HELGI AND THE VALKYRIAS
IVAR had spoken of Helgi because he had often heard his father mention
his brother, but he has not been referred to in this narrative before,
for he had been dead many years. Halfdan had married Thurid, a beautiful
daughter of the Hersir of Zeeland, and loved her passionately. She died
about a year after their marriage, in giving birth to a son. Halfdan was
so grieved at the death of his wife, that he ordered the child who was
the cause of such great misfortune to him to be exposed. The infant was
laid in a cradle, and a piece of pork was put in his mouth; the cradle
was taken to a wood at some distance from Dampstadir, and put near the
root of a tree, in such a manner that the infant should be protected
against the wind and the bad weather, and thus die easily. No name had
been fastened upon him, as water had not been poured upon him.
A short time after the child had been exposed, an uncle of Hjorvard was
passing through the forest. He heard the cries of the little one, and
following the direction of the noise, he was profoundly touched at the
sight, and took compassion upon the babe, and brought him up secretly on
his estate, his sister taking great care of him, and both loving him
tenderly.
Halfdan never married again, for his love for Thurid was far too great,
and in his eyes no woman could equal her. His memory and love for her
never faded from his mind to his death, and the last word he uttered was
her name.
As the child grew older he became a very handsome boy, but he had not
the power of talking, and his uncle mourned that the Nornir had fated
him to be dumb, and began to think that perhaps it would have been
better to have left him exposed. But one day, as the boy was seated on a
mound, he saw afar off gleams of light flashing in the sky, coming
toward him, and imagined that he beheld nine Valkyrias riding in the
air, over the sea, clad with helmet and chain-armor, and with glittering
spears in their hands. One of them was the foremost, and as she rode
above him, she fastened a name upon him and sang: “Helgi shall thy name
be; thou wilt rule over great wealth on the plains of Rodalsvellir, in
far-off lands.” Immediately Helgi began to speak.
After Helgi had grown up, he went on warlike expeditions in foreign
lands, and never returned to his birthplace and to his kinsmen; but no
one wondered at this, for in those days warriors often conquered far-off
realms and settled there, and never came back, or else perished, and no
tidings of them reached home.
After the death of Helgi’s father, men were sent into every land in
search of Helgi, to tell him to come and get his inheritance; but no
tidings were heard from him, and Hjorvard took the rule over Gotland,
after the inheritance feast of Halfdan his brother had taken place.
As time went on and years passed away, great tidings were told of Helgi
in the Norseland, and his life began to be sung by the scalds. The
people said and believed that the Valkyria that had given him his name
was called Bodvild, and that Skuld had given him the power of speech, as
the Nornir had only fated him to be speechless during part of his
boyhood; that Bodvild was the daughter of a Hersir called Hogni, who
ruled over a large realm in southern lands, not far from the Black Sea;
and that Bodvild at times was a Valkyria, and when tired of that life
came among men and became as other women; then again she would disappear
and be a Valkyria.
They believed that Bodvild was Svafa re-born. Svafa had been the
daughter of one of the great rulers of the North in ancient times, and
led the life Bodvild was supposed to lead. It was the belief among the
people that sometimes the thinking mind of a person came again to dwell
among men and women; that it was only the body that was unlike.
The story told of Helgi that had come to Gotland was as follows: Orvar
was a powerful ruler who lived at Svaringshaug. He had many sons; among
them were Gunnar, Gudmund, Starkad, and Hogni. Hodbrod had gone to an
appointed meeting of Hersirs, and there he betrothed himself to Bodvild,
with the consent of Hogni, her father, but without her knowledge, for
she was not at home. It often happened that fathers betrothed their
daughters without their consent and knowledge, when these owned no
entailed lands in their own rights.
When Bodvild heard that she had been betrothed by her father without her
consent, she grieved deeply, for she loved Helgi, and had made her mind
to marry him. Then she went with Valkyrias, for she had taken their
shape, and rode over land and sea in search of Helgi, to tell him the
sad tidings of her fate. One day Bodvild saw Helgi; he was then at the
Loga Mountains, and there had fought against the sons of Hunding, a
powerful Hersir who ruled over a large realm. In that battle he slew
Alf, Eyjolf, and Hervard; he was very weary of the fight, and sat down
at a place called Eaglestone. When Bodvild came to him, she threw her
arms round his neck and kissed him, and told him of her errand.
Helgi was “under helmet,” and was then naturally thinking of war, for he
had many foes, but his thoughts turned towards the fair maiden who was
by his side. She said that she loved him with all her mind, for she had
heard of his great deeds, and told him how she had been betrothed to
Hodbrod by her father. “But another chief I wanted to have, and that
chief is thyself. I fear the anger of my kinsmen, for I have broken the
marriage which my father had made his mind for me to have; but Hogni’s
daughter wants the love of Helgi, and of no one else.”
Helgi answered: “Do not care for the wrath of thy father, nor the ill
will of thy kinsmen. Thou wilt, young maiden, live with me; thy kinsmen
I do not fear. I will marry thee.” Then she betrothed herself to Helgi,
and on that account war was declared by Hogni, her father, and by all
her kinsmen, against Helgi. Hodbrod, who was a widower, joined them with
his sons.
Helgi gathered a large fleet and sailed towards Frekastein, the place
appointed for the battle. They had hardly lost sight of land when a
great tempest arose; it thundered, lightning darted and fell among the
ships; it seemed as if the fleet were to founder in the midst of the
sea, for the ships had become unmanageable, and the men made
preparations to meet Ran. Ægir and his brother the Wind were in an ugly
mood. The daughters of Ran were all round the ships and showered upon
them blow after blow.
When lo! Helgi thought he saw three times nine Valkyrias riding in the
air, and hovering over the ships, and said to his men: “Behold the
maidens of Odin! How beautiful they are as they look down upon us from
their magnificent coursers!” Among them and foremost was Skuld, the
youngest of the Nornir; then came Bodvild, helmet-clad, with her long
hair flowing in the air, as her steed speeded along. Suddenly the storm
abated, and Helgi believed that Bodvild had come to shelter him. The
fleet continued its course, and sailed along the shore and came to
Frekastein. In the background rose the Loga Mountains.
Gudmund, one of the sons of Orvar, and a land-defender whose name was
Egil had been watching silently the ships of Helgi. Suddenly Gudmund
shouted: “Who is the chief that steers the ship that has a
gold-embroidered battle standard hoisted on the prow? Those in the van
seem not to be peace-like people. The redness of war is thrown upon
them; the red shield stands high at the top of the mast.”
Egil the land-defender answered: “Here can Gudmund know Helgi, the hater
of flight, standing in the midst of the fleet; he holds the birth-land
of thy kin, the Fjörsungs’ heritage which he has taken from them.”
Gudmund rode home with the news of war. Then all the sons of Orvar
gathered together a host. Many great chiefs repaired to their standards;
there was Hogni, the father of Bodvild, and his sons Bragi and Dag, and
also Hodbrod.
The hostile hosts met at the appointed field of battle that had been
“hazelled,” or marked out with stakes. A great battle took place; there
was immense din of weapons, clashing of swords and of spears, many
helmets were rent asunder, many shields were broken, and a great host
departed for Valhalla. Gleams flashed from the Loga Mountains, and
Valkyrias riding helmet covered and mail clad hovered over the
battle-field. Their chain-armor was blood-bespattered, and from their
spears rays of light sprang. It was getting towards the end of the day
when from her horse, Bodvild, the daughter of Hogni, hushed the clatter
of shields, and immediately a truce took place.
Helgi invited the Valkyrias to come to a feast that night with him; his
chiefs were to be there, but Bodvild said: “I think we have other work
to do than to drink with thee to-night; we have to carry the elect to
Valhalla,” and they disappeared.
The next day the battle continued, and Helgi was victorious. In that
battle all the sons of Orvar fell, and all the chiefs except Dag, son of
Hogni, whose life was spared, for loth was Helgi to destroy the life of
the brother of Bodvild.
Bodvild went about among the slain, and found Hodbrod near death’s door,
and when she saw him she sang: “Bodvild, the daughter of Hogni, will not
fall into thy arms, Hodbrod, and will never be betrothed to thee or
marry thee. Gone is the life of Hodbrod, Adil’s son; the wolves will
tear to pieces many corpses to-day, and the ravens will have food.”
Afterwards she met Helgi, mortally wounded, who, as he saw her, said:
“All is not given to thee, fair maiden, everything is not in thy power;
the Nornir have great might over the fates of men. This morning fell at
Frekastein, Hodbrod, Hogni and all the sons of Orvar, and I was their
slayer, for I fought one after the other. But, in my turn, I fear I have
not long to live.”
And in truth, Dag met Helgi at Fjorturland the next day, and thrust his
spear through him, and Helgi fell there dead. Then Dag rode to the Seva
Mountains and told Bodvild the tidings thus: “Loth I am, sister, to tell
thee, for very unwilling I am to make thee weep. This morning fell at
Fjorturland, the land he had conquered, the man who stood with his foot
on the neck of many chiefs who had to pay him tribute.”
Bodvild was wild with grief when she heard the sorrowful news. Then
beside herself with passion, and with eyes flashing fire, she cursed
Dag, her brother, and cried: “By the clear water of the River Leiptir,
which runs by Fjorturland, and in the sea, the ship shall not move that
carries thee, though a fair wind blow. The horse shall not run which is
to run with thee, though thou hast to escape from thy foes. The sword
shall not bite which thou drawest, except when it sings about thy own
head. If thou wert an outlaw, hiding in the forest, and hadst not food
unless thou tearedst corpses, then, and not before all these curses be
fulfilled, will the death of Helgi be avenged.”
To which Dag answered: “Mad art thou, sister, and out of thy mind, as
thou invokest curses on thy brother. Odin alone causes all strife
between kinsmen.”
Then Dag offered indemnity, or “weregild,” to his sister—a temple and
large estates, half of his lands, and a large amount of gold; but she
refused to be indemnified for Helgi’s death. She was short-lived, and
died early from grief for her lover; and as Helgi was dead, the rule
over Gotland had come into the hands of Hjorvard.
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