8


Sigrun spake:

31. "Now may every | oath thee bite
That with Helgi | sworn thou hast,
By the water | bright of Leipt,
And the ice-cold | stone of Uth.

32. "The ship shall sail not | in which thou sailest,
Though a favoring wind | shall follow after;
The horse shall run not | whereon thou ridest,
Though fain thou art | thy foe to flee.

33. "The sword shall bite not | which thou bearest,
Till thy head itself | it sings about.
"Vengeance were mine | for Helgi's murder,
Wert thou a wolf | in the woods without,
Possessing nought | and knowing no joy,
Having no food | save corpses to feed on."

Dag spake:

34. "Mad art thou, sister, | and wild of mind,
Such a curse | on thy brother to cast;
Othin is ruler | of every ill,
Who sunders kin | with runes of spite.

35. "Thy brother rings | so red will give thee,
All Vandilsve | and Vigdalir;
Take half my land | to pay the harm,
Ring-decked maid, | and as meed for thy sons."

[31. Leipt: this river is mentioned in Grimnismol, 29. Uth: a daughter of the sea-god Ægir; regarding her sacred stone we know nothing. According to the annotator, Dag's life had been spared because he swore loyalty to Helgi.

33. No gap indicated in the manuscript, but most editors have assumed that either the first or the last two lines have been lost. Bugge adds a line: "The shield shall not help thee which thou holdest." Stanzas 31 and 32 from the original Bellows translation were combined.

35. Vandilsve ("Vandil's Shrine): who Vandil was we do not know; this and Vigdalir ("Battle-Dale") are purely mythical places.]

 



Sigrún kvað

31. "Þik skyli allir eiðar bíta,
þeir er Helga hafðir unna
at inu ljósa Leiftrar vatni
ok at úrsvölum Unnarsteini.

32. Skríði-at þat skip, er und þér skríði,
þótt óskabyrr eftir leggisk;
renni-a sá marr, er und þér renni,
þóttú fjándr þína forðask eigir.

33. Bíti-a þér þat sverð, er þú bregðir,
nema sjalfum þér syngvi of höfði.
Þá væri þér hefnt Helga dauða,
ef þú værir vargr á viðum úti
auðs andvani ok alls gamans,
hefðir eigi mat, nema á hræjum spryngir."

Dagur kvað:

34. "Ær ertu, systir, ok örvita,
er þú bræðr þínum biðr forskapa;
einn veldr Óðinn öllu bölvi,
því at með sifjungum sakrúnar bar.

35. Þér býðr bróðir bauga rauða,
öll Vandilsvé ok Vígdali;
hafðu halfan heim harms at gjöldum,
brúðr baugvarið, ok burir þínir."






 


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