The Lay of Helgi Hjorvardhsson

The Lay of Helgi Hjorvardhsson
Translation and Commentary

by Kveldulf Hagan Gundarsson, from Mountain Thunder, Issue 3, Winter 1991.

In translating poetry, it is very seldom possible to he both accurate in sense and in form. Since this translation is intended for spiritual study, where it came to a conflict between literal meaning and maintaining the alliterative poetic pattern and/or rhythm, I have chosen to be literal at the expense of the poetry. A more beautiful, though less accurate, translation can be found in Lee Hollander's Edda. (University of Texas Press)

Translation

Of Hjorvardhr and Sigrlinn. Hjorvardhr hight a king. He had four wives. One hight Alfhildr, their son hight Hedhinn; a second hight Saeridhr, their son hight Humlungr; a third hight Sinriodh, their son hight Hymlingr. King Hjorvardhr had sworn this oath: to have that woman, whom he knew to be fairest. He heard, that King Svafnir had a daughter who was fairest of all, who hight Sigrlinn.

Idhmundr hight his jarl. Atli was his son, who fared to ask for Sigrlinn for the hands of the king. He dwelt winter-long with King Svafnir.

Franmarr hight a jarl there, Sigrlinn's foster-father; his daughter hight Alof. The jarl gave rede, that the maid be denied, and Atli fared home.

Atli the jarl's son stood one day in a certain grove; but a bird sat in the branches up above him and had heard, that men called the women fairest whom Hjorvardhr the king had. The bird croaked; yet Atli heard what he said. He spoke:

"Saw you Sigrlinn     Svafnir's daughter,
fairest of maids     in Munarheimr?
although desirable     Hjorvardhr's women
seem to the warriors     at Glasislundr."

"Shall you with Atli     Idhmundr's son,
wise-souled bird     more speak?"
"I shall, if the prince     will make blot to me,
and choose I, what I will     out of the king's garth!"

"Choose thou not Hjorvardhr     nor his sons,
nor of the fair     folk-leader's brides,
none of the brides     who the prince has!
Deal we well together     as friends know how to."

"I shall choose a hof     a great harrow,
gold-horned cows     from the warrior's dwelling,
if for him Sigrlinn     sleep in arms,
and uncompelled     follows the boar."

That was before Atli fared. Yet when he came home and the king asked him of tidings, he said:

"We have difficulty     and no fulfillment
our horses were weary     on mighty fells,
we had afterwards     to wade Saemorn,
then was denied to us     Svafnir's daughter,
the ring-bedecked     who we wished to have."

The king bade that they should fare a second time. He fared himself. Yet when they came up on a fell and looked at Svavaland, (there saw they) land-burning and great clouds of horse-dust. The king rode from the fells into the land and took night lodgings with someone. Atli held watch and fared over the river. He found a house. A great bird sat on the house and held watch and was sleeping. Atli shot a spear to kill the bird, and in the house found he Sigrlinn, the king's daughter, and Alof, the jarl's daughter, and took them both out with him. Franmarr the jarl had changed his hide into an eagle's form and warded them from the armies with sorcery.

Hrodhmarr hight a king, a wooer of Sigrlinn. He slew the Svava-king and had plundered and burned the land.

Hjorvardhr the king got Sigrlinn, and Atli Alof.

Hjorvardhr and Sigrlinn had a mighty and fair son. He was silent; no name would fasten upon him. He sat on a howe. He saw riding nine valkyrjur, and one was stateliest.

She said:

"Late shall you, Helgi     rule over rings -
- powerful battle-apple -     nor Rodhull-Vales.
Eagle screamed early     if you are still silent,
though you a hard soul,     warrior, show!"

(he said)

"What let you follow     the name of Helgi,
- bride bright-lightening -     all you speak to offer?
Think you before     all speak well!
I'll have none of it     unless I have you!"

(she said)

"I know swords lying     in Sigar's Holm,
four are lacking     from five tens:
one is of them     better than all,
bale of spears     and wrought with gold.

"A ring is on hilt     soul is in the middle,
awe is in edge     for he who gets it to own;
lies on the edge     a blood-dyed wyrm,
and on the guard     turns adder tail."

Eylimi hight a king. His daughter was Svava. She was a valkyrja and rode air and water. She gave Helgi this name and shielded him often afterwards in battle. Helgi spoke:

"Thou art not, Hjorvardhr     hale-reded, king,
folk's edge-leader     though you are famed;
if you let fire eat     the boar's dwellings,
though he harm to you     never did."

"Yet Hrodhmarr shall     rule over rings,
those which had     our kinsmen!
The folk-leader looks     at living hardly,
thinks he of dead men     to rule the inheritance."

Hjorvardhr answered, that he would give a host to Helgi, if he wished to avenge his mother's father. Then sought Helgi the sword which Svava had showed him the way towards. Then fared he and Atli and felled Hrodhmarr and won many great works of strength.

He slew Hati the etin, who sat on a certain mountain. Helgi and Atli lay their ships in Hatafirth. Atli kept watch in the first part of the night. Hrimgerdhr, Hati's daughter, said:

"Who are the heroes     in Hati's firth?
Shields are adorned     on the ships;
Bravely you go     I think you fear little.
Make known to me     the king's name!"

Atli said:

"Helgi he hight     yet thou may never
win harm to the prince,
iron fortresses     are 'round atheling's fleet,
witches cannot scathe us!"

Hrimgerdhr said:

"What hight thou     hero ill-mighty,
what do kinsmen call thee?
The folk-leader trusts thee     when he lets thee
dwell in the fair ship's stem."

"Atli I hight     awesome shall I be to you!
greatly am I grimmest to witches.
In wet stem     I have often dwelt,
and slain evening-riders."

"What hight thou     hag corpse-greedy?
name thy father, witch!
Nine rosts     should you be beneath
and trees grow from your bosom."

"Hrimgerdhr I hight     Hati hight my father,
him know I ill-mightiest etin.
Many brides     he took from dwellings,
until Helgi hewed him."

"Thou were the troll-woman     before warrior's ship,
and laid wait in the firth.
Of the prince's heroes     you wished to give Ran,
if the spear had not come in your flesh."

"Deceived art thou now, Atli!     in dream I say you are,
you let eyebrows sink over brow.
My mother     lay before the king's ship,
I drowned Hlodhvardhr's sons in harbor."

"You would whinny, Atli     were you not gelded:
Hrimgerdhr raises her tail!
In hind-parts your heart     Atli, think I to be,
though you have a stallion's voice."

"Strong should you think me     if you knew how to test,
and stepped I to land from water.
All lame would you be     if my heart were in it,
and sink would your tail, Hrimgerdhr!"

"Atli, go onto land     if you trust your might,
and we shall meet in Varin's Bay!
Rended ribs     shall you, warrior, get,
if you come in my claws."

"I shall go before     warriors wake,
and hold with leader word.
Not unexpected to me     if to us came
the witch up under ship."

"Wake thou, Helgi     and speak with Hrimgerdhr,
because you have slain Hati!
One night     could she sleep by the boar,
then had she bettering for bales."

"Lodhinn hight,     who shall have thee!
loathly art thou to mankind!
so dwells the thurse in Tholl Islands,
hound-wise etin     worst of wildness-dwellers,
he'll be a fitting man for you."

"Her would you rather, Helgi
who watched over harbor,
last night with the men.
Sea-golden maid     might thought I to bear;
here rose she over land and water
and made fast so your fleet.
She alone ruled there     that I might not
be bane to the prince's men."

"Hear thou now, Hrimgerdhr,     if I better thy harms,
say thou more fully to leader:
was it one wight     who warded atheling's ships,
or fared there many together?"

"Three times nine maids!     but one rode before,
a white and helmeted maid.
Their horses shook themselves
from them sprang to men,
dew in deep dales,
hail in high woods,
from that comes good harvest to humans;
all that was loathly to me, when I looked."

"East look thou now, Hrimgerdhr, if thou hast met
Helgi with Hel-staves.
On land and on water     warded is atheling's fleet,
and the leader's men the same."

"Now it is day, Hrimgerdhr,
yet you have been delayed
by Atli until all time.
As harbor-mark     mockable seem you
there, where you stand in stone's likeness!"

King Helgi was an all-mighty warleader. He came to King Eylimi and asked for Svava, his daughter. They both, Helgi and Svava, swore oaths and loved each other mightily. Svava was at home with her father, and Helgi at battle. Svava was a valkyrja as before.

Hedhinn was home with his father, King Hjorvardhr, in Norway. Hedhinn fared home along through the forest on Yule evening and found a troll-woman, who rode a warg and had wyrms as reins, and offered her following to Hedhinn. "No," he said. She said, "You shall pay for this at the toasting cup!"

That evening was the swearing of oaths. The lead boar was lead forth; men laid their hands there and swore their oaths at the toasting cup. Hedhinn swore an oath towards Svava, the daughter of Eylimi, most beloved of Helgi his brother, and he rued it so mightily that he went at once on the same ways south in the land, and found Helgi his brother.

Helgi said:

"Come thou well, Hedhinn!     what can you say,
of new tidings     out of Norway?
Why have thou, prince     hurried from land
and come alone     to find us?"

"A great wrong     have I done.
I have chosen     the king's child,
thy bride     at bragar-cup."

"Sorrow thou not!     soon must be real,
ale-speech, Hedhinn     for us both.
A prince has me     to island bidden,
in three nights     I shall come there
doubt is upon me     that I come back after.
Then may to the good     be done such as must be."

"Say thou, Helgi     that Hedhinn should
have good from thee     and great gifts!
It were more seemly     sword to redden
than frith give     to your foes."

That said Helgi, for he sensed that he was fey and that his fylgja had visited Hedhinn, when he saw the woman riding on the warg.

Alfr hight the king, the son of Hrodhmarr, who had bidden Helgi to the battleplace on Sigar's Field for the third night. Thus said Helgi:

"Rode on a wolf     when twilight was,
a woman, who him     to follow offered.
She knew that     slain must be
Sigrlinn's son     at Sigar's Field."

Then was there a mighty battle, and Helgi got his bane- wound there.

"Helgi sent     Sigar riding
after Eylimi's     only daughter.
He bid swiftly     to be readied,
if she would find     folk-leader living."

"Helgi has     sent me here,
with thee, Svava     yourself to speak.
Thee, says the protector he will meet,
before the noble-born     from life-breath parts."

"What happened to Helgi     Hjorvardhr's son?
to me are harsh     sorrows shown!
If the sea rose around him     or sword bit him,
or were it a warrior     he'll win harm from me."

"Fell here by morning     at Freki Stone
the prince, who was     best under sun.
Alfr must over     all victory rule,
although this happening     was not needful."

"Hail to thee, Svava     your heart you must rule
this must in this world     our last meeting be.
Begin for the prince     to bleed the wounds
The blade has come for me next to the heart."

"Ibid thee, Svava     bride, do not weep!
if you will listen     to my speech:
that you for Hedhinn     ready a bed,
and the young boar     in love endure."

"I have said that     in Munarhome,
when Helgi for me     ruled rings,
that not willingly should I     after folk-ruler's dying,
an unknown boar     in arms enfold."

(Hedhinn said)

"Kiss me, Svava!     I come not again
to visit Rogheimr     nor Rodhulsfells,
before I've revenged     Hjorvardhr's son,
who was of princes     beneath sun the best."

Of Helgi and Svava it is said that they were born again.

Commentary

Note: in this commentary, I write a great deal of "the hero" in general, speaking not only of Helgi, but of all those in our time who choose to awaken heroic might in themselves. For the sake of convenience, and because my primary example is male, I have used the masculine pronoun throughout. Nevertheless, there is nothing I say here which is not just as true for a woman, nor do I mean to imply in any way that women are excluded from any field of Germanic heroism.

The story of Helgi is actually a cycle dealing with the themes of the hero and his valkyrja and of reincarnation. Helgi and his valkyrja are born three times: the first as Helgi Hjorvardhsson and Svava, the second as Helgi Hunding's-bane and Sigrun, the third as Helgi Haddingjaskadhi and Kara.

The tale of Helgi Hjorvardhsson acts as a sort of prelude to the story of the more famous Helgi Hunding's-bane. Among our folk, nothing grows great without roots: therefore, the cycle begins with Helgi Hjorvardhsson's parents and the tale of the creation of a hero.

Atli fulfills the same role in regards to Helgi as does Reginn in regards to Sigurdhr, the Hagen of Nibelungenlied to Gunther, Starkadhr to Ingeld, and so forth. He is the elder counsellor who is wise both in the ways of the Middle-Garth and of the realms beyond. Etymologically, his name means "little father;" to the Norse, it was understood to mean "the Awesome." Although Atli should not be seen as an actual embodiment of Odhinn, he represents one of the types of human beings through whom aspects of Odhinn can be seen in the Middle-Garth. Odhinn's presence is vital to the hero from the very beginning.

The bird who speaks to Atli, spurring him on and eventually making it possible for Hjorvardhr and Sigrlinn to wed, is of course Odhinn himself. The use of the verb kvaka, "croak," implies that he is probably in the form of a raven here; eagles usually scream (gjalla). The god's intervention here may be compared to the sequence in the beginning of Volsunga saga, where he sends his valkyrja in crow-shape to make it possible for Rerir and his wife to engender the child Volsi (father of Sigmundr and Signy, grandfather of Sigurdhr/Siegfried). In both cases, as well, the son whose birth Odhinn has made possible grows up to wed a valkyrja.

Atli's care to exclude Hjorvardhr, his wives, and his sons from Odhinn's sacrifices is based on a deep understanding of the god -- cf. the story of Vikarr's mother, who promised Odhinn the thing that lay "between her girdle and herself," not knowing that she was bearing a son whom she doomed by this to become a sacrifice to the god. Although Odhinn appears to accept Atli's terms, the careful reader will note that, though he chooses a more ordinary sort of worship, he does not promise not to claim more as indeed he shall: Helgi is to be his own.

Sigrlinn's foster-father Franmarr, who takes the form of an eagle, embodies the principle of that opposition which is necessary to the shaping and proving of a hero. Only two types of beings take the shape of an eagle: etins, and Odhinn himself. In the normal course of things, it is the nature of etins to stand against the gods, goddesses, and their children. However, it should also not be forgotten that Odhinn himself often appears to the hero as a seeming opponent, or sets obstacles in his way in order to test and strengthen him.

The complex mechanisms which brought about Helgi's birth are not, however, sufficient by themselves to shape him into a true hero. All the might which has gone into his making only gives him the potential for heroism, as the prose describes. Though he is "mighty and fair," no name will cling to him -- he is ørlög less, lacking the primal layer of being which shapes both his might and his doom. He is in the same condition as the two trees which, near the beginning of time, Odhinn, Hoenir, and Lodhurr "found on the land little in main / Askr and Embla ørlög-less" -- the primal material from which the gods created humanity. The Germanic hero often repeats this pattern: in his youth, Beowulf was a "slack ... un-daring atheling" (2188). According to the continental German "Lay of Horn Skinned Siegfried," Siegfried was a useless apprentice. It requires some remarkable event to bring forth this sleeping potential, as here in fact takes place.

The act of sitting on the burial howe is deeply significant. In earlier times, it was from the mound that a king exerted the authority of his ancestors. The Danish Snoldelev runestone, marked with the emblem of three intertwined drinking horns, speaks of Gunvaldr, son of Hroald, "thul on the Sal-howes." The office of thul, unclear as it may be, certainly involved ritual and inspired speech, and taking a place upon a howe may have been needful to open the way for that inspiration. Thus, when the unnamed Helgi sits upon the howe, he is opening himself wholly to the might of his ancestors -- and he is able to see things which are beyond the range of normal human sight.

The valkyrja Svava embodies all that Helgi has previously lacked. Literally, she is his soul, which now becomes self-shaping. For the first time, his strength is tested. He sees the awesome (and perhaps terrifying, as shall be discussed closer to the end) sight of the valkyrjur riding, and does not cry out nor speak. Thus Svava hails him and gives him the name Helgi, "The Holy One." This is a title as much as a name -- a title which might be borne by any hero; it describes his nature as one who has the might to shape in all realms of being. According to the tradition of our ancestors, a gift must be given with a name; the gift Helgi claims, however, is the valkyrja herself.

The sword she promises him is, likewise, a reflection of the hero himself: the ring on its hilt is the emblem of troth. The middle is filled with soul -- the Old Norse word here is hugr, which betokens courage, heart, and intuition as well as consciousness. From its edge it radiates the might of awe with which the hero strikes. The emblem of the wyrm literally describes the pattern-welded swords which were the pride of the Migration and Viking Ages; it also re-emphasizes the living might which lies in the blade. Some of the great swords of heroic legend (such as Hrunting from Beowulf and Sigurdhr's Gram) are described as being dyed with venom, which may refer to the acids used to etch and bring out the patterns of the metal. In this case, it is blood which "etches" the wyrm -- life giving it life.

The process which Helgi follows in coming to his full might is similar to that of Sigurdhr. First he must win his sword; then he must avenge his slain grandfather before he can go on to further deeds. This process shows the ideal spiritual development of the true hero. Having discovered the elements of his personal soul, he then steps forward to reclaim the might of his ancestors. In Germanic literature, this latter act is usually symbolized by the act of revenge for a kinsman. This is because an unavenged slaying was seen as a theft of family honor and thus a barrier to the transmission of the full strength of the ancestral soul. The Old Norse word for revenge, hefna, comes from a root meaning "to lift up" (related to modern English "heave"); it also implies, "to be freed." For the hero of today, this act of "revenge" for all our fore-gone kin, whose might has been long clouded and voices long stilled by an alien and hostile power, is accomplished by the doing of great deeds for our gods, goddesses and ancestors, and by holding the rites which bring their power forth into the Middle-Garth again. This deed is the source of the life-blood which etches the wyrm of might into Helgi's sword. The valkyrja description of it is a spae-word: its making, like his, is not completed until he has reclaimed his ancestral soul.

The exchange of insults, or flyting, between the etin-woman Hrimgerdhr and Atli, is an account of a battle taking place in the realms outside the Middle-Garth. By slaying the etin Hati ("The Hateful"), Helgi has aroused his daughter. This may be compared to Beowulf, in which, by killing Grendel, Beowulf brings his mother's wrath down on the hall. It can also be compared to the tale of Skadhi coming among the gods, in which an etin-woman is likewise brought forth by the desire to revenge or gain recompense for her slain kinsman. A single victory over Ymir's kin is rarely enough. Either a final victory must be attained or accommodation reached with the whole clan -- for every expression of power is likely to attract the attention of oppositional forces. That the quarrel is always more than an individual matter is shown by the fact that the etin-avenger is a female -- the source of life, for giants and trolls as well as gods and humans. The fitness of the etin-woman as a foe for the hero is shown in "Harbarzljodh," where Thorr boasts of having slain such wights: "I was east and with etins battled, / brides of the bale-wise who went to the berg. / Mickle would become the aett (clan) of etins, if all lived, naught would be of men upon the Middle-Garth!" The name Hrimgerdhr -- Rime-Gerdhr -- shows this woman's relationship to Gerdhr, Freyr's wife who also comes of etin-kin. The "ice-" prefix, however, makes it clear that Hrimgerdhr is wholly hostile to the kin of gods and humans. She is not the embodiment of sleeping fertility, but rather its opposite. Nevertheless, as shall be seen later, she cannot be simply done away with, for she, too, finds an aspect of kinship in the hero.

The strongly sexual character of the flyting between Hrimgerdhr and Atli is a clue to the nature of this exchange of insults as a battle of souls. The nidhstongr or "pole of insult" which was used for cursing was often characterized by sexual features, the victim either being symbolically compared to a mare by the use of a horse's head or actually carved in the passive sexual position. Hrimgerdhr and Atli are verbally doing the same to each other -- she attempting to magically weaken him by diminishing his manhood, he attempting to overcome her by sexual threats. Finding that they are evenly matched, since the iron binding on the ships keeps her from getting her revenge directly, Hrimgerdhr turns instead (even as Skadhi does) to demanding compensation.

At this point, Helgi must choose between Hrimgerdhr and Svava, who has been invisibly present as his warder and protected him throughout the night. This choice between mirk- and shining-wives is not as simple as it seems. The later part of the poem shows a troll-woman as Helgi's own fetch or "follower" (fylgja). This duality is an integral part of the valkyrja's character. She is both the lightning-bright maid who rides above air and sea to ward her chosen hero, and the furious and terrifying wolf-rider who lusts after slaughter. Hrimgerdhr's description of the troop of valkyrjur with dew falling from their horses' manes to give good harvest is the brightest account given anywhere of these maids, marking out clearly the distinction between the two sides of the valkyrja's nature. The last two stanzas in this section are probably spoken by Atli (no indication is given in the text), who catches Hrimgerdhr in her moment of greatest vulnerability and calls upon the rising sun of dawn to turn her to a rock.

Although the dark side of Helgi's valkyrja has been put aside for a moment, she cannot be denied. Kept from him here, she appears again as the embodiment of his doom, the troll-woman riding on a warg who appears to his brother Hedhinn on Yule evening (Jolaptan). The word "aptan" properly means the late afternoon/early night period but, in poetry especially, can designate the time of sunset/twilight, the beginning of the second "day" of the 24-hour period, corresponding to dawn and to the rune dagaz (N) which is the rune of the wedding between the hero and his valkyrja -- and also directly opposing the moment of sunrise which turned Hrimgerdhr to stone. Hedhinn is given the same choice Helgi had earlier; his rejection of the mirk-maid forces him to choose Svava at the Yule bragar-cup and thus to be his brother's betrayer and the direct instrument of his death.

This round of the cycle fulfills the forging of Helgi as a hero -- a man of mighty and overwhelming ørlög -- and the shaper of his valkyrja as the bearer of both his might and his doom. In the next round -- as Helgi Hundingsbani -- he is given his name, soul, and ørlög from the beginning, while the two aspects of his valkyrja are integrated into a single figure. While Odhinn, after arranging for the birth of Helgi Hjorvardhssonar, thereafter leaves the shaping of the hero's life to himself and the wights around him, in the next cycle he takes a direct interest in the results of his long-term plan ...

This article copyright 1991 by Kveldulf Hagan Gundarsson.
Web version copyright 1997 by Kveldulf Hagan Gundarsson and Mountain Thunder.

This page maintained by bratwurst@vinland.org
Last modified on 20 July 1998.

The Lay of Helgi Hjorvardhsson Translation and Commentary

Translation

Commentary

The Lay of Helgi Hjorvardhsson
Translation and Commentary