The Story of the Volsungs Part 23

"Luckless she came To the lap of her mother, Born into the world For utter woe, TO many a man For heart-whole mourning."

Upraised he turned From the talk and the trouble, To where the gem-field Dealt out goodly treasure; As she looked and beheld All the wealth that she had, And the hungry bondmaids, And maids of the hall.

With no good in her heart She donned her gold byrny, Ere she thrust the sword point Through the midst of her body: On the boister's far side Sank she adown, And, smitten with sword, Still bethought her of redes.

"Let all come forth Who are fain the red gold, Or things less worthy To win from my hands; To each one I give A necklace gilt over, Wrought hangings and bed=gear, And bright woven weed."

All they kept silence, And thought what to speak, Then all at once Answer gave: "Full enow are death-doomed, Fain are we to live yet, Maids of the hall All meet work winning."

"From her wise heart at last The linen-clad damsel, The one of few years Gave forth the word: "I will that none driven By hand or by word, For our sake should lose Well-loved life.

"Thou on the bones of you Surely shall burn, Less dear treasure At your departing Nor with Menia's Meal (1) Shall ye come to see me."

"Sit thee down, Gunnar, A word must I say to thee Of the life's ruin Of thy lightsome bride-- --Nor shall thy s.h.i.+p Swim soft and sweetly For all that I Lay life adown.

"Sooner than ye might deem Shall ye make peace with Gudrun, For the wise woman Shall full in the young wife The hard memory Of her dead husband.

"There is a may born Reared by her mother, Whiter and brighter Than is the bright day; She shall be Swanhild, She shall be Sunbeam.

"Thou shalt give Gudrun Unto a great one, n.o.ble, well-praised Of the world's folk; Not with her goodwill, Or love shalt thou give her; Yet will Atli Come to win her, My very brother, Born of Budli.

--"Ah! Many a memory Of how ye dealt with me, How sorely, how evilly Ye ever beguiled me, How all pleasure left me The while my life lasted--!

"Fain wilt thou be Oddrun to win, But thy good liking Shall Atli let; But in secret wise Shall ye win together, And she shall love thee As I had loved thee, If in such wise Fare had willed it.

"But with all ill Shall Atli sting thee, Into the strait worm-close Shall he cast thee.

"But no long s.p.a.ce Shall slip away Ere Atli too All life shall lose, Yea, all his weal With the life of his sons, For a dreadful bed Dights Gudrun for him, From a heart sore laden, With the sword's sharp edge.

"More seemly for Gudrun, Your very sister, In death to wend after Her love first wed; Had but good rede To her been given, Or if her heart Had been like to my heart.

--"Faint my speech groweth-- But for our sake Ne'er shall she lose Her life beloved; The sea shall have her, High billows bear her Forth unto Jonakr's Fair land of his fathers.

"There shall she bear sons, Stays of a heritage, Stays of a heritage, Jonakr's sons; And Swanhild shall she Send from the land, That may born of her, The may born of Sigurd.

"Her shall bite The rede of Bikki, Whereas for no good Wins Jormunrek life; And so is clean perished All the kin of Sigurd, Yea, and more greeting, And more for Gudrun.

"And now one prayer Yet pray I of thee-- That last word of mine Here in the world-- So broad on the field Be the burg of the dead That fair s.p.a.ce may be left For us all to lie down, All those that died At Sigurd's death!

"Hang round that burg Fair hangings and s.h.i.+elds, Web by Gauls woven, And folk of the Gauls: There burn the Hun King Lying beside me.

"But on the other side Burn by the Hun King Those who served me Strewn with treasure; Two at the head, And two at the feet, Two hounds therewith, And two hawks moreover: Then is all dealt With even dealing.

"Lay there amidst us The right-dight metal, The sharp-edged steel, That so lay erst; When we both together Into one bed went, And were called by the name Of man and wife.

"Never, then, belike Shall clash behind him Valhall's bright door With rings bedight: And if my fellows.h.i.+p Followeth after, In no wretched wise Then shall we wend.

"For him shall follow My five bondmaids, My eight bondsmen, No borel folk: Yea, and my fosterer, And my father's dower That Budli of old days Gave to his dear child.

"Much have I spoken, More would I speak, If the sword would give me s.p.a.ce for speech; But my words are waning, My wounds are swelling-- Naught but truth have I told-- --And now make I ending."

ENDNOTES: (1) "Menia's Maid"--periphrasis for gold.

THE h.e.l.l-RIDE OF BRYNHILD.

After the death of Brynhild were made two bales, one for Sigurd, and that was first burned; but Brynhild was burned on the other, and she was in a chariot hung about with goodly hangings.

And so folk say that Brynhild drave in her chariot down along the way to h.e.l.l, and pa.s.sed by an abode where dwelt a certain giantess, and the giantess spake:--

THE GIANT-WOMAN "Nay, with my goodwill Never goest thou Through this stone-pillared Stead of mine!

More seemly for thee To sit sewing the cloth, Than to go look on The love of another.

"What dost thou, going From the land of the Gauls, O restless head, To this mine house?

Golden girl, hast thou not, If thou listest to hearken, In sweet wise from thy hands The blood of men washen?"

BRYNHILD "Nay, blame me naught, Bride of the rock-hall, Though I roved a warring In the days that were; The higher of us twain Shall I ever be holden When of our kind Men make account."

THE GIANT-WOMAN "Thou, O Brynhild, Budli's daughter, Wert the worst ever born Into the world; For Giuki's children Death hast thou gotten, And turned to destruction Their goodly dwelling."

BRYNHILD "I shall tell thee True tale from my chariot, O thou who naught wottest, If thou listest to wot; How for me they have gotten Those heirs of Giuki, A loveless life, A life of lies.

"Hild under helm, The Hlymdale people, E'en those who knew me, Ever would call me.

"The changeful shapes Of us eight sisters, The wise king bade Under oak-tree to bear; Of twelve winters was I, If thou listest to wot, When I sware to the young lord Oaths of love.

"Thereafter gat I Mid the folk of the Goths, For Helmgunnar the old, Swift journey to h.e.l.l, And gave to Aud's brother The young, gain and glory; Whereof overwrath Waxed Odin with me.

"So he shut me in s.h.i.+eld-wall In Skata grove, Red s.h.i.+elds and white Close set around me; And bade him alone My slumber to break Who in no land Knew how to fear.

"He set round my hall, Toward the south quarter, The Bane of all trees Burning aloft; And ruled that he only Thereover should ride Who should bring me the gold O'er which Fafnir brooded.

"Then upon Grani rode The goodly gold-strewer To where my fosterer Ruled his fair dwelling.

He who alone there Was deemed best of all, The War-lord of the Danes, Well worthy of men.

"In peace did we sleep Soft in one bed, As though he had been Naught but my brother: There as we lay Through eight nights wearing, No hand in love On each other we laid.

"Yet thence blamed me, Gudrun, Giuki's daughter, That I had slept In the arms of Sigurd; And then I wotted As I fain had not wotted, That they had bewrayed me In my betrothals.

"Ah! For unrest All too long Are men and women Made alive!

Yet we twain together Shall wear through the ages, Sigurd and I.-- --Sink adown, O giant-wife!"