V Qlsunga Saga

NELSONICELANDIC
GENERAL EDITORS

Sigurdur Nordal and

VOLS
'-'

SA

*
SA

OF

VOLSUNGSThe Sagaof the Volsungs

and Translated
Notes and \oD,endlces

with

R.

Finch

Senior Lecturer in German
The

NELSONTHOMAS NELSON AND SONS LTD
10 W~lre.ho'LlSe

THOMAS NELSON AND SONSLTD

P. O. Box g881 .J 0.nal1n<::sbl.lrg-

First Published 1965
R. G. Finch 1965

Printed in Great Britain byThomas Nelson (Printers) Ltd, London and .t;d.JlnburJi!::b

CONTENTS
I

Vll

viii
3
4-

IX

and
xiii
xxxii

5
6

date
XXXVI

xxxviii

7
saga

XXXIX

and

xl

Text
Text

verso

I

Translation

recto

I

A
B
C The
and
Glossary of

betweenTerms

verso and recto
saga

81
82

91

Index

95

v

ACKNOWLED

MEN S

I should like tothanks to Dr P . Salmon, Dr D .
Professor W..
for their assistance with someRr~lptuc;ll and other details, and to Professor H. E. Hinderks for his help
constant encouragement.. lowe adebt ofto Professor G. Turville-Petre for all his
and toP. G.
Foote whose valuable suggestions haveto improve this book.
to my own account.
Remaining deficiencies must, of course, be set
and indirect, atFinally I wish to thank my wife for all her help,
every stage of the work.

R.. G.F.

INTRODUCTION
I

and

The

Although a KnIOWleCU?e of Iceland's mediaeval saga literature is now
becoming more
it is stillfromcome into its
own, and Njall,
Hrafnkellof Beowulf,
Roland or the
Whereas the latteras names, tothe common
stock of theeducated
the former,
as yet, do not.
main characterssaga, however, are anotableto theand thestatement in ch. 23,that hisname 'is current in all
north ofthe Greek
and so it will be for asas the world endures',of truth. There can be but
who have not heard ofcontains a
Sigurd (orhis deeds of
his love for Brynhild (orBriinnhilde)
his
at the hands thosetrustedfor
Richard Wagner drewon theof the Icelandic Poetic
for the basic material of DeTdesand onwhich, although
andinmatters of detail, isa prose retelling of the relevant
lays.
Wagner's
cannot, however, be equated with the ancient
Scandinavianthat it seems to tell: it is by no means a modern
dramatisation of
or of the Eddaic lays, and Wagner, in' myth' became an innovator on a
attempting to recreate
grand scale whose
produced an
new C myth' inwith hisand musical purpose.
approach to thematerial was eclectic andFor
the shattering of
Wotan's spear bywith a sword of his own
is pureinvention, as is thethat Siegfried is the child of an incestuous
union between brother andalthough according to V glsunga saga,
his half-brother, Sinfjotli, was indeed born of such a union.. Sigurd'smother in Edda and Saga was named Hjordis, not Sigelinde who appears
as his mother in the MHG epic das NibelungenZ':ed. Odin (i.e.. Wotan)
is not, in the Icelandic version, solely responsible for despoiling thedwarf of his gold: moreover, the dwarf's name was Andvari, notAlberich, whom Wagner took over from the Nibelungenlied, where heplays a different role. In fact, the ' Rheingold ' springs largely from#'J.t"r..n .....r'I#'),'I"'t"&/I.

vii

INTRODUCTION

Vlll

and the idea of the inevitable conflict
SVlnDlO!U;ea by theand true love is his
as so manyout of the......,...llI+lI""nl .....+" ......+._- of hisof events inage,
a'PDJrOJlarrLat4elv
is combined with art,with "".~ v ....,.....
.............."".. . . . . . . , the historical effect is ever striven
success.
saga
foralthoughfictional, as
convincing in its realism
shown by Professor Sigurour Nordal, it was long believed to rest on
cry from such ato thegenuine historical tradition. It is atypical
where the wondrous and fantastic
tothe upper hand, where the human is replaced by the well-nigh superinto mere heroics andhuman, where the heroic spirit
literary qualities count for little.
is unfortunately noteX(~ml)t from such strictures. Sigurd
the one full description
given of him (ch. 23), is pictured asthan life, nor is it enoughfor him merely to kill the man who has dealt him a mortal wound:past, Iceland's own"A,.".I..I.'U.I..I. jlJ;:;,.I.....

....

derives from the title of C. C. Rafn's collection, Fornaldarl'J ordr1.anda.

INTRODUCTION

IX

he throws his sword which slices his murderer clean through at the
waist (ch.
are, inadventure and letting ofblood forown sakes.
are also some structural we;akl1les~~eSt
e.g.
two children are twice
Brynhild is twice betrothedtoand her residence seems to
between a ' shield castle', a
by a wall of
flame.
Norse hall, and a castle
These
may not all be due to the failure of the compiler ofthe saga to remove some of the inconsistencies in his sources-a lessskilled interpolator
be partly
It must,be
has on the whole little
for the poetry
admitted that theof his poetic
That he should, where necessary, use words
and phrases moretostyle thanoften purely poetic
vocabulary of his sources
andhe should
occasionally, e.g. in his
st. 6-12(the beginning of ch.
in a few
trite sentences, isof all, is difficult not to beby this tale
Yet inwhich has as much to do with character and fate as has with the clash
of arms.
youthfulthat defies the curse on thetreasure
into the realisation that he isenmeshed in
the toils
fate. Brynhild, whose code of honour cannot but demand
the death of the man she loves and
whom
has
her
voluntarily ends her life in the flames of his funeralmeetsdeath with aon his lips, and his brother
true
Such
however _.,..
p:reSlenteO,
heroic stature incannot fail to make its impact, even on the sophisticatedtwentieth century.
' ".,..".1,..,-

3saga and its anl.,lo/lrueS

Scandinavian(i)saga (VS). The oldest MS dates from c. 1400. The
itself was compiled not later than c.
probably in. . """",1"• though possibly in Norway (see section 6).
(ii) The Poetic Edda (PE). The oldest MS (Codex Regius) dates
from c.
The date of the original compilation is uncertain: notafter c.
and possibly as early as the second half of the twelfth(a).1 1.......'

Altnord. Lit. II, 479, G. LdlJlUUJU:lU, Studier i Codex
Of)

1 954, 241.

x

INTRODUCTION

century.lof the lays preserved in theRegiusto theVolsung material and of these twelve,with some of the connecting
theofwhich also
a proseprose, were utilised
redaction of a lost
probably eightleaves).
SnoTTi Sturluson(iii) The Prose Edda
dates from thefourteenth . . . L'>....,.+.. ..._ ...
completedareThe
a brief version of the material.
Bern (PSS).
oldest MS
from the(iv)
end of theIt was compiled in Norway probably
is one of the heroic
woven·hQ~r"I.rl.t:ltheOstro-Gothic ruler..... _

Preserved
it dates from the +......" •..-+£I.o_ot·h
abllreVla'ted account of the earlierof theSigurd's death and Brynhild's journey toaresome accretions.
These are six late mediaeval Icelandic . . . . ."'..........""_..
(vi)
romances, corresponding toch.
the oldest MS dating fromc. 1550. They were probably written shortly
14008 and may
be based on a rather different and older version of V S than that
extant.9(vii)bThe earliest MSS date from thesixteenth century. The ballad traditionin Norway probablyc. 1300; the Faroese ballads are at least a century later. The reJev~lnt
extant ballads
Svein (there is also a Swedish(the Norwegianversion); Danish: Sivard'I'Y\"'1lfo'.et.l"'tnlINTRODUCTION

Xl

fragments),Thea markedly
is not extant. 2

translated from Latin
Danish inversion of the material. The n'l"tlrTtn~1

rln:TA'I"nAn+(b) German(i) Das(NL).
earliest MSS datethethirteenth century; the poem itself was written not later than theprobably before
The MSS conyears of thatatext append theIt tells of theofDutch
NL (MS ' T ').
(ii)
deWritten by Albrecht von ::)CJlarltenlleI·2
c. 1280,romance isin the late fifteenth-century
redaction by Ulrich Fiietrer in his
der Abenteuer. 5
islinked with Arthurian romance and becomes a knight of the RoundMundirosa andTable. Mter many adventures he marries thethey live
ever(iii) Thezum Heldenbuch. The Heldenbuch was firstprinted in
Its text is close to that of a slightly older Strasbourg
MS which contains a(Anhang)
to thegives a confusedof mainly thelatter half of thealso contains elements of an ancient
Nibelung tradition. 6(iv) Das Lied vom Hii.rnen Seyfrid (BS). This is only extant inprinted texts dating from the sixteenth century and was probably
written in the fifteenth century, though it contains some older traditionalwith the hero's youthful exploits. 7
material. It deals(v) Der Hiirnen
a drama by Hans Sachs written in ISS7
and based partly on
partly on the MHG tier Rosengarten, andpartly, perhaps, on some third, unknown, source. 8 It ends with the
hero's death and a promise of vengeance.
............. " ..._

...v

1 See

s

,

I, 70 f.

3

mit den Lesarten siimtlicher

found in W. Grimm,
C. King, Manchester
ed. E. Goetze 1880

xu

INTRODUCTION

A chap-book first printed in

tra,l!'nlel1ltal~V tf~nth-(~en'tllr'v Norse

Sigmund's
is alsoin
his son Gunnar (OE Guahere) are
and the latter and Hogni (OE Hagena)
a late fourteenthmentions Sigurd as best
he appears in thirteenthof the Dietrich.....,.., 9 andThe
Hugo von~~11 and der Marner 12 maketo Nibelungthetradition.
a mediaeval
poem
or Ottonian era,to the same cycle as the OE
and also treats ofknown to Nibelung tradition.
Even an occasionalsuch asthirteenthcentury Latin Chronica
of Simonuse ofNibelung material. Names of some of theKriemhilt, Nipulunc, Sigfrid,(Sinfjotli) and Welisunc(Volsung)
asnames in German deeds and charters
as early aseighth and ninth centuries.1s
A knowledge of thehas often stimulated artistic and I","'~....
........

......... I.... ""lI.J:O.

n ..•.. .,.

Rostock 1 910, 98

Die Gedichte 'Dom

xiii

INTRODUCTION

imagination. Scenes from the Volsung cycle have been found carved
in wood or stone in Sweden, Norway and England and nnlQQ11hhr
Isle of Man.1
Saga 2 seems to
Brynhild-Gudrun
while the late IceL
at least a motif withat HE!luelan!d.
affinities withandare several nllrle1:ee:ntll-c:en'tut-:v
treatments ofthe theme 5 ..... _ .... _...' ..._ ...... ~ "'''''''11''''' ~Max Mell wrote a drama, Der LVt4rJelJrlnl:.'e'AI

4

The basic

the0.... '

variations and their Slpntf,lca:nce

VS falls into five sections:
(a)
1-12.
Sigi, outlawed for
kingdom..
is slain but is avenlle:duntil he eats ansent byand of Signy.
wins a sword 1Jlun{!e~dhall, for alone can draw it
unloved husband, falls in the battle; his sons are ca'Dltur'ed.
forest and left to adeath. A she.. wolf
every night,
brother after
until
alone .1 ~l.l14UJ~.
He
the wolf, escapes and lives on in thedead.
two sons are too
to be of help to ~l~mtlnd
his kinsmen, andherself eager
vengeance,
to sleep unrec:osnl1st:~d with her
and bears him a son, Sinfjotli, who is thus doublyof Volsung and with Sigmund aavenger. After prt:~linlm:arv~.A""lUll~. including aashall.
veI12ean(~e complete,tofurther ad,~entul·es.
with his half-brotherSinfjotli is
by his ste'pmlottler.
Sigmund falls in battle, his sword
Odin's spear.
A.a.... "",.&. ""'''"''.&..

(b) Chapters
Sigmund's second
Hjordis,court after her husband's death. ....:._...

at_....ll .....

Hjalprek's
Regin, a smith,I,

Mell, Der Nt,l1elunl!e Not, Pt I, 1943; Pt II, 1951

xiv

INTRODUCTION

2\.1:ardllatlS of his father's or()oertv

in a ' shield castle'. This isamarr13ljze. though
Sigurdnext visits Heimir,also there and

(c)

to

his

ki and his
Grimhild, have three sons, Gunnar, Hogni andGuttonn, and a daughter, Gudrun, who knows Brynhild, described here as
Atli's sister. Brynhild
Gudrun's dream as foretelling two ".. . . . . . "..,""'...~. . . .
and their consequences.
arrives athall and becomes a great
asset. He
Brynhildof a potion administered by Grimhild, andmarriesbecoming blood-brother to Gunnar and Hogni. Gunnar
determines to win Brynhild, but cannot pass the flame barrier surrounding her
hall. Sigurd exchanges shapes with Gunnar and succeeds in his stead.
Brynhild accepts the supposed Gunnar, and for three nights they share thesame bed with drawn sword between them. Sigurd takes from her Andvaranaut,the ring he had earlier
her in his own person, substituting another.
Brynhild later
her daughter by Sigurd, into Heimir's care, andmarries Gunnar. When
together, Brynhild claims
overGudrun by wading farther intoriver. Quarrelling, they argue the meritsof theirhusbands, and Gudrun shows Brynhild Andvaranaut, thus
deception. Brynhild feels herself betrayed and perjured, for she

xv

INTRODUCTION

had sworn to marry him who braved the flames.. To Gunnar she implies thatwhen Sigurd slept with her in Gunnar's SeIlrlbl:anc:e, heGunnar's
trust, and she
his murder.. Gunnar consults
Sigurd's
misconduct,that his death would enhanceand power.
Hogni stresses
value to them and advises
the killing, but
Guttorm isto the deed; he transfixes
a sword as he rests
in bed with Gudrun.
slays his
comforts Gudrun who still
has her brothers, and dies. Brynhild laughs on
Gudrun's mo,anlDjl.
She now denies
misconduct, stabs
mounts Sigurd's
funeral pyre, and so(d) Chapters 33-40.
vengeance.

The death

Gunnar and

and

c.

..

Gudrun reluctantly marries Atli who,
for her brothers' gold,
treacherously invites them to a feast.. Despite
dreams and Gudrun's
warning
set out. On arrival at Atli's hall,
are attacked and captured.
Gunnarto reveal where theis hidden until he sees his brother's
bloody heart. Hogni's heart is cut out. Gunnar exults that now he alone
knows the secret which he will never disclose. He diesin a snake pit.
Gudrun, toher brothers,
her children byhim agrisly meal ofhearts and blood.
helped by Hogni's son, "-JI'-&""'~LlU.'"
stabs Atii and fires his hall.

(e) Chapters 41-44.

Svanhild

Gudrun tries to drown herself but the waves carry her to the land of King
Jonakr whom she marries. Their sons are Hamdir, Sorli and Erp. Svanhild,Gudrun'sbyis promised to Jormunrek, but he has her
trampled tobeneath horses' hoofs for misconduct with his son. Hamdir
and Sorli set out to avenge Svanhild. They kill Erp through a misunderstand..
ing. After hacking off Jormunrek's hands and feet they put up a stout resistancefor they are charmed
iron. On Odin's advice they are stoned to death.
VS is linked to ......~I::'_'oiI saga Loobr&ka, through the person of Brynhild's
daughter by Sigurd,whom Ragnar marries (for her
history see
Appendix B).

It is clear from this summary that a break occurs between sections(c) and (d): Gjuki's sons slay Sigurd, eir sister Gudrun's husband,
this central event being preceded by an account of his ancestors andyouthful exploits (a, b, c Part I); Gjuki's sons are slain by Atlifor their gold and avenged by Gudrun, now Atli's wife, whose unsuccessful attempt at suicide leads the story afurther (d and e
Part II). Two separate stories concerning the same family are, in fact.

XVI

INTRODUCTION

Gudrun. It is in the COlrlCe:ptllon
in NL Kriemhilt 1 avenges,
not heronbuton her!2
Which theme is the older? Moreis that of V S
ties mean moreand clan solidarity enjoins aCClUl.esc::eIllcein theof oneand thedestruction
The
love
her
husband a. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...", kinsmen or no, seems more 'modern')
unity ofI and II,
the later inconclusion. How
toinservice""i.. . . . .".,.."".. bears the namethat two
Do,..~con1"" ch~lrac:te]rs
it is still
to see how'
, happened
secret plan which Dietrich von Bern, alone of
It is only if ', is seen as am(~ss'en~rer orlglflalJly sent
Kriemhilt to warn her brothers
thatmakes full sense.
it is only in this samecontext that Kriemhilt's
6 onher
arriving with 'fullmany a new shield and' can be explained.
isin the NL is an innovation and alittle doubt that
Gudrun's.
this imply that an Austrian poet in writing NL adapted at)c;an<!lnaVllan tradition?
Heusler, ascholar in the heroichewas an expansion
Germanic field, did not think SO.7
and fusion of two earlier poems that had evolved in clearly definedtnl".,...,..,::::lrt.'U"1InN.......V .......

JOrr."..,I ........." ...... rr.rI .........

ana.1ogues which contain Part
remark on vengeance,lVf,jbell'lngenllJelt, xxxiv

xvii

INTRODUCTION

of NL was the finalItby an unwritten Briinhiltof the latecenturyII), which had
an unwritten Frankish Briinhiltof the fifth toI). The secondof NL wasIV of the second poem.
was the final form of a written
Austrianc. Iwith the destruction of theIII). This in its turnof the Burgundians inand this hadlay
Etzel was the..LI.I.'-'L.1.1.J..u~.I.L Lay
II) and theIII), were thesources ofofgave rise to theand Atli, and thus form theof Parts I and II of VS.
also held that awave of German influence on ::;c~lndlln~lvlaln
tradition made itself felt in the thirteenth r.f'lu....U·
theory of dC'~vel()DrneIlt r(;~DlaCea
La~chIJnaIJln 2 who had lJel]LeVf~abecame orthodox
made.
his
theories were. Doubting
hesUi!'e:e:ste:d 4 that the
not to the fifth
but to theto ninth
were
tIa,roured with earlier historicalMore extreme
dismisses the idea of
Q~~Q'I"\"·tn.
thework(soon revised
others)awho drew on sometraditional material including aofyouthful
which
found
The
Eddaicof Sigurd's and AtIi's deathhe thinks, fromNL
via corrupt (oral) versions in which Etzel's character was
blackened. 8.La..I.JL.llt..I...::lI.l..1.

J.

l"'...

nQI .. h.c.....n+QI·u·

I."U·

;,"'

...

xviii

I:N'TRODUCTION

D. von Kralik I believed
theory too simple a to fit thefacts. For Hensler's Briinhilt
he postulated three concurrent lays,
8 (Siegfried wins Briinhilt for Gunther and is murdereda Brunhilt
in consequence), a Grimhild
4: (Siegfried is murdered for histreasure), and a humoristic parody the
Grimhild's Wedding. 5
The first two, originally unconnected with the Burgundians, continued
alongside new versions with the Burgundian milieu.' Amid a welterof subjective argument one important
emerges: that oforiginally parallel lays fused together, and Hermann Schneider, long,in most essentials, a follower of Heusler, came tosimilar views. "1
Kurt Wais has produced theof recentHe, too, believes in a complex development
and his arguments are more objective than Kralik's. A
Briinhilt
heargues, differing markedly from
into the extant
German andversions of Sigurd-Sifrit's death. Theof the Burgundians, he suspects, was complete in itself, Kriemhilt's
Nor did theKriemhilt
vengeance on Attila being added
deal with Attila's death, but with subsequentLay, Gothic intheKriemhilt
her sonquarrels
here seems ultimately
against the sons another wife. His
to rest on a (perhaps too) firm belief invalue of Kezai's chronicle(see above) and on the antiquity of an Eddaic lay,
usually judged to be of late origin. 9 This earliest Kriemhilt Lay became
linked and intimately fused with Gunther-AttHa
Kriemhilt
avenging her brothers.lo Kriemhilt was later equated with Sifrit's
widow, originally a different person, andSifrit's aVf~ng~er.
Three important corollaries emerge from his ar~~urne]nts
1 D.vonerster Teil, 1941,
second half of thefrom more than one
II, 1941, 224 f. he
lOp. cit. 14a Ope cit. 36 ff.
• Op. cit. 120 if.
lOp. cit. 74 if.
• Ope cit. 66, 680
7 See H. Schneider, Die aftttscjflen
idea was not entirely alien to ......-'.........."'. . . t
8 KurtWais, FriJhewestel'lTOjDas
Nibelungenliedes, I, 1953, CODltaulS
Krimhildlied J •. • e.g. de Boor,n. S5; deAltnord. Lit. II, 147 f.; F. J6nsson,
Lltt. I, 299
10 That such a fusion could bring about the result required by the author
seems rather doubtfuL

INTRODUCTION

XIX

extensive interaction of ear
the need to reassert thele2:enldary tradition In(letJlenaellt
form 1; and third,
the tar·..re(lCh,lne IntlluelLlce of olsung-Nibelung material on Romanceand Celtic literature. 2
Some scholars
fault with Heusler's Austrian'f'"V"II~n_ its content 4: and . . ,. . ~... _,.~ ... + .., - InCluaing G. J:Sa(~Se(:Ke .
... rI .. " , ...

. . . . . . . . .L •. '-''"- .." .

xx

INTRODUCTION

now in Attila's
toviz..
mediaeval interest in theto set such a markedof the twelfth F'tA..,.+" ..... ,..
was at least re~~DC)nS,lOJle'I"'V'lr~+"rf"l+'n". eleme:nt, the desire for vengeance... ;a..a..a.""... ,.a.......... ,a. ... " ,hAln'l"',,,.,,n,,.

in

and

JjaeS€~CH:e inferred the +rofJi'l'"\QtT\1,OQ1!nn

North without German
runs counter

evidence that links existed . . . 01r'.,...::1An
ilie
aho
between theBaltic andcoast. 8 The Germanmaterial has
Sifrit's
domains are in

f"P1r-t"-:l1nl'tT

1'\0.1,.,.....''('r«'') .. ,.

xxi

INTRODUCTION

of prl,nc~essles wooed by German
That
Germanicthat some of thewere famed in. . . . . . . ".. . . . . . . ., and that
"I~'"I?" ·I~_M.
andshould be unknown toheroic tradition before the late twelfth century is scarceJLv ClreOlblje.
.t1eUSller-s belief in a lengthy
is surelythenumber and content of theand the nature of their development cannot be
the source material extant. It
is alsothat
andtraditions were not
to poetic form, thatreceived the .tSur2l1ndllarlGothic themes without
and to answer the nr"'rJ"lnor:.l _"0t:.~+1Ir'!'''''
that the Austrian poet, though nota
tradition, was using material that may have come under Scandinavian
_ ...

..

....' l o......... h.. l+........ lo.J.......... """ ........''''-

So much is certain: the German version of thead:at>1ted from an older tradition to which~
the second
variation the ....,.n,I:' ..
marriesisto Brynhild
in it
liULdrun··KJrtelrnhllt, whereas in NL this is not the case,that mi t indicate a German
oeJllbc~ra'tel'V., albeit
presumably
Sifrit's
love forbeby an earlier liaison. S It is doubtful
whether such a liaison would have had that effect-it is not unheardof in mediaeval literature for a knight to leave one lady for anotherwithout
particular censure 4 -and it is also doubtful whether
thein question provide the required evidence. Admittedly,
knows of Briinhilt (st.
and of the resplendent apparel wornat her court (st. 344), and he acts as helmsman on Gunther's voyage tothen,Icelandhe knows the proper routes (st.
...O..,P........ ... t"l+'II"\'I"\but se;,Wolfram's Parm.val and those of Parzival's

INTRODUCTION

heroes were often credited with such kniOWleC[gewith routes inGerman has awhen they arrive
knowledge ofwithearlier . . . . . Jt::.~(st.
a retainer had . . . . . . . ,.. . . . . ~. . . . . . . _str=in~:ers resembled ~lTT1T_·-1~11T
to the mostman . . . . . .
she or the retainer had seenhim:
too, ' knew' Sifrit onseen him
3 (st.
).
Guntherout for(st. 939) canbe
Sifrit's ':n. rather than for an(st. 416) that she does not so fearthat she will submit tohim if he comes as aand her welcome (st. 419) is ""'.clIo.._.. ""'..........._ .... ,uncordial.
she
di ently from his companions(st. 511), and if thisa continued lack ofsuch lack isnotdue toplan she may
re1Jn1orcements hehad brought. 4
Briinhilt's tears at thebanquet (st. 618)
to disappointment at not
Sifrit. 5 Even if this is SO,6 herfor Sifrit need not
Gunther'sBriinhilt's
own words (st. 820) imply that
had seen
Gunther nor
Sifrit previously, and her(st. 620), viz. that she is ,p'1~·t1
because Kriemhilt, now herinStfrit is
below her station (in Iceland Stfrit hadthat Gunther was
his lord) is entirelyin acontext.
External evidence is not compelling. The account in HS of Stfrit's.... _ _H1"'llnt'\ll1"£..01:>,"1"\ . .

g.l:"c;... .I..I.J...

t'll''I""lr"\tr.a...,ET1nn

1 77
smunelQ ultel~n~tatlon on a par with the idea that Isolde loved Tristan
potion.

xxiiiINTRODUCTION

rescul.n2 a maiden from ais almost
not the Germanof Brynhild 1 and is notof theversion ofIn
which
existence of
motif inpurports to be based on German sources,
does meet Brynhild
before Grimhild2
she is notandno betrothal takes; a later
reference to a betrothal
may be due to contamination
tradition. 3
Moreover, the wholebetween Sigurd and
Brynhild's menbeversion of the GuntherSifrit
Briinhilt's hand aetten<IS
not onprowess.
name of acon, Lectulus Brunnehilde "...,1 .... ,.,...... ofin the Taunus attested since
is not ne~ceSS3J~llv
connected with the Volsung-Nibelung
and may reflectof thewife ofI, the IVlf~ro'",nO"l~ln
who ruledtoevidence is inconclusive andthetraditionnever have
Sigurd's betrothal to GunnarGunther's future
as native to Scandinavia as Kriemhilt's
vengeance on her brothers to
It need not,follow that theofa maidenan enchanted
ispurelysince
it couldoflink with Gunnar-Gunther's
The name of the
Odin may not, inhave been
l:'aJrn'Z~tmtU and
she is_"'Iii~'" _ ........ 1'. nor is theof vows
and thea distinction between an (unnamed)
andtHe:ep]ln2 Maiden'
without a
Norseand without
to Briinhilt, could thus also
belongedto the German Sifrit's youthfuland the 'Beauty'.... ,.,...1'1 .....

'-I"-'............. IlA....... '1' .....

cnan2c:~a

to a pre-INTRODUCTION

is known from Grimm 1 though there is nolink IJ'-'._YY'l.~'-'IIandA
problem
Brynhild remains: herIt
is not an atonement
the murder of the man she loved
since the duty
over most other CO]lS1lC1eI~at]lOns.
In VS it islove for . . .
C'~::a.n"':l -::.11"~11e) united in
It can also be seen as a
Brynhild claims her
broken oath toan1tlcllpates the doom 1YU'l'111"'1t'"~rt
that
tradition:
H·...111"·£1 _ _. ....

she isAndscholars?
did
to earlierlie (which is not recor<leaconduct 8 when he slept
1927, 81 ff.

xxv

INTRODUCTIONis .
is central and rests on
Im.al!':ln~ltl're material was...-

ass,OC1.ate:d with the PT1"nT_l-p~r1ll_''I'TT

n_+..:lu,i

In

993 ;

claim to Gunther's dominions at their first

xxvi

INTRODUCTION

he isbrother, in PSS
whose
was anand in NL anddistant kinsman. What was his original
alUlter'ate with his brothers' and thisrelatllDn~.hl1P, which . . AI~...1,n'l"\l:::-h1,...,.

n~ l't-r\r()tnf~l" nela1t1o:nSlllp may be

halfmllrQ,erc::r; in
V Sand SnE 3
where Hogni is a fullis Guttorm who is thebut
in SnE Guttorm is a stepbrother, probably an echo ofstatus. Wasain thetradition? 4:heas a kinsman of some sort, to deny him all
kinship seems unwarranted;
texts show clear
traces of his NL
as Gunnar's
man andcounsellor,an unusualabrother orand it seems
safest to assume
themade a closer
link and that
NL is nearest thetradition.
The
in the murder ofin NL differs
in VS. In NL
sides with Briinhilt,ondeath, murders
in the forest-thebrotherin Sifrit's favour-and utters
he washavingBrynhild
envious and afraid of Sifrit. In VS and PE
power
and the murder; it is Brynhild who reveals she(in oneGunnar is
for his wealth) andA shift of balancebrother who murders Sigurd in his
In
the
of
role
caused a transfer of Hogni's
to Gunnar.
at herBut NL also knows Briinhilt as
prestige and status during thescene,or not combinedwith themotive,led her to consider SigurdSifrit's
as politicallyGunnar's
however,be old. In Waltharius helike a robber baron,
first
h ....

n1~hA .... :_.c.•• "'",'1""'C:Oxiv..

For the contrary

is murdered in the forest.

see e.g.

xxviiINTRODUCTION

opposing him,! though later
decisive action. This isvery like thefound inwas
Gunnar's (reluctant)and Brot st. 5, 7,
and l1Glm('JtS1,nat
st. 5, 6of murderers or perjurors in the plural, HamiJismdl st.. 6
aC1'l1::lIIV "' '''',;. to Hogni as murderer. 2 The~,
h~a't""loo aassassin whom
insti tor and Kriemhilt's main an1tagOIlJLst, .......
'..,rreagerness,and envy. These sentiments were in ~e:aIJlllltransferred to Brynhild, who may,
have eXllresse:QTheof thebrother as mU.rQt:~rerlcelanOlC . . . . . . ,.._
aeSilllIleo to enable Gunnar andas was probably Sigurd'sof the deed. In
the body is laid at Kriemhilt'sin PSS it thrown on to the
bed where she isand a transfer of the actual murder from theforest to Gudrun's
seems probable.£)Sigurd-Sifrit's youthful adventures are only loosely connected withthe theme of his murder.
prominently in the
Scandinavian sources and inmentions themtells how Stfrit was asked
theSchilbunc, to divide theirbetween'Oa~rm4ent the sword Balmunc. Stfrit failed to cornplete
brothers grew
seized Balmunc,
twelvetheir
seventhen the brothers th(~mf:;el\reSJ
n·t7·~::.....
the dwarf Alberich and became master of Nibelungenland,
the treasure and aof invisibil . Later he slew abathedin its blood and became
invulnerable. Reference is
madeto a goldoftreasure, that bestows unlimited power.
In VS, PE andthe treasure is the dragon's and there is no
independent treasure adventure.. Who originally owned the treasure ?
None of the German sources associate it with the dragon (BS expressly
I'Vt"',f1"ln.rJ1'.. ' l . I r -

•••

••

't""loA·...

onC'l'.. A ........

yc..&."' ... '............

't""loI'\"I'l:l·&;J.""l:lIot'1

to dissuade Gunnar,
1 In V S Part II he plays a not dlSiSJ11'lLlJalr rOle first
but then finally helping him.
I A similar reference occurs in Ghv. st. 4(see F. Jonsson, Litt. I, 316, n. I). The Hm. retlere][}Cethe contemporary Gennan tradition, thoughis linked to it.
a See p. xxv, n. 4
• Probably a development of the earlier theme found in NL where Hagen
barely escapes with his life.
I Unless it be argued that the NL
is the result of the fusion of two
independent early accounts of theHeusler, NSL, 128). The prose: Sigurd was slain while riding
section following Brat mentions
to the Assembly (ping)-this prc)bably never existed, see Schneider I, 181.

INTRODUCTION

in

TO~TPr-~(lln to
We'aUI()n. in short,

ill withthe dwarf-smith would
to hisdoom.
But a difficulty remains: the sword. In NL the smith is&IoO,~&Io1'1
and Sifrit's sword isof theIn R£~Lfe''1.pt:4fTt/;mis found at the scene ofpresumably
notthedragon's death, since there is no mention of any treasure from which it
could come, and in thesecond dragon episode, the situation issimilar. The finding of a weapon at the crucial moment is an ancientO'l1'1i"ll....... '1..

introduction to Rm.,xxix
heroic motif 1 and it is ~r~lrrlfl'lv
that it should be a late addition.
Thus theseems to have existedof thesmith who may
later
on to thematerialasof thevariant of theheroandnot in every
the sword.
The effect of theblood differs in the two main traditions :in Scandinavia
comes to understand bird larurulaQ'e,
Sifrit becomes
invulnerable. These
combined inthis in common, that in both the blood is in a sense Dr()Dtlvl~:lctlC
is saved from a
and
HS
how
touched themoltentothis 4 as a motif
and it isco~rna1te withburnt
tradition. But theselinks are tenuous and there is no real evidence to show what effect the
1"\"'''Ih''l.,..\oIlTT had. 5
To
whether theadventure waslater transferred to
and whether::;l~~m'unld;s resistance tois theSifrit's invulnerability 7
little. Nor is there
towhether the treasure was
1"\"'''1'1''1'1'',,,,,111..,,. accursed or whether thewand is related to Andvari's
The cloak that renders
invisible when he
Guntherthe older
theof
to ,vin Briinhilt
The other adventures attributed to "INTRODUCTION"''''£;1>£'1 .. 1'''1..0.

V\.,J'''''II.III.

1

,

'

...

a fiendish monster,

a
the

xxx

INTRODUCTION

his(VS), are probably
and as we have seen, Sigurd's
be an
innovation.
divine descent
the appearance of Odin in his
rather to
extraneous. He
the Sigmund
relationship
Sifrit and Sigmund, though known to
tradition, need not be
foris an independent hero 8 and is. known as sucheven outside
tradition, witness(11.847 fflO)' andthe name
equivalent to Sinfjotli, hisaOt)ealrS in OHG documents. 4 Moreover, the links
Sigmundare weak: Sigurd is born posthumously, and the broken
blade inherited from Sigmund is clearly a substitute for an earlier
to his own
is only in
tradition that
weapon~l~:mlJLna survives his son
has a minor part in the Sifrit
The connection between
Odin islate bC~in(lln;aVlan,a result of thelink madeSigurd-Sifrit andSigmund.
Sigurd-Sifrit's
adventures are
independent of the storyof his death.
of the murder plot with a suitableprovide thebut whether they were
to himsome otheror grew up around him, it is impossible toThata well-known character could attract to himself standard
adventures is shown by
the Goth, who as the legendary Dietrichand this is undoubtedly the casevondragons andwith
who ultimately became a giant killer himself. 6
major variation in Gudrun-Kriemhilt's role, a."".\,.I.U....L"'.......
tocuse:d on d erences in themes from the first half of thematerial. There are,two further variations in the second halfthat need comment.
The first concerns theof Gunnar-Gunther and nUll!nl-r:lal:!·CU.
In Scandinavian tradition it is Gunnar who, after pnCn1<f"'1rnn
silence byhim killed, refuses to betray to Atli the +....
L.l'"",,I:'YY'-,'--'LL._I.I"lr'l_" '...... ji;"LL.LU....'..t::Io4r"l1C'O'I'I'...Q.·Q

INTRODUCTION

xxxi

whereabouts,
in NL their roles are reversed. But here
Kriemhilt is theand it is her new role that brought about thein theirs, for
as Stfrit's
is Kriemhilt's natural
an1tajzonJlst, and it is hemust
and thwart her at the last.
plot.
too,
is nearer the
The second concerns: in NL (and in PSS)
she is put to the sword, in Scandinavian tradition she unsuccessfully
attempts suicidedrowning.
seems aconclusion toei er offor in both, unlike Brynhild, she behaves in amonstrous fashion.
death was not by
Her unsuccessful
But her
attc~ml)t at
by that method is a literarythat brings her
toJonakr by whom she has sons who link her more cl ely withthe(Jormunrek) c e I_to which she is already linked
throughwith Svanhild's mother. She may originallyhave died inof AtlPs
NL she also
a hall, though
true to her new
her action is directed
her brothers.
A thirdfound in the Hventells how GudrunKriemhilt was later starved to death byafter
Hogni hadwounded. In PSS is Attila
starves,while in the Faroeseboth AtIi and Gudrun-Kriemhilt meet their
death in this way.
son wasinvented as an instrument of vengencewhom? Any version in which
outlivesrolemust surely portray Kriemhilt
herenemy. Thus she, not Attila must havetheobject of vengeance. In the pSS, where Grirnhild is slain by
Hogni's son was included, but his
had to be
and inthe two acts
vengeance werecombined. 3
There remains the question ofin thenames.
In some instances they result from normal phonological developmentin the respective languages, e.g. Atli: Etzel, but this is not so in thecase of Sigurd-Surit, where the former is equivalent to a German
n1'"'tjrl'1n ......

1 H. Kuhn, C Briinhilds und Kriemhilds Tod "LXXXII (195 0 ), 194 f.
Ermanaric cycle wasbelieves that the link between Gudrun-Kriemhildform of the legend
a German innovation and that there must have been an
in which Kriemhild did not die.
D Hognrs son (H)Niflung who helps Gudrun to murder Atli in VS and Am.
is probably a faint echo of this tradition.
a H. deDie Fii,.i)ischen Lieder des Nibelungenzyklw, 1918, 209 fr.
reaches the same conclusion on different grounds. Wisniewski, Niflungen, 200
f. argues that the original object of the son's vengeance was AttHa.

xxxiiINTRODUCTION

and thea contraction

while Gudrun androotof the.. ----.-.........+.......... + are these?
It is doubtful whether
be fortuitous and of noof the name Mimir..... 0......,. . . , .. 1+ are different names . . . 1+.r"l._LJ.+hil."'...

latter appears in various
sees in them ~'1'1'I""'lI.~.f"'\""+
are so Sle:nItlcant.

thatenshrines
inherited +.......
cOlnplex and regrettably
obscure d.e'velop:me:nt..
main
involved are notnative to tjc~an(lln:aVla,waslittle. doubt that
as well as . . O~,.O..,.,.+'+ .....
came from or via '-"'' ' '............
may well owe theirand some of theeX]lstc~n(~e to the+.1.+.....
Ima~nlnatl0n which
native Norseand saga, and madeunique in.....1 ...... _ ..........

,.......I!.),n+·I"'ITO.. "'I'1'O

1:>0.... , . . , . , . _..

"..1..1.1

11 _ _+1:>0 ....

5an axiom that all Germanic
derives
event 2 and the names
GuttormlJlf;elJl1er'-\..)rerI110t and Gunnar-Guntherinand Gundaharius,
Burgundian
destruction of
Hogni and their followers
by Atlithe destruction of the Burgundian kingdom by the Huns
(not led by Attila) in 437, linked to an imaginative account of Attila's
death in 451 : he was found dead at theof hisconcubine,
Ildico, probably Hildico, a diminutive of Hild, whence is said toKriemhilt.
saw his death as an act of vengeance,
identified Hildico as Gunnar's sister andand thus turned two
unconnected events into theof a
But what historical oelrso:nas;;reretlec1teet in? Thequestion has been
has been sought for in the
Y ........· ......... ,.............

HP.tt.,.iiJrlp..

LXIII (1939),

andxxxiii

INTRODUCTION

the ruler of Austrasia
eallatt:~d with the '-''''L.~VI::!VL.lJ.

whothea Christian Romande Boor argues for an . . . . .
"'' ' .:;&.JL
basis not far removed
thetheme of the extant texts(see p.
: a noble Frankish exile marries into the .tlursrulnetlan
house, 6
too
and is assassinated. Hisof Frankish andments are based on
F. Panzer 6 andnames in the later
thatwas not an
personage but arecast in the heroic mould, while earlier a~HJ'111-n-~11rr1T material had been
The Arminius
idea of an ultimate
been
8 seesover theas Arminius's
over the Romans transferred to a
In the various
re1~erlenc~es of the extant texts toin terms of aor beast
he sees, not a
but a link with the animalandcultic ritual ofthea namefromGermanic
One such instance seems to be the name, Hindwhere
awakens Brynhild, an eDlsocle
ll....,~.'n"'Il'u... 3,.;;U..VJLINTRODUCTION

which, if the name is indeed a ge][lUllneson.... ,., ,,, ,,""'1"'1' thei"'JA't"'f-o'l'nl't:l'"""1. "'..... '-'1..1..

,.....,.. .

but

ne~:esSar'11V mean thatform atsame time andof the historical __ _ ..
n ...
v ...... "''''".............. could
drawn to itself the
SleePllne- maiden ' theme.
asby F. R.. Schroderthat
Sigurd-Sifrit
is a blend of myth, history,O.
fairytale and cultic ritual, though the extant texts also
the handof theliterary artist.
Is the same true of the early chapters of VS, introductory to the
Sigurd? Sigmund may be aof the Burgundian kingSigismund who reigned from 516 to
and who likewise led the lifeof a fugitive, though the Sigmund story
VS parallels the Fall of the
Burgundians and seems modelled on
In both a king sends
a treacherous invitation to his brothers-in-law who are warned
by their sister, the king's unloving wife, but are overpowered,captured and given over to a cruel death. The sister takes vengeance on
her husband: their two sons are slain a and the hall goes up in
1,,+£1,,h,04....1''_.nl

1 Franz Rolf Schroder, Mythos und" Germanisch-Romanische
Monatsschrift XXXVI (1955), I if.
.. I ~arl MUll~nhof, r Die alte Dichtung von . den Nibelungen, I.
Von
Slgfnds Ahnen ) ZfdA XXIII (1879), 146 f. belIeved that the influence wasin the reverse direction.
S Signy's two sons by
Sigmund is twice condemnedto death before securing vengeance
HaE~Se(:ke. Vorgeschichte,282).
Further
doublets) are suspected by Wais,
118 f.
CCINTRODUCTION

xxxv

influence is unmistakable. Obvious
ments 2 are the sn~lpe-crlan21rl2elJlS(lQeS, the leaf that restores "... _+ .. _1~1
thetests to which Signy subjects her
chi
the
the
of Sinfjotli's
body in Odin's boat.
Sigmund's
Miillenhof
C wahlen', i.e. C',4, Vo}sung,declared the name related todestined tofamily which,
Odin's C chosen hero'Thisthough also
from Odin, had become
etymology is not impossible, but the link between
and Odinlacks foundation. A sounder link is that postulated 5 between the names
Volsung and Volsi which latter appears inas the name of aphallic fetish, and itself probably means' phallus'.. '1 There are, in
definite traces of a fertility cult in the Volsung-Sigmund 'l"Y\t:I·t~T't4'31
the apple sent to Rerir, the tree in Volsung's hall,· the incest
the werewolf
and it is here that the basic substance of theVolsung-Sigmund
must beVolsi was probably a lesser
closely
with Odin
his fertility
or else an
nVtlostaS:lS 11 of thatThat Odin shouldof Volsi in
as founder of the Volsung line is thus
understandable is the appearance ofas Odin's
The
name Volsung is a patronymic, as isin
but Wrelsing,i.e. son of Wrels (Volsi), is
It would thus seem that
theand Rerir of VS are
and that Volsi-Odin's son..

INTRODUCTION

6vS and the date

INTRODUCTION

xxxviiwhich may itself draw onand in which a lesser or
number of verses aDloealrecl.
An extant saga on which VS draws is pSS. Three short passages
may derive from it: (a) VS ch.
and had I known . . . wild boar
11.17-24) ;ch. 34: Now everyone ..•(cf. Bertelsen, II
world endured (cf. Bertelsen, II
11.9-17); (c) VS ch.
: there's
no hiding the fact . . . profit by this (cf. Bertelsen, II
11.9-14).
But such derivation is doubtful: it is hard to see why these1>a~)sa~e:es should have been taken over and P.
2 thaton both sides from the ,,,.,nr.,,.,,.,nn,,,no
Sigurd's description,ch.
It would thus seem that VS must have been
after pSS,
which dates fromIn support of this it
been argued
that only theof pSS,at the behest of Hakon
Norwaycould have supplied an
ln~entlve for the compilation ofalso provides, in the personof Odin, divineforwhose ancestor,
Lodbrok, inthehis name, marries
as a ' _.. . c....... ".ois not extant
ison CR
Firstly, P. Wieselgren
if so, the date ofthat anshould have beenwith Eddaic material is hard
to see.
it seems
that
did not appear in thev ......
VS but was deliberately introduced to link VS with HOJrlnars.. _+.o..........,.....n+,...... ;j;;. .........,Q....

::SOJne1:1ffiles deto the .f",J"-""'I-r;J,,,"r
207,

de

Altnord. Lit. II,

xxxviii

INTRODUCTION

saga.1 Lastly, not CR itself, but an

no longer extant MS of therelevant Eddaic
was very likely 2 the compiler's source. All thatc. 1200
can be said with any certainty is that VS was written
and c. 1270, that it was linked tosaga, and that a redactor 3
interpolated
There areamidst the predominantly
Icelandic text of our oldest
which have been thought toIn(11c~ate that a Norwegian
was used by an Icelandic scribe,and M. Olsen suggested that VS might
originally been Norwegian,though he admitted that the Norwegian elements could havethrough the copying of an Icelandic MS byseems little need toanother than lc(~lallalC.
714°°: Ny kg!.
C01oenlnaJ!en (V). There issev en1teelotn to theultinot only in
Vis
words
those
and V
r

2eneral follow V "",.v"''-'.lv ..
now illegible or onlythat could only be due topassages.
where the paper MSS
The condition ofhas deteriorated
M. Olsen's
diplomatic edition01). His
for words then legible but now
in this edition,illegibility being recorded inillegible are
the textual notes.
pages have suffered badly, the worst being
folio 1 r which Olsen found illegible in parts, and which is now totally
undecipherable.
under ultra-violet light and infra-red
photography have proved UIDlvalLl1nl!.
The text in this edition is in normalised spelling. Emendations,
1 See Wieselgren, Ope cit. III, 351. M. Olsen, ed. !xxxi f. holds that VSnever existed independently but was specially compiled as an introduction to it.
• S There are a number of factors that speak against CR having been his
direct source, e.g. VS st. I I gives in full Sd. st. 8, defective inand supplements (in prose) the likewise defective Fm. st. 3 and 18.
• The two sagas were joined before this interpolator set to work, see
Wieselgren, Ope cit. III, 35 I f.
• See M. Olsen, ed. lxxvii fi. D. A.
cHar Nordmenn skrevet opp
Edda-Diktningen " ~aal og Minne, 1951, 3-33 holds that MS Ny kgl. Saml.
1824 b probably denves from an Icelandic exemplar but that the original work
may still have been Norwegian.
'INTRODUCTION

other than those of minor scribal
notes, as are the more

xxxix

are indicated in the textualintext (B).

EDITIONS OF VOLSUNGA SAGA
prc;~vl()Usjlv been edited by :Stockholm 1737
undBreslau 1814

Guoni Jonsson fl01'nal,aar,S021'..lr l'J'oriJlurla'lU'.4fa I), Ke,{k13LVlk 1950
Translations
saga
There have been two, the first by William Morris and Eirfkr
firstpublished in London inandreissued by Collier
NewYork, with an introduction
R. W. Gutman; the second by M.. Schlauch
published in 1930 (2nd edition 1949).
Professor Schlauch criticises thearchaisticof the MorrisMagnusson
but none the less aims at a somewhat archaic
on the grounds that 'even to theit was a tale of remote,J
It was. But there candays of gods and demigods and half
be little doubt that theheroes were as real to the people of themediaeval North as thosethe more immediate
and the compiler ofsaga aims at
his
in straightforward
style
present
attempts to provide anversion as free as possible fromarchaisms. In the translation of
the verses no sort of claim is made for any
approximation to the original
alliterative metres or to thequalities of the Icelandic.
PreviousBIBLIOGRAPHY AND ABBREVIATIONS

Am.
Arkiv
1\S~(eb4~r2''J Norden oeh kontinenten

Vor- und~eh~ntt"tu",r.s. I :R. C. Boerde

Attila

de

Lit.

v

An

CR
Detter-Heinzel

Codex
the Poetic Edda
Seemundar Edda mit einem ........,..-.0:""', ed. F. Detter and

R.

two

Dr.
Ellis
Fas.

1) ed. C. Cn

v 12'tos:son and C. R.
Fm.

Grimm

GJrv.
Gar. II

3 vols,xli

INTRODUCTION

Lucke.......... uv .......... ,

der
A.
' Die
der Lucke im Codex
Edda', Germanistische AlJ'/la1 ztlll!ltlJ:.'en, Hermann Paul zum
Miirz 1902 l1a1rpI?J~rar.ht
f

NSL

HHI
Hm.

ed.

J.

HS
J---'---'._~ in Acta

Hven.

HS
MHG

NL

to de Boor's

NeckelH. Kuhn,
OE
OHG

M.

ed. M.

ed.

j:J/n,tsle'hU1:l2 und

PE

PBB
Rm.
Schneider

Sd.

SnE

Snorra Edda

xlii
S.T.U.A.G.N.L.
Tonnelat,

INTRODUCTION

e:aI1nmlel nordisk Litteratur

sur ladeAltnord. Lit.
VS
Wais, Frii.he

Wisniewski,

pss

LJa:rstf'llu1'lP des Nt1rtu~!I!e1zunter;rza'n'J!esreferences are to Bertelsen's edition

ICELANDIC TEXTANDENGLISH TRANSLATIONQ S NI

er nefndr, ok kalla8r at
SOQ~un'nar er Ska5i a het.

inn rikari ok
Hann
Hann haf8i
eaa umfram
En er
saman
miklu fleira a ok meira en
at sik undri at einnskulihann; dysjar
at honum ok
sf5an
Nu ferr hann heim urn kveldit, ok
honumaok var hann senn or
ok veit ek ekki til hans.'
Ska5i grunar sQgn
okat vera munu svikok munhafa drepit hann ;menn b til at leita
ok ljkr sva leitinni, at
fundu hann f skafli einum, ok mrelti Skaai at pann skafl skyldi kalla
J:SrieO~ltonn heaan
ok hafa menn nu t eptir sf(~an ok kalla sva{Qnn er mikil er. ]:>3 kemr upp at Sigi hefir drepit
ok myrPi kallahann varg i VeUm, 4 ok rna hann nu
vera
fear slnum.

and his thrall Breoi
Introduction p.
ft. I: to commit first-degree murder and by extension: to conceal
see Glossary under mora.
C

OLS

T

s

I

tale
here and tells of a man
who was said to be
the son ofAnother man
in theand his name was
He was powerful andbut, even so,
was themoreof the two, and theborn, asat thathad a thrall who must be mentioned in thewas Bredi. He was most efficient in the duties he was
In hisandhe was as
counted for more than he did, andthan some.
You must now hear how
once went out after deer with thisandhunted on
into the late afternoon. Whenthey then brought
had
Bredi had accounted
for both more andthanand he took thisbadly
said he wasthat a serf should beathUlltlIJLQ' deer than he was, and with that he attacked and killed him,
the body in a snow-drift.
returned home and said that Bredi had ridden off
him, and I don't know what's, I soon lost sightbecome of him.' Skadi was suspicious of
and
there
or()bablv been foul
and thathim.
tofor him,their
ended with their
him insnow-drift. Skadi said he would call it ' Bredi's
Driftthen aD, and people
kept to this everanddrift is called by that name. It was then quite clear thatmurdered the serf and hidden his body.3 He was forthwith declared anoutlaw,' and so could not remain at home with his father.

2

VQLSUNGA SAGA

honum nu
landi brott, sva
lei() at storu bar,ok
en hann kom honum til he ·pa. Nu
at Ie ask f herna8 me8li8 er fa()ir hans fhonum a8r
skiI8u, ok var8 hannI
Ok sva kemr hans mali
at hann
ok rfki urn sl8ir. Ok pvi nzst fekk hannserhann
ok mikillherma8r. Rann a son
ok
upp me8 fear 1 sfnum ok
at aldri. Rann
ser margaa hendr honum er hann tru()itil
er hannofrli8i; ok a peim
Sonr
Rerir, var ekki f peim
vinum slnum ok landshQfdingjum,
sinn.
minniskread a11a.

to
1 As

"sva dainn B
Vopposed tosent away to be brought up by C foster-parents " aby no means uncommo
racrice, e.g. Regin was Sigurd's C foster-father' (seep. 23), Brynhild was Heumr's C foster-daughter' (see p. 42).
I The
g of a kinsman was held to be a particularly odious offence.
It was proper and natural to be frttmdrtBkinn, attached to one's kin, cf. p. 10,
and not merely for sentiment's sake: the family or rather C clan' was theessential social and ethical reality. The individual's strength, confidence, hisTHE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

2

Odin now went with him when he left the country and accompanied
him for along way, not giving up until he had brought him
to several
Sigi now embarked on
expeditions
with
force
had
for himthey parted. He
was successful in his
his affairs sothat he mana~zea
to carve out land
himself, and eventually a
Next hean important match, and became a powerful andrulingover the land of the Huns, and he was a truly great
By hiswife he had a son called Rerir..
was brought up there with hisand soon grew into a tall and able lad.
And now
had grown old in
There were many who wereof him, and so in the end
whom he trusted most-hishim.
turned on him when he
only amen there with him,
Sigi and all his followers were
His son Rerir was away at the time of danger, andrrn ...· naof friends and influential nobles, with thethat he took over the domains and the royal power in suc:ceS~S10!nto hisNow when he thought that he had found his
in his kingdom,his
the uncles who
had killed his father. And so thea powerful army
and immediately marched with it
kinsmen of his. And
if he set but little store by the ties kinship between them, they, after
all, seem to have been the first to do him wrong. A t t is how heacted, for he did not rest until he had killed all his father's murderers,
though from every point of view it was a bad business. 2 And now hetook over lands, authority and wealth, and became a man ofconsequence than his father had been.
Rerir now acquired adeal of plunder through his
andmarried a woman who seemed likely to make him a suitable wife, andthey lived together for a very long time, but had no heir, nor any childat all. Neither was at all happy about this and they earnestly prayed to
the Gods to let them have a child. And we are next told how Frigg aheard their prayer and spoke to Odin about their request.. He was not
at a loss what to do and fetched a valkyrie 4 of his, the daughter of
A1t'"A"

personal qualities in general, were in him but not in the first instance of him :they came to him from his membership of the ( clan'. (Cf. de Vries, Alt,erm.
Religicm I, 173 f.).
8 Odints consort, goddess of hearth and home.
Her aid with Freyja's wasoften invoked during childbirth.
• The Icel. oskmey, lit. C wish-maiden " is one of the names given to the
valkyries, Odin's handmaidens (see Glossary s.v. 'lJalkyTja).

SAGA

3

ok bior hana
Hon t6k via eplinu okasiktil
er honsem
er, ok sat
Hon
falla eplit i kne konunginum. Hann t6k pat epli okvita hverju gegna mundi ;nuhauginum ok til
sinna manna, ok kom afund
ok etrepli sumt.2
Kr~l.klm~lm ok

2

3

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

Hrimnir the Giant,
the
She
the
until
came to where thetheinto theit wasabout. Then hea talk with theand atein her hand and told her to take it toassumed the form of a crow and flew
wason a howe.! She dropped
up andwhatmen, had
and went back to
the2

You must now hear how the queen soon found that she was going toa child, but her condition continued for atime withouttobirth to the child. Then
found it nec:essarv
Catnpal~rn--QIUl1:e a usual
for a king to do-in
As it
Rerir was taken ill on
meant to join Odin, 3 and many
to do.
birth to the child,
was still not free of it.
rernaJlnea uncllanlge4:1, and after six years
She thenshe had not long to live and thereupon orderedthat the child should be cut out ofand what she ordered was done.
It was abethe lad was a fair size when hethatboy kissed his mother before shewasdied. A name was now
to him 4 and he was called Volsung. He
succeeded his father asof Hunland. From an
he was
and
and
that
to
and
courage.
into a mostand luck was onside
in the battles
fought while carnp~llg111nJ~.
Now when he reachedsent his daughter, Hliod,
to him-she has
been
as bringing theto Rerir,
Volsung's father.
now married
They lived
a long time
and their
was a happy one. They had ten sons and one
daughter; theirson was called Sigmund, 6 and their daughter
Signy.8
were twins and in every way the best looking and themost remarkable of King Volsung's children, though, indeed, all ofthem were outstanding, a fact longjust as the Volsungs

to suppose
APlpen,c1lX A.
3 N ot ne(:ess~arlJLY
was cle~lCeltldc:~d4. Glossary s.v.
Introdluct:lon
6 Her r61e is in some ways parallel to
Int:roduct:l0n p. xxxiv.
4

4

VQLSUNGA SAGA

verit otr·kappsmlen.nhversuurn
flestum mQnnum sem
A++, ... ok aIls hattar KaflP2:1rnll.
Sva erat VQlsungr KO)[1UIlgr
hQl1 eina
ok meapeim hretti at ein eik mikil st6a i nOJLllnlnl, ok limar tresins meo fQgrum
b16mum st6au ut urn rrefr
enst60 niar f hQllina,barnstokk.1
ok kQIluau
i"h...

3
konungr heitit. Hann rea fyrirvarkOl[lUIlgr ok fjQlmennr. Hann
a fundkonungs, ok
til handa
tali tekr konungr vel ok sva
synir hans, en
sjalf varbior
fear sinn raoa b sem
QOru pvi sem til hennar
En konunginum syndisk C
raa athana, ok var hon fQstnuo
konungi.
En
erd veizla ok
al takask, skal "'""u·Ynt:J........... konungr
vel.zIIJLna til V QIsungs
via veizlunni
var alhliin, k6mu
·rs konungs at nefndum'ul1"'i1nll('J''!l menn mea
Sva erhQIlinni, en nu
var nefndr.
er menn satu via
urn kveldit, at
inn f hQllina.
maar er mQnnum 6kunnr at
huning, at hannheklu flekk6tta
maar
ok hafoi knYtt Ifnhr6kum at
at barnstokkinum, ok hQtt I siean a h~lrtlh,......... ok
Hannstingr pvi i stokkinn, sva at sveroit sekkr at hjQltum upp. Qllum
mQnnum fellusk kveojur via
mann.]:>a tekr hann til oraa okmrelti:"""i.1f1rn·flrl-:l ....

is(alsofor 01).

1 This is not only an echo of the great world ash,around which,according to Snorri Uansson, SnE 34 ff.) the universe was constmcted and which
to,!,,~red up into the heavens, overshadowing the earth. Bamstock may
ongmally have been an apple tree and an essential element in a fertility cult.

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

4

have
been
for their autocratic inflexibility of . . . . . . . . . . . ""0.7""', andfar ahead of mostas old stories tell, in knc')w;lec1cre.
for
att:aIllmen1ts and in
Q'enc~ra.lIv.
The talethat
ma.gn]LnC~ent hall built, and insuch a way
there was a
its branches withthewhile its trunk
their colour flowers SDlrealdlnlQ'stretched down into theit Barnstock.1
b'l"'\4·b ...."" .... t::. b+h1l"n .. ,...... h3
There was aand was a nl"\':'l:T~t'·+·111
visit toVolsung and
The king was favourably disposed toherself wasit, though she
as he didother mattersit advisable for her to beruled over Gautland 3
of followers.
paid ahand in TY\~t'"t'"t';'In~
as were his sons, but
her father toabout thisher. And the king thought
she was betrothed to King

rtn'l"'rtb ...• ..... "1'1"'n

was . .
of the hall.
Now thegoes that while the men werein thea man came into the hall. It was a man
This is how he was dressed: he had on awas
he wasand had bound his linen breeches round the
The man held a sword in his hand and went up to Barnstock andalow hood over his head; he wasgrey,
and had but oneeye. 4e drew back the sword
plunged it into the trunk, so thatthe sword sank in up to the hilt. No one was able to utter a word of
welcome to the man. Then hetoand these were hiswords:.l .... "',.... .l ...LV ... Jl"'-"'""I"'W"\ ....,...... 1.::1o ....

Its name means « child-trunk'p. 87, l. la, ft., and Introduction
p. xxxv}.
• See Introduction p. xxxv
a i.e. modem Gotland in Sweden.. This is none other than Odin: his appearance is often described in theseor similar tenns.

SAGA

5

or stokkinum,sa
atsanna at aldri bar hann betra sverOmaar tit 6r hQllinni, ok veit
Nti standa
upp ok. '....1.............. sa bezt hafa ernair. SiOan
at QOrum.
Nti kom til Sigmundr,sverainu 6r
ok var
Qllum sva
at engi'"rY'l'YI=J'"'''1''' b honum at vega prju
C'''I,''r'rt1C'lT

sem
perkom aOr f mina hQnd,

4

gengr i rekkju hja
var vear}.>aer vindr
KOltlUllgr letti hann eOa'Eigi vilda ek a brottvio honum, ok veit ek
raoi stendr oss mikill Ot~tgnlao.r,
hann, ' pvf at pat er skQrnm

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

5, The man to pull out this sword
the trunk shallitfrom me as aand he will find out for himself that he never bore in
hand a better sword thanthat the old man went out of the hall and no one knew who
he was or where he wasnow
up, and no one hungback inhold of the sword.
counted himself best off who
it out
Then the most notable among them went up
andthe others, one by one. And not one who went up
suc:ceC:~d.ela, for when they took hold, the sword would not
Then
Sigmund, the son of Kingcame up,the sword andpulled it out oftrunk as if heit
It seemed toeveryone such an excellent weapon that no one thought he had everseen such asword, andtohim out
times
its weight of gold.
c You could have taken it from where it wasas
as I did,if it were right
you to bear it,'
Sigmund, but as it is, myhand was the first it came to, and you'll neverit, even if you offer
all the gold you possess for it ! 'angry at these words and considered that he hadbeenananswer, but since he was ahe
now made as if he didn't mind about this matter,
he thought of how he could pay him
about.
C4

That
as we are told,
with
The next
theweather was
sothat hereturn home andnot wait for the wind toand make the sea
Thedoes not say that King
dissuaded him, nor that his sons did so,
especially when he saw thatwanted only to be off and to leave
the wedding festivities.1
now spoke to her: I don't want to go away with....,.1.1:0,...
.1., nor do I feel at all warmly towards him, and my gift of second
which runs in the family 2 tells me that this business will result ina great deal offor us, unless thisis speedily annulled.'
I You must not speak like that, daughter,heC because it
VI'\IQllT'1lf'1"

C""".&•

6

VQLSUNGA SAGA

vio hann at saklausu, ok
mikil hzai honum ok sva oss atvertrunaa undir honum neef
er brugoit,
mun hannillu oss, slfkt er hanneina at halda
af varrikonungr til heimfer{)ar..
Nli bysk
hooinu,hauo
VQIsungi .kOln.UI121.,
ok sonum
Qllum meo honum avzri til ve~zsemc.ar.
lioi sem hann vildi meo ser hafa ok","" n·nA' ....,.. konlLlnlzr gjalda f
er a skorti
fyrir
er hann vildi
meir vera en eina nott) ok er ekki pat sior
manna atsva. Nliok koma anefndum
konungrmeo konu

5

6

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

would be most shameful for him, and for us, to make void the al?I'eerneIlt
with him without just cause, and if it isthen we can neither
trust him, nor
hisand he will
us back as best hecan, and the only proper
to do is for us toourof therU:I?·n01tn'

now madethe scene of their wed.d.~lnp'theyVolsung, to visit him in Gautland three months'
by all his sons and by asmen as heand asbefit
his state. In this way,
wanted to make up for his lack of
courtesy at the wedding
in nottofor more than
one night, which was not at all the usual way
anyone to U'-'LLav'v.
King Volsung then promised to make theand arrive on theappointed
Then son-in-law andandreturned home with his

5
At the appointed
so thetells us,
Volsung and hissons set off for Gautland inwith their in-law ~ . . . . _~ . _'request. They put off from the land in three
had agood voyage andtheir ships to '-'uu ......
t't7tnn in thelate eVf~n11ng.
That same eVC~nlJnl'l.
dall~h'ter, came to ask
her father and her ,.~1"hl:Jt. oher. She then~."._""·._·n own
had
said that in her OOJlnU)n--lt
In\rlnC~lDle-- And he means to break
got together a
I beg you,'back to your own country
faith with you.
aof men as you can, then
immediately. Get hold of as
than walk into thisfor you'll
return andhim if you don'ttheI desirefind noyou to.'Then King Volsung said: 'All nations will make a byword ofthat while yet unborn I spoke one word and swore an oath thatwould make me run from neither fire nor iron. Up to this moment
I haveaccordingly, and why should I not
to it in old age?
And when the games are on there'll be no young women pointing aatsons forto meet death, for everybody must dienodying the once! And my decision
us act ouras bravely as we can. I
is that we do not run,
have fought on a hundred
sometimes I had aforce,
u..I.I....... ,h ....

...

otlt·..

SAGA

7stundumok hefi ek
ok
at ek flyja ne frioarNuok bao at hon skyldi
VOIISU11P'r

skal

spyrjask

kama til ::;l~~ge:lrs

kOlt1Ullgr svarar: ')Ju skait at visu fara heim til bonda

atta
i geJ~n\lm
a tvrer hendr.
erk()nungr { miori fylkingu
hans tIu, pvf at miklu
alIt lio hans meo honum, nemameira
var I m6ti en
mretti vio standa. Nu eru
hansallir teknir ok i bQnd reknir ok a brott Ieiddir.
varo vQr vio at
hennar var drC~Plnn
hQndum teknir ok til bana raonir. Nu kallar
einmreli. Nu mrelti
vil ek bioja
at pu latirsva skJ6tt
brreorok latio
heldr
stokk, ok kernr mer at
sem mrelt er, at unir
meoan apvi bio ek
at retIa at mer munitjoa.'»a svarar: illr ertu ok orvita er pu bior brreorum pfnum
meira bQIs enseen po skal pat veita
pvi atbetr
pykki mer erpola verra ok hafa lengri kVQI til'
Nu Iretr hann sva gera sem hon bauo,b ok var tekinn einn mikill
stokkr ok felIdr a fretr
tiu brreorum i
ok
sitja
nu
pann
allan til nretr. En at miari nott
yIgr
or
at
er
satu f sto num.
breoi mikil okHenni varo pat
at han bitrtilbana. Sioan at hon c:
upp allan. Eptir pat for hon i brott. En
eptir urn morgininn
sendi Signy mann til brrearapann er hon
truoi
at vita dtitt se. Ok er hann kernr
hann henni
at dauar se einn
Henni potti petta mikit,
skulu sva faranICOlI1n,........

C

tI

V
which is more usual in this general context..

ok V

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

7. . . . . . . . . . . . _.. , but I've
been theor of myfornot to have to goon his men to thesons went
throughsla.shl.ng right andand just
fell in the middle offorhis ten sons, withthan
could stand "~<.l'.I..IJ.Ii:l''''boundmarchedhad been killed and her brothersca{)tulred and sentenced to death. She then
for a
and
then said:
word in, I want to ask you not to havebrothers executed so
havethem put in the stocks instead.
athat fits my case:"the eye that gazes its fill," but I'm not
for them to beany
since I
it wouldc You must beout
your mind to ask a worse
brothers thanput to the'answered _.. .
I'll do as you
the more
suffer and the slower
better I likethen had what she desired carried out, and aof stocks
wasand at a certain spot in the forest the ten
had
their
clamped in, and there
sat all day, and night came on.
And at midnight an old she-wolf came out from the forest to where
they were sitting in the stocks. She wasandWhat
she did was to bite one of them to death, thereupon devour him, and thenaway. The following morning Signy sent her most trusted man tobrothers to find out what had happened. And when he came backhe told her that one of them was dead. She thought it would be terrible
if they were all to go the same way,
she could do nothing to help,,/ rUQ'IlniU•...,... .I. I. ,;;nJ.l,L""... 'Jiio"Jiio,""'....... ,8

VQLSUNGA SAGA

allir, en hon matti ekki
Skj6tt er
fra atNiu nretr isamt komin sarna
urn mianretti ok etr einnsenn til banaunz allir eru dauair, nemaeinn ernu, aar tfunda
n6tt
sendirtrunaaarmann sinn til
br6aur sins,
ok seldi f hQnd honum
mrelti at hann skyldi rfaa a andlit
Sigmundar ok
i munn honum sumt. Nu ferr hann til a
Sigmundar ok
sem honum var boait ok f6r heim siaan.
Urn nottina
su In sarna
at yanda sinum ok
hon vearit af honum,at bita hann til bana sem brrear hans. En nu
par sem hunangit var aok sleikir andlit
allt mea tungu ser
ok rettir sfaan tunguna i munn honum. Hann lretr ser veraa 6bilt okvia
ok hnykkir at ser hart okbeit i tunguna ylginni. Honrak fretrna i stokkinn sva at hann klofnaai alIr i sundr, en hann helt
sva fast at
6r
upp orok fekk af
pvf bana. En pat er
sumra manna at su in sarna
vreri m68ir
Siggeirs konungs ok
hon brugait a sik
likitrollskapar
sakir ok fjQlkyngi.
6

Nu b er Sigmundr lauss
stokkrinn, ok hefsk
Sigmundr par nu via i S.K()g'lllu:nn.
at vita hvat tftt
er eaa hvart Sigmundr lifir. En er
allan
atbur8, hve faritmeaoksegja Signyju hvat tftt er. F6r hon
ok hittir broaur sinn, ok
pau pat raa at hannpar jar8hus i skoginum, ok ferr nu pvf framurn hrfa atleynir honumok frer honum
er hann purfti
at hafa. En
konungr retlar at peir se allir dauair VQIsungar.
Siggeirr konungr atti tva sonu via konu sinni, ok er fra pvi C sagt,
pa er inn ellri sonr hans er tiu
at Signy sendir hann til mots
via Sigmund, at hann skyldi veita honum Ha, ef hann vildi nQkkut
fear sins. Nu ferr sveinninn til
ok kernr
leita via at
sfa urn aptaninn til jar8huss Sigmundar, ok tekr hann via honum vel
at h6fi, ok tll.Zlti at hann skyldi gera til braua
en ek munsrekja eldivia,'---ok selr f hQnd honum
mjQlbeIg, en hann ferr
sjaIfr at scekja viainn. Ok er hann kemr aptr, 1'30 hefir sveinninn ekkiat gert urn brauageraina. Nli spyrr Sigmundr hvart buit se brauait.
ferr hann til"Initial N now

IIj.)eim B" er tiu vettaC

tJrt!'ct!al1U1 ch.

v

OZ).

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

8

them. What happened is soon told: on nine successive nights thatsame wolf appeared at midnight, and each time
killed and ate oneof them until all wereand Sigmund alone
And now,
before the tenth night came, Bigny sent her trusted servant to herbrother, Sigmund.. She had han
him some honey with instructions
to smear it over Sigmund's face and to put some of it in his mouth..
now went off to Sigmund, did what he'd been told to do, and soThat night the same wolf came as usual, Int.en.a.lnl2
death as she had his brothers. But then she sniffed
been smeared on him, and she licked his face all over withand then thrust her tongue into his mouth.. He took heart and bit
the wolf's tongue. At this she gave a violent jerk and strained
wards, pressing hard with her paws
the stocks which as a result
split
But he held on sothat the wolf's
was tornout by the roots, and that finishedAnd someit thatthe wolf was King Siggeir's mother who hadonaccount of witchcraft and6
So Sigmund wasandstocks were broken, but heon in
the woods. Bigny sent
to find out what had happened andwhether Sigmund was alive. And when they arrived he told them all
the details of his encounter with the wolf. Then they returned and told
Signy what had taken place. So she went and foundbrother, andthey decided that he should build an underground retreat in the woods,
and what now happened for a time was that Signy hid him there andprod him withhe needed. And Kingthat all the Volsungs were dead.
King
had two sons by his
and we are told th~t whenthe elder son was ten years old, Signy sent him off to find Sigmund sothat he could help him, should he wish to make any attempt tohis father. So the boy made his way to the forest, and late inevening he came to Sigmund's retreat where he was given a tolerable
welcome and told that he could make bread for them both-' And I'll
go and look for firewood.' And handing him a bag of flour, Sigmund
himself went to look for the wood. But when he came back the lad had
still done nothing about making the bread. Then Sigmund asked
whether the bread were ready.

VQLSUNGA SAGA

9

ek at
Hann
nQkkut kykt
Nu pykkisk
vita at
at hann viIi hann mea ser hafa"ermundr at hann p6tti
manni at nrerr, bott ~)ve:ln]n.lnln
mrelti: 'Tak pu hannok'
Iengr atOks
hann"
Nli liar a sja vetr. Ok einum vetri siaar
son sinn a fundok
sem samt
at hann drap

pVl atIa

7

sat i skemmu
mjQk.
talar
hon sva

nu i rumfinnr
Nti erok biarveita
sk6ginum uti, ok veit ek
Hann mrelti at hon
einni konu, ok p6ttisk vita at ebeina attil hans" Nli ferr
fmatar.
varl) opt Utit til hennar ok
konan vrenfria.
En er pau eru mett,hann
at hann vill at pau hafi eina
rekkju urn n6ttina, en hon
ekki via pVl, okhann hana hja
ser prjar nretr samt. Eptir
ferr hon heim ok
seiakonuna okbal) at prer skipti aptr litum, ok sva
hon"
Ok er' fram liau stundir,hsveinbarn. Sja
varh01""h.c.....IY ..

1J7e'cea:,nJl ch"

it wasthe exact

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS9( I didn't
touch the' he replied, 'was something alive in the flour.'Then Sigmund thought to himself that he could see that the lad was
not so plucky that he'd want tt?
him
The next time
Sigmund and his sister met, he said he seemed no nearer toaman, even though the boy waswith him.
C Then seize and kill him,'no need for him
to liveAnd
what he did.
The winterand the next wintersent the younger son
towith Sigmund, but there's no need to make a long story of it,
as the upshot was much the same: he killed the boy at Signy's bidding.

7

next thing to be told is how Signy was
private quarters when ahighly skilled into her there. Then Signy spoke to her:C I should like the two of us to' 2 she said..
, Whatshall be' the sorceress replied, and then by
her arts
brought about an
of
and
that
the sorceress took Signy's place as she wasto do. That night she
slept with theand he didn't notice that it wasn't
who waswith him.
Signy, we are now told, went to her brother's retreat and asked him
to give her shelter for the
For I am lost here in theandI don't know where I'm going.'
He said she could stay there, and that he would not refuse her
shelter, all alone as she was, and he felt that she would not repay his
hospitality by
him away. So she joined him in the shelter andthey sat down to a
He often glanced at her and she appeared to
be a good-looking and attractive woman. And when they weresatisfied, he told her that he wanted them to sleep together that night.
She made no objection and for three nights in succession he laid her
next to him. Mterwards she went back and found the sorceress, told
her that they must now change back to their own shapes again, and thewoman saw to it.
And after some time had passed, Signy gave birth to a SOD. The

SAGA

10

mikill ok sterkr
aUra tiu vetra er
pa raunvio
at hon saumaoi at
meo holdi okpolou ilIa ok kriktu urn. Okhon
Hann brask ekki via.
fl6 hannaf
IJI"·u'......
sva atermunum. Hon
honum mundu
sart vio veroa. Hann
, Lltit mundi sllkt sart
sveinninn til
Vl'-"UU,J::.J..'Ok nu
lt1n''I1r''Y'\:,jl~rmlJn(lr hann knooa

6r mjQlifrer I hQnd honum einnhann komible~mlln(lr ef hann,hafi i verit nQkkut
er mer 2'rtlnl~austt
kykt i mjQlinu, fyrst er ek t6k at
ek meo knooat
er I var.'
mrelti Sigmundr ok hl6 vio: (pik hafa mat af
brauoi i kveld
athefir pli knooat meo inn mesta eitrorm.'
bl~[mlln(lr var sva mikill
ser at hann matti eta
sva at hannen SinfjQtla
atkremi utan a hann, enII
hlyddi honum at eta ne

8}>at b er nu at
pykkir SinfjQtli oftil hefnda meo
ser ok vill nu
hann meo nQkkut
Fara nu urn
sumrum vioa urn
okmenn tilser. Sigmundihann mjQk i rettokhyggr hann at hann se sonr :,jU!l!e:lrs
konungs, okhann hafa illsku fear slns,t: en kapp VQIsunga, ok
retiar hannrnjQk frrendrrekinn pvi at II hann minnir opt Sigmund asina harma
mjQk at e drepa
konung.
Nli er l'at elt1thv'ert sinn at peirenn a sk6ginn at afla ser fjar,
now almost,. 01

v. B adds mann

Sigmundr fom f

fJ.'1endrrekinn.

C he of the ash. (literally C cinder ') gold fetter) J
wolf', though
tli may be a variant of Germanica later addition for alliterative purposes (in OE

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

10

boy was called Sinfjotli,l and when he grew older he was tall, strong
and handsome, and took
the Volsung family very markedly, andhe wasten
old when she sent him to join Sigmund in his
retreat.
her first two sons to Sigmund, she had subtest: she sewed their tunics on to theirmitted them to thearms, stitching through skin and
They stood up to it badly, andscrleanlea as it was being done. She did the same to Sinfjotli. He did
not flinch. Then she stripped the tunic from him, so that the skin cameoff with theand said that this would hurt him.
C No Volsung would think much of a pain like that,' was the reply,
and so the lad came to Sigmund.
Sigmund then told him to use their flour to make dough, sayingthat he would go and look for firewood for them, and nded him asack.
then went to fetch the wood, and when he came backSinfjotli had finished baking. Then Sigmund asked if he had foundanything in the flour.
e I'm not at all sure that there wasn't something alive in the flour
when I first started kneadi ,'he said, e but I kneaded in whatever was
there.'
Sigmund laughed at that and said: C I don't think you'll eat any ofthis bread tonight, for you've kneaded in a huge poisonous snake.'
Sigmund was so' hardy that he could take poison and yet come to noharm. But though Sinfjotli was able to stand outward contact withpoison, he could neither eat nor drink it.

8
The story now tells how Sigmund thought Sinfjotli too young to gowith him in search of vengeance, and decided he would first gain him
and determination. For someexperience in something that called forsummers they roved far and wide through the forest and killed people
for plunder. Sigmund thought that he took after the Volsungs, andmarkedly so, but he believed him to be King Siggeir's son withhis
her's evil inclinations, even if he did have the keenness andenergy of the Volsungs; although he did not imagine he felt very
attached to his family, for he often reminded Sigmund of his wrongs
and kept urging him to kill King Siggeir.
Now one day they went again to the forest in order to find themhe is called simply • Fitela " see Introduction p. xii) and his name could thus
reflect his incestuous origin.

SAGA

II

i husinu
pvf at Ulran~lrn:lr
rnattuor;'jl~~mlln(lr foru i hamina ok
sem aor var, 16tu okok amea ser at peir skuli
en sa lata C ulfsrQdd er""..:l'.I.lr.V""Y.L.L.L..........,. . .L.L......... ,1Sr,e2'(:)uln nu
af
at pu ert ungr
ok araeOllstullr. Munu menn
til at veioa'
Nu ferr sina leio hvarr
er peir varu skiloir, finnr
cl menn ok laetr
Ok SinfjQtli
okalla.
enn. Ok er SinfjQtli.I.' finnr hann ellifu 9 menn ok bersk vio pa,
allay Hann verar ok sarr
ferr undir
at ok..:l'..D..'''s;;.... JL ......

,&:~.L.L.......... _lio tilekTHE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGSII

riches, andcame to a cabin, and in the cabin there were twomen
An evilhad overtaken them,for there werethem in the cabin. They
could shed the skins once
ten
They were princes. Sigmund
and Sinfjotli
into theand could notout of them againthe strange power wasjust asthey even howled likewolves, both understanding what was being said. They now went off
into the woods,of them his own way, but they made an arrangement thatwould risk it against up to seven men, but not against
more, and if one of them should meet with trouble, then he was to howl.
C And let's keep to that,' said Sigmund, (you are a young
dare-devil people will think it grand to hunt down.'
Then theywent off on their own. And after they had separated,
Sigmund came across seven men and howled with his wolf's voice.
Sinfjotli heard it, wason the spot, and killed all of them.
Theyonce more. And fore Sinfjotli had been roving about
the forest
he encountered eleven men and fought with them,and thewas that he killed them all.
too, was badly hurt,
got under an oak and rested there. Then Sigmund came up and said :, Why didn't you call out? ', I didn't want to call on you for help,' said Sinfjotli. C You were
help in killing seven men, yet I'm no more than a child comparedand I didn't call for help to kill eleven.'
went for him so violently that heand fell.
Sigmund bit him in the throat. That
they wereto shed thewolf skins. Sigmund then hoisted him over his shoulder and carriedhim back to the hut, and watched over him, and wished the wolf skins
to the devil. 1
One day Sigmund chanced to see two
and one bit the otherin the throat, then ran to the woods andaand laid it on
the wound, and the weasel leapt up well again. Sigmund went out andsaw a raven flying
with a leaf which it brought to him. This hedrew across Sinfjotli's wound and he immediately jumped up quite
rec:ov~~reld. just as if he had neverhurt. Mter that they went totheir underground lair and stayed there until they could throw off' the

12

VQLSUNGA SAGA

skyldu fara or ulfhQmunum. J>aa ok brenna I eldi ok baou
engum at meini veroa. Ok I peim oskQpum b unnu
mQrg
f'1-o:s:.nn'r:l,"·u'A1-1T I riki ~l~~ge:lrs KOllUILgS.
hann
er SinfjQtli er trumv'axl:1.
toc.urJnerno:a, ef sva
Nu liarel nlnttver'n dag ok
inn i forstofuna
ok leynask
eru ok viII hitta
Ok er pau finnask,rQ()urne][nCla er nattaoi.
at aldri. J>au leika ser a
1-.. n1'... o .... ok hlaupasem
Sigmundr eru,Nu ser hann hvarmenn miklir ok grimmligir ok hafa
hjalma ok hvitar brynjur. Nu
hleypr hann i hQUina innar
fear sinn okhonum hvat hannhefir set. Nu grunar konungr at vera munu svik via hann.
heyrir nu hvat
Hon stendr upp, tekr bQrnin b~oi okutar i forstofuna til
ok ~lti atskylduvita athefoi
til r.JelTH.-rreo ek ykkr at
Sigmundr':bQrn pin, pott pau
til min.'
En SinfjQtli let ser ekkiokdrepr
hV~irt1tve{fg'la barnit ok
innar I hQUina
konung.
Konungr stendr nu upp ok heitr a menn at taka 1'30 menn er leynzk
hQfou I forstofunni um kveldit. Numenn utar pangat ok vilja
hQndla pa, en
verja sik vel okok pykkisk pa sa verst
hafa lengi er nrest er. Ok urn sioir veroa
ofrlioi bornir ok veroa
handteknir ok pVI nrest i bQnd reknir ok {ok sitja
1'a n ott alIa.
Nu hyggr konungr at fyrir
hvern dauoa hann skal fa
er kenndi lengst. Ok er morginn kom,lretr konungr
gera af grj6ti ok tom. Ok er pessi haugr er gerr, pa let hannhellu
hellunnar horfoi upp, en
mikla I miojan hauginn, sva at annarr
h o l l ....

arolttJJ)tn V

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

12

wolf skins.
them andthem to the flamesshould trouble no one
ile under that curse t
out
And
the
that he'dtested him thoroughly.
it wasn't long
Sigmund wished to
set abouthis
if only it could be done. So one
left their forest retreat,to King Si eir's estate late in thenoon, andwent into the outer room at the front of the hall. Insidewere some ale barrels and they hid themselves there. Now thequeen
to know where they were, and wanted to go and see them, andwhenmet, they decided that they would attempt to avenge theirfathernightfall.
and thehad two children of tender years. They werearnlusllng themselves on the floor withplaythings, bowling themalonghall floor andafter
And a goldrolledout into the room where Sigmund and his companion were, and thelad rantheto look for it. And then he spied two tall, fierce..
men sitting
helmets which came down low over
theirand shining coats of mail. Then he ran back into the hallto his father and told him what he had seen. So thesuspectedthat there mustafoot. Now
heard what they
She stood up, took bothand went into the outer room to themand said that they ought to know that the children had
them. ."""""' ............'fiOo.

I think you had better kill them.'
I'll not kill your children, even if they have given me away,' said
Sigmund.
But Sinfjotli was nothing daunted.
drew his sword and killed
both the children, throwing them into the inner part of the hall rightin front of ng
Then thestood up and called to his
retainers to seize
men who had been hiding in the outer room
throughout the
So some of his men ran to the outer room,
intending to lay hands on them, but they p up an able and COllra2e()US
Qel~en(:e and for a long time the man who felt he was the worst
wasthe one nearest them. But in the end they were overpowered,and then bound and shackled, and there they sat all that night.
Meantime the king pondered what would be the slowest way heknew of putting them to death, and when morning came, the king had
a huge burial-mound made out of stones and turf, and when the moundwas
he had astone slab fixed in the middle in such a waythat one end of thepointed up and the other down. It was big
C13

VQLSUNGA SAGA

annarr ni{}r. Hon var sva mikil at hon t6k
matti komask
henni. Nu lretr hannokhvarn
verra at vera
ba8um saman, en
varu athauginn, pa
ser ok kastar i hauginn til SinfjQtla
ja pvi, ok er
lokit
hauginum.
pa mrelti SinfjQtli til ~l{!:mUlnd~arEkkiokkr mat skorta urn hri{}fleski inn i hauginn ok v
urn utan halmi.'
Ok enn prhann urn fleskit ok finnr at
var stungit i sver8i
Sigmundar, ok kenndi at hjQltunum er myrkt var i hauginum, ok
Sigmundi.
gnaba(}ir. NuSi
tli b16{}reflinum
ofan helluna okhitr helluna. Sigmundrnu
hla8refilinn, ok ristu nu i milli sin helluna ok letta eigi fyrr en lokit er
atsem kve8it er :t:(1) Ristu af
mikla hellu
Sigmundr hjQrvi
ok SinfjQtli.

ok
Ok nu eru
lausir ba{}ir saman i hauginum okjarn tI ok komask sva ut ar ha1ugllnum.
)leir
nu heim til h-:.III-:. ...•......
i svefni allir.
vii} gufuna):>eir heraat hQllinni ok
er inni eru, ok
at hQl1in
KonUlruzr spyrr hverir
eldanaeru vit SinfjQtli, systursonr minn,' sagi}i Sigmundr, ok retlum
vit nu at pat skulir pu vita at
eru allir VQIsungar dau{}ir.'
Hann hii}r systur sina ut bok
af honum
metor{} okmikinn s6ma ok viII sva hretasina
Hon svarar: Nu
ltu vita hvart ek hefi munat
konungi
drap VQIsungs konungs. Ek let drepa bQrn okkur er mer p6ttu ofsein til fQi}urhefnda, ok ek far i sk6g til pin f vQI liki, ok er SinfjQtli
okkarr sonr. Hefir hann af pvi mikit kapp at hann er bre8i sonarsonr
ok d6ttursonr VQlsungs konungs. Hefi ek par til unnit alia hluti at'1·..."1'1*

t:

t:

torn,

above haug mikinn af

ok torn01).

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

13

enough totoround it.
he had ~lE~mtLntl
put
the mound, one on
would be worse for them if
the less hear each other.
while
were
mound withcame up with an armful straw.
threw
it into the mound toand told the serfs to conceal this fromthe king.
said
would do so, and then the mound wasclosed in.
Now when it, I don't think
threw down someOnce more het thesword had been thrust into
dark in the mound, and he told ~l~~mlun.l.
Then Sinfjotli thrust theofsword up over the stonepulled down hard. The sword bit into the stone.
now tookholdthe sword point, and thensawed through the stone, notup until thewasas thesays:(1)

cut withthe massive slab,t)lE;mtlntl with his bladein the mound, andsawed
So both were now freestones andtoo,in this way
out of the mound.
then went back to the hall where everyone wasbroughtwood to the hall and set fire to the wood, and those
wereby the smoke and the hall all ablaze above them. The
king asked who had started the fire.
e
re we are, myself and Sinfjotli, my sister's son,' said :=51~~ml11n(1,, and now we intend you to know that not all the Volsungs are
He told his sister to come out and receive from him
COrlSl(ler~ltion, and high esteem,in this way to make up forshe hadsuffered.
C You'll know now whether or not I haveKing Siggeir's
killing of King Volsung
him! ' she
C and I had ourchildren killed when they seemed to me all too tardy in ave:n2:ln2
father, and in the shape of some sorceress I came to you in
and Sinfjotli is your son, and mine. His immense vigour comes frombeing King Volsung's grandson on his father's as well as his mother's............, ..... u.c;;. ......

14

SAGA

konungr skyldifa.
ek ok sva mikit til unnit atkremisk hefndin, at mer er mea engum
11ft. Skalnumea
er ek atta hanninn fhon ::il~~mlUn(1t br60ur sinn,
S10an fekk hon
eldinn okvelokhiro sinni.
frrendr fa ser Iia ok
sinnar ok rekr or landi
sezk
konung.
okvitr ok storraar.
Hann atti]Jau attu tva sonu.
etannarr, en annarr
Ok er
var
k6mu til nornir
ok veittu honum formata ok mreltu at hann skyldi veroa aUra kOl:lUIl2:a::ilj;l~mlln(lr var
kominn fra orrostu ok
meo einum
her meahann honum
3 nafnt1rln~!st:aOl ok
5 ok
hann
Hann
ok
flestum mQnnum
at allriathann
er hann var fimmtan vetra
Varkonungr yfir lioinu, en SinfjQtli var
til mea honum, ok reoubaoir lioi.
_...jiii"jiii,"'.........

J.

9]Jat a er
atfinnr pann K011Ul1Lg
Hann var
konungr ok fjQlmennr
reoorrosta meookHelgi fastok lyksk mea
bardagi atfrer
en Hundingr konungr felIr ok mikill hluti
lias hans. Nu pykkir
hafa vaxit mikit, er hannfellt sva e
rlkan
Synir
nu ut her i m6t
ok vilja
hefna fQour
peirorrostu, ok gengr
gegnumTHE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS.... ,,.,c....-.r,,+h'll _ _ I have done has been to
death.
I
done so much to achieve vellgeanc::eliving is out of the _.... ,c.C'l+t__ I shall now
reluctant though I was to
him.'
Then
kissed her .......r.+ ...... ~.._ btgrnuJtld, and Sinfjotli, and waJlkllll2
into the inferno she bade em
and
she
with
and all his men.
"I"\&:Io1,.... Clt"'l:I>rI

The~o

atoJJ~owm~

set off for his an<:es1:ral
who hadthere
Sigmund now became a powerfulambitious. He married a woman
had two sons,was one and l1amUlnd
was born, the Norns 1 a010~Lre(1"his destiny,
that
Sigmund had
fromandgarlic 2 he went to see his son, and thereupon
Helgi, 3 and his
4 for the occasion were t1rlnE~stalOlr
and a sword,
he told him he muston inand be a real
Volsung.
into a noble-minded and \vell-Ioved man, and his
talents in every
outstripped those of most others. It is told that
he went
when he was fifteen years old.
was inofthe troops, but Sinfjotli was put in with
thecommand between them.

9
We are now told that while on acame across awith men at
king whose name was Hunding. 6 He was a powerful
his command and lands under his sway. 7 Battle ensued
themand Helgi pressed on vigorously, and the battle ended with Helgi
victorious, Ki Hunding falling with apart of his following. So
Helgi was held to have greatly increasedby the killing of sucha powerful king. Hunding's sons then called out an
Helgi, meaning to avenge their father. They had a violent
andHelgi fought his way through the brothers' serried ranks and made for.. Hunding is known as a Norwegian king in J:I·la~tev:,arl)(JR.. and as the son of
the Saxon king, Syrik, in Suo Grammaticus.
7 Thus emphasising that Hunding was nowhose authority did not extend beyond his army orSAGA"f'Y\A,....

17'1·I'~ sona Hundings kO][lUI12S ok

Hervaro okokeinn konur
riou mea
var. Enhon

ass en drekka mea
svarar: '?'Han svarar: 'heitit mik Hoddbroddi, syni
Granmarsheitit at ek vii
hann heldren einnframnema pilhonum ok komir f mot honum mea
ok nemir mik a brott, pvi at
KOlnulllgl viIda ek heldr setr bila en mea
'
hann.
vh
ok reyna skulum vit clar,mea

at stefna at ser
Beia Heltil pesstil hans mikit lia
skipum ok storum.
i konungr
SKl,ps1tl01rnaLrrrlan~n sinn er Leifr 4ok
ef hann
En hann svarar :
er
at
skip
or NQrvasundum.
pusundir manna, ok er
fleira annat.'mreltiatskyldu snila a pann fjQra er
VarinsfjQrar,osva
peir. Nilat peim storm mikinn oksva st6ran sj6 at 6
var likast at
er bylgjur gnnau a boraunum,semer bjQrgum
baa pa ekki 6ttask oksviptaseglunum, heldr]:>a var via sjalft atmundi... VJiiO.... '-I...., ......

G

thus

6 thus

01
om.

IS

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

theof
Hunding's sons. Of
sons he struck down
the following: Alf,andand in this he wonan outstanding
And on his
the battle
near aappearance was Im'Dre~SSlVetstood out amongall. They wereasked the woman who wasthem what
namewas, and she said she was called
and that she was the dalljlhterof King« Comewith us, and' said«Drinking with you is not the business we have ahead of us,' said
the princess then.
«What is that,? ' wasanswer.
« King«has promised me intono
Hoddbrodd,son, but I have vowed to havemore than I'd have acrow as a husband-but it will none theless come to that, unless you stop him and comehim with anarmy and take me away, for there is no king I would rather make ahome with than with you.',, he said. «We shallout ourthan have you married to him, and we shallprove which
us shallthe other, and I
my life to this.'Andmenmoney to invite people
to join him, andRaudabjorg thepoint for the whole
There
waited until abody of men joined him fromand thenjoined him anumber from Norvasund 8 with fineships.
Helgi summoned the ship's captain-his name was
4 -an dhe had counted their numbers, andhe replied:, It's not easy to countOn the ships come from Norvasundare twelve thousand men, but the other force is far'
then ordered them to turn into the firth
fjord, Ii anddid so. And then a heavy storm hit them: the sea
was so high that when the waves roared against the sides of the ship,
it sounded just as if boulders wereclashed together. Helgi thentold them not to be afraid, and not to strike sail, but instead to hoist
each of them higher thanwere then on the verge of
1-l1=i."r":r·'l'f"'rt,...n'l'I't".... I"I'A., A common enough name.
which may be a reference
I Unidentified, perhaps walrnC~mlJnCle

33°·

16

svfnum ok hundum ok pu flnnr konu
01S1unJ;rar t ok mun her hittask f liainu
konungrmea

mQnnuID, er
IDuna nu er pu vart vQlvan 6 f
kaust mik til
atlir:anlnalrr svarar: C Mart kanntu
Ek hygg at
mrettir pu vera sfaan pu vart
af dretrum jQtunsins a vr~lsnleSl,ertu stjupsonr
konungs ok latt a mQrkum uti mea VOlrQ'lllm..
k6mu per Qll 6hQPP senn at hendi. ]>u drapt brrearok
at illu kunnan.'
SinfjQtli svarar: 'Hvart mantu C pat er pu vart merrin mea
hestinumok reia ek
a skeia a Bravelli? 12 Sfaan vartu
Q'eltasvel.nn GQlnis jQtuns.' 13"'bkvezk Vmattu Vand the two following

contain the

UnideJntitied, seelrnlrlLulv connected with VarinsjfQrar, cf. n. 5, p. IS.

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

16

IOllnClLerlln2' before
could make land. Thend.alugJlter, came down to the shore with aharbour called
The Inh,abltan'ts
wasand
the shore camebrother who
known as :;v~ar1l1SJJlau;g-.
to them and asked
who was in command of that
Sinfjotli stood up, and on his head was a helmet that shone
and he wore a coat of mail asas snow, awith a fine'Pe]rm~lnt was in his hand and before
he held a
inlaid withknew how towithwhen youandand you meet yourVolsungs arecan be found here with
if oddbrodd wants tohim, and it is histothe fire.'
while
kiss
seem
to
or talk of old
men of" answered Granmar. 3
who tell lies
, It'struer tothat you have
fed on wolf's fare out
in theand haveyourand it is eXl:ra()ralln~rrv
that you who have sucked the blood of many a cold corpse should
to come in an army with decent men.'
the time you were the, You
won't now remember
Sibyl6 on
Sinfjotli,
you desired amate andof husband. And later on
were awere all on the point of
becauseva rie 8 inofand innine wolves on you, and was theof them'You're aGranmar. 'I don't think
could beyou were castrated by theaal12'tltelrs on
and you areroamed abroad with wolves in theandaes~cellae:a on you at once. You killed youran evil name.', Do you remember the time you were the mare with the steed' and I rode you at full llop on Bravoll ? 12
, Sinfjotli
Later you were the
18 Golnir's'

17

VQLSUNGA SAGA

, Fyrri vilda ek

Granmarr
via pik]>afugla a hrrei pfnu en deila(; Betra a vreri ykkr ok meira snllaH:rre4:U at
SK<:tmln b er at
ok ekki eru lir;anJnalrS
vinir minir, enern
harair menD.'
til fundar via Hoddbrodd 1 konung par
Granmarr riar nu brottheita
ok Sveggjuar.. peirsem heita S6IfjQIl.2
honum
Hoddbroddr kO][lUllgr
mrettusk i borgarhliai okspyrr hverir
var f brynju ok hafai hjalm asva reiauligir ? ', Eaa hv! eru: 'Her eru komnir VQIsungar ok hafa tolf pusundir
manna via landsjau pusundir via eyer SQk 3 heitir, ensemheitirGrindum 4 er po mestr fjQIl)i, ok
nu at
muni
nu
vi\ja.'
Konungrboa urn alIt vart riki ok srekjum { motvill. Sendum orl)
6 sonum
peim. Siti saokbalroa,e:aJme:nn miklir.'
Fun
hQra orrosta.
mannfall. ]>asva sem f loga 8 srei. )Jar var
konungr s6tti f mot Hoddbroddi KOlrlU][lJ!l................1 l..I. ........... ,ki. Skipt mun nu
tlDlaCLaJ!r, ok muntu fa af
veg ok10

VQIsungar C

nu heim ok hafa enn mikit aukit sitt

SinfjQtli

1JTe·cear,ng ch.
1 See pp. 14, n. 3, IS,

a Substituted for sogn

for PE(that fonn a harbour), wroI
Hring was the nephew oftovanquished his uncle at the......_......"",- a certain Alfhild, a descendent& Substituted~, .f"',AU""..

C

within the stakes'
who was reputed
p. 16, n. 12), heappears with him

VV 8lT-'[,OOl:n

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

I would rather
birds on your carcase than wrangle with you, said Lrrarurna:r.
It would be better forboth and a more sensible plan to fight,'
said
then, '
than
things that are shameful to hear,and Granmar's sons are no friends
hardy men though they are.'to a meeting with King Hoddbrodd 1 at a
Granmar now rodeednames
their horses were Sveipud andand he was told of the
met at the castle
Hoddbrodd wasin mail and a helmet was onhead.
who they were, And why are you looking so?', The Volsungs are here withthousands men just off shore,and seven thousand off the island of Sok,' 3 said
' but theirprobably means to
is offso I think thatC

, Then let us send a summons throughout all our kingdom,' said
the'and marchNoat home for those whowish to! Let us send word tosons and to
Hogni
and tothewarriors.'
met at aand there a fierce battle began.
nrc::~ssc::~a forward through the enemy
Casualties became
saw aof warrior-maids 7; it was like
Sigrun,daughter, was there. King
Hoddbrodd
struck him down beneath his
C My thanks for thist said Sigrun then.
C The lands will
now change hands. This is a happy day for me, and from this you will
win honour and renown, striking down so powerful a king.'King
took over the kingdom and lived there long. He married
Sigrun, becoming aand distinguished king, but he does notappearin this saga.

10

So the Volsungs returned home and once more they had considerably
Slllt.lla~~ (lit. C shield...maiden ') was a maiden anned for battle, cf.

and p. 69 where Gudrun sides with her
The tenn was sometimes used of valkyries.

highly polished armour.

18

VQLSUNGA SAGA

nu i hernaa af nYju. Hann
eina
konu
ok br6air
er atti Sigmundr
rna,! mea orrostu, ok fellir SinfjQtli
nu vioaaorrostur ok hefir
+....
ok
tastr
kemr heim urn haustit mea
SJ{l'DUln okfe.
feor sinum tl(j~en,aul,brott or rikinu ok
sja hann.
hann i brott fara ok byor at breta henni 1 mea
pott hann hefoi engan a fyrri brett mann; kvaa
vio konur. Hon rna nu
a leiaHon
skuluosamir.'
Honnu erfi broour sins mea
byr nuveizlumeo inurn beztum
ok bauostormenni. Borghildr
bar mQnnum
kernr
mea miklu horni.
HonDrnu, stjupsonr.. 'Hann t6k vio ok sa i hornit ok
GjQrottr er
C Fa mer) Hann drakk af.
Hvi skulu aorir menn
Hon kom f annat sinn mea hornit s ') okoroum.. Hann
vio horninu ok.n:::a.rrn11-....

I

I

I

It
hann
af ef hann hefoi hug
VQlsunga.
Si jQtli tok via horninu ok
er i drykknum.'
Sigmundr svarar, ' Latsonr,' sag6i hann. ]:>a var konungr
drukkinn mjQk, ok pvi
hann sva. SinfjQtli
ok fellr
nior. Sigmundr riss upp okharmr sinn nrer bana ok t6kiok kom Ioks at einum fi . par sa hann mann 3
ser ok ferr tilabati litlum.
maor
ef hann vildi
at honum
yfir fjQroinn. Hann
var sva litit at pat bar
var likit
en Sigmundr
mea firainum. Ok pvi nrest
Gengum B

under mora.
the house to...... c;"""""~"'.Jt ... 'Juu."...... """ ... 11. 612 if.. ).
t

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

18

added to their reputation. Sinfjotli went off
He saw a
woman and desired herbrother of
Sigmund's wife, was also
this woman's hand infought a battle over theirand Sinfjotli
king
He now went raiding over a widearea, fought many battles and was always victorious. He became amost famous and distinguished man and returned home that autumn
with anumber of ships and wealth inHe
his father the news, and his
told the queen. She
ordered Sinfjotli tothe realm and said that she had no wish tosee him. Sigmund declared he would not allow him toandtoherl with gold andthough previously
he had never paid compensation to anyone.
said there was no distinction to be won in choosing towith a woman. So she was
not able toher own way in the matter.
( Yours must be the decision,that is only proper', she said.
Then, with the king's consent, she set about theforherfuneralproviding the best of food andand sheinvitedimportant men to it. Borghild carried the drink round tothe men. 2
came to Sinfjotli with a large
horn and said:'Now drink,'
He took the horn,in and said:, The drink is, Give it to me,
said Sigmund. He drank it'Why should other people drink ale for you ?' said the queen.
She came atime with the horn.
, Drink now,' she said, and roundly jeered at him. He grasped thewith.'
horn and said: 'The drink has been
it to me, then,' said Sigmund.
She came a third time and told him to drain the horn if he had thecourage of the Volsungs. Sinfjotli
the horn and said: 'This
drink has been poisoned.', Strain it through your moustache, my son,'
Sigmundin reply. The king was very drunk at the time, and that is why hespoke as he did. Sinfjotli drank and immediately collapsed. Sigmund
rose to his
almost succumbing to his
and he took the bodyin his arms and went to theand eventually came to a firth.
There he saw a man 8 in a small boat. The man asked if he wanted to
be ferried across the firth. He said he did. The boat was so smallthat it would not hold them, and the body was taken first, Sigmund
walking alongside the firth. The next instant the ship vanished from

SAGA::il,rmllln(11 skipit ok sva maarinn.1 Ok
pat snyr Sigmundr heim,
nu 1 brottok litlu
ar do hon. Sigmundr konungr
rrear nu enn rlki sfnu
pykkir verit hafa inn mesti kappi ok konungr f
fornum sil).

IIa 2 hefir konungr heitit, rlkr ok
Dottir hans het HjQrdls,
kvenna vrenst ok vitrust. Ok pat spyrr Sigmundr konungr at hon
var via hans cel)i eaa
ella.
Sigmundr scekir
veizlu 1 mothonum mikla ef hann hefl)i
nu boamilli at mea vinsema var nu
enherskap. Veizlavar ger mea inurn
fQngum ok
miklu fjQlmenni. Sigmundi
konungi var hvarvetna settok annarr
Koma nu til
veizlu ok skipa
konungar eina hQIL
var ok kominn Lyngvi
konungr, sonr Hundings konungs, ok vill hann ok mae~n~askkonung. Hann 3 pykkisk
atmunu
hafa eitt
ok vita at
mun af peimer
Nti mrelti
via dottur
mrelt atmann kj osa.
mitt raa
urn semer.'konungHon svarar, ' Vantmer petta mal, en
kys ekmjQk aldrierhann
er, ener Sigmundr konungr,
orpinn.
f6r f brott. Sigmundr
Ok var hon honum
kV~ln~~a().lsk ok fekk
Var
annan
Qarum betr veitt eaa
mea meira kappi.
f6r Sigmundr konungr heim f Hunalandok limi konungr,
via honum ok gretir nu rOOs sins.
nuatok
Lyngvi konungr ok brcear hansnu a hSigmundi konungi, I at peir hQfau jafnan minna hlut or
malum, tt petta biti nu fyrir. Vilja peir nu fyrir koma kappi VQIsunga.
Koma nu 1 Hunaland ok senda Sigmundi konungi orl) ok v ·a eigi
stelask a hann, en pykkjask b vita at hann mun eigi flYja. Sigmundra The bTe~cetJritul

01).

b thusEllis, p. 44) that this episode is one of thein a land of the dead across the sea. See,but nothing is known of him.

19

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

Sigmund's
and with it the man. Mer this Sigmund returned
home and he now bani
queen, who soon afterwards died. King
Sigmund now ruled hisasand he is thought of as the
1?reate:st and most valiant
in heathen times.
1

II

named
His daughter's......................,. . . and the most intelligent
that she and none othertoo.'( I don't find this easy,' she replied, ' but I'll choose the king who
has therenown, and that is King Sigmund, even though he iswell on in years.'
So it was to him she was given, andSigmundtaking Hjordis as his wife.
better and with more zest than the day
Mterwards
Sigmund returned to Hunland, and King Eylimi, his father-inlaw, with him, and he saw to his kingdom.
But now King Lyngvi and his brothers gathered an army about themand moved
King Sigmund, for they
always had the worst
ofit, but this was the last straw. They now meant to dampen the ardourof the Volsungs. So they arrived in Hunland and sent word to King
Sigmund, not wishing to take him by surprise, and being confident that
he wouldn't run from them. King Sigmund said he would
battle.
6

20

VQLSUNGA SAGA

konungrkoma mundu til orrostu. Hann dr6 saman hert en
HjQrdisi var ekit til
via eina ambatt, ok mikit fe f6r mea peim.
Hon varmeoan
Vikingar hlj6pu
skipum via ""J'tn,~n her. Sigmundr konungr ok
settu upp merki sin ok vari lu()ra. Sigmundr konungr
lretr nu via kve()a sitt horn er fa{}ir
haf{}ioksina menn.
Haf()i Sigmundr Ii() miklu Minna.
nu hQr{} orrosta, okhann nu hart ok var
Sigmundr vreri
sinna manna.
hvarki via honumfli{} ovina sinna aapeira f milIum. Mart spj6t var
sva hIff()u honum hans spadfsir 1 at hann varo ekki
ok en kunni
tQl hversu margr ma()r fellhonum. Hann haf{}i ba()ar hendrb16{}gar til axlar.
Ok er orrosta a hafoi staoit urn hrlo,
kom maar 2 f oar'aa~!'an,n mea
sl()an hQtt ok heklu bla. 3 Hann hafoi eitt auga ok)Jessimaor kom a m6t
ok bra upp
hann. bOk er Sigmundr
kom sveroit
ok brast isundr f tva hluti.
sneri
ok varukonungi
horfin heiII, ok fell mjQk lioit
hlifoi ser ekkiok
mjQk liOit. Nu er sem
margnum.

12

fc

orrostu fell Sigmundrhans,
i Qndverori fylkingu ok mestr hluti
Lyngvi konungr
nu til K.O]llUllgs0(f~larlns
konungsd6ttur, en pat brask honum. Fekk
hvarki konu
Hann ferr nu yfir landit ok
par sinum mQnnum rikit.
ykkisknu hafa drepit alia rett VQIsunga ok retiar dmunu purfa e at
6ttask heoan fra.
HjQrdis gekk i valinn eptir orrostuna urn n6ttina ok kom atsem
Sigmundr konungr
ok spyrr ef hann vreri gr(:eO~ln(jll.
01
. gs,

which traces seem
1

dinT

that seem akin to both norm andTHE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

20

He""JI.""..... together an army and Hjordis was driven over to the woods,
aCC:OlIlpanle:(1 by aand aamount of treasure wentwith
She was there thI~OU1!'ht[)ut
The vikingsfromin ovc~rnrne.lm]ln1!'
King Sigmund andraised their standards and the trumn,ets
sounded. And thenblew the horn that had been his ........... *'_.'"
and u d on his men.
force was smaller by far. Now abattleandold as he was, fought ~~n;r~O.PIV
and he wasin the forefront of his men. Neither shield nor coatof mail could
him, and on thathe constantly pierced
clean through theof hisand no one could see how the
between them would turn out. Numerous spears hurtled throughair, and arrows, too, but his norns 1 looked after him, so he remained
unscathed, and no one kept count of the men who fell before him.
Both his arms were bloody to the shoulders.
Now when the battle had gone on for some time, a man 2 who had
on a black 3 cloak and a hat
down low over his face entered thefray.
had but one
and inhand he held a
The manadvanced towards
theto
his way, and
when
hit
the
and
Mter thisof the casualties
luck had turned and his losses wereThe
gave no thought forand heon his men
The
C numbers count) was now an
one.
1;.u",.......

12

In this battle
fell, as did his father-in-law,
Eylimi,at the head of his troops,
with the best part of hisKingthen paid ato the royal
expecting tofind andking's daughter, but in this he was thwarted. He
found neither woman nor treasure there. Then he went through thecountry and shared out the land among his men. He now thoughtthat he had wiped out the whole Volsung family, so he supposed thatfrom then on there would be no cause for alarm.
The night
the battle, Hjordis went out to the men who had
fallen, came to the spot where King Sigmund was lying, and asked if
he could be made wellonly men of rank
homespun.

SAGA

En hann svarar, Clifnar or litlum vanum, en homn eru mer
heill, sva at viIa latamik. Vill 6ainn 1 ekki at ver bregaum
er nunni"'l"sverai,haft orrostur meaan honum Ilkaai.'
Hon«Enkismer avant ef pli yrair
ok hefndir
fear mins.'' Qarum er
ok frea
Konungrok munaf varri rett.
pat vel ok
Varaveit ok vel sver8sbrotin.
af rna gera
sver8 er heita mun
ok sonr okkarr mun bera ok
storverk mea vinna
er aldri munu fyrnask, b ok hans nafn mun
meaan verQldin
Uni nu via
en mik mreaa sar ok ek mun nu
varra
framgenginna.'
Hon
HjQrdfs sitr nu
honum unz hannokat mQrg skip eru komin via land.
Hon mrelti til' Vit skulum
kla~OUlm, ok skaltu
nefnask nafni minu okOkgera sva.
Vat lita mikit mannfall ok sva hvar konurnar foru tilokaf
En fyrirHann hafai
h .... I"It....

Ca scribal deviation and here omittedbases his sva on sva hverir gert hafa someon.

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS21

C Many have recovered when there was little hope,' he an~;W(~rec1.
, butluck has turned and so I do not wish to be made well.
Odin 1
not want me to draw sword, for now it lies broken. I havefought battles while it was his
C I should think,' she
if youwere made well and avf~ngred, That is left for' You are with child-a boy..
Give him aand careful
boy shall be famous andthe foremost of our house.
pieces of the sword as well.
A fine sword can be made fromwill be called
and ourson will bear it andmanydeeds with it, deeds which shallnever beand his nameasas the world endures.
Now be content with that.. But my wounds are troubling me, and I
shall now go to join our kinsmen who
gone'
Then Hjordis watched over him until heand then dawn came.
She saw that amany ships had put in to the shore.
, We'll
clothes,' she said to the bondwoman, C and you
call yourself byname and say you are thedaughter.'
And this is
did.
The vikings saw
the woods, andrealised"" ..........'......... .1._""'.. and they sprang from the boats.
son of Ht.r:aln1"'~1l'of Denmark, was in command of the force. He had been
the coast with his army. They now came to theof battle. Theysaw thethere. The king now
that the womenshould be
for and found, and thisHe
the women
who they were, and then an unlikely: the 'bondwoman ' answered for them and told how
had fallen inbattle, along with
Eylimi and many othermen, andtold also who had done this thing. The kingwhether they knew
where the king's treasure was hidden.
C It would
seem rather likely we'd know that,'the
C bondwoman " and she showed the way to the treasure.
They found avast amount of wealth, so much so that they did not believe they had
ever seen so much collected
in one place, or a larger numberof precious things. They
it to King Alf's ships. Hjordis wentnl,:l•.r.aO'll .... A

died in 584. As the father of Alf, Sigurd's stelpfathe:r.
between Sigurd and Merovingian history
His son Alf is probably the Half with whom
death (pp. 62 f.).

22

SAGA

ferr nu heim { rlki sitt en lretr..."[T...·lI .......··fl'1"'1r"\lI

a skipinu. Hanneoa verra bunao ? Ok viroisk
latit. ' aokef
vQn i resku at
pvi sioan,
Konung:sa4Qttlr vQnd.'sama.
litit vio natturu.
her um.'rerit
sem vitbQrnskal gera veroleikum betr vio pik,skal emund v·er
hefir
Hon svarar ok
it sanna urn sitt rao.
s6ma ok pykkir in
kona.
1

nu imiklum

3pat' er nu
at HjQrdis freoir sveinbarn, ok er sveinninn freror
Hjalpreki konungi. Konungrinn varo
vio er hann sa pau in
hVQssu augn er hann bar i hQfoi, okhann engum mundu likan
l8.t V
at

1JTe!CetJ.:,1Ul ch..

the stopis blurred tonattum.
01 reads Fmddr . . . . . .Flo ..... ""'II..

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

22

along with him, and so did the bondwoman. He now returned to his
kingdom, where he announced that the most famousof all had
fallen in thatThe
sat down at the helm and the women sat on the first bench.
Hewith them and what they said met with his approval.
The king arrived back in his country with aamount oftreasure. Alf was a mostman. And when they
been backthe
asked her son, Alf, this:for a short, Why is it thatwoman has fewer rings andclothes? I think
the one you haveless of is really theC I suspected
her manner was not that of a bondwoman,' he_ ......,~yy,,,.L"'~ ....... C and when we met she knew well how to receive men ofnoble rank, and I'll put it to the test.'
So once when they werethesat down to talk to them.
e What tells you that dawn has come, if you can't see moon, stars or
sun ?' he said.
, I can tell because when I was small I used to have a deep drink
just before daybreak,' she' and after I left off doing this, I
went onup as usual, and that's how I can telL'The
smiled at this. 'That was a poorfor a
he said.
Then he went to Hjordis and asked her the same question.
, My father
me a little gold ring which has a str:an'l~e
she answered' Just before daybreak it grows cold on myThat is how I can telL'
C There wasof gold about if bondwomen wore it,' answered
concealed yourfrom me quite longthe king, 'andenough, but I'dtreated you as if the two us were the childrenof the same
if you had
and I shall treat you even better
than that, for you shall be my wife and I shall pay the . . . . . u ...
settlement, when you have borne a child.'She answered and told the whole truth about her circumstances.
She was now held in
honour there and was thought a mostnoteworthy woman.
"".... 1IrH....OOO'

g,.......

J:i.""

13

The saga now tells how Hjordis gave birth to a son, and the boy wasbrought to King Hjalprek. The king was glad when he saw the keeneyes he had in his head, and said that no one would be like him or a

23

VQLSUNGA SAGA

veraa eaa
ok var hann vatni ausinn 1 mea ::il~rurjt:)ar
Fra honumallir
at urnok vQxt var
Hann varmea
konungimikilli ast.
nefndir eru allir inirmenn ok konungar i tOJ~ns,oe:unl,Sigurarganga urnokkapp ok hreysti er hannhaft urnmann fram annarra i noronilfu heimsins. cpar upp mea
ok unni hvert barn bonum.
ann .......
Alfi konungiok m~lti benni mund.
f6stri 3
ok var Hreiamars sonr. Hann kenndi
Reginn 2okmargar at
sem pa var
honum ipr6ttir, tafl 4 oktitt konungasonum, ok marga hluti
sinn spurai Reginn
Siguro, er
varu baoir saman, ef hann vissi hversu roikit fe faair hanshefoi att eoa hverir
varaveittu.
svarar ok
at konungar
varoveittu.
, Truir pu
allvel ? '~lQur()r svarar, C ]>at samir at
varaveiti
til er oss balIkvremisk,
en ek.'..""""',
at mali via Siguro okvilt vera hestasveinneoasem;,.)''-.& ...4...._...

svarar, 'Er
at ver raoum QlIu mea
erviljum, Bia hanneinn best.'~lQur()r svarar, 'mun pat er ek viI.'~ll!ur()r hittir nu»a t:n.relti konungr vio Sigura,viltu af ass?'
Sigurar svarar, 'viljum ver piggja oss til s.k.{~m1tanlar.
Konungrinn
per sjalfr hest ok sliltt er pu vill hafa
varri'~,n!'1,,...i\,... til
ok mretir einum gQm1um
Annan dagmanni mea siau
var honum 6kunnigr. Hann spyrr hvert
Siguror skyldi fara.
Hann svarar, « Rest skyldum ver kj6sa. Rao urn mea ass.'
Hann mrelti, C FQrurn ok rekum til arinnar er BusiltjQrn heitir.'"0'11,...,"\...

,. fomumB. nfom~ now
II -ti illeg.
c -ns illeg. V
dsinn B
1
Glossary s.v. najfnJ~rstT
I
Introduction p.
a

&

The

lcelan.Q1C word taft is a name applied tosaga might have thought of it asthan one board game.
which was not known

23
match for him, and he was sprinkled with water 1 and named Sigurd.
says the same thing about him: inand stature nonehouseholdpeer. He was brought up there inwithaffection. And when all the most famous men andinancient tales are
it is Sigurd who must come first in strengthand ability, in eagerness andof which he had far more thanany other man inup there in King Hjalprek's
household, andit was who betrothed Hjordis
the settlement for her.
to Ki Alf and
2 was the name ofand he was
l1r'eldlm=lr'S SOD. He taught him various accomplishments, chequers,trunes, and also how to
many
as was then customary
for princes, and much else besides. Oncethe two were tOIl~etrler'lRegin asked Sigurd if he knew how much wealth his
had Dos~sesseC1
and who thewere that looked after it. Sigurd ans,we:redthat the kings wereafter it.
« Do youtrust them? ' said
, It is right,' answered Sigurd, « thatshould look after it until
it will be of use to me, for they aretoit than I am.'Regin came a second time to talk tosaid:
C It's odd thatwilling to be a nnli~p,.. n('.v for kings and to goaround like a rurlaU':ate.
« That's not so,say with them ineverything, and ::In1Tth11nu«Tell Om toyou a' saidgive it me the moment I want it, replied Sigurd.
Sigurd then went to visit theThen a king said to Sigurd:
C What do you want from us ? '( I want a horse for my sport,' Sigurd ll'11.1.':~_"'~.I..'II...'>.La« Pick out a horse yourself,' said the king, 'and anything of ours
you may want.'
The following day Sigurd went to the woods and came across an
old man with a long beard, a man he didn't know.
asked where
Sigurd was going.
C I was going to choose a horse,' he replied.
'Give me some advice
about it.', Let us go and drive them to the river Busiltjorn,' he said.
THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS24

VQLSUNGA SAGA]:>eir reka hrossin ut a djupat landi nema
hestr. Hann t6k
Hann var
ok ungr at aldri, mikiU
hafai num akomit.
vexti ok vrenn.
C ]:>essi hestr er
fra Sleipni,l ok skal hann vallollga
pvf at hann verar
hesti betrL'oksa hestr
Maarinn hverfr
hestinnverit. 60inn
Enn mrelti Reginn til ~12:ur()arthlaupio sem "hn,,·nQ1I'"Q, Of Iftit feermeiri van at pat
en ek veit
se s6mi atok "IT11"'i'h"'Ln
Sigurar spyrr hvareaavaroveitti.
,A.,'""J'"'.L...
svarar, C Sa heitir Fafnir 2 er her
SIDlm:mt heaan abrott.
]:>at
Ok er
kemr
: Aldrisattu meira fe f gulli { einum staa, ok
p6ttu veroir
aUra konunga elztr ok'
Sigurar svarar, ' Kann ek kyn
orms, p6tt ver sem ungir, ok
hefi ek spurt at
at kama a mot honumvaxtar sakir ok
illsku.',A."''"' Jroo............... svarar, ' ]:>at er ekkL Sa
miklu meira en er, ok sva mundi
pfnum. Ok
VQlsunga rett se at
skaplyndi er
eru taloir til aUs
hQfum ver mikit
Siguror svarar, ' Vera rna atkappi eoa
ass, er ver erum a enn Iftt af
snilld, en
berr
til atbarnsaldri. Eaa hvf
Jni
sva mjQk?'
Reginn svarar, 'er tilokmun
C Lat miku .. , ............._.....

.I,.....

, ]:>at b er upphaf C 8QgU pessar at Hreiamarr
faoir minn, mikill ok
auoigr. Sonr hans het Fafnir, en annarr het Otr, ok var ek inn prioi,
01

there may never have been one.

1 SIeipnir was Odin's eight-footed
tells how Loki turned himself into a mareclaiming his reward for completing a str()nR:hoJld
enticing away the great horse that was eSSfen1tlaI
eventually gave birth to Sleipnir as a

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

24drove theout into theand allswam to the shore
one. That wasone
took. He
was grey in colour,
and a handsome
No one had
ever mounted him.
man with the beard spoke:, This horse is sired by Sleipnir.1 He must be car'etuLllv reared forhe'll turn out better than any other'..... JL"'~""'''''~''''''IJ''''''''''' the man vanished. Sigurd called the horse
best ever. The man who had met him was Odin.
to«You've too
It annoys me to see you running aroundlike a peasant lad. But I can tell
where
wealth is likely to befound, and in all probability
honour to beandtoo,should you win it.'Sigurd asked where it was and who was l!'u~lrd:Lnl!' it.
C His name is' 2 answered
lying but a shortdistanceThe
is called
And when you getthere youthat you have never seen ahoard of gold inanyoneyou'll not need more, even you become the most'seniormost renowned of all'Even though I'm'I know what that
like, and I've
to face him because of
his size and m;3LlIE:nlt-:v
not so, answered«His size is the usual for C'A"'·nAn....cand it's been made out to be far
than it actuallyandwhat
ancestors would havebut even though you are oftheline, you'll
the Volsung tel1np(~ralne]rlt--ln
couragereckoned
to none.'«Perhaps I've notmuch of their energy or ability,' replied
Sigurd. C But
no need to find fault with me,that I'm
hardly more than a child. Why are you sokeen on this?'«There's a story behind it,' replied Regin, and I'll tell it you.'«Let me hear it,' said Sigurd.
1

4«The story begins with my father whose name was Hreidmar, an
important and wealthy man. His son's name was Fafnir, a second son
I For the dragon and8 Several scholars who(see Introduction
between Minden

his1tori,calJly Arminius
Knlett1erheld.e t a heathVQLSUNGA SAGA

ok var ek minnstr
mer urnok
Kunna ek af jarni
ok af silfri ok gulli, ok hverjum hlut
ek nQkkut njtt. Otr,
minn, hafoi aara ian ok natturu.
var veioimaor mOOII okok var jafnan f anni ok
urn fram aora menn ok var i otrs Ii . urn
bar upp fiska meo munni ser.
hann feor sinum, ok
var honum pat mikill styrkr. MjQk
hann otrs Iiki a
kom siaheim ok at blundandi ok einn saman, pvi at hann mattiatFafnir var miklu mestr okok vildi sitt eittlata alIt
er var.
e Einn dvergr 1 het Andvari,,
forsinum, er Andvarafors heitir, iatvar fjQIoi fiska i
forsi.
fors ok bar
fiska i munni ser ok
c Ooinn,
Hcenir 3 foru leioar
ok komu til Andvarafors.
Otr hafoi
tekit einn lax ok at blundandi a arbakkanum. Loki t6k
einn stein ok laust otrinn til bana. lEsir 4
mjQk heppnir af
veiai sinni ok
af otrinum.
e pat kveld k6mu
til
honum veioina. pataku verhQndumok fjQrlausn atfylldititan mea rauou
pa sendu
belginngulli ok hyloi
Loka at aHa
Hann kom til Ranar 5 ok
net
far
til
ok kasta6i netinu
en hon hlj 6p i netit.
pa mrelti Loki,(2)

er pater rennr fl60i i,
kannat ser via viti varask ?
HQfuo pitt leystu
helju 6 6r
ok finn mer lindar II(3) Andvari ek
6ainn C het minnII

B emends to IQg6um.

II thus 01, lionar V CR.
C

miltakefor 6inn (CR)

Neckel emends to lindar.

1 See Glossary s.v.
I The trouble-maker among thewho varies between being an outrightenemy and a comparatively hannless rascal.
a ~e appears along with Odin and Loki in a number of tales. The lEsir
sent hIm as a h~stage to the Vanir on the conclusion of peace between them.
: All the.chlef gods of the Northern pantheoncalled .lEsir (sing. Ass).
The WIfe of lEgir the sea giant, and nder
an underworld beneath theTHE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

was called Otr, and I was
I could
inuseful out of

third, the leastandof.
in silver andtoo, and I could makeMy brother Otr's work and bent
nSllerltnalt1, far morethan others,
he assumed theof an otter and was always
up fish with his mouth. What he caught he brought
to hiswas ato him.
had many of thecharacteristics of an otter, he cameand with
his eyes shut,he couldn't
toFafnir wasby far theandand heto be called his.
,was awhose name was Andvari,,
Regin. C He
wasin a waterfall known as the Andvari Falls in the semblanceof aand hefood there for himself, for there was a verynUInD(~r of fish infalls. My brother Otr
to go into thesefalls and would
up fish in his mouththem on the bankone
one.
Loki 2 and3 wereand they came toitaand wasthe Andvari Falls. Otr had just
took up a stone,
with hisshut on the river bank.
were very lucky in theirotter andhim. The lEsir 4 thought'1....,'_ andskinned the otter.
came to Hreidmar's house and showed him
had
Then we laid hands on
and by way of
COlnpen~~at]lOn and ransom we stipulated that thshould fill the skinand cover it up on the outside with red gold. So they sent
He went to Ran, 6 got her net,
then went tothecast
net in front of theand it ran into theThen Loki said:.,;Jv ........." ' .. .I..I..I....;lj;;;,....,.I..I..I..I.j;;;,Ju. .I.....

I'1n'11..... nA"IT1 n n

h l l ....' ...

What fish is thisthat swims in the flood,and from punishment knows no or(lte(:tlCtn
Ransom your headout from Hel 6
and of Linden find me flame. 7(3) Andvari's my name,
Odin my fa
all those who were drownedlSI f.).

26

VQLSUNGA SAGA
TYlr.a.,.lYt.:Ilnhefi

fors of farit.

vaoa.
er Andvari atti. En er hann hafoi fram reitt
II einn hring, ok t6k Loki hann af honum..
iok mrelti at hverjum skyldi at bana veroa er
NI'lIhnn retti ok sva allt,.....0' . . .
reidduok traou upp otrbelginn ok settu a)Ja skyldu lEsirnir hlaoa upp hja
utan. En er
var
Hreiomarr framok baodr6
af hendi
ok huloi
kvao
'1'1

bani.
ok
sva illr at hannut ok unni
engurn atnema
ok varo sfoan at inurn versta ormi og
liggr nu a pvf fe. Sfoan f6r ek til konungs ok
ek smior hans.
Ok er pessi rreoa til minnar SQgu at
missi fQaurarfsins ok
br6aurgjaldanna. Gullit er sioan kallat otrsgjQld ok her dremi'"",n~-II"'i" . . svarar, C Mikit hefir pu Iatit, ok st6rillir hafa pfnir frrendr
verit.'( Ger b nti eitt svero af
ekvinna ti1~"""T'C...... 1T
mikla
Q ..

.lla~~l~lJl\.'t pat er ekki se jafngotthugr dugir, ef pti vill at ek drepa

okinntHE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGSa fall I haveNorn
(1e(:re€:~(1 in days ofthat I should wade water.
that was . (. . . . .,. _ ............
Loki saw theAnd when hethehebut Loki took it from him. The dwarf
went into
to possess theor any of the gold,
meant, The lEsir handed over the treasure to
stuffed theotterskin full and set it on its feet. Then the lEsir had tothe goldalongside and cover it
When that was completed,went
up and saw aand told them to cover that.. Then Odin
1 from his arm and covered up the hair.
drew theThen lloki(4) Gold is now ren.der"ed.
reC:OlIlDe:nse formuchmy'Tis not luck will be
the lot of your son:
Death to you both it
Later onkilled his' said' hiding his murderedbody,2 and I didn't
any of the treasure. He grew so malevolent that
he went off to live
the wilds and allowed none but himself to haveany
in theand later on he turned into a terrible dragon
and now he lies on the treasure.
I went to the king andbecame his smith. And the upshot of myis that I'm left without
patrimony or compensation for my brother.
then gold has beencalled Payment for Otr", and that is the reason why.'
C You've lost adeal,' answered Sigurd, 'and your family has
been very evi1.'
U

15, Now use your skill to make such asword that no other sword canbe made to equal it, and so that I shall be able to perform great deeds,
if my courage
you want me to kill thisdragon.. 'VQLSUNGA SAGA, pat

ek mea trausti, ok muntu meganu eitt svero ok frer i hQnd """",.,..jr\,

Fafni
t6k viook brotnaaismioa annat betra.
annat svero b ok frer
Hann leit a.
en vant mun yor at smioa.'
sem itmrelti . . . 'or".,.." ..
svero ok.I.'-\;;.J;::,.lJ.lJ.J),okok baafrrendum pinum ok vera 6trur.'munt likr vera inum
honum vel. Talask nu vio ok
Gekk nu til m60ur sinnar. Hon
drekka.
at :=)llJrml1nClr
mrelti' Hvartver rett til
KOlrlUIlgr seldi
sveroit Gram i tveim hlutum ? 'svarar, ' Batt er, Fa
i hQnd, ek viI
Hon kvao hann It.kJllga.n til frama ok frer honum sveroit.
hittir nu
ok baogera af svero
efnum.
reiddisk oktilmea sverosbrotin okt-.,...-:arn."rt.-:a1'°n urn smfoina.
nu eitt svero. Ok er hann
Sm.101US,relltlUIn sem eldar brynni 6r egj~lUlnU.m.
taka sveroinu ok kvezk
kunna
at gera ef
hj6 i
ok klauf
i f6tinn, ok brastlofaoi sveroit mjQk ok f6r til arinnar mea
ok kastar f
straulnl, ok t6k i sundr er hann bra via sveroinu. Gekk ~lnl"l'l""I'"
glaor heim.
Efna muni
heit your nu er ek hefi
sveroit,ok hitta Fafni.'
Siguror svarar, 'Efna munu ver ok 1'6 annat fyrr, at hefna fQour
mins.'
Siguror varo pvi
sem hann var ellri, af QIlu f6lki, sva at
hvert barn unni honum hugastum.
CaBb thusto ilt.
sver()it V

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGSC I shall
it with COl1ttclen.ce,, said
, With that sword
you'll be able to killSo
made a sword and
it in Sigurd's hands. He
sword..
e:-.......
at the anvil
is whatwork's-and the swordHea second and better one..
it to Sigurd.
examined it.
'You'll bewith this one, though
not an easy man
to work metal
Sigurd tried out the sword, and broke it just like the first. Then
Sigurd said to,; You're liketor'eb~earS--UI1ltrllst'wo:rthY.' He now went to hismother. Shehim
andand drank t02:et.lller.
, Did
, Is
I've heard true ? ' said
entrustwith the sword
in two?'\,.;~is so,' she . .
, Let me havesaid Sigurd. 'I want them.'
She said he seemed
to winandhim the sword.
thenout
and told him to fashion a sword from themand went to thewithbest oftheof thewas verywhen
it came to . . . . . . . . rr.. ""rrThenmade aAnd when he drew it from theit seemed to the ladsin theas if thewere allthat if this one
aflame.
next told
to take the sword,
then he didn't
how to make astruck at the
down to its
the sword neither shatteredanvil and cleft itHesword highly and went down to thea tuft of wool which he threw inthe stream, and it
wasthrough when he held the sword
it. So Sigurd went
back happy.
C now that I've made the
C You'll
yoursword, andout, I shall
Sigurd. C But first there's S0I1netnl11lJZ elseit,'-111eI1lJle:an<:e for my1'
the more popular he was with everybody, so
older Sigurd
all loved him dearly.
much so that one
1IU1",.1'J'\,.;I-l'......

........

"''J'Jt'''n'''lI''''A

SAGA

16
a het maor ok var maourbraoir 1 ~Hl'UI·oar. En litlu sfoar en
sveroit var
for hann a fundat hann var
okvissi
hversuI oksins vio a.K.alnl~~asloan.
setTI hann beiddi, 1'a reia
Va mrelti hann,annatfellu {

at hefna Sigmundarorrostu.'nu

byr.
varu lioin,
kom a veor mikit mea
en svavar
sem rooru srei.
baa Siguror
seglunum 1'6tt
rifnuou, heldr baa hann hrera
en aOr.
Ok ersigldu fram fyrir
DQkkura, 1'a kallaoi maar upp a
skipit ok spyrr hverr fyrir liainu
at raoa. Honum var
at parvar hQfoingi Siguror Sigmundarson er nu er frregstr ungra manna.
Maorinn svarar, 'Allireitt fra honum, atmegi
1We'cea:iftl1 ch.

var~ ( ?) vis ( ?)bTeced'1:nu ch.

drap Lyngva ok HjQrvar& ok 1'a

to have been an
20.)

whose prow wasTHE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

28

16

There was a man named
who wasuncle on his mother's
was made he went to visit
becauseand soon after thehe had theof secondand knew in advance what a man's fatewould be.
a cd
his own life and how it would turn out.
.t1(~wc:~ver . for atime he was un'wllllnJg',
he finally told him his entire ,,,"".:.,,..,,,..,,,,.
came toAnd
had told him of these matters as he had been
met. Then
Sigurd rode home. And shortly after that he andRegin said:
C Kill Fafnir as
C I'llso, but
there'seJlse·-"en.ge:anc:eSigmund and the other kinsmen of ours
e.-nrr"llA.h1'1"'1,t"P

debt for the'But now I
I want them tohelp in this.'A
carefully as 'PO~)S1t)le,whole
the case.
A'V1r\Al't'l.'lnn

SAGA

vio hann. Vilda ek at
vio mer.'
at nafni.
svarar,felldioanQkkuru

pa tok af

ok farasemat herr er kominn itil. Kvaou .t1ULnalnf:~S
mundu hrreoask
cEnnu
sitt riki herboo; villflottamQnnum er honum vilja
veita.
aU1ITlUlC.lnn her ok brreor hans mea
honum.
Teksk
inorrosta mea peim. Matti
alopti mart
spjot ok Qrvar margar, 0xi hart
skjQldu klofna ok brynjur slitnar,
hjalmahausa klofna okmann
til jaroar.
Ok er orrostan hefir sva staoit
srekir Siguror
um merkin ok hefir i hendi sveroit
hoggr b~oi menn ok
hesta ok gengr {ok hefir baoar hendr bl60gar tiloknsem
ok helzk hvarki vio hj
r nebrynja, okmaor pottirr setpvilikan mann. ]Jessi orrosta
stoo lengi mea miklu mannfalli ok akafri sokn. Ferr par, sem sjalkann henpa er landherrinn srekir til, at
kom fyrir. Fellpar sva mart fyrir Hundings sonum atmaor vissi tQI a. Ok G
I pnrN1'l cIT

G

B adds er, with a comma

1 It is Odin who
faithful companions.
and on their return they sat onheard and seen. Their names

were Odin'sover all the world,whljsp!ere~dhim all they had
memory» respectively.

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

29'that no prince can call himself his equal. Please lower sail on one ofyour ships and take me on board.'
They asked him his name.
replied:(5)

theywhen Hugin I 2:1aC1d.(~nelCl,vanquishedslew,
o Volsung youth I
The man from the cliff
call by the nameof Feng or Fjolnir,
I would
hence with you.1

put into land and took the man on board ship. Then the
storm
and
sailed until
reached land in the kingdomof Hunding's sons.
Immediately
let loose a riot of fire andThey killed,they burnt down settlelnellts, and whereverwent they laid waste.
A
number fled toand toldthat a hostile army
entered thethe violence of their passage was
unhe
of.
that
sons hadn't been very farsighte when theythat there wasto fear from theVolsungs:
C And nowtils~mlln(lar~;On is commander of thesent out a call to arms
the.lOI12dloDl--he "'''''''''''''lo:J''''''''' to takeand summonedto support him. He now
to meethis brothers were with him.
A fierce battle now took
many arrows could be seen . . . u ........J~ c:.
of the axe, cleft shields,
helms slashed open,
sku and many a man was seen to fall to the
Mt the battle had gone on in thisfor a
Sigurdpressed on past the banners, holding in
hand
Gram. He
felled men and horses, too, a ancing through theline: both
his arms were bloody to the shoulders, andwherever hemoved. Neither helm nor hauberk washim, and there
was not one who thought that he'd ever seen
a man
The
battle with its great slaughter andwent on a long time.
What developed there wascan . . . "1"" .... "".&.. but rarely when
the home-based army attacks: it got them
Hunding's sons
lost so many men that no one could keep count. And Sigurd was well......

30

VQLSUNGA SAGA

Sigur8r var +.,..... ~o,.,.I .... f fylkingu. J:>aa mot honum synir Hundings
tilkonungs ok klyfr hjalm hans okkonungs. Siguror
hQfuo ok brynjaoanokhann
broaursundr I tva hluti, ok
lifou,
ok mestan hluta lios
Ferr ..... 'n~'I'I j.,....
ok miklu fe ok
er hann
gervar f mot honum heima I
hafairfkinu.
Ok er ..... 'nnl .... j.,....
kemr . . . ."',liio............... at mali
heima
vio Siguro
hetua,'Nu munu
pvf at nu hefir
hefnt
ok annarra frrenda
svarar, Efna munu ver
sem ver hQfum
um heitit,okfellr ossor minni.'....

..... 'n·'II ....'.,....

C

18

Nti II rloa
ok ,,'-',J;,.
var vanr at skrfoa er hannvarer hann hi at...

"''',",~'''''''''''''LI at dreki
vegar hans ;:efar
eina ok sezk
1. Ok
er n .....,Y\.... llnn
honum ok vinn honum sva bana.

skrfor til vatns,
J:>ar fyrir frer
Siguror' Hversu mun
Reginn svarar,
Ok ertu 6Ukr
Nu rior ~tn~11rj'r
Sigurareina. Ok er hann er ateinn gamall maor 1 mea sfauCsvarar inn' petta er oraa. Ger Heiri
ok latpar I rennaen pu sit I einni oktil hjartans orminum.'
J:>a hvarf sa maar a brottu. En
eptir PVI sem
fyrir var
Ok er ormrinn skreio til vatns, varl) mikill landskjalfti, sva at Qll
CI

II

c
tI

reads Nu rioa

ok . . .,. . fii""'... u'.....

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

30

to theThen
Hunding's sons came at him: Sigurd struckat King Lyngvi andhis helm, head and armoured body. Next hecut in half his brother, Hjorvard, and then struck down all the sons ofHunding that were
and the bestof their force.
So Sigurd set out for home. A sp did victory was his, and alsomuch wealth and renown which he had won on the expedition. Backin his own country awelcome wasfor him.
And when Sigurd had been at home acame totalk to him:
«You'll surely be ready now to bring low Fafnir's helm as you
promised,
that you've
your father and your otherkinsmen,' said
C I'll keep my, answered Sigurd. C It won't slip mymemory.'18
Now Sigurd androde up to the moors, to the track
which
Fafnir used towhen he went to drink, and thehe lay on toat the water when hehigh.
( You told me,' saidthen, 'that this monster was no
but his tracks lookthan
, and sit in it, andcomeswater, stab him to the heart and soThendistinction.'
C WhatI
in theofblood? ' said ....,.. '"'.""'.. ~.....
C It's not possible toyou,'
Regin, ' if you're scared ofnothing like theof your kinsmen.'rode up to the moors andwent off in
Sigurda pit, and while he was about
an old man 1 with abeard came up to him and asked what he was doing
told him.
'That's ill-advised,' the old man then replied. ' Dig other pits
and let the blood run into
are to sit in one and stab the
dragon to the heart.'
Then the old man vanished, and Sigurd dug the pits as he had been
told.
And when the dragon crawled to the water, the earth tremors were

1 This is Odin once

31

jQra skalf fhrreddisk """'nnv...
grQfina,
hjQltum nam.
sverainu ok hefir allar
ormr kenndi sfns h~1r"'liI:JQ.:a""Qat alIt brast f sundr er, Hverr ertu, eaa
sva
at
pori
i"\....

pu mer at
mfnum frrendum ?
En p6tt ek vrera hernuminn,var ekok
fanntu at
ek var lauss.'
Fafnir svarar, 'tekr
hV4~tv,etJ1la pvf er
mreli. En gull
petta munat banaerhefi att.'""",nnl1"'I"\1'" svarar, C Hverr vill fe hafa alIt til ins eina
en eitt sinn
skaldeyja.'
Fafnir mrelti, C Fatt vill pu at mfnum dremum gera, en drukna
Jolitowvinll B's con:,ect1ure.

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

31

his

I say you take to be said in' answered Fafnir,
possessed will be your death.'
1-4·'7A....-.:7"''f'1.n wants tohold on wealth until that day come, buteveryone must die some
' replied Sigurd.
'You'll not be guided much by what I say', said Fafnir, 'but if,o_l~+h.I.... _...·....

,. A reference toby aparty towhere his mother is taken off

VQLSUNGA SAGA'-'" . . . . . . . . . . .:; . . . . . ok bio heldr a landi unz logn er.'ef
ert fr6ar mjQk :mQgu fra mreorum )svarar, 'eru
ok tJSumar emrettar, sumar eru alfa 2 rettar, sumar eru dretr Dvalins.' 3, Hve heitir sa h6lmr 4 er blanda
Surtr Ii oklEsir saman ? 'FMnir svarar, C Hann heitir
Ok enn mrelti« Reginn, br60ir minn, veldr minumok pat hlregir mik er hannveldr ok pinum dauaa, ok ferr
sem hann vii ' Enn mrelti, Ek bar
QlIusioan ek hi a arfi mins br6our, oksva
ek
fra mer f brott at e i
at koma i nandhr~~dlLlml.k: ek, ok aldri fannsva ma,r2Bln
miklu
en allir varu hr~;edldlr
fyrir mer at ek prettumk
mik.'
Sigurar mrelti, ' Sa
er pu
pvi athverr sa er mea mQrgum kemr, maereinna hvatastr.'
Fafnir svarar, ' ]:>at rreo ek
attakir hest pinn ok
a brott
sem skj6tast,at
opt at sa er J,...Ia.....a.o'a..1.
hefnir sin

pu,

Siguror svarar, 'eru pinen annat mun ek
Ek
mun rfoa tils b61s ok taka
pat it mikla gull er frrendr
FMnir svarar, ' Rfaa muntu
til er pu finnr sva
er um
ok pat sarna gull verar pinn bani ok
pat a.'
Sigurar st6a upp ok mrelti, ' Heim munda
p6tt ek missta
ins mikla fjar, ef ek vissa at ek skylda aldri
en hverr frrekn
maar vill fe raoa allt tit ins eina
En pu,
f fjQrbrotum,
par er pik Hel
Okdeyr Fafnir.

1 See Glossary s.v. nomi,.
I

See Glossary s.v. dlfar

a A dwarf. See Glossary s.v. dvergar& The holmr, basically signifying C islet ) is to be understood here as a place?f battle, a subsidiary connotation, arising out of the ancient custom of engaging
m a form of single combat called holmganga on an islet appointed for that purpose, a properly marked out piece of ground being sometimes substituted.

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

you're careless in CrC)SSllne- the sea you'll be drowned: better wait on
shore until it's calm.'
C Tell me,' said' if you are so wise: who are
the Norns 1 that deliver mothers
sons? 'are many andFafnir. ' Someto thesometo thesome are Dvalin's 3 aalLlgJlte:rs.
C What ise name of the islet 4 where Surt 5 and the lEsir will shedeach other's blood? ' said _.. .,.... . . . . ~.....
Fafnir. Fafnir: 'My'It is named
brotherhas
myand I amhe will
about yourtoo-that will
what he wanted.' Fafnir'-'UJLllo...........' ' ' ' 'ht"'l"'\llt'l'h+a crest of terror above all men ever since I couched on mybrother's
and I breathed out
all around me so thatno one dared to come near me, and I
weaOlon. and neverthefound so manyme that I didn't thinkbyand they wereof me.', This crest of terror you spoke' said Sigurd, C
tonofor anyone who mixes with manyof all others.'
man is the, and ride away as, I advise you to takenal00(~nS that he who suffers a mortal
quickly as you can, forwound avenges himself.', That is your' answered . . ., ......._........ but I shall act differently.
I shall ride tolair and there seize
vast
toyour kinsmen.
, You'll be
to awhere you'll find so much
" Fafnir
will'that it will last
all yourBut that sameofother man that possesses it.'be yourand theSigurd stood up. 'If I knew
never
I'd ride' he
C even though I were to
all the wealth. But
valiant man
to have wealth until that day comes. But you,lie inyouruntil Hel takes you.'
And then Fafnir died.
C'lt-'t"nn'''P.o<l*'1-..........;7 .. 1''..... .11. ........... "I Surt was the giant with the flaminglEsir in the final battle when the gods are destro'ved
the World-serpent and other allies. Surt
consumes
with fire. (See Jonsson, SnE, 98.)
8 The name literally implies C not fashioned J, , not created '.

VQLSUNGA SAGA

33

Eptir a petta kom Reginn til
ok
C Heill, herra minn;
mikinnhefir pu unnit er pu hefir drepit
Fafni, ervara fyrr sva
at a hans}>orai sitja, ok
fremaarverk mun uppi meaan verQldin stendr.
Nu
Reginn ok ser niar I jQraina
hrla. Okeptirl'etta mmlti hann af miklum m6&i,
C Br6aur minn hefir pu drepit, ok varIa rna ek
verks saklaussvera.'
Nu tekr Sigurar sittokaok mmlti til
Regins,,pu
er ek vannverk ok eksnarpasvera mea minni hendi, ok mlnu
atta ek via orms megin, meaanb hvart er var himinn eaa
pu Iatt I einum lyngrunni, ok vissir pu
jQra.'
Reginn svarar, 'hef&ir pu notit sveras
enn unnit, ok
annarra.'pu C"1n~n""I~"" svarar, 'er menn koma til
er manni betra
hjarta en hvasst sver&.'mmlti
via Sigura af
mikilli, 'pu drapt minn
br6aur, ok varIa rna ek
verks ....... I~,.ln'lI'Jnnd
6r orminum mea pVl sverai er Riaill het.
pa drakkok
C Veiter litit
til elds mea hjartat
ok steik ok
Sigurarok steikti a teini. Ok er freyddi
t6k hannsfnum a ok skynjaai hvart steikt vmri. Hann t! bra fingrinum I munn
Ok er hjartab166 ormsins kom atungu honum, pa skilai hann fuglarQdd. 1
Hann heyr6i at ig&ur klQkuau a hrlsinu hja honum.

»a

»8.
»8.

CI

drakk blob Fafnis.

c
d
t!

CR.

1 The belief that birds (and other animals) were able to give warning ofimpending danger was widespread in Europe and elsewhere (see Alexander H.
Krappe, 'Warning Animals " Folklore LIX (1948), 8-15). At the tum of
the century there was still a belief in Iceland that the gift of understanding theTHE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

33

came toand said :my lord.. You have won a _..e...... +,...,......+".....,.
when before no man waseno
to lie indeed will live for as long as the world shall last.'
now stood looking down at the groundatime. And
thereupon he said inc You have killed mybut I canbe free of blame
for t'
took up his sword
wiped it on the grass andsai
You went aout this keen swordIthe mightthee you werestroveer
not knowing whe er you were on yourheels! ', Thathave lain in his lair a
Regin,
use of the sword I
for you with my, ifown
you norelse would have done it
1''When men come to do
Si rd,' then a stout
heart is bettera man than a keen sword.'then said to Sigurd in
distress:beof blame for thekilled my brother, but can'-J.I.'"""""",,l.l..&,I;:li;)'IlC

cut out theheart with the sword called Ridill.
Fir's blood and said :sornethlI1l2' for me-it's a small matter for you. Take the heart
to theroast andit me to eat.'
Sigurd went and roasted it on a spit. And when the juice sputteredout he touched it
h his
to see whether it was done. He jerked
when the blood from the dragon's heart
his finger to his mouth,
touched his tongue he counderstand theof birds.1 Hehsome tits twittering near him in the thicket.

SAGA

34
20

hann
eta.
tI sitr b
ok steikir FMnis]:>a mundi hann veraa h"l:"'~Q>"""ll1"'V\
sem honum truir.'
Qnnur(;
mrelti inraaa gullinu
ua af honum, ok rna hanninu
pa mrelti in
hQfau raaitok riai slaan til boIs Fafnis ok treki
gull er
er, ok riai sfaan upp a Hindarfjall
sem
nema
mikla
vreri
vitr hann hefai
ok munraa okhann urn sinaok
er mer ulfsins van er ek
mrelti in UUJlU.U.i1,
eyrun sa.. '(;er hann sva horskr sem ek retIa ef hannhonum, en
br6aur hans.'
mrelti invreri
ef hann
pa mrelti' . i munu
at . . . .""',,.... . . . .,.. . .
ok heldr skulu
fara baair brrear einn veg.. 'nu sverainu Gram ok
hQfua af
etr hann sumanen sumtslaan a hest sinn oksloa Fafnis ok til
atok
alIar okdy,ratlmbu:nlIls;zrlnll, ok
allir stokkar f husinu,""'.. n~11"';\'" fann par stormikit
ok sverait . . . . . . "'''''41,.l,.'reS;ZlShHllltll ok gullbrynjuna
dYrgripi..
at numvan atmundi meira bera tveir
eaagull tekr hann alIt ok
I tvrer kistur
nu 2 I tauma hestinum Grana..
vill nuekki tjar at
finnr nu hvat hestrinn vill ;abak ok lystr
sporum, ok rennr
bestr sem lauss
tol4rowtnJlhann

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

34

20, There sits
He should eat it himself,
and then he'd'There lies
said a second.
said a, Let him then strike off his head. Then he can have thetreasure all to himself.', He would be wiser to do as they advised,' said then a fourth, C andafterwards ride to Fafnir's lair, taking the great treasure that lies
and there heand then ride up to Hind Fell where Brynhild 1 iswill learn much wisdom. And he would be wise
youradvice andof his own needs. I'd
to find a wolf where
I spied his ears.
said a fifth :, If he spares him, having previously killed his brother, he's not as
wise as I imagine.' Then said the sixth:, It would be a sound plan if he killed him and had the treasure all
to himself.'
C Death at Regin's hands is not my evil
' said Sigurd then.
, Better instead for both brothers to
the same way.' Then he drew
the sword Gram and struck off
head.
And
that he ate some ofand some he put
by. Then heon his horse and rodefollowing
tracksup to his lair.
found that it was open,that all the doors weremade of iron, and the whole of the door-frame as well. Of iron, too,
were all the posts of the building, which was anchoredin the earth.
Sigurd found a vast store of gold, and the sword Hrotti, and there
he took possession of the helm of terror, the gold hauberk and many
valuables. He found so much gold there that he thought it probablethat two horses or even three would scarcely carry more. He took all
the gold and put it into two large chests, then 2 took his horseby the bridle. But the horse wouldn't move and whipping did no good.
Then Sigurd saw what the horse wanted. He leapt on his back,clapped spurs to him, and the horse galloped away as if unladen.

35

VQLSUNGA SAGA

21

leioir ok alIt til
er hann kemr upp aoka leia suor til Fr ands.. A fjallinu sa hannser Ijas mikit sem el brynni, ok
af til himins. En erb kom at, stao
honum
1 ok upp or merki..
iok sa atsvaf maar ok la mea Qllum
Hann takhjalminn hQfai honum ok sa at pat var
kona. Hon var iok var sva fQst sem hon vreri hoIdgrain. ]:>a
reist hann ofan orok iniar ok sva tit i gegnum
baoar ermar, ok beit sem
kvad hana helzti
sofit
hafa. Hon spurai hvat sva var
er beit hT1Tnll1n:~_-, Ok bra mfnum
eaa munkominn:)lgInunaars~on
er hefir hjalm Fafnis ok hans bana f hendi ? 'svarar' Sa er
rettar er
hefi
spurt at
ert riks KOlrlUIlgS
verit fra yarum vrenleik ok
H,...,:rn
at tveir .KOlnUlrlg(lrvarok inn mesti ne]~m~lOrlheitit, en annarr
eaa Al1,"~t'\1"'nn11'"
Ek fellda .t1HHrnlgUJnOflr f orrostu, en 6ainn stakk. mik
hefndokaldri sioan skyldu
hafa ok kvaa mik
skulu. En ek
heit
f mot atengum
hrreoask kynni.' C, Kenn oss raa til starra hluta.'svarar, 'munua betr kunna, en mea pQkkum vii ek d kenna
ef
er nQk.kut er ver kunnum, pat er yor mretti lika, f runum
eoa Qarum hlutum er
til hvers hlutar, ok drekkum breai saman, okokkr
atverai nyt ok
at mfnum vitrleik
er vit rreoum.'
eitt ker ok freroi Siguroi ok mrelti :........... JL

'-'I.

,

"",,"'Inn'l¥il'''.,..

1''\''111''11'" Q!Al'I'11'"h,n.,..''\llC> ITCO y ,............ V'-".L .........

(6) Bj6r freri ek
brynpinga valdr,
blandinn( shield rampart 'the banner out on

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

35

21

now rode a
way until he arrived right up on Hind Fell andahead
turned off south to 11 ralnkJlan-C1. On the fell he saw a brightand it lit up theAndheas if there were a fireup to it there stood before
a fort 1 with a banner out on
fort and saw aand lying fully arrnOllrelCl.
First he removed thefrom his head
saw that it was a woman.
as if
into the flesh.
She had on a hauberk and it was asThen he sheared right downthenboth ~.U::::;ICVC·:S.
and the blade bit in as if
said
been
too
asked what was
to bite into the hauberk::ilf~mtlndLar~;on who
doom in his hand? 'Volsung line,' then replied
who has done this deed is of, And I have heard that you are theof a_ .
and I've also been told
yourand your Wl!)dc~m·-a~nds shall put to the test.'
Brynhild told how two
had been . . u ......
Hlalnl211nrlar·-fle was old and a fine . .,.
,~ ..
; and the other was calledor
C In theI struck down Hl:alnlg11nrlar, and in retaliation Odin
said
I should never
win apricked me with the sle
And in return I made avowvictory, and that I was totono one who knewof fear.'matter,' saidmeadvice on( You areable to do that, she said. But I'll
you gladly
if I know
thatyou, whether of runes or of othermattersto; and let us both drink
andmay theso that my wisdom may profit
that you may remember what we two
you andtalk of.'
Brynhild filled a cup, brought it to Sigurd and said:.aI;:;.....

J.t:,.

ll.'ll,rt.,I""' ......... rt ....

(6) Ruler of battles,
I now
you alepower,

1-l .......1'_h ......... 'C!

hO~;Olta111y would seem to indicate that the saga writer had
8

VQLSUNGA SAGA

Fullr erok likln.st~ita'}

(7)

fJ

skaltu b kunna
viII snotr vera,c a hjalti hjQrs,
avettrimum d
ok a valbQstum
ok neina tysvar Ty.l(8) BrimrUnar skaltu

ef pu J viII borgita sundi seErlmoruLffi.
A stafni
ok g at:"+"i-o........ n ...
okFellrat sva brattr breki
ne blar unnir, ikemsk heill af hafi.
(9) Malrunar skaltu

ef pu vill j at
kheiptuffi gjaldi I harm.
um vindr,um
urn setr alIar saman
pvi pingi,2er pj 6air m skulu
i fulla d6ma
ft(10) Qlrtinar skaltu kunna,

ef pu vill at 0 annars kvan

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

filled with versed
and trH~ndlSh]lP
with
with gay(7) War runes you must know
if wiseOn

would be.
grave

1

name.

(8) Wave runes you must cut
toover with careyour sailed steeds in SWlmmlJn2'..
On prow put
them onoar,
and burn them also on oars.
No blue wave shall fall,nor breaker
but you'll return safe from the sea.

reDlavInel1t of
them
weave them around,by
set them
there at that Thing 2
thrOni!S shall come,all to full session
nn,,,,fot\AP'O

must know,
wife

VQLSUNGA SAGA

veli pik
A horni
ok a
ok

ef

truir..

h.,'l"\rI ..'1 .... h .... 1.r1

at per veror aidri
meinblandinn mjQor.
(12) .H,l~.ir~trflr.l~lr skaitu nema,

fa
konu.
rista

(13) Limrunar skaitu kunna,
ef pu villireknir vera
ok kunna sar at
A berki skal
ok a barri vioar
er Iuti austr Iimar.
skaltu nema,viII hverjum vera
2e()hOlrSE:arl guma.
1-I·11',.........'·'nltJ......

(IS) A skildi yarn . . . . . . "'UL..........
er stendr
skfnanda
a thusom. Vb thus

pat V

thus

characters of the nmic alphabet

CR; QI V

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

trust if you trust her.
Onhorn you must carve them,on hand's back, too,and mark on nail Need. lyou must bless
to
cast
into
Then this I orC)mJlse.
that
mead
will not fall to your fate.
Life runes
must learn
for thosewith child,to deliver babeand sound.
you must carvethem round limbs,
aid of the Disir 2 desire.

(14) Mind runes you must
if other men
wouldou·tw~eU?h in wisdom.
who oe'flse:ohe who divined themand hewed them out, 'twas Hropt. 3(IS) On the shield were
before the shining

37

SAGA

Alsvinns 1 hQfoi
ok a
er stendr
undir reioa3tauunuun
ok a
fjQtruun.
(J.J.'\".Vt=.ll.l,;:)"(16) Aok
a ulfs kl6un
ok a arnarf
ok f virtri
ok a vQlu 5
fholdi,
lJa1UOIllSJ 6 oddi

( 1 8)

Allar varu af
er a varu ..,.
hrreraar via inn
ok sendar a vfaa vegu.
eru mea alfum, 9suunar mea Asum..,.n..u..L.L.Lu.'

..

to

and

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGSOn Arvak's ear
and Alsvid's head.1
Carved there on the wheel'neath the wain ofon3
and ontraces.

(16) On bear's paw too,on
4
on
wolf's claw
and beak of'-"'.l.J'l:::;\...i.',"-,,,

onin wine and wort,
on witch's 5
on _ . . .,.. .
andof men,and put them onon N orn's 8 nail too,and neb of owL
1-' ............

(18) All
were SC1:"ap~ea
andand sent on far
They are with
with the lEsir some,
Tn1ntl'I,:l1'1

nrC)oabJv derives from
SU1)re:me god ).
CO]1stlel1;::ltlo~n

ursa

spear.

VQLSUNGA SAGA

39

ok mea visum VQnum,lsurnar a hafa mennskir menn.

(19) pat eru b6kninar
ok htf'l, ...........
okok mrerarerok 6spilltar
ser at heillum hafa.
namt,
Nj6ttu, ef
unz
1... 1·11"'H),.

svarar,22.: Aldri finnsk

vitrari kona f verQldu, ok kenn enn

ffi(}t!!ierC,a via

ok ber via

orlJ~ln~Uly distinct from the /EnT who had

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

39

and with Vanir 1 of vast wisdom,and some are found midst men.

(19) Beech runes are theseand birth runes, too,and all ale runes,
glorious runes
all who use them
unspoilt and true
to lead luck
Possess them and prosper'til theareanswered:
I shall notyou
me foredoomed ;I was created no craven.
Your friendly counsel
in full I would
as long as I may live.

, In all the world there'll never be a wiser woman than you,' said
advice.'Sigurd. 'Give me more
lowe it to you to do as
wish and to
you sound
she replied, because you
it and because you are Int:ellu?ent..
and then she said:
well towards yourand take but scant revenge on
C

C

4°
pol, ok tekr pu
via lan,gre.Llgt
ast ok manns konu.

sver ek at
ekurn alla menn.'23
Nti C riar Sigurar a brott. Hans skjQldr var margfaldr d ok
rauau gulli ok skrifaar a einn dreki. Hann var dQkkbrunaar itenfagrrauar it
ok pann veg var markaar hans hjalmr ok sQaull okvapnrokkr. Hann hafai gullbrynjuna, ok Qll hans vapn varu gulli bliin.
Ok pvf var dreki markaar a hans vapnum Qllum at, er hann er
rnavita hverr
af Qllumer frett hafa at hann drap
mikla
dreka er
2 kallaOk
pvi ern vapn hans Qll gulli

to W7ite thishouse
this inTHE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

them for their offences.
Bean
love
a man'swith fools at crowded me:etl,ngs.
know, and then you are str:all:!'htvvav
theare true. Kill him n.,...r..... h.~hisremarks. Ifthen be wary. Even
near the 'I"'\~1"'h_ _ h,n""'rV\+'111
Don'tthem at OalllQl1ets--so...

....,.I.,,~u ... ~u.'J C and I swear it is you I
an~~wf~re(1. ' even though I might

And thisswore, each

23

Then Sigurd rodeHis shield was of many thicknesses. It wasplated withgold,
on it was pictured aIts
was dark brown, and its
light red,hissaddlesurcoatin the same
hauberk was of gold, and all
were
his weapons were decked with
And the reason for the dragonem,bla.ZOl1ed on all his weapons was so that all those who hadthe
2 called
wouldthat he'd killed thethe reason for his weapons being
know onhim whoto

SctJlndina'viwrls'
emperors

It was also the name

41

VQLSUNGA sAGA

buin ok brun at lit, at hann er langt umfram aara menn at kurteisi ok
allri hrefersku ok
at Qllum hlutum. Ok
er talair em allir inir
strerstu kappar ok
hQfaingjar,
mun hann jn fremstr
taIar, ok hans nafn gengr I Qllum
noroan Grikklands haf,lok sva mun vera meaan verQldin
hans var brunt at lit ok
at lita ok far { starlokka.
var pykkt ok skammt ok mea
sama lit.
var hann okbreitt andlit ok starbein6tt.
Augu hans vam sva snQr ateinn
at Iita undir hans brun.
Heroar hans varu sva miklar sem tveir menn vreri a atHans lfkami
var skapaor allr via sik akok pann veg sem bezt
sama. Ok ermark uat pa er hannsik sveroinu
en pat var sjau spanna hatt, ok er hann ao
fullvaxinn,
pa tak niar dQggskarinn a sverainu akrinn
Ok hans
aft er meira en vQxtr. Vel kann hann sveroi at
ok spjati at jataok skapti at
ok skildi at halda,
at spenna eoa hesti a at rioa,
ok margs konar
nam hann iHann var vitr maar, sva
at hann vissi fyrir aorona hluti.
skiloi fugIsrQdd. Ok af sllkum
hlutum kamu honum fair hlutir a avart. Hann var
okmaIsnjallr sva at ekki tak hannerendi at
at hann mundi
hretta en sva synisk Qllum sem
leia muni
at vera nema sva
sem hann
Ok pat er hansat veita
sinum mQnnum
ok reynasik I starrreaum ok taka fe af sinum 6vinum oksfnurn vinum.
skorti hann hug, ok aldri varo hann hrreddr.

Sigurar brIar nu par til er hann kernr at einum miklum bre. par rea
fyrir einn mOOll hQfaingi, sa erhet. Hann atti systur Brynhildar
er C Bekkhildr 2 het, pvi at hon hafoi heima verit ok numit hannyrai, en
Bryn
f6r mea hjalm ok brynju ok gekk at d vigum. Var hon pvf
kQlluo Brynhildr. Heimir okhildr attu einn son er svior het,
manna kurteisastr. »ar leku menn uti. Ok er peirreia mannsins
at peir hQfau
at brenum, hretta peir leiknum ok undrask manninn,
engan slikan set.
i m6t honum ok fQgnuau honum vel.
athwOl" The IWe'cedtnl/
kom til Heimis.
Cthw
dthw
;'
1 i.e. theSea
I The first """1""".._"""..... of the name signifies
bench " a ref4erelnce to the long
wooden benches
as seats in the old Scandinavian
J whereas theCTHE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

41

all decked with gold andbright was that he far excelled others
in fine manners, in all
graces and well-nigh in everything.
And when all theheroes and the most famous leaders are
spoken of, he is the one who willbe spoken of as foremost of all,and his name is current in all the
spoken north of the Greek
and so it will be for asasworld endures. His hair,
which fell in long locks, was brown and handsome to look on. His
beard was short and thick and of the same colour. He had a highbridged nose and broad,features. His
were sopiercing thatdared lookin the face. His
were sowide that to look at him was like looking at two men. His body waswell proportioned asheight and breadth and just as it shouldbe. And an indication of his height is that when he belted on thesword Gram-it was over five feet long-and walked through a field offull grown rye, the scabbard-chape brushed the top of the standing
And his size was outdone by his strength. He was expert insword-play, in throwing a spear or hurling a javelin, in shield work, inand in riding, andand varied were the arts of chivalryheacquired in his youth.
was a wise man having foreknowledgeof future events. He could understand theof birds. And forthese reasons there was little that took him unawares. He could speaklong and eloquently, and if he started on ahe never stopped
until everyone saw that his was the only way possible. And he loved
to come to the aid of his men, to tax his powers in dangerous ventures,to rob his enemies of their wealth and toto his friends. He neverlacked courage and he was never afraid.
O'.:Jt"l'hp,.*"u·Sigurd now rode until he came to aestate ruled over by animportant chieftain named Heimir. He was married to Brynhild's sister
who was called Bekkhild 2 because she had stayed at home and taken
up the distaff, while Brynhild was concerned with helmet and hauberk
and went to battle. This is why she was called Brynhild. Heimir andBekkhild had a son named Alsvid, a man of most courtly bearing.
Outside were people taking part in various sports, but when they saw
the man riding up to the buildings ey stopped, and they were amazedbecause they had never seen such a man. They went to meet him andfirst element of Brynhild's
in a number of female names:,

cHild J was an element
battle.

SAGA

unau
ser at skemtan at
naluKllm sinum.

f6stra hans. Hon sat I einni
en aarar konur.
st6rmerki er ..... '1nrtl,..j.,,..
......u.j;:;. .... ""..,...lilo,

skipan pIn harmar? Haukar pinir
seint b6t.'
hvat ek
Minn haukr flo asat via einn
tra~~onl1n verk.'
BulUad6ttur er mestr
mun satt vera. Eaa hversu b kom hon her ? 'var skarnmt I miIli ok
k6mua.'
vissu verfam dQgum. Su kona hefir oss
a The twe'ced'tnJ!
b B ccm:,ec:tuTl!!St;l.Qrurc~ar ok UIjlnhllJda,r.

sense.

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

42

welcomed him. Alsvid invited him to be his guest and to have anything
Arrangements were made for him
he wanted, and this wasto be nobly waited on. Four men unloaded the gold from his horse,
and a fifth attended him. Many
and rare treasures were to beseen
It was considered
sport to look at the hauberks andhelmets, the big
thelarge golden goblets and weaponsof every kind. Sigurd
there a long time and was held in great
esteem. Word of his
the slaying of the terri e dragon,
now spread through every country. They now had alife andon well together. They amused themselves by
to their weapons,
making arrow-shafts and hawking.

At that time Brynhild, Heimir's foster-daughter, was back with him.
She lived in her own quarters with her maidens. She was more skilledin the domestic arts than other women. She was working her tapestry
with gold thread and embroidering on it thedeeds performed by
Sigurd, the slaying of the dragon, the seizure of the treasure and thedeath of Regin. One day, as we are told, Sigurd rode to the forest
with his hounds and hawks and abody of men. On his return,his hawk flew up onto a high tower
settled near a window. Sigurd
went after the hawk. Then he saw a good-looking woman and pergood looks and herceived that it was Brynhild who was there.
task made a deep impression on him. He entered the hall but would
not join in the men's amusements.
.. Why are you so silent? ' said Alsvid then. 'This change in you
worries us, your friends. Why can't you enjoy yourself? Your hawks
are pining, and so is your horse, Grani, and we'll not find a speedy
cure for it.), My od friend,' answered Sigurd, 'let me tell you what's on mymind. My hawk flew to a tower, and as I caught him I saw a beautiful
woman. She was sitting over a golden tapestry, embroidering on it thedeeds I've accomplished in the past.'
C You saw Budli's daughter, Brynhild,, replied Alsvid, C a womanof real character and'C That's surely true, answered Sigurd, C but how did shehere ? 'C There was but little time between your arrival and hers,' replied
AIsvid.
C I knew that just a few days
' said Sigurd. 'She seemed tome the finest woman in the world.

SAGA

43

at einni konu, pvilfkr maar.
C

ok

Er

henni gull ok na

sa enn urn aldr er hon Ieoi rums hja
Hon vill sik ihafa ok aIls konar
hvart hon svarar oss eoa

eoa Ier

?'
en

er i

svarar, C Nu er veitt
er oss lfkar.'var tjaldat af inurn
tjQldum ok pakit klreoum

Hn. .... h~:lo .... I"'1'.,1"

allt
C Nu erfram komit eross.'svarar, 'skuluo her velkomnir.'
Sioan reis hon upp ok
mea
ok
hann
mea guIlker ok baa hann drekka.
rettir i m6t nOJnd.llnaokt6k hQnd hennar mea ok setti hana hja ser.
urn hals henni
ok kyssti hana ok, Engi kona hefir
Brynhildr
trunao sinn aatkonu vald,Hann
oss at ver mrettim nH)tasK.
at vit buim saman. Ek em
mun ek at lioi
helrko,nungllm hjalm, ok

neJrmanJna, en l'u muntsvarar, C Ekki trelir mik eins konungs dottir, ok ekki
1

Sees.v. fJal,R:\1r,a43

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS, A man like you shouldn't
interested in anyone woman,' said
Alsvid. 'It's bad to fret about what can't be had.', I shallto' said Sigurd, 'andher gold, and gain her
delight and, She's never suffered any man to sit by her, or
drink,'
Alsvid. 'She wants to be off to, I don't know if she'll reply, or not,' said Sigurd, ' or let me sit
by her.'
The next
Sigurd went to the women's apartments, and Alsvid
stood close by outside
arrow-shafts.
,
my lady,'
Sigurd.' Is all well with you? ', All is well,' she answered. 'My kinsmen and friends are alive.
But none of us can tell what sort of luck we'll have down to the day
we die.'He sat down by her side. Then four women "".1..1....""... "',\.& _'............. ,....,...,.,.
golden cups and the finest wine, and stood before them.
Then Bry ild said: 'Not many arethis seat, apart fromwhen my father comes.'
, I'm
about
man who's
it now,' he . . . . .
The room was hung with the most costly tatJ.est:rles,
floor had ,..._,.'rL:lt....... ·..... _ ...
, Yourto me is now fulfilled,' said Sigurd.
' she replied.
, You are welcome
Then she arose, and the four maidens with her, and brought him a
cup and told him to drink.
for theand at thesame time took her hand and drew her down beside him.
her, he sed
and said:, No woman born is lovelier than you.', Wiser not toyour trust to a woman, for they always
break their vows,' said Brynhild.
, The
we wed would be our nal)'Pl~est,' he said.
, We're not
to share our lives' Brynhild replied. 'I
am a shield-maiden,ta helmetwith warrior kings. I help
them and I don't find battle dlstas1tetull.
, We shall prosper best if we
our lives together,' answered
Sigurd. 'The pain of all this is worse tothan sharp weapons.', I shall muster the troops,' replied Brynhild, ' and you will marry
Gudrun, Gjuki's daughter.', No king's daughter shall ensnare me,' replied Sigurd. 'I'm not
C'.-.:"l[TAt'"An44

VQLSUNGA SAGA

huga urn petta, oksver ek via guain at ek skal pik
konu ella.'sllkt. Sigurar
henni
ok
henni
sVQrau nu eiaa
nyju, ok gengr hann I brott til sinna
gullhring,
manna ok er par um hrla mea miklum bloma.

GjUki G het konungr. Hann hafai riki fyrir sunnan Rln. Hann
atti prja sonu er sva hetu: Gunnarr, HQgni, Guttormr.1 Guarun 2 het
dottir hans. Hon b var
mrer. Baru pau bQrn mjQk af Q8rum
konunga bQrnum urn alIa
breai urn vrenleik ok vQxt. ]>eir vam
jafnan I hernalli ok unnu mQrg ag~Eti:sVf:rk. GjUki atti Grimhildi a ina
fjQlkunngu.
Buali 4 het konungr. Hann var rikari en
ok p6 ba.<)ir rikir.
Atli S het broOir Brynhildar. Atli var grimmr
mikill ok svartr ok
po tfguligr inn mesti hermaar. Grfmhildr var grimmhugua kona.
Raa GjUkunga stoll mea miklum b16ma ok mest fyrir sakir barna hanser mjQk varu umfram C
II glQ{} vera.
Eitt sinn
GuOrun meyjum sinum at hon rna
Ein kona spyrr
hvat henni se atHonfengurn ver tima i draumum. Er pVI harmr f.
hjartaRaa l drauminn,ereptir.'
dreymir
Hon svarar, C
mer okpik
hryggja, pvi at
fyrir vearum.'
Gullnin svarar, C petta er ekki vear. pat dreymai mik at ek sa einn
hauk mer a hendi. Fjallrar hans varu mea gulligum lit.'
Konan svarar, Margir hafa spurt af y8rum vrenleik, vizku okkurteisi. NQkkurs konungs sonr mun biaja pin.'ok allt mittGu8run svarar, ' Engi hlutr p6tti mer haukinum
fe vilda ek heldr lata en hann.'
Konan svarar, ' Sa er pu frer mun vera vel menntr, ok muntu unnahonum mikit.'
Guarun svarar, 'pathverr hann er, okskulum ver hitta Brynhildi.
mun vita.'
prer bjuggusk mea guili ok mikilli
ok foru mea meyjum sinum,C

reads Fra GiUka konungi ok 8onum.

Raa illeg. V,· 01 doubtful

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

44

in two minds about this, and I swear by the gods that I either marry
you or no one at all.)She spoke to the same
Sigurd thanked her for what she had
said andher a gold
Then they
repeated their vows,andwent off to his men andhe prospered for a time.

There was a king named Gjuki. His kingdom lay south of the Rhine.
He hadsons called Gunnar, Hogni and Guttorm.1 Gudrun i was
his dau er, a maiden who was widely famed. The chi en outdid
other kings' children in natural gifts and attainments, in good looks as
in stature. They were always out raiding, and performed many brilliant
Gjuki's wife was Grimhild, 3 a sorceress.
was more powerful than Gjuki,
was a king named Budli."though both were powerful. Brynhild's brother was Atli,5 a stern man,andbut of noble bearing and awarrior. Grimhild had
an evil disposition. Gjuki's house prospered, and chiefly because of
his children who outshone most people.
One day, Gudrun told her maids of honour that she couldn't be
happy. One woman
her what she was unhappy about.
I had no luck in my dreams,' she replied, and so there is grief inmyInterpret the dream, since you ask about it.''Tell it me,'
replied, 'and don't worry, for dreams always
mean storms.', This is no storm,' replied Gudrun. 'I dreamed I saw a splendid
hawk on my hand. His plumage was gold in colour.', Many have heard of your beauty, wisdom and courtliness. Some
Icing's son will ask for your hand,' answered the woman.
C I thought nothing finer than the hawk,' Gudrun replied, C and I
would rather have lost all my wealth than him.', You'lla manly husband,' answered the woman, ' and you'll
love him dearly.
C It worries me, not knowing who he is,' replied Gudrun.
eWewill go to see Brynhild-she will know.'
They arrayed themselves in gold and many things ofbeauty,I

I

Gjuki and his sons see Introduction p. xxxii
Introduction pp. xv f., xxxi f.
aIntroduction p. xvi, n. I&
is probably a reflection of the historical BIeda, Attila's brother, who
I See Introduction p. xxxii
also appears in NL as B16delin.
1
I

45

VQLSUNGA SAGA

k6mu at hQll Brynhildar. Su hQll var buin mea gulli ok st6a
Ok er sen er feraer Brynhildi
at margar
konur 6ku at
mea gylltum vQgnum.
hon. a , Mik dreymai
mun vera Guarun Gjukad6ttir,'
oss frloari
Ekki
urn hana I n6tt, ok gQngum ut I m6t
konur heim.'
gengu ut { m6ti
okvel.
gengu inn I 1'8. ina
hQll. Salrinn var skrifaor innan ok mjQk silfri buinn. Klreoi
breidd undir fretrokalIir
prer hQfau
margs konar leika. Guorun var
bella? Ger eigi pat.
Brynhildr' Hvirlka konunga ok peira
Skemtum oss alIar saman
st6rvirki.' 1
Guarun. (Eaa hverja veiztu fremsta konunga, Gerum pat,'verit hafa ? 'peirokBrynhildr svarar,
unnu

var
sIns ok ~"LL""'L""'.
Guorun' Hvat var til
er faoir hans fell ? 'ldr svarar, 'M6oir hans
I valinn ok fannK.OJ1Unll! saran ok bauo at binda sar
en hann kvezk ofsloan
aten baa hana via
hUgg~lSk at han mundi reztan son
ok varandlat l:jl~~mllln<lar k01rlUI12S
han meaupp
ok vann hann mQrg atrlekSveI'k a hverjum
maar I verQldu.'
Guoruntil hans haldit. En af pv£
kom ek her at
mikilIar'.kOlrlUlll!S ok hefndi'f""r"\j,\i"\1111"+,,,i'l111'"

lin!lnaftfJtJr!. Danmarks

I,

discussing
oU1tstancLlnsz peJ:''801I1alltles. Trouble

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

45

and with their maids inthey set out and came to Brynhild'sThe
was ablaze withand stood on a hill. And
when theirwas seen,
was told that many women
were
towards the castle inaal1l211ter,. . . . . . "... must be' she said. (I dreamedof hergo out to meet her. No lovelier women come tovisit us.'went out and welcomed them.
wereon the insidehall and it shone with
C01lerlns;lrs werebeneath theirand everyone
waited on them. They
all
Gudrun h little to say.
I Why can't you be gay? ' said
' Don't be like this. Let'stalk about
and theira happy timedeeds.' 1, Let's do that,' said Gudrun. 'Whichdo you feel were themost eminent? )'The sons of Hamund,2 Haki and .t1agOaLrO,' replied Brynhild.
t ..
many
in battle.'
and
'but
took
to death another in her
andslow
Why didn't you mention my brothers who are now
thought tomost eminent men ? 'I That's true,' said
' but
I know one man who
outstripsson.. When he killed
Hunding's sons and av~~n~:ed.
'L ...........
his
was still a child.', What was there to show that?' said Gudrun. 'Do you say he
was born when his father fell ? 'Brynhild, ' and found, His mother went to the
Sigmund wounded and offered to
his wounds, but hewas too old to fightand told her to take comfort from thethat she would
birth to anson. And here a wise
man's guess was second
And after
death shewas withAlf, andwas brought up there in high esteem,
and he performed many
every day, and he's the most famous
man in the world.'
I Love led
to find out about him,' said Gudrun, ( but I cameto tell you mycause me muchn ..... J..... "'.J> ....... J."""-L

T n ....TTl-,:'""\Il:r1JT'fJ......... 'I'

JL......

S

brother.

by Suo lirlaInlma't1C\18 in Book VII

are recounted
mother's side

46

VQLSUNGA SAGA

Brynhildr svarar, 'Lat pik
pinurn, er allir
pik glel)ja.'slikt angra.

Ver meo frrendum

fra skemmu margar, pat a dreymoi mik,'saman ok sam einnaf Qorum dyrum.
hans var af gulli. Ver vildum allar takaen
ein naoa.
Dyrit
mer Qllum hlutuffi betra.
knjaffimer.
mer pat sva mikill
atmatta trautt bera. Sioan
gaftu mer einn tilfhvelp. Sa dreifai mik blol)i br~ora
Brynhildr svarar, 'Ek mun raoa sem eptir mun
Til ykkar
honum
mun koma Siguror, sa er ek kaus mer til manns.
meinblandinn mjQo er Qllum oss kernr i b moot stria.
muntu
pu munt
konung. Missa muntu
ok hann skj6tt
brreoraokmuntu Atla vega.'~JL svarar, ' Ofrharmr er oss
at vita slikt.' Ok faranu { brott ok heim til Gjuka kO][lUrl1!S.
_....... _..........

...

Siguror c riOr nu i brott mea
mikla gull. Skiljask peir nu vinir.
Hann riormea Qllum
herbunaoi ok farmi. Hann r{orpar til er hann kom at hQII Gjuka konungs. Riar nu iOkpateinn af konungs mQnnum ok mrelti,
C pat hygg ek at her fari einn af goounum.
]Jessier allr via
gull bdinn. Hestr hans er miklu meiri en aorir
ok afburoarvrenn
en sjalfr berr hannvapnabunaor. Hann er langt urn aora menn
po mest af Qorum d IDQnnum.'
Konungrinn
ut mea hiro sina ok kvaddi manninn ok e spyrr,, Hverr ertu, er{ borgina, er
poroi nema at leyfi sona I
minna? 'Hann svarar, (;heiti Siguror, ok em sonr Sigmundar konungs.'
Gjdki konungr
kominn mea 08S, ok pigg
'Vel skaltu
hert sem pu vill.'
Ok hann gengr inn i hQllina, ok varu allir lagir hja honum, ok allir
pj6nuau honum, ok var h hann par i miklu yfirlreti. ]Jeir rfaa allir
a
It

ch.

reads Draumr Guaninar ra&inn af Brynhildi.
var blandat 6minnisQJ.
lilleg. V

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGSC

yourDon't let such
who all want toyou,' replied Brynhild. (you happy.'

among

27
,I
' said Gudrun, C that a
number of us left our quarters,
and we saw a'n~ to other deer. Its hair
but I alone mana£rea
was _~I."''''''''''else.
it.
deer seemed to me more nrf~rl(\l1!Ol
you shot down the deer at my feet. At this,was sothat
I could hardly
it. Then you gave me acub. It spattered mewith my brothers' blood.', I'll interpret it
as it will come to pass,' Brynhild answered.
( Sigurd, whom I
as my husband, will come to you. Grimhild
will give him
mead. This will
sorrow to us all.
You will marry him and soon lose him. Then you will marry King Atti.
You will lose your brothers and then kill'
, answered'To know suchoverwhelms me
Gudrun. And now
went away back to
Qll1"",::l> ....

nn"'l".. hllnIY

Sigurd now rodewith all the gold.
now
as . . .
W'.
He rode Grani with his gear and equipment.
rode until he cametoGjuki's halL
now rode into the castle. One of the king's
men saw this and said:( I think one of the gods is approaching. This man is gold all over.
His horse isthan other horses. His weapons and armour areother men far behind and he himself mostsurpasses other men.'
The king went out with his retainers and addressed the man:
, Who are you,' he asked, (riding into the castle,
h no one has
dared to do without my sons' leave ? ', I am Sigurd,' he answered, C son of King Sigmund.'C You're welcome among us here,' said King Gjuki.
'Whatever
you want is yours.'
And he went into the hall and they were all short when comparedto him, and they all waited on him, and he was held there in great.t" ..""........

SAGA

47

urn

rt .......... ++n'nrt.... n~lJ'nl1n .... er

upp okoss a
ok aUtviljum ver til
her via horni ok
t6k via ok akk af.
Han'pinn faair skal vera Gjuki konungr, en ek
brrear ptnir Gunnarr ok
ok aUir er eiaa vinnia, ok munu
yarir jafningjar fask.'
Sigurar t6k
munai hann ekki til
Brynhildar. Hann dv:al01sk
Ok eitt sinnokhendr
urn hals honum
er nu kominn inn mesti
at honum mikit traust.
honum
riki sem hann vill, okhann herat!\.()ntln,rr svarar, ' Fat{tt er
honum en aarir biai.'eittskenkir Guarun.
at Qllu in kurteisasta. Fimm misseri var "I"lrll..-j.,..meaokok rreaask kOJnUlt1e:~lr, Martok mjQk
hefir pu styrkt vart riki.'
Gunnarr'Ut viljum ver til vinna at
dvelizk her
mea boai, en
mundi annarr
p6tt
breai riki ok varaok
ta skal piggja.'
se samba r brrear. Nu erveizla ok st6a marga
Drekkrnu brualaup til
konarokok var hvern
nu vtaa urn lQnd ok vinna mQrg
op

01 reads opp and emends to opt.

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

honour.

Sigurd,47

but Sigurd's
were allmen.
often
thing if heshe saw how noand what an asset he was,any heard ofThe
treatedreckoned him more
than...VJ;:;."' .......Jl"'.... 'I

ac(~OnnpJllstlmen1ts went far . . . "'" 11' "" ........

,'-&

Grimhild noticed how
he
of
She
settled there and married
one could claim to be his
immense wealth, far
him like one of his sons, andthey were tnc:~mSlel'~res.
One evc~nlnp'
sat drinking, the queen
up, went to Sigurd
and addressing, We are delighted that you are here. We wish to
you all that's
Take this horn and drink.'
He took it and drank it off.
Gjuki s 11 be your father and I your
' she
' and
0 take the oaths, shall be your brothers,
Gunnar and Hogni, and allthen none will be found toyou.'
Sigurd took this well,with that drink he lost all memory of
there for a time.
Brynhild. He
One day
went toembraced him and said:, The
champion to bein the world is herewith us now. He wouldaasset. Give him
daughterinasum money and whatever
would like,'andhelive here
unusual to offer ahand, but to offer it to him is ahonour than for others to ask for it,' thesaw that she was aOne
Gudrun waswine.
was there forbeautiful woman and most courtly
and were widely
two and a half
and they thus
spoken of-and
were now CO]ll.vc:~rS]lnQ'
Gjuki, «and
,
doi a
deal
us, . . .,. . I:;u............
you've greatly strengthened our power.'
I: We'll do anything to persuade you tohere a' said« Dignities, and the offer of our sister's hand-no one else'
would be granted it, even if he, Thank you for the honour you do me,' replied«I
They now swore to be brothers as if born of the same parents.
sumptuous feast was now prepared and it lasted many days. And
Sigurd now married Gudrun. Many different amusements and entertainments were to be found there and each day's feasting was better
than the last. They now roamed far and wide, performing many glorious
T n ................ I""' . .

VQLSUNGA SAGA

drapu marga konungasonu, ok
nu heim meo miklu h~1
ok sioan var hon miklu
sonr het ::S11!m'undr.
Ok eitt sinn
GrimhiIdr at "'-" _"',.,,, Yoart rao stendr meo miklum b16ma
eruo kvanlausir. Bioio Brynhildar. pat er
Siguror rioa mea yor.'
Gunnarr svarar, ' Vist er hon vren, ok
nu fear sinum ok brreorum ok . . .: .......,...."""
sem
eta af..t'''l,nrTl""'1"'1'1""Y\'I"n"=l't"1

sIlk afrek
Guorunu at
en aor ok vitrari.

peir a bua nu fero sina listuliga, riaa nu fjQII ok dali til Buola kOllUl1lgS.
upp b6noroit. Hann t6k pvi vel, ef hon vill
einn mann mun hon
er hon viII. pa
hana sva stora atpeir f Hlymdali.
vel.
Gunnarr nu 0rendin.
Heimir kva<.\ hennarhon
par salhennar skammtokateinn mundi han
vilja er rioi eld brennanda er
er urn sal hennar.
finna
ok brann eldr urn utan.
salinn ok eldinn ok sja par borg gulli
Gunnarr reioen HQgni HQlkvi. Gunnarr
hestinn ateldinum, en hann hopar.
Siguror' Hvi hopar pu, Gunnarr ? 'Hann svarar, 'vill hestrinn hlaupa' ok biorlja ser'Heimult er
Gunnarr rior nu at
Gunnarr rna
nu eigi r.faa
eld. Skipta nu litum, sem
kenndi peim
Sigurai ok Gunnari. Sioan rior Sigur6r ok hefir Gram .f hendi okbindr gullspora aser. Grani hleypr fram at eldinum er hannkenndi sporans. Nu veror
mikill er eldrinn t6k at
en jQrot6k at skjalfa. Loginn st60
himin.
porai
at gera fyrr,
ok var sem hann rioi {J>aeldrinn, en hann gekk af
h€stinum inn { salinn.
SV8 er kveoit b :• The preceding ch.
BucUad6ttur.
II er kve8it illeg. V

reads

rei6

Brynhildar

48

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

deeds,
manyand no one
such
as
did.
now returned home with much booty.
Gudrun some ofheart to eat, and she was then far _.....
andtoo. Their son's name was Sigmund.
Grimhild went one day to her son, Gunnar.
, Yourare flourishing,' she said, ,no
Ask for Brynhild's hand; it
and Sigurd will ride with you.', She's certainly beautiful,'« and I'm
And then he told his
brothers and Sigurd, andall strongly in favour.

''I'Y'\nn4....

match,
loath.'
were

They now
carefully for their journey. Then they rode over
to Ki
Budli. They put forward theirHehill andreceived it favourably, provided that she did not
she wasso proud that she would only marry the man of her choice. Then theyrode to Hlymdalir. Heimirthem awelcome. Gunnar explained their business.
said that hers was the decision as towhom she should marry. Then he said that her hall was a short way
off and gave his opinion that she would only
the man who rodethrough the burning fire that surrounded her halLfound the halland theand what they saw was a stronghold, its
mountedin gold, d fire burning all round it. Gunnar
Goti and Hogni
rode
ir. Gunnar spurred on his horse towards thebut heshied back.
, Why shy back, Gunnar? ' said Sigurd.
' he an!~w«::reld. and he asked Sigurd, The horse won't leap theto lend him Grani.
C By all means,' said Sigurd.
Gunnar then rode at the fire, but Grani wouldn't go on. So Gunnar
Sigurd and Gunnar then exc:ha]ne:e:<1
could not ride through theappearances as Grimhild had taught them. Then Sigurd rode
Gram in hand and golden spurs bound on his heels. Grani charged
at the fire when he felt the spur.
en there came a mighty roar as
the fire began to rage and the earth to tremble. The flames mounted
to the sky. No one had dared do this before, and it was like riding indense fog. Then the fire died down and dismounting he entered
the hall.
As is said:

49

VQLSUNGA SAGA

Eldr a nam b at
enjQra atok har logi
via himni
Far trevstlsk.
fylkiseld at r{aane yfir(23) Sigurar Granasverai keyrai.
Eslokna3i
fyrir Qalingi,
logi aIlr l~~r()l~~k.
fyrir lofgjQrnum.
Bliku rei3i, C
er Reginn atti.
Ok er ""'.. n~llt"j,\t" kom inn urn
fann hanneittok
sat i Brynhildr. Hon spyrr hverr sa maar er. En
Gjukasonef ek riaa pinn
'Ertu ok ~tluo min kona meo
fear
ok f6stra
mea yaru
veit ek
hversu ek al pessu svara,' segir hon. dSigurar stoa
a g61finu ok studdisk a sverashjQltin ok mrelti til
Brynhildar,,
i mot skal ek gjalda mikinn mund i gulli ok g63um gripum.'
Hon svarar af ahyggju af sinu s~ti sem alpt af baru ok hefir svera
i hendi ok hjalm a hQfai ok var f brynju :,' h a n , , rrea ekki slikt via mik, nema pu ser hverjummanni
ok skaltu
er min hafa beait, ef pu hefir traust til.
Ek var i orrostu mea
ok varu
var litua i mannab16ai, ok
girnumk ver enn.'
Hann svarar, , MQrg st6rvirki hafi
unnit, en minnizk nn a heit
yaur, ef pessi eldr vzri rioinn, at
mundia mea
manni ganga
er petta gerai.'
Han finnr nu her sQnn sVQr ok merki
maIs, stendr upp ok_11T"!lnr.l1........

r.I+Ir'lT"'lCIo,1"\1

a
b

c
d

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

49

tall flame
towered to the
Few warrior
were willing toor fare onwards throughthe fire's rage.
With sword did Sigurd
Grani onwards.
thethe fire then died.
The flames all ceased
for theofre~tpI~en(lerlt the h~.:::oc::"~Regin had owned.
........

And when Sigurd went in past the flames he found a fine dwelling,
and Brynhild waswithin. She asked who the man was. He
said he was Gunnar,c And
are to be
cOl1sent€~aiflrodethroughyour
asyour Iflsr~T'-';.tlllt~r if you so decided.'
C I
know how to answer', she said.
on the hilt of his sword,
stood erect on theto Brynhild :and« In return I shall make you affi(:lrrllaj!' e-settlernellt in valuables
and gold.'
From her seat like a swan on the wave she made solemn reply. She
had sword in hand, a helm on her head, and she was clad in armour.
C Gunnar,' she
C do not talk to me ofunless you are a
man than any other, and you must kill all who have asked formy hand, if
resolute enough. I have fought in battle with theKing ofand my weapons were stained with men's blood, andthis is what I stillfor. ', he replied, C but now think
C You have
manyof your oath,
if anyonethrough the fire you would go withthe man who did so.'She realised that what he said was true and saw the point of his
1

I:U8~CT-I:all:ncr. Heimir, who ment14one~a. flames see (p. 48).

1I

l7a1rlJa1rtkL

in Russia.

was the kingdom

the Swedish Varangians

VQLSUNGA SAGA

5°

honum vel. par dvelsk hann prjar nztr, ok bua
rekkju. b
tekr sveroit Gram oki meoalbert. Hon spyrr hv!
sretti. Hann kvao ser
at svahann bruolaup til konu
sinnar eoa
eUa
t6k
hringinn Andvaranautnis arfi. Eptir
er hannenhenni nu annan hring afrior hann brott i pann sarna e til sinna felaga, ok skipta
litum ok rloa
I Hlymdali ok
hve farit hafai. »ann sarna
honum af tru.naai at
f6r Brynhildr heim a til f6stra sIns ok
kom einn KOJnU]rl2'l~, Ok reio minnok kvazk kominn til raoa vio mik ok nefndisk
at pat mun Siguror einn gera, er ek vann
Gunnarr. En ek
eioa afjaUinu, ok erminn frumverr.' f}
Heimir kvaa nu sva buit vera mundu.
Brynhildr mrelti, ' D6ttur okkar Siguroar, Aslaugu, 1 skal her h upp
fceoa meo'
ildr iFara KOJnUll1gC3lr nu heim, en Brynhildr f6r til fear sins.
vel okSiguroi sina fylgo. Er
buizk via
mikiU mannfjQloi. par kom Buoli konungr mea d6ttur sina,
ok Atli, sonrok hefirveizla staait marga daga. Ok er lokit
ra aUra eioa via Brynhildi ok lretr 1'6 vera
erminnirkyrt. Brynhildr ok Gunnarr satu via skemtan ok drukku gott yin.
(.I

3°
»at J er einner
til arinnar Rlnar J: at pva
pa 6a
Brynhildr ngra ut
spyrr hv! pat gegndi.
Brynhildr' HVI skal ek urn petta jafnask via pik heldr en urn
annat? Ek hugoa m at minn faoir vzri rfk.ari en l'inn, ok minn maar
unnit mQrg R snildarverk 0 ok riai eld brennanda, en pinn b6ndi var
Hjalpreks 11 konungs.'
Guorun svarar meo rei8i, c»a vzrir pu vitrari ef pu l'eg8ir 'l enlastaoir mann minn. Er pat aUra manna mal at engi hafi sl1kr komit f
verQldina fyrir hversvetna sakir, oksamir per vel at lasta hann, pVI
at hann er pinn frumverr, ok drap hann FMni ok rei8 vafrlogann, er pu
b -ju illeg. V• -inn illeg. V

11 skal her illeg.. V.V-rUnhildr illeg.. V
ch. heading illeg.; 01 reads Deild drottninganna Brynhildar
t illegible Jor B who swpects Samr and reads saman.
V
fJ& illeg. V
R -Qrg illeg. V"pnell Hja•V
f l'eg- illeg.

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

5°

answer. She arose and made him welcome..
there" ts and they shared the same bed.
took the sword Gram andd it naked between them.. She asked the reason. He said it was
ordained that he should
his wife in thisor else die.. Then
he took from her thewhichher, andgave her another frominheritance.
thisrode off into
the fire and to his
Theyback their apJ>ea:rances
and then rode to Hlymdalir and told how
hadsame
in COlma,en(;eday Brynhild went back to her
toldthat a king had come to here And he rode through myandhe had come tomake me his own, and that his name was Gunnar. But I said that
Sigurd alone would do this, he to whom I gave my vows on the
mOluntal][l--he isfirst lover.'Heimir thenthat things would have to
were.
, Aslaug,l Sigurd's
andshall be orOlle-llt up here with
you,' said Brynhild.
The kings now returned and Brynhild went to her father's.
Grimhild welcomed them and thanked Sigurd for his
were then made for aA
number of
Budli came with hisandson, AtIi, came. The feast
many days. And when was over, Sigurd remembered all his vows
to Brynhild, but henoBrynhild and Gunnar sat enl0VJlng
themselves and
wine.

3°
One day they went to bathe in the river Rhine. Brynhild thenwaded out farthest in the river. Gudrun asked what this meant.
, Why should I think we're of ual
in this more than inanything else?' said Brynhild. 'I thought my father was morepo
I than yours, and that my husband had performed many
outstanding feats, and rode through the burning
while your husband
was Ki Hjalprek's thrall.''You'd be
to hold your peace,'
Gudrun angrily,
C than to speak slightingly of my husband.
Everyone says that no manborn into this world is in any way like him. And it is not fitting for
you to speak slightingly of him, for he is your lover, and he killed Fafnir
and rode through the leaping flames when you thought it was King
1 See Introduction pp. xv, xxxvii and Appendix B

51

VQLSUNGA SAGA

Gunnarok hann lei
ok tok af hendi
hringinniULav'ar(lnalut.. ok mattu nu her hann
Brynhildr ser nu
ok kennir.
hon, sem a hon
daua vreri.
f6r heim ok mrelti ekki ora urn kveldit. Ok er
1.,.. . kom i rekkju, spyrr Guarun,
Hvi er Brynhildr sva 6kat ? 'svarar, ' v e i t
en grunar mik at ver munum
vita
nQkkuru
Guorunaua ok srelu ok aUra manna lofi,ok
at hon prettisk inn:-O';'tnrl1 ....

:-O';'tnr.. '1'. ..'..,....

,.......,..,.....,.....lln

hvern hon viU helzt

Siguror svarar, 'let ek pik, ok
muntu ef pu
Ok urn,.....fn1nn
f skemmu sinni, ok var H....,rnt'ulrl ....
]Ja mrelti
l~.&. .L.a... .
, Ver
Brynhildr.
pik okkart viartal? Eaa hvat stendr
fyrir gamni ? 'ok hefir pu grimmt
tilBrynhildr svarar, ' lIlt eitt gengr£'l....

"-.Jt.&. ..

,, Vira eigi
heldr.'
Brynhildr svarar, Spyrse attu vitir. ]Jat samir
rikum konum. Ok er
alIt at 6skum.'
Guorun svarar, 'er petta nQkkur su
forspa..
rekiat oss ?
geroumekki til angrs.'
ok ek ann
Brynhildr svarar, C ]Jess skaltu gjalda er pit att
eigi hans at nj6ta ne guUsins mikla.'
Guarun svarar, «vissa ek yaur ummreli, ok vel
minnraa fyrir
p6ttu
ekki at hitt.'
Brynhildr svarar, ' Ekki hQfum ver launmreli haft ok po hQfum vit
eioa
ok vissu per pat, atveltuo mik, okskal hefna.'
Guarun svarar, « pu ert betr
en makligt er, ok pinn ofsi mun
ilIa
ok
munu
gjalda.. 'mundu
nhildr, 'Guorun svarar, 'Attu sva gQfgan mann atmeiri
KOlt1UIll!r er, ok
fjar ok rikis.'Ghon, semVTHE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS~.,L ~,"-III ....

....

........ 11and hewith you and took fromarm thel\I1l<1V'ar~Lna,ut, and here-now you can see for .. 1'A11'1'1'"O&l>I .... ! )then saw theand rec:og'nlS,ea,.nnl,lri went back andnot utter a word that eVf~nl'nQ'.
And
went toGudrun asked:
Why is?', I don't know
, answered ....,..
but I
we shallsoon know
more fully.'
C Why isn't she content with wealthwiththeshe wanted? ) said _ . . . . . . . '. . . . . .
everyone, and with
I: Where waswhen she said she
she had the most
dlsitlI1lgulsllled husband, or the one she most ,,,anted? ) said""""""'''''''''''''''II1' I'll
whom she would most like toI-(rtrnnl11r1

1-(....

4:j;;;.......... , ..... ,'C""C'I'_OJ....

, answeredin theirit1"111tl,-+&I>,-O

and

'and

your
all theof the vow' andwithoutyou.'arrange mywas no secret,vows as we did, and you knew
nl.t:J'u"T'1,n me
but I'll be
Brynhild.
, replied Gudrun.
amatch than you
won't
without mischief, and many will
for it.'content,' said Brynhild, 'if only you didn't have
more
, I'd
eminent husband.'c Your husband is so' replied Gudrun, ' that none can say
who is aking, with wealth and power in plenty, too.'nnTn,nn

10

VQLSUNGA SAGA

Brynhildr svarar, C Siguror va at
ok er patriki Gunnars konungs,'-sva sem kveoit er :vert en ant(24) Siguror va at ormi,
en pat sloan mun
engum fyrnask,
meaan Qld lifir.
En hlyri pinn
hvarki poroi
eld at rioa
ne yfir
Guonin svarar, C Grani rann
honumhann porai at rioa, ok
Brynhildr svarar, Dyljumk tJeldinn undir Gunnari konungi, en
hugar at fryja . 'via at ek hygg Grimhildi

vet'
Gu8nin svarar, cA.rnml henni
pvi at han er til pin sem til
d6ttur sinnar.'bQIs er ass bitr.
Brynhildr svarar, ' Han veldr QIlum upphQfum
Han bar Siguroi
Ql, sva at
munoi hann mitt nafn.'
Guorun svarar, ' Martora mrelir
ok mikiler sllkt.. 'sva
mik
Brynhildr svarar, C Njoti
svikit, ok ersamveldi omakl
yar
sem ekGuorun svarar, , Betr mun ek
enmundir vitja, ok
eitt sinn.'at hann retti of gott via mik
Brynhildr svarar) cIlIa mrelir pu, ok er af
rennr J muntu iorask,ok hendum
heiptyroi.
Guorun,; pu kastaoir fyrri heiptaroroum a mik.. Lretr pu nu
sem pu munir
breta, en po byr grimmt undir.. 'onytt hjal,' segir Brynhildr. 'Ek pagoa lengi yfir
, Leggjum
minum harmi,
er mer bj6 i brj6sti, en ek ann )Jinum br60ur at
eins, ok tQkum annat taL'
Guorun'Langt ser hugr pinn urn fram.'
gengu a ana ok han kenndi
Ok par af st68 mikill 6fagnaar, erhringinn, ok )Jar af varo peira viorreoa.
JtJ

thus 01, dyljisk V

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

than

struck at
Gunnar's power.

Brynhild, (and that's worth more
the poem says:(24) Sigurd struck at thethat deed shall be told
for as
as everon
No wish had your brotherto win overoronwards through
the
rage.
« Grani did not gallop through the fire when King Gunnar mounted,
but hethe ride, and his courage can't be called in question,'
repliedC I
pretend that I'm well disposed towards Grimhild,'
answered Brynhild.
(Don't blame her,' replied Gudrun, 'for she treats you like adaughter.'( She is responsible for the whole onset of thenow
amlctllng: us,' answered Brynhild. 'She brought Sigurd a harmful
dra,ug:Jlt of ale so that he couldn't recall
name.'
telling a lot of untruths,' said
' It's a monstrouslie.'«Enjoyto the extent you've not deceived me-you don't
I'I~::::U:~!A"""I"A yourtogether, and I hope things turn out for you as I
, replied Brynhild.
I'll enjoy him more than you'd like,' answered Gudrun, ' and no
one thought he'd been over intimate with me, not once.'«You're talking ensi
,and when
you'll be sorry,'
not indulge in spiteful'replied Brynhild. C
C You first hurled spiteful words at me', said
' Now youact as if you'll put things r· t, but
malice behind it alL'C Let's have done with this pointless chatter,' said Brynhild.
C For
heart, and I lovea long time I kept silent about the grief that was in
no one but your brother, and let's talk of something,«Your thoughts are looking far beyond this,' said· Gudrun.
And much unhappiness came about because they went to the riverand she recognised the ring which led to their conversation.
' - I ' u,'-&..... '............

SAGA

31
ok k6mutfoendihittirok spyrr
sem hon se dauo. Ok er harln
er Buoli KOl[1UJ12r
kOJ[1UJlgS b k6muo til hans ok
nreoi(}? Sfoan leiddi hannsem komnir
en ekli(}s. Varuji ".& . . .' ' '. . . . ..&.sem hannvinattu mer
hvart
ylda
vanfrer til at
er rioi hestinum
menn er ek
reio'h1"'1!nnl'f'U'l"1

hA1·... 1I1111"'Y\ 17

er pu amrelir
hon verrsva
ok lifir vio lof.)
ne 6da(}iroksetti hana f fjQtra.
at aldri ser pu mik
bTe'ceatnll

ch.

kOllunlg'S, thus 01
kOl1lunJ~rv.

sf(}an i

as Hannr H1""l:rnh,lrhl1'" vox at eins;p.

uJUlkUl1lf,tar B

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

53

31

Mter
talk, Brynhild took to her bed, and Gunnar heard the news
that Brynhild was ill. He visited her and asked what was the matter.
andlike one dead.. But when hehis
But she made no'-Iu.'"'O" .... VJ~ .... , she answered:( What did you do with the
Budli'stome at our lastwhencame totoburnThen he took me
which one I
from
who'd come.. But I
offered to defend theand command a third of the army. There
were then two alternatives to hand: I had tothe one, as he"""'""01... . ' '"' ' ' ' ' or lose all my wealth and his
andsaid his favour
would serve me better than his anger.. Then I deliberated whether tobow to his will, or killmen. I considered I was incapable ofne:htllng him, and so I
to marry the man who would ride thewithand ride throughand kill the men I named.. Now none dared thesavefor he did not lack the couragealone.. He rode through thefor the feat. He it was who killed theandand five-and notforturnedand+ .... +h"""..,'... I swore
would
the noblest man
and that is
Now I amis notand for this reason I shall be the cause
your dea .
Andback Grimhild for her malice. There's no woman
moreor worse than she is.'answered so that not many heard:(You've made a lot ofstatements, and it's wicked of you to
ill of a woman whotowasn't badly
dlSiCollte:nte:d with her lot as
are, nor has
tormented dead men,nor murdered anyone, andis held in esteem.'( I've held no secret
Brynhild, (nor committed
any
not my nature-but I'd be quite ready to kill you.. 'Thenwould have killed
Gunnar, but Hogni put her inchains.
Then
Gunnar:( It's not my wish that she should be in chains.',
no heed to that,' she answered, C for you'll neversee
O"l'U'lr::u:)'t'''lnn'1"'\01.... 1'1..01'"1'"-"U.••• ""U.L

54

VQLSUNGA SAGA

ne gulli
klreaiteBa nepinni hQll eaa drekka
ne yar raa'
Kvaa
ser pat mestan harm at hon atti
Sigura. Hon
upp ok sl6 sinn boraa sva at sundr
ok baa sva hika skemrnudyrurnat langa leia tnretti heyra hennar
Nu er harmr mikill, ok
heyrir urn allan breinn.
se sva okatar eaa
Guarun spyrr skemmumeyjar sinar hvi
hvat er yar, eaa hv! farisem vitlausir menn, eaa hverr
er yar orainn ? 'J>a svarar hirakona ein er SvafrlQa het, ' J>etta er 6timadagr. Var
hQll er full af harmi.'
J>a mrelti Guarun til sinnar vinkonu :, Stattu upp,
hQfum
Vek Brynhildi, gQngum til
boraa ok verum katar.'
C J>at geri
' sagai hon, C at vekja hana ne via hanaokmQrg
drakk.
eigi mjQa ne vIn, ok hefir hongol)a reiai.'
J>aGul)run til Gunnars :C Gakk at hitta hana,'hon, C ok seg oss ilIa kunna hennar meini.'
Gunnarr svarar, C J>at er mer bannat at hitta hana el)a hennar fe
at skipta.'
J>6 ferr Gunnarr at hitta
ok leitar marga vega malsenda vil)hana ok frer ekki af urn sVQrin.
nu a brott ok hittir HQgna okbiar hann finna hana. En hannvera 6fuss ok ferr po ok fekk
ekki af henni. Ok er hittr Sigurar ok beainn at finna hana. Hann
svarar engu, ok er sva buit urn kveldit.
Ok annan dag eptir er hann kom heim t.I af dyraveiai, hitti hannGul)runu ok mrelti,
C J>ann veg hefit fyrir mik borit sem petta muni til mikils koma
hrollr sja, ok mun Brynhildr deyja.'
Guarun svarar, « Herra minn, mikil kynsl fylgja henni. Hon hefit
nu sofit sjau dregr, sva at engi porl)i at vekja hana.'
Sigurl)r svarar, ' Eigi sefr hon, hon hefir st6rrrel)i mea hQndum via
okkr.'
J>a mzlti Gu8run mel), J>at er mikill harrnr at vita pinn bana. Far heldr ok finn hana, ok
vit ef sjatni hennar ofsi. Gef henni gull, ok rnyk sva hennar rei&i.'
flom.B

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

54

in your hall, neither a~rln~K.l'n';g, nor playing at chequers, nor
SOC:~a.K.]Ln2 in friendly tone, normaterials in gold, nor,youShe saidsorrow
in not being married to Sigurd.
up and struckwork,
it apart,
She raised
and then she ordered the door of the
to be
so thather lament could be heard afar off.
sorrow andit was heard over all the pr€~Clll1ctS.
Gudrun asked her attendants why they were soand sad:, What's the matter with you?
y about like people demented?
What has so strangely come over you ?
Then one of her suite called Svafrlod answered:, This is an evil day, our hall is full of sorrow.'
Then Gudrun spoke to her confidante:, Get up, we have long been asleep. Rouse Brynhild, and let's set
to weaVl.nQ' and be', I'll not do it,
said, C neither rousenor talk to 1I~1--11J'many a day she's drunk no mead or wine, and the wrath of the gods
has come upon her.'
Then Gudrun spoke to Gunnar:, Go and see her,' she said, 'and say weno pleasure in her
misery.', I'm forbidden to see her,' replied . . . . . \,.lL.l.a...,~~ 'or to have any part inwhat is hers.'
But Gunnar went to see
andin numerous ways to talknothing in reply.
then went away, metwith her, but
and asked him to visit her. He said he was reluctant, but he went,and got nothing out of her. And he met Sigurd and asked him to visit
her. He returned no answer, and such was the position that eV(~nlJnQ'.
And the following day, when he returned from the hunt, he foundGudrun and said:
c r·ve had a presentiment that the feverish shivering will come tosomething, and Brynhild will die.''My lord,' replied Gudrun, C there are great portents all about her.
She has now slept for seven days, and no one has dared to wake her.', She's not asleep,' answered Sigurd. C She's busy with some deep
scheme against us both.'Then, weeping, Gudrun said:
C How great is the sorrow to hear of your death I It would be betterto go and visit her, and see if her pride will abate. Give her gold andso mollify her anger.'me''I1'I'''I.,..I1''1'n,...

.r:Int:l'l""t"r'nA1'''1''.......

55

ferr mik at hitta? Mervarvio menn, eoa
mfna reioi.'
f'J' ....

1iTn'rn~inangrar?'minn hug vio

ok vartu minokat unnaslikumeoa
mest ?
sem hans ast se
gulli
svarar, ' pat er mer sarast minna harma at ek fre
pvf
til
komit at bitrt svero vreri rooit f pinu bI60i.'
svarar, ' Kvio
pvi. Skammt mun at bfoa aor bitrt svero
mun standa f mfnu
ok ekki muntu
verra bioja,
at
munt
mik
Munu ok fair varir
heaan f fra.'
H...,:J"ntulrl .... svarar, C
standa pin ora af litlu
sioansvikuook
ek urn lifit.'
C Lif pu ok unn Gunnari konungi ok
ok alitat pu deyir'
11....1.&£: ..... .1.'-1.1.. ..

'' 1 ....... 111"1"\1"

a

p.
1 See

J

om. V

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

went and found the hallHe thought she wasandback the bed clothes
and said:, Wake up,
The sun is
all round the housedone
Shake off
cares and be happy.', How cancome to see me? she said. 'No one behaved
worse inme than'Why don't you?' Sigurd asked. , What's
troubling you ? ', I'll tellabout
, You're oe'w11tcflleCland yourhusband is the man'No,' she
did he make me anu~~zle~d by the man who cameveil
but I wasn't able to see
fortune.' 1
sons,' said S rd. 'man thanBudli's brother.'killed the Danish
and a, answered Brynhild, 'and
, I've ascore to........,~c:~................ struck at the . . . . . . .
don't remind me ofsorrows.
andand rodetheeven for myweren't there.'_....._.. ,...... ' and, I was never your husband, nor you mydown the 1"Y\~.'t"'t"11~n'~ D:avrneIlt, I've not
at Gunnar so
my heart smiled upon him/answered Brynhild, 'and I bear him ill will though I hide it fromoh'ln'l'n.I"'rk'-',l4','What is it, It's monstrous not to love such a' saidshould meanthat troubles you most? It seems to me that his
more to you than gold.'
me of my sorrows,' answered Brynhild, 'is, The most hurtfulthat I can'tasword
blood.'
on that score,''There'll not benolong to wait before a sharp sword isin myand you'll
not askless for yourself, because you'll not survive methere'll not bedays left to us from now on.'C No slight
prompts your words since you cnt:~ate:a me of allhappiness,' answered Brynhild, 'and life is nothing to me.'all I
C Live, love King Gunnar and me,' replied Sigurd.
'I'll
have if only you'll not'an ~alli
hollvinr lof&a,
ok hnipna&i, a
sva at ganga nam
gunn 'sum
sundr sf&ur
serkr jarnofinn.
Ok er Sigur&r kom i hQIlina, spyrr Gunnarr hvart hann viti hverr
meintregi henni vreri eaa hvart hon hefir mal sitt. Sigurar kyat) hana• thus 01) B; hnfpa&i V (u:nlikely tU pret.

hnfpa tB).

S6

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGSc You don't really know my nature,' answered Brynhild. C You are
the most outstanding of all men, and no woman grew more hateful to
you than I did.'
C The truth isdifferent, replied Sigurd. C I loved you morethan
I met with trickery, and now that can't berr,...
me that
Ch~lln,~ed.-:tor when my wits were unclouded it
you weren't my wife. But I bore up as best I could,
was in a royalhall. And yet I was glad that we were all tOI!~ettler. It
be thatwhat was formerly prophesied will come true, but I
worry
about it.'
distresses you,) answeredc You're too late in saying that
Brynh ,c and now I shall find noC I would like us to sleep tOj;!~et.tller,be my wife.'
C Such things must not be said,' answered Brynhild.
'Nor will I
Gunnar'have two lords in one hall. I'd die sooner than deceive-and then she recalled how they met on the mountain and made theirvows, But now all has
and I don't want to live.', I had no memory
name,'
Sigurd, 'nor reC:02nlSlea
you before you werethat is mysorrow.'
C I swore an oath,'then, ,; tothe man who rodeor die.'through myand that oath I
youleave Gudrun,', Rather than you should die, I'll
sothe links of his hauberk
said Sigurd, and his
snapped.
C I don't want you,» said Brynhild, ' nor any other man.'
Sign went away_
As the lay of Sigurd says:
J

A"IT&l'1"I(25) Out went Sigurd
away fromt talk,staunch friend of men,so strong his
the shirt, iron woven,at the warrior's sides
it sprang then wideand split apart.
And when Sigurd came into the hall, Gunnar asked if he knew
what was grieving her. and if she were capable of speech. Sigurd said

VQLSUNCA SAGA

Ok nu ferr
at hitta hana i annat sinn ok spyrr
meini a el)a hvart nQkkur bot mundi til
hefirlifa,'
Brynhildr, ' a tsil)r pik,er puhann fara imina
Nu viI ek
menn
senn i einni hQIl, okskal vera
eaael)a minn, pvi at hann hefirGul)runu, en han
mer.'

32

ut ok settisk undir skC~mm\lve:2'2' sinn ok
hal'mtolur.. kval) ser alltbrel)i land ok der hanOk enn kom Gunnarr til hennar.
mreltiI-(P"I'I'''t""t''t.tlrtp, ]>u skalt I lata brel)i rikit okfara heim
ok son hans.
til frrenda minna okAl
upp ulfhvelpinn.'
L:.TUlnnarr varl) nu mjQk nUJ~S111K.r
til, aIls hann var i eioum vio _"'C::~'-'f.
mest
ef konan
Gunnarrer hon aUra
ok fyrr skalkallar til sin...... y'JOii. '..... , br6l)ur sinn, ok
Fyrir mik er komit vandmreli mikit, _""p~r·lr at hann vill drepa
Sigura, kvao hann hafa velt sik f, Raoum vit
gullinu ok Qllu
HQgni
' Ekki samir okkr srerin 9 atmeo 6frioL Er oss
ok mikit traust at honum. Eru
efhynskilifir, ok slikan
at hversu
vreri ef ver rettim slikan
okhversustenzk af. ]>atok hennar ral) koma oss f mikla
svfviroing ok skal)a.'
Gunnarr svarar, 'skal framok se ek raoit.
Guttorm, br6l)ur okkarn. Hann er ungr ok fas vitandi ok
alla eiaa.'
HQgni segir, ' ]>at ral) lizk mer ilia sett, ok p6tt fram komi,
munu
ver gjQld fyrirat svikJa slfkan mann.'
Gunnarr
Sigura deyja skulu,.......,.

.&110 1" ...,.&'......

01. reads Svikinn _ . .
, thus 01, om. V, thus 01, sarin V

fIli,-.r.v'....

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

she could
And now Gunnar went to see her a second time,
asked whatmeant and whether there was any
it.
'I don't want to' said Brynhild, 'for Sigurd
me,andbetrayed you no less when
let himwith me. Now I'll
not
two husbands at one
the same time
one hall, and thiswill meanfor he's told Gudrun

32

Brynhild went out and sat beneath the wall of her
andvent to her
She said that ~"I,.~~....
toand power, too, since Sigu was not
Gunnar came to her once more. Then Brynhild said :, You'll lose bothandyour life and me, and I shalland live there
if you don't kill
to myand his son. Don't rear the wolf cub.'now
He did not know, he +h~"'''''I
what had best be
he was bound to Sigurd by oath,mind
now with
now with that, but he thought it would be aif his wife left him.
terrible, I treasure
above all' said( She is themostof all women, and I would sooner die than lose her love.'
And he summoned his ...... r~+h.O', I amwith a difficult' he told him, andhe meant
to killwho, hehad broken faith with him, Then theand all thewill
ours.', It would not be' to break our oaths by a hostileact.. And he's a
are a match for us if thisHunnishisand nevershall we get a brother-in-law
like him, and think how fine it
if we had a brother-in-law likehim and
too! But I see where all this started. Brynhild isbehind it,
her plans will do us harm andus deep shame.'' and I see a way.
, It will have to be carried out,' saidLet'son our brother Guttorm to do it. He is young and simple
and freeany oath.', I think the plan ill advised,' said Hogni, ' and even if successful
we shall still pay dearly forsuch a man.'
Gunnar said that Sigurd must
TT. . h_1...I.1... .I.'-'... .L-.;J.

'-...II UJ.J.J..L,a.J.

..· _ r r... h +..

58

VQLSUNGA SAGA

mun ek deyja ella.'standa ok vera kata. Hon stoa upp ok
Hann biar Brynhildi
koma fyrr f sarna rekkju henni en petta
at Gunnarr mun
komit.
er gild banasQk
Gunnarr
at
Nli rreaask
at hafa tekit me:VQom I:Sn7ntuldlar..
'OkegIDumm
Ok kalla hann til sin okhonum gull ok mikit riki at a vinna
petta til. peir t6ku orm einn ok af vargsholdi ok letu
okhonum at eta, sem skaJdit kvaa :(26) Surnir viafiska 1 t6ku,
sumir vitnishrre skffau,
surnir Guttormi
gera holdvia mungati
okhluti
aara fvar8 hann sva refr ok
ok allt saman ok
fortQlurat hann het atpeir hetu honum
ok mikilli srema { moti.
velrzaa. Matti~.n~ ...... i".... vissi sik okhann ok
via skQpum vinna ne sinu "'.. . """.. . . .
vela verOan fra
at Sigurai eptir urn morgininn er hann hvildi i
rekkju sinni.
er hann leit via honum, porai Guttormr eigi at veita
honum tilrzai ok hvarf ut aptr, ok SV3- ferr f annat sinn. Augu Siguraar
varu SV3- snQr ateinn porai gegn at sja. Ok it priaja sinn gekk hannsofnaar. Guttormr bra sverai ok
a Sigur6i
inn, ok var Sigur6r
sva at bl6arefillinn st6a { dynum undir honum. Sigur6r vaknar via
en Guttormr
ut til dyranna.. »a t6k Sigur6r sver6it Gramok kastar eptir honum, ok korn a bakit ok tok { sundr i mi6ju. Fellannan veg f6tahlutr, en annan hQfu6it ok hendrnar aptr f skemmuna.
Gu6run var sofnu6 {faami Sigur6ar, en vaknaai via 6umrreailigan harm
er hon flaut f hans b166i, ok sva veina6i b han mea
ok harmtQlur at
Sigurar reis upp via hregendit ok rnzlti :, Grat eigi,' sagai hann. 'J>inir br r lifa per til gamans, en }Jesstil ungan son a ek, er kannat varask fjandr sina, ok ilia hafa peir
fyrir sinum hlut set. Ekki fa peir slikan C mag at rfaa i her mea ser ne
Col"J;:;. .....

CI

thw B, ok 01, V.

II kveina&i B

B's emendationas making better sense.

• tlru.s 01, B (if. Sig. in skam. R7); ser likara V

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS58

Or
I shall die.'He told Brynhild toup and beSheup but said that
Gunnar would not share her bed until was done.
The brothers now talked it over.
said that to have robbed
Brynhild of her virginity fully
death,
urge on Guttorm to do the deed.'
And they called him over and offered him gold and great power if
he would do it. They took a serpent and some wolf's flesh, boiled themup and gave him to eat ofas the skald says:
C(26)

took forest
some wolfish flesh sliced,
some carved for Guttorm"'_"".L of wolf,
gave it with ale
and with otherinspells.
""g,........

And what with the food and Grimhild's arl!~IIlen·ts
and impetuous that heto do thepromised him high honours.
was not ov..... ol""·... ' n n
but he could not
and his . . . . ~C'T'lI...,
aware that heany doubleatfollowing
Guttorm went in to Sigurd when he wasin bed. But when Sigurd looked at him, Guttorm dared not
and went out
This happened a second time.
Sigurd's eyes were so
that
meet
went ina thirdand Sigurd was now asleep. Guttorm drew his sword
and lunged at Sigurd so
the point pierced the bed beneath him.
Sigurdwith the wound just as Guttorm was going out throughthe door. Thenpicked up the s\vord Gram and hurled it after
him. It caught him across the back andhim at the waist. The
lower half fell one way, and the other, the head and arms, fell back into
the room. Gudrun had been asleep in Sigurd's arms, and she awoke inunutterable
bathed in his blood, and she so groaned and wept
andthat Sigurd raised himself on the pillow and spoke:, Do not' he said. C Your brothers live to cheer you, but I
have a son who too young to be on guard against his en~emleS'-~lna
they've done badly for themselves! They'll not find a brother-in-law
like me to ride in the army with them, nor such a nephewt should he..... T

1 A kenning for serpents

59

VQLSUNGA SAGA

nreai at vaxa. Ok nu er
hQfum dulizkenII~lr er mer ann urn
ek aldriokvar ek ofvinr hans konu.
ek a mfna fretr mea mfn
1'a skyldu
tyna sfnu
lffi ciar en
ok allirbrrear drepnir, ok torveldra mundi
at drepa mik en inn mesta vfsund eaa villigQlt.'
Konungrinn let nu Iff sitt. En Guarun hIres m<EOllU12;a Qndunni.
patBrynhildr ok hI6 er hon
hennarpa mrelti
Gunnarr,,
hIrer pu af pvi at
se glatt urn
eoa hv! hafnar
lit? Ok mikit
ertu, ok meiri van at pu serokmalkllgrl til at
Atia konungokatNu veroumvarum ok,"",T"",TT'1r• •h'lTI-1""r"\I"\.r:J

KOltlUIlgr hirair
Hon svarar, 'meiraekki urn hot yourvald.', Nu er fram komit
er BrynhiIdr
itfam aldri bot.', Frrendr minir hafa
ok er
komia til DaJ~aae'a,aara hQnd yor, ok munu
at 'tn~l""j''1''
yaur b grefa
ok ef hann retti ser slika sonu,
styrkjask via hans afkvremi ok sina'
Nu 1'ottisk
kunna at svara at Brynhildr heiddi
hlrejandi er
pa mrelti han,hon harmaai mea, pat dreymai mik,
atatta kalda smng, en pu rn~r d fhendr ovinum 1'fnum, ok QIl rett your mun illa fara ererua . . . . _.. . _.a.'......
ok munair 1'u
er pit bIQnduauo b160i saman, ',n~l,.j",.
pu, er 1'11 rett hann,
1'11 honum alIt illu launat pat er hannreyndier hann kom til
vel til pin ok let pik fremstan vera, ok
hve hann helt sina
at hannokkar milli it sn~lrpleg~~la()asvera pat er eitri var hert. Ok snemma reau
til saka vio
okvia mik, pa er ek var heima mea
mfnum, ok hafoa ek allt pat er
riaua
ek vilda, ok ztlaaa ek engan yaarn minn skyldu veroa, pa er
par at garoi
konungar. Sfaan leiddi Atli mik a tal ok spyrr ekbthus 01, l'eira V

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

59
manage to reach manhood.. And what was
SInce pr()prLeSJLea has
now come toI could never
to believe it,no onecanfate.. But
res~po,ns:lbl'et she who loves me
above all men.. But I can swear that I neverGunnar and I
the oaths sworn between us, nor was I too
a friend of his
And had I known of thisandfeet with myweapons,would lose their lives
the brothers
would all be
and
would
me harder to kill than the
2rc~atiest bison or wild boar.'
Then the king died. And Gudrun
moan.. Brynhild
heard it and laughed when she heard '-"' . . . _.. . s()otnnJir. Then Gunnar
said:, You're notdown in yourwhy does your colour
you ? You're a monster andvery likely a doomed woman. None morethan you to see
King Atli killed
youryou'd have to! But
I must watch by my brother-in-law and bybrother'sthat there's not' she, No one will
replied. 'But
for your threats or anger, andhe'll outlive you,power.''What Brynhild
has now come to pass,' said
, and this evil deed\ve can never make undone.'kinsmen have' said Gudrun. 'Now you
will
first in the army,
when you do battle
find that
Sigurd's not at yourand thensee thatluck and yourif he'dsons likebeen
and their kin.'
No one thenwhy Brynhild had laughing
thenasked for what she wasover.
'-"'yu....... J.u.... , I dreamed that
bed was cold,
you are riding into
the hands of yourwill go badly with allfamily for
broketrust, nor
you remember very
whenand Sigurd
yourwith evil forthat he did forPr(~-elml]tlerlt position. And when he camehis oaths by laying between us that
K.ef:n-c~Oil·e(J. Veltl01D-1tentlpc::rea sword. But you early did wrong to him
and to me when I was at home with my father and had everything I
wanted, notthat anyone of you should be mine, when you
threerode up to the stronghold. Then AtIi took me aside andu .......

.1.1.1.1..1.1..., ..... .1..1,

11

SAGA

er riai Grana. Sa var~l~~mllln(lar kOlrlUIlgS ok engum

ekki likr, ok pa hetumk ek
ok
mun

ok
hendr urn hals
skyldi lifa okallir aorir IQttu hana at
fra ser er at henni
ok kvao ekki
er hon retlaoi.
het Gunnarr a.. . . . V'j;,. ...
ok baa hann til fara ok vita ef hannkvaa nu rernaef
til er fra liaL
svarar, ' Letimaar hana at
pvf at hon varo ossokmanni sfaan hon kom'
aldri athon
mikit gull, ok baa
koma alIa
er fe vildu
Nu
Sloan t6k hon eitt svero ok
undir hQnd ser ok
uppok
her nuer
vill.'
h"l7t:l..,.... 11 .."V'\.l.ll.4r'

vel.'litla stundmunu
mea raouminnar
D6ttirmun heita Svanhildr,2 er vrenst mun
aUra kvenna.
Atla at sfnum
Oddrunu 3
muntu vilja
enn Atli mun
banna.):>a munu pit
launfundi,
unna. Atli mun pik svfkja ok f
ok
ok mun hon
sloan munokhans. Gu()run mun
munu hana storar
bera tilJ 6nakrs konungs.
mun
han freoa
sonu. Svanhildr mun or 1 i send ok gipt JQrmunreki 'konungi.
munu blta Bikka 6 rao. Ok
er farin QIl ztt your, ok
eru Guorunar harmar at meiri.'

33, Nu b bia ek pik, Gunnarr, efstu brenar.

Lat gera eitt hal mikit aast. 49) undoubtedly
attlencJlanlts to die with her, hence C all
saga.
VnIOll""~t'I'

cycle.
Ostrogothic kingdom when
the legends that grew up

60

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGSGranL He was not like you.
Thingseven
I die.'
up and embraced her andher to live
and all the others
her not to die. But she
who came to her and said it was useless toto turn her
from her purpose. Then Gunnar
tohim foradvice and told him toand see he might soothe her, and said it
be lessened until time healed it!
not to' answered' for she's been
since she came here.'amount of
to be brought and ordered
all those who desired
toThen she took a sword andstabbed herself beneath the arm and sank backthe cushions
andC If any ofwant
it now.'
All were, Accept the gold,' said Brynhild, ' andit.'
Brynhild spoke to Gunnar once more :, Now I shall tell you in briefisadvice of that sorceress Grimhild, youof Gudrun andwill be named
reconciled. The
be far fairer than any woman born. Gudrun
Svanhild 2 -and she
will betoher will. You will want to marry Oddrun, 3
but Atli will forbid it. Then you will have secret ..r. ...... "" .....
tOE~etrler,and she will love you. Atli will
you and put you in apit,
and then AtIi and his sons will be
Gudrun will kill them. Thenmighty waves will carry her to
Jonakr's castle. There she willt~),.,
bear noble sons. Svanhild will be sent out of the country andto King Jormunrek. 4 Bikki's S plotting will be her downfall. And then
all your line will haveaway and Gudrun's sorrows will be thetil,~mUn(l'S son and none other.

"'..r.JL..r.j:"...:J'I"'n"!J .......

,

33
C

I now ask you, Gunnar, toaround the historical Theoderic the GreatIntroduction p. x)
the facts and show Theoderic as driven from his throne by Odoaker, .t;nnW:lar:1C
eventually took over the latter's role as Theoderic's main opponent.
6 He is the Sifka of pSS, the Sibiche of the MHG Dietrich (Theoderic)poems; in Saxo Grammaticus he is known as Bicco, md in OE as Becca. He
regularly appears as the legendary Ennanaric's evil counsellor.

SAGA

Ok
'ttJnlt"'i;;'''3t'''

f:4aJtnl~sb(llna ok sonar

Ok er balit var
skc::m.mlJmleYlar sinar
deyr""-TA .................' ......

ok lauk sva

34
hverr ertioendiok
mun sioan
hversvetna
ok hans nafn mun aldri
ok a NororlQndum meoan heimrinn stendr.
er
er Guorun sat I skemmu sinni,
mrelti hon,
, Betra var
vart lif er ek atta
Sva bar hann af Qllum
mQnnum sem
af
eoa laukr
Qorum
eoa hjQrtr af
Qorum
unz
minir fyrirmunoll mer
manns er Qllum var
mattu
sofa aorhann. Mikinn
geroi
fremrLer hann sa saran sinn
Sioan rcedda
hann
sem via mann, en hann hnipti i jQraina ok vissi at
var fallinn.',. "-'.Lv.l"'....... .lJL.. .l... lt-'l[.,. ... _nC'.1T

reads Brotthvarf Guoritnar.

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

61

built on the level ground for allus, forand forthose killed with him. Let there be ainred blood,and burn there at my one side the Hunnish
and at his other side
my men, two at his head, two at his
two hawks-an equal
division.
there
us a drawn sword as of old when weshared the same bed-when we were called man andand if I
accompany him the door will not
shut on his
nor will
our funeral beif five bondswomen andservantsmethose who wereby myhim, and also burnkilled with Sigurd,
wouldmore if I were not wounded, but
now the wound is frothing, theand I have told
truth.'
So
body was laid out
to the ancientand a
was built. And when it was properly
the body of}:4·ajtnllsb~lne was laid
it, also the body of
three
old
son whom Brynhild had
to be slain, andAnd
when the pyre was
Brynhild went out on to it and told her
maids in waiting to takegold she desired tothem. And afterthat Brynhild died and was burnt there withand so theirended.

34
Now
who heard of these events said that there was
not a manhim left in theand that neverwould there
be born a man such as
was in every
name would
never bewherever German wasin theNorthernasas the world endured.
The
goes that one
Gudrun wasin her room andsaid:
C I had a better life when I was married to "'-''''~~'''''.L'''''.
all men, just as
does iron orotheror thearuLm~:USt until my brothers
me a husband such as
as he was to all.
ey
not
until
had killed him.
made a terrible noise when he sawlord wounded. Then I
him as I would to a man. but he hung down his head to the t:iO,..L '-',""'....L''''''..
knew that Sigurd had fallen.'than inp. II).

VQLSUNGA SAGA

Sfaan hvarf Guarun a tJ brott a
ok heyroi alIa vega fra servapyt, ok p6tti
blioara at
Guorun b f6r unz n e kom
tillIar
Ifs 1 konungs ok sat par mea )J6ru Hakonard ur d f
DanmQrku sjau misseri ok var par f miklum
ok hon e sl6 boraa
henni ok skrifaai par aleika er tfair varu
pann tima, svera ok brynjur
allan konungs
skip Sigmundar
konungs er skriou fyrir land fram. Ok
byrou
er peir bQrausk
Sigarr oka Fjoni 9 2 suor. Slikt var peira gaman, ok huggaaisk
Guarun nu nQkkut harms sins.
)Jetta spyrr Grfmhildr hvar Guorun er niar komin, heimtir a tal
sonu sina ok spyrr hverju p vilja
Guarunu son sinnmann;kvaa im pat skylt. Gunnarr
vilja
henni gull ok
breta nni sva harma
vinum
ok bua hesta
hjalma, skjQldu, svero ok brynjur ok alls konar herkl;:eai. Ok var
fera buin itoksa kappi, er mikill var, sat nu
vam brynjaair,
hverr riddari hafai annathvart
Grimhildr
I fera mea
okpeira orendi sva
munu veraa at hon siti
hQfau alls fimm hundrua manna.
hQfou okvar
3
DanmQrk ok
ok Jal~lS1eU.r.
inn I hQll
konungs. )Jar varu
gbaraar, Fr ar ok)Jeir foru mea Qllum herbunaoi
hQfau yfir ser loaa
kveait er:
Stuttar brynjur,
steypta hjaIma,
skalmumok hQrnu
jarpar.
)Jeir vildu velja systur sinni
gjafir ok mreltu vel via
eni Grimhildr 1& henni m(;an~)an111~ran
hon truoi engum peira. Siaan
drykk, ok varo hon via at taka ok munai siaan engar sakar.
Sa drykkr var blandinnmea
magni ok sre ok dreyra sonarB
01, Granisame mistake

GuaninHaJRonlardlottlr V
JOlitowt1l/l
con1ect'uTe; om. V

1 See p. 21
IFyn, theislandbut corrected inTHE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

62

Then Gudrun vanished into the woods and heard all around her the
howling of wolves andit would be pleasanter to
Gudrunwent on untilcame to1 hall, andin
shedwelt with Hakon's
for
and a
and wasshown
hospita, and she wove a tapestry for her, showing on
it many
deeds and noble sports such as wereat thattime, swords and coats ofand all theof aandKing Sigmund'sassailedthe coast. And they worked
in Sigar andsouth inThis was their pa~;tlrnet
and Gudrun was now to some extent
in herGrimhild heardt had become of Gudrun. She summoned hersons to talk withand asked how they meant toGudrunfor her son and husband,that they were in duty
to do so.
Gunnar said he would
gold and in that way
her
for her sorrows. They sent
theirand madetheirhelmets, shields, swords and coats of mail, and armour every
description. The
was magnificently fitted out and nochampion of any
behind. Their horses were clad in
mail, and each knight
a gilt or else a brightly polished helmet.
Grimhild
em on the expedition and said that their
mission would
successful as long as she did notbehind. They
had
hundred men in all. They also had famous men with them.
Valdamar 3 of Denmark was there, and Eymod and Jarisleif. 4 They
entered King Half's hall. There were Langobards, Franks and Saxons
there. They journeyed with full equipment and they wore red fur
cloaks, as the lay says:(27) Short coats of mail,girt with short swords,
highhelmetsand sorrel
They wanted to choose out finefor their sister and spoke
kindly to her, but she would trust none of them. Then Grimhild
brought her a doctored drink, and she had to take it and afterwards
she had no memory ofof her wrongs.
That drink waswith the power of the earth, with the sea anda Valdamar is the name of more than one historical Danish king but here
something is amiss since Hili is presented as King of Denmark. Valdamar is
probably a substitution for the meaningless Valda" Dgnum of GUt. II, st. 19,1. I.
t Probably the Russian Jaroslav the Great (1015-54) who was helped
against his brother by a certain Eymund, probably the Eymod mentioned here.

63

VQLSUNGA SAGA

ok i pvi horni varn ristnir hvers kyns
bl6ai, sem her

ok roanir mea(28) Varu i pvi horni
hvers kyns stafir
ristnir ok
ra8a ek ne mattak :b 2(29) VarubQI
urt allsokiarar
svins lifr so8in,
pvi at sakar
1"'1.1 I""l,Tn r.1.,.

mikilL
ok aIls konararsalma(}r.
brettrKOlnUJ121 inurn
rnuntu raaa hans auai. Ok hit
sakir eins manns, ok
heldr sem ver bi8jum.'_"''''_.. _.. . . svarar, ' Aldri villAtla
ok ekki samir okkr
rett saman at auka.'
GrirnhiIdr svarar, 'skaltu nu a heiptir
ok lat sem
Sigurar okef
att sonu.'
Gu{}run' Ekki rna ek af tl honum
Hann var QIlum
fremri.'
Grimhildr
konung mun
en enganskaltuav

b thusTHE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

her son's blood.1 In the horn characters of all kinds were en,~ra'{eaand reddened with blood, as this verse says:~1··'U·"\A~""Artin the horn

read them I could not:the2of thethe tlaaallngs,
ear of corn uncut,
animals'(29) Many were the ills
mixed with that ale:herbs of all the wood,and acorns sc()rC.neCl,e dew of the hearth, 3
hallowed
pig's liver boiled
for blunting wrongs.
o_'t·....n .. ICIo

And after this, when
wasThen when she found _ _ " __and treasures of all'-'J."""'~..J.J.... t::.", my dalllgllte.r.
an
and the bed
naIlg11Llgs of the mostmalete:ns, and then your husband
willatoned for. L\M·P.....,:'l:T~ll'"rlC! I shallyou into thatpowerfulAtli. Then you'll have control of his wealth. And
don't
your . .
for the sake of one man. Do
aswe, I will never. . . . . . . . . . . . _ Gudrun. 'It would not
for us tolinebe, You must not now think of' answered Grimhild. 'Act
as if Sigurd and Sigmund were
if you have sons.'
was superior to all.', I cannot
him,' said Gudrun.''You areto marry this king,'
Grimhild) (and you
shall marry none other.'
OIO+t'lTACIo't'_,..... 0't'1.... 0 ....

64

VQLSUNGA SAGA

GuOrunc Bj60i
konung, er iUt eitt mun af
a iUu
ok
mun
standarett, ok mun hann sonu
honum grimmu
nt vera.'Grfmhildi b varo vio hennar fortQlur ilIa via urn sonu sina C okmikinn metnao ok, Ger sem ver lJeJLOUlm.
~n"'~1nt"'n ok ValbjQrg.'
vara vinattu ok
er svaatHennar oro st60usk sva mikit at
GuorunC petta mun veroa fram at
at mfnumlltt tilheldr til rma.
ok muna hestaok eru konur
settar I vagna, ok
a hestum, en aoradskipum ok ina prioju
sjau Ii enn landveg,
til erk6mu at einni hari hQlI. Henni gekk
f m6t moot fjQlmenni,
varbuin
sem aor hQfou
oro f milliok f6r hon fram mea sremo
mikilliOk atpessi
drekkr Atli bruolaup til Guorunar. En
hugr
hennar vio honum hlreja, ok mea litilli blfou var

35

Nu tJ er
n6tt at Atli
vaknar 6r svefni.
Mrelti hann vio '-"C pata mer sveroi.'
Guorundrauminn ok kvao pat
er jarn t1",,~·U'·,.,ni"\t
C Ok dul peiri er pu ztlar pik Qllum'
Atli mrelti, ' Enn dreymoi mik sem her vreri vaxnir tveir "'A"Ilrri~~1ntl:l'"ok vilda ek aldri skeoja. SlOan varu
rifnir upp mea r6tum okroonir f b160i ok bornir a bekki ok boonir mer at eta. Enn dreymoi
mik. at haukar tveir
mer af hendi ok vzri braoalausir ok f6ru til
hjQrtum vio
blandit, ok p6ttumk ek
heljar.1 P6tti I mer
eta. Sloan p6tti
sem hvelpar fagrir
mer ok gullu via
at mfnum ovilja.'
hatt, ok at ek hrre
GuarunEigi eru draumar gooir, en eptir munu ganga.
Synir pfnir munu vera
ok margir hlutir pungir munu oss at
hendi koma.',""v.a. ................

to Grimhildr 07'

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGSC Don't
this
on me,' said Gudrun. 'From him there'll
come nothing but evil
this family, and he'll deal evilly with yoursons, and afterwards terrible
will be taken on him.'
ar2:UIIlen'ts madeunhappy about her sons; she said :and in return you shall havehonour and ourfriendship, anddistricts of Vinbjorg and
Her words carried suchthat it had to, Then so it must be,' said
' thoughmy will, andthere'll be little cause for rejoicing, but rather for
Then the men mounted theirand the women were................."""..........,.. , and thus they journeyed aonanotheron board ship, and a third over land, until
reached a lofty hall.
A
crowd went to meet her, and a
had been
word
them, and it prowith great pomp
circumstance. And Atli
Gudrunat this feast. But her heart never smiled upon him and they had little
happiness from their life tOJ2~ettler.
\J":)llh1t'\t"1"I"

Now thethat oneAtli awoke from his
He spoke to _ ..................~.....
C I dreamed,' he said, ' that you lunged at me with a sword.'
Gudrun interpreted the dream and said that to dream of iron meant
And the conceit of thinking yourself superior to everyone.'
I had another dream,' said Atli. 'It seemed as if two reeds had
sprung up
and I wished never to harm them. Then they were
torn up by the roots and reddened in blood and carried to the benchand given me to eat. I had another dream: two hawks flew from mywrist, but they found no prey and perished.1 It seemed to me as if theirhearts were mingled with honey, and I thought I ate of them. Thenit seemed to me as if
were fine young
lying before me, and at
this they yelped aloud, and I ate their flesh
my will.'
C These are not good dreams,' said Gudrun, C and they'll be fulfilled.
Your sons are surely doomed and many trials will come upon us.'CI

I thus 01, 1'6ttu V
1 Literally:«Went to Hel ' (q. v. in Glossary)VQLSUNGA SAGA

ra()inni kQr, ok
C ]:>at dreymai mik enn,'hann, ' at ek
bani minn.'
Nu liarsamvistaNuhvar ni()r mun komit
mikla gull er att
hafai
en pat veit nu Gunnarr konungr ok
brrear.
AtIi var mikill konungr okvitr ok fjQlmennr ;via sina menn hversu mea skal fara.
miklu meira fe en ne einir mennat senda menn afund
brcearapa mQrgum hlutum.
maar var
Dr6ttningin veit nu
brcear hennar. Guarun ristr
ok hon tekr einn gullhring ok
ok freri hendr sendimQnnum
Si()anknytti iforu
konungs boai. Ok aar
stigi a land, sa
runarnarok sneri a aara lei() ok at Guarun
i runum ata hansfund. Si()an komu peir til hallarok varviavel, okfyrireldar storir. Ok si()an drukku
me()inn
drykk.
IIl::'elti, Atlisendir a mik
ok vildi at pit scetti() hann heimme() miklum soma ok
af honum mikinn
hjaIma ok skjQldu,
svera ok brynjur, gullher1i() ok hesta ok mikit len, okykkr lezk hann bezt unna]:>a bra Gunnarr hQf()i ok mrelti til ......
, Hvat skulum vit afbo()imikit riki, en enga
veit
sem
pvi
at vit hQfum pat gull alIt er a
st6rar skemmur
fullar af gulli ok inum beztum
aIls konar herklre()um.
Veit ek minn hestinn beztan okgullit a2:~:et;3Lst.
HQgni svarar, ' Undrumk ek bo()
pvi athann sjaldanokmun vera at fara a hans fund, ok
undrumk ek,
er ek saer AtIi konungr sendi okkr, at ek sa vargshari
knytt iok ma vera at Gu()runu pykki hann ulfshug vi()
okkr hafa ok viIi hon
at vit'Vingi synir honum nu runarnarer hann kva() Gu()runu senthafa.
Nu
alpy()a at
en peir drukku vi() nQkkura menn. »agekk at
HQgna er het Kostbera, kvenna friaust, ok leit a runarnar.
v'jO,. ............ "a B emends to sendi

Akv.. 3, I. .1).

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS, I had another, he said. 'I was lying in bed and my death
had been _11"'~1'"1'"a.rt
Then was over, but
knew no affection in their life~"I"'~...
Atli then wondered what had become of all thebut that was now known tohisandhe was clever and had
Atli was a
He now took counsel withmen as to how he should
He knew that Gunnar and hishadrichesand that no one could beto them.
now
to sendmen to visit the brothers
to invite them to a feast and to honour
them in many
were led by a man namedTheoftalks andbrothers. Gudrun carved runes, and she took a gold
knotted to it a hair from a wolf and handed it to the king's envoys.
then set off as the
had commanded. But before they went
ashoresaw the runes and altered them, making it seem as if
Gudrunthem in the runes to come andhim. Thencame toGunnar's hall andwere madeandfires wereforthat they drank
the best of
drink. Then
to visit him inhonour,Atlimeand to receive from himt ne.lffiiets andswords andand horses and broad lands
coats ofandae(:lar'ea. he is best
to bestow
in fee-and upon you both,his'
Gunnar turned his head and said to, How are we to receive this offer? He invites us to assume
power, but I know of nowho
as much gold as we do,for we have all the gold thatand we haverooms
and armour of all
I knowfull of gold, the finest
and the gold fabulous.'
my horse is the finest,
Hogni, ' for he has seldom done
, I'm surprised at his
this sort of thing, and it would
ill-advised to go and visit him-and
I was surprised to see a wolf's hair knotted to a goldwhen I lookedat the jewels King Atli sent us, and it may be that Gudrun thinks he haswolfishtowards us, and that she doesn't want us to go.'Vingi now showed him the runes which he said Gudrun had sent.
Everyone now went to bed but they remained drinking with a few
men. Then Hogni's wife, whose name was Kostbera, a very beautiful
woman, went up and looked at the runes. Gunnar's wife was named+1"lo1F'..

.I..I.V.l.Lvu..L

66

SAGA

Kona Gunnars het

mikill.
skenktu. Konungar
finnrok
at Atii konungr er pungfrerr
en synir hansok tileru sva
rikinu me()anp'ernu~~k allmjQk drukknir.

( Ekki er
mjQk athannbezt atNu var breoi at Gunnarr var mjQk drukkinn, en bo8it mikit riki,
matti ok
via skQPum vinna, heitr nu ferainni ok
br6aursinum.
Hann svarar, 'Yaart atkvreai mun standa hlj 6ta, ok
mun eken 6fuss em ek
feraar.'Ok er menn
drukkit sem lika8i,
f6ru
at
1 ekr
Kostbera at lita a runarnar ok innti
ok sa at annat var a ristit
en undir var, ok villtar varu runarnar. Hon fekk 1'6 skilit af
sinni.
ferr hon til rekkju hja b6nda sinum. Ok er
vQknuau,
hon til . . . . . v·j;" ...
(;retiarok er
Far heldr f annatokmuntu vera
ir sem hon hafi f petta sinnbooit
ok undrumk ek urn sva
konu er hon
villt ristit. En sva er undir sem banienvar annathvart at henni vara vanteaa
villt. Ok nu skaltu
draum minn.'
1.1.''''''1, pat fJ dreymai mik at mer p6tti her falla inn a haralaok bryti
f hQllinni.
upp stHann svarar, 'erua opt ilhiagar, ok a ek ekki skap til pess atfara illu f m6t via menn, nema pat se
Mun hann oss vel fagna.'
Hon'munua reyna, en
mun vinattaboainu.
Ok ennmik at Qnnur a felli
inn okokbryti upp
palla f hQllunni ok bryti fretr ykkra
brreara, ok
mun J>at vera flQkkut.'
Hann svarar, ' par munu renna akrar er J>u hugoir ana, ok er ver
gQngum akrinn, nema opt storar
fretr vara.'
hon,b at blreja pin brynni, ok hryti eldrinn, ]>at dreymoi mik,'
upp af hQIIunni.'
J

reads

red drauma konu smar.

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

66

lil:aUJ11vor. she waspresence and character. The women poured
out and thebecame very drunk.
the fact that
, Therets noadvanced in
his KIIlgclon1,
and fit for
now desires towhile
It is you he
Now
Gunnar was
power had been
nor could heO""_ to make the journey, and informed, Your decision will have to' heaccompany you, but I'm not enthusiastic about the
And when the men had drunk allat the runes
read the characters and saw
Kostberaaltterlent had been carved over them from what wasrunes were
But by reason of her
ma,na~~e<1 to see through them.
this she went to
nU:S03lno'S side. And when they
she said to_.I..I.JL ....

'In'1'1 ......... I1:.....,.

cn'''''''II:Ilf'h'lnnmean to set
but that's unwise. Better go another time.
not so good atrunes if you think your sister is
selIal.ng for you on this occasion. I read the runes and I'm surprised if
such a clever woman carved them in a confused way. But underneathyour death seems to be
and either she missed out a letter, orelse otherswith them. And now you must hear my dream.'

C I
that a raging riverto sweep in and it smashed up
the partition posts in the hall.''You're often distrustful,' he answered, 'but I've no mind toevil from people without cause.
will welcome us.'
C You'll find out,' she said, C but there's nothing friendly about theIdreamed that another river swept raging in and it smashed
up all the benches in the hall, and it smashed your legs and yourbrother's, and that must mean something.'
C Cornfields run where you thought there was a river,' he answered,
C and when we go through a cornfield big husks often cling to our legs.. ', I dreamed,' she said, C that your bed-clothes were blazing and thatwas shooting up from the hall.. 'SAGAsvarar, ' ]JBt veit ekhvat
ok munubrenna er pu
her i n n 'upp konungsok
sva hrammana aturaum QIl hrredd, ok hafai oss
QIl senn ser i munni sva at ekki mattum
ok st6aaf mikil
Hann svarar, 'mun koma vear mikit er pu
hvitabjQrn.'hon, 'okhQllunni, ok, Qrn p6tti mer her inn
dreifai mik b16ai ok oss QIl, ok mun
illt
pvi at mer p6tti sem
vreri hamr Atla konungs.'
Hann svarar, ' Opt slatrum
ok hQggum st6r naut oss at
ok er
fyrir yxnum er Qrnu dr{~Vnllr. ok mun heill hugr Atla
oss.'
tali.
Ok nu hretta
1..I.a..;>Q"t.L..I. .....

er samser panatsina marga,
er henni p6ttu
alla pvi a m6ti.
, )Jessi var einn af
hon, 'at mer
b16augt svero
borit her inn i hQIlina, ok vartu sverai
i gegnum, ok em.1uC~U
a baoum endum sverosins.', Smair hundar vilja oss
ok er opt
Va1Dnl.lm mea bl60i lituoum.''Ennmer her inn koma konur, ok varu rlt:1·nrI1t'1'''::.....
ser til manns. Ma vera atdisir hafi
svarar, 'Vantnu atok rnaen
61ikt atveroum SK~lm]ma~lr.
en aarir IQttu.
urnspretta peir upp ok viIja
Sioan rnrelti Gunnarr vio pann mann er FjQrnir het,,
upp okoss at drekka af st6rum keruID gott Yin, pvf atvera rna at sja seinok nu mun inn gamli ulfrinn
komask at gullinu ef ver deyjum, ok sva C bjQrninn mun
spara atbfta sfnum vfgtQnnum.'
Sfaan leiddi lioit
ut meaSonr HQgnarlr"'1."IIT"r'\O.......""'...... llA-Jr;,,1

brecedtnS! ch.

as Heimanfero

brceora; Heiman

I. 4 and ok vill hannv.

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

what that'he answered. 'Our clothes are
your
were

Ca]~eI4esslV, and these are what will burn,Ia bear came ' she' and smasheddais and menaced us with his paws so that we were all trlJ~ht:enledJ
he had all of us in his mouth
so that we were neJ.pH:~SSJ
causedterror.',A
storm will come,' he' where you
there
bear.''!"""''''''''''1'''I''''''''''!" ancame' shee"",.",++.o.'t'"£l,rf me, andof us with blood, and that tOI·eSJlaCLO~{Sto me like the fetch of'We do a lot of(and we killfor ourandabout anhas to dooxen, and Atli is sure to be
towards us.
And nowit.

Of Gunnar we are now told that whenwoke up the same thing
Gunnar's
told
her many dreams which
tobut Gunnar gave an nn1r-..no,.+oThis was one ofa bloody sword wasbrought into the hall andwith theandat both ends of the sword
were
wolves.', Small hounds will snap at me, and blood-stained weapons often
stand for theo f ' answered the, Then'I
that women came in..
looked downcast andchose you as their husband..
may haveyour disir.. ', It's now
hard to
an
' he
' and
no one can escapenor is it unlikely that I'm soon to die.'And in theup and wanted to be
but
tried to dissuade them..
addressed a man calledandwine to drink. This
our last
occasion..
now
old wolf will
the golddie, nor will the bear be slow to use his
Then amidst
the retainers senton their way.
Hogni's son said:
12

68

VQLSUNGA SAGA

( Fario vel ok hafio a
Eptir var meiri hlutr
synir . . . . . ""1:0... . . .1""..
foru, ok einn kappi mikill er _ . . . . _ . . . .
var br60ir Beru.1
en ekki tj oaoi.
F 6lkittil
ok IQttupa
C Vingi,'hon, 'meiri van at mikil Oh:amllnj;,na standi
pinni
kvamu, ok munu st6rtfoendi
i fQr pinni.'
Hann svarar, 'sver
atlyg eigi, ok mik taki har galgi ok
nQkk.ut oro.' Ok litt eiroi hann ser i slikum
allireforoum. pa mrelti, Faria vel ok mea
HQgni svarar, 'Veriohversu sem mea ass
par skiljask
mea sinum . . ""'.. . . . .
Sloan reru
sva fast ok af miklu afli at kjQlrinn gekk undan
knuou fast arar meo storum bakfQllum, sva
skipinu mjQk sva
at brotnuou hlumir ok hair. Ok er
k6mu at landi, festu peir ekki
skip sin. Sioan riou
sfnum
hestumurn hrio.
Numikinn gnyok vapnabrakok
er peir hQfou, ok QlI
af mQnnum.
rioa at borginni, ok var han
upp hlioit, ok rioa fiu i
pa mrelti Vingi.
mrettir pu vel
ok bfoia nu
meaan ek sreki yar
Ek baameo
her
en fiatt bj6 undir. Nti mun
sk~lm:mt at biaa aor
munuo
'
munu
HQgni svarar, 'ver hrykkim par er menn skyldu _"".. .
ok pat mun per ilIa
sk.
Hrundu honum
ok bQrou hann 9xarhQmrum til bana.
,oL .........

...

J

V Jii.'-& ......,....

IQO,L1lo.'IlI

peir C riaa nu at konungshQllinni. Atli konungr skipar Hai sinu til
orrostu, ok sva vikusk fylkingar at garor nQkkurr vara i millum peira.
and B conjectures
Vi borginni ok s'» presumably sigr.
1 Le. Kostbera, here and below

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS68

C Fare well and good luck.'Theof the retainers
behind. Hogni's sons, Solar
andwent, as did a man
Orkning, awarrior. He
was Bera's 1 brother. The household went with them to the ships, andall tried to dissuade them fromjourney, but without avail. Then
Glaumvorshe
C it's very likely that yourarrival here spelt
dlS~lste:r andevents will follow from your'
, I swear
not
' he
' and
a high gallows and'And he didn't
all theword of ain the least
Then Berasuchspoke:« Fare well andwith you.'« Be cheerful,'
however things go with us.'
There they parted,following his destiny.
rowed withand main, so stoutly, that well-nigh halfcame away from the ship. They pulled at the oars with suchthat oar looms and gunwale-pins broke. And when"",:1~"'tu:"n land,
did not maketheir ships. Then for athey rode on
noble horses through a dark wood. They
now saw thedwelling.
heard adin from there andthe clatter of arms, and saw a
number men
and thewere
and thewere CrCtWClea with
They
up to the castle but it was
Hogni
open
and now
into theThen Vingi spoke:
would havewell
not to do this, and now wait
here while I
out afor you. I asked you to comehere in
there wasbehind it. It won't belong now
you're strung up.'«We'll not yield to you,'
Hogni, C and I hardly think wewould shrink back where men should fight, and frightening us won't
help you, and this is going to turn out badly for you.'
Then they knocked him down and beat him to death with the backof their axes.
t

They now rode up to the king's hall. King AtIi drew up his men forbattle, the troops so positioned that there was a court-yard between
them.

SAGA

, ok faiel mer gull pat it
atti en nu a Guelrun.'au,gallGl menn munu
oss afrio. Kann vera
litillivia Qrn ok ulf.'( at nalUi,svikuelinn"""'1''Yll1r-rt,..

en

rna viohlaut mikla
ek vrena ok
vizku, pvi at sjaldanmina
en svikit mik
pat harmar mik mest.)
Konuv

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGSC Welcome among us,' he
'and
I am
the treasure that was'You'll never
the treasure,' said
you'll findmen herewe
if you show us .L&'"'~"
It may bethat you will furnish this feast
with little stlIltlnl1!' ofor wolf.', It's' said, andand reward you for yourin hA1rr-:a,.nnfT
yourand I shall avenge him.
, answered, You
worst inthis for a'md
furno'tht:n~.
fiercenow b n,there wasa shower of missiles.
And now the news rea
Gudrun. And when she heard about it
she grewandoff her mantle. After that she went out and,..,.r&J~ATJ:_n those
had come, andand showed themartect:lOl[1, and this was their lastThen she, I thought I'd found a
But no one canThen
Is there any use infor... jl.... , , '.............,...........J ... _"nC"'.'I'''I ....,'I''I''

But to this
all
were
a
time ofput on a coat of
took
and advanced to thesaid the same, that~ were now
that of all others. Now
Gunnar andis said that thepr4ess,ea forward ....
and splenc:UQ
said
Atli. ' But
to thank you for-nineteen
And then there was a lull in
Then
Atli
, There were four of us
and now I
am left. I alliedbyto afamily, and thought it would be to myIa
was beautiful andandbut I cannot profit by her wisdom, for we wereongood terms. Now you have slain many of my kinsmen, cheated me ofdominion and riches, and brought about mydeath, and this it
is thatme most.''-'Q.li:JUc:A.... " ... , ....

M

A1 I"'AII'I''I'

70

VQLSUNGA SAGA

HQgni segir, ( Hvi getr pu sliks? per brugC)ua fyrri friaL »u t6kt
mina frrendkonu ok sveltir i hel ok myrair ok t6kt feit, ok var
konungligt, ok hlregIigt pykkir mer er pu tinir pinn harm, ok goaunumviI ek pat
er per gengr ilIa.'
39

KOlllullgr li6it at
haraa s6kn.
nu
atkonungr hrekkr inn i hQIlina,nu
var orrostan allhQr6. Sja
vara mea miklu
mannspelli, ok Iykr sva at fellr alIt lic)
brreara, sva atstandatveir upp, ok f6r aar
maar tilvapnum. Nu.
er s6tt at Gunnari
ok fyrirvar hann hQndum
tekinn ok i fjQtra settr.
baraisk HQgni af mikilli hreysti okdr(~nE[S.k:ap, ok felldi ina strerstu kappa Atla konungs tuttugu. Hann
hratt ffiQrgum ield ervar gerr i hQIlunni. AlIir urau a eittsattir, at varIa
slikan mann. En 1'6 varO hann at lyktum ofrli6i
borinn ok hQndum tekinn.
Atli konungr mrelti,
C Mikil furaa er pat
farit
honum.
Nuor honum hjartat, ok
mrelti,semlikar.
mun ek her biaa
vilia atok »at muntu skilja at
er hjarta mitthefi ekharl}a hluti, ok var ek
at »ola mannraun,ervar 6sarr.
En nti eru ver
muntu einn b raaa varum skiptum.'pa mrelti
Atla konungs,,
ek betra raa. TQkum heldr »rzlinn Hjalla,l en for6um ......
J>rrell pessi er skapdauai. Hann lifir eigi sva
at hann se]:>rrellinn heyrir ok repir hatt ok hleypr undan, hvert er honum
pykkir skj6ls van. Kvezk illt hlj6ta af 6fri6i
ok vass at gjalda.
Kvear pann dag illan vera er hann skal deyja
sinum
kostumok svina geymslu. J>eir prifu hann ok brngan at honum knifi. Hann
repti hatt aar hann kenndi oddsins.c
pa mrelti HQgni sem frerum er titt, pa er i mannraun koma) at II
hann arnaai prrelinum lifs ok kvezk
vilja skrrektun heyra,t! kvaa ser£">t"'t1']1'I"__ 1!1I_."

jlU,.K.U]ng~lr at sva"'J:;..L,LIU..

• The preceding ch.
reads HQgni handtekinn.
II thus 01, enn V
c thus 01, B; half with slacu1UJ V
d thus 01 fall. B"thus Olfoll. B,
8 ; lacuna V
1 According to Am., st. 62) Hjalli was the cook.

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS70

Why talk like that? ' said
' You were the first to break the
my kinswoman and starved her to death, murderingandher wealth, and that was no kingly act, and I think it
ridiculous for you toon yourand I'll thank the gods thatthings arebadly wi you.'C

And now King Atli urged on his troops to make a violent onslaught.
Now they fought gallantly, but the Gjukungs attacked so strongly that
King Atli was forced back into the hall, and now they fought inside
and the battle was fierce. The fighting was accompanied by greatslaughter and itwith all the brothers' troops falling so that justthe two of them were left
and many a man soon went down
before theirKing Gunnar was now the object of
and
nec:aue;e ofodds he wasand put in irons.
Then Hogni fought
valour and courage, and felled
AtIi's2'reate~st champions, twenty
them. Many he thrust into thethatwas burning in the hall. On one point they were all a ed, that theyhardly ever saw a man like him. Yet in the end he was overpowered
and taken prisoner.
AtIi.: It's quite astoulnal,nI! how many men have met their doom at his
and so let him die.'hands. Now cut out his
Hogni spoke:
C Do as you
I'll cheerfully
what you intend to do,
and you'll see
my heart is unafraid, and I've ""..n.. ...'''''.... .I.''''.. ..I.".. ''''''''''
ordeals before, and when unwounded I
submitted toof
Iy wounded, and you alone will settle thevalour. But I am now
account.'
Then a counsellor of King AtIi's spoke:spare, I've a better plan. Let's seize Hjalli 1 the thrall
Hogni. The thrall
to die. He'd not live long enough to be
anything but contemptible.'
The thrall heard, screamed loudly and ran off to where he thought
he'd likely be safe. He said he was suffering for their quarrels, andthus he paid for his hard
. He said it was an evil
if he was tohim anddie and leave his good food and his pig-keeping. They
turned a knife on him. He screamed loudly before he felt the point.
Then Hogni spoke in a way that not many are accustomed to dowhen they get into sore straits: he pleaded for the thrall's life-he

SAGA

fjQrit. Nu
mrelti Atli
IlU,l1s1ns" ef hannok er 61ikt
er i.I..I.'J~I:..L.L'a.. ok skaru 6rmeoan hannhans at hanner sioan at minnum

h .... n(:lrr..... 'c~1r

C ins
ok er 6Iikt
litt, en mior meoan i
scm fiU hitum ver. Ok
Mer lekmer.

Guorun kveor nu meo ser menn ok hittir Atla okfiU illa okscm
helduo oro via mik ok
Nu er Gunnarr
settr 1 elnnvaru
ok varu hendr g hans fast bundnar. Guorun sendi honumen h hannsina list ok 816 hQrpuna mea mikilli list,mea
ok lek sva vel ok
atsva meaoktilhann
sofnuau
nema ein naara mikil ok illilig
til er hon hj6 hansoku ..... ""' ...... 'c::. ...... JL'L4

a
b
d

/
g

h

om. V

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

didn)t want to hear theheand declared it was an easierout the gamematter for him to
So the thrall's life was
Gunnarwere no\v bothAtlithen told
he musttheif he wanted his life ..,.. . . . . .L""~, I must first see
bloody, he an~~wl~re.1.
And now
cut out his heart and brought
it to, What we can see' is theof that coward
Hjalli. It's not likefor it is aU~lKlru'! violently
his breast.'
now, and did so far more whenon by Atli,made forwas his valour thatstood the agony lalUZlJLln~2',
astounded at his courage, and it has neverheart.
showed Gunnar, Here we can see theit's not like the heart of that coward
now, and did so still less when in his
And you, Atli,lose
your life as we are now
ours. And now I alone know where the
and
won't
you.
mind waswhile we were
but now
decision isalone. The
shall have
1 beforewear it on their arms.'
with the' saidAtli. And it was done.
Gudrun now
on some men to go without Atli
and said:
now go badly for
the way that you
yourword to me
Gunnar.'Gunnar was now put into a snake
where there were manyand his hands wereboundGudrun sent a
to him and hehis
in thatstruck thewithhis toes,withskill, and he
so
well
that
heard
such as that even with theand he plied
art until all
fell
for onevicious adder that slid up to him andin its snout
it struck intohisand he died there withcourage.
.L.L.L.L.L .....,,""'.L.L.

......

.,.L,Le::L.ft.L.,..

VQLSUNGA SAGA

Atii G konungr p6ttisk nu hafa unnit mikinn
okGuarunu
sva sem mea nQkkuru spotti eoa sva sem hann na~la:LSK, Guorun "hann, 'misst
pu nu brreora pinna, ok veldr
pu pvf sjalf.'
Hon svarar, C Vellikar
En vera rna at pu iarisk,
erfoin Iengst eptiratganga meoan ek lifi.'
Hann svarar, 'Vit skulum nu
srett, ok viI ek
brrear pina mea
ok dyrum
eptir pfnum vilja.'
Hon svarar, 'hefi ekverit hregokum
hrrefa meoan HQgni
Muntu ok aldri breta brreor mina sva at mer
hugni, en opt verou ver konurnar riki bornar af yaru valdi. Nu eru
minir frzndr allir
ok muntu nu einn vio mik raoa. Mun ek nu
penna kost upp
ok Iatum gera mikla
ok viI ek nu erfa
brrear mfna ok sva'
hon sikoa i oroum, envar samt undir raunar. Hann
var taIhIyainn ok truoi a hennar ora, er han
serum rreaur.
Guorunnu erfisina brreor
sva Atli konungr eptirb Nu
Guarun asina menn,
veizla var via mikla
harma slna ok
urn pat at veita
nQkkuraOk
urn kveidit t6k hon sonu
Atia konungs er
leku via stokki.
Sveinarnir glupnuau ok spurau hvat
skyldu.
Hon svarar, ' Spyrio eigi at. Bana skal ykkr baaum.'
peir sVQruou, 'Raaa muntu bQrnum pfnum sem pu vill,mun
engi banna Cener skQmm i at gera petta.'
Sioan skar hon
a Is.
Konungrinn spuroi eptir hvar synir hans vzri.
Guorun svarar, 'Ek mun pat segjaokvaktir via oss mikinn harm pa er 1'6 drapt
misst pinna sona, ok em
hausar her atmina rreau. pu hborokerum hafair,d ok sjalfr drakktu peira bl6a via vin blandit. Sfaan
t6k ek hjQrtu
ok steikta ek a teini, en pu'tI

6reads vil\tal Atla ok GuarUnar.

CdI. 4); bltair VTHE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGSKing Atli thought now that he had won aand hetoGudrun somewhat mockingly, or as if he were OO~ist].n2', Gu n,' he said, 'you've lost your brothers now, and it's yourown doing.''Youtelling me
killings now,' she an~~w(~rec1.
you may be sorry when you find out what is to follow.
that will longest
and while I'm alive things
malice is the
won't go wellyou.'
, We must now be reconciled,' he replied, 'and I'll
you
for your hrothers with gold and costly treasures in accordance with yourown wishes.'
C For atime I've not
C but it wasn't too bad asas
waspay compensation for my brothers so as towe womenare often subdued by yourMy kinsmen are now all dead,andalone have jurisdiction over me. I shall now
thesltlllatloIl--aDld let us n o w a t a honour the memory of
my brothers, and of your .k1DlSm,en,And
now spoke,at heart she was unlCnaLn2:ea.
He wastaken intrusted her words when she made herself
I"hjP.~1"''''ll of"''''Jl.a.
Gudrun now gave thefeast for her brothers, andThen
did so for his men, and it was a turbulent
thought of her wrongs and watched
an opportunity to inflict somegrievous shame upon the king. And in theshe seized hold of
the wallthe sons she'd had by King Atli as they were
bench. They were frightened and asked what was toto, Don't ask that,' she answered. 'I'm going to kill you both.. 'C You can do what you like with your own children,' they answered.
C No one will prevent you, but this deed will bring shame upon you.'
Then she cut their throats.
The king inquired where his sons were.
C I'll tell you,' replied Gudrun, 'and gladden your heart.
Youcaused me great suffering when you killed my brothers. Now you shallhear my words. You've lost your sons, and here are their skulls usedas drinking cups and you yourself drank their blood mixed with wine.
Then I took their hearts and roasted them on a spit and you've eaten
them.'""V"...

73

VQLSUNGA SAGA

Atli konungr svarar, ' Grimm ertu, er pu
sonu pina ok
mer peira hold at eta, ok skammt l~tr
ills i milli.. 'Guarun segir, 'V~ri minn viIi til at gera
miklarok
verar
fullilla farit via sIfkan', Verra hefir pu
en menn vititil, ok ermikil
f slfkumv~rir a bali brennd
ok barin aar
i hel, ok hefair 1'uera leia.'Hon svarar, )Ju
per sja1fum, en mun hlj6ta annan dauaa.')Jau
via mQrg heiptarora..
HQgni atti son
er Niflungr het. Hann hafai mikla heipt via
Atla konung, ok
Guarunu at hann vildi hefna fear sins. Hont6k pvi vel, ok gera raa sin. Hon kvaa mikit happ i ef
Ok of kveldit, er konungr hafai drukkit,
hann til svefns.
erhann varkom Guarun
ok sonr
t6k eitt
svera okfyrir brj6st Atla
Vela
um breai ok sonr
KOlnullgr vaknar via sarit okmunpurfa urn at binda e()a umbua at veita. Eaa hverr
penna averka ? 'veitirGuarun' Ek veld nQkkuru urn, en sumu sonr ... "'v'.c:.~~,u..
Atli konungr
srem()iat gera,sQk v~ri til, ok vartu mer
atok mundriddara ok
meyja okatnema 1'u re()ir IQndum
svreru leztu opt meo
okGuorun mrelti, ' Mart hefir 1'11
ok ekki hiroi ek
ok
opt var ek
i minuen miklu j6k pu a. Her hefir
opt
mikil styrjQld
pinum
ok bQr()usk opt
ok vinir, ok
yfoisk hvat vio annat,
var betri ~vi var 1'3. er ek var meo Siguroi.
Drapum konunga ok reoum urnoker svavildu, en hQfoingjaraoss, ok letum pann rfkan er sva
vildi. Sfoan misstum
ok var pat Iftit at bera ekkjuenTHE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS, You're a cruel woman,'andme
flesh to eat, and you leave little 1n1",p,1""'IT"2'
your evil'My
would indeed be bent on ht"'1nn'lnn.........o.l''"''...
upon
you,' said Gudrun. C
no treatmenta kinglike you.''The evil
said eking,' and there's
deserve to be burnt on a pyre after
you'd have got to where your path is lealalJLl~.
c You make this prophecy of VOllrselI..
'and I shall
die a
'
...
them.
bitter words
left a son
felt ahatred towards
and told Gudrun t
wanted to avenge hisShere(~el,rea this favourably, andmade theirShe
it would
to their
if could be done. And in the eveOlnlQ'
had done_.. .
.LJ;O", he went to bed, and whenwascame, andson. Gudrun seized a sword
and thrust it through
AtIi's
The two had a hand in it,
son.
she andawoke with the wound.
'No need here foror treatment,' he said. 'Who
inflicted
hurt on me ? '( I had a hand in and so didson,' said Gudrun.
was no honour for you in doing this,' said King AtIi,
to me with youryou had some cause-but you wereconsent, and I made you a
portion of thirty goodnOJrse:me:n andsuch as befit you,
many other men, yet you
said it would not be
unless you hadof the lands thatKi
BudIi hadand you
had yourintears.', You've told many untruths,' said Gudrun, ' but I don't care about
that, and I was often in an evil
but you
added to it.
often
a lot of trouble: friends andHere in your house
kinsmen often fought, and each provoked the other, and I had a better
life when I was with Sigurd. We slew kings and did as we pleased
with their domains, and we gave quarter to those who wanted it, andmen made submission to us, and we raised up any for the asking.
I lost him, but tothe name of widow was nothing-whatme most is that I came to you while before I was married to,"",0.+"'1'1£,,0.&1,_

41....''''''''''..o.t·......... l'L:llL:llo._

JL ...........lI.......

74

VQLSUNGA SAGA

pat harmar mik mest er ek kom til
ok aldri komtu sva or orrostu atAtlisvarar,h"lT~'»""H'l'''''i3 hluti, pvf at ver
urn lik mitt til'pat munokC

en att ciar inn apzta konung,pu inn minna hlut.'satt, ok via slfkar fortQlur batnar
Ger nu til min s6masamliga,
gera vegligan grQft, ok gera..."',." ....",l"Y\ dUkum, ok

sem hon het. Siaan let hon slci
vildu mennpola
sva bana. Lauk par
Atiava~ma~Ol vi~

ok.K.OtLunJ~S ok

Guarun vildi nu
enn kominn.
Qlsun,~ar oken enlGacla,rr hennar var
at pvf er mennverit mestir

sva finnsk i QIlum tOl~nB:va:~()Ulm ..
ofri~r b mea
hretti at li8num pessum

Gu8runatti d6ttur via
er Svanhildr het. Hon var
vrenst, ok h i snQr augu sem
hennar sva at far einnatundir hennar brynn. Hon bar sva mjQk Qarum konum
sem s61 af Qarurn himintunglum. durn
Gu8runeitt sinn til srevar, ok t6k grj6t e i fang ser ok gekk asreinn ut, ok vildi
ser. pa h6fu hana st6rar barur
eptir sjanum,ok fluttisk hon
fulltingi ok kom urn siair til borgar J6nakrs
konungr ok fjQlmennr. Hann fekk. Guarlinar.
konungs. Hann var
bQrn varu peir Hamair ok SQrli ok Erpr. Svanhildr var par upp
fcedd.
abcde

reads fra GuorUnu.

74-

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

the noblest king. But you never came out of a battle without having
had the worst of it.'C That is not true,' replied
Atli.' But
like this will
improve neither yournorfor I've comebadly. Now
act honourably towards me and see that I have a splendid . . . . . .
, I shall have a magnificent tomb made for you,' she said, ( and asplendid stone sarcophagus, and wrap you in fine cloths, and think ofeverything nee
for you.'
After this he died. And
did as she had promised. She thenhad the hall set on
And when the king's body-guard awoke interror, the men would notthebut cut each other down and inthat way met their death. And this was the end of
Atli and of all
his followers.
Gudrun had now no wish to live after these deeds. But her last day
was not yet come.
The Volsungs and ukungs were, as people
eminent men andthe most dauntless, and this is found in all the ""....,"'.. O'll",,+ lays.
And that is how with these events the
now ended.
JL"... ClL ....

Gudrun had abywhose name was Svanhild. She
was the mostof all women and she had her father's ple~rCl.n1Z
so that few
look her in the face. In her
she outshone
women as does the sun the other heavenly bodies.
Gudrun once went to the sea, took up an armful of stones and walked
into the sea, intending to do away with herself. Then huge waves bore
her along over the sea, and with their aid she was carried away andcame at length to theof King Jonakr. He was a powerful king witha great following.
married Gudrun. Their children were Hamdir,
Sarli and Erp. Svanhild was brought up there.

SAGA

I QI'ml11n:re1<~ a 1 hefir 1{OlluIlgr
tima. Hans sonr het

IHann var rfkr
.l\..()ntln~~r heimtir

a tal son sinn ok

Hefir hann spurnok er
at honnu
konu, ensva

ok mrelti til hennar mea blfau ok hvart
ok hitta kOIlung..
at vita hvat titt er urn, p6tt vant se
hefir
fulla ast

athiti
vandurn raaurn.
Ka'no'v-er skyldi taka ok a

TYlr..... O'ltlTYl::;v~Lnh]lldr ok tro~in undir hrossaf6tum

til

d thusom. V

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

7S

There was a king called Jormunrek.1 He was a powerful king of thos~days. His son's name was Randver. The king summoned his son toan audience.
'You must go on a mission for me to King Jonakr,' he said, C and
Bikki, my counsellor, shall go too. Sva ild, daughter of Sigurd
Fafnisbane, has been brought up there. I know her for the mostbeautiful maiden under the sun. She it is whom I would marry above
all others, and you shall ask for her hand on my behalf.', It is my duty, Sir, that I should go on your mission,' he said.
He now had worthy preparations made for their journey. They
now travelled until they reached King Jonakr. They saw Svanhild andwere most impressed with her beauty. Randver sought an audienceof the king and said:, King Jormunrek wishes to offer you an alliance by marriage. He
has heard of Svanhild and wishes to choose her as his wife, and there's
no certainty that she would be married to a man more powerful than
he is.'The king said it was a magnificent match, And he is greatly renowned.', It's unreliable to trust to good luck not breaking,' said Gudrun.
But due to the urging of the king and all that went with it, this wasnow
on, and Svanhild now went to the ship with a magnificent
retinue and sat on the stern deck at the prince's side.
Then Bikki spoke to Randver :, It would be more fitting for you than for such an old man topossess so beautiful a woman.'This was greatly to his liking, and he spoke to her tenderly, as she
did to him. They arrived back in their country and went to the king.
« It is only right, Sir,' said Bikki, c that you should know what isgoing on, t
it is not easy to speak of it-it is a question of trickery
whereby your son has enjoyed to the full Svanhild's love, and she is his
mistress. Don't let this go unpunished.'
He had already given him much evil advice, but of all his evil advice
this was the crown. The king listened to his many wicked counsels.
He could not contain himself for anger and said that Randver should
in VB and other Scandinavian versions. The best account of the relationshipbetween the Scandinavian and the fragmentary German traditions is given in
Sclmeider I, 243 ff.
II

76

VQLSUNGA SAGA

festa. Ok er hann var til leiddr galgans, pa t6k hann hauk einn ok
plokkaai af honum allar fjaarirnar, ok mrelti atskyldihans.
Ok er konungrinn
mrelti, par ma nu sja at honum pykkir ek pann veg hniginn II scemOinni
sem haukrinn fjQOrunum.' Ok biOr hann takagalganum. Bikki
hafOi par um velt a meOan, ok var hann dauar.
Enn mrelti Bikki,'Engum Manni attu verri at vera en Svanhildi. Lat hana deyja
me8skQmm.'
Konungr svarar, ' ]>at rao munu ver taka.'
Sioan var hon bundin f borgarhli8i ok hleypt hestum at henni. En
er hon bra i sundr augum, )'>a porau eigi hestarnir at sporna b hana.
a hQfuo henni, ok
Ok er Bikki sa pat, I:Ilrelti hann at belg skyldi
sva varen sfoan let hon lif sitt.
43

Guar-un C spyrr nu liftat Svanhildar ok lllZlti via sonu
( Hvi siti per sva kyrrir eaa mrelio gleaioro,
sem JQrmunrekr
drap systur ykkra ok traa undir hesta f6tum meO? Ok ekkihafiD pit likt skaplyndi Gunnari eoa
mundu
sinnar frrendkonu.'
er peir
Hamoir svarar, 'Litt lofaair pu Gunnar ok HQgna,
drapu d Siguro ok pu vart roain i hans b16oi, ok illar
pinar
br~ara hefndir er pu drapt sonn pina, ok betr mrettim ver alIir saman
drepa JQrmunrek konung, okmunu ver standask fry-juoro, sva hart
sem ver erum eggjaOir.'
Guar gekk hlrejandi okpeim at drekka storum kerum, ok
eptir pat va}oi hon peim storar brynjur ok g60ar ok Qnnur herklreai.
mrelti Hamair,«Her munu ver skilja efsta sinni, ok spyrja muntu tiOendin, ok
muntu pa em drekka eptir okkr ok Svanhildi.'
Eptir pat f6ru peir. En GuOrun gekk til skemmu, harmi aukin, ok
J:IlZlti,
C primr mQnnum var ek gipt, £yrst Sigurai Fafnisbana, ok var hannsvikinn, ok var pat mer inn mesti harmr. Sloan var ek gefin Atlakonungi) en sva var grimmt mitt hjarta vio hann at ek drap sonn okkra f»8o B emends to hnuginn.

• thus 01, spora V

c TM precedt.ng ch. headIng reads Gu&nin eggjar sonu sina at heEna Svanhildar.

• thw 01, dripu& V

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

be seized and hanged on a gallows. And when he was led to the gallows
he took a hawk and plucked out all its feathers and said that it was tobe shown to his father. And when the king saw it he said:, This shows that he thinks I'm just as bereft of honour as the hawkof feathers.' And he ordered him to be taken down from the gallows.
But in the meantime Bikki had been at work there, and he was dead.
Said Bikki, There's no one you have to be harsher towards than Svanhild.
Let her die shamefully.'
C I shall take this advice,' said the king.
and horses were
She was then tied in the gate-way of thethe horses
made to charge at her. But when she opened wide herdared not trample
And when Bikki saw this, hethat a bagshould be drawn down over her head. This was done and then she
met her death.

43

Gudrun heard now of Svanhild's death and spoke to her sons:
C Why do you sit there so calmly and talk so cheerfully when
Jormunrek has killed yourshamefully trampling her to deathbeneath horses' hoofs?
neither of you the spirit of Gunnar or
Hogni. They would
their kinswoman.', You had little
Gunnar andwhen they killed Sigurd
and you were smeared with his blood,' answered Hamdir, C and killingyour sons was an evil
for your brothers, and we should bebetter able to kill
if all of us were together. And we cannot
stand your taunts, so hard do you press us.'
Gudrun went laughing andthem to drink fromgoblets,andthis she sought out forlarge and excellent coats of mail,and other armour. Then Hamdir said:, We shall part here for the last time, and you'll hear the news andthen you can give a funeral feast for us and for Svanhild.'
Mer this they set out. And Gudrun, her sorrow the
went
to her room and said:
C I have been married to three husbands, first to Sigurd Fafnisbane.
He was betrayed and that was my greatest sorrow. Then I was wedded
to King Atli, and my heart was so ill-disposed towards him that I slew

v

77

SAGA

harmi. SiOan gekk. ek a sjciinn, ok h6f mik at landi mea barum, ok
var ek nu
pessum konungi. SlOan gipta
Svanhildi landi i
brott mea miklu fe, ok er mer pat sarast minna
er hon var tro{}inundir hrossa f6tum, eptir Signra. En
erer Gunnarr
var f orrngara settc, en pat haraast er or HQgna var hjarta skorit, okokek meo honum.
betr vreri at Sigurar kremi mer anueptir sonr ne d6ttir mik at
Minnstu nu, ::;u~ur'or)
er vit mreltum, pa er vit stigum abea, at 1'u
ok or helju bfaa.'
Ok lykr par hennar harmtQlum.
TY\11,'ru·1't ....

]>at G er nu at
herklret\i atbitu
storum hlutum, okpeir sva. Ok ervaruaspyrja hvat hann mundi veita peim..
Hann svarar, ' Slikt sem hQnd hendi eaa f6tr freti.'
lJeim p6tti pat ekki vera ok drapu hann. lforu
sinnar ok litla hria aar Hamair rata8i ok stakk niar hendi, Erpr mun satt hafa
Ek munda falla nu ef
styddumk ek
via hQndina.'
Litlu siaar ratar SQrli ok brask a fatinn okok, Falla munda ek nu ef
mik via baaa
Kvaausk 1'eir nu illa
br60ur sinn. F6ru nu unz
peir k6mu til JQrmunreks
gengu fyrir hann ok veittu
honum
tilrreai. Hj6
af honum hendr baaar, en SQrli
fretr ba8a. ]>a mrelti Ham8ir,
C M
mundi nu hQfuait ef Erpr lifai, brooir
er vitleiainni, ok Sanl vit pat of sfa:
Sem kve8it er :(30) Af vreri nu hQfuoit,

ef
&I

The

lifai,

ch.
eXt.laU1S further that they slew
wantedpay herthoughst. 13 deSicnb£sTHE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

our sons in my grief. Then I walked into the sea and waves carriedme ashore, and then I was wedded to this king. Afterwards I married
off Svanhild into aland withwealth. And the .Ket~ne:stof my sorrows,
was when
was trampled down beneaththe horses' hoofs. And most bitter when Gunnar was put in the snake
when Hogni's heart was cut out. It would be
and theifwere to come to me and I to go with him. No son ordaughter is now left to comfort me
Remember, Sigurd, what we
said when we shared the same bed, that you would visit me from theunderworld, and wait for me there.'
And here her lamentations

The story now tells of Gudrun's sons, how she had so treated theirarmour that no iron could bite home, but she told them to do no aalna~~eto stones or otherand said it would be a bad thing
them if they did notasAnd
they'd started out theycame across their brother,andhow he would help them.
helps foot,' he answered.
hand helps hand, orThey thought that this meant not at all, and they killed him.! Thenthey went on and it was only a short while before Hamdir tripped,
thrust out a hand and said:
C Erp must have spoken the truth-I'd have fallen then if I hadn't
steadied myself with my hand.'
Shortly afterwards Sarli tripped, shot out his foot, managed torecover his balance, and said :C I'd have fallen then if I hadn't
myself with both
They now declared that they had acted wron
towards theirbrother Erp. They travelled now until they reached King Jormunrek.
They came into his presence and immediately attacked him. Hamdir
strock off both his hands, and Sorli both his feet. Then Hamdir said:
C His head would now be off if our brother Erp, whom we killed on
the way, were alive, but we've found this out too late.'
As the verse has it :(30) Off now were his head,

were Erp alive,VQLSUNGA SAGA

br68ir okkarr inn bQ8frrekni,
er vit a braut vagum.

f l'vi hQfau l'eir af brugait boai moaur sinnar er l'eir hQfau grj6ti
skatt.1 Nli srekja menn at l'eim, en peir vQrausk vel ok drengiliga okurau mQrgurn manni at skaOa. ]>a bitu]>a kom at einn maar,sharr tI ok eldiligr, mea eitt auga ok
Eigi em per vIsir menn er per kunniD
peim mQnnum bana at
veita.'
Konungrinn svarar, C Gef oss raa til ef pu kannt.'
Hann mrelti, « }Jer skulua berja pa grj6ti I het'var okok pa f1ugu or Qllum attum steinar at peim, ok varD
peim pat at -::1111 .... 1-::11......,
C• thus 01 (if. p. 5 Hann var harr mjQk ok eldiligr), om. V
1 The

I damage t presumably consists in the pollution of the stones of theroad with their murdered brother's blood.
J Odin.

THE SAGA OF THE VOLSUNGS

our brother brave in battle
whom we butchered on the way.
They had disregarded their mother's instroctions by causing darnallre
to stones. 1 They were now attacked. And they defended themselves
valiantly and well, and were the death of many a man. No iron bit
home. Then a grey-haired man a of
appearance and with one
eye came up and said:
You people aren't clever if you don't know how to slay these men.', Give us advice about it if you can,' replied the king.
c You should stone them to death,' he said.
So it was done, and then stones flew at them from all quarters, andthis ended with
ir death.
CA

To visit Odin

B

Aslaug and HeimirC

The ".,,"".. . .""........... C~()rvesp'oniaeJICe between
extant literary sources81

verso and recto 82

APPENDIX A
TO VISIT ODIN
At srzkja heim
and similarsuch asall me=m1I11Z
literally C to visit Odin ' or « be
" arein the sense of toin battle I (Odin was known asof the slain), this enSlu.nrur
into Odin's hall, Valhalla
hall of the slain), which wasathing' (seefrom the heroic
point of view. Snorri tells us insumum
en sumum bauo han" til sin ,.
JlUUr-l[O somethenothers he called toeither way
good. Rerir does notinbutand there
H. M. Chadwick, The cultLondonare grounds for the belief
1899, 13 f.) that a man mortally ill
be marked with the point of a javelin,
was a weapon especially associatedbeing thereby dedicated to Odin
with him), and thus presumably
one with the Einherjar, the dead heroes
with Odin in ValhaIJa (SnE,
who spend their days in fighting andGylfaginning ch. 41) until the Doom of theis at hat"d• ch. 51).
I:

8.

APPENDIX BASLAG AND HEIMIR

Heimir f HlymdQlum spyrr nu
ok Brynhildr
prevetr.
hann nu atendottiren f6stravar
mun leitat at
ok rett hennar. Er honum sva mikill harmr
eptir Brynhildi, fostru
at hannekki rfkis sins ne
Ser nti at
leynt.
nu gera eina hQrpu sva mikla athann f;er eigi meyjunni
let hann meyna Aslaugu Iok
I gulli ok silfri, okabrott slaan vlaa urn IQnd, ok urn siaira NorarlQnd. Sva var harpa
saman at feltingum, ok var hann pvl
hagliga
at hana matti taka I sundr
vanr urn
er hann for I hja vatnfQllum ok
I nand brejum, at hannt6k hQrpuna i sundr ok 1'6
Ok hann haf()i vlnlauk einn ok
at eta. En
er na:tttira
at maar rna
lifa, p6tt hanna8ra freau. Oker
s16 hann hQrpuna, okhonpvi at Heimir var vel at
btiinn peim er pa varu
Hann
i hQrpunni ok mikit gull.
ok mQrg klreai djralig hja
Ok nu ferr hanntil unz hann kemr iok kemr til eins by-jar
litilser heitir aokkarler Aki het. Hann atti
konu, ok het hon Grima.
manna en pau.
]>ann
var karl farinn ivarok heilsar hon Heimi
ok spyrr hvat manna hann vreri.
vera einnok baa kerlingu
htisa. Honatkremi par £Ieira en sva at hon kvezk mundu vel via
honum
prettisk purfa par at vera. En er aleia, pa
hann athonum pretti pat mest beinab6t at eldr vreri kveyktr fyrir honum, ok siaanvzri honum fylgt til svefnhtiss
er hann skyldi sofa. Ok pa er kerling hafl)i
kveykt eldinn, pa setr hann hQrpuna upp i set hja
en kerling var oaamalug.
Opt vara henni litit til hQrpunnar fyrir pvi at trefr a einu djraligu k.lz&i k6mu
ut 6r hQrpunni. Ok er hann bakaaisk via eldinn, pa ser hon einn djraligan
gullhring koma fram undan tQtrum hans, pvf at hann var illa klreddr. Ok erhann hafai bakazk sem hann kunni ser pQrf til, pa hafai hann nattvera. En
eptir pat baa hann kerlingu fylgja ser pangat til sem hann skyldi sofa urn
n6ttina. ]Ja segir kerling at honum mundi betra vera uti en innic]>vi at vit karl minn erum opt malug er hann kemr heim.'
Hann bier hana raaa, gengr nu ut ok sva hon. Hann tekr hQrpuna ok hem
mea ser. Kerling
tit ok ferr par til er bygghtaaa ein er, ok fylgir honum
par til, ok mzlti atskyldi par urn buask, ok kvezk pess vznta at hann

B
ASLA UG AND HEIMIR
Heimir heard the news in 111'VInlClal:Lrand Brynhild wereandtheir datl2hter,
foster-d~Lu2hte:r, was then three years
old.
her
So
was
his
to
or
there. So hewith many
and wide,
was so skilhe could take it apart and put itat the joints,
when he was near water courses and nowhere in theaWlel1unl!'S he was accustomed to take the harpandtheAnd hea certain herb andher to eat of it, and such
liveatime even if he hasis the nature of this herb that a manno other food. And when the girlhetheand she would
thenfor Heimir was highlyin the arts then
He
also
and a
deal ofwith her in the
10ULrnleve:d until he came toto a small farmstead called
had a wife and she was
lived a man named Aki.
Grima.
fromthere were no other
there.
but the woman was at home andthe man had gone into theand asked theand asked who he was. He said he was a
as shewoman for shelter.. She declared that so few
came
to stay there. And after
she would welcome him if he thought hea while he said he would think it most hospitable if a fire were to be lit for him,
in. And when theand if he were then shown to the room he was tohethebeside him on the seat. But the,voman had lit the
talkative. She often
at the harp, for theof avaluablecloth wasthe
And when he wanned
himself at the fire she saw a valuablefrom beneath his rags, for he
was poorly clad. And \vhen he hadmuch as he thought wasnecessary, he had his supper. And after this he asked the woman to show him
to where he was to spend the
The woman then said that he would bebetter off outside rather than InSI()f'~
C Because when my husband comes home, the two of us often talk a lot.'He said she knew best. So he went out, and so did she. He took the harp
and kept it by him. Going out, the woman went over to a barley-bam, showed
him to it and said that he was to bed down there, adding that she expected he82

APPENDIX B

mundi par nj6ta svefns sms. Ok nu gengr kerling i brott ok annask pat er han
purfti, en hannser svefn.
hefir fatt unnit
er hanKarl kemr
er ap1:anlnlnn liar, en
ok illrer aUt var
purfti. En hann var
er hann kom
karl at mikill
munr
6buit
er honannazk hafa.
en han vildi til enkis takahann vann hvem
meira en hannervar at.
kann at vera at pu.
karl minn,'
aHa revi.'
nu:ettir nu skamma stund vinna, Hvat er?'
karl.
svarar, 'er kominn til herbergis okkars einnok retIa ek
ok er hniginn a efra aldr, ok mun verit hafa
allmikit fe mea at
ok er numoor mjQk, ok
pykkjumk ek hans maka set
ek hann mreddan okpakarl, ( patina fa sem her kama.'
Hon svarar, ( pVl muntu
Htill
vex alIt i augu, ok gernu
at pu drep hann, eaa
til manns, ok munu vit
kann ekrreou er hann IIUelti via mik ireka pik f brott. Ok
Ilre:rk,rel(l.. en Htils munpum vert. Hann mrelti
via mik,
mun mitt nia vera at taka hann mer til manns, en reka pik i brott eaa
ef
vill
sem ek viI.'
til er hanni
sagt atok telr hon urn
er buinn,tekr
sina ok snarbrjnir mjQk. Ok er
nueltihonum
til er Heimir
ok varmikill.
til
at hann skyldi hita veraa tilrreai sem
at ekki mattu standask lat hans ok 6p
skunda brott mea hlaupi,
ef hann frer pik hQndum tekit.'
Han tekr hQrpuna ok hleypr a brott mea. Nu gengr karl par til er Heimirsefr. Hann
til hans, ok veror l'at mikit
ok verar honum laus gxin.
Hann hleypr pegar i brott sem hann matti hraoast. Nu vaknar hann via
a.ver.kann.. ok vannsk honum at fuIlu. Ok pat er sagt at sva mikill gnp varo ihans fjQrbrotum at undansulur i hUsinu ok ofan fell hUsit alIt, ok varo
landskjalfti mikill, ok lykr parrevi.
Nu kom karll'ar sem kerling var,nu at hann hefir drepit hann( Ok po varof brio er ek vissa
hve fara mundi, ok pessi maar var
furou mikill
en 1'6 vrentir mik at hann se nu i helju.'
verkitKerlingat hann skyldi hafa pQkk
, Ok vrentir mik at nu hafim vit reritok skulum vit reyna hv8.rt ek hefisatt sagt.'
QU+'I-:I"...l nAPPENDIX B

would sleep well there. And now the woman went away and busied herself
withand he settled down to
the man camebut the woman had got throughLater inhe waswhen he came home and surly invery few of her tasks.
manner, for all the things she should haveto were not done. The
man said there was adifference in the nalPPlne~)s of his lot and hersevery day he worked more than hiswhile she would neveron with anything useful.
, Don't be angry, husband,' shebecause perhaps you might quickly
contrive for us to be happy all our, How? ' said the man
I A man has come to our' the woman replied, C and I
deal of wealth along with him, and he's stricken ina mighty champion, but now he's
weary, and I
seen his like, but I imagine he's
and'Then the man said: C I don't think it's wise to
the few people thatcome here.'
C You'll be a nobody for a long
, she'becausegot
scruples about everything. And now do one thing or theyoukill him, or I shall take him for my husband, and the two of us will drive you
the words he spoke to me this very
butaway. And I can tell
you won't care I He
to me amorously, andwill be tohim
for my husband and to
you away or kill you you won't do as I wish.'
And it is said that the man wasand she kept on about it until
axe and put akeen
on it.
he gaveto hertook
woman showed him to where
was slelepIOR'..
And when wasas
and there was a loudThe woman told her husband to attack
best he 1ll1!unl[C And make off quickly for you'll not be able to stand his shrieks andscreams if he gets his hands on you.'
She picked up the harp and ran off with it. Then the man went up to where
Heimir was sleeping. He struck at him, making a deep wound, but dropped
his axe. He immediately made off as quickly as he could.
He awoke with the wound, and it had done for him completely, and it istold that he made such an uproar in his death throes that the supports in thehouse gave way, and the whole house colla, and there was a violent earthquake, and there his life ended. The man now went to the woman, and now
told her that he had killed himC Though for a time I didn't know how things would tum out, and that man
was very strong, but I expect that he's now in the underworld.'
The woman said that she thanked him for the deedC And I expect that we've now ample wealth, and we'll find out whether I've
told the truth.'C84

APPENDIX B

Nu kveykva
eld, en kerling tekr hQrpuna ok vildi upp kama ok mattiannars kostar en han varl) at brj6ta pvi at han hafl)i
hagleik til. Ok nu
frer han upp komit hQrpunni, ok par ser han eittat hon p6ttisk ekkislik.t set hafa, ok
var mikit fe i hQrpunni. Nu
karl,, ]>at mun nu veraa sem opt, at ilIa man
er honum
troir. 8jnisk mer sem komin muniasvarar, 'ereptir pvf sem eksakask.. 'Ok nu spyrr han hverrar rettar han vreri. En
in unga J:IUer svarar
engu, sva sem han hefai
mal numit.
, Nu ferr sem mik
at okkart raa mundi ilIakarl. 'Vit
hQfum unnit glrep mikinn. Hvat skulum vit sja fyrir bami pessu ? t, Au{)vitat er pat,'
Grima..' Han ska! eptir m6aur minni heita Kraka.. 'Nti mrelti karl, C Hvat skulum vit
fyrir bami?'
svarar, Ek se
raa til. Vit skulum
hana okkra dattur ok
upp feeaa..
']>vi munkarl. 'Miklu er bam petta Re<)sl1jU8. en vit.
Erum a1l6vren
likendi a pykkja at vit munum
pvfUkt,bam, sva enClerr1112
Nti :llUElti
6vrent pykkja.
mun hita
er at sizt komi har upp. Haneiga hQtt slaan.
skal hon ok vel klredd
vera.. Mun pa saman draga v3.r yfirlit.. Ma vera at menn troi
at ek hafa
mjQk vren verit,
er ek var ung. Hon skal ok vinna
er verst er.'
En pat hugau pau karl ok kerling at hon mretti ekki mrela er hon svarar
aldri. Nu er pat
sem
hefir
hugat. Nl1 vex han par upp
f miklu fatreki.
C

(I

thus

em4ma,nJl retIa V (01 retains MS 'l"eaid.UIJrll

84

APPENDIX B

They now kindled a fire and the woman took hold of the harp and tried tofor she hadn't the skill.
open it, and she had no choice but to break it
And now she
to get the harp open,
she saw a little
thelike of whom she
she'd never seen
and there was also a large
amount of treasure in
The man now said:, It'sto tum out
often does when you
a person
waif on our hands.'
who trusts you. It looks to me as if we have a, That is not what I thought,' answered the woman. 'But we'll not complain
about it now.'
And now she asked who her
was. But the young
made no reply
as if she had never learned to, It's just as I thought,'
badly with us.
child?'
We've committed a terrible crime. What are we to do with'That's easy,' said Grima. 'She shall be called Krak.a after my mother.'
Then the man said: What shall we do with this child ? ', I have aplan,' answered the woman. C We'll say she is our dau er
and we'll bring her up.'
, No one will believe it,' said the man. 'The child is far more attractive
than either of us. We're both very ugly and no one will think it likely that
we would have a child like this, queer-looking as we both are.'
The old woman now said: You don't know but what I
two to make it seem not improbable. I shall shave her headother things,
it unlikely that any hair would grow. She shall have along hood and she won't be well dressed, either 1 Then we shall look more likeeach other.
people will believe that I was very pretty when I wasyoung. She shalldo the worst chores.'t that she couldn't talk because she never
And the man and his wife thoanswered them. What the old woman had planned was now done. She now
grew up there in great poverty.
C

C

14

c
THE GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE BETWEENSAGA AND ITS EXTANT LITERARY SOURCES
VSch.8

p. 14-

11. 2-3

p.I4VS ch. 10
VS ch. 14-

p. 17
p.

p.

VS ch. 16

VSCh.I7
VSCh.I8

p.26 st. 4het
p. 28
siaan (asummaryequivalent)
P·29 st. 5
p. 31 Hverr ertu-p. 32 Hann
heitir 6skaptr
2
P·3 Reginn br6air
sern han vildi
P·3 2 Ek bar
br6aurp. 32 ok sva fnjsta-f nandmervapn-hvatastr
P·3 2 ok
ek-semP·3 2 patskj6tast
P·3 2 petta ern pm raa--hafa

P·3 2 ok pat sarna guIl--er

att

VS ch. 19

Prose introduction to
Rm. 11. 9-21 (end)Rm. st. 1-2
cf.
cf.
Rm. st. 5 and theimmediateafter it
cf.
Rm. st. 6
cf.
cf.

P·25

a
P·3 2 en hverr frrekn maardags
Enpi Fafnir--end of ch.
2
P·3
P·33 Heill t herra minn-sitja
85

cf.
cf.

Rm. st. 18
Fm. st. 1-15 l. I

cf.

Fm. st. 22 11. 1-3

cf.

Ftn. st. 16 11. 1-3

cf.

Fm. st. 18

cf.
cf.

Fm. st.
Fm.. st. 20

cf.

Fm. st. 21 11. 1-3

cf.

Fm. st. 20 11.

cf.

Fm. st. 10 ll. 1-3

ef.
cf.

Fm. st. 21 Il.
Fm. st. 23

1-3

86
VS ch. 19

APPENDIX C

P.33 Br60ur minn-a

Fm. st. 25 11.
U.
prose passage after

P·33

p. 33
20,

VS ch. 20V"f) ch.. 21

VS ch. 22
VS ch. 23
VS ch. 32

Fm. st. 25 11.
Fm. prose passage
st. 27after st.
cf.
Fm. prose passage
after st. 3I st. 32-4
cf.
cf.

p. 33
P·33

J

mikla
upp-speki cf.
P·34 okvreri hann vitrcf.
p.. 34 oken sumt hiroir hanns16lh:h. 2I, cf. me: Drose: DassaQ'e ~lt tJtle f~na
P·34 ok reiap.
freroiok
the beRlnnlng
st. 1-2, and
after
p.
st. 6
cf.
st. 5
p.
st. 7-10
cf.
Sd. st. 6, 10, 12, 7,
cf.
Sd. st. 8, 9, II, 13,
P.37 st. II-ISp.
st. 16-18
P.39 st.
p. 39 vervia frrendr
p. 40 a pik koma
P·40-4 1
p. 57 Eptir
fra
honum
p. 57 Brynhildr er mer-cf.

P.58 st. 26

cf.
cf.
cf.

p. 58

CL

hennar ast
p. 57 ok kalla-br6our sinnp. 57 fyrir mik-alla eioa

Sg. st. IS
Sg. st.
11. 7-10
Sg. st.
Br. st. 4. (VS st. 26
is a poor and incomplete

variant)
t6k Siguror sveraitp. 59 vinr hans konu
p. 59 ok ef ek hefoa vitatvilligQlt

st. 22-8

cf. pSS, Bertelsen II, 266 11.
17-24 (but see
Introduction p. xxxvii)

APPENDIX C

V.S ch. 32

P·59 En Gu8run blres-hafameira vald
P·59 Fr(Endr mfnir-f her

Nu

cf.

st. 29-33

cf.

Br. st. 6

cf.

Br. st. 15-19

eitri var hert
p. 59 Ok snemma reau- p. 60

cf.

st.

p. 60
p.60

cf.

p. 59

cE.
p.61

VSch·34

p. 61

Nustendrp.61 Betra var
lo8a rau8ap.62 8t.27

VS ch. 35

cE.
cE.

p.62

cf.

p.
p.

cf.
cf.

p.

cf.

st. 1-5, Akv. st. 1

p.

cE.

Am. st. 8, Akv.

p.

st. 2
cf.

Akv. st.

cE.

Am. st. 9,6

p.
p.66

VSch.

62

Atli konungr sendiat vit Earim
Nu
p.66
at

p.66 heitr nu fer8innia{)rir villt
mikatmerp.66 ]:>at-stokka f hQIlini
p.66 per eruo opt-booinu
mikp.66 okenn
vera DQkkut
dreymoi mik-ch. 37,
p.66a{)rir lQttu
p.

cE.

12

cf.

Am. st. 26 II. 1-4

cE.

Am. st.
Am.st.

cf.
cf.

14 11.. 1-4

Am. st. 15-21 , 24, 2S,
1.4

88
V.S eh. 37

APPENDIX C

Akv. st. 10-12

cf.

68

p.
p.68

cf.

p.68

cf.

st.

p. 68

st. 13 11. 1-4, 14
11.
1. I, Am.
cf.
Akv. st. 14 2-8

af

p.68
VSch.

VS ch. 39

VSeh·39

L 5Hfip.

cf.

Am. st.

cf.

Akv. st.

cf.
cf.

Am.st.
Am.st.

P·7 1

cf.

Akv. st. 18

P·7 1

cf..

Akv.. st. 20-3

p. 7 1cf.

p.69 pat kemr
39,
haroa sokn
er satt at GunnariP·7°
hQndum tekinn
P·7° Mikil furoa-hans bani
HkarP·7° Geri sem

p. 7 1
bundnarP·7 Guorun sendi honumhQndum
mik
P·7 2 Atlinioa
P·7 2 Gerir hon sikbrre6r mfna
P·7 2 Nu skaltu
pu aztGrimm
ertu-atP·73
frrenda ra6i
P·73 ok mund galt-po 74
sem hon het
let hon shiP·74
hir6ar hans
P·74 Guorun vildi nufornk.vreaum
1

VSeh·40

11. 1-4

Akv.. st. 24 11. 1-4,
Am. st.
cf.
Akv. st. 24 L 5L
ef.
Am. st. 66

ef.

Am. st.

ef.

Am.st.

st.
st. 95-104 L 4
ef..

Ako. st. 41-2

cf.

Am.. st. 104 II.
st. lOS89

APPENDIX C

VSch·4 1

cf.

introduction to
and Ghv. st. 13-15
Ghv. st. I 1.
19

cf.

Hm. st. 11-13, 15

cf.
cf.
cf.

Hm.st.
Hm.st.
Hm.st.

P·74 Guanin gekk eitt sinn-

VSch·43p.

VSch·44

P·77
P·77
p.

p.

upp fredd
Guanin spyrr-p. 77
or helju biaa
Oker
vam konmir-ok drapu hann
Hjo Hamair-of sfa
st. 30bitu-end(A(:COJ~dJ..[l2 to

Jonsson,the COfilplller
used notextwntbut a later non-extant
variant which included
Odin's tnf-,a."'TAnf-tnn(N.B. The prose sections of PE were not ne(::eBSW"l.LV used by the compiler forn.9.)
the equivalent passages of VS-see Introduction p.

GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL 'fERl\lS

Dlsir These were supernatural female
who acted as j!U~ttdlan
andhave come to be considered as
members of
At onethey probably enjoyed a cult of their own.
into other supernatural Norse women: as l>r()te~:tnre
R)tifnt'1f"U/tJ't1~1' ~T1It1 t"lJl11Ukanur at times+n,.,rn',.,.n other functions
to the Noms.
dlsir could also herald battle and death.
originally spirits connected with~""l!'r::;,,,,,. "'~"'••
II, 297 ff.).
......A ...

"I:MI'.

of small stature, human in
These were the dwarfs, mythicalandand to shun theand held to dwell underground or inwere renowned as metal workers. Aocor'dml2 to one sourcest. 10) the lEsir created the first pair of
who thensee:ffi1n2JlV 13Shlone:Q more of their own kind from the earth ; accordm2 toch. 14) they originated as maggots in the flesh
primaeval giant,out of whose body the world was created. They
appear to be later more sophisticatedof what were originallyde Vries,
Religion I,
the spirits of the dead, or nature spirits
252 if.).
1

1

Fylgja A personification of the essential nature or power of an individual orfamily. It often appeared in the form of an animal whose nature: COJrre~)Po.ndc~dto the name or character of the individual it
The
I "."i~lrn·f",'atfl'r\ werespirits who were often seen in91

GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL TERMS(cf. de Vries, Altgerm. ,&~.~M;"'"fylgjur pinar til Islands', r.""tQJ':1U- ,rllJl'R
119-26).)

G. Turville-Petre, C Liggja
XII (1937-45),

The word
could mean the ' luck. ' that aperson isborn with and which
be transferred to others. At
sameit
seems to have had a rather more concrete connotation and to have been
spirit. The wordderive fromthought of as a kind of
combining its twoof c the external
the spirit could
174, 222 f.).
assume' and C caul'
Hel often used simply to connote death " was the dread goddess of theprincipal underworld known to Norse mythology: Snorri (SnE, Gylf. ch. 34)
describes her as ruling over those who die of sickness or old age, thus making
a neat contrast with his description of Odin's hall, Valhall, the abode of thoseslain in battlech.
though literary art rather than genuine
to the undenvorid
belief may be uppermost. The name Hel is also
itself, Snorri, perhaps due to Christianat aofmisery probably absent from actual pagan beliefch.
C

MOTO 'murder' (moro) as opposed to ''J (vig) was considered
to be a particularly odious crime which put the perpetrator outside the law.
The distinction between mora anddid not lie in the presence or absence
the inunediate avowal ofof C malice aforethought " but in that ofthe deed at one of the three nearest houses to the scene of the crime.
according
Killing without such avowal was considered to be
to Gisla saga ch. 13, an identifiable weapon were left in the wound (in whichcase the term
C secret manslaughter' was used).
could beatoned for by paying compensation to the bereaved family
if noneexisted to thosethe suit) if
were agreeable. This was
not normally the case with moro whichwith it the penalty of outlawry (see Fritzner, Ordbog II, 73 1 ; Cleasby-Vigfusson, 434; Hoops IV.
342)·

MUndT The marriage settlement (mundr) was ansum payable by thewas valid, and which became
groom for his bride, without which noher personal property.
Nafnfestr The formal naming of a child (called
was nonnallypreceded by the sprinkling of the child with water (ausa'Oat";') a paganrite distinct from but having certain elements in common with Christianbaptism (skim), and followed by the bestowal, then or later, of a gift (alsocalled tIllfnfestr). This pagan baptism' may ultimately owe its origin
CGLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL TERMS

to early contacts between
Northmen and Christian J-\np'Ul~-~:::lX(l~n~.
It
had asuznltlCaJtlce since until the Ce]~enlO]JlV
formedchild
be ex'[)os(~ddid not have full
a full discussion see K.
die Wasserweihe.1. • .1.4"''-&... '''.....

Nornir The Noms were a nelrso:nltled ext)re~~lc.n of the Norse COllce:ptllon
of fate (skQp).
were sometimesof as female SU1:>erna1tur:aI
who wereatbirth,
to render assistance as midwives and also tothech.
IS). There seems tobeen an In(letJlnl1te on·l1rnh"....
women buttend toout of thiswasto that of the Roman Parcae ;Veraandi and Skuld,
there were in particular three Noms, known as
who were held to determine men's fate and who atlike their classicalCOllntelll~art;s'l seem to be associated with
and(cf. Poetic
Edda,
I, st.
st. 14, 11.
The Norns, as is the case with mostor '.cr.,...n ...
tlh~:rendowed women of Norse
do nota clear-cut COIlcentl'On.
Sometimes they are called dinr
which is also used occ:asl0n~11lVof(who exercise someon men's
O'l'l ..

+'I'I .....

Seiokona The seiokona was a woman
skilled in the exercise oftheart (seiar)
she could
an eXC:haJlsze of appearances,ora curse on an
cause
foretell theetc. She was
not seldom
seiokona had a malein the seiOmaOr.
Troll Trolls wereconceived of as monstrous,
if notdisposed. Troll haft pik was ato theare not clearly distinguishable
the giants. Theof trolls andis not clear.
part personified
of natural phenomena, in partof hallucinatory
produced by various conditions
Theylargely
Norse mythology as the enemies of theand asthe primaeval inhabitants of the world. In thewas Ymir the
giant. A good account of giants and trolls in theirand moreI, 241 if.
Germanic setting is given by deValkyria valkyrie. The word basically signifies ' chooser of the slain '. The
valkyries were Odin's handmaidens whose main duty it was to sway the94

GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL TERMS

course of battles and conduct the slain to Valhalla. The conception ofmountedwarrior-maidens is very probably
de'~el()prnerlt of anand cruder belief in savage elemental"""', in bloodshed and carnage
IV, 475; Nora K.
Monsters and Beowulf' instudies • • •fJresented. to Bruce
In Narse literature thearesometimes confused withakin tothe amazon idea.
taken partincf..
Val.kVI~les asThe
who exercised a predominantly mantic(vQlr) which may well account for her
function. She
name. An excellent de~)crlLpt]Lan of the vQlva and her art is to be found in
Eirlks saga rauiJa ch. 4-

INDEXIPERSONAL NAMES

50 -2,
62,

4S
IS
4S

1-I&J.1""'t1'·!2 ...

Dvalinn, a

14- 1 7r,... ..r.1UJldllng:sS()n, IS

32

32

3
19-21 ,4S

Hroptr, one of Odin'sHundingr, killed
Hundings
15,
Hynir, Huns,
HQgni, ally of HOlddltJrodd,
HQgni, Sigrun's
HQgni Gjukason,

Gj , 43--7, 49, 53, 55
Gjngar, 70, 74
GlaumvQr, Gunnar's wife, 66-8
Granmarr, Hoddbrodd's father, 1517
Granmarr, Hoddbrodd's brother, 1617
Grlmhildr, GjUki's wife, 44,

59,60,

a god,

25

Jarisleifr, 62]6nakr, Gudrun's third husband,
60,74,75] Qrmunrekr, Svanhild's husband,
60, 75--7

50 ,5 2 ,53,5 8,60-4

Gripir, Sigurd's uncle, 28
95

INDEX

68

IS
12
17
23, 24, 26-

19, 20, 29, 30

73

73-7

bunnlun~t1at·so]['l,10-14, 16,

S4

74-7

62
10,

2

Anldviaral:ors,..L lL......

"'''1' u.... .1. Falls,

BreaafQnn, Bredi's Drift,
BravQllr, 16
BusiltjQm, 23
DanmQrk, Denmark,:z I, 6:z

Fj6n, 62
Frakkland, Frankland,
Frekasteinn, 17

35

VnJQ111nIJrr

Rerisson,

PLACE NAMES

2S
16

NQrvasund,

Heainsey, IS
Hindarfjall, Hindfell, 34, 35
Hlymdalir, 48, 50

IS32

RauaabjQrg,

Gautland, 4, 6
Gnipalundr, 16
Gnitaheiaor,
Grikklandshaf,
Grindir, 17

3-7, 13, 14

15

Rin, the Rhine,

44, 50, 71

S61fjQll, Solfell, 14, 17
Svarinshaugr, 16
SQk, 17IS
vnUiIllt:::s.

Thrasness,

16

INDEX

3

OTHER

NAMES

29

50 ,5 1
BamstQkkr, Ham~~tockt a tree,

4

55

Ri~ill, a3339