PART II

THE POETIC EDDA

VOLUME II

LAYS OF THE HEROES

VÖLUNDARKVITHA

THE LAY OF VÖLUND

INTRODUCTORY NOTE

Between the Thrymskvitha and the Alvissmol in the Codex Regius stands

the Völundarkvitha. It was also included in the Arnamagnæan Codex, but

unluckily it begins at the very end of the fragment which has been

preserved, and thus only a few lines of the opening prose remain. This

is doubly regrettable because the text in Regius is unquestionably in

very bad shape, and the other manuscript would doubtless have been of

great assistance in the reconstruction of the poem.

There has been a vast amount written regarding the Weland tradition as

a whole, discussing particularly the relations between the

Völundarkvitha and the Weland passage in Deor’s Lament. There can be

little question that the story came to the North from Saxon regions,

along with many of the other early hero tales. In stanza 16 the Rhine

is specifically mentioned as the home of treasure; and the presence of

the story in Anglo-Saxon poetry probably as early as the first part of

the eighth century proves beyond a doubt that the legend cannot have

been a native product of Scandinavia. In one form or another, however,

the legend or the smith persisted for centuries throughout all the

Teutonic lands, and the name of Wayland Smith is familiar to all

readers of Walter Scott, and even of Rudyard Kipling’s tales of

England.

In what form this story reached the North is uncertain. Sundry striking

parallels between the diction of the Völundarkvitha and that of the

Weland passage in Deor’s Lament make it distinctly probable that a

Saxon song on this subject had found its way to Scandinavia or Iceland.

But the prose introduction to the poem mentions the “old sagas” in

which Völund was celebrated, and in the Thithrekssaga we have definite

evidence of the existence of such prose narrative in the form of the

Velentssaga (Velent, Völund, Weland, and Wayland all being, of course,

identical), which gives a long story for which the Völundarkvitha can

have supplied relatively little, if any, of the material. It is

probable, then, that Weland stories were current in both prose and

verse in Scandinavia as early as the latter part of the ninth century.

Once let a figure become popular in oral tradition, and the number and

variety of the incidents connected with his name will increase very

rapidly. Doubtless there were scores of Weland stories current in the

eighth, ninth, and tenth centuries, many of them with very little if

any traditional authority. The main one, however, the story of the

laming of the smith by King Nithuth (or by some other enemy) and of

Weland’s terrible revenge, forms the basis of the Völundarkvitha. To

this, by way of introduction, has been added the story of Völund and

the swan-maiden, who, to make things even more complex, is likewise

said to be a Valkyrie. Some critics maintain that these two sections

were originally two distinct poems, merely strung together by the

compiler with the help of narrative prose links; but the poem as a

whole has a kind of dramatic unity which suggests rather that an early

poet—for linguistically the poem belongs among the oldest of the Eddic

collection—used two distinct legends, whether in prose or verse, as the

basis for the composition of a new and homogeneous poem.

The swan-maiden story appears, of course, in many places quite distinct

from the Weland tradition, and, in another form, became one of the most

popular of German folk-tales. Like the story of Weland, however, it is

of German rather than Scandinavian origin, and the identification of

the swan-maidens as Valkyries, which may have taken place before the

legend reached the North, may, on the other hand, have been simply an

attempt to connect southern tradition with figures well known in

northern mythology.

The Völundarkvitha is full of prose narrative links, including an

introduction. The nature of such prose links has already been discussed

in the introductory note to the Grimnismol; the Völundarkvitha is a

striking illustration of the way in which the function of the earlier

Eddic verse was limited chiefly to dialogue or description, the

narrative outline being provided, if at all, in prose. This prose was

put in by each reciter according to his fancy and knowledge, and his

estimate of his hearers’ need for such explanations; some of it, as in

this instance, eventually found its way into the written record.

The manuscript of the Völundarkvitha is in such bad shape, and the

conjectural emendations have been so numerous, that in the notes I have

attempted to record only the most important of them.

There was a king in Sweden named Nithuth. He had two sons and one

daughter; her name was Bothvild. There were three brothers, sons of a

king of the Finns: one was called Slagfith, another Egil, the third

Völund. They went on snowshoes and hunted wild beasts. They came into

Ulfdalir and there they built themselves a house; there was a lake

there which is called Ulfsjar. Early one morning they found on the

shore of the lake three women, who were spinning flax. Near them were

their swan-garments, for they were Valkyries. Two of them were

daughters of King Hlothver, Hlathguth the Swan-White and Hervor the

All-Wise, and the third was Olrun, daughter of Kjar from Valland. These

did they bring home to their hall with them. Egil took Olrun, and

Slagfith Swan-White, and Völund All-Wise. There they dwelt seven

winters; but then they flew away to find battles, and came back no

more. Then Egil set forth on his snowshoes to follow Olrun, and

Slagfith followed Swan-White, but Völund stayed in Ulfdalir. He was a

most skillful man, as men know from old tales. King Nithuth had him

taken by force, as the poem here tells.

1. Maids from the south | through Myrkwood flew,

Fair and young, | their fate to follow;

On the shore of the sea | to rest them they sat,

The maids of the south, | and flax they spun.

2. . . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . .

Hlathguth and Hervor, | Hlothver’s children,

And Olrun the Wise | Kjar’s daughter was.

3. . . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . .

One in her arms | took Egil then

To her bosom white, | the woman fair.

4. Swan-White second,— | swan-feathers she wore,

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

And her arms the third | of the sisters threw

Next round Völund’s | neck so white.

5. There did they sit | for seven winters,

In the eighth at last | came their longing again,

(And in the ninth | did need divide them).

The maidens yearned | for the murky wood,

The fair young maids, | their fate to follow.

6. Völund home | from his hunting came,

From a weary way, | the weather-wise bowman,

Slagfith and Egil | the hall found empty,

Out and in went they, | everywhere seeking.

7. East fared Egil | after Olrun,

And Slagfith south | to seek for Swan-White;

Völund alone | in Ulfdalir lay,

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

8. Red gold he fashioned | with fairest gems,

And rings he strung | on ropes of bast;

So for his wife | he waited long,

If the fair one home | might come to him.

9. This Nithuth learned, | the lord of the Njars,

That Völund alone | in Ulfdalir lay;

By night went his men, | their mail-coats were studded,

Their shields in the waning | moonlight shone.

10. From their saddles the gable | wall they sought,

And in they went | at the end of the hall;

Rings they saw there | on ropes of bast,

Seven hundred | the hero had.

11. Off they took them, | but all they left

Save one alone | which they bore away.

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

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

12. Völund home | from his hunting came,

From a weary way, | the weather-wise bowman;

A brown bear’s flesh | would he roast with fire;

Soon the wood so dry | was burning well,

(The wind-dried wood | that Völund’s was).

13. On the bearskin he rested, | and counted the rings,

The master of elves, | but one he missed;

That Hlothver’s daughter | had it he thought,

And the all-wise maid | had come once more.

14. So long he sat | that he fell asleep,

His waking empty | of gladness was;

Heavy chains | he saw on his hands,

And fetters bound | his feet together.

Völund spake:

15. “What men are they | who thus have laid

Ropes of bast | to bind me now?”

Then Nithuth called, | the lord of the Njars:

“How gottest thou, Völund, | greatest of elves,

These treasures of ours | in Ulfdalir?”

Völund spake:

16. “The gold was not | on Grani’s way,

Far, methinks, is our realm | from the hills of the Rhine;

I mind me that treasures | more we had

When happy together | at home we were.”

17. Without stood the wife | of Nithuth wise,

And in she came | from the end of the hall;

On the floor she stood, | and softly spoke:

“Not kind does he look | who comes from the wood.”

King Nithuth gave to his daughter Bothvild the gold ring that he had

taken from the bast rope in Völund’s house, and he himself wore the

sword that Völund had had. The queen spake:

18. “The glow of his eyes | is like gleaming snakes,

His teeth he gnashes | if now is shown

The sword, or Bothvild’s | ring he sees;

Let them straightway cut | his sinews of strength,

And set him then | in Sævarstath.”

So was it done: the sinews in his knee-joints were cut, and he was set

in an island which was near the mainland, and was called Sævarstath.

There he smithied for the king all kinds of precious things. No man

dared to go to him, save only the king himself. Völund spake:

19. “At Nithuth’s girdle | gleams the sword

That I sharpened keen | with cunningest craft,

(And hardened the steel | with highest skill;)

The bright blade far | forever is borne,

(Nor back shall I see it | borne to my smithy;)

Now Bothvild gets | the golden ring

(That was once my bride’s,— | ne’er well shall it be.)”

20. He sat, nor slept, | and smote with his hammer,

Fast for Nithuth | wonders he fashioned;

Two boys did go | in his door to gaze,

Nithuth’s sons, | into Sævarstath.

21. They came to the chest, | and they craved the keys,

The evil was open | when in they looked;

To the boys it seemed | that gems they saw,

Gold in plenty | and precious stones.

Völund spake:

22. “Come ye alone, | the next day come,

Gold to you both | shall then be given;

Tell not the maids | or the men of the hall,

To no one say | that me you have sought.”

23. . . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . .

Early did brother | to brother call:

“Swift let us go | the rings to see.”

24. They came to the chest, | and they craved the keys,

The evil was open | when in they looked;

He smote off their heads, | and their feet he hid

Under the sooty | straps of the bellows.

25. Their skulls, once hid | by their hair, he took,

Set them in silver | and sent them to Nithuth;

Gems full fair | from their eyes he fashioned,

To Nithuth’s wife | so wise he gave them.

26. And from the teeth | of the twain he wrought

A brooch for the breast, | to Bothvild he sent it;

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

27. Bothvild then | of her ring did boast,

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

. . . . . . . . | “The ring I have broken,

I dare not say it | save to thee.”

Völund spake:

28. “I shall weld the break | in the gold so well

That fairer than ever | thy father shall find it,

And better much | thy mother shall think it,

And thou no worse | than ever it was.”

29. Beer he brought, | he was better in cunning,

Until in her seat | full soon she slept.

Völund spake:

“Now vengeance I have | for all my hurts,

Save one alone, | on the evil woman.”

30. . . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . .

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

Quoth Völund: “Would | that well were the sinews

Maimed in my feet | by Nithuth’s men.”

31. Laughing Völund | rose aloft,

Weeping Bothvild | went from the isle,

For her lover’s flight | and her father’s wrath.

32. Without stood the wife | of Nithuth wise,

And in she came | from the end of the hall;

But he by the wall | in weariness sat:

“Wakest thou, Nithuth, | lord of the Njars?”

Nithuth spake:

33. “Always I wake, | and ever joyless,

Little I sleep | since my sons were slain;

Cold is my head, | cold was thy counsel,

One thing, with Völund | to speak, I wish.

34. . . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . .

“Answer me, Völund, | greatest of elves,

What happed with my boys | that hale once were?”

Völund spake:

35. “First shalt thou all | the oaths now swear,

By the rail of ship, | and the rim of shield,

By the shoulder of steed, | and the edge of sword,

That to Völund’s wife | thou wilt work no ill,

Nor yet my bride | to her death wilt bring,

Though a wife I should have | that well thou knowest,

And a child I should have | within thy hall.

36. “Seek the smithy | that thou didst set,

Thou shalt find the bellows | sprinkled with blood;

I smote off the heads | of both thy sons,

And their feet ’neath the sooty | straps I hid.

37. “Their skulls, once hid | by their hair, I took,

Set them in silver | and sent them to Nithuth;

Gems full fair | from their eyes I fashioned,

To Nithuth’s wife | so wise I gave them.

38. “And from the teeth | of the twain I wrought

A brooch for the breast, | to Bothvild I gave it;

Now big with child | does Bothvild go,

The only daughter | ye two had ever.”

Nithuth spake:

39. “Never spakest thou word | that worse could hurt me,

Nor that made me, Völund, | more bitter for vengeance;

There is no man so high | from thy horse to take thee,

Or so doughty an archer | as down to shoot thee,

While high in the clouds | thy course thou takest.”

40. Laughing Völund | rose aloft,

But left in sadness | Nithuth sat.

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

41. Then spake Nithuth, | lord of the Njars:

“Rise up, Thakkrath, | best of my thralls,

Bid Bothvild come, | the bright-browed maid,

Bedecked so fair, | with her father to speak.”

42. . . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . .

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

“Is it true, Bothvild, | that which was told me;

Once in the isle | with Völund wert thou?”

Bothvild spake:

43. “True is it, Nithuth, | that which was told thee,

Once in the isle | with Völund was I,

An hour of lust, | alas it should be!

Nought was my might | with such a man,

Nor from his strength | could I save myself.”

NOTES

Prose. Nithuth (“Bitter Hater”): here identified as a king of Sweden,

is in the poem (stanzas 9, 15 and 32) called lord of the Njars, which

may refer to the people of the Swedish district of Nerike. In any case,

the scene of the story has moved from Saxon lands into the Northeast.

The first and last sentences of the introduction refer to the second

part of the poem; the rest of it concerns the swan-maidens episode.

Bothvild (“Warlike Maid”): Völund’s victim in the latter part of the

poem. King of the Finns: this notion, clearly later than the poem,

which calls Völund an elf, may perhaps be ascribed to the annotator who

composed the prose introduction. The Finns, meaning the dwellers in

Lapland, were generally credited with magic powers. Egil appears in the

Thithrekssaga as Völund’s brother, but Slagfith is not elsewhere

mentioned. Ulfdalir (“Wolf-Dale”), Ulfsjar (“Wolf-Sea”), Valland

(“Slaughter-Land”): mythical places without historical identification.

Valkyries: cf. Voluspo, 31 and note; there is nothing in the poem to

identify the three swan-maidens as Valkyries except one obscure word in

line 2 of stanza 1 and again in line 5 of stanza 5, which may mean, as

Gering translates it, “helmed,” or else “fair and wise.” I suspect that

the annotator, anxious to give the Saxon legend as much northern local

color as possible, was mistaken in his mythology, and that the poet

never conceived of his swan-maidens as Valkyries at all. However, this

identification of swan-maidens with Valkyries was not uncommon; cf.

Helreith Brynhildar, 7. The three maidens’ names, Hlathguth, Hervor,

and Olrun, do not appear in the lists of Valkyries. King Hlothver: this

name suggests the southern origin of the story, as it is the northern

form of Ludwig; the name appears again in Guthrunarkvitha II, 26, and

that of Kjar is found in Atlakvitha, 7, both of these poems being based

on German stories. It is worth noting that the composer of this

introductory note seems to have had little or no information beyond

what was actually contained in the poem as it has come down to us; he

refers to the “old stories” about Völund, but either he was unfamiliar

with them in detail or else he thought it needless to make use of them.

His note simply puts in clear and connected form what the verse tells

somewhat obscurely; his only additions are making Nithuth a king of

Sweden and Völund’s father a king of the Finns, supplying the name

Ulfsjar for the lake, identifying the swan-maidens as Valkyries, and

giving Kjar a home in Valland.

1. The manuscript indicates line 3 as the beginning of a stanza; two

lines may have been lost before or after lines 1–2, and two more, or

even six, with the additional stanza describing the theft of the

swan-garments, after line 4. Myrkwood: a stock name for a magic, dark

forest; cf. Lokasenna, 42.

2. In the manuscript these two lines stand after stanza 16; editors

have tried to fit them into various places, but the prose indicates

that they belong here, with a gap assumed.

3. In the manuscript these two lines follow stanza 1, with no gap

indicated, and the first line marked as the beginning of a stanza. Many

editors have combined them with stanza 4.

4. No lacuna indicated in the manuscript; one editor fills the stanza

out with a second line running: “Then to her breast Slagfith embraced.”

5. Line 3 looks like an interpolation, but line 5, identical with line

2 of stanza 1, may be the superfluous one.

6. The phrase “Völund home from a weary way” is an emendation of

Bugge’s, accepted by many editors. Some of those who do not include it

reject line 4, and combine the remainder of the stanza with all or part

of stanza 7.

7. The manuscript marks the second, and not the first, line as the

beginning of a stanza. Some editors combine lines 2–3 with all or part

of stanza 8. No gap is indicated in the manuscript, but many editors

have assumed one, some of them accepting Bugge’s suggested “Till back

the maiden | bright should come.”

8. No line in this stanza is indicated in the manuscript as beginning a

new stanza; editors have tried all sorts of experiments in regrouping

the lines into stanzas with those of stanzas 7 and 9. In line 3 the

word long is sheer guesswork, as the line in the manuscript contains a

metrical error.

9. Some editors combine the first two lines with parts of stanza 8, and

the last two with the first half of stanza 10. Njars: there has been

much, and inconclusive, discussion as to what this name means; probably

it applies to a semi-mythical people somewhere vaguely in “the East.”

10. Some editors combine lines 3–4 with the fragmentary stanza 11.

11. No gap indicated in the manuscript; some editors combine these

lines with lines 3–4 of stanza 10, while others combine them with the

first two lines of stanza 12. The one ring which Nithuth’s men steal is

given to Bothvild, and proves the cause of her undoing.

12. The manuscript indicates line 3, and not line 1, as the beginning

of a stanza, which has given rise to a large amount of conjectural

rearrangement. Line 2 of the original is identical with the phrase

added by Bugge in stanza 6. Line 5 may be spurious, or lines 4–5 may

have been expanded out of a single line running “The wind-dried wood

| for Völund burned well.”

13. Elves: the poem here identifies Völund as belonging to the race of

the elves. Hlothver’s daughter: Hervor; many editors treat the

adjective “all-wise” here as a proper name.

15. In this poem the manuscript indicates the speakers. Some editors

make lines 1–2 into a separate stanza, linking lines 3–5 (or 4–5) with

stanza 16. Line 3 is very possibly spurious, a mere expansion of

“Nithuth spake.” Nithuth, of course, has come with his men to capture

Völund, and now charges him with having stolen his treasure.

16. The manuscript definitely assigns this stanza to Völund, but many

editors give the first two lines to Nithuth. In the manuscript stanza

16 is followed by the two lines of stanza 2, and many editions make of

lines 3–4 of stanza 16 and stanza 2 a single speech by Völund. Grani’s

way: Grani was Sigurth’s horse, on which he rode to slay Fafnir and win

Andvari’s hoard; this and the reference to the Rhine as the home of

wealth betray the southern source of the story. If lines 1–2 belong to

Völund, they mean that Nithuth got his wealth in the Rhine country, and

that Völund’s hoard has nothing to do with it; if the speaker is

Nithuth, they mean that Völund presumably has not killed a dragon, and

that he is far from the wealth of the Rhine, so that he must have

stolen his treasure from Nithuth himself.

17. Line 1 is lacking in the manuscript, lines 2–4 following

immediately after the two lines here given as stanza 2. Line 1,

borrowed from line 1 of stanza 32, is placed here by many editors,

following Bugge’s suggestion. Certainly it is Nithuth’s wife who utters

line 4. Who comes from the wood: Völund, noted as a hunter. Gering

assumes that with the entrance of Nithuth’s wife the scene has changed

from Völund’s house to Nithuth’s, but I cannot see that this is

necessary.

Prose. The annotator inserted this note rather clumsily in the midst of

the speech of Nithuth’s wife.

18. In the manuscript lines 2–3 stand before line 1; many editors have

made the transposition here indicated. Some editors reject line 3 as

spurious. Sævarstath: “Sea-Stead.”

19. This stanza is obviously in bad shape. Vigfusson makes two stanzas

of it by adding a first line: “Then did Völund speak, | sagest of

elves.” Editors have rejected various lines, and some have regrouped

the last lines with the first two of stanza 20. The elimination of the

passages in parenthesis produces a four-line stanza which is metrically

correct, but it has little more than guesswork to support it.

20. The editions vary radically in combining the lines of this stanza

with those of stanzas 19 and 21, particularly as the manuscript

indicates the third line as the beginning of a stanza. The meaning,

however, remains unchanged.

21. Several editions make one stanza out of lines 3–4 of stanza 20 and

lines 1–2 of stanza 21, and another out of the next four lines. The

evil was open: i.e., the gold in the chest was destined to be their

undoing.

22. The manuscript indicates line 3 as the beginning of a stanza, and

several editors have adopted this grouping. In the Thithrekssaga Völund

sends the boys away with instructions not to come back until just after

a fall of snow, and then to approach his dwelling walking backward. The

boys do this, and when, after he has killed them, Völund is questioned

regarding them, he points to the tracks in the snow as evidence that

they had left his house.

23. No gap indicated in the manuscript. Some editors assume it, as

here; some group the lines with lines 3–4 of stanza 22, and some with

lines 1–2 of stanza 24.

24. Some editions begin a new stanza with line 3.

25. The manuscript indicates line 3 as the beginning of a stanza, and

many editors have adopted this grouping.

26. These two lines have been grouped in various ways, either with

lines 3–4 of stanza 25 or with the fragmentary stanza 27. No gap is

indicated in the manuscript, but the loss of something is so obvious

that practically all editors have noted it, although they have differed

as to the number of lines lost.

27. No gap indicated in the manuscript; the line and a half might be

filled out (partly with the aid of late paper manuscripts) thus: “But

soon it broke, | and swiftly to Völund / She bore it and said—”

29. The manuscript does not name Völund as the speaker before line 3;

Vigfusson again inserts his convenient line, “Then Völund spake, |

sagest of elves.” A few editions combine lines 3–4 with the two lines

of stanza 30.

30. No gap indicated in the manuscript; some editors combine the two

lines with lines 3–4 of stanza 29, and many with the three lines of

stanza 31.

31. Something has probably been lost before this stanza, explaining how

Völund made himself wings, as otherwise, owing to his lameness, he

could not leave the island. The Thithrekssaga tells the story of how

Völund’s brother, Egil, shot birds and gave him the feathers, out of

which he made a feather-garment. This break in the narrative

illustrates the lack of knowledge apparently possessed by the compiler

who was responsible for the prose notes; had he known the story told in

the Thithrekssaga, it is hardly conceivable that he would have failed

to indicate the necessary connecting link at this point. Some editors

reject line 3 as spurious. The manuscript does not indicate any lacuna.

32. The manuscript indicates line 4 as the beginning of a stanza, and

many editors have followed this arrangement.

33. The manuscript does not name the speaker. It indicates line 3 as

the beginning of a new stanza. Vigfusson adds before line 1, “Then

spake Nithuth, | lord of the Njars.”

34. No gap indicated in the manuscript, but it seems clear that

something has been lost. Some editors combine these two lines with

lines 3–4 of stanza 33. Völund is now flying over Nithuth’s hall.

35. The manuscript does not name the speaker; Vigfusson again makes two

full stanzas with the line, “Then did Völund speak, | sagest of

elves.” Some editors begin a new stanza with line 4, while others

reject as interpolations lines 2–3 or 5–7. Völund’s wife: the reference

is to Bothvild, as Völund wishes to have his vengeance fall more

heavily on her father than on her.

36. Lines 3–4 are nearly identical with lines 3–4 of stanza 24.

37. Identical, except for the pronouns, with stanza 25.

38. Lines 1–2: cf. stanza 26.

39. The manuscript does not name the speaker. Either line 4 or line 5

may be an interpolation; two editions reject lines 3–5, combining lines

1–2 with stanza 40. In the Thithrekssaga Nithuth actually compels Egil,

Völund’s brother, to shoot at Völund. The latter has concealed a

bladder full of blood under his left arm, and when his brother’s arrow

pierces this, Nithuth assumes that his enemy has been killed. This

episode likewise appears among the scenes from Völund’s career rudely

carved on an ancient casket of ivory, bearing an Anglo-Saxon

inscription in runic letters, which has been preserved.

40. Line 1: cf. stanza 31. The manuscript indicates no lacuna.

41. The first line is a conjectural addition. Thakkrath is probably the

northern form of the Middle High German name Dancrat.

42. The manuscript indicates no gap, but indicates line 3 as the

beginning of a stanza; Vigfusson’s added “Then Nithuth spake, |

lord of the Njars” seems plausible enough.

43. The manuscript does not name the speaker. Different editors have

rejected one or another of the last three lines, and as the manuscript

indicates line 4 as the beginning of a new stanza, the loss of two or

three lines has likewise been suggested. According to the

Thithrekssaga, the son of Völund and Bothvild was Vithga, or Witege,

one of the heroes of Dietrich of Bern.

HELGAKVITHA HJORVARTHSSONAR

THE LAY OF HELGI THE SON OF HJORVARTH

INTRODUCTORY NOTE

The three Helgi lays, all found in the Codex Regius, have been the

subjects of a vast amount of discussion, in spite of which many of the

facts regarding them are still very far from settled. It is, indeed,

scarcely possible to make any unqualified statement regarding these

three poems for which a flat contradiction cannot be found in the

writings of some scholar of distinction. The origin of the Helgi

tradition, its connection with that of Sigurth, the authorship, date

and home of the poems, the degree to which they have been altered from

their original forms, the status of the composer of the copious prose

notes: these and many other allied questions have been and probably

always will be matters of dispute among students of the Edda’s history.

Without attempting to enter into the discussion in detail, certain

theories should be noted. Helgi appears originally to have been a

Danish popular hero, the son of King Halfdan. Saxo Grammaticus has a

good deal to say about him in that capacity, and it has been pointed

out that many of the place names in the Helgi lays can be pretty

clearly identified with parts of Denmark and neighboring stretches of

the Baltic. The Danish Helgi, according to Saxo, was famed as the

conqueror of Hunding and Hothbrodd, the latter as the result of a naval

expedition at the head of a considerable fleet.

From Denmark the story appears to have spread northward into Norway and

westward into the Norse settlements among the islands. Not many of its

original features remained, and new ones were added here and there,

particularly with regard to Helgi’s love affair with Sigrun. The

victories over Hunding and Hothbrodd, however, were generally retained,

and out of material relating to these two fights, and to the

Helgi-Sigrun story, were fashioned the two lays of Helgi Hundingsbane.

How the Helgi legend became involved with that of the Volsungs is an

open question. Both stories travelled from the South, and presumably

about the same time, so it is not unnatural that some confusion should

have arisen. At no time, however, was the connection particularly close

so far as the actual episodes of the two stories were concerned. In the

two lays of Helgi Hundingsbane the relationship is established only by

the statement that Helgi was the son of Sigmund and Borghild; Sigurth

is not mentioned, and in the lay of Helgi the son of Hjorvarth there is

no connection at all. On the other hand, Helgi does not appear in any

of the Eddic poems dealing directly with the Volsung stories, although

in one passage of doubtful authenticity (cf. Reginsmol, introductory

note) his traditional enemy, Hunding, does, represented by his sons. In

the Volsungasaga the story of Helgi, including the fights with Hunding

and Hothbrodd and the love affair with Sigrun, is told in chapters 8

and 9 without otherwise affecting the course of the narrative. Here, as

in the Helgi lays, Helgi is the son of Sigmund Volsungsson and

Borghild; Sigurth, on the other hand, is the son of Sigmund and

Hjordis, the latter being the daughter of King Eylimi. Still another

son, who complicates both stories somewhat, is Sinfjotli, son of

Sigmund and his own sister, Signy. Sinfjotli appears in both of the

Helgi Hundingsbane lays and in the Volsungasaga, but not in any of the

Eddic poems belonging to the Volsung cycle (cf. Fra Dautha Sinfjotla

and note).

There is a certain amount of resemblance between the story of Helgi and

Sigrun and that of Sigurth and Brynhild, particularly as the annotator

responsible for the prose notes insists that Sigrun was a Valkyrie.

Whether this resemblance was the cause of bringing the two stories

together, or whether the identification of Helgi as Sigmund’s son

resulted in alterations of the love story in the Helgi poems, cannot be

determined.

The first of the three Helgi poems, the lay of Helgi the son of

Hjorvarth, is a somewhat distant cousin of the other two. The Helgi in

question is apparently the same traditional figure, and he leads a

naval expedition, but he is not the son of Sigmund, there is no

connection with the Volsung cycle, and his wife is Svava, not Sigrun.

At the same time, the points of general resemblance with the two Helgi

Hundingsbane lays are such as to indicate a common origin, provided one

goes far enough back. The annotator brings the stories together by the

naive expedient of having Helgi “born again,” and not once only, but

twice.

The first Helgi lay is manifestly in bad shape, and includes at least

two distinct poems, differentiated not only by subject-matter but by

metrical form. Although the question is debatable, the longer of these

poems (stanzas 1–11 and 31–43) seems in turn to have been compounded

out of fragments of two or more Helgi poems. The first five stanzas are

a dialogue between a bird and Atli, one of Hjorvarth’s followers,

concerning the winning of Sigrlin, who is destined to be Hjorvarth’s

wife and Helgi’s mother. Stanzas 6–11 are a dialogue between Helgi and

a Valkyrie (the accompanying prose so calls her, and identifies her as

Svava, but there is nothing in the verse to prove this). Stanzas 12–30

form a fairly consecutive unit, in which Atli, on guard over Helgi’s

ship, has a vigorous argument with a giantess, Hrimgerth, whence this

section has sometimes been called the Hrimgertharmol (Lay of

Hrimgerth). The last section, stanzas 31–43, is again fairly

consecutive, and tells of the death of Helgi following the rash oath of

his brother, Hethin, to win Svava for himself.

Parts I, II, and IV may all have come from the same poem or they may

not; it is quite impossible to tell surely. All of them are generally

dated by commentators not later than the first half of the tenth

century, whereas the Hrimgertharmol (section III) is placed

considerably later. When and by whom these fragments were pieced

together is another vexed question, and this involves a consideration

of the prose notes and links, of which the Helgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar

has a larger amount than any other poem in the Edda. These prose links

contain practically all the narrative, the verse being almost

exclusively dialogue. Whoever composed them seems to have been

consciously trying to bring his chaotic verse material into some

semblance of unity, but he did his work pretty clumsily, with manifest

blunders and contradictions. Bugge has advanced the theory that these

prose passages are to be regarded as an original and necessary part of

the work, but this hardly squares with the evidence.

It seems probable, rather, that as the Helgi tradition spread from its

native Denmark through the Norse regions of the North and West, and

became gradually interwoven, although not in essentials, with the other

great hero cycle from the South, that of the Volsungs, a considerable

number of poems dealing with Helgi were composed, at different times

and in different places, reflecting varied forms of the story. Many

generations afterwards, when Iceland’s literary period had arrived,

some zealous scribe committed to writing such poems or fragments of

poems as he knew, piecing them together and annotating them on the

basis of information which had reached him through other channels. The

prose notes to Helgakvitha Hundingsbana II frankly admit this patchwork

process: a section of four stanzas (13–16) is introduced with the

phrase, “as is said in the Old Volsung Lay”; the final prose note cites

an incident “told in the Karuljoth (Lay of Kara),” and a two-line

speech is quoted “as it was written before in the Helgakvitha.”

The whole problem of the origin, character and home of the Helgi poems

has been discussed in great detail by Bugge in his Helge-Digtene i den

Ældre Edda, Deres Hjem og Forbindelser, which, as translated by W. H.

Schofield under the title The Home of the Eddic Poems, is available for

readers of English. This study is exceedingly valuable, if not in all

respects convincing. The whole matter is so complex and so important in

the history of Old Norse literature, and any intelligent reading of the

Helgi poems is so dependent on an understanding of the conditions under

which they have come down to us, that I have here discussed the

question more extensively than the scope of a mere introductory note to

a single poem would warrant.

(I)

OF HJORVARTH AND SIGRLIN

Hjorvarth was the name of a king, who had four wives: one was called

Alfhild, and their son was named Hethin; the second was called Særeith,

and their son was named Humlung; the third was called Sinrjoth, and

their son was named Hymling. King Hjorvarth had made a great vow to

have as wife whatsoever woman he knew was fairest. He learned that King

Svafnir had a daughter fairer than all others, whose name was Sigrlin.

Ithmund was the name of one of his jarls; he had a son called Atli, who

went to woo Sigrlin on behalf of the king. He dwelt the winter long

with King Svafnir. There was a jarl called Franmar, Sigrlin’s

foster-father; his daughter was named Alof. The jarl told him that the

maiden’s hand was denied, and Atli went home. Atli, the jarl’s son,

stood one day in a certain wood; a bird sat in the branches up over

him, and it had heard that his men called Hjorvarth’s wives the fairest

of women. The bird twittered, and Atli hearkened to what it spoke. It

said:

1. “Sawest thou Sigrlin, | Svafnir’s daughter,

The fairest maid | in her home-land found?

Though Hjorvarth’s wives | by men are held

Goodly to see | in Glasir’s wood.”

Atli spake:

2. “Now with Atli, | Ithmund’s son,

Wilt thou say more, | thou bird so wise?”

The bird spake:

“I may if the prince | an offering makes,

And I have what I will | from the house of the king.”

Atli spake:

3. “Choose not Hjorvarth, | nor sons of his,

Nor the wives so fair | of the famous chief;

Ask not the brides | that the prince’s are;

Fair let us deal | in friendly wise.”

The bird spake:

4. “A fane will I ask, | and altars many,

Gold-horned cattle | the prince shall give me,

If Sigrlin yet | shall sleep in his arms,

Or free of will | the hero shall follow.”

This was before Atli went on his journey; but when he came home, and

the king asked his tidings, he said:

5. “Trouble we had, | but tidings none,

Our horses failed | in the mountains high,

The waters of Sæmorn | we needs must wade;

Svafnir’s daughter, | with rings bedecked,

She whom we sought, | was still denied us.”

The king bade that they should go another time, and he went with them

himself. But when they came up on the mountain, they saw Svavaland

burning and mighty dust-clouds from many steeds. The king rode from the

mountain forward into the land, and made a night’s stay hard by a

stream. Atli kept watch and went over the stream; he found there a

house. A great bird sat on the housetop to guard it, but he was asleep.

Atli hurled his spear at the bird and slew it, and in the house he

found Sigrlin the king’s daughter and Alof the jarl’s daughter, and he

brought them both thence with him. Jarl Franmar had changed himself

into the likeness of an eagle, and guarded them from the enemy host by

magic. Hrothmar was the name of a king, a wooer of Sigrlin; he slew the

king of Svavaland and had plundered and burned his land. King Hjorvarth

took Sigrlin, and Atli took Alof.

(II)

Hjorvarth and Sigrlin had a son, mighty and of noble stature; he was a

silent man, and no name stuck fast to him. He sat on a hill, and saw

nine Valkyries riding; one of them was the fairest of all. She spake:

6. “Late wilt thou, Helgi, | have hoard of rings,

Thou battle-tree fierce, | or of shining fields,—

The eagle screams soon,— | if never thou speakest,

Though, hero, hard | thy heart may cry.”

Helgi spake:

7. “What gift shall I have | with Helgi’s name,

Glorious maid, | for the giving is thine?

All thy words | shall I think on well,

But I want them not | if I win not thee.”

The Valkyrie spake:

8. “Swords I know lying | in Sigarsholm,

Fifty there are | save only four;

One there is | that is best of all,

The shield-destroyer, | with gold it shines.

9. “In the hilt is fame, | in the haft is courage,

In the point is fear, | for its owner’s foes;

On the blade there lies | a blood-flecked snake,

And a serpent’s tail | round the flat is twisted.”

Eylimi was the name of a king, whose daughter was Svava; she was a

Valkyrie, and rode air and sea. She gave Helgi this name, and shielded

him oft thereafter in battle. Helgi spake:

10. “Hjorvarth, king, | unwholesome thy counsels,

Though famed thou art | in leading the folk,

Letting fire the homes | of heroes eat,

Who evil deed | had never done thee.

11. “Yet Hrothmar still | the hoard doth hold,

The wealth that once | our kinsmen wielded;

Full seldom care | the king disturbs,

Heir to dead men | he deems himself.”

Hjorvarth answered that he would give Helgi a following if he fain

would avenge his mother’s father. Then Helgi got the sword that Svava

had told him of. So he went, and Atli with him, and they slew Hrothmar,

and they did many great deeds.

(III)

He slew the giant Hati, whom he found sitting on a certain mountain.

Helgi and Atli lay with their ships in Hatafjord. Atli kept watch

during the first part of the night. Hrimgerth, Hati’s daughter, spake:

12. “Who are the heroes | in Hatafjord?

The ships are covered with shields;

Bravely ye look, | and little ye fear,

The name of the king would I know.”

Atli spake:

13. “Helgi his name, | and never thou mayst

Harm to the hero bring;

With iron is fitted | the prince’s fleet,

Nor can witches work us ill.”

Hrimgerth spake:

14. “Who now, thou mighty | man, art thou?

By what name art thou known to men?

He trusts thee well, | the prince who wills

That thou stand at the stem of his ship.”

Atli spake:

15. “Atli am I, | and ill shalt thou find me,

Great hate for witches I have;

Oft have I been | in the dripping bows,

And to dusk-riders death have brought.

16. “Corpse-hungry giantess, | how art thou called?

Say, witch, who thy father was!

Nine miles deeper | down mayst thou sink,

And a tree grow tall on thy bosom.”

Hrimgerth spake:

17. “Hrimgerth am I, | my father was Hati,

Of giants the most in might;

Many a woman | he won from her home,

Ere Helgi hewed him down.”

Atli spake:

18. “Witch, in front | of the ship thou wast,

And lay before the fjord;

To Ron wouldst have given | the ruler’s men,

If a spear had not stuck in thy flesh.”

Hrimgerth spake:

19. “Dull art thou, Atli, | thou dreamest, methinks,

The lids lie over thine eyes;

By the leader’s ships | my mother lay,

Hlothvarth’s sons on the sea I slew.

20. “Thou wouldst neigh, Atli, | but gelded thou art,

See, Hrimgerth hoists her tail;

In thy hinder end | is thy heart, methinks,

Though thy speech is a stallion’s cry.”

Atli spake:

21. “A stallion I seem | if thou seekest to try me,

And I leap to land from the sea;

I shall smite thee to bits, | if so I will,

And heavy sinks Hrimgerth’s tail.”

Hrimgerth spake:

22. “Go ashore then, Atli, | if sure of thy might,

Let us come to Varin’s cove;

Straight shall thy rounded | ribs be made

If thou comest within my claws.”

Atli spake:

23. “I will not go | till the warriors wake,

Again their chief to guard;

I should wonder not, | foul witch, if up

From beneath our keel thou shouldst come.”

Hrimgerth spake:

24. “Awake now, Helgi, | and Hrimgerth requite,

That Hati to death thou didst hew;

If a single night | she can sleep by the prince,

Then requited are all her ills.”

Helgi spake:

25. “’Tis Lothin shall have thee,— | thou’rt loathsome to men,—

His home in Tholley he has;

Of the wild-dwellers worst | is the giant wise,

He is meet as a mate for thee.”

Hrimgerth spake:

26. “More thou lovest her | who scanned the harbor,

Last night among the men;

(The gold-decked maid | bore magic, methinks,

When the land from the sea she sought,

And fast she kept your fleet;)

She alone is to blame | that I may not bring

Death to the monarch’s men.”

Helgi spake:

27. “Hrimgerth, mark, | if thy hurts I requite,

Tell now the truth to the king;

Was there one who the ships | of the warrior warded,

Or did many together go?”

Hrimgerth spake:

28. “Thrice nine there were, | but one rode first,

A helmed maid white of hue;

Their horses quivered, | there came from their manes

Dew in the dales so deep,

(Hail on the woods so high,

Thence men their harvest have,

But ill was the sight I saw.)”

Atli spake:

29. “Look eastward, Hrimgerth, | for Helgi has struck thee

Down with the runes of death;

Safe in harbor floats | the prince’s fleet,

And safe are the monarch’s men.”

Helgi spake:

30. “It is day, Hrimgerth, | for Atli held thee

Till now thy life thou must lose;

As a harbor mark | men shall mock at thee,

Where in stone thou shalt ever stand.”

(IV)

King Helgi was a mighty warrior. He came to King Eylimi and sought the

hand of his daughter, Svava. Then Helgi and Svava exchanged vows, and

greatly they loved each other. Svava was at home with her father, while

Helgi was in the field; Svava was still a Valkyrie as before.

Hethin was at home with his father, King Hjorvarth, in Norway. Hethin

was coming home alone from the forest one Yule-eve, and found a

troll-woman; she rode on a wolf, and had snakes in place of a bridle.

She asked Hethin for his company. “Nay,” said he. She said, “Thou shalt

pay for this at the king’s toast.” That evening the great vows were

taken; the sacred boar was brought in, the men laid their hands

thereon, and took their vows at the king’s toast. Hethin vowed that he

would have Svava, Eylimi’s daughter, the beloved of his brother Helgi;

then such great grief seized him that he went forth on wild paths

southward over the land, and found Helgi, his brother. Helgi said:

31. “Welcome, Hethin! | what hast thou to tell

Of tidings new | that from Norway come?

Wherefore didst leave | thy land, O prince,

And fared alone | to find us here?”

Hethin spake:

32. “A deed more evil | I have done

Than, brother mine, | thou e’er canst mend;

For I have chosen | the child of the king,

Thy bride, for mine | at the monarch’s toast.”

Helgi spake:

33. “Grieve not, Hethin, | for true shall hold

The words we both | by the beer have sworn;

To the isle a warrior | wills that I go,

(There shall I come | the third night hence;)

And doubtful must be | my coming back,

(So may all be well, | if fate so wills.)”

Hethin spake:

34. “Thou saidst once, Helgi, | that Hethin was

A friend full good, | and gifts didst give him;

More seemly it were | thy sword to redden,

Than friendship thus | to thy foe to give.”

Helgi spoke thus because he foresaw his death, for his

following-spirits had met Hethin when he saw the woman riding on the

wolf. Alf was the name of a king, the son of Hrothmar, who had marked

out a battle-place with Helgi at Sigarsvoll after a stay of three

nights. Then Helgi spake:

35. “On a wolf there rode, | when dusk it was,

A woman who fain | would have him follow;

Well she knew | that now would fall

Sigrlin’s son | at Sigarsvoll.”

There was a great battle, and there Helgi got a mortal wound.

36. Sigar riding | did Helgi send

To seek out Eylimi’s | only daughter:

“Bid her swiftly | ready to be,

If her lover | alive she would find.”

Sigar spake:

37. “Hither now | has Helgi sent me,

With thee, Svava, | thyself to speak;

The hero said | he fain would see thee

Ere life the nobly | born should leave.”

Svava spake:

38. “What chanced with Helgi, | Hjorvarth’s son?

Hard to me | is harm now come;

If the sea smote him, | or sword bit him,

Ill shall I bring | to all his foes.”

Sigar spake:

39. “In the morn he fell | at Frekastein,

The king who was noblest | beneath the sun;

Alf has the joy | of victory all,

Though need therefor | is never his.”

Helgi spake:

40. “Hail to thee, Svava! | thy sorrow rule,

Our meeting last | in life is this;

Hard the wounds | of the hero bleed,

And close to my heart | the sword has come.

41. “I bid thee, Svava,— | weep not, bride,—

If thou wilt hearken | to these my words,

The bed for Hethin | have thou ready,

And yield thy love | to the hero young.”

Svava spake:

42. “A vow I had | in my dear-loved home,

When Helgi sought | with rings to have me,

That not of my will, | if the warrior died,

Would I fold in my arms | a man unfamed.”

Hethin spake:

43. “Kiss me, Svava, | I come not back,

Rogheim to see, | or Rothulsfjoll,

Till vengeance I have | for the son of Hjorvarth,

The king who was noblest | beneath the sun.”

Of Helgi and Svava it is said that they were born again.

NOTES

Prose: In the manuscript the sub-title, “Of Hjorvarth and Sigrlin,”

stands as the title for the whole poem, though it clearly applies only

to the first five stanzas. Most editions employ the title here given.

Hjorvarth: the name is a not uncommon one; there are two men of that

name mentioned in the mythical-heroic genealogies of the Hyndluljoth

(stanzas 23 and 28), and Hjorvarth appears in Helgakvitha Hundingsbana

I (stanza 14) and II (prose after stanza 12) as a son of Hunding. This

particular Hjorvarth is called by the annotator, but not directly so in

the verse, a king of Norway. The name means “Sword-Guardian.” Four

wives: polygamy, while very infrequent, appears occasionally in the

Norse sagas. Alfhild: “Elf-Warrior.” Hethin: “Fur-Clothed” (?).

Særeith: “Sea-Rider.” Sinrjoth: “Ever-Red.” The fourth wife, not here

named, may be Sigrlin. It has been suggested that Særeith and Sinrjoth

may be northern and southern forms of the same name, as also Humlung

and Hymling, their sons. Svafnir: the annotator calls him king of

Svavaland, apparently a place on the mainland which could be reached

from Norway either by land or by sea. Sigrlin: “The Conquering

Serpent.” Atli: Norse form of the Gothic Attila (Etzel). Alof: perhaps

a feminine form of Olaf. A bird: compare the counsel given by the birds

to Sigurth after the slaying of Fafnir (Fafnismol, stanzas 32–38). This

is one of the many curious resemblances between the Helgi and the

Sigurth stories.

1. Glasir’s wood: Snorri in the Skaldskaparmal quotes a half stanza to

the effect that “Glasir stands with golden leaves before Othin’s hall,”

and calls it “the fairest wood among gods and men.” The phrase as used

here seems to mean little.

4. The bird’s demands would indicate that it is in reality one of the

gods. Gold-horned cattle: cf. Thrymskvitha, 23. There are other

references to gilding the horns of cattle, particularly for sacrificial

purposes.

Prose. The annotator contradicts himself here, as he had already stated

that Atli was on his way home.

5. Possibly the remains of two stanzas, or perhaps a line has been

added. Sæmorn: this river is nowhere else mentioned.

Prose. Sigrlin and Alof, protected by the latter’s father, Franmar,

have fled before the ravaging army of Sigrlin’s rejected suitor,

Hrothmar. The beginning of a new section (II) is indicated in the

manuscript only by the unusually large capital letter with which

“Hjorvarth” begins. No name, etc.: this probably means that Helgi had

always been so silent that he would answer to no name, with the result

that he had none. Valkyries: cf. Voluspo, 31 and note. The annotator

insists here and in the prose after stanza 9 that Svava was a Valkyrie,

but there is nothing in the verse to prove it, or, indeed, to identify

the Svava of the last section of the poem with the person who gave

Helgi his name. In the Volsungasaga Sigmund himself names his son

Helgi, and gives him a sword, following Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I.

6. Battle-tree: poetic phrase for “warrior.” Shining fields: the words

in the manuscript may form a proper name, Rothulsvoll, having this

meaning.

7. Gift: not only was it customary to give gifts with the naming of a

child, but the practice frequently obtained when a permanent epithet

was added to the name of an adult.

8. Sigarsholm (“Isle of Sigar”): a place not identified, but probably

related to the Sigarsvoll where Helgi was slain (stanza 35).

9. The sword is carved with magic runes and with snakes. Fame: the

original word is uncertain.

Prose. Eylimi: this name is another link with the Sigurth story, as it

is likewise the name of the father of Sigurth’s mother, Hjordis.

10. With this stanza begins a new episode, that of Helgi’s victory over

King Hrothmar, who had killed his mother’s father (cf. prose after

stanza 5). It has been suggested, in consequence, that stanzas 10–11

may be a separate fragment. The verse tells nothing of the battle,

merely giving Helgi’s reproaches to his father for having left

Svafnir’s death and the burning of Svavaland unavenged.

Prose. The manuscript does not indicate any break, but the episode

which forms the basis of the Hrimgertharmol (stanzas 12–30) clearly

begins with the slaying of the giant Hati (“The Hateful”). Hatafjord:

“Hati’s Fjord.” Hrimgerth: “Frost-Shrouded” (?).

13. Iron: the keels of Norse ships were sometimes fitted with iron

“shoes” at bow and stern, but it is not certain that this practice much

antedated the year 1000, and thus this line has raised some question as

to the antiquity of this stanza, if not of the entire Hrimgertharmol,

which may have been composed as late as the eleventh century.

15. The manuscript does not indicate the speaker. The pun on “Atli” and

“atall” (meaning “ill”) is untranslatable.

17. The manuscript does not indicate the speaker.

18. From this point to the end the manuscript does not indicate the

speakers. Ron: wife of the sea-god Ægir, who draws drowning men into

the sea with her net. There is no other reference to the wounding of

Hrimgerth.

19. Apparently both Hrimgerth and her mother, Hati’s wife, had sought

to destroy Helgi’s ships, and had actually killed some of his

companions, the sons of Hlothvarth, concerning whom nothing more is

known. Many editors assume that a stanza containing a speech by Atli

has been lost after stanza 19.

20. Apparently Hrimgerth has assumed the form of a mare.

22. Varin’s cove: the name of Varin appears twice in place names in

Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I (stanzas 27 and 39). The sagas mention a

mythical King Varin who lived at Skorustrond in Rogaland (Norway).

25. Of the giant Lothin (“The Shaggy”) and his home in Tholley (“Pine

Island”) nothing is known. Cf. Skirnismol, 35.

26. Something is clearly wrong with this stanza, and the manuscript

indicates line 6 as the beginning of a new one. Perhaps a line (between

lines 4 and 5) has been lost, or perhaps the lines in parenthesis are

interpolations. Hrimgerth here refers to Svava, or to the protectress

with whom the annotator has identified her, as having saved Helgi and

his ships from the vengeance of the giantesses. In the original line 1

includes Helgi’s name, which makes it metrically incorrect.

28. Again something is clearly wrong, and the last three lines look

like interpolations, though some editors have tried to reconstruct two

full stanzas. The passage suggests the identification of the Valkyries

with the clouds.

29. Some editions give this speech to Helgi. Eastward: Atli and Helgi

have held Hrimgerth in talk till sunrise, and the sun’s rays turn her

into stone. But dwarfs rather than giants were the victims of sunlight;

cf. Alvissmol, stanzas 16 and 35.

30. Most editions give this stanza to Atli. With this the

Hrimgertharmol ends, and after the next prose passage the meter reverts

to that of the earlier sections.

Prose. The manuscript does not indicate a new section of the poem.

Eylimi: cf. note on prose after stanza 9. Valkyrie: here, as before,

the annotator has apparently nothing but his own imagination on which

to base his statement. Svava in the ensuing stanzas certainly does not

behave like a Valkyrie. Norway: the annotator doubtless based this

statement on the reference to Norway in line 2 of stanza 31. Yule-eve:

the Yule feast, marking the new year, was a great event in the heathen

North. It was a time of feasting and merrymaking, vows (“New Year’s

resolutions”), ghosts and witches; the spirits had their greatest power

on Yule-eve. The king’s toast: vows made at the passing of the king’s

cup at the Yule feast were particularly sacred. Sacred boar: a boar

consecrated to Freyr, an integral part of the Yule rites. Hethin’s vow,

which is, of course, the vengeance of the troll-woman, is too sacred to

be broken, but he immediately realizes the horror of his oath.

31. From Norway: Bugge uses this phrase as evidence that the poem was

composed in one of the Icelandic settlements of the western islands,

but as the annotator himself seems to have thought that Hethin came to

Helgi by land (“on wild paths southward”), this argument does not

appear to have much weight.

32. The second line is conjectural; a line has clearly been lost from

this stanza, and various emendations have been suggested.

33. Perhaps this is the remnant of two stanzas, or perhaps two lines

(probably the ones in parenthesis) have been interpolated. The isle:

duels were commonly fought on islands, probably to guard against

treacherous interference, whence the usual name for a duel was

“isle-going.” A duel was generally fought three days after the

challenge. Reckoning the lapse of time by nights instead of days was a

common practice throughout the German and Scandinavian peoples.

Prose. Some editors place all or part of this prose passage after

stanza 35. Following-spirits: the “fylgja” was a female guardian spirit

whose appearance generally betokened death. The belief was common

throughout the North, and has come down to recent times in Scottish and

Irish folk-lore. Individuals and sometimes whole families had these

following-spirits, but it was most unusual for a person to have more

than one of them. Alf: son of the Hrothmar who killed Helgi’s

grandfather, and who was in turn later killed by Helgi. Sigarsvoll

(“Sigar’s Field”): cf. stanza 8 and note; the Sigar in question may be

the man who appears as Helgi’s messenger in stanzas 36–39.

36. Sigar (“The Victorious”): cf. the foregoing note.

39. Frekastein (“Wolf-Crag”): the name appears several times in the

Helgi lays applied to battlefields; cf. Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I, 46

and 55, and II, 18 and 24. Need: i.e., Alf deserves no credit for the

victory, which was due to the troll-woman’s magic.

41. One or two editors ascribe this stanza to Hethin.

43. A few editions make the extraordinary blunder of ascribing this

speech to the dying Helgi. The point, of course, is that Hethin will

satisfy Svava’s vow by becoming famous as the slayer of Alf. Rogheim

(“Home of Battle”) and Rothulsfjoll (“Sun-Mountain”): nowhere else

mentioned; Hethin means simply that he will not come back to Svava till

he has won fame.

Prose. Regarding this extraordinary bit see the prose note at the end

of Helgakvitha Hundingsbana II. Gering thinks the reborn Helgi

Hjorvarthsson was Helgi Hundingsbane, while Svava, according to the

annotator himself, became Sigrun. The point seems to be simply that

there were so many Helgi stories current, and the hero died in so many

irreconcilable ways, that tradition had to have him born over again,

not once only but several times, to accommodate his many deaths, and to

avoid splitting him up into several Helgis. Needless to say, the poems

themselves know nothing of this rebirth, and we owe the suggestion

entirely to the annotator, who probably got it from current tradition.

HELGAKVITHA HUNDINGSBANA I

THE FIRST LAY OF HELGI HUNDINGSBANE

INTRODUCTORY NOTE

The general subject of the Helgi lays is considered in the introduction

to Helgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar, and it is needless here to repeat the

statements there made. The first lay of Helgi Hundingsbane is

unquestionably one of the latest of the Eddic poems, and was composed

probably not earlier than the second quarter of the eleventh century.

It presents several unusual characteristics. For one thing, it is among

the few essentially narrative poems in the whole collection, telling a

consecutive story in verse, and, except for the abusive dialogue

between Sinfjotli and Gothmund, which clearly was based on another and

older poem, it does so with relatively little use of dialogue. It is,

in fact, a ballad, and in the main an exceedingly vigorous one. The

annotator, who added his prose narrative notes so freely in the other

Helgi poems, here found nothing to do. The available evidence indicates

that narrative verse was a relatively late development in Old Norse

poetry, and it is significant that most of the poems which consist

chiefly, not of dialogue, but of narrative stanzas, such as the first

Helgi Hundingsbane lay and the two Atli lays, can safely be dated, on

the basis of other evidence, after the year 1000.

The first Helgi Hundingsbane lay is again differentiated from most of

the Eddic poems by the character of its language. It is full of those

verbal intricacies which were the delight of the Norse skalds, and

which made Snorri’s dictionary of poetic phrases an absolute necessity.

Many of these I have paraphrased in the translation; some I have

simplified or wholly avoided. A single line will serve to indicate the

character of this form of complex diction (stanza 56, line 4): “And the

horse of the giantess | raven’s-food had.” This means simply that

wolves (giantesses habitually rode on wolves) ate the bodies of the

dead.

Except for its intricacies of diction, and the possible loss of a

stanza here and there, the poem is comparatively simple. The story

belongs in all its essentials to the Helgi tradition, with the Volsung

cycle brought in only to the extent of making Helgi the son of Sigmund,

and in the introduction of Sinfjotli, son of Sigmund and his sister

Signy, in a passage which has little or nothing to do with the course

of the narrative, and which looks like an expansion of a passage from

some older poem, perhaps from the “old Volsung lay” to which the

annotator of the second Helgi Hundingsbane lay refers (prose after

stanza 12). There are many proper names, some of which betray the

confusion caused by the blending of the two sets of traditions; for

example, Helgi appears indiscriminately as an Ylfing (which presumably

he was before the Volsung story became involved) and as a Volsung.

Granmar and his sons are called Hniflungs (Nibelungen) in stanza 50,

though they seem to have had no connection with this race. The place

names have aroused much debate as to the localization of the action,

but while some of them probably reflect actual places, there is so much

geographical confusion, and such a profusion of names which are almost

certainly mythical, that it is hard to believe that the poet had any

definite locations in mind.

1. In olden days, | when eagles screamed,

And holy streams | from heaven’s crags fell,

Was Helgi then, | the hero-hearted,

Borghild’s son, | in Bralund born.

2. ’Twas night in the dwelling, | and Norns there came,

Who shaped the life | of the lofty one;

They bade him most famed | of fighters all

And best of princes | ever to be.

3. Mightily wove they | the web of fate,

While Bralund’s towns | were trembling all;

And there the golden | threads they wove,

And in the moon’s hall | fast they made them.

4. East and west | the ends they hid,

In the middle the hero | should have his land;

And Neri’s kinswoman | northward cast

A chain, and bade it | firm ever to be.

5. Once sorrow had | the Ylfings’ son,

And grief the bride | who the loved one had borne.

* * * * * *

Quoth raven to raven, | on treetop resting,

Seeking for food, | “There is something I know.

6. “In mail-coat stands | the son of Sigmund,

A half-day old; | now day is here;

His eyes flash sharp | as the heroes’ are,

He is friend of the wolves; | full glad are we.”

7. The warrior throng | a ruler thought him,

Good times, they said, | mankind should see;

The king himself | from battle-press came,

To give the prince | a leek full proud.

8. Helgi he named him, | and Hringstathir gave him,

Solfjoll, Snæfjoll, | and Sigarsvoll,

Hringstoth, Hotun, | and Himinvangar,

And a blood-snake bedecked | to Sinfjotli’s brother.

9. Mighty he grew | in the midst of his friends,

The fair-born elm, | in fortune’s glow;

To his comrades gold | he gladly gave,

The hero spared not | the blood-flecked hoard.

10. Short time for war | the chieftain waited,

When fifteen winters | old he was;

Hunding he slew, | the hardy wight

Who long had ruled | o’er lands and men.

11. Of Sigmund’s son | then next they sought

Hoard and rings, | the sons of Hunding;

They bade the prince | requital pay

For booty stolen | and father slain.

12. The prince let not | their prayers avail,

Nor gold for their dead | did the kinsmen get;

Waiting, he said, | was a mighty storm

Of lances gray | and Othin’s grimness.

13. The warriors forth | to the battle went,

The field they chose | at Logafjoll;

Frothi’s peace | midst foes they broke,

Through the isle went hungrily | Vithrir’s hounds.

14. The king then sat, | when he had slain

Eyjolf and Alf, | ’neath the eagle-stone;

Hjorvarth and Hovarth, | Hunding’s sons,

The kin of the spear-wielder, | all had he killed.

15. Then glittered light | from Logafjoll,

And from the light | the flashes leaped;

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

16. . . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . .

High under helms | on heaven’s field;

Their byrnies all | with blood were red,

And from their spears | the sparks flew forth.

17. Early then | in wolf-wood asked

The mighty king | of the southern maid,

If with the hero | home would she

Come that night; | the weapons clashed.

18. Down from her horse | sprang Hogni’s daughter,—

The shields were still,— | and spake to the hero:

“Other tasks | are ours, methinks,

Than drinking beer | with the breaker of rings.

19. “My father has pledged | his daughter fair

As bride to Granmar’s | son so grim;

But, Helgi, I | once Hothbrodd called

As fine a king | as the son of a cat.

20. “Yet the hero will come | a few nights hence,

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

Unless thou dost bid him | the battle-ground seek,

Or takest the maid | from the warrior mighty.”

Helgi spake:

21. “Fear him not, | though Isung he felled,

First must our courage | keen be tried,

Before unwilling | thou fare with the knave;

Weapons will clash, | if to death I come not.”

22. Messengers sent | the mighty one then,

By land and by sea, | a host to seek,

Store of wealth | of the water’s gleam,

And men to summon, | and sons of men.

23. “Bid them straightway | seek the ships,

And off Brandey | ready to be!”

There the chief waited | till thither were come

Men by hundreds | from Hethinsey.

24. Soon off Stafnsnes | stood the ships,

Fair they glided | and gay with gold;

Then Helgi spake | to Hjorleif asking:

“Hast thou counted | the gallant host?”

25. The young king answered | the other then:

“Long were it to tell | from Tronueyr

The long-stemmed ships | with warriors laden

That come from without | into Orvasund.

26. . . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . .

“There are hundreds twelve | of trusty men,

But in Hotun lies | the host of the king,

Greater by half; | I have hope of battle.”

27. The ship’s-tents soon | the chieftain struck,

And waked the throng | of warriors all;

(The heroes the red | of dawn beheld;)

And on the masts | the gallant men

Made fast the sails | in Varinsfjord.

28. There was beat of oars | and clash of iron,

Shield smote shield | as the ships’-folk rowed;

Swiftly went | the warrior-laden

Fleet of the ruler | forth from the land.

29. So did it sound, | when together the sisters

Of Kolga struck | with the keels full long,

As if cliffs were broken | with beating surf,

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

30. Helgi bade higher | hoist the sails,

Nor did the ships’-folk | shun the waves,

Though dreadfully | did Ægir’s daughters

Seek the steeds | of the sea to sink.

31. But from above | did Sigrun brave

Aid the men | and all their faring;

Mightily came | from the claws of Ron

The leader’s sea-beast | off Gnipalund.

32. At evening there | in Unavagar

Floated the fleet | bedecked full fair;

But they who saw | from Svarin’s hill,

Bitter at heart | the host beheld.

33. Then Gothmund asked, | goodly of birth,

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

“Who is the monarch | who guides the host,

And to the land | the warriors leads?”

34. Sinfjotli answered, | and up on an oar

Raised a shield all red | with golden rim;

A sea-sentry was he, | skilled to speak,

And in words with princes | well to strive.

35. “Say tonight | when you feed the swine,

And send your bitches | to seek their swill,

That out of the East | have the Ylfings come,

Greedy for battle, | to Gnipalund.

36. “There will Hothbrodd | Helgi find,

In the midst of the fleet, | and flight he scorns;

Often has he | the eagles gorged,

Whilst thou at the quern | wert slave-girls kissing.”

Gothmund spake:

37. “Hero, the ancient | sayings heed,

And bring not lies | to the nobly born.

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

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

38. “Thou hast eaten | the entrails of wolves,

And of thy brothers | the slayer been;

Oft wounds to suck | thy cold mouth sought,

And loathed in rocky | dens didst lurk.”

Sinfjotli spake:

39. “A witch in Varin’s | isle thou wast,

A woman false, | and lies didst fashion;

Of the mail-clad heroes | thou wouldst have

No other, thou saidst, | save Sinfjotli only.

40. “A Valkyrie wast thou, | loathly witch,

Evil and base, | in Allfather’s home;

The warriors all | must ever fight,

Woman subtle, | for sake of thee.

41. “. . . . . . . . | . . . . . . . .

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

Nine did we | in Sogunes

Of wolf-cubs have; | I their father was.”

Gothmund spake:

42. “Thou didst not father | Fenrir’s-wolves,

Though older thou art | than all I know;

For they gelded thee | in Gnipalund,

The giant-women | at Thorsnes once.

43. “Under houses the stepson | of Siggeir lay,

Fain of the wolf’s cry | out in the woods;

Evil came then | all to thy hands,

When thy brothers’ | breasts thou didst redden,

Fame didst thou win | for foulest deeds.

44. “In Bravoll wast thou | Grani’s bride,

Golden-bitted | and ready to gallop;

I rode thee many | a mile, and down

Didst sink, thou giantess, | under the saddle.”

Sinfjotli spake:

45. “A brainless fellow | didst seem to be,

When once for Gollnir | goats didst milk,

And another time | when as Imth’s daughter

In rags thou wentest; | wilt longer wrangle?”

Gothmund spake:

46. “Sooner would I | at Frekastein

Feed the ravens | with flesh of thine

Than send your bitches | to seek their swill,

Or feed the swine; | may the fiends take you!”

Helgi spake:

47. “Better, Sinfjotli, | thee ’twould beseem

Battle to give | and eagles to gladden,

Than vain and empty | words to utter,

Though ring-breakers oft | in speech do wrangle.

48. “Good I find not | the sons of Granmar,

But for heroes ’tis seemly | the truth to speak;

At Moinsheimar | proved the men

That hearts for the wielding | of swords they had.”

49. Mightily then | they made to run

Sviputh and Sveggjuth | to Solheimar;

(By dewy dales | and chasms dark,

Mist’s horse shook | where the men went by;)

The king they found | at his courtyard gate,

And told him the foeman | fierce was come.

50. Forth stood Hothbrodd, | helmed for battle,

Watched the riding | of his warriors;

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

“Why are the Hniflungs | white with fear?”

Gothmund spake:

51. “Swift keels lie | hard by the land,

(Mast-ring harts | and mighty yards,

Wealth of shields | and well-planed oars;)

The king’s fair host, | the Ylfings haughty;

Fifteen bands | to land have fared,

But out in Sogn | are seven thousand.

52. “At anchor lying | off Gnipalund

Are fire-beasts black, | all fitted with gold;

There wait most | of the foeman’s men,

Nor will Helgi long | the battle delay.”

Hothbrodd spake:

53. “Bid the horses run | to the Reginthing,

Melnir and Mylnir | to Myrkwood now,

(And Sporvitnir | to Sparinsheith;)

Let no man seek | henceforth to sit

Who the flame of wounds | knows well to wield.

54. “Summon Hogni, | the sons of Hring,

Atli and Yngvi | and Alf the Old;

Glad they are | of battle ever;

Against the Volsungs | let us go.”

55. Swift as a storm | there smote together

The flashing blades | at Frekastein;

Ever was Helgi, | Hunding’s slayer,

First in the throng | where warriors fought;

(Fierce in battle, | slow to fly,

Hard the heart | of the hero was.)

56. From heaven there came | the maidens helmed,—

The weapon-clang grew,— | who watched o’er the king;

Spake Sigrun fair,— | the wound-givers flew,

And the horse of the giantess | raven’s-food had:—

57. “Hail to thee, hero! | full happy with men,

Offspring of Yngvi, | shalt ever live,

For thou the fearless | foe hast slain

Who to many the dread | of death had brought.

58. “Warrior, well | for thyself hast won

Red rings bright | and the noble bride;

Both now, warrior, | thine shall be,

Hogni’s daughter | and Hringstathir,

Wealth and triumph; | the battle wanes.”

NOTES

1. The manuscript contains the superscription: “Here begins the lay of

Helgi Hundingsbane and h. (Hothbrodd?) The lay of the Volsungs.”

Eagles, etc.: the screaming of eagles and water pouring from heaven

were portents of the birth of a hero. Borghild: Sigmund’s first wife;

Bralund was her home, not Sigmund’s.

2. Norns: cf. Voluspo, 20 and note. Here it is the Norns who preside

over Helgi’s early destiny, and not a Valkyrie, as in Helgakvitha

Hjorvarthssonar.

3. Line 2 is largely guesswork, the manuscript being obscure. Moon’s

hall: the sky.

4. East, etc.: the Norns give Helgi fame in the East, West, and North;

in the North his renown is particularly to endure. This suggests that

the poet was aware of the spread of the Helgi story over many lands.

Neri’s kinswoman: evidently one of the Norns, but nothing further is

known of Neri, and the word may not be a proper name at all.

5. The manuscript indicates no gap, but it looks as though something

had been lost after line 2. Ylfings’ son: Sigmund is evidently meant,

though calling him an Ylfing (cf. Hyndluljoth, 11 and note) is a

manifest error. Helgi, in the tradition as it came from Denmark, was

undoubtedly an Ylfing, and the poet, in order to combine the two

legends, has to treat the Ylfings and Volsungs as if they were the same

family.

6. Sigmund: the chief link between the Helgi and Sigurth stories. He

was the son of Volsung, great-grandson of Othin. His children by his

first wife, Borghild, were Helgi and Hamund (belonging to the Helgi

cycle); his son by his second wife, Hjordis, was Sigurth. An incestuous

connection with his sister, Signy (cf. Wagner’s Siegmund and Sieglinde)

resulted in the birth of Sinfjotli (cf. Fra Dautha Sinfjotla and note).

7. The king: Sigmund, who gives his son a symbol of the lands which he

bestows on him. Regarding the leek, cf. Voluspo, 4; Guthrunarkvitha I,

17, and Sigrdrifumol, 7.

8. Hringstathir (“Ring-Stead”): quite possibly the historical Ringsted,

long a possession of the Danish kings, and thus a relic of the old

Helgi tradition. Hringstoth may be another form of the same name.

Solfjoll (“Sun-Mountain”) and Snæfjoll (“Snow-Mountain”) are fictitious

names. Regarding Sigarsvoll cf. Helgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar, stanzas 8

and 35. Saxo mentions a Danish king named Sigar, and the frequency with

which the name appears in the Helgi poems may be taken as a

reminiscence of Denmark. Hotun (“High Place”): possibly the village of

Tune in Seeland. Himinvangar (“Heaven’s Field”): an imaginary place.

Blood-snake: a sword. Sinfjotli: cf. note on stanza 6.

9. Elm: a not uncommon word for “man.” Blood-flecked: i.e., won in

battle.

10. Fifteen: until early in the eleventh century a Norwegian or

Icelandic boy became “of age” at twelve, and Maurer cites this passage

as added proof of the poem’s lateness. Hunding: the annotator

(introductory prose to Helgakvitha Hundingsbana II) calls him king of

Hundland, which shows no great originality. Saxo mentions a Hunding who

was a Saxon king ruling in Jutland, probably the origin of Helgi’s

traditional foe.

12. Storm, etc.: war.

13. Logafjoll (“Flame-Mountain”): a mythical name. Frothi: a:

traditional king of Denmark, whose peaceful reign was so famous that

“Frothi’s peace” became a by-word for peace of any kind. Vithrir’s

hounds: wolves; Vithrir is Othin, and his hounds are the wolves Freki

and Geri.

14. In this poem Helgi kills all the sons of Hunding, but in the poems

of the Sigurth cycle, and the prose notes attached thereto, Sigmund and

his father-in-law, Eylimi, are killed by Hunding’s sons, on whom

Sigurth subsequently takes vengeance (cf. Fra Dautha Sinfjotla and

Regïnsmol).

15. No gap indicated in the manuscript, but almost certainly something

has been lost mentioning more specifically the coming of the Valkyries.

The lightning which accompanies them suggests again their

identification with the clouds (cf. Helgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar, 28).

16. Some editions fill out the first line: “He saw there mighty maidens

riding.” The manuscript indicates line 4 as the beginning of a new

stanza.

17. Wolf-wood: dark forest; the original word is not altogether clear.

Southern: this variety of Valkyrie, like the swan-maidens of the

Völundarkvitha, was clearly regarded as of southern (i.e., German)

origin. Here again there is a confusion of traditions; the Valkyries of

the Voluspo were as essentially Norse as any part of the older

mythology. I doubt if a poet much earlier than the author of the first

Helgi Hundingsbane lay would have made his Sigrun, daughter of Hogni, a

Valkyrie. It is to be noted that the same complication appears in the

Sigurth story, where the undoubted Valkyrie, Brynhild-Sigrdrifa (the

latter name is really only an epithet) is hopelessly mixed up with the

quite human Brynhild, daughter of Buthli.

18. Breaker of rings: generous prince, because the breaking of rings

was the customary form of distributing gold.

19. Granmar: the annotator gives an account of him and his family in

the prose following stanza 12 of Helgakvitha Hundingsbana II.

20. No gap indicated in the manuscript; some editors combine the stanza

with the fragmentary stanza 21, and others fill in with “And home will

carry | Hogni’s daughter.”

21. The manuscript has only lines 1 and 4 with the word “first” of line

2, and does not indicate Helgi as the speaker. The Volsungasaga, which

follows this poem pretty closely, expands Helgi’s speech, and lines 2–3

are conjectural versifications of the saga’s prose. Isung: nothing is

known of him beyond the fact, here indicated, that Hothbrodd killed

him.

22. Water’s gleam: gold.

23. Brandey (“Brand-Isle”): not mentioned elsewhere. Hethinsey

(“Hethin’s Isle”): possibly the island of Hiddensee, east of Rügen.

24. Stafnsnes (“Steersman’s Cape”): an unidentifiable promontory. Fair:

a guess, as the adjective in the manuscript is obscure. Hjorleif does

not appear elsewhere, and seems to be simply one of Helgi’s

lieutenants.

25. Tronueyr: “Crane-Strand.” Long-stemmed: literally “long-headed,” as

the high, curving stem of a Norse ship was often carved to represent a

head and neck. Orvasund: almost certainly the Danish Öresund, off

Seeland. Such bits of geography as this followed Helgi persistently.

26. No gap indicated in the manuscript. Hotun: cf. stanza 8 and note.

27. Line 3 seems to have been interpolated from line 4 of Helgakvitha

Hundingsbana II, 42. Ship’s-tents: the awnings spread over the deck to

shelter the crews from sun and rain when the ships were at anchor.

Varinsfjord: cf. Helgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar, 22 and note.

28. The manuscript indicates line 3 as the beginning of a new stanza,

and some editions follow this arrangement, making lines 1–2 a separate

stanza.

29. The manuscript indicates no gap, and some editions combine the

stanza with lines 3–4 of stanza 28. Sisters of Kolga: the waves, Kolga

(“The Gold”) being one of the daughters of the sea-god, Ægir. As the

Volsungasaga says, “Now there was a great storm.”

30. Helgi demonstrates his courage, whatever one may think of his

seamanship. Ægir’s daughters: the waves; cf. stanza 29 and note.

31. Sigrun here appears again as a Valkyrie. Ron: Ægir’s wife; cf.

Helgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar, 18 and note. Sea-beast: ship. Gnipalund:

“Crag-Wood.”

32. Unavagar: “Friendly Waves.” Svarin’s hill: the hill where Granmar

had his dwelling.

33. Here begins the long dialogue between Gothmund, one of Granmar’s

sons, and Sinfjotli, Helgi’s half-brother. Two lines (stanza 33, lines

3–4) are quoted by the annotator in the prose note following stanza 16

of the second Helgi Hundingsbane lay, and the dialogue, in much

abbreviated form, together with Helgi’s admonition to Sinfjotli to

cease talking, is closely paralleled in stanzas 22–27 of that poem. It

has been suggested that this whole passage (stanzas 33–48) is an

interpolation, perhaps from “the Old Volsung lay.” This may be, but it

seems more probable that the poet used an older poem simply as the

basis for this passage, borrowing a little but making up a great deal

more. The manuscript indicates no gap in stanza 33.

34. Sinfjotli: cf. note on stanza 6. Red: raising a red shield was the

signal for war.

35. Ylfings: cf. stanza 5 and note.

36. Quern: turning the hand mill was, throughout antiquity, the task of

slaves.

37. The manuscript does not name the speakers in this dialogue. No gap

indicated in the manuscript, and editors have attempted various

combinations of stanzas 37 and 38.

38. Wolves: the Volsungasaga tells that Sigmund and Sinfjotli lived in

the woods for a time as werewolves. Brothers: Sinfjotli killed the two

sons of his mother, Signy, and her husband, Siggeir, as part of the

vengeance wreaked on Siggeir for the treacherous murder of Sigmund’s

father, Volsung, and nine of his brothers (cf. Fra Dautha Sinfjotla and

note). The manuscript marks line 3 as the beginning of a new stanza.

39. Varin’s isle: cf. stanza 27 and note, and Helgakvitha

Hjorvarthssonar, 22. Reproaching a man with having been a woman and

borne children was not uncommon.

40. This stanza may be an interpolation in the dialogue passage.

Allfather: Othin. We have no information regarding Gothmund’s career,

but it looks as though Sinfjotli were drawing solely on his imagination

for his taunts, whereas Gothmund’s insults have a basis in Sinfjotli’s

previous life.

41. No gap indicated in the manuscript; some editors combine the two

lines with stanza 40, some regard them as the first instead of the last

lines of a separate stanza, and some assume the lacuna here indicated.

Sogunes (“Saga’s Cape”): of the goddess Saga little is known; cf.

Grimnismol, 7.

42. Fenrir’s-wolves: wolves in general. Thorsnes: “Thor’s Cape.”

43. The phrase “under houses,” which follows the manuscript, may be an

error for “in wolf-caves.” Line 3 (or 4) may be an interpolation. The

manuscript indicates line 5 as the beginning of a new stanza. Siggeir:

cf. stanza 38, note.

44. Several editions assign this stanza to Sinfjotli instead of to

Gothmund. Bravoll (“Field of the Brow”): not elsewhere mentioned in the

poems. Grani: Sigurth’s horse (cf. Völundarkvitha, 16 and note);

Gothmund means that Sinfjotli had turned into a mare, after the fashion

of Loki (cf. Grimnismol, 44, note). The meaning of line 4 in the

original is uncertain.

45. A few editions give this stanza to Gothmund. Gollnir: possibly a

giant. Imth: nothing is known of him or his daughter.

46. A few editions give this stanza to Sinfjotli. Frekastein: cf.

Helgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar, 39 and note. A stanza may have been lost

after stanza 46, parallel to stanza 25 of the second Helgi Hundingsbane

lay.

47. Ring-breakers: cf. stanza 18 and note.

48. Moinsheimar: a battlefield of which nothing is known, where,

however, the sons of Granmar appear to have fought bravely.

49. Here the scene shifts to the shore among Hothbrodd’s followers.

Sviputh and Sveggjuth (“Swift” and “Lithe”): horses’ names. Mist’s

horse: the Valkyrie’s name is the same as the English word “mist,” and

the “horse” on which the mist rides is the earth. The two lines in

parenthesis may be interpolated, or line 5 may begin a new stanza, as

the manuscript indicates.

50. No gap indicated in the manuscript. Hniflungs: cf. introductory

note.

51. Lines 2–3 may be interpolated, or a new stanza may begin, as the

manuscript indicates, with line 5. Many editors combine lines 5–6 with

all or part of stanza 52. Possibly Gothmund is not the speaker.

Mast-ring harts: ships, so called from the ring attaching the yard to

the mast. Ylfings: cf. stanza 5 and note. Sogn: this name, which

actually belongs in western Norway, seems to have been used here with

no particular significance.

52. The manuscript indicates line 3 as beginning a new stanza; some

editors combine lines 3–4 with all or part of stanza 53, while others

assume the loss of two lines following line 4. Fire-beasts: dragons,

i.e., ships. The Norse ships of war, as distinguished from merchant

vessels, were often called dragons because of their shape and the

carving of their stems.

53. The manuscript does not indicate the speaker, and a few editors

assume the loss of one or two lines embodying the phrase “Hothbrodd

spake.” In the manuscript line 3, which many editors have suspected of

being spurious, stands before line 2. Possibly lines 4–5 are the

remains of a separate stanza. Reginthing (“The Great Council”):

apparently the council-place for the whole country, as distinct from

the local council, or “herathsthing.” Melnir (“Bit-Bearer”), Mylnir

(“The Biter”) and Sporvitnir (“Spur-Wolf”): horses’ names. Myrkwood: a

not uncommon name for a dark forest; cf. Lokasenna, 42, and Atlakvitha,

3. Sparinsheith (“Sparin’s Heath”): nothing more is known of Sparin or

his heath. Flame of wounds: sword.

54. Hogni: the father of Sigrun; cf. Helgakvitha Hundingsbana II, 18.

Of Hring and his sons nothing further is known. Volsungs: here for the

first time the poet gives Helgi and Sinfjotli the family name to which,

as sons of Sigmund Volsungsson, they are entitled.

55. The manuscript indicates line 5 as the beginning of a new stanza,

but many editors have rejected lines 5–6 as spurious, while others

regard them as the first half of a stanza the last two lines of which

have been lost.

56. Wound-givers: probably this means “Valkyries,” but there is

considerable doubt as to the original word. Horse, etc.: i.e., the wolf

(because giantesses customarily had wolves for their steeds) ate

corpses (the food of birds of prey).

57. Yngvi: one of the sons of Halfdan the Old, and traditional ancestor

of the Ynglings, with whom the Ylfings seem to have been confused (cf.

Hyndluljoth, 11 and note). The confusion between the Ylfings (or

Ynglings) and Volsungs was carried far enough so that Sigurth himself

is once called a descendant of Yngvi (Reginsmol, 14). Gering identifies

the name of Yngvi with the god Freyr, but the Volsungs certainly

claimed descent from Othin, not Freyr, and there is nothing to indicate

that Helgi in the Danish tradition was supposed to be descended from

Freyr, whereas his descent from Yngvi Halfdansson fits well with the

rest of his story. However, cf. Sigurtharkvitha en skamma, 24 and note.

58. This entire stanza may be an interpolation; nearly every edition

has a different way of dealing with it. Hringstathir: as this place had

been given to Helgi by his father (cf. stanza 8 and note), the poet has

apparently made a mistake in naming it here as a conquest from

Granmar’s sons, unless, indeed, they had previously captured it from

Helgi, which seems unlikely.

HELGAKVITHA HUNDINGSBANA II

THE SECOND LAY OF HELGI HUNDINGSBANE

INTRODUCTORY NOTE

As the general nature of the Helgi tradition has been considered in the

introductory note to Helgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar, it is necessary here

to discuss only the characteristics of this particular poem. The second

Helgi Hundingsbane lay is in most respects the exact opposite of the

first one: it is in no sense consecutive; it is not a narrative poem,

and all or most of it gives evidence of relatively early composition,

its origin probably going well back into the tenth century.

It is frankly nothing but a piece of, in the main, very clumsy

patchwork, made up of eight distinct fragments, pieced together

awkwardly by the annotator with copious prose notes. One of these

fragments (stanzas 13–16) is specifically identified as coming from

“the old Volsung lay.” What was that poem, and how much more of the

extant Helgi-lay compilation was taken from it, and did the annotator

know more of it than he included in his patchwork? Conclusive answers

to these questions have baffled scholarship, and probably always will

do so. My own guess is that the annotator knew little or nothing more

than he wrote down; having got the first Helgi Hundingsbane lay, which

was obviously in fairly good shape, out of the way, he proceeded to

assemble all the odds and ends of verse about Helgi which he could get

hold of, putting them together on the basis of the narrative told in

the first Helgi lay and of such stories as his knowledge of prose sagas

may have yielded.