The Poetic Edda (tr. Bellows)/Sigurtharkvitha en Skamma

by Anonymous

SIGURTHARKVITHA EN SKAMMA

The Short Lay of Sigurth

Introductory Note

Guthrunarkvitha I is immediately followed in the Codex Regius by a long poem which in the manuscript bears the heading "Sigurtharkvitha," but which is clearly referred to in the prose link between it and Guthrunarkvitha I as the "short" Lay of Sigurth. The discrepancy between this reference and the obvious length of the poem has led to many conjectures, but the explanation seems to be that the "long" Sigurth lay, of which the Brot is presumably a part, was materially longer even than this poem. The efforts to reduce the "short" Sigurth lay to dimensions which would justify the appellation in comparison with other poems in the collection, either by separating it into two poems or by the rejection of many stanzas as interpolations, have been utterly inconclusive.

Although there are probably several interpolated passages, and indications of omissions are not lacking, the poem as we now have it seems to be a distinct and coherent unit. From the narrative point of view it leaves a good deal to be desired, for the reason that the poet's object was by no means to tell a story, with which his hearers were quite familiar, but to use the narrative simply as the background for vivid and powerful characterization. The lyric element, as Mogk points out, overshadows the epic throughout, and the fact that there are frequent confusions of narrative tradition does not trouble the poet at all.

The material on which the poem was based seems to have existed in both prose and verse form; the poet was almost certainly familiar with some of the other poems in the Eddic collection, with poems which have since been lost, and with the narrative prose traditions which never fully assumed verse form. The fact that he seems to have known and used the Oddrunargratr, which can hardy have been composed before 1050, and that in any case he introduces the figure of Oddrun, a relatively late addition to the story, dates the poem as late as the end of the eleventh century, or even the first half of the twelfth. There has been much discussion as to where it was composed, the debate centering chiefly on the reference to glaciers (stanza 8). There is something to be said in favor of Greenland as the original home of the poem (cf. introductory note to Atlakvitha), but the arguments for Iceland are even stronger; Norway in this case is practically out of the question.

The narrative features of the poem are based on the German rather than the Norse elements of the story (cf. introductory note to Gripisspo), but the poet has taken whatever material he wanted without much discrimination as to its source. By the year 1100 the story of Sigurth, with its allied legends, existed throughout the North in many and varied forms, and the poem shows traces of variants of the main story which do not appear elsewhere.

 

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1.^[1] Of old did Sigurth  Gjuki seek,The Volsung young,  in battles victor;Well he trusted  the brothers twain,With mighty oaths  among them sworn.

2. A maid they gave him,  and jewels many,Guthrun the young,  the daughter of Gjuki;They drank and spake  full many a day,Sigurth the young  and Gjuki's sons.

3.^[2] Thereafter went they  Brynhild to woo,And so with them  did Sigurth ride, The Volsung young,  in battle valiant,—Himself would have had her  if all he had seen.

4.^[3] The southern hero  his naked sword,Fair-flashing, let  between them lie;(Nor would he come  the maid to kiss;)The Hunnish king  in his arms ne'er heldThe maiden he gave  to Gjuki's sons.

5.^[4] Ill she had known not  in all her life,And nought of the sorrows  of men she knew;Blame she had not,  nor dreamed she should bear it,But cruel the fates  that among them came.

6.^[5] By herself at the end  of day she sat,And in open words  her heart she uttered:"I shall Sigurth have,  the hero young,E'en though within  my arms he die.

7.^[6] "The word I have spoken;  soon shall I rue it,His wife is Guthrun,  and Gunnar's am I;Ill Norns set for me  long desire."

8.^[7] Oft did she go  with grieving heartOn the glacier's ice  at even-tide,When Guthrun then  to her bed was gone,And the bedclothes Sigurth  about her laid.

9.^[8] "(Now Gjuki's child  to her lover goes,) And the Hunnish king  with his wife is happy;Joyless I am  and mateless ever,Till cries from my heavy  heart burst forth."

10.^[9] In her wrath to battle  she roused herself:"Gunnar, now  thou needs must loseLands of mine  and me myself,No joy shall I have  with the hero ever.

11.^[10] "Back shall I fare  where first I dwelt,Among the kin  that come of my race,To wait there, sleeping  my life away,If Sigurth's death  thou shalt not dare,(And best of heroes  thou shalt not be.)

12.^[11] "The son shall fare  with his father hence,And let not long  the wolf-cub live;Lighter to pay  is the vengeance-priceAfter the deed  if the son is dead."

13.^[12] Sad was Gunnar,  and bowed with grief,Deep in thought  the whole day through; Yet from his heart  it was ever hidWhat deed most fitting  he should find,(Or what thing best  for him should be,Or if he should seek  the Volsung to slay,For with mighty longing  Sigurth he loved.)

14.^[13] Much he pondered  for many an hour;Never before  was the wonder knownThat a queen should thus  her kingdom leave;In counsel then  did he Hogni call,(For him in truest  trust he held.)

15.^[14] "More than all  to me is Brynhild,Buthli's child,  the best of women;My very life  would I sooner loseThan yield the love  of yonder maid.

16.^[15] "Wilt thou the hero  for wealth betray? 'Twere good to have  the gold of the Rhine,And all the hoard  in peace to hold,And waiting fortune  thus to win."

17. Few the words  of Hogni were:"Us it beseems not  so to do,To cleave with swords  the oaths we swore,The oaths we swore  and all our vows.

18.^[16] "We know no mightier  men on earthThe while we four  o'er the folk hold sway,And while the Hunnish  hero lives,Nor higher kinship  the world doth hold.

19.^[17] "If sons we five  shall soon beget,Great, methinks,  our race shall grow; Well I see  whence lead the ways;Too bitter far  is Brynhild's hate."

  Gunnar spake:20.^[18] "Gotthorm to wrath  we needs must rouse,Our younger brother,  in rashness blind;He entered not  in the oaths we swore,The oaths we swore  and all our vows."

21.^[19] It was easy to rouse  the reckless one...............The sword in the heart  of Sigurth stood.

22.^[20] In vengeance the hero  rose in the hall,And hurled his sword  at the slayer bold; At Gotthorm flew  the glittering steelOf Gram full hard  from the hand of the king.

23.^[21] The foeman cleft  asunder fell,Forward hands  and head did sink,And legs and feet  did backward fall.

24.^[22] Guthrun soft  in her bed had slept,Safe from care  at Sigurth's side;She woke to find  her joy had fled,In the blood of the friend  of Freyr she lay.

25.^[23] So hard she smote  her hands togetherThat the hero rose up,  iron-hearted:"Weep not, Guthrun,  grievous tears,Bride so young,  for thy brothers live.

26.^[24] "Too young, methinks,  is my son as yet,He cannot flee  from the home of his foes; Fearful and deadly  the plan they found,The counsel new  that now they have heeded.

27.^[25] "No son will ride,  though seven thou hast,To the Thing as the son  of their sister rides;Well I see  who the ill has worked,On Brynhild alone  lies the blame for all.

28.^[26] "Above all men  the maiden loved me,Yet false to Gunnar  I ne'er was found;I kept the oaths  and the kinship I swore;Of his queen the lover  none may call me.

29.^[27] In a swoon she sank  when Sigurth died;So hard she smote  her hands togetherThat all the cups  in the cupboard rang,And loud in the courtyard  cried the geese.

30.^[28] Then Brynhild, daughter  of Buthli, laughed,Only once,  with all her heart,When as she lay  full loud she heardThe grievous wail  of Gjuki's daughter.

31.^[29] Then Gunnar, monarch  of men, spake forth:"Thou dost not laugh,  thou lover of hate,In gladness there,  or for aught of good;Why has thy face  so white a hue,Mother of ill?  Foredoomed thou art.

32.^[30] "A worthier woman  wouldst thou have beenIf before thine eyes  we had Atli slain;If thy brother's bleeding  body hadst seenAnd the bloody wounds  that thou shouldst bind."

  Brynhild spake:33.^[31] "None mock thee, Gunnar!  thou hast mightily fought,But thy hatred little  doth Atli heed;Longer than thou,  methinks, shall he live,And greater in might  shall he ever remain.

34.^[32] "To thee I say,  and thyself thou knowest,That all these ills  thou didst early shape;No bonds I knew,  nor sorrow bore,And wealth I had  in my brother's home.

35.^[33] "Never a husband  sought I to have,Before the Gjukungs  fared to our land;Three were the kings  on steeds that came,—Need of their journey  never there was.

36.^[34] "To the hero great  my troth I gaveWho gold-decked sat  on Grani's back;Not like to thine  was the light of his eyes,(Nor like in form  and face are ye,)Though kingly both  ye seemed to be.

37.^[35] "And so to me  did Atli sayThat share in our wealth  I should not have, Of gold or lands,  if my hand I gave not;(More evil yet,  the wealth I should yield,)The gold that he  in my childhood gave me,(The wealth from him  in my youth I had.)

38.^[36] "Oft in my mind  I pondered muchIf still I should fight,  and warriors fell,Brave in my byrnie,  my brother defying;That would wide  in the world be known,And sorrow for many  a man would make.

39.^[37] "But the bond at last  I let be made,For more the hoard  I longed to have,The rings that the son  of Sigmund won;No other's treasure  e'er I sought.

40. "One alone  of all I loved,Nor changing heart  I ever had;All in the end  shall Atli know, When he hears I have gone  on the death-road hence."

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41.^[38] "Never a wife  of fickle willYet to another  man should yield...............So vengence for all  my ills shall come."

42.^[39] Up rose Gunnar,  the people's ruler,And flung his arms  round her neck so fair;And all who came,  of every kind,Sought to hold her  with all their hearts.

43.^[40] But back she cast  all those who came,Nor from the long road  let them hold her; In counsel then  did he Hogni call:"Of wisdom now  full great is our need.

44.^[41] "Let the warriors here  in the hall come forth,Thine and mine,  for the need is mighty,If haply the queen  from death they may hold,Till her fearful thoughts  with time shall fade."

45.^[42] (Few the words  of Hogni were:)"From the long road now  shall ye hold her not,That born again  she may never be!Foul she came  from her mother forth,And born she was  for wicked deeds,(Sorrow to many  a man to bring.)"

46.^[43] From the speaker gloomily  Gunnar turned,For the jewel-bearer  her gems was dividing; On all her wealth  her eyes were gazing,On the bond-women slain  and the slaughtered slaves.

47.^[44] Her byrnie of gold  she donned, and grimWas her heart ere the point  of her sword had pierced it;On the pillow at last  her head she laid,And, wounded, her plan  she pondered o'er.

48.^[45] "Hither I will  that my women comeWho gold are fain  from me to get;Necklaces fashioned  fair to eachShall I give, and cloth,  and garments bright."

49.^[46] Silent were all  as so she spake,And all together  answer made:"Slain are enough;  we seek to live,Not thus thy women  shall honor win."

50. Long the woman,  linen-decked, pondered,——Young she was,—  and weighed her words:"For my sake now  shall none unwillingOr loath to die  her life lay down.

51.^[47] "But little of gems  to gleam on your limbsYe then shall find  when forth ye fareTo follow me,  or of Menja's wealth...............

52.^[48] "Sit now, Gunnar!  for I shall speakOf thy bride so fair  and so fain to die;Thy ship in harbor  home thou hast not,Although my life  I now have lost.

53.^[49] "Thou shalt Guthrun requite  more quick than thou thinkest,..............Though sadly mourns  the maiden wiseWho dwells with the king,  o'er her husband dead.

54.^[50] "A maid shall then  the mother bear;Brighter far  than the fairest daySvanhild shall be,  or the beams of the sun.

55.^[51] "Guthrun a noble  husband thou givest,Yet to many a warrior  woe will she bring,Not happily wedded  she holds herself;Her shall Atli  hither seek,(Buthli's son,  and brother of mine.)

56.^[52] "Well I remember  how me ye treatedWhen ye betrayed me  with treacherous wiles;..............Lost was my joy  as long as I lived.

57.^[53] "Oddrun as wife  thou fain wouldst win,But Atli this  from thee withholds;Yet in secret tryst  ye twain shall love;She shall hold thee dear,  as I had doneIf kindly fate  to us had fallen.

58.^[54] "Ill to thee  shall Atli bring,When he casts thee down  in the den of snakes.

59.^[55] "But soon thereafter  Atli tooHis life, methinks,  as thou shalt lose,(His fortune lose  and the lives of his sons;)Him shall Guthrun,  grim of heart,With the biting blade  in his bed destroy.

60.^[56] "It would better beseem  thy sister fair To follow her husband  first in death,If counsel good  to her were given,Or a heart akin  to mine she had.

61.^[57] "Slowly I speak,—  but for my sakeHer life, methinks,  she shall not lose;She shall wander over  the tossing waves,To where Jonak rules  his father's realm.

62.^[58] "Sons to him  she soon shall bear,Heirs therewith  of Jonak's wealth;But Svanhild far  away is sent,The child she bore  to Sigurth brave.

63.^[59] "Bikki's word  her death shall be,For dreadful the wrath  of Jormunrek;So slain is all  of Sigurth's race,And greater the woe  of Guthrun grows.

64.^[60] "Yet one boon  I beg of thee,The last of boons  in my life it is:Let the pyre be built  so broad in the fieldThat room for us all  will ample be,(For us who slain  with Sigurth are.)

65.^[61] "With shields and carpets  cover the pyre,..............Shrouds full fair,  and fallen slaves,And besides the Hunnish  hero burn me.

66.^[62] "Besides the Hunnish  hero thereSlaves shall burn,  full bravely decked,Two at his head  and two at his feet,A brace of hounds  and a pair of hawks,For so shall all  be seemly done.

67.^[63] "Let between us  lie once more The steel so keen,  as so it layWhen both within  one bed we were,And wedded mates  by men were called.

68.^[64] "The door of the hall  shall strike not the heelOf the hero fair  with flashing rings,If hence my following  goes with him;Not mean our faring  forth shall be.

69.^[65] "Bond-women five  shall follow him,And eight of my thralls,  well-born are they,Children with me,  and mine they wereAs gifts that Buthli  his daughter gave.

70. "Much have I told thee,  and more would sayIf fate more space  for speech had given;My voice grows weak,  my wounds are swelling;Truth I have said,  and so I die."

1. Gjuki: father of the brothers twain, Gunnar and Hogni, and of Guthrun. In this version of the story Sigurth goes straight to the home of the Gjukungs after his victory over the dragon Fafnir, without meeting Brynhild on the way (cf. Gripisspo, 13 and note). Volsung: Sigurth's grandfather was Volsung; cf. Fra Dautha Sinfjotla and note. Oaths: regarding the blood-brotherhood sworn by Sigurth, Gunnar, and Hogni cf. Brot, 18 and note.
2. Brynhild: on the winning of Brynhild by Sigurth in Gunnar's shape cf. Gripisspo, 37 and note. The poet here omits details, and in stanzas 32-39 appears a quite different tradition regarding the winning of Brynhild, which I suspect he had in mind throughout the poem.
3. Southern hero: Sigurth, whose Frankish origin is seldom wholly lost sight of in the Norse versions of the story. On the episode of the sword cf. Gripisspo, 41 and note. Line 3 may well be an interpolation; both lines 4 and 5 have also been questioned, and some editions combine line 5 with lines 1-3 of stanza 5. Hunnish king: Sigurth, who was, of course, not a king of the Huns, but was occasionally so called in the later poems owing to the lack of ethnological distinction made by the Norse poets (cf. Guthrunarkvitha I, 24 and note).
4. This stanza may refer, as Gering thinks, merely to the fact that Brynhild lived happy and unsuspecting as Gunnar's wife until the fatal quarrel with Guthrun (cf. Gripisspo, 45 and note) revealed to her the deceit whereby she had been won, or it may refer to the version of the story which appears in stanza 32-39, wherein Brynhild lived happily with Atli, her brother, until he was attacked by Gunnar and Sigurth, and was compelled to give his sister to Gunnar, winning her consent thereto by representing Gunnar as Sigurth, her chosen hero (cf. Guthrunarkvitha I, 24 and note). The manuscript marks line 4 as the beginning of a new stanza, and many editors combine it with stanza 6.
5. Brynhild has now discovered the deceit that has been practised on her. That she had loved Sigurth from the outset (cf. stanza 40) fits well with the version of the story wherein Sigurth meets her before he comes to Gunnar's home (the version not used in this poem), or the one outlined in the note on stanza 5, but does not accord with the story of Sigurth's first meeting Brynhild in Gunnar's form—an added reason for believing that the poet in stanzas 5-6 had in mind the story represented by stanzas 32-39. The hero: the manuscript originally had the phrase thus, then corrected it to "though I die," and finally crossed out the correction. Many editions have "I."
6. Perhaps a line is missing after line 3.
7. Glacier: a bit of Icelandic (or Greenland) local color.
8. Line 1 does not appear in the manuscript, and is based on a conjecture by Bugge. Some editions add line 2 to stanza 8. The manuscript indicates line 3 as the beginning of a stanza, and some editors assume a gap of two lines after line 4. Hunnish king: cf. stanza 4.
9. Lands: Brynhild's wealth again points to the story represented by stanzas 32-39; elsewhere she is not spoken of as bringing wealth to Gunnar.
10. Line 5, or perhaps line 3, may be interpolated.
11. The son: the three-year-old son of Sigurth and Guthrun, Sigmund, who was killed at Brynhild's behest.
12. This stanza has been the subject of many conjectural emendations. Some editions assume a gap after line 2, and make a separate stanza of lines 3-7; others mark lines 5-7 as spurious. The stanza seems to have been expanded by repetition. Grief (line 1): the manuscript has "wrath," involving a metrical error.
13. Bugge and Gering transfer lines 4-5 to the beginning of stanza 16, on the basis of the Volsungasaga paraphrase, and assume a gap of one line after line 3. Line 5, which is in the nature of a stereotyped clause, may well be interpolated.
14. After "Buthli" in line 2 the manuscript has "my brother," apparently a scribal error. In line 4 the manuscript has "wealth" instead of "love," apparently with stanza 10 in mind, but the Volsungasaga paraphrase has "love," and many editors have suspected an error.
15. Cf. note on stanza 14. After thus adding lines 4-5 of stanza 14 at the beginning of stanza 16, Gering marks line 4 as probably spurious; others reject both lines 3 and 4 as mere repetitions. Rhine: the Rhine, the sands of which traditionally contained gold, was apparently the original home of the treasure of the Nibelungs, converted in the North to Andvari's treasure (cf. Reginsmol, 1-9). That greed for Sigurth's wealth was one of the motives for his slaying is indicated likewise in Guthrunarkvitha I, 20, and in the German versions of the story.
16. We four: if line 1 of stanza 19 is spurious, or the reference therein to "five" is a blunder, as may well be the case, then the "four" are Sigurth and the three brothers, Gunnar, Hogni, and Gotthorm. But it may be that the poet had in mind a tradition which, as in the Thithrekssaga, gave Gjuki a fourth son, in which case the "four" refers only to the four Gjukungs. Hunnish hero: Sigurth; cf. stanza 4 and note. Some editions put line 4 between lines 1 and 2. Some add lines 1-2 of stanza 19 to stanza 18, marking them as spurious.
17. We five: see note on preceding stanza. Some editors mark lines 1-2 as spurious, and either assume a gap of two lines after line 4 or combine lines 3-4 with stanza 20. Whence lead the ways: a proverbial expression signifying "whence the trouble comes."
18. The manuscript does not name the speaker. Gotthorm (the name is variously spelt): half-brother of Gunnar and Hogni (cf. Hyndluljoth, 27 and note, and Brot, 4 and note). The name is the northern form of Gundomar; a prince of this name is mentioned in the Lex Burgundionum, apparently as a brother of Gundahari (Gundicarius). In the Nibelungenlied the third brother is called Gernot.
19. No gap is indicated in the manuscript, and many editors combine stanza 21 with stanza 22, but it seems likely that not only two lines, but one or more stanzas in addition, have been lost; cf. Brot, 4, and also the detailed account of the slaying of Sigurth in the Volsungasaga, wherein, as here, Sigurth is killed in his bed (cf. stanza 24) and not in the forest.
20. Some editions combine lines 3-4 with stanza 23. Gram: Sigurth's sword (cf. Reginsmol, prose after stanza 14); the word here, however, may not be a proper name, but may mean "the hero."
21. A line may well have been lost from this stanza.
22. Freyr: if the phrase "the friend of Freyr" means anything more than "king" (cf. Rigsthula, 46 etc.), which I doubt, it has reference to the late tradition that Freyr, and not Othin, was the ancestor of the Volsungs (cf. Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I, 57 and note).
23. Müllenhoff thinks this stanza, or at any rate lines 1-2, a later addition based on stanza 29.
24. My son: Sigmund; cf. stanza 12 and note, and also Brot, 9 and note.
25. Sigurth means that although Guthrun may have seven sons by a later marriage, none of them will equal Sigmund, "son of their (i.e., Gunnar's and Hogni's) sister." Thing: council.
26. Sigurth's protestation of guiltlessness fits perfectly with the story of his relations with Brynhild used in this poem, but not, of course, with the alternative version, used in the Gripisspo and elsewhere, wherein Sigurth meets Brynhild before he woos her for Gunnar, and they have a daughter, Aslaug.
27. Cf. Guthrunarkvitha I, 15.
28. Cf. Brot, 10.
29. Line 1 may well be a mere expansion of "Gunnar spake." The manuscript marks line 4 as the beginning of a new stanza, and some editions combine lines 4-5 with stanza 32.
30. This stanza, which all editors have accepted as an integral part of the poem, apparently refers to the same story represented by stanzas 37-39, which most editors have (I believe mistakenly) marked as interpolated. As is pointed out in the notes on stanzas 3, 5, 6 and 10, the poet throughout seems to have accepted the version of the story wherein Gunnar and Sigurth besiege Atli, and are bought off by the gift of Atli's sister, Brynhild, to Gunnar as wife, her consent being won by Atli's representation that Gunnar is Sigurth (cf. also Guthrunarkvitha I, 24 and note).
31. The manuscript does not name the speaker, and some editions add a first line: "Then Brynhild, daughter  of Buthli, spake."
32. Cf. stanza 5.
33. Three kings: Gunnar, Hogni, and Sigurth.
34. Some editions place this stanza after stanza 39, on the theory that stanzas 37-39 are interpolated. Line 4, as virtually a repetition of line 3, has generally been marked as spurious. In this version of the winning of Brynhild it appears that Atli pointed out Sigurth as Gunnar, and Brynhild promptly fell in love with the hero whom, as he rode on Grani and was decked with some of the spoils taken from Fafnir, she recognized as the dragon's slayer. Thus no change of form between Sigurth and Gunnar was necessary. The oath to marry Gunnar had to be carried out even after Brynhild had discovered the deception.
35. Most editors mark stanzas 37-39 as interpolated, but cf. note on stanza 32. Stanza 37 has been variously emended. Lines 4 and 6 look like interpolated repetitions, but many editors make two stanzas, following the manuscript in beginning a new stanza with line 4. After line 1 Grundtvig adds: "Son of Buthli,  and brother of mine." After line 6 Bugge adds: "Not thou was it, Gunnar,  who Grani rode, / Though thou my brother  with rings didst buy." Regarding Brynhild's wealth cf. stanza 10 and note.
36. Brynhild here again appears as a Valkyrie. The manuscript marks line 4 as the beginning of a new stanza. Any one of the last three lines may be spurious.
37. Some editions combine this stanza with lines 4-5 of stanza 38, with lines 1-2 of stanza 40, or with the whole of stanza 40. The bond: Brynhild thought she was marrying Sigurth, owner of the treasure, whereas she was being tricked into marrying Gunnar.
38. At this point there seem to be several omissions. Brynhild's statement in lines 1-2 seems to refer to the episode, not here mentioned but told in detail in the Volsungasaga, of Sigurth's effort to repair the wrong that has been done her by himself giving up Guthrun in her favor, an offer which she refuses. The lacuna here suggested, which is not indicated in the manuscript, may be simply a single line (line 1) or a stanza or more. After line 2 there is almost certainly a gap of at least one stanza, and possibly more, in which Brynhild states her determination to die.
39. Hardly any two editions agree as to the arrangement of the lines in stanzas 42-44. I have followed the manuscript except in transposing line 4 of stanza 43 to this position from the place it holds in the manuscript after line 4 of stanza 44. All the other arrangements involve the rejection of two or more lines as spurious and the assumption of various gaps. Gering and Sijmons both arrange the lines thus: 42, 1-2; two-line gap; 43, 3 (marked probably spurious); 44, 1-4; 43-4 (marked probably spurious); 42, 3-4; 43, 1-2.
40. Cf. note on preceding stanza.
41. Cf. note on stanza 42.
42. Perhaps the remains of two stanzas; the manuscript marks line 4 as the beginning of a new stanza, and after line 4 an added line has been suggested: "She was ever known  for evil thoughts." On the other hand, line 1, identical with line 1 of stanza 17, may well be a mere expansion of "Hogni spake," and line 6 may have been introduced, with a slight variation, from line 5 of stanza 38. Born again: this looks like a trace of Christian influence (the poem was composed well after the coming of Christianity to Iceland) in the assumption that if Brynhild killed herself she could not be "born again" (cf. concluding prose to Helgakvitha Hundingsbana II).
43. The manuscript marks line 3 as beginning a stanza; some editions treat lines 1-2 as a separate stanza, and combine lines 3-4 with lines 1-2 of stanza 47. Jewel-bearer (literally "land of jewels"): woman, here Brynhild. Bond-women, etc.: in stanza 69 we learn that five female slaves and eight serfs were killed to be burned on the funeral pyre, and thus to follow Sigurth in death.
44. The manuscript marks line 3, and not line 1, as beginning a stanza, and some editions treat lines 3-4 as a separate stanza, or combine them with stanza 48.
45. Brynhild means, as stanzas 49-51 show, that those of her women who wish to win rewards must be ready to follow her in death. The word translated "women" in line 1 is conjectural, but the general meaning is clear enough.
46. In place of "as so she spake" in line 1 the manuscript has "of their plans they thought," which involves a metrical error.
47. No gap indicated in the manuscript; many editions place it between lines 3 and 4. Menja's wealth: gold; the story of the mill Grotti, whereby the giantesses Menja and Fenja ground gold for King Frothi, is told in the Grottasongr.
48. With this stanza begins Brynhild's prophesy of what is to befall Gunnar, Guthrun, Atli, and the many others involved in their fate. Line 3 is a proverbial expression meaning simply "your troubles are not at an end."
49. No gap is indicated in the manuscript; one suggestion for line 2 runs: "Grimhild shall make her  to laugh once more." Gering suggests a loss of three lines, and joins lines 3-4 with stanza 54.
50. Probably a line has been lost from this stanza. Grundtvig adds as a new first line: "Her shalt thou find  in the hall of Half." Some editions query line 3 as possibly spurious. Svanhild: the figure of Svanhild is exceedingly old. The name means "Swan-Maiden-Warrior," applying to just such mixtures of swan-maiden and Valkyrie as appear in the Völundarkvitha. Originally part of a separate tradition, Svanhild appears first to have been incorporated in the Jormunrek (Ermanarich) story as the unhappy wife of that monarch, and much later to have been identified as the daughter of Sigurth and Guthrun, thus linking the two sets of legends.
51. Line 2 in the original is almost totally obscure. Line 4 should very possibly precede line 2, while line 5 looks like an unwarranted addition.
52. This stanza probably ought to follow stanza 52, as it refers solely to the winning of Brynhild by Gunnar and Sigurth. Müllenhoff regards stanzas 53-55 as interpolated. The manuscript indicates no gap after line 3.
53. Stanzas 57-58 seem to be the remains of two stanzas, but the Volsungasaga paraphrase follows closely the form here given. Line 3 may well be spurious; line 5 has likewise been questioned. Oddrun: this sister of Atli and Brynhild, known mainly through the Oddrunargratr, is a purely northern addition to the cycle, and apparently one of a relatively late date. She figures solely by reason of her love affair with Gunnar.
54. Possibly two lines have been lost; many editions combine the two remaining lines with lines 1-3 of stanza 59. Concerning the manner of Gunnar's death cf. Drap Niflunga.
55. Line 3 may well be spurious, as it is largely repetition. The manuscript has "sofa" ("sleep") in place of "sona" ("sons"), but the Volsungasaga paraphrase says clearly "sons." The slaying of Atli by Guthrun in revenge for his killing of her brothers is told in the two Atli lays. The manuscript marks line 4 as the beginning of a new stanza, and some editions make a separate stanza out of lines 4-5, or else combine them with stanza 60.
56. To follow in death: this phrase is not in Regius, but is included in late paper manuscripts, and has been added in most editions.
57. Jonak: this king, known only through the Hamthesmol and the stories which, like this one, are based thereon, is another purely northern addition to the legend. The name is apparently of Slavic origin. He appears solely as Guthrun's third husband and the father of Hamther, Sorli, and Erp (cf. introductory prose to Guthrunarhvot).
58. Svanhild: cf. stanza 54 and note.
59. Bikki: Svanhild is married to the aged Jormunrek (Ermanarich), but Bikki, one of his followers, suggests that she is unduly intimate with Jormunrek's son, Randver. Thereupon Jormunrek has Randver hanged, and Svanhild torn to pieces by wild horses. Ermanarich's cruelty and his barbarous slaying of his wife and son were familiar traditions long before they became in any way connected with the Sigurth cycle (cf. introductory note to Gripisspo).
60. Line 5 is very probably spurious.
61. The manuscript indicates no gap; a suggested addition runs "Gold let there be,  and jewels bright." Fallen slaves: cf. stanza 66 and 69. Hunnish hero: cf. stanza 4 and note.
62. In place of lines 3-4 the manuscript has one line "Two at his head,  and a pair of hawks"; the addition is made from the Volsungasaga paraphrase. The burning or burying of slaves or beasts to accompany their masters in death was a general custom in the North. The number of slaves indicated in this stanza does not tally with the one given in stanza 69, wherefore Vigfusson rejects most of this stanza.
63. Cf. Gripisspo, 41 and note. After line 1 the manuscript adds the phrase "bright, ring-decked," referring to the sword, but it is metrically impossible, and many editions omit it.
64. The door: The gate of Hel's domain, like that of Mengloth's house (cf. Svipdagsmol, 26 and note), closes so fast as to catch any one attempting to pass through. Apparently the poet here assumes that the gate of Valhall does likewise, but that it will be kept open for Sigurth's retinue.
65. Cf. stanza 66.