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.”