed.\n\n7.  \u201cThy bed-covers white   |   with blood were red\n    From his wounds, and with gore   |   of thy husband were wet;\n    So Sigurth was slain,   |   by his corpse didst thou sit,\n    And of gladness didst think not:   |   \u2019twas Gunnar\u2019s doing.\n\n8.  \u201cThou wouldst strike at Atli   |   by the slaying of Erp\n    And the killing of Eitil;   |   thine own grief was worse;\n    So should each one wield   |   the wound-biting sword\n    That another it slays   |   but smites not himself.\u201d\n\n9.  Then did Sorli speak out,   |   for wise was he ever:\n    \u201cWith my mother I never   |   a quarrel will make;\n    Full little in speaking   |   methinks ye both lack;\n    What askest thou, Guthrun,   |   that will give thee no tears?\n\n10. \u201cFor thy brothers dost weep,   |   and thy boys so sweet,\n    Thy kinsmen in birth   |   on the battlefield slain;\n    Now, Guthrun, as well   |   for us both shalt thou weep,\n    We sit doomed on our steeds,   |   and far hence shall we die.\u201d\n\n11. Then the fame-glad one\u2014   |   on the steps she was\u2014\n    The slender-fingered,   |   spake with her son:\n    \u201cYe shall danger have   |   if counsel ye heed not;\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    By two heroes alone   |   shall two hundred of Goths\n    Be bound or be slain   |   in the lofty-walled burg.\u201d\n\n12. From the courtyard they fared,   |   and fury they breathed;\n    The youths swiftly went   |   o\u2019er the mountain wet,\n    On their Hunnish steeds,   |   death\u2019s vengeance to have.\n\n13. On the way they found   |   the man so wise;\n    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    \u201cWhat help from the weakling   |   brown may we have?\u201d\n\n14. So answered them   |   their half-brother then:\n    \u201cSo well may I   |   my kinsmen aid\n    As help one foot   |   from the other has.\u201d\n\n15. \u201cHow may a foot   |   its fellow aid,\n    Or a flesh-grown hand   |   another help?\u201d\n\n16. Then Erp spake forth,   |   his words were few,\n    As haughty he sat   |   on his horse\u2019s back:\n    \u201cTo the timid \u2019tis ill   |   the way to tell.\u201d\n    A bastard they   |   the bold one called.\n\n17. From their sheaths they drew   |   their shining swords,\n    Their blades, to the giantess   |   joy to give;\n    By a third they lessened   |   the might that was theirs,\n    The fighter young   |   to earth they felled.\n\n18. Their cloaks they shook,   |   their swords they sheathed,\n    The high-born men   |   wrapped their mantles close.\n\n19. On their road they fared   |   and an ill way found,\n    And their sister\u2019s son   |   on a tree they saw,\n    On the wind-cold wolf-tree   |   west of the hall,\n    And cranes\u2019-bait crawled;   |   none would care to linger.\n\n20. In the hall was din,   |   the men drank deep,\n    And the horses\u2019 hoofs   |   could no one hear,\n    Till the warrior hardy   |   sounded his horn.\n\n21. Men came and the tale   |   to Jormunrek told\n    How warriors helmed   |   without they beheld:\n    \u201cTake counsel wise,   |   for brave ones are come,\n    Of mighty men   |   thou the sister didst murder.\u201d\n\n22. Then Jormunrek laughed,   |   his hand laid on his beard,\n    His arms, for with wine   |   he was warlike, he called for;\n    He shook his brown locks,   |   on his white shield he looked,\n    And raised high the cup   |   of gold in his hand.\n\n23. \u201cHappy, methinks,   |   were I to behold\n    Hamther and Sorli   |   here in my hall;\n    The men would I bind   |   with strings of bows,\n    And Gjuki\u2019s heirs   |   on the gallows hang.\u201d\n\n24. In the hall was clamor,   |   the cups were shattered,\n    Men stood in blood   |   from the breasts of the Goths.\n\n25. Then did Hamther speak forth,   |   the haughty of heart:\n    \u201cThou soughtest, Jormunrek,   |   us to see,\n    Sons of one mother   |   seeking thy dwelling;\n    Thou seest thy hands,   |   thy feet thou beholdest,\n    Jormunrek, flung   |   in the fire so hot.\u201d\n\n26. Then roared the king,   |   of the race of the gods,\n    Bold in his armor,   |   as roars a bear:\n    \u201cStone ye the men   |   that steel will bite not,\n    Sword nor spear,   |   the sons of Jonak.\u201d\n\n\nSorli spake:\n\n\n27. \u201cIll didst win, brother,   |   when the bag thou didst open,\n    Oft from that bag   |   came baleful counsel;\n    Heart hast thou, Hamther,   |   if knowledge thou hadst!\n    A man without wisdom   |   is lacking in much.\u201d\n\n\nHamther spake:\n\n\n28. \u201cHis head were now off   |   if Erp were living,\n    The brother so keen   |   whom we killed on our road,\n    The warrior noble,\u2014   |   \u2019twas the Norns that drove me\n    The hero to slay   |   who in fight should be holy.\n\n29. \u201cIn fashion of wolves   |   it befits us not\n      Amongst ourselves to strive,\n    Like the hounds of the Norns,   |   that nourished were\n      In greed mid wastes so grim.\n\n30. \u201cWe have greatly fought,   |   o\u2019er the Goths do we stand\n    By our blades laid low,   |   like eagles on branches;\n    Great our fame though we die   |   today or tomorrow;\n    None outlives the night   |   when the Norns have spoken.\u201d\n\n31. Then Sorli beside   |   the gable sank,\n    And Hamther fell   |   at the back of the house.\n\n\nThis is called the old ballad of Hamther.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTES\n\n\n1. This stanza looks like a later interpolation from a totally\nunrelated source. Sorrow of elves: the sun; cf. Alvissmol, 16 and note.\n\n2. Some editors regard lines 1\u20132 as interpolated, while others question\nline 3. Guthrun, etc.: regarding the marriage of Jonak and Guthrun\n(daughter of Gjuki, sister of Gunnar and Hogni, and widow first of\nSigurth and then of Atli), and the sons of this marriage, Hamther and\nSorli (but not Erp), cf. Guthrunarhvot, introductory prose and note.\n\n3. Svanhild and Jormunrek: regarding the manner in which Jormunrek\n(Ermanarich) married Svanhild, daughter of Sigurth and Guthrun, and\nafterwards had her trodden to death by horses, cf. Guthrunarhvot,\nintroductory note. Lines 3\u20134 are identical with lines 5\u20136 of\nGuthrunarhvot, 2.\n\n4. These two lines may be all that is left of a four-line stanza. The\nmanuscript and many editions combine them with stanza 5, while a few\nplace them after stanza 5 as a separate stanza, reversing the order of\nthe two lines. Kings of the folk: Guthrun\u2019s brothers, Gunnar and Hogni,\nslain by Atli.\n\n5. Cf. note on stanza 4; the manuscript does not indicate line 1 as\nbeginning a stanza. Scather of twigs: poetic circumlocution for the\nwind (cf. Skaldskaparmal, chapter 27), though some editors think the\nphrase here means the sun. Some editors assume a more or less extensive\ngap between stanzas 5 and 6.\n\n6. Lines 1\u20133 are nearly identical with lines 1\u20133 of Guthrunarhvot, 4.\nOn the death of Sigurth cf. Sigurtharkvitha en skamma, 21\u201324, and Brot,\nconcluding prose. The word thy in line 3 is omitted in the original.\n\n7. Lines 1\u20132 are nearly identical with lines 4\u20135 of Guthrunarhvot, 4.\nThe manuscript, followed by many editions, indicates line 3 and not\nline 1 as beginning a stanza.\n\n8. Some editors regard this stanza as interpolated. Erp and Eitil:\nregarding Guthrun\u2019s slaying of her sons by Atli, cf. Atlamol, 72\u201375.\nThe Erp here referred to is not to be confused with the Erp, son of\nJonak, who appears in stanza 13. The whole of stanza 8 is in doubtful\nshape, and many emendations have been suggested.\n\n10. Some editors assign this speech to Hamther. Brothers: Gunnar and\nHogni. Boys: Erp and Eitil.\n\n11. In the manuscript this stanza follows stanza 21, and some editors\ntake the word here rendered \u201cfame-glad one\u201d (hr\u00f3\u00fergl\u01eb\u00fe) to be a proper\nname (Jormunrek\u2019s mother or his concubine). The Volsungasaga, however,\nindicates that Guthrun at this point \u201chad so fashioned their war-gear\nthat iron would not bite into it, and she bade them to have nought to\ndo with stones or other heavy things, and told them that it would be\nill for them if they did not do as she said.\u201d The substance of this\ncounsel may well have been conveyed in a passage lost after line 3,\nthough the manuscript indicates no gap. It is by being stoned that\nHamther and Sorli are killed (stanza 26). On the other hand, the second\npart of line 3 may possibly mean \u201cif silent ye are not,\u201d in which case\nthe advice relates to Hamther\u2019s speech to Jormunrek and Sorli\u2019s\nreproach to him thereupon (stanzas 25 and 27). Steps: the word in the\noriginal is doubtful. Line 3 is thoroughly obscure. Some editors make a\nseparate stanza of lines 3\u20135, while others question line 5.\n\n12. Many editors assume the loss of a line after line 1. In several\neditions lines 2\u20133 are placed after line 2 of stanza 18. Hunnish: the\nword meant little more than \u201cGerman\u201d; cf. Guthrunarhvot, 3 and note.\n\n13. In the manuscript these two lines follow stanza 16; some editors\ninsert them in place of lines 2\u20133 of stanza 11. The manuscript\nindicates no gap. The man so wise: Erp, here represented as a son of\nJonak but not of Guthrun, and hence a half-brother of Hamther and\nSorli. There is nothing further to indicate whether or not he was born\nout of wedlock, as intimated in stanza 16. Some editors assign line 3\nto Hamther, and some to Sorli.\n\n14. The stanza is obviously defective. Many editors add Erp\u2019s name in\nline 1, and insert between lines 2 and 3 a line based on stanza 15 and\nthe Volsungasaga paraphrase: \u201cAs a flesh-grown hand   |   another\nhelps.\u201d In the Volsungasaga, after Erp\u2019s death, Hamther stumbles and\nsaves himself from falling with his hand, whereupon he says: \u201cErp spake\ntruly; I had fallen had I not braced myself with my hand.\u201d Soon\nthereafter Sorli has a like experience, one foot slipping but the other\nsaving him from a fall. \u201cThen they said that they had done ill to Erp,\ntheir brother.\u201d\n\n15. Many editions attach these two lines to stanza 14, while a few\nassume the loss of two lines.\n\n16. In the manuscript this stanza stands between stanzas 12 and 13.\nSome editors make line 4 a part of Erp\u2019s speech.\n\n17. The manuscript does not indicate line 1 as beginning a stanza. The\ngiantess: presumably the reference is to Hel, goddess of the dead, but\nthe phrase is doubtful.\n\n18. In the manuscript these two lines are followed by stanza 19 with no\nindication of a break. Some editions insert here lines 2\u20133 of stanza\n12, while others assume the loss of two or more lines.\n\n19. Cf. note on stanza 18. Ill way: very likely the road leading\nthrough the gate of Jormunrek\u2019s town at which Svanhild was trampled to\ndeath. Sister\u2019s son: many editors change the text to read \u201cstepson,\u201d\nfor the reference is certainly to Randver, son of Jormunrek, hanged by\nhis father on Bikki\u2019s advice (cf. Guthrunarhvot, introductory note).\nWolf-tree: the gallows, the wolf being symbolical of outlaws.\nCranes\u2019-bait: presumably either snakes or worms, but the passage is\ndoubtful.\n\n20. Many editors assume the loss of a line after line 3. The warrior:\npresumably a warder or watchman, but the reference may be to Hamther\nhimself.\n\n21. The word here rendered men (line 1) is missing in the original,\ninvolving a metrical error, and various words have been suggested.\n\n22. Line 2 in the original is thoroughly obscure; some editors directly\nreverse the meaning here indicated by giving the line a negative force,\nwhile others completely alter the phrase rendered \u201chis arms he called\nfor\u201d into one meaning \u201che stroked his cheeks.\u201d\n\n23. Gjuki\u2019s heirs: the original has \u201cthe well-born of Gjuki,\u201d and some\neditors have changed the proper name to Guthrun, but the phrase\napparently refers to Hamther and Sorli as Gjuki\u2019s grandsons. In the\nmanuscript this stanza is followed by stanza 11, and such editors as\nhave retained this arrangement have had to resort to varied and complex\nexplanations to account for it.\n\n24. Editors have made various efforts to reconstruct a four-line stanza\nout of these two lines, in some cases with the help of lines borrowed\nfrom the puzzling stanza 11 (cf. note on stanza 23). Line 2 in the\noriginal is doubtful.\n\n25. Some editors mark line 1 as an interpolation. The manuscript marks\nline 4 as beginning a new stanza. As in the story told by Jordanes,\nHamther and Sorli succeed in wounding Jormunrek (here they cut off his\nhands and feet), but do not kill him.\n\n26. The manuscript marks line 3, and not line 1, as beginning a stanza.\nOf the race of the gods: the reference here is apparently to Jormunrek,\nbut in the Volsungasaga the advice to kill Hamther and Sorli with\nstones, since iron will not wound them (cf. note on stanza 11), comes\nfrom Othin, who enters the hall as an old man with one eye.\n\n27. In the manuscript this stanza is introduced by the same line as\nstanza 25: \u201cThen did Hamther speak forth,   |   the haughty of heart,\u201d\nbut the speaker in this case must be Sorli and not Hamther. Some\neditors, however, give lines 1\u20132 to Hamther and lines 3\u20134 to Sorli.\nBag: i.e., Hamther\u2019s mouth; cf. note on stanza 11. The manuscript\nindicates line 3 as beginning a new stanza.\n\n28. Most editors regard stanzas 28\u201330 as a speech by Hamther, but the\nmanuscript does not indicate the speaker, and some editors assign one\nor two of the stanzas to Sorli. Lines 1\u20132 are quoted in the\nVolsungasaga. The manuscript does not indicate line 1 as beginning a\nstanza. Erp: Hamther means that while the two brothers had succeeded\nonly in wounding Jormunrek, Erp, if he had been with them, would have\nkilled him. Lines 3\u20134 may be a later interpolation. Norns: the fates;\nthe word used in the original means the goddesses of ill fortune.\n\n29. This is almost certainly an interpolated Ljothahattr stanza, though\nsome editors have tried to expand it into the Fornyrthislag form.\nHounds of the Norns: wolves.\n\n30. Some editors assume a gap after this stanza.\n\n31. Apparently a fragment of a stanza from the \u201cold\u201d Hamthesmol to\nwhich the annotator\u2019s concluding prose note refers. Some editors assume\nthe loss of two lines after line 2.\n\nProse. Regarding the \u201cold\u201d Hamthesmol, cf. Guthrunarhvot, introductory\nnote.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPRONOUNCING INDEX OF PROPER NAMES\n\n\nIntroductory Note\n\nThe pronunciations indicated in the following index are in many cases,\nat best, mere approximations, and in some cases the pronunciation of\nthe Old Norse is itself more or less conjectural. For the sake of\nclarity it has seemed advisable to keep the number of phonetic symbols\nas small as possible, even though the result is occasional failure to\ndistinguish between closely related sounds. In every instance the\nobject has been to provide the reader with a clearly comprehensible and\napproximately correct pronunciation, for which reason, particularly in\nsuch matters as division of syllables, etymology has frequently been\ndisregarded for the sake of phonetic clearness. For example, when a\nroot syllable ends in a long (double) consonant, the division has\narbitrarily been made so as to indicate the sounding of both elements\n(e.g., Am-ma, not Amm-a).\n\nAs many proper names occur in the notes but not in the text, and as\nfrequently the more important incidents connected with the names are\noutlined in notes which would not be indicated by textual references\nalone, the page numbers include all appearances of proper names in the\nnotes as well as in the text.\n\nThe following general rules govern the application of the phonetic\nsymbols used in the index, and also indicate the approximate\npronunciation of the unmarked vowels and consonants.\n\nVowels. The vowels are pronounced approximately as follows:\n\n\n        a    \u2014as in \u201calone\u201d\n        \u0101    \u2014as in \u201cfather\u201d\n        e    \u2014as in \u201cmen\u201d\n        \u0113    \u2014as a in \u201cfate\u201d\n        i    \u2014as in \u201cis\u201d\n        \u012b    \u2014as in \u201cmachine\u201d\n        o    \u2014as in \u201con\u201d\n        \u014d    \u2014as in \u201cold\u201d\n        \u00f6    \u2014as in German \u201c\u00f6ffnen\u201d\n        \u022b    \u2014as in German \u201csch\u00f6n\u201d\n        \u01ed    \u2014as aw in \u201claw\u201d\n        u    \u2014as ou in \u201cwould\u201d\n        \u016b    \u2014as ou in \u201cwound\u201d\n        y    \u2014as i in \u201cis\u201d            }   Both with a slight\n        \u0233    \u2014as ee in \u201cfree\u201d         }   sound of German \u00fc\n        \u00e6    \u2014as e in \u201cmen\u201d\n        \u01e3    \u2014as a in \u201cfate\u201d\n        ei   \u2014as ey in \u201cthey\u201d\n        ey   \u2014as in \u201cthey\u201d\n        au   \u2014as ou in \u201cout\u201d\n        ai   \u2014as i in \u201cfine\u201d\n\n\n\nNo attempt has been made to differentiate between the short open \u201co\u201d\nand the short closed \u201co,\u201d which for speakers of English closely\nresemble one another.\n\nConsonants. The consonants are pronounced approximately as in English,\nwith the following special points to be noted:\n\nG is always hard, as in \u201cget,\u201d never soft, as in \u201cgem;\u201d following \u201cn\u201d\nit has the same sound as in \u201csing.\u201d\n\nJ is pronounced as y in \u201cyoung.\u201d\n\nTh following a vowel is soft, as in \u201cwith;\u201d at the beginning of a word\nor following a consonant it is hard, as in \u201cthin.\u201d\n\nThe long (doubled) consonants should be pronounced as in Italian, both\nelements being distinctly sounded; e.g., \u201cAm-ma.\u201d\n\nS is always hard, as in \u201cso,\u201d \u201cthis,\u201d never soft, as in \u201cas.\u201d\n\nH enters into combinations with various following consonants; with \u201cv\u201d\nthe sound is approximately that of wh in \u201cwhat\u201d; with \u201cl,\u201d \u201cr\u201d and \u201cn\u201d\nit produces sounds which have no exact English equivalents, but which\ncan be approximated by pronouncing the consonants with a marked initial\nbreathing.\n\nAccents. The accented syllable in each name is indicated by the acute\naccent (\u2032). In many names, however, and particularly in compounds,\nthere is both a primary and a secondary accent, and where this is the\ncase the primary stress is indicated by a double acute accent (\u2033) and\nthe secondary one by a single acute accent (\u2032). To avoid possible\nconfusion with the long vowel marks used in Old Norse texts, the\naccents are placed, not over the vowels, but after the accented\nsyllables.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPRONOUNCING INDEX\n\n\n\u00c6g\u2032-ir, the sea-god, 102, 132, 139\u2013141, 150\u2013154, 156\u2013158, 161, 172,\n199, 280, 299, 300, 314, 324, 359.\n\n\u00c6k\u2032-in, a river, 95.\n\nAf\u2032-i, Grandfather, 204, 207.\n\nAg\u2032-nar, a warrior, 390, 444, 445.\n\nAg\u2032-nar, brother of Geirr\u00f6th, 85, 86.\n\nAg\u2032-nar, son of Geirr\u00f6th, 84, 87, 88, 106.\n\n\u0100i, a dwarf, 6, 8.\n\n\u0100i, Great-Grandfather, 204.\n\nAlf, a dwarf, 8.\n\nAlf, husband of Hjordis, 335, 336, 359, 374, 454.\n\nAlf, slayer of Helgi, 286, 288, 289, 331.\n\nAlf, son of Dag, 223, 454.\n\nAlf, son of Hring, 306.\n\nAlf, son of Hunding, 295, 316, 317.\n\nAlf, son of Ulf, 222.\n\nAlf\u2032-heim, home of the elves, 3, 88, 186.\n\nAlf\u2032-hild, wife of Hjorvarth, 272, 273.\n\nAlf\u2032-roth-ul, the sun, 81.\n\nAl\u2032-gr\u022bn, an island, 127.\n\n\u0100l\u2032-i, a warrior, 222.\n\nAlm\u2032-veig, wife of Halfdan, 222.\n\n\u0100\u2032-lof, daughter of Franmar, 273, 275, 276.\n\nAl\u2032-svith, a giant, 62.\n\nAl\u2032-svith, a horse, 99, 100, 394.\n\nAl\u2032-thj\u014df, a dwarf, 6.\n\nAl\u2032-vald-i, a giant, 128.\n\nAl\u2032-v\u012bs, a dwarf, 183\u2013193.\n\nAl\u2033-v\u012bss-m\u01edl, the Ballad of Alvis, 68, 109, 183\u2013194, 252, 283, 546.\n\n\u0100m, son of Dag, 223.\n\nAm\u2032-b\u014dtt, daughter of Thr\u00e6ll, 207.\n\nAm\u2032-ma, Grandmother, 204, 207, 208.\n\n\u0100n, a dwarf, 6.\n\nAnd\u2032-hrim-nir, a cook, 92.\n\nAnd\u2033-var-a-naut\u2032, a ring, 114, 361, 448.\n\nAnd\u2032-var-i, a dwarf, 8, 114, 260, 343, 357\u2013361, 417, 426, 448, 493.\n\nAn\u2032-gan-t\u0233r, a berserker, 225.\n\nAn\u2032-gan-t\u0233r, a warrior, 218, 220, 232.\n\nAng\u2032-eyj-a, mother of Heimdall, 229.\n\nAngr\u2032-both-a, a giantess, 17, 21, 146, 196, 230, 231.\n\nArf\u2032-i, son of Jarl, 214.\n\nAr\u2033-in-nef\u2032-ja, daughter of Thr\u00e6ll, 207.\n\nArn\u2032-gr\u012bm, father of the berserkers, 225.\n\n\u0100r\u2032-vak, a horse, 99, 100, 394.\n\n\u0100s\u2033-a-th\u014dr\u2032, Thor, 135.\n\n\u0100s\u2032-garth, home of the gods, 3, 11, 12, 141, 179, 186.\n\nAsk, Ash, 8.\n\n\u0100s\u2032-laug, daughter of Brynhild, 353, 404, 429.\n\n\u0100s\u2032-mund, a giant (?), 104.\n\nAth\u2032-al, son of Jarl, 214.\n\nAt\u2032-la, mother of Heimdall, 229.\n\nAt\u2033-la-kvith\u2032-a, the Lay of Atli, 165, 255, 306, 421, 448, 463, 476,\n480\u2013501, 515, 520, 522, 530, 543.\n\nAt\u2033-la-m\u01edl\u2032, the Ballad of Atli, 448, 449, 463, 480\u2013482, 485, 487, 491,\n494, 498\u2013535, 538, 540, 545, 548.\n\nAt\u2032-li, Attila, 8, 121, 290, 339, 346, 361, 406, 418, 419, 422,\n430\u2013432, 436\u2013438, 447\u2013451, 456\u2013459, 461\u2013466, 468\u2013470, 472\u2013478, 480\u2013485,\n487\u2013489, 491\u2013502, 504, 506, 507, 513, 514, 516\u2013520, 522\u2013538, 541,\n546\u2013548.\n\nAt\u2032-li, son of Hring, 306.\n\nAt\u2032-li, son of Ithmund, 271, 273\u2013276, 278\u2013281, 283, 284.\n\nAt\u2032-r\u012bth, Othin, 104.\n\nAur\u2032-both-a, a giantess, 109, 228.\n\nAur\u2032-both-a, Mengloth\u2019s handmaid, 249.\n\nAur\u2032-gelm-ir, Ymir, 76.\n\nAur\u2032-vang, a dwarf, 7.\n\nAustr\u2032-i, a dwarf, 6.\n\nAuth, mother of Harald Battle-Tooth, 227.\n\nAuth\u2032-a, sister of Agnar, 390, 444, 445.\n\nAuth\u2032-i, son of Halfdan the Old, 221, 485.\n\n\nBaldr, a god, 1, 2, 14\u201316, 22, 25, 82, 83, 90, 91, 114, 161, 172,\n195\u2013199, 218, 227, 228, 236, 245, 360.\n\nBaldrs Draumar, Baldr\u2019s Dreams, 15, 19, 114, 174, 178, 195\u2013200, 236.\n\nB\u0101l\u2032-eyg, Othin, 103.\n\nBar\u2032-i, a dwarf, 247.\n\nBarn, son of Jarl, 214.\n\nBar\u2032-ri, a berserker, 225.\n\nBar\u2032-ri, a forest, 119, 120.\n\nBeit\u2032-i, Atli\u2019s steward, 520.\n\nBekk\u2032-hild, sister of Brynhild, 345, 346.\n\nBel\u2032-i, a giant, 22, 110, 112.\n\nBer\u2032-a, Kostbera, 449, 510, 511, 517.\n\nBer\u2032-gel-mir, a giant, 76, 78.\n\nBest\u2032-la, Othin\u2019s mother, 4, 61, 160.\n\nBeyl\u2032-a, servant of Freyr, 152, 153, 169.\n\nBif\u2032-lind-i, Othin, 104.\n\nBif\u2032-rost, the rainbow bridge, 22, 90, 96, 102, 136, 329, 376.\n\nB\u012b\u2032-fur, a dwarf, 6.\n\nBik\u2032-ki, follower of Jormunrek, 439, 487, 488, 538, 551.\n\nB\u012bl\u2032-eyg, Othin, 103.\n\nBil\u2032-ling, a giant (?), 28, 46, 48.\n\nBil\u2032-rost, the rainbow bridge, 102, 376.\n\nBil\u2032-skirn-ir, Thor\u2019s dwelling, 88, 93.\n\nBjort, Mengloth\u2019s handmaid, 249.\n\nBl\u0101in, Ymir (?), 6.\n\nBleik, Mengloth\u2019s handmaid, 249.\n\nBlind, follower of Hunding, 312.\n\nBl\u012bth, Mengloth\u2019s handmaid, 249.\n\nBod\u2032-di, son of Karl, 209.\n\nB\u01ed\u2032-fur, a dwarf, 6.\n\nBolm, an island, 225.\n\nBol\u2032-thorn, Othin\u2019s grandfather, 4, 61.\n\nBol\u2032-verk, Othin, 50, 52, 103.\n\nBom\u2032-bur, a dwarf, 6.\n\nB\u014dnd\u2032-i, son of Karl, 209.\n\nBorg\u2032-ar, brother of Borghild (?), 334.\n\nBorg\u2032-hild, mother of Helgi, 270, 291, 293, 310, 333\u2013335.\n\nBorg\u2032-n\u0233, daughter of Heithrek, 469\u2013473, 479.\n\nBoth\u2032-vild, daughter of Nithuth, 254, 258, 260, 261, 263, 265\u2013268.\n\nBrag\u2032-a-lund, a forest, 314.\n\nBrag\u2032-i, a god, 102, 152, 155\u2013158, 228, 314, 394.\n\nBrag\u2032-i, brother of Sigrun, 318, 319.\n\nBrag\u2032-i Bod\u2032-da-son, a skald, 102.\n\nBr\u0101\u2032-lund, birthplace of Helgi, 291, 292, 310.\n\nBr\u0101m\u2032-i, a berserker, 225.\n\nBrand\u2032-ey, an island, 297.\n\nBratt\u2032-skegg, son of Karl, 209.\n\nBr\u0101\u2032-voll, a field, 303.\n\nBreith, son of Karl, 209.\n\nBreith\u2032-a-blik, Baldr\u2019s home, 90.\n\nBrim\u2032-ir, a giant, 6, 16, 17, 394.\n\nBrim\u2032-ir, a sword, 102.\n\nBr\u012bs\u2032-ings, the dwarfs, 159, 177\u2013179, 236.\n\nBrodd, follower of Hrolf, 224.\n\nBrot af Sig\u2033-urth-ar-kvith\u2032-u, Fragment of a Sigurth Lay, 155, 370,\n402\u2013412, 420, 421, 427\u2013429, 448, 450\u2013452, 486, 493, 515, 539, 542, 547.\n\nBrun\u2033-a-v\u0101g\u2032-ar, a harbor, 313, 314.\n\nBr\u016bth, daughter of Karl, 210.\n\nBryn\u2032-hild, wife of Gunnar, 14, 226, 234, 270, 296, 339, 344\u2013347,\n349\u2013353, 362, 370, 371, 383\u2013388, 391, 396, 397, 400, 403\u2013408, 412,\n417\u2013419, 421\u2013425, 427, 429\u2013438, 442\u2013448, 457, 459, 460, 469, 470,\n474\u2013476, 481, 484, 511, 516, 518, 532, 537, 543.\n\nB\u016b\u2032-i, a berserker, 225.\n\nB\u016b\u2032-i, son of Karl, 209.\n\nBund\u2033-in-skeg\u2032-gi, son of Karl, 209.\n\nBur, father of Othin, 4, 160, 228.\n\nBur, son of Jarl, 214.\n\nButh\u2032-li, father of Atli, 296, 339, 344, 346, 347, 371, 385, 388, 405,\n406, 408, 417\u2013419, 425, 429, 430, 432, 437, 441, 443, 459, 466, 474,\n485, 487, 488, 498, 512, 518, 521, 525, 530, 532.\n\nButh\u2032-lungs, descendants of Buthli, 498.\n\nBygg\u2032-vir, Freyr\u2019s servant, 152, 153, 165, 166, 169.\n\nB\u0233\u2032-leist (or B\u0233\u2032-leipt), brother of Loki, 22, 230.\n\n\nDag, a god (Day), 66, 75, 192.\n\nDag, brother of Sigrun, 310, 318, 319, 323, 324, 331.\n\nDag, husband of Thora, 223, 454.\n\nD\u0101in, a dwarf, 6, 220.\n\nD\u0101in, a hart, 98.\n\nD\u0101in, an elf, 62.\n\nDan, a king, 216.\n\nDan\u2032-a, daughter of Danp, 216.\n\nDanp, a king, 216, 484.\n\nDel\u2032-ling, father of Day, 66, 75, 247.\n\nDigr\u2032-ald-i, son of Thr\u00e6ll, 206.\n\nDog\u2032-ling, Delling, 75.\n\nD\u00f6g\u2032-lings, descendants of Dag, 223.\n\nDolg\u2032-thras-ir, a dwarf, 7.\n\nD\u014dr\u2032-i, a dwarf, 8, 247.\n\nDr\u0101p Nifl\u2032-ung-a, the Slaying of the Niflungs, 408, 438, 447\u2013449, 461,\n472, 477, 481, 482, 485, 489, 494, 501, 539, 543.\n\nDraup\u2032-nir, a dwarf, 7.\n\nDraup\u2032-nir, a ring, 114, 360.\n\nDreng, son of Karl, 209.\n\nDrott, son of Thr\u00e6ll, 206.\n\nDrumb, son of Thr\u00e6ll, 206.\n\nDrumb\u2032-a, daughter of Thr\u00e6ll, 207.\n\nD\u016bf, a dwarf, 8.\n\nDun\u2032-eyr, a hart, 98.\n\nDur\u2032-in, a dwarf, 6.\n\nDval\u2032-in, a dwarf, 6, 7, 62, 188, 375.\n\nDval\u2032-in, a hart, 98.\n\nDyr\u2032-a-thr\u014dr, a hart, 98.\n\n\nEd\u2032-da, Great-Grandmother, 204, 205.\n\nEgg\u2032-th\u0113r, the giants\u2019 watchman, 18.\n\nEg\u2032-il, brother of V\u00f6lund, 254\u2013257, 265, 267.\n\nEg\u2032-il, father of Thjalfi (?), 141.\n\nEg\u2033-ils-sag\u2032-a, the Saga of Egil, 139.\n\nEik\u2033-in-skjald\u2032-i, a dwarf, 7, 8.\n\nEik\u2033-in-tjas\u2032-na, daughter of Thr\u00e6ll, 207.\n\nEik\u2032-thyrn-ir, a hart, 94.\n\nEir, Mengloth\u2019s handmaid, 248, 249.\n\nEist\u2032-la, mother of Heimdall, 229.\n\nEit\u2032-il, son of Atli, 448, 461, 482, 495\u2013498, 525, 540, 541, 548.\n\nEld\u2032-hrim-nir, a kettle, 92.\n\nEld\u2032-ir, \u00c6gir\u2019s servant, 153, 154.\n\n\u0112l\u2033-i-v\u0101g\u2032-ar, the Milky Way (?), 76, 140.\n\nEmb\u2032-la, Elm, 8.\n\nErn\u2032-a, wife of Jarl, 213, 214.\n\nErp, son of Atli, 448, 461, 482, 495\u2013498, 525, 540, 541, 548.\n\nErp, son of Jonak, 361, 439, 538, 540, 546, 548, 550, 554.\n\nEy\u2032-fur-a, mother of the berserkers, 225.\n\nEyj\u2032-olf, son of Hunding, 295, 316, 317.\n\nEy\u2032-lim-i, father of Hjordis, 226, 270, 295, 335, 336, 340, 341, 363,\n365.\n\nEy\u2032-lim-i, father of Svava, 277, 284, 285, 287, 335.\n\nEy\u2032-m\u014dth, Atli\u2019s emissary, 456, 457.\n\nEy\u2032-mund, king of Holmgarth, 222.\n\nEyr\u2032-gjaf-a, mother of Heimdall, 229.\n\n\nF\u0101f\u2032-nir, brother of Regin, 226, 260, 273, 339, 345, 357, 359, 361\u2013365,\n369\u2013383, 385, 412, 421, 431, 445, 448, 475, 476, 484.\n\nF\u0101f\u2033-nis-m\u01edl\u2032, the Ballad of Fafnir, 6, 7, 125, 151, 188, 215, 226,\n273, 343, 344, 356, 357, 365, 369\u2013388, 390, 402, 411, 417, 445, 450,\n474, 476, 509.\n\nFal\u2032-h\u014dfn-ir, a horse, 96.\n\nFar\u2032-baut-i, father of Loki, 157, 168.\n\nFarm\u2032-a-t\u0233r, Othin, 104.\n\nFath\u2032-ir, Father, 204, 210.\n\nFeim\u2032-a, daughter of Karl, 210.\n\nFeng, Othin, 366.\n\nFen\u2032-ja, a giantess, 436.\n\nFenr\u2032-ir, a wolf, 17\u201323, 81\u201383, 91, 93, 100, 140, 146, 152, 164, 165,\n170, 196, 303.\n\nFen\u2032-sal-ir, Frigg\u2019s hall, 15.\n\nF\u012bl\u2032-i, a dwarf, 7.\n\nFim\u2032-a-feng, \u00c6gir\u2019s servant, 152, 153.\n\nFim\u2032-bul-thul, a river, 95.\n\nFith, a dwarf, 8.\n\nFit\u2032-jung, Earth, 43, 44.\n\nFjal\u2032-ar, a cock, 18, 19, 243.\n\nFjal\u2032-ar, a dwarf, 8.\n\nFjal\u2032-ar, Suttung (?), 32.\n\nFjal\u2032-ar, Utgartha-Loki (?), 130.\n\nFjol\u2032-kald, Svipdag\u2019s grandfather, 240.\n\nFjol\u2032-nir, Othin, 103, 366.\n\nFjol\u2033-svinns-m\u01edl\u2032, the Ballad of Fjolsvith, 234, 239\u2013251.\n\nFjol\u2032-svith, Mengloth\u2019s watchman, 234, 239\u2013250.\n\nFjol\u2032-svith, Othin, 103.\n\nFjol\u2032-var, a giant (?), 127.\n\nFj\u014dn, an island, 455.\n\nFjorg\u2032-yn, Jorth, 23, 24, 136.\n\nFjorg\u2032-yn, Othin, 24, 160.\n\nFjorm, a river, 95.\n\nFjorn\u2032-ir, Gunnar\u2019s cupbearer, 486.\n\nFjors\u2032-ungs, the fishes (?), 321.\n\nFj\u014dsn\u2032-ir, son of Thr\u00e6ll, 206.\n\nFjot\u2032-ur-lund, a forest, 323.\n\nFlj\u014dth, daughter of Karl, 210.\n\nFolk\u2032-vang, Freyja\u2019s home, 90, 175.\n\nFor\u2032-set-i, a god, 91, 228.\n\nF\u014dst\u2033-br\u00e6th-ra-sag\u2032-a, the Saga of the Foster-Brothers, 46.\n\nFr\u0101 Dauth\u2032-a Sinf\u2032-jotl-a, Of Sinfjotli\u2019s Death, 270, 293, 295, 302,\n332\u2013337, 340, 342, 356, 357, 359, 365, 368, 374, 386, 388, 421, 454,\n455.\n\nFr\u01e3g, a dwarf, 7.\n\nFr\u0101n\u2032-ang, a waterfall, 172, 173.\n\nFr\u0101n\u2032-mar, Sigrlin\u2019s foster-father, 273, 275.\n\nFr\u0101r, a dwarf, 7.\n\nFrath\u2032-mar, son of Dag, 223.\n\nFrek\u2032-a-stein, a battlefield, 287, 288, 304, 307, 318, 319, 322.\n\nFrek\u2032-i, a wolf, 92, 295.\n\nFrek\u2032-i, son of Dag, 223.\n\nFrey\u2032-ja, a goddess, 10\u201312, 22, 90, 91, 102, 108, 128, 152, 157\u2013159,\n161\u2013163, 175\u2013177, 180, 181, 217\u2013220, 231\u2013233, 236, 472.\n\nFreyr, a god, 10, 22, 88, 91, 101, 107\u2013110, 112\u2013115, 117, 119, 120,\n152, 161\u2013166, 169, 175, 220, 228, 284, 308, 428.\n\nFri\u2032-aut, daughter of Hildigun, 222, 223.\n\nFrigg, a goddess, 14, 15, 22, 68, 29, 86, 89, 91, 151, 152, 157\u2013161,\n182, 196, 236, 248, 472.\n\nFr\u012bth, Mengloth\u2019s handmaid, 249.\n\nFrost\u2032-i, a dwarf, 8.\n\nFr\u014dth\u2032-i, a Danish king, 294, 295, 436.\n\nFr\u014dth\u2032-i, father of Hledis, 222.\n\nFr\u014dth\u2032-i, father of Kari (?), 224.\n\nFul\u2032-la, Frigg\u2019s handmaid, 86.\n\nFul\u2032-nir, son of Thr\u00e6ll, 206.\n\nFund\u2032-in, a dwarf, 7.\n\n\nGagn\u2032-r\u0101th, Othin, 68, 70\u201372.\n\nGand\u2032-alf, a dwarf, 7.\n\nGang, brother of Thjazi, 128.\n\nGang\u2032-ler-i, King Gylfi, 94.\n\nGang\u2032-ler-i, Othin, 103.\n\nGarm, a hound, 19, 21, 24, 102, 140, 196.\n\nGast\u2032-ropn-ir, Mengloth\u2019s dwelling, 242.\n\nGaut, Othin, 105.\n\nGef\u2032-jun, a goddess, 157\u2013159.\n\nGeir\u2032-mund, kinsman of Atli, 478.\n\nGeir\u2032-on-ul, a Valkyrie, 99.\n\nGeir\u2032-r\u00f6th, a king, 84\u201387, 104\u2013106.\n\nGeir\u2032-skog-ul, a Valkyrie, 14.\n\nGeir\u2032-vim-ul, a river, 95.\n\nGeit\u2032-ir, Gripir\u2019s servant, 340\u2013342.\n\nGer\u2032-i, a hound, 244.\n\nGer\u2032-i, a wolf, 92, 295.\n\nGerth, daughter of Gymir, 109, 111\u2013115, 119, 120, 152, 165, 228.\n\nG\u012bf, a hound, 244.\n\nGim\u2032-l\u0113, a mountain, 26.\n\nGin\u2032-nar, a dwarf, 8.\n\nGin\u2033-nung-a-gap\u2032, Yawning Gap, 4, 77.\n\nGip\u2032-ul, a river, 95.\n\nG\u012bsl, a horse, 96.\n\nGjaf\u2032-laug, Gjuki\u2019s sister, 413.\n\nGjal\u2033-lar-horn\u2032, Heimdall\u2019s horn, 12, 20.\n\nGjol, a river, 95.\n\nGjolp, mother of Heimdall, 229.\n\nGj\u016bk\u2032-i, father of Gunnar, 226, 343, 344, 348, 352\u2013354, 362, 383, 403,\n406, 407, 410, 411, 413, 415\u2013418, 421\u2013423, 426, 429, 444, 446\u2013448, 451,\n452, 459, 462, 466, 470, 476, 477, 480, 482, 499, 500, 509, 516, 517,\n529, 535, 541, 542, 546, 552, 553.\n\nGj\u016bk\u2032-i, son of Hogni, 449.\n\nGj\u016bk\u2032-ungs, Gjuki\u2019s sons, 344, 383, 388, 403, 408, 421, 426, 431, 446,\n448, 449, 451, 456, 457, 476, 477, 483, 484, 500, 501.\n\nGlap\u2032-svith, Othin, 103.\n\nGlas\u2032-ir, a forest, 274.\n\nGlath, a horse, 96.\n\nGlaths\u2032-heim, Othin\u2019s dwelling, 89.\n\nGlaum, Atli\u2019s horse, 493.\n\nGlaum\u2032-vor, wife of Gunnar, 448, 500, 502, 507, 508, 510, 511.\n\nGleip\u2032-nir, a chain, 17.\n\nGler, a horse, 96.\n\nGlit\u2032-nir, Forseti\u2019s dwelling, 91.\n\nGl\u014d\u2032-in, a dwarf, 7.\n\nGnip\u2033-a-hel\u2032-lir, a cave, 19, 21, 24.\n\nGnip\u2032-a-lund, a forest, 300, 301, 303, 306.\n\nGnit\u2032-a-heith, Fafnir\u2019s mountain, 343, 365, 371, 484.\n\nG\u014d\u2032-in, a serpent, 98.\n\nGol, a Valkyrie, 99.\n\nGol\u2033-lin-kamb\u2032-i, a cock, 19, 243, 329.\n\nGoll\u2032-nir, a giant (?), 303.\n\nGoll\u2032-rond, daughter of Gjuki, 414\u2013416, 418.\n\nGoll\u2032-topp, a horse, 96, 97.\n\nGoll\u2032-veig, a Wane, 10.\n\nGom\u2032-ul, a river, 95.\n\nGond\u2032-lir, Othin, 104.\n\nGond\u2032-ul, a Valkyrie, 14.\n\nGop\u2032-ul, a river, 95.\n\nGorm (the Old), King of Denmark, 201, 202.\n\nGoth\u2032-mund, son of Granmar, 290, 300\u2013305, 309, 316\u2013318, 321, 322, 332.\n\nGot\u2032-thorm, slayer of Sigurth, 226, 350, 354, 361, 405, 410, 426\u2013428,\n453, 533.\n\nGr\u0101\u2032-bak, a serpent, 98.\n\nGraf\u2032-vit-nir, a serpent, 98.\n\nGraf\u2032-vol-luth, a serpent, 98.\n\nGram, Sigurth\u2019s sword, 351, 365, 378, 427, 428.\n\nGran\u2032-i, Sigurth\u2019s horse, 259, 260, 303, 342, 344, 350, 358, 359, 385,\n395, 403, 406, 417, 431, 432, 445, 446, 452, 476.\n\nGran\u2032-mar, father of Hothbrodd, 291, 296, 300, 304, 308, 316\u2013322, 332.\n\nGreip, mother of Heimdall, 229.\n\nGret\u2032-tir, a hero, 64.\n\nGret\u2033-tis-sag\u2032-a, the Saga of Grettir, 129.\n\nGr\u012bm, follower of Hrolf, 224.\n\nGr\u012bm, Othin, 103.\n\nGr\u012bm\u2032-hild, wife of Gjuki, 226, 349, 350, 354, 403, 405, 436, 448,\n455\u2013457, 459\u2013461, 474, 519, 524, 526.\n\nGrim\u2032-nir, Othin, 84, 86, 87, 103, 104.\n\nGrim\u2033-nis-m\u01edl, the Ballad of Grimnir, 4, 5, 9, 12, 14, 17\u201320, 62, 68,\n75, 84\u2013108, 122, 130, 136, 138, 139, 152, 175, 179, 180, 196, 203, 221,\n230, 234, 237, 253, 302, 303, 323, 329, 366, 376, 378, 384, 394, 472,\n487, 494.\n\nGr\u012bp\u2032-ir, Sigurth\u2019s uncle, 337, 340\u2013355.\n\nGr\u012bp\u2033-is-sp\u01ed\u2032, Gripir\u2019s Prophecy, 14, 87, 226, 336\u2013359, 365, 371, 383,\n386, 388, 403, 404, 406, 409, 412, 417, 418, 421, 422, 429, 440\u2013442,\n446, 447, 450, 451, 456, 469, 481, 484, 499, 518, 536.\n\nGr\u014d\u2032-a, mother of Svipdag, 234\u2013236, 238.\n\nGr\u01edth, a river, 95.\n\nGrot\u2033-ta-songr\u2032, the Song of Grotti, 436.\n\nGrot\u2032-ti, a mill, 436.\n\nGr\u014d\u2033-u-galdr\u2032, Groa\u2019s Spell, 234\u2013239.\n\nGull\u2032-fax-i, a horse, 126.\n\nGull\u2033-in-tan\u2032-ni, Heimdall, 97.\n\nGung\u2032-nir, a spear, 101, 395.\n\nGun\u2032-nar, brother of Borghild (?), 334.\n\nGun\u2032-nar, follower of Hrolf, 224.\n\nGun\u2032-nar, son of Gjuki, 8, 226, 339, 343, 349\u2013354, 361, 383, 403\u2013405,\n407\u2013409, 414, 417\u2013419, 421\u2013424, 426, 427, 429\u2013434, 436\u201338, 442,\n447\u2013449, 453, 456, 457, 459\u2013461, 467, 469, 470, 473\u2013479, 482\u2013486,\n488\u2013494, 497\u2013500, 502, 507\u2013509, 513, 517\u2013519, 521, 522, 532, 533, 539,\n541, 543, 546\u2013548.\n\nGunn\u2032-loth, daughter of Suttung, 28, 32, 50\u201352.\n\nGunn\u2032-thor-in, a river, 95.\n\nGunn\u2032-thr\u014d, a river, 95.\n\nGust, Andvari (?), 357, 361.\n\nGuth, a Valkyrie, 14, 314.\n\nGuth\u2032-r\u016bn, wife of Sigurth, 226, 339, 343, 344, 349, 352\u2013354, 383, 388,\n403\u2013407, 410\u2013417, 419, 421\u2013424, 428, 429, 433, 436\u2013439, 442, 446\u2013451,\n453, 455\u2013457, 459\u2013466, 468, 470, 477, 480, 482, 485, 493\u2013501, 513, 515,\n516, 518, 519, 522\u2013544, 546\u2013550, 552.\n\nGuth\u2033-r\u016bn-ar-hvot\u2032, Guthrun\u2019s Inciting, 226, 410, 411, 439, 447, 450,\n497, 535\u2013547, 549, 551, 555.\n\nGuth\u2033-r\u016bn-ar-kvith\u2032-a I (en Fyrst\u2032-a), the First Lay of Guthrun, 4,\n293, 325, 402, 409, 411\u2013420, 422, 423, 426, 429, 430, 450, 452\u2013454,\n475, 479.\n\nGuth\u2033-r\u016bn-ar-kvith\u2032-a II (On\u2032-nur, en Forn\u2032-a), the Second (Old) Lay of\nGuthrun, 230, 255, 325, 407, 410\u2013412, 416, 419, 450\u2013465, 467, 476, 493,\n495, 496, 501, 505.\n\nGuth\u2033-r\u016bn-ar-kvith\u2032-a III (Thrith\u2032-ja), the Third Lay of Guthrun, 450,\n451, 465\u2013469, 517.\n\nGylf\u2033-a-gin\u2032-ning, the Deceiving of Gylfi, 120, 228, 229, 231, 248,\n370.\n\nGyl\u2032-lir, a horse, 96.\n\nGym\u2032-ir, \u00c6gir, 151.\n\nGym\u2032-ir, a giant, 109, 111, 112, 114, 165, 228.\n\nGyrth, son of Dag, 223.\n\n\nHad\u2032-ding, a Danish king, 311, 458.\n\nHad\u2033-ding-ja-skat\u2032-i, Haddings\u2019-Hero (Helgi), 311, 330, 331.\n\nHad\u2032-dings, berserkers, 225.\n\nH\u01e3m\u2032-ing, son of Hunding, 311.\n\nHag\u2032-al, Helgi\u2019s foster-father, 310\u2013312.\n\nHak\u2032-i, son of Hvethna, 227.\n\nHal, son of Karl, 209.\n\nH\u0101lf, King of Horthaland, 222, 223.\n\nHalf\u2032-dan, father of Kara, 316, 330.\n\nHalf\u2032-dan (the Old), a Danish king, 221\u2013223, 227, 269, 307, 308, 364,\n454.\n\nH\u0101lfs\u2032-sag-a, the Saga of Half, 222, 223.\n\nHam\u2032-al, son of Hagal, 311, 314.\n\nHam\u2032-th\u0113r, son of Jonak, 361, 439, 447, 536\u2013541, 545\u2013550, 552\u2013555.\n\nHam\u2033-th\u0113s-m\u01edl\u2032, the Ballad of Hamther, 226, 410, 439, 447, 450, 488,\n536\u2013540, 545\u2013555.\n\nH\u0101\u2032-mund, son of Sigmund, 293, 334.\n\nHan\u2032-nar, a dwarf, 7.\n\nH\u0101r, Othin, 94, 103.\n\nHar\u2032-ald (Battle-Tooth), son of Hr\u00f6rek, 227.\n\nHar\u2032-ald (Blue-Tooth), King of Denmark, 201, 202.\n\nH\u0101r\u2032-barth, Othin, 104, 121, 122, 125\u2013137.\n\nH\u0101r\u2033-barths-lj\u014dth\u2032, the Poem of Harbarth, 12, 24, 104, 121\u2013140, 142,\n143, 152, 167, 168, 170, 171, 174, 175, 185, 195, 228, 314, 394, 443,\n478, 480.\n\nHat\u2032-a-fjord, a fjord, 278.\n\nHat\u2032-i, a giant, 278, 280, 281.\n\nHat\u2032-i, a wolf, 18, 100.\n\nHaug\u2032-spor-i, a dwarf, 7.\n\nHeer\u2032-fath-er, Othin, 13, 14, 69, 92, 94, 218, 390.\n\nHeim\u2032-dall, a god, 3, 12, 18, 20, 90, 97, 115, 166, 167, 178, 202, 203,\n213, 228\u2013230.\n\nHeim\u2032-ir, Brynhild\u2019s foster-father, 345\u2013348, 350, 351, 353, 403, 404,\n445.\n\nHeith, daughter of Hrimnir, 228.\n\nHeith, Gollweg (?), 10.\n\nHeith\u2032-draup-nir, Mimir (?), 393, 394.\n\nHeith\u2032-rek, father of Borgny, 470.\n\nHeith\u2032-r\u016bn, a goat, 94, 232.\n\nHel, goddess of the dead, 16, 17, 19, 20, 22, 93, 95, 97, 115, 118,\n146, 196, 231, 237, 245, 377, 441\u2013443, 518, 551.\n\nHel\u2032-blind-i, Othin, 103.\n\nHelg\u2033-a-kvith\u2032-a Hjor\u2033-varths-son\u2032-ar, the Lay of Helgi the Son of\nHjorvarth, 14, 189, 269\u2013290, 292, 293, 295, 298, 300, 302, 304, 309,\n313, 318, 332, 358, 359, 371, 506.\n\nHelg\u2033-a-kvith\u2032-a Hund\u2033-ings-ban\u2032-a I (en Fyr\u2032-ri), the First Lay of\nHelgi Hundingsbane, 14, 160, 215, 221, 273, 276, 281, 287, 290\u2013308,\n310, 311, 313, 316\u2013319, 321, 322, 328, 358, 364\u2013366, 428, 524.\n\nHelg\u2033-a-kvith\u2032-a Hund\u2033-ings-ban\u2032-a II (On\u2032-nur), the Second Lay of\nHelgi Hundingsbane, 95, 272, 288, 289, 294, 296, 298, 306, 309\u2013331,\n366, 418, 434, 466, 543.\n\nHelg\u2032-i (Had\u2033-ding-ja-skat\u2032-i), Helgi the Haddings\u2019-Hero, 311, 330,\n331.\n\nHelg\u2032-i, Hjalmgunnar (?), 344, 345.\n\nHelg\u2032-i, son of Hjorvarth, 269\u2013272, 276\u2013289, 310, 311, 330, 331, 335.\n\nHelg\u2032-i, son of Sigmund, 221, 269, 270, 276, 289\u2013301, 304, 306\u2013336,\n339, 340, 357, 358, 364\u2013366, 368, 371, 446.\n\nHel\u2032-reith Bryn\u2032-hild-ar, Brynhild\u2019s Hell-Ride, 129, 255, 345, 346,\n353, 387, 388, 390, 442\u2013447, 450, 511.\n\nHept\u2033-i-f\u012bl\u2032-i, a dwarf, 7.\n\nHer\u2032-borg, queen of the Huns, 411, 413, 414.\n\nHer\u2032-fjot-ur, a Valkyrie, 99.\n\nHer\u2032-jan, Othin, 14, 103, 416.\n\nHerk\u2032-ja, Atli\u2019s servant, 465, 466, 468.\n\nHer\u2032-m\u014dth, son of Othin, 218.\n\nHers\u2032-ir, father of Erna, 213.\n\nHer\u2032-teit, Othin, 103.\n\nHer\u2033-var-ar-sag\u2032-a, the Saga of Hervor, 366, 484.\n\nHer\u2032-varth, a berserker, 225.\n\nHer\u2032-varth, son of Hunding, 316, 317.\n\nHer\u2032-vor, a swan-maiden, 254\u2013256, 259.\n\nHeth\u2032-in, brother of Helgi, 271\u2013273, 284\u2013286, 288, 289.\n\nHeth\u2032-ins-ey, an island, 297.\n\nHild, a Valkyrie, 14, 99.\n\nHild, Brynhild, 444, 511.\n\nHild, mother of King Half, 223, 224.\n\nHild\u2032-i-gun, daughter of S\u00e6konung, 222, 223.\n\nHild\u2033-i-svin\u2032-i, a boar, 220.\n\nHild\u2032-olf, a warrior, 124.\n\nHim\u2032-in-bjorg, Heimdall\u2019s dwelling, 90.\n\nHim\u2033-in-vang\u2032-ar, Heaven\u2019s-Field, 293.\n\nHind\u2032-ar-fjoll, Brynhild\u2019s mountain, 383, 384, 388, 445.\n\nHjal\u2032-li, Atli\u2019s cook, 491, 492, 520, 521.\n\nHjalm\u2032-ar, a warrior, 225.\n\nHjalm\u2032-ber-i, Othin, 103.\n\nHjalm\u2032-gun-nar, a Gothic king, 345, 390, 445.\n\nHjalp\u2032-rek, father of Alf, 335, 336, 358, 359, 365, 369, 454.\n\nHjor\u2032-d\u012bs, mother of Sigurth, 226, 270, 277, 293, 333, 335, 336, 340,\n341, 368, 374, 454.\n\nHjor\u2032-leif, father of King Half, 223.\n\nHjor\u2032-leif, follower of Helgi, 298.\n\nHjor\u2032-varth, a berserker, 225.\n\nHjor\u2032-varth, father of Helgi, 269\u2013274, 276\u2013278, 284, 287, 289, 331.\n\nHjor\u2032-varth, father of Hvethna, 227.\n\nHjor\u2032-varth, son of Hunding, 273, 295, 316, 317, 368.\n\nHlath\u2032-guth, a swan-maiden, 254\u2013256.\n\nHl\u0113\u2032-barth, a giant, 128.\n\nHl\u0113\u2032-bjorg, a mountain, 319, 320.\n\nHl\u0113\u2032-d\u012bs, mother of Ottar, 222.\n\nHl\u0113r, \u00c6gir, 132, 152.\n\nHl\u0113s\u2032-ey, an island, 132, 139, 314, 478.\n\nHl\u0113\u2032-vang, a dwarf, 7.\n\nHl\u012bf, Mengloth\u2019s handmaid, 248.\n\nHl\u012bf\u2032-thras-a, Mengloth\u2019s handmaid, 248.\n\nHl\u012bn, Frigg, 22.\n\nHlith\u2032-skjolf, Othin\u2019s seat, 86, 88, 107, 108, 480, 487.\n\nHlokk, a Valkyrie, 99.\n\nHl\u014dr\u2032-rith-i, Thor, 135, 140, 143, 147, 149, 169, 176, 178, 182.\n\nHloth\u2032-varth, follower of Helgi, 280.\n\nHloth\u2032-v\u0113r, a Frankish king, 459.\n\nHloth\u2032-v\u0113r, father of Hervor, 254\u2013256, 259.\n\nHl\u014dth\u2032-yn, Jorth, 23.\n\nHlym\u2032-dal-ir, Brynhild\u2019s home, 444.\n\nHnifl\u2032-ung, son of Hogni, 498, 515, 529.\n\nHnifl\u2032-ungs, the people of Gjuki (Nibelungs), 291, 305.\n\nHnik\u2032-ar, Othin, 103, 357, 366, 367.\n\nHnik\u2032-uth, Othin, 103, 104.\n\nH\u01ed\u2032-alf, a Danish king, 437, 454.\n\nH\u01ed\u2032-alf, King Half of Horthaland, 223, 224.\n\nH\u01ed\u2032-br\u014dk, a hawk, 102.\n\nHodd\u2032-mim-ir, Mimir, 80.\n\nHodd\u2032-rof-nir, Mimir (?), 393, 394.\n\nHog\u2032-ni, brother of Sigar, 312, 313.\n\nHog\u2032-ni, father of Sigrun, 296, 306, 308, 312, 313, 316\u2013319, 323, 328,\n329.\n\nHog\u2032-ni, son of Gjuki, 226, 343, 350, 354, 361, 404\u2013406, 421, 425\u2013427,\n429, 431, 434, 447\u2013449, 453, 456, 457, 459\u2013461, 467, 469, 472, 476,\n477, 482, 484\u2013487, 490\u201393, 498\u2013500, 502\u2013506, 509, 511, 512, 514, 515,\n517\u2013521, 523, 529\u2013533, 539, 541, 543, 546\u2013548.\n\nH\u01edk\u2032-on, father of Thora, 419, 454, 455.\n\nHol, a river, 95.\n\nHolm\u2032-garth, Russia, 222.\n\nHolth, son of Karl, 209.\n\nH\u022bn\u2032-ir, a god, 8, 20, 25, 162, 358, 359, 493.\n\nH\u01edr, a dwarf, 7.\n\nH\u01edr, Othin, 10, 51\u201353, 60, 103.\n\nHorn, a river, 237.\n\nHorn\u2032-bor-i, a dwarf, 7.\n\nHorth\u2032-a-land, Half\u2019s kingdom, 222, 223.\n\nH\u00f6rv\u2032-ir, follower of Hrolf, 224.\n\nHos\u2032-vir, son of Thr\u00e6ll, 206.\n\nHoth, slayer of Baldr, 15, 25, 161, 198, 228.\n\nHoth\u2032-brodd, son of Granmar, 269, 270, 291, 296, 297, 301, 304\u2013306,\n309, 316, 317, 319, 321, 322.\n\nH\u01ed\u2032-t\u016bn, Helgi\u2019s home, 293, 298.\n\nH\u01edv\u2033-a-m\u01edl\u2032, the Ballad of the High One, 4, 28\u201368, 71, 75, 112, 117,\n130, 188, 193, 205, 215, 236, 237, 247, 357, 367, 368, 379, 387, 393,\n397.\n\nH\u01ed\u2032-varth, son of Hunding, 295.\n\nHr\u01e3\u2032-svelg, an eagle, 21, 78, 115.\n\nHran\u2032-i, a berserker, 225.\n\nHrauth\u2032-ung, ancestor of Hjordis, 226.\n\nHrauth\u2032-ung, father of Geirr\u00f6th, 85.\n\nHreim, son of Thr\u00e6ll, 206.\n\nHreith\u2032-mar, father of Regin, 7, 357\u2013359, 361\u2013363.\n\nHr\u012bm\u2032-fax-i, a horse, 72.\n\nHr\u012bm\u2032-gerth, a giantess, 189, 271, 278\u2013283.\n\nHr\u012bm\u2033-gerth-ar-m\u01edl\u2032, the Ballad of Hrimgerth, 271, 278\u2013284.\n\nHr\u012bm\u2032-grim-nir, a giant, 118.\n\nHrim\u2032-nir, a giant, 115, 228.\n\nHring, a warrior, 306, 307.\n\nHring\u2032-stath-ir, Ringsted, 293, 308.\n\nHring\u2032-stoth, Ringsted (?), 293.\n\nHrist, a Valkyrie, 99.\n\nHr\u012bth, a river, 95, 237.\n\nHr\u014d\u2032-ar, brother of Borghild (?), 334.\n\nHrolf (the Old), King of Gautland, 224.\n\nHrol\u2032-laug, a warrior, 319, 320.\n\nHr\u014d\u2032-mund, a warrior, 331.\n\nHr\u014d\u2032-mund-ar Sag\u2032-a Greips\u2032-son-ar, the Saga of Hromund Greipsson, 311,\n331.\n\nHron, a river, 95, 237.\n\nHr\u014dpt, Othin, 25, 166, 393.\n\nHr\u014dpt\u2032-a-t\u0233r, Othin, 66, 105.\n\nHr\u022b\u2032-rek, King of Denmark, 227.\n\nHross\u2032-thj\u014df, son of Hrimnir, 228.\n\nHr\u014dth, a giant, 142.\n\nHr\u014dth\u2032-mar, lover of Sigrlin, 275, 276, 278, 286.\n\nHr\u014dth\u2032-vit-nir, Fenrir, 100, 164.\n\nHrot\u2032-ti, a sword, 385.\n\nHrung\u2032-nir, a giant, 125, 126, 143, 171, 172, 394.\n\nHrym, a giant, 21.\n\nHug\u2032-in, a raven, 92.\n\nHum\u2032-lung, son of Hjorvarth, 272, 273.\n\nHund\u2032-ing, enemy of Sigmund, 269, 270, 273, 294, 295, 307, 309\u2013311,\n313, 315, 316, 326, 335, 336, 342, 343, 357, 358, 365, 368, 369.\n\nHund\u2032-land, Hunding\u2019s kingdom, 294, 310, 311.\n\nHver\u2032-gel-mir, a spring, 94.\n\nHveth\u2032-na, mother of Haki, 227.\n\nHym\u2032-ir, a giant, 77, 138\u2013150, 163.\n\nHym\u2033-is-kvith\u2032-a, the Lay of Hymir, 21, 77, 116, 122, 138\u2013152, 163,\n170, 174, 179, 180, 182, 183, 391.\n\nHym\u2032-ling, son of Hjorvarth, 273.\n\nHynd\u2032-la, a giantess, 217\u2013220, 222, 231\u2013233.\n\nHynd\u2033-lu-lj\u014dth\u2032, the Poem of Hyndla, 115, 132, 154, 167, 203, 217\u2013233,\n273, 292, 307, 314, 350, 427, 454, 457.\n\n\nIf\u2032-ing, a river, 72, 131.\n\nIm, son of Vafthruthnir, 70.\n\nImth, a giant, 304.\n\nImth, mother of Heimdall, 229.\n\nIng\u2032-un, sister of Njorth (?), 165.\n\nIng\u2032-un-ar = Freyr, Freyr, 165.\n\nIn\u2032-stein, father of Ottar, 220, 222, 224.\n\n\u012ar\u2032-i, a dwarf, 247.\n\n\u012as\u2032-olf, son of Olmoth, 224.\n\n\u012as\u2032-ung, a warrior, 297.\n\nIth\u2032-a-voll, meeting-place of the gods, 5, 24.\n\n\u012ath\u2032-i, brother of Thjazi, 128.\n\nIth\u2032-mund, follower of Hjorvarth, 273, 274.\n\n\u012ath\u2032-un, a goddess, 102, 113, 128, 152, 157, 158, 175.\n\n\u012a\u2032-vald-i, a dwarf, 101.\n\nI\u2032-var, King of Sweden, 227.\n\n\nJafn\u2032-h\u01edr, Othin, 103, 104.\n\nJalk, Othin, 104, 105.\n\nJar\u2032-i, a dwarf, 7, 247.\n\nJar\u2032-iz-leif, Atli\u2019s emissary, 456, 457.\n\nJar\u2032-iz-sk\u0101r, Atli\u2019s emissary, 456, 457.\n\nJarl, son of Rig, 212\u2013215.\n\nJarn\u2032-sax-a, a giantess, 125.\n\nJarn\u2032-sax-a, mother of Heimdall, 229.\n\nJof\u2032-ur-mar, son of Dag, 223.\n\nJ\u014dn\u2032-ak, father of Hamther, 439, 447, 536, 538, 542, 546, 548, 550,\n553.\n\nJor\u2032-mun-rek, Ermanarich, 225, 226, 339, 407, 437, 439, 447, 451,\n538\u2013540, 546, 549, 551\u2013554.\n\nJorth, Earth, 12, 23, 24, 123, 136, 170, 174, 175, 389.\n\nJ\u014dth, son of Jarl, 214.\n\nJot\u2032-un-heim, the world of the giants, 3, 5, 6, 21, 107, 111, 128,\n179\u2013181, 186.\n\n\nK\u0101r\u2032-a, daughter of Halfdan, 272, 310, 311, 314, 316, 330, 331, 345.\n\nK\u0101r\u2032-i, ancestor of Ketil, 224.\n\nKarl, son of Rig, 208, 209.\n\nK\u0101r\u2033-u-lj\u014dth\u2032, the Poem of Kara, 272, 311, 314, 315, 331.\n\nKef\u2032-sir, son of Thr\u00e6ll, 206.\n\nKer\u2032-laug, a river, 96.\n\nKet\u2032-il Horth\u2032-a = K\u0101r\u2032-i, husband of Hildigun, 223, 224.\n\nK\u012bl\u2032-i, a dwarf, 7.\n\nKjal\u2032-ar, Othin, 104.\n\nKj\u0101r, father of Olrun, 254\u2013256, 485.\n\nKleg\u2032-gi, son of Thr\u00e6ll, 206.\n\nKl\u016br, son of Thr\u00e6ll, 206.\n\nKlypp, father of Ketil, 223.\n\nKn\u0113\u2032-fr\u00f6th, Atli\u2019s messenger, 448, 482, 483, 502.\n\nKolg\u2032-a, daughter of \u00c6gir, 299.\n\nKon, son of Rig, 201, 209, 210, 214, 215, 236, 256, 306.\n\nKormt, a river, 96.\n\nKost\u2032-ber-a, wife of Hogni, 449, 500, 502\u2013506, 510.\n\nKumb\u2032-a, daughter of Thr\u00e6ll, 207.\n\nKund, son of Jarl, 214.\n\n\nL\u01e3\u2032-gjarn, Loki, 245.\n\nL\u01e3\u2032-r\u0101th, Yggdrasil, 94.\n\nL\u01e3v\u2032-a-tein, a sword, 245.\n\nLauf\u2032-ey, mother of Loki, 9, 157, 168, 177\u2013179.\n\nLeg\u2032-gjald-i, son of Thr\u00e6ll, 206.\n\nLeipt, a river, 95, 323.\n\nLeir\u2032-brim-ir, Ymir (?), 242.\n\nL\u0113tt\u2032-fet-i, a horse, 96.\n\nL\u012bf, mother of the new race, 80.\n\nL\u012bf\u2032-thras-ir, father of the new race, 80.\n\nLim\u2032-a-fjord, a fjord, 501, 510.\n\nLit, a dwarf, 7.\n\nLj\u014dth\u2032-a-tal, the List of Charms, 28, 44, 60, 63, 236.\n\nLodd\u2032-f\u0101f-nir, a singer, 28, 52\u201359, 67.\n\nLodd\u2033-f\u0101f-nis-m\u01edl\u2032, the Ballad of Loddfafnir, 28, 67, 387, 397.\n\nLof\u2032-ar, a dwarf, 7, 8.\n\nLofn\u2032-heith, daughter of Hreithmar, 363.\n\nLog\u2032-a-fjoll, a mountain, 294, 295, 316, 317.\n\nLok\u2033-a-sen\u2032-na, Loki\u2019s Wrangling, 4, 16, 26, 102, 107, 130, 134, 139,\n151\u2013175, 177, 178, 180, 184, 196, 218, 228, 232, 236, 256, 306.\n\nLok\u2032-i, a god, 1, 8, 9, 11, 15\u201317, 21, 22, 25, 101, 102, 128, 130, 134,\n146, 149\u2013173, 175\u2013179, 196, 198, 200, 228, 230\u2013232, 245\u2013247, 303,\n357\u2013362, 417, 493.\n\nL\u014dn\u2032-i, a dwarf, 7.\n\nLopt, Loki, 154, 231, 245.\n\nLoth\u2032-in, a giant, 282.\n\nL\u014dth\u2032-ur, Loki, 8, 9, 154.\n\nL\u016bt, son of Thr\u00e6ll, 206.\n\nLyf\u2032-ja-berg, a mountain, 248, 251.\n\nLyng\u2032-heith, daughter of Hreithmar, 363, 364.\n\nLyng\u2032-vi, son of Hunding, 336, 368, 369.\n\nL\u0233r, Mengloth\u2019s hall, 247.\n\n\nMag\u2032-ni, son of Thor, 82, 125, 135.\n\nM\u0101n\u2032-i, Moon, 74, 75, 99.\n\nMeil\u2032-i, brother of Thor, 125.\n\nM\u0113ln\u2032-ir, a horse, 306.\n\nMen\u2032-gloth, beloved of Svipdag, 234\u2013236, 238, 239, 241, 248\u2013251, 350,\n388, 441.\n\nMen\u2032-ja, a giantess, 436.\n\nM\u012bm (or M\u012bm\u2032-ir), a water-spirit, 12, 13, 20, 61, 81, 242, 393, 394.\n\nM\u012bm\u2032-a-meith, Yggdrasil, 242, 243.\n\nM\u012bm\u2032-ir, brother of Regin, 359.\n\nMist, a Valkyrie, 99, 305.\n\nMith\u2032-garth, the world of men, 3, 4, 92, 100, 101, 129, 186, 221, 223.\n\nMith\u2033-garths-orm\u2032, a serpent, 17, 21, 23, 24, 122, 139, 145, 146, 170,\n196, 230.\n\nMith\u2032-vit-nir, a giant, 104.\n\nMjoll\u2032-nir, Thor\u2019s hammer, 82, 126, 149, 169\u2013171, 174, 181.\n\nMjoth\u2032-vit-nir, a dwarf, 6, 7.\n\nMog, son of Jarl, 214.\n\nMog\u2032-thras-ir, a giant (?), 82.\n\nM\u014d\u2032-in, a serpent, 98.\n\nM\u014d\u2033-ins-heim\u2032-ar, a battlefield, 304, 322.\n\nMorn\u2032-a-land, an eastern country, 470.\n\nM\u014dth\u2032-i, son of Thor, 82, 148.\n\nM\u014dth\u2032-ir, mother of Jarl, 204, 210\u2013212.\n\nM\u014dt\u2032-sog-nir, a dwarf, 6.\n\nMund\u2033-il-fer\u2032-i, father of Sol, 5, 74, 99.\n\nMun\u2032-in, a raven, 92.\n\nM\u016b\u2032-spell, father of the fire-dwellers, 22, 165.\n\nM\u016b\u2032-spells-heim, home of the fire-dwellers, 3, 21, 73, 100.\n\nM\u0233ln\u2032-ir, a horse, 306.\n\nMyrk\u2032-heim, Myrkwood (Atli\u2019s land), 498.\n\nMyrk\u2032-wood, a forest in Atli\u2019s land, 476, 483, 484, 487, 498.\n\nMyrk\u2032-wood, a forest in Hothbrodd\u2019s land, 306.\n\nMyrk\u2032-wood, a forest in Muspellsheim, 165.\n\nMyrk\u2032-wood, a forest in Nithuth\u2019s land, 255, 256.\n\n\nNab\u2032-bi, a dwarf, 220.\n\nNagl\u2032-far, a ship, 21.\n\nN\u0101in, a dwarf, 6.\n\nNal, Laufey, 168.\n\nN\u0101l\u2032-i, a dwarf, 7.\n\nNan\u2032-na, daughter of Nokkvi, 224.\n\nNan\u2032-na, wife of Baldr, 91.\n\nN\u0101r, a dwarf, 6.\n\nNarf\u2032-i, Nor, 75, 192.\n\nNarf\u2032-i, son of Loki, 16, 167, 172, 173.\n\nN\u0101\u2032-strond, Corpse-Strand, 17.\n\nNep, father of Nanna, 91.\n\nNer\u2032-i, a giant (?), 292.\n\nNifl\u2032-heim, the world of the dead, 3, 94.\n\nNifl\u2032-hel, land of the dead, 80, 196.\n\nNifl\u2032-ungs, the people of Gjuki (Nibelungs), 408, 447, 448, 486, 487,\n489, 492, 493, 515, 517, 541.\n\nN\u012bp\u2032-ing, a dwarf, 6.\n\nNith, son of Jarl, 214.\n\nNith\u2032-a-fjoll, a mountain, 16, 26, 27.\n\nNith\u2033-a-vel\u2032-lir, home of the dwarfs, 3, 16.\n\nN\u012bth\u2032-hogg, a dragon, 17, 26, 27, 97\u201399.\n\nNith\u2032-i, a dwarf, 6.\n\nNith\u2032-jung, son of Jarl, 214.\n\nN\u012bth\u2032-uth, king of the Njars, 253\u2013255, 257\u2013268.\n\nNj\u0101ls\u2032-sag-a, the Saga of Njal, 399.\n\nNjars, the people of Nithuth, 254, 257, 259, 265, 268.\n\nNjorth, a Wane, 9, 10, 78, 79, 90, 91, 101, 107, 108, 119, 120, 128,\n152, 161\u2013163, 165, 167, 175, 179, 180, 228.\n\nN\u014d\u2032-a-t\u016bn, home of Njorth, 90, 91, 108, 179, 180.\n\nNokk\u2032-vi, father of Nanna, 224.\n\nNon, a river, 95.\n\nNor (or Norv\u2032-i), father of Not, 75, 192.\n\nN\u014dr\u2032-i, a dwarf, 6.\n\nNorn\u2033-a-gests-th\u0101ttr\u2032, the Story of Nornagest, 336, 356, 364, 369, 442,\n444, 445.\n\nNorth\u2032-ri, a dwarf, 6.\n\nNot, a river, 95.\n\nN\u01edt, Night, 66, 75, 192, 389.\n\nN\u0233\u2032-i, a dwarf, 6.\n\nN\u0233r, a dwarf, 7.\n\nN\u0233\u2032-r\u0101th, a dwarf, 7.\n\nNyt, a river, 95.\n\n\nOdd\u2032-r\u016bn, sister of Atli, 420, 438, 448, 449, 469\u2013474, 476, 478, 479.\n\nOdd\u2033-r\u016bn-ar-gr\u0101tr\u2032, the Lament of Oddrun, 132, 420, 438, 447, 449, 450,\n469\u2013479, 483, 494, 522, 532.\n\nOfn\u2032-ir, a serpent, 98.\n\nOfn\u2032-ir, Othin, 105.\n\n\u014c\u2032-in, father of Andvari, 360.\n\n\u00d6kk\u2033-vin-kalf\u2032-a, daughter of Thr\u00e6ll, 207.\n\n\u014c\u2032-k\u014dl-nir, a volcano (?), 16.\n\nOl\u2032-m\u014dth, father of Isolf, 224.\n\nOl\u2032-r\u016bn, a swan-maiden, 254\u2013257, 485.\n\n\u014cm\u2032-i, Othin, 104.\n\n\u014cn\u2032-ar, a dwarf, 6.\n\n\u014cr\u2032-i, a dwarf, 8, 247.\n\nOrk\u2032-ning, brother of Kostbera, 449, 509, 510, 517.\n\nOrmt, a river, 96.\n\nOrv\u2032-and-il, husband of Groa, 234.\n\nOrv\u2032-ar = Odd, a warrior, 225.\n\nOrv\u2032-ar = Odds\u2032-sag-a, the Saga of Orvar-Odd, 225.\n\nOrv\u2032-a-sund, a bay, 298.\n\n\u014csk\u2032-i, Othin, 104.\n\n\u014c\u2032-sk\u014dp-nir, an island, 376.\n\n\u014cs\u2032-olf, son of Olmoth, 224.\n\n\u014cth, husband of Freyja, 11, 12, 161, 220, 232.\n\n\u014cth\u2032-in, chief of the gods, 1, 3, 4, 8\u201315, 19\u201326, 28, 32, 45, 48\u201353,\n60\u201363, 66, 68\u201384, 86, 88, 89, 91, 92, 94, 97, 98, 101\u2013106, 108, 114,\n117, 121, 122, 125, 126, 129, 131, 133, 134, 136, 139\u2013141, 145, 149,\n151, 152, 155, 157\u2013160, 166, 167, 170, 174, 179, 182, 185, 195\u2013200,\n202, 203, 213, 218, 219, 221, 226, 228\u2013231, 236, 274, 293\u2013295, 302,\n308, 319, 323\u2013327, 330, 332, 335, 339, 342, 357\u2013359, 361, 365, 366,\n371, 372, 384, 390, 393\u2013395, 416, 428, 445, 474, 483, 487, 493, 494,\n553.\n\nOth\u2032-lings, a mythical race, 221, 223, 226.\n\n\u014cth\u2032-r\u00f6r-ir, a goblet, 51, 61.\n\n\u014ctr, brother of Regin, 358, 359, 362.\n\n\u014ct\u2032-tar, a warrior, 217\u2013227, 231\u2013233.\n\n\nR\u01e3v\u2032-il, a sea-king, 366.\n\nRag\u2032-nar Loth\u2032-br\u014dk, a Danish king, 366.\n\nRand\u2032-gr\u012bth, a Valkyrie, 99.\n\nRand\u2032-v\u0113r, son of Jormunrek, 439, 538, 551.\n\nRand\u2032-v\u0113r, son of Rathbarth, 227.\n\nRan\u2032-i, Othin, 236.\n\nRat\u2032-a-tosk, a squirrel, 97.\n\nR\u0101th\u2032-barth, a Russian king, 227.\n\nR\u0101th\u2032-gr\u012bth, a Valkyrie, 99.\n\nR\u0101ths\u2032-ey, an island, 124.\n\nR\u0101th\u2032-svith, a dwarf, 7.\n\nRat\u2032-i, a gimlet, 50.\n\nReg\u2032-in, a dwarf, 7, 359.\n\nReg\u2032-in, son of Hreithmar, 7, 343, 356\u2013359, 361\u2013366, 369\u2013372, 377\u2013383,\n403.\n\nReg\u2032-in-leif, a Valkyrie, 99.\n\nReg\u2033-ins-m\u01edl\u2032, the Ballad of Regin, 7, 8, 114, 151, 270, 295, 308, 333,\n336, 342, 343, 356\u2013371, 376, 378, 384, 386, 387, 402, 411, 426, 428,\n448, 450, 493, 538.\n\nReif\u2032-nir, a berserker, 225.\n\nR\u012bg, Heimdall (?), 3, 201\u2013204, 207, 208, 210\u2013212, 215, 216.\n\nRigs\u2032-thul-a, the Song of Rig, 3, 90, 167, 183, 201\u2013216, 230, 428, 484.\n\nR\u012bn, a river, 95.\n\nRind, mother of Vali, 198, 236.\n\nRin\u2032-nand-i, a river, 95.\n\nRist\u2032-il, daughter of Karl, 210.\n\nRith\u2032-il, a sword, 380.\n\nRog\u2032-a-land, Norway, 281.\n\nRog\u2032-heim, Home of Battle, 289.\n\nR\u01edn, wife of \u00c6gir, 280, 300, 359.\n\nRosk\u2032-va, sister of Thjalfi, 141.\n\nRoth\u2032-uls-fjoll, a mountain, 289.\n\nRoth\u2032-uls-voll, a field, 276.\n\nRuth, a river, 237.\n\n\nS\u01e3\u2032-far-i, father of Ulf, 222.\n\nS\u01e3\u2032-hrim-nir, a boar, 92.\n\nS\u00e6k\u2032-in, a river, 95.\n\nS\u01e3\u2032-kon-ung, father of Hildigun, 223.\n\nS\u01e3\u2032-morn, a river, 275.\n\nS\u01e3\u2032-reith, wife of Hjorvarth, 272, 273.\n\nS\u01e3\u2032-var-stath, an island, 261, 262.\n\nS\u0101g\u2032-a, a goddess, 89, 302.\n\nSal\u2032-gof-nir, a cock, 329.\n\nS\u0101ms\u2032-ey, an island, 160.\n\nSann\u2032-get-al, Othin, 103.\n\nSath, Othin, 103.\n\nSax\u2032-i, a southern king, 467.\n\nSegg, son of Karl, 209.\n\nSess\u2032-rym-nir, Freyja\u2019s hall, 91, 175.\n\nSev\u2032-a-fjoll, Sigrun\u2019s home, 319, 323, 325, 327\u2013329.\n\nSif, Thor\u2019s wife, 88, 101, 134, 140, 143, 148, 151, 157, 168, 180, 184.\n\nSig\u2032-ar, a Danish king, 293.\n\nSig\u2032-ar, brother of Hogni, 312, 313.\n\nSig\u2032-ar, father of Siggeir, 455.\n\nSig\u2032-ar, Helgi\u2019s messenger, 287, 288.\n\nSig\u2032-ars-holm, an island, 277.\n\nSig\u2032-ars-voll, a battlefield, 277, 287, 293.\n\nSig\u2032-fath-er, Othin, 23, 103, 104, 170.\n\nSig\u2032-geir, husband of Signy, 302, 303, 332, 455.\n\nSig\u2032-mund, son of Sigurth, 407, 424, 428, 429, 456, 460.\n\nSig\u2032-mund, son of Volsung, 218, 219, 226, 270, 276, 290\u2013295, 301, 302,\n307, 310, 311, 315, 317, 318, 330\u2013336, 341, 364\u2013366, 368, 369, 373,\n374, 388, 389, 432, 455.\n\nSig\u2032-n\u0233, sister of Sigmund, 270, 290, 293, 302, 332, 333, 455.\n\nSigr\u2032-drif-a, Brynhild, 296, 384\u2013386, 388, 390, 391, 403.\n\nSigr\u2033-drif-u-m\u01edl\u2032, the Ballad of the Victory-Bringer, 4, 99, 100, 119,\n151, 293, 339, 344, 356, 357, 370, 381, 384\u2013403, 411, 442, 444, 445,\n450, 470, 472.\n\nSigr\u2032-lin, wife of Hjorvarth, 271\u2013276, 287.\n\nSig\u2032-r\u016bn, wife of Helgi, 14, 269, 270, 289, 296, 299, 300, 306, 307,\n309\u2013316, 318\u2013320, 323, 325\u2013330, 339, 345.\n\nSig\u2032-trygg, a king, 222.\n\nSig\u2032-t\u0233r, Othin, 494.\n\nSig\u2032-urth, son of Sigmund, 8, 226, 234, 260, 269, 270, 273, 277, 293,\n295, 296, 303, 308, 333, 335\u2013359, 361\u2013380, 382\u2013389, 391, 395, 396, 400,\n402\u2013407, 409\u2013412, 414\u2013433, 435, 437, 439\u2013442, 445\u2013448, 450\u2013457, 460,\n465, 469, 475, 476, 481, 484, 490, 493, 513, 518, 523, 532\u2013534,\n536\u2013544, 546\u2013548.\n\nSig\u2033-urth-a-kvith\u2032-a en Skam\u2032-ma, the Short Lay of Sigurth, 93, 241,\n308, 407, 410, 416\u2013441, 443, 448\u2013450, 453, 459, 470, 475, 488, 493,\n534, 538, 539, 543, 547.\n\nSig\u2032-urth Ring, son of Randver, 227.\n\nSig\u2032-yn, wife of Loki, 16, 167, 172, 173.\n\nSilf\u2032-rin-topp, a horse, 96.\n\nSind\u2032-ri, a dwarf, 16.\n\nSin\u2032-fjot-li, son of Sigmund, 270, 290, 293, 300\u2013304, 307, 309, 318,\n321, 322, 332\u2013335.\n\nSin\u2032-ir, a horse, 96.\n\nSin\u2032-mor-a, a giantess, 243, 245\u2013247.\n\nSin\u2032-rj\u014dth, wife of Hjorvarth, 272, 273.\n\nS\u012bth, a river, 95.\n\nS\u012bth\u2032-gran-i, Othin, 185.\n\nS\u012bth\u2032-hott, Othin, 103.\n\nS\u012bth\u2032-skegg, Othin, 103.\n\nSk\u0101f\u2032-ith, a dwarf, 8.\n\nSk\u0101ld\u2033-skap-ar-m\u0101l, the Treatise on Poetics, 189, 192, 221, 274, 359,\n370, 538, 547.\n\nSkat\u2032-a-lund, a forest, 445.\n\nSkath\u2032-i, a goddess, 90, 108, 128, 152, 157, 167, 168, 172, 180, 228.\n\nSkegg\u2032-jold, a Valkyrie, 99.\n\nSkeith\u2032-brim-ir, a horse, 96.\n\nSkek\u2032-kil, father of Skurhild, 224.\n\nSkelf\u2032-ir, a king, 221.\n\nSkilf\u2032-ing, Othin, 105, 221.\n\nSkilf\u2032-ings, descendants of Skelfir, 221, 223.\n\nSkin\u2032-fax-i, a horse, 71, 96.\n\nSkirf\u2032-ir, a dwarf, 8.\n\nSkirn\u2032-ir, Freyr\u2019s servant, 107\u2013115, 119, 120, 152.\n\nSkirn\u2033-is-m\u01edl\u2032, the Ballad of Skirnir, 21, 22, 78, 86, 88, 101,\n107\u2013121, 126, 149, 152, 162, 163, 165, 174, 175, 193, 218, 228, 282,\n360.\n\nSk\u012bth\u2032-blath-nir, a ship, 101, 102.\n\nSkjold, a Danish king, 221.\n\nSkj\u00f6ld\u2033-ung-a-sag\u2032-a, the Saga of the Skjoldungs, 216.\n\nSkjold\u2032-ungs, descendants of Skjold, 221\u2013223.\n\nSkog\u2032-ul, a Valkyrie, 14, 99.\n\nSkoll, a wolf, 18, 81, 93, 100.\n\nSkor\u2032-u-strond, home of Varin, 281.\n\nSkr\u0233m\u2032-ir, a giant, 122, 130, 170, 171.\n\nSkuld, a Norn, 9.\n\nSkuld, a Valkyrie, 14.\n\nSk\u00fbr\u2032-hild, daughter of Skekkil, 224.\n\nSlag\u2032-fith, brother of V\u00f6lund, 254\u2013257.\n\nSleip\u2032-nir, Othin\u2019s horse, 97, 102, 126, 160, 196, 230, 342, 394.\n\nSl\u012bth, a river, 16, 95.\n\nSmith, son of Karl, 209.\n\nSn\u01e3\u2032-fjoll, a mountain, 293.\n\nSn\u01e3v\u2032-ar, son of Hogni, 449, 487, 509, 517.\n\nSn\u00f6r, wife of Karl, 209.\n\nSn\u014dt, daughter of Karl, 210.\n\nSogn, a bay, 305.\n\nS\u01edg\u2032-u-nes, a cape, 302.\n\nSokk\u2032-m\u012bm-ir, a giant, 104.\n\nS\u00f6kk\u2032-va-bekk, Saga\u2019s dwelling, 88, 89.\n\nS\u014dl, Sun, 74, 75, 79.\n\nS\u014dl\u2032-ar, son of Hogni, 449, 487, 509, 517.\n\nS\u014dl\u2032-bjart, father of Svipdag, 250.\n\nS\u014dl\u2032-blind-i, a dwarf, 241.\n\nS\u014dl\u2032-fjoll, a mountain, 293.\n\nS\u014dl\u2032-heim-ar, Hothbrodd\u2019s home, 304.\n\nSorl\u2032-i, son of Jonak, 361, 439, 536, 538, 540, 545, 546, 548\u2013550,\n552\u2013555.\n\nSpar\u2032-ins-heith, Sparin\u2019s Heath, 306.\n\nSpor\u2032-vit-nir, a horse, 306.\n\nSprak\u2032-ki, daughter of Karl, 210.\n\nSprund, daughter of Karl, 210.\n\nStafns\u2032-nes, a cape, 298.\n\nStark\u2032-ath, son of Granmar, 316, 319, 320.\n\nStor\u2032-verk, father of Starkath, 320.\n\nStrond, a river, 95.\n\nStyr\u2032-kleif-ar, a battlefield, 319, 320.\n\nSun, son of Jarl, 214.\n\nSurt, a giant, 18, 20\u201322, 73, 82, 110, 165, 243, 376.\n\nSuth\u2032-ri, a dwarf, 6.\n\nSut\u2032-tung, a giant, 32, 50\u201352, 117, 187, 193.\n\nSvaf\u2032-nir, a king, 273\u2013275, 278.\n\nSvaf\u2032-nir, a serpent, 98.\n\nSvaf\u2032-nir, Othin, 105.\n\nSvafr\u2032-thor-in, Mengloth\u2019s grandfather, 241.\n\nSval\u2032-in, a shield, 100, 394.\n\nSvan, father of S\u00e6fari, 222.\n\nSvan\u2032-hild, daughter of Sigurth, 226, 339, 407, 437, 439, 447, 448,\n537, 538, 540\u2013542, 546, 551.\n\nSvan\u2032-ni, daughter of Karl, 210.\n\nSv\u0101r\u2032-ang, a giant, 131.\n\nSvar\u2032-in, a hill, 300, 316, 317.\n\nSvar\u2032-ri, daughter of Karl, 210.\n\nSvart\u2033-alf-a-heim\u2032, the world of the dark elves, 3, 187.\n\nSvart\u2032-hofth-i, a magician, 229.\n\nSvath\u2033-il-far\u2032-i, a stallion, 102, 159, 160, 196, 230.\n\nSv\u0101v\u2032-a, daughter of Eylimi, 14, 270, 271, 276\u2013278, 282, 284, 285,\n287\u2013289, 311, 313, 335, 339, 345.\n\nSv\u0101v\u2032-a, wife of S\u00e6konung, 223.\n\nSv\u0101v\u2032-a-land, Svafnir\u2019s country, 273, 275, 276, 278.\n\nSvegg\u2032-juth, a horse, 304, 305.\n\nSvein, son of Jarl, 214.\n\nSver\u2033-ris-sag\u2032-a, the Saga of Sverrir, 370.\n\nSvip\u2032-al, Othin, 103.\n\nSvip\u2032-dag, son of Solbjart, 234\u2013236, 238\u2013250.\n\nSvip\u2033-dags-m\u01edl\u2032, the Ballad of Svipdag, 60, 81, 154, 234\u2013251, 350, 388,\n441, 472.\n\nSvip\u2032-uth, a horse, 304, 305.\n\nSvith\u2032-rir, Othin, 104.\n\nSvith\u2032-ur, Othin, 104.\n\nSv\u012b\u2032-ur, a dwarf, 7.\n\nSvol, a river, 95.\n\nSv\u01eds\u2032-uth, father of Summer, 75.\n\nSylg, a river, 95.\n\n\nThakk\u2032-r\u0101th, Nithuth\u2019s thrall, 268.\n\nThegn, son of Karl, 209.\n\nThekk, a dwarf, 7.\n\nThekk, Othin, 103.\n\nTh\u012br, wife of Thr\u00e6ll, 206.\n\nThith\u2033-reks-sag\u2032-a, the Saga of Theoderich, 252, 254, 262, 265, 267,\n268, 359, 410, 426, 530.\n\nThjalf\u2032-i, Thor\u2019s servant, 126, 127, 133, 141, 149.\n\nThjaz\u2032-i, a giant, 89, 90, 128, 152, 167, 168, 175, 228.\n\nThj\u014dth\u2032-mar, father of Thjothrek, 466, 467.\n\nThjoth\u2032-num-a, a river, 95.\n\nThj\u014dth\u2032-rek, Theoderich, 451, 465\u2013467, 517.\n\nThj\u014dth\u2032-r\u00f6r-ir, a dwarf, 66.\n\nThj\u014dth\u2032-var-a, Mengloth\u2019s handmaid, 248.\n\nThj\u014dth\u2032-vit-nir, Skoll, 93.\n\nThol, a river, 95.\n\nTholl\u2032-ey, an island, 282.\n\nTh\u014dr, a god, 12, 23, 24, 82, 83, 88, 93, 94, 96, 121\u2013149, 151, 152,\n168\u2013171, 174, 176, 178\u2013180, 182\u2013193, 219, 228, 234, 303, 394.\n\nTh\u014dr\u2032-a, daughter of Hokon, 419, 454, 455.\n\nTh\u014dr\u2032-a, wife of Dag, 222, 454.\n\nTh\u014dr\u2032-in, a dwarf, 7.\n\nTh\u014dr\u2032-ir, follower of Hrolf, 224.\n\nTh\u014drs\u2032-nes, a cape, 303.\n\nThr\u01e3ll, son of Rig, 205, 206.\n\nThr\u0101in, a dwarf, 7.\n\nThrith\u2032-i, Othin, 103.\n\nThr\u014dr, a dwarf, 7.\n\nThr\u014dr, Othin, 104.\n\nThr\u016bth, a Valkyrie, 99.\n\nThr\u016bth, daughter of Thor, 184.\n\nThr\u016bth\u2032-gel-mir, a giant, 76, 77.\n\nThr\u016bth\u2032-heim, Thor\u2019s home, 88.\n\nThrym, a giant, 174, 176, 177, 179\u2013182.\n\nThrym\u2032-gjol, a gate, 241.\n\nThrym\u2032-heim, Thjazi\u2019s home, 89, 90.\n\nThryms\u2032-kvith-a, the Lay of Thrym, 12, 82, 107, 122, 128, 129, 143,\n159, 166, 169, 174\u2013183, 185, 195, 210, 252, 274, 471.\n\nThund, a river, 93.\n\nThund, Othin, 63, 105.\n\nThuth, Othin, 103.\n\nThyn, a river, 95.\n\nTind, a berserker, 225.\n\nTot\u2033-rug-hyp\u2032-ja, daughter of Thr\u00e6ll, 207.\n\nTron\u2033-u-bein\u2032-a, daughter of Thr\u00e6ll, 207.\n\nTron\u2032-u-eyr, Crane-Strand, 298.\n\nTveg\u2032-gi, Othin, 25.\n\nT\u0233r, a god, 18, 140\u2013143, 147\u2013149, 152, 163, 164, 228, 391.\n\nTyrf\u2032-ing, a berserker, 225.\n\n\nUlf, follower of Hrolf, 224.\n\nUlf, son of S\u00e6fari, 222.\n\nUlf\u2032-dal-ir, V\u00f6lund\u2019s home, 254, 255, 257, 259.\n\nUlf\u2032-r\u016bn, mother of Heimdall, 229.\n\nUlf\u2032-sj\u0101r, a lake, 254, 255.\n\nUll, a god, 88, 100, 228, 494.\n\nUn\u2033-a-v\u0101g\u2032-ar, a harbor, 300.\n\nUn\u2032-i, a dwarf, 247.\n\nUrth, a Norn, 9, 52, 96, 236, 250, 251.\n\n\u016at\u2032-garth-a=Lok\u2032-i, a giant, 122, 130.\n\nUth, daughter of \u00c6gir, 323, 466.\n\nUth, Othin, 103.\n\n\nVaf\u2032-thr\u016bth-nir, a giant, 68\u201383.\n\nVaf\u2033-thr\u016bth-nis-m\u01edl\u2032, the Ballad of Vafthruthnir, 4, 5, 21, 68\u201384, 99,\n100, 115, 116, 131, 141, 149, 152, 174, 183, 192, 242, 247, 360, 368,\n375, 376, 378.\n\nVak, Othin, 105.\n\nV\u0101l\u2032-a-skjolf, Othin\u2019s home, 88.\n\nVal\u2032-bjorg, Grimhild\u2019s land, 461.\n\nVald\u2032-ar, a Danish king, 456, 457.\n\nVal\u2032-fath-er, Othin, 3, 12, 104.\n\nVal\u2032-grind, a gate, 93.\n\nVal\u2032-hall, Othin\u2019s hall, 3, 14, 15, 25, 79, 88, 89, 92\u201394, 218, 220,\n232, 325, 326, 441, 474, 480, 483.\n\nV\u0101l\u2032-i, a god, 15, 82, 198, 227, 228, 236.\n\nV\u0101l\u2032-i, son of Loki, 16, 167, 172, 173.\n\nVal\u2032-land, Slaughter-Land, 129, 136, 254, 255, 443.\n\nVal\u2032-tam, father of Vegtam, 197.\n\nVam, a river, 165.\n\nVan\u2032-a-heim, home of the Wanes, 3, 187.\n\nVand\u2032-ils-v\u0113, a shrine, 324.\n\nVan\u2032-ir, the Wanes, 1, 10.\n\nVar, a dwarf, 247.\n\nVar\u2032-in, a Norwegian king (?), 281, 302.\n\nVar\u2032-ins-fjord, a bay, 298, 299.\n\nV\u0101r\u2032-kald, father of Vindkald, 240.\n\nVath\u2032-gel-mir, a river, 360.\n\nV\u0113, brother of Othin, 4, 26, 160.\n\nVeg\u2032-dras-il, a dwarf, 247.\n\nVeg\u2032-svin, a river, 95.\n\nVeg\u2032-tam, Othin, 195, 197, 199.\n\nVeg\u2033-tams-kvith\u2032-a, the Lay of Vegtam, 195.\n\nVel\u2033-ents-sag\u2032-a, the Saga of Velent, 252.\n\nVer\u2032-a-t\u0233r, Othin, 87, 88.\n\nVer\u2032-land, Land of Men, 136.\n\nVerth\u2032-and-i, a Norn, 9.\n\nVestr\u2032-i, a dwarf, 6.\n\nVestr\u2032-sal-ir, Rind\u2019s home, 198.\n\nVethr\u2032-fol-nir, a hawk, 97.\n\nV\u0113\u2032-ur, Thor, 142, 144, 145.\n\nV\u012bf, daughter of Karl, 210.\n\nV\u012bg\u2032-bl\u01e3r, Helgi\u2019s horse, 325.\n\nV\u012bg\u2032-dal-ir, Battle-Dale, 324, 325.\n\nVigg, a dwarf, 7.\n\nV\u012bg\u2032-rith, a field, 73, 376.\n\nVil\u2032-i, brother of Othin, 4, 26, 160.\n\nVil\u2032-meith, a dwarf (?), 229.\n\nVil\u2032-mund, lover of Borgny, 469\u2013472.\n\nVin, a river, 95.\n\nVin\u2032-bjorg, Grimhild\u2019s land, 461.\n\nVind\u2032-alf, a dwarf, 7.\n\nVind\u2032-heim, Wind-Home, 25, 26.\n\nVind\u2032-kald, Svipdag, 240.\n\nVind\u2032-lj\u014dn-i, Vindsval, 75.\n\nVind\u2032-sval, father of Winter, 75.\n\nVing\u2032-i, Atli\u2019s messenger, 448, 482, 501, 502, 510, 512\u2013514, 517.\n\nVing\u2032-nir, Thor, 82, 135, 174.\n\nVing\u2032-skorn-ir, a horse, 384.\n\nVing\u2032-thor, Thor, 135, 174, 185, 186.\n\nV\u012bn\u2032-\u01ed, a river, 95.\n\nVirf\u2032-ir, a dwarf, 8.\n\nVit, a dwarf, 7.\n\nV\u012bth, a river, 95.\n\nV\u012bth\u2032-ar, a god, 23, 82, 83, 91, 152, 155, 156, 164, 170, 228.\n\nVith\u2032-ga, son of V\u00f6lund, 268.\n\nVith\u2032-i, Vithar\u2019s land, 91.\n\nVith\u2032-of-nir, a cock, 243, 245, 246.\n\nV\u012bth\u2032-olf, a dwarf (?), 229.\n\nVith\u2032-rir, Othin, 160, 295.\n\nVith\u2032-ur, Othin, 104.\n\nV\u01edf\u2032-uth, Othin, 105.\n\nVols\u2032-ung, father of Sigmund, 218, 219, 226, 270, 293, 302, 307, 310,\n332\u2013334, 366, 421.\n\nVols\u2033-ung-a-sag\u2032-a, the Saga of the Volsungs, 218, 226, 270, 276, 297,\n299, 301, 332\u2013334, 336, 340, 342, 345, 349, 350, 352, 353, 356, 361,\n365, 366, 368, 370, 371, 373, 375, 377\u2013379, 381, 383, 386, 391, 395,\n396, 399, 400, 402, 403, 405, 407, 410\u2013412, 418, 419, 425, 427, 433,\n438, 440, 448, 450, 453, 455\u2013458, 465, 469, 477, 478, 480, 486, 487,\n500, 506, 508, 512\u2013514, 518\u2013522, 525\u2013530, 532, 534, 537, 538, 543, 549,\n550, 553, 554.\n\nVols\u2032-ungs, descendants of Volsung, 269\u2013272, 290\u2013292, 306\u2013311, 318,\n319, 332, 333, 339, 421, 422, 425, 428.\n\nV\u00f6l\u2032-und, a smith, 252\u2013262, 264\u2013268, 527.\n\nV\u00f6l\u2033-und-ar-kvith\u2032-a, the Lay of V\u00f6lund, 129, 252\u2013268, 296, 303, 319,\n437, 443, 444, 471, 485, 493, 527.\n\nVol\u2033-u-sp\u01ed\u2032, the Wise-Woman\u2019s Prophecy, 1\u201328, 52, 61, 62, 68, 69,\n73\u201375, 77, 78, 80\u201383, 89\u201391, 93, 95\u201397, 99\u2013102, 108, 110, 112\u2013115, 129,\n136, 140, 145, 146, 152, 154, 156, 160\u2013164, 166, 170, 172\u2013174, 176,\n178, 179, 186, 188, 195, 196, 198, 200, 203, 217, 218, 220, 223,\n227\u2013232, 236, 242, 243, 245, 247, 254, 276, 291, 293, 296, 314, 319,\n359, 360, 375, 393, 394, 416, 444, 508, 542.\n\nV\u01edn, a river, 95.\n\nVond, a river, 95.\n\nV\u01edr, a goddess, 181.\n\n\nY\u2032-dal-ir, Ull\u2019s home, 88.\n\nYgg, Othin, 70, 105, 140, 384.\n\nYgg\u2032-dras-il, the world-ash, 1, 3, 4, 9, 12, 17, 20, 27, 60, 62, 81,\n94, 96\u201398, 102, 242, 243.\n\nYlf\u2032-ings, a Danish race, 221, 291, 292, 301, 305, 307, 311, 313\u2013315,\n329.\n\nYlg, a river, 95.\n\nYm\u2032-ir, a giant, 4, 6, 17, 74, 76, 77, 100, 229, 242.\n\nYng (or Yng\u2032-vi), son of Halfdan the Old, 221, 307, 308, 364, 365.\n\nYng\u2033-ling-a-sag\u2032-a, the Saga of the Ynglings, 160, 163.\n\nYng\u2032-lings, descendants of Yng, 221, 223, 307.\n\nYng\u2032-vi, a dwarf, 8.\n\nYng\u2032-vi, son of Hring, 306.\n\nYng\u2032-vi, Yng, 221, 307, 308, 364, 365.\n\nYs\u2032-ja, daughter of Thr\u00e6ll, 207.","title":"The poetic Edda : $b Translated from the Icelandic with an introduction and notes","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":156207}