Helgakviða Hjǫrvarðssonar

Helgakviða Hjǫrvarðssonar (HHv.) ‘The Lay of Helgi Hjǫrvarðsson’ survives on fol. 22r–24r of R. It is a patchwork of verse fragments, stitched together with passages of prose, none too smoothly. Its hero resembles Helgi Hundingsbani, protagonist of HH. I and HH. II, who was named after him and might well be his reincarnation, despite HHv.’s placement after HH. I in R.

The story told in HHv. is not referred to elsewhere in surviving literature, but was probably influenced by medieval German bridal-quest narratives. The poem does, however, have clear affinities with HH. I and HH. II. Notably, for example, the disputation between Atli and Helgi and the giantess Hrímgerðr is an instance of a flyting, a type of verbal duel found in the other Helgi-poems and in Hrbl. and Ls. This instance attracts attention not just because of its metrical divergence from HHv.’s other verses—it uses ljóðaháttr and galdralag, as opposed to fornyrðislag—but also for its conclusion, in which the giantess is petrified by the first rays of the sun, rather as the dwarf Alvíss was overcome in Alv. This flyting may have been ‘conceived as a negative variation on [FSk.]’,¹ a poem with which it may share the underlying mythic theme of the overcoming of the moon (represented by Hrímgerðr/Gerðr) by the diurnal sun (represented by Helgi, Atli and Freyr/Skírnir).²

HHv. also merits attention for its many colourful mythological details. These include talking birds, a shape-shifted earl, mounted valkyries, a peerless sword, and a troll-woman who uses a snake-bridle to ride a wolf.

Synopsis

Further Reading

Bourns, T., ‘The Language of Birds in Old Norse Tradition’, JEGP 120 (2021), 209–38, https://doi.org/10.5406/jenglgermphil.120.2.0209  

Bugge, S., The Home of the Eddic Poems with Especial Reference to the Helgi-lays, rev. edn (London: D. Nutt, 1899).

Clark, D., Gender, Violence, and the Past in Edda and Saga (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012), https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199654307.001.0001  

Clark, D., ‘Heroic Homosociality and Homophobia in the Helgi Poems’, in P. Acker and C. Larrington, ed., Revisiting the Poetic Edda: Essays on Old Norse Heroic Legend (New York: Routledge, 2013), pp. 11–27, https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203098608-9  

Davidson, H. R. E., ‘Insults and Riddles in the Edda Poems’, in R. J. Glendinning and Haraldur Bessason, ed., Edda: A Collection of Essays (Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1983), pp. 25–46.

Harris, J., ‘Eddic Poetry as Oral Poetry: The Evidence of Parallel Passages in the Helgi Poems for Questions of Composition and Performance’, in R. J. Glendinning and Haraldur Bessason, ed., Edda: A Collection of Essays (Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1983), pp. 210–42.

Larrington, C., ‘Sibling Drama: Laterality in the Heroic Poems of the Edda’, in D. Anlezark, ed., Myths, Legends, and Heroes: Essays on Old Norse and Old English Literature in Honour of John McKinnell (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2011), pp. 169–87, https://doi.org/10.3138/9781442662056-012  

Larrington, C., ‘“Sacred Hero, Holy Places”: The Eddic Helgi-Tradition’, in I. G. Losquiño, O. Sundqvist and D. Taggart, ed., Making the Profane Sacred in the Viking Age: Essays in Honour of Stefan Brink (Turnhout: Brepols, 2020), pp. 157–70, https://doi.org/10.1484/m.tcne-eb.5.119345  

Martin, J. S., ‘Some Thoughts on Kingship in the Helgi Poems’, in T. Pàroli, ed., Poetry in the Scandinavian Middle Ages (Spoleto: Presso la sede del Centro studi, 1990), pp. 369–82.

Martínez-Pizarro, J., ‘Woman-to-Man Senna’, in T. Pàroli, ed., Poetry in the Scandinavian Middle Ages (Spoleto: Presso la sede del Centro studi, 1990), pp. 339–50.

Pettit, E., The Waning Sword: Conversion Imagery and Celestial Myth in ‘Beowulf’ (Cambridge, UK: Open Book Publishers, 2020), https://doi.org/10.11647/obp.0190

Phillpotts, B. S., The Elder Edda and Ancient Scandinavian Drama (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1920).

Von See, K., B. La Farge, W. Gerhold, D. Dusse, E. Picard and K. Schulz, Kommentar zu den Liedern der Edda, Bd. 4: Heldenlieder (Heidelberg: Universitätsverlag Winter, 2004).

Helgakviða Hjǫrvarðssonar

1. ‘Sáttu Sigrlinn,   Sváfnis dóttur,

meyna fegrstu   í Munarheimi?

Þó hagligar   Hjǫrvarðs konur

gumnum þikkja   at Glasislundi!’

Atli kvað:

2. ‘Mundu við Atla,   Iðmundar son,

fugl fróðhugaðr,   fleira mæla?’

Fuglinn kvað:

‘Mun ek, ef mik buðlungr   blóta vildi,

ok kýs ek, þats ek vil,   ór konungs garði!’

Atli kvað:

3. ‘Kjósattu Hjǫrvarð   né hans sonu,

né inar fǫgru   fylkis brúðir,

eigi brúðir,   þær er buðlungr á!

Kaupum vel saman!   Þat er vina kynni!’

Fuglinn kvað:

4. ‘Hof mun ek kjósa,   hǫrga marga,

gullhyrndar kýr   frá grams búi,

ef honum Sigrlinn   sefr á armi

ok ónauðig   jǫfri fylgir.’

Þetta var áðr Atli fœri. En er hann kom heim ok konungr spurði hann tíðinda, hann kvað:

5. ‘Hǫfum erfiði   ok ekki ørindi;

mara þraut óra   á meginfjalli,

urðum síðan   Sæmorn vaða;

þá var oss synjat   Sváfnis dóttur,

hringum gœddrar,   er vér hafa vildum.’

Konungr bað at þeir skyldu fara annat sinn. Fór hann sjálfr. En er þeir kómu upp á fjall, ok sá á Svávaland landsbruna ok jóreyki stóra, reið konungr af fjallinu fram í landit ok tók náttból við á eina. Atli helt vǫrð ok fór yfir ána. Hann fann eitt hús. Fugl mikill sat á húsinu ok gætti ok var sofnaðr. Atli skaut spjóti fuglinn til bana, en í húsinu fann hann Sigrlinn, konungs dóttur, ok Álǫfu, jarls dóttur, ok hafði þær báðar braut með sér. Fránmarr jarl hafði hamask í arnar líki ok varit þær fyr hernum með fjǫlkyngi.

Hróðmarr hét konungr, biðill Sigrlinnar. Hann drap Svávakonung ok hafði rænt ok brent landit.

Hjǫrvarðr konungr fekk Sigrlinnar, en Atli Álǫfar. Hjǫrvarðr ok Sigrlinn áttu son mikinn ok vænan. Hann var þǫgull. Ekki nafn festisk við hann. Hann sat á haugi. Hann sá ríða valkyrjur níu, ok var ein gǫfugligust. Hon kvað:

6. ‘Síð mundu, Helgi,   hringum ráða,

ríkr rógapaldr,   né Rǫðulsvǫllum —

ǫrn gól árla —   ef þú æ þegir,

þóttu harðan hug,   hilmir, gjaldir!’

7. ‘Hvat lætr þú fylgja   “Helga” nafni,

brúðr bjartlituð,   allz þú bjóða ræðr?

Hygg þú fyr ǫllum   atkvæðum vel!

Þigg ek eigi þat,   nema ek þik hafa!’

8. ‘Sverð veit ek liggja   í Sigarshólmi,

fjórum færa   en fimm tøgu;

eitt er þeira   ǫllum betra,

vígnesta bǫl,   ok varit gulli.

9. ‘Hringr er í hjalti,   hugr er í miðju,

ógn er í oddi,   þeim er eiga getr;

liggr með eggju   ormr dreyrfáðr,

en á valbǫstu   verpr naðr hala!’

Eylimi hét konungr. Dóttir hans var Sváva. Hon var valkyrja ok reið lopt ok lǫg. Hon gaf Helga nafn þetta ok hlífði honum opt síðan í orrostum.

Helgi kvað:

10. ‘Ertattu, Hjǫrvarðr,   heilráðr konungr,

fólks oddviti,   þóttu frægr sér;

léztu eld eta   jǫfra byggðir,

en þeir angr við þik   ekki gørðu.

11. ‘En Hróðmarr skal   hringum ráða,

þeim er áttu   órir niðjar;

sá sésk fylkir   fæst at lífi,

hyggsk aldauðra   arfi at ráða!’

Hjǫrvarðr svaraði at hann myndi fá lið Helga, ef hann vill hefna móðurfǫður síns. Þá sótti Helgi sverðit er Sváva vísaði honum til. Þá fór hann, ok Atli, ok feldu Hróðmar ok unnu mǫrg þrekvirki. Hann drap Hata jǫtun, er hann sat á bergi nøkkoru. Helgi ok Atli lágu skipum í Hatafirði. Atli helt vǫrð inn fyrra hlut nætrinnar.

Hrímgerðr, Hata dóttir, kvað:

12. ‘Hverir ru hǫlðar   í Hatafirði?

Skjǫldum er tjaldat   á skipum yðrum;

frœknliga látið,   fátt hygg ek yðr sjásk!

Kennið mér nafn konungs!’

Atli kvað:

13. ‘Helgi hann heitir,   en þú hvergi mátt

vinna grand grami!

Járnborgir ru   um ǫðlings flota —

knegut oss fálur fara!’

14. ‘Hvé þik heitir’, kvað Hrímgerðr,   ‘halr inn ámátki?

Hvé þik kalla konir?

Fylkir þér trúir,   er þik í fǫgrum lætr

beits stafni búa!’

15. ‘Atli ek heiti,   atall skal ek þér vera —

mjǫk em ek gífrum gramastr!

Úrgan stafn   ek hefi opt búit

ok kvalðar kveldriður!

16. ‘Hvé þú heitir,   hála nágráðug?

Nefndu þinn, fála, fǫður!

Níu rǫstum er þú skyldir neðarr vera,

ok vaxi þér á baðmi barr!’

17. ‘Hrímgerðr ek heiti,   Hati hét minn faðir,

þann vissa ek ámátkastan jǫtun;

margar brúðir   hann lét frá búi teknar,

unz hann Helgi hjó.’

18. ‘Þú vart, hála,   fyr hildings skipum

ok látt í fjarðar mynni fyrir;

ræsis rekka   er þú vildir Rán gefa,

ef þér kœmit í þverst þvari!’

19. ‘Duliðr ertu nú, Atli,   draums kveð ek þér vera;

síga lætr þú brýnn fyr brár;

móðir mín   lá fyr mildings skipum —

ek drekþa Hlǫðvarðs sonum í hafi!

20. ‘Gneggja myndir þú, Atli,   ef þú geldr né værir —

brettir sinn Hrímgerðr hala!

Aptarla hjarta   hygg ek at þitt, Atli, sé,

þótt þú hafir hreina rǫdd!’

21. ‘Hreini mun þér ek þikkja,   ef þú reyna knátt

ok stíga ek á land af legi!

Ǫll muntu lemjask,   ef mér er alhugat,

ok sveigja þinn hala, Hrímgerðr!’

22. ‘Atli, gakk þú á land,   ef afli treystisk,

ok hittumk í vík Varins!

Rifja rétti   er þú munt, rekkr, fá,

ef þú mér í krymmur kømr!’

23. ‘Munka ek ganga,   áðr gumnar vakna

ok halda of vísa vǫrð;

era mér ørvænt,   nær óru kømr

skass upp undir skipi.’

24. ‘Vaki þú, Helgi,   ok bœt við Hrímgerði,

er þú lézt hǫggvinn Hata!

Eina nótt   kná hon hjá jǫfri sofa,

þá hefir hon bǫlva bœtr!’

25. ‘Loðinn heitir, er þik skal eiga   — leið ertu mannkyni!

Sá býr í Þolleyju þurs,

hundvíss jǫtunn,   hraunbúa verstr;

sá er þér makligr maðr!’

26. ‘Hina vildu heldr, Helgi,   er réð hafnir skoða

fyrri nótt með firum;

margullin mær   mér þótti afli bera;

hér sté hon land af legi

ok festi svá yðarn flota;

hon ein því veldr,   er ek eigi mák

buðlungs mǫnnum bana.’

27. ‘Heyrðu nú, Hrímgerðr,   ef ek bœti harma þér,

segðu gørr grami:

var sú ein vætr,   er barg ǫðlings skipum,

eða fóru þær fleiri saman?’

28. ‘Þrennar níundir meyja,   þó reið ein fyrir,

hvít und hjálmi mær;

marir hristusk,   stóð af mǫnom þeira

dǫgg í djúpa dali,

hagl í háva viðu;

þaðan kømr með ǫldom ár;

allt var mér þat leitt er ek leitk!’

29. ‘Austr líttu nú, Hrímgerðr,   er þik lostna hefr

Helgi helstǫfum!

Á landi ok á vatni   borgit er lofðungs flota

ok siklings mǫnnum it sama!’

30. ‘Dagr er nú, Hrímgerðr,   en þik dvalða hefir

Atli til aldrlaga!

Hafnar mark   þykkir hlœgligt vera,

þars þú í steins líki stendr!’

Helgi konungr var allmikill hermaðr. Hann kom til Eylima konungs ok bað Svávu, dóttur hans. Þau Helgi ok Sváva veittusk várar ok unnusk furðu mikit. Sváva var heima með feðr sínum, en Helgi í hernaði. Var Sváva valkyrja enn sem fyrr. Heðinn var heima með fǫður sínum, Hjǫrvarði konungi, í Nóregi.

Heðinn fór einn saman heim ór skógi jólaaptan ok fann trollkonu. Sú reið vargi ok hafði orma at taumum, ok bauð fylgð sína Heðni. ‘Nei!’, sagði hann. Hon sagði: ‘Þess skaltu gjalda at bragarfulli!’ Um kveldit óru heitstrengingar. Var fram leiddr sonargǫltr. Lǫgðu menn þar á hendr sínar, ok strengðu menn þá heit at bragarfulli. Heðinn strengði heit til Svávu, Eylima dóttur, unnustu Helga, bróður síns, ok iðraðisk svá mjǫk at hann gekk á braut villistígu suðr á lǫnd ok fann Helga, bróður sinn.

Helgi kvað:

31. ‘Komðu heill, Heðinn!   Hvat kantu segja

nýra spjalla   ór Nóregi?

Hví er þér, stillir,   støkkt ór landi

ok ert einn kominn   oss at finna?’

32. ‘Mik hefir myklu glœpr   meiri sóttan:

ek hefi kørna   ina konungbornu,

brúði þína,   at bragarfulli!’

33. ‘Sakask eigi þú!   Sǫnn munu verða

ǫlmál, Heðinn,   okkur beggja:

mér hefir stillir   stefnt til eyrar,

þriggja nátta   skylak þar koma;

if er mér á því,   at ek aptr koma;

þá má at góðu   gørask slíkt, ef skal!’

34. ‘Sagðir þú, Helgi,   at Heðinn væri

góðs verðr frá þér   ok gjafa stórra;

þér er sœmra   sverð at rjóða

en frið gefa   fjándum þínum.’

Þat kvað Helgi þvíat hann grunaði um feigð sína ok þat at fylgjur hans hǫfðu vitjat Heðins, þá er hann sá konuna ríða varginum.

Álfr hét konungr, sonr Hróðmars, er Helga hafði vǫll haslaðan á Sigarsvelli á þriggja nátta fresti.

Þá kvað Helgi:

35. ‘Reið á vargi   er rekkvit var,

fljóð eitt er hann   fylgju beiddi;

hon vissi þat   at veginn myndi

Sigrlinnar sonr   á Sigarsvǫllum.’

Þar var orrosta mikil, ok fekk þar Helgi banasár.

36. Sendi Helgi   Sigar at ríða

eptir Eylima   eingadóttur;

biðr brálliga   búna verða,

37. ‘Mik hefir Helgi   hingat sendan,

við þik, Sváva,   sjálfa at mæla;

þik kvazk hilmir   hitta vilja,

áðr ítrborinn   ǫndu týndi.’

38. ‘Hvat varð Helga,   Hjǫrvarðs syni?

Mér er harðliga   harma leitat!

Ef hann sær um lék   eða sverð um beit,

þeim skal ek gumna   grand um vinna!’

39. ‘Fell hér í morgun   at Frekasteini,

buðlungr, sá er var   baztr und sólu;

Álfr mun sigri   ǫllum ráða,

þótt þetta sinn   þǫrfgi væri.’

40. ‘Heil verðu, Sváva!   Hug skaltu deila,

sjá mun í heimi   hinztr fundr vera;

tjá buðlungi   blœða undir —

mér hefir hjǫrr komit   hjarta it næsta.

41. ‘Bið ek þik, Sváva   — brúðr, grátattu! —

ef þú vill mínu   máli hlýða,

at þú Heðni   hvílu gørvir

ok jǫfur ungan   ástum leiðir.’

42. ‘Mælt hafða ek þat   í Munarheimi,

þá er mér Helgi   hringa valði:

myndiga ek lostig   at liðinn fylki

jǫfur ókunnan   armi verja.’

43. ‘Kystu mik, Sváva!   Kem ek eigi áðr

Rógheims á vit   né Rǫðulsfjalla,

áðr ek hefnt hefik   Hjǫrvarðs sonar,

þess er buðlungr var   beztr und sólu!’

Helgi ok Sváva er sagt at væri endrborin.

The Lay of Helgi Hjǫrvarðsson

About Hjǫrvarðr and Sigrlinn

There was a king called Hjǫrvarðr.3 He had four wives. One was called Álfhildr;4 their son was called Heðinn.5 The second was called Særeiðr;6 their son was called Humlungr.7 The third was called Sinrjóð;8 their son was called Hymlingr.9

King Hjǫrvarðr had vowed this solemnly, that he would possess the woman whom he knew to be the most beautiful.10 He learnt that King Sváfnir11 had the fairest daughter of all; she was called Sigrlinn.12 His¹³ earl was called Iðmundr.14 Atli15 was his son, who went to ask for Sigrlinn on the king’s behalf. He stayed the whole winter with King Sváfnir.

There was an earl there called Fránmarr,16 Sigrlinn’s foster-father; his daughter was called Álǫf.17 The earl decided that he was to be denied the maiden, and Atli went home.

Atli, the earl’s son, stood one day in a certain grove, and a bird sat in the branches up above him and it had heard that his men called the women whom King Hjǫrvarðr had the most beautiful. The bird chirped, and Atli listened to what it said.

1. ‘Have you seen Sigrlinn, Sváfnir’s daughter,

the fairest of maidens in Munarheimr?18

Yet Hjǫrvarðr’s wives

seem suitable to men in Glasislundr!’19

Atli said:

2. ‘Would you speak further, wise-spirited bird

to Atli, Iðmundr’s son?’

‘I will, if Buðli’s descendant20 would offer me sacrifice,

and I can choose that which I want from the king’s court!’

Atli said:

3. ‘Choose neither Hjǫrvarðr nor his sons,

nor the marshal’s21 fair brides,

not the brides, those which Buðli’s descendant22 has!

Let’s make a fine bargain together! That’s the mark of friends!’

The bird said:

4. ‘I’ll choose temples, many outdoor sanctuaries,²³

golden-horned cows from the king’s farmstead,

if Sigrlinn sleeps in his arms

and accompanies the boar24 without compulsion.’

This was before Atli set out. And when he came back and the king asked him for tidings, he said:

5. ‘We have hardship and on no account our errand;

our horses became exhausted on a mighty mountain,

then we had to wade the Sæmorn;25

then Sváfnir’s daughter, endowed with rings,

The king ordered that they should go a second time. He himself went. And when they came up onto a mountain, and they26 saw in Svávaland27 burning land and great ‘horse-smokes’,²⁸ the king rode from the mountain forward into the land and made camp for the night by a river. Atli kept watch and went over the river. He found a house. A great bird was sitting on the house and kept watch and had fallen asleep. Atli shot the bird to death with a spear, and in the house he found Sigrlinn, the king’s daughter, and Álǫf, the earl’s daughter, and he took them both away with him. Earl Fránmarr had changed himself into the form of an eagle and defended the women against the army with magic.29

There was a king called Hróðmarr,30 Sigrlinn’s suitor. He slew the king of Svávaland31 and had pillaged and burnt the land.

King Hjǫrvarðr married Sigrlinn, and Atli Álǫf. Hjǫrvarðr and Sigrlinn had a son mighty and handsome.32 He was silent. No name stuck to him. He sat on a burial mound. He saw nine valkyries riding, and one was the noblest.³³ She said:

6. ‘You’ll be late, Helgi, to rule rings,

mighty strife-apple-tree,34 or Rǫðulsvellir35 —

an eagle screamed early³⁶ — if you always keep silent,

even if, king, you prove your hard heart!’

7. ‘What will you let accompany the name “Helgi”,

8. ‘I know of swords lying in Sigarshólmr,37

four fewer than fifty;

one of them is better than all [others],

the bale of battle-brooches(?),³⁸ and adorned with gold.

9. ‘A ring is in the hilt, courage is in the middle,

terror is in the point,³⁹ for the one who gets to possess it;

along the edge lies a blood-stained snake,

and on the slaughter-cord(?)⁴⁰ an adder lashes its tail!’

There was a king called Eylimi. His daughter was Sváva.41 She was a valkyrie and rode air and sea. She gave Helgi this name and protected him often thereafter in battles.

Helgi said:

10. ‘You’re not, Hjǫrvarðr, a king of sound counsel,

army’s point-wise one,42 even if you are famous;

you let fire consume the settlements of boars,⁴³

but they had done no harm to you.⁴⁴

11. ‘And Hróðmarr shall rule rings,

Hjǫrvarðr replied that he would get Helgi help, if he is willing to avenge his maternal grandfather.45 Then Helgi fetched the sword which Sváva directed him to. Then he went, and Atli [with him], and they felled Hróðmarr and performed many mighty deeds. He slew the giant Hati,46 when he was sitting on a certain rock. Helgi and Atli moored their ships in Hatafjǫrðr.47 Atli kept watch for the first part of the night.

Hrímgerðr,48 Hati’s daughter, said:49

12. ‘Who are [these] heroes in Hatafjǫrðr?

Atli said:

13. ‘He’s called Helgi, and you can never

cause harm to the king!50

“Iron-strongholds”⁵¹ are around the nobleman’s ships —

troll-women cannot destroy us!’

14. ‘What are you named,’ said Hrímgerðr, ‘hugely mighty hero?

stand52 in the boat’s fair stem!’

15. ‘I’m called Atli, I shall be atrocious53 to you —

I’m much the grimmest to giantesses!

I’ve often stood in the damp stem

and abused⁵⁴ evening-riders!⁵⁵

16. ‘What are you called, corpse-greedy witch?

Name your father, troll-woman!

It’s further down⁵⁶ by nine leagues you should be,

and may fir-trees⁵⁷ grow on your trunk!’⁵⁸

17. ‘I’m called Hrímgerðr, my father was called Hati,

until Helgi hewed him down.’

18. ‘You, witch, were in front of the warlord’s ships

and lay in wait in the fjord’s mouth;

you wanted to give the prince’s warriors to Rán,59

if a sharp point didn’t pierce your whale-flesh!’⁶⁰

19. ‘You’re deluded now, Atli, I say you’re dreaming;

you’re letting your eyebrows sink over your lashes;61

my mother lay in wait for the munificent man’s ships —

I drowned Hlǫðvarðr’s62 sons in the sea!

20. ‘You’d neigh, Atli, if you weren’t gelded —

Hrímgerðr’s raising her tail!63

I think your heart’s farther back,⁶⁴ Atli,

21. ‘I’ll seem a reindeer-stag to you, if you could try [me]

and [if] I stepped onto land from the sea!

You’ll be all battered, if I put all my heart into it,

and lower your tail, Hrímgerðr!’

22. ‘Atli, come ashore, if you trust your strength,

and let’s meet in Varinn’s bay!

It’s a rightening65 of the ribs you’ll receive, warrior,

if you come into my clutches!’

23. ‘I won’t come until the men awake

and keep watch for the prince;

it would be no surprise to me should a witch

come up beneath our ship.’

24. ‘Awake, Helgi, and pay compensation to Hrímgerðr,

since you had Hati hacked!66

If for a single night she can sleep beside the boar,⁶⁷

then she’ll have compensation for her sorrows!’

25.⁶⁸ ‘He’s called Loðinn,69 [the one] who shall have you — you’re loathsome to mankind!

That giant lives on Þolley,70

an extremely wise ogre, the worst of lava-dwellers;

he’s an appropriate man for you!’

26. ‘You’d rather have that one, Helgi, who spied out havens

the sea-golden71 maiden seemed to me to have strength;

here she stepped ashore from the sea

and fastened⁷² your fleet thus;

she alone brings it about that I cannot

slay the men of Buðli’s descendant.’

27. ‘Hear now, Hrímgerðr, if I compensate you for your sorrows,

speak to the warrior73 more fully:

was she a lone creature who protected the prince’s ships,

or did more of them journey together?’

28. ‘Thrice nine maidens, yet one rode in front,

a maiden white under helm;

the horses shook themselves, from their manes came

dew in deep dales,

hail in high woods;

thence comes a good harvest among men;

all that I saw was hateful to me!’

29.⁷⁴ ‘Look east now, Hrímgerðr, since Helgi

has struck you with Hel-staves!75

On land and on water the prince’s fleet is protected

and the leader’s men likewise!’

30. ‘It’s day now, Hrímgerðr, and Atli has delayed you

King Helgi was an almighty warrior. He came to King Eylimi and asked for Sváva, his daughter. Helgi and Sváva exchanged vows and loved each other very much. Sváva stayed at home with her father, but Helgi went raiding. Sváva was still a valkyrie, as before. Heðinn was at home with his father, King Hjǫrvarðr, in Nóregr.76

Heðinn went home alone from a wood on Yule Eve and met a troll-woman. She rode a wolf and had snakes on the bridle, and she offered Heðinn her company. ‘No!’, he said. She said: ‘You shall pay for this at the oath-cup!’77 During the evening they swore oaths. A sacrificial boar⁷⁸ was brought forward. Men laid their hands on it there, and men then made solemn vows at the oath-cup. Heðinn made a solemn vow to [have] Sváva, Eylimi’s daughter, beloved of Helgi, his brother, and he regretted it so much that he went away on wild paths south in the land and met Helgi, his brother.

Helgi said:

31. ‘Welcome, Heðinn! What new tidings can you

tell of from Nóregr?

32. ‘A much greater misdeed has befallen me:

I have chosen the king-born one,

your bride, at the oath-cup!’

33. ‘Don’t blame yourself! The ale-talk of us both

will come true, Heðinn:

a prince has summoned me to an island,79

in three nights I must come there;

I doubt that I shall come back;

such [an outcome] may then turn out for the good, if it must be!’

34.⁸⁰ ‘You said, Helgi, that Heðinn was

Helgi said that because he suspected his doom and that his fetches had visited Heðinn when he saw the woman riding the wolf.81

There was a king called Álfr, son of Hróðmarr, who, for Helgi, had marked a field with hazel poles82 [for a duel] on Sigarsvellir83 before three nights had passed.

Then Helgi said:

35. ‘She rode on a wolf when it had grown dark,

a woman who offered him⁸⁴ escort;

she knew that Sigrlinn’s son85

would be slain at Sigarsvellir.’

There was a great fight, and Helgi received a mortal wound there.

36. Helgi sent Sigarr86 riding

after Eylimi’s only daughter;87

he bids her get ready swiftly,

if she wishes to find the marshal⁸⁸ alive.

37. ‘Helgi has sent me here,

to speak with you yourself, Sváva;

before the nobly born one’s89 breath fails.⁹⁰

38. ‘What has become of Helgi, Hjǫrvarðr’s son?

I shall do harm to that one among men!’91

39. ‘He fell here⁹² this morning at Frekasteinn,93

Buðli’s descendant, the man who was best under the sun;

Álfr will achieve victory over all,

although this time ought not to be.’94

40.⁹⁵ ‘Hail, Sváva! You must share your heart,96

this will be our last meeting in the world;

blood begins to flow under Buðli’s descendant —

41. ‘I bid you, Sváva — don’t weep, bride! —

that you prepare a bed for Heðinn

and turn your love towards the young boar.’97

42.⁹⁸ ‘I had said this in Munarheimr,99

when Helgi gave me rings:

put my arms around an unknown boar.’100

43.¹⁰¹ ‘Kiss me, Sváva!   I shall not come

to visit Rógheimr102 or Rǫðulsfjǫll,103

before I have avenged Hjǫrvarðr’s son,

the descendant of Buðli who was best under the sun!’

It is said that Helgi and Sváva were born again.104

Textual Apparatus to Helgakviða Hjǫrvarðssonar