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THE POETIC EDDA |
ATLAMOL EN GRÖNLENZKUThe Greenland Ballad of AtliINTRODUCTORY NOTEMany of the chief facts regarding the Atlamol, which follows the Atlakvitha in the Codex Regius, are outlined in the introductory note to the earlier Atli lay. That the superscription in the manuscript is correct, and that the poem was actually composed in Greenland, is generally accepted; the specific reference to polar bears (stanza 17), and the general color of the entire poem make this origin exceedingly likely. Most critics, again, agree in dating the poem nearer 1100 than 1050. As to its state of preservation there is some dispute, but, barring one or two possible gaps of some importance, and the usual number of passages in which the interpolation or omission of one or two lines may be suspected, the Atlamol has clearly come down to us in fairly good shape. Throughout the poem the epic quality of the story itself is overshadowed by the romantically sentimental tendencies of the poet, and by his desire to adapt the narrative to the understanding of his fellow-Greenlanders. The substance of the poem is the same as that of the Atlakvitha; it tells of Atli's message to the sons of Gjuki, their journey to Atli's home, the slaying of Hogni and Gunnar, Guthrun's bitterness over the death of her brothers, and her bloody revenge on Atli. Thus in its bare out line the Atlamol represents simply the Frankish blending of the legends of the slaughter of the Burgundians and the death of Attila (cf. Gripisspo, introductory note). But here the resemblance ends. The poet has added characters, apparently of his own creation, for the sake of episodes which would appeal to both the men and the women of the Greenland settlement. Sea voyages take the place of journeys by land; Atli is reproached, not for cowardice in battle, but for weakness at the Thing or great council. The additions made by the poet are responsible for the Atlamol's being the longest of all the heroic poems in the Eddic collection, and they give it a kind of emotional vivid ness, but it has little of the compressed intensity of the older poems. Its greatest interest lies in its demonstration of the manner in which a story brought to the North from the South Germanic lands could be adapted to the understanding and tastes of its eleventh century hearers without any material change of the basic narrative. In what form or forms the story of the Gjukungs and Atli reached the Greenland poet cannot be determined, but it seems likely that he was familiar with older poems on the subject, and possibly with the Atlakvitha itself. That the details which are peculiar to the Atlamol, such as the figures of Kostbera and Glaumvor, existed in earlier tradition seems doubtful, but the son of Hogni, who aids Guthrun in the slaying of Atli, appears, though under another name, in other late versions of the story, and it is impossible to say just how much the poet relied on his own imagination and how far he found suggestions and hints in the prose or verse stories of Atli with which he was familiar. The poem is in Malahattr (cf. Introduction) throughout, the verse being far more regular than in the Atlakvitha. The compilers of the Volsungasaga evidently knew it in very much the form in which we now have it, for in the main it is paraphrased with great fidelity. 1. There are many who know | how of old
did men 2. Fate grew for the princes, | to death
they were given; [1. Men: Atli and his advisers, with whom he planned the death of the sons of Gjuki, Gunnar and Hogni. The poet's reference to the story as well known explains the abruptness of his introduction, without the mention of Atli's name, and his reference to Guthrun in stanza 3 simply as "the woman" ("husfreyja," goddess of the house). 2. Princes: Atli, Gunnar, and Hogni. Bulwark: Atli's slaying [fp. 501] of his wife's brothers, who were ready to support and defend him in his greatness, was the cause of his own death.] He felled his staunch bulwark, | his own
sorrow fashioned, 3. Wise was the woman, | she fain would
use wisdom, 4. Runes did she fashion, | but false
Vingi made them, 5. They were kindly with ale, | and fires they kindled, [3. The woman: Guthrun, concerning whose marriage to Atli cf. Guthrunarkvitha II. The sea: a late and essentially Greenland variation of the geography of the Atli story. Even the Atlakvitha, perhaps half a century earlier, separates Atli's land from that of the Gjukungs only by a forest. 4. Runes: on the two versions of Guthrun's warning, and also on the name of the messenger (here Vingi), cf. Drap Niflunga and note. Limafjord: probably the Limfjord of northern Jutland, an important point in the wars of the eleventh century. The name was derived from "Eylimafjorţ," i.e., Eylimi's fjord. The poet may really have thought that the kingdom of the Burgundians was in Jutland, or he may simply have taken a well-known name for the sake of vividness.] They thought not of craft | from the
guests who had come; 6. Forth did Kostbera, | wife of Hogni,
then come, 7. Then Hogni they asked | if more eager
he were, 8. Then the famed ones brought mead, | and fair was the feast, [5. Some editors assume a gap after this stanza. 6. Some editions place this stanza between stanzas 7 and 8. Kostbera ("The Giver of Food") and Glaumvor ("The Merry"): presumably creations of the poet. Both: Atli's two emissaries, Vingi and the one here unnamed (Knefröth?). 7. It is altogether probable that a stanza has been lost between stanzas 6 and 7, in which Gunnar is first invited, and replies doubtfully. Made promise: many editions emend the text to read "promised the journey." The text of line 4 is obscure; the manuscript reads "nitti" ("refused"), which many editors have changed to "hlitti," which means exactly the opposite. 8. No gap is indicated in the manuscript; Bugge adds (line [fp. 503] 3): "Then the warriors rose, | and to slumber made ready." The manuscript indicates line 4 as beginning a new stanza, and some editions make a separate stanza out of lines 1-2. Others suggest the loss of a line after line 4.] Full many were the horns, | till the men
had drunk deep; 9. Wise was Kostbera, | and cunning in
rune-craft, 10. Full soon then his bed | came Hogni
to seek, 11. "Thou wouldst go hence, | Hogni, but heed my counsel,-- [9. The manuscript does not indicate line 1 as the beginning of a stanza; cf. note on stanza 8. 10. Some editions combine this stanza with lines 1-2 of stanza 11. The manuscript indicates no gap. Grundtvig adds (line 2) "But sleep to the woman | so wise came little." 11. Some editions make a separate stanza out of lines 1-2, or combine them with stanza 10, and combine lines 3-4 with stanza [fp. 504]12 (either lines 1-4 or 1-2). The manuscript marks line 3 as beginning a new stanza.] Known to few are the runes,-- | and put
off thy faring; 12. "Full much do I wonder, | nor well
can I see, Hogni spake: Kostbera spake: [12. Line 5 may be spurious, or else all that is left of a lost stanza. The manuscript marks it as the beginning of a new stanza, which, as the text stands, is clearly impossible. 13. The manuscript, followed by some editions, has "Hogni spake" in the middle of line 1. Ill: the manuscript and many editions have "this." The king: Atli. 14. The manuscript does not indicate the speakers in this dialogue between Kostbera and Hogni (stanzas 14-19). Two line, may possibly have been lost after line 2, filling out stanza 14 and [fp. 505] making stanza 15 (then consisting of lines 3-4 of stanza 14 and lines 1-2 of stanza 15) the account of Kostbera's first dream. The manuscript marks line 3 as beginning a new stanza. In any case, the lost lines cannot materially have altered the meaning.] No welcoming friendly | this time shall
ye find; 15. "Thy bed-covering saw I | in the
flames burning, Kostbera spake: [15. Saw I: the manuscript here, as also in stanzas 16, 18, 2r, 22, and 24, has "methought," which involves a metrical error. Some editors regard lines 3-4 as the remains of a four-line stanza. Regarding Kostbera's warning dreams, and Hogni's matter-of-fact interpretations of them, cf. Guthrunarkvitha II, 39-44. 16. The meaning of the first half of line 3 in the original is obscure.] Hogni spake: Kostbera spake: Hogni spake: [17. Two lines may have been lost after line 2, but the Volsungasaga paraphrase gives no clue. Ice-bear: polar bears, common in Greenland, are very rarely found in Iceland, and never in Norway, a fact which substantiates the manuscript's reference to Greenland as the home of the poem. 18. The manuscript indicates no gap, but most editors assume the loss of a line after line 1 or 2; Grundtvig adds, after line 1: "Black were his feathers, | with blood was he covered." Atli's spirit: the poet's folk-lore seems here a bit weak. Presumably he means such a female following-spirit ("fylgja") as appears in Helgakvitha Hjorvarthssonar, prose following stanza 34 (cf. note thereon), but the word he uses, "hamr" (masculine) means "skin," "shape." He may, however, imply that Atli had assumed the shape of an eagle for this occasion. 19. The manuscript indicates line 4 as beginning a new stanza.] True is Atli's heart, | whatever thou
dreamest." 20. The high-born ones wakened, | and
like speech they had, Glaumvor spake: * * * * * * 22. "A sword drawn bloody | from thy garments I saw,-- [20. The manuscript indicates no gap, but none of the many attempted emendations have made sense out of the words as they stand. The proper location for' the missing words is sheer guesswork. Two roads: probably the meaning is that their way (i.e., their success) would be doubtful. 21. The manuscript does not indicate the speakers in this dialogue (stanzas 21-26). No gap is indicated after line 2. Most editors assume the loss of two lines or of a full stanza after [fp. 508] stanza 21 giving Gunnar's interpretation of Glaumvor's dream, but the Volsungasaga gives no clue, as it does not mention this first dream at all. Grundtvig suggests as Gunnar's answer: "Banners are gleaming, | since of gallows didst dream, / And wealth it must mean | that thou serpents didst watch." Gods' doom: an odd, and apparently mistaken, use of the phrase "ragna rök" (cf. Voluspo, introductory note).] Such a dream is hard | o a husband to
tell,-- Gunnar spake: Glaumvor spake: * * * * * * 25. "I dreamed that by night | came dead women hither, [25. Perhaps two lines have been lost after line 2. Possibly the concluding phrase of line 2 should be "bloody spears," as in the Volsungasaga paraphrase. 24. Again Gunnar's interpretation is missing, and most editors either assume a gap or construct two Malahattr lines (out of the Volsungasaga prose paraphrase, which runs: "The grain shall [fp. 509] flow, since thou hast dreamed of rivers, and when we go to the fields, often the chaff rises above our feet."] Sad were their garments, | and thee were
they seeking; Gunnar spake: 27. Then bright shone the morning, | the
men all were ready, 28. Snćvar and Solar, | they were sons of
Hogni, [25. The meaning of line 4 is uncertain, but apparently it refers to the guardian spirits or lesser Norns (cf. Fafnismol, 12-13 and notes). 26. Possibly a line has been lost from this stanza. 27. Five: Gunnar, Hogni, and the three mentioned in Stanza 28. 28. Perhaps a line has been lost before line 1; Grundtvig supplies: "Gunnar and Hogni, the heirs twain of Gjuki." Snćvar (the manuscript here has "Snevar"), Solar and Orkning [fp. 510] appear only in this poem and in the prose narratives based on it. Lines 2-3 may have been expanded out of one line, or possibly line 3 is spurious. The manuscript indicates line 4 as beginning a new stanza, and many editions make a separate stanza out of lines 4-5, many of them assuming the loss of two lines. Shield-tree: warrior (Orkning), here identified as Kostbera's brother. Fair-decked ones: women, i.e., Glaumvor and Kostbera. Fjord: perhaps specifically the Limafjord mentioned in stanza 4.] Blithe was the shield-tree, | the brother
of Kostbera; 29. Then did Glaumvor speak forth, | the
wife of Gunnar, 30. Then did Vingi swear, | and full glib
was his speech, 31. Then did Bera speak forth, | and fair was her thought, [30. The manuscript indicates no gap. Grundtvig inserts (line 2): "The evil was clear when his words he uttered." 31. Bera: Kostbera; the first element in compound feminine [fp. 511] proper names was not infrequently omitted; cf. Hild for Brynhild (Helreith Brynhildar, 6). The manuscript indicates no gap; Grundtvig inserts (line 2): "And clear was her cry to her kinsmen dear."]
. . . . . . . . . . 32. Then Hogni made answer,-- | dear held
he his kin,- 33. They tenderly looked | till each
turned on his way, 34. Full stoutly they rowed, | and the
keel clove asunder, [32. Hogni's method of cheering his wife and sister-in-law is somewhat unusual, for the meaning of lines 3-4 is that good wishes and blessings are of little use in warding off danger. 33. Perhaps two lines have been lost after line 2; Grundtvig supplies: "Then weeping did | Glaumvor go to her rest-bed, / And sadly did Bera | her spinning wheel seek." 34. Keel, etc.: in the Nibelungenlied, and presumably in the older German tradition, Hagene breaks his oar steering the Burgundians across the Danube (stanza 1564), and, after all have landed, splinters the boat (stanza 1581) in order that there may be no retreating. The poet here seems to have confused the story, [fp. 512] connecting the breaking of the ship's keel with the violence of the rowing, but echoing the older legend in the last line, wherein the ship is allowed to drift away after the, travellers have landed. Oar-loops: the thongs by which the oars in a Norse boat were made fast to the thole-pins, the combination taking the place of the modern oarlock.] The oar-loops were burst, | the
thole-pins, were broken, 35. Not long was it after-- | the end
must I tell-- 36. "Go ye far from the house, | for
false is its entrance, 37. Then Hogni made answer, | his heart yielded little, [35. The manuscript indicates line 4 as beginning a new stanza, and many editions combine it with stanza 36, some of them assuming the loss of a line from stanza 35. In the Volsungasaga paraphrase the second half of line 4 is made a part of Vingi's speech: "Better had ye left this undone." 36. Cf. note on preceding stanza; the manuscript does not indicate line I as beginning a stanza. Line 3 may be spurious. 37. In the Volsungasaga paraphrase the second half of line 1 and the first half of line 2 are included in Hogni's speech.] And nought did he fear | that his fate
held in store: 38. Then Vingi did they smite, | and they
sent him to hell, 39. Atli summoned his men, | in
mail-coats they hastened, * * * * * * 40. Then came they to words, | and full wrathful they were: [38. Possibly two lines have been lost after line 2. 39. It is probable that a considerable passage has been lost between stanzas 39 and 40, for the Volsungasaga paraphrase includes a dialogue at this point. The manuscript indicates no gap, and most editions combine stanzas 39 and 40 as a single stanza. The prose passage, indicating the substance of what, if any thing, is lost, runs as follows: "'Be welcome among us, and give me that store of gold which is ours by right, the gold that Sigurth had, and that now belongs to Guthrun.' Gunnar said: 'Never shalt thou get that gold, and men of might shalt thou find here, ere we give up our lives, if it is battle thou dost offer us; in truth it seems that thou hast prepared this feast in kingly fashion, [fp. 514] and with little grudging toward eagle and wolf."' The demand for the treasure likewise appears in the Nibelungenlied.] "Long since did we plan | how soon we might slay you." Hogni spake: 42. Then wild was their anger | when all
heard his words; 43. In the house came the word | how the heroes with out [40. These two lines, which most editions combine with stanza 39, may be the first or last two of a four-line stanza. The Volsungasaga gives Atli's speech very much as it appears here. 41. The manuscript does not indicate the speaker; Grundtvig adds as a first line: "Then Hogni laughed loud where the slain Vingi lay." Many editors assume the loss of a line somewhere in the stanza. Unarmed: Hogni does not see Atli's armed followers, who are on the other side of the courtyard (stanza 39). One: Vingi. 42. Most editors assume the loss of one line, after either line 1 or line 3. 45. The manuscript reading of lines 1-2, involving a metrical error, is: "In the house came the word | of the warring without, / Loud in front of the hall | they heard a thrall shouting." Some editors assume a gap of two lines after line [fp. 515] 2, the missing passage giving the words of the thrall. The manuscript marks line 3 as the beginning of a stanza, and many editions make a separate stanza of lines 3-5, same of them assuming the loss of a line after line 3. With the stanza as here given, line 5 may well be spurious.] Fought in front of the hall; | they heard
a thrall tell it; 44. Then out did she go, | she flung open
the doors, 45. "For your safety I sought | that at
home ye should stay; [44. Niflungs: regarding the application of this term to the Burgundians cf. Atlakvitha, 11, and Brot, 17, and notes. The manuscript here spells the name with an initial N, as elsewhere, but in stanza 83 the son of Hogni appears with the name "Hniflung." In consequence, some editors change the form in this stanza to "Hniflungs," while others omit the initial H in both cases. I have followed the manuscript, though admittedly its spelling is illogical.] But to nought would they hearken, | and "No" said they all. 46. Then the high-born one saw | that
hard was their battle, 47. Then the daughter of Gjuki | two
warriors smote down, [46. The warlike deeds of Guthrun represent an odd transformation of the German tradition. Kriemhild, although she did no actual fighting in the Nibelungenlied, was famed from early times for her cruelty and fierceness of heart, and this seems to have inspired the poet of the Atlamol to make his Guthrun into a warrior outdoing Brynhild herself. Kriemhild's ferocity of course, was directed against Gunther and especially Hagene, for whose slaying she rather than Etzel was responsible; here, on the other hand, Guthrun's is devoted to the defense of her brothers. 47. Line 3 is very likely an interpolation. The manuscript marks line 4 as the beginning of a new stanza, and some editions make a separate stanza of lines 4-5. Atli's brother: doubtless a reminiscence of the early tradition represented in the Nibelungenlied by the slaying of Etzel's brother, Bldelin (the historical Bleda), by Dancwart.] 48. Full wide was the fame | of the
battle they fought, 49. All the morning they fought | until
midday shone, 50. Then the warrior spake, | and wild
was his anger: [48. Line 3 may well be spurious, for it implies that Gunnar and Hogni were killed in battle, whereas they were taken prisoners. Some editors, in an effort to smooth out the inconsistency, change "themselves" in this line to "sound." Line 5 has also been questioned as possibly interpolated. Niflungs: on the spelling of this name in the manuscript and the various editions cf. note on stanza 44. 49. Line 2 is probably an interpolation, and the original apparently lacks a word. There is some obscurity as to the exact meaning of lines 4-5. The two sons of Bera: Snćvar and Solar; her brother is Orkning; cf. stanza 28. 50. The warrior: Atli. Thirty: perhaps an echo of the "thirty warriors" of Thjothrek (cf. Guthrunarkvitha III, 5). Subtracting the eighteen killed by Snćvar, Solar and Orkning (stanza 49), and Vingi, killed by the whole company (stanza [fp. 518] 38), we have eleven left, as Atli says, but this does not allow much for the exploits of Gunnar and Hogni, who, by this reckoning, seem to have killed nobody. The explanation probably is that lines 4-5 of stanza 49 are in bad shape.] Once we were thirty, | we thanes, keen
for battle, 51. "There were five of us brothers |
when Buthli we lost, 52. We lay seldom together | since to me
thou wast given, [51. Five brothers: the Volsungasaga speaks of four (not five) sons of Buthli, but names only Atli. Regarding the death of the first two brothers cf. stanza 91 and note. The manuscript marks line 3 as beginning a stanza, and many editions combine lines 3-4 with stanza 52. Some insert lines 2-3 of stanza 52 ahead of lines 3-4 of stanza 51. 52. Possibly a line has been lost from this stanza. The manuscript marks line 3 as beginning a new stanza, which is impossible unless something has been lost. Gold: the meaning of this half line is somewhat doubtful, but apparently Atli refers to Sigurth's treasure, which should have been his as Brynhild's brother. Sister: Brynhild; regarding Guthrun's indirect responsibility for Brynhild's death cf. Gripisspo, 45 and note.] Guthrun spake: Atli spake: 55. "Seize ye now Hogni, | and with
knives shall ye hew him, [53. The manuscript does not name the speaker. The Volsungasaga gives the speech, in somewhat altered form, to Hogni. "Why speakest thou so? Thou wast the first to break peace; thou didst take my kinswoman and starved her in a prison, and murdered her and took her wealth; that was not kinglike; and laughable does it seem to me that thou talkest of thy sorrow, and good shall I find it that all goes ill with thee." This presumably represents the correct form of the stanza, for nowhere else is it intimated that Atli killed Guthrun's mother, Grimhild, nor is the niece elsewhere mentioned. Some editions make a separate stanza of lines 4-5, Grundtvig adding a line after line 3 and two more after line 5. Other editors are doubtful about the authenticity of either line 3 or line 5. 54. The manuscript does not indicate the speaker.] Swift shall ye do it, | to serpents now cast him." Hogni spake: 57. Then did Beiti speak, | he was Atli's
steward: 58. Afraid was the pot-watcher, | he fled
here and yon, [56. The text of the first half of line 3 is somewhat uncertain, but the general meaning of it is clear enough. 57. Beiti: not elsewhere mentioned. The Atlakvitha version of this episode (stanzas 23-25) does not mention Beiti, and in the Volsungasaga the advice to cut out Hjalli's heart instead of Hogni's is given by an unnamed "counsellor of Atli." In the Atlakvitha Hjalli is actually killed; the Volsungasaga combines the two versions by having Hjalli first let off at Hogni's intercession and then seized a second time and killed, thus introducing the Atlakvitha episode of the quaking heart (stanza 24). The text of the first half of line 3 is obscure, and there are many and widely varying suggestions as to the word here rendered "sluggard." 58. Some editions mark line 5 as probably interpolated.] "Ill for me is this fighting, | if I pay
for your fierceness, 59. They seized Buthli's cook, | and they
came with the knife, 60. Then fain was Hogni-- | there are few
would do thus-- 61. Then the brave one they seized; | to
the warriors bold [59. Cook: the original word is doubtful. The Volsungasaga does not paraphrase lines 3-5; the passage may be a later addition, and line 5 is almost certainly so. 61. It is probable that a stanza describing the casting of Gunnar into the serpents' den has been lost after this stanza. Sons of day: the phrase means no more than "men."] So valiant he was | that well he could suffer. * * * * * * 62. A harp Gunnar seized, | with his toes
he smote it 63. Then the heroes died | ere the day
was yet come; 64. Full mighty seemed Atli | as o'er
them he stood, [67. Regarding Gunnar's harp-playing, and his death, cf. Oddrunargratr, 27-30 and notes, and Atlakvitha, 34. Toes (literally "sole-twigs"): the Volsungasaga explains that Gunnar's hands were bound. Rafters: thus literally, and probably correctly; Gering has an ingenious but unlikely theory that the word means "harp." 63. There is some doubt as to the exact meaning of line 2. After this line two lines may have! been lost; Grundtvig adds: "Few braver shall ever | be found on the earth, / Or loftier men | in the world ever give." 64. Wise one: Guthrun. The manuscript marks line 3 as beginning a new stanza.] Guthrun spake: Atli spake: Guthrun spake: [65. The manuscript does not indicate the speaker. 66. The manuscript does not name the speaker. The negative in the first half of line 1 is uncertain, and most editions make the clause read "Of this guilt I can free myself." The fairest, etc.: i. e., I have often failed to do the wise thing. 67. The manuscript does not indicate the speaker. Requital, etc.: it is not clear just to what Guthrun refers; perhaps she is thinking of Sigurth's death, or possibly the poet had in mind his reference to the slaying of her mother in stanza 53.] 68. "Our childhood did we have | in a
single house, 69. "But the fierceness of men | rules
the fate of women, 70. Full heedless the warrior | was that
he trusted her, [68. Line 5 is very probably a later addition, though some editors question line 3 instead. 69. Guthrun suddenly changes her tone in order to make Atli believe that she is submissive to his will, and thus to gain time for her vengeance. Line 2 in the original is thoroughly obscure; it runs literally: "On the knee goes the fist if the twigs are taken off." Perhaps the word meaning "fist" may also have meant "tree-top," as Gering suggests, or perhaps the line is an illogical blending of the ideas contained in lines 1 and 3. 70. The manuscript indicates line 3 as the beginning of a new stanza, Two shields, etc.: i. e., Guthrun concealed her hostility (symbolized by a red shield, cf. Helgakvitha Hundingsbana I, 34) by a show of friendliness (a white shield).] 71. The beer then she brought | for her
brothers' death feast, 72. Thus bitterly planned she, | and
Buthli's race threatened, Guthrun spake: [71. Many editions make a separate stanza of lines 1-2, some of them suggesting the loss of two lines, and combine lines 5-4 with lines 1-2 of stanza 72, The manuscript marks both lines 1 and 3 as beginning stanzas. 72. The manuscript marks line 3 as beginning a new stanza; some editions make a separate stanza of lines 3-5, while others combine them with lines 1-2 of stanza 73. Line 2 in the original is clearly defective, the verb being omitted. The meaning of line 3 is uncertain; the Volsungasaga paraphrase has: "At evening she took the sons of King Atli (Erp and Eitil) where they were playing with a block of wood." Probably the text of the line as we have it is faulty. Lines 4-5 may possibly have been expanded out of a single line, or line 5 may be spurious.] For long have I wished | your lives to steal from you. The boys spake: 74. Then the grim one slew both | of the
brothers young, Guthrun spake: [73. The manuscript does not name the speakers. It indicates line 3 as beginning a new stanza, in which it is followed by many editions. The Volsungasaga paraphrases line 4 thus: "But it is shameful for thee to do this." Either the text of the line has been changed or the Volsungasaga compilers misunderstood it. The angry one: Atli. 74. The manuscript indicates line 3 as beginning a new stanza. 75. The manuscript does not name the speaker.] 76. '1 have seldom slept | since the hour
they were slain, 77. "Now both of thy sons | thou hast
lost . . . . 78. 'I cut out their hearts, | on a spit
I cooked them, [76. Morning: Guthrun refers to Atli's taunt in stanza 64. 77. The manuscript indicates no gap (lines 1-2), and most editions make a single line, despite the defective meter: "Thy sons hast thou lost | as thou never shouldst lose them." The second part of line 2 is in the original identical with the second half of line 3 of stanza 80, and may perhaps have been inserted here by mistake. Skulls: it is possible that line 3 was borrowed from a poem belonging to the Völund tradition (cf. Völundarkvitha, 25 and 37), and the idea doubtless came from some such source, but probably the poet inserted it in a line of his own composition to give an added touch of horror. The Volsungasaga follows the Atlamol in including this incident.] Thou didst greedily bite, | and thy teeth were busy. 79. "Of thy sons now thou knowest; | few
suffer more sorrow; Atli spake: Guthrun spake: [78. Some editions add lines 5-4 to stanza 79; Finnur Jonsson marks them as probably spurious. 79. Perhaps these two lines should form part of stanza 78, or perhaps they, rather than lines 3-4 of stanza 78, are a later addition. A gap of two lines after line 1 has also been conjectured. 80. The manuscript does not indicate the speaker. 81. The manuscript does not indicate the speaker. Lines 1-2 may be the remains of a separate stanza; Grundtvig adds: "Thou wast foolish, Atli, | when wise thou didst feel, / Ever the whole | of thy race did I hate." The Volsungasaga paraphrase, however, indicates no gap. Many editions make a separate stanza of lines 3-6, which, in the Volsungasaga, are paraphrased as a speech of Atli's. Lines 5-6 may be spurious.] In the whole world of men | a match for
such madness. Atli spake: Guthrun spake: 83. Together they sat | and full grim
were their thoughts, [82. The manuscript does not indicate the speakers. Many editions make two separate stanzas of the four lines. Another light: a fairly clear indication of the influence of Christianity; cf. Introductory Note. 83. The manuscript marks line 3 as the beginning of a new stanza. Hniflung: the Volsungasaga says that "Hogni had a son who was called Hniflung," but the name appears to be nothing more than the familiar "Niflung" applied in general to the sons of Gjuki and their people. On the spelling cf. note on stanza 44. [fp. 530] This son of Hogni appears in later versions of the story. In the Thithrekssaga he is called Aldrian, and is begotten by Hogni the night before his death. Aldrian grows up and finally shuts Attila in a cave where he starves to death. The poet here has incorporated the idea, which finds no parallel in the Atlakvitha, without troubling himself to straighten out the chronology.] 84. To her heart came ever | the fate of
Hogni, 85. Then the warrior spake, | as from
slumber he wakened, Guthrun spake: [84. Line 4 may be in Fornyrthislag, and from another poem. 85. The manuscript marks line 3 as beginning a new stanza. The Volsungasaga makes line 2 part of Atli's speech. 86. The manuscript does not name the speakers. It marks line 4 as the beginning of a new stanza, and many editions follow this arrangement, in most cases making a stanza of lines 4-5 and line 1 of stanza 87. However, line 1 may well have been interpolated here from stanza 75. Grundtvig adds after line 3: "His father he avenged, and his kinsmen fully." Some editors assume the loss of one or two lines after line 5.] I own to the guilt | that is ending thy
life, Atli spake: 87. "Not glad went I hence | thy hand to
seek, Guthrun, 88. "Most noble was all | when of old we
journeyed, 89. "To the famed one as bride-gift | I gave jewels fair, [87. The manuscript marks line 2 as beginning a new stanza, and some editions make a stanza out of lines 2-4 and line 1 of stanza 88. 8. The manuscript marks line 2 as the beginning of a stanza, and many editions make a stanza out of lines 2-4, or combine them with stanza 89. Some question the genuineness of line 4. 89. Many editions assume a gap of one line after line 3; [fp. 532] Grundtvig adds: "Bit-champing horses and wheel-wagons bright." Line 4 may be spurious. Greater: i. e., the silver which Atli gave Guthrun was of greater value even than the honor of receiving such royal gifts. Line 4 may be spurious.] I gave thirty slaves, | and handmaidens
seven; 90. "But all to thee was | as if nought it were worth, Guthrun spake: [90. Some editions mark line 3 as spurious or defective. The manuscript marks line 4 as the beginning of a new stanza. The land, etc.: there is much obscurity as to the significance of this line. Some editors omit or question "me," in which case Atli is apparently reproaching Guthrun for having incited him to fight with his brothers to win for himself the whole of Buthli's land. In stanza 91 Guthrun denies that she was to blame for Atli's quarrels with his brothers. The Volsungasaga reading supports this interpretation. The historical Attila did actually have his brother, Bleda, killed in order to have the sole rule. The treasure: Sigurth's hoard, which Atli claimed as the brother of Brynhild and husband of Guthrun, Sigurth's widow, but which Gunnar and Hogni kept for themselves, with, as Atli here charges, Guthrun's connivance. My mother: the only other reference to Atli's mother is in Oddrunargratr, 30, wherein she appears as the adder who stings Gunnar to death, and in the prose passages based on that stanza.] If I seldom was kindly, | full cruel wast
thou; 92. "My two brothers and I | were bold in our thoughts, 93. "First the king did we slay, | and the land we seized, [91. The manuscript does not indicate the speaker. It marks both lines 4 and 5 as beginning new stanzas, but line 5 is presumably an interpolation. The text of the second half of line 2 is obscure, and many emendations have been suggested. Ye brothers: cf. note on stanza go. Half: i. e., two of Atli's brothers were killed, the other two dying in the battle with Gunnar and Hogni; cf. stanza 51. 92. From the land: this maritime expedition of Guthrun and her two brothers, Gunnar and Hogni (the poet seems to know nothing of her half-brother, Gotthorm), with Sigurth seems to have been a pure. invention of the poet's, inserted for the benefit of his Greenland hearers. Nothing further is reported concerning it. 93. The forest: i. e., men who were outlawed in the conquered land were restored to their rights--another purely Norse touch.] The princes did us service, | for such
was their fear; 94. "Slain was the Hun-king, | soon happiness vanished, 95. "From the Thing thou camst never, | for thus have we
heard, Atli spake: [94. Hun-king: Sigurth, though most illogically so called; cf. Sigurtharkvitha en skamma, 4 and note. The Volsungasaga paraphrase of line 2 is so remote as to be puzzling: "It was little to bear the name of widow." Perhaps, however, the word "not" fell out between "was" and "little." 95. Thing, etc.: here the poet makes Atli into a typical Norse land-owner, going to the "Thing," or general law council, to settle his disputes. Even the compilers of the Volsungasaga could not accept this, and in their paraphrase changed "Thing" to "battle." The text of the second half of line 2 is uncertain. The manuscript leaves a blank to indicate the gap in-line 4; Grundtvig adds: "as beseems not a king."] Will it bring to either, | for all have
we lost; Guthrun spake: 98. Then did Atli die, | and his heirs' grief doubled; 99. Full happy shall he be | who such offspring has, [97. The manuscript does not indicate the speaker. Many editors assume a gap either before or after line 1. A ship: the burial of Norse chiefs in ships was of frequent occurrence, but the Greenland poet's application of the custom to Atli is some what grotesque. 98. Heirs, etc.: merely a stock phrase, here quite meaningless, as Atli's heirs had all been killed. Long: cf. Guthrunarhvot, introductory prose.]
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