The Story of the Volsungs Part 24

FRAGMENTS OF THE LAY OF BRYNHILD

HOGNI SAID: "What hath wrought Sigurd Of any wrong-doing That the life of the famed one Thou art fain of taking?"

GUNNAR SAID: "To me has Sigurd Sworn many oaths, Sworn many oaths, And sworn them lying, And he bewrayed me When it behoved him Of all folk to his troth To be the most trusty."

HOGNI SAID: "Thee hath Brynhild Unto all bale, And all hate whetted, And a work of sorrow; For she grudges to Gudrun All goodly life; And to thee the bliss Of her very body."

Some the wolf roasted, Some minced the worm, Some unto Guttorm Gave the wolf-meat, Or ever they might In their l.u.s.t for murder On the high king Lay deadly hand.

Sigurd lay slain On the south of the Rhine High from the fair tree Croaked forth the raven, "Ah, yet shall Atli On you redden edges, The old oaths shall weigh On your souls, O warriors."

Without stood Gudrun, Giuki's daughter, And the first word she said Was even this word: "Where then is Sigurd, Lord of the Warfolk, Since my kin Come riding the foremost?

One word Hogni Had for an answer: "Our swords have smitten Sigurd asunder, And the grey horse hangs drooping O'er his lord lying dead."

Then quoth Brynhild, Budli's daughter; "Good weal shall ye have Of weapons and lands, That Sigurd alone Would surely have ruled If he had lived But a little longer.

"Ah, nothing seemly For Sigurd to rule Giuki's house And the folk of the Goths, When of him five sons For the slaying of men, Eager for battle, Should have been begotten!"

Then laughed Brynhild-- Loud rang the whole house-- One laugh only From out her heart: "Long shall your bliss be Of lands and people, Whereas the famed lord You have felled to the earth!"

Then spake Gudrun, Giuki's daughter; "Much thou speakest, Many things fearful, All grame be on Gunnar The bane of Sigurd!

From a heart full of hate Shall come heavy vengeance."

Forth sped the even Enow there was drunken, Full enow was there Of all soft speech; And all men got sleep When to bed they were gotten; Gunnar only lay waking Long after all men.

His feet fell he to moving, Fell to speak to himself The waster of men, Still turned in his mind What on the bough Those twain would be saying, The raven and erne, As they rode their ways homeward.

But Brynhild awoke, Budli's daughter, May of the s.h.i.+eld-folk, A little ere morning: "Thrust ye on, hold ye back, --Now all harm is wrought,-- To tell of my sorrow, Or to let all slip by me?"

All kept silence After her speaking, None might know That woman's mind, Or why she must weep To tell of the work That laughing once Of men she prayed.

BRYNHILD SPAKE: "In dreams, O Gunnar, Grim things fell on me; Dead-cold the hall was, And my bed was a-cold, And thou, lord, wert riding Reft of all bliss, Laden with fetters 'Mid the host of thy foemen."

"So now all ye, O House of the Niblungs, Shall be brought to naught, O ye oath-breakers!

"Think'st thou not, Gunnar, How that betid, When ye let the blood run Both in one footstep?

With ill reward Hast thou rewarded His heart so fain To be the foremost!

"As well was seen When he rode his ways, That king of all worth, Unto my wooing; How the host-destroyer Held to the vows Sworn beforetime, Sworn to the young king.

"For his wounding-wand All wrought with gold, The king beloved Laid between us; Without were its edges Wrought with fire, But with venom-drops Deep dyed within."

Thus this song telleth of the death of Sigurd, and setteth forth how that they slew him without doors; but some say that they slew him within doors, sleeping in his bed. But the Dutch Folk say that they slew him out in the wood: and so sayeth the ancient song of Gudrun, that Sigurd and the sons of Giuki were riding to the Thing whenas he was slain. But all with one accord say that they bewrayed him in their troth with him, and fell on him as he lay unarrayed and unawares.

THE SECOND OR ANCIENT LAY OF GUDRUN.

Thiodrek the King was in Atli's house, and had lost there the more part of his men: so there Thiodrek and Gudrun bewailed their troubles one to the other, and she spake and said:--

A may of all mays My mother reared me Bright in bower; Well loved I my brethren, Until that Giuki With gold arrayed me, With gold arrayed me, And gave me to Sigurd.

Such was my Sigurd, Among the sons of Giuki As is the green leek O'er the low gra.s.s waxen, Or a hart high-limbed Over hurrying deer, Or glede-red gold Over grey silver.

Till me they begrudged, Those my brethren, The fate to have him, Who was first of all men; Nor might they sleep, Nor sit a-dooming, Ere they let slay My well-loved Sigurd.

Grani ran to the Thing, There was clatter to hear, But never came Sigurd Himself thereunto; All the saddle-girt beasts With blood were besprinkled, As faint with the way Neath the slayers they went.

Then greeting I went With Grani to talk, And with tear-furrowed cheeks I bade him tell all; But drooping laid Grani, His head in the gra.s.s, For the steed well wotted Of his master's slaying.

A long while I wandered, Long my mind wavered, Ere the kings I might ask Concerning my king.

Then Gunnar hung head, But Hogni told Of the cruel slaying Of my Sigurd: "On the water's far side Lies, smitten to death, The bane of Guttorm To the wolves given over.

"Go, look on Sigurd, On the ways that go southward, There shalt thou hear The ernes high screaming, The ravens a-croaking As their meat they crave for; Thou shalt hear the wolves howling Over thine husband.

"How hast thou, Hogni, The heart to tell me, Me of joy made empty, Of such misery?

Thy wretched heart May the ravens tear Wide over the world, With no men mayst thou wend."

One thing Hogni Had for answer, Fallen from his high heart, Full of all trouble: "More greeting yet, O Gudrun, for thee, If my heart the ravens Should rend asunder!"

Thence I turned From the talk and the trouble To go a leasing (1) What the wolves had left me; No sigh I made No smote hands together, Nor did I wail As other women When I sat over My Sigurd slain.

Night methought it, And the moonless dark, When I sat in sorrow Over Sigurd; Better than all things I deemed it would be If they would let me Cast my life by, Or burn me up As they burn the birch-wood.

From the fell I wandered Five days together, Until the high hall Of Half lay before me; Seven seasons there I sat with Thora, The daughter of Hacon, Up in Denmark.

My heart to gladden With gold she wrought Southland halls And swans of the Dane-folk; There had we painted The chiefs a-playing; Fair our hands wrought Folk of the kings.

Red s.h.i.+elds we did, Doughty knights of the Huns, Hosts spear-dight, hosts helm-dight, All a high king's fellows; And the s.h.i.+ps of Sigmund From the land swift sailing; Heads gilt over And prows fair graven.

On the cloth we broidered That tide of their battling, Siggeir and Siggar, South in Fion.

Then heard Grimhild, The Queen of Gothland, How I was abiding, Weighed down with woe; And she thrust the cloth from her And called to her sons, And oft and eagerly Asked them thereof, Who for her son Would their sister atone, Who for her lord slain Would lay down weregild.

Fain was Gunnar Gold to lay down All wrongs to atone for, And Hogni in likewise; Then she asked who was fain Of faring straightly, The steed to saddle To set forth the wain, The horse to back, And the hawk to fly, To shoot forth the arrow From out the yew-bow.

Valdarr the Dane-king Came with Jarisleif Eymod the third went Then went Jarizskar; In kingly wise In they wended, The host of the Longbeards; Red cloaks had they, Byrnies short-cut, Helms strong hammered, Girt with glaives, And hair red-gleaming.

Each would give me Gifts desired, Gifts desired, Speech dear to my heart, If they might yet, Despite my sorrow, Win back my trust, But in them nought I trusted.

Then brought me Grimhild A beaker to drink of, Cold and bitter, Wrong's memory to quench; Made great was that drink With the might of the earth, With the death-cold sea And the blood that Son (2) holdeth.

On that horn's face were there All the kin of letters Cut aright and reddened, How should I rede them rightly?