Chapter XVII: Introduction: To the Shetland Ballad of Hildina

This ballad has been discussed above, pp. 39 and 164 f. It was taken down by George Low in the course of a visit made by him to the island of Foula in the Shetlands in 1774. He was entirely ignorant of the language, and had apparently no idea as to the meaning of the actual words, though the general drift of the ballad was explained to him by the islander, William Henry, from whom he obtained it (cf. p. 164). As very few remains of the dialect have been preserved, apart from the ballad, the interpretation presents great difficulties. The following translation of the first twelve stanzas is made from the corrected text given by Dr M. HÊgstad in his edition of the _Hildina_ contained in _Skrifter udgivne af Videnskabsselskabet i Christiania_, 1900 (_Historisk-Filosofiske Klasse_, II).

THE SHETLAND BALLAD OF HILDINA

1. It was the Earl from Orkney,
And counsel of his kin sought he,
Whether he should the maiden
Free from her misery.

2. "If thou free the maid from her gleaming hall,
O kinsman dear of mine,
Ever while the world shall last
Thy glory still shall shine."

3. Home came the king,
Home from the ship's levy
The lady Hildina she was gone,
And only her stepmother there found he.

4. "Be he in whatever land,
This will I prove true,
He shall be hanged from the highest tree
That ever upward grew."

5. "If the Earl but come to Orkney,
Saint Magnus will be his aid,
And in Orkney ever he will remain--
Haste after him with speed."

6. The King he stood before his lady,
And a box on her ear gave he,
And all adown her lily white cheeks
The tears did flow truly.

7. The Earl he stood before Hildina,
And a pat on her cheek gave he,--
"O which of us two wouldst thou have lie dead,
Thy father dear or me?"

8. "I would rather see my father doomed,
And all his company,
If so my own true lord and I
May long rule in Orkney.

9. "Now do thou take in hand thy steed,
And ride thou down to the strand;
And do thou greet my sire full blithely,
And gladly will he clasp thy hand."

10. The King he now made answer--
So sore displeased was he--
"In payment for my daughter
What wilt thou give to me."

11. "Thirty marks of the red gold,
This to thee will I give,
And never shalt thou lack a son
As long as I may live."

12. Now long stood the King,
And long on the Earl gazed he:--
"O thou art worth a host of sons;
Thy boon is granted thee."

It will be seen that up to this point, in spite of the loss of the names, there can be little doubt that the subject of the ballad is the story of Hethin and Hˆgni. After this however the narrative deviates from any other known version of this story. It would rather seem that--as in the German Kudrun--two stories, originally distinct, have been brought together in one poem.

NOTES

The numbers refer to chapters (sagas) and strophes (ballads, etc.)

THE TH¡TTR OF NORNAGEST

_The Th·ttr of Nornagest._ A _th·ttr_ is a portion (episode) of a longer saga, in this case the _Saga of Olaf Tryggvason_ which is found in the _FlateyjarbÛk_.

I. _King Olaf Tryggvason_, one of the most famous kings of Norway (_r._ 995-1000). He compelled the country to accept Christianity. For accounts of his life and times, see the _Story of Olaf Tryggvison_ in the _Heimskringla_, vol. I, pp. 221-378; and also the longer _Saga of King Olaf Tryggwason_, translated by Sephton.

_Trondhjem_, originally the name, not of a town, but of the entire district round the Trondhjem Fjord.

_A man came to him._ Cf. the _Saga of Olaf Tryggvason_ (_Heimskringla_), ch. 71.

_Guest._ Here a pun is intended, the word _Gestr_ in Icelandic signifying a 'guest' as well as a 'stranger.'

_The Contentious._ The word in the text, '_˛ingbÌtr_,' seems to mean 'sharp in debate,' and to refer to his ready wit and astuteness in litigation.

_Guest said that he had been prime-signed._ To 'prime-sign' signified to make the _prima signatio_ or sign of the Cross over a person, preliminary to baptism. People so 'prime-signed' were admitted to certain parts of the Mass and to social intercourse in Christian communities. See the _Saga of Egil Skallagrimsson_, ch. 50 "King Athelstan [of England] was a good Christian.... He asked Thorolf and his brother to let themselves be prime-signed; for this was a common practice with both merchants and soldiers who took service under Christians. Men who were prime-signed had free intercourse with both Christians and heathens, and followed whatever religion they liked best. Thorolf and Egil did as the King asked them, and both were prime-signed."

_Svein Forkbeard_, King of Denmark from 986 (?) to 1014, and of England also during the last year of his life.

_The Emperor Otto_, i.e. Otto II, 973-983.

_Dane-work_, i.e. the Danish Wall still partially preserved, which divided Jutland from the land of the Saxons and stretched from near the city of Slesvig to the marsh-land along the River Treene.

_King Harold Gormsson_ appears to have reigned for about fifty years and to have died probably in 986. He was nick-named Harold 'Bluetooth' (or perhaps 'Blacktooth'). About 974 he fought the Emperor Otto II, and Earl Haakon of Norway aided him. Both Harold and Haakon were forced to accept Christianity, but Haakon afterwards renounced it.

_Earl Haakon the Heathen_, i.e. Earl Haakon the Great, or the Bad, who ruled over Norway, 975-995.

_Guthmund._ Cf. the _Saga of Hervˆr and Heithrek_, ch. 1. See also Saxo Grammaticus, _Dan. Hist._, pp. 346-349, where Guthmund is described as a magician dwelling in the land of the Perms. But see _Glasisvellir_, below.

_Glasisvellir._ Cf. the _Saga of Hervˆr and Heithrek_, ch. 1. For the name of the tree or grove called _Glasir_ beside Othin's abode in Valhalla, see _Sk·ldskaparm·l_, ch. 34: "Glasir stands with golden foliage before the halls of the God of Victory." See also _Bjarkam·l in Forna_, str. 3.

II. _Ulf the Red_ was standard-bearer to Olaf Tryggvason at the Battle of Svˆld (cf. the _Saga of Olaf Tryggvason, Heimskringla_, ch. 56), where he slew great numbers of the enemy.

_The Bay_, i.e. Christiania Fjord and the adjacent coasts.

_King Half._ See _H·lfssaga_, ch. 10; and _FlateyjarbÛk_, 11, pp. 136, 137. King Half had a chosen band of warriors numbering about sixty, who were subject to strict discipline and rules which Professor Craigie (_The Icelandic Sagas_, p. 94) suggests were modelled on those of the JÛmsvÌkings. For instance, "It was one of their customs always to lie off the ends of promontories. Secondly, they made a rule of never pitching tents on their ships and never clewing up the sail on account of bad weather." The incident referred to in the text is not mentioned in the Saga.

_No halls had been built in Norway._ The writer probably means to contrast the stone halls of his own day with the wooden structures of earlier times.

_The Harping of Gunnar_, a lost poem. The legend here referred to is told in _Vˆlsunga Saga_, ch. 37 (and elsewhere), doubtless from an old lay.--'King Attila had Gunnar cast into a pit full of snakes ... and his hands were tied. Guthr˙n sent him a harp, and he was so skilful in harping that he could play it with his toes; and he harped so well that hardly anyone had ever heard such skilful playing, even with the hand. So beautifully did he play that all the snakes were lulled to sleep except one horrible big adder which crept up to him and stung him to the heart. Thus he perished with great courage.'

Gunnar, the son of Gj˙ki, is the central figure both of the Norse story and of the German _Nibelungenlied_, in which he is called Gunther. In reality, he was overthrown and killed by the Huns in 437, after which the Burgundians moved from the Rhine to the district now known as Burgundy.

_The Ancient Wiles of Guthr˙n._ It is generally believed that this is the name of another lost heroic poem. But the title may possibly mean _The Adventures of Guthr˙n_, in which case the poem referred to may be the well-known _Ancient Lay of Guthr˙n_ (_Gur˙narkvia hin forna_). This latter poem is alluded to in ch. 9 below under the title of _Gur˙narrÊa_.

IV. _The Land of the Franks_, the Rhineland. As far back as the fifth century the Franks occupied that region--to the north of the Burgundians.

_Sigurth the son of Sigmund._ The story of Sigurth the Vˆlsung is related in _Vˆlsunga Saga_.

_Hundingsbani_, i.e. 'Slayer of Hunding.' See _Vˆlsunga Saga_, ch. 9.

V. _It chanced one day that_, etc. Chapters 5 and 6 are mainly taken from the poem _Reginsm·l_ of which strophes 13-26 are quoted in our text. _Reginsm·l_ is the first poem of a trilogy dealing with the early adventures of Sigurth. The two remaining poems _F·fnism·l_ and _Sigrdrifum·l_ are used only in the last two sentences of ch. 6.

_Yngvi_ is a name of the god Frey, from whom the kings of Norway and the early kings of Sweden were believed to have sprung.

_Fafnisbani_, i.e. 'Slayer of Fafnir.' Cf. ch. 6 _infra_. See also _Vˆlsunga Saga_, ch. 18.

_The Imperial Power had not_, etc. This may mean either the refounding of the Western Empire by Charlemagne, A.D. 800, or possibly the gaining of the Imperial throne by Otto I, King of the Germans, in 962.

VI. _Sigurth prepared for battle_, etc. An account of this battle is given in _Vˆlsunga Saga_, ch. 17.

_The sea-king's steed._ The text has _RÊfils hestum_, lit. 'RÊfil's horses.' RÊfil was a legendary sea-king. The names of such characters are frequently used in 'kennings' (i.e. poetic circumlocutions) like this.

_Hnikar_, a name of the god Othin in the _GrÌmnism·l_ (str. 47) and elsewhere.

_The Moon's sister._ The text has _systur M·na_, 'M·ni's sister,' i.e. the sun. _M·ni_, the old word for the moon, is preserved in Iceland only in a mythological sense, the ordinary word in use for moon being _tungl_. _M·ni_ and _SÛl_ (the sun) were brother and sister. See _Vaf˛r˙˛nism·l_, str. 23; also _Gylfaginning_, ch. 11, 12.

_Order their array_, lit. 'draw up a wedge-shaped column'--a favourite battle-formation, the origin of which was ascribed to Othin. _Stumbling is bad luck_, etc. So Wilken (gloss. _s.v. fyrir_, 2.) Vigf˙sson and Gering transl. 'It is an ill thing to outrun one's luck.'

_Friesland._ In early times the Frisians occupied a much greater extent of coast than now, reaching from the boundary between Holland and Belgium on one side to beyond the mouth of the Weser on the other--apart from the Frisians inhabiting the west coast of Slesvig.

_The 'blood-eagle'_ was a form of vengeance practised by the heathen Scandinavians in battle when anyone captured the slayer of his father. The ribs were cut in the shape of an eagle, and the lungs torn out through the opening. The Northumbrian King Ella (∆lla) is said to have been put to death in this way by the sons of Ragnar LothbrÛk. Cf. the _Saga of Ragnar LobrÛk and his sons_, ch. 18; also the _Th·ttr of Ragnar's Sons_, ch. 3.

_Hugin and Munin_ were Othin's attendant ravens who gave him information. See _GrÌmnism·l_, str. 20; _Gylfaginning_, ch. 38; _Ynglingasaga_ (_Heimskringla_), ch. 7.

_The story of Sigurth Fafnisbani._ The whole story of the loves of Sigurth and Brynhild is related in the _Vˆlsunga Saga_, ch. 20-32. It is uncertain whether the reference here is to the _Vˆlsunga Saga_ as we have it or to an earlier form of the story.

VII. _Gjuki_ is mentioned under the form _Gebica_ in the _Lex Burgundionum_ (_c._ 500 A.D.). Nothing more is known of him from historical sources; but he is mentioned in _Sk·ldskaparm·l_, ch. 41, _Vˆlsunga Saga_ ch. 25, and in the _Edda Poems_, as the father of Gunnar and Guthr˙n. His name appears also (as _Gifica_, _Gibicho_, etc.) in the Anglo-Saxon poem _Widsi˛_, the Latin poem _Waltharius_, and in several early German poems.

_Sigurth Hring_, a legendary king of Sweden and Denmark, and the father of Ragnar LobrÛk. His story is related at length in a fragment of the _Skjˆldunga Saga_; and he is probably identical with the _Sigifridus_ who is mentioned in several Frankish Chronicles under the year 812 as carrying on hostilities against another Danish King _Anulo_.

_The sons of Gandalf_ were in constant hostility with King Harold the Fairhaired and his father. They owned Alfheimar and Vingulmˆrk along the Swedish coast of the Kattegat. Cf. the _Story of Halfdan the Black_ (_Heimskringla_), ch. 1, 4; also the _Story of Harold the Fairhaired_ (_Heimskringla_), ch. 1 etc.

_Gunnar and Hˆgni._ The story of the relations of Gunnar and Hˆgni with Sigurth is told in _Vˆlsunga Saga_, ch. 26 f.

_Jarnamotha._ The locality is unknown. There were large forests in Holstein in the Middle Ages called 'Iarnawith' and 'Isarnho'; cf. M¸llenhoff, _Deutsche Altertumskunde_, v, p. 122.

_hazlewood poles had been set up_, etc. The verb _hasla_, used in the sense of 'to challenge (to a pitched battle),' means, lit. 'to enhazle' a battlefield, i.e. to mark out the space reserved for a pitched battle with hazel poles. Cf. the _Saga of Egil SkallagrÌmsson_, ch. 52.

_The Kurir_ were the people of Courland (perhaps Lithuanians). The _KvÊnir_ were the Finnish inhabitants of the northern portion of what is now Sweden. King Alfred, in his translation of _Orosius_, inserts an original account of Norway and the neighbouring regions which was given to him by a Norwegian called Ohthere. It is there stated that beyond the mountains which bound the northern part of Norway was 'the land of the Cwenas.' Cf. also the _Saga of Egil SkallagrÌmsson_, ch. 14.

_Starkath_, the ideal warrior of old time in the North. Probably originally a historical figure, he became the centre of much legendary matter, and, as often happened in such cases, he was even credited with the composition of many poems, notably that on the Battle of Br·vˆll--an event which probably took place long after his time. In Saxo Grammaticus, _Dan. Hist._, pp. 246-258, he corresponds to the unnamed "Old Warrior" mentioned in _Beowulf_, l. 2041 ff.

_Fenhring_, in Hˆrthaland in Norway, not far from Bergen.

_Lund_, the old ecclesiastical capital of Denmark, situated in Skaane in the extreme south of Sweden. Not only Skaane, but also the neighbouring provinces (Halland, etc.) belonged in early times to Denmark.

VIII. _Starkath had committed a foul murder._ For this story see Saxo Grammaticus, _Dan. Hist._, p. 314 ff. Saxo says that the rule of King Ali or Ole was so hateful to the Zealanders that twelve of their generals resolved to put him to death, bribing Starkath to join them. Although a personal friend of Ole, Starkath agreed to do so, and murdered him in his bath. He afterwards repented bitterly, "and to atone for his crime slew some of those who had inspired him to it."

_Travels._ I have followed the reading _fera_, 'travels,' adopted by Wilken, not _frÊnda_, as in the _Fornaldar Sˆgur_, ed. by ¡smundarson. The latter would read: "The King wanted him to tell him much more about the history of his relatives."

IX. _Germans say_, etc. For the German story of the murder of Sigurth see the _Nibelungenlied_, str. 985 ff.

_Guthr˙narrÊtha._ This is no doubt the poem commonly called _Gur˙narkvia hin forna_, the opening of which narrates how Sigurth's horse came home riderless.

_Brynhild and the ogress chanted_, etc. The following lay is found in the _Edda Poems_ under the title of _Helrei Brynhildar_ ('The Hell-ride of Brynhild').

_From the Land of the Romans_, lit. 'From Valland'--the 'land of the Valar,' i.e. the Celts or Romans. Here the reference is doubtless to the Roman territories on the west bank of the Rhine. In the _Nibelungenlied_, Gunther (i.e. Gunnar) is represented as reigning at Worms. Cf. p. 232 below.

_Assigned me a home_, etc. In the _Codex Regius_ of the _Edda Poems_ this passage runs as follows: "The courageous king had my swan-form and those of my eight sisters carried beneath an oak."

_Hjalmgunnar._ See _Sigrdrifum·l_, the prose following str. 4. "She (i.e. Sigrdrifa) said that two kings were fighting. One was called Hjalmgunnar. He was old at that time, but a very great warrior, and Othin had promised him victory; but the other was called Agnar, the brother of Autha, whom no being would protect. Sigrdrifa (who was a valkyrie) slew Hjalmgunnar in battle, but Othin pierced her with a sleep-producing thorn in punishment for this," etc.

_Fafnir_ was the serpent who guarded the gold hoard on GnÌtahei till Sigurth slew him and carried off the treasure.

_All too long_, etc. In the _Codex Regius_ of the _Edda Poems_ this passage runs as follows: "For far too long a time (? for ever) will women and men be born into the world to overwhelming sorrow."

_The Sons of Lothbrok._ Ragnar LothbrÛk was a famous king who flourished about the middle of the ninth century, and who, according to legend, obtained his name ('Shaggy Breeks') from the shaggy trowsers which he wore when he went to attack a serpent. His various exploits are told in the _Saga of Ragnar LothbrÛk_, and in the _Th·ttr of the Sons of Ragnar_, and also by Saxo Grammaticus, _Dan. Hist._, pp. 368-380, etc. Among his other adventures he is said to have invaded Northumbria, but he was defeated by King Ella (∆lla) and thrown into a snake-pit, where he "died laughing," as we are told in a late poem (_Krakum·l_ or the 'Death-song of Ragnar LothbrÛk'). His death was afterwards avenged by his sons who invaded England in 866. Practically nothing historical is known of LobrÛk himself, though the achievements of his sons, both in the British Isles and on the continent, are of great historical importance.

_In the neighbourhood of the Alps._ In 856, Bjˆrn Ironside, a son of Ragnar LothbrÛk, with H·stein his chief lieutenant, invaded France, and during the years 859-862 made expeditions to Spain, Africa, the south of France, and Italy, capturing Pisa, Luna, etc. There can be no doubt that in their invasion of Italy in 860 the real objective was Rome; but for some unknown reason they returned without approaching it. According to Scandinavian tradition, when they entered Luna they were under the impression that it was Rome, and returned satisfied that their aim was accomplished.

_Vifilsborg._ This place is identified by Wilken with the modern Avenches in the Canton Vaud (Switzerland).

_Make their way there_, lit. 'pass over (the mountains) thither.'

X. _Eric_, a famous King of Sweden in the time of Harold the Fairhaired, King of Norway, in the latter half of the ninth century. He is frequently referred to in the Sagas and regarded as the typical great Swedish King of the past.

_Upsala_, i.e. Old Upsala, the ancient capital of the Swedish kingdom, a few miles from the modern city.

_King Harold the Fairhaired_, said to have been born _c._ 850 and to have succeeded as King of Vestfold _c._ 860. His conquest of Norway was practically completed at the Battle of Hafrsfjˆrth (_c._ 872). He is said to have retired in 930 and died _c._ 933.

_King Hlothver_, i.e. Louis I, King of the Franks and Emperor, 814-840.

_The Saxons_ inhabited a large part of north-west Germany and Holland; but the name _Saxland_ is often used in a wider sense, i.e. the German part of the Empire.

_Nornagest_, i.e. 'Gest (or guest) of the Norns.' The Norns were represented in Scandinavian mythology as women with the power of shaping human destiny. See _Helgakvia Hundingsbana_, 1, str. 2; _Gylfaginning_, chs. 15, 16; Saxo Grammaticus, _Dan. Hist._, p. 223; the _Saga of Burnt Nj·l_, ch. 156. Similar beliefs occur in Greek stories about the Fates ([Greek: KlÙthes]) e.g. the late Greek legend of the birth of Meleager. Cf. p. 13 above.

XII. _Three hundred._ I have used round figures here as elsewhere. Strictly the Norse 100 is 120.

THE TH¡TTR OF S÷RLI

I. _Vanakvisl._ The opening sentence may be compared with _Ynglingasaga_, ch. 1, in the _Heimskringla_. From this it appears that VanakvÌsl is the River Don, though strictly _kv[vi]sl_ means the fork (delta) of a river.

_∆sir and Vanir_, two sets of Scandinavian deities; but the references to the River Don and Asia are due to the learned speculations of later times, suggested partly by the resemblance of _Asia_ and _∆sir_. According to _Ynglingasaga_, chs. 1-4, there was war between the ∆sir and the Vanir, which was concluded by an exchange of hostages. The Vanir gave to the ∆sir three of their leading people--Njˆrth and his children Frey and Freyja. Othin made Njˆrth and Frey temple-priests, and Freyja a temple-priestess. What is said about Freyja here is not mentioned in _Ynglingasaga_; but from the poems of the _Edda_ it is clear that she was the Aphrodite of northern mythology.

_Asgarth._ For a description of Asgarth, the home of the ∆sir, see _Gylfaginning_, chs. 2, 9, 14, etc.

_Men in Asia called Alfregg_, etc. For Dvalin, cf. the _Saga of Hervˆr and Heithrek_, ch. 2 and note.

_Lived in a rock_; cf. _Vˆlusp·_, str. 48.

_Necklace._ For the _BrÌsingamen_, Freyja's treasure, see _Thrymskvia_, str. 12, etc. Cf. also _Beowulf_, l. 1199.

II. _Nal_, i.e. 'Needle.'

_Loki._ See _Gylfaginning_, ch. 33; and the _Edda Poems_, passim.

_So much favoured by the great good fortune of his lord._ Cf. _LaxdÊla Saga_, ch. 40 'Mun konungr [i.e. Olaf Tryggvason] vera giftudrj˙gr ok hamingju-mikill.'

III. _Frithfrothi_, the mythical peace-king of the Danes. See _Sk·ldskaparm·l_, ch. 43. He is often split up into two different characters, as by Saxo Grammaticus. (See especially _Dan. Hist._, Book v, which gives an account of the great Frothi.)

_Erling and Sˆrli._ Their story is told in the _Saga of Sˆrli the Strong_ (_Fornaldar Sˆgur_, III.).

_Skerries of the Elf._ Rocky islands near the mouth of the Gˆta Elv not far from Gˆteborg.

IV. _Halfdan_, surnamed BrˆnufÛstri. See the _Saga of Sˆrli the Strong_, ch. 11, where he is represented as King of Sweden.

_Roeskilde_, the old capital of SjÊlland, now the ecclesiastical capital of Denmark.

_Ellithi._ See the _Saga of Thorstein Vikingson_ (passim), and the _Saga of FrijÛf the Bold_ (passim).

_Gnoth._ The ship Gnoth belonged to ¡smund, who was called after it 'Gnoar-¡smund.' Cf. the _Saga of Egil and Asmund_, ch. 17; and the _Saga of GrÌm Loinkinni_, ch. 3. See also the _Saga of Hromund Greipsson_, ch. 1.

_Long Serpent_, i.e. the warship of Olaf Tryggvason.

_As is told in the poem_, etc. The poem is now lost.

_The poem of which he is the subject._ The Saga here quotes a difficult and obscure stanza which I have omitted.

_Hˆgni ... went raiding in the Baltic_, etc. In _Widsi_ l. 21, Hˆgni is said to have ruled the _Holmryge_, i.e., no doubt, the Rugii on the coast of Pomerania.

V. _Hjarrandi_ is the name of Hethin's father in all the Norse forms of the story; but originally this would seem to have been the name of Hethin's minstrel--the _HÙrant_ of _Kudrun_, and the _Heorrenda_ of _Deor_.

_Serkland_, i.e. Africa, 'Saracen Land.' It is only in this story that Hethin is said to come from here. Saxo Grammaticus calls him a Norwegian. Cf. also _Widsi˛_, l. 21, which gives the name of an unknown people.

_Gˆndul_, the name of one of the Valkyries. See _Vˆlusp·_, str. 31; _H·konarm·l_, passim; _Sk·ldskaparm·l_, chs. 2 and 47.

VI. _Heithrek Ulfham._ For Heithrek Ulfham see the _Saga of Hervˆr and Heithrek_, ch. 16.

VII. _She asked him._ I have followed Rafn's text. The ReykjavÌk ed. apparently has a misprint here--_hann_ for _hÛn_.

_He thrust the Queen down in front of the prow_, etc. The murder of the Queen is peculiar to this saga.

VIII. _This harrowing torment continued_, etc. A good deal has been written on the subject of the Unending Battle, which many writers believe to have been of mythological origin. Very often, however, it appears in local traditions. See Frazer's _Pausanias_, vol. II, p. 443 (the reference to the Battle of Marathon), where a considerable number of parallels are given. See also Panzer, _Hilde-Gudrun_, p. 328. Cf. p. 43, note I above.

_Olaf Tryggvason._ See the _Th·ttr of Nornagest_, ch. 1 and note.

IX. _Jarnskjˆld._ Cf. _Fornmanna Sˆgur_, vol. III, p. 125 ff. (_Saga of Olaf Tryggvason_).

_Glance of his eye_, etc. Literally, "He has the _Êgishj·lmr_." This is a poetical expression for a glance inspiring terror.

THE SAGA OF HROMUND GREIPSSON

I. _Gnothar-Asmund_, i.e. Asmund of the Gnoth, who was so called from his ship 'Gnoth' (cf. p. 230 above). For an account of him see the _Saga of Egil and Asmund_ (in _Fornaldar Sˆgur_, vol. III), especially ch. 17. He is mentioned also in the _Saga of GrÌm Loinkinni_, ch. 2. A different account of Olaf's family is given in _Gˆngu-HrÛlfs Saga_, ch. 38.

_Garthar in Denmark._ The geography of the story is by no means clear. Elsewhere in this saga Olaf's realm would seem to be situated in Sweden, while references in other works, e.g. _Landn·mabÛk_, I, ch. 3, _Hversu Noregr Bygthist_, ch. 2 (_Fornaldar Sˆgur_, II, p. 7) etc., point to Norway, especially the provinces of Thelamˆrk and Hˆrthaland, as the home of Hromund and his family.

_Hromund._ According to _Landn·mabÛk_, I, ch. 3, Ingolf and Leif, the first settlers in Iceland (A.D. 874) were the great grandsons of Hromund Greipsson. This would seem to show that he lived in the second half of the eighth century. See also the _Saga of Halfdan Eysteinsson_, ch. 1.

_Bild and Voli._ For these names, see Introduction to this saga, p. 59, and the note to _Mistletoe_ below.

_Ulfasker._ A corruption of _Elfasker_. Cf. _GrÌplur_, str. 25, and note to _Skerries of the Elf_, p. 229 above.

_Dragon_, a common term for a large type of warship in the Viking Age.

_Scoundrels._ The text has _Bl·menn_, i.e. lit. 'Black men', negroes. But in the Romantic Sagas, owing probably to the influence of stories relating to the Saracens, pirates are described as _Bl·menn_, even in stories relating exclusively to the North. Cf. _The Ballad of Hj·lmar and Angantyr_ (refrain), p. 184, above.

II. _I am going to be Othin's guest_, is a euphemism for 'be slain,' and is equivalent to 'go to Valhalla,' the abode of slain warriors which belonged to Othin. See the _Saga of Egil SkallagrÌmsson_, ch. 81, where Thorgerth, Egil's daughter, says that she will have no supper till she "sup with Freyja."

_No blade would wound Hrˆngvith._ It is not uncommon to hear that a warrior, usually an unsympathetic character, was immune through spells from wounds inflicted by weapons; cf. _Beowulf_, l. 804, where this is stated of Grendel.

III. _Hebrides._ The word _Suthreyjar_, here translated Hebrides, properly means all the islands off the west coast of Scotland. The modern form of the word is _Sodor_, surviving in the name of the diocese of 'Sodor and Man.'

_Ghosts._ It will be seen from the context that the word _draugr_ here translated 'ghost,' is in reality the animated corpse of the dead man. This is a common feature of Norse stories (e.g. the _Saga of Grettir the Strong_, ch. 18).

IV. _Valland_, i.e. France, lit. the 'Land of the _Valar_,' i.e. of the Celts or Romans. In Anglo-Saxon literature the French are sometimes called _Galwalas_, i.e. the 'Walas (Welsh) of Gaul'. See also the _Th·ttr of Nornagest_, ch. 9 and note.

_And he added_, etc. Are we to assume a lacuna here? The composition of this saga is however far from perfect. In certain passages (e.g. at the beginning of this chapter) one is inclined to suspect that someone has tried to combine two different texts of the story.

_Finger nails_, etc. Cf. the physiological fact of the growth of the finger nails after death, and the legend of Charlemagne according to which his beard grew through a stone table after his death.

_Gunnlˆth._ Other documents appear to make Hromund a Norwegian, and this is what we should gather from _Landn·mabÛk_ quoted above (p. 231, note). See _Hversu Noregr Bygist_, ch. 2.

_Mistletoe_, the name of the sword again connects this story with that of Balder who is stated in _Vˆlusp·_, str. 32 and _Gylfaginning_, ch. 49 to have been killed by a piece of mistletoe.

V. _Dagny_, the wife of IngjÛld, who was the friend of GrÌm Lothinkinni. See the _Saga of GrÌm Loinkinni_, ch. 3.

_H·logaland._ See _Hervarar Saga_, ch. 1 and note; and also the Sagas of _Ketil HÊng_ and _GrÌm Loinkinni_.

_Voli and Bild_, etc. At this point the writer of the saga has omitted part of the dialogue in which Olaf threatens to hang Hromund. Cf. _GrÌplur_, p. 383, str. 20, 21.

VI. _Helgi_ is known elsewhere as Helgi Haddingjaskati, e.g. in the short text called _Hversu Noregr Bygist_, ch. 2 (_Fornaldar Sˆgur_, II, p. 7). According to the prose at the end of _Helgakvia Hundingsbana_ II, Helgi Haddingjaskati and Kara were reincarnations of Helgi Hundingsbani and Sigr˙n, the hero and heroine of this poem. Their story was given in a poem called _K·ruljÛ_ which is now lost. See however Vigf˙sson and Powell, _Corpus Poeticum Boreale_, vol. I, pp. 129 and 130.

_On the frozen surface of Lake Vener._ This story is perhaps taken from that of the battle related in _Sk·ldskaparm·l_, ch. 43 and _Ynglingasaga_, ch. 33. Cf. _Beowulf_, l. 2392 ff.

_Kara._ For the form _Lara_ which appears in the printed editions see p. 62, note, above. In the prose at the end of _Helgakvia Hundingsbana_ II, Kara is called a valkyrie.

VIII. _Hagal._ The story of Hagal and Blind is given also at the beginning of _Helgakvia Hundingsbana_ II; but here the person disguised as a grinding-maid is Helgi, the hero of the poem.

X. _Who was also called Bavis_; cf. _Helgakv. Hund_. II, str. 2, where he is called _Blindr enn bˆlvÌsi_ ('skilled in harmful doings').

SAGA OF HERV÷R AND HEITHREK

I. _Finnmark_, i.e. the northernmost part of the Scandinavian Peninsula.

_Jˆtunheimar_, i.e. the homes of the _jˆtnar_ or giants. This name occurs frequently in Norse stories, though it is not elsewhere connected with Finnmark.

_Ymisland_, i.e. the land of _›mir_; see below.

_Halogaland_, i.e. the northern part of Norway stretching from about lat. 65∞ as far as Finnmark.

_Guthmund._ Cf. the _Th·ttr of Nornagest_, ch. 1 and note.

_Glasisvellir._ Cf. the _Th·ttr of Nornagest_, ch. 1, and note.

_Fields of immortality_, i.e. lit. 'Fields of the not dead' (_Ûdainsakr_). Cf. the _Saga of EirÌkr VÌfˆrla_, ch. 1, and the _Saga of H·lfdan Eysteinsson_, ch. 1. See also Saxo Grammaticus, _Dan. Hist._, p. 129.

_Hˆfund._ The name means lit. 'Judge.'

_Ymir_, i.e. the old 'Rime-giant,' the first being created out of Chaos, from whom the giants sprang; cf. _Vˆlusp·_, str. 3; _Vaf˛r˙˛nism·l_, str. 21; _GrÌmnism·l_, str. 40; _HyndluljÛ_, str. 33; _Gylfaginning_, chs. 5-8.

_Starkath Aludreng._ See _Gautreks Saga_, ch. 3, according to which this Starkath is the grandfather of his more famous namesake, for whom see the _Th·ttr of Nornagest_, ch. 7 and note. See also Saxo Grammaticus, _Dan. Hist._, pp. 224, 225.

_Elivagar._ See _Vaf˛r˙˛nism·l_, str. 31; _Gylfaginning_, ch. 5; _Hymiskvia_, str. 5.

_Alfheimar_, a name given to the region between the G¯taelv and the River Glommen, in the south-east of Norway (now mainly in Sweden). The royal family of this region is frequently mentioned in the history of Harold the Fairhaired and his father, and also in the stories of Sigurth Hring. See the _Th·ttr of Nornagest_, ch. 7 and note.

_Ey-grim Bolm_, i.e. 'Grim of the Island of Bolm.'

_Arngrim._ See Saxo Grammaticus, _Dan. Hist._, p. 203 ff.

_Berserk._ See _Ynglingasaga_, ch. 6.

II. _Dwarfs._ Cf. the story of Svegir in _Ynglingasaga_, ch. 15.

_Dvalin_ is the name of a dwarf in _Vˆlusp·_, str. 11, 14; _H·vam·l_, str. 143, and in other of the _Edda_ poems. It is, in fact, the typical name for a dwarf. Cf. also _Gylfaginning_, ch. 14, and _Sk·ldskaparm·l_, ch. 3, 57. _Dulin_ does not occur elsewhere, though _Durin_ is found in _Vˆlusp·_, str. 10.

_Standing in the doorway of the stone_, etc. Cf. _Vˆlusp·_, str. 48.

_Your sword_, etc. Cf. _Sk·ldskaparm·l_, ch. 49. "Now I have drawn _D·insleif_, which the dwarfs made and which must cause a man's death every time it is drawn, and never fails in its stroke."

_Tyrfing._ It has been suggested that this name is derived from _tyrfi_, 'resinous fir-tree,' owing to its flaming like resinous fir-wood. In early times it was customary for swords to be called by names ending in _-ing_. Cf. the swords _Hrunting_ in _Beowulf_, l. 1457, etc., _Nagling_, _ibid._, l. 2680, and _Mimming_ in _Waldhere_, l. 3, etc., etc.

_Perms._ The text has _um Bjarmaland_ 'in the land of the Bjarmar,' i.e. the _Beormas_ of Ohthere's Voyage in Alfred's translation of _Orosius_. It is generally reached, not as here, apparently, by the Baltic, but by voyages round the North Cape. The name is generally supposed to be connected with _Perm_, and in early times may have comprehended the Zyrianians, as well as the Permians proper and the Votiaks. There is some evidence from place-names that this group of languages was once spoken as far west as the White Sea. Cf. Abercromby, _The Pre- and Proto-historic Finns_, p. 10 f.

_Svafrlami._ The text (H) followed by the Reykjavik edition here has Sigrlami--which can hardly be right. Rafn's ed. reads Svafrlami.

_Twelve sons._ For Arngrim's Sons, Cf. _HyndluljÛth_, str. 23, 24; Saxo Grammaticus, _Dan. Hist._, pp. 203-205; _Saga of ÷rvar Odd_, ch. 14.

_Twins._ See the _Saga of Harold the Fairhaired_ (_Heimskringla_), ch. 18, where again we find twins both receiving the same name.

_Mistletoe._ A sword of the same name occurs in the _Saga of Hromund Greipsson_ (see above).

_Hrotti._ Cf. _Hrunting_, the sword of Hunferth in _Beowulf_, l. 1457 etc. See also the note to _Tyrfing_, p. 235.

III. _Yule_, a festival of heathen times, approximately at Christmas, but rather later.

_Feast_, lit. 'At the Bragi-cup.' The custom of making vows in connection with these toasts was carried on into Christian times, an interesting example being found in the _Saga of Olaf Tryggvason_ (_Heimskringla_), ch. 39. See also the _Saga of Haakon the Good_ (_Heimskringla_), ch. 16; and _Helgakvia HjˆrvarssÛnar_, str. 32.

_Angantyr made a vow._ In the Royal MS. (see p. 79) it is Hjˆrvarth who makes the vow and subsequently claims the bride.

_Yngvi_ is the family name of the early Swedish kings. Collectively the early Swedish royal family were called _Ynglingar_. Cf. _Ynglingasaga_, ch. 20.

_Never did he_, etc. Compare what is said of Hˆgni's sword in _Sk·ldskaparm·l_, ch. 49.

_Sams¯._ The fight at Sams¯ is described in another MS. of this saga (which is translated in the appendix to Part I, p. 145 ff. above and which contains also the _Death-song of Hjalmar_), as well as in the _Saga of ÷rvar Odd_, ch. 14, and in Saxo Grammaticus, _Dan. Hist._, p. 205. The Island of Sams¯ is situated half way between Jutland and SjÊlland.

IV. _Exposing the child_, etc. For the custom of exposing infants, especially girls, at birth, so as to cause their death, see the _Saga of Gunnlaug Ormstungu_, ch. 3, the _Saga of Finnbogi Rammi_, etc. A similar custom prevailed in Ancient Greece. Cf. Plato, _Rep._ v, 461; Aristophanes, _Clouds_, l. 530 f.

_Sprinkled with water._ Sprinkling a child with water when a name was given to it appears to have been customary in heathen times. Cf. the _Saga of Harold the Fairhaired_ (_Heimskringla_), ch. 40; the _Saga of Haakon the Good_, ch. 12; the _Saga of Egil Skallagrimsson_, ch. 31; _Vˆlsunga Saga_, ch. 13.

_She grew up_, etc. Cf. the description of the later Hervˆr in ch. 10.

_Here is a poem_, etc. The poem is probably earlier than the Saga in its present form. Heusler (_Eddica Minora_, p. xxi) refers it to the early part of the twelfth century.

_I will give you my necklace_, etc. Note the discrepancy between the poem and the prose at this point. In the former it would seem to be Hervˆr who offers a necklace, and this is what we should expect.

_Foolish is he who comes here alone_, etc. Cf. J. M. Synge, _The Aran Islands_, III: "We went up on the dun, where Michael said he had never been before after nightfall, though he lives within a stone's throw.... These people make no distinction between the natural and the supernatural."

V. _Ghosts_, i.e. the animated corpses of the people buried there.

_Nor other kinsman._ There is a lacuna in the text of the ms. at this point.

VI. _Bring up the child_, etc. It was customary for men in high station to send their children to be brought up and educated in the houses of relatives and friends.

_Reithgotaland_ is here explained as Jutland; but in ch. 9, Heithrek's subjects are described as _Gotar_, i.e. Goths; and in the latter part of the Saga, from ch. 12 onwards, the subject is clearly a war between the Goths and Huns. The earliest occurrence of the word (in the Swedish Inscription of Rˆk; cf. also _Vaf˛r˙˛nism·l_, str. 12) gives not _Reithgotaland_, but _Hraithgotaland_, which suggests that the name may be connected in some way with _Hrethgotan_, a name applied to the Goths in Anglo-Saxon poetry.

VII. _Divination._ The phrase means literally, 'The casting of bits of wood at the sacrifice.' Cf. Tacitus, _Germania_, ch. 10.

_Every second man._ _annanhv·rn_, apparently for _annanhvern_.

_Hall of the DÌs._ It is not clear who the _dÌs_ was, as the word is used rather loosely for supernatural female beings. Another reference to the _Hall of the DÌs_ occurs in _Ynglingasaga_, ch. 33. One of the goddesses (Freyja?) may be meant; or it may be the guardian spirit of the family.

VIII. _Land of the Saxons._ Cf. the _Th·ttr of Nornagest_, ch. 10 and note.

_Sifka and Hlˆth._ The names here mentioned, together with _Heithrek_ and _Angantyr_, are believed by some scholars to recur in _Widsi˛_, l. 116, where we find

_Heaoric and Sifecan, Hlie and Incgeneow_,

mentioned as being among the followers of Eormenric. These names clearly come from Gothic tradition, but the passage would seem to suggest that _Sifeca_ was a man, the Sibich of the German poems. Cf. Chambers, _Widsith_, p. 32. For the name Lotherus in Saxo, see note to ch. 12, p. 242.

_Holmgarth_, i.e. Novgorod.

IX. _Wendland_, i.e. the 'Land of the Slavs' (Anglo-Saxon _Weonodland_). After the expansion of the Slavs, from the fifth century onwards, this term came to denote an enormous expanse of country, including the coast of Eastern Germany, to which it is applied in the account of the voyage of Wulfstan in Alfred's translation of _Orosius_. In earlier times, when the Goths still occupied Poland and Galicia, the Slavs were restricted to the regions east of these countries.

_His horse fell dead._ Here the point of the story seems to be missed, or at least not clearly expressed. According to Hˆfund's fifth maxim (see ch. 6), Heithrek was not to ride his best horse when he was in a hurry.

X. _They had a daughter._ From our text it would appear that Hervˆr was the daughter of Sifka; but the end of ch. 9 is probably a late addition to the text. In the text printed by Rafn, Hervˆr is expressly stated to be a daughter of Hergerth.

_Ormar_ is presumably to be identified with the _Wyrmhere_ mentioned in _Widsi˛_, l. 119, in connection with the war waged by the Goths against the Huns in defence of their ancient fatherland, round the forest of the Vistula.

_Gestumblindi._ For this curious name, cf. the _Gestiblindus Gothorum rex_ mentioned by Saxo Grammaticus, _Dan. Hist._, p. 198 ff.

_In the King's retinue there were seven men_, etc. In the text (_a_) of this saga printed in Rafn's edition (_Fornaldar Sˆgur_, I, p. 462), there are said to be twelve men here. This is no doubt the right figure, twelve being the regular number in the judicial councils of the North, whether historical or legendary. Thus, e.g. in the _Saga of Olaf the Holy_ (_Heimskringla_), ch. 96 we read of a council of twelve sages (_spekingar_), whose duty it was to advise the Swedish king, especially in the administration of justice. Similar councils existed in the Danish settlements in England. Thus Lincoln and Stamford had each a council of twelve (cf. Stubbs, _Const. Hist._, I, p. 106, and n. 4). We may compare the twelve priests who officiated in the sacrifices at MÊren (cf. the _Saga of Olaf the Holy, Heimskr_. ch. 115), and the story of the twelve gods who were appointed by Othin as temple priests (_hof-goar_) to keep up the sacrifices and administer justice among men; cf. _Ynglingasaga_, ch. 2 (_HyndluljÛ_, str. 30; _Gautrekssaga_, ch. 7). In the Irish _Lay of Magnus Barelegs_, the Norwegians are referred to as _Clann an d· [.c]o[.m]airlea[.c] dÈag_ ('children or clan of the twelve councillors'). Cf. _Laoi[.d] Ma[.g]nius Moir_ (_Reliques of Irish Poetry_, by Charlotte Brooke, Dublin 1789, p. 274).

_King Heithrek worshipped Frey._ One text quoted by Rafn (_Verelius_) has _Freyja_ for _Frey_. The boar appears in stories relating to both these deities, e.g. _Gylfaginning_, ch. 49; _Sk·ldskaparm·l_, ch. 35; _HyndluliÛ_, str. 5, 7.

XI. _I would that I had that_, etc. On these riddles see Heusler, _Eddica Minora_, p. xc ff.; 'Diealtnordischen R‰tsel' in _Zeitschrift des Vereins f¸r Volkskunde_, XI, p. 117 ff.; Tupper, _Modern Language Notes_, 18, p. 103; _The Riddles of the Exeter Book_, p. lii, etc. In the original the riddles are all in verse, while the King's answers, except the refrain with which they begin ("Your riddle is a good one," etc.) are in prose.

_You went over a bridge_, etc. The metrical text given by Rafn (_Fornaldar Sˆgur_, I, p. 466), has: "A bird flew above thee, a fish swam beneath thee, thou did'st go over a bridge." The prose text given on the same page has: "Thou did'st go over a bridge, and the course of the river was beneath thee, but birds were flying over thy head and on both sides of thee, and that was their road."

_Delling's doorway._ Delling (perhaps from an obsolete word _dallr_, 'bright, shining') is mentioned in _Vaf˛r˙˛nism·l_, str. 25, as the 'father of Day.' Possibly he may originally have been a personification of day itself. The expression "before Delling's doorway" occurs also in _H·vam·l_, str. 160, where it has been thought to mean 'at sunrise.' See also the genealogy in _Hversu Noregr Bygist_, ch. I (_Fornaldar Sˆgur_, II, p. 6), where a certain Svanhild is said to be the daughter of Day, the son of Delling, and of SÛl (i.e. the sun), the daughter of Mundilfari (cf. _Gylfaginning_, ch. II).

_Wolves are always struggling for it._ See _Gylfaginning_, ch. 12 (from _GrÌmnism·l_, str. 39).

_He who made it_, etc. I have followed Heusler's reading and read _er_ for _ker_ and _˛Û_ or _sj·_ for _˛·_.

_Laying their eggs._ For _verja_ read _verpa_.

_Have no husbands._ For _eigu_, read _eigut_, as on p. 121.

_Game of chess._ The text has _hneftafl_, i.e. a game having certain features in common with chess which was played in Iceland till the introduction of the latter, probably in the thirteenth century. Game-pieces have been discovered in Iceland which were probably used for this game. Some are plain and hemispherical in shape, others are shaped with a man's head or a dog's head. For a full and interesting description of _hneftafl_ see H. J. R. Murray, _A History of Chess_, Oxford, 1913, Appendix I, 'Chess in Iceland,' pp. 443-446.

_∆gis meyjar._ ∆gir or HlÈr, the husband of Rann, is a personification of the sea; but the kennings '∆gir's daughters,' '∆gir's steed,' etc. for 'billows' are common in poetry. See _Helgakvia Hundingsbana_ II, str. 29, and _Bragar-rÊur_, ch. 55 (included in Brodeur's translation of the _Prose Edda_ as _Sk·ldskaparm·l_, ch. I).

_Reefs._ For _brimserkum_, read _brimskerjum_.

_Ocean-path._ For _brim-reiar_, read _brim-leiar_. The passage is possibly corrupt.

_That is the hunn._ This stanza is difficult to interpret as we have no clear information as to the character of the game. It would seem that like the game of the Welsh _tawlbwrdd_, it was played between sides composed, the one of sixteen 'fair' (white) men, the other of a King (called _hnefa_ or _hunn_) and eight 'dark' (black) men. Cf. note to _Game of Chess_ above. See also Murray, _A History of Chess_, Oxford 1913, Appendix I, 'Chess in Iceland,' pp. 443-446.

_Four walking_, etc. This riddle is found in a form almost identical with our text in Jakobsen's _Dialect and Place Names of Shetland_ (Lerwick, 1897), p. 53. The 'sow' is also found in the _Exeter Book_, while 'the waves,' 'the anchor' and 'hailstones' have certain affinities with the AS. riddles.

_King Itrek's Game._ The reference here seems to be to a game something like chess. The text (R) given by Heusler in his edition of the _Eddica Minora_, p. 118, reads: "That is Itrek and Andath when they sit at their game."

_Dead men_, etc. In this strophe there seems to be an elaborate play on words. The phrase 'dead men' (_dauar menn_) seems to be a disguise for _val_ which means 'the slain' as well as 'hawk.' So also 'channel of blood' seems to be a disguise for _Êi_ which means 'vein' as well as 'eider-duck.'

_Sleipnir._ Othin's eight-footed horse. Cf. especially _Gylfaginning_, ch. 42.

_Tell me lastly_, etc. In _Vaf˛r˙˛nism·l_, str. 54, Othin makes himself known to Vaf˛r˙˛nir by the same question.

XII. _This pike_, etc. This verse is generally supposed to come from a lost poem on Heithrek.

_Mountains of Harvathi._ It is thought that _Harvathi_ may be the early Teutonic name for the Carpathians--a reminiscence of Gothic times.

_Humli and Hlˆth._ These names may be compared with _Humblus_ and _Lotherus_, two sons of Dan, the first kings mentioned in Saxo Grammaticus, _Dan. Hist._, p. 1. For the name _Hlˆ_ cf. also note to ch. 7, p. 238.

_Poem._ For this poem on the battle between the Goths and the Huns, see Heusler, _Eddica Minora_, p. vii ff., and notes. In part at least it appears to be very old.

_Myrkvith._ The forest _Myrkvith_ is mentioned also in _Atlakvia_, str. 3, 5, and 13; and in _Helgakvia Hundingsbana_, I, str. 53.

_Pillar_, lit. 'stone.' I do not know what is meant. Possibly _Gur˙narkvia_ III, str. 3 may be compared.

_Danaper's Shore._ _Danpr_ is treated as a personal name in _RÌgs˛ula_, str. 49, but it is more likely to have been originally the name of the River Dnieper (mentioned by Jordanes, _The Origins and Deeds of the Goths_, ch. 5, 52, as _Danaper_), which was within the territories of the Goths in the fourth century.

XIII. _Gizur._ There appear to be reminiscences of this story in Saxo,