shorter by about a head.
Then all the gold
would be Sigurth’s alone,
that whole treasure of Fafnir.”
A fourth bird said:
[35] “I would think Sigurth was wise
if he knew how to heed
your good advice,
my sisters,
{249} if he took our advice
and set a table for the ravens.
I always suspect a wolf
when I see a wolf’s ears sticking up.”
A fifth said:
[36] “He is not as wise
as I would have thought,
Sigurth, this lord
of many battles—
not if he lets one brother
live free and at ease
when he has killed
the other!”
A sixth said:
[37] “It would be unwise
if he spared that enemy.
There Regin lies,
the brother
who advised him on this course—
can Sigurth not see the danger?”
A seventh said:
[38] “Let Regin be a head shorter,
that frost-cold monster
should be deprived of his inheritance,
and then Sigurth would be
the sole owner
of the gold that was Fafnir’s.”
Sigurth said:
[39] “It would be a poor fate,
if Regin
caused my death.
I think
both brothers should go
to Hel together today.”
{250} Sigurth cut off Regin’s head, and then he ate Fafnir’s heart and drank the blood of both Regin and Fafnir. Then Sigurth heard the wagtails saying:
[40] “Pack up
all these treasures, Sigurth;
it would not be kingly
to worry for long.
I know a woman
more beautiful
than any other—
if you could get her.
[41] “The roads to Gjuki’s halls
are green,
they show the way
for warriors.
Sigurth,
that rich king
has raised a daughter—
and you could buy her.
[42] “And there’s a hall
high on Hindarfjall,
encircled all around
by flame:
wise men
have made that wall
from living
ardent fire.
[43] “I know that a Valkyrie
sleeps on that mountain,
where fire plays
around her.
Odin stung her with a thorn:
she killed a different man
than Odin wished,
that unfaithful Valkyrie.
{251} [44] “Sigurth, you could see
that girl beneath her helmet,
when you ride away
from this battlefield.
They say no one
can break Sigerdrifa’s sleep,
no one can change
what fate has determined.”
Sigurth followed Fafnir’s tracks to his lair, and found the iron doors and gates open. All the pillars were also made of iron, and they were dug deep into the earth. Sigurth found a great quantity of gold there, and he filled two chests with it. He took the terror-helmet and a golden suit of armor, and the sword Hrotti and many other precious treasures, and he loaded them onto his horse Grani. But even with that burden, the horse would not start till Sigurth had mounted up on his back.
{252} Sigrdrifumal (The Meeting with Brynhild)
Having been told of her by the birds at the end of Fafnismal, Sigurth now goes to the mountain Hindarfjall where the Valkyrie Sigerdrifa sleeps. As with many other poems concerned with the Volsungs, there is a prose introduction and occasional prose notes in the manuscript, which are translated here along with the poetic stanzas. Sigerdrifa (literally “victory-driver”) may or may not be the same person as the Valkyrie Brynhild, who appears in the later poems about Sigurth. Much of the poem consists of Sigerdrifa’s advice to Sigurth, which is reminiscent of Havamal, both in the tone of her general advice, and in her insistence about the power of the runes.
Sigrdrifumal
Sigurth rode up on the mountain Hindarfjall, south toward Frankish lands. He saw a great light on the mountain, as though a fire burned there, and it glowed against the sky. When he came to it, he saw a fortress, and there were flags flying on top of it. Sigurth went into the fortress and saw a person sleeping there on the floor, fully armed. He took the helmet off first, and then he realized this person was a woman. Her chainmail was as tight as if it had grown to her skin. He took his sword Gram and cut the chainmail off, first cutting down the middle, and then down both sleeves. Then he took the chainmail off of her, and she woke up and saw Sigurth and said:
[1] “WHAT BROKE THE CHAINMAIL?
Why am I awake?
Who has freed me
from my imprisoning armor?”
He answered:
“Sigmund’s son
is the one who cut it.
Sigurth’s sword is fresh
from feeding the ravens.”
{253} [2] She said: “I have slept so long,
I have been asleep so long,
human sorrows last so long.
Odin cursed me
never to break the sleeping-spell
by my own power.”
Sigurth sat down and asked her name. She took a horn full of mead and offered him the ritual drink.
[3] She said: “Hail the day!
Hail the sons of day!
Hail to night and her sister!
Look on the two of us here
with friendly eyes,
and give us victory.
[4] “Hail the gods!
Hail the goddesses!
Hail the hospitable earth!
Give the two of us
eloquent speech, and wisdom—
and healing hands, while we live.”
She was named Sigerdrifa and she was a Valkyrie. She said that two kings had fought. One was named Hjalm-Gunnar; he was old and a great warrior, and Odin had promised him victory. The other was named Agnar, brother of Hautha, who received help from no one. Sigerdrifa killed Hjalm-Gunnar in this battle. But Odin stung her with a sleep-thorn in revenge for this, and said she would never again choose victories in battle and that she would have to marry. “But I told him that I had sworn an oath to marry no man except one who knew no fear,” she said.
Sigurth asked her to teach him wisdom, if she knew news from all the realms. Sigerdrifa said:
[5] “I bring you beer,
warrior,
blended with strength
and fame.
It’s full of spells
and magic,
good enchantments
and happy words.
{254} [6] “You should carve victory-runes
if you want to have victory.
Carve some on the hilt of your sword,
carve some on the middle of the blade also,
some elsewhere on the sword,
and name Tyr twice.
[7] “You should learn beer-runes
if you don’t want another man’s wife
to abuse your trust if you have a tryst.
Carve them on the drinking-horn
and on the back of your hand,
and carve the rune for ‘N’ on your fingernail.
[8] “You should bless the drinking-horn;
then watch out for trouble
and throw garlic in the drink.
If you do this, I know
you’ll never drink mead
that’s blended with a curse.
[9] “You should learn life-saving runes
if you want to save a woman’s life
when she is in the throe
s of childbirth.
Carve them on your palm,
and clasp them around your limbs,
and pray to your family spirits for help.
[10] “You should make wave-runes
if you want to save ships
out on the wild water.
You should carve them on the ship’s bow
and on the steering-rudder,
and burn them into the oars.
Then there won’t be any steep wave,
there won’t be any blue waves,
that you won’t escape from safely.
[11] “You should learn limb-runes
if you want to be a healer
and learn how to heal wounds.
{255} Carve them on bark,
carve them on the needles of a pine
that bends eastward.
[12] “You should learn speech-runes
to prevent those who hate you
from taking vengeance on you.
Wind them around,
weave them around,
set them all around,
at the court
where people go
for judgments.
[13] “You should learn mind-runes
if you want to be wiser
than any other man.
Odin read them,
Odin carved them,
Odin thought them up,
from the liquid
that leaked
from the skull of Heithdraupnir,
from the horn of Hoddrofnir.
[14] “Odin stood on a mountain,
Brimir’s sword in his hand
and a helmet on his head,
when wise Mimir’s head
spoke the first word,
and spoke truthfully.
[15] “Runes were carved on the shield
that stood before the shining sun,
on the ears and hooves
of the horses that draw the sun,
on the wheel
of the chariot of Thor,
on the reins of Sleipnir,
on the reins of his sled.
{256} [16] “They were carved on a bear’s paw
and a poet’s tongue,
on a wolf’s claws
and an eagle’s beak,
on bloody wings
and a bridge’s beams,
on a helper’s palm
and a healer’s footprint.
[17] “They were carved on glass
and gold, on treasures,
in wine and in beer
and a witch’s chair,
on Odin’s spearpoint
and a troll-woman’s breast,
on a Norn’s fingernail
and the beak of an owl.
[18] “All of them that were carved
were then shaved off,
and they were stirred into the holy mead
and sent far away.
Some are with the Aesir,
some are with the elves,
some are with the Vanir,
and mortal men have some.
[19] “The beechtree-runes
and life-saving runes
and all the beer-runes
and the famous strength-runes
will be of good use
for everyone who knows them
completely and correctly.
Use them, if you know them,
till the gods die.
[20] “Now you must choose
from the options you are offered,
mighty warrior.
Choose to speak,
{257} or choose to remain silent:
Your fate is already decided.”
[21] Sigurth responded, “I will never flee,
even if you know I am doomed to die.
I was not born a coward.
I want to have
all of your loving advice,
as long as I live.”
[22] Sigerdrifa said, “I advise you first,
that you behave faultlessly
with regard to your kin.
Don’t avenge yourself on them,
even if they give you cause—
or your bad name will lead to your death.
[23] “I’ll give you more advice:
Never swear an oath,
unless your words are true.
The grim rope of a hangman
waits for the oath-breaker,
the fate of a liar is agony.
[24] “I’ll give you a third bit of advice.
You should not speak with fools
at public events.
An unwise man will often say
worse things
than he realizes.
[25] “You’ll lose everything
if you stay silent when you’re mocked.
You will seem like a coward,
or the slander will seem true.
A reputation is dangerous,
unless you earn yourself a good one.
So wait for another day
to kill a fool who mocks you,
and then repay him for his lie.
{258} [26] “I’ll give you advice a fourth time.
If an evil sorceress
offers you lodging on your journey,
it is better to keep going
than to stay with her—
even if darkness sets on you outside.
[27] “Warriors need
prudent eyes,
if they wish to wage battles.
Often witches wise in magic
will sit near a road, dulling
men’s sword-blades—and their minds.
[28] “I’ll give you a fifth shred of advice.
If you see a pretty woman
sitting on a bench,
don’t let that woman
into your dreams—
don’t try to seduce a woman.
[29] “I’ll advise you a sixth thing:
If, in the course of drinking,
men become drunk,
do not fight your enemy
while you are drunk.
Wine steals the wits of many.
[30] “Often a night
of song and beer
has caused men unhappiness;
it’s sometimes caused their death,
it’s sometimes gotten them cursed.
Drunkenness has caused untold sorrows.
[31] “I’ll give you a seventh bit of advice.
If you dispute a case
with courageous men,
it is better to fight them right away
than wait for them to burn you
inside your own home.
{259} [32] “I’ll give you advice an eighth time.
You should avoid evil,
and stay a long way away from lying.
Do not seduce a girl,
nor any man’s wife—
do not encourage women’s looseness.
[33] “I’ll give you advice a ninth time.
Respect a dead body,
whether you find it on the ground,
whether the death was from sickness,
or drowning at sea,
or men’s violence.
[34] “Clean the bodies
of the dead,
wash their hands and head,
and comb and dry them
before you put them in a coffin,
then wish them a good rest.
[35] “I’ll give you a tenth bit of advice.
You should never believe
the oaths of your enemy’s son.
If you have killed his brother,
or slain his father,
then there’s a wolf in that young man,
even if he accepts your money.
[36] “Disputes and fights
are never forgotten,
and no one forgets sorrow.
Every man needs
his wits and his weapons
if he wants to have his way.
[37] “I’ll give yo
u an eleventh bit of advice:
Avoid evil,
whatever path you take.
I don’t think you’ll live long,
prince of warriors—
great battles are before you.”
{260} Brot af Sigurtharkvithu (Fragment of a Poem about Sigurth)
As its name implies, Brot af Sigurtharkvithu (“Fragment of a Poem about Sigurth”) is incomplete, the result of many of its first pages being torn out of the manuscript. To judge from Volsunga saga, which was written when the lost parts of the poem were available, we are missing a story that goes something like the following: Sigurth did not marry the Valkyrie Sigerdrifa, but instead married Guthrun and pledged brotherhood with her brothers, Gunnar, Hogni, and Gotthorm (this agrees with the poem, st. 17). Afterwards he courted the Valkyrie Brynhild on behalf of his brother-in-law Gunnar (and disguised as him) and even slept in her bed, but he laid a sword between them in bed so as not to betray his brother-in-law’s trust (agreeing with the poem, st. 19). Long after marrying Gunnar, Brynhild became enraged when she learned of the deception, and called for Gunnar and his brothers to kill Sigurth. The youngest brother, Gotthorm, was given a magical potion to drive him into a frenzy in order to commit the deed (suggested in the poem, st. 4). Brynhild seems to have incited Gunnar to kill Sigurth on the pretext that Sigurth would have become more prominent than Gunnar and his brothers, and threatened their possession of their own ancestral kingdom of the Goths (see the poem, st. 7–8).
Judging from the amount of narrative that is missing from the poem, from the physical size of the gap in the manuscript, and from the fact that Sigurtharkvitha en skamma is actually quite long in spite of its name (which translates literally as “The Short Poem of Sigurth,” implying the existence of a longer one), we must infer that this fragment was part of a very long poem. The part that survives is only the very end, telling of the events just before and just after the murder of Sigurth. The killing itself is not directly told; the poem skips from the tense moments before the murder (st. 1–4), to the conversations of Guthrun with her brothers and Brynhild after the murder (st. 5–11), to the surprisingly intimate portraits of guilt-laden grief and rage felt by Gunnar and Brynhild the following night and morning (st. 12–19). At the end of the poem, a prose note acknowledges the existence of different traditions concerning the killing of Sigurth.
{261} Brot af Sigurtharkvithu
Hogni said:
[1] “… WHAT INJURY HAS SIGURTH DONE
to you
that you would wish to kill
that trusty king?”
[2] Gunnar said, “Sigurth
has sworn oaths to me,
he’s sworn oaths to me,
and all of them were lies.
He deceived me
when he should have kept
all his oaths
like an honorable man.”
[3] Hogni said, “It’s Brynhild
The Poetic Edda Page 21
