The Lord alerted my mind to the presence of this EVIL article by Bertie
the Bunyip, and I thusly replied:

satan (Reverend Parson Peter Parsnip)
wrote in s.com:

The Lord alerted my mind to the presence of this EVIL article by
Bertie the Bunyip, and I thusly replied:

Nik wrote in
:


Bwawhahhwhahwhahhwhahwhahhwhahwhahhwhahwhhahwhahwh ahhwhahwhahwhhahwhah
hwh aw hahhwh

The Lay of Völund
INTRODUCTORY NOTE
Between the Thrymskvitha and the Alvissmol in the Codex Regius
stands the Völundarkvitha. It was also included in the Arnamagnæan
Codex, but unluckily it begins at the very end of the fragment which
has been preserved, and thus only a few lines of the opening prose
remain. This is doubly regrettable because the text in Regius is
unquestionably in very bad shape, and the other manuscript would
doubtless have been of great assistance in the reconstruction of the
poem.

There has been a vast amount written regarding the Weland tradition
as a whole, discussing particularly the relations between the
Völundarkvitha and the Weland passage in Deor's Lament. There can be
little question that the story came to the North from Saxon regions,
along with many of the other early hero tales. In stanza 16 the
Rhine is specifically mentioned as the home of treasure; and the
presence of the story in Anglo-Saxon poetry probably as early as the
first part of the eighth century proves beyond a doubt that the
legend cannot have been a native product of Scandinavia. In one form
or another, however, the legend of the smith persisted for centuries
throughout all the Teutonic lands, and the name of Wayland Smith is
familiar to all readers of Walter Scott, and even of Rudyard
Kipling's tales of England.

In what form this story reached the North is uncertain. Sundry
striking parallels between the diction of the Völundarkvitha and
that of the Weland passage in Deor's Lament make it distinctly
probable that a Saxon song on this subject had found its way to
Scandinavia or Iceland. But the prose introduction to the poem
mentions the "old sagas" in which Völund was celebrated, and in the
Thithrekssaga we have definite evidence of the existence of such
prose narrative in the form of the Velentssaga (Velent, Völund,
Weland, and Wayland all being, of course, identical), which gives a
long story for which the Völundarkvitha can have supplied relatively
little, if any, of the material. It is probable, then, that Weland
stories were current in both prose and verse in Scandinavia as early
as the latter part of the ninth century.

{p. 253}

Once let a figure become popular in oral tradition, and the number
and variety of the incidents connected with his name will increase
very rapidly. Doubtless there were scores of Weland stories current
in the eighth, ninth, and tenth centuries, many of them with very
little if any traditional authority. The main one, however, the
story of the laming of the smith by King Nithuth (or by some other
enemy) and of Weland's terrible revenge, forms the basis of the
Völundarkvitha. To this, by way of introduction, has been added the
story of Völund and the wan-maiden, who, to make things even more
complex, is likewise aid to be a Valkyrie. Some critics maintain
that these two sections were originally two distinct poems, merely
strung together by the compiler with the help of narrative prose
links; but the poem as a whole has a kind of dramatic unity which
suggests rather that an early poet--for linguistically the poem
belongs among the oldest of the Eddic collection--used two distinct
legends, whether in prose or verse, as the basis for the composition
of a new and homogeneous poem.

The swan-maiden story appears, of course, in many places quite
distinct from the Weland tradition, and, in another form, became one
of the most popular of German folk tales. Like the story of Weland,
however, it is of German rather than Scandinavian origin, and the
identification of the swan-maidens as Valkyries, which may have
taken place before the legend reached the North, may, on the other
hand, have been simply an attempt to connect southern tradition with
figures well known in northern mythology.

The Völundarkvitha is full of prose narrative links, including an
introduction. The nature of such prose links has already been
discussed in the introductory note to the Grimnismol; the
Völundarkvitha is a striking illustration of the way in which the
function of the earlier Eddic verse was limited chiefly to dialogue
or description, the narrative outline being provided, if at all, in
prose. This prose was put in by each reciter according to his fancy
and knowledge, and his estimate of his hearers' need for such
explanations; some of it, as in this instance, eventually found its
way into the written record.

The manuscript of the Völundarkvitha is in such bad shape, and the
conjectural emendations have been so numerous, that in the notes I
have attempted to record only the most important of them.

{p. 254}

There was a king in Sweden named Nithuth. He had two sons and one
daughter; her name was Bothvild. There were three brothers, sons of
a king of the Finns: one was called Slagfith, another Egil, the
third Völund. They went on snowshoes and hunted wild beasts. They
came into Ulfdalir and there they built themselves a house; there
was a lake there which is called Ulfsjar. Early one morning they
found on the shore of the lake three women, who were spinning flax.
Near them were their swan garments, for they were Valkyries. Two of
them were daughters of King Hlothver, Hlathguth the Swan-White and
Hervor the All-Wise, and the third was Olrun, daughter of Kjar from
Valland. These did they bring

[Prose. Nithuth ("Bitter Hater"): here identified as a king of
Sweden, is in the poem (stanzas 9, 15 and 32) called lord of the
Njars, which may refer to the people of the Swedish district of
Nerike. In any case, the scene of the story has moved from Saxon
lands into the Northeast. The first and last sentences of the
introduction refer to the second part of the poem; the rest of it
concerns the swan-maidens episode. Bothvild ("Warlike Maid"):
Völund's victim in the latter part of the poem. King of the Finns:
this notion, clearly later than the poem, which calls Völund an elf,
may perhaps be ascribed to the annotator who composed the prose
introduction. The Finns, meaning the dwellers in Lapland, were
generally credited with magic powers. Egil appears in the
Thithrekssaga as Völund's brother, but Slagfith is not elsewhere
mentioned. Ulfdalir ("Wolf-Dale"), Ulfsjar ("Wolf-Sea"), Valland
("Slaughter-Land"): mythical, places without historical
identification. Valkyries: cf. Voluspo, 31 and note; there is
nothing in the poem to identify the three swan maidens as Valkyries
except one obscure word in line 2 of stanza 1 and again in line 5 of
stanza 5, which may mean, as Gering translates it, "helmed," or else
"fair and wise." I suspect that the annotator, anxious to give the
Saxon legend as much northern local color as possible, was mistaken
in his mythology, and that {footnote p. 255} the poet never
conceived of his swan-maidens as Valkyries at all. However, this
identification of swan-maidens with Valkyries was not uncommon; cf.
Helreith Brynhildar, 7. The three maidens' names, Hlathguth, Hervor,
and Olrun, do not appear in the lists of Valkyries. King Hlothver:
this name suggests the southern origin of the story, as it is the
northern form of Ludwig; the name appears again in Guthrunarkvitha
II, 26, and that of Kjar is found in Atlakvitha, 7, both of these
poems being based on German stories. It is worth noting that the
composer of this introductory note seems to have had little or no
information beyond what was actually contained in the poem as it has
come down to us; he refers to the "old stories" about Völund, but
either he was unfamiliar with them in detail or else he thought it
needless to make use of them. His note simply puts in clear and
connected form what the verse tells somewhat obscurely; his only
additions are making Nithuth a king of Sweden and Völund's father a
king of the Finns, supplying the name Ulfsjar for the lake,
identifying the swan-maidens as Valkyries, and giving Kjar a home in
Valland.]

{p. 255}

home to their hall with them. Egil took Olrun, and Slagfith
Swan-White, and Völund All-Wise. There they dwelt seven winters; but
then they flew away to find battles, and came back no more. Then
Egil set forth on his snowshoes to follow Olrun, and Slagfith
followed Swan White, but Völund stayed in Ulfdalir. He was a most
skillful man, as men know from old tales. King Nithuth had him taken
by force, as the poem here tells.

1. Maids from the south | through Myrkwood flew,
Fair and young, | their fate to follow;
On the shore of the sea | to rest them they sat,
The maids of the south, | and flax they spun.

[1. The manuscript indicates line 3 as the beginning of a stanza;
two lines may have been lost before or after lines 1-2, {footnote p.
256} and two more, or even six, with the additional stanza
describing the theft of the swan-garments, after line 4. Myrkwood: a
stock name for a magic, dark forest; cf. Lokasenna, 42.]

{p. 256}

2. . . . . . . . . . .
Hlathguth and Hervor, | Hlothver's children,
And Olrun the Wise | Kjar's daughter was.

3. . . . . . . . . . .
One in her arms | took Egil then
To her bosom white, | the woman fair.

4. Swan-White second,-- | swan-feathers she wore,
. . . . . . . . . .
And her arms the third | of the sisters threw
Next round Völund's | neck so white.

5. There did they sit | for seven winters,
In the eighth at last | came their longing again,
(And in the ninth | did need divide them).
The maidens yearned | for the murky wood,
The fair young maids, | their fate to follow.

[2. In the manuscript these two lines stand after stanza 16; editors
have tried to fit them into various places, but the prose indicates
that they belong here, with a gap assumed.

3. In the manuscript these two lines follow stanza 1, with no gap
indicated, and the first line marked as the beginning of a stanza.
Many editors have combined them with stanza 4.

4. No lacuna indicated in the manuscript; one editor fills the
stanza out with a second line running: "Then to her breast Slagfith
embraced."

5. Line 3 looks like an interpolation, but line 5, identical with
line 2 of stanza 1, may be the superfluous one.]

{p. 257}

6. Völund home | from his hunting came,
From a weary way, | the weather-wise bowman,
Slagfith and Egil | the hall found empty,
Out and in went they, | everywhere seeking.

7. East fared Egil | after Olrun,
And Slagfith south | to seek for Swan-White;
Völund alone | in Ulfdalir lay,
. . . . . . . . . .

8. Red gold he fashioned | with fairest gems,
And rings he strung | on ropes of bast;
So for his wife | he waited long,
If the fair one home | might come to him.

9. This Nithuth learned, | the lord of the Njars,
That Völund alone | in Ulfdalir lay;

[6. The phrase "Völund home from a weary way" is an emendation of
Bugge's, accepted by many editors. Some of those who do not include
it reject line 4, and combine the remainder of the stanza with all
or part of stanza 7.

7. The manuscript marks the second, and not the first, line as the
beginning of a stanza. Some editors combine lines 2-3 with all or
part of stanza 8. No gap is indicated in the manuscript, but many
editors have assumed one, some of them accepting Bugge's suggested
"Till back the maiden bright should come."

8. No line in this stanza is indicated in the manuscript as be
ginning a new stanza; editors have tried all sorts of experiments in
regrouping the lines into stanzas with those of stanzas 7 and 9. In
line 3 the word long is sheer guesswork, as the line in the
manuscript contains a metrical error.

9. Some editors combine the first two lines with parts of stanza 8,
and the last two with the first half of stanza 10. Njars: {footnote
p. 258} there has been much, and inconclusive, discussion as to what
this name means; probably it applies to a semi-mythical people
somewhere vaguely in "the East."]

{p. 258}

By night went his men, | their mail-coats were studded,
Their shields in the waning | moonlight shone.

10. From their saddles the gable | wall they sought,
And in they went | at the end of the hall;
Rings they saw there | on ropes of bast,
Seven hundred | the hero had.

11. Off they took them, | but all they left
Save one alone | which they bore away.
. . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . .

12. Völund home | from his hunting came,
From a weary way, | the weather-wise bowman;
A brown bear's flesh | would he roast with fire;
Soon the wood so dry | was burning well,
(The wind-dried wood | that Völund's was).

[10. Some editors combine lines 3-4 with the fragmentary stanza 11.

11. No gap indicated in the manuscript; some editors combine these
lines with lines 3-4 of stanza to, while others combine them with
the first two lines of stanza 12. The one ring which Nithuth's men
steal is given to Bothvild, and proves the cause of her undoing.

12. The manuscript indicates line 3, and not line 1, as the
beginning of a stanza, which has given rise to a large amount of
conjectural rearrangement. Line 2 of the original is identical with
the phrase added by Bugge in stanza 6. Line 5 may be {footnote p.
259} spurious, or lines 4-5 may have been expanded out of a single
line running "The wind-dried wood for | Völund burned well."]

{p. 259}

13. On the bearskin he rested, | and counted the rings,
The master of elves, | but one he missed;
That Hlothver's daughter | had it he thought,
And the all-wise maid | had come once more.

14. So long he sat | that he fell asleep,
His waking empty | of gladness was;
Heavy chains | he saw on his hands,
And fetters bound | his feet together.

Völund spake:
15. "What men are they | who thus have laid
Ropes of bast | to bind me now?"

Then Nithuth called, | the lord of the Njars:
"How gottest thou, Völund, | greatest of elves,
These treasures of ours | in Ulfdalir?"

Völund spake:
16. "The gold was not | on Grani's way,

[13. Elves: the poem here identifies Völund as belonging to the race
of the elves. Hlothver's daughter: Hervor; many editors treat the
adjective "all-wise" here as a proper name.

15. In this poem the manuscript indicates the speakers. Some editors
make lines 1-2 into a separate stanza, linking lines 3-5 (or 4-5)
with stanza 16. Line 3 is very possibly spurious, a mere expansion
of "Nithuth spake." Nithuth, of course, has come with his men to
capture Völund, and now charges him with having stolen his treasure.

16. The manuscript definitely assigns this stanza to Völund, but
many editors give the first two lines to Nithuth. In the manuscript
{footnote p. 260} stanza 16 is followed by the two lines of stanza
2, and many editions make of lines 3-4 of stanza 16 and stanza 2 a
single speech by Völund. Grani's way: Grani was Sigurth's horse, on
which he rode to slay Fafnir and win Andvari's hoard; this and the
reference to the Rhine as the home of wealth betray the southern
source of the story. If lines 1-2 belong to Völund, they mean that
Nithuth got his wealth in the Rhine country, and that Völund's hoard
has nothing to do with it; if the speaker is Nithuth, they mean that
Völund presumably has not killed a dragon, and that he is far from
the wealth of the Rhine, so that he must have stolen his treasure
from Nithuth himself.]

{p. 260}

Far, methinks, is our realm | from the hills of the Rhine;
I mind me that treasures | more we had
When happy together | at home we were."

17. Without stood the wife | of Nithuth wise,
And in she came | from the end of the hall;
On the floor she stood, | and softly spoke:
"Not kind does he look | who comes from the wood."

King Nithuth gave to his daughter Bothvild the gold ring that he had
taken from the bast rope in Völund's

[17. Line 1 is lacking in the manuscript, lines 2-4 following
immediately after the two lines here given as stanza 2. Line 1,
borrowed from line I of stanza 32, is placed here by many editors,
following Bugge's suggestion. Certainly it is Nithuth's wife who
utters line 4. Who comes from the wood: Völund, noted as a hunter.
Gering assumes that with the entrance of Nithuth's wife the scene
has changed from Völund's house to Nithuth's, but I cannot see that
this is necessary.

Prose. The annotator inserted this note rather clumsily in the midst
of the speech of Nithuth's wife.]

{p. 261}

house, and he himself wore the sword that Völund had had. The queen
spake:

18. "The glow of his eyes | is like gleaming snakes,
His teeth he gnashes | if now is shown
The sword, or Bothvild's | ring he sees;
Let them straightway cut | his sinews of strength,
And set him then | in Sævarstath."

So was it done: the sinews in his knee-joints were cut, and he was
set in an island which was near the mainland, and was called
Sævarstath. There he smithied for the king all kinds of precious
things. No man dared to go to him, save only the king himself.
Völund spake:

19. "At Nithuth's girdle | gleams the sword
That I sharpened keen | with cunningest craft,
(And hardened the steel | with highest skill
The bright blade far | forever is borne,
(Nor back shall I see it | borne to my smithy
Now Bothvild gets | the golden ring
(That was once my bride's,-- | ne'er well shall it be.)"

[18. In the manuscript lines 2-3 stand before line 1; many editors
have made the transposition here indicated. Some editors reject line
3 as spurious. Sævarstath: "Sea-Stead."

19. This stanza is obviously in bad shape. Vigfusson makes two
stanzas of it by adding a first line: "Then did Völund speak, |
sagest of elves." Editors have rejected various lines, and some have
regrouped the last lines with the first two of {footnote p. 262}
stanza 20. The elimination of the passages in parenthesis produces a
four-line stanza which is metrically correct, but it has little more
than guesswork to support it.]

{p. 262}

20. He sat, nor slept, | and smote with his hammer,
Fast for Nithuth | wonders he fashioned;
Two boys did go | in his door to gaze,
Nithuth's sons, | into Sævarstath.

21. They came to the chest, | and they craved the keys,
The evil was open | when in they looked;
To the boys it seemed | that gems they saw,
Gold in plenty | and precious stones.

Völund spake:
22. "Come ye alone, | the next day come,
Gold to you both | shall then be given;
Tell not the maids | or the men of the hall,
To no one say | that me you have sought."

[20. The editions vary radically in combining the lines of this
stanza with those of stanzas 19 and 21, particularly as the
manuscript indicates the third line as the beginning of a stanza.
The meaning, however, remains unchanged.

211. Several editions make one stanza out of lines 1-4 of stanza 20
and lines 1-2 of stanza 21, and another out of the next four lines.
The evil was open: i.e., the gold in the chest was destined to be
their undoing.

22. The manuscript indicates line 3 as the beginning of a stanza,
and several editors have adopted this grouping. In the Thithrekssaga
Völund sends the boys away with instructions not to come back until
just after a fall of snow, and then to approach his dwelling walking
backward. The boys do this, and when, after he has killed them,
Völund is questioned regarding them, he points to the tracks in the
snow as evidence that they had left his house.]

{p. 263}

23. . . . . . . . . . .
Early did brother | to brother call:
"Swift let us go | the rings to see."

24. They came to the chest, | and they craved the keys,
The evil was open | when in they looked;
He smote off their heads, | and their feet he hid
Under the sooty | straps of the bellows.

25. Their skulls, once hid | by their hair, he took,
Set them in silver | and sent them to Nithuth;
Gems full fair | from their eyes he fashioned,
To Nithuth's wife | so wise he gave them.

26. And from the teeth | of the twain he wrought
A brooch for the breast, | to Bothvild he sent it;
. . . . . . . . . .

27. Bothvild then | of her ring did boast,
. . . . . . . . . .

[23. No gap indicated in the manuscript. Some editors assume it, as
here; some group the lines with lines 3-4 of stanza 22, and some
with lines 1-2 of stanza 24.

24. Some editions begin a new stanza with line 3.

25. The manuscript indicates line 3 as the beginning of a stanza,
and many editors have adopted this grouping.

26. These two lines have been grouped in various ways, either with
lines 3-4 of stanza 25 or with the fragmentary stanza 27 No gap is
indicated in the manuscript, but the loss of something is so obvious
that practically all editors have noted it, although they have
differed as to the number of lines lost.

27. No gap indicated in the manuscript; the line and a half
{footnote p. 263} might be filled out (partly with the aid of late
paper manuscripts) thus: "But soon it broke, | and swiftly to Völund
/ She bore it and said--"]

{p. 264}

. . . . . | "The ring I have broken,
I dare not say it | save to thee."

Völund spake:
28. 'I shall weld the break | in the gold so well
That fairer than ever | thy father shall find it,
And better much | thy mother shall think it,
And thou no worse | than ever it was."

29. Beer he brought, | he was better in cunning,
Until in her seat | full soon she slept.

Völund spake:
"Now vengeance I have | for all my hurts,
Save one alone, | on the evil woman."

30. . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . .
Quoth Völund: "Would | that well were the sinews
Maimed in my feet | by Nithuth's men."

[29. The manuscript does not name Völund as the speaker before line
3; Vigfusson again inserts his convenient line, "Then Völund spake,
sagest of elves." A few editions combine lines 3-4 with the two
lines of stanza 30.

30. No gap indicated in the manuscript; some editors combine the two
lines with lines 3-4 of stanza 29, and many with the three lines of
stanza 31.]

{p. 265}

31. Laughing Völund | rose aloft,
Weeping Bothvild | went from the isle,
For her lover's flight | and her father's wrath.

32. Without stood the wife | of Nithuth wise,
And in she came | from the end of the hall;
But he by the wall | in weariness sat:
"Wakest thou, Nithuth, | lord of the Njars?"

Nithuth spake:
33. "Always I wake, | and ever joyless,
Little I sleep | since my sons were slain;
Cold is my head, | cold was thy counsel,
One thing, with Völund | to speak, I wish.

34. . . . . . . . . . .

[31. Something has probably been lost before this stanza, explaining
how Völund made himself wings, as otherwise, owing to his lameness,
he could not leave the island. The Thithrekssaga tells the story of
how Völund's brother, Egil, shot birds and gave him the feathers,
out of which he made a feather-garment. This break in the narrative
illustrates the lack of knowledge apparently possessed by the
compiler who was responsible for the prose notes; had he known the
story told in the Thithrekssaga, it is hardly conceivable that he
would have failed to indicate the necessary connecting link at this
point. Some editors reject line 3 as spurious. The manuscript does
not indicate any lacuna.

32. The manuscript indicates line 4 as the beginning of a stanza,
and many editors have followed this arrangement.

33. The manuscript does not name the speaker. It indicates line 3 as
the beginning of a new stanza. Vigfusson adds before line 1, "Then
spake Nithuth, lord of the Njars."

34. No gap indicated in the manuscript, but it seems clear {footnote
p. 266} that something has been lost. Some editors combine these two
lines with lines 3-4 of stanza 33. Völund is now flying over
Nithuth's hall.]

{p. 266}

"Answer me, Völund, | greatest of elves,
What happed with my boys | that hale once were?"

Völund spake:
35. "First shalt thou all | the oaths now swear,
By the rail of ship, | and the rim of shield,
By the shoulder of steed, | and the edge of sword,
That to Völund's wife | thou wilt work no ill,
Nor yet my bride | to her death wilt bring,
Though a wife I should have | that well thou knowest,
And a child I should have | within thy hall.

36. "Seek the smithy | that thou didst set,
Thou shalt find the bellows | sprinkled with blood;
I smote off the heads | of both thy sons,
And their feet 'neath the sooty | straps I hid.

37. "Their skulls, once hid | by their hair, I took,
Set them in silver | and sent them to Nithuth;

[35. The manuscript does not name the speaker; Vigfusson again makes
two full stanzas with the line, "Then did Völund speak, sagest of
elves." Some editors begin a new stanza with line 4, while others
reject as interpolations lines 2-3 or 5-7. Völund's wife: the
reference is to Bothvild, as Völund wishes to have his vengeance
fall more heavily on her father than on her.

36. Lines 3-4 are nearly identical with lines 3-4 of stanza 24.

37. Identical, except for the pronouns, with stanza 25.]

{p. 267}

Gems full fair | from their eyes I fashioned,
To Nithuth's wife | so wise I gave them.

38. "And from the teeth | of the twain I wrought
A brooch for the breast, | to Bothvild I gave it;
Now big with child | does Bothvild go,
The only daughter | ye two had ever."

Nithuth spake:
39. "Never spakest thou word | that worse could hurt me,
Nor that made me, Völund, | more bitter for vengeance;
There is no man so high | from thy horse to take thee,
Or so doughty an archer | as down to shoot thee,
While high in the clouds | thy course thou takest."

40. Laughing Völund | rose aloft,
But left in sadness | Nithuth sat.
. . . . . . . . . .

[38. Lines 1-2: Cf. stanza 26.

39. The manuscript does not name the speaker. Either line 4 or line
5 may be an interpolation; two editions reject lines 3-5, combining
lines 1-2 with stanza 40. In the Thithrekssaga Nithuth actually
compels Egil, Völund's brother, to shoot at Völund. The latter has
concealed a bladder full of blood under his left arm, and when his
brother's arrow pierces this, Nithuth assumes that his enemy has
been killed. This episode likewise appears among the scenes from
Völund's career rudely carved on an ancient casket of ivory, bearing
an Anglo-Saxon inscription in runic letters, which has been
preserved.

40. Line 1: cf. stanza 3 1. The manuscript indicates no lacuna.]

{p. 268}

41. Then spake Nithuth, | lord of the Njars:
"Rise up, Thakkrath, | best of my thralls,
Bid Bothvild come, | the bright-browed maid,
Bedecked so fair, | with her father to speak."

42. . . . . . . . . . .
"Is it true, Bothvild, | that which was told me;
Once in the isle | with Völund wert thou?"

Bothvild spake:
43. "True is it, Nithuth, | that which was told thee,
Once in the isle | with Völund was I,
An hour of lust, | alas it should be!
Nought was my might | with such a man,
Nor from his strength | could I save myself."

[41. The first line is a conjectural addition. Thakkrath is probably
the northern form of the Middle High German name Dancrat.

42. The manuscript indicates no gap, but indicates line 3 as the
beginning of a stanza; Vigfusson's added "Then Nithuth spake, lord
of the Njars" seems plausible enough.

43. The manuscript does not name the speaker. Different editors have
rejected one or another of the last three lines, and as the
manuscript indicates line 4 as the beginning of a new stanza, the
loss of two or three lines has likewise been suggested. According to
the Thithrekssaga, the son of Völund and Bothvild was Vithga, or
Witege, one of the heroes of Dietrich of Bern.]

{p. 269}

That's horrifying.

Terrifying.

As terrifying as my tale?

--
The Reverend Parson Peter Parsnip

Smiting Revenge Against Sinful Usenet Users Since 1874
"My little finger shall be thicker than my father's loins" - Kings 12:10

satan (Reverend Parson Peter Parsnip) wrote
in s.com:

The Lord alerted my mind to the presence of this EVIL article by Bertie
the Bunyip, and I thusly replied:

satan (Reverend Parson Peter Parsnip)
wrote in s.com:

The Lord alerted my mind to the presence of this EVIL article by
Bertie the Bunyip, and I thusly replied:

Nik wrote in
:


Bwawhahhwhahwhahhwhahwhahhwhahwhahhwhahwhhahwhahwh ahhwhahwhahwhhahwhah
hwh aw hahhwh

The Lay of Völund
INTRODUCTORY NOTE
Between the Thrymskvitha and the Alvissmol in the Codex Regius
stands the Völundarkvitha. It was also included in the Arnamagnæan
Codex, but unluckily it begins at the very end of the fragment which
has been preserved, and thus only a few lines of the opening prose
remain. This is doubly regrettable because the text in Regius is
unquestionably in very bad shape, and the other manuscript would
doubtless have been of great assistance in the reconstruction of the
poem.

There has been a vast amount written regarding the Weland tradition
as a whole, discussing particularly the relations between the
Völundarkvitha and the Weland passage in Deor's Lament. There can be
little question that the story came to the North from Saxon regions,
along with many of the other early hero tales. In stanza 16 the
Rhine is specifically mentioned as the home of treasure; and the
presence of the story in Anglo-Saxon poetry probably as early as the
first part of the eighth century proves beyond a doubt that the
legend cannot have been a native product of Scandinavia. In one form
or another, however, the legend of the smith persisted for centuries
throughout all the Teutonic lands, and the name of Wayland Smith is
familiar to all readers of Walter Scott, and even of Rudyard
Kipling's tales of England.

In what form this story reached the North is uncertain. Sundry
striking parallels between the diction of the Völundarkvitha and
that of the Weland passage in Deor's Lament make it distinctly
probable that a Saxon song on this subject had found its way to
Scandinavia or Iceland. But the prose introduction to the poem
mentions the "old sagas" in which Völund was celebrated, and in the
Thithrekssaga we have definite evidence of the existence of such
prose narrative in the form of the Velentssaga (Velent, Völund,
Weland, and Wayland all being, of course, identical), which gives a
long story for which the Völundarkvitha can have supplied relatively
little, if any, of the material. It is probable, then, that Weland
stories were current in both prose and verse in Scandinavia as early
as the latter part of the ninth century.

{p. 253}

Once let a figure become popular in oral tradition, and the number
and variety of the incidents connected with his name will increase
very rapidly. Doubtless there were scores of Weland stories current
in the eighth, ninth, and tenth centuries, many of them with very
little if any traditional authority. The main one, however, the
story of the laming of the smith by King Nithuth (or by some other
enemy) and of Weland's terrible revenge, forms the basis of the
Völundarkvitha. To this, by way of introduction, has been added the
story of Völund and the wan-maiden, who, to make things even more
complex, is likewise aid to be a Valkyrie. Some critics maintain
that these two sections were originally two distinct poems, merely
strung together by the compiler with the help of narrative prose
links; but the poem as a whole has a kind of dramatic unity which
suggests rather that an early poet--for linguistically the poem
belongs among the oldest of the Eddic collection--used two distinct
legends, whether in prose or verse, as the basis for the composition
of a new and homogeneous poem.

The swan-maiden story appears, of course, in many places quite
distinct from the Weland tradition, and, in another form, became one
of the most popular of German folk tales. Like the story of Weland,
however, it is of German rather than Scandinavian origin, and the
identification of the swan-maidens as Valkyries, which may have
taken place before the legend reached the North, may, on the other
hand, have been simply an attempt to connect southern tradition with
figures well known in northern mythology.

The Völundarkvitha is full of prose narrative links, including an
introduction. The nature of such prose links has already been
discussed in the introductory note to the Grimnismol; the
Völundarkvitha is a striking illustration of the way in which the
function of the earlier Eddic verse was limited chiefly to dialogue
or description, the narrative outline being provided, if at all, in
prose. This prose was put in by each reciter according to his fancy
and knowledge, and his estimate of his hearers' need for such
explanations; some of it, as in this instance, eventually found its
way into the written record.

The manuscript of the Völundarkvitha is in such bad shape, and the
conjectural emendations have been so numerous, that in the notes I
have attempted to record only the most important of them.

{p. 254}

There was a king in Sweden named Nithuth. He had two sons and one
daughter; her name was Bothvild. There were three brothers, sons of
a king of the Finns: one was called Slagfith, another Egil, the
third Völund. They went on snowshoes and hunted wild beasts. They
came into Ulfdalir and there they built themselves a house; there
was a lake there which is called Ulfsjar. Early one morning they
found on the shore of the lake three women, who were spinning flax.
Near them were their swan garments, for they were Valkyries. Two of
them were daughters of King Hlothver, Hlathguth the Swan-White and
Hervor the All-Wise, and the third was Olrun, daughter of Kjar from
Valland. These did they bring

[Prose. Nithuth ("Bitter Hater"): here identified as a king of
Sweden, is in the poem (stanzas 9, 15 and 32) called lord of the
Njars, which may refer to the people of the Swedish district of
Nerike. In any case, the scene of the story has moved from Saxon
lands into the Northeast. The first and last sentences of the
introduction refer to the second part of the poem; the rest of it
concerns the swan-maidens episode. Bothvild ("Warlike Maid"):
Völund's victim in the latter part of the poem. King of the Finns:
this notion, clearly later than the poem, which calls Völund an elf,
may perhaps be ascribed to the annotator who composed the prose
introduction. The Finns, meaning the dwellers in Lapland, were
generally credited with magic powers. Egil appears in the
Thithrekssaga as Völund's brother, but Slagfith is not elsewhere
mentioned. Ulfdalir ("Wolf-Dale"), Ulfsjar ("Wolf-Sea"), Valland
("Slaughter-Land"): mythical, places without historical
identification. Valkyries: cf. Voluspo, 31 and note; there is
nothing in the poem to identify the three swan maidens as Valkyries
except one obscure word in line 2 of stanza 1 and again in line 5 of
stanza 5, which may mean, as Gering translates it, "helmed," or else
"fair and wise." I suspect that the annotator, anxious to give the
Saxon legend as much northern local color as possible, was mistaken
in his mythology, and that {footnote p. 255} the poet never
conceived of his swan-maidens as Valkyries at all. However, this
identification of swan-maidens with Valkyries was not uncommon; cf.
Helreith Brynhildar, 7. The three maidens' names, Hlathguth, Hervor,
and Olrun, do not appear in the lists of Valkyries. King Hlothver:
this name suggests the southern origin of the story, as it is the
northern form of Ludwig; the name appears again in Guthrunarkvitha
II, 26, and that of Kjar is found in Atlakvitha, 7, both of these
poems being based on German stories. It is worth noting that the
composer of this introductory note seems to have had little or no
information beyond what was actually contained in the poem as it has
come down to us; he refers to the "old stories" about Völund, but
either he was unfamiliar with them in detail or else he thought it
needless to make use of them. His note simply puts in clear and
connected form what the verse tells somewhat obscurely; his only
additions are making Nithuth a king of Sweden and Völund's father a
king of the Finns, supplying the name Ulfsjar for the lake,
identifying the swan-maidens as Valkyries, and giving Kjar a home in
Valland.]

{p. 255}

home to their hall with them. Egil took Olrun, and Slagfith
Swan-White, and Völund All-Wise. There they dwelt seven winters; but
then they flew away to find battles, and came back no more. Then
Egil set forth on his snowshoes to follow Olrun, and Slagfith
followed Swan White, but Völund stayed in Ulfdalir. He was a most
skillful man, as men know from old tales. King Nithuth had him taken
by force, as the poem here tells.

1. Maids from the south | through Myrkwood flew,
Fair and young, | their fate to follow;
On the shore of the sea | to rest them they sat,
The maids of the south, | and flax they spun.

[1. The manuscript indicates line 3 as the beginning of a stanza;
two lines may have been lost before or after lines 1-2, {footnote p.
256} and two more, or even six, with the additional stanza
describing the theft of the swan-garments, after line 4. Myrkwood: a
stock name for a magic, dark forest; cf. Lokasenna, 42.]

{p. 256}

2. . . . . . . . . . .
Hlathguth and Hervor, | Hlothver's children,
And Olrun the Wise | Kjar's daughter was.

3. . . . . . . . . . .
One in her arms | took Egil then
To her bosom white, | the woman fair.

4. Swan-White second,-- | swan-feathers she wore,
. . . . . . . . . .
And her arms the third | of the sisters threw
Next round Völund's | neck so white.

5. There did they sit | for seven winters,
In the eighth at last | came their longing again,
(And in the ninth | did need divide them).
The maidens yearned | for the murky wood,
The fair young maids, | their fate to follow.

[2. In the manuscript these two lines stand after stanza 16; editors
have tried to fit them into various places, but the prose indicates
that they belong here, with a gap assumed.

3. In the manuscript these two lines follow stanza 1, with no gap
indicated, and the first line marked as the beginning of a stanza.
Many editors have combined them with stanza 4.

4. No lacuna indicated in the manuscript; one editor fills the
stanza out with a second line running: "Then to her breast Slagfith
embraced."

5. Line 3 looks like an interpolation, but line 5, identical with
line 2 of stanza 1, may be the superfluous one.]

{p. 257}

6. Völund home | from his hunting came,
From a weary way, | the weather-wise bowman,
Slagfith and Egil | the hall found empty,
Out and in went they, | everywhere seeking.

7. East fared Egil | after Olrun,
And Slagfith south | to seek for Swan-White;
Völund alone | in Ulfdalir lay,
. . . . . . . . . .

8. Red gold he fashioned | with fairest gems,
And rings he strung | on ropes of bast;
So for his wife | he waited long,
If the fair one home | might come to him.

9. This Nithuth learned, | the lord of the Njars,
That Völund alone | in Ulfdalir lay;

[6. The phrase "Völund home from a weary way" is an emendation of
Bugge's, accepted by many editors. Some of those who do not include
it reject line 4, and combine the remainder of the stanza with all
or part of stanza 7.

7. The manuscript marks the second, and not the first, line as the
beginning of a stanza. Some editors combine lines 2-3 with all or
part of stanza 8. No gap is indicated in the manuscript, but many
editors have assumed one, some of them accepting Bugge's suggested
"Till back the maiden bright should come."

8. No line in this stanza is indicated in the manuscript as be
ginning a new stanza; editors have tried all sorts of experiments in
regrouping the lines into stanzas with those of stanzas 7 and 9. In
line 3 the word long is sheer guesswork, as the line in the
manuscript contains a metrical error.

9. Some editors combine the first two lines with parts of stanza 8,
and the last two with the first half of stanza 10. Njars: {footnote
p. 258} there has been much, and inconclusive, discussion as to what
this name means; probably it applies to a semi-mythical people
somewhere vaguely in "the East."]

{p. 258}

By night went his men, | their mail-coats were studded,
Their shields in the waning | moonlight shone.

10. From their saddles the gable | wall they sought,
And in they went | at the end of the hall;
Rings they saw there | on ropes of bast,
Seven hundred | the hero had.

11. Off they took them, | but all they left
Save one alone | which they bore away.
. . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . .

12. Völund home | from his hunting came,
From a weary way, | the weather-wise bowman;
A brown bear's flesh | would he roast with fire;
Soon the wood so dry | was burning well,
(The wind-dried wood | that Völund's was).

[10. Some editors combine lines 3-4 with the fragmentary stanza 11.

11. No gap indicated in the manuscript; some editors combine these
lines with lines 3-4 of stanza to, while others combine them with
the first two lines of stanza 12. The one ring which Nithuth's men
steal is given to Bothvild, and proves the cause of her undoing.

12. The manuscript indicates line 3, and not line 1, as the
beginning of a stanza, which has given rise to a large amount of
conjectural rearrangement. Line 2 of the original is identical with
the phrase added by Bugge in stanza 6. Line 5 may be {footnote p.
259} spurious, or lines 4-5 may have been expanded out of a single
line running "The wind-dried wood for | Völund burned well."]

{p. 259}

13. On the bearskin he rested, | and counted the rings,
The master of elves, | but one he missed;
That Hlothver's daughter | had it he thought,
And the all-wise maid | had come once more.

14. So long he sat | that he fell asleep,
His waking empty | of gladness was;
Heavy chains | he saw on his hands,
And fetters bound | his feet together.

Völund spake:
15. "What men are they | who thus have laid
Ropes of bast | to bind me now?"

Then Nithuth called, | the lord of the Njars:
"How gottest thou, Völund, | greatest of elves,
These treasures of ours | in Ulfdalir?"

Völund spake:
16. "The gold was not | on Grani's way,

[13. Elves: the poem here identifies Völund as belonging to the race
of the elves. Hlothver's daughter: Hervor; many editors treat the
adjective "all-wise" here as a proper name.

15. In this poem the manuscript indicates the speakers. Some editors
make lines 1-2 into a separate stanza, linking lines 3-5 (or 4-5)
with stanza 16. Line 3 is very possibly spurious, a mere expansion
of "Nithuth spake." Nithuth, of course, has come with his men to
capture Völund, and now charges him with having stolen his treasure.

16. The manuscript definitely assigns this stanza to Völund, but
many editors give the first two lines to Nithuth. In the manuscript
{footnote p. 260} stanza 16 is followed by the two lines of stanza
2, and many editions make of lines 3-4 of stanza 16 and stanza 2 a
single speech by Völund. Grani's way: Grani was Sigurth's horse, on
which he rode to slay Fafnir and win Andvari's hoard; this and the
reference to the Rhine as the home of wealth betray the southern
source of the story. If lines 1-2 belong to Völund, they mean that
Nithuth got his wealth in the Rhine country, and that Völund's hoard
has nothing to do with it; if the speaker is Nithuth, they mean that
Völund presumably has not killed a dragon, and that he is far from
the wealth of the Rhine, so that he must have stolen his treasure
from Nithuth himself.]

{p. 260}

Far, methinks, is our realm | from the hills of the Rhine;
I mind me that treasures | more we had
When happy together | at home we were."

17. Without stood the wife | of Nithuth wise,
And in she came | from the end of the hall;
On the floor she stood, | and softly spoke:
"Not kind does he look | who comes from the wood."

King Nithuth gave to his daughter Bothvild the gold ring that he had
taken from the bast rope in Völund's

[17. Line 1 is lacking in the manuscript, lines 2-4 following
immediately after the two lines here given as stanza 2. Line 1,
borrowed from line I of stanza 32, is placed here by many editors,
following Bugge's suggestion. Certainly it is Nithuth's wife who
utters line 4. Who comes from the wood: Völund, noted as a hunter.
Gering assumes that with the entrance of Nithuth's wife the scene
has changed from Völund's house to Nithuth's, but I cannot see that
this is necessary.

Prose. The annotator inserted this note rather clumsily in the midst
of the speech of Nithuth's wife.]

{p. 261}

house, and he himself wore the sword that Völund had had. The queen
spake:

18. "The glow of his eyes | is like gleaming snakes,
His teeth he gnashes | if now is shown
The sword, or Bothvild's | ring he sees;
Let them straightway cut | his sinews of strength,
And set him then | in Sævarstath."

So was it done: the sinews in his knee-joints were cut, and he was
set in an island which was near the mainland, and was called
Sævarstath. There he smithied for the king all kinds of precious
things. No man dared to go to him, save only the king himself.
Völund spake:

19. "At Nithuth's girdle | gleams the sword
That I sharpened keen | with cunningest craft,
(And hardened the steel | with highest skill
The bright blade far | forever is borne,
(Nor back shall I see it | borne to my smithy
Now Bothvild gets | the golden ring
(That was once my bride's,-- | ne'er well shall it be.)"

[18. In the manuscript lines 2-3 stand before line 1; many editors
have made the transposition here indicated. Some editors reject line
3 as spurious. Sævarstath: "Sea-Stead."

19. This stanza is obviously in bad shape. Vigfusson makes two
stanzas of it by adding a first line: "Then did Völund speak, |
sagest of elves." Editors have rejected various lines, and some have
regrouped the last lines with the first two of {footnote p. 262}
stanza 20. The elimination of the passages in parenthesis produces a
four-line stanza which is metrically correct, but it has little more
than guesswork to support it.]

{p. 262}

20. He sat, nor slept, | and smote with his hammer,
Fast for Nithuth | wonders he fashioned;
Two boys did go | in his door to gaze,
Nithuth's sons, | into Sævarstath.

21. They came to the chest, | and they craved the keys,
The evil was open | when in they looked;
To the boys it seemed | that gems they saw,
Gold in plenty | and precious stones.

Völund spake:
22. "Come ye alone, | the next day come,
Gold to you both | shall then be given;
Tell not the maids | or the men of the hall,
To no one say | that me you have sought."

[20. The editions vary radically in combining the lines of this
stanza with those of stanzas 19 and 21, particularly as the
manuscript indicates the third line as the beginning of a stanza.
The meaning, however, remains unchanged.

211. Several editions make one stanza out of lines 1-4 of stanza 20
and lines 1-2 of stanza 21, and another out of the next four lines.
The evil was open: i.e., the gold in the chest was destined to be
their undoing.

22. The manuscript indicates line 3 as the beginning of a stanza,
and several editors have adopted this grouping. In the Thithrekssaga
Völund sends the boys away with instructions not to come back until
just after a fall of snow, and then to approach his dwelling walking
backward. The boys do this, and when, after he has killed them,
Völund is questioned regarding them, he points to the tracks in the
snow as evidence that they had left his house.]

{p. 263}

23. . . . . . . . . . .
Early did brother | to brother call:
"Swift let us go | the rings to see."

24. They came to the chest, | and they craved the keys,
The evil was open | when in they looked;
He smote off their heads, | and their feet he hid
Under the sooty | straps of the bellows.

25. Their skulls, once hid | by their hair, he took,
Set them in silver | and sent them to Nithuth;
Gems full fair | from their eyes he fashioned,
To Nithuth's wife | so wise he gave them.

26. And from the teeth | of the twain he wrought
A brooch for the breast, | to Bothvild he sent it;
. . . . . . . . . .

27. Bothvild then | of her ring did boast,
. . . . . . . . . .

[23. No gap indicated in the manuscript. Some editors assume it, as
here; some group the lines with lines 3-4 of stanza 22, and some
with lines 1-2 of stanza 24.

24. Some editions begin a new stanza with line 3.

25. The manuscript indicates line 3 as the beginning of a stanza,
and many editors have adopted this grouping.

26. These two lines have been grouped in various ways, either with
lines 3-4 of stanza 25 or with the fragmentary stanza 27 No gap is
indicated in the manuscript, but the loss of something is so obvious
that practically all editors have noted it, although they have
differed as to the number of lines lost.

27. No gap indicated in the manuscript; the line and a half
{footnote p. 263} might be filled out (partly with the aid of late
paper manuscripts) thus: "But soon it broke, | and swiftly to Völund
/ She bore it and said--"]

{p. 264}

. . . . . | "The ring I have broken,
I dare not say it | save to thee."

Völund spake:
28. 'I shall weld the break | in the gold so well
That fairer than ever | thy father shall find it,
And better much | thy mother shall think it,
And thou no worse | than ever it was."

29. Beer he brought, | he was better in cunning,
Until in her seat | full soon she slept.

Völund spake:
"Now vengeance I have | for all my hurts,
Save one alone, | on the evil woman."

30. . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . .
Quoth Völund: "Would | that well were the sinews
Maimed in my feet | by Nithuth's men."

[29. The manuscript does not name Völund as the speaker before line
3; Vigfusson again inserts his convenient line, "Then Völund spake,
sagest of elves." A few editions combine lines 3-4 with the two
lines of stanza 30.

30. No gap indicated in the manuscript; some editors combine the two
lines with lines 3-4 of stanza 29, and many with the three lines of
stanza 31.]

{p. 265}

31. Laughing Völund | rose aloft,
Weeping Bothvild | went from the isle,
For her lover's flight | and her father's wrath.

32. Without stood the wife | of Nithuth wise,
And in she came | from the end of the hall;
But he by the wall | in weariness sat:
"Wakest thou, Nithuth, | lord of the Njars?"

Nithuth spake:
33. "Always I wake, | and ever joyless,
Little I sleep | since my sons were slain;
Cold is my head, | cold was thy counsel,
One thing, with Völund | to speak, I wish.

34. . . . . . . . . . .

[31. Something has probably been lost before this stanza, explaining
how Völund made himself wings, as otherwise, owing to his lameness,
he could not leave the island. The Thithrekssaga tells the story of
how Völund's brother, Egil, shot birds and gave him the feathers,
out of which he made a feather-garment. This break in the narrative
illustrates the lack of knowledge apparently possessed by the
compiler who was responsible for the prose notes; had he known the
story told in the Thithrekssaga, it is hardly conceivable that he
would have failed to indicate the necessary connecting link at this
point. Some editors reject line 3 as spurious. The manuscript does
not indicate any lacuna.

32. The manuscript indicates line 4 as the beginning of a stanza,
and many editors have followed this arrangement.

33. The manuscript does not name the speaker. It indicates line 3 as
the beginning of a new stanza. Vigfusson adds before line 1, "Then
spake Nithuth, lord of the Njars."

34. No gap indicated in the manuscript, but it seems clear {footnote
p. 266} that something has been lost. Some editors combine these two
lines with lines 3-4 of stanza 33. Völund is now flying over
Nithuth's hall.]

{p. 266}

"Answer me, Völund, | greatest of elves,
What happed with my boys | that hale once were?"

Völund spake:
35. "First shalt thou all | the oaths now swear,
By the rail of ship, | and the rim of shield,
By the shoulder of steed, | and the edge of sword,
That to Völund's wife | thou wilt work no ill,
Nor yet my bride | to her death wilt bring,
Though a wife I should have | that well thou knowest,
And a child I should have | within thy hall.

36. "Seek the smithy | that thou didst set,
Thou shalt find the bellows | sprinkled with blood;
I smote off the heads | of both thy sons,
And their feet 'neath the sooty | straps I hid.

37. "Their skulls, once hid | by their hair, I took,
Set them in silver | and sent them to Nithuth;

[35. The manuscript does not name the speaker; Vigfusson again makes
two full stanzas with the line, "Then did Völund speak, sagest of
elves." Some editors begin a new stanza with line 4, while others
reject as interpolations lines 2-3 or 5-7. Völund's wife: the
reference is to Bothvild, as Völund wishes to have his vengeance
fall more heavily on her father than on her.

36. Lines 3-4 are nearly identical with lines 3-4 of stanza 24.

37. Identical, except for the pronouns, with stanza 25.]

{p. 267}

Gems full fair | from their eyes I fashioned,
To Nithuth's wife | so wise I gave them.

38. "And from the teeth | of the twain I wrought
A brooch for the breast, | to Bothvild I gave it;
Now big with child | does Bothvild go,
The only daughter | ye two had ever."

Nithuth spake:
39. "Never spakest thou word | that worse could hurt me,
Nor that made me, Völund, | more bitter for vengeance;
There is no man so high | from thy horse to take thee,
Or so doughty an archer | as down to shoot thee,
While high in the clouds | thy course thou takest."

40. Laughing Völund | rose aloft,
But left in sadness | Nithuth sat.
. . . . . . . . . .

[38. Lines 1-2: Cf. stanza 26.

39. The manuscript does not name the speaker. Either line 4 or line
5 may be an interpolation; two editions reject lines 3-5, combining
lines 1-2 with stanza 40. In the Thithrekssaga Nithuth actually
compels Egil, Völund's brother, to shoot at Völund. The latter has
concealed a bladder full of blood under his left arm, and when his
brother's arrow pierces this, Nithuth assumes that his enemy has
been killed. This episode likewise appears among the scenes from
Völund's career rudely carved on an ancient casket of ivory, bearing
an Anglo-Saxon inscription in runic letters, which has been
preserved.

40. Line 1: cf. stanza 3 1. The manuscript indicates no lacuna.]

{p. 268}

41. Then spake Nithuth, | lord of the Njars:
"Rise up, Thakkrath, | best of my thralls,
Bid Bothvild come, | the bright-browed maid,
Bedecked so fair, | with her father to speak."

42. . . . . . . . . . .
"Is it true, Bothvild, | that which was told me;
Once in the isle | with Völund wert thou?"

Bothvild spake:
43. "True is it, Nithuth, | that which was told thee,
Once in the isle | with Völund was I,
An hour of lust, | alas it should be!
Nought was my might | with such a man,
Nor from his strength | could I save myself."

[41. The first line is a conjectural addition. Thakkrath is probably
the northern form of the Middle High German name Dancrat.

42. The manuscript indicates no gap, but indicates line 3 as the
beginning of a stanza; Vigfusson's added "Then Nithuth spake, lord
of the Njars" seems plausible enough.

43. The manuscript does not name the speaker. Different editors have
rejected one or another of the last three lines, and as the
manuscript indicates line 4 as the beginning of a new stanza, the
loss of two or three lines has likewise been suggested. According to
the Thithrekssaga, the son of Völund and Bothvild was Vithga, or
Witege, one of the heroes of Dietrich of Bern.]

{p. 269}

That's horrifying.

Terrifying.

As terrifying as my tale?

Wel, obviously. not.

Bertie