Helgakviða Hundingsbana I
English translation by Henry Adams Bellows 1923
Here begins the poem of Helgi Hundingsbane and and that of Hodbrodd*
1. In olden days, | when eagles screamed,
And holy streams | from heaven’s crags fell,
Was Helgi then, | the hero-hearted,
Borghild’s son, | in Bralund born.
2. ‘Twas night in the dwelling, | and Norns there came,
Who shaped the life | of the lofty one;
They bade him most famed | of fighters all
And best of princes | ever to be.
3. Mightily wove they | the web of fate,
While Bralund’s towns | were trembling all;
And there the golden | threads they wove,
And in the moon’s hall | fast they made them.
4. East and west | the ends they hid,
In the middle the hero | should have his land;
And Neri’s kinswoman | northward cast
A chain, and bade it | firm ever to be.
5. Once sorrow had | the Ylfings’ son,
And grief the bride | who the loved one had borne.
* * * * * *
Quoth raven to raven, | on treetop resting,
Seeking for food, | “There is something I know.
6. “In mail-coat stands | the son of Sigmund,
A half-day old; | now day is here;
His eyes flash sharp | as the heroes’ are,
He is friend of the wolves; | full glad are we.”
7. The warrior throng | a ruler thought him,
Good times, they said, | mankind should see;
The king himself | from battle-press came,
To give the prince | a leek full proud.
8. Helgi he named him, | and Hringstathir gave him,
Solfjoll, Snæfjoll, | and Sigarsvoll,
Hringstoth, Hotun, | and Himinvangar,
And a blood-snake bedecked | to Sinfjotli’s brother.
9. Mighty he grew | in the midst of his friends,
The fair-born elm, | in fortune’s glow;
To his comrades gold | he gladly gave,
The hero spared not | the blood-flecked hoard.
10. Short time for war | the chieftain waited,
When fifteen winters | old he was;
Hunding he slew, | the hardy wight
Who long had ruled | o’er lands and men.
11. Of Sigmund’s son | then next they sought
Hoard and rings, | the sons of Hunding;
They bade the prince | requital pay
For booty stolen | and father slain.
12. The prince let not | their prayers avail,
Nor gold for their dead | did the kinsmen get;
Waiting, he said, | was a mighty storm
Of lances gray | and Othin’s grimness.
13. The warriors forth | to the battle went,
The field they chose | at Logafjoll;
Frothi’s peace | midst foes they broke,
Through the isle went hungrily | Vithrir’s hounds.
14. The king then sat, | when he had slain
Eyjolf and Alf, | ‘neath the eagle-stone;
Hjorvarth and Hovarth, | Hunding’s sons,
The kin of the spear-wielder, | all had he killed.
15. Then glittered light | from Logafjoll,
And from the light | the flashes leaped;
. . . . . . . . . .
High under helms | on heaven’s field;
Their byrnies all | with blood were red,
And from their spears | the sparks flew forth.
- Early then | in wolf-wood asked
The mighty king | of the southern maid,
If with the hero | home would she
Come that night; | the weapons clashed. - Down from her horse | sprang Hogni’s daughter,–
The shields were still,– | and spake to the hero:
“Other tasks | are ours, methinks,
Than drinking beer | with the breaker of rings. - “My father has pledged | his daughter fair
As bride to Granmar’s | son so grim;
But, Helgi, I | once Hothbrodd called
As fine a king | as the son of a cat. - “Yet the hero will come | a few nights hence,
. . . . . . . . . .
Unless thou dost bid him | the battle-ground seek,
Or takest the maid | from the warrior mighty.”
Helgi spake:
- “Fear him not, | though Isung he felled,
First must our courage | keen be tried,
Before unwilling | thou fare with the knave;
Weapons will clash, | if to death I come not.”
Helgi spake:
- Messengers sent | the mighty one then,
By land and by sea, | a host to seek,
Store of wealth | of the water’s gleam,
And men to summon, | and sons of men. - “Bid them straightway | seek the ships,
And off Brandey | ready to be!”
There the chief waited | till thither were come
Men by hundreds | from Hethinsey. - Soon off Stafnsnes | stood the ships,
Fair they glided | and gay with gold;
Then Helgi spake | to Hjorleif asking:
“Hast thou counted | the gallant host?” - The young king answered | the other then:
“Long were it to tell | from Tronueyr
The long-stemmed ships | with warriors laden
That come from without | into Orvasund. - . . . . . . . . . .
“There are hundreds twelve | of trusty men,
But in Hotun lies | the host of the king,
Greater by half; | I have hope of battle.”
Helgi spake:
- The ship’s-tents soon | the chieftain struck,
And waked the throng | of warriors all;
(The heroes the red | of dawn beheld;)
And on the masts | the gallant men
Made fast the sails | in Varinsfjord. - There was beat of oars | and clash of iron,
Shield smote shield | as the ships’-folk rowed;
Swiftly went | the warrior-laden
Fleet of the ruler | forth from the land. - So did it sound, | when together the sisters
Of Kolga struck | with the keels full long,
As if cliffs were broken | with beating surf,
. . . . . . . . . . - Helgi bade higher | hoist the sails,
Nor did the ships’-folk | shun the waves,
Though dreadfully | did Ægir’s daughters
Seek the steeds | of the sea to sink. - But from above | did Sigrun brave
Aid the men and | all their faring;
Mightily came | from the claws of Rán
The leader’s sea-beast | off Gnipalund.
Helgi spake:
- At evening there | in Unavagar
Floated the fleet | bedecked full fair;
But they who saw | from Svarin’s hill,
Bitter at heart | the host beheld. - Then Gothmund asked, | goodly of birth,
. . . . . . . . . .
“Who is the monarch | who guides the host,
And to the land | the warriors leads?” - Sinfjotli answered, | and up on an oar
Raised a shield all red | with golden rim;
A sea-sentry was he, | skilled to speak,
And in words with princes | well to strive. - “Say tonight | when you feed the swine,
And send your bitches | to seek their swill,
That out of the East | have the Ylfings come,
Greedy for battle, | to Gnipalund.” - “There will Hothbrodd | Helgi find,
In the midst of the fleet, | and flight he scorns;
Often has he | the eagles gorged,
Whilst thou at the quern | wert slave-girls kissing.”
Gothmund spake:
- “Hero, the ancient | sayings heed,
And bring not lies | to the nobly born.
. . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . .
“Thou hast eaten | the entrails of wolves,
And of thy brothers | the slayer been;
Oft wounds to suck | thy cold mouth sought,
And loathed in rocky | dens didst lurk.”
Sinfjotli spake:
- “A witch in Varin’s | isle thou wast,
A woman false, | and lies didst fashion;
Of the mail-clad heroes | thou wouldst have
No other, thou saidst, | save Sinfjotli only. - “A Valkyrie wast thou, | loathly Witch,
Evil and base, | in Allfather’s home;
The warriors all | must ever fight,
Woman subtle, | for sake of thee. - “. . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . .
Nine did we | in Sogunes
Of wolf-cubs have; | I their father was.”
Gothmund spake:
- Though older thou art | than all I know;
For they gelded thee | in Gnipalund,
The giant-women | at Thorsnes once.
Gothmund spake:
- “Under houses the stepson | of Siggeir lay,
Fain of the wolf’s cry | out in the woods;
Evil came then all | to thy hands,
When thy brothers’ | breasts thou didst redden,
Fame didst thou win | for foulest deeds.
Sinfjotli spake:
- “In Bravoll wast thou | Grani’s bride,
Golden-bitted | and ready to gallop;
I rode thee many | a mile, and down
Didst sink, thou giantess, | under the saddle.”
Gothmund spake:
- “A brainless fellow | didst seem to be,
When once for Gollnir | goats didst milk,
And another time | when as Imth’s daughter
In rags thou wentest; | wilt longer wrangle?”
Sinfjotli spake:
- “Sooner would I | at Frekastein
Feed the ravens | with flesh of thine
Than send your bitches | to seek their swill,
Or feed the swine; | may the fiends take you!”
Helgi spake:
- “Better, Sinfjotli, | thee ‘twould beseem
Battle to give | and eagles to gladden,
Than vain and empty | words to utter,
Though ring-breakers oft | in speech do wrangle.
Helgi spake:
- “Good I find not | the sons of Granmar,
But for heroes ’tis seemly | the truth to speak;
At Moinsheimar | proved the men
That hearts for the wielding | of swords they had.” - Mightily then | they made to run
Sviputh and Sveggjuth | to Solheimar;
(By dewy dales | and chasms dark,
Mist’s horse shook | where the men went by;)
The king they found | at his courtyard gate,
And told him the foeman | fierce was come. - Forth stood Hothbrodd, | helmed for battle,
Watched the riding | of his warriors;
. . . . . . . . . .
“Why are the Hniflungs | white with fear?”
Gothmund spake:
- “Swift keels lie | hard by the land,
(Mast-ring harts | and mighty yards,
Wealth of shields | and well-planed oars;)
The king’s fair host, | the Ylfings haughty;
Fifteen bands | to land have fared,
But out in Sogn | are seven thousand. - “At anchor lying | off Gnipalund
Are fire-beasts black, | all fitted with gold;
There wait most | of the foeman’s men,
Nor will Helgi long | the battle delay.”
Hothbrodd spake:
- “Bid the horses run | to the Reginthing,
Melnir and Mylnir | to Myrkwood now,
(And Sporvitnir | to Sparinsheith;)
Let no man seek | henceforth to sit
Who the flame of wounds | knows well to wield. - “Summon Hogni, | the sons of Hring,
Atli and Yngvi | and Alf the Old;
Glad they are | of battle ever;
Against the Volsungs | let us go.” - Swift as a storm | there smote together
The flashing blades | at Frekastein;
Ever was Helgi, | Hunding’s slayer,
First in the throng | where warriors fought;
(Fierce in battle, | slow to fly,
Hard the heart | of the hero was.) - From heaven there came | the maidens helmed,–
The weapon-clang grew,– | who watched o’er the king;
Spake Sigrun fair,– | the wound-givers flew,
And the horse of the giantess | raven’s-food had:– - “Hail to thee, hero! | full happy with men,
Offspring of Yngvi, | shalt ever live,
For thou the fearless | foe hast slain
Who to many the dread | of death had brought. - “Warrior, well | for thyself hast won
Red rings bright | and the noble bride;
Both now, warrior, | thine shall be,
Hogni’s daughter | and Hringstathir,
Wealth and triumph; | the battle wanes.”