The Story of the Volsungs Part 25

The ling-fish long Of the land of Hadding, Wheat-ears unshorn, And wild things' inwards.

In that mead were mingled Many ills together, Blood of all the wood, And brown-burnt acorns; The black dew of the hearth, (3) And G.o.d-doomed dead beasts' inwards And the swine's liver sodden, For wrongs late done that deadens.

Then waned my memory When that was within me, Of my lord 'mid the hall By the iron laid low.

Three kings came Before my knees Ere she herself Fell to speech with me.

"I will give to thee, Gudrun, Gold to be glad with, All the great wealth Of thy father gone from us, Rings of red gold And the great hall of Lodver, And all fair hangings left By the king late fallen.

"Maids of the Huns Woven pictures to make, And work fair in gold Till thou deem'st thyself glad.

Alone shalt thou rule O'er the riches of Budli, Shalt be made great with gold, And be given to Atli."

"Never will I Wend to a husband, Or wed the brother Of Queen Brynhild; Naught it beseems me With the son of Budli Kin to bring forth, Or to live and be merry."

"Nay, the high chiefs Reward not with hatred, For take heed that I Was the first in this tale!

To thy heart shall it be As if both these had life, Sigurd and Sigmund, When thou hast borne sons."

"Naught may I, Grimhild, Seek after gladness, Nor deem aught hopeful Of any high warrior, Since wolf and raven Were friends together, The greedy, the cruel, O'er great Sigurd's heart-blood."

"Of all men that can be For the n.o.blest of kin This king have I found, And the foremost of all; Him shalt thou have Till with eld thou art heavy-- Be thou ever unwed, If thou wilt naught of him!"

"Nay, nay, bid me not With thy words long abiding To take unto me That balefullest kin; This king shall bid Gunnar Be stung to his bane, And shall cut the heart From out of Hogni.

"Nor shall I leave life Ere the keen lord, The eager in sword-play, My hand shall make end of."

Grimhild a-weeping Took up the word then, When the sore bale she wotted Awaiting her sons, And the bane hanging over Her offspring beloved.

"I will give thee, moreover, Great lands, many men, Wineberg and Valberg, If thou wilt but have them; Hold them lifelong, And live happy, O daughter!"

"Then him must I take From among kingly men, 'Gainst my heart's desire, From the hands of my kinsfolk; But no joy I look To have from that lord: Scarce may my brother's bane Be a s.h.i.+eld to my sons."

Soon was each warrior Seen on his horse, But the Gaulish women Into wains were gotten; Then seven days long O'er a cold land we rode, And for seven other Clove we the sea-waves.

But with the third seven O'er dry land we wended.

There the gate-wardens Of the burg, high and wide, Unlooked the barriers Ere the burg-garth we rode to--

Atli woke me When meseemed I was Full evil of heart For my kin dead slain.

"In such wise did the Norns Wake me or now."-- Fain was he to know Of this ill foreshowing-- "That methought, O Gudrun, Giuki's daughter, That thou setst in my heart A sword wrought for guile."

"For fires tokening I deem it That dreaming of iron, But for pride and for l.u.s.t The wrath of fair women Against some bale Belike, I shall burn thee For thy solace and healing Though hateful thou art."

"In the fair garth methought Had saplings fallen E'en such as I would Should have waxen ever; Uprooted were these, And reddened with blood, And borne to the bench, And folk bade me eat of them.

"Methought from my hand then Went hawks a-flying Lacking their meat To the land of all ill; Methought that their hearts Mingled with honey, Swollen with blood I ate amid sorrow.

"Lo, next two whelps From my hands I loosened, Joyless were both, And both a-howling; And now their flesh Became naught but corpses, Whereof must I eat But sore against my will."

"O'er the prey of the fishers Will folk give doom; From the bright white fish The heads will they take; Within a few nights, Fey as they are, A little ere day Of that draught will they eat."

"Ne'er since lay I down, Ne'er since would I sleep, Hard of heart, in my bed:-- That deed have I to do. (4)

ENDNOTES: (1) The original has "a vid lesa". "Leasing" is the word still used for gleaning in many country sides in England.

(2) Son was the vessel into which was poured the blood of Quasir, the G.o.d of Poetry.

(3) This means soot.

(4) The whole of this latter part is fragmentary and obscure; there seems wanting to two of the dreams some trivial interpretation by Gudrun, like those given by Hogni to Kostbera in the Saga, of which nature, of course, the interpretation contained in the last stanza but one is, as we have rendered it: another rendering, from the different reading of the earlier edition of "Edda" (Copenhagen, 1818) would make this refer much more directly to the slaying of her sons by Gudrun.

THE SONG OF ATLI.

Gudrun, Giuki's daughter, avenger her brethren, as is told far and wide; first she slew the sons of Atli, and then Atli himself; and she burned the hall thereafter, and all the household with it: and about these matters is this song made:--

In days long gone Sent Atli to Gunnar A crafty one riding, Knefrud men called him; To Giuki's garth came he, To the hall of Gunnar, To the benches gay-dight, And the gladsome drinking.

There drank the great folk 'Mid the guileful one's silence, Drank wine in their fair hall: The Huns' wrath they feared When Knefrud cried In his cold voice, As he sat on the high seat, That man of the Southland:

"Atli has sent me Riding swift on his errands On the bit-griping steed Through dark woodways unbeaten, To bid thee, King Gunnar, Come to his fair bench With helm well-adorned, To the house of King Atli.

"s.h.i.+eld shall ye have there And spears ashen-shafted, Helms ruddy with gold, And hosts of the Huns; Saddle-gear silver gilt, s.h.i.+rts red as blood, The hedge of the warwife, And horses bit-griping.

"And he saith he will give you Gnitaheath widespread, And whistling spears And prows well-gilded, Might wealth With the stead of Danpi, And that n.o.ble wood Men name the Murkwood."

Then Gunnar turned head And spake unto Hogni: "What rede from thee, high one, Since such things we hear?

No gold know I On Gnitaheath, That we for our parts Have not portion as great.

"Seven halls we have Fulfilled of swords, And hilts of gold Each sword there has; My horse is the best, My blade is the keenest; Fair my bow o'er the bench is, Gleams my byrny with gold; Brightest helm, brightest s.h.i.+eld, From Kiar's dwelling ere brought-- Better all things I have Than all things of the Huns."

HOGNI SAID: "What mind has our sister That a ring she hath sent us In weed of wolves clad?

Bids she not to be wary?

For a wolf's hair I found The fair ring wreathed about; Wolf beset shall the way be If we wend on this errand."

No sons whetted Gunnar, Nor none of his kin, Nor learned men nor wise men, Nor such as were mighty.

Then spake Gunnar E'en as a king should speak, Glorious in mead-hall From great heart and high:

"Rise up now, Fiornir, Forth down the benches Let the gold-cups of great ones Pa.s.s in hands of my good-men!

Well shall we drink wine, Draughts dear to our hearts, Though the last of all feasts In our fair house this be!

"For the wolves shall rule O'er the wealth of the Niblungs, With the pine-woods' wardens In Gunnar perish: And the black-felled bears With fierce teeth shall bite For the glee of the dog kind, If again comes not Gunnar."

Then good men never shamed, Greeting aloud, Led the great king of men From the garth of his home; And cried the fair son Of Hogni the king: "Fare happy, O Lords, Whereso your hearts lead you!"

Then the bold knights Let their bit-griping steeds Wend swift o'er the fells, Tread the murk-wood unknown, All the Hunwood was shaking As the hardy ones fared there; O'er the green meads they urged Their steeds shy of the goad.

Then Atli's land saw they; Great towers and strong, And the bold men of Bikki, Aloft on the burg: The Southland folks' hall Set with benches about, Dight with bucklers well bounden, And bright white s.h.i.+ning s.h.i.+elds.