Guðrúnarkviða ǫnnur

This poem, on fol. 37r–38r of R, is called simply Guðrúnarkviða ‘Lay of Guðrún’ in that manuscript, but is now generally known as Guðrúnarkviða ǫnnur (Gðr. II) ‘The Second Lay of Guðrún’ to distinguish it from the collection’s other two lays of Guðrún. It is, however, sometimes also called Guðrúnarkviða in forna ‘The Old Lay of Guðrún’, this being a poem mentioned in the prose conclusion to Br., although R’s Gðr. II is not thought to have been composed especially early.¹

Whether the poem is complete is uncertain.² What we have, which is wholly in fornyrðislag, is a reflective monologue by Guðrún, Sigurðr’s widow, which, according to Dr., she speaks to King Þjóðrekr at Atli’s court. She is, by now, married to Atli, Brynhildr’s brother, but most unhappily. Sigurðr is long dead, as is Sigmundr, their son. By now, her brothers Gunnarr and Hǫgni may also have been slain, by Atli, or at least she realizes they soon will be. In addition to the almost complete absence from Gðr. II of mythological references,³ several aspects of Guðrún’s reflections on her past life and intimations of the future are worth highlighting.

Most notable is the almost complete absence from the poem of references to Brynhildr; she is mentioned only once, in passing, as Atli’s sibling (27). Although Brynhildr is presumably now long dead, and Guðrún may leave much unspoken, it is nevertheless striking that Sigurðr’s widow does not blame Brynhildr for his death; instead, she attributes his murder to her brothers’ begrudging her a husband of higher status than them (3). Furthermore, Grímildr, Guðrún’s mother—who, ostensibly at least, comes across as a more sympathetic character than might have been expected of a subtle worker of magical potions⁴—is later said to have admitted either sole culpability or shared guilt with her sons, again without seeking to deflect blame toward Brynhildr (28). This distinctive feature, like others, such as Sigurðr’s apparent death in a wood rather than in his own bed,⁵ is suggestive of the rich variety of traditions within the Vǫlsung-Niflung cycle.

Other significant responses to Sigurðr’s death recorded in Gðr. II are those of Grani, Gunnarr and Hǫgni.

Grani, Sigurðr’s horse, gallops from the site of the murder and, in a touching scene, conveys the grim news to Guðrún by hanging his head (5). This episode is especially valuable for its rarity in expressing an emotional bond between horse, rider and, in this case, the rider’s widow.⁶

Gunnarr’s immediate response echoes that of Grani: a single half-line reports that he hung his head (7). His silence at this point conveys the overwhelming enormity of his guilt and loss—for which, in this case, he has no words, even if he and his brother Hǫgni are later willing to offer their sister gold in compensation (18).

Hǫgni, by contrast, says too much for comfort, perhaps due to frenzied grief. He directs Guðrún to Sigurðr’s body, which they have left exposed to predators, and compounds her misery by describing how ravens, eagles and wolves are devouring Sigurðr’s corpse. His terrible words elicit two impressive stanzas from Guðrún, in which she describes how she went alone to the wood to gather what was left of Sigurðr and to sit beside him, as if she herself were dead, on what seemed like a black night of the new moon (11–12).

Why subsequently, after extended resistance, Guðrún accepts the marriage to Atli proposed for her by Grímildr and others, is uncertain. She, along with others, appears to have drunk Grímildr’s potion of forgetfulness—the list of ingredients for which is another of the poem’s highlights (21–23)—but it is unclear whether it affected her, how quickly it took effect (assuming it did), what it caused her to forget, and for how long. Possibly, the drink was partly intended to dull Guðrún’s memory of her disputes with her brothers and thus to make her better disposed to them. Judging from its prominent inclusion of ‘the might of fate [or ‘of Urðr’]’ (21), the potion probably also encouraged an acceptance of destiny by even the most obdurate.⁷ This, along with Grímildr’s insistence, would be enough to explain Guðrún’s capitulation.

In any event, Guðrún’s monologue soon turns to a night when she lay beside her new husband in his hall, which from her perspective may feel more like a prison (36). The poem’s final highlight is her consoling (mis)interpretation of the disturbing scenes which Atli had dreamed and which he wished her to interpret. Her explanations appear to satisfy him, but the poem’s audience would appreciate the images’ true import, which forbode violent death for Atli and his sons by Guðrún’s hand in vengeance for his killing of her brothers.

A version of Gðr. II is paraphrased, and three of its stanzas quoted (one only partially), in VS 34–35.

Important variant accounts of the dealings of figures corresponding to Sigurðr, Gunnarr, Hǫgni, Atli, Brynhildr and Guðrún appear in the Middle High German Nibelungenlied, the Old Norse (Norwegian) Þiðreks saga af Bern, and the Faroese ballad Brynhildar táttur ‘Brynhild’s Story’.

Synopsis

Further Reading

Batten, C. R., ‘Strengði hon elfi: Female Reactions to Male Violence in Eddic Heroic Poetry’, SS 91 (2019), 289–321, https://doi.org/10.5406/scanstud.91.3.0289

Cronan, D., ‘A Reading of Guðrúnarqviða Ǫnnur’, SS 57 (1985), 174–87.

Glendinning, R. J., ‘Guðrúnarqviða Forna: A Reconstruction and Interpretation’, in R. J. Glendinning and Haraldur Bessason, ed., Edda: A Collection of Essays (Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1983), pp. 258–82.

Jochens, J., Old Norse Images of Women (Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1996).

Kelchner, G. D., Dreams in Old Norse Literature and Their Affinities in Folklore (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1935).

Kroesen, R., ‘One Hadingus—Two Haddingjar’, SS 59 (1987), 404–35.

McKinnell, J., ‘Female Reactions to the Death of Sigurðr’, in D. Kick and J. D. Shafer, ed., Essays on Eddic Poetry (Toronto: Toronto University Press, 2014), pp. 249–67, https://doi.org/10.3138/9781442669260-012

Olley, K. M., ‘The Icelandic Hǫgni: The Re-imagining of a Nibelung Hero in the Eddic Tradition’, SS 90 (2018), 237–64, https://doi.org/10.5406/scanstud.90.2.0237

Von See, K., B. La Farge, E. Picard, K. Schulz and M. Teichert, Kommentar zu den Liedern der Edda, Bd. 6: Heldenlieder (Heidelberg: Universitätsverlag Winter, 2009).

Guðrúnarkviða ǫnnur

1. ‘Mær var ek meyja —   móðir mik fœddi,

bjǫrt, í búri,   unna ek vel brœðrum —

unz mik Gjúki   gulli reifði,

gulli reifði,   gaf Sigurði.

2. ‘Svá var Sigurðr   uf sonum Gjúka,

sem væri grœnn laukr   ór grasi vaxinn,

eða hjǫrtr hábeinn   um hvǫssum dýrum,

eða gull glóðrautt   af grá silfri.

3. ‘Unz mér fyrmunðu   mínir brœðr,

at ek ætta ver   ǫllum fremra;

sofa þeir né máttut   né of sakar dœma,

áðr þeir Sigurð   svelta létu.

4. ‘Grani rann af þingi —   gnýr var at heyra! —

en þá Sigurðr   sjálfr eigi kom;

ǫll váru sǫðuldýr   sveita stokkin,

ok of vanið vási   und vegǫndum.

5. ‘Gekk ek grátandi   við Grana rœða,

úrughlýra,   jó frá ek spjalla;

hnipnaði Grani þá,   drap í gras hǫfði;

jór þat vissi:   eigendr né lifðut.

6. ‘Lengi hvarfaðak,   lengi hugir deildusk,

áðr ek of frægak   fólkvǫrð at gram.

7. ‘Hnipnaði Gunnarr.   Sagði mér Hǫgni

frá Sigurðar   sárum dauða:

“Liggr of hǫggvinn   fyr handan ver,

Gothorms bani,   of gefinn úlfum!

8. ‘“Líttu þar Sigurð   á suðrvega!

Þá heyrir þú   hrafna gjalla,

ǫrnu gjalla,   æzli fegna,

varga þjóta   um veri þínum!”

9. ‘“Hví þú mér, Hǫgni,   harma slíka,

viljalaussi,   vill um segja?

Þitt skyli hjarta   hrafnar slíta

víð lǫnd yfir,   en þú vitir, manna!”

10. ‘Svaraði Hǫgni   sinni einu,

trauðr góðs hugar,   af trega stórum:

“Þess áttu, Guðrún,   grœti at fleiri,

at hjarta mitt   hrafnar slíti!”

11. ‘Hvarf ek ein þaðan,   andspilli frá,

á við, lesa   varga leifar;

gerðiga ek hjúfra   né hǫndum slá,

né kveina ver   sem konur aðrar,

þá er sat soltin   um Sigurði.

12. ‘Nótt þótti mér   niðmyrkr vera,

er ek sárla satk   yfir Sigurði;

úlfar þóttumk   ǫllu betri,

ef þeir léti mik   lífi týna,

eða brendi mik   sem birkinn við!

13. ‘Fór ek af fjalli   fimm dœgr talið,

unz ek hǫll Hálfs,   háva, þekðak.

14. ‘Sat ek með Þóru   sjau misseri,

dœtr Hákonar,   í Danmǫrku;

hon mér at gamni   gullbókaði

sali suðrœna   ok svani danska.

15. ‘Hǫfðu vit á skriptum   þat er skatar léku,

ok á hannyrðum   hilmis þegna,

randir rauðar,   rekka Húna,

hjǫrdrótt, hjálmdrótt,   hilmis fylgju.

16. ‘Skip Sigmundar   skriðu frá landi,

gyltar grímur,   grafnir stafnar;

byrðu vit á borða   þat er þeir bǫrðusk,

Sigarr ok Siggeirr,   suðr á Fívi.

17. ‘Þá frá Grímildr,   gotnesk kona,

hvat ek væra   hyggjuð;

hon brá borða   ok buri heimti,

þrágjarnliga,   þess at spyrja,

18. ‘Gerr létz Gunnarr   gull at bjóða,

sakar at bœta,   ok it sama Hǫgni;

hon frétti at því,   hverr fara vildi

vigg at sǫðla,   vagn at beita,

hesti ríða,   hauki fleygja,

ǫrum at skjóta   af ýboga.

19. ‘Valdarr Dǫnum   með Jarizleifi,

Eymóðr þriði   með Jarizkári;

inn gengu þá,   jǫfrum líkir,

Langbarðs liðar,   hǫfðu loða rauða,

skreyttar brynjur,   steypta hjálma;

skálmum girðir,   hǫfðu skarar jarpar.

20. ‘Hverr vildi mér   hnossir velja,

hnossir velja   ok hugat mæla,

ef þeir mætti mér   margra súta

tryggðir vinna —   né ek trúa gerðak!

21. ‘Fœrði mér Grímildr   full at drekka,

svalt ok sárlikt   né ek sakar munðak;

þat var um aukit   urðar magni,

svalkǫldum sæ   ok sonar dreyra.

22. ‘Váru í horni   hvers kyns stafir,

23. ‘Váru þeim bjóri   bǫl mǫrg saman,

urt alls viðar   ok akarn brunninn,

umdǫgg arins,   iðrar blótnar,

24. ‘En þá gleymðu,   er getit hǫfðu,

ǫll jǫfurs   jórbjúg í sal;

kvómu konungar   fyr kné þrennir,

áðr hon sjálfa mik   sótti at máli.

25. ‘“Gef ek þér, Guðrún,   gull at þiggja,

fjǫlð alls fjár,   at þinn fǫður dauðan,

hringa rauða,   Hlǫðvés sali,

ársal allan,   at jǫfur fallinn,

26. ‘“Húnskar meyjar,   þær er hlaða spjǫldum

ok gøra gull fagrt,   svá at þér gaman þikki;

ein skaltu ráða   auði Buðla,

gulli gǫfguð   ok gefin Atla!”

27. ‘“Vilk eigi ek   með veri ganga

né Brynhildar   bróður eiga!

Samir eigi mér,   við son Buðla,

ætt at auka   né una lífi!”’

28. ‘“Hirðaðu hǫlðum   heiptir gjalda

þvíat vér hǫfum   valdit fyrri!

Svá skaltu láta,   sem þeir lifi báðir,

Sigurðr ok Sigmundr,   ef þú sonu fœðir!”

29. “Máka ek, Grímildr,   glaumi bella

né vígrisins   vánir telja,

síz Sigurðar   sárla drukku

hrægífr, Huginn   hjartblóð saman!”

30. ‘“Þann hefi ek allra   ættgǫfgastan

fylki fundit,   ok framarst nekkvi!

Hann skaltu eiga,   unz þik aldr viðar —

verlaus vera,   nema þú vilir þenna!”

31. ‘“Hirðaðú bjóða   bǫlvafullar,

þrágjarnliga,   þær kindir mér!

Hann mun Gunnar   grandi beita

ok ór Hǫgna   hjarta slíta!

Munkat ek létta   áðr lífshvatan

eggleiks hvǫtuð   aldri næmik!”

32. ‘Grátandi, Grímildr   greip við orði,

er burum sínum   bǫlva vætti

ok mǫgum sínum   meina stórra:

33. ‘“Lǫnd gef ek enn þér,   lýða sinni,

Vínbjǫrg, Valbjǫrg,   ef þú vill þiggja;

eigðu um aldr þat   ok uni, dóttir!”

34. ‘“Þann mun ek kjósa   af konungum,

ok þó af niðjum   nauðig hafa!

Verðr eigi mér   verr at ynði,

né bǫl brœðra   at bura skjóli!”

35. ‘Senn var á hesti   hverr drengr lítinn,

en víf valnesk   hafið í vagna;

vér sjau daga   svalt land riðum,

en aðra sjau   unnir kníðum,

en ina þriðju sjau   þurt land stigum.

36. ‘Þar hliðverðir   hárar borgar

grind upp luku,   áðr í garð riðum.

37. ‘Vakði mik Atli,   en ek vera þóttumsk

full ills hugar   at frœndr dauða.

38. ‘“Svá mik nýliga   Nornir vekja” —

vílsinnis spá   vildi at ek réða —

“Hugða ek þik, Guðrún,   Gjúka dóttir,

læblǫndnum hjǫr   leggja mik í gǫgnum!”

39. ‘“Þat er fyr eldi   er járn dreyma,

fyr dul ok vil   drósar reiði;

mun ek þik við bǫlvi   brenna ganga,

líkna ok lækna,   þótt mér leiðr sér!”

40. ‘“Hugða ek hér í túni   teina fallna,

þá er ek vildak   vaxna láta;

rifnir með rótum,   roðnir í blóði,

bornir á bekki,   beðit mik at tyggva!

41. ‘“Hugða ek mér af hendi   hauka fljúga,

bráðalausa,   bǫlranna til;

hjǫrtu hugða ek þeira   við hunang tuggin,

sorgmóðs sefa,   sollin blóði!

42. ‘“Hugða ek mér af hendi   hvelpa losna,

glaums andvana,   gylli báðir;

hold hugða ek þeira   at hræum orðit,

nauðigr nái   nýta ek skyldak!”

43. ‘“Þar munu seggir   um sœing dœma

ok hvítinga   hǫfði næma;

þeir munu feigir   fára nátta,

fyr dag litlu   dróttum bergja!”

44. ‘Læga ek síðan   — né ek sofa vildak,

þrágjǫrn í kǫr —   þat man ek gǫrva.’

The Second Lay of Guðrún

1.⁸ ‘I was the maiden of maidens⁹ — my mother raised me,

bright, in a bower, I loved my brothers well —

until Gjúki endowed me with gold,

endowed me with gold, gave me to Sigurðr.

2. ‘So was Sigurðr above the sons of Gjúki,

as if he were a green leek grown [up] from the grass,10

or a high-antlered¹¹ stag over sharp[-horned]¹² deer,¹³

or glowing red gold above grey silver.

3. ‘Until my brothers begrudged it to me,

that I should have a man superior to all;

they could not sleep or judge lawsuits,

until they had caused Sigurðr to perish.

4. ‘Grani14 ran from the meeting¹⁵ — that was a clamour to hear! —

but then Sigurðr himself did not come;

all the saddle-beasts16 were drenched with sweat,¹⁷

and they were used to hard work beneath warriors.¹⁸

5. ‘Weeping, I went to converse with Grani,

Grani hung his head then, lowered his head to the grass;

the horse knew it: his owners19 were not living.

6. ‘Long I wavered, long were my thoughts divided,²⁰

before I asked the army-guardian²¹ about the prince.²²

7. ‘Gunnarr hung his head. Hǫgni told me

about Sigurðr’s sorry death:

“He lies, hacked down, on the other side of the river,23

Gothormr’s slayer, given to wolves!24

8. ‘“Look for Sigurðr there on the southern-road!25

Then you’ll hear ravens scream,

eagles scream, elated with their food,

wolves howling around your husband!”

9. ‘“Why, Hǫgni, do you wish to speak

10. ‘Hǫgni answered one time [only],

“You will have more grieving about this, Guðrún,

11. ‘Alone, I turned from there, from his answer,

to the wood, to gather the wolves’ leavings;²⁶

I did not howl or strike with my hands,

or lament my man like other women,²⁷

when I sat, dead,²⁸ beside Sigurðr.

12. ‘Night seemed to me to be new-moon dark,

when I sat sorrowfully over Sigurðr;

if they had caused me to lose my life,29

or if someone had burnt me up like birchwood!³⁰

13. ‘I travelled from the fell for five days [all] told,

until I perceived the high hall of Hálfr.31

14. ‘For seven seasons³² I stayed with Þóra,

daughter of Hákon, in Danmǫrk;33

for my amusement she embroidered in gold

southern halls and Danish swans.

15. ‘We both had in our pictures that which men play at,³⁴

and [also] in our handiwork a ruler’s thanes,

red shields,³⁵ warriors of the Húnar,36

a sword-host, a helmet-host, a ruler’s following.

16. ‘Sigmundr’s37 ships were sliding from the land,³⁸

gilded “masks,”³⁹ carved stems;

we both embroidered on the borders that which they fought,⁴⁰

Sigarr and Siggeirr,41 south in Fíf.42

17. ‘Then Grímildr,43 the Gothic⁴⁴ woman, heard

what frame of mind I was in;⁴⁵

she threw down her tapestry⁴⁶ and summoned her sons,

insistently, to ask them this,

who would recompense their sister for her son,⁴⁷

or pay compensation for her slain husband.⁴⁸

18. ‘Gunnarr said he was willing to offer gold,

to compensate for the crime, and Hǫgni likewise;

she49 asked about this, who wanted to go

to saddle horses, harness them to a wagon,

ride a steed, fly a hawk,

shoot arrows from a yew-bow.⁵⁰

19.⁵¹ ‘Valdarr52 from the Danir53 with Jarizleifr,54

Eymóðr third with Jarizkárr;55

there went inside then, like to boars,

troops of a Langbarðr,56 they had red loden cloaks,

magnificent mail-coats, high(?)⁵⁷ helmets;

girded with swords, they had dark-brown hair.

20. ‘Each wanted to select for me treasures,

to select treasures and speak agreeably,

[to see] if they could make amends

for my many afflictions — I didn’t trust them!

21. ‘Grímildr fetched me a full horn to drink from,

cool and bitter,58 so I wouldn’t recall disputes;⁵⁹

it was fortified with the might of fate,⁶⁰

ice-cold sea and blood of a sacrificial boar.⁶¹

22.⁶² ‘Inside the horn were rune-staves of every sort,

carved and reddened — I couldn’t read⁶³ them —

a long ling-fish⁶⁴ of the land of the Haddingjar,65

an uncut ear,⁶⁶ inwards(?)⁶⁷ of beasts.

23.⁶⁸ ‘In that beer many evils were [blended] together,

root of all [kinds] of tree⁶⁹ and burnt acorns,⁷⁰

surrounding-dew of the hearth,⁷¹ sacrificed entrails,

boiled swine’s liver, because it soothes disputes.

24. ‘And then they made a merry noise,⁷² [those] who had got it,⁷³

all boar’s jórbjúg(?)⁷⁴ in the hall;

three kings came before my knee,

before she herself⁷⁵ sought to speak to me.⁷⁶

25. ‘“I⁷⁷ give you, Guðrún, gold to accept,

red rings, Hlǫðvér’s halls,78

all the bed-curtains, on account of the fallen boar,⁷⁹

26. ‘“Hunnish maids, they who weave using tablets

and work in fair gold, so that it may seem a pleasure to you;

alone you shall rule Buðli’s riches,

ennobled by gold and given80 to Atli!”’

27. ‘“I⁸¹ don’t want to walk with a man

or to have Brynhildr’s brother!82

It’s not seemly for me, with Buðli’s son,83

to enlarge my family or to enjoy life!”’

28. ‘“Don’t think of requiting hateful deeds on the men⁸⁴

because we⁸⁵ have brought them about earlier!

You shall behave thus, as if they were both living,

Sigurðr and Sigmundr,86 if you bear sons!”

29. ‘“I cannot, Grímildr, rush into rejoicing

or entertain hopes of a battle-ready one,87

since, distressingly, a corpse-greedy one,⁸⁸ drank Sigurðr’s

heart-blood, together with Huginn!”89

30. ‘“I’ve found the marshal of the noblest family of all,

and the most superior by far!

You shall have him, until old age fells you —

[you’ll] be manless, unless you’re willing [to marry] this one!”

31. ‘“Don’t try [so] insistently to offer me

these accursed kinships!

He⁹⁰ will do Gunnarr harm

and cut the heart from Hǫgni!

inciter of edge-play91 of life!”

32. ‘Grímildr, weeping, grappled with this speech,

33. ‘“I give you lands as well, an escort of men,

Vínbjǫrg,92 Valbjǫrg,93 if you will accept them;

have them throughout your life and relish them, daughter!”

34. ‘“I will choose that one from [among] kings,

and yet have him due to coercion from my kinsmen!

The man won’t be a source of pleasure to me,

nor will my brothers’ misfortunes be to my boys’ protection!”⁹⁴

35. ‘At once each young man was seen on a horse,

and foreign women were lifted into wagons;

for seven days we rode over cold land,

and another seven we rowed over waves,

and the third seven we trod through dry land.

36. ‘There gate-keepers of a high stronghold

opened up the gate, before we rode into the court.

37. ‘Atli woke me, and I seemed to be

full of ill temper95 about dead kinsmen.⁹⁶

38. ‘“Thus the Nornir awoke me97 just now”⁹⁸ —

he⁹⁹ wished that I should interpret¹⁰⁰ the prophecy of a misery-journey¹⁰¹ —

“I thought¹⁰² that you, Guðrún, daughter of Gjúki,

ran me through with a treachery-blended sword!”103

39. ‘“It denotes fire when one dreams of iron,¹⁰⁴

[and] a woman’s wrath [denotes] self-deception and indulgence;

I will come and burn¹⁰⁵ you against evil,

look after and heal you, even if you’re loathsome to me!”

40. ‘“I thought that shoots¹⁰⁶ had fallen here in the home-meadow,

those which I wanted to let grow;

[they were] ripped up by the roots, reddened in blood,

borne to the bench, offered to me to chew!

41. ‘“I thought that hawks flew from my hand,

lacking meaty morsels, to evil houses;

I thought their hearts were chewed with honey,

with a sorrowful mind,¹⁰⁷ swollen with blood!

42. ‘“I thought that whelps were loosed from my hand,

bereft of joy, [and that] both bayed;

I thought their flesh had become carrion,

I had to consume their corpses against my will!”

43. ‘“There [it denotes that] men will discuss sacrifice

and deprive whitings(?)¹⁰⁸ of their heads;

they will be doomed in a few nights,

to be tasted by warriors a little before day!”

44.¹⁰⁹ ‘I lay down then — I didn’t want to sleep,

implacable in the sick-bed¹¹⁰ — I recall it clearly.’

Textual Apparatus to Guðrúnarkviða ǫnnur