SIGRDRIFUMOL

[Contents]SIGRDRIFUMOLThe Ballad of The Victory-Bringer[Contents]Introductory NoteThe so-calledSigrdrifumol, which immediately follows theFafnismolin theCodex Regiuswithout any indication of a break, and without separate title, is unquestionably the most chaotic of all the poems in the Eddic collection. The end of it has been entirely lost, for the fifth folio of eight sheets is missing fromRegius, the gap coming after the first line of stanza 29 of this poem. That stanza has been completed, and eight more have been added, from much later paper manuscripts, but even so the conclusion of the poem is in obscurity.Properly speaking, however, the strange conglomeration of stanzas which the compiler of the collection has left for us, and which, in much the same general form, seems to have lain before the authors of theVolsungasaga, in which eighteen of its stanzas are quoted, is not a poem at all. Even its customary title is an absurd error. The mistake made by the annotator in thinking that the epithet “sigrdrifa,” rightly applied to Brynhild as a “bringer of victory,” was a proper name has already been explained and commented on (note onFafnismol, 44). Even if the collection of stanzas were in any real sense a poem, which it emphatically is not, it is certainly not the “Ballad of Sigrdrifa” which it is commonly called. “Ballad of Brynhild” would be a sufficiently suitable title, and I have here brought the established name “Sigrdrifumol” into accord with this by translating the epithet instead of treating it as a proper name.Even apart from the title, however, theSigrdrifumolhas little claim to be regarded as a distinct poem, nor is there any indication that the compiler did so regard it. Handicapped as we are by the loss of the concluding section, and of the material which followed it on those missing pages, we can yet see that the process which began with the proseFra Dautha Sinfjotla, and which, interrupted by the insertion of theGripisspo, went on through theReginsmoland theFafnismol, continued through as much of theSigrdrifumolas is left to us. In other words, the compiler told the story of Sigurth in mixed prose and verse, using whatever verse he could find without much questioning as to its origin, and filling in the gaps with his own prose.Fra[387]Dautha Sinfjotla,Reginsmol,Fafnismol, andSigrdrifumolare essentially a coherent unit, but one of the compiler’s making only; they represent neither one poem nor three distinct poems, and the divisions and titles which have been almost universally adopted by editors are both arbitrary and misleading.TheSigrdrifumolsection as we now have it is an extraordinary piece of patchwork. It is most unlikely that the compiler himself brought all these fragments together for the first time; little by little, through a process of accretion and also, unluckily, through one of elimination, the material grew into its present shape. Certainly the basis of it is a poem dealing with the finding of Brynhild by Sigurth, but of this original poem only five stanzas (2–4 and 20–21) can be identified with any degree of confidence. To these five stanzas should probably, however, be added some, if not all, of the passage (stanzas 6–12) in which Brynhild teaches Sigurth the magic runes. These stanzas of rune-lore attracted sundry similar passages from other sources, including stanza 5, in which a magic draught is administered (not necessarily by Brynhild or to Sigurth), the curious rune-chant in stanzas 15–17, and stanzas 13–14 and 18–19. Beginning with stanza 22, and running to the end of the fragment (stanza 37), is a set of numbered counsels closely resembling theLoddfafnismol(Hovamol, stanzas 111–138), which manifestly has nothing whatever to do with Brynhild. Even in this passage there are probably interpolations (stanzas 25, 27, 30, 34, and 36). Finally, and bespeaking the existence at some earlier time of another Sigurth-Brynhild poem, is stanza 1, sharply distinguished by its metrical form from stanzas 2–4 and 20–21. Many critics argue that stanzas 6–10 ofHelreith Brynildarbelonged originally to the same poem as stanza 1 of theSigrdrifumol.TheSigrdrifumol, then, must be regarded simply as a collection of fragments, most of them originally having no relation to the main subject. All of the story, the dialogue and the characterization are embodied in stanzas 1–4 and 20–21 and in the prose notes accompanying the first four stanzas; all of the rest might equally well (or better) be transferred to theHovamol, where its character entitles it to a place. Yet stanzas 2–4 are as fine as anything in Old Norse poetry, and it is out of the scanty material of these three stanzas that Wagner constructed much of the third act of “Siegfried.”[388]TheSigrdrifumolrepresents almost exclusively the contributions of the North to the Sigurth tradition (cf. introductory note to theGripisspo). Brynhild, here disguised by the annotator as “Sigrdrifa,” appears simply as a battle-maid and supernatural dispenser of wisdom; there is no trace of the daughter of Buthli and the rival of Guthrun. There is, however, so little of the “poem” which can definitely be assigned to the Sigurth cycle that it is impossible to trace back any of the underlying narrative substance.The nature and condition of the material have made editorial conjectures and emendations very numerous, and as most of the guesses are neither conclusive nor particularly important, only a few of them are mentioned in the notes.[Contents]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[389]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.[390]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 breakThe 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, andThe 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[391]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 wifeOf another betray not thy trust;[392]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 seeThy 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 shelterThe 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;[393]On the bark shalt thou write,   |   and on trees that beWith boughs to the eastward bent.11.Speech-runes learn,   |   that none may seekTo answer harm with hate;Well he winds   |   and weaves them all,And sets them side by side,At the judgment-place,   |   when justice thereThe folk shall fairly win.12.Thought-runes learn,   |   if all shall thinkThou art keenest minded of men.*    *    *    *    *    *13.Them Hropt arranged,   |   and them he wrote,And them in thought he made,[394]Out of the draught   |   that down had droppedFrom 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,[395]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,[396]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;[397]Thy loving word   |   for mine will I win,As long as I shall live.”*    *    *    *    *    *22.Then first I rede thee,   |   that free of guiltToward 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 oathIf 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 ThingShalt fight not in words with fools;For the man unwise   |   a worser wordThan he thinks doth utter oft.25.Ill it is   |   if silent thou art,A coward born men call thee,And truth mayhap they tell;[398]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 findA 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 menWho fight in battle fierce;Oft witches evil   |   sit by the way,Who blade and courage blunt.28.Then fifth I rede thee,   |   though maidens fairThou 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.[399]30.Brawls and ale   |   full oft have beenAn 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 seekestWith a foe that is full of might;It is better to fight   |   than to burn aliveIn 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 renderIf 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,[400]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 trustThe 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 needsIf 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.[386][Contents]NOTES[388]Prose.The introductory prose follows without break the prose concluding theFafnismol, the point of division being arbitrary and not agreed upon by all editors.Hindarfjoll: cf.Fafnismol, 42 and note.Franks: this does not necessarily mean that Sigurth was on his way to the Gjukungs’ home, for Sigmund had a kingdom in the land of the Franks (cf.Fra Dautha Sinfjotla).Shields: the annotator probably drew the notion of the shield-tower from the reference inHelreith Brynhildar, 9. The flame-girt tower was not uncommon; cf. Mengloth’s hall inSvipdagsmol.[389]1.This stanza, and the two lines included in the prose after stanza 4, and possibly stanza 5 as well, evidently come from a different poem from stanzas 2–4. Lines 3–4 in the original are obscure, though the general meaning is clear.Prose(after stanza 1). In the manuscript stanza 4 stands before this prose note and stanzas 2–3. The best arrangement of the stanzas seems to be the one here given, following Müllenhoff’s suggestion, but the prose note is out of place anywhere. The first sentence of it ought to follow stanza 4 and immediately precede the next prose note; the second sentence ought to precede stanza 5.2.Sons of day: the spirits of light.The daughter of night(Not), according to Snorri, was Jorth (Earth).[390]Prose(after stanza 4).Sigrdrifa: on the error whereby this epithet, “victory-bringer,” became a proper name cf.Fafnismol, 44 and note.Hjalmgunnar: inHelreith Brynhildar(stanza 8) he is called a king of the Goths, which means little; of him and his adversary,Agnar, we know nothing beyond what is told here. The two lines quoted apparently come from the same poem as stanza 1; the two first lines of the stanza have been reconstructed from the prose thus: “Hjalmgunnar was one,   |   the hoary king, / And triumph to him   |   had Heerfather promised.” A few editions insert in this prose passage stanzas 7–10 ofHelreith Brynhildar, which may or may not have belonged originally to this poem.[391]5.This stanza is perhaps, but by no means surely, from the same poem as stanza 1.Tree of battle: warrior.Runes: the earliest runes were not letters, but simply signs supposed to possess magic power; out of them developed the “runic alphabet.”6.Stanzas 6–12 give a list of runes which probably had no original connection with the Brynhild-Sigurth story.Tyr: the sword-god (cf.Hymiskvitha, 4 and note); “tyr” is also the name of a rune which became “T.”7.Regiusgives only lines 1–6; lines 7–8 are added fromVolsungasaga.Lies, etc.: a guest on his arrival received a draught of ale from the hands of his host’s wife, and it was to prevent this draught from bewitching him that the runes were recommended.Need: the word “nauth,” meaning “need,” is also the name of the rune which became “N.”Leek: leeks were long supposed to have the power of counteracting poison or witchcraft.[392]9.Sail-steeds: ships.10.Branch-runes: runes cut in the bark of trees. Such runes were believed to transfer sickness from the invalid to the tree. Some editors, however, have changed “limrunar” (“branch-runes”) to “lifrunar” (“life-runes”).[393]11.Lines 3–6 look like an accidental addition, replacing two lines now lost. They mean, apparently, that the man who interweaves his speech with “speech-runes” when he pleads his case at the “Thing,” or popular tribunal, will not unduly enrage his adversary in the argument of the case.12.Here the list of runes breaks off, though the manuscript indicates no gap, and three short passages of a different type, though all dealing with runes, follow.13.Stanzas 13–14 appear to have come from a passage regarding Othin’s getting of the runes similar toHovamol, 139–146. Editors have tried various combinations of the lines in stanzas 12–14.Hropt: Othin; cf.Voluspo, 62.The draught, etc.: apparently the reference is to the head of Mim, from which Othin derived his wisdom in magic (cf.Voluspo, 47 and note);Heithdraupnir(“Light-Dropper”) andHoddrofnir(“Treasure-Opener”) seem to be names for Mim.[394]14.This stanza is clearly in bad shape; perhaps, as the manuscript indicates, a new stanza, of which most has been lost, should begin with line 3.Brimir: a giant (cf.Voluspo, 9 and 37); why Othin should have his sword is unknown.15.Stanzas 15–17 constitute a wholly distinct rune-chant. Line 1 is unusually long in the original, as here.Shield: the shield Svalin (“Cooling”) that stands in front of the sun; cf.Grimnismol, 38.Arvak(“Early Walter”) andAlsvith(“All-Swift”): the horses that draw the sun’s car; cf.Grimnismol, 37.Hrungnir: the slayer of the giant Hrungnir was Thor (cf.Harbarthsljoth, 14 and note), but the line is in bad shape; the name may not be Hrungnir, and “killer” is a conjectural addition.Sleipnir: Othin’s eight-legged horse; cf.Grimnismol, 44 and note.Sledge: perhaps the one mentioned inGrimnismol, 49.16.Bragi: the god of poetry; cf.Grimnismol, 44 and note.[395]17.Charms: the wearing of amulets was very common.Gungnir: Othin’s spear, made by the dwarfs, which he occasionally lent to heroes to whom he granted victory.Grani: Sigurth’s horse; theVolsungasagahas “giantesses’.”18.Stanzas 18–19, which editors have freely rearranged, apparently come from another source than any of the rest.Shaved off: the runes were shaved off by Othin from the wood on which they were carved, and the shavings bearing them were put into the magic mead.Wanes: cf.Voluspo, 21, note.19.Lines 3, 6, and 7 look like spurious additions, but the whole stanza is chaotic.Beech-runes: runes carved on beech-trees.[396]20.Stanzas 20–21 are all that remains of the dialogue between Brynhild and Sigurth from the poem to which stanzas 2–4 belong; cf. Introductory Note. In the intervening lost stanzas Brynhild has evidently warned Sigurth of the perils that will follow if he swears loyalty to her; hence the choice to which she here refers.Tree, etc.: warrior. The manuscript does not indicate the speaker of either this or the following stanza; theVolsungasaganames Sigurth before stanza 21.21.It is quite possible that the original poem concluded with two stanzas after this, paraphrased thus in theVolsungasaga: “Sigurth said: ‘Nowhere is to be found any one wiser than thou, and this I swear, that I shall have thee for mine, and that thou art after my heart’s desire.’ She answered: ‘I would rather have thee though I might choose among all men.’ And this they bound between them with oaths.” Stanzas 22–37, which theVolsungasagaparaphrases, may have been introduced at a relatively early time, but can hardly have formed part of the original poem.[397]22.With this stanza begins the list of numbered counsels, closely resembling theLoddfafnismol(Hovamol, 111–138), here attributed to Brynhild. That the section originally had anything to do with Brynhild is more than improbable.23.Wolf of his word: oath-destroyer, oath-breaker.25.This chaotic and obscure jumble of lines has been unsuccessfully “improved” by various editors. It is clearly an interpolation, meaning, in substance: “It is dangerous to keep silent too long, as men may think you a coward; but if any one taunts[398]you falsely because of your silence, do not argue with him, but the next morning kill him as proof that he is a liar.”27.Probably another interpolation.28.Silver of kinship: the passage is doubtful, but apparently it means the “marriage-price” for which a bride was “bought.”29.Line 1 comes at the end of the thirty-second leaf ofRegius, and whatever further was contained in that manuscript has vanished[399]with the lost eight-leaf folio (cf. Introductory Note). The rest of stanza 29, and stanzas 30–37, are added from later paper manuscripts, which were undoubtedly copied from an old parchment, though probably not from the completeRegius. TheVolsungasagaparaphrases these additional stanzas.30.Probably an interpolation.31.The meaning is that it is better to go forth to battle than to stay at home and be burned to death. Many a Norse warrior met his death in this latter way; the burning of the house in theNjalssagais the most famous instance.34.Probably an interpolation.[400]35.Lines 3–4 are probably interpolated.Race of wolves: family of a slain foe.36.Probably an interpolation.37.Lines 3–4 may well have come from the old Sigurth-Brynhild poem, like stanzas 2–4 and 20–21, being inserted here, where they do not fit particularly well, in place of the two lines with which the eleventh counsel originally ended. Perhaps they formed part of the stanza of warning which evidently preceded Brynhild’s speech in stanza 20. In theVolsungasagathey are paraphrased at the end of Brynhild’s long speech of advice (stanzas 20–37), and are immediately followed by the prose passage given in the note on stanza 21. It seems likely, therefore,[401]that the paper manuscripts have preserved all of the so-calledSigrdrifumolwhich was contained in the lost section ofRegius, with the possible exception of these two concluding stanzas, and these may very well have been given only in the form of a prose note, though it is practically certain that at one time they existed in verse form.[402][Contents]BROT AF SIGURTHARKVITHUFragment of a Sigurth Lay[Contents]Introductory NoteThe gap of eight leaves in theCodex Regius(cf. introductory note to theSigrdrifumol) is followed by a passage of twenty stanzas which is evidently the end of a longer poem, the greater part of it having been contained in the lost section of the manuscript. There is here little question of such a compilation as made up the so-calledReginsmol,Fafnismol, andSigrdrifumol; the extant fragment shows every sign of being part of a poem which, as it stood in the manuscript, was a complete and definite unit. The end is clearly marked; the following poem,GuthrunarkvithaI, carries a specific heading in the manuscript, so that there is no uncertainty as to where the fragment closes.It seems altogether likely that the twenty stanzas thus remaining are the end of a poem entitledSigurtharkvitha(Lay of Sigurth), and, more specifically, the “Long” Lay of Sigurth. The extant and complete Sigurth lay, a relatively late work, is referred to by the annotator as the “Short” Lay of Sigurth, which, of course, presupposes the existence of a longer poem with the same title. As the “short” lay is one of the longest poems in the whole collection (seventy stanzas), it follows that the other one must have been considerably more extensive in order to have been thus distinguished by its length. It may be guessed, then, that not less than eighty or a hundred stanzas, and possibly more, of the “Long” Lay of Sigurth have been lost with the missing pages ofRegius.The narrative, from the point at which the so-calledSigrdrifumolbreaks off to that at which the Brot takes it up, is given with considerable detail in theVolsungasaga. In this prose narrative four stanzas are quoted, and one of them is specifically introduced with the phrase: “as is told in the Lay of Sigurth.” It is possible, but most unlikely, that the entire passage paraphrases this poem alone; such an assumption would give the Lay of Sigurth not less than two hundred and fifty stanzas (allowing about fifteen stanzas to each of the missing pages), and moreover there are inconsistencies in theVolsungasaganarrative suggesting that different and more or less conflicting poems were used as sources. The chances are that the “Long” Lay of Sigurth[403]filled approximately the latter half of the lost section of the manuscript, the first half including poems of which the only trace is to be found in theVolsungasagaprose paraphrase and in two of the stanzas therein quoted.The course of theVolsungasaga’sstory from theSigrdrifumolto theBrotis, briefly, as follows. After leaving the Valkyrie, Sigurth comes to the dwelling of Heimir, Brynhild’s brother-in-law, where he meets Brynhild and they swear oaths of fidelity anew (theVolsungasagais no more lucid with regard to the Brynhild-Sigrdrifa confusion than was the annotator of the poems). Then the scene shifts to the home of the Gjukungs. Guthrun, Gjuki’s daughter, has a terrifying dream, and visits Brynhild to have it explained, which the latter does by foretelling pretty much everything that is going to happen; this episode was presumably the subject of a separate poem in the lost section of the manuscript. Guthrun returns home, and Sigurth soon arrives, to be made enthusiastically welcome. Grimhild, mother of Gunnar and Guthrun, gives him a magic draught which makes him forget all about Brynhild, and shortly thereafter he marries Guthrun.Then follows the episode of the winning of Brynhild for Gunnar (cf.Gripisspo, 37 and note). This was certainly the subject of a poem, possibly of the first part of the “Long” Lay of Sigurth, although it seems more likely that the episode was dealt with in a separate poem. TheVolsungasagaquotes two stanzas describing Sigurth’s triumphant passing through the flames after Gunnar has failed and the two have changed forms. They run thus:The fire raged,   |   the earth was rocked,The flames leaped high   |   to heaven itself;Few were the hardy   |   heroes would dareTo ride or leap   |   the raging flames.Sigurth urged Grani   |   then with his sword,The fire slackened   |   before the hero,The flames sank low   |   for the greedy of fame,The armor flashed   |   that Regin had fashioned.After Sigurth has spent three nights with Brynhild, laying his sword between them (cf.Gripisspo, 41 and note), he and Gunnar return home, while Brynhild goes to the dwelling of her brother-in-law, Heimir, and makes ready for her marriage with Gunnar,[404]directing Heimir to care for her daughter by Sigurth, Aslaug. The wedding takes place, to be followed soon after by the quarrel between Guthrun and Brynhild, in which the former betrays the fact that it was Sigurth, and not Gunnar, who rode through the flames. Brynhild speaks with contempt of Guthrun and her whole family, and the following stanza, which presumably belongs to the same Sigurth lay as theBrot, is quoted at this point:Sigurth the dragon   |   slew, and thatWill men recall   |   while the world remains;But little boldness   |   thy brother hadTo ride or leap   |   the raging flames.Gunnar and Sigurth alike try to appease the angry Brynhild, but in vain. After Sigurth has talked with her, his leaving her hall is described in the following stanza, introduced by the specific phrase: “as is said in the Lay of Sigurth”:Forth went Sigurth,   |   and speech he sought not,The friend of heroes,   |   his head bowed down;Such was his grief   |   that asunder burstHis mail-coat all   |   of iron wrought.Brynhild then tells Gunnar that she had given herself wholly to Sigurth before she had become Gunnar’s wife (the confusion between the two stories is commented on in the note toGripisspo, 47), and Gunnar discusses plans ofvengeancewith his brother, Hogni. It is at this point that the action of theBrotbegins.Beginning with this poem, and thence to the end of the cycle, the German features of the narrative predominate (cf. introductory note toGripisspo).[Contents]Hogni spake:1.“(What evil deed   |   has Sigurth) done,That the hero’s life   |   thou fain wouldst have?”[405]Gunnar spake:2.“Sigurth oaths   |   to me hath sworn,Oaths hath sworn,   |   and all hath broken;He betrayed me there   |   where truest allHis 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:[406]“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 ruleO’er Gjuki’s wealth   |   and the race of the Goths;[407]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 heedWhat the twain from the tree   |   had told him then,The raven and eagle,   |   as home they rode.[408]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 tellThat 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 raceAll shall die;   |   your oaths ye have broken.[409]18.“Thou hast, Gunnar,   |   the deed forgot,When blood in your footprints   |   both ye mingled;All to him   |   hast repaid with illWho fain had made thee   |   the foremost of kings.19.“Well did he prove,   |   when proud he rodeTo win me then   |   thy wife to be,How true the host-slayer   |   ever had heldThe 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[410]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.[402][Contents]NOTES[404]1.The fragment begins with the last words of line 1 (probably line 3 of the stanza). A few editors ascribe this speech to Gunnar and the next to Brynhild; one reconstruction of lines 1–2 on this probably false assumption runs: “Why art thou, Brynhild,[405]|   daughter of Buthli, / Scheming ill   |   with evil counsel?”Hogni(German Hagene): brother of Gunnar and Guthrun.2.A few editors ascribe this speech to Brynhild. Gunnar, if the stanza is his, has believed Brynhild’s statement regarding Sigurth’s disloyalty to his blood-brother.4.TheVolsungasagaquotes a somewhat different version of this stanza, in which the snake is called “wood-fish” and the third line adds “beer and many things.” Eating snakes and the flesh of beasts of prey was commonly supposed to induce ferocity.Gotthorm: Grimhild’s son, half-brother to Gunnar. He it is who, not having sworn brotherhood with Sigurth, does the killing.5.In the manuscript this stanza stands between stanzas 11 and 12; most editions have made the change here indicated.[406]South of the Rhine: the definite localization of the action shows how clearly all this part of the story was recognized in the North as of German origin.Atli(Attila; cf. introductory note toGripisspo): the Northern version of the story makes him Brynhild’s brother. His marriage with Guthrun, and his slaying of her brothers, are told in the Atli poems. Regarding the manner of Sigurth’s death cf. concluding prose passage and note. Stanza 13 indicates that after stanza 5 a stanza containing the words of an eagle has been lost.7.One line of this stanza, but it is not clear which, seems to have been lost.The gray horse: Grani.8.Some editions set stanzas 8 and 9 after stanza 11; Sijmons marks them as spurious.Buthli: cf.Gripisspo, 19, note.9.Goths: a generic term for any German race; cf.Gripisspo,[407]35 and note.Five sons: according to theVolsungasagaSigurth had only one son, named Sigmund, who was killed at Brynhild’s behest.Sigurtharkvitha en skammaandGuthrunarkvitha IIlikewise mention only one son. The daughter of Sigurth and Guthrun, Svanhild, marries Jormunrek (Ermanarich).12.The manuscript marks line 4 as the beginning of a new stanza, and a few editions combine it with stanza 13.13.Slayer of hosts: warrior (Gunnar).Raven and eagle: cf. note on stanza 5.[408]16.Mogk regards stanzas 16 and 17 as interpolated, but on not very satisfactory grounds. On the death of Gunnar cf.Drap Niflunga.17.No gap is indicated in the manuscript, and some editions attach these two lines to stanza 16.Niflungs: this name (German Nibelungen), meaning “sons of the mist,” seems to have belonged originally to the race of supernatural beings to which the treasure belonged in the German version. It was subsequently extended to include the Gjukungs and their Burgundians. This question, of minor importance in the Norse poems, has evoked an enormous amount of learned discussion in connection with theNibelungenlied.[409]18.Footprints: the actual mingling of blood in one another’s footprints was a part of the ceremony of swearing blood-brotherhood, the oath which Gunnar and Sigurth had taken. The fourth line refers to the fact that Sigurth had won many battles for Gunnar.20.Regarding the sword episode cf.Gripisspo, 41 and note.Wound-staff: sword.Prose.This prose passage has in the manuscript, written in red, the phrase “Of Sigurth’s Death” as a heading; there is no break between it and the prose introducingGuthrunarkvitha I, the heading for that poem coming just before stanza 1. This note is of special interest as an effort at real criticism. The annotator, troubled by the two versions of the story of Sigurth’s death, feels it incumbent on him not only to point the fact out, but to cite the authority of “German men” for the form which appears[410]in this poem. The alternative version, wherein Sigurth is slain in bed, appears inSigurtharkvitha en skamma,Guthrunarhvot, andHamthesmol, and also in theVolsungasaga, which tells how Gotthorm tried twice to kill Sigurth but was terrified by the brightness of his eyes, and succeeded only after the hero had fallen asleep. That the annotator was correct in citing German authority for the slaying of Sigurth in the forest is shown by theNibelungenliedand theThithrekssaga. The “old” Guthrun lay is unquestionablyGuthrunarkvitha II.[411]

[Contents]SIGRDRIFUMOLThe Ballad of The Victory-Bringer[Contents]Introductory NoteThe so-calledSigrdrifumol, which immediately follows theFafnismolin theCodex Regiuswithout any indication of a break, and without separate title, is unquestionably the most chaotic of all the poems in the Eddic collection. The end of it has been entirely lost, for the fifth folio of eight sheets is missing fromRegius, the gap coming after the first line of stanza 29 of this poem. That stanza has been completed, and eight more have been added, from much later paper manuscripts, but even so the conclusion of the poem is in obscurity.Properly speaking, however, the strange conglomeration of stanzas which the compiler of the collection has left for us, and which, in much the same general form, seems to have lain before the authors of theVolsungasaga, in which eighteen of its stanzas are quoted, is not a poem at all. Even its customary title is an absurd error. The mistake made by the annotator in thinking that the epithet “sigrdrifa,” rightly applied to Brynhild as a “bringer of victory,” was a proper name has already been explained and commented on (note onFafnismol, 44). Even if the collection of stanzas were in any real sense a poem, which it emphatically is not, it is certainly not the “Ballad of Sigrdrifa” which it is commonly called. “Ballad of Brynhild” would be a sufficiently suitable title, and I have here brought the established name “Sigrdrifumol” into accord with this by translating the epithet instead of treating it as a proper name.Even apart from the title, however, theSigrdrifumolhas little claim to be regarded as a distinct poem, nor is there any indication that the compiler did so regard it. Handicapped as we are by the loss of the concluding section, and of the material which followed it on those missing pages, we can yet see that the process which began with the proseFra Dautha Sinfjotla, and which, interrupted by the insertion of theGripisspo, went on through theReginsmoland theFafnismol, continued through as much of theSigrdrifumolas is left to us. In other words, the compiler told the story of Sigurth in mixed prose and verse, using whatever verse he could find without much questioning as to its origin, and filling in the gaps with his own prose.Fra[387]Dautha Sinfjotla,Reginsmol,Fafnismol, andSigrdrifumolare essentially a coherent unit, but one of the compiler’s making only; they represent neither one poem nor three distinct poems, and the divisions and titles which have been almost universally adopted by editors are both arbitrary and misleading.TheSigrdrifumolsection as we now have it is an extraordinary piece of patchwork. It is most unlikely that the compiler himself brought all these fragments together for the first time; little by little, through a process of accretion and also, unluckily, through one of elimination, the material grew into its present shape. Certainly the basis of it is a poem dealing with the finding of Brynhild by Sigurth, but of this original poem only five stanzas (2–4 and 20–21) can be identified with any degree of confidence. To these five stanzas should probably, however, be added some, if not all, of the passage (stanzas 6–12) in which Brynhild teaches Sigurth the magic runes. These stanzas of rune-lore attracted sundry similar passages from other sources, including stanza 5, in which a magic draught is administered (not necessarily by Brynhild or to Sigurth), the curious rune-chant in stanzas 15–17, and stanzas 13–14 and 18–19. Beginning with stanza 22, and running to the end of the fragment (stanza 37), is a set of numbered counsels closely resembling theLoddfafnismol(Hovamol, stanzas 111–138), which manifestly has nothing whatever to do with Brynhild. Even in this passage there are probably interpolations (stanzas 25, 27, 30, 34, and 36). Finally, and bespeaking the existence at some earlier time of another Sigurth-Brynhild poem, is stanza 1, sharply distinguished by its metrical form from stanzas 2–4 and 20–21. Many critics argue that stanzas 6–10 ofHelreith Brynildarbelonged originally to the same poem as stanza 1 of theSigrdrifumol.TheSigrdrifumol, then, must be regarded simply as a collection of fragments, most of them originally having no relation to the main subject. All of the story, the dialogue and the characterization are embodied in stanzas 1–4 and 20–21 and in the prose notes accompanying the first four stanzas; all of the rest might equally well (or better) be transferred to theHovamol, where its character entitles it to a place. Yet stanzas 2–4 are as fine as anything in Old Norse poetry, and it is out of the scanty material of these three stanzas that Wagner constructed much of the third act of “Siegfried.”[388]TheSigrdrifumolrepresents almost exclusively the contributions of the North to the Sigurth tradition (cf. introductory note to theGripisspo). Brynhild, here disguised by the annotator as “Sigrdrifa,” appears simply as a battle-maid and supernatural dispenser of wisdom; there is no trace of the daughter of Buthli and the rival of Guthrun. There is, however, so little of the “poem” which can definitely be assigned to the Sigurth cycle that it is impossible to trace back any of the underlying narrative substance.The nature and condition of the material have made editorial conjectures and emendations very numerous, and as most of the guesses are neither conclusive nor particularly important, only a few of them are mentioned in the notes.[Contents]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[389]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.[390]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 breakThe 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, andThe 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[391]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 wifeOf another betray not thy trust;[392]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 seeThy 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 shelterThe 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;[393]On the bark shalt thou write,   |   and on trees that beWith boughs to the eastward bent.11.Speech-runes learn,   |   that none may seekTo answer harm with hate;Well he winds   |   and weaves them all,And sets them side by side,At the judgment-place,   |   when justice thereThe folk shall fairly win.12.Thought-runes learn,   |   if all shall thinkThou art keenest minded of men.*    *    *    *    *    *13.Them Hropt arranged,   |   and them he wrote,And them in thought he made,[394]Out of the draught   |   that down had droppedFrom 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,[395]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,[396]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;[397]Thy loving word   |   for mine will I win,As long as I shall live.”*    *    *    *    *    *22.Then first I rede thee,   |   that free of guiltToward 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 oathIf 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 ThingShalt fight not in words with fools;For the man unwise   |   a worser wordThan he thinks doth utter oft.25.Ill it is   |   if silent thou art,A coward born men call thee,And truth mayhap they tell;[398]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 findA 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 menWho fight in battle fierce;Oft witches evil   |   sit by the way,Who blade and courage blunt.28.Then fifth I rede thee,   |   though maidens fairThou 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.[399]30.Brawls and ale   |   full oft have beenAn 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 seekestWith a foe that is full of might;It is better to fight   |   than to burn aliveIn 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 renderIf 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,[400]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 trustThe 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 needsIf 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.[386][Contents]NOTES[388]Prose.The introductory prose follows without break the prose concluding theFafnismol, the point of division being arbitrary and not agreed upon by all editors.Hindarfjoll: cf.Fafnismol, 42 and note.Franks: this does not necessarily mean that Sigurth was on his way to the Gjukungs’ home, for Sigmund had a kingdom in the land of the Franks (cf.Fra Dautha Sinfjotla).Shields: the annotator probably drew the notion of the shield-tower from the reference inHelreith Brynhildar, 9. The flame-girt tower was not uncommon; cf. Mengloth’s hall inSvipdagsmol.[389]1.This stanza, and the two lines included in the prose after stanza 4, and possibly stanza 5 as well, evidently come from a different poem from stanzas 2–4. Lines 3–4 in the original are obscure, though the general meaning is clear.Prose(after stanza 1). In the manuscript stanza 4 stands before this prose note and stanzas 2–3. The best arrangement of the stanzas seems to be the one here given, following Müllenhoff’s suggestion, but the prose note is out of place anywhere. The first sentence of it ought to follow stanza 4 and immediately precede the next prose note; the second sentence ought to precede stanza 5.2.Sons of day: the spirits of light.The daughter of night(Not), according to Snorri, was Jorth (Earth).[390]Prose(after stanza 4).Sigrdrifa: on the error whereby this epithet, “victory-bringer,” became a proper name cf.Fafnismol, 44 and note.Hjalmgunnar: inHelreith Brynhildar(stanza 8) he is called a king of the Goths, which means little; of him and his adversary,Agnar, we know nothing beyond what is told here. The two lines quoted apparently come from the same poem as stanza 1; the two first lines of the stanza have been reconstructed from the prose thus: “Hjalmgunnar was one,   |   the hoary king, / And triumph to him   |   had Heerfather promised.” A few editions insert in this prose passage stanzas 7–10 ofHelreith Brynhildar, which may or may not have belonged originally to this poem.[391]5.This stanza is perhaps, but by no means surely, from the same poem as stanza 1.Tree of battle: warrior.Runes: the earliest runes were not letters, but simply signs supposed to possess magic power; out of them developed the “runic alphabet.”6.Stanzas 6–12 give a list of runes which probably had no original connection with the Brynhild-Sigurth story.Tyr: the sword-god (cf.Hymiskvitha, 4 and note); “tyr” is also the name of a rune which became “T.”7.Regiusgives only lines 1–6; lines 7–8 are added fromVolsungasaga.Lies, etc.: a guest on his arrival received a draught of ale from the hands of his host’s wife, and it was to prevent this draught from bewitching him that the runes were recommended.Need: the word “nauth,” meaning “need,” is also the name of the rune which became “N.”Leek: leeks were long supposed to have the power of counteracting poison or witchcraft.[392]9.Sail-steeds: ships.10.Branch-runes: runes cut in the bark of trees. Such runes were believed to transfer sickness from the invalid to the tree. Some editors, however, have changed “limrunar” (“branch-runes”) to “lifrunar” (“life-runes”).[393]11.Lines 3–6 look like an accidental addition, replacing two lines now lost. They mean, apparently, that the man who interweaves his speech with “speech-runes” when he pleads his case at the “Thing,” or popular tribunal, will not unduly enrage his adversary in the argument of the case.12.Here the list of runes breaks off, though the manuscript indicates no gap, and three short passages of a different type, though all dealing with runes, follow.13.Stanzas 13–14 appear to have come from a passage regarding Othin’s getting of the runes similar toHovamol, 139–146. Editors have tried various combinations of the lines in stanzas 12–14.Hropt: Othin; cf.Voluspo, 62.The draught, etc.: apparently the reference is to the head of Mim, from which Othin derived his wisdom in magic (cf.Voluspo, 47 and note);Heithdraupnir(“Light-Dropper”) andHoddrofnir(“Treasure-Opener”) seem to be names for Mim.[394]14.This stanza is clearly in bad shape; perhaps, as the manuscript indicates, a new stanza, of which most has been lost, should begin with line 3.Brimir: a giant (cf.Voluspo, 9 and 37); why Othin should have his sword is unknown.15.Stanzas 15–17 constitute a wholly distinct rune-chant. Line 1 is unusually long in the original, as here.Shield: the shield Svalin (“Cooling”) that stands in front of the sun; cf.Grimnismol, 38.Arvak(“Early Walter”) andAlsvith(“All-Swift”): the horses that draw the sun’s car; cf.Grimnismol, 37.Hrungnir: the slayer of the giant Hrungnir was Thor (cf.Harbarthsljoth, 14 and note), but the line is in bad shape; the name may not be Hrungnir, and “killer” is a conjectural addition.Sleipnir: Othin’s eight-legged horse; cf.Grimnismol, 44 and note.Sledge: perhaps the one mentioned inGrimnismol, 49.16.Bragi: the god of poetry; cf.Grimnismol, 44 and note.[395]17.Charms: the wearing of amulets was very common.Gungnir: Othin’s spear, made by the dwarfs, which he occasionally lent to heroes to whom he granted victory.Grani: Sigurth’s horse; theVolsungasagahas “giantesses’.”18.Stanzas 18–19, which editors have freely rearranged, apparently come from another source than any of the rest.Shaved off: the runes were shaved off by Othin from the wood on which they were carved, and the shavings bearing them were put into the magic mead.Wanes: cf.Voluspo, 21, note.19.Lines 3, 6, and 7 look like spurious additions, but the whole stanza is chaotic.Beech-runes: runes carved on beech-trees.[396]20.Stanzas 20–21 are all that remains of the dialogue between Brynhild and Sigurth from the poem to which stanzas 2–4 belong; cf. Introductory Note. In the intervening lost stanzas Brynhild has evidently warned Sigurth of the perils that will follow if he swears loyalty to her; hence the choice to which she here refers.Tree, etc.: warrior. The manuscript does not indicate the speaker of either this or the following stanza; theVolsungasaganames Sigurth before stanza 21.21.It is quite possible that the original poem concluded with two stanzas after this, paraphrased thus in theVolsungasaga: “Sigurth said: ‘Nowhere is to be found any one wiser than thou, and this I swear, that I shall have thee for mine, and that thou art after my heart’s desire.’ She answered: ‘I would rather have thee though I might choose among all men.’ And this they bound between them with oaths.” Stanzas 22–37, which theVolsungasagaparaphrases, may have been introduced at a relatively early time, but can hardly have formed part of the original poem.[397]22.With this stanza begins the list of numbered counsels, closely resembling theLoddfafnismol(Hovamol, 111–138), here attributed to Brynhild. That the section originally had anything to do with Brynhild is more than improbable.23.Wolf of his word: oath-destroyer, oath-breaker.25.This chaotic and obscure jumble of lines has been unsuccessfully “improved” by various editors. It is clearly an interpolation, meaning, in substance: “It is dangerous to keep silent too long, as men may think you a coward; but if any one taunts[398]you falsely because of your silence, do not argue with him, but the next morning kill him as proof that he is a liar.”27.Probably another interpolation.28.Silver of kinship: the passage is doubtful, but apparently it means the “marriage-price” for which a bride was “bought.”29.Line 1 comes at the end of the thirty-second leaf ofRegius, and whatever further was contained in that manuscript has vanished[399]with the lost eight-leaf folio (cf. Introductory Note). The rest of stanza 29, and stanzas 30–37, are added from later paper manuscripts, which were undoubtedly copied from an old parchment, though probably not from the completeRegius. TheVolsungasagaparaphrases these additional stanzas.30.Probably an interpolation.31.The meaning is that it is better to go forth to battle than to stay at home and be burned to death. Many a Norse warrior met his death in this latter way; the burning of the house in theNjalssagais the most famous instance.34.Probably an interpolation.[400]35.Lines 3–4 are probably interpolated.Race of wolves: family of a slain foe.36.Probably an interpolation.37.Lines 3–4 may well have come from the old Sigurth-Brynhild poem, like stanzas 2–4 and 20–21, being inserted here, where they do not fit particularly well, in place of the two lines with which the eleventh counsel originally ended. Perhaps they formed part of the stanza of warning which evidently preceded Brynhild’s speech in stanza 20. In theVolsungasagathey are paraphrased at the end of Brynhild’s long speech of advice (stanzas 20–37), and are immediately followed by the prose passage given in the note on stanza 21. It seems likely, therefore,[401]that the paper manuscripts have preserved all of the so-calledSigrdrifumolwhich was contained in the lost section ofRegius, with the possible exception of these two concluding stanzas, and these may very well have been given only in the form of a prose note, though it is practically certain that at one time they existed in verse form.[402][Contents]BROT AF SIGURTHARKVITHUFragment of a Sigurth Lay[Contents]Introductory NoteThe gap of eight leaves in theCodex Regius(cf. introductory note to theSigrdrifumol) is followed by a passage of twenty stanzas which is evidently the end of a longer poem, the greater part of it having been contained in the lost section of the manuscript. There is here little question of such a compilation as made up the so-calledReginsmol,Fafnismol, andSigrdrifumol; the extant fragment shows every sign of being part of a poem which, as it stood in the manuscript, was a complete and definite unit. The end is clearly marked; the following poem,GuthrunarkvithaI, carries a specific heading in the manuscript, so that there is no uncertainty as to where the fragment closes.It seems altogether likely that the twenty stanzas thus remaining are the end of a poem entitledSigurtharkvitha(Lay of Sigurth), and, more specifically, the “Long” Lay of Sigurth. The extant and complete Sigurth lay, a relatively late work, is referred to by the annotator as the “Short” Lay of Sigurth, which, of course, presupposes the existence of a longer poem with the same title. As the “short” lay is one of the longest poems in the whole collection (seventy stanzas), it follows that the other one must have been considerably more extensive in order to have been thus distinguished by its length. It may be guessed, then, that not less than eighty or a hundred stanzas, and possibly more, of the “Long” Lay of Sigurth have been lost with the missing pages ofRegius.The narrative, from the point at which the so-calledSigrdrifumolbreaks off to that at which the Brot takes it up, is given with considerable detail in theVolsungasaga. In this prose narrative four stanzas are quoted, and one of them is specifically introduced with the phrase: “as is told in the Lay of Sigurth.” It is possible, but most unlikely, that the entire passage paraphrases this poem alone; such an assumption would give the Lay of Sigurth not less than two hundred and fifty stanzas (allowing about fifteen stanzas to each of the missing pages), and moreover there are inconsistencies in theVolsungasaganarrative suggesting that different and more or less conflicting poems were used as sources. The chances are that the “Long” Lay of Sigurth[403]filled approximately the latter half of the lost section of the manuscript, the first half including poems of which the only trace is to be found in theVolsungasagaprose paraphrase and in two of the stanzas therein quoted.The course of theVolsungasaga’sstory from theSigrdrifumolto theBrotis, briefly, as follows. After leaving the Valkyrie, Sigurth comes to the dwelling of Heimir, Brynhild’s brother-in-law, where he meets Brynhild and they swear oaths of fidelity anew (theVolsungasagais no more lucid with regard to the Brynhild-Sigrdrifa confusion than was the annotator of the poems). Then the scene shifts to the home of the Gjukungs. Guthrun, Gjuki’s daughter, has a terrifying dream, and visits Brynhild to have it explained, which the latter does by foretelling pretty much everything that is going to happen; this episode was presumably the subject of a separate poem in the lost section of the manuscript. Guthrun returns home, and Sigurth soon arrives, to be made enthusiastically welcome. Grimhild, mother of Gunnar and Guthrun, gives him a magic draught which makes him forget all about Brynhild, and shortly thereafter he marries Guthrun.Then follows the episode of the winning of Brynhild for Gunnar (cf.Gripisspo, 37 and note). This was certainly the subject of a poem, possibly of the first part of the “Long” Lay of Sigurth, although it seems more likely that the episode was dealt with in a separate poem. TheVolsungasagaquotes two stanzas describing Sigurth’s triumphant passing through the flames after Gunnar has failed and the two have changed forms. They run thus:The fire raged,   |   the earth was rocked,The flames leaped high   |   to heaven itself;Few were the hardy   |   heroes would dareTo ride or leap   |   the raging flames.Sigurth urged Grani   |   then with his sword,The fire slackened   |   before the hero,The flames sank low   |   for the greedy of fame,The armor flashed   |   that Regin had fashioned.After Sigurth has spent three nights with Brynhild, laying his sword between them (cf.Gripisspo, 41 and note), he and Gunnar return home, while Brynhild goes to the dwelling of her brother-in-law, Heimir, and makes ready for her marriage with Gunnar,[404]directing Heimir to care for her daughter by Sigurth, Aslaug. The wedding takes place, to be followed soon after by the quarrel between Guthrun and Brynhild, in which the former betrays the fact that it was Sigurth, and not Gunnar, who rode through the flames. Brynhild speaks with contempt of Guthrun and her whole family, and the following stanza, which presumably belongs to the same Sigurth lay as theBrot, is quoted at this point:Sigurth the dragon   |   slew, and thatWill men recall   |   while the world remains;But little boldness   |   thy brother hadTo ride or leap   |   the raging flames.Gunnar and Sigurth alike try to appease the angry Brynhild, but in vain. After Sigurth has talked with her, his leaving her hall is described in the following stanza, introduced by the specific phrase: “as is said in the Lay of Sigurth”:Forth went Sigurth,   |   and speech he sought not,The friend of heroes,   |   his head bowed down;Such was his grief   |   that asunder burstHis mail-coat all   |   of iron wrought.Brynhild then tells Gunnar that she had given herself wholly to Sigurth before she had become Gunnar’s wife (the confusion between the two stories is commented on in the note toGripisspo, 47), and Gunnar discusses plans ofvengeancewith his brother, Hogni. It is at this point that the action of theBrotbegins.Beginning with this poem, and thence to the end of the cycle, the German features of the narrative predominate (cf. introductory note toGripisspo).[Contents]Hogni spake:1.“(What evil deed   |   has Sigurth) done,That the hero’s life   |   thou fain wouldst have?”[405]Gunnar spake:2.“Sigurth oaths   |   to me hath sworn,Oaths hath sworn,   |   and all hath broken;He betrayed me there   |   where truest allHis 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:[406]“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 ruleO’er Gjuki’s wealth   |   and the race of the Goths;[407]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 heedWhat the twain from the tree   |   had told him then,The raven and eagle,   |   as home they rode.[408]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 tellThat 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 raceAll shall die;   |   your oaths ye have broken.[409]18.“Thou hast, Gunnar,   |   the deed forgot,When blood in your footprints   |   both ye mingled;All to him   |   hast repaid with illWho fain had made thee   |   the foremost of kings.19.“Well did he prove,   |   when proud he rodeTo win me then   |   thy wife to be,How true the host-slayer   |   ever had heldThe 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[410]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.[402][Contents]NOTES[404]1.The fragment begins with the last words of line 1 (probably line 3 of the stanza). A few editors ascribe this speech to Gunnar and the next to Brynhild; one reconstruction of lines 1–2 on this probably false assumption runs: “Why art thou, Brynhild,[405]|   daughter of Buthli, / Scheming ill   |   with evil counsel?”Hogni(German Hagene): brother of Gunnar and Guthrun.2.A few editors ascribe this speech to Brynhild. Gunnar, if the stanza is his, has believed Brynhild’s statement regarding Sigurth’s disloyalty to his blood-brother.4.TheVolsungasagaquotes a somewhat different version of this stanza, in which the snake is called “wood-fish” and the third line adds “beer and many things.” Eating snakes and the flesh of beasts of prey was commonly supposed to induce ferocity.Gotthorm: Grimhild’s son, half-brother to Gunnar. He it is who, not having sworn brotherhood with Sigurth, does the killing.5.In the manuscript this stanza stands between stanzas 11 and 12; most editions have made the change here indicated.[406]South of the Rhine: the definite localization of the action shows how clearly all this part of the story was recognized in the North as of German origin.Atli(Attila; cf. introductory note toGripisspo): the Northern version of the story makes him Brynhild’s brother. His marriage with Guthrun, and his slaying of her brothers, are told in the Atli poems. Regarding the manner of Sigurth’s death cf. concluding prose passage and note. Stanza 13 indicates that after stanza 5 a stanza containing the words of an eagle has been lost.7.One line of this stanza, but it is not clear which, seems to have been lost.The gray horse: Grani.8.Some editions set stanzas 8 and 9 after stanza 11; Sijmons marks them as spurious.Buthli: cf.Gripisspo, 19, note.9.Goths: a generic term for any German race; cf.Gripisspo,[407]35 and note.Five sons: according to theVolsungasagaSigurth had only one son, named Sigmund, who was killed at Brynhild’s behest.Sigurtharkvitha en skammaandGuthrunarkvitha IIlikewise mention only one son. The daughter of Sigurth and Guthrun, Svanhild, marries Jormunrek (Ermanarich).12.The manuscript marks line 4 as the beginning of a new stanza, and a few editions combine it with stanza 13.13.Slayer of hosts: warrior (Gunnar).Raven and eagle: cf. note on stanza 5.[408]16.Mogk regards stanzas 16 and 17 as interpolated, but on not very satisfactory grounds. On the death of Gunnar cf.Drap Niflunga.17.No gap is indicated in the manuscript, and some editions attach these two lines to stanza 16.Niflungs: this name (German Nibelungen), meaning “sons of the mist,” seems to have belonged originally to the race of supernatural beings to which the treasure belonged in the German version. It was subsequently extended to include the Gjukungs and their Burgundians. This question, of minor importance in the Norse poems, has evoked an enormous amount of learned discussion in connection with theNibelungenlied.[409]18.Footprints: the actual mingling of blood in one another’s footprints was a part of the ceremony of swearing blood-brotherhood, the oath which Gunnar and Sigurth had taken. The fourth line refers to the fact that Sigurth had won many battles for Gunnar.20.Regarding the sword episode cf.Gripisspo, 41 and note.Wound-staff: sword.Prose.This prose passage has in the manuscript, written in red, the phrase “Of Sigurth’s Death” as a heading; there is no break between it and the prose introducingGuthrunarkvitha I, the heading for that poem coming just before stanza 1. This note is of special interest as an effort at real criticism. The annotator, troubled by the two versions of the story of Sigurth’s death, feels it incumbent on him not only to point the fact out, but to cite the authority of “German men” for the form which appears[410]in this poem. The alternative version, wherein Sigurth is slain in bed, appears inSigurtharkvitha en skamma,Guthrunarhvot, andHamthesmol, and also in theVolsungasaga, which tells how Gotthorm tried twice to kill Sigurth but was terrified by the brightness of his eyes, and succeeded only after the hero had fallen asleep. That the annotator was correct in citing German authority for the slaying of Sigurth in the forest is shown by theNibelungenliedand theThithrekssaga. The “old” Guthrun lay is unquestionablyGuthrunarkvitha II.[411]

[Contents]SIGRDRIFUMOLThe Ballad of The Victory-Bringer[Contents]Introductory NoteThe so-calledSigrdrifumol, which immediately follows theFafnismolin theCodex Regiuswithout any indication of a break, and without separate title, is unquestionably the most chaotic of all the poems in the Eddic collection. The end of it has been entirely lost, for the fifth folio of eight sheets is missing fromRegius, the gap coming after the first line of stanza 29 of this poem. That stanza has been completed, and eight more have been added, from much later paper manuscripts, but even so the conclusion of the poem is in obscurity.Properly speaking, however, the strange conglomeration of stanzas which the compiler of the collection has left for us, and which, in much the same general form, seems to have lain before the authors of theVolsungasaga, in which eighteen of its stanzas are quoted, is not a poem at all. Even its customary title is an absurd error. The mistake made by the annotator in thinking that the epithet “sigrdrifa,” rightly applied to Brynhild as a “bringer of victory,” was a proper name has already been explained and commented on (note onFafnismol, 44). Even if the collection of stanzas were in any real sense a poem, which it emphatically is not, it is certainly not the “Ballad of Sigrdrifa” which it is commonly called. “Ballad of Brynhild” would be a sufficiently suitable title, and I have here brought the established name “Sigrdrifumol” into accord with this by translating the epithet instead of treating it as a proper name.Even apart from the title, however, theSigrdrifumolhas little claim to be regarded as a distinct poem, nor is there any indication that the compiler did so regard it. Handicapped as we are by the loss of the concluding section, and of the material which followed it on those missing pages, we can yet see that the process which began with the proseFra Dautha Sinfjotla, and which, interrupted by the insertion of theGripisspo, went on through theReginsmoland theFafnismol, continued through as much of theSigrdrifumolas is left to us. In other words, the compiler told the story of Sigurth in mixed prose and verse, using whatever verse he could find without much questioning as to its origin, and filling in the gaps with his own prose.Fra[387]Dautha Sinfjotla,Reginsmol,Fafnismol, andSigrdrifumolare essentially a coherent unit, but one of the compiler’s making only; they represent neither one poem nor three distinct poems, and the divisions and titles which have been almost universally adopted by editors are both arbitrary and misleading.TheSigrdrifumolsection as we now have it is an extraordinary piece of patchwork. It is most unlikely that the compiler himself brought all these fragments together for the first time; little by little, through a process of accretion and also, unluckily, through one of elimination, the material grew into its present shape. Certainly the basis of it is a poem dealing with the finding of Brynhild by Sigurth, but of this original poem only five stanzas (2–4 and 20–21) can be identified with any degree of confidence. To these five stanzas should probably, however, be added some, if not all, of the passage (stanzas 6–12) in which Brynhild teaches Sigurth the magic runes. These stanzas of rune-lore attracted sundry similar passages from other sources, including stanza 5, in which a magic draught is administered (not necessarily by Brynhild or to Sigurth), the curious rune-chant in stanzas 15–17, and stanzas 13–14 and 18–19. Beginning with stanza 22, and running to the end of the fragment (stanza 37), is a set of numbered counsels closely resembling theLoddfafnismol(Hovamol, stanzas 111–138), which manifestly has nothing whatever to do with Brynhild. Even in this passage there are probably interpolations (stanzas 25, 27, 30, 34, and 36). Finally, and bespeaking the existence at some earlier time of another Sigurth-Brynhild poem, is stanza 1, sharply distinguished by its metrical form from stanzas 2–4 and 20–21. Many critics argue that stanzas 6–10 ofHelreith Brynildarbelonged originally to the same poem as stanza 1 of theSigrdrifumol.TheSigrdrifumol, then, must be regarded simply as a collection of fragments, most of them originally having no relation to the main subject. All of the story, the dialogue and the characterization are embodied in stanzas 1–4 and 20–21 and in the prose notes accompanying the first four stanzas; all of the rest might equally well (or better) be transferred to theHovamol, where its character entitles it to a place. Yet stanzas 2–4 are as fine as anything in Old Norse poetry, and it is out of the scanty material of these three stanzas that Wagner constructed much of the third act of “Siegfried.”[388]TheSigrdrifumolrepresents almost exclusively the contributions of the North to the Sigurth tradition (cf. introductory note to theGripisspo). Brynhild, here disguised by the annotator as “Sigrdrifa,” appears simply as a battle-maid and supernatural dispenser of wisdom; there is no trace of the daughter of Buthli and the rival of Guthrun. There is, however, so little of the “poem” which can definitely be assigned to the Sigurth cycle that it is impossible to trace back any of the underlying narrative substance.The nature and condition of the material have made editorial conjectures and emendations very numerous, and as most of the guesses are neither conclusive nor particularly important, only a few of them are mentioned in the notes.[Contents]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[389]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.[390]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 breakThe 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, andThe 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[391]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 wifeOf another betray not thy trust;[392]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 seeThy 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 shelterThe 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;[393]On the bark shalt thou write,   |   and on trees that beWith boughs to the eastward bent.11.Speech-runes learn,   |   that none may seekTo answer harm with hate;Well he winds   |   and weaves them all,And sets them side by side,At the judgment-place,   |   when justice thereThe folk shall fairly win.12.Thought-runes learn,   |   if all shall thinkThou art keenest minded of men.*    *    *    *    *    *13.Them Hropt arranged,   |   and them he wrote,And them in thought he made,[394]Out of the draught   |   that down had droppedFrom 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,[395]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,[396]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;[397]Thy loving word   |   for mine will I win,As long as I shall live.”*    *    *    *    *    *22.Then first I rede thee,   |   that free of guiltToward 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 oathIf 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 ThingShalt fight not in words with fools;For the man unwise   |   a worser wordThan he thinks doth utter oft.25.Ill it is   |   if silent thou art,A coward born men call thee,And truth mayhap they tell;[398]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 findA 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 menWho fight in battle fierce;Oft witches evil   |   sit by the way,Who blade and courage blunt.28.Then fifth I rede thee,   |   though maidens fairThou 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.[399]30.Brawls and ale   |   full oft have beenAn 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 seekestWith a foe that is full of might;It is better to fight   |   than to burn aliveIn 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 renderIf 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,[400]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 trustThe 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 needsIf 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.[386][Contents]NOTES[388]Prose.The introductory prose follows without break the prose concluding theFafnismol, the point of division being arbitrary and not agreed upon by all editors.Hindarfjoll: cf.Fafnismol, 42 and note.Franks: this does not necessarily mean that Sigurth was on his way to the Gjukungs’ home, for Sigmund had a kingdom in the land of the Franks (cf.Fra Dautha Sinfjotla).Shields: the annotator probably drew the notion of the shield-tower from the reference inHelreith Brynhildar, 9. The flame-girt tower was not uncommon; cf. Mengloth’s hall inSvipdagsmol.[389]1.This stanza, and the two lines included in the prose after stanza 4, and possibly stanza 5 as well, evidently come from a different poem from stanzas 2–4. Lines 3–4 in the original are obscure, though the general meaning is clear.Prose(after stanza 1). In the manuscript stanza 4 stands before this prose note and stanzas 2–3. The best arrangement of the stanzas seems to be the one here given, following Müllenhoff’s suggestion, but the prose note is out of place anywhere. The first sentence of it ought to follow stanza 4 and immediately precede the next prose note; the second sentence ought to precede stanza 5.2.Sons of day: the spirits of light.The daughter of night(Not), according to Snorri, was Jorth (Earth).[390]Prose(after stanza 4).Sigrdrifa: on the error whereby this epithet, “victory-bringer,” became a proper name cf.Fafnismol, 44 and note.Hjalmgunnar: inHelreith Brynhildar(stanza 8) he is called a king of the Goths, which means little; of him and his adversary,Agnar, we know nothing beyond what is told here. The two lines quoted apparently come from the same poem as stanza 1; the two first lines of the stanza have been reconstructed from the prose thus: “Hjalmgunnar was one,   |   the hoary king, / And triumph to him   |   had Heerfather promised.” A few editions insert in this prose passage stanzas 7–10 ofHelreith Brynhildar, which may or may not have belonged originally to this poem.[391]5.This stanza is perhaps, but by no means surely, from the same poem as stanza 1.Tree of battle: warrior.Runes: the earliest runes were not letters, but simply signs supposed to possess magic power; out of them developed the “runic alphabet.”6.Stanzas 6–12 give a list of runes which probably had no original connection with the Brynhild-Sigurth story.Tyr: the sword-god (cf.Hymiskvitha, 4 and note); “tyr” is also the name of a rune which became “T.”7.Regiusgives only lines 1–6; lines 7–8 are added fromVolsungasaga.Lies, etc.: a guest on his arrival received a draught of ale from the hands of his host’s wife, and it was to prevent this draught from bewitching him that the runes were recommended.Need: the word “nauth,” meaning “need,” is also the name of the rune which became “N.”Leek: leeks were long supposed to have the power of counteracting poison or witchcraft.[392]9.Sail-steeds: ships.10.Branch-runes: runes cut in the bark of trees. Such runes were believed to transfer sickness from the invalid to the tree. Some editors, however, have changed “limrunar” (“branch-runes”) to “lifrunar” (“life-runes”).[393]11.Lines 3–6 look like an accidental addition, replacing two lines now lost. They mean, apparently, that the man who interweaves his speech with “speech-runes” when he pleads his case at the “Thing,” or popular tribunal, will not unduly enrage his adversary in the argument of the case.12.Here the list of runes breaks off, though the manuscript indicates no gap, and three short passages of a different type, though all dealing with runes, follow.13.Stanzas 13–14 appear to have come from a passage regarding Othin’s getting of the runes similar toHovamol, 139–146. Editors have tried various combinations of the lines in stanzas 12–14.Hropt: Othin; cf.Voluspo, 62.The draught, etc.: apparently the reference is to the head of Mim, from which Othin derived his wisdom in magic (cf.Voluspo, 47 and note);Heithdraupnir(“Light-Dropper”) andHoddrofnir(“Treasure-Opener”) seem to be names for Mim.[394]14.This stanza is clearly in bad shape; perhaps, as the manuscript indicates, a new stanza, of which most has been lost, should begin with line 3.Brimir: a giant (cf.Voluspo, 9 and 37); why Othin should have his sword is unknown.15.Stanzas 15–17 constitute a wholly distinct rune-chant. Line 1 is unusually long in the original, as here.Shield: the shield Svalin (“Cooling”) that stands in front of the sun; cf.Grimnismol, 38.Arvak(“Early Walter”) andAlsvith(“All-Swift”): the horses that draw the sun’s car; cf.Grimnismol, 37.Hrungnir: the slayer of the giant Hrungnir was Thor (cf.Harbarthsljoth, 14 and note), but the line is in bad shape; the name may not be Hrungnir, and “killer” is a conjectural addition.Sleipnir: Othin’s eight-legged horse; cf.Grimnismol, 44 and note.Sledge: perhaps the one mentioned inGrimnismol, 49.16.Bragi: the god of poetry; cf.Grimnismol, 44 and note.[395]17.Charms: the wearing of amulets was very common.Gungnir: Othin’s spear, made by the dwarfs, which he occasionally lent to heroes to whom he granted victory.Grani: Sigurth’s horse; theVolsungasagahas “giantesses’.”18.Stanzas 18–19, which editors have freely rearranged, apparently come from another source than any of the rest.Shaved off: the runes were shaved off by Othin from the wood on which they were carved, and the shavings bearing them were put into the magic mead.Wanes: cf.Voluspo, 21, note.19.Lines 3, 6, and 7 look like spurious additions, but the whole stanza is chaotic.Beech-runes: runes carved on beech-trees.[396]20.Stanzas 20–21 are all that remains of the dialogue between Brynhild and Sigurth from the poem to which stanzas 2–4 belong; cf. Introductory Note. In the intervening lost stanzas Brynhild has evidently warned Sigurth of the perils that will follow if he swears loyalty to her; hence the choice to which she here refers.Tree, etc.: warrior. The manuscript does not indicate the speaker of either this or the following stanza; theVolsungasaganames Sigurth before stanza 21.21.It is quite possible that the original poem concluded with two stanzas after this, paraphrased thus in theVolsungasaga: “Sigurth said: ‘Nowhere is to be found any one wiser than thou, and this I swear, that I shall have thee for mine, and that thou art after my heart’s desire.’ She answered: ‘I would rather have thee though I might choose among all men.’ And this they bound between them with oaths.” Stanzas 22–37, which theVolsungasagaparaphrases, may have been introduced at a relatively early time, but can hardly have formed part of the original poem.[397]22.With this stanza begins the list of numbered counsels, closely resembling theLoddfafnismol(Hovamol, 111–138), here attributed to Brynhild. That the section originally had anything to do with Brynhild is more than improbable.23.Wolf of his word: oath-destroyer, oath-breaker.25.This chaotic and obscure jumble of lines has been unsuccessfully “improved” by various editors. It is clearly an interpolation, meaning, in substance: “It is dangerous to keep silent too long, as men may think you a coward; but if any one taunts[398]you falsely because of your silence, do not argue with him, but the next morning kill him as proof that he is a liar.”27.Probably another interpolation.28.Silver of kinship: the passage is doubtful, but apparently it means the “marriage-price” for which a bride was “bought.”29.Line 1 comes at the end of the thirty-second leaf ofRegius, and whatever further was contained in that manuscript has vanished[399]with the lost eight-leaf folio (cf. Introductory Note). The rest of stanza 29, and stanzas 30–37, are added from later paper manuscripts, which were undoubtedly copied from an old parchment, though probably not from the completeRegius. TheVolsungasagaparaphrases these additional stanzas.30.Probably an interpolation.31.The meaning is that it is better to go forth to battle than to stay at home and be burned to death. Many a Norse warrior met his death in this latter way; the burning of the house in theNjalssagais the most famous instance.34.Probably an interpolation.[400]35.Lines 3–4 are probably interpolated.Race of wolves: family of a slain foe.36.Probably an interpolation.37.Lines 3–4 may well have come from the old Sigurth-Brynhild poem, like stanzas 2–4 and 20–21, being inserted here, where they do not fit particularly well, in place of the two lines with which the eleventh counsel originally ended. Perhaps they formed part of the stanza of warning which evidently preceded Brynhild’s speech in stanza 20. In theVolsungasagathey are paraphrased at the end of Brynhild’s long speech of advice (stanzas 20–37), and are immediately followed by the prose passage given in the note on stanza 21. It seems likely, therefore,[401]that the paper manuscripts have preserved all of the so-calledSigrdrifumolwhich was contained in the lost section ofRegius, with the possible exception of these two concluding stanzas, and these may very well have been given only in the form of a prose note, though it is practically certain that at one time they existed in verse form.[402]

SIGRDRIFUMOLThe Ballad of The Victory-Bringer

[Contents]Introductory NoteThe so-calledSigrdrifumol, which immediately follows theFafnismolin theCodex Regiuswithout any indication of a break, and without separate title, is unquestionably the most chaotic of all the poems in the Eddic collection. The end of it has been entirely lost, for the fifth folio of eight sheets is missing fromRegius, the gap coming after the first line of stanza 29 of this poem. That stanza has been completed, and eight more have been added, from much later paper manuscripts, but even so the conclusion of the poem is in obscurity.Properly speaking, however, the strange conglomeration of stanzas which the compiler of the collection has left for us, and which, in much the same general form, seems to have lain before the authors of theVolsungasaga, in which eighteen of its stanzas are quoted, is not a poem at all. Even its customary title is an absurd error. The mistake made by the annotator in thinking that the epithet “sigrdrifa,” rightly applied to Brynhild as a “bringer of victory,” was a proper name has already been explained and commented on (note onFafnismol, 44). Even if the collection of stanzas were in any real sense a poem, which it emphatically is not, it is certainly not the “Ballad of Sigrdrifa” which it is commonly called. “Ballad of Brynhild” would be a sufficiently suitable title, and I have here brought the established name “Sigrdrifumol” into accord with this by translating the epithet instead of treating it as a proper name.Even apart from the title, however, theSigrdrifumolhas little claim to be regarded as a distinct poem, nor is there any indication that the compiler did so regard it. Handicapped as we are by the loss of the concluding section, and of the material which followed it on those missing pages, we can yet see that the process which began with the proseFra Dautha Sinfjotla, and which, interrupted by the insertion of theGripisspo, went on through theReginsmoland theFafnismol, continued through as much of theSigrdrifumolas is left to us. In other words, the compiler told the story of Sigurth in mixed prose and verse, using whatever verse he could find without much questioning as to its origin, and filling in the gaps with his own prose.Fra[387]Dautha Sinfjotla,Reginsmol,Fafnismol, andSigrdrifumolare essentially a coherent unit, but one of the compiler’s making only; they represent neither one poem nor three distinct poems, and the divisions and titles which have been almost universally adopted by editors are both arbitrary and misleading.TheSigrdrifumolsection as we now have it is an extraordinary piece of patchwork. It is most unlikely that the compiler himself brought all these fragments together for the first time; little by little, through a process of accretion and also, unluckily, through one of elimination, the material grew into its present shape. Certainly the basis of it is a poem dealing with the finding of Brynhild by Sigurth, but of this original poem only five stanzas (2–4 and 20–21) can be identified with any degree of confidence. To these five stanzas should probably, however, be added some, if not all, of the passage (stanzas 6–12) in which Brynhild teaches Sigurth the magic runes. These stanzas of rune-lore attracted sundry similar passages from other sources, including stanza 5, in which a magic draught is administered (not necessarily by Brynhild or to Sigurth), the curious rune-chant in stanzas 15–17, and stanzas 13–14 and 18–19. Beginning with stanza 22, and running to the end of the fragment (stanza 37), is a set of numbered counsels closely resembling theLoddfafnismol(Hovamol, stanzas 111–138), which manifestly has nothing whatever to do with Brynhild. Even in this passage there are probably interpolations (stanzas 25, 27, 30, 34, and 36). Finally, and bespeaking the existence at some earlier time of another Sigurth-Brynhild poem, is stanza 1, sharply distinguished by its metrical form from stanzas 2–4 and 20–21. Many critics argue that stanzas 6–10 ofHelreith Brynildarbelonged originally to the same poem as stanza 1 of theSigrdrifumol.TheSigrdrifumol, then, must be regarded simply as a collection of fragments, most of them originally having no relation to the main subject. All of the story, the dialogue and the characterization are embodied in stanzas 1–4 and 20–21 and in the prose notes accompanying the first four stanzas; all of the rest might equally well (or better) be transferred to theHovamol, where its character entitles it to a place. Yet stanzas 2–4 are as fine as anything in Old Norse poetry, and it is out of the scanty material of these three stanzas that Wagner constructed much of the third act of “Siegfried.”[388]TheSigrdrifumolrepresents almost exclusively the contributions of the North to the Sigurth tradition (cf. introductory note to theGripisspo). Brynhild, here disguised by the annotator as “Sigrdrifa,” appears simply as a battle-maid and supernatural dispenser of wisdom; there is no trace of the daughter of Buthli and the rival of Guthrun. There is, however, so little of the “poem” which can definitely be assigned to the Sigurth cycle that it is impossible to trace back any of the underlying narrative substance.The nature and condition of the material have made editorial conjectures and emendations very numerous, and as most of the guesses are neither conclusive nor particularly important, only a few of them are mentioned in the notes.[Contents]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[389]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.[390]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 breakThe 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, andThe 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[391]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 wifeOf another betray not thy trust;[392]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 seeThy 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 shelterThe 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;[393]On the bark shalt thou write,   |   and on trees that beWith boughs to the eastward bent.11.Speech-runes learn,   |   that none may seekTo answer harm with hate;Well he winds   |   and weaves them all,And sets them side by side,At the judgment-place,   |   when justice thereThe folk shall fairly win.12.Thought-runes learn,   |   if all shall thinkThou art keenest minded of men.*    *    *    *    *    *13.Them Hropt arranged,   |   and them he wrote,And them in thought he made,[394]Out of the draught   |   that down had droppedFrom 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,[395]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,[396]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;[397]Thy loving word   |   for mine will I win,As long as I shall live.”*    *    *    *    *    *22.Then first I rede thee,   |   that free of guiltToward 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 oathIf 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 ThingShalt fight not in words with fools;For the man unwise   |   a worser wordThan he thinks doth utter oft.25.Ill it is   |   if silent thou art,A coward born men call thee,And truth mayhap they tell;[398]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 findA 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 menWho fight in battle fierce;Oft witches evil   |   sit by the way,Who blade and courage blunt.28.Then fifth I rede thee,   |   though maidens fairThou 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.[399]30.Brawls and ale   |   full oft have beenAn 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 seekestWith a foe that is full of might;It is better to fight   |   than to burn aliveIn 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 renderIf 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,[400]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 trustThe 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 needsIf 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.[386][Contents]NOTES[388]Prose.The introductory prose follows without break the prose concluding theFafnismol, the point of division being arbitrary and not agreed upon by all editors.Hindarfjoll: cf.Fafnismol, 42 and note.Franks: this does not necessarily mean that Sigurth was on his way to the Gjukungs’ home, for Sigmund had a kingdom in the land of the Franks (cf.Fra Dautha Sinfjotla).Shields: the annotator probably drew the notion of the shield-tower from the reference inHelreith Brynhildar, 9. The flame-girt tower was not uncommon; cf. Mengloth’s hall inSvipdagsmol.[389]1.This stanza, and the two lines included in the prose after stanza 4, and possibly stanza 5 as well, evidently come from a different poem from stanzas 2–4. Lines 3–4 in the original are obscure, though the general meaning is clear.Prose(after stanza 1). In the manuscript stanza 4 stands before this prose note and stanzas 2–3. The best arrangement of the stanzas seems to be the one here given, following Müllenhoff’s suggestion, but the prose note is out of place anywhere. The first sentence of it ought to follow stanza 4 and immediately precede the next prose note; the second sentence ought to precede stanza 5.2.Sons of day: the spirits of light.The daughter of night(Not), according to Snorri, was Jorth (Earth).[390]Prose(after stanza 4).Sigrdrifa: on the error whereby this epithet, “victory-bringer,” became a proper name cf.Fafnismol, 44 and note.Hjalmgunnar: inHelreith Brynhildar(stanza 8) he is called a king of the Goths, which means little; of him and his adversary,Agnar, we know nothing beyond what is told here. The two lines quoted apparently come from the same poem as stanza 1; the two first lines of the stanza have been reconstructed from the prose thus: “Hjalmgunnar was one,   |   the hoary king, / And triumph to him   |   had Heerfather promised.” A few editions insert in this prose passage stanzas 7–10 ofHelreith Brynhildar, which may or may not have belonged originally to this poem.[391]5.This stanza is perhaps, but by no means surely, from the same poem as stanza 1.Tree of battle: warrior.Runes: the earliest runes were not letters, but simply signs supposed to possess magic power; out of them developed the “runic alphabet.”6.Stanzas 6–12 give a list of runes which probably had no original connection with the Brynhild-Sigurth story.Tyr: the sword-god (cf.Hymiskvitha, 4 and note); “tyr” is also the name of a rune which became “T.”7.Regiusgives only lines 1–6; lines 7–8 are added fromVolsungasaga.Lies, etc.: a guest on his arrival received a draught of ale from the hands of his host’s wife, and it was to prevent this draught from bewitching him that the runes were recommended.Need: the word “nauth,” meaning “need,” is also the name of the rune which became “N.”Leek: leeks were long supposed to have the power of counteracting poison or witchcraft.[392]9.Sail-steeds: ships.10.Branch-runes: runes cut in the bark of trees. Such runes were believed to transfer sickness from the invalid to the tree. Some editors, however, have changed “limrunar” (“branch-runes”) to “lifrunar” (“life-runes”).[393]11.Lines 3–6 look like an accidental addition, replacing two lines now lost. They mean, apparently, that the man who interweaves his speech with “speech-runes” when he pleads his case at the “Thing,” or popular tribunal, will not unduly enrage his adversary in the argument of the case.12.Here the list of runes breaks off, though the manuscript indicates no gap, and three short passages of a different type, though all dealing with runes, follow.13.Stanzas 13–14 appear to have come from a passage regarding Othin’s getting of the runes similar toHovamol, 139–146. Editors have tried various combinations of the lines in stanzas 12–14.Hropt: Othin; cf.Voluspo, 62.The draught, etc.: apparently the reference is to the head of Mim, from which Othin derived his wisdom in magic (cf.Voluspo, 47 and note);Heithdraupnir(“Light-Dropper”) andHoddrofnir(“Treasure-Opener”) seem to be names for Mim.[394]14.This stanza is clearly in bad shape; perhaps, as the manuscript indicates, a new stanza, of which most has been lost, should begin with line 3.Brimir: a giant (cf.Voluspo, 9 and 37); why Othin should have his sword is unknown.15.Stanzas 15–17 constitute a wholly distinct rune-chant. Line 1 is unusually long in the original, as here.Shield: the shield Svalin (“Cooling”) that stands in front of the sun; cf.Grimnismol, 38.Arvak(“Early Walter”) andAlsvith(“All-Swift”): the horses that draw the sun’s car; cf.Grimnismol, 37.Hrungnir: the slayer of the giant Hrungnir was Thor (cf.Harbarthsljoth, 14 and note), but the line is in bad shape; the name may not be Hrungnir, and “killer” is a conjectural addition.Sleipnir: Othin’s eight-legged horse; cf.Grimnismol, 44 and note.Sledge: perhaps the one mentioned inGrimnismol, 49.16.Bragi: the god of poetry; cf.Grimnismol, 44 and note.[395]17.Charms: the wearing of amulets was very common.Gungnir: Othin’s spear, made by the dwarfs, which he occasionally lent to heroes to whom he granted victory.Grani: Sigurth’s horse; theVolsungasagahas “giantesses’.”18.Stanzas 18–19, which editors have freely rearranged, apparently come from another source than any of the rest.Shaved off: the runes were shaved off by Othin from the wood on which they were carved, and the shavings bearing them were put into the magic mead.Wanes: cf.Voluspo, 21, note.19.Lines 3, 6, and 7 look like spurious additions, but the whole stanza is chaotic.Beech-runes: runes carved on beech-trees.[396]20.Stanzas 20–21 are all that remains of the dialogue between Brynhild and Sigurth from the poem to which stanzas 2–4 belong; cf. Introductory Note. In the intervening lost stanzas Brynhild has evidently warned Sigurth of the perils that will follow if he swears loyalty to her; hence the choice to which she here refers.Tree, etc.: warrior. The manuscript does not indicate the speaker of either this or the following stanza; theVolsungasaganames Sigurth before stanza 21.21.It is quite possible that the original poem concluded with two stanzas after this, paraphrased thus in theVolsungasaga: “Sigurth said: ‘Nowhere is to be found any one wiser than thou, and this I swear, that I shall have thee for mine, and that thou art after my heart’s desire.’ She answered: ‘I would rather have thee though I might choose among all men.’ And this they bound between them with oaths.” Stanzas 22–37, which theVolsungasagaparaphrases, may have been introduced at a relatively early time, but can hardly have formed part of the original poem.[397]22.With this stanza begins the list of numbered counsels, closely resembling theLoddfafnismol(Hovamol, 111–138), here attributed to Brynhild. That the section originally had anything to do with Brynhild is more than improbable.23.Wolf of his word: oath-destroyer, oath-breaker.25.This chaotic and obscure jumble of lines has been unsuccessfully “improved” by various editors. It is clearly an interpolation, meaning, in substance: “It is dangerous to keep silent too long, as men may think you a coward; but if any one taunts[398]you falsely because of your silence, do not argue with him, but the next morning kill him as proof that he is a liar.”27.Probably another interpolation.28.Silver of kinship: the passage is doubtful, but apparently it means the “marriage-price” for which a bride was “bought.”29.Line 1 comes at the end of the thirty-second leaf ofRegius, and whatever further was contained in that manuscript has vanished[399]with the lost eight-leaf folio (cf. Introductory Note). The rest of stanza 29, and stanzas 30–37, are added from later paper manuscripts, which were undoubtedly copied from an old parchment, though probably not from the completeRegius. TheVolsungasagaparaphrases these additional stanzas.30.Probably an interpolation.31.The meaning is that it is better to go forth to battle than to stay at home and be burned to death. Many a Norse warrior met his death in this latter way; the burning of the house in theNjalssagais the most famous instance.34.Probably an interpolation.[400]35.Lines 3–4 are probably interpolated.Race of wolves: family of a slain foe.36.Probably an interpolation.37.Lines 3–4 may well have come from the old Sigurth-Brynhild poem, like stanzas 2–4 and 20–21, being inserted here, where they do not fit particularly well, in place of the two lines with which the eleventh counsel originally ended. Perhaps they formed part of the stanza of warning which evidently preceded Brynhild’s speech in stanza 20. In theVolsungasagathey are paraphrased at the end of Brynhild’s long speech of advice (stanzas 20–37), and are immediately followed by the prose passage given in the note on stanza 21. It seems likely, therefore,[401]that the paper manuscripts have preserved all of the so-calledSigrdrifumolwhich was contained in the lost section ofRegius, with the possible exception of these two concluding stanzas, and these may very well have been given only in the form of a prose note, though it is practically certain that at one time they existed in verse form.[402]

[Contents]Introductory NoteThe so-calledSigrdrifumol, which immediately follows theFafnismolin theCodex Regiuswithout any indication of a break, and without separate title, is unquestionably the most chaotic of all the poems in the Eddic collection. The end of it has been entirely lost, for the fifth folio of eight sheets is missing fromRegius, the gap coming after the first line of stanza 29 of this poem. That stanza has been completed, and eight more have been added, from much later paper manuscripts, but even so the conclusion of the poem is in obscurity.Properly speaking, however, the strange conglomeration of stanzas which the compiler of the collection has left for us, and which, in much the same general form, seems to have lain before the authors of theVolsungasaga, in which eighteen of its stanzas are quoted, is not a poem at all. Even its customary title is an absurd error. The mistake made by the annotator in thinking that the epithet “sigrdrifa,” rightly applied to Brynhild as a “bringer of victory,” was a proper name has already been explained and commented on (note onFafnismol, 44). Even if the collection of stanzas were in any real sense a poem, which it emphatically is not, it is certainly not the “Ballad of Sigrdrifa” which it is commonly called. “Ballad of Brynhild” would be a sufficiently suitable title, and I have here brought the established name “Sigrdrifumol” into accord with this by translating the epithet instead of treating it as a proper name.Even apart from the title, however, theSigrdrifumolhas little claim to be regarded as a distinct poem, nor is there any indication that the compiler did so regard it. Handicapped as we are by the loss of the concluding section, and of the material which followed it on those missing pages, we can yet see that the process which began with the proseFra Dautha Sinfjotla, and which, interrupted by the insertion of theGripisspo, went on through theReginsmoland theFafnismol, continued through as much of theSigrdrifumolas is left to us. In other words, the compiler told the story of Sigurth in mixed prose and verse, using whatever verse he could find without much questioning as to its origin, and filling in the gaps with his own prose.Fra[387]Dautha Sinfjotla,Reginsmol,Fafnismol, andSigrdrifumolare essentially a coherent unit, but one of the compiler’s making only; they represent neither one poem nor three distinct poems, and the divisions and titles which have been almost universally adopted by editors are both arbitrary and misleading.TheSigrdrifumolsection as we now have it is an extraordinary piece of patchwork. It is most unlikely that the compiler himself brought all these fragments together for the first time; little by little, through a process of accretion and also, unluckily, through one of elimination, the material grew into its present shape. Certainly the basis of it is a poem dealing with the finding of Brynhild by Sigurth, but of this original poem only five stanzas (2–4 and 20–21) can be identified with any degree of confidence. To these five stanzas should probably, however, be added some, if not all, of the passage (stanzas 6–12) in which Brynhild teaches Sigurth the magic runes. These stanzas of rune-lore attracted sundry similar passages from other sources, including stanza 5, in which a magic draught is administered (not necessarily by Brynhild or to Sigurth), the curious rune-chant in stanzas 15–17, and stanzas 13–14 and 18–19. Beginning with stanza 22, and running to the end of the fragment (stanza 37), is a set of numbered counsels closely resembling theLoddfafnismol(Hovamol, stanzas 111–138), which manifestly has nothing whatever to do with Brynhild. Even in this passage there are probably interpolations (stanzas 25, 27, 30, 34, and 36). Finally, and bespeaking the existence at some earlier time of another Sigurth-Brynhild poem, is stanza 1, sharply distinguished by its metrical form from stanzas 2–4 and 20–21. Many critics argue that stanzas 6–10 ofHelreith Brynildarbelonged originally to the same poem as stanza 1 of theSigrdrifumol.TheSigrdrifumol, then, must be regarded simply as a collection of fragments, most of them originally having no relation to the main subject. All of the story, the dialogue and the characterization are embodied in stanzas 1–4 and 20–21 and in the prose notes accompanying the first four stanzas; all of the rest might equally well (or better) be transferred to theHovamol, where its character entitles it to a place. Yet stanzas 2–4 are as fine as anything in Old Norse poetry, and it is out of the scanty material of these three stanzas that Wagner constructed much of the third act of “Siegfried.”[388]TheSigrdrifumolrepresents almost exclusively the contributions of the North to the Sigurth tradition (cf. introductory note to theGripisspo). Brynhild, here disguised by the annotator as “Sigrdrifa,” appears simply as a battle-maid and supernatural dispenser of wisdom; there is no trace of the daughter of Buthli and the rival of Guthrun. There is, however, so little of the “poem” which can definitely be assigned to the Sigurth cycle that it is impossible to trace back any of the underlying narrative substance.The nature and condition of the material have made editorial conjectures and emendations very numerous, and as most of the guesses are neither conclusive nor particularly important, only a few of them are mentioned in the notes.

Introductory Note

The so-calledSigrdrifumol, which immediately follows theFafnismolin theCodex Regiuswithout any indication of a break, and without separate title, is unquestionably the most chaotic of all the poems in the Eddic collection. The end of it has been entirely lost, for the fifth folio of eight sheets is missing fromRegius, the gap coming after the first line of stanza 29 of this poem. That stanza has been completed, and eight more have been added, from much later paper manuscripts, but even so the conclusion of the poem is in obscurity.Properly speaking, however, the strange conglomeration of stanzas which the compiler of the collection has left for us, and which, in much the same general form, seems to have lain before the authors of theVolsungasaga, in which eighteen of its stanzas are quoted, is not a poem at all. Even its customary title is an absurd error. The mistake made by the annotator in thinking that the epithet “sigrdrifa,” rightly applied to Brynhild as a “bringer of victory,” was a proper name has already been explained and commented on (note onFafnismol, 44). Even if the collection of stanzas were in any real sense a poem, which it emphatically is not, it is certainly not the “Ballad of Sigrdrifa” which it is commonly called. “Ballad of Brynhild” would be a sufficiently suitable title, and I have here brought the established name “Sigrdrifumol” into accord with this by translating the epithet instead of treating it as a proper name.Even apart from the title, however, theSigrdrifumolhas little claim to be regarded as a distinct poem, nor is there any indication that the compiler did so regard it. Handicapped as we are by the loss of the concluding section, and of the material which followed it on those missing pages, we can yet see that the process which began with the proseFra Dautha Sinfjotla, and which, interrupted by the insertion of theGripisspo, went on through theReginsmoland theFafnismol, continued through as much of theSigrdrifumolas is left to us. In other words, the compiler told the story of Sigurth in mixed prose and verse, using whatever verse he could find without much questioning as to its origin, and filling in the gaps with his own prose.Fra[387]Dautha Sinfjotla,Reginsmol,Fafnismol, andSigrdrifumolare essentially a coherent unit, but one of the compiler’s making only; they represent neither one poem nor three distinct poems, and the divisions and titles which have been almost universally adopted by editors are both arbitrary and misleading.TheSigrdrifumolsection as we now have it is an extraordinary piece of patchwork. It is most unlikely that the compiler himself brought all these fragments together for the first time; little by little, through a process of accretion and also, unluckily, through one of elimination, the material grew into its present shape. Certainly the basis of it is a poem dealing with the finding of Brynhild by Sigurth, but of this original poem only five stanzas (2–4 and 20–21) can be identified with any degree of confidence. To these five stanzas should probably, however, be added some, if not all, of the passage (stanzas 6–12) in which Brynhild teaches Sigurth the magic runes. These stanzas of rune-lore attracted sundry similar passages from other sources, including stanza 5, in which a magic draught is administered (not necessarily by Brynhild or to Sigurth), the curious rune-chant in stanzas 15–17, and stanzas 13–14 and 18–19. Beginning with stanza 22, and running to the end of the fragment (stanza 37), is a set of numbered counsels closely resembling theLoddfafnismol(Hovamol, stanzas 111–138), which manifestly has nothing whatever to do with Brynhild. Even in this passage there are probably interpolations (stanzas 25, 27, 30, 34, and 36). Finally, and bespeaking the existence at some earlier time of another Sigurth-Brynhild poem, is stanza 1, sharply distinguished by its metrical form from stanzas 2–4 and 20–21. Many critics argue that stanzas 6–10 ofHelreith Brynildarbelonged originally to the same poem as stanza 1 of theSigrdrifumol.TheSigrdrifumol, then, must be regarded simply as a collection of fragments, most of them originally having no relation to the main subject. All of the story, the dialogue and the characterization are embodied in stanzas 1–4 and 20–21 and in the prose notes accompanying the first four stanzas; all of the rest might equally well (or better) be transferred to theHovamol, where its character entitles it to a place. Yet stanzas 2–4 are as fine as anything in Old Norse poetry, and it is out of the scanty material of these three stanzas that Wagner constructed much of the third act of “Siegfried.”[388]TheSigrdrifumolrepresents almost exclusively the contributions of the North to the Sigurth tradition (cf. introductory note to theGripisspo). Brynhild, here disguised by the annotator as “Sigrdrifa,” appears simply as a battle-maid and supernatural dispenser of wisdom; there is no trace of the daughter of Buthli and the rival of Guthrun. There is, however, so little of the “poem” which can definitely be assigned to the Sigurth cycle that it is impossible to trace back any of the underlying narrative substance.The nature and condition of the material have made editorial conjectures and emendations very numerous, and as most of the guesses are neither conclusive nor particularly important, only a few of them are mentioned in the notes.

The so-calledSigrdrifumol, which immediately follows theFafnismolin theCodex Regiuswithout any indication of a break, and without separate title, is unquestionably the most chaotic of all the poems in the Eddic collection. The end of it has been entirely lost, for the fifth folio of eight sheets is missing fromRegius, the gap coming after the first line of stanza 29 of this poem. That stanza has been completed, and eight more have been added, from much later paper manuscripts, but even so the conclusion of the poem is in obscurity.

Properly speaking, however, the strange conglomeration of stanzas which the compiler of the collection has left for us, and which, in much the same general form, seems to have lain before the authors of theVolsungasaga, in which eighteen of its stanzas are quoted, is not a poem at all. Even its customary title is an absurd error. The mistake made by the annotator in thinking that the epithet “sigrdrifa,” rightly applied to Brynhild as a “bringer of victory,” was a proper name has already been explained and commented on (note onFafnismol, 44). Even if the collection of stanzas were in any real sense a poem, which it emphatically is not, it is certainly not the “Ballad of Sigrdrifa” which it is commonly called. “Ballad of Brynhild” would be a sufficiently suitable title, and I have here brought the established name “Sigrdrifumol” into accord with this by translating the epithet instead of treating it as a proper name.

Even apart from the title, however, theSigrdrifumolhas little claim to be regarded as a distinct poem, nor is there any indication that the compiler did so regard it. Handicapped as we are by the loss of the concluding section, and of the material which followed it on those missing pages, we can yet see that the process which began with the proseFra Dautha Sinfjotla, and which, interrupted by the insertion of theGripisspo, went on through theReginsmoland theFafnismol, continued through as much of theSigrdrifumolas is left to us. In other words, the compiler told the story of Sigurth in mixed prose and verse, using whatever verse he could find without much questioning as to its origin, and filling in the gaps with his own prose.Fra[387]Dautha Sinfjotla,Reginsmol,Fafnismol, andSigrdrifumolare essentially a coherent unit, but one of the compiler’s making only; they represent neither one poem nor three distinct poems, and the divisions and titles which have been almost universally adopted by editors are both arbitrary and misleading.

TheSigrdrifumolsection as we now have it is an extraordinary piece of patchwork. It is most unlikely that the compiler himself brought all these fragments together for the first time; little by little, through a process of accretion and also, unluckily, through one of elimination, the material grew into its present shape. Certainly the basis of it is a poem dealing with the finding of Brynhild by Sigurth, but of this original poem only five stanzas (2–4 and 20–21) can be identified with any degree of confidence. To these five stanzas should probably, however, be added some, if not all, of the passage (stanzas 6–12) in which Brynhild teaches Sigurth the magic runes. These stanzas of rune-lore attracted sundry similar passages from other sources, including stanza 5, in which a magic draught is administered (not necessarily by Brynhild or to Sigurth), the curious rune-chant in stanzas 15–17, and stanzas 13–14 and 18–19. Beginning with stanza 22, and running to the end of the fragment (stanza 37), is a set of numbered counsels closely resembling theLoddfafnismol(Hovamol, stanzas 111–138), which manifestly has nothing whatever to do with Brynhild. Even in this passage there are probably interpolations (stanzas 25, 27, 30, 34, and 36). Finally, and bespeaking the existence at some earlier time of another Sigurth-Brynhild poem, is stanza 1, sharply distinguished by its metrical form from stanzas 2–4 and 20–21. Many critics argue that stanzas 6–10 ofHelreith Brynildarbelonged originally to the same poem as stanza 1 of theSigrdrifumol.

TheSigrdrifumol, then, must be regarded simply as a collection of fragments, most of them originally having no relation to the main subject. All of the story, the dialogue and the characterization are embodied in stanzas 1–4 and 20–21 and in the prose notes accompanying the first four stanzas; all of the rest might equally well (or better) be transferred to theHovamol, where its character entitles it to a place. Yet stanzas 2–4 are as fine as anything in Old Norse poetry, and it is out of the scanty material of these three stanzas that Wagner constructed much of the third act of “Siegfried.”[388]

TheSigrdrifumolrepresents almost exclusively the contributions of the North to the Sigurth tradition (cf. introductory note to theGripisspo). Brynhild, here disguised by the annotator as “Sigrdrifa,” appears simply as a battle-maid and supernatural dispenser of wisdom; there is no trace of the daughter of Buthli and the rival of Guthrun. There is, however, so little of the “poem” which can definitely be assigned to the Sigurth cycle that it is impossible to trace back any of the underlying narrative substance.

The nature and condition of the material have made editorial conjectures and emendations very numerous, and as most of the guesses are neither conclusive nor particularly important, only a few of them are mentioned in the notes.

[Contents]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[389]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.[390]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 breakThe 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, andThe 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[391]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 wifeOf another betray not thy trust;[392]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 seeThy 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 shelterThe 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;[393]On the bark shalt thou write,   |   and on trees that beWith boughs to the eastward bent.11.Speech-runes learn,   |   that none may seekTo answer harm with hate;Well he winds   |   and weaves them all,And sets them side by side,At the judgment-place,   |   when justice thereThe folk shall fairly win.12.Thought-runes learn,   |   if all shall thinkThou art keenest minded of men.*    *    *    *    *    *13.Them Hropt arranged,   |   and them he wrote,And them in thought he made,[394]Out of the draught   |   that down had droppedFrom 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,[395]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,[396]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;[397]Thy loving word   |   for mine will I win,As long as I shall live.”*    *    *    *    *    *22.Then first I rede thee,   |   that free of guiltToward 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 oathIf 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 ThingShalt fight not in words with fools;For the man unwise   |   a worser wordThan he thinks doth utter oft.25.Ill it is   |   if silent thou art,A coward born men call thee,And truth mayhap they tell;[398]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 findA 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 menWho fight in battle fierce;Oft witches evil   |   sit by the way,Who blade and courage blunt.28.Then fifth I rede thee,   |   though maidens fairThou 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.[399]30.Brawls and ale   |   full oft have beenAn 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 seekestWith a foe that is full of might;It is better to fight   |   than to burn aliveIn 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 renderIf 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,[400]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 trustThe 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 needsIf 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.[386]

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[389]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.[390]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 breakThe 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, andThe 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[391]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 wifeOf another betray not thy trust;[392]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 seeThy 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 shelterThe 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;[393]On the bark shalt thou write,   |   and on trees that beWith boughs to the eastward bent.11.Speech-runes learn,   |   that none may seekTo answer harm with hate;Well he winds   |   and weaves them all,And sets them side by side,At the judgment-place,   |   when justice thereThe folk shall fairly win.12.Thought-runes learn,   |   if all shall thinkThou art keenest minded of men.*    *    *    *    *    *13.Them Hropt arranged,   |   and them he wrote,And them in thought he made,[394]Out of the draught   |   that down had droppedFrom 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,[395]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,[396]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;[397]Thy loving word   |   for mine will I win,As long as I shall live.”*    *    *    *    *    *22.Then first I rede thee,   |   that free of guiltToward 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 oathIf 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 ThingShalt fight not in words with fools;For the man unwise   |   a worser wordThan he thinks doth utter oft.25.Ill it is   |   if silent thou art,A coward born men call thee,And truth mayhap they tell;[398]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 findA 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 menWho fight in battle fierce;Oft witches evil   |   sit by the way,Who blade and courage blunt.28.Then fifth I rede thee,   |   though maidens fairThou 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.[399]30.Brawls and ale   |   full oft have beenAn 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 seekestWith a foe that is full of might;It is better to fight   |   than to burn aliveIn 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 renderIf 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,[400]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 trustThe 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 needsIf 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.[386]

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[389]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?”

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.”

“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.

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.

[390]

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.

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 breakThe heavy spells of sleep.”

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.

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[391]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.”

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.

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 wifeOf another betray not thy trust;[392]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 seeThy mead with evil mixed.)

7.Ale-runes learn,   |   that with lies the wife

Of another betray not thy trust;[392]

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.

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 shelterThe 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.

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;[393]On the bark shalt thou write,   |   and on trees that beWith boughs to the eastward bent.

10.Branch-runes learn,   |   if a healer wouldst be,

And cure for wounds wouldst work;[393]

On the bark shalt thou write,   |   and on trees that be

With boughs to the eastward bent.

11.Speech-runes learn,   |   that none may seekTo answer harm with hate;Well he winds   |   and weaves them all,And sets them side by side,At the judgment-place,   |   when justice thereThe folk shall fairly win.

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 thinkThou art keenest minded of men.

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,[394]Out of the draught   |   that down had droppedFrom the head of Heithdraupnir,And the horn of Hoddrofnir.

13.Them Hropt arranged,   |   and them he wrote,

And them in thought he made,[394]

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.

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.

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,[395]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.

16.On the paws of the bear,   |   and on Bragi’s tongue,[395]

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.

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.

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,[396]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.

19.Beech-runes are there,   |   birth-runes are there,

And all the runes of ale,[396]

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.”

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;[397]Thy loving word   |   for mine will I win,As long as I shall live.”

21.“I shall not flee,   |   though my fate be near,

I was born not a coward to be;[397]

Thy loving word   |   for mine will I win,

As long as I shall live.”

*    *    *    *    *    *

22.Then first I rede thee,   |   that free of guiltToward kinsmen ever thou art;No vengeance have,   |   though they work thee harm,Reward after death thou shalt win.

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 oathIf true thou knowest it not;Bitter the fate   |   of the breaker of troth,And poor is the wolf of his word.

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 ThingShalt fight not in words with fools;For the man unwise   |   a worser wordThan he thinks doth utter oft.

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;[398]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.

25.Ill it is   |   if silent thou art,

A coward born men call thee,

And truth mayhap they tell;[398]

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 findA wily witch on thy road,It is better to go   |   than her guest to be,Though night enfold thee fast.

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 menWho fight in battle fierce;Oft witches evil   |   sit by the way,Who blade and courage blunt.

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 fairThou seest on benches sitting,Let the silver of kinship   |   not rob thee of sleep,And the kissing of women beware.

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.

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.

[399]

30.Brawls and ale   |   full oft have beenAn ill to many a man,Death for some,   |   and sorrow for some;Full many the woes of men.

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 seekestWith a foe that is full of might;It is better to fight   |   than to burn aliveIn the hall of the hero rich.

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.

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 renderIf thou findest a fallen corpse,Of sickness dead,   |   or dead in the sea,Or dead of weapons’ wounds.

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,[400]And hands and head shalt wash;Wipe them and comb,   |   ere they go in the coffin,And pray that they sleep in peace.

34.A bath shalt thou give them   |   who corpses be,[400]

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 trustThe 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.

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 needsIf boldest of men he would be.

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.

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.

[386]

[Contents]NOTES[388]Prose.The introductory prose follows without break the prose concluding theFafnismol, the point of division being arbitrary and not agreed upon by all editors.Hindarfjoll: cf.Fafnismol, 42 and note.Franks: this does not necessarily mean that Sigurth was on his way to the Gjukungs’ home, for Sigmund had a kingdom in the land of the Franks (cf.Fra Dautha Sinfjotla).Shields: the annotator probably drew the notion of the shield-tower from the reference inHelreith Brynhildar, 9. The flame-girt tower was not uncommon; cf. Mengloth’s hall inSvipdagsmol.[389]1.This stanza, and the two lines included in the prose after stanza 4, and possibly stanza 5 as well, evidently come from a different poem from stanzas 2–4. Lines 3–4 in the original are obscure, though the general meaning is clear.Prose(after stanza 1). In the manuscript stanza 4 stands before this prose note and stanzas 2–3. The best arrangement of the stanzas seems to be the one here given, following Müllenhoff’s suggestion, but the prose note is out of place anywhere. The first sentence of it ought to follow stanza 4 and immediately precede the next prose note; the second sentence ought to precede stanza 5.2.Sons of day: the spirits of light.The daughter of night(Not), according to Snorri, was Jorth (Earth).[390]Prose(after stanza 4).Sigrdrifa: on the error whereby this epithet, “victory-bringer,” became a proper name cf.Fafnismol, 44 and note.Hjalmgunnar: inHelreith Brynhildar(stanza 8) he is called a king of the Goths, which means little; of him and his adversary,Agnar, we know nothing beyond what is told here. The two lines quoted apparently come from the same poem as stanza 1; the two first lines of the stanza have been reconstructed from the prose thus: “Hjalmgunnar was one,   |   the hoary king, / And triumph to him   |   had Heerfather promised.” A few editions insert in this prose passage stanzas 7–10 ofHelreith Brynhildar, which may or may not have belonged originally to this poem.[391]5.This stanza is perhaps, but by no means surely, from the same poem as stanza 1.Tree of battle: warrior.Runes: the earliest runes were not letters, but simply signs supposed to possess magic power; out of them developed the “runic alphabet.”6.Stanzas 6–12 give a list of runes which probably had no original connection with the Brynhild-Sigurth story.Tyr: the sword-god (cf.Hymiskvitha, 4 and note); “tyr” is also the name of a rune which became “T.”7.Regiusgives only lines 1–6; lines 7–8 are added fromVolsungasaga.Lies, etc.: a guest on his arrival received a draught of ale from the hands of his host’s wife, and it was to prevent this draught from bewitching him that the runes were recommended.Need: the word “nauth,” meaning “need,” is also the name of the rune which became “N.”Leek: leeks were long supposed to have the power of counteracting poison or witchcraft.[392]9.Sail-steeds: ships.10.Branch-runes: runes cut in the bark of trees. Such runes were believed to transfer sickness from the invalid to the tree. Some editors, however, have changed “limrunar” (“branch-runes”) to “lifrunar” (“life-runes”).[393]11.Lines 3–6 look like an accidental addition, replacing two lines now lost. They mean, apparently, that the man who interweaves his speech with “speech-runes” when he pleads his case at the “Thing,” or popular tribunal, will not unduly enrage his adversary in the argument of the case.12.Here the list of runes breaks off, though the manuscript indicates no gap, and three short passages of a different type, though all dealing with runes, follow.13.Stanzas 13–14 appear to have come from a passage regarding Othin’s getting of the runes similar toHovamol, 139–146. Editors have tried various combinations of the lines in stanzas 12–14.Hropt: Othin; cf.Voluspo, 62.The draught, etc.: apparently the reference is to the head of Mim, from which Othin derived his wisdom in magic (cf.Voluspo, 47 and note);Heithdraupnir(“Light-Dropper”) andHoddrofnir(“Treasure-Opener”) seem to be names for Mim.[394]14.This stanza is clearly in bad shape; perhaps, as the manuscript indicates, a new stanza, of which most has been lost, should begin with line 3.Brimir: a giant (cf.Voluspo, 9 and 37); why Othin should have his sword is unknown.15.Stanzas 15–17 constitute a wholly distinct rune-chant. Line 1 is unusually long in the original, as here.Shield: the shield Svalin (“Cooling”) that stands in front of the sun; cf.Grimnismol, 38.Arvak(“Early Walter”) andAlsvith(“All-Swift”): the horses that draw the sun’s car; cf.Grimnismol, 37.Hrungnir: the slayer of the giant Hrungnir was Thor (cf.Harbarthsljoth, 14 and note), but the line is in bad shape; the name may not be Hrungnir, and “killer” is a conjectural addition.Sleipnir: Othin’s eight-legged horse; cf.Grimnismol, 44 and note.Sledge: perhaps the one mentioned inGrimnismol, 49.16.Bragi: the god of poetry; cf.Grimnismol, 44 and note.[395]17.Charms: the wearing of amulets was very common.Gungnir: Othin’s spear, made by the dwarfs, which he occasionally lent to heroes to whom he granted victory.Grani: Sigurth’s horse; theVolsungasagahas “giantesses’.”18.Stanzas 18–19, which editors have freely rearranged, apparently come from another source than any of the rest.Shaved off: the runes were shaved off by Othin from the wood on which they were carved, and the shavings bearing them were put into the magic mead.Wanes: cf.Voluspo, 21, note.19.Lines 3, 6, and 7 look like spurious additions, but the whole stanza is chaotic.Beech-runes: runes carved on beech-trees.[396]20.Stanzas 20–21 are all that remains of the dialogue between Brynhild and Sigurth from the poem to which stanzas 2–4 belong; cf. Introductory Note. In the intervening lost stanzas Brynhild has evidently warned Sigurth of the perils that will follow if he swears loyalty to her; hence the choice to which she here refers.Tree, etc.: warrior. The manuscript does not indicate the speaker of either this or the following stanza; theVolsungasaganames Sigurth before stanza 21.21.It is quite possible that the original poem concluded with two stanzas after this, paraphrased thus in theVolsungasaga: “Sigurth said: ‘Nowhere is to be found any one wiser than thou, and this I swear, that I shall have thee for mine, and that thou art after my heart’s desire.’ She answered: ‘I would rather have thee though I might choose among all men.’ And this they bound between them with oaths.” Stanzas 22–37, which theVolsungasagaparaphrases, may have been introduced at a relatively early time, but can hardly have formed part of the original poem.[397]22.With this stanza begins the list of numbered counsels, closely resembling theLoddfafnismol(Hovamol, 111–138), here attributed to Brynhild. That the section originally had anything to do with Brynhild is more than improbable.23.Wolf of his word: oath-destroyer, oath-breaker.25.This chaotic and obscure jumble of lines has been unsuccessfully “improved” by various editors. It is clearly an interpolation, meaning, in substance: “It is dangerous to keep silent too long, as men may think you a coward; but if any one taunts[398]you falsely because of your silence, do not argue with him, but the next morning kill him as proof that he is a liar.”27.Probably another interpolation.28.Silver of kinship: the passage is doubtful, but apparently it means the “marriage-price” for which a bride was “bought.”29.Line 1 comes at the end of the thirty-second leaf ofRegius, and whatever further was contained in that manuscript has vanished[399]with the lost eight-leaf folio (cf. Introductory Note). The rest of stanza 29, and stanzas 30–37, are added from later paper manuscripts, which were undoubtedly copied from an old parchment, though probably not from the completeRegius. TheVolsungasagaparaphrases these additional stanzas.30.Probably an interpolation.31.The meaning is that it is better to go forth to battle than to stay at home and be burned to death. Many a Norse warrior met his death in this latter way; the burning of the house in theNjalssagais the most famous instance.34.Probably an interpolation.[400]35.Lines 3–4 are probably interpolated.Race of wolves: family of a slain foe.36.Probably an interpolation.37.Lines 3–4 may well have come from the old Sigurth-Brynhild poem, like stanzas 2–4 and 20–21, being inserted here, where they do not fit particularly well, in place of the two lines with which the eleventh counsel originally ended. Perhaps they formed part of the stanza of warning which evidently preceded Brynhild’s speech in stanza 20. In theVolsungasagathey are paraphrased at the end of Brynhild’s long speech of advice (stanzas 20–37), and are immediately followed by the prose passage given in the note on stanza 21. It seems likely, therefore,[401]that the paper manuscripts have preserved all of the so-calledSigrdrifumolwhich was contained in the lost section ofRegius, with the possible exception of these two concluding stanzas, and these may very well have been given only in the form of a prose note, though it is practically certain that at one time they existed in verse form.[402]

NOTES[388]

[388]

Prose.The introductory prose follows without break the prose concluding theFafnismol, the point of division being arbitrary and not agreed upon by all editors.Hindarfjoll: cf.Fafnismol, 42 and note.Franks: this does not necessarily mean that Sigurth was on his way to the Gjukungs’ home, for Sigmund had a kingdom in the land of the Franks (cf.Fra Dautha Sinfjotla).Shields: the annotator probably drew the notion of the shield-tower from the reference inHelreith Brynhildar, 9. The flame-girt tower was not uncommon; cf. Mengloth’s hall inSvipdagsmol.[389]1.This stanza, and the two lines included in the prose after stanza 4, and possibly stanza 5 as well, evidently come from a different poem from stanzas 2–4. Lines 3–4 in the original are obscure, though the general meaning is clear.Prose(after stanza 1). In the manuscript stanza 4 stands before this prose note and stanzas 2–3. The best arrangement of the stanzas seems to be the one here given, following Müllenhoff’s suggestion, but the prose note is out of place anywhere. The first sentence of it ought to follow stanza 4 and immediately precede the next prose note; the second sentence ought to precede stanza 5.2.Sons of day: the spirits of light.The daughter of night(Not), according to Snorri, was Jorth (Earth).[390]Prose(after stanza 4).Sigrdrifa: on the error whereby this epithet, “victory-bringer,” became a proper name cf.Fafnismol, 44 and note.Hjalmgunnar: inHelreith Brynhildar(stanza 8) he is called a king of the Goths, which means little; of him and his adversary,Agnar, we know nothing beyond what is told here. The two lines quoted apparently come from the same poem as stanza 1; the two first lines of the stanza have been reconstructed from the prose thus: “Hjalmgunnar was one,   |   the hoary king, / And triumph to him   |   had Heerfather promised.” A few editions insert in this prose passage stanzas 7–10 ofHelreith Brynhildar, which may or may not have belonged originally to this poem.[391]5.This stanza is perhaps, but by no means surely, from the same poem as stanza 1.Tree of battle: warrior.Runes: the earliest runes were not letters, but simply signs supposed to possess magic power; out of them developed the “runic alphabet.”6.Stanzas 6–12 give a list of runes which probably had no original connection with the Brynhild-Sigurth story.Tyr: the sword-god (cf.Hymiskvitha, 4 and note); “tyr” is also the name of a rune which became “T.”7.Regiusgives only lines 1–6; lines 7–8 are added fromVolsungasaga.Lies, etc.: a guest on his arrival received a draught of ale from the hands of his host’s wife, and it was to prevent this draught from bewitching him that the runes were recommended.Need: the word “nauth,” meaning “need,” is also the name of the rune which became “N.”Leek: leeks were long supposed to have the power of counteracting poison or witchcraft.[392]9.Sail-steeds: ships.10.Branch-runes: runes cut in the bark of trees. Such runes were believed to transfer sickness from the invalid to the tree. Some editors, however, have changed “limrunar” (“branch-runes”) to “lifrunar” (“life-runes”).[393]11.Lines 3–6 look like an accidental addition, replacing two lines now lost. They mean, apparently, that the man who interweaves his speech with “speech-runes” when he pleads his case at the “Thing,” or popular tribunal, will not unduly enrage his adversary in the argument of the case.12.Here the list of runes breaks off, though the manuscript indicates no gap, and three short passages of a different type, though all dealing with runes, follow.13.Stanzas 13–14 appear to have come from a passage regarding Othin’s getting of the runes similar toHovamol, 139–146. Editors have tried various combinations of the lines in stanzas 12–14.Hropt: Othin; cf.Voluspo, 62.The draught, etc.: apparently the reference is to the head of Mim, from which Othin derived his wisdom in magic (cf.Voluspo, 47 and note);Heithdraupnir(“Light-Dropper”) andHoddrofnir(“Treasure-Opener”) seem to be names for Mim.[394]14.This stanza is clearly in bad shape; perhaps, as the manuscript indicates, a new stanza, of which most has been lost, should begin with line 3.Brimir: a giant (cf.Voluspo, 9 and 37); why Othin should have his sword is unknown.15.Stanzas 15–17 constitute a wholly distinct rune-chant. Line 1 is unusually long in the original, as here.Shield: the shield Svalin (“Cooling”) that stands in front of the sun; cf.Grimnismol, 38.Arvak(“Early Walter”) andAlsvith(“All-Swift”): the horses that draw the sun’s car; cf.Grimnismol, 37.Hrungnir: the slayer of the giant Hrungnir was Thor (cf.Harbarthsljoth, 14 and note), but the line is in bad shape; the name may not be Hrungnir, and “killer” is a conjectural addition.Sleipnir: Othin’s eight-legged horse; cf.Grimnismol, 44 and note.Sledge: perhaps the one mentioned inGrimnismol, 49.16.Bragi: the god of poetry; cf.Grimnismol, 44 and note.[395]17.Charms: the wearing of amulets was very common.Gungnir: Othin’s spear, made by the dwarfs, which he occasionally lent to heroes to whom he granted victory.Grani: Sigurth’s horse; theVolsungasagahas “giantesses’.”18.Stanzas 18–19, which editors have freely rearranged, apparently come from another source than any of the rest.Shaved off: the runes were shaved off by Othin from the wood on which they were carved, and the shavings bearing them were put into the magic mead.Wanes: cf.Voluspo, 21, note.19.Lines 3, 6, and 7 look like spurious additions, but the whole stanza is chaotic.Beech-runes: runes carved on beech-trees.[396]20.Stanzas 20–21 are all that remains of the dialogue between Brynhild and Sigurth from the poem to which stanzas 2–4 belong; cf. Introductory Note. In the intervening lost stanzas Brynhild has evidently warned Sigurth of the perils that will follow if he swears loyalty to her; hence the choice to which she here refers.Tree, etc.: warrior. The manuscript does not indicate the speaker of either this or the following stanza; theVolsungasaganames Sigurth before stanza 21.21.It is quite possible that the original poem concluded with two stanzas after this, paraphrased thus in theVolsungasaga: “Sigurth said: ‘Nowhere is to be found any one wiser than thou, and this I swear, that I shall have thee for mine, and that thou art after my heart’s desire.’ She answered: ‘I would rather have thee though I might choose among all men.’ And this they bound between them with oaths.” Stanzas 22–37, which theVolsungasagaparaphrases, may have been introduced at a relatively early time, but can hardly have formed part of the original poem.[397]22.With this stanza begins the list of numbered counsels, closely resembling theLoddfafnismol(Hovamol, 111–138), here attributed to Brynhild. That the section originally had anything to do with Brynhild is more than improbable.23.Wolf of his word: oath-destroyer, oath-breaker.25.This chaotic and obscure jumble of lines has been unsuccessfully “improved” by various editors. It is clearly an interpolation, meaning, in substance: “It is dangerous to keep silent too long, as men may think you a coward; but if any one taunts[398]you falsely because of your silence, do not argue with him, but the next morning kill him as proof that he is a liar.”27.Probably another interpolation.28.Silver of kinship: the passage is doubtful, but apparently it means the “marriage-price” for which a bride was “bought.”29.Line 1 comes at the end of the thirty-second leaf ofRegius, and whatever further was contained in that manuscript has vanished[399]with the lost eight-leaf folio (cf. Introductory Note). The rest of stanza 29, and stanzas 30–37, are added from later paper manuscripts, which were undoubtedly copied from an old parchment, though probably not from the completeRegius. TheVolsungasagaparaphrases these additional stanzas.30.Probably an interpolation.31.The meaning is that it is better to go forth to battle than to stay at home and be burned to death. Many a Norse warrior met his death in this latter way; the burning of the house in theNjalssagais the most famous instance.34.Probably an interpolation.[400]35.Lines 3–4 are probably interpolated.Race of wolves: family of a slain foe.36.Probably an interpolation.37.Lines 3–4 may well have come from the old Sigurth-Brynhild poem, like stanzas 2–4 and 20–21, being inserted here, where they do not fit particularly well, in place of the two lines with which the eleventh counsel originally ended. Perhaps they formed part of the stanza of warning which evidently preceded Brynhild’s speech in stanza 20. In theVolsungasagathey are paraphrased at the end of Brynhild’s long speech of advice (stanzas 20–37), and are immediately followed by the prose passage given in the note on stanza 21. It seems likely, therefore,[401]that the paper manuscripts have preserved all of the so-calledSigrdrifumolwhich was contained in the lost section ofRegius, with the possible exception of these two concluding stanzas, and these may very well have been given only in the form of a prose note, though it is practically certain that at one time they existed in verse form.[402]

Prose.The introductory prose follows without break the prose concluding theFafnismol, the point of division being arbitrary and not agreed upon by all editors.Hindarfjoll: cf.Fafnismol, 42 and note.Franks: this does not necessarily mean that Sigurth was on his way to the Gjukungs’ home, for Sigmund had a kingdom in the land of the Franks (cf.Fra Dautha Sinfjotla).Shields: the annotator probably drew the notion of the shield-tower from the reference inHelreith Brynhildar, 9. The flame-girt tower was not uncommon; cf. Mengloth’s hall inSvipdagsmol.[389]

1.This stanza, and the two lines included in the prose after stanza 4, and possibly stanza 5 as well, evidently come from a different poem from stanzas 2–4. Lines 3–4 in the original are obscure, though the general meaning is clear.

Prose(after stanza 1). In the manuscript stanza 4 stands before this prose note and stanzas 2–3. The best arrangement of the stanzas seems to be the one here given, following Müllenhoff’s suggestion, but the prose note is out of place anywhere. The first sentence of it ought to follow stanza 4 and immediately precede the next prose note; the second sentence ought to precede stanza 5.

2.Sons of day: the spirits of light.The daughter of night(Not), according to Snorri, was Jorth (Earth).[390]

Prose(after stanza 4).Sigrdrifa: on the error whereby this epithet, “victory-bringer,” became a proper name cf.Fafnismol, 44 and note.Hjalmgunnar: inHelreith Brynhildar(stanza 8) he is called a king of the Goths, which means little; of him and his adversary,Agnar, we know nothing beyond what is told here. The two lines quoted apparently come from the same poem as stanza 1; the two first lines of the stanza have been reconstructed from the prose thus: “Hjalmgunnar was one,   |   the hoary king, / And triumph to him   |   had Heerfather promised.” A few editions insert in this prose passage stanzas 7–10 ofHelreith Brynhildar, which may or may not have belonged originally to this poem.[391]

5.This stanza is perhaps, but by no means surely, from the same poem as stanza 1.Tree of battle: warrior.Runes: the earliest runes were not letters, but simply signs supposed to possess magic power; out of them developed the “runic alphabet.”

6.Stanzas 6–12 give a list of runes which probably had no original connection with the Brynhild-Sigurth story.Tyr: the sword-god (cf.Hymiskvitha, 4 and note); “tyr” is also the name of a rune which became “T.”

7.Regiusgives only lines 1–6; lines 7–8 are added fromVolsungasaga.Lies, etc.: a guest on his arrival received a draught of ale from the hands of his host’s wife, and it was to prevent this draught from bewitching him that the runes were recommended.Need: the word “nauth,” meaning “need,” is also the name of the rune which became “N.”Leek: leeks were long supposed to have the power of counteracting poison or witchcraft.[392]

9.Sail-steeds: ships.

10.Branch-runes: runes cut in the bark of trees. Such runes were believed to transfer sickness from the invalid to the tree. Some editors, however, have changed “limrunar” (“branch-runes”) to “lifrunar” (“life-runes”).[393]

11.Lines 3–6 look like an accidental addition, replacing two lines now lost. They mean, apparently, that the man who interweaves his speech with “speech-runes” when he pleads his case at the “Thing,” or popular tribunal, will not unduly enrage his adversary in the argument of the case.

12.Here the list of runes breaks off, though the manuscript indicates no gap, and three short passages of a different type, though all dealing with runes, follow.

13.Stanzas 13–14 appear to have come from a passage regarding Othin’s getting of the runes similar toHovamol, 139–146. Editors have tried various combinations of the lines in stanzas 12–14.Hropt: Othin; cf.Voluspo, 62.The draught, etc.: apparently the reference is to the head of Mim, from which Othin derived his wisdom in magic (cf.Voluspo, 47 and note);Heithdraupnir(“Light-Dropper”) andHoddrofnir(“Treasure-Opener”) seem to be names for Mim.[394]

14.This stanza is clearly in bad shape; perhaps, as the manuscript indicates, a new stanza, of which most has been lost, should begin with line 3.Brimir: a giant (cf.Voluspo, 9 and 37); why Othin should have his sword is unknown.

15.Stanzas 15–17 constitute a wholly distinct rune-chant. Line 1 is unusually long in the original, as here.Shield: the shield Svalin (“Cooling”) that stands in front of the sun; cf.Grimnismol, 38.Arvak(“Early Walter”) andAlsvith(“All-Swift”): the horses that draw the sun’s car; cf.Grimnismol, 37.Hrungnir: the slayer of the giant Hrungnir was Thor (cf.Harbarthsljoth, 14 and note), but the line is in bad shape; the name may not be Hrungnir, and “killer” is a conjectural addition.Sleipnir: Othin’s eight-legged horse; cf.Grimnismol, 44 and note.Sledge: perhaps the one mentioned inGrimnismol, 49.

16.Bragi: the god of poetry; cf.Grimnismol, 44 and note.[395]

17.Charms: the wearing of amulets was very common.Gungnir: Othin’s spear, made by the dwarfs, which he occasionally lent to heroes to whom he granted victory.Grani: Sigurth’s horse; theVolsungasagahas “giantesses’.”

18.Stanzas 18–19, which editors have freely rearranged, apparently come from another source than any of the rest.Shaved off: the runes were shaved off by Othin from the wood on which they were carved, and the shavings bearing them were put into the magic mead.Wanes: cf.Voluspo, 21, note.

19.Lines 3, 6, and 7 look like spurious additions, but the whole stanza is chaotic.Beech-runes: runes carved on beech-trees.[396]

20.Stanzas 20–21 are all that remains of the dialogue between Brynhild and Sigurth from the poem to which stanzas 2–4 belong; cf. Introductory Note. In the intervening lost stanzas Brynhild has evidently warned Sigurth of the perils that will follow if he swears loyalty to her; hence the choice to which she here refers.Tree, etc.: warrior. The manuscript does not indicate the speaker of either this or the following stanza; theVolsungasaganames Sigurth before stanza 21.

21.It is quite possible that the original poem concluded with two stanzas after this, paraphrased thus in theVolsungasaga: “Sigurth said: ‘Nowhere is to be found any one wiser than thou, and this I swear, that I shall have thee for mine, and that thou art after my heart’s desire.’ She answered: ‘I would rather have thee though I might choose among all men.’ And this they bound between them with oaths.” Stanzas 22–37, which theVolsungasagaparaphrases, may have been introduced at a relatively early time, but can hardly have formed part of the original poem.[397]

22.With this stanza begins the list of numbered counsels, closely resembling theLoddfafnismol(Hovamol, 111–138), here attributed to Brynhild. That the section originally had anything to do with Brynhild is more than improbable.

23.Wolf of his word: oath-destroyer, oath-breaker.

25.This chaotic and obscure jumble of lines has been unsuccessfully “improved” by various editors. It is clearly an interpolation, meaning, in substance: “It is dangerous to keep silent too long, as men may think you a coward; but if any one taunts[398]you falsely because of your silence, do not argue with him, but the next morning kill him as proof that he is a liar.”

27.Probably another interpolation.

28.Silver of kinship: the passage is doubtful, but apparently it means the “marriage-price” for which a bride was “bought.”

29.Line 1 comes at the end of the thirty-second leaf ofRegius, and whatever further was contained in that manuscript has vanished[399]with the lost eight-leaf folio (cf. Introductory Note). The rest of stanza 29, and stanzas 30–37, are added from later paper manuscripts, which were undoubtedly copied from an old parchment, though probably not from the completeRegius. TheVolsungasagaparaphrases these additional stanzas.

30.Probably an interpolation.

31.The meaning is that it is better to go forth to battle than to stay at home and be burned to death. Many a Norse warrior met his death in this latter way; the burning of the house in theNjalssagais the most famous instance.

34.Probably an interpolation.[400]

35.Lines 3–4 are probably interpolated.Race of wolves: family of a slain foe.

36.Probably an interpolation.

37.Lines 3–4 may well have come from the old Sigurth-Brynhild poem, like stanzas 2–4 and 20–21, being inserted here, where they do not fit particularly well, in place of the two lines with which the eleventh counsel originally ended. Perhaps they formed part of the stanza of warning which evidently preceded Brynhild’s speech in stanza 20. In theVolsungasagathey are paraphrased at the end of Brynhild’s long speech of advice (stanzas 20–37), and are immediately followed by the prose passage given in the note on stanza 21. It seems likely, therefore,[401]that the paper manuscripts have preserved all of the so-calledSigrdrifumolwhich was contained in the lost section ofRegius, with the possible exception of these two concluding stanzas, and these may very well have been given only in the form of a prose note, though it is practically certain that at one time they existed in verse form.[402]

[Contents]BROT AF SIGURTHARKVITHUFragment of a Sigurth Lay[Contents]Introductory NoteThe gap of eight leaves in theCodex Regius(cf. introductory note to theSigrdrifumol) is followed by a passage of twenty stanzas which is evidently the end of a longer poem, the greater part of it having been contained in the lost section of the manuscript. There is here little question of such a compilation as made up the so-calledReginsmol,Fafnismol, andSigrdrifumol; the extant fragment shows every sign of being part of a poem which, as it stood in the manuscript, was a complete and definite unit. The end is clearly marked; the following poem,GuthrunarkvithaI, carries a specific heading in the manuscript, so that there is no uncertainty as to where the fragment closes.It seems altogether likely that the twenty stanzas thus remaining are the end of a poem entitledSigurtharkvitha(Lay of Sigurth), and, more specifically, the “Long” Lay of Sigurth. The extant and complete Sigurth lay, a relatively late work, is referred to by the annotator as the “Short” Lay of Sigurth, which, of course, presupposes the existence of a longer poem with the same title. As the “short” lay is one of the longest poems in the whole collection (seventy stanzas), it follows that the other one must have been considerably more extensive in order to have been thus distinguished by its length. It may be guessed, then, that not less than eighty or a hundred stanzas, and possibly more, of the “Long” Lay of Sigurth have been lost with the missing pages ofRegius.The narrative, from the point at which the so-calledSigrdrifumolbreaks off to that at which the Brot takes it up, is given with considerable detail in theVolsungasaga. In this prose narrative four stanzas are quoted, and one of them is specifically introduced with the phrase: “as is told in the Lay of Sigurth.” It is possible, but most unlikely, that the entire passage paraphrases this poem alone; such an assumption would give the Lay of Sigurth not less than two hundred and fifty stanzas (allowing about fifteen stanzas to each of the missing pages), and moreover there are inconsistencies in theVolsungasaganarrative suggesting that different and more or less conflicting poems were used as sources. The chances are that the “Long” Lay of Sigurth[403]filled approximately the latter half of the lost section of the manuscript, the first half including poems of which the only trace is to be found in theVolsungasagaprose paraphrase and in two of the stanzas therein quoted.The course of theVolsungasaga’sstory from theSigrdrifumolto theBrotis, briefly, as follows. After leaving the Valkyrie, Sigurth comes to the dwelling of Heimir, Brynhild’s brother-in-law, where he meets Brynhild and they swear oaths of fidelity anew (theVolsungasagais no more lucid with regard to the Brynhild-Sigrdrifa confusion than was the annotator of the poems). Then the scene shifts to the home of the Gjukungs. Guthrun, Gjuki’s daughter, has a terrifying dream, and visits Brynhild to have it explained, which the latter does by foretelling pretty much everything that is going to happen; this episode was presumably the subject of a separate poem in the lost section of the manuscript. Guthrun returns home, and Sigurth soon arrives, to be made enthusiastically welcome. Grimhild, mother of Gunnar and Guthrun, gives him a magic draught which makes him forget all about Brynhild, and shortly thereafter he marries Guthrun.Then follows the episode of the winning of Brynhild for Gunnar (cf.Gripisspo, 37 and note). This was certainly the subject of a poem, possibly of the first part of the “Long” Lay of Sigurth, although it seems more likely that the episode was dealt with in a separate poem. TheVolsungasagaquotes two stanzas describing Sigurth’s triumphant passing through the flames after Gunnar has failed and the two have changed forms. They run thus:The fire raged,   |   the earth was rocked,The flames leaped high   |   to heaven itself;Few were the hardy   |   heroes would dareTo ride or leap   |   the raging flames.Sigurth urged Grani   |   then with his sword,The fire slackened   |   before the hero,The flames sank low   |   for the greedy of fame,The armor flashed   |   that Regin had fashioned.After Sigurth has spent three nights with Brynhild, laying his sword between them (cf.Gripisspo, 41 and note), he and Gunnar return home, while Brynhild goes to the dwelling of her brother-in-law, Heimir, and makes ready for her marriage with Gunnar,[404]directing Heimir to care for her daughter by Sigurth, Aslaug. The wedding takes place, to be followed soon after by the quarrel between Guthrun and Brynhild, in which the former betrays the fact that it was Sigurth, and not Gunnar, who rode through the flames. Brynhild speaks with contempt of Guthrun and her whole family, and the following stanza, which presumably belongs to the same Sigurth lay as theBrot, is quoted at this point:Sigurth the dragon   |   slew, and thatWill men recall   |   while the world remains;But little boldness   |   thy brother hadTo ride or leap   |   the raging flames.Gunnar and Sigurth alike try to appease the angry Brynhild, but in vain. After Sigurth has talked with her, his leaving her hall is described in the following stanza, introduced by the specific phrase: “as is said in the Lay of Sigurth”:Forth went Sigurth,   |   and speech he sought not,The friend of heroes,   |   his head bowed down;Such was his grief   |   that asunder burstHis mail-coat all   |   of iron wrought.Brynhild then tells Gunnar that she had given herself wholly to Sigurth before she had become Gunnar’s wife (the confusion between the two stories is commented on in the note toGripisspo, 47), and Gunnar discusses plans ofvengeancewith his brother, Hogni. It is at this point that the action of theBrotbegins.Beginning with this poem, and thence to the end of the cycle, the German features of the narrative predominate (cf. introductory note toGripisspo).[Contents]Hogni spake:1.“(What evil deed   |   has Sigurth) done,That the hero’s life   |   thou fain wouldst have?”[405]Gunnar spake:2.“Sigurth oaths   |   to me hath sworn,Oaths hath sworn,   |   and all hath broken;He betrayed me there   |   where truest allHis 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:[406]“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 ruleO’er Gjuki’s wealth   |   and the race of the Goths;[407]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 heedWhat the twain from the tree   |   had told him then,The raven and eagle,   |   as home they rode.[408]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 tellThat 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 raceAll shall die;   |   your oaths ye have broken.[409]18.“Thou hast, Gunnar,   |   the deed forgot,When blood in your footprints   |   both ye mingled;All to him   |   hast repaid with illWho fain had made thee   |   the foremost of kings.19.“Well did he prove,   |   when proud he rodeTo win me then   |   thy wife to be,How true the host-slayer   |   ever had heldThe 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[410]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.[402][Contents]NOTES[404]1.The fragment begins with the last words of line 1 (probably line 3 of the stanza). A few editors ascribe this speech to Gunnar and the next to Brynhild; one reconstruction of lines 1–2 on this probably false assumption runs: “Why art thou, Brynhild,[405]|   daughter of Buthli, / Scheming ill   |   with evil counsel?”Hogni(German Hagene): brother of Gunnar and Guthrun.2.A few editors ascribe this speech to Brynhild. Gunnar, if the stanza is his, has believed Brynhild’s statement regarding Sigurth’s disloyalty to his blood-brother.4.TheVolsungasagaquotes a somewhat different version of this stanza, in which the snake is called “wood-fish” and the third line adds “beer and many things.” Eating snakes and the flesh of beasts of prey was commonly supposed to induce ferocity.Gotthorm: Grimhild’s son, half-brother to Gunnar. He it is who, not having sworn brotherhood with Sigurth, does the killing.5.In the manuscript this stanza stands between stanzas 11 and 12; most editions have made the change here indicated.[406]South of the Rhine: the definite localization of the action shows how clearly all this part of the story was recognized in the North as of German origin.Atli(Attila; cf. introductory note toGripisspo): the Northern version of the story makes him Brynhild’s brother. His marriage with Guthrun, and his slaying of her brothers, are told in the Atli poems. Regarding the manner of Sigurth’s death cf. concluding prose passage and note. Stanza 13 indicates that after stanza 5 a stanza containing the words of an eagle has been lost.7.One line of this stanza, but it is not clear which, seems to have been lost.The gray horse: Grani.8.Some editions set stanzas 8 and 9 after stanza 11; Sijmons marks them as spurious.Buthli: cf.Gripisspo, 19, note.9.Goths: a generic term for any German race; cf.Gripisspo,[407]35 and note.Five sons: according to theVolsungasagaSigurth had only one son, named Sigmund, who was killed at Brynhild’s behest.Sigurtharkvitha en skammaandGuthrunarkvitha IIlikewise mention only one son. The daughter of Sigurth and Guthrun, Svanhild, marries Jormunrek (Ermanarich).12.The manuscript marks line 4 as the beginning of a new stanza, and a few editions combine it with stanza 13.13.Slayer of hosts: warrior (Gunnar).Raven and eagle: cf. note on stanza 5.[408]16.Mogk regards stanzas 16 and 17 as interpolated, but on not very satisfactory grounds. On the death of Gunnar cf.Drap Niflunga.17.No gap is indicated in the manuscript, and some editions attach these two lines to stanza 16.Niflungs: this name (German Nibelungen), meaning “sons of the mist,” seems to have belonged originally to the race of supernatural beings to which the treasure belonged in the German version. It was subsequently extended to include the Gjukungs and their Burgundians. This question, of minor importance in the Norse poems, has evoked an enormous amount of learned discussion in connection with theNibelungenlied.[409]18.Footprints: the actual mingling of blood in one another’s footprints was a part of the ceremony of swearing blood-brotherhood, the oath which Gunnar and Sigurth had taken. The fourth line refers to the fact that Sigurth had won many battles for Gunnar.20.Regarding the sword episode cf.Gripisspo, 41 and note.Wound-staff: sword.Prose.This prose passage has in the manuscript, written in red, the phrase “Of Sigurth’s Death” as a heading; there is no break between it and the prose introducingGuthrunarkvitha I, the heading for that poem coming just before stanza 1. This note is of special interest as an effort at real criticism. The annotator, troubled by the two versions of the story of Sigurth’s death, feels it incumbent on him not only to point the fact out, but to cite the authority of “German men” for the form which appears[410]in this poem. The alternative version, wherein Sigurth is slain in bed, appears inSigurtharkvitha en skamma,Guthrunarhvot, andHamthesmol, and also in theVolsungasaga, which tells how Gotthorm tried twice to kill Sigurth but was terrified by the brightness of his eyes, and succeeded only after the hero had fallen asleep. That the annotator was correct in citing German authority for the slaying of Sigurth in the forest is shown by theNibelungenliedand theThithrekssaga. The “old” Guthrun lay is unquestionablyGuthrunarkvitha II.[411]

BROT AF SIGURTHARKVITHUFragment of a Sigurth Lay

[Contents]Introductory NoteThe gap of eight leaves in theCodex Regius(cf. introductory note to theSigrdrifumol) is followed by a passage of twenty stanzas which is evidently the end of a longer poem, the greater part of it having been contained in the lost section of the manuscript. There is here little question of such a compilation as made up the so-calledReginsmol,Fafnismol, andSigrdrifumol; the extant fragment shows every sign of being part of a poem which, as it stood in the manuscript, was a complete and definite unit. The end is clearly marked; the following poem,GuthrunarkvithaI, carries a specific heading in the manuscript, so that there is no uncertainty as to where the fragment closes.It seems altogether likely that the twenty stanzas thus remaining are the end of a poem entitledSigurtharkvitha(Lay of Sigurth), and, more specifically, the “Long” Lay of Sigurth. The extant and complete Sigurth lay, a relatively late work, is referred to by the annotator as the “Short” Lay of Sigurth, which, of course, presupposes the existence of a longer poem with the same title. As the “short” lay is one of the longest poems in the whole collection (seventy stanzas), it follows that the other one must have been considerably more extensive in order to have been thus distinguished by its length. It may be guessed, then, that not less than eighty or a hundred stanzas, and possibly more, of the “Long” Lay of Sigurth have been lost with the missing pages ofRegius.The narrative, from the point at which the so-calledSigrdrifumolbreaks off to that at which the Brot takes it up, is given with considerable detail in theVolsungasaga. In this prose narrative four stanzas are quoted, and one of them is specifically introduced with the phrase: “as is told in the Lay of Sigurth.” It is possible, but most unlikely, that the entire passage paraphrases this poem alone; such an assumption would give the Lay of Sigurth not less than two hundred and fifty stanzas (allowing about fifteen stanzas to each of the missing pages), and moreover there are inconsistencies in theVolsungasaganarrative suggesting that different and more or less conflicting poems were used as sources. The chances are that the “Long” Lay of Sigurth[403]filled approximately the latter half of the lost section of the manuscript, the first half including poems of which the only trace is to be found in theVolsungasagaprose paraphrase and in two of the stanzas therein quoted.The course of theVolsungasaga’sstory from theSigrdrifumolto theBrotis, briefly, as follows. After leaving the Valkyrie, Sigurth comes to the dwelling of Heimir, Brynhild’s brother-in-law, where he meets Brynhild and they swear oaths of fidelity anew (theVolsungasagais no more lucid with regard to the Brynhild-Sigrdrifa confusion than was the annotator of the poems). Then the scene shifts to the home of the Gjukungs. Guthrun, Gjuki’s daughter, has a terrifying dream, and visits Brynhild to have it explained, which the latter does by foretelling pretty much everything that is going to happen; this episode was presumably the subject of a separate poem in the lost section of the manuscript. Guthrun returns home, and Sigurth soon arrives, to be made enthusiastically welcome. Grimhild, mother of Gunnar and Guthrun, gives him a magic draught which makes him forget all about Brynhild, and shortly thereafter he marries Guthrun.Then follows the episode of the winning of Brynhild for Gunnar (cf.Gripisspo, 37 and note). This was certainly the subject of a poem, possibly of the first part of the “Long” Lay of Sigurth, although it seems more likely that the episode was dealt with in a separate poem. TheVolsungasagaquotes two stanzas describing Sigurth’s triumphant passing through the flames after Gunnar has failed and the two have changed forms. They run thus:The fire raged,   |   the earth was rocked,The flames leaped high   |   to heaven itself;Few were the hardy   |   heroes would dareTo ride or leap   |   the raging flames.Sigurth urged Grani   |   then with his sword,The fire slackened   |   before the hero,The flames sank low   |   for the greedy of fame,The armor flashed   |   that Regin had fashioned.After Sigurth has spent three nights with Brynhild, laying his sword between them (cf.Gripisspo, 41 and note), he and Gunnar return home, while Brynhild goes to the dwelling of her brother-in-law, Heimir, and makes ready for her marriage with Gunnar,[404]directing Heimir to care for her daughter by Sigurth, Aslaug. The wedding takes place, to be followed soon after by the quarrel between Guthrun and Brynhild, in which the former betrays the fact that it was Sigurth, and not Gunnar, who rode through the flames. Brynhild speaks with contempt of Guthrun and her whole family, and the following stanza, which presumably belongs to the same Sigurth lay as theBrot, is quoted at this point:Sigurth the dragon   |   slew, and thatWill men recall   |   while the world remains;But little boldness   |   thy brother hadTo ride or leap   |   the raging flames.Gunnar and Sigurth alike try to appease the angry Brynhild, but in vain. After Sigurth has talked with her, his leaving her hall is described in the following stanza, introduced by the specific phrase: “as is said in the Lay of Sigurth”:Forth went Sigurth,   |   and speech he sought not,The friend of heroes,   |   his head bowed down;Such was his grief   |   that asunder burstHis mail-coat all   |   of iron wrought.Brynhild then tells Gunnar that she had given herself wholly to Sigurth before she had become Gunnar’s wife (the confusion between the two stories is commented on in the note toGripisspo, 47), and Gunnar discusses plans ofvengeancewith his brother, Hogni. It is at this point that the action of theBrotbegins.Beginning with this poem, and thence to the end of the cycle, the German features of the narrative predominate (cf. introductory note toGripisspo).[Contents]Hogni spake:1.“(What evil deed   |   has Sigurth) done,That the hero’s life   |   thou fain wouldst have?”[405]Gunnar spake:2.“Sigurth oaths   |   to me hath sworn,Oaths hath sworn,   |   and all hath broken;He betrayed me there   |   where truest allHis 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:[406]“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 ruleO’er Gjuki’s wealth   |   and the race of the Goths;[407]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 heedWhat the twain from the tree   |   had told him then,The raven and eagle,   |   as home they rode.[408]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 tellThat 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 raceAll shall die;   |   your oaths ye have broken.[409]18.“Thou hast, Gunnar,   |   the deed forgot,When blood in your footprints   |   both ye mingled;All to him   |   hast repaid with illWho fain had made thee   |   the foremost of kings.19.“Well did he prove,   |   when proud he rodeTo win me then   |   thy wife to be,How true the host-slayer   |   ever had heldThe 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[410]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.[402][Contents]NOTES[404]1.The fragment begins with the last words of line 1 (probably line 3 of the stanza). A few editors ascribe this speech to Gunnar and the next to Brynhild; one reconstruction of lines 1–2 on this probably false assumption runs: “Why art thou, Brynhild,[405]|   daughter of Buthli, / Scheming ill   |   with evil counsel?”Hogni(German Hagene): brother of Gunnar and Guthrun.2.A few editors ascribe this speech to Brynhild. Gunnar, if the stanza is his, has believed Brynhild’s statement regarding Sigurth’s disloyalty to his blood-brother.4.TheVolsungasagaquotes a somewhat different version of this stanza, in which the snake is called “wood-fish” and the third line adds “beer and many things.” Eating snakes and the flesh of beasts of prey was commonly supposed to induce ferocity.Gotthorm: Grimhild’s son, half-brother to Gunnar. He it is who, not having sworn brotherhood with Sigurth, does the killing.5.In the manuscript this stanza stands between stanzas 11 and 12; most editions have made the change here indicated.[406]South of the Rhine: the definite localization of the action shows how clearly all this part of the story was recognized in the North as of German origin.Atli(Attila; cf. introductory note toGripisspo): the Northern version of the story makes him Brynhild’s brother. His marriage with Guthrun, and his slaying of her brothers, are told in the Atli poems. Regarding the manner of Sigurth’s death cf. concluding prose passage and note. Stanza 13 indicates that after stanza 5 a stanza containing the words of an eagle has been lost.7.One line of this stanza, but it is not clear which, seems to have been lost.The gray horse: Grani.8.Some editions set stanzas 8 and 9 after stanza 11; Sijmons marks them as spurious.Buthli: cf.Gripisspo, 19, note.9.Goths: a generic term for any German race; cf.Gripisspo,[407]35 and note.Five sons: according to theVolsungasagaSigurth had only one son, named Sigmund, who was killed at Brynhild’s behest.Sigurtharkvitha en skammaandGuthrunarkvitha IIlikewise mention only one son. The daughter of Sigurth and Guthrun, Svanhild, marries Jormunrek (Ermanarich).12.The manuscript marks line 4 as the beginning of a new stanza, and a few editions combine it with stanza 13.13.Slayer of hosts: warrior (Gunnar).Raven and eagle: cf. note on stanza 5.[408]16.Mogk regards stanzas 16 and 17 as interpolated, but on not very satisfactory grounds. On the death of Gunnar cf.Drap Niflunga.17.No gap is indicated in the manuscript, and some editions attach these two lines to stanza 16.Niflungs: this name (German Nibelungen), meaning “sons of the mist,” seems to have belonged originally to the race of supernatural beings to which the treasure belonged in the German version. It was subsequently extended to include the Gjukungs and their Burgundians. This question, of minor importance in the Norse poems, has evoked an enormous amount of learned discussion in connection with theNibelungenlied.[409]18.Footprints: the actual mingling of blood in one another’s footprints was a part of the ceremony of swearing blood-brotherhood, the oath which Gunnar and Sigurth had taken. The fourth line refers to the fact that Sigurth had won many battles for Gunnar.20.Regarding the sword episode cf.Gripisspo, 41 and note.Wound-staff: sword.Prose.This prose passage has in the manuscript, written in red, the phrase “Of Sigurth’s Death” as a heading; there is no break between it and the prose introducingGuthrunarkvitha I, the heading for that poem coming just before stanza 1. This note is of special interest as an effort at real criticism. The annotator, troubled by the two versions of the story of Sigurth’s death, feels it incumbent on him not only to point the fact out, but to cite the authority of “German men” for the form which appears[410]in this poem. The alternative version, wherein Sigurth is slain in bed, appears inSigurtharkvitha en skamma,Guthrunarhvot, andHamthesmol, and also in theVolsungasaga, which tells how Gotthorm tried twice to kill Sigurth but was terrified by the brightness of his eyes, and succeeded only after the hero had fallen asleep. That the annotator was correct in citing German authority for the slaying of Sigurth in the forest is shown by theNibelungenliedand theThithrekssaga. The “old” Guthrun lay is unquestionablyGuthrunarkvitha II.[411]

[Contents]Introductory NoteThe gap of eight leaves in theCodex Regius(cf. introductory note to theSigrdrifumol) is followed by a passage of twenty stanzas which is evidently the end of a longer poem, the greater part of it having been contained in the lost section of the manuscript. There is here little question of such a compilation as made up the so-calledReginsmol,Fafnismol, andSigrdrifumol; the extant fragment shows every sign of being part of a poem which, as it stood in the manuscript, was a complete and definite unit. The end is clearly marked; the following poem,GuthrunarkvithaI, carries a specific heading in the manuscript, so that there is no uncertainty as to where the fragment closes.It seems altogether likely that the twenty stanzas thus remaining are the end of a poem entitledSigurtharkvitha(Lay of Sigurth), and, more specifically, the “Long” Lay of Sigurth. The extant and complete Sigurth lay, a relatively late work, is referred to by the annotator as the “Short” Lay of Sigurth, which, of course, presupposes the existence of a longer poem with the same title. As the “short” lay is one of the longest poems in the whole collection (seventy stanzas), it follows that the other one must have been considerably more extensive in order to have been thus distinguished by its length. It may be guessed, then, that not less than eighty or a hundred stanzas, and possibly more, of the “Long” Lay of Sigurth have been lost with the missing pages ofRegius.The narrative, from the point at which the so-calledSigrdrifumolbreaks off to that at which the Brot takes it up, is given with considerable detail in theVolsungasaga. In this prose narrative four stanzas are quoted, and one of them is specifically introduced with the phrase: “as is told in the Lay of Sigurth.” It is possible, but most unlikely, that the entire passage paraphrases this poem alone; such an assumption would give the Lay of Sigurth not less than two hundred and fifty stanzas (allowing about fifteen stanzas to each of the missing pages), and moreover there are inconsistencies in theVolsungasaganarrative suggesting that different and more or less conflicting poems were used as sources. The chances are that the “Long” Lay of Sigurth[403]filled approximately the latter half of the lost section of the manuscript, the first half including poems of which the only trace is to be found in theVolsungasagaprose paraphrase and in two of the stanzas therein quoted.The course of theVolsungasaga’sstory from theSigrdrifumolto theBrotis, briefly, as follows. After leaving the Valkyrie, Sigurth comes to the dwelling of Heimir, Brynhild’s brother-in-law, where he meets Brynhild and they swear oaths of fidelity anew (theVolsungasagais no more lucid with regard to the Brynhild-Sigrdrifa confusion than was the annotator of the poems). Then the scene shifts to the home of the Gjukungs. Guthrun, Gjuki’s daughter, has a terrifying dream, and visits Brynhild to have it explained, which the latter does by foretelling pretty much everything that is going to happen; this episode was presumably the subject of a separate poem in the lost section of the manuscript. Guthrun returns home, and Sigurth soon arrives, to be made enthusiastically welcome. Grimhild, mother of Gunnar and Guthrun, gives him a magic draught which makes him forget all about Brynhild, and shortly thereafter he marries Guthrun.Then follows the episode of the winning of Brynhild for Gunnar (cf.Gripisspo, 37 and note). This was certainly the subject of a poem, possibly of the first part of the “Long” Lay of Sigurth, although it seems more likely that the episode was dealt with in a separate poem. TheVolsungasagaquotes two stanzas describing Sigurth’s triumphant passing through the flames after Gunnar has failed and the two have changed forms. They run thus:The fire raged,   |   the earth was rocked,The flames leaped high   |   to heaven itself;Few were the hardy   |   heroes would dareTo ride or leap   |   the raging flames.Sigurth urged Grani   |   then with his sword,The fire slackened   |   before the hero,The flames sank low   |   for the greedy of fame,The armor flashed   |   that Regin had fashioned.After Sigurth has spent three nights with Brynhild, laying his sword between them (cf.Gripisspo, 41 and note), he and Gunnar return home, while Brynhild goes to the dwelling of her brother-in-law, Heimir, and makes ready for her marriage with Gunnar,[404]directing Heimir to care for her daughter by Sigurth, Aslaug. The wedding takes place, to be followed soon after by the quarrel between Guthrun and Brynhild, in which the former betrays the fact that it was Sigurth, and not Gunnar, who rode through the flames. Brynhild speaks with contempt of Guthrun and her whole family, and the following stanza, which presumably belongs to the same Sigurth lay as theBrot, is quoted at this point:Sigurth the dragon   |   slew, and thatWill men recall   |   while the world remains;But little boldness   |   thy brother hadTo ride or leap   |   the raging flames.Gunnar and Sigurth alike try to appease the angry Brynhild, but in vain. After Sigurth has talked with her, his leaving her hall is described in the following stanza, introduced by the specific phrase: “as is said in the Lay of Sigurth”:Forth went Sigurth,   |   and speech he sought not,The friend of heroes,   |   his head bowed down;Such was his grief   |   that asunder burstHis mail-coat all   |   of iron wrought.Brynhild then tells Gunnar that she had given herself wholly to Sigurth before she had become Gunnar’s wife (the confusion between the two stories is commented on in the note toGripisspo, 47), and Gunnar discusses plans ofvengeancewith his brother, Hogni. It is at this point that the action of theBrotbegins.Beginning with this poem, and thence to the end of the cycle, the German features of the narrative predominate (cf. introductory note toGripisspo).

Introductory Note

The gap of eight leaves in theCodex Regius(cf. introductory note to theSigrdrifumol) is followed by a passage of twenty stanzas which is evidently the end of a longer poem, the greater part of it having been contained in the lost section of the manuscript. There is here little question of such a compilation as made up the so-calledReginsmol,Fafnismol, andSigrdrifumol; the extant fragment shows every sign of being part of a poem which, as it stood in the manuscript, was a complete and definite unit. The end is clearly marked; the following poem,GuthrunarkvithaI, carries a specific heading in the manuscript, so that there is no uncertainty as to where the fragment closes.It seems altogether likely that the twenty stanzas thus remaining are the end of a poem entitledSigurtharkvitha(Lay of Sigurth), and, more specifically, the “Long” Lay of Sigurth. The extant and complete Sigurth lay, a relatively late work, is referred to by the annotator as the “Short” Lay of Sigurth, which, of course, presupposes the existence of a longer poem with the same title. As the “short” lay is one of the longest poems in the whole collection (seventy stanzas), it follows that the other one must have been considerably more extensive in order to have been thus distinguished by its length. It may be guessed, then, that not less than eighty or a hundred stanzas, and possibly more, of the “Long” Lay of Sigurth have been lost with the missing pages ofRegius.The narrative, from the point at which the so-calledSigrdrifumolbreaks off to that at which the Brot takes it up, is given with considerable detail in theVolsungasaga. In this prose narrative four stanzas are quoted, and one of them is specifically introduced with the phrase: “as is told in the Lay of Sigurth.” It is possible, but most unlikely, that the entire passage paraphrases this poem alone; such an assumption would give the Lay of Sigurth not less than two hundred and fifty stanzas (allowing about fifteen stanzas to each of the missing pages), and moreover there are inconsistencies in theVolsungasaganarrative suggesting that different and more or less conflicting poems were used as sources. The chances are that the “Long” Lay of Sigurth[403]filled approximately the latter half of the lost section of the manuscript, the first half including poems of which the only trace is to be found in theVolsungasagaprose paraphrase and in two of the stanzas therein quoted.The course of theVolsungasaga’sstory from theSigrdrifumolto theBrotis, briefly, as follows. After leaving the Valkyrie, Sigurth comes to the dwelling of Heimir, Brynhild’s brother-in-law, where he meets Brynhild and they swear oaths of fidelity anew (theVolsungasagais no more lucid with regard to the Brynhild-Sigrdrifa confusion than was the annotator of the poems). Then the scene shifts to the home of the Gjukungs. Guthrun, Gjuki’s daughter, has a terrifying dream, and visits Brynhild to have it explained, which the latter does by foretelling pretty much everything that is going to happen; this episode was presumably the subject of a separate poem in the lost section of the manuscript. Guthrun returns home, and Sigurth soon arrives, to be made enthusiastically welcome. Grimhild, mother of Gunnar and Guthrun, gives him a magic draught which makes him forget all about Brynhild, and shortly thereafter he marries Guthrun.Then follows the episode of the winning of Brynhild for Gunnar (cf.Gripisspo, 37 and note). This was certainly the subject of a poem, possibly of the first part of the “Long” Lay of Sigurth, although it seems more likely that the episode was dealt with in a separate poem. TheVolsungasagaquotes two stanzas describing Sigurth’s triumphant passing through the flames after Gunnar has failed and the two have changed forms. They run thus:The fire raged,   |   the earth was rocked,The flames leaped high   |   to heaven itself;Few were the hardy   |   heroes would dareTo ride or leap   |   the raging flames.Sigurth urged Grani   |   then with his sword,The fire slackened   |   before the hero,The flames sank low   |   for the greedy of fame,The armor flashed   |   that Regin had fashioned.After Sigurth has spent three nights with Brynhild, laying his sword between them (cf.Gripisspo, 41 and note), he and Gunnar return home, while Brynhild goes to the dwelling of her brother-in-law, Heimir, and makes ready for her marriage with Gunnar,[404]directing Heimir to care for her daughter by Sigurth, Aslaug. The wedding takes place, to be followed soon after by the quarrel between Guthrun and Brynhild, in which the former betrays the fact that it was Sigurth, and not Gunnar, who rode through the flames. Brynhild speaks with contempt of Guthrun and her whole family, and the following stanza, which presumably belongs to the same Sigurth lay as theBrot, is quoted at this point:Sigurth the dragon   |   slew, and thatWill men recall   |   while the world remains;But little boldness   |   thy brother hadTo ride or leap   |   the raging flames.Gunnar and Sigurth alike try to appease the angry Brynhild, but in vain. After Sigurth has talked with her, his leaving her hall is described in the following stanza, introduced by the specific phrase: “as is said in the Lay of Sigurth”:Forth went Sigurth,   |   and speech he sought not,The friend of heroes,   |   his head bowed down;Such was his grief   |   that asunder burstHis mail-coat all   |   of iron wrought.Brynhild then tells Gunnar that she had given herself wholly to Sigurth before she had become Gunnar’s wife (the confusion between the two stories is commented on in the note toGripisspo, 47), and Gunnar discusses plans ofvengeancewith his brother, Hogni. It is at this point that the action of theBrotbegins.Beginning with this poem, and thence to the end of the cycle, the German features of the narrative predominate (cf. introductory note toGripisspo).

The gap of eight leaves in theCodex Regius(cf. introductory note to theSigrdrifumol) is followed by a passage of twenty stanzas which is evidently the end of a longer poem, the greater part of it having been contained in the lost section of the manuscript. There is here little question of such a compilation as made up the so-calledReginsmol,Fafnismol, andSigrdrifumol; the extant fragment shows every sign of being part of a poem which, as it stood in the manuscript, was a complete and definite unit. The end is clearly marked; the following poem,GuthrunarkvithaI, carries a specific heading in the manuscript, so that there is no uncertainty as to where the fragment closes.

It seems altogether likely that the twenty stanzas thus remaining are the end of a poem entitledSigurtharkvitha(Lay of Sigurth), and, more specifically, the “Long” Lay of Sigurth. The extant and complete Sigurth lay, a relatively late work, is referred to by the annotator as the “Short” Lay of Sigurth, which, of course, presupposes the existence of a longer poem with the same title. As the “short” lay is one of the longest poems in the whole collection (seventy stanzas), it follows that the other one must have been considerably more extensive in order to have been thus distinguished by its length. It may be guessed, then, that not less than eighty or a hundred stanzas, and possibly more, of the “Long” Lay of Sigurth have been lost with the missing pages ofRegius.

The narrative, from the point at which the so-calledSigrdrifumolbreaks off to that at which the Brot takes it up, is given with considerable detail in theVolsungasaga. In this prose narrative four stanzas are quoted, and one of them is specifically introduced with the phrase: “as is told in the Lay of Sigurth.” It is possible, but most unlikely, that the entire passage paraphrases this poem alone; such an assumption would give the Lay of Sigurth not less than two hundred and fifty stanzas (allowing about fifteen stanzas to each of the missing pages), and moreover there are inconsistencies in theVolsungasaganarrative suggesting that different and more or less conflicting poems were used as sources. The chances are that the “Long” Lay of Sigurth[403]filled approximately the latter half of the lost section of the manuscript, the first half including poems of which the only trace is to be found in theVolsungasagaprose paraphrase and in two of the stanzas therein quoted.

The course of theVolsungasaga’sstory from theSigrdrifumolto theBrotis, briefly, as follows. After leaving the Valkyrie, Sigurth comes to the dwelling of Heimir, Brynhild’s brother-in-law, where he meets Brynhild and they swear oaths of fidelity anew (theVolsungasagais no more lucid with regard to the Brynhild-Sigrdrifa confusion than was the annotator of the poems). Then the scene shifts to the home of the Gjukungs. Guthrun, Gjuki’s daughter, has a terrifying dream, and visits Brynhild to have it explained, which the latter does by foretelling pretty much everything that is going to happen; this episode was presumably the subject of a separate poem in the lost section of the manuscript. Guthrun returns home, and Sigurth soon arrives, to be made enthusiastically welcome. Grimhild, mother of Gunnar and Guthrun, gives him a magic draught which makes him forget all about Brynhild, and shortly thereafter he marries Guthrun.

Then follows the episode of the winning of Brynhild for Gunnar (cf.Gripisspo, 37 and note). This was certainly the subject of a poem, possibly of the first part of the “Long” Lay of Sigurth, although it seems more likely that the episode was dealt with in a separate poem. TheVolsungasagaquotes two stanzas describing Sigurth’s triumphant passing through the flames after Gunnar has failed and the two have changed forms. They run thus:

The fire raged,   |   the earth was rocked,The flames leaped high   |   to heaven itself;Few were the hardy   |   heroes would dareTo ride or leap   |   the raging flames.

The fire raged,   |   the earth was rocked,

The flames leaped high   |   to heaven itself;

Few were the hardy   |   heroes would dare

To ride or leap   |   the raging flames.

Sigurth urged Grani   |   then with his sword,The fire slackened   |   before the hero,The flames sank low   |   for the greedy of fame,The armor flashed   |   that Regin had fashioned.

Sigurth urged Grani   |   then with his sword,

The fire slackened   |   before the hero,

The flames sank low   |   for the greedy of fame,

The armor flashed   |   that Regin had fashioned.

After Sigurth has spent three nights with Brynhild, laying his sword between them (cf.Gripisspo, 41 and note), he and Gunnar return home, while Brynhild goes to the dwelling of her brother-in-law, Heimir, and makes ready for her marriage with Gunnar,[404]directing Heimir to care for her daughter by Sigurth, Aslaug. The wedding takes place, to be followed soon after by the quarrel between Guthrun and Brynhild, in which the former betrays the fact that it was Sigurth, and not Gunnar, who rode through the flames. Brynhild speaks with contempt of Guthrun and her whole family, and the following stanza, which presumably belongs to the same Sigurth lay as theBrot, is quoted at this point:

Sigurth the dragon   |   slew, and thatWill men recall   |   while the world remains;But little boldness   |   thy brother hadTo ride or leap   |   the raging flames.

Sigurth the dragon   |   slew, and that

Will men recall   |   while the world remains;

But little boldness   |   thy brother had

To ride or leap   |   the raging flames.

Gunnar and Sigurth alike try to appease the angry Brynhild, but in vain. After Sigurth has talked with her, his leaving her hall is described in the following stanza, introduced by the specific phrase: “as is said in the Lay of Sigurth”:

Forth went Sigurth,   |   and speech he sought not,The friend of heroes,   |   his head bowed down;Such was his grief   |   that asunder burstHis mail-coat all   |   of iron wrought.

Forth went Sigurth,   |   and speech he sought not,

The friend of heroes,   |   his head bowed down;

Such was his grief   |   that asunder burst

His mail-coat all   |   of iron wrought.

Brynhild then tells Gunnar that she had given herself wholly to Sigurth before she had become Gunnar’s wife (the confusion between the two stories is commented on in the note toGripisspo, 47), and Gunnar discusses plans ofvengeancewith his brother, Hogni. It is at this point that the action of theBrotbegins.

Beginning with this poem, and thence to the end of the cycle, the German features of the narrative predominate (cf. introductory note toGripisspo).

[Contents]Hogni spake:1.“(What evil deed   |   has Sigurth) done,That the hero’s life   |   thou fain wouldst have?”[405]Gunnar spake:2.“Sigurth oaths   |   to me hath sworn,Oaths hath sworn,   |   and all hath broken;He betrayed me there   |   where truest allHis 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:[406]“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 ruleO’er Gjuki’s wealth   |   and the race of the Goths;[407]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 heedWhat the twain from the tree   |   had told him then,The raven and eagle,   |   as home they rode.[408]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 tellThat 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 raceAll shall die;   |   your oaths ye have broken.[409]18.“Thou hast, Gunnar,   |   the deed forgot,When blood in your footprints   |   both ye mingled;All to him   |   hast repaid with illWho fain had made thee   |   the foremost of kings.19.“Well did he prove,   |   when proud he rodeTo win me then   |   thy wife to be,How true the host-slayer   |   ever had heldThe 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[410]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.[402]

Hogni spake:1.“(What evil deed   |   has Sigurth) done,That the hero’s life   |   thou fain wouldst have?”[405]Gunnar spake:2.“Sigurth oaths   |   to me hath sworn,Oaths hath sworn,   |   and all hath broken;He betrayed me there   |   where truest allHis 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:[406]“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 ruleO’er Gjuki’s wealth   |   and the race of the Goths;[407]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 heedWhat the twain from the tree   |   had told him then,The raven and eagle,   |   as home they rode.[408]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 tellThat 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 raceAll shall die;   |   your oaths ye have broken.[409]18.“Thou hast, Gunnar,   |   the deed forgot,When blood in your footprints   |   both ye mingled;All to him   |   hast repaid with illWho fain had made thee   |   the foremost of kings.19.“Well did he prove,   |   when proud he rodeTo win me then   |   thy wife to be,How true the host-slayer   |   ever had heldThe 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[410]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.[402]

Hogni spake:

1.“(What evil deed   |   has Sigurth) done,That the hero’s life   |   thou fain wouldst have?”

1.“(What evil deed   |   has Sigurth) done,

That the hero’s life   |   thou fain wouldst have?”

[405]

Gunnar spake:

2.“Sigurth oaths   |   to me hath sworn,Oaths hath sworn,   |   and all hath broken;He betrayed me there   |   where truest allHis oaths, methinks,   |   he ought to have kept.”

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.”

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.

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:[406]“Your blood shall redden   |   Atli’s blade,And your oaths shall bind   |   you both in chains.”

5.Slain was Sigurth   |   south of the Rhine;

From a limb a raven   |   called full loud:[406]

“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?”

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.”

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.

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 ruleO’er Gjuki’s wealth   |   and the race of the Goths;[407]Five are the sons   |   for ruling the folk,And greedy of fight,   |   that he hath fathered.”

9.“Right were it not   |   that so he should rule

O’er Gjuki’s wealth   |   and the race of the Goths;[407]

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.”

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.”

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.

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 heedWhat the twain from the tree   |   had told him then,The raven and eagle,   |   as home they rode.

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.

[408]

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.”

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 tellThat laughing once   |   of the men she had won.

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.

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 raceAll shall die;   |   your oaths ye have broken.

17.“.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   |   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

Utterly now   |   your Niflung race

All shall die;   |   your oaths ye have broken.

[409]

18.“Thou hast, Gunnar,   |   the deed forgot,When blood in your footprints   |   both ye mingled;All to him   |   hast repaid with illWho fain had made thee   |   the foremost of kings.

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 rodeTo win me then   |   thy wife to be,How true the host-slayer   |   ever had heldThe oaths he had made   |   with the monarch young.

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.”

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[410]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.[402]

[Contents]NOTES[404]1.The fragment begins with the last words of line 1 (probably line 3 of the stanza). A few editors ascribe this speech to Gunnar and the next to Brynhild; one reconstruction of lines 1–2 on this probably false assumption runs: “Why art thou, Brynhild,[405]|   daughter of Buthli, / Scheming ill   |   with evil counsel?”Hogni(German Hagene): brother of Gunnar and Guthrun.2.A few editors ascribe this speech to Brynhild. Gunnar, if the stanza is his, has believed Brynhild’s statement regarding Sigurth’s disloyalty to his blood-brother.4.TheVolsungasagaquotes a somewhat different version of this stanza, in which the snake is called “wood-fish” and the third line adds “beer and many things.” Eating snakes and the flesh of beasts of prey was commonly supposed to induce ferocity.Gotthorm: Grimhild’s son, half-brother to Gunnar. He it is who, not having sworn brotherhood with Sigurth, does the killing.5.In the manuscript this stanza stands between stanzas 11 and 12; most editions have made the change here indicated.[406]South of the Rhine: the definite localization of the action shows how clearly all this part of the story was recognized in the North as of German origin.Atli(Attila; cf. introductory note toGripisspo): the Northern version of the story makes him Brynhild’s brother. His marriage with Guthrun, and his slaying of her brothers, are told in the Atli poems. Regarding the manner of Sigurth’s death cf. concluding prose passage and note. Stanza 13 indicates that after stanza 5 a stanza containing the words of an eagle has been lost.7.One line of this stanza, but it is not clear which, seems to have been lost.The gray horse: Grani.8.Some editions set stanzas 8 and 9 after stanza 11; Sijmons marks them as spurious.Buthli: cf.Gripisspo, 19, note.9.Goths: a generic term for any German race; cf.Gripisspo,[407]35 and note.Five sons: according to theVolsungasagaSigurth had only one son, named Sigmund, who was killed at Brynhild’s behest.Sigurtharkvitha en skammaandGuthrunarkvitha IIlikewise mention only one son. The daughter of Sigurth and Guthrun, Svanhild, marries Jormunrek (Ermanarich).12.The manuscript marks line 4 as the beginning of a new stanza, and a few editions combine it with stanza 13.13.Slayer of hosts: warrior (Gunnar).Raven and eagle: cf. note on stanza 5.[408]16.Mogk regards stanzas 16 and 17 as interpolated, but on not very satisfactory grounds. On the death of Gunnar cf.Drap Niflunga.17.No gap is indicated in the manuscript, and some editions attach these two lines to stanza 16.Niflungs: this name (German Nibelungen), meaning “sons of the mist,” seems to have belonged originally to the race of supernatural beings to which the treasure belonged in the German version. It was subsequently extended to include the Gjukungs and their Burgundians. This question, of minor importance in the Norse poems, has evoked an enormous amount of learned discussion in connection with theNibelungenlied.[409]18.Footprints: the actual mingling of blood in one another’s footprints was a part of the ceremony of swearing blood-brotherhood, the oath which Gunnar and Sigurth had taken. The fourth line refers to the fact that Sigurth had won many battles for Gunnar.20.Regarding the sword episode cf.Gripisspo, 41 and note.Wound-staff: sword.Prose.This prose passage has in the manuscript, written in red, the phrase “Of Sigurth’s Death” as a heading; there is no break between it and the prose introducingGuthrunarkvitha I, the heading for that poem coming just before stanza 1. This note is of special interest as an effort at real criticism. The annotator, troubled by the two versions of the story of Sigurth’s death, feels it incumbent on him not only to point the fact out, but to cite the authority of “German men” for the form which appears[410]in this poem. The alternative version, wherein Sigurth is slain in bed, appears inSigurtharkvitha en skamma,Guthrunarhvot, andHamthesmol, and also in theVolsungasaga, which tells how Gotthorm tried twice to kill Sigurth but was terrified by the brightness of his eyes, and succeeded only after the hero had fallen asleep. That the annotator was correct in citing German authority for the slaying of Sigurth in the forest is shown by theNibelungenliedand theThithrekssaga. The “old” Guthrun lay is unquestionablyGuthrunarkvitha II.[411]

NOTES[404]

[404]

1.The fragment begins with the last words of line 1 (probably line 3 of the stanza). A few editors ascribe this speech to Gunnar and the next to Brynhild; one reconstruction of lines 1–2 on this probably false assumption runs: “Why art thou, Brynhild,[405]|   daughter of Buthli, / Scheming ill   |   with evil counsel?”Hogni(German Hagene): brother of Gunnar and Guthrun.2.A few editors ascribe this speech to Brynhild. Gunnar, if the stanza is his, has believed Brynhild’s statement regarding Sigurth’s disloyalty to his blood-brother.4.TheVolsungasagaquotes a somewhat different version of this stanza, in which the snake is called “wood-fish” and the third line adds “beer and many things.” Eating snakes and the flesh of beasts of prey was commonly supposed to induce ferocity.Gotthorm: Grimhild’s son, half-brother to Gunnar. He it is who, not having sworn brotherhood with Sigurth, does the killing.5.In the manuscript this stanza stands between stanzas 11 and 12; most editions have made the change here indicated.[406]South of the Rhine: the definite localization of the action shows how clearly all this part of the story was recognized in the North as of German origin.Atli(Attila; cf. introductory note toGripisspo): the Northern version of the story makes him Brynhild’s brother. His marriage with Guthrun, and his slaying of her brothers, are told in the Atli poems. Regarding the manner of Sigurth’s death cf. concluding prose passage and note. Stanza 13 indicates that after stanza 5 a stanza containing the words of an eagle has been lost.7.One line of this stanza, but it is not clear which, seems to have been lost.The gray horse: Grani.8.Some editions set stanzas 8 and 9 after stanza 11; Sijmons marks them as spurious.Buthli: cf.Gripisspo, 19, note.9.Goths: a generic term for any German race; cf.Gripisspo,[407]35 and note.Five sons: according to theVolsungasagaSigurth had only one son, named Sigmund, who was killed at Brynhild’s behest.Sigurtharkvitha en skammaandGuthrunarkvitha IIlikewise mention only one son. The daughter of Sigurth and Guthrun, Svanhild, marries Jormunrek (Ermanarich).12.The manuscript marks line 4 as the beginning of a new stanza, and a few editions combine it with stanza 13.13.Slayer of hosts: warrior (Gunnar).Raven and eagle: cf. note on stanza 5.[408]16.Mogk regards stanzas 16 and 17 as interpolated, but on not very satisfactory grounds. On the death of Gunnar cf.Drap Niflunga.17.No gap is indicated in the manuscript, and some editions attach these two lines to stanza 16.Niflungs: this name (German Nibelungen), meaning “sons of the mist,” seems to have belonged originally to the race of supernatural beings to which the treasure belonged in the German version. It was subsequently extended to include the Gjukungs and their Burgundians. This question, of minor importance in the Norse poems, has evoked an enormous amount of learned discussion in connection with theNibelungenlied.[409]18.Footprints: the actual mingling of blood in one another’s footprints was a part of the ceremony of swearing blood-brotherhood, the oath which Gunnar and Sigurth had taken. The fourth line refers to the fact that Sigurth had won many battles for Gunnar.20.Regarding the sword episode cf.Gripisspo, 41 and note.Wound-staff: sword.Prose.This prose passage has in the manuscript, written in red, the phrase “Of Sigurth’s Death” as a heading; there is no break between it and the prose introducingGuthrunarkvitha I, the heading for that poem coming just before stanza 1. This note is of special interest as an effort at real criticism. The annotator, troubled by the two versions of the story of Sigurth’s death, feels it incumbent on him not only to point the fact out, but to cite the authority of “German men” for the form which appears[410]in this poem. The alternative version, wherein Sigurth is slain in bed, appears inSigurtharkvitha en skamma,Guthrunarhvot, andHamthesmol, and also in theVolsungasaga, which tells how Gotthorm tried twice to kill Sigurth but was terrified by the brightness of his eyes, and succeeded only after the hero had fallen asleep. That the annotator was correct in citing German authority for the slaying of Sigurth in the forest is shown by theNibelungenliedand theThithrekssaga. The “old” Guthrun lay is unquestionablyGuthrunarkvitha II.[411]

1.The fragment begins with the last words of line 1 (probably line 3 of the stanza). A few editors ascribe this speech to Gunnar and the next to Brynhild; one reconstruction of lines 1–2 on this probably false assumption runs: “Why art thou, Brynhild,[405]|   daughter of Buthli, / Scheming ill   |   with evil counsel?”Hogni(German Hagene): brother of Gunnar and Guthrun.

2.A few editors ascribe this speech to Brynhild. Gunnar, if the stanza is his, has believed Brynhild’s statement regarding Sigurth’s disloyalty to his blood-brother.

4.TheVolsungasagaquotes a somewhat different version of this stanza, in which the snake is called “wood-fish” and the third line adds “beer and many things.” Eating snakes and the flesh of beasts of prey was commonly supposed to induce ferocity.Gotthorm: Grimhild’s son, half-brother to Gunnar. He it is who, not having sworn brotherhood with Sigurth, does the killing.

5.In the manuscript this stanza stands between stanzas 11 and 12; most editions have made the change here indicated.[406]South of the Rhine: the definite localization of the action shows how clearly all this part of the story was recognized in the North as of German origin.Atli(Attila; cf. introductory note toGripisspo): the Northern version of the story makes him Brynhild’s brother. His marriage with Guthrun, and his slaying of her brothers, are told in the Atli poems. Regarding the manner of Sigurth’s death cf. concluding prose passage and note. Stanza 13 indicates that after stanza 5 a stanza containing the words of an eagle has been lost.

7.One line of this stanza, but it is not clear which, seems to have been lost.The gray horse: Grani.

8.Some editions set stanzas 8 and 9 after stanza 11; Sijmons marks them as spurious.Buthli: cf.Gripisspo, 19, note.

9.Goths: a generic term for any German race; cf.Gripisspo,[407]35 and note.Five sons: according to theVolsungasagaSigurth had only one son, named Sigmund, who was killed at Brynhild’s behest.Sigurtharkvitha en skammaandGuthrunarkvitha IIlikewise mention only one son. The daughter of Sigurth and Guthrun, Svanhild, marries Jormunrek (Ermanarich).

12.The manuscript marks line 4 as the beginning of a new stanza, and a few editions combine it with stanza 13.

13.Slayer of hosts: warrior (Gunnar).Raven and eagle: cf. note on stanza 5.[408]

16.Mogk regards stanzas 16 and 17 as interpolated, but on not very satisfactory grounds. On the death of Gunnar cf.Drap Niflunga.

17.No gap is indicated in the manuscript, and some editions attach these two lines to stanza 16.Niflungs: this name (German Nibelungen), meaning “sons of the mist,” seems to have belonged originally to the race of supernatural beings to which the treasure belonged in the German version. It was subsequently extended to include the Gjukungs and their Burgundians. This question, of minor importance in the Norse poems, has evoked an enormous amount of learned discussion in connection with theNibelungenlied.[409]

18.Footprints: the actual mingling of blood in one another’s footprints was a part of the ceremony of swearing blood-brotherhood, the oath which Gunnar and Sigurth had taken. The fourth line refers to the fact that Sigurth had won many battles for Gunnar.

20.Regarding the sword episode cf.Gripisspo, 41 and note.Wound-staff: sword.

Prose.This prose passage has in the manuscript, written in red, the phrase “Of Sigurth’s Death” as a heading; there is no break between it and the prose introducingGuthrunarkvitha I, the heading for that poem coming just before stanza 1. This note is of special interest as an effort at real criticism. The annotator, troubled by the two versions of the story of Sigurth’s death, feels it incumbent on him not only to point the fact out, but to cite the authority of “German men” for the form which appears[410]in this poem. The alternative version, wherein Sigurth is slain in bed, appears inSigurtharkvitha en skamma,Guthrunarhvot, andHamthesmol, and also in theVolsungasaga, which tells how Gotthorm tried twice to kill Sigurth but was terrified by the brightness of his eyes, and succeeded only after the hero had fallen asleep. That the annotator was correct in citing German authority for the slaying of Sigurth in the forest is shown by theNibelungenliedand theThithrekssaga. The “old” Guthrun lay is unquestionablyGuthrunarkvitha II.[411]

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