# Poetic Eddas

The Original Poetic Eddas

# VOLUSPO (THE WISE-WOMAN’S PROPHECY)

1\. Hearing I ask | from the holy races,  
 From Heimdall’s sons, | both high and low;  
 Thou wilt, Valfather, | that well I relate  
 Old tales I remember | of men long ago.

2\. I remember yet | the giants of yore,  
 Who gave me bread | in the days gone by;  
 Nine worlds I knew, | the nine in the tree  
 With mighty roots | beneath the mold.

3\. Of old was the age | when Ymir lived;  
 Sea nor cool waves | nor sand there were;  
 Earth had not been, | nor heaven above,  
 But a yawning gap, | and grass nowhere.

4\. Then Bur’s sons lifted | the level land,  
 Mithgarth the mighty | there they made;  
 The sun from the south | warmed the stones of earth,  
 And green was the ground | with growing leeks.

5\. The sun, the sister | of the moon, from the south  
 Her right hand cast | over heaven’s rim;  
 No knowledge she had | where her home should be,  
 The moon knew not | what might was his,  
 The stars knew not | where their stations were.

6\. Then sought the gods | their assembly-seats,  
 The holy ones, | and council held;  
 Names then gave they | to noon and twilight,  
 Morning they named, | and the waning moon,  
 Night and evening, | the years to number.

7\. At Ithavoll met | the mighty gods,  
 Shrines and temples | they timbered high;  
 Forges they set, | and they smithied ore,  
 Tongs they wrought, | and tools they fashioned.

8\. In their dwellings at peace | they played at tables,  
 Of gold no lack | did the gods then know,—  
 Till thither came up | giant-maids three,  
 Huge of might, | out of Jotunheim.

9\. Then sought the gods | their assembly-seats,  
 The holy ones, | and council held,  
 To find who should raise | the race of dwarfs  
 Out of Brimir’s blood | and the legs of Blain.

10\. There was Motsognir | the mightiest made  
 Of all the dwarfs, | and Durin next;  
 Many a likeness | of men they made,  
 The dwarfs in the earth, | as Durin said.

11\. Nyi and Nithi, | Northri and Suthri,  
 Austri and Vestri, | Althjof, Dvalin,  
 Nar and Nain, | Niping, Dain,  
 Bifur, Bofur, | Bombur, Nori,  
 An and Onar, | Ai, Mjothvitnir.

12\. Vigg and Gandalf, | Vindalf, Thrain,  
 Thekk and Thorin, | Thror, Vit and Lit,  
 Nyr and Nyrath,— | now have I told—  
 Regin and Rathsvith— | the list aright.

13\. Fili, Kili, | Fundin, Nali,  
 Heptifili, | Hannar, Sviur,  
 Frar, Hornbori, | Fræg and Loni,  
 Aurvang, Jari, | Eikinskjaldi.

14\. The race of the dwarfs | in Dvalin’s throng  
 Down to Lofar | the list must I tell;  
 The rocks they left, | and through wet lands  
 They sought a home | in the fields of sand.

15\. There were Draupnir | and Dolgthrasir,  
 Hor, Haugspori, | Hlevang, Gloin,  
 Dori, Ori, | Duf, Andvari,  
 Skirfir, Virfir, | Skafith, Ai.

16\. Alf and Yngvi, | Eikinskjaldi,  
 Fjalar and Frosti, | Fith and Ginnar;  
 So for all time | shall the tale be known,  
 The list of all | the forbears of Lofar.

17\. Then from the throng | did three come forth,  
 From the home of the gods, | the mighty and gracious;  
 Two without fate | on the land they found,  
 Ask and Embla, | empty of might.

18\. Soul they had not, | sense they had not,  
 Heat nor motion, | nor goodly hue;  
 Soul gave Othin, | sense gave Hönir,  
 Heat gave Lothur | and goodly hue.

19\. An ash I know, | Yggdrasil its name,  
 With water white | is the great tree wet;  
 Thence come the dews | that fall in the dales,  
 Green by Urth’s well | does it ever grow.

20\. Thence come the maidens | mighty in wisdom,  
 Three from the dwelling | down ’neath the tree;  
 Urth is one named, | Verthandi the next,—  
 On the wood they scored,— | and Skuld the third.  
 Laws they made there, | and life allotted  
 To the sons of men, | and set their fates.

21\. The war I remember, | the first in the world,  
 When the gods with spears | had smitten Gollveig,  
 And in the hall | of Hor had burned her,—  
 Three times burned, | and three times born,  
 Oft and again, | yet ever she lives.

22\. Heith they named her | who sought their home,  
 The wide-seeing witch, | in magic wise;  
 Minds she bewitched | that were moved by her magic,  
 To evil women | a joy she was.

23\. On the host his spear | did Othin hurl,  
 Then in the world | did war first come;  
 The wall that girdled | the gods was broken,  
 And the field by the warlike | Wanes was trodden.

24\. Then sought the gods | their assembly-seats,  
 The holy ones, | and council held,  
 Whether the gods | should tribute give,  
 Or to all alike | should worship belong.

25\. Then sought the gods | their assembly-seats,  
 The holy ones, | and council held,  
 To find who with venom | the air had filled,  
 Or had given Oth’s bride | to the giants’ brood.

26\. In swelling rage | then rose up Thor,—  
 Seldom he sits | when he such things hears,—  
 And the oaths were broken, | the words and bonds,  
 The mighty pledges | between them made.

27\. I know of the horn | of Heimdall, hidden  
 Under the high-reaching | holy tree;  
 On it there pours | from Valfather’s pledge  
 A mighty stream: | would you know yet more?

28\. Alone I sat | when the Old One sought me,  
 The terror of gods, | and gazed in mine eyes:  
 “What hast thou to ask? | why comest thou hither?  
 Othin, I know | where thine eye is hidden.”

29\. I know where Othin’s | eye is hidden,  
 Deep in the wide-famed | well of Mimir;  
 Mead from the pledge | of Othin each morn  
 Does Mimir drink: | would you know yet more?

30\. Necklaces had I | and rings from Heerfather,  
 Wise was my speech | and my magic wisdom;  
 . . . . . . . . . .  
 Widely I saw | over all the worlds.

31\. On all sides saw I | Valkyries assemble,  
 Ready to ride | to the ranks of the gods;  
 Skuld bore the shield, | and Skogul rode next,  
 Guth, Hild, Gondul, | and Geirskogul.  
 Of Herjan’s maidens | the list have ye heard,  
 Valkyries ready | to ride o’er the earth.

32\. I saw for Baldr, | the bleeding god,  
 The son of Othin, | his destiny set:  
 Famous and fair | in the lofty fields,  
 Full grown in strength | the mistletoe stood.

33\. From the branch which seemed | so slender and fair  
 Came a harmful shaft | that Hoth should hurl;  
 But the brother of Baldr | was born ere long,  
 And one night old | fought Othin’s son.

34\. His hands he washed not, | his hair he combed not,  
 Till he bore to the bale-blaze | Baldr’s foe.  
 But in Fensalir | did Frigg weep sore  
 For Valhall’s need: | would you know yet more?

35\. One did I see | in the wet woods bound,  
 A lover of ill, | and to Loki like;  
 By his side does Sigyn | sit, nor is glad  
 To see her mate: | would you know yet more?

36\. From the east there pours | through poisoned vales  
 With swords and daggers | the river Slith.  
 . . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . .  
 . . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . .

37\. Northward a hall | in Nithavellir  
 Of gold there rose | for Sindri’s race;  
 And in Okolnir | another stood,  
 Where the giant Brimir | his beer-hall had.

38\. A hall I saw, | far from the sun,  
 On Nastrond it stands, | and the doors face north;  
 Venom drops | through the smoke-vent down,  
 For around the walls | do serpents wind.

39\. I saw there wading | through rivers wild  
 Treacherous men | and murderers too,  
 And workers of ill | with the wives of men;  
 There Nithhogg sucked | the blood of the slain,  
 And the wolf tore men; | would you know yet more?

40\. The giantess old | in Ironwood sat,  
 In the east, and bore | the brood of Fenrir;  
 Among these one | in monster’s guise  
 Was soon to steal | the sun from the sky.

41\. There feeds he full | on the flesh of the dead,  
 And the home of the gods | he reddens with gore;  
 Dark grows the sun, | and in summer soon  
 Come mighty storms: | would you know yet more?

42\. On a hill there sat, | and smote on his harp,  
 Eggther the joyous, | the giants’ warder;  
 Above him the cock | in the bird-wood crowed,  
 Fair and red | did Fjalar stand.

43\. Then to the gods | crowed Gollinkambi,  
 He wakes the heroes | in Othin’s hall;  
 And beneath the earth | does another crow,  
 The rust-red bird | at the bars of Hel.

44\. Now Garm howls loud | before Gnipahellir,  
 The fetters will burst, | and the wolf run free;  
 Much do I know, | and more can see  
 Of the fate of the gods, | the mighty in fight.

45\. Brothers shall fight | and fell each other,  
 And sisters’ sons | shall kinship stain;  
 Hard is it on earth, | with mighty whoredom;  
 Axe-time, sword-time, | shields are sundered,  
 Wind-time, wolf-time, | ere the world falls;  
 Nor ever shall men | each other spare.

46\. Fast move the sons | of Mim, and fate  
 Is heard in the note | of the Gjallarhorn;  
 Loud blows Heimdall, | the horn is aloft,  
 In fear quake all | who on Hel-roads are.

47\. Yggdrasil shakes, | and shiver on high  
 The ancient limbs, | and the giant is loose;  
 To the head of Mim | does Othin give heed,  
 But the kinsman of Surt | shall slay him soon.

48\. How fare the gods? | how fare the elves?  
 All Jotunheim groans, | the gods are at council;  
 Loud roar the dwarfs | by the doors of stone,  
 The masters of the rocks: | would you know yet more?

49\. Now Garm howls loud | before Gnipahellir,  
 The fetters will burst, | and the wolf run free;  
 Much do I know, | and more can see  
 Of the fate of the gods, | the mighty in fight.

50\. From the east comes Hrym | with shield held high;  
 In giant-wrath | does the serpent writhe;  
 O’er the waves he twists, | and the tawny eagle  
 Gnaws corpses screaming; | Naglfar is loose.

51\. O’er the sea from the north | there sails a ship  
 With the people of Hel, | at the helm stands Loki;  
 After the wolf | do wild men follow,  
 And with them the brother | of Byleist goes.

52\. Surt fares from the south | with the scourge of branches,  
 The sun of the battle-gods | shone from his sword;  
 The crags are sundered, | the giant-women sink,  
 The dead throng Hel-way, | and heaven is cloven.

53\. Now comes to Hlin | yet another hurt,  
 When Othin fares | to fight with the wolf,  
 And Beli’s fair slayer | seeks out Surt,  
 For there must fall | the joy of Frigg.

54\. Then comes Sigfather’s | mighty son,  
 Vithar, to fight | with the foaming wolf;  
 In the giant’s son | does he thrust his sword  
 Full to the heart: | his father is avenged.

55\. Hither there comes | the son of Hlothyn,  
 The bright snake gapes | to heaven above;  
 . . . . . . . . . .  
 Against the serpent | goes Othin’s son.

56\. In anger smites | the warder of earth,—  
 Forth from their homes | must all men flee;—  
 Nine paces fares | the son of Fjorgyn,  
 And, slain by the serpent, | fearless he sinks.

57\. The sun turns black, | earth sinks in the sea,  
 The hot stars down | from heaven are whirled;  
 Fierce grows the steam | and the life-feeding flame,  
 Till fire leaps high | about heaven itself.

58\. Now Garm howls loud | before Gnipahellir,  
 The fetters will burst, | and the wolf run free;  
 Much do I know, | and more can see  
 Of the fate of the gods, | the mighty in fight.

59\. Now do I see | the earth anew  
 Rise all green | from the waves again;  
 The cataracts fall, | and the eagle flies,  
 And fish he catches | beneath the cliffs.

60\. The gods in Ithavoll | meet together,  
 Of the terrible girdler | of earth they talk,  
 And the mighty past | they call to mind,  
 And the ancient runes | of the Ruler of Gods.

61\. In wondrous beauty | once again  
 Shall the golden tables | stand mid the grass,  
 Which the gods had owned | in the days of old,  
 . . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . .

62\. Then fields unsowed | bear ripened fruit,  
 All ills grow better, | and Baldr comes back;  
 Baldr and Hoth dwell | in Hropt’s battle-hall,  
 And the mighty gods: | would you know yet more?

63\. Then Hönir wins | the prophetic wand,  
 . . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . .  
 And the sons of the brothers | of Tveggi abide  
 In Vindheim now: | would you know yet more?

64\. More fair than the sun, | a hall I see,  
 Roofed with gold, | on Gimle it stands;  
 There shall the righteous | rulers dwell,  
 And happiness ever | there shall they have.

65\. There comes on high, | all power to hold,  
 A mighty lord, | all lands he rules.  
 . . . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . . .  
 . . . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . . .

66\. From below the dragon | dark comes forth,  
 Nithhogg flying | from Nithafjoll;  
 The bodies of men | on his wings he bears,  
 The serpent bright: | but now must I sink.

# HOVAMOL (THE BALLAD OF THE HIGH ONE)

1\. Within the gates | ere a man shall go,  
 (Full warily let him watch,)  
 Full long let him look about him;  
 For little he knows | where a foe may lurk,  
 And sit in the seats within.

2\. Hail to the giver! | a guest has come;  
 Where shall the stranger sit?  
 Swift shall he be | who with swords shall try  
 The proof of his might to make.

3\. Fire he needs | who with frozen knees  
 Has come from the cold without;  
 Food and clothes | must the farer have,  
 The man from the mountains come.

4\. Water and towels | and welcoming speech  
 Should he find who comes to the feast;  
 If renown he would get, | and again be greeted,  
 Wisely and well must he act.

5\. Wits must he have | who wanders wide,  
 But all is easy at home;  
 At the witless man | the wise shall wink  
 When among such men he sits.

6\. A man shall not boast | of his keenness of mind,  
 But keep it close in his breast;  
 To the silent and wise | does ill come seldom  
 When he goes as guest to a house;  
 (For a faster friend | one never finds  
 Than wisdom tried and true.)

7\. The knowing guest | who goes to the feast,  
 In silent attention sits;  
 With his ears he hears, | with his eyes he watches,  
 Thus wary are wise men all.

8\. Happy the one | who wins for himself  
 Favor and praises fair;  
 Less safe by far | is the wisdom found  
 That is hid in another’s heart.

9\. Happy the man | who has while he lives  
 Wisdom and praise as well,  
 For evil counsel | a man full oft  
 Has from another’s heart.

10\. A better burden | may no man bear  
 For wanderings wide than wisdom;  
 It is better than wealth | on unknown ways,  
 And in grief a refuge it gives.

11\. A better burden | may no man bear  
 For wanderings wide than wisdom;  
 Worse food for the journey | he brings not afield  
 Than an over-drinking of ale.

12\. Less good there lies | than most believe  
 In ale for mortal men;  
 For the more he drinks | the less does man  
 Of his mind the mastery hold.

13\. Over beer the bird | of forgetfulness broods,  
 And steals the minds of men;  
 With the heron’s feathers | fettered I lay  
 And in Gunnloth’s house was held.

14\. Drunk I was, | I was dead-drunk,  
 When with Fjalar wise I was;  
 ’Tis the best of drinking | if back one brings  
 His wisdom with him home.

15\. The son of a king | shall be silent and wise,  
 And bold in battle as well;  
 Bravely and gladly | a man shall go,  
 Till the day of his death is come.

16\. The sluggard believes | he shall live forever,  
 If the fight he faces not;  
 But age shall not grant him | the gift of peace,  
 Though spears may spare his life.

17\. The fool is agape | when he comes to the feast,  
 He stammers or else is still;  
 But soon if he gets | a drink is it seen  
 What the mind of the man is like.

18\. He alone is aware | who has wandered wide,  
 And far abroad has fared,  
 How great a mind | is guided by him  
 That wealth of wisdom has.

19\. Shun not the mead, | but drink in measure;  
 Speak to the point or be still;  
 For rudeness none | shall rightly blame thee  
 If soon thy bed thou seekest.

20\. The greedy man, | if his mind be vague,  
 Will eat till sick he is;  
 The vulgar man, | when among the wise,  
 To scorn by his belly is brought.

21\. The herds know well | when home they shall fare,  
 And then from the grass they go;  
 But the foolish man | his belly’s measure  
 Shall never know aright.

22\. A paltry man | and poor of mind  
 At all things ever mocks;  
 For never he knows, | what he ought to know,  
 That he is not free from faults.

23\. The witless man | is awake all night,  
 Thinking of many things;  
 Care-worn he is | when the morning comes,  
 And his woe is just as it was.

24\. The foolish man | for friends all those  
 Who laugh at him will hold;  
 When among the wise | he marks it not  
 Though hatred of him they speak.

25\. The foolish man | for friends all those  
 Who laugh at him will hold;  
 But the truth when he comes | to the council he learns,  
 That few in his favor will speak.

26\. An ignorant man | thinks that all he knows,  
 When he sits by himself in a corner;  
 But never what answer | to make he knows,  
 When others with questions come.

27\. A witless man, | when he meets with men,  
 Had best in silence abide;  
 For no one shall find | that nothing he knows,  
 If his mouth is not open too much.  
 (But a man knows not, | if nothing he knows,  
 When his mouth has been open too much.)

28\. Wise shall he seem | who well can question,  
 And also answer well;  
 Nought is concealed | that men may say  
 Among the sons of men.

29\. Often he speaks | who never is still  
 With words that win no faith;  
 The babbling tongue, | if a bridle it find not,  
 Oft for itself sings ill.

30\. In mockery no one | a man shall hold,  
 Although he fare to the feast;  
 Wise seems one oft, | if nought he is asked,  
 And safely he sits dry-skinned.

31\. Wise a guest holds it | to take to his heels,  
 When mock of another he makes;  
 But little he knows | who laughs at the feast,  
 Though he mocks in the midst of his foes.

32\. Friendly of mind | are many men,  
 Till feasting they mock at their friends;  
 To mankind a bane | must it ever be  
 When guests together strive.

33\. Oft should one make | an early meal,  
 Nor fasting come to the feast;  
 Else he sits and chews | as if he would choke,  
 And little is able to ask.

34\. Crooked and far | is the road to a foe,  
 Though his house on the highway be;  
 But wide and straight | is the way to a friend,  
 Though far away he fare.

35\. Forth shall one go, | nor stay as a guest  
 In a single spot forever;  
 Love becomes loathing | if long one sits  
 By the hearth in another’s home.

36\. Better a house, | though a hut it be,  
 A man is master at home;  
 A pair of goats | and a patched-up roof  
 Are better far than begging.

37\. Better a house, | though a hut it be,  
 A man is master at home;  
 His heart is bleeding | who needs must beg  
 When food he fain would have.

38\. Away from his arms | in the open field  
 A man should fare not a foot;  
 For never he knows | when the need for a spear  
 Shall arise on the distant road.

39\. If wealth a man | has won for himself,  
 Let him never suffer in need;  
 Oft he saves for a foe | what he plans for a friend,  
 For much goes worse than we wish.

40\. None so free with gifts | or food have I found  
 That gladly he took not a gift,  
 Nor one who so widely | scattered his wealth  
 That of recompense hatred he had.

41\. Friends shall gladden each other | with arms and garments,  
 As each for himself can see;  
 Gift-givers’ friendships | are longest found,  
 If fair their fates may be.

42\. To his friend a man | a friend shall prove,  
 And gifts with gifts requite;  
 But men shall mocking | with mockery answer,  
 And fraud with falsehood meet.

43\. To his friend a man | a friend shall prove,  
 To him and the friend of his friend;  
 But never a man | shall friendship make  
 With one of his foeman’s friends.

44\. If a friend thou hast | whom thou fully wilt trust,  
 And good from him wouldst get,  
 Thy thoughts with his mingle, | and gifts shalt thou make,  
 And fare to find him oft.

45\. If another thou hast | whom thou hardly wilt trust,  
 Yet good from him wouldst get,  
 Thou shalt speak him fair, | but falsely think,  
 And fraud with falsehood requite.

46\. So is it with him | whom thou hardly wilt trust,  
 And whose mind thou mayst not know;  
 Laugh with him mayst thou, | but speak not thy mind,  
 Like gifts to his shalt thou give.

47\. Young was I once, | and wandered alone,  
 And nought of the road I knew;  
 Rich did I feel | when a comrade I found,  
 For man is man’s delight.

48\. The lives of the brave | and noble are best,  
 Sorrows they seldom feed;  
 But the coward fear | of all things feels,  
 And not gladly the niggard gives.

49\. My garments once | in a field I gave  
 To a pair of carven poles;  
 Heroes they seemed | when clothes they had,  
 But the naked man is nought.

50\. On the hillside drear | the fir-tree dies,  
 All bootless its needles and bark;  
 It is like a man | whom no one loves,—  
 Why should his life be long?

51\. Hotter than fire | between false friends  
 Does friendship five days burn;  
 When the sixth day comes | the fire cools,  
 And ended is all the love.

52\. No great thing needs | a man to give,  
 Oft little will purchase praise;  
 With half a loaf | and a half-filled cup  
 A friend full fast I made.

53\. A little sand | has a little sea,  
 And small are the minds of men;  
 Though all men are not | equal in wisdom,  
 Yet half-wise only are all.

54\. A measure of wisdom | each man shall have,  
 But never too much let him know;  
 The fairest lives | do those men live  
 Whose wisdom wide has grown.

55\. A measure of wisdom | each man shall have,  
 But never too much let him know;  
 For the wise man’s heart | is seldom happy,  
 If wisdom too great he has won.

56\. A measure of wisdom | each man shall have,  
 But never too much let him know;  
 Let no man the fate | before him see,  
 For so is he freest from sorrow.

57\. A brand from a brand | is kindled and burned,  
 And fire from fire begotten;  
 And man by his speech | is known to men,  
 And the stupid by their stillness.

58\. He must early go forth | who fain the blood  
 Or the goods of another would get;  
 The wolf that lies idle | shall win little meat,  
 Or the sleeping man success.

59\. He must early go forth | whose workers are few,  
 Himself his work to seek;  
 Much remains undone | for the morning-sleeper,  
 For the swift is wealth half won.

60\. Of seasoned shingles | and strips of bark  
 For the thatch let one know his need,  
 And how much of wood | he must have for a month,  
 Or in half a year he will use.

61\. Washed and fed | to the council fare,  
 But care not too much for thy clothes;  
 Let none be ashamed | of his shoes and hose,  
 Less still of the steed he rides,  
 (Though poor be the horse he has.)

62\. When the eagle comes | to the ancient sea,  
 He snaps and hangs his head;  
 So is a man | in the midst of a throng,  
 Who few to speak for him finds.

63\. To question and answer | must all be ready  
 Who wish to be known as wise;  
 Tell one thy thoughts, | but beware of two,—  
 All know what is known to three.

64\. The man who is prudent | a measured use  
 Of the might he has will make;  
 He finds when among | the brave he fares  
 That the boldest he may not be.

65\. . . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . .  
 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  
 Oft for the words | that to others one speaks  
 He will get but an evil gift.

66\. Too early to many | a meeting I came,  
 And some too late have I sought;  
 The beer was all drunk, | or not yet brewed;  
 Little the loathed man finds.

67\. To their homes men would bid me | hither and yon,  
 If at meal-time I needed no meat,  
 Or would hang two hams | in my true friend’s house,  
 Where only one I had eaten.

68\. Fire for men | is the fairest gift,  
 And power to see the sun;  
 Health as well, | if a man may have it,  
 And a life not stained with sin.

69\. All wretched is no man, | though never so sick;  
 Some from their sons have joy,  
 Some win it from kinsmen, | and some from their wealth,  
 And some from worthy works.

70\. It is better to live | than to lie a corpse,  
 The live man catches the cow;  
 I saw flames rise | for the rich man’s pyre,  
 And before his door he lay dead.

71\. The lame rides a horse, | the handless is herdsman,  
 The deaf in battle is bold;  
 The blind man is better | than one that is burned,  
 No good can come of a corpse.

72\. A son is better, | though late he be born,  
 And his father to death have fared;  
 Memory-stones | seldom stand by the road  
 Save when kinsman honors his kin.

73\. Two make a battle, | the tongue slays the head;  
 In each furry coat | a fist I look for.

74\. He welcomes the night | whose fare is enough.  
 (Short are the yards of a ship,)  
 Uneasy are autumn nights;  
 Full oft does the weather | change in a week,  
 And more in a month’s time.

75\. A man knows not, | if nothing he knows,  
 That gold oft apes begets;  
 One man is wealthy | and one is poor,  
 Yet scorn for him none should know.

76\. Among Fitjung’s sons | saw I well-stocked folds,—  
 Now bear they the beggar’s staff;  
 Wealth is as swift | as a winking eye,  
 Of friends the falsest it is.

77\. Cattle die, | and kinsmen die,  
 And so one dies one’s self;  
 But a noble name | will never die,  
 If good renown one gets.

78\. Cattle die, | and kinsmen die,  
 And so one dies one’s self;  
 One thing I know | that never dies,  
 The fame of a dead man’s deeds.

79\. Certain is that | which is sought from runes,  
 That the gods so great have made,  
 And the Master-Poet painted;  
 . . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . .  
 . . . . . of the race of gods:  
 Silence is safest and best.

80\. An unwise man, | if a maiden’s love  
 Or wealth he chances to win,  
 His pride will wax, | but his wisdom never,  
 Straight forward he fares in conceit.

 \* \* \* \* \* \*

81\. Give praise to the day at evening, | to a woman on her pyre,  
 To a weapon which is tried, | to a maid at wedlock,  
 To ice when it is crossed, | to ale that is drunk.

82\. When the gale blows hew wood, | in fair winds seek the water;  
 Sport with maidens at dusk, | for day’s eyes are many;  
 From the ship seek swiftness, | from the shield protection,  
 Cuts from the sword, | from the maiden kisses.

83\. By the fire drink ale, | over ice go on skates;  
 Buy a steed that is lean, | and a sword when tarnished,  
 The horse at home fatten, | the hound in thy dwelling.

 \* \* \* \* \* \*

84\. A man shall trust not | the oath of a maid,  
 Nor the word a woman speaks;  
 For their hearts on a whirling | wheel were fashioned,  
 And fickle their breasts were formed.

 \* \* \* \* \* \*

85\. In a breaking bow | or a burning flame,  
 A ravening wolf | or a croaking raven,  
 In a grunting boar, | a tree with roots broken,  
 In billowy seas | or a bubbling kettle,

86\. In a flying arrow | or falling waters,  
 In ice new formed | or the serpent’s folds,  
 In a bride’s bed-speech | or a broken sword,  
 In the sport of bears | or in sons of kings,

87\. In a calf that is sick | or a stubborn thrall,  
 A flattering witch | or a foe new slain.

88\. In a brother’s slayer, | if thou meet him abroad,  
 In a half-burned house, | in a horse full swift—  
 One leg is hurt | and the horse is useless—  
 None had ever such faith | as to trust in them all.

 \* \* \* \* \* \*

89\. Hope not too surely | for early harvest,  
 Nor trust too soon in thy son;  
 The field needs good weather, | the son needs wisdom,  
 And oft is either denied.

 \* \* \* \* \* \*

90\. The love of women | fickle of will  
 Is like starting o’er ice | with a steed unshod,  
 A two-year-old restive | and little tamed,  
 Or steering a rudderless | ship in a storm,  
 Or, lame, hunting reindeer | on slippery rocks.

 \* \* \* \* \* \*

91\. Clear now will I speak, | for I know them both,  
 Men false to women are found;  
 When fairest we speak, | then falsest we think,  
 Against wisdom we work with deceit.

92\. Soft words shall he speak | and wealth shall he offer  
 Who longs for a maiden’s love,  
 And the beauty praise | of the maiden bright;  
 He wins whose wooing is best.

93\. Fault for loving | let no man find  
 Ever with any other;  
 Oft the wise are fettered, | where fools go free,  
 By beauty that breeds desire.

94\. Fault with another | let no man find  
 For what touches many a man;  
 Wise men oft | into witless fools  
 Are made by mighty love.

95\. The head alone knows | what dwells near the heart,  
 A man knows his mind alone;  
 No sickness is worse | to one who is wise  
 Than to lack the longed-for joy.

96\. This found I myself, | when I sat in the reeds,  
 And long my love awaited;  
 As my life the maiden | wise I loved,  
 Yet her I never had.

97\. Billing’s daughter | I found on her bed,  
 In slumber bright as the sun;  
 Empty appeared | an earl’s estate  
 Without that form so fair.

98\. “Othin, again | at evening come,  
 If a woman thou wouldst win;  
 Evil it were | if others than we  
 Should know of such a sin.”

99\. Away I hastened, | hoping for joy,  
 And careless of counsel wise;  
 Well I believed | that soon I should win  
 Measureless joy with the maid.

100\. So came I next | when night it was,  
 The warriors all were awake;  
 With burning lights | and waving brands  
 I learned my luckless way.

101\. At morning then, | when once more I came,  
 And all were sleeping still,  
 A dog I found | in the fair one’s place,  
 Bound there upon her bed.

102\. Many fair maids, | if a man but tries them,  
 False to a lover are found;  
 That did I learn | when I longed to gain  
 With wiles the maiden wise;  
 Foul scorn was my meed | from the crafty maid,  
 And nought from the woman I won.

 \* \* \* \* \* \*

103\. Though glad at home, | and merry with guests,  
 A man shall be wary and wise;  
 The sage and shrewd, | wide wisdom seeking,  
 Must see that his speech be fair;  
 A fool is he named | who nought can say,  
 For such is the way of the witless.

104\. I found the old giant, | now back have I fared,  
 Small gain from silence I got;  
 Full many a word, | my will to get,  
 I spoke in Suttung’s hall.

105\. The mouth of Rati | made room for my passage,  
 And space in the stone he gnawed;  
 Above and below | the giants’ paths lay,  
 So rashly I risked my head.

106\. Gunnloth gave | on a golden stool  
 A drink of the marvelous mead;  
 A harsh reward | did I let her have  
 For her heroic heart,  
 And her spirit troubled sore.

107\. The well-earned beauty | well I enjoyed,  
 Little the wise man lacks;  
 So Othrörir now | has up been brought  
 To the midst of the men of earth.

108\. Hardly, methinks, | would I home have come,  
 And left the giants’ land,  
 Had not Gunnloth helped me, | the maiden good,  
 Whose arms about me had been.

109\. The day that followed, | the frost-giants came,  
 Some word of Hor to win,  
 (And into the hall of Hor;)  
 Of Bolverk they asked, | were he back midst the gods,  
 Or had Suttung slain him there?

110\. On his ring swore Othin | the oath, methinks;  
 Who now his troth shall trust?  
 Suttung’s betrayal | he sought with drink,  
 And Gunnloth to grief he left.

 \* \* \* \* \* \*

111\. It is time to chant | from the chanter’s stool;  
 By the wells of Urth I was,  
 I saw and was silent, | I saw and thought,  
 And heard the speech of Hor.  
 (Of runes heard I words, | nor were counsels wanting,  
 At the hall of Hor,  
 In the hall of Hor;  
 Such was the speech I heard.)

112\. I rede thee, Loddfafnir! | and hear thou my rede,—  
 Profit thou hast if thou hearest,  
 Great thy gain if thou learnest:  
 Rise not at night, | save if news thou seekest,  
 Or fain to the outhouse wouldst fare.

113\. I rede thee, Loddfafnir! | and hear thou my rede,—  
 Profit thou hast if thou hearest,  
 Great thy gain if thou learnest:  
 Beware of sleep | on a witch’s bosom,  
 Nor let her limbs ensnare thee.

114\. Such is her might | that thou hast no mind  
 For the council or meeting of men;  
 Meat thou hatest, | joy thou hast not,  
 And sadly to slumber thou farest.

115\. I rede thee, Loddfafnir! | and hear thou my rede,—  
 Profit thou hast if thou hearest,  
 Great thy gain if thou learnest:  
 Seek never to win | the wife of another,  
 Or long for her secret love.

116\. I rede thee, Loddfafnir! | and hear thou my rede,—  
 Profit thou hast if thou hearest,  
 Great thy gain if thou learnest:  
 If o’er mountains or gulfs | thou fain wouldst go,  
 Look well to thy food for the way.

117\. I rede thee, Loddfafnir! | and hear thou my rede,—  
 Profit thou hast if thou hearest,  
 Great thy gain if thou learnest:  
 An evil man | thou must not let  
 Bring aught of ill to thee;  
 For an evil man | will never make  
 Reward for a worthy thought.

118\. I saw a man | who was wounded sore  
 By an evil woman’s word;  
 A lying tongue | his death-blow launched,  
 And no word of truth there was.

119\. I rede thee, Loddfafnir! | and hear thou my rede,—  
 Profit thou hast if thou hearest,  
 Great thy gain if thou learnest:  
 If a friend thou hast | whom thou fully wilt trust,  
 Then fare to find him oft;  
 For brambles grow | and waving grass  
 On the rarely trodden road.

120\. I rede thee, Loddfafnir! | and hear thou my rede,—  
 Profit thou hast if thou hearest,  
 Great thy gain if thou learnest:  
 A good man find | to hold in friendship,  
 And give heed to his healing charms.

121\. I rede thee, Loddfafnir! | and hear thou my rede,—  
 Profit thou hast if thou hearest,  
 Great thy gain if thou learnest:  
 Be never the first | to break with thy friend  
 The bond that holds you both;  
 Care eats the heart | if thou canst not speak  
 To another all thy thought.

122\. I rede thee, Loddfafnir! | and hear thou my rede,—  
 Profit thou hast if thou hearest,  
 Great thy gain if thou learnest:  
 Exchange of words | with a witless ape  
 Thou must not ever make.

123\. For never thou mayst | from an evil man  
 A good requital get;  
 But a good man oft | the greatest love  
 Through words of praise will win thee.

124\. Mingled is love | when a man can speak  
 To another all his thought;  
 Nought is so bad | as false to be,  
 No friend speaks only fair.

125\. I rede thee, Loddfafnir! | and hear thou my rede,—  
 Profit thou hast if thou hearest,  
 Great thy gain if thou learnest:  
 With a worse man speak not | three words in dispute,  
 Ill fares the better oft  
 When the worse man wields a sword.

126\. I rede thee, Loddfafnir! | and hear thou my rede,—  
 Profit thou hast if thou hearest,  
 Great thy gain if thou learnest:  
 A shoemaker be, | or a maker of shafts,  
 For only thy single self;  
 If the shoe is ill made, | or the shaft prove false,  
 Then evil of thee men think.

127\. I rede thee, Loddfafnir! | and hear thou my rede,—  
 Profit thou hast if thou hearest,  
 Great thy gain if thou learnest:  
 If evil thou knowest, | as evil proclaim it,  
 And make no friendship with foes.

128\. I rede thee, Loddfafnir! | and hear thou my rede,—  
 Profit thou hast if thou hearest,  
 Great thy gain if thou learnest:  
 In evil never | joy shalt thou know,  
 But glad the good shall make thee.

129\. I rede thee, Loddfafnir! | and hear thou my rede,—  
 Profit thou hast if thou hearest,  
 Great thy gain if thou learnest:  
 Look not up | when the battle is on,—  
 (Like madmen the sons | of men become,—)  
 Lest men bewitch thy wits.

130\. I rede thee, Loddfafnir! | and hear thou my rede,—  
 Profit thou hast if thou hearest,  
 Great thy gain if thou learnest:  
 If thou fain wouldst win | a woman’s love,  
 And gladness get from her,  
 Fair be thy promise | and well fulfilled;  
 None loathes what good he gets.

131\. I rede thee, Loddfafnir! | and hear thou my rede,—  
 Profit thou hast if thou hearest,  
 Great thy gain if thou learnest:  
 I bid thee be wary, | but be not fearful;  
 (Beware most with ale | or another’s wife,  
 And third beware | lest a thief outwit thee.)

132\. I rede thee, Loddfafnir! | and hear thou my rede,—  
 Profit thou hast if thou hearest,  
 Great thy gain if thou learnest:  
 Scorn or mocking | ne’er shalt thou make  
 Of a guest or a journey-goer.

133\. Oft scarcely he knows | who sits in the house  
 What kind is the man who comes;  
 None so good is found | that faults he has not,  
 Nor so wicked that nought he is worth.

134\. I rede thee, Loddfafnir! | and hear thou my rede,—  
 Profit thou hast if thou hearest,  
 Great thy gain if thou learnest:  
 Scorn not ever | the gray-haired singer,  
 Oft do the old speak good;  
 (Oft from shrivelled skin | come skillful counsels,  
 Though it hang with the hides,  
 And flap with the pelts,  
 And is blown with the bellies.)

135\. I rede thee, Loddfafnir! | and hear thou my rede,—  
 Profit thou hast if thou hearest,  
 Great thy gain if thou learnest:  
 Curse not thy guest, | nor show him thy gate,  
 Deal well with a man in want.

136\. Strong is the beam | that raised must be  
 To give an entrance to all;  
 Give it a ring, | or grim will be  
 The wish it would work on thee.

137\. I rede thee, Loddfafnir! | and hear thou my rede,—  
 Profit thou hast if thou hearest,  
 Great thy gain if thou learnest:  
 When ale thou drinkest, | seek might of earth,  
 (For earth cures drink, | and fire cures ills,  
 The oak cures tightness, | the ear cures magic,  
 Rye cures rupture, | the moon cures rage,  
 Grass cures the scab, | and runes the sword-cut;)  
 The field absorbs the flood.

138\. Now are Hor’s words | spoken in the hall,  
 Kind for the kindred of men,  
 Cursed for the kindred of giants:  
 Hail to the speaker, | and to him who learns!  
 Profit be his who has them!  
 Hail to them who hearken

 \* \* \* \* \* \*

139\. I ween that I hung | on the windy tree,  
 Hung there for nights full nine;  
 With the spear I was wounded, | and offered I was  
 To Othin, myself to myself,  
 On the tree that none | may ever know  
 What root beneath it runs.

140\. None made me happy | with loaf or horn,  
 And there below I looked;  
 I took up the runes, | shrieking I took them,  
 And forthwith back I fell.

141\. Nine mighty songs | I got from the son  
 Of Bolthorn, Bestla’s father;  
 And a drink I got | of the goodly mead  
 Poured out from Othrörir.

142\. Then began I to thrive, | and wisdom to get,  
 I grew and well I was;  
 Each word led me on | to another word,  
 Each deed to another deed.

143\. Runes shalt thou find, | and fateful signs,  
 That the king of singers colored,  
 And the mighty gods have made;  
 Full strong the signs, | full mighty the signs  
 That the ruler of gods doth write.

144\. Othin for the gods, | Dain for the elves,  
 And Dvalin for the dwarfs,  
 Alsvith for giants | and all mankind,  
 And some myself I wrote.

145\. Knowest how one shall write, | knowest how one shall rede?  
 Knowest how one shall tint, | knowest how one makes trial?  
 Knowest how one shall ask, | knowest how one shall offer?  
 Knowest how one shall send, | knowest how one shall sacrifice?

146\. Better no prayer | than too big an offering,  
 By thy getting measure thy gift;  
 Better is none | than too big a sacrifice,  
 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  
 So Thund of old wrote | ere man’s race began,  
 Where he rose on high | when home he came.

 \* \* \* \* \* \*

147\. The songs I know | that king’s wives know not,  
 Nor men that are sons of men;  
 The first is called help, | and help it can bring thee  
 In sorrow and pain and sickness.

148\. A second I know, | that men shall need  
 Who leechcraft long to use;  
 . . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . .  
 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

149\. A third I know, | if great is my need  
 Of fetters to hold my foe;  
 Blunt do I make | mine enemy’s blade,  
 Nor bites his sword or staff.

150\. A fourth I know, | if men shall fasten  
 Bonds on my bended legs;  
 So great is the charm | that forth I may go,  
 The fetters spring from my feet,  
 Broken the bonds from my hands.

151\. A fifth I know, | if I see from afar  
 An arrow fly ’gainst the folk;  
 It flies not so swift | that I stop it not,  
 If ever my eyes behold it.

152\. A sixth I know, | if harm one seeks  
 With a sapling’s roots to send me;  
 The hero himself | who wreaks his hate  
 Shall taste the ill ere I.

153\. A seventh I know, | if I see in flames  
 The hall o’er my comrades’ heads;  
 It burns not so wide | that I will not quench it,  
 I know that song to sing.

154\. An eighth I know, | that is to all  
 Of greatest good to learn;  
 When hatred grows | among heroes’ sons,  
 I soon can set it right.

155\. A ninth I know, | if need there comes  
 To shelter my ship on the flood;  
 The wind I calm | upon the waves,  
 And the sea I put to sleep.

156\. A tenth I know, | what time I see  
 House-riders flying on high;  
 So can I work | that wildly they go,  
 Showing their true shapes,  
 Hence to their own homes.

157\. An eleventh I know, | if needs I must lead  
 To the fight my long-loved friends;  
 I sing in the shields, | and in strength they go  
 Whole to the field of fight,  
 Whole from the field of fight,  
 And whole they come thence home.

158\. A twelfth I know, | if high on a tree  
 I see a hanged man swing;  
 So do I write | and color the runes  
 That forth he fares,  
 And to me talks.

159\. A thirteenth I know, | if a thane full young  
 With water I sprinkle well;  
 He shall not fall, | though he fares mid the host,  
 Nor sink beneath the swords.

160\. A fourteenth I know, | if fain I would name  
 To men the mighty gods;  
 All know I well | of the gods and elves,—  
 Few be the fools know this.

161\. A fifteenth I know, | that before the doors  
 Of Delling sang Thjothrörir the dwarf;  
 Might he sang for the gods, | and glory for elves,  
 And wisdom for Hroptatyr wise.

162\. A sixteenth I know, | if I seek delight  
 To win from a maiden wise;  
 The mind I turn | of the white-armed maid,  
 And thus change all her thoughts.

163\. A seventeenth I know, | so that seldom shall go  
 A maiden young from me;  
 . . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . .  
 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

164\. Long these songs | thou shalt, Loddfafnir,  
 Seek in vain to sing;  
 Yet good it were | if thou mightest get them,  
 Well, if thou wouldst them learn,  
 Help, if thou hadst them.

165\. An eighteenth I know, | that ne’er will I tell  
 To maiden or wife of man,—  
 The best is what none | but one’s self doth know,  
 So comes the end of the songs,—  
 Save only to her | in whose arms I lie,  
 Or who else my sister is.

# VAFTHRUTHNISMOL (THE BALLAD OF VAFTHRUTHNIR)

Othin spake:

  
1\. “Counsel me, Frigg, | for I long to fare,  
 And Vafthruthnir fain would find;  
 In wisdom old | with the giant wise  
 Myself would I seek to match.”

  
Frigg spake:

  
2\. “Heerfather here | at home would I keep,  
 Where the gods together dwell;  
 Amid all the giants | an equal in might  
 To Vafthruthnir know I none.”

  
Othin spake:

  
3\. “Much have I fared, | much have I found,  
 Much have I got from the gods;  
 And fain would I know | how Vafthruthnir now  
 Lives in his lofty hall.”

  
Frigg spake:

  
4\. “Safe mayst thou go, | safe come again,  
 And safe be the way thou wendest!  
 Father of men, | let thy mind be keen  
 When speech with the giant thou seekest.”

5\. The wisdom then | of the giant wise  
 Forth did he fare to try;  
 He found the hall | of the father of Im,  
 And in forthwith went Ygg.

  
Othin spake:

  
6\. “Vafthruthnir, hail! | to thy hall am I come,  
 For thyself I fain would see;  
 And first would I ask | if wise thou art,  
 Or, giant, all wisdom hast won.”

  
Vafthruthnir spake:

  
7\. “Who is the man | that speaks to me,  
 Here in my lofty hall?  
 Forth from our dwelling | thou never shalt fare,  
 Unless wiser than I thou art.”

  
Othin spake:

  
8\. “Gagnrath they call me, | and thirsty I come  
 From a journey hard to thy hall;  
 Welcome I look for, | for long have I fared,  
 And gentle greeting, giant.”

  
Vafthruthnir spake:

  
9\. “Why standest thou there | on the floor whilst thou  
 speakest?  
 A seat shalt thou have in my hall;  
 Then soon shall we know | whose knowledge is more,  
 The guest’s or the sage’s gray.”

  
Othin spake:

  
10\. “If a poor man reaches | the home of the rich,  
 Let him wisely speak or be still;  
 For to him who speaks | with the hard of heart  
 Will chattering ever work ill.”

  
Vafthruthnir spake:

  
11\. “Speak forth now, Gagnrath, | if there from the floor  
 Thou wouldst thy wisdom make known:  
 What name has the steed | that each morn anew  
 The day for mankind doth draw?”

  
Othin spake:

  
12\. “Skinfaxi is he, | the steed who for men  
 The glittering day doth draw;  
 The best of horses | to heroes he seems,  
 And brightly his mane doth burn.”

  
Vafthruthnir spake:

  
13\. “Speak forth now, Gagnrath, | if there from the floor  
 Thou wouldst thy wisdom make known:  
 What name has the steed | that from East anew  
 Brings night for the noble gods?”

  
Othin spake:

  
14\. “Hrimfaxi name they | the steed that anew  
 Brings night for the noble gods;  
 Each morning foam | from his bit there falls,  
 And thence come the dews in the dales.”

  
Vafthruthnir spake:

  
15\. “Speak forth now, Gagnrath, | if there from the floor  
 Thou wouldst thy wisdom make known:  
 What name has the river | that ’twixt the realms  
 Of the gods and the giants goes?”

  
Othin spake:

  
16\. “Ifing is the river | that ’twixt the realms  
 Of the gods and the giants goes;  
 For all time ever | open it flows,  
 No ice on the river there is.”

  
Vafthruthnir spake:

  
17\. “Speak forth now, Gagnrath, | if there from the floor  
 Thou wouldst thy wisdom make known:  
 What name has the field | where in fight shall meet  
 Surt and the gracious gods?”

  
Othin spake:

  
18\. “Vigrith is the field | where in fight shall meet  
 Surt and the gracious gods;  
 A hundred miles | each way does it measure,  
 And so are its boundaries set.”

  
Vafthruthnir spake:

  
19\. “Wise art thou, guest! | To my bench shalt thou go,  
 In our seats let us speak together;  
 Here in the hall | our heads, O guest,  
 hall we wager our wisdom upon.”

  
Othin spake:

  
20\. “First answer me well, | if thy wisdom avails,  
 And thou knowest it, Vafthruthnir, now:  
 In earliest time | whence came the earth,  
 Or the sky, thou giant sage?”

  
Vafthruthnir spake:

  
21\. “Out of Ymir’s flesh | was fashioned the earth,  
 And the mountains were made of his bones;  
 The sky from the frost-cold | giant’s skull,  
 And the ocean out of his blood.”

  
Othin spake:

  
22\. “Next answer me well, | if thy wisdom avails,  
 And thou knowest it, Vafthruthnir, now:  
 Whence came the moon, | o’er the world of men  
 That fares, and the flaming sun?”

  
Vafthruthnir spake:

  
23\. “Mundilferi is he | who begat the moon,  
 And fathered the flaming sun;  
 The round of heaven | each day they run,  
 To tell the time for men.”

  
Othin spake:

  
24\. “Third answer me well, | if wise thou art called,  
 If thou knowest it, Vafthruthnir, now:  
 Whence came the day, | o’er mankind that fares,  
 Or night with the narrowing moon?”

  
Vafthruthnir spake:

  
25\. “The father of day | is Delling called,  
 And the night was begotten by Nor;  
 Full moon and old | by the gods were fashioned,  
 To tell the time for men.”

  
Othin spake:

  
26\. “Fourth answer me well, | if wise thou art called,  
 If thou knowest it, Vafthruthnir, now:  
 Whence did winter come, | or the summer warm,  
 First with the gracious gods?”

  
Vafthruthnir spake:

  
27\. “Vindsval he was | who was winter’s father,  
 And Svosuth summer begat;”  
 . . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . .  
 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

  
Othin spake:

  
28\. “Fifth answer me well, | if wise thou art called,  
 If thou knowest it, Vafthruthnir, now:  
 What giant first | was fashioned of old,  
 And the eldest of Ymir’s kin?”

  
Vafthruthnir spake:

  
29\. “Winters unmeasured | ere earth was made  
 Was the birth of Bergelmir;  
 Thruthgelmir’s son | was the giant strong,  
 And Aurgelmir’s grandson of old.”

  
Othin spake:

  
30\. “Sixth answer me well, | if wise thou art called,  
 If thou knowest it, Vafthruthnir, now:  
 Whence did Aurgelmir come | with the giants’ kin,  
 Long since, thou giant sage?”

  
Vafthruthnir spake:

  
31\. “Down from Elivagar | did venom drop,  
 And waxed till a giant it was;  
 And thence arose | our giants’ race,  
 And thus so fierce are we found.”

  
Othin spake:

  
32\. “Seventh answer me well, | if wise thou art called,  
 If thou knowest it, Vafthruthnir, now:  
 How begat he children, | the giant grim,  
 Who never a giantess knew?”

  
Vafthruthnir spake:

  
33\. “They say ’neath the arms | of the giant of ice  
 Grew man-child and maid together;  
 And foot with foot | did the wise one fashion  
 A son that six heads bore.”

  
Othin spake:

  
34\. “Eighth answer me well, | if wise thou art called,  
 If thou knowest it, Vafthruthnir, now:  
 What farthest back | dost thou bear in mind?  
 For wide is thy wisdom, giant!”

  
Vafthruthnir spake:

  
35\. “Winters unmeasured | ere earth was made  
 Was the birth of Bergelmir;  
 This first knew I well, | when the giant wise  
 In a boat of old was borne.”

  
Othin spake:

  
36\. “Ninth answer me well, | if wise thou art called,  
 If thou knowest it, Vafthruthnir, now:  
 Whence comes the wind | that fares o’er the waves  
 Yet never itself is seen?”

  
Vafthruthnir spake:

  
37\. “In an eagle’s guise | at the end of heaven  
 Hræsvelg sits, they say;  
 And from his wings | does the wind come forth  
 To move o’er the world of men.”

  
Othin spake:

  
38\. “Tenth answer me now, | if thou knowest all  
 The fate that is fixed for the gods:  
 Whence came up Njorth | to the kin of the gods,—  
 (Rich in temples | and shrines he rules,—)  
 Though of gods he was never begot?”

  
Vafthruthnir spake:

  
39\. “In the home of the Wanes | did the wise ones create him,  
 And gave him as pledge to the gods;  
 At the fall of the world | shall he fare once more  
 Home to the Wanes so wise.”

  
Othin spake:

  
40\. “Eleventh answer me well, | . . . . . . . .  
 . . . . . . . . . . .  
 What men . . . . . . | in . . . . . . home  
 Each day to fight go forth?”

  
Vafthruthnir spake:

  
41\. “The heroes all | in Othin’s hall  
 Each day to fight go forth;  
 They fell each other, | and fare from the fight  
 All healed full soon to sit.”

  
Othin spake:

  
42\. “Twelfth answer me now | how all thou knowest  
 Of the fate that is fixed for the gods;  
 Of the runes of the gods | and the giants’ race  
 The truth indeed dost thou tell,  
 (And wide is thy wisdom, giant!)”

  
Vafthruthnir spake:

  
43\. “Of the runes of the gods | and the giants’ race  
 The truth indeed can I tell,  
 (For to every world have I won;)  
 To nine worlds came I, | to Niflhel beneath,  
 The home where dead men dwell.”

  
Othin spake:

  
44\. “Much have I fared, | much have I found,  
 Much have I got of the gods:  
 What shall live of mankind | when at last there comes  
 The mighty winter to men?”

  
Vafthruthnir spake:

  
45\. “In Hoddmimir’s wood | shall hide themselves  
 Lif and Lifthrasir then;  
 The morning dews | for meat shall they have,  
 Such food shall men then find.”

  
Othin spake:

  
46\. “Much have I fared, | much have I found,  
 Much have I got of the gods:  
 Whence comes the sun | to the smooth sky back,  
 When Fenrir has snatched it forth?”

  
Vafthruthnir spake:

  
47\. “A daughter bright | Alfrothul bears  
 Ere Fenrir snatches her forth;  
 Her mother’s paths | shall the maiden tread  
 When the gods to death have gone.”

  
Othin spake:

  
48\. “Much have I fared, | much have I found,  
 Much have I got of the gods:  
 What maidens are they, | so wise of mind,  
 That forth o’er the sea shall fare?”

  
Vafthruthnir spake:

  
49\. “O’er Mogthrasir’s hill | shall the maidens pass,  
 And three are their throngs that come;  
 They all shall protect | the dwellers on earth,  
 Though they come of the giants’ kin.”

  
Othin spake:

  
50\. “Much have I fared, | much have I found,  
 Much have I got of the gods:  
 Who then shall rule | the realm of the gods,  
 When the fires of Surt have sunk?”

  
Vafthruthnir spake:

  
51\. “In the gods’ home Vithar | and Vali shall dwell,  
 When the fires of Surt have sunk;  
 Mothi and Magni | shall Mjollnir have  
 When Vingnir falls in fight.”

  
Othin spake:

  
52\. “Much have I fared, | much have I found,  
 Much have I got of the gods:  
 What shall bring the doom | of death to Othin,  
 When the gods to destruction go?”

  
Vafthruthnir spake:

  
53\. “The wolf shall fell | the father of men,  
 And this shall Vithar avenge;  
 The terrible jaws | shall he tear apart,  
 And so the wolf shall he slay.”

  
Othin spake:

  
54\. “Much have I fared, | much have I found,  
 Much have I got from the gods:  
 What spake Othin himself | in the ears of his son,  
 Ere in the bale-fire he burned?”

  
Vafthruthnir spake:

  
55\. “No man can tell | what in olden time  
 Thou spak’st in the ears of thy son;  
 With fated mouth | the fall of the gods  
 And mine olden tales have I told;  
 With Othin in knowledge | now have I striven,  
 And ever the wiser thou art.”

# GRIMNISMOL (THE BALLAD OF GRIMNIR)

King Hrauthung had two sons: one was called Agnar, and the other  
Geirröth. Agnar was ten winters old, and Geirröth eight. Once they both  
rowed in a boat with their fishing-gear to catch little fish; and the  
wind drove them out into the sea. In the darkness of the night they  
were wrecked on the shore; and going up, they found a poor peasant,  
with whom they stayed through the winter. The housewife took care of  
Agnar, and the peasant cared for Geirröth, and taught him wisdom. In  
the spring the peasant gave him a boat; and when the couple led them to  
the shore, the peasant spoke secretly with Geirröth. They had a fair  
wind, and came to their father’s landing-place. Geirröth was forward in  
the boat; he leaped up on land, but pushed out the boat and said, “Go  
thou now where evil may have thee!” The boat drifted out to sea.  
Geirröth, however, went up to the house, and was well received, but his  
father was dead. Then Geirröth was made king, and became a renowned  
man.

Othin and Frigg sat in Hlithskjolf and looked over all the worlds.  
Othin said: “Seest thou Agnar, thy fosterling, how he begets children  
with a giantess in the cave? But Geirröth, my fosterling, is a king,  
and now rules over his land.” Frigg said: “He is so miserly that he  
tortures his guests if he thinks that too many of them come to him.”  
Othin replied that this was the greatest of lies; and they made a wager  
about this matter. Frigg sent her maid-servant, Fulla, to Geirröth. She  
bade the king beware lest a magician who was come thither to his land  
should bewitch him, and told this sign concerning him, that no dog was  
so fierce as to leap at him. Now it was a very great slander that King  
Geirröth was not hospitable; but nevertheless he had them take the man  
whom the dogs would not attack. He wore a dark-blue mantle and called  
himself Grimnir, but said no more about himself, though he was  
questioned. The king had him tortured to make him speak, and set him  
between two fires, and he sat there eight nights. King Geirröth had a  
son ten winters old, and called Agnar after his father’s brother. Agnar  
went to Grimnir, and gave him a full horn to drink from, and said that  
the king did ill in letting him be tormented without cause. Grimnir  
drank from the horn; the fire had come so near that the mantle burned  
on Grimnir’s back. He spake:

  
1\. Hot art thou, fire! | too fierce by far;  
 Get ye now gone, ye flames!  
 The mantle is burnt, | though I bear it aloft,  
 And the fire scorches the fur.

2\. ’Twixt the fires now | eight nights have I sat,  
 And no man brought meat to me,  
 Save Agnar alone, | and alone shall rule  
 Geirröth’s son o’er the Goths.

3\. Hail to thee, Agnar! | for hailed thou art  
 By the voice of Veratyr;  
 For a single drink | shalt thou never receive  
 A greater gift as reward.

4\. The land is holy | that lies hard by  
 The gods and the elves together;  
 And Thor shall ever | in Thruthheim dwell,  
 Till the gods to destruction go.

5\. Ydalir call they | the place where Ull  
 A hall for himself hath set;  
 And Alfheim the gods | to Freyr once gave  
 As a tooth-gift in ancient times.

6\. A third home is there, | with silver thatched  
 By the hands of the gracious gods:  
 Valaskjolf is it, | in days of old  
 Set by a god for himself.

7\. Sökkvabekk is the fourth, | where cool waves flow,  
 And amid their murmur it stands;  
 There daily do Othin | and Saga drink  
 In gladness from cups of gold.

8\. The fifth is Glathsheim, | and gold-bright there  
 Stands Valhall stretching wide;  
 And there does Othin | each day choose  
 The men who have fallen in fight.

9\. Easy is it to know | for him who to Othin  
 Comes and beholds the hall;  
 Its rafters are spears, | with shields is it roofed,  
 On its benches are breastplates strewn.

10\. Easy is it to know | for him who to Othin  
 Comes and beholds the hall;  
 There hangs a wolf | by the western door,  
 And o’er it an eagle hovers.

11\. The sixth is Thrymheim, | where Thjazi dwelt,  
 The giant of marvelous might;  
 Now Skathi abides, | the god’s fair bride,  
 In the home that her father had.

12\. The seventh is Breithablik; | Baldr has there  
 For himself a dwelling set,  
 In the land I know | that lies so fair,  
 And from evil fate is free.

13\. Himinbjorg is the eighth, | and Heimdall there  
 O’er men holds sway, it is said;  
 In his well-built house | does the warder of heaven  
 The good mead gladly drink.

14\. The ninth is Folkvang, | where Freyja decrees  
 Who shall have seats in the hall;  
 The half of the dead | each day does she choose,  
 And half does Othin have.

15\. The tenth is Glitnir; | its pillars are gold,  
 And its roof with silver is set;  
 There most of his days | does Forseti dwell,  
 And sets all strife at end.

16\. The eleventh is Noatun; | there has Njorth  
 For himself a dwelling set;  
 The sinless ruler | of men there sits  
 In his temple timbered high.

17\. Filled with growing trees | and high-standing grass  
 Is Vithi, Vithar’s land;  
 But there did the son | from his steed leap down,  
 When his father he fain would avenge.

18\. In Eldhrimnir | Andhrimnir cooks  
 Sæhrimnir’s seething flesh,—  
 The best of food, | but few men know  
 On what fare the warriors feast.

19\. Freki and Geri | does Heerfather feed,  
 The far-famed fighter of old:  
 But on wine alone | does the weapon-decked god,  
 Othin, forever live.

20\. O’er Mithgarth Hugin | and Munin both  
 Each day set forth to fly;  
 For Hugin I fear | lest he come not home,  
 But for Munin my care is more.

21\. Loud roars Thund, | and Thjothvitnir’s fish  
 Joyously fares in the flood;  
 Hard does it seem | to the host of the slain  
 To wade the torrent wild.

22\. There Valgrind stands, | the sacred gate,  
 And behind are the holy doors;  
 Old is the gate, | but few there are  
 Who can tell how it tightly is locked.

23\. Five hundred doors | and forty there are,  
 I ween, in Valhall’s walls;  
 Eight hundred fighters | through one door fare  
 When to war with the wolf they go.

24\. Five hundred rooms | and forty there are  
 I ween, in Bilskirnir built;  
 Of all the homes | whose roofs I beheld,  
 My son’s the greatest meseemed.

25\. Heithrun is the goat | who stands by Heerfather’s hall,  
 And the branches of Lærath she bites;  
 The pitcher she fills | with the fair, clear mead,  
 Ne’er fails the foaming drink.

26\. Eikthyrnir is the hart | who stands by Heerfather’s hall  
 And the branches of Lærath he bites;  
 From his horns a stream | into Hvergelmir drops,  
 Thence all the rivers run.

27\. Sith and Vith, | Sækin and Ækin,  
 Svol and Fimbulthul, | Gunnthro and Fjorm,  
 Rin and Rinnandi,  
 Gipul and Gopul, | Gomul and Geirvimul,  
 That flow through the fields of the gods;  
 Thyn and Vin, | Thol and Hol,  
 Groth and Gunnthorin.

28\. Vino is one, | Vegsvin another,  
 And Thjothnuma a third;  
 Nyt and Not, | Non and Hron,  
 Slith and Hrith, | Sylg and Ylg,  
 Vith and Von, | Vond and Strond,  
 Gjol and Leipt, | that go among men,  
 And hence they fall to Hel.

29\. Kormt and Ormt | and the Kerlaugs twain  
 Shall Thor each day wade through,  
 (When dooms to give | he forth shall go  
 To the ash-tree Yggdrasil;)  
 For heaven’s bridge | burns all in flame,  
 And the sacred waters seethe.

30\. Glath and Gyllir, | Gler and Skeithbrimir,  
 Silfrintopp and Sinir,  
 Gisl and Falhofnir, | Golltopp and Lettfeti,  
 On these steeds the gods shall go  
 When dooms to give | each day they ride  
 To the ash-tree Yggdrasil.

31\. Three roots there are | that three ways run  
 ’Neath the ash-tree Yggdrasil;  
 ’Neath the first lives Hel, | ’neath the second the  
 frost-giants,  
 ’Neath the last are the lands of men.

32\. Ratatosk is the squirrel | who there shall run  
 On the ash-tree Yggdrasil;  
 From above the words | of the eagle he bears,  
 And tells them to Nithhogg beneath.

33\. Four harts there are, | that the highest twigs  
 Nibble with necks bent back;  
 Dain and Dvalin, | . . . . . . . .  
 Duneyr and Dyrathror.

34\. More serpents there are | beneath the ash  
 Than an unwise ape would think;  
 Goin and Moin, | Grafvitnir’s sons,  
 Grabak and Grafvolluth,  
 Ofnir and Svafnir | shall ever, methinks,  
 Gnaw at the twigs of the tree.

35\. Yggdrasil’s ash | great evil suffers,  
 Far more than men do know;  
 The hart bites its top, | its trunk is rotting,  
 And Nithhogg gnaws beneath.

36\. Hrist and Mist | bring the horn at my will,  
 Skeggjold and Skogul;  
 Hild and Thruth, | Hlokk and Herfjotur,  
 Gol and Geironul,  
 Randgrith and Rathgrith | and Reginleif  
 Beer to the warriors bring.

37\. Arvak and Alsvith | up shall drag  
 Weary the weight of the sun;  
 But an iron cool | have the kindly gods  
 Of yore set under their yokes.

38\. In front of the sun | does Svalin stand,  
 The shield for the shining god;  
 Mountains and sea | would be set in flames  
 If it fell from before the sun.

39\. Skoll is the wolf | that to Ironwood  
 Follows the glittering god,  
 And the son of Hrothvitnir, | Hati, awaits  
 The burning bride of heaven.

40\. Out of Ymir’s flesh | was fashioned the earth,  
 And the ocean out of his blood;  
 Of his bones the hills, | of his hair the trees,  
 Of his skull the heavens high.

41\. Mithgarth the gods | from his eyebrows made,  
 And set for the sons of men;  
 And out of his brain | the baleful clouds  
 They made to move on high.

42\. His the favor of Ull | and of all the gods  
 Who first in the flames will reach;  
 For the house can be seen | by the sons of the gods  
 If the kettle aside were cast.

43\. In days of old | did Ivaldi’s sons  
 Skithblathnir fashion fair,  
 The best of ships | for the bright god Freyr,  
 The noble son of Njorth.

44\. The best of trees | must Yggdrasil be,  
 Skithblathnir best of boats;  
 Of all the gods | is Othin the greatest,  
 And Sleipnir the best of steeds;  
 Bilrost of bridges, | Bragi of skalds,  
 Hobrok of hawks, | and Garm of hounds.

45\. To the race of the gods | my face have I raised,  
 And the wished-for aid have I waked;  
 For to all the gods | has the message gone  
 That sit in Ægir’s seats,  
 That drink within Ægir’s doors.

46\. Grim is my name, | Gangleri am I,  
 Herjan and Hjalmberi,  
 Thekk and Thrithi, | Thuth and Uth,  
 Helblindi and Hor;

47\. Sath and Svipal | and Sanngetal,  
 Herteit and Hnikar,  
 Bileyg, Baleyg, | Bolverk, Fjolnir,  
 Grim and Grimnir, | Glapsvith, Fjolsvith.

48\. Sithhott, Sithskegg, | Sigfather, Hnikuth,  
 Allfather, Valfather, | Atrith, Farmatyr:  
 A single name | have I never had  
 Since first among men I fared.

49\. Grimnir they call me | in Geirröth’s hall,  
 With Asmund Jalk am I;  
 Kjalar I was | when I went in a sledge,  
 At the council Thror am I called,  
 As Vithur I fare to the fight;  
 Oski, Biflindi, | Jafnhor and Omi,  
 Gondlir and Harbarth midst gods.

50\. I deceived the giant | Sokkmimir old  
 As Svithur and Svithrir of yore;  
 Of Mithvitnir’s son | the slayer I was  
 When the famed one found his doom.

51\. Drunk art thou, Geirröth, | too much didst thou drink,  
 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  
 Much hast thou lost, | for help no more  
 From me or my heroes thou hast.

52\. Small heed didst thou take | to all that I told,  
 And false were the words of thy friends;  
 For now the sword | of my friend I see,  
 That waits all wet with blood.

53\. Thy sword-pierced body | shall Ygg have soon,  
 For thy life is ended at last;  
 The maids are hostile; | now Othin behold!  
 Now come to me if thou canst!

54\. Now am I Othin, | Ygg was I once,  
 Ere that did they call me Thund;  
 Vak and Skilfing, | Vofuth and Hroptatyr,  
 Gaut and Jalk midst the gods;  
 Ofnir and Svafnir, | and all, methinks,  
 Are names for none but me.

  
King Geirröth sat and had his sword on his knee, half drawn from its  
sheath. But when he heard that Othin was come thither, then he rose up  
and sought to take Othin from the fire. The sword slipped from his  
hand, and fell with the hilt down. The king stumbled and fell forward,  
and the sword pierced him through, and slew him. Then Othin vanished,  
but Agnar long ruled there as king.

# SKIRNISMOL (THE BALLAD OF SKIRNIR)

Freyr, the son of Njorth, had sat one day in Hlithskjolf, and looked  
over all the worlds. He looked into Jotunheim, and saw there a fair  
maiden, as she went from her father’s house to her bower. Forthwith he  
felt a mighty love-sickness. Skirnir was the name of Freyr’s servant;  
Njorth bade him ask speech of Freyr. He said:

  
1\. “Go now, Skirnir! | and seek to gain  
 Speech from my son;  
 And answer to win, | for whom the wise one  
 Is mightily moved.”

  
Skirnir spake:

  
2\. “Ill words do I now | await from thy son,  
 If I seek to get speech with him,  
 And answer to win, | for whom the wise one  
 Is mightily moved.”

  
Skirnir spake:

  
3\. “Speak prithee, Freyr, | foremost of the gods,  
 For now I fain would know;  
 Why sittest thou here | in the wide halls,  
 Days long, my prince, alone?”

  
Freyr spake:

  
4\. “How shall I tell thee, | thou hero young,  
 Of all my grief so great?  
 Though every day | the elfbeam dawns,  
 It lights my longing never.”

  
Skirnir spake:

  
5\. “Thy longings, methinks, | are not so large  
 That thou mayst not tell them to me;  
 Since in days of yore | we were young together,  
 We two might each other trust.”

  
Freyr spake:

  
6\. “From Gymir’s house | I beheld go forth  
 A maiden dear to me;  
 Her arms glittered, | and from their gleam  
 Shone all the sea and sky.

7\. “To me more dear | than in days of old  
 Was ever maiden to man;  
 But no one of gods | or elves will grant  
 That we both together should be.”

  
Skirnir spake:

  
8\. “Then give me the horse | that goes through the dark  
 And magic flickering flames;  
 And the sword as well | that fights of itself  
 Against the giants grim.”

  
Freyr spake:

  
9\. “The horse will I give thee | that goes through the dark  
 And magic flickering flames,  
 And the sword as well | that will fight of itself  
 If a worthy hero wields it.”

  
Skirnir spake to the horse:

  
10\. “Dark is it without, | and I deem it time  
 To fare through the wild fells,  
 (To fare through the giants’ fastness;)  
 We shall both come back, | or us both together  
 The terrible giant will take.”

  
Skirnir rode into Jotunheim to Gymir’s house. There were fierce dogs  
bound before the gate of the fence which was around Gerth’s hall. He  
rode to where a herdsman sat on a hill, and said:

  
11\. “Tell me, herdsman, | sitting on the hill,  
 And watching all the ways,  
 How may I win | a word with the maid  
 Past the hounds of Gymir here?”

  
The herdsman spake:

  
12\. “Art thou doomed to die | or already dead,  
 Thou horseman that ridest hither?  
 Barred from speech | shalt thou ever be  
 With Gymir’s daughter good.”

  
Skirnir spake:

  
13\. “Boldness is better | than plaints can be  
 For him whose feet must fare;  
 To a destined day | has mine age been doomed,  
 And my life’s span thereto laid.”

  
Gerth spake:

  
14\. “What noise is that | which now so loud  
 I hear within our house?  
 The ground shakes, | and the home of Gymir  
 Around me trembles too.”

  
The Serving-Maid spake:

  
15\. “One stands without | who has leapt from his steed,  
 And lets his horse loose to graze;”  
 . . . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . . .  
 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

  
Gerth spake:

  
16\. “Bid the man come in, | and drink good mead  
 Here within our hall;  
 Though this I fear, | that there without  
 My brother’s slayer stands.

17\. “Art thou of the elves | or the offspring of gods,  
 Or of the wise Wanes?  
 How camst thou alone | through the leaping flame  
 Thus to behold our home?”

  
Skirnir spake:

  
18\. “I am not of the elves, | nor the offspring of gods,  
 Nor of the wise Wanes;  
 Though I came alone | through the leaping flame  
 Thus to behold thy home.

19\. “Eleven apples, | all of gold,  
 Here will I give thee, Gerth,  
 To buy thy troth | that Freyr shall be  
 Deemed to be dearest to you.”

  
Gerth spake:

  
20\. “I will not take | at any man’s wish  
 These eleven apples ever;  
 Nor shall Freyr and I | one dwelling find  
 So long as we two live.”

  
Skirnir spake:

  
21\. “Then do I bring thee | the ring that was burned  
 Of old with Othin’s son;  
 From it do eight | of like weight fall  
 On every ninth night.”

  
Gerth spake:

  
22\. “The ring I wish not, | though burned it was  
 Of old with Othin’s son;  
 In Gymir’s home | is no lack of gold  
 In the wealth my father wields.”

  
Skirnir spake:

  
23\. “Seest thou, maiden, | this keen, bright sword  
 That I hold here in my hand?  
 Thy head from thy neck | shall I straightway hew,  
 If thou wilt not do my will.”

  
Gerth spake:

  
24\. “For no man’s sake | will I ever suffer  
 To be thus moved by might;  
 But gladly, methinks, | will Gymir seek  
 To fight if he finds thee here.”

  
Skirnir spake:

  
25\. “Seest thou, maiden, | this keen, bright sword  
 That I hold here in my hand?  
 Before its blade | the old giant bends,—  
 Thy father is doomed to die.

26\. “I strike thee, maid, | with my magic staff,  
 To tame thee to work my will;  
 There shalt thou go | where never again  
 The sons of men shall see thee.

27\. “On the eagle’s hill | shalt thou ever sit,  
 And gaze on the gates of Hel;  
 More loathsome to thee | than the light-hued snake  
 To men, shall thy meat become.

28\. “Fearful to see, | if thou comest forth,  
 Hrimnir will stand and stare,  
 (Men will marvel at thee;)  
 More famed shalt thou grow | than the watchman of the gods!  
 Peer forth, then, from thy prison.

29\. “Rage and longing, | fetters and wrath,  
 Tears and torment are thine;  
 Where thou sittest down | my doom is on thee  
 Of heavy heart  
 And double dole.

30\. “In the giants’ home | shall vile things harm thee  
 Each day with evil deeds;  
 Grief shalt thou get | instead of gladness,  
 And sorrow to suffer with tears.

31\. “With three-headed giants | thou shalt dwell ever,  
 Or never know a husband;  
 (Let longing grip thee, | let wasting waste thee,—)  
 Be like to the thistle | that in the loft  
 Was cast and there was crushed.

32\. “I go to the wood, | and to the wet forest,  
 To win a magic wand;  
 . . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . .  
 I won a magic wand.

33\. “Othin grows angry, | angered is the best of the gods,  
 Freyr shall be thy foe,  
 Most evil maid, | who the magic wrath  
 Of gods hast got for thyself.

34\. “Give heed, frost-rulers, | hear it, giants,  
 Sons of Suttung,  
 And gods, ye too,  
 How I forbid | and how I ban  
 The meeting of men with the maid,  
 (The joy of men with the maid.)

35\. “Hrimgrimnir is he, | the giant who shall have thee  
 In the depth by the doors of Hel;  
 To the frost-giants’ halls | each day shalt thou fare,  
 Crawling and craving in vain,  
 (Crawling and having no hope.)

36\. “Base wretches there | by the root of the tree  
 Will hold for thee horns of filth;  
 A fairer drink | shalt thou never find,  
 Maid, to meet thy wish,  
 (Maid, to meet my wish.)

37\. “I write thee a charm | and three runes therewith,  
 Longing and madness and lust;  
 But what I have writ | I may yet unwrite  
 If I find a need therefor.”

  
Gerth spake:

  
38\. “Find welcome rather, | and with it take  
 The frost-cup filled with mead;  
 Though I did not believe | that I should so love  
 Ever one of the Wanes.”

  
Skirnir spake:

  
39\. “My tidings all | must I truly learn  
 Ere homeward hence I ride:  
 How soon thou wilt | with the mighty son  
 Of Njorth a meeting make.”

  
Gerth spake:

  
40\. “Barri there is, | which we both know well,  
 A forest fair and still;  
 And nine nights hence | to the son of Njorth  
 Will Gerth there grant delight.”

  
Then Skirnir rode home. Freyr stood without, and spoke to him, and  
asked for tidings:

  
41\. “Tell me, Skirnir, | ere thou take off the saddle,  
 Or farest forward a step:  
 What hast thou done | in the giants’ dwelling  
 To make glad thee or me?”

  
Skirnir spake:

  
42\. “Barri there is, | which we both know well,  
 A forest fair and still;  
 And nine nights hence | to the son of Njorth  
 Will Gerth there grant delight.”

  
Freyr spake:

  
43\. “Long is one night, | longer are two;  
 How then shall I bear three?  
 Often to me | has a month seemed less  
 Than now half a night of desire.”

# HARBARTHSLJOTH (THE POEM OF HARBARTH)

  
Thor was on his way back from a journey in the East, and came to a  
sound; on the other side of the sound was a ferryman with a boat. Thor  
called out:

  
1\. “Who is the fellow yonder, | on the farther shore of the  
 sound?”

  
The ferryman spake:

  
2\. “What kind of a peasant is yon, | that calls o’er the bay?”

  
Thor spake:

  
3\. “Ferry me over the sound; | I will feed thee therefor in the  
 morning;  
 A basket I have on my back, | and food therein, none better;  
 At leisure I ate, | ere the house I left,  
 Of herrings and porridge, | so plenty I had.”

  
The ferryman spake:

  
4\. “Of thy morning feats art thou proud, | but the future thou  
 knowest not wholly;  
 Doleful thine home-coming is: | thy mother, methinks, is dead.”

  
Thor spake:

  
5\. “Now hast thou said | what to each must seem  
 The mightiest grief, | that my mother is dead.”

  
The ferryman spake:

  
6\. “Three good dwellings, | methinks, thou hast not;  
 Barefoot thou standest, | and wearest a beggar’s dress;  
 Not even hose dost thou have.”

  
Thor spake:

  
7\. “Steer thou hither the boat; | the landing here shall I show  
 thee;  
 But whose the craft | that thou keepest on the shore?”

  
The ferryman spake:

  
8\. “Hildolf is he | who bade me have it,  
 A hero wise; | his home is at Rathsey’s sound.  
 He bade me no robbers to steer, | nor stealers of steeds,  
 But worthy men, | and those whom well do I know.  
 Say now thy name, | if over the sound thou wilt fare.”

  
Thor spake:

  
9\. “My name indeed shall I tell, | though in danger I am,  
 And all my race; | I am Othin’s son,  
 Meili’s brother, | and Magni’s father,  
 The strong one of the gods; | with Thor now speech canst thou  
 get.  
 And now would I know | what name thou hast.”

  
The ferryman spake:

  
10\. “Harbarth am I, | and seldom I hide my name.”

  
Thor spake:

  
11\. “Why shouldst thou hide thy name, | if quarrel thou hast  
 not?”

  
Harbarth spake:

  
12\. “And though I had a quarrel, | from such as thou art  
 Yet none the less | my life would I guard,  
 Unless I be doomed to die.”

  
Thor spake:

  
13\. “Great trouble, methinks, | would it be to come to thee,  
 To wade the waters across, | and wet my middle;  
 Weakling, well shall I pay | thy mocking words,  
 If across the sound I come.”

  
Harbarth spake:

  
14\. “Here shall I stand | and await thee here;  
 Thou hast found since Hrungnir died | no fiercer man.”

  
Thor spake:

  
15\. “Fain art thou to tell | how with Hrungnir I fought,  
 The haughty giant, | whose head of stone was made;  
 And yet I felled him, | and stretched him before me.  
 What, Harbarth, didst thou the while?”

  
Harbarth spake:

  
16\. “Five full winters | with Fjolvar was I,  
 And dwelt in the isle | that is Algrön called;  
 There could we fight, | and fell the slain,  
 Much could we seek, | and maids could master.”

  
Thor spake:

  
17\. “How won ye success with your women?”

  
Harbarth spake:

  
18\. “Lively women we had, | if they wise for us were;  
 Wise were the women we had, | if they kind for us were;  
 For ropes of sand | they would seek to wind,  
 And the bottom to dig | from the deepest dale.  
 Wiser than all | in counsel I was,  
 And there I slept | by the sisters seven,  
 And joy full great | did I get from each.  
 What, Thor, didst thou the while?”

  
Thor spake:

  
19\. “Thjazi I felled, | the giant fierce,  
 And I hurled the eyes | of Alvaldi’s son  
 To the heavens hot above;  
 Of my deeds the mightiest | marks are these,  
 That all men since can see.  
 What, Harbarth, didst thou the while?”

  
Harbarth spake:

  
20\. “Much love-craft I wrought | with them who ride by night,  
 When I stole them by stealth from their husbands;  
 A giant hard | was Hlebarth, methinks:  
 His wand he gave me as gift,  
 And I stole his wits away.”

  
Thor spake:

  
21\. “Thou didst repay good gifts with evil mind.”

  
Harbarth spake:

  
22\. “The oak must have | what it shaves from another;  
 In such things each for himself.  
 What, Thor, didst thou the while?”

  
Thor spake:

  
23\. “Eastward I fared, | of the giants I felled  
 Their ill-working women | who went to the mountain;  
 And large were the giants’ throng | if all were  
 alive;  
 No men would there be | in Mithgarth more.  
 What, Harbarth, didst thou the while?”

  
Harbarth spake:

  
24\. “In Valland I was, | and wars I raised,  
 Princes I angered, | and peace brought never;  
 The noble who fall | in the fight hath Othin,  
 And Thor hath the race of the thralls.”

  
Thor spake:

  
25\. “Unequal gifts | of men wouldst thou give to the gods,  
 If might too much thou shouldst have.”

  
Harbarth spake:

  
26\. “Thor has might enough, | but never a heart;  
 For cowardly fear | in a glove wast thou fain to crawl,  
 And there forgot thou wast Thor;  
 Afraid there thou wast, | thy fear was such,  
 To fart or sneeze | lest Fjalar should hear.”

  
Thor spake:

  
27\. “Thou womanish Harbarth, | to hell would I smite thee  
 straight,  
 Could mine arm reach over the sound.”

  
Harbarth spake:

  
28\. “Wherefore reach over the sound, | since strife we have  
 none?  
 What, Thor, didst thou do then?”

  
Thor spake:

  
29\. “Eastward I was, | and the river I guarded well,  
 Where the sons of Svarang | sought me there;  
 Stones did they hurl; | small joy did they have of winning;  
 Before me there | to ask for peace did they fare.  
 What, Harbarth, didst thou the while?”

  
Harbarth spake:

  
30\. “Eastward I was, | and spake with a certain one,  
 I played with the linen-white maid, | and met her by stealth;  
 I gladdened the gold-decked one, | and she granted me joy.”

  
Thor spake:

  
31\. “Full fair was thy woman-finding.”

  
Harbarth spake:

  
32\. “Thy help did I need then, Thor, | to hold the white maid  
 fast.”

  
Thor spake:

  
33\. “Gladly, had I been there, | my help to thee had been  
 given.”

  
Harbarth spake:

  
34\. “I might have trusted thee then, | didst thou not betray  
 thy troth.”

  
Thor spake:

  
35\. “No heel-biter am I, in truth, | like an old leather shoe  
 in spring.”

  
Harbarth spake:

  
36\. “What, Thor, didst thou the while?”

  
Thor spake:

  
37\. “In Hlesey the brides | of the Berserkers slew I;  
 Most evil they were, | and all they betrayed.”

  
Harbarth spake:

  
38\. “Shame didst thou win, | that women thou slewest, Thor.”

  
Thor spake:

  
39\. “She-wolves they were like, | and women but little;  
 My ship, which well | I had trimmed, did they shake;  
 With clubs of iron they threatened, | and Thjalfi they drove  
 off.  
 What, Harbarth, didst thou the while?”

  
Harbarth spake:

  
40\. “In the host I was | that hither fared,  
 The banners to raise, | and the spear to redden.”

  
Thor spake:

  
41\. “Wilt thou now say | that hatred thou soughtest to bring  
 us?”

  
Harbarth spake:

  
42\. “A ring for thy hand | shall make all right for thee,  
 As the judge decides | who sets us two at peace.”

  
Thor spake:

  
43\. “Where foundest thou | so foul and scornful a speech?  
 More foul a speech | I never before have heard.”

  
Harbarth spake:

  
44\. “I learned it from men, | the men so old,  
 Who dwell in the hills of home.”

  
Thor spake:

  
45\. “A name full good | to heaps of stones thou givest  
 When thou callest them hills of home.”

  
Harbarth spake:

  
46\. “Of such things speak I so.”

  
Thor spake:

  
47\. “Ill for thee comes | thy keenness of tongue,  
 If the water I choose to wade;  
 Louder, I ween, | than a wolf thou cryest,  
 If a blow of my hammer thou hast.”

  
Harbarth spake:

  
48\. “Sif has a lover at home, | and him shouldst thou meet;  
 More fitting it were | on him to put forth thy strength.”

  
Thor spake:

  
49\. “Thy tongue still makes thee say | what seems most ill to  
 me,  
 Thou witless man! Thou liest, I ween.”

  
Harbarth spake:

  
50\. “Truth do I speak, | but slow on thy way thou art;  
 Far hadst thou gone | if now in the boat thou hadst fared.”

  
Thor spake:

  
51\. “Thou womanish Harbarth! | here hast thou held me too  
 long.”

  
Harbarth spake:

  
52\. “I thought not ever | that Asathor would be hindered  
 By a ferryman thus from faring.”

  
Thor spake:

  
53\. “One counsel I bring thee now: | row hither thy boat;  
 No more of scoffing; | set Magni’s father across.”

  
Harbarth spake:

  
54\. “From the sound go hence; | the passage thou hast not.”

  
Thor spake:

  
55\. “The way now show me, | since thou takest me not o’er the  
 water.”

  
Harbarth spake:

  
56\. “To refuse it is little, | to fare it is long;  
 A while to the stock, | and a while to the stone;  
 Then the road to thy left, | till Verland thou reachest;  
 And there shall Fjorgyn | her son Thor find,  
 And the road of her children | she shows him to Othin’s realm.”

  
Thor spake:

  
57\. “May I come so far in a day?”

  
Harbarth spake:

  
58\. “With toil and trouble perchance,  
 While the sun still shines, | or so I think.”

  
Thor spake:

  
59\. “Short now shall be our speech, | for thou speakest in  
 mockery only;  
 The passage thou gavest me not | I shall pay thee if ever we  
 meet.”

  
Harbarth spake:

  
60\. “Get hence where every evil thing shall have thee!”

# HYMISKVITHA (THE LAY OF HYMIR)

1\. Of old the gods | made feast together,  
 And drink they sought | ere sated they were;  
 Twigs they shook, | and blood they tried:  
 Rich fare in Ægir’s | hall they found.

2\. The mountain-dweller | sat merry as boyhood,  
 But soon like a blinded | man he seemed;  
 The son of Ygg | gazed in his eyes:  
 “For the gods a feast | shalt thou forthwith get.”

3\. The word-wielder toil | for the giant worked,  
 And so revenge | on the gods he sought;  
 He bade Sif’s mate | the kettle bring:  
 “Therein for ye all | much ale shall I brew.”

4\. The far-famed ones | could find it not,  
 And the holy gods | could get it nowhere;  
 Till in truthful wise | did Tyr speak forth,  
 And helpful counsel | to Hlorrithi gave.

5\. “There dwells to the east | of Elivagar  
 Hymir the wise | at the end of heaven;  
 A kettle my father | fierce doth own,  
 A mighty vessel | a mile in depth.”

  
Thor spake:

  
6\. “May we win, dost thou think, | this whirler of water?”

  
Tyr spake:

  
 “Aye, friend, we can, | if cunning we are.”

7\. Forward that day | with speed they fared,  
 From Asgarth came they | to Egil’s home;  
 The goats with horns | bedecked he guarded;  
 Then they sped to the hall | where Hymir dwelt.

8\. The youth found his grandam, | that greatly he loathed,  
 And full nine hundred | heads she had;  
 But the other fair | with gold came forth,  
 And the bright-browed one | brought beer to her son.

9\. “Kinsman of giants, | beneath the kettle  
 Will I set ye both, | ye heroes bold;  
 For many a time | my dear-loved mate  
 To guests is wrathful | and grim of mind.”

10\. Late to his home | the misshapen Hymir,  
 The giant harsh, | from his hunting came;  
 The icicles rattled | as in he came,  
 For the fellow’s chin-forest | frozen was.

11\. “Hail to thee, Hymir! | good thoughts mayst thou have;  
 Here has thy son | to thine hall now come;  
 (For him have we waited, | his way was long;)  
 And with him fares | the foeman of Hroth,  
 The friend of mankind, | and Veur they call him.

12\. “See where under | the gable they sit!  
 Behind the beam | do they hide themselves.”  
 The beam at the glance | of the giant broke,  
 And the mighty pillar | in pieces fell.

13\. Eight fell from the ledge, | and one alone,  
 The hard-hammered kettle, | of all was whole;  
 Forth came they then, | and his foes he sought,  
 The giant old, | and held with his eyes.

14\. Much sorrow his heart | foretold when he saw  
 The giantess’ foeman | come forth on the floor;  
 Then of the steers | did they bring in three;  
 Their flesh to boil | did the giant bid.

15\. By a head was each | the shorter hewed,  
 And the beasts to the fire | straight they bore;  
 The husband of Sif, | ere to sleep he went,  
 Alone two oxen | of Hymir’s ate.

16\. To the comrade hoary | of Hrungnir then  
 Did Hlorrithi’s meal | full mighty seem;  
 “Next time at eve | we three must eat  
 The food we have | as the hunting’s spoil.”

17\. . . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . .  
 Fain to row on the sea | was Veur, he said,  
 If the giant bold | would give him bait.

  
Hymir spake:

  
18\. “Go to the herd, | if thou hast it in mind,  
 Thou slayer of giants, | thy bait to seek;  
 For there thou soon | mayst find, methinks,  
 Bait from the oxen | easy to get.”

19\. Swift to the wood | the hero went,  
 Till before him an ox | all black he found;  
 From the beast the slayer | of giants broke  
 The fortress high | of his double horns.

  
Hymir spake:

  
20\. “Thy works, methinks, | are worse by far,  
 Thou steerer of ships, | than when still thou sittest.”  
 . . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . .  
 . . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . .

21\. The lord of the goats | bade the ape-begotten  
 Farther to steer | the steed of the rollers;  
 But the giant said | that his will, forsooth,  
 Longer to row | was little enough.

22\. Two whales on his hook | did the mighty Hymir  
 Soon pull up | on a single cast;  
 In the stern the kinsman | of Othin sat,  
 And Veur with cunning | his cast prepared.

23\. The warder of men, | the worm’s destroyer,  
 Fixed on his hook | the head of the ox;  
 There gaped at the bait | the foe of the gods,  
 The girdler of all | the earth beneath.

24\. The venomous serpent | swiftly up  
 To the boat did Thor, | the bold one, pull;  
 With his hammer the loathly | hill of the hair  
 Of the brother of Fenrir | he smote from above.

25\. The monsters roared, | and the rocks resounded,  
 And all the earth | so old was shaken;  
 . . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . .  
 Then sank the fish | in the sea forthwith.

26\. . . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . .  
 Joyless as back | they rowed was the giant;  
 Speechless did Hymir | sit at the oars,  
 With the rudder he sought | a second wind.

  
Hymir spake:

  
27\. “The half of our toil | wilt thou have with me,  
 And now make fast | our goat of the flood;  
 Or home wilt thou bear | the whales to the house,  
 Across the gorge | of the wooded glen?”

28\. Hlorrithi stood | and the stem he gripped,  
 And the sea-horse with water | awash he lifted;  
 Oars and bailer | and all he bore  
 With the surf-swine home | to the giant’s house.

29\. His might the giant | again would match,  
 For stubborn he was, | with the strength of Thor;  
 None truly strong, | though stoutly he rowed,  
 Would he call save one | who could break the cup.

30\. Hlorrithi then, | when the cup he held,  
 Struck with the glass | the pillars of stone;  
 As he sat the posts | in pieces he shattered,  
 Yet the glass to Hymir | whole they brought.

31\. But the loved one fair | of the giant found  
 A counsel true, | and told her thought:  
 “Smite the skull of Hymir, | heavy with food,  
 For harder it is | than ever was glass.”

32\. The goats’ mighty ruler | then rose on his knee,  
 And with all the strength | of a god he struck;  
 Whole was the fellow’s | helmet-stem,  
 But shattered the wine-cup | rounded was.

  
Hymir spake:

  
33\. “Fair is the treasure | that from me is gone,  
 Since now the cup | on my knees lies shattered;”  
 So spake the giant: | “No more can I say  
 In days to be, | ‘Thou art brewed, mine ale.’

34\. “Enough shall it be | if out ye can bring  
 Forth from our house | the kettle here.”  
 Tyr then twice | to move it tried,  
 But before him the kettle | twice stood fast.

35\. The father of Mothi | the rim seized firm,  
 And before it stood | on the floor below;  
 Up on his head | Sif’s husband raised it,  
 And about his heels | the handles clattered.

36\. Not long had they fared, | ere backwards looked  
 The son of Othin, | once more to see;  
 From their caves in the east | beheld he coming  
 With Hymir the throng | of the many-headed.

37\. He stood and cast | from his back the kettle,  
 And Mjollnir, the lover | of murder, he wielded;  
 . . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . .  
 So all the whales | of the waste he slew.

38\. Not long had they fared | ere one there lay  
 Of Hlorrithi’s goats | half-dead on the ground;  
 In his leg the pole-horse | there was lame;  
 The deed the evil | Loki had done.

39\. But ye all have heard,— | for of them who have  
 The tales of the gods, | who better can tell?—  
 What prize he won | from the wilderness-dweller,  
 Who both his children | gave him to boot.

40\. The mighty one came | to the council of gods,  
 And the kettle he had | that Hymir’s was;  
 So gladly their ale | the gods could drink  
 In Ægir’s hall | at the autumn-time.

# LOKASENNA (LOKI’S WRANGLING)

Ægir, who was also called Gymir, had prepared ale for the gods, after  
he had got the mighty kettle, as now has been told. To this feast came  
Othin and Frigg, his wife. Thor came not, as he was on a journey in the  
East. Sif, Thor’s wife, was there, and Bragi with Ithun, his wife. Tyr,  
who had but one hand, was there; the wolf Fenrir had bitten off his  
other hand when they had bound him. There were Njorth and Skathi his  
wife, Freyr and Freyja, and Vithar, the son of Othin. Loki was there,  
and Freyr’s servants Byggvir and Beyla. Many were there of the gods and  
elves.

Ægir had two serving-men, Fimafeng and Eldir. Glittering gold they had  
in place of firelight; the ale came in of itself; and great was the  
peace. The guests praised much the ability of Ægir’s serving-men. Loki  
might not endure that, and he slew Fimafeng. Then the gods shook their  
shields and howled at Loki and drove him away to the forest, and  
thereafter set to drinking again. Loki turned back, and outside he met  
Eldir. Loki spoke to him:

  
1\. “Speak now, Eldir, | for not one step  
 Farther shalt thou fare;  
 What ale-talk here | do they have within,  
 The sons of the glorious gods?”

  
Eldir spake:

  
2\. “Of their weapons they talk, | and their might in war,  
 The sons of the glorious gods;  
 From the gods and elves | who are gathered here  
 No friend in words shalt thou find.”

  
Loki spake:

  
3\. “In shall I go | into Ægir’s hall,  
 For the feast I fain would see;  
 Bale and hatred | I bring to the gods,  
 And their mead with venom I mix.”

  
Eldir spake:

  
4\. “If in thou goest | to Ægir’s hall,  
 And fain the feast wouldst see,  
 And with slander and spite | wouldst sprinkle the gods,  
 Think well lest they wipe it on thee.”

  
Loki spake:

  
5\. “Bethink thee, Eldir, | if thou and I  
 Shall strive with spiteful speech;  
 Richer I grow | in ready words  
 If thou speakest too much to me.”

  
Then Loki went into the hall, but when they who were there saw who had  
entered, they were all silent.

Loki spake:

  
6\. “Thirsty I come | into this thine hall,  
 I, Lopt, from a journey long,  
 To ask of the gods | that one should give  
 Fair mead for a drink to me.

7\. “Why sit ye silent, | swollen with pride,  
 Ye gods, and no answer give?  
 At your feast a place | and a seat prepare me,  
 Or bid me forth to fare.”

  
Bragi spake:

  
8\. “A place and a seat | will the gods prepare  
 No more in their midst for thee;  
 For the gods know well | what men they wish  
 To find at their mighty feasts.”

  
Loki spake:

  
9\. “Remember, Othin, | in olden days  
 That we both our blood have mixed;  
 Then didst thou promise | no ale to pour,  
 Unless it were brought for us both.”

  
Othin spake:

  
10\. “Stand forth then, Vithar, | and let the wolf’s father  
 Find a seat at our feast;  
 Lest evil should Loki | speak aloud  
 Here within Ægir’s hall.”

  
Then Vithar arose and poured drink for Loki; but before he drank he  
spoke to the gods:

  
11\. “Hail to you, gods! | ye goddesses, hail!  
 Hail to the holy throng!  
 Save for the god | who yonder sits,  
 Bragi there on the bench.”

  
Bragi spake:

  
12\. “A horse and a sword | from my hoard will I give,  
 And a ring gives Bragi to boot,  
 That hatred thou makst not | among the gods;  
 So rouse not the great ones to wrath.”

  
Loki spake:

  
13\. “In horses and rings | thou shalt never be rich,  
 Bragi, but both shalt thou lack;  
 Of the gods and elves | here together met  
 Least brave in battle art thou,  
 (And shyest thou art of the shot.)”

  
Bragi spake:

  
14\. “Now were I without | as I am within,  
 And here in Ægir’s hall,  
 Thine head would I bear | in mine hands away,  
 And pay thee the price of thy lies.”

  
Loki spake:

  
15\. “In thy seat art thou bold, | not so are thy deeds,  
 Bragi, adorner of benches!  
 Go out and fight | if angered thou feelest,  
 No hero such forethought has.”

  
Ithun spake:

  
16\. “Well, prithee, Bragi, | his kinship weigh,  
 Since chosen as wish-son he was;  
 And speak not to Loki | such words of spite  
 Here within Ægir’s hall.”

  
Loki spake:

  
17\. “Be silent, Ithun! | thou art, I say,  
 Of women most lustful in love,  
 Since thou thy washed-bright | arms didst wind  
 About thy brother’s slayer.”

  
Ithun spake:

  
18\. “To Loki I speak not | with spiteful words  
 Here within Ægir’s hall;  
 And Bragi I calm, | who is hot with beer,  
 For I wish not that fierce they should fight.”

  
Gefjun spake:

  
19\. “Why, ye gods twain, | with bitter tongues  
 Raise hate among us here?  
 Loki is famed | for his mockery foul,  
 And the dwellers in heaven he hates.”

  
Loki spake:

  
20\. “Be silent, Gefjun! | for now shall I say  
 Who led thee to evil life;  
 The boy so fair | gave a necklace bright,  
 And about him thy leg was laid.”

  
Othin spake:

  
21\. “Mad art thou, Loki, | and little of wit,  
 The wrath of Gefjun to rouse;  
 For the fate that is set | for all she sees,  
 Even as I, methinks.”

  
Loki spake:

  
22\. “Be silent, Othin! | not justly thou settest  
 The fate of the fight among men;  
 Oft gavst thou to him | who deserved not the gift,  
 To the baser, the battle’s prize.”

  
Othin spake:

  
23\. “Though I gave to him | who deserved not the gift,  
 To the baser, the battle’s prize;  
 Winters eight | wast thou under the earth,  
 Milking the cows as a maid,  
 (Ay, and babes didst thou bear;  
 Unmanly thy soul must seem.)”

  
Loki spake:

  
24\. “They say that with spells | in Samsey once  
 Like witches with charms didst thou work;  
 And in witch’s guise | among men didst thou go;  
 Unmanly thy soul must seem.”

  
Frigg spake:

  
25\. “Of the deeds ye two | of old have done  
 Ye should make no speech among men;  
 Whate’er ye have done | in days gone by,  
 Old tales should ne’er be told.”

  
Loki spake:

  
26\. “Be silent, Frigg! | thou art Fjorgyn’s wife,  
 But ever lustful in love;  
 For Vili and Ve, | thou wife of Vithrir,  
 Both in thy bosom have lain.”

  
Frigg spake:

  
27\. “If a son like Baldr | were by me now,  
 Here within Ægir’s hall,  
 From the sons of the gods | thou shouldst go not forth  
 Till thy fierceness in fight were tried.”

  
Loki spake:

  
28\. “Thou wilt then, Frigg, | that further I tell  
 Of the ill that now I know;  
 Mine is the blame | that Baldr no more  
 Thou seest ride home to the hall.”

  
Freyja spake:

  
29\. “Mad art thou, Loki, | that known thou makest  
 The wrong and shame thou hast wrought;  
 The fate of all | does Frigg know well,  
 Though herself she says it not.”

  
Loki spake:

  
30\. “Be silent, Freyja! | for fully I know thee,  
 Sinless thou art not thyself;  
 Of the gods and elves | who are gathered here,  
 Each one as thy lover has lain.”

  
Freyja spake:

  
31\. “False is thy tongue, | and soon shalt thou find  
 That it sings thee an evil song;  
 The gods are wroth, | and the goddesses all,  
 And in grief shalt thou homeward go.”

  
Loki spake:

  
32\. “Be silent, Freyja! | thou foulest witch,  
 And steeped full sore in sin;  
 In the arms of thy brother | the bright gods caught thee  
 When Freyja her wind set free.”

  
Njorth spake:

  
33\. “Small ill does it work | though a woman may have  
 A lord or a lover or both;  
 But a wonder it is | that this womanish god  
 Comes hither, though babes he has borne.”

  
Loki spake:

  
34\. “Be silent, Njorth; | thou wast eastward sent,  
 To the gods as a hostage given;  
 And the daughters of Hymir | their privy had  
 When use did they make of thy mouth.”

  
Njorth spake:

  
35\. “Great was my gain, | though long was I gone,  
 To the gods as a hostage given;  
 The son did I have | whom no man hates,  
 And foremost of gods is found.”

  
Loki spake:

  
36\. “Give heed now, Njorth, | nor boast too high,  
 No longer I hold it hid;  
 With thy sister hadst thou | so fair a son,  
 Thus hadst thou no worse a hope.”

  
Tyr spake:

  
37\. “Of the heroes brave | is Freyr the best  
 Here in the home of the gods;  
 He harms not maids | nor the wives of men,  
 And the bound from their fetters he frees.”

  
Loki spake:

  
38\. “Be silent, Tyr! | for between two men  
 Friendship thou ne’er couldst fashion;  
 Fain would I tell | how Fenrir once  
 Thy right hand rent from thee.”

  
Tyr spake:

  
39\. “My hand do I lack, | but Hrothvitnir thou,  
 And the loss brings longing to both;  
 Ill fares the wolf | who shall ever await  
 In fetters the fall of the gods.”

  
Loki spake:

  
40\. “Be silent, Tyr! | for a son with me  
 Thy wife once chanced to win;  
 Not a penny, methinks, | wast thou paid for the wrong,  
 Nor wast righted an inch, poor wretch.”

  
Freyr spake:

  
41\. “By the mouth of the river | the wolf remains  
 Till the gods to destruction go;  
 Thou too shalt soon, | if thy tongue is not stilled,  
 Be fettered, thou forger of ill.”

  
Loki spake:

  
42\. “The daughter of Gymir | with gold didst thou buy,  
 And sold thy sword to boot;  
 But when Muspell’s sons | through Myrkwood ride,  
 Thou shalt weaponless wait, poor wretch.”

  
Byggvir spake:

  
43\. “Had I birth so famous | as Ingunar-Freyr,  
 And sat in so lofty a seat,  
 I would crush to marrow | this croaker of ill,  
 And beat all his body to bits.”

  
Loki spake:

  
44\. “What little creature | goes crawling there,  
 Snuffling and snapping about?  
 At Freyr’s ears ever | wilt thou be found,  
 Or muttering hard at the mill.”

  
Byggvir spake:

  
45\. “Byggvir my name, | and nimble am I,  
 As gods and men do grant;  
 And here am I proud | that the children of Hropt  
 Together all drink ale.”

  
Loki spake:

  
46\. “Be silent, Byggvir! | thou never couldst set  
 Their shares of the meat for men;  
 Hid in straw on the floor, | they found thee not  
 When heroes were fain to fight.”

  
Heimdall spake:

  
47\. “Drunk art thou, Loki, | and mad are thy deeds,  
 Why, Loki, leavst thou this not?  
 For drink beyond measure | will lead all men  
 No thought of their tongues to take.”

  
Loki spake:

  
48\. “Be silent, Heimdall! | in days long since  
 Was an evil fate for thee fixed;  
 With back held stiff | must thou ever stand,  
 As warder of heaven to watch.”

  
Skathi spake:

  
49\. “Light art thou, Loki, | but longer thou mayst not  
 In freedom flourish thy tail;  
 On the rocks the gods bind thee | with bowels torn  
 Forth from thy frost-cold son.”

  
Loki spake:

  
50\. “Though on rocks the gods bind me | with bowels torn  
 Forth from my frost-cold son,  
 I was first and last | at the deadly fight  
 There where Thjazi we caught.”

  
Skathi spake:

  
51\. “Wert thou first and last | at the deadly fight  
 There where Thjazi was caught,  
 From my dwellings and fields | shall ever come forth  
 A counsel cold for thee.”

  
Loki spake:

  
52\. “More lightly thou spakest | with Laufey’s son,  
 When thou badst me come to thy bed;  
 Such things must be known | if now we two  
 Shall seek our sins to tell.”

  
Then Sif came forward and poured mead for Loki in a crystal cup, and  
said:

  
53\. “Hail to thee, Loki, | and take thou here  
 The crystal cup of old mead;  
 For me at least, | alone of the gods,  
 Blameless thou knowest to be.”

  
He took the horn, and drank therefrom:

  
54\. “Alone thou wert | if truly thou wouldst  
 All men so shyly shun;  
 But one do I know | full well, methinks,  
 Who had thee from Hlorrithi’s arms,—  
 (Loki the crafty in lies.)”

  
Beyla spake:

  
55\. “The mountains shake, | and surely I think  
 From his home comes Hlorrithi now;  
 He will silence the man | who is slandering here  
 Together both gods and men.”

  
Loki spake:

  
56\. “Be silent, Beyla! | thou art Byggvir’s wife,  
 And deep art thou steeped in sin;  
 A greater shame | to the gods came ne’er,  
 Befouled thou art with thy filth.”

  
Then came Thor forth, and spake:

  
57\. “Unmanly one, cease, | or the mighty hammer,  
 Mjollnir, shall close thy mouth;  
 Thy shoulder-cliff | shall I cleave from thy neck,  
 And so shall thy life be lost.”

  
Loki spake:

  
58\. “Lo, in has come | the son of Earth:  
 Why threaten so loudly, Thor?  
 Less fierce thou shalt go | to fight with the wolf  
 When he swallows Sigfather up.”

  
Thor spake:

  
59\. “Unmanly one, cease, | or the mighty hammer,  
 Mjollnir, shall close thy mouth;  
 I shall hurl thee up | and out in the East,  
 Where men shall see thee no more.”

  
Loki spake:

  
60\. “That thou hast fared | on the East-road forth  
 To men shouldst thou say no more;  
 In the thumb of a glove | didst thou hide, thou great one,  
 And there forgot thou wast Thor.”

  
Thor spake:

  
61\. “Unmanly one, cease, | or the mighty hammer,  
 Mjollnir, shall close thy mouth;  
 My right hand shall smite thee | with Hrungnir’s slayer,  
 Till all thy bones are broken.”

  
Loki spake:

  
62\. “A long time still | do I think to live,  
 Though thou threatenest thus with thy hammer;  
 Rough seemed the straps | of Skrymir’s wallet,  
 When thy meat thou mightest not get,  
 (And faint from hunger didst feel.)”

  
Thor spake:

  
63\. “Unmanly one, cease, | or the mighty hammer,  
 Mjollnir, shall close thy mouth;  
 The slayer of Hrungnir | shall send thee to hell,  
 And down to the gate of death.”

  
Loki spake:

  
64\. “I have said to the gods | and the sons of the gods  
 The things that whetted my thoughts;  
 But before thee alone | do I now go forth,  
 For thou fightest well, I ween.

65\. “Ale hast thou brewed, | but, Ægir, now  
 Such feasts shalt thou make no more;  
 O’er all that thou hast | which is here within  
 Shall play the flickering flames,  
 (And thy back shall be burnt with fire.)”

  
And after that Loki hid himself in Franang’s waterfall in the guise of  
a salmon, and there the gods took him. He was bound with the bowels of  
his son Vali, but his son Narfi was changed to a wolf. Skathi took a  
poison-snake and fastened it up over Loki’s face, and the poison  
dropped thereon. Sigyn, Loki’s wife, sat there and held a shell under  
the poison, but when the shell was full she bore away the poison, and  
meanwhile the poison dropped on Loki. Then he struggled so hard that  
the whole earth shook therewith; and now that is called an earthquake.

# THRYMSKVITHA (THE LAY OF THRYM)

1\. Wild was Vingthor | when he awoke,  
 And when his mighty | hammer he missed;  
 He shook his beard, | his hair was bristling,  
 As the son of Jorth | about him sought.

2\. Hear now the speech | that first he spake:  
 “Harken, Loki, | and heed my words,  
 Nowhere on earth | is it known to man,  
 Nor in heaven above: | our hammer is stolen.”

3\. To the dwelling fair | of Freyja went they,  
 Hear now the speech | that first he spake:  
 “Wilt thou, Freyja, | thy feather-dress lend me,  
 That so my hammer | I may seek?”

  
Freyja spake:

  
4\. “Thine should it be | though of silver bright,  
 And I would give it | though ’twere of gold.”  
 Then Loki flew, | and the feather-dress whirred,  
 Till he left behind him | the home of the gods,  
 And reached at last | the realm of the giants.

5\. Thrym sat on a mound, | the giants’ master,  
 Leashes of gold | he laid for his dogs,  
 And stroked and smoothed | the manes of his steeds.

  
Thrym spake:

  
6\. “How fare the gods, | how fare the elves?  
 Why comst thou alone | to the giants’ land?”

  
Loki spake:

  
 “Ill fare the gods, | ill fare the elves!  
 Hast thou hidden | Hlorrithi’s hammer?”

  
Thrym spake:

  
7\. “I have hidden | Hlorrithi’s hammer,  
 Eight miles down | deep in the earth;  
 And back again | shall no man bring it  
 If Freyja I win not | to be my wife.”

8\. Then Loki flew, | and the feather-dress whirred,  
 Till he left behind him | the home of the giants,  
 And reached at last | the realm of the gods.  
 There in the courtyard | Thor he met:  
 Hear now the speech | that first he spake:

9\. “Hast thou found tidings | as well as trouble?  
 Thy news in the air | shalt thou utter now;  
 Oft doth the sitter | his story forget,  
 And lies he speaks | who lays himself down.”

  
Loki spake:

  
10\. “Trouble I have, | and tidings as well:  
 Thrym, king of the giants, | keeps thy hammer,  
 And back again | shall no man bring it  
 If Freyja he wins not | to be his wife.”

11\. Freyja the fair | then went they to find;  
 Hear now the speech | that first he spake:  
 “Bind on, Freyja, | the bridal veil,  
 For we two must haste | to the giants’ home.”

12\. Wrathful was Freyja, | and fiercely she snorted,  
 And the dwelling great | of the gods was shaken,  
 And burst was the mighty | Brisings’ necklace:  
 “Most lustful indeed | should I look to all  
 If I journeyed with thee | to the giants’ home.”

13\. Then were the gods | together met,  
 And the goddesses came | and council held,  
 And the far-famed ones | a plan would find,  
 How they might Hlorrithi’s | hammer win.

14\. Then Heimdall spake, | whitest of the gods,  
 Like the Wanes he knew | the future well:  
 “Bind we on Thor | the bridal veil,  
 Let him bear the mighty | Brisings’ necklace;

15\. “Keys around him | let there rattle,  
 And down to his knees | hang woman’s dress;  
 With gems full broad | upon his breast,  
 And a pretty cap | to crown his head.”

16\. Then Thor the mighty | his answer made:  
 “Me would the gods | unmanly call  
 If I let bind | the bridal veil.”

17\. Then Loki spake, | the son of Laufey:  
 “Be silent, Thor, | and speak not thus;  
 Else will the giants | in Asgarth dwell  
 If thy hammer is brought not | home to thee.”

18\. Then bound they on Thor | the bridal veil,  
 And next the mighty | Brisings’ necklace.

19\. Keys around him | let they rattle,  
 And down to his knees | hung woman’s dress;  
 With gems full broad | upon his breast,  
 And a pretty cap | to crown his head.

20\. Then Loki spake, | the son of Laufey:  
 “As thy maid-servant thither | I go with thee;  
 We two shall haste | to the giants’ home.”

21\. Then home the goats | to the hall were driven,  
 They wrenched at the halters, | swift were they to  
 run;  
 The mountains burst, | earth burned with fire,  
 And Othin’s son | sought Jotunheim.

22\. Then loud spake Thrym, | the giants’ leader:  
 “Bestir ye, giants, | put straw on the benches;  
 Now Freyja they bring | to be my bride,  
 The daughter of Njorth | out of Noatun.

23\. “Gold-horned cattle | go to my stables,  
 Jet-black oxen, | the giant’s joy;  
 Many my gems, | and many my jewels,  
 Freyja alone | did I lack, methinks.”

24\. Early it was | to evening come,  
 And forth was borne | the beer for the giants;  
 Thor alone ate an ox, | and eight salmon,  
 All the dainties as well | that were set for the  
 women;  
 And drank Sif’s mate | three tuns of mead.

25\. Then loud spake Thrym, | the giants’ leader:  
 “Who ever saw bride | more keenly bite?  
 I ne’er saw bride | with a broader bite,  
 Nor a maiden who drank | more mead than this!”

26\. Hard by there sat | the serving-maid wise,  
 So well she answered | the giant’s words:  
 “From food has Freyja | eight nights fasted,  
 So hot was her longing | for Jotunheim.”

27\. Thrym looked ’neath the veil, | for he longed to kiss,  
 But back he leaped | the length of the hall:  
 “Why are so fearful | the eyes of Freyja?  
 Fire, methinks, | from her eyes burns forth.”

28\. Hard by there sat | the serving-maid wise,  
 So well she answered | the giant’s words:  
 “No sleep has Freyja | for eight nights found,  
 So hot was her longing | for Jotunheim.”

29\. Soon came the giant’s | luckless sister,  
 Who feared not to ask | the bridal fee:  
 “From thy hands the rings | of red gold take,  
 If thou wouldst win | my willing love,  
 (My willing love | and welcome glad.)”

30\. Then loud spake Thrym, | the giants’ leader:  
 “Bring in the hammer | to hallow the bride;  
 On the maiden’s knees | let Mjollnir lie,  
 That us both the hand | of Vor may bless.”

31\. The heart in the breast | of Hlorrithi laughed  
 When the hard-souled one | his hammer beheld;  
 First Thrym, the king | of the giants, he killed,  
 Then all the folk | of the giants he felled.

32\. The giant’s sister | old he slew,  
 She who had begged | the bridal fee;  
 A stroke she got | in the shilling’s stead.  
 And for many rings | the might of the hammer.

33\. And so his hammer | got Othin’s son.

# ALVISSMOL (THE BALLAD OF ALVIS)

Alvis spake:

  
1\. “Now shall the bride | my benches adorn,  
 And homeward haste forthwith;  
 Eager for wedlock | to all shall I seem,  
 Nor at home shall they rob me of rest.”

  
Thor spake:

  
2\. “What, pray, art thou? | Why so pale round the nose?  
 By the dead hast thou lain of late?  
 To a giant like | dost thou look, methinks;  
 Thou wast not born for the bride.”

  
Alvis spake:

  
3\. “Alvis am I, | and under the earth  
 My home ’neath the rocks I have;  
 With the wagon-guider | a word do I seek;  
 Let the gods their bond not break.”

  
Thor spake:

  
4\. “Break it shall I, | for over the bride  
 Her father has foremost right;  
 At home was I not | when the promise thou hadst,  
 And I give her alone of the gods.”

  
Alvis spake:

  
5\. “What hero claims | such right to hold  
 O’er the bride that shines so bright?  
 Not many will know thee, | thou wandering man!  
 Who was bought with rings to bear thee?”

  
Thor spake:

  
6\. “Vingthor, the wanderer | wide, am I,  
 And I am Sithgrani’s son;  
 Against my will | shalt thou get the maid,  
 And win the marriage word.”

  
Alvis spake:

  
7\. “Thy good-will now | shall I quickly get,  
 And win the marriage word;  
 I long to have, | and I would not lack,  
 This snow-white maid for mine.”

  
Thor spake:

  
8\. “The love of the maid | I may not keep thee  
 From winning, thou guest so wise,  
 If of every world | thou canst tell me all  
 That now I wish to know.

9\. “Answer me, Alvis! | thou knowest all,  
 Dwarf, of the doom of men:  
 What call they the earth, | that lies before all,  
 In each and every world?”

  
Alvis spake:

  
10\. “‘Earth’ to men, ‘Field’ | to the gods it is,  
 ‘The Ways’ is it called by the Wanes;  
 ‘Ever Green’ by the giants, | ‘The Grower’ by elves,  
 ‘The Moist’ by the holy ones high.”

  
Thor spake:

  
11\. “Answer me, Alvis! | thou knowest all,  
 Dwarf, of the doom of men:  
 What call they the heaven, | beheld of the high one,  
 In each and every world?”

  
Alvis spake:

  
12\. “‘Heaven’ men call it, | ‘The Height’ the gods,  
 The Wanes ‘The Weaver of Winds’;  
 Giants ‘The Up-World,’ | elves ‘The Fair-Roof,’  
 The dwarfs ‘The Dripping Hall.’”

  
Thor spake:

  
13\. “Answer me, Alvis! | thou knowest all,  
 Dwarf, of the doom of men:  
 What call they the moon, | that men behold,  
 In each and every world?”

  
Alvis spake:

  
14\. “‘Moon’ with men, ‘Flame’ | the gods among,  
 ‘The Wheel’ in the house of hell;  
 ‘The Goer’ the giants, | ‘The Gleamer’ the dwarfs,  
 The elves ‘The Teller of Time.’”

  
Thor spake:

  
15\. “Answer me, Alvis! | thou knowest all,  
 Dwarf, of the doom of men:  
 What call they the sun, | that all men see,  
 In each and every world?”

  
Alvis spake:

  
16\. “Men call it ‘Sun,’ | gods ‘Orb of the Sun,’  
 ‘The Deceiver of Dvalin’ the dwarfs;  
 The giants ‘The Ever-Bright,’ | elves ‘Fair Wheel,’  
 ‘All-Glowing’ the sons of the gods.”

  
Thor spake:

  
17\. “Answer me, Alvis! | thou knowest all,  
 Dwarf, of the doom of men:  
 What call they the clouds, | that keep the rains,  
 In each and every world?”

  
Alvis spake:

  
18\. “‘Clouds’ men name them, | ‘Rain-Hope’ gods call them,  
 The Wanes call them ‘Kites of the Wind’;  
 ‘Water-Hope’ giants, | ‘Weather-Might’ elves,  
 ‘The Helmet of Secrets’ in hell.”

  
Thor spake:

  
19\. “Answer me, Alvis! | thou knowest all,  
 Dwarf, of the doom of men:  
 What call they the wind, | that widest fares,  
 In each and every world?”

  
Alvis spake:

  
20\. “‘Wind’ do men call it, | the gods ‘The Waverer,’  
 ‘The Neigher’ the holy ones high;  
 ‘The Wailer’ the giants, | ‘Roaring Wender’ the elves,  
 In hell ‘The Blustering Blast.’”

  
Thor spake:

  
21\. “Answer me, Alvis! | thou knowest all,  
 Dwarf, of the doom of men:  
 What call they the calm, | that quiet lies,  
 In each and every world?”

  
Alvis spake:

  
22\. “‘Calm’ men call it, | ‘The Quiet’ the gods,  
 The Wanes ‘The Hush of the Winds’;  
 ‘The Sultry’ the giants, | elves ‘Day’s Stillness,’  
 The dwarfs ‘The Shelter of Day.’”

  
Thor spake:

  
23\. “Answer me, Alvis! | thou knowest all,  
 Dwarf, of the doom of men:  
 What call they the sea, | whereon men sail,  
 In each and every world?”

  
Alvis spake:

  
24\. “‘Sea’ men call it, | gods ‘The Smooth-Lying,’  
 ‘The Wave’ is it called by the Wanes;  
 ‘Eel-Home’ the giants, | ‘Drink-Stuff’ the elves,  
 For the dwarfs its name is ‘The Deep.’”

  
Thor spake:

  
25\. “Answer me, Alvis! | thou knowest all,  
 Dwarf, of the doom of men:  
 What call they the fire, | that flames for men,  
 In each of all the worlds?”

  
Alvis spake:

  
26\. “‘Fire’ men call it, | and ‘Flame’ the gods,  
 By the Wanes is it ‘Wildfire’ called;  
 ‘The Biter’ by giants, | ‘The Burner’ by dwarfs,  
 ‘The Swift’ in the house of hell.”

  
Thor spake:

  
27\. “Answer me, Alvis! | thou knowest all,  
 Dwarf, of the doom of men:  
 What call they the wood, | that grows for mankind,  
 In each and every world?”

  
Alvis spake:

  
28\. “Men call it ‘The Wood,’ | gods ‘The Mane of the Field,’  
 ‘Seaweed of Hills’ in hell;  
 ‘Flame-Food’ the giants, | ‘Fair-Limbed’ the elves,  
 ‘The Wand’ is it called by the Wanes.”

  
Thor spake:

  
29\. “Answer me, Alvis! | thou knowest all,  
 Dwarf, of the doom of men:  
 What call they the night, | the daughter of Nor,  
 In each and every world?”

  
Alvis spake:

  
30\. “‘Night’ men call it, | ‘Darkness’ gods name it,  
 ‘The Hood’ the holy ones high;  
 The giants ‘The Lightless,’ | the elves ‘Sleep’s Joy,’  
 The dwarfs ‘The Weaver of Dreams.’”

  
Thor spake:

  
31\. “Answer me, Alvis! | thou knowest all,  
 Dwarf, of the doom of men:  
 What call they the seed, | that is sown by men,  
 In each and every world?”

  
Alvis spake:

  
32\. “Men call it ‘Grain,’ | and ‘Corn’ the gods,  
 ‘Growth’ in the world of the Wanes;  
 ‘The Eaten’ by giants, | ‘Drink-Stuff’ by elves,  
 In hell ‘The Slender Stem.’”

  
Thor spake:

  
33\. “Answer me, Alvis! | thou knowest all,  
 Dwarf, of the doom of men:  
 What call they the ale, | that is quaffed of men,  
 In each and every world?”

  
Alvis spake:

  
34\. “‘Ale’ among men, | ‘Beer’ the gods among,  
 In the world of the Wanes ‘The Foaming’;  
 ‘Bright Draught’ with giants, | ‘Mead’ with dwellers in hell,  
 ‘The Feast-Draught’ with Suttung’s sons.”

  
Thor spake:

  
35\. “In a single breast | I never have seen  
 More wealth of wisdom old;  
 But with treacherous wiles | must I now betray thee:  
 The day has caught thee, dwarf!  
 (Now the sun shines here in the hall.)”

# BALDRS DRAUMAR

BALDRS DRAUMAR

BALDR’S DREAMS




1.  Once were the gods   |   together met,
    And the goddesses came   |   and council held,
    And the far-famed ones   |   the truth would find,
    Why baleful dreams   |   to Baldr had come.

2.  Then Othin rose,   |   the enchanter old,
    And the saddle he laid   |   on Sleipnir’s back;
    Thence rode he down   |   to Niflhel deep,
    And the hound he met   |   that came from hell.

3.  Bloody he was   |   on his breast before,
    At the father of magic   |   he howled from afar;
    Forward rode Othin,   |   the earth resounded
    Till the house so high   |   of Hel he reached.

4.  Then Othin rode   |   to the eastern door,
    There, he knew well,   |   was the wise-woman’s grave;
    Magic he spoke   |   and mighty charms,
    Till spell-bound she rose,   |   and in death she spoke:

5.  “What is the man,   |   to me unknown,
    That has made me travel   |   the troublous road?
    I was snowed on with snow,   |   and smitten with rain,
    And drenched with dew;   |   long was I dead.”


Othin spake:


6.  “Vegtam my name,   |   I am Valtam’s son;
    Speak thou of hell,   |   for of heaven I know:
    For whom are the benches   |   bright with rings,
    And the platforms gay   |   bedecked with gold?”


The Wise-Woman spake:


7.  “Here for Baldr   |   the mead is brewed,
    The shining drink,   |   and a shield lies o’er it;
    But their hope is gone   |   from the mighty gods.
    Unwilling I spake,   |   and now would be still.”


Othin spake:


8.  “Wise-woman, cease not!   |   I seek from thee
    All to know   |   that I fain would ask:
    Who shall the bane   |   of Baldr become,
    And steal the life   |   from Othin’s son?”


The Wise-Woman spake:


9.  “Hoth thither bears   |   the far-famed branch,
    He shall the bane   |   of Baldr become,
    And steal the life   |   from Othin’s son.
    Unwilling I spake,   |   and now would be still.”


Othin spake:


10. “Wise-woman, cease not!   |   I seek from thee
    All to know   |   that I fain would ask:
    Who shall vengeance win   |   for the evil work,
    Or bring to the flames   |   the slayer of Baldr?”


The Wise-Woman spake:


11. “Rind bears Vali   |   in Vestrsalir,
    And one night old   |   fights Othin’s son;
    His hands he shall wash not,   |   his hair he shall comb not,
    Till the slayer of Baldr   |   he brings to the flames.
    Unwilling I spake,   |   and now would be still.”


Othin spake:


12. “Wise-woman, cease not!   |   I seek from thee
    All to know   |   that I fain would ask:
    What maidens are they   |   who then shall weep,
    And toss to the sky   |   the yards of the sails?”


The Wise-Woman spake:


13. “Vegtam thou art not,   |   as erstwhile I thought;
    Othin thou art,   |   the enchanter old.”


Othin spake:


    “No wise-woman art thou,   |   nor wisdom hast;
    Of giants three   |   the mother art thou.”


The Wise-Woman spake:


14. “Home ride, Othin,   |   be ever proud;
    For no one of men   |   shall seek me more
    Till Loki wanders   |   loose from his bonds,
    And to the last strife   |   the destroyers come.”

# RIGSTHULA

RIGSTHULA

THE SONG OF RIG


They tell in old stories that one of the gods, whose name was Heimdall,
went on his way along a certain seashore, and came to a dwelling, where
he called himself Rig. According to these stories is the following
poem:


1.  Men say there went   |   by ways so green
    Of old the god,   |   the aged and wise,
    Mighty and strong   |   did Rig go striding.
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

2.  Forward he went   |   on the midmost way,
    He came to a dwelling,   |   a door on its posts;
    In did he fare,   |   on the floor was a fire,
    Two hoary ones   |   by the hearth there sat,
    Ai and Edda,   |   in olden dress.

3.  Rig knew well   |   wise words to speak,
    Soon in the midst   |   of the room he sat,
    And on either side   |   the others were.

4.  A loaf of bread   |   did Edda bring,
    Heavy and thick   |   and swollen with husks;
    Forth on the table   |   she set the fare,
    And broth for the meal   |   in a bowl there was.
    (Calf’s flesh boiled   |   was the best of the dainties.)

5.  Rig knew well   |   wise words to speak,
    Thence did he rise,   |   made ready to sleep;
    Soon in the bed   |   himself did he lay,
    And on either side   |   the others were.

6.  Thus was he there   |   for three nights long,
    Then forward he went   |   on the midmost way,
    And so nine months   |   were soon passed by.

7.  A son bore Edda,   |   with water they sprinkled him,
    With a cloth his hair   |   so black they covered;
    Thræll they named him,   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

8.  The skin was wrinkled   |   and rough on his hands,
    Knotted his knuckles,   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    Thick his fingers,   |   and ugly his face,
    Twisted his back,   |   and big his heels.

9.  He began to grow,   |   and to gain in strength,
    Soon of his might   |   good use he made;
    With bast he bound,   |   and burdens carried,
    Home bore faggots   |   the whole day long.

10. One came to their home,   |   crooked her legs,
    Stained were her feet,   |   and sunburned her arms,
    Flat was her nose;   |   her name was Thir.

11. Soon in the midst   |   of the room she sat,
    By her side there sat   |   the son of the house;
    They whispered both,   |   and the bed made ready,
    Thræll and Thir,   |   till the day was through.

12. Children they had,   |   they lived and were happy,
    Fjosnir and Klur   |   they were called, methinks,
    Hreim and Kleggi,   |   Kefsir, Fulnir,
    Drumb, Digraldi,   |   Drott and Leggjaldi,
    Lut and Hosvir;   |   the house they cared for,
    Ground they dunged,   |   and swine they guarded,
    Goats they tended,   |   and turf they dug.

13. Daughters had they,   |   Drumba and Kumba,
    Ökkvinkalfa,   |   Arinnefja,
    Ysja and Ambott,   |   Eikintjasna,
    Totrughypja   |   and Tronubeina;
    And thence has risen   |   the race of thralls.

14. Forward went Rig,   |   his road was straight,
    To a hall he came,   |   and a door there hung;
    In did he fare,   |   on the floor was a fire:
    Afi and Amma   |   owned the house.

15. There sat the twain,   |   and worked at their tasks:
    The man hewed wood   |   for the weaver’s beam;
    His beard was trimmed,   |   o’er his brow a curl,
    His clothes fitted close;   |   in the corner a chest.

16. The woman sat   |   and the distaff wielded,
    At the weaving with arms   |   outstretched she worked;
    On her head was a band,   |   on her breast a smock;
    On her shoulders a kerchief   |   with clasps there was.

17. Rig knew well   |   wise words to speak,
    Soon in the midst   |   of the room he sat,
    And on either side   |   the others were.

18. Then took Amma   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    The vessels full   |   with the fare she set,
    Calf’s flesh boiled   |   was the best of the dainties.

19. Rig knew well   |   wise words to speak,
    He rose from the board,   |   made ready to sleep;
    Soon in the bed   |   himself did he lay,
    And on either side   |   the others were.

20. Thus was he there   |   for three nights long,
    Then forward he went   |   on the midmost way,
    And so nine months   |   were soon passed by.

21. A son bore Amma,   |   with water they sprinkled him,
    Karl they named him;   |   in a cloth she wrapped him,
    He was ruddy of face,   |   and flashing his eyes.

22. He began to grow,   |   and to gain in strength,
    Oxen he ruled,   |   and plows made ready,
    Houses he built,   |   and barns he fashioned,
    Carts he made,   |   and the plow he managed.

23. Home did they bring   |   the bride for Karl,
    In goatskins clad,   |   and keys she bore;
    Snör was her name,   |   ’neath the veil she sat;
    A home they made ready,   |   and rings exchanged,
    The bed they decked,   |   and a dwelling made.

24. Sons they had,   |   they lived and were happy:
    Hal and Dreng,   |   Holth, Thegn and Smith,
    Breith and Bondi,   |   Bundinskeggi,
    Bui and Boddi,   |   Brattskegg and Segg.

25. Daughters they had,   |   and their names are here:
    Snot, Bruth, Svanni,   |   Svarri, Sprakki,
    Fljoth, Sprund and Vif,   |   Feima, Ristil:
    And thence has risen   |   the yeomen’s race.

26. Thence went Rig,   |   his road was straight,
    A hall he saw,   |   the doors faced south;
    The portal stood wide,   |   on the posts was a ring,
    Then in he fared;   |   the floor was strewn.

27. Within two gazed   |   in each other’s eyes,
    Fathir and Mothir,   |   and played with their fingers;
    There sat the house-lord,   |   wound strings for the bow,
    Shafts he fashioned,   |   and bows he shaped.

28. The lady sat,   |   at her arms she looked,
    She smoothed the cloth,   |   and fitted the sleeves;
    Gay was her cap,   |   on her breast were clasps,
    Broad was her train,   |   of blue was her gown,
    Her brows were bright,   |   her breast was shining,
    Whiter her neck   |   than new-fallen snow.

29. Rig knew well   |   wise words to speak,
    Soon in the midst   |   of the room he sat,
    And on either side   |   the others were.

30. Then Mothir brought   |   a broidered cloth,
    Of linen bright,   |   and the board she covered;
    And then she took   |   the loaves so thin,
    And laid them, white   |   from the wheat, on the cloth.

31. Then forth she brought   |   the vessels full,
    With silver covered,   |   and set before them,
    Meat all browned,   |   and well-cooked birds;
    In the pitcher was wine,   |   of plate were the cups,
    So drank they and talked   |   till the day was gone.

32. Rig knew well   |   wise words to speak,
    Soon did he rise,   |   made ready to sleep;
    So in the bed   |   himself did he lay,
    And on either side   |   the others were.

33. Thus was he there   |   for three nights long,
    Then forward he went   |   on the midmost way,
    And so nine months   |   were soon passed by.

34. A son had Mothir,   |   in silk they wrapped him,
    With water they sprinkled him,   |   Jarl he was;
    Blond was his hair,   |   and bright his cheeks,
    Grim as a snake’s   |   were his glowing eyes.

35. To grow in the house   |   did Jarl begin,
    Shields he brandished,   |   and bow-strings wound,
    Bows he shot,   |   and shafts he fashioned,
    Arrows he loosened,   |   and lances wielded,
    Horses he rode,   |   and hounds unleashed,
    Swords he handled,   |   and sounds he swam.

36. Straight from the grove   |   came striding Rig,
    Rig came striding,   |   and runes he taught him;
    By his name he called him,   |   as son he claimed him,
    And bade him hold   |   his heritage wide,
    His heritage wide,   |   the ancient homes.

37. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    Forward he rode   |   through the forest dark,
    O’er the frosty crags,   |   till a hall he found.

38. His spear he shook,   |   his shield he brandished,
    His horse he spurred,   |   with his sword he hewed;
    Wars he raised,   |   and reddened the field,
    Warriors slew he,   |   and land he won.

39. Eighteen halls   |   ere long did he hold,
    Wealth did he get,   |   and gave to all,
    Stones and jewels   |   and slim-flanked steeds,
    Rings he offered,   |   and arm-rings shared.

40. His messengers went   |   by the ways so wet,
    And came to the hall   |   where Hersir dwelt;
    His daughter was fair   |   and slender-fingered,
    Erna the wise   |   the maiden was.

41. Her hand they sought,   |   and home they brought her,
    Wedded to Jarl   |   the veil she wore;
    Together they dwelt,   |   their joy was great,
    Children they had,   |   and happy they lived.

42. Bur was the eldest,   |   and Barn the next,
    Joth and Athal,   |   Arfi, Mog,
    Nith and Svein,   |   soon they began—
    Sun and Nithjung—   |   to play and swim;
    Kund was one,   |   and the youngest Kon.

43. Soon grew up   |   the sons of Jarl,
    Beasts they tamed,   |   and bucklers rounded,
    Shafts they fashioned,   |   and spears they shook.

44. But Kon the Young   |   learned runes to use,
    Runes everlasting,   |   the runes of life;
    Soon could he well   |   the warriors shield,
    Dull the swordblade,   |   and still the seas.

45. Bird-chatter learned he,   |   flames could he lessen,
    Minds could quiet,   |   and sorrows calm;
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    The might and strength   |   of twice four men.

46. With Rig-Jarl soon   |   the runes he shared,
    More crafty he was,   |   and greater his wisdom;
    The right he sought,   |   and soon he won it,
    Rig to be called,   |   and runes to know.

47. Young Kon rode forth   |   through forest and grove,
    Shafts let loose,   |   and birds he lured;
    There spake a crow   |   on a bough that sat:
    “Why lurest thou, Kon,   |   the birds to come?

48. “’Twere better forth   |   on thy steed to fare,
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   and the host to slay.

49. “The halls of Dan   |   and Danp are noble,
    Greater their wealth   |   than thou hast gained;
    Good are they   |   at guiding the keel,
    Trying of weapons, and giving of wounds.”

# HYNDLULJOTH

HYNDLULJOTH

THE POEM OF HYNDLA



Freyja spake:


1.  “Maiden, awake!   |   wake thee, my friend,
    My sister Hyndla,   |   in thy hollow cave!
    Already comes darkness,   |   and ride must we
    To Valhall to seek   |   the sacred hall.

2.  “The favor of Heerfather   |   seek we to find,
    To his followers gold   |   he gladly gives;
    To Hermoth gave he   |   helm and mail-coat,
    And to Sigmund he gave   |   a sword as gift.

3.  “Triumph to some,   |   and treasure to others,
    To many wisdom   |   and skill in words,
    Fair winds to the sailor,   |   to the singer his art,
    And a manly heart   |   to many a hero.

4.  “Thor shall I honor,   |   and this shall I ask,
    That his favor true   |   mayst thou ever find;
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    Though little the brides   |   of the giants he loves.

5.  “From the stall now one   |   of thy wolves lead forth,
    And along with my boar   |   shalt thou let him run;
    For slow my boar goes   |   on the road of the gods,
    And I would not weary   |   my worthy steed.”


Hyndla spake:


6.  “Falsely thou askest me,   |   Freyja, to go,
    For so in the glance   |   of thine eyes I see;
    On the way of the slain   |   thy lover goes with thee,
    Ottar the young,   |   the son of Instein.”


Freyja spake:


7.  “Wild dreams, methinks,   |   are thine when thou
    sayest
    My lover is with me   |   on the way of the slain;
    There shines the boar   |   with bristles of gold,
    Hildisvini,   |   he who was made
    By Dain and Nabbi,   |   the cunning dwarfs.

8.  “Now let us down   |   from our saddles leap,
    And talk of the race   |   of the heroes twain;
    The men who were born   |   of the gods above,
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .


9.  “A wager have made   |   in the foreign metal
    Ottar the young   |   and Angantyr;
    We must guard, for the hero   |   young to have,
    His father’s wealth,   |   the fruits of his race.

10. “For me a shrine   |   of stones he made,—
    And now to glass   |   the rock has grown;—
    Oft with the blood   |   of beasts was it red;
    In the goddesses ever   |   did Ottar trust.

11. “Tell to me now   |   the ancient names,
    And the races of all   |   that were born of old:
    Who are of the Skjoldungs,   |   who of the Skilfings,
    Who of the Othlings,   |   who of the Ylfings,
    Who are the free-born,   |   who are the high-born,
    The noblest of men   |   that in Mithgarth dwell?”


Hyndla spake:


12. “Thou art, Ottar,   |   the son of Instein,
    And Instein the son   |   of Alf the Old,
    Alf of Ulf,   |   Ulf of Sæfari,
    And Sæfari’s father   |   was Svan the Red.

13. “Thy mother, bright   |   with bracelets fair,
    Hight, methinks,   |   the priestess Hledis;
    Frothi her father,   |   and Friaut her mother;—
    Her race of the mightiest   |   men must seem.

14. “Of old the noblest   |   of all was Ali,
    Before him Halfdan,   |   foremost of Skjoldungs;
    Famed were the battles   |   the hero fought,
    To the corners of heaven   |   his deeds were carried.

15. “Strengthened by Eymund,   |   the strongest of men,
    Sigtrygg he slew   |   with the ice-cold sword;
    His bride was Almveig,   |   the best of women,
    And eighteen boys   |   did Almveig bear him.

16. “Hence come the Skjoldungs,   |   hence the Skilfings,
    Hence the Othlings,   |   hence the Ynglings,
    Hence come the free-born,   |   hence the high-born,
    The noblest of men   |   that in Mithgarth dwell:
    And all are thy kinsmen,   |   Ottar, thou fool!

17. “Hildigun then   |   her mother hight,
    The daughter of Svava   |   and Sækonung;
    And all are thy kinsmen,   |   Ottar, thou fool!
    It is much to know,—   |   wilt thou hear yet more?

18. “The mate of Dag   |   was a mother of heroes,
    Thora, who bore him   |   the bravest of fighters,
    Frathmar and Gyrth   |   and the Frekis twain,
    Am and Jofurmar,   |   Alf the Old;
    It is much to know,—   |   wilt thou hear yet more?

19. “Her husband was Ketil,   |   the heir of Klypp,
    He was of thy mother   |   the mother’s-father;
    Before the days   |   of Kari was Frothi,
    And born of Hild   |   was Hoalf then.

20. “Next was Nanna,   |   daughter of Nokkvi,
    Thy father’s kinsman   |   her son became;
    Old is the line,   |   and longer still,
    And all are thy kinsmen,   |   Ottar, thou fool!

21. “Isolf and Osolf,   |   the sons of Olmoth,
    Whose wife was Skurhild,   |   the daughter of Skekkil,
    Count them among   |   the heroes mighty,
    And all are thy kinsmen,   |   Ottar, thou fool!

22. “Gunnar the Bulwark,   |   Grim the Hardy,
    Thorir the Iron-shield,   |   Ulf the Gaper,
    Brodd and Hörvir   |   both did I know;
    In the household they were   |   of Hrolf the Old.

23. “Hervarth, Hjorvarth,   |   Hrani, Angantyr,
    Bui and Brami,   |   Barri and Reifnir,
    Tind and Tyrfing,   |   the Haddings twain,—
    And all are thy kinsmen,   |   Ottar, thou fool!

24. “Eastward in Bolm   |   were born of old
    The sons of Arngrim   |   and Eyfura;
    With berserk-tumult   |   and baleful deed
    Like fire o’er land   |   and sea they fared,—
    And all are thy kinsmen,   |   Ottar, thou fool!

25. “The sons of Jormunrek   |   all of yore
    To the gods in death   |   were as offerings given;
    He was kinsman of Sigurth,—   |   hear well what I say,—
    The foe of hosts,   |   and Fafnir’s slayer.

26. “From Volsung’s seed   |   was the hero sprung,
    And Hjordis was born   |   of Hrauthung’s race,
    And Eylimi   |   from the Othlings came,—
    And all are thy kinsmen,   |   Ottar, thou fool!

27. “Gunnar and Hogni,   |   the heirs of Gjuki,
    And Guthrun as well,   |   who their sister was;
    But Gotthorm was not   |   of Gjuki’s race,
    Although the brother   |   of both he was:
    And all are thy kinsmen,   |   Ottar, thou fool!

28. “Of Hvethna’s sons   |   was Haki the best,
    And Hjorvarth the father   |   of Hvethna was;
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

29. “Harald Battle-tooth   |   of Auth was born,
    Hrörek the Ring-giver   |   her husband was;
    Auth the Deep-minded   |   was Ivar’s daughter,
    But Rathbarth the father   |   of Randver was:
    And all are thy kinsmen,   |   Ottar, thou fool!”





FRAGMENT OF “THE SHORT VOLUSPO”


30. Eleven in number   |   the gods were known,
    When Baldr o’er the hill   |   of death was bowed;
    And this to avenge   |   was Vali swift,
    When his brother’s slayer   |   soon he slew.

31. The father of Baldr   |   was the heir of Bur,
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

32. Freyr’s wife was Gerth,   |   the daughter of Gymir,
    Of the giants’ brood,   |   and Aurbotha bore her;
    To these as well   |   was Thjazi kin,
    The dark-loving giant;   |   his daughter was Skathi.

33. Much have I told thee,   |   and further will tell;
    There is much that I know;—   |   wilt thou hear
    yet more?

34. Heith and Hrossthjof,   |   the children of Hrimnir.
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

35. The sybils arose   |   from Vitholf’s race,
    From Vilmeith all   |   the seers are,
    And the workers of charms   |   are Svarthofthi’s children,
    And from Ymir sprang   |   the giants all.

36. Much have I told thee,   |   and further will tell;
    There is much that I know;—   |   wilt thou hear yet more?

37. One there was born   |   in the bygone days,
    Of the race of the gods,   |   and great was his might;
    Nine giant women,   |   at the world’s edge,
    Once bore the man   |   so mighty in arms.

38. Gjolp there bore him,   |   Greip there bore him,
    Eistla bore him,   |   and Eyrgjafa,
    Ulfrun bore him,   |   and Angeyja,
    Imth and Atla,   |   and Jarnsaxa.

39. Strong was he made   |   with the strength of earth,
    With the ice-cold sea,   |   and the blood of swine.

40. One there was born,   |   the best of all,
    And strong was he made   |   with the strength of earth;
    The proudest is called   |   the kinsman of men
    Of the rulers all   |   throughout the world.

41. Much have I told thee,   |   and further will tell;
    There is much that I know;—   |   wilt thou hear yet more?

42. The wolf did Loki   |   with Angrbotha win,
    And Sleipnir bore he   |   to Svathilfari;
    The worst of marvels   |   seemed the one
    That sprang from the brother   |   of Byleist then.

43. A heart ate Loki,—   |   in the embers it lay,
    And half-cooked found he   |   the woman’s heart;—
    With child from the woman   |   Lopt soon was,
    And thence among men   |   came the monsters all.

44. The sea, storm-driven,   |   seeks heaven itself,
    O’er the earth it flows,   |   the air grows sterile;
    Then follow the snows   |   and the furious winds,
    For the gods are doomed,   |   and the end is death.

45. Then comes another,   |   a greater than all,
    Though never I dare   |   his name to speak;
    Few are they now   |   that farther can see
    Than the moment when Othin   |   shall meet the wolf.





Freyja spake:


46. “To my boar now bring   |   the memory-beer,
    So that all thy words,   |   that well thou hast spoken,
    The third morn hence   |   he may hold in mind,
    When their races Ottar   |   and Angantyr tell.”


Hyndla spake:


47. “Hence shalt thou fare,   |   for fain would I sleep,
    From me thou gettest   |   few favors good;
    My noble one, out   |   in the night thou leapest
    As Heithrun goes   |   the goats among.

48. “To Oth didst thou run,   |   who loved thee ever,
    And many under   |   thy apron have crawled;
    My noble one, out   |   in the night thou leapest,
    As Heithrun goes   |   the goats among.”


Freyja spake:


49. “Around the giantess   |   flames shall I raise,
    So that forth unburned   |   thou mayst not fare.”


Hyndla spake:


50. “Flames I see burning,   |   the earth is on fire,
    And each for his life   |   the price must lose;
    Bring then to Ottar   |   the draught of beer,
    Of venom full   |   for an evil fate.”


Freyja spake:


51. “Thine evil words   |   shall work no ill,
    Though, giantess, bitter   |   thy baleful threats;
    A drink full fair   |   shall Ottar find,
    If of all the gods   |   the favor I get.”

# SVIPDAGSMOL

SVIPDAGSMOL

THE BALLAD OF SVIPDAG



I. GROUGALDR

GROA’S SPELL


Svipdag spake:


1.  “Wake thee, Groa!   |   wake, mother good!
      At the doors of the dead I call thee;
    Thy son, bethink thee,   |   thou badst to seek
      Thy help at the hill of death.”


Groa spake:


2.  “What evil vexes   |   mine only son,
      What baleful fate hast thou found,
    That thou callest thy mother,   |   who lies in the mould,
      And the world of the living has left?”


Svipdag spake:


3.  “The woman false   |   whom my father embraced
      Has brought me a baleful game;
    For she bade me go forth   |   where none may fare,
      And Mengloth the maid to seek.”


Groa spake:


4.  “Long is the way,   |   long must thou wander,
      But long is love as well;
    Thou mayst find, perchance,   |   what thou fain wouldst have,
      If the fates their favor will give.”


Svipdag spake:


5.  “Charms full good   |   then chant to me, mother,
      And seek thy son to guard;
    For death do I fear   |   on the way I shall fare,
      And in years am I young, methinks.”


Groa spake:


6.  “Then first I will chant thee   |   the charm oft-tried,
      That Rani taught to Rind;
    From the shoulder whate’er   |   mislikes thee shake,
      For helper thyself shalt thou have.

7.  “Then next I will chant thee,   |   if needs thou must travel,
      And wander a purposeless way:
    The bolts of Urth   |   shall on every side
      Be thy guards on the road thou goest.

8.  “Then third I will chant thee,   |   if threatening streams
      The danger of death shall bring:
    Yet to Hel shall turn   |   both Horn and Ruth,
      And before thee the waters shall fail.

9.  “Then fourth I will chant thee,   |   if come thy foes
      On the gallows-way against thee:
    Into thine hands   |   shall their hearts be given,
      And peace shall the warriors wish.

10. “Then fifth I will chant thee,   |   if fetters perchance
      Shall bind thy bending limbs:
    O’er thy thighs do I chant   |   a loosening-charm,
      And the lock is burst from the limbs,
      And the fetters fall from the feet.

11. “Then sixth I will chant thee,   |   if storms on the sea
      Have might unknown to man:
    Yet never shall wind   |   or wave do harm,
      And calm is the course of thy boat.

12. “Then seventh I chant thee,   |   if frost shall seek
      To kill thee on lofty crags:
    The fatal cold   |   shall not grip thy flesh,
      And whole thy body shall be.

13. “Then eighth will I chant thee,   |   if ever by night
      Thou shalt wander on murky ways:
    Yet never the curse   |   of a Christian woman
      From the dead shall do thee harm.

14. “Then ninth will I chant thee,   |   if needs thou must strive
      With a warlike giant in words:
    Thy heart good store   |   of wit shall have,
      And thy mouth of words full wise.

15. “Now fare on the way   |   where danger waits,
      Let evils not lessen thy love!
    I have stood at the door   |   of the earth-fixed stones,
      The while I chanted thee charms.

16. “Bear hence, my son,   |   what thy mother hath said,
      And let it live in thy breast;
    Thine ever shall be   |   the best of fortune,
      So long as my words shall last.”





II. FJOLSVINNSMOL

THE LAY OF FJOLSVITH


17. Before the house   |   he beheld one coming
      To the home of the giants high.


Svipdag spake:


    “What giant is here,   |   in front of the house,
      And around him fires are flaming?”


Fjolsvith spake:


18. “What seekest thou here?   |   for what is thy search?
      What, friendless one, fain wouldst thou know?
    By the ways so wet   |   must thou wander hence,
      For, weakling, no home hast thou here.”


Svipdag spake:


19. “What giant is here,   |   in front of the house,
      To the wayfarer welcome denying?”


Fjolsvith spake:


    “Greeting full fair   |   thou never shalt find,
      So hence shalt thou get thee home.

20. “Fjolsvith am I,   |   and wise am I found,
      But miserly am I with meat;
    Thou never shalt enter   |   within the house,—
      Go forth like a wolf on thy way!”


Svipdag spake:


21. “Few from the joy   |   of their eyes will go forth,
      When the sight of their loves they seek;
    Full bright are the gates   |   of the golden hall,
      And a home shall I here enjoy.”


Fjolsvith spake:


22. “Tell me now, fellow,   |   what father thou hast,
      And the kindred of whom thou camst.”


Svipdag spake:


    “Vindkald am I,   |   and Varkald’s son,
      And Fjolkald his father was.

23. “Now answer me, Fjolsvith,   |   the question I ask,
      For now the truth would I know:
    Who is it that holds   |   and has for his own
      The rule of the hall so rich?”


Fjolsvith spake:


24. “Mengloth is she,   |   her mother bore her
      To the son of Svafrthorin;
    She is it that holds   |   and has for her own
      The rule of the hall so rich.”


Svipdag spake:


25. “Now answer me, Fjolsvith,   |   the question I ask,
      For now the truth would I know:
    What call they the gate?   |   for among the gods
      Ne’er saw man so grim a sight.”


Fjolsvith spake:


26. “Thrymgjol they call it;   |   ’twas made by the three,
      The sons of Solblindi;
    And fast as a fetter   |   the farer it holds,
      Whoever shall lift the latch.”


Svipdag spake:


27. “Now answer me, Fjolsvith,   |   the question I ask,
      For now the truth would I know:
    What call they the house?   |   for no man beheld
      ‘Mongst the gods so grim a sight.”


Fjolsvith spake:


28. “Gastropnir is it,   |   of old I made it
      From the limbs of Leirbrimir;
    I braced it so strongly   |   that fast it shall stand
      So long as the world shall last.”


Svipdag spake:


29. “Now answer me, Fjolsvith,   |   the question I ask,
      For now the truth would I know:
    What call they the tree   |   that casts abroad
      Its limbs o’er every land?”


Fjolsvith spake:


30. “Mimameith its name,   |   and no man knows
      What root beneath it runs;
    And few can guess   |   what shall fell the tree,
      For fire nor iron shall fell it.”


Svipdag spake:


31. “Now answer me, Fjolsvith,   |   the question I ask,
      For now the truth would I know:
    What grows from the seed   |   of the tree so great,
      That fire nor iron shall fell?”


Fjolsvith spake:


32. “Women, sick   |   with child, shall seek
      Its fruit to the flames to bear;
    Then out shall come   |   what within was hid,
      And so is it mighty with men.”


Svipdag spake:


33. “Now answer me, Fjolsvith,   |   the question I ask,
      For now the truth would I know:
    What cock is he   |   on the highest bough,
      That glitters all with gold?”


Fjolsvith spake:


34. “Vithofnir his name,   |   and now he shines
      Like lightning on Mimameith’s limbs;
    And great is the trouble   |   with which he grieves
      Both Surt and Sinmora.”


Svipdag spake:


35. “Now answer me, Fjolsvith,   |   the question I ask,
      For now the truth would I know:
    What call they the hounds,   |   that before the house
      So fierce and angry are?”


Fjolsvith spake:


36. “Gif call they one,   |   and Geri the other,
      If now the truth thou wouldst know;
    Great they are,   |   and their might will grow,
      Till the gods to death are doomed.”


Svipdag spake:


37. “Now answer me, Fjolsvith,   |   the question I ask,
      For now the truth would I know:
    May no man hope   |   the house to enter,
      While the hungry hounds are sleeping?”


Fjolsvith spake:


38. “Together they sleep not,   |   for so was it fixed
      When the guard to them was given;
    One sleeps by night,   |   the next by day,
      So no man may enter ever.”


Svipdag spake:


39. “Now answer me, Fjolsvith,   |   the question I ask,
      For now the truth would I know:
    Is there no meat   |   that men may give them,
     And leap within while they eat?”


Fjolsvith spake:


40. “Two wing-joints there be   |   in Vithofnir’s body,
      If now the truth thou wouldst know;
    That alone is the meat   |   that men may give them,
      And leap within while they eat.”


Svipdag spake:


41. “Now answer me, Fjolsvith,   |   the question I ask,
      For now the truth would I know:
    What weapon can send   |   Vithofnir to seek
      The house of Hel below?”


Fjolsvith spake:


42. “Lævatein is there,   |   that Lopt with runes
      Once made by the doors of death;
    In Lægjarn’s chest   |   by Sinmora lies it,
      And nine locks fasten it firm.”


Svipdag spake:


43. “Now answer me, Fjolsvith,   |   the question I ask,
      For now the truth would I know:
    May a man come thence   |   who thither goes,
      And tries the sword to take?”


Fjolsvith spake:


44. “Thence may he come   |   who thither goes,
      And tries the sword to take,
    If with him he carries   |   what few can win,
      To give to the goddess of gold.”


Svipdag spake:


45. “Now answer me, Fjolsvith,   |   the question I ask,
      For now the truth would I know:
    What treasure is there   |   that men may take
      To rejoice the giantess pale?”


Fjolsvith spake:


46. “The sickle bright   |   in thy wallet bear,
      Mid Vithofnir’s feathers found;
    To Sinmora give it,   |   and then shall she grant
      That the weapon by thee be won.”


Svipdag spake:


47. “Now answer me, Fjolsvith,   |   the question I ask,
      For now the truth would I know:
    What call they the hall,   |   encompassed here
      With flickering magic flames?”


Fjolsvith spake:


48. “Lyr is it called,   |   and long it shall
      On the tip of a spear-point tremble;
    Of the noble house   |   mankind has heard,
      But more has it never known.”


Svipdag spake:


49. “Now answer me, Fjolsvith,   |   the question I ask,
      For now the truth would I know:
    What one of the gods   |   has made so great
      The hall I behold within?”


Fjolsvith spake:


50. “Uni and Iri,   |   Bari and Jari,
      Var and Vegdrasil,
    Dori and Ori,   |   Delling, and there
      Was Loki, the fear of the folk.”


Svipdag spake:


51. “Now answer me, Fjolsvith,   |   the question I ask,
      For now the truth would I know:
    What call they the mountain   |   on which the maid
      Is lying so lovely to see?”


Fjolsvith spake:


52. “Lyfjaberg is it,   |   and long shall it be
      A joy to the sick and the sore;
    For well shall grow   |   each woman who climbs it,
      Though sick full long she has lain.”


Svipdag spake:


53. “Now answer me, Fjolsvith,   |   the question I ask,
      For now the truth would I know:
    What maidens are they   |   that at Mengloth’s knees
      Are sitting so gladly together?”


Fjolsvith spake:


54. “Hlif is one named,   |   Hlifthrasa another,
      Thjothvara call they the third;
    Bjort and Bleik,   |   Blith and Frith,
      Eir and Aurbotha.”


Svipdag spake:


55. “Now answer me, Fjolsvith,   |   the question I ask,
      For now the truth would I know:
    Aid bring they to all   |   who offerings give,
      If need be found therefor?”


Fjolsvith spake:


56. “Soon aid they all   |   who offerings give
      On the holy altars high;
    And if danger they see   |   for the sons of men,
      Then each from ill do they guard.”


Svipdag spake:


57. “Now answer me, Fjolsvith,   |   the question I ask,
      For now the truth would I know:
    Lives there the man   |   who in Mengloth’s arms
      So fair may seek to sleep?”


Fjolsvith spake:


58. “No man there is   |   who in Mengloth’s arms
      So fair may seek to sleep,
    Save Svipdag alone,   |   for the sun-bright maid
      Is destined his bride to be.”


Svipdag spake:


59. “Fling back the gates!   |   make the gateway wide!
      Here mayst thou Svipdag see!
    Hence get thee to find   |   if gladness soon
      Mengloth to me will give.”


Fjolsvith spake:


60. “Hearken, Mengloth,   |   a man is come;
      Go thou the guest to see!
    The hounds are fawning,   |   the house bursts open,—
      Svipdag, methinks, is there.”


Mengloth spake:


61. “On the gallows high   |   shall hungry ravens
      Soon thine eyes pluck out,
    If thou liest in saying   |   that here at last
      The hero is come to my hall.

62. “Whence camest thou hither?   |   how camest thou here?
      What name do thy kinsmen call thee?
    Thy race and thy name   |   as a sign must I know,
      That thy bride I am destined to be.”


Svipdag spake:


63. “Svipdag am I,   |   and Solbjart’s son;
      Thence came I by wind-cold ways;
    With the words of Urth   |   shall no man war,
      Though unearned her gifts be given.”


Mengloth spake:


64. “Welcome thou art,   |   for long have I waited;
      The welcoming kiss shalt thou win!
    For two who love   |   is the longed-for meeting
      The greatest gladness of all.

65. “Long have I sat   |   on Lyfjaberg here,
      Awaiting thee day by day;
    And now I have   |   what I ever hoped,
      For here thou art come to my hall.

66. “Alike we yearned;   |   I longed for thee,
      And thou for my love hast longed;
    But now henceforth   |   together we know
      Our lives to the end we shall live.”






VOLUME II

LAYS OF THE HEROES

# VÖLUNDARKVITHA

VÖLUNDARKVITHA

THE LAY OF VÖLUND


There was a king in Sweden named Nithuth. He had two sons and one
daughter; her name was Bothvild. There were three brothers, sons of a
king of the Finns: one was called Slagfith, another Egil, the third
Völund. They went on snowshoes and hunted wild beasts. They came into
Ulfdalir and there they built themselves a house; there was a lake
there which is called Ulfsjar. Early one morning they found on the
shore of the lake three women, who were spinning flax. Near them were
their swan-garments, for they were Valkyries. Two of them were
daughters of King Hlothver, Hlathguth the Swan-White and Hervor the
All-Wise, and the third was Olrun, daughter of Kjar from Valland. These
did they bring home to their hall with them. Egil took Olrun, and
Slagfith Swan-White, and Völund All-Wise. There they dwelt seven
winters; but then they flew away to find battles, and came back no
more. Then Egil set forth on his snowshoes to follow Olrun, and
Slagfith followed Swan-White, but Völund stayed in Ulfdalir. He was a
most skillful man, as men know from old tales. King Nithuth had him
taken by force, as the poem here tells.


1.  Maids from the south   |   through Myrkwood flew,
    Fair and young,   |   their fate to follow;
    On the shore of the sea   |   to rest them they sat,
    The maids of the south,   |   and flax they spun.

2.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    Hlathguth and Hervor,   |   Hlothver’s children,
    And Olrun the Wise   |   Kjar’s daughter was.

3.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    One in her arms   |   took Egil then
    To her bosom white,   |   the woman fair.

4.  Swan-White second,—   |   swan-feathers she wore,
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    And her arms the third   |   of the sisters threw
    Next round Völund’s   |   neck so white.

5.  There did they sit   |   for seven winters,
    In the eighth at last   |   came their longing again,
    (And in the ninth   |   did need divide them).
    The maidens yearned   |   for the murky wood,
    The fair young maids,   |   their fate to follow.

6.  Völund home   |   from his hunting came,
    From a weary way,   |   the weather-wise bowman,
    Slagfith and Egil   |   the hall found empty,
    Out and in went they,   |   everywhere seeking.

7.  East fared Egil   |   after Olrun,
    And Slagfith south   |   to seek for Swan-White;
    Völund alone   |   in Ulfdalir lay,
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

8.  Red gold he fashioned   |   with fairest gems,
    And rings he strung   |   on ropes of bast;
    So for his wife   |   he waited long,
    If the fair one home   |   might come to him.

9.  This Nithuth learned,   |   the lord of the Njars,
    That Völund alone   |   in Ulfdalir lay;
    By night went his men,   |   their mail-coats were studded,
    Their shields in the waning   |   moonlight shone.

10. From their saddles the gable   |   wall they sought,
    And in they went   |   at the end of the hall;
    Rings they saw there   |   on ropes of bast,
    Seven hundred   |   the hero had.

11. Off they took them,   |   but all they left
    Save one alone   |   which they bore away.
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

12. Völund home   |   from his hunting came,
    From a weary way,   |   the weather-wise bowman;
    A brown bear’s flesh   |   would he roast with fire;
    Soon the wood so dry   |   was burning well,
    (The wind-dried wood   |   that Völund’s was).

13. On the bearskin he rested,   |   and counted the rings,
    The master of elves,   |   but one he missed;
    That Hlothver’s daughter   |   had it he thought,
    And the all-wise maid   |   had come once more.

14. So long he sat   |   that he fell asleep,
    His waking empty   |   of gladness was;
    Heavy chains   |   he saw on his hands,
    And fetters bound   |   his feet together.


Völund spake:


15. “What men are they   |   who thus have laid
    Ropes of bast   |   to bind me now?”

    Then Nithuth called,   |   the lord of the Njars:
    “How gottest thou, Völund,   |   greatest of elves,
    These treasures of ours   |   in Ulfdalir?”


Völund spake:


16. “The gold was not   |   on Grani’s way,
    Far, methinks, is our realm   |   from the hills of the Rhine;
    I mind me that treasures   |   more we had
    When happy together   |   at home we were.”

17. Without stood the wife   |   of Nithuth wise,
    And in she came   |   from the end of the hall;
    On the floor she stood,   |   and softly spoke:
    “Not kind does he look   |   who comes from the wood.”


King Nithuth gave to his daughter Bothvild the gold ring that he had
taken from the bast rope in Völund’s house, and he himself wore the
sword that Völund had had. The queen spake:


18. “The glow of his eyes   |   is like gleaming snakes,
    His teeth he gnashes   |   if now is shown
    The sword, or Bothvild’s   |   ring he sees;
    Let them straightway cut   |   his sinews of strength,
    And set him then   |   in Sævarstath.”


So was it done: the sinews in his knee-joints were cut, and he was set
in an island which was near the mainland, and was called Sævarstath.
There he smithied for the king all kinds of precious things. No man
dared to go to him, save only the king himself. Völund spake:


19. “At Nithuth’s girdle   |   gleams the sword
    That I sharpened keen   |   with cunningest craft,
    (And hardened the steel   |   with highest skill;)
    The bright blade far   |   forever is borne,
    (Nor back shall I see it   |   borne to my smithy;)
    Now Bothvild gets   |   the golden ring
    (That was once my bride’s,—   |   ne’er well shall it be.)”

20. He sat, nor slept,   |   and smote with his hammer,
    Fast for Nithuth   |   wonders he fashioned;
    Two boys did go   |   in his door to gaze,
    Nithuth’s sons,   |   into Sævarstath.

21. They came to the chest,   |   and they craved the keys,
    The evil was open   |   when in they looked;
    To the boys it seemed   |   that gems they saw,
    Gold in plenty   |   and precious stones.


Völund spake:


22. “Come ye alone,   |   the next day come,
    Gold to you both   |   shall then be given;
    Tell not the maids   |   or the men of the hall,
    To no one say   |   that me you have sought.”

23. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    Early did brother   |   to brother call:
    “Swift let us go   |   the rings to see.”

24. They came to the chest,   |   and they craved the keys,
    The evil was open   |   when in they looked;
    He smote off their heads,   |   and their feet he hid
    Under the sooty   |   straps of the bellows.

25. Their skulls, once hid   |   by their hair, he took,
    Set them in silver   |   and sent them to Nithuth;
    Gems full fair   |   from their eyes he fashioned,
    To Nithuth’s wife   |   so wise he gave them.

26. And from the teeth   |   of the twain he wrought
    A brooch for the breast,   |   to Bothvild he sent it;
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

27. Bothvild then   |   of her ring did boast,
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .    |   “The ring I have broken,
    I dare not say it   |   save to thee.”


Völund spake:


28. “I shall weld the break   |   in the gold so well
    That fairer than ever   |   thy father shall find it,
    And better much   |   thy mother shall think it,
    And thou no worse   |   than ever it was.”

29. Beer he brought,   |   he was better in cunning,
    Until in her seat   |   full soon she slept.


Völund spake:


    “Now vengeance I have   |   for all my hurts,
    Save one alone,   |   on the evil woman.”

30. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    Quoth Völund: “Would   |   that well were the sinews
    Maimed in my feet   |   by Nithuth’s men.”

31. Laughing Völund   |   rose aloft,
    Weeping Bothvild   |   went from the isle,
    For her lover’s flight   |   and her father’s wrath.

32. Without stood the wife   |   of Nithuth wise,
    And in she came   |   from the end of the hall;
    But he by the wall   |   in weariness sat:
    “Wakest thou, Nithuth,   |   lord of the Njars?”


Nithuth spake:


33. “Always I wake,   |   and ever joyless,
    Little I sleep   |   since my sons were slain;
    Cold is my head,   |   cold was thy counsel,
    One thing, with Völund   |   to speak, I wish.

34. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    “Answer me, Völund,   |   greatest of elves,
    What happed with my boys   |   that hale once were?”


Völund spake:


35. “First shalt thou all   |   the oaths now swear,
    By the rail of ship,   |   and the rim of shield,
    By the shoulder of steed,   |   and the edge of sword,
    That to Völund’s wife   |   thou wilt work no ill,
    Nor yet my bride   |   to her death wilt bring,
    Though a wife I should have   |   that well thou knowest,
    And a child I should have   |   within thy hall.

36. “Seek the smithy   |   that thou didst set,
    Thou shalt find the bellows   |   sprinkled with blood;
    I smote off the heads   |   of both thy sons,
    And their feet ’neath the sooty   |   straps I hid.

37. “Their skulls, once hid   |   by their hair, I took,
    Set them in silver   |   and sent them to Nithuth;
    Gems full fair   |   from their eyes I fashioned,
    To Nithuth’s wife   |   so wise I gave them.

38. “And from the teeth   |   of the twain I wrought
    A brooch for the breast,   |   to Bothvild I gave it;
    Now big with child   |   does Bothvild go,
    The only daughter   |   ye two had ever.”


Nithuth spake:


39. “Never spakest thou word   |   that worse could hurt me,
    Nor that made me, Völund,   |   more bitter for vengeance;
    There is no man so high   |   from thy horse to take thee,
    Or so doughty an archer   |   as down to shoot thee,
    While high in the clouds   |   thy course thou takest.”

40. Laughing Völund   |   rose aloft,
    But left in sadness   |   Nithuth sat.
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

41. Then spake Nithuth,   |   lord of the Njars:
    “Rise up, Thakkrath,   |   best of my thralls,
    Bid Bothvild come,   |   the bright-browed maid,
    Bedecked so fair,   |   with her father to speak.”

42. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    “Is it true, Bothvild,   |   that which was told me;
    Once in the isle   |   with Völund wert thou?”


Bothvild spake:


43. “True is it, Nithuth,   |   that which was told thee,
    Once in the isle   |   with Völund was I,
    An hour of lust,   |   alas it should be!
    Nought was my might   |   with such a man,
    Nor from his strength   |   could I save myself.”

# HELGAKVITHA HJORVARTHSSONAR

HELGAKVITHA HJORVARTHSSONAR

THE LAY OF HELGI THE SON OF HJORVARTH




(I)

OF HJORVARTH AND SIGRLIN


Hjorvarth was the name of a king, who had four wives: one was called
Alfhild, and their son was named Hethin; the second was called Særeith,
and their son was named Humlung; the third was called Sinrjoth, and
their son was named Hymling. King Hjorvarth had made a great vow to
have as wife whatsoever woman he knew was fairest. He learned that King
Svafnir had a daughter fairer than all others, whose name was Sigrlin.
Ithmund was the name of one of his jarls; he had a son called Atli, who
went to woo Sigrlin on behalf of the king. He dwelt the winter long
with King Svafnir. There was a jarl called Franmar, Sigrlin’s
foster-father; his daughter was named Alof. The jarl told him that the
maiden’s hand was denied, and Atli went home. Atli, the jarl’s son,
stood one day in a certain wood; a bird sat in the branches up over
him, and it had heard that his men called Hjorvarth’s wives the fairest
of women. The bird twittered, and Atli hearkened to what it spoke. It
said:


1.  “Sawest thou Sigrlin,   |   Svafnir’s daughter,
    The fairest maid   |   in her home-land found?
    Though Hjorvarth’s wives   |   by men are held
    Goodly to see   |   in Glasir’s wood.”


Atli spake:


2.  “Now with Atli,   |   Ithmund’s son,
    Wilt thou say more,   |   thou bird so wise?”


The bird spake:


    “I may if the prince   |   an offering makes,
    And I have what I will   |   from the house of the king.”


Atli spake:


3.  “Choose not Hjorvarth,   |   nor sons of his,
    Nor the wives so fair   |   of the famous chief;
    Ask not the brides   |   that the prince’s are;
    Fair let us deal   |   in friendly wise.”


The bird spake:


4.  “A fane will I ask,   |   and altars many,
    Gold-horned cattle   |   the prince shall give me,
    If Sigrlin yet   |   shall sleep in his arms,
    Or free of will   |   the hero shall follow.”


This was before Atli went on his journey; but when he came home, and
the king asked his tidings, he said:


5.  “Trouble we had,   |   but tidings none,
    Our horses failed   |   in the mountains high,
    The waters of Sæmorn   |   we needs must wade;
    Svafnir’s daughter,   |   with rings bedecked,
    She whom we sought,   |   was still denied us.”


The king bade that they should go another time, and he went with them
himself. But when they came up on the mountain, they saw Svavaland
burning and mighty dust-clouds from many steeds. The king rode from the
mountain forward into the land, and made a night’s stay hard by a
stream. Atli kept watch and went over the stream; he found there a
house. A great bird sat on the housetop to guard it, but he was asleep.
Atli hurled his spear at the bird and slew it, and in the house he
found Sigrlin the king’s daughter and Alof the jarl’s daughter, and he
brought them both thence with him. Jarl Franmar had changed himself
into the likeness of an eagle, and guarded them from the enemy host by
magic. Hrothmar was the name of a king, a wooer of Sigrlin; he slew the
king of Svavaland and had plundered and burned his land. King Hjorvarth
took Sigrlin, and Atli took Alof.





(II)

Hjorvarth and Sigrlin had a son, mighty and of noble stature; he was a
silent man, and no name stuck fast to him. He sat on a hill, and saw
nine Valkyries riding; one of them was the fairest of all. She spake:


6.  “Late wilt thou, Helgi,   |   have hoard of rings,
    Thou battle-tree fierce,   |   or of shining fields,—
    The eagle screams soon,—   |   if never thou speakest,
    Though, hero, hard   |   thy heart may cry.”


Helgi spake:


7.  “What gift shall I have   |   with Helgi’s name,
    Glorious maid,   |   for the giving is thine?
    All thy words   |   shall I think on well,
    But I want them not   |   if I win not thee.”


The Valkyrie spake:


8.  “Swords I know lying   |   in Sigarsholm,
    Fifty there are   |   save only four;
    One there is   |   that is best of all,
    The shield-destroyer,   |   with gold it shines.

9.  “In the hilt is fame,   |   in the haft is courage,
    In the point is fear,   |   for its owner’s foes;
    On the blade there lies   |   a blood-flecked snake,
    And a serpent’s tail   |   round the flat is twisted.”


Eylimi was the name of a king, whose daughter was Svava; she was a
Valkyrie, and rode air and sea. She gave Helgi this name, and shielded
him oft thereafter in battle. Helgi spake:


10. “Hjorvarth, king,   |   unwholesome thy counsels,
    Though famed thou art   |   in leading the folk,
    Letting fire the homes   |   of heroes eat,
    Who evil deed   |   had never done thee.

11. “Yet Hrothmar still   |   the hoard doth hold,
    The wealth that once   |   our kinsmen wielded;
    Full seldom care   |   the king disturbs,
    Heir to dead men   |   he deems himself.”


Hjorvarth answered that he would give Helgi a following if he fain
would avenge his mother’s father. Then Helgi got the sword that Svava
had told him of. So he went, and Atli with him, and they slew Hrothmar,
and they did many great deeds.





(III)

He slew the giant Hati, whom he found sitting on a certain mountain.
Helgi and Atli lay with their ships in Hatafjord. Atli kept watch
during the first part of the night. Hrimgerth, Hati’s daughter, spake:


12. “Who are the heroes   |   in Hatafjord?
      The ships are covered with shields;
    Bravely ye look,   |   and little ye fear,
      The name of the king would I know.”


Atli spake:


13. “Helgi his name,   |   and never thou mayst
      Harm to the hero bring;
    With iron is fitted   |   the prince’s fleet,
      Nor can witches work us ill.”


Hrimgerth spake:


14. “Who now, thou mighty   |   man, art thou?
      By what name art thou known to men?
    He trusts thee well,   |   the prince who wills
      That thou stand at the stem of his ship.”


Atli spake:


15. “Atli am I,   |   and ill shalt thou find me,
      Great hate for witches I have;
    Oft have I been   |   in the dripping bows,
      And to dusk-riders death have brought.

16. “Corpse-hungry giantess,   |   how art thou called?
      Say, witch, who thy father was!
    Nine miles deeper   |   down mayst thou sink,
      And a tree grow tall on thy bosom.”


Hrimgerth spake:


17. “Hrimgerth am I,   |   my father was Hati,
      Of giants the most in might;
    Many a woman   |   he won from her home,
      Ere Helgi hewed him down.”


Atli spake:


18. “Witch, in front   |   of the ship thou wast,
      And lay before the fjord;
    To Ron wouldst have given   |   the ruler’s men,
      If a spear had not stuck in thy flesh.”


Hrimgerth spake:


19. “Dull art thou, Atli,   |   thou dreamest, methinks,
      The lids lie over thine eyes;
    By the leader’s ships   |   my mother lay,
      Hlothvarth’s sons on the sea I slew.

20. “Thou wouldst neigh, Atli,   |   but gelded thou art,
      See, Hrimgerth hoists her tail;
    In thy hinder end   |   is thy heart, methinks,
      Though thy speech is a stallion’s cry.”


Atli spake:


21. “A stallion I seem   |   if thou seekest to try me,
      And I leap to land from the sea;
    I shall smite thee to bits,   |   if so I will,
      And heavy sinks Hrimgerth’s tail.”


Hrimgerth spake:


22. “Go ashore then, Atli,   |   if sure of thy might,
      Let us come to Varin’s cove;
    Straight shall thy rounded   |   ribs be made
      If thou comest within my claws.”


Atli spake:


23. “I will not go   |   till the warriors wake,
      Again their chief to guard;
    I should wonder not,   |   foul witch, if up
      From beneath our keel thou shouldst come.”


Hrimgerth spake:


24. “Awake now, Helgi,   |   and Hrimgerth requite,
      That Hati to death thou didst hew;
    If a single night   |   she can sleep by the prince,
      Then requited are all her ills.”


Helgi spake:


25. “’Tis Lothin shall have thee,—   |   thou’rt loathsome to men,—
      His home in Tholley he has;
    Of the wild-dwellers worst   |   is the giant wise,
      He is meet as a mate for thee.”


Hrimgerth spake:


26. “More thou lovest her   |   who scanned the harbor,
      Last night among the men;
    (The gold-decked maid   |   bore magic, methinks,
      When the land from the sea she sought,
      And fast she kept your fleet;)
    She alone is to blame   |   that I may not bring
      Death to the monarch’s men.”


Helgi spake:


27. “Hrimgerth, mark,   |   if thy hurts I requite,
      Tell now the truth to the king;
    Was there one who the ships   |   of the warrior warded,
      Or did many together go?”


Hrimgerth spake:


28. “Thrice nine there were,   |   but one rode first,
      A helmed maid white of hue;
    Their horses quivered,   |   there came from their manes
      Dew in the dales so deep,
      (Hail on the woods so high,
      Thence men their harvest have,
      But ill was the sight I saw.)”


Atli spake:


29. “Look eastward, Hrimgerth,   |   for Helgi has struck thee
      Down with the runes of death;
    Safe in harbor floats   |   the prince’s fleet,
      And safe are the monarch’s men.”


Helgi spake:


30. “It is day, Hrimgerth,   |   for Atli held thee
      Till now thy life thou must lose;
    As a harbor mark   |   men shall mock at thee,
      Where in stone thou shalt ever stand.”





(IV)

King Helgi was a mighty warrior. He came to King Eylimi and sought the
hand of his daughter, Svava. Then Helgi and Svava exchanged vows, and
greatly they loved each other. Svava was at home with her father, while
Helgi was in the field; Svava was still a Valkyrie as before.

Hethin was at home with his father, King Hjorvarth, in Norway. Hethin
was coming home alone from the forest one Yule-eve, and found a
troll-woman; she rode on a wolf, and had snakes in place of a bridle.
She asked Hethin for his company. “Nay,” said he. She said, “Thou shalt
pay for this at the king’s toast.” That evening the great vows were
taken; the sacred boar was brought in, the men laid their hands
thereon, and took their vows at the king’s toast. Hethin vowed that he
would have Svava, Eylimi’s daughter, the beloved of his brother Helgi;
then such great grief seized him that he went forth on wild paths
southward over the land, and found Helgi, his brother. Helgi said:


31. “Welcome, Hethin!   |   what hast thou to tell
    Of tidings new   |   that from Norway come?
    Wherefore didst leave   |   thy land, O prince,
    And fared alone   |   to find us here?”


Hethin spake:


32. “A deed more evil   |   I have done
    Than, brother mine,   |   thou e’er canst mend;
    For I have chosen   |   the child of the king,
    Thy bride, for mine   |   at the monarch’s toast.”


Helgi spake:


33. “Grieve not, Hethin,   |   for true shall hold
    The words we both   |   by the beer have sworn;
    To the isle a warrior   |   wills that I go,
    (There shall I come   |   the third night hence;)
    And doubtful must be   |   my coming back,
    (So may all be well,   |   if fate so wills.)”


Hethin spake:


34. “Thou saidst once, Helgi,   |   that Hethin was
    A friend full good,   |   and gifts didst give him;
    More seemly it were   |   thy sword to redden,
    Than friendship thus   |   to thy foe to give.”


Helgi spoke thus because he foresaw his death, for his
following-spirits had met Hethin when he saw the woman riding on the
wolf. Alf was the name of a king, the son of Hrothmar, who had marked
out a battle-place with Helgi at Sigarsvoll after a stay of three
nights. Then Helgi spake:


35. “On a wolf there rode,   |   when dusk it was,
    A woman who fain   |   would have him follow;
    Well she knew   |   that now would fall
    Sigrlin’s son   |   at Sigarsvoll.”


There was a great battle, and there Helgi got a mortal wound.


36. Sigar riding   |   did Helgi send
    To seek out Eylimi’s   |   only daughter:
    “Bid her swiftly   |   ready to be,
    If her lover   |   alive she would find.”


Sigar spake:


37. “Hither now   |   has Helgi sent me,
    With thee, Svava,   |   thyself to speak;
    The hero said   |   he fain would see thee
    Ere life the nobly   |   born should leave.”


Svava spake:


38. “What chanced with Helgi,   |   Hjorvarth’s son?
    Hard to me   |   is harm now come;
    If the sea smote him,   |   or sword bit him,
    Ill shall I bring   |   to all his foes.”


Sigar spake:


39. “In the morn he fell   |   at Frekastein,
    The king who was noblest   |   beneath the sun;
    Alf has the joy   |   of victory all,
    Though need therefor   |   is never his.”


Helgi spake:


40. “Hail to thee, Svava!   |   thy sorrow rule,
    Our meeting last   |   in life is this;
    Hard the wounds   |   of the hero bleed,
    And close to my heart   |   the sword has come.

41. “I bid thee, Svava,—   |   weep not, bride,—
    If thou wilt hearken   |   to these my words,
    The bed for Hethin   |   have thou ready,
    And yield thy love   |   to the hero young.”


Svava spake:


42. “A vow I had   |   in my dear-loved home,
    When Helgi sought   |   with rings to have me,
    That not of my will,   |   if the warrior died,
    Would I fold in my arms   |   a man unfamed.”


Hethin spake:


43. “Kiss me, Svava,   |   I come not back,
    Rogheim to see,   |   or Rothulsfjoll,
    Till vengeance I have   |   for the son of Hjorvarth,
    The king who was noblest   |   beneath the sun.”


Of Helgi and Svava it is said that they were born again.

# HELGAKVITHA HUNDINGSBANA I

HELGAKVITHA HUNDINGSBANA I

THE FIRST LAY OF HELGI HUNDINGSBANE



1.  In olden days,   |   when eagles screamed,
    And holy streams   |   from heaven’s crags fell,
    Was Helgi then,   |   the hero-hearted,
    Borghild’s son,   |   in Bralund born.

2.  ’Twas night in the dwelling,   |   and Norns there came,
    Who shaped the life   |   of the lofty one;
    They bade him most famed   |   of fighters all
    And best of princes   |   ever to be.

3.  Mightily wove they   |   the web of fate,
    While Bralund’s towns   |   were trembling all;
    And there the golden   |   threads they wove,
    And in the moon’s hall   |   fast they made them.

4.  East and west   |   the ends they hid,
    In the middle the hero   |   should have his land;
    And Neri’s kinswoman   |   northward cast
    A chain, and bade it   |   firm ever to be.

5.  Once sorrow had   |   the Ylfings’ son,
    And grief the bride   |   who the loved one had borne.
        *    *    *    *    *    *
    Quoth raven to raven,   |   on treetop resting,
    Seeking for food,   |   “There is something I know.

6.  “In mail-coat stands   |   the son of Sigmund,
    A half-day old;   |   now day is here;
    His eyes flash sharp   |   as the heroes’ are,
    He is friend of the wolves;   |   full glad are we.”

7.  The warrior throng   |   a ruler thought him,
    Good times, they said,   |   mankind should see;
    The king himself   |   from battle-press came,
    To give the prince   |   a leek full proud.

8.  Helgi he named him,   |   and Hringstathir gave him,
    Solfjoll, Snæfjoll,   |   and Sigarsvoll,
    Hringstoth, Hotun,   |   and Himinvangar,
    And a blood-snake bedecked   |   to Sinfjotli’s brother.

9.  Mighty he grew   |   in the midst of his friends,
    The fair-born elm,   |   in fortune’s glow;
    To his comrades gold   |   he gladly gave,
    The hero spared not   |   the blood-flecked hoard.

10. Short time for war   |   the chieftain waited,
    When fifteen winters   |   old he was;
    Hunding he slew,   |   the hardy wight
    Who long had ruled   |   o’er lands and men.

11. Of Sigmund’s son   |   then next they sought
    Hoard and rings,   |   the sons of Hunding;
    They bade the prince   |   requital pay
    For booty stolen   |   and father slain.

12. The prince let not   |   their prayers avail,
    Nor gold for their dead   |   did the kinsmen get;
    Waiting, he said,   |   was a mighty storm
    Of lances gray   |   and Othin’s grimness.

13. The warriors forth   |   to the battle went,
    The field they chose   |   at Logafjoll;
    Frothi’s peace   |   midst foes they broke,
    Through the isle went hungrily   |   Vithrir’s hounds.

14. The king then sat,   |   when he had slain
    Eyjolf and Alf,   |   ’neath the eagle-stone;
    Hjorvarth and Hovarth,   |   Hunding’s sons,
    The kin of the spear-wielder,   |   all had he killed.

15. Then glittered light   |   from Logafjoll,
    And from the light   |   the flashes leaped;
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

16. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    High under helms   |   on heaven’s field;
    Their byrnies all   |   with blood were red,
    And from their spears   |   the sparks flew forth.

17. Early then   |   in wolf-wood asked
    The mighty king   |   of the southern maid,
    If with the hero   |   home would she
    Come that night;   |   the weapons clashed.

18. Down from her horse   |   sprang Hogni’s daughter,—
    The shields were still,—   |   and spake to the hero:
    “Other tasks   |   are ours, methinks,
    Than drinking beer   |   with the breaker of rings.

19. “My father has pledged   |   his daughter fair
    As bride to Granmar’s   |   son so grim;
    But, Helgi, I   |   once Hothbrodd called
    As fine a king   |   as the son of a cat.

20. “Yet the hero will come   |   a few nights hence,
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    Unless thou dost bid him   |   the battle-ground seek,
    Or takest the maid   |   from the warrior mighty.”


Helgi spake:


21. “Fear him not,   |   though Isung he felled,
    First must our courage   |   keen be tried,
    Before unwilling   |   thou fare with the knave;
    Weapons will clash,   |   if to death I come not.”

22. Messengers sent   |   the mighty one then,
    By land and by sea,   |   a host to seek,
    Store of wealth   |   of the water’s gleam,
    And men to summon,   |   and sons of men.

23. “Bid them straightway   |   seek the ships,
    And off Brandey   |   ready to be!”
    There the chief waited   |   till thither were come
    Men by hundreds   |   from Hethinsey.

24. Soon off Stafnsnes   |   stood the ships,
    Fair they glided   |   and gay with gold;
    Then Helgi spake   |   to Hjorleif asking:
    “Hast thou counted   |   the gallant host?”

25. The young king answered   |   the other then:
    “Long were it to tell   |   from Tronueyr
    The long-stemmed ships   |   with warriors laden
    That come from without   |   into Orvasund.

26. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    “There are hundreds twelve   |   of trusty men,
    But in Hotun lies   |   the host of the king,
    Greater by half;   |   I have hope of battle.”

27. The ship’s-tents soon   |   the chieftain struck,
    And waked the throng   |   of warriors all;
    (The heroes the red   |   of dawn beheld;)
    And on the masts   |   the gallant men
    Made fast the sails   |   in Varinsfjord.

28. There was beat of oars   |   and clash of iron,
    Shield smote shield   |   as the ships’-folk rowed;
    Swiftly went   |   the warrior-laden
    Fleet of the ruler   |   forth from the land.

29. So did it sound,   |   when together the sisters
    Of Kolga struck   |   with the keels full long,
    As if cliffs were broken   |   with beating surf,
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

30. Helgi bade higher   |   hoist the sails,
    Nor did the ships’-folk   |   shun the waves,
    Though dreadfully   |   did Ægir’s daughters
    Seek the steeds   |   of the sea to sink.

31. But from above   |   did Sigrun brave
    Aid the men   |   and all their faring;
    Mightily came   |   from the claws of Ron
    The leader’s sea-beast   |   off Gnipalund.

32. At evening there   |   in Unavagar
    Floated the fleet   |   bedecked full fair;
    But they who saw   |   from Svarin’s hill,
    Bitter at heart   |   the host beheld.

33. Then Gothmund asked,   |   goodly of birth,
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    “Who is the monarch   |   who guides the host,
    And to the land   |   the warriors leads?”

34. Sinfjotli answered,   |   and up on an oar
    Raised a shield all red   |   with golden rim;
    A sea-sentry was he,   |   skilled to speak,
    And in words with princes   |   well to strive.

35. “Say tonight   |   when you feed the swine,
    And send your bitches   |   to seek their swill,
    That out of the East   |   have the Ylfings come,
    Greedy for battle,   |   to Gnipalund.

36. “There will Hothbrodd   |   Helgi find,
    In the midst of the fleet,   |   and flight he scorns;
    Often has he   |   the eagles gorged,
    Whilst thou at the quern   |   wert slave-girls kissing.”


Gothmund spake:


37. “Hero, the ancient   |   sayings heed,
    And bring not lies   |   to the nobly born.
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

38. “Thou hast eaten   |   the entrails of wolves,
    And of thy brothers   |   the slayer been;
    Oft wounds to suck   |   thy cold mouth sought,
    And loathed in rocky   |   dens didst lurk.”


Sinfjotli spake:


39. “A witch in Varin’s   |   isle thou wast,
    A woman false,   |   and lies didst fashion;
    Of the mail-clad heroes   |   thou wouldst have
    No other, thou saidst,   |   save Sinfjotli only.

40. “A Valkyrie wast thou,   |   loathly witch,
    Evil and base,   |   in Allfather’s home;
    The warriors all   |   must ever fight,
    Woman subtle,   |   for sake of thee.

41. “.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    Nine did we   |   in Sogunes
    Of wolf-cubs have;   |   I their father was.”


Gothmund spake:


42. “Thou didst not father   |   Fenrir’s-wolves,
    Though older thou art   |   than all I know;
    For they gelded thee   |   in Gnipalund,
    The giant-women   |   at Thorsnes once.

43. “Under houses the stepson   |   of Siggeir lay,
    Fain of the wolf’s cry   |   out in the woods;
    Evil came then   |   all to thy hands,
    When thy brothers’   |   breasts thou didst redden,
    Fame didst thou win   |   for foulest deeds.

44. “In Bravoll wast thou   |   Grani’s bride,
    Golden-bitted   |   and ready to gallop;
    I rode thee many   |   a mile, and down
    Didst sink, thou giantess,   |   under the saddle.”


Sinfjotli spake:


45. “A brainless fellow   |   didst seem to be,
    When once for Gollnir   |   goats didst milk,
    And another time   |   when as Imth’s daughter
    In rags thou wentest;   |   wilt longer wrangle?”


Gothmund spake:


46. “Sooner would I   |   at Frekastein
    Feed the ravens   |   with flesh of thine
    Than send your bitches   |   to seek their swill,
    Or feed the swine;   |   may the fiends take you!”


Helgi spake:


47. “Better, Sinfjotli,   |   thee ’twould beseem
    Battle to give   |   and eagles to gladden,
    Than vain and empty   |   words to utter,
    Though ring-breakers oft   |   in speech do wrangle.

48. “Good I find not   |   the sons of Granmar,
    But for heroes ’tis seemly   |   the truth to speak;
    At Moinsheimar   |   proved the men
    That hearts for the wielding   |   of swords they had.”

49. Mightily then   |   they made to run
    Sviputh and Sveggjuth   |   to Solheimar;
    (By dewy dales   |   and chasms dark,
    Mist’s horse shook   |   where the men went by;)
    The king they found   |   at his courtyard gate,
    And told him the foeman   |   fierce was come.

50. Forth stood Hothbrodd,   |   helmed for battle,
    Watched the riding   |   of his warriors;
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    “Why are the Hniflungs   |   white with fear?”


Gothmund spake:


51. “Swift keels lie   |   hard by the land,
    (Mast-ring harts   |   and mighty yards,
    Wealth of shields   |   and well-planed oars;)
    The king’s fair host,   |   the Ylfings haughty;
    Fifteen bands   |   to land have fared,
    But out in Sogn   |   are seven thousand.

52. “At anchor lying   |   off Gnipalund
    Are fire-beasts black,   |   all fitted with gold;
    There wait most   |   of the foeman’s men,
    Nor will Helgi long   |   the battle delay.”


Hothbrodd spake:


53. “Bid the horses run   |   to the Reginthing,
    Melnir and Mylnir   |   to Myrkwood now,
    (And Sporvitnir   |   to Sparinsheith;)
    Let no man seek   |   henceforth to sit
    Who the flame of wounds   |   knows well to wield.

54. “Summon Hogni,   |   the sons of Hring,
    Atli and Yngvi   |   and Alf the Old;
    Glad they are   |   of battle ever;
    Against the Volsungs   |   let us go.”

55. Swift as a storm   |   there smote together
    The flashing blades   |   at Frekastein;
    Ever was Helgi,   |   Hunding’s slayer,
    First in the throng   |   where warriors fought;
    (Fierce in battle,   |   slow to fly,
    Hard the heart   |   of the hero was.)

56. From heaven there came   |   the maidens helmed,—
    The weapon-clang grew,—   |   who watched o’er the king;
    Spake Sigrun fair,—   |   the wound-givers flew,
    And the horse of the giantess   |   raven’s-food had:—

57. “Hail to thee, hero!   |   full happy with men,
    Offspring of Yngvi,   |   shalt ever live,
    For thou the fearless   |   foe hast slain
    Who to many the dread   |   of death had brought.

58. “Warrior, well   |   for thyself hast won
    Red rings bright   |   and the noble bride;
    Both now, warrior,   |   thine shall be,
    Hogni’s daughter   |   and Hringstathir,
    Wealth and triumph;   |   the battle wanes.”

# HELGAKVITHA HUNDINGSBANA I

HELGAKVITHA HUNDINGSBANA II

THE SECOND LAY OF HELGI HUNDINGSBANE


King Sigmund, the son of Volsung, had as wife Borghild, from Bralund.
They named their son Helgi, after Helgi Hjorvarthsson; Hagal was
Helgi’s foster-father. Hunding was the name of a powerful king, and
Hundland is named from him. He was a mighty warrior, and had many sons
with him on his campaigns. There was enmity and strife between these
two, King Hunding and King Sigmund, and each slew the other’s kinsmen.
King Sigmund and his family were called Volsungs and Ylfings.

Helgi went as a spy to the home of King Hunding in disguise. Hæming, a
son of King Hunding’s, was at home. When Helgi went forth, then he met
a young herdsman, and said:


1.  “Say to Hæming   |   that Helgi knows
    Whom the heroes   |   in armor hid;
    A gray wolf had they   |   within their hall,
    Whom King Hunding   |   Hamal thought.”


Hamal was the name of Hagal’s son. King Hunding sent men to Hagal to
seek Helgi, and Helgi could not save himself in any other way, so he
put on the clothes of a bond-woman and set to work at the mill. They
sought Helgi but found him not.


2.  Then Blind spake out,   |   the evil-minded:
    “Of Hagal’s bond-woman   |   bright are the eyes;
    Yon comes not of churls   |   who stands at the quern;
    The millstones break,   |   the boards are shattered.

3.  “The hero has   |   a doom full hard,
    That barley now   |   he needs must grind;
    Better befits   |   his hand to feel
    The hilt of the sword   |   than the millstone’s handle.”


Hagal answered and said:


4.  “Small is the wonder   |   if boards are splintered;
    By a monarch’s daughter   |   the mill is turned;
    Once through clouds   |   she was wont to ride,
    And battles fought   |   like fighting men,
    (Till Helgi a captive   |   held her fast;
    Sister she is   |   of Sigar and Hogni,
    Thus bright are the eyes   |   of the Ylfings’ maid.)”


Helgi escaped and went to a fighting ship. He slew King Hunding, and
thenceforth was called Helgi Hundingsbane.





(II)

He lay with his host in Brunavagar, and they had there a
strand-slaughtering, and ate the flesh raw. Hogni was the name of a
king. His daughter was Sigrun; she was a Valkyrie and rode air and
water; she was Svava reborn. Sigrun rode to Helgi’s ship and said:


5.  “Who rules the ship   |   by the shore so steep?
    Where is the home   |   ye warriors have?
    Why do ye bide   |   in Brunavagar,
    Or what the way   |   that ye wish to try?”


Helgi spake:


6.  “Hamal’s the ship   |   by the shore so steep,
    Our home in Hlesey   |   do we have;
    For fair wind bide we   |   in Brunavagar,
    Eastward the way   |   that we wish to try.”


Sigrun spake:


7.  “Where hast thou, warrior,   |   battle wakened,
    Or gorged the birds   |   of the sisters of Guth?
    Why is thy byrnie   |   spattered with blood,
    Why helmed dost feast   |   on food uncooked?”


Helgi spake:


8.  “Latest of all,   |   the Ylfings’ son
    On the western sea,   |   if know thou wilt,
    Captured bears   |   in Bragalund,
    And fed the eagles   |   with edge of sword.
    Now is it shown   |   why our shirts are bloody,
    And little our food   |   with fire is cooked.”


Sigrun spake:


9.  “Of battle thou tellest,   |   and there was bent
    Hunding the king   |   before Helgi down;
    There was carnage when thou   |   didst avenge thy kin,
    And blood flowed fast   |   on the blade of the sword.”


Helgi spake:


10. “How didst thou know   |   that now our kin,
    Maiden wise,   |   we have well avenged?
    Many there are   |   of the sons of the mighty
    Who share alike   |   our lofty race.”


Sigrun spake:


11. “Not far was I   |   from the lord of the folk,
    Yester morn,   |   when the monarch was slain;
    Though crafty the son   |   of Sigmund, methinks,
    When he speaks of the fight   |   in slaughter-runes.

12. “On the long-ship once   |   I saw thee well,
    When in the blood-stained   |   bow thou wast,
    (And round thee icy   |   waves were raging;)
    Now would the hero   |   hide from me,
    But to Hogni’s daughter   |   is Helgi known.”





(III)

Granmar was the name of a mighty king, who dwelt at Svarin’s hill. He
had many sons; one was named Hothbrodd, another Gothmund, a third
Starkath. Hothbrodd was in a kings’ meeting, and he won the promise of
having Sigrun, Hogni’s daughter, for his wife. But when she heard this,
she rode with the Valkyries over air and sea to seek Helgi. Helgi was
then at Logafjoll, and had fought with Hunding’s sons; there he killed
Alf and Eyolf, Hjorvarth and Hervarth. He was all weary with battle,
and sat under the eagle-stone. There Sigrun found him, and ran to throw
her arms about his neck, and kissed him, and told him her tidings, as
is set forth in the old Volsung lay:


13. Sigrun the joyful   |   chieftain sought,
    Forthwith Helgi’s   |   hand she took;
    She greeted the hero   |   helmed and kissed him,
    The warrior’s heart   |   to the woman turned.

14. From her heart the daughter   |   of Hogni spake,
    Dear was Helgi,   |   she said, to her;
    “Long with all   |   my heart I loved
    Sigmund’s son   |   ere ever I saw him.

15. “At the meeting to Hothbrodd   |   mated I was,
    But another hero   |   I fain would have;
    Though, king, the wrath   |   of my kin I fear,
    Since I broke my father’s   |   fairest wish.”


Helgi spake:


16. “Fear not ever   |   Hogni’s anger,
    Nor yet thy kinsmen’s   |   cruel wrath;
    Maiden, thou   |   with me shalt live,
    Thy kindred, fair one,   |   I shall not fear.”





(IV)

Helgi then assembled a great sea-host and went to Frekastein. On the
sea he met a perilous storm; lightning flashed overhead and the bolts
struck the ship. They saw in the air that nine Valkyries were riding,
and recognized Sigrun among them. Then the storm abated, and they came
safe and sound to land. Granmar’s sons sat on a certain mountain as the
ships sailed toward the land. Gothmund leaped on a horse and rode for
news to a promontory near the harbor; the Volsungs were even then
lowering their sails. Then Gothmund said, as is written before in the
Helgi lay:


    “Who is the king   |   who captains the fleet,
    And to the land   |   the warriors leads?”


Sinfjotli, Sigmund’s son, answered him, and that too is written.

Gothmund rode home with his tidings of the host; then Granmar’s sons
summoned an army. Many kings came there; there were Hogni, Sigrun’s
father, and his sons Bragi and Dag. There was a great battle, and all
Granmar’s sons were slain and all their allies; only Dag, Hogni’s son,
was spared, and he swore loyalty to the Volsungs. Sigrun went among the
dead and found Hothbrodd at the coming of death. She said:


17. “Never shall Sigrun   |   from Sevafjoll,
    Hothbrodd king,   |   be held in thine arms;
    Granmar’s sons   |   full cold have grown,
    And the giant-steeds gray   |   on corpses gorge.”


Then she sought out Helgi, and was full of joy. He said:


18. “Maid, not fair   |   is all thy fortune,
    The Norns I blame   |   that this should be;
    This morn there fell   |   at Frekastein
    Bragi and Hogni   |   beneath my hand.

19. “At Hlebjorg fell   |   the sons of Hrollaug,
    Starkath the king   |   at Styrkleifar;
    Fighters more noble   |   saw I never,
    The body fought when   |   the head had fallen.

20. “On the ground full low   |   the slain are lying,
    Most are there   |   of the men of thy race;
    Nought hast thou won,   |   for thy fate it was
    Brave men to bring   |   to the battle-field.”


Then Sigrun wept.   |   Helgi said:


21. “Grieve not, Sigrun,   |   the battle is gained,
      The fighter can shun not his fate.”


Sigrun spake:


    “To life would I call   |   them who slaughtered lie,
      If safe on thy breast I might be.”





(V)

This Gothmund the son of Granmar spoke:


22. “What hero great   |   is guiding the ships?
    A golden flag   |   on the stem he flies;
    I find not peace   |   in the van of your faring,
    And round the fighters   |   is battle-light red.”


Sinfjotli spake:


23. “Here may Hothbrodd   |   Helgi find,
    The hater of flight,   |   in the midst of the fleet;
    The home of all   |   thy race he has,
    And over the realm   |   of the fishes he rules.”


Gothmund spake:


24. “First shall swords   |   at Frekastein
    Prove our worth   |   in place of words;
    Time is it, Hothbrodd,   |   vengeance to have,
    If in battle worsted   |   once we were.”


Sinfjotli spake:


25. “Better, Gothmund,   |   to tend the goats,
    And climb the rocks   |   of the mountain cliffs;
    A hazel switch   |   to hold in thy hand
    More seemly were   |   than the hilt of a sword.”


Helgi spake:


26. “Better, Sinfjotli,   |   thee ’twould beseem
    Battles to give,   |   and eagles to gladden,
    Than vain and empty   |   speech to utter,
    Though warriors oft   |   with words do strive.

27. “Good I find not   |   the sons of Granmar,
    But for heroes ’tis seemly   |   the truth to speak;
    At Moinsheimar   |   proved the men
    That hearts for the wielding   |   of swords they had,
    (And ever brave   |   the warriors are.)”





(VI)

Helgi took Sigrun to wife, and they had sons. Helgi did not reach old
age. Dag, the son of Hogni, offered sacrifice to Othin to be avenged
for his father’s death; Othin gave Dag his spear. Dag found Helgi, his
brother-in-law, at a place which is called Fjoturlund. He thrust the
spear through Helgi’s body. Then Helgi fell, and Dag rode to Sevafjoll
and told Sigrun the tidings:


28. “Sad am I, sister,   |   sorrow to tell thee,
    Woe to my kin   |   unwilling I worked;
    In the morn there fell   |   at Fjoturlund
    The noblest prince   |   the world has known,
    (And his heel he set   |   on the heroes’ necks.)”


Sigrun spake:


29. “Now may every   |   oath thee bite
    That with Helgi   |   sworn thou hast,
    By the water   |   bright of Leipt,
    And the ice-cold   |   stone of Uth.

30. “The ship shall sail not   |   in which thou sailest,
    Though a favoring wind   |   shall follow after;
    The horse shall run not   |   whereon thou ridest,
    Though fain thou art   |   thy foe to flee.

31. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    “The sword shall bite not   |   which thou bearest,
    Till thy head itself   |   it sings about.

32. “Vengeance were mine   |   for Helgi’s murder,
    Wert thou a wolf   |   in the woods without,
    Possessing nought   |   and knowing no joy,
    Having no food   |   save corpses to feed on.”


Dag spake:


33. “Mad art thou, sister,   |   and wild of mind,
    Such a curse   |   on thy brother to cast;
    Othin is ruler   |   of every ill,
    Who sunders kin   |   with runes of spite.

34. “Thy brother rings   |   so red will give thee,
    All Vandilsve   |   and Vigdalir;
    Take half my land   |   to pay the harm,
    Ring-decked maid,   |   and as meed for thy sons.”


Sigrun spake:


35. “I shall sit not happy   |   at Sevafjoll,
    Early or late,   |   my life to love,
    If the light cannot show,   |   in the leader’s band,
    Vigblær bearing him   |   back to his home,
    (The golden-bitted;   |   I shall greet him never.)

36. “Such the fear   |   that Helgi’s foes
    Ever felt,   |   and all their kin,
    As makes the goats   |   with terror mad
    Run from the wolf   |   among the rocks.

37. “Helgi rose   |   above heroes all
    Like the lofty ash   |   above lowly thorns,
    Or the noble stag,   |   with dew besprinkled,
    Bearing his head   |   above all beasts,
    (And his horns gleam bright   |   to heaven itself.)”


A hill was made in Helgi’s memory. And when he came to Valhall, then
Othin bade him rule over everything with himself.





(VII)

Helgi said:


38. “Thou shalt, Hunding,   |   of every hero
    Wash the feet,   |   and kindle the fire,
    Tie up dogs,   |   and tend the horses,
    And feed the swine   |   ere to sleep thou goest.”





(VIII)

One of Sigrun’s maidens went one evening to Helgi’s hill, and saw that
Helgi rode to the hill with many men. The maiden said:


39. “Is this a dream   |   that methinks I see,
    Or the doom of the gods,   |   that dead men ride,
    And hither spurring   |   urge your steeds,
    Or is home-coming now   |   to the heroes granted?”


Helgi spake:


40. “No dream is this   |   that thou thinkest to see,
    Nor the end of the world,   |   though us thou beholdest,
    And hither spurring   |   we urge our steeds,
    Nor is home-coming now   |   to the heroes granted.”


The maiden went home and said to Sigrun:


41. “Go forth, Sigrun,   |   from Sevafjoll,
    If fain the lord   |   of the folk wouldst find;
    (The hill is open,   |   Helgi is come;)
    The sword-tracks bleed;   |   the monarch bade
    That thou his wounds   |   shouldst now make well.”


Sigrun went in the hill to Helgi, and said:


42. “Now am I glad   |   of our meeting together,
    As Othin’s hawks,   |   so eager for prey,
    When slaughter and flesh   |   all warm they scent,
    Or dew-wet see   |   the red of day.

43. “First will I kiss   |   the lifeless king,
    Ere off the bloody   |   byrnie thou cast;
    With frost thy hair   |   is heavy, Helgi,
    And damp thou art   |   with the dew of death;
    (Ice-cold hands   |   has Hogni’s kinsman,
    What, prince, can I   |   to bring thee ease?)”


Helgi spake:


44. “Thou alone, Sigrun   |   of Sevafjoll,
    Art cause that Helgi   |   with dew is heavy;
    Gold-decked maid,   |   thy tears are grievous,
    (Sun-bright south-maid,   |   ere thou sleepest;)
    Each falls like blood   |   on the hero’s breast,
    (Burned-out, cold,   |   and crushed with care.)

45. “Well shall we drink   |   a noble draught,
    Though love and lands   |   are lost to me;
    No man a song   |   of sorrow shall sing,
    Though bleeding wounds   |   are on my breast;
    Now in the hill   |   our brides we hold,
    The heroes’ loves,   |   by their husbands dead.”


Sigrun made ready a bed in the hill.


46. “Here a bed   |   I have made for thee, Helgi,
    To rest thee from care,   |   thou kin of the Ylfings;
    I will make thee sink   |   to sleep in my arms,
    As once I lay   |   with the living king.”


Helgi spake:


47. “Now do I say   |   that in Sevafjoll
    Aught may happen,   |   early or late,
    Since thou sleepest clasped   |   in a corpse’s arms,
    So fair in the hill,   |   the daughter of Hogni!
    (Living thou comest,   |   a daughter of kings.)

48. “Now must I ride   |   the reddened ways,
    And my bay steed set   |   to tread the sky;
    Westward I go   |   to wind-helm’s bridges,
    Ere Salgofnir wakes   |   the warrior throng.”


Then Helgi and his followers rode on their way, and the women went home
to the dwelling. Another evening Sigrun bade the maiden keep watch at
the hill. And at sunset when Sigrun came to the hill she said:


49. “Now were he come,   |   if come he might,
    Sigmund’s son,   |   from Othin’s seat;
    Hope grows dim   |   of the hero’s return
    When eagles sit   |   on the ash-tree boughs,
    And men are seeking   |   the meeting of dreams.”


The Maiden said:


50. “Mad thou wouldst seem   |   alone to seek,
    Daughter of heroes,   |   the house of the dead;
    For mightier now   |   at night are all
    The ghosts of the dead   |   than when day is bright.”


Sigrun was early dead of sorrow and grief. It was believed in olden
times that people were born again, but that is now called old wives’
folly. Of Helgi and Sigrun it is said that they were born again; he
became Helgi Haddingjaskati, and she Kara the daughter of Halfdan, as
is told in the Lay of Kara, and she was a Valkyrie.






FRA DAUTHA SINFJOTLA

OF SINFJOTLI’S DEATH

# GRIPISSPO

GRIPISSPO

GRIPIR’S PROPHECY



Gripir was the name of Eylimi’s son, the brother of Hjordis; he ruled
over lands and was of all men the wisest and most forward-seeing.
Sigurth once was riding alone and came to Gripir’s hall. Sigurth was
easy to recognize; he found out in front of the hall a man whose name
was Geitir. Then Sigurth questioned him and asked:


1.  “Who is it has   |   this dwelling here,
    Or what do men call   |   the people’s king?”


Geitir spake:


    “Gripir the name   |   of the chieftain good
    Who holds the folk   |   and the firm-ruled land.”


Sigurth spake:


2.  “Is the king all-knowing   |   now within,
    Will the monarch come   |   with me to speak?
    A man unknown   |   his counsel needs,
    And Gripir fain   |   I soon would find.”


Geitir spake:


3.  “The ruler glad   |   of Geitir will ask
    Who seeks with Gripir   |   speech to have.”


Sigurth spake:


    “Sigurth am I,   |   and Sigmund’s son,
    And Hjordis the name   |   of the hero’s mother.”

4.  Then Geitir went   |   and to Gripir spake:
    “A stranger comes   |   and stands without;
    Lofty he is   |   to look upon,
    And, prince, thyself   |   he fain would see.”

5.  From the hall the ruler   |   of heroes went,
    And greeted well   |   the warrior come:
    “Sigurth, welcome   |   long since had been thine;
    Now, Geitir, shalt thou   |   Grani take.”

6.  Then of many   |   things they talked,
    When thus the men   |   so wise had met.


Sigurth spake:


    “To me, if thou knowest,   |   my mother’s brother,
    Say what life   |   will Sigurth’s be.”


Gripir spake:


7.  “Of men thou shalt be   |   on earth the mightiest,
    And higher famed   |   than all the heroes;
    Free of gold-giving,   |   slow to flee,
    Noble to see,   |   and sage in speech.”


Sigurth spake:


8.  “Monarch wise,   |   now more I ask;
    To Sigurth say,   |   if thou thinkest to see,
    What first will chance   |   of my fortune fair,
    When hence I go   |   from out thy home?”


Gripir spake:


9.  “First shalt thou, prince,   |   thy father avenge,
    And Eylimi,   |   their ills requiting;
    The hardy sons   |   of Hunding thou
    Soon shalt fell,   |   and victory find.”


Sigurth spake:


10. “Noble king,   |   my kinsman, say
    Thy meaning true,   |   for our minds we speak:
    For Sigurth mighty   |   deeds dost see,
    The highest beneath   |   the heavens all?”


Gripir spake:


11. “The fiery dragon   |   alone thou shalt fight
    That greedy lies   |   at Gnitaheith;
    Thou shalt be of Regin   |   and Fafnir both
    The slayer; truth   |   doth Gripir tell thee.”


Sigurth spake:


12. “Rich shall I be   |   if battles I win
    With such as these,   |   as now thou sayest;
    Forward look,   |   and further tell:
    What the life   |   that I shall lead?”


Gripir spake:


13. “Fafnir’s den   |   thou then shalt find,
    And all his treasure   |   fair shalt take;
    Gold shalt heap   |   on Grani’s back,
    And, proved in fight,   |   to Gjuki fare.”


Sigurth spake:


14. “To the warrior now   |   in words so wise,
    Monarch noble,   |   more shalt tell;
    I am Gjuki’s guest,   |   and thence I go:
    What the life   |   that I shall lead?”


Gripir spake:


15. “On the rocks there sleeps   |   the ruler’s daughter,
    Fair in armor,   |   since Helgi fell;
    Thou shalt cut   |   with keen-edged sword,
    And cleave the byrnie   |   with Fafnir’s killer.”


Sigurth spake:


16. “The mail-coat is broken,   |   the maiden speaks,
    The woman who   |   from sleep has wakened;
    What says the maid   |   to Sigurth then
    That happy fate   |   to the hero brings?”


Gripir spake:


17. “Runes to the warrior   |   will she tell,
    All that men   |   may ever seek,
    And teach thee to speak   |   in all men’s tongues,
    And life with health;   |   thou’rt happy, king!”


Sigurth spake:


18. “Now is it ended,   |   the knowledge is won,
    And ready I am   |   forth thence to ride;
    Forward look   |   and further tell:
    What the life   |   that I shall lead?”


Gripir spake:


19. “Then to Heimir’s   |   home thou comest,
    And glad shalt be   |   the guest of the king;
    Ended, Sigurth,   |   is all I see,
    No further aught   |   of Gripir ask.”


Sigurth spake:


20. “Sorrow brings me   |   the word thou sayest,
    For, monarch, forward   |   further thou seest;
    Sad the grief   |   for Sigurth thou knowest,
    Yet nought to me, Gripir,   |   known wilt make.”


Gripir spake:


21. “Before me lay   |   in clearest light
    All of thy youth   |   for mine eyes to see;
    Not rightly can I   |   wise be called,
    Nor forward-seeing;   |   my wisdom is fled.”


Sigurth spake:


22. “No man, Gripir,   |   on earth I know
    Who sees the future   |   as far as thou;
    Hide thou nought,   |   though hard it be,
    And base the deeds   |   that I shall do.”


Gripir spake:


23. “With baseness never   |   thy life is burdened,
    Hero noble,   |   hold that sure;
    Lofty as long   |   as the world shall live,
    Battle-bringer,   |   thy name shall be.”


Sigurth spake:


24. “Nought could seem worse,   |   but now must part
    The prince and Sigurth,   |   since so it is;
    My road I ask,—   |   the future lies open,—
    Mighty one, speak,   |   my mother’s brother.”


Gripir spake:


25. “Now to Sigurth   |   all shall I say,
    For to this the warrior   |   bends my will;
    Thou knowest well   |   that I will not lie,—
    A day there is   |   when thy death is doomed.”


Sigurth spake:


26. “No scorn I know   |   for the noble king,
    But counsel good   |   from Gripir I seek;
    Well will I know,   |   though evil awaits,
    What Sigurth may   |   before him see.”


Gripir spake:


27. “A maid in Heimir’s   |   home there dwells,
    Brynhild her name   |   to men is known,
    Daughter of Buthli,   |   the doughty king,
    And Heimir fosters   |   the fearless maid.”


Sigurth spake:


28. “What is it to me,   |   though the maiden be
    So fair, and of Heimir   |   the fosterling is?
    Gripir, truth   |   to me shalt tell,
    For all of fate   |   before me thou seest.”


Gripir spake:


29. “Of many a joy   |   the maiden robs thee,
    Fair to see,   |   whom Heimir fosters;
    Sleep thou shalt find not,   |   feuds thou shalt end not,
    Nor seek out men,   |   if the maid thou seest not.”


Sigurth spake:


30. “What may be had   |   for Sigurth’s healing?
    Say now, Gripir,   |   if see thou canst;
    May I buy the maid   |   with the marriage-price,
    The daughter fair   |   of the chieftain famed?”


Gripir spake:


31. “Ye twain shall all   |   the oaths then swear
    That bind full fast;   |   few shall ye keep;
    One night when Gjuki’s   |   guest thou hast been,
    Will Heimir’s fosterling   |   fade from thy mind.”


Sigurth spake:


32. “What sayst thou, Gripir?   |   give me the truth,
    Does fickleness hide   |   in the hero’s heart?
    Can it be that troth   |   I break with the maid,
    With her I believed   |   I loved so dear?”


Gripir spake:


33. “Tricked by another,   |   prince, thou art,
    And the price of Grimhild’s   |   wiles thou must pay;
    Fain of thee   |   for the fair-haired maid,
    Her daughter, she is,   |   and she drags thee down.”


Sigurth spake:


34. “Might I with Gunnar   |   kinship make,
    And Guthrun win   |   to be my wife,
    Well the hero   |   wedded would be,
    If my treacherous deed   |   would trouble me not.”


Gripir spake:


35. “Wholly Grimhild   |   thy heart deceives,
    She will bid thee go   |   and Brynhild woo
    For Gunnar’s wife,   |   the lord of the Goths;
    And the prince’s mother   |   thy promise shall win.”


Sigurth spake:


36. “Evil waits me,   |   well I see it,
    And gone is Sigurth’s   |   wisdom good,
    If I shall woo   |   for another to win
    The maiden fair   |   that so fondly I loved.”


Gripir spake:


37. “Ye three shall all   |   the oaths then take,
    Gunnar and Hogni,   |   and, hero, thou;
    Your forms ye shall change,   |   as forth ye fare,
    Gunnar and thou;   |   for Gripir lies not.”


Sigurth spake:


38. “How meanest thou?   |   Why make we the change
    Of shape and form   |   as forth we fare?
    There must follow   |   another falsehood
    Grim in all ways;   |   speak on, Gripir!”


Gripir spake:


39. “The form of Gunnar   |   and shape thou gettest,
    But mind and voice   |   thine own remain;
    The hand of the fosterling   |   noble of Heimir
    Now dost thou win,   |   and none can prevent.”


Sigurth spake:


40. “Most evil it seems,   |   and men will say
    Base is Sigurth   |   that so he did;
    Not of my will   |   shall I cheat with wiles
    The heroes’ maiden   |   whom noblest I hold.”


Gripir spake:


41. “Thou dwellest, leader   |   lofty of men,
    With the maid as if   |   thy mother she were;
    Lofty as long   |   as the world shall live,
    Ruler of men,   |   thy name shall remain.”


Sigurth spake:


42. “Shall Gunnar have   |   a goodly wife,
    Famed among men,—   |   speak forth now, Gripir!
    Although at my side   |   three nights she slept,
    The warrior’s bride?   |   Such ne’er has been.”


Gripir spake:


43. “The marriage draught   |   will be drunk for both,
    For Sigurth and Gunnar,   |   in Gjuki’s hall;
    Your forms ye change,   |   when home ye fare,
    But the mind of each   |   to himself remains.”


Sigurth spake:


44. “Shall the kinship new   |   thereafter come
    To good among us?   |   Tell me, Gripir!
    To Gunnar joy   |   shall it later give,
    Or happiness send   |   for me myself?”


Gripir spake:


45. “Thine oaths remembering,   |   silent thou art,
    And dwellest with Guthrun   |   in wedlock good;
    But Brynhild shall deem   |   she is badly mated,
    And wiles she seeks,   |   herself to avenge.”


Sigurth spake:


46. “What may for the bride   |   requital be,
    The wife we won   |   with subtle wiles?
    From me she has   |   the oaths I made,
    And kept not long;   |   they gladdened her little.”


Gripir spake:


47. “To Gunnar soon   |   his bride will say
    That ill didst thou   |   thine oath fulfill,
    When the goodly king,   |   the son of Gjuki,
    With all his heart   |   the hero trusted.”


Sigurth spake:


48. “What sayst thou, Gripir?   |   give me the truth!
    Am I guilty so   |   as now is said,
    Or lies does the far-famed   |   queen put forth
    Of me and herself?   |   Yet further speak.”


Gripir spake:


49. “In wrath and grief   |   full little good
    The noble bride   |   shall work thee now;
    No shame thou gavest   |   the goodly one,
    Though the monarch’s wife   |   with wiles didst cheat.”


Sigurth spake:


50. “Shall Gunnar the wise   |   to the woman’s words,
    And Gotthorm and Hogni,   |   then give heed?
    Shall Gjuki’s sons,   |   now tell me, Gripir,
    Redden their blades   |   with their kinsman’s blood?”


Gripir spake:


51. “Heavy it lies   |   on Guthrun’s heart,
    When her brothers all   |   shall bring thee death;
    Never again   |   shall she happiness know,
    The woman so fair;   |   ’tis Grimhild’s work.”


Sigurth spake:


52. “Now fare thee well!   |   our fates we shun not;
    And well has Gripir   |   answered my wish;
    More of joy   |   to me wouldst tell
    Of my life to come   |   if so thou couldst.”


Gripir spake:


53. “Ever remember,   |   ruler of men,
    That fortune lies   |   in the hero’s life;
    A nobler man   |   shall never live
    Beneath the sun   |   than Sigurth shall seem.”

# REGINSMOL

REGINSMOL

THE BALLAD OF REGIN



Sigurth went to Hjalprek’s stud and chose for himself a horse, who
thereafter was called Grani. At that time Regin, the son of Hreithmar,
was come to Hjalprek’s home; he was more ingenious than all other men,
and a dwarf in stature; he was wise, fierce and skilled in magic. Regin
undertook Sigurth’s bringing up and teaching, and loved him much. He
told Sigurth of his forefathers, and also of this: that once Othin and
Hönir and Loki had come to Andvari’s waterfall, and in the fall were
many fish. Andvari was a dwarf, who had dwelt long in the waterfall in
the shape of a pike, and there he got his food. “Otr was the name of a
brother of ours,” said Regin, “who often went into the fall in the
shape of an otter; he had caught a salmon, and sat on the high bank
eating it with his eyes shut. Loki threw a stone at him and killed him;
the gods thought they had had great good luck, and stripped the skin
off the otter. That same evening they sought a night’s lodging at
Hreithmar’s house, and showed their booty. Then we seized them, and
told them, as ransom for their lives, to fill the otter skin with gold,
and completely cover it outside as well with red gold. Then they sent
Loki to get the gold; he went to Ron and got her net, and went then to
Andvari’s fall and cast the net in front of the pike, and the pike
leaped into the net.” Then Loki said:


1.  “What is the fish   |   that runs in the flood,
      And itself from ill cannot save?
    If thy head thou wouldst   |   from hell redeem,
      Find me the water’s flame.”


Andvari spake:


2.  “Andvari am I,   |   and Oin my father,
      In many a fall have I fared;
    An evil Norn   |   in olden days
      Doomed me in waters to dwell.”


Loki spake:


3.  “Andvari, say,   |   if thou seekest still
      To live in the land of men,
    What payment is set   |   for the sons of men
      Who war with lying words?”


Andvari spake:


4.  “A mighty payment   |   the men must make
      Who in Vathgelmir’s waters wade;
    On a long road lead   |   the lying words
      That one to another utters.”


Loki saw all the gold that Andvari had. But when he had brought forth
all the gold, he held back one ring, and Loki took this from him. The
dwarf went into his rocky hole and said:


5.  “Now shall the gold   |   that Gust once had
    Bring their death   |   to brothers twain,
    And evil be   |   for heroes eight;
    Joy of my wealth   |   shall no man win.”


The gods gave Hreithmar the gold, and filled up the otter-skin, and
stood it on its feet. Then the gods had to heap up gold and hide it.
And when that was done, Hreithmar came forward and saw a single
whisker, and bade them cover it. Then Othin brought out the ring
Andvaranaut and covered the hair. Then Loki said:


6.  “The gold is given,   |   and great the price
      Thou hast my head to save;
    But fortune thy sons   |   shall find not there,
      The bane of ye both it is.”


Hreithmar spake:


7.  “Gifts ye gave,   |   but ye gave not kindly,
      Gave not with hearts that were whole;
    Your lives ere this   |   should ye all have lost,
      If sooner this fate I had seen.”


Loki spake:


8.  “Worse is this   |   that methinks I see,
      For a maid shall kinsmen clash;
    Heroes unborn   |   thereby shall be,
      I deem, to hatred doomed.”


Hreithmar spake:


9.  “The gold so red   |   shall I rule, methinks,
      So long as I shall live;
    Nought of fear   |   for thy threats I feel,
      So get ye hence to your homes.”


Fafnir and Regin asked Hreithmar for a share of the wealth that was
paid for the slaying of their brother, Otr. This he refused, and Fafnir
thrust his sword through the body of his father, Hreithmar, while he
was sleeping. Hreithmar called to his daughters:


10. “Lyngheith and Lofnheith,   |   fled is my life,
      And mighty now is my need!”


Lyngheith spake:


    “Though a sister loses   |   her father, seldom
      Revenge on her brother she brings.”


Hreithmar spake:


11. “A daughter, woman   |   with wolf’s heart, bear,
    If thou hast no son   |   with the hero brave;
    If one weds the maid,   |   for the need is mighty,
    Their son for thy hurt   |   may vengeance seek.”


Then Hreithmar died, and Fafnir took all the gold. Thereupon Regin
asked to have his inheritance from his father, but Fafnir refused this.
Then Regin asked counsel of Lyngheith, his sister, how he should win
his inheritance. She said:


12. “In friendly wise   |   the wealth shalt thou ask
      Of thy brother, and better will;
    Not seemly is it   |   to seek with the sword
      Fafnir’s treasure to take.”


All these happenings did Regin tell to Sigurth.

One day, when he came to Regin’s house, he was gladly welcomed. Regin
said:


13. “Hither the son   |   of Sigmund is come,
    The hero eager,   |   here to our hall;
    His courage is more   |   than an ancient man’s,
    And battle I hope   |   from the hardy wolf.

14. “Here shall I foster   |   the fearless prince,
    Now Yngvi’s heir   |   to us is come;
    The noblest hero   |   beneath the sun,
    The threads of his fate   |   all lands enfold.”


Sigurth was there continually with Regin, who said to Sigurth that
Fafnir lay at Gnitaheith, and was in the shape of a dragon. He had a
fear-helm, of which all living creatures were terrified. Regin made
Sigurth the sword which was called Gram; it was so sharp that when he
thrust it down into the Rhine, and let a strand of wool drift against
it with the stream, it cleft the strand asunder as if it were water.
With this sword Sigurth cleft asunder Regin’s anvil. After that Regin
egged Sigurth on to slay Fafnir, but he said:


15. “Loud will the sons   |   of Hunding laugh,
    Who low did Eylimi   |   lay in death,
    If the hero sooner   |   seeks the red
    Rings to find   |   than his father’s vengeance.”


King Hjalprek gave Sigurth a fleet for the avenging of his father. They
ran into a great storm, and were off a certain headland. A man stood on
the mountain, and said:


16. “Who yonder rides   |   on Rævil’s steeds,
    O’er towering waves   |   and waters wild?
    The sail-horses all   |   with sweat are dripping,
    Nor can the sea-steeds   |   the gale withstand.”


Regin answered:


17. “On the sea-trees here   |   are Sigurth and I,
    The storm wind drives us   |   on to our death;
    The waves crash down   |   on the forward deck,
    And the roller-steeds sink;   |   who seeks our names?”


The Man spake:


18. “Hnikar I was   |   when Volsung once
    Gladdened the ravens   |   and battle gave;
    Call me the Man   |   from the Mountain now,
    Feng or Fjolnir;   |   with you will I fare.”


They sailed to the land, and the man went on board the ship, and the
storm subsided. Sigurth spake:


19. “Hnikar, say,   |   for thou seest the fate
      That to gods and men is given;
    What sign is fairest   |   for him who fights,
      And best for the swinging of swords?”


Hnikar spake:


20. “Many the signs,   |   if men but knew,
      That are good for the swinging of swords;
    It is well, methinks,   |   if the warrior meets
      A raven black on his road.

21. “Another it is   |   if out thou art come,
      And art ready forth to fare,
    To behold on the path   |   before thy house
      Two fighters greedy of fame.

22. “Third it is well   |   if a howling wolf
      Thou hearest under the ash;
    And fortune comes   |   if thy foe thou seest
      Ere thee the hero beholds.

23. “A man shall fight not   |   when he must face
    The moon’s bright sister   |   setting late;
    Win he shall   |   who well can see,
    And wedge-like forms   |   his men for the fray.

24. “Foul is the sign   |   if thy foot shall stumble
      As thou goest forth to fight;
    Goddesses baneful   |   at both thy sides
      Will that wounds thou shalt get.

25. “Combed and washed   |   shall the wise man go,
      And a meal at morn shall take;
    For unknown it is   |   where at eve he may be;
      It is ill thy luck to lose.”


Sigurth had a great battle with Lyngvi, the son of Hunding, and his
brothers; there Lyngvi fell, and his two brothers with him. After the
battle Regin said:


26. “Now the bloody eagle   |   with biting sword
    Is carved on the back   |   of Sigmund’s killer;
    Few were more fierce   |   in fight than his son,
    Who reddened the earth   |   and gladdened the ravens.”


Sigurth went home to Hjalprek’s house; thereupon Regin egged him on to
fight with Fafnir.

# FAFNISMOL

FAFNISMOL

THE BALLAD OF FAFNIR




Sigurth and Regin went up to the Gnitaheith, and found there the track
that Fafnir made when he crawled to water. Then Sigurth made a great
trench across the path, and took his place therein. When Fafnir crawled
from his gold, he blew out venom, and it ran down from above on
Sigurth’s head. But when Fafnir crawled over the trench, then Sigurth
thrust his sword into his body to the heart. Fafnir writhed and struck
out with his head and tail. Sigurth leaped from the trench, and each
looked at the other. Fafnir said:


1.  “Youth, oh, youth!   |   of whom then, youth, art thou born?
      Say whose son thou art,
    Who in Fafnir’s blood   |   thy bright blade reddened,
      And struck thy sword to my heart.”


Sigurth concealed his name because it was believed in olden times that
the word of a dying man might have great power if he cursed his foe by
his name. He said:


2.  “The Noble Hart   |   my name, and I go
      A motherless man abroad;
    Father I had not,   |   as others have,
      And lonely ever I live.”


Fafnir spake:


3.  “If father thou hadst not,   |   as others have,
      By what wonder wast thou born?
    (Though thy name on the day   |   of my death thou hidest,
      Thou knowest now thou dost lie.)”


Sigurth spake:


4.  “My race, methinks,   |   is unknown to thee,
      And so am I myself;
    Sigurth my name,   |   and Sigmund’s son,
      Who smote thee thus with the sword.”


Fafnir spake:


5.  “Who drove thee on?   |   why wert thou driven
      My life to make me lose?
    A father brave   |   had the bright-eyed youth,
      For bold in boyhood thou art.”


Sigurth spake:


6.  “My heart did drive me,   |   my hand fulfilled,
      And my shining sword so sharp;
    Few are keen   |   when old age comes,
      Who timid in boyhood be.”


Fafnir spake:


7.  “If thou mightest grow   |   thy friends among,
      One might see thee fiercely fight;
    But bound thou art,   |   and in battle taken,
      And to fear are prisoners prone.”


Sigurth spake:


8.  “Thou blamest me, Fafnir,   |   that I see from afar
      The wealth that my father’s was;
    Not bound am I,   |   though in battle taken,
      Thou hast found that free I live.”


Fafnir spake:


9.  “In all I say   |   dost thou hatred see,
      Yet truth alone do I tell;
    The sounding gold,   |   the glow-red wealth,
      And the rings thy bane shall be.”


Sigurth spake:


10. “Some one the hoard   |   shall ever hold,
      Till the destined day shall come;
    For a time there is   |   when every man
      Shall journey hence to hell.”


Fafnir spake:


11. “The fate of the Norns   |   before the headland
      Thou findest, and doom of a fool;
    In the water shalt drown   |   if thou row ’gainst the wind,
      All danger is near to death.”


Sigurth spake:


12. “Tell me then, Fafnir,   |   for wise thou art famed,
      And much thou knowest now:
    Who are the Norns   |   who are helpful in need,
      And the babe from the mother bring?”


Fafnir spake:


13. “Of many births   |   the Norns must be,
      Nor one in race they were;
    Some to gods, others   |   to elves are kin,
      And Dvalin’s daughters some.”


Sigurth spake:


14. “Tell me then, Fafnir,   |   for wise thou art famed,
      And much thou knowest now:
    How call they the isle   |   where all the gods
      And Surt shall sword-sweat mingle?”


Fafnir spake:


15. “Oskopnir is it,   |   where all the gods
      Shall seek the play of swords;
    Bilrost breaks   |   when they cross the bridge,
      And the steeds shall swim in the flood.

16. “The fear-helm I wore   |   to afright mankind,
      While guarding my gold I lay;
    Mightier seemed I   |   than any man,
      For a fiercer never I found.”


Sigurth spake:


17. “The fear-helm surely   |   no man shields
      When he faces a valiant foe;
    Oft one finds,   |   when the foe he meets,
      That he is not the bravest of all.”


Fafnir spake:


18. “Venom I breathed   |   when bright I lay
      By the hoard my father had;
    (There was none so mighty   |   as dared to meet me,
      And weapons nor wiles I feared.)”


Sigurth spake:


19. “Glittering worm,   |   thy hissing was great,
      And hard didst show thy heart;
    But hatred more   |   have the sons of men
      For him who owns the helm.”


Fafnir spake:


20. “I counsel thee, Sigurth,   |   heed my speech,
      And ride thou homeward hence;
    The sounding gold,   |   the glow-red wealth,
      And the rings thy bane shall be.”


Sigurth spake:


21. “Thy counsel is given,   |   but go I shall
      To the gold in the heather hidden;
    And, Fafnir, thou   |   with death dost fight,
      Lying where Hel shall have thee.”


Fafnir spake:


22. “Regin betrayed me,   |   and thee will betray,
      Us both to death will he bring;
    His life, methinks,   |   must Fafnir lose,
      For the mightier man wast thou.”


Regin had gone to a distance while Sigurth fought Fafnir, and came back
while Sigurth was wiping the blood from his sword. Regin said:


23. “Hail to thee, Sigurth!   |   Thou victory hast,
      And Fafnir in fight hast slain;
    Of all the men   |   who tread the earth,
      Most fearless art thou, methinks.”


Sigurth spake:


24. “Unknown it is,   |   when all are together,
      (The sons of the glorious gods,)
      Who bravest born shall seem;
    Some are valiant   |   who redden no sword
      In the blood of a foeman’s breast.”


Regin spake:


25. “Glad art thou, Sigurth,   |   of battle gained,
      As Gram with grass thou cleansest;
    My brother fierce   |   in fight hast slain,
      And somewhat I did myself.”


Sigurth spake:


26. “Afar didst thou go   |   while Fafnir reddened
      With his blood my blade so keen;
    With the might of the dragon   |   my strength I matched,
      While thou in the heather didst hide.”


Regin spake:


27. “Longer wouldst thou   |   in the heather have let
      Yon hoary giant hide,
    Had the weapon availed not   |   that once I forged,
      The keen-edged blade thou didst bear.”


Sigurth spake:


28. “Better is heart   |   than a mighty blade
      For him who shall fiercely fight;
    The brave man well   |   shall fight and win,
      Though dull his blade may be.

29. “Brave men better   |   than cowards be,
      When the clash of battle comes;
    And better the glad   |   than the gloomy man
      Shall face what before him lies.

30. “Thy rede it was   |   that I should ride
      Hither o’er mountains high;
    The glittering worm   |   would have wealth and life
      If thou hadst not mocked at my might.”


Then Regin went up to Fafnir and cut out his heart with his sword, that
was named Rithil, and then he drank blood from the wounds. Regin said:


31. “Sit now, Sigurth,   |   for sleep will I,
      Hold Fafnir’s heart to the fire;
    For all his heart   |   shall eaten be,
      Since deep of blood I have drunk.”


Sigurth took Fafnir’s heart and cooked it on a spit. When he thought
that it was fully cooked, and the blood foamed out of the heart, then
he tried it with his finger to see whether it was fully cooked. He
burned his finger, and put it in his mouth. But when Fafnir’s
heart’s-blood came on his tongue, he understood the speech of birds. He
heard nut-hatches chattering in the thickets. A nut-hatch said:


32. “There sits Sigurth,   |   sprinkled with blood,
    And Fafnir’s heart   |   with fire he cooks;
    Wise were the breaker   |   of rings, I ween,
    To eat the life-muscles   |   all so bright.”


A second spake:


33. “There Regin lies,   |   and plans he lays
    The youth to betray   |   who trusts him well;
    Lying words   |   with wiles will he speak,
    Till his brother the maker   |   of mischief avenges.”


A third spake:


34. “Less by a head   |   let the chatterer hoary
      Go from here to hell;
    Then all of the wealth   |   he alone can wield,
      The gold that Fafnir guarded.”


A fourth spake:


35. “Wise would he seem   |   if so he would heed
    The counsel good   |   we sisters give;
    Thought he would give,   |   and the ravens gladden,
    There is ever a wolf   |   where his ears I spy.”


A fifth spake:


36. “Less wise must be   |   the tree of battle
    Than to me would seem   |   the leader of men,
    If forth he lets   |   one brother fare,
    When he of the other   |   the slayer is.”


A sixth spake:


37. “Most foolish he seems   |   if he shall spare
      His foe, the bane of the folk;
    There Regin lies,   |   who hath wronged him so,
      Yet falsehood knows he not.”


A seventh spake:


38. “Let the head from the frost-cold   |   giant be hewed,
      And let him of rings be robbed;
    Then all the wealth   |   which Fafnir’s was
      Shall belong to thee alone.”


Sigurth spake:


39. “Not so rich a fate   |   shall Regin have
      As the tale of my death to tell;
    For soon the brothers   |   both shall die,
      And hence to hell shall go.”


Sigurth hewed off Regin’s head, and then he ate Fafnir’s heart, and
drank the blood of both Regin and Fafnir. Then Sigurth heard what the
nut-hatch said:


40. “Bind, Sigurth, the golden   |   rings together,
    Not kingly is it   |   aught to fear;
    I know a maid,   |   there is none so fair,
    Rich in gold,   |   if thou mightest get her.

41. “Green the paths   |   that to Gjuki lead,
    And his fate the way   |   to the wanderer shows;
    The doughty king   |   a daughter has,
    That thou as a bride   |   mayst, Sigurth, buy.”


Another spake:


42. “A hall stands high   |   on Hindarfjoll,
    All with flame   |   is it ringed without;
    Warriors wise   |   did make it once
    Out of the flaming   |   light of the flood.

43. “On the mountain sleeps   |   a battle-maid,
    And about her plays   |   the bane of the wood;
    Ygg with the thorn   |   hath smitten her thus,
    For she felled the fighter   |   he fain would save.

44. “There mayst thou behold   |   the maiden helmed,
    Who forth on Vingskornir   |   rode from the fight;
    The victory-bringer   |   her sleep shall break not,
    Thou heroes’ son,   |   so the Norns have set.”


Sigurth rode along Fafnir’s trail to his lair, and found it open. The
gate-posts were of iron, and the gates; of iron, too, were all the
beams in the house, which was dug down into the earth. There Sigurth
found a mighty store of gold, and he filled two chests full thereof; he
took the fear-helm and a golden mail-coat and the sword Hrotti, and
many other precious things, and loaded Grani with them, but the horse
would not go forward until Sigurth mounted on his back.

# SIGRDRIFUMOL

SIGRDRIFUMOL

THE BALLAD OF THE VICTORY-BRINGER



Sigurth rode up on Hindarfjoll and turned southward toward the land of
the Franks. On the mountain he saw a great light, as if fire were
burning, and the glow reached up to heaven. And when he came thither,
there stood a tower of shields, and above it was a banner. Sigurth went
into the shield-tower, and saw that a man lay there sleeping with all
his war-weapons. First he took the helm from his head, and then he saw
that it was a woman. The mail-coat was as fast as if it had grown to
the flesh. Then he cut the mail-coat from the head-opening downward,
and out to both the arm-holes. Then he took the mail-coat from her, and
she awoke, and sat up and saw Sigurth, and said:


1.  “What bit through the byrnie?   |   how was broken my sleep?
    Who made me free   |   of the fetters pale?”


He answered:


    “Sigmund’s son,   |   with Sigurth’s sword,
    That late with flesh   |   hath fed the ravens.”


Sigurth sat beside her and asked her name. She took a horn full of mead
and gave him a memory-draught.


2.  “Hail, day!   |   Hail, sons of day!
      And night and her daughter now!
    Look on us here   |   with loving eyes,
      That waiting we victory win.

3.  “Hail to the gods!   |   Ye goddesses, hail,
      And all the generous earth!
    Give to us wisdom   |   and goodly speech,
      And healing hands, life-long.

4.  “Long did I sleep,   |   my slumber was long,
      And long are the griefs of life;
    Othin decreed   |   that I could not break
      The heavy spells of sleep.”


Her name was Sigrdrifa, and she was a Valkyrie. She said that two kings
fought in battle; one was called Hjalmgunnar, an old man but a mighty
warrior, and Othin had promised him the victory, and


    The other was Agnar,   |   brother of Autha,
    None he found   |   who fain would shield him.


Sigrdrifa slew Hjalmgunnar in the battle, and Othin pricked her with
the sleep-thorn in punishment for this, and said that she should never
thereafter win victory in battle, but that she should be wedded. “And I
said to him that I had made a vow in my turn, that I would never marry
a man who knew the meaning of fear.” Sigurth answered and asked her to
teach him wisdom, if she knew of what took place in all the worlds.
Sigrdrifa said:


5.  “Beer I bring thee,   |   tree of battle,
    Mingled of strength   |   and mighty fame;
    Charms it holds   |   and healing signs,
    Spells full good,   |   and gladness-runes.”

            *    *    *    *    *    *

6.  Winning-runes learn,   |   if thou longest to win,
      And the runes on thy sword-hilt write;
    Some on the furrow,   |   and some on the flat,
      And twice shalt thou call on Tyr.

7.  Ale-runes learn,   |   that with lies the wife
      Of another betray not thy trust;
    On the horn thou shalt write,   |   and the backs of thy hands,
      And Need shalt mark on thy nails.
    Thou shalt bless the draught,   |   and danger escape,
      And cast a leek in the cup;
    (For so I know   |   thou never shalt see
      Thy mead with evil mixed.)

8.  Birth-runes learn,   |   if help thou wilt lend,
      The babe from the mother to bring;
    On thy palms shalt write them,   |   and round thy joints,
      And ask the fates to aid.

9.  Wave-runes learn,   |   if well thou wouldst shelter
      The sail-steeds out on the sea;
    On the stem shalt thou write,   |   and the steering-blade,
      And burn them into the oars;
    Though high be the breakers,   |   and black the waves,
      Thou shalt safe the harbor seek.

10. Branch-runes learn,   |   if a healer wouldst be,
      And cure for wounds wouldst work;
    On the bark shalt thou write,   |   and on trees that be
      With boughs to the eastward bent.

11. Speech-runes learn,   |   that none may seek
      To answer harm with hate;
    Well he winds   |   and weaves them all,
      And sets them side by side,
    At the judgment-place,   |   when justice there
      The folk shall fairly win.

12. Thought-runes learn,   |   if all shall think
      Thou art keenest minded of men.

            *    *    *    *    *    *

13. Them Hropt arranged,   |   and them he wrote,
      And them in thought he made,
    Out of the draught   |   that down had dropped
      From the head of Heithdraupnir,
      And the horn of Hoddrofnir.

14. On the mountain he stood   |   with Brimir’s sword,
      On his head the helm he bore;
    Then first the head   |   of Mim spoke forth,
      And words of truth it told.

            *    *    *    *    *    *

15. He bade write on the shield   |   before the shining goddess,
    On Arvak’s ear,   |   and on Alsvith’s hoof,
    On the wheel of the car   |   of Hrungnir’s killer,
    On Sleipnir’s teeth,   |   and the straps of the sledge.

16. On the paws of the bear,   |   and on Bragi’s tongue,
    On the wolf’s claws bared,   |   and the eagle’s beak,
    On bloody wings,   |   and bridge’s end,
    On freeing hands   |   and helping foot-prints.

17. On glass and on gold,   |   and on goodly charms,
    In wine and in beer,   |   and on well-loved seats,
    On Gungnir’s point,   |   and on Grani’s breast,
    On the nails of Norns,   |   and the night-owl’s beak.

            *    *    *    *    *    *

18. Shaved off were the runes   |   that of old were written,
      And mixed with the holy mead,
      And sent on ways so wide;
    So the gods had them,   |   so the elves got them,
      And some for the Wanes so wise,
      And some for mortal men.

19. Beech-runes are there,   |   birth-runes are there,
      And all the runes of ale,
      And the magic runes of might;
    Who knows them rightly   |   and reads them true,
      Has them himself to help;
      Ever they aid,
      Till the gods are gone.


            *    *    *    *    *    *

Brynhild spake:


20. “Now shalt thou choose,   |   for the choice is given,
      Thou tree of the biting blade;
    Speech or silence,   |   ’tis thine to say,
      Our evil is destined all.”


Sigurth spake:


21. “I shall not flee,   |   though my fate be near,
      I was born not a coward to be;
    Thy loving word   |   for mine will I win,
      As long as I shall live.”

            *    *    *    *    *    *

22. Then first I rede thee,   |   that free of guilt
      Toward kinsmen ever thou art;
    No vengeance have,   |   though they work thee harm,
      Reward after death thou shalt win.

23. Then second I rede thee,   |   to swear no oath
      If true thou knowest it not;
    Bitter the fate   |   of the breaker of troth,
      And poor is the wolf of his word.

24. Then third I rede thee,   |   that thou at the Thing
      Shalt fight not in words with fools;
    For the man unwise   |   a worser word
      Than he thinks doth utter oft.

25. Ill it is   |   if silent thou art,
      A coward born men call thee,
      And truth mayhap they tell;
      Seldom safe is fame,
      Unless wide renown be won;
    On the day thereafter   |   send him to death,
      Let him pay the price of his lies.

26. Then fourth I rede thee,   |   if thou shalt find
      A wily witch on thy road,
    It is better to go   |   than her guest to be,
      Though night enfold thee fast.

27. Eyes that see   |   need the sons of men
      Who fight in battle fierce;
    Oft witches evil   |   sit by the way,
      Who blade and courage blunt.

28. Then fifth I rede thee,   |   though maidens fair
      Thou seest on benches sitting,
    Let the silver of kinship   |   not rob thee of sleep,
      And the kissing of women beware.

29. Then sixth I rede thee,   |   if men shall wrangle,
      And ale-talk rise to wrath,
    No words with a drunken   |   warrior have,
      For wine steals many men’s wits.

30. Brawls and ale   |   full oft have been
      An ill to many a man,
    Death for some,   |   and sorrow for some;
      Full many the woes of men.

31. Then seventh I rede thee,   |   if battle thou seekest
      With a foe that is full of might;
    It is better to fight   |   than to burn alive
      In the hall of the hero rich.

32. Then eighth I rede thee,   |   that evil thou shun,
      And beware of lying words;
    Take not a maid,   |   nor the wife of a man,
      Nor lure them on to lust.

33. Then ninth I rede thee:   |   burial render
      If thou findest a fallen corpse,
    Of sickness dead,   |   or dead in the sea,
      Or dead of weapons’ wounds.

34. A bath shalt thou give them   |   who corpses be,
      And hands and head shalt wash;
    Wipe them and comb,   |   ere they go in the coffin,
      And pray that they sleep in peace.

35. Then tenth I rede thee,   |   that never thou trust
      The word of the race of wolves,
      (If his brother thou broughtest to death,
      Or his father thou didst fell;)
    Often a wolf   |   in a son there is,
      Though gold he gladly takes.

36. Battle and hate   |   and harm, methinks,
      Full seldom fall asleep;
    Wits and weapons   |   the warrior needs
      If boldest of men he would be.

37. Then eleventh I rede thee,   |   that wrath thou shun,
      And treachery false with thy friends;
    Not long the leader’s   |   life shall be,
      For great are the foes he faces.

# BROT AF SIGURTHARKVITHU

BROT AF SIGURTHARKVITHU

FRAGMENT OF A SIGURTH LAY



Hogni spake:


1.  “(What evil deed   |   has Sigurth) done,
    That the hero’s life   |   thou fain wouldst have?”


Gunnar spake:


2.  “Sigurth oaths   |   to me hath sworn,
    Oaths hath sworn,   |   and all hath broken;
    He betrayed me there   |   where truest all
    His oaths, methinks,   |   he ought to have kept.”


Hogni spake:


3.  “Thy heart hath Brynhild   |   whetted to hate,
    Evil to work   |   and harm to win;
    She grudges the honor   |   that Guthrun has,
    And that joy of herself   |   thou still dost have.”

4.  They cooked a wolf,   |   they cut up a snake,
    They gave to Gotthorm   |   the greedy one’s flesh,
    Before the men,   |   to murder minded,
    Laid their hands   |   on the hero bold.

5.  Slain was Sigurth   |   south of the Rhine;
    From a limb a raven   |   called full loud:
    “Your blood shall redden   |   Atli’s blade,
    And your oaths shall bind   |   you both in chains.”

6.  Without stood Guthrun,   |   Gjuki’s daughter,
    Hear now the speech   |   that first she spake:
    “Where is Sigurth now,   |   the noble king,
    That my kinsmen riding   |   before him come?”

7.  Only this   |   did Hogni answer:
    “Sigurth we   |   with our swords have slain;
    The gray horse mourns   |   by his master dead.”

8.  Then Brynhild spake,   |   the daughter of Buthli:
    “Well shall ye joy   |   in weapons and lands;
    Sigurth alone   |   of all had been lord,
    If a little longer   |   his life had been.

9.  “Right were it not   |   that so he should rule
    O’er Gjuki’s wealth   |   and the race of the Goths;
    Five are the sons   |   for ruling the folk,
    And greedy of fight,   |   that he hath fathered.”

10. Then Brynhild laughed—   |   and the building echoed—
    Only once,   |   with all her heart;
    “Long shall ye joy   |   in lands and men,
    Now ye have slain   |   the hero noble.”

11. Then Guthrun spake,   |   the daughter of Gjuki:
    “Much thou speakest   |   in evil speech;
    Accursed be Gunnar,   |   Sigurth’s killer,
    Vengeance shall come   |   for his cruel heart.”

12. Early came evening,   |   and ale was drunk,
    And among them long   |   and loud they talked;
    They slumbered all   |   when their beds they sought,
    But Gunnar alone   |   was long awake.

13. His feet were tossing,   |   he talked to himself,
    And the slayer of hosts   |   began to heed
    What the twain from the tree   |   had told him then,
    The raven and eagle,   |   as home they rode.

14. Brynhild awoke,   |   the daughter of Buthli,
    The warrior’s daughter,   |   ere dawn of day:
    “Love me or hate me,   |   the harm is done,
    And my grief cries out,   |   or else I die.”

15. Silent were all   |   who heard her speak,
    And nought of the heart   |   of the queen they knew,
    Who wept such tears   |   the thing to tell
    That laughing once   |   of the men she had won.


Brynhild spake:


16. “Gunnar, I dreamed   |   a dream full grim:
    In the hall were corpses;   |   cold was my bed;
    And, ruler, thou   |   didst joyless ride,
    With fetters bound   |   in the foemen’s throng.

17. “.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    Utterly now   |   your Niflung race
    All shall die;   |   your oaths ye have broken.

18. “Thou hast, Gunnar,   |   the deed forgot,
    When blood in your footprints   |   both ye mingled;
    All to him   |   hast repaid with ill
    Who fain had made thee   |   the foremost of kings.

19. “Well did he prove,   |   when proud he rode
    To win me then   |   thy wife to be,
    How true the host-slayer   |   ever had held
    The oaths he had made   |   with the monarch young.

20. “The wound-staff then,   |   all wound with gold,
    The hero let   |   between us lie;
    With fire the edge   |   was forged full keen,
    And with drops of venom   |   the blade was damp.”


Here it is told in this poem about the death of Sigurth, and the story
goes here that they slew him out of doors, but some say that they slew
him in the house, on his bed while he was sleeping. But German men say
that they killed him out of doors in the forest; and so it is told in
the old Guthrun lay, that Sigurth and Gjuki’s sons had ridden to the
council-place, and that he was slain there. But in this they are all
agreed, that they deceived him in his trust of them, and fell upon him
when he was lying down and unprepared.

# GUTHRUNARKVITHA I

GUTHRUNARKVITHA I

THE FIRST LAY OF GUTHRUN




Guthrun sat by the dead Sigurth; she did not weep as other women, but
her heart was near to bursting with grief. The men and women came to
her to console her, but that was not easy to do. It is told of men that
Guthrun had eaten of Fafnir’s heart, and that she understood the speech
of birds. This is a poem about Guthrun.


1.  Then did Guthrun   |   think to die,
    When she by Sigurth   |   sorrowing sat;
    Tears she had not,   |   nor wrung her hands,
    Nor ever wailed,   |   as other women.

2.  To her the warriors   |   wise there came,
    Longing her heavy   |   woe to lighten;
    Grieving could not   |   Guthrun weep,
    So sad her heart,   |   it seemed, would break.

3.  Then the wives   |   of the warriors came,
    Gold-adorned,   |   and Guthrun sought;
    Each one then   |   of her own grief spoke,
    The bitterest pain   |   she had ever borne.

4.  Then spake Gjaflaug,   |   Gjuki’s sister:
    “Most joyless of all   |   on earth am I;
    Husbands five   |   were from me taken,
    (Two daughters then,   |   and sisters three,)
    Brothers eight,   |   yet I have lived.”

5.  Grieving could not   |   Guthrun weep,
    Such grief she had   |   for her husband dead,
    And so grim her heart   |   by the hero’s body.

6.  Then Herborg spake,   |   the queen of the Huns:
    “I have a greater   |   grief to tell;
    My seven sons   |   in the southern land,
    And my husband, fell   |   in fight all eight.
    (Father and mother   |   and brothers four
    Amid the waves   |   the wind once smote,
    And the seas crashed through   |   the sides of the ship.)

7.  “The bodies all   |   with my own hands then
    I decked for the grave,   |   and the dead I buried;
    A half-year brought me   |   this to bear;
    And no one came   |   to comfort me.

8.  “Then bound I was,   |   and taken in war,
    A sorrow yet   |   in the same half-year;
    They bade me deck   |   and bind the shoes
    Of the wife of the monarch   |   every morn.

9.  “In jealous rage   |   her wrath she spake,
    And beat me oft   |   with heavy blows;
    Never a better   |   lord I knew,
    And never a woman   |   worse I found.”

10. Grieving could not   |   Guthrun weep,
    Such grief she had   |   for her husband dead,
    And so grim her heart   |   by the hero’s body.

11. Then spake Gollrond,   |   Gjuki’s daughter:
    “Thy wisdom finds not,   |   my foster-mother,
    The way to comfort   |   the wife so young.”
    She bade them uncover   |   the warrior’s corpse.

12. The shroud she lifted   |   from Sigurth, laying
    His well-loved head   |   on the knees of his wife:
    “Look on thy loved one,   |   and lay thy lips
    To his as if yet   |   the hero lived.”

13. Once alone   |   did Guthrun look;
    His hair all clotted   |   with blood beheld,
    The blinded eyes   |   that once shone bright,
    The hero’s breast   |   that the blade had pierced.

14. Then Guthrun bent,   |   on her pillow bowed,
    Her hair was loosened,   |   her cheek was hot,
    And the tears like raindrops   |   downward ran.

15. Then Guthrun, daughter   |   of Gjuki, wept,
    And through her tresses   |   flowed the tears;
    And from the court   |   came the cry of geese,
    The birds so fair   |   of the hero’s bride.

16. Then Gollrond spake,   |   the daughter of Gjuki:
    “Never a greater   |   love I knew
    Than yours among   |   all men on earth;
    Nowhere wast happy,   |   at home or abroad,
    Sister mine,   |   with Sigurth away.”


Guthrun spake:


17. “So was my Sigurth   |   o’er Gjuki’s sons
    As the spear-leek grown   |   above the grass,
    Or the jewel bright   |   borne on the band,
    The precious stone   |   that princes wear.

18. “To the leader of men   |   I loftier seemed
    And higher than all   |   of Herjan’s maids;
    As little now   |   as the leaf I am
    On the willow hanging;   |   my hero is dead.

19. “In his seat, in his bed,   |   I see no more
    My heart’s true friend;   |   the fault is theirs,
    The sons of Gjuki,   |   for all my grief,
    That so their sister   |   sorely weeps.

20. “So shall your land   |   its people lose
    As ye have kept   |   your oaths of yore;
    Gunnar, no joy   |   the gold shall give thee,
    (The rings shall soon   |   thy slayers be,)
    Who swarest oaths   |   with Sigurth once.

21. “In the court was greater   |   gladness then
    The day my Sigurth   |   Grani saddled,
    And went forth Brynhild’s   |   hand to win,
    That woman ill,   |   in an evil hour.”

22. Then Brynhild spake,   |   the daughter of Buthli:
    “May the witch now husband   |   and children want
    Who, Guthrun, loosed   |   thy tears at last,
    And with magic today   |   hath made thee speak.”

23. Then Gollrond, daughter   |   of Gjuki, spake:
    “Speak not such words,   |   thou hated woman;
    Bane of the noble   |   thou e’er hast been,
    (Borne thou art   |   on an evil wave,
    Sorrow hast brought   |   to seven kings,)
    And many a woman   |   hast loveless made.”

24. Then Brynhild, daughter   |   of Buthli, spake:
    “Atli is guilty   |   of all the sorrow,
    (Son of Buthli   |   and brother of mine,)
    When we saw in the hall   |   of the Hunnish race
    The flame of the snake’s bed   |   flash round the hero;
    (For the journey since   |   full sore have I paid,
    And ever I seek   |   the sight to forget.)”

25. By the pillars she stood,   |   and gathered her strength,
    From the eyes of Brynhild,   |   Buthli’s daughter,
    Fire there burned,   |   and venom she breathed,
    When the wounds she saw   |   on Sigurth then.


Guthrun went thence away to a forest in the waste, and journeyed all
the way to Denmark, and was there seven half-years with Thora, daughter
of Hokon. Brynhild would not live after Sigurth. She had eight of her
thralls slain and five serving-women. Then she killed herself with a
sword, as is told in the Short Lay of Sigurth.

# SIGURTHARKVITHA EN SKAMMA

SIGURTHARKVITHA EN SKAMMA

THE SHORT LAY OF SIGURTH



1.  Of old did Sigurth   |   Gjuki seek,
    The Volsung young,   |   in battles victor;
    Well he trusted   |   the brothers twain,
    With mighty oaths   |   among them sworn.

2.  A maid they gave him,   |   and jewels many,
    Guthrun the young,   |   the daughter of Gjuki;
    They drank and spake   |   full many a day,
    Sigurth the young   |   and Gjuki’s sons.

3.  Thereafter went they   |   Brynhild to woo,
    And so with them   |   did Sigurth ride,
    The Volsung young,   |   in battle valiant,—
    Himself would have had her   |   if all he had seen.

4.  The southern hero   |   his naked sword,
    Fair-flashing, let   |   between them lie;
    (Nor would he come   |   the maid to kiss;)
    The Hunnish king   |   in his arms ne’er held
    The maiden he gave   |   to Gjuki’s sons.

5.  Ill she had known not   |   in all her life,
    And nought of the sorrows   |   of men she knew;
    Blame she had not,   |   nor dreamed she should bear it,
    But cruel the fates   |   that among them came.

6.  By herself at the end   |   of day she sat,
    And in open words   |   her heart she uttered:
    “I shall Sigurth have,   |   the hero young,
    E’en though within   |   my arms he die.

7.  “The word I have spoken;   |   soon shall I rue it,
    His wife is Guthrun,   |   and Gunnar’s am I;
    Ill Norns set for me   |   long desire.”

8.  Oft did she go   |   with grieving heart
    On the glacier’s ice   |   at even-tide,
    When Guthrun then   |   to her bed was gone,
    And the bedclothes Sigurth   |   about her laid.

9.  “(Now Gjuki’s child   |   to her lover goes,)
    And the Hunnish king   |   with his wife is happy;
    Joyless I am   |   and mateless ever,
    Till cries from my heavy   |   heart burst forth.”

10. In her wrath to battle   |   she roused herself:
    “Gunnar, now   |   thou needs must lose
    Lands of mine   |   and me myself,
    No joy shall I have   |   with the hero ever.

11. “Back shall I fare   |   where first I dwelt,
    Among the kin   |   that come of my race,
    To wait there, sleeping   |   my life away,
    If Sigurth’s death   |   thou shalt not dare,
    (And best of heroes   |   thou shalt not be.)

12. “The son shall fare   |   with his father hence,
    And let not long   |   the wolf-cub live;
    Lighter to pay   |   is the vengeance-price
    After the deed   |   if the son is dead.”

13. Sad was Gunnar,   |   and bowed with grief,
    Deep in thought   |   the whole day through;
    Yet from his heart   |   it was ever hid
    What deed most fitting   |   he should find,
    (Or what thing best   |   for him should be,
    Or if he should seek   |   the Volsung to slay,
    For with mighty longing   |   Sigurth he loved.)

14. Much he pondered   |   for many an hour;
    Never before   |   was the wonder known
    That a queen should thus   |   her kingdom leave;
    In counsel then   |   did he Hogni call,
    (For him in truest   |   trust he held.)

15. “More than all   |   to me is Brynhild,
    Buthli’s child,   |   the best of women;
    My very life   |   would I sooner lose
    Than yield the love   |   of yonder maid.

16. “Wilt thou the hero   |   for wealth betray?
    ’Twere good to have   |   the gold of the Rhine,
    And all the hoard   |   in peace to hold,
    And waiting fortune   |   thus to win.”

17. Few the words   |   of Hogni were:
    “Us it beseems not   |   so to do,
    To cleave with swords   |   the oaths we swore,
    The oaths we swore   |   and all our vows.

18. “We know no mightier   |   men on earth
    The while we four   |   o’er the folk hold sway,
    And while the Hunnish   |   hero lives,
    Nor higher kinship   |   the world doth hold.

19. “If sons we five   |   shall soon beget,
    Great, methinks,   |   our race shall grow;
    Well I see   |   whence lead the ways;
    Too bitter far   |   is Brynhild’s hate.”


Gunnar spake:


20. “Gotthorm to wrath   |   we needs must rouse,
    Our younger brother,   |   in rashness blind;
    He entered not   |   in the oaths we swore,
    The oaths we swore   |   and all our vows.”

21. It was easy to rouse   |   the reckless one.
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    The sword in the heart   |   of Sigurth stood.

22. In vengeance the hero   |   rose in the hall,
    And hurled his sword   |   at the slayer bold;
    At Gotthorm flew   |   the glittering steel
    Of Gram full hard   |   from the hand of the king.

23. The foeman cleft   |   asunder fell,
    Forward hands   |   and head did sink,
    And legs and feet   |   did backward fall.

24. Guthrun soft   |   in her bed had slept,
    Safe from care   |   at Sigurth’s side;
    She woke to find   |   her joy had fled,
    In the blood of the friend   |   of Freyr she lay.

25. So hard she smote   |   her hands together
    That the hero rose up,   |   iron-hearted:
    “Weep not, Guthrun,   |   grievous tears,
    Bride so young,   |   for thy brothers live.

26. “Too young, methinks,   |   is my son as yet,
    He cannot flee   |   from the home of his foes;
    Fearful and deadly   |   the plan they found,
    The counsel new   |   that now they have heeded.

27. “No son will ride,   |   though seven thou hast,
    To the Thing as the son   |   of their sister rides;
    Well I see   |   who the ill has worked,
    On Brynhild alone   |   lies the blame for all.

28. “Above all men   |   the maiden loved me,
    Yet false to Gunnar   |   I ne’er was found;
    I kept the oaths   |   and the kinship I swore;
    Of his queen the lover   |   none may call me.”

29. In a swoon she sank   |   when Sigurth died;
    So hard she smote   |   her hands together
    That all the cups   |   in the cupboard rang,
    And loud in the courtyard   |   cried the geese.

30. Then Brynhild, daughter   |   of Buthli, laughed,
    Only once,   |   with all her heart,
    When as she lay   |   full loud she heard
    The grievous wail   |   of Gjuki’s daughter.

31. Then Gunnar, monarch   |   of men, spake forth:
    “Thou dost not laugh,   |   thou lover of hate,
    In gladness there,   |   or for aught of good;
    Why has thy face   |   so white a hue,
    Mother of ill?   |   Foredoomed thou art.

32. “A worthier woman   |   wouldst thou have been
    If before thine eyes   |   we had Atli slain;
    If thy brother’s bleeding   |   body hadst seen
    And the bloody wounds   |   that thou shouldst bind.”


Brynhild spake:


33. “None mock thee, Gunnar!   |   thou hast mightily fought,
    But thy hatred little   |   doth Atli heed;
    Longer than thou,   |   methinks, shall he live,
    And greater in might   |   shall he ever remain.

34. “To thee I say,   |   and thyself thou knowest,
    That all these ills   |   thou didst early shape;
    No bonds I knew,   |   nor sorrow bore,
    And wealth I had   |   in my brother’s home.

35. “Never a husband   |   sought I to have,
    Before the Gjukungs   |   fared to our land;
    Three were the kings   |   on steeds that came,—
    Need of their journey   |   never there was.

36. “To the hero great   |   my troth I gave
    Who gold-decked sat   |   on Grani’s back;
    Not like to thine   |   was the light of his eyes,
    (Nor like in form   |   and face are ye,)
    Though kingly both   |   ye seemed to be.

37. “And so to me   |   did Atli say
    That share in our wealth   |   I should not have,
    Of gold or lands,   |   if my hand I gave not;
    (More evil yet,   |   the wealth I should yield,)
    The gold that he   |   in my childhood gave me,
    (The wealth from him   |   in my youth I had.)

38. “Oft in my mind   |   I pondered much
    If still I should fight,   |   and warriors fell,
    Brave in my byrnie,   |   my brother defying;
    That would wide   |   in the world be known,
    And sorrow for many   |   a man would make.

39. “But the bond at last   |   I let be made,
    For more the hoard   |   I longed to have,
    The rings that the son   |   of Sigmund won;
    No other’s treasure   |   e’er I sought.

40. “One alone   |   of all I loved,
    Nor changing heart   |   I ever had;
    All in the end   |   shall Atli know,
    When he hears I have gone   |   on the death-road hence.”

            *    *    *    *    *    *

41. “Never a wife   |   of fickle will
    Yet to another   |   man should yield.
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    So vengeance for all   |   my ills shall come.”

42. Up rose Gunnar,   |   the people’s ruler,
    And flung his arms   |   round her neck so fair;
    And all who came,   |   of every kind,
    Sought to hold her   |   with all their hearts.

43. But back she cast   |   all those who came,
    Nor from the long road   |   let them hold her;
    In counsel then   |   did he Hogni call:
    “Of wisdom now   |   full great is our need.

44. “Let the warriors here   |   in the hall come forth,
    Thine and mine,   |   for the need is mighty,
    If haply the queen   |   from death they may hold,
    Till her fearful thoughts   |   with time shall fade.”

45. (Few the words   |   of Hogni were:)
    “From the long road now   |   shall ye hold her not,
    That born again   |   she may never be!
    Foul she came   |   from her mother forth,
    And born she was   |   for wicked deeds,
    (Sorrow to many   |   a man to bring.)”

46. From the speaker gloomily   |   Gunnar turned,
    For the jewel-bearer   |   her gems was dividing;
    On all her wealth   |   her eyes were gazing,
    On the bond-women slain   |   and the slaughtered slaves.

47. Her byrnie of gold   |   she donned, and grim
    Was her heart ere the point   |   of her sword had pierced it;
    On the pillow at last   |   her head she laid,
    And, wounded, her plan   |   she pondered o’er.

48. “Hither I will   |   that my women come
    Who gold are fain   |   from me to get;
    Necklaces fashioned   |   fair to each
    Shall I give, and cloth,   |   and garments bright.”

49. Silent were all   |   as so she spake,
    And all together   |   answer made:
    “Slain are enough;   |   we seek to live,
    Not thus thy women   |   shall honor win.”

50. Long the woman,   |   linen-decked, pondered,—
    —Young she was,—   |   and weighed her words:
    “For my sake now   |   shall none unwilling
    Or loath to die   |   her life lay down.

51. “But little of gems   |   to gleam on your limbs
    Ye then shall find   |   when forth ye fare
    To follow me,   |   or of Menja’s wealth.
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

52. “Sit now, Gunnar!   |   for I shall speak
    Of thy bride so fair   |   and so fain to die;
    Thy ship in harbor   |   home thou hast not,
    Although my life   |   I now have lost.

53. “Thou shalt Guthrun requite   |   more quick than thou
    thinkest,
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    Though sadly mourns   |   the maiden wise
    Who dwells with the king,   |   o’er her husband dead.

54. “A maid shall then   |   the mother bear;
    Brighter far   |   than the fairest day
    Svanhild shall be,   |   or the beams of the sun.

55. “Guthrun a noble   |   husband thou givest,
    Yet to many a warrior   |   woe will she bring,
    Not happily wedded   |   she holds herself;
    Her shall Atli   |   hither seek,
    (Buthli’s son,   |   and brother of mine.)

56. “Well I remember   |   how me ye treated
    When ye betrayed me   |   with treacherous wiles;
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    Lost was my joy   |   as long as I lived.

57. “Oddrun as wife   |   thou fain wouldst win,
    But Atli this   |   from thee withholds;
    Yet in secret tryst   |   ye twain shall love;
    She shall hold thee dear,   |   as I had done
    If kindly fate   |   to us had fallen.

58. “Ill to thee   |   shall Atli bring,
    When he casts thee down   |   in the den of snakes.

59. “But soon thereafter   |   Atli too
    His life, methinks,   |   as thou shalt lose,
    (His fortune lose   |   and the lives of his sons;)
    Him shall Guthrun,   |   grim of heart,
    With the biting blade   |   in his bed destroy.

60. “It would better beseem   |   thy sister fair
    To follow her husband   |   first in death,
    If counsel good   |   to her were given,
    Or a heart akin   |   to mine she had.

61. “Slowly I speak,—   |   but for my sake
    Her life, methinks,   |   she shall not lose;
    She shall wander over   |   the tossing waves,
    To where Jonak rules   |   his father’s realm.

62. “Sons to him   |   she soon shall bear,
    Heirs therewith   |   of Jonak’s wealth;
    But Svanhild far   |   away is sent,
    The child she bore   |   to Sigurth brave.

63. “Bikki’s word   |   her death shall be,
    For dreadful the wrath   |   of Jormunrek;
    So slain is all   |   of Sigurth’s race,
    And greater the woe   |   of Guthrun grows.

64. “Yet one boon   |   I beg of thee,
    The last of boons   |   in my life it is:
    Let the pyre be built   |   so broad in the field
    That room for us all   |   will ample be,
    (For us who slain   |   with Sigurth are.)

65. “With shields and carpets   |   cover the pyre,
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    Shrouds full fair,   |   and fallen slaves,
    And besides the Hunnish   |   hero burn me.

66. “Besides the Hunnish   |   hero there
    Slaves shall burn,   |   full bravely decked,
    Two at his head   |   and two at his feet,
    A brace of hounds   |   and a pair of hawks,
    For so shall all   |   be seemly done.

67. “Let between us   |   lie once more
    The steel so keen,   |   as so it lay
    When both within   |   one bed we were,
    And wedded mates   |   by men were called.

68. “The door of the hall   |   shall strike not the heel
    Of the hero fair   |   with flashing rings,
    If hence my following   |   goes with him;
    Not mean our faring   |   forth shall be.

69. “Bond-women five   |   shall follow him,
    And eight of my thralls,   |   well-born are they,
    Children with me,   |   and mine they were
    As gifts that Buthli   |   his daughter gave.

70. “Much have I told thee,   |   and more would say
    If fate more space   |   for speech had given;
    My voice grows weak,   |   my wounds are swelling;
    Truth I have said,   |   and so I die.”

# HELREITH BRYNHILDAR

HELREITH BRYNHILDAR

BRYNHILD’S HELL-RIDE



After the death of Brynhild there were made two bale-fires, the one for
Sigurth, and that burned first, and on the other was Brynhild burned,
and she was on a wagon which was covered with a rich cloth. Thus it is
told, that Brynhild went in the wagon on Hel-way, and passed by a house
where dwelt a certain giantess. The giantess spake:


1.  “Thou shalt not further   |   forward fare,
    My dwelling ribbed   |   with rocks across;
    More seemly it were   |   at thy weaving to stay,
    Than another’s husband   |   here to follow.

2.  “What wouldst thou have   |   from Valland here,
    Fickle of heart,   |   in this my house?
    Gold-goddess, now,   |   if thou wouldst know,
    Heroes’ blood   |   from thy hands hast washed.”


Brynhild spake:


3.  “Chide me not, woman   |   from rocky walls,
    Though to battle once   |   I was wont to go;
    Better than thou   |   I shall seem to be,
    When men us two   |   shall truly know.”


The giantess spake:


4.  “Thou wast, Brynhild,   |   Buthli’s daughter,
    For the worst of evils   |   born in the world;
    To death thou hast given   |   Gjuki’s children,
    And laid their lofty   |   house full low.”


Brynhild spake:


5.  “Truth from the wagon   |   here I tell thee,
    Witless one,   |   if know thou wilt
    How the heirs of Gjuki   |   gave me to be
    Joyless ever,   |   a breaker of oaths.

6.  “Hild the helmed   |   in Hlymdalir
    They named me of old,   |   all they who knew me.
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

7.  “The monarch bold   |   the swan-robes bore
    Of the sisters eight   |   beneath an oak;
    Twelve winters I was,   |   if know thou wilt,
    When oaths I yielded   |   the king so young.

8.  “Next I let   |   the leader of Goths,
    Hjalmgunnar the old,   |   go down to hell,
    And victory brought   |   to Autha’s brother;
    For this was Othin’s   |   anger mighty.

9.  “He beset me with shields   |   in Skatalund,
    Red and white,   |   their rims o’erlapped;
    He bade that my sleep   |   should broken be
    By him who fear   |   had nowhere found.

10. “He let round my hall,   |   that southward looked,
    The branches’ foe   |   high-leaping burn;
    Across it he bade   |   the hero come
    Who brought me the gold   |   that Fafnir guarded.

11. “On Grani rode   |   the giver of gold,
    Where my foster-father   |   ruled his folk;
    Best of all   |   he seemed to be,
    The prince of the Danes,   |   when the people met.

12. “Happy we slept,   |   one bed we had,
    As he my brother   |   born had been;
    Eight were the nights   |   when neither there
    Loving hand   |   on the other laid.

13. “Yet Guthrun reproached me,   |   Gjuki’s daughter,
    That I in Sigurth’s   |   arms had slept;
    Then did I hear   |   what I would were hid,
    That they had betrayed me   |   in taking a mate.

14. “Ever with grief   |   and all too long
    Are men and women   |   born in the world;
    But yet we shall live   |   our lives together,
    Sigurth and I.   |   Sink down, Giantess!”





DRAP NIFLUNGA

THE SLAYING OF THE NIFLUNGS

# GUTHRUNARKVITHA I

GUTHRUNARKVITHA II, EN FORNA

THE SECOND, OR OLD, LAY OF GUTHRUN


King Thjothrek was with Atli, and had lost most of his men. Thjothrek
and Guthrun lamented their griefs together. She spoke to him, saying:


1.  A maid of maids   |   my mother bore me,
    Bright in my bower,   |   my brothers I loved,
    Till Gjuki dowered   |   me with gold,
    Dowered with gold,   |   and to Sigurth gave me.

2.  So Sigurth rose   |   o’er Gjuki’s sons
    As the leek grows green   |   above the grass,
    Or the stag o’er all   |   the beasts doth stand,
    Or as glow-red gold   |   above silver gray.

3.  Till my brothers let me   |   no longer have
    The best of heroes   |   my husband to be;
    Sleep they could not,   |   or quarrels settle,
    Till Sigurth they   |   at last had slain.

4.  From the Thing ran Grani   |   with thundering feet,
    But thence did Sigurth   |   himself come never;
    Covered with sweat   |   was the saddle-bearer,
    Wont the warrior’s   |   weight to bear.

5.  Weeping I sought   |   with Grani to speak,
    With tear-wet cheeks   |   for the tale I asked;
    The head of Grani   |   was bowed to the grass,
    The steed knew well   |   his master was slain.

6.  Long I waited   |   and pondered well
    Ere ever the king   |   for tidings I asked.
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

7.  His head bowed Gunnar,   |   but Hogni told
    The news full sore   |   of Sigurth slain:
    “Hewed to death   |   at our hands he lies,
    Gotthorm’s slayer,   |   given to wolves.

8.  “On the southern road   |   thou shalt Sigurth see,
    Where hear thou canst   |   the ravens cry;
    The eagles cry   |   as food they crave,
    And about thy husband   |   wolves are howling.”

9.  “Why dost thou, Hogni,   |   such a horror
    Let me hear,   |   all joyless left?
    Ravens yet   |   thy heart shall rend
    In a land that never   |   thou hast known.”

10. Few the words   |   of Hogni were,
    Bitter his heart   |   from heavy sorrow:
    “Greater, Guthrun,   |   thy grief shall be
    If the ravens so   |   my heart shall rend.”

11. From him who spake   |   I turned me soon,
    In the woods to find   |   what the wolves had left;
    Tears I had not,   |   nor wrung my hands,
    Nor wailing went,   |   as other women,
    (When by Sigurth   |   slain I sat).

12. Never so black   |   had seemed the night
    As when in sorrow   |   by Sigurth I sat;
    The wolves .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

13. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    Best of all   |   methought ’twould be
    If I my life   |   could only lose,
    Or like to birch-wood   |   burned might be.

14. From the mountain forth   |   five days I fared,
    Till Hoalf’s hall   |   so high I saw;
    Seven half-years   |   with Thora I stayed,
    Hokon’s daughter,   |   in Denmark then.

15. With gold she broidered,   |   to bring me joy,
    Southern halls   |   and Danish swans;
    On the tapestry wove we   |   warrior’s deeds,
    And the hero’s thanes   |   on our handiwork;
    (Flashing shields   |   and fighters armed,
    Sword-throng, helm-throng,   |   the host of the king).

16. Sigmund’s ship   |   by the land was sailing,
    Golden the figure-head,   |   gay the beaks;
    On board we wove   |   the warriors faring,
    Sigar and Siggeir,   |   south to Fjon.

17. Then Grimhild asked,   |   the Gothic queen,
    Whether willingly   |   would I .  .  .  .  .  .
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

18. Her needlework cast she   |   aside, and called
    Her sons to ask,   |   with stern resolve,
    Who amends to their sister   |   would make for her son,
    Or the wife requite   |   for her husband killed.

19. Ready was Gunnar   |   gold to give,
    Amends for my hurt,   |   and Hogni too;
    Then would she know   |   who now would go,
    The horse to saddle,   |   the wagon to harness,
    (The horse to ride,   |   the hawk to fly,
    And shafts from bows   |   of yew to shoot).

20. (Valdar, king   |   of the Danes, was come,
    With Jarizleif, Eymoth,   |   and Jarizskar).
    In like princes   |   came they all,
    The long-beard men,   |   with mantles red,
    Short their mail-coats,   |   mighty their helms,
    Swords at their belts,   |   and brown their hair.

21. Each to give me   |   gifts was fain,
    Gifts to give,   |   and goodly speech,
    Comfort so   |   for my sorrows great
    To bring they tried,   |   but I trusted them not.

22. A draught did Grimhild   |   give me to drink,
    Bitter and cold;   |   I forgot my cares;
    For mingled therein   |   was magic earth,
    Ice-cold sea,   |   and the blood of swine.

23. In the cup were runes   |   of every kind,
    Written and reddened,   |   I could not read them;
    A heather-fish   |   from the Haddings’ land,
    An ear uncut,   |   and the entrails of beasts.

24. Much evil was brewed   |   within the beer,
    Blossoms of trees,   |   and acorns burned,
    Dew of the hearth,   |   and holy entrails,
    The liver of swine,—   |   all grief to allay.

25. Then I forgot,   |   when the draught they gave me,
    There in the hall,   |   my husband’s slaying;
    On their knees the kings   |   all three did kneel,
    Ere she herself   |   to speak began:

26. “Guthrun, gold   |   to thee I give,
    The wealth that once   |   thy father’s was,
    Rings to have,   |   and Hlothver’s halls,
    And the hangings all   |   that the monarch had.

27. “Hunnish women,   |   skilled in weaving,
    Who gold make fair   |   to give thee joy,
    And the wealth of Buthli   |   thine shall be,
    Gold-decked one,   |   as Atli’s wife.”


Guthrun spake:


28. “A husband now   |   I will not have,
    Nor wife of Brynhild’s   |   brother be;
    It beseems me not   |   with Buthli’s son
    Happy to be,   |   and heirs to bear.”


Grimhild spake:


29. “Seek not on men   |   to avenge thy sorrows,
    Though the blame at first   |   with us hath been;
    Happy shalt be   |   as if both still lived,
    Sigurth and Sigmund,   |   if sons thou bearest.”


Guthrun spake:


30. “Grimhild, I may not   |   gladness find,
    Nor hold forth hopes   |   to heroes now,
    Since once the raven   |   and ravening wolf
    Sigurth’s heart’s-blood   |   hungrily lapped.”


Grimhild spake:


31. “Noblest of birth   |   is the ruler now
    I have found for thee,   |   and foremost of all;
    Him shalt thou have   |   while life thou hast,
    Or husbandless be   |   if him thou wilt choose not.”


Guthrun spake:


32. “Seek not so eagerly   |   me to send
    To be a bride   |   of yon baneful race;
    On Gunnar first   |   his wrath shall fall,
    And the heart will he tear   |   from Hogni’s breast.”

33. Weeping Grimhild   |   heard the words
    That fate full sore   |   for her sons foretold,
    (And mighty woe   |   for them should work;)
    “Lands I give thee,   |   with all that live there,
    (Vinbjorg is thine,   |   and Valbjorg too,)
    Have them forever,   |   but hear me, daughter.”

34. So must I do   |   as the kings besought,
    And against my will   |   for my kinsmen wed;
    Ne’er with my husband   |   joy I had,
    And my sons by my brothers’   |   fate were saved not.

35. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    I could not rest   |   till of life I had robbed
    The warrior bold,   |   the maker of battles.

36. Soon on horseback   |   each hero was,
    And the foreign women   |   in wagons faring;
    A week through lands   |   so cold we went,
    And a second week   |   the waves we smote,
    (And a third through lands   |   that water lacked).

37. The warders now   |   on the lofty walls
    Opened the gates,   |   and in we rode.

            *    *    *    *    *    *

38. Atli woke me,   |   for ever I seemed
    Of bitterness full   |   for my brothers’ death.


Atli spake:


39. “Now from sleep   |   the Norns have waked me
    With visions of terror,—   |   to thee will I tell them;
    Methought thou, Guthrun,   |   Gjuki’s daughter,
    With poisoned blade   |   didst pierce my body.”


Guthrun spake:


40. “Fire a dream   |   of steel shall follow
    And willful pride   |   one of woman’s wrath;
    A baneful sore   |   I shall burn from thee,
    And tend and heal thee,   |   though hated thou art.”


Atli spake:


41. “Of plants I dreamed,   |   in the garden drooping,
    That fain would I have   |   full high to grow;
    Plucked by the roots,   |   and red with blood,
    They brought them hither,   |   and bade me eat.

42. “I dreamed my hawks   |   from my hand had flown,
    Eager for food,   |   to an evil house;
    I dreamed their hearts   |   with honey I ate,
    Soaked in blood,   |   and heavy my sorrow.

43. “Hounds I dreamed   |   from my hand I loosed,
    Loud in hunger   |   and pain they howled;
    Their flesh methought   |   was eagles’ food,
    And their bodies now   |   I needs must eat.”


Guthrun spake:


44. “Men shall soon   |   of sacrifice speak,
    And off the heads   |   of beasts shall hew;
    Die they shall   |   ere day has dawned,
    A few nights hence,   |   and the folk shall have them.”


Atli spake:


45. “On my bed I sank,   |   nor slumber sought,
    Weary with woe,—   |   full well I remember.”
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

# GUTHRUNARKVITHA I

GUTHRUNARKVITHA III

THE THIRD LAY OF GUTHRUN



Herkja was the name of a serving-woman of Atli’s; she had been his
concubine. She told Atli that she had seen Thjothrek and Guthrun both
together. Atli was greatly angered thereby. Then Guthrun said:


1.  “What thy sorrow, Atli,   |   Buthli’s son?
    Is thy heart heavy-laden?   |   Why laughest thou never?
    It would better befit   |   the warrior far
    To speak with men,   |   and me to look on.”


Atli spake:


2.  “It troubles me, Guthrun,   |   Gjuki’s daughter,
    What Herkja here   |   in the hall hath told me,
    That thou in the bed   |   with Thjothrek liest,
    Beneath the linen   |   in lovers’ guise.”


Guthrun spake:


3.  “This shall I   |   with oaths now swear,
    Swear by the sacred   |   stone so white,
    That nought was there   |   with Thjothmar’s son
    That man or woman   |   may not know.

4.  “Nor ever once   |   did my arms embrace
    The hero brave,   |   the leader of hosts;
    In another manner   |   our meeting was,
    When our sorrows we   |   in secret told.

5.  “With thirty warriors   |   Thjothrek came,
    Nor of all his men   |   doth one remain;
    Thou hast murdered my brothers   |   and mail-clad men,
    Thou hast murdered all   |   the men of my race.

6.  “Gunnar comes not,   |   Hogni I greet not,
    No longer I see   |   my brothers loved;
    My sorrow would Hogni   |   avenge with the sword,
    Now myself for my woes   |   I shall payment win.

7.  “Summon Saxi,   |   the southrons’ king,
    For he the boiling   |   kettle can hallow.”
    Seven hundred   |   there were in the hall,
    Ere the queen her hand   |   in the kettle thrust.

8.  To the bottom she reached   |   with hand so bright,
    And forth she brought   |   the flashing stones:
    “Behold, ye warriors,   |   well am I cleared
    Of sin by the kettle’s   |   sacred boiling.”

9.  Then Atli’s heart   |   in happiness laughed,
    When Guthrun’s hand   |   unhurt he saw;
    “Now Herkja shall come   |   the kettle to try,
    She who grief   |   for Guthrun planned.”

10. Ne’er saw man sight   |   more sad than this,
    How burned were the hands   |   of Herkja then;
    In a bog so foul   |   the maid they flung,
    And so was Guthrun’s   |   grief requited.

# ODDRUNARGRATR

ODDRUNARGRATR

THE LAMENT OF ODDRUN

Heithrek was the name of a king, whose daughter was called Borgny.
Vilmund was the name of the man who was her lover. She could not give
birth to a child until Oddrun, Atli’s sister, had come to her; Oddrun
had been beloved of Gunnar, son of Gjuki. About this story is the
following poem.


1.  I have heard it told   |   in olden tales
    How a maiden came   |   to Morningland;
    No one of all   |   on earth above
    To Heithrek’s daughter   |   help could give.

2.  This Oddrun learned,   |   the sister of Atli,
    That sore the maiden’s   |   sickness was;
    The bit-bearer forth   |   from his stall she brought,
    And the saddle laid   |   on the steed so black.

3.  She let the horse go   |   o’er the level ground,
    Till she reached the hall   |   that loftily rose,
    (And in she went   |   from the end of the hall;)
    From the weary steed   |   the saddle she took;
    Hear now the speech   |   that first she spake:

4.  “What news on earth,   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    Or what has happened   |   in Hunland now?”


A serving-maid spake:


    “Here Borgny lies   |   in bitter pain,
    Thy friend, and, Oddrun,   |   thy help would find.”


Oddrun spake:


5.  “Who worked this woe   |   for the woman thus,
    Or why so sudden   |   is Borgny sick?”


The serving-maid spake:


    “Vilmund is he,   |   the heroes’ friend,
    Who wrapped the woman   |   in bedclothes warm,
    (For winters five,   |   yet her father knew not).”

6.  Then no more   |   they spake, methinks;
    She went at the knees   |   of the woman to sit;
    With magic Oddrun   |   and mightily Oddrun
    Chanted for Borgny   |   potent charms.

7.  At last were born   |   a boy and girl,
    Son and daughter   |   of Hogni’s slayer;
    Then speech the woman   |   so weak began,
    Nor said she aught   |   ere this she spake:

8.  “So may the holy   |   ones thee help,
    Frigg and Freyja   |   and favoring gods,
    As thou hast saved me   |   from sorrow now.”


Oddrun spake:


9.  “I came not hither   |   to help thee thus
    Because thou ever   |   my aid didst earn;
    I fulfilled the oath   |   that of old I swore,
    That aid to all   |   I should ever bring,
    (When they shared the wealth   |   the warriors had).”


Borgny spake:


10. “Wild art thou, Oddrun,   |   and witless now,
    That so in hatred   |   to me thou speakest;
    I followed thee   |   where thou didst fare,
    As we had been born   |   of brothers twain.”


Oddrun spake:


11. “I remember the evil   |   one eve thou spakest,
    When a draught I gave   |   to Gunnar then;
    Thou didst say that never   |   such a deed
    By maid was done   |   save by me alone.”

12. Then the sorrowing woman   |   sat her down
    To tell the grief   |   of her troubles great.

13. “Happy I grew   |   in the hero’s hall
    As the warriors wished,   |   and they loved me well;
    Glad I was   |   of my father’s gifts,
    For winters five,   |   while my father lived.

14. “These were the words   |   the weary king,
    Ere he died,   |   spake last of all:
    He bade me with red gold   |   dowered to be,
    And to Grimhild’s son   |   in the South be wedded.

15. “But Brynhild the helm   |   he bade to wear,
    A wish-maid bright   |   he said she should be;
    For a nobler maid   |   would never be born
    On earth, he said,   |   if death should spare her.

16. “At her weaving Brynhild   |   sat in her bower,
    Lands and folk   |   alike she had;
    The earth and heaven   |   high resounded
    When Fafnir’s slayer   |   the city saw.

17. “Then battle was fought   |   with the foreign swords,
    And the city was broken   |   that Brynhild had;
    Not long thereafter,   |   but all too soon,
    Their evil wiles   |   full well she knew.

18. “Woeful for this   |   her vengeance was,
    As so we learned   |   to our sorrow all;
    In every land   |   shall all men hear
    How herself at Sigurth’s   |   side she slew.

19. “Love to Gunnar   |   then I gave,
    To the breaker of rings,   |   as Brynhild might;
    To Atli rings   |   so red they offered,
    And mighty gifts   |   to my brother would give.

20. “Fifteen dwellings   |   fain would he give
    For me, and the burden   |   that Grani bore;
    But Atli said   |   he would never receive
    Marriage gold   |   from Gjuki’s son.

21. “Yet could we not   |   our love o’ercome,
    And my head I laid   |   on the hero’s shoulder;
    Many there were   |   of kinsmen mine
    Who said that together   |   us they had seen.

22. “Atli said   |   that never I
    Would evil plan,   |   or ill deed do;
    But none may this   |   of another think,
    Or surely speak,   |   when love is shared.

23. “Soon his men   |   did Atli send,
    In the murky wood   |   on me to spy;
    Thither they came   |   where they should not come,
    Where beneath one cover   |   close we lay.

24. “To the warriors ruddy   |   rings we offered,
    That nought to Atli   |   e’er they should say;
    But swiftly home   |   they hastened thence,
    And eager all   |   to Atli told.

25. “But close from Guthrun   |   kept they hid
    What first of all   |   she ought to have known.
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

26. “Great was the clatter   |   of gilded hoofs
    When Gjuki’s sons   |   through the gateway rode;
    The heart they hewed   |   from Hogni then,
    And the other they cast   |   in the serpents’ cave.

27. “The hero wise   |   on his harp then smote,
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    For help from me   |   in his heart yet hoped
    The high-born king,   |   might come to him.

28. “Alone was I gone   |   to Geirmund then,
    The draught to mix   |   and ready to make;
    Sudden I heard   |   from Hlesey clear
    How in sorrow the strings   |   of the harp resounded.

29. “I bade the serving-maids   |   ready to be,
    For I longed the hero’s   |   life to save;
    Across the sound   |   the boats we sailed,
    Till we saw the whole   |   of Atli’s home.

30. “Then crawling the evil   |   woman came,
    Atli’s mother—   |   may she ever rot!
    And hard she bit   |   to Gunnar’s heart,
    So I could not help   |   the hero brave.

31. “Oft have I wondered   |   how after this,
    Serpents’-bed goddess!   |   I still might live,
    For well I loved   |   the warrior brave,
    The giver of swords,   |   as my very self.

32. “Thou didst see and listen,   |   the while I said
    The mighty grief   |   that was mine and theirs;
    Each man lives   |   as his longing wills,—
    Oddrun’s lament   |   is ended now.”

# ATLAKVITHA EN GRÖNLENZKA

ATLAKVITHA EN GRÖNLENZKA

THE GREENLAND LAY OF ATLI



Guthrun, Gjuki’s daughter, avenged her brothers, as has become well
known. She slew first Atli’s sons, and thereafter she slew Atli, and
burned the hall with his whole company. Concerning this was the
following poem made:


1.  Atli sent   |   of old to Gunnar
    A keen-witted rider,   |   Knefröth did men call him;
    To Gjuki’s home came he   |   and to Gunnar’s dwelling,
    With benches round the hearth,   |   and to the beer so sweet.

2.  Then the followers, hiding   |   their falseness, all drank
    Their wine in the war-hall,   |   of the Huns’ wrath wary;
    And Knefröth spake loudly,   |   his words were crafty,
    The hero from the south,   |   on the high bench sitting:

3.  “Now Atli has sent me   |   his errand to ride,
    On my bit-champing steed   |   through Myrkwood the secret,
    To bid you, Gunnar,   |   to his benches to come,
    With helms round the hearth,   |   and Atli’s home seek.

4.  “Shields shall ye choose there,   |   and shafts made of
    ash-wood,
    Gold-adorned helmets,   |   and slaves out of Hunland,
    Silver-gilt saddle-cloths,   |   shirts of bright scarlet,
    With lances and spears too,   |   and bit-champing steeds.

5.  “The field shall be given you   |   of wide Gnitaheith,
    With loud-ringing lances,   |   and stems gold-o’erlaid,
    Treasures full huge,   |   and the home of Danp,
    And the mighty forest   |   that Myrkwood is called.”

6.  His head turned Gunnar,   |   and to Hogni he said:
    “What thy counsel, young hero,   |   when such things we hear?
    No gold do I know   |   on Gnitaheith lying
    So fair that other   |   its equal we have not.

7.  “We have seven halls,   |   each of swords is full,
    (And all of gold   |   is the hilt of each;)
    My steed is the swiftest,   |   my sword is sharpest,
    My bows adorn benches,   |   my byrnies are golden,
    My helm is the brightest   |   that came from Kjar’s hall,
    (Mine own is better   |   than all the Huns’ treasure.)”


Hogni spake:


8.  “What seeks she to say,   |   that she sends us a ring,
    Woven with a wolf’s hair?   |   methinks it gives warning;
    In the red ring a hair   |   of the heath-dweller found I,
    Wolf-like shall our road be   |   if we ride on this journey.”

9.  Not eager were his comrades,   |   nor the men of his kin,
    The wise nor the wary,   |   nor the warriors bold.
    But Gunnar spake forth   |   as befitted a king,
    Noble in the beer-hall,   |   and bitter his scorn:

10. “Stand forth now, Fjornir!   |   and hither on the floor
    The beakers all golden   |   shalt thou bring to the warriors.
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

11. “The wolves then shall rule   |   the wealth of the Niflungs,
    Wolves aged and grey-hued,   |   if Gunnar is lost,
    And black-coated bears   |   with rending teeth bite,
    And make glad the dogs,   |   if Gunnar returns not.”

12. A following gallant   |   fared forth with the ruler,
    Yet they wept as their home   |   with the hero they left;
    And the little heir   |   of Hogni called loudly:
    “Go safe now, ye wise ones,   |   wherever ye will!”

13. Then let the bold heroes   |   their bit-champing horses
    On the mountains gallop,   |   and through Myrkwood the secret;
    All Hunland was shaken   |   where the hard-souled ones rode,
    On the whip-fearers fared they   |   through fields that were
    green.

14. Then they saw Atli’s halls,   |   and his watch-towers high,
    On the walls so lofty   |   stood the warriors of Buthli;
    The hall of the southrons   |   with seats was surrounded,
    With targets bound   |   and shields full bright.

15. Mid weapons and lances   |   did Atli his wine
    In the war-hall drink,   |   without were his watchmen,
    For Gunnar they waited,   |   if forth he should go,
    With their ringing spears   |   they would fight with the ruler.

16. This their sister saw,   |   as soon as her brothers
    Had entered the hall,—   |   little ale had she drunk:
    “Betrayed art thou, Gunnar!   |   what guard hast thou, hero,
    ’Gainst the plots of the Huns?   |   from the hall flee swiftly!

17. “Brother, ’twere far better   |   to have come in byrnie,
    With thy household helmed,   |   to see Atli’s home,
    And to sit in the saddle   |   all day ’neath the sun,
    (That the sword-norns might weep   |   for the death-pale warriors,
    And the Hunnish shield-maids   |   might shun not the sword,)
    And send Atli himself   |   to the den of the snakes;
    (Now the den of the snakes   |   for thee is destined.)”


Gunnar spake:


18. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    “Too late is it, sister,   |   to summon the Niflungs,
    Long is it to come   |   to the throng of our comrades,
    The heroes gallant,   |   from the hills of the Rhine.”

            *    *    *    *    *    *

19. Then Gunnar they seized,   |   and they set him in chains,
    The Burgundians’ king,   |   and fast they bound him.

20. Hogni slew seven   |   with sword so keen,
    And an eighth he flung   |   in the fire hot;
    A hero should fight   |   with his foemen thus,
    As Hogni strove   |   in Gunnar’s behalf.

21. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    The leader they asked   |   if his life he fain
    With gold would buy,   |   the king of the Goths.


Gunnar spake:


22. “First the heart of Hogni   |   shall ye lay in my hands,
    All bloody from the breast   |   of the bold one cut
    With keen-biting sword,   |   from the son of the king.”

23. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    They cut out the heart   |   from the breast of Hjalli,
    On a platter they bore it,   |   and brought it to Gunnar.

24. Then Gunnar spake forth,   |   the lord of the folk:
    “Here have I the heart   |   of Hjalli the craven,
    Unlike to the heart   |   of Hogni the valiant,
    For it trembles still   |   as it stands on the platter;
    Twice more did it tremble   |   in the breast of the man.”

25. Then Hogni laughed   |   when they cut out the heart
    Of the living helm-hammerer;   |   tears he had not.
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    On a platter they bore it,   |   and brought it to Gunnar.

26. Then Gunnar spake forth,   |   the spear of the Niflungs:
    “Here have I the heart   |   of Hogni the valiant,
    Unlike to the heart   |   of Hjalli the craven,
    Little it trembles   |   as it lies on the platter,
    Still less did it tremble   |   when it lay in his breast.

27. “So distant, Atli,   |   from all men’s eyes,
    Shalt thou be as thou   |   .  .  .  .  . from the gold.
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

28. “To no one save me   |   is the secret known
    Of the Niflungs’ hoard,   |   now Hogni is dead;
    Of old there were two,   |   while we twain were alive,
    Now is none but I,   |   for I only am living.

29. “The swift Rhine shall hold   |   the strife-gold of heroes,
    That once was the gods’,   |   the wealth of the Niflungs,
    In the depths of the waters   |   the death-rings shall glitter,
    And not shine on the hands   |   of the Hunnish men.”


Atli spake:


30. “Ye shall bring the wagon,   |   for now is he bound.”

            *    *    *    *    *    *

31. On the long-maned Glaum   |   rode Atli the great,
    About him were warriors   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    But Guthrun, akin   |   to the gods of slaughter,
    Yielded not to her tears   |   in the hall of tumult.


Guthrun spake:


32. “It shall go with thee, Atli,   |   as with Gunnar thou heldest
    The oaths ofttimes sworn,   |   and of old made firm,
    By the sun in the south,   |   by Sigtyr’s mountain,
    By the horse of the rest-bed,   |   and the ring of Ull.”

33. Then the champer of bits   |   drew the chieftain great,
    The gold-guarder, down   |   to the place of death.
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

34. By the warriors’ host   |   was the living hero
    Cast in the den   |   where crawling about
    Within were serpents,   |   but soon did Gunnar
    With his hand in wrath on   |   the harp-strings smite;
    The strings resounded,—   |   so shall a hero,
    A ring-breaker, gold   |   from his enemies guard.

35. Then Atli rode   |   on his earth-treading steed,
    Seeking his home,   |   from the slaughter-place;
    There was clatter of hoofs   |   of the steeds in the court,
    And the clashing of arms   |   as they came from the field.

36. Out then came Guthrun   |   to meeting with Atli,
    With a golden beaker   |   as gift to the monarch:
    “Thou mayst eat now, chieftain,   |   within thy dwelling,
    Blithely with Guthrun   |   young beasts fresh slaughtered.”

37. The wine-heavy ale-cups   |   of Atli resounded,
    When there in the hall   |   the Hunnish youths clamored,
    And the warriors bearded,   |   the brave ones, entered.

38. Then in came the shining one,   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   and drink she bore them;
    Unwilling and bitter   |   brought she food to the warrior,
    Till in scorn to the white-faced   |   Atli did she speak:

39. “Thou giver of swords,   |   of thy sons the hearts
    All heavy with blood   |   in honey thou hast eaten;
    Thou shalt stomach, thou hero,   |   the flesh of the slain,
    To eat at thy feast,   |   and to send to thy followers.

40. “Thou shalt never call   |   to thy knees again
    Erp or Eitil,   |   when merry with ale;
    Thou shalt never see   |   in their seats again
    The sharers of gold   |   their lances shaping,
    (Clipping the manes   |   or minding their steeds.)”

41. There was clamor on the benches,   |   and the cry of men,
    The clashing of weapons,   |   and weeping of the Huns,
    Save for Guthrun only,   |   she wept not ever
    For her bear-fierce brothers,   |   or the boys so dear,
    So young and so unhappy,   |   whom with Atli she had.

42. Gold did she scatter,   |   the swan-white one,
    And rings of red gold   |   to the followers gave she;
    The fate she let grow,   |   and the shining wealth go,
    Nor spared she the treasure   |   of the temple itself.

43. Unwise then was Atli,   |   he had drunk to wildness,
    No weapon did he have,   |   and of Guthrun bewared not;
    Oft their play was better   |   when both in gladness
    Each other embraced   |   among princes all.

44. With her sword she gave blood   |   for the bed to drink,
    With her death-dealing hand,   |   and the hounds she loosed,
    The thralls she awakened,   |   and a firebrand threw
    In the door of the hall;   |   so vengeance she had.

45. To the flames she gave all   |   who yet were within,
    And from Myrkheim had come   |   from the murder of Gunnar;
    The timbers old fell,   |   the temple was in flames,
    The dwelling of the Buthlungs,   |   and the shield-maids burned,
    They were slain in the house,   |   in the hot flames they sank.

46. Now the tale is all told,   |   nor in later time
    Will a woman in byrnie   |   avenge so her brothers;
    The fair one to three   |   of the kings of the folk
    Brought the doom of death   |   ere herself she died.


Still more is told in the Greenland ballad of Atli.

# ATLAMOL EN GRÖNLENZKU

ATLAMOL EN GRÖNLENZKU

THE GREENLAND BALLAD OF ATLI




1.  There are many who know   |   how of old did men
    In counsel gather;   |   little good did they get;
    In secret they plotted,   |   it was sore for them later,
    And for Gjuki’s sons,   |   whose trust they deceived.

2.  Fate grew for the princes,   |   to death they were given;
    Ill counsel was Atli’s,   |   though keenness he had;
    He felled his staunch bulwark,   |   his own sorrow fashioned,
    Soon a message he sent   |   that his kinsmen should seek him.

3.  Wise was the woman,   |   she fain would use wisdom,
    She saw well what meant   |   all they said in secret;
    From her heart it was hid   |   how help she might render,
    The sea they should sail,   |   while herself she should go not.

4.  Runes did she fashion,   |   but false Vingi made them,
    The speeder of hatred,   |   ere to give them he sought;
    Then soon fared the warriors   |   whom Atli had sent,
    And to Limafjord came,   |   to the home of the kings.

5.  They were kindly with ale,   |   and fires they kindled,
    They thought not of craft   |   from the guests who had come;
    The gifts did they take   |   that the noble one gave them,
    On the pillars they hung them,   |   no fear did they harbor.

6.  Forth did Kostbera, wife   |   of Hogni, then come,
    Full kindly she was,   |   and she welcomed them both;
    And glad too was Glaumvor,   |   the wife of Gunnar,
    She knew well to care   |   for the needs of the guests.

7.  Then Hogni they asked   |   if more eager he were,
    Full clear was the guile,   |   if on guard they had been;
    Then Gunnar made promise,   |   if Hogni would go,
    And Hogni made answer   |   as the other counseled.

8.  Then the famed ones brought mead,   |   and fair was the feast,
    Full many were the horns,   |   till the men had drunk deep;
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    Then the mates made ready   |   their beds for resting.

9.  Wise was Kostbera,   |   and cunning in rune-craft,
    The letters would she read   |   by the light of the fire;
    But full quickly her tongue   |   to her palate clave,
    So strange did they seem   |   that their meaning she saw not.

10. Full soon then his bed   |   came Hogni to seek,
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    The clear-souled one dreamed,   |   and her dream she kept not,
    To the warrior the wise one   |   spake when she wakened:

11. “Thou wouldst go hence, Hogni,   |   but heed my counsel,—
    Known to few are the runes,—   |   and put off thy faring;
    I have read now the runes   |   that thy sister wrote,
    And this time the bright one   |   did not bid thee to come.

12. “Full much do I wonder,   |   nor well can I see,
    Why the woman wise   |   so wildly hath written;
    But to me it seems   |   that the meaning beneath
    Is that both shall be slain   |   if soon ye shall go.
    But one rune she missed,   |   or else others have marred it.”


Hogni spake:


13. “All women are fearful;   |   not so do I feel,
    Ill I seek not to find   |   till I soon must avenge it;
    The king now will give us   |   the glow-ruddy gold;
    I never shall fear,   |   though of dangers I know.”


Kostbera spake:


14. “In danger ye fare,   |   if forth ye go thither,
    No welcoming friendly   |   this time shall ye find;
    For I dreamed now, Hogni,   |   and nought will I hide,
    Full evil thy faring,   |   if rightly I fear.

15. “Thy bed-covering saw I   |   in the flames burning,
    And the fire burst high   |   through the walls of my home.”


Hogni spake:


    “Yon garment of linen   |   lies little of worth,
    It will soon be burned,   |   so thou sawest the bed-cover.”


Kostbera spake:


16. “A bear saw I enter,   |   the pillars he broke,
    And he brandished his claws   |   so that craven we were;
    With his mouth seized he many,   |   and nought was our might,
    And loud was the tumult,   |   not little it was.”


Hogni spake:


17. “Now a storm is brewing,   |   and wild it grows swiftly,
    A dream of an ice-bear   |   means a gale from the east.”


Kostbera spake:


18. “An eagle I saw flying   |   from the end through the house,
    Our fate must be bad,   |   for with blood he sprinkled us;
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    From the evil I fear   |   that ’twas Atli’s spirit.”


Hogni spake:


19. “They will slaughter soon,   |   and so blood do we see,
    Oft oxen it means   |   when of eagles one dreams;
    True is Atli’s heart,   |   whatever thou dreamest.”
    Then silent they were,   |   and nought further they said.

20. The high-born ones wakened,   |   and like speech they had,
    Then did Glaumvor tell   |   how in terror she dreamed,
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    .  .  .  .  . Gunnar   |   two roads they should go.


Glaumvor spake:


21. “A gallows saw I ready,   |   thou didst go to thy hanging,
    Thy flesh serpents ate,   |   and yet living I found thee;
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    The gods’ doom descended;   |   now say what it boded.”

            *    *    *    *    *    *

22. “A sword drawn bloody   |   from thy garments I saw,—
    Such a dream is hard   |   to a husband to tell,—
    A spear stood, methought,   |   through thy body thrust,
    And at head and feet   |   the wolves were howling.”


Gunnar spake:


23. “The hounds are running,   |   loud their barking is heard,
    Oft hounds’ clamor follows   |   the flying of spears.”


Glaumvor spake:


24. “A river the length   |   of the hall saw I run,
    Full swiftly it roared,   |   o’er the benches it swept;
    O’er the feet did it break   |   of ye brothers twain,
    The water would yield not;   |   some meaning there was.”

            *    *    *    *    *    *

25. “I dreamed that by night   |   came dead women hither,
    Sad were their garments,   |   and thee were they seeking;
    They bade thee come swiftly   |   forth to their benches,
    And nothing, methinks,   |   could the Norns avail thee.”


Gunnar spake:


26. “Too late is thy speaking,   |   for so is it settled;
    From the faring I turn not,   |   the going is fixed,
    Though likely it is   |   that our lives shall be short.”

27. Then bright shone the morning,   |   the men all were ready,
    They said, and yet each   |   would the other hold back;
    Five were the warriors,   |   and their followers all
    But twice as many,—   |   their minds knew not wisdom.

28. Snævar and Solar,   |   they were sons of Hogni,
    Orkning was he called   |   who came with the others,
    Blithe was the shield-tree,   |   the brother of Kostbera;
    The fair-decked ones followed,   |   till the fjord divided them,
    Full hard did they plead,   |   but the others would hear not.

29. Then did Glaumvor speak forth,   |   the wife of Gunnar,
    To Vingi she said   |   that which wise to her seemed:
    “I know not if well   |   thou requitest our welcome,
    Full ill was thy coming   |   if evil shall follow.”

30. Then did Vingi swear,   |   and full glib was his speech,
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    “May giants now take me   |   if lies I have told ye,
    And the gallows if hostile   |   thought did I have.”

31. Then did Bera speak forth,   |   and fair was her thought,
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    “May ye sail now happy,   |   and victory have,
    To fare as I bid ye,   |   may nought your way bar.”

32. Then Hogni made answer,—   |   dear held he his kin,—
    courage, ye wise ones,   |   whatsoever may come;
    Though many may speak,   |   yet is evil oft mighty,
    And words avail little   |   to lead one homeward.

33. They tenderly looked   |   till each turned on his way,
    Then with changing fate   |   were their farings divided.

34. Full stoutly they rowed,   |   and the keel clove asunder,
    Their backs strained at the oars,   |   and their strength was
    fierce;
    The oar-loops were burst,   |   the thole-pins were broken,
    Nor the ship made they fast   |   ere from her they fared.

35. Not long was it after—   |   the end must I tell—
    That the home they beheld   |   that Buthli once had;
    Loud the gates resounded   |   when Hogni smote them;
    Vingi spake then a word   |   that were better unsaid:

36. “Go ye far from the house,   |   for false is its entrance,
    Soon shall I burn you,   |   ye are swiftly smitten;
    I bade ye come fairly,   |   but falseness was under,
    Now bide ye afar   |   while your gallows I fashion.”

37. Then Hogni made answer,   |   his heart yielded little,
    And nought did he fear   |   that his fate held in store:
    “Seek not to affright us,   |   thou shalt seldom succeed;
    If thy words are more,   |   then the worse grows thy fate.”

38. Then Vingi did they smite,   |   and they sent him to hell,
    With their axes they clove him   |   while the death-rattle came.

39. Atli summoned his men,   |   in mail-coats they hastened,
    All ready they came,   |   and between was the courtyard.

            *    *    *    *    *    *

40. Then came they to words,   |   and full wrathful they were:
    “Long since did we plan   |   how soon we might slay you.”


Hogni spake:


41. “Little it matters   |   if long ye have planned it;
    For unarmed do ye wait,   |   and one have we felled,
    We smote him to hell,   |   of your host was he once.”

42. Then wild was their anger   |   when all heard his words;
    Their fingers were swift   |   on their bowstrings to seize,
    Full sharply they shot,   |   by their shields were they guarded.

43. In the house came the word   |   how the heroes without
    Fought in front of the hall;   |   they heard a thrall tell it;
    Grim then was Guthrun,   |   the grief when she heard,
    With necklaces fair,   |   and she flung them all from her,
    (The silver she hurled   |   so the rings burst asunder.)

44. Then out did she go,   |   she flung open the doors,
    All fearless she went,   |   and the guests did she welcome;
    To the Niflungs she went—   |   her last greeting it was,—
    In her speech truth was clear,   |   and much would she speak.

45. “For your safety I sought   |   that at home ye should stay;
    None escapes his fate,   |   so ye hither must fare.”
    Full wisely she spake,   |   if yet peace they might win,
    But to nought would they hearken,   |   and “No” said they all.

46. Then the high-born one saw   |   that hard was their battle,
    In fierceness of heart   |   she flung off her mantle;
    Her naked sword grasped she   |   her kin’s lives to guard,
    Not gentle her hands   |   in the hewing of battle.

47. Then the daughter of Gjuki   |   two warriors smote down,
    Atli’s brother she slew,   |   and forth then they bore him;
    (So fiercely she fought   |   that his feet she clove off;)
    Another she smote   |   so that never he stood,
    To hell did she send him,—   |   her hands trembled never.

48. Full wide was the fame   |   of the battle they fought,
    ’Twas the greatest of deeds   |   of the sons of Gjuki;
    Men say that the Niflungs,   |   while themselves they were living,
    With their swords fought mightily,   |   mail-coats they sundered,
    And helms did they hew,   |   as their hearts were fearless.

49. All the morning they fought   |   until midday shone,
    (All the dusk as well   |   and the dawning of day,)
    When the battle was ended,   |   the field flowed with blood;
    Ere they fell, eighteen   |   of their foemen were slain,
    By the two sons of Bera   |   and her brother as well.

50. Then the warrior spake,   |   and wild was his anger:
    “This is evil to see,   |   and thy doing is all;
    Once we were thirty,   |   we thanes keen for battle,
    Now eleven are left,   |   and great is our lack.

51. “There were five of us brothers   |   when Buthli we lost,
    Now Hel has the half,   |   and two smitten lie here;
    A great kinship had I,—   |   the truth may I hide not,—
    From a wife bringing slaughter   |   small joy could I win.

52. We lay seldom together   |   since to me thou wast given,
    Now my kin all are gone,   |   of my gold am I robbed;
    Nay, and worst, thou didst send   |   my sister to hell.”


Guthrun spake:


53. “Hear me now, Atli!   |   the first evil was thine;
    My mother didst thou take,   |   and for gold didst murder her,
    My sister’s daughter   |   thou didst starve in a prison.
    A jest does it seem   |   that thy sorrow thou tellest,
    And good do I find it   |   that grief to thee comes.”


Atli spake:


54. “Go now, ye warriors,   |   and make greater the grief
    Of the woman so fair,   |   for fain would I see it;
    So fierce be thy warring   |   that Guthrun shall weep,
    I would gladly behold   |   her happiness lost.

55. “Seize ye now Hogni,   |   and with knives shall ye hew him,
    His heart shall ye cut out,   |   this haste ye to do;
    And grim-hearted Gunnar   |   shall ye bind on the gallows,
    Swift shall ye do it,   |   to serpents now cast him.”


Hogni spake:


56. “Do now as thou wilt,   |   for glad I await it,
    Brave shalt thou find me,   |   I have faced worse before;
    We held thee at bay   |   while whole we were fighting,
    Now with wounds are we spent,   |   so thy will canst thou work.”

57. Then did Beiti speak,   |   he was Atli’s steward:
    “Let us seize now Hjalli,   |   and Hogni spare we!
    Let us fell the sluggard,   |   he is fit for death,
    He has lived too long,   |   and lazy men call him.”

58. Afraid was the pot-watcher,   |   he fled here and yon,
    And crazed with his terror   |   he climbed in the corners:
    “Ill for me is this fighting,   |   if I pay for your fierceness,
    And sad is the day   |   to die leaving my swine
    And all the fair victuals   |   that of old did I have.”

59. They seized Buthli’s cook,   |   and they came with the knife,
    The frightened thrall howled   |   ere the edge did he feel;
    He was willing, he cried,   |   to dung well the courtyard,
    Do the basest of work,   |   if spare him they would;
    Full happy were Hjalli   |   if his life he might have.

60. Then fain was Hogni—   |   there are few would do thus—
    To beg for the slave   |   that safe hence he should go;
    “I would find it far better   |   this knife-play to feel,
    Why must we all hark   |   to this howling longer?”

61. Then the brave one they seized;   |   to the warriors bold
    No chance was there left   |   to delay his fate longer;
    Loud did Hogni laugh,   |   all the sons of day heard him,
    So valiant he was   |   that well he could suffer.

            *    *    *    *    *    *

62. A harp Gunnar seized,   |   with his toes he smote it;
    So well did he strike   |   that the women all wept,
    And the men, when clear   |   they heard it, lamented;
    Full noble was his song,   |   the rafters burst asunder.

63. Then the heroes died   |   ere the day was yet come;
    Their fame did they leave   |   ever lofty to live.
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

64. Full mighty seemed Atli   |   as o’er them he stood,
    The wise one he blamed,   |   and his words reproached her:
    “It is morning, Guthrun;   |   now thy dear ones dost miss,
    But the blame is part thine   |   that thus it has chanced.”


Guthrun spake:


65. “Thou art joyous, Atli,   |   for of evil thou tellest,
    But sorrow is thine   |   if thou mightest all see;
    Thy heritage heavy   |   here can I tell thee,
    Sorrow never thou losest   |   unless I shall die.”


Atli spake:


66. “Not free of guilt am I;   |   a way shall I find
    That is better by far,—   |   oft the fairest we shunned;—
    With slaves I console thee,   |   with gems fair to see,
    And with silver snow-white,   |   as thyself thou shalt choose.”


Guthrun spake:


67. “No hope shall this give thee,   |   thy gifts I shall take
    not,
    Requital I spurned   |   when my sorrows were smaller;
    Once grim did I seem,   |   but now greater my grimness,
    There was nought seemed too hard   |   while Hogni was living.

68. “Our childhood did we have   |   in a single house,
    We played many a game,   |   in the grove did we grow;
    Then did Grimhild give us   |   gold and necklaces;
    Thou shalt ne’er make amends   |   for my brother’s murder,
    Nor ever shalt win me   |   to think it was well.

69. “But the fierceness of men   |   rules the fate of women,
    The tree-top bows low   |   if bereft of its leaves,
    The tree bends over   |   if the roots are cleft under it;
    Now mayest thou, Atli,   |   o’er all things here rule.”

70. Full heedless the warrior   |   was that he trusted her,
    So clear was her guile   |   if on guard he had been;
    But crafty was Guthrun,   |   with cunning she spake,
    Her glance she made pleasant,   |   with two shields she played.

71. The beer then she brought   |   for her brothers’ death-feast,
    And a feast Atli made   |   for his followers dead;
    No more did they speak,   |   the mead was made ready,
    Soon the men were gathered   |   with mighty uproar.

72. Thus bitterly planned she,   |   and Buthli’s race threatened,
    And terrible vengeance   |   on her husband would take;
    The little ones called she,   |   on a block she laid them;
    Afraid were the proud ones,   |   but their tears did not fall;
    To their mother’s arms went they,   |   and asked what she would.


Guthrun spake:


73. “Nay, ask me no more!   |   You both shall I murder,
    For long have I wished   |   your lives to steal from you.”


The boys spake:


    “Slay thy boys as thou wilt,   |   for no one may bar it,
    Short the angry one’s peace   |   if all thou shalt do.”

74. Then the grim one slew both   |   of the brothers young,
    Full hard was her deed   |   when their heads she smote off;
    Fain was Atli to know   |   whither now they were gone,
    The boys from their sport,   |   for nowhere he spied them.


Guthrun spake:


75. “My fate shall I seek,   |   all to Atli saying,
    The daughter of Grimhild   |   the deed from thee hides not;
    No joy thou hast, Atli,   |   if all thou shalt hear,
    Great sorrow didst wake   |   when my brothers thou slewest.

76. “I have seldom slept   |   since the hour they were slain,
    Baleful were my threats,   |   now I bid thee recall them;
    Thou didst say it was morning,—   |   too well I remember,—
    Now is evening come,   |   and this question thou askest.

77. “Now both of thy sons   |   thou hast lost .  .  .
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   as thou never shouldst do;
    The skulls of thy boys   |   thou as beer-cups didst have,
    And the draught that I made thee   |   was mixed with their blood.

78. “I cut out their hearts,   |   on a spit I cooked them,
    I came to thee with them,   |   and calf’s flesh I called them;
    Alone didst thou eat them,   |   nor any didst leave,
    Thou didst greedily bite,   |   and thy teeth were busy.

79. “Of thy sons now thou knowest;   |   few suffer more sorrow;
    My guilt have I told,   |   fame it never shall give me.”


Atli spake:


80. “Grim wast thou, Guthrun,   |   in so grievous a deed,
    My draught with the blood   |   of thy boys to mingle;
    Thou hast slain thine own kin,   |   most ill it beseemed thee,
    And little for me   |   twixt my sorrows thou leavest.”


Guthrun spake:


81. “Still more would I seek   |   to slay thee thyself,
    Enough ill comes seldom   |   to such as thou art;
    Thou didst folly of old,   |   such that no one shall find
    In the whole world of men   |   a match for such madness.
    Now this that of late   |   we learned hast thou added,
    Great evil hast grasped,   |   and thine own death-feast made.”


Atli spake:


82. “With fire shall they burn thee,   |   and first shall they
    stone thee,
    So then hast thou earned   |   what thou ever hast sought for.”


Guthrun spake:


    “Such woes for thyself   |   shalt thou say in the morning,
    From a finer death I   |   to another light fare.”

83. Together they sat   |   and full grim were their thoughts,
    Unfriendly their words,   |   and no joy either found;
    In Hniflung grew hatred,   |   great plans did he have,
    To Guthrun his anger   |   against Atli was told.

84. To her heart came ever   |   the fate of Hogni,
    She told him ’twere well   |   if he vengeance should win;
    So was Atli slain,—   |   ’twas not slow to await,—
    Hogni’s son slew him,   |   and Guthrun herself.

85. Then the warrior spake,   |   as from slumber he wakened,
    Soon he knew for his wounds   |   would the bandage do nought:
    “Now the truth shalt thou say:   |   who has slain Buthli’s son?
    Full sore am I smitten,   |   nor hope can I see.”


Guthrun spake:


86. “Ne’er her deed from thee hides   |   the daughter of Grimhild,
    I own to the guilt   |   that is ending thy life,
    And the son of Hogni;   |   ’tis so thy wounds bleed.”


Atli spake:


    “To murder hast thou fared,   |   though foul it must seem;
    Ill thy friend to betray   |   who trusted thee well.

87. “Not glad went I hence   |   thy hand to seek, Guthrun,
    In thy widowhood famed,   |   but haughty men found thee;
    My belief did not lie,   |   as now we have learned;
    I brought thee home hither,   |   and a host of men with us.

88. “Most noble was all   |   when of old we journeyed,
    Great honor did we have   |   of heroes full worthy;
    Of cattle had we plenty, |and greatly we prospered,
    Mighty was our wealth,   |   and many received it.

89. “To the famed one as bride-gift   |   I gave jewels fair,
    I gave thirty slaves,   |   and handmaidens seven;
    There was honor in such gifts,   |   yet the silver was greater.

90. “But all to thee was   |   as if nought it were worth,
    While the land lay before thee   |   that Buthli had left me;
    Thou in secret didst work   |   so the treasure I won not;
    My mother full oft   |   to sit weeping didst make,
    No wedded joy found I   |   in fullness of heart.”


Guthrun spake:


91. “Thou liest now, Atli,   |   though little I heed it;
    If I seldom was kindly,   |   full cruel wast thou;
    Ye brothers fought young,   |   quarrels brought you to battle,
    And half went to hell   |   of the sons of thy house,
    And all was destroyed   |   that should e’er have done good.

92. “My two brothers and I   |   were bold in our thoughts,
    From the land we went forth,   |   with Sigurth we fared;
    Full swiftly we sailed,   |   each one steering his ship,
    So our fate sought we e’er   |   till we came to the East.

93. “First the king did we slay,   |   and the land we seized,
    The princes did us service,   |   for such was their fear;
    From the forest we called   |   them we fain would have guiltless,
    And rich made we many   |   who of all were bereft.

94. “Slain was the Hun-king,   |   soon happiness vanished,
    In her grief the widow   |   so young sat weeping;
    Yet worse seemed the sorrow   |   to seek Atli’s house,
    A hero was my husband,   |   and hard was his loss.

95. “From the Thing thou camst never,   |   for thus have we heard,
    Having won in thy quarrels,   |   or warriors smitten;
    Full yielding thou wast,   |   never firm was thy will,
    In silence didst suffer,   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .”


Atli spake:


96. “Thou liest now, Guthrun,   |   but little of good
    Will it bring to either,   |   for all have we lost;
    But, Guthrun, yet once   |   be thou kindly of will,
    For the honor of both,   |   when forth I am borne.”


Guthrun spake:


97. “A ship will I buy,   |   and a bright-hued coffin,
    I will wax well the shroud   |   to wind round thy body,
    For all will I care   |   as if dear were we ever.”

98. Then did Atli die,   |   and his heirs’ grief doubled;
    The high-born one did   |   as to him she had promised;
    Then sought Guthrun the wise   |   to go to her death,
    But for days did she wait,   |   and ’twas long ere she died.

99. Full happy shall he be   |   who such offspring has,
    Or children so gallant,   |   as Gjuki begot;
    Forever shall live,   |   and in lands far and wide,
    Their valor heroic   |   wherever men hear it.

# GUTHRUNARHVOT

GUTHRUNARHVOT

GUTHRUN’S INCITING


Guthrun went forth to the sea after she had slain Atli. She went out
into the sea and fain would drown herself, but she could not sink. The
waves bore her across the fjord to the land of King Jonak; he took her
as wife; their sons were Sorli and Erp and Hamther. There was brought
up Svanhild, Sigurth’s daughter; she was married to the mighty
Jormunrek. With him was Bikki, who counselled that Randver, the king’s
son, should have her. This Bikki told to the king. The king had Randver
hanged, and Svanhild trodden to death under horses’ feet. And when
Guthrun learned this, she spake with her sons.


1.  A word-strife I learned,   |   most woeful of all,
    A speech from the fullness   |   of sorrow spoken,
    When fierce of heart   |   her sons to the fight
    Did Guthrun whet   |   with words full grim.

2.  “Why sit ye idle,   |   why sleep out your lives,
    Why grieve ye not   |   in gladness to speak?
    Since Jormunrek   |   your sister young
    Beneath the hoofs   |   of horses hath trodden,
    (White and black   |   on the battle-way,
    Gray, road-wonted,   |   the steeds of the Goths.)

3.  “Not like are ye   |   to Gunnar of yore,
    Nor have ye hearts   |   such as Hogni’s was;
    Vengeance for her   |   ye soon would have
    If brave ye were   |   as my brothers of old,
    Or hard your hearts   |   as the Hunnish kings’.”

4.  Then Hamther spake,   |   the high of heart:
    “Little the deed   |   of Hogni didst love,
    When Sigurth they wakened   |   from his sleep;
    Thy bed-covers white   |   were red with blood
    Of thy husband, drenched   |   with gore from his heart.

5.  “Bloody revenge   |   didst have for thy brothers,
    Evil and sore,   |   when thy sons didst slay;
    Else yet might we all   |   on Jormunrek
    Together our sister’s   |   slaying avenge.

6.  “.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    The gear of the Hunnish   |   kings now give us!
    Thou hast whetted us so   |   to the battle of swords.”

7.  Laughing did Guthrun   |   go to her chamber,
    The helms of the kings   |   from the cupboards she took,
    And mail-coats broad,   |   to her sons she bore them;
    On their horses’ backs   |   the heroes leaped.

8.  Then Hamther spake,   |   the high of heart:
    “Homeward no more   |   his mother to see
    Comes the spear-god, fallen   |   mid Gothic folk;
    One death-draught thou   |   for us all shalt drink,
    For Svanhild then   |   and thy sons as well.”

9.  Weeping Guthrun,   |   Gjuki’s daughter,
    Went sadly before   |   the gate to sit,
    And with tear-stained cheeks   |   to tell the tale
    Of her mighty griefs,   |   so many in kind.

10. “Three home-fires knew I,   |   three hearths I knew,
    Home was I brought   |   by husbands three;
    But Sigurth only   |   of all was dear,
    He whom my brothers   |   brought to his death.

11. “A greater sorrow   |   I saw not nor knew,
    Yet more it seemed   |   I must suffer yet
    When the princes great   |   to Atli gave me.

12. “The brave boys I summoned   |   to secret speech;
    For my woes requital   |   I might not win
    Till off the heads   |   of the Hniflungs I hewed.

13. “To the sea I went,   |   my heart full sore
    For the Norns, whose wrath   |   I would now escape;
    But the lofty billows   |   bore me undrowned,
    Till to land I came,   |   so I longer must live.

14. “Then to the bed—   |   of old was it better!—
    Of a King of the folk   |   a third time I came;
    Boys I bore   |   his heirs to be,
    Heirs so young,   |   the sons of Jonak.

15. “But round Svanhild   |   handmaidens sat,
    She was dearest ever   |   of all my children;
    So did Svanhild   |   seem in my hall
    As the ray of the sun   |   is fair to see.

16. “Gold I gave her   |   and garments bright,
    Ere I let her go   |   to the Gothic folk;
    Of my heavy woes   |   the hardest it was
    When Svanhild’s tresses   |   fair were trodden
    In the mire by hoofs   |   of horses wild.

17. “The sorest it was   |   when Sigurth mine
    On his couch, of victory   |   robbed, they killed;
    And grimmest of all   |   when to Gunnar’s heart
    There crept the bright-hued   |   crawling snakes.

18. “And keenest of all   |   when they cut the heart
    From the living breast   |   of the king so brave;
    Many woes I remember,   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

19. “Bridle, Sigurth,   |   thy steed so black,
    Hither let run   |   thy swift-faring horse;
    Here there sits not   |   son or daughter
    Who yet to Guthrun   |   gifts shall give.

20. “Remember, Sigurth,   |   what once we said,
    When together both   |   on the bed we sat,
    That mightily thou   |   to me wouldst come
    From hell and I   |   from earth to thee.

21. “Pile ye up, jarls,   |   the pyre of oak,
    Make it the highest   |   a hero e’er had;
    Let the fire burn   |   my grief-filled breast,
    My sore-pressed heart,   |   till my sorrows melt.”

22. May nobles all   |   less sorrow know,
    And less the woes   |   of women become,
    Since the tale of this   |   lament is told.

# HAMTHESMOL

HAMTHESMOL

THE BALLAD OF HAMTHER



1.  Great the evils   |   once that grew,
    With the dawning sad   |   of the sorrow of elves;
    In early morn   |   awake for men
    The evils that grief   |   to each shall bring.

2.  Not now, nor yet   |   of yesterday was it,
    Long the time   |   that since hath lapsed,
    So that little there is   |   that is half as old,
    Since Guthrun, daughter   |   of Gjuki, whetted
    Her sons so young   |   to Svanhild’s vengeance.

3.  “The sister ye had   |   was Svanhild called,
    And her did Jormunrek   |   trample with horses,
    White and black   |   on the battle-way,
    Gray, road-wonted,   |   the steeds of the Goths.

4.  “Little the kings   |   of the folk are ye like,
    For now ye are living   |   alone of my race.

5.  “Lonely am I   |   as the forest aspen,
    Of kindred bare   |   as the fir of its boughs,
    My joys are all lost   |   as the leaves of the tree
    When the scather of twigs   |   from the warm day turns.”

6.  Then Hamther spake forth,   |   the high of heart:
    “Small praise didst thou, Guthrun,   |   to Hogni’s deed give
    When they wakened thy Sigurth   |   from out of his sleep,
    Thou didst sit on the bed   |   while his slayers laughed.

7.  “Thy bed-covers white   |   with blood were red
    From his wounds, and with gore   |   of thy husband were wet;
    So Sigurth was slain,   |   by his corpse didst thou sit,
    And of gladness didst think not:   |   ’twas Gunnar’s doing.

8.  “Thou wouldst strike at Atli   |   by the slaying of Erp
    And the killing of Eitil;   |   thine own grief was worse;
    So should each one wield   |   the wound-biting sword
    That another it slays   |   but smites not himself.”

9.  Then did Sorli speak out,   |   for wise was he ever:
    “With my mother I never   |   a quarrel will make;
    Full little in speaking   |   methinks ye both lack;
    What askest thou, Guthrun,   |   that will give thee no tears?

10. “For thy brothers dost weep,   |   and thy boys so sweet,
    Thy kinsmen in birth   |   on the battlefield slain;
    Now, Guthrun, as well   |   for us both shalt thou weep,
    We sit doomed on our steeds,   |   and far hence shall we die.”

11. Then the fame-glad one—   |   on the steps she was—
    The slender-fingered,   |   spake with her son:
    “Ye shall danger have   |   if counsel ye heed not;
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    By two heroes alone   |   shall two hundred of Goths
    Be bound or be slain   |   in the lofty-walled burg.”

12. From the courtyard they fared,   |   and fury they breathed;
    The youths swiftly went   |   o’er the mountain wet,
    On their Hunnish steeds,   |   death’s vengeance to have.

13. On the way they found   |   the man so wise;
    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
    “What help from the weakling   |   brown may we have?”

14. So answered them   |   their half-brother then:
    “So well may I   |   my kinsmen aid
    As help one foot   |   from the other has.”

15. “How may a foot   |   its fellow aid,
    Or a flesh-grown hand   |   another help?”

16. Then Erp spake forth,   |   his words were few,
    As haughty he sat   |   on his horse’s back:
    “To the timid ’tis ill   |   the way to tell.”
    A bastard they   |   the bold one called.

17. From their sheaths they drew   |   their shining swords,
    Their blades, to the giantess   |   joy to give;
    By a third they lessened   |   the might that was theirs,
    The fighter young   |   to earth they felled.

18. Their cloaks they shook,   |   their swords they sheathed,
    The high-born men   |   wrapped their mantles close.

19. On their road they fared   |   and an ill way found,
    And their sister’s son   |   on a tree they saw,
    On the wind-cold wolf-tree   |   west of the hall,
    And cranes’-bait crawled;   |   none would care to linger.

20. In the hall was din,   |   the men drank deep,
    And the horses’ hoofs   |   could no one hear,
    Till the warrior hardy   |   sounded his horn.

21. Men came and the tale   |   to Jormunrek told
    How warriors helmed   |   without they beheld:
    “Take counsel wise,   |   for brave ones are come,
    Of mighty men   |   thou the sister didst murder.”

22. Then Jormunrek laughed,   |   his hand laid on his beard,
    His arms, for with wine   |   he was warlike, he called for;
    He shook his brown locks,   |   on his white shield he looked,
    And raised high the cup   |   of gold in his hand.

23. “Happy, methinks,   |   were I to behold
    Hamther and Sorli   |   here in my hall;
    The men would I bind   |   with strings of bows,
    And Gjuki’s heirs   |   on the gallows hang.”

24. In the hall was clamor,   |   the cups were shattered,
    Men stood in blood   |   from the breasts of the Goths.

25. Then did Hamther speak forth,   |   the haughty of heart:
    “Thou soughtest, Jormunrek,   |   us to see,
    Sons of one mother   |   seeking thy dwelling;
    Thou seest thy hands,   |   thy feet thou beholdest,
    Jormunrek, flung   |   in the fire so hot.”

26. Then roared the king,   |   of the race of the gods,
    Bold in his armor,   |   as roars a bear:
    “Stone ye the men   |   that steel will bite not,
    Sword nor spear,   |   the sons of Jonak.”


Sorli spake:


27. “Ill didst win, brother,   |   when the bag thou didst open,
    Oft from that bag   |   came baleful counsel;
    Heart hast thou, Hamther,   |   if knowledge thou hadst!
    A man without wisdom   |   is lacking in much.”


Hamther spake:


28. “His head were now off   |   if Erp were living,
    The brother so keen   |   whom we killed on our road,
    The warrior noble,—   |   ’twas the Norns that drove me
    The hero to slay   |   who in fight should be holy.

29. “In fashion of wolves   |   it befits us not
      Amongst ourselves to strive,
    Like the hounds of the Norns,   |   that nourished were
      In greed mid wastes so grim.

30. “We have greatly fought,   |   o’er the Goths do we stand
    By our blades laid low,   |   like eagles on branches;
    Great our fame though we die   |   today or tomorrow;
    None outlives the night   |   when the Norns have spoken.”

31. Then Sorli beside   |   the gable sank,
    And Hamther fell   |   at the back of the house.


This is called the old ballad of Hamther.