To spring with her foot to land,
And with her Hjalmar her brother
Close at her right hand.
25. There a huntsman met her;
He had hunted herd and fee:
"O why art thou so sorrowful,
As a troll had been hunting thee?"
26. Then up stood Hervik the Earl's daughter,
Her good sword out she drew,
And with it she clove the huntsman
And him in sunder slew.
27. Three cross roads are bending,
And one can she descry;
Hervik has gone straight forth to the barrow
Wherein her father doth lie.
28. Hervik has gone straight forth to the barrow
Where her father lies dead and cold.
Little recks she of fear or favour,
Though quake now fell and fold.
29. Then up and spake the voice of Arngrim,
And these words first spake he:--
"O where are my eleven sons gone,
Since daughters are visiting me?"
30. "I pass not for my eleven brothers,
Or where they share their fee.
No treasure have I, save only Hjalmar,
Hither brought with me.
31. "O haste thee, haste thee, my noble Father
The good brand to give me;
Or shall I set fire here to this barrow,
And burn it over thee?"
32. Full woe was the champion Arngrim
That she should wreck his grave.
He seizÈd Tyrfing in both his hands
And to his daughter gave.
33. He gave to her the sword then
Was wonderfully made.--
The length of it was eighteen ells,
And poisoned was its blade.
34. He gave to her the sword then
Was wonderfully made.
No leechcraft could avail the man
Was wounded by its blade.
35. All in the middle of the garden
She clad her in cloak of skin;
She busked her in a cloak of fur,
And entered the high hall within.
36. She busked her in her cloak of fur
And entered the high hall belive,
Where ÷rvarodd sat before the board
With a hundred men and five.
37. "O welcome, welcome, Hervik,
Hither now to me
Mead or wine shalt thou have to drink
As liefest is to thee."
38. "O little to me is thy mead, ÷rvarodd,
And little to me thy wine.
Today I have come to thy high hall,
And a different errand is mine.
39. "O little to me is thy mead, ÷rvarodd,
And little to me thy beer;
For a different errand did I busk me
When I left my home to come here.
40. "I busked me and came from Sweden
To fight in this thy land.
Stand up! Stand up! Thou bold ÷rvarodd,
Stand up, and arm thy band!"
41. It fell full early on a morning tide,
Before the sun rose high,
Bold ÷rvarodd had a hundred men and twelve
Accoutred royally.
42. Bold ÷rvarodd had a hundred men and twelve
Accoutred royally.
Then up rose Hervik, the Earl's daughter,
To meet them gallantly.
43. Up then rose Hervik, the Earl's daughter,
So doughty in the fight.
She blew a blast on her golden horn,
And struck to left and right.
44. It was Hervik, the Earl's daughter,
So gallantly she rode;--
She clove to the shoulders every knight
Who forth against her strode.
45. She clove to the shoulders every knight
Who forth against her strode,
Till only ÷rvarodd and his two companions
Survivors of the army stood.
46. Under the castle gateway
The King crept fearfully.--
"Now mercy, mercy, sweet Hervik,
I pray thou'lt give to me!"
47. "Just so much is the sweet mercy
Thou now shalt get of me
As thou gavest to my noble Father
When thou slew'st him felonly!"
48. "Just so much is the sweet mercy
Thou now shalt win of me
As thou gavest to my noble Father
When thou slew'st him cruelly!"
49. That was Hervik, the Earl's daughter,
To draw her sword was fain.
She has slain the warrior ÷rvarodd
And cut him in pieces twain.
50. She has slain the warrior ÷rvarodd
And cut him in pieces twain,
And all his men so brave and true
She has heaped on his corse amain.
51. Up then rose Hervik, the Earl's daughter;
Through the greenwood gan she ride;
But hawk or hound made never a cry
In the greenwood by her side.
52. She hoists aloft her silken sail,
Striped gold on a scarlet ground;
Nor ever once does she strike it again
Till she reaches far Uppland.
53. Forth when Hervik's frigate
Touched the fair land,
Cast she forth her anchor
Into the white, white sand.
54. Cast she forth her anchor
Into the white, white sand;
And forthwith her brother Angantyr
Came riding down the strand.
55. She gave to him the sword then
Was wonderfully made.--
The length of it was eighteen ells,
And poisoned was its blade.
56. She gave to him the sword then
Was wonderfully made.--
No leechcraft could avail the man
Was wounded by its blade.
57. Angantyr sits in his high seat,
And with his men spake he!--
"O where will I get a make to myself?
This thought has been long with me."
58. One and all they hung their heads,
And never a word spake they,
Save Hjalmar his brother, and better were it
He had held his peace that day.
59. "I can no truer tell thee,
But and thou list to hear:
The King of Upsala has a daughter,
And she is passing fair.
60. "The King of Upsala has a daughter
As lovely as the sun.
Her cheeks they are as red and white
As blood on driven snow.
61. "The King of Upsala has a daughter:
Of many is her fame the word.
Her throne it is of the red, red gold,
And stands at the King's own board."
62. "O gin the maiden be so fair,
And gin she be so fine,
I swear an oath, though ill betide,
To call that maiden mine.
63. "O long and long will the journey be
O'er breaker but and billow;
But I go forth to Upsala, Hjalmar,
And thou, my brother, must follow."
64. Then up spake Hjalmar the warrior,
And straightway answered he:
"The bird feels joy when he spies a corpse,
And so do I follow thee!"
65. Up then rose him Angantyr,
And manned ship hastily.
Its cables were of shining gold
All twisted cunningly.
66. Up then rose him Angantyr,
And decked his ship so fine,
And bade them store within the hold
Both ale and costly wine.
67. He hoists aloft his silken sail,
Striped gold on a scarlet ground
Nor ever once does he strike it again
Till he comes to Uppsaland.
68. Forth then when his frigate
Touched the fair land,
Cast he down his anchor
Into the white, white sand.
69. Cast he down his anchor
Into the white, white sand.
And Angantyr was the first to light
With his foot to land.
70. Angantyr was the first to light
With his foot to land,
And by him Hjalmar his brother,
Close at his right hand.
71. By him Hjalmar his brother
Close at his right hand;
Truly is it told to me
He sank to his knees in sand.
72. Up they went from the sea-shore,
Those men of wealth and worth;
The rollers brake, and the earth it shook
As they set their ships in berth.
73. Up they went from the sea-shore,
In their clothes of scarlet so fair;
Their helmets were of burnished gold,
And no man did they fear.
74. All in the middle of the garden
They clad them in cloaks of skin;
They busked them in their cloaks of fur
And entered the high hall within.
75. They busked them in their cloaks of fur
And entered the high hall belive,
Where the King of Uppland sat at the board
With a hundred men and five.
76. Hjalmar went into the high hall
With silk embroidered hood.
His cheeks were red as lobster's claws,
His eyes were like the dove.
77. Angantyr has do'en him to the high hall,
'Twas the custom in days gone by;
And all in a word did he hail the King
And ask for the maid truly.
78. Angantyr stands on the hall floor,
Offers him greeting there;--
"Now hail be to thee, bold King of Uppsaland,
Give me thy daughter fair!"
79. Then up and spake the bold Hjalmar,
Before the broad board he stood:--
"O King, I pray thee, give me thy daughter
Who is so fair and good."
80. Up then rose the bold Hjalmar,
Before the broad board sat he:--
"O King, I pray thee, give me thy daughter
Who is so wise and fair to see."
81. Long in sorrow sat the King
And silently pondered.
What he should answer the two fierce warriors,
Who stood before the board.
82. Up then rose the King of Uppsaland;
Angry and wroth was he:
"My lady daughter shall come to the hall
And for herself reply."
83. They have led his daughter to the hall,
Attended fittingly;
And Hjalmar's face grew red and pale
As in the high-seat sat he.
84. "Now thanks and thanks to my noble father
Who gave this choice to me.
Hjalmar the champion from Uppland,
He shall my husband be.
85. "I will not wed me to Angantyr:
He is so vile a troll;
So is his father and so his mother,
And so are his kinsfolk all."
86. "Come forth, come forth, thou bold Hjalmar
For ne'er so brief a tide.
To battle on an island make thee bowne;
She shall not be thy bride."
87. Then up and answered Odd the Young:
"Once more we are fighting here.
You shall go against Arngrim's Sons,
And I against Angantyr."
88. "We two, Angantyr and I,
Shall fight with mighty strife;
I would not that lady Ingibjˆrg hear
That I sought to flee for my life.
89. "We two, Angantyr and I,
Shall meet in a mighty gripe,
And long will lady Ingibjˆrg wait
Ere she hear that I shrank for my life."
90. Out then spake the Young Odd,
And pondered heavily;
"O gin thou go'est against Angantyr,
Thou choosest thy death truly."
91. All the sons of Arngrim
Rode up the river shore
A-tightening of their shield-straps
Till they could tighten them no more.
92. All the sons of Arngrim
Rode through the plain so green;
A league and a league you could hear on the stones
The clang of their spears so keen.
93. All the sons of Arngrim,
Angry were they in mood.
Little recked they for weapons,
But tore up clubs of stout oakwood.
94. All the sons of Arngrim
Rode up the river strand.
It is the young Odd will lose his life,
For Hjalmar is not at hand.
95. Odd rode against the Sons of Arngrim,
His noble weapons proved he so,
And he slew all the eleven brothers
Yet never dealt he a second blow.
96. Angantyr and the bold Hjalmar
On the island combated.
All their followers who manned the ship
Are lying now stone dead.
97. Hjalmar then struck Angantyr,
So lay he at his feet.
"O Hjalmar, give me now a drink,
For it comforts the meanest wight."
98. "A drink from out my drinking horn
I give thee willingly;
But hearken, Angantyr my brother,
Today have I surely conquered thee."
99. O he held the horn before his lips,
--He the noble warrior,--
And O it was the heathen dog
Who stabbed him under the helmet there.
100. It was the warrior Hjalmar,
He drew his sword amain;
He has cleft his brother Angantyr
And cut him in pieces twain.
101. Odd came home at eventide
A-riding on the strand,
And saw where Hjalmar had sat him there,
Marred by the poisoned brand.
102. Odd came home at eventide,
Where Hjalmar leant his back on a stone;
"O why art thou so wondrous pale,
And what has brought thee to make such moan?"
103. "My corslet he has piercÈd,
He has scathed my skin so white;
The poison smeared upon the blade
My heart will surely smite."
104. "Thou didst put thy faith in thy corslet,
All made of shining steel;
But here stand I in my shirt only,
And yet no wound I feel.
105. "Thou didst put thy trust in thy corslet,
All made of silver bright;
But here stand I in my shirt only,
And got no wound in the fight.
106. "Thou did'st put thy trust in thy corslet,
All made of silver white;
But here stand I in my shirt only
Which sword could never bite."
107. Then up and spake the Warrior Hjalmar.
The first word he did say
Was "Hearken and hearken now Young Odd,
And bear me hence away."
108. Then up and answered the Young Odd,
He gazed on the rocky ravine:
"This fight, O Hjalmar, if thou list to hear
Has gone as I had foreseen."
109. He drew the gold ring from his arm;
Speech could he utter still;
Bade carry it to the lady Ingibjˆrg,
And bade him fare him well
110. He drew the gold ring from his arm;
All floating was he in blood.
He sent it to the lady Ingibjˆrg,
That maid so fair and good.
111. She died of grief for Hjalmar--
She the noble maid;
I swear an oath upon my honour
There lives none of whom the like can be said.
Refrain: _Noble men are sailing now from Norway,
And a fair breeze bears them o'er the wave._
INTRODUCTION TO THE FAROESE RIDDLE BALLAD (G¡TU RÕMA)
The _G·tu RÌma_ was first taken down in Suder¯ by a clergyman,
Schrˆter, early in the nineteenth century, and is preserved in the
archives of the Early Text Society in Copenhagen. Unfortunately
Schrˆter was only able to obtain the Ballad in a fragmentary form,
and he has left us only a Danish translation of what he found. In his
travels on the Faroes in 1847-1848 Hammershaimb made strenuous efforts
to get the entire version, but curiously enough only succeeded
in getting a version (of course in the original Faroese) which
corresponds closely in length and content with Schrˆter's. He
published this version first in the _Antiquarisk TÌdsskrift_,
1849-1851, and later _FÊrˆiske KvÊer_, vol. II. (Copenhagen, 1855).
The translation given below is taken from the ballad as printed in
_FÊrˆiske KvÊer_.
That a longer version of this ballad once existed is proved by the
fact that verse 8 of both Schrˆter's and Hammershaimb's versions
states that Guest the Blind[1] propounds thirty riddles to King
Heithrek--about the same number as are to be found in the Saga, though
only some six riddles and the answers to four others have come down
to us. Hammershaimb attributed the loss of the others to the fact
that the ballad is no longer one of those used in the dance. He was of
opinion that the riddles propounded in the _RÌma_ are not the same as
those found in the Saga; but it is to be noticed that the subjects
of the riddles are in four cases the same, and in the other cases the
subjects have the same characteristics, though the riddles themselves
are not identical. It would therefore seem on the whole that the
subjects of the _G·tu RÌma_ were originally identical with those of
the Saga, but that they have become corrupted and possibly confused in
the popular mind.
[Footnote 1: Presumably a corruption of _Gestumblindi_.]
G¡TU RÕMA.
1. Guest goes wandering from the hall,
Silent and blind is he;
Meets he with an eldern man
All with hair so grey.
2. Meets he with an eldern man,
All with hair so grey;
"Why art thou so silent, Guest the Blind,
And wherefore dost thou stray?"
3. "It is not so wonderful
Though I of speech am slow;
For riddles have brought me to an evil pass,
And I lose my head tomorrow.
4. "It is not so wonderful
Though mournful am I and slow;
For riddles have brought me to an evil pass,
And I lose my life tomorrow."
5. "How much of the red, red gold
Wilt thou give to me,
If I go in before King Heithrek
And ask thy riddles for thee?"
6. "Twelve marks of the red, red gold
Will I give to thee,
If thou wilt go in before King Heithrek,
And ransom my head for me."
7. "Go thou into thy courtyard
And look to thy dwelling, thou,
While I go in before King Heithrek,
And ask him riddles now."
8. "Thirty are the riddles
And one will I propose ...
(_Riddles lost._)
9. (_First two lines lost._)
Thunder is the red drum
Which beats over all the world."
10. "O hearken now, Heithrek my King,
Where dost thou know the neighbours,
Both of whom use the same door,
And neither one knows the other?"
11. "My thought and thy thought,
No neighbour is one to other;
Both of them use the same door,
Yet neither knows the other."
12. "O hearken now, Heithrek my King,
Where dost thou know the brothers
Who roll far away on the outer reefs,
And have neither fathers nor mothers?"
13. "The Western flow and the Eastern flow,
Well may they be called brothers;
They roll far away on the outer reefs
And have neither fathers nor mothers."
14. "O hearken now, Heithrek my King,
And what can this be now?--
Soft as down and hard as horn,
And white as glistening snow!"
15. "Hear thou this now, Guest the Blind;
This riddle I understand.--
The sea it is both soft and hard,
And flings white spray upon the land."
16. "O hearken now, Heithrek my King,
Where does the sapling grow,--
Its root is turned towards high Heaven,
And its head turned down below?"
17. "The icicle on the high crags,
No sapling it is I trow,
Yet its root is turned towards high heaven,
And its head turned down below."
18. "O hearken now, Heithrek my King,
Where does that forest grow,--
It is cut on every holy day,
And yet there is wood enow?"
19. "The beard which grows on each man's chin,
No forest is that I trow,
Though shaved on every holy day,
And yet there is wood enow."
20. "O hearken now, Heithrek my King,
Where dost thou know the brothers,--
Both of them live in the same hall,
And have neither fathers nor mothers?"
21. "Turf clods and brimstones,
Neither of the twain are brothers.
Both of them live in the same hall,
And have neither fathers nor mothers."
22. "The sow she wanders to her sty,
She wallows on the green, green earth.
The boar he grunts and the little pigs squeak,
And each makes music with his mouth."
23. "O well do I know thy riddle,
And well it shall be spoke;
The hammer is raised in every smithy,
And falls with even stroke."
24. "O well do I know thy riddle,
Though thereof no boast make I.
It is Othin who rides upon his steed,
By land and eke by sea.
25. "O well do I know thy riddle,
Yet of wisdom I make no display.
Othin he rides upon his steed
By night and eke by day."
26. Othin has turned into a wild fowl,
And flown out from the hall;
And therein King Heithrek has been burnt,
He and his nobles all.
27. Othin has turned into a wild fowl,
And has flown far out to sea;
He has burnt King Heithrek in his hall,
And all his company.
INTRODUCTION TO THE SHETLAND BALLAD OF HILDINA
This ballad has been discussed above, pp. 39 and 164 f. It was taken
down by George Low in the course of a visit made by him to the island
of Foula in the Shetlands in 1774. He was entirely ignorant of the
language, and had apparently no idea as to the meaning of the actual
words, though the general drift of the ballad was explained to him by
the islander, William Henry, from whom he obtained it (cf. p. 164).
As very few remains of the dialect have been preserved, apart from the
ballad, the interpretation presents great difficulties. The following
translation of the first twelve stanzas is made from the corrected
text given by Dr M. HÊgstad in his edition of the _Hildina_ contained
in _Skrifter udgivne af Videnskabsselskabet i Christiania_, 1900
(_Historisk-Filosofiske Klasse_, II).
THE SHETLAND BALLAD OF HILDINA
1. It was the Earl from Orkney,
And counsel of his kin sought he,
Whether he should the maiden
Free from her misery.
2. "If thou free the maid from her gleaming hall,
O kinsman dear of mine,
Ever while the world shall last
Thy glory still shall shine."
3. Home came the king,
Home from the ship's levy
The lady Hildina she was gone,
And only her stepmother there found he.
4. "Be he in whatever land,
This will I prove true,
He shall be hanged from the highest tree
That ever upward grew."
5. "If the Earl but come to Orkney,
Saint Magnus will be his aid,
And in Orkney ever he will remain--
Haste after him with speed."
6. The King he stood before his lady,
And a box on her ear gave he,
And all adown her lily white cheeks
The tears did flow truly.
7. The Earl he stood before Hildina,
And a pat on her cheek gave he,--
"O which of us two wouldst thou have lie dead,
Thy father dear or me?"
8. "I would rather see my father doomed,
And all his company,
If so my own true lord and I
May long rule in Orkney.
9. "Now do thou take in hand thy steed,
And ride thou down to the strand;
And do thou greet my sire full blithely,
And gladly will he clasp thy hand."
10. The King he now made answer--
So sore displeased was he--
"In payment for my daughter
What wilt thou give to me."
11. "Thirty marks of the red gold,
This to thee will I give,
And never shalt thou lack a son
As long as I may live."
12. Now long stood the King,
And long on the Earl gazed he:--
"O thou art worth a host of sons;
Thy boon is granted thee."
It will be seen that up to this point, in spite of the loss of the
names, there can be little doubt that the subject of the ballad is the
story of Hethin and Hˆgni. After this however the narrative deviates
from any other known version of this story. It would rather seem
that--as in the German Kudrun--two stories, originally distinct, have
been brought together in one poem.
NOTES
The numbers refer to chapters (sagas) and strophes (ballads, etc.)
THE TH¡TTR OF NORNAGEST
_The Th·ttr of Nornagest._ A _th·ttr_ is a portion (episode) of a
longer saga, in this case the _Saga of Olaf Tryggvason_ which is found
in the _FlateyjarbÛk_.
I. _King Olaf Tryggvason_, one of the most famous kings of Norway
(_r._ 995-1000). He compelled the country to accept Christianity. For
accounts of his life and times, see the _Story of Olaf Tryggvison_ in
the _Heimskringla_, vol. I, pp. 221-378; and also the longer _Saga of
King Olaf Tryggwason_, translated by Sephton.
_Trondhjem_, originally the name, not of a town, but of the entire
district round the Trondhjem Fjord.
_A man came to him._ Cf. the _Saga of Olaf Tryggvason_
(_Heimskringla_), ch. 71.
_Guest._ Here a pun is intended, the word _Gestr_ in Icelandic
signifying a 'guest' as well as a 'stranger.'
_The Contentious._ The word in the text, '_˛ingbÌtr_,' seems to mean
'sharp in debate,' and to refer to his ready wit and astuteness in
litigation.
_Guest said that he had been prime-signed._ To 'prime-sign' signified
to make the _prima signatio_ or sign of the Cross over a person,
preliminary to baptism. People so 'prime-signed' were admitted to
certain parts of the Mass and to social intercourse in Christian
communities. See the _Saga of Egil Skallagrimsson_, ch. 50 "King
Athelstan [of England] was a good Christian.... He asked Thorolf and
his brother to let themselves be prime-signed; for this was a common
practice with both merchants and soldiers who took service under
Christians. Men who were prime-signed had free intercourse with both
Christians and heathens, and followed whatever religion they liked
best. Thorolf and Egil did as the King asked them, and both were
prime-signed."
_Svein Forkbeard_, King of Denmark from 986 (?) to 1014, and of
England also during the last year of his life.
_The Emperor Otto_, i.e. Otto II, 973-983.
_Dane-work_, i.e. the Danish Wall still partially preserved, which
divided Jutland from the land of the Saxons and stretched from near
the city of Slesvig to the marsh-land along the River Treene.
_King Harold Gormsson_ appears to have reigned for about fifty years
and to have died probably in 986. He was nick-named Harold 'Bluetooth'
(or perhaps 'Blacktooth'). About 974 he fought the Emperor Otto II,
and Earl Haakon of Norway aided him. Both Harold and Haakon were
forced to accept Christianity, but Haakon afterwards renounced it.
_Earl Haakon the Heathen_, i.e. Earl Haakon the Great, or the Bad, who
ruled over Norway, 975-995.
_Guthmund._ Cf. the _Saga of Hervˆr and Heithrek_, ch. 1. See also
Saxo Grammaticus, _Dan. Hist._, pp. 346-349, where Guthmund is
described as a magician dwelling in the land of the Perms. But see
_Glasisvellir_, below.
_Glasisvellir._ Cf. the _Saga of Hervˆr and Heithrek_, ch. 1. For
the name of the tree or grove called _Glasir_ beside Othin's abode
in Valhalla, see _Sk·ldskaparm·l_, ch. 34: "Glasir stands with golden
foliage before the halls of the God of Victory." See also _Bjarkam·l
in Forna_, str. 3.
II. _Ulf the Red_ was standard-bearer to Olaf Tryggvason at the Battle
of Svˆld (cf. the _Saga of Olaf Tryggvason, Heimskringla_, ch. 56),
where he slew great numbers of the enemy.
_The Bay_, i.e. Christiania Fjord and the adjacent coasts.
_King Half._ See _H·lfssaga_, ch. 10; and _FlateyjarbÛk_, 11, pp. 136,
137. King Half had a chosen band of warriors numbering about sixty,
who were subject to strict discipline and rules which Professor
Craigie (_The Icelandic Sagas_, p. 94) suggests were modelled on those
of the JÛmsvÌkings. For instance, "It was one of their customs always
to lie off the ends of promontories. Secondly, they made a rule of
never pitching tents on their ships and never clewing up the sail on
account of bad weather." The incident referred to in the text is not
mentioned in the Saga.
_No halls had been built in Norway._ The writer probably means to
contrast the stone halls of his own day with the wooden structures of
earlier times.
_The Harping of Gunnar_, a lost poem. The legend here referred to is
told in _Vˆlsunga Saga_, ch. 37 (and elsewhere), doubtless from an old
lay.--'King Attila had Gunnar cast into a pit full of snakes ... and
his hands were tied. Guthr˙n sent him a harp, and he was so skilful
in harping that he could play it with his toes; and he harped so well
that hardly anyone had ever heard such skilful playing, even with the
hand. So beautifully did he play that all the snakes were lulled to
sleep except one horrible big adder which crept up to him and stung
him to the heart. Thus he perished with great courage.'
Gunnar, the son of Gj˙ki, is the central figure both of the Norse
story and of the German _Nibelungenlied_, in which he is called
Gunther. In reality, he was overthrown and killed by the Huns in 437,
after which the Burgundians moved from the Rhine to the district now
known as Burgundy.
_The Ancient Wiles of Guthr˙n._ It is generally believed that this is
the name of another lost heroic poem. But the title may possibly mean
_The Adventures of Guthr˙n_, in which case the poem referred to may be
the well-known _Ancient Lay of Guthr˙n_ (_Gur˙narkvia hin forna_).
This latter poem is alluded to in ch. 9 below under the title of
_Gur˙narrÊa_.
IV. _The Land of the Franks_, the Rhineland. As far back as the
fifth century the Franks occupied that region--to the north of the
Burgundians.
_Sigurth the son of Sigmund._ The story of Sigurth the Vˆlsung is
related in _Vˆlsunga Saga_.
_Hundingsbani_, i.e. 'Slayer of Hunding.' See _Vˆlsunga Saga_, ch. 9.
V. _It chanced one day that_, etc. Chapters 5 and 6 are mainly taken
from the poem _Reginsm·l_ of which strophes 13-26 are quoted in our
text. _Reginsm·l_ is the first poem of a trilogy dealing with the
early adventures of Sigurth. The two remaining poems _F·fnism·l_ and
_Sigrdrifum·l_ are used only in the last two sentences of ch. 6.
_Yngvi_ is a name of the god Frey, from whom the kings of Norway and
the early kings of Sweden were believed to have sprung.
_Fafnisbani_, i.e. 'Slayer of Fafnir.' Cf. ch. 6 _infra_. See also
_Vˆlsunga Saga_, ch. 18.
_The Imperial Power had not_, etc. This may mean either the refounding
of the Western Empire by Charlemagne, A.D. 800, or possibly the
gaining of the Imperial throne by Otto I, King of the Germans, in 962.
VI. _Sigurth prepared for battle_, etc. An account of this battle is
given in _Vˆlsunga Saga_, ch. 17.
_The sea-king's steed._ The text has _RÊfils hestum_, lit. 'RÊfil's
horses.' RÊfil was a legendary sea-king. The names of such characters
are frequently used in 'kennings' (i.e. poetic circumlocutions) like
this.
_Hnikar_, a name of the god Othin in the _GrÌmnism·l_ (str. 47) and
elsewhere.
_The Moon's sister._ The text has _systur M·na_, 'M·ni's sister,' i.e.
the sun. _M·ni_, the old word for the moon, is preserved in Iceland
only in a mythological sense, the ordinary word in use for moon being
_tungl_. _M·ni_ and _SÛl_ (the sun) were brother and sister. See
_Vaf˛r˙˛nism·l_, str. 23; also _Gylfaginning_, ch. 11, 12.
_Order their array_, lit. 'draw up a wedge-shaped column'--a
favourite battle-formation, the origin of which was ascribed to Othin.
_Stumbling is bad luck_, etc. So Wilken (gloss. _s.v. fyrir_, 2.)
Vigf˙sson and Gering transl. 'It is an ill thing to outrun one's
luck.'
_Friesland._ In early times the Frisians occupied a much greater
extent of coast than now, reaching from the boundary between Holland
and Belgium on one side to beyond the mouth of the Weser on the
other--apart from the Frisians inhabiting the west coast of Slesvig.
_The 'blood-eagle'_ was a form of vengeance practised by the heathen
Scandinavians in battle when anyone captured the slayer of his father.
The ribs were cut in the shape of an eagle, and the lungs torn out
through the opening. The Northumbrian King Ella (∆lla) is said to have
been put to death in this way by the sons of Ragnar LothbrÛk. Cf. the
_Saga of Ragnar LobrÛk and his sons_, ch. 18; also the _Th·ttr of
Ragnar's Sons_, ch. 3.
_Hugin and Munin_ were Othin's attendant ravens who gave him
information. See _GrÌmnism·l_, str. 20; _Gylfaginning_, ch. 38;
_Ynglingasaga_ (_Heimskringla_), ch. 7.
_The story of Sigurth Fafnisbani._ The whole story of the loves of
Sigurth and Brynhild is related in the _Vˆlsunga Saga_, ch. 20-32. It
is uncertain whether the reference here is to the _Vˆlsunga Saga_ as
we have it or to an earlier form of the story.
VII. _Gjuki_ is mentioned under the form _Gebica_ in the _Lex
Burgundionum_ (_c._ 500 A.D.). Nothing more is known of him from
historical sources; but he is mentioned in _Sk·ldskaparm·l_, ch. 41,
_Vˆlsunga Saga_ ch. 25, and in the _Edda Poems_, as the father of
Gunnar and Guthr˙n. His name appears also (as _Gifica_, _Gibicho_,
etc.) in the Anglo-Saxon poem _Widsi˛_, the Latin poem _Waltharius_,
and in several early German poems.
_Sigurth Hring_, a legendary king of Sweden and Denmark, and the
father of Ragnar LobrÛk. His story is related at length in a fragment
of the _Skjˆldunga Saga_; and he is probably identical with the
_Sigifridus_ who is mentioned in several Frankish Chronicles under
the year 812 as carrying on hostilities against another Danish King
_Anulo_.
_The sons of Gandalf_ were in constant hostility with King Harold the
Fairhaired and his father. They owned Alfheimar and Vingulmˆrk along
the Swedish coast of the Kattegat. Cf. the _Story of Halfdan the
Black_ (_Heimskringla_), ch. 1, 4; also the _Story of Harold the
Fairhaired_ (_Heimskringla_), ch. 1 etc.
_Gunnar and Hˆgni._ The story of the relations of Gunnar and Hˆgni
with Sigurth is told in _Vˆlsunga Saga_, ch. 26 f.
_Jarnamotha._ The locality is unknown. There were large forests in
Holstein in the Middle Ages called 'Iarnawith' and 'Isarnho'; cf.
M¸llenhoff, _Deutsche Altertumskunde_, v, p. 122.
_hazlewood poles had been set up_, etc. The verb _hasla_, used in
the sense of 'to challenge (to a pitched battle),' means, lit. 'to
enhazle' a battlefield, i.e. to mark out the space reserved for
a pitched battle with hazel poles. Cf. the _Saga of Egil
SkallagrÌmsson_, ch. 52.
_The Kurir_ were the people of Courland (perhaps Lithuanians). The
_KvÊnir_ were the Finnish inhabitants of the northern portion of what
is now Sweden. King Alfred, in his translation of _Orosius_, inserts
an original account of Norway and the neighbouring regions which was
given to him by a Norwegian called Ohthere. It is there stated that
beyond the mountains which bound the northern part of Norway was 'the
land of the Cwenas.' Cf. also the _Saga of Egil SkallagrÌmsson_, ch.
14.
_Starkath_, the ideal warrior of old time in the North. Probably
originally a historical figure, he became the centre of much legendary
matter, and, as often happened in such cases, he was even credited
with the composition of many poems, notably that on the Battle of
Br·vˆll--an event which probably took place long after his time. In
Saxo Grammaticus, _Dan. Hist._, pp. 246-258, he corresponds to the
unnamed "Old Warrior" mentioned in _Beowulf_, l. 2041 ff.
_Fenhring_, in Hˆrthaland in Norway, not far from Bergen.
_Lund_, the old ecclesiastical capital of Denmark, situated in
Skaane in the extreme south of Sweden. Not only Skaane, but also the
neighbouring provinces (Halland, etc.) belonged in early times to
Denmark.
VIII. _Starkath had committed a foul murder._ For this story see Saxo
Grammaticus, _Dan. Hist._, p. 314 ff. Saxo says that the rule of
King Ali or Ole was so hateful to the Zealanders that twelve of their
generals resolved to put him to death, bribing Starkath to join them.
Although a personal friend of Ole, Starkath agreed to do so, and
murdered him in his bath. He afterwards repented bitterly, "and to
atone for his crime slew some of those who had inspired him to it."
_Travels._ I have followed the reading _fera_, 'travels,' adopted by
Wilken, not _frÊnda_, as in the _Fornaldar Sˆgur_, ed. by ¡smundarson.
The latter would read: "The King wanted him to tell him much more
about the history of his relatives."
IX. _Germans say_, etc. For the German story of the murder of Sigurth
see the _Nibelungenlied_, str. 985 ff.
_Guthr˙narrÊtha._ This is no doubt the poem commonly called
_Gur˙narkvia hin forna_, the opening of which narrates how Sigurth's
horse came home riderless.
_Brynhild and the ogress chanted_, etc. The following lay is found
in the _Edda Poems_ under the title of _Helrei Brynhildar_ ('The
Hell-ride of Brynhild').
_From the Land of the Romans_, lit. 'From Valland'--the 'land of the
Valar,' i.e. the Celts or Romans. Here the reference is doubtless
to the Roman territories on the west bank of the Rhine. In the
_Nibelungenlied_, Gunther (i.e. Gunnar) is represented as reigning at
Worms. Cf. p. 232 below.
_Assigned me a home_, etc. In the _Codex Regius_ of the _Edda Poems_
this passage runs as follows: "The courageous king had my swan-form
and those of my eight sisters carried beneath an oak."
_Hjalmgunnar._ See _Sigrdrifum·l_, the prose following str. 4. "She
(i.e. Sigrdrifa) said that two kings were fighting. One was called
Hjalmgunnar. He was old at that time, but a very great warrior, and
Othin had promised him victory; but the other was called Agnar, the
brother of Autha, whom no being would protect. Sigrdrifa (who was a
valkyrie) slew Hjalmgunnar in battle, but Othin pierced her with a
sleep-producing thorn in punishment for this," etc.
_Fafnir_ was the serpent who guarded the gold hoard on GnÌtahei till
Sigurth slew him and carried off the treasure.
_All too long_, etc. In the _Codex Regius_ of the _Edda Poems_ this
passage runs as follows: "For far too long a time (? for ever) will
women and men be born into the world to overwhelming sorrow."
_The Sons of Lothbrok._ Ragnar LothbrÛk was a famous king who
flourished about the middle of the ninth century, and who, according
to legend, obtained his name ('Shaggy Breeks') from the shaggy
trowsers which he wore when he went to attack a serpent. His various
exploits are told in the _Saga of Ragnar LothbrÛk_, and in the _Th·ttr
of the Sons of Ragnar_, and also by Saxo Grammaticus, _Dan. Hist._,
pp. 368-380, etc. Among his other adventures he is said to have
invaded Northumbria, but he was defeated by King Ella (∆lla) and
thrown into a snake-pit, where he "died laughing," as we are told in
a late poem (_Krakum·l_ or the 'Death-song of Ragnar LothbrÛk'). His
death was afterwards avenged by his sons who invaded England in 866.
Practically nothing historical is known of LobrÛk himself, though
the achievements of his sons, both in the British Isles and on the
continent, are of great historical importance.
_In the neighbourhood of the Alps._ In 856, Bjˆrn Ironside, a son of
Ragnar LothbrÛk, with H·stein his chief lieutenant, invaded France,
and during the years 859-862 made expeditions to Spain, Africa, the
south of France, and Italy, capturing Pisa, Luna, etc. There can be
no doubt that in their invasion of Italy in 860 the real objective was
Rome; but for some unknown reason they returned without approaching
it. According to Scandinavian tradition, when they entered Luna they
were under the impression that it was Rome, and returned satisfied
that their aim was accomplished.
_Vifilsborg._ This place is identified by Wilken with the modern
Avenches in the Canton Vaud (Switzerland).
_Make their way there_, lit. 'pass over (the mountains) thither.'
X. _Eric_, a famous King of Sweden in the time of Harold the
Fairhaired, King of Norway, in the latter half of the ninth century.
He is frequently referred to in the Sagas and regarded as the typical
great Swedish King of the past.
_Upsala_, i.e. Old Upsala, the ancient capital of the Swedish kingdom,
a few miles from the modern city.
_King Harold the Fairhaired_, said to have been born _c._ 850 and to
have succeeded as King of Vestfold _c._ 860. His conquest of Norway
was practically completed at the Battle of Hafrsfjˆrth (_c._ 872). He
is said to have retired in 930 and died _c._ 933.
_King Hlothver_, i.e. Louis I, King of the Franks and Emperor,
814-840.
_The Saxons_ inhabited a large part of north-west Germany and Holland;
but the name _Saxland_ is often used in a wider sense, i.e. the German
part of the Empire.
_Nornagest_, i.e. 'Gest (or guest) of the Norns.' The Norns were
represented in Scandinavian mythology as women with the power of
shaping human destiny. See _Helgakvia Hundingsbana_, 1, str. 2;
_Gylfaginning_, chs. 15, 16; Saxo Grammaticus, _Dan. Hist._, p. 223;
the _Saga of Burnt Nj·l_, ch. 156. Similar beliefs occur in Greek
stories about the Fates ([Greek: KlÙthes]) e.g. the late Greek legend
of the birth of Meleager. Cf. p. 13 above.
XII. _Three hundred._ I have used round figures here as elsewhere.
Strictly the Norse 100 is 120.
THE TH¡TTR OF S÷RLI
I. _Vanakvisl._ The opening sentence may be compared with
_Ynglingasaga_, ch. 1, in the _Heimskringla_. From this it appears
that VanakvÌsl is the River Don, though strictly _kv[vi]sl_ means the
fork (delta) of a river.
_∆sir and Vanir_, two sets of Scandinavian deities; but the references
to the River Don and Asia are due to the learned speculations of
later times, suggested partly by the resemblance of _Asia_ and _∆sir_.
According to _Ynglingasaga_, chs. 1-4, there was war between the ∆sir
and the Vanir, which was concluded by an exchange of hostages. The
Vanir gave to the ∆sir three of their leading people--Njˆrth and his
children Frey and Freyja. Othin made Njˆrth and Frey temple-priests,
and Freyja a temple-priestess. What is said about Freyja here is not
mentioned in _Ynglingasaga_; but from the poems of the _Edda_ it is
clear that she was the Aphrodite of northern mythology.
_Asgarth._ For a description of Asgarth, the home of the ∆sir, see
_Gylfaginning_, chs. 2, 9, 14, etc.
_Men in Asia called Alfregg_, etc. For Dvalin, cf. the _Saga of Hervˆr
and Heithrek_, ch. 2 and note.
_Lived in a rock_; cf. _Vˆlusp·_, str. 48.
_Necklace._ For the _BrÌsingamen_, Freyja's treasure, see
_Thrymskvia_, str. 12, etc. Cf. also _Beowulf_, l. 1199.
II. _Nal_, i.e. 'Needle.'
_Loki._ See _Gylfaginning_, ch. 33; and the _Edda Poems_, passim.
_So much favoured by the great good fortune of his lord._ Cf. _LaxdÊla
Saga_, ch. 40 'Mun konungr [i.e. Olaf Tryggvason] vera giftudrj˙gr ok
hamingju-mikill.'
III. _Frithfrothi_, the mythical peace-king of the Danes. See
_Sk·ldskaparm·l_, ch. 43. He is often split up into two different
characters, as by Saxo Grammaticus. (See especially _Dan. Hist._, Book
v, which gives an account of the great Frothi.)
_Erling and Sˆrli._ Their story is told in the _Saga of Sˆrli the
Strong_ (_Fornaldar Sˆgur_, III.).
_Skerries of the Elf._ Rocky islands near the mouth of the Gˆta Elv
not far from Gˆteborg.
IV. _Halfdan_, surnamed BrˆnufÛstri. See the _Saga of Sˆrli the
Strong_, ch. 11, where he is represented as King of Sweden.
_Roeskilde_, the old capital of SjÊlland, now the ecclesiastical
capital of Denmark.
_Ellithi._ See the _Saga of Thorstein Vikingson_ (passim), and the
_Saga of FrijÛf the Bold_ (passim).
_Gnoth._ The ship Gnoth belonged to ¡smund, who was called after it
'Gnoar-¡smund.' Cf. the _Saga of Egil and Asmund_, ch. 17; and
the _Saga of GrÌm Loinkinni_, ch. 3. See also the _Saga of Hromund
Greipsson_, ch. 1.
_Long Serpent_, i.e. the warship of Olaf Tryggvason.
_As is told in the poem_, etc. The poem is now lost.
_The poem of which he is the subject._ The Saga here quotes a
difficult and obscure stanza which I have omitted.
_Hˆgni ... went raiding in the Baltic_, etc. In _Widsi_ l. 21, Hˆgni
is said to have ruled the _Holmryge_, i.e., no doubt, the Rugii on the
coast of Pomerania.
V. _Hjarrandi_ is the name of Hethin's father in all the Norse forms
of the story; but originally this would seem to have been the name of
Hethin's minstrel--the _HÙrant_ of _Kudrun_, and the _Heorrenda_ of
_Deor_.
_Serkland_, i.e. Africa, 'Saracen Land.' It is only in this story
that Hethin is said to come from here. Saxo Grammaticus calls him
a Norwegian. Cf. also _Widsi˛_, l. 21, which gives the name of an
unknown people.
_Gˆndul_, the name of one of the Valkyries. See _Vˆlusp·_, str. 31;
_H·konarm·l_, passim; _Sk·ldskaparm·l_, chs. 2 and 47.
VI. _Heithrek Ulfham._ For Heithrek Ulfham see the _Saga of Hervˆr and
Heithrek_, ch. 16.
VII. _She asked him._ I have followed Rafn's text. The ReykjavÌk ed.
apparently has a misprint here--_hann_ for _hÛn_.
_He thrust the Queen down in front of the prow_, etc. The murder of
the Queen is peculiar to this saga.
VIII. _This harrowing torment continued_, etc. A good deal has been
written on the subject of the Unending Battle, which many writers
believe to have been of mythological origin. Very often, however, it
appears in local traditions. See Frazer's _Pausanias_, vol. II, p. 443
(the reference to the Battle of Marathon), where a considerable number
of parallels are given. See also Panzer, _Hilde-Gudrun_, p. 328. Cf.
p. 43, note I above.
_Olaf Tryggvason._ See the _Th·ttr of Nornagest_, ch. 1 and note.
IX. _Jarnskjˆld._ Cf. _Fornmanna Sˆgur_, vol. III, p. 125 ff. (_Saga
of Olaf Tryggvason_).
_Glance of his eye_, etc. Literally, "He has the _Êgishj·lmr_." This
is a poetical expression for a glance inspiring terror.
THE SAGA OF HROMUND GREIPSSON
I. _Gnothar-Asmund_, i.e. Asmund of the Gnoth, who was so called from
his ship 'Gnoth' (cf. p. 230 above). For an account of him see the
_Saga of Egil and Asmund_ (in _Fornaldar Sˆgur_, vol. III), especially
ch. 17. He is mentioned also in the _Saga of GrÌm Loinkinni_, ch. 2.
A different account of Olaf's family is given in _Gˆngu-HrÛlfs Saga_,
ch. 38.
_Garthar in Denmark._ The geography of the story is by no means clear.
Elsewhere in this saga Olaf's realm would seem to be situated in
Sweden, while references in other works, e.g. _Landn·mabÛk_, I, ch.
3, _Hversu Noregr Bygthist_, ch. 2 (_Fornaldar Sˆgur_, II, p. 7) etc.,
point to Norway, especially the provinces of Thelamˆrk and Hˆrthaland,
as the home of Hromund and his family.
_Hromund._ According to _Landn·mabÛk_, I, ch. 3, Ingolf and Leif,
the first settlers in Iceland (A.D. 874) were the great grandsons of
Hromund Greipsson. This would seem to show that he lived in the
second half of the eighth century. See also the _Saga of Halfdan
Eysteinsson_, ch. 1.
_Bild and Voli._ For these names, see Introduction to this saga, p.
59, and the note to _Mistletoe_ below.
_Ulfasker._ A corruption of _Elfasker_. Cf. _GrÌplur_, str. 25, and
note to _Skerries of the Elf_, p. 229 above.
_Dragon_, a common term for a large type of warship in the Viking Age.
_Scoundrels._ The text has _Bl·menn_, i.e. lit. 'Black men', negroes.
But in the Romantic Sagas, owing probably to the influence of stories
relating to the Saracens, pirates are described as _Bl·menn_, even in
stories relating exclusively to the North. Cf. _The Ballad of Hj·lmar
and Angantyr_ (refrain), p. 184, above.
II. _I am going to be Othin's guest_, is a euphemism for 'be slain,'
and is equivalent to 'go to Valhalla,' the abode of slain warriors
which belonged to Othin. See the _Saga of Egil SkallagrÌmsson_, ch.
81, where Thorgerth, Egil's daughter, says that she will have no
supper till she "sup with Freyja."
_No blade would wound Hrˆngvith._ It is not uncommon to hear that a
warrior, usually an unsympathetic character, was immune through spells
from wounds inflicted by weapons; cf. _Beowulf_, l. 804, where this is
stated of Grendel.
III. _Hebrides._ The word _Suthreyjar_, here translated Hebrides,
properly means all the islands off the west coast of Scotland. The
modern form of the word is _Sodor_, surviving in the name of the
diocese of 'Sodor and Man.'
_Ghosts._ It will be seen from the context that the word _draugr_ here
translated 'ghost,' is in reality the animated corpse of the dead man.
This is a common feature of Norse stories (e.g. the _Saga of Grettir
the Strong_, ch. 18).
IV. _Valland_, i.e. France, lit. the 'Land of the _Valar_,' i.e.
of the Celts or Romans. In Anglo-Saxon literature the French are
sometimes called _Galwalas_, i.e. the 'Walas (Welsh) of Gaul'. See
also the _Th·ttr of Nornagest_, ch. 9 and note.
_And he added_, etc. Are we to assume a lacuna here? The composition
of this saga is however far from perfect. In certain passages (e.g. at
the beginning of this chapter) one is inclined to suspect that someone
has tried to combine two different texts of the story.
_Finger nails_, etc. Cf. the physiological fact of the growth of the
finger nails after death, and the legend of Charlemagne according to
which his beard grew through a stone table after his death.
_Gunnlˆth._ Other documents appear to make Hromund a Norwegian, and
this is what we should gather from _Landn·mabÛk_ quoted above (p. 231,
note). See _Hversu Noregr Bygist_, ch. 2.
_Mistletoe_, the name of the sword again connects this story with that
of Balder who is stated in _Vˆlusp·_, str. 32 and _Gylfaginning_, ch.
49 to have been killed by a piece of mistletoe.
V. _Dagny_, the wife of IngjÛld, who was the friend of GrÌm
Lothinkinni. See the _Saga of GrÌm Loinkinni_, ch. 3.
_H·logaland._ See _Hervarar Saga_, ch. 1 and note; and also the Sagas
of _Ketil HÊng_ and _GrÌm Loinkinni_.
_Voli and Bild_, etc. At this point the writer of the saga has omitted
part of the dialogue in which Olaf threatens to hang Hromund. Cf.
_GrÌplur_, p. 383, str. 20, 21.
VI. _Helgi_ is known elsewhere as Helgi Haddingjaskati, e.g. in the
short text called _Hversu Noregr Bygist_, ch. 2 (_Fornaldar
Sˆgur_, II, p. 7). According to the prose at the end of _Helgakvia
Hundingsbana_ II, Helgi Haddingjaskati and Kara were reincarnations
of Helgi Hundingsbani and Sigr˙n, the hero and heroine of this poem.
Their story was given in a poem called _K·ruljÛ_ which is now lost.
See however Vigf˙sson and Powell, _Corpus Poeticum Boreale_, vol. I,
pp. 129 and 130.
_On the frozen surface of Lake Vener._ This story is perhaps taken
from that of the battle related in _Sk·ldskaparm·l_, ch. 43 and
_Ynglingasaga_, ch. 33. Cf. _Beowulf_, l. 2392 ff.
_Kara._ For the form _Lara_ which appears in the printed editions
see p. 62, note, above. In the prose at the end of _Helgakvia
Hundingsbana_ II, Kara is called a valkyrie.
VIII. _Hagal._ The story of Hagal and Blind is given also at the
beginning of _Helgakvia Hundingsbana_ II; but here the person
disguised as a grinding-maid is Helgi, the hero of the poem.
X. _Who was also called Bavis_; cf. _Helgakv. Hund_. II, str. 2, where
he is called _Blindr enn bˆlvÌsi_ ('skilled in harmful doings').
SAGA OF HERV÷R AND HEITHREK
I. _Finnmark_, i.e. the northernmost part of the Scandinavian
Peninsula.
_Jˆtunheimar_, i.e. the homes of the _jˆtnar_ or giants. This name
occurs frequently in Norse stories, though it is not elsewhere
connected with Finnmark.
_Ymisland_, i.e. the land of _›mir_; see below.
_Halogaland_, i.e. the northern part of Norway stretching from about
lat. 65∞ as far as Finnmark.
_Guthmund._ Cf. the _Th·ttr of Nornagest_, ch. 1 and note.
_Glasisvellir._ Cf. the _Th·ttr of Nornagest_, ch. 1, and note.
_Fields of immortality_, i.e. lit. 'Fields of the not dead'
(_Ûdainsakr_). Cf. the _Saga of EirÌkr VÌfˆrla_, ch. 1, and the
_Saga of H·lfdan Eysteinsson_, ch. 1. See also Saxo Grammaticus, _Dan.
Hist._, p. 129.
_Hˆfund._ The name means lit. 'Judge.'
_Ymir_, i.e. the old 'Rime-giant,' the first being created out
of Chaos, from whom the giants sprang; cf. _Vˆlusp·_, str. 3;
_Vaf˛r˙˛nism·l_, str. 21; _GrÌmnism·l_, str. 40; _HyndluljÛ_, str.
33; _Gylfaginning_, chs. 5-8.
_Starkath Aludreng._ See _Gautreks Saga_, ch. 3, according to which
this Starkath is the grandfather of his more famous namesake, for
whom see the _Th·ttr of Nornagest_, ch. 7 and note. See also Saxo
Grammaticus, _Dan. Hist._, pp. 224, 225.
_Elivagar._ See _Vaf˛r˙˛nism·l_, str. 31; _Gylfaginning_, ch. 5;
_Hymiskvia_, str. 5.
_Alfheimar_, a name given to the region between the G¯taelv and the
River Glommen, in the south-east of Norway (now mainly in Sweden). The
royal family of this region is frequently mentioned in the history
of Harold the Fairhaired and his father, and also in the stories of
Sigurth Hring. See the _Th·ttr of Nornagest_, ch. 7 and note.
_Ey-grim Bolm_, i.e. 'Grim of the Island of Bolm.'
_Arngrim._ See Saxo Grammaticus, _Dan. Hist._, p. 203 ff.
_Berserk._ See _Ynglingasaga_, ch. 6.
II. _Dwarfs._ Cf. the story of Svegir in _Ynglingasaga_, ch. 15.
_Dvalin_ is the name of a dwarf in _Vˆlusp·_, str. 11, 14; _H·vam·l_,
str. 143, and in other of the _Edda_ poems. It is, in fact, the
typical name for a dwarf. Cf. also _Gylfaginning_, ch. 14, and
_Sk·ldskaparm·l_, ch. 3, 57. _Dulin_ does not occur elsewhere, though
_Durin_ is found in _Vˆlusp·_, str. 10.
_Standing in the doorway of the stone_, etc. Cf. _Vˆlusp·_, str. 48.
_Your sword_, etc. Cf. _Sk·ldskaparm·l_, ch. 49. "Now I have drawn
_D·insleif_, which the dwarfs made and which must cause a man's death
every time it is drawn, and never fails in its stroke."
_Tyrfing._ It has been suggested that this name is derived from
_tyrfi_, 'resinous fir-tree,' owing to its flaming like resinous
fir-wood. In early times it was customary for swords to be called by
names ending in _-ing_. Cf. the swords _Hrunting_ in _Beowulf_, l.
1457, etc., _Nagling_, _ibid._, l. 2680, and _Mimming_ in _Waldhere_,
l. 3, etc., etc.
_Perms._ The text has _um Bjarmaland_ 'in the land of the Bjarmar,'
i.e. the _Beormas_ of Ohthere's Voyage in Alfred's translation of
_Orosius_. It is generally reached, not as here, apparently, by the
Baltic, but by voyages round the North Cape. The name is generally
supposed to be connected with _Perm_, and in early times may have
comprehended the Zyrianians, as well as the Permians proper and the
Votiaks. There is some evidence from place-names that this group
of languages was once spoken as far west as the White Sea. Cf.
Abercromby, _The Pre- and Proto-historic Finns_, p. 10 f.
_Svafrlami._ The text (H) followed by the Reykjavik edition here has
Sigrlami--which can hardly be right. Rafn's ed. reads Svafrlami.
_Twelve sons._ For Arngrim's Sons, Cf. _HyndluljÛth_, str. 23, 24;
Saxo Grammaticus, _Dan. Hist._, pp. 203-205; _Saga of ÷rvar Odd_, ch.
14.
_Twins._ See the _Saga of Harold the Fairhaired_ (_Heimskringla_), ch.
18, where again we find twins both receiving the same name.
_Mistletoe._ A sword of the same name occurs in the _Saga of Hromund
Greipsson_ (see above).
_Hrotti._ Cf. _Hrunting_, the sword of Hunferth in _Beowulf_, l. 1457
etc. See also the note to _Tyrfing_, p. 235.
III. _Yule_, a festival of heathen times, approximately at Christmas,
but rather later.
_Feast_, lit. 'At the Bragi-cup.' The custom of making vows in
connection with these toasts was carried on into Christian times,
an interesting example being found in the _Saga of Olaf Tryggvason_
(_Heimskringla_), ch. 39. See also the _Saga of Haakon the Good_
(_Heimskringla_), ch. 16; and _Helgakvia HjˆrvarssÛnar_, str. 32.
_Angantyr made a vow._ In the Royal MS. (see p. 79) it is Hjˆrvarth
who makes the vow and subsequently claims the bride.
_Yngvi_ is the family name of the early Swedish kings. Collectively
the early Swedish royal family were called _Ynglingar_. Cf.
_Ynglingasaga_, ch. 20.
_Never did he_, etc. Compare what is said of Hˆgni's sword in
_Sk·ldskaparm·l_, ch. 49.
_Sams¯._ The fight at Sams¯ is described in another MS. of this saga
(which is translated in the appendix to Part I, p. 145 ff. above and
which contains also the _Death-song of Hjalmar_), as well as in the
_Saga of ÷rvar Odd_, ch. 14, and in Saxo Grammaticus, _Dan. Hist._,
p. 205. The Island of Sams¯ is situated half way between Jutland and
SjÊlland.
IV. _Exposing the child_, etc. For the custom of exposing infants,
especially girls, at birth, so as to cause their death, see the _Saga
of Gunnlaug Ormstungu_, ch. 3, the _Saga of Finnbogi Rammi_, etc. A
similar custom prevailed in Ancient Greece. Cf. Plato, _Rep._ v, 461;
Aristophanes, _Clouds_, l. 530 f.
_Sprinkled with water._ Sprinkling a child with water when a name was
given to it appears to have been customary in heathen times. Cf. the
_Saga of Harold the Fairhaired_ (_Heimskringla_), ch. 40; the _Saga of
Haakon the Good_, ch. 12; the _Saga of Egil Skallagrimsson_, ch. 31;
_Vˆlsunga Saga_, ch. 13.
_She grew up_, etc. Cf. the description of the later Hervˆr in ch. 10.
_Here is a poem_, etc. The poem is probably earlier than the Saga in
its present form. Heusler (_Eddica Minora_, p. xxi) refers it to the
early part of the twelfth century.
_I will give you my necklace_, etc. Note the discrepancy between the
poem and the prose at this point. In the former it would seem to be
Hervˆr who offers a necklace, and this is what we should expect.
_Foolish is he who comes here alone_, etc. Cf. J. M. Synge, _The Aran
Islands_, III: "We went up on the dun, where Michael said he had
never been before after nightfall, though he lives within a stone's
throw.... These people make no distinction between the natural and the
supernatural."
V. _Ghosts_, i.e. the animated corpses of the people buried there.
_Nor other kinsman._ There is a lacuna in the text of the ms. at this
point.
VI. _Bring up the child_, etc. It was customary for men in high
station to send their children to be brought up and educated in the
houses of relatives and friends.
_Reithgotaland_ is here explained as Jutland; but in ch. 9, Heithrek's
subjects are described as _Gotar_, i.e. Goths; and in the latter part
of the Saga, from ch. 12 onwards, the subject is clearly a war between
the Goths and Huns. The earliest occurrence of the word (in the
Swedish Inscription of Rˆk; cf. also _Vaf˛r˙˛nism·l_, str. 12) gives
not _Reithgotaland_, but _Hraithgotaland_, which suggests that the
name may be connected in some way with _Hrethgotan_, a name applied to
the Goths in Anglo-Saxon poetry.
VII. _Divination._ The phrase means literally, 'The casting of bits of
wood at the sacrifice.' Cf. Tacitus, _Germania_, ch. 10.
_Every second man._ _annanhv·rn_, apparently for _annanhvern_.
_Hall of the DÌs._ It is not clear who the _dÌs_ was, as the word is
used rather loosely for supernatural female beings. Another reference
to the _Hall of the DÌs_ occurs in _Ynglingasaga_, ch. 33. One of the
goddesses (Freyja?) may be meant; or it may be the guardian spirit of
the family.
VIII. _Land of the Saxons._ Cf. the _Th·ttr of Nornagest_, ch. 10 and
note.
_Sifka and Hlˆth._ The names here mentioned, together with _Heithrek_
and _Angantyr_, are believed by some scholars to recur in _Widsi˛_, l.
116, where we find
_Heaoric and Sifecan, Hlie and Incgeneow_,
mentioned as being among the followers of Eormenric. These names
clearly come from Gothic tradition, but the passage would seem to
suggest that _Sifeca_ was a man, the Sibich of the German poems. Cf.
Chambers, _Widsith_, p. 32. For the name Lotherus in Saxo, see note to
ch. 12, p. 242.
_Holmgarth_, i.e. Novgorod.
IX. _Wendland_, i.e. the 'Land of the Slavs' (Anglo-Saxon
_Weonodland_). After the expansion of the Slavs, from the fifth
century onwards, this term came to denote an enormous expanse of
country, including the coast of Eastern Germany, to which it
is applied in the account of the voyage of Wulfstan in Alfred's
translation of _Orosius_. In earlier times, when the Goths still
occupied Poland and Galicia, the Slavs were restricted to the regions
east of these countries.
_His horse fell dead._ Here the point of the story seems to be missed,
or at least not clearly expressed. According to Hˆfund's fifth maxim
(see ch. 6), Heithrek was not to ride his best horse when he was in a
hurry.
X. _They had a daughter._ From our text it would appear that Hervˆr
was the daughter of Sifka; but the end of ch. 9 is probably a late
addition to the text. In the text printed by Rafn, Hervˆr is expressly
stated to be a daughter of Hergerth.
_Ormar_ is presumably to be identified with the _Wyrmhere_ mentioned
in _Widsi˛_, l. 119, in connection with the war waged by the Goths
against the Huns in defence of their ancient fatherland, round the
forest of the Vistula.
_Gestumblindi._ For this curious name, cf. the _Gestiblindus Gothorum
rex_ mentioned by Saxo Grammaticus, _Dan. Hist._, p. 198 ff.
_In the King's retinue there were seven men_, etc. In the text (_a_)
of this saga printed in Rafn's edition (_Fornaldar Sˆgur_, I, p.
462), there are said to be twelve men here. This is no doubt the right
figure, twelve being the regular number in the judicial councils of
the North, whether historical or legendary. Thus, e.g. in the _Saga of
Olaf the Holy_ (_Heimskringla_), ch. 96 we read of a council of twelve
sages (_spekingar_), whose duty it was to advise the Swedish king,
especially in the administration of justice. Similar councils existed
in the Danish settlements in England. Thus Lincoln and Stamford had
each a council of twelve (cf. Stubbs, _Const. Hist._, I, p. 106,
and n. 4). We may compare the twelve priests who officiated in the
sacrifices at MÊren (cf. the _Saga of Olaf the Holy, Heimskr_. ch.
115), and the story of the twelve gods who were appointed by Othin as
temple priests (_hof-goar_) to keep up the sacrifices and administer
justice among men; cf. _Ynglingasaga_, ch. 2 (_HyndluljÛ_, str. 30;
_Gautrekssaga_, ch. 7). In the Irish _Lay of Magnus Barelegs_, the
Norwegians are referred to as _Clann an d· [.c]o[.m]airlea[.c]
dÈag_ ('children or clan of the twelve councillors'). Cf. _Laoi[.d]
Ma[.g]nius Moir_ (_Reliques of Irish Poetry_, by Charlotte Brooke,
Dublin 1789, p. 274).
_King Heithrek worshipped Frey._ One text quoted by Rafn (_Verelius_)
has _Freyja_ for _Frey_. The boar appears in stories relating to both
these deities, e.g. _Gylfaginning_, ch. 49; _Sk·ldskaparm·l_, ch. 35;
_HyndluliÛ_, str. 5, 7.
XI. _I would that I had that_, etc. On these riddles see Heusler,
_Eddica Minora_, p. xc ff.; 'Diealtnordischen R‰tsel' in _Zeitschrift
des Vereins f¸r Volkskunde_, XI, p. 117 ff.; Tupper, _Modern Language
Notes_, 18, p. 103; _The Riddles of the Exeter Book_, p. lii, etc. In
the original the riddles are all in verse, while the King's answers,
except the refrain with which they begin ("Your riddle is a good one,"
etc.) are in prose.
_You went over a bridge_, etc. The metrical text given by Rafn
(_Fornaldar Sˆgur_, I, p. 466), has: "A bird flew above thee, a fish
swam beneath thee, thou did'st go over a bridge." The prose text given
on the same page has: "Thou did'st go over a bridge, and the course of
the river was beneath thee, but birds were flying over thy head and on
both sides of thee, and that was their road."
_Delling's doorway._ Delling (perhaps from an obsolete word _dallr_,
'bright, shining') is mentioned in _Vaf˛r˙˛nism·l_, str. 25, as
the 'father of Day.' Possibly he may originally have been a
personification of day itself. The expression "before Delling's
doorway" occurs also in _H·vam·l_, str. 160, where it has been
thought to mean 'at sunrise.' See also the genealogy in _Hversu
Noregr Bygist_, ch. I (_Fornaldar Sˆgur_, II, p. 6), where a certain
Svanhild is said to be the daughter of Day, the son of Delling, and
of SÛl (i.e. the sun), the daughter of Mundilfari (cf. _Gylfaginning_,
ch. II).
_Wolves are always struggling for it._ See _Gylfaginning_, ch. 12
(from _GrÌmnism·l_, str. 39).
_He who made it_, etc. I have followed Heusler's reading and read _er_
for _ker_ and _˛Û_ or _sj·_ for _˛·_.
_Laying their eggs._ For _verja_ read _verpa_.
_Have no husbands._ For _eigu_, read _eigut_, as on p. 121.
_Game of chess._ The text has _hneftafl_, i.e. a game having certain
features in common with chess which was played in Iceland till the
introduction of the latter, probably in the thirteenth century.
Game-pieces have been discovered in Iceland which were probably used
for this game. Some are plain and hemispherical in shape, others are
shaped with a man's head or a dog's head. For a full and interesting
description of _hneftafl_ see H. J. R. Murray, _A History of Chess_,
Oxford, 1913, Appendix I, 'Chess in Iceland,' pp. 443-446.
_∆gis meyjar._ ∆gir or HlÈr, the husband of Rann, is a personification
of the sea; but the kennings '∆gir's daughters,' '∆gir's steed,' etc.
for 'billows' are common in poetry. See _Helgakvia Hundingsbana_ II,
str. 29, and _Bragar-rÊur_, ch. 55 (included in Brodeur's translation
of the _Prose Edda_ as _Sk·ldskaparm·l_, ch. I).
_Reefs._ For _brimserkum_, read _brimskerjum_.
_Ocean-path._ For _brim-reiar_, read _brim-leiar_. The passage is
possibly corrupt.
_That is the hunn._ This stanza is difficult to interpret as we have
no clear information as to the character of the game. It would seem
that like the game of the Welsh _tawlbwrdd_, it was played between
sides composed, the one of sixteen 'fair' (white) men, the other of a
King (called _hnefa_ or _hunn_) and eight 'dark' (black) men. Cf.
note to _Game of Chess_ above. See also Murray, _A History of Chess_,
Oxford 1913, Appendix I, 'Chess in Iceland,' pp. 443-446.
_Four walking_, etc. This riddle is found in a form almost identical
with our text in Jakobsen's _Dialect and Place Names of Shetland_
(Lerwick, 1897), p. 53. The 'sow' is also found in the _Exeter
Book_, while 'the waves,' 'the anchor' and 'hailstones' have certain
affinities with the AS. riddles.
_King Itrek's Game._ The reference here seems to be to a game
something like chess. The text (R) given by Heusler in his edition
of the _Eddica Minora_, p. 118, reads: "That is Itrek and Andath when
they sit at their game."
_Dead men_, etc. In this strophe there seems to be an elaborate play
on words. The phrase 'dead men' (_dauar menn_) seems to be a disguise
for _val_ which means 'the slain' as well as 'hawk.' So also 'channel
of blood' seems to be a disguise for _Êi_ which means 'vein' as well
as 'eider-duck.'
_Sleipnir._ Othin's eight-footed horse. Cf. especially _Gylfaginning_,
ch. 42.
_Tell me lastly_, etc. In _Vaf˛r˙˛nism·l_, str. 54, Othin makes
himself known to Vaf˛r˙˛nir by the same question.
XII. _This pike_, etc. This verse is generally supposed to come from a
lost poem on Heithrek.
_Mountains of Harvathi._ It is thought that _Harvathi_ may be the
early Teutonic name for the Carpathians--a reminiscence of Gothic
times.
_Humli and Hlˆth._ These names may be compared with _Humblus_ and
_Lotherus_, two sons of Dan, the first kings mentioned in Saxo
Grammaticus, _Dan. Hist._, p. 1. For the name _Hlˆ_ cf. also note to
ch. 7, p. 238.
_Poem._ For this poem on the battle between the Goths and the Huns,
see Heusler, _Eddica Minora_, p. vii ff., and notes. In part at least
it appears to be very old.
_Myrkvith._ The forest _Myrkvith_ is mentioned also in _Atlakvia_,
str. 3, 5, and 13; and in _Helgakvia Hundingsbana_, I, str. 53.
_Pillar_, lit. 'stone.' I do not know what is meant. Possibly
_Gur˙narkvia_ III, str. 3 may be compared.
_Danaper's Shore._ _Danpr_ is treated as a personal name in
_RÌgs˛ula_, str. 49, but it is more likely to have been originally
the name of the River Dnieper (mentioned by Jordanes, _The Origins and
Deeds of the Goths_, ch. 5, 52, as _Danaper_), which was within the
territories of the Goths in the fourth century.
XIII. _Gizur._ There appear to be reminiscences of this story in Saxo,