Helgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar

Of Hjorvarth and Sigrlin

      Hjorvarth was the name of a king, who had four wives: one was called
Alfhild, and their son was named Hethin; the second was called Saereith, and
their son was named Humlung; the third was called Sinrjoth, and their son was
named Hymling. King Hjorvarth had made a great vow to have as wife whatsoever
woman he knew was fairest. He learned that King Svafnir had a daughter fairer
than all others, whose name was Sigrlin. Ithmund was the name of one of his
jarls; he had a son called Atli, who went to woo Sigrlin on behalf of the king.
He dwelt the winter long with King Svafnir. There was a jarl called Franmar,
Sigrlin’s foster-father; his daughter was named Alof. The jarl told him that
the maiden’s hand was denied, and Atli went home. Atli, the jarl’s son, stood
one day in a certain wood; a bird sat in the branches up over him, and it had
heard that his men called Hjorvarth’s wives the fairest of women. The bird
twittered, and Atli hearkened to what it spoke. It said:


  1. “Sawest thou Sigrlin,	Svafnir’s daughter,
  The fairest maid	in her home-land found?
  Though Hjorvarth’s wives	by men are held
  Goodly to see 	in Glasir’s wood.”

  Atli spake:
  2. “Now with Atli,	Ithmund’s son,
  Wilt thou say more,	thou bird so wise?”

  The bird spake:
  3. “I may if the prince	an offering makes,
  And I have what I will	from the house of the king.”

  Atli spake:
  4. “Choose not Hjorvarth,	not sons of his,
  Nor the wives so fair	of the famous chief;
  Ask not the brides 	that the prince’s are;
  Fair let us deal	in friendly wise.”

  The bird spake:
  5. “A fane will I ask	and altars many,
  Gold-horned cattle	the prince shall give me,
  If Sigrlin yet	shall sleep in his arms,
  Or free of will		the hero shall follow.”

  6. This was before Atli went on his journey;
  but when he came home, and the king asked
  his tidings, he said:
  “Trouble we had, 	but tidings none,
  Our horses failed	in the mountains high,
  The waters of Saemorn	we needs must wade;
  Svafnir’s daughter,	with rings bedecked,
  She whom we sought,	was still denied us.”

      The king bade that they should go another time, and he went with them
himself. But when they came up on the mountain, they saw Svavaland burning and
mighty dust-clouds from many steeds. The king rode from the mountain forward
into the land, and made a night’s stay hard by a stream. Atli kept watch and
went over the stream; he found there a house. A great bird sat on the housetop
to guard it, but he was asleep. Atli hurled his spear at the bird and slew it,
and in the house he found Sigrlin the king’s daughter and Alof the jarl’s
daughter, and he brought them both thence with him. Jarl Franmar had changed
himself into the likeness of an eagle, and guarded them from the enemy host by
magic. Hrothmar was the name of a king, a wooer of Sigrlin; he slew the king of
Svavaland and had plundered and burned his land. King Hjorvarth took Sigrlin,
and Atli took Alof.

Part Two

      Hjorvarth and Sigrlin had a son, mighty and of noble stature; he was a
silent man, and no name stuck fast to him. He sat on a hill, and saw nine
Valkyries riding; one of them was the fairest of all. She spake:

  7. “Late wilt thou, Helgi,	have hoard of rings,
  Thou battle-tree fierce,	or of shining feilds,-
  The eagle screams soon,-	if never thou speakest,
  Though, hero, hard	thy heart may cry.”

  Helgi spake:
  8. “What gift shall I have	with Helgi’s name,
  Glorious maid,	for the giving is thine?
  All thy words		shall I think on well,
  But I want them not	if I win not thee.”

  The Valkyrie spake:
  9. “Swords I know lying		in Sigarsholm,
  Fifty there are		save only four;
  One there is	that is best of all,
  The sheild-destroyer,	with gold it shines.

  10. “In the hilt is fame,	in the haft is courage,
  In the point is fear,	for its owner’s foes;
  On the blade there lies	a blood-flecked snake,
  And a serpent’s tail		round the flat is twisted.”

      Eylimi was the name of a king, whose daughter was Svava; she was a
Valkyrie, and rode air and sea. She gave Helgi this name, and sheilded him oft
thereafter in battle. Helgi spake:

  11. “Hjorvarth, king, 	unwholesome they counsels,
  Though famed thou art	in leading the folk,
  Letting fire the homes	of heroes eat,
  Who evil deed	had never done thee.

  12. “Yet Hrothmar still	the hoard doth hold,
  The wealth that once	our kinsmen wielded:
  Full seldom care	the king disturbs,
  Heir to dead men	he deems himself.”

      Hjorvarth answered that he would give Helgi a following if he fain would
avenge his mother’s father. Then Helgi got the sword that Svava had told him
of. So he went, and Atli with him, and they slew Hrothmar, and they did many
great deeds.

Part Three

      He slew the giant Hati, whom he found sitting on a certain mountain.
Helgi and Atli lay with their ships in Hjatafjord. Atli kept watch during the
first part of the night. Hrimgerth, Hati’s daughter, spake:

  13. “Who are the heroes, 	in Hatafjord?
  The ships are covered with shields;
  Bravely ye look,	and little ye fear,
  The name of the king would I know.”

  Atli spake:
  14. “Helgi his name,	and never thou mayst
  Harm to the hero bring;
  With iron is fitted	the prince’s fleet,
  Nor can witches work us ill.”

  Hrimgerth spake:
  15. “Who now, thou mighty	man, art thou?
  By what name art thou known to men?
  He trusts thee well,	the prince who wills
  That thou stand at the stem of his ship.”

  Atli spake:
  16. “Atli am I,	and ill shalt thou find me,
  Great hate for witches I have;
  Oft have I been	in the dripping bows,
  And to dusk-riders death have brought.

  (The first line is a play on Atli’s name, the word
  atall meaning ill in rhyme with it.)

  17. “Corpse-hungry giantess,	how art thou called?
  Say, witch, who thy father was!
  Nine miles deeper	down mayst thou sink,
  And a tree grow tall on thy bosom.”

  Hrimgerth spake:
  18. “Hrimgerth am I,	my father was Hati,
  Of giants the most in might;
  Many a woman	he won from her home,
  Ere Helgi hewed him down.”

  Atli spake:
  19. “Witch, in front	of the ship thou wast,
  And lay before the fjord;
  To Ran wouldst have given	the ruler’s men,
  If a spear had not stuck in thy flesh.”

  Hrimgerth spake:
  20. “Dull art thou, Atli,	thou dreamest, methinks,
  The lids lie over thine eyes;
  By the leader’s ships		my mother lay,
  Hlothvarth’s sons on the sea I slew.

  21. “Thou wouldst neigh, Atli,	but gelded thou art,
  See, Hrimgerth hoists her tail;
  In thy hinder end	is thy heart, methinks,
  Though thy speech is a stallion’s cry.”

  Atli spake:
  22. “A stallion I seem	if thou seekest to try me,
  And I leap to land from the sea;
  I shall smite thee to bits,	if so I will,
  And heavy sinks Hrimgerth’s tail.”

  Hrimgerth spake:
  23. “Go ashore then, Atli,	if sure of thy might,
  Let us come to Varin’s cove;
  Straight shall thy rounded	ribs be made
  If thou comest within my claws.”

  Atli spake:
  24. “I will not go		till the warriors wake,
  Again their chief to guard;
  I should wonder not,	foul witch, if up
  From beneath our keel thou shouldst come.”

  Hrimgerth spake:
  25. “Awake now, Helgi,	and Hrimgerth requite,
  That Hati to death thou didst hew;
  If a single night	she can sleep by the prince,
  Then requited are all her ills.”

  Helgi spake:
  26. “ ‘Tis Lothin shall have thee,- 	thou’rt loathsome to men,-
  His home in Tholley he has;
  Of the wild-dwellers worst	is the giant wise,
  He is meet as a mate for thee.”

  Hrimgerth spake:
  27. “More thou lovest her	who scanned the harbour,
  Last night among the men;
  (The gold-decked maid	bore magic, methinks,
  When the land from the sea she sought,
  And fast she kept your fleet;)
  She alone is to blame	that I may not bring
  Death to the monarch’s men.”

  Helgi spake:
  28. “Hrimgerth, mark, 	if thy hurts I requite,
  Tell now the truth to the king;
  Was there one who the ships		of the warrior warded,
  Or did many together go?”

  Hrimgerth spake:
  29. “Thrice nine there were,	but one rode first,
  A helmed maid white of hue;
  Their horses quivered,	there came from their manes
  Dew in the dales so deep,
  (Hail on the woods so high,
  Thence men their harvest have,
  But ill was the sight I saw.)”

  Atli spake:
  30. “Look eastward, Hrimgerth,	for Helgi has struck thee,
  Down with the runes of death;
  Safe in harbor floats	the prince’s fleet,
  And safe are the monarch’s men.”

  Helgi spake:
  31. “It is day, Hrimgerth,	for Atli held thee
  Till now thy life thou must lose;
  As a harbor mark	men shall mock at thee,
  Where in stone thou shalt ever stand.”

Part Four

      King Helgi was a mighty warrior. He came to King Eylimi and sought the
hand of his daughter, Svava. Then Helgi and Svava exchanged vows, and greatly
they loved each other. Svava was at home with her father, while Helgi was in
the field; Svava was still a Valkyrie as before.
      Hethin was at home with his father, King Hjorvarth, in Norway. Hethin was
coming home alone from the forest one Yule-eve, and found a troll-woman; she
rode on a wolf, and had snakes in place of a bridle. She asked Hethin for his
company, “Nay,” said he. She said, “Thou shalt pay for this at the king’s
toast.” That evening the great vows were taken; the sacred boar was brought in,
the men laid their hands thereon, and took their vows at the king’s toast.
Hethin vowed that he would have Svava, Eylimi’s daughter, the beloved of his
brother Helgi; then such great grief seized him that he went forth on wild
paths southward over the land, and found Helgi, his brother. Helgi said:

  32. “Welcome, Hethin!	what hast thou to tell
  Of tidings new	that from Norway come?
  Wherefore didst leave	they land, O prince,
  And fared alone	to find us here?”

  Hethin spake:
  33. “A deed more evil	I have done
  Then, brother mine,	thou e’er canst mend;
  For I have chosen	the child of the king,
  Thy bride, for mine	at the monarch’s toast.”

  Helgi spake:
  34. “Grieve not, Hethin, 	for true shall hold
  The words we both	by the beer have sworn;
  To the isle a warrior 	wills that I go,
  (There shall I come	the third night hence;)
  And doubtful must be	my coming back,
  (So may all be well,	if fate so wills.)”

  Hethin spake:
  35. “Thou saidst once, Helgi,	that Hethin was
  A friend full good,	and gifts didst give him;
  More seemly it were	thy sword to redden,
  Than friendship thus	to thy foe to give.”

      Helgi spoke thus because he foresaw his death, for his following-spirits
had met Hethin when he saw the woman riding the wolf. Alf was the name of a
king, the son of Hrothmar, who had marked out a battle-place with Helgi at
Sigarsvoll after a stay of three nights. Then Helgi spake:

  36. “On a wolf there rode,	when dusk it was,
  A woman who fain	would have him follow;
  Well she knew	that now would fall
  Sigrlin’s son	at Sigarsvoll.”

  There was a great battle, and there Helgi got a mortal wound.

  37. Sigar riding 	did Helgi send
  To seek out Eylimi’s 	only daughter:
  “Bid her swiftly	ready to be,
  If her lover	alive she would find.”

  Sigar spake:
  38. “Hither now	has Helgi sent me,
  With thee, Svava,	thyself to speak;
  The hero said 		he fain would see thee
  Ere life the nobly	born should have.”

  Svava spake:
  39. “What chanced with Helgi,	Hjorvarth’s son?
  Hard to me 	is harm now come;
  If the sea smote him,	or sword bit him,
  Ill shall I bring	to all his foes.”

  Sigar spake:
  40. “In the morn he fell	at Frekastein,
  The king who was noblest	beneath the sun;
  Alf has the joy	of victory all,
  Though need therefore 	is never his.”

  Helgi spake:
  41. “Hail to thee, Svava! 	thy sorrow rule,
  Our meeting last	in life is this;
  Hard the wounds	of the hero bleed,
  And close to my heart	the sword has come.

  42. “I bid thee, Svava,- 	weep not, bride,-
  If thou wilt hearken	to these my words,
  The bed for Hethin	have thou ready,
  and yeild thy love	to the hero young.”

  Svava spake:
  43. “A vow I had	in my dear-loved home,
  When Helgi sought	with rings to have me,
  That not of my will,	if the warrior died,
  Would I fold in my arms	a man unfamed.”

  Hethin spake:
  44. “Kiss me, Svava, 	I come not back,
  Rogheim to see, 	or Rothulsfjoll,
  Til vengeance I have	for the son of Hjorvarth,
  The king who was noblest	beneath the sun.”

  Of Helgi and Svava it is said that they were born again.




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