Sigurth rode up on Hindarfjoll and turned southward toward the land of the Franks.
On the mountain he saw a great light, as if fire were burning, and the glow reached
up to heaven. And when he came thither, there stood a tower of shields, and above it
was a banner. Sigurth went into the shield-tower, and saw that a man lay there sleeping
with all his war-weapons. First he took the helm from his head, and then he saw that it
was a woman. The mail-coat was as fast as if it had grown to the flesh. Then he cut the
mail-coat from the head-opening downward, and out to both the arm-holes. Then he took the
mail-coat from her, and she awoke, and sat up and saw Sigurth, and said:
1. "What bit through the byrnie? | how was broken my sleep?
Who made me free | of the fetters pale?"
He answered:
"Sigmund's son, | with Sigurth's sword,
That late with flesh | hath fed the ravens."
Sigurth sat beside her and asked her name. She took a horn full of mead and gave him a memory-draught.
2. "Hail, day! | Hail, sons of day!
And night and her daughter now!
Look on us here | with loving eyes,
That waiting we victory win.
3. "Hail to the gods! | Ye goddesses, hail,
And all the generous earth!
Give to us wisdom | and goodly speech,
And healing hands, life-long.
4. "Long did I sleep, | my slumber was long,
And long are the griefs of life;
Othin decreed | that I could not break
The heavy spells of sleep."
Her name was Sigrdrifa, and she was a Valkyrie. She said that two kings fought in battle;
one was called Hjalmgunnar, an old man but a mighty warrior, and Othin had promised him the victory, and
The other was Agnar, | brother of Autha,
None he found | who fain would shield him.
Sigrdrifa, slew Hjalmgunnar in the battle, and Othin pricked her with the sleep-thorn in
punishment for this, and said that she should never thereafter win victory in battle, but that she should
be wedded. "And I said to him that I had made a vow in my turn, that I would never marry a man who knew the
meaning of fear." Sigurth answered and asked her to teach him wisdom, if she knew of what took place in all
the worlds. Sigrdrifa said:
5. "Beer I bring thee, | tree of battle,
Mingled of strength | and mighty fame;
Charms it holds | and healing signs,
Spells full good, | and gladness-runes."
* * * * * *
[Prose. The introductory prose follows without break the prose concluding the Fafnismol,
the point of division being arbitrary and not agreed upon by all editors. Hindarfjoll: cf. Fafnismol, 42
and note. Franks: this does not necessarily mean that Sigurth was on his way to the Gjukungs' home, for
Sigmund had a kingdom in the land of the Franks (cf. Fra Dautha Sinfjotla). Shields: the annotator probably
drew the notion of the shield-tower from the reference in Helreith Brynhildar, 9. The flame-girt tower was not
uncommon; cf. Mengloth's hall in Svipdagsmol.
1. This stanza, and the two lines included in the prose after stanza 4, and possibly stanza 5 as well, evidently
come from a different poem from stanzas 2-4. Lines 3-4 in the original are obscure, though the general meaning is clear.
Prose (after stanza 1). In the manuscript stanza 4 stands before this prose note and stanzas 2-3. The best arrangement of
the stanzas seems to be the one here given, following Müllenhoff's suggestion, but the prose note is out of place anywhere.
The first sentence of it ought to follow stanza 4 and immediately precede the next prose note; the second sentence ought to
precede stanza 5.
2. Sons of day: the spirits of light. The daughter of night (Not), according to Snorri, was Jorth (Earth).
Prose (after stanza 4). Sigrdrifa: on the error whereby this epithet, "victory-bringer," became a proper name cf. Fafnismol, 44 and note.
Hjalmgunnar: in Helreith Brynhildar (stanza 8) he is called a king of the Goths, which means little; of him and his adversary, Agnar, we
know, nothing beyond what is told here. The two lines quoted apparently come from the same poem as stanza 1; the two first lines of the
stanza have been reconstructed from the prose thus: "Hjalmgunnar was one, | the hoary king, / And triumph to him | had Heerfather promised."
A few editions insert in this prose passage stanzas 7-10 of Helreith Brynhildar, which may or may not have be longed originally to this poem.
5. This stanza is perhaps, but by no means surely, from the same poem as stanza 1. Tree of battle: warrior. Runes: the earliest runes were not
letters, but simply signs supposed to possess magic power; out of them developed the "runic alphabet."]
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Sigurðr reið upp á Hindarfjall ok stefndi suðr til Frakklands. Á fjallinu sá hann ljós mikit, svá sem eldr brynni, ok ljómaði af til himins. En er hann kom at, þá stóð þar skjaldborg ok upp ór merki. Sigurðr gekk í skjaldborgina ok sá , at þar lá maðr ok svaf með öllum hervápnum. Hann tók fyrst hjálminn af höfði hánum. Þá sá hann, at þat var kona. Brynjan var föst sem hon væri holdgróin. Þá reist hann með Gram frá höfuðsmátt brynjuna í gögnum niðr ok svá út í gögnum báðar ermar. Þá tók hann brynju af henni, en hon vaknaði, ok settist hon upp ok sá Sigurð ok mælti:
1. "Hvat beit brynju? Hví brá ek svefni?
Hverr felldi af mér fölvar nauðir?"
Hann svaraði:
"Sigmundar burr, - sleit fyr skömmu
hrafn hrælundir, - hjörr Sigurðar!"
Hon kvað:
2. "Lengi ek svaf, lengi ek sofnuð var,
löng eru lýða læ;
Óðinn því veldr, er ek eigi máttak
bregða blundstöfum."
Sigurðr settist niðr ok spyrr hana nafns. Hon tók þá horn fullt mjaðar ok gaf honum minnisveig:
3. "Heill dagr!
Heilir dags synir!
Heil nótt ok nift!
Óreiðum augum lítið okkr þinig
ok gefið sitjöndum sigr!
4. Heilir æsir!
Heilar ásynjur!
Heil sjá in fjölnýta fold!
Mál ok mannvit gefið okkr mærum tveim
ok læknishendr, meðan lifum."
Hon nefndist Sigrdrífa ok var valkyrja. Hon sagði, at tveir konungar börðust. Hét annarr Hjálmgunnarr.
Hann var þá gamall ok inn mesti hermaðr, ok hafði Óðinn hánum sigri heitit en
"annarr hét Agnarr, Auðu bróðir,
er vætr engi vildi þiggja."
Sigrdrífa felldi Hjálmgunnarr í orrustunni, en Óðinn stakk hana svefnþorni í hefnd þess ok kvað hana aldri skyldu síðan sigr
vega í orrustu ok kvað hana giftast skyldu - "en ek sagðak hánum, at ek strengðak heit þar í mót at giftast engum þeim manni,
er hræðast kynni." Hann segir ok biðr hana kenna sér speki, ef hon vissi tíðindi ór öllum heimum. Sigrdrífa kvað:
5. "Bjór færi ek þér, brynþings apaldr,
magni blandinn ok megintíri;
fullr er hann ljóða ok líknstafa,
góðra galdra ok gamanrúna.
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